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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924104752518 


^GllE  DOES  j^^"^ 


CORNELL  UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARIES 

ITHACA,  N.  y:  14583 


JOHN  M.  ytlM 


HISTORY 

FRAGILE  DOES  NOT 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET 


COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY, 


WITH 


Illustrations  and  Biographical  Sketches 


OF  la's 


PROMmENT   MEN^   AND   PIONEERS. 


COMPILED   BY  JAMES  P.  SNELL, 

ASSISTED  BY  FRANKLIN  ELLIS  AND  A  NUMEROUS  CORPS  OF  WRITERS. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

EVEETS    &    PECK, 
18  81. 


PRESS   OF  J.   B.  LIPPINCOTT   &   CO.,  PHILADELPHIA. 


^^NJC.-IO//^  . 


^,\ 


'{^Ar^^'^' 


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PREFACE. 


The  design  of  this  work  is  to  give  the  two  counties  treated  an  impartial,  faithful 
chronicle  of  their  past  from  the  date  of  earliest  settlement  down  to  recent  times.  Its  scope, 
p  f^-iginally  planned  and  laid  out,  seemed  more  than  ample,  yet  so  very  much  that  was 
vr  .dble  for  record  and  for  preservation  was  gathered  in  the  rich  historic  field  wherein  we 
have  delved  tha  notwithstanding  arduous  labor  at  condensation,  it  has  far  outgrown  its 
proposed  dimensions.  The  author  only  regrets  that  his  labors  must  now  cease,  as  every 
passing  day  is  adding  to  the  treasures  developed  by  historical  research.  But  here  the  super- 
structure is  reared  upon  which  the  future  historians  of  these  counties  may  build.  We  have 
striven  to  gather  the  scattered  threads  of  the  past  and  to  weave  them  into  a  complete  fabric, 
to  which  the  "Art  preservative  of  arts"  shall  give  immortality. 

Over  one  year  of  patient,  painstaking,  and  conscientious  labor  has  been  devoted  to  the 
above  design  by  the  author  and  his  numerous  staff  of  assistants,  supplemented  by  the  con- 
tributions of  many  of  the  ablest  citizens  of  these  counties, — equal  to  nearly  ten  years  of 
constant  effort  of  one,  person.  The  result  is  embodied  in  this  vohime;  but  the  obstacles  and 
vexations  attendant  upon  its  preparation  will  hardly  be  realized  by  those  who  peruse  its 
pages.  Lord  Macaulay  has  said  that  perfection  in  historical  composition  was  not  attainable 
by  fallible  men.  If  there  be  no  errors  of  fact  or  date  in  the  legion  of  items  herein  con- 
tained, we  shall  feel  that  the  great  English  historian  was  at  fault. 

We  have  given  many  items  of  local  history  which  may  by  some  be  thought  trivial  or 
beneath  the  "dignity  of  history."  But  who  is  competent  to  judge  of  what  may  be  valuable  or 
interesting  to  those  who  come  after  us  ?  Much  valuable  information  has  undoubtedly  been  lost 
to  the  world  by  the  fastidious  views  of  many  historical  writers.  Instead  of  polished  sentences 
or  well-turned  periods,  truth  in  its  simplicity  has  been  our  aim, — to  go,  as  far  as  practicable,  back 
to  the  original  sources  of  information,  and  to  verify  by  corroborative  testimony  whenever 
possible,  while  correcting  the  errors  of  writers  who  have  preceded  us. 

From  colonial  and  other  documents  in  the  State  archives,  from  county  and  township  records, 
family  manuscripts,  printed  publications,  and  innumerable  private  sources,  we  have  endeavored 
to  prepare  a  history  which  should  be  accurate,  instructive,  and  an  honor  to  the  counties  represented. 
We  will  not  here  enumerate  (as  is  customary  with  many  authors)  the  volumes  which  have 
been  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  for  several  reasons :  the  list  would  fill  several 
pages,  would  be  read  by  very  few,  and  would  be  a  needless  repetition,  as  a  large  proportion  of 
them  are  given  through  the  text  in  parenthetical  references,  foot-notes,  etc. 

We  are  under  special  obligation,  however,  to  the  Eeverends  Geo.  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  of  Flem- 
ington ;  Edward  Tanjore  Corwin,  D.D.,  of  Millstone ;  Abram  Messier,  D.D.,  Somerville ;  P.  A. 

3 


PREFACE. 


Studdiford,  D.D.,  Lambertville  ;  John  B.  Thompson,  Catskill,  K  Y. ;  C.  S.  Conkling,  Stockton ; 
Aaron  S.  Lauing,  PenniDgtou  ;  J.  P.  W.  Blattenberger,  Eeaville ;  W.  W.  Blauvelt,  D.D.,  Laming- 
ton;  John  C.  Rankin,  D.D.,  Basking  Eidge;  N.  McConaughy,  Somerville,  and  numerous  other 
clergymen ;  to  Doctors  John  Blane,  Henry  Eace,  Cornelius  W.  and  George  H.  Larison,  Geo. 
E.  Sullivan,  Henry  G.  "Wagoner,  etc. ;  to  John  M.  Hyde  and  Matt.  H.  Van  Derveer,  the  present 
county  clerks,  and  the  several  township  clerks,  and  public  ofificials  generally,  of  both  counties ; 
to  the  publishers  of  the  Flemington  Republican  and  Democrat;  the  Lambertville  Beacon  and 
Record;  the  Clinton  Democrat;  the  Somerville  Gazette,  Unionist,  and  Ilessengei;  etc.;  Hon. 
Ashbel  Welch  and  Martin  Coryell,  Esq.,  of  Lambertville;  Hon.  John  T.  Bird,  the  late  Hon. 
Alexander  Wurts,  Charles  Bartles,  Esq.,  the  late  Col.  J.  C.  Eafferty,  J.  B.  Hopewell,  E.  Vos- 
seller,  Eunkle  Eea,  etc.,  of  Flemington;  Judge  Foster,  of  Clinton;  Judge  Joseph  Thompson, 
of  Eeadington ;  Hon.  F.  S.  Holcombe,  of  Delaware ;  Wm.  B.  Prall,  of  East  Amwell ;  W*^. 
Srope,  of  Frenchtown ;  Lewis  H.  Taylor,  Esq.,  of  High  Bridge ;  A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  Esq., 
Hon.  Alvah  A.  Clark,  Hugh  Gaston,  Esq.,  John  C.  Garretson,  Esq.,  Ed.  A.  Veghte,  J.  S. 
Haines,  Henry  P.  Mason,  and  others,  of  Somerville ;  the  McDowell  family,  of  Bedminster ;  Hon. 
Calvin  Corle,  of  Branchburg;  John  F.  Hageman,  Esq.,  of  Princeton;  Jacob  Weart,  Esq.,  of 
Jersey  City ;  Hon.  D.  F.  Beatty,  of  Washington,  Warren  Co. ;  Wm.  Pierson,  Jr.,  M.D.,  Orange, 
JST.  J. ;  Judge  James  N.  Eeading,  Morris,  111. ;  Ellis  A.  Apgar,  A.M.,  State  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction ;  Joseph  H.  Hough,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  M.  W.  Grand  Lodge  of  New- 
Jersey,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  a  multitude  of  others. 

To  the  publishers  also  we  would  acknowledge  indebtedness,  not  only  for  valuable  assistance, 
but  especially  for  the  elegant  dress  with  which  the  historical  body  has  been  clothed  and  em- 
bellished. 

The  result  of  our  labor,  now  ended,  is  submitted  to  the  citizens  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Counties,  with  the  assurance  that  this  volume  of  facts,  traditions,  reminiscences,  and  memoirs 
will  be  by  them  prized  and  cherished  as  the  faithful  record  of  their  past  and  honorable  career, 
and  as  such  be  handed  down  to  future  generations. 

JAMES  P.  SNELL. 

Philadelphia,  Marcli  10,  1881. 


E  E  R  A  T  A. 


The  name  of  D.  P.  Kenyon  is  spelled  Kinyon  in  some  instances,  in  connection  with  the  Savings  Bank 
etc.,  in  Bridgewater  township  history, — an  error  occasioned  by  following  printed  copy,  furnished  with  MSS  ' 
and  supposed  to  be  good  authority.  ' 

On  page  779,  31st  line,  for  "1737"  read  1837. 


COISTTENTS. 


HUNTEEDOIJf  AND  SOMERSET  OOUNTIES. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Discovery  and  Occupation  op  New  Netherlands. 
Early  Navigators — Hendiick  Hudson — The  "  Half-Moon" — Tlae  United 
New  Netherland  Company — Colonization  by  the  Dutch  and  Banes — 
Mey  and  De  Vries — Sir  Edmund  Ployden 9 

CHAPTER  II. 

Indian  Occupation — The  Original  People. 

The  Algonquin  Nation — The  Delawares,  or  Lenni-Lenap6— The  "Tur- 
tle," "  Turkey,"  and  "  Wolf'  tribes — Traditionfi  as  to  the  Origin  of  the 
Delawares — Mounds  and  Remains — Indian  Title  to  Lands  in  Hunter- 
don and  Somerset — Indian  Paths,  etc 11 

CHAPTER  III. 

New  Jersey  under  Dutch  and  English  Rule. 

Swedish  Settlement — Occupation  by  the  Dutch — Subjection  to  the  Eng- 
lish in  1664— Governore  Carteret,  Andros,  etc. — Grant  to  the  Duke  of 
York,  and  transfer  to  Berkeley  aod  Carteret— Edward  Byllinge — 
Quaker  Emigration  and  Settlement — The  two  Jerseys  consolidated — 
Governors,  down  to  1776 19 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Proprietary  Government  of  East  Jersey. 

East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietors,  1680  to  1702 — Eobert  Barclay  and 
Thomas  Eudyard — Collision  with  the  Province  of  New  York — Gov- 
ernors Barclay,  Dudley,  Hamilton,  etc. — Opposition  to  Governor  Basse 
— Opposition  to  the  Proprietary  Government — The  Crisis — Surrender 
to  the  Crown,  in  1702 21 

CHAPTER   V. 

Hunterdon    and   Somerset    Counties    in   the    Revolution. 

The  Conflict  Commences — Governor  Franklin's  Opposition—The  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  and  Inquiry — Meetings  in  Hunterdon  and 
Somerset — First  Provincial  Congress — Township  Meetings — The  Mili- 
tia and  "Minute-Men" — The  "Committee  of  Safety" — Scarcity  of 
Arms  and  Ammunition — The  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Troops  ordered 
to  March — The  Colony  of  New  Jersey  transformed  into  an  Indepen- 
dent Stat-e — The  Flying-Camp — Retreat  of  the  American  Army — The 
Enemy's  Advance  through  New  Jersey — Capture  of  Gen.  Lee — Crossing 
the  Delaware — The  Fights  at  Trenton  and  Aseanpink— Battle  of 
Princeton — WaBhington  at  Pluckamin — Captain  Leslie — The  Army 
goes  into  Winter  Quarters  at  Morristown 25 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Hunterdon    and    Somerset    Counties    in    the    Revolution 
(Continued). 

The  Marvelous  Change  produced  by  the  Campaign  of  Trenton  and 
Princeton — Gen.  Howe's  "  Protections'* — Atrocities  of  the  British  in 
Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties — "Washington's  Proclamation  to  the 
People — Skirmish  at  Weston,  Somerset  Co. — Gen.  Dickinson  Defeats 
the  British.,  and  Captures  a  Wagon  Train — Occupation  of  Middle- 
brook  by  the  American  Forces  in  1777— Letter  of  Gen.  Heard  from 
Raritan — "Washington  Rock" — Attempt  to  Entice  Washington  from 
his  Stronghold  in  the  Hills — The  British  Troops  leave  the  State  and 
the  American  Army  march  through  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  to  the 
Delaware — Washington's  Letters  from  Coryell's  Ferry — Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Troops  at  Battle  of  Biandywine — Valley  Forge — Col. 
Frelinghuysen's  Expedition  to  Staten  Island — A  Female  Tory  Dispatch- 


Carrier — The  Tories  Penn  and  Chew  under  Surveillance  in  Hunterdon 
County— Extracts  from  Minutes  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  etc. — 
British  evacuate  Philadelphia  and  pass  through  New  Jersey — Wash- 
ington's Army  cross  at  Coryell's — Battle  of  Monmouth,  etc. — Somerset 
and  Hunterdon  Troops  behave  gallantly — Cantonments  at  Middle- 
brook — Gen.  Washington  and  Wife  at  Somerville— Five  Soldiers  Hung 
— Gen.  Knox's  Headquarters  at  Pluckamin — Grand  Ball  and  Supper — 
Simcoe's  Eaid  in  1779 — Burning  of  the  Church,  Court-house,  etc. — 
Capt.  Peter  G.  Yoorhees  killed — The  Ladies  of  Hunterdon  and  Somer- 
set— Close  of  the  War — The  Currency — Patriotism  under  War  Burdens 
— Processes  against  Forfeited  Estates,  etc 60 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties  in  the  Revolution 
(  Continued). 

Continental  Troops,  First  Establishment — Second  Establishment — The 
"Jersey  Line" — Recruiting  Officers  and  Muster- Masters — Regiments 
raised,  and  Their  Officera— Militia^The  Quotas  of  the  Two  Counties 
— "  Minute-Men" — Roster  of  Field-  and  Staff-Officers — Roster  of  Rev- 
olutionary Soldiers  from  these  Counties,  who  served  in  the  State  Mili- 
tia and  Continental  Army 80 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Slavery  and  Servitude  in  Hunterdon  and  Somerset. 
The  "  Peculiar  Institution"  in  the  Seventeenth  Century — Servants  in  the 
Colonial  Days — Indian  Slaves — Eedemptioners — Laws  concerning  Slav- 
ery— The  Quakers  and  the  Institution — Few  Capital  Crimes  committed 
by  Negro  Slaves — Negroes  hung  for  Murdering  Whites  in  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Counties — Negro  Rebellion  in  1734 — Abolition  of  Slavery 
— Manumission — Rev.  Dr.  Finley  and  the  "  American  Colonization 
Society" 101 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Internal  Improvements. 

I.  i^oads.— The  Minisink  Path— The  Old  Burlington  Path— The  "  Upper 
Road"  and  "  Lower  Road" — The  Old  "  York  Road" — The  New  Jersey 
Turnpike  Company — New  Germantown  Turnpike  Company,  etc. 
II.  Stages  and  Stage-Lines. — First  Public  Conveyance  previous  to  1702 — 
Stage-Line  between  Trenton  and  New  Brunswick — "  The  Swift-Sure 
Coach-Line"— The  Trenton  and  Flemington  Mail-Coach — Post-road 
from  New  Brunswick  to  Flemington — Express  Lines,  etc.  III.  TJie 
Delaware  and  BarUan  Ganal. — Its  Incipiency,  Construction,  and  Com- 
pletion— Length,  Cost,  etc.  IV.  Baiiroads. — The  Central  Railroad  of 
New  Jersey — South  Branch  Railroad — High  Bridge  Railroad — The 
Delaware  and  Bound  Brook  Railroad — The  United  New  Jersey  Rail- 
road and  Canal  Company — "  The  Belvidore  Delaware  Railroad" — The 
Easton  and  Amboy  Railroad,  etc 106 

CHAPTER   X. 

Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties  in  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion. 

The  Patriotism  of  the  People  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset — The  First 
Volunteers,  Three  Months'  Men — Lambertville  the  First  to  Respond 
to  the  Governor's  Call  for  Troops  —  Services  in  the  Field  of  the 
New  Jersey  Brigade — Roster  of  the  Companies  from  Hunterdon 
County 116 

CHAPTER   XI. 

Third  Infantry  Regiment  (Three  Tears). 
The  Governor  calls  for  Three  Regiments  for  Three  Tears'  Service — The 
First,  Second,  and  Third  Regiments  take  the  Field— Officers  and  Move- 

5 


CONTENTS. 


ments  of  the  Third  Infantry— At  the  Battle  of  Gaines'  Mill— Heavy 
IjOBses— Gen.  Taylor  Wounded— Crampton's  Gap— Campaign  of  Chau- 
cellorsville— Battles  of  theWilderness— Its  Last  Fight,  at  Cold  Harbor 
—Regiment  Mustered  Out  and  Disbanded— Sketch  of  Brig.-Gen.  George 
W.  Taylor— Roster  of  Officers  and  Men  from  Somerset  County....     119 

CHAPTER,  XII. 
Fifth  and  Sixth  Inpanttit  Regiments. 
Hunterdon  County  furnishes  a  Company  for  each  Regimeut— Officers  of 
the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Infantry— Leave  "  Camp  01den"~Forra  a  Part  of 
the  Second  New  Jersey  Brigade— Assigned  to  duty  as  the  Third  Bri- 
gade, in  Hooker's  Division — Movements  on  tlie  Potomac — Battle  of 
■Williamsburg — Fair  Oaks — Losses  in  the  Peninsula  Campaign — En- 
gaged at  Bristow  Station,  Chantilly,  etc. — Unflinching  Bravery  at 
Gettysburg— Superb  Behavior  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house— Other 
engagements— Muster  Out— Rosters  of  Co.  A,  Fifth  Infantry,  and  Co. 
H,  Sixth  Infantry  Regiments 124 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Fifteenth  Infantry  Kegiment. 
Three  Companies  from  Hunterdon  and  Somerset — Leave  for  Washington 
—Construct  "Fort  Kearney"- The  Fifteenth  at  Fredericksburg — 
Michael  Mulvey,  Co.  G,  the  first  Man  killed— Battle  of  Chancellorsville 
— The  "  Wilderness" — Capt.  Yanderveer  and  Lieut.  Hamilton  wounded 
— Roster  of  Casualties  in  the  vicinity  of  Spottsylvania  Court-house — 
In  the  Charge  at  Ctdd  Harbor — With  Sheridan's  Army  in  the  Shenan- 
doah Talley — Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar  Creek  Engagements — Maj.  Boe- 
man  killed — List  of  Battles  of  the  Fifteenth — Rosters  of  Officers  and 
Enlisted  Men  of  the  Companies  from  these  Counties 132 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Thirtieth  and  Thirty-first  Infantry  Brgjments. 
Rendezvous  at  Flemington — Both  Regiments  Mustered  into  Service 
Sept.  17, 1862 — Officers  of  Regiments,  and  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Companies — Movements  in  "Virginia,  with  tlie  Army  of  the  Potomac 
— Promotion  of  Lieut.-Col.  Chadek,  Major  Ten  Eyck,  Major  Honey- 
man,  etc. — The  Two  Regiments  at  the  Battle  of  Chancellorsville — The 
Thirty-first  Regiment,  as  Rear-Guard,  hold  the  Enemy  in  Check — 
Other  Movements  and  Services  of  these  Commands — Rosters  of  the 
Companies  from  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties 142 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Thirty-fifth  Infantry,  and  Other  Regiments. 
Officers  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  and  of  Company  A — Movements  of 
the  Regiment  in  Virginia  and  in  the  Southwest — In  the  Georgia  Cam- 
paign, with  Sherman — Capt.  Angel  killed — Battle  of  Decatur — In  Front 
of  Atlanta — "  March  to  the  Sea" — Close  of  its  Campaigning,  and  Mus- 
ter Out — Roster  of  Co.  A — Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Men  in  other  Regi- 
ments; Co.  F,  Ninth  Infantry;  Co.  E,  Eleventh  Infantry;  Co.  B, 
Thirty-eighth  Infantry 149 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Educational  and  Statistical. 
The  Early  Dutch  enjoin  the  Support  of  a  Schoolmaster,  in  1629 — First 
Schoolmaster  and  School-house  in  New  Jersey — The  Scotch-Presby- 
terians bring  Schoolmasters  with  them — The  Quakers  and  Schools — 
Colonial  Legislation — The  Colleges — School-Fund  created  in  1817 — 
Subsequent  Legislation,  etc. — Free  Schools — Educational  Statistics  of 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties — Statistics  of  Population,  etc..    153 


HTJIsTTEiaiDOIsr  GOXjasTT-sr. 

CHAPTER    I. 
Physical  Seosrapht  and  GrEOLoar  of  HnNTERDON  Coukty. 
Mountains,  Streams,  and  otUer  Physical  Features  of  the  County — Geo- 
logical FormationB,  etc 159 

CHAPTER    II. 

Land  Titles  and  Settlbjient. 

Title  derived  from  the  Crown — Deeds  from  Indians — Head-lands — Irregu- 
larity in  Surveys — Treaty  with  Indians,  1703 — Dividends  of  Land — 


Proprietary  Tracts— Early  Settlement— The  Quakers  make  iirst  Settle- 
ment, in  1676 — Firet  Church — First  Accurate  Survey  in  Hunterdon, 
1707— Tax-roll  of  1722— Early  Settlers  in  Various  Portions  of  the 
County — Early  Bridges — First  Road — Early  Mills — During  the  Revo- 
lution— Growth,  etc 182 

CHAPTER  III. 
Organization  and  Citil  History. 
Hunterdon  set  off  from  Burlington — Changes  in  its  Territory — First  Offi- 
cers— Townships — Colonial  Elections — Poll-List  of  173S — First  Deed  on 
Record— Innkeeper's  Prices  in  1722 — Early  Taverns  Licensed — Ex- 
tracts from  "  Records  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Justices  and  Freehold- 
ers, liegiijning  1739" — Wolf  and  Panther  Bounties— First  Meeting  of 
the  Board  at  Flemington,  etc 190 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Courts  and  County  Buildings. 
Fii-st  Courts — First  Judges,  Magistrates,  and  Grand  Jury — Court-house 
and  Jail  at  Trenton — First  Record  of  the  •'  Cort  of  General  Quarter 
Sessions" — Extracts  from  "  Minutes  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Court" 
— Notable  Early  Trials — Orphans'  Courts — Trials  for  Murder — The 
County  Buildings 196 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Bench  and  Bar  of  Hunterdon  County. 
Hunterdon  County  noted  for  the  Ability  of  her  Judges  and  the  Brilliancy 
of  her  Bar — Early  Colonial  Judges — Judges  and  Justices — Samuel 
Johnston,  Samuel  Tucker,  Daniel  Coxe,  Isaac  Smith,  Moore  Fumian, 
Jasper  Smith,  John  Mehelm,  Jolin  Dagworthy,  Andrew  Smith,  Stacy 
G.  Potts,  John  Carr,  John  S.  Stires,  Joseph  Reading,  etc. — Eminent 
Jurists — Early  Lawyers — Later  Lawyers — Biographical  Notices  of 
George  C.  Maxwell,  William  Maxwell,  Joseph  Bonnell,  Thomas  Potts 
Johnson,  Samuel  R.  Stewart,  Nathaniel  Saxton,  William  H.  Sloan, 
Alexander  Wurts,  Garret  D.  Wall,  Richard  Howell,  Samuel  Lilly, 
James  N.  Reading,  Samuel  Leake,  George  A,  Allen,  Richard  S.  Kuhl, 
etc 202 

CHAPTER  VI.  / 

The  Medical  Profession  of  Hunterdon  Cousty. 

Medicine  and  Doctors  in  the  Early  Days — The  Distiict  Medical  Society 

of  Hunterdon  Connty— Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Physicians  of  the 

County,  both  dead  and  living— History  of  Homoeopathy  in  Hunterdon, 

etc 216 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Press  of  Hunterdon  County. 
First  Newspaper  in  the  State— The  First  Paperin  the  County— The  Hun- 
terdon  Gazette,  the  Pioneer  Paper  in  what  is  now  Hunterdon — The 
Hunterdon  Eepwijitcan- Clinton  Newspapers — The  Lambertville  Press 
— The  Press  of  Frenchtown — Other  Papers 235 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Authors  of  Hunterdon  County. 
Prefatory  Remarks— Sketches  of  Forty-seven  Authors  of  the  County, 
arranged  Alphabetically,  with  List  of  their  Publications 238 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Societies. 

Sketch  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Bible  Society— Hunterdon  County 

Agricultural  Society— County  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry— The 

Temperance  Alliance— Teachers'  Institutes— County  Sunday-School 

Association ^.g 

CHAPTER  X. 
Some  of  the  Prominent  Men  of  Hunterdon  County. 
Gen.  Daniel  Morgan-Gen.  Philemon  Dickinson-Gen.  William  Maxwell 
-Col.  Charles  Stewart-Col.  Philip  Johnson-Col.  Joab  Houghton- 
Ool.  Mark  Thompson-Col.  Isaac  Smith— John  Mehelm-John  Hari>- 
John  Stevens- Robert  Livingston  Stevens— Edwin  A.  Stevens— Rev 
Peter  Studdiford-Rev.  Casper  Wack-Rev.  John  Vanderveer-Eev 
George  S.  Mott,  D.D.-Henry'  D.  Maxwell-Eli  Bosenbui-y-Peter 
Cramer— Charles  W.  Godown— James  M.  Ramsey 251 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Civil  List  op  Huntekdon  County. 

List  of  National,  State,  and  County  Officers 255 

TO^VWSHIPS    AWD    BOKOTJGHS    OP    HTJIirTEE- 
DON  COUNTY. 

City  of  Lambertville 265 

Karitan  (including  Flemington) '.  298 

West  Amwell 343 

East  Amwell 350 

Delaware 370 

Kingwood , .Ml 

Boroiigh  of  Frenchtown 405 

Alexandria 414 

Holland 424 

Franklin 430 

Lebanon ., 445 

Bethlehem 457 

Tewlisbury 471 

Readington 486 

Union 508 

High  Bridge 625 

Clinton 633 

Borough  of  Clinton 644 


CHAPTER   I. 
The  Physical  Features  of  Somerset  County. 
Location— Extent— Boundariei^ — Physical  Features- (Jeological  Forma- 
tions—The Red  Sandstone,  Red  Shale,  limestone.  Trap,  and  other 
Rocks — Minerals  and  Mines,  etc.. 651 

CHAPTER    II. 
Land  Purchases  and  Settlements. 
Indian  Tribute  to  Jersey's  Honorable  Dealings— First  and  Second  In- 
dian Purchases— Early  Settlements— The  Scotch— Early  Dutch  Set- 
tlers, their  Ways  and  Customs,  Style  of  Building,  etc.— List  of  Persons 
who  purchased  Land  in  Somerset  County  north  of  the  Raritan...    659 

CHAPTER  IIL 

Erection,  Organization,  and  Boundaries  op  Somerset 

County. 

Original  Counties- Somerset  as  a  Township,  and  Formation  as  a  County 

Townships  Formed — Boundaries  of  County  Defined— Part  of  Essex 

annexed  to  Somersets-Boundary  between  Somerset  and  Morris  Coun- 
ties—Re-establishment  of  Line  between  Middlesex  and  Somerset— Part 
of  Montgomery  Township  surrendered  to  Mercer,  and  Franklin  to 
Middlesex- Tewksbury  Township  annexed  to  Somerset,  etc 663 

CHAPTER  TV. 
Courts  and  County  Buildings. 
Early  Courts— Grand  Jury  of  1717- Precept  to  the  Coroner,  1729— Early 
Trials,  etc.— Orphans'  Court— Marriage    Bonds— Public  Buildings— 
Court-House,  Jail,  etc 666 

CHAPTER   V. 

Early  Roads  and  Bridges  in  Somerset  County. 

The  first  mention  of  "Ways"  or  Roads— Deshler  on  Early  Roads— The 

road  "up  Raritan"— Other  Highways-Extract  from  old  "  Road  Book" 

of  Somerset  County— New  Jersey  Turnpike  Company— Early  Bridges 

—Marriages  in  1797— List  of  Bridges  in  1805,  etc 573 


CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Bench  and  Bar  of  Somerset  County. 
The  Bar  of  Somerset  County  eminent  for  Genius,  Learning,  and  Pa- 
triotism— Reminiscences — Names  of  the  Bar  from  1769  to  1860 — List 
of  the  Present  Bar— Sketches  of  William  Patereon,  Peter  D.  Vroom, 
Samuel  L.  Southard,  William  L.  Dayton,  John  M.  Mann,  William 
Griffith,  the  Frelinghuysens,  Judges  Kirkpatrick,  Nevias,  etc.;  and 
Hugh  M.  Gaston,  Alvah  A.  Clark,  John  Schomp,  and  many  others  of 
the  Present  Bar  of  the  County 679 

CHAPTER    VII. 

History  of  the  Medical  Profession  of   Soxirrset  County. 

The  County  Medical  Society:  its  Origin,  Officers,  and  Members — Bio- 
graphical Sketches  of  John  Reeve,  William  M.  McKissack,  Peter  I. 
Stryker,  Abraham  Van  Buren,  the  Van  Derveera  and  Schencks,  Wil- 
liam H.  Merrill,  Peter  Ten  Eyck,  H.  G.  Wagoner,  Ohauncey  M.  Field, 
etc 694 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  Prkss  of  Sosierset  County. 
The  Press  of  Somerville:  The  Messen{ier,  The  Unvjnist,  and  The  Gazetie — 
Tlie  Bound  Brnok  Chronicle — The  Press  of  the  Past :  The  Somerset  Whig, 
The  LUernry  Gem,  The  Cornel,  The  Somerset  News,  The  MiUatone  Mirror, 
The  Bound  Brook  JrtfUS,  Our  Some,  The  Sower,  Flowers^  Family  Maga- 
zine, etc 606 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Books  and  Authors  of  Sosiebset  County. 
Introductory — The   Authors  of  Somerset   County,  Dead    and  Living, 
arranged  alphabetically,  with  Biographical  Data  and  Lists  of  their 
Publications 611 

CHAPTER   X. 

County  Societies. 
County  Bible    Society — County  Teachers'    Institute — County    Sunday- 
School    Association — County  Temperance   Association — Agricultural 
Societies 630 

CHAPTER  XL 

Men  of  Prominence. 
Biographical  Sketches  of  John  Royce,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Lord  Stirling, 
Capt.  John  and  Gen.  Peter  I.  Stryker,  Alexander  and  James  Linn ; 
Revs.  Wm.  Jackson,  John  Cornell,  Isaac  V.  Brown,  Spence  H.  Cone ; 
T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  John  F.  Mesick,  Elbert  S.  Porter,  Morris  C.  Sut- 
phin ;  Theodore  Strong,  LL.D.,  Judge  Berrien,  Hon.  Peter  A.  Voor- 
hees,  Judge  Ralph  Voorhees,  Hon.  Rynier  H.  Veghte,  William  H. 
Qatzmer,  Andrew  Hageman,  etc 636 

CHAPTER    XIL 

Civil  List,  Somerset  County. 
National  Officers:  Delegates  to  Continental  Congress,  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives, Presidential  Electors,  etc. — State  Officers:  Members  of 
Council,  Senate,  and  Assembly,  Governors,  State  Treasurers,  Secreta- 
ries, Chancellors,  Justices  and  Associate  Justices,  etc. — County  Officers : 
Judges,  Justices,  Clerks,  Surrogates,  Sheriffs,  Coroners,  Collectors, 
CommisBioners  of  Deeds,  etc '  642 

TOVCWSHIPS    AND  VILLAGES   OP   SOMEESET 
COUBTTT. 

Bridgewater  (including  Somerville) 648 

Bedminster 699 

Bernard "^34 

Branchburg 756 

Hillsborough 773 

Franklin 802 

Montgomery 834 

Warren 851 

North  Plainfleld 869 


CONTENTS. 


BIOC3-K/7^I=S:iOJ^L. 


PAGE 

SamuelJohnstott ■ 203 

Samuel  Tucker » 203 

Moore  Furman 203 

Jasper  Smith 204 

JohnMehelm 204 

Stacy  G.  Potts 204 

Samuel  Lilly 205 

David  Van  Fleet 205 

Abram  Y.  Van  Fleet 205 

Bennet  Van  Syckel 205 

George  G.  Maxwell 206 

William  Maxwell 206 

Lucius  H.  Stockton 206 

Thomas  P.  Jolinson 207 

Charles  Stewart 207 

Nathaniel  Saxton 207 

William  H.  Sloan 207 

Alexander  Wurts 208 

Garret  D.  Wall 208 

Richard  Howell 209 

James  N.  Reading 209 

Samuel  Leake 210 

Peter  L  Clark 211 

John  N.  Voorhees 211 

George  A.Allen 211 

John  T.  Bird 212 

Jacob  Weart 212 

Edmund  Pen-^' 212 

Edward  P.  Conkling 213 

Peter  Vredenburgh 213 

Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees 214 

John  C.  Rafferty 214 

Theo.  J.  Hoffman 215 

John  Rockhill " 218 

John  Manners 219 

John  Bowne 219 

Oliver  Barnet 220 

Isaac  Ogden 220 

Henry  H.  Schenck,  Jr 221 

John  .Honeyman 221 

George  P.  Rex .' 221 

JohnF.  Schenck 222 

James  H.  Studdiford 222 

Edmund  Porter 223 

Nicholas  J.  E.  de  Belleviile 223 

John  Blane 224 

Andrew  B.  Larison 230 

John  Lilly 230 

George  R.  Sullivan 230 

Henry  Race 233 

Ashbel  Welch 289 

P.O.  Studdiford 291 

Martin  Coryell 292 

Wm.  McCready ; 293 

Alexander  H.  Holcombe 294 

Geo.  H.  Larison between  294^295 

Richard  McDowell 295 

Cornelius  Arnett 295 

James  C.  Weeden 296 

John  Sproat 297 

Charles  Bartles 338 

John  0.  Hopewell 341 

RunkleRea 341 

Peter  L  Nevius 342 

Caleb  F.  Fisher between    348,349 

Jacob  Reed "  348,349 

Cornelius  W.  Larison 366 

James  S.  Fisher 367 

Abraham  Ten  Brooke  Williamson 367 

Nathan  Stout 368 

William  B.  Prall 369 


PAGE 

Joseph  Williamson 388 

Andrew  Larason 388 

Benjamin  Larison 389 

Elisha  Patterson  Tomlinson 389 

Isaac  S.  Cramer 390 

Joshua  Primmer 391 

Wesley  Bellis 403 

John  Kngler 403 

Matthew  Family 404 

Asa  MacPherson 442 

Daniel  Little 443 

AeaCase 443 

Hiram  Deats 444 

Daniel  F.  Beatty 454 

Cornelius  Stewart 455 

Nathan  Lance 456 

William  W.  Swayze 457 

Sylvester  H.  Smith 467 

Howard  Servie 467 

Samuel  Creveling,  Sr 468 

John  C.  Wene 468 

Samuel  Creveling,  Jr between  468,  469 

W.  S.  Ci-eveliug "        468,469 

Martin  H.  Creveling "        468,469 

David  F.  Wene 469 

Joseph  W.  Willever 469 

William  Tinsman 470 

W.  R.  Little between  470,  471 

Moses  Robins "        470,  471 

N.  Schuyler faciDg  480 

Robert  Craig 484 

Samuel  W.  Salter 485 

James  N.  Pidcock 504 

B.  A.  Watson 504 

John  Kline 506 

David  M.  Kline 506 

Albert  Shannon facing  507 

Lambert  B.  Kline 607 

Isaac  Rowe * 507 

Frederic  A.  Potts 519 

William  Egbert 599 

Edward  A.  Rockhill 521 

Charles  Carhart 522 

Joseph  KiDg 523 

Joseph  B.  Probasco 524 

Nathaniel  B.  Boileau 524 

Jacob  Cregar 53^ 

David  Neighbour 532 

Robert  Van  Amburgh c^^q 

Jonathan  Dawea ^^^ 

John  F.  Grandin,  M.D 5^2 

Joseph  Fritts ^^3 

William  Paterson coq 

Richard  Stockton p^gQ 

Peter  D.  Vroom -n, 

Samuel  L.  Southard ^.-jn 

William  L.  Dayton ran 

Andrew  Kirkpatrick ^go 

William  Griffith ^„^ 

oo4 

Thomas  A.  Hartwell ^q, 

William  Thomson __. 

584 

John  M.  Mann ^„. 

Jacob  Bergen 

Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh ..^ 

George  McDonald 

Gen.  Frederick  Frelinghuyseu t^oc 

JohnFrelinghuysen "    '  ^np 

Theodore  Frelinghuysen ;-n» 

Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Jr egg 

Frederick  Frelinghuysen gg^ 

Theo.  Frelinghuysen,  Jr *  ^^^ 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Dumont  Frelinghuysen 687 

Frederick  T.  FrelinghuyBen 687 

James  S.  Nevius „.  689 

Geo.  H.  Brown 689 

Jas.  S.  Green 689 

Jno.  P.Stockton 690 

Eobt.  F,  Stockton 690 

Josepli  Thompson 690 

Alvah  A.  Clark 690 

Jno.  Schomp 591 

Jno.  P.  nageman 591 

Jno.  V.  Voorhees 592 

Isaiah  N.  Dilts .' 692 

Hugh  M.  Gaston 692 

Jas.  J.  Bergen 692 

John  D.  Bartine 592 

A.  V.  D.Honeyman 593 

Garrit  S.  Cannon 693 

Abraham  0.  Zabriskie 693 

John  Reeve 595 

Wm.  M.  McKissack 695 

Peter  I.  Stryker 605 

Abraham  Van  Buren 596 

Lawrence  Van  Derveer 596 

Henry  Van  Derveer,  of  Somerrille 596 

Henry  Van  Derveer,  of  Pluckaniin 696 

Henry  H.  Van  Derveer 697 

Garret  Van  Doren 597 

Ferdinanrt  S.  Schenck 598 

Jacob  T.B.  Skillman 698 

A.  T.  B.  Van  Doren 600 

Wm.  D.  McKiesack 600 

Wm.  H.Merrill '. 601 

Peter  Ten  Byck 601 

Jno.  V.  Schenck 602 

Henry  G.  Wagoner 604 

Chauncey  M.  Field 604 

Henry  F.  Van  Derveer 605 

Daniel  Porter 607 

Abraham  Messier 670 

E.  S.  Doughty facing  681 

Joshua  Doughty 681 

Davenport  Family 689 

Jno.  E.  Emery 692 

Aaron  V.  Ganetson 693 

Sej'mour  C.  Truutnian ;  694 

Jno.  T.  Van  Deiveer 695 

David  Dunn 690 

Abram  J.  Powelson 696 

George  McBiide 697 

Williiim  Hodge 098 

George  Lane 698 

Henry  P.  Staats between  G98,  699 

D.  P.  Kenyon  "        698,  699 

JohnWhitenack "        698,  699 

A.  H.  Brokaw "         698,699 

William  A.  McDowell 726 

A.  W.  McDowell 728 

Peter  J.  Lanp 7i9 

John  G.  Schomp 73o 

Cornelius  W.  Schomp 7;i0 

William  Heath 731 

Martin  LaTourette "^32 

John  McDowell T32 

Frederick  H.  Lane between  732,  733 

William  A.  Van  Dorn 733 

Abraliiini  Smith T33 


PAGE 

Ephraim  E.  Stelle between  738,  739 

0.  E.  Stelle "        738,739 

Preeman  Stelle "        738,739 

James  P.  Goltra facing    740 

Ferdinand  Van  Dorn 761 

Oliver  Dunster 762 

David  W.  King 763 

Peter  Z.  Smith 754 

Joseph  Annin 764 

Thomas  Holmes 754 

Isaiah  Smith 755 

John  H.  Anderson 765 

Edward  Vail facing    766 

Calvin  Corle 766 

Henry  V.  VoorheeB 767 

A.  Fleming between  768,  769 

Tunis  Van  Camp "        768,769 

James  Ten  Byck 769 

Simon  A.  Nevius 770 

Isaac  Dumont 770 

Ahram  Van  Nest 771 

G.  Voorhees  Quick 772 

Peter  G.  Schomp 772 

Tunis  D.  Myers facing    773 

James  H.  Van  Cleef between  776,  777 

P.N.  Beekman "        776,777 

Edward  T.  Corwiu 794 

Abraham  Van  Nuys 796 

Peter  G.  Quick 796 

David  K.  Auten 797 

Peter  P.  Quick 798 

Jacob  Dilts 798 

John  Van  Doren '. 799 

Isaac  V.  D.  Hall 799 

Peter  W.  Young 800 

Frederick  V.  L.  VoorheeB '. between  800,  801 

ZacheusBergeu "       800, 801 

Peter  C.  Van  Arsdale "        800,  801 

John  Everett "        800,801 

Abraham  L.  Hoagland "        800,801 

Andrew  Lane 801 

Peter  Q.  Hoagland 801 

Abraham  V.  D.  Staats 802 

Benjamin  B.  Hagemen facing    804 

Charles  B.  Moore "        812 

Peter  Stoothoff "        814 

Albert  V.  Garretson 825 

Stephen  Garritson 825 

James  S.  Garretson 826 

Jacob  Wyckoff 826 

Peter  Wyckoff 827 

Josiah  Schanclt 828 

Peter  A.  Voorhees 829 

William  H.  Gulick 830 

Cornelius  Barcalow 831 

Abraham  J.  Suydam 832 

F.  V.  L.  Nevius facing    833 

John  S.  Nevius 833 

John  Van  Zandt 848 

James  N.  Van  Zandt 849 

Abram  C.  Wikoff '. 849 

David  0.  Voorhees 850 

Peter  Stryker  Stout 860 

Lawrence  Van  Derveer facing    860 

Heury  Duryee *'        851 

Samuel  Giddes "        866 

Archibald  Coddington "        800 


10 


CONTENTS. 


Z3L.IjXJSTI^.^TI02SrS. 


PAGE 

Outline  Map  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties between  8,  9 

"Washington's  Headquarters  at  Hocky  Hill facing  79 

Hunterdon  County  Court-House 202 

Portrait  of  John  N.  Voorhees facing  211 

"          E.  P.  Conkling "  213 

"          John  Blane 21i 

LAMBEETVILIiE. 

Kesidence  of  A.  H.  Holcombe facing  2G5 

View  of  India-Bubber  Works "  282 

Portrait  of  Ashbel  Welch "  2S9 

P.  0.  Studdiford "  291 

"          Martin  Coryell "  292 

"          William  McCready "  293 

"          A.  H.  Holcombe "  294 

"  George  H.  Larison between  294,  295 

"          R.  McDowell facing  295 

"          C.  Arnett 295 

"          James  C,  Weeden facing  296 

"          John  Sproat 297 


BARITAnsr. 

View  of  Baptist  Church,  Flemington 319 

Plan  of  Flemington  in  1767 326 

"  "  1812 329 

Portrait  of  C.  Battles facing  338 

"  John  C.  Hopewell "  341 

"  Bunkle  Rea 342 

"  Peter  I.  Nevius facing  342 

"WEST    AMMTELL. 

Portrait  of  Cabel  F.  Fisher between  348,  349 


Jacob  Beed  . 


EAST   AM^WELL. 

Portrait  of  Cornelius  W.  Larison facing  366 

James  S.  Fisher 3G7 

A.  T.  AVilliamson 3G8 

Nathan  Stout 368 

William  B.  Prall 369 

DELAASTARE. 

Portrait  of  Joseph  Williamson 388 

"         Andrew  Larason 388 

"  Benjamin  Larison between  388,  389 

Residence  of  Benjamin  Larison "        388,  389 

Portrait  of  E.  P.  Tonilinson 389 

"          Isaac  S.  Cramer facing  390 

"          Joshua  Primmer .■ 391 

KIISTG'WOOD. 

Portrait  of  Wesley  BelHs facing  403 

"         John  Kugler 404 

FRAKKLII^. 

Residence  of  John  Willson facing  432 

Portrait  of  Hiram  Beats "  441 

"          Daniel  Little "  443 

"          Asa  Mcpherson 443 

"          Asa  Case 444 

LEBAWOK. 

Yiew  of  Old  Mount  Lebanon  Methodist  Church 450 

"       the  Old  Eight-Square  School-House 453 

Portrait  of  Daniel  F.  Beatty faring  454 

"          Cornelius  Stewart 456 

'*          Nathan  Lance „ 456 

"         William  W.  Swayze facing  457 


BETHLEHEM.  ^^^^ 

Portrait  of  Sylvester  H.  Smith facing    4G7 

"  Howard  Servis 468 

*'  Samuel  Creveliug,  Sr between  468,  469 

"  Samuel  Creveling.Jr "        468,469 

"  W.  S.  Creveling "        468,469 

"  Martin  H.  Creveling "        4GS,  469 

"  John  C.  Wene facing    469 

"  David  F.  AVene 469 

"  William  Tinsman 470 

"  Joseph  W.  Willever between  470,  471 

Residence  of  Joseph  W.  Willever "        470,  471 

W.  H.  Drake "         470,  471 

Portrait  of  W.  R.  Little "        -170,471 

Portraits  of  Moses  Robins  and  Wife "        470,  471 

TE"WKSBUBY. 

Portraits  of  Nathan  and  Andrew  Schuyler facing  480 

Portrait  of  Robert  Craig "  484 

"  Samuel  W.  Salter '*  485 

BEADINGTON. 

Portrait  of  John  Kline facing  503 

"  J.  N.Pidcock .'. "  504 

"  B.  A.Watfion "  505 

Portraits  of  Isaac  Rowe,  David  M.  Kline,  L.  B.  Kline "  506 

Portrait  of  Albert  Shannon "  507 

UNION. 

Portrait  of  F.  A,  Potts facing  519 

"  William  Egbert 520 

Edward  A.  Rockhill... 521 

'*  Charles  Carhart facing  622 

"  Joseph  King 523 

"  J.  B.  Probasco 524 

HIGH  BRIDGE. 

Portrait  of  Jacob  Cregar 531 

"  David  Neighbour , facing    532 

CLINTON. 

Portrait  of  Robert  Van  Amburgh facing  640 

"  Jonathan  Dawes "  541 

"  John  Grandiu 642 

"  John  F.  Grandin 542 

"  Joseph  FrittB 54.3 


Map  of  Land  Patents  North  Half  of  Somerset  County fating  562 

View  of  Somerset  County  Court-Houso '*  568 

Portraitof  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen «'  588 

Josepli  Thompson 590 

Alvah  A.  Clark 59^^ 

JohnSchomp facing  691 

601 


W.  H.  Merrill 

Peter  Ten  Eyok.. 

CM.  Field 

Daniel  Porter 


..facing 


..facing 


BRIDGE'WATER. 

View  of  First  Reformed  Church 

Portraitof  Abraham  Messier 

'*  Joshxia  Doughty 

"  E.  S.  Doughty « 

"  James  S.  Davenport 

JohnR.Emery "ZZ^.ZZf^iue' 

"  Aaron  V.  Qarretson 

"  «  CTroutman "ZZIZZIZIf^^g 


John  Van  Dorveer.. 
David  Dunn.. 


602 
604 
G08 


670 
6Y0 
680 
681 
.689 
602 
693 
094 


CONTENTS. 


11 


PAGE 

Portrait  of  Abram  J.  Powelfion 697 

"  George  MoBride 697 

"  William  Hodge 698 

"  Henry  B.  Staate between  698,  699 

"  D.  P.  Kenyoo "        698,699 

"'       A.H.  Brokaw "        698,699 

"  John  Whitenack "        698,699 

"  George  Lane 699 

BEDMIKTSTEK. 

Porti-aitof  W.  A.  McDowell facing  726 

"          A.  W.  McDowell "  72S 

"         Peter  J.  Lane 729 

"          John  G.  Schomp 73U 

"          C.  W.  Schomp facing  730 

"          Wm.  Heath ■- 731 

"          John  McDowell 732 

"          Martin  La  Tuuretle facing  732 

"         Fred.  H.  Lane between  732,  733 

"          W.  A.  Van  Dorn facing  733 

"         Abmham  Smith 734 

BEKNAKD. 

Portrait  of  Ephraim  K.  Stelle between  738,  739 

O.  K.  Stelle "        738,739 

"  Freeman  Stelle "        738,  739 

"  Jas.  P.  Goltra facing    740 

"  Ferdinand  A'an  Dorn 751 

"  Oliver  Dunster facing    752 

"         David  W.King "        763 

"         Peter  Z.Smith "        754 

"  Job.  Annin between  754,  755 

"  Thos.  Holmes "        754,755 

"  John  H.  Andei-sun facing    756 

*'  Isaiah  Smith 755 

"         Edward  Vail facing    766 

BEAWCHBTTEG. 

Portrait  of  Calvin  Corle facing    766 

"  Henry  V.  A'oorhees "        767 

"         A.  Fleming between  768,  769 

"  Tnnis  Van  Camp "        768,769 

"         James  Ten  Eyck 769 

"  Simon  Nevius 770 

"  Isaac  Dumont facing    770 

"  A.  Van  Nest 771 

G.V.  Quick 772 

"         P.  G.  Schomp facing    772 

Tunis  D.  Myers "        773 

HILLSBOEOUGH. 

Map  of. Early  Purchases,  Somerset  County facing    774 

Residence  of  Frederick  Davey « "        776 

Portrait  of  Joseph  H.  Van  Cleef. between  776,  777 


PAGE 

Portrait  of  P.  N.  Beekman between  776,  777 

Edward  T.  Corwln facing    794 

Abraham  Van  Nuys 795 

Peter  6.  Quick facing    796 

David  K.  Auten 797 

Jacob  Dilts 798 

Peter  P.  Quick facing    798 

John  Van  Doren "        799 

Isaac  V.  D.  Hall 800 

Peter  W.Toung facing    800 

F.  V.  L.  Voorhees between  800,  801 

Zacheus  Bergen "        800,801 

Peter  C.  Van  Arsdala "        800,801 

John  Everett "        800,801 

A.  L.Hoagland "        800,801 

Peter  Q  Hoagland facing    801 

Andrew  Lane 801 

A.  V.  D.  Staatz 802 

FEANKLIBT. 

Portrait  of  Benjamin  B.  Hageman facing  804 

"         Peter  A.  Voorhees "  811 

"          Charles  B.  Moore 812 

"         Peter  Stoothoff. facing  814 

Besidence  of  Stephen  Garritson "  816 

Portrait  of  Albert  V.  Garretson between  824,  825 

"  Stephen  Garritson "        824,825 

"          James  S.  Garretson 826 

"          Jacob  Wyckoff. facing  826 

"          Peter  Wyckoff. 828 

"          Josiah  Schanck 828 

"         'William  H.  Gulick 830 

*'          Cornelius  Barcalow facing  831 

"          Abraham  J.  Suydam 882 

"          F.V.  L.  Nevius facing  833 

Eesidenco  of  F.  V.  L.  Nevius : "  833 

John  S.  Nevius 833 

MOBTTGOMEBY. 

Residence  of  David  C.  Vooi-hees facing  837 

"            Heni-y  V.  Hoagland "  838 

Portrait  of  John  Van  Zandt 848 

Residence  of  James  Van  Zandt facing  848 

Portraitof  Abram  G.  Wikoff 849 

"          David  0.  Voorhees 850 

"          Peter  Stryker  Stout 850 

"         Lawrence  Van  Derveer facing  850 

"          Henry  Duryee "  851 

■WAEEEIf. 
Portraitof  Samuel  Giddes facing    856 

NOETH    PLAIWFIELD. 

Portrait  of  Archibald  Coddington facing    860 


HUNTERbONaSOMERSET 

XPounjties.m 

fi  Z  W     J  ER  S  tY. 


HISTOET 


OF 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES, 


NE"W     JERSEY. 


CHAPTEK  I. 

DISCOVEKIT    AND    OCCtTPATIOBr    OP   3!TE-W 

liTETHEKLAlirDS.  ^ 

Early  Navigators — Hendrick  Hudson — The  "  Half-Moon" — The  United 
New  Netherland  Company — Colonization  by  the  Dutch  and  Danes — 
Mey  and  De  Tries — Sir  Edmund  Ployden. 

It  is  unnecessary,  and  wtolly  beyond  the  scope  of 
these  local  annals,  to  narrate  the  story,  which  is  famil- 
iar to  every  reader  of  history,  of  the  voyages  made 
by  the  first  and  other  early  discoverers  of  the  islands 
and  coasts  of  America — ^the  Northmen,  Columbus, 
Vespucci,  and  others — down  to  the  time  when  Henry 
Hudson  entered  and  explored  the  noble  bay  and  river 
which  form  a  part  of  New  Jersey's  eastern  boundary. 

Of  that  enterprising  navigator — Hudson — very  little 
is  known,  except  that  he  was  a  native  of  England,  a 
friend  of  John  Smith,  the  founder  of  Virginia ;  that 
in  his  youth  he  received  a  thorough  maritime  educa- 
tion and  in  later  years  became  a  distinguished  mariner 
and  discoverer.  In  1607  the  London  Company  in- 
trusted him  with  the  command  of  an  expedition  com- 
missioned to  discover  a  shorter  passage  to  China. 
During  1607  and  1608  Hudson  made  two  voyages  for 
this  company  in  search  of  the  "  Northwest  Passage,'' 
after  which,  the  company  discontinuing  further  efibrts 
in  that  direction,  he  turned  his  attention  towards  Hol- 
land. 

The  celebrated  truce  between  the  Dutch  and  Span- 
iards had  about  this  time  been  completed,  and  the 
Dutch,  a  rising  maritime  power,  became  ambitious  of 
conquest  in  America.  Hudson  applied  to  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company.  The  directors  of  the  Zealand 
department  opposed  the  Englishman's  proposals,  but 
the  Amsterdam  Chamber  encouraged  the  enterprise, 
and  furnished  for  this  important  voyage  a  yacht 
or  "Vlie-boat"  called  "  de  Halve-Maan,"—"  KaU- 
2 


Moon."  This  vessel  belonged  to  the  company.  She 
was  of  eighty  tons'  burden,  and  was  equipped  for  the 
voyage  by  a  crew  of  twenty  sailors,  partly  Dutch  and 
partly  English.  The  command  was  intrusted  to  Hud- 
son, and  a  Dutch  "  underschipper,"  or  mate,  was 
second  in  command.  The  "  Half-Moon"  left  Am- 
sterdam on  the  4th  day  of  April,  1609,  and  on  the 
6th  left  the  Texel.  Hudson  doubled  the  Cape  of 
Norway  on  the  5th  of  May,  but  found  the  sea  so  full 
of  ice  that  he  was  obliged  to  change  his  course. 
Early  in  July,  after  cruising  around  farther  north, 
Hudson  arrived  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  where 
he  was  becalmed  long  enough  to  catch  more  cod  than 
his  "  small  store  of  salt  could  cure."  He  next  went 
west  into  the  Penobscot,  where  he  remained  a  week 
cutting  timber  for  a  new  foremast.  He  then  shaped 
his  course  to  the  southward  and  entered  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  He  soon  after  anchored  in  Delaware 
Bay.  Leaving  the  Delaware,  he  proceeded  along  the 
coast  to  the  northward,  following  the  eastern  shore  of 
New  Jersey,  and  finally  anchored  inside  of  Sandy 
Hook,  Sept.  3,  1609. 

On  the  5th  of  September  (as  appears  from  his  jour- 
nal) Hudson  sent  his  boat  ashore  for  the  purpose  of 
sounding  the  waters  lying  to  the  south,  in  the  vicinity 
of  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Horse-shoe."  "  Here  the 
boat's  crew  landed  and  penetrated  some  distance  into 
the  woods,  in  the  present  limits  of  Monmouth  County," 
of  this  State.  "  They  were  very  well  received  by  the 
natives,  who  presented  them  very  kindly  with  what 
the  journal  calls  '  green  tobacco,'  and  also  with  '  dried 
currants'  (probably  whortleberries),  which  were  repre- 
sented as  having  been  found  in  great  plenty  and  of 
very  excellent  quality. 

"  On  the  6th  of  September,  Hudson  sent  a  boat 
manned  with  five  hands  to  explore  what  appeared  to 
be  the  mouth  of  a  river,  at  the  distance  of  about  four 


10 


HUNTBKDON  AND   SOMEKSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


leagues  from  the  ship.  This  was,  no  doubt,  the  strait 
between  Long  and  Staten  Islands,  generally  called 
'the  Narrows.'  Here,  the  writer  of  the  journal  ob- 
serves, '  a  good  depth  of  water  was  found,'  and  within 
a  large  opening,  and  a  narrow  river  to  the  west ;  m 
which  it  is  evident  he  refers  to  what  is  now  called  the 
Kills,  or  the  channel  between  Bergen  Neck  and  Staten 
Island.  In  exploring  the  bay  and  the  adjacent  waters 
the-  boat's  crew  spent  the  whole  day.  On  their  way 
in  returning  to  the  ship,  towards  night,  they  were  at- 
tacked by  the  natives  in  two  canoes.  A  skirmish  en- 
sued, in  which  John  Colman  was  killed  by  an  arrow, 
which  struck  him  in  the  throat,  and  two  more  were 
wounded.  The  next  day  the  remains  of  Colman  were 
interred  on  a  point  of  land  not  far  from  the  ship, 
which  from  that  circumstance  received  the  name  of 
Colman's  Point,  and  which  probably  was  the  same 
that  is  now  called  Sandy  Hook." 

Subsequently,  Hudson  sailed  through  the  Narrows 
and  up  the  river  which  bears  his  name,  exploring  it 
as  far  as  Albany.*  Eeturning,  he  came  out  of  the 
river  October  4th,  and  without  anchoring  in  the  bay 
proceeded  directly  to  Europe.    He  says  in  his  journal : 

"  The  fourth  waa  faire  weather,  and  the  wind  at  north-north-west. 
We  weighed  and  canae  out  of  the  Riuer  into  which  we  had  runno  ho 
farre.  Within  a  while  after,  we  came  out  also  of  The  great  mouth  of  the 
great  Riuer  that  runneth  up  to  the  north  west,  borrowing  vpou  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  same,  thinking  to  haue  deepe  water;  for  wee  had  sounded 
a  great  way  with  our  boat  at  our  first  going  in,  and  found  seuen,  six,  and 
five  fathomes.  So  we  came  out  that  way,  but  we  were  deceiued,  for 
we  had  but  eight  foot  and  an  halfe  water ;  and  so  to  three,  five,  three,  and 
two  fathomes  and  an  halfe.  And  then  three,  foure,  flue,  sixe,  seven,  eight, 
nine,  and  ten  fathomes.  And  by  twelue  of  the  clocke  we  were  cleere  of 
all  the  inlet.  Then  we  took  in  our  boat,  aild  set  our  mayne  sayle  and 
sprit  sayle,  and  our  top  sayles,  and  steered  away  east-south-east,  and 
south-east  by  east,  off  into  the  mayne  sea;  and  the  land  on  the  souther 
side  of  the  bay  or  inlet  did  beare  at  noone  west  and  by  south  foure 
leagues  from  vs. 

"  The  fifth  was  faire  weather,  and  the  wind  variable  between  the  north 
and  the  east.  Wee  held  on  our  course  south-east  by  eaat.  At  noone  I 
observed  and  found  our  height  to  be  39  degrees  30  min.,  our  compasse 
varied  sixe  degrees  to  the  west. 

*'  We  continued  our  course  toward  England,  without  seeing  any  land  by 
the  way,  all  the  rest  of  this  moneth  of  October.  And  on  the  seuenth 
day  of  Nouember,  sUlo  nouv,  being  Saturday,  by  the  grace  of  God,  we 
safely  arrived  in  the  Range  of  Dartmouth,  in  Devonshire,  in  the  yeere 
1609." 

This  discovery  gave  the  Dutch  at  once  an  entrance 
into  the  heart  of  the  American  continent,  where  the 
best  furs  could  be  procured  without  interruption  from 
the  French  or  English,  both  of  which  nations  claimed 
this  territory.  Nor  were  the  Dutch 'slow  in  availing 
themselves  of  this  golden  opportunity.  "  In  1610  it 
appears  that  at  least  one  ship  was  sent  hither  by  the 
East  India  Company  for  the  purpose  of  trading  in 
furs,  which  it  is  well  known  continued  for  a  number 
of  years  to  be  the  principal  object  of  commercial  at- 
traction to  this  part  of  the  New  World.  Five  years 
after  Hudson's  voyage  a  company  of  merchants,  who 
had  procured  from  the  States-General  of  Holland  a 

•  He  explored  the  river,  according  to  his  own  account,  a  distance  of 
fifty-three  leagues  from  its  mouth. 


patent  for  an  exclusive  trade  on  Hudson's  Eiver,  had 
built  forts  and  established  trading-posts  at  New  Am- 
sterdam (New  York),  Albany,  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Eondout  Kill.  The  latter  was  a  small  redoubt,  on 
the  site  of  what  is  now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Kingston, 
N.  Y.  It  was  known  as  the  '  Eonduit,'  from  whence 
comes  the  name  of  Eondout."t  The  fort  near  Albany 
was  upon  Castle  Island,  immediately  below  the  pres- 
ent city,  and  the  one  at  New  York  was  erected  on 
what  is  now  the  Battery. 

On  the  11th  of  October,  1614,  the  "  United  Com- 
pany" of  merchants,  above  referred  to,  received  their 
special  grant.  This  conferred  upon  Gerrit  Jacob 
Witsen,  former  burgomaster  of  the  city  of  Amster- 
dam, and  his  twelve  associates,  ship-owners  and  mer- 
chants of  Amsterdam,  the  exclusive  right  to  "  visit 
and  navigate  all  the  lands  situate  in  America  be- 
tween New  France  and  Virginia,  the  sea-coasts  of 
which  lie  between  the  fortieth  and  forty-fifth  degrees 
of  latitude,  which  are  now  named  New  Netherlands, 
and  to  navigate,  or  cause  to  be  navigated,  the  same 
for  four  voyages  within  the  period  of  three  years,  to 
commence  from  the  1st  day  of  January,  1615,  or 
sooner."  Having  thus  obtained  the  exclusive  right  to 
trade  in  the  new  country,  they  assumed  the  name  and 
title  of  "The  United  New  Netherland  Company." 
This  company  took  possession  of  the  Hudson  Eiver, 
then  called  by  them  "  De  Eiviere  van  den  Vorst  Mau- 
ritius," and  carried  forward  their  enterprise  with 
commendable  zeal.  The  Hollanders  were  a  trading 
people,  and  their  bartering-  or  trading-posts  were  es- 
tablished at  points  which  were  natural  outlets  for  all 
the  trapping  regions  tributary  to  the  Hudson.  This 
led  in  a  short  time  to  the  settlement  of  those  points. 
Determined  upon  the  settlement  of  a  colony,  the 
States-General  in  1621  granted  the  country  to  the 
West  India  Company ;  and  in  the  year  1625,  Peter 
Minuet  arrived  at  "  Fort  Amsterdam"  as  the  first  Gov- 
ernor or  director.! 

The  first  emigrants  under  Minuet  appear  to  have 
been  from  the  river  Waal,  in  Guelderland,  and,  un- 
der the  name  of  "  Waaloons,''  founded  the  first  per- 
manent settlement  beyond  the  immediate  protection 
of  the  cannon  of  Fort  Amsterdam.  They  settled  at 
Brooklyn,  opposite  New  York,  and  were  the  first  who 
professionally  pursued  agriculture. § 


f  Broadhead's  Hist,  of  New  York,  vol.  i.  p.  7. 

JHist.  and  Antiq,  of  the  Northern  States  (Barber),  p.  60. 

g  At  this  period  the  English  government  seems  to  have  been  indiffer- 
ent concerning  the  continued  occupation  of  the  Dutch.  The  only  meas- 
ure adopted  to  effect  their  removal  was  the  issuing  of  a  grant,  June  21, 
1634,  to  Sir  Edmund  Ployden  for  the  land  they  occupied.  It  conferred 
upon  Sir  Edmund  the  country  between  Cape  May  and  Long  Island 
Sound,  for  forty  leagues  inland.  This  track  was  erected  into  a  free 
county-palatine  by  the  name  of  New  Albion^  and  over  it,  with  the  title 
of  "  Earl  Palatine,"  Ployden  was  made  governor,  he  having,  as  it  is 
stated, — although  the  fact  may  well  be  doubted, — "  amply  and  copiously 
peopled  the  same  with  five  hundred  persons."  He,  however,  visited 
the  province,  and  resided  therein  seven  years,  exercising  his  office  as 
governor  ;  but,  although  he  may  have  assumed,  on  paper,  his  rights  as 
lord  of  the  soil  by  granting  to  various  individuals  large  tracts  of  land, 


INDIAN  OCCUPATION.— THE   ORIGINAL  PEOPLE. 


11 


Meanwhile,  a  number  of  Danes  or  Norwegians,  who 
accompanied  the  Dutch  colonists  to  New  Netherlands, 
had  effected  a  settlement  at  Bergen,  so  called  from  a 
city  of  that  name  in  Norway.  This  was  about  the 
year  1618.  In  1623  the  West  India  Company  dis- 
patched a  ship  loaded  with  settlers,  subsistence,  and 
articles  of  trade.  The  vessel  was  commanded  by 
Cornelius  Jacobus  Mey.  He  entered  Delaware  Bay, 
and  gave  his  own  name  to  its  northern  cape,  which  it 
still  retains, — Cape  May.  He  explored  the  bay  and 
the  river,  and  at  length  landed  and  built  a  fort  upon 
a  stream  called  by  thgjiatives  Sassachm  (now  Timber 
Creek)^  which  empties  into  the  Delaware  below  Cam- 
den. The  fortification  was  called  "Fort  Nassau,"  and 
its  erection  may  be  considered  as  the  first  attempt  to 
establish  a  settlement  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Delaware.* 

In  the  winter  of  1630-31,  David  Pietersen  De  Vries, 
in  command  of  a  vessel,  arrived  in  the  Delaware,  but 
found  that  Fort  Nassau  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  Indians.  He  erected  a  fort,  colonized  his 
new  settlers,  and  returned  to  Holland.  During  his 
absence  a  feud  arose  with  one  of  the  native  tribes 
■which  terminated  in  the  massacre  of  all  the  colonists. 
De  Vries  returned  soon  after  with  a  new  company, 
and,  while  he  mourned  the  loss  of  his  former  com- 
panions, he  narrowly  escaped  a  similar  fate.  He  was 
saved  by  the  kindness  of  an  Indian  woman,  who  in- 
formed him  that  treachery  was  intended.  But,  "  dis- 
heartened by  repeated  disasters,  the  Dutch  soon  after 
abandoned  the  country,  and  for  some  years  not  a  single 
European  was  left  upon  the  shores  of  the  Delaware."  f 


CHAPTER  IL 


INDIAIT  OCCUPATION.— THE  OKIGINAL 
PEOPLE. 

The  Algonquin  Nation— The  Delawares,  or  Lenni-Lcnap^- The  "Tur- 
tle," "Turkey,"  and  "  Wolf"  tribes— Traditions  aa  to  the  Origin  of  the 
Delawares — Mounds  and  Remains — Indian  Title  to  Lands  in  Hunter- 
don and  Somerset — Indian  Paths,  etc. 

When  the  iirst  white  explorers  penetrated  into  the 
valleys  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Rivers  they 
found  these,  with  all  the  country  lying  between  them, 
as  well  as  the  entire  area  now  comprised  in  the  States 
of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  peopled  by  aborig- 
inal tribes  of  the  Algonquin  stock,  and  embraced  in 
two  nations,  or  groups  of  nations,  called  by  Eu- 
ropeans the  Iroquois  and  the  Delawares,  the  former 
having  been  so  named  by  the  French  and  the  latter 


it  is  doubted  that  his  authority  was  ever  established  over  the  few  in- 

hahitania  that  then  dwelt  within  the  limits  of  his  domain,  excepting 

those  who  may  have  come  over  with  him.      There  was,  however,  some 

emigration  to  "  New  Albion"  as  late  as  16bO.—WhiUhea<re  Eaet  Jersey 

'  under  the  Proprietary  Govemmentt,  pp.  8,  9.    [The  grant  here  referred  to 

■  is  given  at  length  in  "  Hazard^a  Collection  of  State  Paper8,"_^ol> 

\  "  *  Hist.  CoilTSew  Jer.,  1844,  p.  11. 

'■- 1  Barber's  Hist.  Coll.  of  N.  J. 


by  the  English.  The  language  spoken  by  both  these  /^ 
people  was  the  Algonquin,  but  differed  materially  in 
dialect.  The  nation  to  which  the  whites  gave  the 
name  of  Delawares  was  known  in  the  Indian  tongue 
as  theJvennjJjenap|,_orijimply_th£_|^^ 
Iroquois  were  in  the  same  tongue  called  the  Mengwe, 
which  name  became  corrupted  by  the  more  ignorant 
white  men  into  Mingoes,  which  last  term  was  adopted 
to  some  extent  by  the  Delawares  in  its  contemptuous 
application  to  their  Mengwe  neighbors,  between 
whom  and  themselves  feelings  of  detestation  and 
hatred  existed  to  no  small  degree. 

The  Mengwe  or  Iroquois  inhabited  the  territory  ex- 
tending from  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  to  those  of 
Champlain  and  the  Hudson  River,  and  from  the  head- 
waters of  the  Delaware,  Susquehanna,  and  Allegany 
Rivers  northward  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  they  even  oc- 
cupied a  large  scope  of  country  north  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, thus  holding  not  only  the  whole  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  but  a  part  of  Canada,  which  vast  territory 
they  figuratively  styled  their  "long  council-house," 
within  which  the  place  of  kindling  the  grand  council- 
fire  was  Onondaga,  not  far  from  the  present  city  of  Syra- 
cuse, and  at  that  place,  upon  occasion,  representatives 
of  all  the  Mengwe  tribes  met  together  in  solemn  de- 
liberative council.  These  tribes  consisted  of  the  Mo- 
hawks, Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  and  Oneidas, 
who  collectively  formed  an  offensive  and  defensive 
confederation,  which  has  usually  been  known  in  Eng- 
lish annals  as  that  of  the  Five  Nations.  J 

The  Mohawks  occupied  the  country  nearest  the 
Hudson  River,  and  held  the  post  of  honor  as  the 
guardians  of  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  "  long 
house."  The  Senecas,  who.  were  the  most  numerous, 
energetic,  and  warlike  of  the  five  tribes,  defended  the 
western  portal  of  the  "house,"  while  the  Cayugas 
were  the  guardians  of  the  southern  border  of  the 
Iroquois  domain, — the  frontier  of  the  Susquehanna 
and  Delaware  valleys.  The  Oneida  tribe  was  located 
along  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  Onondagas, 
occupying  a  large  territory  in  the  central  portion  of 
the  present  State  of  New  York,  kept  watch  and 
ward  over  the  council-place  and  fire  of  the  banded 
Mengwe. 

The  league  of  the  Iroquois  nations  had  been  formed 
— at  a  date  which  no  Indian  chronology  could  satis- 
factorily establish — for  the  purpose  of  mutual  defense 
against  the  LenapS  and  other  tribes  contiguous  to 
them ;  and  by  means  of  this  confederation,  which 
they  kept  up  in  good  faith  and  in  perfect  mutual  ac- 
cord, they  were  not  only  enabled  successfully  to  repel 
all  encroachments  upon  their  own  territory,  but  after 
a  time  to  invade  that  of  other  nations,  and  to  carry 
the  terror  of  their  arms  southward  to  the  Cape  Fear 

J  At  a  later  period — soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth 
century — the  Tuecaroras,  having  been  almost  entirely  subjugated  and 
driven  away  from  their  hunting-grounds  in  the  Carolinas,  migrated 
northward  and  were  received  into  the  Iroquois  confederacy,  which 
from  that  time  became  known  as  the  Six  Nations. 


12 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


and  Tennessee  Elvers,  westward  beyond  Lake  Michi- 
gan, and  eastward  to  the  shores  of  the  Connecticut. 

The  Delawares — the  Indian  people  with  which  this 
history  has  principally  to  deal — occupied  a  domain 
extending  along  the  sea-shore  from  the  Chesapeake  to 
the  country  bordering  Long  Island  Sound.  Back  from 
the  coast  it  reached  beyond  the  Susquehanna  valley 
to  the  foot  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  and  on  the 
north  it  joined  the  southern  frontier  of  their  domi- 
neering neighbors,  the  hated  and  dreaded  Mengwe  or 
Iroquois.  This  domain,  of  course,  included  not  only 
the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Hunterdon,  but  all  of 
"the  State  of  New  Jersey. 

The  principal  tribes  composing  the  Lenni  LenapS  or 
Delaware  nation  were  those  of  the  Unamis  or  Turtle, 
the  Unalachtgo  or  Turkey,  and  the  Minsi  or  Wolf. 
The  latter,  which  was  by  far  the  most  powerful  and 
Tvarlike  of  all  these  tribes,  occupied  the  most  northerly 
portion  of  the  country  of  the  LenapS  and  kept  guard 
along  the  Iroquois  border,  from  whence  their  domain 
extended  southward  to  the  Musconetcong*  Mountains, 
about  the  northern  boundary  of  the  present  county  of 
Hunterdon.  The  Unamis  and  Unalachtgo  branches 
of  the  LenapS  or  Delaware  nation  (comprising  the 
tribes  of  Assanpinks,  Matas,  Shackamaxons,  Chiche- 
quaas,  Raritans,  Nanticokes,  Tuteloes,  and  many 
others)  inhabited  the  country  between  that  of  the 
Minsi  and  the  sea-coast,  embracing  the  present  coun- 
ties of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  and  all  that  part  of 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  south  of  their  northern 
boundaries.  The  tribes  who  occupied  and  roamed 
over  these  counties,  then,  were  those  of  the  Turtle 
and  Turkey  branches  of  the  Lenni  LenapS  nations, 
but  the  possessions  and  boundaries  of  each  cannot  be 
clearly  defined. 

The  Indian  name  of  the  Delaware  nation,  Lenni 
Lenapg,  signifies,  in  their  tongue,  "  the  original  peo- 
ple,"—a  title  which  they  had  adopted  under  the 
claim  that  they  were  descended  from  the  most  ancient 
of  all  Indian  ancestry.  This  claim  was  admitted  by 
the  Wyandots,  Miamis,  and  more  than  twenty  other 
aboriginal  nations,  who  accorded  to  the  Lenapg  the 
title  oi  grandfathers,  or  a  people  whose  ancestry  ante- 
dated their  own.    The  Eev.  John  Heckewelder,  in  his 


*  "  The  Wolf,  commonly  called  the  Minsi,  which  we  have  corrupted  into 
Monseys,  had  chosen  to  Uve  back  of  the  other  two  tribes,  and  formed  a 
kind  of  bulwark  for  their  protection,  watching  the  motions  of  the  Meng- 
we and  being  at  hand  to  afford  aid  in  case  of  a  ruptureVith  them.  The 
Minsi  were  considered  the  most  warlike  and  active  branch  of  the  Lenapi. 
They  extended  their  settlements  from  the  Minisink,  a  place  named  after 
them,  where  they  had  their  council-seat  and  fire,  quite  up  to  the  Hudson 
on  the  east,  and  to  the  west  and  south  far  beyond  the  Susquehanna. 
Their  northern  boundaries  were  supposed  originally  to  be  the  heads  of 
the  great  rivers  Susquehanna  and  Delaware,  and  their  southern  that 
ridge  of  hills  known  in  New  Jersey  by  the  name  of  Muskanecum,  and 
in  Pennsylvania  by  those  of  Lehigh,  Conewago,  etc.  Within  this 
boundary  were  their  principal  settlements  ;  and  even  as  late  as  the  year 
1Y42  they  had  a  town  with  a  peach-orchard  on  the  tract  of  land  where 
Nazareth,  in  Pennsylvania,  has  since  been  built,  another  on  the  Lehigh 
and  others  beyond  the  Blue  Eidge,  besides  many  family  settlements  here 
and  there  scattered."— ifistory.  Manners,  and  Omtomt  of  the  Indian  Na- 
tions who  once  inliabUed  Pennsyhania,"  by  Bev.  John  Heckewelder. 


"  History  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Indian 
Nations,"  says  of  the  Delaware  nation, — 

"  They  will  not  admit  that  the  whites  are  superior  beings.  They  say 
that  the  hair  of  their  heads,  their  features,  and  the  various  colors  of 
their  eyes  evince  that  they  are  not,  like  themselves,  Lenni  Lenape, — an 
original  people, — a  race  of  men  that  has  existed  unchanged  fro'm  the  be- 
ginning of  time  ;  but  that  they  are  a  mixed  race,  and  therefore  a  trouble- 
some one,  Wherever  they  may  be,  the  Great  Spirit,  knowing  the  wick- 
edness of  their  disposition,  found  it  necessary  to  give  them  a  Great 
Book,  and  taught  them  how  to  read  it  that  they  might  know  and  ob- 
serve what  He  wished  them  to  do  and  what  to  abstain  from.  But  they — ■ 
the  Indians — have  no  need  of  any  such  book  to  let  them  know  the  will 
of  their  Maker  :  they  find  it  engraved  on  their  own  hearts;  they  hav& 
had  sufQcient  discernment  given  to  them  to  distinguish  good  from  evil, 
and  by  following  that  guide  they  are  sure  not  to  err." 

Concerning  the  origin  of  the  LenapS,  numerous 
and  essentially  differing  traditions  were  current  among 
the  various  tribes.  One  of  these  traditions  is  men- 
tioned by  Loskiel  in  his  "  History  of  the  Mission  of 
the  United  Brethren  among  the  North  American  In- 
dians," as  follows : 

"  Among  the  Delawares,  those  of  the  Minsi  or  Wolf  tribe  say  that  in 
the  beginning  they  dwelt  in  the  earth  under  a  lake,  and  were  fortu- 
nately extricated  from  this  unpleasant  abode  by  the  discovery  which  one 
of  their  men  made  of  a  hole,  through  which  he  ascended  to  the  surface; 
on  which,  as  he  was  walking,  he  found  a  deer,  which  he  carried  back 
with  him  into  his  subterraneous  habitation  ;  that  the  deer  was  eaten, 
and  he  and  his  companions  found  the  meat  so  good  that  they  unani- 
mously determined  to  leave  their  dark  abode  and  remove  to  a  place 
where  they  could  enjoy  the  light  of  heaven  and  have  such  excellent 
game  in  abundance. 

"The  two  other  tribes,  the  Unamis  or  Tortoise,  and  the  Unalachtgos 
or  Turkey.f  have  much  similar  notions,  but  reject  the  story  of  the  lake, 
which  seems  peculiar  to  the  Minsi  tribe." 

There  was  another  leading  tradition  current  among 
the  nations  of  the  Lenapg,  which  was  to  the  effect 
that,  ages  before,  their  ancestors  had  lived  in  a  far-off 
country  to  the  west,  beyond  great  rivers  and  moun- 
tains, and  that,  in  the  belief  that  there  existed,  away 
towards  the  rising  sun,  a  red  man's  paradise,— a  land 
of  deer  and  beaver  and  salmon,— they  had  left  their 
western  home  and  traveled  eastward  for  many  moons, 
until  they  stood  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Namisi 
Sipu  (Mississippi),  and  there  they  met  a  numerous 
nation,  migrating  like  themselves.  They  were  a  stran- 
ger tribe,  of  whose  very  existence  the  Lenape  had 
been  ignorant.  They  were  none  other  than  the  Meng- 
we; and  this  was  the  first  meeting  of  those  two  peo- 
ples, who  afterwards  became  rivals  and  enemies,  and 
continued  such  for  centuries.  Both  were  now  trav- 
elers and  bound  on  the  same  errand.  But  they  found 
a  lion  in  their  path,  for  beyond  the  great  river  lay  the 
domain  of  a  nation  called  Allegewi,  who  were  not 
only  strong  in  numbers  and  brave,  but  more  skilled 
than  themselves  in  the  art  of  war,  who  had  reared 
great  defenses  of  earth  inclosing  their  villages  and 
strongholds.  In  the  true  spirit  of  military  strategy 
they  permitted  a  part  of  the  emigrants  to  cross  the 
river,  and  then,  having  divided  their  antagonists  fell 
upon  them  with  great  fury  to  annihilate  them.  But 
when  the  Lenap6  saw  this  they  at  once  formed  an  al- 


t  The  tribes  to  which  belonged  the  bands  which  inhabited  the  counties 
of  Somerset  and  Hunterdon. 


INDIAN  OCCUPATION.— THE   OEIGINAL  PEOPLE. 


13 


liance,  offensive  and  defensive,  with  the  Mengwe. 
The  main  body  cro.ssed  the  river  and  attacked  the  Al- 
legewi  with  such  desperate  energy  that  they  defeated 
and  afterwards  drove  them  into  the  interior,  where 
they  fought  from  stronghold  to  stronghold,  till  finally, 
after  a  long  and  bloody  war,  the  Allegewi  were  not 
only  humiliated,  but  exterminated,  and  their  country 
was  occupied  by  the  victors.  After  this  both  nations 
ranged  eastward,  the  Mengwe  taking  the  northern 
and  the  LenapS  still  keeping  the  more  southern  route, 
until,  after  long  journeyings,  the  former  reached  the 
Mohicanittuck  (Hudson  Eiver)  and  the  latter  rested 
upon  the  banks  of  the  LenapS  Wihittuck, — the  beau- 
tiful river  now  known  as  the  Delaware, — and  here 
they  found  that  Indian  elysium  of  which  they  had 
dreamed  before  they  left  their  old  homes  in  the  land 
of  the  setting  sun. 

These,  and  other  similar  Indian  traditions  may  or 
may  not  have  some  degree  of  foundation  in  fact. 
There  are  to-day  many  enthusiastic  searchers  through 
the  realms  of  aboriginal  lore  who  accept  them  as  au- 
thentic, and  who  believe  that  the  combined  LenapS 
and  Mengwe  did  destroy  a  great  and  comparatively 
civilized  people,  and  that  the  unfortunate  Allegewi 
who  were  thus  extinguished  were  none  others  than 
the  mysterious  Mound-Builders  of  the  Mississippi 
valley.  This,  however,  is  but  one  of  the  many  profit- 
less conjectures  which  have  been  indulged  in  with 
reference  to  that  unknown  people,  and  is  in  no  way 
pertinent  to  this  history.  All  Indian  tribes  were  fond 
of  narrating  the  long  journeys  and  great  deeds  of 
their  forefathers,  and  of  tracing  their  ancestry  back 
for  centuries,  some  of  them  claiming  descent  from  the 
great  Manitou  himself.  Missionaries  and  travelers 
among  them  who  were,  or  professed  to  be,  familiar 
with  their  language  and  customs  have  spoken  with 
apparent  sincerity  of  Indian  chronology  running  back 
to  a  period  before  the  Christian  era,  and  some  of  the 
old  enthusiasts  claimed  that  these  aborigines  were 
descendants  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel.*  But  all  the 
traditions  of  the  Indians  were  so  clouded  and  involved 
in  improbability  and  so  interwoven  with  superstition, 
and  the  speculations  of  antiquarian  writers  have  almost 
uniformly  been  so  baseless  and  chimerical,  that  the 

*  In  a  email,  quaint,  and  now  very  rare  volume  entitled  "  An  Historical 
Description  of  the  Province  and  Country  of  West  New  Jersey  in  America 
Never  made  Publick  till  now,  by  Gabriel  Thomas,  London,  1698,"  and 
dedicated  "  To  the  Bight  Honourable  Sir  John  Moor,  Sir  Thomas  Lane, 
Knights  and  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  London,  and  to  the  rest  of  the 
"Worthy  Members  of  the  West  Jersey  Proprietors,"  is  found  the  following, 
in  reference  to  the  aborigines  of  this  region ;  "  The  first  Inhabitants  of 
this  Countrey  were  the  Indians,  being  supposed  to  be  part  of  the  Ten  dis- 
persed Tribes  of  In-aelj  for  indeed  they  are  very  like  the  Jewa  in  their 
Persons,  and  something  in  their  Practices  and  Worship ;  for  they  (aa  the 
Pensilvania  Indians)  observe  the  Neio  Moons  with  great  devotion  and 
Reverence  :  And  their  first  Fruits  they  ofi'er,  with  their  Com  and  Hunt- 
ing-Game they  get  in  the  whole  year,  to  a  False  Deity  or  Sham  God 
whom  they  must  please,  else  (as  they  fancy)  many  misfortunes  will  be- 
fall them,  and  great  injuries  will  be  done  them.  When  they  bury  their 
Dead,  they  put  into  the  Ground  with  them  some  House  Utensils  and 
Borne  Money  (aa  tokens  of  their  Love  and  Affection),  with  other  Things, 
expecting  they  shall  have  Occasion  for  them  in  the  other  World." 


whole  subject  of  Indian  origin  may  be  dismissed  as- 
profitless. 

The  Indians,  from  the  earliest  times,  considered- 
themselves  in  a  manner  connected  with  certain  ani- 
mals, as  is  evident  from  various  customs  preserved 
among  them,  and  from  the  fact  that,  both  collectively 
and  individually,  they  assumed  the  names  of  such 
animals.     Loskiel  says, — 

"It  might  indeed  be  supposed  that  those  animals*  names  which  they 
have  given  to  their  several  tribes  were  mere  badges  of  distinction,  or 
'  ooate-of-arms,'  as  Pyrlaeus  calls  them ;  but  if  we  pay  attention  to  the. 
reasons  which  they  give  for  those  denominations,  the  idea  of  a  supposed 
family  connection  is  easily  discernible.  The  Torlmae — or,  as  they  are 
commonly  called,  the  ffurifc— tribe,  among  the  LenapJ,  claim  a  supe- 
riority and  ascendancy  over  the  others,  because  their  relation,  the  great 
Tortoiee,  a  fabled  monster,  the  Atlas  of  their  mythology,  bears,  according 
to  their  traditions,  this  great  island  on  his  back,!  ^'-nd  also  because  he  is 
amphibious  and  can  live  both  on  land  and  in  the  water,  which  neither 
of  the  heads  of  the  other  tribes  can  do.  The  merits  of  the  Turkey,  which 
gives  its  name  to  the  second  tribe,  are  that  he  is  stationary  and  always, 
remains  with  or  about  them.  As  to  the  Wolf,  after  which  the  third  tribe 
is  named,  he  is  a  rambler  by  nature,  running  from  one  place  to  another 
in  quest  of  his  prey ;  yet  they  consider  him  as  their  benefactor,  as  it  was 
by  his  means  that  the  Indians  got  out  of  the  interior  of  the  earth.  It 
waa  he,  they  believe,  who  by  the  appointment  of  the  Great  Spirit  killed 
the  deer  which  the  Mousey  found  who  first  discovered  the  way  to  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  which  allured  them  to  come  out  of  their  damp 
and  dark  residence.  For  that  reason  the  wolf  is  to  be  honored  and  his, 
name  to  he  preserved  forever  among  them. 

"  These  animals'  names,  it  is  true,  they  all  use  as  national  badges,  in 
order  to  distinguish  their  tribes  from  each  other  at  home  and  abroad.  In 
this  point  of  view  Mr.  Pyrlaeus  was  right  in  considering  them  as  '  coats- 
of-arms.'    The  TwrUe  warrior  draws,  either  with  a  coal  or  with  paint, 
here  and  there  on  the  trees  along  the  war-path,  the  whole  animal,  car-   ' 
ryjng  a^n  with  the  muzzle  projecting  forward  ;  and  if  fie  leaves"a  mark- 
et the  place  where  he  has  made  a  stroke  on  his  enemy,  it  will  be  the  \ 
\  picture  of  a  Tortoise.    Those  of  the  TurJcet/  tribe  paint  ojily  one  foot  of  a    y 
[turkey,  and  the  Wolf  tribe  sometimes  a  wolf  at  large-githonefoot  and    / 
fleg.  raised  jy>-to  serve^as  a  hand,  in  which  the  animal  also  carries  a  gua  / 
with  the  muzzle  forward.  They,  however,  do  not  generally  use  the  word.' 
''wolf  when  speaking  of  their  tribe,  but  call  themselves  P'duk-sit,  whicli 
means  round  foot,  that  animal  having  a  round  foot,  like  a  dog." 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  Indians  inhabiting  the 
interior  portions  of  New  Jersey  were  very  numerous. 
In  an  old  publication  entitled  "A  Description  of  New 
Albion,"  and  dated  a.d.  1648,  it  is  found  stated  that 
the  native  people  in  this  section  were  governed  by 
about  twenty  kings ;  but  the  insignificance  of  the 
power  of  those  "  kings"  may  be  inferred  by  the  accom- 
panying statement  that  there  were  "  twelve  hundred! 
[Indians]  under  the  two  Earitan  kings  on  the  north 
side,  next  to  Hudson's  Eiver,  and  those  came  down- 
to  the  ocean  about  little  Egg-bay  and  Sandy  Barne- 
gatte ;  and  about  the  South  Cape  two  small  kings  of 
forty  men  apiece,  and  a  third,  reduced  to  fourteen 
men,  at  Eoymont."  From  which  it  appears  evident 
that  the  so-called  "  kings"  were  no  more  than  ordi- 
nary chiefs,  and  that  some  of  these  scarcely  had  a 
following.  Whitehead,  in  his  "East  Jersey  under 
the  Proprietary  Governments,''  concludes,  from  the 
above-quoted  statement,  "that  there  were  probably 


f  And  they  believed  that  sometimes  the  grandfather  tortoise  became 
weary  and  shook  himself  or  changed  his  position,  and  that  this  was  the 
cause  of  earthquakes. 


14 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOi\lERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


not  more  than  two  thousand  [Indians]  within  the 
province  while  it  was  under  the  domination  of  the 
Dutch."  And  in  a  publication*  hearing  date  fifty 
years  later  (1698)  the  statement  is  made  that  "the 
Dutch  and  Swedes  inform  us  that  they  [the  Indians] 
are  greatly  decreased  in  numbers  to  what  they  were 
when  they  came  first  into  this  country.  And  the  In- 
dians themselves  say  that  two  of  them  die  to  every  one 
Christian  that  comes  in  here." 

There  is  found,  however,  in  the  ancient  workf  be- 
fore extracted  from,  an  extravagant  account  of  the 
(imaginary)  state  of  "the  Raritan  king,"t  whose  seat 
is  represented  to  have  been  at  a  place  called  by  the , 
English  Mount  Ployden,  "twenty  miles  from  Sandhay 
Sea,  and  ninety  from  the  ocean,  next  to  Amara  hill, 
the  retired  paradise  of  the  children  of  the  Ethiopian 
emperor, — a  wonder,  for  it  is  a  square  rock,  two  miles' 
compass,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high ;  a  wall-like 
precipice,  a  strait  entrance,  easily  made  invincible, 
where  he  keeps  two  hundred  for  his  guards,  and  under 
is  a  flat  valley,  all  plain  to  plant  and  sow."  But  there 
is  no  place  known  answering  the  above  description, 
though  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Schenck,  in  a  paper  read  be- 
fore the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  suggests  that 
what  is  known  as  the  Round  Valley  (north  of  Round 
Mountain,  in  the  township  of  Clinton,  in  Hunterdon 
County)  corresponds  in  general  with  Plantagenet's 
topographical  description^  of  the  kingly  seat.  To  con- 
cede this,  however,  requires  a  considerable  stretch  of 
imagination ;  and  it  is  hard  to  resist  the  conviction 
that  it  was  in  the  author's  imagination,  and  there 
alone,  that  the  impregnable  "  mount,"  the  "  retired 
paradise  of  the  children  of  the  Ethiopian  emperor," 
and  the  royal  guard  of  two  hundred  men  had  their 
existence. 

Before  the  European  explorers  had  penetrated  to 
the  territories  of  the  LenapS  the  power  and  prowess 
of  the  Iroquois  had  reduced  the  former  nation  to  the 
condition  of  vassals.  The  attitude  of  the  Iroquois, 
however,  was  not  wholly  that  of  conquerors  over  the 
Delawares,  for  they  mingled,  to  some  extent,  the 
character  of  protectors  with  that  of  masters.  It  has 
been  said  of  them  that "  the  humiliation  of  tributary 
nations  was  to  them  [the  Iroquois]  tempered  with  a 
paternal  regard  for  their  interests  in  all  negotiations 


*  Gabriel  Thomas'  "  Historical  Description  of  the  ProTince  and  Coun- 
try of  West  Ne-w  Jersey  in  America/' 

■f  Plantagenet's  Description  of  New  Albion. 

X  "  The  Indians  of  New  Jersey  were  divided  among  about  twenty  petty 
kings,  of  whom  the  king  of  the  Earitans  was  the  greatest." — Riker^  p.  37. 

g  "  The  seat  of  the  Earitan  kings  was  upon  an  inland  mountain  (prob- 
ably the  Neshanic  Mountain,  which  answers  approximately  to  the  de- 
scription)."— Rev.  E.  T.  Corwin^B  SiBtorical  Viscourse,  1866,  p.  9. 

The  Bev.  Abraham  Messier,  D.D.,  in  his  "  Centennial  History  of  Som- 
erset County,"  says :  "  If  we  were  inclined  to  favor  such  romance,  we 
should  claim  that  no  place  so  well  answers  the  description  [of  the  "seat 
of  the  Baritan  king"]  as  the  bluff  in  the  gorge  of  Chimney  Rock,  north 
of  the  little  bridge,  on  the  west  and  east  sides  of  which  the  two  rivulets 
flow  and  meet  a  few  yards  southward  in  the  main  gorge.  But  we  are 
not  disposed  to  practice  on  the  credulity  of  our  readers,  as  the  Indian^ 
evidently  did  on  Beauchamp  Plantagenet,  Esq." 


with  the  whites,  and  care  was  taken  that  no  tres- 
passes should  be  committed  on  their  rights,  and  that 
they  should  be  justly   dealt   with."      This   means, 
simply,  that  the  Mengwe  would,  so  far  as  lay  in  their 
power,  see  that  none  others  than  themselves  should 
be  permitted  to  despoil  the  LenapS.     They  exacted 
from  them  an  annual  tribute,  an  acknowledgment  of 
their  state  of  vassalage,  and  on  this  condition  they 
were  permitted  to    occupy  their    former    hunting- 
grounds.     Bands  of  the  Five  Nations,  however,  were 
interspersed  among  the   Delawares||    probably  more 
as  a  sort  of  police,  and  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a 
watchful  eye  upon  them,  than  for  any  other  purpose. 
The  Delawares  regarded  their  conquerors  with  feel- 
ings of  inextinguishable  hatred  (though  these  were 
held  in  abeyance  by  fear),  and  they  also  pretended  to 
a  feeling  of  superiority  on  account  of  their  more  an- 
cient lineage  and  their  further  removal  from  original 
barbarism,   which    latter    claim    was    perhaps   well 
grounded.     On  the  part  of  the  Iroquois,  they  main- 
tained a  feeling  of  haughty  superiority  towards  their 
vassals,  whom  they  spoke  of  as  no  longer  men  and 
warriors,  but  as  women.   There  is  no  recorded  instance 
in  which  unmeasured  insult  and  stinging  contempt 
were  more  wantonly  and  publicly  heaped  on  a  cowed 
and  humiliated  people  than   on  the  occasion  of  a 
treaty  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1742,  when  Connossa- 
tego,  an  old  Iroquois  chief,  having  been  requested  by 
the  Governor  to  attend   (really  for  the  purpose  of 
forcing  the  Delawares  to  yield  up  the  rich  lands  of 
the  Minisink),  arose  in  the  council,  where  whites  and 
Delawares  and  Iroquois  were  convened,  and  in  the 
name  of  all  the  deputies  of  his  confederacy  said  to 
the  Governor  that  the  Delawares  had  been  an  unruly 
people  and  were  altogether  in  the  wrong,  and  that 
they  should  be  removed  from  their  lands ;  and  then, 
turning  superciliously  towards  the  abashed  Delawares, 
said  to  them,  "  You  deserve  to  be  taken  by  the  hair 
of  your  heads  and  shaken  until  you  recover  your 
senses   and  become  sober.     We  have  seen  a  deed, 
signed  by  nine  of  your  chiefs  over  fifty  years  ago,  for 
this  very  land.     But  how  came  you  to  take  it  upon 
yourselves  to  sell  lands  at  all?     We  conquered  you; 
we  made  women  of  you !    You  know  you  are  women 
and  can  no  more  sell  lands  than  women.     Nor  is  it  fit 
that  you  should  have  power  to  sell  lands,  since  you 
would  abuse  it.     You  have  had  clothes,  meat,  and 
drink,  by  the  goods  paid  you  for  it,  and  now  you 
want  it  again,  like  children,  as  you  are.   What  makes 
you  sell  lands  in  the  dark  ?     Did  you  ever  tell  us 
you  had  sold  this  land  ?     Did  we  ever  receive  any 
part,  even  to  the  value  of  a  pipe-shank,  from  you  for 
it  ?     This  is  acting  in  the  dark, — -very  difierentlj'  from 
the  conduct  which  our  Six  Nations  observe  in  the 


I  The  same  policy  was  pursued  by  the  Five  Nations  towards  the  Sha- 
wanese,  who  had  been  expelled  from  the  far  Southwest  by  stronger 
tribes,  and  a  portion  of  whom,  traveling  eastward  as  far  as  the  country 
adjoining  the  Delawares,  had  been  permitted  to  erect  their  lodges  there, 
but  were,  like  the  Leuap6,  held  in  a  state  of  subjection  by  the  Iroquois.- 


INDIAN   OCCUPATION.— THE   ORIGINAL  PEOPLE. 


15 


sales  of  land.  But  we  find  you  are  none  of  our 
Wood ;  you  act  a  dishonest  part  in  this  as  in  other 
matters.  Your  ears  are  ever  open  to  slanderous  reports 
about  your  brethren.  For  all  these  reasons  we  charge 
you  to  remove  instantly  1  We  do  not  give  you  liberty  to 
think  about  it.  You  are  woTnen  1  Take  the  advice  of 
a  wise  man,  and  remove  instantly  1  You  may  return 
to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  where  you  came  from, 
but  we  do  not  know  whether,  considering  how  you 
have  demeaned  yourselves,  you  will  be  permitted  to 
live  there,  or  whether  you  have  not  already  swallowed 
that  land  down  your  throats,  as  well  as  the  land  on 
this  side.  You  may  go  either  to  Wyoming  or  Shamo- 
kin,  and  then  we  shall  have  you  under  our  eye  and 
can  see  how  you  behave.  Don't  deliberate,  but  go, 
and  take  this  belt  of  wampum."  He  then  forbade 
them  ever  again  to  interfere  in  any  matters  between 
white  man  and  Indian,  or  ever,  under  any  pretext,  to 
pretend  to  sell  lands  ;  and  as  they  (the  Iroquois),  he 
said,  had  some  business  of  importance  to  transact  with 
the  Englishmen,  he  commanded  them  to  immediately 
leave  the  council,  like  children  and  women,  as  they 
were.  / 

Heckewelder,  however,  attempts  to  rescue  the  good 
name  of  the  humbled  Delawares  by  giving  some  of 
their  explanations,  intended  to  show  that  the  epithet 
"  women,"  as  applied  to  them  by  the  Iroquois,  was 
originally  a  term  of  distinction  rather  than  reproach, 
and  "that  the  making  women  of  the  Delawares  was 
not  an  act  of  compulsion,  but  the  result  of  their  own 
free  will  and  consent."  He  gives  the  story,  as  it  was 
narrated  by  the  Delawares,  substantially  in  this  way : 
The  Delawares  were  always  too  powerful  for  the 
Iroquois,  so  that  the  latter  were  at  length  convinced 
that  if  wars  between  them  should  continue,  their  own 
extirpation  would  become  inevitable.  They  accord- 
ingly sent  a  message  to  the  Delawares,  representing 
that  if  continual  wars  were  to  be  carried  on  between 
the  nations,  this  would  eventually  work  the  ruin  of 
the  whole  Indian  race ;  that  in  order  to  prevent  this 
it  was  necessary  that  one  nation  should  lay  down 
their  arms  and  be  called  the  woman,  or  mediator,  with 
power  to  command  the  peace  between  the  other  na- 
tions who  might  be  disposed  to  persist  in  hostilities 
against  each  other,  and  finally  recommending  that 
the  part  of  the  woman  should  be  assumed  by  the 
Delawares,  as  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  nations. 

The  Delawares,  upon  receiving  this  message,  and 
not  perceiving  the  treacherous  intentions  of  the  Iro- 
quois, consented  to  the  proposition.  The  Iroquois 
then  appointed  a  council  and  feast,  and  invited  the 
Delawares  to  it,  when,  in  pursuance  of  the  authority 
given,  they  made  a  solemn  speech,  containing  three 
capital  points.  The  first  was  that  the  Delawares  be 
(and  they  were)  declared  women,  in  the  following 
words  : 

"We  dress  you  in  a  woman's  long  habit,  reaching 
down  to  your  feet,  and  adorn  you  with  ear-rings," 
meaning  that  they  should  no  more  take  up  arms. 


The  second  point  was  thus  expressed :  "  We  hang  a 
calabash  filled  with  oil  and  medicine  upon  your  arm. 
With  the  oil  you  shall  cleanse  the  ears  of  other  na- 
tions, that  they  may  attend  to  good  and  not  to  bad 
words ;  and  with  the  medicine  you  shall  heal  those 
who  are  walking  in  foolish  ways,  that  they  may  return 
to  their  senses  and  incline  their  hearts  to  peace."  The 
third  point,  by  which  the  Delawares  were  exhorted  to 
make  agriculture  their  future  employment  and  means 
of  subsistence,  was  thus  worded :  "  We  deliver  into 
your  hands  a  plant  of  Indian  corn  and  a  hoe."  Each 
of  these  points  was  confirmed  by  delivering  a  belt  of 
wampum,  and  these  belts  were  carefully  laid  away, 
and  their  meaning  frequently  repeated. 

"The  Iroquois,  on  the  contrary,  assert  that  they 
conquered  the  Delawares,  and  .that  the  latter  were 
forced  to  adopt  the  defenseless  state  and  appellation 
of  a  woman  to  avoid  total  ruin.  Whether  these  difier- 
ent'  accounts  be  true  or  false,  certain  it  is  that  the 
Delaware  nation  has  ever  since  been  looked  to  for  the 
preservation  of  peace  and  intrusted  with  the  charge 
of  the  great  belt  of  peace  and  chain  of  friendship, 
which  they  must  take  care  to  preserve  inviolate.  Ac- 
cording to  the  figurative  explanation  of  the  Indians, 
the  middle  of  the  chain  of  friendship  is  placed  upon 
the  shoulder  of  the  Delawares,  the  rest  of  the  Indian 
nations  holding  one  end  and  the  Europeans  the 
other."* 

It  is  evident  that  the  clumsy  and  transparent  tale 
of  the  Delawares  in  reference  to  their  investiture  as 
women  was  implicitly  believed  by  Heckewelder  and 
other  Indian  missionaries,  who  apparently  did  not 
realize  that  which  no  reader  can  fail  to  perceive, — 
that  if  their  championship  and  explanation  were  to 
have  any  influence  at  all  on  the  world's  estimate  of 
their  Indian  friends,  it  could  hardly  be  a  favorable 
one,  for  it  would  only  tend  to  show  that  they  had  suf- 
fered themselves  to  be  most  ridiculously  imposed  upon 
by  the  Iroquois,  and  that  they  were  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge themselves  a  nation  of  imbeciles  rather 
than  admit  a  defeat  which  in  itself  brought  no  dis- 
grace on  them,  and  was  no  impeachment  of  their 
courage  or  warlike  skill. 

Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison,  afterwards  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  in  his  "  Notes  on  the 
Aborigines,"  said,  in  reference  to  the  old  missionary's 
account  of  the  Delawares'  humiliation, — 

"  But  even  if  Mr.  Heckewelder  had  succeeded  in  making  his  readers 
helieve  that  the  DelawareB,  when  they  submitted  to  the  degradation  pro- 
posed to  them  by  their  enemies,  were  influenced,  Dot  by  fear,  but  by  the 
benevolent  desire  to  put  a  stop  to  the  calamities  of  war,  he  has  estab- 
lished for  them  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  egregious  dupes  and 
fools  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  This  is  not  often  the  case  with  Indian 
sachems.  They  are  rarely  cowards,  but  still  more  rarely  are  they  defici-, 
ent  in  sagacity  or  discernment  to  detect  any  attempt  to  impose  on  them. 
I  sincerely  wish  that  I  could  unite  with  the  worthy  German  in  removing 
the  stigma  upon  the  Delawares." 

It  was  not  a  lack  of  bravery  or  military  enterprise 

*  Notes  on  the  Indians,  by  David  Zeisberger. 


16 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


on  the  part  of  the  Delawares  which  caused  their  over- 
throw; it  was  a  mightier  agent  than  courage  or 
energy :  it  was  the  gunpowder  and  lead  of  the  Iro- 
quois, which  they  had  procured  from  the  trading 
Dutch  on  the  Hudson  almost  immediately  after  the 
discovery  of  that  river,  which  had  wrought  the  down- 
fall of  the  LenapS.  For  them  the  conflict  was  a 
hopeless  one,  waged  against  immeasurahle  odds, — re- 
sistance to  the  irresistible.  Under  a  reversal  of  con- 
ditions the  Delawares  must  have  been  the  victors  and 
the  Iroquois  the  vanquished,  and  no  loss  of  honor 
could  attach  to  a  defeat  under  such  circumstances.  It 
is  a  pity  that  the  tribes  of  the  LenapS  should  vainly 
have  expended  so  much  labor  and  ingenuity  upon  a 
tale  which,  for  their  own  sake,  had  better  never  have 
been  told,  and  in  which  even  the  sincere  indorsement 
of  Heckewelder  and  other  missionaries  has  wholly 
failed  to  produce  a  general  belief. 

When  the  old  Iroquois  chief  Connossatego,  at  the 
treaty  council  in  Philadelphia,  before  referred  to, 
commanded  the  Delawares  instantly  to  leave  the 
council-house,  where  their  presence  would  no  longer 
be  tolerated,  and  to  prepare  to  vacate  their  hunting- 
grounds  on  the  Delaware  and  its  tributaries,  the  out- 
raged' and  insulted  red  men  were  completely  crest- 
fallen and  crushed,  but  they  had  no  alternative  and 
must  obey.  They  at  once  left  the  presence  of  the 
Iroquois,  returned  to  the  homes  which  were  now  to 
be  their  homes  no  longer,  and  soon  afterwards  mi- 
grated to  the  country  bordering  the  Susquehanna, 
and  beyond  that  river. 

This  forced  exodus  of  the  Delawares,  however,  was 
chiefly  from  the  Minisink  and  other  sections  of  coun- 
try to  the  north  and  northwest  of  the  counties  of 
Somerset  and  Hunterdon,  and  had  very  little  efiect 
on  the  Indian  population  of  the  territory  now  com- 
prised in  these  counties ;  for,  however  great  may  have 
been  the  state,  and  however  numerous  the  subjects,  of 
the  traditionary  "  Karitan  king"  in  earlier  years,  there 
were  at  the  time  in  question  (a.d.  1742)  but  very  few 
Indians  living  within  the  territory  of  these  counties, 
and  those  few  were  embraced  in  small  roving  bands, 
few,  if  any,  of  which  had  permanent  villages  or 
places  of  habitation.  "  The  Indians  living  on  the 
Raritan,"  says  the  Kev.  Dr.  Messier,*  "  were  only  a 
remnant  of  the  large  and  numerous  tribe  once  located 
there.  It  is  said  they  left  and  went  to  live  at  Metu- 
chen  because  the  freshets  in  the  river  spoiled  the  corn 
which  they  were  in  the  habit  of  burying  in  pits  on 
the  lowlands.  Another  inducement  was  the  fish, 
oysters,  and  clams  so  easily  obtained  on  the  shores 
of  Raritan  Bay.  The  immense  heaps  of  shells  found 
in  several  localities  on  its  shores  attest  the  rich  har- 
vest which  they  gathered  out  of  its  waters.  A  few 
huts  were  found  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  oppo- 


*  Centennial  History  of  Somerset  County,  by  Abraham  Messier,  D.D., 
pp.  33,  34. 


site  the  village  of  Raritan,  and  they  had  a  'burial- 
place'  on  the  second  river-bank,  at  the  gate  of  R.  H. 
Garretson.f  We  may  imagine,  then,  how  the  lonely 
river  flowed  on  for  centuries  between  its  willow- 
fringed  banks  from  summer  to  winter,  while  the  rich 
grass  on  its  meadows  wasted  because  there  were  no 
animals  except  a  few  deer  who  fed  upon  it,  and  how 
the  wild  fruits  afforded  feasts  for  the  squirrel  and  the 
forest  bird  or  perished  untouched  because  there  was 
no  living  creature  to  enjoy  the  bountiful  repast.  It 
might  almost  without  romance  be  called  a  'retired 
paradise,'  but  without  its  '  Ethiopian  emperor"  to  rule 
over  it.  .  .  .  Its  primitive  inhabitants,  even,  had  de- 
serted' it  almost  entirely  and  gone  towards  the  sea- 
shore, attracted  by  the  abundant  food,  and  only  the 
beasts  claimed  it  as  their  home." 

The  following,  having  reference  to  the  Indian  bands 
which  were  formerly  located  in  Hunterdon  County, 
is  from  a  series  of  papers  entitled  "  Traditions  of  our 
Ancestors,"  published  in  the  Hunterdon  Bepuhlican 
about  ten  years  since : 

"  There  are  extant  many  proofs  of  Indian  tribes  dwelling  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Kound  Valley  and  Cokesbury.  William  Alpaugh,  now  (1870) 
somewhat  advanced  in  years,  living  in  the  east  end  of  the  valley,  says 
that  when  he  was  a  boy  he  frequently  spoke  of  [with  ?]  an  aged  man 
who  had  lived  in  that  section  before  the  Indians  had  quitted  it.  He  often 
went,  in  company  with  other  boys,  to  fish  in  the  streams  near  by,  and, 
while  they  used  hooks,  the  Indiana  shot  them  with  spears  and  arrows. 
When  they  came  to  divide  the  fish  the  Indians  were  always  very  precise 
about  it,  taking  care  that  each  one  should  have  his  exact  share.  Mr.  Al- 
paugh says  that  he  has  seen,  near  Cokesbury,  numerous  Indian  graves 
ranged  in  rows  and  surrounded  by  stones  piled  upright  around  each 
mound.  ,  .  .  On  the  farm  where  Abraham  Hunt  now  lives,  near  Cokes- 
bury, there  were  standing,  fifty  years  ago,  near  a  stream,  a  mimber  of 
huts  built  of  sticks,  and  from  four  to  six  feet  high,  very  dilapidated  ;  and 
tradition  does  not  give  the  time  when  they  did  not  stand  there.  Tliia 
fact  is  some  evidence  that  the  tribes  of  this  section  made  their  home 
here. 

"  The  arrow  spear-heads  found  in  the  Hound  Valley  were  once  very 
numerous,  and  some  fine  specimens  are  still  occasionally  picked  up. 
Mr.  Alpaugh  says  that  in  passing  over  the  mountain  southeast  of  the 
valley  he  discovered,  several  years  ago,  a  pile  of  stones  in  the  forest  ar- 
ranged in  such  a  manner  aa  left  no  doubt  in  his  mind  that  they  had 
been  placed  there,  when  the  trees  were  small  saphngs,  to  mark  an 
Indian  burial-place.  These  were  the  cuetomai-y  monuments  in  this 
section.  .  .  . 

"  There  is  a  tradition  among  the  descendants  of  James  Alexander  that 
while  he  was  surveying  over  the  moat  rugged  part  of  Kushetunk  Moun- 
tain he  found  a  large  heap  of  stones  piled  together  with  some  regularity, 
which,  being  removed,  revealed  a  rudely-arched  vault  containing  the 
remains  of  seven  warriors,  with  their  arms,  ornaments,  and  utensils 
around  them.  There  were  beads  of  bone  and  copper,  wrist-  and  arm- 
bands of  the  same  metal,  and  a  number  of  pipes,  besides  leather  leggins 
and  other  articles  of  Indian  dress.  The  general  appearance  was  that 
they  were  all  warriors  of  the  same  tribe,  and  to  each  one  was  affixed  the 
symbolic  characters  showing  the  order  in  which  they  had  succeeded  each 
other.  There  was  nothing  in  common  in  these  relics  with  those  of  the 
then  existing  tribe  to  show  that  they  were  the  same  people.  The  trees 
seemed  to  have  grown  there  since  this  vault  was  built,  and  the  proba- 
hiUty  is  that  it  was  the  resting-place  of  seven  generations  of  kings  who 
had  roamed  up  and  down  here  long  before  the  white  people  came.  .  .  . 

f  There  was  also  an  Indian  burial-ground  at  the  mouth  of  One-Mile 
Eun,  above  Raritan  Landing.  In  an  ancient  survey  a  line  striking  the 
river  at  that  place  is  described  as  *'  commencing  at  the  bank  of  the  Rar- 
itan, in  an  Indian  burying-ground." 

There  was  an  Indian  settlement  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Millstone,  at 
the  mouth  of  Six-Mile  Bun.  Many  hatchets,  pestles,  and  other  imple- 
ments were  found  there  in  early  years. 


INDIAN  OCCUPATION.— THE   ORIGINAL  PEOPLE. 


ir 


Mr.  Alexander  and  Ms  party  carefully  replaced  the  stones,  fearing  lest 
the  Indians,  discovering  his  invasion  of  this  ancient  sepulchre,  would  be 
incensed  against  him.  The  spot  may  yet  be  rediscovered  upon  that 
wild  and  mgged,  unfrequented  summit.  There  is  no  reason  why  there 
should  not  be  found  there  mounds  more  sunken,  but  still  containing 
bones  of  thousands  of  the  race  that  has  passed  away,  like  those  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  West." 

Of  the  latter  portion  of  this  extract  it  seems  hardly 
necessary  to  remark  that  the  "  probability"  referred 
to  by  this  writer — that  the  seven  skeletons  represented 
"  seven  generations  of  kings" — is  not  a  very  strong 
one,  and  that  the  same  doubt  may  be  felt  as  to  the 
likelihood  of  the  existence  here  of  sepulchres  con- 
taining the  "  bones  of  thousands  of  the  race  that  has 
passed  away,"  even  if  we  admit  the  authenticity  of 
the  very  doubtful  tradition  concerning  Mr.  Alexan- 
der's discovery  and  subsequent  re-covering  of  the 
mysterious  arched  vault. 

The  Indian  occupation  of  Hunterdon  County  and 
the  country  to  the  northward  of  it  is  mentioned  by 
the  Eev.  George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  in  a  very  excellent 
and  common-sense  account,  found  in  the  "  First  Cen- 
tury of  Hunterdon  County,"  as  follows : 

"  They  [the  Minis!  or  Wolf  tribe,  living  to  the  northward  of  the  Turtle 
and  Turkey  tribes,  which  inhabited  this  lower  portion  of  the  State]  were 
a  very  warlike  race,  as  their  name  indicated.  Their  southern  boundary 
in  this  direction  was  that  range  of  hills  which  stretches  along  the  upper 
line  of  Hunterdon  and  the  branches  of  the  Raritan.  Thus  the  coast- 
tribes  and  the  mountaineers  came  together  in  this  county.  Many  fami- 
lies of  these  chose  to  live  by  themselves,  fixing  their  abode  in  villages 
and  taking  a  name  from  their  location.  Each  of  these  had  a  chief,  who, 
however,  was  in  a  measure  subordinate  to  a  head-chief.*  A  family  was 
situated  on  the  Neshanic,  called  the  Neshanic  Indians.  There  waa  an- 
other settlement  a  mile  from  Flemington,  on  a  brook  called  the  Minisi. 
One  was  near  the  Branch  at  Three  Bridges.  There  they  had  a  burying- 
ground ;  another,  one  and  a  half  miles  southwest  from  Kingos,  along  a 
creek  on  Jacob  Thatcher's  farm.  Traces  of  their  village  can  yet  be  seen 
there.  Yet  another  waa  near  Mount  Airy  Station,  on  tlie  Alexsocken. 
There  waa  quite  a  large  settlement  of  them  at  Eocktown.  Indeed,  the 
Amwell  valley  waa  populated  with  them.  As  already  stated,  in  1703  the 
proprietors  purchased  of  Heinhammoo  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Hunter- 
don lying  west  of  the  South  Branch,  and  they  also  bought  the  title  to  all 
other  lands  of  the  Indians  who  were  supposed  to  have  any  right  to  them. 
These  seem  to  have  been  contented,  and  lived  in  their  villages  on  the 
most  friendly  terms  with  the  whites.  But  the  game  diminished  as  the 
country  waa  settled,  so  that  the  Indians  were  constrained  to  resort  to 
trade  in  order  to  procure  the  necessaries  of  life.  They  made  wooden 
ladles,  bowls,  trays,  etc.,  which  they  exchanged  for  butter,  milk,  chick- 
ens, and  meat.  They  soon  acquired  a  fondness  for  intoxicating  liquors, 
and  when  under  their  influence  would  quarrel  and  fight  in  a  tenible 
manner.  This  became  so  great  an  evil  that  the  Legislature  in  1767  laid 
a  penalty  upon  peiaons  selling  strong  drink  to  the  Indians,  so  as  to  in- 
toxicate them,  and  declaring  all  Indian  sales  and  pawns  for  drink  void. 

"  The  defeat  of  Gen.  Braddock  in  the  summer  of  1765  produced  great 
consternation  throughout  all  the  colonics  and  led  to  disastrous  conse- 
quences. A  hatred  of  the  whites  had  for  years  been  growing  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Indians,  who  saw  themselves  becoming  more  and  more 
helpless  under  the  steadily-increasing  encroachments  of  the  settlers. 
The  wrongs  which  were  inflicted  upon  them  by  designing  men  aggra^ 
vated  their  dislike,  so  that  it  was  an  easy  matter  for  the  French,  and  the 
Indians  already  leagued  with  them  in  hostilities,  to  persuade  those  tribes 
which  had  remained  nominally  at  peace  with  the  inhabitants  to  join 
them  in  a  general  uprising  and  onslaught  upon  the  settlers.  The  Shaw- 
nees  and  Delawares  were  drawn  into  this  defection  also ;  bands  of  Indians 
joined  them,  many  going  from  the  Pines  to  the  Bine  Bidge  under  this 
impulse.  Numbers  who  had  roamed  around  the  country,  much  like  the 
tramps  of  to-day,  went  off  to  join  the  Indian  troops  and  never  returned. 


*  Heckewelder's  Indian  Nations ;  Memoirs  of  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  voL  xii.  pp.  48-52. 


The  people  of  this  section  and  to  the  north  were  greatly  alarmed  at  this 
state  of  things.  The  first  inroads  of  the  savages  were  down  the  Susque- 
hanna, through  Berks  and  Northampton  Counties,  across  the  Delaware 
into  New  Jersey.  Some  of  the  scalping-parties  penetrated  within  thirty 
miles  of  Philadelphia.  A  letter  from  Easton,  dated  Dec.  25, 1766,  states 
that  the  *  country  all  above  this  town  for  fifty  miles  is  mostly  evacuated 
and  mined.  The  people  have  mostly  fled  into  the  Jerseys.  .  .  .  The 
enemy  made  but  few  prisoners,  murdering  almost  all  that  fell  in^  their 
hands,  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes.'  The  inhabitants  of  New  Jersey, 
roused  by  these  sufferings  of  their  neighbors  and  fearing  for  their  own 
towns,  prepared  to  resist  the  foe.  Governor  Belcher  dispatched  troops 
promptly  from  all  parts  of  the  province  to  the  defense  of  the  western  fron- 
tier. Col.  John  Anderson,  of  Sussex  County,  collected  four  hundred  men 
and  secured  the  upper  part  of  the  State.  During  the  winter  of  1765  and 
1756  marauding-parties  of  French  and  Indians  hung  around  this  western 
border.  To  guard  against  their  incureions  a  chain  of  forts  and  block- 
houses was  erected  along  the  mountain  and  at  favorable  points  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Delaware.  Although  the  inroads  of  the  savages  were 
infrequent,  and  consisted  of  small  bands,  yet  the  fear  which  all  felt  that 
their  midnight  slumber  might  be  broken  by  the  war-whoop  was  sufficient 
to  keep  them  in  a  constant  terror.  Many  left  their  bomes.f  A  loud  call 
was  made  upon  the  Assembly  for  increased  means  of  defense.  This  was 
done,  and  the  force  waa  placed  under  the  command  of  Col.  De  Hart.f 

"As  an  additional  measure  of  protection  a  treaty  was  made  with 
Teedyuscung,  whereby  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees  on  the  Susque- 
hanna were  reconciled.  The  Legislature  appointed  a  committee,  who 
met  the  Indians  of  this  State  at  Crosswicks  in  the  winter  of  1756.  Their 
grievances  were  heard  patiently  and  then  reported  to  the  Legislature, 
which  passed  acts  in  1757  to  relieve  them.  One  of  these  grievances  was 
that  the  Indians  had  not  been  paid  for  certain  tracts  of  land  which  had 
been  taken  from  them.  The  only  portion  of  Hunterdon  which  came 
within  these  claims  was  a  tract  of  twenty-five  hundred  acres,  claimed  by 
Teedyuscung  himself,  *  beginning  at  Ringos,  and  extending  along  the 
Brunswick  road  to  Neshannock  Creek,  thence  up  the  same  to  George 
Hatten'a,  thence  in  a  straight  course  to  Petit's  place,  and  so  on  to  a  hill 
called  Paatquacktung,  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  the  place  of  the  begin- 
ning, which  tract  was  reserved  at  the  sale,' — i.e.,  between  Ringos  and 
Copper  Hill.  The  Legislature  gave  the  commissioners  power  to  appro- 
priate sixteen  hundred  pounds  to  purchase  a  general  relase  of  all  these 
claims,  one-half  of  which  was  to  be  devoted  to  paying  the  Indians  re- 
siding to  the  south  of  the  Raritan.  This  offer  was  accepted,  and  a  treaty 
concluded  Oct.  26, 1758,  and  thus  ended  all  difficulties  with  the  Indians 
in  New  Jersey .§  This  pacification  was  greatly  aided  and  quickened  by 
an  association  founded  in  Philadelphia  in  1765,  called  '  The  Friendly 
Association,  for  regaining  and  preserving  peace  with  the  Indians  by  pa- 
cific measures.'  Another  cause  which  contributed  to  this  happy  result 
waa  that  Teedyuscung,  who  was  king  of  the  Delawares  and  a  chief  of 
very  wide  infiuence,  was  a  Christian.  He  became  such  in  1749,  and  waa 
baptized  by  the  name  of  Gideon. |  Also  we  may  suppose  that  the  in- 
fluence of  John  Reading,  from  1767  to  June,  1768,  the  acting  Governor 
while  most  of  these  negotiations  wore  in  progress,  would  be  exerted  in 
behalf  of  liberal  measures  towards  the  Indians,  inaamuch  as  his  early 
experience  as  surveyor  in  Hunterdon  County  when  it  was  yet  a  wilder- 
ness and  his  subsequent  residence  in  this  frontier  region  would  well 
qualify  him  to  know  their  wrongs  and  their  needs,  while  the  piety 
which  adorned  his  life  would  lead  him  to  that  charity  which  overlooks 
ignorance." 

There  were  traditions  among  the  descendants  of  the 
Minisink  people  that  the  tribe  from  which  that  place 
derives  its  name  made  frequent  expeditions  down  the 
river  and  came  back  with  white  men's  scalps  hanging 
at  their  belts.  They  stole  down  on  the  Pennsylvania 
side,  and  crossed  over  to  this  State  a  little  below  the 
Hopewell  hills  ;  then,  returning  on  this  side  of  the 
river,  they  would  lie  in  ambush  along  the  yet  wild 
and  rugged  shores  and  pick  off  any  unfortunate  trav- 


f  Tradition  says  that  people  hid  themselves  in  the  openings  of  the 
mines  at  Union. 
I  Gordon's  "  New  Jersey,"  pp.  122  and  124. 
g  Smith's  "  New  Jersey,"  chap,  xxiii. 
jl  From  MSS.  of  Dr.  Studdiford. 


18 


HUNTERDON    AND   SOMERSET    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


eler  who  might  be  passing  along  the  river-path.  An 
old  Indian  sachem  used  to  relate  that  the  steep  hills 
along  the  Delaware  had  been  the  scene  of  more  than 
one  ambush  and  murder. 

It  was  only  the  Indians  from  the  upper  country, 
however,  who  committed  these  acts  of  violence  and 
bloodshed.  Those  whose  domain  embraced  what  are 
now  the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  were 
uniformly  peaceable  and  friendly  in  their  intercourse 
with  the  settlers,  by  whom  they  were  treated  with 
justice  and  consideration.  Their  numbers  in  this 
region  steadily  decreased  as  the  years  passed,  but  it 
was  the  natural  decadence  of  their  race,  and  not  the 
steel  of  the  white  man,  that  swept  them  away.  But 
a  very  small  remnant  of  the  tribe  was  left  here  at  the 
opening  of  the  Revolution,  and  of  these  a  few  served 
in  the  army  under  Washington.  In  a  very  few  years 
after  the  close  of  the  war  they  had  entirely  disap- 
peared. 

The  right  of  the  Delawares  to  the  ownership  of  the 
lands  south  of  the  Baritan  was  recognized  by  the 
English,  and  large  purchases  were  made  from  them 
from  time  to  time  as  the  needs  of  the  settlers  required, 
so  that  most  of  their  lands  had  been  sold  prior  to  the 
treaty  of  1758,  at  which  the  whole  of  their  remaining 
titles  were  extinguished,  except  that  there  was  re- 
served to  them  the  right  to  fish  in  all  the  rivers  and 
bays  south  of  the  Earitan,  and  to  hunt  on  all  unin- 
closed  lands.  A  tract  of  three  thousand  acres  of  land 
was  also  purchased  at  Edge  Pillock,  in  Burlington 
County,  and  on  this  the  few  remaining  Delawares  of 
New  Jersey  (about  sixty  in  number)  were  collected 
and  settled.  They  remained  there  until  the  year 
1802,  when  they  removed  to  New  Stockbridge,  near 
Oneida  Lake,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  where  they 
joined  their  "  grandsons,"  the  Stockbridge  tribe. 
Several  years  afterwards  they  again  removed,  and 
settled  on  a  large  tract  of  land  on  Fox  River,  Wis., 
which  tract  had  been  purchased  for  their  use  from 
the  Menominee  Indians.  There,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Stockbridges,  they  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits, and  formed  a  settlement  which  was  named 
Statesburg.  There,  in  the  year  1832,  there  remained 
about  forty  of  the  Delawares,  among  whom  was  still 
kept  alive  the  tradition  that  they  were  the  owners 
of  fishing  and  hunting  privileges  in  New  Jersey. 
They  resolved  to  lay  their  claims  before  the  Leg- 
islature of  this  State,  and  request  that  a  moderate 
sum  (two  thousand  dollars)  might  be  paid  them  for  its 
relinquishment.  The  person  selected  to  act  for  them 
in  presenting  the  matter  before  the  Legislature  was 
one  of  their  own  nation,  whom  they  called  Shawus- 
kukhkung  (meaning  "wilted  grass"),  but  who  was 
known  among  the  white  people  as  Bartholomew  S. 
Calvin.  He  was  born  in  1756.  and  was  educated  at 
Princeton  College,  at  the  expense  of  the  Scotch  mis- 
sionary society.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolu- 
tion he  left  his  studies  to  join  the  patriot  army  under 


Washington,  and  he  served  with  credit  during  the 
Revolutionary  struggle.  At  the  time  when  his  red 
countrymen  placed  this  business  in  his  hands  he  was 
seventy-six  years  of  age,  yet  he  proceeded  in  the 
matter  with  all  the  energy  of  youth,  and  laid  before 
the  Legislature  a  petition  in  his  favor  signed  by  a 
large  number  of  respectable  citizens  of  New  Jersey, 
together  with  a  memorial,  written  by  his  own  hand, 
as  follows  : 

"  My  Brethren  :  I  am  old  and  weak  and  poor,  and  therefore  a  fit 
repreeentative  of  my  people.  Tou  are  young  and  strong  and  rich,  and 
therefore  fit  repreeentatives  of  your  people.  But  let  mo  beg  you  for  a 
moment  to  lay  aside  the  recollections  of  yovir  strength  and  of  our  weak- 
ness, that  your  minds  may  be  prepared  to  examine  with  candor  the  sub- 
ject of  our  claims. 

"Our  tradition  informs  us — and  I  believe  it  corresponds  with  your 
records— that  the  right  of  fisliing  in  all  the  rivers  and  bays  south  of  the 
Karitan,  and  of  hunting  in  all  uninclosed  lands,  was  never  relinquished, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  was  expressly  reserved  in  our  last  treaty,  held  at 
Crosswicks  in  1768.  Having  myself  been  one  of  the  parties  to  the  sale, 
— I  believe,  in  1801,-1  know  that  these  rights  were  not  sold  or  parted 
with. 

"We  now  offer  to  sell  these  privileges  to  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 
They  were  once  of  great  value  to  us,  and  we  apprehend  that  neither  time 
nor  distance  nor  the  non-use  of  our  rights  has  at  all  affected  them,  but 
that  the  courts  here  would  consider  our  claims  valid  were  we  to  exercise 
them  ourselves  or  delegate  them  to  others.  It  is  not,  however,  our  wish 
thus  to  excite  litigation.  We  consider  the  State  Legislature  the  proper 
purchaser,  and  throw  ourselves  upon  its  benevolence  and  magnanimity, 
trusting  that  feelings  of  justice  and  liberality  will  induce  you  to  give  us 
what  you  deem  a  compensation.  And,  as  we  have  ever  looked  up  to  the 
leading  characters  of  the  United  States  (and  to  the  leading  characters  of 
this  State  in  particular)  as  our  fathers,  protectors,  and  friends,  we  now 
look  xip  to  you  as  such,  and  humbly  beg  that  you  will  look  upon  us  with 
that  eye  of  pity,  as  we  have  reason  to  think  our  poor  untutored  fore- 
fathers looked  upon  yours  when  they  first  arrived  upon  our  then  exten- 
sive but  uncultivated  dominions,  and  sold  them  their  lands,  in  many 
instances  for  trifles,  in  comparison,  as  'light  as  air.' 

"  From  your  humble  petitioner, 

"Bartholomew  S.  Calvin, 
"  Tn  hehnlf  of  himself  and  his  red  brethren." 

In  the  Legislature  the  subject  was  referred  .to  a 
committee,  which,  after  patient  hearing,  reported 
favorably ;  whereupon  the  Legislature  granted  to  the 
Delawares  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars, — the  full 
amount  asked  for,  in  consideration  of  this  relinquish- 
ment of  their  last  rights  and  claims  in  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.  Upon  this  result  Mr.  Calvin  addressed 
to  the  Legislature  a  letter  of  thanks,  which  was  read 
before  the  two  houses  in  joint  session,  and  was  received 
with  repeated  rounds  of  most  enthusiastic  applause. 
The  letter  was  as  follows : 

"  Trenton,  March  12, 1832. 

"  Bartholomew  S.  Calvin  takes  this  method  to  return  his  thanks  tb  both 
houses  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  especially  to  their  committees,  for 
their  very  respectful  attention  to  and  candid  examination  of  the  Indian 
claims  which  he  was  delegated  to  present. 

"The  final  act  of  official  intercourse  between  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
and  the  Delaware  Indians,  who  once  owned  nearly  the  whole  of  its  terri- 
tory, has  now  been  consummated,  and  in  a  manner  which  must  redound 
to  the  honor  of  this  growing  State,  and,  in  all  probability,  to  the  prolon- 
gation of  the  existence  of  a  wasted  yet  grateful  people.  Upon  this  parting 
occasion  I  feel  it  to  be  an  incumbent  duty  to  bear  the  feeble  tribute  of 
my  praise  to  the  high-toned  justice  which,  in  this  instance,  and,  so  far  as 
I  am  acquainted,  in  all  former  times,  has  actuated  the  councils  of  this 
commonwealth  in  dealing  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants. 

"  Not  a  drop  of  our  blood  have  you  spilled  in  battle  ;  not  an  acre  of  our 
laud  have  you  taken  but  by  our  consent.  These  facts  speak  for  them- 
selves and  need  no  comment.     They  place  the  character  of  New  Jersey 


NEW  JERSEY   UNDER  DUTCH   AND  ENGLISH   RULE. 


19 


In  bold  relief  and  bright  example  to  those  States  within  whose  territorial 
limits  our  brethren  still  remain.  Nothing  save  benisons  can  fall  upon 
her  from  the  lips  of  a  Lenni  Lenap^. 

"  There  may  be  some  who  would  despise  an  Indian  benediction ;  but 
when  I  return  to  my  people,  and  make  known  to  them  the  result  of  my 
mission,  the  ear  of  the  great  SoTereign  of  the  universe,  which  is  still 
open  to  our  cry,  will  he  penetrated  with  our  invocation  of  blessings  upon 
the  generous  sons  of  New  Jersey." 

WMle  this  Indian  claim  was  under  consideration 
the  cause  of  the  Delawar^s  was  voluntarily  supported 
hy  a  distinguished  son  of  Somerset  County,  the  Hon. 
Samuel  L.  Southard,  who,  at  the  close  of  a  most  pow- 
erful and  eloquent  appeal,  made  before  the  committee, 
in  favor  of  the  petitioners,  said,  "  It  is  a  proud  fact 
in  the  history  of  New  Jersey  that  every  foot  of  her 
soil  has  been  obtained  from  the  Indians  by  fair  and 
voluntary  purchase  and  transfer, — a  fact  that  no  other 
State  of  the  Union,  not  even  the  land  which  bears  the 
name  of  Penn,  can  boast  of." 

"Many  years  previous  to  the  settlement  of  the 
Earitan  by  the  whites,"  says  the  late  Hon.  Ralph 
Voorhees,  "  the  Indians  had  a  path  running  through 
the  State,  extending  from  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware, 
at  Trenton,  to  the  first  fording-place  across  the  Eari- 
tan, near  New  Brunswick.  From  thence  it  ran  to 
Elizabethtown.  It  is  described  in  many  of  the  old 
deeds  as  '  the  Indian  Path.'  Its  course  was  along  the 
highest  grounds,  and  it  .  .  .  struck  ravines  as  nearly 
opposite  to  each  other  as  possible,  by  which  it  was 
made  to  avoid  steep  hills.*  They  thus  easily  carried 
to  market  their  furs  and  other  salable  articles."! 

Other  Indian  paths  were  one  from  Lambertville, 
through  Mt.  Airy,  Eingos,  and  Eeaville,  to  Newark, 
which  later  became  the  "  Old  York  Eoad,"  and  an- 
other, which  "  came  in  from  the  north  through  the 
valley  at  Clarksville,  the  gateway  for  all  the  tribes 
who  threaded  their  way  down  the  great  valley  of  the 
Wallkill,  or  crossed  over  from  Pennsylvania  at  the 
forks  of  the  Delaware."^  This  Indian  highway  led 
down  to  the  wigwams  on  the  Assanpink,  crossing  the 
east  and  west  path  at  Eingos. § 


CHAPTER  III. 

NEW  JERSEY  TTHDEB  DUTCH  AND  ENGLISH 
BULE. 

Swedish  Settlement — Occupation  by  the  Dutch — Subjection  to  the  Eng- 
lish in  1664 — Governors  Carteret,  Andres,  etc. — Grant  to  the  Duke  of 
York,  and  transfer  to  Berkeley  and  Carteret — Edward  Byllinge — 
Quaker  Emigration  and  Settlement — The  two  Jerseys  consolidated — 
Governors,  down  to  1776. 

In  the  year  1637  two  Swedish  ships  arrived  in  the 
Delaware,  bringing  a  number  of  settlers.    They  were 

*  This  accounts  for  the  many  bends  and  crooks  in  the  road  afterwards 
laid  out  upon  it,  and  which  subsequently  became  the  dividing-line  be- 
tween the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex. 

f  B.  Vorhees,  in  "  Our  Home. " 

J  The  First  Century  of  Hunterdon  County,  p.  10. 

l  A  store  was  kept  at  Bingos,  to  which  in  the  early  day  the  Indians 
resorted  from  a  conquerable  distance. 


soon  followed  by  other  companies,  and,  in  1642,  John 
Printz,  a  military  officer,  was  sent  over  as  Governor 
of  the  colony.  He  established  himself  upon  the 
island  now  known  as  Tinicum,  which  was  given  to 
him  in  fee  by  the  Queen  of  Sweden.  Here  he  erected 
a  fort,  planted  an  orchard,  and  built  a  church  and 
several  dwellings,  including  a  fine  house  for  himself, 
which  was  called  "Printz  Hall."  At  the  same  time 
with  the  Governor  came  also  John  Campanius  Holm,|| 
a  clergyman,  and  the  fixture  historian  of  the  colony  ; 
and  in  the  same  company  was  Lindstrom,  an  engi- 
neer, who  afterwards  published  a  map  of  the  Dela- 
ware and  its  adjacent  parts.1[ 

In  the  government  of  New  Sweden,  as  that  portion 
of  the  State  was  then  called,  Printz  was  followed  by 
his  son,  John  Papegoia,  who  soon  returned  to  Europe 
and  left  the  government  to  John  Claudius  Rising. 
In  1655  the  Dutch  sailed  from  Manhattan  with  seven 
ships  and  six  hundred  men,  under  the  command  of 
Governor  Peter  Stuyvesant,  and  fell  unawares  on  the 
Swedish  settlements.  Fort  after  fort  fell  into  their 
hands,  the  officers  and  principal  people  were  made 
prisoners  and  carried  to  New  Amsterdam,  while  the 
Dutch  retained  possession  of  the  country.** 

\  The  latter  name,  Holm,  "  wai  added  because  of  Stockholm  being  the 
place  of  his  residence." — Clay^s  AnnaU  of  the  Swedes. 

f  We  find  Plantagenet  (Plantagenet's  "New  Albion"),  in  1648,  com- 
plaining of  the  settlements  of  the  Swedes  and  Dutch  within  New  Albion, 
and  of  the  adherence  of  the  English  settlers  to  them  rather  than  to  the 
authority  of  the  earl-palatine.  Plantagenet  published  a  pamphlet  in 
1648,  entitled  "A  Description  of  the  Province  of  New  Albion,  and  a  Di- 
rection for  Adventurers  with  small  stock  to  get  two  for  one,  and  good 
land  freely :  And  for  Gentlemen,  and  all  Servants,  Labourers,  and  Arti- 
ficers, to  live  Plentifully,"  etc.  It  is  dedicated  "  To  the  right  honourable 
and  mighty  Lord  Edmund^  by  Divine  Providence,  Lord  Proprietor,  Earl- 
Palatine,  Governour,  and  Captain-General]  of  the  Province  of  New  Albion ; 
and  to  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lord  Vicount  Monson  of  CtwUemain, 
the  Lord  Sherard  Baron  of  Leirim :  and  to  all  others  the  Vicounte,  Barons, 
Baronets,  Knights,  Gentlemen,  Merchants,  Adventurers  and  Planters,  of 
the  hopeful  Company  of  Nevj  Albion;  in  all,  44  undertakers  and  sub- 
scribers, bound  by  Indenture  to  bring  and  settle  3000  able  trained  men 
in  our  said  severall  Plantations  in  the  said  Province."  The  author  of  the 
pamphlet  was  "  Beauchamp  Plantagenet,  of  Belvil,  in  New  Albion, 
Esquire,  one  of  Company,"  whose  manor  of  Belvil,  containing  ten  thou- 
sand a^res,  he  had  obtained  under  the  province  seal. — Whiteliead^a  East 
Jere&j  under  the  Proprietors, 

**  *'  The  next  who  came  there  were  the  DiUch ;  which  was  between  Forty 
and  Fifty  Tears  agoe,  though  they  made  but  little  Improvement,  only 
built  Two  or  Three  Houses,  upon  an  Island  (called  since  by  the  English) 
Stacies  Island;  and  it  remained  bo,  till  about  the  year  1676,  in  which 
King  Charles  the  Second  or  the  Duke  of  York  (his  Brother)  gave  the 
Countrey  to  Edward  BiUing,  in  whose  time,  one  Major  Penwick  went 
thither,  with  some  others,  and  built  a  pretty  Town,  and  caUed  it  Scdmn  ; 
and  in  a  few  Years  after  a  Ship  from  London^  and  another  from  SvXl 
sailed  thither  with  more  People,  who  went  higher  up  into  the  Countrey, 
and  built  there  a  Town,  and  called  it  Burlington,  which  is  now  the  chief- 
est  Town  in  that  Countrey,  though  Salam  is  the  ancientest. . . .  The  late 
Governor  Cox,  who  bought  that  Country  of  Edward  Billing,  encouraged 
and  promoted  that  Town  [Burlington]  chiefiy,  in  setting  his  Agetiis  and 
Deputy-Governors  there  (the  same  Favours  are  continued  by  the  Neuj- Weai- 
Jersey  Society,  who  now  manage  Matters  there)  which  brings  their  Assem- 
blieB  and  chief  Courts  to  be  kept  there  ;  and,  by  that  means  it  is  become 
a  very  famous  Town,  having  a  great  many  stately  Brick  Houses  in  it. 
The  Countrey  inhabited  by  the  Christians  is  divided  into  four  parts  or 
counties,  tho'  the  Tenth  part  of  it  is  not  yet  peopled."  In  another  con-  ■ 
nection  the  author  names  the  four  divisions  as  " '  Burlington,  Glocester, 
Salam,  and  Cape-May'  counties." 
This  extract  is  from  a  quaint  old  volume  bearing  the  lengthy  title  of 


20 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  subjection  of  the  Dutch  in  the  New  Nether- 
lands to  English  rule  in  1664  is  a  matter  of  history  so 
familiar  to  every  intelligent  American  reader  that  it 
is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  it.  Immediately  after 
the  surrender  of  New  Amsterdam  (New  York)  by 
Governor  Stuyvesant,  Charles,  King  of  England, 
granted  the  territory  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of 
York,  who  in  turn  conveyed  that  portion  of  it  now 
known  as  New  Jersey  to  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George 
Carteret.  This  latter  conveyance  is  said  to  be  the 
first  instrument  in  which  the  bounds  of  New  Jersey 
are  regularly  defined.  Berkeley  and  Carteret  formed 
a  constitution  for  the  colony,  and  appointed  Philip 
Carteret,  a  son  of  Sir  George,  as  its  governor.  He 
came  in  1665,  fixed  the  seat  of  government  at  Eliza- 
bethtown,  purchased  land  of  the  Indians,  and  ofiered 
so  favorable  terms  to  the  settlers  in  New  England  as 
inducements  to  emigrate  to  Jersey  that  many  came 
hither  and  located,  principally  at  Elizabethtown  and 
Newark.* 

In  1673  the  Dutch  retook  New  York,  hut  by  the 
treaty  of  the  following  year  the  territory  of  both 
that  province  and  New  Jersey  reverted  to  the  Eng- 
lish, who  continued  in  undisturbed  possession  until 
the  war  which  secured  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  Doubts  having  arisen  as  to  the 
validity  of  the  title  of  the  Duke  of  York,  a  new  patent 
was  issued  in  1674,  and  Edmund  Andros  was  sent  over 
as  Governor.  Philip  Carteret,  who  had  returned  to 
England  in  1672,  returned  in  1675,  and  was  welcomed 
by  the  people,  who  had  been  uneasy  and  disaffected 
under  the  arbitrary  rule  of  Andros. 

Lord  Berkeley,  dissatisfied  with  the  pecuniary  out- 
look of  his  colonization  scheme,  disposed  of  his  in- 
terest to  John  Fenwi  eke,  in  trust  for  Edward  Byllinge, 
both  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  He  received 
the  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds  for  the  tract  of  land 
then  called  "New  West  Jersey,''  embracing  about 
one-half  of  the  State  as  now  constituted.   The  division 


*' An  Historical  and  Geographical  Account  of  the  Province  and  Country 
of  PenBilvania  and  of  West-New-Jersey  iu  America.  The  Kichne68  of 
the  Soil,  the  SweetneBs  of  the  Situation,  the  Wholesomness  of  the  Air, 
the  Navigable  Hivers,  and  others,  the  prodigious  Encrease  of  Corn,  the 
flourighing  Condition  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  with  the  stately  Build- 
ings, and  other  Improvements  there.  The  strange  Creatures,  as  Birds, 
Beasts,  Fishes,  and  Fowls,  with  the  several  sorts  of  Minerals,  Purging 
Waters,  and  Stones,  lately  discovered.  The  Natives,  Ahorogines,  their  Lan- 
guage, Religion,  Laws,  and  OMtoms ;  The  first  Planters,  the  Dutch,  Sweeds, 
and  English,  with  the  number  of  its  Inhabitants ;  As  also  a  Touch  upon 
George  EeiOCs  New  Beligion,  in  his  second  Change  since  he  left  the 
QnAKEES.  With  a  Map  of  both  Countries.  By  Gabriel  Thomas,  who 
resided  there  about  Fifteen  Tears.  London,  Printed  for,  and  Sold  by  A. 
Baldwin,  at  the  Oxon  Arms  in  Warwick-Lane,  1698."  It  is  dedicated  to, 
"  Friend  William  Penu,"  and  in  his  preface  Mr.  Thomas  says,  ".  .  .  Tho' 
this  Country  haa  made  little  Noise  in  Btory,  or  taken  up  but  small  room 
in  Maps,  yet  thus  much  with  great  Justice  may  be  said  of  it,  that  not- 
withstanding the  Difficulties  and  Inconveniences  the  First  English  Colo- 
nies met  with  before  they  were  well  settled  there,  yet  the  mighty  Im- 
provements, Additions,  and  Advantages  that  have  been  made  lately  there, 
are  well  worth  Communicating  to  the  Publick,  and  I  am  sensible  they 
will  be  well  received." 

*  East  Jersey  Eecords ;  Whitehead's  East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietary 
Quvernmenta. 


between  East  and  West  Jersey  was  made  by  Carteret 
and  the  trustees  of  Byllinge,  July  1,  1676.  The  line 
of  partition  was  agreed  on  "  from  the  east  side  of 
Little  Egg  Harbor,  straight  north,  through  the  coun- 
try, to  the  utmost  branch  of  Delaware  Eiver."  This 
line  was  extended  from  Little  Egg  Harbor  as  far  as 
the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan,  at  a  point  just  east 
of  the  old  York  road.  It  was  run  by  Keith,  the  sur- 
veyor-general of  East  Jersey,  but  was  deemed  by  the 
West  Jersey  proprietors  to  be  too  far  west,  thereby 
encroaching  on  their  lands,  and  they  objected  to  its 
continuance.  On  the  5th  of  September,  1668,  Gov- 
ernors Coxe  and  Barclay,  representing  the  respective 
interests,  entered  into  an  agreement,  to  terminate  the 
dispute.  It  was  that  this  line,  so  far  as  run,  should 
be  the  bound,  and  that  in  its  extension  it  should  take 
the  following  course :  From  the  point  where  it  touched 
the  South  Branch,  "  along  the  back  of  the  adjoining 
plantations,  until  it  touches  the  north  branch  of  the 
Earitan,  at  the  falls  of  the  Allamitung,t  thence  run- 
ning up  that  stream  northward  to  its  rise  near  Succa- 
sunny."  From  that  point  a  short  straight  line  was  to 
be  run  to  touch  the  nearest  part  of  the  Passaic  Eiver. 
Such  a  line  would  pass  about  five  miles  north  of 
Morristown.  The  line  was  to  be  continued  by  the 
course  of  the  Passaic  as  far  as  the  Paquanick,  and  up 
that  branch  to  forty-one  degrees  north  latitude,  and 
from  that  point  in  "  a  straight  line  due  east  to  the 
partition-point  on  Hudson  Eiver  between  East  Jersey 
and  New  York.''  This  line  gave  to  the  northern  part 
of  West  Jersey  the  present  counties  of  Warren  and 
Sussex,  and  portions  of  Morris,  Passaic,  and  Bergen. 
The  Coxe-Barclay  agreement  was  not  carried  into  ef- 
fect, although  the  division-line  constituted  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Hunterdon  County  until  Morris  County 
was  Erected,  in  1738. 

Edward  Byllinge  became  so  embarrassed  in  his 
financial  ventures  that  in  1676  he  was  compelled  to 
assign  his  interests  to  William  Penn,  Gawen  Lowrie, 
and  Nicholas  Lucas,  all  Quakers,  "to  be  used  for 
the  benefit  of  his  creditors."  Prior  to  this,  however, 
he  had  sold  a  number  of  shares,  and  the  trustees 
sold  many  shares  to  different  purchasers,  who  there- 
by became  proprietaries  in  common  with  them. 
Fenwicke  soon  after  made  a  similar  assignment. 
As  these  trustees  were  Quakers,  the  purchasers 
were  mostly  members  of  that  body.  Two  companies 
were  formed,  one  in  Yorkshire,  the  other  in  London, 
both  intent  on  colonization  in  America,  and  in  the 
same  year  some  four  hundred  persons  came  over,  most 
of  them  persons  of  considerable  means.  Daniel  Coxe 
was  connected  with  the  London  Company,  and  one 
of  the  largest  shareholders  ;  subsequently  he  became 
the  owner  of  extensive  tracts  of  land  in  old  Hunter- 
don County. 

At  that  time  persecution  in  England  was  driving 
the  Quakers  to  America  as  to  a  haven  of  religious  tol- 

t  Now  the  Lamington  Falls. 


THE  PROPRIETARY   GOVERNMENT  OP  EAST  JERSEY. 


21 


eration  and  social  equality.  Emigration  commenced 
in  the  spring  of  1677,  and  on  the  16th  of  June  in  that 
year  the  ship  "  Kent"  arrived  from  London  with  two 
hundred  and  thirty  passengers.  This  was  the  second 
ship  "  to  the  Western  parts."  Next  arrived  the  "  "Wil- 
ling Mind,"  John  Newcomb  commander,  with  sixty 
or  seventy  more.  Several  settlements  were  started, 
and  West  Jersey  became,  as  early  as  the  year  1680, 
quite  populous.  Burlington  was  founded,  and  be- 
came the  principal  town.  There  the  land-office  for 
the  whole  province  of  West  Jersey  was  located,  and 
there  all  deeds  were  recorded. 

In  1681,  Samuel  Jennings,  having  received  a  com- 
mission from  Byllinge  as  deputy-governor,  came  to 
West  Jersey,  called  an  assembly,  and  with  them 
agreed  upon  a  constitution  and  form  of  government. 
From  this  time  on  assemblies  were  held  each  year, 
courts  were  established  in  several  places,  and  "jus- 
tice was  administered  in  due  course  of  law."  Jen- 
nings' successors  in  the  executive  department  were 
Thomas  Olive,  John  Skeine,  William  Welsh,  Dan- 
iel Coxe,  and  Andrew  Hamilton.  The  last-named 
continued  as  Governor  until  the  proprietary  charter 
was  surrendered  to  the  Crown. 

In  the  years  1701  and  1702  there  occurred  many  dis- 
sensions and  disturbances  in  both  the  east  and  west 
provinces,  but  the  proprietors,  finally  wearied  of  con- 
tending with  one  another,  and  with  the  people,  drew 
up  an  instrument  whereby  they  surrendered  their 
right  df  government  to  the  crown,*  which  was  ac- 
cepted by  Queen  Anne,  April  17,  1702.  This  was  the 
end  oi proprietary  government  in  New  Jersey  ;  thence- 
forward, until  1776,  it  was  under  royal  rule. 

The  queen  consolidated  both  Jerseys  into  one  prov- 
ince, and  commissioned  Lord  Cornbury  as  Governor 
of  both  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  In  this  capacity 
he  acted  from  1703  until  1708,  when,  giving  heed  to 


*  See  Smith's  "  New  Jersey,"  pp.  560-573,  and  "  Grants  and  Conces- 
sions," pp.  508-609,  for  some  of  the  documents  connected  with  the  ne- 
gotiations, and  many  others  are  in  the  New  Jersey  Colonial  Documents. 
The  proprietaries  who  signed  away  the  sovereignty  of  East  Jersey  were 
Peter  Sonmans,  Joseph  Ormston,  Charles  Omiston,  Edward  Antill, 
George  Willocks,  Francis  Hancock,  Sir  Thomas  Lane,  Paul  Dominique, 
Robert  Mitchell,  Joseph  Brooksbank,  Edward  Richier,  Michael  Watts, 
Clement  Plumstead,  Robert  Burnet,  Miles  Forster,  John  Johnston,  Mich- 
ael Hawdon,  John  Barclay,  David  Lyell,  Thomas  Warne,  Thomas  Gor- 
don, Thomas  Barker,  TJunnas  Cooler,  Gilbert  Mollison,  Richard  Hasel,  and 
William  Dockwra.  Three  of  these — those  in  italics — were  of  the 
twenty-four  who  nineteen  years  previous  had  received  the  grant  from 
the  Duke  of  York.  And  it  was  said  in  1759  that  sixty-four  years  after 
the  grant  to  the  twenty-four  (1746)  there  was  not  a  male  descendant  of 
the  whole  number  enjoying  "  a  foot  of  land  in  East  Jersey"  excepting  the 
right  of  the  Penns  and  two  or  three  small  plantations  occupied  by  the 
Hartshornes  and  Warnes, — a  reflection  which  should  "  abate  our  ardor 
in  the  pursuit  of  lands  and  wealth,  and  make  us  think  ourselves,  at  best, 
but  tenants  in  common  to  the  blessings  which  the  earth  produces  and 
co-heirs  of  the  gifts  of  nature." — "A  Pocket  CommetUary  of  the  first  setUing 
of  New  Jersey  by  the  Europeans :  and  an  account  or  fair  detail  of  the  origi- 
nal Indian  East  Jersey  grants,  and  other  rights  of  the  like  tenor  in  East  New 
Jersey.  Digested  in  order.  New  York,  printed  by  Samuel  Parker,  1759." 
This  little  work,  containing  many  interesting  remarks  respecting  men 
and  things  in  New  Jer8ey,is  in  the  Philadelphia  Library, — the  only  copy 
ever  seen  or  heard  of  by  the  writer. — East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietors, 
WiUiamA.  Whitehead,  p.  220. 


the  grievous  complaints  made  against  him  by  the  peo- 
ple, the  queen  revoked  his  commission.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John,  Lord  Lovelace,  but  his  death  (which 
occurred  May  5,  1709)  threw  the  government  into  the 
hands  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Ingoldsby.  Governor 
Hunter's  administration  commenced  in  1710  ;  in  1720 
he  resigned  in  favor  of  William  Burnet.  Afterwards 
officiated  John  Montgomery,  1727  to  1731 ;  William 
Cosby,  1731  to  1736;  John  Anderson,  also  in  1736; 
John  Hamilton,  1736  to  1738.  In  the  summer  of  the 
last-named  year  a  commission  arrived  to  Lewis  Mor- 
ris as  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  separate  from  New 
York ;  he  served  until  his  death,  in  1746.  He  was 
followed  successively  by  President  Hamilton,  1746; 
John  Reading,  1746 ;  Jonathan  Belcher,  1747 ;  John 
Reading,  1757;  Francis  Bernard,  1758;  Thomas 
Boone,  1760;  Josiah  Hardy,  1761;  and  William 
Franklin,  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  1763, — the 
last  royal  Governor,  he  being  deposed,  arrested,  and 
sent  a  prisoner  to  Connecticut  in  1776. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


THE  PBOPBIETABY  GOVEKIfMEBrT  Ol"  EAST 
JEH8EY. 

Eafit  Jersey  under  the  Proprietois,  1680  to  1702 — Robert  Barclay  and 
Thomas  Rudyard — Collision  with  the  Province  of  New  York — Gov- 
ernors Barclay,  Dudley,  Hamilton,  etc. — Opposition  to  Governor  Basse 
— Opposition  to  the  Proprietary  Government — The  Crisis — Surrender 
to  the  Crown,  in  1702. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  have  been  given  in  outline 
the  events  occurring  in  the  province  under  Governors 
Carteret  and  the  tyrannical  Andros  up  to  the  time  of 
the  division  of  New  Jersey  into  an  east  and  a  west 
division.  We  then  traced  more  particularly  the  for- 
tunes of  the  latter.  In  this  chapter  it  is  intended 
briefly  to  portray  the  varying  events  in  the  history  of 
East  Jersey  under  the  proprietary  government. 

On  the  16th  of  October,  1680,  the  Duke  of  York 
relinquished  all  his  pretensions  to  East  Jersey  in  favor 
of  the  grandson  and  heir  of  Sir  George  Carteret,t 
soon  after  which  Andros  returned  to  England.  Sir 
George  died  in  1680,  and  by  his  will,  dated  Dec.  5, 
1678,  left  his  widow,  Lady  Elizabeth,  executrix  of  his 
estate  and  guardian  of  his  grandson  and  heir,  George, 
a  son  of  Sir  Philip,  and  devised  to  Edward,  Earl  of 
Sandwich,  John,  Earl  of  Bath,  Hon.  Bernard  Gren- 
ville,  brother  to  the  Earl  of  Bath,  Sir  Thomas  Crewe, 
Knight,  Sir  Robert  Atkyns,  Knight  of  the  Bath,  and 
Edward  Atkyns,  one  of  the  barons  of  the  Exchequer, 
and  their  heirs,  among  other  lands,  all  his  property  in 
East  Jersey,  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors. 
These  trustees,  failing  to  find  a  purchaser  by  private 
application,  offered  it  at  public  sale  to  the  highest 
bidder,  William  Penn  with  eleven  associates,  most  of 
whom  were  Quakers,  and  some  already  interested  in 


f  Bill  in  Chancery,  p.  8. 


22 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMEKSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JEESEY. 


[the  duke  of  YOEK — JAMES  II.] 


[SIE  GEOEGfE  CAETEEET.] 


[sir  JOHN  BEEKLEY,  PEOP'E.] 


^, 


'T<r/ 


[SIE  EDMUND  ANDEOS.] 


[gov.  p.  caeteeet] 


[eDVAED  HYDE,  LOED  VISCOUTifT  COESTBUET.] 


-A. 

[edavaed  byllinge,  peopeietoe.] 


'^OmA 


[gov.  EOBEET   BARCLAY.] 


[THOMAS  CODRINGTON,  PROPRIETOR.] 


l^^l-C.. 


o^x. 


[lord  KEILL  CAMPBELL.] 


[ROBERT  VAUQUELLIN,   PROPEIETOE.] 


THE  PROPRIETARY   GOVERNMENT  OF  EAST  JERSEY. 


23 


West  Jersey,  becoming  the  purchasers  for  three  thou- 
sand four  hundred  pounds*  Their  deeds  of  lease 
and  release  were  dated  the  1st  and  2d  of  February, 
1681-82,  and  subsequently  each  of  them  sold  one-half 
of  his  respective  right  to  a  new  associate,  making  in 
all  twenty-four  proprietaries.f  In  the  following  year 
the  Duke  of  York  confirmed  this  sale  by  issuing  a  new 
grant  to  the  proprietors,  their  names  there  appearing  in 
the  following  order :  James,  Earl  of  Perth,  John  Drum- 
mond,  Robert  Barclay,  David  Barclay,  Bobert  Gor- 
don, Arent  Sonmans,  William  Penn,  Robert  West, 
Thomas  Rudyard,  Samuel  Oroom,  Thomas  Hart,  Rich- 
ard Mew,  Ambrose  Rigg,  John  Heywood,  Hugh  Harts- 
home,  Clement  Plumstead,  Thomas  Cooper,  Gawen 
Lawrie,  Edward  Byllinge,  James  Brain,  William  Gib- 
son, Thomas  Barker,  Robert  Turner,  and  Thomas 
Warne,  those. in  italics  being  eleven  of  the  twelve 
original  purchasers;  Thomas  Wilcox,  the  twelfth, 
having  parted  with  his  interest,  Feb.  27,  1682,  to 
David  Barclay.^ 

There  was  a  strange  mingling  of  professions,  re- 
ligions, and  characters  in  these  proprietaries,  among 
them  being,  as  an  English  writer  observes,  "high- 
prerogative  men  (especially  those  from  Scotland), 
dissenters,  papists,  and  Quakers."^  The  first  twelve 
purchasers,  however,  were  mostly,  if  not  all,  Quakers, 
and,  as  some  of  their  associates  were  of  the  same  re- 
ligious faith,  they  had  a  controlling  influence  in  the 
body,  which  fact  may  explain  why  Robert  Barclay,  of 
Urie,  a  Quaker  and  a  personal  friend  of  William 
Penn,  was  selected  to  be  Governor  of  the  province. 
It  was  a  worthy  choice,  as  he  was  a  man  of  learning, 
of  religious  zeal,  and  of  exemplary  character.  ||  Such 
was  the  esteem  and  confidence  in  which  he  was  held 
by  his  fellow-proprietaries  that  they  subsequently 
commissioned  him  as  Governor  for  life ;  nor  was  he 
required  to  visit  the  province  in  person,  but  was 
allowed  to  exercise  his  authority  by  deputy.  For 
this  office  he  selected  Thomas  Rudyard,  an  eminent 
lawyer  of  London  and  one  of  the  proprietaries. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  Rudyard  selected  as  his  coun- 
selors Col.  Lewis  Morris,  Capt.  John  Berry,  Capt. 
John  Palmer,  Capt.  William  Sandford,  Lawrence 
Andress,  and  Benjamin  Price,  before  whom  he  was 
sworn  into  oflEice  (Dec.  20, 1682)  as  deputy-governor. 
The  previous  "  Concessions  "  were  confirmed,  and  the 
Assembly  called  by  Rudyard,  which  held  three  ses- 
sions during  the  year  1683  at  Elizabethtown,  "  passed 
several  acts  of  importance  tending  to  the  well-being 

*  Grahame,  ii.,  p.  289 ;  New  Jersey  Laws,  1834-35,  p.  ITS.  Copies  of  the 
lease  and  release  to  tlie  twelve  are  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  office,  Tren- 
ton, presented  by  descendants  of  Clement  Plumstead,  one  of  the  grantees. 

f  EaBt  Jersey  under  the  Proprietors,  pp.  100-103. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  118.  Gordon  gives,  as  the  additional  twelve,  thirteen  names, 
among  them  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  Robert  Burnet,  Peter  Sonmans, 
Thomas  C<)x,  and  William  Dockwra,  who  were  all  subsequent  pur- 
chasers. Robert  Turner  he  calls  Gawen  Turner,  and  Thomas  Warne, 
Thomas  Naime^ — possibly  clerical  or  typographical  errors. 

g  Wynne's  British  Empire,  i.,  p.  206. 

I  See  Allibone's  "  Dictionary  of  Authors"  for  a  full  sketch  of  his  life 
and  writings. 


of  the  province."  Among  these  were  acts  remodeling 
the  criminal  and  penal  codes,  etc.,  and  "An  Act  di- 
viding the  province  into  four  counties,  and  appointing 
a  high-sherifi'  for  each."  The  county  of  Bergen  in- 
cluded all  the  settlements  between  the  Hudson  and 
Hackensack  Rivers,  and  extended  to  the  northern 
bounds  of  the  province;  Essex,  all  the  country  north 
of  the  dividing-line  between  Woodbridge  and  Eliza- 
bethtown and  west  of  the  Hackensack  ;  Middlesex,  all 
from  the  Woodbridge  line  on-  the  north  to  Cheese- 
quake  Harbor  on  the  southeast,  and  back  southwest 
and  northwest  to  the  province  bounds ;  and  Mon- 
mouth comprised  the  residue.  A  point  of  variance 
between  the  deputy-governor  and  Groom,  the  sur- 
veyor-general, led  to  Barclay's  supersedure  by  Gawen 
Lawrie,  a  London  merchant  and  a  proprietary,  who 
was  already  deeply  interested  in  West  Jersey. 

Although  most  of  the  proprietaries  resided  in  Great 
Britain,  still  emigration  and  transfers  of  proprietary 
rights  soon  brought  to  East  Jersey  many  persons  who 
were  directly  interested  in  the  soil, — resident  prop- 
erty-holders,— who  Aug.  1, 1684,  established  a  "  Board 
of  Proprietors,"  composed  of  "  all  the  proprietaries 
that  might  be  from  time  to  time  in  the  province,"  and 
was  designed  "  to  act  with  the  deputy-governor  in  the 
temporary  approval  of  laws  passed  by  the  Assembly, 
the  settlement  of  all  disputes  with  the  planters,"  etc. 
This  board  continued  to  have  prominent  control 
within  the  province  "  of  those  concerns  which  were 
connected  with  the  proprietary  titles  to  the  govern- 
ment and  soil."1[  Great  pains  was  taken  by  the  pro- 
prietary government  to  avoid  a  collision  with  the 
province  of  New  York,  whose  Governor,  Dongan,  re- 
frained from  any  open  act  of  hostility  until  1685, 
when  William  Dyre  was  appointed  collector  of  the 
customs. 

The  Duke  of  York  was  now  (1685),  by  the  death  of 
Charles  II.,  raised  to  the  throne  as  James  II.,  and, 
notwithstanding  he  had  thrice  conveyed  and  con- 
firmed to  others  all  the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges 
he  had  in  New  Jersey,  he  resolved  to  extend  his  royal 
prerogative  over  it  in  order  to  increase  his  revenues. 
The  proprietaries  in  England  were  not  silent  under 
this  arbitrary  action  of  the  sovereign.  In  a  petition 
to  the  king  in  council  they  specified  some  of  the  en- 
croachments of  Dongan,  in  relation  to  the  seizure  of 
vessels  trading  to  New  Jersey,  as  calculated  to  "  over- 
throw one  of  the  most  hopeful  colonies  in  America." 
In  a  remonstrance  subsequently  presented  to  the  king 
they  reminded  him  that  they  had  not  received  the 
province  as  a  gratuity,  but  had  expended  for  it  twelve 
thousand  pounds  ;  that  under  his  own  confirmation  of 
their  title  and  assurance  of  protection  they  had  sent 
thither  several  hundreds  of  people  from  Scotland,  but 
as  yet  had  received  no  returns ;  and  that,  notwithstand- 
ing all  these  guarantees,  their  rights  had  been  violated 
by  the  Governor  of  New  York.    They  signified  their 

^  East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietors,  p.  141. 


24 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   C0UNTEE3,  NEW   JER3EF. 


willingness  to  submit  to  an  imposition  of  the  same 
customs  that  were  levied  in  New  York,  and  among 
other  prayers  requested  that  a  customs  officer  might 
be  appointed  at  Perth  Amboy.*  The  last  request  was 
the  only  one  granted,  as  it  promised  additional  rev- 
enue and  did  not  conflict  with  the  designs  he  then 
had  in  view. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1686,  the  Assembly  met  for 
the  first  time  at  the  new  seat  of  government,  Perth 
Amboy.  Lawrie  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Neill  Camp- 
bell, in  the  same  year.  His  council  was  composed  of 
Gawen  Lawrie,  Maj.  John  Berry,  of  Bergen,  Isaac 
Kingsland,  of  New  Barbadoes,  Capt.  Andrew  Hamil- 
ton, of  Amboy,  Eichard  Townley,  of  Elizabethtown, 
Samuel  Winder,  of  Cheesequakes,  David  Mudie  and 
John  Johnston,  of  Amboy,  and  Thomas  Codrington, 
of  Earitan.  In  1687,  Lord  Campbell  returned  to 
Scotland,  leaving  Andrew  Hamilton  as  his  substitute. 
Under  the  operations  of  the  writ  of  quo  warranto,  is- 
sued in  1686  against  the  proprietors  by  the  order  of 
King  James,  the  king's  pliant  tool,  Andros,  commis- 
sioned as  Governor  over  all  New  England,  proceeded 
to  extend  his  sway  not  only  over  that  country,  but 
over  New  Jersey,  and,  finding  the  king  immovable  in 
this  determination,  "  the  proprietaries  of  East  Jersey 
considered  it  advisable  to  abandon  the  hopeless  con- 
test for  their  previously-conceded  privileges,  and  by 
facilitating  the  king's  design  obtain  his  guarantee  to 
respect  their  right  to  the  soil.  They  consequently 
made  a  formal  surrender  of  their  patent  on  this  con- 
dition in  April,  1688."  The  quo  warranto  process  was 
stayed  so  far  as  aifected  East  Jersey ;  and,  as  the  pro- 
prietaries of  West  Jersey  also  entered  into  the  ar- 
rangement, a  new  commission  was  directed  to  Andros, 
annexing  both  provinces  to  his  government,  together 
with  New  York, — Governor  Dongan  being  thus  su- 
perseded,— with  Francis  Nicholson  as  his  lieutenant. 
This  made  but  little  if  any  change  in  the  government 
of  East  Jersey,  as  Andros  wisely  continued  all  their 
oificers  in  their  places. 

In  August,  1689,  Hamilton  left  for  Europe,  and  the 
people  of  East  Jersey  were  left  to  the  guardianship  of 
their  county  and  town  oificers  from  that  time  until 
1692.  "  These,  however,  possessed  ample  powers  to 
meet  all  common  emergencies,  and  without  any  pres- 
sure from  abroad,  or  attempted  exercise  of  any  dis- 
puted prerogative  within  the  province  by  the  agents 
of  the  proprietaries,  the  authority  of  these  local  mag- 
istrates appears  to  have  been  respected  and  the  peace 
of  the  community  preserved."!  Bancroft  asserts  that 
during  this  period  East  Jersey  had  no  government 
whatever ;  but  this  is  disputed  by  Whitehead  and 
others,  whose  opinions  are  supported  by  a  reference  to 
the  various  charters  and  local  regulations. 

After  the  death  of  Governor  Barclay,  in  1690,  the 
proprietaries  appointed  John  Latham,  and,  in  1691, 


*  East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietariee,  pp.  141-146. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  184. 


Col.  Joseph  Dudley,  as  Governor,  but  the  people 
"  scrupled  to  obey  both,"  although  the  reason  is  not 
given.  Perth  Amboy,  the  new  capital,  had  grown  to 
be  an  important  village,  and  from  thence  the  new  set- 
tlers spread  westward,  entering  upon  the  unbroken 
interior  and  establishing  themselves  on  the  banks  of 
the  Earitan,  soon  becoming  sufficiently  numerous  to 
call  for  the  erection  of  a  new  county ;  hence  Som- 
erset was  set  off'  from  Middlesex  in  1688,  with  a  some- 
what larger  territory  than  it  has  at  present. 

In  September,  1692,  Andrew  Hamilton,  who  had 
been  appointed  Governor,  arrived  in  Jersey,  "and 
was  received  in  a  manner  that  removed  every  impedi- 
ment to  the  re-establishment  of  the  proprietary  gov- 
ernment."! He  appointed  John  Barclay  receiver- 
and  surveyor-general,  and  Thomas  Gordon  resident 
secretary.  On  the  14th  of  the  month  he  selected  as 
his  council  Capt.  Isaac  Kingsland,  'Capt.  Andrew 
Bowne,  John  Inians,  of  Earitan  Eiver,  David  Mudie,| 
James  Dundas,  John  Eoyce,  of  Eoycefield,  Samuel 
Dennis,  John  Bishop,  and  Lewis  Morris.  September 
28th  a  General  Assembly  convened  at  Perth  Amboy, 
at  which  the  laws  passed  subsequent  to  1682  were, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  re-enacted  and  others  amended. 
An  act  was  also  passed  authorizing  a  special  tax  of 
four  hundred  pounds  to  lighten  the  burden  of  New 
York  in  the  war  between  England  and  France,  the 
frontier  settlements  being  much  exposed  to  expedi- 
tions from  Canada.  This  action  must  have  been 
prompted  by  a  sense  of  duty,  as  East  Jersey  had  no 
danger  to  apprehend  from  the  French,  and  certainly 
at  this  time  had  no  unusual  regard  for  the  interests 
of  New  York.  In  1696  similar  projects  for  the  relief 
of  New  York  found  little  favor.  || 

From  1692  to  1696  a  more  quiet  condition  of  affairs 
prevailed  than  had  existed  for  years,  but  dissensions 
were  not  yet  at  an  end.  Considerable  agitation  pre- 
vailed concerning  the  payment  of  quit-rents,  but  no 
adjustment  of  the  matter  was  arrived  at.  The  first 
judicial  decision  respecting  land-titles  was  obtained 
in  1695,  the  judgment  being  in  favor  of  the  party 
claiming  under  the  proprietary  grants.  This  was  ren- 
dered of  non-effect  by  the  reversal  of  the  king  in 
council  on  account  of  a  technical  informality  in  the 
proceedings. 

In  1697  the  proprietaries  in  England  appointed 
Jeremiah  Basse  to  succeed  Governor  Hamilton,  and 
much  dissatisfaction  was  felt  and  expressed  in  both 
Jerseys  when  it  was  found  he  had  not  received  the 
royal  approbation,  but  only  the  support  of  the  pro- 
prietors. For  that  reason  he  postponed  calling  the 
Assembly  together,  but  rather  sought  to  make  friends 
from  among  the  opponents  of  that  body.  It  was  not 
until  Feb.  21,  1699,  that  he  convened  the  Assembly. 
Basse's  first  court  was  held  in  May,  1698,  the  record 
of  which  bears  this  entry : 

X  Ibid.,  p.  188. 

g  Ricliai-d  Hartshorne  Biicceeded  Mudie  in  1695. 

II  'Wliitehead ;  East  Jersey  under  tlie  Proprietaries,  p.  191. 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


25 


"  Lewis  Morris,  Esq.,  came  in  open  Court  and  demanded  by  what  au- 
thoritie  they  kept  Court.  The  Court  declared  by  y«  Kings  Authoritie. 
He  deuied  it  &  being  aslsed,  "Who  was  disaatasiied  besides  himself,  he  said 
One  and  all.  The  court  commanding  ye  said  Morris  to  be  taken  in  cns- 
todj',  (X\  Kichard  Townley,  Andrew  Hanipton,  both  of  Elizabethtown, 
&  three  or  four  more,  cried  one  and  all,  and  y  said  Lewis  Morris  said  he 
would  fain  see  who  durst  lay  hold  on  him — and  when  a  Constable  by 
order  of  ye  Court  laid  hold  ou  him,  he,  in  y  face  of  y  Court,  resisted."* 

Soon  after  (1699)  followed  the  passage  of  a  bill  by 
the  Assembly  excluding  from  that  body  "any  pro- 
prietor or  representative  of  one.''    This  was  the  out- 
come of  the  opposition  of  George  Willocksf  to  a  bill 
before  the  Assembly,  which  was  passed,  and  a  writ 
issued  by  the  Governor  for  the  election  of  a  member 
of  Assembly  in  his  stead.     Thus  were  the  proprietary 
interests  endangered.     The  unjust  action  and  harass- 
ing proceedings  of  New  York  in  relation  to  the  trade 
of  the  province   formed  another  source  of  trouble. 
Governor  Bellamont,  of  New  York,  tried  to  obstruct 
the  foreign  trade  of  East  Jersey,  and  even  forbade  the 
printing  in  New  York  of  proclamations  which  Gov- 
ernor Basse  was  anxious  to  distribute,  making  known 
the  establishment  of  the  ports  of  Perth  Amboy  and 
Burlington.     Bellamont  also  published  a  proclama- 
tion, based  upon  an  order  he  had  obtained  from  the 
-Crown,  denying  the  right  of  the  proprietors  of  East 
and  West  Jersey  to  the  privilege  of  ports.     Governor 
Basse  resisted  with  much  spirit.     He  put  a  cargo  on 
board  the  ship  "  Hester,"  lying  at  Perth  Amboy,  and 
it  was  about  to  sail,  when  Bellamont  sent  down  an 
armed  force,  seized  the  vessel  and  brought  her  to  the 
city ;  and,  as  Basse  refused  to  have  her  cleared  from 
New  York,  she  was  condemned  in  the  Court  of  Ad- 
miralty.     These   diflBculties   continued    until   1700, 
when  Basse's   claim   for   damages   came   before  the 
Court  of  King's   Bench,   resulting  in   an   award  to 
Basse  and  the  thorough  establishment  of  the  right  of 
East  Jersey  to  the  privileges  of  a  port. 

If  Governor  Basse  met  with  opposition  from  the 
people  at  first,  he  found  it  greatly  increased  as  months 
passed.  Indeed,  there  were  serious  apprehensions  of 
an  insurrection  under  the  leadership  of  Willocks  and 
Morris.  Nor  were  matters  improved  by  the  action  of 
the  citizens  of  Perth  Amboy  in  returning  Lewis  Morris 
to  the  seat  in  the  Assembly  declared  vacant  by  the 
dismissal  of  Willocks.  Although  both  were  cited  to 
appear  before  the  court  at  its  October  term, — which 
citation  they  refused  to  obey, — and  although  both  the 
Council  and  Assembly  became  involved  in  this  vex- 
atious issue,  it  does  not  appear  that  they  were  tried, 
for  every  month  brought  greater  anarchy,  until  Basse's 
government  was  openly  defied.  Aug.  19, 1699,  Gover- 
nor Hamilton  was  reinstated,  notwithstanding  Basse's 
efforts  to  prevent  it;  but  he  did  not  arrive  in  the 
province  until  December,  prior  to  which  time  Basse 
had  sailed  for  England.   Hamilton's  course  being  one 


of  pacification,^  his  authority  was  at  first  generally 
submitted  to ;  but  this  was  not  to  last  long,  for  there 
was  still  a  numerous  party  who  held  a  deep-rooted 
aversion  to  the  proprietary  government,  no  matter  by 
whom  represented.  The  majority  of  the  Assembly 
were  of  this  class,  and  when  Hamilton  dissolved  the 
Assembly,  May  31st,  the  day  after  it  first  convened, 
"  the  validity  of  his  commission  was  for  the  first  time 
openly  called  in  question.  Tumultuous  and  seditious 
meetings  were  subsequently  held,  the  justices  ap- 
pointed by  him  were  assaulted  while  sitting  in  open 
court  by  bodies  of  armed  men,  the  sheriff's  were  at- 
tacked and  wounded  when  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  and  every  exertion  made  to  seduce  those  peace- 
ably disposed  from  their  allegiance  to  the  government ; 
so  that  this  period  became  known  in  after-years  as 
'the  Kevolution.'  "J  Of  this  critical  time  Whitehead 
says,— 

"  A  crisis  had  evidently  arrived  in  the  affairs  of  the  proyince  which 
the  proprietors  were  not  prepared  to  encounter  successfully.  As  a  body 
they  had  become  so  numerous,  so  scattered, — some  in  England,  some  in 
Scotland,  and  some  in  America, — and  so  divided  in  interests,  that  unan- 
imity in  council  could  scarcely  be  expected ;  aud  yet  the  inhabitants 
were  pui-suing  such  a  system  of  measures  as  required  the  utmost  wisdom 
to  project,  with  equal  firmness  and  union  to  administer,  such  remedies 
as  could  alone  lead  to  the  re-establishment  of  peace  and  regularity : 
without  these  necessary  qualities  to  control  their  opponents,  but  one 
result  could  be  anticipated."!] 

Full  soon  came  the  end.  The  surrender  of  the 
government  by  the  proprietaries  was  perfected  on 
paper  April  15,  1702,  and,  on  the  25th  of  July,  Queen 
Anne  selected  Edward  Hyde,  Lord  Viscount  Corn- 
bury,  as  Governor  of  the  to-be-united  provinces. 


*  East  Jersey  Eecords.  For  this  contempt  the  court  fined  him  fifty 
pounds,  and  ordered  him  "  to  be  committed  to  prison  till  paid."— Jfe» 
Jersey  Colonial  DocumejUs. 

-f  He  was  agent  for  the  proprietors  to  collect  quit-rents  aud  arrearages, 
and  also  a  member  of  Assembly. 


CHAPTER    V. 

HTJITTEKDOlir  AND   SOMEESET  COTTlfTIES  TS 
THE  KEVOLUTIOBT. 

The  Conflict  Commences — Governor  Franklin's  Opposition — The  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence  aud  Inquiry— Meetings  in  Hunterdon  and 
Somerset — First  Provincial  Congress— Township  Meetings— The  Mili- 
tia and  "Minute-Men" — The  "Committee  of  Safety" — Scarcity  of 
Arms  and  Ammunition — The  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Troops  ordered 
to  March — The  Colony,  of  New  Jersey  transformed  into  an  Indepen- 
dent State — The  Flying-Camp— Retreat  of  the  American  Army — The 
Enemy's  Advance  through  New  Jersey — Capture  of  Gen.  Lee — Crossing 
the  Delaware-^The  Fights  at  Trenton  and  Assanpink — Battle  of 
Princeton — Washington  at  Pluckamin — Captain  Leslie — The  Army 
goes  into  Winter  Quarters  at  Morristown. 

FROM  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  TO  THE 
BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON. 

The  stories  of  the  part  taken  by  the  counties  of 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  in  the  war  of  the  Eevolu- 
tion  and  of  what  the  people  of  these  counties  did 
and  suff"ered  and  sacrificed  in  the  great  struggle  for 
national  independence,  do  not  necessarily,  nor  in- 
deed properly,  include  a  detailed  account  of  all  the 
long  and  bloody  conflict  between  the  colonies  and  the 
mother-country,  but  only  of  such  of  its  military  and 


t  He  wisely  restored  Morris  to  the  Council. 

3  Bill  in  Chancery ;  East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietaries. 

11  East  Jei-sey  under  the  Proprietaries,  p.  213. 


26 


HUNTEEDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


civil  eyents  as  occurred  witkin  or  in  the  near  vicinity 
of  the  territory  of  the  two  counties,  and  of  such  parts 
of  the  Revolutionary  drama  as,  being  enacted  else- 
where, were  yet  participated  in  by  men  of  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  as  prominent  actors. 

The  causes  which  drove  the  American  colonies  into 
the  conflict  which  finally  resulted  in  their  separation 
from  Great  Britain  have  been  too  frequently  enumer- 
ated and  too  fully  set  forth  in  general  history  to  need 
a  recital  here.  These  causes  first  began  to  operate 
between  the  years  1760  and  1765,  when  measures 
were  proposed  in  the  British  Parliament  looking  to 
the  taxation  of  the  American  subjects  of  the  English 
king  to  raise  a  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  home 
government.  The  general  feeling  of  discontent 
awakened  among  the  colonists  by  the  inauguration 
of  these  measures  was  intensified  by  the  subsequent 
passage  of  the  odious  "Stamp  Act,"  the  imposition 
of  a  duty  on  tea,  and  other  similar  schemes  of  taxa- 
tion ;  so  that,  when  intelligence  was  received  of  the 
passage  of  the  "  Boston  Port  Bill,"  on  the  31st  of 
March,  1774,  there  arose  an  almost  universal  murmur 
of  indignant  remonstrance  against  a  policy  which  was 
stigmatized  as  unendurable  tyranny.  The  measure 
last  named  had  been  directed  especially  against  the 
chief  port  of  New  England,  but  all  the  other  colonies 
were  in  sympathy  with  that  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  made  her  cause  their  own,  as  well  they  might, 
for  it  was  clear  to  the  understanding  of  all  intelligent 
persons  that  if  such  acts  of  oppression  were  submitted 
to  in  Boston,  they  would  ere  long  be  enforced  in  all 
the  colonies,  from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia, 

This  conviction  produced  among  the  people  a  feel- 
ing, not  of  indignation  alone,  but  of  alarm  at  the 
dangerous  invasion  of  their  rights ;  and,  although  as 
yet  there  had  been  awakened  no  general  sentiment  of 
disloyalty  to  King  George,  there  were  not  a  few  among 
the  more  clear-sighted  of  the  colonists  who  even  then 
foresaw  that  they  might,  and  probably  would,  be 
finally  driven  to  the  dread  alternative  of  armed  resist- 
ance. "  Nothing  could  have  been  devised*  by  the 
wit  of  man  more  effective  for  the  speedy  education 
and  enlightenment  of  the  people  of  the  colonies  than 
these  obnoxious  measures.  The  colony  fif  New  Jer- 
sey broke  out  in  a  simultaneous  blaze  of  indignation 
from  Sussex  to  Cape  May,  and  immediate  measures 
were  taken  to  organize  the  various  counties  into  a 
combination  of  the  friends  of  liberty  which  should 
secure  promptitude  and  unity  of  action  throughout 
the  province." 

It  was  not  the  passage  of  the  Port  Bill,  however 
which  first  led  the  friends  of  liberty  in  this  province 
to  combine  for  mutual  safety,  for  it  is  found  that  more 
than  seven  weeks  before  the  passage  of  that  act  and 
three  monthsf  before  the  announcement  had  reached 


*  The  language  of  Mr.  Charles  D.  Deshler  in  a  paper  read  by  him  before 
the  New  Bmnswick  Historical  Club  at  its  fifth  anniversary,  Dec.  IG  18Y6 

J  ?n,^  "71,°'  *'"  """'"^^  °^  ''"'  ^°''*  ^"^  ^''^  '^'"'"■'">  i"  Boston  on 
the  loth  of  May. 


the  shores  of  America,  a  general  "  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence and  Inquiry"  had  been  constituted  here, 
having  for  its  object  consultation  with  the  most  prom- 
inent men  in  the  New  Jersey  counties,  and  corre- 
spondence with  similar  committees  in  other  colonies. 
The  particulars  of  the  formation  of  this  committee,  its 
composition,  and  the  duties  with  which  it  was  charged 
are  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  the  Minutes 
of  the  House  of  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  dated  New 
Brunswick,  Tuesday,  February  8,  1774, — viz. : 

"  The  House  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  several  Letters  and 
Resolutions  of  the  other  Houses  of  Assembly  on  the  subject-matter  of 
the  common  Eights  and  Liberties  of  the  Colonies ;  and  the  House  re- 
solved itself  into  a  Committee  of  the  whole  House  upon  Matters  afore- 
said ;  and  after  some  time  spent  therein,  Mr.  Speaker  resumed  the 
Chair,  and  Mr.  Crane,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  (by  order  of  the 
House),  reported  the  Kesolutiona  of  the  Committee,  ae  follows,  viz. : 

"  1.  BeBolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Committee  that  the  House 
should  heartily  accept  of  the  InvitationJ  to  a  mutual  Correspondence  and 
Intercourse  with  our  Sister-Colonies ;  to  which  the  House  agreed  Nemitie 
CcndradicenU. 

"  2.  Resolved^  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee  that  a  Standing 
Committee  of  Correspondence  and  Inquiry  be  appointed,  to  consist  of  the 
following  persons,  to  wit:  James  Kinsey,  Stephen  Crane,  Hendrick 
Fisher.g  Samuel  Tucker,||  John  Wetherill,  Bobert  Friend  Price,  John 
Hinchman,  John  Mehelmjl  and  Edward  Taylor,  Esquires,  or  any  five  of 
them,  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  obtain  the  most  early  and  authentick 
intelligence  of  all  Acts  and  Resolutions  of  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain,  or  the  Proceedings  of  Administration  that  may  have  any  Rela- 
tion to,  or  may  affect  the  Liberties  and  Privileges  .of  His  Majesty's  Sub- 
jects in  the  British  Colonies  in  America,  and  to  keep  up  and  maintain  a 
Correspondence  and  Communication  with  our  Sister-Colonies  respecting 
these  important  considerations  ;  and  that  they  do  occasionally  lay  their 
Proceedings  before  the  House  ;  to  which  the  House  agreed  Nemine  Con- 
tradicente, 

"  3.  Eesolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Committee  that  the  said 
Committee  of  Correspondence  do  write  Letters  to  the  several  Speakers 
of  the  Assemblies  on  the  Continent  of  America,  inclosing  these  Resolu- 
tions, and  requesting  them  to  lay  the  same  before  their  respective  As- 
semblies; and  that  they  do  return  the  Thanks  of  the  House  to  the  Bur- 
gesses of  Virginia  for  their  early  Attention  to  the  Liberties  of  America; 
to  which  the  House  agreed  Nemine  Contradieeniey 

The  Governor,  William  Franklin  (son  of  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  but,  unlike  his  father,  a  man  of 
strong  royalist  proclivities),  was  opposed  to  the  for- 
mation of  such  a  committee,  and  in  a  letter  written 
by  him  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  on  the  31st  of  May, 
1774,  expressed  his  opinion  as  follows : 

"The  Virginia  Assembly  some  time  ago  appointed  a  Committee  of 
Correspondence,  to  correspond  with  all  the  other  Assemblies  on  the.  Con- 
tinent, which  example  has  been  followed  by  every  other  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. I  was  in  hopes  that  the  Assembly  of  this  Province  would 
not  have  gone  into  the  measure ;  for  though  they  met  on  the  loth  of  No- 
vember, yet  they  avoided  taking  the  matter  into  consideration,  though 
frequently  urged  by  some  of  the  members,  until  the  Sth  of  February, 
and  then  I  believe  they  would  not  have  gone  into  it  but  that  the  Assem- 
bly of  New  York  had  just  before  resolved  to  appoint  such  a  committee, 
and  they  did  not  choose  to  appear  singular." 

On  the  1st  of  June,  the  day  next  following  the  date 
of  Governor  Franklin's  letter,  a  meeting  (probably 
the  first  one)  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence 
and  Inquiry  was  held  at  New  Brunswick,  and  a  brief 


X  The  "  invitation"  referred  to  was  a  proposition  made  by  the  House  of 
Burgesses  of  the  colony  of  Virginia  to  the  Assembly  of  New  Jersey  to 
appoint  from  its  members  a  Standing  Committee  of  Correspondence  for 
the  objects  referred  to  above. 

I  Of  Somerset  County. 

li  Of  Hunterdon  County. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


27 


mentioa  of  it  is  found*  in  a  letter  written  by  one  of 
the  members  of  the  committee,  under  date  of  July  2, 
1774,  from  which,  the  following  is  extracted, — viz. : 

"  I  returned  yesterday  from  New  Brunswick,  where  six  of  our  Com- 
mittee met.  We  answered  the  Boston  letters,  informing  them  that  we 
look  on  New  Jersey  as  eventually  in  the  same  predicament  with  Boston, 
and  that  we  will  do  everything  which  may  be  generally  agreed  on.  We 
have  signed  a  request  to  the  Governor  to  call  the  General  Assemblyf  to 
meet  at  such  time  as  His  Excellency  may  think  proper  before  the  first  of 
August  next.  Our  Committee  is  well  disposed  in  the  cause  of  American 
freedom." 


Of  the  nine  members  of  this  first  Committee  of 
Correspondence  for  the  colony  of  New  Jersey,  three 
were  furnished  by  Hunterdon  and  Somerset, — namely, 
Samuel  Tucter  and  John  Mehelm  of  the  former,  and 
Hendrick  Fisher  of  the  latter  county. 

The  meeting  of  the  committee  at  New  Brunswick 
was  immediately  followed  by  gatherings  of  the  people 
in  nearly  all  of  the  counties  in  New  Jersey.  The  ob- 
ject of  these  meetings  (which  were  convened  at  the 
call  of  prominent  and  infl,uential  citizens  of  the  sev- 
eral counties)  was  to  perfect,  as  far  as  possible,  a  gen- 
eral organization  of  citizens  opposed  to  encroach- 
ments on  the  rights  of  the  colonies  by  the  home 
government,  and  especially  to  provide  for  the  selec- 
tion of  persons  to  represent  them  in  a  general  Con- 
gress of  Deputies  from  the  several  colonies,  proposed 
by  the  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  to  be  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forming  a  plan  of  union,  and,  in  general,  to 
devise  measures  for  the  public  welfare. 

The  first  of  this  series  of  local  meetings  was  held 
by  "  the  Freeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  Lower  Free- 
hold, in  the  county  of  Monmouth,  in  New  Jersey,  on 
Monday,  the  6th  day  of  June,  1774,  after  due  notice 
given  of  the  time,  place,  and  occasion  of  this  meet- 
ing." The  next  meeting  was  in  Essex  County,  held 
at  the  court-house  in  Newark,  on  Saturday,  June  11th. 
This  was  followed  by  meetings  held  in  Bergen  County 
on  the  25th,  and  in  Morris  County  on  the  27th  of  the 
same  month.  It  is  known  that  the  people  of  Som- 
erset County  were  convened  in  the  same  manner,  at 
about  the  same  time,  and  for  the  same  purposes,  but 
neither  the  exact  date  nor  any  minutes  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  meeting  have  been  found.  The  rec- 
ord of  the  Hunterdon  County  meeting  has  been 
preserved,  and  is  as  follows : 

"The  Freeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  Hunterdon  County,  in  the 
Province  of  New  Jersey,  convened  by  advei-tiaement  at  the  house  of 
John  Eingo,  in  Amwell,  in  said  county,  on  Friday,  the  8th  July,  17Y4, 
Samuel  Tucker,  Esq.,  in  the  chair,  came  into  the  following  Kesolutions 
without  a  dissenting  voice, — viz. : 

"1.  We  do  most  expressly  declare,  recognize,  and  acknowledge  His 
Majesty  King  George  the  Third  to  be  the  lawful  and  rightful  King  of 
Great  Britain  and  of  all  other  his  Dominions,  and  that  it  is  the  indis- 


*  Fide  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  Council  of  Safety,  1775 

-76,  p.  4. 

+  In  a  letter  addressed  by  Governor  Franklin  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth 
dated  Burlington,  June  18, 1774,  he  said,  "  I  have  likewise  had  an  ap- 
plication made  to  nie  by  some  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives to  call  a  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  August  next, 
with  which  I  have  not  nor  shall  not  comply,  as  there  is  no  public  busi- 
ness of  the  province  which  can  make  such  a  meeting  necessary." 


pensable  duty  of  this  Colony,  under  the  enjoyment  of  our  constitutional 
privileges  and  immunities,  aa  being  a  part  of  His  Majesty's  Dominions, 
always  to  bear  faithful  and  true  allegiance  to  His  Majesty,  and  him  to 
defend  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  against  all  attempts  upon  his  person, 
crown,  and  dignity. 

"  2.  That  it  is  the  undoubted  hereditary  right  of  an  English  subject  to 
give  and  grant  what  is  absolutely  his  own,  either  by  himself  or  his  Bep- 
resentatives ;  and  that  the  only  lawful  Representatives  of  the  freemen  of 
this  Colony  are  the  persons  they  elect  to  serve  aa  members  of  the  Genera] 
Assembly  thereof. 

"  3.  That  any  Act  of  Parliament  for  the  apprehending  and  carrying  of 
persons  into  another  Colony  or  to  Great  Britain  to  be  tried  for  any  crime 
alleged  to  be  committed  within  this  Colony,  or  subjecting  them  to  be 
tried  by  Commissioners,  or  any  Court  constituted  by  Act  of  Parliament 
or  otherwise,  within  this  Colony,  in  a  summary  way  without  a  juiy  of 
this  vicinage,  is  unconstitutional  and  subversive  of  the  rights  and  liber- 
ties of  the  free  subjects  of  this  Colony. 

"4.  That  it  is  our  indispensable  duty,  which  we  owe  to  our  King,  our 
country',  ourselves,  and  our  posterity,  by  all  lawful  ways  and  means  in 
our  power,  to  maintain,  defend,  and  preserve  our  loyalty,  rights,  and 
liberties,  and  to  transmit  them  inviolate  to  the  latest  generations ;  and 
that  it  is  our  fixed,  determined,  and  unalterable  resolution  faithfully  to 
discharge  this  our  bounden  duty. 

"  5.  That  it  is  our  unanimous  opinion  that  it  would  conduce  to  the 
restoration  of  the  liberties  of  America  should  the  Colonies  enter  into  a 
joint  agreement  not  to  purchase  or  use  any  articles  of  British  manufac- 
ture, nor  any  commodities  imported  from  the  East  Indies,  under  such 
restrictions  bb  may  be  agreed  on  by  a  general  Congress  of  Delegates 
from  all  the  Colonies,  hereafter  to  be  appointed. 

"  6.  That  aa  the  town  of  Boston  is  now  suifering  in  the  common  cause 
of  American  freedom,  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  subscriptions 
be  hereafter  opened  in  every  town  in  this  county,  and  the  money  sub- 
scribed to  be  applied  towards  the  relief  of  the  suffering  poor  in  said  town 
of  Boston  until  they  may  be  relieved  by  being  restored  to  their  just 
rights  and  privileges. 

"  7.  That  this  county  will  appoint  a  Committee  to  meet  the  Committees 
of  the  several  counties  of  this  Colony  at  such  time  and  place  as  may  be 
agreed  on  in  order  to  elect  and  appoint  Delegates  to  represent  this  Col- 
ony at  the  general  Congress,  whose  resolutions  we  will  most  strictly  ad- 
here to  and  abide  by.  And  we  do  hereby  unanimously  request  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  to  accept  of  that  trust,  and  do  accordingly  appoint 
them  our  Committee  for  the  purpose  aforesaid, — viz.,  Samuel  Tucker,- 
John  Mehelm,  John  Hart,  Isaac  Smith,  Charles  Coxe,  Joachim  Griggs, 
Benjamin  Brearly,  Abraham  Hunt,  and  John  Bmley. 

"  As  we  apprehend  New  Brunswick  is  not  so  convenient  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  lower  counties.'and  that  all  the  counties  will  hardly  have 
sufficient  time  to  appoint  their  Committees  by  the  21st  of  July,  vrith 
submission  we  would  propose  Princeton  aa  most  central  to  be  the  place, 
and  Thursday,  the  11th  of  August  the  time,  of  meeting  of  the  several 
Committees. 

"Thomas  Shelton, 
"  Committee  Clerk," 


Similar  meetings  for  the  choice  of  committees  were 
held  in  the  other  counties,  and  on  Thursday,  July  21, 
1774,  "  a  general  meeting  of  the  Committees  of  the 
several  counties  in  the  Province  of  New  Jersey"  was 
convened  at  New  Brunswick,  and  continued  its  ses- 
sions until  the  following  Saturday.  Seventy-two 
members  were  in  attendance.  Stephen  Crane,  Esq., 
of  Essex,  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Jonathan  D. 
Sergeant,  of  Somerset  County,  was  chosen  clerk.  The 
record  J  of  the  proceedings  of  the  convention  is  as 
follows  : 

"  The  Committees,  taking  into  their  serious  consideration  the  danger- 
ous and  destructive  nature  of  sundry  Acts  of  the  British  Parliament 
with  respect  to  the  fundamental  liberties  of  the  American  colonies,  con- 
ceive it  their  indispensable  duty  to  bear  their  open  testimony  against 
them,  and  to  concur  with  the  other  colonies  in  prosecuting  all  legal 


t  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  Council  of  Safety,  1795-76, 
p.  25. 


28 


liUNTEEDOxNT    AND  SOMEKSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  necessary  nieosures  for  obtaining  their  speedy  repeal.    Therefore 
we  unanimously  agree  in  the  following  sentiments  and  resolutions; 

"Itit.  We  think  it  necessary  to  declare  that  the  inhabitants  of  this 
Province  (and  we  are  confident  the  people  of  America  in  general)  are, 
and  ever  have  been,  firm  and  unshaken  in  their  loyalty  to  His  Majesty 
King  George  the  Third  ;  fast  friends  to  the  Revolutiou  settlement;  and 
that  they  detest  all  thoughts  of  an  independence  of  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain.  Accordingly  we  do,  in  the  most  sincere  and  solemn  manner, 
recognize  and  acknowledge  His  Majesty  King  George  the  Third  to 
be  our  lawful  and  rightful  Sovereign,  to  whom,  under  his  royal  protec- 
tion in  our  fundamental  rights  and  privileges,  we  owe,  and  will  ren- 
der, all  due  faith  and  allegiance. 

"  2d.  We  think  ourselves  warranted,  from  the  principles  of  our  excel- 
lent Constitution,  to  affirm  that  the  claim  of  the  British  Parliament  (in 
which  we  neither  are  nor  can  be  represented)  to  make  laws  which  shall 
be  binding  on  the  King's  American  subjects  'in  all  cases  whatsoever,' 
and  particularly  for  imposing  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue 
in  America,  is  unconstitutional  and  oppressive,  and  which  we  think  our- 
selves bound,  in  duty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  by  all  constitutional 
means  in  our  power  to  oppose. 

"  3d.  We  think  the  several  late  Acts  of  Parliament  for  shutting  up 
the  port  of  Boston,  invading  the  Charter  rights  of  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  subjecting  supposed  offenders  to  be  sent 
for  trial  to  other  colonies,  or  to  Great  Britain,  the  sending  over 
an  armed  force  to  carry  the  same  into  effect,  and  thereby  reducing  many 
thousands  of  innocent  and  loyal  inhabitants  to  poverty  and  distress,  are 
not  only  subversive  of  the  undoubted  rights  of  His  Majesty's  American 
subjects,  but  also  repugnant  to  the  common  principles  of  humanity  and 
justice.  These  proceedings,  so  violent  in  themselves,  and  so  truly  alarm- 
ing to  the  other  colonies  (many  of  which  are  equally  exposed  to  Minis- 
terial vengeance),  render  it  the  indispensable  duty  of  all  heartily  to 
unite  in  the  most  pi'oper  measures  to  procure  redress  for  their  oppressed 
countrymen,  now  suffering  in  the  common  cause ;  and  for  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  constitutional  rights  of  America  on  a  solid  and  perma- 
nent foundation. 

"4th.  To  effect  this  important  purpose,  we  conceive  the  most  eligible 
method  is  to  appoint  a  General  Congress  of  Coinmissiouers  of  the  re- 
spective Colonies,  who  shall  be  empowered  mutually  to  pledge,  each  to 
the  rest,  the  publick  honour  and  faith  of  their  constituent  Colonies, 
firmly  and  inviolably  to  adhere  to  the  determinations  of  the  said  Con- 
gress. 

■'5th.  Resolved,  That  we  do  earnestly  recommend  a  general  non-im- 
portation and  non-consumption  agreement  to  he  entered  into  at  such 
time,  and  regulated  in  such  manner,  as  to  the  Congress  shall  seem  most 
advisable. 

'*  6th.  Besolved,  That  it  appears  to  us  to  be  a  duty  incumbent  on  the 
good  people  of  this  Province  to  afford  some  immediate  relief  to  the  many 
suffering  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston. 

"  Therefore  the  several  county  committees  do  now  engage  to  set  on 
foot  and  promote  collections  without  delay,  either  by  subscriptions  or 
otherwise,  throughout  their  respective  Counties;  and  that  they  will 
remit  the  moneys  arising  from  the  said  subscriptions,  or  any  other  bene- 
factions that  may  be  volunta.rily  made  by  the  inhabitants,  either  to  Bos- 
ton, or  into  the  hands  of  James  Neilson,  John  Dennis,  William  Oake, 
Abraham  Hunt,  Samuel  Tucker,  Dr.  Isaac  Smith,  Grant  Gibbon,  Thomas 
Sinnicks,  and  John  Carey,  whom  we  do  hereby  appoint  a  Committee  for 
forwarding  the  same  to  Boston,  in  such  way  and  manner  as  they  shall  be 
advised  will  best  answer  the  benevolent  purpose  designed. 

"7th.  jKesoZued,  That  the  grateful  acknowledgments  of  this  body  are 
due  to  the  noble  and  worthy  patrons  of  constitutional  liberty  in  the 
British  Senate  for  their  laudable  efforts  to  avert  the  storm  they  behold 
impending  over  a  much  injured  Colony,  and  in  support  of  the  just  rights 
of  the  King's  subjects  in  America. 

"8th.  Resolved,  That  James  Kinsey,  William  Livingston,  John  De 
Hart,  Stephen  Crane,  and  Richard  Smith,  Esquires,  or  such  of  them  as 
shall  attend,  be  the  Delegates  to  represent  this  Province  in  the  General 
Continental  Congress  to  be  held  at  the  City  of  Pliiladelphia  on  or  about 
the  first  of  September  next,  to  meet,  consult,  and  advise  with  the  Depu- 
ties from  the  other  Colonies,  aad  to  determine  upon  all  such  pnident  and 
laT\ful  measures  as  may  be  judged  most  expedient  for  the  Colonies  im- 
mediately and  unitedly  to  adopt,  in  order  to  obtain  relief  for  an  oppressed 
people  and  the  redress  of  our  general  grievances. 
"  Signed  by  order, 

"  Jonathan  D.  Sergeant, 

"  Clerk:' 

A  new  general  Standing  Committee  of  Corresi^ond- 


ence  and  Inquiry  was  also  appointed,  consisting  of 
William  Peartree  Smith,  John  Chetwood,  Isaac  Og- 
den,  Joseph  Borden,  Robert  Field,  Isaac  Pierson, 
Isaac  Smith,*  Samuel  Tucker,*  Abraham  Hunt,*  and 
Hendrick  Fisher.f  It  is  noticeable,  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  Convention,  that,  although  they  evinced 
an  unmistakable  spirit  of  opposition  and  resistance  to 
the  oppressive  measures  of  the  British  Parliament 
and  ministry,  they  were  profuse  in  expressions  of  un- 
measured loyalty  to  the  king,  and  resolutions  of  sim- 
ilar import  had  been  passed  in  all  the  preliminary 
meetings  in  the  several  counties  of  this  province. 

The  Congress  of  Delegates  from  the  several  prov- 
inces assembled  at  Carpenters'  Hall,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  4th  of  September  in  the  same 
year,  and  organized  on  the  following  day,  with  Peyton 
Randolph,  of  Virginia,  as  President,  Among  the 
business  transacted  during  the  somewhat  protracted 
session  which  followed  was  the  adoption  of  resolutions 
prohibiting  the  importation,  purchase,  or  use  of  goods 
from  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  or  any  of  the  British  de- 
pendencies after  Dec.  1,  1774,  and  also  directing  that 
(unless  the  grievances  of  the  American  colonies  should 
in  the  mean  time  be  redressed)  all  exportations  hence 
to  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  the  British  West  Indies 
should  cease  on  and  after  Sept.  10, 1775.  An  associa- 
tion in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  these 
resolutions  was  then  formed,  and  was  signed  by  all 
the  members  present.  Article  XI.  of  this  Association 
(adopted  Oct.  20,  1774)  provided: 

"  That  a  committee  be  chosen  in  every  county,  city,  and  town,  by  those 
who  are  qualified  to  vote  for  Representatives  in  the  Legislature,  whose 
business  it  shall  be  attentively  to  observe  the  conduct  of  all  persons 
touching  this  Association;  and  when  it  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  the 
satisfaction  of  a  majority  of  any  such  committee  that  any  person  within 
the  limits  of  their  appointment  has  violated  this  Association,  that  such 
majority  do  forthwith  cause  the  truth  of  the  case  to  be  published,  ...  to 
the  end  that  all  such  foes  to  the  rights  of  British  America  may  be  pub- 
lickly  known  and  universally  contemned  as  the  enemies  of  American 
Liberty ;  and  thenceforth  we  respectively  will  break  off  all  dealings  with 
him  or  her." 

On  the  11th  of  January,  1775,  the  New  Jersey 
members  of  the  Continental  Congress  reported  its 
proceedings  to  the  Assembly  of  their  province,  which 
body  unanimously  signified  its  approval  of  the  said 
proceedings,!  and  resolved  that  the  same  delegates 
should  represent  New  Jersey  in  the  next  Congress,  in 
which  they  should  propose  and  vote  for  every  reason- 
able and  constitutional  measure  for  a  settlement  of 
the  differences  between  the  colonies  and  Great  Britain, 
and  should  again  report  the  proceedings  of  the  Con- 
gress to  the  Assembly  of  the  province. 

A  great  majority  of  the  people  in  all  parts  of  the 
province  of  New  Jersey  approved  the  objects  of  the 
Association  adopted  by  the  Continental  Congress,  and 


*  Of  Hunterdon  County. 

t  Of  Somerset  County. 

X  "Such  members  as  were  Quakers  excepting  only  to  such  parts  as 
seemed  to  wear  an  appearance  or  might  have  a  tendency  to  force,  as 
inconsistent  with  their  religious  principles."— Gordon's  Sistonj  of  New 
Jersey,  p.  157. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


29 


meetings  numerously  attended  were  keld  in  the  diflfer- 
ent  countieSj  and  in  many  of  the  townships,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  to  carry  its  measures  into  effect. 
Some  of  the  means  proposed  to  be  adopted  to  accom- 
plish the  objects  desired  are  shown  by  the  following 
extracts  from  the  minutes  of  several  of  these  meet- 
ings :  "  A  General  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
To\\-nship  of  Woodbridge,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex 
in  New  Jersey,"  held  on  Saturday,  Jan.  7, 1775,  after 
approving  and  adopting  the  Association  entered  into 
and  recommended  by  the  Congress,  and  aft^r  choosing 
a  Committee  of  Observation  of  twenty-one  members, 

"J?esoIred,  unanijnouBly,  That  it  is  the  desire  of  the  people  now  met 
that  the  said  Committee  do  execute  the  trust  reposed  in  them  with  firm- 
ness and  fidelity,  and  in  every  refii)ect  follow  the  directions  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, a£  much  as  if  it  was  a  law  of  this  Province  ;  and  they  be  upon 
oath  for  the  conscientious  discharge  of  their  duty." 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Hanover  township,  Morris 
County,  Feb.  15,  1775,  it  was,  by  the  Committee  of 
Observation,  of  which  Matthias  Burnet  was  chairman, 
resolved  unanimously,  as  follows : 

"1st,  That  they  will  discourage  all  unlawful,  tumultuous,  and  disor- 
derly meetings  of  the  people  within  their  Districts,  and  upon  all  occa- 
eioDB  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  and  oppose  and 
prevent  any  violence  offered  to  the  pereon  or  property  of  any  one. 

"2d.  That  they  will  take  notice  of  all  Horse  Bacing,  Coct-Fighting, 
and  every  kind  of  Gaming  whatsoever,  and  cause  the  offenders  to  be 
prosecuted  accordiug  to  law;  and  discourage  every  species  of  extrava- 
gaut  entertainments  and  amusements  whatsoever,  agreeable  to  the  eighth 
article  of  the  Association  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

"3d.  That  this  Committee  will,  after  the  first  day  of  March  next, 
esteem  it  a  violation  of  the  seventh  article  of  the  said  Association  if  auy 
peison  or  persons  should  kill  any  Sheep  until  it  is  four  years  old,  or  sell 
any  such  Sheep  to  any  person  whom  he  or  they  may  have  cause  to  sus- 
pect will  kill  them  or  carry  them  to  market;  and, further, that  they  will 
esteem  it  a  breach  of  said  article  if  any  inhabitant  of  this  Township 
should  sell  any  Sheep  of  any  kind  whatsoever  to  anj-  person  dwelling 
out  of  this  County,  or  to  any  person  w^ho  they  may  have  cause  to  suspect 
■will  carry  them  out  of  this  County,  without  leave  first  obtained  of  this 
Committee. 

"4th.  That  we  do  recommend  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  Township  the 
caltivation,  of  Flax  and  Hemp,  to  the  greatest  extent  that  their  lands 
and  circumstances  will  admit  of. 

"5th.  That  from  seyeral  Pamphlets  and  Publications  printed  by  James 
Eivington,  of  Kew  York,  Printer,  we  esteem  him  as  an  incendiary,  em- 
ployed by  a  wicked  Ministry  to  disunite  and  divide  us  ;  and  therefore  we 
will  not,  for  ourselves,  have  any  connection  ordealings  with  him.  and  do 
recommend  the  same  conduct  towards  him  to  every  person  of  this  Town- 
ship; and  we  will  discountenance  any  Post-Rider,  Stage-Driver,  or  Car- 
rier who  shall  bring  his  Pamphlets  or  Papers  into  this  County. 

"6th.  That  if  any  manufacturer  of  any  article  made  for  home  con- 
sumption, or  any  Vender  of  Goods  or  Merchandises,  shall  take  advantage 
of  the  necessities  of  his  country  by  selling  at  an  unusual  price,  such 
perwm  shall  be  considered  an  enemy  to  his  country  ;  and  do  recommend 
it  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  Township  to  remember  that  after  the  first 
day  of  March  next  no  East  Indian  Tea  is  to  be  used  in  any  case  whatso- 
ever. 

"7th.  That  we  will  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  and  at  all  events,  use  our 
utmost  endeavours  to  comply  with  and  enforce  everj-  article  of  the  Arao- 
ciation  of  the  General  Continental  Congreffi." 

These  resolutions,  being  nearly  identical  in  their 
import  with  those  passed  by  meetings  of  freeholders 
and  committees  in  nearly  all  the  other  counties,  are 
reproduced  here  at  length  as  showing  the  remarkable 
earnestness  with  which  the  people  indorsed  and  prom- 
ised "to  comply  with  and  enforce  every  article  of  the 
Association."     The  condemnation  of  Eivington  and 


his  publications,  so  strongly  expressed  in  thest  resolu- 
tions, was  enunciated  still  more  forcibly  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  many  of  the  county  meetings,  by  which  he  was 
denounced  as  "  a  vile  Ministerial  hireling,  employed 
to  disunite  the  colonies  and  calumniate  all  their 
measures  entered  into  for  the  public  good"  ;  as  an 
enemy  to  his  country  and  a  person  to  be  hated, 
shunned,  and  discountenanced  by  all  friends  of 
American  liberty. 

The  records  of  the  meetings  held  at  this  time,  and 
in  reference  to  this  matter,  by  the  people  and  com- 
mittee of  Somerset  have  not  been  found,  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  this  county  stood  second  to  none  in  the 
province  of  New  Jersey  in  the  patriotism  of  its  in- 
habitants or  in  the  alacrity  and  earnestness  with 
which  they  adopted  and  enforced  the  measures  recom- 
mended by  the  Continental  Congress  in  its  Articles 
of  Association.  In  Hunterdon  County  committees 
were  promptly  chosen  and  organized,  and  the  report 
of  the  joint  action  of  these  committees  at  their  first 
meeting  is  as  follows  :* 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  several  Township  Committees  in  the  County  of 
Hunterdon  and  Province  of  New  Jersey,  held  at  John  Ringo's,  the  18th 
day  of  January,  1775:  Present,  sixty  members.  John  Hart,  Esq.,  Chair- 
man. 

"  The  Committee,  taking  into  consideration  the  Proceedings  of  the 
late  Congress,  highly  approve  thereof,  and  the  Association  entered  into, 
do  recommend,  and  will  abide  by,  and  thank  the  Delegates  for  their  firm 
and  steady  conduct. 

"  Tlie  Committee  then  taking  into  their  consideration  the  method  of 
choosing  Delegates  for  this  Province  to  attend  at  Philadelphia  the  10th 
day  of  May  next,  or  sooner  if  necessary,  in  Continental  Congress,  agreed 
to  adopt  the  measure  pursued  by  the  several  County  Committees  of  this 
Province  the  21st  of  July  last,  and  do  recommend  that  the  several  County 
Committees  meet  at  Trenton  on  Wednesday,  the  29th  of  March  next,  un- 
less some  other  time  and  place  should  he  agreed  on  by  a  majority  of  the 
Counties  in  this  Province,  to  choose  Delegates  for  the  purpose  aforesaid; 
and  we  do  hereby  appoint  Samuel  Tucker,  John  Mehelm,  John  Hart, 
Daniel  Hunt,  Jasper  Smith,  Charles  Coxe,  Kichard  Stevens,  Samuel  John- 
son, Esquires,  Messrs.  Thomas  Jones  and  Thomas  Stout,  a  County  Com- 
mittee for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  who,  or  auy  three  of  them,  are  also 
appointed  a  Committee  of  Correspondence,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole 
Committee  to  have  power  to  call  Committees  of  the  several  townships 
together,  at  such  times  and  places  as  they  may  judge  necessary. 

"  This  Committee  to  continue  till  the  Proceedings  of  the  next  Conti- 
nental Congress  be  published,  or  a  new  Committee  chosen. 

"SA31UEL  COEWISE, 

"  Clerky 

On  the  morning  of  "Wednesday,  the  19th  of  April, 
1775,  a  detachment  of  British  regular  troops  that  had 
been  sent  out  from  Boston  to  the  town  of  Concord 
met  and  fired  upon  a  body  of  armed  but  unorganized 
and  undisciplined  farmers  and  mechanics  who  had 
collected  at  Lexington  Common.  The  volley  of  the 
regulars  told  with  an  effect  fatal  to  some  of  the  pro- 
vincials, and  this  was  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  war 
of  the  Revolution.  It  has  been  called  the  battle  of 
Lexington.  Before  the  crack  of  the  yeomen's  rifles 
had  ceased  to  sound  along  the  road  from  Lexington 
to  Boston,  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  the  town  of 
Watertown  had  sent  out  express-riders  to  carry  the 
news  south  and  west.     The  dispatch  destined  for  New 


J 


*  3Iinute8  of  the  ProTincial  Congress  and  Council  of  Safen-,  17 
pp.  49,  50. 


-76, 


30 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMEESET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


York  and  Philadelphia  passed  on  through  Worcester, 
Norwich,  New  London,  Lyme,  Saybrook,  Guildford, 
Brandford,  New  Haven,  and  Fairfield  (being  succes- 
sively forwarded  by  relays  by  the  committees  of  these 
places),  and  reached  the  chamber  of  the  New  York 
committee  at  4  o'clock  p.m.  on  Sunday,  the  23d  of 
April.  From  New  York*  the  dispatch  was  forwarded 
with  all  haste  to  New  Brunswick  and  Princeton,  from 
which  places  the  momentous  tidings  spread  like  wild- 
fire up  the  valley  of  the  Earitan  and  across  the  Sour- 
land  hills  into  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties, 
while  the  messengers  with  the  committee's  dispatch 
sped  on  to  Trenton  and  Philadelphia. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  the  alarming  news  from  Lex- 
ington the  Committee  of  Correspondence  for  the 
province  was  summoned  by  its  chairman,  Hendrick 
Fisher,  of  Somerset  County,  to  convene  for  delibera- 
tion and  to  take  such  action  as  might  seem  necessary. 
The  committee  accordingly  met,  and  the  following 
is  the  record!  of  its  proceedings  on  that  occasion,— 
viz. . 

"  At  a  moeting  of  tha  New  Jersey  Provincial  Committee  of  Corre- 
epondence  (appointed  by  the  Provincial  Congress)  at  the  City  of  New 
Brunswick,  on  Tuesday,  the  second  day  of  May,  Anno  Domini  1776, 
agreeable  to  summons  of  Hendrick  Fisher,  Esq.,  Chairman. 

"Present,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Samuel  Tucker,  Joseph  Borden,  Joseph 
Eiggs,  Isaac  Pearson,  John  Ohetwood,  Lewis  Ogden,  Isaac  Ogden,  Abra- 
ham Hunt,  and  Elias  Boudinot,  Esquires. 

"  The  Committee,  having  seriously  taken  into  consideration  as  well  the 
present  alarming  and  very  extraordinaiT  conduct  of  the  British  Ministry, 
for  carrying  into  execution  sundry  Acts  of  Parliament  for  the  express 
purpose  of  raising  a  revenne  in  America,  and  other  unconstitutional  meas- 
ures therein  mentioned;  and  also  the  several  acts  of  hostility  tliat  they 
have  actually  commenced  for  this  pm-pose  by  the  Kegular  Forces  under 
General  Gage  against  our  brethren  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  New  England,  and  not  knowing  how  soon  this  Province  may  be  in  a 
state  of  confusion  and  disorder  if  there  are  not  some  effectnal  measures 
speedily  taken  to  prevent  the  same;  this  Committee  are  unanimously  of 
opinion,  and  do  hereby  advise  and  direct,  that  the  Chairman  do  immedi- 
ately call  a  Provincial  Congress  to  meet  at  Trenton  on  Tuesday  the 
twenty-third  day  of  this  instant,  in  order  to  consider  and  determine  such 
matters  as  may  then  and  there  come  before  them  ;  .and  the  several  Coun- 
ties are  hereby  desired  to  nominate  and  appoint  their  respective  Deputies 
for  the  same,  as  speedily  as  may  be,  with  full  and  ample  powers  for  such 
purposes  as  may  be  thought  necessary  for  the  peculiar  exigencies  of  this 
Province. 

"  The  Committee  do  also  direct  their  Chairman  to  forward  true  copies 
of  the  above  minute  to  the  several  County  Committees  of  this  Province 
without  delay. 

"Hendrick  Fisher, 
"  Chairmany 

In  accordance  with  this  call  of  the  committee,  del- 

*  At  New  York  the  dispatch  was  thus  indorsed  by  the  committee- 
Reel  the  within  Account  by  express,  and  forwarded  by  express  to  New 
Brunswick,  with  Directions  to  stop  at  Elizabeth  Town  and  acquaint  the 
committee  there  with  the  following  Particulars.  By  order  of  the  Com- 
mittee Isaac  Low,  Chairman.  The  committee  at  New  Brunswick  are 
requested  to  forward  this  to  Phila."  The  other  indorsements  made  on 
the  dispatch  m  its  passage  through  New  Jersey  were  as  follows:  "New 
Brunswick,  Ap.  24,1776, 2  o'clock  in  the  morning,  rec-  the  above  expres, 
and  forwarded  to  Princeton,  Wm,  Oake,  Jas.  Neilson,  A..  Dunhams 
Com.   ;"  Princeton,  Monday,  Ap.  24,  6  o'clock,  and  fo™.  to  TrenZ; 

24  9       T "'«™-     '''"'°'  °""'-  "^"^»™"  ■■  "  ^-■"™.  Monday,  Ap 
24  9  0  clock  in  the  morning,  reed  the  above  per  express,  and  forwarded 

clr^  *"  *'  ^"""^"^^  °^  Philadelphia,  Sam.  Tucker.  Isaac  Smith! 
76!p''lor'  °^  ""  ^'''"'°™'  '^'"'^"""'  ""^  Committee  of  Safety.  1775- 


egates  from  the  several  counties  of  the  province  as- 
sembled on  Tuesday,  the  23d  of  May,  at  Trenton, 
where,  on  the  following  day,  they  organized  as  "  The 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey"  by  electing 
Hendrick  Fisher  president,  Jonathan  D.  Sergeant 
secretary,  and  William  Paterson  and  Frederick  Fre- 
linghuysen  assistant  secretaries.  Samuel  Tucker  was 
afterwards  elected  vice-president.  It  thus  appears 
that  all  the  principal  officers  of  this  first  Provincial 
Congress  were  residents  of  Somerset  County,  except- 
ing the  vice-president,  who  was  of  Hunterdon. 

The  number  of  delegates  in  attendance  was  eighty- 
seven.  Those  representing  Hunterdon  County  were 
Samuel  Tucker,  John  Mehelm,  John  Hart,  John 
Stout,  Jasper  Smith,  Thomas  Lowry,  Charles  Stewart, 
Daniel  Hunt,  Ealph  Hart,  Jacob  Jennings,  Eichard 
Stevens,  John  Stevens,  Jr.,  Thomas  Stout,  Thomas 
Jones,  and  John  Basset.  The  delegates  attending 
from  Somerset  were  Hendrick  Fisher,  John  Eoy, 
Peter  Schenck,  Abraham  Van  Nest,  Enos  Kelsey, 
Jonathan  D.  Sergeant,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  and 
William  Paterson.  Another  delegate  who  had  been 
electedj  for  Somerset,  Nathaniel  Airs  (or  Ayers),  did 
not  attend.  Four  of  the  deputies  from  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset^-viz.,  Messrs.  Tucker  and  Mehelm  of 
the  former  county,  and  Fisher  and  Eoy  of  the  latter 
—were  also  members  of  the  Colonial  Assembly  of 
New  Jersey  for  1776. 

The  Provincial  Congress   remained  in  session  at 


t  The  record  of  the  meeting  at  which  the  Somerset  County  delegates 
were  elected  is  as  follows : 

"Pursuant  to  notice  given  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Cor- 
respondence for  the  County  of  Somerset  in  New  Jersey,  the  Freeholders 
of  the  County  met  at  the  Court-House  the  11th  day  of  May,  1775,  Hend- 
rick Fisher,  Esq.,  chosen  chairm.an,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  clerk. 

"  1.  Besohed,  That  the  several  steps  taken  by  the  British  Ministry  to 
enslave  the  American  Colonies,  and  especially  the  late  alarming  hostili- 
ties commenced  by  the  Troops  under  General  Gage,  against  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Massachusetts  Bay  loudly  call  on  the  people  of  this  Province  to 
determine  what  part  they  will  act  in  this  situation  of  affairs;  and  that 
we  therefore  readily  consent  to  elect  Deputies  for  a  Provincial  Concrress 
to  meet  at  Trenton,  on  Tuesday,  the  23d  inst..  agreeable  to  the  advice 
and  direction  of  the  Provincial  Committee  of  Correspondence. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  the  number  of  Deputies  shall  be  nine,  and  that  thev 
sh.all  be  chosen  by  ballot. 

"  Adjourned  for  an  hour. 

"  Four  o'clock  the  people  re-assembled. 

"  Hendrick  Fisher,  John  Boy.  Esquires.  Mr.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen 
Mr  Enos  Kelsey.  Peter  Schenck,  Jonathan  D.  Sergeant,  Nathaniel  Airs, 
William  Paterson,  and  Abraham  Van  Nest,  Esquires,  are  appointed  Dep- 
uties for  this  County,  who,  or  any  iive  of  them,  are  hereby  empowered 
to  meet  the  Deputies  from  the  other  Counties  in  Provincial  Congress  at 
Trenton  on  Tuesday,  the  23d  instant,  and  to  agree  to  all  such  measures 
as  shall  be  judged  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  our  constitutional 
lights  and  privileges. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Deputies  for  this  County  be  instructed,  and  they 
are  hereby  instructed,  to  join  with  the  deputies  from  the  other  Counties 
m  forming  such  plan  for  the  Militia  of  this  Province  as  to  them  shaU 
seem  proper ;  and  we  heartily  agree  to  arm  and  support  such  a  number 
01  men  as  they  shall  order  to  be  raised  in  this  County 

"  Bemlved,  That  this  County  will  pay  the  expenses  of  their  Deputies 
who  shall  attend  the  Congress. 

"BcsoUed,  That  Messrs.  Tobias  Van  Norden.  and  Daniel  Blackford  he 

"By  Order        """'  "'  Observation  for  the  Township  of  Bridgewater. 

"  FeeDEEIOK  FaELINGHlTSEN. 

"  Clerk." 


HUNTERDON   AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


31 


Trenton  eleven  days.  The  most  important  business 
of  the  session  was  consummated  on  the  day  of  ad- 
journment in  the  adoption  of  '*  a  plan  for  regulating 
the  Militia  of  this  Colony"  and  the  passage  of  "  an 
ordinance  for  raising  a  sum  of  money  for  the  purpose 
therein  mentioned," — ^that  is  to  say,  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  and  arming  the  militia  troops  and  pre- 
paring them  for  active  service  when  necessary.  The 
preamble  and  first  three  sections  of  the  militia  bill 
then  passed  were  as  follows : 

"The  Congress,  taking  into  consideration  the  cruel  and  arbitrary 
measures  adopted  and  pursued  by  the  British  Parliament  and  present 
ministry  for  the  purpose  of  subjugating  the  American  Colonies  to  the 
most  abject  servitude,  and  being  apprehensive  that  all  pacific  measures 
for  the  redress  of  our  grieTances  will  prove  ineffectual,  do  think  it  highly 
necessary  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  Province  be  forthwith  properly 
armed  and  disciplined  for  defending  the  cause  of  American  freedom.  And 
further  considering  that,  to  answer  this  desirable  end,  it  is  requisite  that 
such  persons  be  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  Militia  as  can  be 
confided  in  by  the  people,  and  are  truly  zealous  in  support  of  our  just 
rights  and  privileges,  do  recommend  and  advise  that  the  good  people  of 
this  Province  henceforward  strictly  observe  the  following  rules  and  regu- 
lations, until  this  Congress  shall  make  further  order  therein : 

"  1st.  That  one  or  more  companies,  as  the  case  may  require,  be  imme- 
diately formed  in  each  To'miship  or  Corporation,  and,  to  this  end,  that 
the  several  Committees  in  this  Province  do,  as  soon  as  may  be,  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  number  of  male  inhabitants  in  their  respective  dis- 
tricts, from  the  age  of  sixteen  to  filty,  who  are  capable  of  bearing  arms ; 
and  thereupon  form  them  into  companies,  consisting  as  near  as  may  be  of 
eighty  men  each ;  which  companies  so  formed  shall,  each  by  itself,  as- 
semble and  choose,  by  plurality  of  voices,  four  persons  among  them- 
selves, of  sufficient  substance  and  capacity  for  its  officei-s,— namely,  one 
captain,  two  lieutenants,  and  an  ensign. 

"  2d.  That  the  officers  so  chosen  appoint  for  their  respective  compa- 
nies fit  persons  to  be  sergeants,  corporals,  and  drummers. 

"  3d.  That  as  soon  as  the  companies  are  so  formed  the  officers  of  such  a 
number  of  companies  as  shall  by  them  be  judged  proper  to  form  a  regi- 
ment do  assemble  and  choose  one  colonel,  one  lieutenant-colonel,  a 
major,  and  an  adjutant  for  each  regiment." 

The  remaining  five  sections  were  devoted  to  the 
minor  details  of  the  plan  of  militia  organization. 
The  closing  paragraph  is  as  follows :  "  The  Congress, 
taking  into  consideration  the  spirited  exertions  of 
the  counties  of  Morris,  Sussex,  and  Somerset  in  the 
raising  of  minute-men,  do  approve  of,  and  thank 
them  for,  their  zeal  in  the  common  cause,  and  will 
take  the  same  into  further  consideration  at  their  next 
meeting" ;  showing  that  bodies  of  minute-men  had 
already  been  raised  in  the  counties  named.  A  minute- 
men  organization  was  also  formed  in  Hunterdon  at 
about  the  same  time. 

The  following  resolutions  of  a  meeting  in  Hills- 
borough township  show  the  form  in  which  action  was 
taken  in  enrolling  the  militia  in  Somerset  County. 
They  are  interesting  as  being  the  only  memoranda 
referring  to  this  early  period  of  the  action  of  the 
people  in  defense  of  their  liberties.  The  original  was 
found  accidentally  among  some  old  papers  on  a  book- 
stand in  New  York. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  principal  Freeholders,  and  Officers  of  Militia,  of 
the  Township  of  Hillsborough,  County  of  Somerset  and  Province  of  New 
Jersey,  held  this  3d  of  May,  1775,  at  the  house  of  Garret  Garretson,  it  was 
agreed  as  follows, — viz. : 

"1st.  That  the  Companies  of  Militia  this  day  assembled  here  do  choose 
officers  for  their  respective  Companies. 

"2d.  That  the  officers  so  devised  shall  choose  officers  for  a  Company  of 


Minute-Men,  who  are  to  beat  up  for  volunteers  to  raise  said  Company,  to 
consist  of  60  men,  who  are  to  be  exercised  twice  per  week,  and  to  bo 
ready  at  a  minute's  warning  to  march  in  defense  of  the  liberty  of  our 
country. 

"  3d.  That  the  men  so  voluntarily  enlisting  in  said  Company  shall 
receive  one  shilling  and  sixpence  for  every  part  of  a  day  they  are  em- 
ployed in  being  exercised  by  any  of  their  officers,  and  the  officers  in  pro- 
portion. 

"  4th.  That  in  case  said  Company  shall  march  in  defense  of  their  coun- 
try, the  Captain  to  receive  six  shillings,  the  1st  Lieut,  five  shillings,  the 
2d  Lieut,  four  shillings,  and  each  of  the  inferior  officers,  three  shillings, 
all  Proc,  per  day  j  with  provisions  and  ammunition,  and  to  those  who 
are  able,  Arms ;  all  the  above  money  to  be  raised  by  tax  on  the  inhabi- 
tants of  said  Township,  in  the  same  manner  the  Provincial  Taxes  are 
raised. 

"5th,  In  pursuance  of  the  first  article  of  the  above  agreement,  the 
Companies  here  assembled  choose  the  following  gentlemen  their  officers, 
—viz. : 

"  For  the  BiUshorough  Company. — John  Ten  Eyck,  Capt. ;  Peter  D. 
Yroom,  Lieut. ;  Jacobus  Quick,  2d  Lieut. 

"  For  the  Millstone  Covipany. — Hendrick  Probasco,  Capt. ;  John  Smock^ 
1st  Lieut.;  Casparus  Van  Nostrand,  2d  Lieut. 

"  For  the  Shannick  Company. — William  Yer  Bryck,  Capt. ;  Eoelif  Peter- 
son, 1st  Lieut. ;  Cornelius  Peterson,  2d  Lieut. 

"  For  Uie  Company  of  Grenadiers. — Cornelius  Lott,  Capt. ;  John  Bennet, 
Lieut. ;  ComeUus  Van  Derveer,  2d  Lieut. ;  Garret  Garrison,  3d  Lieut. 

"  6th.  The  above  officers  proceeded,  according  to  the  authority  given 
them  in  the  second  article,  to  the  choice  of  officers  for  the  Company  of 
Minute-Men,  when  the  following  men  were  unanimously  chosen :  For 
Capt.,  Cornelius  Lott;  for  1st  Lieut.,  John  Nevius  ;  for  2d  Lieut.,  Garret 
K.  Garrison. 

"7th.  The  officers  of  the  Militia  and  the  Committee  of  Observation  are 
desired  to  meet  together  and  appoint  a  Committee  to  provide  the  above 
Company  with  Arms  and  Ammunition. 

"  May  16, 1775.— The  Officers  of  the  Militia  and  the  Committee  of  Ob- 
servation, having  met,  unanimously  chose  Hendrick  Van  Middlesworth, 
Conrad  Ten  Eyck,  and  Dirck  Low,  to  provide  ammunition  for  said  Com- 
pany, and  arms  for  those  that'are  not  able  to  buy  for  themselves,  and  the 
aforesaid  gentlemen  are  desired  to  take  £40  Proc  in  money  on  the  credit 
of  the  Township,  to  buy  140  pounds  powder,  420  pounds  lead,  and  210 
flints;  and  if  the  said  Company  should  be  called  to  march  in  defense  of 
their  country,  if  not  provided  for,  then  the  aforesaid  Hendrick  Van  Mid- 
dlesworth, Conrad  Ten  Eyck,  and  Dirck  Low  are  to  find  provisions  on 
the  credit  of  the  township  as  above  said. 

"  It  is  further  agreed  that  the  above  agreement  shall  be  subject  to  such 
alterations  and  additions  as  the  Provincial  Congress  shall  think  proper. 
"By  order  of  the  Assembly. 

"John  Baptist  Dttmont,  Chairman, 
"Peter  D.  Vboom,  Clerh." 

We  give  a  list  of  the  members  of  Capt.  P.  D. 
Vroom's  company,  enrolled  after  the  above  action ;  it 
is  evidently  not  complete,  but  it  contains  all  now  re- 
coverable: Jacobus  Amerman,  Albert  Amerman, 
John  Amerman,  Thomas  Auten,  John  Brokaw  (lieu- 
tenant, killed*),  Abraham  Brokaw,  Peter  Brokaw 
(corporal),  George  Brokaw,  Jacobus  Bergen  (cor- 
poral), Jacob  Cook,  Jacob  W.  Cook,  Jacobus  Cor- 
show,  Bergun  Coevert  (fifer),  Thomas  Coevert  (cor- 
poral), Peter  Ditmas,  Nicholas  Dubois,  Peter  J- 
Dumont,  Thomas  Dwere,  Jacobus  Dubois,  Minne 
Dubois  (sergeant),  William  Griggs,  Augustus  Harts- 
hough,  Harmon  A,  Hoagland,  Lucas  Hoagland,  Peter 
Hoagland,  Dirck  Huff,  Abram  Low,  Peter  Leyster, 
Hugh  McAllum,  Hendrick  Post  (sergeant),  Peter 
Perlee,  Thomas  Skillman,  Joakim  Quick  (ensign), 
Peter  Quick  (sergeant),  Abram  Stryker,  Jonathan 
Spader,  Albert  Stothoff,  Benjamin  Taylor  (sergeant), 
Willett  Taylor,  Abraham  Taylor,  Abraham  Van  Ars- 


*  Battle  of  Germantown,  Oct.  4, 1775. 


32 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOBIEESET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


dalen  (sergeant),  John  Van  Arsdale,  Garrett  Van  Ars- 
dale,  John  Van  Dyck,  William  Van  Dyck,  Andrew 
Van  Middlesworth  (sergeant),  Tunis  Van  Middles- 
worth,  Jacobus  Van  Nuyse,  Coert  Van  Waggoner, 
Jacobus  Voorhees,  Rynier  Veghte  (lieutenant,  Sec- 
ond Battalion;  captain  ditto),  Peter  Voorhees,  Peter 
Vroom,  Jacob  Winter  (corporal),  Peter  Winter,  Coert 
Van  Voorhees. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  the  Township  of  HillBboroiigh 
held  at  the  house  of  Garret  Garretson,  the  3d  day  of  July,  1775,  it  was 
unanimously  agreed  that  the  boundaries  of  the  Company  called  Millstone 
Company  are  as  follows, — viz:  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Millstone 
River,  thence  along  the  said  river  to  the  house  of  Geretie  Cornetry,  then 
along  her.  westward  bound  to  and  still  continuing  westwardly  to  the 
house  of  Court  Van  Vorehase,  then  westwardly  to  a  small  brook,  and 
thence  down  the  said  brook  to  the  Amwell  Road,  then  westwardly  along 
the  said  road  till  it  comes  to  the  2  rod  road  that  leads  to  Millstone  road, 
continuing  along  said  road,  thence  along  Millstone  Road  to  Earitan 
Bridge,  thence  along  the  Raritan  River  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

"Peter  B.  Vroom." 

The  "ordinance,"  also  passed  on  the  last  day  of  the 
session,  and  having  for  its  object  the  raising  of  funds, 
principally  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  pro- 
visions of  the  militia  bill,  recited  and  declared  that : 

"  Whereas,  It  has  become  absolutely  necessary,  in  the  present  dangerous 
and  extraordinary  state  of  public  atfairs,  in  which  the  usual  resources 
of  government  appear  to  be  insulficient  for  the  safety  of  the  people,  and 
in  which  the  good  people  of  this  Province  hiive  therefore  thought  proper 
to  choose  Deputies  in  this  present  Congress,  that  a  fund  be  provided  for 
the  use  of  the  Province :  We  the  said  Deputies  being  persuaded  that  every 
inhabitant  is  willing  and  desirous  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  money 
for  80  important  a  purpose,  do,  pursuant  to  the  .powers  intrusted  to  us  by 
the  people,  resolve  and  direct  that  the  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Pounds, 
Proclamation  Money,  be  immediately  apportioned  and  raised  for  the  use 
aforesaid ;  the  same  to  be  apportioned  laid  out  and  disposed  of  in  such 
manner  as  hereinafter  is  directed." 

The  amounts  to  be  raised  under  this  ordinance  by 
the  several  counties  of  the  province  were  apportioned 
to  them  as  follows  :  Bergen,  £664  8s.  Od. ;  Burlington, 
£1071  13s.  4d. ;  Cape  May,  £166  18s.  Od. ;  Cumber- 
land, £885  6s.  8d. ;  Essex,  £742  18s.  Od. ;  Gloucester, 
£763  2s.  8d. ;  Hunterdon,  £1363  16s.  M. ;  Middlesex, 
£872  6s.  8d. ;  Monmouth,  £1069  2s.  8d.  ■  Morris,  £723 
8s.  Od. ;  Salem,  £679  12s.  Od. ;  Somerset,  £904  2s.  Od. ; 
Sussex,  £593  5s.  4d. 

Other  sections  of  the  ordinance  pointed  out  the 
manner  of  assessing  and  collecting  the  tax,  and  pro- 
vided that  when  the  amount  collected  in  a  county 
should  be  received  by  the  county  collector,  he  should 
pay  the  same  over  to  the  county  committee,  "  to  be 
disposed  of  by  them  in  such  manner  as  they  in  their 
discretion  shall  think  most  proper"  to  meet  expenses 
arising  from  the  exigencies  of  the  times.  After  the 
adoption  of  these  measures  for  the  public  safety  it 
was  by  the  Congress 

"  Ordered,  That  Mr.  Fisher,  Mr.  Tucker,  Mr.  Daniel  Hunt,  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen,  Mr.  I.  Pearson,  Mr.  Dunham,  Mr.  Schureman,  Mr.  John  Hart, 
Mr.  Borden,  Mr.  Deare,  Mr.  Baldwin,  Mr.  Schenck,  Mr.  Ralph  Hart,  and 
Mr.  Heard,  or  any  three  of  them,  in  conjunction  with  the  President  or 
Vice-President,  be  a  Committee  of  Correspondence,  with  power  to  con- 
Tene  this  Congress." 

Of  the  fourteen  members  composing  this  committee, 
seven  were  of  the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and  Somer- 


set,—viz.,  Messrs.  Fisher,  Tucker,  Hunt,  Freling- 
huysen,  Schenck,  and  the  two  Harts.  Immediately 
after  the  appointment  of  the  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence the  Congress  adjourned,  June  3,  1775. 

It  is  a  rather  remarkable  fact  in  the  history  of  this 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  that,  although  one 
of  its  first  acts  was  to  declare  that  its  members  had 
"  assembled  with  the  profoundest  veneration  for  the 
person  and  family  of  His  Sacred  Majesty  George  III., 
firmly  professing  all  due  allegiance  to  his  rightful 
authority  and  government,"*  the  close  of  its  first  ses- 
sion was  marked  by  the  adoption  of  the  most  vigorous 
measures  in  preparation  for  armed  resistance  to  that 
sovereign's  authority. 

Two  weeks  from  the  day  on  which  the  Congress  of 
New  Jersey  closed  its  session  at  Trenton,  a  force  of 
British  regulars  moved  from  Boston  to  Charlestown, 
and  marched  in  splendid  order  and  perfect  confidence 
up  the  acclivity  of  Bunker  Hill  to  attack  the  slight 
defenses  of  the  patriot  force  that  stood  waiting  for 
them  in  silence  upon  the  summit.  Twice  were  the 
scarlet  lines  hurled  back  in  disorder  down  the  slope,, 
but  as  often  did  they  re-form  and  return  to  the  assault. 
Their  third  charge  was  successful ;  the  provincial 
forces,  undismayed,  but  with  empty  muskets  and  car- 
tridge-boxes, were  at  last  forced  from  their  position,, 
and  the  soldiers  of  the  king  carried  and  held  the 
blood-soaked  crest.  This  event — the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill — is  as  well  known  and  conspicuous  in  history  as 
that  of  Marathon  or  Waterloo,  and  it  was  more  im- 
portant in  its  results  than  either.  Just  before  its 
occurrence  Gen.  George  Washington  had  been  ap- 
pointed! by  the  Continental  CongressJ  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  forces  of  the  United  Colonies,  and 
immediately  afterwards  he  assumed  command  of  the 
army  at  Cambridge  and  disposed  his  thin  lines  to- 
encircle  the  British  forces  in  the  town  of  Boston. 

In  less  than  a  week  after  the  memorable  battle  in 
Charlestown,  the  startling  news  had  been  received  in. 
Philadelphia,  and  was  known  in  every  township  of 
New  Jersey.  In  this  alarming  state  of  affairs  the 
general  Committee  of  Correspondence  of  the  Province, 
exercising  the  powers  intrusted  to  them,  called  a 
second  session  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  which 
body  accordingly  convened  at  Trenton  on  the  5th  of 
August  following.  Eighty-three  members  were  in 
attendance.  Those  of  Somerset  County  were  the 
same  as  at  the  previous  session,  except  that  Nathaniel 
Eyers,^  who  had  been  elected  with  the  other  delegates 
at  the  county-meeting  of  the  11th  of  May,  was  now 
present,  in  place  of  John  Roy,  who  had  attended  th© 
first  session.     The  Hunterdon  County  deputies  were 


«  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congi-ess  and  Council  of  Safety,  1775-76 
p.  171.  ' 

t  June  15,  1775. 

J  The  Continental  Congress  had  convened  in  Philadelphia  on  the  10th 
of  May,  1775. 

§  Elsewhere  found  spelled  Aii-s  and  AyeiB. 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMEESET   COUNTIES   IN   THE   EEVOLUTION. 


33 


the  same  as  at  the  May  session,  except  that  Abraham 
Bonnell  and  Joseph  Beavers  were  present  in  place  of 
Jacob  Jennings  and  John  Basset. 

The  Congress  at  this  session  adopted  a  number  of 
measures  for  promoting  the  public  safety,  the  princi- 
pal of  which  were  a  resolution  to  provide  for  the  col- 
lection of  the  ten  thousand  pounds  tax  ordered  at  the 
May  and  June  session,  and  a  resolution  "  for  further 
regulating  the  Militia,  etc.,"  the  first  named  being  the 
first  business  that  was  attended  to  after  the  opening 
of  the  session.  It  appears  that  many  obstacles  had 
been  encountered  in  the  collection  of  the  tax,  and 
that  in  a  great  number  of  instances  payment  had 
been  avoided  or  refused.  The  Congress  therefore 
(Aug.  5,  1775)  resolved  :* 

"  1.  That  the  several  persons  appointed  in  pursuance  of  tlie  ordinance 
of  this  Congress  in  their  last  session  to  collect  the  quotas  of  the  several 
ToTvnships,  do  pay  the  money  by  them  collected  to  the  County  Collector 
on  or  before  the  tenth  day  of  September  next ;  and  if  any  persons  within 
tlieir  respective  districts  shall  have  refused  payment,  that  in  such  case 
they  do  make  and  deliver  in  a  list  of  names  of  the  delinquents  to  their 
several  Committees,  together  with  their  receipts  and  vouchee  for  the 
money  which  they  shall  have  paid  to  the  aforesaid  County  Collectors. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  the  several  Committees  do  furnish  the  Provincial 
Congress  at  their  next  session  with  the  names  of  all  such  persons  within 
their  districts  as  shall  have  refused  to  sign  the  Association  recommended 
in  the  last  Congress,  or  one  of  a  similaj'  nature,  and  of  all  such  as  shall 
have  refused  to  pay  their  respective  appointments. 

"  3.  Resolved,  That  the  respective  Committees  in  this  Colony  do  return 
to  the  Provincial  Congress  at  their  next  session  copies  of  the  several 
Associations  signed  in  their  districts,  agreeable  to  the  former  order  of 
this  Congress,  together  with  the  names  of  those  who  have  signed  the 
same. 

*'  4.  Resolved,  That  the  Assessoi-s  and  Collectors  appointed  to  apportion 
and  collect  the  said  money  do  receive  such  reward  for  their  labor  and 
trouble  therein  as  the  Assessors  and  Collectors  are  by  law  entitled  to 
for  assessing  and  collecting  the  provincial  taxes. 

"5.  Resolved,  That  in  case  any  part  of  the  snro  of  ten  thousand 
Pounds,  by  the  said  ordinance  directed  to  be  raised,  shall  from  the  event 
of  public  affairs  he  found  to  be  nnnecessary  for  the  purposes  thereby  in- 
tended ;  in  such  case  the  surplus  be  paid  by  the  several  Connty  Commit- 
tees into  the  hands  of  the  County  Collectors  appointed  by  act  of  As- 
sembly, to  be  by  them  applied  towards  discharging  the  quotas  of  such 
Counties  in  the  public  taxes  of  the  Province. 

"  6.  Resolved,  That  the  several  Committees  to  whom  the  disposal  of  the 
said  money  was,  by  the  ordinance  of  the  last  session,  intrusted,  do 
account  to  the  Provincial  Congress  for  their  several  disbursements,  and 
the  uses  to  which  they  may  have  been  applied." 

In  adopting  "the  plan  for  further  regulating  the 
Militia,  etc.,"  the  Congress 

"  Resohed,  1.  That  the  several  County  or  {where  there  is  no  County) 
the  Township  Committees  do  transmit  the  names  of  all  the  Militia  Offi- 
cers chosen  within  their  respective  Districts  to  the  Provincial  Congress, 
or  to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  to  he  by  them  commissioned,  agreeable 
to  the  directions  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

'■  Resolved,  2.  That  all  officers  above  the  rank  of  a  Captain,  not  already 
chosen  or  appointed,  pursuant  to  an  ordinance  of  this  Congress  made  at 
their  last  session,  be  appointed  by  the  Congress  or,  during  their  recess, 
by  the  Committee  of  Safety. 

"  Resolved,  3.  That  where  the  inhabitants  of  different  Townships  have 
been  embodied  into  one  Company,  Battalion,  or  Regiment,  before  the 
20th  day  of  June  last,  it  is  not  the  intention  of  this  Congress  that  they 
should  be  dissolved,  provided  they  govern  themselves  according  to  the 
rules  and  directions  of  the  same." 

Ten  resolutions  succeeding  these  above  quoted  di- 
rected the  organization  of  the  militia  of  the  province 

*  Vide  Minutes  Provincial_Congress  and  Council  of  Safety,  1776-76,  p. 
184. 


into  regiments  and  battalions,  and  the  number  of 
each  of  these  organizations  to  be  appointed  to  the 
several  counties;  established  the  order  of  their  prece- 
dence ;  prescribed  the  manner  in  which  they  were  to 
be  raised,  armed,  and  governed  ;  provided  for  the  col- 
lection of  fines  from  "  all  effective  men  between  the 
ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty  who  shall  refuse  to  enroll 
themselves  and  bear  arms,"  or  who,  being  enrolled,, 
should  absent  themselves  from  the  muster,  and  di- 
rected how  such  fines  should  be  applied.  The  troops 
directed  to  be  raised  and  organized  were  to  be  equal 
to  about  twenty-six  regiments,  apportioned  to  the  dif- 
ferent counties  as  follows :  The  militia  of  Bergen 
County  to  compose  one  regiment ;  of  Essex,  two  regi- 
ments or  four  battalions;  of  Middlesex,  two  regi- 
ments ;  of  Monmouth,  three  regiments ;  of  Morris  and 
Sussex,  each  two  regiments  and  one  battalion;  of 
Burlington,  two  regiments  and  a  company  of  rangers ; 
of  Gloucester,  three  battalions ;  of  Salem,  one  regi- 
ment ;  of  Cumberland,  two  battalions ;  of  Cape  May, 
one  battalion ;  of  Somerset,  two  regiments ;  and  of 
Hunterdon,  four  regiments.  And  it  was  provided 
"that  the  precedency  of  rank  in  the  militia  shall 
take  place  in  the  following  order:  1.  Essex;  2.  Sa- 
lem ;  3.  Gloucester ;  4.  Morris ;  5.  Sussex ;  6.  Cape 
May;  7.  Monmouth;  8.  Somerset;  9.  Bergen;  10. 
Cumberland;  11.  Middlesex;  12.  Hunterdon;  13. 
Burlington;  and  that,  when  there  may  be  more  than 
one  regiment  or  battalion  in  a  county,  the  precedency 
shall  be  determined  by  the  county  committee,  accord- 
ing to  their  former  seniority." 

Besides  providing  for  the  organization  and  arming 
of  the  militia,  as  above  mentioned,  the  Congress  re- 
solved : 

"  That  for  the  puriwse  of  effectually  carrying  into  execution  the 
recommendation  of  the  Continental  Congress  respecting  the  appoint- 
ment of  minute-men,  four  thousaud  able-bodied  effective  men  be  en- 
listed and  enrolled  in  the  several  counties  in  this  Province,  under  offi- 
cers to  be  appointed  and  commissioned  by  this  Congress  or  Committee  of 
Safety,  who  shall  hold  themselves  in  constant  readiness,  on  the  shortest 
notice,  to  march  to  any  place  where  their  assistance  maybe  required  for 
the  defense  of  this  or  any  neighboring  colony." 

These  "  minute-men"  were  to  be  enlisted  for  a  term 
of  four  months,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they  were 
to  be  "  relieved,  unless  upon  actual  service."  They 
were  given  precedence  of  rank  over  the  common  mi- 
litia of  the  province,  and  whenever  called  into  actual 
service  were  "  to  receive  the  like  pay  as  the  Continen- 
tal Army,  and  be  furnished  with  camp-equipage  and 
provisions  ;  and  also  be  provided  for,  if  wounded  and 
disabled  in  the  service  of  their  country."  Their  offi- 
cers were  to  be  nominated  by  the  several  county  com- 
mittees, or  (in  counties  having  no  general  committee) 
by  the  township  committees  jointly,  "with  assurance 
that  as  soon  as  their  companies  are  completed,  they 
shall  receive  commissions  from  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, or  the  Committee  of  Safety."  The  organiza- 
tion of  the  "  minute-men"  was  directed  to  be  made 
in  companies  of  sixty-four  men  each,  including  offi- 
cers, these  companies  to  be  formed  into  ten  battalions 


34 


IIUNTEKDON   AND   SOMKBSET    COUNTIKS,  NEW    JEltSEY. 


for  the  whole  province,  and  the  apportionment  to  tlie 
several  counties  to  be  as  given  below, — viz:  I?('rfj;cn 
County  to  furnish  one  battalion  of  four  (■.(iiiiiiiniics ; 
Essex  County,  one  battalion  of  six  companies  ;  Mid- 
dlesex County,  one  battalion  of  six  companies  ;  Mon- 
mouth County,  one  battalion  of  six  coraimnics  ;  Som- 
erset County,  one  battalion  of  five  companies ;  Mor- 
ris County,  one  battalion  of  six  companies  ;  Sussex 
County,  one  battalion  of  five  comjiaiiies;  Hunterdon 
County,  one  battalion  of  eight  companies;  Tiurling- 
ton  County,  one  battalion  of  five  eornpiuiies  ;  OIou- 
cester  and  Salem  Counties,  one  Imttaliou  of  seven 
companies, — f(iur  to  be  furnished  by  Oloiicesler  and 
one  by  Salem  ;  Cumberland  County  to  fiirnisli  thrrv, 
companies,  and  Cape  May  County  one  company,  all 
to  act  as  "independent  comi)anies  of  light  infantry 
and  rangers." 

Whatever  arms  and  accoutrcmonta  wv.n:  obtained 
by  the  county  and  township  committees  were  directed 
to  be  issued  to  the  iiiinute-ni(!n  in  preference  to  the 
militia  until  the  former  w(^ro  armed  and  equipped, 
the  remainder  to  be  used  Cor  arming  the  militia.  It 
was 

*'  J{<;it(ilved,  Thai  tlilH  Cnngrfsa  ilo  iiiroriiiimnrl  lo  llii*  Hrviinil  f!miniy 
Ccjniiiiittoea  In  tlilH  Colony  tliat  tlioy  liiimofliiitoly  employ  gniiHniiUiH  Ui 
niitUti  Huch  a  rmiiibor  of  ariuH  m  tlidy  sliull  Jinlgu  to  bo  iionnHHiiry  aiirl 
wanfing  In  their  roHpoctlvo  ConiitloH ;  mid  that  In  the  niaiiiifiictliro  of 
Baiil  ar-inB  particular  atlolitlon  ho  paid  to  the  dIroctlonH  of  tlio  Contltiontal 
CoiigreHB." 

It  was  also  by  the  Coiit.';reHs 

" Ordcred^That  the  Hovoral  County  GonimlttenH  do  appoint  ono  HnrK«on 
to  each  Rogimont  and  Battalion  ljr^)(iM|j;ing  to  theIr'rcHpof;(ive  fJouritlcH; 
and  gertify  the  name  of  «uch  Surgeon  to  the  next  OoligrcHH,  oi-  to  tlio 
Committee  of  Safety,  In  oiri.;i-  to  hia  hcing  properly  comniiHsloiicd." 

Tlie  above  mentioned,  with  the  appohilnKint  of 
Philemon  Dickinson  as  brigadier-gen(!riil,  witc  all  the 
important  military  measures  ado[)tod  ttt  this  session. 

The  Congress  adjourned  on  Thursday,  Aiifriist  i7th, 
after  a  session  ofseventeen  days,  its  last  act  ])rior  to  ail- 
journment  having  been  the  appointment  of  Ifendrick 
Fisher,  Samuel  Tucker,  Isaac  Pearson,  John  Hart, 
Jonathan  D.  Sergeant,  Azariah  Dunham,  I'eter 
Schcnck,  Enos  Kelsey,  Joseph  Borden,  I'Vctderiek 
Frelinghuyscn,  and  John  Scliureman  as  a  Uoiriiriittei; 
of  Safety  to  control  public  affairs  during  the  recf'ss. 
Of  these  eleven  niernbera,  seven  were  of  the  coiiiilics 
of  Hunterdon  and  SooicrHct. 

This  was  the  first  Committee  of  Safety  of  the  pro- 
vince of  New  Jersey, — a  body  which  came  to  be 
greatly  feared  by  those  inimic.al  to  the  c;:iuse  of  Amer- 
ica. During  the  times  when  the  Ooiifrress  wits  not  in 
session  this  committee  wielded  extraordinary  and 
almost  unlimited  power.*     It  does  not  ;ipije!i,r,  how- 


*  Mr,  Oharlca  D.  BcuhliT,  In  his  excellent  [.ajjer  reoi]  heforo  the  New 
BrunBivick  Illst'jrlcal  Club  at  ItB  fifth  luiolvcrBary,  flays  of  thin  Conimlt^ 
teo  of  Safety:  "  In  effect  It  conetltuted  a  practical  dIctatoi-Hlilp,  rcHlcJIng 
not  In  one  man  ludeed,  but  In  a  majority  voto  of  eleven  or  oiorr;  perBfjriH, 
who  were  appointed  by  the  Provincial  OongreaB  from  llni.'  to  time,  Iln 
menibcrHWere  Invariably  choBon  by  the  tIc[.utleB  tn  the  Provincial  Con- 
grcBH  from  among  tliclr  own  number,  and  wore  men  upon  whom  tliey 
could  rely  for  courage,  pnidonce,  flrrnneHH,  activity,  and  iiagiulty.  Tbcy 
cxciciHcd,  aB  a  committee,  all  the  powerB  liitnifltijd  to  or  aHBunicd  hy  the 


ever,  that  it  beeiinio  neecwsary  for  the  commitfiHi  to 
exercise  this  power  in  any  very  iiiipi)rl,aiit  |iiililic 
hiisiiuws  in  the  less  than  seven  wet^ljs  which  iiiter- 
vciH^d  bctwetMi  its  fornmfioii  and  the  rcasHcinbling  of 
the  Provincial  Congress.  During  that  interval  tlio 
sessions  of  llie  committee  wore  htdd  at  rrliiceton. 

At  its  August  sessidii  the  (JoiignwH  of  New  .U:rHry 
had  provided  for  a,  new  eliM'tion  of  (lejiiitie»  from  l,hu 
eoiintics  of  tlie  provinc.e  by  the  adoption  of  the  Ibl- 
lowing  preamble  and  resolution  : 

"WUereas,  It  1h  highly  expedient,  at  ii  lime  when  tlllN  Province  In 
likely  to  bo  Involved  In  all  the  lioirorB  of  advll  war,  anil  when  It  luw 
become  ahBolulc-ly  neeeHBJiry  to  Inc  ri'iine  tbo  liiirllKm  of  taxoB  alroady 
laid  upon  the  good  people  of  thlflccjlony  for  Uio  JuHt  dideiiHO  of  their  Iji- 
valnahlo  rlghtB  anil  prlvllegeB,  that  Mie  InhabltantB  thereof  Hhollld  bavo 
freiiuolit  opportuiillloB  of  renewing  llidi  choice  null  appnduilhjri  of  llie 
KeproMe?itallvoB  In  I'rovliiehtl  nongroBH.  It  Is  l,lii^iiil'ore  /taefnW,  That 
tho  Inhabltanbi  In  oiuih  ciiunty  (puillfled  to  vote  for  lti>pirwent,al,Ivo»  In 
General  AHHcmhIydo  meet. together  at  tho  placoB  bojelnafter  irietttloned 
an  ThurBday,  the  twenty-llrBt  day  of  Heptember  next,  ami  thi'M  ami 
there,  by  jilnrallty  of  vcd(;eB,  elect  anil  appoint  any  nninber  not  oxoeeil- 
Ing  five  BiibHlantlal  rieeliolilniH  an  DepulleH,  with  full  Jiowor  to  repriiHont 
Hiieii  (lotinly  In  Provincial  (lojigreHB  to  be  held  at 'J'renbin,  In  the  tjonnly 
of  JIuiitordon,  on  Tiieflday,  the  third  day  of  October  next." 

The  places  designiiteil  for  holding  this  cleetion  in 
Somerset  and  llniilerdoM  (Jounties  were,  reH|ie.c.tive.ly, 
"  the  Coiirt-I  foiise  in  .llillsliorongh''  ittid  "thelioiiso 
of  John  Riiigo  in  Amwell."  The  irieetingH  w(;re  ae- 
eurdingly  so  held  iit  tho  time  s|ii^ci(ieil,  ;itiil  rcHttltcil 
in  the  elcetiijti  of  1  letidrii'.k  l''ish(tr,  (^oritelitiH  Van 
Mtiliiier,  and  Itiilode  Van  Dyke  for  Somerset,  and 
Hitmiiisl  Tui^ker,  John  Mehe.lm,  .John  llart,  Charles 
Stewart,  ami  Aligttsl.ine  Stevenson  for  I  liiiiterilon 
(Jontity. 

Tho  Provini'ial  (!otigrcKS  of  New  .lersey,  e.ompfjseii 
of  the  deputies  then  recently  ele.eleilj  jiH  mentioned 
above,  convctHid  at  Trenton  on  Tuesday,  the  'lil  of 
Oetober,  1775.  No  orgiinization  wits  elleeted  on  that 
day,  its  but  few  of  the  members  were  (ireHeiit;!  btit  on 

Provincial  CongreBB,  Blive  that  of  leglBbiMon.  'I'hey  rondiii-teil  all  tlio 
correBpoiideiiee  and  confercMceH  with  the  Continental  OofigieBB  anil  Pro- 
vincial flongreflMefl  of  the  other  coloiileB;  l-hey  gave  order-B  for  the  arriiBt 
of  BiiBpIclniiB  or  illMaffecti'il  perBoriM  ;  they  tried  and  aciplltted  m-  coji- 
demned  b.  ImprlHonment  or  detention  men  who  were  cliarged  with  dl«- 
all'ectlon  oracling  In  concert  with,  or  giving  Information  t^t,  the  enemy  ; 
they  Itejiti-xpreflBeB  In  coi octant  reudlncHh  Oi  foi  wind  Intelligence  with  all 
Bpced  ;  they  a|ipro[ii  [ated  public  niimeyB,  conimlBBloiied  oIllcorH  In  tho 
rnllltlaorlri  tliecorpMof  niloiite-inen,  helfl  pi iHooerB  of  war,  nettled  f;on- 
tioveiBlcB  between  oIllcerH,  civil  II nil  military,  fulUiil  a«  a  Ooiirt  of  Admi- 
ralty, conflBcaleil  the  pro|ieity  of  thoHe  who  aided  and  abettei]  the  [in  bile 
enemy,  took  oilier  for  the  geneial  Bciirlly  of  the  Province  and  for  ]l;l 
ilefenne,  anil,  In  fine,  tliey  were  the  executive  brunch  of  I  lie  govei  iiineiit, 
iiB  the  reprcBentatlvcM  of  the  power  anil  authority  of  tlie  Provincial  (Joii- 
groBH  during  lt«  n-ceBB.  All  which  they  exerelBed  (with  an  ability  and 
Integrity  that  liaB  never  been  inipeiLidiedj  till  they  weie  BiiperBeileil,  In 
Oi  li.l.ir,  1771),  by  the  llrBt  l.iglHlaturo  nniler  the  new  Htato  '.'oniitltiitlon 
fiolopteil  .Inly  2,  1770),  which  iiivoiiled  tho  (lov.roor  noil  a  Connill  of 
twenty  memlierB  with  cei  lain  |iowerB  for  a  lliiilled  time  under  tho  titio 
of  '  The  Oovenior  and  Council  of  Safety.'  " 

f  "TncBday,  Octyilier  ii,  l77o.  Several  l)e|iutl(ffl  returned  hi  nervo  In 
tlilB  f>jngre«fl  for  the  reMpectlve  Coiiiit,IeB  of  thiB  Odony  luinenihled  at 
Trenton,  piirHuaut  to  the  appidiitioent  of  tho  lato  Provlm  hil  CoiigreHB. 

"Wednc-ulay,  October  1,  I77ri, -The  OongreBB  again  luinemlded,  and, 
Bcveral  other  memtinrii  attending,  jiroceeded  to  tbo  election  of  a 
PrcBldentand  Vlcc-PicBldeiit,  .  ,  ."--MimUrt  i,f  Ihi:  I'Tinlliusiul  H'mriri'm 
and  OmncU  o/  Hiifclu,  l77o  7<;,  \i.  1!JK, 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  TPIE  REVOLUTION. 


35 


the  following  day  the  body  organized  by  the  election 
of  Samuel  Tucker,  of  Hunterdon,  as  president,  and 
Henry  Fisher,  of  Somerset  County,  as  vice-president. 
"John  Mehelm,  Esquire  [of  Hunterdon],  at  the  re- 
quest of  Congress,  consented  to  act  as  Secretary  until 
a  Secretary  be  chosen."  On  the  5th  it  was  "Re- 
solved, That  William  Paterson,  Esquire  [also  of  Som- 
erset], be  appointed  Secretary  to  this  Congress ;"  but, 
on  the  9th,  "Mr.  Dunham  having  informed  this 
Congress  that  he  had  seen  Mr.  Paterson,  who  had 
acquainted  him  that  his  business  and  circumstances 
would  by  no  means  admit  of  his  oflaciating  as  Secre- 
tary, the  Congress  proceeded  to  the  choice  of  a  Secre- 
tary, when  John  Carey,  Esq.  [of  Salem],  was  unani- 
moiisly  chosen  Secretary,  and  Abraham  Clark  and 
Charles  Stewart,  Esquires,  Assistant  Secretaries." 
Thus,  of  the  five  principal  officers  of  the  Congress 
{composed  of  deputies  from  the  thirteen  counties  of 
New  Jersey),  three  were  men  of  Hunterdon  and  Som- 
erset. Forty-seven  members  from  the  several  coun- 
ties were  present  during  the  session. 

The  Congress,  composed  of  these  members  so  re- 
cently elected  and  fresh  from  among  the  people,  was 
the  first  thoroughly  representative  body  which  had 
convened  in  New  Jersey  under  the  Eevolutionary 
order  of  things.  Says  Mr.  Deshler,  in  the  address  be- 
fore cited, — 

"Itspowere  were  peculiar  and  undefined:  .  .  .  there  was  no  limita- 
tion upon  ita  powers  by  any  instrument  then  existing  to  which  its  mem- 
bei-s  or  the  people  of  the  Province  acknowledged  fealty.  They  could 
and  did  imprison,  exile,  confiscate,  lay  taxes,  emit  money,  exercise  power 
over  life  and  death,  call  out  the  militia,  and  levy  war.  .  .  .  The  session 
was  a  busy,  earnest,  and  laborious  one.  The  minutes  of  the  Congress 
reveal  the  revolutionary  state  of  the  Province,  the  unrest  and  agitation 
that  prevailed  among  the  people,  and  the  indnsti-ious  preparation  that 
the  patriots  were  making  for  the  war  that  they  perceived  was  soon  to 
roll  towards  them.  The  minutes  also  reveal  the  steady  growth  of  the 
democratic  principle  of  equality  among  the  people,  counting  a  man  a 
man  whether  be  owned  property  orwhether  he  did  not.  Petitions  flowed 
into  the  Congress  on  a  multitude  of  subjects  from  every  county  and 
from  nearly  every  township  ;  fmm  committees,  municipal  coiijo rations, 
and  individuals.  .  .  .  All  these  petitions  received  respectful  considera- 
tion, and  the  action  that  was  taken  upon  them  was  dispassiouate,  wise, 
independent,  and  dignified.  Besides  the  consideration  of  these  petitions, 
which,  as  a  purely  popular  body,  deriving  its  power,  and  even  its  very 
existence,  from  the  will  of  the  people,  it  could  not,  and  did  not,  disre- 
gard, the  Congress  was  engaged  in  receiving  and  scrutinizing  the  reports 
of  the  aasociations  and  committees  that  had  been  foi-med  in  the  various 
townships  and  counties;  in  corresponding  with  the  Continental  Con- 
gress as  to  the  raising,  equipment,  organization,  footing,  payment,  and 
forwarding  of  troops,  and  with  the  Congresses  and  Committees  of  Safety 
of  other  colonies,  and  the  county  and  township  committees  of  the  Prov- 
ince, on  subjects  pertaining  to  the  general  welfare;  in  examining  into 
the  stjite  of  the  finances  of  the  province  and  estimating  the  expenditures 
that  would  be  required  for  the  arming,  equipment,  and  maintenance  of 
the  militia,  etc.,  and  for  carrying  on  the  governmeut ;  iu  preparing 
ordinances  for  the  regulation  of  the  militia,  for  raising  additional  troops, 
for  enforcing  the  former  taxes  and  levying  new  ones,  for  raising  money 
by  the  emission  of  bills  of  credit,  and  for  the  apprehension  of  deserters. 
Their  attention  was  also  largely  occupied  in  examining  and  deciding 
upon  complaints  that  were  showered  upon  them  denouncing  loyalists 
and  sympathizers  with  Great  Britain,  and  in  considering  public  and 
private  grievances  of  every  fonn  and  variety," 

Among  the  business  transacted  by  this  Congress 
was  the  passage,  on  the  24th  of  October,  of  "  An  Or- 
dinance for  compelling  the  payment  of  the  ten  thou- 
sand pound  tax  from  such  persons  as  have  refused  to 


pay  their  quotas."  The  resolution  levying  this  tax 
had  been  passed  at  the  May  session,  and  the  subject 
had  received  further  attention  at  the  session  held  in 
August;  notwithstanding  which  a  large  amount  still 
remained  uncollected, — payment  being  refused, — for 
which  reason  this  ordinance  was  passed,  authorizing 
more  stringent  measures  against  delinquents  and  di- 
recting the  chairman  or  deputy  chairman  of  any 
county  committee  to  order  the  properly  authorized 
persons  "  to  make  distress  on  the  goods  and  chattels" 
of  such  delinquents,  and  to  "  make  sale  thereof  at 
public  vendue,  giving  five  days'  notice  thereof  by 
advertisement  in  such  town  or  county." 

But  the  most  important  of  the  measures  taken  at 
this  session  were  those  which  related  to  the  mustering 
and  equipping  of  the  military  forces,  and  to  raising 
the  funds  necessary  for  that  purpose.  One  of  these 
(passed  October  28(,h)  was  "  An  Ordinance  for  regu- 
lating the  Militia  of  New  Jersey,"  which,  after  re- 
citing in  its  preamble  that  "  Wliereas,  The  ordinances 
of  the  late  Provincial  Congress  for  regulating  the 
Militia  of  this  Colony  have  been  found  insufficient  to 
answer  the  good  purposes  intended,  and  it  appearing 
to  be  essentially  necessary  that  some  further  regula- 
tions be  adopted  at  this  time  of  imminent  danger," 
proceeded  to  adopt  and  direct  such  "  further  regula- 
tions" as  were  deemed  necessary  to  accomplish  the 
object  for  which  the  previous  ordinances  had  been 
found  insufficient, — viz.,  the  enrollment  in  the  militia 
of  all  able-bodied  male  inhabitants  of  the  province 
between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty  years  (except 
those  whose  religious  principles  forbade  them  to  bear 
arms),  their  muster,  equipment,  and  instruction  in 
military  tactics  under  the  command  of  proper  oiEcers. 
It  was  not  materially  different  from  the  earlier  ordi- 
nances passed  for  the  same  purpose,  except  that  its 
requirements  were  more  clearly  defined,  thorough,  and 
peremptory,  and  that  evasion  or  non-compliance  was 
punished  by  severer  penalties  and  forfeitures,  and 
these  to  be  rigidly  and  relentlessly  enforced.  One  of 
the  provisions  of  the  ordinance  was  to  the  efiect 
that  every  man  enrolled  in  the  militia  "  shall  with  all ' 
convenient  speed  furnish  himself  with  a  good  musket 
or  firelock  and  bayonet,  sword  or  tomahawk,  a  steel 
ramrod,  priming-wire  and  brush  fitted  thereto,  a  car- 
touch-box  to  contain  twenty-three  rounds  of  car- 
tridges, twelve  fiiuts,  and  a  knapsack,  agreeable  to 
the  direction  of  the  Continental  Congress,  under  the 
forfeiture  of  two  shillings  for  the  want  of  a  musket  or 
firelock,  and  of  one  shilling  for  the  want  of  the  other 
above-enumerated  articles"  ;  also  "  that  every  person 
directed  to  be  enrolled  as  above  shall,  at  his  place  of 
abode,  be  provided  with  one  pound  of  powder  and 
three  pounds  of  bullets  of  proper  size  to  his  musket  or 
firelock." 

The  following  extracts  from  the  minutes  of  the 
Congress  are  given  here  as  having  reference  to  mili- 
tary matters  at  that  time  in  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Counties : 


36 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Octolier4th.— "Mr. President  laid  liefore  the  CongreBS alerter  from  the 
Earl  of  Stirling,  inclosing  copies  of  some  letters  lately  written  by  His 
Lordship  on  the  subject  of  his  liaving  received  a  commission  of  Colonel 
of  a  Regiment  of  Militia  [of  Somerset  County],  together  with  the  return 
of  his  Regiment." 

October  11th. — "  A  petition  from  the  Committee  of  Amwell,  praying 
that  the  Third  Regiment  of  the  Militia  of  Hunterdon  County  may  con- 
tinue, but  that  the  commissions  of  the  iield-ofiicers  be  vacated,  and  that 
the  Captains  and  subaltprna  may  be  allowed  to  choose  tield-officera,  was 
read  and  ordered  a  second  reading. 

"A  petition  from  a  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  lower  part  of  Am- 
well, praying  that  the  Third  Regiment  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon  may 
be  united  to  the  First  Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Smith,  was 
read  and  ordered  a  second  reading. 

"A  petition  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  upper  part  of  Amwell,  pray- 
ing that  if  any  alteration  be  made  in  the  Third  Regiment  of  the  Militia 
of  Hunterdon,  the  petitioners  may  be  united  to  the  Fourth  Regiment 
and  not  to  the  First  Regiment,  was  read  and  ordered  a  second  reading. 

"  A  petition  from  Captain  Imlay  and  Captain  Gray,  praying  that  the 
field-officers  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  Militia  of  Hunterdon  may  be  con- 
tinued, was  read  and  ordered  a  second  reading." 

Octoher  lath.— "  Resohed  muinimottehi,'tha,t  the  appointment  of  field- 
officers  for  the  Third  Regiment  of  Militia  for  the  county  of  Hunterdon 
be  confirmed  and  that  the  several  regiments  continue  as  directed  by 
the  late  Congress." 

October  23d.— "Mr.  Fisher,  from  the  committee  appointed  to  examine 
what  matters  were  referred  over  to  this  Congress  by  the  late  Provincial 
Congress  or  Committee  of  Safety,  reported  ;  ...  and  some  petitiims  from 
the  county  of  Somerset  respecting  Colonel  McDonald's  appointment  to 
the  command  of  the  Battalion  of  minute-men  in  that  county.  .  .  ." 

October  28th.— "Oi-rfej-ed,  That  a  commission  do  issue  to  John  Taylor, 
Esq.,  as  Second  Major  of  the  Fourth  Regiment  of  Militia  in  Hunterdon 
County." 

The  purchase,  for  the  province,  of  arms,  ammuni- 
tion, camp-equipage,  artillery,  and  other  military 
necessities,  and  the  furnishing  of  funds  for  such 
purchase  by  the  issuance  of  bills  of  credit,  were 
provided  for  by  an  ordinance  passed  October  28th,* 
of  which  the  preamble  and  most  important  sections 
were  as  follows : 

"  TITieretK,  It  appears  oSBentially  necessary  at  this  time  of  increasing 
danger  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  should  be  furnished  with 
ammunition  and  other  military  stores,  and  that  this  Colony  should  be 
put  into  some  proper  posture  of  defense : 

"It  is  therefore  Eesolved  and  Directed,  That  Messrs.  Samuel  Tucker, 
Abraham  Hunt,  Joseph  Ellis,  and  Alexander  Chambers  be,  and  they  are 
hereby,  appointed  Commissioners  for  the  Western  Division;  and  "that 
Hendrick  Fisher,  Azariah  Dunham,  Abraham  Clark,  and  Samuel  Potter 
be,  and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  Commissioners  for  tlie  Eastern  Di- 
vision of  this  Colony ;  which  said  Commissioners,  or  the  major  part  of 
them,  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  receive  of  the  Treasurers  of 
this  Colony,  for  the  time  being,  appointed  by  this  Congress,  or  either  of 
them,  all  such  sum  or  sums  of  money  as  they  shall  from  time  to  time 
find  necessary  to  expend  for  the  use  of  this  Colony,  pursuant  to  the  res- 
olutions hereinafter  mentioned. 

"  And  U  isfwlher  Resohed  and  Directed,  That  the  said  commissioners  be, 
and  they  are  hereby,  authorized  and  directed  to  contract  with  artificers 
for,  or  otherwise  purchase,  three  thousand  stand  of  arms  at  any  price 
not  exceeding  Three  Pounds  Seven  Shillings  each  stand ;  and  also  to 
purchase  ten  tons  of  gunpowder,  twenty  tons  of  lead,  one  thousand  car- 
touch-boxes,  at  any  price  not  exceeding  nine  shillings  each;  a  quantity 
of  flints,  brushes,  priming-wire,  and  cartridge  paper,  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  Pounds  in  value  ;  two  chests  of  medicine,  not  exceeding  three 
hundred  Pounds  in  value ;  four  hundred  tents,  with  camp-equipage,  etc., 
not  exceeding  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy  Pounds  in  value ;' 
two  thousand  blankets,  not  exceeding  fifteen  hundred  Pounds  in  value  | 
a  number  of  axes,  spades,  and  other  intrenching  tools,  not  exceeding 
three  hundred  Pounds  in  value;  and  a  train  of  artillery,  not  exceeding 
five  hundred  Pounds  in  value.f 


*  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  Council  of  Safety  17VS-76 
p.  246. 
t  It  was  found  that  the  articles  named  could  not  be  purchased  for  the 


"  And  it  is  further  Resolved  and  Directed,  That  the  said  Commissioners  do 
supply  the  troops  of  this  Colony,  when  called  into  action  in  this  or  any 
of  the  neighbouring  Colonies,  with  one  month's  subsistence,  at  one  shil- 
ling per  day  per  man,  or  provisions  to  that  amount  if  necessary;  Pro- 
vided, That  the  expense  of  such  subsistence  doth  not  exceed  the  sum  of 
one  thousand  four  hundred  Pounds  in  value ;  and  one  month's  pay  for 
the  troops  of  this  Colony,  when  called  into  actual  service ;  Provided, 
That  the  Continental  Congress  do  not  malce  provision  for  the  same  ;  and 
provided  also  that  the  pay  of  such  troops  doth  not  exceed  the  sum  of 
four  thousand  Pounds  in  value. 

^'  And  it  is  further  Resohed  and  Directed,  That  the  Treasurers  of  this 
Colony  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  required  and  enjoined  to  pay  to  the  said 
Commissioners,  or  to  the  major  part  of  them,  or  to  their  order,  all  such 
sum  or  sums  of  money  astfhey  may  find  necessary  to  expend  for  the  pur- 
poses aforesaid ;  and  the  receipt  or  receipts  from  the  said  Commissioners, 
or  a  major  part  of  them,  shall  be  sufficient  vouchers  and  discharges  to 
the  said  Treasurei-s,  or  either  of  them,  their  executors  and  administra- 
tors, for  all  moneys  by  them  paid  pursuant  to  this  ordinance. 

"  And  wherecu.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  provide  a  fund  for  defray- 
ing the  above  expense,  it  is  therefore  Resolited  and  Directed,  That  bills  of 
credit  to  the  amount  of  thirty  thousandl  Pounds,  Proclamation  money ,g 
be  immediately  prep.ared,  printed,  .and  made  as  follows,  to  wit:  Five 
thousand  seven  hundred  bills,  each  of  the  value  of  three  Pounds;  six 
thousand  bills,  each  of  the  value  of  ou6  Pound  ten  Shillings;  four  thou- 
and  bills,  each  of  the  value  of  fifteen  Shillings;  and  three  thousand 
bills,  each  of  the  value  of  si-x  shillings  ;  which  bills  shall  be  in  the  form 
following,  to  wit; 

" '  This  bill,  by  an  Ordinance  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  shall  pass  cur- 
rent in  all  payments  within  the  Colony  of  New  Jersey  for  Proclamation 
Money;  Dated  the  diiy  of  1775,'  and  shall  be  impressed  with 

sxrch  devices  as  the  inspectors  of  the  press  hereinafter  appointed  shall 
direct ;  and  when  printed  shall  be  delivered  to  Hendrick  Fisher  and 
Azariah  Dunham,  Esquires,  of  the  Eastern  Division,  and  to  John  Hart 
and  John  Carey,  Esquires,  of  the  Western  Divi.sion,  four  of  the  signers 
thereof,  in  equal  moieties ;  one  moiety  to  be  signed  by  the  Treasurer  and 
signei-s  of  the  Eastern  Division,  and  the  other  moiety  by  the  Treasurer 
and  signers  of  the  Western  Division.  .  .  ," 

The  succeeding  parts  of  the  ordinance  provided  for 
the  numbering,  signing,  countersigning,  counting,  and 
inspection  of  the  bills,  with  various  other  details,  all 
which  were  laid  out  and  directed  with  great  minute- 
ness as  a  safeguard  against  the  possibility  of  irregu- 
larity or  fraud.  And  it  was  further  provided  by  the 
ordinance  that  "for  the  better  credit  and  etfectual 
sinking  of  the  said  bills  of  credit  there  shall  be  as- 
sessed, levied,  and  raised  on  the  several  inhabitants 
of  this  colony,  their  goods  and  chattels,  lands  and 
tenements,  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  pounds  annually 
in  every  of  the  years  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-four,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
five,  and  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
six"  ;  .  .  .  and  the  apportionment  of  this  annual  tax 
was  made  identical  in  the  amounts  assigned  to  each 


sums  to  which  the  Commissioners  were  limited;  and  thereupon,  on  the 
10th  of  February,  1776,  the  Congress  gave  them  unlimited  authority  to 
purchase,  by  the  following  action  :  "  Wliereas,  By  an  ordinance  of  this 
Congress,  passed  at  Trenton  the  28th  day  of  October  last,  the  Commis- 
sioners therein  named  and  appointed  to  purchase  firearms  and  military 
stores  were  particularly  restricted  in  the  price  to  be  paid  for  said  fire- 
arms, whereby,  the  manufactory  thereof  hath  been  greatly  impeded  ;  for 
the  remedy  whereof  it  is  resolved  unanimously  that  the  said  Commis- 
sioners have  full  power  immediately  to  proceed  in  contracting  for  fire- 
arms upon  the  best  terms  in  their  power,  without  any  limitation  or  re- 
striction ;  and  that  this  Congress  will  in  convenient  time  pass  an  ordi- 
nance for  that  purpose."— Jlfiarito  Provincial  Congress  and  Ooimcil of  Safetu 
1776-76,  pp.  358,  359.  ' 

X  Tlio  amount  was  raised  to  fifty  thousand  pounds  by  an  ordinance 
passed  Feb.  28,  1776. 

g  Proclamation  money  was  reckoned  at  seven  shillings  six  pence  to 
the  dollar. 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


37 


of  the  counties  with  that  of  the  ten  thousand  pound 
tax,  before  mentioned,  levied  at  the  session  of  the 
preceding  May. 

The  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds  was  voted  "to 
encourage  the  erection  of  saltpetre- works  in  this 
colony'' ;  and  it  was  directed  that  this  sum  "  be  ap- 
propriated to  the  payment  of  a  bounty  of  one  shilling 
per  pound  over  and  above  the  market  price  for  any 
quantity  not  exceeding  twenty  thousand  weight  of 
good  merchantable  saltpetre  which  shall  be  made 
and  manufactured  in  this  colony  on  or  before  the  first 
day  of  January,  1777;  Provided,  That  the  Continental 
Congress  shall  not  offer  the  like  premium  for  saltpetre 
manufactured  in  any  of  the  United  Colonies." 

The  question  of  the  enlistment  and  organization  of 
two  battalions  of  soldiers  in  New  Jersey  for  the  Con- 
tinental service  was  among  the  business  brought  be- 
fore the  Congress  at  this  session.  It  originated  in  the 
receipt,  on  the  13th  of  October,  of  a  letter  from  the 
president  of  the  Continental  Congress  to  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  of  New  Jersey,  being  as  follows : 

"Philadelphlj,  Oct.  12, 1776. 
"GESTLEMEif,— Some  late  intcIUgence,*  laid  before  CoDgres,  seems 
to  render  it  absolutely  necessary,  for  the  protection  of  our  Uberties  and 
the  safety  of  our  lives,  to  raise  several  new  battalions,  and  therefore  the 
Congress  have  come  into  the  inclosed  resolutions,  which  I  am  ordered  to 
transmit  to  yon.  The  Congress  have  the  firmest  confidence  that  from 
your  experienced  zeal  in  this  great  cause,  you  will  exert  your  utmost 
endeavors  to  carry  the  said  resolutions  into  execntion  with  all  possible 
expeditioiu 

"  Thetlongress  have  agreed  to  furnish  the  men  with  a  hunting-shirt, 
not  exceeding  the  value  of  one  dollar  and  one-third  of  a  dollar,  and  a 
blanket,  provided  these  can  be  procured,  but  these  are  not  to  be  made 
part  of  the  terms  of  enJistment. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen, 

"  Tour  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  John  Hakcock, 

"  President.^ 
"  By  order  of  Congress,  I  forward  you  forty-eight  commissions  for  the 
captains  and  subaltern  officers  in  the  New  Jersey  Battalions. 

"  To  THE  MemBEBS  or  THE  COXVESTION  OF  NEW  JERSEY." 

The  resolutions  of  the  Continental  Congress  referred 
to  in  llr.  Hancock's  letter  were  passed  by  that  body  on 
the  9th  and  12th  of  October,  recommending  to  the  Con- 
gress of  New  Jersey  that  it  should  "  immediately  raise, 
at  the  expense  of  the  continent,  two  battalions,  con- 
sisting of  eight  companies,"  of  men  for  the  service,  and 
specifying  the  manner  in  which  they  were  to  be  en- 
listed and  officered  and  the  pay  and  allowances  they 
would  receive. 

A  reply  was  at  once  sent  (October  13th)  to  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  expressing  the  desire  of  the  Con- 
gress of  New  Jersey  to  promote  the  common  interests 
of  the  colonies  as  far  as  lay  in  their  power,  and  to 
raise  the  troops  as  desired,  but  objecting  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  field-officers  for  the  proposed  bat- 
talions were  to  be  appointed.  This  disagreement 
resulted  in  some  further  correspondence,  and  the 
matter  was  afterwards  satisfactorily  arranged ;  but  in 
the  mean  time  the  Congress  of  New  Jersey  passed  the 


*  Unfavorable  intelligence  from  the  Canadian  expedition  under  Gens. 
Schuyler  and  Montgomery. 


following  resolution,!  which  was  ordered  to  be  imme- 
diately published  in  the  form  of  an  advertisement,— 
viz. : 

"In  Provincial  Congress  held  at  Trenton 
"  The  26th  Day  or  Octobee,  1775. 

"  Whereas,  The  Honorable  Continental  Congress  have  recommended  to 
this  Congress  that  there  be  immediately  raised  in  this  Colony  at  the  ex- 
pence  of  the  Continent,  two  Battalions,  consisting  of  eight  companies 
each,  and  each  company  to  con-ist  of  sixty-eight  privates,  and  officered 
with  one  Captain,  one  Lieutenant,  one  Ensign,  four  Sergeants,  and  four 
Corporals,  on  the  following  conditions:  That  the  privates  be  enlisted  for 
a  year,  at  the  rate  of  five  dollars  per  calendar  month,  liable  to  be  dis- 
charged at  any  time  on  aUowing  one  month's  pay  extraordinary  •  that 
each  of  the  privates  be  allowed,  instead  of  a  bounty,  a  felt  hat,  a  pair  of 
yam  stockings,  and  a  pair  of  shoes,-the  men  to  find  their  own  arms  ; 
that  each  capUiu  and  other  commissioned  officer  while  in  the  recruiting 
service  of  this  Continent,  or  on  their  march  to  join  the  army,  shall  be 
aUowed  two  dollars  and  two-thirds  of  a  dollar  per  week  for  their  subsists 
euce ;  and  that  the  men  who  enlist  shall,  each  of  them,  whilst  in  quarters, 
be  allowed  one  dollar  per  week,  and  one  dollar  and  one-third  of  a  dollar 
when  on  their  march  to  join  the  army,  for  the  same  purpose  [here  fol- 
lows the  prescribed  form  of  enhstment]. 

"This  Congress,  desirous  to  carry  into  execution  the  above  resolution 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  do  resolve  that  warrants  be  issued  to  proper 
pcrs<,n8  for  immediately  raising  the  said  two  Battalions,  consisting  of 
eight  companies  each,  and  each  company  of  sixty-eight  privates,  and 
officered  with  one  Captain,  one  Lieutenant,  one  Ensign,  four  Sergeants, 
and  four  Corporals,  on  the  terms  aforesaid  ;  which  sergeants,  corporals! 
and  privates  to  be  enlisted  shall  be  able-bodied  freemen.  And  it  is  further 
directed  that,  when  any  company  shall  be  enlisted,  the  persons  having 
warrants  for  raising  the  same  shall  cause  a  muster  to  be  had  thereof,  in 
the  presence  of  either  Elias  Dayton,  Azariah  Dunham,  Joseph  Ellis!  or 
John  Jlehelm,  Esquires,  who  are  hereby  appointed  muster  masters'  to 
review  the  said  companies.     .     .  And  it  is  hereby  recommended  to 

the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  to  be  aiding  and  assisting,  as  far  as  their 
influence  extends,  in  raising  the  aforesaid  levies.    .    .    ." 

On  the  28th  of  October  the  Provincial  Congress 
passed  a  resolution  recommending  to  the  Continental 
Congress  the  appointment  and  commissioning  of  the 
following-named  field-officers  for  the  two  battalions  to 
be  raised  in  New  Jersey,— viz. :  For  the  Eastern  Bat- 
talion, the  Earl  of  Stirling  colonel,  William  Winds 
lieutenant-colonel,  and  William  De  Hart  major ;  for 
the  Western  Battalion,  William  Maxwell  colonel, 
Israel  Shrieve  lieutenant-colonel,  and  David  Eay 
major.  These  appointments  were  soon  after  made, 
and  commissions  issued  by  direction  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress. 

The  Provincial  Congress  adjourned  on  the  28th  ol 
October,  "to  meet  at  New  Brunswick  on  the  first 
Tuesday  in  April  next,  unless  sooner  convened  by 
the  President,  Vice-President,  or  the  Committee  of 
Safety."  The  gentlemen  appointed  to  form  this  com- 
mittee, to  act  for  the  public  welfare  in  the  recess  of 
this  Congress,  were  Samuel  Tucker,  Hendrick  Fisher, 
John  Hart,  Abraham  Clark,  Lewis  Ogden,  Joseph 
Holmes,  John  Mehelm,  Isaac  Pearson,  John  Pope, 
Azariah  Dunham,  John  Dennis,  Augustine  Stevenson, 
Ruloff  Van  Dyke.  Six  of  these  thirteen  members 
were  from  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties. 

The  Committee  held  a  five  days'  session  at  Prince- 
ton, from  the  9th  to  the  13th  of  January,  1776,  at 
which  a  number  of  Tories  and  disaflfected  persons 

t  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  Council  of  Safety,  1775-76 
p.  233. 


38 


HUNTEKDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


were  severely  dealt  with,  and  provision  was  made  for 
the  erection  of  beacons  and  the  keeping  of  express- 
riders  in  constant  readiness  to  convey  intelligence  in 
case  of  alarm  from  invasion  or  other  causes,  but  no 
important  action  is  found  having  special  reference  to 
Hunterdon  or  Somerset  Counties.  They  saw  fit,  how- 
ever, to  call  an  extra  session  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, as  appears  by  the  following  extract  from  their 
minutes,  dated  January  12th, — viz. : 

"  This  Committee  received  several  resolutions  and  determinations  of 
the  Continental  Congress  respecting  raising  one  new  battalion  in  this 
Province,  erecting  and  establishing  a  Court  of  Admiralty,  advising  the 
forming  some  useful  regulations  respecting  the  Continental  forces  raised 
in  this  Colony  ;  which  requisitions,  together  with  many  other  important 
concerns,  render  the  speedy  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  this  province 
absolutely  necessary.  This  Committee  have  therefore  appointed  the 
meeting  of  said  Congress  to  be  at  New  Brunswick  on  Wednesday,  the 
thirty-firBt  day  of  this  instant,  January." 

The  Congress  accordingly  met  at  the  time  and  place 
designated,  and  commenced  business  on  the  1st  of 
February. 

The  recruitment  of  the  two  battalions  which  Con- 
gress at  its  previous  session  had  ordered  to  be  raised 
had  proceeded  successfully  and  with  rapidity.  Lord 
Stirling,  having  been  commissioned  colonel  of  the 
First  or  Eastern  battalion,  had  taken  with  him  to  it 
several  of  the  officers  and  a  considerable  number  of 
the  men  of  the  Somerset  County  regiment  of  militia, 
which  he  had  previously  commanded,  and  he  found 
very  little  difficulty  in  filling  the  ranks  of  his  new 
command.  Col.  Maxwell's  (Western)  battalion  was 
recruited  with  nearly  equal  facility.  In  the  last  week 
of  November  (1775)  Stirling  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Elizabethtown  to  fill  his  battalion  to  the 
maximum,  six  companies  of  it  having  previously 
been  ordered  to  garrison  the  fort  in  the  Highlands  on 
the  Hudson  River.  Lieut.-Col.  Winds  was  soon  after 
stationed,  with  a  part  of  the  battalion,  at  Perth  Am- 
boy.  Col.  Maxwell's  battalion  was  ordered  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  both  the  Eastern 
and  Western  battalions  having  been  filled,  or  nearly 
so,  were  mustered  into  the  Continental  service  in  De- 
cember.* It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  they 
were  fully  armed  and  equipped  when  so  mustered,  as 
is  shown  (at  least  in  regard  to  the  Western  battalion) 
by  the  following  action  taken  by  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress! at  New  Brunswick,  on  the  third  day  of  its  ses- 
sion, Feb.  2,  1776,— viz.  : 

"Wliereas,  The  Continental  Congress  have  ordered  Colonel  Maxwell's 
battalion  to  march  to  Canada  as  soon  as  the  men  can  be  furnished  with 
arms  and  other  articles  absolutely  essential ;  and  whereas,  arms  are  ex- 
tremely scarce,  and  indeed  impossible  to  be  procured  in  time  for  the 
equipment  of  said  battalion  without  making  application  to  the  several 
Counties  in  this  Province:  Resolved,  That  the  Committees,  or  other  public 
bodies,  in  whose  hands  any  of  the  Kew  Jersey  Provincial  arms  and 


*  These  two  battalions  were  the  first  troops  of  New  Jersey  which  actu- 
ally took  the  field.  Lord  StirUng  was  of  Somerset  County,  and  one  of 
its  leading  citizens,  while  Gen.  Maxwell  bore  nearly  the  same  relation 
to  Hunterdon  County,  although  he  resided  a  short  distance  outside  her 
boundaries. 

t  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congi-ess  and  Council  of  Safety  1775-76 
pp.  341,  342. 


accoutrements  are  deposited  [are  requested  ?]  to  deliver  the  same  to  the 
commanding  oiHcer  of  said  battalion,  or  his  order ;  of  whom  they  are 
required  to  tiike  vouchers,  with  the  valuation  of  said  arms,  etc.,  there 
under  written;  and  that  this  Congress  will  either  immediately  pay  for 
said  arms,  agreeable  to  appointment,  or  replace  them  as  soon  as  possible, 
whichever  the  said  Committees  or  public  bodies  shall  think  most  proper. 
"  This  Congress  do,  in  the  most  strong  and  explicit  manner,  recom- 
mend to  every  private  person  who  has  anns  fit  for  immediate  use  to  dis- 
pose of  the  same  for  the  purpose  above  mentioned." 

And  the  Congress,  on  the  same  day,  ordered  to  be 
sent  "  to  the  commanding  officers  and  chairmen  of 
the  several  county  committees  in  the  province"  a  cir- 
cular-letter in  these  words : 

"  Gentlemen, — The  late  repulse  at  QuebecJ  requires  every  exertion  of 
tlie  friends  of  American  freedom,  in  consequence  whereof  Colonel  Max- 
well's battalion  is  ordered  to  march  forthwith,  and  the  Continental  Con- 
gress have  applied  to  our  body  urging  the  greatest  dispatch  in  procuring 
arms  and  necessaries  for  this  expedition.  Therefore,  in  pursuance  of  the 
aforesaid  application,  we  request  you,  gentlemen,  to  use  the  utmost  dili- 
gence and  activity  in  collecting  all  the  public  arms  belonging  to  your 
county,  being  your  proportion  of  the  Provincial  arms  unsold.  Dispatch 
in  this  case  is  quite  necessary,  as,  no  doubt,  the  arms  are  distributed  in 
the  hands  of  the  associators,  it  will  be  necessary  that  every  officer  do  his 
part.  The  value  of  the  arms  will  be  paid  in  money,  or  the  number  be 
replaced,  and  the  expenses  of  collecting  and  forwarding  them  punc- 
tually discharged.  We  put  you  to  this  trouble  with  regret ;  but  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  measure  must  apologise.  You  will  have  the  arms  collected 
in  your  county  valued  by  good  men  and  sent  to  Burlington  or  Trenton, 
under  the  care  of  such  officer  of  Colonel  Maxwell's  battalion  as  may  be 
the  bearer  hereof." 

That  some  of  the  arms  for  the  New  Jersey  battalions 
were  supplied  by  New  York  appears  from  the  record 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress,  which 
body  on  the  2d  of  January,  1776, 

"  Resolijed,  .  .  .  That  the  hundred  stand  of  arms  supplied  by  the 
Colony  of  New  York  for  the  New  Jersey  Battalion  be  paid  for  by  the 
Convention  of  New  Jersey  ;  and  that,  in  order  to  enable  the  said  Conven- 
tion to  make  such  payment,  as  well  as  to  furnish  such  of  the  men  belong- 
ing to  the  said  Battalions  as  are  yet  unprovided  with  arms,  the  further 
sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  be  advanced  to  the  said  Convention,  and 
that  the  price  of  the  arms  be  deducted  out  of  the  wages  of  the  privates 
belonging  to  said  Battalions." 

That  a  great  scarcity  of  ammunition  as  well  as  of 
arms  existed  among  the  men  of  the  two  battalions 
appears  by  the  following  extract  from  the  minutes  of 
the  Congress,  dated  February  1st, — viz. . 

"  Lieut.-Col.  Winds  infoi-med  this  Congress  that  he  was  stationed  at 
Perth  Amboy  with  a  part  of  the  Eastern  battalion  of  the  Continental 
forces  raised  in  this  Colony,  and  that  he  waa  destitute  of  ammunition, 
and  thought  it  not  improbable  he  miglit  soon  have  occasion  for  a  supply. 
And  this  Congress  being  informed  that  the  County  of  Somerset  had  a 
quantity  of  powder  in  store,  and  the  County  of  Middlesex  a  quantity  of 
lead, — in  consideration  whereof:  Ordered,  That  Mr.  President  request 
the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Somerset  to  furnish  Colonel  Winds 
with  four  quarter  casks  of  powder ;  and  that  he  also  request  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  of  the  County  of  Middlesex  to  furnish  Colonel 
Winds  with  150  pounds  of  lead ;  and  that  the  said  powder  and  lead  shall 
be  replaced  in  some  convenient  time." 

The  Committees  promptly  acceded  to  this  request, 
as  appears  from  the  minutes,  dated  February  10th, 
■ — viz. : 

"  On  a  requisition  from  Lord  Stirling,  the  Committee  of  Elizabethtown 
have  furnished  him  with  six  thousand  cartridges,  Somerset  county  four 

X  The  unsuccessful  assault  on  the  defenses  of  that  town,  in  the  morn- 
ing of  Dec.  31, 1775,  by  the  American  forces  under  Blontgomery  and  Ar- 
nold, in  whicli  the  first-named  gallant  officer  lost  his  life  and  the  latter 
was  severely  wounded. 


HUNTERDON   AND  SOMEESET   COUNTIES  IN  THE   REVOLUTION. 


39 


quarter  casks  of  powder,  Woodbridge  a  considerable  quautity,  and 
Brunswick  one  liundred  and  lifty  weight' of  lead.  Our  militia  are  very 
illy  supplied  with  ammunition ;  those  who  have  granted  the  above  sup- 
plies are  therefore  very  desirous  that  they  be  immediately  replaced." 

This  extract  is  from  a  communication  sent  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  on  the  date  named  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  asking  for  "  ten  tons  of  gunpowder 
and  twenty  tons  of  lead,  or  as  much  as  may  be  spared," 
out  of  a  large  quantity  reported  to  have  then  re- 
cently arrived  at  Philadelphia.     The  request  was 
granted  to  the  extent  of  half  a  ton  of  powder,  and 
out  of  this  the  quantity  borrowed  of  Somerset  County, 
Brunswick,  Woodbridge,  and  Elizabeth  was  replaced. 
In  consequence   of  the  unfavorable  result  of  the 
military  operations  in  Canada,  and  the  strong  proba- 
bility (indicated  in  letters  from  Gen.  Washington  to 
Congress)  that  Gen.  Howe  intended  to  evacuate  his 
uncomfortable  position  at  Boston  and  move  his  forces 
thence  by  sea  to  New  York,  as  also  the  knowledge 
that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  embarked  from  England 
on   a  secret  expedition,  whose  probable  destination 
was  New  York,  a  greater  degree  of  activity  was  in- 
fused into  military  measures  in  general,  and  especially 
to  those  having  reference  to  the  defense  of  the  middle 
colonies.     The  Continental  Congress  having  resolved 
in  January,  1776,  that  it  was  necessary  to  raise  a  num- 
ber of  additional  battalions,  assigned  the  raising  of 
one  of  these  to  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  and 
recommended  to  the  Provincial  Congress  that  it  should 
take  immediate  steps  to  that  end.     Accordingly,  on 
the  5th  pf  February,  the  last-named  Congress  passed 
a  resolution  to  raise  a  battalion,  in  addition  to  the  two 
previously  raised,  to  be  enlisted,  organized,  and  oflB.- 
cered  in  the  same  manner  (except  that  each  of  its 
eight  companies  should  be  composed  of  seventy-eight 
instead  of  sixty-eight  privates),  and,  like  the  others, 
to  be  employed  in  the  Continental  service.    Company 
officers  for  the  battalion  were  appointed  by  the  Con- 
gress of  New  Jersey,  but  the  field-officers  were  to  be 
appointed  and  commissioned  by  the  Continental  Con- 
gress.   The  Provincial  Congress  also  resolved,  Feb- 
ruary 13th, 

"  That  Col.  Dunbar,  who  lives  in  the  Eastern  Division  of  New  Jersey, 
be  recommended  to  the  Honorable  Continental  Congress  as  a  person 
well  qualified  to  be  appointed  joint  commissary  with  Col.  Lowrey,  who 
lives  in  West  Jersey,  for  the  Third  Battalion,  now  raising,  and  such  as 
shall  be  raised  in  this  Colony  in  the  future." 

Col.  Lowrey  was  a  resident  of  Flemington,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  and,  receiving  the  appointment  of  com- 
missary, performed  most  valuable  services  to  the 
American  cause  during  the  war. 

The  rapid  progress  made  in  raising  the  Third  Bat- 
talion is  indicated  by  the  following  extract  from  a  let- 
ter written  by  President  Tucker  to  the  Continental 
Congress  on  the  24th  of  February,  only  nineteen  days 
after  the  passage  of  the  resolution  ordering  the  bat- 
talion to  be  raised,— viz.  :  "  I  am  likewise  to  request 
that  commissions  may  be  sent  for  the  officers  of  the 
Third  Battalion,  as  some  of  the  companies  are  already 
full  and  others  in  a  fair  way." 


The  ever-present  difficulty — scarcity  of  arms — was 
an  obstacle  to  the  new  battalion,  as  it  had  been  in  the 
cases  of  the  others,  and  of  all  troops  being  raised  at 
that  time.  This  is  made  apparent  by  the  tenor  of  a 
letter  sent  by  the  New  Jersey  Congress  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  dated  February  10th,  from  which  is 
quoted  the  following : 

"  Gentlemen, — Sensible  of  the  importance  that  the  battalions  raised  in 
this  Province  should  be  as  speedily  as  possible  furnished  with  arms,  we 
collected  for  the  supply  of  the  First  and  Second  Battalions  all  the  arma 
fit  for  service  that  could  be  obtained  in  this  Province.  We  have  therefore 
no  resource  of  providing  arms  for  the  Third  Battalion  hut  from  our  own 
manufactories,  or  importation.  How  soon  they  can  be  manufactured  is 
uncertain ;  and  we  have  no  present  prospect  of  receiving  them  from 
abroad.  But,  being  informed  that  two  thousand  stand  have  lately  been 
imported,  and  that  they  are  within  your  disposal,  we  should  be  glad  that 
part  of  them  may  be  ordered  for  the  use  of  the  Third  Battalion,  unless 
some  more  immediate  public  service  calls  for  them.  We  beg  leave  to 
propose  whether  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  clothe  the  battalions  now 
raising  in  uniform,  deducting  the  expence  attending  it  out  of  the  men^s 
wages.  .  .  ." 

The  pressing  need  of  blankets  for  the  troops  is  also 
shown  by  this  entry  on  the  congressional  minutes 
dated  March  1st : 

"  This  Congress,  sensible  of  the  extreme  scarcity  of  blankets  now 
wanted  for  Continental  forces,  do  recommend  it  to  all  the  inhabitants  of 
this  colony  who  may  have  any  good  blankets  that  they  can  possibly  spare 
to  dispose  of  the  same  to  the  commissary  on  reasonable  terms  for  the  use 
of  said  forces." 

On  the  13th  of  February,  Congress  resolved  "  that 
a  train  of  artillery,  consisting  of  twelve  ;f>ieces,  be 
immediately  purchased  for  the  use  of  this  Colony'' ; 
and  on  the  2d  of  March  an  ordinance  was  passed  di- 
recting that  two  complete  artillery  companies  be  im- 
mediately raised  for  the  defense  of  the  colony,  ''one 
to  be  stationed  in  the  Eastern  and  one  in  the  Western 
Division  thereof,  .  .  .  to  be  disposed  of  in  this  Colony 
as  the  Congress,  Committee  of  Safety,  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral of  the  Division  to  which  they  respectively  belong 
shall  direct ;  each  company  to  be  commanded  by  a 
Captain,  Captain-Lieutenant,  First  and  Second  Lieu- 
tenants; and  to  consist  of  a  Fire-worker,  four  Ser- 
geants, four  Corporals,  one  Bombardier,  and  fifty 
matrosses,  all  of  whom  are  to  be  able-bodied  free- 
men, and  to  be  enlisted  for  one  year,  unless  sooner 
discharged."  The  commissioned  officers  appointed 
for  these  companies  were  Frederick  Frelinghuysen 
captain,*  Daniel  Neil  captain-lieutenant,  Thomas 
Clark  first  lieutenant,  and  John  Heard  second  lieu- 
tenant of  the  Eastern  Company,  and  Samuel  Hugg 
captain,  Thomas  Newark  captain-lieutenant,  John 
Westcott  first  lieutenant,  and  Joseph  Dayton  second 
lieutenant  of  the  Western  Company.  A  company  of 
riflemen  was  also  ordered  to  be  raised,  to  be  joined  to 
Col.  Maxwell's  (Second  Continental)  battalion.     And 


*  Capt.  Frelinghuysen  soon  after  resigned  his  commifision,  and  there- 
upon his  artillery  company  was  disbanded,  as  is  shown  by  an  ordinance 
passed  Aug.  21, 1776,  ordering  the  payment  of  certain  demands,  among 
them  being:  "To  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  £61 13s.  2d.,  being  the  bal- 
ance due  to  him  and  men  by  him  enlisted  for  the  eastern  company  of  ar- 
tillery, who  were  discharged  upon  his  resignation."— Mm.  Prov.  Cong., 
1776,  p.  675. 


40 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


it  was  ordered  (February  3d)  that,  as  Lord  Stirling, 
previously  colonel  of  the  First  Regiment  of  militia  in 
the  county  of  Somerset,  had  been  appointed  to  a  com- 
mand in  the  Continental  army,  "Stephen  Hunt,  Esq., 
be  colonel,  Abraham  Ten  Eyck,  Esq.,  lieutenant-colo- 
nel, James  Linn,  Esq.,  first  major,  and  Derrick  Med- 
dagh,  Esq.,  second  major  of  the  said  regiment,  and 
that  their  commissions  be  made  out  accordingly." 

In  view  of  the  probability,  as  before  mentioned, 
that  Gen.  Howe  was  about  to  move  his  army  to  oc- 
cupy New  York,  and  the  expected  arrival,  by  sea,  of 
a  force  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  Continental  and  provincial  troops  had  been 
ordered  to  that  city,  and  among  these  the  battalion 
of  Lord  Stirling,  who  received  orders  to  that  effect 
about  the  1st  of  February,  and  moved  his  command 
from  Elizabethtown  to  New  York  on  the  5th  and  6th 
of  that  month.*  On  the  15th  of  February  the  Con- 
gress of  New  Jersey  received  a  communication  from 
the  president  of  the  Continental  Congress,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 12th,  asking  this  province  to  send  a  force  of 
minute-men  to  New  York.     Its  tenor  was  as  follows : 

"  Gentlemen, — The  arrival  of  troope  at  New  York,  the  importance  of 
that  place  to  the  welfare  of  America,  and  the  neceBsity  of  throwing  up 
a  number  of  works  to  prevent  our  enemies  from  landing  and  taking  post 
there,  render  it  necessary  that  a  number  of  troops  should  immediately 
join  Maj.-Gen.  Lee;  I  am  therefore  desired  to  apply  to  you,  and  request 
you  would,  with  all  possible  expedition,  send  detachments  of  your 
minute-men  equal  to  a  battalion,  under  proper  officers,  and  well  armed 
and  accoutred,  to  New  York,  there  to  be  under  command  of  Gen.  Lee. 
Your  approved  zeal  in  the  cause  of  your  country  gives  me  the  strongest 
assurance  that  you  will  with  alacrity  embrace  this  opportunity  of  giving 
aid  to  your  neighbors,  and  that  your  people  will  cheerfully  engage  in  a 
service  by  which  they  will  not  only  render  a  very  essential  service  to 
their  country,  but  £^1bo  have  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  military  skill 
and  knowledge  in  the  construction  of  field-works  and  the  method  of 
fortifying  and  entrenching  camps,  by  which  they  will  be  the  better  able, 
when  occasion  calls,  to  defend  their  rights  and  liberties." 

Upon  the  receipt  of  which  the  Provincial  Congress 
resolved  unanimously, 

"  That  the  above  requisition  be  complied  with,  and  that  detachments 
of  minute-men,  properly  accoutred,  equal  to  a  battalion  in  the  Continen- 
tal sei-vice,  be  immediately  made,  and  marched  to  New  York,  under  the 
command  of  Charles  Stewart,  Esq.,  colonel,  Mark  Thompson,  Esq.,  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, Frederick  Frelinghuysen  and  Thomas  Henderson,  Esqrs., 
majors." 

But  again  the  scarcity  of  arms  presented  a  serious 
difficulty,  and  this  time  it  proved  an  insuperable  ob- 
stacle to  the  desired  movement  of  the  troops,  as  is  ex- 
plained by  the  following  extract  from  the  minutes  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  dated  February  22d, — viz.  : 

"A  delegate  from  New  Jersey  having  informed  Congress  that  the  regi- 
ment of  militia  ordered  by  the  Convention  of  that  Colony  to  march  to 
the  defense  of  New  York,  in  consequence  of  the  resolve  of  Congress  of 
the  l'2th  of  this  mouth,  were  not  sufficiently  ai-med,  and  that  they  could 
not  he  furnished  with  arms  unless  the  Congress  supplied  them,  and  as 

*  In  a  letter  addressed  by  Lord  Stirling  to  the  president  of  Congress, 
dated  New  York,  Feb.  19, 1776,  he  says, — 

"  SiK,— On  the  14th  instant  I  informed  you  of  having  received  Gen. 
Lee's  orders  to  march  with  my  regiment  to  this  place.  I  accordingly 
marched  the  next  morning  with  four  companies  from  Elizabethtown, 
and  arrived  here  the  next  day,  as  soon  as  the  ice  permitted  us  to  cross 

Hudson's  River.    The  other  four  companies  lolloAved  the  next  day." 

CoUectUmB  of  the  New  Jersey  Hutorical  Socidij,  vol.  ii.  p.  129. 


this  Congress  have  not  arms  to  spare,— those  they  have  being  necessary 
for  arming  the  battalions  in  the'Continental  sei-vice :  Therefore,  Betolved, 
that  the  march  of  said  battalion  of  militia  be  countermanded." 

One  week  after  the  marching  orders  to  the  New 
Jersey  minute-men  were  thus  countermanded,  the 
several  organizations  of  minute-men  in  the  colony 
were  disbanded  by  action  of  the  Provincial  Congress, 
which  on  the  29th  of  February  passed  an  ordinance 
in  which  it  was  directed 

"That  all  the  minute-men  heretofore  embodied  in  the  several  parts  of 
this  Colony  be  immediately  dissolved,  and  incorporated  with  the  militia, 
in  the  several  companies  in  the  district  in  which  they  respectively  reside, 
as  though  such  minute-men  had  never  been  raised.  ,  .  ." 

The  principal  reasons  for  this  action,  as  enumerated 
in  the  preamble  to  the  ordinance,  were  that  large 
numbers  of  the  members  of  minute-men  organiza- 
tions had  enlisted  in  the  Continental  service,  thereby 
greatly  reducing  the  companies  and  battalions,  and 
so  placing  them  in  a  condition  in  which  they  could 
not  "  answer  the  design  of  their  institution,"  and  that 
"  our  defense,  under  God,  chiefly  depends  upon  a 
well-regulated  militia."  Thus  the  "minute-men',' 
organizations  of  New  Jersey  ceased  to  exist,  never 
having  had  an  opportunity  to  perform  any  of  the 
peculiar  services  for  which  they  were  formed. 

The  Congress  of  New  Jersey  adjourned  on  the  2d 
of  March,  1776,  having  previouslyf  passed  an  ordi- 
nance, in  which  it  was  "  Resolved  and  directed,  That 
there  be  a  new  choice  of  Deputies  to  serve  in  Provin- 
cial Congress,  for  every  County  of  this  Colony,  on  the 
fourth  Monday  in  May  yearly,  and  every  year,"  thus 
establishing  regular  annual  elections  of  deputies  in- 
stead of  the  special  elections  called,  as  they  had  pre- 
viously been,  at  the  pleasure  of  Congress. 

The  elections  were  held  at  the  time  specified,  and 
resulted  in  the  choice  of  Philemon  Dickinson,  John 
Allen,  Samuel  Tucker,  John  Hart,  and  John  Mehelm 
for  Hunterdon,  and  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  WU- 
liam  Paterson,  John  Witherspoon,  Jacob  E.  Harden- 
bergh,  and  James  Linn  for  Somerset  County.  These, 
with  fifty-five  deputies  from  the  other  counties,  assem- 
bled in  Provincial  Congress  at  Burlington,  and  organ- 
ized on  the  nth  of  that  month  by  electing  Samuel 
Tucker,  of  Hunterdon,  president,  and  William  Pater- 
son, of  Somerset  County,  secretary. 

At  this  session  a  great  amount  of  business  was 
transacted,  a  large  proportion  of  which  was  included 
in  the  measures  taken  for  raising,  organizing,  and 
forwarding  troops.  These  measures  will  not  be 
noticed  in  detail  here,  but  the  most  important  of  them 
will  be  mentioned  incidentally  in  succeeding  pages, 
in  connection  with  the  military  events  of  which  the 
year  1776  was  so  fruitful.  But  the  most  notable 
action  taken  at  this  session  was  that  which  transformed 
New  Jersey  from  a  colony  into  an  independent  State 
by  the  adoption  of  a  State  constitution  on  the  2d  of 
July.  And  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  when  the  vote 
was  taken  upon  the  immediate  adoption  and  confirma- 


t  February  28th. 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET    COUNTIES   IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


41 


tion  of  this  constitution,  John  Mehelm,  who  voted  for, 
and  William  Paterson,  who  voted  against,  that  prop- 
osition, were  the  only  members  of  the  Hunterdon  and 
Somerset  delegations  who  answered  the  roll-call  of 
deputies. 

On  the  17th  of  July  the  Congress  ratified  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  by  the  adoption  of  this 
resolution, — viz. : 

"Wha-eas,  The  Honorable  Continental  Congress  have  declared  the 
TJnited  Colonies  Free  and  Independent  States :  We,  the  Deputies  of  New 
Jersey  in  Provincial  Congress  assembled,  do  resolve  and  declare  that  we 
■will  support  the  freedom  and  independence  of  the  said  States  with  our 
lives  and  fortunes,  and  with  the  whole  force  of  New  Jersey." 

And  on  the  following  day  it  was  by  the  same  body 

"  Beaolved,  That  thisHouse  from  henceforth,  instead  of  the  style  and 
title  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  do  adopt  and  assume  the 
style  and  title  of  the  Convention  of  the  State  of  New  .Jersey." 

On  the  same  day  (July  18th)  an  ordinance  was 
passed  defining  the  crime  of  treason  against  the  State 
of  New  Jersey,  and  making  it  punishable  "  in  like 
manner  as  by  the  ancient  laws  of  this  State," — ^that 
is,  by  the  infliction  of  the  penalty  of  death. 

The  old  colonial  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  had  held 
its  sessions  and  (nominally)  exercised  its  functions  in 
1775  until  the  6th  of  December  in  that  year,  when 
Governor  Franklin  prorogued  the  House,  and  this 
proved  to  be  its  dissolution.  The  Governor,  who  was 
notoriously  inimical  to  the  American  cause,  issued 
his  proclamation  in  the  following  May,  calling  a  ses- 
sion on  June  20th,  but  this  was  met  by  prompt  action 
on  the  part  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  which,  on  the 
14th  of  June, 

"  Eesolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  Proclamation  of 
William  Franklin,  late  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  bearing  date  on  the 
thirtieth  day  of  May  last,  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
appointing  a  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  to  be  held  on  the  twen- 
tieth day  of  this  instant  June,  ought  not  to  be  obeyed." 

This  action  had  the  desired  effect;  the  colonial 
Legislature  never  reassembled.  On  the  16th  of  June 
the  Congress 

"Bawtoed,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  said  William 
Franklin,  Esquire,  by  such  proclamation,  has  acted  in  direct  contempt 
and  violation  of  the  resolve  of  the  Continental  Congress  of  the  fifteenth 
of  May  last  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  said  William 
Franklin,  Esquire,  has  discovered  himself  to  be  an  enemy  to  the  liberties 
of  this  country ;  and  that  measures  ought  to  be  immediately  taken  for 
securing  the  person  of  the  said  William  Franklin,  Esquire." 

On  the  same  day  orders  were  issued  to  Col.  Na- 
thaniel Heard,  of  the  First  Battalion  of  Middlesex 
militia,  to  wait  on  the  Governor,  to  offer  him  a  parole, 
by  which  he  was  to  agree  to  remain  quietly  at  Prince- 
ton, Bordentown,  or  on  his  farm  at  Eancocus  (which- 
ever he  might  elect),  and,  in  case  of  his  refusal  to 
sign  this  parole,  to  arrest  him.  On  the  17th,  Col. 
Heard  and  Maj.  Dears  proceeded  to  Amboy,  waited 
on  the  Governor,  offered  him  the  parole,  and,  upon 
his  refusal  to  sign  it,  surrounded  his  house  with  a 
guard  of  sixty  men  to  hold  him  prisoner  until  further 
orders  were  received  from  Congress.  The  orders 
came  to  remove  the  Governor  to  Burlington,  and  he 
was  accordingly  taken  there.    Upon  examination  he 


was  adjudged  a  violent  enemy  to  his  country  and  a 
dangerous  person,  and  he  was  then  placed  in  custody 
of  Lieut.-Col.  Bowes  Read  to  await  orders  from  the 
Continental  Congress.  On  the  25th  of  June  orders 
were  received  to  send  him,  under  guard,  to  Governor 
Trumbull,  of  Connecticut,  who  was  requested,  in  case 
of  Franklin's  refusal  to  sign  a  parole,  to  treat  him  as 
a  prisoner,  agreeably  to  the  resolutions  of  Congress 
applying  to  such  cases.  He  was  accordingly  sent  to 
Connecticut,  jjlaced  in  custody  of  Governor  Trum- 
bull, and  never  returned  to  this  State.  This  was  the- 
end  of  the  civil  authority  of  King  George  in  New 
Jersey. 

The  constitution  adopted  on  the  2d  of  July,  1776, 
vested  the  government  of  the  State  in  a  Governor,* 
Legislative  Council,  and  General  Assembly,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Council  and  Assembly  to  be  chosen  for 
the  first  time  on  the  second  Tuesday  in  the  following 
August,  and  afterwards,  annually,  on  the-  second 
Tuesday  in  October.  The  members  elected  in  1776, 
in  conformity  to  these  provisions,  met  in  October  of 
that  year,  and  organized  as  the  first  Legislature  of 
New  Jersey  under  the  State  constitution,  succeeding 
to  the  powers  and  functions  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress and  the  Convention  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
and  continuing  to  exercise  those  powers  as  a  perma- 
nent body. 

Although  New  Jersey  had  been  actively  engaged 
in  military  preparations  from  the  time  when  the  war- 
like news  from  Lexington  sped  across  her  hills  and 
streams,  it  was  not  until  the  winter  and  spring  of 
1776 — the  time  when  Washington  sent  his  warning 
that  the  British  commander  in  Boston  was  probably 
contemplating  the  movement  of  his  forces  to  New 
York — that  the  people  of  this  province  began  to 
realize  the  immediate  danger  of  actual  invasion,  and 
that  the  lapse  of  a  few  weeks  might  whiten  their 
valleys  and  highlands  with  the  tents  of  a  hostile 
army. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  when  the  de- 
signs of  Gen.  Howe  became  apparent  the  battalion  of 
New  Jersey  Continental  troops  under  Lord  Stirling 
was  moved  from  Elizabethtown  to  New  York,  and 
that  a  regiment  of  minute-men  under  Col.  Charles 
Stewart  was  ordered  to  march  "with  all  possible 
expedition"  to  the  same  place,  but  was  prevented 
from  doing  so  by  lack  of  the  necessary  arms.  On  the 
1st  of  March,  1776,  the  Continental  Congress  com- 
missioned Lord  Stirling  a  brigadier-general,  and  im- 
mediately afterwards  he  assumed  command  of  all 
the  troops  at  New  York,  Gen.  Lee  having  been  or- 
dered to  other  duty.  On  the  20th  of  March  the  force 
under  Stirling's  command!  comprised  his  own  New 


*  The  constitution  provided  that  the  Governor  should  be  elected  annu- 
ally by  the  Council  and  Assembly  in  joint  ballot.^ 

+  In  the  evening  of  the  20th  the  command  was  assumed  by  Lord  Stir- 
ling's senior,  Brig.-Gen.  ITiompson,  who  had  then  just  arrived  from 
Philadelphia.  A  few  days  later,  however,  he  was  ordered  to  Canada,  and 
the  command  again  devolved  on  Lord  Stirling. 


42 


HUNTEEDON   AND   SOMERSET .  COUNTIES,  NEW   JEESEY. 


Jersey  battalion  (about  five  hundred  men,  sick  and 
well),  five  hundred  minute-men  from  Dutchess  and 
Westchester  Cos.,  N.  Y.,  about  two  hundred  New 
Jersey  militia,*  and  two  Connecticut  regiments,  under 
Cols.  Ward  and  Waterbury,  numbering  in  the  aggre- 
gate about  one  thousand  men,  whose  term  of  service 
was  then  within  a  few  days  of  its  expiration.  All 
of  this  force,  except  the  necessary  guards,  was  at  that 
time  employed  in  the  erection  of  defensive  works  in 
and  around  New  York  and  on  Long  Island,  "  assisted 
by  about  one  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city, 
who  turned  out  on  this  occasion  with  great  alacrity, 
the  inhabitants  and  negroes  taking  their  tour  of  duty 
regularly."  The  force  was  immediately  afterwards 
augmented  by  two  other  regiments  from  Connecticut, 
under  Cols.  Dyar  and  Williams. 

For  eight  months  following  the  time  when  Gen. 
Washington  assumed  commandf  of  the  American 
forces  his  army  lay  in  fortified  camps  encircling  the 
British  post  in  Boston,  which  place  he  was  fully  de- 
termined to  occupy,  though  he  preferred  to  do  so  by 
forcing  the  enemy  to  evacuate  rather  than  to  risk  the 
chances  of  battle.  At  first  the  British  commander 
felt  secure  and  confident  of  his  ability  to  continue 
his  occupation  of  the  city,  but,  in  the  winter  of  1775- 
76,  Washington  discovered  strong  indications  of  an 
intention  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  to  withdraw,  and 
he  so  notified  the  Continental  Congress.  He  relaxed 
none  of  his  vigilance,  however,  but  pushed  his  military 
preparations  with  energy.  The  final  movement  which 
compelled  the  evacuation  was  the  occupation  and  for- 
tifying of  Dorchester  Heights  during  the  night  of  the 
4th  and  5th  of  March.  The  morning  of  the  5th  re- 
vealed to  the  astonished  eyes  of  Gen.  Howe  a  formida- 
ble line  of  earthworks  upon  the  crest,  with  cannon 
mounted  on  the  ramparts  commanding  his  position ; 
and  from  that  moment  he  resolved  on  an  immediate 
evacuation  of  the  city.  He  prepared  for  a  real  or 
feigned  attack,  however,  by  ordering  Earl  Percy  with 
a  corps  of  two  thousand  four  hundred  men  to  cross  in 
transports  to  Dorchester  Point  and  make  a  night  as- 
sault on  the  rebel  works.  Washington  was  fully  pre- 
pared to  receive  him,  but  there  arose  a  furious  gale  of 
wind,  which  rendered  it  impracticable  for  the  British 
troops  to  cross.  The  storm  continued  with  unabated 
violence  through  all  the  next  day,  and  the  attack  was 
finally  abandoned. 

On  the  7th,  Howe  called  a  council  of  war,  at  which 
it  was  decided  to  evacuate  the  place  without  delay. 
He  had  threatened  to  burn  the  town  if  his  army  was 
molested  in  its  departure,  and  the  terrified  inhabitants 
(largely  composed  of  loyalists)  waited  on  him,  im- 
ploring him  to  spare  it.  The  result  was  a  promise  on 
the  part  of  the  British  commander  to  leave  the  town 
unmolested  if  Washington  would  allow  him  to  depart 
in  quiet.     The  American  general,  not  unwilling  to 

•  CoUectioDB  of  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  vol.  ii.  pp.  lei  162. 
t  At  Cambridge,  July  12, 1776. 


avoid  bloodshed  and  the  destruction  of  the  place, 
tacitly  consented ;  and  so,  on  the  morning  of  Sunday, 
March  17th,  the  British  troops  marched  to  the  wharves 
and,  embarking,  took  their  final  departure.  The  fleet 
dropped  down  the  bay  to  Nantasket  Eoads,  where  it 
lay  at  anchor  for  ten  days,  and  then  put  to  sea. 

Although  it  was  announced  that  the  British  fleet, 
with  Howe's  army  on  board,  was  bound  for  Halifax, 
there  to  await  reinforcements  from  England,  Gen. 
Washington  suspected  that  its  real  destination  was 
New  York,  and,  leaving  a  suflScient  force  to  occupy 
Boston,  he  put  his  army  in  motion  for  the  former  city, 
and  arrived  there  in  person  on  the  14th  of  April.  He 
at  once  commenced  active  preparations  for  repelling 
the  expected  enemy  by  strengthening  the  defensive 
works  already  erected  by  Lee  and  I^ord  Stirling,  by 
constructing  additional  fortifications  at  several  points, 
by  a  thorough  reorganization  of  his  forces,  and  by 
laying  before  Congress  the  urgent  necessity  of  provid- 
ing reinforcements. 

On  the  3d  of  June  the  Continental  Congress  re- 
solved "That  a  flying  camp  be  immediately  estab- 
lished in  the  middle  colonies,  and  that  it  consist  of 
ten  thousand  men,  .  .  ."  to  be  made  up  of  militia 
furnished  by  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Delaware; 
and  on  the  same  day  "  Resolved,  That  thirteen  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  militia  be  employed  to  reinforce 
the  army  at  New  York,"  of  which  number  the  quotai 
assigned  to  New  Jersey  was  three  thousand  three 
hundred  men.  On  the  14th  of  June  the  Congress  of 
New  Jersey  passed  an  ordinance  directing  that  this 
number  of  men,  in  forty  companies,  to  compose  five 
battalions,  all  to  form  one  brigade,  to  be  "  imme- 
diately got  in  readiness  and  marched  to  New  York 
under  the  command  of  a  brigadier-general,"  the  bat- 
talions to  be  raised  by  voluntary  enlistment,  to  con- 
tinue in  service  till  the  1st  of  December  following, 
unless  sooner  discharged.  The  quotas  assigned  to 
each  of  the  counties,  and  the  field-officers  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  several  battalions,  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

One  battalion  to  be  made  up  of  three  companies 
from  each  of  the  counties  of  Bergen  and  Essex,  and 
two  companies  from  Burlington.  Ofiicers :  Philip 
Van  Cortland,  Colonel ;  David  Brearly,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  ;  Richard  Dej^,  Major. 

One  battalion  of  four  companies  from  each  of  the 
counties  of  Middlesex  and  Monmouth.  OflScers  :  Na- 
thaniel Heard,  Colonel ;  David  Forman,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  ;  Thomas  Henderson,  Major. 

One  battalion  of  four  companies  each  from  Morris 
and  Sussex.  Officers :  Ephraim  Martin,  Colonel ; 
John  Munson,  Lieutenant-Colonel;  Cornelius  Lud- 
low, Major. 

One  battalion  composed  of  two  companies  from 
each  of  the  counties  of  Burlington,  Cumberland 
Gloucester,  and  Salem.     Officers;   Silas   Newcomb 

Colonel ;    Bowes    Reed,    Lieutenant-Colonel ;    

Major. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMEESET  COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


43 


One  battalion  composed  of  three  companies  from 
Somerset  and  five  companies  from  Hunterdon  County. 
Officers :  Stephen  Hunt,  Colonel ;  Philip  Johnston, 
Lieutenant-Colonel ;  Joseph  Phillips,  Major.\  Dr. 
Cornelius  Baldwin  was  appointed  surgeon  of  this 
battalion. 

Joseph  Reed  was  appointed  brigadier-general  and 
assigned  to  the  brigade  formed  of  these  five  battalions, 
but  for  some  cause  which  does  not  appear  he  did  not 
assume  the  command,  and  on  the  21st  of  June  the 
Congress  "  Ordered,  That  the  President  write  to  Gen- 
eral Livingston  and  inform  him  that  it  is  the  desire 
of  Congress  that  he  would  take  the  command  of  the 
militia  destined  for  New  York."  He  declined  to  ac- 
cept it,  however,  and  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month 
Col.  Nathaniel  Heard,  of  Middlesex,  was  appointed 
brigadier-general  and  placed  in  command  of  the 
brigade,  which,  under  him,  was  soon  after  marched 
to  reinforce  the  army  at  New  York.  But  on  the  24th 
of  July  a  letter  addressed  by  Gen.  Washington  to  the 
Convention  of  New  Jersey*  was  read  before  that 
body,  informing  them  "  that  the  brigade  under  Gen- 
eral Heard  was  far  from  being  complete,  and  urging 
the  necessity  of  raising  and  forwarding  the  new  levies 
destined  to  reinforce  the  army  at  New  York"  ;  where- 
upon it  was  by  the  Convention  "  Ordered,  That  a 
letter  be  written  to  General  Washington  informing 
that  several  companies  were  on  their  way  to  join  the 
brigade ;  and  that  this  Convention  will  use  its  utmost 
efforts  to  furnish  its  quota,  and  to  give  His  Excellency 
such  other  aid  as  the  weal  of  the  United  States  may_ 
require  and  the  condition  of  this  State  wOl  admit." 

When  the  British  commander,  Gen.  Howe,  evacu- 
ated Boston,  in  March,  1776,  he  sailed  with  his  forces 
to  Halifax,  as  had  been  announced,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  awaiting  there  the  arrival  of  reinforcements 
from  England.  But,'  as  these  did  not  arrive  at  or 
near  the  time  when  they  were  expected,  he  became 
wearied  by  the  delay,  and  on  the  10th  of  June  set 
sail  from  that  port  with  the  troops  of  his  command, 
bound  for  Sandy  Hook,  where  a  part  of  the  force 
arrived  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month,  and  were 
soon  followed  by  others,  including  the  commanding 
general,  who  disembarked  his  army  on  Staten  Island 
to  await  the  arrival  of  the  squadron  from  England, 
under  command  of  his  brother.  Admiral  Lord  Howe, 
who  entered  the  bay  with  part  of  his  fleet  on  the  12th 
of  July ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  middle  of  August 
that  the  last  of  the  reinforcements  arrived. 

The  appearance  of  Howe's  forces  on  Staten  Island 
caused  great  consternation  throughout  New  Jersey,! 

*  Minntes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  Council  of  Safety,  1776-76, 
p.  518. 

t  In  the  "  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  CongreBs  and  Council  of  Safety," 
nnder  date  June,  1776,  is  found  the  following  :  "  Cougresa  received  a 
letter  from  Col.  Taylor,  of  Monmouth,  dated  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon 
of  this  aay,  informing  that  nineteen  sail  of  the  enemy's  fleet  [meaning 
the  shipe  of  Gen.  Howe  from  Halifax,  and  not  the  men-of-war  under 
^dmiroJHowe]  lies  at  the  Hooli,  and  forty-flve  in  sight;  read  and  re- 


particularly  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State,  and 
this  alarm  was  greatly  increased  and  intensified  when 
the  bay  and  all  the  adjacent  waters  became  black  with 
the  almost  innumerable  ships  of  the  British  fleet.  The 
Tory  element,  too,  which  was  by  no  means  inconsid- 
erable in  numbers,  became  at  once  rampant,  and  was 
especially  aggressive  in  the  counties  of  Monmouth 
and  Hunterdon.  With  reference  to  the  Tory  bands 
in  the  former  county,  the  Provincial  Congress,  on  the 
26th  of  June,  ordered  that  Col.  Charles  Read,  with 
two  companies  of  Burlington  militia,  proceed  to  cap- 
ture them,  taking  also  for  the  purpose  all  the  militia 
of  Monmouth  County  if  found  necessary.  And,  with 
regard  to  Hunterdon,  the  Convention,  on  the  same 
day,  took  action  as  follows : 

"  WliereaSf  it  appears,  from  authenticli  information,  that  certain  disaf- 
fected persons  in  the^County  of  Hunterdon  have  confederated  for  the 
purpose  of  opposing  the  measures  of  the  Continental  and  Provincial 
Congresses,  and  have  even  proceeded  to  acts  of  open  and  daring  violence ; 
have  plundered  and  rohhed  the  house  of  Captain  Jones;  have  beaten, 
wounded,  and  otherwise  abused  the  friends  of  freedom  in  said  County, 
and  now  publicl£ly  declare  that  they  will  take  up  arms  and  engage  in 
behalf  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  the  avowed  and  implacable  enemy 
of  the  United  Colonies ;  In  order  to  put  an  effectual  stop  to  a  combina- 
tion BO  hostile  and  dangerous,  It  is  resolved  unanimously,  That  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Ten  Eick  and  Major  BeiTy  take  to  their  aid  such  a  number 
of  the  militia,  properly  oSicered  and  armed,  of  the  Counties  of  Huntei^ 
don  aud  Somerset,  as  they  may  think  necessai-y,  and  proceed  without 
delay  to  the  said  County  of  Hunterdon,  in  order  to  apprehend  such  in- 
surgents and  disaffected  persons  as  this  Congress  shall  direct." 

Under  the  above  resolution,  Col.  Ten  Eyck  received 
the  following  instructions,  signed  by  the  president  of 
the  Congress : 

"  CoL.  Abraham  Ten  Eick, — ^Tou  are  hereby  ordered  to  apprehend 
John  Vaught,  Joseph  Lee,  Thomas  Swindle,  George  Cyphers,  Jr.,  Peter 
Cyphers,  John  Day,  William  Hunt,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Hunt,  John  Hunt, 
John  Seal,  Jr.,  Herman  Millham,  Christopher  Vaught,  James  MacCord, 
George  Casner,  Thomas  Buskirk,  Frederick  Frittz,  Peter  Abgar,  Baniel 
Hunt,  George  Updike,J  John  Horpence,  Philip  Forker,  Christopher 
Dilts,  Bartholomew  Thatcher,  Samuel  Slater,  Edward  Taylor,  and  John 
Taylor,  all  of  whom  you  are  to  keep  under  strong  guard,  and  to  bring 
before  this  Congress,  or  Committee  of  Safety  during  their  recess ;  to  de- 
liver them  to  the  keeper  of  the  common  gaol  of  Trenton,  who  is  hereby 
commanded  to  keep  them  in  close  and  safe  coniinement  until  this  Con- 
gress, or  Committee  of  Safety,  shall  take  further  orders  therein." 


filed.  Ordered,  That  the  President  write  to  the  Coutiuental  Congress  in- 
closing a  copy  of  the  above  letter,  and  requesting  a  supply  of  powder." 
And  in  the  proceedings  of  the  same  day  is  the  following :  "  Certain  ad- 
vice being  received  of  the  arrival  of  General  Howe  at  Sandy  Hook; 
Ordered,  That  all  oflicers  who  have  enlisted  men  properly  armed,  under 
the  late  ordinance  for  raising  three  thousand  three  hundred  men  within 
this  Colony,  proceed  immediately  with  such  numbers  as  they  have  col- 
lected, or  can  collect,  without  delay  to  New  York,  assigning  a  due  pro- 
portion of  oflicers  to  the  men,  that  they  may  be  ready,  and  leaving  other 
oflicers,  as  occasion  may  require,  to  collect  the  remainder.  All  officers, 
paymasters,  and  others  are  required  to  be  diligent  in  their  respective  star 
tions ;  and  all  the  friends  of  Liberty  throughout  the  Colony  are  most 
earnestly  entreated  now  to  exert  themselves  for  the  preservation  of 
their  country,  their  lives,  liberties,  and  property." 

It  was  under  this  order  that  Gen.  Heard  moved  his  command  in  haste 
to  New  York,  aa  before  noticed.  On  the  1st  of  August  it  was  by  the 
Congress  "  Ordered,  That  PhiUp  Johnston,  Esq.,  be  Colonel,  Joseph  PhU- 
lips,  Esq.,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  Piatt  Bayles  Majsr  of  the  battalion 
raised  in  the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset,  in  the  brigade  under 
the  command  of  General  Heard,  destined  to  reinforce  the  army  at  New 

Tork." 

t  Among  the  charges  made  against  some  of  these  men  was  that  of 
"  opposition  to  the  draught  in  Capt.  Groendyck's  company,"  in  the  town- 
ship of  Kingwood. 


44 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


In  pursuance  of  these  instructions,  Col.  Ten  Eyck 
proceeded  to  apprehend  the  persons  named,  and  their 
cases  were  afterwards  acted  on  according  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Convention.  Persons  of  Tory  proclivi- 
ties were  also  numerous  in  Somerset  County,  hut  it 
does  not  appear  that  they  became,  at  this  time,  so 
defiant  and  dangerous  as  those  of  Monmouth  and 
Hunterdon. 

The  troops  of  the  "  Flying  Camp,"  composed  of 
men  from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Delaware, 
and  under  command  of  Gen.  Hugh  Mercer,  were 
stationed  at  Perth  Amboy,  and  at  points  north  of  that 
place,  opposite  the  west  shore  of  Staten  Island.  The 
nominal  strength  of  this  corps  was  ten  thousand  men, 
but  it  had  never  actually  reached  that  figure,  and 
now  it  had  been  materially  reduced  by  detachments, 
amounting  to  two  thousand  men,  sent  to  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, at  New  York ;  so  that  at  this  critical  time, 
when  this  portion  of  the  New  Jersey  frontier  was 
peculiarly  liable  to  invasion  by  the  army  of  Howe, 
the  guarding-force  became  wholly  insufficient.  In 
view  of  this  imminent  danger,  the  Continental 
Congress  passed  a  resolution  requesting  a  levy  of 
two  thousand  of  the  militia  of  New  Jersey,  to 
supply  the  places  of  an  equal  number  of  men  sent 
from  the  Flying  Camp  to  Gen.  Washington.  This 
resolution  was  read  on  the  17th  of  July  in  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress,  and  on  the  following  day  an  ordi- 
nance was  passed  by  the  Convention,*  to  the  effect 
that  "  whereas  the  situation  of  New  York,  the  vicinity 
of  New  Jersey  to  the  enemy,  and,  above  all,  the 
arrival  of  Lord  Howe,  who,  it  is  probable,  will 
speedily  make  some  decisive  movement,  render  it 
absolutely  necessary  that  the  most  immediate  .and 
effectual  steps  be  taken  to  guard  against  the  incur- 
sions of  the  British  troops,  and  to  strengthen  the  army 
of  the  United  States;  Resolved,  therefore,  unani- 
mously, that  two  thousand  of  the  militia  of  this  State 
be  immediately  detached  to  supply  the  place  of  the 
like  number  taken  from  the  flying  camp  in  New 
Jersey  and  ordered  to  New  York."  The  force  was  to 
be  composed  of  four  battalions,  an  aggregate  of  thirty 
companies  of  sixty-four  men  each,  besides  officers, 
the  whole  to  compose  a  brigade,  under  command  of  a 
brigadier-general,  and  to  be  in  the  Continental  service. 
To  the  counties  of  Hunterdon,  Somerset,  and  Sussex 
was  assigned  the  raising  of  one  battalion,  of  which 
Mark  Thompson  was  appointed  colonel,  Abraham 
Bonnell  lieutenant-colonel,  Enos  Kelsey  major,  and 
Dr.  Jacob  Jennings  surgeon.  Any  of  the  men  of  this 
brigade  while  in  service  were  permitted  to  enlist  in 
the  brigade  under  command  of  Gen.  Heard,  and  on 
doing  so  were  entitled,  each  man,  to  receive  a  bounty 
of  three  pounds,  voted  by  the  Continental  Congress. 

Again,  on  the  22d  of  July,  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, in  view  of  the  imminent  danger  of  invasion,  re- 

*  The  name  of  that  body  having  been  changed  on  that  day  from  "  The 
ProYiucial  Congress  of  New  Jersey"  to  "The  Convention  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey,"  ae  before  mentioned. 


solved  to  further  increase  the  Flying  Camp,  and  for 
this  purpose  desired  the  State  of  New  Jersey  "to  aug- 
ment its  quota  with  three  battalions  of  militia,  in  ad- 
dition to  those  formerly  desired  by  Congress,  and  send 
them  with  all  possible  dispatch  to  join  the  flying 
camp."  Upon  being  notified  of  this  action,  the  Con- 
vention of  New  Jersey  informed  Congress  that  two 
thousand  men  had  already  been  ordered  detached 
from  the  militia  of  the  State  for  the  purpose  men- 
tioned ;  but  beyond  this  it  took  no  further  action  at 
that  time. 

The  feeling  of  alarm,  however,  rapidly  increased, 
and  on  the  7th  of  August  the  Convention  received 
notice  of  a  resolve  of  Congress  "recommending  to 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  to  order  their  militia  imme- 
diately to  march  and  join  Gen.  Mercer."  This  had 
the  effect  to  cause  the  Convention  to  pass  (August 
11th)  an  ordinance  reciting  that  "the  Convention, 
viewing  with  serious  concern  the  present  alarming 
situation  of  this  and  their  sister-States,  that  on  a  pru- 
dent use  of  the  present  moment  depend  their  lives, 
their  liberty  and  happiness,  think  it  their  indispensa- 
ble duty  to  j)ut  the  militia  on  such  a  footing  that  their 
whole  force  may  be  most  advantageously  exerted ;  and 
to  call  out  the  one-half  into  immediate  service,  to  be 
relieved  by  the  other  monthly,"  and  ordering  that  all 
able-bodied  men  in  the  State  between  the  ages  of  six- 
teen and  fifty,  without  exception,  be  immediately  en- 
rolled in  companies  and  formed  into  two  divisions, 
and  "  that  the  first  division  be  immediately  equipped 
with  arms  and  every  necessary  accoutrement  that  can 
be  obtained,  and  four  days'  provision,  and  march  with 
all  dispatch  to  join  the  flying  camp  in  this  State." 
This  division  consisted  of  thirteen  battalions,  made 
up  of  men  drawn  from  the  militia  organizations  of  the 
several  counties  of  the  State,  those  containing  Hun- 
terdon and  Somerset  County  men  being  one  battalion 
formed  from  the  two  regiments,  and  one  battalion 
commanded  respectively  by  Cols.  Mark  Thompson, 
Ephraim  Martin,  and  John  Cleves  Symmes,  in  Hun- 
terdon and  Sussex ;  another  battalion  from  the  bat- 
talions of  Cols.  Stephen  Hunt  and  Abraham  Quick, 
in  Somerset ;  another  battalion  from  the  battalions  of 
Cols.  Isaac  Smith  and  David  Chambers,  in  Hunter- 
don ;  and  a  fourth  battalion  from  the  battalions  of 
Cols.  Joseph  Beavers  and  John  Mehelm,  in  Hunter- 
don. The  best  arms  in  the  possession  of  all  the  mili- 
tia of  the  State  were  taken  to  arm  this  First  Division, 
and  they  were  to  be  turned  over  to  the  Second  Division 
when  it  should  relieve  the  First,  at  the  end  of  one 
month  from  the  time  when  the  latter  was  reported  for 
duty  with  the  Flying  Camp. 

The  ordinance  closed  by  a  most  stirring  appeal  to 
the  people  of  New  Jersey  by  the  members  of  the 
Convention.     They  said, — 

"  In  this  interesting  situation, — viewing,  on  the  one  hand,  an  active, 
inveterate,  and  implacable  enemy,  increasing  fast  in  strengrth,  d.tily  re- 
ceiving large  reinforcements,  and  industiionsly  preparing  to  strike  some 
decisive  blow;  on  the  other,  a  considerable  part  of  the  inhabitants  su- 


HUNTEKDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  EEVOLUTION. 


45 


pinely  shimbering  on  the  brink  of  ruin, — and  moved  T\'itb  affecting  ap- 
prebensions,  tbe  Convention  thinlt  it  incumbent  upon  tbem  to  warn 
tbeir  constituents  of  tbe  impending  danger.  Ou  you,  our  friends  and 
bretbren,  it  depends,  this  day,  to  determine  whetber  you,  your  wives, 
your  cbildren,  and  millions  of  your  descendants  yet  unborn  sball  wear 
tbe  galling,  tbe  ignominious  yoke  of  slavery,  or  nobly  inberit  tbe  gen- 
erous, tbe  inestimable  blessings  of  freedom.  Tbe  alternative  is  before 
you !  Can  you  hesitate  in  your  choice  ?  Can  you  doubt  which  to  pre- 
fer ?. .  .  Happily,  we  know  we  can  anticipate  your  virtuous  choice.  "With 
confident  satisfaction  we  are  assured  that  not  a  moment  will  delay  your 
important  decision ;  that  you  cannot  feel  hesitation,  whether  you  will 
tamely  and  degenerately  bend  your  necks  to  tbe  irretrievable  wretched- 
ness of  slavery,  or  by  your  instant  and  animated  exertions  enjoy  the  fair 
inheritance  of  heaven-born  freedom,  and  transmit  it  unimpaired  to  your 
posterity." 

This  language  indicates  clearly  the  intensity  of  the 
alarm  which  then  pervaded  the  public  mind ;  and  the 
facts  above  noticed  show  what  preparations  had  been 
made  by  the  people  of  New  Jersey  to  meet  the  im- 
pending danger  at  the  time  when  the  neighboring 
hillsides  of  Staten  Island  were  dotted  with  the  camps 
of  Howe's  army,  and  its  shores  encircled  by  the  black 
hulls  and  menacing  batteries  of  the  British  fleet. 

It  proved  to  be  the  design  of  the  British  comman- 
der not  to  invade  the  territory  of  New  Jersey,  but  to 
siege  and  occupy  the  western  end  of  Long  Island ;  and 
he  made  no  delay,  after  the  arrival  of  the  last  of  his 
reinforcements,  in  putting  this  design  into  execution. 
His  army,  consisting  of  British  regulars  and  German 
mercenaries,  amounted  to  about  twenty-five  thousand 
men,  and  with  about  ten  thousand  of  them  he  crossed 
from  Staten  Island  on  the  22d  of  August  and  effected 
a  landing  between  the  settlements  of  New  Utrecht 
and  Gravesend.  The  American  forces  in  and  about 
New  York  numbered,  nominally,  about  twenty-seven 
thousand  men,*  and,  though  they  had  offered  no  oppo- 
sition to  the  landing  of  the  enemy's  columns,  it  was 
clear  that  a  conflict  between  the  two  armies  was  in- 
evitable and  could  not  long  be  delayed. 

Five  days  were  spent  in  preparation  on  both  sides. 
On  the  25th  of  August,  Gen.  Putnam  succeeded  Gen. 
Sullivan  in  the  command  of  the  American  forces  at 
Brooklyn,  which  had  been  reinforced  by  six  regiments. 
On  the  same  day  the  German  general  De  Heister 
landed  two  brigades  of  Hessians  on  the  island,  and  on 
the  26th  took  position  at  Flatbush,  which  Lord  Corn- 
•wallis  had  occupied  with  his  division  three  days  be- 
fore. Thus  the  American  and  British  forces  stood  on 
the  evening  of  the  26th,  confronting  each  other,  and 
•within  striking  distance. 

Before  dawn,  in  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  August, 
the  British  columns,  under  Clinton,  Percy,  and  Grant, 
were  put  in  motion  in  the  direction  of  the  American 
lines,  and  it  was  not  long  after  daylight  when  their 
advance  became  warmly  engaged  with  the  troops 
under  Gen.  Sullivan ;  and  then  followed  the  general 
engagement  known  in  history  as  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  which  raged  until  past  noon  of  the  day  and 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  Gen.  Washington's  army  and 


*  Nearly  one-third  of  this  number,  however,  were  unfit  for  duty,  by 
reason  of  sickness  and  other  causes. 


the  capture  of  Lord  Stirling  with  his  entire  command, 
who  were  surrounded  and  made  prisoners.  Gens. 
Sullivan  and  WoodhuU  were  also  among  those  taken 
by  the  enemy.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  heavy, 
being  admitted  by  Gen.  Washington  to  exceed  one 
thousand,  and  estimated  by  Gen.  Howe  to  be  more 
than  three  times  that  number,  including  about  eleven 
hundred  prisoners.  Among  the  killed  was  Col.  Philip 
Johnston,  of  Hunterdon  County,  commanding  the 
First  Regiment. 

After  this  disastrous  engagement  the  American 
forces  remained  in  a  fortified  position  confronting  the 
enemy  until  the  night  of  the  28th,  when  they  were 
withdrawn  and  transported  in  safety  across  the  East 
River  to  New  York,  taking  with  them  nearly  all  their 
military  stores,  and  all  their  artillery,  except  a  few 
of  the  heavier  pieces.  The  public  stores  were  re- 
moved to  Dobb's  Ferry,  on  the  Hudson,  while  the 
main  part  of  the  army,  some  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
men,  was  marched  to  King's  Bridge  and  there  en- 
camped. A  force  of  between  four  and  five  thousand 
men  was  left  in  the  city  to  keep  up  a  show  of  defense, 
but  not  with  the  intention  of  holding  it  against  any 
determined  attack  of  the  enemy  in  force.  On  the 
12th  of  September,  Gen.  Washington,  by  the  advice 
of  a  council  of  war,  decided  on  the  abandonment  of 
the  city,  and  Gen.  Mercer,  commanding  the  Flying 
Camp,  on  the  New  Jersey  side,  was  ordered  to  move 
up  the  river  to  a  point  opposite  Fort  Washington. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  while  the  city  was  still 
partially  occupied  by  the  American  troops.  Gen. 
Howe  commenced  crossing  the  East  River  with  his 
army  under  cover  of  a  heavy  fire  from  the  men-of- 
war.  Some  of  Washington's  troops  who  occupied  a 
fortified  position  near  the  place  of  landing  fled  in 
terror  before  the  advance  of  the  British  and  the  can- 
nonade of  their  ships,  and  in  their  panic  threw  into 
confusion  two  brigades  which  were  marching  to  their 
support.  The  result  was  a  disorderly  and  disgraceful 
retreat  to  the  main  body.  No  resistance  was  made, 
except  a  temporary  stand  and  slight  skirmish  at 
Bloomingdale,  and  all  the.  heavy  artillery,  with  a 
large  part  of  the  military  stores  and  provisions,  fell  . 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Gen.  Howe  occupied 
the  city  with  a  comparatively  small  force,  and  moved 
the  main  part  of  his  army  northward  and  established 
his  lines,  stretching  from  Bloomingdale  across  the 
island  to  the  East  River. 

After  the  defeat  on  Long  Island  and  the  retreat  to 
King's  Bridge  the  American  army  was  reduced  to  a 
state  of  most  discouraging  demoralization.  In  refer- 
ence to  its  condition.  Gen.  Washington,  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  Congress  in  September,  1776,  used  this 
language : 

"  Our  situation  is  truly  distressing.  The  check  to  our  detachment  on 
the  27tb  ultimo  has  dispirited  too  great  a  proportion  of  our  troops  and 
filled  their  minds  with  apprehension  and  despair.  The  militia,  instead 
of  calling  forth  their  utmost  efforts  to  a  brave  and  manly  opposition,  in 
order  to  repair  our  losses,  are  dismayed,  intractable,  and  impatient  to  re'- 
turn.    Great  numbers  of  them  have  gone  off,-  •  '     '  ' 


—in  some  instances  almost 


46 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


by  whole  regiments,  in  many  by  hulf  ones  and  by  companies,  at  a  time. 
This  circumstance  of  itself,  independent  of  others,  when  fronted  by  a 
well-appointed  enemy,  superior  in  number  to  our  whole  collected  force, 
would  be  snfflciently  disagreeable,  but  when  it  is  added  that  their  exam- 
ple has  infected  another  paH  of  the  army,  that  their  want  of  discipline 
and  refusal  of  almost  every  liind  of  restraint  and  government  have  ren- 
dered a  like  conduct  but  too  common  in  the  whole,  and  have  produced 
an  entire  disregard  of  that  order  and  subordination  necessary  for  the 
well-doing  of  an  army,  and  which  had  been  before  inculcated  as  well  as 
the  nature  of  our  military  establishment  would  admit,  our  condition  is 
still  more  alarming ;  and  with  the  deepest  concern  I  am  obliged  to  cou- 
fesa  my  want  of  confidence  in  the  generality  of  the  troops." 

And  he  added  in  effect  that  all  these  facts  but  con- 
firmed his  previous  opinion  that  no  dependence  could 
be  placed  in  militia,  or  in  any  troops  other  than  those 
enlisted  for  a  long  term,  and  that  in  his  belief  the 
American  cause  was  in  great  danger  of  being  lost  if 
its  defense  was  intrusted  to  any  but  a  permanent  army. 
Upon  this  representation  Congress  adopted  measures 
for  the  immediate  raising  and  organization  of  such  a 
permanent  army,  to  consist  of  eighty-eight  battalions 
of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men  each,  to  be  furnished 
by  the  several  States.  Four  of  these  battalions  were 
assigned  to  New  Jersey  as  her  quota. 

From  the  time  when  Gen.  Howe  moved  his  forces 
across  the  East  Eiver  from  Long  Island  to  New  York, 
the  two  opposing  armies  remained  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Hudson  for  about  two  months,  during  which  time 
there  occurred  a  great  amount  of  skirmishing  (fre- 
quently resulting  favorably  for  the  Americans)  and  a 
series  of  minor  engagements,  sometimes  called  the 
battle  of  White  Plains,*  resulting  from  an  attempt, 
on  the  part  of  the  British  commander,  to  flank  the 
American  position.     This  attempt  finally  proved  suc- 
cessful, and  the  American  army  was  thus  placed  in 
great  peril,  having  its  line  of  retreat  cut  off;  so  that, 
in  the  event  of  a  general  engagement,  it  must  proba- 
bly have  been  destroyed.     In  this  state  of  affairs  a 
council  of  war  was  held  (November  6th),  at  which  it 
was  decided  that  the  army  should  be  moved  across  the 
Hudson  into  New  Jersey,  those  of  the  forces  which 
were  raised  on  the  west  side  of  that  river  to  cross  first, 
and  afterwards  the  others,  with  more  or  less  rapidity, 
as  necessity  might  require.     A  small  force,  however, 
was  to  be  left  at  Fort  Washington  to  hold  that  work, 
which,  in  conjunction  with  Fort  Lee,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  was  expected  to  be  able  to  prevent 
the  free  passage  of  the  British  ships  up  and  down  the 
river.     This  view  of  the  case  was  urged  upon  the 
council  by  Gen.  Greene,  but  was  disapproved  of  and 
warmly  opposed  by  Gen.  Lee,  who  had  then  just  re- 
turned to  this  army  from  a  successful  campaign  in  the 
South.     But  unfortunately  his  advice  was  overruled 
in  the  council,  and  a  force  was  left  to  hold  the  fort. 

The  crossing  of  the  Hudson  River  by  the  greater 
part  of  the  army  was  effected  on  the  12th  and  13th 
of  November,  Washington  himself  crossing  on  the 
latter  day.     Gen.  Lee  was  left  on  the  east  side  with 

*  Oct.  26-29, 1776. 


about  three  thousand  men,t  with  orders  to  join  Wash- 
ington in  New  Jersey  if  the  enemy  should  show  in- 
dications of  moving  in  that  direction. 

Fort  Washington  had  been  reinforced  by  detach- 
ments from  Gen.  Mercer's  Flying  Gamp,  augmenting 
its  defending  force  from  twelve  hundred  to  about  threa 
thousand  men.  It  was  almost  completely  surrounded 
by  the  enemy,  who  had  determined  on  its  capture. 

On  the  15th  of  November,  Howe  sent  a  summons 
to  Col.  Magaw,  the  commander  at  the  fort,  to  surren- 
der, threatening  to  give  no  quarter  if  refused!  The 
summons,  however,  was  disregarded,  and  on  the  16th 
heavy  masses  of  British  and  Hessian  troops  moved  to 
the  assault  of  the  work,  which  after  several  hours  of 
fighting  was  surrendered,  with  two  thousand  six  hun- 
dredj  men  as  prisoners  of  war. 

Washington,  on  crossing  the  river  into  Jersey,  had 
established  his  headquarters  at  Haclcensaok,  five  miles 
in  the  rear  of  Fort  Lee,  and  at  the  same  place  were 
the  headquarters  of  Gen.  Greene,  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  troops  which  had  crossed  in  that  vi- 
cinity. On  the  18th  of  November,  two  days  after  the 
fall  of  Fort  Washington,  the  first  actual  invasion  of 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  by  British  troops  was  com- 
menced by  Lord  Cornwallis,  whose  division,  six  thou- 
sand strong,  crossed  the  river  to  Closter  Landing,  and, 
marching  thence  down  the  river,  proceeded  to  the 
attack  of  Fort  Lee,  the  garrison  of  which  evacuated 
the  work  in  haste?  and  retreated  to  the  main  body  of 
the  American  army,  at  Hackensack,  leaving  their 
baggage  and  the  military  stores  at  the  fort  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  army  which  Gen.  Washington  then  had  with 
him  in  New  Jersey  amounted  to  no  more  than  three 
thousand  effective  men,  exclusive  of  the  Flying  Camp, 
which  was  stationed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bergen, 
and  still  under  command  of  Gen.  Mercer.  The  troops 
of  this  last-mentioned  corps  had  only  been  enlisted 
for  a  term  to  close  on  the  1st  of  December,  which  was 
then  but  a  few  days  distant ;  and  not  only  was  there 
very  little  probability  that  any  considerable  number 
would  remain  after  that  time,  but  a  great  many  of 
them  had  already  left  and  returned  to  their  homeSv 
Nearly  the  same  was  true  of  the  forces  with  which 
Washington  had  crossed  the  Hudson,  which  was  daily 
growing  less  as  the  general  feeling  of  despondency 
increased.  The  commander-in-chief  sent  orders  to 
Gen.  Lee,  who  was  still  east  of  the  Hudson,  to  cross 


f  The  term  of  service  of  a  large  part  of  Lee's  men  was  then  about  ex- 
piring, and,  na  they  could  not  be  induced  to  re-enlist,  this  force  was  soon 
afterwards  greatly  reduced  by  their  return  to  their  homes. 

X  This  number,  given. by  Howe  in  his  report,  included  about  two  thou- 
sand regular  troops  and  five  or  six  hundred  militia  and  stragglers. 
Washington  stated  the  number  captured  to  be  two  thousand,  in  which 
he  probably  only  included  the  Continental  troops. 

g  Gen.  Washington  had  decided,  immediately  upon  the  fall  of  Fort 
Waabington,  to  evacuate  Fort  Lee  and  remove  its  stores  to  the  interior 
of  New  Jersey,  but  the  promptness  of  Cornwallis'  movements  prevented 
the  execution  of  the  plan  ;  consequently,  the  stores  and  material  wore 
lost.  As  the  evacuation  had  already  been  decided  on,  of  course  no  de- 
fense was  intended,  and  none  was  made. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


47 


that  river  into  New  Jersey  and  hold  his  command  in 
readiness  to  give  assistance  in  case  the  enemy  should 
— as  it  was  now  nearly  certain  he  would — advance  to 
the  interior  of  the  State.  Orders  were  also  sent  to 
Gen.  Schuyler  to  move  his  troops — among  whom  were 
those  under  command  of  Gen.  Maxwell,*  including  a 
large  number  of  men  from  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Counties — from  Lake  Champlain  to  New  Jersey  to  the 
aid  of  Washington;  but  these  succors  were  distant, 
and  it  must  be  long  before  they  could  arrive  at  the 
point  of  danger.  Gen.  "Washington  wrote  to  Governor 
Livingston  of  New  Jersey,  setting  forth  his  pressing 
need  of  reinforcements,  and  asking  that  every  en- 
deavor might  be  used  to  send  men  to  him  in  the  least 
possible  time;  but  there  was  very  little  probability 
that  any  new  troops  could  then  be  raised. 

The  American  army  was  advantageously  posted  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Hackensack  Eiver,  but,  as  its 
eflfective  strength  was  scarcely  more  than  one-half 
that  of  Cornwallis'  corps  alone  (to  say  nothing  of  the 
other  divisions  of  the  British  army),  any  attempt  to 
hold  the  line  of  the  Hackensack  was  evidently  use- 
less ;  and  so,  when  Cornwallis  moved  up  from  Fort 
Lee  to  confront  him,  Gen.  Washington  immediately 
retired  and  set  his  columns  in  motion  for  Newark, 
which  he  reached  on  the  22d  of  November,  and  re- 
mained there  until  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  when, 
on  the  approach  of  Cornwallis'  advance-guard,  the 
patriot  forces  left  the  town  and  continued  their  retreat 
to  New  Brunswick,  where  Washington  had  hoped  to 
make  a  stand.  In  this  he  was  sorely  disappointed, 
for,  with  an  active  and  energetic  enemy  pressing  on 
his  rear,  it  would  require  all  his  forces,  to  the  last 
man,  to  enable  him  to  dispute  their  advance  with  any- 
thing like  a  hope  of  success,  and  even  then  the  odds 
against  him  would  be  discouraging.  But  he  could 
not  retain  even  the  meagre  force  which  he  had 
brought  with  him  thus  far,  for  the  terms  of  service  of 
several  of  the  commands  (among  them  the  brigades 
from  Maryland  and  New  Jerseyf)  had  expired,  and 
neither  arguments  nor  threats  could  prevent  the  men 
composing  them  from  disbanding  themselves  and  re- 
turning to  their  homes.  Without  them  it  was  im- 
practicable to  oppose  the  enemy's  advance  ;  and  so,  on 
Sunday,  the  1st  of  December, — the  day  on  which 
their  enlistments  expired, — the  remnant  of  the  army 
left  New  Brunswick,  and,  passing  through  the  south- 
east part  of  Somerset  County  by  way  of  Six-Mile 
Eun,  and  crossing  the  Millstone  Eiver  at  Eocky  Hill, 
made  its  way  to  Princeton,  the  advance  arriving  there 


*  Col.  Maxwell  had  been  appointed  brigadier-general  in  the  Continen- 
tal army  in  the  preceding  October. 

t  The  Pennsylvania  militia  of  the  Dying  Camp,  whose  term  also  ex- 
pired on  the  1st  of  December,  had  engaged  to  remain  in  service  till  the 
Ist  of  January  ;  notwithstanding  which,  they  deserted  in  such  numbers 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  send  guards  to  patrol  the  shares  of  the 
Delaware  to  intercept  the  fugitives  on  their  way  to  their  homes  and 
bring  them_back  to  the  army.  Many  of  them,  however,  evaded  the 
guards  and  made  their  way  successfully  into  Pennsylvania. 


the  same  evening.     A  stop  of  several  days  was  made 
at  this  place. 

At  New  Brunswick  Cornwallis  had  halted  his  col- 
umns in  obedience  to  an  order  from  Gen.  Howe  to 
proceed  no  farther  than  that  point  until  he  should  be 
reinforced  by  other  commands  of  the  British  army. 
Washington,  aware  of  this,  left  behind  him  in  Prince- 
ton, when  he  moved  thence  to  Trenton,  a  force  con- 
sisting of  the  remnants  of  two  brigades, — in  all,  twelve 
hundred  men, — in  order  to  make  a  show  of  defense, 
hoping  thereby  to  delay  the  advance  of  the  British 
general,  and  to  give  renewed  confidence  to  the  people 
of  the  surrounding  country.  This  detached  force  was 
under  command  of  Lord  Stirling,  who,  taken  prisoner 
by  the  enemy  at  Long  Island,  as  before  mentioned, 
had  been  exchanged  and  returned  to  his  command  in 
the  American  army  a  short  time  before  it  crossed  the 
Hudson  Eiver  into  New  Jersey. 

Immediately  after  entering  this  State,  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, in  view  of  the  rapid  diminution  of  his  army, 
had  dispatched  Gen.  Miifiin  to  Pennsylvania  to  urge 
the  hurrying  forward  of  troops,  and  he  had  been  so 
far  successful  that  fifteen  hundred  men  had  been  sent 
from  Philadelphia,  besides  a  German  battalion  or- 
dered thence  by  Congress.  These  troops  joined  Gen. 
Washington  on  his  arrival  at  Trenton,  and,  upon 
being  thus  strengthened,  the  commander-in-chief  or- 
dered a  large  part  of  his  force  to  march  back  on  the 
road  to  Princeton,  to  further  deceive  the  British  by 
the  appearance  of  a  general  advance  to  meet  them. 
Before  the  column  reached  Princeton,  however,  he 
received  word  that  Lord  Cornwallis,  having  been 
strongly  reinforced  from  Howe's  army,  was  already 
on  the  move  from  New  Brunswick  and  marching  his 
troops  rapidly  by  several  roads  with  the  evident  in- 
tention of  gaining  the  rear  of  the  American  army, 
and  thus  securing  its  destruction.  This  intelligence 
caused  Washington  to  decide  at  once  on  a  retreat  to 
and  across  the  Delaware  Eiver,  and  accordingly  he 
turned  the  faces  of  his  men  once  more  towards  that 
stream. 

The  main  body  of  Cornwallis'  troops  marched  rap- 
idly and  confidently  from  New  Brunswick  to  Prince- 
ton, and  on  their  approach  Lord  Stirling,  knowing 
that  an  attempt  at  defense  with  his  weak  force  would 
be  useless,  evacuated  the  town  and  marched  rapidly 
towards  Trenton,  with  the  pursuing  column  of  Brit- 
ish and  Hessians  close  in  his  rear, — so  near,  says  Los- 
sing,  in  his  "Field-Book  of  the  Eevolution,"  that 
•'often  the  music  of  the  pursued  and  the  pursuers 
would  be  heard  by  each  other;"  but  this  is  doubtless 
drawn  from  the  imagination,  as  there  is  little  proba- 
bility that  the  tattered,  shoeless,  and  dispirited  army 
of  Washington,  in  its  flight  along  the  highways  of 
Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties,  moved  to  the 
sound  of  any  music  other  than  that  of  the  howling  of 
the  winds  of  December.  On  the  8th  of  that  month 
the  American  army  was  moved  across  the  Delaware, 
the  last  man  of  Lord  Stirling's  rear-guard  reaching 


48 


HUiNTTEKDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  Pennsylvania  shore  in  safety  at  about  midnight, 
just  as  the  head  of  the  Hessian  column  entered  Tren- 
ton. The  main  body  of  the  British  force  halted  a 
few  miles  before  reaching  the  town. 

The  American  army  which  crossed  the  Delaware 
into  Pennsylvania  numbered  about  two  thousand  two 
hundred  men,  but  two  or  three  days  later  this  force 
was  further  reduced  by  the  departure  of  about  five 
hundred  whose  terms  of  service  had  then  expired. 
But  even  then  Washington  did  not  despair.  Gen. 
Gates  at  the  North,  and  Gen.  Heath  at  Peekskill,  had 
been  ordered  to  join  him  with  their  troops  with  all 
possible  dispatch,  and  expresses  were  sent  out  through 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  urging  the 
militia  to  march  to  him  without  delay ;  and  it  was 
believed  that  by  these  means  a  sufiicient  force  might 
be  collected  to  enable  him  to  resume  offensive  opera- 
tions at  no  distant  day.  Probably  he  had  already 
conceived  the  plan  which  he  afterwards  executed  so 
successfully  at  Trenton. 

When  the  crossing  was  made,  Washington,  fearing 
that  Cornwallis  might  attempt  the  passage  of  the 
stream  to  attack  him,  took  the  precaution  to  secure 
all  the  boats  upon  the  Jersey  side  and  have  them 
taken  to  the  opposite  shore.  He  had  previously  or- 
dered all  boats,  bateaux,  and  river-craft  of  every  kind 
on  the  Delaware  and  Lehigh*  rivers  to  be  seized, 

*  "  Thia  service  was  assigned  to  Capt.  Daniel  Bray,  afterwards  Gen.  Bray, 
of  the  New  Jersey  militia,  Capt.  Jacob  Gearhart,  and  Capt.  Thomas 
Jones,  who  collected  all  the  boats  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Delaware 
and  Lehigh  and  brought  them  down  to  Coryeirs  Ferry.  The  boats  were 
hid  behind  Malta  Island,  just  below  what  is  known  as  '  The  Mills,'  on 
the  Pennsylvania  side.  The  island  was  densely  wooded,  so  that  the  boats 
could  not  be  seen  by  a  reconnoitering-party  of  the  enemy  as  it  looked 
down  from  the  Jersey  heights.  These  boats  were  thus  secured  for  the 
famous  crossing  of  Christmas  night.  Capt.  Bray  was  a  native  of  King- 
wood,  and  wai3  familiar  with  every  boat  and  crossing  along  the  river ; 
Capt.  Gearhart  was  from  Flemington.  To  procure  these  boats,  to  con- 
ceal their  plau  from  the  Tories  who  were  lurking  about,  and  who  would 
betray  them  at  the  first  opportunity,  to  cut  out  these  flat-boats  in  the 
darkness  of  the  cold  winter  nights,  to  float  them  down  amid  the  rocks 
and  through  the  rapids,  to  keep  them  from  being  crushed  or  swamped, 
was  a  task  most  difficult  and  hazardous.  But  it  was  successfully  accom- 
plished. Cornwallis  was  informed  of  this  enterprise  and  sent  a  detach- 
ment to  seize  the  boats,  but  they  could  not  find  them,  or  were  afraid  to 
venture  across  the  river  in  the  face  of  those  frowning  batteries. 

"Probably  while  engaged  in  this  search  the  British  learned  that  a  lot 
of  guns  were  stored  in  Flemington.  A  part  of  Cornwallis'  army  was 
then  encamped  just  below  Pennington.  Five  hundred  cavalry  were  de- 
tailed to  seize  these  arms.  At  that  time,  near  the  Presbyterian  church 
was  a  long  low  frame  building.  For  many  years  afterwards  it  was  a 
store  famous  throughout  that  part  of  the  county.  It  afforded  a  market 
for  wheat  to  a  wide  section.  The  store  was  kept  in  connection  with  a 
mill,  on  the  site  of  John  Rockafellow's  mill.  In  this  building  a  quantity 
of  muskets  had  been  stored  by  the  Continentals.  The  cavalry  reached 
the  village  early  in  the  morning,  and  found  in  the  street  a  man  with  a 
cart,  whom  they  pressed  into  their  service.  The  chests,  with  the  guns 
packed  in  them,  were  taken  out  of  the  building  and  put  into  the  cart, 
and  then  the  whole  troop  hastened  away.  But  when  they  reached  Tat- 
tersall's  Lane,  where  the  tile-kiln  now  is,  they  became  alarmed,  and  con- 
cluded it  would  be  better  to  destroy  the  muskets  than  attempt  to  carry 
them  away,  so  they  broke  the  guns  by  striking  them  upon  the  posts  of 
the  fence. 

"  In  the  mean  time  Capt.  John  Schenck  had  collected  a  band  of  men 
and  secreted  them  in  a  piece  of  woods  between  Copper  Hill  and  Lara- 
son's.  As  the  horsemen  filed  through  this  they  were  fired  upon.  Capt. 
Geary,  the  commander  of  the  British,  ordered  his  troops  to  halt  and  face 


taken  to  safe  places,  and  carefully  guarded.  Some  of 
these  boats  were  afterwards  used  in  recrossing  the 
army  for  its  movement  on  Trenton,  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  Washington  even  then  contemplated 
putting  them  to  this  use,  but  the  immediate  object  in 
Securing  them  was  to  compel  Cornwallis  to  remain  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  river  until  he  could  build  new 
boats  or  until  the  ice  should  have  become  of  sufiicient 
thickness  for  his  troops  to  pass  over  on  it. 

The  position  of  Washington  on  the  Pennsylvania 
side  of  the  Delaware  was  one  of  safety  for  his  troops, 
— at  least  for  a  time.  He  made  his  dispositions  at 
once  by  posting  Gens.  Lord  Stirling,  De  Fermoy, 
Stephens,  and  Mercer,  with  their  brigades,  at  differ- 
ent points  along  the  river  from  Yardley's  to  Coryell's 
Ferry  (Lambertville),  with  the  remaining  troops  of 
the  Flying  Camp,  under  Gen.  Irvine,  to  guard  (as 
well  as  their  feeble  strength  would  permit)  the  west 
bank  of  the  river  from  Yardley's  to  the  point  opposite 
Bordentown.  The  Pennsylvania  militia,  under  Col. 
Cadwallader,  was  posted  along  the  Neshaminy,  and 
the  Third  Philadelphia  Battalion,  under  Col.  Nixon, 
occupied  a  position  at  Durck's  Ferry.  Gen.  Putnam 
was  sent  to  assume  command  at  Philadelphia,  and  to 
take  immediate  measures  for  fortifying  the  approaches 
to  the  city.  Defensive  works  were  rapidly  thrown  up 
at  the  most  exposed  points  on  the  river  from  Coryell's 
to  McConkey's  Ferry.  Special  orders  were  given  to 
the  several  brigade  commanders  holding  this  section 
of  the  shore  to  exercise  sleepless  vigilance  in  guard- 
ing every  practicable  crossing-place,  and  to  be  pre- 
pared to  support  one  another  promptly  in  case  of 
emergency;  and  finally,  in  case  the  worst  should 
come  and  the  army  be  forced  back  from  the  Dela- 
ware, the  several  commands  were  ordered  to  retreat 
to  a  general  rendezvous  at  Germantown. 

The  British  army  in  New  Jersey  was  posted  in  de- 
tachments along  a  very  extended  line.  The  largest 
force  was  at  New  Brunswick,  which  was  their  prin- 
cipal depot  of  military  stores.  A  strong  detachment 
was  stationed  at  Princeton  ;  another,  consisting  of 
one  thousand  five  hundred  Hessians  and  a  troop  of 
cavalry,  at  .Trenton  ;  a  body  of  troops  of  about  equal 
strength  was  at  Bordentown,  under  Count  Donop  ; 
and  smaller  detachments  occupied  Black  Horse, 
Mount  Holly,  and  several  other  posts,  extending 
below  Burlington.  The  chief  command  in  New  Jer- 
sey was  held  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  Gen.  Howe  remain- 
ing at  his  headquarters  in  New  York. 

When  the  main  body  of  the  American  army  crossed 
the  Hudson  Eiver  into  New  Jersey  after  the  battle  at 

the  spot  whence  the  firing  proceeded,  when  he  was  almost  immediately 
shot  through  the  head.  His  men  wheeled  and  fled.  Afraid  that  they 
might  meet  more  opposition  if  they  returned  the  same  road  they  came, 
the  British  turned  and  went  towards  New  Brunswick.  Capt.  Geary's 
body  was  buried  in  the  woods.  This  Capt,  Schenck-atterwards  colonel 
-was  a  brave  ofiicer.  With  Col.  Charles  Stewart  he  rallied  the  minute- 
men  m  1775,  and  was  active  during  the  whole  conflict,  in  various  ways  " 
— r;»e  First  Century  of  Bunterdon  Comity,  by  George  S.  Molt,  D.D 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES   IN  THE   REVOLUTION.  49 


White  Plains,  Gen.  Charles  Lee  had  been  left  near 
the  latter  place  with  his  division  of  about  three  thou- 
sand men.  Gen.  Washington,  on  reaching  his  halting- 
place  at  Haokensack,  wrote  at  once  to  Gen.  Lee  re- 
questing him  to  move  his  command  to  the  west  side 
of  the  river  and  join  him  without  delay.  Lee  having 
taken  no  notice  of  this  request,  an  order  to  the  same 
effect  was  transmitted  to  him  from  headquarters ;  and 
■when  it  was  found  that  he  still  lingered,  the  order 
was  repeated  in  the  most  peremptory  terms.  In 
obedience  to  this  second  order,  but  with  apparent 
reluctance,  he  moved  his  division  and  crossed  into 
Jersey,  but  his  march  was  so  dilatory  that  three 
weeks  were  consumed  by  him  in  bringing  his  force  to 
Morristown.*  From  that  place  his  division  moved 
slowly  on  towards  the  southwest,  and  in  the  evening 
of  the  12th  of  December  the  troops  bivouacked  at 
Vealtown  (now  Bernardsville),  Somerset  Co.  The 
general,  however,  did  not  make  his  headquarters  at 
that  place,  but  passed  the  night,  with  only  a  small 
guard,  at  the  public-house  of  Mrs.  White,  at  Basking 
Eidge,  some  two  and  a  half  miles  distant  from  the 
main  body  of  his  force  ;  and  there,  in  the  morning  of 
the  13th,t  he  was  made  prisoner  by  a  detachment  of 
British  cavalry  under  Col.  Harcourt.  The  manner 
in  which  the  capture  of  the  general  was  effected  is 
thus  told  in  Wilkinson's  "  Memoirs"  : 

"Gen.  Lee  "wasted  the  morning  in  altercationB  with  certain  militia 
corpB  who  were  of  his  command,  particularly  the  Connecticut  Light- 
horse.  One  wanted  forage,  one  his  horse  shod,  one  his  pay,  and  a  fourth 
his  provisions ;  to  which  the  general  replied,  '  Your  wants  are  numer- 
ous, hut  yon  have  not  mentioned  the  last ;  you  want  to  go  home,  and  shall 
be  indulged,  for  you  are  no  good  here.'  Several  of  them  appeared  in 
large  full-bottomed  perukes  and  were  treated  very  irreverently. 

"  The  call  of  the  adjutant-general  for  orders  also  occupied  some  of  his 
time,  and  he  did  not  sit  down  to  breakfast  before  ten  o'clock.  Gen.  Lee 
wag  engaged  in  answering  Gen.  Gates'  letter,  and  I  had  risen  from  the 
table  and  was  looking  out  of  an  end  window,  down  a  lane,  about  one 
hundred  yards  in  length,  which  led  to  the  house  from  the  main  road, 
when  I  discovered  a  party  of  British  turn  the  corner  of  the  avenue  in 
full  charge.      Startled  at  this  unexpected   appearance,  I  exclaimed, 

*  Here,  sir,  are  the  British  cavalry.' — 'Where?' asked  the  genei-al,  who 
had  signed  the  letter  on  the  instant. — '  Around  the  house,'  for  they  had 
opened  files  and  encompassed  the  building.  Gen.  Lee  appeared  alarmed 
and  yet  collected,  and  his  second  observation  marked  his  self-possession : 

*  Where  is  the  guard?    Damn  the  guard  I    Why  don't  they  fire?'  and 


="  "  It  is  evident,"  says  Lossing,  "  from  Lee's  conduct,  and  the  tenor  of 
his  letters  at  that  time,  that  it  was  not  so  much  a  spiiit  of  determined 
disobedience  which  governed  his  actions  as  a  strong  desire  to  act  inde- 
pendent of  the  cojnmander-in-chief  and  perform  some  sigual  service 
which  would  redound  to  his  personal  glory.  He  was  ambitious  as  he 
was  impetuous  and  brave.  He  had  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  induce 
Gen.  Heath,  who  was  left  in  command  at  Peekskill,  to  let  him  have  a 
detachment  of  one  or  two  thousand  men  with  which  to  operate.  Heath 
refused  to  vary  from  his  instructions,  and  it  was  well  that  he  did. 
Washington  continued  to  urge  Lee  to  form  a  junction  with  him;  yet,  as 
late  as  the  11th  of  December,  two  days  after  the  passage  of  the  Dela- 
ware, a  letter  written  to  Washington  by  Lee  at  Morristown  hinted  at 
various  contemplated  movements,  not  one  of  which  referred  to  a  junc- 
tion of  forces.  This  was  the  last  letter  Washington  received  from  Lee 
during  his  march.  Two  days  afterwards,  while  pursuing  his  slow  and 
reluctant  progress  towards  the  Delaware,  Lee  was  taken  prisoner." 

t  Gordon,  in  his  "  History  of  New  Jersey,"  p.  :;25,  says  the  capture  of 
Gen.  Lee  was  made  on  the  12th.  Dr.  Messier,  in  his  "  Centennial  His- 
tory of  Somerset  County,"  p.  135,  mentions  it  as  having  occurred  on  the 
lllh. 


after  a  momentary  pause  he  turned  to  me  and  said,  'Do,  sir,  see  what 
has  become  of  the  guard.'  The  woman  of  the  house  at  this  moment  en- 
tered the  room  and  proposed  to  him  to  conceal  himself  in  a  bed ;  which 
he  rejected  with  evident  disgust.  I  caught  up  the  pistol  which  lay  ou 
the  table,  thrust  the  letter  he  had  been  writing  in  my  pocket,  and  passed 
into  a  room  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  house,  where  I  had  seen  the  guard 
in  the  morning.  Here  I  discovered  their  arms,  hut  the  men  were  absent. 
I  stepped  out  of  the  door  and  saw  the  dragoons  chasing  them  in  different 
directions,  and,  receiving  a  very  uncivil  salutation,  I  returned  into  the 
house. 

"  Too  inexperienced  immediately  to  penetrate  the  motives  of  this  en- 
terprise, I  considered  the  rencontre  accidental,  «.nd,  from  the  terriflo 
tales  spread  over  the  couutry  of  the  violence  and  barbarity  of  the  enemy, 
I  believed  it  to  be  a  wanton  marauding-party,  and  determined  not 'to  die 
without  company.  I  accordingly  sought  a  position  where  I  could  not  be 
approached  by  more  than  one  person  at  a  time,  and  with  a  pistol  in  each 
hand  awaited  the  expected  search,  resolved  to  shoot  the  first  and  second 
pel-son  who  might  appear,  and  then  appeal  to  the  sword.  I  did  not  long 
remain  in  this  unpleasant  situation,  but  was  apprised  of  the  incursion  by 
the  very  audible  declaration :  '  If  the  general  does  not  surrender  in  five 
minutes,  I  will  set  fire  to  the  house,'  which  after  a  short  pause  was  re- 
peated with  a  solemn  oath;  and  within  two  minutes  I  heard  it  pro- 
claimed, 'Here  is  the  general;  he  has  surrendered!'  A  general  shout 
eusued,  the  trumpet  sounded  the  reassembling  of  the  troop,  and  the  un- 
fortunate Lee,  mounted  on  my  horse,  which  stood  ready  at  the  door,  was 
hurried  off  in  triumph,  bare-headed,  in  his  slippers  and  blanket  coat,  his 
collar  open,  and  his  shirt  very  much  soiled  fiom  several  days'  use." 

Lee  was  taken  by  his  captors  to  Middlebrook 
(Bound  Brook),  and  thence  to  New  Brunswick, 
whence  he  was  delivered  to  Lord  Cornwallis,  who 
sent  him  to  Gen.  Howe  at  New  York.  There  he  was 
denied  the  privileges  of  a  prisoner  of  war,  but  was 
treated  as  a  deserter  from  the  British  service  and 
placed  in  confinement  on  board  the  frigate  "  Centu- 
rion,'' in  the  harbor.  This  charge  against  him  was 
afterwards  abandoned,  and  he  was  treated  as  a  pris- 
oner of  war.  He  was  exchanged  for  the  British 
general  Prescott  in  May,  1778. 

It  is  stated  that  the  British  colonel,  Harcourt,  was 
apprised  of  the  location  and  unprotected  condition  of 
Gen.  Lee's  headquarters  by  an  elder  in  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  at  Mendham,  a  Mr.  Mucklewraith,  who 
while  traveling  on  foot  on  private  business  passed 
Mrs.  White's  inn,  learned  that  the  general  was  there 
with  but  a  small  cavalry  guard,  and,  proceeding  on 
his  way,  soon  after  met  the  cavalry  of  Harcourt,  to 
whom  he  imparted  the  information,  and  who  then 
forced  him  to  accompany  the  detachment  as  a  guide 
to  the  place.  That  part  of  the  story,  however,  which 
has  reference  to  the  compulsion  used  is  not  fully 
authenticated,  and  appears,  to  say  the  least,  doubtful. 
But  it  is  certain  that  Elder  Mucklewraith  was  not  the 
only  one  who  acted  as  informer  and  guide  to  the 
British  horsemen,  for  on  page  126  of  the  "Minutes 
of  the  Council  of  Safety  of  New  Jersey,  1777,"  is 
found  this  record : 

"  James  Compton  of  Baskingridge,  having  been  apprehended  as  a  dis- 
afl"ectcd  person,  was  brought  before  the  Board,  and  upon  his  examination 
confessed  that  he,  being  frightened  from  home,  went  over  to  Staten  Island 
in  May  last,  &  after  continuing  there  about  two  months  returned  home  ; 
He  also  acknowledged  to  have  been  at  the  takeing  of  Geni  Lee,  but  says 
the  British  Light  horsemen  forced  him  to  go  with  them  for  that  purpose, 
threatening  to  kill  him  ou  refusal.  Also  James  Worth,  of  the  same 
place  with  the  ff^  Compton,  having  been  apprehended  on  like  suspicion, 
was  brought  before  the  Board,  &  upon  examination,  by  his  own  Confes- 
sion, found  guilty  of  going  voluntarily  into  the  Enemies'  lines  upon 
Staten  Island,  and  after  some  considerable  stay  on  the  said  Island,  re- 


50 


HUNTEEDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


turned  to  thia  State ;  gives  no  better  reason  for  this  his  conduct  than  the 
gratifying  his  curiosity. 

"BenjamiQ  Worth,  brought  in  as  the  two  foregoing,  and  appearing  in 
the  same  predicament  as  the  others ;  The  Board  considered  their  case, 
&  agreed  to  give  Each  of  the  three  liberty  of  Entering  on  board  the  ves- 
sels of  War  of  the  United  States  of  America,  or  take  a  trial  for  their 
lives,  agreeably  to  Law." 

The  charge  of  the  British  horsemen  on  the  head- 
quarters of  Lee  at  White's  tavern  was  made  with  the 
sahre  only,  as  they  dared  not  use  firearms,  fearing  to 
alarm  the  American  troops  at  Vealtown  and  on  the 
Pluckamin  road.  The  men  of  the  guard,  being  sur- 
prised at  a  distance  from  their  arms,  scattered  and 
fled,  hut  two  of  them,  who,  when  overtaken  by  the 
troopers,  refused  to  surrender,  were  killed,  and  their 
bodie^s  were  found  to  he  so  horribly  gashed  and  hacked 
by  the  British  sabres  that  they  could  not  be  removed 
to  the  burial-ground,  and  were  therefore  interred  on 
the  spot  where  they  fell.  Gen.  Wilkinson,  who  was 
with  Gen.  Lee  at  the  time  of  the  capture,  as  above 
noticed,  concealed  himself  in  the  house  until  after 
Harcourt's  departure,  and  then,  mounting  one  of  the  • 
horses  in  the  stable,  rode  with  all  speed  to  carry  the 
news  of  the  aifair  to  Gen.  Sullivan ;  but,  as  the  cap- 
turing force  were  already  many  miles  on  its  way 
towards  their  lines,  pursuit  was  useless. 

The  division,  or  rather  the  remnant  of  what  had 
been  a  division,  was  now  under  command  of  Gen. 
Sullivan,  as  next  in  rank  to  Gen.  Lee.  Its  march 
(which  was  now  continued  with  more  rapidity)  was 
from  Vealtown,  by  way  of  Pluckamin,  to  Clinton,* 
Hunterdon  Co.,  and  thence  to  the  Delaware  Eiver 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Lehigh,  where  it  crossed 
the  first-named  stream  into  Pennsylvania.  It  was 
marched  several  miles  up  the  Lehigh,  then  down 
through  Northampton  and  Bucks  Counties  to  Wash- 
ington's army,  which  it  joined  on  the  21st  of  Decem- 
ber. Four  regiments  of  Gen.  Gates'  troops,  who  had 
marched  from  New  York  State  through  the  northern 
part  of  New  Jersey,  joined  the  main  army  the  same 
day.t 

Having  been  reinforced  by  the  forces  of  Gens.  Sul- 
livan and  Gates  and  by  a  considerable  number  of 
troops  from  other  quarters,  Washington  immediately 
prepared  to  execute  the  plan  which  he  had  for  some 
time  had  in  contemplation,— viz.,  to  recross  the  Dela- 
ware by  night  and  march  rapidly  to  Trenton,  in  the 
hope  of  surprising,  and  possibly  of  capturing,  the 
force  of  about  fifteen  hundred  Hessians  which  then  oc- 
cupied that  post  in  winter  quarters.  His  plan  also  con- 
templated simultaneous  attacks  by  other  detachments 
of  his  army  on  the  several  British  posts  along  the 


*  It  was  recollected  by  old  people  many  years  afterwards  that  while 
on  this  march  through  Clinton  forty  of  Sullivan's  soldiers  were  furnished 
with  breakfast  by  Mrs.  Hope,  wife  of  Capt.  Adam  Hope,  who  was  himself 
a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  and  commanded  a  company  of  Hunterdon 
militia  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth. 

t  Gordon,  in  his  "History  of  New  Jersey,"  dates  the  arrival  of  both 
these  corps  December  20th. 


Delaware  below  Trenton ;  but  that  part  which  had 
reference  to  the  surprise  of  Trenton  was  regarded  as 
of  the  most  importance,  and  this  was  to  be  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  the  commander-in-chief.  The 
time  fixed  on  for  its  execution  was  the  night  of  the 
25th  and  morning  of  the  26th  of  December,  because, 
knowing  the  convivial  habits  of  the  German  soldiers- 
and  the  universal  custom  among  them  of  celebrating 
Christmas  with  bacchanalian  revelry,  he  believed  that 
in  the  unheralded  visit  which  he  proposed  to  make  in 
the  early  morning  of  the  26th  he  would  find  the  guards 
less  vigilant  than  usual,  and  both  officers  and  soldiers 
in  poor  fighting  condition,  as  a  result  of  the  previous 
night's  debauch.  The  plan  was  an  excellent  one,  and 
the  secrecy  with  which  it  was  carried  out  seems  re- 
markable, particularly  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  Hunterdon  shore  of  the  Delaware  at  that  time 
was  infested  by  a  great  number  of  Tories,  all  closely 
watching  the  movements  of  the  patriots  on  the  other 
side,  and  eager  to  carry  in  all  haste  any  information 
they  might  obtain  to  the  nearest  British  post. 

The  means  for  transporting  the  troops  across  the 
Delaware  were  furnished  by  the  boats  which  had  pre- 
viously been  collected  on  that  river  and  the  Lehigh. 
Among  those  collected  for  the  purpose  were  sixteen 
Durham!  boats  and  four  scows,  sent  down  by  Gen. 
Ewiug  to  McConkey's  Ferry, §  which  was  to  be  the 
place  of  crossing.  There,  on  the  evening  of  the  25th 
of  December,  as  soon  as  the  early  nightfall  of  winter 
had  settled  down  upon  hill  and  river,  the  troops  des- 
tined for  the  expedition  were  mustered  in  silence  and 
inspected  by  Washington  and  his  generals.  The  com- 
mander-in-chief had  expected  to  land  his  army  on  the 
Jersey  side  with  but  little  delay  and  to  reach  Trenton 
by  midnight,  but  the  river  was  so  filled  with  masses 
of  floating  ice,  and  the  weather  was  so  thick  by  reason 
of  a  storm  of  snow  and  sleet  which  had  just  com- 
menced, that  it  hardly  seemed  practicable  to  cross  at 
all ;  and  when  it  was  decided  to  move  forward  regard- 
less of  these  obstacles,  the  transportation  was  found 
to  be  so  slow  and  difficult  that  it  was  not  until  nearly 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning  that  the  last  of  the  troops 
and  cannon  were  landed  in  safety  on  the  eastern 
shore.  II 

The  expeditionary  corps,  consisting  of  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  men,  with  ten  pieces  of  artillery, 
was  marched  in  a  body  by  way  of  the  "  Bear  Tav- 


t  So  called  because  this  particular  kind  of  boat  was  first  constructed 
to  transport  iron  on  the  Delaware  from  the  Durham  furnaces  to  Phila- 
delphia. They  were  very  large,  flat-bottomed,  and  rounded  at  bow  and 
stem,  instead  of  being  square  at  the  ends  like  scows. 

2  Now  known  as  "  Washington's  Crossing"  on  the  New  Jersey  side  and 
Taylorsville  on  the  Pennsylvania  side  of  the  river. 

I  "  General  Washington  (who  had  sat  in  silence  on  a  beehive  wrapped 
in  his  cloak  while  hU  troops  were  crossing),  as  they  were  about  to  march, 
enjoined  upon  them  aU  profound  silence  during  their  march  to  Trenton, 
and  said  to  them,  ■  I  hope  you  will  all  fight  like  men.' "— Room's  Ui,Uyr'y 
of  TrerUon.  Uriah  Slack,  William  Green,  and  David  Lanning  were 
among  those  who  rendered  must  efficient  service  in  ferrj-ing  the  troops 
across  the  river. 


HUNTERDON   AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


51 


em,''*  to  Birminglisuu  (between  foiir  suid  five  miles 
from  T^eJlton^,  where  it  was  baited,  and  the  meu  took 
some  refresbmentt  The  force  was  tbeji  divided  into 
two  columns, — one,  under  Gen.  Sullivan,  taking  tlie 
rivex  road,  and  the  other,  under  Gen.  Greene,  with 
G«as.  Mercer,  Stevens,  and  Lord  Stirling,  and  accom- 
panied by  the  commander-in-chief,  moving  to  and 
down  the  Scotch  road  to  its  junction  with  the  Pen- 
nington road,  and  thence  down  the  latter  to  Trenton. 
The  columns  marched  very  rapidly  and  in  perfect 
silence  under  the  direction  of  a  number  of  guides 
who  were  familiar  with  the  routes.  Among  those 
who  acted  as  gviides  on  that  march  are  mentionedj 
the  names  of  Col.  Joseph  Phillips,  Capt,  Philip  Phil- 
lips, and  Adjt.  Elias  Phillips,  of  M;udenheAd ;  Joseph 
Inslee,  Etion  Burroughs,  Stephen  Burroughs,  Ephraim 
Woolsey.  and  Henry  Simmons,  of  Hopewell ;  and 
Capt,  John  Mott  Amos  Seudder.  and  'William 
Green,  of  Trenton.  It  was  also  desired  by  Gen. 
^^"ashington  to  find  twelve  men  familiar  with  the 
country,  who  would  ride  in  advance  of  the  columns, 
unarmed  and  dressed  in  taxmers'  clothes,  to  gain  such 
intelligence  as  they  might  of  the  position  of  tlie 
enemy's  outposts,  and  to  prevent  any  of  the  numer- 
ous Tories  who  infested  the  vicinity  fixtm  cjirrying 
news  of  the  advance  into  Trenton.  For  this  hazar- 
dous service  only  three  volunteers  could  be  found, 
and  they  were  John  Guild  and  John  Muirheid  of 
Hopewell,  and  David  Lanning  of  Trenton. 

The  march  of  the  two  columns  w;ts  so  well  planned 
and  orvlered  that  both  reached  the  enemy's  outposts 
at  Trenton  at  almost  exactly  the  same  time,  Sullivan 
coming  in  from  the  west  and  Washington  and  Greene 
from  the  north.  At  a  few  minutes  before  eight  o"cloci| 
the  Hessian  encampments  cajne  into  view,  and,  at 
the  sight,  'Washington,  riding  to  the  head  of  the  troops 
and  pointing  with  his  sword  towards  Trenton,  shouted, 
"  There,  soldiers,  you  see  the  enemies  of  your  country, 
and  now  all  I  have  to  ask  is  that  you  remember  what 
Tou  are  about  to  lisrht  for.     M.arch!"     They  moved 


*  "Tbe  rv^Ad  which  1*.\,-:?  from  >V,-ConkeT"?  Ferrr  ^now  T;iylor?viU©) 
runs  northeast,  and  on©  and  a  qnartw  miles  from  the  river  it  civ^svii  the 
rirar  ravi  si  the  Bow  Tavern,  ei^t  miles  from  Trenton;  rvvo  miles  fiur- 
ther  it  cl\*!S^  the  S,a>ic1i  ivwd,  son  on  miles  frvm  Trenton.  Frvm  the 
Be*r  T*Tern,  on  tl»e  riTer  rwad,  to  Birmingbam  wiv?  three  and  a  half 
niil«6.  and  fham  Bimiin^am  to  Trenton  fimr  and  a  half  milee.  Faim 
Birmitt£ham  acxv^ss  to  the  S^vt.-h  road  wheje  it  beiuis  to  Uie  east  is  alv>ut 
one  mile ;  ftvvm  this  point  to  its  junction  with  the  Pennington  road  is 
twv>  and  a  quarter  nulos;  and  from  thence  to  Ttvnton  one  mile." — i^iuN'j 

t  **G*n.  Washington  with  liis  amv.T  halted  at  the  hou.*e  of  Benjamin 
UooiT  it  Binninghani  and  ate  a  jaeot  of  mince-pie  and  drank  a  class  of 
cider.  His  meu  al-^^  partv«ok  of  some  refiTeshme:.rs  befor*  marvhing  luto 
Trenten." — Ihid. 

:il>id. 

j  Wasliir^ton  in  his  c*cial  rep>^rt  of  the  Trenton  fight  siid,  "The 
upper  diTision  arrired  at  the  enem^  's  adranced  post  exactlr  at  eight 
o'clock ;  and  in  three  minutes  after  I  found  fK-«m  the  fire  on  the  lower 
raad  that  that  divsaon  had  abo  got  up.  The  out-gnajvls  made  but  a 
small  oppositjon,  tl>oi:gb.,  for  their  nnmbeis,  they  behaved  very  well, 
keeping  up  acottstant  ivtiwiling^re fKim  behind  hoi:s<^-  We  preeentlT 
s»w  th^  main  body  lorme^i.  tut  from  their  motions  they  seemed  unde- 
termined how  to  act." 


forward  with  great  impetuosity,  drove  in  tlie  outposts, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  had  possession  of  all  the  British 
artillery.  The  brave  Col.  Eahl,  tlie  Hessian  com- 
mander, surprised,  and  not  yet  recovered  from  the 
ell'eots  of  his  Christmas  potations,  rushed  frantically 
out  of  his  quMters  and  mounted  his  horse  to  form  hia 
men  for  defense,  but  he  almost  immediately  received 
a  mortal  wonud  ;|!  and,  as  further  resistance  then  ap- 
peared hopeless,  the  place  with  its  troops  i^except 
such  as  had  escaped  aud  fled  towards  Princeton  and 
Bordentowu)  and  military  stores  surrendered  to  the 
American  commander. 

An  account  of  the  Trenton  fight  (for  it  could  not 
with  propriety-  be  termed  a  battle,  in  view  of  the 
slight  resistance  made  by  the  enemy  and  the  very  in- 
significant loss  sustained  by  the  Americans)  was  soon 
after  published  by  order  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
having  been  transmitted  to  that  body  by  the  New 
Jersey  Council  of  Safety  with  the  expilanation  that  it 
was  furnished  by  "  an  officer  of  distinction  in  the 
army.''     Following  is  the  account  referred  to: 

"  HkADOrASTEKS,  2f KWTOVn?,  BrCKS  CotJXTT, 

"  Pecember  -7, 1776. 
•*  It  wns  determined  some  days  ag\i  that  our  arnty  should  pass  over  to 
vTersey  at  three  different  places  and  attack  the  enemy.  Acc\)rdiugly, 
about  two  thousand  five  hundred  men  and  twenty  bra^  field-pieces,  with 
His  Excellency  General  Wasliingtou  at  their  head,  and  Mjyor-Genenil 
Sullivan  and  Lreueral  Greene  in  command  of  two  divisions,  pa^ed  over 
on  the  night  of  Christmas,  and  al*out  three^  o'clock  in  the  morning  were 
on  their  march  by  tw-o  routes  towards  Trenton.  The  night  was  sleety 
and  cold,  aud  tli©  roads  so  slipjvry  that  it  was  daybreak  when  we  wer» 
two  miles  from  Trenton.  But.  happily,  the  enemy  were  not  apprised  of 
our  ilosign,  and  our  advanced  ^^arties  were  on  their  guard,  at  half  a  mile 
fKan  the  town,  where  Gen.  Sullivau^s  and  Gen.  Greeners  divisions  came 
into  the  same  r.Md.  The  guard  gave  our  advanced  parties  several  smart 
fir«s  .IS  we  diove  them,  but  we  soon  got  two  field-pieces  at  play,  and 
several  others  in  a  short  time,  and  one  of  our  columns  pushing  down  on 
the  right,  while  the  other  advanced  on  the  left,  into  the  town.  The 
enemy,  consisting  of  about  one  thousand  rive  hundred  Hessians,  uuder 
<\d.  Kalil,  formed  and  made  some  smjirt  fires  from  their  musketry  and 
six  field-p'.ocos ;  but  our  people  preyed  fhan  every  quarter  and  drove 
tltem  from  their  cannon.  They  retired  towards  a  field  behind  a  piece  of 
wovvis,  up  the  creek  ftvm  Trenton,  and  fomted  in  two  bodies,  which  I 
expected  would  have  brought  on  a  smart  action  from  the  troops  who  had 
!  formed  very  near  them ;  but  at  that  insiaat,  as  I  Ciune  in  full  view  of 
!  tliem  iroin  tlie  l^ack  of  tire  w^xvi.  with  His  Excellency  Gen.  Washington, 
an  officer  informed  him  that  one  party  had  grounded  their  arms  and  sur- 
I  rendered  prisoners.  The  ctliors  s-vn  followed  tlloir  ejtanrple,  except  a 
'   part  wlridr  had  got  off,  in  the  Iraiy  weather,  towards  Priucetorr.   A  party 

of  their  hght-hor^^  made  off  on  our  lir^t  appearance. 
)       "  T^v  much  pnuse  cannot  be  given  to  our  otficors  and  men  of  every 
'  regiment,  who  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other :  and  by  their  active  ;ind 
spirited  behavior  they  soon  put  an  honorable  issue  to  tlris  glorious  day. 


{  "  C^olonel  Ralil,  the  Hessian  commander,  whose  headquarters  were  at 
the  City  Tavern,  corner  of  Warren  ,ind  Bank  Streets,  opposite  Still's 
.Mley,  was  mortally  w-onnded  during  the  e.arly  part  of  the  engagement, 
being  shct  from  his  horse  while  endeavoring  to  form  his  disnrayed  and 
disordered  troops.  Wlien.  sr.-,  ix-rted  by  a  file  of  sergeants,  he  presented 
his  swor^  to  (ren.  Washington  ^whose  conntenance  beamed  with  com- 
placency at  the  sn.vi^ss  of  the  day),  he  was  pale  and  bleeding,  and  in 
brvken  Accents  soenred  to  implorv  those  atteritions  which  the  victor  was 
well  viisposed  to  K^tow  upon  him.  He  was  taken  to  his  headquarter^ 
where  he  died."— Sta—'s  flWir>  o/  IVe»/o«. 

The  shot  that  killed  Rahl  was  said  to  have  been  fired  by  Ool.  Frederick 
Frelingliuysiin,  of  Somerset  c\mnty. 

VGen.  Washington,  however,  in  his  report  said:  "" But  the  quantity  of 
ice  made  that  right  impeded  the  passage  of  the  boats  so  much  that  it 
V  IS  three  o'clock  helbre  the  artillery  could  all  be  got  over,  and  near  fotil 
before  the  irooj^  took  up  their  line  of  marvh." 


52 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


I  was  immediately  sent  off  with  the  prisoners  to  McConltey's  !Ferry,  and 
have  got  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  safe  in  town  and  a  few  miles  from 
here  on  this  side  of  the  ferry, — viz.,  one  lieutenant-colonel,  two  majors, 
four  captains,  seven  lieutenants,  and  eight  ensigns.  We  left  Col.  Rabl, 
the  commandant,  wounded,  on  his  parole,  and  several  other  officers  and 
wounded  men,  at  Trenton.  We  lost  but  two  of  our  men  that  I  can  hear 
of, — a  few  wounded, — and  one  brave  officer,  Capt.  Washington,  who  as- 
sisted in  securing  their  artillery,  wounded  in  both  hands."* 

From  a  narrative  detailing  events  of  the  Trenton 
fight,  and  published  in  1781  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Journal,  the  following  is  extracted  : 

"  About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  an  attack  was  made  on  the 
picket-tiuard  of  the  enemy.  At  half-past  eight  o'clock  the  town  was 
nearly  surrounded,  and  all  the  avenues  to  it  were  seized  except  the  one 
left  for  Gen.  Ewingf  to  occupy.  An  accident  here  liked  to  have  deprived 
the  American  army  of  the  object  of  their  enterprise.  The  commanding 
officer  of  one  of  the  divisions  sent  word  to  Gen.  Washington,  just  before 
they  reached  the  town,  that  his  ammunition  had  been  wet  by  a  shower 
of  rain  that  had  fallen  that  morning,  and  desired  to  know  what  he  nmst 
do.J  Washington  sent  him  word  to  '  advance  with  fixed  bayonets.'  This 
laconic  answer  inspired  the  division  with  the  firmness  and  courage  of 
their  leader, 

"  The  whole  body  now  moved  forward  in  sight  of  the  enemy.  An 
awful  silence  reigued  in  every  platoon.  Each  soldier  stepped  as  if  he 
carried  the  liberty  of  his  country  upon  his  single  musket.  The  moment 
was  a  critical  one.  The  attack  was  begun  with  artillery,  under  com- 
mand of  Col.  Knox.  The  infantry  supported  the  artillery  with  firmness. 
The  enemy  were  thrown  intoiconfusion  at  every  quarter.  One  regiment 
attempted  to  form  in  an  orchard,  but  was  soon  forced  to  fall  back  upon 
the  main  body.  A  company  of  them  entered  a  stone  house,  which  they 
defended  with  a  field-piece  judiciously  posted  in  the  entry.  Capt.  AVash- 
ington  advanced  to  dislodge  them  with  a  field-piece,  but,  finding  his  men 
exposed  to  a  close  and  steady  fire,  he  suddenly  leaped  from  them,  rushed 
into  the  house,  seized  the  ofiicer  who  had  command  of  the  gun,  and 
claimed  him  as  a  prisoner.  His  men  followed  him,  and  the  whole  com- 
pany were  made  prisoners.  The  captain  received  a  ball  in  his  hand  in 
entering  the  house  In  the  meanwhile,  victory  declared  itself  every- 
where ill  favor  of  the  American  arms." 

The  captures  made  by  the  Americans  at  Trenton 
comprised  six  brass  field-pieces,  one  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  four  colors,  and  nine  hundred  and  nine  pris- 
oners, of  which  latter  twenty-three  were  commissioned 
officers.  In  reference  to  the  losses  in  action  of  the 
British  and  American  forces  respectively.  Gen.  Wash- 
ington said  in  his  report, — 

"  I  do  not  know  exactly  how  many  they  had  killed,  but  I  fancy  not 
above  twenty  or  thirty,  as  they  never  made  any  regular  stand. 

'*  Our  loss  is  very  trifling  indeed, — only  two  officers  and  one  or  two 
privates  wounded." 

Lossing,  in  his  "  Field-Book  of  the  Eevolution," 
says  (p.  229),  "The  victory  of  the  Americans  at 
Trenton  was  complete.     They  lost  in  the  engagement 

*  This  officer  was  Capt.  William  A.  Washington.  He  was  afterwards  a 
colonel  of  cavalry,  and  as  such  performed  distinguished  services  in  the 
Carolina  campaigns  against  Cornwallis  and  Lord  Kawdon.  Another 
American  officer  wounded  at  Trenton— though  not  mentioned  in  the 
above  account— was  Lieut.  James  Monroe,  afterwards  President  of  the 
United  States. 

t  Gen.  Ewing  had  been  ordered  to  cross  his  troops  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania side  nearly  opposite  Trenton  and  attack  from  the  south,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  movement  of  Greene  and  Sullivan  from  the  north  and 
west.  The  great  quantities  of  ice  running  in  the  Delaware  prevented 
him  from  crossing  as  ordered.  The  same  obstacle  prevented  Cadwallader 
from  crossing  at  Bristol  as  expected. 

{The  dispatch,  was  from  Gen.  Sullivan.  Raum,  in  his  "History  of 
Trenton,"  mentions  that  the  soldiers  of  Sullivan's  division  found  their 
priming  wet,  and  proceeds :  "  Capt.  Mott,  notwithstanding  he  had  taken 
the  precaution  to  wrap  his  handkerchief  around  the  lock  of  his  gun, 
found  the  priming  was  wet.  'Well,'  said  General  Sullivan,  'we  must 
fight  them  with  the  bayonet.' " 


only  two  privates  killed,  and  two  others  who  were 
frozen  to  death."?  This  statement,  that  men  of  the 
American  army  were  frozen  to  death  in  the  expedi- 
tion to  Trenton,  has  several  times  been  made  by  other 
writers,  but  it  cannot  be  regarded  otherwise  than  as 
of  doubtful  authenticity,  for  these  reasons :  First,  that 
the  account  of  the  expedition  above  quoted  from 
the  Pennsylvania  Journal  mentions  that  "the  com- 
manding ofiicer  of  one  of  the  divisions  sent  word  to 
Gen.  Washington,  just  before  they  reached  the  town, 
that  his  ammunition  had  been  wet  by  a  shower  of  rain 
that  had  fallen  that  morning  ;"  and  second,  because  in 
the  narrative  already  given,  as  published  by  order  of 
Congress  and  written  by  "  an  officer  of  distinction  in 
the  army"  who  was  an  eye-witness  to  the  scenes  en- 
acted at  Trenton  on  that  occasion,  allusion  is  made  to 
"  a  part  [of  the  Hessian  force]  which  had  got  oif,  in 
the  hazy  weather,  towards  Princeton."  The  account 
first  noticed  was  written  and  published  witliin  five 
years  of  the  time  of  the  Trenton  fight,  when  all  the 
particulars  were  fresh  in  the  minds  of  those  who  took 
part  in  the  expedition,  and  it  is  therefore  but  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  no  such  mistake  could  have  been 
made  as  that  of  mentioning  a  shower  of  rain  falling 
on  a  morning  sufficiently  cold  to  freeze  men  to  death. 
The  passage  quoted  from  the  account  authorized  by 
Congress  sustains  the  other,  and  seems  to  prove  that 
on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  December,  1776,  the 
weather  at  Trenton,  though  doubtless  damp  and  chil- 
ling, was  not  of  such  stinging  Arctic  cold  as  has  fre- 
quently been  stated. 

The  plan  of  Washington  in  recrossing  the  Delaware 
had  contemplated  the  probability  that,  in  the  event 
of  success  at  Trenton,  he  might  be  able  to  maintain 
his  position  in  New  Jersey ;  but,  on  account  of  the 
inability  of  Ewing  and  Cadwallader  to  cross  the  river, 
as  was  expected,  there  were  still  left  at  Bordentown, 
Mount  Holly,  and  other  points  below  Trenton  and 
within  striking  distance  several  British  detachments 
which  were  collectively  far  stronger  than  the  Ameri- 
can force  which  could  be  mustered  to  hold  them  at 
hay.  Under  these  circumstances,  Washington  thought 
it  his  only  prudent  course  to  return  with  his  army  to 
the  west  side  of  the  river ;  and  this  he  did  without 
delay,  remaining  in  Trenton  only  a  few  hours  to  allow 
his  men  sufficient  time  for  rest  and  refreshment.  In 
the  afternoon  of  the  26th  the  columns  were  again  put 
in  motion  and  marched  back  by  the  route  over  which 
they  had  come  in  the  morning,  and,  recrossing  at 
McConkey's  Ferry  with  their  prisoners  and  captured 
material,  were  all  safely  quartered  before  midnight  in 
the  camp  which  they  had  left  in  the  evening  of  the 
preceding  day. 

But,  though  he  had  found  it  expedient  to  retire  to 
his  strong  position  on  the  Pennsylvania  shore  after 


§  Gordon,  in  his  "History  of  New  Jersey,"  p.  227,  makes  the  same 
statement. 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


53 


the  victory  at  Trenton,  Washington  had  by  no  means 
abandoned  his  plan  of  repossessing  West  Jersey,  and 
he  at  once  commenced  preparations  for  a  second 
expedition  to  that  end.  On  the  29th  of  December — 
only  three  days  after  the  Trenton  exploit — he  wrote 
from  his  headquarters  at  Newtown,  Pa.,  to  Congress, 
saying,— 

"  I  am  jnst  setting  out  to  attempt  a  second  pSssage  over  the  Delaware 
with  the  troops  that  were  with  me  on  the  morning  of  the  26th.  Gen.  Cad- 
wallader  crossed  oyer  on  the  27th,  and  is  at  Bordentown  with  about  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  men.  Gen.  Mifflin  will  be  to-day  at  Borden- 
town  with  about  one  thousand  six  hundred  more.  ...  In  view  of  the 
measures  proposed  to  be  pursued,  I  think  a  fair  opportunity  is  offered  of 
driving  the  enemy  entirely  from  Jersey,  or  at  least  to  the  extremity  of 
the  province." 

In  anticipation  of  the  projectedresumption  of  opera- 
tions in  New  Jersey,  orders  had  been  sent  to  Gen. 
Heath,  who  was  still  at  Peekskill-on-the-Hudson,  to 
leave  only  a  small  detachment  of  his  troops  at  that  place, 
and  to  move  at  once  with  his  main  body,  cross  into  New 
Jersey,  and  march  towards  the  British  cantonment, 
to  divert  their  attention,  but  without  intending  an  at- 
tack.    Gen.  William   Maxwell,  who  in  the  retreat 
through  this  State  had  been  left  at  Morristown  with 
a  considerable  force  (in  which  was  included  a  large 
proportion  of  the  soldiers  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Counties),  was  ordered  to  advance  his  troops  towards 
New  Brunswick  as  if  threatening  an  attack  and  harass 
all  the  contiguous  posts  of  the  enemy  as  much  as  pos- 
sible ;  and  finally.  Gens.  Cadwallader  and  Mifflin,  at 
Bordentown  and  Crosswicks,  were  directed  to  hold 
their  forces  (then  amounting  to  more  than  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  men)  in  constant  readiness  to  rein- 
force the  main  body  under  Washington  when  it  should 
make  its  appearance  at  Trenton.     These  dispositions 
having  been  made,  and  all  preparations  completed, 
Washington  moved  his  army  across  the  Delaware  into 
New  Jersey  on  the  30th  of  December  and  marched  to 
Trenton.     At  this  point  he  was  under  serious  embar- 
rassment, for  the  terms  of  service  of  a  large  part  of  the 
Eastern  militia  expired  on  the  1st  of  January,  and  it 
was  very  doubtful  whether  they  could  be  persuaded 
to  remain.     The   arguments  of  the   commander-in- 
chief,  however,  were  successful  in  prevailing  on  them 
to  continue  for  an  additional  term  of  six  weeks,  in 
view  of  the  brightening  prospects  of  the  American 
cause  and  the  promise  of  a  bounty  of  ten  dollars  per 
man.     There  was  no  money  in  the  military  chest  to 
pay  these  promised  bounties,  but  Washington  at  once 
sent  a  messenger  to  Robert  Morris,  at  Philadelphia, 
asking  him  to  supply  the  means  if  possible ;  and  that 
patriotic  financier  promptly   responded  by  sending 
fifty  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  borrowed  from  a  rich 
Quaker  on  Morris'  individual  note  and  the  pledge  of 
his  honor  to  repay  it. 

At  the  time  of  the  Hessian  disaster  at  Trenton  the 
British  forces  in  New  Jersey  were  under  command  of 
Gen.  Grant,  whose  headquarters  were  at  New  Bruns- 
wick. Lord  Cornwallis  was  at  New  York,  making 
preparations  to  sail  for  England,  in  the  belief  that 


the  rebellion  was  virtually  crushed  and  the  war  nearly 
over.  Upon  receipt  of  the  amazing  news  from  Tren- 
ton he  at  once  relinquished  his  voyage,  returned  to 
New  Jersey,  and  put  his  troops  dn  motion  towards 
Trenton.  The  British  post  at  Bordentown,  previously 
held  by  a  strong  force  under  Count  Donop,  had  been 
abandoned  on  the  27th  of  December,  and  the  troops 
which  had  been  stationed  there  retreated  to  Princeton, 
where  they  joined  the  force  of  Gen.  Leslie  and  threw 
up  defensive  earthworks.  When  Cornwallis  ad- 
vanced fi-om  New  Brunswick,  the  force  at  Princeton, 
excepting  three  regiments  under  Col.  Mawhood, 
joined  the  main  column,  which  moved  towards 
Trenton  and  arrived  there  at  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  the  2d  of  January,  1777. 

The  two  hostile  armies  which  then  and  there  con- 
fronted each  other  were  each  about  five  thousand 
strong,  but  one-half  the  force  of  Washington*  was- 
made  up  of  undisciplined  militia,  while  that  of  his 
adversary  included  many  of  the  finest  troops  of  the 
British  army.  Before  the  advance  of  Cornwallis, 
Washington's  forces  retired  across  the  bridge  to  the 
south  side  of  Assanpink  Creek,  where  it  was  soon 
afterwards  joined  by  General  Greene's  division,  which 
had  been  sent  out  to  reconnoitre  and  skirmish  with 
the  enemy,  hoping  to  so  delay  his  movements  that  no 
engagement  would  be  brought  on  until  morning.  But 
the  British  regulars  promptly  drove  Greene's  detach- 
ment into  Trenton  and  across  the  Assanpink,  and 
then  with  very  little  delay  moved  in  two  columns, 
one  down  Green  Street  towards  the  bridge,  and  the 
other  down  Main  Street  towards  the  point  where  the 
lower  bridge  now  stands,  intending  to  force  a  passage 
over  the  bridge  and  across  the  ford ;  but  they  were 
repulsed  by  the  vigorous  fire  of  Washington's  artil- 
lery, which,  being  posted  on  the  high  southern  bank 
of  the  stream,  was  so  effective  that  the  assailants  failed 
to  cross,  and  were  compelled  to  retire,  but  with  what 
loss  is  not  known.f  After  the  failure  of  this  attempt 
of  the  British  to  cross,  the  Americans  kept  up  their 
artillery-fire  till  dark,  and  the  British  withdrew  to  the 
higher  ground  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  along  the 
Princeton   road,   where   Cornwallis    established  his 


*  Cadwallafler  and  MifHin,  with  their  forces  from  Bordentown,  had 
joined  Wasliington  on  the  night  of  the  Ist  of  January. 

f  The  "  battle  of  Assanpink"  has  frequently  been  described  as  a  fearful 
conflict,  in  which  the  stream  was  filled  with  the  bodies  of  slain  British 
soldiers.  That  this  is  a  gross  exaggeration,  and  that  there  was  really  no- 
battle  at  all  (but  merely  a  brisk  cannonade  from  the  American  artillery 
on  the  south  bank,  preventing  the  enemy  from  crossing  the  stream),  is 
pretty  clearly  shown  by  an  authority  as  high  as  Gen.  Washington  him- 
self, in  the  report  which  he  made  to  CongresB,  dated  Pluckamin,  Jan.  5,  . 
1777,  in  which,  referring  to  this  affair,  he  says,  "On  the  2d,  according 
to  my  expectations,  the  enemy  began  to  advance  upon  us ;  and  after  soma 
skirmishing  the  head  of  their  column  reached  Trenton  about  four  o'clock, 
whilst  their  rear  was  as  far  back  as  Maidenhead.  They  attempted  to 
pass  Sanpink  Creek,  which  runs  through  Trenton,  but,  finding  the  fords 
guarded,  halted  and  kindled  their  fires.  We  were  drawn  up  on  the  other 
side  of  the  creek.  lu  this  situation  we  remained  until  dark,  command- 
ing the  enemy  and  receiving  the  fire  of  their  field-pieces,  which  did  ua 
but  little  damage."  This  is  all  the  mention  mode  by  the  commander-in- 
chief  in  his  official  report,  of  the  so-called  "  battle  of  Assanpink." 


54 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


headquarters  and  directed  dispositions  to  be  made  for 
a  renewal  of  the  battle  in  the  morning,  when,  he  said, 
he  would  "  catch  that  old  fox,"  Washington,  whom 
he  imagined  he  had  now  so  securely  entrapped  beyond 
the  Assanpink.  But  his  boast  failed  most  signally  of 
execution. 

The  situation  of  Washington  was  now  perilous  in 
the  extreme,  for  nothing  could  be  more  certain  than 
that  Cornwallis  would  renew  the  battle  in  the 
morning,  and  it  was  almost  equally  certain  that  in 
such  an  event  the  victory  would  be  with  the  disci- 
plined soldiers  of  Britain.  If  such  should  be  the  result, 
ths  American  army  could  hardly  escape  the  alterna- 
tive of  surrender  or  annihilation,  for  a  retreat  across 
the  Delaware  in  presence  of  such  an  enemy  would  be 
impossible.  Immediately  after  dark  a  council  of  war 
was  called,  at  which  were  assembled  the  commander- 
in-chief  and  Generals  Greene,  Sullivan,  Knox,  Mer- 
cer, St.  Clair,  Dickinson,  Stevens,  Cadwallader,  Mif- 
flin, Stark,  Wilkinson,  and  others.  Some  of  the  more 
impetuous  officers  advised  a  stand  for  a  battle  in  their 
present  position ;  others  favored  a  retreat  down  the 
left  bank  of  the  Delaware  and  a  crossing  of  the  river 
at  Philadelphia  under  protection  of  the  guns  of  Gen. 
Putnam  ;  but  the  plan  which  was  adopted  was  that  of 
a  rapid  night-movement  around  the  enemy's  flank  to 
his  rear,  and  a  sudden  attack  on  the  British  force  at 
Princeton,  which  consisted  of  only  three  regiments 
of  cavalry  and  three  squadrons  of  dragoons.  The 
execution  of  this  plan  was  singularly  favored  by 
Providence,  for,  even  while  the  council  of  war  was 
engaged  in  its  deliberations,  the  weather,  which  had 
been  warm  during  the  day,  turned  suddenly  cold ;  so 
that  in  a  few  hours  the  muddy  roads  were  frozen  suf- 
ficiently hard  to  bear  up  the  artillery  and  greatly  to 
facilitate  the  marching  of  the  troops. 

The  movement  to  Princeton  being  decided  on,  its 
immediate  execution  was  ordered.  The  camp-fires  of 
the  American  army  along  the  shore  of  the  Assanpink 
were  kept  brightly  burning,  and  were  replenished 
with  fresh  fuel  about  midnight ;  and  soon  afterwards, 
leaving  the  sentinels  on  their  posts,  to  delude  the 
enemy,  the  forces  were  all  put  in  motion,  and  marched 
rapidly  but  silently  away  in  the  darkness,  with  Elias 
Phillips,  Ezekiel  Anderson,  and  Patrick  Lamb  as 
guides.  The  baggage-train  of  the  army  was  sent 
away  quietly  on  the  road  to  Burlington.  The  route 
taken  led,  by  way  of  Sandtown,  across  Miry  Eun,  and, 
farther  up,  across  the  Assanpink,  around  the  left  flank 
of  the  British  army ;  then,  veering  to  the  left,  along 
the  "  Quaker  road"  to  and  across  Stony  Brook,  where 
the  main  column  left  the  highway  and  took  a  by-road 
passing  through  lowlands  directly  to  Princeton  ;  while 
Gen.  Mercer,  with  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  men 
and  two  pieces  of  artillery  under  Capt.  Neal,  con- 
tinued along  the  Quaker  road,  with  orders  to  proceed 
to  Worth's  Mill  and  take  possession  of  the  bridge  by 
which  the  old  road  from  Princeton  to  Trenton  crossed 
Stony  Brook. 


The  march  of  the  American  forces  had  been  slow 
during  the  two  or  three  hours  immediately  following 
their  departure  from  their  camp  on  the  Assanpink,  be- 
cause on  that  part  of  their  route  they  had  been  com- 
pelled (in  order  to  avoid  the  outposts  of  the  enemy's 
left  flank)  to  traverse  a  new  road,  from  which  the  logs 
and  stumps  had  not  been  cleared.  But  the  last  part 
of  their  march  ha(|  been  made  very  rapidly  over  the 
hard-frozen  highway ;  so  that  when  the  sun  rose  they 
were  already  nearing  Princeton.  And  never  was  a 
sunrise  more  auspicious  than  that  which  sent  its  rosy 
rays  through  the  frosty  air  on  the  morning  of  the  3d 
of  January,  1777.  To  Cornwallis  at  Trenton*  it  re- 
vealed the  mortifying  fact  that  the  "  fox"  had  escaped 
from  his  trap,  and  the  unpleasant  truth  was  soon  after 
emphasized  by  the  dull  sound  of  distant  artillery 
coming  from  the  northward.  To  the  eyes  of  Wash- 
ington and  his  officers  that  sunrise  was  welcome,  for 
it  showed  them  the  position  of  the  foes  they  had  come 
to  seek ;  and  it  lighted  them  on  their  way  to  one  of 
the  most  important  victories  achieved  in  the  war  for 
independence. 

The  British  troops  in  Princeton  were  a  body  of  cav- 
alry and  the  Seventeenth,  Fortieth,  and  Fifty-fifth 
Infantry  Eegiments  of  the  line,  all  under  command  of 
Lieut.-Ool.  Mawhood.  He  had  during  the  night  re- 
ceived orders  to  march  at  daylight  with  the  greater  part 
of  his  command  for  Trenton,  to  give  his  assistance  in 
the  battle  which  Cornwallis  intended  to  open  along 
the  shores  of  the  Assanpink  on  the  morning  of  the 
3d,  and  in  obedience  to  that  order  he  had  put  the 
Seventeenth  and  Fifty-fifth  Eegiments,  with  a  part  of 
the  cavalry,  in  motion,  and,  accompanying  them  in 
person,  moved  out  on  the  old  Trenton  road.  The 
commanding  officer,  with  the  Seventeenth  Eegiment 
and  nearly  all  his  cavalry,  was  fully  a  mile  in  ad- 
vance of  the  rear  division  of  the  column,  and  had 
already  crossed  the  Stony  Brook  bridge  at  Worth's 
Mill  when  he  discovered  Mercer's  force  moving 
rapidly  along  the  apposite  bank  of  the  stream  towards 
the  mill.  Upon  this  he  promptly  countermarched 
his  men,  moved  them  on  the  double-quick  back  to  the 
bridge,  recrossed  it,  and  hastened  on  to  secure  a  com- 
manding position  on  high  ground  to  the  right  of  the 
road.  Gen.  Mercer,  as  his  detachment  emerged  from 
a  piece  of  woods  near  the  Quaker  meeting-house,  dis- 
covered the  British,  and,  divining  their  object,  double- 
quicked  his  troops  towards  the  same  eminence,  deter- 
mined to  occupy  it  in  advance  of  the  enemy  if  pos- 
sible.    Having   reached  the   house   and   orchard  of 


*  "Groat  was  his  [Oornwallis']  astonisliment  and  alarm  at  dawn  to  find 
the  patriot  camp-firea  Btill  burning,  but  not  a  man,  nor  hoof,  nor  tent, 
uor  cannon  there.  All  was  silent  and  dreary  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Assanpink,  and  no  man  of  the  British  army  knew  whither  the  Ameri- 
cans had  fled  until  the  din  of  battle  in  the  direction  of  Princeton  came 
faintly  upon  the  keen  morning  air  at  sunrise.  Cornwallis  heard  the 
booming  of  cannon,  and,  although  mid-winter,  he  thought  it  was  the 
rumbling  of  distant  thunder.  The  quick  car  of  Ersklne  decided  other- 
wise, and  he  exclaimed, '  To  anns,  general  1  Washington  has  orUgeneraUd 
us  I    Let  us  fly  to  Princeton  I'  "—Loaaing,  vol.  ii,  p.  234. 


HUNTEKDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


55 


William  Clarke,  he  perceived  the  enemy's  line  ad- 
varicing  up  the  opposite  slope.  The  Americans 
pushed  on  to  the  slight  cover  of  a  rail-fence  vs'hich 
was  hetween  the  opposing  forces,  and  there  they  de- 
livered their  volley  with  precision  and  deadly  effect, 
firing  afterwards  at  will.  The  British  promptly  re- 
turned the  fire  and  charged  with  the  bayonet.  Mer- 
cer's riflemen  had  no  bayonets  or  their  pieces,  and, 
being  unable  to  withstand  the  furious  onset  of  the 
British,  fled  in  precipitation  and  disorder,  abandon- 
ing their  two  field-pieces  and  closely  pursued  by  Maw- 
hood's  grenadiers;  but  when  they  reached  the  east 
brow  of  the  slope  near  Clarke's  house,  they  were  met 
by  the  Continentals  and  militia  under  "Washington, 
who  had  left  the  by-road  on  which  he  was  marching, 
at  a  point  near  the  Olden  farm,  and  hurried  up  to  the 
support  of  Mercer.  The  fugitive  Americans  were 
here  rallied  and  reformed  on  a  new  line,  and  a  section 
of  one  of  Washington's  batteries,  commanded  by  Capt. 
William  Moulder,  poured  a  storm  of  canister  into  the 
faces  of  the  pursuers. 

At  this  point,  Mawhood,  discovering  for  the  first 
time  the  presence  of  Washington  and  his  force,  ceased 
the  pursuit,  brought  up  his  artillery-pieces,  and 
opened  on  Moulder's  section,  which  he  immediately 
afterwards  charged  in  a  desperate  but  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  capture  the  guns.  The  scene  of  the  con- 
flict at  this  moment,  when  the  lines  of  the  opposing 
forces  confronted  each  other  and  the  men  of  each 
awaited  the  command  to  fire,  is  thus  described  by 
Bancroft : 

"  Gen.  Washington,  from  hig  deeire  to  animate  his  troops  by  example, 
rode  into  the  vei-y  front  of  danger,  and  when  within  less  than  thirty 
yards  of  the  Britisli  he  reined  his  horse  with  its  head  towards  tliem  as 
both  parties  were  about  to  fire,  seeming  to  tell  his  faltering  forces  that 
they  must  stand  firm  or  leave  him  to  confront  the  enemy  alone.  The 
two  Bides  gaye  a  volley  at  the  same  moment,  when,  as  the  smoke  cleared 
Away,  it  was  thought  a  miracle  that  Washington  was  untouched.*    By 

•  In  Custis'  "  KecoUections  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  Wsahington," 
this  part  of  the  battle  of  Princeton,  and  the  incident  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  spurring  his  horse  to  the  front,  between  the  hostile  lines,  are 
mentioned  thus:  "  The  aide-de-camp  [Col.  Fitzgerald]  had  been  ordered 
to  bring  up  tbe  troops  from  the  rear  of  the  column  when  the  band  under 
Gen.  Mercer  became  engaged.  Upon  returning  to  the  spot  where  he  had 
left  the  commander-in-chief,  he  was  no  longer  there,  and  upon  looking 
around  the  aide  discovered  him  endeavoring  to  rally  the  line,  which  had 
been  thrown  into  disorder  by  a  rapid  onset  of  the  foe.  Washington,  after 
several  ineffectual  efforts  to  restore  the  fortunes  of  the  fight,  is  seen  to 
rein  up  his  horse  with  his  head  to  the  enemy,  and  in  that  position  to 
remain  immovable.  It  was  a  last  appeal  to  his  soldiers,  and  seemed  to 
say, 'Will  you  give  up  your  general  to  the  foe?'  Such  an  appeal  was 
not  made  in  vain.  The  discomfited  Americans  rally  on  the  instant  and 
form  into  line.  The  enemy  halt  and  dress  their  line.  The  American 
chief  is  between  the  adverse  posts,  as  though  he  had  been  placed  there 
a  target  for  both.  The  arms  of  both  are  leveled.  Can  escape  from  death 
be  possible?  Fitzgerald,  horror-struck  at  the  death -of  his  beloved  com- 
mander, dropped  the  reins  upon  his  horse's  neck,  and  drew  his  hat  over 
his  face  that  he  might  not  see  him  die.  A  roar  of  musketry  succeeds, 
and  then  a  shout  I  It  was  the  shout  of  victory.  The  aide-de-camp  ven- 
tures to  raise  hU  eyes.  Oh,  glorious  sight  I  The  enemy  are  broken  and 
flying,  while  dimly  amid  the  glimpses  of  the  smoke  is  seen  the  chief, 
alive,  unharmed,  and  without  a  wound,  waving  his  hat  and  cheering  his 
comrades  to  the  pursuit.  Col.  Fitzgerald,  celebrated  as  one  of  the  finest 
horsemen  in  the  American  army,  now  dashed  the  rowels  in  his  charger's 
flanks,  and,  heedless  of  the  dead  and  dying  in  his  way,  flew  to  the  side 
cf  the  chief,  exclaiming, '  Thank  God  Tour  Excellency  is  safe  I'  while 


this  time,  Hitchcock,  for  whom  a  raging  hectic  made  this  day  nearly  his 
last,  came  up  with  his  brigade,  and  Hand's  riflemen  began  to  turn  the 
left  of  the  English.  These,  after  repeated  exertions  of  the  greatest  cour- 
age and  discipline,  retreated  before  they  were  wholly  surrounded,  and 
fled  over  the  fields  and  fences  up  Stony  Brook.  The  action,  from  the  first 
conflict  with  Mercer,  did  not  last  more  than  twenty  minutes.  Washing- 
ton, on  the  battle-ground,  took  Hitchcock  by  the  hand,  and  before  his 
army  thanked  him  for  his  semces." 

Col.  Mawhood,  with  the  Seventeenth  British  Regi- 
ment and  his  cavalry,  fled  from  the  battle-field  to  the 
same  road  over  which  they  had  marched  in  the  morn- 
ing, and,  crossing  the  Stony  Brook  bridge  at  Worth's 
Mill,  moved  rapidly  on  towards  Maidenhead,  where 
they  knew  Gen.  Leslie  had  passed  the  night  with  Jiis 
division,  the  rear-guard  of  Cornwallis'  army.  Leslie, 
however,  hearing  the  cannonade  in  the  direction  of 
Princeton,  was  already  on  the  march  towards  Stony 
Brook,  and  in  his  advance  met  the  routed  troops  of 
Mawhood,  which  latter  had  been  pursued  only  a 
short  distance  by  the  Americans,  because  Washing- 
ton knew  of  the  proximity  of  Gen.  Leslie  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  they  retreated.  Mawhood's  artillery- 
pieces  were  left  on  the  field,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Americans ;  but,  as  they  could  not  take  them 
away  for  want  of  horses,  they  afterwards  returned  to 
the  possession  of  the  enemy. 

At  the  close  of  the  action  near  Clarke's  house  Gen. 
Washington  sent  a  detachment,  under  Maj.  Kelley,  of 
the  Pennsylvania  militia,  to  destroy  the  bridge  over 
Stony  Brook,  for  the  purpose  of  delaying  the  advance 
of  Gen.  Leslie  with  the  reserve  division  of  Cornwallis ; 
but  before  they  had  accomplished  the  work  the  enemy 
came  in  sight  on  Millett's  Hill  and  opened  a  fire  on 
the  working-party  from  their  artillery,  which  finally 
drove  them  from  the  bridge,  though  not  until  it  had 
been  rendered  impassable  for  the  British  artillery  and 
trains.  The  commanding  officer  of  the  detachment, 
Maj.  Kelley,  was  knocked  off  the  bridge  into  the 
stream,  but,  succeeding  in  crawling  out,  was  making 
his  way  towards  Princeton,  when  he  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  The  British  commander,  Corn- 
wallis, on  coming  up  to  the  bridge,  found  it  impassable 
for  his  column ;  but  so  great  was  his  anxiety  for  the 
safety  of  his  magazines  of  supply  at  New  Brunswick 
(which  he  fully  believed  to  be  Washington's  destina- 
tion) that,  bitterly  cold  as  it  was,  he  ordered  his  troops 
to  ford  the  stream,  which  they  did,  and  then,  with 
their  clothing  frozen  stiff,  pushed  on  as  fast  as  they 
were  able  in  pursuit  of  the  Americans. 

In  the  battle  with  Mawhood  the  left  wing  of  his 
force,  the  Fifty-fifth  Regiment,  was  cut  off  from  the 
right,  and  was  driven  into  the  town,  where  it  took  a 
position  in  a  ravine  near  the  college.  There  it  was 
attacked  by  the  New  England  regiments  of  Stark, 
Poor,  Patterson,  and  Reed,  and  after  a  desperate  re- 

the  favorite  aide,  a  gallant  and  warm-hearted  sou  of  Erin,  a  man  of 
thews  and  sinews,  and  albeit  unused  to  the  melting  mood,  gave  loose  to 
his  feelings  and  wept  like  a  child  for  joy.  Washington,  ever  calm  amid 
scenes  of  the  greatest  excitement,  affectionately  grasped  the  hand  of  his 
aide  and  friend,  and  then  ordered, '  Away,  my  dear  colonel,  and  bring 
up  the  troops;  the  day  is  our  own.'  " 


56 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOiMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


sistance  was  utterl)'  routed  and  sent  flying  in  disorder 
along  the  road  towards  Kingston.  A  part  of  the 
Fortieth  Regiment  (which  had  been  left  in  Princeton 
when  Mawhood  marched  out  in  the  morning,  and 
which  consequently  participated  very  little  in  the 
day's  fighting)  joined  in  the  retreat  and  swelled  the 
throng  of  fugitives.  A  detachment  of  the  American 
force  pursued  them,  but  they  soon  left  the  main  road, 
and,  striking  off  to  the  left,  fled  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion along  the  by-ways  and  through  the  fields  and 
woods  of  Somerset  County.^  As  to  the  route  of  their 
flight,  different  accounts  have  been  given.  The  Hon. 
Ralph  Voorhees,  in  one  of  a  series  of  historical  papers 
recently  published,  said, — 

"  The  Fortieth  and  Fift3'-fifth  retreated  hastily  to  Kingston,  and  from 
thence  pureued  a  route  that  brought  them  to  Middlebush,  where  they  en- 
camped for  a  week  in  a  field  a  few  yards  west  of  where  the  present  church 
stands,  and  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  field  where  Gen.  De  Heister  laid 
with  his  division  in  June  of  the  same  year." 

In  another  account,!  published  some  ten  years 
since,  it  is  stated  that,  "while  Washington  took  the 
main  road  towards  New  Brunswick,  these  [the  fugi- 
tives of  the  Fortieth  and  Fifty-fifth  Regiments], 
frightened  and  flying,  made  towards  the  heights 
southwest  of  Rocky  Hill,  crossed  Beden's  Brook,  and 
rushed  on  till  they  crowded  on  the  little  point  formed 
by  the  junction  of  that  brook  with  the  Millstone  River, 
just  in  front  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  old  Van- 
derveer  homestead.  Abraham  Vanderveer,  now 
[1870]  living  at  Rocky  Hill,  says  that  when  the 
family  saw  them  coming  they  were  on  a  run.  When 
they  came  into  the  forks  they  halted,  finding  the  ice 
broken.  They  then  procured  rails,  laid  them  on  the 
ice,  and  passed  over.  The  Vanderveers  had  a  large 
pot  of  mush,  just  taken  from  the  fire,  intended  for 
breakfast.  The  British  on  coming  up  said  they  had 
had  nothing  but  hot  bullets  for  breakfast,  and,  hastily 
scooping  the  mush  out  with  their  hands,  pursued  their 
march.  These  accounts  doubtless  have  reference  to 
different  parties^  of  the  retreating  British,  as  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  they  tept  together  in  one  body 
during  the  panic  of  their  headlong  flight. 

In  the  college  buildings  at  Princeton  there  remained 
a  part  of  the  Fortieth  Regiment,  which  had  occupied 
it  as  barracks.  Washington,  supposing  that  these 
men  would  stand  and  defend  their  position,  ordered 
up  a  section  of  artillery,  which  opened  on  the  build- 
ings. The  first  shot  fired  passed  into  the  Prayer- 
Hall   and  through   the   head   of  a   portrait   of  His 

*  Washington  had  no  cavalry  with  him,  and  of  course  the  pursuit  of  a 
terrified  crowd  of  fugitives  by  infantry  was  fruitless.  Many  of  them, 
however,  were  captured,  and  the  pureuing-parties  kept  up  the  chase  so 
long  that  they  had  not  all  rejoined  the  main  body  two  days  later. 

f  From  the  pen  of  Jacob  Magill,  of  the  Newark  Journal. 

X  Washington,  in  reporting  to  CongTess  under  date  of  Pluckamin,  Jan. 
6, 1777,  mentions  that  some  of  the  British  prisoners  taken  in  the  pursuit 
after  the  battle  at  Princeton  were  taken  across  the  Delaware  River;  and 
also  that  at  that  time — two  days  after  the  battle — the  pursuing-parties 
had  not  all  returned  to  the  main  army.  These  facts  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  some  of  the  British  fugitives  fled  towards  the  southwest  and 
entered  Hunterdon  County. 


Majesty  George  II.  which  hung  on  the  wall.  But  lit- 
tle show  of  resistance  was  made  by  the  British  within 
the  buildings,  and  finally  James  Moore,  of  Prince- 
ton, a  captain  of  militia,  with  the  assistance  of  a  few 
others  as  bold  as  himself,  burst  open  a  door  of  Nassau 
Hall  and  demanded  a  surrender  of  the  forces  within. 
The  demand  was  at  once  complied  with,  and  the  en- 
tire body,  including  a  number  of  sick,  gave  themselves 
up  as  prisoners  of  war.  This  was  the  last  of  the 
British  forces  in  Princeton,  and  Washington,  having 
now  entirely  cleared  the  town  of  his  enemies,  imme- 
diately evacuated  the  place,  and  wdth  his  army  moved 
rapidly  away  towards  the  northeast  on  the  New  Bruns- 
wick road. 

The  advance  division  of  Cornwallis,  which  had  hur- 
ried up  from  Maidenhead  towards  the  scene  of  action 
and  dashed  through  the  icy  waters  of  Stony  Brook,  as 
before  mentioned,  moved  forward  in  the  greatest  haste 
from  that  point  to  Princeton.  Guarding  the  south- 
western approach  to  the  town  was  a  bastioned  earth- 
work which  had  been  thrown  up  a  week  or  two 
earlier  by  their  own  forces,  and  upon  its  rampart  a 
thirty-two-pounder  gun  had  been  mounted  by  Count 
Donop.  Now,  as  the  head  of  Leslie's  division  came 
on  at  a  quick-step,  it  was  greeted  by  a  thundering  re- 
port from  the  great  gun,  which  had  been  fired  by  two 
or  three  American  soldiers  who  still  lingered  near  it. 
The  rush  of  the  ponderous  shot  above  the  heads  of  the 
British  caused  the  advancing  column  to  halt,  and  the 
commander,  who  now  believed  that  Washington  had 
determined  to  defend  the  place,  sent  out  parties  of 
cavalry  to  reconnoitre,  the  infantry  in  the  mean  time 
advancing  slowly  and  with  great  caution  preparatory 
to  an  assault  of  the  work.  By  these  movements  Corn- 
wallis lost  one  precious  hour,  and  when  his  men  at 
last  moved  up  to  the  fortification  they  found  it  en- 
tirely deserted,,  and  soon  after  the  cavalry-parties  re- 
ported that  there  was  not  a  rebel  soldier  in  Princeton. 
Upon  this  the  British  general,  chagrined  at  the  de- 
lay resulting  from  his  useless  caution,  ordered  his 
columns  to  move  on  with  all  speed  on  the  New  Bruns- 
wick road.  Arriving  at  Kingston,  three  miles  from 
Princeton,  he  found  that  the  Americans  had  broken 
down  the  bridge  at  that  place  ;  but  this  was  soon  re- 
paired, and  the  army,  having  crossed  the  stream,  was 
again  hurried  on  in  the  hope  of  overtaking  the  Amer- 
icans in  time  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  the 
military  stores  at  New  Brunswick.  Cornwallis 
arrived  at  that  place  during  the  succeeding  night, 
and  was  rejoiced  to  find  his  stores  untouched  ;  but  he 
found  no  American  army,  for  "  the  fox"  had  again 
eluded  him,  and  was  at  that  time  safe  among  the  hills 
of  Somerset. 

Washington,  on  leaving  Princeton,  moved  his  force 
with  the  greatest  possible  speed  to  Kingston,  crossing 
the  Millstone  River  and  destroying  the  bridge  behind 
him.  Having  proceeded  thus  far  he  was  not  a  little 
perplexed  in  deciding  on  his  subsequent  movements. 
The  heavy  column  of  Cornwallis  was  following  so 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET    COUNTIES   IN   TilE   REVOLUTION. 


57 


closely  in  his  rear  that  it  was  only  at  great  peril  that 
he  could  pursue  his  original  plan*  of  marching  to 
New  Brunswick.  The  destruction  of  the  British 
magazines  and  stores  at  that  place  would  have  been  a 
most  glorious  ending  of  the  winter  campaign,  and 
would,  beyond  doubt,  have  driven  the  last  vestige  of 
British  military  power  out  of  New  Jersey  ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  collision  with  the  superior  forces 
of  Cornwallis — which  it  seemed  hardly  possible  to 
avoid  if  the  march  to  New  Brunswick  was  continued — 
could  hardly  result  otherwise  than  in  defeat,  and  not 
improbably  in  the  rout  and  destruction  of  the  Amer- 
ican army.  At  this  juncture  the  commander-in-chief 
adopted  his  usual  course, — called  a  council  of  war, 
which  was  held  by  himself  and  his  generals  in  the 
saddle,  and,  although  "  some  gentlemen  advised  that 
he  should  file  off  to  the  southward,"!  the  council  re- 
sulted in  the  decision  to  abandon  the  original  plan, 
strike  off  from  the  New  Brunswick  road,  and  march 
the  army  by  way  of  the  Millstone  valley,  and  thence 
across  the  Earitan,  to  the  hilly  country  in  the  north- 
west. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  council  of  war  was  at  once 
put  into  execution.  The  army  filed  off  from  the  main 
highway,!  and,  turning  sharply  to  the  left,  marched 
over  a  narrow  and  unfrequented  road  to  Rocky  Hill, 
where  it  recrossed  the  Millstone  Eiver  and  moved  on, 
as  rapidly  as  was  practicable  in  the  exhausted  condi- 
tion of  the  men,  to  Millstone.  "  The  guides  were  di- 
rected to  take  the  road  leading  to  the  northward 
through  Hillsborough,  but  before  they  reached  Som- 
erset Court-house  many  of  the  infantry,  worn  out 
with  fatigue,  fasting,  and  want  of  rest,  lay  down  and 
fell  asleep  by  the  way. "J     That  night  (January  3d) 

*  "My  original  plan,"  said  Wafihington  in  hie  letter  to  Congress  dated 
Fluckamin,  January  5th, "  was  to  have  pushed  on  to  Brunewic  ;  but 
the  harassed  state  of  our  troops  {many  of  them  having  had  no  rest  for 
two  nights  and  a  day;,  and  the  danger  of  losing  the  advantage  we  had 
gained,  by  aiming  at  too  much,  induced  me,  by  the  advice  of  my  oflB- 
cers,  to  relinquish  the  attempt;  but,  in  my  judgment,  six  or  eight  hun- 
dred fresh  troops,  on  a  forced  march,  would  have  destroyed  all  their 
stores  and  magazines,  taken  (as  we  have  since  learned)  their  military 
chest  containing  seventy  thousand  pounds,  and  put  an  end  to  the  war. 
The  enemy,  from  the  best  intelligence  I  have  been  able  to  get,  were  so 
much  alarmed  at  the  apprehension  of  this  that  they  marched  immedi- 
ately to  Brnnswic  without  halting,  except  at  the  bridges  (for  I  also  took 
up  those  on  Millstone  on  the  different  routes  to  Brunswic),  and  got 
there  before  day." 

f  Marshall. 

1  The  French  Marquis  de  Castellux,  who  visited  this  region  in  1781, 
made  the  following  mention  of  the  locality,  and  of  Washington's  march 
down  the  Millstone  after  Princeton :  "  It  was  here  [Kingston]  that  Gen. 
Washington  halted  after  the  affair  at  Prince  Town.  After  marching 
from  midnight  until  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  almost  continually 
fighting,  he  wished  to  collect  the  troops  and  give  them  some  rest ;  he 
knew,  however,  that  Lord  Cornwallis  was  following  him  on  the  Maiden- 
head road,  but  he  contented  himself  with  taking  up  some  planks  of  the 
bridge,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  vanguard  of  the  English  appear  he  con- 
tinued his  march  quietly  towards  Middlebrook."  This  account,  however, 
is  not  strictly  correct. 

2  "It was  on  this  march,  or  possibly  on  a  similar  one  in  December  of 
the  same  year,  as  the  Army  of  Liberty  passed  the  parsonage  [at  Mill- 
stone], half  clothed,  unshod,  and  in  want  of  food,  that  the  patriotic  Foer- 
ing,  collecting  all  the  stores  of  his  house  (it  being,  moreover,  just  after 
baking-time),  and  cutting  the  food  into  convenient  portions,  distributed 

6 


the  headquarters  of  the  commander-in-chief  were 
made  at  the  Van  Doren  house,  half  a  mile  south  of 
the  old  Millstone  church,  and  the  weary  soldiers  of 
the  army  bivouacked  in  the  neighboring  woods  and 
fields. 

In  the  darkness  of  that  winter  night  a  small  body 
of  Washington's  militia,  under  command  of  that  noted 
trooper  Capt.  John  Stryker,  of  Millstone,  performed 
quite  a  brilliant  exploit  in  capturing  a  part  of  Corn- 
wallis' baggage-train  on  the  New  Brunswick  road. 
The  British  general,  terrified  at  the  prospect  of  losing 
his  stores  at  New  Brunswick,  thinking  that  Washing- 
ton was  still  in  his  front  and  moving  on  that  post, 
had  pressed  on  from  Kingston  in  such  headlong  haste 
as  to  break  down  a  number  of  his  wagons ;  and  these, 
being  disabled,  were  turned  out  of  the  road  and  left, 
with  a  few  others,  in  charge  of  a  quartermaster  and 
guarded  by  a  detachment  of  soldiers.  The  American 
militiamen  referred  to,  having  learned  of  the  situation 
of  these  wagons,  resolved  to  capture  them,  and  boldly 
proceeded  to  put  their  plan  into  execution,  though 
their  party  numbered  not  more  than  twenty  men, 
while  the  British  detachment  guarding  the  disabled 
train  was  of  more  than  ten  times  their  own  strength. 
Cautiously  approaching  the  spot  in  the  thick  dark- 
ness, they  ranged  themselves  among  the  trees  in  a 
semi-circle,  partially  surrounding  the  bivouac  of  the 
British  wagon-guard,  and  at  a  preconcerted  signal 
set  up  a  loud  shout  and  poured  in  a  volley  upon  the 
astonished  soldiers,  who,  believing  themselves  to  be 
encircled  by  an  attacking  force  superior  in  numbers 
to  their  own,  fled  in  a  panic  towards  New  Brunswick, 
escaping  with  a  few  wagons  which  happened  to  have 
their  teams  attached,  but  leaving  the  greater  number 
in  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  who  were  jubilant  at 
the  success  of  their  project,  and  still  more  so  when  it 
was  found  that  the  Wagons  were  principally  laden 
with  the  article  which  their  army  especially  needed, — 
woolen  clothing.  The  captors  with  their  prize  moved 
up  as  rapidly  as  possible  on  through  Somerset  County, 
crossed  the  Millstone  at  Somerset  Court-house,  and 
overtook  the  main  body  a  day  or  two  later. 

In  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  January,  Washington, 
with  his  army  and  prisoners,  left  their  encampment 
of  the  previous  night,  and,  continuing  the  march 
northward,  crossed  the  Earitan  River  at  Van  Vegh- 
ten's  Bridge.  Passing  up  by  the  site  of  the  present 
village  of  Somerville,  he  encamped  the  same  evening 
at  Pluckamin,  where  a  halt  of  two  days  was  made  for 
the  rest  and  refreshment  of  the  army.  While  at  this 
encampment  the  commander-in-chief  wrote  to  the 
president  of  the  Continental  Congress  narrating  the 
events  of  the  campaign  which  had  then  just  closed. 
This  letter,  as  being  an  official,  and  of  course  an  au- 

them,  as  far  as  they  would  go,  to  the  weary  and  hungry  soldiers  as  they 
hurried  on  their  way.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  as  the  army  passed, 
they  encamped  for  the  night  in  the  field  directly  south  of  the  present 
parsonage,  Washington  himself  sleeping  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
parlor  of  the  present  homestead  of  John  Van  Doren." — Rev.  E.  T.  Corusin^ 
DM. 


58 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


thentic,  account  of  the  aflfair  at  Assanpink  and  the 
hattle  of  Princeton,  and  a  statement  of  the  losses  and 
captures  at  the  latter  place,  is  given  below, — viz. . 

"  Pltjckamin,  January  5, 1777. 
"  Sir,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  since  the  date  of  my  last 
from  Trenton  I  have  removed  with  the  army  under  my  command  to  this 
place.  The  diificulty  of  crossing  the  Delaware,  on  account  of  the  ice, 
made  our  passage  over  it  tedious,  and  gave  the  enemy  an  opportunity  of 
drawing  in  their  several  cantonments  and  assembling  their  whole  force 
at  Princeton.  Their  large  picquets  advanced  towards  Trenton,  their 
great  preparations,  and  some  intelligence  I  had  received,  added  to  their 
knowledge  that  the  1st  of  January  brought  on  a  dissolution  of  the  best 
part  of  our  army,  gave  me  the  strongest  reasons  to  conclude  that  an  at- 
tack upon  us  was  meditating. 

"  Our  situation  was  most  critical,  and  our  force  small.  To  remove  im- 
mediately was  again  destroying  every  dawn  of  hope  which  had  begun  to 
revive  in  the  breasts  of  the  Jersey  militia,  and  to  bring  those  troops 
which  had  first  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  were  lying  at  Crosswix's  under 
Gen.  Cadwallader,  and  those  under  Gen.  Mifflin  at  Bordentown  (amounts 
ing  in  the  whole  to  about  three  thousand  six  hundred),  to  Trenton,  was 
to  bring  them  to  an  exposed  place.  One  or  the  other,  however,  was  un- 
avoidable ;  the  latter  was  preferred,  and  they  were  ordered  to  join  us  at 
Trenton,  which  they  did,  by  a  nigbt-march,  on  the  1st  instant.  [Here  fol- 
lows an  account  of  the  so-called  "  battle  of  Assanpink,"  before  quoted.] 
"  Having  by  this  time  [that  is,  on  the  evening  of  January  2d,  after  the 
British  had  made  the  attempt  to  cross  the  bridge  and  ford  of  the  Assan- 
pink] discovered  that  the  enemy  was  greatly  superior  in  number,  and 
that  their  design  was  to  surround  us,  I  ordered  all  our  baggage  to  be 
silently  removed  to  Burlington  soon  after  dark;  and  at  twelve  o'clock, 
after  renewing  our  fires  and  leaving  guards  at  the  bridge  in  Trenton  and 
other  passes  on  the  same  stream  above,  marched  by  a  round-about  road 
to  Princeton,  where  I  knew  they  could  not  have  much  force  left,  and 
might  have  stores.  One  thing  I  was  certain  of, — that  it  would  avoid  the 
appearance  of  a  retreat  (which  it  was,  of  course,  or  to  run  the  hazard  of 
the  whole  army  being  cut  off) ;  whilst  we  might,  by  a  fortunate  stroke, 
withdraw  Gen.  Howe  from  Trenton  and  give  some  reputation  to  our 
arms.  Happily  we  succeeded.  We  found  Princeton  about  sunrise  with 
only  three  regiments  and  three  troops  of  light-horse  in  it,  two  of  which 
were  on  their  march  to  Trenton.  These  three  regiments,  especially  the 
two  first,  made  a  gallant  resistance,  and  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners 
must  have  lost  five  hundred  men ;  upwards  of  one  hundred  of  them  were 
left  dead  on  the  field;  and  with  what  I  have  with  me,  and  what  were 
taken  in  pursuit  and  carried  across  the  Delaware,  there  are  near  three 
hundred  prisoners,*  fourteen  of  whom  are  officers,  all  British. 

"  This  piece  of  good  fortune  is  counterbalanced  by  the  loss  of  the  brave 
and  worthy  General  Mercer,  Cols.  Hazlet.  and  Potter,  Capt.  Neal  of  the 
artiller}',  Capt.  Fleming,  who  commanded  the  First  Virginia  Regiment, 
and  four  or  five  other  valuable  officers,  who,  with  about  twenty-five  or 
thirty  privates,  were  slain  on  the  field.  Our  whole  loss  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained, as  many  who  are  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  (who  were  chased  three 
or  four  miles)  are  not  yet  come  in. 

"  The  rear  of  the  enemy's  army,  lying  at  Maidenhead,  not  more  than 
five  or  six  miles  from  Princeton,  was  up  with  us  before  our  pursuit  was 
over ;  but,  as  I  had  the  precaution  to  destroy  the  bridge  over  Stony  Brook 
(about  half  ahiile  from  the  field  of  action),  they  were  so  long  retarded 
there  as  to  give  us  time  to  move  off  in  good  order  for  this  place.  We 
took  two  brass  field-pieces,  but  for  want  of  horses  could  not  bring  them 
away.  We  also  took  some  blankets,  shoes,  and  a  few  other  trifling 
articles,  bnrned  the  hay,  and  destroyed  such  other  things  as  the  short- 
ness of  the  time  would  admit  of.  [Here  follows  a  paragraph  which  has 
before  been  given,— viz.,  an  explanation  that  his  original  plan  had  been 
to  proceed  to  and  attack  the  post  of  New  Brunswick  for  the  purpose  of 
destroying  the  British  stores  deposited  there.] 

"From  the  best  information  I  have  received.  Gen.  Howe  has  left  no 
men  either  at  Trenton  or  Princeton.  The  trnth  of  this  I  am  endeavor- 
ing to  ascertain,  that  I  may  regulate  my  movements  accordingly.  The 
militia  are  taking  spirits,  and,  I  am  told,  are  coming  in  fast  from  this 
State ;  but  I  fear  those  from  Philadelphia  wiU  scarcely  submit  to  the 
hardships  of  a  winter  campaign  much  longer,  especially  as  they  very 
unluckily  sent  their  blankets  with  their  baggage  to  Burlington.    I  must 


*  The  number  of  prisoners  taken  by  the  Americans  in  the  conflicts  of 
the  3d  of  January  in  and  about  Princeton  was  two  hundred  aud  thirty. 
The  entire  loss  of  the  Americans  on  that  day  did  not  exceed  thirty,  kiUed 
and  wounded. 


do  them  the  justice,  however,  to  add  that  they  have  undergone  more 
fatigue  and  hardship  than  I  expected  militia,  especially  citizens,  would 
have  done  in  this  inclement  season.  I  am  just  moving  towards  Morris- 
town,  where  I  shall  endeavor  to  put  them  under  the  best  cover  I  can; 
hitherto  we  have  been  without  any,  and  many  of  our  poor  soldiers  bare- 
foot, and  ill-clad  in  other  respects. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  he,  etc., 

"  G.  W." 

Gen.  Hugh  Mercer,  whose  death  is  mentioned  in 
the  letter  of  Washington,  was  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  American  detachment  which  first  joined  battle 
with  the  British  troops  under  Mawhood  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  3d  of  January  near  Princeton,  and  it  was 
in  that  first  short  but  disastrous  conflict  that  he  re- 
ceived his  mortal  wounds.  In  the  volley  which  the 
British  Seventeenth  Regiment  poured  into  the  Amer- 
ican line  when  it  held  the  position  along  the  rail-fence 
on  the  height  west  of  Clarke's  house  on  that  memor- 
able morning,  a  ball,  striking  Mercer's  horse  in  the 
fore  leg,  disabled  him  and  compelled  the  general  to  dis- 
mount ;  and  in  the  hurried  retreat  which  immediately 
followed  through  the  orchard,  while  he  was  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  fight,  trying  to  rally  his  flying  troops,  he 
was  felled  to  the  earth  by  a  blow  from  a  British  musket. 
"  The  British  soldiers  were  not  at  first  aware  of  the 
general's  rank.  So  soon  as  they  discovered  he  was  a 
general  ofiBcer  they  shouted  that  they  had  got  the 
rebel  general,  and  cried,  '  Call  for  quarter,  you  d — d 
rebel  I'  Mercer  to  the  most  undaunted  courage  united 
a  quick  and  ardent  temperament ;  he  replied  with  in-  "" 
dignation  to  his  enemies,  while  their  bayonets  were  at 
his  bosom,  that  he  deserved  not  the  name  of  rebel, 
and,  determining  to  die,  as  he  had  lived,  a  true  and 
honored  soldier  of  liberty,  lunged  with  his  sword  at 
the  nearest  man.  They  then  bayoneted  him  and  left 
him  for  dead."t  It  was  afterwards  ascertained  that 
he  had  received  sixteen  bayonet  wounds,J  and  he  was 
also  terribly  beaten  on  the  head  with  the  butt  of  a 
musket  by  a  British  soldier  while  he  lay  wounded 
and  helpless  on  the  ground.  He  was  taken  to  Clarke's 
house,  and  there  most  tenderly  cared  for  and  nursed 
by  the  ladies  of  the  household ;  but  after  lingering 
in  agony  for  nine  days  he  expired  on  the  12th  of 
January. 

Gen.  Washington  while  on  the  field  of  Princeton 
had  learned  with  great  grief  of  the  fall  of  Mercer, 
who  was  reported  killed,  and  it  was  not  until  he  had 
made  his  headquarters  for  the  night  at  Somerset  Court- 
house that  the  commander-in-chief  received  with  cor- 
responding joy  and  thankfulness  the  intelligence  that 
his   old   friend    and    companion-in-arms,J   although 

t  Kecollections  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  Washington,  by  G.  W.  P. 
Custis. 

t  "The  late  Dr.  Moses  Scott,  of  New  Brunswick,  with  other  surgeons, 
was  with  Gen.  Mercer  under  the  tree  after  the  battle,  and  said  that  he 
had  received  sixteen  wounds  by  the  bayonet,  though  these  were  not 
thought  by  the  general  himself  (who  was  a  physician)  to  be  necessarily 
mortal,  but  that  wliile  lying  on  the  ground  a  British  soldier  had  struck 
him  on  the  head  with  his  musket;  '  and  that,'  said  he, '  was  a  dishonor- 
able act,  and  it  will  prove  my  death.'  "— ijaum's  RisUyry  of  TreiUon. 

g  Mercer  and  Washington  had  been  comrades  and  warm  personal 
friends  in  the  campaigns  against  the  French  in  1765. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE   REVOLUTION. 


59 


severely  wounded,  was  not  dead,  and  might  recover. 
At  this  he  at  once  dispatched  his  nephew,  Maj.  George 
Lewis,  with  a  flag  of  truce  and  a  letter  to  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  requesting  that  every  possible  attention  might 
be  shown  to  the  wounded  generaJ,  and  that  Maj.  Lewis 
might  be  permitted  to  remain  to  attend  on  and  nurse 
him.    "  To  both  these  requests,"  says  Custis,  "  His 
Lordship  yielded  a  willing  assent,  and  ordered  his 
staff  surgeon  to  attend  upon  Gen.  Mercer.    Upon  an 
examination  of  his  wounds  the  British  surgeon  ob- 
served that,  although  they  were  many  .and  severe,  he 
was  disposed  to  believe  they  would  not  prove  danger- 
ous.    Mercer,  bred  to  the  profession  of  an  army  sur- 
geon in  Europe,  said  to  young  Lewis, '  Raise  my  right 
arm,  George,  and  this  gentleman  will  then  discover 
the  smallest  of  my  wounds,  but  which  will  prove  the 
most  fatal.     Yes,  sir,  that  is  the  fellow  that  will  soon 
■do  my  business.'  .    .    .   During  the  period  that  he 
languished  on  the  couch  of  suffering  he  exonerated 
his  enemies  from  the  foul  accusation  which  they  not 
only  bore  in  1777,  but  for  half  a  century  since, — viz., 
of  their  having  bayoneted  a  general  officer  after  he 
had  surrendered  his  sword  and  become  a  prisoner  of 
war,  declaring  that  he  only  relinquished  his  sword 
when  his  arm  became  powerless  to  wield  it." 

The  kindness  and  courtesy  of  Lord  Cornwallis  in  so 
readily  and  fully  granting  Gen.  Washington's  request 
,^  in  reference  to  the  wounded  general  Mercer  was  as 
fully  and  generously  repaid  by  the  consideration  and 
kind  attention  bestowed,  by  order  of  the  American 
commander,  on  one  of  his  British  prisoners, — Capt. 
William  Leslie,  of  the  Seventeenth  Regiment, — who 
was  mortally  wounded  and  captured  by  the  patriot 
forces  at  Princeton.  An  account  of  the  death  of  this 
brave  young  officer  is  thus  given  by  Custis : 

"  It  waa  while  the  commander-ln-cbief  reined  up  his  horse  upon  ap- 
proaching the  spot  in  a  plowed  field  where  lay  the  gallant  Col.  Hazlet 
mortally  wounded  that  he  perceived  some  British  soldiera  supporting  a 
wounded  oiBcer,  and  upon  inquiring  his  name  and  rank  was  answered, 
*  Capt.  Leslie.'  Dr.  Benjamin  Bush,  who  formed  a  part  of  the  general's 
suite,  earnestly  aaked, '  A  son  of  the  Earl  of  Leven  ?'  to  which  the  soldiei-B 
replied  in  tlie  aiBrmative.  The  doctor  then  addressed  the  geueral-in-chief : 
'  I  beg  your  Excellency  to  permit  tliie  wounded  officer  to  be  placed  under 
my  care  that  I  may  return,  in  however  small  a  degree,  a  part  of  the  obli- 
gations I  owe  to  his  worthy  father  for  the  many  kindnesses  received  at 
his  hands  while  I  was  a  student  at  Edinburgh.'  The  request  was  im- 
mediately granted,  but,  alas !  poor  Leslie  was  soon  '  paat  all  surgery.'  He 
■died  the  same  evening,  and  was  buried  the  next  day  at  Pluckamin  with 
the  honors  of  war.  His  troops,  as  they  lowered  the  remains  to  the 
soldier's  last  rest,  shed  tears  over  the  remains  of  a  much-loved  com- 
mander."* 

•The  following  is  a  copy  of  an  entry  in  a  diary  kept  by  Col.  Bodney 

who  commanded  a  battalion  of  Delaware  militia  in  Washington's  army  at 

that  time : 

"  Pluckamin,  N.  J.,  Jan.  6, 1777. 

"  The  general  continued  here  this  day  also  to  refresh  the  army.  He 
ordered  forty  of  our  light  infantry  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Col.  [Capt.] 
Leslie,  to  bury  him  with  the  honors  of  war.  He  was  one  of  the  enemy 
•who  fell  at  Princeton.  They  readily  obeyed  in  payiuE  due  respect  to 
bravery,  thongh  in  an  enemy. 

"  Capt.  Henry  was  now  gone  home,  and  I  myself  had  command  of  the 
five  companies  of  infantry,  but,  as  I  liad  not  paid  any  attention  to  the 
military  funeral  ceremonies,  I  requested  Capt.  Humphries  to  conduct 
it.  .  .  ." 


If  Capt.  Leslie  died  in  the  evening  of  the  day  on 
which  he  received  his  wound,  as  is  stated  by  Custis, 
his  death  must  have  occurred  at  or  near  Somerset 
Court-house,t  where  the  general  made  his  head- 
quarters on  the  night  of  the  3d  of  January.  But, 
however  this  may  have  been,  he  was  buried  with  mil- 
itary honors,  as  stated,  at  Pluckamin,  where  his  grave 
may  still  be  known  by  a  plain  monument  erected  to 
his  memory  by  his  father's  friend.  Dr.  Rush.J  After 
his  death  Gen.  Washington  sent  his  aide.  Col.  Fitz- 
gerald, with  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  camp  of  Cornwallis. 
He  was  received  at  the  British  headquarters  with  great 
courtesy,  and  upon  his  relating  the  fact  of  Capt.  Les- 
lie's death  and  the  manner  of  his  burial  to  the  high 
officers  present,  they  exhibited  great  emotion,  and  one 
of  the  generals,  who  had  been  compelled  to  withdraw 
to  a  window  to  hide  his  tears,  returned  by  the  colonel 
his  warmest  acknowledgments  to  the  American  com- 
mander-in-chief for  kis  kindness,  and  the  honors  paid 
to  the  dead  officer. 

The  cannonading  on  the  Princeton  battle-field  had 
been  heard  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  counties  of 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  to  their  northern  bounda- 
ries,? and  the  people  were  in  a  state  of  the  greatest 
excitement  and  suspense  as  to  what  it  portended. 
During  the  latter  part  of  the  day  those  living  along 
the  valley  of  the  Millstone  learned  the  facts  by  the 

■fOne  account  of  Capt.  Leslie's  death  says  he  was  "  carried  to  Plucka- 
min and  died  on  the  porch  of  a  small  inn  almost  immediately  on  reaching 
there."  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  account  is  correct;  and  if 
so,  then  Custis  M'as  mistaken  in  saying  "he  died  the  same  evening," — that 
is,  the  evening  of  the  day  of  the  battle.  While  halting  at  Millstone  in 
the  nightafter  the  battle  the  soldiers  having  charge  of  the  ambulance  in 
which  Leslie  waa  conveyed  bivouacked  on  a  piece  of  woodland  on,  or  very 
near,  the  site  of  the  present  parsonage  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  that 
place. 

J.The  following,  having  reference  to  the  last  resting-place  of  the 
gallant  Leslie,  is  taken  from  Dr.  Messler's  "  History  of  Somerset  County" 
(1876) :  "  Many  years  since,  money  was  sent  from  Scotland  to  build  astone- 
wall  in  front,  and  more  recently  the  Presbyterian  church  was  erected 
on  a  part  of  it.    The  following  extracts  will  be  of  interest : 

" '  Many  persons  in  this  country  will  recall  with  pleasure  the  visit  to 
this  country  last  year  of  the  Hon.  Koland  Leslie  Melville,  brother  of  the 
Earl  of  Leven  and  Melville,  who  some  time  ago  became  a  partner  in 
London  of  Mr.  McCulloch,  ex-Secretary  of  the  United  States  Treasury. 
While  here  Mr.  Melville  mentioned  the  fact  that  one  oC  his  /orfeyes,  a 
young  British  officer,  had  fallen  in  America  during  the  Kevolutiouary 
war,  and  that  the  family  had  never  been  able  to  learn  where  he  was 
buried.  There  was  tradition  that  his  remains  had  been  deposited  m  a 
certain  Trinily  church-yard,  but  that  vague  description  gave  them  little 
clue  to  the  spot.  Only  the  other  day  an  American  friend  of  Mr.  Melville, 
searching  our  early  national  history  with  quite  another  object,  stumbled 
on  the  story  of  his  ancestor's  death,  and,  finding  that  he  fell  at  the  battle 
of  Princeton,  Jan.  3, 1777,  pursued  the  inquiry,  and  discovered  his  burial- 
place  still  well  presex-ved.  .  .  .' " 

J  The  boom>  of  the  guns  ot  Princeton  wos  also  heard  much  farther 
away  thnn  the  remotest  bounds  of  Hunterdon.  The  journal  of  the  Mo- 
ravian brethren  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  contains  entries  showing  that  fact, 
as  follows:  "  On  the  first  of  January,  1777,  Brother  Bttwein  made  his 
rounds  tlirough  the  hospital,  and  wished  the  sufferers  God's  blessing  on 
the  opening  of  the  New  Year."— "  Januan/  3d.  During  the  forenoon  we 
heard  long-continued  cannonading.  Later,  it  wos  ascertained  to  have 
been  at  Princeton."  The  hospital  referred  to  in  the  first  entry  was  the 
general  hospital  of  the  army,  which  had  been  removed  to  that  place  from 
Morristown  by  Surg.-Gen.  John  Warren,  under  an  order  from  Gen.  Wash- 
ington, Dec.  3, 1776,  when  the  first  advance  of  the  British  into  New  Jer- 
sey made  it  necessary  to  remove  it  farther  into  the  interior. 


60 


HUNTEKDON   AND   SOMEKSET    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


passage  of  the  patriot  forces,  and  on  the  following 
day  the  glad  news  was  spread  farther  and  more 
widely,  till,  on  the  morning  of  the  5th,  there  were 
few  of  the  inhabitants  of  either  county  who  did  not 
know  that  Washington's  army  had  recrossed  the  Ear- 
itan  and  was  in  bivouac  along  the  hillside  at  Pluclca- 
min.  "Many  a  horseman  .during  the  night  dashed 
onward  to  this  point  to  ascertain  what  it  [the  light  of 
the  camp-fires  at  Pluckamin]  portended,  and  when 
the  news  was  brought  back  that  it  was  Washington 
the  joy  was  almost  rapturous  everywhere."* 

The  army  arrived  at  Pluckamin  on  the  evening  of 
the  4th  of  January!  i^  ^  condition  of  extreme  wear- 
iness and  destitution.  Not  only  were  the  men  worn 
out  by  loss  of  sleep  and  the  excessive  fatigue  of  the 
rapid  night-march  from  Trenton  to  Princeton,  the 
battle  at  that  place,  and  the  subsequent  marching  to 
Kingston  down  the  valley  of  the  Millstone,  and  from 
the  Earitan  to  the  mountains,-  but  they  were  very 
poorly  supplied  with  food,  many  of  them  shoeless 
and  suffering  from  cold  through  lack  of  blankets  and 
sufficient  clothing.  The  officers  as  well  as  the  private 
soldiers  suffered  from  the  same  cause.  Col.  Eodney 
said  (in  the  diary  before  quoted  from),  in  reference  to 
his  condition  during  the  halt  at  Pluckamin,  "  I  had 
nothing  to  cover  me  here  but  my  great-coat,  but  luck- 
ily got  into  a  house  near  the  mountains,  where  I  fared 
very  comfortably  while  we  stayed  here.''  But  there 
were  few  even  among  the  officers  who  fared  as  well  as 
he  in  this  respect. 

During  the  day  of  January  5th  the  main  body  of 
the  army  lay  quietly  at  Pluckamin  resting  and  wait- 
ing for  detached  bodies  to  rejoin  it.  J  When  the  com- 
mands had  all  reported,  and  the  men  had  in  some 
degree  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  excessive 
fatigue  and  exposure  which  they  had  been  compelled 
to  endure  in  the  marches  and  battles  from  the  Assan- 
pink  to  Pluckamin,  the  army  moved  out  from  its 
temporary  camps  at  the  latter  place  and  marched 
leisurely  to  Morristown,  where  it  went  into  winter 
quarters  in  log  huts.  It  is  said  that  while  there  the 
only  command  of  which  the  men  were  in  complete 
uniform  was  Col.  Eodney's  battalion  of  Delaware 
troops,  which  on  that  account  was  detailed  for  duty 
as  a  body-guard  to  the  commander-in-chief.J 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

HUBTTEBDON   AliTD   SOMERSET   COUIirTIES  IN 
THE  EBVOLUTIOIT  (Continued). 

The  Marvelous  Change  produced  by  the  Campaign  of  Trenton  and 
Princeton— Gen.  Howe's  "  Protections" — Atrocities  of  the  British  in 
Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties— Washington's  Proclamation  to  tha 
People— Skirmish  at  Weston,  Somerset  Co.— Gen.  Dickinson  Defeats 
the  British  and  Captures  a  Wagon  Train— Occupation  of  Middle- 
brook  by  the  American  Forces  in  1777— Letter  of  Gen.  Heard  from 
Earitan—"  Washington  Eock"— Attempt  to  Entice  Washington  from 
his  Stronghold  in  the  Hills— The  British  Troops  leave  the  State  and 
the  American  Army  march  through  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  to  the 
Delaware— Washington's  Letters  from  Coryell's  Ferry- Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Troops  at  Battle  of  Brandywine— Valley  Forge— Col. 
Frelinghuysen's  Expedition  to  Staten  Island — A  Female  Tory  Dispatch- 
Carrier — The  Tories  Penn  and  Chew  under  Surveillance  in  Hunterdon 
County— Extracts  from  Minutes  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  Etc.— 
British  evacuate  Philadelphia  and  pass  through  New  Jersey — Wash- 
ington's Army  cross  at  Coryell's — Battle  of  Monmouth,  Etc. — Somerset 
and  Hunterdon  Troops  behave  gallantly — Cantonments  at  Middle- 
brook — Gen.  Washington  and  Wife  at  Somerville — Five  Soldiers  Hung 
—Gen.  Knox's  Headquarters  at  Pluckamin — Grand  Ball  and  Supper — 
Simcoe's  Raid  in  1779 — Burning  of  the  Church,  Court-house,  Etc. — 
Capt.  Peter  G.  Voorhees  killed — The  Ladies  of  Hunterdon  and  Somer- 
set— Close  of  the  War — The  Currency — Patriotism  under  War  Burdens 
—Processes  against  Forfeited  Estates,  Etc. 

FKOM  THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON  TO  THE  CLOSE 
OF  THE  WAB. 

The  glorious  result  of  the  campaign  which  com- 
menced on  the  south  shore  of  the  Delaware  at  Mc- 
Conkey's  Ferry  at  nightfall  on  the  evening  of  Christ- 
mas Day,  1776,  and  ended  when  the  weary  and  shiv- 
ering soldiers  of  Washington  entered  their  compara- 
tively comfortable  winter  quarters  at  Morristown, 
wrought  a  wonderful  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs 
in  New  Jersey.  A  few  weeks  before,  when  the  slender 
and  constantly-decreasing  columns  of  the  American 
army  were  crossing  the  State  towards  the  Delaware  in 
flight  before  the  pursuing  and  victorious  legions  of 
Cornwallis,  a  large  proportion — probably  a  majority 
— of  the  people  of  the  State  had  become  discouraged, 
and,  despairing  of  a  successftil  issue  to  the  struggle 
for  liberty,  large  numbers  of  them  promptly  availed 
themselves  of  the  terms  offered  by  the  proclamation 
of  the  British  commander  guaranteeing  pardon  and 
protection  to  such  rebels  and  disaffected  persons  a& 
would  come  forward  to  abandon  the  patriot  cause  and 
renew  their  allegiance  to  the  king.||     It  is  stated  that 


■*  Kev.  Dr.  Messier. 

■f  Lossing  (vol.  i.  p.  306)  says  that  Washington,  having  defeated  the 
British  at  Princeton,  "  pursued  them  as  far  as  Kingston,  where  he  had 
the  bridge  taken  up,  and,  turning  short  to  the  left,  crossed  the  Millstone 
Kiver  twice,  and  arrived  at  Pluckamin  the  same  evening.''''  And  again  (vol. 
ii.  p.  239)  he  says,  "  He  destroyed  the  bridge  at  Kingston,  which  checked 
the  progress  of  Cornwallis  for  some  time,  and  having  crossed  the  Mill- 
stone twice,  he  reached  Pluckamin  that  evening."  But  this  is  clearly  a 
mistake,  as  the  account  of  Washington's  bait  with  his  army  near  Som- 
erset Court-house  during  the  night  succeeding  the  battle  is  well  authen- 
ticated. 

X  In  Washington's  dispatches  to  Congress  dated  at  Pluckamin  on  that 
day  he  says,  "Our  whole  loss  cannot  be  ascertained,  as  many  who  are 
in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  (who  were  chased  three  or  four  miles)  are  not 
yet  come  in." 

§  The  iiag-staff  which  was  used  at  Washington's  headquarters,  Morris- 


town, up  to  the  time  of  erecting  a  liberty-pole,  was  removed  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1880  to  the  residence  of  D.  D.  Craig,  at  Basking  Kidge,  in  Somer- 
set Co.,  where  it  was  again  raised. 

II "  The  British  commissioneis  [Gen.  William  Howe  and  his  brother. 
Admiral  Lord  Eichard  Howe]  issued  a  proclamation  commanding  all 
persons  assembled  in  arms  against  His  Majesty's  government  tu  disband 
and  rett^rn  to  their  homes,  and  all  civil  officers  to  desist  from  their  trea- 
sonable practices  and  to  relinquish  their  usurped  authority.  A  full  par- 
don was  offered  to  all  who  within  sixty  days  would  appear  before  aa 
officer  of  the  Crown,  claim  the  benefit  of  the  proclamation,  and  subscribe 
a  declaration  of  his  submission  to  the  royal  authority.  Seduced  by  this- 
proclamation,  not  only  the  ordinary  people  shrunk  from  the  apparent 
fate  of  the  country  in  this  its  murkiest  hour,  but  the  vaporing  patriots 
who  sought  office  and  distinction  at  the  hands  of  their  countrymen  when 
danger  in  their  service  was  distant  now  crawled  into  the  British  lines, 
humbly  craving  the  mercy  of  their  conquerors,  and  whined  out,  as  justi- 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


61 


for  a  considerable  time  the  daily  average  of  persons 
within  the  State  who  thus  signified  their  adhesion  to 
the  royal  cause  was  more  than  two  hundred.    Scarcely 
an  inhabitant  of  the  State  joined  the  army  of  "Wash- 
ington as  he  was  retreating  towards  the  Delaware,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  great  numbers  of  those  who  were 
already  in  the  service  from  this  State  deserted  and 
returned  to  their  homes.     "  The  two  Jersey  regiments 
which  had  been  forwarded  by  Gen.  Gates,  under  Gen. 
St.  Clair,  went  off  to  a  man  the  moment  they  entered 
their  own  State.     A  few  officers,  without  a  single  pri- 
vate, were  all  of  these  regiments  which  St.  Clair 
brought  to  the   commander-in-chief."*      The   most 
earnest  exertions  of  Governor  Livingston  to  induce 
the  militia  to  oppose  the  invading  army  were  fruit- 
less.    "  Those  who  visited  the  army  brought  back  an 
unfavorable  report.      They  secretly  or  openly  advised 
others  to  do  nothing  that  would  involve  them  in  dis- 
loyalty, and  thus  jeopardize  their  possessions.     Old 
people  tell  us  that  such  was  the  talk  with  many.     The 
Legislature,  itself  defenseless,  had  moved  from  Prince- 
ton to  Burlington,!  and  there,  on  the  2d  of  December, 
they  adjourned,  each  man  going  home  to  look  after 
his  own  affairs.     Until  the  battle  of  Trenton,  on  the 
26th  of  that  month.  New  Jersey  might  have  been  con- 
sidered a  conquered  province.     Even  Samuel  Tucker 
[of  Hunterdon],  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Safety, 
treasurer,  and  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  took  a 
protection  of  the  British,  and  thus  renounced  allegi- 
ance to  this  State  and  vacated  his  offices.  J     Open  in- 
surrection  against  the  American   cause  had  broken 
out  in  several  counties,  among  which  was  that   of 
Hunterdon,  where  (as  before  noticed)  the  malcontents 
had  proceeded  to  violence  against  the  Whig  inhabit- 
ants of  that  section,  plundered  the  house  of  Capt. 
Jones,  and  boldly  declared  their  intention  of  joining 
the  British  army.     In  Monmouth  County  a  similar, 
but  even  more  desperate,  state  of  affairs  existed,  to 
suppress  which  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  detach  a 
strong  military  force  under  Col.  Forman.     Panic,  dis- 
affection, and  cowardly  submission  were  found  every- 
where; despair  had  seized  on  all  but  the  sturdiest 
patriots ;  and  the  conflict  for  liberty  seemed  well-nigh 
hopeless. 

But  a  marvelous  change  was  wrought  by  the  favor- 
able result  of  the  campaign  of  Trenton  and  Prince- 
ton. The  Christmas  victory  at  Trenton  rekindled  a 
bright  spark  of  hope  in  the  breasts  of  despairing  pa- 


triots, and  the  glorious  event  of  Princeton  fanned 
that  spark  into  a  strong  and  steady  flame.     An  imme- 
diate result  was  a  revival  of  hope  and  courage  among 
the  Jersey  militia,  causing  large  numbers  of  them  to 
join  the  American  army,  adding  materially  to  its  ef- 
fective strength.    "  The  militia  are  taking  spirits,  and, 
I  am  told,  are  coming  in  fast  from  this  State,"  said 
Gen.  Washington  in  his  dispatches  to  Congress  writ- 
ten at  Pluokamin  on  the  5th  of  January,  only  two 
days  after  the  victory  of  Princeton ;  and  the  acces- 
sions from  this   source  were  much  more  numerous 
after  that  time.    "  The  militia  of  New  Jersey,  who  had 
hitherto  behaved  shamefully,?  from  this  time  forward 
generally  acquired  high  reputation,  and  throughout 
a  long  and  tedious  war  conducted  themselves  with 
spirit  and  discipline  scarce  surpassed  by  the  regular 
troops.   In  small  parties  they  now  scoured  the  country 
in  every  direction,  seized  on  stragglers,  in  several  light 
skirmishes  behaved  exceptionally  well,  and  collected 
in  such  numbers  as  to  threaten  the  weaker  British 
posts  with  the  fate  which  those  at  Trenton  and  Prince- 
ton had  already  experienced.     In  a  few  days,  indeed, 
the  Americans  had  overrun  the  Jerseys."    Among  the 
inhabitants,  those  who  had  maintained  their  unswerv- 
ing devotion  to  the  patriotic  cause  once  more  took 
heart ;  and  even  of  those  who,  from  motives  of  fear 
and  self-interest,  had  availed  themselves  of  the  "pro- 
tection" of  the  British,  II  the  greater  number  were  re- 
joiced at  the  successes  of  Washington.     Gen.  Howe's 
"  protections"l[  had  proved  to  them  a  delusion.    Dur- 
ing the  time  in  which  the  British  held  undisputed 
control  the  country  in  all  directions  had  been  rav- 
aged by  their  foraging-parties,  composed  principally 
of  Hessians.    These  mercenaries  were  unable  to  read 
the   English  language;   and  so,  when   the  "loyal" 
inhabitants  who  had  secured  protection  papers  exhib- 
ited them  to  the  German  marauders,  the  latter  regarded 
them  no  more  than  if  they  had  been  Washington's 
passes,  but  treated  their  holders  with  contempt  and 
showed  them  no  more  consideration  than  was  accor- 
ded to  their  Whig  neighbors,— which  was  simply  none 

at  all. 

In  the  depredations  and  atrocities  committed  during 
this  period  by  the  Hessian  and  British  soldiery,  Som- 


ficatton,  that,  though  they  had  united  with  others  in  seeking  a  constitu- 
tional redress  of  grievances,  they  approved  not  the  measures  lately 
adopted,  and  were  at  all  times  opposed  to  independence."— Gordon's  SU- 
Utry  of  Nex  Jersey,  p.  223. 

*Ibid. 

fThe  removals  of  the  Legislature,  enforced  by  the  advance  of  the 
British  army,  were :  First,  from  Princeton  to  Trenton  ;  then  from  Tren- 
ton to  Burlington  ;  from  Burlington  to  Pittstown ;  and  finally,  from  that 
place  to  Haddonfleld,  where  it  was  dissolved  on  the  2d  of  December,  1776. 

t  Mott's  "  FiiHt  Century  of  Hunterdon  County." 

Gordon  (p.  223)  says,  "Dr.  Bamsay  has  given  to  political  infamy  the 
names  of  Galloway  and  Allen,  of  Pennsylvania.  He  might  have  added 
those  of  Tucker  and  others,  of  New  Jersey." 


a  See  Gordon's  "  History  of  New  Jersey,"  p.  233. 

I  The  whole  number  of  those  who,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  took 
advantage  of  the  proclamation  of  the  brfithers  Howe  is  said  to  have  been 
two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  three. 

IT  Following  is  a  copy  of  one  of  these  "  protection"  papers,  given  to  a 
Somerset  County  man  by  that  same  Col.  Mawhood  who,  a  little  more 
than  two  weeks  later,  was  defeated  by  Washington  at  Princeton : 

"I  do  hereby  Certify  that  the  Bearer  Abraham  Sedham,  of  Middle- 
bush  in  the  County  of  Somerset,  came  and  subscribed  the  declaration 
specified  in  a  certain  Proclamation  published  at  New  York,  on  the  ISth 
day  of  November  last,  by  the  Bight  Honorable  Lord  Howe,  and  His  Ex- 
cellency General  Howe.  Whereby  he  is  entitled  to  the  protection  of  all 
Officers  and  Soldiers  serving  in  his  Majesties'  Army  in  America,  both  for 
himself,  his  family  and  property,  and  to  pass  and  repass  on  his  lawful 
business  without  molestation. 
"  Given  under  my  hand  this  18th  day  of  December,  1776. 

"  C.  Mawhood,  Lt.-Col," 


62 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


erset*  and  Hunterdon  were  among  the  four  or  five 
counties  which  suffered  the  most  severely  of  any  in 
the  State.  "  Neither  the  proclamation  of  the  commis- 
sioners [General  and  Admiral  Howe]  nor  protections 
saved  the  people  from  plunder  or  insult.  Their 
property  was  taken  and  destroyed  without  distinction 
of  persons.  They  exhibited  their  protections,  but  the 
Hessians  could  not  read  and  would  not  understand 
them,  and  the  British  soldiers  deemed  it  foul  disgrace 
that  the  Hessians  should  be  the  only  plunderers. 
Discontents  and  murmurs  increased  every  hour  with 
the  ravages  of  both,  which  were  almost  sanctioned  by 
general  orders,  and  which  spared  neither  friend  nor 
foe.  Neither  age  nor  sex  was  protected  from  outrage. 
Infants,  children,  old  men  and  women,  were  left 
naked  and  exposed,  without  a  blanket  to  cover  them 
from  the  inclemency  of  winter.  Furniture  which 
could  not  be  carried  away  was  wantonly  destroyed, 
dwellings  and  outhouses  burned  or  rendered  unin- 
habitable, churches  and  other  public  buildings  con- 
sumed, and  the  rape  of  women,  and  even  very  young 
girls,  filled  the  measure  of  woe.  Such  miseries  are  the 
usual  fate  of  the  conquered,  nor  were  they  infiicted 
with  less  reserve  that  the  patients  were  rebellious  sub- 
jects. But  even  the  worm  will  turn  upon  the  op- 
pressor. .  .  .  What  the  earnest  commendations  of 
Congress,  the  zealous  exertions  of  Governor  Living- 
ston and  the  State  authorities,  and  the  ardent  suppli- 
cations of  Washington  could  not  effect  was  produced 
by  the  rapine  and  devastations  of  the  royal  forces. 
The  whole  country  became  instantly  hostile  to  the  in- 
vaders. Sufferers  of  all  parties  rose  as  one  man  to  re- 
venge their  personal  injuries.  Those  who,  from  age 
and  infirmities,  were  incapable  of  military  service 
kept  a  strict  watch  upon  the  movements  of  the  royal 
army,  and  from  time  to  time  communicated  informa- 
tion to  their  countrymen  in  arms.  Those  who  lately 
declined  all  opposition,  though  called  on  by  the  sacred 
tie  of  honor  pledged  to  each  other  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  cheerfully  embodied  when  they 
found  submission  to  be  unavailing  for  the  security  of 
their  estates.  .  .  .  Men  who  could  not  apprehend  the 
consequences  of  British  taxation  nor  of  American  in- 
dependence could  feel  the  injuries  inflicted  by  inso- 
lent, cruel,  and  brutal  soldiers. "f 

Gen.  Washington  was  not  slow  to  avail  himself  of 
the  advantages  to  the  American  cause  offered  by  this 
situation  of  affairs,  and  on  the  25th  of  January  he 
issued,  from  his  headquarters  in  Morristown,  a  procla- 
mation requiring  all  persons  who  had  accepted  pro- 
tection from  the  British  commissioners  to  repair  to 

*  '*  Somerset  County  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy,  whose  foraging- 
parties  went  out  from  New  Brunswick,  where  Howe  had  quartered  his 
troops,  across  the  Millstone  as  far  as  Neshanic  and  the  South  Branch, 
gathering  everything  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  and  maltreating 
the  inhahitanta  most  cruelly  whenever  any  resistance  was  offered.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  idea  that  they  were  or  might  be  rebels  formed  a  suffi- 
cient excuse  in  the  minds  of  the  soldiers  for  any  outrage  that  their  pas- 
sions prompted  them  to  commit." — Mesaler^s  History  of  Sovierset  County. 

t  Gordon,  pp.  232,  233. 


the  army  headquarters,  or  the  nearest  headquarters  of 
any  general  ofllcer  in  the  Continental  service,  and 
there  to  surrender  their  protection  papers  and  swear 
allegiance  to  the  .United  States  of  America;  upon 
which  terms  they  were  to  receive  full  pardon  for  past 
offenses,  provided  this  was  done  within  thirty  days 
from  the  date  of  the  proclamation.  But  such  as  should 
fail  to  conform  to  these  requirements  within  the  speci- 
fied time  were  commanded  to  forthwith  withdraw 
themselves  and  families  within  the  enemy's  lines,  and 
upon  their  refusal  or  neglect  to  do  so  they  were  to  be 
regarded  and  treated  as  adherents  to  the  King  of 
Great  Britain  and  enemies  of  the  United  States. 
The  effect  of  this  proclamation  was  excellent.  Hun- 
dreds of  timid  inhabitants  who  had  taken  protection 
now  flocked  to  the  different  headquarters  to  surrender 
them  and  take  the  required  oath  of  allegiance.  The 
most  inveterate  and  dangerous  Tories  were  driven 
within  the  enemy's  lines,  or  entirely  out  of  the  State, 
and  the  army  was  largely  increased  by  volunteers  and 
by  the  return  of  many  who  had  previously  served  in 
its  ranks,  but  had  deserted  and  returned  to  their 
homes  during  the  dark  days  of  November  and  De- 
cember, 1776. 

The  main  body  of  the  army  lay  in  quiet  at  Morris- 
townj  for  nearly  five  months.  During  this  time,, 
although  no  general  movements  were  made,  small 
bodies  of  militia  and  other  troops  were  almost  con- 
stantly harassing  the  enemy,  and  several  minor  fights 
occurred,  one  of  the  most  important  of  which  took 
place  at  Weston,  in  Somerset  County,  on  the  20th  of 
January.  In  consequence  of  the  Americans  having 
captured  and  destroyed  a  number  of  boats  ascending 
the  Baritan  laden  with  provisions  for  the  use  of  Corn- 
wallis'  forces  at  New  Brunswick,  the  British  were 
compelled  to  forage  the  country  with  more  than  their 
usual  energy.  One  of  their  foraging-parties,  about 
four  hundred  strong,^  had  been  raiding  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Millstone  River,  in  that  part  of  Somerset 
County  which  is  now  the  township  of  Franklin, 
where  they  had  seized  a  large  number  of  cattle  and 
sheep,  and,  learning  that  a  considerable  quantity  of 
flour  was  stored  in  a  mill  at  Weston,  proceeded  to 
that  place,  took  possession  of  the  flour,  and  com- 
menced loading  it  upon  their  wagons.     But  in  the 

I  A  detached  force  of  several  hundred  men,  under  command  of  Gen.  Is- 
rael Putnam,  was  stationed  at  Princeton  in  the  latter  part  of  January  to 
act  as  a  corps  of  observation  merely,  being  too  weak  in  numbers  to  offer 
serious  opposition  if  the  enemy  should  appear  in  force.  In  Hageman's 
"  History  of  Princeton"  there  is  related  an  incident  illustrative  of  Gen. 
Putnam's  strategy,  as  follows :  "  A  British  officer,  Maj.-Gen.  McPherson, 
who  lay  mortally  wounded  at  Princeton,  desired  the  presence  of  a  mili- 
tary comrade  in  his  last  moments.  The  kind-hearted  Gen.  Putnam  could 
not  refuse  the  request,  but  resorted  to  strategy  to  hide  his  weakness 
from  the  enemy.  He  sent  a  flag  to  New  Brunswick  in  quest  of  the- 
friend,  who  entered  Princeton  after  dark.  The  general  had  arranged  it 
so  that  every  unoccupied  house  was  carefully  lighted,  lights  gleamed  in 
all  the  college  windows,  and  he  marched  and  countennarched  his 
scanty  forces  to  such  effect  that  the  British  soldier  on  his  return  to  tbfr 
camp  reported  it  at  least  five  thousand  strong,  while  he  had  only  a  few 
hundreds." 

g  One  account  places  its  strength  at  six  hundred  men. 


HUNTEKDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


63 


mean  time  intelligence  of  the  movement  was  carried 
to  Gen.  Philemon  Dickinson,  who  with  a  small  force 
was  stationed  to  hold  a  small  earthwork  at  Somerset 
Court-house  (Millstone  village),  a  short  distance  from 
the  mill,  but  on  the  opposite  side  of  Millstone  River. 
Upon  learning  the  facts,  Gen.  Dickinson,  being  de- 
termined to  attack  the  party,  moved  out  with  a  force 
of  two  companies  of  Continentals,  fifty  Pennsylvania 
riflemen,  and  a  small  body  of  New  Jersey  militia, — 
in  all,  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  men, — and,  pro- 
ceeding to  the  bridge  at  Weston,  attempted  to  cross 
it,  but  failed,  as  the  enemy  held  the  opposite  end, 
with  three  pieces  of  artillery  trained  upon  it.  The 
Americans  then  sought  a  fording-place  below,  and, 
plunging  into  the  river  where  the  water  was  waist- 
deep  and  filled  with  floating  ice,  crossed  the  stream 
ajid  attacked  the  British  with  such  vigor  and  deter- 
mination that  they  fled  precipitately  towards  New 
Brunswick,  leaving  forty-three  wagons,  one  hundred 
and  four  horses,  one  hundred  and  eighteen  cattle, 
seventy  sheep,  and  twelve  prisoners  in  the  hands  of 
Gen.  Dickinson,  whose  loss  of  men  in  the  fight  was 
five.  The  total  loss  of  the  enemy  was  about  thirty 
men.  Gen.  Washington,  in  his  mention  of  this  affair, 
highly  commended  the  energy  and  skill  of  Gen.  Dick- 
inson, and  the  gallantry  evinced  by  the  force  under 
his  command,  more  than  half  of  which  was  composed 
of  raw  militia. 

A  similar  afikir  occurred  on  or  about  the  1st  of 
Pebruary  at  Piscataway,  in  which  at  least  thirty-six 
of  the  enemy  were  killed,  while  the  Americans  lost 
nine  killed  and  fourteen  wounded.  The  force  of  the 
British  was  about  one  thousand,  with  three  field- 
pieces  ;  while  the  Americans  were  only  about  seven 
hundred  strong,  and  nearly  or  quite  all  militia.  In 
the  first  attack  the  enemy  were  compelled  to  retire, 
but,  receiving  reinforcements,  they  again  advanced 
and  drove  the  militia  from  their  position.  About 
three  weeks  later,  "  Col.  Neilson,  of  New  Brunswick, 
with  a  detachment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  militia, 
surprised  and  captured  Maj.  Stockton  (one  of  the  nu- 
merous family  of  that  name,  who  from  his  treachery 
was  called '  Double  Dick'),  at  the  head  of  fifty-nine  pri- 
vates, refugees,  in  British  pay."*  Two  or  three  quite 
severe  fights  occurred  at  "Spanktown"  (Rahway), — 
one  on  the  6th  of  January,  in  which  a  thousand 
bushels  of  salt  and  other  stores  were  captured  from 
the  British,  and  another  on  the  23d  of  February,  be- 
tween the  brigade  of  Gen.  Maxwell  and  the  Third 
British  Brigade  from  Amboy.  In  the  latter  fight  the 
Americans  were  victorious  also,  and  drove  the  enemy 
through  the  snow  all  the  way  back  to  Amboy,  in- 
flicting on  them  a  loss  (according  to  British  reports) 
of  four  officers  and  nearly  one  hundred  men  killed  and 
wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  three  killed 
and  twelve  wounded.  Encounters  similar  to  those 
above  mentioned,  and  others  of  less  importance,  were 


*  Gordon,  p.  233. 


of  frequent  occurrence  during  the  winter  and  spring 
of  1777. 

On  the  opening  of  spring,  the  American  commander, 
fi'om  his  position  at  Morristown,  watched  closely  and 
anxiously  the  movements  of  Gen.  Howe's  forces  at 
New  Brunswick,  for  he  had  no  doubt  that  the  British 
general  was  intending  to  make  an  important  move- 
ment, though  in  what  direction  he  could  not  learn, 
though  he  believed  that  Howe's  objective-point  would 
be  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Early  in  May  it  was  ascer- 
tained by  Gen.  Washington  that  the  British  forces  at 
New  Brunswick  had  been  largely  augmented,  and  that 
they  were  engaged  in  building  "  a  portable  bridge  so 
constructed  that  it  might  be  laid  on  flat-boats," — in 
other  words,  a  pontoon-bridge.  Regarding  this  as  an 
almost  certain  indication  that  Howe  was  preparing  to 
move  forward  and  cross  the  Delaware,  Washington  at 
once  decided  to  move  his  forces  to  a  point  nearer  New 
Brunswick,  to  be  within  striking  distance  of  the  enemy 
in  case  he  should  attempt  to  execute  his  suspected  de- 
sign. The  point  selected  was  the  range  of  hills  to  the 
northward  of  the  village  of  Bound  Brook, — generally 
mentioned  as  the  "  Heights  of  Middlebrook," — and  to 
this  place  the  army  was  moved  from  Morristown  about 
the  28th  of  May,t  on  which  day  the  headquarters  of  the 

f  Detached  commands  ot  the  army  had,  however,  been  stationed  at 
ditferent  pointB  on  the  Millstone  and  Baritan  Kivers  prior  to  this, 
during  tlie  winter  and  spring.  Gen.  Dickinson  had  been  stationed  at 
Somerset  Conrt-honse,  as  we  have  seen,  and  liad  made  a  successful  ad- 
vance from  that  place  in  January  against  the  British  foraging  party  at 
Weston.  A  force  under  Gen.  Lincoln  had  been  stationed  at  Bound  Brook 
at  least  as  early  as  April.  This  fact  is  mentioned  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mess- 
ier as  follows;  *'Maj.-Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln  had  his  quarters  at  the 
house  yet  standing  at  the  east  end  of  the  village.  It  was  the  only  house 
having  two  stories  that  Bound  Brook  could  boast.  It  was  inhabited  at 
the  time  by  Peter  Williamson.  Gen.  Lincoln  himself,  when  giving  an 
account  of  his  retreat  from  this  place,  uses  the  following  language: 
*  Being  stationed  at  Bound  Brook,  on  the  Baritan,  he  had  an  extent  of 
five  or  six  miles  to  guard  with  a  force  of  less  than  five  hundred  men  fit 
for  duty.  On  the  13th  of  April,  1777,  owing  to  the  negligence  of  his  pa- 
trol, he  was  surprised  by  a  large  parly  of  the  enemy  under  Cornwallis  and 
Grant,  who  came  upon  him  so  suddenly  that  the  general  and  one  of  his 
aides  had  barely  time  to  get  on  horseback ;  the  other  aide  was  taken,  as 
were  also  a  few  pieces  of  artillery.  Near  this  house  a  block -house  or  for- 
tification had  been  erected  commanding  the  crossing  over  Bound  Brook 
Creek,  connected  with  an  earthwork  reaching  to  the  banks  of  the  river. 
It  stood  on  the  ground  occupied  at  present  by  the  old  shop  which  Mrs. 
Giles  owns.  When  Gen.  Lincoln  retreated  the  inhabitants  all  fled  to  the 
mountain,  leaving  a  soldier's  corpse  in  the  block-house  as  the  only  occu- 
pant of  the  village." 

Gen.  Heard  was  also  stationed  on  the  Karitan  with  his  brigade  early  in 
the  spring,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  letter  addressed  by  him  to  Gov- 
ernor Livingston  (N.  J.  Bevolutionary  Correspondence,  pp.  45,  46) : 

"  Headqtjaeters,  Baritan,  April  1st,  1777. 
"  Sib, — Inclosed  you  have  the  copy  of  a  letter  I  received  from  Col. 
Beavers,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  by  which  you  will  see  what  a  bad 
situation  the  militia  of  that  battalion  are  in  on  account  of  the  captains 
of  several  companies  refusing  to  do  their  duty.  I  should  be  glad  of  your 
directions  how  to  proceed  in  the  matter,  that  the  men  may  be  brought 
here  they  being  very  much  wanted  at  present,  as  many  of  the  militia's 
times  expire  this  day.  Likewise,  should  ho  glad  of  directions  to  know 
what  is  to  be  done  with  people  that  refuse  to  give  up  their  protections,  as 
I  have  now  a  man  under  confinement  that  refuses  to  give  his  up.  The 
militia  law  points  out  no  mode  of  what  is  to  be  done  with  such  people. 
There  is  a  villain  apprehended,  with  a  warrant  found  with  him  to  enlist 
men  for  the  British  army,  and  now  in  confinement,  who  has  informed 


64 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


commander-in-chief  were  established  at  the  new  posi- 
tion. The  location  of  the  American  forces  at  Mid- 
dlebrook  is  thus  described  :* 

"  We  may  sufficiently  indicate  the  precise  place  of  the  encampment  by 
saying  that  it  was  on  the  right  of  the  road  leading  through  the  moun- 
tain-gorge in  which  Chimney  Book  is  situated,  just  where  it  riaea  up 
from  the  bed  of  the  little  stream  and  attains  the  level  of  Waahington 
valley.  A  strong  earthwork  waa  thrown  up  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
to  the  northwest,  almost  in  the  centre  of  the  valley,  as  a  protection  to 
any  movement  approaching  from  Pluckamin ;  and  the  whole  of  the  de- 
file leading  through  the  narrow  mountain-valley  was  strongly  guarded, 
while  the  brow  overlooking  the  plain  bristled  with  cannon.  Just  at  the 
edge  of  the  wood,  east  of  Chimney  Rock,  huts  were  erected  as  quarters 
for  the  officers,  and  everything  done  which  either  safety  or  comfort  de- 
manded in  the  emergency.  At  Bound  Brook  a  strong  redoubt  was  con- 
structed, commanding  the  bridge  over  that  miry  little  stream,  just  north 
of  the  present  railroad-crossing,  looking  to  any  attack  to  be  made  from 
the  way  of  New  Brunswick.  Having  taken,  in  this  way,  all  possible 
precaution  against  surprise,  he  felt  strong  to  abide  the  issue  of  events. 
The  result  justified  his  sagacity  as  a  military  tactician.  ...  On  the  apex 
of  the  Round  Top,  on  the  left  of  the  gorge  in  which  Chimney  Rock 
stands,  there  are  yet  to  be  seen  rude  remains  of  a  hut  which  Washington 
sometimes  frequented  during  those  anxious  months  of  1777.  On  the  east 
side  of  the  gorge,  also,  fronting  the  plain  north  of  Middlebrook,  there  is 
a  rock  which  has  been  named  'Washington  Rock,'  because  there  he 
often  stood  to  gaze  anxiously  upon  the  scene  it  overlooks.  On  the  moun- 
tain west  of  Plainfield,  also,  there  is  a  very  large  rock  which  has  received 
the  same  appellation." 

The  last-named  point  (which  is  more  generally 
known  than  the  other  as  "Washington's  Eock")  is  on 
the  mountain-side,  near  the  top,  not  far  from  and  in 
full  sight  of  the  railroad-station  of  Duaellen,  in  a 
northeasterly  direction.  It  is  a  very  commanding 
position,  from  which  may  be  obtained  an  unob- 
structed view  of  the  whole  valley  and  adjacent  coun- 
try for  many  miles.  This,  like  the  other,  has  received 
its  name  from  the  tradition  that  the  American  gen- 
eral-in-chief  often  visited  it  for  purposes  of  observa- 
tion. 

The  army  of  Washington,  at  the  time  when  it 
moved  from  Morristown  to  Middlebrook,  was  about 
eight  thousand  four  hundred  strong,  including  cavalry 
and  artillery.  But  of  these  more  than  two  thousand 
were  sick,  and  this,  with  other  causes,  reduced  his  ef- 
fective strength  to  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  men,  rank  and  file.  This  number,  how- 
ever, was  soon  afterwards  very  considerably  increased 
by  accessions  from  beyond  the  Delaware,  for  orders 
had  been  issued  for  all  troops  in  the  field,  as  far 
south  as  the  Carolinas,  to  rendezvous  in  New  Jersey. 
When  the  movement  to  Middlebrook  was  made,  Gen. 
Sullivan,  who  had  succeeded  Gen.  Putnam  in  com- 


me  there  are  many  persons  out  now  upon  the  same  business,  chiefly  in 
Sussex  County.  ...  I  should  have  sent  after  them  myself,  but  have  so 
few  troops  now  here  thought  proper  not  to  spare  them,  but  wait  your 
directions." 

The  letter  from  Col.  Beavers  referred  to  in  the  above,  dated  March  29, 
1777,  complained  of  certain  officers  of  the  Hunterdon  battalion  in  this 
language :  "  This  is  the  second  time  the  other  fleld-ofBcers  and  myself 
have  met  on  the  orders  you  have  sent  me,  and  can  do  nothing,  as  three 
of  the  captains  of  this  battalion  refuse  to  act;  nor  have  they  warned  a 
man  in  their  companies  on  either  of  the  orders,— to  wit:  Capt.  Shenard, 
Capt.  Meddler,  and  Capt.  Clioe." 

*  By  Rev.  Dr.  Messier,  in  his  History  of  Somerset  County,  p.  83. 

t  Hon.  Ralph  Voorhees,  "  Our  Home,"  p.  495. 


mand  at  Princeton,  had  about  fifteen  hundred 
troops  under  him  at  that  place.  He  subsequently 
retreated  to  the  Delaware  River,  but  again  ad- 
vanced to  the  line  of  the  Sourland  Hills,  along 
the  southern  border  of  Hunterdon  County,  and 
while  in  this  position,  waiting  to  co-operate  with 
Washington  in  case  of  an  engagement,  his  forces 
were  considerably  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  troops 
from  the  South,  moving  northward  under  the  order 
before  mentioned.  Gen.  Benedict  Arnold,  command- 
ing at  Philadelphia,  was  ordered  to  station  a  force  on 
the  New  Jersey  side  of  the  Delaware,  to  do  what 
might  be  done  to  prevent  the  British  from  crossing 
that  river,  in  case  they  should  succeed  in  escaping 
from  Washington  and  Sullivan. 

The  British  army  in  and  about  New  Brunswick  had 
been  reinforced  until  it  numbered  about  seventeen 
thousand  effective  men,  a  force  far  outnumbering  that 
of  Washington,  including  the  corps  of  observation 
under  Sullivan.  Moreover,  the  British  force  was 
largely  made  up  of  veterans  and  was  finely  equipped, 
while  a  large  proportion  of  the  American  army  was 
composed  of  raw  militia  not  well  provided  with 
equipments  and  clothing.  The  position  occupied 
by  Washington,  however,  was  very  strong  by  nature 
and  fortified  to  some  extent,  and  his  location  was 
such  that  he  could  at  once  take  advantage  of  a  move- 
ment of  the  enemy,  whether  he  should  advance  to- 
wards the  Delaware  or  retire  towards  the  Hudson  ; 
for  he  was  still  in  doubt  as  to  the  intention  of  the 
British  commander, — whether  itjiwas  to  move  directly 
on  Philadelphia  by  land,  to  return  his  troops  to  Am- 
boy,  there  to  embark  and  proceed  by  sea  and  the  Del- 
aware Bay  to  reach  the  same  objective-point,  or  to 
move  up  the  Hudson  River  to  co-operate  with  Gen. 
Burgoyne,  who  was  then  reported  to  be  moving  south- 
ward from  Canada  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain. 

In  a  little  more  than  two  weeks  after  Gen.  Wash- 
ington occupied  the  heights  of  Middlebrook  the 
British  commander  began  to  unmask  his  designs. 
Leaving  a  force  of  about  two  thousand  men  under 
Gen.  Matthew  in  New  Brunswick,  the  main  body  of 
the  British  army,  in  two  divisions,  under  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  and  Gen.  De  Heister  respectively,  moved  out 
at  about  midnight  of  the  13th  of  June,  and  marched 
rapidly  by  two  iroutes  towards  Middlebush  and  Som- 
erset Court-house,  which  last-named  place  was  reached 
by  the  division  of  Cornwallis  before  sunrise  in  the 
morning  of  the  14th,  while  De  Heister,  having  taken 
a  more  southerly  and  circuitous  route,  t  arrived  at 
Middlebush  at  about  the  same  time.     Both  divisions 


t  "  Gen.  Cornwallis,  in  marching  with  his  division  to  Millstone,  took 
the  Amwell  road,  which  then  came  into  the  Princeton  road  but  a  short 
distance  above  the  Mile  Run  Brook  near  New  Brunswick,  which  he  fol- 
lowed until  he  reached  Millstone,  while  Gen.  De  Heister  followed  the  one 
running  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Raritan  for  more  than  three  miles 
until  he  came  to  the  Van  Duyn  place,  where  he  turned  to  the  left  and 
followed  the  road  leading  from  thence  into  the  Amwell  road,  a  few  yards 
east  of  the  present  Middlebush  church,  about  half  a  mile  west  of  which 
lie  encamped  with  his  troops."— JToti.  Redph  Voorhea. 


HUNTERDOk  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION.  65 


threw  up  earthworks*  of  considerable  strength.  The 
object  of  the  British  general  was  to  sever  communica- 
tion between  Gen.  Sullivan  and  the  main  body  of  the 
American  army,  and,  if  possible,  to  tempt  Gen. 
Washington  to  move  down  from  his  almost  impreg- 
nable position  and  give  battle  to  the  British  on  ground 
of  their  own  choosing.  But  the  American  general 
could  not  be  so  lured  from  his  stronghold  among  the 
hills.  He  merely  advanced  his  forces  to  the  south  side 
of  the  mountain,  and  made  all  preparations  to  fight 
on  that  ground  if  he  should  be  attacked ;  but  beyond 
this  he  did  not  go,  for  the  chances  in  a  battle  upon  the 
plain  would  have  been  too  much  in  favor  of  the  enemy. 
At  the  same  time,  Sullivan's  force  lay  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Clover  Hill  awaiting  events  and  receiving 
large  accessions  from  the  sources  before  mentioned. 

The  two  British  divisions  continued  to  hold  their 
positions  on  the  Millstone  and  at  Middlebush  for  five 
days,  vainly  defying  Washington  to  come  down  and 
fight  them.  During  this  time  Cornwallis'  men  plun- 
dered the  inhabitants  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Som- 
erset Court-house,  and  set  fire  to  the  Presbyterian  and 
Dutch  churches  there,  though  the  buildings  were  not 
destroyed.     A  number  of  farm-houses  were  burned. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  the  British  general  having 
found  it  impossible  to  entice  Washington  from  his 
stronghold  in  the  hills,  the  troops  of  Cornwallis  and 
De  Heister  suddenly  evacuated  the  positions  they 
had  held  during  the  preceding  five  days  and  moved 
rapidly  back  to  New  Brunswick.  "  When  Gen.  De 
Heister's  army  left  Middlebush,  tradition  states  that 
they  attempted  to  burn  every  building  between  that 
place  and  New  Brunswick.  Some  of  the  fires  were 
put  out,  and  some  buildings  failed  to  take  fire."t 
Yet  a  very  large  amount  of  damage  was  done  by  the 
retiring  Hessians.  Judge  Voorhees,  in  the  paper 
above  quoted  from,  gives  the  names  of  the  several  suf- 
ferers, with  their  losses,  as  follows :  Garret  Voorhees, 
of  Middlebush,  dwelling-house,  six  rooms,  entry,  and 
kitchen,  burned,  with  other  property  destroyed  and 
stolen,  amounting  in  all  to  four  hundred  and  fifty- 
one  pounds  seventeen  shillings  eight  pence;  Peter 
Eapalye,  dwelling-house  forty-two  by  thirty  feet, 
kitchen  twenty-four  by  twenty-four,  weave-house 
fourteen  by  eighteen,  barn  forty -two  by  forty-eight, 
burned,  and  other  losses,  aggregating  three  hundred 
and  ninety -three  pounds ;  John  Spader,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  Amwell  road,  kitchen  and  barn  burned, 
value  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  pounds  sixteen 
shillings  eight  pence;  Hendrick  Bergen,  on  same 
road,  good  frame  house  destroyed  and  other  property 

*  "  Two  earthen  fortifications  or  redoubts  were  tlirown  up, — one  acroas 
the  Amwell  road  in  Middlebush,  a  few  yards  west  of  the  residence  of  the 
present  Mr.  Woolsey,  another,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  south  of 
the  first,  near  the  railroad.  Two  other  fortifications  were  erected  [these 
last-named  by  Cornwallis]  on  the  land  of  the  present  John  V.  C  WyckofF, 
at  Millstone,  a  few  yards  west  of  his  house.  They  have  all  been  leveled 
by  the  plowshare,  so  that  scarcely  a  trace  of  them  is  left." — Hon.  Ralph 
Voorhees,  in  "  Our  Some"  (1873). 

t  IWd.,  p.  495. 


taken,  value  three  hundred  and  seventy-one  pounds 
nineteen  shillings  three  pence ;  Johannes  Van  Liew, 
near  New  Brunswick,  house,  outhouses,  and  barns 
burned,  valued  at  five  hundred  and  nineteen  pounds 
sixteen  shillings  five  pence.  Others  who  sufiered 
more  or  less  severely  during  the  stay  of  the  Hessians 
at  Middlebush  and  on  their  withdrawal  to  New 
Brunswick  were  John  Wyckoflf,  Cornelius  Van  Ang- 
len,  Peter  Wyckoff,  Philip  Fulkerson,  John  Stothofi", 
Abraham  Van  Doren,  and  Berdus  Garretson. 

Three  days  after  Cornwallis  and  De  Heister  retired 
from  Hillsborough  and  Middlebush  to  New  Bruns- 
wick that  place  was  evacuated  (June  22d)  by  the 
whole  British  army,  which  then  commenced  its  retreat 
towards  Amboy.  Anticipating  this  movement,  Wash- 
ington had  made  his  dispositions  accordingly,  detach- 
ing three  brigades  under  Gen.  Greene  to  harass  their 
rear,  sending  orders  to  Gen.  Sullivan  to  move  down 
in  all  haste  with  his  division  to  co-operate  with 
Greene,  and  directing  Gen.  Maxwell  to  fall  on  their 
flank;  but  his  plans  did  not  succeed,  for  Sullivan, 
having  received  his  order  at  a  late  hour  and  being  a 
long  distance  away,  was  unable  to  join  Greene  in  time 
to  be  of  service,  while  the  orders  sent  to  Gen.  Maxwell 
were  not  received  at  all  by  that  ofiicer,  the  courier  by 
whom  they  were  sent  either  having  deserted  or  being 
captured  by  the  enemy.  Morgan  with  his  riflemen 
gave  the  retreating  troops  considerable  annoyance, 
attacking  them  at  sunrise  on  the  22d  as  they  were 
about  leaving  New  Brunswick.  Wayne  came  up  and 
joined  in  the  attack,  driving  the  enemy  from  some 
redoubts  on  the  hill  west  of  Brunswick,  after  which 
they  crossed  the  Earitan  and  retreated  rapidly,  but 
in  good  order  and  with  great  caution,  to  Amboy, 
reaching  there  with  very  little  loss,  for  their  rear- 
guard was  too  strong  for  the  three  brigades  under 
Greene  to  make  much  impression  upon  them.  Gen. 
Howe,  in  his  report  of  the  operations,  said,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  attack  before  referred  to  as  having  been 
made  by  Wayne  and  Morgan,^ 

"Upon  quitting  the  camp  at  Brunswick  the  enemy  brought  a  few 
troops  forward,  with  two  or  three  pieces  of  cannon,  which  they  fired  at 
their  utmost  range  without  the  least  execution  or  any  return  from  us. 
They  also  pushed  some  battalions  into  the  woods  to  harass  the  rear,  where 
Lord  Cornwallis  commanded,  who  soon  dispersed  them  with  the  loss  of 
only  two  men  killed  and  thirteen  wounded,  the  enemy  having  nine 
killed  and  about  thirty  wounded." 

The  retreat  of  Howe's  forces  from  New  Brunswick 
to  Amboy  is  spoken  of  by  LossingJ  as  a  stratagem 
intended  only  to  induce  Washington  to  withdraw  his 
army  from  its  strong  position  in  the  hills  at  Middle- 

X  "  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution,"  vol.  i.  p.  331 :  "  Failing  to  draw  Wash- 
ington from  his  post  by  this  manoeuvre  [the  movement  of  Cornwallis  to 
Somerset  Court-house],  be  made  a  feint  a  few  days  afterwards  which  suc- 
ceeded better.  He  suddenly  retreated,  first  to  New  Brunswick,  and  then 
to  Amboy,  and  even  sent  some  detachments  over  to  Staten  Island.  Partly 
deceived  by  these  movements,  and  hoping  to  reap  some  advantage  by 
harassing  the  British  rear,  WHshington  sent  strong  detachments  after  the 
retreating  enemy,  and  also  advanced  with  his  whole  force  to  Quibbletown 
(now  New  Market),  five  or  six  miles  from  Middlebrook.  This  was  ex- 
actly what  Howe  desired  to  accomplish.  .  .  ." 


66 


HUNTEEDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


trook.  But  Howe  in  his  report  does  not  support  such 
a  belief.  In  reference  to  that  part  of  his  operations, 
he  says, — 

"  On  finding  their  [the  Americans]  intention  to  keep  a  position  -which 
it  would  not  have  been  prudent  to  attack,  I  determined,  without  loss  of 
time,  to  pursue  the  principal  objects  of  the  campaign  by  withdrawing 
the  army  from  Jersey,  and  in  consequence  of  this  determination  returned 
to  the  camp  at  Brunswicli  on  the  19th,  and  marched  from  thence  to  Am- 
hoy  on  the  82d,  intending  to  cross  to  Slaten  Island,  from  whence  the  em- 
barkation was  to  take  place." 

This  shows  that  it  was  not  his  object  to  deceive  the 
American  commander,  but  to  move  his  army  to  Staten 
Island  for  embarkation ;  and  it  seemed  evident  that 
Washington  believed  such  to  be  the  case,  for  soon  af- 
ter sending  Green  in  pursuit  and  dispatching  orders 
to  Sullivan  to  march  down  and  join  him  he  withdrew 
his  army  from  the  heights  of  Middlebrook,  and 
moved  it  forward  to  Quibbletown  (now  New  Market), 
a  position  far  weaker  and  more  exposed  than  the  one 
which  it  had  previously  occupied. 

The  intelligence,  that  Washington  had  left  his  forti- 
fied camp  in  the  hills  was  brought  to  Gen.  Howe  af- 
ter his  troops  had  arrived  at  Amboy  and  part  of  them 
had  crossed  to  Staten  Island.  And  then  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  making  a  sudden  retrograde  move- 
ment back  towards  Quibbletown,  hoping  to  surprise 
Washington  in  his  new  and  weaker  position,  to  bring 
on  the  general  engagement  for  which  he  had  been 
manoeuvring  since  the  14th,  and,  by  turning  the 
American  left,  to  gain  the  hills  of  Middlebrook  in 
their  rear.  These  facts  are  made  clear  by  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  his  report, — viz. : 

"The  necessary  preparations  being  finished  for  crossing  the  troops  to 
Staten  Island,  intelligence  was  received  that  the  enemy  had  moved  down 
from  the  mountain  [Middlebrook  Heights]  and  taken  post  at  Quibble- 
town, intending,  as  it  was  given  out,  to  attack  the  rear  of  the  army  re- 
moving from  Amboy ;  thai  two  corps  had  also  advanced  to  their  left,— 
one  of  three  thousand  men  and  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lord  Stirling,  Gens.  Maxwell  and  Conway,  the  last  said  to  be  a 
captain  in  the  French  service;  the  other  corps  consisted  of  about  seven 
hundred  men,  with  only  one  piece  of  cannon.  In  tliis  situation  of  the 
enemy  it  was  judged  advisable  to  make  a  movement  that  might  lead  to 
an  attack,  which  was  done  on  the  26th,  in  the  morning,  in  two  columns. 
The  right,  under  command  of  Lord  Cornwallis  and  Maj.-Gen.  Grant, 
Brigadiers  Matthew  and  Leslie,  and  Col.  Donop,  took  the  route  by  Wood- 
bridge  towards  Scotch  Plains;  the  left  column,  where  I  was,  with  Maj.- 
Gens.  Sterne,  Vaughan,  and  Grey,  and  Brigadiers  Cleveland  and  Agnew 
marched  by  Metuchen  Meeting-house  to  join  the  rear  of  the  right  column 
in  the  road  from  thence  to  Scotch  Plains,  intending  to  have  taken  sepa- 
rate routes,  about  two  miles  after  the  junction,  in  order  to  have  attacked 
the  enemy's  left  at  Quibbletown.  Tour  biittalions  were  detached  in  the 
morning,  with  six  pieces  of  cannon,  to  take  post  at  Bonhamtown.  The 
right  column,  having  fallen  in  with  the  aforementioned  corps  of  seven 
hundred  men  soon  after  passing  Woodbridge,  gave  the  alarm,  by  the  fir- 
ing that  ensued,  to  their  main  army  at  Quibbletown,  which  retired  to  the 
mountain  with  the  utmost  precipitation.  The  small  corps  was  closely 
pushed  by  the  light  troops,  and  with  diJBculty  got  off  their  piece  of 
cannon." 

The  above  statement  by  Howe  explains  his  retro- 
grade movement  and  its  objects  pretty  clearly.  Hav- 
ing become  aware  of  Washington's  advance,  he  caused 
that  part  of  the  forces  which  had  already  crossed  to 
Staten  Island  to  be  moved  back  during  the  night  of 
the  25th,  and  early  in  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the 
26th,  marched  his  columns  back  towards  New  Market 


in  the  manner  stated.  "But  the  resistance  they  en- 
countered at  every  stage  of  their  advance  was  dis- 
heartening in  the  extreme.  Nearly  every  cross-road 
had  its  squad  of  pugnacious  militia,  which  poured  its 
deadly  volleys  into  the  .splendid  columns  of  the  well- 
equipped  troops."  At  Woodbridge,  Cornwallis  fell  in 
with  Morgan's  Rangers  (the  American  "  corps  of  seven 
hundred  men,  with  one  piece  of  cannon,"  mentioned 
by  Howe),  and  a  severe  skirmish  ensued,  in  which,  of 
course,  the  Rangers  were  compelled  to  give  way  before 
the  heavy  masses  of  the  enemy.  But  the  sound  of 
their  fusillades  was  borne  to  the  ears  of  Washington, 
who  instantly  understood  its  meaning,  and  without 
delay  moved  his  main  force  back  from  Quibbletown 
to  its  former  secure  position  on  the  heights  of  Middle- 
brook. 

The  British  right,  under  Cornwallis,  was  soon  after 
engaged  with  the  troops  of  Lord  Stirling,  which  fight 
was  thus  reported  by  Howe  r 

"  Lord  Cornwallis,  soon  after  he  was  upon  the  road  leading  to  Scotch 
Plains  from  Metuchen  Meeting-house,  came  up  with  the  corps  com- 
manded by  Lord  Stirling,  whom  he  found  advantageously  posted  in  a 
country  covered  with  wood,  and  his  artillery  well  disposed.  The  king's 
troops,  vieing  with  each  other  upon  this  occasion,  pressed  forward  to  such 
close  action  that  the  enemy,  though  inclined  to  resist,  could  not  long 
maintain  their  ground  against  so  great  impetuosity,  bnt  were  dispereed 
on  all  sides,  leaving  three  pieces  of  brass  ordnance,  three  captains  and 
sixty  men  killed,  and  upwards  of  two  hundred  officers  and  men  wounded 
and  taken." 

The  latter  part  of  this  statement  is  without  doubt 
an  exaggeration,  as  Lord  Stirling,  although  he  ad- 
mitted the  loss  of  the  three  guns,  mentioned  only  a 
comparatively  light  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  pris- 
oners. He  was,  however,  compelled  to  retreat  before 
the  heavy  British  force,*  which  pursued  him  over  the 
hills  as  far  as  Westfield.f  The  soldiers  of  both  armies 
were  in  a  state  of  almost  complete  exhaustion  from 
the  intense  heat  of  the  day,  but  when  the  British  col- 
umns arrived  at  Westfield  they  found  that  their  out- 
ward march  was  ended,  for  Washington  had  escaped 
and  his  army  was  once  more  posted  in  security  beyond 
their  reach.  "  Looking  towards  the  hills,  the  weary 
soldiers  saw  that  Washington  had  made  his  camp 
among  them,  having  forsaken  Quibbletown  and  all 
the  plain.  Every  movement  was  in  view  of  the 
American  commander;    for,  taking  his  position  on 


*  The  forces  encountered  by  Lord  Stirling  on  this  occasion  were  com- 
posed of  three  regiments  of  Hessian  grenadiers,  one  regiment  of  British 
grenadiers,  one  British  regiment  of  light  infantry,  the  Hessian  chassenrs, 
and  the  Queen's  Bangers.  Stiriing  also  knew  that  the  heavier  column, 
under  Howe,  was  close  in  the  rear  and  would  soon  reinforce  Cornwallis  • 
in  which  event  his  (Stirling's)  command  must  have  been  cut  to  pieces 
had  he  attempted  to  hold  his  ground. 

t  '■  The  enemy,"  said  Howe  in  his  report, "  was  pursued  as  far  as  -West- 
field  with  little  efl-ect,  the  day  proving  so  intensely  hot  that  the  soldiers 
could  with  difflculty  continue  their  march  thither.  In  the  mean  time 
It  gave  opportunity  for  those  flying  to  escape  by  skulking  in  the  thick 
woods  until  night  favored  their  retreat  to  the  mouritain.  The  aruiy  lay 
that  night  at  Westfield,  returned  the  next  day  to  Rahway,  and  the  day 
following  to  Amboy,  On  the  30th,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  the 
troops  began  to  cross  over  to  Staten  Island,  and  the  rear-guard,  under  the 
command  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  passed  at  two  in  the  afternoon  without  the 
least  appearance  of  an  enemy." 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


6T 


the  bold  bluff  now  so  well  known  as  '  Washington's 
Rock,'  he  was  able  to  distinguish  any  important  man- 
oeuvre the  foe  might  choose  to  make.  It  was  three 
o'clock  on  Friday  afternoon  [June  27th]  that  the 
English  generals,  seeing  Washington's  impregnable 
position,  took  up  their  line  of  march  from  Westfield 
to  Amboy,  assaulted  flank  and  rear  by  Scott's  Light- 
Horse  and  Morgan's  Rangers.  They  encamped  that 
night  at  Spanktown  [Rahway] .  The  next  day,  har- 
assed as  before,  they  resumed  their  retreat  and  arrived 
at  Amboy,  from  which,  on  the  last  day  of  June,  they 
departed,  leaving  New  Jersey  in  possession  of  the 
American  army.  During  the  remainder  of  the  war 
the  latter  held  Amboy,  and  the  State  was  never  again 
BO  completely  overrun  with  marauders  and  British 
troops,  although  many  parties  entered  it  for  pillage 
from  hostile  camps  in  adjoining  States."* 

When  the  last  of  the  British  troops  had  left  Amboy 
and  crossed  to  Staten  Island,  with  the  evident  inten- 
tion of  embarking  on  the  ships  of  the  fleet,  Gen. 
Washington  was  in  great  doubt,  and  felt  no  little 
anxiety  as  to  their  destination, — whether  it  was 
Howe's  intention  to  take  the  route  by  sea  and  the 
Delaware  Bay  to  Philadelphia,  or  to  proceed  up  the 
Hudson  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne  in  his  southward 
advance  down  the  upper  valley  of  that  river.  As  the 
latter  seemed  rather  the  more  probable,  the  American 
army  soon  after  evacuated  its  position  at  Middlebrook 
and  moved  northward  to  Pompton  Plains,  where,  and 
at  other  points  between  there  and  the  Hudson,  it  was 
stationed  until  it  was  ascertained,  about  two  weeks 
later,  that  the  British  fleet,  with  the  armyf  on  board, 
had  actually  gone  to  sea  with  the  apparent  intention 
of  making  a  movement  against  Philadelphia.  There- 
upon the  American  army  was  again  put  in  motion, 
and  proceeded  by  easy  marchesj  across  the  State, 
through  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Hunterdon,  to 
the  Delaware  River,  which  was  reached  by  the  heads 
of  his  columns  at  three  different  points  (Trenton, 
Coryell's  and  Howell's  Ferries)  on  the  28th  of  July. 
The  commander-in-chief  moved  with  the  centre  col- 
umn to  Coryell's  (Lambertville),  from  which  place  he 
wrote  to  the  president  of  Congress  as  follows : 

"  CJobyel's  Fehrt,  Jekset,  July  30, 1777. 
«  Sir, — I  do  myself  the  honour  to  inform  you  that  I  arrived  here  ou 
the  twenty-eighth,  at  night,  with  Gen.  Greene's  division,  one  brigade  of 
which  passed  the  river  that  evening,  that  the  whole  might  encamp  the 

*  Daily's  Woodbridge  and  Vicinity. 

t  The  British  fleet  left  New  Tork  Bay,  "  having  on  board  Gen.  Howe 
and  thirty-six  British  and  Hessian  battalions,  including  light  infantry 
and  grenadiers,  with  a  powerful  artillery,  a  New  York  corps  called  the 
Queen's  Bangers,  and  a  regiment  of  light-horse.  The  residue  of  the 
army  was  divided  between  New  York  and  Rhode  Island." — Gordon,  p. 
245. 

%  Washington  did  not  move  towards  the  Delaware  by  forced  marches, 
for  he  still  had  a  suspicion  that  Howe's  going  to  sea  was  merely  a  feint, 
and  that  his  real  intention  was  to  return  and  proceed  up  the  Hudson,  in 
which  case  the  American  army  would  be  compelled  to  march  back  again, 
and,  in  any  event,  Washington  knew  that  he  had  more  than  sufficient 
time  to  reach  Philadelphia  in  advance  of  Howe,  when  it  should  become 
certain  that  the  latter  was  really  moving  against  that  city. 


more  comraodiously.   Gen.  Stephen,  with  his  own  and  Lincoln's  division,, 
also  arrived  a  little  time  after  at  Howell's  Feiry,  four  miles  above  this. 

"I  have' thought  proper  to  halt  the  whole  army  at  these  two  places 
and  at  Trenton  till  our  knowledge  of  the  enemy's  destination  becomes- 
more  certain.  If  the  Delaware  is  their  object,  we  are  now  within  two 
days'  easy  march  of  Philadelphia,  and  can  be  there  in  time,  I  trust,  to 
make  every  necessary  disposition  for  opposing  them.  On  the  other  hand^ 
if  Gen.  Howe,  by  this  expedition  to  sea,  only  means  a  deep  feint,  and 
should  turn  his  attention  again  to  the  North  River,  we  can  from  hence 
reinforce  Gen.  Putnam's  army  more  expeditiously  than  if  we  were  farther 
advanced. 

"  The  importance  of  ray  receiving  the  earliest  intelligence  of  the  fleet's 
arrival  is  apparent ;  and  Congress,  I  am  certain,  will  direct  proper  meas- 
ures for  obtaining  it,  and  also  for  transmitting  it  to  me  in  the  most  speedy 
manner.  If  authentic  advice  should  be  had  of  the  fleet's  coming  into 
Delaware  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  communicated  to  me,  it  will  be 
proper  that  an  express  should  be  sent  to  Lord  Stirling  or  the  command- 
ing officer  at  Trenton,  to  advance  with  all  the  troops  from  thence. 
Should  this  not  he  done,  the  marching  of  the  troops  there  will  he  con- 
siderably delayed. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc., 

"  G.  W." 

The  next  day  he  sent  the  following  message : 

"  Coryel's,  July  31,  ten  o'clock  a.m. 
"  Sir, — I  am  this  mom  ent  honoured  with  yours  of  five  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing, and  have  accordingly  set  the  army  in  motion.  One  division  had 
crossed  the  Delaware  the  day  before  yesterday ;  and  I  am  in  hopes  the 
whole  of  the  troops  now  here  will  be  able  to  reach  Philadelphia  to-mor- 
row evening.  Lord  Stirling's  division  lies  just  in  my  rear,  and  will  move 
on  with  us.  I  propose  setting  off  for  your  city  as  soon  as  I  can  get  the 
chief  part  of  the  army  over. 

*'  I  am,  with  the  greatest  respect,  etc., 

"  G.  W."? 

The  main  body  of  the  army  struck  the  river  at 
Coryell's  and  Howell's  Ferries,  the  division  of  Lord 
Stirling  forming  the  column  which  crossed  at  Tren- 
ton. Anticipating  this  movement,  Washington  had 
requested  President  Wharton  to  have  accurate  drafts 
made  of  the  river  and  its  approaches.  This  had  been 
done,  and  boats  for  the  passage  of  the  army  across  the 
stream  had  been  collected  at  New  Hope  and  points 
above.  Having  crossed  the  river  to  the  Pennsylvania 
shore  on  the  29th  and  30th  at  Coryell's  and  Howell's, 
the  main  body  of  the  army  were  put  in  march  down 
the  York  road  in  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  July, 
Gen.  Washington  starting  at  the  same  time  for  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  arrived  on  the  2d  of  August.  Two 
or  three  days  later  he  rode  out  from  the  city  to  Ger- 
mantown,  where  he  found  the  main  body  of  the  army. 
At  about  that  time  information  was  received  which 
led  to  the  belief  that  Howe  had  returned  to  Sandy 
Hook,  and  upon  this  the  army  was  put  in  motion  to 
retrace  its  steps  towards  Coryell's,  but  only  reached 
Hartsville,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  when  it  was  halted  by 
reason  of  an  express  having  arrived  with  dispatches 
from  Congress  contradicting  the  report  of  Howe's  re- 
turn to  New  York.  The  forces  then  remained  en- 
camped along  the  Neshaminy  Hills  for  thirteen  days, 
when,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d,  on  receipt  of  posi- 
tive intelligence  that  the  British  fleet  had  appeared 
at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  that  the  forces  had 
landed,  or  were  about  landing,  at  the  head  of  navi- 


J  "  Ofllcial  Letters  of  Washington  to  the  American  Congress"  (vol.  ii. 
pp.  123, 124),  Boston,  1796.  copied  by  special  permission  from  the  original 
papers  preserved  in  the  ofBce  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Philadelphia. 


68 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMERSET    COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


gation  on  the  Elk  River,  tlie  army  was  again  put  in 
motion,  and,  passing  through.  Philadelpliia  and  across 
the  Schuylkill  on  the  24th,  moved  southward.  The 
movement  resulted,  on  the  11th  of  September,  in  the 
disastrous  battle  of  the  Brandywine,  in  which  conflict 
the  commands  of  Lord  Stirling  and  Gen.  Maxwell 
(containing  a  large  number  of  Hunterdon  and  Somer- 
set County  men)  took  a  prominent  part. 

The  battle  of  Brandywine  was  followed  by  the  ad- 
journment of  Congress  to  Lancaster,  Pa.,  the  British 
occupation  of  Philadelphia  (September  26th),  and  by 
the  battle  of  Germantown  (October  4th),  which  re- 
sulted in  disaster  to  the  American  army,  and  in  which, 
as  at  Brandywine,  the  New  Jersey  troops  under  Stir- 
ling and  Maxwell  fought  gallantly.  After  that  un- 
fortunate battle  "Washington  took  up  a  position  at 
Whitemarsh,  from  which  point  it  was  his  original  in- 
tention to  advance  on  Philadelphia ;  but  this  enter- 
prise was  abandoned,  and  he  soon  after  moved  his 
forces  to  Valley  Forge,  where  they  went  into  winter 
quarters. 

Meanwhile,  during  the  part  of  the  year  which  suc- 
ceeded the  departure  of  the  armies  of  Washington 
and  Howe  from  New  Jersey,  the  State,  though  freed 
from  the  presence  of  large  bodies  of  troops,  was  still 
the  theatre  of  some  minor  military  operations.  AVhen 
Howe  embarked  his  army  for  Philadelphia  he  left  on 
Staten  Island  between  two  and  three  thousand  men, 
of  whom  about  sixteen  hundred  were  European  troops 
and  nearly  one  thousand  were  loyal  provincials.  This 
provincial  force  made  frequent  raids  into  New  Jersey, 
doing  much  damage,  but  always  making  a  short  stay, 
and  retreating  rapidly  back  to  the  island,  where  they 
were  under  the  protection  of  the  European  troops. 
On  one  of  these  occasions  they  had  penetrated  to 
Woodbridge,  and  taken  captive  twelve  persons  strongly 
attached  to  the  patriot  cause.  On  account  of  these 
incursions,  Gen.  Sullivan  projected  an  expedition  to 
Staten  Island  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  this  pro- 
vincial force,  whose  camping-places  were  at  different 
points  along  the  island  shore,  opposite  the  Jersey 
coast,  and  so  far  distant  from  the  camp  of  their  Eu- 
ropean allies  that  it  was  believed  they  might  be  taken 
without  alarming  the  foreign  troops.  The  force  de- 
tailed by  Sullivan,  and  accompanied  by  him  in  per- 
son, was  composed  of  the  select  troops  of  his  division, 
with  a  body  of  militia,  the  latter  under  command  of 
Col.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen.  The  expedition,  how- 
ever, m'et  with  quite  as  much  of  disaster  as  of  success ; 
for,  having  effected  a  crossing  before  daylight  unper- 
ceived  by  the  enemy,  it  was  afterwards  misled  by  the 
guides,  which  caused  such  an  interference  with  the 
preconcerted  plan  of  attack  that  one  entire  battalion 
of  the  enemy  made  its  escape,  and,  although  a  num- 
ber of  oflBcers  and  men  of  the  other  commands  were 
taken,  the  alarm  was  given  to  the  British  regulars,  a 
part  of  whom,  under  Gen.  Campbell,  advanced  to 
attack  Sullivan,  who  thereupon  retreated  to  Kis  boats, 


but  was  compelled  to  leave  his  rear-guard  as  prisoners 
of  war  in  the  hands  of  the  British.  According  to  his 
report  to  the  commander-in-chief,  he  brought  off 
eleven  officers  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  privates 
prisoners,  and  killed  and  wounded  a  considerable 
number  of  the  enemy  ;  while  his  own  loss  was  stated 
at  three  officers  and  ten  privates  killed  and  fifteen 
wounded,  and  nine  officers  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  privates  taken  prisoners;  so  that  the 
losses  on  each  side  appear  to  have  been  about  equal. 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  Col.  Freling- 
huysen* to  Governor  Livingston  immediately  after 
the  return  of  the  Staten  Island  expedition.  It  is 
given  here,  not  on  account  of  any  especial  mention 
of  that  affair  found  in  it,  but  because  it  was  written 
by  a  distinguished  soldier  and  citizen  of  Somerset 
County,  and  because  it  has  reference  to  some  of  the 
public  matters  of  that  time : 

"  Earitan,  Aug.  25,  177T. 

"  Bear  Sir, — I  expected  yeaterday  to  find  Tour  Excellency  at  Morris- 
town,  and  am  extremely  sorry  that  Tour  Excellency  left  the  place  be- 
fore I  arrived.  I  have  so  much  to  communicate,  and  so  much  to  com- 
plain of,  that  I  am  extremely  anxious  to  see  you,  but  conceive  it  my 
duty  to  repair  again  to  my  station  before  ni^ht,  which  I  could  not 
reach  should  I  first  go  to  Princeton.  I  am,  besides,  so  much  fatigued 
by  losing  my  rest  for  two  nights  past  that  I  must  necessarily  choose  the 
shortest  road. 

"  Ool.  Middah  waits  upon  you,  and  will  represent  to  Your  Excellency 
several  things  concerning  which  I  have  not  time  to  write.  In  par- 
ticular, the  colonel  will  acquaint  you  with  the  circumstances  of  the 
affair  on  Staten  Island;  for  I  suppose  my  letter  on  that  subject,  having 
been  sent  to  Morris,  is  not  received.  The  principal  matter  on  which  I 
am  BO  desirous  of  conversing  with  Your  Excellency  is  the  unhappy  con- 
dition of  our  State.  The  Continental  troops  are  to  march  towards  PhilS/- 
delphia.  The  militia  who  have  turned  out  are  a  trifling  number,  the 
enemy  are  encouraged  and  irritated.  The  consequences,  I  fear,  will  be 
fatal  to  that  county, — nay,  I  have  reason  to  believe  the  enemy  will  not 
lay  idle  aftar  the  removal  of  the  Coutinental  troops.  Is  it  not  in  Tour 
Excellency's  power  to  prevail  upon  Gen.  Sulhvan  to  leave  one  of  the 
Jersey  regiments  ?  If  so,  it  is  the  only  means,  I  believe,  which  can  be 
used  for  the  salvation  of  that  county  [Monmouth].  I  must  certainly 
fall  a  prey  to  the  enemy  with  my  little  party  if  the  enemy  choose  to 
come  down  and  we  attempt  to  drive  them  back,  I  fear  much  the  loss  of 
character,  but  I  am  most  concerned  for  the  poor  inhabitants  and  their 
property.  I  am,  however,  determined  to  exert  my  utmost  abilities  for 
the  defense  of  this  State,  and  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  blamed  for  any  of  my 
future  conduct  by  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  my  situation.  I 
must  inform  Tour  Excellency  that  I  have  four  prisoners  who  were 
taken  up  as  spies,  having  been  with  the  enemy  all  winter,  and  are  now 
making  their  appearance  among  us  ;  I  shall  send  them  on  with  the  two 
before  apprehended.  Your  Excellency's  directions  respecting  such  meas- 
ures as  Col.  Middah  will  mention  I  hope  will  he  immediately  forwarded, 
especially  with  reference  to  the  procuring  of  ammunition.  I  must  not 
forget  to  congratulate  Tour  Excellency  on  the  great  loyalty  of  Hunter- 
don County. 

"  On  Saturday  arrived  at  Blizahethtown  Lieut.-Col.  Houghton,  with 
one  private,  a  baggage-wagon,  and  two  horees.f  The  colonel  says  It  is 
occasioned  by  a  report  having  been  industriously  spread  among  the  in- 
habitants that  Gen.  Dickinson  advised  them  by  no  means  to  go,  there 
being  no  need  of  any  militia;  that  their  being  called  upon  was  solely 
owing  to  a  ivhimsical  notion  of  Gen.  Hinds.  Something,  doubtless, 
must  be  done  immediately  upon  my  arrival  at  Elizabethtowu.  I  shall 
order  Col.  Houghton  to  return  and  wait  upon  Your  Excellency.    I  dare 

*  New  Jersey  Rev.  Correspondence,  p.  94. 

t  The  inference  is  that  all  the  rest  of  the  regiment  or  battalion  had 
deserted.  Perhaps  this  is  the  incident  referred  to  by  Gen.  Putnam  when, 
in  mentioning  the  desertions  occurring  during  the  summer  succeeding 
the  battle  of  Princeton,  be  said  that  the  militia  deserted  in  bodies,  and 
that  in  one  case  an  entire  command  ran  away,  except  one  officer  and  a 
lame  man. 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE  EEVOLUTION. 


69 


Ba^the  account  of  Gen.  Sullivan's  conduct  in  the  affair  of  Staten  Island 
will  cause  some  uneasy  sensations.  I  wish  I  may  be  wrong  in  my 
opiuion,  but  I  seriously  believe  that,  upon  inquiry,  nothing  but  the 
most  unpardonable  neglect  will  be  found  the  cause  of  our  loss.  I  send 
by  Col.  M.  three  letters  which  I  received  last  night. 
'*  I  am  Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  honorable  servant. 

"  FrEDK.  rRELINQHTJYSEN. 

*'Hi8  Excellency  Gov.  Livingston." 

About  three  weeks  after  the  afifair  at  Staten  Island 
the  disaster  on  the  Brandywine  made  it  necessary  that 
the  Jersey  militia,  as  well  as  the  militia  of  other  States, 
should  be  sent  to  reinforce  Gen.  Washington's  army. 
The  request  of  Congress  to  this  effect  was  transmitted 
by  its  president,  John  Hancock,  on  the  12th  of  Sep- 
tember, to  Governor  Livingston,  who  immediately 
ordered  the  militia  forward  under  command  of  Gen. 
Armstrong.  The  number  asked  for  by  Congress  was 
four  thousand  from  New  Jersey,  and,  although  the 
entire  quota  was  not  filled,  all  the  militia  companies 
which  were  available  at  the  time  (less  than  a  thousand 
men)  crossed  the  Delaware  and  joined  Washington 
in  Pennsylvania.  At  the  same  time  a  column  of 
American  troops  which  had  been  stationed  at  Peeks- 
kill-on-the-Hudson,  moving  from  that  point,  entered 
and  crossed  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  marching  through 
Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties,  and  reported  to 
Washington  about  the  1st  of  October. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Germantown  the  New  Jer- 
sey militia  were  sent  back  to  their  own  State,  where 
their  presence  was  thought  to  be  necessary  on  account 
of  the  threatening  attitude  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  the 
British  commander  in  New  York,  who  early  in  Sep- 
tember had  invaded  the  State  with  three  thousand 
men  in  two  columns,  one  moving  by  way  of  Eliza- 
bethtown  Point  and  the  other  by  Fort  Lee,  and  unit- 
ing at  New  Bridge,  above  Hackensack.  He  remained 
in  the  State  but  a  few  days,  but  his  presence  and  his 
threatening  attitude  after  his  withdrawal  created  a 
general  alarm,  which  continued  through  the  fall  and 
succeeding  winter.  In  this  connection  the  following 
extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Council  of  Safety  of 
New  Jersey  is  given, — viz. : 

"  MONDAT,  17th  Nov.,  17V7. 
"The  Council  met  at  Princeton.  .  .  .  His  Excellency  produced  to  the 
Board  a  letter  from  the  Eevii  M'  Caldwell  to  Maj'  Gen'  Dickinson  dated 
the  22  October  last,  containing  his  report  to  Gen'  Dickinson  who  had  been 
requested  by  the  Board  to  inform  of  the  most  proper  place  to  fix  beacons, 
and  appoint  alarm  posts,  by  which  it  appears  to  this  Board  most  expe- 
dient to  remove  the  piece  of  Cannon*  now  lying  at  Princeton  to  the 
mountain  that  nearly  divides  the  space  between  Elizabeth  and  Morris- 
town,  to  be  put  under  Guard  of  the  Man  who  lives  where  the  said  Can- 
non is  to  be  fixed,  and  a  few  of  his  neighbors,  who  ought  to  be  exempted 
from  Military  Duty.  That  it  would  further  be  proper  to  erect  a  pile  on 
the  Hill  where  M^  M<=Gee  formerly  lived,  whence  the  Guard  from  the 
said  Mountain  may  see  the  fire  or  smoke,  and  by  that  means  know  that 
the  Suns  fired  at  Elizabeth  Town  are  intended  for  an  alarm  &  upon  that 
signal  fire  the  Cannon  on  the  Mountain.    The  Council  hereupon  agreed 


*  Probably  the  cannon  which  Count  Donop  had  mounted  on  his  earth- 
work at  Princeton,  captured  by  Washington  on  the  3d  of  January,  and 
afterwards  left  there  by  the  British  on  their  withdrawal  from  the  place, 
— supposed  to  be  the  same  gun  which  is  still  in  existence  on  the  college 
campus  in  that  town,  having  been  brought  back  there  many  years  after 
being  used  as  above  indicated. 


That  M'  Caldwell  be  desired  to  carry  the  above  Plan  into  execution,  and 
to  transmit  to  the  Board  an  account  of  the  expenses  attending  the 
same." 

About  the  18th  of  October  the  welcome  intelligence 
was  received  in  New  Jersey  of  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne  to  Gen.  Gates  at  Saratoga.f  When  the  news 
came  to  Gen.  Washington  he  at  once  issued  orders  to 
all  outlying  detachments  to  stop  all  stragglers  from 
making  their  way  to  the  enemy,  who  then  had  pos- 
session of  Philadelphia.  An  official  dispatch  from 
Burgoyne  to  Gen.  Howe  had  come  as  far  as  Basking 
Ridge,  in  Somerset  County,  where  (as  it  was  feared  it 
might  he  captured  by  the  Americans  if  it  proceeded 
any  farther  in  charge  of  the  male  messenger)  it  was 
intrusted  to  a  woman,— doubtless  the  wife  of  one  of 
the  Tories  of  that  vicinity, — who  took  it  and  pro- 
ceeded on  horseback  towards  Philadelphia ;  but  she 
had  not  passed  over  a  great  part  of  the  distance  when 
she  was  halted  by  Capt.  Craig,  of  the  American 
army,  and  on  taking  off  her  bonnet  (which  operation 
she  resisted  most  energetically)  the  dispatch  was  dis- 
covered ;  but  after  an  examination  of  its  contents  she 
was  remounted,  the  dispatch  given  back  to  her,  and 
she  was  allowed  to  proceed  on  her  journey  towards 
Gen.  Howe's  headquarters,  the  captain  bidding  her 
godspeed  with  the  remark  that  "if  she  had  such  news 
to  take  to  the  British  commander,  she  might  be  off  as 
soon  as  she  pleased."! 

During  the  month  of  September  in  that  year  two 
distinguished  Tories  of  Pennsylvania,  Messrs.  Penn 
and  Chew,  respectively  the  royalist  Governor  and 
chief  justice  of  that  State,  were  removed  thence  by 
the  Continental  authorities  and  placed  under  surveil- 
lance in  Hunterdon  County.  The  dissatisfaction  cre- 
ated in  New  Jersey  by  this  proceeding  is  shown  by 
the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Safety  and  by  a  let- 
ter from  the  Executive,  given  below.  The  following 
is  from  the  Minutes  of  the  council : 

"  Satdrdat,  4th  October,  1777. 
"Present  His  Excellency  W"  Livingston,  Mr.  Condict,  Mr.  Scudder, 
M'  Paterson,  M"^  Camp,  Mr.  Elmer.  ...  It  being  represented  to  the 
President  &  Council  of  Safety :  That  the  late  Gov  Penn,  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  Benj'n  Chew,  Esq',  late  C.  Justice  of  the  same  State,  have  been  per- 
mitted by  the  Hon'Ji''  Board  of  War  to  reside  at  or  near  the  Umon,§  in 
the  C"  of  Hunterdon:  Agreed,  That  a  letter  be  written  to  the  Honbi" 
Congress,  informing  them  of  the  impropriety  of  suffering  disaffected  per- 

f  In  a  letter  written  by  William  Paterson  to  Governor  Livingston, 
dated  Morristown,  Oct.  18, 1777,  is  found  the  following :  "  .  .  .  Glorious 
news  I  Glorious  news  I  Gen.  Burgoyne  has  surrendered  himself  and  his 
whole  army  prisoners  of  war  to  Gen.  Gates.  I  believe  this  intelligence 
may  be  depended  upon ;  it  comes  quite  direct.  The  bearer  will  inform 
Your  Excellency  more  particularly." — New  Jersey  Revolviionary  Corre- 
ejpondeit£e,p.  109. 

X  PMladelphia  Bullelitt. 

g  "  This  Union  was  the  iron-works  within  a  few  miles  of  the  home  of 
Cols.  Stewart  and  Johnston.  Near  the  furnaces  was  the  house  occupied 
by  Blr.  Taylor,  the  superintendent.  He  was  a  patriot.  In  this  house, 
which  now  forms  a  part  of  the  residence  of  Lewis  H.  Taylor  [at  High 
Bridge],  Penn  and  the  attorney-general.  Chew,  were  confined  six  months 
as  prisoners  of  war,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Taylor.  Tradition  reports  that  they 
brought  their  servants  with  them,  and  an  Indian  fiddler  to  beguile  the 
hours  of  their  captivity.  Governor  Penn  presented  Mr.  Taylor  with  a 
copy  of  Dalrymple's  *  Memoirs,'  with  his  autograph  upon  the  title-page.'* 
— MoWb  Rimterdon  County. 


70 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


-sons  to  remain  on  parole  in  this  State,  as  it  is  nearly  encircled  by  the 
Enemy ;  or  if  it  be  suffered,  That  the  above  persons  be  removed  from 
their  present  situation  to  some  more  secure  &  better  affected  part  of  the 
State;  and  that  the  Executive  Depart"^*  of  this  State  have  the  disjjosal 
of  them,  so  far  as  respects  the  place  of  their  residence." 

In  conformity  to  this  resolution  of  the  council, 
Governor  Livingston  wrote  the  President  of  Congress 
.as  follows  : 

"  Princeton,  October  4, 1777. 
"Sir, — The  council  a  few  days  ago  was  informed,  but  not  oflBcially  so, 
"that  Mr.  Penu,  late  Grovernor,  and  Mr.  Chew,  late  chief  Justice,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, with  some  others,  had  been  removed  to  the  Union,  in  the  county 
of  Hunterdon,  by  oi'der  of  the  Hon.  Board  of  War.  We  are  extremely 
sorry  that  persons  of  their  political  caste  and  rank  in  life  should  have 
been  sent  into  this  State,  which  is  nearly  encircled  by  the  enemy,  to  say 
nothing  of  our  domestic  foes.  Wherever  the  enemy  go,  thej'  never  fail 
to  make  friends  and  abettors,  or  at  least  to  call  up  such  into  active  life  in 
their  favor  as  during  their  absence  remained  in  a  sort  of  inactivity.  We 
have  suffered  extremely  from  persons  under  parole.  A  course  of  experi- 
ence has  fully  convinced  us  that  they  have  always  tinctured  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  they  have  been  fixed  with  Toryism  and  disaffection. 
There  is  hardly  a  county  in  this  State  which  is  not  at  present  exposed  to 
the  incursions  of  the  enemy;  and  therefore  we  submit  it,  whether  it  be 
proper  to  send  any  suspected  persons  into  it.  They  have  an  impercepti- 
ble and  baleful  influence  even  upon  the  well  'affected.  We  request, 
therefore,  that  the  above  gentlemen  may  be  removed  into  some  other 
State  as  soon  as  possible.  Of  all  Jersey,  the  spot  in  which  they  are 
at  present  is  the  very  spot  in  which  they  ought  not  to  be.*  It 
has  always  been  considerably  disaffected,  and  still  continues  so  not- 
withstanding all  our  efforts,  owing,  we  imagine,  in  part,  to  the  inter- 
■ests,  connections,  and  influence  of  Mr.  John  Allen,  brother-in-law  of 
Mr.  Penn,  who  is  now  with  the  enemy.  Of  this  the  Board  of  War 
must  have  been  entirely  ignorant,  otherwise  they  would  not  have  made 
such  an  order  of  removal.  And  we  are  willing  to  ascribe  it  to  the  hurry 
and  multiplicity  of  their  business  that  either  the  honorable  the  Congress 
or  the  Board  of  War  should  have  selected  any  part  of  New  Jersej'  as  a 
prison  for  malcontents  without  first  notifying  the  same  to  the  executive 
power  of  the  State.  Nor  can  we  persuade  oui-selves  that  they  will  have 
Any  objection  against  our  removing  the  before-mentioned  prisoners  out 
of  thi^  State  to  such  other  parts  of  the  country  as  Congress  may  think 
most  fit  for  their  Safety;  or,  if  they  must  remain  in  this  State,  to  leave 
it  to  our  direction  in  what  particular  locality  they  are  likely  to  do  the 
least  mischief.f 

*'  I  am  your  ob't  and  hum.  ser't 

"  Will  :  Livingston. 
"  His  Excellency  John  Hancock, 
"  Preset  of  Congress." 

The  request  of  the  Council  of  Safety  and  the  Gov- 
ernor was  acceded  to,  and  it  was  ordered  to  remove 
Penn  and  Chew  from  Hunterdon  County  to  the  State 
of  Massachusetts.  Following  are  given  extracts  from 
the  Minutes  of  the  Council  of  Safety  having  reference 
to  their  removal : 

"  MoNDiT,  24th  November,  1777. 
"  The  Council  met  at  Princeton.  .  .  .  Agreed  That  the  officer  who  is  to 
conduct  John  Penn  &  Benjamin  Chew  to  Wooster  [Worcester,  Mass.]  be 
■directed  to  purchase  in  some  of  the  New  England  States,  for  the  use  of 
this  State,  20,000  Flints." 


*  The  Governor's  letter  and  the  resolution  of  the  council,  above  quoted, 
imply  that  Toryism  was  more  rampant  in  Hunterdon  than  in  other  por- 
tions of  the  State.  But  it  is  proper  to  remark  that,  while  it  is  undoubt- 
edly true  that  there  existed  among  the  inhabitants  of  Hunterdon  more 
disaffection  than  was  found  among  those  of  any  other  county  (with  per- 
haps the  exception  of  Monmouth),  yet  there  were  among  its  people  a  very 
great  number  who  maintained  sentiments  of  the  most  unadulterated  and 
■exalted  patriotism  throughout  the  entire  Revolutionary  sti-uggle,  and 
that  it  was  excelled  by  no  county  in  New  Jersey  in  the  number  and  gal- 
lantry of  the  troops  which  it  sent  to  the  flold. 

fN.  J.  Eev.  Corr.,  pp.  101, 102. 


"  Wednesday,  26th  Nov. 
"  The  Council  met  at  Princeton.  .  .  .  Agreed :    That  there  be  ad- 
vanced to  Col  Chamberlain  for  purchasing  20,000  Flints  in  New  England, 
and  for  defraying  his  expenses  to  Wooster  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay, 
whither  be  is  to  conduct  Mesr^  Penn  &  Cliew,  the  sum  of  £200." 

That  Col.  Chamberlain  made  purchase  of  the  flints 
as  directed  is  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  the 
Minutes  of  the  council, — viz.  : 

"  March  17, 1778. 
"  The  Council  met  at  Trenton.  .  .  .  Agreed  that  Co^  Hathaway  receive 
from  Mr  Ogden  at  Boontown  the  20,000  flints  sent  or  to  be  sent  into  this 
State  by  M^  Archibald  Mercer  from  Boston  (first  paying  to  Ogden  at 
Boontown  for  the  cartage),  &  to  be  accountable  for  them  when  properly 
called  upon." 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1777  the  Council  of 
Safety  held  two  sessions  at  different  places  in  what  is 
now  the  county  of  Hunterdon, — viz.,  at  Pittstown, 
where  it  convened  on  the  16th  of  October  and  re- 
mained in  session  from  day  to  day  until  the  24th, 
guarded  by  a  detachment  of  soldiers  under  Lieut. 
Henry  Young,J  and  at  Ringo's  from  the  26th  of  De- 
cember to  the  1st  of  January,  1778,  when  it  adjourned 
to  meet  at  Springfield. 

"When  the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  with 
his  entire  army  reached  Paris,  on  the  4th  of  December, 
1777,  and  was  at  once  transmitted  to  Versailles,  the 
king  informed  the  American  commissioners,  through 
M.  Gerard,  one  of  his  secretaries  of  state,  that  the  in- 
dependence of  the  United  States  would  be  acknowl- 
edged by  France,  and  that  the  treaty  of  alliance 
and  commerce  between  the  two  countries  would  be 
concluded.  In  accordance  with  the  assurance  given 
by  the  monarch,  that  treaty  was  finally  ratified  on  the 
6th  of  February,  1778,  but  it  was  not  until  the  1st  of 
the  following  May  that  the  glad  intelligence  reached 
Gen.  Washington  in  his  squalid  winter  quarters  at 
Valley  Forge.  On  the  7th  of  that  month  it  was  offi- 
cially announced  in  general  orders  by  the  commander- 
in-chief  to  the  army  amid  great  rejoicings,  which 
were  followed  by  religious  observances  in  the  sev-eral 
commands.  "  Washington,  with  his  lady  and  suite, 
Lord  Stirling  and  his  lady,  with  other  general  officers 
and  ladies,  attended  the  religious  services  of  the 
Jersey  brigade  [Maxwell's],  when  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hunter  delivered  a  discourse.  Afterwards  all  the 
officers  of  the  army  assembled  and  partook  of  a  col- 
lation provided  by  the  commander-in-chief.  When 
he  took  his  leave  there  was  universal  huzzaing : 
'Long  live  General  Washington P  The  huzzas  con- 
tinued until  the  general  had  proceeded  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  and  a  thousand  hats  were  tossed  in  the  air. 
Washington  with  his  retinue  turned  round  and  huz- 
zaed several  times."^  This  event  marked  the  coming 
of  almost  the  first  ray  of  hope  which  pierced  the 
gloom  of  Valley  Forge,  and  it  was  not  long  after- 
wards that  the  campaign  commenced  which  ended  in 
glory  and  victory  on  the  field  of  Monmouth. 


X  Minutes  of  the  Council,  pp.  147-251  §  Lossing,  vol.  ii.  p.  346. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


71 


On  the  11th  of  May,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  took  com- 
mand of  the  British  army  in  Philadelphia  as  successor 
of  Gen.  Howe.    His  instructions  from  England  were 
to  evacuate  Philadelphia,  and  this  he  determined 
on   doing   on    the  23d  of  May,*   it   being   his    in- 
tention to  proceed  with  the  troops  by  water  to  New 
York.    But,  as  he  considered  the  probability  that  the 
fleet  might  be  delayed  by  head-winds,  thus  enabling 
Washington    to    reach   New   York  before   him,   he 
changed  his  plan,  and  decided  to  move  his  army  to 
that  city  by  land  across  the  State  of  New  Jersey.     In 
pursuance  of  that  plan  he  evacuated  Philadelphia  be- 
fore daylight  in  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  June,  and 
by  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  his  entire  army  had 
crossed  the  Delaware  and  landed  at  Gloucester  Point. 
In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  his  forces  encamped 
at  and  near  Haddonfield,  on  the  south  side  of  Cooper's 
Creek,  five  miles  southeast  of  Camden.     From  that 
place  they  moved  on  the  following  morning,  march- 
ing up  the  Delaware,  and   nearly  parallel  with  it. 
They  moved  in  three  divisions, — one  by  way  of  Mount 
Holly,  one  through  Columbus,  and  one  by  Borden- 
town.    This  last  division,  when  near  the  mouth  of 
Crosswick's  Creek,  was  attacked  by  three  regiments 
of  New  Jersey  militia,  under  Col.  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen,  Col.  Van  Dyke,  and  Col.  Webster.     It  was 
but  a  skirmish,  resulting  in  a  loss  to  the  British  of 
four  killed  and  a  greater  number  wounded.     They 
then  moved  to  Crosswick's,  where  they  were  again 
attacked  by  the  militia  while  they  were  attempting  to 
repair  the  bridge  over  the  stream.     This  they  finally 
succeeded  in  doing,  and  moved  on  towards  Allentown. 
Maxwell's  Jersey  brigade  had  been  detached  from  the 
main  body  of  the  American  army,  and  was  now  co- 
operating with  the  forces  of  Gen.  Philemon  Dickin- 
son to  obstruct  and  harass  the  British  columns  as 
much  as  possible,  but  they  were  too  weak  to  interfere 
with  their  march  otherwise  than  by  destroying  bridges 
and  obstructing  roads  before  them.     Clinton  did  not 
attempt  to  move  rapidly,  but  seemed  rather  to  invite 
an  attack.     On  the  24th  of  June  his  column  reached 
Imlaytown. 

Washington  had  suspected  the  design  of  the  Brit- 
ish commander,  to  move  his  forces  by  land  to  New 
York,  but  it  was  not  until  Clinton's  army  was  safely 
across  the  Delaware  that  he  became  certain  that  such 
would  be  the  movement.  As  soon  as  positive  intel- 
ligence of  the  evacuation  reached  him  he  sent  Arnold 
with  a  small  force  to  occupy  Philadelphia,  and  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  18th  (the  same  day  on  which  the 
British  crossed  into  New  Jersey),  six  brigades,  com- 
prising the  divisions  of  Greene  and  Wayne,  forming 
a  corps  which  was  under  command  of  Gen.  Lee,t  moved 

*  Egle'B  "  History  of  the  Commonwealth  of  PennsylTaoia"  says  (p. 
185)  the  council  of  war  waB  held  on  the  24th. 

t  Gen  Charles  Lee,  who  was  captured,  as  already  noticed,  at  Basking 
Eidge,  in  December,  1776,  hy  the  British  under  Col.  Harcourt,  was  ex- 
changed in  May,  1778.  for  Gen.  Prescott.  He  joined  the  army  at  Valley 
rorge,  and  was  reinstated  in  his  old  position  sa  second  in  command 
nnder  Washington. 


towards  the  Delaware  in  pursuit.  Passing  through 
Doylestown,  Lee  reached  the  river  at  Coryell's  Ferry, 
and  crossed  into  New  Jersey  at  that  point  in  the  night 
of  the  20th.  On  the  same  night  Washington,  who 
followed  with  the  remainder  of  the  forces,  encamped 
at  Doylestown,  and,  resuming  the  march  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  crossed  at  Coryell's  on  the  22d.t  From 
Coryell's  the  army  moved  over  the  highlands  to  Hope- 
well, where  Washington  remained  during  the  23d. 
At  that  point  he  detached  six  hundred  riflemen,  under 
Morgan,  to  annoy  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy,  while 
Maxwell  and  Dickinson  were  engaged  in  the  same 
duty  on  his  left.  Lee's  column  had  moved  by  a  more 
southern  route,  by  way  of  Pennington,  and  thence  to 
Princeton.  Washington's  column,  moving  from  Hope- 
well, also  passed  Princeton,  and  the  entire  forces  con- 
centrated at  Kingston.  It  had  been  the  intention  of 
the  British  general  to  move  to  the  Earitan  and  embark 
his  troops  at  New  Brunswick  or  Amboy,  but  when  he 
found  Washington  almost  in  his  front  at  Kingston,  he 
turned  to  the  right,  taking  the  road  leading  to  Free- 
hold and  Sandy  Hook. 

Of  the  battle  and  victory  of  Monmouth,  which  re- 
sulted from  the  movements  above  mentioned,  it  is  not 
intended  to  give  a  detailed  description,  for  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  general  history,  and  as  such  well  known  to  all 
readers.  On  the  morning  of  June  28th  the  British 
army,  under  Clinton,  occupied  a  strong  position  near 
Monmouth  Court-house,  and  Gen.  Washington  was 
approaching  it.  When  within  some  six  miles  of  Clin- 
ton he  learned  that  the  latter  had  abandoned  his  po- 
sition and  was  moving  towards  the  coast.  On  re- 
ceipt of  this  intelligence  he  ordered  the  army  to 
move  on  with  rapidity,  and  sent  directions  to  Lee,  who 
had  the  advance  with  about  five  thousand  men,  to  use 
all  possible  speed  to  come  up  with  the  enemy,  and 
on  doing  so  to  attack  him  "unless  there  are  very 
powerful  reasons  to  the  contrary,"  assuring  him,  at 
the  same  time,  that  the  main  body  would  come  up 
as  rapidly  as  possible  to  his  support.  Washington 
then  pressed  on  with  the  rear  division  of  the  army, 
but  after  marching  some  five  miles  learned,  to  his 
surprise  and  alarm,  that  Lee,  having  only  delivered 
a  single  volley  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  was  al- 
ready retreating  with  precipitation  directly  on  the 
rear  division,  thereby  causing  imminent  danger  of  a 
general  panic  among  the  forces.  Putting  spurs  to  his 
horse,  the  general-in-chief  hastened  towards  the  scene 
of  disorder,  and,  meeting  Lee,  he  sternly  and  severely 

X  Washington  wrote  to  the  American  Congress  as  follows : 

"  Headquarters  near  Coryel's,  June  22, 1778. 
"  Sir,— I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  that  I  am  now  in  Jersey,  and 
that  the  troops  are  passing  the  river  at  Coryel's,  and  are  mostly  over.  .  .  . 
As  soon  as  we  have  cleaned  the  arms  and  can  get  matters  in  train,  we  pro- 
pose moving  towards  Princeton,  in  order  to  avail  ourselves  of  any  favor- 
able occasions  that  may  present  themselves  of  attacking  or  annoying  the 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  etc., 

"  G.  W." 


72 


HUNTERDON   AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


reprimanded  him*  for  his  shameful  conduct  and  or- 
dered him  instantly  to  turn  back.  He  then  dashed 
among  the  flying  troops  and  succeeded  in  rallying 
them,  and  induced  them  to  re-form  and  face  the  en- 
emy. This  occurred  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock 
in  the  day,  and  it  was  the  turning-point  in  the  con- 
flict. Other  troops  soon  came  up  ;  Greene  and  Stir- 
ling and  "Mad  Anthony"  Wayne  interposed  their 
divisions  and  became  fiercely  engaged;  and  during 
the  remaining  hours  of  that  hot  and  sultry  Sabbath 
afternoon  the  battle  raged  at  intervals  with  great  fury 
and  with  varying  success,  but  in  general  favoring  the 
Americans,  until  darkness  closed  over  Monmouth 
Plain  and  ended  the  strife.  The  wearied  soldiers  of 
Washington  and  Clinton  rested  on  their  arms,  appa- 
rently waiting  for  the  light  of  a  new  day  to  recom- 
mence the  struggle.  But  at  about  midnight  the  Brit- 
ish columns  moved  away  in  the  darkness,  so  silently 
that  their  flight  was  not  detected  by  the  Americans 
until  hours  afterwards.  "  With  silent  steps  column 
after  column  left  the  camp  and  hurried  towards  Sandy 
Hook.  So  secret  was  the  movement,  and  so  deep  the 
sleep  of  the  patriots,  that  the  troops  of  Gen.  Poor, 
lying  close  by  the  enemy,  were  ignorant  of  their  de- 
parture until  at  dawn  they  saw  the  deserted  camp  of 
the  enemy.  They  had  been  gone  more  than  three 
hours.  Washington,  considering  the  distance  they 
had  gained,  the  fatigue  of  his  men,  the  extreme  heat 
of  the  weather,  and  the  deep  sandy  country,  with  but 
little  water,  deemed  pursuit  fruitless,  and  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  escaped.  .  .  .  The  British  army  reached 
Sandy  Hook  on  the  30th,  where  Lord  Howe's  fleet, 
having  come  round  from  the  Delaware,  was  in  readi- 
ness to  convey  them  to  New  York."t 

The  battle  of  Monmouth  was  one  of  the  most  se- 
verely contested  of  the  conflicts  of  the  Revolution,  and 
in  its  result  has  always  been  regarded  as  a  victoryt 
for  the  American  arms.  This  view  is  sustained  by  the 
fact  that  the  British  army  stole  away  in  the  darkness. 


*  Lee  answered  Washington  in  a  defiant  manner,  and  after  the  battle 
used  very  disrespectful  language  to  him  in  two  letters  (dated  June  29th 
and  30th).  For  this  disrespect  to  the  commander-in-chief,  aa  also  on  two 
other  charges, — viz., "  Disobedience  of  orders  in  not  attacking  the  enemy 
on  -the  28th  of  June,  agreeably  to  repeated  instructions,"  and  "  Misbe- 
havior before  the  enemy  on  the  same  day,  by  making  an  unnecessary, 
disorderly,  and  shameful  retreat," — he  was  tried  by  a  court-martial  con- 
vened on  the  4th  of  July  at  New  Brunswick.  It  consisted  of  Maj.-Gen. 
Lord  Stirling  (who  was  the  president),  four  brigadiers,  and  eight  colonels. 
On  the  8th  of  August  their  decision  was  rendered,  finding  him  guilty  on 
all  the  charges,  and  sentencing  him  to  be  suspended  from  any  and  all 
command  in  any  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States  for  the  terra  of 
twelve  months.  This  finding  was  approved  by  Congress,  and  thereupon 
Gen.  Lee  left  the  army  and  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  died  four 
years  afterwards,  never  being  again  called  into  service. 

f  LoBsing. 

X  That  Washington  so  regarded  it  is  shown  by  the  following  extract 
from  his  general  order  dated  at  Freehold  on  the  morning  after  the 
battle :  "  The  commander-in-chief  congratulates  the  army  on  the  victory 
obtained  over  the  arms  of  His  Britannic  Majesty,  and  thanks  most 
sincerely  the  gallant  ofScers  and  men  who  distinguished  themselves 
upon  this  occasion,  and  such  others  as,  by  their  good  order  and  coolness, 
gave  the  happiest  presage  of  what  might  have  been  expected  had  they 
come  to  action." 


leaving  Washington  master  of  the  field.  Lossing 
remarks?  that  the  result  might  have  been  a  complete 
defeat  for  the  British,  and  probably  a  surrender  of 
their  army,  if  Washington  had  brought  into  the  battle 
the  corps  of  riflemen  under  the  redoubtable  Morgan. 
"  For  hours  the  latter  was  at  Richmond  Mills,  three 
miles  below  Monmouth,  awaiting  orders,  in  an  agony 
of  desire  to  engage  in  the  battle,  for  he  was  within 
sound  of  its  fearful  tumult.  To  and  fro  he  strode, 
uncertain  what  course  to  pursue,  and,  like  a  hound  iu 
the  leash,  panting  to  be  away  to  action. ...  It  appears 
probable  that  had  he  fallen  on  the  British  rear  with 
his  fresh  troops  at  the  close  of  the  day,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  and  his  army  might  have  shared  the  fate  of 
the  British  at  Saratoga." 

The  New  Jersey  troops  in  the  commands  of  Lord 
Stirling  and  Gens.  Dickinson  and  Maxwell  (in  which 
were  found  nearly  all  the  soldiers  from  Somerset  and 
Hunterdon  Counties)  behaved  most  gallantly  at  Mon- 
mouth. Dickinson  (who  was  in  command  of  the  Jer- 
sey militia,  including  the  battalion  of  Col.  Freling- 
huysen)  displayed  the  greatest  bravery.  He  and  the 
troops  under  him  were  commended  by  Gen.  Wash- 
ington in  his  general  order,  of  the  day  after  the  battle, 
in  these  words : 

"Gen.  Dickinson  and  the  militia  of  this  State  are  also  thanked  for 
their  nobleness  in  opposing  the  enemy  on  their  march  from  Phila- 
delphia, and  for  the  aid  which  they  have  given  in  embarra.ssing  and 
impeding  their  motions  so  as  to  allow  the  Continental  troops  to  come 
up  with  them." 

Maxwell  commanded  the  Jersey  Brigade  of  Conti- 
nentals, which  behaved  with  great  gallantry  during 
the  battle,  and  performed  excellent  service  in  annoy- 
ing the  enemy  in  his  retreat  to  Sandy  Hook,  this  bri- 
gade, with  Morgan's  corps  of  riflemen,  being  sent  for- 
ward on  this  last-named  duty  on  the  morning  of  the 
29th  when  the  enemy's  absence  was  discovered. 

The  departure  of  Clinton's  army  from  Sandy  Hook 
left  New  Jersey  free  from  the  presence  of  armed  ene- 
mies upon  her  soil,  and  the  militiamen  of  the  State 
were  then  allowed  to  return  to  their  homes,  to  re- 
main until  some  other  exigency  should  require  them 
to  be  again  called  to  the  field.  The  army  of  Wash- 
ington was  moved  from  Monmouth  to  and  across  the 
Hudson  River,  and  took  position  in  Westchester  Co., 
N.  Y.,  awaiting  developments  as  to  the  intentions  of 
the  British  commander,  who  was  quartered  in  New 
York  City.  The  headquarters  of  Washington  were  at 
White  Plains,  from  which  point  he  narrowly  watched 
Gen.  Clinton,  suspecting  it  to  be  the  design  of  the 
latter  to  move  into  the  New  England  States.  "  Sir 
Henry  gave  currency  to  the  reports  that  such  were  his 
intentions  until  Washington  moved  his  headquarters 
to  Fredericksburg,  near  the  Connecticut  line,  and 
turned  his  attention  decidedly  to  the  protection  of  the 
eastern  coast.     Clinton  then  sent  foraging-parties  into- 


I "  Field-Book  of  the  Eevolution,"  vol.  ii.  p.  364. 


HUNTEEDON  AND  SOMEKSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


73 


New  Jersey,  and  ravaged  the  whole  country  from  the 
Hudson  to  the  Raritan  and  heyond."* 

Finally,  being  convinced  that  the  enemy  had  no 
designs  on  New  England,  Washington  resolved  to 
place  his  army  in  winter  quarters  at  different  points 
and  in  the  most  advantageous  positions.  This  was  done 
in  December,  1778.    The  dispositions  were  made  as 
follows  :  Five  brigades  were  cantoned  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Hudson ;  one  brigade  at  West  Point ;  one  at 
Smith's  Cove,  near  Haverstraw;   one  at  Elizabeth- 
town  ;  and  seven  brigades  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
Middlebrook,  Somerset  Co. ;  the  reserve  artillery  was 
quartered  at  Pluckamin.      What  has  usually  been 
termed  the  "  camp  at  Middlebrook"  was  composed  of 
three  distinct  cantonments.     On  the  south  side  of  the 
Raritan  River,  west  of  the  Millstone  road,  and  south 
of  the   residence  of  the  late   John   Garretson,  was 
located  the  encampment  of  the  First,  Second,  and 
Seventeenth  Regiments  of  Pennsylvania  troops,  form- 
ing the  division  of  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne.     A  smaller 
cantonment  was  established  along  the  hillside  east  of 
the  gorge  in  which  Chimney  Rock  stands.     It  is  not 
clear  as  to  who  were  the  occupants  of  this  encamp- 
ment.    One  account  states  that  they  were  nearly  or 
quite  all  officers  of  the  several  brigades,  but  this  is 
improbable.     The  largest  body  of  troops,  in  which 
was  included  the  division  of  Gen.  Greene,  occupied  a 
camping-ground  on  the   northeast  slope   of  Mount 
Pleasant,  on  lands  of  Derick  Van  Veghten,  between 
Chimney  Rock  and  the  site  of  the  present  village  of 
Somerville.     The  ground  on  which  the  encampment 
was  located  was  then   covered  with   a  very  heavy 
growth  of  timber,  which  is  probably  the  reason  why 
it  was  selected,  for  the  forest  would  furnish  fire-wood 
and  logs  for  the  erection  of  huts  for  the  soldiers,  while 
such  part  of  it  as  was  not  felled  for  these  purposes 
would  form  a  very  desirable  protection  against  the 
winter  winds. 

For  nearly  two  months  after  the  arrival  of  the  army 
at  this  place  the  soldiers  had  only  tents  to  shelter 
them,  but  they  were  soon  set  at  work  building  cabins, 
which  does  not  appear  to  have  been  accomplished  by 
them  with  as  much  rapidity  as  similar  work  was 
done  by  the  armies  in  the  recent  war  of  the  Rebellion, 
for  it  was  not  until  February  that  they  were  completed 
and  occupied,  as  appears  by  the  following  extract 
from  Thatcher's  "  Military  Journal," — viz. : 

"  Fehrwiry  [1779.] — Having  continued  to  live  under  cover  of  canvas 
tentB  most  of  the  winter,  we  have  suffered  severely  from  exposure  to 
cold  and  storms.  Our  soldiers  have  been  employed  six  or  eight  weeks 
in  constructing  log  huts,  which  at  length  are  completed ;  and  both  offi- 
cers and  soldiers  are  now  under  comfortable  covering  for  the  remainder 
of  the  winter.  Log  houses  are  constructed  with  the  trunks  of  trees  cut 
into  various  lengths,  according  to  the  size  intended,  and  are  firmly  con- 
nected by  notches  cut  at  their  extremities  in  the  manner  of  dovetailing. 
The  vacancies  between  the  logs  are  filled  in  with  plastering  consisting 
of  mud  and  clay.  The  roof  is  formed  of  similar  pieces  of  timber  and 
covered  with  hewn  slabs.  The  chimney,  situated  at  one  end  of  the 
house,  is  made  of  similar  but  smaller  timbers,  and  both  the  inner  and 
outer  sides  are  covered  with  clay  plaster  to  defend  the  wood  against  the 

*  Lossing. 


fire.  The  door  and  windows  are  formed  by  sawing  away  a  part  of  the 
logs  of  a  proper  size,  and  move  on  wooden  hinges.  In  this  manner 
have  our  soldiers  without  nails,  and  almost  without  tools  except  the  axe 
and  saw,  provided  for  theij-  oflQcers  and  for  themselves  convenient  and  com- 
fortable quarters  with  little  or  no  expense  to  the  public.  The  huts  are 
arranged  in  straight  lines,  forming  a  regular,  uniform,  compact  village. 
The  officers'  huts  are  situated  in  front  of  the  line,  according  to  their 
rank,  the  kitchens  in  the  rear,  and  the  whole  is  similar  in  form  to  a  tent 
encampment.  The  ground,  for  a  considerable  distance,  in  front  of  the 
soldiers'  line  of  huts  is  cleared  of  wood,  stumps,  and  rubbish,  and  is 
every  morning  swept  clean  for  the  purpose  of  a  parade-ground  and  roll- 
call  of  the  respective  regiments.  The  officers'  huts  are  in  general  di- 
vided into  two  apartments,  and  are  occupied  by  three  or  four  ofiBcere, 
who  compose  one  mess.  Those  for  the  soldiers  have  but  one  room,  and 
contain  ten  or  twelve  men,  with  their  cabins  placed  one  above  the  other 
against  the  walls  and  filled  with  straw,  and  one  blanket  for  each  man. 
I  now  occupy  a  hut  with  our  field-ofl&cers.  Col.  Gibson,  Lieut.-Col.  Brent, 
and  Maj.  Meriweatber." 

"  In  Washington  Valley,"  says  Dr.  Messier,  "just 
east  of  the  road  as  it  rises  up  from  the  gorge  below  to 
the  level  of  the  surrounding  country,  artillery  was 
placed,  and  a  fort  erected  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the 
northwest,  to  defend  their  position  from  any  attack 
by  way  of  the  opening  of  the  valley  at  Pluckamin. 
The  remains  of  this  earthwork  are  still  visible  in  some 
degree.  There  was  also  along  the  old  Raritan  road, 
east  of  the  road  which  crosses  the  old  bridge  over  the 
Raritan  River,  a  number  of  mechanic-shops,  where 
repairing  of  ambulances,  shoeing  of  horses,  and  such 
other  operations  as  are  necessary  in  connection  with 
an  army  and  a  military  encampment  were  done. 
These  shops,  as  well  as  the  camp-ground  on  Mount 
Pleasant,  were  on  the  land  of  Derick  Van  Veghten, 
and  of  course  he  suffered  more  damage  in  his  property 
than  any  other  individual  in  the  vicinity.  His  wood- 
land was  cut  down  for  building  the  huts ;  it  was  used 
for  fuel,  and  for  any  other  objects  connected  with  the 
comfort  of  the  troops ;  but  he  bore  the  damage  like  a 
patriot.  That  he  ever  received  any  compensation  is 
nowhere  affirmed  in  any  document,  or  even  in  any 
traditions  coming  down  to  us  from  the  remembrances 
of  these  times.  .  .  .  The  old  Abraham  Staats  house, 
just  below  Bound  Brook,  on  the  east  side  of  the  turn- 
pike and  near  the  river,  in  which  Baron  Steuben  had 
his  winter  quarters  in  1778-79,  stands  yet  in  a  com- 
fortable state  of  preservation.  Here  that  noble  Prus- 
sian, whose  love  of  liberty  induced  him  to  give  the 
aid  of  his  personal  influence  to  our  almost  fainting 
cause,  slept  and  thought  and  planned  during  those 
long  winter  nights  when  hope  had  hardly  yet  dawned 
upon  the  struggling  efforts  for  American  liberty." 

During  the  time  that  the  army  remained  at  Middle- 
brook, Gen.  Washington  and  his  lady  occupied  apart- 
ments which  had  been  especially  fitted  up  for  their 
use  in  the  then  unfinished  house  of  Caleb  Miller, 
which  is  still  standing  and  in  good  repair  in  the  west 
part  of  the  village  of  Somerville,  near  the  place  where 
the  railroad  crosses  the  road  leading  to  Raritan  vil- 
lage. The  room  occupied  at  that  time  by  the  com- 
mander-in-chief now  remains  in  precisely  the  same 
condition  in  which  it  was  when  he  left  it.  It  was  from 
this  house  that  all  his  orders  and  dispatches  dated 


14: 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"  Headquarters,  Middlebrook"  were  issued  during  the 
■winter  and  spring  of  1778-79,  and  it  was  also  in  this 
house  that  he  conceived  and  matured  the  plans  for 
the  expedition  which,  under  command  of  Gen.  Sulli- 
van, moved  from  Easton,  Pa.,  by  way  of  Tioga  Point, 
into  the  country  of  the  Six  Nations  in  1779,  and  in- 
flicted summary  punishment  on  those  tribes  for  their 
share  in  the  atrocities  of  Wyoming  and  Cherry  Valley. 
One  of  the  orders  issued  by  the  commander-in-chief 
from  these  headquarters,  and  bearing  date  Feb.  6, 
1779,  was  as  follows : 

"The  commander-in-chief  approves  the  order  issued  by  Major-Gen. 
Lord  Stirling*  during  his  command  at  the  camp,  and  thanks  him  for  the 
endeavor  to  preserve  order  and  discipline,  and  the  property  of  the  farm- 
ers in  the  vicinity  of  the  camp.  He  douhts  not  but  the  officers  of  every 
rank,  from  a  just  sense  of  the  importance  of  securing  to  others  the  bless- 
ings they  themselves  are  contending  for,  will  use  their  utmost  vigilance 
to  maintain  those  privileges  and  prevent  abuses,  and  nothing  can  redound 
more  to  their  personal  honor  and  the  reputation  of  their  respective  corps. 

"Alexander  Scammil, 

But  neither  general  orders  nor  the  efforts  of  the 
officers  proved  effectual  in  preventing  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  soldiery  on  the  inhabitants,  until  finally 
the  sternest  repressive  measures  became  necessary, 
and  were  adopted,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  ex- 
tract from  Thatcher's  "  Military  Journal,"  it  being  an 
account  of  a  military  execution  which  took  place 
within  the  lines  at  this  place  for  the  crimes  indicated, 
— viz. : 

"AprU  20^^  [1779]. — Five  soldiers  were  conducted  to  the  gallows,  ac- 
cording to  their  sentence,  for  the  crimes  of  desertion  and  robbing  the 
inhabitants.  A  detachment  of  troops  and  a  concourse  of  people  formed  a 
circle  around  the  gallows,  and  the  criminals  were  brought  in  a  cart  sit- 
ting on  their  coffins  and  halteiB  about  their  necks.  While  in  this  awful 
situation,  trembling  on  the  verge  of  eternity,  three  of  them  received  a 
pardon  from  the  commander-in-chief,  who  is  always  tenderly  disposed  to 
spare  the  lives  of  his  soldiers.  They  acknowledged  the  justice  of  their 
sentence  and  expressed  their  warmest  thankfulness  and  gratitude  for  their 
merciful  pardon.  The  two  others  were  obliged  to  submit  to  their  fate. 
One  of  them  was  accompanied  to  the  fatal  spot  by  an  affectionate  brother, 
which  rendered  the  scene  uncommonly  distressing  and  forced  tears  of 
compassion  from  the  eyes  of  numerous  spectators.  They  repeatedly  em- 
braced and  kissed  each  other  with  all  the  fervor  of  brotherly  love,  and 
would  not  be  separated  until  the  executioner  was  obliged  to  perform  bis 
duty;  when,  with  a  flood  of  tears  and  mournful  lamentations,  they  bade 
each  other  an  eternal  adieu,  the  criminal  trembling  under  the  horrors  of 
an  untimely  and  disgraceful  death,  and  the  brother  overwhelmed  with 
sorrow  and  anguish  for  one  whom  he  held  most  dear." 

The  camp  of  the  artillery  brigade  was  located,  as 
has  been  already  mentioned,  at  Pluckamin,  which  was 
also  the  headquarters  of  Gen.  Knox ;  and  there,  on 
the  18th  of  February,  was  given,  under  the  auspices 
of  that  general  and  his  subordinate  officers  of  the  ar- 
tillery, a  grand  ball  and  supper,  in  celebration  of  the 
first  anniversary  of  the  signi,ng  of  the  treaty  of  alli- 
ance between  France  and  the  United  States.  The 
affair,  which  appears  to  have  been  a  brilliant  one,  was 

*  Having  reference  to  an  order  which  had  been  previously  issued  by 
Lord  Stirling  directing  that  strict  attention  be  paid  to  a  certain  resolution 
of  Congress :  "  That  all  officers  in  the  army  of  the  United  States  be  hereby 
strictly  enjoined  to  see  that  the  good  and  wholesome  rules  provided  for 
the  discontinuance  of  prolaneness  and  vice  and  the  preservation  uf  morals 
among  the  soldiers  are  duly  and  punctually  observed." 


thus  noticed  in  one  of  the  public  journals  of  the 
time : 

"  The  anniversary  of  our  alliance  with  France  was  celebrated  on  the 
18th  ultimo  at  Pluckamin  at  a  very  elegant  entertainment  and  display 
of  fireworks  given  by  Gen.  Knox  and  the  officers  of  the  corps  of  artil- 
lery. It  was  postponed  to  this  late  dayt  on  account  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  being  absent  from  the  camp.  Gen.  Washington,  the  principal 
officers  of  the  army,  with  Mrs.  Washington,  Mrs.  Greene,  Mrs.  Knox, 
and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  a  large  circuit  round  the  camp,  were  of 
the  company.  Besides  these,  there  was  a  vast  concourse  of  spectators 
from  every  part  of  the  Jerseys. 

"  The  barracks  of  the  artillery  are  at  a  small  distance  from  Pluckamin, 
on  a  piece  of  rising  ground,  which  shows  them  to  great  advantage.  The 
entertainment  and  ball  were  held  at  the  academyj  of  the  park.  About 
four  o'clock  in  the  afteruoon  the  celebration  of  the  alliance  was  announced 
by  the  discharge  of  thirteen  cannon,  when  the  company  assembled  to  a 
very  elegant  dinner.  The  room  was  spacious  and  the  tables  were  prettily 
disposed,  both  as  to  prospect  and  convenience.  The  festivity  was  uni- 
versal and  the  toasts  descriptive  of  the  happy  event  which  had  given 
certainty  to  our  liberties,  empire,  and  independence.  In  the  evening  was 
exhibited  a  very  fine  set  of  fireworks,  conducted  by  Col.  Stevens,  ar- 
ranged on  the  point  of  a  temple  one  hundred  feet  in  length  and  propor- 
tionately high.  The  temple  showed  thirteen  arches,  each  displaying  an 
illuminated  painting.  The  centre  arch  was  ornamented  with  a  pediment 
larger  than  the  others,  and  the  whole  edifice  supported  by  a  colonnade 
of  the  Corinthian  order.  [Here  follows  a  description  of  the  thirteen 
illuminated  paintings,  with  their  accompanying  mottoes.] 

"  When  the  fireworks  were  finished,  the  company  returned  to  the 
academy  and  concluded  the  celebration  by  a  very  splendid  ball.  The 
whole  was  conducted  in  a  style  and  manner  that  reflects  great  honor  on 
the  task  of  the  managers." 

Thus,  with  something  of  festivity,  but  far  more  of 
privation,  if  not  of  actual  suffering,  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  patriot  army  passed  about  six  months  of 
winter  and  spring  in  their  encampments  near  Middle- 
brook  and  Pluckamin.  That  they  remained  there 
until  June,  1779,  is  shown  by  a  letter^  written  by  Gen. 
Washington  to  Governor  Livingston,  dated  in  that 
month  (but  without  day), at  "Headquarters,  Middle- 
brook."  The  army,  however,  left  its  winter  quarters 
about  the  first  of  that  month,  and  reached  the  Hudson 
on  the  7th. II  Gen.  Wayne  moved  from  his  encamp- 
ment, south  of  the  Earitan,  to  the  Hudson,  where,  on 
the  15th  of  July,  he  stormed  and  captured  the  British 
fortifications  at  Stony  Point.  "  From  this  time,"  says 
Dr.  Messier,  "  Somerset  County  ceased  to  be  the  rest- 
ing-place of  armies  fighting  in  the  cause  of  liberty ; 
and  the  foot  of  a  British  soldier  trod  it  no  more  except 
in  one  hasty  visit  (Col.  Simcoe's  raid  in  1779),  which 
is  to  be  related."  The  succeeding  operations  of  the 
American  army  during  that  year  were  carried  on  along 
the  Hudson  Eiver  above  New  York. 


f  The  treaty  of  alliance  was  concluded  on  the  6th  of  February,  1778, 
which  was  of  course  the  day  on  which  the  anniversary  celebration  would 
have  taken  place  but  for  the  absence  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

t  "  The  exact  locality  of  the  '  academy'  tradition  fixes  on  the  east  side 
of  the  village  street,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  late  Boylan  residence, 
and  the  edge  of  the  wood  on  the  farm  of  the  late  Dr.  Henry  Vander- 
veer," — Dr.  Measler.    i 

§  N.  J.  Kev.  Corr.,  p.  172, 

II  "  As  soon  as  Washington  was  advised  of  this  movement  (the  passage 
of  the  British  fleet  up  the  Hudson  for  the  supposed  purpose  of  attacking 
the  forts  in  the  Highlands),  he  drew  his  troops  from  their  cantonments 
in  New  Jersey,  and  by  rapid  marches  reached  the  Clove  on  the  7th,  with 
five  brigades  and  two  Carolina  regiments.  He  pressed  forward  to  Smith's 
Clove,  whence  tliere  were  moonlaiii-passes  to  the  forts  in  the  Higlilanda, 
and  there  he  encamped." — Lossmy'a  Field-Book,  vol.  ii.  p.  212. 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


75 


In  the  latter  part  of  October,  1779,  a  party  of  British 
troops  made  a  foray  into  Somerset  County,  penetrating 
as  far  as  Millstone,  doing  a  considerable  amount  of 
damage,  and  partially  accomplishing  the  object  for 
which  they  came.  This  expedition  is  usually  men- 
tioned as  "  Simcoe's  raid,"  because  the  exploit  was 
performed  by  a  force  of  men  under  command  of  Lieut.- 
Col.  Simcoe,  of  the  British  army.  The  account  of  it 
given  below  is  drawn  partly  from  Simcoe's  own  report, 
and  partly  from  a  narrative  of  the  aifair  written  by 
the  late  Hon.  Ralph  Voorhees. 

The  force  under  command  of  Col.  Simcoe  on  this 
expedition  consisted  of  men  belonging  to  a  somewhat 
celebrated  corps  known  as  the  "  Queen's  Rangers," 
which  was  mostly  made  up  of  native  Americans, 
Tories,  enlisted  into  the  corps  in  Westchester  Co., 
N.  Y.,  and  in  neighboring  portions  of  Connecticut. 
Col.  Simcoe  had  assumed  command  of  this  body  in 
1777,  and  afterwards  brought  it  up  to  a  condition  of 
excellent  discipline  and  great  efficiency.  The  strength 
of  the  force  detailed  from  the  "  Rangers"  for  this  par- 
ticular service  was  about  eighty  men,  who,  embarking 
at  Billop's  Point  in  the  night  of  the  25th  of  October, 
were  landed  at  Elizabethtown  Point  at  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  26th,  when,  the  column 
having  formed  and  moved  out  a  short  distance  on  the 
road,  Simcoe  announced  to  his  officers  the  object  of 
the  expedition,  which  was  to  proceed  swiftly  to  Van 
Veghten's  bridge  over  the  Raritan  (near  the  present 
railway-station  of  Finderne),  there  to  destroy  a 
number  of  flat-boats  which  Washington  had  left  in  the 
river  at  that  point,*  and,  having  done  this,  to  cross 
the  river  and  proceed  to  Millstone,  take  the  Amwell 
road,  and  follow  it  till  they  came  to  a  house  at  a  corner 
of  a  road  diverging  from  it  to  the  south  and  leading 
into  the  Princeton  road  running  from  that  place  to 
New  Brunswick.  Their  object  was  thus  to  make  a 
circuit  around  New  Brunswick,  so  as  to  avoid  contact 
with  any  American  troops  that  might  be  stationed  in 
the  vicinity  of  that  town;  but  after  passing  New 
Brunswick,  and  having  arrived  at  the  heights  on 
which  stood  the  "  Grenadier  Redoubt"  (which  had 
been  built  by  the  British  during  their  occupancy  of 
the  place  in  1776  and  1777),  they  were  "to  discover 
themselves"  to  the  American  militia  for  the  purpose 
of  inducing  the  latter  to  follow  them,  in  which  case 
they  were  to  retreat  to  South  River  Bridge,  which  they 
were  not  to  destroy  or  to  cross,  but  to  form  an  ambush 
near  its  western  approach  (in  which  they  were  to  be 
supported  by  a  body  of  British  infantry  which  had 
been  ordered  to  that  place,  under  command  of  Maj. 
Armstrong),  for  the  purpose  of  entrapping  and,  if 
possible,  capturing  their  American  pursuers.  This, 
in  brief,  was  the  general  plan  of  the  expedition. 

*  Fifty  boats  had  been  built,  by  Waahington's  orders,  on  the  Delaware, 
and  hauled  across  the  country  on  wheels  to  Van  Veghten's  bridge  on  the 
Baritan.  They  were  intended  to  be  used  for  crossing  to  New  Tork,  and 
were  capable  of  carrying  seventy  men  each.  About  one-third  of  tbem 
now  remained  at  the  bridge. 


Setting  out  from  Elizabethtown,  the  raiders  pro- 
ceeded to  Quibbletown  (afterwards  known  as  New 
Market)  without  any  notable  incident  except  the  cap- 
ture of  a  prisoner.  "  Capt.  Sanford's  men  formed  the 
advance-guard,  the  hussars  followed,  andStewart'sraen 
were  in  the  rear,  making,  in  the  whole,  about  eighty. 
A  Justice  Crow  was  soon  overtaken ;  Lieut.-Col. 
Simcoe  accosted  him  roughly,  called  him  '  Tory,'  nor 
seemed  to  believe  his  excuse  when,  in  the  American 
idiom  for  courtship,  he  said '  he  had  only  been  a-spark- 
ing,'  but  sent  him  to  the  rear-guard,  who,  being 
Americana,  easily  comprehended  their  instructions 
and  kept  up  the  justice's  belief  that  the  party  was  a 
detachment  from  Washington's  army.  Many  planta- 
tions were  now  passed  by,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
were  up,  and  whom  the  party  accosted  with  friendly 
salutations.  At  Quibbletown,  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe 
had  just  quitted  the  advance-guard  to  speak  to  Lieut. 
Stewart,!  when,  from  a  public-house  on  the  turn  of 
the  road,  some  people  came  out  with  knapsacks  on 
their  shoulders,  bearing  the  appearance  of  a  rebel 
guard.  Capt.  Sanford  did  not  see  them  till  he  had 
passed  by,  when,  checking  his  horse  to  give  notice, 
the  hussars  were  reduced  to  a  momentary  halt  oppo- 
site the  house.  Perceiving  the  supposed  guard,  they 
threw  themselves  off  their  horses,  sword  in  hand,  and 
entered  the  house.  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe  instantly  made 
them  remount,  but  they  failed  to  discover  some  thou- 
sand pounds  of  paper  money  which  had  been  taken 
from  a  passenger,  the  master  of  a  privateer,  nor  could 
he  stay  to  search  for  it.  He  told  the  man  '  that  he 
would  be  answerable  to  give  him  his  money  that 
night  at  Brunswick,  where  he  should  quarter,'  ex- 
claimed aloud  to  his  party,  '  that  these  were  not  the 
Tories  they  were  in  search  of,  although  they  had 
knapsacks,'  and  told  the  country  people  who  were  as- 
sembling around  '  that  a  party  of  Tories  had  made 
their  escape  from  Sullivan's  army,  and  were  trying  to 
get  into  Staten  Island,  as  HiS  (who  had  been  defeated 
near  this  very  spot,  taken,  and  executed)  had  formerly 
done,  and  that  he  was  sent  to  intercept  them.'  The 
sight  of  Justice  Crow  would  probably  have  aided  in 
deceiving  the  inhabitants ;  but,  unfortunately,  a  man 
personally  knew  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe,  and  an  express 
was  sent  to  Governor  Livingston,  then  at  Brunswick, 
as  soon  as  the  party  marched. 

"  The  party  was  now  conducted  by  a  country  lad 
whom  they  fell  in  with,  and  to  whom  Capt.  Sanford 
(being  dressed  in  red  and  without  his  cloak)  had  been 
introduced  as  a  French  officer.  He  gave  information 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  boats  had  been  sent  on  to 
Washington's  camp,  but  that  eighteen  were  at  Van 
Vacter's  [Van  Veghten's]  bridge,  and  that  their 
horses  were  at  a  farm  about  a  mile  from  it.  He  led 
the  party  to  an  old   camp  of  Washington's,  above 

t  "  Lient.  Stewart  was  a  native  of  Somerset  County,  a  partisan  royalist, 
and  extensively  known  as  '  Tory  Jim.'  If  he  had  been  recognized  any- 
where about  Bound  Brook  or  Earitan,  it  would  not  have  been  well  for 
him." — Dr.  Messier. 


76 


HUNTEKDON   AND  SOMEESET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


Bound  Brook*  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe's  instructions 
were  to  burn  these  huts,  if  possible,  in  order  to  give 
as  wide  an  alarm  to  the  Jerseys  as  he  could.  He 
found  it  impracticable  to  do  so,  they  not  being  joined 
in  ranges,  nor  built  of  very  combustible  materials. 
He  proceeded  without  delay  to  Bound  Brook,  whence 
he  intended  to  carry  off  Col.  Moyland ;  but  he  was 
not  at  Mr.  Van  Horn's.f  Two  officers  who  had  been 
ill  were  there;  their  paroles  were  taken,  and  they 
ordered  to  mark  '  sick  quarters'  over  the  room-door 
they  inhabited,  which  was  done ;  and  Mr.  Van  Horn 
was  informed  that  the  party  was  the  advance-guard 
of  the  left  column  of  the  army  which  was  commanded 
by  Gen.  Birch,  who  meant  to  quarter  that  night  at  his 
house,  and  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  in  full  march 
for  Morristown  with  the  army." 

From  Bound  Brook  the  raiders  proceeded  rapidly 
to  Van  Veghten's  bridge,  where  "  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe 
found  eighteen  new  flat-boats  upon  carriages;  they 
were  full  of  water.  He  was  determined  efiectually  to 
destroy  them.  Combustibles  had  been  applied  for, 
and  he  received  in  consequence  a  few  port-fires ; 
every  hussar  had  a  hand-grenade,  and  several  hatchets 
were  brought  with  the  party.  The  timbers  of  the 
boats  were  cut  through,  they  were  filled  with  straw 
and  railing,  and,  some  grenades  being  fastened  in 
them,  they  were  set  on  fire.  Forty  minutes  were  em- 
ployed in  this  business.  The  country  began  to  as- 
semble in  their  rear,  and,  as  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe  went 
to  the  '  Dutch  meeting,'  where  the  harness  and  some 
stores  were  reported  to  be,  a  rifle-shot  was  fired  at 
him  from  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river."  The  dis- 
patch which  had  been  sent  to  Governor  Livingston  at 
New  Brunswick  had  had  the  desired  efiect.  The 
Governor  had  sent  out  express-riders  to  alarm  the 
country,  and  the  people  were  preparing  to  give  the 
marauders  a  warm  reception. 

The  "  Dutch  meeting"  mentioned  in  Simcoe's  nar- 
rative was  the  old  edifice  of  the  church  of  Raritan, 
built  in  1721.  It  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
about  six  hundred  yards  below  the  bridge.  This 
church-building  they  burned,  together  with  a  few 
military  stores  which  it  contained.  They  then  re- 
turned, crossed  the  bridge,  went  to  Millstone,  and 
there  burned  the  Somerset  County  court-housej  with 
its  contents.  That  building  stood  about  twelve  rods 
west  of  the  present  Millstone  bridge.  They  burned 
also  a  house  and  shop  belonging  to  Cornelius  Lott 
(valued  at  six  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  ten  shil- 
lings and  eleven  pence),  and  at  the  same  time  a  house 
and  kitchen  belonging  to  William  Cox.  From  thence 
the  troopers  followed  the  Amwell  road  towards  New 
Brunswick,  intending,  when  they  should  come  to  the 
house  above  mentioned  as  (supposed  to  be)  standing 


*  One  of  the  encampments  of  Washington's  army  during  the  preceding 
winter ;  situated  on  the  hillside  east  of  Chimney  Kock. 

t  Col.  Moyland  had  married  a  daughter  of  Philip  Van  Horn,  and  il  was 
supposed  he  might  be  found  there  on  a  visit  to  his  wife. 

t  October  27, 1779. 


at  the  corner  of  the  junction  of  the  Amwell  road  with 
the  highway  leading  to  the  Princeton  road,  to  take  to 
the  right.  The  house  they  were  looking  for  was  that 
of  Garret  Voorhees,  which  had  stood  at  the  place 
named,  but  had  been  burned  two  years  before  by  the 
British.  The  guide  which  they  had  impressed  at 
Quibbletown  supposed  he  knew  the  place  perfectly 
well,  but  he  was  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the  house 
had  been  burned,  and  he  therefore  unwittingly  led 
them  astray.  So  they  continued,  in  consequence  of 
this  mistake,  to  follow  the  Amwell  road  until  they 
came  within  two  miles  of  New  Brunswick. 

"  Alarm-guns  were  now  heard,  and  some  shots  were 
fired  at  the  rear,  particularly  by  one  person,  who,  as 
it  afterwards  appeared,  being   out  a  shooting,  and 
hearing  of  the  incursion,  had  sent  word  to  Governor 
Livingston,  who  was  at  Brunswick,  that  he  would 
follow  the  party  at  a  distance  and  then  give  a  shot, 
that  he  might  know  which  way  they  directed  their 
march.     Passing  by  some  houses,  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe 
told  the  women  to  inform  four  or  five  people  who  were 
pursuing  the  rear  '  that  if  they  fired  another  shot  he 
would  burn  every  house  which  he  passed.'     A  man 
or  two  were  now  slightly  wounded.     As  the  party 
approached  Brunswick,  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe  began  to 
be  anxious  for  the  cross-road  diverging  from  it  into 
the  Princeton  road  which  he  meant  to  pursue,  and 
which  having  once  arrived  at,  he  himself  knew  the 
by-ways  to  the  heights  he  wished  to  attain,  where, 
having  frequently  done  duty,  he  was  minutely  ac- 
quainted with  every  advantage  and  circumstance  of 
the  ground.     His  guide  was  perfectly  confident  that 
he  was  not  yet  arrived  at  it;  and  Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe 
was  in  earnest  conversation  with  him,  and  making 
the  necessary  inquiries,  when  a  shot,  at  some  little 
distance,  discovered  there  was  a  party  in  front.     He 
immediately  galloped    thither,    and    he    sent    back 
Wright,  his  orderly  sergeant,  to  acquaint  Capt.  San- 
ford  '  that  the  shot  had  not  been  fired  at  the  party,' 
when  on  the  right  at  some  distance  he  saw  the  rail- 
fence  (which  was  very  high  on  both  sides  of  the  nar- 
row road  between  two  woods)  somewhat  broken  down 
and  a  man  or  two  near  it,  when,  putting  his  horse  on 
the  canter,  he  joined  the  advance  men  of  the  hussars, 
determining  to  pass  through  this  opening,  so  as  to 
avoid  every  ambuscade  that  might  be  laid  for  him,  or 
attack,  upon  more  equal  terms.  Col.  Lee  (whom 'he 
understood  to  be  in  the  neighborhood,  and  appre- 
hended might  be  opposed  to  him),  or  any  other  party, 
when  he  saw  some  men  concealed  behind  logs  and 
bushes  between  him  and  the  opening  he  meant  to 
pass  through,  and  he  heard  the  words  '  Now,  now !' 
and  found  himself,  when  he   recovered  his  'senses, 
prisoner  with  the  Americans,  his  horse  being  killed 
with  five  bullets,  and  himself  stunned  by  the  violence 
of  his  fall." 

An  American  party  under  command  of  Capt.  Guest 
had  formed  an  ambuscade,  near  De  Mott's  tavern  two 
miles  west  of  New  Brunswick,  and  upon  the  advance 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


77 


of  the  British  Rangers  had  fired  upon  them,  killing 
the  colonel's  horse  and  taking  Simcoe  himself  prisoner 
in  the  manner  above  stated.  The  remainder  of  the 
party  were  pursued  by  the  Americans,  one  of  whom, 
Capt.  Peter  G.  Voorhees,  in  his  zeal  advanced  ahead 
of  his  men,  and  in  attempting  to  leap  a  fence  at 
George's  road,  at  the  head  of  Town  lane,  his  horse 
became  entangled,  and  the  British,  on  coming  up, 
fell  upon  him  and  hacked  him  most  terribly  with  their 
sabres.  He  was  taken  to  New  Brunswick,  and  died 
there  a  few  hours  afterwards.  He  was  a  brother-in- 
law  of  Col.  John  Neilson,  and  was  a  young  man  most 
highly  esteemed.  He  was  a  brave  officer  in  the  regu- 
lar army,  having  entered  it  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  captain 
in  the  First  Eeginient  of  New  Jersey  Continental 
troops,  commanded  by  Col.  Ogden. 

Col.  Simcoe  was  concealed,  during  the  night  suc- 
ceeding his  capture,  in  a  store-house  in  New  Bruns- 
wick to  prevent  the  enraged  people  from  killing  him 
in  revenge  for  the  cruel  treatment  which  Voorhees 
had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  British  troops.  He 
was  removed  from  thence  to  Burlington,  where  he  re- 
mained a  prisoner  until  exchanged.* 

After  Simcoe  was  taken  prisoner  his  demoralized 
command  made  all  haste  to  reach  the  appointed  ren- 
dezvous at  South  River  bridge,  where  they  found  the 
infantry,  under  Maj.  Armstrong,  who  had  come 
promptly  up,  as  agreed,  and  had  taken  two  American 
prisoners, — Dr.  Ryker  and  Mr.  John  Polhemus.  The 
advantages  they  had  gained  by  the  expedition  were 
hardly  great  enough  to  outweigh  the  loss  of  their 
leader, — a  result  which  came  from  their  guide's  ig- 
norance of  the  fact  of  the  previous  burning  of  Garret 
Voorhees'  house.  Otherwise  they  would  have  taken 
the  circuitous  route  intended  by  them,  would  have 
probably  arrived  at  South  River  in  safety  with  their 
commander  at  their  head,  and  might  have  succeeded 
in  drawing  the  Americans  into  their  ambush  and 
capturing  them,  as  contemplated  in  the  original  plan. 

In  the  memoirs  of  Col.  Lee  (the  celebrated  "  Light- 
Horse  Harry")  the  following  opinion  is  expressed  in 

*  "When  Col.  Simcoe'e  horse  was  shot  under  him  and  he  himself  thrown 
violently  to  the  gronnd  and  rendered  insensible,  James  Schureman,  of 
New  Brunswick,  saved  his  life  by  thrusting  aside  the  bayonet  of  a  sol- 
dier of  the  militia  who  attempted  to  stah  him  ;  he  was  braced  up  against 
a  tree,  and  Dr.  Jonathan  Ford  Morris,  afterwards  of  Somerville,  then  a 
student  of  medicine  in  New  Brunswick,  bled  him,  and  administered  such 
restoratives  as  could  be  ohtaioed.  ^He  was  then  taken  to  New  Brunswick 
and  properly  cared  for.  He  recovered  and  was  exclianged,  entered  on  his 
command  again,  and  was  present  with  his  corps,  the  Queen's  Bangers,  at 
Spencer's  Ordinary,  on  James  River,  July,  1781,  at  King's  Bridge,  Janu- 
ary, 1778,  and  at  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island,  1778-79,  where  there  was  liter- 
ally a  'nest  of  Tories,'  of  whom  William  Franklin,  late  Governor  of  New 
Jersey,  was  chief.  He  became,  after  the  Revolution,  Governor  of  Upper 
Canada,  and  wrote  to  inquire  for  the  young  man  who  had  so  kindly  and 
humanely  assisted  him  at  X>e  Mott's  tavern,  and  again,  a  second  time, 
to  Dr.  Morris  himself,  thanking  him  for  his  attentions,  and  offering  him 
advancement  and  active  assistance  provided  he  would  visit  him  in 
Canada,  which  Dr.  Morris  saw  reasons  to  decline.  Simcoe  died  in  Eng- 
land in  1806,  and  has  a  mural  monument  with  several  sculptured  figures 
in  Exeter  Cathedral,  executed  by  Flaxman,  the  famous  English  sculp- 
tor."— Dr.  Abraham  Meaaler. 


reference  to  the  Simcoe  expedition,  and  the  manner  of 
its  execution : 

"  This  enterprise  was  considered  by  both  armies  as  among  the  hand- 
somest exploits  of  the  war.  Simcoe  executed  completely  his  object  (then 
deemed  very  important),  and  traversed  the  country  from  Elizabethtown 
Point  to  South  Amboy,  flfty-flve  miles,  in  the  course  of  the  night  and 
morning,  passing  through  a  most  hostile  region  of  armed  citizens,  neces- 
sarily skirmishing  Brunswick,  a  military  station,  proceeding  not  more 
than  eight  or  nine  miles  from  the  legion  of  Lee,  his  last  point  of  danger, 
and  which  became  increased  from  the  debilitated  condition  to  which  his 
troops  were  reduced  by  previous  fatigue.  What  is  very  extraordinary, 
Lieut.-Col.  Simcoe,  being  obliged  to  feed  [his  horses]  once  in  the  course 
of  the  night,  stopped  at  a  depot  of  forage  collected  for  the  Continental 
army,  assumed  the  character  of  Lee's  cavalfy,  waked  up  the  commissary 
about  midnight,  drew  the  customary  allowance  of  forage,  and  gave  the 
usual  vouchers,  signing  the  name  of  the  legion  quartermaster  without 
being  discovered  by  the  Ainerican  forage  commissary  or  his  assistants. 
The  dress  of  both  corps  was  thesame, — green  coatees  and  leather  breeches, 
— yet  the  success  of  the  stratagem  was  astonishing." 

About  the  20th  of  December,  1779,  the  army  went 
into  winter  quarters, — the  northern  division,  under 
command  of  Gen.  Heath,  locating  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Hudson  below  West  Point,  and  the  main  body, 
with  the  commander-in-chief,  at  Morristown.  No 
events  of  importance  pertinent  to  the  history  of  Som- 
erset and  Hunterdon  Counties  occurred  in  the  year 
which  succeeded.  The  dispatches  and  orders  of  Wash- 
ington during  that  time  were  dated  from  "  Head- 
quarters Morristown,"  "Headquarters  Springfield,'' 
"  Headquarters  Rockaway,"  "  Headquarters  Rama- 
paugh,"  "  Headquarters  Orangetown,"  "  Headquarters 
near  the  Liberty  Pole,"  and  from  several  other  places. 
Many  of  these  mention  great  scarcity  of  supplies 
for  the  army,  the  slowness  with  which  new  troops 
were  furnished  by  New  Jersey,  the  necessity  of  im- 
mediate drafting,  the  hardships  endured  by  officers 
of  the  army  on  account  of  the  depreciation  of 
the  currency,  which  rendered  their  pay  insufficient 
for  their  barest  necessities,  the  alarming  condition  of 
the  affairs  of  the  country,  and  other  similar  subjects. 
During  the  year  (in  January,  1870)  Lord  Stirling 
commanded  a  partially  successful  expedition  to  Staten 
Island ;  a  British  force  of  about  five  thousand  men, 
under  Gen.  Knyphausen,  crossed  (June  6th)  from 
Staten  Island  to  Elizabethtown  Point,  and  advanced 
towards  the  interior,  but  was  driven  back  to  the  Point ; 
again,  on  the  23d  of  June,  a  larger  force,  under  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  advanced  from  the  same  place  to 
Springfield  and  burned  the  town,  but,  being  resolutely 
met  by  the  Continental  troops  and  the  Jersey  militia, 
deemed  it  prudent  to  retire,  which  he  did  the  same 
day,  and  crossed  back  to  Staten  Island.  On  the  4th 
of  July  the  ladies  of  Trenton  met  in  that  town  "  for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  a  subscription  for  the  relief 
and  encouragement  of  those  brave  men  in  the  Conti- 
nental army  who,  stimulated  by  example  and  regard- 
less of  danger,  have  so  repeatedly  suffered,  fought,  and 
bled  in  the  cause  of  virtue  and  their  oppressed  coun- 
try, and,  taking  into  consideration  the  scattered  situ- 
ation of  the  well  disposed  throughout  the  State  who 
would  wish  to  contribute  to  so  laudable  an  undertak- 
ing, for  the  purpose  of  the  convenience  of  such  and 


78 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  more  effectually  to  carry  their  scheme  into  execu- 
tion, unanimously  appointed  Mrs.  Cox,  Mrs.  Dickin- 
son, Mrs.  Forman,  and  Miss  Cadwallader  a  commit- 
tee whose  duty  it  was  immediately  to  open  a  subscrip- 
tion and  correspond  with  the  ladies,  hereinafter  named, 
of  the  different  counties  throughout  the  State,  request- 
ing their  aid  and  influence  in  the  several  districts," 
the  ladies  so  named  to  form  a  committee  to  promote 
subscriptions.  The  committee  for  Hunterdon  County 
were  Mrs.  Vice-President  Stevens,  Mrs.  Judge  Smith, 
Mrs.  Charles  Cox,  Mrs.  E.  Stevens,  Mrs.  Hanna,  Mrs. 
Lowery,  Mrs.  I.  Sexton,  Mrs.  B.  Van  Cleve,  Mrs. 
Col.  Berry,  Mrs.  Dr.  Barnes ;  county  of  Somerset, 
Lady  Stirling,  Mrs.  Gen.  Morris,  Mrs.  Col.  Martin, 
Mrs.  Attorney-Gen.  Paterson,  Mrs.  E.  Stockton. 

In  the  same  month  (June,  1780)  a  large  force 
of  French  troops  arrived,  under  Gen.  Count  Eo- 
chambeau,  to  take  the  field  as  auxiliaries  of  the 
Americans,  and  to  operate  under  the  orders  of  Wash- 
ington, who  thereupon  projected  a  joint  attack 
on  the  British  in  New  York,  but  afterwards  aban- 
doned the  project.  On  the  Hudson  the  most  notable 
events  of  the  year  were  the  culmination  of  Arnold's 
treason  and  the  capture  of  the  unfortunate  Maj. 
Andre.  Early  in  December  the  American  army  went 
into  winter  quarters. 

In  the  summer  of  1781  the  American  army  and  its 
French  allies  concentrated  on  the  Hudson  Elver,  for 
the  purpose,  as  it  was  understood,  of  making  a  com- 
bined attack  on  the  British  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
They  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Dobbs'  Ferry  for 
about  six  weeks,  during  which  time  Washington  aban- 
doned the  project  (if  he  ever  entertained  it  seriously) 
of  attacking  the  city,  and  resolved  instead  to  move 
the  armies  to  Virginia  to  operate  against  Cornwallis. 
He,  however,  concealed  his  new  plan,  and  wrote  letters 
containing  details  of  his  pretended  object  to  move 
against  the  city,  intending  that  these  should  fall  into 
the  hands  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton.     The  result  was  as 
he  had  intended  it  to  be.     The  letters  were  intercepted 
and  taken  to  Clinton,  who  was  completely  deceived  by 
them,  and,  continuing  to  watch  the  American  force  on 
the  Hudson,  failed  to  reinforce  Cornwallis,  as  the  latter 
had  requested  him  to  do.     Meanwhile,  Washington 
completed  his  preparations,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
August  crossed  the  Hudson  at  Verplanck's  Point  with 
the  American  and  French  armies,  and  marched  rap- 
idly across  New  Jersey  to  Trenton,  some  of  the  troops 
passing  through  the  Eamapo  valley  and  Morristown, 
and  others  passing  the  Eingwood  Iron-Works.     The 
French  forces  took  the  route  by  the  Hackensack  val- 
ley to  Newark  and  Perth  Amboy,  at  which  place  they 
built  ovens,  constructed  boats,  collected  forage,  and 
made  other  movements  indicating  an  intention  to 
move  on  New  York;  but  these  were  suddenly  aban- 
doned, and  the  march  was  resumed  to  Trenton,  where 
all  the  forces  arrived  before  Clinton  was  aware  of  the 
significance  of  the  movement.    The  American  columns 
which  took  the  upper  route  must  haTe  moved  throuo-h 


Somerset  and  Hunterdon,  though  the  points  which 
they  passed  in  their  march  through  these  counties  are 
not  precisely  known. 

Crossing  the  Delaware  at  Trenton  and  the  neigh- 
boring ferries  in  the  morning  of  September  1st,  the 
armies  marched  on  towards  Philadelphia,  which  city 
they  passed  through  on  the  2d,  and  on  the  14th  of 
September  reached  Williamsburg,  Va.,  from  which 
point  Washington  and  Eochambeau  went  on  board 
the  French  flag-ship  the  "  Ville  de  Paris,"  in  the  York 
Eiver,  and  there,  with  the  French  admiral,  Count  de 
Grasse,  concerted  the  plan  of  the  campaign  which 
ended  in  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  with  his 
army  at  Yorktown  on  the  19th  of  October. 

The  march  of  Washington's  forces  from  the  Hudson 
on  their  way  to  Yorktown  in  August,  1781,  was  the 
last  movement  of  an  army  across  the  territory  of  Som- 
erset and  Hunterdon  Counties  during  the  Eevolution- 
ary  conflict,  unless  we  may  count  as  such  the  return 
of  the  New  England  and  New  Jersey  troops,  a  few 
months  later,  after  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  ren- 
dered their  presence  in  Virginia  no  longer  necessary. 
The   commander-in-chief,  however,  passed  this  way 
several  times  afterwards  before  the  close  of  the  war, 
the  most  memorable  of  these  visits  being  made  in  the 
autumn  of  1783,  under  the  following-named  circum- 
stances:  The  preliminary  articles   of  the  treaty  of 
peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
were  signed  on  the  30th  of  November,  1782,  the  treaty 
to  take  effect  on  the  20th  of  January  following.     The 
cessation  of  hostilities  was  formally  proclaimed  on  the 
19th  of  April.     Then  arose  the  question  of  how  the 
army  could  be  disbanded  in  safety,  for  Congress  was 
without  means  to  pay  the  soldiers,  and  there  was,  on 
that  account,  a  general  dissatisfaction  among  both  ofli- 
cers  and  men,  and  this  was   accompanied,  in   some 
quarters,  by  open  threats  of  mutiny  and  violence.     A 
band  of  Pennsylvania  troops  who  had  been  discharged 
at  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  service  without  re- 
ceiving their  full  arrears  of  pay  became  violent  and 
insubordinate,  and  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of 
their  officers  a  body  of  them  marched  from  Lancaster 
to  Philadelphia  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  forcing 
from  the  Continental  Congress  (which  was  then  in  ses- 
sion in  that  city)  or  from  the  Executive  Council  of  the 
State  a  redress  of  their  grievances.     There  were  only 
about  eighty  of  the  malcontents,  but  on  their  arrival 
in  Philadelphia,  on  the  20th  of  June,  they  were  joined 
by  other  soldiers  in  the  barracks  of  the  city,  by  which 
means  the  whole  number  was  increased  to  about  three 
hundred,  and  with  this  augmented  force  they  moved 
to  the  State-House,  where  both  the  Congress  and  the 
Council  of  the  State  were  assembled.     They  proceeded 
at  once  to  place  guards  at  every  door,  and  their  leaders 
sent  in  a  written  message  to  the  president  and  Council 
of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  effect  that  if  their  demands 
were  not  acceded  to  within  twenty  minutes  the  infuri- 
ated soldiery  would  be  marched  into  the  building  and 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


79 


let  loose  upon  both  bodies.    Tbe  threat  was  not,  how- 
ever, carried  into  execution,  and  the  mutiny  was  finally 
quelled.    It  was  more  the  State  Council  than  Congress 
that  was  the  object  of  their  resentment,  hut  the  mem- 
bers of  Congress  considered  that  their  body  had  been 
grossly  insulted, — rhaving  been  kept  under  duress  for 
more  than  three  hours, — and  they  at  once  resolved  to 
adjourn  from  Philadelphia  to  Princeton,  N.  J.    This 
was  accordingly  done,  and  in  pursuance  of  the  resolu- 
tion they  convened  in  the  library-room  of  Nassau 
Hall,  at  Princeton,  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month, 
and  continued  there  during  the  remainder  of  the  ses- 
sion.   Some  time  after  the  removal  to  Princeton  the 
president  of  Congress  wrote  to  Gen.  Washington,  at 
Newburg-on-the-Hudson,  asking  his  attendance  be- 
fore that  body  to  consult  on  the  arrangements  for 
peace,  the  disbandment  of  the  army,  and  other  public 
concerns.     Leaving  the  army  on  the  Hudson  in  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Knox,  he  at  once  repaired  to  Princeton 
and  reported  to  Congress,  when  he  was  addressed  by 
the  president,  who  congratulated  him  on  the  success 
of  the  war  in  which  he  had  acted  so  prominent  and 
brilliant  a  part.     In  this  address  he  said, — 

"  In  other  natione  many  have  performed  eminent  services  for  which 
they  have  deserved  the  thanksof  the  public.  But  to  you,  sir,  peculiar 
praise  is  due.  Tour  servicea  have  been  essential  in  acquiring  and  estab- 
lishing the  freedom  and  independence  of  your  country.  They  deserve 
the  grateful  acknowledgmenta  of  a  free  and  independent  nation." 

To  this    address   the  general  made  a  brief   and 
modest  reply,  and  then  retired. 

Washington  remained  in  attendance  upon  Congress 
until. the  early  part  of  November,*  and  during  this 
tiroe  he  occupied  as  headquarters  a  house  which  had 
been  provided  for  his  use  at  Rocky  Hill,  in  Somerset 
County,  some  three  or  four  miles  from  Princeton.f 
It  was  the  residence  of  Judge  John  Berrien,  located 
on  elevated  ground  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of 
the  river,  on  the  right  hand  of  the  road  as  it  ascends 
from  Rocky  Hill  village  to  the  top  of  the  hill  towards 
Kingston.  It  is  still  standing,  in  much  the  same  con- 
dition that  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution,  ex- 
cepting that  a  veranda  which  formerly  extended  along 
the  entire  south  side  of  the  building  has  since  been 
demolished.  It  belonged  to  the  estate  of  the  late 
William  Cruser  for  many  years,  and  is  now  owned  by 
David  J.  Mount,  Esq.  The  room  occupied  by  Wash- 
ington as  his  headquarters  and  oflce  remains  just  as 
he  left  it,  and  ia  kept  for  inspection  by  visitors.  It 
was  in  this  room  that  he  received  the  committees, 
members  of  Congress,  and  other  dignitaries  in  con- 
ferences on  public  affairs,  and  it  was  also  in  this  room 
that  he  wrote  his  farewell  orders  and  address  to  the 
armies  of  the  United  States.    In  that  address,  which 

•  When  he  returned  to  Newburg,  and  thence,  upon  the  evacuation  of 
New  York  by  the  British  (November  25th),  moved  his  headquarters  to 
that  city. 

t  "  We  have  it  from  tradition  that  there  was  assigned  to  Gen.  Wash- 
ington while  he  was  in  the  village  [Princeton],  attending  upon  Congress, 
a  room  in  A.  L.  Martin's  present  residence."— Hoffeman's  EUlori/  of 
Princeton. 


was  issued  from  the  headquarters  at  Rocky  Hill  on 
the  2d  of  November,  1783,  he  referred  to  the  procla- 
mation of  Congress  of  the  18th  of  October  applaud- 
ing the  armies  for  their  virtue,  fortitude,  and  magna- 
nimity, giving  them  the  thanks  of  the  country  for 
their  long  and  faithful  services,  and  ordering  their 
discharge  from  service  after  the  3d  of  November,  and 
said,— 

"  It  only  remains  for  the  commander-in-chief  to  address  himself  once 
more,  and  that  for  the  last  time,  to  the  armies  of  the  United  States  (how- 
ever widely  dispersed  the  individuals  who  composed  them  may  be),  and  to 
bid  them  an  affectionate,  a  long,  farewell.  But  before  the  commander-in- 
cliief  takes  his  final  leave  of  those  he  holds  most  dear,  he  wishes  to  indulge 
himself  a  few  moments  in  calling  to  mind  a  slight  review  of  the  past ;  he 
will  then  take  the  liberty  of  exploring  with  his  military  friends  their  fu- 
ture prospects, — of  advising  the  general  line  of  conduct  which,  in  his  opin- 
ion, ought  to  be  pursued ;  and  he  will  conclude  the  address  by  expressing 
the  obligation  he  feels  himselfunder  for  the  spirited  and  able  assistance  he " 
has  experienced  from  them  in  the  performance  of  an  arduous  office.  .  .  . 
And,  being  now  to  conclude  these  his  last  public  orders,  to  take  his  ultimate 
leave  in  a  short  time  of  the  military  character,  and  to  bid  a  final  adiea 
to  the  armies  lie  has  so  long  had  the  honor  to  command,  he  can  only 
again  offer  in  their  behalf  his  recommendation  to  their  grateful  country 
and  his  prayers  to  the  God  of  armies.  May  ample  justice  be  done  them  here, 
and  may  the  choicest  of  Heaven's  favors,  both  here  and  hereafter,  attend 
those  who,  under  the  Divine  auspices,  have  secured  innumerable  bless- 
ings for  others  1  With  these  wishes,  and  this  benediction,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief is  about  to  retire  from  the  service.  The  curtain  of  sep- 
aration will  soonlje  drawn,  and  the  military  scene,  to  him,  will  he  closed 
forever." 

THE  CUKRENCT. 
The  currency  had  become  largely  depreciated.  The 
dollar  which  in  1777  was  worth  seven  shillings  and 
sixpence,  in  1780  passed  for  only  threepence.  We 
have  had  the  use  of  an  old  list  made  as  a  memoran- 
dum of  this  progress  of  the  downfall  of  the  circulating 
medium,  and  append  it  as  a  curiosity.  September, 
1777,  the  Continental  dollars  passed  for  seven  shil- 
lings and  sixpence ;  October,  ten  shillings ;  Novem- 
ber, six  shillings  and  threepence;  December,  five 
shillings  and  eightpence ;  January,  1778,  five  shil- 
lings and  twopence;  February,  four  shillings  and 
eightpence;  March,  four  shillings  and  threepence; 
April,  three  shillings  and  ninepence;  May,  three 
shillings  and  threepence;  June,  two  shillings  and 
tenpence  ;  July,  two  shillings  and  sixpence;  August, 
two  shillings  and  twopence  ;  September,  one  shilling 
and  ten  and  one-halfpence;  October,  one  shilling 
and  seven  and  one-half  pence ;  November,  one  shil- 
ling and  fourpence ;  December,  one  shilling  and  two- 
pence; January,  1779,  one  shilling;  February,  ten 
and  one-half  pence ;  March,  ninepence ;  AprU,  eight- 
pence;  May,  seven  and  one-half  pence;  June,  six 
and  one-third  pence;  July,  sixpence;  August,  five 
and  one-half  pence ;  September,  fivepence ;  October, 
four  and  one-half  pence ;  November,  fourpence ;  De- 
cember, three  and  one-half  pence;  January,  1780, 
threepence ;  February,  threepence ;  March,  two  and 
one-half  pence ;  and  up  to  the  18th  of  May,  1780,  two 
and  one-tenth  pence,  and  then  nothing.  How  the 
people  managed,  in  such  a  state  of  things,  to  sell  or 
traffic  at  all  is  a  mystery,  and  how  the  armies  were 
kept  in  the  field  is  almost  a  miracle.    It  is  only  an- 


80 


HUNTEEDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


other  confirmation  of  the  adage,  "  what  is  to  be  done 
will  be  done."  Robert  Morris'  immense  fortune  was 
often  the  only  confidence  which  floated  the  Conti- 
nental currency  and  kept  the  armies  in  the  field. 

PATBIOTISM    UNDER   WAR   BURDENS, 

The  following  minutes  of  a  public  meeting  at  Mill- 
stone, about  July,  1779,  are  interesting  as  evidence  of 
the  pressure  of  the  burdens  of  the  war,  and  the  patri- 
otic spirit  in  which  it  was  proposed  to  meet  them  : 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  electors  of  the  County  of  Somerset,  pursuant  to 
notice  by  advertisement  on  Thursday,  3d  Inst.,  at  the  Court-House  of  said 
county, 

"The  buBineas  of  the  meeting  being  introduced  and  iliscussed,  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions  were  adopted : 

"  Whereas,  The  concurrance  of  a  variety  of  causes,  the  bills  of  credit 
emitted  under  authority  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  have 
greatly  depreciated  in  their  value,  and  in  addition  to  the  quantity  circu- 
lating will  tend  to  increase  such  depreciation  ;  therefore 

"  Besolved^  That  a  petition  be  presented  to  the  Legislature,  requesting 
them  to  make  application  to  Congress  on  behalf  of  this  State,  that  the 
emission  of  bills  of  credit  be  henceforth  discontinued. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Legislature  be  requested  to  make  application  aa 
aforesaid,  that  a  plau  be  adopted  and  recommended  for  a  general  limita- 
tion of  prices  throughout  the  United  States,  according  to  which  such 
prices  may  be  diminished  slowly  from  the  present  time  or  at  stated  pe- 
riods and  by  small  differences,  until  the  quantity  of  money  be  reduced 
by  taxation  to  what  is  necessary  for  a  circulating  medium. 

*'Aiid  whereas,  Taxation  is  the  most  natural  and  beneficial  source  from 
which  to  derive  the  supplies  necessary  for  supporting  the  army  and 
carrying  on  the  war, 

"Resolved,  That  the  Legislature  be  requested  to  make  application  as 
aforesaid  that  requisitions  of  taxes  be  henceforward  made  on  the  States 
for  the  above  purposes;  and  that  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  the  expense 
of  purchasing  in  the  modes  hitherto  practiced,  and  the  necessity  of  such 
large  circulations  of  money  through  the  public  treasury,  a  just  quota  of 
provisions,  forage,  and  other  necesaariea  for  the  army  be  laid  upon  each 
State  in  such  kind  as  they  are  severally  suited  to  produce,  to  be  paid  in 
the  way  of  tax  at  regulated  prices  by  those  who  raise  them,  while  those 
who  do  not,  pay  a  fair  proportion  in  money. 

"Resolved,  That  it  be  expressed  to  the  Legislature  as  the  sense  of  this 
meeting  that  on  levying  all  future  taxes  and  aids  for  the  use  of  the  State 
and  Union  in  general,  the  assessments  be  made  according  to  the  value  of 
all  property  possessed  by  each  individual,  it  being  reasonable  that  persons 
should  be  taxed  for  their  money,  their  income,  the  faculty  and  means  of 
acquiring  property,  or  for  any  estate  whatsoever. 

*'  Whereas,  There  is  great  reason  to  believe  that  many  persons  em- 
ployed in  various  branches  of  the  public  department  of  the  United  States 
are  guilty  of  mismanagement  and  fraud  in  the  execution  of  their  trust 
and  applying  the  public  money,  and  there  being  no  ready  and  regular 
mode  presented  by  public  authority,  of  which  such  as  are  disposed  may 
avail  themselves,  to  furnish  the  necessary  information  to  those  who  have 
the  power  to  correct  such  abuses  and  thereby  prevent  unnecessary  in- 
crease of  the  pubhc  burdens, 

"Resolved,  That  the  Legislature  be  requested  to  direct  some  conve- 
nient and  adequate  means  of  collecting  and  transmitting  to  Congress,  or 
to  such  Board  or  Committee  by  them  appointed  as  may  be  adequate  in 
point  of  jurisdiction,  or  to  the  executive  power  of  the  State  in  cases 
where  that  is  competent,  all  such  authentic  evidences  and  documents  as 
can  be  procured,  that  the  guilty  may  be  punished  and  the  faithful  ser- 
vants of  the  public  may  be  rescued  from  that  indiscriminate  censure 
which  the  bad  and  unworthy  bring  upon  all,  and  that  we  will  exert  our 
utmost  endeavors  for  effecting  so  laudable  a  purpose. 

•'  Wliereas,  Virtue  and  good  morals  are  notonly  productive  of  individual 
happiness,  but  have  a  great  and  extensive  good  effect  upon  the  political 
state  of  every  government  when  they  are  cultivated, 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  by  our  example  and  influence  endeavor  to 
promote  these,  and  will  look  upon  it  as  the  course  of  duty  to  support  and 
strengthen  the  arm  of  the  civil  authority  in  detecting  and  bringing  to 
deserved  punishment  all  such  as  are  guilty  of  profanity,  immorality,  ex- 
travagance, idleness  and  dissipation,  of  extortion,  sharping  and  oppres- 
sion, and  of  all  such  practices  as  tend  to  the  unjust  advantage  of  individ- 
uals and  detriment  of  the  community. 


"  Ordered,  That  a  representation  and  petition  to  the  Legislature  be 
drawn  up  pursuant  to  these  resolutions  and  signed  by  the  chainnan,  and 
that  the  representatives  of  this  county  be  requested  to  lay  the  same  be- 
fore the  respective  house. 
"  Extracted  from  the  minutes  of  proceedings  and  published  by  order. 

"  Wm.  C.  Haston, 

"  Chairman." 

RECORD   OF    PROCESSES    AGAINST    FORFEITED 

ESTATES    IN   SOMERSET,  1779. 

The  following  is  but  a  sample  of  many  of  the  in- 
quisitions of  the  courts  of  both  Hunterdon  and  Som- 
erset Counties  during  the  Revolutionary  period : 

"Somerset,  to  wU.  The  State  of  New  Jersey  to  Jacob  Berger,  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen,  and  Hendrick  Willson,  commissioners  duly  appointed 
for  said  county  on  the  part  and  behalf  of  the  said  State  to  take  and  dis- 
pose of  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  same,  the  estates  of  certain  fugitives 
and  offenders  in  the  said  county,  or  to  any  two  or  more  of  them,  greet- 
ing: 

"  Whereas,  Lately,  that  is  to  say  of  the  term  of  January,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-nine,  in  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  held  at  Hillsborough,  in  and  for  said  county  of  Somerset, 
before  the  judges  of  the  same  court,  find  judgment  was  had  and  entered 
in  favour  of  the  said  State  of  New  Jereey,  pursuant  to  Law,  against  Rich- 
ard Compton,  Junior,  late  of  the  county  of  Somerset,  on  an  inquisition 
found  against  the  said  Richard  Compton  for  joining  the  army  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  &  returned  to  the  said  court,  as  may  fully  ap- 
pear of  record;  you  are  therefore  commanded  and  enjoined  to  sell  and 
dispose  of  all  and  singular  the  lands,  tenements,  &  Hereditaments  held  in 
fee  or  for  term  of  life,  and  generally  all  the  estate  real,  of  what  nature  or 
kind  soever,  belonging  or  lately  belonging  to  the  said  Richard  Compton, 
within  the  said  county  of  Somerset,  according  to  the  direction  of  an  Act 
for  forfeiting  to  and  vesting  in  the  State  of  New  Jersqy  the  real  estate 
of  certain  Fugitives  &  Offenders,  made  and  passed  the  eleventh  day  of 
December,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-eight. 

"  Witness,  Peter  Schenk,  Esq',  Judge  of  the  said  Court,  at  Hillsbor- 
ough, the  first  Tuesday  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  [one  thou- 
sand]* seven  hundred  &  seventy-nine. 

"By  the  court, 

"  Frelinghtjtsen, 
"Ctk. 

"  Recorded  April  1, 1779." 


CHAPTER    YIL 


HTJNTERDOlSr  AND  SOMERSET  COTJTsTTIES  IW 
THE  BEVOLUTIOIsr    (Continued). 

Continental  Troops,  First  Establishment— Second  Establishment— The 
"Jersey  Line"— Recruiting-Officers  and  Muster-Masters— Regiments 
raised,  and  Their  Officers— Militia— The  Quotas  of  the  Two  Counties 
— "  Minute-Men"— Roster  of  Field-  and  Staff-OiBcers- Roster  of  Rev- 
olutionary Soldiers  from  these  (bounties,  who  served  in  the  State  Mili- 
tia, and  Continental  Army. 

TROOPS  FURNISHED    BY  THE  TWO  COUNTIES    DUR- 
ING  THE  WAR. 

The  first  Continental  troops  of  the  "Jersey  Line," 
raised  in  1775,  were  two  battalions,  designated  the 
Eastern  and  Western,  and  subsequently  the  First  and 
Second,  Battalions.  The  First  was  commanded  by 
Col.  William  Alexander  (Lord  Stirling),  and,  after 
his  promotion  to  be  brigadier-general,  by  Lieut.-Col. 
William  Winds,  who  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  colo- 


*  A  clerical  eiTor. 


HUNTEEDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE  REVOLUTION! 


81 


nel ;  the  Second  by  Col.  William  Maxwell.  The 
following  year  a  third  battalion  was  added,  which  was 
placed  under  the  command  of  Col.  Elias  Dayton.  In 
the  fall  of  this  year  (1776)  a  "  second  establishment" 
of  troops  from  New  Jersey  for  the  Continental  army 
was  made,  embracing  four  battalions,  commanded  by 
Cols.  Silas  Newcomb  (succeeded  by  Col.  Matthias  Og- 
den),  Isaac  Shreve,  Elias  Dayton,  and  Ephraim  Mar- 
tin. These  formed  "  Maxwell's  Brigade,"  commanded 
by  Gen.  (late  colonel)  William  Maxwell. 

A  new  arrangement  of  the  American  army  was  ef- 
fected in  1778,  under  which,  and  during  the  campaign 
of  1779,  the  "  Jersey  Line"  embraced  three  battalions. 
Feb.  9,  1780,  Congress  called  upon  this  State  for  six- 
teen hundred  and  twenty  men  to  supply  the  defi- 
ciency, in  which  volunteers  were  called  for,  large 
bounties  offered,  and  recruiting-officers  appointed  for 
the  several  counties,  those  for  Hunterdon  and  Som- 
erset being  Capt.  John  Mott  and  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Porter,  the  quota  of  Hunterdon  being  eighty-four,  and 
of  Somerset  fifty-four  men.  The  "muster-masters" 
were  Maj.  Joseph  Brearley  for  Hunterdon  County, 
and  Col.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  for  Somerset.  The 
three  regiments  thus  raised  were  commanded  by  Cols. 
Matthias  Ogden,  Isaac  Shreve,  and  Elias  Dayton,  re- 
spectively. Each  regiment  contained  six  companies, 
and  they  were  commanded  as  follows  : 

First  Megiment. — Capts.  Jonathan  Forman,  John 
Flahaven,  Giles  Mead,  Alexander  Mitchell,  Peter  G. 
Voorhees,  and  John  Holmes. 

/Second  Regiment. — Capts.  John  Hollingshead,  John 
N.  Cumming,  Samuel  Reading,  Nathaniel  Bowman, 
Jonathan  Phillips,  and  William  Helms. 

Third  Regiment. — Capts.  John  Ross,  William  Gif- 
ford,  Richard  Cox,  Jeremiah  Ballard,  Joseph  I.  An- 
derson, and  Bateman  Lloyd: 

Gen.  Maxwell  continued  to  command  the  Jersey 
Brigade  until  July,  1780,  when  he  resigned,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Col.  Elias  Dayton,  as  senior  officer,  who 
commanded  the  same  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  news  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  an- 
nounced in  the  camp  of  the  brigade  April  19,  1783, 
and  the  Jersey  Line  was  discharged  November  3d  of 
that  year. 

MILITIA. 

At  various  times  during  the  war  New  Jersey,  by 
reason  of  its  being  continually  exposed  to  the  incur- 
sions of  the  British  and  the  ravages  of  refugees  and 
Indians,  found  it  necessary  to  embody,  as  occasion 
required,  a  certain  quota  of  volunteers  from  the  mili- 
tia of  the  different  counties.  These  men  were  held 
liable  to  duty  when  needed,  not  only  in  this  but  in 
adjoining  States.  These  organizations  were  called 
"  New  Jersey  Levies,"  "  Five  Months'  Levies,"  but 
most  generally  designated  as  "  State  Troops."  Hun- 
terdon and  Somerset  Counties  furnished  the  follow- 
ing: 

Under  the  act,  passed  Nov.  27, 1776,  for  the  raising 


of  four  battalions,  Somerset  sent  two  companies,  Hun- 
terdon four.  Of  the  battalion,  comprising  these  six 
companies  and  two  from  Sussex,  David  Chambers 
was  colonel,  Jacob  West  lieutenant-colonel,  and  Enos 
Kelsey  major. 

Under  the  call  of  Oct.  9,  1779,  for  four  thousand 
volunteers  to  continue  in  service  until  Dec.  20,  1779, 
one  regiment  of  ten  companies  was  raised  in  Somer- 
set, Sussex,  Morris,  and  Bergen,  and  another  regiment 
of  equal  size  in  Hunterdon  and  Burlington  Counties. 
Other  calls  were  made,— viz.,  June  7th  and  14th,  for 
six  hundred  and  twenty-four  men  each,  whose  term 
was  to  expire  Jan.  1,  1781 ;  and  Dec.  26,  1780,  for 
eight  hundred  and  twenty-four  men,  whose  term  was 
to  expire  Jan.  1,  1782 ;  Dec.  29,  1781,  four  hundred 
and  twenty-two  men,  for  service  until  Dec.  15,  1782. 

On  June  3,  1775,  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New 
Jersey  passed  an  act  providing  a  "  plan  for  regulating 
the  militia  of  the  colony."  This  plan  was  still  further 
considered  and  amended  Aug.  16,  1775.  After  that 
date  all  officers  were  ordered  to  be  commissioned  by 
the  Provincial  Congress  or  the  Committee  of  Safety. 
In  the  assignment  then  ordered  Hunterdon  had  four 
and  Somerset  two  regiments.  "  Minute-men"  having 
been  raised  in  Somerset  and  two  other  counties,  in 
obedience  to  the  recommendation  of  Continental  Con- 
gress, this  ordinance  [of  Aug.  16,  1775]  ordered  the 
several  counties  to  furnish  them,  ranging  from  one  to 
eight  companies  each,  the  assignment  for  Somerset 
being  five,  and  for  Hunterdon  eight  companies, — being 
one-sixth  of  the  number  raised  in  the  whole  State. 
These  companies  of  "  minute-men"  were  "  held  in 
constant  readiness,  on  the  shortest  notice,  to  march  to 
any  place  where  assistance  might  be  required,  for  the 
defense  of  this  or  any  neighboring  colony."  They 
were  to  continue  in  service  four  months.  Their  uni- 
form was  a  hunting-frock,  similar  to  that  of  the  rifle- 
men in  the  Continental  service. 

In  February,  1776,  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  New 
York  called  upon  the  Provincial  Congress  for  a  de- 
tachment of  militia  to  assist  in  arresting  Tories  in 
Queens  Co.,  L.  I.,  and  Staten  Island,  N.  Y.  Of  the 
seven  hundred  men  ordered  out  for  that  purpose,  Som- 
erset County  furnished  one  hundred.  Another  de- 
tachment of  minute-men  was  ordered,  Feb.  15,  1776, 
to  proceed  to  New  York.  This  was  commanded  by 
Charles  Stewart,  colonel ;  Mark  Thompson,  lieuten- 
ant-colonel ;  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  first  major ; 
and  Thomas  Henderson,  second  major.  Feb.  29, 1776, 
the  remnants  of  the  minute-men  were  incorporated  in 
the  militia  of  the  districts  where  they  resided. 

June  3,  1776,  the  Continental  Congress  called  for 
thirteen  thousand  eight  hundred  militia,  the  quota 
of  New  Jersey  being  three  thousand  three  hundred. 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  furnished  one  of  the  five 
battalions  required,  in  the  proportion  of  five  compa- 
nies from  the  first-named  and  three  companies  from 
the  last-named  county.  The  battalion  was  com- 
manded by  Stephen  Hunt,  colonel ;  Philip  Johnson, 


82 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMEKSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


lieutenant-colonel;  Joseph.  Phillips,  major;  and  Cor- 
nelius Baldwin,  surgeon.* 

July  16,  1776,  Congress  requested  the  Convention 
of  New  Jersey  to  supply  with  militia  the  places  of 
two  thousand  men  of  Gen.  "Washington's  army  who 
had  been  ordered  into  New  Jersey  to  form  the  Flying 
Camp.  Of  the  thirty  companies  of  sixty-four  men 
each,  furnished  under  this  call,  Somerset  provided 
two  and  Hunterdon  four  companies,  which,  with  two 
from  Sussex,  comprised  one  of  the  four  battalions,  and 
its  officers  were  Mark  Thompson,  colonel ;  Abraham 
Bonnell,  lieutenant-colonel;  Enos  Kelsey,  major; 
and  Jacob  Jennings,  surgeon. 

April  14,  1778,  the  militia  was  divided  into  two 
brigades,  that  of  Somerset  being  in  the  first  and  that 
of  Hunterdon  in  the  second.  Jan.  8,  1781,  it  was 
formed  into  three  brigades.  During  the  war  several 
companies  of  artillery  and  troops  of  horse  were  raised. 
"  The  good  service  performed  by  the  militia  is  fully 
recorded  in  history.  At  the  fights  at  Quinton's 
Bridge,  Hancock's  Bridge,  Three  Elvers,  Connecticut 
Farms,  and  Van  Neste's  Mills  they  bore  an  active 
part,  while  at  the  battles  of  Long  Island,  Trenton, 
Assanpink,  Princeton,  Germantown,  Springfield,  and 
Monmouth  they  performed  efficient  service  in  sup- 
porting the  Continental  Line."t 

The  field-  and  stafi'-officers  of  the  militia  regiments 
of  these  counties  were  as  follows  : 

HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 

FIRST  REGIMENT. 
Col.  Isaac  Smith. 

Col.  (promoted  from  first  major)  Joseph  Phillips. 

Lieut. -Col.  Abraham  Hnnt. 

Lieut.-Col.  (promoted  from  captain)  Jacob  Houghton. 

First  Maj.  Ephraim  Anderson. 

First  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  Joseph  Brearley. 

Second  Maj.  Isaac  De  Cou. 

Second  Maj.  (pro.  from  first  lieut.  and  captain)  Benjamin  Van  CleTe. 

Second  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  Henry  Phillips. 

Adjt.  Elias  Phillips. 

SECOND  REGIMENT. 
Col.  Nathaniel  Hunt. 
Col.  Joseph  Beavers. 
Lieut.-Col.  Abraham  Bonnell. 
Lieut-Col.  William  Chamberlain. 
First  Maj.  Nathaniel  Pettit. 
FirBt  Maj.  Cornelius  Stout. 

First  Maj.  (promoted  from  second  major)  David  Bishop. 
Second  Maj.  Garret  Albertson. 
Second  Maj.  David  Jones. 
Second  Maj.  Cornelius  Carhart. 

Second  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  Samuel  Growendyck. 
A^t.  John  Schank. 
Quartermaster  Reading  Howell. 
Surgeon  Gersbom  Craven.J 

THIRD   REGIMENT. 
Col.  David  Chambers. 

Col.  (promoted  from  lieuteuant-colonel)  Thomas  Lowrey. 
Col.  (promoted  from  lieutenant-colonel)  George  Ely. 
First  Maj.  (promoted  from  second  major)  Cornelius  Stout. 


*  Col.  Hunt  resigned,  and  Lieut.-Col.  Johnson  was  promoted  to  colonel 
and  subsequently  killed,  when  Lieut.-Col.  Phillips  (promoted  from  major) 
became  colonel,  and  Capt.  Piatt  Bayles  was  promoted  to  be  major. 

t  "  Officers  and  Men  of  New  Jersey  in  the  Revolutionary  War,"  W.  S. 
Stryker,  p.  338. 


Second  Maj.  Daniel  McDonald. 

Second  Maj.  (promoted  from  first  lieutenant  and  captain)  George  Hol- 

comb. 
A^jt.  David  Bishop. 

EOTJETH   REGIMENT. 
Col.  John  Mehelm. 
Col.  (promoted  from  captain,  second  major,  and  lieutenant-colonel)  John 

Taylor. 
Lieut. -Col.  (promoted  from  captain  and  first  major)  John  Tenbroofc. 
First  Maj.  (promoted  from  second  major)  John  Stevens,  Jr. 
First  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  Godfrey  Rinehart. 
Second  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  Ebenezer  Berry. 
Surgeon  Oliver  Barnet.J 

SOMERSET    COUNTY. 

FIRST   BATTALION. 
Col.  William  Alexander  (Lord  Stirling). 
Col.  (promoted  from  captain)  Stephen  Hunt. 
Col.  (promoted  from  captain)  Frederick  Frelinghuyaen. 
Col.  (promoted  from  lieutenant-colonel)  Abraham  Ten  Eyck. 
Lieut.-Col.  (promoted  from  second  major)  Derrick  Middah. 
First  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  James  Linn. 
Second  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  Richard  McDonald. 
Second  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  Thomas  Hall. 

SECOND   BATTALION. 
Col.  Abraham  Quick. 
Col.  Hendrick  Van  Dike. 

Lieut.-Col.  (promoted  from  first  major)  Benjamin  Baird. 
Lieut.-Col.  (promoted  from  first  major)  Peter  D.  Vroom. 
First  Maj.  (promoted  from  second  major)  William  Verbryck. 
First  Maj.  (promoted  from  captain)  William  Baird. 
Second  Maj.  Enos  Kelsey. 
Second  Maj.  (pro.  from  captain)  Abraham  Neviua. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  those  from  the  county  of 

Hunterdon  who  served  either  in  the  Continental  army, 

State  troops,   or  militia   during  the   Revolutionary 

war:  J 

Joseph  Beavers,  colonel  Second  Regiment. 

David  Chambers,  colonel  Third  Regiment,  June  19, 1Y76 ;  colonel  bat- 
talion  State  troops,  Nov.  27, 1776 ;  colonel  Second  Regiment,  Sept 
9,  1777 ;  resigned  May  28,  1779. 

George  Ely,  captain  Second  Regiment ;  lieutenant-colonel  Third  Regi- 
ment, June  21,  1781 ;  also  colonel. 

Nathaniel  Hunt,  colonel  Second  Regiment;  resigned;  also  paymaster 
militia. 

Thomas  Lowrey,  lieutenant-colonel  Third  Regiment,  June  19, 1776 ;  also 
colonel  Third  Regiment. 

John  Mehelm,  quartermaster  and  paymaster  statT  Brig. -Gen.  Dickinson ; 
colonel  Fourth  Regiment;  resigned  May  15, 1777  ;  colonel  and  quar- 
termaster-general, staff  Maj  .-Gen.  Dickinson. 

Joseph  Phillips,  major  Col.  Hunt's  battalion,  "  Heard's  brigade,"  Juno 
14, 1776  ;  lieutenant-colonel  Johnson's  battalion,  Aug.  1, 1776 ;  col- 
onel ditto.  Sept,  20, 1776  ;  first  major  First  Regiment;  colonel  ditto, 
March  16,  1777. 

Isaac  Smith,  colonel  First  Regiment;  resigned,  Feb.  16,  1777,  to  accept 
appointment  as  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey. 

Charles  Stewart,  colonel  battalion  "Minute-Men,"  Fob.  16,  1776;  also 
commissary-general. 

John  Taylor,  captain  Col.  Neilson's  battalion,  "Minute-Men;"  captain 
Fourth  Regiment ;  second  major  ditto,  Oct.  28, 1776 ;  major  Road's 

X  See  sketch  in  medical  chapter. 

g  These  rosters  have  been  carefully  compiled  from  the  "  Official  Reg- 
ister of  the  Officers  and  Men  of  New  Jersey  in  the  Revolutionary  War  " 
by  Adjt.-Gen.  William  S.  Stryker,  published  by  authority  of  the  Legisla- 
ture,  in  1872.  In  its  preparation  the  pension-lists  of  the  goTernmont, 
the  Minutes  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Legislature 
and  Council  of  Safety  of  New  Jersey,  records  of  the  War  Department 
as  well  as  original  manuscripts,  rolls  of  companies  of  Continental  troops, 
dianes  of  ofBcers,  paymasters'  memoranda,  quartermasters'  reports, 
treasurers  receipts,  "returns"  to  the  commander-in-chief,  etc.,  were 
faithfully  examined  and  compared.  It  is  the  only  extensive  and  well- 
authenticated  record  of  the  kind  that  has  yet  been  published. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


83 


■battalion  of  State  troops,  Nov.  27, 1776  ;  lieutenantKJolonel  Fourth 
Kegiment,  Feb.  17, 1777;  colonel  ditto,  May  23,1777;  colonel  regi- 
ment of  State  troops,  Oot.  9, 1779. 
Abraham  Bonnell,  lieutenant-colonel  Third  Regiment;  lieutenant-col- 
onel Thompson'fl  battalion  "  Detached  Militia,"  Jaly  18, 1776. 
William  Chamberlain,  lieutenant-colonel  Second  Regiment,  Sept.  9, 1777 ; 

cashiered  May  14, 1781. 
Joab  Houghton,  captain  First  Regiment;  lieutenant-colonel  ditto,  March 
15, 1777 ;  lieutenant-colonel  Taylor's  regiment,  State  troops,  Oct.  9, 
1779. 
Abraliam  Hunt,  lieutenant-colonel  First  Regiment ;  resigned. 
Philip  Johnston,  lieutenant-colonel ;  pro.  to  colonel  Aug.  1,  L776  ;  killed 

at  battle  of  Long  Island. 
John  Teubrook,  captain  "  Minute-Men  ;"  firet  major  Fourth  Regiment, 

Feb.  1, 1777 ;  lieuteuant-colonel  ditto. 
Garret  Albertson,  second  major  Second  Regiment ;  com.  cancelled ;  re- 
moved from  county. 
Ephraim  Anderson,  first  major  First  Regiment ;  resigned,  Oct.  28, 1775, 
to  accept  commission  as  adjutant  Second  Battalion,  First  Establish- 
ment, Continental  Line. 

Ebenezer  Berry,  captain  Fourth  Regiment;  second  major  ditto,  April  25, 
1778. 

David  Bishop,  adjutant  Third  Regiment;  second  major  Second  Regi- 
ment; first  major  ditto. 

Joseph  Brearley,  captain  "Minute-Men;"  first  major  First  Regiment; 
captain  Continental  army. 

Cornelius  Carhart,  captain  Third  Regiment ;  second  major  Second  Regi- 
ment, April  20, 1778. 

Isaac  Be  Cou,  second  major  First  Regiment;  resigned  July  6, 1776. 

Peter  Gordon,  captain  First  Regiment ;  captain  Forman's  battalion, 
Heard's  brigade,  June  14, 1776  ;  brigadier-major  ditto,  July  25, 1776 ; 
also  major  and  quartermaster  Quartermaster-GeneiuPs  Department. 

Samuel  Growendyck,  captain  Second  Regiment ;  second  major  ditto,  Oct. 
7, 1778;  major  State  troops. 

George  Holcomb,  first  lieutenant  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment ;  pro. 
to  captain;  pro.  to  major,  June  21, 1781. 

David  Jones,  ensign  Third  Regiment;  pro.  to  captain;  second  major 
Second  Regiment. 

Daniel  McDonald,  second  major  Third  Regiment;  resigned  July  24, 
1777. 

l^athaniel  Fettit,  first  major  Second  Regiment ;  com.  cancelled ;  removed 
from  county. 

Henry  Phillips,  captain  First  Regiment,  May  10,1777;  second  major, 
KoT.  13, 1777. 

Godfrey  Einehart,  captain  Fourth  Regiment;  pro.  to  first  major,  Oct.  7, 
1778;  resigned,  Nov.  6, 1779,  to  become  member  of  Asaembly. 

John  Stevens,  Jr.,  second  major  Fourth  Regiment,  Feb.  1, 1777 ;  pro.  to 
first  major;  resigned  April  18, 1778. 

Cornelius  Stout,  second  major  Third  Regiment,  June  19, 1776  ;  first  major 
Second  Regiment,  Sept.  19, 1777;  first  major  Third  Regiment,  June 
10, 1779 ;  cashiered  May  14, 1781. 

Benjamin  Van  Cleve,  first  lieutenant  First  Regiment ;  pro.  to  captain 
ditto,  Capt.  Johnson's  battalion,  Heard's  brigade,  June  14,  1776; 
second  major  First  Regiment,  March  15,  1777;  resigned,  Nov.  13, 
1777,  to  become  a  member  of  Awembly. 

Elias  Phillips,  adjutant  First  Regiment. 

John  Schanck,  adjutant  Second  Regiment,  Feb.  6, 1777, 

Reading  Howell,  quartermaster  Second  Regiment. 

Oliver  Bamet,  surgeon  Fourth  Regiment,  Feb.  14, 1776. 

Gershom  Craven,  surgeon  Second  Regiment. 

Jacob  Anderson,  lieutenant;  pro.  to  captain. 

John  Anderson,  captain  Capt.  Johnson's  battalion,  June  14,  1776;  also 
captain  in  Continental  army. 

Jacob  Beatson,  captain. 

Daniel  Bray,  lieutenant  Second  Regiment;  pro.  to  captain  ditto. 

Nathaniel  Gamp,  captain. 

Jacob  Carhart,  captain  Second  Regiment. 

Israel  Carle,  captain  troop  light-hoi-se,  Oct,  6, 1777. 

■ Cline,  captain  Second  Kegiment. 

Joseph  Clunn,  ensign  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment,  June  19, 
1776;  pro.  to  second  lieutenant,  May  10, 1777;  pro.  to  captain;  also 
captain  State  troops. 

Jonathan  Combs,  captain. 

Josepli  Corshon,  captain  Second  Regiment. 

Joshua  Corshon,  captain  Third  Regiment;  resigned  Feb.  17, 1776,  dis- 
ability. 

George  Coryell,  captain. 


William  Covenhoven,  captain. 

Doremus,  captain. 

Emmons,  captain  Fourth  Regiment. 

Peter  Ent,  ensign  Third  Regiment;  pro.  to  captain  ditto. 

Moses  Esty,  captain ;  also  captain  in  State  troops. 

Jacob  Gearhart,  sergeant  Second  Regiment ;  pro.  to  ensign  and  captain. 

William  Gearhart,  captain  Second  Regiment. 

Jacob  Glashart,  ensign  Third  Regiment;  pro.  to  captain,  ditto. 

James  Gray,  captain  Second  Regiment;  prisoner  of  war. 

George  Green,  captain  First  Regiment. 

Ralph  Guild,  captain  First  Regiment,  May  10, 1777. 

Henry  Gulick,  captain  Second  Regiment. 

Hall,  captain  Fourth  Regiment. 

Charles  Harrison,  captain;  resigned  July  8, 1776. 
Adam  Hope,  captain  Second  Regiment. 
Cornelius  Hoppock,  captain  Third  Regiment. 
Joseph  Howard,  captain. 

Hull,  captain  Fourth  Regiment. 

John  Hunt,  captain  First  Regiment,  June  17, 1776. 

William  E.  Imlay,  captain  Third  Regiment;  also  captain  Continental 

army. 
Christopher  Johnson,  captain  Third  Regiment. 
Cornelius  Johnson,  captain  Second  Regiment. 
David  Johnson,  captain. 
James  Johnson,  captain. 
Francis  Kruser,  captain. 
Cornelius  Lane,  captain  Fourth  Regiment. 

Lucas,  captain. 

■  Maitland,  captain. 

■  ■-  Medler,  captain  Third  Regiment. 
John  Mott,  captain  First  Regiment;  also  captain  Continental  army; 

guide  to  Washington  at  battle  of  Trenton. 
Albert  Opdycke,  captain  Second  Regiment. 
John  Peck,  captain;  also  lieutenant  Continental  army, 
Henry  Phillips,  captain  First  Regiment. 
John  Phillips,  captain  Third  Regiment. 
Jonathan  Phillips,  captain  Fourth  Regiment;  also  captain  Continental 

army. 
Philip  Phillips,  captain  First  Regiment,  May  10, 1777. 
Charles  Reading,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment;  pro.  to  captain;  captain. 

First  Regiment. 
John  Reed,  captain  Fourth  Regiment;  also  ensign  Continental  Army. 
Andrew  Reeder,  private  Capt.  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment;  pro.  to 

ensign,  and  captain. 
David  Schamp,  lieutenant  Fourth  Regiment;  pro.  to  captain. 
John  Schenck,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment;  pro.  to  captain. 
John  Sherrard,  captain  Third  Regiment. 
Rynear  Smock,  captain. 

Philip  Snook,  captain  First  Regiment;  wounded  in  the  thigh  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Monmouth,  June  28, 1778  ;  captain  Third  Regiment 
William  Snowden,  captain  Third  Regiment. 

Stanton,  captain. 

Richard  Stilwell,  captain  Fourth  Regiment. 

James  Stout,  lieutenaut  Capt.  Maxwell's  company.  Second  Regiment; 

captain  Third  Regiment. 
Nathan  Stout,  captain  (died  March  10, 1826,  aged  seventy-eight  years). 
Samuel  Stout,  captain  Third  Regiment. 
Joseph  Thatcher,  captain  Second  Regiment. 
Timothy  Titus,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Henry  Phillips*  company,  First 

Regiment,  May  10, 1777 ;  pro.  to  captain. 
William  Tucker,  captain  First  Regiment,  June  19,  1776;  also  captain 

Second  Regiment. 
Albert  Updike,  captain  Second  Regiment. 
Edward  Wilmot,  Jr.,  captain  Fourth  Regiment,  Feb.  14, 1778. 
Isaiah  Yard,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment, 

June  19, 1776;  pro.  to  first  lieutenant,  May  10, 1777;  pro.  to  captain. 
H.  Bailey,  lieutenant  Second  Regiment. 

Barton,  lieutenant  Second  Regiment.  ] 

Isaac  Basset,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment. 

Zebulon  Burroughs,  ensign  First  Regiment,  May  10, 1777  ;  pro.  to  lieu- 
tenant. 
Thomas  Carter,  lieutenant  Capt.  Johnson's  company.  Third  Regiment, 

Nov.  5,  1781. 
Elihu  Chadwick,  ensign  Second  Regiment;  pro,  to  lieutenant. 
Richard  Corwine,  lieutenant  Capt.  Phillips'  company.  Third  Regiment. 
James  Crawford,  lieutenant  Fourth  Regiment, 
Stephen  Dunham,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment. 


84 


HUNTEEDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


—  Gordon,  lieutenant  Second  Kegiment. 
— —  Hayman,  lieutenant. 

Abraham  Hogeland,  lieutenant  Capt.  Growendyck'e  company,  Second 
Begiment. 

John  Hogeland,  lieutenant  Tbird  Regiment;  resigned. 

Jacob  Holcomb,  lieutenant  Capt.  Hoppock's  company,  Third  Regiment. 

Jacob  Johnston,  private  Third  Regiment ;  pro.  to  lieutenant. 

John  Matthews,  lieutenant  Capt.  Harrison's  company, 

Joseph  Mattison,  liexitenant  Third  Regiment. 

Robert  Maxwell,  lieutenant  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Regi- 
ment. 

Cornelius  Plahames,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment. 

Abram  Post,  lieutenant. 

John  Prall,  lieutenant  Capt.  Stout's  company,  Third  Regiment. 

Palmer  Roberts,  lieutenant  Second  Regiment. 

Philip  Row,  lieutenant. 

Garret  Scbanck,  sergeant  Capt.  Stout's  company,  Third  Regiment ;  pro. 
to  lieutenant ;  discharged  April  6, 1777. 

Philip  Serviss,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment. 

-  Skillman,  heutenant. 
Robert  Taylor,  lieutenant. 

Thomas  Thomson,  lieutenant  Fourth  Regiment. 

Xhomae  Tobin,  lieutenant  "Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse,"  Oct.  6, 
1777. 

Jacob  Vanderbelt,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment. 

John  Vanderbelt,  lieutenant  Third  Regiment. 

John  Williamson,  ensign  Capt.  Stout's  company,  Third  Regiment;  pro. 
to  lieutenant. 

John  Clifford,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Carliart's  company,  Second  Regi- 
ment. 

John  Kitch,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Tucker's  company.  First  Regiment, 
June  19,  1776. 

George  Holcomb,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company.  Third 
Regiment,  Oct.  20, 1777. 

Nathaniel  Hunt,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Henry  Philips'  company,  Third 
Regiment,  May  10, 1777. 

Andrew  Johnson,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company,  First 
Regiment. 

Ralph  Jones,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment,  May 
10,  1777. 

Bernice  Kirkhoff,  first  lieutenant  Fourth  Regiment,  Feb.  14, 1778. 

Henry  Mershon,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Hunt's  company,  First  Regiment, 
June  17, 1776. 

Moses  Moore,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Hunt's  company,  First  Regiment, 
May  10, 1777. 

"William  Parke,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Guild's  company,  First  Regiment, 
May  10, 1777. 

Zebulon  Barton,  cornet  "  Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse,"  Oct.  6, 1777.''= 

Stephen  Burrowes  (Burroughs),  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Hunt's  company. 
First  Regiment,  May  10, 1777. 

John  Drake,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Guild's  company,  First  Regiment, 
May  10, 1777. 

James  Egbert,  second  lieutenalit  Fourth  Regiment,  Feb.  14, 1778. 

James  Hallet,  second  lieutenant,  and  second  lieutenant  "  Heard's  bri- 
gade," June  14, 1776 ;  also  first  lieutenant  Continental  army. 

EUet  Howell,  second  lieutenant  First  Regiment,  June  12, 1776;  also  as- 
sistant quartermaster  in  Quartermaster's  Department. 

Elias  Hunt,  second  lieutenant  First  Begiment. 

Ralph  Lanning,  second  lieutenant  First  Begiment,  June  17, 1776  ;  scout 
and  guide  to  Gen.  Washington. 

Jacob  Bunk,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company.  Third 
Begiment,  Oct.  20, 1777. 

Nathaniel  Temple,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Mott's  company.  First  Regi- 
ment, May  10, 1777. 

Thomas  Ackers,  ensign  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Oct.  20, 1777. 

Henry  Baker,  ensign  Third  Regiment. 

Samuel  Beakes,  ensign  Capt.  Hunt's  company.  First  Regiment,  May  10, 
1777. 

James  Biles,  ensign  Capt.  P.  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment ;  also  in 
Capt.  Bonnel's  company.  State  troops. 

Timothy  Brush,  Jr.,  ensign  Capt.  Guild's  company.  First  Regiment,  May 
10, 1777. 

David  Chambers,  private  Capt.  Tucker's  company.  First  Regiment;  pro. 
to  ensign. 

John  Coudrick,  ensign  Third  Regiment. 

*  See  also  Somerset  list,  second  lieutenants. 


Abraham  Covert,  ensign  Third  Regiment. 

Samuel  Everett,  ensign  Capt.  Growendyck's  company,  Second  Begiment 

Henry  Low,  ensign  Fourth  Regiment,  Feb.  14, 1778. 

James  Maehatt,  ensign  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment,  May  10, 
1777. 

Eli  Moore,  ensign  Capt.  Hunt's  company,  First  Begiment,  June  17, 
1776. 

Luther  Opdyke,  ensign  Capt.  C.  Johnson's  company,  Third  Regiment, 
Nov.  5, 1781. 

John  Reed,  sergeant  State  troops ;  sergeant  Capt.  Opdyke's  company. 
Second  Regiment;  ensign  Capt.  Opdyke's  company. 

Peter  Bockafellow,  sergeant  Capt  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regi- 
ment ;  pro.  to  ensign ;  also  ensign  State  troops. 

Amos  Scudder,  private  Capt  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment;  ensign, 
May  10, 1777. 

■ Shanks,  ensign  Second  Regiment 


Amos  Starke,  sergeant ;  pro.  to  ensign.    , 

Moses  Stout,  sergeant  Capt  Stout's  company  ;  pro.  to  ensign. 

Hendrick  Suydam,  ensign  "Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse." 

Alexander  Thompson,  ensign  Third  Regiment. 

OakeVorehase,  ensign  Third  Regiment;  resigned. 

Samuel  Smith,  sergeant  Capt  Philip  Phillips'  company ;  also  quarter- 
master-sergeant. 

John  Burroughs,  sergeant  Capt.  Mott's  company,  Firfit  Regiment 

William  Cannion,  sergeant  Capt.  Tucker's  company.  First  Begiment. 

Henry  Cliambers,  sergeant  Capt.  Tucker's  company.  First  Begiment; 
sergeant  of  artillery. 

David  Davis,  sergeant  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Begiment 

John  Dougherty,  sergeant  Capt  Tucker's  company;  wounded  in  hand 
by  accidental  discharge  of  musket,  Sept.  2, 1776. 

Benjamin  Hendrickson,  sergeant  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regi- 
ment. 

Azariah  Higgins,  sergeant  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Begiment 

Peter  Hulet,  sergeant  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Jonathan  Hunt,  sergeant  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company;  disch.  Sept 
20, 1777. 

Cornelius  Johnson,  sergeant  Capt.  Gi-owendyck's  company. 

Joseph  Justice,  sergeant  Capt  Tucker's  company.  First  Regiment. 

Roger  Larison,  sergeant  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company,  First  Regi- 
ment. 

William  Larison,  sergeant  Capt,  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment 

Thomas  Leonard,  private  Capt.  Tucker's  company  ;  pro.  to  corporal  and 
sergeant 

James  McCoy,  sergeant  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company;  also  private 
Continental  army. 

McCue,  sergeant  Hunterdon  militia. 

William  McGalliard,  private  Capt.  P.  Phillips'  company  ;  pro.  sergeant. 

John  Moore,  private  Capt  Mott's  company  ;  pro.  sergeant,  Sept.  29, 1777. 

Nathan  Moore,  sergeant  Capt  H.  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment 

Nathaniel  Moore,  sergeant  Capt  Hoppock's  company,  Third  Regiment 

Samuel  Morrow,  private  Third  Regiment;  pro.  sergeant;  also  sergeant 
Capt  Johnson's  company.  State  troops. 

Palmer  Phillips,  sergeant  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Christian  Sholster,  sergeant  Capt  Tucker's  company. 

Jediah  Stout,  sergeant  Capt.  Stout's  company,  Third  Regiment 

Joseph  Tindall,  sergeant  Capt  Mott's  company. 

Johnson  Titus,  sergeant  Capt  Tucker's  company. 

Andrew  Van  Sickell,  sergeant  militia. 

Henry  Wambaugh,  sergeant  Capt.  Stout's  company.  Third  Begiment. 

Jonas  Wood,  sergeant  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

George  Wyckoflf,  sergeant  Capt.  Lucas'  company. 

William  Akers,  private  Capt.  Tucker's  company;  corporal  Capt  John 
Phillips'  company. 

Mathew  Bevans,  corporal  First  Regiment;  also  private  Continental 
army. 

Philip  Bevin,  private  Capt  Tucker's  company.  First  Regiment ;  private 
Capt  Gray's  company.  Second  Regiment;  private  Capt.  Snook's 
company,  Third  Regiment;  corporal  Capt.  Yard's  company.  First 
Begiment. 

Henry  Burrows,  corporal  Capt.  Heniy  Phillips'  company,  First  Regi- 
ment. 

John  Campbell,  corporal  Capt  Growendyck's  company.  Second  Regiment 

George  Corwine,  corporal  First  Regiment;  also  corporal  in  Continental 
army. 

Jacob  Decker,  corporal  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Ralph  Hart,  corporal  Capt  Mott's  company.  First  Regiment 

William  Hart,  corporal  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


85 


David  Hunt,  corporal  Capt.  Tucker^s  company.  First  Regiment 
James  Kark,  corporal  Capt.  Maxwell's  company.  Second  Regiment. 
Henry  Moore,  corporal  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 
Joseph  Phillips,  corporal  Capt.  Mott's  company,  Oct  6,  IITJ. 
John  Rosa,  corporal  Capt  Hoppock's  company.  Third  Regiment 
Amns  Smith,  corporal  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company,  Oct.  1, 1777  ;  pro. 

from  private. 
Benjamin  Van  Kirk,  corporal  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment 
Silas  Warters,  corporal  Capt  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Peter  Young,  corporal  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 
Charles  Asford,  mudcian  Capt  Tucker's  company,  Firat  Regiment 
Henry  Merahou,  musician  Capt  Tucker's  company ;  also  in  Capt  Mott's 

company. 
William  Morris,  musician  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Jonathan  Smith,  musician  Capt.  Plulip  Phillips'  company. 
William  Smith,  musician  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Wilson  Stout  musician  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Amos    Smith,  drummer  Capt  Mott's  company;    also  Capt  Tucker's 

company. 


Abbott,  John,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment 
Abbott  Richard,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 
Abbott  William,  Sr.,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment 
Abbott  William,  Jr.,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment. 
Abel,  Jonathan,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company.  Third  Regiment 
Adam£,  John, 
Adams,  Mathew,  Capt.  Stillwell's  company ;  also  in  Continental  army,  in 

Capt  Luce's  company. 
Adams,  PanL 
Adams,  Samuel. 
Adams,  William. 
Aimes,  John,  First  Regiment ;  also  in  State  troops,  and  in  Continental 

army,  in  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 
Akers,  Amos,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment 
Akers,  Amos,  First  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops,  and  in  Continental 

army,  in  Capt  Phillips'  company. 
Akers,  Daniel,  Third  Regiment  in  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Akers,  John,  Third  Regiment  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Akers,  Jonathan,  Third  Regiment  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Akers,  Obadiah,  Third  Regiment  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Alden,  Thomas,  First  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops,  and  in  Continental 

army,  in  Second  Battalion,  Second  Establishment 
Aljon,  John. 
AUcut  John,  First  Regiment ;  also  in  State  troops,  and  Continental  army, 

in  Capt  Van  Anglen's  company. 
Allen,  John,  Third  Regiment  »^  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Allen,  William. 

Allent  John,  First  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops. 
Anderson,  John  (1),  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Anderson,  John  (2),  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Anderson,  Moses,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Andrews,  Herbert 
Andrews,  John. 
Angleman,  Jacob. 
Applegate,  Williajn,  Capt.  Bray's  company,  Second  Regiment;  also  State 

troops,  and  Continental  army. 
AppletoD,  Samuel,  Capt  Tacker's  company,  First  Regiment 
Armitage,  Enoch,  Capt  Tucker's  company,  First'Regiment 
ArmstroDg.  Rev.  James  F.,  Capt.  P.  Gordon's  company.  First  Regiment ; 

also  chaplain  Continental  army. 
Armstrong,  John,  Capt  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Regiment 
Array,  James,  Capt  Stillwell's  company,  Fourth  Regiment ;  also  State 

troops,  and  Continental  army. 
Asten,  John,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company.  Third  Regiment 
Atchley,  Thomas.  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company.  First  Rpgiment 
Auble,  Andrew. 

Axford,  James,  Capt.  Tucker's  company.  First  Regiment. 
Bainbridge,  John,  First  Regiment ;  also  in  State  troops,  and  Continental 

army. 
Bake,  George,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Bake,  Henry,  Third  Regiment  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Bake,  John,  Third  Regiment  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Bake,  Peter,  Third  Regiment  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Baker,  Joseph,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company;  disch. 

Sept  23, 1777. 


Baker,  Samuel,  First  Regiment  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Baker,  Timothy,  First  Regiment  Capt  Tucker's  company;    also  in 

"  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse." 
Barcalow,  Gilbert  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 
Bardin,  John,  Third  Regiment  s.nd  also  in  State  troops. 
Bans,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 
Barkelow,  Cornelius,  Second  Regiment  Capt.  Cornelius  Johnson's  com- 
pany; also  in  State  troops. 
Barkelow,  Hunterdon,  Second  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops, 
Barkelow,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Growendyck's  company. 
Bamet  William. 
Barrell,  William,  First  Regiment  in  companies  of  Capta.  Tucker  and 

Henry  Phillips. 
Bartholomew,  DanieL 
Beam,  John. 
Beam,  Lewis. 
Beard,  Moses. 
Beemer,  John. 

Bell,  William,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  the  State  troops. 
BelUs,  John,  Third  Regiment ;  also  in  the  State  troops  and  Continental 

army. 
Belloes,  Andrew,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Bennett,  John,  First  Regiment  Capt  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Bennett  Nehemiah,  Capt.  Tucker's  company ;  also  in  Stat«  troops  and 

Continental  army. 
Bennett  Thomas,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment 
Bercan,  Peter. 
Binge,  William,  First  Regiment  Capt  P.  Phillips'  company ;  also  in  State 

troops. 
Bird,  Peter. 

Bethe,  Archibald,  First  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops  and  Continental 
army. 

Blackford,  Anthony,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 

Blackwell,  Beniami,  "  Capt  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse*'* 

Blackwell,  Benjamin,  "  Capt  Carle's  Troop  Light^Horse." 

Blackwell,  Elijah,  troop  light-horse  and  infantry;  also  commissary  of 
issues. 

Blackwell,  Stephen,  "  Capt  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse." 

Blaine,  Benjamin. 

Blaine,  John. 

Blair,  Benjamin. 

Blair,  William. 

Blane,  Benjamin. 

Boden,  James,  Capt.  Tucker's  company ;  also  in  artillery  and  Continental 
army. 

Bogart  Adam. 

Boiles,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company.  First  Regiment 

Bond,  Samuel,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Bonham,  John. 

Bonham,  Levi,  First  Regiment  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Bonham,  Zedekiah. 

Boss,  Abram. 

Boughner,  Sebastian. 

Boys,  John,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Regiment 

Bray,  Andrew,  Capt  Stillwell's  company;  also  State  troops  and  Conti- 
nental army. 

Breese,  Henry,  Capt.  StillweU's  company;  also  State  troops  and  Conti- 
nental army. 

Breis,  Daniel,  Capt.  John  PhiUips'  company.  Third  Regiment 

Breis,  John,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment 

Brewer,  Henry. 

Brittain,  James. 

Brittain,  William,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Broadhurst  Joseph,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 

Broadtrees,  William,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 

Brokaw,  Abram. 

Brokaw,  Peter,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 

Brown,  George,  Capt.  Stillwell's  company;  also  State  troops  and  Conti- 
nental army. 

Brown,  James,  First  Regiment;  also  State  troops  and  Continental  army. 

Brown,  Joseph. 

Brown,  Timothy,  Capt.  Stillwell's  company,  Fourth  Regiment;   State 
troops  and  Continental  army. 

Bruner,  Jacob. 

Brust,  Israel,  Capt  Tucker's  company;  also  Continental  army,  Capt  Pol- 
hem  us'  company. 


86 


HUNTEEDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


BruBt,  Israel.  Fourth  Regiment ;  also  State  troops. 

Buchanan,  Alexander,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Buckley,  Cornelius,  Third  Regiment;  also  State  troops  and  Continental 
army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company, 

Bunn,  Jonathan,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company,  and  Capt.  Tucker's  com- 
pany. 

Bunn,  Joseph,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company,  Second  Regiment. 

Burns,  Daniel,  also  in  Continental  army. 

Burnside,  Patrick,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company, 

Burrougbs,  Anthony,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 

Burroughs,  Edon. 

Burroughs,  Jonathan. 

Burroughs,  Stephen. 

Burrows,  Israel,  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Burrows,  James,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Burrows,  John,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Burrows,  Joseph,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Burtes,  John,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 

Burwell,  Thomas,  Third  Regiment;  also  State  troops. 

Bussingburg,  William. 

Butler,  John. 

Butts,  Alexander,  Capt.  Gulick's  company,  Second  Regiment;  also  State 
troops  and  Continental  army. 

Cahoon,  Jacob,  First  Regiment;  also  State  troops  and  Continental  army, 
Second  Regiment. 

Gaidar,  Ninian,  Second  Regiment:   also  State  troops  and  Continental 
army,  Capt.  Ross'  company. 

Campbell,  Daniel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Campbell,  William,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Bray's  company ;  also  in  Con- 
tinental army  and  State  troops. 

Careck,  James,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Regiment. 

Carhart,  Richard. 

Carhart,  Robert. 

Carlisle,  Ebenezer,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 

Carpenter,  Henry,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Carpenter,  Hope,  Capt.  Mott's  company.  First  Regiment. 

Carpenter,  John,  Capt.  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Carpenter,  Richard,  Capt  Tucker's  company.  First  Regiment. 

Carr,  James,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Carr,  William,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Case,  Samuel,  Capt.  Hoppock's  company,  Third  Regiment. 

Caee,  Thomas,  in  Third  Regiment  and  First  Regiment,  and  State  troops  ■ 

also  in  Continental  army. 
Case,  Tunis. 

Casey,  William,  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 

Catrell,  Wm.,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Chamberlain,  Clayton. 
Chamberlain,  David,  Capt.  Jacob  Carhart's  company.  Second  Regiment; 

and  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Johnson's  company. 
Chamberlain,  Godfrey,  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Chamberlain,  John,  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Chamberlain,  Lewis,  Capt  Johnson's  company  ;  also  in  State  troops,  and 

Continental  army. 
Chamberlain,  Seth,  Capt  Opdycke's  company.  Second  Regiment 
Chamberlain,  William. 

Chambers,  Alexander,  Capt,  Tucker's  company. 

Cherol,  James,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Captain  Martin's  company. 
Chew,  Richard,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Second  Battalion,  Second 

Establishment. 
Christopher,  Daniel,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Christopher,  Jesse,  Capt.  Carle's  troop  of  light-horae. 
Churles,  John. 

Clark,  Joseph,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Clark,  Joshua,  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 
Clark,  Thomas,  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 
Clayton,  Job  D.,  miUtia. 
Clemens,  John,  Capt  Mott's  company. 
Clover,  Peter,  Capt  Stout's  company. 
Coghran,  Tobias,  militia. 
Coleman,  John,  Capt  Growendyck's  company;  killed  at  Tan  Nest's 

Mills. 
Coleman,  Samuel,  Capt  Carle's  troop  of  light-horse. 
Comner,  John,  Capt.  Gearhart's  company  ;  also  in  State  troops. 
Conger,  Daniel,  Capt   StUlwell's  company  ;  also  in  State  troops,  and 

Continental  army. 
Conner,  Edward,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company,  Capt.  Brink's  company 
in  State  troops,  and  Continental  army.  ' 


Conselyea,  Andrew,  Capt  Still  well's  company.  Fourth  Regiment;  also  la 

State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 
Contraman,  John. 

Cook,  Henry,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Cook,  Jonathan,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 

Coolbaugh,  William,  Capt  Bray's  company,  Capt.  Growendyck's  com- 
pany ;  also  State  troops. 
Cooper,  John,  also  in  Continental  army,  and  in  State  troops. 
Cooper,  Michael. 
Cooper,  William. 
Corhart,  Cornelius, 

Cornell,  John,  Capt  Tucker's  company. 
Cornell,  Nathaniel,  Capt,  Tucker's  company. 
Cornell,  William. 
Correll,  Joseph. 

Corwiue,  John,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  Stat-e  troops. 
Corwine,  Samuel,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops. 
Coryell,  Abram,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Coryell,  John,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Covenhoven,  Albert,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops;  and  in  Conti- 
nental army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Co  well,  Isaac. 
Crab,  James. 
Craig,  John. 
Crammer,  Peter. 
Cray,  James. 
Creesey,  James.  Third  Regiment;  also  Capt.  Johnson's  company,  State 

troops. 
Critser,  Leonard,  Second  Regiment;  also  State  troops;  and  Continental 

army,  Capt  Ross'  company. 
Curren,  Richard,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Regiment. 
Dallemar,  Robert,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 
Dane,  James,  Fourth  Regiment;  also  in  the  State  troops. 
Dangwell,  John. 

Davis,  William,  Capt.  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment. 
Day,  Thomas,  also  in  Continental  army,  Fourth  Battalion,  Second  Es- 
tablishment 
Dayley,  Joseph,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company,  and  in  Capt 

P.  Phillips'  company. 
Dean,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Opdycke's  company;  also  in  State 

troops. 
Deare,  James,   Fourth   Regiment,   Capt  Stillwell's  company;    also  in 

Continental  army. 
Decker,  John. 

Deemer,  Joseph,  First  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops;  and  in  the  Conti- 
nental army,  Capt.  Longstreth's  company. 
Demund,  William. 
Denman,  John. 

Dennis,  Eiios,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Carhart's  company;  also  in  State 
troops;  and  in  Continental  army, Third  Battalion,  Second  Establish- 
ment. 
Devotee,  John. 

Devore,  John,  Fourth  Regiment,  Capt  Stillwell's  company;  also  in  Con- 
tinental army,  and  State  troops. 
Dils,  Peter. 

Dilts,  Jacob,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 
Dingwell,  John. 
Ditmars,  John. 

Dohedra,  John,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt  Anderson's  company. 
Drake,  Enoch,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company. 
Drake,  James,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company. 
Drake,  John,  "  Capt  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse,"  also  express-rider. 
Drake,  Nicholas,  First  Regiment ;  also  State  troops  and  Continental  army, 

in  Capt.  Polhemus'  company. 
Drake,  William,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company ;  disch.  Oct.. 

30, 1777. 
Dunbar,  Lott,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company. 
Dunham,  David. 
Dunster,  John. 
Dusenberry,  Henry. 
Dusenberry,  Samuel. 
Dusenberry,  William. 

Elvis,  Jacob,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Emmons,  Jacob. 

Emmons,  Job,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tuckei's  company. 
Emmons,  John. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOxMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


87 


Ennis  (or  lunifi),  Robert,  Second  Begiment,  Capts  Brink's  company ;  also 
in  State  truops ;  also  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 
Ent,  Daniel,  Sr. 
Ent,  Daniel,  Jr. 

Ent,  Valentine,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Hoppock's  company. 
Erwine,  Robert,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  0.  Johnson's  company;  also 

State  troops. 
Evans,  John,  Fourth  Regiment,  Capt.  Stillwell's  company;  also  State 

troops ;  also  sergeant  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Luce's  company. 
Erans,  Obadiah,  First  Regiment ;  also  State  troops  ;  and  Continental  army, 

Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Felty,  George,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Ferrat,  Cornelius. 

Ferrel,  Absalom,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company.  First  Regiment. 
Fidler,  John,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company.  First  Regiment. 
Field,  Seth,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Fink,  Nicholas,  Capt.  Cornelius  Johnson's  company;  also  State  troops. 
Finley,  John,  militia;  also  corporal  in  Continental  army. 
Fish,  Joseph,  Capt.  Mott's  company.  First  Regiment ;  also  in  artillery. 
Fisher,  Christopher,  Third  Regiment ;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental 

army. 
Fisher,  Jacob,  Third  Regiment ;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 
Fisher,  John,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Fisher,  Moses,  Third  Regiment;   also  State  troops,  and  Continental 

army. 
Fisher,  Peter,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Fitch,  "William,  Capt.  Brink's  company;  State  troops;  and  Continental 

army. 
Fleet,  Jasper. 

Foster,  Jeremiah,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Regiment. 
Fongh  or  (Vought),  Peter,  Third  Regiment ;  State  troops ;  Continental 

army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
French,  Daniel,  Third  Regiment ;  State  troops ;  Continental  army,  Fourth 

Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
French,  Jeremiah. 
Frits,  Peter. 

Fullmore,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Furman,  Joshua,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company ;  also  State 

troops. 
Furman,  Nathaniel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company;   also 

waigoner. 
Ganen,  William,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Ganno,  Daniel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Ganno,  Isaac. 
Garrison,  Matthias. 
Gaven,  John,  First  Regiment ;  State  troops ;  also  sergeant  in  Continental 

army.  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
Ghulick,  Ferdinand,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 
Ghnlick,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 
Ghulick,  Nicholas,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 
Ghulick,  Samuel,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 
Gillespie,  William,  Capt.  Opdyke's  company ;  State  troops ;  and  Conti- 

'  nental  army,  in  Capt.  Polhemus'  company. 
Godown,  John,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Hoppock's  company. 
Grordon,  Bemardus,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Gosling,  Levi. 

Goulder,  Elias,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Groulder,  Jacob,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Goulder,  William,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Grant,  John,  Third  Regiment,  State  troops;  also  Continental  army. 

Fourth  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
Grant,  Robert,  Third  Regiment,  Capt,  Hoppock's  company. 
Gray,  Abram. 
Green,  "William. 
Grim^  Sheppard,  First  Regiment ;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental 

army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 
Grindle,  Jonathan,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson^s  company. 
Guild,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Guion,  John. 

Gwinop,  George,  Capt.  Neil's  Eastern  company  artillery,  [State  troops; 
discharged  March  1,  1777;  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company,  First 
Regiment. 
Hagin,  David. 

Hagxn,  James,  Third  Regiment,  Capt,  Stout's  company. 
Hall,  Cbailes,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Martin's  company. 
Hall,  Jacob,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 


Hankinson,  Joseph,  died  in  Readington,  Nov.  30,  1825,  aged  eighty-one 

years.* 
Hanner,  George,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Martin's  company. 
Harden  (or  Harder),  William,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops. 
Harr,  James. 

Harrington  (or  Herrington),  William. 
Harris,  William,  "  Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse." 
Harrison,  William,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Hart,  Absalom,  Capt.  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment. 
Hart,  Asa,  Capt.  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment. 
Hart,  Asher,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 
Hart,  Frederick,  also  in  the  Continental  army.  Fourth  Battalion,  Second 

Establishment. 
Hart,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Hart,  Joseph,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Hart,  Nathaniel,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company ;  disch.  disability. 
Hart,  Philip,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Hart,  Samuel,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Hart,  Stephen,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Hart,  Titus,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company, 
Hauu,  William. 
Heath,  Andrew. 
Heath,  David. 
Helmes,  Joseph. 
Hendershot,  Abram, 

Hendrickson,  Thomas,  Capt.  Mott's  company;  wiigoner  ditto, 
Hepburn,  William,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Hervey,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company, 
Hice,  Jacob,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Hice,  Jasper,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Hickson,  Matthew,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Hill,  Samuel,  Capt,  Mott's  company. 
Himeon,  Adam,  Capt,  Maxwell's  company. 
Hixon,  Abner,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops. 
Hixon,  James,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops;  and  Continental 

army,  in  Capt.  Ballard's  company. 
Hixon,  Jediah,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Hixon,  John,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Ballard's 

company. 
Hixon,  Joseph,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  Continental  army ;  and  State 

troops. 
Hoagland,  Amos,  Capt,  Growendyck's  company,  Second  Regiment. 
Hoagland,  Derrick. 

Hoagland,  John,  Capt,  Growendyck's  company. 
Hockenberry,  John,  Third  Regiment;  also  State  troops;  and  Continental 

army,  Capt,  Ballard's  company. 
Hoff,  Abel,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Holcomb,  Elijah,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Hoppock's  company ;  also  in 

State  troops ;  and  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Holden,  Benjamin,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Jacob  Carhart's  company; 

also  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 
Holden,  Benjamin,  Third  Regiment,  Hunterdon;  also  Continental  army. 
Hooper,  James,  Capt.  Tucker's  company ;  also  in  artillery .-f* 
Hooper,  Robert,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company, 
Horn,  Ralph,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Home,  Joseph,  Third  Regiment ;  also  in  Capt.  Johnson's  company,  State 

troops. 
Horner,  Samuel,  Third  Regiment,  in  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Hottenbury,  John.    [See  John  Hockenberry.] 
Howard,  John,  Capt,  John  Phillips'  company, 
Howell,  Absalom,  Capt.  Mott's  company, 
Howell,  Arthur,  militia. 
Howell,  Ezekiel,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Howell,  Israel,  Capt,  Mott's  company. 
Howell,  John,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Howell,  Thomas,  Capt.  Jacob  Carhart's  company ;  also  State  troops ;  and 

Continental  army,  Capt.  Polhemus'  company. 
Howell,  William,  "  Capt,  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse," 
Hubbs,  James,  Capt,  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 
Huff,  Andrew,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Huff,  Thomas,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Hughes,  John,  Capt,  Hoppock's  company;  also  in  State  troops. 
Hughy,  Will,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Humphries,  John,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

*  Hunterdon  Gazette,  Dec,  15, 1826. 

■j-  Died  near  Trenton,  March  31, 1827,  aged  eighty-five  years. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Hunt,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Hunt,  Daniel,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Hunt,  Israel,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Hunt,  Jesse,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Hunt,  John,  Jr.,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Hunt,  John,  Sr.,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Hunt,  Jonathan,  "Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horee." 

Hunt,  Samuel,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment* 

Hunter,  Harman,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 

Hunter,  James. 

Hutchinson,  William,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Bray's  company;  also  in 
State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Inslee,  Joseph,  First  Kegiment. 

Irwin,  James,  First  Begiraent;  also  in  State  troops ;  and  in  Continental 
army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company.  ^ 

James,  Ellas. 

James,  Robert,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Jenkins,  Joseph,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Johnson,  Abner. 

Johnson,  Daniel,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  Capt.  Johnson's  company, 
State  troops. 

Johnson,  Enoch,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Johnson,  John  (1),  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Johnson's  company ;  also  in 
State  troops. 

Johnson,  John  (2),  in  Hunterdon  militia;  also  in  State  troops;  and  Con- 
tinental army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 

Johnson,  Matthew,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Johnson,  William,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Johnson,  William,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Johnston,  Andrew. 

Johnston,  Daniel 

Johnston,  David,  Second  Regiment ;  also  forage-master. 

Johnston,  Jacob,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 

Johnston,  Samuel,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Jones,  Israel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott'e  company. 

Jones,  Joshua,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Jacob  Carhart's  company;  also 
in  State  troops ;  and  Continental  army. 

Jordan,  Felix,  First  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops;  and  Continental 
army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 

Kallender  (or  Killenar),  Philip,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Johnson's  com- 
pany ;  State  troops. 

Kellison,  William. 

Ketch  am,  Levi. 

Kibler,  Matthias,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Kirkendall,  Andrew. 

Knowles,  Jesse,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company,  and 
Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Kuleman,  Johannes,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Labaw,  Charles. 

Lafferty,  John. 

Lahey,  John,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 

Lain,  Daniel,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Lake,  Isaac,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Lake,  Thomas,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Bray's  company ;  also  in  State 
troops. 

Lamb,  Patrick,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Lambert,  Jeremiah,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Lambert,  Lott,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Martin's  company. 

Lancaster,  Joseph,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Lane,  Comeliue,  Fourth  Regiment,  Capt.  Lane's  company ;  killed  at 
Allentown,  June  27, 1778. 

Lane,  Gilbert. 

Lane,  John. 

Lanning,  Daniel,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Lanning,  David,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company;  scout. 

Lanning,  Elijah,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company;  also  wagoner. 

Lanning,  .Tohn. 

Lanning,  Robert,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Large,  Jonathan,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Larrison,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Latimer,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Latourette,  Peter,  also  in  Continental  ai-my. 

Lee,  Charles. 

Iree~,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

*  Died  June  25,  1825,  vide  Hunterdon  Gazette,  1825. 


Leford,  Vincent,  First  Regiment ;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental 
army. 

Leigh,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 

Leonard,  Nathaniel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Leonard,  Samuel,  Fourth  Regiment,  Capt.  Stillwell's  company;  State 
troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Lobdell,  Thomas. 

Lockade,  James,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Jacob  Carhart's  company;  also 
in  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Long,  George,  also  in  State  troops,  and  Continental  army,  First  Battal- 
ion, Second  Establishment. 

Long,  Henry,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Loratt,  Cornelius. 

Loratt,  Peter. 

Lott,  Abraham,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  Company. 

Lyon,  Henry,  Fourth  Regiment,  Capt.  Stillwell's  company ;  State  troops 
and  Continental  army. 

Lyons,  Elias,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 

Mac  Andrew,  Andrew,  Second  Regiment. 

MacLick,  Leonard. 

MacLick,  Peter. 

Malaby,  Cornelius,  also  in  Capt.  Anderson's  company,  Col.  Johnson's 
battalion  "  Levies" ;  died  while  prisoner,  Dec.  28, 1776. 

Malat,  Peter. 

Malcolm,  John,  First  Regiment ;  also  in  State  troops,  and  in  Continental 
army. 

Manners,  John,  Sr.,  Third  Regiment,  Capt,  Stout's  company. 

Mapes,  Joseph. 

Marlatt,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Johnson's  company  ;  also  in  Con- 
tinental army. 

Marlatt,  Peter,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Peter  Stillwell's  company,  Fourth 
Regiment;  also  in  Continental  army. 

Marcelles,  Eden,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Marsh,  John. 

Marts,  William,  Third  Regimemt;  also  in  State  troops. 

Martin,  Reuben,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Matthews,  Henry,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Matthews,  Pearae,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Matthews,  Robert. 

McCafFerty,  Joseph,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Opdyck's  company;  also 
State  troops;  and  Continental  army,  Capt.  Ross'  company. 

McCain,  John,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company, 

McClellan,  James,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

McCollem,  Duncan,  Second  Regiment,  Capt,  Maxwell's  company. 

McCollom,  John,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 

McConnally,  Patrick,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's 
company. 

McConnell,  Hugh,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company, 

McCoy,  Daniel,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company.  • 

McDaniel,  Edward,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Gearhart's  company ;  also  in 
State  troops. 

McDonel,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt,  Maxwell's  company. 

McGonigal.  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

McKinney,  Mordecai. 

McKinstry,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

McKinstry,  Matthias. 

McLure,  Andrew,  also  sergeant  in  Continental  army.  First  Battalion, 
Second  Establishment. 

McLure,  James,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 

McMahan,  David,  also  in  State  troops  ;  and  in  Continental  army,  Capt. 
Phillips'  company. 

McNeal,  Henry,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 

McSperry,  Matthew,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 

Meloby,  Thomas,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops;  and  Continental 
army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 

Merlett,  John,  Second  Regiment  (probably  same  as  John  Marlatt). 

Merrell,  Benjamin,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Merrell,  David,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Mershon,  Asher,  First  Reyiment,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Mershon,  Benjamin,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Mershon,  Timothy,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Milburn,  Timothy,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  H.  Phillips'  company:  disoh. 
Oct.  a,  1777. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


89 


Miller,  lEVancie.  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Miller,  Malaher,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 
Miller,  Prime,  First  Re^ment,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Mitchell,  William,  alao  in  the  Continental  army,  Capt,  Anderson's  com- 
pany. 
Monfort,  Isaac,  Fourth  Kegiment,  Capt.  StillwelFs  company;  State  troops ; 

and  Continental  army,  Capt.  Luce's  company. 
Montgomery,  William,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 
Moore,  Abijah,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Moore,  Henry,  First  Kegiment;  also  in  State  troops  and  Continental 

army,  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
Moore,  Israel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company  ;  also  wagoner. 
Moore,  James,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Moore,  Jesse,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Moore,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Moore,  Loammix,  First  Regiment,  Capt,  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Moore,  Moses,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Moore,  Philip,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tncker's  company. 
Moore,  Sackett,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Moore,  Samuel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  compiiny. 
Moore,  Stephen,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Moore,  William,  First  Regiment,  Capt,  Tucker's  company. 
Moorehead,  George,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Mcrrgan,  Anthony,  First  Regiment,  also  in  State  troops  and  in  Conti- 
nental army. 
Mount,  Elijah,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Mount,  Ezekiel,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Mow,  William. 

Muirhead,  John,  CaptH.  Phillips'  company  ;  also  State  troops;  and  Con- 
tinental army,  Capt.  Ballard's  company. 
Muirheid,  William,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment. 
Munjoy,  James,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's- company. 
Murray,  James,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Naylor,  Amos,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Neal,  Thomas. 
Nebbard,  Eliphalet,  also'in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  com< 

pany.  Fourth  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
Nevius,  John. 

Nice,  Richard,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Nicebauk,  John,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Noe,  Lewis,  also  in  Continental  army,  io  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Nun,  John,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Oliver,  Allen,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Osbum,  Joseph,  also  in  Continental  army,  First  Battalion,  Second  Estab- 
lishment; Capt.  Dayton's  company,  Third  Regiment. 
Osman,  John,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Palmer,  Edmund,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Palmer,  William,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
PeArson,  Daniel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Pearson,  Timothy,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  and  Capt 

Mott's  company. 
Peigant,  Robert,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt  Anderson's  company. 
Penwell,  David. 
PeiTine,  John. 

Peters,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Growendyck's  company. 
Peterson,  Samuel,  Fourth  Regiment,  Capt.  Stillwell's   company;    also 
State  troops ;  and  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Luce's  company,  Second 
Battalion,  Second  Kstablishment 
Pettit,  Jesse,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Pliilhower,  Christopher. 

Phillips,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Phillips.  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Phillips,  Lott,  Sr.,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Phillips,  Lott,  Jr.,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Henry  Phillips'  company,  and 

Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Phillips,  Theo.,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company. 
Phillips,  Thomas,  Third  Regiment,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Pidcock,  Charles,  Third  Regiment,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Pidcock,  Jonathan,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Jobn  Phillips'  company. 
Pinkney,  William,  First  Regiment ;  also  State  troops ;  and  Continental 

army,  in  Capt.  Longstreth's  company. 
Pittson,  Andrew. 

Puwers,  George,  also  in  Continental  army.  First  Battalion,  Second  Estab- 
lishment. 
Prall,  Jolin,  Second  Regiment;  wounded  Jan.  20, 1777. 
Pratt,  Cornelius,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 

7 


Price,  Benj.,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company ;  alao  in  Conti- 
nental army. 
Price,  Joseph,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Price,  Rice. 
Quick,  Henry. 
Quick,  Samuel. 
Quick,  William,  Third  Regiment;  State  troops;  and  Continental  army, 

Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Race,  Andrew,  Third  Regiment ;  State  troops;  and  Continental  army, 

Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Racy,  Philip,  Third  Regiment,  Capt  Hoppock's  company. 
Randel,  John,  also  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Martin's  company. 
Rap,  Conrad,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Read,  George,  Third  Regiment ;  also  State  troops ;  and  Continental  army, 

Capt.  Ballard's  company. 
Reader,  William. 

Recey,  Philip,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Reed,  Benjamin,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Reed  (or  Read),  Ephraim,  First  Regiment ;  State  troops ;  and  Continental 

army,  in  Capt.  Polhemus'  company. 
Reed,  Isaac,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Mott's  company. 
Reed,  Joshua,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Mott's  company. 
Reed,  Richard,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Mott's  company. 
Reed,  Thomas. 

Reeder,  Isaac,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Reeder,  John,  Firat  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company,  and  Capt  Mott's 

company. 
Reeves,  John,  Second  Regiment, , Capt.  Bray's  company;  also  in  State 

troops;  and  in  Continental  army. 
Reid,  Ephraim,  Third  Regiment,  Capt  Stout's  company. 
Reynolds,  John. 
Reynolds,  William. 

Ridler,  WiUiam,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Mott's  company ;  also  in  artillery. 
Riffner,  Adam,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Gulick's  company ;  also  in  State 

troops  and  Continental  army,  Capt  Anderson's  company. 
Roberts,  Edmund. 

Robertson,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt,  Philip  Phillips'  company, 
Robeson,  William,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company. 
Rockefellow,  Christ,  Third  Regiment,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Roof,  Adam,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Maxwell's  company. 
Rorits,  William,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Rosbrook,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Rose,  Charles,  Third  Regiment,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Rose,  Ezekiel,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Tucker's  company. 
Rose,  Jonathan,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 
Rose,  Jonathan,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Ross,  Joseph,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Fourth   Battalion,  Second 

Establishment 
Roy,  Patrick,  Second  Regiment,  Capt  Gulick's  company;  also  State 
troops;  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Polhemus'  company, First 
Battalion,  First  Establishment. 
Ruckman,  John,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Stout's  company ;  also  in  State 

troops. 
Runk,  William,  Tliird  Regupent,  Capt  John  Phillips'  company. 
Runnolds,  John,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  Capt  Johnson's  company, 

State  troops. 
Ryall,  George,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Mott's  company. 
Ryan,  Timothy,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Fourth  Battalion,  Second 

Establishment. 
Byon,  John,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops;  and  in  Continental 

army,  in  Capt  Anderson's  company. 
Sackville,  Peter,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Saxton,  Charles,  Capt.  H.  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment,  and  "  Capt 

Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse." 
Scott,  Israel,  Capt.  P.  PliilUps'  and  Capt.  Tucker's  companies.  First  Regi- 
ment. 
Scott,  Martin,  Capt  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 
Scudder,  Jedediah,  First  Regiment,  Capt  Mott's  company. 
Search,  James,  Capt.  Bray's  company,  Second  Regiment;   also  State 

troops;  also  Continental  army. 
Search,  Lott,  Capt.  Bray's  company.  Second  Regiment;  also  State  troops. 
Sergeant,  Joseph. 

Seymour,  Jacob,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Shannon,  Daniel,  Capt.  Opdyck's  company,  Second  Regiment;  also  in 

State  troops. 
Sheridan,  John,  Capt.  Opdyck's  company,  Second  Regiment ;  also  in  Con- 
tinental army. 


90 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Shildol,  (Jodfrey. 

Shoulder,  Andrew. 

Shubert,  John,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  and  Con- 
tinental army,  Mret  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 

Shusts,  Matthias,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Martin's  company, 
Fourth  Battahon. 

Sigler,  Henry,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  MaxwelPs  company. 

Simons,  Henry,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Heni*y  Phillips'  company. 

Simpson,  John. 

Sinclair,  Peter,  Capt,  Maxwell's  company.  Second  Regiment. 

Slack,  Daniel,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Slack,  Uriah,  Capt.  Mott's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Slingsland,  Henry,  Capt.  StiUwell's  company,  Fourth  Regiment ;  also 
State  troops ;  and  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Voorhees'  company, 
First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 

Small,  ^Villiam,  Capt.  Opdyck's  company,  Second  Regiment;  also  State 
troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Smith,  Andrew,  Fii-st  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  Benjamin,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 

Smith,  Burroughs  (also  spelled  "  Burrowes"). 

Smith,  Abijah,  "  Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse." 

Smith,  Hugh,  First  Regiment;  also  Continental  army. 

Smith,  Jacob,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Smith,  James,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment;  also  Con- 
tinental army. 

Smith,  Jasper,  "  Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse." 

Smith,  Jeiemiah,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  John,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  John  (1),  Third  Regiment ;  also  in  the  State  troops. 

Smith,  John  (2),  Third  Regiment;  State  troops;  also  in  Continental 
army. 

Smith,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  Jonathan,  Sr.,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  Joseph  (1),  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  Joseph  (2),  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  Joseph,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Smith,  Joseph,  "  Capt.  Carle's  Troop  of  Light-Horse." 

Smith,  Philip,  in  companies  of  Capts.  Tucker  and  Philip  Phillips. 

Smith,  Thaddeus,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Smock,  Matthias. 

Smyth,  Joseph. 

Snedeker,  James, 

Snider,  Henry,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Snyder,  Henry,  Capt.  Bray's  company,  Second  Regiment;  also  State 
troops. 

Snyder,  M'illiiim,  Capt.  Growendyck's  company,  Second  Regiment. 

Sowere,  John. 

Spicer,  John,  also  in  Continental  army.  First  Battalion,  Second  Estab- 
lishment. 

Starker,  Aaron. 

Stephens,  Prince,  Capt,  Maxwell's  company.  Second  Regiment. 

Stevens,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Stevens,  John,  Capt.  Carle's  troop. 

Stevenson,  Augustus,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Stiger,  Adam. 

Stiger,  Baltus. 

Stilhvell,  Jeremiah,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Re"-iment. 

Stillwell,  John,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  Firet  Regiment;  also  ai-tillery. 

Stockbridge,  John,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company, 

Stockton,  John,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 

Stout,  Andrew,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Stout,  Benjamin,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company'. 

Stout,  James,  First  Regiment;  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Stout,  John,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment;  disch.  Oct.  30 
1777. 

Stout,  John  (tailor),  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Stout,  Joseph,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Stout,  Sin,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Stout,  Timothy,  Capt.  Stout's  company.  Third  Regiment. 

Stuart,  John,  Capt,  Maxwell's  company. 

Sullivan,  Daniel,  Capt.  Gearhart's  company,  Second  Regiment-  also  in 
State  troops. 

Sullivan,  William. 

Sutphen,  James. 

Sutton,  Amos,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops, 
Sutton,  Joseph,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops. 
Swallow,  Jacob,  Third  Regiment,  Capt.  Hoppock's  company. 


Target,  John,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Tarret,  Cornelius. 

Taylor,  Elisha. 

Taylor,  Henry, 

Taylor,  Isaac. 

Taylor,  Thomas. 

Tedrick,  George,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 

Terry,  Abraham,  Capt.  Tucker's  company,  First  Regiment. 

Thatcher,  Elijah. 

Thimpel,  John,  Capt,  Tucker's  company. 

Thomas,  John,  First  Regiment ;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Thomas,  Robert. 

Thompson,  George,  First  Regiment;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental 
army. 

Thompson,  James,  Capt.  Blaxwell  's  company. 

Thompson,  John,  Third  Regiment;  also  in  State  troops, 

Thompson,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Johnson's  company;  also  in 
State  troops;  and  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 

Tidd,  William.    (See  William  Todd,  evidently  the  same  person.) 

TindaU,  Joshua,  Capt.  Mott's  company., 

Titus,  Asa,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 

Titus,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 

Titus,  Jesse,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company;  also  in  Capt.  Van  Cleve's 

company,  Col.  Johnson's  battalion,  Heard's  brigade. 
Titus,  John,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Titus,  John  H.,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'   company  ;  also  in  Continental 

army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 
Titus,  Joseph,  Fii-st  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Pliillips'  company. 
Titus,  Samuel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Titus,  Uriah,  Firat  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company, 
Tobin,  Peter,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Todd,  William,  Capt.  StiUwell's  company,  Fourth  Regiment ;  also  State 

troops  and  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Luce's  company. 
Treazey,  John,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Troy,  Samuel,  Second  Regiment,  Capt.  Gearhart's  company;  also  State 

troops. 
Tucker,  Samuel,  First  Regiment,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Turner,  Nathan,  First  Regiment ;  also  State  troops ;  in  Continental  army, 
First   Battalion,  Second  Establishment,  and   Capt.    Phillips'   com- 
pany, Second  Regiment. 
Tustin,  Samuel,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Tway,  Timothy,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  company ; 

later  in  Capt.  Dayton's  company. 
Ulph,  Jacob. 

Utt,  John,  Capt.  Stout's  company,  Third  Regiment. 

Tan  Arsdale,  John,  Capt.  StiUwell's  company  ;  State  troops;  and  Conti- 
nental army,  in  Capt.  Luce's  company. 
Van  Atta,  John,  Capt,  Maxwell's  company.  Second  Regiment. 
Van  Black,  Arthur;  also   in   Continental   army,   in   Capt.  Anderson's 

company. 
Van  Cleve,  Isba,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment. 
Van  Derveer,  James. 

Van  Devort,  Charles,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Van  Devort,  John,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 

Van  Fleet,  Abraham,  Capt.  StillweU's  company;  .State  troops,  and  Conti- 
nental army. 
Van  Gorden,  William. 

Van  Gorden, ,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company,  Second  Regiment. 

Van  Kirk,  John,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 

Van  Kirk,  William. 

Van  Neulen,  James,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Van  NoUer,  Coruelius,Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company:  disch    Sept    '9 

1777. 
Van  Norden,  David,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Van  Noy,  Anderson,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Van  Noy,  John,  Capt.  Philip  Phillips'  company. 
Van  Pelt,  John. 
Van  Reid,  Cornelius,  First  Regiment;   State  troops,  also  Continental 

army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 
Van  Sickle,  Andrew. 
Van  Sickle,  Garret. 

Van  Sickle,  William,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Van  Tyle,  Abram. 
Van  Tyle,  John. 

Vaught,  Peter,  Capt.  Stout's  company.  Third  Regiment.    (See  F9ugh.) 
Veal,  William,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Vint,  Juhn,  First  Regiment,  Continental  army,  Capt.  Phillips'  company. 


HUNTERDON   AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


91 


Yoorhees,  Albert,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Yoorheese,  John. 

Warman  (or  Warner),  "William,  Capt.  Johnson's  company;  State  troops; 
and  Continental  Army,  in  Capt.  Koss'  company.  Third  Battalion, 
Second  Establishment. 
Waterson,  Thomas,  Third  Regiment;   State  troops;  a'.so  Continental 

army,  Capt.  Mitchell's  company. 
Welch,  Hugh,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Welden,  Alexander,  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Welling,  John,  Capt.  P.  Phillips'  company. 
Weser,  Jacob. 
Westbrook,  Cornelius. 
Westbrook,  James. 

Wetherhawk,  Johannes,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
White,  John,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Whiteal,  Nathan. 

Wliitehead,  John,  Capl  Stout's  company. 
Wickoff,  Garret,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 
Wickoff,  John. 
Willabee,  Wm.,  Capt.  Cornelius  Carhart's  company;  State  troops;  and 

Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Ross'  company. 
Wilhelm,  Henry,  Capt.  Gulick's  company;  also  in  Continental  army,  in 

Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Wilkinson,  Wm.,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  com- 
pany ;  died  Jan.  23, 1777. 
Williams,  James,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 

Williams,  John,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Pothemus'  company. 
Williams,  Owen,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Williams,  Samuel. 

Williamson,  Abram,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Williamson,  Bar,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Williamson,  Jaxxib,  Capt.  Henry  Phillips'  company. 
Williamson,  Jacob,  Capt.  Stout's  company;  State  troops;  also  in  Conti- 
nental army,  Capt.  Ballard's  company. 
Wilson,  Daniel. 

Wilson,  Francis,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company. 

Wilson,  James,  Capt.  Hem^  Phillips'  company  ;  also  Continental  army, 
'First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment,  and  Capt.  Mitchell's  company, 
First  Regiment. 
Wilson,  John,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Wilson,  John,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company.  Third  Regiment. 
Wilson,  Thomaa,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company,  Third  Regiment. 
Wilson,  William,  Capt.  John  Phillips'  company.  Third  Regiment. 
Wiucoop,  Cornelius; 

Winfield,  Matthew,  also  Continental  army,  Capt,  Anderson's  company. 
Wood,  Aaron,  Capt.  Bray's  company.  Second  Regiment;  also  in  State 

troops. 
Wood,  Daniel,  Capt.  Gulick's  company,  Second  Regiment ;  also  in  State 

troops;  and  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Wood,  Hezekiah  (Ezekiah),  Capt.  Growendyck's  company. 
Wood,  Michael,  First  Regiment;  State  troops;  Continental  army,  in 

Capt.  Phillips'  company. 
Wood,  William,  also  Continental  army,  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 
Woodruff,  Samuel. 

Woolsey,  Ephraim,  Capt,  Mott's  company. 
Worth,  James,  "  Capt.  Carle's  Troop  Light-Horse,'* 
Wright,  Jacob,  First  Regiment;  State  troops;  Continental  army,  Capt. 

Polhenms'  company. 
Yard,  Elijah.  Capt.  Tucker's  company. 
Yard,  Samuel,  Capt.  Tucker's  company, 
Yawger,  Peter,  Capt.  Stout's  company. 
Young,  Hezekiah,  Capt.  Mott's  company. 
Young,  James,  Capt.  P.  Phillips'  company,  First  Regiment,  and  Capt. 

Opdyke's  company,  Second  Regiment ;  also  in  State  troops. 
Young,  Philip,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company. 
Young,  Powell. 

The  following  are  those  from  Somerset  County  who 
served  in  the  Revolution  : 

William  Alexander  (Lord  Stirling),  colonel  First  Battalion ;  also  m^jor- 

general  of  Continental  army, 
Frederick    Frelinghuysen,    first    major    Stewart's    battalion    Minute- 

men^  Fob.  15, 1776  ;  captain  Eastern  Company  of  Artillery,  March 

1,1776;  colonel  First  Battalion,  Feb.  28,  1777;  resigned  to  accept 

appointment  as  delegate  to  Congress. 


Stephen  Hunt,  captain  artillery;  colonel  First  Battalion,  Feb.  3, 1776  ; 
colonel  battalion,  Heard's  brigade,  June  14,  1776;  resigned  July 
12, 1776 ;  disability. 
Abrsiham  Quick,  colonel  Second  Battalion;  resigned  Sept.  9, 1777. 
Abraham  Ten  Eyck,  lieutenant-colonel  First  Battalion,  Feb.  3,  1776; 

colonel  ditto. 
Henry  Vandike,  colonel  Second  Battalion,  Sept.  9,  1777;  colonel  regi- 
ment State  troops,  Oct.  9, 1779. 
Benjamin  Baird,  first  major  Second  Battalion,  April  5, 1777;  lieutenant- 
colonel  ditto,  Sept.  9, 1777 ;  died. 
Derrick  Middah,  second  major  First  Battalion,  Feb.  3, 1776  ;  lieutenant- 
colonel  ditto,  Feb.  28, 1777. 
Peter  D.  Vroom,  captain  Second  Battalion ;  first  major  ditto,  June  6, 

1777 ;  lieutenant-colonel  ditto,  Sept.  9, 1777. 
William  Baird,  captain  Second  Battalion;  first  major  ditto,  Nov.  6, 1777. 
Thomas  Hall,  captain  First  Battalion ;  second  major  ditto,  Feb.  28, 1777. 
Enos  Kelsey,  second  major  Second  Battalion ;  major  Thompson's  battal- 
ion, *'  Detached  Militia,"  July  18, 1776 ;  major  Chambers'  battalion, 
State  troops,  Nov.  17, 1776 ;  resigned  June  10, 1779,  to  accept  oflace  of 
State  Clothier. 
James  Linn,  captain  First  Battalion;  pro.  to  first  major,  Feb.  3, 1776; 

resigned  Juue  28, 1781. 
Richard  McDonald,  captain  First  Battalion ;  pro.  to  second  major,  Feb. 

28. 1777. 
Abraham  Nevius,  lieutenant  Second  Battalion;  pro.  to  captain  ;  pro.  to 

major,  Nov.  6, 1777. 
John  Vliet,  major  First  Battalion. 

William  Verbryck,  captain ;  second  major  Second  Battalion,  June  6, 1777 ; 
pro.  to  first  major  Sept.  9, 1777 ;  resigned  Nov.  6, 1777  ;  also  paymas- 
ter Somerset  and  Hunterdon  State  troops. 
Edward  Bunn,  paymaster;  also  paymaster  State  troops. 
Joseph  Gaston,  paymaster. 
Joseph  Babcock,  captain  Second  Battalion, 

John  Baird,  sergeant  Second  Battalion  ;  pro.  to  captain  Second  Battalion. 
John  Carr  (or  Kerr),  captain  Second  Battalion. 
Benjamin  Corey,  captain  First  Battalion. 
John  Craig,  captain  First  Battalion ;  captain  State  troops. 
David  De  Groot,  captain  First  Battalion  July  27, 1776. 
Peter  Dumont,  captain  Second  Battalion. 
Simon  Duryea,  captain  First  Battalion. 
Philip  Fulkerson,  captain  Second  Battalion. 
William  C.  Houston,  captain  Second  Battalion,  Feb.  28, 1776 ;  resigned 

Aug.  17, 1776. 
William  Jones,  captain  Second  Battalion. 
Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  captain  First  Battalion. 

Francis  Lock,  captain  First  Battalion ;  killed  Sept.  16, 1777,  Elizabeth- 
town,  N.  J. 
William  Logan,  captain  First  Battalion. 

Cornelius  Lott,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  Second  Bat- 
talion. 

Lowe,  captain. 

Garen  McCoy,  captain  First  Battalion. 

William  Moffatt,  captain  First  Battalion. 

James  Moore,  captain  Second  Battalion,  April  28, 1777. 

John  Parker,  captain  First  Battalion. 

Nathaniel  Porter,  lieutenant  First  Battalion ;  captain  First  Battalion, 

March  7, 1777. 
Hendrick  Probasco,  captain  Second  Battalion. 
Peter  Pumyea,  captain  Second  Battalion. 
Jacobus  Quick,  captain  Second  Battalion, 
James  Quick,  captain  Second  Battalion, 
Israel  Rickey,  captain, 
Peter  Schenck,  captain  First  Battalion. 
John  Sebring,  lieutenant  First  Battalion;  pro.  to  captain. 
Rulofi"  Sebring,  captain  First  Battalion. 

David  Smalley,  ensign  Col.  Hunt's  Battalion,  Heard's  brigade,  July  5, 
1776  •  ensign  Col.  Thompson's  Battalion,  "  Detached  Militia,"  July 
18, 1776  ;  also  captain  First  Battalion. 
Rynear  Staats,  lieutenant  Second  Battalion ;  wounded  at  battle  of  Ger- 

mantown.  Pa.,  Oct.  4, 1777 ;  pro.  to  captain. 
Richard  Stite*,  captniu  First  Battalion,  Feb.  9, 1776;  captain  Col.  Hunt's 
Battalion,  July  5, 1776 ;  resigned  July,  1776 ;  captain  Col.  Thompson's 
Battalion, 
John  Stryker,  captain  troop  light-horse  of  Somerset;  also  captain  of 

"troopers''  in  State  aei-vice. 
Buloff  Sutfin,  first  Ueutenant  Capt.  Porter's  company,  First  Battalion, 
March  7, 1777;  pro.  to  captain;  wounded  August,  1779. 


92 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Coonrad  Ten  Eyck,  eergeant  Second  BattaUon;  pro.  to  captain  Second 

Battalion. 
Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  lieutenant  First  Battalion ;  pro.  to  captain  First  Bat- 
talion. 
Coi-neliuB  Tunieon,  private  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  Firat  Bat- 
talion; pro.  to  sergeant,  to  lieutenant,  to  captain, 
Philip  Van  Arsdalen,  captain  First  Battalion. 
Abraham  Yan  Nest,  ensign  Second  BattaUon ;  pro.  to  captain. 
Eynear  Teghte,  lieutenant  Second  Battalion ;  pro.  to  captain. 
John  Toorhees,  ensign  Capt.  Duryea'a  company,  Firat  Begiment;  pro.  to 

captain. 
Peter  G.  (Van)  Voorheea,  second  lieutenant.  Continental  army,  Nov.  29, 
1775;  first  lieutenant  ditto,  Sept.  18, 1776  ;  captain  First  Battalion, 
Second  Establishment,  Nov.  1, 1777 ;  also  captain  First  Begiment; 
captured  and  killed  by  Tories  near  New  Brunswick,  Oct.  26, 1779. 
Daniel  Wentzel,  ensign  State  troops;  pro.  to  captain,  also  captain  Fii-st 

Battalion. 
David  Wentzel,  ensign  State  troops ;  also  captain. 
James  Wheeler,  ensign  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  Second  Battalion ; 

pro.  to  captain. 
Nathan  All,  lieutenant  Capt.  Duryea'a  company,  First  Battalion. 
Peter  Allen,  lieutenant  First  Battalion. 
Samuel  Annin,  private;  pro.  to  lieutenant. 

Jacob  G.  Bergen,  lieutenant;  lieutenant  commanding  guard  at  Princeton. 
Deuice  Bier,  lieutenant.    [Name  aleo  given  as  Dennis  Byn.] 
Rjbert  Bolmer,  lieutenant  First  Battalion. 

John  Brocaw,  lieutenant  First  Battalion  ;  killed  Oct.  4, 1777,  at  German- 
town. 
Abra:ham  Dement,  lieutenant  First  Battalion. 
William  Frazer,  lieutenant  First  Battalion. 

George  Hall  (son  of  Edward),  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First 
Battalion;  pro.  lieutenant. 

Lane,  lieutenant  First  Battalion. 

John  Swain,  sergeant  Capt. Bury ea's  company, First  Battalion;  pro. lieu- 
tenant. 
John  Ten  Eyck,  lieutenant ;  killed  June  17, 1777,  at  Millstone,  N.  J. 
John  Tharp,  lieutenant;  in  service  until  close  of  war, 
John  Todd,  lieutenant. 

James  Van  Horn,  lieutenant  First  Battalion. 
Peter  Welch,  lieutenant. 
James  Whalen,  lieutenant  First  Battalion, 

Stephen  Whitaker,  lieutenant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First  Bat- 
talion. 
Joseph  Gatterlin,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Smalley's  company,  First  Battal- 
ion ;  lieutenant  Capt.  Outwater's  company,  and  in  Capt.  Peter  Ward's 
company.  State  troops. 
Joseph,  Catherland,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Bat- 
talion, Nov.  11, 1777. 
Abram  Dumont,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First  Bat- 
talion, July  8,  1776. 
Aaron  Longstreet,  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Houston's  company,  Second  Batr 

talion,  Feb.  28, 1776. 
Peter  Low,  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  pro.  first  lieutenant ;  firat 
lieutenant  Capt.  Stites'  company,  July  6, 1776 ;  fii-st  lieutenant  Col. 
Thompson's  battalion,  "Detached  Militia,"  July  18, 1776;  also  first 
lieutenant  Continental  army. 
James  Stockton,  ensign  Capt.  Houston's  company,  Second  Battalion,  Feb. 

28, 1776 ;  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Moore's  company,  April  28, 1777. 
Zebulon  Barton,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Houston's  company,  Feb.  28, 

1776. 
John  Bennett,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  Second  Bat- 
talion. 
Philip  Folk,  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  sergeant ;  pro.  en- 
sign, Aug.  20, 1777;  pro.  second  lieutenant,  Nov.  11, 1777. 
Derrick  Lane,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Stites'  company,  July  5, 1776  ;  also 

captain  Continental  army. 
Isaac  Manning,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Smalley's  company,  First  Bat- 
talion. 
Isaac  Vanardsdalen,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First 

Battalion,  July  8,  1776. 
Peter  Vandeventer,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Porter's  company,  First  Bat- 
talion, March  7, 1777. 
John  Van  Neste,  second  lieutenant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Bat- 
talion, Dec.  3, 1776. 
Jasper  Brokaw,  private ;  pro.  to  ensign. 

James  Hambleton,  ensign  Capt.  Moore'a  company,  Second  Battalion, 
April  28, 1777, 


Isaac  Parker,  ensign  Capt.  Smalley's  company.  First  Battalion. 

Joakim  Quick,  ensign  Capt.  Vroom's  company.  Second  Battalion. 

Cornelius  Suydam,  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  corporal 
and  ensign  in  State  troops. 

Matthiaa  Sharp,  ensign  Capt.  Porter's  company,  March  7, 1777. 

Peter  T.  Stryker,  ensign  Capt.  Henry  Sparks'  company,  Second  Bat- 
talion. 

Andrew  Ten  Eyck,  private  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company;  teamster 
ditto  ;  pro.  corporal,  sergeant  Minute-men;  ensign  Capt.  Ten  Eyck'a 
company,  First  Battalion,  June  19, 1778. 

Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  Jr.,  private  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  July  8, 
1776 ;  pro.  ensign. 

Isaac  Vantyle,  ensign  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company.  First  Battalion. 

Isaac  Voorhees,  private;  pro.  corporal,  sergeant,  and  cornet  of  troop 
light-horse. 

Daniel  Ammerman,  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  sergeant. 

George  Auton,  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  corporal  and 
sergeant. 

William  Beekman,  sergeant  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 

Isaac  Bennett,  private  ;  pro.  sergeant. 

Burgum  Brocaw,  sergeant  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Evart  Brocaw,  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  corporal  and 
sergeant. 

Derrick  Brocaw,  private  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  corporal  and 
sergeant. 

Samuel  Brown,  sergeant  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck'a  company.  First  Battalion. 

Isaac  Cool,  sergeant  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Derrick  Demit,  sergeant  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First  Battalion. 

Frederick  Ditres,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  pro.  to  sergeant. 

Derrick  Dow,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  td  sergeant. 

Fulkert  Dow,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  pro.  to  sergeant ;  also 
in  State  troops,  and  private  in  Continental  army. 

Minne  Du  Bois,  private  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  Second  Battalion;  pro. 
to  sergeant. 

Mauicus  Duboys,  sergeant  Capt.  Coonrad  Ton  Eyck's  company,  Second 
Battalion. 

Aaron  Hageman,  private ;  pro.  to  sergeant. 

Rolif  Hageman,  sergeant  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 

Garret  Harris,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  sergeant  Minute- 
men. 

Christian  Hoagland,  private  Capt.  Vroom's  company ;  pro.  to  sergeant. 

Joseph  Kennan,  private ;  pro.  to  corporal  and  sergeant. 

Elijah  Leigh,  sergeant  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Abraham  Messeroll,  private  ;  pro.  to  sergeant. 

Morris  Miller,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  to  sergeant ; 
also  sergeant  State  troops. 

David  Nevius,  sergeant  Capt.  Stryker's  troop. 

John  Perrine,  sergeant  Minute-men;  sergeant  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck'a 
company. 

Hendrick  Post,  private  Capt.  Vroom's  company ;  pro.'to  sergeant. 

John  Powlson,  sergeant  Capt.  Duryea'a  company,  First  Battalion. 

John  H.  Schenck,  private  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  to  ser- 
geant. 

Thomas  Sortore,  sergeant  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Enoch  Stillwell,  sergeant  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 

Benjamin  Taylor,  private  Capt.  Vroom's  company ;  pro.  to  sergeant 

Conrad  Ten  Eyck,  private  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  to 
sergeant. 

Hendrick  Teple,  private  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  to  ser- 
geant. 

John  Tilyer,  sergeant  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 

George  Todd,  sergeant  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

John  Van  Ai-sdalen,  sergeant  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Abraham  Van  Arsdalen,  private  Capt.  Vroom's  company;  pro.  to  ser- 
geant. 

Abraham  Van  Dorn,  sergeant  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Cornelius  Van  Dyke,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  pro.  to  ser- 
geant. 
Andrew  Van  Middlesworth,  private  Capt.  Vroom's  company;  pro.  to 


John  Van  Nortwick,  sergeant  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Abraham  Van  Voorhees,  sergeant  Capt.  Sebring's  company. 
Jacobus  Van  Voorhees,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  to 


Abraham  Voorhees,  sergeant  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Bat- 
talion. 
Jacob  Voorhees,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Battalion. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN  THE   REVOLUTION. 


93 


Nathaniel  Whitaker,  private  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  pro.  to  ser- 
geant. 
Cornelius  Willet,  sergeant  militia. 

Jonathan  'Willet,  sergeant  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Jacobus  Amerman,  private  Capt.  Vrootn's  company;  pro.  to  corporal. 
Jacobua  Bergen,  corporal  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 
Abraham  Bertron,  corporal  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  from 

private. 
James  Boylan,  corporal  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  from  private. 
Peter  Brokaw,  corporal  Capt.  Vroom's  company ;  pro.  from  private. 
Thomas  Covert,  corporal  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
Cornelius  Coshaw,  corporal  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Kichard  Davis,  corporal  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Abram  Defresh,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  from 

private. 
John  Dumont,  Jr.,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Bat- 
talion. 
Cornelius  Eraser,  corpoml  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  pro.  from 

private. 
William  Hula,  corporal  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion. 
Benjamin  IngersoU,  corporal    Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First 

Battalion. 
John  Lake,  corporal  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion. 
Azariah  Parker,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Peter  Post,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  from  pri- 
vate. 
John  Storms,  corporal  Capt  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  corporal  State 

troops ;  also  private  Continental  army. 
Bernard  Striker,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Gilles  Sutphen,  corporal  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Abraham  Tan  Arsdalen,  corporal  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Philip  Van  Arsdalen,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Isaac  Van  Clefe,  corporal  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Peter  Vanderbergh,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company  ;  corporal 

State  troops ;  also  private  in  Continental  army. 
Benjamin  Van  Dorn,  corporal  militia. 
George  Van  Nest,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  pro.  from 

private. 
Isaac  Voorhees,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Bat- 
talion. 
Abraham  Vourhase,  corporal  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company.  Sec- 
ond Battalion. 
Jacob  Winter,  corporal  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
John  Wortman,  corporal  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company;  pro.  from 

private. 
Philip  Toung,  corporal  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Joseph  Hagerman,  musician,  militia. 
Gilbert  Lane,  drummer  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Abram  Van  Voorhees,  drummer  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
David  Bertram,  fifer  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
David  Britton,  fifer  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
McDonald  Campbell,  fifer  Capt.  Corey's  company,  First  Battalion ;  fifer 

State  troops ;  also  fifer  in  Continental  army. 
Bargun  Covert,  fifer  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
Caleb  Fulkerson,  fifer, 

James  Hunt,  fifer  Capt.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Abram  Lott,  fifer. 

John  Nortwick,  fifer  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Peter  Stryker,  fifer  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Andreas  Ten  Eyck,  teamster  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  teamster  Capt  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Peter  Ten  Eyck,  teamster  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Lewis  Harthough,  wagoner  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
William  Hey,  wagoner  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Henry  Southard,  wagoner  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
James  Voorhees,  wagoner  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Martin  Voorhees,  wagoner  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
James  Wintersteen,  wagoner  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 


Acans,  John. 

Aldhood,  John. 

Allan,  David,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck'fj  company.  First  Battalion. 

Allan,  Joseph,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Battalion. 

Allen,  John. 

Allen,  Nathan. 

Allen,  Robert. 


Allen,  Samuel,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Martin's   company ; 
transferred  to  invalid  corps,  July  28, 1778  ;  discharged  Nov.  1, 1783  ; 
leg  amputated. 
Amerman,  Albert,  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  Second  Battalion. 
Amerman,  Daniel,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First  Battalion. 
Amerman,  David,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company.  Second  Battalion. 
Amerman,  John,  Capt.  Vroom's  company.  Second  Battalion. 
Amerman,  Powell,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company,  Second  Bat- 
talion. 
Amerman,  Powell  J. 

Andrews,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Andrews,  Malcom,  Capt,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Andrews,  Michael. 

Andries,  Michael,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company, 
Andries,  Robert. 
Anson,  John. 

Appleberry,  Ambrose,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Appleby,  Amos,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Appleman,  David,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Archer,  John,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Areuts,  Stephen. 
Armstrong,  George. 
Armstrong,  Thomas. 
Armstrong,  William. 

Arrowsmith,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Arrowsmith,  Nicholas. 
Arrowsmith,  Thomas. 
Atten,  Joseph. 

Auten,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company, 

Auten,  Thomas,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company,  First  Battalion. 

Auten,  Thomas,  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Ayers,  David, 

Ayers,  Joseph. 

Babcock,  William. 

Baird,  Eobert. 

Bakeman,  Magness. 

Baker,  Elias. 

Ballard,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First  Battalion. 

Ballard,  Nathaniel. 

Barclay,  Joseph. 

Barger,  John. 

Barkley,  George, 

Barkley,  Hugh. 

Barkley,  John. 

Barkley,  Joseph. 

Bartley,  John. 

Battow,  Lifeless,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 

Beam,  Henry,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Beam,  Henry,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Beard,  Robert. 

Bebout,  Peter. 

Beckman,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bedine  (Bodine),  Nicholas. 

Bedyne  (Bodine),  John. 

Beedle,  Jacob. 

Beekman,  John,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Beekman,  Lawrence. 

Beckner,  Michael. 

Belew,  Daniel. 

Bell,  William. 

Bellard,  John,  Second  Battalion,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Belly ou,  Cornelius. 

Bennett,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bercan,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bercan,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bergen,  Hendrick. 

Berham,  Everet,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Berkley,  Hugh.  , 

Berkley,  John. 

Berry,  James  D, 

Berry,  Peter. 

Bishop,  Aaron,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bishop,  Moses,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Blackford,  Benjamin, 

Blackford,  Daniel, 

Blaw,  William. 
Blear,  Robert. 


94 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Blew,  Abram. 

Blew,  Frederick. 

Blew,  Isaac,  Capt  Duryea's  company. 

Blew,  John. 

Blbw,  William,  Capt.  Duryea's  company, 

Bloodgood,  Phineas. 

Bloodgood,  Phenice. 

Blow  (or  Blue),  Michael. 

Blue,  Cornelius. 

Blue,  Daniel,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Blue,  Heudrick,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Board,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bookman,  George,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bookman,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck'e  company. 

Bodewine,  Peter,  Capt.  Jones'  company.  Second  Battalion. 

Bodewine,  William. 

Bodley,  Nathan,  Capt.  Parker's  company;  also  State  troops;  and  Conti- 
nental army,  Capt.  Ballard's  company.  Third  Battalion,  Second  Es- 
tablishment. 

Bolmer,  Garret. 

Bond,  Benjamin. 

Bond,  Jacob. 

Bonnel,  Jacob. 

Boorum,  Jacob. 

Bours,  James. 

Bowers,  William. 

Boyd,  Alexander. 

Boyd,  William. 

Boylan,  Aaron,  Capt.  Parker's  company ;  also  State  troops  ;  and  Conti- 
nental army,  Capt.  Piatt's  company. 

Boylan,  John.  ' 

Boyles,  Jonathan. 

Bracket,  Nathaniel. 

Brady,  James. 

Breese,  Garret,  also  captain  and  conductor  of  Team  Brigade. 

Breese,  John. 

Bress,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Brewer,  George,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Battalion. 

Brewer,  George,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Brewer,  John. 

Brickman,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bright,  Philip. 

Brinson,  John.  \ 

Britt,  Philip. 

Brittain,  Jeremiah,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  State  troops ;  and 
sergeant  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Piatt's  company. 

Britton,  Abraham,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Brocaw,  Adam,  Capt.  Porter's  company  ;  also  Continental  army. 

Brocaw,  Benj.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Brockover,  Peter. 

Brockaw,  Abraham,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Brockaw,  Casparus,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Brockaw,  George,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Brockaw,  Isaac. 

Brockaw,  Richard. 

Brookhead,  Benj.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck'a  company. 

Brooks,  Isaac. 

Brown,  Adam,  First  Battalion ;  also  State  troops;  and  Continental  army, 
Capt.  Piatt's  company. 

Brown,  George. 

Brown,  Gilliam. 

Brown,  John. 

Bruner,  Jacob. 

Bullas,  Adam,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bnrdine,  Wilson. 

Burgie,  Thomas. 

Burkfield,  Thomas. 

Bushfield,  Thomas. 

Butler,  James. 

IJutterfoss,  Andrew,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Martin''s  company. 

Buys,  Jacob. 

Buzzy,  Mathews,  Capt.  Moore's  company;  State  troops,  and  Continental 
army. 

Caldwell,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Caldwell,  William. 

Campbell,  Alexander,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Campbell,  Archibald,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 


Campbell,  John. 

Carbon,  Christopher,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Carens,  John. 

Carle,  Ephraim  T.,  Capt.  Baird's  company;  also  State  troops,  and  Conti- 
nental army. 

Carman,  John,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Carmer,  John,  militia. 

Castner,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Catalyou,  Henry. 

Catolin,  Joseph. 

Cavaleer,  Job  n. 

Chambers,  John,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Cliambers,  Roland,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Chandler,  John. 

Chandler,  Peter. 

Chapman,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck'a  company. 

Chapman,  William. 

Charles,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Christopher,  John. 

Clark,  James,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 

Cleare,  Godfrey,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Clendenning,  Isaac. 

Cloason,  Ebenezer. 

CluBon,  Josiah. 

Coach,  Jacob.  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Cobb,  Mathias,  Capt.  Parker's  company;  also  State  troops;  and  Bergeant 
in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Coxe's  company. 

Cock,  Henry. 

Cock,  Jacob,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Cock,  Jacob  W.,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Cock,  William. 

Cocke,  William,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company 

Coe,  Jacob. 

ColUna,  Abraham. 

Colter,  Alexander,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Colter,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Colwell,  John. 

Colwell,  William. 

Colyer,  Moses,  First  Battalion. 

Colyer,  Thomas. 

Combs,  Charles,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Combs.  Samuel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Compton,  Jacob,  Capt.  Quick's  company;  also  in  State  troops, 

Compton,  Joseph,  troop  light-horse. 

Compton,  Richard,  Capt,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Conaway,  John,  Capt.  Moore's  company.  Second  Battalion. 

Conelyou,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Conelyou,  William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Conk  ling,  Josiah. 

Conover,  David,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Conover,  John,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Cook,  George,  First  Battalion ;  also  in  State  troops ;  and  Continental 
army,  in  companies  of  Capts.  Piatt  and  Phillips. 

Cook,  Henry,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Cook,  Jacob. 

Cool,  David,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Coole,  Peter. 

Coon,  Aaron. 

Coon,  Abijah. 

Coon,  Daniel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  and  Capt.  Corey's  com- 
pany ;  also  in  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Coon,  Ebenezer. 

Coon,  Felty. 

Coon,  Levi,  Fii-st  Battalion. 

Coon,  Peter. 

Coon,  Euny. 

Cooper,  John. 

Cooper,  Thomas. 

Copton,  Richard,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Corlow,  Benjamin. 

Cornelison,  Garret,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Cornell  son,  John. 

Cornell,  Cornelius  (1st). 

Cornell,  Cornelius  (2d). 

Cornell,  Joseph,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Gorrington,  Archibald,  First  Battalion. 

Corrington,  Benjamin. 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMERSET  COUNTIES   IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


95 


Corshon,  Joseph. 

Corahon,  Joshua. 

Cortleyou,  Hendrick. 

Corwell,  Cornelius. 

Coshow,  Abraham,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck'a  company. 

Cosbow,  George, 

Coshow,  Jacob,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Covenhoven,  Denice. 

Covenhoven,  Joseph. 

Covert,  Burgum,  also  in  Continental  army. 

Covert,  Daniel. 

Covert,  Jacob. 

Covert,  John. 

Covert,  Thomas,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Covert,  Tunis,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Craig,  Moses. 

Crane,  Asa,  First  Battalion;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Creesey,  James. 

Crolns,  John. 

Ci-oss,  Samuel. 

Crow,  Garret,  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion ;  also  State  troops, 

aud  Continental  army. 
Cryer,  John. 
Cummins,  Jacob. 

Cummins,  John,  also  in  State  troops. 

Cumpton,  John,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Cunningham,  Matthew. 

Daley,  Nicholas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First  Battalion. 
Dan,  William,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
DaiKildson,  William. 
Davis,  James,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
Davis,  John,  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck'a  company. 
Davis,  Samuel,  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Davis,  Thomas,  Capt.  Baird's  company;  State  troops;  also  Continental 

army,  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
Davison,  William. 

Deamell,  Patiick. 

De  Camp,  John,  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Decker,  John,  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Decker,  Peter. 

Defresh,  Isaac,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck'a  company. 

De  Hart,  Hendrick  (or  Henry). 

Demott,  Peter. 

Demund,  Tenes  (or  Tunis). 

Deniante,  John. 

Dennis,  Reuben,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Dennis,  Robert. 

Dickson,  Alexander. 

Dickson,  William,  First  Battalion;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental 
army. 

Dildine,  John. 

Dillen,  Peter. 

Disbrow,  Joseph,  Lieut.  Bergen's  company. 

Ditmars,  Johannes. 

Ditmars,  Peter,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

DitmoB,  Frederick,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Ditmos,  John. 

Ditmos,  Peter. 

Doaran,  Joseph. 

Doran  (or  Doren),  Cornelius. 

Dortan,  William. 

Doty,  Jeremiah,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Doty,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Doty,  John,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Doty,  Peter,  First  Battalion;  also  State  troops;  and  Continental  army; 
Capt.  Piatt's  company. 

Doty,  Skillman. 

Doty,  Zebulon. 

Doty,  William. 

Dougherty,  John. 

Doughty,  Francis. 

Doughty,  Jeremiah,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Doughty,  John,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Doughty,  Levi, 

Dow,  John,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Dow,  John,  Jr.,  Capt,  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Dowelson,  John,  Capt.  J.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 


Downey,  William,  Capt.  Moore's  company ;  State  troops,  and  Continental 

army. 
Drake,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Drew,  Thomas. 

Du  Bois,  Nicholas,  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  Second  Battalion. 
Ducker,  Peter. 

Dumon  (or  Dumond),  Hendrick,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dumon  (or  Dumond),  Peter,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dnmon  (or  Dumond),  Peter  P. 
Dumont,  Albert,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dumont,  Elbert,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dumont,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company 
Dumont,  John  B.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dumont,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dumont,  Peter  J.  B.,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
Du  Mott,  Abraham,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Du  Mott,  Barent,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Du  Mott,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Du  Mott,  Dirck. 

Du  Mott,  Lawrence,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Duncan,  John. 
Dunham,  John. 

Dunning,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dunn,  Jonathan,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck'a  company. 
Dunn,  Ben  ben. 
Dunn,  William. 
Dunster,  James. 
Dunvier,  Thomas. 
Durland,  Linus. 
Durling,  Samuel. 

Duychinck,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Dwire,  Thomas,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
Edgar,  Archibald. 
Edwards,  John. 

Ellis,  Joseph,  Lieut.  Bergen's  company. 
Emens,  James. 
Emens,  John. 
Emmons,  John, 
Eoff,  Cornelius. 
Estle,  William. 

Evans,  William,  Lieut.  Bergen's  company. 

Evans,  William,  Capt.  Babcock's  company;  also  State  troops;  and  Conti- 
nental army.  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
Exsen,  Abner. 
Fairchjld,  Hezekiah. 
Fantine,  Rine. 

Fayer,  Christian,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Ferguson,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Fine,  Abram. 

Fisher,  Charles,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
Fisher.  Henry,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Fisher,  John. 

Fisker,  Hemy,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Ford,  Charles. 
Foreman,  Walter. 
Fort,  Benjamin. 
Fort,  Francis. 
Fort,  Henry. 
Fort,  Joseph. 
Fort,  Thomas. 
Forth,  Francis. 
Forth,  Phineas. 

Eraser,  Christian,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Frazee,  Henry. 
Frazee,  Reuben. 
French,  David. 

French,  Joseph,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck'a  company. 
French,  WilUam,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Fristler,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Fulkerson,  Cornelius. 

Fulkerson,  Fulkert,  Capt.  Coonrad  TenEyck's'company. 
Fulkerson,  Henry. 
Fulkerson,  Hans. 

Fulkerson,  John,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 
Fulkerson,  PhiUp,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 
Fulkerson,  William. 
Furmau,  Edward,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 


96 


HUNTEKDON   AND   SOBIEKSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Furman,  Waters,  Capt.  Duryea'e  company. 

Fusler,  Jacob,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacot  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Fueler,  Luke,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Fusler,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Gad,  Alexander,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Gad,  William,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Ganno,  George. 

Garrison,  Bernardug. 

Garrison,  Dirck,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 

Garrison,  Garret. 

Garrison,  George,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Garrison,  John. 

GaiTitaon,  Kem. 

Garritson,  Samuel. 

Gasling,  Joseph. 

Gaston,  Hugh. 

Gaston,  Robert, 

Geddes,  John. 

Ghulick,  Derrick.      ' 

Gibbe,   John,  Second  Battalion,  Capt.  Fulkerson's  company;  also  State 
troops,  and  Continental  army. 

Gilmore,  David. 

Gilmore,  John. 

Gilmore,  William. 

Goble,  Hugh. 

Colder,  Abraham,  Capt.  Sti-yker's  troop  light-horse. 

Goldtrap,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Goltry,  Thomas,  Capt.  Sebring's  company. 
Gordon,  John. 

Gray,  Isaac,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Gray,  Joseph. 

Gray,  William. 

Green,  William. 

Griggs,  William,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 

Gulick,  Abraham  (or  Abram). 

Gulick,  John,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Gulk,  Joakim, 

Hagaman,  Adrian. 

Hagaman,  Andrew. 

Hagaman,  John. 

Hagaman  (or  Hegeman),  Peter. 

Hagerman,  Eulif,  Second  Battalion,  Capt.  Babcock's  company. 

Hairville,  James  (given  also  as  Hanville). 

Hall,  George  (son  of  Edward),  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's 

company. 
Hall,  George  (son  of  Henry),  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's 

company. 
Hall,  Isaac. 

Hall,  Thomas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
JIamiltoD,  James. 
Hand,  Christopher. 
Handley,  Ezekiel. 
Handley,  Jeremiah. 
Hannah,  William. 

Harbough,  Tuer,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Hardenbrook,  Isaac. 
Hardenbrook,  Lewis. 
Hardenbrook,  Peter. 
Harder,  Christian. 
Harder,  Henry. 

Harder,  Philip,  also  express-rider. 
Harpending,  Andrew. 

Harris,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Harris,   Samuel,  Capt.  Corey's  company;  aleo  State  troops ;  and  Conti- 
nental army,  Capt.  Foreman's  company. 
Hartshorn  6,  Lewis,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Hartfihough,  Lucas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Hartsough,  Aug.,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 
Hause,  John. 
Hegeman,  Aaron. 
Hegeman,  Benjamin. 

Helbert  (or  Helebrant),  Da^id,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Henry,  Jamea. 
Henry,  Peter. 

Herder,  Christian,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Herns,  John. 
Herrod,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 


Hewyard  (or  Heyward),  Benjamin. 

Heyers,  Benjamin, 

Hickley,  Timothy. 

Hinds,  Frederick,  Second  Battalion  ;  also  State  Troops. 

Hinds,  John,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  Third  Battalion,  First  Estab- 
lishment. 

Hinds,  Robert. 

Hise,  Jacob. 

Hoagland,  Abram,  Capt.  "Van  Nest's  company ;  also  State  Troops,  and 
Continental  army. 

Hoagland,  Albert:. 

Hoagland,  Harman  A.,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 

Hoagland,  Henry. 

Hoagland,  Hermanus,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Hoagland,  Jacob. 

Hoagland,  Johannes,  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Hoagland,  John,  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Hoagland,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Hoagland,  Lucas,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 

Hoagland,  Luke. 

Hoagland,  Martin,  Lieut,  Bergen's  company. 

Hoagland,  Peter,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 

Hoagland,  Samuel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Hoagland,   Tunis,  Capt.  Coonrad   Ten   Eyck's  company  (also  express- 
rider?). 

HofF  (or  HufF),  Dirck,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 

HofF,  Nicholas,  Capt.  Quick's  company.  Second  Battalion ;  wounded  at 
Germantown,  Oct.  4, 1777. 

Hog,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Honny,  William. 

Hosborn,  Cooper. 

Hosborn,  John, 

Houghland,  John. 

Howell,  David,  Capt,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Howk,  Philip. 

Hudson,  Thomas, 

Huff,  Isaac. 

Huff,  John,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

HufF,  Moses. 

Huff,  Nicholas,  Second  Battalion,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Huff,  Peter,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 

Huff,  Richard,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Huff,  Tunis. 

Hulfiish,  John. 

Hunter,  Andrew,  also  in  Continental  army, 

Ingard,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Jacob  Ton  Eyck's  company;  pro.  to  corporal, 

Jasper,  Richard,  Capt.  Quick's  company ;  State  troops,  and  Continental 

ai-my, 
Jemison,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Jennings,  John,  Capt.  .Tacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Johnson,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ton  Eyck's  company. 
Johnson,  John,  First  Battalion;  also  State  troops. 
Johnson,  Samuel. 
Johnson,  William. 

Johnston,  John,  Capt.  Parker's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Jones,  Daniel,  Capt.  Lott's  company.  Second  Battalion. 
Jones,  Henry,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Jones,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Jones,  Samuel. 
Jones,  William. 

Juel,  LIcha,  Capt.  Moore's  company.  Second  Battalion. 
Kelly,  David,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Kelly,  John. 
Kelly,  Samuel. 
Kennedy,  Henry,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company;  also  troop  of 

light-horse, 
Kershaw,  Abraham. 
Kershaw,  George. 

Kilpatrick,  Andrew,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck*s  company. 
Kilpatrick,  Hugh,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
King,  David,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Kinnan,  John. 
Kinned,  Peter. 
Kinny,  Simon. 
Kirkpatrick,  Alexander. 
Kirkpatrick,  David,  wounded  June,  1780. 
Kirkpatrick,  Hugh,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


97 


Kirkpatricfc,  William. 

KlickDor,  George. 

Lacy,  Emanuel. 

La  Fever,  Alinert. 

La  Fever,  Myndert,  Capt.  Staat's  company,  Second  Battalion ;  also  State 

troops,  and  Continental  army. 
Lafferty,  Denice  (or  Dennis). 
Lafler,  Coonrad. 
Lafler,  John. 
Lalne,  John. 

Lake,  Garret,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
Lane,  Gilbert,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Lane,  Gulsbert. 

Lane,  Henry,  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Lane,  Jacob. 

Lane,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Lane,  Mathias. 

Lane,  Beuben,  First  Battalion. 
Lane,  Tunis,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Lane,  ■William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company, 
Lange,  William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Lany,  William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Large,  John. 

Lasender,  Jacob,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Latham,  James. 
Laton,  Thomas. 
Laughhead,  James. 
Laughhead,  William. 

Lawkerman,  Thomas,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Lawrence,  Abram. 
Layton,  Thomas. 
Lee,  Daniel. 
Lee,  Samuel. 

Lee,  Thomas,  First  Battalion ;  also  State  troops,  and  Continental  army. 
Lefferty,  Henry  C,  First  Battalion ;  also  State  troops. 
Leigh,  Elijah,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Leterah,  Cornelius, 
Lewis,  Barnett, 
Lewis,  Barney. 
Lewis,  Edward. 

Lewis,  Jacob,  First  Battalion;  also  Continental  army. 
Light,  Thomas,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Limbergh,  John. 
Liinbarger,  Gabriel, 
Liner,  Isaac. 
Linn,  James. 
Linu,  Joseph. 
Linn,  Robert. 
Lisk,  Abram. 

Lisk,  John,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 
Ldboc,  Charles. 

Lwfler,  Jacob,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 
Lofler,  Philip. 
Logan,  Hugh. 
Long,  Cornelius. 
Long,  John. 

Lorey,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Lorey,  John,  Jr.,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Losey,  John. 

Lutt,  Abraham,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Low,  Abraham,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Low,  Abraham,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 
Low,  Cornelius. 
Low,  John. 
Lowry,  Thomas. 
Lowsadder,  Benjamin. 
LuparduB,  William. 

Luyster,  Peter,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 
Lyon,  Gideon,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Lyon,  Solomon,  Capt.  Jones'  company ;  also  State  troops ;  and  Continental 

army,  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
MacGraw,  Barney. 

Malick,  John,  also  in  Continental  army. 
Manfort,  Henry. 

Manning,  Clarkson,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Manning,  Isaac,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck'a  company, 
Martin,  David. 


Martin,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Martin,  Jeremiah. 

Maahat,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Mawe,  By  near. 
Maxfield,  David. 

Maybeck,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
McCarron,  Hugh. 

McCarty,  Hugh,  Capts.  Tan  Neat's  and  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  companies; 
State  troops ,  and  Continental  Army,  in  Capt.  Ballard's  company, 
Third  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
McClean,  John. 
McCleary,  Daniel,  Capt.  Porter's  company ;  also  in  State  troops ;  and  Capt. 

Piatt's  company,  Continental  service. 
McClow,  Cornelius. 

McColem  (McColIom),  Hugh,  Capt.  Troom's  company. 
McCollom,  John. 

McConnell,  Robert,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
McCoy,  Gavin. 
McCray,  James. 

McCoUum,  Jonas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
McDowell,  Ephraim,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
McDuffee,  Daniel. 
McElrath,  Thomas. 
McEowen,  William. 

McEwen,  Daniel,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company, 
McGill,  James,  Capt.  Porter's  company ;  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt. 

Piatt's  company. 
McGill,  John,  Capt.  Porter's  company ;  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt. 

Piatt's  Company. 
McGill,  Robert,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
McKenney,  Cornelius. 
McKenuey,  William. 
McKey,  Joseph. 

McKin,  Andrew,  Capt.  Moore's  company.  Second  Battalion. 
McKinney,  Joseph,  Capt.  Corey's  company,  First  Battalion;  also  State 

troops ;  and  Continental  army,  Capt.  Piatt's  company. 
McMackin,  Andrew. 

McManus,  William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

McMortry,  Robert. 

McMurtry,  Thomas,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Mc Williams,  John. 

Mealigh,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Meculick,  Robert. 

Meeservie,  Conrad,  First  Battalion ;  also  in  State  troops. 

Melligan,  William. 

Merrill,  Andrew,  also  in  Continental  army. 

Messerol,  Abram. 

Messerol,  Charles. 

Middagh,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Midsco  (or  Mencow),  Conrad,  First  Battalion ;  also  Capt.  Piatt's  company, 
Continental  army. 

Miers,  John. 

Milburn,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Miller,  John. 

Miller,  Jonathan. 

Miller,  Marion,  First  Battalion ;  wounded  and  taken  prisoner;  died  while 
prisoner  at  New  York,  Dec.  3, 1777. 

Miller,  Mercer,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Miller,  Moreen,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Milligran,  James. 

Minor,  William. 

Misket,  Peter. 

Mitchell,  Benjamin. 

Moffatt,  Samuel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Moffatt,  William. 

Monfort,  Hendrick  (or  Henry.) 

Monfort,  Peter. 

Montanye,  Abram,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Montanye,  Edward,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Montanye,  Edward,  Jr.,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Moore,  Isaac. 

Moore,  John  (1st),  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Moore,  John  (2d),  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Moore,  Joseph. 

Moore,  Prine. 

Moore,  Rynear. 

Morris,  Dennis,  First  Battalion, 


«8 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Morris,  States,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Morris,  Sylvester. 

Mount,  Matthew,  Second  Battalion,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
Muler,  Frederick. 

Mullen,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Mulloner,  Joseph,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Murphy,  Thomas. 
Murphy,  William. 

Myers,  John,  Capt  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Nail,  John,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 
Naphis,  Pet-er. 

Navius,*  Christopher,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Navius,*  David,  Capt.  Stryker's  troop  light-horse. 
Nephies,  John,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Nephies,  Martin,  Capt.  Duiyea's  company. 
Nevies,*  Cornelius. 
Nevies,*  Martinus. 
Neville,  John. 
Nevins,*  Joseph. 
Newent,  Daniel  V. 
Nivins,*  RulofF. 
Nixon,  John. 

Nnrris,  Thomas,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
Northall,  William. 

Norton,  Jacob,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Nortwick,  John. 

Nurtwick,  Simon,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Cake,  Jacob. 

O'Lefferty,  Henry,  Capt.  Parker's  company,  First  Battalion;  also  Conti- 
nental army,  in  Capt.  Ballard's  company. 
Oliver,  Jerome. 
Oliver,  Nicholas. 

Ci'pey,  Christopher,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Owens,  James. 
Oyers,  Benjamin. 

Pack,  William,  also  Continental  army. 

Packer,  Jacob,  also  Continental  army,  First  Battalion,  Second  Establish- 
ment, 
Packston,  William  (also  given  as  William  Paxon). 
Pain,  Stephen. 
Pangborn,  Peter. 
Parker,  Azariah. 
Parker,  Jacob,  Second  Battalion,  Capt.  Staat'g  company ;  State  troops, 

and  Continental  army. 
Parker,  James. 
Parker,  John. 

Parker,  Robert. 

Parkinson,  Aaron. 

Parkinson,  Jonathan. 

Parkinson,  Sylvanus, 

Peach,  William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company.  First  Battalion. 

Pearson,  Matthew  (also  given  as  Matthew  Pierson). 

Perlee,  Peter,  Second  Battalion,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Perrine,  James. 

Perrine,  John. 

Periiae,  Nicholas. 

Perrine,  Peter  (also  spelled  Peryn),  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Persee,  John. 

Peterson,  Thomas,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Philhower,  Christian. 

Piatt,  Abram. 

Pickens,  Alexander,  Capt.  Corey's  company;  also  in  State  troops,  and 
Continental  amiy. 

Pitman,  Jonathan. 

Pittenger,  Abram. 

Pittenger,  John. 

Pitts,  William. 

Plum,  Samuel. 

Poke,  John. 

Pope,  Birney. 

Pust,  Abraham,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Post,  Henry,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 

Post,  Tunis. 

Post,  William,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 

*  So  spelled  in  Adjutant-General's  Keports,  yet  most  or  all  maybe 

intended  for  Neviua. 


Pound,  Cornelius. 

Pound,  John. 

Pound,  Jonathan. 

Powelson,  Abram. 

Powelson,  Cornelius. 

Powelson,  Hendrick  (or  Henry). 

Powelson,  John,  in  companies  of  Capts.  Coonrad  and  Jacob  Ten  Eyck. 

Powelson,  Monah,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Probasco,  Garret. 

Probasco,  Peter. 

Pull,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Quick,  Garret. 

Quick,  Jacob. 

Quick,  Peter,  Sr.,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Quick,  Tunis. 

Ralph,  Leroy,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Rapalye,  Jeromus. 

Reamer,  George. 

Reamer,  John.     (See  John  Roomer.) 

Bedding,  Chris. 

Reemer,  Lewis,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company, 

Reepley,  Baltis. 

ReynearsoD,  Garret. 

Reynolds,  Samuel. 

Rich,  Joseph,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Martin's  company. 

Richardson,  Joseph,  Capt.  Staat's  company ;  State  troops,  and  Continental 

Army. 
Rickey,  Benjamin. 
Rickey,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Parker's  company ;  State  troops,  and  Continental 

army. 
Riggs,  Jonathan. 
Riggs,  Thomas. 
Bockefellow,  Peter. 
Rodes,  Allan. 
Rogers,  Henry. 

Roland,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Rolde,  John. 
Rolph,  Jonathan,  First  Battalion ;  State  troops ;  and  Continental  army, 

in  Capt.  Forman's  company. 
Rolph,  Richard,  First  Battalion,  Capt.  Corey's  company;  State  troops; 

and  Continental  army,  in  Capt,  Forman's  company. 
Roomer,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Bosebroom,  Garret. 
Rosebroom,  Hendrick  (Henry),  Capt,  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Ross,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Rossburg,  John,  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt.  Bond's  company,  Fourth 
Battalion,  Second  Establishment;  Capt.  Anderson's  company,  Third 
Regiment ;  disch.  April  10, 1783,  "  worn  out  in  the  service." 

Rubart,  John,  Capt.  Jones'  company,  Second  Battalion ;  Continental 
army,  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 

Buckman,  David. 

Ruckman,  Samuel,  Capt,  Moore's  company;  also  State  troops  ;  and  Con- 
tinental army,  in  Fii-st  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 

Runyan,  Richard  (Ist). 

Runyan,  Richard  (2d),  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Runyan,  Yincen,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Bush,  Peter. 

Russell,  William,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Martin's  company. 

Ryall,  Isaac,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  comimny,  First  Battalion. 

Ryker,  Cornelius,  Jr. 

Rynearson,  Isaac,  Capt.  Lett's  company.  Second  Battalion  ;  State  troops  ; 
and  in  Continental  Army,  in  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 

Rynearson,  Rynier  B. 

Salter,  Henry, 

Sanders,  Israel. 

Sanders,  John,  Capt.  Baird'a  company.  Second  Battalion;  also  State 
troops, 

Sanders,  Thomas,  Capt.  Staat's  company,  Second  Battalion ;  State  troops, 
and  Continental  army. 

Saums,  John,  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Saunders,  John, 

Saunders,  Timothy,  First  Battalion;  also  Continental  army,  in  Capt. 
Piatt's  company. 

Schanck,  Abram,  troop  light-horse. 

Schanck,  Abraham,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Battalion. 

Schanck,  John. 

Schenck,  Garret,  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion. 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


99 


Schenck,  Garret,  Liewt.  Bergen's  company. 

Schenck,  Jacob,  Capt.  Duryeii's  company. 

Schenck,  Peter  F. 

Sv.ilman,  Thomas,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Sears,  Samuel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  also  State  troops. 

Sesirs,  Samuel,  Capt.  Corey's  company,  First  Battalion ;  also  Continental 

army,  in  Fourth  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 
Sebring,  Abram,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Sebring,  Cornelius,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company,  Firet  Battalion. 
Sebring,  Jacob. 

Sebring,  Rodif,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company,  Second  Battalion. 
Sebring,  Thomas,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 
Sedam  (or  Suydam),  Charles. 
Sedam  {or  Suydam),  Peter. 
Sedam  (or  Suydam),  Rick. 
Seday,  Jacob. 
Sbafer,  Peter. 
Shankler,  Andrew. 

Sharp,  Jonathan,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Sickles,  Zachariah,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Silcock,  Valentine,  also  Continental  army. 
Simerson,  John. 

Simonson,  Abraham  (or  Abram). 
Simonson,  John. 

Simonson,  Samuel,  First  Battalion ;  also  State  troops ;  and  Continental 
army,  in  Capt.  Anderson's  company. 

Simpson,  Allen. 

Simpson,  David. 

Simpson,  William. 

Siulley,  John. 

Skelton,  Thomas,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Skillman,  Gerardus,  troop  light-horse  ;  also  express-rider. 

Skillman,  Thomas,  in  Capt.  Vroom's  and  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  companies. 

Slader,  Thomas. 

Sloan,  James,  Capt.  Fulkerson's  company.  Second  Battalion ;  State  troops ; 
Continental  army,  in  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment. 

Sloat,  William. 

Slover,  Isaac. 

Slover,  Jacob. 

Smalley,  Jonas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Smell,  Bobard. 

Smith,  Adam,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Smith,  Ethan. 

Smith,  Jeremy. 

Smith,  John,  also  corporal  in  Continental  army, 

•Smith,  William. 

Smock,  Abram,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Smock,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Smyley,  Robert. 

Snowden,  John,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Solter,  Thomas. 

Soper,  Thomas,  also  in  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Martin's  company. 

Sortore,  Henry,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Sortore,  Jacob,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Southard,  Richard. 

Spader,  Benjamin. 

Spader,  Bergen. 

Spader,  Jonathan,  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Spader,  William,  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Sparks,  Gabriel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Sparks,  James. 

Sparks,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Squire,  Simeon. 

Staats,  Peter. 

Staats,  Rynear,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Stapleton,  Richard. 

Steel,  Alexander,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 

Steel,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Steele,  John. 

Steele,  John,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Stephens,  Peter. 

Stephenson,  John. 

Stevens,  Joseph,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Steward,  Charles. 

Steward,  David,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Steward,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Stewart,  Alexander,  also  in  Continental  army. 


Stewart,  David,  Capt.  Corey's  company ;  State  troops ;  Continental  army, 

in  Capt.  Forman's  company. 
Stewart,  Robert,  also  in  Continental  army.  Fourth  Battalion,  Second  Es- 
tablishment; killed  at  the  battle  of  Germantown,  Oct.  4, 1777. 
Stillwell,  Azariah  ('*  Ezeriah"). 
Stillwell,  Garrec,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Stillwell,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Stillwell,  Siaa. 
Stoll  {or  Stull),  Joseph,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  in  Continental 

army,  in  Capt.  Piatt's  company. 
Storan,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Stotehoff,  Albert,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
Stotehoff,  Cornelius,  also  express-rider. 
Stotehoff,  John. 
Stout,  Benjamin. 
Stout,  James. 

Stout,  John,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Stout,  William. 
Stryker,  Abram,  Capt.  Quick's  company ;  State  troops ;  and  Continental 

army,  in  First  Battalion  Second  Establishment. 
Stryker,  Abraham,  Capt.  Vroom's  company.  Second  Battalion. 
Stryker,  Barnet,  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Stryker,  Dominicus. 

Stryker,  Isaac,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Stryker,  James,  troop  light-horse. 
Stryker,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Stryker,  Peter,  troop  light-horse. 

Stryker,  Peter,  Capt.  Duryea's  company,  First  Battalion. 
Stryker,  Peter,  Sr. 

Stryker,  Rano,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Stryker,  Simon. 
Stuart,  James. 
Stuart,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Sunderlin,  Peter. 

Sutphen,  Arthur,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Sutphen,  Derrick. 

Sutphen,  Gilbert. 

Sutphen,  Guisbert,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Sutphen,  John,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Sutphen,  Peter. 

Sutphen,  Ruliff. 

Sutphen,  Samuel. 

Sutton,  Amos. 

Sutton,  John. 

Sutton,  Peter.  "*• 

Sutton,  Zebulon. 

Swaim  (or  Swain),  Isaac,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Swaim,  John. 

Swim,  Isaac. 

Sylvester,  Peter. 

Sympeen,  Cornelius. 

Tappan,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Taylor,  Isaac. 

Taylor,  Willet,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 

Teeple,  George. 

Teeple,  John,  Capts.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  and  Sebring's  companies. 

Teeple,  Luke,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Ten  Eyck,  Abram. 

Ten  Eyck,  Andreas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company.  ' 

Ten  Eyck,  Andrew  J. 

Ten  Eyck,  Andries,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Ten  Eyck,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Ten  Eyck,  Jacob,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Ten  Eyck,  John. 

Ten  Eyck,  Matthias,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Ten  Eyck,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Ten  Eyck,  Withen,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Terhune,  Garret,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company;  also  express- 
rider. 
Terhune,  Stephen. 
Teumey  (or  Teuney),  John. 
Thomas,  David. 
Thompson,  Samuel. 
Thomson,  James. 
Thomson,  John. 
Tingley,  Ebenezer. 
Tingley,  Jeremiah. 


100 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Todd,  David. 

Todd,  James. 

Todd,  "William. 

Toland,  John. 

Tone,  John. 

Traner,  Simon. 

Tunison,  Derrick,  in  companies  of  Capts.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck  and  John 

Sebring. 
Tunison,  Fulkert,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Tunison,  Henry,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck'e  company. 
Tunison,  James. 

Tunison,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck^s  company. 
Ubdike  (Updyke),  Lawrence,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
TJbdike  (Updyke),  Rolif,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Updyke,  Brogan. 
A'^alentine,  Borne. 

Valentine,  Jacob,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Tan  Allen,  Derrick,  Capt  Lett's  company;  also  State  troops,  and  Conti- 
nental army. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Abram,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Caleb. 

Yan  Arsdalen,  Capture,  Capt,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Christian,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Christopher,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Donald,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Garret,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Harmon. 

Yan  Arsdalen,  Hendrick,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Henry,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  James,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company ;  also  State  troops ; 

and  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Piatt's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  John,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 
Yan  Arsdalen,  Noah,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Arsdalen,  Philip,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Arsdalen,  Stuffel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Arsdalen,  "Wilhelmus. 

Yan  Asdalen,  Jacob,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Yan  Asdol,  Hermanus. 

Yan  Asdol,  Isaac. 

Van  Audler,  Abram,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Ausdaul,  Jacob. 

Yan  Beuren,  Abram. 

Yan  Beuren,  John. 

Yan  Beuren,  William. 

Van  Brunt,  Nicholas. 

Van  Clafe,  Puryas,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company, 

Yan  Cleaf,  Garret,  also  dragoon. 

Yan  Cleaf,  Isaac, 

Yan  Corte  (Yan  Court),  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Court,  Michael. 

Yan  Dabecke,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yanderbeak,  Andrew. 

Vanderbilt,  Cornelius. 

Vanderbilt,  Jacob,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Vanderbilt,  Peter. 

Yanderdunk,  Henry. 

Yanderveer,  John,  Capt.  Duryea's  company, 

Vanderveer,  Matthew. 

Yanderveer,  Peter. 

Yanderventer,  Abram,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yandervoort,  Gabriel. 

Vandewater,  Abram,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Dike,  Isaac,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 

Yan  Dike,  Jacob,  troop  light-horse. 

Van,  Dike,  Jacob,  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion. 

Van  Dike,  John,  troop  light-horse. 

Van  Dike,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Vandine,  John,  Capt.  Stryker's  Troop  Light-Horse. 

Yan  Doren,  Abram. 

Yan  Doren,  Benjamin,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Doren,  Burgam,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Doren,  Christian,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Doren,  Isaac. 

Yan  Doren,  Jacob. 

Yan  Doren,  Peter. 


Yan  Doren,  William. 

Yan  Dorn,  Chrystoyan,  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Dorn,  Cornelius  (1st),  Capt.  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Dorn,  Cornelius  (2d),  Capt,  C.  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Dorn,  Jacob. 

Van  Dorn,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company, 

Yan  Duyck,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company, 

Yan  Dyck,  Frederick. 

Yan  Dyck,  John,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 

Yan  Dyck,  William,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 

Van  Dyke,  Hendrick. 

Van  Dyne,  Abram. 

Yan  Dyne,  Cornelius. 

Yan  Dyne,  John. 

Yan  Dyne,  William. 

Yan  Harglen,  Rynear. 

Yan  Harler,  Edward,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Van  Horn,  Cornelius. 

Yan  Houten,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Lew,  Cornelius. 

Yan  Lew,  Denice  (or  Dennis). 

Yan  Lew,  Frederick. 

Yan  Lew,  Hendrick. 

Yan  Lew,  Jeremiah. 

Van  Lew,  John. 

Van  Lew,  Peter. 

Yan  Lew,  Kichard. 

Yan  Middleswart,  Tunis,  Sr.,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 

Yan  Middleswart,  Tunis,  Jr.,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 

Van  Middlesworth,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Middlesworth,  Thomas,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Muler,  Cornelius. 

Yan  Nest,  Abram. 

Yan  Nest,  Bernard,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Nest,  Cornelius. 

Yan  Nest,  George,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Nest,  Jacobus,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Nest,  Jeromus. 

Yan  Nest,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company, 

Yan  Nest,  Kuliff. 

Yan  Nest,  Tunis,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Netten,  John,  First  Battalion ;  also  in  State  troops,  and  Continental 

army,  Capt.  Piatt's  company. 
Yan  Norden,  Daniel. 
Yan  Norden,  David. 
Van  Norden,  Michael. 
Yan  Norden,  Tobias. 

Van  Norsdalen,  Philip. 

Yan  Nortwick,  Hendrick,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Nostrand,  Crisparius. 

Yan  Nostrand,  George,  also  in  Continental  army. 

Van  Nostrand  (or  Yan  Ostrand),  Jacob. 

Yan  Nowdent,  Michael. 

Yan  Nuys,  Jacobus,  in  companies  of  Capts.  Yroom  and  C.  Ten  Eyck. 

Van  Ostrand,  John. 

Yan  Ostrand,  Matthew,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Pelt,  Abram. 

Van  Pelt,  Christian. 

Van  Pelt,  Christopher,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Yan  Pelt,  Garret. 

Yan  Pelt,  Kurlif,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Pelt,  Teras,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 

Van  Pelt,  Tunis,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Van  Sant,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Sickle,  John. 

Yan  Sickle,  Thomas. 

Van  Sickle,  Zachariah. 

Yan  Tine,  Bynear. 

Yan  Tyle,  Abram. 

Van  Tyle,  John,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 

Van  Tyle,  Orto,  Capt.  John  Sebring's  company. 

Yan  Voorheese,  Abram,  First  Battalion ;  also  in  Continental  army,  Capt. 
Piatt's  company. 

Yan  Voorheese,  Abram,  Jr.,  First  Battalion ;  also  in  State  troops. 

Yan  Voorheese,  Ccmrt,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 

Van  Voorheese,  John,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Yan  Wagonen,  C,  Capt.  Yroom's  company. 


SLAVERY  AND  SERVITUDE  IN  HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET. 


101 


Van  Wagoner,  Conrad,  in  companies  of  Capts.  C.  Ten  Eyck,  Jacob  Ten 

Eyck,  and  in  Stryker's  light-horae. 
Van  Zaudt,  John,  Capt.  Duryea'a  company,  First  Battalion. 
Van  Zandt,  Peter. 
Varmon,  Nebeiniah. 
Veghte,  Henry. 

Voorhees,  Abraham,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyok'a  company. 
Voorbees,  Court,  Lieut.  Bergen's  company. 
Voorheea,  Gerardus. 

Voorbees,  Gilbert,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Voorhees,  Grades,  Capt.  Dnryea's  company. 
Voorbees,  Gnisbert. 

Voorhees,  James,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Voorbees,  Jeremiah,  Capt.  Bui-yea's  company. 
Voorhees,  John,  Capt.  Stryker's  troop  Ught-borse. 
Voorbees,  Lucas. 
Voorbees,  Martines. 
Voorheea,  Minnab. 

Voorhees,  Obadiah,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Voorbees,  William. 
Voorbeese,  David. 

Voorbeese,  Garret,  Lieut.  Bergen's  company. 
Voorbeese,  Hendrick  (or  Heuiy). 
Voorbeese,  Isaac. 
Voorbeese,  Jacob  (or  Jacobus),  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  and  Capt.  0.  Ten 

Eyck's  company. 
Voorbeese,  Jacques. 

Voorbeese,  Paul,  also  in  the  Continental  army. 

Voorbeese,  Peter,  Capt.  Vroom's  company,  and  Conrad  Ten  Eyck's  com- 
pany. 
Voorbeese,  Ham,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Voiiuus,  Nicholas,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
Vorious,  Peter,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
VuBseller,  Jacob,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Vosaeller,  Jacob,  Jr.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Vosseller,  Lucas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Vtaseller,  Luke,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Viisaeller,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Vroom,  George. 

Vvoom,  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Vroom,  Peter,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
Wade,  Thomas,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Waldron,  Bei^jamin. 
Waldron,  Cornelius. 

Waldron,  William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  comp»ny. 
W'allace,  William. 

Webb,  Matthew,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
WheaTour,  Adolphus,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Wheeler,  Charles. 
Wbeeler,  Simon. 

Wbilsou,  William,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
White,  Denice  (or  Dennis). 
^Vbitenaught  (or  Whitnack),  Andreas. 
AVhitenaught,  John. 

Whitlock,  James,  also  in  the  Continental  army,  in  Capt.  Bond's  com- 
pany ;  taken  prisoner  Feb.  15, 1777,  near  Woodbridge. 
Whortman,  John. 
WickofF,  Cornelius. 

Wickoff  (or  Wyckoff),  John,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Wickoff,  Peter,  Lieut.  Bergen's  company. 
Willet,  Samuel. 

Williams,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Williams,  Samuel,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Williams,  Stephen. 

Williamson,  Cornelius,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Williamson,  James. 

Williamson,  John,  Capt.  Moore's  company. 
Williamson,  Joseph. 
Williamson,  Nicholas. 
Williamson,  William. 
WilBon,  Jacob. 
Wilson,  James. 
Wilson,  John. 
Wilson,  Kindert. 
Wilson,  Shinab. 
Wilson,  Thomas. 
Wilson,  Wm.,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company,  and  Capt.  Stryker's  troop. 


Winans,  William,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Wiuings,  Benjamin. 

Winings,  Philip,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

Winter,  Jacob,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company,  and  Capt.  Quick's 

company;  also  Continental  army,  First  Battalion,  Second  Establish- 

meut 
Winter,  Joseph. 

Winter,  Peter,  Capt.  Vroom's  company. 
Wintersteen,  Jacobus,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Woan,  Peter,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Wortman,  Andrew. 

Tates,  Ephraim,  Capt.  Moore's  company,  Second  Battalion. 
Teagley,  Adam. 

Young,  George,  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck's  company. 
Toung,  John,  Capt.  Duryea's  company. 
Toung,  Philip,  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck's  company. 

A  "  census  of  pensioners  for  Revolutionary  and 
military  services,  with  their  names,  ages,  and  places 
of  residence,  1840,"  shows  that  there  were  living  at 
that  date  in 

HUNTERDON  COUNTY: 
BeOilehem  Totonship, — Jacob  Johnston,  87  ;  John  Head,  83 ;  John  Bigler, 

84;  Leonard  Martin,  84  ;  John  Clifford,  92. 
Amwell  Township. — Jacob   Williamson,  Sr.,  86 ;    Peter   Williamson,  77 ; 

John  Abbott,  Sr.,  82  ;  Amos  Peters,  81 ;  Jacob  Williamson,  80. 
Baritan  Toionship. — Martin  Smith,  84 ;  Joseph  Gray,  Sr.,  81 ;  John  Besson, 

90;  John  Howe,  86. 
Readington  Toionship. — Cornelius  Latourette,  85 ;    Adrian  Johnson,  85 ; 

Cornelius  Messier,  81 ;  Edward  Mitchell,  85  ;  Peter  Shirts,  Sr.,  92, 
Ldaware  Tovmship. — William  Dilts,  8G ;  Elijah  Hummell,  84 ;  Tunis  Case, 

79 ;  Andrew  Butterfoss,  81 ;  James  Underwood,  77  ;  William  Geary, 

85  ;  Daniel  Ent,  83 ;  Samuel  Barber,  84. 
Alexandria  Tovmship. — Catharine  Hoagland,  85;  Edwin  Dalrymple,  88; 

John  Witing,  77. 
Lebanon  Toionship. — Jacob  Nitzer,  97 ;  John  Blane,  82. 
Kingwood  Tovmship.— John  Mires,  81 ;   John  Bray,  85 ;  Richard  Heatb, 

84 ;  Christy  Little,  77. 
TewJcsbury  To tfjwTitp.— Christopher  Pbilbower,  86. 

SOMERSET  COUNTY: 

Bedminster  TovmsMp. — William  Todd,  79;  Joseph  Annin,  89;  Hendi'ick 
Field,  88. 

Bernard  Township. — Henry  Southard,  92;  Hannah  Van  Sickel,  84;  Na- 
thaniel Whittaker,  80;  Ziba  Norria,  78;  Mary  Kennan,  76;  John 
Toulin,  69 ;  Joseph  Kennan,  58. 

^anklin  Township. — Isaac  Brokaw,  — ;  James  D.  Perrien,  — ;  John  C, 
Wyckoff,  83;  Ellen  Van  Tyne,  78. 

Warrm  Tovmship.— John  Coddiugton,  78  ;  John  Pennington,  78. 

BridgewcUer  JbiOTwfttp.— Jacob  Degroot,  90;  Robert  Little,  86;  John 
Steele,  Sr.,  85 ;  Henry  Vroom,  83  ;  Richard  Brokaw,  83  ;  Lucius  Vos- 
seller, 83 ;  Paul  Voorhees,  82  ;  Rulif  Van  Pelt,  82 ;  John  A.  Autin, 
78. 

Hillsborough  Township.— Adam  ^Bellis,  91;  George  N.  Scbamp,  89; 
Dinah  Van  Cleaf,  86 ;  Peter  Voorhees,  84 ;  Peter  J.  Quick,  81 ;  Willet 
Taylor,  81.' 


CHAPTER    VIIL 

SLAVEKY  AND   SERVITUDE  IN"  HUWTERDON 
AND   SOMERSET. 

The  "  Peculiar  Institution"  in  the  Seventeenth  Century — Servants  in  the 
Colonial  Days — Indian  Slaves — Redemption ers— Laws  concerning  Slav- 
ery  The  Quakers  and  the  Institution — Few  Capital  Crimes  committed 

by  Negro  Slaves — Negroes  hung  for  Murdering  Whites  in  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Counties— Negro  Rebellion  in  1734 — Abolition  of  Slavery 

Manumission — Rev.  Dr.  Finley  and  the  "American  Colonization 

Society." 

A  FAITHFUL  and  correct  history  of  those  who  have 
lived  here  before  us,  must  contain  some  mention  of 


102 


HUNTEEDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  "  peculiar  institution"  which  is  happily  now  no 
more.  One  hundred  and  eighty  years  ago,  and  dur- 
ing the  century  succeeding  that  time,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  New  Jersey,  in  common  with  those  of  other 
States,  considered  slavery  no  crime,  and  at  that  early 
day  it  had  become  one  of  her  institutions.  Even  the 
Quaker  settlers  at  Burlington  owned  negroes,  and  the 
Dutch,  who  came  up  the  valley  of  the  Rarita'n,  brought 
servants  with  them  ;  ,so  that  in  1740  three-fourths  of 
all  the  corn  that  was  planted  and  hoed,  flax  raised  and 
dressed,  and  other  work  done,  was  performed  by  negro 
slaves.  The  records  in  the  clerks'  offices  of  both  Hun- 
terdon and  Somerset  Counties  show  that  in  the  first 
ten  years  of  the  present  century  a  large  number  of  the 
old  families  still  held  slaves  upon  their  farms. 

Under  the  proprietors  persons  were  imported  into 
the  province,  as  "  servants,''  to  occupy  and  improve 
the  land  and  perform  other  labors.  While  these  ser- 
vants did  not  absolutely  forfeit  their  personal  liberty 
by  their  engagements  with  their  masters,  they  were 
still,  in  all  essential  particulars,  bondmen,  held  in 
servitude,  and  entirely  controlled  by  those  who  had 
brought  them  into  the  province  for  their  own  profit. 
It  was  slavery  in  everything  save  the  name, — a  species 
of  white  slavery, — for  the  servitude  was  for  life,  and 
in  some  instances  included  their  children  also. 

The  constitution  of  New  Jersey,  signed  Feb.  10, 
1664  (0.  S.),  by  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Car- 
teret,* to  encourage  planters,  promised  every  freeman 
who  should  embark  with  the  first  Governor  or  meet 
him  on  his  arrival, — provided  with  a  ''good  musket, 
bore  twelve  bullets  to  the  pound,  with  bandeliers 
and  match  convenient,  and  with  six  months'  provi- 
sions for  himself," — one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of 
land,  and  the  like  number  for  every  man-servant  or 
slavet  brought  with  him  provided  with  the  same  ne- 
cessaries. To  females  over  the  age  of  fourteen  sev- 
enty-five acres  were  promised,  and  a  similar  number 
to  every  Christian  servant  at  the  expiration  of  his  or 
her  term  of  service.  Those  going  before  the  1st  of 
January,  1665-66,  were  to  receive  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  if  master,  mistress,  or  able  man-servant 
or  slave, — and  weaker  servants,  male  or  female,  sixty 
acres ;  those  going  during  the  third  year  three- fourths, 
and  during  the  fourth  year  one-half  of  these  quanti- 
ties. J 

In  a  letter  from  James  Johnston,  of  Spottswood, 
dated  Feb.  13,  1685,  "  from  Piscattaway,  in  East  Jer- 


*  "The  Concessions  and  Agreement  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  the 
Province  of  New  Cajsarea,  to  and  with  all  and  every  of  the  adventurers, 
and  all  such  as  shall  settle  or  plant  there."  See  Appendix  to  Smith's 
"Hist,  of  the  Colony  ot  Nova-Ca>saria,"  pp.  612-521;  also,  Bancroft's 
"  Hist.  United  States"  (vol.  ii.  p.  316,  ninth  ed.). 

t  Whitehead's  "East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietary  Governments,"  pp. 
38,  39.  In  a  foot-note  he  says,  "  Whether  any  slaves  were  actually 
brought  to  New  Jersey  under  the  Concessions  is  uncertain  ;  but  if  so, 
they  must  have  been  very  few  in  number,  and  probably  none  were  di- 
rectly imported  from  Africa  for  some  years  thereafter." 

t  In  the  "Concessions"  of  the  West  Jersey  proprietors,  which  were 
similarly  worded,  the  words  "  or  slave"  are  omitted.— ifisf.  Coll  N  J  n 
38.  •••.!■ 


sey,"  he  says :  "  Dear  Brother.  ...  I  stand  in 
need  of  forty  pound  value  of  goods  and  some  Ser- 
vants."!  In  1684,  Thomas  Eudyard,  first  represen- 
tative of  Gov.  Barclay  in  the  province,  claimed 
"  head-lands"  for  his  two  daughters  and  six  servants, 
and  received  a  warrant  for  two  hundred  and  thirty 
acres  of  land,  to  be  surveyed  for  him  on  South  Eiver.  || 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  were  sent  out,  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  different  proprietaries  and  landholders, 
under  such  agreements  as  would  afford  them  the 
benefits  of  the  head-land  grants  for  each  individual 
brought  into  the  province,  fifty  acres  being  allowed 
to  each  master  of  a  family,  and  twenty -five  acres  for 
each  person  composing  it,  whether  wife,  child,  or  ser- 
vant, each  servant  to  be  found  three  years,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  he  or  she  was  to  be  allowed  to  take  up 
thirty  acres  on  separate  account.  Under  this  plan 
there  was  a  shipment  from  Scotland  in  1682,  brought 
out  by  Eudyard  and  Groom,  and  another  the  follow- 
ing year,  on  board  the  "  Exchange,''  Capt.  Peacock, 
which  brought  thirty-one  men-  and  women-servants 
under  two  overseers.  This  was  but  the  beginning  of 
an  extensive  traffic  in  servants,  as  the  records  of  East 
Jersey  show.  Among  the  names  mentioned  as  figur- 
ing in  these  importations  we  find  Gawen  Lawrie, 
William  Haige,  Thomas  Pearson,  William  Dockwra, 
John  Barclay,  Eobert  Fullerton,  John  Campbell, 
Capt.  Alexander  Hamilton,  David  Mudie,  Lord  Neill 
Campbell,  John  Forbes,  James  Johnstone,  George 
Keith,  Charles  Gordon,  the  Scotch  proprietaries,  etc.1[ 

It  is  a  fact  not  generally  known  at  the  present  day 
that  native  Indians  as  well  as  negroes  were  at  one 
time  held  in  slavery  in  New  Jersey.  This  is  proved 
by  occasional  references  to  "  Indian  slaves"  found  in 
ancient  records.  Such  an  instance  is  found  in  the  "  Jour- 
nal of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  for  the  Province 
of  Nova  Cesarea,  in  the  Second  General  Assembly  and 
1st  Sessions,  begun  at  Burlington  this  13th  day  of  Nov"', 
1704,"  under  date  "Die  Veneris,  A.M.  24°  9'"''', 
1704,"  as  follows : 

"  Onliti-cd,  That  a  Bill  be  Prepared  &  brought  in  for  y«  Speedy  tryin)j 
&  Regulating  of  Negro  &  Indian  Slaves ;  &  y<  M'  Hartshorn,  Capt.  Bown 
Ac.  do  prepare  and  bring  in  y=  same ;  And  then  The  H"  Adjourned  till  i 
a  Clock." 

And  in  the  afternoon  session  of  the  same  day  : 

"  Mr.  Hartshorn  also  (according  to  Order)  presented  to  y«  H"  a  Bill  En- 
tituled  an  Act  for  Regulating  Negro,  Indian  &  Molatto  Slaves  w*  was. 
also  read  the  lirst  time." 

On  the  28th  of  the  same  month, 

"  The  Bill  Entituled  an  Act  for  Regulating  of  Negro,  Indian  &  Molatto 
Slaves  was  read  y=  2i  Time  &  Committed  to  M'  Gordon,  M'  Wheeler, 
M'  Laurence  &  M'  Smith." 


i  Whitehead's  "  East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietors,"  p.  444.  In  the 
same  work  (pp.  438-440)  is  an  interesting  letter  "writ  by  Peter  Watson 
(who  went  over  a  Servant  with  David  Barclay,  in  the  year  1683)  to  John 
Watson,  Messenger,  in  Selkirk."  The  letter  is  dated  "New  Perth,  the 
20th  of  August,  1684." 

II  Whitehead,  p.  106. 

If  Ibid.,  p.  136. 


SLAVERY  AND  SERVITUDE   IN  HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET. 


103 


On  the  29th, 

"  M'  Gordon  Reported  from  y^  ComM  to  whom  y  Bill  Entituled  an  Act 
for  Regnlatlng  of  Negro,  Indian  and  Molatto  Slaves  was  Committed  yt 
tbey  had  gone  thro'  y»  8*  Bill  &  made  Bev'  Amendments  thereto,  w^h  he 
read  in  his  place,  &  afterwards  delivered  it  at  y  Table,  where  y«  same 
were  read  &  w^  some  further  Amendments,  Agreed  to  by  ye  House. 
Ordered  That  y®  ^  Bill  w^b  ye  Amendments  be  Engiossed." 

On  the  30th,  at  the  afternoon  session, 

"  The  Bill  Entituled  an  Act  for  Regulating  of  Negro,  Indian  and  Mo- 
latto Slaves  w"iin  this  Province  of  N.  Jersey  was  also  read  yo  3d  time. — 
Besolved  that  y  Bill  do  pass." 

The  council  proposed  some  amendments  to  the 
bill,  which  were  concurred  in  by  the  House  December 
10,  and  approved  by  the  Governor  Dec.  12,  1704. 

The  above,  and  some  other  similar  fragmentary 
allusions  to  the  subject,  show  that  Indian  slavery 
existed  and  was  legally  recognized  in  New  Jersey  ; 
but,  beyond  this  fact,  nothing  has  been  found  in  ref- 
erence to  its  extent  or  the  period  of  its  duration. 

There  also  prevailed  in  New  Jersey  and  adjoining 
provinces  another  species  of  servitude  besides  negro 
and  Indian  slavery,  the  subjects  of  it  being  known  as 
"  redemptioners," — a  class  of  persons  who  sold  them- 
selves for  a  term  of  years  to  pay  the  price  of  their 
passage  to  the  shores  of  America.  These  emigrants 
on  embarking  signed  a  bond  to  the  master  of  the  ves- 
sel authorizing  him,  on  arrival  here,  to  sell  them  into 
servitude  for  a  term  sufficient  to  pay  the  price  agreed 
on  for  passage.  After  gaining  their  freedom  many  of 
them  succeeded  in  placing  themselves  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  and  some  even  became  wealthy  men. 

Servants  of  this  class  were  first  found  along  the 
Delaware  River  about  1662,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  after  that  time  domestic  or  mechanical  labor 
was  seldom  employed  for  wages.  Many  of  the  re- 
demptioners who  served  in  New  Jersey  were  from  the 
Palatinate  and  other  parts  of  Germany,  but  a  few 
were  Irish.  Redemptioners  from  German  and  Dutch 
ports  were  frequently  brought  over  on  speculation, 
and  when  they  landed  were  sold  at  public  sale.  The 
purchaser  had  the  right  to  re-sell  the  services  of  the 
poor  redemptioners,  and  he  often  passed  through  sev- 
eral hands  before  he  had  served  out  his  term.  The 
price  paid  for  them  was  usually  very  low.  In  the 
year  1722,  at  Philadelphia,  German  redemptioners 
sold  at  ten  pounds  each  for  five  years  of  servitude, 
but  in  some  cases  they  brought  more  than  that  sum 
for  a  single  year.  It  is  related  that,  in  the  year  1728, 
Lord  Altham,  then  a  lad,  came  to  this  country  un- 
known, and  was  sold  as  a  redemptioner  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, working  out  his  time  with  a  farmer  on  the 
Lancaster  turnpike. 

This  form  of  servitude  prevailed  most  along  the 
lower  Delaware  River  and  in  adjacent  parts  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  Jersey,  but  it  existed,  to  a  less  ex- 
tent, in  both  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties.  An 
account  is  given  of  the  purchase  of  one  of  these  ser- 
vants by  a  member  of  the  Van  Horn  family,  in  Read- 
ington  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  as  follows : 


"  In  accordance  ^vlth  the  custom  of  that  period,  the  Van  Horns  bought 
of  a  sea-captain  the  service  of  a  German  emigrant  for  a  term  of  years 
in  order  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  passage  to  New  York.  It  soon 
became  known  that  this  emigrant  waa  an  excellent  mason  by  trade,  and 
being  a  shrewd  man  as  well  as  a  good  mechanic,  he  entered  into  a  bar- 
gain with  his  employers  to  build  them  three  stone  houses  in  three  suc- 
cessive seasons  (some  say  they  were  all  to  be  built  within  the  same  year), 
in  lieu  of  his  term  of  service,  which  was  not  less  than  three  years.  He 
fulfilled  his  contract,  and  claimed  all  the  time  as  his  own  during  these 
seasons  in  which  he  was  not  actually  engaged  upon  these  three  build- 
ings."* 

One  of  the  stone  houses  referred  to  as  built  by  the 
redemptioner  (whose  name  was  Caspar  Berger),  was 
the  old  Van  Horn  house,  bearing  the  date  1757  and 
the  initials  "  C.  V.  H.,"  and  standing  about  half  a 
mile  west  of  White  House  Station,  a  little  north  of 
the  railroad-track.  Another  is  the  house  now  or  re- 
cently occupied  by  William  Pickel,  and  the  third  is 
said  to  have  been  the  old  stone  house  demolished  a 
few  years  since  by  G.  C.  Gearhart  to  make  room  for 
his  new  residence.  Concerning  the  identity  of  this 
last  named,  however,  there  is  some  doubt. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  ancestors  of  the  Ilsly 
(Inslee?)  family  who  first  came  to  America  were 
indentured  under  this  system  as  servants  to  farmers 
in  the  vicinity  of  Woodbridge,  or  rather  that  the 
master  of  the  ship  on  which  they  came  attempted  to 
sell  them,  but  failed  to  carry  his  project  through. 

"  There  is  a  tradition,  which  may  or  may  not  be  true,  that  they  came 
over  in  the  old  ship  '  Caledonia,'  the  wreck  of  which  for  many  years  was 
seen  on  the  shore  at  Perth  Amboy  by  some  who  are  yet  (1873)  living.  It 
is  said  that,  driven  by  persecution,  the  Ilslys,  with  other  Dissenters,  were 
compelled  to  flee  from  their  homes,  which  were  either  in  England  or  in 
the  north  part  of  Scotland,  and  were  allowed  by  their  enemies  to  depart 
only  because  they  embarked  on  the  unseaworthy  '  Caledonia,'  which  was 
confidently  expected  to  founder  at  sea  and  engulf  the  sturdy  heretics. 
But,  lo !  they  came  safely  into  harbor.  Before  they  landed,  however,, 
the  Dutch  captain  proceeded  to  bind  them  over  as  servants  to  the  planters 
in  the  vicinity,  according  to  custom,  until  certain  real  or  fancied  debts  in 
the  old  country  had  been  discharged.  A  Mrs.  Ilsly,  filled  with  indigna- 
tion, seized  a  bar  of  iron,  and,  flourishing  it  over  the  captain's  bead, 
declared,  with  emphasis,' that  she  and  the  rest  had  fled  from  tyranny  at 
home  to  find  quiet  in  the  new  land,  and  that  she  would  not  submit  to 
slavery  right  on  the  borders  of  freedom.  The  doughty  captain  was 
cowed  by  the  determination  of  the  brave  woman,  and  saved  his  head  by 
landing  his  passengers  without  the  indentures  having  been  executed."t 

Although  the  "  redemptioners"  system  had  been  in 
existence  for  many  years  prior  to  1725,  yet  by  far  the 
greater  number  of  these  unfortunates  were  sold  to 
service  during  the  twenty-five  years  which  succeeded 
that  time.  After  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, however,  it  gradually  died  out,  and  finally  dis- 
appeared entirely,  though  there  were  occasional  in- 
stances of  its  practice  down  to,  and  even  after,  the 
close  of  the  Revolution. 

The  earliest  instance  of  the  holding  of  negro  slaves  in 
New  Jersey  which  is  found  recorded  is  that  of  Col. 
Richard  Morris,  of  Shrewsbury,  who  had  as  early  as 
1680  sixty  or  more  slaves  about  his  mill  and  planta- 


*  "  Our  Home,"  1873,  p.  387. 
f  "  Woodbridge  and  Vicinity," 


by  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Dally, 


104 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMEESET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


tion.*  The  inhabitants  of  the  Earitan  valley  all  had 
slaves  as  early  as  1686  or  1690.  In  1790  there  were 
eleven  thousand  four  hundred  and  tvi^enty-three  slaves 
in  New  Jersey,  of  which  number  about  two  thousand 
were  in  Hunterdon  and  Somerset ;  they  had  increased 
to  twelve  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-two  in 
1800,  after  which  the  number  very  rapidly  declined. 
Between  1700  and  1800  the  traffic  was  largely  carried 
on,  and  records  of  the  sale  of  Africans  are  frequently 
found.  In  the  Woodbridge  town  records  is  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  Know  all  men  by  these  preeenta  y^  J,  Shobalt  Smith,  of  Woodbridge, 
Jn  ye  County  of  Middx  Jn  y^  provence  New  East  Jersey,  for  and  Jn  Con- 
sideration of  yi  sum  of  fifty  pound  Currant  Silver  money,  of  y  s*  prov- 
ence, to  me  Jn  band  paid  by  Samuel  Smith  of  ye  same  place  yeoman  of 
ye  town  and  provence  afores*!  do  bargain,  sell,  allineat,  and  Deliver,  one 
Negro  woman  Named  Phebe  to  sd  SamU  Smith,  for  him,  his  heirs  and 
'  etc.f 


It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  introduction  of 
negro  slavery  into  New  Jersey  was  coeval  with  its 
settlement,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  mother- 
country  not  only  recognized  their  existence  as  prop- 
erty, but  also  engaged  in  the  slave  trade,  and  that  the 
-adjoining  provinces  possessed  them ;  not  even  Puri- 
tanic New  England  being  exempt. J  The  "Eoyal 
African  Company"  was  particularly  commended  to 
the  Governor  of  New  .Jersey  (Cornbury)  by  Queen 
Anne  as  deserving  of  encouragement.^  This  was  in 
the  year  1702. 

"The  early  settlers,  in  clearing  the  forests,  were  much  assisted  by  their 
slaves.  In  some  families  they  were  numerous.  The  success  of  the  farm- 
ers depended  on  the  rapid  clearing  of  the  forests,  in  which  they  rendered 
important  assistance. 

"  One  of  the  Vleet  families  (in  Somerset  County),  it  was  said,  owned 
seventeen  slaves,  composed  of  different  ages  and  both  sexes.  Cornelius 
DeHart  purchased  from  a  slave-vessel  a  negro  girl  named  Phillis  who  had 
been  kidnapped,  and  who  waa  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  kings  of  Africa. 
She  related  that  on  the  voyage  to  America  she  was  often  terribly  fright- 
ened by  some  of  the  crew  attempting  to  feel  of  her  hands,  she  supposing 
that  it  was  done  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  she  was  in  good 
condition  for  slaughtering  and  her  carcass  to  be  eaten,  as  the  neighboring 
tribes  of  cannibals  did  in  Africa,  to  avoid  which  she  fasted  to  cause  lean- 
ness, so  as  to  disappoint  them  in  their  expectations,  and  thereby  preserve 
her  life.  She  was  a  faithful  servant  in  the  family,  but  had  a  great  desire 
that  a  time  might  come  when  she  would  be  able  to  say  that  she  the 
king's  daughter,  was  free.  Her  desire  in  the  course  of  time  was  granted. 
Another  of  her  desires  was  that  before  she  died  she  might  also  see  her 
youngest  son,  Thomas,  free,  which  she  was  also  permitted  to  see.  In  her 
old  age  Abraham  Dehart  built  a  house  for  her  ou  his  land,  in  which  she 
enjoyed  the  freedom  so  earnestly  coveted,  and  in  which  she  lived  and 
died.  Her  son  Thomas,  who  was  also  freed,  lived  therein  with  her  until 
she  died.  Her  remains  lie  buried  with  those  of  several  of  her  children 
in  a  colored  burying-grouud  ou  the  south  bank  of  the  Six-Mile-Eun 
Brook,  with  others  of  the  Vleet,  Van  Cleef,  and  DeHart  colored  families, 
located  about  two  hundred  yards  east  of  the  residence  of  Ralph  Voor- 
bees,  Jr. 

"  Almost  every  family  in  former  days  had  places  on  their  farms  where 
they  buried  their  colored  dead.  About  two  hundred  yards  north  of  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Peter  Hageman  is  a  colored  burying-ground  where  those 
of  the  Wyckoff  and  Hageman  families  were  buried.  There  was  another 
near  the  tenant-house  of  Henry  Cortleyou,  on  the  south  side  of  the  line 
between  the  lands  of  Van  Cleef  and  Hageman.  When  the  new  road  was 


*  This  seems  to  conflict  with  Gordon's  statement  (p.  29,  "  Gazetteer") 
that  in  the  same  year  there  were  but  one  hundred  and  twenty  negroes 
in  bondage  in  the  province. 

t  Liber  B,  folio  100. 

X  Hist.  Coll.  N.  J.',  pp.  88-89. 

g  Smith's  Hist,  of  N.  J.,  p.  254. 


laid  out  at  that  place  between  the  turnpike  and  the  Middlebush  road, 
about  iifty  years  ago,  it  was  objected  to  and  opposed  on  account  of  its 
passing  over  the  colored  burying-ground;  nevertheless,  it  was  laid  there. 
On  each  side  of  the  line  between  the  Stryker  and  StothoflF  farms,  near 
Franklin  Park,  is  another,  which  was  established  for  burying  the  colored 
dead  of  their  familieB."|J 

In  1709  an  act  of  Assembly  forbade  persons  trading 
with  slaves,  except  by  consent  of  their  owners,  under 
penalty  of  twenty  shillings  for  the  first  and  forty  shil- 
lings for  the  second  offense,  one-half  to  go  to  the  in- 
former.    A  negro,  if  found  five  miles  from  his  home, 
was  taken  up  and  whipped  by  the  party  apprehend- 
ing him,  five  shillings  being  paid  for  the  services.     If 
the  negro  was  from  another  province,  the  informer 
received  ten  shillings  and  the  negro  was  whipped  by 
the  nearest  constable.     For  conspiracy  to  kill  a  white 
person,  for  rape,  murder,  or  arson,  the  negro  was  to 
be  taken  before  three  justices  of  the  peace  and  five 
freeholders,  without  a  grand  jury,  and  if  convicted 
was  compelled  to  suffer  death  in  such  manner  as  the 
enormity  of  the  crime,  in  the  judgment  of  the  justices 
and  freeholders,  seemed   meet.      The  owner  of  the 
slave,  however,  had  a  right  to  appeal  and  have  a  jury 
appointed,   with  liberty  to  make    challenges   as   in 
other  cases.1[     The  same  act  sets  forth  : 

"  Whereas  such  negro  so  put  to  death  is  a  great  loss  to  his  owner, 
therefore,  to  prevent  said  owner  from  being  under  the  temptation  of 
withdrawing  and  secreting  said  slave,  it  is  provided  he  shall  receive 
for  each  man  slave  executed  thirty  pounds,  and  for  each  woman  slave 
twenty  pounds,**  to  be  collected  in  manner  and  form  to  wit:  The  con- 
stables to  deliver  a  list  of  all  negro,  Indian,  or  mulatto  slaves  in  their 
district,  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  fifty  years,  at  the  May  and 
June  terms  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions.  When  a  slave  is  executed 
these  lists  to  be  taken  by  the  justices  of  the  peace,  or  any  three  of  them, 
and  the  damages  assessed." 

The  public  whipper  was  the  township  constable. 

The  newspapers  of  those  times  frequently  contained 
advertisements  of  negroes  "  strayed"  or  "  ran  away 
from  the  subscriber,"  etc.,  and  in  the  county  records 
are  found  registers  of  births,  bills  of  sale,  as  well  as  of 
manumission  of  slaves. 

The  Quakers  early  showed  their  hostility  to  the 
importation  of  negro  slaves :  vide  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  the  Yearly  Meeting's  minutes  for  1716, 
meeting  held  at  Burlington,  N.  J. : 

"  For  the  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Shrewsberry,  Chester  meeting  pro- 
poses their  concern  about  the  practice  of  buying  negroes  imported. 
Urging  that  former  minutes  and  orders  are  not  sufficient  to  discourage 
their  importation,tt  and  therefore  requests  that  no  Friends  may  buy  aoy 

II  Hon.  Ralph  Voorhees. 

H  Act  of  1Y14,  Neville's  Laws,  I,  p.  19. 

**  In  the  Governor's  speech  to  the  Assembly,  read  on  the  24th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1707,  occurs  the  following:  '^  Gentlemen,— Since  I  wrote  this  one 
thing  more  Occurs  to  my  thoughts,  which  is  this:  I  haVe  Keceived  In-  ' 
formation  from  very  good  hands  that  the  Negroes  are  grown  very  Inso- 
lent, and  Committ  great  Enormities,  the  best  Expedient  I  can  recom- 
mend to  you  in  that  case  is  the  passing  a  law  to  Settle  a  price  upon  the 
head  of  every  Ncgroe  who  Shall  be  put  to  death  in  pureuance  of  the 
Law,  to  be  paid  to  the  owner  of  every  such  Negi-o,  this  I  hope  will  be  a 
means  to  frighten  them  from  Committing  any  the  like  Enormities  for 
the  future."— Journal  mid  Votes  of  Oie  Souse  of  Bepresentalives  of  New 
Jersey,  1703,  p.  128. 

ft  The  Yearly  Meeting  had,  in  1696,  advised  Friends  "  not  to  encour- 
age the  bringing  in  of  any  more  negroes,"  and  recommended  that  they 
"be  careful  of  them,  bring  them  to  meeting,  and  have  meetings  with 
them  in  their  families." 


SLAVEEY  AND   SERVITUDE  IN   HUNTBRDOR  AND   SOMERSET. 


105 


Tiegrro  for  tbe  future.  Ab  to  the  proposal  from  Chester  meeting  about 
ni'groes,  there  being  no  more  iu  it  than  was  proposed  to  the  last  Yearly 
Meetiug,  this  meeting  cannot  see  any  better  conclusion  than  what  was 
tliB  judgment  of  the  last,  and  therefore  do  confirm  the  same.  .  .  And 
it  is  desired  that  Friends  generally  do  as  much  as  may  be  [to]  avoid  buy- 
ing such  negi'ces  as  shall  be  hereafter  brought  in,  rather  than  offend  any 
fi  lends  who  are  against  it.    .    .    Tet  this  ia  only  caution,  not  censure."* 

That  the  conscience  of  this  people  was  not  at  rest 
the  following  from  the  Woodbridge  meeting,  June 
17,  1738,  shows: 

"  Fiirsuant  to  a  Kequest  in  the  extracts  of  the  yearly  meeting  nunutea 
at  Philadelphia  coDSerning  the  Importation  of  negroes  &  buying  them 
after  they  are  Imported  Friends  have  inquired  into  it  &  Do  find  that  four 
or  five  years  ago  Som  have  bin  Imported  by  a  Friend  and  that  it  hath  bin 
three  or  four  years  Since  Friends  have  bought  of  them  that  was  Imported 
and  not  since  to  their  Knowlidg."-]- 

For  several  years  the  holding  of  slaves  agitated  the 
society.  A  report  to  the  Monthly  Meeting  at  Plain- 
field  in  August,  1774,  shows  that  at  this  time  only  one 
negro  "fit  for  freedom"  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
society  remained  a  slave.t 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  so  few  crimes  were  com- 
mitted by  the  slaves.  Pilfering  there  always  was,  but 
it  was  of  a  petty  character,  and  perpetrated  generally 
to  obtain  some  luxury  not  allowed  them.  Cases  of 
murder,  arson,  etc.,  were  extremely  rare.  But  two  in- 
stances are  known  in  all  the  territory  of  both  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Counties  where  slaves  murdered  whites, 
— that  of  James  Guise,  in  1828,  who  murdered  his 
mistress,  in  Hunterdon  County,  and  was  hung  at 
Flemington  ;  and  the  murder  of  Jacob  Van  Nest  by 
his  slave,  about  1753,  in  Branchburg,  Somerset  Co., 
for  which  the  murderer  was  burned  I  at  Millstone, 
then  the  county-seat.  II  A  more  extended  account  of 
this  affair  will  be  found  in  the  township  history 
of  Branchburg. 

Notwithstanding  these  exceptional  cases,  the  peace- 
able disposition  of  the  negroes  is  universally  attested  ; 
"  and  yet,"  says  Dr.  Messier,  "  there  had  been  a  sort 
of  rebellion  among  them  along  the  Earitan  in  1734, 
in  consequence  of  which  one  at  least,  if  not  more, 
was  hung.  It  is  called  a  '  rising,'  and  the  design 
was  to  obtain  their  freedom,  kept  from  them,  as  they 
believed,  contrary  to  the  express  directions  of  the 
king,  and  the  plan  was  to  murder  all  the  whites  and 
then  join  the  Indians  in  the  interest  of  the  French, 
but  it  failed  to  do  any  real  harm  or  have  any  results. 
There  seems  to  be,  and  no  doubt  was,  a  connection 


*  Daily's  Woodbridge  and  Vicinity,  p.  73,  et  8eq. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  74. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  218. 

I  This  is  not  the  only  instance  of  this  mode  of  punishment.  Burning 
for  capital  offenses  was  the  fashion,  rather  than  hanging,  in  the  early 
days.  In  Perth  Amboy  two  slaves  were  burned  within  two  weeks  of  the 
time  of  the  perpetration  of  the  crime. 

y  '*  We  have  notice  of  a  case  of  arson  succeeded  by  a  public  execution, 
a-rid  also  of  the  murder  of  one  slave  by  another." — Meml^a  Siel.  Somer- 
t-it  County,  p.  128. 

The  case  of  arson  here  mentioned  by  Dr.  Messier  must  be  that  of 
Tobey,  negro  slave  of  Mary  Middagh,  of  Hillsborough,  Somerset  Co., 
tried,  found  guilty,  and  hung  in  1780,— an  example  of  swift  Jersey 
justice.    He  was  executed  four  days  after  the  indictment  1 


between  these  transactions  and  tbe  famous  '  negro 
plot'  of  New  York  in  1741.  Another  'rising'  was 
feared  in  1772,  but  precautionary  measures  were 
adopted,  and  the  excitement  passed  off." 

"  An  act  had  been  passed  as  early  as  1713  levying 
a  duty  on  the  importation  of  negroes,  but  it  seems  not 
to  have  been  enforced.  It  was  forty  shillings  in  East 
New  Jersey,  and  six  pounds  in  West  New  Jersey." 
This  inequality  in  the  tax  was  obviated  by  subsequent 
enactments,  which  continued  in  force  until  the  Revo- 
lution. 

"  It  ought  to  be  noted,  also,  as  an  evidence  in  favor  of  the  gentleness 
and  amenity  of  domestic  slavery  in  our  country,  that  when  the  slaves 
were  invited  by  the  British  in  the  Revolution  to'  abandon  their  homes 
and  seek  refuge  in  their  armies,  very  few  of  them  responded.  The  In- 
dians were  deceived  into  activity  and  fought  bravely  for  their  natural 
enemies,  but  the  slaves  remained  in  quietness.  There  were,  in  fact, 
slaves  enough  in  the  country  to  have  decided  the  contest  against  us,  if 
they  had  generally  entered  the  armies  of  our  enemies. 

*'  When  Sunday-schools  were  introduced  the  negroes  were  largely 
benefited  by  them"  [and  many  became  members  of  .Christian  churches]. 
"But  in  the  old  church  of  Raritan,  after  the  Great  Revival,  was  the 
largest  number.  At  one  cotamuuion  season  sixty-eight  colored  persona 
came  down  from  tbe  galleries  and  sat  down  at  the  table,  spread  then, 
according  to  older  customs,  in  the  middle  aisle  of  the  church.  Most  of 
these  are  now  no  more,  but  during  their  life  they  maintained  a  consistent 
demeanor,  and  died  in  the  hope  of  a  better  condition."l[ 

From  Feb.  24, 1821,  dates  the  first  legislative  action 
having  for  its  object  the  abolition  of  slavery.  It 
provided  that  the  children  of  all  slaves  in  New  Jer- 
sey born  subsequent  to  July  4,  1804,  should  have 
their  freedom  upon  attaining  to  the  ages  of  twenty- 
five  and  twenty-one  for  males  and  females  respec- 
tively. Under  the  operations  of  this  humane  legisla- 
tion slavery  gradually  expended  its  existence.  The 
people  of  this  section  generally  favored  the  emanci- 
pation, and  many  even  anticipated  legislation  in  free- 
ing their  slaves.  Moore  Furman  in  1784,**  the  heirs  of 
George  Opdyke  in  1796,  the  heirs  of  Richard  Green 
in  1798,  Joseph  Capner  in  1799,  John  Lambert,  Jr.,  in 
1808,  and  a  host  of  others,  manumitted  slaves  prior  to 
any  legislative  action  looking  to  their  liberation. 

It  is  an  honor  to  Somerset  County  that  one  of  her 
citizens,  Rev.  Robert  Finley,  D.D.,  was  the  pioneer  in 
efforts  for  the  formation  of  the  "  American  Coloniza- 
tion Society," — an  institution  which  has  done  much 
in  the  past  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of 
the  colored  race  and  in  christianizing  Africa. 


T[  Rev.  Abraham  Messier,  D.D. 

**  We  find  in  the  records  of  the  Hunterdon  County  clerk's  oflBce,  dated 
Jan.  7, 1784,  that  the  sheriff  executed  the  following: 

"  To  ALL  CnnisTiAN  People  to  whom  these  Presents  shall  come, 
GREiiTiNG:  I,  Moore  Fui-man,  being  convinced  of  the  iniquity  and  in- 
humanity of  slavery,  and  desirous  of  discouraging  the  same,  have  man- 
umitted my  negro  man  slave  Thomas,  and  do  by  these  presents  manumit, 
set  free,  and  discharge  my  negro  man  Thomas  from  all  bonds  and  slavery 
to  me,  my  heirs,  and  assigns  forever. 

(Signed)  "Mooee  Foeman." 


106 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMEESET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

INTEKJNTAL  IMPKOVEMEBTTS. 

I.  Boads.— The  MiniBink  Path— The  Old  Burlington  Path— The  "  Upper 
Road"  and  "Lower  Eoad" — The  Old  "York  Road" — The  New  Jersey 
Turnpike  Company — New  Gemiantown  Turnpike  Company,  etc. 
H.  Stages  and  Stage-Lines. — First  Public  Conveyance  previous  to  1702 — 
Stage-Line  between  Trenton  and  New  Brunswick — "  The  Swift-Sure 
Coach-Line" — The  Trenton  and  Flemington  Mail-Coach — Post-road 
from  New  Brunswick  t»  Flemington — Express  Lines,  etc.  III.  Tlie 
Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal, — Its  incipiency,  Construction,  and  Com- 
pletion— Length,  Cost,  etc.  IV.  BaUroads. — The  Central  Railroad  of 
New  Jersey — South  Branch  Railroad — High  Bridge  Railroad — The 
Delaware  and  Bound  Brook  Railroad — The  United  New  Jersey  Rail- 
road and  Canal  Company — "  The  Belvidere  Delaware  Railroad" — The 
Fasten  and  Amboy  Railroad,  etc. 

HIGHWAYS— STAGE-ROUTES— BRIDGES— CANALS- 
RAILROADS. 

I— .ROADS. 

The  earliest  highways  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
were  the  Indian  paths.  Mention  is  made  of  them  in 
the  early  Indian  title-deeds  and  old  records  of  com- 
missioners for  laying  out  roads.  The  most  noted  of 
these,  was  the  "Minisink  path,"  which  extended  from 
the  highlands  of  the  Navesink  to  the  Earitan,  cross- 
ing at  a  place  called  Kent's  Neck ;  thence  along  the 
west  side  of  the  Rahway  River  to  Springfield,  whence 
it  crossed  the  mountain  and  passed  near  Morristown ; 
thence  to  Minisink  Island,  on  the  Delaware, — a  dis- 
tance of  seventy-five  miles.  Besides  this  long  path 
were  many  others.  One  ran  from  Perth  Amboy  to 
New  Brunswick,  where  it  crossed  the  Raritan  ;  froih 
thence  to  Sis-Mile  Run,  and  on  through  the  State 
westward  to  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware.  The  present 
road  through  Six-Mile  Run,  Kingston,  and  Princeton 
was  laid  out  on  this  path.  Another  ran  from  Shrews- 
bury, through  Monmouth  County,  southerly,  after- 
wards known  as  the  "  Old  Burlington  Path." 

These  Indian  paths  were  located  with  skill,  much 
attention  being  given  to  a  careful  study  of  the  natural 
advantages  of  the  ground  which  they  traversed.  The 
hills  were  ascended  by  the  easiest  grade;  the  most 
solid  ground  was  selected  for  crossing  a  marsh.  The 
streams  were  forded  at  a  point  where  they  were  least 
liable  to  be  affected  by  freshets,  and  in  nearly  every 
instance  the  Indian  paths  were  followed  in  the  loca- 
tion of  the  roads  that  are  to-day  the  great  thorough- 
fares of  the  State. 

Previous  to  1675  the  only  road  in  the  State  (for 
the  Indian  paths,  just  mentioned,  cannot  be  classed 
as  roads)  was  that  from  Elizabethtown  Point  to  where 
New  Brunswick  now  stands,  and  probably  was  the 
same  one  that  now,  widened  and  improved,  is  known 
as  the  "  old  road"  between  those  places.  This  road 
continued  almost  in  a  straight  line  to  the  Delaware 
above  where  Trenton  now  stands.  The  Raritan  and 
Delaware  Rivers  were  both  forded  at  low  water,  there 
being  no  bridges  ;  but  later,  ferries  were  established. 
This  was  called  the  "upper  road,"  to  distinguish  it 
from  another,  which  later  was  opened  to  Burlington, 
branching  off  from  the  old  road  some  five  or  six  miles 


from  the  Raritan,  and  arriving  by  a  rather  circuitoua 
route  at  the  site  of  the  present  Burlington.  This  road 
was  called  the  "lower  road."* 

These  roads  were  at  the  first  little  more  than  foot- 
paths, and  the  "  upper"  one  was  for  most  of  its  dis- 
tance laid  out  on  the  old  Indian  path.  "  Even  as 
late  as  1716,  when  a  ferry  had  been  established  at 
New  Brunswick  for  twenty  years,t  provision  was  only 
made,  in  the  rates  allowed  by  Assembly,  for  '  horse 
and  man'  and  '  single  person.'  The  sum  required 
annually  to  keep  this  road  in  repair  was  only  ten 
pounds." 

The  "Old  York  Road,"  which  started  in  Philadel- 
phia at  a  point  near  what  is  now  known  as  Fourth  and 
Vine  Streets!  and  ran  to  the  Delaware,  crossing  at 
Lambertville,  thence  through  Mount  Airy,  Ringos, 
and  Reaville  to  New  Brunswick  and  Newark,  was  one 
of  the  first  wagon-roads  opened  in  the  State,  although 
it  was  never  surveyed.^  In  a  deed  for  land  at  Rin- 
gos, dated  Aug.  25,  1726,  this  road  is  described  as 
"  The  King's  Highway  that  is  called  the  York  Road."|| 
The  first  public  measures  for  the  improvement  or 
establishment  of  roads  seem  to  have  been  adopted  in 
November,  1675,  when  it  was  enacted  that  two  men 
in  each  town  should  be  appointed  "to  lay  out  com- 
mon highways."  In  March,  1683,  commissioners 
were  appointed  "  to  lay  out  and  appoint"  in  the  dif- 
ferent counties  "  all  necessary  highways,  bridges,  pas- 
sages, landings,  and  ferries,  fit  and  apt  for  traveling 
passages  and  landing  of  goods."T[  These  boards  con- 
tinued for  several  years,  and  under  their  direction  the 
first  system  of  intercommunication  was  established, 
and  the  present  generation  travel  many  of  the  roads 
laid  out  by  them.** 

The  "  New  Jersey  Turnpike  Company"  was  incor- 
porated by  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1806,  which  act 
authorized  certain  persons,  named  therein,  to  con- 
struct a  turnpike  road  from  the  city  of  New  Bruns- 
wick to  Phillipsburg,  passing  through  the  counties 
of  Somerset,  Hunterdon,  and  Sussex  (now  Warren ).tt 
The  road  was  completed  late  in  the  year  1809,  but 
that  portion  situated  in  Hunterdon  and  Warren 
Counties  was  never  kept  in  sufiicient  repair  to  justify 
the  company  in  collecting  toll  thereon,  and  in  1838 
the  company  surrendered  it  "  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
several  townships  in  said  counties  of  Hunterdon  and 
Warren  through  which  the  same  passes,"  in  accord- 
ance with  a  special  enactment  of  the  State  Legislature 

*  "New  Jersey  under  the  Proprietors,"  Whitehead,  p.  235;  Hist.  Coll. 
N.  J.,  p.  41 ;  Banker's  and  Shuyter's  Journal,  etc. 

t  Established  in  1697,  and  subsequently  called  "Inian's  Ferry,"  from 
John  luian,  who  was  the  first  grantee;  the  privilege  to  continue  during 
the  natural  lives  of  himself  and  wife  at  five  shilUngs  sterling  per  annimi. 

}  The  road  still  exists  there  (1880),  and  is  called  "  York  Avenue." 

§  This  was  not  necessary,  as  it  was  laid  on  the  bed  of  the  old  Indian 
path. 

I  Rev.  Dr.  Mott's  History  of  Hunterdon  County,  p.  10. 

1[  Grants  and  Concessions. 

**  Whitehead's  Bast  Jersey  and  Prop.,  p.  236. 

tt  Session  Laws  of  New  Jersey,  18U0. 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 


107 


passed  Jan.  31,  1838.*  The  indebtedness  of  the  com- 
pany had  not  been  extinguished,  or  any  dividend  paid 
to  its  stockholders,  until  1841,  or  later, — over  thirty 
years  after  the  road  was  first  opened.f 

In  the  year  1818  the  "  New  Germantown  Turnpike 
Company"  was  chartered  and  organised.     It  com- 
menced at  North  Branch,  Somerset  Co.,  intersecting 
and  branching  off  from  the  Easton  and  New  Bruns- 
wick turnpike,  and  ran  through  New  Germantown  to 
its  terminus  at  German  Valley.    James  Honeyman 
was  president,  and  one  of  the  principal  stockholders. 
Other  turnpikes,  chartered  by  the  State  Legislature 
between  the  years  1800  and  1828,  running  through 
either  Hunterdon  or  Somerset  Counties,  were  the  fol- 
lowing :  March  12, 1806,  "  Hunterdon  and  Sussex ;" 
Feb.  9,  1811,  "  Farmers',"  from  Springfield,  through 
Pluckamin,  to  the  Jersey  tujnpike,  near  Potterstown ; 
1813,  "Spruce  Eun,"  from  Clinton,  Hunterdon  Co., 
to  the  Washington  turnpike,  near  Sherrard's  mill, 
(now)  in  Washington  township,  Warren  Co. ;  and  in 
1813   the  "  New  Germantown,"   above   mentioned. 
Gordon,  in  his  "  History  of  New  Jersey,"  gives  the 
last  turnpike  constructed  in  the  State  as  the  "  Passaic," 
in  1828 ;  a  few  years  later  the  canal  and  railroads  di- 
verted capital  from  turnpikes  into  other  channels. 

In  another  portion  of  this  workj  wiU  be  found  a 
detailed  account  of  the  early  roads  of  Somerset 
County,  many  of  which  also  extended  across  Hunter- 
don County. 

n— .STAGES  AND  STAGE-LINES. 

The  only  public  conveyance  through  the  province 
previous  to  the  surrender  to  Queen  Anne  (1702),  of 
which  any  knowledge  has  been  obtained,  was  a  wagon 
on  the  Amboy  road,  which,  under  authority  from 
Governor  Hamilton,  ran  at  irregular  times  and  with- 
out established  rates,  in  connection  with  the  packet- 
boat  to  New  York.^  Whitehead  remarks  that  this 
may  have  been  "  the  Post"  between  East  Jersey  and 
Pennsylvania,  several  times  referred  to  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania Colonial  Records.  || 

The  earliest  mention  of  stages  is  found  in  an  ad- 
vertisement in  the  Philadelphia  Mercury,  dated  in 
March,  1733,  as  follows : 

"This  IB  to  give  notice  unto  Gentlemen,  Merchants,  Tradesmen, 
Travelers,  and  others,  that  Solomon  Smith  and  James  Moore  of  Burling- 
ton :  keepeth  two  Stage  Wagom  intending  to  go  from  Burlington  to 
Amboy,  and  back  from  Amhoj'  to  Burlington  again  Once  every  Week, 
or  ofit'er  if  that  Business  presents,"  etc. 

About  this  time,  a  line  ran  by  way  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  in  1734  the  first  line  via  Bordentown  was 
established  from  South  River  to  New  York,  "  once  a 
week,  if  wind  and  weather  permit,  and  come  to  the 
Old-slip."  In  1744  the  stage-line  between  Trenton 
and  New  Brunswick  was  established,  and  ran  twice  a 

*  Session  Laws  of  New  Jersey,  1838. 

t  Acts  of  General  Assembly,  18«,  pp.  83,  84. 

X  See  Chapter  V.  General  History  of  Somerset  County. 

§  Smith's  New  Jersey,  p.  a02. 

I  Col.  Records,  i.,  pp.  4*1,  467,  640. 


week.  From  New  Brunswick  it  continued  east  to 
Amboy,  crossing  at  the  Narrows,  and  thence  to  Flat- 
bush  and  New  York.  David  Mizner,  now  eighty-two 
years  old  and  still  living  at  Kingston,  was  the  driver 
of  one  of  the  stages  of  Robert  Bailes  for  twenty  suc- 
cessive years.f 

In  1791  there  were  only  six  post-ofiices  in  New 
Jersey, — Newark,  Elizabethtown,  Bridgetown  (now 
Rahway),  Brunswick,  Princetown,  and  Trenton. 
Somerset  seems  to  have  had  no  mail  facilities  at  all. 

"  The  Swift-Sure  Coach-Line"  was  established  very 
early, — ^before  the  Revolution,  and  possibly  as  early 
as  the  Trenton  and  New  Brunswick  line, — and  ran 
between  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  over  the  "  Old 
York  Road,"  by  the  way  of  New  Hope,  Flemington, 
Somerville,  Bound  Brook,  Plainfield,  Elizabethtown, 
etc.  At  the  first,  possibly,  but  one  trip  a  week  may 
have  been  made,  later  increased  to  two,  and  at  least 
as  early  as  1826  (no  doubt  earlier)  making  three  trips 
a  week.** 

The  Trenton  and  Flemington  mail-coach  com- 
menced running  about  1828  or  1829.  From  an  ad- 
vertisementft  of  this  line,  dated  "  Bloomsbury,  Aug. 
17,  1829,"  we  learn  that  the  coach  left  the  "  Union 
Line  office,  Trenton,"  for  Flemington,  every  Monday, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday,  and  left  Nathaniel  Price's 
inn,  Flemington,  for  Trenton  and  Bloomsbury,  every 
Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday.  The  fare  through 
was  one  dollar,  and  we  are  told  that  the  line  was  well 
patronized. 

In  1832  the  "  Swift-Sure  Mail-Line"  was  revived 
between  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  and  "splendid, 
Troy  coaches''  put  on  by  the  proprietors,  George  Car- 
ter &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  John  A.  Weart,  Trenton, 
and  Anderson  &  McCutcheon,  New  York.  It  con- 
nected with  the  steamboat  "  John  Marshall"  at  Eliz- 
abethtown Point  for  New  York  City.  Three  trips  per 
week  each  way  were  made,  lodging  at  Flemington,  and 
the  fare  was  four  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents. 

The  post-road  from  New  Brunswick  to  Flemington 
was  established  by  Congress  early  in  1838,  and  the 
"New  Brunswick,  Millstone,  and  Flemington" Stage" 
commenced  running  that  year,  making  tri-weekly 


If  Ealph  Voorhees,  18Y3. 
**  The  following  advertisement 
Flemington,  of  date  Jan.  3, 1827  : 


in  the  HmUerdon  Oazetie, 


mmM^s^i 


"NEW  TOBK   &  PHILADELPHIA   MAIL   STAGE, 
via 
New  Bope,  Flemingtav,  Somerville,  Bound  Brook,  Plainjield,  Elizabeth- 
town,  &o. 
PASSENGEES  in  this  line  ivill  leave  Philadelphia  at  8  o'clock  a.m.  oi 
Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays,  lodge  at  Centreville,  and  arrive 
in  New-York  at  2  p.m.  of  the  succeeding  days.    Likewise  leave  New- 
York  at  half-past  10  a.m.  of  the  days  above  named,  stop  at  Centreville, 
and  reach  Philadelphia  at  4  P.M.  of  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays. 
Fare  through  43.60.    Way  paaaengers  in  proportion.    All  baggage  at  the 
risk  of  the  owners. 

"  Peter  B.  Lowe, 
"  One  of  the  Proprietors." 
"Doc.  27. 1826. 
f  Hmierdon  Ornnty  Oaaetle,  Aug.  26, 1829. 


108 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


trips  between  Joline's  hotel,  in  New  Brunswick,  and 
Mahlon  C.  Hart's,  in  Flemington,  "  via  Millstone, 
Flaggtown,  Shannock,  Clover  Hill,  and  Greenville." 
This  stage  connected  at  New  Brunswick  with  the  cars 
for  New  York,  and  stages  for  Princeton,  Trenton,  and 
Philadelphia.*  The  proprietors  were  J.  V.  D.  Joline 
and  Frederick  Ten  Eyck. 

It  seems  essential  to  take  this  retrospective  glance 
at  the  old  coaching-times  in  order  properly  to  under- 
stand the  vast  change  which  the  iron  rail  and  steam 
propulsion  hath  wrought. 

"  where  is  the  coach  ?  where  is  the  mail  ? 
The  coachman,  where  is  he  ? 
Where  is  the  guard  that  need  to  blow 
His  horn  so  cheerily  ?" 

It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  country  stages  have 
not  altogether  disappeared  from  our  midst.  They 
still  exist  in  both  Hunterdon  and  Somerset,  yet  essen- 
tially changed  from  the  old-time  stage-coach  de- 
scribed by  Washington  Irving  in  his  "Sketch-Book,"' 
or  by  Dickens  on  the  occasion  of  the  journey  of  Pick- 
wick and  his  friends  on  the  "  Muggletown  Telegraph," 
to  spend  Christmas  with  the  Wardles  at  Dingley  Dell. 
Such  scenes,  however,  were  daily  enacted  in  this  sec- 
tion less  than  half  a  century  ago. 

Before  the  era  of  railroads,  travel  between  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  increased  to  such  an  extent 
that  thirty-two  stages  were  frequently  run  each  way 
per  day  to  carry  the  passengers.  On  days  of  extra- 
ordinary travel  the  farmers  in  the  neighborhood  of 
places  where  horses  were  changed  were  in  readiness 
to  furnish  additional  vehicles  and  teams  if  circum- 
stances required. 

"  In  1825,  on  the  day  Lafayette  passed  through  tie  State  to  review  the 
troops  at  Trenton,  assembled  to  do  him  honor,  there  were  one  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  horses  ready  harnessed  and  exchanged  at  Kingston. 
The  general  passed  through  in  a  splendid  barouche  drawn  by  six  gray 
liorses,  driven  (says  Mizner)  by  David  Sauderson,  now  of  Wbite  House, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  then  a  youth  of  nineteen  years  of  age.  The  stages,  on 
their  way  to  New  York,  would  often  separate  a  short  distance  east  of 
Kingston,  some  taking  the  Trenton  turnpike,  others  crossing  Bocky  Hill 
-to  New  Brunswick  by  the  way  of  Six-Mile  Run."! 

About  this  time  there  was  also  an  express-line  be- 
tween New  York  and  Washington  whose  route  lay 
through  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties.  The 
express-rider  found  a  fresh  horse  ready  saddled  and 
bridled  as  he  came  to  each  of  the  stations,  at  short 
intervals,  on  the  route.  It  was  by  this  means  that 
the  New  York  papers  published,  in  advance  of  the 
mail,  the  vote  on  Mr.  Clay's  tariflT-bill  the  day  follow- 
ing its  passage  in  the  House,  at  Washington. 

There  was  also  an  immense  travel  across  the  State 
at  this  time  independent  of  stage-  and  express-lines. 
It  consisted  principally  in  conveying  produce  to  mar- 
ket at  New  Brunswick  from  Hunterdon,  Sussex,  and 
Somerset  Counties.  Large  wagons  heavily  laden  with 
flour,  flax,  flax-seed,   or   other   produce,   frequently 


*  Advertisement  in  Hunterdon  GazeUe,  Aug.  1,  1838. 
t  "  The  Earitan  and  its  Early  Dutch  Settlers,"  Voorhees,  in  "  Our 
Home,"  1873. 


drawn  by  six  horses,  passed  over  the  Amwell  road  to 
New  Brunswick,  while  those  from  Sussex  and  the 
north  went  principally  by  the  way  of  Bound  Brook. 
At  a  certain  time  the  keeper  of  the  toll-gate  at  Mid- 
dlebrook  kept  an  account,  and  stated  that  five  hun- 
dred vehicles  of  various  kinds  had  passed  through  the 
gate  in  one  day  on  their  way  to  the  "  Landing"  and 
New  Brunswick  markets.  In  1748  the  Earitan 
Landing  was  described  as  "being  a  market  for  the 
most  plentiful  wheat  country  for  its  bigness  in  Amer- 
ica."J 

From  about  1808  until  the  railroads  were  built 
Messrs.  Fish,  Hill  &  Abbey  ran  goods  across  the 
State  from  Trenton  to  New  Brunswick,  from  thence 
to  New  York  by  sloops,  and  later  by  steamboats. 
This  firm  is  said  to  have  carried  on  even  at  that  early 
date  a  very  extensive  transportation  business. 

III.— THE  DELAWARE  AND  EAEITAN  CANAL. 

The  project  of  a  canal  to  connect  the  waters  of  the 
Delaware  and  Earitan  Eivers  was  earnestly  considered 
even  as  early  as  the  year  1804.  At  that  date  a  route 
was  examined  by  a  company  of  intelligent,  experienced 
men,  and  a  law  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  author- 
izing its  construction  by  a  private  company.  Of  this 
the  late  Judge  Morris  was  president,  and  the  late 
Gen.  Braley  of  Hunterdon,  the  late  Mr.  Garnett  of 
Somerset,  with  others,  were  directors.  But  these  gen- 
tlemen, with  all  their  zeal,  did  not  succeed  in  their 
project ;  the  state  of  trade  at  that  time,  and  inex- 
perience with  works  of  this  character,  prevented  its 
execution.  Nevertheless,  in  1816,  and  again  in  1823, 
its  practicability  was  demonstrated  by  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  explore  the  route. 
Its  practical  utility  was  also  realized  by  many  as 
being  one  of  the  links  of  the  great  chain  of  internal 
navigation  which  would  greatly  foster  the  domestic 
trade  of  the  country.  With  the  completion  of  the 
Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Canal,  this  one  only  was 
wanted  to  complete  an  entire  inland  navigation  from 
Newbern,  in  North  Carolina,  to  Providence,  E.  I. 
Therefore  another  effort  was  made.  A  second  joint- 
stock  company  was  authorized  to  build  this  canal.  It 
paid  to  the  State  treasury  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  for  the  privilege ;  but,  failing  to  ob- 
tain the  sanction  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  the 
use  of  the  waters  of  the  Delaware  Eiver,  it  was  com- 
pelled to  abandon  the  enterprise.  The  State  refunded 
to  it  the  premium  which  it  had  paid. 

^  This  enterprise  was  by  many  at  that  time  deemed 
visionary,!  while  not  a  few  rejoiced  in  this  second 


X  Ibid.,  p.  6n5. 

§  It  may  sound  strange  to  the  present  generation,-so  familiarized  with 
railroads  and  "rapid  traDsit,"_but  it  is  a  fact,  that  many  of  the  people 
of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  sent  remonstrances  in  1829  to  the  Legisla- 
ture "  against  the  passage  of  a  law  to  authorize  the  formation  of  a  canal 
along  the  South  Branch  of  Earitan  from  Hunt^s  Mills  in  Hunterdon  to 
Perth  Amboy,"  alleging  that  it  "  would  not  only  injure,  but  entirely  de- 
stroy, the  many  valuable  mills  located  upon  the  Earitan,  and  in  injuring 
them  would  also  injure  us  as  citizens  in  the  vicinity  of  said  mills  " 


INTERNAL   IMPROVEMENTS. 


109 


failure,  by  whict  the  power  of  constructing  the  canal 
reverted  to  the  State,  thinking  that  if  it  were  feasible 
she  would  soon  build  it.  The  friends  of  the  measure 
were  active.  Many  petitions  were  presented  to  the 
Legislature  in  1828-29,  committees  were  appointed 
and  reported,  and  there  was  much  agitation  of  the 
subject  and  earnest  efforts  put  forth  to  induce  the 
State  to  undertake  its  construction.  A  bill  introduced 
for  this  purpose  was  defeated.  The  State  refused  to 
build  it  or  incur  obligation  thereby. 

Although  abandoned  as  a  State  measure,  its  friends 
still  were  confident,  and  efforts  were  revived  to  pro- 
vide for  its  erection  as  a  private  enterprise.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1830,  it  was  committed  to  a  joint-stock  com- 
pany, with  certain  beneficial  restrictions  to  the  State. 
The  act  of  February  4th  provided  that  "  subscriptiour 
books  to  the  capital  stock  of  the  'Delaware  and 
Earit^an  Canal  Company'  shall  be  opened,  within  six 
months  after  the  passing  of  this  act,  by  James  Parker 
and  James  Neilson  of  Middlesex,  John  Potter  of 
Somerset,  William  Halsted  of  Hunterdon,  and  Garret 
D.  Wall  of  Burlington.''  The  capital  stock  was  "  to 
be  one  million  dollars,  divided  into  shares  of  one 
hundred  dollars  each,  and  when  five  thousand  shares 
are  subscribed  the  stockholders  shall  elect  by  ballot 
nine  directors,"  and  annually  thereafter  said  directors 
to  elect- a  president.  The  act  gave  them  corporate 
rights,  powersj  and  privileges,  and  empowered  the 
company  "  to  construct  ...  a  canal  or  artificial  navi- 
gation from  the  watere  of  the  Delaware  River  to  the 
waters  of  the  Earitan,  and  to  improve  the  navigation 
of  the  said  rivers,  respectively,  as  may  from  time  to 
time  become  necessary  below  where  the  said  canal  shall 
empty  into  the  said  rivers,  respectively ;  which  canal 
shall  be  at  least  fifty  feet  wide  at  the  water-line,  and 
the  waters  therein  be  at  least  five  feet  deep  through- 
out ;  and  the  said  company  are  hereby  empowered  to 
supply  the  said  canal  with  water  from  the  river  Dela- 
ware by  constructing  a  feeder,  which  shall  be  so  con- 
structed as  to  form  a  navigable  canal  not  less  than 
thirty  feet  wide  and  four  feet  deep,  to  conduct  the 
water  from  any  part  of  the  river  Delaware." 

The  first  directors  were  (1830)  Robert  F.  Stockton, 
Garret  D.  Wall,  John  Potter,  James  Parker,  James 
Neilson,  William  Halsted,  John  E.  Thompson,  James 
S.  Green,  Joseph  Mcllvaine,  who  chose  R.  F.  Stockton 
president  of  the  board,  James  Neilson  treasurer,  and 
J.  R.  Thompson  secretary. 

The  construction  of  the  canal  was  commenced  late 
in  the  year  1830,  and  it  was  completed  and  in  opera- 
tion in  June,  1834.  The  entire  work  was  under  the 
direction  of  Canvass  White,  chief  engineer,  who  lived 
only  a  few  months  after  its  completion.  The  eastern 
section  was  built  under  the  sliperintendence  of  John 
Hopkins-  the  middle  section,  George  T.  Olmsted;  the 
western  section  and  lower  part  of  the  feeder,  Edward 
A.  Douglas;  and  the  upper  part  of  the  feeder  under 
the  direction  of  Ashbel  Welch,  of  Lambertville. 

The  Hon.  Ashbel  Welch,  in  a  letter  to  Solomon  W. 


Roberts,  Esq.,  dated  Ttenton,  June  27, 1834,  so  neatly 
portrays  the  event  of  the  opening  of  the  canal  that 
some  extracts  are  here  given,  by  permission : 

"  I  am  here  waiting  for  the  packet  on  my  way  home  from  the  canal 
celebration.  On  Wednesday  the  directors  of  onr  canal  and  railroad  com- 
panies, and  some  thirty  or  more  of  the  principal  stockholders,  together 
with  the  Governor,  and  sundry  others  of  our  great  people,  came  up  the 
'feeder'  as  far  as  Lambertville  in  a  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  canal- 
barge.  After  dining  there  all  hands  got  aboard  the  barge — myself  among 
the  number — and  started  for  Trenton  about  nine  o'clock  at  night.  .  . 
By  good  luck  more  than  good  management,  we  got  to  Trenton  without 
wrecking  the  boat,  and  after  a  short  nap  started  off  yesterday  morning 
for  New  Brunswick. 

*'  The  canal-banks  for  the  whole  distance  were  lined  with  people, — 
that  is  to  say,  there  were  large  collections  of  them  at  the  landings, 
bridges,  etc.  A  more  jolly  party  than  ours  was  in  the  afternoon  you 
seldom  meet.  John  C.  Stevens,  James  S.  Green,  and  Thomas  Biddle 
acted  as  fun-makers,  and  they  acquitted  themselves  admirably.  .  .  When' 
we  arrived  at  New  Brunswick  we  were  greeted  with  a  salute  of  twenty- 
four  gnns,  were  received  by  the  military  with  presented  arras,  stood  some- 
thing less  than  half  an  hour  with  our  hats  off  while  the  mayor  made  a 
speech  and  was  answered,  hurr.ihed  in  return  to  their  civilities  until  we 
were  all  hoarse,  were  marched  up  and  down  the  streets,  and  a  little  after 
dark  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous  dinner,  provided  at  the  expense  of  the 
canal  company.  The  military,  for  their  arduous  services  (to  wit,  waiting 
under  arms  four  or  five  hours  and  being  nearly  broiled),  received  their 
pay  partly  in  champagne,  partly  in  glory." 

The  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  Company  and 
the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  and  Transportation 
Company  were  at  the  time  of  their  incorporation,  in 
1830,  rival  and  antagonistic  corporations.  They  were 
consolidated  in  interest  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  Feb. 
1.5,  1831,  and  assumed  the  title  of  the  "  Joint  Compa- 
nies," their  affairs  being  controlled  by  the  boards  of 
both  companies  joined  as  one  body.  March  14,  1872, 
the  "  Joint  Companies"  and  the  "  New  Jersey  Rail- 
road and  Transportation  Company"*  were,  by  act  of 
the  State  Legislature,  merged  into  one  corporation, 
known  as  the  "United  New  Jersey  Railroad  and 
Canal  Company."  Its  present  management  (1880)  is 
as  follows :  John  G.  Stevens,  President ;  A.  L.  Den- 
nis, Vice-President;  F.  Wolcott  Jackson,  General 
Superintendent.  Directors :  John  Jacob  Astor,  John 
C.  Barron,  William  Bucknell,  A.'  L.  Dennis,  Charles 
E.  Green,  Robert  L.  Kennedy,  Thomas  McKean, 
Isaac  W.  Sciidder,  John  G.  Stevens,  Robert  F.  Stock- 
ton, Ashbel  Welch,  Samuel  Welsh ;  Charles  A.  Butts, 
State  Director. 

This  canal  extends  from  the  Delaware  at  Borden- 
town  to  Trenton,  thence  across  the  State  to  New 
Brunswick,  where  it  joins  the  Raritan,  passing  through 
the  southwestern  portion  of  Somerset  County,  along 
the  east  bank  of  the  Millstone  River  and  the  south 
bank  of  the  Raritan.  It  is  forty-four  miles  long,  with 
a  feeder,  twenty-two  miles  in  length,  which  extends 
from  Bull's  Island,  above  Stockton,  in  Hunterdon 
County,  southward  to  the  main  canal,  with  which  it 
unites  at  Trenton.  The  canal  crosses  the  Assanpink 
Creek,  east  of  Trenton,  in  a  fine  stone  aqueduct.  This 
canal  is  eighty  feet  wide  and  eight  feet  deep,  admit- 


*  Incorporated  March  7, 1832 ;  it  constructed  the  railroad  from  Jersey 
City,  through  Newark,  Elizabeth,  and  Bahway,  to  and  through  the  city 
of  New  Brunswick.  , 


no 


HUNTEKDON   AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ting  the  passage  of  barges  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
tons  burden,  and  its  cost  is  not  far  from  five  million 
dollars.  In  1867  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
"  United  New  Jersey  Eailroad  and  Canal  Company," 
by  whom  it  was  subsequently  leased  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Eailroad  Company,  at  an  annual  rental  of  ten 
per  centum  per  annum  upon  the  capital  stock,  free  of 
all  taxes ;  and,  in  accordance  with  the  lease,  quarterly 
dividends  of  two  and  one-half  per  cent.,  in  cash,  have 
been  regularly  paid. 

The  receipts  and  expenditures  of  this  canal  for  1879 
were  as  follows : 

From  toUaon  boats S4,37fi.40 

"           "       lading 410,816.70 

"       Bteam  towing 273,663.10 

*'      miscellaneouB 7,203.90 


$696,069.10 
Working  expenses 3-:i6,924.86 

Net  earnings $369,034.25* 

IV.— EAILKOADS. 

The  coach  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  stage  of  the 
seventeenth,  and  the  mail  of  the  eighteenth  led  step 
by  step  to  the  locomotive  of  the  nineteenth,— the  cen- 
tury marked  by  such  giant  strides  in  the  matter  of 
travel  and  transportation.  In  1750  it  took  from  five 
to  seven  days  to  make  the  trip  Irom  New  York  to 
Philadelphia;  in  1850,  two  hours.f 

THE   CENTEAI;   KAILEOAD  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

The  principal  east-and-west  railroad  line  traversing 
the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  is  The  Cen- 
tral Bailroad  of  New  Jersey.  This  road,  besides  being 
one  of  the  leading  avenues  for  conveying  the  products 
of  Pennsylvania  and  the  West  to  New  York  City,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  routes  from  the  Atlantic 
seaboard  to  the  West.  No  road  in  the  Union  is  so 
indispensable  a  link  in  the  chain  of  communication 
between  the  East  and  West,  and  none  can  excel  it  in 
the  picturesque  attractions  which  it  opens  up  to  the 
tourist.  • 

The  history  of  the  road  is  full  of  interest,  especially 
as  in  its  construction  it  acted  as  a  pioneer  and  made 
the  all-important  preparation  which  led  to  the  build- 
ing of  other  and  important  connecting  railroad  lines. 

The  road  from  Elizabethport  to  Somerville  was 
built  by  the  "  Elizabethtown  and  Somerville  Railroad 
Company,"  under  a  charter  granted  in  1831.  The 
company  was  poor,  and  the  road  was  opened  first  from 
Elizabethport  to  Elizabeth,  two  and  one-half  miles, 
and  connected  at  the  Point  with  New  York  and  New 
Brunswick  by  boat.  The  route  to  Somerville  was 
surveyed  in  1835  by  Col.  James  Moore,  the  present 
chief  engineer;  who  has  filled  this  office  and  that  of 


*  Beport  State  Comptroller,  1879. 

t  In  1829,  when  steamboatB  were  running,  and  the  same  journey  waa 
made  In  nine  hours,  it  waa  cause  of  great  rejoicing  aa  the  inauguration 
of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  traveling  in  the  United  States,  and  truly 
it  was  a  marvel  when  compared  with  the  slow-moving  stage-coach  and 
canal-boat.  But  the  steam-cara  soon  left  even  the  steamboats  in  the 
background. 


general  superintendent  since  the  commencement  of 
the  road. 

In  1836  it  was  built  as  far  as  Plainfield,  and  the 
panic  of  1837  told  severely  on  the  finances  of  the 
company;    but  they  still    pressed    onward,   though 
slowly,  extending  the  road  to  Bound  Brook,  and  finally 
reached  Somerville  in  1839,t  by  a .  desperate  efibrt 
which  resulted  in  the  failure  of  the  company  and  the 
foreclosure  of  the  mortgage  upon  the  road.     The  road 
was  sold  in  1846,  the  strap-rail  taken  up  by  the  new 
organization,  the  track  relaid  with  heavy  T-rail,  and 
preparations   made  for  a  large  business.      Feb.  16, 
1842,  the  State  Legislature,  by  special  enactment,  ex- 
tended the  time  for  completing  the  road  until  July  4, 
1856.     A  new  company  was    chartered  in  1847  (ap- 
proved February  26th)  to  extend  the  road  to  Easton, 
under  the  name  of  "  The  Somerville  and  Easton  Eail- 
road Company."     In  the  fall  of  1848  the  road  was 
opened  to  White  House ;  the  following  year?  authority 
was  given  the  above-named  company  to  purchase  the 
Elizabethtown  and  Somerville  Eailroad,  and  the  name 
of  the  consolidated  company  was  changed  to  "  The 
Central  Eailroad  Company  of  New  Jersey.''    This  was 
carried  into  efi'ect  in  1850,  the  existing  roads  brought 
under  one  ownership,  and  immediately  thereafter,  in 
the  spring  of  the  same  year,  the  remainder  of  the 
route  to  Phillipsburg  was  put  under  contract.     The 
portion  to  Clinton  was  opened  in  May,  1852,  and  the 
cars  made  one  round-trip  per  day  from  New  York  to 
Clinton,  in  Hunterdon  County,  from  whence  passen- 
gers reached  Easton  in  stage.    On  the  morning  of  the 
1st  of  July,  1852,  the  last  rail  was  laid,  and  the  next 
day,  in  eight  splendid  cars   (drawn  by  the  gigantic 
engine  "Pennsylvania,"  decorated  with   flags),  the 
directors  of  the  road,  with  their  invited  guests  and 
accompanied  by  Dodsworth's  Band,  sped  through  the 
glorious  landscapes  of  Hunterdon  and  Warren,  to  the 
wonder  of  thousands  of  delighted  inhabitants,  who 
thronged  to  the  stations  and  greeted  the  party  with  the 
firing  of  guns  and  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and 
banners.     From  this  time  that  undeveloped  country 
began  to  yield  up  its  wealth.     Iron-works  that  had 
lain  in  ruins  for  the  want  of  fuel  since  the  Eevolution 
were  rebuilt,  and  with  the  advent  of  the  thundering 
coal-trains  began  the  ring  of  tilt-hammers  ;  while  the 
exchange  of  log  cabins  for  beautiful  dwellings,  and 
the  founding  of  churches,  schools,  etc.,  marked  the 
succeeding  years  of  the  history  of  this  road. 

For  eight  years  more  were  passengers  transferred 
from  Elizabethtown  to  New  York  by  boat,  but  in  1860 
authority  was  obtained  to  extend  the  Central  Eoad  to 
Jersey  City,  which  was  soon  after  accomplished.  The 
most  important  feature  in  this  extension  is  the  Bav 


X  John  0.  Stearns,  who  died  in  Elizabeth  in  November,  1862,  com- 
menced his  connection  with  the  road  in  1834,  the  firm  of  Colkett  & 
Stearns  having  taken  the  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  part  of  the 
original  Elizabethtown  and  Somerville  Railroad.  After  the  foreclosure 
and  sale  of  the  road,  in  1846,  Mr.  Stearns  was  appointed  superintendent 
and  retained  the  office  until  his  death. 

i  Act  approved  Feb.  22, 1849. 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 


Ill 


Bridge,  nine  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  in  length, 
over  Newark  Bay. 

In  1869-70  the  Central  Railroad  Company  made 
many  important  improvements  at  points  within 
Hunterdon  County  and  in  its  immediate  vicinage, 
calculated  to  contribute  to  the  comfort  and  safety  of 
passengers,  and  of  persons  crossing  the  tract.  They 
are  thus  detailed  by  the  Hunterdon  Republican  of 
March  10,  1870 : 

"  At  FhlUipsburg  the  fonner  complicated  network  of  traclts  has  been 
so  changed  that  the  rails  all  now  nin  from  one  switch  to  the  main  street. 
The  old  freight-house  has  been  removed  to  the  main  street  and  changed 
to  a  passenger-car  house.  A  new  freight-house  at  the  same  place  has 
lately  been  finished.  At  Bloomsbnry  bridge  another  track  has  been  laid, 
80  that  danger  from  a  single  track  oyer  the  bridge  is  thus  avoided.  At 
High  Bridge  the  new  station  has  been  finished  in  a  style  appropriate  to 
that  romantic  growing  town.  Below  the  White  House  a  mile  of  new 
track  on  each  side  of  the  road  has  just  been  completed  for  turn-out  pur- 
poses, so  that  freight-  and  coal-trains  may  lay  over,  making  four  tracks 
here.  A  bridge  has  also  just  been  completed  by  the  company  over  their 
track  below  White  House,  so  that  vehicles  on  the  public  road  in  crossing 
are  entirely  out  of  danger.  This  bridge  is  one  hundred  and  one  feet 
long  and  has  three  spans,  one  of  which  is  fifty-one  feet  long.  A  mile  of 
tiack  has  also  been  added  each  side  of  the  road  from  Clinton  Station 
towards  High  Bridge,  making  four  tracks  here,  and  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  from  Hampton  Junction  towards  Spruce  Run.  These  improve- 
ments have  all  been  very  judiciously  made,  and  prove  the  good  judgment 
and  engineering  skill  of  the  superintendent." 

The  first  station-agent  at  Somerville  was  Bernard 
Steams,  with  James  BJreusen  as  helper;  the  last 
named  is  now,  and  has  been  for  years,  the  agent  at 
Somerville. 

In  1855  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  was  opened 
from  Easton,  first  to  Allentown  and  then  to  Mauch 
Chunk,  the  centre  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  coal-region. 
During  the  same  year,  also,  the  Delaware,  Lacka- 
wanna and  Western  Railroad  completed  the  line  from 
New  Hampton  (its  point  of  junction  with  the  Central 
Railroad  of  New  Jersey)  to  Scranton,  the  centre  of 
the  Lackawanna  coal-region,  and  a  convenient  depot 
for  the  coal  transportation  from  the  Wyoming  Valley 
eastward.  Through  these  two  roads  the  products  of 
the  richest  anthracite  mines  of  Pennsylvania  were 
brought  to  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey  for 
transportation  to  the  metropolis.  The  Lackawanna 
connection  requiring  a  six-foot  gauge,  the  Central 
Railroad  Company  at  an  early  period  anticipated  this 
necessity  by  laying  a  third  rail  to  Hampton  junction. 
The  common  gauge  of  the  Central  road  is  four  feet 
eight  and  a  half  inches,  which  is  uniform  with  that 
of  the  railroads  of  the  country  generally.  The 
value  of  these  connecting  lines  may  be  appreciated 
from  the  fact  that  during  the  first  year  after  their 
completion  the  business  of  the  Central  Road  was 
nearly  double.  During  the  second  year  the  Lehigh 
Valley  road  brought  eighty-six  thousand  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  tons  of  coal,  and  the  Lackawanna 
road  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  tons,  to 
the  Central  road  for  transportation. 

In  1858  the  East  Pennsylvania  (now  Philadelphia 
and  Reading)  Railroad  was  opened  between  Allen- 
town  and  Reading,  establishing  a  direct  line,  with 


unbroken  gauge,  to  Harrisburg,  Pittsburgh,  and  the 
West ;  and  it  has  direct  control  of  and  operates  the 
roads  in  Pennsylvania  extending  from  Easton, 
through  Bethlehem,  Mauch  Chunk,  White  Haven, 
and  Wilkes-Barre,  to  Carbondale,  under  the  title  of 
the  Lehigh  and  Susquehanna  Division.  It  also  oper- 
ates, within  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  the  "  New  York 
and  Long  Branch  Railroad,"  from  Perth  Amboy  to 
Long  Branch ;  the  "  New  Egypt  and  Farmingdale 
Railroad,"  from  Long  Branch  to  Ocean  Beach;  "The 
Long  Branch  and  Sea  Girt  Railroad,"  from  Long 
Branch  to  Sea  Girt, — aggregating  thirty-four  miles, — 
and  in  the. summer  of  1880  extended  the  line  to  Point 
Pleasant,  under  the  name  of  "  New  York  and  Long 
Branch  Extension  Railroad," — three  miles ;  also  the 
"  Jersey  Southern  Railroad,"  from  Sandy  Hook  to 
Bay  Side, — one  hundred  and  seventeen  miles.  The 
Central  Railroad,  being  in  harmony  and  acting  in 
unison  with  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad, 
makes  connections  with  the  various  lines  of  the  latter 
road,  one  important  branch  of  which,  the  "  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  New  Line,"  intersects  with  the 
Central  at  Bound  Brook,  Somerset  Co. 

These  are  the  immediate  connections  of  the  "  Cen- 
tral Railroad  of  New  Jersey,"  all  of  which  are  of 
incalculable  value.  Certain  it  is  no  road  could  have 
a  geographical  position  more  favorable  for  numerous 
and  important  connections  than  this  one.  Along  the 
line  of  the  Central  the  beauties  of  nature  and  the 
utilities  of  man  vie  with  each  other  for  the  overmas- 
tering interest.  The  trunk  route— that  is,  that  of  the 
Central  road  itself — extends  across  the  central  portion 
of  New  Jersey,  and  hence  its  name.  Its  termini  are 
Jersey  City  and  Easton,  Pa.  It  traverses  the  finest 
portion  of  the  State,  passing  through  a  succession  of 
alluvial  valleys  containing  the  very  richest  land  in 
New  Jersey,  and  increasing  both  in  beauty  and  fer- 
tility as  one  approaches  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania. 
Who  that  has  looked  from  Ne9v  Hampton  upon  the 
Musconetcong  valley  of  Hunterdon  County,  will  ever 
forget  the  scene  or  its  suggestions  ?* 

The  first  president  of  this  company  was  Governor 
Isaac  H.  Williamson,  who  was  succeeded  by  Col. 
John  Kean.  Stephen  Vail  followed,  and  officiated 
until  the  consolidation  of  the  companies,  when  John 
Taylor  Johnston  was  elected.     The  last-named  gen- 


*  The  route  beyond  Easton  affords  an  extent  and  variety  of  scenery 
found  on  few  roads  on  this  continent,— mountain-ranges  of  characteristic 
grandeur,  cleft  here  and  there  by  abrupt  fissures  to  their  very  base, 
through  which  stately  rivers  lead  their  pomp  of  waters  to  the  sea;  rich 
and  beautiful  valleys,  sometimes  so  narrow,  and,  withal,  so  picturesque, 
as  to  remind  the  traveler  of  Swiss  cantons  among  the  Alps,  and  some- 
times allowed  a  broader  and  longer  reach  by  the  yielding  mountain- 
ranges  that  inclose  them  ;  forests  that  still  retain  the  rugged  aspect  of 
their  primeval  wilderness,  and  romantic  cascades.  The  mention  of  these 
features  but  feebly  suggests  the  reality  as  seen  by  the  eye.  One  must 
actually  visit  the  Delaware  Water-Gap,  must  himself  climb  the  Pocono 
range,  must  follow  the  winding  Susquehanna,  must  be  drawn  up  the  in- 
clined planes  of  Mount  Pisgah,— must  actually  realize  these  things  in 
his  own  experience,  for  it  is  beyond  our  power  adequately  to  describe 
them. 


112 


HUNTEEDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


tleman  served  for  many  yfears,  and  until  recently, 
when  the  present  incumbent  was  chosen. 

The  present  officers,  1880,  are  as  follows:  E.  C. 
Knight,  President ;  John  Kean,  Vice-President ;  Sam- 
uel Knox,  Treasurer  and  Secretary;  F.  S.  Lathrop, 
Receiver ;  James  Moore,  General  Superintendent  and 
Engineer ;  W.  W.  Stearns,  W.  S.  Polhemus,  Assistant 
Superintendents ;  Jacob  M.  Clark,  Engineer ;  H.  P. 
Baldwin,  General  Passenger  Agent ;  P.  H.  Wyckoff", 
General  Freight  Agent.  The  directors  are  E.  0. 
Knight,  F.  S.,  Lathrop,  F.  A.  Potts,  J.  J.  Barnes, 
G.  G.  Haven,  Edward  Clark,  Benjamin  Williamson, 
John  Kean,  and  F.  T.  Frelinghuysen. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  company  is  $18,563,200, 
while  the  value  of  the  road  and  equipments  is  over 
$20,000,000.  For  the  year  ending  Dec.  31,  1879,  the 
balance  net  earnings  was  $1,371,579.64. 

The  stations  upon  this  road  within  Somerset  and 
Hunterdon  Counties  ar6  Boulid  Brook  (where  connec- 
tion is  made  with  the  "  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
New  Line,"'  and  with  stages  for  New  Brunswick), 
Finderne,  Sbnierville  (connecting  with  the  "  South 
Branch  Bailroad,"  to  Flemington),  Baritan,  North 
Branch,  White  House,  Lebanon,  Annandale  (Clin- 
ton), High  Bridge  (connecting  with  the  "High  Bridge 
Branch,"  to  German  Valley,  Chester,  and  Port  Oram, 
etc.).  Glen  Gardner,  Junction  ("where  connection , is 
made  with  the  "  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western 
Railroad"),  Asbury,  and  Valley.  From  the  last- 
named  station  the  road  crosses  the  southern  corner  of 
Warren  County  to  Phillipsburg  and  Easton,  where 
-  the  "Lehigh  and  Susquehanna  division"  of  the  road, 
with  its  half-dozen  branches,  commences. 

SOUTH  BRANCH  EAILBOAD. 

This  road,  a  branch  of  the  "  Central  Bailroad  of 
New  Jersey,"  extend^  from  Somerville  to  Flemington. 
It  was  chartered  in  1870,  and  its  construction  com- 
pleted soon  thereaftej.  Its  length  is  fifteen  and  a 
half  miles,  and  its  cost  was  $441,868.87.  Its  capital 
stock  is  $438,300 ;  its  floating  debt,  $3568.87.  0.  D. 
Hayne  and  W.  F.  Rand  are  the  conductors  on  this 
road ;  the  fortiler  is  a  veteran  in  railroad  service, — 
twenty-six  years  "'on  the  rail,"  and  mostly  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Central. 

The  stations  on' this  line  are  Somerville  (connecting 
with  the  main  line,  east  and  west),  Ricefield,  Flagg- 
town,.Neshanic,  Three  Bridges,  and  Flemington, — all 
within  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties. 

THE   HIGH    BRIDGE  KAILROAD. 

In  1873  a  charter  was  procured  for  the  construction 
of  a  railroad  from  High  Bridge,  in  Hunterdon  County, 
to  Chester,  in  Morris  County,  and  to  connect  with  tlae 
New  Jersey  Central  at  the  first-named  point.  This 
was  afterwards  consolidated  with  the  "  Longwood 
Valley  Railroad."  Work  was  commenced  on  the 
High  Bridge  road  in  1874,  and  completed  in  1876  to 
Port  Oram,  in  Morris  County,  twenty-five  and  one- 


fourth  miles.  It  is  coriteriiplated'  to  extend  it  east- 
ward to  the  Hudson  River.  The  first  president  of 
this  corporation  was  Lewis  H.  Taylor,  of  High  Bridge. 
This  road  has  short  branches  to  Chester,  four  and  one- 
half  miles,  and  to  Hacklebarney  Mines,  one  and  one- 
fourth  miles.  The  statistics  of  this  road  show :  Cost, 
$972,830.03  ;  capital  stock,  $850,000.  This  line  is  also 
operated  by  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey. 

THE   DELAWAEE  AND   BOUND   BEOOK   EAILEOAD. 
THE  NEW  YORK  AND  PHILADELPHIA  NEW  LINE. 

The  history  of  this  road  is  one  of  unusual  interest. 
In  1867,  Henry  M.  Hamilton,  Esq.,  of  New  York, 
conceived  the  idea  of  building  a  new  line  of  railroad 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  He  removed  to 
New  Jersey  for  that  purpose  and  entered  on  the  un- 
dertaking, which  only  succeeded  after  a  tremendous 
struggle  between  the  popular  will  as  it  centred  in  him 
and  the  United  Railroads  of  New  Jersey,— a  struggle ' 
which  will  ever  be  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the 
history  of  this  State.  From  the  outset  the  new  line, 
which  crosses  the  southern  part  of  Somerset  County, 
was  a  very  popular  undertaking,  and  its  conflict  en- 
listed general  sympathy.  Mr.  Hamilton  began  with 
the  Attleborough  Railroad  Company,  a  corporation 
chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  April 
2,  1860,  its  charter  being  renewed  March  24,  1868. 
It  was  authorized  to  build  a  railroad  from  Philadel- 
phia to  the  Delaware  River  above  Trenton.  In  order 
to  be  able  to  withstand  the  opposition  of  the  Camden 
and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  which,  with  every 
resource  of  money  and  influence,  he  was  well  aware 
would  throw  its  whole  power  against  every  step 
of  his  advance,  he  proceeded  to  procure  amend- 
ments to  the  charter  of  the  Attleborough  Railroad 
Company  from  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  au- 
thorizing the  increase  of' its  capital,  so  that  it  could 
hold  sufficient  to  build  the  whole  road  from  Philadel- 
phia to  New  York,  empowering  it  also  to  purchase 
the  stock  of  railroad  corporations  in  New  Jer.sey. 
Thus  authorized,  he  procured  the  purchase  of  con- 
trolling interests  in  the  Yardleyville  Bridge  Company, 
the  Millstone  and  Trenton  Railroad  Company  (a  body 
corporate  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  under  an  act 
approved  April  3,  1867),  the  Peapack  and  Plainfield 
Railroad  Company  (under  acts  approved  March  30, 
1855,  and  March  11,  1864),  the  Elizabeth  and  New 
Providence  Railroad  Company  (under  act  approved 
March  22,  1867),  and  afterwards  the  Narrow  Gauge 
Railway  Company  (under  act  approved  March  22, 
1871),  these  all  being  corporate  bodies  existing  under 
legal  charters  in  the  State  of  New  .  Jersey,  with 
full  powers  to  build  their  respective  roads,  and  so 
situated  as  to  connect  and  form,  when  built,  a  con- 
tinuous line  from  New  York,  with  the  Attleborough 
Company,  to  Philadelphia. 

Another  thing  was'  necessary  besides  filling  up  the 
links  in  the  chain  from  New  York  t6  Philadelphia, 
and  that  was  the  pi'iltection  of -the  Stock  of  this  new 


INTERNAL  ITdPROVEMENTS. 


113 


enterprise  from  being  bought  up  by  the  opposition  or 
controlled  in  any  way  in  its  interest.    To  this  end,  he 
had  the  Attleborough  Railroad  Company  made  the 
parent  company,  with  its  name  changed  by  law  to 
"  The  National  Railway  Company,"  and,  pursuant  to 
authority  granted  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania, 
he  had  its  stock  arranged  into  two  classes,  common 
and  preferred,  each  being  equal  in  amount  and  having 
equal  privileges,  except  that  the  preferred  stock  was 
entitled  to  receive  ten  per  cent,  dividends  out  of  the 
net  earnings  of  the  road  before  the  common  stock 
could    receive  anything.      He   also    had    authority 
granted  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  to  place 
the  common  stock  in  trust, — that  is,  to  transfer  the 
power  to  vote  it  to  a  trustee  by  a  deed  of  trust, — the 
conditions  of  the  trust  being  such  that  no  vote  could 
be  cast  on  it  in  the  interest  of  the  Camden  and  Am- 
boy  or  any  other  opposition  company.     This  would 
put  forever  safely  out  of  the  reach  of  the  control  of 
anybody  hostile  to  the  interests  of  the  new  company 
one-half  of  its  entire  voting  stock.     The  other  half — 
the  preferred — could  be  sold  to  any  purchaser  without 
risk  to  the  control.     It  could  only  be  obtained  at  its 
par  value  in  cash,  and  its  proceeds  could  be  used  only 
towards  the  building  of  the  road.     The  equitable  in- 
terest or  money  value  of  the  common  stock  was  not 
conveyed  to  the  trustee,  being  reserved  for  the  benefit 
of  the  company.     This  common  stock  was  used  in 
buying  up  the  control  of  the  New  Jersey  corporations 
which  were  needed  to  make  the  line  from  the  Dela- 
ware Eiver  to  New  York,  it  having  been  exchanged 
for  their  stock.     This  had  a  twofold  result :  it  com- 
pleted the  line,  and  it  was  made  full-paid  by  the  ex- 
change, so  that  it  could  be  placed  in  trust.     The  deed 
of  trust  provided  that  any  attempt  to  vote  it  in  the 
interest  of  any  competing  line  should  be  void,  and 
the  holder  of  a  single  share  of  it  was  given  full,  real, 
and  equitable  power  to  enforce  this  provision  as  com- 
pletely as  if  he  were  a  party  to  the  contract. 

The  purpose  of  this  provision  was  not  clearly  seen 
at  the  time,  even  by  the  members  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession generally  in  New  Jersey,  it  being  the  first 
time  it  was  ever  introduced  for  the  protection  of  a 
railroad  company.  Mr.  Hamilton  had  worked  out 
this  application  of  the  principle  himself,  after  having 
exhausted  all  the  possibilities  of  protection  otherwise. 
He  had'  consulted  able  lawyers,  among  them  Prof. 
Theodore  W.  Dwight,  of  the  Columbia  Law  School  of 
New  York,  as  to  the  possibility  of  an  irrevocable 
proxy,  and  whatever  other  forms' of  protection  against 
outside  control  could  be  suggested;  and  this  plan  was 
finally  approved,  and  adopted  as  the  only  one  reli- 
able and  satisfactory.  It  was  made  the  occasion  of  a 
great  cry  of  fraud,  and  much  odium  against  Mr. 
Hamilton  was  raised  in  consequence  of  its  misappre- 
hension, it  being  made  to  appear  to  the  public  as  a 
very  great  bug-bear.  It  was  in  reality  the  key  to  the 
whole,  position,  and' was  so  essential  as  a  means  of 
protection  that  but  for  it  the  enterprise  could  never 


have  been  carried  through.  .This  arrangement  has 
been  copied  by  other  corporations  since,  notably  the 
Pittsburgh  and  Lake  Erie  Railroad  Company,  which 
has  used  it  for  the  same  purpose, — ^to  protect  itself 
from  the  control  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany. 

The  National  Railway  Company  still  lacked  the 
power  to  execute  a  single  mortgage  on  the  whole  line 
from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  and  capitalists  re- 
quired that  legislative  authority  to  do  this  should  be 
secured  as  a  condition  precedent  to  their  putting  in 
the  money  to  build  the  road.  A  bill  was  therefore 
introduced  into  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  in 
1870  supplementary  to  the  charter  of  the  Millstone 
and  Trenton  Railroad  Company,  authorizing  that 
company  to  consolidate  with  the  National  Railway 
Company,  so  as  to  give  the'  required  mortgage  pii  the 
whole  line ;  but  it  was  defeated  'by  the  .powerful  op- 
position of  the  Camden  and  Aniboy  Railroad  Com- 
pany after  a  two  months'  content  in  the  Legislature. 
From  1870  to  1872  the  time  was  spent  in  endeavoring 
to  obviate  the  difiiculty  growing  out  of  the  inability 
to  make  a  consolidated  mortgage.  At  length,  in  the 
session  of  the  Legislature  for  1872,  the  Stanhope 
charter  was  obtained,  which  was  approved  by  the 
Governor,  March  13,  1872,  having  passed  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature  without  opposition, 
though  it  contained  a  clause  providing  for  this.neces- 
sity,  this  clause  having  escaped  thei  notice  of  the 
agents  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company, 
who  were  guarding  their  interests  in  the  Legislature. 
This  charter,  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  the  first 
lawyers  of  New  Jersey  and  other  States, — among 
them  Hon.  Cortlandt  Parker,  Attorney-General  Rob- 
ert Gilchrist,  Judge  William  Strong  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  all  of  whom  gave  written 
opinions,  together  with  Hon.  Charles  Gibbons  and 
Messrs.  Bullitt  and  Dixon  of  Philadelphia, — con- 
tained the  necessary  power  to  unite  in  one  corporation 
all  the  franchises  under  which  the  new  line  was  to  be 
constructed,  rendering  them  competent  to  execute  a 
consolidated  mortgage  and  to  build  and  operate  the 
road.  The  different  New  Jersey  corporations  were 
therefore  merged  into  the  Stanhope  Railroad  Com- 
pany, and  that  company  leased  to  the  National  Rail- 
way Company  so  much  of  the  united  franchises  as 
was  necessary  to  extend  it  to  Jersey  City  and  make 
one  mortgage  on  the  whole  line. 

Such  eminent  counsel  having  approved  the  indenture 
as  competent  for  the  purpose,  capitalists  willingly  en- 
gaged to  furnish  the  funds  for  building  the  road. 
Contracts  for  construction  were  let ;  the  grading  of  the 
road-bed  was  vigorously  commenced  along  the  whole 
line,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  earthwork  and 
masonry  done  in  a  short  time. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  which  had 
then  leased  the  works  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy 
Railroad  Company,  applied  to  the  courts  for  an  in- 
junction restraining  this  new  and  competing  line  from 


114 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


completing  their  work.  Judge  Sharswood,  before 
whom  it  came,  notified  counsel  of  the  National  Rail- 
way Company,  after  argument  on  both  sides,  that  he 
intended  to  deny  the  injunction,  suggesting,  however, 
that  it  would  expedite  a  decision  in  the  Supreme 
Court  if  the  company  would  accept  an  injunction 
pro  forma, — i.e.,  for  the  sake  of  form, — and  thus  be 
able  to  carry  it  up  themselves,  so  as  to  secure  a  final 
decision  at  once.  They  accepted  the  injunction,  and 
it  was  granted.  While  these  proceedings  were  pend- 
ing, the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  applied  to 
the  Court  of  Chancery  of  New  Jersey  for  an  injunction 
against  the  National  Railway  Company  in  this  State, 
on  the  ground  of  their  still  possessing  the  monopoly 
of  all  carrying  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 
At  the  original  incorporation  of  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad  Company  it  had  been  secured  the 
monopoly  of  all  transportation  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia.  The  legislative  enactment  of 
March  2,  1832,  by  which  this  was  accomplished,  pro- 
vides "  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  at  any  time  during 
the  charter  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Com- 
pany to  construct  any  other  railroad  in  New  Jersey, 
without  its  consent,  which  shall  be  intended  or  used  for 
the  transportation  of  passengers  or  merchandise  be- 
tween the  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  or  to 
compete  in  business  with  the  Camden  and  Amboy 
Railroad." 

This  monopoly  was  complete,  and  in  time  made  the 
Camden  and  Amboy  overpowering  in  the  State,  and 
so  strong  as  to  be  felt  in  the  framing  of  the  laws,  in 
the  choosing  of  the  Governors  and  members  of  the 
Legislature,  and  even  of  the  judges  of  the  courts. 
This  had  at  length  become  intolerable  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  every  effbrt  had  been  made  to  shake  ofi'  its 
tyranny,  but  in  vain.*  Henry  C.  Carey,  the  distin- 
guished political  economist  of  Philadelphia  in  those 
days,  who  had  done  his  utmost  to  curb  the  power  of 
the  monopoly  and  failed,  said  to  Mr.  Hamilton  re- 
garding his  enterprise,  "  Young  man,  that  is  a  noble 
thing  to  do  ;  but  let  me  tell  you  that,  however  well 
you  lay  your  plans,  you  will  never  get  through.  Any 
body  of  men  you  may  gather  around  you  will  some 
day  sell  you  out."  It  was  to  prevent  this  that  Mr. 
Hamilton  first  began  his  search  after  a  means  of  pro- 
tection, which  search  ended  in  his  deed  of  trust. 

As  a  means  of  ending  this  monopoly,  however,  a 
way  was  found  in  1854  for  securing  a  compact  be- 
tween the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  and  the  joint 
companies,  whereby  those  exclusive  privileges  were 
to  cease  in  1869,  and  it  was  then  enacted  that  no  such 
claim  should  ever  be  made  after  that  date.  The  legis- 
lative act  respecting  this  compact  provided  "  that 
after  the  first  day  of  January,  1869,  it  shall  be  lawful, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  and 
Delaware  and  Raritan  Companies,  to  construct  any 


*  A  more  full  account  of  this  monopoly  and  its  power  may  be  found 
n  the  North  American  Review  of  April,  1867. 


railroad  or  railroads  in  this  State  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  passengers  and  merchandise  between  New 
York  and  Philadelphia,  or  to  compete  in  business  with 
the  railroads  of  the  joint  companies";  and  this  act 
the  joint  companies  formally  accepted,  April  17, 1854, 
having  received  in  return  certain  advantages  for  which 
they  were  willing  to  relinquish  the  monopoly. 

Nevertheless,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
as  the  successors  of  the  joint  companies,  claimed  be- 
fore the  chancellor  that  until  the  Legislature  should 
iu  express  words  authorize  a  new  company  to  comr 
pete  with  the  joint  companies,  it  had  exclusive  right 
of  transportation  between  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia. The  National  Railway  Company  was  defended 
by  some  of  the  ablest  legal  counsel  in  the  State, — 
Judge  Robert  S.  Green,  of  Elizabeth,  Hon.  Cortlandt 
Parker,  Hon.  Robert  Gilchrist,  then  attorney-general 
of  the  State,  and  Judge  J.  G.  Shipman, — who  showed 
the  clear  right  of  the  new  company  to  compete ;  yet 
Vice-Ohancellor  Amzi  Dodd,  before  whom  the  appli- 
cation for  an  injunction  came,  granted  it,  Jan.  14, 
1873. 

This  decision  practically  ended  the  contest  in  the 
courts  and  left  the  new  company  powerless  to  pro- 
ceed, but  it  aroused  public  indignation  and  organized 
a  sentiment  of  opposition  to  the  monopoly  which  grew 
in  strength  and  boldness  until  it  culminated  in  a  free 
railroad  law. 

When  the  Legislature  of  1873  convened,  it  was 
found  that  the  Lower  House  was  largely  in  favor  of  a 
competing  railroad,  and  of  granting  the  National 
Railroad  Company  whatever  legislation  might  be 
necessary  to  give  it  undoubted  right  to  build  a  new 
railroad  between  the  two  great  cities  of  the  continent. 
The  Senate  was  nearly  equally  divided,  with  the 
spirit  of  monopoly  in  the  preponderance.  The  friends 
of  the  National  Railway 'Company,  finding  special 
legislation  impossible  in  face  of  the  opposition  in  the 
Senate,  drafted  a  general  railroad  law  and  -secured  its 
passage.  Immediately  upon  its  approval,  April  2, 
1873,  the  New  York  and  Philadelphia  Railroad  Com- 
pany was  organized  under  its  provisions,  and  began 
anew  the  eifort  to  carry  forward  its  work.  But  it  was 
found  that  capital,  which  was  willing  to  embark  in 
the  enterprise  under  a  special  charter,  hesitated  to 
take  the  risks  under  an  untried  general  law.  The 
panic  of  1873  soon  followed,  and  the  company,  dis- 
couraged by  the  difficulties  still  surrounding  it,  em- 
barrassed by  the  expense  of  the  long  fight  it  had  sus- 
tained, and  depressed  by  the  effect  of  the  panic,  sold 
its  rights,  property,  and  franchises,  in  May,  1874,  to 
the  Delaware  and  Bound  Brook  Railroad  Company, 
a  new  corporation  organized  in  the  same  general  in- 
terest, for  the  same  purposes,  to  build  over  the  same 
ground,  and  including  several  of  the  same  men. 
Most  of  these  men  were  Philadelphia  capitalists  and 
connected  with  the  North  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  who  were  backed  by  that  corporation.  The 
other  obstacles  having  all  been  removed,  the  work 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS. 


115 


was  rapidly  completed,  and  in  May,  1876,  the  road 
was  opened  for  travel  in  time  for  the  Centennial  Ex- 
position of  that  year. 

It  is  equipped  and  operated  by  the  Philadelphia 
and  Beading  Railroad  Company,  upon  a  lease  of  nine 
hundred  and  ninety  years  from  May  1,  1879,  at  an 
annual  rental  of  the  amount  of  interest  on  its  bonded 
and  floating  debt,  and  a  dividend  on  its  capital  stock 
at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  first  two 
years,  of  seven  per  cent,  per  annum  for  the  next  two 
years,  and  of  eight  per  cent,  per  annum  thereafter. 

To  Mr.  Hamilton  is  due  the  credit  of  this  whole 
undertaking,  as  it  was  by  his  enterprise  it  was  pro- 
jected, by  his  foresight  it  was  protected,  by  his  skill 
it  was  directed,  and  by  his  unflinching  perseverance 
it  was  carried  through  and  the  courage  of  its  friends 
rallied  again  and  again  after  repeated  defeats.  To 
him,  indeed,  is  due  the  passage  of  the  free  railroad 
law  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  liberation  of  the  State 
from  the  curse  of  special  legislation,  and  from  monop- 
oly rule  to  a  large  extent.  Besides  the  legal  gentle- 
men already  mentioned, — to  wit.  Judge  Green,  Hon. 
Cortlandt  Parker,  Attorney-General  Gilchrist,  Judge 
Shipman,  Judge  Strong,  Hon.  Charles  Gibbons, 
Messrs.  Bullitt  and  Dixon, — a  number  of  other  gen- 
tlemen associated  with  him  deserve  honorable  men- 
tion, a  few  only  of  whom  can  be  even  named.  Among 
them  are  Hon.  William  M.  Meredith,  of  Philadel- 
phia ;  Algernon  S.  Cadwallader,  of  Yardleyville,  Pa. ; 
Samuel  K.  Wilson  and  Alfred  S.  Livingston,  of  Tren- 
ton ;  Henry  Lewis,  Jacob  Eiegel,  and  James  Gowan, 
Esq.,  of  Philadelphia, — all  of  whom  stood  manfully 
by  when  the  storm  of  obloquy  was  overwhelming  and 
the  obstacles  apparently  insurmountable.  Edward 
C.  Knight,  Esq.,  the  president  of  the  Delaware  and 
Bound  Brook  Railroad  Company,  and  his  associates 
of  that  corporation,  are  deserving  of  great  credit  for 
their  success  and  the  character  of  the  work  they  have 
achieved,  which  is  surpassed  by  no  other  of  the  kind 
in  the  world,  and  is  an  honor  to  any  body  of  men. 

This  road,  popularly  known  as  the  "  Bound  Brook" 
or  "  Air  Line"  Railroad,  has  a  double  track,  is  well 
built,  and  is  finely  outfitted  in  rolling  stock.  It  ex- 
tends from  Philadelphia  .to  Bound  Brook,  N.  J., 
where  it  intersects  with  the  Central  Railroad  of  New 
Jersey,  continuing  thence  to  New  York  City.  The 
cost  of  the  road  and  equipments  was  $3,138,056.64; 
capital  stock  paid  in,  $1,584,400;  bonded  debt, 
$1,500,000;  floating  debt,  $299,600.  Its  receipts  for 
1879  were  $310,469.31,  and  expenditures  for  the  same 
year  were  $167,213.83.  E.  C.  Knight  is  the  present 
officiating  president. 

The  stations  of  this  line  within  Somerset  County 
are  Bound  Brook,  Weston,  Hamilton,  Van  Aken, 
Harlingen,  SkUlman,  and  Stoutsburg. 

UNITED    NEW   JEESBT   EAILEOAD    AND    CANAL    COMPANY. 

This  corporation  embraces  quite  a  network  of  rail- 
roads in  this  State,  as  also  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 


Canal.  It  includes  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad, 
with  its  many  branches  and  connections,  also  the 
"Millstone  and  New  Brunswick,"  the  "Belvidere 
Delaware,"  and  the  "  Flemington"  Railroads,  all  ex- 
cept the  first  named  being  wholly  or  in  part  within 
the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1867,  Hamilton  Fish 
and  Ashbel  Welch,  with  others,  effected  the  consoli- 
dation of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  Company  with  the 
"joint  companies."  This  consolidation  was  in  the 
form  of  a  contract,  drawn  up  by  Joseph  P.  Bradley, 
the  counsel  of  the  joint  companies,  and  was  validated 
by  act  of  the  Legislature  approved  Feb.  27,  1867. 
Although  these  roads  were  now  operated  by  a  joint 
board,  the  combination  was  at  first  rather  that  of  an 
association  or  partnership  of  the  several  roads  con- 
cerned than  as  a  unit;  but  in  1872  (March  14th),  by 
an  act  of  the  Legislature,  they  were  merged  into  one 
corporation,  henceforward  known  as  the  "  United 
New  Jersey  Railroad  and  Canal  Company."  The 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  subsequently  took 
possession  of  the  roads  under  their  lease,  although 
the  stock  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  united  com- 
panies. John  A.  Anderson,  of  Lambertville,  who 
had  been  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Belvidere 
Delaware  Railroad,  became  superintendent  of  what 
has  since  been  known  as  the  "  Belvidere  Delaware 
Division  of  the  United  Railroads  of  New  Jersey." 
This  position  he  still  holds. 

The  "  Belvidere  Delaware  ■Railroad"  was  completed 
to  Lambertville  in  1850,  to  Milford  in  February,  1853, 
and  finished  in  1854.  It  was  leased  to  the  United 
New  Jersey  Railroad  and  Canal  Company,  Feb.  15, 
1876,  and  assigned  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany March  7th  of  the  same  year.  It  has  a  length  of 
sixty-eight  miles,  and  extends  from  Trenton,  N.  J^,  to 
Manunka  Chunk,  N.  J.,  where  it  intersects  the  Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad.  It  is  laid 
upon  the  east  bank  of  the  Delaware  River,  whose 
windings  it  follows,  and  gives  the  western  part  of 
Hunterdon  County  railroad  communication  from  its 
southern  to  its  northern  boundary.  Its  capital  stock, 
paid  in,  is  $994,050,  its  bonded  debt  is  $3,444,500,  and 
its  floating  debt  (being  special  bonds)  is  $156,081.77. 
The  cost  .of  the  road  and  equipments  has  been 
$4,246,638.92.  The  receipts  from  all  soiirces  for  the 
year  1879  were  $718,152.31,  and  the  expenditures  for 
the  same  time  $454,900.11,  leaving  as  net  earnings 
$263,252.20.  Ashbel  Welch  is  its  president,  and  Hugh 
B.  Ely  secretary  and  treasurer. 

THE  FLEMINGTON  EAILROAD  AND  TRANSPORTATION  COM- 
PANY, 

which  is  a  part  of  the  railway  chain  above  mentioned 
as  now  operated  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany, was  constructed  in  1854.  It  runs  from  Flem- 
ington, in  a  southwest  direction,  to  Lambertville, 
twelve  miles,  where  it  connects  with  the  Belvidere 
Delaware  Railroad  both  north  and  south.    This  line 


116 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


is  wholly  within  Hunterdon  County.  Its  receipts  for 
1879  were  $10,593.08,  and  expenses  $17,576.45. 

Ashbel  Welch,  of  Lambertville,  is  president,  and 
Hugh  B.  Ely  treasurer  and  secretary.  The  cost  of 
the  road  and  equipments  was  $290,653.87;  capital 
stock  paid  in,  $150,000 ;  bonded  debt,  $250,000. 

The  Belvidere  Delaware  Eailroad  Company  and  the 
Flemington  Railroad  and  Transportation  Company 
still  have  their  own  oflBcers  and  boards  of  directors, 
though  those  officers  and  directors  have  no  control  of 
the  working  of  these  roads.  They  have  cognizance  of 
all  things  that  have  not  passed  under  the  lease, — for 
example,  making  loans  secured  by  mortgage,  and 
agreements  of  a  permanent  character. 

tHK  BASTON   AND    AMBOT   KAILEOAD   COMPANT. 

This  road  extends  from  the  middle  of  the  Delaware 
River,  at  Phillipsburg,  eastward  across  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Counties,  to  Perth  Amboy,  a  distance  of 
sixty  miles,  and  is  popularly  known  as  the  "  Packer 
Road,"  Mr.  Asa  Packer  having  been  from  the  first 
largely  interested  in  it.*  It  was  leased,  and  is  now 
operated,  by  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company, 
at  an  annual  rental  of  the  cost  of  maintenance,  taxes, 
and  interest  on  its  securities. 

Capital  stock  paid  in,  $5,000,000;  bonded  debt, 
$5,000,000;  floating  debt,  $387,413.78;  cost  of  the 
road  and  appendages,  etc.,  $9,412,651.63.  The  re- 
ceipts and  expenses  of  the  Easton  and  Amboy  Rail- 
road are  not  kept  separately  by  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  Company,  and  the  exact  figures  cannot  be 
given,  but  the  following  is  an  estimate  for  1879: 
Income  from  passengers,  $22,460.99;  from  freight, 
$290,140.88;  from  coal, .$665,902.34;  total, $978,604.21. 
The  expenditure  for  1879  was  $538,177.31. 

Charles  Hartshorne  is  the  present  (1880)  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  this  road. 

THE  MERCEK  AND  SOMEESET  EAILWAT  COMPANT. 

This  road,  constructed  in  1870,  extended  from  Som- 
erset Junction,  on  the  line  of  the  Belvidere  Delaware 
Railroad,  to  East  Millstone,  in  Somerset  County,— a 
distance  of  twenty-two  and  a  half  miles,— where  it 
connected  with  the  Millstone  and  New  Brunswick 
Railroad.  It  was  leased  to  the  United  New  Jersey 
Railroad  and  Canal  Company,  and  the  lease  by  them 
assigned  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
who  equipped. and  operated  the  road.  On  account 
of  default  in  payment  of  interest  on  the  bonded  debt, 
Strickland  Kneass,  trustee  of  the  mortgage  securing 
the  payment  of  the  same,  caused  the  road,  with  its  ap- 
purtenances and  franchises,  to  be  sold  at  public  auc- 
tion,   n  Trenton,  Nov.  20, 1879,  when  it  was  purchased 


■  *  It  is  to  a  .Somerset  County  man,  William  H.  Gatzmer,  that  Now  Jer- 
sey is  largely  iudebted  for  the  Buccessfiil  issue  of  this  undertaking.  His 
oonnection  with  the  Lehigh  Valley  Kailroad  commenoed  in  1853,  and  as 
one  of  its  first  directors  (he  continued  until  1880),  and  later  m  consult- 
ing manager,  he  was  instrumental  in  enabling  Judge  Packer  to  secure 
and  retain  for  many  years  the  majority  of  the  whole  capital  stock  of  the 
company,  which  gave  him  the  controlling  management  of  the  road. 


in  the  interest  of  the  bondholders  by  G.  Morris  Dor- 
rance  for  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  lessees  have  ter- 
minated the  lease  and  ceased  operating  the  road. 
Within  a  year  past  therails  have  been  taken  up  and 
the  route  vacated. 

THE   MILLSTONE    AND    NEW    BRUNSWICK    EAILEOAD    COM 
PANT. 

This  road  extends  from  Millstone,  in  Somerset 
County,  eastward  six  and  three-fourths  miles,  to  New 
Brunswick,  in  Middlesex.  It  was  subsequently  leased 
to  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  Company,  and  ulti- 
mately passed  (1871)  into  the  hands  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company  at  an  annual  rental  of 
six  per  cent.,  by  which  corporation  it  was  equipped 
and  is  now  operated.  A.  L.  Dennis  is  president. 
Cost  of  the  road  and  equipments,  $113,404.42;  re- 
ceipts for  1879,  $6802.57 ;  expenditures,  $9824.71 ; 
paid  in  dividends  during  the  year,  in  cash,  $2866. 

THE   WEST   LINE   EAILROAD 

was  surveyed  about  1868,  and  opened  for  travel  a  few 
years  later.  It  runs  from  Bernardsville,  Somerset  Co.,. 
through  the  townships  of  Passaic  in  Morris  and  New 
Providence  in  Union  County,  to  Summit,  where  it 
connects  with  the  Morris  and  Essex  Division  of  the 
Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad. 

EOCKT   HILL   EAILROAD   AND   TRANSPORTATION   COMPANT. 

This  road  extends  from  Rocky  Hill  to  Monmouth 
Junction,  Middlesex  Co.,  a  distance  of  six  and  one- 
half  miles.  Capital  stock,  paid  in,  $45,995;  cost  of 
road  and  equipments,  $45,005.74.  D.  H.  Mount  is 
president.  It  is  leased  to  the  "  United  Railroad  and 
Canal  Companies,"  at  an  annual  rental  of  six  per 
cent,  on  the  capital  stock  held  by  individual  stock- 
holders. Income  for  1879,  $3410.52;  expenditures, 
$11,384.62. 


CHAPTER  X. 


HUKrTEEDOBT  AHD   SOMEKSET    COUKTTIES  IN 
THE  WAB  OF  THE  BEBELilOIT. 

The  Patriotism  of  the  People  of  Hunterdon  and  Somei-set— The  First 
Volunteers,  Three  Months'  Men— ^amhertviUe  the  First  to  Respond 
to  the  Governor's  Call  for  Troops- Services  in  the  Field  of  the  New 
Jersey  Brigade— Roster  of  the  Companies  from  Hunterdon  County. 

The  part  taken  by  the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and 
Somerset  in  the  war  which  was  waged  from  1861  to 
1865  for  the  suppression  of  rebellion  and  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Union,  was  most  honorable  and  patri- 
otic. At  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  of  the  attack 
on  Port  Sumter,  in  April,  1861,  there  were  seen  in 
these  counties  the  same  demonstrations  of  loyalty  to 
the  Union  and  of  determination  to  crush  out  treason 
at  every  hazard,  the  same  patriotic  meetings  and  flag- 
raismgs,  the  same  disposition  of  young  men  to  volun- 
teer and  of  old  men  to  encourage  and  aid  them  in 
doing   so,   as   were    found  everywhere  in  the  other 


HUNTEEDON   AND.  SOMERSET   COUNTIES   IN  THE  REBELLION. 


117 


counties  of  the  patriotic  State  of  New  Jersey.  And 
when  the  Union  armies  melted  away  in  the  fervent 
heat  of  battle,  and  call  after  call  was  made  for 
men  to  take  the  places  of  those  who  had  fallen,  there 
was  shown  here  the  same  determination  to  stand  by 
the  government  at  whatever  cost ;  and  the  people  and 
the  local  authorities  with  the  same  alacrity  voted  the 
moneys  which  were  called  for  to  accomplish  the  de- 
sired end. 

From  the  time  when  the  President's  first  call  for 
men  was  made  until  the  time  when  the  death  of  the 
great  Rebellion  made  further  calls  unnecessary,  the 
men  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties  responded 
to  each  appeal  with  a  patriotic  devotion  not  excelled 
in  any  part  of  the  State  or  of  the  Union.  The  names 
of  these  soldiers  are  found  on  the  rolls  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  regiments  of  this  and  other  States  ;  and  such 
of  those  regiments  as  were  most  noticeable  for  the 
number  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  County  men 
serving  in  their  ranks  are  especially  mentioned  in  the 
following  pages,  in  historical  sketches  of  their  organ- 
ization and  services  in  the  great  war  for  the  Union. 

THE    FIRST   VOLUNTEERS.— THREE    MONTHS'    MEN. 

On  the  15th  of  April, — two  days  after  the  fall  of 
Fort  Sumter, — President  Lincoln  issued  his  first  call 
for  troops,  the  number  required  being  seventy-five 
thousand,  of  which  number  the  quota  of  New  Jersey 
was  four  regiments,  of  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
men  each, — a  total  of  three  thousand  one  hundred 
and  eighty, — to  be  detached  from  the  militia  of  the 
State.  On  receipt  of  the  requisition,  on  the  17th, 
Governor  Charles  S.  Olden  issued  his  proclamation  di- 
recting all  individuals  or  organizations  willing  to  volun- 
teer to  report  themselves  within  twenty  days ;  and  at 
the  same  time  orders  were  issued  to  the  four  generals 
of  division  for  each  to  detail  one  full  regiment  for 
the  service,  and  immediately  to  proceed  to  the  organ- 
ization of  the  reserve  militia.  Under  the  orders, 
volunteers  were  to  be  accepted  for  three  months'  ser- 
vice ;  but  if  a  sufficient  number  of  these  did  not  of- 
fer, the  deficiency  was  to  be  made  up  by  draft  from 
the  militia.  It  was  not,  however,  found  necessaiy  to 
adopt  the  latter  alternative.  Volunteers  aggregating 
more  than  the  required  number*  were  easily  obtained, 
and  to  this  force  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties 
contributed  their  full  proportion,  Hunterdon  furnish- 
ing three  companies  to  the  Third  Regiment  (three 
months)  and  Somerset  sending  a  large  number  of 
men,  who,  however,  did  not  form  any  full  companies 
as  distinctively  of  the  county,  but  enlisted,  according 
to  their  fancy,  in  various  companies  of  the  several 
regiments. 

The  first  regimental  offer  was  made  by  the  First 

*  Within  a  few  days  over  one  bundled  companies  of  volunteers — equal 
to  ten  thousand  men — had  offered  their  services  under  the  Governor's 
proclamation,  and  even  this  number  would  have  been  greatly  increased 
butfor  the  prevalent  belief  that  the  quota  would  be  filleri  by  the  brigade, 
already  organized. — FosUr^s  New  Jersey  and  llie  RebeUkni. 


Regiment  of  the  Hunterdon  brigade  on  the  day  follow- 
ing the  appearance  of  the  Governor's  proclamation.! 
The  letter  to  the  Governor  preferring  the  services  of 
this  organization  was  as  follows  : 

"  Lambeetville,  N.  J.,  April  18, 18G1. 
"GoTERNOE  Chakles  S.  Olden  : 

"  Dear  Sir,— The  Tirst  Eegiment  of  the  Hunterdon  Brigade,  at  this 
time  numbering  about  two  hundred  men;  rank  and  file,  respectfally  ten- 
der their  services  to  the  government  to  aid  in  putting  down  the  present  re- 
bellion.   We  are  ready  to  obey  your  command. 

"  V.  R.  Mathews, 
"  LixnUnant-CoTmid  of  the  First  Regiment  Hunterdon  Brigade.  " 

The  troops  were  raised  with  such  expedition  that 
on  the  last  day  of  April  the  quota  of  the  State  was 
complete,  and  the  brigade  was  mustered  into  the 
State  service  and  placed  under  command  of  Brig.- 
Gen.t  Theodore  Runyon,  with  Maj.  Alexander  V. 
Bonnell,  of  Hunterdon  County,  as  brigade  inspector. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  Governor  Olden  sent  a  special 
messenger  to  Gen.  B.  F.  Butler,  then  in  command  at 
Annapolis,  Md.,  requesting  him  to  prepare  to  receive 
the  New  Jersey  brigade.  At  the  same  time  he 
sent  another  messenger  to  "Washington  to  notify  the 
Secretary  of  War  that  the  State  authorities  of  New 
Jersey  would  furnish  their  volunteers  with  the  ne- 
cessary arms  and  accoutrements,  which  the  United 
States  government  was  at  that  time  unable  to  do. 
The  Governor  also  telegraphed  the  War  Department 
saying  that  the  troops  from  this  State  would  move 
forward  on  the  1st,  2d,  and  '3d  of  May,  and  asking 
that  all  possible  measures  might  be  taken  to  insure 
their  efficiency  and  promote  their  comfort. 

As  railroad  communication  with  Baltimore  had 
been  severed  by  reason  of  the  destruction  of  the 
bridges  over  Gunpowder  Creek  and  other  streams,  it 
was  decided  to  send  the  New  Jersey  troops  forward  by 
water,  by  way  of  Annapolis,  Md.  They  were  accord- 
ingly embarked  on  fourteen  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal  propellers  on  the  3d  of  May,  and  proceeded 
down  the  Delaware  and  through  the  Delaware  and 
Chesapeake  Canal  and  Chesapeake  Bay  to  their  des- 
tination, which  was  reached  in  the  night  of  the  4th. 

"  The  arrival  of  the  brigade  was  at  once  reported  to  Gen.  Butler,  wlio, 
after  some  ceremony,  ordered  its  advance  to  Washington,  and  on  the  5th 
the  Firet  Kegiment,  with  six  companies  of  the  Second  and  nine  companies 
of  the  Third,  started  forward  in  two  trains  of  cars.  The  first  of  these 
trains  reached  Washington  about  midnight,  .and  the  second  at  eight 
o'clock  the  following  morning.  The  same  evening  the  Fourth  Regiment 
and  the  remaining  company  of  the  Third  reached  the  capital.  The  four 
companies  of  the  Second  left  at  Annapolis  were  detailed,  by  order  of  Gen. 
Scott,  to  the  service  of  guarding  the  telegraph  and  railroad-track  between 
Wasliington  and  Annapolis  Junction.  On  the  6th  of  May  the  arrival 
of  the  brigade  was  reported  to  Gen.  Scott,  and,  no  camps  being  provided, 
the  troops  went  into  such  quarters  as  were  available  in  Washington. 

"  On  all  sides  the  arrival  of  the  troops  was  hailed  with  pleasure.  Men 
felt  that  now  the  capital  was  safe.  These  three  thousand  Jerseyman, 
thoroxighly  armed  and  equipped, — as  no  regiment  previously  arrived  had 
been, — could  be  relied  on  to  repel  all  assaults.  New  Jersey  never  stood 
higher  in  the  estimation  of  the  loyal  people  of  the  country  than  at  that 
juncture  when  she  sent  to  the  nation's  defense  the  first  full  brigade  of 
troops  that  reached  tlie  field."  § 

f  Ibid.  X  Commissioned  April  27, 1861. 

g  Foster's  New  Jersey  and  the  Rebellion. 


118 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  passage  of  the  troops  from  Trenton  to  Annap- 
olis and  their  arrival  at  the  latter  place  were  thus 
noticed  hy  the  National  Intelligencer  : 

"The  whole  brigade,  with  its  four  pieces  of  artillery,  arrived  at  Annap- 
olis on  Sunday,  May  5th,  in  twenty-eight  houi-e  from  Trenton,  and  pro- 
ceeded direct  for  Washington.  It  ifi  8ta;ted  that  the  fourteen  transports, 
"with  a  strong  convay,  C^t.  F.  E.  Leper,  made  a  splendid  appearance 
steaming: in  two  lines  down  the  Chesapeake.  They  had  been  greeted  by 
a  great  Union  demonstration  as  they  passed  along  the  Chesapeake  and 
Delaware  Canal.  They  are  armed  with  the  Mini6  musket,  but  are  to 
have  the  Mini6  rifle  and  sword-bayonet;  .  .  .  This  regiment  is  composed 
of  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  State,  and  in  athletic  appearance,  as  well 
as  general  soldierly  deportment,  is  a  credit  to  the  country." 

On  the  9th  and  10th  of  May  the  regiments  of  the 
hrigade  moved  out  from  Washington  to  Meridian  Hill, 
near  the  city,  where  they  formed  a  camp  which  was 
christened  "  Camp  Monmouth."  There  they  remained, 
engaged  in  drill  and  the  perfecting  of  their  discipline, 
until  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  when,  in  obedience 
to  orders  received  from  Gen.  Mansfield  (commander 
of  the  forces  around  Washington),  the  Second,  Third, 
and  Fourth  Regiments*  moved  from  their  camp  at 
about  midnight  and  took  the  route,  by  way  of  the 
Long  Bridge  across  the  Potomac,  to  Virginia.  They 
reached  the  "  Sacred  Soil"  at  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  the  24th,  then,  proceeding  a  short 
distance  farther  on  the  Alexandria  road,  halted,  and 
after  a  brief  rest  and  the  making  of  the  usual  military 
dispositions  commenced  the  construction  of  a  strong 
defensive  work,  which,  after  about  three  weeks  of 
severe  and  unintermitted  labor, — performed  exclu- 
sively by  the  men  of  New  Jersey, — was  completed, 
mounted  with  heavy  guns,  and  appropriately  named, 
in  honor  of  their  brigade  commander,  "  Fort  Run- 
yon," — a  name  which  remained  unchanged  during 
the  continuance  of  the  war. 

The  position  of  the  brigade  remained  substantially 
unchanged  until  the  16th  of  July,  when  a  part  of  it 
was  moved  forward  a  few  miles,  this  being  part  of  the 
grand  advance  on  Manassas,  from  which  the  most 
favorable  results  were  expected,  but  which  ended  in 
the  disgraceful  defeat  and  rout  of  the  Union  forces  at 
Bull  Run  on  the  21st  of  July.  The  Jersey  brigade, 
however,  was  not  actively  engaged  in  the  battle  of 
that  disastrous  day,  being  posted  at  several  points  in 
the  reart  as  part  of  the  large  reserve  force  commanded 


*  The  First  did  not  move  till  the  following  day. 

t  "  Meanwhile,  Gen.  Kunyon  had,  on  the  16th,  sent  the  First  Regiment 
of  his  brigade  to  a  point  occupied  by  our  pickets,  on  the  Oi'ange  and 
Alexandria  Railroad,  three  miles  beyond  Springfield,  where  they  acted 
as  a  guard  to  a  party  engaged  in  repairing  the  railway.  On  the  same 
day  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  men  of  the  Third  Begiment  were 
detailed  as  an  escort  to  a  provision-train  en  route  for  the  main  body  of 
the  army.  At  the  same  time  a  guard  was  detailed  from  the  Fourth 
Regiment  for  another  section  of  the  railroad  which  it  was  important  to 
hold. 

guarding  the  Long  Bridge,  and  still  another  on  duty  at  Arlington  Mills. 
The  remainder  of  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Alexandria, 
together  with  the  Second  (three  months)  Regiment.  Col.  Taylor,  com- 
manding the  Third  (three  years)  Regiment,  was  at  the  same  time  ordered 
to  march  to  a  point  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  and  during 
the  night  following  the  First  and  Second  (three  years)  Regiments  were 
moved  foi-ward  to  Vienna.    On  the  same  day  the  division  headtiuarters 


by  Gen.  Runyon.  But  in  the  positions  assigned  to 
them  the  several  commands  did  their  whole  duty,  and 
when  the  day  was  hopelessly  lost,  and  the  Union 
army  came  flying  from  the  field  in  disorganization 
and  panic,  these  Jersey  regimenfe,  standing  firm, 
aided  materially  in  rallying  the  terrified  fugitives, 
and  so  staying  the  tide  of  overwhelming  disaster. 

On  the  24th  of  July,  three  days  after  the  Bull  Run 
battle,  the  Third  and  Fourth  Regiments  (their  term 
of  service  having  expired)  were  ordered  to  report  to 
Gen.  Mansfield  for  muster  out.  The  First  and  Second 
received  the  same  orders  on  the  following  day,  and 
the  four  regiments  of  three  months'  men  were  accord- 
ingly mustered  out  of  the  United  States  service,  and 
returned  to  New  Jersey,  where  they  were  most  enthu- 
siastically received  by  their  fellow-citizens.  A  ma- 
jority of  the  men  afterwards  enlisted  in  three  years' 
regiments  and  did  good  service,  while  many  of  them 
gave  their  lives  for  their  country  on  the  battle-fields 
of  Virginia  and  the  Southwest. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  ofiicers  and  men  of  the 
three  Hunterdon  County  companies  in  the  Third 
(three  months)  Regiment: 

COMPANT  E  (LAMBERTVILLE). 
The  officers  and  enlisted  men  of  this  company  were  all  enrolled 
April  25,  1861,  mustered  into  service  April  27, 1861,  and  mustered  out, 
July  31, 1861. 


George  Hunt,  corporal. 
William  Spencer,  corporal. 
Henry  Cafry,  corporal. 
Joseph  Sprote,  corporal. 
George  Terkes,  iifer. 
William  Lees,  drummer. 


Aehbel  W.  Angel,  captain. 

Aaron  H.  Slack,  first  lieutenant. 

Isaac  M.  Bunnell,  ensign. 

Charles  A.  Angel,  first  sergeant. 

Theodore  F.  Large,  sergeant. 

Thomas  Hunt,  sergeant. 

Samuel  Mustard,  sergeant. 

Privates. 

James  Agin,  Charles  Bauman,  Jacob  J.  Bergen,  Jerome  Bogart,  Lewis  T. 
Brant,  Albert  Buriingame,  John  H.  Chidester,  James  Clark,  John  H. 
Clark,  Richard  S.  Conover,  Alexander  Corrie,  John  Craig,  Patrick 
Daver,  Andrew  I.  Day,  Michael  Downs,  William  H.  Egan,  John  Ely, 
Richard  Ely,  Thomas  Flaherty,  John  W.  Fowler,  John  H.  Gilbert, 
Patrick  Hammell,  Jacob  Hines,  Daniel  K.  Hinson,  Thomas  Horn, 
Michael  Hunt,  William  Hnnter,  Benjamin  H.  Joiner,  John  B.  Jonesi 
John  H.  Keisle,  Smith  F.  Kinsey,  Matthias  Kiret,  Peter  C.  Kulp,  John 
A,  Kutter,  William  Linburn,  John.Logue,  James  Longshore,  James 


were  transferred  to  Alexandria,  and  instructions  were  issued  to  the  De 
Kalb  Begiment,  wbicli  had  become  attached  to  the  division,  with  other 
troops,  to  keep  a  guard  at  all  times  on  the  railroad  from  Camp  Trenton 
the  former  headquarters,  to  Ariington  Mills.  On  the  17th  orders  werj 
issued  to  all  the  regiments  in  the  command  to  provide  themselves  with 
two  days'  cooked  rations,  and,  on  the  18th,  Gen.  Bunyon  formally  as- 
sumed command  of  all  the  troops  not  on  the  march  to  the  front. 

"The  troops  actually  under  Gen.  Rnuyon's  command  at  this  critical 
and  important  period  numbered  thirteen  regiments,  comprising  perhaps 
ten  thousand  men.  Of  these,  the  term  of  service  of  some  four  thousand 
would  expire  witliin  a  week,  and  that  of  one  regiment  within  two  davs 
after  his  assumption  ot  the  command.  His  prepaiations,  however,  went 
regulariy  forward,  every  call  upon  him  being  promptly  met.  On  the  2Tst 
of  July-the  day  on  which  the  army  advanced  to  the  attack-he  for- 
Another  detail  of  one  company  from  this  regiment  was   then  ^^Xr'w^th  ^feti^t'^t^d'Tnd'lhii;'  fthrT  --  J-^^--.- 

obedience  to  orders  from  Gen,  McDowell.  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  orders  being  received  to  cease  sending  reinforcements,  the  battle 
havmgbeen  lost,  the  forts  were  at  once  placed  in  rea<liness  to  receive 


the  enemy  should  he 


pursue  our  retiring  columns,  and  every  preparatk.u 


was  made  to  retrieve,  so  far  as  possible,  the  misfnrtnnes  of  the  day 
luster  s  New  Jersey  iwd  llie  ReMlion. 


THIRD   INFANTRY   REGIMENT  (THREE   YEARS). 


119 


Magie,  James  H.  May,  Patrick  McNamara,  James  H.  Moon,  George 
Haylor,  Howard  O'Daniel,  'William  O'Daniel,  Charles  F.  Peterson, 
Stacy  Pidcock,  John  R.  Price,  George  W.  Risler,  John  Robbins,  John 
Savage,  Thomas  D.  Schenck,  Thomas  Seery,  James  M.  Sly,  Ahram  E. 
Smith,  James  Stites,  Charles  A.  Stout,  Theodore  C.  Stryker,  Daniel 
Scudder,  disch.  for  disability  at  Roche's  Springs,  Va.,  May  29, 1861, 
John  P.  Thompson,  George  "W.  Trauger,  George  C.  Van  Camp,  Joseph 
■Warford,  John  Waterhouse. 

COMPANT  H  (FLEMINGTON). 
Mustered  in  April  27,  1861 ;  must  out  July  31, 1861. 
George  A.  Allen,  captain. 
Jam^  Gordon,  first  lieutenant. 
Martin  Wyckoff,  ensign. 
(Jeorge  W.  Forker,  first  sergeant. 
John  H.  Clark,  sergeant, 
Peter  M.  Larue,  sergeant. 

Robert  Ramsey,  sergeant;  pro.  from  corporal  May  29, 1861. 
Samuel  B.  Mann,  sergeant ;  pro.  from  corporal  May  25, 1861. 
Lemuel  Fisher,  corporal. 

David  A.  Wilson,  corporaL  , 

Andrew  V.  Smith,  corporal;  pro.  from  private  May  25,1861. 
"William  H.  Stryker,  corporal ;  pro.  from  private  May  29, 1861. 
Samuel  Volk,  fifer. 
Jonathan  Hanpence,  drummer. 

Prwates. 

James  0.  BelUs,  William  R.  Bellia,  John  Bosenbury,  Joseph  Bosenbury, 
Peter  Boss,  George  W.  Breene,  Isaiah  Buchanan,  Asa  Carkhuff,  Chaa. 
P.  Case,  disch.  for  disability  May,  1861,  William  D.  Clark,  Andrew 
S.  Connet,  Asa  Dalrymple,  Isaac  N.  Danberry,  Isaac  Dayton,  Hugh 
Doran,  William  Dorrington,  Frank  W.  Downs,  John  V.  D.  Drost, 
William  Dnngan,  George  Ege,  George  H.  Engles,  William  Fleming, 
John  W.  Forker,  Max  Franklin,  Hamilton  Gary,  Forman  V.  Hart- 
pence,  George  Heauy,  Herman  Heimbold,  Lemuel  Hoagland,  George 
W.  Keller,  Frank  Kelly,  Joseph  D.  Kinney,  Henry  S.  Lake,  John  R. 
S.  Lane,  William  Lare,  Daniel  Luther,  Mahlon  Martindell,  Richard 
C.  Martindell,  William  McGinn,  James  H.  Melick,  Charles  Merriam, 
William  T.  Merrill,  Horatio  P.  Milburn,  Samuel  Milburn,  Joseph  H. 
Pettit,  Joseph  R.  Potts,  Ranslear  D.  Runkle,  John  F.  Schenck,  Jr., 
Theodore  R.  Servis,  Wesley  Servis,  Isaac  P.  C.  Shemela,  Levi  Snyder, 
William  H.  Snyder,  Henry  Stothoflf,  Benjamin  Stradling,  John  Sul- 
livan, John  W.  Thomas,  Augustus  Thompson,  Henry  R.  Yan  Doren, 
Jacob  W.  Van  Fleet,  Jacob  R.  Weart,  Samuel  Woodruff,  John  S. 
Yard,  William  Yard. 

COMPANY  I  (LAMBERTYILLE). 

Enrolled  April  27, 1861 ;  mustered  out  July  31, 1861. 


Wail,  Charles  Wesner,  James  H.  Welch,  missing,  and  not  mustered 
out  with  company  ( Adjutant-General's  Report) ;  Spencer  Williams, 
Giles  Wright,  James  Wristband.* 


Simeon  E.  Huselton,  captain. 
TheophiluB  Stout,  first  lieutenant. 
William  W.  Abbott,  ensign. 
Theodore  H.  Field,  first  sergeant. 
Anderson  Slack,  sergeant. 
George  W.  Day,  sergeant. 
Charles  Kitchen,  sergeant. 


Asa  Price,  corporal. 
Preston  B.  Goodfellow,  corporal. 
Joseph  Taylor,  corporal. 
Oliver  Case,  corporal. 
Nathaniel  Sliuttuck,  fifer. 
Jacob  A.  Errickson,  drummer. 


CHAPTER  XL 


THIBD    HTPASTTET   KEGIMEITT    (THKEE 
TEAES). 

The  GoTernor  calls  for  Three  Regiments  for  Three  Tears'  Service — The 
First,  Second,  and  Third  Regiments  take  the  Field — Officers  and  Move- 
ments of  the  Third  Infantry — At  the  Battle  of  Gaines'  Mill — Heavy 
Losses— Gen.  Taylor  Wounded — Orampton's  Gap — Campaign  of  Chan- 
cellorsville — Battles  of  the  'Wilderness— Ite  Laat  Fight,  at  Cold  Harbor 
— Hegiment  Mustered  Out  and  Disbanded — Sketch  of  Brig.-Gen,  George 
W.  Taylor — Boster  of  OfBcers  and  Men  from  Somerset  County. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  thait  in  response  to 
Governor  Olden'a  proclamation  of  the  17th  of  April, 
1861,  calling  for  troops,  nearly  ten  thousand  men 
responded,  of  which  number  only  four  regiments 
(three  months'  men)  could  be  accepted.  Of  the  large 
number  which  remained,  many,  being  anxious  to  enter 
the  service,  proceeded  to  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  other  points  outside  the  limits  of  New  Jersey, 
and  enlisted  in  regiments  of  other  States.  Of  the 
large  number  who  enlisted  in  this  manner — estimated 
by  the  adjutant-general  at  five  thousand  men  from 
the  entire  State  of  New  Jersey — no  record  can  be 
given. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  it  became  apparent  to 
the  authorities  at  Washington  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  call  into  the  field  a  much  larger  number  of 
regiments,  to  be  made  up  of  men  enlisted  for  a  longer 
term  of  service,  and  the  President  thereupon  issued  a 
call  for  thirty-nine  additional  regiments  of  infantry 
and  one  of  cavalry,  to  be  enlisted  for  three  years  or 
during  the  continuance  Of  the  war.  Under  this  call 
the  quota  of  New  Jersey  was  placed  at  three  full  regi- 
ments, and  a  requisition  for  these  was  received  by 
Governor  Olden  on  the  17th  of  May.  No  diffi- 
culty was  found  in  furnishing  them,t  for  a  sufficient 
number  of  companies  had  been  already  raised  and 
organized,  and  were  anxiously  waiting  to  be  mustered 
into  the  service.     From  these  companies  there  were 


Charles  A.  Abbott,  Charles  Akers,  Gershom  A.  Akers,  Augustus  Bodine, 
Joseph  Briese,  William  Bunker,  Jeremiah  B.  Carroll,  William  J. 
Carroll,  John  Clary,  Christopher  S.  Conway,  John  Coulton,  William 
M.  Craft,  Timothy  Courley,  John  0.  Daniel,  William  F.  De  Hart, 
Kalph  Dilts,  William  F.  Dilta,  Benjamin  F.  Dollas,  disch.  for  dis- 
ability May  29, 1861,  Ephraim  Ellison,  George  Enganoch,  Eichard 
Garmo,  Samuel  Goodfellow,  Charles  H.  Green,  Eldridge  Green,  Peter 
Halpin,  William  Henderson,  Andrew  Henry,  Henry  B.  Kitchen, 
Lewis  L.  Landis,  Joseph  Larrasou,  Michael  Madigan,  Charles  Mann, 
Thomas  McDermott,  Thomas  McDonald,  Pierson  C.  McFerren, 
Samuel  McGarr,  James  McBae,  William  Murphy,  John  Myers,  James 
M.,  Naylor,  John  N.  C.  Nelson,  Joseph  Nelson,  John  B.  Orner,  dis- 
charged on  account  of  disability  May  29,  1861,  John  E.  Pitman, 
Albert  J.  Beading,  Peter  P.  Eink,  William  Bobbins,  Franz  Eeiley, 
Daniel  Saylor,  Augustus  Sbeppard,  Hiram  Sibbett,  Paul  Simhold, 
Calvin  Sisson,  George  W.  Skillman,  William  E.  Skinner,  Elnathan 
Stephenson,  William  W.  Ten  Eyck,  Frederick  G.  Tliomas,  Godliep 


*  No  list  of  Somerset  County  three  months'  men  can  be  given,  for  tlie 
reason  that  no  whole  companies  were  formed  in  that  county.  As  its 
volunteers  under  this  call  enlisted  in  companies  formed  in  other  counties, 
it  is  impracticable  to  select  the  names  of  Somerset  County  men  from  others 
borne  on  the  rolls  of  those  companies. 

j-  On  tho  18th  of  May,  the  day  following  the  receipt  of  the  requisition 
Governor  Olden  wrote  to  the  War  Oflice  as  follows  : 

"Hon.  Simon  Cameeon,  Seceetaut  ofWak: 

"Deab  Sie,— I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
favor  of  the  16th  inst.  inclosing  plan  of  organization  of  the  volunteers 
for  three  years  or  during  the  war,  and  assigning  three  regiments  to  this 
State. 

"  Tho  three  regiments  are  now  ready,  and  only  await  orders  to  the 
mustering  oflicer,  Maj.  Laidley,  who  is  now  here  awaiting  orders,  to  be 
mustered  into  the  service.  I  have  not  called  out  more  than  three  regi- 
ments, because  I  have  not  been  authorized  to  do  so  by  you ;  but  it  the 
occasion  required  their  services,  this  Stale  would  willingly  furnish  twice  ae 
manii  regiments  to  serve  during  llie  war.  ..." 


120 


HUNTERDON  AND  -SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  N^EW   JERSEY. 


organized  without  delay  the  First,  Second,  and  Third 
(tliree  years')  Regiments,  which  were  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  for  that  term,  being  uni- 
formed, equipped,  and  furnished  with  camp  and 
garrison  equipage  by  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  but 
armed  by  the  general  government.  The  three  regi- 
ments left  Trenton  on  the  28th  of  June,*  and  were 
reported  to  Gen.  Scott,  at  Washington,  on  the  follow- 
ing day. 

The  Third  Regiment  was  mustered  under  the  follow- 
ing-named field-officers :  Colonel,  George  W.  Taylor ; 
lieutenant-colonel,  Henry  W.  Brown;  major,  Mark 
W.  Collett;  adjutant,  Robert  T.  Dunham;  quarter- 
master, Francis  Sayre ;  surgeon,  Lorenzo  Lewis  Cox. 
The  commissioned  officers  of  the  Somerset  County 
company!  (G)  of  this  regiment  were :  Captain,  Peter 
F.  Rogers ;  first  lieutenant,  Richard  D.  Cook ;  second 
lieutenant,  Arthur  H.  Hardcastle. 

Soon  after  its  arrival  in  Washington,  the  Third 
Regiment,  as  well  as  the  first  and  second  three  years' 
jegiments,  was  ordered  across  the  Potomac  and  as- 
signed to  duty  in  the  Jersey  brigade,  under  command 
of  Gen.  Runyon.  A  few  days  before  the  commence- 
ment of  the  fii-st  advance  towards  Manassas,  but  after 
the  movement  had  been  determined  on,  the  Third  was 
ordered  forward  to  perform  the  duty  of  guarding  and 
repairing  the  railroadj  to  Fairfax  Station,  at  which 
point  the  regiment  was  stationed,  as  part  of  the 
reserve  force,  during  the  progress  of  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  therefore  taking  no  active  part  in  that 
engagement,  but  doing  good  service,  nevertheless,  in 
rallying  fugitives  from  the  field  and  helping  to  restore 
something  like  order  among  a  part  at  least  of  the 
flying  and  panic-stricken  troops  which  were  pressing 
on  in  disorder  and  rout  towards  Washington  in  the 
evening  of  that  disastrous  day,  the  21st  of  July.  Im- 
mediately after  the  battle  the  Third  was  moved  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Alexandria,  and  there  encamped 
with  the  other  regiments  of  the  Jersey  brigade,  which 
early  in  August  received  as  its  commander  Brig-Gen. 
Philip  Kearney,  one  of  the  bravest  and  best  soldiers 
that  ever  drew  a  sabre,  and  one  whom  the  veterans  of 
New  Jersey  will  ever  remember  with  love  and  ad- 
miration. 

The  Third  Regiment  was  first  under  hostile  fire  on 
the  '29th  of  August,  when,  in  making  a  reconnoissance 
in  the  vicinity  of  Cloud's  Mills,  it  fell  into  an  ambus- 
cade of  the  enemy,  and  in  the  skirmish  which  followed 

*  Foster,  p.  66. 

t  Tills  waa  the  first  company  which  Somerset  County  seut  to  the  field, 
tliough  a  considerable  number  of  men  from  the  county  had  previously 
volunteered  in  other  organizations. 

X  Following  is  a  copy  of  the  order : 

"  Headquarters  Fourth  Division,  July  16th. 
^'  Sj)ecial  Order  No.  2. 

"Col.  Taylor,  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  three  yeal-s'  New  Jei-sey  vol- 
unteei-B,  will  proceed  with  all  practicable  dispatch,  in  light  marching 
order,  up  the  Orauge  and  Alexandria  Railroad  to  a  point  occupied  by  our 
pickets,  about  three  miles  beyond  Springfield,  or  thereabouts,  and  re- 
port to  the  railroad  manager  there  for  duty. 

"By  order  of  Brig.-Gen.  Theo.  Runyon." 


lost  two  men  killed  and  four  wounded.  A  month 
later  (September  29th)  it  took  part  in  a  reconnois- 
sance in  force,  made  by  Gen.  Kearney  with  his  entire 
brigade,  one  company  of  Kentucky  cavalry,  and  a 
light  battery  under  command  of  Capt.  Hexamer,  the 
object  of  the  expedition  being  to  ascertain  the  strength 
and  position  of  the  enemy  at  Mason's  Hill,— a  point 
which  he  was  reported  to  be  fortifying  in  front  of  the 
Union  lines.  The  object  was  accomplished  without 
loss.  After  a  summer  and  autumn  spent  in  camp- 
and  picket-duty,  varied  by  the  events  above  mentioned 
and  some  other  minor  affairs  of  similar  nature,  the 
Third  with  its  brigade  went  into  winter  quarters  near 
Alexandria. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1862,  the  brigade  left  camp 
and  moved  forward  to  Burke's  Station,  on  the  Orange 
and  Alexandria  Railroad,  as  a  guard  to  a  working- 
party,  and  on  the  8th  made  an  extended  reconnois- 
sance of  the  country,  which  developed  the  fact  that 
the  Confederate  forces  were  preparing  to  evacuate 
their  strong  position  at  Manassas.  Upon  this.  Gen. 
Kearney,  without  ftirther  orders  from  the  division 
commander,  pressed  on  with  vigor,  driving  the  scat- 
tered pickets  of  the  enemy  before  him,  and  on  the  9th 
reached  Sangster's  Station,  where  the  Second  and 
Third  Regiments  surprised  a  detachment  of  rebel 
cavalry,  killing  several  and  taking  twelve  prisoners. 
On  the  10th  the  brigade  occupied  the  abandoned 
position  at  Manassas,  eight  companies  of  the  Third 
Regiment  being  the  first  force  to  enter  and  hoist  the 
Union  flag  on  the  works. 

On  the  opening  of  the  spring  campaign  of  1862  the 
Third  Regiment  with  its  brigade,  which  then  formed 
part  of  the  First  Division  of  the  First  Army  Corps, 
moved  forward  to  Catlett's  Station,  two  miles  from 
Warrenton,  on  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad, 
the  object  of  the  movement  being  to  divert  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Confederate  commander  while  Gen.  Mc- 
Clellan  was  moving  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  Fort- 
ress Monroe  and  Newport  News  for  the  commence- 
ment of  the  movement  towards  Richmond  by  way  of 
the  A'irginia  Peninsula.  It  does  not  appear  that  Gen. 
Lee  was  greatly  deceived  by  this  movement  to  Cat- 
lett's, and  on  the  11th  of  April  (six  days  after  the 
army  of  McClellan  had  arrived  in  ft-ont  of  Yorktown) 
the  division  moved  back  to  Alexandria,  where,  on  the 
17th,  the  Third  wuth  its  companion  regiments  was 
embarked  on  steamers  bound  for  the  Peninsula  to  join 
the  army.  It  landed  at  York  Point,  on  the  York 
River,  whence,  on  the  5th  of  May  (the  day  of  the 
battle  of  Williamsburg),  it  was  moved  by  steamer  up 
the  river  to  West  Point.  The  brigade  was  then  under 
command  of  Col.  Taylor,  Gen.  Kearney  having  been 
advanced  to  the  command  of  the  division. 

At  West  Point,  during  the  night  and  day  following 
the  disembarkation  of  the  troops,  a- brisk  skirmish 
amounting  almost  to  a  battle  was  fought  with  the 
Fifth  Alabama  and  other  Confederate  regiments,  but 
the  Third  New  Jersey,  being  held  in  reserve,  sustained 


THIED  INFANTRY   REGIMENT   (THREE   TEARS). 


121 


no  loss.  On  the  15tli  the  First  Division  joined  the 
main  body  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at  White 
House,  and  marched  thence  with  the  grand  column 
to  the  Chickahominy  Eiver. 

In  the  fighting  which  subsequently  occurred  along 
the  dismal  shores  of  that  ill-omened  stream,  the  Third 
Regiment  took  no  active  part  until  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  27th  of  June,  it  was  moved  with  its  brigade  from 
the  camp  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chickahominy 
across  that  river  to  its  north  bank,  and  there  plunged 
into  the  fire  and  carnage  of  the  battle  of  Gaines' 
Mill. 

"  The  brigade  was  at  ouce  formed  into  two  lines,  the  Third  andFonrth 
Begimente  in  front,  and  the  First  and  Second  in  the  second  line,  and  in 
this  order  advanced  to  the  brow  of  a  hill  in  front,  where  the  Third  Regi- 
ment, under  Lieut.-Col.  Brown,  was  ordered  into  the  woods  to  relieve 
Newton's  brigade,  which  was  sorely  pressed  by  the  enemy.  At  this  point 
the  woods,  some  four  hundred  yards  in  front  of  our  line  of  battle,  swarmed 
with  rebels,  who  fought  with  the  greatest  desperation  and  ferocity,  hand- 
ling their  artillery  especially  in  the  most  effective  manner,  and  doing 
fearful  execution  in  our  ranks.  The  gallant  Third,  however,  bravely 
stood  its  ground,  opening  a  galling  fire  on  the  enemy  and  remaining  in 
the  woods  until  the  close  of  the  action.* 

"  About  half  an  hour  after  reaching  the  field  the  First  Regiment,  under 
Lieut.-Col.  McAllister,  was  also  ordered  into  the  woods,  and  took  position 
under  tlie  eye  of  Gen.  Porter.  The  volleys  of  musketry  from  the  enemy 
were  at  this  time  terribly  rapid  and  destructive,  but  oflBcers  and  men 
alike  bravely  held  their  ground.  At  length.  Gen.  Taylor,  dashing  to  the 
frout,  ordered  a  charge,  and  the  line  swept  forward  with  a  cheer,  driviug 
the  rebels  clear  out  of  the  woods  into  an  open  field.  Here,  however,  the 
reserves  of  the  enemy  were  encountered,  and  our  men  were  compelled 
to  fall  back  and  take  a  new  position.  ...  On  either  side  of  the  open  field 
the  enemy's  ai'tillery  was  placed,  having  a  perfect  range  of  our  forces. 
But,  with  all  the  odds  of  position  and  numbers  against  them,  the  Jersey 
Blues  fought  steadily  on  until  nightriill,  their  ranks  terribly  thinned, 
indeed,  but  the  sui-vivore  still  bravely  keeping  heart.  Three  times  the 
enemy  were  driven  from  the  woods,  but  as  often  returned,  reinforced,  to 
renew  the  contest.  .  .  .  Three  several  times  Gen.  Taylor  sent  his  aids 
through  a  fearful  fire  to  procure  from  some  commander  necessary  orders 
and  Buppoi^,  but  none  could  be  found,  and  so,  abandoned,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  fight  a  force  outnumbering  him  six  to  one  as  long  as  the  most 
obstinate  courage  could  hold  out.  It  wjis  no  wonder,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, that  the  heroic  brigade,  the  flower  of  the  division,  represent- 
ing three  thousand  New  Jersey  households,  where  women  wrestled  in 
prayer  through  all  those  bitter  days  of  blundering  and  disaster,  was 
almost  obliterated;  that,  out  of  tlie  two  thousand  eight  hundred  stout- 
hearted men  who  marched  afield  early  in  the  afternoon,  but  nine  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five,  wearied,  scarred,  and  dark  with  the  grime  of  battle, 

*  The  following,  having  reference  to  the  service  performed  by  the 
Third  Regiment  at  Gaines'  Mill,  is  from  the  report  of  the  battle,  by 
Bi-ig.-Gen.  George  W.  Taylor: 

"  The  battle,  begun  the  day  previous,  had  been  renewed  near  Gaines' 
Farm,  where  we  arrived  about  four  o'clock  p.m.  I  immediately  formed 
my  brigade  in  two  lines,  the  Third  and  Fourth  Regiments  in  front  and 
the  First  and  Second  Regiments  iu  the  second  line.  My  line  was  scarcely 
formed  when  the  Third  Regiment,  under  Lieut.-CoI.  Brown,  was  ordered 
to  advance  into  the  woods,  where  a  fierce  combat  was  raging.  Col. 
Brown  immediately  formed  his  regiment  in  line  of  battle,  led  it  into  the 
woods,  and  began  a  rapid  fire  upon  the  enemy.  As  this  was  the  first  of 
my  regiments  engaged,  I  will  complete  my  report  of  it  by  saying  that 
they  continued  tlie  fight  in  the  woods  until  the  close  of  the  action.  They 
weie  all  this  time  under  a  galling  fire,  often  of  a  cross-fire,  but  main- 
tained their  ground  until  near  sunset,  when  the  whole  line  fell  back. 
They  had  at  this  time  expended  (a  large  majority  of  the  men)  their  last 
cartridge,— sixty  rounds  to  the  man.  It  is  but  justice  to  say  that  this 
regiment  bore  itself  most  heroically  throughout  the  entire  action.  Their 
conduct  was  all  Ihat.conld  be  desired.  With  their  comrades  falling 
around,  they  stood  up  like  a  wall  of  iron,  losing  over  oue-tliird  of  their 
number,  and  gave  not  an  inch  of  gi'uund  until  thdr  ammunition  was  ex- 
pended and  the  retrograde  movement  became  general.  They  were  under 
this  fire  one  hour  and  a  half," 

9 


answered  to  their  names  in  the  solemn  midnight  when  the  morning's 
camp  was  reached,"f 

The  loss  of  the  Third  Regiment  in  the  battle  of 
Gaines'  Mill  was  one  hundred  and  seventy  killed  and 
wounded,  and  forty-five  missing. 

At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  night  succeeding  the  battle 
the  New  Jersey  regiments  recrossed  to  the  south  side 
of  the  Chickahominy,  and  remained  quietly  there  in 
the  woods  until  midnight  of  the  28th,  when  they 
moved  silently  out,  taking  the  road  to  Savage  Station 
and  thence  to  White  Oak  Swamp,  on  the  retreat  to 
the  James  River.  A  brisk  engagement  took  place 
near  the  crossing  of  White  Oak  Creek,  but  the  Third 
did  not  take  part  in  it,  though  it  occupied  a  position 
of  peril  between  the  batteries  of  the  contending  forces, 
where  the  shells  of  both  passed  over  the  men  as  they 
lay  on  the  ground  for  comparative  security.  From 
this  point  the  brigade  moved  on  by  way  of  Malvern 
Hill  (passing  that  position  on  the  1st  of  July,  but 
taking  no  part  in  the  bloody  battle  of  that  day)  to 
Harrison's  Landing,  which  it  reached  in  the  morning 
of  the  2d,  in  the  midst  of  a  drenching  rain,  and  en- 
camped in  a  wheat-field  of  several  hundred  acres  in 
extent. 

The  regiment  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Land- 
ing for  about  six  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time  it 
marched  with  the  army  down  the  Peninsula,  and  was 
transported  thence  by  steamer  up  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
and  Potomac  River  to  Alexandria,  where  it  arrived 
on  the  24th,  and  was  moved  from  that  place  to  Cloud's 
Mills  on  its  way  to  reinforce  the  army  of  Gen.  Pope, 
who  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Manassas  and  sorely 
pressed  by  the  Confederates  under  Stonewall  Jackson. 
On  the  27th  it  moved  forward  by  rail  from  Cloud's 
Mills  to  Bull  Run  bridge,  and  from  there  marched  to 
the  old  battle-field,  where  it  became  engaged  with  the 
enemy's  infantry  and  fought  bravely  for  more  than  an 
hour,  sustaining  severe  loss  from  the  musketry-  and 
artillery-fire.  It  was  at  last  compelled  to  give  way 
before  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  Confederates, 
but  retreated  in  good  order  to  Fairfax  Station  and 
thence  to  Cloud's  Mills,  which  latter  point  was  reached 
at  noon  on  the  28th.  In  the  engagement  at  Bull  Run, 
Gen.  Taylor  was  severely  wounded  in  the  leg,  and  died 
at  Alexandria  on  the  1st  of  September  from  the  effects 
of  amputation. 

After  defeating  Pope's  army  in  Virginia  the  Con- 
federate forces  moved  rapidly  to  the  Potomac  at 
Edwards'  Ferry  and  other  points,  and  crossed  into 
Ma,ryland.  The  Union  army  pursued,  and  overtook 
them  at  South  Mountain,  _  where  a  severe  bat- 
tle was  fought  on  the  14th  of  September.  In  that 
battle  the  First  Jersey  Brigade  (then  under  command 
of  Col.  Torbert)  was  engaged  at  the  point  known  as 
Crampton's  Gap,  and  fought  with  its  usual  gallantry, 
the  Third  Regiment  sustaining  a  loss  of  thirty-one  in 
killed  and  wounded.  In  the  great  battle  of  Antietam, 
which  occurred  three  days  later,  the  brigade  stood  in 

f  Foster's  "  New  Jersey  and  the  Rebellion." 


122 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


position  for  forty-two  hours,  and  during  six  hours  of 
that  time  was  under  a  very  severe  artillary-iire,  but 
was  not  ordered  into  action.  After  the  battle  it  re- 
mained in  Maryland  for  more  than  two  weeks,  and 
finally,  on  the  2d  of  October,  crossed  the  Potomac  at 
Berlin,  and  after  a  number  of  tedious  movements  in 
Virginia  reached  Stafibrd  Court-house  on  the  18th, 
and  remained  there  in  camp  until  Gen.  Burnside 
ordered  the  forward  movement  against  Fredericks- 
burg. 

In  that  movement  the  brigade  marched  from  its 
camp  to  the  Rappahannock,  which  it  reached  on  the 
11th  of  December,  and  crossed  to  the  south  shore  at 
daylight  on  the  following  morning.  It  remained  at 
rest  until  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  it  ad- 
vanced rapidly  across  a  plateau  under  a  heavy  fire  of 
artillery  until  it  reached  the  shelter  of  a  ravine 
through  which  flow  the  waters  of  Deep  Hun,  and  in 
this  ravine  it  remained  until  the  morning  of  the  13th. 
It  was  not  until  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that 
the  brigade  was  ordered  forward  into  the  fight,  and 
then  the  Third  Eegiment,  being  in  the  second  line, 
did  not  become  engaged,  and  its  loss  in  the  battle  was 
only  two,  wounded  by  shells.  The  loss  of  the  brigade 
was  one  hundred  and  seventy-two,  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing.  After  the  battle  the  army  recrossed  to 
the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  the  First  New  Jersey 
Brigade  went  into  winter  quarters  near  White  Oak 
church. 

In  the  movement  across  the  Rappahannock  in  the 
spring  of  1863  known  as  the  campaign  of  Chancel- 
lorsville,  the  First  Brigade,  then  commanded  by  Col. 
Brown  in  place  of  Col.  Torbert,  who  was  sick,  crossed 
the  river  with  the  Sixth  Corps  at  "  Franklin's  Cross- 
ing," below  Fredericksburg,  on  the  29th  of  April,  but 
remained  occupying  the  old  rifle-pits  and  with  strong 
pickets  posted  until  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  May, 
when  it  was  put  in  motion,  and,  moving  up  the  river 
through  Fredericksburg,  about  three  miles  on  the 
road  to  Chancellorsville,  came  to  Salem  Church, 
where  the  enemy  was  found  in  strong  force  and  ad- 
vantageously posted  in  thick  woods,  with  earthworks 
on  both  sides  of  the  road.  The  brigade  advanced  and 
attacked  this  position,  and  the  battle  raged  with  great 
fury  until  night,  the  enemy  being  driven  a  short  dis- 
tance with  severe  loss  until  he  occupied  another  line 
of  rifle-pits.  The  loss  of  the  Jersey  brigade  was 
heavy,  but  its  reputation  for  bravery  was  fully  sus- 
tained. The  loss  of  the  Third  Regiment  was  seventy- 
nine  killed  and  wounded  and  sixteen  missing.  The 
brigade  remained  on  the  field  during  the  following 
day,  but  was  not  again  engaged  except  as  a  support  to 
the  batteries.  In  the  early  morning  of  the  5th  of 
May  it  recrossed  the  river  and  marched  back  to  its 
old  camp-ground  at  White  Oak  Church. 

Moving  northward  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in 
pursuit  of  Lee,  who  was  then  marching  towards  Penn- 
sylvania, the  First  Brigade  (then  in  Wright's  division 
of  the  Sixth  Corps)  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Edwards' 


Ferry  on  the  27th  of  June,  and  reached  Gettysburg 
on  the  2d  of  July,  its  last  day's  march  being  thirty- 
six  miles.  It  immediately  went  into  position,  and 
remained  without  change  until  the  following  morning, 
when  it  was  advanced  to  the  front  line ;  but  it  did  not 
become  engaged,  except  slightly  on  the  picket-line, 
where  it  lost  eleven  men  wounded.  In  the  pursuit 
of  Lee's  army  it  was  again  slightly  engaged  at  Fair- 
field, Pa.,  and  Hagerstown,  Md.  It  crossed  the  Po- 
tomac on  the  19th  at  Berlin,  and  on  the  25th  of  July 
reached  Warrenton,  where  it  remained  till  the  15th 
of  September.  During  the  remainder  of  the  fall  it 
participated  in  a  number  of  minor  movements,  and 
early  in  December  encamped  near  Brandy  Station, 
where  it  remained  in  winter  quarters  until  the  latter 
part  of  April,  1864. 

The  Third  Regiment  commenced  its  last  campaign 
on  the  4th  of  May,  when,  with  the  other  regiments  of 
the  First  Brigade,  it  crossed  the  Rapidan  at  Germania 
Ford,  and  moved  southward  into  the  labyrinths  of  the 
Virginia  Wilderness.  In  the  month  which  succeeded, 
its  movements,  battles,  and  skirmishes  were  too  nu- 
merous to  be  recorded  in  detail.  On  the  day  follow- 
ing the  crossing  it  became  heavily  engaged  with  the 
enemy,  fighting  stubbornly  until  its  ammunition  was 
exhausted,  and  losing  severely.  On  the  6th  it  was 
again  fighting,  and  suffered  heavy  loss.  On  the  8th, 
at  the  Po  River,  it  took  part  in  an  assault  on  strong 
earthworks,  but  was  compelled  to  retire  from  the 
overpowering  numbers  and  impregnable  position  of 
the  enemy.  It  was  briskly  engaged  in  skirmishing 
on  the  9th,  and  at  Spottsylvania,  on  the  10th,  it  again 
formed  part  of  an  assaulting-party  which  carried  one 
of  the  Confederate  works  and  took  a  considerable 
number  of  prisoners.  Still  again,  at  Spottsylvania, 
on  the  12th  of  May,  it  took  part  in  the  battle,  and 
charged  the  enemy's  position  with  great  bravery.  At 
the  end  of  eleven  days  from  the  time  when  it  crossed 
the  Rapidan  its  losses  aggregated  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  killed  and  wounded,  and  thirty-three 
missing,— an  exceedingly  heavy  loss,  considering  its 
greatly  reduced  numbers  at  the  commencement  of  tlio 
campaign. 

In  the  advance  beyond  Spottsylvania  the  regiment 
(now  but  a  handful  of  men)  was  engaged  in  heavy 
skirmishing  along  the  North  Anna  River  and  at  Tolo- 
potomoy,  until  finally  it  stood  on  its  last  battle-field, 
at  Cold  Harbor,  where  through  two  days  of  blood  and 
terror  it  fought  as  bravely  as  ever.  But  its  term  of  ser- 
vice had  expired,  and  on  the  3d  of  June  the  First  and 
Third  New  Jersey  Regiments  (both  together  number- 
ing only  three  hundred  and  forty  men)  left  the  front 
and  proceeded,  by  way  of  Washington,  to  Trenton, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  7th,  and  were  soon  after 
disbanded.* 


*  Those  or  tbe  men  whose  teims,  l.y  reason  of  their  re-enlistme-.t,  hud 
not  yet  expired  were  transferred  to  the  Fourth  and  Fifteenth  Eegin,e..ts 
but  afterwards,  witli  those  of  the  same  class  from  the  Second  Eegiment, 
were  consolidated  into  the  First,  Second,  and  Third  Battali.uis 


THIED  INFANTRY  REGIMENT  (THREE  YEARS). 


123 


The  following  biographical  sketch  of  Brig.-Gen. 
George  W.  Taylor,  the  original  colonel  of  the  Third 
Infantry  Regiment,  is  taken  from  Foster's  "New 
Jersey  and  the  Rebellion"  : 

George  W.  Taylor,  who  gave  his  life  in  defense  of 
the  country,  was  a  native  of  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J., 
and  early  exhibited  a  predilection  for  military  pur- 
suits.    Graduating,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  at  the 
celebrated  military  school  of  Col.  Allen  Partridge,  in 
Connecticut,  he  entered  the  navy  as  a  midshipman 
and  made  several  cruises,  subsequently,  however,  re- 
signing and  engaging  in  mercantile  pursuits.      But 
when  the  Mexican  war  broke  out  his  military  instincts 
were  aroused,  and  his  native  patriotism  incited  him 
to  raise  a  company  of  volunteers,  of  which  he  was 
commissioned  captain,  and  which  was  offered  to  the 
government,  accepted,  and  arrived  in  Mexico  in  time 
to  endure  some  fatiguing  marches  and  many  hard- 
ships, but  too  late  to  participate  in  any  of  the  battles. 
Upon  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  in  1861,  Capt. 
Taylor  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  appeal 
for  troops,  at  once  engaging  in  the  formation  of  com- 
panies and  inciting  the  people  of  his  county  generally 
to  patriotic  action.     This  done,  he  made  preparations 
to  leave  home,  with  his  horse  and  arms,  with  a  view 
of  offering  himself  as  a  volunteer  upon  the  staff  of 
some  general  already  in  the  field  and  at  the  post  of 
danger.     He  was,  however,  deterred  from  this  action 
by  the  unexpected — and,  so  far  as  he  was  personally 
concerned,  unsolicited— offer  by  Governor  Olden  of 
the  colonelcy  of  the  Third  Regiment,  then  in  process 
of  formation.      Accepting  without   hesitation,    Col. 
Taylor  at  once  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  re- 
ducing his  new  levies  into  a  state  of  discipline.     On 
the  28th   of  June,   1861,  he   accompanied  them  to 
Washington,  near  which  place  they  were  stationed 
until  the  21st  of  July,  when  he  assisted,  with  the 
other  New  Jersey  regiments,  in  checking  the  dis- 
graceful flight  from  Bull  Run,  and  rendered  other 
important  service.     In  the  following  spring,  upon  the 
assignment  of  Gen.  Kearney  to  the  command  of  a 
division.  Col.  Taylor,  as  the  senior  officer  of  the  First 
Brigade,  became  acting  brigadier-general  of  that  com- 
mand, and  June  10,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to  that 
rank.     He  commanded  the  brigade  during  the  battles 
of  the  Peninsula,  displaying  in  them  all  the  most  in- 
domitable courage. 

Returning  with  the  army  to  Alexandria,  he  was 
sent  forward  (August  27th)  to  Bull  Run  bridge  with 
a  view  of  moving  up  to  Manassas  Junction  and  dis- 
persing a  rebel  force  reported  to  be  at  that  point. 
Upon  reaching  the  field,  however,  his  command  found 
itself  confronted  by  the  entire  corps  of  Stonewall 
Jackson,  and,  being  violently  assailed,  was  obliged 
to  fall  back  with  severe  loss.  In  this  movement  Gen. 
Taylor  was  seriously  wounded  in  the  leg.  He  was 
removed  to  Alexandria,  where  he  died,  Sept.  1,  1862, 
from  the  effects  of  the  amputation  of  the  limb,  his 
spirit  remaining  firm  and  undaunted  to  the  last. 


As  a  soldier.  Gen.  Taylor's  prominent  character- 
istics were* courage,  intelligence,  and  inflexible  devo- 
tion to  duty.  As  a  disciplinarian,  he  was  stern  almost 
to  harshness;  and,  although  on  this  account  he  was 
for  a  time  far  from  popular  with  the  troops  of  his 
command,  he  soon  became  endeared  to  them.  In 
personal  manners  he  was  haughty  and  reserved,  sel- 
dom unbending  from  his  lofty  mood  even  among  his 
intimates  ;  but  underneath  all  this  there  throbbed  a 
nature  at  once  passionate  and  noble, — a  nature  which 
scorned  injustice  and  held  unyieldingly  to  convictions 
honestly  and  deliberately  formed.  Had  his  life  been 
spared  he  must  have  attained  a  high  rank  among  the 
generals  of  the  Union  army,  in  which,  whatever  its 
misfortunes,  courage  and  unselfish  patriotism  always 
commanded  generous  and  certain  applause. 

OFFICERS    AND    MEN    OF    THE    THIRD    REGIMENT 
FROM    SOMERSET    COUNTY. 

COMPANT  G. 

Peter  F.  Bogere,  captain ;  com.  May  29, 1861 ;  rea.  Oct.  26, 1861. 

John  Roberts,  captain ;  com.  Nov.  8, 1861 ;  res.  Aug.  6, 1863. 

CharleB  A.  Wahl,  captain  ;  com.  Ang.  6, 1863;  pro.  from  first  lieutenant 

Co.  H  ;  dismiBsed  S.  0.  War  Department  Ang.  12, 1S64. 
Eichard  D.  Cook,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  May  29,  1861 ;  pro.  to  captain 

Ck>.  B  Sept.  20,  1862 
John  L.  W.  Wentz,  first  lientenant ;  com.  Ang.  21, 1862 ;  pro.  to  captain 

Co.  A  Sept.  29, 1863. 
Washington  Irvine,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Sept.  29, 1863 ;  pro.  from  second 

lieutenant  Co.  J> ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Arthur  H.  Hardcastle,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  June  13, 1861 ;  res.  Nov. 

7. 1861. 
William  C.  Barnard,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Dec.  16,  1861;  aide-de- 
camp to  Gen.  Kearney  ;  killed  in  action  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  May 

6. 1862. 
Franklin  H.  Coles,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  May  29, 1862 ;  pro.  to  first 

lieutenant  Co.  A  Sept.  4, 1862. 
Charles  A.  McOlung,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  Sept.  15, 1862 ;  pro.  to  first 

lieutcnaut  Co.  E  Dec.  10, 1862. 
John  Torbert,  Second  lieutenant;  com.  Feb.  19, 1863;  private  of  Co.  1, 
Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  ;  pro.  to  second  lieutenant ;  res. 
Nov.  12, 1863. 
Oscar  H.  Westlake,  first  sergeant;  enl.  May  29,  1861;  pro. 

lieutenant  Co.  B  Aug.  13,  1862. 
John  Miller,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  pro.  from  sergeant  Sept. 

1,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864.  , 

John  0.  Wiggins,  sergeant;  enl.  May  29, 1861;  pro.  to  second  lieutenant 

Co.  C  Nov.  8, 1861. 
Kichard  Cassidy,  sergeant ;  enl.  June  24,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Lewis  S.  Fisher,  sergeant ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  pro.  to  second  lieutenant 

Co.  H  July  2, 1862. 
John  T.  Space,  sergeant ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Augustus  Gootsche,  sergeant ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Peter  T.  Vanderveer,  sergeant ;  enl.  May  29,1861;  disch.  for  disability 

Nov.  28, 1862. 
James  Toomer,  sergeant;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disabUity  Sept. 

9, 1863. 
Theodore  McCoy,  sergeant;  enl.  May  29,  1861;  killed  at  Crampton's 

Pass,  Md.,  Sept,  14, 1862. 
Johns.  Judd,  sergeant;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  died  of  wounds  May  30, 1864. 
David  T.  Eunyon,  corporal;  enl.  May  20, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Philip  French,  corporal ;  enl.  May  29,1861;  must,  out  June  29,1865; 
re-enl.  Dec.  30, 1863 ;  served  in  Co.  C,  Fifteenth  Eegiment,  and  Co. 
A,  Third  Battery. 
George  W.  Luse,  corporal ;  enl.  May  29, 1861;  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 
Jasper  Van  Buskirk,  corporal;  enl.  May  29,  1861;  not  must,  out  with 

company. 
Corelius  Van  Zandt,  corporal ;    enl.  May  29, 1861 ; 
Oct.  7, 1862. 


,  to  second 


disch.  for  disability 


124 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Henry  V.  Lowe,  corporal ;  enl.  May  29,  1861 ;   disch.  for  disability  Oct. 

31,  1862. 
Jacob  Crater,  corporal ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  died  of  wounds  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Vtt.,  May  24, 1864. 
Christopher  Hoagland,  corporal ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  killed  at  Spottsyl- 

vania  Court-house,  Va.,  May  12, 1864. 
William  Fuller,  corporal ;  ent.  May  29, 1861 ;  died  of  disease  Sept.  11, 1863. 
George  W.  Himes,  musician  ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
John  Burkmeyer,  musician ;  enl.  May  29, 1861 ;  died  March  22, 1864. 
Benjaniio  F.  Sliinn,  wagoner;  enl.  May  25, 1861 ;  must,  out  J\ine23, 1864. 
Martin  Blanchard,  wagoner  j  enl.  May  29,  1861 ;  died  of  fever  Sept.  22, 
1862. 

Pi-ivates* 
Peter  S.  AUeger. 

Woodhull  Amerman,  disch.  for  disability  Nov.  18, 1862. 
Samuel  Apgar,  disch.  from  hospital  Aug.  20,  1863. 
Martm  Bush. 

Miller  G.  Bell,  disch.  for  disability  Sept.  12, 1S63. 
Philip  W.  Bunn,  disch.  for  disability  May  15, 1862. 

John  V.  Bennett,  miflsing  in  action  May  10, 1864;  recorded  at  "War  De- 
partment as  died  at  that  date. 
George  C.  Cummings,  enl.  June  24, 1861 :  re-enlisted ;  must,  out  June  29, 

1865. 
Ananias  M.  Oonover,  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  16, 1863. 
James  Doyle,  paroled  prisoner;  must,  out  Jan.  19, 1865. 
Daniel  Dickson,  disch.  for  disability  May  15,  1862. 
Abraham  P.  Drost,  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  24, 18G2. 
John  Duryea,  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Dec.  12, 1862, 
John  J.  Delta,  killed  in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 
Joseph  Dunham,  died  of  fever  Oct.  17, 1 861 ;  buried  at  Alexandria,  Ya. 
William  S.  Forgus,  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  29,  1862. 
George  Fenner,  tiaus.  to  Co.  C,  Fifteenth  Regiment ;  re-enl. Dec.  30, 1863. 
William  Fenuer,  enl.  Jan.  25,  1S64 ;  missing  in  action  May  10, 1864; 

supposed  dead. 
Edward  Gaylord,  not  mustered  put  with  compauy. 

Smith  D.  Gibbons,  enl.  June  20, 1861 ;  not  mustered  out  with  company. 
Philip  Good  heart. 
Joachim  Giilick. 
Andrew  Getberd,  trans,  to   Veteran  Reserve   Corps;    disch.  therefrom 

March  19,  1864. 
Jacob  Hauck,  re-eul.  Dec.  30,  18G3 ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Thomas  Hines. 

Joseph  Human,  re-enl.  Dec.  30, 1863;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
James  Hymer. 

Valentine  Holla,  disch.  for  disability  March  29, 18G2. 
■Charles  Hill,  not  mustered  out  with  company. 
Adam  Job,  killed  in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 
Michael  Kaley,  died  in  camp  March  26,  1863. 

John  Reiser,  died  of  wounds  Sept.  10, 1862;  buried  at  Alexandria,  Va. 
Nicholas  Kortzendoifer. 
Frederick  Kreti-hman. 

Adam  Knhn,  Jr.,  enl.  Jan.  25, 1864;  recruit;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Elias  C.  Kiilp,  re-enl.  Dec.  30, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Lewis  Kaliler,  disch.  for  disability  July  16, 1862. 
John  Kelley,  discb.  for  disability  April  2,  18(33. 
William, Latuurette,  disch.  for  disability  Dec.  24, 1862. 
Charles  Leonhait,  enl.  Sept.  20,  18G1;  disch.  for  disability  Jan.  23, 1863. 
Christopher  Lynch,  disch.  for  disability  March  16, 1863. 
Michael  V.  D.  Lawrence. 

Henry  Ladingburg,  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps. 
Augustus  C.  Liudsley,  trans,  to  Signal  Corps;  disch.  therefrom  Aug.  16, 

1865. 
John  Lederman,  killed  in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 
William  Liltell,  died  of  wounds  May  24, 1863. 
Itobert  Leslie,  enl.  Jan.  6, 1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Joseph  McNcar,  killed  in  action  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3, 18G3. 
Francis  McKenna,  re-enl.;  must,  out  June  29,  18G5. 
Benjamin  Mabey,  disch.  for  disability  May  24,  IS'rA. 
Samuel  Meyurs,  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Jan.  27, 1863. 
John  MeyeiB.  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps;  disch.  therefrom  May  28,  1864. 
William  Nurtou,  disch.  fur  disability  March  27, 18G3. 
Tuni-s  H.  Orr,  disch.  on  account  of  wounds  April  14, 1863. 
Steplien  Oveiton. 

*  The  privates  all  enlisted  May  29,  18G1,  and  were  mustered  out  June 
23,  1864,  unlesB  otherwise  stated. 


Michael  C.  O'Neil,  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Samuel  Phillips,  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Rudolph  P.  Prtshoud,  disch.  for  disability  May  16, 1862. 

Thomas  E.  Reeder,  enl.  Jan.  26, 1864;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 

Louis  C.  Riddle. 

Henry  Rockafellow. 

Charles  Schill. 

Joseph  Seal. 

William  Skillman. 

Charles  Spangler,  re-enl.  Dec.  30, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 

Lewi?  C.  Scull,  enl.  Sept.  20, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Sept.  12,  1863. 

Samuel  D.  Solomon,  eul.  June  25, 18G1;  disch.  for  disability  Jan.  19, 1863. 

William  Southard,  disch.  for  disability  Nov.  4,  1861. 

Peter  Smith,  enl.  July  1, 1861 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Dennis  Snee,  not  must,  out  with  company. 

William  Steinka,  killed  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3, 1863. 

John  B.  Templeton. 

Clark  D.  Todd,  enl.  June  20J 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  March  2, 1863. 

John  Thompson,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps ;  disch.  therefrom  May  30, 1864. 

Samuel  Tyler,  enl.  Sept.  25, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 

Joseph  T.  Walter,  disch.  for  disability  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Andrew  Watson,  enl.  Sept.  21, 1861 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Frank  Wheeland. 

E.  Augustus  Wilson,  must,  out  June  17, 1865. 

John  Williamson,  disch.  for  disability  May  15,  1862. 

Caleb  Woodruff,  killed  at  Manassas,  Va.,  Aug.  27, 1862. 

Joseph  T.  Young,  re-enl.;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 

David  Toung,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  ;  died  of  fever  April  27, 1864. 


CHAPTEE    XII. 


FIFTH  AND   SIXTH  IKrFAKTTKY  EEGIMENTS. 

Hunterdon  County  fiirnishea  a  Company  for  each  Eegiment — OflQcera  of 
the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Infantry — Leave  "  Camp  Olden" — Form  a  Part  of 
the  Second  New  Jersey  Brigade — AsBigned  to  duty  as  the  Third  Bri- 
gade, in  Hoolcer's  Division — Movements  on  the  Potomac— Battle  of 
■Williamsburg — Fair  Oaks— Losses  in  the  Peninsula  Campaign — En- 
gaged at  Bristow  Station,  Chantilly,  etc.— UuHincliing  Bravery  at  Get- 
tysburg-Superb Behavior  at  Spottaylvania  Court-house— Other  en- 
gagements—Muster-out— Kusters  of  Co.  A,  Fifth  Infantry,  and  Co.  H, 
Sixth  Infantry  Regiments. 

The  Fifth  and  Sixth  Eegiments  of  New  Jersey  in- 
fantry contained  each  one  company  raised  in  Hunter- 
don County.  As  these  two  regiments  served  together 
in  the  same  brigade,  and  as  the  histories  of  their  cam- 
paigns are  consequently  very  nearly  identical,  they 
are  here  given  together  in  one  narrative. 

These  regiments,  as  also  the  Seventh  and  Eighth, 
were  raised  under  a  requisition  made  by  President 
Lincoln  on  the  24th  of  July,  1861,  three  days  after  the 
great  disaster  at  Bull  Run.  The  Fifth  was  mustered 
into  the  service  under  Col.  Samuel  H.  Starr,  the  other 
regimental  officers  being:  Lieutenant-colonel,  Ger- 
shom  Mott ;  major,  William  S.  Truex  ;  adjutant,  Cald- 
well K.  Hall;  surgeon,  James  C.  Fisher;  assistant 
surgeon,  Addison  W.  Woodhull;  quartermaster,  James 
F.  Eusling.  The  regimental  officers  of  the  Sixth 
were :  Colonel,  James  T.  Hatfield ;  lieutenant-colo- 
nel, Simpson  E.  Stroud;  major,  John  P.  Van  Leer; 
adjutant,  Leonard  J.  Gordon;  quartermaster,  Joseph 
Woodward  ;  surgeon,  John  Wiley ;  assistant  surgeon, 
Bedford  Sharpe.  The  commissioned  officers  of  A 
company  of  the  Fifth  were:  Captain,  Ashbel  W. 
Angel;  first  lieutenant,   Charles   A.   Angel;   second 


FIFTH  AND   SIXTH  INFANTEY  REGIMENTS. 


125 


lieutenant,  Theodore  P.  Large.  Those  of  H  company 
of. the  Sixth  (also  from  Hunterdon)  were:  Captain, 
James  Bird ;  first  lieutenant,  Samuel  G.  Stockton ; 
second  lieutenant,  Jonas  F.  Hull.  Both  these  com- 
panies were  raised  at  Lamhertville,  Hunterdon  Co. 

The  Fifth  Regiment  left  Camp  Olden  on  the  29th 
of  August,  and  reported  for  duty  in  Washington  on 
the  following  day.  The  Sixth  left  Camp  Olden  Sep- 
tember 10th,  and  reported  in  Washington  on  the  11th. 
The  Seventh  and  Eighth  Eegiments  left  the  State  on 
the  19th  of  September  and  1st  of  October,  respect- 
ively, and  the  four  regiments  were  brigaded  together 
as  the  Second  Brigade  of  New  Jersey  troops,  under 
Col.  Starr,  of  the  Fifth,  as  brigade  commander.  The 
first  camp  was  made  at  Meridian  Hill,  near  Wash- 
ington. 

About  the  1st  of  December  the  brigade  was  moved 
to  Budd's  Ferry,  Md., — a  point  about  forty-five  miles 
below  Washington, — and  there  assigned  to  duty  as  the 
Third  Brigade  of  the  division  of  Gen.  Hooker.  This 
division  lay  at  that  time  encamped  at  various  points 
extending  from  Mattawoman  Creek  to  Liverpool 
Point,  on  the  Potomac.  On  the  south  side  of  that 
river,  opposite  the  position  of  Hooker's  division,  were 
formidable  Confederate  batteries  at  Shipping  Point, 
Cockpit  Point,  and  Evansport,  these  having  been 
erected  for  the  purpose  of  closing  the  navigation  of 
the  river.  But  the  evacuation  of  Manassas  by  the 
rebels  made  it  inexpedient  for  them  to  hold  these 
batteries,  and  they  were  accordingly  abandoned  about 
the  8th  of  March.  Upon  this  fact  becoming  known, 
a  detachment  of  five  hundred  men  of  the  Fifth  Eegi- 
ment,  under  Lieut.-Col.  Mott,  crossed  the  river  under 
orders  from  Gen.  Hooker  to  seize  and  occupy  the  po- 
sition which  the  Confederates  had  evacuated.  This 
was  the  first  important  duty  peirformed  by  the  men  of 
this  brigade.  The  detachment  temporarily  occupied 
the  position,  capturing  four  pieces  of  artillery  and  a 
large  amount  of  stores,  which  had  been  abandoned  ^y 
the  enemy  in  his  hasty  retirement. 

After  this  expedition  the  brigade  remained  quietly 
encamped  until  the  first  week  in  April,  when,  with 
the  division,  it  was  transferred  to  the  York  Eiver, 
Virginia,  and  landed  near  the  mouth  of  Cheeseman's 
Creek,  where  it  was  placed  under  command  of  Brig.- 
Gen.  F.  E.  Patterson,  the  division  being  incorporated 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  destined  to  take 
part  in  all  the  important  movements  of  that  army  in 
its  Peninsular  campaign  against  Eichmond.  Its  first 
position  was  in  front  of  the  strong  works  of  the  enemy 
at  Yorktown. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  May  4th,  it  was 
found  that  the  Confederate  line  stretching  southward 
from  Yorktown  to  the  mouth  of  Warwick  Eiver  had 
been  abandoned,  and  thereupon  the  Union  army  was 
put  in  motion  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  who  was  re- 
treating towards  Eichmond.  The  Second  New  Jer- 
sey Brigade  entered  Yorktown,  and  at  about  two 
o'clock  moved  out  from  that  place  on  the  Williams- 


burg road.  Its  bivouac  for  the  night  was  in  a  swamp 
about  seven  miles  beyond  Yorktown.  At  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  5th  it  moved  out  from  this 
bivouac,  and  struggled  on  through  darkness  and  mud 
and  pouring  rain  towards  its  first  battle-field, — that 
of  Williamsburg.  At  that  place  the  Confederates  lay 
in  heavy  force  and  very  strongly  posted,  their  main 
work,  Fort  Magruder,  commanding  the  road  and  a 
broad  "  slashing"  on  either  -side  of  it,  with  a  line  of 
about  twenty  strong  redoubts  stretching  away  from 
the  fort  in  both  directions  entirely  across  the  Penin- 
sula from  river  to  river.  Arriving  in  front  of  this  ap- 
parently impregnable  position  at  about  half-past  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  undaunted  Hooker  at 
once  moved  to  the  attack.  Two  batterie,,  Bramhall's 
and  Eakin's,  were  advanced  on  the  right  of  the  road, 
with  the  Fifth  New  Jersey  Eegiment  to  support 
them.  The  Sixth,  Seventh,  and  Eighth  Eegiments 
were  formed  in  line  on  the  left  of  the  road  and  or- 
dered forward. 

"Steadily  adTancing  through  the  underbrush,  the  gallant  regiments 
soon  came  upon  the  enemy's  forces,  and  at  once  opened  a  vigorous  iire. 
Here,  for  three  hours,  the  coniiict  ra.sed  with  desperate  fury.  Command- 
ing the  ground  at  every  point,  tlie  fire  of  tile  enemy  was  pitilessly  de- 
structive, and  did  not  slaclcen  for  a  moment.  But  the  brave  men  into 
whose  faces  it  was  poured  stood  firmly  and  unfiinchiugly, — sometimep, 
indeed,  pushed  back  a  little  space,  but  ob  surely  hurling  the  rebels, 
bleeding  and  shattered,  baclc  to  their  works.  From  the  nature  of  the 
ground,  there  was  no  opportunity  for  tlie  bayonet,  buf  the  rapid  volleys 
of  our  heroic  troops  were  scarcely  less  effective.  Aud  thus  the  battle 
raged,  the  enemy,  reiuforced  again  and  .again,  directing  against  these 
three  regiments  all  the  fury  of  their  attack,  but  still  the  little  column 
stood  immovable.  At  last,  however,  the  enemy,  driven  now  to  despera- 
tion, rushed  forward  in  overwhelming  numbers,  pouring  a  terrific  fire 
into  our  whole  line.  Then,  at  last,  that  line  wavered.  Their  ammuni- 
tion exhausted,  their  muskets  rusted  by  the  drenching  rain,  their  ranks 
terribly  thinned,  exhausted  by  want  of  food  and  a  dilBcult  march,  these 
heroes  of  the  day  before  this  last  overwhelming  onset  fell  slowly  hack. 
But  they  were  not  defeated.  They  had  held  the  enemy  in  check,  had 
frustrated  every  attempt  to  flank  our  position,  and  so  had  saved  the  di- 
vision, which  but  for  this  stubborn  resistance  would  have  been  swept  in 
disaster  from  the  field."* 

The  Fifth,  which  had  been  sent  in  support  of  the 
batteries,  maintained  its  position  there  under  a  tre- 
mendous fire  of  musketry  and  artillery  for  six  long 
hours ;  and  at  last,  when  the  rebel  infantry  charged 
and  captured  some  of  the  pieces,  the  regiment  made 
a  counter-charge,  carried  an  advanced  position,  and 
held  it  through  the  remainder  of  the  day,  maintain- 
ing a  continuous  and  most  destructive  fire  on  the 
enemy  for  fully  four  hours.  Finally,  the  gallant 
Kearney  threw  his  division  into  the  fire,  assaulting 
the  Confederate  line  with  the  most  desperate  impetu- 
osity, and  the  battle  became  more  furious  than  at  any 
time  during  the  day.  An  important  part  of  the  hos- 
tile works  was  carried,  and  when  night  closed  the 
Union  arms  were  victorious  all  along  the  line.  The 
enemy  retreated  during  the  night,  taking  the  road  to 
Eichmond  aud  leaving  his  dead  and  wounded  on  the 
field.  The  losses  of  Hooker's  division  in  this  san- 
guinary conflict  aggregated  nearly  sixteen  hundred 


*  Foster's  "  New  Jersey  and  the  Rebellion." 


126 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


men,  of  which  the  Jersey  brigade  sustained  more  than 
its  proportionate  share. 

Three  days  after  the  battle  the  brigade  moved  with 
its  division  towards  Richmond.  Marching  by  way  of 
Tunstall's  Station  and  Bottom's  Bridge,  it  crossed 
the  Chickahominy  at  the  latter  point,  and  halted  at 
Turner's  Farm  on  the  26th.  From  this  place  it  was 
advanced  to  a  position  in  the  rear  of  Casey's  division, 
which  occupied  the  front  line,  facing  the  enemy  near 
Fair  Oaks  Station  of  the  York  River  EaOroad.  At  a 
little  after  noon  on  the  31st  of  May  this  division 
(Casey's)  was  suddenly  attacked  by  an  overwhelming 
force  of  Confederates,  and  was  forced  back  in  disor- 
der ;  but  reinforcements  came  up,  the  battle  became 
general,  and  raged  with  great  fury  through  the  after- 
noon. Late  in  the  day  the  Third  Corps  was  ordered 
to  advance,  and  under  this  order  the  Fifth  and  Sixth* 
New  Jersey  Regiments  moved  forward  with  their  di- 
vision and,  reaching  the  front  line  at  dark,  went  into 
position,  and  so  remained  during  the  night. 

The  battle  was  renewed  on  the  following  day  (Sun- 
day, June  1st),  and  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  New  Jersey 
went  in,  leading  the  advance,  and  with  Gen.  Hooker 
in  person  at  their  head.  The  enemy  was  soon  found, 
and  the  battle  raged  furiously  for  nearly  three  hours, 
in  which  the  Jersey  regiments  fully  sustained  the  rep- 
utation they  had  gained  at  Williamsburg.  Col.  Starr, 
in  his  report  of  the  battle,  said, — 

"  The  road,  and  the  fields  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  were  thronged 
with  flying  regiments  from  the  battle-ground,  two  or  three  miles  in 
front,  through  whose  routed  and  disorderly  masses  I  was  compelled  to 
force  my  way  with  bayonet  and  sabre.  At  7  a.m.  on  the  let  instant  the 
Fifth  and  Si.tth  New  Jersey  marched  forward  (Gen.  Patterson  still  being 
very  ill),  and  were  actively  engaged  from  about  a  quarter  past  seven 
A.M.  until  a  quartor  to  ten  a.m.— two  and  a  half  hours-with  the  enemy, 
the  Fifth  Regiment  losing  four  privates  killed,  three  ofBcers  and  fifty- 
one  men  wounded,  and  two  privates  missing;  total,  si.xty.  .  .  .  The  loss 
of  the  Sixth  Regiment  has  not  yet  been  reported  to  me,  but  is  consider- 
able less.  Gen.  Hookei-  was  himself  witness,  a  part  of  the  time,  of  the 
behavior  of  the  two  regiments  under  my  command,  and  to  him  I  leave 
the  comments  thereon.f  Credit  being  but  reluctantly  accorded  to  this 
brigade  for  their  services,  its  members  look  inwards  and  upwards  for 
their  reward.  The  Fifth  aud  Si.vth  Regiments  have  been  for  four  days 
and  nights  under  anus,  in  battle,  reconnoissance,  and  in  holding  the 
most  advanced  position  on  this  flank  of  the  army.  They  are  still  under 
arms,  and  see  no  prospect  of  an  hour's  rest  for  days  to  come.  They  have 
been  exposed  night  and  day  to  deluges  of  rain,  and  have  suffered  every 
species  of  privation  incident  to  an  army  in  an  enemy's  country." 

The  loss  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  in  the  battle  of  Fair 


*  The  Seventh  and  Eighth  had  previously  been  detailed  for  other  duty. 

t  The  comments  made  by  Gen.  Hooker  in  his  report  of  the  battle  were 
as  follows:  "It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  bear  testimony  to  the  con- 
tinued good  conduct  of  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  New  Jei-sey  Regiments 
Their  ranks  have  been  greatly  thinned  by  battle  and  sickness,  and  they 
had  been  encamped  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  troops  partially 
demoralized  from  the  events  of  the  preceding  day  ;  yet,  on  the  fli-st  in- 
dication of  a  renewal  of  the  conflict,  I  found  their  lines  formed  and 
they  were  as  ready  to  meet  it  as  though  our  arms  had  been  crowned  with 
success.  Brig.-Gen.  F.  E.  Patterson  w«3  prevented  from  participating  in 
these  operations  on  Sunday  by  sickness,  and  his  command  devolved  on 
Col.  S.  H.  Stan-,  of  the  Fifth  New  Jersey  Regiment,  whose  energy  and 
courage  were  conspicuous  on  every  part  of  the  field.  Especial  mention 
is  also  due  to  Ool.  G.  Mott  and  Lieut.-Col.  George  0.  Burling  of  the 
Sixth  New  Jersey  Regiment,  for  their  distinguished  services'on  this 
field." 


Oaks  was  twenty-one  killed  and  wounded.  The  two 
regiments  bivouacked  in  their  position  on  the  night 
of  the  1st,  and  on  the  2d  of  June  advanced  and  occu- 
pied the  ground  recovered  from  the  enemy.  On  the 
25th  of  June  they  took  part  in  a  battle  fought  a  short 
distance  in  front  of  the  old  battle-ground  of  Fair 
Oaks,  and  here  again  they  fought  most  bravely. 

In  the  retreat  to  the  James  River,  which  com- 
menced on  the  28th  of  June,  the  brigade  was  ordered 
to  the  rear, — which  is  the  post  of  honor  and  of  danger 
in  a  retreat, — and  was  under  heavy  and  long-continued 
fire,  and  sustained  slight  losses,  both  at  Glendale 
(June  30th)  and  Malvern  Hill  (July  1st),  but  was  not 
otherwise  engaged.  It  reached  Harrison's  Landing 
on  the  3d,  and  there  went  into  camp.  A  few  weeks 
later  it  took  part  in  the  second  battle  of  Malvern  Hill, 
which,  however,  was  but  an  inconsiderable  affair. 
This  was  the  last  fighting  done  by  this  brigade  on 
the  Peninsula.  Its  losses  in  the  Peninsula  cam- 
paign were  six  hundred  and  thirty-four  in  killed  and 
wounded  alone. 

On  the  21st  of  July  the  brigade  marched,  with  other 
commands  of  the  army,  from  Harrison's  Landing, 
moved  down  the  Peninsula  to  Yorktown,  was  there 
embarked  on  transports,  and  proceeded  to  Alexan- 
dria, being  destined  to  reinforce  the  overmatched 
army  of  Gen.  Pope.  From  Alexandria  it  was  moved 
out  to  Warrenton  Junction  on  the  25th,  and  from 
there  marched  rapidly  to  the  front.  It  found  the 
enemy  at  Bristow  Station,  where  a  severe  battle  was 
fought  on  the  27th  of  August,  the  Jersey  regiments 
charging  and  driving  the  Confederates  in  gallant 
style ;  again  at  Bull  Run  on  the  29th,  and  still  again 
at  Chantilly  on  the  30th,  keeping  their  bright  record 
on  both  fields.  The  losses  of  the  two  regiments 
in  this  series  of  battles  were :  Fifth  Regiment,  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing,  fifty-one;  Sixth  Regiment, 
one  hundred  and  four. 

From  this  campaign  the  brigade  returned  to  Alex- 
andria, where  it  remained  (taking  no  part  in  the  An- 
tietam  campaign)  until  the  1st  of  November.  From 
that  time  until  the  20th  it  was  employed  in  a  series 
of  unimportant  movements,  but  at  the  last-named 
date  it  moved  down  the  Rappahannock  River  to  Fal- 
mouth, where  it  arrived  on  the  night  of  the  28th. 
The  march  to  this  place  had  been  a  most  severe  one 
on  the  men,  as  they  were  without  rations  and  many 
of  them  nearly  barefooted.  During  this  march  the 
brigade  commander.  Gen.  Patterson,  died  very  sud- 
denly in  his  tent,  and  the  command  then  fell  to  Col. 
Joseph  W.  Revere,  of  the  Seventh  Regiment. 

In  the  movement  against  the  Confederate  position 
at  Fredericksburg  on  the  13th  of  December  the  Second 
New  Jersey  Brigade  was  not  engaged  in  actual  battle, 
though  it  moved  across  the  river  and  remained  in 
position  during  the  conflict.  It  was  for  a  time  under 
a  very  heavy  fire,  but  sustained  no  loss  except  that  of 
one  man  killed  in  the  Seventh  Regiment.  In  the 
night  following  the  battle  it  returned  to  the  north 


FIFTH  AND   SIXTH   INFANTRY  REGIMENTS. 


127 


l)ank  of  the  river  and  reoccupied  its  former  camps, 
which,  became  its  winter  quarters. 

When  the    new   commander   of   the  army,    Gen. 
Hooker,  moved  his  forces  across  the  Rappahannock, 
in  the  spring  of  1863,  the  brigade  (which  then  com- 
prised, in  addition  to  the  New  Jersey  regiments,  a 
New  York  and  a  Pennsylvania  regiment)  took  part 
in  the  campaign,  under  command  of  Col.  Mott,  of  the 
Fifth  New  Jersey.    It  crossed  the  river  on  the  1st  of 
May,  but  remained  near,  guarding  the  fords,  until 
about  six  o'clock  p.m.  on  the  2d,  when  it  was  ordered 
to  the  front  to  help  retrieve  the  disaster  caused  by  the 
disgraceful  flight  and  panic  of  the  Eleventh  Corps. 
It  did  not;  however  (on  account  of  the  wild  disorder  on 
the  field),  reach  the  position  assigned  to  it  until  about 
two  o'clock  A.M.  on  the  3d.     At  half-past  four  it  was 
advanced  a  short  distance  farther  to  the  front,  where 
it  occupied  a  breast-work,  and  stubbornly  held  it  for 
two  hours  against  several  desperate  assaults  made  by 
the  enemy,  but  was  at  last  compelled  to  withdraw. 
It  was  reformed  in  the  rear  of  the  Chancellor  House, 
and  soon  after  advanced  to  another  charge,  capturing 
the  assaulted  work   and   planting  the  Union  coloirs 
upon  it.     It  was  found,  however,  that  the  stronghold 
could  not  be  held  except  at  the  probable  sacrifice  of 
nearly  the-  entire  command,  and  so  it  was  reluctantly 
withdrawn,  to  take  position  in  the  new  line  which 
had  been  formed  in  the  rear  of  the  Chancellor  House. 
In  this  battle  the  fighting  was  terrific,  and  the  beha- 
vior of  the  New  Jersey  regiments  splendid.     The  loss 
of  the  Fifth  was  one  hundred  and  sixteen  killed  and 
wounded  and  nine  missing ;  that  of  the  Sixth,  sixty- 
four  killed  and  wounded  and  eight  missing.     After 
the  operations  above  noted  the  brigade  was  not  se- 
verely engaged,  but  remained  on  the  field  until  the 
6th  of  May,  when  it  recrossed  the  Rappahannock  and 
occupied  its  former  camp. 

In  the  great  battle  of  Gettysburg  the  brigade  was 
engaged,  and  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  on  the  2d  of 
July,  when  it  was  under  the  heaviest  artillery-  and 
musketry-fire  for  a  long  time,  and  sustained  repeated 
assaults  of  the  enemy's  infantry  with  unflinching 
bravery. 

On  the  3d  it  was  again  engaged,  but  less  heavily. 
The  losses  of  the  Fifth  Regiment  on  this  field  were 
seventy-eight  killed  and  wounded  and  sixteen  miss- 
ing ;  the  Sixth  lost  thirty-three  killed  and  wounded 
and  eight  missing.  The  total  loss  of  the  brigade 
was  five  hundred  and  thirteen.  After  the  Confed- 
erate army  had  retreated  across  the  Potomac  the 
Jersey  brigade,  crossing  that  river  with  the  army, 
went  into  camp  at  Bealton,  Va.  It  was  engaged  in  a 
fight  with  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  infantry  at  Mo- 
Lean's  Ford  on  the  15th  of  October,  losing  in  all 
about  thirty  men.  After  this  it  participated  in  the 
movements  of  the  army  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year,  but  was  not  again  engaged.  Its  winter  quarters 
were  taken  near  Brandy  Station. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1864,  the  Second  New  Jersey 


Brigade* — then  a  part  of  the  Second  Army  Corps — 
crossed  the  Rapidan  at  Ely's  Ford,  and  moved  rap- 
idly away  with  other  commands  of  the  army  into  the 
Virginia  Wilderness.  It  became  engaged  with  the 
enemy  on  the  5th,  and  again,  more  heavily,  on  the  6th. 
From  this  time  it  saw  little  fighting  until  the  10th, 
when  it  fought  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house.  The 
11th  was  a  day  of  comparative  quiet,  but  on  the  12th 
it  again  moved  under  fire  in  the  terrific  battle  of  that 
day  at  Spottsylvania. 

"  The  behavior  of  the  New  Jersey  regiments  in  this  terrible  battle  was 
superb.  For  fourteen  hours  they  stood  the  very  brunt  of  the  storm, 
never  yielding  an  incli  or  losing  heart  in  their  work.  All  around  them 
the  slaughter  was  terrible,  but  they  remained  unappalled.  The  rebel 
dead  were  piled  in  heaps  on  their  side  of  the  works,  presenting  a  spec- 
tacle of  horror  almost  without  parallel.  Among  the  dead  were  many 
wounded  writhing  under  the  bloody  heaps.  On  McAUister'sf  immediate 
front,  where  the  enemy  repeatedly  threw  forward  his  massed  columns  to 
break  our  lines,  a  tree  measuring  twenty-six  inches  in  diameter  was  (it 
is  said)  cut  down  by  musket-  and  rifle-balls, — a  fact  which  shows  better 
than  any  description  the  intensity  of  the  fire.":): 

The  result  of  the  struggle  was  undecisive,  but  the 
fighting  had  been  so  tremendous  that  the  Union  and 
Confederate  forces  were  completely  exhausted  ;  and, 
as  if  by  mutual  consent,  hostilities  were  suspended 
during  the  succeeding  two  days.  The  brigade  fought 
again  on  the  15th,  with  slight  loss.  It  was  subse- 
quently engaged  on  the  23d  and  24th  at  Chesterfield 
Bridge,  a  few  days  later  at  Tolopotomy,  and  on  June 
3d  in  the  bloody  battle  at  Cold  Harbor,  where  it  suf- 
fered very  severely.  On  the  7th  it  was  at  Baker's 
Mill,  on  the  Chickahominy,  and  remained  there  until 
the  12th.  Thence  it  moved  to  the  James  River, 
crossing  that  stream  on  the  14th,  and  arriving  in 
front  of  Petersburg  on  the  following  day.  On  the 
16th  it  took  part  in  a  general  assault  on  the  enemy's 
lines  encircling  that  stronghold,  and  again  in  an 
equally  bloody  assault  on  the  18th.  For  three  days 
afterwards  the  fighting  was  almost  continuous.  Still 
another  heavy  assault  was  made  on  the  23d,  and  after 
that  there  was  a  comparative  lull  in  the  fighting 
through  the  remainder  of  the  month.  Up  to  that 
time — that  is,  during  the  months  of  May  and  June — 
the  losses  of  the  Fifth  Regiment  had  been  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  killed,  one  hundred  and  nineteen 
wounded,  and  twenty-two  missing ;  of  the  Sixth,  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  killed  and  wounded  and  eight 
missing. 

The  movements  of  the  forces  investing  Petersburg 
from  this  time  until  its  final  capture  were  too  numer- 
ous and  complicated  to  be  mentioned  in  detail.  It  is 
sufBcient  to  say  that  in  all  these  movements,  during 
the  summer  and  fall  of'  1864  and  the  winter  and 
spring  of  1865,  down  to  the  closing  scene  at  Appo- 
mattox, the  regiments  of  the  Second  New  Jersey 
Brigade  bravely  and  nobly  performed  all  the  duties 


*  The  brigade  then  comprised  the  Fifth,  Sixth,  Seventh,  Eighth,  and 
Eleventh  New  Jersey,  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  First  and  Sixteenth  Massachusetts  Regiments. 

f  Col.  McAllister,  cummandiug  the  Jersey  brigade. 

J  Foster's  "  New  Jersey  and  the  Eebellion." 


128 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


assigned  to  them  and  added  new  lustre  to  their  al- 
ready brilliant  record.  The  war  was  virtually  ended 
by  the  surrender  of  Lee,  and  on  the  2d  of  May  the 
brigade  left  Burkeville  Station  for  the  march  towards 
home.  Passing  through  Richmond  on  the  6th,  it  ar- 
rived at  Arlington  on  the  15th,  and  took  part  in  the 
memorable  review  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  at 
the  national  capital  on  the  23d  of  May.  A  few  days 
later  the  men  were  transported  to  Trenton,  where 
they  were  disbanded  and  returned  to  their  homes. 
Following  is  given  a  list  of  oflicers  and  enlisted  men 
of  the  two  Hunterdon  County  companies  in  the  Fifth 
and  Sixth  Regiments : 

COMPANY  A,  FIFTH  EBGIMENT.* 
Ashbel  W.  Angel,  captain ;  com.  Alig.  28,  1861 ;  trana.  to  Co.  I. 
John  W.  Neal,  captain ;  com.  Dec.  16, 1SG2,  vice  Angel ;  res.  April  14, 18G3 ; 

disability. 
Tiiomae  G.  Mon-ow,  captain  ;  com.  May  19, 1863,  vice  Neal ;  pro.  from  first 

lieutenant ;  trans,  to  Co.  B. 
David  H.  Aj'ers,  captain;  com.  April  1, 1864;  trans,  from  Co.  I;  trans,  to 

Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Charles  A.  Angel,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Aug.  28, 1861 ;  trana.  to  Co.  I. 
Jamea  H.  Wilson,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Sept.  20, 1862,  vice  0.  A.  Angel; 

res.  May  23,  1863  ;  disaWlity. 
Charles  C.  Dalley,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  April  1, 1864,  vice  Wilson ;  trans. 

to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Keginient. 
Theodore  P.  Large,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Aug.  28, 1861 ;  pro.  to  first 

lieutenant  Co.  H  May  16, 1862. 
Edward  P.  Berry,  second  lieutenant;  com.  May  16, 1862.  vice  Large;  pro. 

to  first  lieutenant  Co.  G  July  7, 1862, 
George  J.  Lawyer,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  July  7, 1862,  vice  Berry ;  trans. 

to  Co.  C  Dec.  12, 1862. 
Henry  R.  Clark,  second  lieut. ;  com.  Dec.  16, 1862,  vice  Lawyer;  killed  at 

Gettysburg,  July  2, 1863 ;  buried  at  Mercer  Cemetery,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Elias  G.  Wright,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  April  1,  1864,  vice  Clark ;  trans 

to  Co.  C. 
James  T.  Odem, second  lieutenant;  com.  Oct.  13, 1864, nice  Wright;  trana. 

to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Charles  W.  Aruett,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  pro.  to  second  lieu- 
tenant Co.  C  May  16,  1862. 
Isaac  Barnes,  first  sergeant;  enL  Aug.  28,  1862;  disch.  for  disability  Oct 

24,  1863. 
William  H.  Powera,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Feb.  29,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F 

Seventh  Regiment. 
Henry  Seabridge,  muiician  ;  enl.  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  disch.  Dec.  4, 1865. 
William  W.  Smith,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co  I  Aug 

11, 1862. 
Andrew  L.  Day,  sergt. ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  disch.  for  die.  July  30,  1862. 
Richard  J.  Waidell,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  28, 1862;  trans,  to  Co    E  Feb 

11,  1864. 
Edwin  Ellis,  aergt. ;  enl.  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Eben  N.  Pieraon,  sergeant;  enl.  Feb.  29,  1864;  trana.  to  Uo.  E,  Seventh 

Regiment. 
Alexander  Duffees,  aergeant;  enl.  Nov.  1, 1862;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Feb  11 

1864.  "  '      ' 

Jamea  0.  Bellis,  sergt. ;  enl.  Aug.  14.  1861 ;  trana.  to  Co.  K  Aug.  11, 1862. 
George  I.  Smith,  sergeant;  enl.  Feb.  18,1864;  killed  at  Cold  Harbor  Va 

May  31, 1864.  '       '' 

Thomas  Dowling, sergeant;  enl. Sept.  13, 1862 ;  killed  at  Chancellorsville 

May  23,  1863. 
James  Bamford,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  28, 1862  ;  trana.  to  Veteran  Eeaei-va 

Corps  Jan.  15, 1864;  disch.  Feb.  1, 1865. 
Jacob  Skillman,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  First  Cav- 

ali-j',  Nov.  27, 1862. 
James  M.  Van  Houten,  corporal;  enl.  March  14, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E, 

Seventh  Regiment. 


*  In  Auguet,  1862,  thia  company  waa  diabanded  and  its  offlcera  and 
men  tranaferred  to  ditferent  companiea  in  the  regiment.  A  new  Com- 
pany A  was  raised,  and  sent  into  the  field  about  the  1st  of  October,  1862. 
Those  of  the  original  members  of  A  company  who  did  not  re-enliat  were 
mustered  out  Sept.  7, 1804. 


George  W.  Preston,  corporal ;  enl.  Oct.  4,  1862  ;  trans,  to  Co.  D. 
William  F.  Bariolett,  corporal;  enl.  March  2,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E, 

Seventh  Regiment. 
John  B.  Cruden,  corporal;  enl.  March  26, 1864;  trans,  to  Co. E,  Seventh 

Regiment. 
Marmaduke  Goodyear,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  died  of  disease  June 

20, 1862. 
Willinm  Van  Horn,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  15,  1862;  died  of  disease  Deo. 

30,  1863;  buried  at  Trenton,  N.  J. 
William  Wortman,  corporal ;  enl.  March  4,  1864;  killed  at  Petersburg, 

Va.,  June  18, 1864;  buried  at  City  Point  Cemetery,  Va. 
Wm.  C.  Warden,  corporal ;  enl.  Oct.  6, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Privates. 

Elijah  C.  Ager,  enl.  July  23,  1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Lewis  Allegar,  enl.  April  15, 1864 ;  trana.  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

James  W.  Andrews,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Conrad  Apgar,  enl.  Feb.  27,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

William  Asband,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11,  1862. 

David  Allen,  enl.  Dec.  24,  1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

John  Allen,  eul.  Nov.  4,  1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Edward  Armatrong,  enl.  March  23, 1864;  not  muat.  out  with  company. 

Owen  Bannen,  enl.  Sept.  30,  1862 ;  trana  to  Co.  D  Feb.  11, 1864. 

J.xme3  Bell,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Peter  D.  Bergen,  enl.  Aug.  30,  1862;  trana  to  Co.  D  Feb.  11, 1864. 

Corneliua  A.  Booze,  enl.  Aug.  2S,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Feb.  11, 1864. 

John  Brink,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11,  1862. 

John  Buck,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861;  trana.  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Joseph  Butcher,  enl.  Aug.  29,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Jacob  Beckstein,  enl.  Feb.  29, 1864 ;  killed  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  16, 
1864. 

Joseph  Bower,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861;  died  May  17, 1862,  of  wounds  received 
at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  May  5, 1862. 

Bradford,  Samuel  W.,  enl.  Sept.  5,  1862;  killed  at  Gettysburg  July  2, 
1863. 

William  Brewer,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  killed  at  Fair  Oaks  June  1, 1862. 

George  Brown,  enl.  Feb.  9,  1864  ;  kUled  at  Wilderness  May  6, 1864. 

Peter  H.  Ball,  enl.  Feb.  23,  1864  ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

John  Barrett,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1862  ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

Philip  Battman,  enl.  Dec.  24,  1862 ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

Archibald  Bell,  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

Louis  Blanck,  enl.  May  2,  1864;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

Charles  Bradford,  enl.  Nov.  28,  1862;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

Lewis  T.  Brand,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

Charies  Brown,  enl.  Nov.  23,  1663 ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

Andrew  Burns,  enl.  Dec.  1,  1862;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

John  Burns,  enl.  March  19, 1864 ;  miaaing,  and  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

Frank  Caldwell,  enl.  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

Edward  Camp,  enl,  March  29,  1864 ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

John  Cirey,  enl.  April  22, 1864 ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

Michael  Convery,  enl.  Oct.  10,  1862  ;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

James  Crawford,  enl.  March  26,  1864;  missing,  and  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

Andrew  J.  Curren,  enL  March  9, 1864;  missing,  and  not  muat.  out  with 
company. 

John  Callahan,  enl.  March  12, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Horace  W.  Carey,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Aug.  11, 1862 

David  W.  Carr,  enl.  March  17, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Dunbar  H.  Case,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Edward  W.  Case,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861  ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Aug.  11, 1862. 

William  J.  Cliamberiain,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Aug.  11, 1862. 

William  Chidester,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Aug.  11,  1862. 

John  Clancy,  enl.  Oct.  31,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Feb.  11,  1864. 


FIFTH   AND   SIXTH    INFANTRY    REGIMENTS. 


129 


John  W.  Clai-k,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Ang.  11, 1862. 
William  H.  Clark,  enl.  March  31, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Kegiment 
■William  Cole,  enl.  Feb.  2-5, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
John  Colton,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Charles  H.  Compton,  enl.  Aug.  29,  1862;    trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve 

Corps,  Dec.  1, 1863 ;  disch.  July  24, 1865. 
William  Cooker,  enh  Ang.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Ang.  11, 1862. 
Henry  Courter,  enl.  Feb.  18, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Patiick  M.  Cox;  enl.  March  12,1864;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regiment. 
William  Craig,  enl.  Sept.  11,  1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Coi-ps, 

Sept.  1 ,  1863  ;  disch.  Aug.  9,  1865. 
George  W,  Cain,  enl.  Oct.  7,  1862 ;  died  of  fever  in  hospital  April  14, 
1863. 

.Inmes  Clark,  enl.  March  23, 1864 ;  missing  at  Wilderness ;  supposed  dead. 
Alexander  Cornelius,  enl.  Sept.  16, 1862;  died  in  hospital  June  4, 1863, 
buried  in  Military  Asylum  Cemetery,  D.  0. 

Edward  Cyphers,  enl.  March  29, 1864 ;  died  of  disease  at  Beverly,  N.  J., 
November,  1864. 

Dennis  Dalrymple,  enl.  Feb.  10, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E. 

Patrick  Daver,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 

John  Benman,  enl.  March  10, 18G4 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regiment. 

David  Dilts,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  .\ug.  11,  1862. 

George  W.  Dilts,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Aug.  11, 1862. 

John  W.  Dilts,  enl.  Ang.  30, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Louis  Dubois,  eul.  March  22, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Joseph  Dunn,  enl.  Aug.  30, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

I'eter  Dunn,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Walter  Davidson,  enl.  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  died  of  apoplexy  at  Trenton,  N.  J., 
Sept.  11, 1862. 

David  A.  Demarest,  enl.  March  28, 1864 ;  died  in  Andersonville  prison 
Aug.  15,  1864;  buried  in  National  Cemetery,  Andersonville,  grave 
5689. 

Alfred  J.  Be  Mott,  enl.  July  20, 18G4 ;  not  mustered  out  with  company. 

John  Denver,  enl.  April  22, 1864. 

Andrew  Diamond,  enl.  Sept.  30, 1862. 

James  Doyle,  enl.  Dec.  11, 1862. 

Charles  Dreniard,  enl.  March  22, 1864. 

James  Dunn,  enl.  April  22, 1864. 

John  Dnnnovan,  enl.  Dec.  10, 1862. 

Christian  Eberbeck,  enl.  Dec.  2, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Seventh  Kegt. 

John  H.  Emerick,  enl.  Aug.  30, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Andrew  J.  Emmons,  enl.  March  10, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regt. 

William  N.  Emmons,  enl.  Feb.  26, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regt. 

William  Etchell,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Charles  Edwards,  enl.  Nov.'8, 1862;  not  mustered  out  with  company. 

George  Edwards,  enl.  March  29, 1804;  missing. 

Thomas  Ellis,  enl.  Feb.  9,  1864;  missing. 

James  B.  French,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  died  of  disease  at  Camp  Baker,  Md., 
April  4,  1862. 

Thomns  Flaherty  {alias  Andrew  J.  Smith),  enl,  Aug.  14,  1861;  disch. 
July  26, 1862,  on  account  of  wounds  received  at  Williamsburg,  Va. 

Franklin  Foster,  enl.  Oct.  6,  1862;  disch.  Nov.  6,  1862,  to  join  regular 
army. 

Joseph  Gano,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Miller  H.  Gary,  enl.  Feb.  18, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Asher  W.  Gilbert,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Edward  Gorman,  i^nl.  Ang.  14, 1801;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Benjamin  F.  Graves,  enl.  .Vug.  14, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11, 1862. 

George  S.  Gray,  enl.  March  22, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

James  W.  Gamble,  enl.  March  9, 1864 ;  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  May 
31, 1864. 

Johii  Gutchol,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  killed  at  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  June  1, 1862. 

Hamilton  Gary,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861;  not  mustered  out  with  company. 

Charles  Glassford,  enl.  March  9, 1864 ;  not  mustered  out  with  company. 

John  Gordon,  enl.  March  19, 1864. 

Thomas  Green,  enl.  Nov.  26, 1862. 

James  Graves,  enl.  March  18, 1864. 

(!harles  Gunzer,  enl.  Sept.  1, 186-. 

Coonrad  Hockenburj',  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  July  22,1862. 

Patrick  Hopkins,  enl.  Sept.  29, 1862;  disch.  Sept.  30,1862;  rejected  by 
medical  board. 

Jonathan  E.  Haines,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Samuel  C.  Haines,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Joseph  G.  Hall,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Eli  Hamilton,  enl.  Aug.  14,1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 

John  Haney,  enl.  Nov.  14, 1802 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Feb,  11, 1864. 

Thomas  Haunigan,  enl.  Sept.  16, 1802 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Feb.  11, 1864. 


Thomas  Hannon,  enl.  March  5, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
James  W.  Hartpenco,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Michael  Hasson,  enl.  Oct,  2, 1802  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Feb,  11, 1864. 
John  0.  Heath,  enl,  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  6  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Charles  Hennin;;er,  enl.  Aug.  29, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co,  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Patrick  Henry,  enl,  Feb.  22, 1SC4 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Albertus  K.  Hibbs,  enl,  Aug.  14,  1861;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 
John  Higgins,  enl.  Aug,  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Robert  Hill,  enl.  Feb.  29, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co,  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Lemuel  Hoagland,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Henry  Hoehn,  enl.  April  1, 1804 ;  trans,  to  Co,  G,  Seventh  Regiment. 
George  Home,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Aug.  11, 1802. 
Jacob  Heulmes,  enl,  Aug.  30, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Michael  Humphrey,  enl,  Nov,  28, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Feb.  11, 1864. 
Thomas  Hunt,  enl.  Feb.  13,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Thomas  R.  Hunt,  enl,  Aug,  14,  1S61 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Francis  Hagerty,  enl.  Nov.  7, 1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
William  Han-ison,  eul.  March  23, 1864. 

Charles  Henry,  enl.  Bee.  6, 1862  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Patrick  Hubbin,  eul.  Nov.  8, 1802 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Loraine  Hull,  enl.  Marcli  10,  1864;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Thomas  Jackson,  enl.  Dec.  20,  1862. 
John  Johnson,  enl.  Dec.  31, 1862. 

Thomas  Jones,  enl,  March  19, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
George  Kane,  enl.  Sept,  4, 1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  Kelly,  enl.  Sept,  3, 1802  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Jonathan  T.  Kelly,  enl.  Sept.  4, 1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Richard  Kemble,  enl.  March  31, 1804 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Christian  Koch,  enl.  Sept.  22, 1£^02 ;  not  must,  out  with  company, 
John  H.  Keiscl,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Aug.  11, 1862. 
William  H.  Ketch,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11, 1802. 
Hudson  Kitchell,  enl.  Feb,  27, 1804 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Smith  Kitchen,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Ang.  11, 1802. 
Frederick  Kling,  enl.  Aug.  29, 1864;  trans,  to  Co,  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Gustavua  Knoll,  enl.  Aug.  29, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Godfried  Kolb,  enl.  Aug,  27, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
George  Kopp,  enl.  April  26, 1804;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Edward  Kopper,  enl.  April  27, 1804;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Thomas  Kingsland,  enl.  March  22, 1804 ;  died  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  March 

26,  1804. 
Henry  Luther,  enl.  Aug.  28, 1802 ;  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  11, 1864. 
Joseph  S.  Lauer,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11, 1862. 
William  Lees,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Co,  B  Aug,  11, 1862. 
George  Leifer,  enl.  March  29, 1804;  trans,  to  Co,  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Louis  Linz,  enl.  May  3,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Jacob  Long,  eul.  March  11, 1804;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regiment. 
James  Longshore,  enl,  Aug.  14, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Co,  G  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Thomas  C.  Lovett,  enl.  Aug.  28,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  First  Cavalry, 

March  25,  1803. 
Abr.  N.  Lunger,  enl.  March  9, 1804 ;  trans,  to  Co,  E,  Seventh  Regiment, 
aiaries  Lupardus,  enl.  Sept.  2a,  1802;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Feb.  11, 1864. 
Daniel  Luther,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Henry  Luther,  enl.  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  11, 1864. 
William  Lepp,  enl.  Dec,  1, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Frank  Limps,  enl.  March  10, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Audrew  Lynch,  enl.  Sept.  30, 1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
George  W.  McPeck,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  June  2, 1862. 
William  D.  Moore,  enl.  Aug,  14, 1861 ;  disch,  for  disability  July  30, 1862. 
Charies  C.  Morgan,  enl.  Oct.  31, 1802;  disch.  Nov.  6, 1802,  to  join  regular 

army. 
James  Mullan,  enl.  Sept.  15,  1862;  disch.  Sept.  17,  1862;  rejected  by 

medical  boai-d. 
John  N.  Maines,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Thos.  Mansfield,  enl,  March  7, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Geo.  W.  Martin,  enl,  Aug,  29, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Patrick  Martin,  enl.  March  30, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Dominick  Mayenflsh,  enl.  March  31,1864;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regt. 
John  McCafTerty,  enl.  Ang.  29, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Feb.  11, 1864. 
James  McCarty,  enl.  March  19,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Thomas  McGeaving,  enl.  March  .23, 1864;  trans  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regt. 
Peter  McKenna,  enl.  Feb.  26, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regiment. 
David  McPeak,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1804;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
John  McCann,  enl.  Sept.  3, 1802. 
Philip  McCann,  enl.  April  27, 1804. 
James  McCoy,  enl.  March  22, 1864. 
James  McKale,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1862. 
Edward  McKan,  enl.  Oct.  14,  1862. 


130 


HUNTEEDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


George  McMichael,  eul.  Dec.  23,  1802. 

Dauiel  McCarthy,  enl.  March  25,  1864 ;  missing  in  action  at  Wilderness, 

Va.,  May  6, 1864 ;  supposed  dead. 
John  McCarthy,  enl.  March  15, 1864 ;  missing  in  battle  of  Wilderness 

May  5, 1864 ;  supposed  dead. 
Adam  Mann,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  died  of  wounds  June  3,  1862. 
James  McKanna,  enl.  Dec.  26,  1862;  died  of  wounds  May  15,  1863. 
James  Murry,  enl.  March  19, 1864  ;  missing  in  action  May  6,  1864;  sup- 
posed dead. 
Angel  Moran,  enl.  Feb.  29, 1864. 
John  Murphy,  enl.  Feb.  23,  1864. 
William  Murphy,  pnl.  Sept.  8,  1862. 

Samuel  Meara,  enl.  Aug.  28,  1802;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regiment. 
James  H.  Melick,  enl.  .\uk.  14,  1861;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Aug.  11,  1862. 
John  Mettler,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Eben  A.  Miller,  enl.  April  4,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
George  H.  Miller,  enl.  Feb.  25.  1864;   trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
John  Miller,  enl.  Sept.  22, 1862  ;  ti-ans.  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps  ;  disch. 

July  26,  1866. 
Louis  Miller,  enl.  Feb.  20,  1804;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Joseph  Minsterman,  enl.  March  29,  1804 ;   trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Eegt. 
James  Montgomery,  enl.  Sept.  17,  1 862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Feb.  11, 1864. 
Anthony  Moreen,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Co.  8  Aug.  11,1862. 
Alexander  B.  Muckey,  enl.  Feb.  27,  1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regt. 
Jefferson  L.  Muaselman,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Aug.  1 1,  1862. 
Siimuel  Mustard,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  U,  1862. 
John  Myers,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Aug.  11.  1862. 
Jolin  Neal,  enl.  March  11,  1804;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regiment.' 
Charles  O'Malley,  enl.  Oct.  II,  1862;  disch.  Kov.  5,  1862,  to  join  regular 

army. 
Jcineph  O'Neil,  enl.  Sept.  6,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Feb.  11, 1864. 
Howard  O'Daniel,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Willijm  O'Daniel.  enl.  Aug.  14,  1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Osnian  Opdycke,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Abraham  A.  Peters,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 :  disch.  for  disab.  Nov.  30,  1861. 
Abram  Peteraon,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861;  disch.  for  disability  Nov.  30, 1861. 
WilliHm  Phelan  (or  Freeland),  enl.  Oct.  7,  1862 ;  disch.  Dec.  5,  1862,  to 

join  regular  army. 
Melvin  B.  Parse,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  1],  1862. 
Matthew  J.  A.  Penn,  enl.  Sept.  2, 1802  ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Feb.  11, 1864. 
Jesse  Pettit,  enl.  Oct.  7,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Feb.  11,  1804. 
Stacy  Pidcock,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Lewis  Ploeger,  enl.  Feb.  26, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
William  P.  Price,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1862. 
John  Pitt,  enl.  Aug.  29,  1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
James  Pollard,  enl.  April  5,  1804. 

William  H.  Ramsey,  enl.  April  20,  1804;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regt. 
Frederick  Rigler,  enl.  Aug.  30,  1804;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 
John  Robbins,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Ang.  11,  1802. 
Hiram  E.  Rooks,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1801;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Joseph  Boach,  enl.  Feb.  27, 1864;  died  of  wounds  June  25,  1804. 
Andrew  Robbins,  enl.  Oct.  0,  1802;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May 

3,  1863. 
Patrick  Rogan  (1),  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Patrick  Rogan  (2),  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861;  died  at  Washington  July  7, 1862. 
Chas.  Ryan,  enl.  March  22,  1864 ;  missing  at  Wilderness ;  supposed  dead. 
Patrick  Ryan,  enl.  Oct.  4, 1802 ;  died  July  8, 1863,  of  wounds  received  at 

Gettysburg. 
Robert  T.  Riley,  enl.  Oct.  17, 1802 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Jacob  Skillman,  enl.  Dec.  12, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Henry  Springer,  enl.  Sept.  9, 1802 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  Smith,  enl.  Nov.  12,  1802;  died  of  pneumonia  Nov.  18,  1863  ;  buried 

at  Richmond,  Va. 
Charles  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1801;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Francis  E.  Smith,  enl.  April  12,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Sevejith  Regiment. 
William  H.  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Aug.  11,  1802. 
Asber  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  April  20, 1802. 
Hugh  Scullin,  eul.  Sept.  12, 1802;  disch.  for  disability  July  21, 1863. 
Johu  Savage,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11,  1852. 
Henry  Schweis,  enl.  Sept.  22,1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps; 

disch.  Aug.  19, 186S. 
David  Schomp,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  II,  1802. 
Jacob  F.  Seals,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Aug.  11,  1802. 
James  A.  Servia,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  11,  1862. 
Jonathan  Servis,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  11, 1802. 
Winthrop  H.  Shattuck,  enl.  Nov.  14,  1802;  trans,  to  Marine  Battalion 

Nov.  24, 1802. 


Hiram  Sibbett,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Jonathan  Sibbett,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Richard  Sibbett,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Augustus  F.  S.  Singleton,  enl.  Nov,  6,  1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps ;  disch.  Jan.  8,  1806. 

George  W.  Sisco,  enl.  April  5, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Elnathan  Stevenson,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Go.  I  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Morgan  Stevenson,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Aug.  11,  1862. 

John  C.  Stryker,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Peter  Sutphin,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  11, 1802. 

Job  Swaim,  enl.  April  4,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Joseph  V.  Snook,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  killed  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  May 
6,  1862. 

Fritz  Sponholz,  enl.  Aug.  28,  1862;  died  of  wounds  June  3, 1863. 

John  M.  Swable.  enl.  March  5, 1804;  taken  prisoner  at  Wilderness  ;  died 
of  starvation  and  cruelty  at  Andersonville  July  15, 1864. 

John  Thompson,  enl  Dec.  20,  1802. 

Michael  Tigh,  enl.  Sept.  9,  1802  ;  killed  at  Chancellorsville  May  3, 1863. 

Thomas  Teriell,  enl.  Sept.  15,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Go.  F  Feb.  11,  1864. 

George  W.  Trauger,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  Aug.  11, 1862. 

Israel  Trauger,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Samuel  Trauger,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Aug.  11,  1862. 

Charles  P.  Turner,  enl.  Feb.  10,  1804;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Patrick  Tynan,  enl.  Sept.  10, 1802 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Feb.  11, 1804. 

Robert  Upton,  enl.  March  29,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regiment. 

Ferdinand  Van  Fleet,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  Aug.  11,  1862. 

John  Vaughn,  enl.  Sept.  2,  1802  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Fourth  Regiment,  Feb. 
4,  1863. 

John  Walton,  enl.  Feb.  22,  1864;    trans,  to  Co.  B,  Fifth  Regiment. 

Theodore  ]Varner,  enl.  Aug.  22,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F  Feb.  11,  1864. 

William  Waters,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1801';  trans,  to  Co.  D'Aug.  11,  1862. 

John  H.  Whitehead,  enl.  Feb.  18,  1804  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Seventh  Regi- 
ment. 

Jacob  E.  Wortman,  enl.  March  10,  1804 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Seventh  Regi- 
ment. 

Charles  W.  Watts,  enl.  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  6, 1863. 

John  Williams,  enl.  Nov.  19, 1802  ;  disch.  for  disability  June  24, 1863.. 

Emanuel  Woolverton,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  May  '28, 
1802. 

William  Ware,  enl.  March  4,  1804 ;  died  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  Nov.  3,  1864. 

Samuel  K.  White,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1861 ;  died  at  Washington,  D.  0.,  May  22, 
1302. 

George  F.  Williams,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1801 ;  died  at  Meridian  Hill,  Va.,Nov. 
19, 1801. 

Henry  Wagner,  enl.  Dec.  24, 1802. 

John  Wagner,  enl.  March  5, 1864. 

William  Ward,  enl.  Dec  16,  1862;  not  mustered  out  with  company. 

Anton  Wiger,  enl.  March  30,  1864. 

Charles  Williams,  enl.  March  18, 1864. 

William  W.  Wright,  enl.  Sept.  3, 1802. 

James  Young,  enl.  Sept.  2, 1802. 

Ellas  Yauger,  enl.  March  4, 1804  ;  trani.  to  Co.  E.Seventh  Reglipent 

John  W.  Ziuk,  enl.  Sept.  24,  1802. 

COMPANY   H,*  SIXTH   REGIMENT. 

James  Bird,  captain ;  com.  Sept.  9,  1861 ;  resigned  for  disability  Dec.  27, 
1802. 

Theodore  F.  Field,  capt. ;  com.  June  9,  1803 ;    pro.  from  first  lieutenant. 

Samuel  G.  Stockton,  iirst  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  9, 1801;  resigned  Feb. 
12, 1862. 

Samuel  S.  Marseilles,  first  lieutenant,  com.  Feb.  26, 1862 ;  first  sergeant, 
Aug.  26, 1801 ;  second  lieutenant,  Jan.  16,  1862 ;  resigned  for  disa- 
bility July  28, 1802. 

Cliarles  Merriam,  first  lieutenant  ;■  com.  Oct.  24, 1862 ;  pro.  from  sergeant- 
major  to  second  lieutenant  Feb.  26, 1862;  resigned  on  account  of 
wounds  Jan.  11,  1863. 

William  G.  Thompson,  first  lieutenant;  com.  May  3,  1863;  pro.  from 
second  lieutenant. 

Jonas  F.  Hull,  second  lieut. ;  com.  Sept.  9,  1861 ;  resigned  Jan.  8, 1862. 

Wilson  R.  Marseilles,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  pro.  from  cor- 
poral to  sergeant ;  to  first  sergeant. 

Daniel  K.  Hinsou,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  pro.  to  second  lieu- 
tenant  Co.  B  July  22,  1862. 


*  Surviving  members  of  this  company  who  did  not  re-enlist  were  mus- 
tered out  Sept.  7, 1864. 


FIFTH  AND  SIXTH   INFANTRY  EEGIMENTS. 


131 


Edward  "W.  Forker,  aergeant ;  enl.  Aug,  9,  1861 ;  pro.  from  corporal ; 

must,  out  Sept.  7, 1804. 
George  "W.  P.  Fisher,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861;  pro.  from  corporal; 

must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 
Alfred  H.  Stockton,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861;  discli.  for  disability 

Oct.  26, 1861. 
Theodore  Abbott,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  disch.  for  disability  Dec. 

16, 1862. 
Lewis  T.  Brant,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Eighth 

Begiment ;  re-enl.  Jan.  27, 1864. 
Stephen  Hull,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  must,  out  Sept.  18, 1864. 
Simon  Snyder,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 
William  S.  Landis,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Dec. 

13.  1861. 
George  H.  Pitman,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  paroled  prisoner 

May  22,  1862. 
Henry  Day,  Corp. ;  enL  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Sept.  16, 1862. 
Joseph  West,  corp. ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Sept.  26, 1862. 
Benjamin  Abbott,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  June 

1, 186.'i. 
Kelson  Christiansen,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861;  disch.  for  disability 

Feb.  28, 1863. 
€hr.  F,  Stevenson,  corporal;  enl.  Nov.  21, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth 

Begiment. 
Augustus  Trimmer,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth 

Begiment;  re-enl.  Dec.  29, 1863. 
Anderson  W.  Pidcock,  corporal;  enl,  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  killed  in  Wilderness, 

Va.,  May  6, 1864. 
Jolm  Ely,  corpoml ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  killed  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  May 

5, 1862. 
Joseph  D.  Rogers,  musician;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  drum-major  Sept.  1, 1861; 

must,  out  Sept.  17, 1864. 
Nathaniel  B.  Parent,  musician;  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861;  pro.  to  drum-m^or 

June  18,  1862. 
David  S.  Bender,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  missing  Dec.  23, 1862. 

Privates. 

Ferdinand  H.  Akers,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 

C.  V.  Anderson,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 

James  Agin,  enl.  Oct.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  fur  disability  Jan.  24, 1863. 

Farley  F.  Akers,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Sept.  3, 1862. 

Kiser  Ambrose,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Regiment;  re- 
enl.  Feb.  22, 1864. 

Neil  F.  Arentzen,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment; 
re-enl.  Dec.  27, 1863. 

Joseph  Ambruster,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Bartholomew  Anearane,  enl.  June  2, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Jacob  Bergen,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Dec.  9, 1861. 

Jacob  W.  Bishop,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  June  2, 1862. 

Augustus  Bodine,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  18, 1862. 

John  F.  Bodine,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  18, 1862. 

Martin  Byrne,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  26, 1861. 

William  Bragg,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment; 
re-enl.  Deo.  27, 1863. 

John  Bartley,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  died  of  fever  Feb.  23, 1862.. 

Theodore  Brewer,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  killed  in  Wilderness  May  6,  1864. 

John  Banco,  enl.  June  2, 1864. 

Joseph  Berean,  enl.  June  1, 1864. 

Elijah  Q.  Burroughs,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861. 

Michael  Byrne,  enL  May  31, 1864. 

Aaron  C.  Cornell,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7,  1804. 

Patrick  Callan,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  disch.  for  disability,  June  4, 1863. 

Thomas  ConnofiT,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  11, 1862. 

Richard  Cummings,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  disch.  as  paroled  prisoner  May 
22,  1862. 

George  W.  Case,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment; 
re-enL  Feb.  22, 1864. 

George  F.  ChideHter,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begi- 
ment ;  re-enl.  Nov.  29, 1863. 

John  Clary,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment;  re- 
enl.  Feb.  22, 1864. 

Joseph  S.  Cohine,  enl.  Oct.  19,1861;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment. 

Charles  Cleveland,  eul.  May  20, 1864. 

William  Daymond,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  must,  out  May  15, 186.5. 

Paul  C.  Dilts,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 

Thomas  Dcmpsey,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  March  16, 1863. 

Henry  Devert,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Sept.  12, 1862. 


Jacob  Davis,  enl.  June  2, 1864. 
Charles  Dumont,  enl.  June  1 ,  1864. 

Thomaa  Flalievty,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  served  as  corporal,  sergeant,  and 
first  sergeant  from  Aug.  2B,  1861,  to  March  1, 1863 ;  subsequently  as 
private ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 
Cornelius  Farley,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Sept.  21, 1864. 
Augustus  Fisher,  (1),  enl.  Oct.  8, 1861 ;  killed  at  Chancellorsville,  Va., 

May  3, 1863. 
Augustus  Fisher,  (2),  enl.  Oct.  7, 1862  ;  wounded  at  Chancellorsville,  Va., 

and  died  May  24, 1863. 
Thomas  Garvey,  enl.  April  4, 1862;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment. 
James  Gorden,  enl.  Sept.  8, 1862. 
Philip  Graf,  enl.  June  1, 1864. 

Peter  Halpin,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  20, 1862. 
Franklin  Hand,  enl.  Sept.  6, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  May  10, 1863. 
Reuben  V.  Hewlett,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  May  20, 1862. 
Patrick  Hurley,  eul.  Aug.  9, 1861  ;  disch.  for  disability  Dec.  21, 1863. 
Harm.  S.  Hammond,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  died  of  fever  June  10, 1862. 
Charles  Harden,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  died  of  fever  July  26,  1 862. 
Wilson  Horn,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801;  killed  at  Williamsburg  May  6, 1862. 
William  Hulmes,  eul.  Feb.  26, 1864. 
Charles  Jones,  enl.  May  19, 1804. 
Amos  A.  Krewsin,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps  ; 

disch.  for  disability  Sept.  20,  1863. 
Henry  S.  Krewsin,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps ; 

disch.  Sept.  3, 1864. 
Thomas  Larby,  enl.  June  1, 1864. 

Eli  H.  Lawyer,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Oct.  26, 1862. 
Lambert  S.  Lisk,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  10, 1863. 
Charles  F.  Moore,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  pro.  to  second  lieutenant  Co.  I  June 

23, 1862. 
John  Mahan,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1801 ;  disch.  for  disability  March  1,  1803. 
George  W.  McLoughan,  enl.  Aug.  9, 180  ;  disch.  Oct.  26,  1862,  to  join 

regular  army. 
Thomas  S.  Monroe,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  Oct.  20, 1862,  to  join  regular 

army. 
Morris  Majtwell,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Beserve  Corps  May 

1,  1864  ;  disch.  Aug.  26, 1804. 
Thomas  Miller,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Beserve  Corps  Sept. 

1,  1803  ;  disch.  Aug.  30, 1864. 
Patrick  Monighan,  enl.  Nov.  10, 1802;  trans,  to  Co  G,  Eighth  Regiment. 
Charles  Moore,  enl,  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Regiment ;  re- 
enl.  Feb.  22, 1804. 
John  McMnllen,  enl.  Sept.  28,  1861 ;  died  July  17,  1862. 
Gotlieb  Miller,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  killed  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  May  6, 1862. 
Christian  Miller,  enl.  June  1, 1864. 
Michael  Murphy,  enl.  June  1, 1864. 

George  W.  Naylor,  enl.  Feb.  29, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Regiment. 
John  W.  Neice,  enl.  Oct.  0,  1802  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment. 
James  O'Daniel,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  22, 1864. 
John  O'Daniel,  Sr.,  enl.  Aug.  .9,  1801;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  17, 1862. 
John  O'Daniel,  Jr.,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  killed  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  May 

5, 1802. 
John  O'Neil,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  disch.  for  disability  Aug.  26, 1862. 
James  Olwell,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  disch.  for  disability  Nov.  30, 1802. 
Stephen  O'Grady,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment; 

re-enl.  Feb.  22, 1804. 
John  O'Brien,  enl.  June  1, 1864. 

Henry  Pettit,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  R.  Pitman,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861;  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Oct.  26, 

1862. 
Lewis  C.  PuUen,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment; 

re-enl.  Dec.  23,1803. 
Jeremiah  Eeed,  enl.  Feb.  10, 1804 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment. 
Thomas  Robinson,  enl.  May  2:J,  1864. 
Isaac  W.  Bounsaville,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  died  of  fever  at  Torktown,  Va., 

May  11, 1862. 
Henry  T.  Bowland,  enl.  Nov.  14, 1861 ;  discharged  for  disability  April  19, 

1803. 
Charles  Service,  enl.  Sept.  19, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 
James  Sharp,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 
John  Stingle,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 
John  Sharp,  enl.  May  19, 186^ ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Begiment, 
John  Shafer,  enl.  May  19, 1804, 
John  Shean,  enl.  May  18, 1864, 
James  Smith,  enl.  May  20, 1864. 
John  Smith,  enl.  May  24, 1864, 


132 


HUNTERDON  AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Charles  Snowilen,  eiil.  May  18,  1804. 

Michael  Spellman,  eel.  Oct  18,  1861. 

John  Sweeny,  enl.  May  20,  1804. 

Samuel  Tomlinson,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  disch.  for  disaUlity  Oct.  17,  1862. 

George  W.  Taylor,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1601 ;  died  of  fever  March  S,  1862. 

William  H.  Tracy,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801;  killed  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  IT, 

1S64. 
Obediah  Wiley,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Eighth  Regiment;  re- 

enl.  Dec.  27,1863. 
Ephraim  Walker,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1801 ;  died  of  fever  March  1,  1862. 
Peter  Wean,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  died  of  wounds,  Gettysburg,  July  11, 

1863. 
George  Walker,  enl.  May  23, 1864. 
Charles  White,  enl.  May  18,  1864. 
Charles  Williams,  enl.  May  18, 1864. 

Oliver  G.  Woodward,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861  ;  must,  out  Sept.  7, 1864. 
Michael  Wright,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861 ;  disch.  May  3,  ISOo. 
James  Wrisband,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  7,  1864. 
William  A.  Yard,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1861;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps 

Sept.  1, 1863;  disch.  Aug.  29,  1864. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 
FIFTEEBTTH   IlfFANTET  BEGIMEH"T. 

Three  Companies  from  Hunterdon  and  Somerset— Leave  for  Washington 
—Construct  "Fort  Kearney"— The  Tifteenth  at  Fredericksburg— 
Michael  Mulvey,  Co.  G,  the  first  Man  killed— Battle  of  ChaDcellorsTille 
—The  "  Wilderness"— Capt.  Vanderveer  and  Lieut.  Hamilton  wounded 
—Roster  of  Casualties  in  the  vicinity  of  Spottsylvania  Court-house— 
In  the  Charge  at  Cold  Harbor— With  Sheridan's  Army  in  the  Shenau- 
doah  Valley— Fisher's  Ilill  and  Cedar  Creek  engagements— Maj.  Boe- 
man  killed— List  of  Battles  of  the  Fifteenth— Rosters  of  OfBcers  and 
Enlisted  Men  of  the  Companies  from  these  Counties. 

Isr  the  composition  of  the  Fifteenth  Infantry  Regi- 
ment of  New  Jersey,  two  of  its  companies  (A  and  G) 
were  made  up  of  men  from  Hunterdon  County,  and 
one  (E)  from  Somerset.*  The  regiment  was  organized 
at  Flemington  during  the  months  of  July  and  August, 
1862.  It  was  mustered  into  the  service  on  the  25th 
of  August,  under  command  of  Col.  Samuel  Fowler. 
The  other  regimental  oflacers  were:  Lieutenant-col- 
onel, Edward  L.  Campbell  ;t  major,  James  M.  Brown  ; 
adjutant,  William  P.  Seymour ;  quartermaster,  Lowe 
Emerson;  surgeon,  Eedford  Sharp ;  assistant  surgeons, 
George  R.  Sullivan  and  George  Trumpore.  The  com- 
missioned officers  of  the  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  com- 
panies were:  A  company:  Captain,  Lambert  Boeman; 
first  lieutenant,  Thomas  P.  Stout;  second  lieutenant, 
John  R.  Emery.  E  company:  Captain,  John  K. 
Vanderveer;  first  lieutenant,  Stephen  H.  Bogardus; 
second  lieutenant,  Ellis  Hamilton.  G  company :  Cap- 
tain, William  H.  Slater ;  first  lieutenant,  Henry  Suy- 
dam  Crater;  second  lieutenant,  John  D.  Trimmer. 

On  the  27th  of  August  the  regiment,  then  number- 
ing nine  hundred  and  twenty-five  men  and  oflicers, 
left  the  State  for  Washington,  and  on  its  arrival  at 
the  capital  marched  thence  to  Tenallytown,  Md., 
where  it  was  at  once  placed  on  fatigue  duty  in  the 


*  Of  the  other  companies,  three  were  from  Sussex,  two  from  Warren, 
and  two  from  Morris  County. 

t  Lieut.-Col.  Campbell,  who  was  already  in  the  field  with  Ihe  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  did  not  join  the  Fifteenth  until  the  Ist  of  October,  when 
the  regiment  was  on  its  march  to  join  the  Sixth  Corps  in  Maryland. 


building  of  roads  and  the  erection  of  defenses ;  among 
which  latter  was  the  construction  of  the  formidable 
work  named  "  Fort  Kearney,"  in  honor  of  that  brave 
and  dashing  New  Jersey  general  who  gave  his  life  on 
the  field  of  Chantillj^  at  almost  the  precise  time  when 
the  men  of  the  Fifteenth  commenced  their  work  on 
the  fortification. 

The  regiment  moved  from  Tenallytown  on  the  80th 
of  September,  and,  proceeding  to  Frederick,  Md., 
marched  thence,  by  way  of  the  Antietam  battle-field, 
to  Bakersville,  where  it  was  incorporated  with  the  i 
First  (New  Jersey)  Brigade  of  the  First  Division, 
Sixth  Army  Corps.  It  remained  here  about  a  month, 
engaged  in  drill  and  camp  duty,  and  on  the  31st  of 
October  moved  forward  with  the  other  commands  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,!  and,  crossing  the  river  into 
Virginia,  marched,  by  way  of  Warrenton  (where  a  halt 
of  several  days  was  made),  to  Stafford  Court-house, 
and  thence,  after  another  considerable  delay,  to  Staf- 
ford Heights,  where  it  arrived  on  the  morning  of  the 
11th  of  December,  and  where  the  men  of  the  Fifteenth 
had  their  first  view  of  the  scenes  of  actual  battle, — the 
bombardment  of  Fredericksburg  by  Gen.  Burnside's 
batteries,  posted  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rappahan- 
nock. 

In  the  evening  of  that  day  the  army  was  massed  on 
the  plain  north  of  the  river  preparatory  to  the  grand 
crossing  of  the  stream.  The  pontoons  were  placed  in 
position,  and  at  daylight  on  the  following  morning 
the  Fifteenth,  with  the  other  regiments  of  the  Jersey 
brigade,  crossed  at  "  Franklin's  Crossing"  to  the  soutli 
shore,  and  moved  quickly  through  a  dense  fog  up  the 
acclivity  to  the  edge  of  the  plateau  which  extends  to 
the  foot  of  Marye's  Heights,  which  were  then  brist- 
ling with  the  enemy's  batteries  and  the  bayonets  of 
his  heavily-massed  infantry.  At  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  the  brigade  again  moved  swiftly  for- 
ward in  line  of  battle,  and  under  a  vigorous  fire  from 
the  Confederate  artillery  on  the  Heights.  The  range 
of  the  rebel  artillerists,  however,  was  imperfect,  and 
the  brigade  advanced  without  serious  casualties  to 
Deep  Run,  where  shelter  was  fotind  in  the  ravine 
through  which  it  flows.  In  this  ravine  the  brigade 
remained  during  the  remainder  of  the  day  and 
through  the  night. 

The  13th  of  December  was  the  day  of  the  great 
battle  at  Fredericksburg.  Early  in  the  morning  the 
entire  line  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  advanced  to 
assault  the  strong  positions  of  the  Confederates,  and 
the  battle  raged  with  fearful  energy  and  with  little 
intermission  until  nightfall.  During  the  greater  part 
of  that  bloody  day  the  Fifteenth  was  posted  along 
the  line  of  the  railroad,  keeping  up  a  steady  fire  and 
making  occasional  charges,  but  with  light  loss.  At 
about  four  o'clock  the  Jersey  brigade  made  a  more 
determined  attempt  on  the  position  in  its  immediate 
front,  but  was  forced  back  with  a  greater  loss  than  it 

1  The  regiment  was  then  under  cmuiand  of  Lieut.-Col.  Campbell, 
Col.  Fowler  being  leit  behind  in  hospital,  sick  -with  typhoid  fever. 


FIFTEENTH   INFANTRY  REGIMENT. 


133 


had  before  sustained,  many  of  its  men  being  taken 
prisoners,  among  whom  were  a  number  from  the 
Fifteenth.  This  charge  was  the  last  of  the  regiment's 
fighting  for  the  day.  Its  total  loss  at  Fredericksburg 
was  about  thirty,  of  whom  very  few  were  killed*  out- 
right. It  could  not  be  regarded  as  a  heavy  loss  to  be 
sustained  in  so  fierce  and  protracted  a  conflict  as  that  of 
Fredericksburg,  yet  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Fifteenth  it 
seemed  a  very  serious  one,  because  this  was  the  first 
field  on  which  they  had  been  tried  in  the  fire  of 
battle. 

In  the  morning  of  the  14th  the  regiment  was  re- 
lieved at  the  front  (and  under  a  heavy  fire)  by  the 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-first  New  York  Regiment. 
The  battle,  however,  was  over ;  the  assault  of  those 
grim  heights  was  abandoned,  and  the  army  recrossed 
to  its  old  position  on  the  north  side  of  the  Eappahan- 
nock.  The  Fifteenth  Regiment  went  into  camp  at 
White  Oak  Church,  where  the  men  spent  a  most 
dreary  winter,  during  which  the  typhoid  fever  in  a 
malignant  form  appeared  among  them,  and  many  died 
of  the  disease. 

On  the  opening  of  the  spring  campaign  under  the 
new  commander  of  the  army,  Gen.  Hooker,  the 
Fifteenth  again  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  great  battle  of  Chancellorsville.f  The 
part  taken  by  it  in  that  battle  is  shown  in  the  report 
of  Lieut.-Col.  E.  L.  Campbell, J  as  follows: 

"My  command  broke  camp  at  Wliite  Oak  Church,  Va.,  on  the  after- 
noon of  Tuesday,  April  i8th,  and  "taiarched  to  the  bank  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock, near  Franklin's  Crossing,  where  it  bivouacked  until  towards 
morning,  when  it  was  moved  to  the  river,  and  crossed  in  boats  just  before 
daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  taking  up  a  position  on  the  south 
hank.  Remained  there  until  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  May,  a  part  of 
which  time  was  employed  in  doing  outpost  duty  immediately  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy.  On  the  morning  of  the  3d  instant  [May],  I  was  or- 
dered to  the  fi'ont  at  about  daybreak,  and  was  assigned  a  position  in  sup- 
port of  a  battery  on  tlie  extreme  left  which  was  hotly  engaging  the 
■enemy.  Remained  upon  this  duty,  taking  up  various  positions,  and  part 
■of  the  time  exposed  to  a  severe  scattering  Aauk  lire  from  the  enemy's 
line  of  skirmishers,  until  the  enemy  was  driven  from  his  position  on  tiie 
heights  above  Fredericksburg,  and  the  line  on  the  left  was  ordered  to 
retire  towards  that  place,  when  I  was  left  in  the  rear  as  a  support  to  our 
retiring  skirmishers  by  order  of  tlie  general  commanding  the  division. 
Tverythiug  was  brought  from  the  field  without  diiiiculty,  as  tlie  enemy 
■did  not  follow  up.  After  procuring  ambulances  {to  get  wliich  I  was  com- 
lielled  to  send  to  the  city  of  Fredericksburg)  and  moving  the  wounded 
left  upon  the  field  during  the  rapid  movement,  I  proceeded  upon  the 
line  of  march  of  the  corps.  Arriviug  some  distance  out  of  the  city,  on 
the  plank  road,  I  learned  that  the  enemy  was  making  a  stout  resistance 

*  "Michel  Mulvey,  Company  G,  was  the  first  man  of  the  regiment 
killed.  At  the  time,  shots  were  being  exchanged  with  the  reijel  pickets. 
He  was  cautioned  not  to  expose  himself,  but  exclaimed, '  Hush !  don't 
tell  a  Jersey  boy  to  keep  back  when  the  enemy  is  in  sight.'  He  had 
fixed  his  attention  on  a  rebel  sharpshooter  who  fired  from  behind  a  tree. 
When,  at  length,  the  rebel  exposed  himself  in  firing,  he  took  aim  and 
fired.  Tlie  rebel  was  seen  to  tumble  over,  evidently  killed.  At  the 
same  moment  Michel  fell  back  dead,  shot  through  tiie  brain.  As  tlie 
regiment  was  relieved  on  Sabbath  morning,  a  plunging  bullet-shot 
passed  through  the  knapsack  and  body  of  Alexander  S.  Sergeant,  Com- 
pany F,  killing  him.  Ezekiel  C.  Quick,  Cumpuny  G,  was  shot  through 
the  lungs,  and  lived  several  days,  expressing  his  entire  willingness  to 
Bufi'er  for  his  country,  and  his  strong  faith  in  tlie  Saviour."— A'o(fi«  bjj 
AlaiiHon  A.  Haines,  Ghnplain  of  tlte  FlfUeidh  Regiment. 

f  Othei'wise  known  as  tlie  battle  of  Salem  Heights. 

X  Col.  William  H.  Penrose,  a  lieutenant  in  tlie  Tliird  Regular  Infantry, 
was  made  colonel  of  the  Fifteenth  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  18U3, 


in  front,  and  that  the  First  Brigade  was  about  to  engage  him.  March- 
ing as  rapidly  as  practicable,  I  arrived  at  the  front  at  about  five  o'clock 
P.M.,  and  without  halting  was  immediately  ordered  by  the  general  o.m- 
niandiug  the  corps  to  engage  the  enemy  on  the  right  of  the  road,  in  a 
thick  wood  in  which  the  enemy  had  taken  a  position  and  effectually  i  e- 
sisted  any  attempt  to  dislodge  him.  My  command  advanced  about  one 
hundred  yards,  through  a  dense  and  in  places  impassable  undergrowtli, 
to  within  about  tliirty  yards  of  the  enemy's  position,  where  it  engaged 
at  least  four  of  his  regiments,  with,  as  I  am  convinced,  a  terrible  effect, 
but  without  driving  him  from  his  well-chosen  position.  Just  at  dai-k, 
my  ammunition  being  entirely  exhausted  and  the  enemy's  fire  destruc- 
tive, I  retired  in  good  order,  the  enemy  showing  no  disposition  to  follow. 
I  have  the  satisfaction  of  saying  for  my  command  that  not  a  man  left 
the  line  of  battle  except  the  wounded,  and  when  the  rolls  were  called, 
immediately  upon  arriving  in  the  open  field,  every  man  was  present  or 
properly  accounted  for  except  those  who  were  killed,  wounded,  or  miss- 
ing in  action,  the  latter  being  but  five,  and  all  probably  killed  or  wounded. 
My  wounded  were  all  brought  off  during  or  after  the  action,  except  pos- 
sibly the  five  mentioned  above,  not  found  on  account  of  the  dense  under- 
growth of  bushes. 

"  On  Sunday  night  (May  3d)  my  command  bivouacked  upon  the  battle-  ■ 
field.  During  the  engagement  of  Monday  I  was  assigned  to  various 
positions,  a  part  of  the  time  in  support  of  batteries ;  when  at  night  the 
artillery  was  ordered  towards  the  river,  I  was  ordered  to  follow  it.  Re- 
crossed  the  river  just  before  daylight  in  the  morning,  and  went  into 
camp  on  the  north  bank.  On  Friday,  the  8th  instant,  marched  to  my 
present  place  of  encampment." 

After  Chancellorsville  a  few  weeks  of  quiet  ensued, 
and  then  it  was  ascertained  that  the  Confederate  com- 
mander was  moving  his  army  down  the  Virginia  val- 
ley with  the  evident  intention  of  invading  the  States 
north  of  the  Potomac.  Upon  this,  the  army  of  Gen, 
Hooker  was  put  in  motion,  and  the  Fifteenth  Regi- 
ment with  its  brigade,  as  a  part  of  the  Sixth  Corps, 
moved  rapidly  northward,  by  way  of  Fairfax,  to 
Edwards'  Ferry,  where  it  crossed  the  Potomac  into 
Maryland,  and,  thence  pressing  onward  by  forced 
marches,  came,  in  the  afternoon  of  July  2d,  to  the 
field  of  Gettysburg,  where  the  great  battle  had  already 
commenced.  At  about  half  an  hour  before  sunset 
the  brigade  was  moved  to  the  front  to  hold  a  position 
from  which  Sickles'  corps  had  been  compelled  to  re- 
tire. But  no  further  assault  was  made  that  evening, 
and  the  men  slept  on  their  arms  in  the  advanced 
position.  Through  all  the  carnage  of  the  following 
day,  including  the  tremendous  charge  made  by  the 
Confederate  infantry  under  Pickett,  the  Fifteenth 
with  its  brigade  stood  constantly  in  line  ready  for 
work,  but  was  not  ordered  in.  "  The  Fifteenth,"  wrote 
a  member  of  the  regiment,  "  witnessed  all  from  their 
position,  but,  though  ready  for  duty,  were  not  sum- 
moned to  actual  fighting." 

Hostilities  were  suspended  during  the  following 
day,  July  4th,  and  before  the  sun  rose  on  the  5th  the 
Confederate  legions  were  in  full  retreat  towards  the 
Potomac.  The  Jersey  brigade  took  part  in  the  pur- 
suit and  in  minor  engagements  at  Fairfield,  Pa.,  and 
Funktown,  Md.,  and  crossed  the  river  into  Virginia? 
with  the  main  body  of  the  army.  During  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year  it  participated  in  the  various 
movements  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  and  in  December, 
1863,  went  into  winter  quarters  about  two  miles  from 
Brandy  Station,  Va. 


i  July  lOth. 


134 


HUNTERDON   AND   SOMEKSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


In  the  spring  of  1864  was  opened  the  bloody  cam- 
paign of  "the  Wilderness/'  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  Lieut.-Gen.  Grant.  In  this  campaign 
the  Fifteenth  saw  its  most  desperate  fighting  and  sus- 
tained the  severest  losses  experienced  during  its  term 
of  service.  On  the  4th  of  May,  at  daylight,  the  regi- 
ment with  its  brigade  moved  out  from  its  winter 
camp,  and  marched,  by  way  of  Brandy  Station  and 
Stevensburg,  to  Germania  Ford,  where  it  crossed  the 
Rapidan,  and  soon  entered  that  desolate  region  of 
stunted  woods  and  copses  known  as  the  Wilderness. 
In  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  it  came  up  to  the  position 
where  Warren  was  already  fighting  with  the  Confed- 
erate corps  of  Ewell,  and  later  in  the  day  it  became 
slightly  engaged,  suffering  some  losses,  among  which 
was  that  of  Capt.  John  H.  Vanderveer,  of  E  com- 
pany, who  there  received  the  severe  wounds  which 
soon  after  compelled  his  resignation.  In  the  opening 
of  the  fight  on  the  following  day  Lieut.  Ellis  Ham- 
ilton, of  the  same  company,  was  desperately  wounded 
in  both  thighs.  During  the  latter  part  of  this  day  the 
regiment  was  not  heavily  engaged.  On  the  7th  the 
regiment  did  some  fighting  and  lost  slightly.* 

"  On  the  8th,  about  noon,  at  the  head  of  the  corps,  it  reached  the  front 
at  Spottsylvania  CJourt-house,  after  a  long  niglit-march  by  a  circuitous 
route,  Warren,  whose  corps  (the  Fifth)  had  moved  by  a  more  direct 
route  and  reached  the  position  first,  had  met  with  a  check.  He  sent  to 
Sedgwick — the  graud  old  leader  of  the  Sixth — for  aid,  and  the  Jersey 
brigade  was  sent  to  his  assistauce.  After  some  manoeuvring,  the  Fif- 
teenth, with  the  Third  (then  little  more  than  a  detachment  and  used  as 
a  Bkirmish-Iiae),  was  selected  to  make  an  assault  on  the  enemy  and  de- 
velop his  position  and  strength.  No  charge  was  ever  more  gallantly  de- 
livered. With  two  armies  looking  on,  it  advanced  across  an  open  field ; 
when  within  about  three  hundred  yards  of  the  front  of  the  wood  in 
which  the  enemy  was  posted,  it  fixed  bayonets,  and  with  a  line  of  glitter- 
ing steel  as  steady  as  on  dress-parade  dashed  up  to  the  rebel  position  to 
find, them  strongly  intrenched  and  in  full  force.  As  far  as  rifle-shot 
could  reach,  upon  each  flank  they  opened  upon  the  devoted  little  band. 
Notwithstanding  the  deadly  fire,  it  drove  the  enemy  out  of  the  work  in 
its  front,  captured  two  prisoners,  and,  to  save  annihilation,  was  ordered 
by  its  commander  to  retire.  One  hundred  and  one  of  its  brave  officers 
and  men  were  left  upon  tlie  field,  killed  or  wounded.  It  may  be  doubted 
if  a  more  perilous  'forlorn  hope'  was  ever  mure  daringly  executed. 

"The  Sixth  Corps  took  position  on  the  left  of  the  line  as  it  was  formed, 
its  lamented  commander  falling  on  the  same  spot  at  which  one  of  the 
color-bearers  of  the  Fifteenth  had  but  just  fallen ;  and  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  9th  the  regiment  was  detached,  with  the  Fiist,  to  turn  the  right 
flank  of  the  enemy  and  gain  possession  of  a  cross-roads.  Alter  wading  a 
deep  swamp,  and  having  a  sharp  brush  with  the  rebel  skirmishers,  tlie 
cross-roads  was  under  their  guns  and  they  were  separated  some  distance 
from  the  main  army.  The  next  morning,  being  ordered  to  develop  the 
flank  of  the  enemy's  main  line,  the  two  regiments  advanced,  drove  the- 
rebel  skirmish-line  before  them  for  about  a  mile,  aud  finally  struck  the 
right  of  the  rebel  line,  strongly  intrenched  on  the  top  nf  a  high  hill. 
This  was  the  position  afterwards  known  as  '  the  bloody  angle.'  The  two 
regiments  attacked  vigorously,  but  were  forced  back  by  a  heavy  mus- 
ketry- and  artillery- fire.  Two  more  regiments  were  sent  to  their  assist- 
ance, and  again  they  attacked,  but  with  no  better  success,  and  they  were 

*  "  It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  May  7th  when  the  regiment 
came  into  the  new  line.  It  had  stood  its  ground  when  others  fled,  and 
panic  prevailed  on  either  side,  and  now,  determined  tn  hold  its  position, 
began  intrenching  at  daylight.  By  ten  o'clock  a.m.  the  works  were 
very  strong,  and,  though  the  enemy  felt  tho  line  in  front,  and  drove  in  a 
part  of  the  skirmish -line,  by  which  three  men  were  wounded  and  John 
Brogan,  Company  A,  killed,  no  real  advantage  was  guiiied.  At  dark  the 
regiment  marched  by  the  .Fredericksburg  road  to  Chancellorsville,  and 
thence  to  the  point  where  Grant  waa  now  concentrating.*'— i-'ojiier's  New 
Jersey  and  Ike  RebeVion. 


compelled  to  he  content  with  holding  the  position  they  had  gained  in  an 
unequal  contest.  The  characteristic  orders  under  which  they  were  act- 
ing, issued  by  an  able  general  officer,  afterwards  killed  and  sadly  missed^ 

were  *Fi"'ht!  Fight!  ^  it,  fight  I'     Two  days  later  this  was  found 

to  be  the  strongest  field-work  ever  attacked  by  the  army. 

"On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  (the  10th)  a  series  of  assaults  was 
organized  along  the  different  corps  lines.  The  Second  Division  of  the 
Second  Corps,  which  had  come  up  by  the  cross-roads  taken  as  above  re- 
lated, was  to  make  the  charge  on  the  extreme  ^left,  and  the  two  detached 
regiments  reported  to  and  participated  in  the  charge  with  it.  Only  one 
of  these  assaults  was  successful  (that  of  the  Sixth  Corps),  and  the  line  of 
works  and  many  of  the  prisoners  captured  by  it  had  to  be  abandoned, 
owing  to  the  failure  of  the  attacks  to  the  right  and  left.  That  on  tlie 
left  beingunsuccessful,  and  the  troops  retiring  from  the  hill,  left  the  twi> 
detached  regiments  again  alone  to  hold  the  ground  which  had  cost  them 
a  severe  struggle.  This  they  did  until  relieved,  after  dark,  when,  re- 
joining their  brigade,  they  left  the  positinu  to  the  Second  Corps,  all  of 
which  was  concentrated  there  on  the  night  of  the  11th. 

"  On  the  12th  came  one  of  the  most  stubbornly-contested  struggles  of 
the  war.  It  was  for  the  possession  of  '  the  bloody  angle'  which  the  Fif- 
teenth and  First  had  repeatedly  attacked  two  days  previously.  The  first 
charge  was  made  by  the  Second  Corps  early  in  the  morning,  took  the 
rebels  by  surprise,  carried  a  part  of  the  line  of  works,  captured  several 
thousand  prisoners  and  a  large  number  of  guns.  The  Sixth  Corps  was 
moved  to  the  position  as  soon  as  practicable,  to  complete  the  victory,  the 
enemy  having  recovered  from  the  shock  and  concentrated  his  fnrces. 
The  First  Division  was  ordered  to  attack  first,  to  the  right  of  the  Second 
Corps,  in  echelon  of  brigades,  the  First  Brigade  on  the  right,  and  the 
Fifteenth  Kegiment  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  front  line.  It  wiid 
placed  in  position  in  a  wood  of  low  pines,  by  a  superior  officer,  in  a 
drizzling  rain.  At  the  order  to  charge  it  dashed  gallantly  forward  with 
bayonets  fixed,  and  trailed  to  escape  the  low  branches,  into  the  narrow 
strip  of  open  ground  upon  the  opposite  margin  of  which  was  the  rebi*l 
intrenched  line,  covered  with  an  abattis  of  slashed  brush.  Its  line  being 
very  oblique  to  that  of  the  enemy,  it  was  compelled  to  execute  a  half- 
wheel  under  a  most  murderous  fire.  Again  it  dashed  forward,  carried 
the  work  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  (and  with  some  actual  bayonet- 
fighting, — a  very  unusual  thing),  captured  a  stand  of  colors  and  all  the 
rebels  who  did  not  fall  or  inn.  It  was  the  only  regiment  of  the  Sixth 
Corps  which  got  inside  the  enemy's  fortifications  that  day.  Its  right 
flank,  however,  being  entirely  '  in  the  air,'  and  a  solid  rebel  line  moving 
towards  it,  subjected  to  the  continued  fire  from  a  second  rebel  work  In 
front  and  from  the  numerous  traverses  of  the  line  to  the°left  which  had 
not  been  carried,  it  was  compelled  to  retire  again  to  the  wood.  This 
desperate  charge  was  made  at  fearful  cost.  More  than  half  of  the  rank 
and  file  and  seven  of  the  most  valued  officers  fell,  killed  or  wounded,  i  n- 
side  or  near  the  hostile  works.  Out  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
men  and  fourteen  line-officers  who  crossed  the  Bapidan  on  the  4th,  only 
one  hundred  and  twenty-two  men  and  four  officers  remained."! 

The  losses  in  the  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  com- 
panies of  the  Fifteenth  during  eleven  days  succeed- 
ing the  crossing  of  the  Rapidan — that  is,  up  to  the 
close  of  its  fighting  in  the  vicinity  of  Spottsylvania 
Court-house — are  given  in  the  sketch  of  the  regiment 
from  which  the  above  is  extracted,  as  follows : 

COMPANY  A. 
Capt.  C.  C.  Shimer,  killed  ;  Sergt.  Paul  Kuhl,  killed;  Sergt.  Lucien  A. 
Voorhees,  killed;  Lieut.  George  C.  Justice,  killed;  Sergt.  Willijim 
B.Dungan,  wounded;  Corp.  John  F.  Servis,  wounded ;  Corp.  Jona. 
P.  Collis,  killed ;  Corp.  Joseph  Rankle,  wounded;  David  Allgard, 
missing,  David  Anthony,  killed;  Jacob  Apgar,  killed;  Jacob  Bryan  ;. 
wounded;  William  B.  Bryan,  wounded;  John  Butler,  wounded; 
John  Burns,  wounded;  John  Brogan,  killed;  Jacob  Beam,  wounded 
and  missing;  Geo.  S.  Beaver,  wounded ;  Andrew  Closson,  missing;, 
Isaac  Dayton,  missing;  Joseph  Dawes,  missing;  Jos.  Everett,  killed  ; 
John  Evans,  niibsing;  William  Gulick,  wounded;  George  P.  Hen- 
derson, killed  ;  Lewis  Higgins,  missing  ;  Wm.  L.  Higgins,  wouniltnl ; 
Silas  Hockenberry,  killed;  Lemuel  Hockenbury,  wounded;  Muses 
Housel,  missing;  John  W.  Henry,  wounded  and  missing;  Her- 
man Helmhold,  killed;  Garret  Hogan,  missing;  Henry  P.  Johnson,. 


t  From  a  "  HisturicHl  Sketch  of  the  Fifteenth  lli-jiitneut  New  Jersey 
Volunteers."  by  a  mi  nil-er  of  the  regiment. 


FIFTEENTH   INFANTKY  KEGIMENT. 


135 


wouDded;  John  Moser, wounded;  Van  Meter  P.  Hammet,  wounded; 
Cornelius  I.  Nevius,  killed;  William  N.  Peer,  killed;  James  C. 
Palmer,  wounded  ;  John  Eouch,  wounded ;  Geo.  Kessler,  wounded  ; 
Bobei-t  Sorter,  wounded ;  Joseph  SuUivan,  wounded ;  Henry  G. 
Smith,  Killed  ;  Charles  Scherer,  killed ;  Charles  E.  Smiley,  wounded ; 
Theodore  Stammets,  wounded;  John  Staats,  missing;  AUram  Trau- 
ger,  wounded  ;  Peter  I.  Teabroeck,  wounded. 

COMPANY    E. 

Capt.  John  H.  Tandei-veer,  wounded;  Sergt.  Benj.  0.  Scudder,  killed; 
Sergt.  Garret  I.  Schenck,  wounded ;  Corp.  Daniel  Richardson,  killed; 
Sergt  "William  C.  E.  Gulick,  killed;  Abraham  D.  Baird,  wounded; 
Peter  S.  Bennet,  wounded;  Nicholas  Conover,  killed  ;  Andrew  Cran- 
ney,  missing;  Peter  Dennis,  killed;  William  K.  Dow,  wounded; 
Francis  Hughes,  wounded ;  John  H.  Jones,  wounded ;  James  McKen- 
sey,  killed ;  Thomas  McConral,  wounded ;  Benjamin  Moulton, 
wounded  ;  John  W.  Priestley,  wounded ;  William  H.  Bose,  killed ; 
Jeremiah  Slack,  wounded ;  George  Thompson,  wounded;  John  L.  S. 
Van  Doren,  wounded. 

COMPANY  G. 
Lieut  Henry  M.  Fowler,  wounded ;  Sergt.  Wm.  E.  Trimmer,  killed ;  Sergt. 
Jacob  J.  Lair,  wounded ;  Sergt.  Wm.  M.  Thompson,  killed ;  Sergt. 
Jacob  F.  Thatcher,  wounded ;  Corp.  John  Bocock,  wounded;  Corp. 
John  Garren,  missing  ;  William  Ashcroft,  wounded;  Nathan  Culver, 
wounded ;  George  Haney,  missing ;  Cornelius  King,  missing ;  Simeon 
G.  Peddrick,  missing;  John  Eeisinger,  wounded;  John  M.  Smith, 
killed ;  Levi  Stull,  killed ;  William  H.  Wyckoff,  wounded  ;  George 
D.  Wagoner,  wounded ;  James  C.  Myers,  wounded. 


Moving  southward  from  Spottsylvania,  in  the  flank 
movement  to  Petersburg,  the  regiment  again  became 
engaged  at  the  North  and  South  Anna  Rivers,  at 
Hanover   Court-house,  at  Tolopotomy,   and  at  Cold 
Harbor ;  on  which  last-named  field,  in  a  charge  made 
on  the  1st  of  June  by  the  Sixth  Corps,  the  Fifteenth 
sustained  a  loss  of  twenty-five.    "  In  the  charge,"  says 
Foster,  "  the  Fifteenth  and  Tenth  Regiments  reached 
a  position  on  a  hillock,  which  they  held  when  the  line 
was  broken  on  either  side  of  them,  and  which  they 
began  to  intrench  upon  at  sundown.     On  this  little 
hillock  they  remained  for  the  greater  part  of  the  next 
ten  days,  and  from  it  many  never  came  alive.     The 
firing  from  the  enemy  was  almost  constant,  and  when- 
ever a  man  raised  his  head  above  the  surface  he  was 
almost  certain  to  be  struck.     The  men,  in  fact,  were 
obliged  to  burrow  in  the  ground,  and  communication 
was  kept  up  with  the  rear  through  a  long  ditch,  dug 
to  hide  those  passing  from  the  sight  of  the  enemy. 
The  dust,  the  great  heat,  the  confined  space,  and  the 
dead  bodies  buried  just  under  the  surface,  soon  ren- 
dered the  place  most  oflensive.    Day  after  day  passed, 
line  after  line  of  works  were  constructed,  the  number 
of  dead  and  wounded  increased,  but  still  the  regiment 
was  not  taken  from  this  horrible  place,  till,  on  the 
night  of  the  12th,  it  marched  for  the  James  River." 
Crossing  that  stream,  it  reached  the  exterior  defenses 
of  Petersburg  on  the  19th  of  June,  and  remained  on 
that  line  until  the  9th  of  July,  when  it  was  embarked 
on  steamers  and  sailed  for  Washington,  and  moved 
thence  to  join  Sheridan's  army  in  the  Shenandoah 
valley. 

In  the  campaign  which  succeeded  the  arrival  of  the 
Fifteenth  in  the  valley  the  regiment  took  conspicuous 
part  and  fully  sustained  its  reputation.  It  fought  at 
Strasburg  on  the  15th  of  August  and  at  Winchester 


on  the  17th,  losing  seventy  men  in  the  two  engage- 
ments. Again,  at  Opequan,  near  Winchester,  on  th^ 
19th  of  September,  it  sufiered  a  loss  of  about  fifty 
men  killed  and  wounded.  On  the  21st  it  was  en- 
gaged in  heavy  skirmishing,  and  lost  seventeen  in 
killed  and  wounded.  It  displayed  great  gallantry  at 
the  battle  of  Fisher's  Hill,  Va.,  on  the  22d,  and  took 
■part  in  the  pursuit  of  the  flying  enemy  to  Staunton. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  at  Cedar  Creek, — the 
famous  battle-fleld  to  which  Sheridan  rode  on  hia 
black  charger  "  from  Winchester,  twenty  miles  away," 
— afteu  parts  of  the  Eighth  and  Nineteenth  Corps  had 
been  surprised  and  routed,  "  the  Sixth  Corps  moved 
rapidly  by  a  flank  across  the  track  of  their  advance,, 
and  the  Jersey  brigade  occupied  the  most  advanced 
and  difficult  position,  holding  it  firmly  under  severe 
fire.  Once  it  was  ordered  back  to  the  general  align- 
ment, but,  its  former  place  being  considered  a  key  po- 
sition, it  was  ordered  to  retake  it,  which  it  did,  and 
held  it  tenaciously  and  successfully  until  again  ordered 
to  retire,  with  the  whole  corps,  to  the  new  line  selected 
for  strategic  reasons  (the  first  having  been  assumed  in 
the  haste  and  confusion  of  the  morning)."  In  this, 
action  the  color-guard  were  all  killed  except  three, 
the  commanding  oflScer,  Col.  Campbell,  was  wounded,, 
and  Maj.  Lambert  Boeman,  of  Flemington,  previously 
of  the  Fifteenth,  but  then  in  command  of  the  Tenth 
New  Jersey,  was  killed. 

Cedar  Creek  was  the  last  field  on  which  the  Fifteenth 
fought  in  the  Shenandoah  valley.  On  the  1st  of  De- 
cember it  moved  with  the  Sixth  Corps  to  rejoin  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  before  Petersburg,  and  remained 
there  till  the  following  spring.  It  was  never  again 
heavily  engaged,  though  it  took  part  in  the  final  as- 
sault on  the  enemy's  works  on  the  2d  of  April,  1865, 
sustaining  trifiing  loss.  When  the  Rebellion  was 
ended  by  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appomattox  the- 
Fifteenth  was  sent  to  Danville,  Va.,  where  it  re- 
mained five  or  six  weeks,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
May  was  transported,  by  way  of  Washington,  to- 
Trenton,  where  it  was  disbanded,  and  the  surviving 
members  returned  to  their  homes. 

The  official  list  of  actions  of  greater  or  less  import- 
ance in  which  the  Fifteenth  was  engaged  during  the 
war  is  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  adjutant-general 
of  the  State  as  follows :  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec.  13- 
and  14,  1862 ;  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  May  3,  1863 ;  Sa- 
lem Heights,  Va.,  May  3  and  4,  1863;  Franklin's 
Crossing,  Va.,  June  6  to  14,  1863 ;  Gettysburg,  Pa., 
July  2  and  3,  1863;  Fairfield,  Pa.,  July  5,  1863; 
Funktown,  Md.,  July  10,  1863 ;  Rappahannock  Sta- 
tion, Va.,  Oct.  12, 1863;  Rappahannock  Station,  Va., 
Nov.  7,  1863 ;  Mine  Run,  Va.,  Nov.  30,  1863 ;  Wil- 
derness, Va.,  May  5  to  7,  1864;  Spottsylvania,  Va., 
May  8  to  11,  1864;  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va., 
May  12  to  16,  1864;  North  and  South  Anna  River, 
May  24,  1864;  Hanover  Court-house,  Va.,  May  29, 
1864;  Tolopotomy  Creek,  Va.,  May  30  and  31,  1864; 
Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1  to  11,  1864 ;  before  Peters- 


136 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


burg,  Va.,  June  16  to  22,  1864;  Weldon  Railroad, 
Ya.,  June  23, 1864 ;  Snicker's  Gap,  Va.,  July  18, 1864; 
Strasburg,  Va.,  Aug.  15,  1864;  Winchester,  Va.,  Aug. 
17,  1864;  Charlestown,  Va.,  Aug.  21,  1864;  Opequan, 
Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864 ;  Fisher's  Hill,  Va.,  Sept.  21  and 
22,  1864;  New  Market,  Va.,  Sept.  24,  1864;  Mount 
Jackson,  Va.,  Sept.  25,  1864;  Cedar  Creek  and  Mid- 
dletown,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1864;  Hatcher's  Eun,  Va.,- 
Feb.  5,  1865 ;  Fort  Steedman,  Va.,  March  25,  1865 ; 
capture  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  April  2,  1865;  Sailor's 
Creek,  Va.,  April  6,  1865 ;  Farmville,  Va.,  April  7, 
1865;  Lee's  surrender  (Appomattox,  Va.),  April  9, 
1865. 

The  number  of  deaths  which  occurred  in  the  regi- 
ment during  its  term  of  service  was  as  follows :  From 
disease,  ninety-nine ;  from  wounds  received  in  battle, 
two  hundred  and  forty-seven  ;  from  starvation  and 
other  causes,  in  rebel  prisons,  fifteen. 

Through  all  its  war  experience  the  Fifteenth  Regi- 
ment always  did  its  duty.  "  No  regiment  fought 
with  more  tenacious  courage  or  presented  a  more 
unbroken  front  to  the  foe.  Where  the  fire  was  hot- 
test, the  charge  most  impetuous,  the  resistance  most 
stubborn,  the  carnage  most  fearful,  it  was  found.  It 
was  never  ordered  to  take  a  position  that  it  did  not 
reach  it;  it  was  never  required  to  hold  a  post  that  it 
did  not  hold  it ;  it  never  assaulted  a  line  of  the  enemy 
that  it  did  not  drive  it ;  it  never  charged  a  rebel  work 
that  it  did  not  breach  it.  Whatever  might  be  the 
general  result,  the  Fifteenth  New  Jersey  Regiment 
always  performed  the  part  assigned  it." 

OFFICERS  AND  MEN  OF  THE  FIFTEENTH  REGIMENT 

FROM  HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES. 

COMPANY  A   (HUNTERDON). 

Lambert  Boeman,  captain ;  com.  Aug.  15,  1862;  pro.  to  major  May  24, 
1863 ;  killed  at  Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1864. 

ComeliuB  C.  Shimer,  captain  ;  com.  Aug  28,  1863 ;  first  lieutenant  Co.  I 
Aug.  15, 1862 ;  pro.  to  captain  Co.  A ;  killed  in  action  at  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court-houBe,  Va.,  May  12,  1864;  buried  on  battle-field. 

Ebenezer  W.  Davis,  captain;  com.  July  3,  1864;  first  lieutenant  Co.  I 
Nov.  4,  1863;  pro.  to  captain  Co.  A;  pro.  to  brevet-major  Oct,  19, 
1864;  pro.  tu  major  Jan.  31, 1865. 

Henry  M.  Fuwler,  ca4)tain ;  com.  Jan.  31, 1865 ;  second  lieutenant  Co.  G 
Jan.  19, 1863;  pro.  to  captain  Co.  A,  vUx  Davis;  must,  out  June  22, 
1865. 

Tbomas  P.  Stout,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Aug.  15,  1862;  pro.  to  captain 
Co.  F  April  7,  1863. 

Samuel  R.  Connett,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  April  7, 1863 ;  second  lieuten- 
ant Co.  C  Aug.  12,  1862;  pro.  to  first  lieutenant  Co.  A;  resigned 
Jnne  20,  1863. 

George  C.  Justice,  first  lieutenant;  com.  July  27,  1863;  first  sergeant 
July  24,  1862;  pro.  to  second  lieutenant  March  18,  1863;  pro.  to 
second  lieutenant,  vice  Connett;  killed  at  Spottsjlvania  Court-house, 
Va.,  May  12, 1864;  buried  at  National  Cemetery  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

James  H.  Comings,  first  lieutenant;  com.  July  3,  1864;  sergeant  Co.  I; 
pro.  to  first  lieutenant,  vice  Justice,  killed ;  pro.  to  captain  Co.  C 
Dec.  31,1804. 

Horace  E.  Lewis,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Feb.  9,  1805;  private  Co.  A, 
Second  Regiment;  pro.  to  first  lieutenant,  vi<x  Comings;  brevet-cap- 
tain April  2,  1805;  must,  out  June  22,  1805. 

John  R.  Emei-y,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Aug.  15,  1802;  disch.  for  dis- 
aliilily  Veh.  23, 1803. 

James  Donnelly,  second  lieutenant;  com.  July  3, 1864;  sergeant  Co,  H; 

pro.  to  second  lieutenant,  rice  Emery;  ninsl.  out  June  22,  1805. 
James  J.  Bullock,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  4,  1802;  pro.  from  corporal 
May  29, 1804;  pro.  to  first  lieutenant  Co.  I  July  3,  1864. 


Manuel  Kline,  first  sergeant;  enl.  July  29,1862;  pro.  from  sergeant  July 

28, 1804;  pro.  to  second  lieutenant  Co.  H  Sept.  10, 1864, 
Willi.am  B.  Dungan,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  July  25, 1802 ;  pro.  from  sergeant 

Feb.  1,1865;  must  out  June  22,  1865. 
Paul  Kuhl,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  5,  1862;  pro.  to  first  sergeant  April 
22,  1863;   killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Va,,  May  12,  1804; 
buried  at  National  Cemetery,  Fredericksburg, 

Wilson  H,  Snyder,  sergeant;  enl,  Aug.  9,1862;  pro.  from  corporal  to 
sergeant  Feb,  1,  1805  ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 

John  F.  Servis,  sergeant;  enl.  ,Tuly  30,  1802;  pro,  to  sergeant  Feb.  4, 
1805  ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 

Levi  Runyon,  sergeant;  enl,  Aug.  7, 1862;  pro.  from  corporal  April  22, 
1863  ;  disch.  by  order  from  War  Department  May  3, 1805, 

William  H,  Sloan,  sergeant ;  enl.  July  23, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  Jan. 
3,1863:  appointed  second  lieutenant  Co,  K,  Thirty-first  Regiment, 
United  States  Colored  Troops,  Feb,  18, 1865, 

Andrew  F.  Henry,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  2, 1862;  pro. from  corporal  March 
1,  1806;  trans,  to  Co,  G,  Second  Regiment,  June  21,  1865, 

David  E,  Hicks,  color-sergeant;  enl,  Aug.  5,  1802;  killed  at  Salem 
Heights,  Va.,  May  3,  1863, 

Lncien  A,  Yooi  hees,  sergeant ;  enl.  July  29, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylva- 
nia Court-house  May  8, 1864. 

Charles  R.  Jackson,  sergeant;  enl,  April  19,1861;  trans,  from  Co,  A, 
Third  Regiment;  died  July  31,  1804,  of  wounds  received  at  Spottsyl- 
vania Court-house  May  8, 1864 ;  buried  at  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

William  T.  Barber,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug,  6, 1862  ;  pro,  from  private  Sept, 
22, 1862 ;  disch,  for  disability  May  3, 1865. 

Garret  Hogan,-  corporal ;  enl.  July  29,  1862 ;  pro.  from  private  Feb,  1, 
1805 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1 866, 

Joseph  E,  Sullivan,  corporal;  enl,  July  24,  1862;  pro.  from  private 
March  1,  1866 :  must,  out  June  22, 1S65. 

George  S.  Beavers,  coi-poral  ;  enl.  Aug,  8,  1802 ;  pro.  from  private  March 
1,  1666;  must,  out  June  22,  1806. 

Abraham  Tranger,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  pro.  from  private  March 
1,  1805  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866, 

James  C,  Palmer,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862  ;  pro,  from  private  April  1, 
1806  ;  must,  out  June  22,  1866. 

John  A.  Kutter,  corporal ;  enl,  Aug,  7,  1862;  disch.  Sept,  28, 1863,  on  ac- 
count of  wounds  received  Ma3'  3,  1863. 

John  P,  Collins,  corporal;  enl.  Aug,  11,  1862;  pro.  from  private  May  30, 
1863;  disch,  for  disability  May  30, 1865. 

Albert  G,  Reading,  corporal;  enl,  Aug.  9,  1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Re- 
serve Corps  March  27,  1804;  disch.  for  disability  June  1, 1804. 

William  P.  Bryan,  corporal ;  enl.  Feb,  29,  1804;  pro,  from  private  Feb.  1, 
1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment,  June  21,  1806. 

Warren  N.  Dunham,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  4,  1862;  killed  at  Salem 
Heights,  Va.,  May  3,1863. 

Joseph  G.  Ruukle,  corporal  ;  enl,  Aug,  1, 1862 ;  died  in  hospital  at  W.ish- 
ington,  D.  C,  Jnne  7,  1804,  of  wounds  received  at  Spottsylvania 
Court-house,  Va.,  May  12, 1864. 

Thomas  R.  Gregory,  musician,  enl.  Aug,  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22,1865. 

John  W,  Parrish,  musician,  enl,  Aug,  9,  1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 

Wm.  B,  Clayton,  musician,  enl,  July  26,  1862 ;  disch,  S,  0.  War  Dept, 
Feb,  7,  1864, 

Privates. 

Jacob  D.  Abrams,  enl,  March  24, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment. 

David  Algard,  enl,  Aug,  4,  1862;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Va,,  May  8, 
1804, 

David  Anthony,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1802;  died  in  hospital  May  13,  1804,  of 
wounds  received  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  May  12,  1804. 

Jacob  D.  Apgar,  enl.  July  31, 1862  ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house, 
Va,,  May  12,  1864. 

James  H,  Apgar,  enl.  July  22,1862;  died  in  hospital,  Washington,  D,  C, 
May  20,  1803,  of  wounds  received  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3, 
1863;  buried  in  the  Military  Asylom  Cemetei-y,  District  of  Columbia. 

William  H.  Agin,  enl.  July  22, 1802, 

John  Baker,  enl.  Sept.  16,  1804 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 

Thomas  Banfield,  enl.  March  23,  1866  ;  trans,  to  Co,  G,  Second  Begiment, 
June  21, 1868. 

Charies  Banks,  enl,  March  21,  1866;  trans,  to  Company  G,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21,  1806. 

George  W.  Barton,  enl,  July  26,1802;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps, 
Feb,  2,  1865;  disch,  July  24,  1865. 

Charles  Baxter,  enl.  March  23,  1805;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21,  1866, 

Theodore  B,  Bellis,  enl.  July  28,  1802;  must,  out  June  22,  1805. 


FIFTEENTH   INFANTEY  EEGIMENT. 


137 


Jacob  Beam,  enl.  Jan.  20, 1864 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8, 1804. 
Christian  Bischoff,  enl.  March  23, 1865 ;    trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1866. 
Louis  Blanc,  enl.  March  25, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21, 1865. 
Benjamin  Booth,  enl.  Dec.  31, 1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Jonathan  B.  Bowman,  enl.  Jan.  4, 1864; ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Regt. 
William  Broadwater,  enl.  March  23, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1865. 
William  Brown,  enl.  April  12,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Charles  Brown,  enL  Jan.  27,  1865 ;  discb.  from  hospital,  Washington, 

r.  C,  May  3, 1865,  for  disability. 
William  Brown,  enl.  Sept  30,  1864 ;  trans,  from  Co.  K  ;  must,  out  June 

22, 1865. 
John  Brogan,  enl.  Aug.  10,  1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Wilderness,  Va., 

May  7, 1864. 
William  W.  Briggs,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1 862 ;  disoh.  for  disability  Jan.  3, 1863.       I 
John  Bums,  enl.  July  28, 1862  ;  discb.  on  account  of  wounds  June  16, 

1865. 
Jacob  F.  Bryan,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862 ;  died  in  hospital,  Winchester,  Ya., 

Sept.  19, 1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 
John  Bulmer,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862;  disoh.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May  3, 1865. 
John  Butler,  Jr.,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
John  Butler,  Sr.,  enl.  Jnly  26, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps 

Sept.  3, 1863 ;  discb.  June  30, 1865. 
WQliam  Butt,  enl.  Mar.  24, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21,  1865. 
David  Cantrell.  enl.  Dec.  15, 1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Hugh  Carey,  enl.  March  25,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Samuel  Case,  enl.  July  30, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  July 

31, 1864;  discb.  June  27, 1865. 
Michael  Cash,  enl.  March  25, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Adam  Campbell,  enl.  March  26,  1865 ;  died  in  hospital  near  Fortress 

Monroe,  Va.,  June  18, 1866. 
Isaac  Cathrell,  enl.  July  28,  1862 ;  died  in  hospital,  Philadelphia,  Pa., 

July  13, 1863,  of  wounds  received  at  Gettysburg  July  3, 1863. 
Robert  Chester,  enl.  March  21, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1866. 
William  D.  Clark,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps 

Nov.  15, 1863 ;  discb.  July  6, 1865. 
Andrew  C.  Olawson,  enl.  July  30, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1866. 
Alfred  Collins,  enl.  Feb.  24,1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21,  1865. 
John  Corcoran,  enl.  March  23, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Nabnm  Cregur,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862;  disch.  from  hospital,  Philadelphia, 

Pa.,  May  3, 1865. 
Joseph  S.  Daws,  enl.  Sept.  3,1862;  died  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  19, 

1864. 
Daniel  G.  Dayton,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862  ;  died  of  fever  at  White  Oak  Church, 

Va.,Jan.  17, 1863. 
Isaac  Dayton,  enl.  July  27, 1862 ;  missing  in  action  at  Spottsylvania  May 

8, 1864 ;  recorded  at  War  Department  as  died  that  date. 
James  Dayton,  enl.  July  27, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  in  Virginia  Feb.  27, 1863. 
J.ihn  J.  Dewitt,  enl.  March  23, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1866. 
John  Dobleman,  enl.  March  25, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Joseph  Droll,  enl.  March  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  2i;  1865. 
Henry  Dybert,  enl.  March  21, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Isaac  N.  Danbury,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862  ;  disch.  for  disability  April  20, 1865. 
James  Edwards,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Herman  Ebrismann,  enl.  March  25, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1866. 
John  Evans,  enl.  Feb.  24,  1864;  missing  in  action  May  12,  1864;  sup- 
posed dead. 
James  Everett,  enl.  July  28, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  at  White  Oak  Church, 

Va.,  Feb.  10, 1863. 
Joseph  C.  Eveiett,  enl.  Jan.  5, 1804  ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house, 
Va.,  May  12, 1864. 
10 


Peter  B.  Frey,  enl.  July  28, 1862  ;  wounded,  and  missing  at  Salem  Heights 

May  3, 1863  ;  supposed  dead. 
Thomas  Force,  enl.  March  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
John  S.  Green,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 
Mahlon  Green,  enl.  Sept.  5, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Henry  Goodwin,  enl.  March  23, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
William  Gnlick,  enl.  Feb.  26,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Martin  V.  Grasaman,  enl.  Aug.  11,  1862 ;  died  of  disease  at  hospital  in 

Virginia  May  4, 1803. 
Evin  J.  Green,  enl.  Aug.  6,  1862 ;  died  of  disease  in  hospital  at  Ports- 
month  Grove,  R.  I.,  May  14, 1864;  buried  at  Sergeantsville,  N.  J. 
Charles  Garmo,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862. 
Isaiah  Hassell,  enl.  July  28,  1862 ;  died  at  Tennallytown,  D.  C,  Oct.  28, 

1863. 
Van  Meter  P.  Hammitt,  enl.  Nov.  12, 1863  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regi- 
ment. June  21, 1865. 
Peter  Harman,  enl.  March  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Begimentr 

June  21, 1865. 
Michael  Harrington,  enl.  Sept,  13, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Fifteenth  Regt. 
John  Harris,  enl.  Aug.  26,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Abraham  Hendershot,  enl.  Dec.  17, 1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Regt. 
Charles  Henzerling,  enl.  March  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1865. 
Herman  Heimbold,  enl.  Aug.  6,  1862;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court- 
house, Va.,  May  12, 1864. 
Philip  I.  Hendershot,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  in  Virginia  Feb. 

9, 1863. 
George  B.  Henderson,  enl.  Aug.  9. 1862;  died  in  rebel  prison  Richmond, 

Aug.  29, 1864. 
John  W.  Henry,  enl.  Aug.  5, 1862;  missing  in  action  May  8, 1864;  sup- 
posed dead. 
Lewis  Higgins,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862;  missing  in  action  May  12,  1864;  re- 
corded in  War  Department  as  having  died  that  date. 
Charles  A.  Heath,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  March  23, 186S. 
David  D.  Hendershot,  enl.  July  23,1862;  disch.  for  disability  Jan.  18, 

1863. 
William  L.  Higgins,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Moses  G.  Housel,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  May  4, 

1866. 
James  Hoffman,  enl.  Aug.  8,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps ; 

disch.  June  4, 1866. 
John  Hopkins,  enl.  Nov.  19, 1863;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Elijah  W.  Horn,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps ; 

disch.  July  10, 1865. 
Eli  Howarth,  enl.  Sept.  27, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Lemuel  Hockenbury,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  died  in  hospital  May  20, 18&1, 

of  wounds  received  at  Spottsylvania  May  12, 1864. 
Silas  N.  Hockenbury,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May 

12, 1864. 
James  Hurley,  enL  July  26, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  at  Washington  Jan.  4, 

1863 ;  burled  in  Military  As.ylum  Cemetery,  D.  0. 
David  P.  Ingle,  enl.  Jan.  4, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Alfred  B.  Jackson,  enl.  Jan.  2, 1804 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Abraham  Johnson,  Jr.,  enl.  Nov.  19,  1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth 

Regiment. 
Bernard  Johnson,  enl.  Dec.  31, 1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Joseph  Johnson,  enl.  Sept.  5, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Henry  P.  Johnson,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May  3, 

1865. 
William  B.  Jackson,  enl.  Aug.  2,  1862;  was  never  mustered  in  with 

company. 
Solomon  Rise,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862  ;  disch.  for  disability  Dec.  19, 1863. 
Simon  N.  R.  Keesler,  enl.  April  20,  1864;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve 

Corps ;  discb.  June  17, 1866. 
Joseph  M.  Krewaon ,  enl.  Sept.  6, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Fifteenth  Regt. 
Ferdinand  Kuhn,  enl.  March  23, 1866 ;  trans,  fcj  Co.  F,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Joseph  Langdon,  enl.  Dec.  14, 1863  ;  trans,  to  Co.  I,  Fifteenth  Regiment. 
Abraham  Latourette,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862 ;  traus.  to  First  Cavalry  Regiment 

Sept.  4,  1862. 
Ferdinand  Margraff,  enl.  March  23, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1866. 
Thomas  McGarvey,  enl.  Dec.  19, 1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Regt. 


138 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Philip  McNulty,  enl.  Mirch  23, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  T,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Patricll  Mullen,  enl.  Nov.  19,  1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Fifteenth  Eegiment. 
Jauiea  Madison,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  July  28,  1863. 
John  Moser,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1864  ;  disch.  on  account  of  wounds  June  7, 1865. 
John  Miller,  enl.  Sept.  27,  1864. 

Cornelius  J.  Nevius,  enl.  Aug.  1 1,  1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court- 
house May  12, 1864. 
Peter  J.  Nevius,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862;  died  of  fever  at  White  Oak  Church, 

Va.,  Jan.  2, 1863. 
William  Olbon,  enl.  Sept.  27, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  K,  Fifteenth  Eegiment. 
William  N.  Peer,  enl.  Aug.  1, 1862  ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house 

May  12, 1864. 
Henry  Quartz,  enl.  March  23,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Michafil  Eay,  enl.  Jan.  26, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Eegiment. 
John  Beading,  enl.  July  24,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.  15,  1864. 
John  Bedding,  enl.  March  23,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Peter  M.  Kyberg,  enl.  March  23, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
John  Eouch,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1864. 
Charles  Scheerer,  enl.  Dec.  21, 1863 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8, 

1864. 
Samuel  Servis,  enl.  July  24, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 
John  Slater,  enl.  July  25, 1862  ;  died  suddenly  in  his  tent,  near  Brandy 

Station,  Va.,  March  30, 1864. 
Henry  0.  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  5, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house, 

May  12, 1864. 
Charles  B.  Smiley,  enl.  Feb.  24,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Begiment. 
Lewis  Snyder,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862 ;  disch.  from  hospital  at  Philadelphia, 

May  3, 1866. 
Eobert  S.  Sorter,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862  ;  died  in  hospital  at  Winchester,  Va., 

Oct.  9,  1864,  of  wounds  received  at  Opequan,  Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864. 
Alfred  Somers,  enl.  March  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Joseph  Storey,  enl.  March  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Frederick  Strasburger,  enl.  March  23, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Eeg- 
iment, June  21, 1865. 
Theodore  Stryker,  enl.  Aug  11,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Eeserve  Corps ; 

disch.  for  disability  Nov.  26, 1864. 
Charles  Stewart,  enl.  Dec.  16,  1863  ;  trans,  to  Co.  I,  Fifteenth  Eegiment. 
August  Stuter,  enl.  March  23,  1866 ;  disch,  from  hospital  by  order  of  the 

War  Department  May  3, 1865. 
John  C.  Staats,  enl.  Jan.  4, 1864 ;  died  at  AndersonvUle  Prison  Sept.  17, 

1864;  buried  in  National  Cemetery,  Andersonville,  Ga. 
Tbeodore  Stamets,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1864 ;  missing  at  battle  of  Wilderness ; 

supposed  dead. 
Andrew  0.  Starker,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862;  died  from  fever  at  Washington, 

D.  C,  Nov.  29,  1863. 
Stephen  Starker,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  died  at  Andersonville  prison  Sept.  13, 

1864;  buried  in  National  Cemetery,  Andersonville,  Ga. 
Charles  H.  Stanley,  enl.  May  12, 1864. 

George  Sutton,  enl.  Sept.  6, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Eegiment. 
Peter  J.  Ten  Broeck,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  30, 1865. 
George  C.  Van  Camp,  enl.  July  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
John  Van  Btten,  enl.  Jan.  2, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  Fifteenth  Eegiment. 
AbramVan  Fleet,  enl.  Aug.  1,1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Eeserve  Corps 

Sept.  7, 1863;  re-enl.  Aug.  24, 1864;  disch.  Nov.  20, 1865. 
Eufus  West,  enl.  March  21,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1866. 
Benjamin  F.  Wean,  enl.  July  22, 1862  ;  must,  out  Juue  22, 1865. 
Micbael  Welch,  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
John  M.  White,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1864;  must,  out  June  20,  1865. 
Charles  White,  enl.  March  20, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Alex.  Whitford,  enl.  Feb.  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1866. 
Frank  Winkler,  enl.  March  22, 1866 ;  trana.  to  Co.  F,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Watson  Wintermute,  enl.  Feb.  29, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Fifteenth  Eegi- 
ment. 
Augustus  Whitney,  enl.  Jan.  2, 1864;  died  of  wounds  June  14, 1864. 
Daniel  Woodruff,  enl.  July  28,  1862  ;  missing  in  action  Sept.  19,  1864  ; 

recorded  at  War  Department  as  died  that  date. 
Benjamin  S.  Wolverton,  enl.  July  22, 1862  j  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 


John  H.  Wyckoff,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862;  died  of  fever  in  Virginia  March  9, 

1863. 
John  York,  enl.  Aug.  11 ,  1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  March  23, 1863. 
William  Young,  enl.  March  22, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

Juue  21,  1865. 
Wm.  H.  Young,  enl.  Aug.  5, 1862  ;  missing  at  White  Oak  Cburch,  Va. 
Frederick  Zwiokey,  enl.  March  21, 1865 ;  must,  out  June  19, 1865. 

COMPANY  E  (SOMERSET). 

.John  H.  Vanderveer,  captain ;   com.  Aug.  15,  1862  ;  res.  July  19, 1864, 

by  reason  of  wounds  received  in  action. 
Charles  R.  Paul,  captain;  com.  Aug.  19,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  Second 
Begiment,  June  22, 1865;  brevet-major  Oct.  19, 1864  ;  brevet-lienten- 
aot-colonel  April  2,  1866. 
Stephen  H.  Bogardus,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  res.  Feb.  5, 

1863. 
Ellis  Hamilton,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Feb.  5, 1863 ;  pro.  captain  Co.  F 

Not.  4, 1863. 
Elias  B.  Nichols,  first  lieutenant;  com.  July  3,  1864;  res.  Jan.  21,  1865. 
James  W.  MuUery,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Feb.  9, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D, 

Second  Eegiment. 
Ebenezer  W.  Davis,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  March  18, 1863  ;  pro.  to  first 

lieutenant  Co.  I. 
Jacob  J.  Lair,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  10,  1864;  pro.  from  first 

sergeant  Co.  G  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
James  Van  Antwerp,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  6,  1862;  pro.  to  second 

lieutenant  Co.  F. 
William  H.  DoUiver,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug,  11, 1862  ;  must,  out  June 

22, 1865. 
Joseph  Vanderveer,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  4, 1862  ;  died  of  fever  March 

12,  1863. 
Tunis  D.  Johnson,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  died  of  wounds  Nov. 

19, 1864. 
Simon  W.  Nevius,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  2,  1862 ;  died  of  wounds  May  19, 

1863. 
Benjamin  0  Scudder,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania 

May  8,  1864. 
William  C.  E.  Gulick,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862;  killed  at  Spottsyl- 
vania May  10, 1864. 
Garret  I.  Schenck,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  18,  1862;  must,  out  June  9,  1865. 
Edward  T.  Dunn,  sergeant ;  enl .  Aug.  12,  1 862 ;  must,  out  July  7, 1865. 
Mathew  W.  Wright,  sergeant ;  eul.  Aug.  2,  1862 ;  must  out  June  22,1865. 
Benjamin  Moulton,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  16,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 
Peter  C.  Peterson,  sergeant ;  eul.  Aug.  12,  1862  ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Eeserve 

Corps ;  re-enlisted. 
Albert  V.  Wyckoff,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  2, 1862 ;  pro.  to  sergeant-m^jor 

Nov.  14,  1863. 
Peter  S.  Bennett,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Thomas  S.  Richardson,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 

1865. 
John  L.  S.  Van  Dorn,  corporal ;  eul.  Aug.  11,  1862 ;   must,  out  June  22, 

1865. 
Thomas  McConral,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  6,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Thomas  N.  Stout,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  6,  1862 ;   disch.  for  disability  Feb. 

17,  1866. 
Abraham  D.  Baird,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second 

Eegiment. 
Francis  T.  Maybury,  corporal ;  enl.  Oct.  20, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second 

Regiment. 
John  Haggerty,  corporal ;  enl.  July  7, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Eegi- 
ment. 
William  H.  Green,  corporal;  enl.  July  8, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second 

Regiment. 
Theodore  B.  Howe,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  2, 1862;  died  March  17, 1863. 
Jonathan  B.  Hutchinson,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  killed  at  Salem 

Heights,  Va.,  May  3,  1863. 
Daniel  Eichardson,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862  ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania 

Court-house,  Va.,  May  12, 1864. 
Isaac  N.  Allen,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 
James  E.  Struck,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
John  H.  Drake,  wagoner ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 

Privates. 
John  Allen,  enl.  July  11, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Gilson  Baldwin,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 
Joshua  Beekman,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1802;  disch.  for  disability  Nov.  30, 1863. 


FIFTEENTH   INFANTRY  REGIMENT. 


139 


Henry  B.  Blate,  enl.  Ang.  4,  1862;  dlsch.  S.  0.  War  Department  Jan. 

U,  1864. 
Joiiatllan  BTewstor,  enl.  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  killed  at  Salem  Heights,  Va., 

May  3, 1863. 
John  Butler,  enl.  July  12, 1864  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
William  W.  Conltliu,  enl.  Aug.  5, 1862  ;  died  of  wounds  June  24, 1864. 
Nicholas  Conover,  enl.  Aug.  11,  1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  May  12 

1864. 
Adrian  M.  Cornell,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1862  ;  died  of  diphtheria  July  14, 1864. 
Williani  S:  Cathbcrt,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1865 ;  died  of  fever  May  14, 1865. 
Andrew  Cranny,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 
Jesse  E.  Cranmer,  enl.  Ang.  11, 1862  ;  diach.  for  disability  Jan.  19, 1863. 
Francis  Campbell,  enl.  July  7, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Peter  Connarty,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Eegiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Harris  Connor,  enl.  Sept.  1, 1804 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H. 
GaiTet  S.  Conover,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1802  ;  trans,  to  Yeteran  Reserve  Corps, 

and  disch.  Aug.  5, 1865. 
Jas.  V.  N.  Cornell,  enl.  Aug.  2, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Teteran  Reserve  Corps, 

and  disch.  July  14, 1805. 
James  DanUn,  enl.  July  6, 1864 ;  must,  out  June  9, 1865. 
Francis  T.  DulBeld,  enl.  Ang.  18, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  30,  1865. 
William  P.  DuBield,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Noiih  W.  Dunham,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
George  E.  Da  Forrest,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  April  28, 

1863. 
Elias  Daw,  enl.  March  22, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21, 1806. 
Marcus  B.  Duvall,  enl.  Sept.  22, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Thomas  Davis,  enl.  July  6, 1864;  missing  in  action ;  supposed  dead. 
Peter  Demons,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  May  10, 1664. 
James  Dow,  enl.  Aug.  11,  1862;  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1, 

1864. 
William  K.  Dow,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862;  died  of  wounds  June  17, 1864. 
Luke  Faney,  enl.  March  22, 1866  ;  must,  out  June  19, 1865. 
Jeremiah  Fulkerson,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Lewis  D.  Farrington,  eul.  Feb.  23, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21,  1866. 
John  Fenton,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.E,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21,  1865. 
Herman  Fischer,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Timothy  Fitzgerald,  enl.  Feb.  25, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
John  Flaherty,  euL  April  13, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Henry  Pox,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21,  1866. 
William  Francis,  enl.  March  21, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
John  Garretson,  enl.  Aug.  12,  1862;  died  of  fever  March  9, 1863. 
Richard  Garretson,  enl.  Aug.  7,1862;  trans,  to  Signal  Corps  June  13, 

1863. 
Peter  V.  D.  Hardcastle,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
David  S.  Haviland,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22,  1866. 
.  Joseph  B.  Hughes,  enL  Aug.  13, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 
John  0.  Heath,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862  ;  disch,  for  disability  March  8, 1864. 
Charlt-s  Height,  enl.  Ang.  18,  1802 ;  disch.  for  disability  March  3, 1863. 
Francis  Hughes,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1862  ;  disch.  for  wounds  May  26, 1866. 
Emanuel  Hunter,  enl.  Aug.  6,  1862  ;  disch.  for  disability  Jan.  3, 1863. 
James  Hall,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21, 1865. 
John  Haley,  enl.  March  21,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
L'luis  Hartmau,  enl.  March  21, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
James  Headley,  enl.  Aug.  3, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  Seventh  Regiment. 
Manritz  Hendenberg,  enl.  March  22,  1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21,-1865. 
Charles  R.  Henderson,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1865. 
Cornelius  A.  Hoagland,  enl.  Aug.  21,  1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve 

Corps,  and  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  15, 1864. 
George  Hendrickson,  enl.  Sept.  1, 1862;  died  of  wounds  Sept.  3, 1864. 
JacoLj  Haines,  enl.  July  12, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 


Robert  M.  Jackson,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1864;  not  must,  out  with  company, 

John  Johnson,  enl.  July  12, 1864;  died  of  fever  Oct.  17, 1864. 

John  H.  Jones,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862  ;  died  of  wounds  May  18, 1864. 

Stephen  Jeroloman,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1866. 

John  Kinsman,  enl.  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 

James  Kane,  enl.  March  22,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21, 1866. 

Emanuel  Keil,  enl.  March  21, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  K,  Second  Regiinent, 
June  21, 1865. 

James  H.  Kelly,  enl.  March  23, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21, 1866. 

John  Kimble,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment,  June 
21, 1865. 

Timothy  Kirby,  enl.  March  22, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21, 1865. 

Clmetiau  Koenig,  enl.  July  18, 1864;  died  of  wounds  Oct.  25, 1864. 

James  Langdon,  enl.  Aug.  4,  1862 ;  drowned  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  Nov.  12, 
1863 ;  buried  at  Newark. 

Charles  M.  Lewis,  enl.  Feb.  26, 1866;  must,  out  June  10, 1865. 

Asher  Latourette,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862;  disch.  for  disability  March  22, 1863. 

John  J.  Laughton,  enl.  Aug.  6, 1862;  disch.  for  disability  April  11, 1863. 

Alfred  W.  Lavine,  enl.  March  21, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21, 1866. 

Silas  T.  Leonard,  enl.  Feb.  25, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21,  1805. 

Martin  lindhorn,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Eegiiient, 
June  21,  1865. 

Dennis  McMuUen,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 

Patrick  McCormick,  enl.  Aug.  3, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Fifth  Eegiment. 

James  McKineey,  enl.  Aug.  2, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house, 
Va.,  May  12, 1864. 

Lorenzo  M.  Moore,  enl.  Aug.  11,  1862;  died  of  fever  Nov.  1, 1863. 

Francis  Musshea,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1802 ;  died  of  fever  March  12, 1863. 

Cornelius  Miller,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1802 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 

Jacob  Mayers,  eul.  Aug.  4,  1802 ;  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Oct.  26, 
1862. 

Nelson  Marlatt,  enl.  Sept.  1, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H. 

Christian  Melfessel,  enl.  March  21, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21,  1865. 

Joseph  B.  Millburn,  enl.  Feb.  26, 1866;  trans,  to  C«.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21,1806. 

William  H.  Miller,  enl.  March  21, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1865. 

Abraham  Morgan,  enl.  Feb.  25, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21, 1866. 

Caleb  J.  Morton,  enl.  Aug.  30,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H. 

William  Mulohay,  enl.  March  21, 1805 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21, 1865. 

John  Murphy,  enl.  March  21, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21,  1865. 

James  Nolan,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1862 ;  died  of  wounds  July  5, 1864. 

John  O'Hara,  enl.  March  22,1866;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiinent, 
June  21. 1865. 

Oliver  Orr,  enl.  March  21, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Second  Regiment,  June 
21,  1805. 

Henry  C.  Ogborn,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1862 ;  died  of  diphtheria  June  12, 1864. 

Joseph  Potter,  enl.  July  11, 1864 ;  missing  in  action  Oct.  19, 1864 ;  sup- 
posed dead. 

John  W.  Priestley,  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862;  died  of  wounds  May  12, 1864. 

John  Paine,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  Second  Regiment,  June 
21, 1806. 

Benjamin  R.  Patterson,  enl.  March  21, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21,  1866. 

Isaac  Porter,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1802 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 

Moses  H.  Byer,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1862  ;  disch.  Feb.  17, 1864. 

Cornelius  Roach ,  enl.  July  14, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H. 

Williani  H.  Rose,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house 
May  12, 1804. 

William  Rever,  enl.  July  8, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Thomas  Ryan,  enl.  July  7, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

James  S.  Smith,  enl.  July  14, 1864;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

John  A.  Saums,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1862;  died  of  diarrhoea  Jan.  7, 1863. 

Jeremiah  S.  Slack,  enl.  Aug.  5, 1862 ;  missing  in  action  May  12, 1864 ;  sup- 
posed dead. 

Robert  Sylvester,  onl.  Aug.  4, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  Dec.  6, 1862. 

Frederick  Schulackebier,  enl.  March  22,  1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second 
Regiment,  June  21,  1866. 


140 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Patrick  Scully,  enl.  Aug,  11,  1S62;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,1865. 
Martin  Slatterv,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Nicholas  H.  Smith,  enl.  Feb.  25, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Isaac  S.  Suydam,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Signal  Corps  Aug.  22, 1863. 
Peter  P.  Sutphin,  enl.  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  Oct.  7, 1863. 
Peter  Schenck,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
John  H.  Spille,  enl.  Aug.  11,  18G2;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Henry  B.  Staats,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
George  Thompson,  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862;  disch.,  wounded,  Feb.  21, 1865. 
George  Tucker,  enl.  July  13,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1868. 
William  H.  Tuthill,  enl.  April  12, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regiment, 

.Tune  21,  1865. 
WilUam  N.  Therp,  enl.  Aug.  21,  1862 ;  killed  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May 

3,  1863. 
George  M.  Vanderveer,  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Isaac  T.  Tan  Cleef,  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  9,  1806. 
George  V.  Viste,  enl.  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  10,  1865. 
James  V.  B.  Voorhees,  enl.  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
John  V.  A.  Van  Cleef,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps ; 

disch.  Aug.  24,  1865. 
William  A.  Van  Doren,  enl.  April  13,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21,  1865. 
William  H.  Voorhees,  enl.  April  12, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H. 
Cornelius  V.  N.  Wilson,  enl.  Aug.  11,  1862;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve 

Corps ;  re-enl. ;  disch.  Nov.  26, 1866. 
Cornelius  S.  Williamson,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  Bee.  2, 1863. 
Francis  Wagner,  enl.  March  21,  1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
George  Wean,  enl.  Aug.  18,  1862;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Henry  D.  Watts,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  March  22, 1863. 

COMPANY   G   (HUNTERBON). 

William  H.  Slater,  captain ;  com.  Aug.  15,  1862 ;  disch.  on  account  of 

wounds  April  21,  1865 ;  right  leg  amputated. 
Henry  Suydam  Crater,  first  lieuteuant;  com.  Aug.  28,  1862;  resigned 

Dec.  31,  1862. 
John  B.  Trimmer,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Jan.  19, 1863;  pro.  to  captain 

Co.  K  July  27,  1863. 
Charles  R.  Paul,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  July  27, 1863 ;  pro.  to  captain  Co. 

E  Aug.  19, 1864. 
Emanuel  AckeiBOn,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  10,1864;  must,  out  June 

22,  1865. 
Henry  M.  Fowler,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  Jan.  19, 1863 ;  pro.  to  captain 

Co.  A  Jan.  31,  1865. 
Chauncey  B.  Anderson,  second  lieutenant;  com.  March  28,  1865-  trans. 

to  Co.  I,  Second  Regiment,  June  21,  1865. 
Adolph  Weiss,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  July  20,  1863 ;  pro.  to  first  lieutenant 

Co.  B  July  3, 1864. 
Jacob  J.  Lair,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  July  28, 1862  ;  pro.  to  second  lieuten- 
ant Co.  E  Sept.  10, 1864. 
George  H.  Gordon,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  must,  out  June 

22,  1865. 
Edwin  D.  Ulmer,  fii-st  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862;  disch.  May  29, 1865 
on  account  of  wounds  received  at  Cedar  Creek,  Va. ;  hip-joint  ampu- 
tated. 
William  B.  Trimmer,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  20, 1862;  killed  at  Spott- 

sylvania  May  8, 1864. 
William  McK.  Thompson,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spott- 

sylvania  May  12, 1864. 
Jacob  F.  Thatcher,  sergeant;  enl.  Ang.  14,  1862;  died  of  wounds  June 

8, 1864. 
William  H.  H.  WyckofT,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  20, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Veteran 

Reserve  Corps;  disch.  July  12, 1865. 
Charles  B.  Haring,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862;  pro.  to  second  lieuten- 
ant Co.  I  March  28, 1865. 
Jacob  Ulmer,  sergeant ;  enl.  July  28, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22  1865. 
John  Bocock,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22  1865. 
William  H.  Cawley,  sergt. ;  enl.  July  28, 1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Peter  Smith,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  18,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
John  Garron,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Joseph  W.  Benson,  Corp.;  enl.  Aug.  19,  1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Wilson  Housel,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Thomas  Sheridan,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 


Jacob  Stull,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  must  out  June  22, 1865. 
Samuel  Hoff,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865, 
Levi  Wert,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
John  Grovendyke,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  20,  1862;  disch.  for  disability 

April  20, 1863. 
Ezra  S.  Scarborough,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  14,  1862 ;  disch.  for  disability 

Dec.  11,  1863. 
Henry  Pittenger,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  1,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second 

Regiment,  June  21, 1865. 
Francis  C.  Roberson,  corporal;    enl.  Ang,  14,  1862;  trans,  to  Veteran 

Reserve  Corps ;  disch.  July  7,  1865. 
Stephen  D.  Runkle,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  19,  1862 ;  died  of  pneumonia 

Dec.  16,  1864. 
James  Miller,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 


William  J.  Allen,  enl.  March  21,  1865;  must,  out  June  13,  1865. 
William  Ashcroft,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  15,  1865. 
Morris  Ader,  enl.  May  30, 1864 ;  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  17,  1865. 
Henry  Abbott,  enl.  Feb.  23,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
John  Adams,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  ti'ans.  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
William  Albrecht,  enl.  March  22, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co,  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865, 
Charles  Alford,  enl,  March  21, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co,  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1866, 
William  F.  Allen,  enl,  March  22, 1865 ;  ti'ana,  to  Co,  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865, 
David  Allison,  enl,  Feb.  23,  1865;   trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
William  Allison,  enl.  March  22, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
David  Anderson,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1866. 
John  Anderson,  enl.  Feb.  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Isaac  Apgar,  enl.  July  28, 1862 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  April  12, 1863. 
Ralph  B.  Bryant,  enl.  July  28,  1862;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Edward  Barrage,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862;  disch.  for  disability  April  20, 1864. 
Harmon  Bush,  enl.  July  28,  1862;  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Oct  29, 

1862. 
Martin  Baker,  enl.  March  22,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment 

June  21,  1866. 
Edward  P.  Beebe,  enl.  March  21, 1865.;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Tenbroek   K.  Bethel,  enl.   July  29,   1862;   trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve 

Corps  Jan.  15,  1864. 
Ernst  Boise,  enl.  March  20,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Beginient, 

June  21,  1866. 
Daniel  Boyd,  enl.  March  18,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,1865. 
William  Braddock,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1866;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment 

June  21,  1865. 
Fritz  Buck,  enl.  Aug.  29, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  H. 
Mathias  Burnett,  enl.  Feb.  25,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1866.  ■ 

Samuel  Burns,  enl.  March  18, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment. 

June  21,  1865. 
Cephas  Bryant,  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  Bushwald,  enl.  Aug.  21, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Walter  Coles,  enl.  April  6, 1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company 
David  P.  Cramer,  enl.  Ang.  11, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
William  S.  Culver,  enl.  Aug.  21, 1862  ;  died  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  May 

4, 1863,  of  wounds. 
Morris  Coile,  enl.  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  22,  1866. 
James  0.  Connerty,  enl.  Aug.  5,  1862;  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  27,  ISeH. 
Augustus  Cronce,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862;  disch.  for  wounds  May  18,  1866. 
Nathan  Culver,  enl.  Aug.  21, 1862;  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  2, 1865. 
Richard  Cahill,  enl.  March  21, 1866;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21,  1865. 

Thomas  Carroll,  enl.  Aug.  11,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21,  1865. 

John  Ohristianson,  enl.  March  21,  1866;  trane.  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regi- 

ment,  June  21, 1866. 
Andrew  Biamond,  enl.  Sept.  1,  1864 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 


FIFTEENTH   INFANTEY  REGIMENT. 


141 


John  Buckworth,  eiil.  Aug.  11,  1862 ;  djsch.  to  joio  regular  army  Oct. 

28,  1862. 
Barney  Dufflcy,  enl.  July  28, 1 862 ;  disch.  for  wounds  July  26, 1865. 
Dennis  Daley,  enl.  March  21, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  Gr,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1866. 
John  N.  Douglass,  enl.  Aug.  24, 1864 ;  killed  at  Middletown,  Va.,  Oct.  19, 

1864. 
James  DavlB,  enl.  April  6, 1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Oeorge  Eather,  enl.  March  20,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
James  Emmons,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  killed  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May 

3, 1863. 
Samuel  Ernest,  enl.  March  1, 1864 ;  died  of  disease  July  18, 1864. 
Nicholas  Fogerty,  enl.  Aug.  13, 1862 ;  died  from  diarrhoea  April  28, 1863. 
Cornelius  Franke,  enl.  Aug.  24,  1861;  trans,  from  Second  Regiment; 

must,  out  Sept.  13, 1864. 
Lewis  Farber,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862  ;  disch.  for  disability  July  7, 1863. 
Eni.s  Freeman,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862  ;  disch.  for  disability  April  20, 1863. 
Hiram  Geddis,  enl.  Sept.  2, 1864  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Jacob  W.  Ganon,  enl.  Aug.  21, 1862  ;  disch.  for  disability  Jan.  19,  1863. 
Abernethy  Grovendyke,  enl.  Aug.  18,  1862 ;  disch.  for  disability  March 

26, 1863. 
John  V.  Gordon,  enl.  July  28,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Teteran  Reserve  Corps 

March  15, 1864. 
James  T.  Giles,  enl.  July  28, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  Dec.  9, 1862. 
Joseph  A.  Griliith,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862  ;  died  of  wounds  Jan.  22, 1863. 
Nicholas  Hart,  enl.  June  3, 1864  ;  must,  out  June  21, 1865. 
Georgij  Heaney,  enl.  Jan.  2,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

.lime  21, 1865. 
John  Hener,  enl.  March  17, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21,1865. 
Edward  L.  Hill,  enl.  Aug.  13,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps ; 

dlach.  July  7,  1865. 
Samufl  S.  Hoff,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B,  First  Cavalry,  Sept. 

15, 1862. 
Zeph.  0.  Holcombe,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps  ; 

di^ch.  as  sergt.  May  16, 1864. 
Coward  H.  Hopkins,  enl.  June  2, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Emanuel  Hill,  enl.  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  died  of  fever  Dec.  5, 1862. 
Isaac  Holmes,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862  ;  died  of  wounds  June  15, 1863. 
Jerome  Hornbaker,  enl.  Aug.  1, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Nicholas  Johnson,  enl.  Sept.  2, 1861 ;  trans,  from  Third  Regiment ;  must. 

out  Sept  2, 1864. 
Whitfield  H.  Kinney,  enl.  Aug.  20, 1862  ;  must,  out  .Tune  22, 1865. 
Cornelius  King,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862  ;  died  of  disease  Nov.  16,  1864. 
William  P.  Kise,  enl.  July  28, 1862  ;  died  of  disease  March  9, 1865. 
Alfred  La  Fosse,  enl.  July  7,  1864;  killed  at  Middletown,  Va.,  Oct.  19, 

1864. 
Thomas  Logan,  enl.  April  6,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
Charles  Ludec,  enl.  March  18,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Andrew  Mantle,  enl.  Feb.  1,  1864;  must,  out  June  1.1, 1865. 
Garret  Marvin,  enl.  Sept.  1,  1864;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Jas.  C.  Meyers,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Samuel  Meyers,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
John  McOormick,  enl.  June  3, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
William  B.  McGill,  enl.  April  6, 1865 :  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Edward  McGuigan,  enl.  March  24,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1865. 
James  J.  Morralley,  enl.  March  25,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regi- 
ment, June  21, 1865. 
Hugh  H.  Mason,  enl.  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  Dec.  2,  1862. 
Eeed  Meyers,  enl.  Aug.  30, 1864 ;  died  of  wounds  Nov.  26, 1864. 
Micbel  Mulvey,  enl.  Aug.  14,  1862 ;  killed  at  Fredericksburg  Dec.  13, 

1862. 
James  Nisbet,  enl.  July  29, 1862 ;  was  never  mustered. 
Jacob  Naylor,  enl.  July  23, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21, 1865. 
Joshua  Pedrick,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
George  Plotts,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Ralph  H.  Philhower,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862  ;  disch.  for  disab.  Feb.  18, 1863. 
Si  mon  G.  Pedrick,  enl.  Aug.  15, 1862 ;  missing  in  action  at  Spottsylvania 

Court-house;  supposed  dead. 


Ezekiel  C.  Quick,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862 ;  died  of  wounds  Jan.  4, 1863. 

William  B.  Parker,  enl.  March  18, 1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

John  Risinger,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 

Balser  T.  Rockafellow,  enl.  July  28, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disab.  Deo.  11, 1863. 

Peter  Regan,  enl.  March  14, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  I. 

George  Ritter,  enl.  March  17,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
John  Ryan,  enl.  July  14, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21,1865. 
Andrew  Rupp,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  M.  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862 ;  killed  at  Spottsylvania  May  9, 1864. 
Zebulon  Stout,  enl.  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  March  13, 1865. 
George  B.  Shrope,  enl.  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Charles  Snook,  enl.  Sept.  1, 1864;  must,  out  June  22,  1865. 
Albert  H.  Stires,  enl.  Aug.  25, 1864 ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Charles  A.  Stires,  enl.  Sept.  2, 1864  ;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Levi  StuU,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  21,  1865. 
James  0.  Schwitzer,  enl.  July  29,  1862  ;  disch.  June  26, 1863. 
William  R.  Skinner,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Oct 

28, 1862. 
John  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1862;  disch.  for  disability  April  7,  1863. 
Thomas  Smith,  enl.  March  25, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,. 

June  21, 1865. 
William  Smith,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
Carl  Sberer,  enl.  March  17, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21.  1865. 
Samuel  H.  Stabler,  enl,  .\ug.  18, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps  ; 

disch.  Aug.  25,  1865. 
John  S.  Tidd,  enl.  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  must  out  June  22,  1865. 
David  Turner,  enl.  Aug.  20, 1862 ;  disch.  to  join  regular  army  Oct.  28, 

1862. 
John  P.  Thatcher,  enl.  July  28,  1862;  trans,  to  Second  Pennsylvania 

Cavalry  June  22, 1863. 
Stewart  Thateher,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps; 

re-enl.  Sept.  7,  1864. 
John  Traft.  enl.  July  30, 1862;  not  must,  nut  with  company. 
Michael  Tye,  enl.  Aug.  18,  18G4  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
GuBtav  Voight,  enl.  March  17, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1865. 
George  D.  Wagner,  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862 ;  must  out  June  22, 1865. 
William  Wright,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  must  out  June  22, 1865. 
John  Walden,  enl.  March  20,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1866. 
John  Walsh,  enl.  Feb.  21, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21. 1865. 

John  W.  Weaver,  enl.  March  17, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
J.  tJ.  Weidenkeller,  enl.  May  25, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment , 

June  21, 1865. 
Charles  Weldon,  enl.  March  18, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21,  1866. 
James  Welsh,  enl.  March  16, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
George  Westman,  enl.  March  20, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment 

June  21, 1865. 
Henry  Wilson,  enl.  March  16, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  6,  Second  Regiment, 

June  21, 1865. 
John  J.  WyckoiT,  enl.  Sept.  2, 1864 ;  died  of  wounds  April  13, 1865. 
William  H.  Wyckoff,  enl.  Aug.  5, 1862;  killed  at  Middletown,  Va.,  Oct. 

19, 1864. 
Thomas  Walker,  enl.  April  4, 1866 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Jacob  Teager,  enl.  Sept  24, 1861 ;  trans,  from  Third  Regiment ;  disch. 

on  account  of  wounds  Oct.  4, 1864. 
Philip  Z.  Tost,  enl.  July  28, 1862  ;  disch.  for  disability  Feb.  20, 1863. 
Carl  Tehring,  enl.  March  20, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment,  June 

21. 1866. 

August  Ziner,  enl.  March  20, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  Second  Regiment, 
June  21, 1865. 


142 


HUNTEEDON   AND  SOMEESET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JEESEY. 


CHAPTEE    XIV. 

THIKTIETH  AND  THIETT-FIEST  INFANTKY 
KEGIMENTS. 

Rendezvous  at  Flemington — Both  Regimenta  Mustered  into  Service 
Sept,  17,  1862 — OfBcers  of  Regiments,  and  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Companies — Movements  in  Virginia,  with  tlie  Army  of  the  Potomac 
— Promotions  of  Lieut.-Col.  Chadek,  Major  Ten  Eyck,  Major  Honey- 
man,  etc.— The  Two  Regiments  at  the  Battle  of  Chancellorsville— The 
Thirty-first  Regiment,  as  Rear-Guard,  hold  the  Enemy  in  Check — 
Other  Movements  and  Services  of  these  Commands — Rosters  of  the 
Companies  from  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties. 

The  services  of  the  Thirtietli  and  Thirty-first  New 
Jersey  Eegiments  in  the  war  of  the  Eebellion  were  so 
nearly  identical  that  it  has  been  thought  proper,  in 
the  following  narrative,  to  blend  the  account  of  them 
together  as  one.  These  regiments,  with  nine  others 
(Twenty-first  to  Twenty-ninth,  inclusive),  were  raised 
under  President  Lincoln's  call  of  Aug.  4,  1862,  for 
three  hundred  thousand  men,  to  be  drafted  from  the 
militia  or  otherwise  enlisted  for  the  term  of  nine 
months  unless  sooner  discharged.  As  there  was 
apparent  among  the  people  of  the  State  a  general  de- 
sire that  a  draft  might  be  avoided,  it  was  announced 
by  the  authorities  that  volunteers,  in  lieu  of  drafted 
men,  would  be  received  up  to  the  1st  of  September, 
but  that  if  at  that  time  the  requisite  number  should 
not  have  been  obtained,  the  draft  would  then  certainly 
proceed  in  townships  which  had  not  filled  their  quota. 
The  result  showed  that  drafting  was  unnecessary,  for 
on  the  2d  of  September  ten  thousand  eight  hundred 
volunteers  (three  hundred  and  twenty-two  men  more 
than  the  quota  of  the  State)  were  actually  in  camp  at 
the  five  different  points  designated  as  places  of  ren- 
dezvous. On  the  morning  of  the  3d  the  Governor 
announced  to  the  War  Department  at  Washington 
that  the  quota  of  New  Jersey  was  full,  and  that  the 
men  (not  one  of  whom  was  drafted)  were  already  in 
camp,  ready  for  muster. 

The  rendezvous  of  the  Thirtieth  and  Thirty-first 
Eegiments  was  at  Flemington,  where  the  first  compa- 
nies reported  on  the  27th  of  August,  and  occupied 
the  camp-ground  which  the  Fifteenth  Eegiment  had 
just  before  vacated.  The  work  of  organization  pro- 
ceeded energetically,  and  both  regiments  were  mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service  on  the  17th  of 
September.  Their  regimental  officers  were :  Of  the 
Thirtieth:  Colonel,  Alexander  E.  Donaldson;*  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, John  J.  Chadek  ;  major,  Walter  Cam- 
man  ;  adjutant,  John  W.  Mann;  quartermaster, 
Lemuel  E.  Young ;  surgeon,  Joseph  W.  Wolverton ; 
assistant-surgeons,  Alexander  Barclay,  Jr.,  George 
E.  Summers ;  chaplain,  John  S.  Janeway.  Of  the 
Thirty-first:  Colonel,  Alexander  P.  Berthoud;  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, William  Holt;  major,  Eobert  E. 
Honeyman;  adjutant,  Martin  Wyckoff;  quartermaster, 
Israel  Wells ;  surgeon,  Eobert  B.  Browne ;  assistant- 
surgeons,  Joseph  S.  Cook,  Nathaniel  Jennings ;  chap- 

«  Previously  brigadier-general  of  the  Somerset  brigade  of  militia,  and 
editor  of  the  Somerset  Messenger. 


lain,  John  McNair.  In  the  Thirtieth  there  were  five 
companies  from  Somerset  County, — viz.,  A  company, 
raised  at  North  Branch,  Capt.  Arthur  S.  Ten  Eyck ; 
E  company,  raised  at  Somerville,  Capt.  Cornelius  T. 
Cox ;  F  company,  raised  at  Neshanic,  Capt.  Oliver 
A.  Kibbe ;  I  company,  raised  at  Basking  Eidge,  Capt. 
John  C.  Bloom ;  and  K  company,  raised  at  Middle- 
bush,  Capt.  Benjamin  S.  Totten.  Two  companies  were 
from  Hunterdon  County, — viz.:  D  company,  Capt. 
Barclay  S.  Vail,  and  G  company,  Capt.  George  W. 
Day.  In  the  Thirty-first  there  were  four  Hunterdon 
County  companies, — viz. :  A  company  (New  German- 
town),  Capt.  Samuel  Carhart;  D  company  (Flem- 
ington), Capt.  Alexander  V.  Bonnell;  E  company, 
Capt.  Woodbury  D.  Holt;  and  K  company,  Capt. 
Nelson  Bennett. 

The  Thirty-first  was  the  first  of  the  two  regiments 
to  depart  for  the  front,  leaving  the  State  on  the  26th 
of  September.  The  Thirtieth,  one  thousand  strong, 
followed  on  the  last  day  of  the  same  month,  and  a  few 
days  later  both  regiments  were  encamped  near  Tenal- 
lytown,  Md.,  a  few  miles  north  of  Washington.  Here 
they  remained  until  the  1st  of  December,  when  they 
moved  from  Tenallytown  and  proceeded,  by  way  of 
Fort  Carroll,  Piscataway,  Md.,  and  Mattawoman 
Creek,  to  Liverpool  Point,  on  the  Maryland  side  of 
the  Lower  Potomac.  They  were  now  a  part  of  the 
provisional  brigade  formed  of  these  two,  with  the 
Twenty-second  and  Twenty-ninth  New  Jersey  and 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-seventh  Pennsylvania  Eegi- 
ments. They  crossed  the  Potomac  on  the  oth  of  De- 
cember, landing  at  Aquia  Creek,  Va.,  where  the  men 
suffered  greatly  from  exposure  in  the  excessively  cold 
and  stormy  weather.  Soon  after,  the  brigade  was 
placed  under  command  of  Gen.  Patrick,  provost- 
marshal-general  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and 
under  his  orders  they  were  placed  on  post,  railroad, 
and  provost  duty,  the  Thirty-first  being  stationed  at 
Belle  Plains,  Va.  The  Thirtieth  was  moved  to  Fal- 
mouth, opposite  Fredericksburg,  but  neither  regiment 
took  part  in  the  great  battle  at  that  place  on  the  13th 
of  December,  under  Gen.  Burnside. 

On  the  10th  of  January,  the  Thirtieth  was  ordered 
to  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  where  the  Thirty-first  was  sta- 
tioned, and  the  two,  with  the  Twenty-second  and 
Twenty-ninth  New  Jersey,  were  brigaded  together, 
forming  the  Third  Brigade  (under  Gen.  G.  E.  Paul)  of 
the  First  Division  (Wadsworth's)  in  Eeynolds'  (First) 
army  corps.  From  the  20th  to  the  23d  of  January, 
inclusive,  they  participated  in  the  discouraging  and 
profitless  "mud  march"  of  the  Eappahannock,  and 
on  the  last-named  day  returned  to  their  camps,  which 
then  became  their  winter  quarters. 

Col.  Donaldson  having  resigned  soon  after  the  cross- 
ing into  Virginia,  Lieut.-Col.  Chadek  became  colonel  • 
of  the  Thirtieth,  and,  on  the  12th  of  March,  Capt.  A. 
S.  Ten  Eyck  of  A  company  was  commissioned  major, 
vice  Camman  promoted.  On  the  5th  of  April,  Maj. 
Ten  Eyck  was  promoted  to  the  lieutenant-colonelcy. 


THIRTIETH   AND   THIRTY-FIRST   INFANTRY   REGIMENTS. 


143 


and  commanded  the  regiment  during  most  of  its  subse- 
quent movements.  In  the  Thirty-first,  on  account  of 
the  resignation  of  Lieut.-Col.  Holt,  Maj.  Robert  R. 
Honeyman  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant-colonel, 
and  the  command  of  the  regiment  devolved  on  him 
during  nearly  all  the  remainder  of  its  term  of  service, 
Col.  Berthoud  being  for  a  time  in  command  of  the 
brigade,  and  afterwards  retiring  on  account  of  sick- 
ness. 

Both  regiments  with  their  brigade  participated  in 
the  spring  campaign  of  1863,  which  culminated  in 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Chancellorsville.  On  the  29th 
of  April  the  brigade  crossed  the  Rappahannock  at 
"  Franklin's  Crossing,"  below  the  town  of  Fredericks- 
burg. 

"  On  the  morrow,  late  in  the  afternoon,  the  brigade  waa  adTanced  to 
meet  an  approaching  advance  of  rebel  infantry,  the  Thirty-first  fomiiug 
the  Becond  line  of  battle,  in  support  of  the  Twenty-ninth  New  Jei-sey. 
The  line  had  scarcely  been  formed  on  the  summit  of  the  declivity  form- 
ing the  river-bank  when  the  enemy  quickly  withdrew  and  opened  a  re- 
morseless fire  from  his  batteries  which  no  troops  were  able  to  stand.  The 
Twenty-ninth,  being  most  exposed,  fell  back,  forming  in  the  rear  of  the 
Thirty-first,  all  the  troops  protecting  themselves  by  lying  flat  on  the 
ground.  There  were  no  casualties  in  the  Thirty-first,  owing  to  its  for- 
tunate position,  but  the  firing  was  terrific.  About  dusk  the  firing  slack- 
ened, and  soon  ceased,  when  the  Thirty-first  was  ordered  to  advance 
under  cover  of  the  darkuess  and  complete  and  occupy  some  rifle-pits  in 
close  proximity  to  the  rebel  line,  which  was  at  once  done,  the  men  work- 
ing in  profound  silence  most  of  the  night  in  strengthening  their  position. 
.  .  .  Day  broke  on  the  field,  but  passed,  quite  unexpectedly,  as  peace- 
fully as  if  the  foe  had  quit  the  scene.  On  the  2d,  however,  the  batteries 
of  the  enemy  opened  with  a  terrible  fire,  compelling  the  division  speedily 
to  retire.  The  Thirty-first,  however,  maintained  its  position  in  compara^ 
tive  safety,  relying  upon  its  defenses,  which  were  so  well  constructed  as 
to  be  highly  complimented  by  Gens.  Wadsworth  and  Paul."* 

During  these  operations  the  main  force  of  Gen. 
Hooker  had  sustained  a  severe  reverse  at  Chancellors- 
ville, and  orders  were  now  received  for  Reynolds' 
corps  to  move  up  and  reinforce  the  army  at  that  point. 
In  executing  this  movement  it  was  necessary  to  hold 
the  advanced  line,  with  the  apparent  intention  of  en- 
gaging the  enemy,  until  the  main  body  of  the  corps 
had  crossed  to  the  north  side  of  the  river.  The 
Thirty -first  was  a  part  of  the  rear-guard  left  for  this 
purpose,  and  it  was  the  last  regiment  to  cross  the  pon- 
toon-bridge, which  it  did  under  a  most  destructive 
artillery-fire  firom  the  enemy,  who  had  by  this  time 
become  aware  of  the  purpose  of  the  movement,  and 
seemed  determined  to  annihilate  the  little  force  which 
had  held  him  at  bay.  An  officer  of  the  regiment, 
writing  of  the  affair,  said, — 

"  The  situation  of  the  regiment  at  this  time  was  most  critical .  The  cor- 
respondent of  the  New  York  Tinm  reported  the  Thirty-first  as  'cut  to 
pieces.'  When  he  left  that  portion  of  the  field  the  regiment  was  nearly 
surrounded  and  the  bridge  in  its  rear  partially  destroyed.  The  whole 
corps  was  in  motion,  the  Thirty-first  alone  excepted,  it  being  left  to  hold 
the  enemy  at  that  point  as  long  as  possible,  and  to  deceive  him  as  to 
numbers.  The  men  behaved  admirably,  marching  firmly  down  to  the 
bridge,  where  they  were  held  until  a  battery  had  crossed,  expecting  every 
moment  to  be  charged  upon.  After  crossing  we  were  obliged  to  scatter, 
as  the  enemy  had  accurate  range  of  us.  The  colonel  had  previously 
designated  a  rallying-point  for  the  regiment,  which  proved  to  bo  beyond 
his  observation,  and  every  man  came  to  time  in  that  race.  We  saved  the 
battery,  but  came  near  losing  the  regiment." 

*  Foster's  **  New  Jersey  and  the  Kebellion." 


After  this  crossing  the  Thirty-first  moved  rapidly 
on  and  rejoined  the  brigade,  which  had  already  ad- 
vanced a  considerable  distance  up  the  river. 

The  march  of  the  brigade  with  its  corps  was  made 
with  all  possible  speed  to  United  States  Ford  on  the 
Rappahannock,  several  miles  above  Fredericksburg. 
This  point  was  reached  late  in  the  night,  and  the 
wearied  men  bivouacked  on  the  north  bank  for  a  brief 
rest.  At  daylight  in  the  morning  they  crossed  the 
river  at  the  Ford,  and  the  Thirtieth  and  Thirty-first 
with  their  brigade  moved  along  the  line,  by  way  of 
the  Chancellor  House,  to  the  extreme  right  of  thq 
army,  where  it  took  position  at  sunrise  on  the  3d  of 
May.  Through  all  the  day  and  succeeding  night  it 
remained  in  that  position  without  becoming  engaged. 
On  the  4th  the  position  of  the  Thirty-first  was  changed 
more  to  the  right,  but  neither  this  nor  the  Thirtieth 
Regiment  was  brought  into  action  on  the  field  of 
Chancellorsville,  though  at  times  lying  under  very 
heavy  fire.  On  the  5th  orders  were  given  for  the 
army  to  withdraw  to  the  north  side  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock, and  during  that  night  these  two  regiments 
crossed  the  river,  though  at  diiferent  points.  On  the 
7th  they  rejoined  the  brigade,  which  then  went  into 
camp  near  the  "  Fitzhugh  House,"  not  far  from  the 
river,  and  two  or  three  miles  below  Fredericksburg. 

No  events  of  importance  occurred  thenceforth  in 
the  history  of  these  regiments.  When  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  left  the  vicinity  of  Falmouth  and  started' 
northward  on  the  route  that  finally  brought  it  to  the 
field  of  Gettysburg,  the  Thirtieth  and  Thirty-first 
moved  with  the  other  commands,  but  at  the  end  of 
one  day's  march  orders  were  received  directing  their 
return  and  muster  out,  their  term  of  service  having 
expired.  Under  these  orders  they  moved  back  to 
Falmouth,  whence,  after  turning  over  their  wagons 
and  other  quartermaster's  property,  they  marched  to 
Stafford  Court-house,  and  from  there  to  Dumfiries  and 
across  the  Occoquan  to  Alexandria.  They  soon  moved 
across  the  Potomac  to  "Washington,  where  a  slight  ■ 
delay  occurred,  and  then  they  were  transported  by 
rail  to  New  Jersey  and  mustered  out  of  the  service  at 
Flemington. 

The  experience  of  these  two  regiments  on  the  field 
of  conflict  had  not  been  great,  and  their  losses  in 
actual  battle  were  but  nominal ;  but  Fredericksburg 
and  Chancellorsville  had  proved  their  bravery  and 
steadfastness,  and  that  they  were  worthy  of  the  patri- 
otic State  which  had  sent  them  to  the  field. 

Following  is  a  list  of  officers  and  men  in  the  Thir- 
tieth Regiment  from  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Coun- 
ties :  „   . 

FUtd  and  Slaff. 
Colonel,  Alexander  E.  Donaldson  ;  resigned  March  4, 1863. 
Lieutenantcolonel,  John  J.  Cladek ;  pro.  to  colonel,  rics  Donaldson, 

March  4, 1803. 
Major,  Walter  Oamman ;  resigned  Feb.  17, 1863.t 


t  William  A.  Henry,  first  lieutenant  Co.  D,  pro.  to  adjutant  March  16, 
1863 ;  pro.  to  major  Apiil  5, 1803,  vice  Arthur  S.  Ten  Eyck ;  pro.  to  lieu-, 
tenant-colonel  April  5,  1803. 


144 


HUNTEEDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Adjutant,  John  W.  Mann  ;  disch.  Jan.  15, 1863,  by  special  order  of  War 

Department.* 
Quartermaster,  Lemuel  K  Toung,  vice  John  V.  Toorhees,  resigned  Nov. 

29,  1862. 
Surgeon,  Dr.  Joseph  "W.  "Wolverton ;  assistant  surgeon  Fourteenth  Kegi- 

ment  July  11, 1862. 
Aeaistant  Surgeons,  Drs.  Alexander  Barclay,  Jr.,  John  T.  Lanning,  and 

George  E.  Snmmers.f 
Chaplain,  Rev.  John  S.  Janeway ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Non-CoTnmi^ioned  Staff. 

George  E.  Dayton,  sergeant-major;  enl.  Sept.  18, 1862;  pro.  to  first  lieu- 
tenant Co.  I  Jan.  28, 1863. 

Abram  Quick,  sergeant-major;  enl.  Feb.  25, 1863  ;  died  of  fever  at  Belle 
Plains,  Ta.,  April  9, 1863. 

Joseph  H.  Mulford,  sergeant-major ;  enl.  April  9, 1863 ;  pro.  to  first  lieu- 
tenant Co.  H  April  17,  1863. 

George  "W.  Swain,  sergeaut-major;  enl.  April  17,  1863;  private  Co.  H 
May  1, 1863. 

Ira  F.  Morgan,  sergeant-major;  enl.  May  1, 1863  ;  pro.  to  second  lieuten- 
ant Co.  K  May  9, 1863. 

John  S.  Ten  Eyck,  sergeant-major;  enl.  May  30, 1863;  must,  out  June 
27,  1863. 

Lemuel  R.  Toung,  quartermaster-sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  18,1862;  pro.  to 
quartermaster  Dec.  10,  1862. 

David  T.  Crowell,  quartermaster-sergeant;  enl.  Dec.  28, 1862;  must. 'out 
June  27, 1863. 

Morris  D.  Rouse,  commissary-sergeant;  eul.  Sept.  18,  1862;  must,  out 
June  27,  1863. 

Jonathan  D.  Drake,  hospital  steward ;  enl.  Sept.  18, 1862 ;  must,  out  June 
27, 1863. 

COMPANY  A  (SOMERSET). 

Arthur  S.  Ten  Eyck,  captain ;  com.  Sept  5, 1862 ;  pro.  to  major  March  12, 

1863  ;  pro.  to  lieutenant-colonel  April  5,  1863. 
'  James  Bowman,  Jr.,  capt. ;  com.  March  16, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  D.  Vanderveer,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  5,  1862;  pro.  to  cap- 
tain Co.  B  Dec.  26, 1862. 

Joseph  B.  Smith,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Dec.  26, 1862;  must,  out  June 
27,  1863. 

Robert  S.  Van  Dyke,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  Dec.  26, 1862  ;  must,  out 
June  27,  1863. 

John  S.  Ten  Eyck,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  March  1, 1863 ;  pro.  to  sergeant- 
major  May  30,  1803. 

William  C.  Smith,  first  sergt. ;  enl.  June  1, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Jacob  K.  Hull,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862;  pro.  from  corporal  June  1, 
1863 ;  must,  out  Juue  27, 1863. 

Tunis  Vanderveer,  sergeaut;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862;  pro.  from  corporal  May 
15,  1863;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Cornelius  L.  Voorhees,  sergt. ;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Jeremiah  S.  Smith,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  died  of  disease  June 
23,1863. 

Samuel  Hall,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  15,  1862;  pro.  from  private  May  15, 
1863  ;  must,  out  June  21,  1863. 

James  N.  Shurtz,  corporal ;  eul.  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Jacob K.  Stryker,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862;  pro.  from  private  March 
1, 1863 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Jacob  K.  Dermott,  corporal;  eul.  Aug.  25, 1862;  pro.  from  private  March 
1, 1863 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

David  R.  Weaver,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Abram  Quick,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862;  pro.  to  sergeant-major  Feb. 
25, 1863. 

Peter  S.  Bellis,  corporal;  eul.  Aug.  25, 1862 ;  pro.  from  private  June  1, 
1863;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Jonathan  P.  Dunham,  corporal;  eul.  Aug.  25,  1802;  died  of  fever  at 
Millington,  N.  J.,  June  24, 1863. 

George  S.  Woodruff,  corporal;  eul.  Aug.  25, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  at  Wash- 
ington June  23, 1863. 

David  Van  Camp,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862;  died  of  fever  at  Belle 
Plains,  Va.,  Feb.  15, 1863. 

Robert  B.  Hall,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Anthony  E.  Dennis,  mus. ;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Eteber  C.  Belden,  wagoner;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

=^  .r.  Augustus  Fay,  Jr.,  first  lieutenant  Co.  H,  pro.  to  adjutant,  vice 
Mann,  April  17, 1863. 
t  Dr.  Barclay  resigued  as  assistant  surgeon  March  5, 1863. 


Pi-ivates.X 

John  K.  Bangham  (died  of  typhoid  fever  in  hospital  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
July  9,  1863;  buried  in  Military  Asylum  Cemetery,  D.  C),  Abra- 
ham Bellis,  John  C.  Biggs,  Nicholas  O.  Biggs,  Gilbert  L.  Brokaw, 
Tunis  J.  Carey.  Abraiiam  Cole,  Michael  Collins,  Samuel  D.  Collyer, 
Peter  H.  Conover,  James  Curry,  Philip -Cnrry,  Richard  S.  Dennis, 
Abraham  Ditmars,  John  R.  Ditmars,  Henry  Dow,  Abraham  Dumont, 
Sering  P.  Dunham  (disch.  at  Emory  United  States  General  Hospitel, 
Washington,  D.  C,  for  disability  Jan.  31, 1863),  Aaron  L.  Field,  James 
Gaston,  John  Gaston,  Fernando  Gersey,  Isaac  Guest,  Brogan  B. 
Hageman,  Jonathan  C.  Henry  (pro.  to  corporal  Aug.  25, 1862),  Au- 
gustiu  P.  Honeyman,  Samuel  C.  Irving  (disch.  for  disability  Jan.  23, 
1863),  Dayton  E.  Jeroloman,  James  Jeroloman,  Jacob  Karns  (died 
of  disease  at  Fhiladelpbia,  Pa.,  June  27, 1863,  and  buried  there),  John 
P.  Krymer  (died  of  fever  in  Virginia  Feb.  18,1863),  Robert  B.  Little, 
Gideon  Lindsley  (died  of  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  Feb.  25, 1863), 
Isaac  P.  Mannon,  William  A.  Merrill,  Henry  Mingle,  Stephen  B. 
Mullen,  George  F.  Nash,  George  Perry,  William  J.  Perry  (pro.  lo 
corporal  Aug.  25,  1862),  Augustus  Peterman,  John  W.  Philhower 
(disch.  for  disability,  Feb.  23, 1863),  Hugh  H.  Powelson,  Cornelius  V. 
L.  Robbins,  Radford  J.  Runyon  (died  of  fever  at  Washington  Jan. 
30,  1863),  Michael  Ryan,  Minnah  V.  Saums,  Benjamiu  Skillman, 
Daniel  Smith,  Edward  Smith,  Garret  T.  Smith  (disch.  for  disability 
at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  Feb.  23, 1863),  Peter  S.  Smith,  James  H.  Staats, 
Joachim  Q.  Staats,  John  C.  Staats,  Cyrenus  T.  Stryker,  John  B, 
Stryker,  Jason  Suydam,  John  V.  Teiple,  James  V.  D.  Ten  Eyck, 
Thomas  Tester,  Garret  W.  Vanderveer,  Henry  S.  Vanderveer,  Abra- 
ham D.  Van  Doren,  Joseph  Van  Doren  (died  of  fever  at  Washington 
June  12,  1863),  Garret  T.  Van  Pelt,  Henry  V.  Van  Pelt,  Matthew 
Van  Pelt,  Peter  J.  Van  Zandt  (died  of  fever  in  Virginia  March  21, 
1863),  Peter  V.  Weaver  (pro.  to  corporal  Aug.  25,  1862),  Philip  T. 
Williams,  David  W.  Williamson,  Christopher  N.  Wilson,  Henry  D. 
Wilson,  David  H.  Wortman,  Edward  S.  Wortman,  Dennis  G.  WyckofF. 

COMPANY   D   (HUNTERDON). 

Barclay  S.  Vail,  captain ;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Edward  S.  Barnes,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862;  died  of  fever  in 
Virginia  Dec.  29, 1862. 

William  A.  Henry,  fii-st  lieutenant;  com.  Feb.  10,  1863 ;  pro.  to  adjutant 
March  16,  1863. 

William  B.  Woodruff,  first  lieutenant;  com.  March  16, 1863  ;  pro.  from 
first  sergeant  Sept.  18,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Jesse  Dalrymple,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  9,  1862;  must,  out  June 
27, 1863. 

Morris  D.  Rouse,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  pro.  to  commissary- 
sergeant  Sept.  18,  1862. 

Theodore  Carling,  fii-st  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  pro.  from  sergeant 
April  5,  1863  ;  must,  out  June  27.  1863. 

Lewis  Sapbar,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Lorenzo  Beers,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862;  pro.  from  private  Sept.  18, 

1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

John  B.  Mason,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  pro.  from  corporal  April  5, 

1863  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

John  Scott,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  died  at  Sanitary  Lodge,  Wash- 
ington, April  20, 1 863. 

Samuel  V.  Ribble,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27. 1863. 

James  W.  Hawk,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  pro.  from  private  April  1, 
1863  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1803. 

Moses  V.  Shoemaker,  corp. ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Joseph  Tillman,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  pro.  from  private  April  5, 
1863;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Isaac  Bunnell,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  Ashcroft,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Jacob  0.  Brown,  Corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must  out  June  27, 1863. 

Elijah  Potts,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Horace  A.  Wambaugh,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  disch.  for  disability 
Washington,  Feb.  23,  1863. 

Demarest  Gordon,  musician;  enl.  Sept  3, 1802;  must,  out  Jtine  27, 1863. 

Jonathan  Hartpeuce,  musician ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 
1863, 

Isaac  B.  Andrews,  wagoner;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;   must  out  June  27, 1863. 


X  All  enlisted  Aug.  25,  1862,  all  mustered  into  the  service  Sept  17, 
1862,  and  all  mustered  out— unless  otherwise  specified— June  27, 1863. 


THIKTIETH   AND  THIKTY-FIRST  INFANTEY  REGIMENTS. 


145 


Privates.* 
Israel  AUegar,  Samuel  Bacliman,  CbarleB  M.  Beers,  Eldridge  BenDett, 
David  M.  Bosenbnry,  Joseph  Buchanan,  Peter  Buchaoan,  Edgar  H. 
Bowlby  (died  in  hospital  at  Washington  Feb.  6,  I8G3),  Jacob  Case, 
Thomas  Coatea,  William  N.  Ooates,  Henry  Counterman,  Moses  Court- 
right  (died  of  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  March  25, 1863,\  Jamea  Crips, 
George  Cronce,  Ephraim  Cronce  (died  of  fever  near  White  Oak 
Church,  Va.,  June  1, 18G3 ;  buried  in  National  Cemetery,  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.),  Christian  Cumminga,  Morris  R.  Curtis,  John  W.  Dilts, 
Gilbert  Dikeman,  Theodore  GaJlagher,  William  Gary,  John  Howell, 
Abraham  Hunsberger,  Amos  Hyde,  Holcombe  Hyde,  Martin  Hyde, 
William  H.  H.  Kase,  Joseph  L.  Lair,  Thomas  B.  Lake,  Charles  M. 
Lee  (diach.  for  disability  Nov,  18, 1862),  Jonah  Letaon,  Suldon  Lozaw, 
Samuel  Mack,  William  F.  Marshall,  Cortland  McCann,  Jacob  Mc- 
Laughlin, John  W.  Mellick,  Joseph  Merrill,  Reed  Myers,  Jeremiah 
Opdyke,  Samuel  Opdyke,  Isaiah  Parker,  John  Prall  (died  of  fever  in 
Virginia  Jan.  14,  18G3),  George  W.  Race,  Wilson  L.  Rake,  Oacar 
Reading,  Mark  T.  Ribble,  Jacob  S.  Kifenberg,  John  Kittenhouse, 
George  W.  Robinson,  John  W.  Savidge,  William  L.  Scott,  Elijah 
Schoonhoven  (diach.  for  disability  Alexandria,  Va.,  March  23, 1863), 
Jacob  W.  Sheppard,  Augustus  Shmeal,  Thomas  F.  Siegfried,  Aaron 
Slack,  John  B.  Slater,  John  A.  Snyder,  Reuben  Snyder,  Samuel  B. 
Snyder,  William  Snyder,  Sylvester  Souders,  William  B.  Stewart, 
George  Strublo,  Joaeph  Sutton,  William  V.  Sutton,  .Tohn  Taylor, 
Peter  Tilton,  Amos  Trimmer,  Joseph  Van  Norman,  Samuel  Van  Nor- 
nian,  William  Ween,  Benjamin  S.  Welter,  Watson  B.  Williamaon, 
George  A.  Young,  Alfred  Zeller. 

COMPANY  E  (SOMERSET). 

Cornelius  T.  Cox,  captain  ;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  Bowman,  Jr.,  iirst  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862 ;  pro.  to  captain 
Co.  A  March  16, 1863. 

Edward  C.  Mulford,  first  lieutenant;  com.  March  16,  1863;  pro.  from 
second  lieutenant;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Garret  B.  Sanborn,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862  ;  rea.  March  5, 
1863. 

Philip  E.  Tufts,  second  lieutenant;  com,  March  16, 1863  ;  pro.  from  cor- 
poral Co.  C;  pro.  first  lieutenant  Co,  F  April  17, 1863. 

John  T.  Marthaler,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  April  17, 1863 ;  pro.  from 
first  aergeant  Co.  H ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Jacob  W.  Stout,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  pro.  from  sergeant 
April  16, 1863 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1803. 

Morris  R.  Giles,  first  aergeant ;  enl,  Aug,  30, 1862 ;  disch.  from  hospital 
at  Philadelphia  March  12, 1863,  for  disability. 

Wm.  C.  Abbott,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  June'27, 1863. 

James  B.  Brown,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863, 

Stephen  Dooley,  sergeant ;  enl,  Ang,  30, 1862  ;  pro,  from  corporal  March 
1, 1863;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Samuel  Dancer,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug,  30, 1862 ;  muat,  out  June  27, 1863, 

John  H.  Stryker,  sergeant;  enl,  Aug,  30,  1862;  disch,  for  disabilii^  at 
Newark,  N,  J,,  March  9, 1863, 

John  B,  Hunt,  corporal;  enl,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Isaac  C.  Davis,  corporal ;  enl,  Aug,  30,  1862  ;  pro,  from  private  Jan,  10, 
1863 ;  must  out  June  27, 1863. 

Josiah  Q.  Hoagland,  oorp. ;  enl,  Aug,  30, 1862  ;  pro,  from  private  March 
15, 1863 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1883. 

Samuel  T.  Hall,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862  :  muat.  out  June  27, 1863. 

Harned Smith,  corporal;  enl,  Aug,  :io,  1862;  muat  out  June  27, 1863. 

Frederick  Van  Nest,  corporal;  enl,  Aug,  30,  1862;  pro,  from  private 
March  15, 1863 ;  mnst.  out  June  27, 1863, 

Benj,  F,  Brown,  corporal;  enl,  Aug,  30, 1862;  pro,  from  private  March 
18, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863, 

Henry  H.  Hoagland,  corp. ;  enl.  Ang.  30, 1862 ;  muat,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Dennis  Cox,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  died  of  typhoid  fever  in  hos- 
pital at  Washington  Jan.  29, 1863  ;  buried  at  Military  Asylum  Ceme- 
tery, Washington,  D,  C. 

John  N.  Conine,  musician  ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Wm,  Vosseller,  muaician  ;  enl,  Aug,  30,  1862 ;  muat,  out  June  27, 1863, 

John  L.  Brokaw,  wagoner ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must.  out.  June  27, 1863. 

Privates.f 
George  R.  Allegar,  Daniel  H,  Amerman,  William  H.  Amerman,  Cornelius 
W.  Auten,  Garret  T.  Bailey,  Peter  Bell,  Squire  A.  Blackford,  John 

*  Enlisted  Sept.  3, 1862,  and  were  mustered  in  Sept.  17,  1862 ;  all  mus- 
teied  out  June  27, 1863,  unless  otherwise  mentioned. 

t  Privates  enlisted  Aug.  30, 1862,  and  all  were  mustered  out  June  27, 
1863,  unless  otherwise  specified. 


H.  Brokaw,  Abraham  C.  Burt,  Enoch  Carkhuff,  John  Carroll,  John 
H.  Case,  James  H.  Cavaleer  (died  at  Bridgewater,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J., 
while  on  furlough,  May  29, 1863),  Jacob  Cole,  John  Conover,  Eben 
S.  Dally  (pro.  to  corporal  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  was  private  from  Jan.  10, 
1863),  John  Dally,  John  L.  Dally,  Samuel  Davis,  Jacob  V.  Drake, 
John  G.  Dumont,  Christopher  Ehni,  Jacob  Eider,  William  Emily, 
Amos  Fenner,  John  Fenner,  Henry  S.  Fritts,  James  Gallagher, 
Frederick  Gardner,  John  D.  Garretson,  Isaac  V.  A.  Gumble,  Jacob 
H.  Gumble,  Henry  Hall,  John  N,  Hall,  John  Herman,  Herman  J, 
Hoagland,  George  Hoffman,  Hiram  Hope,  Whitfield  D.  Hope  (pro.  to 
corporal  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  private  from  Oct.  23, 1862),  Henry  Keider- 
ling,  Godfrey  Keller  (disch.  for  disability  at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  Feb, 
21, 1863),  Michael  Lary,  Robert  Little,  Isaac  Lott,  George  H.  Miller, 
James  Murray,  Patrick  Murray,  Georeg  W.  Perrine,  Andrew  Pfaff, 
Garret  V.  C.  Polhemua  (died  of  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  Feb.  27, 
1863),  Mai-tin  N.  Porter,  Peter  A,  Quick,  Peter  V.  Quick,  Theodore 
Rutan,  Herman  H.  Riger,  John  H.  Schenck,  William  D.  W,  Sebring, 
Jamea  Simonson  (disch,  for  disability  at  Washington  Jan.  22, 1863), 
John  W.  Slack,  Jacob  S.  Smalley,  William  S.  Smalley  fdisch.  for 
disability  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  May  2, 1863),  Cornelius  Smith,  Henry 
Staats,  Henry  D,  Staats,  John  Statts,  John  H.  Styker,  John  N,  Stry- 
ker, Thomas  L,  Stryker,  John  Tuniaon,  Peter  Van  Aradale  (died  of 
typhoid  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Va,,  April  6,  1863),  William  6.  Van 
Fleet,  Abraham  G,  Van  Nest  (died  of  camp  fever  in  hoapital  at  Alex- 
andria, Va,,  Dec,  7, 1862),  William  Van  Zandt,  Simon  P,  Voorhees, 
Henry  Vosseller  (disch,  for  disability  at  Belle  Plains,  Va,,  Feb.  23, 
1863),  Michael  Weitzel,  Robert  Wentzler,  Charles  Wilson,  Jacob  Wil- 
kinson (disch,  at  Flemington,  N,  J.,  Sept,  27,  1862),  Lemuel  R. 
Young  (pro,  to  quartermaster-sergeant  Sept,  18, 1862). 

COMPANY  F  (SOMERSET), 

Oliver  A,  Kibbe,  captain  ;  com.  Sept,  9,  1862 ;  res.  Feb,  4,  1863, 

Charles  W,  Lanning,  captain  ;  com,  Feb.  4,  1863 ;  pro,  from  second  lieu- 
tenant ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863, 

Henry  Lane,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Sept,  9, 1862  ;  dismissed  March  1, 1863, 

Philip  E,  Tufts,  first  lieutenant ;  com,  April  17, 1863 ;  pro,  from  second 
lieutenant  Co,  E  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863, 

John  F,  Kennedy,  second  lieutenant ;  com,  Feb.  4, 1863  ;  pro.  from  private 
Co.  C,  Thirty-flrat  Regiment ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Wesley  H.  Horner,  iirst  aergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  pro.  to  aecond  lieu- 
tenant Co.  I  March  16, 1803. 

Cornelius  M.  De  Camp,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  pro.  from  ser- 
geant April  5, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863, 

William  H,  Schenck,  aergeant ;  enl,  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  mnst.  out  June  27, 1863. 

Garner  A.  Thatcher,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Joaeph  V,  H,  Reed,  aergeant ;  enl.  Sept,  3, 1802  ;  must,  out  June  27,1863. 

Frederick  Skillman,  aergeant ;  enl.  Sept,  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,1863. 

Henry  PoUiemua,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1802  ;  muat.  out  June  27, 1863. 

Abraham  Sullivan,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  muat.  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  W.  Darling,  conjoral ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  muat.  out  June  27,1863. 

John  V.  D.  Droat,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Abram  B.  Van  Cleef,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept!  3, 1802  ;  muat.  out  June  27, 1863. 

John  C.  Polhemus,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Zephaniah  S.  Drake,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862;  pro.  from  private  Oct. 
1, 1862 ;  mu&t.  out  Juue  27, 1863. 

Oscar  ff.  Wood,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

William  H.  Lane,  musician  ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1803. 

Dennla  V.  L.  Sheppard,  musician  ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  muat.  out  June  27, 
1863. 

Cornelius  Cray,  wagoner ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

PrivcUes.X 
George  F.  Anderson,  Jacob  W.  Apgar,  Milton  Baker  (pro.  to  sergeant 
Oct.  1,  1S62  ;  private  from  December  1, 1862),  Abram  W.  Baldwin, 
William  J.  Bellia,  Wm.  B.  Bigley  (died  uf  typhoid  fever  at  Aquia 
Creek,  Va.,  Jan.  3, 1863 ;  buried  at  National  Cemetery,  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.),  Philip  Brady,  Thomas  Brady,  Abram  V.  D,  Brearley 
(died  of  tever  at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  April  11, 1863),  Henry  B,  Burt, 
John  Burt,  William  F,  Byer,  Isaac  Cherry,  Abram  B,  Conover, 
Charles  H,  Conover,  Lawrence  T.  Conover,  Jeremiah  Cray,  Chas.  A. 
Cmser  (died  of  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Va,,  April  3,  1863),  Theodore 
Cruser,  Asher  Danley  (reported  missing  Sept,  19,  1862),  Lewis  Da- 
vison, Albert  M,  Doremus,  Andrew  Fraley,  Samuel  Garmo,  Benjamin 


X  All  enlisted  Sept,  3,  1862 ;  must.  Sept,  17  and  19,  1862 ;  and  (unless 
otherwise  stated)  mustered  out  June  27, 1863, 


146 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Griggs,  Josepbus  Griggs,  Dennis  Hagaman  (died  of  fever  at  Aquia 
Creek,  Va..  May  G,  1863;  buried  at  National  Cemetery,  Fredericks- 
burg, Ya.),  James  G.  Hagaman,  Joseph  H.  Hagaman,  Israel  B.  Hig- 
gins,  Andrew  Hughes,  Lewis  R.  Labaw,  John  P.  Lawrence,  Joel 
Long,  Thomas  McAIUeter,  John  McHune,  Jacob  Miller,  Martin 
Murphy  {disch.  for  disability,  Phila.,  Pa.,  Jan.  19,  1863),  Archibald 
B.  Ogborne,  Benjamin  C.  Piggott  (died  of  typhoid  fever  March  23, 
1863),  Jonathan  Prall,  Frederick  K.  Raisnor,  Zephaniah  S.  Randolph, 
Nathan  S.  Saxson,  Luther  S.  Skillman,  Thomas  Skillman  (disch.  for 
disability  at  Aquia  Creek,  Va.,  Jan .  6,  186it),  Samuel  H.  Smith, 
Charles  Snook,  Jacob  Snook  (corporal  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  private  from 
Oct.  1, 1862),  Charles  W.  Soden,  Charles Somberger.AbramC.  Staats, 
Peter  Y.  Staate,  Jacob  D.Sterling,  James  H.  Stout,  Alexander  H. 
Stryker,  Frederick  Stryker,  William  C.  Stryker,  Abram  S.  Sutphin, 
John  Sutphin,  Edwin  Sutpbiu  (disch.  for  disability,  Jan.  18,  1863), 
Andrew  J.  Thompson,  Robert  Trout,  Luther  Vanderveer,  John  B. 
Yan  Dyke  (died  of  fever  at  Aquia  Creek,  Va.,  Jan.  16,  1863),  AVilliam 
Van  Marter,  Garret  Van  Nnys,  Augustus  Yoorhees,  Benjamin  Voor- 
bee-B,  Bernard  S.  Yoorhees,  John  Yoorhees,  John  W.  Yoorhees,  Ste- 
phen, Yoorhees,  Jr.  (died  of  typhoid  fever  in  hospital  at  Washington 
Jan.  6, 1863),  John  D.  Westcott,  William  Whipple,  Abram  Whited, 
Jacob  T.  Whited,  John  Williamson,  George  Wilson,  Abram  Woolver- 
t»n,  Melanchthon  Wood. 

COMPANY  G  (HUNTERDON). 

George  W.  Day,  captain;  com. Sept.  9, 1862;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Clark  T,  Hunt,  first  lieut. ;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Frederick  S.  Phillips,  second  lieutenant:  com.  Sept.  9,1862;  must,  out 
June  27, 1863. 

John  M.  Case,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862;  pro.  to  second  lieu- 
tenant Co.  K  March  16,  1863. 

Samuel  Johnson,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862;  pro,  from  corporal 
April  5,  1863 ;  must,  out  June  27, 18G3. 

Daniel  Dilts,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862;  must. out  June  27, 1863. 

Andrew  L.  Day,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27. 1863. 

Lafayette  Phillips,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Gershom  L.  Akers,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Reading  M.  Dilts,  corporal;  enl.  Aug  25,  1862;  pro.  from  private  April 
5,  1863. 

Oliver  Phillips,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Charles  P.  Swayze,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug,  25, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  L.  Fritz,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  mvist.  out  Juue  27, 1863. 

Samuel  B.  Soden,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Charles  D.  Akere,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  pro.  from  private  March 
1, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

John  v.  Dilts,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Ira  Munson,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Geo.  H.  Fisher,  musician;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Thomas  Trainer,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Amos  T.  Dalrymple,  wagoner;  enl.  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 
1863. 

Privates* 

Isaac  S.  Agens,  George  W.  Akers,  Joseph  Akers  (disch.  for  disability 
Feb.  22,  1863),  George  H.  Allen,  Alfred  G.  Baylor,  Henry  K.  Beu- 
ward,  William  Blanchard,  David  Burd,  George  M.  Case,  Paul  K. 
Cole.  Andrew  T.  Cromwell,  Andrew  Dakerman,  George  Dilts,  Ezra 
S.  Emmons,  Henry  Erig,  Richard  G.  Everett  (died  of  exposure  at 
hospital,  Washington,  June  29,  1863),  Y'^illiam  Everett,  Adwit  Ex- 
man,  William  Fleming,  Baldwin  Forker  (died  of  exposure  on  hos- 
pital-boat, near  Aquia  Creek,  Va.,  Jan.  25, 1863),  Joseph  A.  German, 
John  A.  Grimes,  Amos  Hann,  Cornelius  Hann,  William  Hardin, 
Samuel  P.  Hagerman  (died  at  hospital  near  Falmouth,  Ya.,  May  26, 
1863 ;  biuied  at  National  Cemetery,  Fredericksburg,  Ya.) ;  Joseph 
Hibbs,  Jacob  Hime,  John  C.  Hoagland,  Isaac  Hoffman,  John  Hope, 
Stephen  Hortou  (disch.  for  disability  Feb,  22, 1863),  Edward  Housol, 
Charles  M.  Johnson,  Martin  Johnson,  Diderick  Kolenkamp,  Sanford 
La  Fever,  William  H.  Lame,  John  B.  Lefler,John  Lutes,  George  W. 
McFern  (disch.  for  disability  April  24, 1863),  Adolphe  Menge,  Horatio 
P.  Milburn,  Mordecai  W.  Mills,  Godfried  Miller,  Nelson  D.  Morris, 
Charles  H.  Naylor,  Edward  Naylor  (died  of  congestive  fever  at  Belle 
Plains,  Ya.,  Feb.  22, 1863 J,  Hiram  R.  Naylor  (corporal,  Aug.  25, 1862; 
priv.  from  March  1, 1863),  James  Naylor,  George  0' Daniel,  Theodore 

*  Privates  enlisted  Aug.  25,  1862;  mustered  in  Sept,  17, 18R2:  and 
mustered  out  with  the  company  Juue  27, 1863,  unless  otherwise  men- 
tioned in  the  list. 


O'Daniel,  John  C.  Opdyke,  Charies  W.  Parrish,  William  B.  Parrish, 
George  W.  Phillips  (disch.  for  disability  Feb.  10, 1863),  Henry  C.Pro- 
baeco,  Izer  G.  Rake,  George  B,  Reed,  Joseph  R.  Reading  (disch.  tor 
disability  Jan.  26, 1863),  Conrad  Reis,  William  N.  Robinson,  Richard 
H.  Romine,  Franklin  Rooks,  William  Sharp,  Hiram  G.  Sheppard, 
Cornelius  Slack,  Corson  Slack,  Johnson  Slaght,  John  Slieghteumier, 
Derrick  S.  Smith,  Theodore  W.  Sutton.  Uriah  Sutton,  Jacob  H.  Ten 
Eyck  (disch.  for  disability  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Jan.  26, 1863),  Elius 
Yan  Camp,  George  M.  D.  Yandeventer,  Adrian  Yan  Fleet,  Jaxiob  K. 
Van  Fleet,  Samuel  Van  Sickle,  Abel  Webster  (died  of  exposure  at 
hospital,  Washington,  June  29, 1863). 

COMPANY  I  (SOMERSET). 

John  C.  Bloom,  captain  ;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  S.  Adams,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  9,  1862;  res.  Jan.  28, 1863. 

George  E.  Dayton,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Jan.  28, 1863;  must,  out  June 
27,  1863. 

Samuel  A.  Allen,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  Sept.  9, 1862 ;  res.  Feb.  17, 1863. 

Wesley  H,  Horner,  second  lieutenant;  com.  March  16, 1863;  pro.  from 
first  sergeant  Co.  F ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Oscar  Conklin,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  pro.  to  second  lieuten- 
ant Co.  B  Feb.  4, 1863. 

John  T.  Bird,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Robert  Hauna,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3,1862;  must,  out  June  27, 18&1. 

Pander  P.  Parks,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Josephus  C.  Sanders,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1 862 ;  must,  out  June  27. 1863. 

Charles  C.  Pope,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863, 

Walter  K.  Sturges,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1SG3. 

James  S.  Quimby,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 186:1. 

Cliarles  Bass,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Peter  Wolfe,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

William  Lawrence,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  27,  l>ffi3. 

Thomas  J.  Todd,  corporal;  enl.  Sept,  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

William  S.  Y'iiigert,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1802 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Jacob  Bass,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  :  died  of  fever  March  31, 1863. 

Nicholas  Blank,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  June  10, 1 863. 

Ezra  S.  Day,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  died  of  fever  Feb.  18, 1863. 

George  T.  Bunn,  musician  ;  enl.  Sept,  3,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

John  T.  Allen,  musician;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June 27, 1863. 

Henry  Dougherty,  wagoner ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Prii-ates.f 

Michael  Albert,  John  B.  Ammerman,  James  Anderson,  Y'^illiam  H.  Baird 
(was  sergeant  from  Sept.  3, 1862,  till  April  1, 1863),  Frederick  Baker, 
Edward  A.  Berry,  Ethelbert  C.  Blazier,  Henry  C,  Blazier,  John  B. 
Blazier,  John  H.  Blazier,  John  P.  Brown,  Abraham  Bush  (died  of 
fever  Feb.  14, 1863),  Theodore  Bach  (missing  Dec.  1, 1862\  Jacob  H. 
Cole,  Philip  Coddell,  John  C.  Conklin,  Austin  W.  Cross,  William  D. 
Depoe,  Julius  Dunnebower,  John  Dougherty,  Peter  Dougherty  (died 
of  smallpox  at  Washington,  April  30,  1863;  buried  in  Harmony 
Burial-Ground,  District  of  Columbia),  Daniel  Fieller,  Barney  Fidleu, 
Edward  Giddis,  Hiram  Giddis,  Robert  Gimble,  John  Gitus,  .lolin 
Grierson,  Valentine  Goodman  (disch.  for  disability  Feb,  21,  lbii3), 
William  Hamma,  John  Heudersuu,  John  High,  Ezra  Hill,  James  P. 
Hines,  Philip  Hoffman,  Philip  Honeyman,  Stephen  Harvey  (died  uf 
fever  Jan.  20,  1863 ;  buried  at  National  Cemetery,  Fredericksburg, 
Va.),  Louis  Lindenberger  (died  of  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Ya.,  March 
17,  1863),  Peter  Lockwood,  William  Lockwood,  Jerry  0.  Ludlow. 
Henry  Luse,  Morris  Levi  (died  of  fever  at  Bernard,  Somerset  Co., 
N.  J.,  June  27, 1863),  David  Manning,  Joseph  Margatell,  John  Mc- 
Williams,  Jolin  C.  Miller,  William  L.  Mirax,  Samuel  Moore,  Epliraim 
Muckle,  James  E.  Mullen  (corporal  from  Sept.  3, 1862,  to  Nov.  15, 
1862),  John  C.  Mullen  (corporal  from  Sept.  3,  1862,  to  Sept.  20, 1862), 
Simeon  Mirax  (assigned  to  Co.  I,  Fifth  Regiment,  Sept.  12, 1863),  John 
Noe,  George  Opie  (died  at  home,  Somerset  County,  while  on  furlough, 
Juue  27, 1863),  John  Overland,  Robert  M.  Parka,  Alfred  Philhower, 
Edmund  E.  Pope,  William  Ralph,  William  Reynolds  (corporal  from 
Sept.  3, 1862,  to  April  1,1863),  Nicholas  W.Riel,  John  Scholl,  Michael 
Sharkey,  Zopher  Snell,  Isaac  S.  Stites,  William  H,  Stites,  Charles 
Starr,  Henry  Todd  (died  of  fever  in  hospital  at  Aquia  Creek,  Va., 
Jan.  22, 1863),  Levi  D.  Uliler,  William  H.  Yactor,  Zachariah  Wilson, 
Isaac  Wingert  (died  of  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Ya.,  March  29,  1663). 


t  Members  enli^^ted  Sept  3, 1RG2.  and  mustered  out  June  27, 18G3,  un- 
less otherwise  specifically  mentioned. 


THIRTIETH  AXD  THIRTY-FIRST  INFANTRY  REGIMENTS. 


147 


COMPANY  K  (SOMEKSET). 

Benjamin  S.  Totten,  captain;  com. Sept. 9, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27,1863. 

Tteodore  Strong,  Jr.,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Sept  9, 1862;  died  Feb  24 
1863. 

Ira  C.  Carman,  Jr.,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  March  16, 1863 ;  pro.  from  sec- 
ond lieutenant;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

John  M.  Case,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  March  16, 1863  ;  pro.  first  lieu- 
tenant Co.  B  May  9, 1863. 

Ira  F.  Morgan,  second  lieutenant;  com.  May  9, 1863  j  pro.  from  sergeants 
m^jor ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Jos.  Mathew,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug,  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Garret  Layton,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27. 1863. 

Peter  H.  Wakeham,  sergeant;  e^^ept.  1, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Tenadoie  Van  Cleef,  sergeant ;  eiS^ept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27*  1863, 

William  H.  Smith,  sergeant ;  enUSept.  1,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

■William  Esler,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

John  P.  Wyckoff,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Peter  Sylvester,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  T.  Milliken,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 

Field  6.  GarretBon,  corporal ;  eol.  Sept  1, 18G2  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 

Eobert  S.  Vandewater,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must  out  June  27 
1863. 

John  S.  Barcalow,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept  1, 1862 ;  pro.  from  private  ;  must 
out  June  27, 1863. 

Frederick  French,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  1,  1862;  disch.  at  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  March  27, 1863. 

Patrick  McAleer,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must  out  June  27, 1863. 

James  M.  Keer,  wagoner ;  enl.  Sept  1, 1862 ;  must  out  June  27, 1863. 

Privaiet,* 
William  H.  Barcalow  (musician  from  Sept  1,  1862,  till  April  1,  1863), 
Abram  J.  Beekman,  Daniel  Blaney,  Andrew  Bowman,  Isaac  P. 
Brokaw,  John  G.  Brown,  Henry  W.  Carlisle,  John  S.  Carman,  Peter 
Cavaleer,  Ellas  Conger,  Thomas  Connors,  Henry  V.  B.  Cox,  Henry 
Crozier,  John  T.  B.  Cruser  (died  of  dysentery  at  Belle  Plains,  Ta., 
March  1, 1863),  John  Dessinger  (died  of  fever  at  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
Dec,  25, 1862),  Lawrence  T.  S.  Danberry,  James  Darcey,  John  Dow- 
ney, William  H.  Earle,  Garret  Eick  (wagoner  from  Sept  1, 1862,  till 
Dec.  2,  1862),  Cornelius  V.  Elbertson,  Michael  Gallagher,  Peter  S. 
Garretson,  Peter  V.  Garretson,  Peter  S,  Garretson,  Jr.  (disch.  for  dis- 
ability March  25, 1863),  James  P.  Grownoy,  George  E.  Gulick  (died 
of  fever  at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  March  6, 1863),  Francis  Hannon,  Abram 
B.  Hart  (disch.  by  6.  C.  M.,  Dec.  10, 1862),  Patrick  Hogan,  Ogden 
Honeyman,  Henry  Hnlick,  Charles  Irwin  (enl,  Aug,  30, 1802;  ser- 
geant from  Aug.  30,  1862,  till  April  8,  1863),  William  H.  Jackson 
(enl.  Aug.  30,  1862),  Henderson  W.  Knowles  (enl.  Aug.  30,  1862), 
James  Litchell,  William  H,  Litchell,  James  Lloyd,  Charles  H. 
Maple,  John  Mcdoskey,  Jacob  Metts,  Martin  Nevius,  Joseph  Oker- 
son  (disch.  for  disability  April  29,  1863),  Cornelius  V.  Oppie,  Arthur 
Orr,  James  Parker  (died  of  fever  at  Aquia  Creek,  Va,,  Dec,  28, 
1862),  Hewlett  Perrine  (not  must,  out  with  company),  John  Perdun 
(enl,  Aug,  30,  1862),  John  D,  Polhemus,  George  Pyott,  John  Pyott, 
Roger  Eeagan,  John  H,  Biddle,  Charles  Schmidt,  John  B,  Smith, 
Jonathan  Smith,  William  C,  Sperling,  Charles  Stines  (enl,  Aug,  30, 
1862),  Richard  Stevenson  (enl,  Aug.  30, 1862),  Abram  Stryker,  Wil- 
liam C.  Stryker,  Charles  C.  Sylvester,  Gilbert  Sylvester,  Manning 
Etns,  Cyneas  V.  D.  Van  Cleef,  John  H.  Van  Doren,  William  H.  Van 
Doren,  Henry  C.  Van  Duyn,  John  D.  Van  Duyn,  John  K.  Van  Pelt, 
William  Van  Tuyne,  Abram  V.  D.  Voorhees,  Henry  Welles,  William 
Wiggins,  Christopher  W.  Wilfcerson,  Peter  N.  Williamson,  Benney 
Wyckofi;  Theodore  Wyckofr,  Peter  Worts  (disch.  for  disability  at 
Belle  Plains,  Va.,  Feb.  21, 1863). 

OFFICEKS   AND    MEN    FROM    HUNTERDON    COUNTY 
IN   THE    THIRTY-FIRST    REGIMENT. 

COMPANY  A. 
Samuel  Carhart,  captain ;  com.  Sept.  15, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Leavitt  Sanderson,  first  lieuteDant;  com.  Sept.  16, 1862;  must,  out  June 

24,  1863. 
Andrew  A.  Thompson,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Sept,  16, 1862  ;  must  out 

June  24, 1863. 
Dennis  S.  Messier,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  24, 

1883. 

*  All  enlisted  Sept  1,  1862,  and  mustered  oat  June  27, 1863,  unless 
otherwise  stated. 


John  D.  Brown,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.3, 1862 ;  mnst.  out  June  24, 1803. 
William  C.  Hyler,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862  ;  must  out  June  24,  1863. 
Jeremiah  J.  Hotf,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862;  must  out  June  24,  1863. 
Martin  Hoffman,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must  out  June  24,  1863. 
Jacob  W.  Todd,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept  3, 1 862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
David  S.  Boss,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept,  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
David  Astell,  corporal;  eul.  Sept  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  Jane  24,  18C3. 
Heury  M,  Van  Horn,  corporal;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862;  must  out  June  24 

1863. 
PhiUp  E.  Thorp,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862 ;  must  out  June  24,  1863. 
John  N.  Clark,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  must  out  June  24, 1863. 
John  C.  Kline,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Boss  J.Hoffman,  corporal;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862 ;  disch.  from  hospital  for 

disability  Feb,  28, 1863, 
George  Beavers,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862  ;  died  of  typhoid  fever  May 

28,  1863, 
Albert  Bolmcr,  musician ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863, 
.lames  K,  K.  Swick,  musician ;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862 ;  must  out  June  24. 18&3. 
John  Emmons,  wagoner;  enl.  Sept  3, 1862;  mnst.  out  June  24, 1863. 

Privat£8.'f 
Peter  K.  Agens,  George  Anthony,  Hulet  Apgar,  John  B.  Apgar,  Wesley 
L.  Apgar,  George  AUigar,  Joseph  C.  Beavers,  George  Bolmer,  John, 
H.  Bush,  John  E.  Burrell  (died  at  hospital  April  20, 1863;  buried  in 
National  Cemetery,  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Division  B,  Section  B, 
Grave  3:J3),  Aaron  V.  S.  Crate,  WilUam  M.  Dickerson  (died  of  iiver 
in  hospital  May  21, 1863),  Daniel  Dilley  (died  of  fever  in  hospital 
April  30, 1863),  Job  n  Dooley,  George  F.  Drake,  Philip  M.  Duy,  George 
E.  Eick,  Isaac  Eick,  Henry  E.  Emmons,  David  A.  Everett,  Wesley 
B.  Fisher,  John  F.  Gorno,  Francis  A  Gulick  (corporal  Sept  3, 1862  ; 
private  Jan.  22, 1863),  George  Hahn,  John  R.  Haver,  Joseph  H.  Ilen- 
dersbot,  Andrew  S.  Henderson,  Joseph  B.  Henderson,  Conrad  Her- 
mann (corporal  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  private  Jan,  22, 1863),  Nathan  Ilil.le- 
brant,  John  D,  Hill,  John  B,  Hoagland,  David  T,  Hoffman,  ,lessft 
Hoffman,  Lewis  Hoffman,  Cbaiies  Husaman,  Theodore  Huffman 
(disch,  for  disability  at  Baltimore,  Md,,  March  11, 1863),  David  W. 
Jones,  Jacob  Klingle,  Coi  nelius  C.  Latie,  John  B,  S,  Lane,  Henry 
Latourette,  Charles  B,  Lunger,  Wesley  H,  Lunger  (died  of  fever  in 
hospital  at  Washington,  D.  C,  June  19,1863;  buried  in  Military 
Asylum  Cemetery,  D.  C),  Andrew  L.  Melick  (died  of  fever  in  hos- 
pital April  29, 1863),  Simon  V.  Melick  (died  of  fever  in  hospital  June- 
5, 1863),  Jeremiah  L.  Meh'ck,  Edward  P.  Mannon,  William  J.  Mitch- 
ell, John  M.  Moore,  Henry  C.  Mulliner,  William  H.  Murphy,  Fisher 
Pidcock  (disch.  for  disability  at  hospital  at  Newark,  N.  J,,  Feb,  2, 
1863),  William  B,  G.  Price,  Eynear  V,  Quick,  Minna  N,  Eockafelluw, 
William  S,  Beed  (disch,  for  disability  at  hospital  at  Newark,  N,  J,, 
Feb,  2,  1863),  Adam  Schuyler,  Hummer  Smith,  Martin  Smith,  Wal- 
ter Smith,  David  Snyder,  James  Snyder,  Samuel  Snyder,  George  A, 
Stiers,  Aaron  P.  Sutton,  Paul  Sutton,  David  B,  Swick,  Luke  Swick, 
James  Thurston,  Nicholas  B,  Tiger,  Gilbert  L,  Todd,  William  Todd, 
Samuel  Trimmer,  Isaac  Van  Fleet,  Hiram  Vercelius,  Andrew  J. 
Walker,  Benjamin  S.  Wyckoff,  Samuel  S,  Wyckoff, 

COMPANY  D, 

Alexander  V,  Bonnell,  capt, ;  com.  Sept  10, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863; 

John  H.  Clark,  first  lieutenant :  com.  Sept  10, 1862;  disch.  Dec.  26,  1SU2. 

John  0.  Coon,  first  lieutenant ;  com.  Dec.  26, 1862 ;  pro.  from  second  lieu- 
tenant ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 

Andrew  T.  Connett,  second  lieutenant ;  com,  Dec,  26,  1862 ;  pro,  from 
first  sergeant;  must,  out  June  24, 1863, 

Joseph  B,  Potts,  first  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept,  3, 1862 ;  pro.  from  sergeant 
Jan.  1,  1863 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 

Peter  Boss,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  mnst  out  June  24, 1863. 

Leonard  G.  Bird,  sergeant;  enl,  Sept.  3, 1862;  pro. from  corporal  Dec,  22, 
1862  ;  must,  out  June  24,  1863, 

Joseph  D.  Kinney,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  pro.  from  corporal  Jan. 
13, 1863 ;  must  out  June  24,  1863, 

John  H,  Wilson,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  pro.  from  corporal  May  20, 
1863 ;  must  out  June  24, 1863. 

John  S,  Yard,  corporal;  enl.  Sept,  3, 1862;  must  out  June  24, 1863. 

Ezekiel  Ewing,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 

Thomas  McConnell,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must  out  June  24, 1863, 

Bichard  Choice,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must  out  June  24, 1863. 

Lemuel  Hixon,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must  ou^  June  24, 1863. 


f  Privates  enlisted  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  all  mustered  in  Sept  17, 1862 ;  and 
all  mustered  out  June  24, 1863, 


148 


HUNTEEDON   AND   SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


EenBselaer  D.  Runkle,  corp. ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  must,  out  .Tune  24, 1863. 
Lewis  Runkle,  corporal;  eul.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Beuben  P.  Holman,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Chas.  H.  McCann,  musician  ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863, 
Samuel  H.  Yolk,  musician;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
William  Brown,  wagoner ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 

Privates* 

Andrew  J.  Bellis,  Stewart  Bellis,  William  J.  Blackwell,  John  Bosenbury, 
Abratam  W.  Boss,  Robert  Boyd,  Thomas  Brown,  John  Buchanan, 
William  R.  Cronce,  George  Dahmer,  Gideon  B.  Davis,  Samuel  W. 
Dilts,  Alonzo  Dow,  Francis  W.  Downs,  Edmond  B.  Dungan,  Corne- 
Jius  S.  Emmons,  Joseph  0,  Ewing,  David  H.  Fisher,  John  B,  Fisher, 
Weon  Fisher,  William  Fleming,  William  Gethard,  EliasW.  Guhck,f 
Patrick  Hays,  John  Hinckley,  William  H.  Holman,  Thomas  Hop- 
pock,  William  Hoppock,  William  Hummer,  William  V.  Hunter,^ 
Oliver  H.  Johnson,g  Evans  G.  Lake,  Abraham  S.  Larew,  Isaac  B.  La- 
rew,  Joseph  0.  Larew,  Asher  Mattisnn,  James  McCormick,  Emanuel 
McConuell,[|  Joseph  Millburn,  Charles  Miller,  William  Parker,  Har- 
man  B.  Phihower,  Abraham  A.  Polhemus,  John  D.  Purcell,  James 
V.  D.  Quick,  John  V.  H.  Quick,  Eliaa  M,  Rake,  Lewis  Ramsey, 
Timothy  Riordan,  Samuel  Ruuyon,  John  F.  Schenck,  Alexander 
Sergeant,  Theodore  R.  Servis,  Dauiel  Sheridan,  Francis  P.  Smith, 
Israel  Smith,  Joseph  Smith,  Mahlon  Smith,  Hiram  Snook,  William 
H.  Snyder,  Robert  Spenct^r,  Sidney  Stout,  Simpson  S,  Stout,  Andrew 
Stryker,  John  D.  Stryker,  Jacob  S.  Sutphin,  James  M.  Thatcher, 
Michael  TuUey,  George  Van  Houten,  John  S.  Van  Houten,  John 
Van  Sickle,  Aaron  L.  Van  Sickle,l[  Cornelius  Waldron,  William  T. 
Waldron,  William  Wambaugh,  Frederick  Wenzel,  Charles  Wyckoff, 
Jiicob  F.  Toung. 

COMPANY  E.** 

M'oodbury  D.  Holt,  captain  ;  com.  Sept.  10,  1862. 

William  L.  Rodenbaugh,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  10, 1862. 

Johu  Alpaugh,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  10,  1862  ;  res.  Feb.  2, 1863. 

John  Robbins,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  Feb.  3, 1863 ;  pro.  from  first  sergt. 

William  D.  Johuson,  first  sergeant ;  pro.  from  sergeant  Feb.  4, 1863. 

Jeese  Teats,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862. 

Stewart  K.  Beers,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862, 

Alexander  Altemus,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862. 

Jacob  R.  Wert,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862. 

Lorenzo  D.  Stevenson,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862. 

Joseph  C.  Rea,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862;  pro.  Feb.  7,  1863. 

Milton  A.  Gregory,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  pro.  Feb.  7, 1863. 

William  S.  Naughright,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  pro.  Feb.  Y,  1863. 

Mai-tin  V.  B.  Sine,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  pro.  Feb.  7,  1863. 

James  Conley,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3. 18C2  :  pro.  Feb.  7,  1863. 

Enoch  Streeter,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;   pro.  Feb.  7, 1863. 

Sylvester  Groff,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  pro.  Feb.  7, 1863. 

Thomas  S.  Gibbons,  musician  ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862. 

David  Roper,  musician ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862. 

David  Hulsizer,  wagoner;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862. 

Pi-ivates.ff 
John  L.  AUigar,  William  E.  Alpaugh,  Hei-man  Altemus,  Charles  Alte- 
mus (died  of  fever  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  13,  1862),  Thomas 
Barraaa,  Andrew  Bartels,  Stephen  H,  Beers,  Joseph  B.  Bird,  William 
T.  Bird,  Henry  Blackburn,  Aaron  Bowlby,  Sylvester  Bowlby,  Henry 
Bruner,  Cornelias  Buchanan,  Ishe  Butler,  John  Butler,  Thomas 
Butler,  William  H.  Ball  (disch.  for  disability  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
Nov.  14, 1862),  Levi  Case,  Peter  Y.  Chandler,  Enoch  Cramer,  Lyman 
B.  Cramer,  Victor  Cramer,  William  E.  Cramer,  George  Creager, 
Henry  L.  Cummings,  Hiram  Demott,  Eliphalet  W.  Duffert,  Samuel 
D.  Edmonds  (corporal  Sept.  3,  1862;  private  Feb.  7, 1863),  Isaac  S. 
Eldridge,  Henry  P.  Ely  (disch.  for  disability  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
Nov.  14, 1862),  James  A.  Exton,  Bennett  Gano,  George  Graham,  Wil- 
liam Graham,  Eldridge  Green,  Henry  A.  Green,  James  C.  Gulick, 
William  B.  Hardy,  Samuel  Hoppock,  August  Hilkerman  (disch.  for 

*  All  enlisted  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  all  mustered  out  June  24, 1863. 
t  Died  of  fever  .at  hospital  in  Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  26, 1862. 
X  Discharged  for  disability  at  Washington,  D.  C,  April  22, 1863. 
Discharged  for  disability  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  23, 1863. 
II  Died  of  fever  at  hospital  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  Dec.  13, 1862. 
1[  Discharged  for  disability  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  March  16, 1863. 
**  Mustered  in  Sept.  17, 1862 ;  mustered  out  June  24, 1863. 
tf-  All  enlisted  Sept.  3, 1862;  all  mustered  out  June  24, 1863. 


disability  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  Feb.  25, 1863),  John  Huddleson,  Robert 
Huddleson,  Peter  Hulsizer,  William  Hulsizer,  Allen  King,  Aaron  H. 
Lanniug  (disch.  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  Dec.  7, 1862;  died  Jan.  4, 1863; 
buried  at  Annapolis),  Edwin  G.  Lewis,  Elias  Lewis,  James  M.  Lewis, 
Charles  E.  Madison  (corporal  Sept.  3,  1862;  private  Feb.  7,  1863), 
Emanuel  Manning,  John  Manning,  Samuel  Manning,  Robert  Mc- 
Cush,  George  A.  Melick,  Edward  W.  Merritt,  Abraham  Mount  (cor- 
poral Sept.  3, 1862  ;  private  Feb.  7, 1863),  Alexander  Mulligan,  Alex- 
ander Probasco,  Aarou  Rockafellow,  James  H.  Rodeubough,  John 
H.  Schomp,  Lucian  C.  Sheppard,  William  W.  Smith,  George  Snyder, 
Henry  Soliday,  Joseph  E.  Starr,  Theodore  Stout,  John  Stryker,  Geo. 
W.  Sutton,  Charles  W.  Slack  (died  of  fever  near  Belle  Plains,  Va., 
Feb.  23,  1863),  John  W.  Smith,  die^of  fever  near  Belle  Plains,  Va., 
March  23, 1863),  Jacob  Swarrer,  Wfetson  F,  Swarrer  (corporal  Sept, 
3,  1862;  privates  Feb.  7,  1863),  William  Vanse,  died  of  fever  near 
Belle  Plains,  Va.,  Feb.  19,  1863 ;  corporal  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  private  Feb. 
7, 1863),  Samuel  Wagner,  Richard  Wilson.  Thompson  H.  Wheat  (died 
of  dysentery  at  hospital  in  Tennallytown,  D.  C,  Oct.  17,  1862 ;  buried 
at  Military  Hospital  Cemetery,  D.  C),  Levi  S.  Toung. 

COMPANY   K. 
Nelson  Bennett,  captain ;  com.  Sept.  10, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Edson  J.  Rood,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Sept.  10,  1862;  must,  out  June 

24, 1863. 
Martin  Lunger,  second  lieut. ;  com.  Sept.  10, 1862  ;  res.  Dec.  27, 18C2. 
George  Emory,  second  lieutenant;  com.  Feb.  8,  1863;  pro.  from  first 

sergeant;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Edwin  Walters,  first  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862;   pro.  from  sergeant 

Feb.  20, 1863;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
James  McBurth,  sergeant ;  eul  Sept,  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  24, 1863, 
Geo,  Henderson,  sergeant;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Jethro  German,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  pro.  from  corporal  Feb.  20, 

1863  ;  must,  out  June  24,  1863. 
Warren  Hagerty,  sergeant ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  pro.  April  1, 1863  ;  must. 

out  June  24,  1863. 
Thomas  Cole,  corporal ;  eul.  Sept,  3,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863, 
Samuel  Fritts,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
John  McNear,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  June  24,  1863. 
William  Crotsley,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Horace  Denike,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862;  must,  out  June  24,  1863. 
James  Myers,  coi-poral;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  pro.  Feb.  20, 1863;  must,  out 

June  24,  1863. 
Henry  R.  Queen,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  pro,  Feb,  20, 1863;  must. 

out  June  24,  1863. 
Christopher  Hartman,  corporal ;  eul,  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  pro.  April  1, 1863 ; 

must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Samuel  L.  Comer,  corp. ;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  died  of  typhoid  pneumonia 

at  Belle  Plains,  Va.,  March  2, 1S63. 
Johnson  H.  Bennett,  mus.;  enl.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
William  Lisk,  musician  ;  enl.  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 
Abraham  B.  Seals,  wagoner;  eul.  Sept.  3, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  24, 1863. 

Privates, XX 
Samuel  S.  Allen,  Frederick  H,  Apgar,  David  Awble,  William  Bodine 
(disch.  for  disability  in  hospital  at  Washington,  D,  C,  April  24, 1863), 
William  Briggs,  Chnatopher  Bryan,  John  M.  Bryan,  Nelson  Bunn, 
Samuel  W.  Burd,  William  B.  Burk  (pro.  to  hospital  steward  Sept.  18, 
1862),  Theodore  Castuer,  William  H.  Conover,  Matthias  J.  Crammer, 
Joseph  S.  Daws  (assigned  to  Co.  A,  Fifteenth  Regiment,  Jan.  14, 
1864),  James  Elson,  William  Flatt,  Benjamin  Fritts,  Conrad  A. 
Fritts,  Henry  Fritts,  James  Gary,  Charles  Hahu  (corporal  Sept.  3, 
1862  ;  private  Feb.  9,  1863),  James  Hand,  Moses  F,  Hann,  Godfrey 
H.  Hardy,  Enoch  C.  Hartpence,  Horace  G.  Hildebrant,  William  Hen- 
derson, Jr.,  Oliver  Henry,  Patrick  Higgins,  Garret  Hoffman,  Jacob 
Hofi'mau.  Peter  Hoffman,  James  Horning  (disch.  for  disability  in 
hospital  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  June  1, 1863),  James  Hummer,  Peter 
P.  Johnson  (disch.  for  disability  in  hospital  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
May  18, 1863),  Benliart  Krouse,  Jos.  Leigh,  Emanuel  Lisk,  Thomas 
Mahar,  Stout  McCastle,  Henry  McClary,  Hugh  McLaughlin,  Baltes 
Melick,  John  W.Mitchell,  Wm.  S.  Mitchell,  Peter  F.Moor,  Nicholas 
Mon,  Peter  D.  Morgan,  John  Nier,  Garret  S.  Nichols,  Jacob  Peterson, 
Wm.  Petty,  Abra.  Philhower,  James  S.  Seals,  Johu  0.  Shay,  Philip 
Smith,  John  Snyder,  Joseph  Snyder,  James  Stevenson,  Jacob  D. 
Stires,  William  Stires,  John  Strouble  (sergeant  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  private 

XX  All  enlisted  Sept.  3. 1862;  all  mustered  in  Sept.  17, 1862,  and  mus- 
tered out  June  24, 1863,  unless  otherwise  stated. 


THIRTY-FIFTH   INFANTRY,  AND   OTHER  REGIMENTS. 


149 


April  1, 18G3),  Hi-nry  Swalbapk,  Wesley  Sweazy,  Whitfield  Strouble 
(died  from  disease  at  Belle  plains,  Va.,  March  19,  1863),  John  B. 
Swick,  Abraham  Teats,  Williijqi  F.  Thompson,  George  Walters  (cor- 
poral Sept.  3, 1862;  private  Feb.  20, 1863),  John  L.  Warren,  Stephen 
Whitbeck,  Charles  A.  Wood,  George  T.  Woolston  (pro.  to  quarter- 
master-sergeant Sept.  18, 1862). 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THIRTY-FIFTH    IWFAITTKT,    AND    OTHER 
RBGIMEBTTS. 

Officers  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  and  of  Company  A — Movements  of 
the  Begiment  in  Virginia  and  in  the  Southwest — In  the  Georgia  Cam- 
paign, with  Sherman — Capt.  Angel  killed — Battleof  Decatur — In  Front 
of  Atlanta — "  March  to  the  Sea" — Close  of  its  Campaigning,  and  Mus- 
ter-out— ^Boster  of  Co.  A — Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Men  in  other  Beg- 
iments:  Co.  F,  Ninth  Infantry;  Co.  E,  Eleventh  Infantry;  Co.  B, 
Thirty-eighth  Infantry. 

HuNTEKDON  County  fumished.  to  the  Thirty-fiffch 
Regiment  one  full  company  (A),  as  well  as  many  men 
who  served  in  some  of  its  other  companies.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  regiment  was  recruited  chiefly  in  the 
county  of  Essex.*  Its  rendezvous  was  at  Fleming- 
ton,  where  it  was  mustered  into  the  service  in  Sep- 
tember, 1863.  It  soon  afterwards  moved  to  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  whence  a  few  weeks  later  it  was  transferred 
to  the  Southwest,  going  by  way  of  Wheeling,  W.  Va., 
Cincinnati,  Jeffersonville,  Ind.,  and  Paducah,  Ky., 
and  from  the  latter  place  up  the  Tennessee  River  to 
Eastport,  Miss.,  but  was  soon  moved  back  to  Colum- 
bus, Ky.,  and  thence  to  Union  City,  Tenn.,  where  it 
went  into  winter  quarters.  But  about  the  middle  of 
January  it  was  again  moved  to  Columbus,  Ky.,  and 
thence  down  the  Mississippi  to  Vicksburg.  It  saw 
some  skirmishing  on  the  expedition  to  Meridian, 
Miss.,  on  which  it  was  engaged  during  nearly  the 
whole  of  February,  and  after  its  return  to  the  river  it 
proceeded  to  Cairo,  111.,  and  thence,  a  week  later,  was 
transported  to  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  where  it  joined 
the  army  of  Gen.  Sherman,  and  was  assigned  to  duty 
in  the  First  Brigade,  Second  Division,  Sixteenth 
Army  Corps. 

With  this  command  it  took  part  in  the  memorable 
campaign  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Atlanta. 
On  the  13th  of  May  it  became  engaged,  but  lost  only 
one  man  killed  and  thirteen  wounded.  On  the  14th 
it  was  ordered  to  support  a  storming- party,  and  re- 
mained under  fire  during  all  that  day  and  night,  sus- 
taining some  loss.  On  the  15th,  Capt.  Angel,  of  A 
company,  was  sent  with  his  command  into  Resaca, 
where  he  captured  thirty  prisoners  and  some  Confed- 
erate mails.     The  total  losses  of  the  regiment  in  front 

*  The  regimental  officers  of  the  Thirty-fifth  when  it  moved  to  the  front 
were:  Colonel,  John  J.  Cladek;  lieutenant-colonel,  William  A.  Henry; 
major,  Austin  H.  Patterson;  adjutant,  J.  Augustus  Fay,  Jr.;  quarter- 
master, Lemuel  B.  Toung ;  surgeon,  George  E.  Summers ;  assistant  sur- 
geons, Bichard  G.  Taylor,  John  T.  Lanning ;  chaplain,  Nathaniel  L.  Up- 
ham.  The  commissioned  officers  of  Company  A  were :  Captain,  Charles 
A.  Angel;  first  lieutenant,  Andrew  L.  Day;  second  lieutenant,  James 
McMillan. 


of  Resaca  were  two  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded. 
On  the  27th  of  May,  near  Dallas,  it  was  again  en- 
gaged, two  companies,  under  Capt.  Angel,  charging 
the  enemy  and  carrying  the  assaulted  position,  but 
not  being  able  to  hold  it  against  reinforcements  which 
then  came  up.  On  the  28th  and  29th  it  was  almost 
constantly  skirmishing,  but  sustained  a  loss  of  only 
twelve,  killed  and  wounded. 

On  the  15th  of  June  the  Thirty-fifth  was  heavily 
engaged  in  skirmishing  between  Kenesaw  and  Pine 
Mountain,  losing  fifteen  in  killed  and  wounded.  On 
the  16th  it  marched  to  Kenesaw  and  took  part  in  the 
two  weeks'  fighting  which  succeeded,  but  lost  only 
thirteen  men  wounded  during  these  operations.  On 
the  4th  of  July  the  regiment  was  briskly  engaged  at 
Ruff's  Mills,  Ga.,  in  which  Capt.  Angel,  of  A  com- 
pany (then  acting-major  of  the  regiment),  was  killed 
within  thirty  yards  of  the  rebel  position.  "  No  oflScer 
in  the  regiment  had  displayed  higher  soldierly  quali- 
fications or  was  more  generally  beloved,  and  his  death 
was  sincerely  lamented  not  only  in  his  own  command, 
but  throughout  the  entire  brigade." 

On  the  8th  of  July  the  regiment  entered  Marietta, 
Ga.,  proceeding  thence  to  the  Chattahoochee  River, 
which  it  crossed  by  fording  on  the  9th,  and  intrenched 
on  the  south  side  of  that  stream.  Here  it  remained 
for  several  days,  but  on  the  19th  moved  forward  to 
Decatur,  where  it  took  part  in  the  engagement  of  the 
22d,  being,  with  two  other  regiments,  attacked  by  an 
overwhelming  force  of  infantry  and  cavalry. 

"  The  men  of  the  Thirty-fifth  moved  steadily  into  line  of  battle,  and 
at  once  opened  on  the  rebels,  checking  them  for  some  minutes.  Soon, 
however,  they  advanced  with  added  force,  and  the  regiment,  vastly  out- 
numbered, gradually  fell  back  for  a  distance  of  thirty  yards,  when  it 
again  turned  and  poured  a  deadly  volley  into  the  ranks  of  the  pui-suera, 
causing  them  in  turn  to  fall  back.  But  their  repulse  was  but  for  a  mo- 
ment. Promptly  rallied  by  their  ofQcers,  the  rebels  once  more  advanced, 
and,  although  the  Thirty-fifth  a  third  time  turned  upon  them  and  held 
them  for  half  an  hour,  it  was  at  last  compelled  to  retire  to  the  town. 
Here  the  regiment  was  joined  by  the  rest  of  the  brigade,  but,  the  enemy 
coming  in  on  all  sides,  the  entire  command  continued  the  retreat,  suffer- 
ing severely  from  the  fire  of  the  pursuers,  the  casualties  in  the  Thirty- 
fifth  numbering  one  killed  and  sixteen  wounded,  with  a  loss  of  two 
officers  and  thirty-seven  men  missing. "f 

On  the  24th  the  regiment  moved  to  the  front  of  At- 
lanta, and  there  occupied  a  line  of  rifle-pits.  On  the 
28th  it  sustained  seven  successive  charges  made  by  the 
Confederates  on  its  position,  repulsing  them  all  with 
heavy  loss  to  the  enemy,  who  left  his  dead  on  the 
field.  The  loss  to  the  Thirty-fifth  was  very  lightj. 
though  "  the  flag  of  the  regiment  was  riddled  with 
bullets  and  the  State  standard  was  twice  shot  down 
but  as  often  replaced."  This  was  the  last  action  of 
any  moment  in  which  the  regiment  was  engaged  dur- 
ing the  Atlanta  campaign.  On  the  8th  of  September 
(the  serious  work  of  the  campaign  having  ended  by 
the  capture  of  the  city)  it  went  into-  camp  at  East 
Point  for  a  season  of  rest  and  recuperation.  It  was 
again  in  motion  in  October,  however,  and  during  that 
month  marched  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  miles 

f  Foster's  "  New  Jersey  and  the  Rebellion." 


150 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


in  various  directions  through  Northwestern  Georgia, 
and  was  engaged  with  the  enemy  at  Eesaca  on  the 
15th,  losing  twenty-five,  killed  and  wounded. 

The  Thirty-fifth  took  part  in  the  great  "  March  to 
the  Sea,''  leaving  its  camp  on  the  15th  of  November 
and  moving  with  the  army  through  the  heart  of 
Oeorgia,  arriving  within  six  miles  of  Savannah  on  the 
10th  of  December  without  having  been  engaged  be- 
yond a  little  light  skirmishing  on  the  way.  On  the 
21st  the  enemy  evacuated  the  city,  which  was  occu- 
pied by  the  Union  troops  on  the  following  day, 
though  the  Thirty-fifth  did  not  enter,  but  remained 
on  picket  duty.  On  the  3d  of  January,  1865,  it  moved 
through  the  city  to  the  Savannah  Eiver,  where  it 
embarked  on  the  steamer  "  S.  E.  Spaulding''  and 
proceeded  to  Port  Eoyal,  S.  C,  whence,  with  other 
troops,  it  was  forwarded  to  Pocotaligo.  On  the  1st  of 
February,  with  the  other  forces,  it  moved  northward 
through  swamps  and  lagoons,  often  wading  knee-deep 
in  water  for  long  distances.  It  reached  and  passed 
through  Orangeburg  on  the  12th,  and  arrived  at 
Columbia,  the  capital  of  the  State,  on  the  16th. 
From  there  it  marched  through  Winnsboro'  to 
Cheraw,  where  it  was  on  provost  duty  for  several 
days.  Still  pressing  on,  it  reached  Fayetteville, 
N.  C,  on  the  11th  of  March,  and  after  a  halt  of  two 
days  took  the  road  to  Goldsboro',  where,  soon  after 
its  arrival,  the  men  were  furnished  with  new  clothing 
and  other  necessaries.  The  regiment  did  not  take 
part  in  the  battles  of  Averysboro'  and  Bentonville, 
N.  C,  but  its  march  from  Pocotaligo  had  been  one  of 
great  hardship,  and  the  men  sufiered  very  severely ; 
but  they  had  endured  all  without  complaint. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  Gen.  Sherman  advanced 
with  determination  against  the  Confederate  general 
Johnston  at  Smithfield,  N.  C.  The  town  was  en- 
tered on  the  following  day,  the  enemy  retreating  to 
Ealeigh,  and  thence  to  Greensboro'.  The  news  of 
Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox  having  been  received, 
Johnston  at  once  asked  a  suspension  of  hostilities, 
which  being  granted,  negotiations  were  entered  upon, 
which,  on  the  26th,  resulted  in  the  surrender  of 
Johnston's  army.  The  campaigning  of  the  regiment 
was  now  over,  and  on  the  29th  of  April  it  broke 
camp  for  the  march  to  Washington.  It  reached 
Petersburg,  Va.,  on  the  8th  of  May,  and,  passing 
thence  to  and  through  Eichmond,  arrived  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  national  capital  on  the  19th.  Here  it 
remained  several  weeks  (much  to  the  disappointment 
of  the  men,  who  greatly  disliked  this  long  halt  on 
the  homeward  march),  but  the  welcome  order  came 
at  last,  and  on  the  22d  of  July  the  regiment  left  for 
Trenton,  where  it  was  disbanded. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  officers  and  enlisted  men 
of  Company  A  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Eegiment,  raised 
in  Lambertville,  Hunterdon  Co. : 

Charles  A.  Angel,  captain ;  com.  Aug.  28,  1S63 ;  killed  in  action  near 
KuffB  Mills,  Ga.,  July  4, 1804 ;  buded  at  National  Cemelerj',  Marietta, 
Ga. 


J.  Augustus  Fay,  Jr.,  captain  ;  com.  July  31,1864;  adjutant  July  21,1863; 
pro.  to  captain,  vice  Angel,  killed;  pro.  to  major  Fortieth  Be^ment 
Feb.  16, 1865. 
Daniel  K.  Hineon,  captain ;  com.  March  28, 1865  ;  private  July  27, 1863 ; 
sergeant-major  Oct.  14, 1863 ;  iirst  lieutenant  March  9, 1864 ;  captain, 
vice  Fay,  promoted. 

Andrew  L.  Day,  first  lieutenant;  com.  Aug.  28,  1863;  disch.  Jan.  11, 
1864,  by  S.  0.  War  Department. 

James  McMillan,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  Aug.  28, 1863 ;  dismissed  Feb. 
8,  1864,  by  S.  0.  War  Department. 

James  Crowell,  second  lieutenant;  com,- March  9,1864;  quarterma^ter- 
sergeant;  second  lieutenant,  wice  McMillan,  dismissed;  res.  Feb.  1, 
1866. 

William  H.  Martin,  second  lieutenant ;  com.  March  28, 1865 ;  pro.  from 
sergeant  Co.  D ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865 

Edward  Kennedy,  first  sergeant;  enl.  July  27, 1863;  pro.  to  second  lieu- 
tenant Co.  F  Nov.  7,  1864. 

Charles  H.  Naylor,  first  sergeant;  enl.  July  27, 1863;  sergeant  Dec.  17, 
1863 ;  first  sergeant  Jan.  1, 1865. 

Samuel  L.  Slack,  sergeant;  enl.  July  27, 1863;  pro.  May  1, 1865;  must, 
out  July  20,  1865. 

John  C.  Higgins,  sergeant;  enl.  July  27,  1863;  pro.  from  corporal  July 
10,  1866 ;  must,  out  July  20,  1865. 

John  Coward,  sergeant ;  enl.  July  27, 1863 ;  pro.  from  corporal  July  1. 
1866  ;  must  out  July  20, 1865. 

Patrick  Kiley,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  19,  1863 ;  pro.  from  private  July  1, 
1865 ;  must,  out  July  20,  1866. 

Samuel  Boyd,  sergeant;  enl.  Aug.  11, 1863;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  Fourteenth 
Regiment,  Oct.  31,  1863. 

William  Chidester,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  11,  1863  ;  missing  on  picket  near 
Goldsboro',  N.  C,  March  20,  1865 ;  recorded  at  War  Department  as 
died  that  date. 

John  Hayes,  sergeant ;  enl.  Aug.  11, 1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Andrew  J.  Roe,  corporal;  enl.  Sept.  1,1863;  trans,  from  Co.  K_;  must, 
out  July  20,  1865. 

Owen  O'Neil,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  27, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 

Joseph  Beckhardt,  corporal ;  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 

Richard  Calligban,  corporal ;  enl.  Sept.  6, 1864;  disch.  at  Washington  by 
order  of  War  Department  May  18,  1865. 

John  King,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  13,  1863;  died  at  military  hospital, 
Chicago,  Nov.  10, 1864;  buried  in  Rose  Hill  Cemetery,  Chicago,  111. 

Alfred  Woolverton,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  24,  1863;  died  of  diarrhcea  at 
Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.,  June  26, 1864 ;  buried  at  National  Cemetery, 
Jefferson  Barracks. 

John  W.  Neal,  Jr.,  corporal ;  enl.  July  27, 1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

William  C.  Bryaut,  corporal;  enl.  Aug.  11,  1863;  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

Charles  Verthuren,  corporal ;  enl.  Feb.  2,  1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  com- 
pany. 

Robert  Snowden,  musician ;  enl.  Aug.  13,  1863 ;  disch.  by  order  of  War 
Department  May  4, 1865. 

Charles  Van  Marter,  musician  ;  enl.  July  27,  1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 
1806. 

Isaac  H.  Miller,  wagoner  ;  enl.  Aug.  4, 1863  ;  disch.  on  account  of  wounds 
June  13,  1865. 

Samuel  Carr,  wagoner ;  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863  ;  disch.  on  account  of  disability 
April  20, 1804. 

Richard  Garmo,  wagoner ;  enl.  Oct.  6,  1863 ;  disch.  on  account  of  dis- 
ability April  10,  1866. 

John  P.  Nice,  wagoner ;  enl.  July  27,  1863  ;  disch.  on  account  of  dis- 
ability Jan.  13,  1864. 

John  Reed,  wagoner  ;  enl.  Aug.  17, 1863 ;  disch.  on  account  of  disability 
June  8, 1864. 

Michael  Roach,  wagoner;  disch.  S.  0.  War  Department  Jan.  14, 1865. 

Herman  Stehr,  wagoner;  enl.  Sept.  14, 1864;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J., 
Oct.  2,  1864. 

Privatee. 
Joseph  Anthony,  enl.  March  30, 1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.  G  ;  must,  out  July 

20, 1865. 
John  Allen,  enl.  Feb.  17, 186fi ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  Barnes,  enl.  Jan.  14,  1865  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
George  Beck,  enl.  Feb.  17, 1806 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Louis  Becker,  enl.  April  10,  1K65  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Henry  Blum,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1863  ;  missing ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Chas.  Burns,  enl.  Aug.  4,  1863  ;  missing;  not  must,  out  with  company. 


THIRTYFIFTH  INFANTRY,  AND   OTHER  REGIMENTS. 


151 


Thninas  Burns,  enl.  A\ig.  21, 1863  ;  missing  :  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Peter  Bain,  enl.  Fell.  23,  18S4;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 

Jamen  Barrett,  enl.  Au?.  13, 1863  ;  disoli.  at  Phila.,  Pa.,  March  26,  1866. 

Chiirles  Bier,  enl.  March  14, 1865  ;  must,  out  Nov.  29, 1866. 

Chua.  J.  Bice,  enl.  Oct  14. 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 

Jam^s  S.  Blue,  enl.  Sept.  6, 1864 ;  disch.  by  order  of  "War  Department 

May  30,  1866. 
Henry  Bogert,  enl.  July  27, 1863  ;  must,  ont  July  20, 1865. 
Alfred  Booze,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 
Henry  Bradley,  enl.  Oct.  4, 1864  ;  trans,  from  Co.  K ;  must,  out  July  20, 

1866. 
Abraham  M.  Budd,  enl.  Sept.  13, 1864 ;  disch.  by  order  from  War  De- 
partment May  30, 1865. 
Louis  Buedel,  enl.  April  12, 1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.  J  ;  must,  out  July  20, 

1865. 
Daniel  Burget,  enl.  March  8, 1866  ;  must,  out  July  6, 1866. 
Henry  Baker,  enl.  Aug.  29, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 
Owen  Baker,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 
George  Barker,  enl.  Sept.  15, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G. 
■William  Basto,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E. 
Jerry  J.  Bertrand,  enl.  Feb.  18, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D. 
Edwin  Clark,  enl.  July  27, 1863  ;  disch.  by  order  from  War  Department 

July  7, 1865. 
Joseph  J.  L.  Clinton,  enl.  Aug.  11,  1863 ;  pro.  to  commissary-sergeant 

Dec.  25, 1864. 
Henry  C.  Cook,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20,  1865. 
James  Cox,  enl.  Aug.  27,  1863  ;  must,  out  July  20,  1866. 
John  Corning,  enl.  Jan.  9, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  G. 
Michael  Connor,  enl.  Aug.  24, 18G3  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Isaac  Chambers,  enl.  Jan.  21, 1865  ;  final  record  unknown. 
James  Doyle,  enl.  March  23, 1864 ;  final  record  unknown. 
John  Dnrcy,  enl.  Feb.  26, 1866 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 
Henry  De  Gram,  enl.  March  28, 1866 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
Edmund  Disbiow,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1863  ;  disch.  at  hospital  at  Newark,  N.  J., 

Aug.  17,  1865. 
William  J.  Dunning,  enl.  Aug.  24, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
Joseph  Durand,  enl.  Sept.  28,  1863;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps 

March  20, 1866;  disch.  Nov.  28, 1866. 
John  Daley,  enl.  Jan.  17, 1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Anthony  De  Silvn,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1865;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Joseph  Elk,  enl.  Feb.  4, 1866 ;  disch.  from  hospital  by  order  from  War 

Department ;  must,  out  July  8, 1865. 
Levis  Ensign,  enl.  July  27, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20,  1865. 
William  Everett,  enl.  Sept.  6,  1864 ;  disch.  by  order  from  War  Depart- 
ment May  30, 1866. 
Alexander  Evans,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D. 
John  Fisher,  enl.  Sept.  15, 1864 ;  disch.  at  hospital  by  order  of  War  De- 
partment June  28, 1865. 
Patrick  Fanning,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 
John  L.  FuUrman,  enl.  March  16,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 
Francis  Flanley,  enl.  Aug.  26,  1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  Gillen,  enl.  Sept.  16,  1864 ;  trans,  from  Co.  E ;  leg  amputated ; 

disch.  May  30, 186S. 
William  F.  Gordon,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1803;  must,  ont  July  20, 1866. 
Andrew  Green,  enl.  July  27, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
William  Grant,  enl,  Sept.  29, 1863;  not  must,  outwith  company. 
Joh  n  Green,  enl.  March  11 ,  1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Eicliard  Griflin,  enl.  Oct.  10, 1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  Gill,  enl.  April  11, 1864;  wounded  at  Savannah.  Ga.,  and  leg  am- 
putated. 
Michael  Goggins,  enl.  Jan.  26,  1866 ;  final  record  unknown. 
John  Hammell,  enl.  July  27, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
Samiiel  B.  Harold,  enl.  Aug.  22,  1868 ;   disch.  by  order  of  War  Depart 

ment  July  31, 1865. 
Patrick  Haynes,  enl.  March  13, 1866 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
Charles  Herbst  (or  Halps),  enl.  Jan.  21, 1865;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 
James  Higgins,  enl.  July  27, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
Samuel  C.  Hill,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863;  must,  out  July  2U,  1866. 
James  Howard,  enl.  Sept.  21, 1863  ;  paroled  prisoner ;  disch.  at  Trenton 

by  order  of  War  Department  June  17, 1865. 
Cornelius  Hully,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1865 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
John  Hubs,  enl.  Sept.  21, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
George  H.  Hutchinson,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
Charles  Hayes,  enl.  Jan.  9, 1866 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G. 
James  Haley,  enl.  Jan  17, 1865 ;  not  mnst.  out  with  company. 
Joseph  Harrington,  enl.  Feb.  16, 1866  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Joseph  Headley,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 


John  C.  P.  Heaney,  enl.  Feb.  17, 1866 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

George  Hillyer,  enl.  Jan  14,  1865  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

George  M.  Jones,  enl.  Sept.  11, 1863 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K ;  not  must,  out  with 
company. 

W.  T.  Johnson,  enl.  Aug,  13, 1864;  final  record  unknown. 

Frederick  Kaiifman,  enl.  March  8,  1865  ;  must,  ont  July  20, 1866. 

Robert  M.  Kerrison,  enl.  July  27, 1863 ;  disch.  by  order  of  War  Depart- 
ment July  23, 1865. 

John  G.  Kimball,  enl.  Aug.  20, 1863 ;  disch.  by  order  of  War  Department 
June  6, 1865. 

John  Keim,  enl.  Sept.  14, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 

David  Kreiger,  enl.  Sept.  14, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 

Thomas  Kane,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Patrick  Keating,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1866 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Gottleib  F.  Keherer,  enl.  March  9, 1865  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

James  Kennedy,  enl.  Feb.  1, 1865;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

William  W.  Kendrick,  enl.  Aug.  13, 1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Peter  C.  King,  enl.  Feb.  3, 1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Henry  E.  Kohler,  enl.  March  6, 1866 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Samuel  Legasey,  enl.  March  14,  1866 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 

Henry  Lawler,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 

Eugene  Lepron,  enl.  Sept.  23, 1864 ;  trans,  from  Co.  E ;  disch.  by  order  of 
War  Department  May  30, 1866. 

George  W.  Lloyd,  enl.  Sept.  14, 1864;  trans,  from  Co.  K;  disch.  by  order 
of  War  Department  May  30, 1865. 

W.  Harrison  Lum,  enl.  Aug.  4, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 

John  Lander,  enl.  Aug.  22,  1863  ;  not  must,  outwith  company. 

Patrick  Mannan,  enl.  Sept.  7, 1864 ;  disch.  by  order  of  War  Department 
May  30,  1866. 

Gotleib  Mannerhan,  enl.  March  7, 1865 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 

George  McCliesney,  enl.  Aug.  8,  1863  ;  must,  out  July  20,  1866. 

William  McCne,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1863;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 

Patrick  McDermott,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864;  disch.  by  order  of  War  Depart- 
ment May  30, 1865. 

William  McGowan,  enl.  July  27, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 

William  McGuire,  enl.  Aug.  8, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 

Peter  McLinden,  enl.  March  8, 1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.  F ;  must,  out  July 
20, 1866. 

Joseph  M.  Mitchell,  enl.  Jan.  5,  1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.  C ;  must,  out  July 
20,  1865. 

Francis  Mulligan,  enl.  Feb.  27, 1866  ;  disch.  by  order  of  War  Department 
July  23,  1865. 

Jesse  B.  Moore,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B. 

Patrick  Mahan,  enl.  Sept.  26, 1864 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

John  Mann,  enl.  Aug.  22, 1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Henry  Mayuard,  enl.  Sept.  29,  1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Samuel  Milroy,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

Joseph  Murphj',  enl.  Aug.  19,  1863;  not  must,  ont  with  company, 

Amos  Myers,  enl.  July  27,  1863;  not  must,  out  with  company, 

John  W.  Neal,  enl.  Sept.  7,  1864;  disch.  by  order  of  War  Department 

May  4, 1865. 
George  O'Daniel,  enl.  July  27, 1863  ;  must,  ont  July  20, 1866, 
William  Osborne,  enl,  Aug.  8, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865, 
Charles  Owen,  enl.  Feb.  24, 1866;  must,  out  July  20, 1866, 
Joseph  Y.  Packer,  enl.  Aug.  20, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865, 
John  W,  Pfefl'er,  enl,  March  13, 1865  ;  mnst.  out  July  20, 1866. 
Charles  Petit,  enl.  Sept.  15, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 
John  Pesco,  enl.  Oct.  10, 1863 ;  not  mnst.  out  with  company, 
Patrick  Phelan,  enl.  Aug.  7, 1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  R.  Price,  enl.  Oct,  2, 1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company, 
John  Keppert,  enl.  March  5, 1865;  must,  out  July  20, 1865, 
George  G.  Kosendale,  enl.  March  16, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  I, 
Charles  Rue,  enl,  Sept.  12, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 
William  B.  Rapp,  enl.  Jan.  14, 1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company, 
William  S.  Rolland,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Harr.y  Russell,  enl.  Aug.  13, 1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
George  Salter,  enl.  Aug.  14, 1863 ;  disch,  by  order  of  War  Department 

July  11, 1866, 
John  Schafl'er,  enl,  March  7, 1865 ;  mnst,  out  July  20, 1866, 
Peter  Schuster,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865, 
John  Sides,  enl,  Aug.  4, 1863 ;  must,  ont  July  20, 1865, 
John  Skillman,  enl.  Sept,  24,  1863;  trans,  from  Co.  G;  must,  out  July 

20,  1865. 
Bishop  C.  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  10, 1863 ;  mnst.  out  July  20, 1866, 
John  Smith,  eul.  March  7,  1866;   disch.  by  order  of  War  Department 

July  11, 1865. 
Mahlon  Smith,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  20, 1866. 


152 


HUNTEKDON   AND   SOMERSET    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


John  W.  States,  eiil.  Sept.  12,  ISGi ;  disch.  by  order  of  War  Bepartment 

May  30,  1865. 
William  H.  Stewart,  enl.  Sept.  13, 1864 ;  discli.  by  order  of  War  Departr 

meDt  May  30,  ISGS. 
Cornelius  Q.  StuU,  enl.  Sept.  3, 1863 ;  trans,  from  Co.  K  •  must,  out  July 

20,1866. 
James  Sandford,  enl.  Jan.  9, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Go.  I. 
David  Schoen,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  G. 
Theodore  Swanaker,  enl.  Sept.  12, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B. 
Patrick  Sharkey,  enl.  Sept.  14,  1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  E. 
Garret  Smith,  enl.  Jan.  9, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B. 
James  W.  Smith,  enl.  Sept.  12,  1864 ;  trans,  to  First  Connecticut  Cavalry 

Sept.  24,  1864. 
Henry  B.  Stevenson,  enl.  Sept.  14,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K. 
James  Stewart,  enl.  Jan.  18,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E. 
George  Sldnner,  enl.  April  11, 1865;  final  record  unknown. 
Daniel  Sailor,  eul.  July  27,  1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Joseph  R.  Sailor,  enl.  Julyi7, 1863,  not  must,  out  with  company. 
William  Sinclair,  enl.  Aug.  27. 1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
David  Spencer,  enl.  March  11, 1865 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Sidney  B.  StuU,  enl.  Aug.  11, 1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Christopher  Thudeum,  enl.  Aug.  10,  1863 ;  disch.  from  hospital  by  order 

of  War  Department  June  7,  1S65. 
Charles  Towee,  enl.  Sept.  H,  1864 ;  trans,  from  Co.  K ;  disch.  by  order  of 

War  Department  May  30, 1865. 
Miles  Taylor,  enl.  Feb.  21,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B. 
David  Trauger,  enl.  July  27,  1863;  trans,  to  Veteran  Reserve  Corps; 

disch.  for  disability  Sept.  24, 1864. 
Dennis  Tunny,  enl.  Sept.  13, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B. 
Charles  Taylor,  enl.  Oct.  10,  1863  ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
John  W.  Thorp,  enl.  Aug.  19, 1863  ;  not.  must,  out  with  company. 
Martin  Thravers,  enl.  March  14,  1865;  not  must,  out  with  company. 
Edward  Vannaman,  enl.  July  27,  1863 ;  must,  out  July  20, 1865. 
Henry  F.  Vaughn,  enl.  July  27,  1863 ;  must,  out  July  20,  1865. 
John  H.  Vogeding,  enl.  Feb.  23, 1865 ;  must,  out  July  20,  1865. 
Samuel  L.  Wright,  enl.  Sept.  1 3, 1864 ;  pro.  to  hosp.  steward  May  1, 1865. 
Wilson  D.  Wright,  enl.  Aug.  4,  1863 ;  must,  out  July  20,  1865. 
George  H.  Westcott,  enl.  Sept.  13,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E. 
Richard  Westcott,  enl.  Sept.  12,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E. 
Christopher  Wilson,  enl.  Aug.  22,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  D. 
William  Wilson,  enl.  Aug.  19,  1863 ;  not  must,  out  with  company. 

HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTY  MEN  IN 
OTHER  REGIMENTS. 
In  the  Ninth  New  Jersey  Infantry  Kegiment  there 
was  one  company  (F),  Captain  William  B.  Curlies, 
which  was  partially  filled  by  men  of  Hunterdon  and 
Somerset  Counties.  This  regiment  (originally  a  rifle 
organization)  was  mustered  at  Camp  Olden,  Trenton, 
in  October,  1861,  and  left  the  State  on  the  4th  of  De- 
cember following.  On  the  4th  of  January,  1862,  it 
was  moved  to  Annapolis,  where  it  was  embarked  as 
part  of  the  famous  "  Burnside  expedition"  against 
Roanoke  Island,  N.  C.  Its  first  battle  was  in  the 
assault  on  the  rebel  works  at  that  place,  where  it  lost 
thirty-four  killed  and  wounded.  It  also  fought  bravely 
at  Newbern,  and  at  other  points  in  North  Carolina 
during  the  campaign  of  that  year,  in  a  manner  which 
drew  from  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  the  follow- 
ing flattering  recognition  of  its  services, — viz.  : 

*'  Besohed,  That  the  Ninth  Regiment  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  by  their 
patieut  endurance  under  privation  and  fatigue,  and  by  their  courage  at 
the  ever-to-be-remombered  battles  of  Roanoke  and  Newbern  (a  courage 
evinced  by  the  havoc  made  in  their  own  unwavering  columns  better  than 
by  the  reports  of  partial  journals),  have  sustained  the  high  reputation 
which  since  the  days  of  the  Revolution  has  belonged  to  the  soldiers  of 
New  Jersey;  and  as  evidence  of  our  appreciation  of  that  acme  of  every 
manly  virtue, '  patriotic  devotion  to  country,'  the  Governor  of  the  State 
is  requested  to  have  prepared  and  forwarded  to  said  regiment  a  standard, 
on  which  shall  be  inscribed  these  words:  'Presented  by  New  Jersey  to 
her  Ninth  Regiment,  in  remembrance  of  Roanoke  and  Newbern.'  " 


The  color  so  ordered  were  presented  to  the  regiment 
at  Newbern  on  the  24th  of  December,  1862. 

Subsequently,  until  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Ninth 
fought  with  gallantry  and  distinction  in  a  great  num- 
ber of  battles  and  skirmishes,  of  which  the  entire  list, 
as  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  adjutant-general  of  the 
State,  is  as  follows :  Roanoke  Island,  N.  C,  Feb.  8, 
1861 ;  Newbern,  N.  C,  March  14,  1862 ;  Fort  Macon, 
N.  C,  April  25,  1862;  Young's  Cross-Roads,  N.  C, 
July  27,  1862 ;  Rowell's  Mill,  N.  C,  Nov.  2,  1862 ; 
Deep  Creek,  N.  C,  Dec.  12,  1862 ;  Southwest  Creek, 
N.  C,  Dec.  13,  1862;  before  Kinston,  N.  C,  Dec.  13, 
1862 ;  Kinston,  N.  C,  Dec.  14, 1862 ;  Whitehall,  N.  C, 
Dec.  16,  1862;  Goldsboro',  N.  C,  Dec.  17, 1862;  Com- 
fort, N.  C,  July  6,  1863 ;  near  Winston,  N.  C,  July 
26,  1863;  Deep  Creek,  N.  C,  Feb.  7,  1864;  Cherry 
Grove,  N.  C,  April  14,  1864;  Port  Walthall,  Va., 
May  6  and  7,  1864;  Swift  Creek,  Va.,  May  9  and  10, 
1864;  Drury's  Bluff',  Va.,  May  12  to  16,  1864;  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  3  to  12,  1864;  Petersburg,  Va., 
from  June  20  to  Aug.  24,  1864;  Gardner's  Bridge, 
N.  C,  Dec.  9,  1864;  Foster's  Bridge,  N.  C,  Dec.  10, 
1864;  Butler's  Bridge,  N.  C,  Dec.  11,  1864;  near 
Southwest  Creek,  N.  C,  March  7,  1865 ;  Wise's  Forks, 
N.  C,  March  8,  9,  and  10,  1865 ;  Goldsboro',  N.  C, 
March  21,  1865. 

The  Eleventh  Infantry  Regiment  had  one  company 
(E)  which  was  largely  composed  of  men  from  Hun- 
terdon County.  This  regiment  was  raised  in  the 
summer  of  1862,  and,  under  command  of  Col.  Robert 
McAllister,  left  Trenton  on  the  25th  of  August  in 
that  year  for  Washington,  from  which  city  it  crossed 
the  Potomac  into  Virginia,  and  was  there  engaged  in 
the  ordinary  duties  assigned  to  regiments  fresh  from 
the  camp  of  organization.  At  Fairfax  Court-house, 
on  the  16th  of  November  following,  it  was  incor- 
porated with  Carr's  brigade  of  Sickles'  division,  and 
two  days  later  set  out  on  the  march  to  Falmouth,  on 
the  Rappahannock,  where  it  arrived  on  the  27th  with 
other  commands  of  the  great  army  which  Gen.  Burn- 
side  was  concentrating  at  that  point  in  preparation 
for  the  great  struggle  at  Fredericksburg.  The  terrible 
battle  at  that  place,  on  the  13th  of  December,  was  the 
first  general  engagement  in  which  the  Eleventh  took 
part,  but  (although  its  loss  on  that  day  was  slight,, 
being  only  six  killed  and  wounded  and  six  missing) 
the  regiment  performed  all  that  was  required  of  it,, 
and  behaved  with  steadiness  and  gallantry  on  this  as- 
on  many  a  later  field. 

From  this  time  the  Eleventh  took  part  in  all  the 
campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  In  the  great  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville  it  lost  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  in  killed 
and  wounded,  and  assisted  in  repelling  some  of  the 
heaviest  assaults*  made  by  the  veterans  of  Stonewall 


*  A  letter  written  from  the  field  of  Chancellorsville  said  that  in  that 
battle  the  Eleventh  New  Jersey,  by  holding  its  position  aud  fighting  des- 
perately against  overwhelming  odds,  saved  the  Second  Brigade  of  New 


EDUCATIONAL  AND   STATISTICAL. 


153 


Jackson.  At  Gettysburg,  on  the  2(i  of  July,  it  sus- 
tained some  of  the  heaviest  attacks  of  the  day,  losing 
one  hundred  and  fifty-four  officers  and  men  killed 
and  wounded.  It  fought  at  Kelly's  Ford  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock on  the  8th  of  November,  taking  a  large 
number  of  prisoners.  On  the  26th  it  was  engaged  at 
Locust  Grove,  losing  twenty-six  killed  and  wounded. 
On  the  3d  of  December  it  went  into  winter  quarters 
near  Brandy  Station. 

On  the  opening  of  the  spring  campaign  of  1864 
the  Eleventh  left  its  winter  camp  at  one  o'clock  a.m. 
on  the  4th  of  May,  and  moved  into  the  "  Wilderness." 
In  the  terrible  advance  through  that  dark  and  bloody 
ground,  in  the  fire  and  carnage  of  Spottsylvania,  at 
Cold  Harbor,  on  the  route  from  that  ghastly  field  to 
the  front  of  Petersburg,  and  in  the  tedious  and  de- 
structive operations  against  that  stronghold  during 
the  summer  of  1864  and  the  spring  of  1865,  its  mem- 
bers always  showed  conspicuous  gallantr)"-  and  strict 
attention  to  the  requirements  of  soldierly  duty.  Upon 
the  termination  of  hostilities  its  survivors  were 
marched  to  Washington,  and  thence  were  transported 
to  Trenton,  where  they  arrived  on  the  15th  of  June, 
1865,  and  were  soon  after  discharged. 

The  Thirty-eighth  Eegiment  of  infantry,  which 
was  raised  in  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1864,  under 
Col.  William  J.  Sewell,  contained  one  company  (B, 
Capt.  George  W.  Day)  which  was  partially  made  up 
of  men  from  Hunterdon  County.  Upon  leaving  the 
State  this  regiment  proceeded  to  City  Point,  Va., 
thence  to  Bermuda  Hundred,  and  from  there  to  Fort 
Powhatan,  on  the  James  Elver,  about  fifteen  miles 
below  City  Point.  The  troops  at  that  place  consisted 
of  this  regiment,  a  squadron  of  cavalry,  and  a  battery 
of  artillery,  and  their  duties  were  keeping  the  river 
open  and  protecting  a  line  of  telegraph  for  a  distance 
of  about  forty  miles.  In  the  performance  of  this  duty 
skirmishes  with  guerrilla  bands  frequently  occurred, 
but  no  general  engagement  resulted.  The  Thirty- 
eighth  remained  at  Fort  Powhatan  engaged  in  this 
duty  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  it  was  ordered 
to  City  Point,  and  thence  to  Trenton,  where  it  arrived 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1866. 


CHAPTER    XV L 

EDUCATIONAL    ABTD     STATISTICAL. 


-First 


The  Early  Dutch  enjoin  the  Support  of  a  Schoolmaater,  in  1629' 
Schoolmaster  and  School-house  in  New  Jersey— The  Scotch-Preshy- 
terlans  bring  Schoolmasters  with  them— The  Quakers  and  Schools- 
Colonial  Legislation— The  OoUeges— School-Fund  created  in  1817— 
Subseanent  Legislation,  etc.— Free  Schools— Educational  Statistics  of 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties— Statistics  of  Population,  etc. 

The  Dutch  who  first  settled  New  York  and  the 
adjacent  part  of  New  Jersey  held  the  Church  and  the 

Jersey  from  being  flanked,  and  enabled  the  Fifth  Begiment  of  that  bri- 
gade to  take  the  colors  whose  capture  gave  them  so  much  distinction. 
11 


school  in  the  same  high  estimation  with  which  they 
were  regarded  in  their  own  Fatherland.  The  charter 
of  the  West  India  Company  (1629)  enjoined  upon  its 
patrons  and  the  colonists  "  in  the  speediest  manner  to 
endeavor  to  find  out  ways  and  means  whereby  they 
might  support  a  minister  and  a  schoolmaster." 

The  first  schoolmaster  who  taught  in  New  Jersey 
was  Englebert  Steenhuysen,  at  Jersey  City,  in  1662,* 
where  the  first  school-house  was  erected  in  1664. 

One  hundred  years  prior  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  (in  1676)  the  Scotch  Presbyterians 
brought  preachers  and  schoolmasters  with  them,  and 
established  schools  in  their  settlements  in  East 
Jersey.!  The  Woodbridge  charter  (1669)  also  looked 
after  the  subject  of  educating  the  young ;  James  Ful- 
lerton  was  the  first  schoolmaster  there,  in  1689.  With 
the  pioneer  Quakers  in  West  New  Jersey,  education 
being  a  part  of  their  religion,  schools  were  very  early 
established.  The  first  school  fund  established  in  the 
province  (and,  we  think,  in  America)  was  by  the  set- 
tlement at  Burlington,  in  1683,  in  setting  apart  an 
island  in  the  Delaware,  opposite  the  town,  for  educa- 
tional purposes,  and  the  revenues  derived  from  the 
rent  or  sale  of  lands  were  reserved  for  the  support  of 
schools. 

Twice  under  the  proprietary  government  were 
schools  and  schoolmasters  made  the  subject  of  legis- 
lation. First,  in  1693, — the  first  school  law  of  the 
State, — the  General  Assembly  of  East  New  Jersey 
authorized  the  inhabitants  of  any  town,  by  warrant 
from  any  justice  of  the  peace,  to  meet  and  choose 
three  men  to  make  a  rate  and  establish  the  salary  of 
a  schoolmaster  for  as  long  a  time  as  they  might  think 
proper,  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  to  compel  the 
payment  of  any  rates  levied  and  withheld,  the  act 
setting  forth  that  "  the  cultivation  of  learning  and 
good  manners  tends  greatly  to  the  good  and  benefit  of 
mankind."!  This  act,  being  found  inconvenient, "  by 
reason  of  the  distance  of  the  neighborhood,"  in  1695 
was  amended :  it  provided  that  three  men  should  be 
chosen  annually  in  each  town,  to  have  power  to  select 
a  teacher  "  and  the  most  convenient  place  or  places 
where  the  school  shall  be  kept,  that  as  near  as  may 
be  the  whole  inhabitants  may  have  the  benefit 
thereof."  This  was  a  complete  recognition  of  the 
principle  of  taxing  property  for  the  support  of  public 
schools,  which  at  that  time  was  up  to  the  most  ad- 
vanced legislation  on  this  subject  in  America.?  Under 
this  law  schools  were  established  in  all  parts  of  the 
province. 

The  College  of  New  Jersey  was  incorporated  in 
1746,  and  ten  years  later  was  permanently  located  at 
Princeton.     The  Presbyterian  Church  founded  a  the- 


*  Bergen  had  a  school  about  the  same  time, — 1661-63, — which  possibly 
may  have  antedated  the  one  at  Jersey  City. — PrcUCs  Annals  of  Education 
in  New  York,  pp.  36,  37. 

f  Vide  records  of  Newark,  etc. 

X  Learning  and  Spicer's  Laws,  p.  ?'28.  ■ 

§  Ellis  A.  Apgar,  School  Eeports,  1879,  p.  37. 


154 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ological  school  at  the  same  place  in  1811.  Rutgers 
College  was  chartered  by  King  George  III.  in  1770, 
under  the  name  of  Queen's  College,  at  New  Bruns- 
wick.' In  1825  the  State  Legislature  changed  its  name 
in  honor  of  Henry  Rutgers,  one  of  its  benefactors. 
The  Reformed  Church  control  this  institution. 

"  The  first  definite  step  taken  by  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  to  provide  the  means  of  education  by  cre- 
ating a  fund  for  the  support  of  free  schools  was  in 
1817.  The  act  that  was  passed  made  certain  appro- 
priations for  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  school 
fund."  The  following  year  a  board  of  trustees  was 
established  for  the  management  of  the  school  fund. 
In  1820  the  townships  of  the  State  were  first  autho- 
rized to  raise  money  for  school  purposes, — for  the 
education  of  "  such  poor  children  as  are  paupers." 
It  was  in  consequence  of  this  legislation  that  the  New 
Jersey  public  schools  were  for  so  many  years  regarded 
as  pauper  schools.*  In  1824  it  was  enacted  that  one- 
tenth  of  all  the  State  taxes  should  every  year  be 
added  to  the  school  fund.  In  1828  townships  were 
first  empowered  to  vote  moneys  at  town-meeting  for 
the  building  and  repairing  of  school-houses.  During 
the  next  few  years  there  was  a  general  agitation  of 
the  subject  of  public  education  throughout  the  State. 
A.  "central  committee,"  appointed  by  a  convention 
ield  at  Trenton  in  1828,  canvassed  the  State;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Maclean,  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  the 
same  year  delivered  at  Princeton  an  address,  in  which 
he  urged  nearly  all  the  features  that  characterize  the 
present  system  of  public  instruction ;  the  New  Jersey 
Missionary  Society  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire 
into  the  condition  of  education  in  the  State,  etc.f 

To  the  many  memorials  and  petitions  the  Legisla- 
ture nobly  responded  in  the  law  of  1829,  which  appro- 
priated twenty  thousand  dollars  annually  from  the 
school  fund,  and  which  was  the  first  comprehensive 
school  law  in  the  State.  In  1831  these  funds  were 
bestowed  upon  all  schools,  public,  private,  or  paro- 
chial. The  enactment  of  1838,  while  repealing  all 
former  acts,  restored  many  of  the  desirable  features 
of  the  act  of  1829.  Township  school  committees  were 
again  to  be  elected,  who  were  to  proceed  to  divide  the 
township  into  school  districts ;  they  were  required  to 
visit  schools  and  make  reports  as  before.  By  it,  also, 
the  annual  appropriation  was  increased  by  an  addi- 
tion of  ten  thousand  dollars.  Teachers  were  obliged 
to  pass  examination  and  obtain  license  from  boards 
of  county  examiners  elected  by  the  chosen  freeholders, 
or  from  the  township  school  committees. 

The  constitution  of  1844  required  the  school  fund 
to  be  securely  invested,  and  to  remain  a  perpetual 

*  The  opprobriouB  term  "  paupera"  remained  in  all  subsequent  enact- 
ments relating  to  public  schools  until  the  year  1838. 

-f  From  the  report  of  a  committee  of  the  Legislature  of  1829  we  make 
the  following  extract:  "The  lamentable  truth  appears  that  nearly  fifteen 
thousand  persons  over  the  age  of  fifteen  years  remain  in  total  ignorance, 
unable  either  to  read  or  write ;  .  .  .  nearly  twelve  thousand  children 
under  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  are  depriyed  of  the  means  of  obtaining 
even  the  first  rudiments  of  an  education." 


fund.    In  1845  a  State  superintendent  was  first  pro- 
vided. 

By  the  law  of  1846,  while  the  annual  school  fund 
appropriation  remained  the  same  and  the  limitations 
of  school   age — five    and    sixteen — were   continued, 
many  other  features  were  changed.     The  licensing  of 
teachers,  before  optional,  now  became  obligatory,  as 
also  the  requirement  that  townships  shall  (not  may) 
raise  a  sum  "  at  least  equal  to  that  received  from  the 
State,  and  not  greater  than  twice  such  amount."     In 
1848  authority  was  first  given  townships  to  use  the 
interest  of  the  surplus  revenue   for  the  support  of 
public  schools.     In  1851  an  amendment  to  the  act  of 
1846   increased    the   annual    appropriation   to   forty 
thousand   dollars,   changed   the  basis  of  apportion- 
ment, and  made  the  school-age  limitation  five  and 
eighteen  years,  which  latter  still  obtains.     In  1854 
teachers'  institutes  were  first   established.     In  1855 
the  Legislature  provided  for  the  purchase  of  a  copy  of 
"  Webster's  Unabridged  Dictionary"  for  each  school 
in  the  State,  and  the  next  year  added  a  copy  of  "  Lip- 
pincott's  Pronouncing  Gazetteer  of  the  World."    The 
State  Normal  School  was   instituted  in   1855.     The 
State   board  of  education  was   established  in  1866. 
The  act  of  1867   authorized  the  board  to   appoint 
county  superintendents.     The  county  superintendent, 
with  two  teachers  selected  by  him,  became  the  county 
examiner;    examinations  were  held   quarterly,  and 
certificates  issued  of  three  grades. 

The  Legislature  of  1871  passed  the  liberal  act  which 
made  all  the  public  schools  of  the  State  entirely  free. 
A  fixed  State  school  tax  of  two  mills  on  the  dollar 
was  substituted  for  the  uncertain  township  school 
tax,  and  trustees  were  prohibited  from  charging  tui- 
tion fees.  In  1876  certain  amendments  to  the  State 
constitution  were  ratified  which  make  it  impossible 
for  the  State  or  municipalities  to  make  any  appro- 
priations to  sectarian  schools,  obligatory  upon  the 
State  to  maintain  an  efficient  system  of  free  schools, 
and  prohibited  all  special  school  legislation.  At 
present  (1879)  the  school  fund  amounts  to  $1,660,502. 
For  much  of  the  above  history  we  are  indebted  to 
Ellis  A.  Apgar,  the  present  efficient  State  superin- 
tendent of  public  instruction,  and  to  which  we  append 
some  special  mention  of  the  schools  of  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Counties. 

EDUCATIONAL  STATISTICS,  1879. 
At  the  present  time  Hunterdon  County  has  10,585 
children  between  five  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  of 
whom  8721  were  enrolled  in  the  school  registers,  with 
an  average  attendance  of  4185  ;t  70  male  and  72  fe- 
male teachers  have  been  employed,  of  whom  18  are 
of  the  first  grade,  32  second  grade,  and  91  third  grade. 
Of  the  108  school-houses,  79  are  constructed  of  wood,. 
7  of  brick,  and  22  of  stone,  which  are  valued  at  over 


t  Estimated  number  of  children  attending  private  schools,  405;  esti- 
mated number  who  have  attended  no  school  during  1879, 1325.— SoJioo! 
Report. 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  STATISTICAL. 


155 


$145,000.    The  schools  of  the  county  are  graded  as 
follows :    Of  the  first  grade,  15 ;  second  grade,  17 ; 
third  grade,  58 ;   fourth   grade,    12 ;   fifth   grade,  6  ; 
total,  108.*    The  numher  of  school  districts  is  104;  of 
school  departments,  137  ;  number  of  unsectarian  pri- 
vate schools,  8 ;  sectarian  private  schools,  3.   The  per- 
centage of  average  attendance  upon  the  public  schools 
in  1879  was  .48 ;  percentage  of  the  census  in  the  public 
schools,  .83 ;  percentage  attending  private  schools, 
.04 ;  percentage  attending  no  schools,  .13.    Eighteen 
of  the  schools  have  libraries,  embracing  several  hun- 
dred volumes.    The  present  county  superintendent  is 
E.  S.  Swacthamer,  of  White  House,  from  whose  re- 
cent reportf  we  learn  that  school-houses  were  com- 
pleted during  the  year  in  Districts  Nos.  5,  52,  and  108 
(Mount  Airy,  Lebanon  township  ;  New  Stone,  Union 
township ;    and   LambertvUle),  the   latter  being  "  a 
model  in  regard  to  size,  arrangement,  and  construc- 
tion."    Hunterdon  County's  apportionment  from  the 
State  appropriation  for  1879  was  $38,508.72. 

Somerset  County  has,  according  to  the  statistical 
tables,  5477  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
eighteen  enrolled  in  the  school  registers,  J  of  which  the 
average  number  who  attended  school  in  1879  was 
2631 ;  these  were  taught  by  32  male  and  56  female 
teachers,  occupying  72  school-houses,  valued  at  about 
$90,000.  The  school-houses  of  the  county  will  com- 
fortably seat  nearly  4000  children.  The  grade  of  the 
schools  of  the  county  is  as  follows  :  8  first  grade,  27 
second,  31  third,  and  6  fourth.  The  nine  townships 
are  divided  into  71  school  districts,  containing  72 
schools?  and  88  school  departments.  There  are  also 
sixteen  private  schools  in  the  county.  Sixteen  of  the 
public  schools  have  libraries,  aggregating  1182  vol- 
umes.    J.  S.  Haynes  is  the  county  superintendent. 

The  following  is  the  apportionment  of  the  appro- 
priations for  public  schools  in  the  several  townships 
of  Somerset  County  for  the  school-year  commencing 
Sept.  1, 1880,  according  to  the  report  of  J.  S.  Haynes, 
the  county  superintendent : 


Further  details  of  the  schools  of  both  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Counties  will  be  found  in  the  several 
township  histories  in  this  work. 

STATISTICS   OF   POPULATION,  Etc. 
CENSUS  OF  1737. 


Townships. 

si 

mp5 

State 
Appropri- 
ation. 

Two-Mill 
Tax. 

3 

729 
701 
468 

2290 
431 

1010 
941 
619 

1090 

$i25.79 
217.12 
141.86 
709.27 
133.49 
312.83 
291.46 
160.76 
337.60 

«222.38 
213.83 
139.71 
698.66 
131.48 
308.09 
287.05 
158.33 
332.60 

82644.95 
2263.08 
1266.66 
6172.73 
1382.71 
2660.30 
3674.66 
1626.42 
3772.10 

82993.12 

2694.03 

1648.13 

7680.66 

1647.68 

North  Ploinfleld 

3281.22 
4263.16 

1944.60 

4442.20 

8169 

$2630.17 

82491.93 

825,362.60 

830,384.60 

Counties. 

ii 

m  CO 

as 

<o 

n 

li 

■3a 

1 

1618 
967 

1230 
940 

1270 
999 

1170 
867 

5288 

219 

66071 
4606 

*  In  1840  there  were  84  Bchoole  and  2622  pupils. 

t 1879. 
-  t  The  whole  number  of  children  in  the  county,  of  school  age,  is  8169. 

g  Somerset  County  had,  in  1840,47  common  schools,  with  1306  scholars. 
Vide  census. 


CENSUS  or  1746. 


Counties. 

5  e8 

11 

'a 

0    . 

S2 

i 
1 

2302 
740 

2182 
766 

2117 
672 

2090 
719 

8691 
2896 

460 
343 

9151 

3239 

In  the  census  for  1745  there  was  an  enumeration 
made  of  Quakers,  showing  240  in  Hunterdon  and  91 
in  Somerset  of  that  faith. 


CENSUS  OF  1790. 

•Si, 

SO 

s 

0 
E 

11 

13   o! 

"I 

ID 

Counties. 

3iS 

™ 

1 

»o« 

«.  o 

0 

£ 

K 

£S 

— . 

s 

U) 

f^ 

f» 

& 

< 

s 

■< 

4966 
2819 

4379' 
2390 

9316 
6130 

191 

147 

1301 
1810 

20,163 

12,296 

r 


CENSUS  OF  1800. 


m 

S 

•3 

S^'S 

'3 

& 

Counties. 

s 

s 

^ 

^ 

5  "  s 

1 

£ 

■3 

H 

9867 
6346 

9664 
6432 

620 
175 

1220 
1863 

21,261 

12,816 

CENSUS  OF  1810. 


3 

i 

«5» 

^7s 

a 

s 

r.^r. 

Counties. 

^.ss 

^ 

^ 

«sf 

s 

^ 

s 

fi 

< 

1 

s 

11,448 
6,330 

11,302 
6,111 

687 
316 

1119 
1968 

24,656 

14,725 

I  By  a  transposition  of  figures,  Gordon's  "  History  of  New  Jersey,"  1834, 
erroneously  gives  the  total  as  6670. 


^'J 


156 


HUNTEKDON  AND  SOMEESET   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


CENSUS  OF  1820. 


oi- 

«  o 

■a 

15.2 

COITNTIES. 

£3 

PS 

n 

3 

^ 

1^ 

m 

ta 

■^^  " 

H 

13,741 
7,296 

13,299 
6,910 

616 
1122 

1443 
1487 

91 

29,190 

16,815 

CENSUS   OF  1830. 


-a 

»  =  » 

HA 

COIJNTIES. 

Il 

^•i 

■^s 

o  ? 

£3 

r 

1 

EH 

14,465 

14,653 

172 

1770 

31,060 

7,665 

7,717 

448 

1859 

17,689 

The  census  of  1830  gives  the  following  items  of 
interest : 

Deaf  and  dumb  in  Hunterdon  County 34 

"  '*        Somereet  "        14 

Blind  in  Hunterdon  County 19 

"         SomeiBet         "        17 

Aliens  in  Hunterdon  County 210 

"  Somerset         "       118 

Of  the  4249  slaves  and  free  colored  persons  in  both 
counties,  none  were  deaf  or  dumb,  and  only  five 
reported  as  blind. 

MISCELLANEOUS  STATISTICS,  1S30. 

Hunterdon  Somerset 

County.  County. 

Total  number  of  acres 324,572  189,800 

Lota  of  and  under  ten  acres 1,167  

Neat  cattle  over  three  years 12,492  8,634 

Horses  and  mules  over  three  years 7,538  4,621 

Stud-horses 50  25 

Grist-mills,  run  of  stones 80  64 

Saw-mills 71  44 

Fulling-mills 10  8 

Cotton-factories 1 

Carding-machines 17  11 

Cider-distilleries 58  27 

Tan-vats 524  211 

Number  of  householdei-s 668 

"            singlemen 673  391 

"            taxables 6,000  3,500 

*'            merchants  and  traders 86  68 

"  ferries  and  toll-bridges 9 

"            sulkies  and  dearborns 894  218 

"            coaches  and  chaises 4  32 

"  fisheries 17 

'*           two-  and  four-horse  stages....           10  15 

The  taxes  for  1830,  according  to  the  census,  were  as 
follows : 

^  Hunterdon  Somerset 

Township  Tax.  County.         County. 

Poor    tax S6,850  $4,176 

Koad      "   8,300  6,837 

Total $15,150         $10,313 

County  tax 10,000  6,000 

State        "  4,535.84        2,642.86 

Aggregate $29,685.84    S18,965.86 

The  status  of  the  militia  in  1830  was  as  follows : 
Hunterdon  County  had  327  cavalrymen  and  2584  in- 
fantrymen,— total  in  service  2911, — and  was  brigaded 
with  Warren  and  Sussex  Counties. 

Somerset  County  had  158  cavalrymen,  107  artillery- 
men, 93  riflemen,  and  1304  infantrymen ;  total,  1662. 


Somerset  was  brigaded  with  Middlesex  and  Monmouth 
Counties. 

CENSUS  or  1870. 
Sunterdon  County. 

Townships.  White,      Colored.  Total. 

Alexandria 3,318  23  3,341 

Bethlehem 2,183  28  2,211 

Clinton 3,097  34  3,131 

Delaware 2,932  31  2,963 

EastAmwell 1,707  96  1,803 

Franklin 1,318  7  1,325 

Frenchtown 912  8  920 

High  Bridge  (formerly  part  of  Lebanon) ...  

Kingwood 1,944  2  1,946 

Lambertville 3,819  26  3,845 

Lebanon 3,.533  23  3,666 

Baritan 3,516  140  3,655 

Keadington 3,005  64  3,069 

Tewksbury 2,243  86  2,328 

Town  of  Clinton 765  30  785 

Union 1,040  11  1,061 

WestAmwell 992  40  1,032 

Total 36,313  648  36,961 

Somerset  County, 

Townships.  White.  Colored.  Total. 

Bedminster 1,790  91  1,881 

Bernards 2,324  45  2,369 

Branchburg 1,196  67  1,263 

Bridgewater 5,605  379  6,884 

Franklin 3,539  373  3,912 

Hillsborough 3,176  269  3,444 

Montgomery 1,816  249  2,066 

Warren 2,649  57  2,706 

Total 21,994  1520  23,514 

POPULATION  OF   SOMERSET  COUNTY,  1880.* 

Bedminster  township 1,812 

Bernards  township 2,622 

Branchburg  township 1,316 

Bridgewater  township 7,995 

Franklin  township 3,819 

Hillsborough  township 3,249 

Montgomery  township 1,928 

North  Plainfield  township 3,268 

Warren  township 1,203 

Total 27,212 

The  population  (1880)  for  the  several  villages  and 
hamlets  is  given  as  follows  :  Bedminster,  140 ;  Pea- 
pack,  235 ;  Pluckamin,  135  ;  Basking  Ridge,  366  ; 
Bernardsville,  147 ;  Liberty  Corner,  97  ;  Madisonville, 
49;  North  Branch,  120;  Somerville,  3108;  Raritan, 
2040;  Bound  Brook,  936;  Bloomington,  611;  East 
Millstone,  431 ;  Middlebush,  84;  Neshanic,  117 ;  South 
.Branch,  117 ;  Millstone,  262. 

POPULATION  OF  HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  1880.* 

Alexandria  township i  324 

Bethlehem  township 2*830 

Clinton  township 2*133 

Delaware  township 3*092 

East  Amwell  township 1*646 

Franklin  township 1*338 

High  Bridge  township 2I2II1 

Holland  township j  g87 

Kingwood  township 1*694 

Lebanon  township 2*701 

Baritan  township 41911 

Beadington  township !".".".'.*.!.".'.'."!  3^104 

Tewksbury  township 2*108 

Union  township !!!!!'.!!!  1*167 

West  Amwell  township ....I!!'.!!!!!*.  1*039 

Lambertville:                                                           ' 

First  Ward 1  354 

Second  Ward 1*'^81 

Third  Ward .'.'.".'.".'.".'.".'.'.".'."'.'.'.  I,r,i8 

Town  of  (Jlinton '342 

Borough  of  Frenchtown .!....!!!!.."!!."!!!!     1  039 

Total 38,627 

*  From  report  of  the  supervisor  of  the  censns,  in  advance  of  the  print- 
ing and  issue  of  the  census  returns  by  the  United  States  government. 


^     "-... 


EDUCATIONAL  AND  STATISTICAL. 


15t 


The  population  of  the  several  villages  of  the  county 
for  1880  is :  Bloomsbury,  587 ;  Annandale,  379 ;  Leb- 
anon, 314 ;  Locktown,  29  ;  Raven  Rock,  56 ;  Sergeant- 
ville,  139 ;  Stockton,  577 ;  Eingos,  298 ;"  Wertsville, 
41;  Pittstown,  100;  Cherry ville,  50;  High  Bridge, 
1034;  Milford,  554;  Baptisttown,  112;  Glen  Gardner, 
1427;  Flemington,  1754 ;  Califon,  130;  Mountain  ville, 
113;  New  Germantown,  249;  Stanton,  109;  Three 
Bridges,  166 ;  Mechanicsville,  200 ;  Pleasant  Eun,  185 ; 
White  House  Station,  350 ;  Centreville,  54 ;  Eeading- 
ton,  59. 

The  number  of  farms  in  each  township  of  both 
counties  at  the  present  time  (1880)  may  be  seen  at  a 
glance  by  the  following  table : 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 

Alexandria 196 

Bethlehem 123 

Clinton 170 

Belaware 366 

East  Aniwell 146 

Franklin 180 

High  Bridge 98 

Holland 170 

Kingwood 281 

Lebanon 168 

Raritan 376 

Readington 369 

Tewksbury 189 

Union 146 

West  Amwell 160 

Clinton  (town) 8 

Frenchtown,  borough 18 

3166 
SOMERSET  COUNTT. 

Bedminster 176 

Bernards 218 

Branchburg 154 

Bridgewater 256 

Franklin 322 

Hillsborongh 389 

Montgomery 228 

North  Plainfleld 63 

Warren 232 

2048 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  draw  true  conclusions 
from  the  above  tables,  the  following,  showing  the  area 
both  in  square  miles  and  in  acres,  is  given  : 


HUNTERDON  COUNTT. 

Townships.  Square  Miles.    Acres. 

Alexandria  (including  Holland) 52.08  33,331 

Bethlehem 25.30  16,191 

CUnton 33.82  21,646 

Delaware 45.48  29,107 

EaetAmwell 26.95  17,248 

FrankUn 23.04  14,746 

Kingwood 38.00  24,820 

Lebanon 33.48  21,427 

Raritan 36.78  23,639 

Readington - 44.69  28,602 

Tewksbury 36.82  22,926 

Union 21.82  13,965 

West  Amwell 19.04  12,185 

UambertTille  City 1.21  T74 

437..61  280,000 


SOMERSET  COUNTT. 
Townships.  Square  Miles.    Acres. 

Bedminster 32.95  21,088 

Bernards 41.47  26,641 

Branchburg 19.74  12,634 

Bridgewater 40.08  25,6.61 

Franklin .'. 49.38  31,610 

Hillsborough 69.21  37,894 

Montgomery 30.61  19,690 

North  Plaiufleld  and  Warren 32.26  20,646 

306.71  195,664 


VITAL  STATISTICS  OF  HUNTERDON  AND  SOMER- 
SET COUNTIES  FOR  THE  TEAR  ENDING  JULY  1, 
1879  : 

Hunterdon  Somerset 

County.  County. 

Births 800  607 

Marriages 285  169 

Deaths 527  429 

Deaths,  under  6  years 12.3  97 

"        from  5  to  20  years 47  42 

"        from  20  to  60  years 124  104 

"        overeOyeare 204  164 

"        undeflned 29  9 

PRINCIPAL  CAUSES  OP  DEATH. 

Hunterdon  Somerset 

County.  County. 

Remittent  fever 1  3 

Typhoidfever 9  6 

Scarlet  fever 9  3 

Measles 2  1 

Croup  and  diphtheria 16  42 

Diarrhoeal  diseases 29  31 

Consumption 59  56 

Acute  lung  diseases 55  46 

Brain  diseases  (children) 32  20 

Diseases  heart  and  circulation 32  23 

Diseases  urinary  organs 18  18 

Brain  and  spinal  diseases  (adults) 63  52 

Digestive  and  intestinal  diseases 37  30 

Cancer 19  10 

Puerperal 2  3 

Erysipelas 4 

Acute  rheumatism 1  1 

CHRONOLO(JICAL     LIST    OF     GOVERNORS    OF    NEW 

JERSEY   FROM    1665   TO   1884. 

GOVERNORS  OF   EAST  JERSET. 

1665-81,  Philip  Carteret;  1682-83,  Robert  Barclay;  1683,  Thomas  Rud- 

yard,  Deputy  Governor;    1683,  Gawen  Lawrie ;   1686,  Lord  Neill 

Campbell ;  1692-97,  Andrew  Hamilton  ;  1698-99,  Jeremiah  Basse. 

GOVERNORS   OF  WEST   JERSET. 
1681,  Samuel  Jennings,  deputy ;  1684-86,  Thomas  Oliver ;  1686-87,  John 
Skein,  deputy;  1686,  William  Welsh,  deputy;  1687,  Daniel  Coxe; 
1692-97,  Andrew  Hamilton;  1697-99,  Jeremiah  Basse,  deputy;  1699 
-1702,  Andrew  Hamilton. 

In  1702  the  government  was  surrendered  to  the 
crown,  and  thenceforth  the  Governors  were  for 

BAST  AND  WEST  JEESBT  UNITED.* 
1703-8,  John,  Lord  Cornbnry  :  1708,  John  Lovelace  (died  in  ofloe) ;  1709 
-10,  Richard  Ingoldsby,  Lieutenant-Governor ;  1710-20,  Gen.  Andrew 
Hunter;  1720-27,  William  Burnett;  1728-31,  John  Montgomerie ; 
1731-32,  Lewis  Morris;  1732-36,  William  Crosby;  1736-38,  John 
Hamilton. 

COLONIAL  GOVERNORS,  SEPARATE  FROM  NEW  YORK. 
1738-46,  Lewis  Morris;  1746-47,  John  Hamilton;  1747-67,  Jonathan 
Belcher;  1767-68,  John  Reading;  1768-60,  Francis  Barnard;  1760- 
61,  Thomas  Boon;  1761-63,  Thomas  Hardie;  1763-76,  William 
Franklin. 
FROM  THE  ADOPTION  OF  THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION. 
1776-90,  William  Livingston  (Fed.) ;  1790-92,  William  Paterson  (Fed.) ; 
1792-1801,  Richard  Howell  (Fed.) ;  1802-3,  John  Lambert,  Vice- 
President  of  Council  (Deni.) ;  1803-12,  Joseph  Bloomfleld  (Dem.) ; 
1812-13,  Aaron  Ogden  (Fed.);  1813-15,  William  S.  Pennington 
(Dem.);  1816-17,  Mahlon  Dickerson  (Dem.);  1817-29,  Isaac  H.  Wil- 
liamson (Fed.);  1829,  Garret  D.  Wall  (Dem.),  declined;  1829-32, 
Peter  D.  Vroom  (Dem.) ;  1832-33,  Samuel  L.  Southard  (Whig) ;  1833- 
34,  Elias  P.  Seeley  (Whig) ;  1834-36,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Jr.  (Dem.)  ; 
1836-37,  Philemon  Dickereon  (Dem.) ;  1837-43,  William  Pennington 
(Whig) ;  1843-44,  Daniel  Haines  (Dem.). 

GOVERNORS  UNDER  THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION.f 

1845-48,  Charles  C.  Stratton  (Whig) ;  1848-51,  Daniel  Haines  (Dem.) ; 

1851-64,  George  F.  Fort  (Dem.) ;  1864-67,  Rodman  M.  Price  (Dem.) ; 

1857-60,  William  A.  Newell  (Rep.) ;  1860-63,  Charles  S.  Olden  (Rep.)  ; 

1863-66,  Joel  Parker  (Dem.) ;  1866-69,  Marcus  L.  Ward  (Rep.) ; 


*  Also  Governor,  at  same  time,  of  New  Tork. 

f  Assume  their  ofBoial  duties  in  January  following  their  election. 


158 


HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1869-72,  Theodore  F.  Randolph  (Dem.) ;  1872-75,  Joel  Parker  (Dem.); 
1876-78,  Joseph  D.  Bedle  (Dem.);  1878-81,  George  B.  McClellan 
(Dem.) ;  1881-84,  Eichard  G.  Ludlow  (Dem.). 

POST-OFFICES    HUNTERDON  AND  SOMERSET  COUN- 
TIES (OFFICIAL),  1879. 

HUNTEBDON  COTINTT. 
Annandale,  Anthony,  Baptisttown,  Bethlehem,  Bloomabury,  Califon, 
Centreville,  Cheri^ville,  Clinton,  Clover  Hill,  Copper  Hill,  Croton, 
Everittstown,  Fairmount,  Flemiogton,  Frenchtown,  Glen  Gardner, 
Hamden,  High  Bridge,  Holland,  Junction,  Kingwood,  Lambertville, 
Lebanon,  Little  York,  Locktown,  Milford,  MountainTille,  Mount 
Pleasant,  New  Germantown,  New  Hampton,  Norton,  Oak  Dale,  Oak 
Grove,  Pattenburg,  Perryville,  Pittstown,  Pleasant  Bun,  Potters- 
ville,  Quakertown,  Eaven  Eock,  Eeadington,  Eeaville,  Eingoes, 
Eowland  Mills,  Sand  Brook,  Sergeantsville,  Sidney,  Stanton,  Stock- 
ton, Sunny  Side,  Three  Bridges,  Tumble,  Wertsville,  White  House, 
White  House  Station. 


SOMERSET  COUNTY. 
Basking  Eidge,  Bedroinster,  Bernardeville,  Blackwell's  Mills,  Blawen- 
burg.  Bound  Brook,  East  Millstone,  Finderne,  Frankfort,  Griggs- 
town,  Harlingen,  Hillsborough,  Kingston,  Lamington,  Liberty  Cor- 
ner, Lyons,  Martinsville,  Middlebush,  Millstone,  Montgomery, 
Neahanic,  North  Branch,  North  Branch  Depot,  Peapack,  Plainville, 
Pluckamin,  Earitan,  Eocky  Hill,  Royafield,  Somerville,  South 
Branch,  Stoutsburg,  Warrenville,  Weaton. 

POPULATION. 
The  population  of  the  State  in  1865  was  773,700, 
being  102  persons  for  every  square  mile.  The  fol- 
lowing tabular  statement  shows  the  population  by 
counties  at  various  periods  during  the  last  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years.  The  counties  are  grouped  so 
that  those  which  have  been  formed  last  may  be  near 
those  from  which  they  were  taken. 


POPULATION   OF  NEW  JERSEY  AT   DIFFERENT   PERIODS. 


COTJNTIES. 

1737. 

1746. 

1786. 

1790. 

1800. 

1810. 

1820. 

1830. 

1840. 

1860. 

1860. 

1865. 

4,096 

3,006 

12,601 

16,956 

16,603 

18,178 

22,412 

13,223 

16,734 

9,483 

44,621 

14,726 
22,669 
21,822 
73,960 

21,618 
29,013 
62,717 
98,877 
27,780 
34,677 
23,846 
28,433 
33,664 
37,419 
22,067 
34,812 
39,,346 
11,176 
49,730 
34,467 
18,444 
11,780 
22,468 
22,605 
7,130 

24,636 
34,856 
87,819 
124,441 
36,410 
36,513 
23,91:9 
31,523 
40.788 
41,478 
21,010 
36,916 
42,868 
14,262 
60,719 
38,464 
20,134 
11,344 
23,162 
26,233 
7,626 

7,019 

6,988 

17,786 

22,269 

26,984 

30,793 

41,911 

4,436 

16,216 
19,600 

17,760 
22,534 

21,828 
26,649 

21,368 
32,762 

23,665 
20,346 
18,627 
31,060 

25,844 
21,770 
20,366 
24,787 
21,602 
17,466 
21,893 
32,909 

30,158 
22,989 
22,368 
28,990 
27,992 
19.692 
28,636 
30,313 
10,032 
43,203 
25,422 
14,665 

8,961 
19,467 
17,189 

6,433 

■Warren 

6,670 

9,161 

20,163 

21,261 

24,666 

28,604 

4,606 
4,764 
6,086 

3,239 
7,612 
8,627 

12,296 
15,9.'i6 
16,918 

12,816 
17,890 
19,872 

14,725 
20,381 
22,160 

16,606 
21,470 
26,038 

17,689 
23,167 
29,233 

Middlesex 

6,238 

6,803 

18,096 

21,624 

24,972 

28,882 

31,107 

32,831 

3,267 

3,606 

13,363 

16,115 

19,744 

23,089 

28,431 

26,438 

8,726 

16,024 

14,374 

6,324 

Atlantic 

6,888 

6,847 

10,437 
8,248 
2,671 

11,371 
9,529 
3,066 

12,761 
12,670 
3,632 

14,022 
12,668 
4,265 

14,166 

14,093 

4,936 

Cumberland 

1,004 

1,188 

Total 

47,369 

61,403 

140,436 

184,193 

211,949 

245,656 

277,426 

320,823 

373,306 

489,556 

672,035 

773,700 

New  Jersey  was  first  settled  by  an  agricultural 
population,  and  the  way  in  which  they  distributed 
themselves  over  the  State  is  well  shown  in  this  table. 
The  following  statement  of  areas,  total  popula- 
tion, and  population  per  square  mile  in  the  several 
geological  districts  of  the  State  shows  this  in  a  strong 
light.  It  is  made  for  1866,  but  a  like  comparison  may 
be  made  for  any  other  of  the  years  given  in  the  table 
of  population. 


TABLE. 


Geological 
foemation. 

Areas  in 
Sq.  Miles. 

Popnlation 
in  Cities. 

Eural  Pop- 
ulation. 

Rural  Pop. 
per.  Sq.  Mile. 

772 

692 

1643 

1491 

3078 

40,000 
60,000 
210,000 
160,000 
73,000 

200,000 
40.006 
10,000 

130 

100 

24 

Tertiary 

Totals 

7676 

260,000 

623,000 

69 

HISTORY  OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


CHAPTEE    I. 

PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY    AND    GEOLOGY    OP 
HUHTEEDOW    COUBTTY.* 

MouQtainB,  Streams,  and  other  Physical  Features  of  the  County — Geo- 
logical Formations,  etc. 

HuNTEKDON  CouNTT  lies  Upon  the  western  border 
of  the  north-central  portion  of  the  State  of  New  Jer- 
sey, with  the  Delaware  River,  upon  the  west,  sepa- 
rating it  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  while  its 
neighboring  sister-counties  are  Warren  and  Morris, 
bounding  it  upon  the  north ;  Somerset,  adjoining  it 
on  the  east ;  and  Mercer,  inclosing  it  upon  the  south. 

Its  civil  divisions — embracing  fifteen  townships, 
one  city,  and  two  borough  corporations — cover  an 
area  of  280,000  acres,  or  438  square  miles. 

The  physical  character  of  Hunterdon  County  is  a 
feature  of  which  but  little  has  been  written,  yet  it  is 
one  of  great  interest.  It  will  here  be  treated  under 
classified  heads ;  and,  so  far  as  possible,  technical  terms 
will  be  avoided  in  the  descriptions,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  the  more  clearly  understood  by  the  unscien- 
tific reader. 

RELIEFS. 
The  reliefs  of  Hunterdon  County  are  prominent, 
yet  not  bold.  They  consist  of  approximately  parallel 
ridges  extending,  with  some  interruptions,  from  the 
Delaware  River  northeastward  beyond  the  line  which 
divides  Somerset  from  Hunterdon.  In  altitude,  in 
width,  and  in  quality  of  surface  they  vary. 

SOUELAND   EIDGB. 

The  most  southerly  of  these  ridges  is  that  one 
known  as  the  Sourland.  It  extends  from  the  Dela- 
ware River  near  Well's  Falls  northeastward  until  it 
is  lost  in  the  plain  in  Somerset  County.  In  length  it 
is  about  seventeen  miles. 

In  outline  it  is  remarkably  even ;  and  yet  it  is  not 
entirely  in  want  of  eminences,  curves,  or  depressions. 
At  the  top  it  is  table-like, — nearly  level.  In  width  it 
varies.  Near  the  Delaware  it  is  about  two  and  a  half 
miles  wide ;  about  three  miles  east  of  the  Delaware, 
and  from  this  point  northeastward  for  about  ten 
miles,  its  width  is  scarcely  more  than  two  miles. 
Nearer  the  eastern  extremity,  beyond  the  limits  of 
Hunterdon  County,  it  spreads  out  into  a  broad,  level, 
marshy  plain  from  three  to  four  miles  wide. 

•  By  Prof.  Cornelius  W.  Larison. 


Rising  up  from  its  flat  surface  here  and  there  are 
slight  eminences.  Of  these,  excepting  one,  the  lofti- 
est in  our  county  is  near  the  Delaware,  on  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  ridge.  It  is  known  by  the  name  Goat 
Hill.  It  is  a  rocky  eminence  that  rises  to  the  height 
of  four  hundred  and  ninety-one  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  Its  soil  is  gritty,  and  mainly  covered  with 
low  cedars,  scattered  forest-trees,  brambles,  and  the 
like.  However,  here  and  there  are  patches  cleared 
and  tilled.     These  produce  abundantly. 

Opposite  to  Goat  Hill,  towards  the  northwest,  near 
the  northern  border  of  the  ridge,  rises  up  another  em- 
inence. This  is  called  North  Goat  Hill.  This  too  is 
a  rocky  prominence,  covered  with  cedars,  hard-wood 
trees,  brambles,  etc.  Its  soil  is  similar  to  that  of  Goat 
Hill.     Its  altitude  is  three  hundred  and  seventy  feet. 

Towards  the  opposite  hill  the  slope  of  this  knob  is 
gentle;  towards  the  northeast  it  is  very  steep,  but 
covered  with  soil ;  towards  the  west  it  is  precipitous 
and  rocky.  This  eminence  is  much  visited  to  .gain  a 
view  of  the  surrounding  country.  Here,  too,  in  early 
spring  the  lover  of  flowers  comes. 

About  four  miles  northeast  of  Goat  Hill  extends  up 
to  the  height  of  three  hundred  and  thirty -five  feet  an- 
other prominence.  This  is  called  Fisher's  Peak.  It 
is  a  projection  of  trap-rock  sparsely  covered  with  soil 
and  small  stones.  It  sustains,  however,  a  tolerably 
good  growth  of  hard-wood  trees.  From  this  point  the 
observer  gains  a  very  extensive  view  of  the  Red  Shale 
Valley  and  of  the  southern  slope  of  the  swamp  table- 
land. Although  not  so  high  as  Goat  Hill,  this  prom- 
inence forms  the  most  conspicuous  object  upon  this 
whole  ridge.  This  happens  more  from  its  site  than 
from  its  altitude.  While  the  other  eminences  of  this 
ridge,  with  a  single  exception,  are  situated  near  the 
centre  of  the  ridge  or  else  are  near  to  other  promi- 
nences nearly  as  high,  this  elevation  stands  alone 
upon  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  which  at  this  place  is 
along  the  very  border  of  the  table-land. 

Two  miles  farther  towards  the  northeast  is  Basaltic 
Cliff".  It  consists  of  a  projection  of  basaltic  trap  that 
at  the  culmen  is  bare  of  earth.  However,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  area,  the  rock  is  covered  with  a 
gritty  soil,  and  upon  it  grow  stalwart  hard-wood  trees 
and  a  great  variety  of  plants  requiring  a  loose  but 
rich  soil.  In  altitude  it  is  three  hundred  and  thirty 
feet.  Like  Fisher's  Peak,  this  prominence  is  situated 
upon  the  northern  border  of  the  table-land,  and,  as  it 
stands  alone,  it  seems  more  elevated  than  it  really  is. 

159 


160 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


Near  the  northern  base  of  this  eminence  is  a  pool 
of  water  that  is  very  slightly  affected  by  the  severest 
droughts.  Around  this  pool  is  an  area  of  flat  ground 
well  suited  to  the  wild-flowers  of  early  spring.  This 
peak,  with  its  contiguous  woodland,  is  the  favorite 
haunt  of  the  botanist. 

The  lowest  place  in  the  Sourland  Eidge  is  that  site 
over  which  the  road  extends  from  Eingos  to  Woods- 
ville.  Its  elevation  is  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
feet.  From  this  place  northeastward  to  Cedar  Sum- 
mit, near  the  Somerset  county  line,  the  rise  is  very 
gradual.  This  part  of  the  ridge  is  locally  known  as 
the  Sourland  Mountain.  That. part  of  the  Sourland 
Eidge  which  extends  between  the  Eocktown  road  and 
Goat  Hill  is  known  as  "  The  Eocks."  For  the  most 
part,  the  surface  is  rough,  rocky,  badly  suited  to  till- 
age, and  much  neglected. 

From  the  table-land  of  the  Sourland  Mountain  rise 
up  several  slight  eminences  that  have  local  names. 
Of  these  is  Lake's  Knob,  which  has  an  altitude  of 
three  hundred  and  ninety  feet.  Farther  east  is  Pe.ro 
Hill,  rising  to  an  altitude  of  four  hundred  and  forty 
feet.  Still  farther  east,  near  the  county  line,  is  Cedar 
Summit,  which  has  an  altitude  of  five  hundred  and 
five  feet. 

Pero  Hill  is  famous  for  bowldel-s  of  enormous  size 
and  fantastic  shapes.  Here  is  that  group  of  rocks 
known  as  the  Three  Brothers. 

Cedar  Summit  is  a  ridge  that  rises  about  fifty  feet 
above  the  table-land.  It  is  the  highest  summit  of 
ourland  that  has  yet  been  measured. 

From  end  to  end  through  the  centre  of  the  Sour- 
land Eidge  extends  a  belt  of  gritty  soil  known  locally 
as  mountain  grit.  This  soil  is  well  adapted  to  the 
culture  of  peaches,  apples,  and  pears.  In  fact,  for  the 
culture  of  these  fruits  it  has  long  been  famed.  How- 
ever, in  many  places  it  is  so  extensively  bestrewed 
with  basaltic  bowlders  that  the  horticulturist  is  al- 
most prevented  from  practicing  his  art. 

Flanking  this  belt  of  gritty  soil  on  either  side  is  a 
border  of  clayey  loam,  oftentimes  stony,  mostly  wet, 
cold,  and  sour.  It  is  difiicult  of  tillage,  but  under 
proper  cultivation  it  produces  heavy  crops  of  timothy 
and  herd's-grass. 

ANASTOMOSING    EIDGE. 

South  of  the  confluence  of  the  Alexsocken  rivulet 
with  the  Delaware,  in  the  city  of  Lambertville,  is  an 
eminence  that  consists  mainly  of  altered  shale. 
Towards  the  north  the  slope  is  steep,  but,  for  the  most 
part,  the  surface  consists  of  a  soil  that  sustains  a  vig- 
orous growth  of  timber,  etc.  But  towards  the  south 
for  several  hundred  yards  the  escarpment  is  mural, 
and  the  beds  of  shale  are  well  disclosed.  Indeed,  this 
site  is  favorable  to  the  study  of  the  bedding  of  the 
red  shale. 

From  this  eminence  extends  northeast  a  narrow 
ridge  that  in  elevation  is  much  less  than  that  of  the 
Sourland.  Excepting  the  peaks  that  rise  fi-om  its 
anastomosing  paft,  its  greatest  altitude  is  near  Mount 


Airy.  At  Fisher's  Peak  it  anastomoses  with  the  Sour- 
land Eidge,  and  then  blends  with  this  ridge  as  far  as 
the  Basaltic  Cliff.  From  this  site  it  trends  on  towards 
the  northeast  into  Somerset  County. 

The  eastern  part  of  this  ridge  is  divided  by  ravines 
into  three  sections. 

As  we  go  northeastward  from  the  Basaltic  Cliff  the 
first  part  is  separated  from  the  main  ridge  by  a  ravine 
formed  by  Mountain  Eivulet.  This  section  is  known 
as  Bleak  Eidge. 

The  second  section  extends  between  the  ravine  of 
Mountain  Eivulet  and  the  ravine  of  Wert's  Eivulet. 
This  is  known  as  Eattlesnake  Eidge. 

The  third  extends  from  the  ravine  caused  by  Wert's 
Eivulet  eastward  till  it  is  lost  in  the  plain  of  Somer- 
set.    This  is  known  as  the  Eainbow  Eidge. 

There  are  several  geological  facts  connected  with 
this  ridge  that  will  compel  every  geologist  that  pre- 
tends to  minuteness  to  speak  of  it  as  a  whole,  and  also 
to  speak  of  its  several  parts.  Hence,  in  order  to  facil- 
itate the  geological  description,  I  propose  the  term 
Anastomosing  Eidge  as  the  name  by  which  the  entire 
ridge  shall  be  known. 

GILBO. 

Along  the  Delaware,  south  of  Vandolah's  Eivulet, 
is  an  eminence  that  rises  up  abruptly  to  the  height  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  This  eminence  is  known 
as  Gilbo.  Towards  the  west  the  surface  is  very  steep 
and  rocky.  In  many  places  it  is  soilless,  and  at  any 
place  it  is  but  sparsely  covered  with  brambles,  bushes, 
and  trees.  However,  out  of  the  crevices  of  the  rocks 
grow  in  great  luxuriance  the  moss-pink  {Phlox  sub- 
ulata)  and  a  few  other  flowers  peculiar  to  rocky  hill- 
sides that  render  this  escarpment  very  beautiful  and 
very  attractive  to  the  botanist  during  the  vernal 
months. 

Upon  the  top  the  hill  is  flat  and  bestrewed  with 
huge  bowlders.  The  soil  is  gritty  and  fertile,  and 
sustains  a  luxuriant  growth  of  hard-wood  trees, 
shrubs,  and  the  grasses.  From  the  culmen  the  hill 
slopes  very  gently  towards  the  northeast  for  about 
two  miles  and  a  half  The  surface  of  this  area  is  be- 
strewed with  large  basaltic  bowlders.  From  the  ter- 
minus of  these  bowlders  a  low  ridge  extends  north- 
eastward across  the  county  to  a  point  upon  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Earitan,  in  Somerset.  Although  not 
much  elevated,  this  ridge  is  important.  It  is  the  axial 
ridge  of  the  Eed  Shale  Valley  from  the  Delaware  Eiver 
as  far  northeastward  as  the  valley  extends.  All  along, 
the  elevation  consists  of  a  core  of  indurated  or  altered 
shale  covered  with  a  good  but  a  not  very  deep  soil. 
The  slopes  are  gentle,  and  consist  of  ordinary  shale 
covered  by  .a  deep  loamy  soil  that  is  not  excelled  in 
fertility. 

That  part  of  this  elevation  that  extends  from  the 
railroad  cut,  north  of  Eingos,  to  the  Neshanic  Eiv- 
ulet is  known  as  Pleasant  Eidge.  That  part  which 
extends  between  the  Neshanic  and  the  South  Branch 
is  known  as  Clover  Hill.     Upon  the  crest  of  this  last- 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY   AND   GEOLOGY   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


161 


named  ridge,  near  the  county  line,  is  the  village  of 
Clover  Hill. 

At  some  places  along  this  ridge  the  rock  is  quarried 
for  building-stone.  Such  is  the  case  at  Ringos  and 
near  the  bridge  that  spans  Neshanic  Rivulet  on  the 
Old  York  Road.  Many  other  sites  are  favorable  to 
quarrying,  and  in  time,  no  doubt,  will  yield  an  abun- 
dance of  good  stone. 

The  greatest  altitude  of  this  elevation  is  at  the  site 
at  which  it  is  crossed  by  the  dike  that  extends  from 
the  brow  of  the  table-land  to  Bleak  Ridge.  This  site 
is  in  the  Old  York  Road  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
northeast  of  Ringos.  At  this  site  it  is  three  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

SANDY  RIDGE. 

Extending  from  the  Delaware  near  Stockton  north- 
eastward for  the  distance  of  about  five  miles  is  a  bold 
ridge  that  varies  very  much  in  elevation,  in  outline, 
and  in  quality  of  surface.  From  the  Delaware  River 
northeastward  to  a  site  a  few  hundred  feet  to  the  east 
of  the  parsonage  of  the  Sandy  Ridge  Baptist  church 
the  acclivity  is  gradual.  From  this  point  eastward 
for  about  one  and  a  half  miles  its  crest  is  nearly  level. 
But  at  the  site  at  which  the  road  from  Dilts'  Corner 
to  Headquarters  crosses  it,  it  slopes  off  very  steeply,  so 
that  in  the  course  of  half  a  mile  the  altitude  is  but 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Beyond  this  point  it  is  lost  in  the  plane.  This  eleva- 
tion is  known  locally  as  the  Sandy  Ridge.  Its  culmen 
is  near  the  parsonage  of  the  Sandy  Ridge  Baptist 
church.  As  one  might  infer  from  its  name,  its  surface 
is  sandy.  Its  slope  is  towards  the  northwest.  This  is 
regular  and  unbroken,  and  its  soil  everywhere  is 
suited  to  tillage  and  is  very  fertile.  The  counterslope 
of  this  ridge  is  towards  the  southeast.  It  is  gentle, 
well  suited  to  tillage,  and  very  productive. 

In  this  ridge  are  many  sand-pits.  From  them  are 
taken  large  quantities  of  sand  used  by  the  neighbor- 
ing people  for  building  purposes.  In  the  terminus  of 
this  ridge,  along  the  Delaware  River,  are  extensive 
quarries  of  freestone. 

THE   TABLE-LAND    OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 

Over  against  the  Sandy  Ridge,  towards  the  north- 
west, at  the  distance  of  some  two  miles,  the  surface, 
from  the  Delaware  River  northeastward  for  about 
eleven  miles,  rises  up  somewhat  abruptly  to  a  promi- 
nent ridge.  This  ridge  is  the  southern  brow  of  the 
table-land  in  Hunterdon  County.  A  continuation  of 
this  same  ridge,  extending  around  towards  the  north, 
forms  the  eastern  brow  of  the  above-named  table-land 
to  the  Cakepoulin  rivulet.  This  ridge,  in  most  places, 
presents  this  peculiarity, — namely,  over  against  it  to- 
wards the  northwest  or  towards  the  west  is  another 
ridge,  which  in  the  main  is  a  few  feet  the  more  ele- 
vated. These  ridges  are  not  exactly  parallel.  At 
some  places  they  are  less  than  five  hundred  feet,  at 
others  more  than  five  hundred  yards,  apart. 


To  facilitate  in  this  description  we  will  call  the  most 
southerly  of  the  ridges  the  brow  of  the  table-land  of 
Hunterdon,  and  the  one  over  against  it  the  counter- 
brow.  The  space  between  these  ridges  we  will  call 
the  trough. 

In  many  places  the  brow  consists  of  a  protruding 
ridge  of  very  hard  reddish  or  bluish  rock.  In  others 
it  consists  of  a  ridge  of  the  same  kind  of  rock,  sparsely 
covered  with  soil  and  fragments  of  the  underlying 
rock. 

The  counter-brow,  for  the  most  part,  is  a  bolder 
ridge  than  the  brow.  In  many  places  it  consists  of  a 
ridge  of  very  hard  reddish  or  bluish  strata  of  rock 
that  breaks  with  a  conchoidal  fracture.  Here  the 
southern  border  is  often  an  escarpment  of  nude  strata 
that  rise  up  like  a  wall  to  the  height  of  fi'om  four  to 
six  feet.  At  other  places  the  wall-like  escarpment  is 
more  bold.  Such  is  the  case  in  that  part  that  extends 
from  the  Pittstown  road  eastward  for  a  mile  or  two. 
Such,  also,  is  the  case  in  that  part  that  extends 
northward  from  the  road  that  leads  from  Flemington 
to  Croton.  A  similar  condition  may  be  seen  not  far 
from  Locktown.  At  other  places  it  is  covered  with  a 
sparse  deposit  of  soil  and  fragments  of  rocks.  At 
others  still  it  is  deeply  covered  with  soil,  and  is  diffi- 
cult to  trace. 

The  trough  formed  by  these  two  ridges  for  the  most 
part  is  narrow,  and  consists  of  fragments  of  rock, — 
broken  mainly  from  the  counter-brow, — in  some 
places  deeply,  in  some  places  sparsely,  covered  with  a 
clayey  soil.  In  many  places  the  drainage  is  bad. 
This  circumstance,  in  connection  with  the  flat  condi- 
tion of  the  surface  of  the  soil  to  the  north  of  the 
counter -brow,  gave  to  this  belt  of  country  the  name 
swamp.  In  fact,  both  the  surface  of  this  trough  and 
that  of  the  land  skirting  the  counter-brow  towards  the 
northwest  has  until  recently  been  in  that  condition 
that  it  well  merited  the  name.  Especially  is  this  the 
case  about  Locktown,  about  Croton,  and  elsewhere. 

Northwest  of  Flemington  the  elevation  of  the 
counter-brow  above  the  level'of  the  sea  is  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet ;  at  the  Hen's  Foot  it  is  seven  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet ;  at  the  culmen,  north  of  Cherry- 
ville,  it  is  seven  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet. 

At  Amos  Barder's,  on  the  road  that  extends  from 
Ringos  to  Croton,  the  brow  attains  an  altitude  of 
four  hundred  and  seventy  feet ;  at  David  Morgan's, 
north  of  Rosemont,  the  summit  is  about  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  feet. 

QUAKER   KIDSB. 

From  the  brow  of  this  table-land  of  the  northwest 
part  of  Hunterdon  the  surface  gradually  descends  for 
a  little  way,  and  then  as  gradually  ascends  to  the 
crest  of  the  Quaker  Ridge.  This  ridge  extends  across 
the  table-land  from  the  Delaware,  south  of  French- 
town,  to  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan,  near  the 
confluence  of  that  stream  with  the  Cakepoulin  rivu- 
let.   This  ridge  is  not  sharp ;  its  outline  is  gracefal,  and 


162 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


its  surface  well  suited  to  agriculture.  It  culminates 
in  an  eminence  north  of  Cherryville. 

That  part  of  the  table-land  included  between  the 
brow  on  the  southeast  and  the  northeast,  the  Quaker 
Eidge  on  the  north,  and  the  valley  of  the  Delaware 
River  on  the  west,  is  known  as  the  swamp.  Its 
greatest  elevation  is  in  the  culmen  of  the  counter- 
brow,  a  few  rods  north  of  the  Baptist  church  at 
Cherryville.  The  general  slope  of  this  area  is  towards 
the  southwest.  Without  exception,  the  streams  drain- 
ing this  section  have  a  very  sluggish  flow  and  dis- 
charge their  waters  into  the  Delaware.  In  gen- 
eral, it  is  not  easy  of  drainage,  and  requires  much 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  husbandman  to  raise  a  mod- 
erate crop  of  any  of  the  cereals.  The  forest  is  largely 
composed  of  pin-oak,  white-oak,  hickory,  and  maple. 

North  of  the  Quaker  Ridge,  extending  entirely 
across  the  table-land,  is  a  deep,  narrow  trough  known 
as  Spring  Valley.  This  valley  divides  the  table-land 
into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  Its  sides  everywhere  are 
very  steep.  From  these  sides  flow  numerous  never- 
failing  springs.  To  thi.s  circumstance  the  valley  owes 
its  name. 

This  valley,  by  a  water-shed  of  considerable  eleva- 
tion, situated  a  little  to  the  west  of  Pittstown,  is 
divided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  To  the  east  of 
this  water-shed  is  the  Cakepoulin  basin  ;  to  the  west 
is  the  basin  of  the  Nishisakawick. 

FLINT    KIDGE. 

Towards  the  northwest  from  Spring  Viillcy  the  sur- 
face of  the  country  gradually  rises  up  to  the  crest  of 
a  slight  ridge,  which  extends  across  the  table-land  in 
a  northeast  and  southwest  direction.  This  is  Flint 
Ridge.  The  crest  of  this  ridge,  near  the  road  that 
leads  from  Pittstown  to  Bloomsbury,  attains  an  alti- 
tude of  eight  hundred  and  fifty-nine  feet.  East  of 
this  point  the  elevation  of  the  ridge  is  higher ;  west 
of  it,  it  is  lower. 

In  some  places  the  surface  is  bestrewed  with  bowl- 
ders of  whitish,  grayish,  or  reddish  quartzite  that  very 
much  interfere  with  agricultural  processes.  The  cen- 
tral part  of  this  area  is  the  region  known  as  the  Ijar- 
rens.  Upon  the  soil  of  this  section,  almost  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  every  other  kind  of  forest-tree,  grows  the 
chestnut.  Indeed,  for  a  long  time  the  barrens  has 
been  famed  for  the  excellency  of  its  chestnut  timber. 

To  the  northwest  of  Flint  Ridge  is  a  slight  trough. 
From  this  trough  the  surface  rises  up  to  the  crest  of 
the  Musconetcong  Mountain,  which  is  an  elevation 
that  extends  from  the  Delaware,  just  south  of  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Musconetcong  River,  northeast  as  far 
as  Spruce  Run.  This  mountain  attains  an  elevation 
of  eight  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet  above  the  sea- 
level  near  the  Bloomsbury  and  Pittstown  road. 

Towards  the  southeast  the  slope  of  the  Musconet- 
cong is  gentle  and  graceful,  but  towards  the  north- 
west it  is  very  steep,— in  many  jilaces  precipitous. 

From  Spruce  Run  northeast  to  the  South  Branch  of 


the  Raritan  extends  a  ridge  that  is  a  part  of 
Schooley's  Mountain.  It  is  very  stet^ji,  and  for  the 
most  part  not  adapted  to  agriculture. 

FOX    HILLS. 

Extending  northwcut  from  tlic,  South  Bninch  into 
Somerset  County  lire  the  Fox  Kills.  The  RurliuH^  of 
these  hills  is  rugged  and  stony,  and  not  W(OI  suited  to 
agriculture. 

LONG  EIDGE,  EOUND  MOUNTAIN,  CUSIIETONG  AND  I'lOKl.lfl'H 
MOUNTAIN,  Etc. 

To  the  east  of  the  table-land,  and  sc^paralcd  from  it 
by  the  South  Brani'.li  of  the  Raritan  River,  is  an  ele- 
vation, almost  eresceiitic  in  form,  that  rises  up  ab- 
ruptly from  the  contiguous  plain  to  the  height,  in  one 
])]uee,  of  seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  leet.  Tliis 
is  known  as  Jjong  Ridge.  Tliis  ridge,  although  con- 
tinuous, is  usually  described  as  consisting  of  tliree 
parts.  The  iriost  westerly  of  theses  parts  is  known  as 
Round  Mountain.  This  is  an  (eminence  that  swells 
up  from  the  main  ridge  in  a  form  muidi  re,scuil)liiig  a 
sugar-loaf  Its  altitude  above  the  sea-level  is  five 
hundred  and  S(!venty-five  feet.  Its  slopes  arc  gi^.ntlc, 
but  the  top  and  sides  of  it  are  bestrewed  with  l)Owl- 
ders  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  not  tillable.  Iferiee, 
the  most  elevated  ]iart  of  it  is  eov(!red  with  a  fonwt  of 
hard-wood,  and  is  not  much  frequented.  Valueless  as 
it  is  in  point  of  agriculture,  in  the  landscape  of  the 
northeastern  part  of  Hunterdon  it  forms  n  spot  of 
beauty.  Its  graceful  slopes  and  symmetrical  curves, 
as  viewed  from  the  Sourland  Ridge  and  the  contigu- 
ous plain,  have  delighted  the  eyes  of  many  a  lover  of 
the  beautiful.  Its  robe  of  snowy  white  in  winter,  of 
verdant  hue  in  summer,  and  its  various  colors  in  au- 
tumn, lit  up  by  the  gleam  of  morning,  present  to  the 
eyes  of  the  lover  of  nature  a  spectacle  always  attrac- 
tive and  much  admired. 

The  nortlieastern  part  of  the.  crescentic  ridge  is 
somewhat  comiilicated.  It  consists  of  three  |)arl.s. 
The  southwestern  part  is  broad  and  l)old.  It  has  an 
altitude  of  six  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet.  To- 
wards the  west  its  surfiiee  slopes  off  gently,  and  the 
soil  is  tillable.  Towards  the  eiist  the  slope  is  very 
steep  and  rocky.  It  is  forest-clad.  This  part  is  lo- 
cally known  as  the  Cushetong  Mountain. 

The  northeastern  [lart  consists  of  a  sharp  ridge 
with  Hlr.i-.p  slo|>es  that  are  bestrewed  with  rocks  arid 
covered,  for  the  most  part,  with  a  forest  of  hard-wood. 
Upon  this  ridge  are  several  ]]cakH  or  eminences  which 
give  it  the  appearance  of  a  sierra.  This  part  of  the 
ridge  is  known  as  I'iekle's  Mountain. 

Between  the  northeastern  and  the  southwestern 
parts — that  is,  between  the  Cushetong  and  Pickle's 
Mountain — is  a  third  part,  that  bears  a  relation  to  tlic! 
other  two  portions  somewhat  similar  to  the  relation 
that  the  toe  of  a  horseshoe  bears  to  the  parts  it  serves 
to  connect.  This  is  the  most  southeasterly  part  of 
this  mountain.     It  is  also  the  least  elevak^d  and  the 


PHYSICAL  GEOGEAPHY   AND  GEOLOGY  OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


163 


most  accessible.    Much  of  it  is  arable  and  under  good 
tillage. 

Northeast  of  Pickle's  Mountain,  at  the  distance  of 
five  miles,  is  another  group  of  eminences.  The  lofti- 
est of  these  eminences  is  known  as  Silver  Hill.  Upon 
its  top  and  north  slope  it  is  quite  rugged  and  stony. 
Upon  its  southern  slope  the  surface  is  more  uniform 
and  freer  from  stone.  Towards  the  southeast,  at  a  little 
distance  away.  Silver  Hill  is  environed  by  a  semi- 
circular ridge  of  some  prominence. 

YALLBTS. 
In  many  places  between  the  several  ridges  that  ex- 
tend across  the  county  are  valleys  of  more  or  less 
local  importance.  But  those  demanding  a  place  in  a 
general  description  of  the  county  are  the  Red  Shale, 
South  Branch,  Round,  German,  Bunn,  Musconetcong, 
and  the  Delaware  valleys. 

KBD  SHALE  VALLEY. 

Between  the  Sourland  Ridge  on  the  southeast,  the 
Hunterdon  table-land,  the  crescentic  ridge,  the  Fox 
Hills,  and  the  semicircular  ridge  on  the  northwest, 
fi'om  the  Delaware  River  to  the  elevations  known  as 
First  and  Second  Mountain,  extends  a  plain  that 
varies  in  width  from  six  to  ten  miles.  Across  this 
plain,  from  Fisher's  Peak  northwest  to  the  Hunterdon 
table-land,  extends  a  water-shed  that  divides  it  into 
two  sections. 

That  part  west  of  this  water-shed  is  known  as  the 
Red  Shale  Valley.  The  term  red  shale  is  applied  to 
this  region  because  almost  everywhere  the  soil  thereof 
is  formed  from  the  disintegration  of  the  subjacent  red 
shale  rock.  This  valley  is  a  part  of  the  basin  of  the 
Raritan  River. 

The  Red  Shale  Valley  is  gently  rolling,  is  every- 
where well  drained,  and  is  very  well  adapted  to  agri- 
culture. The  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  ease  of  tillage, 
and  its  capabilities  to  withstand  the  vicissitudes  of 
rainfall  make  it  a  most  desirable  section  for  the  agri- 
culturist. Nor  has  it  been  neglected.  Perhaps  in  the 
Atlantic  States  there  is  not  another  area  so  well 
suited  to  the  culture  of  maize,  wheat,  and  grass,  and 
perhaps  there  is  not  another  area  of  equal  size  that  is 
so  well  tilled  and  so  productive. 

SOUTH  BRANCH  VALLEY. 

This  valley  embraces  the  lowlands  that  lie  along 
the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan  from  the  narrows 
between  Round  Mountain  and  the  Hunterdon  table- 
land northward  to  the  narrows  between  the  Musconet- 
cong Mountain  and  the  Fox  Hills.  In  outline  it  is 
very  irregular.  Its  surface  is  gently  rolling  and  well 
drained,  its  soil  is  well  suited  to  agriculture,  and  it  is 
well  tilled. 

BOUND  VALLEY. 

This  is  a  small  area  of  land  partly  encompassed  by 
Cushetong  and  Pickle's  Mountain.  Its  situation  is 
singular,  and,  as  viewed  from  the  crest  of  Pickle's 
Mountain,  it  is  a  beautiful  factor  in  a  delightful  land- 


scape. Towards  the  northwest  it  communicates  with 
the  South  Branch  Valley ;  towards  the  north  with  the 
Red  Shale  Valley. 

GEEMAN  VALLEY. 

That  area  of  lowland  extending  along  the  South 
Branch  northwestward  between  the  Fox  Hills  and 
Schooley's  Mountain  is  known  as  the  German  Valley. 
At  the  lower  extremity  it  is  narrow.  Indeed,  at  this 
end  it  terminates  in  a  deep  ravine.  Towards  the 
northwest  it  widens  out,  until  at  the  distance  of  some 
six  miles  above  the  ravine  it  is  about  two  miles  wide. 

That  part  of  this  valley  that  lies  within  the  limits 
of  Hunterdon  County  is  well  drained  and  well  suited 
to  agriculture.  In  it  is  an  abundance  of  limestone, 
which  is  extensively  used  as  a  dressing  to  the  farm- 
lands.    The  fertility  of  German  Valley  is  far  famed. 

MUSCONETCONG  VALLEY. 

This  valley  consists  of  the  lowlands  extendi^along 
the  Musconetcong  River  between  the  Musconetcong 
Mountain  on  the  southeast  and  the  Pohatcong  Moun- 
tain on  the  northwest.  This  valley  is  narrow,  rolling, 
well  drained,  abounding  in  limestone,  well  suited  to 
agriculture,  and  is  well  tilled.  This  valley  is  cele- 
brated for  the  excellency  of  its  crops  of  wheat  and 
grass. 

DELAWARE  VALLEY. 

Along  each  side  of  the  Delaware  River  from  the 
Falls  of  Trenton  to  the  north  limit  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountain  is  a  narrow  border  of  land  but  a  few  test 
above  the  surface  of  the  river.  These  strips,  a  little 
way  from  the  river,  are  skirted  by  hills  or  mountains 
that  rise  up  more  or  less  abruptly  to  the  height,  in 
some  places,  of  a  hundred  feet,  in  some  places  a  thou- 
sand feet,  in  some  places  still  higher.  In  many  places 
the  escarpments  are  mural,  cliiF-like,  or  craggy.  In  a 
few  places  the  strip  of  lowland  extends  back  from  the 
river  to  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  more,  gradually  ris- 
ing as  it  extends  away. 

The  narrow  and  deep  trough  forming  the  bed  of  the 
Delaware,  its  contiguous  lowland  borders,  and  the 
slope  of  the  hills  and  mountains  that  skirt  these 
borders  constitute  the  Delaware  Valley. 

That  part  of  the  Delaware  Valley  that  lies  within 
the  limits  of  Hunterdon  County  consists  of  a  low, 
narrow,  irregular  strip  of  land  that  extends  along  the 
east  side  of  the  river  between  Goat  Hill  on  the  south 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Musconetcong  River  on  the 
north.  As  a  rule,  the  soil  is  sandy,  loose,  easy  of  till- 
age, and  very  fertile. 

BUNN  VALLEY. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Hakihokake  Rivulet  the  Dela- 
ware Valley  widens  out  and  extends  back  from  the 
river  to  the  distance  of  about  six  miles.  This  exten- 
sion of  the  lowlands  of  the  Delaware  is  known  as 

Bunn  Valley. 

DRAINAGE. 

The  main  streams  that  serve  as  the  drainage  of  the 
surface  of   Hunterdon  County  are    the    Delaware, 


164 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


which  flows  along  its  western  border,  and  the  branches 
of  the  Raritan,  that  ramify  like  a  network  all  the 
central  and  eastern  part  of  the  county. 

RIVERS    AND    RIVULETS. 
THE  DELAWAEB   BIVEE. 

That  part  of  the  Delaware  which  flows  along  the 
western  border  of  our  county  abounds  in  rifts,  is 
swift,  shallow,  rocky,  subject  to  great  extremes  of 
depth,  and  in  every  way  ill  suited  to  navigation.  In 
it  are  numerous  small  islands,  some  of  which  are 
tillable.     In  it,  also,  are  numerous  shoals. 

Near  the  southern  limit  of  our  county  is  Wells' 
Falls.  This  consists  of  a  rapid  and  dangerous  current 
swiftly  flowing  over  ledges  of  indurated  shale  that, 
with  interruptions,  extend  quite  across  the  stream. 
From  the  earliest  times  this  site  has  been  a  terror  to 
the  raft-men,  and  to  such  others  as  have  at  times  sub- 
sisted by  managing  crafts  upon  this  stream.  How- 
ever, at  last  art  has  lent  some  aid,  and  now  these 
falls  are  much  less  to  be  dreaded  than  they  were  a 
few  years  ago. 

Some  six  miles  above  Wells'  Falls  is  another  shoal, 
known  as  the  Sow  and  Pigs.  When  the  stream  is 
low  this  site  is  said  to  be  dangerous,  but  during  high 
water  this  shoal  can  hardly  be  seen. 

At  Point  Pleasant  another  ledge  of  indurated  shale 
extends  across  the  river,  rendering  navigation  danger- 
ous, excepting  during  a  freshet. 

Near  Ridge's  Island  is  another  ledge  extending 
across  the  stream,  which  from  the  earliest  times  has 
been  considered  a  place  of  danger.  This  is  known 
as  Tumbling  Dam. 

Tributaries  of  the  Delaware. — The  Alexsocken  is  a 
small  rivulet  draining  a  small  basin  by  the  same 
name  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county.  It  flows 
into  the  Delaware  near  Lambertville.  In  the  upper 
part  of  its  course  it  is  a  very  rapid  stream.  It  is  fa- 
mous for  that  species  of  fish  known  as  sucker. 

Vandolah' s  Rill  is  a  rapid  and  important  little  stream 
that  flows  into  the  canal  a  little  north  of  the  rooky 
knob  called  Gilbo.     It  affords  excellent  mill-seats. 

Wickecheooke  is  a  strong,  rapidly-flowing  rivulet 
that  rises  along  the  counter-brow  of  the  eastern 
part  of  the  table-land  anxi  the  southern  slope  of 
Quaker  Ridge  and  flows  southwestward  into  the  Del- 
aware and  Raritan  Canal  just  south  of  the  southern 
terminus  of  the  table-land.  In  the  upper  part  of  its 
course  it  flows  very  sluggishly.  Through  the  brow 
of  the  table-land  it  has  eroded  a  very  deep  ravine. 
From  this  ravine  to  its  terminus  it  is  very  strong  and 
flows  very  rapidly, 

Lochatong  is  a  rivulet  that  rises  near  the  central 
part  of  that  district  known  as  the  swamp.  It  flows 
almost  south  into  the  Delaware  River,  a  little  north 
of  Huffnagle's  Island.  It  drains  the  western  part  of 
the  swamp.  It  has  eroded  a  deep  and  dark  ravine, 
possessing  many  features  of  interest,  through  the  brow 
of  the  table-land. 


Warford's  Bill  is  a  small  stream  that  flows  into  the 
Delaware  opposite  Ridge  Island. 

Copper  Bill  flows  from  the  western  part  of  the 
table-land  into  the  Delaware. 

Little  Nishisahawich  and  the  Greater  Nishisakawick 
are  rills  that  flow  into  the  Delaware  at  Frenchtown. 

Harihohake  is  a  rivulet  that  flows  from  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  barrens  southwestward  into  the  Dela- 
ware. 

Hakihokake  is  a  rivulet  that  flows  from  the  south- 
ern slope  of  the  Musconetcong  Mountain  into  the 
Delaware  at  Milford. 

Musconetcong  is  a  small  river  that  flows  from  Lake 
Hopatcong  southwestward  into  the  Delaware.  The 
water  of  this  stream  is  noted  for  clearness.  It  is  the 
home  of  the  trout.  In  flow  the  Musconetcong  is  rapid. 
Propelled  by  it  are  numerous  mills,  factories,  etc. 
This  stream  is  the  northern  boundary  of  Hunterdon 
County. 

BRANCHES   OF   THE   RARITAN  RIVBK. 

The  Lamington  is  a  small  river  that  flows  along  the 
eastern  border  of  our  county.  Oold  Brook  is  a  rill 
that  is  tributary  to  the  Lamington. 

North  Bockaway  rises  in  the  highlands  in  Tewks- 
bury  township,  and  flows  southward  into  the  Laming- 
ton. 

South  Bockaway  rises  on  the  southern  slope  of  the 
Fox  Hills,  and  flows  eastward  into  the  North  Rocka- 
way. 

Chambers'  Brook  flows  from  the  eastern  slope  of 
Pickle's  Mountain  into  the  North  Branch  of  the  Rari- 
tan. 

Hollands'  Brook  flows  from  the  southeast  slope  of 
Pickle's  Mountain  into  the  South  Branch. 

CampbelFs  Brook  flows  from  the  southern  slope  of 
Pickle's  Mountain  southeastward  into  the  South 
Branch. 

The  South  Branch  flows  from  Budd's  Lake,  in 
Schooley's  Mountain,  southwestward,  then  southeast- 
ward, then  northeastward,  till  it  joins  the  North 
Branch  to  form  the  Raritan.  It  is  a  river  of  great 
importance.  Along  it,  and  propelled  by  its  waters, 
are  numerous  flouring-mills,  saw-mills,  factories,  and 
the  like.  The  flow  of  this  stream  is  so  gentle  that  it 
is  controlled  with  the  greatest  ease. 

Spruce  Biviilet  flows  from  the  southwestern  slope  of 
Schooley's  Mountain  southward  into  the  South 
Branch. 

Mulhockaway  is  a  rivulet  that  rises  upon  Jug  Moun- 
tain and  flows  westward  into  Spruce  Run. 

Cakepoulin  flows  from  the  barrens  eastward  into 
the  South  Branch. 

Bush  Kill  is  a  rill  that  is  tributary  to  the  South 
Branch. 

Neshanic  is  a  rivulet  that  rises  upon  the  water-shed 
that  divides  the  Red  Shale  Valley  from  the  Delaware 
Valley,  and  flows  eastward  into  the  South  Branch. 
Its  flow  is  gentle.  Its  waters  propel  numerous  mills, 
etc.     It  has  several  important  tributaries. 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY   AND   GEOLOGY  OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY.  165 


Mine  Brook  flows  from  the  eastern  slope  of  the  table- 
land southward  into  the  Neshanic,  which  also  receives 
the  waters  of  Walnut  and  Sand  brooks  and  Malard 
rivulet. 

As  a  rule,  the  rivulets  that  discharge  into  the  Eari- 
tan  flow  gently.  Those  that  discharge  into  the  Dela- 
ware flow  slowly  in  the  upper  and  longer  part,  but 
very  rapidly  through  the  last  part  of  the  course.  For 
a  bed  each  has  excavated  a  ravine,  which  in  some 
cases  is  very  deep.  This  happens  from  the  circum- 
stance that  the  table-lands  drained  by  the  rivulets 
flowing  into  the  Delaware  are  skirted  by  slopes  that 
are  very  steep.  The  Alexsocken  in  its  course  de- 
scends about  four  hundred  feet,  although  the  length 
of  the  stream  is  only  about  nine  miles.  The  Neshanic 
descends  only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  al- 
though its  course  is  over  twenty  miles  long. 

SPRINGS. 

The  permanent  springs  of  Hunterdon  County  are 
numerous  and  excellent.  The  most  famous,  so  far  as 
known,  are: 

Martindale's  Spring,  near  Basaltic  Clifi',  is  not 
affected  by  the  severest  drought.  The  temperature  of 
the  water  is  very  little  influenced  by  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer :  in  August  a  thermometer  plunged  into  it  stood 
at  54°  Fahr. 

Spring  on  Basaltic  Cliff  farm  is  not  affected  per- 
ceptibly by  the  severest  drought;  temperature  in 
August,  56°  Fahr. 

Spring  near  Fisher's  Peak  is  not  affected  by  drought ; 
temperature  in  August,  60°  Fahr. 

The  water  of  these  springs  is  famous.  In  quality 
there  is  very  little  difference. 

Spring  from  which  Yandolah's  Rill  flows  is  not  af- 
fected by  drought ;  temperature  in  August,  57°  Fahr. 

Spring  in  the  woods  on  B.  Larison's  farm  is  perma- 
nent; temperature  in  August,  56°  Fahr. 

Spring  in  J.  S.  WUson's  milk-house,  above  Head- 
quarters, is  permanent;  temperature  in  August,  53 J° 
Fahr. 

Spring  in  the  woods  below  Headquarters,  near  the 
roadside,  is  permanent;  temperature  Ln  August,  54° 
Fahr. 

Cold  Spring,  at  the  still-house  near  Sand  Brook,  is 
permanent ;  temperature  in  August,  52J°  Fahr. 

The  above  springs  all  flow  from  sandy  soils.  In 
every  case  the  water  is  soft  and  free  from  ferruginous 
properties.  The  springs  found  in  the  loamy  soils  of 
the  Red  Shale  Valley  are  generally  much  affected  by 
drought.  Their  water  is  generally  hard,  and  during 
the  summer  it  becomes  quite  warm.  I  know  of  no 
spring  surrounded  by  loamy  or  clayey  soil  in  the  Red 
Shale  Valley  that  in  August  has  a  temperature  as  low 
as  64°  Fahr.  ' 

In  the  swamp  permanent  springs  are  numerous. 
The  water  of  them  is  generally  soft  and  somewhat 
colored,  and  very  much  affected  by  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer. 


Upon  the  table-land  north  of  the  Quaker  Ridge 
the  water  of  the  springs  is  generally  soft,  cool,  and 
clear.  Indeed,  this  region  is  famed  for  the  excellency 
of  its  springs  and  wells. 

CLIMATE. 

Although  subject  to  great  extremes  in  temperature 
and  humidity,  the  climate  of  Hunterdon  County  is 
salubrious.  The  prevailing  wind  blows  from  a  point 
a  little  south  of  west.  At  the  beginning  of  a  storm 
the  wind  usually  blows  from  the  southeast.  Although 
this  is  the  rule,  to  it  there  are  many  ejsceptions. 
Sometimes  during  the  whole  time  of  a  storm  the  wind 
blows  from  the  south.  Indeed,  our  heaviest  rainfalls 
often  occur  when  the  wind  is  blowing  from  this  quar- 
ter. An  east  wind  without  variation  as  to  direction 
frequently  attends  a  storm.  A  northeast  wind  is  not 
common,  but  when  it  occurs  it  is  usually  very  severe. 
The  winds  most  dreaded  in  Hunterdon  are  those 
blowing  from  the  south  and  those  blowing  from  the 
northeast. 

In  the  main,  the  winds  pass  over  the  surface  of 
Hunterdon  County  in  such  a  way  as  to  keep  the  at- 
mosphere of  each  valley  in  proper  commotion.  To 
this  rule,  however,  there  is  one  marked  exception : 
this  is  the  valley  of  the  Delaware.  From  the  mouth 
of  the  Harihohake  Creek  to  Point  Pleasant  the  river 
flows  almost  directly  south ;  from  Point  Pleasant  to 
Brookville  it  flows  east-southeast;  from  Brookville  to 
Well's  Falls  it  flows  south-southeast.  Of  this  valley, 
then,  there  are  two  sections  which  are  so  situated  that 
our  most  salubrious  winds  (the  westerly)  meet  them 
at  almost  right  angles.  It  happens,  too,  that  through- 
out these  sections  the  valley  is  deep.  On  both  sides 
the  surface  rises  up  abruptly  into  hills  ranging  in 
height  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
and  fifty  feet.  Hence,  in  its  course  the  westerly 
wind,  passing  from  hilltop  to  hilltop,  sweeps  over  this 
narrow  deep  valley  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  that 
volume  of  air  beneath  the  level  of  the  hilltops  undis- 
turbed. In  this  quiet  air  of  these  sections  of  this 
valley  accumulate  the  efluvia  of  the  animals,  both 
living  and  dead,  and  the  malaria  incident  to  growing 
plants,  as  well  as  to  such  as  are  undergoing  decompo- 
sition. Here  then  are  fit  habitats  for  bacteria  and 
spores,  the  germs  of  disease. 

Hence,  in  these  valleys  prevail  epidemics, — malarial 
fever,  scarlatina,  diphtheria,  and  the  like. 

The  atmosphere  of  these  sections  of  this  valley  is 
subject  to  great  extremes.  During  severely  cold 
weather  the  thermometers  at  Lambertville  and  French- 
town  show  a  temperature  several  degrees  lower  than 
that  upon  the  neighboring  hills.  During  extremely 
hot  weather  this  is  reversed,  and  the  temperature  at 
these  two  places  is  notably  higher  than  it  is  on  the 
uplands  adjacent.  This  may  be  learned  by  examin- 
ing the  following  figures,  which  show  the  temperature 
at  Lambertville,  at  Ringos,  and  at  Cherryville  during 
the  cold  morning  of  Jan.  29, 1873.    At  Lambertville 


166 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1.66 

2.37 

1.79 

3.60 

3.S7 

6.29 

4.92 

2.00 

2.12 

,09 

6.42 

2.42 

6.11 

8.03 

10,43 

3.49 

2.63 

2.31 

.24 

2.46 

1.89 

2.46 

G.68 

3.43 

the  mercury  stood  at  sixteen  degrees  below  zero ;  at 
Ringos  it  was  ten  degrees  below;  while  at  Cherry - 
ville  it  was  only  two  degrees  below. 

RAINFALL. 
The  amount  of  pluvial  water  is  not  constant  in 
Hunterdon.  From  year  to  year  it  varies  within  nar- 
row limits.  To.eshibit  the  status  of  rainfall  as  ac- 
curately as  possible,  I  will  subjoin  a  table  compiled 
from  the  records  kept  at  the  Academy  of  Science  and 
Art  at  Eingos  since  the  1st  of  January,  1876 : 

PLUVI.iL  WATER. 

Depth  in  Inches. 

1876.  1877.  1878.      1879.      1880. 

Jannary 1.16  3.09  4.34 

Ffibruary 4.67  1.79  2.48 

March , 8.19  6.73  2.61 

April 2.19  2.00  1.62 

May 2.76  .96  3.98 

June 1.77  4.86  3  89 

July 4.09  6.03  3.94 

August 1.S6  6.37  4.64 

September 6.22  2.99  6.62 

October 94  8.46  4.60 

November 6.44  6.61  3.46 

December 2.63  1.04  6.00 

42.11      60.81      47.78      47.65      40.43 

GEOLOGY  OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 
The  rocks  of  Hunterdon  County  belong  either  to  the 
Archaean  Age,  to  the  Potsdam  Epoch  of  the  primor- 
dial period  of  the  Silurian  Age,  to  the  calciferous 
epoch  of  the  Canadian  period  of  the  Silurian  Age, 
to  the  triassic  period  of  the  Reptilian  Age,  to  the 
glacial  period  of  the  Quaternary  Age,  or  to  the  mod- 
ern era  of  the  recent  period  of  the  Quaternary  Age. 

ABCHiBAN    AGE. 

In  Hunterdon  County  the  area  occupied  by  rocks 
of  the  Archaean  Age  extends  from  the  Delaware  River, 
a  little  south  of  the  confluence  of  the  Musoonetcong 
River  with  the  Delaware,  northeastward  to  the  county 
line.  The  northern  border  of  this  area  is  in  the  Mus- 
oonetcong Valley.  At  the  Delaware  the  area  is  not 
more  than  two  miles  wide ;  at  Spruce  Run  it  is  about 
four  miles  wide;  east  of  this  stream  the  southern' 
boundary  extends  southeast  to  Round  Valley,  making 
the  area  between  this  valley  on  the  south  and  the 
Musoonetcong  on  the  north  not  less  than  eight  miles 
wide.  From  this  point  eastward  to  the  county  line  it 
gradually  widens. 

Within  the  limits  above  cited  there  is  an  area  of 
limestone,  a  part  of  the  German  Valley  limestone 
formation.  Along  the  northwestern  border,  except- 
ing a  short  span,  is  the  limestone  of  the  Musoonetcong 
Valley.  Upon  the  southern  side  is  the  Triassic  area, 
the  Little  York  area  of  limestone,  and  the  Clinton 
area  of  limestone. 

To  this  formation  belong  the  Musoonetcong  Moun- 
tain, Schooley's  Mountain,  and  the  Fox  Hills.  These 
elevations  form  a  part  of  that  group  of  hills  and 
mountains  that  is  usually  called  the  Highlands.  The 
term  Archaean,  signifying  "the  beginning,"  as  relates 
to  the  time  when  the  mountains  were  made,  is  more 


expressive,  and  is  the  appellation  by  which  we  shall 
call  the  group  or  system. 

The  I'ocks  existing  in  this  area  are  all  stratified. 
They  are  nowhere  horizontal ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
are  very  much  inclined.  Nor  is  the  inclination  regular. 
At  some  places  they  are  almost  horizontal ;  at  others 
they  are  almost  vertical.  In  short,  we  may  say  that 
the  dip  ranges  from  0°  to  90°.  Of  the  Archaean  rocks, 
the  strike  .in  general  is  northeast  nnd  southwest;  the 
dip,  southeast. 

Composition  of  the  rocks. — The  strata  of  the  Archaean 
area  in  Hunterdon  County  consist  of  gneiss  and  mag- 
netic iron  ore.  A  very  lucid  description  of  these  rocks 
is  given  by  Prof  Cook,  in  the  "  Geology  of  New  Jer- 
sey, 1868,"  from  which  the  following  extracts  are 
taken : 

"  The  term  gneiss,  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  the  country,  is  ap- 
plied to  any  crystalline  and  stratified  rock  wliich  ia  composed  of  feldspar 
and  quartz,  with  small  quantities  of  mica,  hornblende,  magnetite,  or  other 
simple  mineral.  Syenite  and  syenilic  gneiss  are  the  names  frequently 
and  properly  applied  to  this  kind  of  rock.  The  gneiss  of  the  Highlands 
(ArchoBan  mountains)  is  characterized  by  the  almost  entire  absence  of 
mica.  Feldspar  makes  up  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  of  the  rock, 
and  the  rest  is  mainly  quartz.  Hornblende  is  usually  found  in  it  in  suf- 
ficient quantity  to  affect  the  color,  and  sometimes  it  makes  up  the  largest 
portion  of  the  rocky  mass ;  this,  however,  ia  not  common.  The  quartz  is 
generally  in  grains,  which  are  flattened  in  the  direction  of  the  stratifica- 
tion, and  which  in  size  range  from  an  eighth  to  a  half  inch  in  the  plane 
of  the  stratum,  and  from  one-Bi.\teentb  to  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  thiok- 
ness.  In  some  coaree-grained  specimens  the  grains  of  quartz  are  larger, 
and  not  so  much  flattened.  The  feldspar  varies  in  color  and  euae  of  do- 
composition,  and  these  peculiarities  give  the  prominent  characters  of  the 
rocks  tliroughout  the  whole  region.  In  somo  specimens  the  foldepar  is 
so  hard  and  unchangeable  that  it  can  easily  be  mistaken  for  quartz;  in 
others  it  isopaque,  harsh  to  thetouch,  and  crumbling;  and  in  othera  still 
it  is  entirely  decomposed,  and  only  a  mass  of  soft  earth,  with  the  quartz 
grains  and  the  stratification,  remains.  The  color  of  the  feldspar  varies 
from  the  bluish  and  translucent  to  flesh-colored,  white,  and  opaque,  and 
specimens  of  a  greenish  tinge  are  aometimcs  seen. 

"  No  better  idea  of  the  varieties  to  be  found  in  tliia  rock  can  be  given 
than  by  a  description  of  the  apecies  met  with  in  passing  across  the  for- 
mation from  one  side  to  the  other.  The  following  specimens  collected  on 
these  eectioua  will  illustrate  the  point  mentioned ; 

"  Delaware  Jiivej-  Sectiov. — In  the  ledges  expoaed  in  the  aouthwest  end 
of  the  Musconetcung  Mountain  the  rock  is  generally  a  light-colored 
mixture  of  feldspar  and  quartz,  with  a  little  hornblende.  A  few  beds  of 
coarsely  crystalline  gneiaa  or  gneissoid  granite  occur  in  the  aoriea.  Of 
ten  specimena  selected  ns  representatives  of  the  mountain,  five  are  very 
fine-grained,  compact,  grayish  in  color,  and  consiat  of  feldspar,  quartz, 
and  hornblende.  Three  specimens  have  the  same  mineral  composition 
and  shade  of  color  as  the  preceding,  but  aro  more  coarsely  granular.  The 
remaining  two  apecimena  are  made  up  of  quartz  and  fleah-colored  feld- 
apar  in  quite  large  massea.  Theae,  like  the  flret-described  rocks,  are 
compaxit  and  hard.  Nearer  Riegelsville  a  low  cut  along  the  railroad  ex- 
poses a  greenish-gray  gneiaa,  conaisting  of  feldapar  and  quartz  intimately 
mixed. 

*'  Section  along  the  Central  and  Warren  Railroadfi. — Three  specimens  from 
railroad  cut  west  of  Lebanon:  (1)  One  feldspar  and  hornblende  in  equal 
proportions,  with  scarcely  any  quartz ;  (2)  One  (prevailing  type)  feldspar, 
with  small  percentage  of  quartz  and  very  little  hornblende;  (3)  One 
hornblendic,  fine-grained,  with  conaiderable  plumbago.  Theae  are  all 
friable,  and  known  commonly  as  '  rotten  rock.' 

"  Central  Railroad  Cut  east  of  High  Bridge  ;  four  spooimms.— One  a  gran- 
itoid mass  of  Qoarsely  cryalallino  feldspar  and  quartz,  with  scales  of  grar 
phite:  this  is  Arm  and  solid;  one  hornblende  and  J'eldspar  in  small 
grains,  crumbling;  one  (type  specimen)  feldspar  and  quartz,  hard  and 
tough  ;  one  feldspar,  ijuartz,  and  liornblende,  coarsely  crystalline,  and 
compact,  with  scales  of  graphite  through  it. 

"In  railroad  cut  next  west  of  High  Bridge  the  common  variety  of 
rock  la  a  mixture  of  quartz,  feldapar,  and  hornblondo  in  amall  grains, 
dlaintograted.    From  the  cut  about  one  mile  northwest  of  High  Bridge 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY  AND  GEOLOGY  OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


167 


two  specimens:  one  light-colored  and  fine-grained,  feldspar  and  horu- 
blende,  the  former  Id- excess;  one  dark-colored  and  fine-grained  feldspar 
and  hornblende,  but  with  the  latter  in  excess.  Both  specimens  in  seama, 
firm  and  solid.  Another  specimen  contained  magnetite.  In  the  cut  near 
Clarksville  one  specimen,  consisting  of  a  greenish  feldspar,  with  quartz 
in  very  small  grains,  almost  amorphous  ;  rock  tough  and  of  the  common 
variety. 

"North  of  the  railroad,  at  Banghart's  Copper  Mine,  the  rock  is  dark- 
colored  and  very  fine-grained,  and  contains  copper  pyrites  scattered  in 
small  strings  through  it.  At  the  cut  east  of  Hampton  Junction  two 
varieties  were  obtained, — one  a  coarsely  crystalline  mosH  of  feldspar  and 
hornblende,  light-colored  and  slightly  decayed :  thefeldspar  is  chalky ; 
one  feldspar,  hornblende,  and  a  little  quartz,  also  coarse-grained;  in  this 
the  feldspar  is  flesh-colored.  From  the  Wan-en  Ballroad  cut  west  of  the 
Junction  one  specimen  (common  variety),  feldspar  and  quartz,  the  for- 
mer chalky  in  appearance,  fine-grained,  and  crumbling.  In  the  cut  near 
Changewater  one  specimen,  a  greenish,  tough  rock,  consisting  of  feldspar 
and  quartz.  Out  east  of  Washington  shows  a  rotten  gneiss  composed  of 
feldspar  and  quartz, — coarse. 

"  Van  Neat  Gap  Timnel. — Greenish-gray,  hard  rock,  feldspar,  quartz, 
and  hornblende.    Some  of  the  rock  pinkish  tinge. 

"The  chemical  composition  of  the  rocks  of  this  formation  is  a  subject 
of  much  interest.  Hitherto  the  country  in  "which  they  are  found  has 
been  considered  poor  and  little  capable  of  improvement.  But  gradually 
the  farmer  has  been  encroaching  upon  them,  and  turning  these  unprom- 
ising hills  into  fruitful  fields.  It  is  observed  that  the  rocks  are  in  many 
places  subject  to  rapid  decay,  and  that  in  such  localities  the  soil  is  sus- 
ceptible of  high  cultivation.  It  becomes,  then,  a  matter  of  inquiry  as 
to  the  cause  of  this  decay,  and  also  whether  it  can  be  controlled  or  has- 
tened by  art.  It  is  mucli  too  long  an  inquiry  foi  a  survey  of  this  kind, 
and  the  remark  is  thrown  out  in  the  way  of  suggestion,  hoping  that  it 
may  find  response  in  the  minda  of  those  who  are  in  circumstances  to 
carry  out  the  investigation. 

"  In  the  gneiss-rock  the  chief  mineral  constituents  are  quartz,  feldspar, 
and  hornblende.  Of  these,  feldspar  and  hornblende  are  the  only  ones 
capable  of  decomposition,  and  the  former  is  by  far  the  most  abundant  of 
the  two.  Feldspar  is  of  several  varieties,  of  which  three  may  be  noticed 
liere, — those  containing  potash,  those  containing  soda,  and  those  con- 
taining soda  and  lime. 

"  It  has  been  long  known  that  the  soda  and  the  soda-and-lime  feldspars 
were  much  more  easily  decomposed  than  the  potash  feldspars,  that  the 
action  of  carbonic  acid,  and  perhaps  other  atmospheric  agencies,  would 
cause  the  feldspars  containing  soda  and  lime  to  decay  and  fall  to  pieces, 
■while  they  would  exert  but  a  very  slight  influence  on  that  containing 
potash.    Some  trials  have  been  made  to  verify  these  observations. 

"  A  soft  and  crumbling  feldspar  from  a  cut  in  the  Central  Railroad 
a.bove  High  Bridge  was  found  to  have  the  following  composition: 

Silica 57.4 

Alumina  and  a  little  oxide  of  iron.. 1^6.4 

Lime 10.3 


Soda 

Potash.. 
Water.., 


1.8 
.7 


"  Magnetite,  or  Magnelic  Iron  Ore.— This  occurs  sometimes  in  beds,  form- 
ing parts  of  a  stratum,  sometimes  in  masses  or  of  limited  extent,  some- 
times in  grains  disseminated  through  the  layers  of  gneiss  rock.  Prof. 
Ckjok  says  the  ore  is  known  to  mineralogists  under  the  name  of  mag- 
netite and  magnetic  iron  ore,  and  to  chemists  as  magnetic,  or  black  oxide 
of  iron.  It  consists  of  72.4  per  cent,  of  iron,  27.6  per  cent,  of  oxygen, 
when  pure.  It  is  black  in  mass,  and  also  in  powder,  and  it  gives  a  black 
streak  when  scratched ;  it  has  a  metallic  lustre,  and  is  attracted  by  the 
magnet,  though  not  always  itself  magnetic.  Its  specific  gravity  varies 
from  4.98  to  5.20.  Its  crystalline  form  is  a  regular  octohedron,  but  as 
usually  found  it  is  in  irregular  grains  or  in  compact  masses.  It  is  about 
as  hard  as  feldspar,  ranging  in  the  mineralogist's  scale  from  5.5  to  6.5.  It 
most  resembles  hornblende,  but  can  at  once  be  distinguished  by  being 
attracted  by  the  magnet. 

«  Ab  an  ore  it  la  always  found  mixed  with  more  or  less  rock,  the  rock 
being  sometimes  in  grains  and  at  other  times  in  large  masses  or  in  strati- 
fied streaks.  The  rock  is  the  usual  one  of  the  Azoic  region ;  gneiss, 
■syenite,  hornblende,  feldspar,  limestone,  etc.,  and  grains  of  phosphate  of 
lime  are  common  in  some  of  the  ores.  Iron  pyrites  are  found  in  minute 
quantity  in  many  of  the  ores,  and  in  some  places  so  much  is  found  as  to 
render  the  ore  unfit  for  the  present  modes  of  working.  In  some  of  the 
'Ores  in  limestone  graphite  is  found. 


"  The  ore  is  found  in  beds  or  layers  which  are  conformable  to  the  gneiss 
in  which  they  lie.  They  are  also  founij  mixed  in  with  the  rock  in  all 
proportions,  from  1  to  100  per  cent. ;  and  where  it  is  found  pure  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  it  gradually  becoming  impure  by  the  mixture  of  more 
and  more  rock  until  the  ore  is  all  gone.  It  is  not  separated  from  the 
rock  by  well-defined  marks  of  division,  as  is  the  case  with  the  metallic  ores 
is  in  true  veins,  neither  is  there  a  peculiar  gangue-rock,  such  as  in  ti-ue 
veins;  hut  the  rock  is  the  common  one  of  the  formation." 

The  magnetite  of  the  Archaean  formation  is  mined 
at  several  sites.  The  following  locations  are  given  by 
Prof.  Cook: 

"  Bethlehem  Mine,  in  Bethlehem  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  southeast  of  Valley  Station,  on  the  Central  Railroad.  This 
mine  was  not  in  operation  when  visited,  and  there  is  no  information  as 
to  its  extent. 

"  Van  Sickle*8  Jlfine,  in  Union  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  just  back  of 
Bethlehem  Methodist  church.  It  is  an  old  mine,  abandoned  for  nearly 
a  hundred  years,  and  reopened  in  1864.  When  visited,  the  old  mine, 
forty  feet  deep,  had  been  cleared  out  and  sunk  twenty  feet  deeper.  The 
ore  was  ten  or  eleven  feet  thick,  and  had  been  worked  along  northeast 
and  southwest  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  No  smooth  walls  had  then  been 
found.  The  ore  contains  some  rock,  which  resembles  chlorite  and  is 
rather  lean.  The  ore  is  black,  with  a  bright  and  reddish  lustre.  Another 
vein  northwest  of  the  first  had  been  opened,  and  some  ore  in  a  breadth 
of  seven  feet  had  been  taken  out,  but  it  was  very  lean.  There  was  a 
good  deal  of  attraction  in  the  fields  northeast  of  the  mine,  and  ore  can 
probably  be  found  in  some  other  places  than  those  now  opened. 

"  Asbury  Mine,  in  Bethlehem  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  one  and  a  half 
miles  southeast  of  Asbury,  and  on  the  side  of  Musconetcong  Mountain. 
It  was  not  in  operation  when  visited.  The  compass  showed  attraction  at 
the  mine  ;  it  did  not  indicate  any  extension  of  the  vein  either  northeast 
or  southwest. 

"  BangharVs  Mine,  in  Lebanon  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  one  mile 
northeast  of  Gardneraville,  on  Abraham  Banghart's  land.  There  are 
three  openings  where  the  rock  is  found  to  contain  a  considerable  amount 
of  iron  pyrites  and  some  copper  pyrites.  The  explorations  have  been 
made  hoping  to  find  ore  in  quantity,  but  so  far  without  success.  There 
is  no  regular  or  continuous  attraction  about  the  openinga. 

"  High  Bridge  Mines,  in  Clinton  and  Lebanon  townships,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  ou  the  northwest  side  of  the  North  Branch  of  the  Raritan,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  Central  Railroad  at  High  Bridge.  This 
mine  is  said  to  have  been  opened  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  and 
during  almost  the  whole  of  that  period  it  supplied  ore  for  the  use  of  the 
Solitude  forge,  and,  before  the  Revolution,  for  Union  furnace.  It  has 
yielded  a  large  quantity  of  excellent  ore.  The  only  difficulty  experi- 
enced in  getting  out  any  amount  of  the  ore  has  been  that  there  was  on 
the  hanging-wall  a  thick  layer  of  pyritous  ore  which  was  not  thought 
fit  to  work  in  a  forge,  and  yet  it  had  to  be  taken  out,  thus  increasing  the 
cost  of  extracting  the  pure  ore  which  was  on  the  foot-wall.  A  few  years 
since  there  was  a  pile  of  many  hundred  tons  of  this  pyritous  ore  which 
had  been  lying  for  years.  It  had  become  very  red  and  rusty,  and  so 
much  of  the  pyrites  had  decomposed  and  formed  copperas  and  been  dis- 
solved out  by  the  rain  that  the  ore  was  found  to  be  of  excellent  quality 
for  the  forge.  The  modern  processes  of  working  ores  allow  the  whole  of 
these  to  be  used  now,  and  the  mine  is  being  actively  worked  by  the 
Thomas  Iron  Company.  The  workings,  altogether,  extend  along  on  the 
vein  for  near  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  and  in  some  places  has  been  sunk 
on  to  a  depth  of  two  hundred  feet.  The  vein  is  irregular  in  thickness, 
widening  out  to  eighteen  feet  in  breadth,  and  then  pinching  in  to  two 
and  a  half  feet.  The  dip  of  the  vein  is  towards  the  southeast  sixty-five 
degrees.  There  is  fault  of  twenty  feet  in  the  vein  towards  its  northeast 
end.  An  adit  was  driven  in  from  the  side  hill  upon  the  strike  of  this 
vein  which  has  done  much  to  relieve  it  of  water.  The  openings  recently 
made  towards  the  southwest  end  of  the  vein  are  on  the  property  of  Mr. 
Creger. 

"  Analysis  of  Ores  from  High  Bridge  Mines. 

1,  2. 


,  75.1 


Magnetic  iron  ore 

Silica  and  insoluble  matter 15.4 

Sulphur 0-0 

Phosphoric  acid T^^ 

Metallic  iron,  percent 54.4 


91.9 
5.4 
0.0 
0.3 


"  1  ia  from  the  Old  mine,  now  owned  by  the  Thomas  Iron  Company ;  2 
is  the  best  ore  from  the  Lehigh  Valley  Iron  C<impany's  mine." 


168 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


In  the  railroad  cut  at  Glen  Gardner  is  disclosed  a 
dike  of  trap  in  the  gneiss-rock. 

Age. — Relatively,  it  is  not  difficult  to  determine  the 
age  of  the  Archsan  rocks.  They  are  the  oldest,  the 
primal,  rocks.  These  were  the  rocks  first  formed 
when  the  exterior  of  the  earth  began  to  be  solid : 
hence  the  name.  That  they  are  older  than  those  con- 
tiguous thereto  is  proven  by  the  circumstance  that  at 
Amsterdam,  in  this  county,  the  limestone  is  known 
to  overlie  it,  while  at  the  same  place,  but  a  few  feet 
away,  the  limestone  is  overlaid  by  the  Red  Sandstone. 
At  Franklin  furnace  the  gneiss-rock  is  superimposed 
with  strata  of  Potsdam  Sandstone.  Upon  these  lay- 
ers of  sandstone  rest  trata  of  magnesian  limestone. 

SILDBIAN   AGE. 

The  Potsdam  Epoch. — The  rocks  formed  during  this 
epoch,  as  found  in  Hunterdon  County,  are  in  small 
areas  contiguous  to  those  of  the  Archsean  Age.  They 
are  stratified,  but  usually  they  are  so  covered  with  soil 
or  drift  material  that  they  cannot  be  very  extensively 
examined.  They  are  quartzose,  very  hard,  and  in 
color  light  gray.  "  The  Geology  of  New  Jersey,  1868," 
contains  the  following : 

'*  South  of  Lebanon,  and  west  of  Round  Valley,  or  Pickle's  Mountain, 
is  a  small  area  occupied  by  sandstone.  Its  southern  limit  is  at  Leigh's 
jimestone-quarry.  On  this  side,  as  also  on  tlie  west,  limestone  adjoins  it. 
A  ravine  separates  it  from  the  gneiss  on  the  north.  The  road  to  Lebanon 
forms  the  eastern  limit.  The  outcrop  is  of  a  triangular  form,  the  southern 
angle  being  at  the  limestone-quarry.  No  rock  was  seen  in  place  except 
at  this  quaiTy,  where  its  strata  are  in  a  vertical  position.  Elsewhere 
this  area  is  covered  with  a  great  deal  of  quartz-rock  in  sharp,  angular 
fragments.  About  two  miles  northwest  of  this  point,  and  about  one  mile 
northeast  of  Clinton,  near  N.  S.  Race's  and  W.  H.  Yawger's,  are  two 
separate  outcrops  of  grayish-white  quartzites.  One  is  east  of  the  road 
and  northeast  of  Race's,  forming  a  low  ridge  bordering  the  gneiss-rock. 
The  rock  is  in  place.  Northwest  of  Yawger's,  and  close  to  the  road,  is 
another  ledge  of  the  same  rock.  Higher  up  the  hill  is  the  gneiss,  while 
to  the  west  and  south  is  the  Clintuu  limestone-tract.  These  are  both 
narrow  hands  between  the  gneiss  and  magnesian  limestone,  and  hence 
of  this  geological  age. 

"  Eajit  of  Amsterdam,  and  between  that  place  and  Spring  Mills,  is  the 
liigh  hill  known  as  Gravel  Hill.  This  is  supposed  to  belong  to  the  Pots- 
dam Sandstone.  It  is  a  broad  hill  or  ridge,  rising  quite  gently  to  a  peaked 
summit,  whose  altitude  is  nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  Musconetcong 
Mountain,  north  of  it.  Southward  it  slopes  away  to  the  Delaware.  On 
the  north  it  is  partially  connected  with  the  mountain  by  an  elevated 
neck,  which  is  the  water-shed  between  Spring  Mills  and  Amsterdam 
Valleys.  The  surface  of  the  hill  consists  almost  wholly  of  sharp,  angu- 
lar masses  of  red  and  white  quartz.  Along  the  road  north  of  the  hill  the 
surface  is  very  white,  and  mostly  of  quartzose  materials.  Only  one  ledge 
was  found,  and  that  on  the  southeast  slope.  The  hill,  being  covered  by 
forest,  presents  few  opportunities  for  examining  the  rock  in  place.  It  is 
properly  a  quartzite  conglomerate,  very  hard  and  of  a  mottled  aspect, 
due  to  a  mixture  of  white  and  reddish  quartz. 

"  About  one  mile  from  Gravel  Hill,  and  south  of  the  road  to  Johnson's 
Ferry,  is  a  ridge  very  similarly  situated  to  Gravel  Hill,  Most  of  it  is  red 
shale,  but  some  beds  on  the  north  resemble  the  Potsdam  rocks.  The 
above-described  localities  are  all  that  are  at  present  known  of  this  rock 
or  formation  on  the  southeast  of  the  Highlands.  The  formation  is  so 
thin  and  the  drift  covering  so  thick  that  we  could  not  expect  to  find  it 
at  many  points,  even  if  it  were  an  unbroken  baud  along  this  border  of 
the  Azoic  (Archseau)  rocks." 

The  age  of  this  sandstone  is  proved  by  its  position. 

At  Franklin  furnace  it  can  be  seen  lying  uncon- 
formably  upon  the  gneiss  (Archsean  rock),  with  the 
magnesian  limestone  (of  the  Calciferous  Epoch)  di- 
rectly over  it. 


Calciferous  Epoch. — The  rocks  belonging  to  this 
epoch  are  magnesian  limestones.  They  are  stratified 
and  much  folded.  The  beds  range  in  thickness  from 
two  inches  to  two  feet.  Some  layers  are  tolerably 
pure  dolomite ;  others  contain  so  much  earthy  sub- 
stance that  the  stones  quarried  from  them  will  not 
slack  when  burned.  When  free  from  impurities  the 
rock  is  fine-grained  and  even,  having  a  lustre  some- 
what vitreous.  In.  color  it  varies  "  from  a  drab  through 
a  pale  to  a  deep  blue  and  almost  black.  It  is  so  soft 
that  it  can  be  easily  scratched  with  a  knife,  and  effer- 
vesces when  sulphuric  or  other  strong  acid  is  dropped 
on  it." 

Upon  analysis,  a  pure  specimen  yields  54  per  cent, 
of  calcic  carbonate  and  46  per  cent,  of  magnesic  car- 
bonate. 

Between  the  Musconetcong  River  and  the  gneiss  of 
the  Musconetcong  Mountain,  from  the  Delaware  to 
Hughsville,  the  Musconetcong  Valley  is  composed  of 
this  kind  of  limestone.  South  of  the  Musconetcong, 
about  two  hundred  feet  from  the  gneiss,  the  rock  crops 
out.     At  this  place  the  dip  is  60°  S.  20°  E. 

Again,  between  the  Musconetcong  River  and  the 
gneiss  of  the  Musconetcong  and  Schooley's  Moun- 
tains, from  a  mile  below  Bloomsbury  northeastward  to 
the  county  line,  the  valley  is  underlaid  with  this 
grade  of  limestone.  Its  relation  to  the  gneiss  of  Mus- 
conetcong Mountain  can  be  in  a  cut  made  by  the 
Central  Railroad  about  half  a  mile  northeast  of  As- 
bury  Station.  At  this  place  the  limestone  dips  from 
30°  to  50°  towards  the  southeast.  This  is  upon  the 
north  side  of  the  track.  Upon  the  south  side  the 
gneiss  may  be  seen  dipping  in  the  same  direction. 

That  part  of  German  Valley  that  is  included  in  the 
limits  of  Hunterdon  County  is  also  underlaid  with 
magnesian  limestone.  This  rock  is  extensively  quar- 
ried and  burned  into  lime,  chiefly  for  agricultural 
purposes. 

*'  Clintmi.—T\\?.  limestone  outcrop  under  this  designation  extends  from 
Dawes'  Mill,  on  Prescott  Brook,  northeasterly,  by  Allerville  and  Clinton 
Station,  to  Clinton  and  the  Spruce  Ruu,  aud  then  westward  between  the 
Musconetcong  Mountain  and  the  Mouselaugh.^way  Creek  to  Patenburg. 
Its  length,  as  thus  traced  out,  is  about  eleven  miles.  It  varies  greatly  in 
breadth,  being  over  two  miles  across  from  Clinton  to  its  northern  border, 
while  east  of  Clinton  it  is  scarcely  a  half  mile  in  breadth.  Towards  each 
extremity  the  outcrop  becomes  very  much  contracted.  On  the  north  aud 
northeast  it  joins  gneiss-slopes,  and  is  bounded  by  that  rock,  excepting 
at  two  points  where  the  Potsdam  Sandstone,  already  described,  comes 
between  it  and  the  gneiss.  The  red  shale  of  the  Triassic  formation 
bounds  it  on  the  south  throughout  its  whole  length, 

"  North  of  Clinton,  along  Willoughby  Run  and  nearly  a  mile  north  of 
the  Central  Run,  limestone  has  been  found  in  sufficient  quantity  to  yield 
five  kilns  of  lime, 

"  The  rock  of  this  tract  generally  dips  towards  the  west  or  southwest. 
At  a  few  of  the  places  observed  the  dip  was  towards  the  east  or  south- 
east. The  only  inference  to  be  drawn  from  these  observations  on  the 
position  of  the  beds  is  that  they  incline  away  from  the  gneiss  towards 
the  red  shale  that  laps  over  their  southern  border. 

"The  Clinton  limestone  is  generally  of  a  light  drali-color,  verj-  hard, 
crypto-crystalline  or  massive,  and  breaking  with  a  smooth  fracture. 
Some  specimens  found  at  Mulligan's  quarry  are  buff  and  reddish  shades, 
in  irregular  masses,  due  to  an  oxidation  of  the  iron.  A  variety  used  for 
building-stone  is  bluish-black,  very  hard  and  compact,  and  subconchoidal 
fracture.  The  g^e.^t  mass  of  the  stone  of  this  tract  is  characterized  by 
its  light  drab-color  and  its  compact  texture.    Several  analyses  showed. 


PHYSICAL  GEOaRAPHY   AND   GEOLOGY   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


169 


it  to  be  a  magneslan  limestoiie.  It  is  essontially  a  dolomite,  modified  by 
more  or  less  foreign  mattor.  An  immense  amount  is  quarried  in  the 
vicinity  of  Clinton  for  the  making  of  lime. 

"SuuthweBt  of  the  main  body  of  the  Clinton  limestone  there  are  three 
isolated  ontcrops  of  the  same  formation,  due,  apparently,  to  the  denuda- 
tion of  the  overlying  shale.  The  most  southerly  of  these  is  about  half  a 
mile  southwest  of  the  Sidney  church,  on  lands  of  H.  Hoffman,  who  has 
quamed  it  for  lime.  It  is  a  very  limited  area,  and  about  forty  rods  west 
of  the  Clinton  and  Pittstown  road.  It  dips  30°  N.  50°  W.  It  is  almost 
black,  very  compact,  and  traversed  by  seams  of  calcite  and  quartz. 

"  About  one  mile  north  of  this  locality  is  another  exposure  of  a  very 
similar  rock,  on  the  farm  of  Aaron  Dunham.    Its  area  is  very  small. 

"  Nearly  on  a  line  connecting  these  localities,  and  prolonged  north- 
■ward,  there  is  a  third  outcrop  of  limestone.  It  is  on  lands  of  William 
Bonnell,  and  lies  north  of  the  Clinton  and  Perryville  road  and  not  far 
from  a  school-house.  It  has  a  dip  of  15°  N.  50°  W.  The  rock  is  in  very 
thin  beds  (averaging  two  inches  thick)  and  dark-colored.  It  resembles 
that  at  Hoffinan's  and  Dunham's.  This  latter  outcrop  is  not  over  half  a 
mile  south  of  the  Mouaelaughaway  Creek,  or  southern  border  of  the 
Clinton  tract. 

"  LMle  York  and  Spring  Mills. — This  is  a  narrow  belt  of  limestone  at  the 
foot  of  the  Musconetcong  Mountain,  extending  from  Spring  Mills  north- 
eastward to  Little  York.  Its  greatest  dimensions  are  four  miles  long  by 
half  a  mile  in  breadth.  At  Little  York  it  is  seen  north  of  the  village  as 
far  as  B.  W.  Alpaugh's  residence.  It  runs  thence  west  by  W.  J.  Duck- 
worth's and  W.  Vanderbilt's  north  of  a  small  brook,  by  Van  Syckle's  and 
Bunn's  quarries  south  of  Henry  Cole's,  and  a  little  north  of  Spring  Mills 
to  its  terminus  in  that  direction.  It  appears  in  the  road  north  of  Spring 
Mills,  and  a  short  distance  west  of  this  road. 

"  Amsterdam  and  JohnKon^s  Ferry. — The  magnesian  limestone  appears 
along  the  base  of  the  mountain  at  several  intermediate  points  between 
Amsterdam  and  the  Delaware  River.  It  occupies  the  northern  side  of 
the  little  valley  near  the  Presbyterian  church  east  of  Johnson's  Ferry, 
and  crops  out  at  three  or  four  places  near  Amsterdam.  "Whether  the^e 
sepai'ate  exposures  are  parts  of  one  continuous  belt  of  rock  is  not  known. 
If  they  are,  the  hill  south  of  the  valley  road  belongs  to  the  Triassic  for- 
mation, instead  of  the  Potsdam  Sandstone.  The  breadth  of  the  outcrop 
does  not  exceed  two  hundred  yards.  The  farthest  extent  easterly  is  near 
the  old  store  at  the  corner  of  the  road,  in  Amsterdam.  Here  a  slaty  lime- 
stone or  a  calcareous  slate  is  found  in  the  roadside,  east  of  the  bridge. 
South  of  west  from  this  corner,  the  dark-blue,  sutvcrystalline  limestone 
appears  in  the  bed  of  the  brook,  south  of  Eliaa  M.  Kapp's,  showing  itself 
several  rods  along  in  the  stream.  It  is  here  in  a  horizontal  position. 
Forty  feet  south  of  the  stream  the  red  shale  forms  the  side  hill  next  the 
meadows. 

"About  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  west  of  this  and  north  of  the 
brook  is  a  small  quarry.  Limestone  of  very  fine  grain  and  light-colored 
was  formerly  quarried  on  lands  owned  by  Willis  Vanderbilt,  formerly 
the  farm  of  William  Snyder.  A  large  amount  of  stone  has  been  taken 
from  this  locality  for  lime. 

REPTILIAN   AGE. 

Triassic  Period. — The  rocks  belonging  to  this  period 
are  shales,  sandstones,  conglomerates,  and  traps.  They 
extend  from  the  Delaware  River  northeastward  en- 
tirely across  the  county.  As  a  rule,  they  are  all  strati- 
fied, and  all  slope  towards  the  northwest.  To  afford 
a  complete  definition  of  what  is  meant  by  the  terms 
shale,  sandstone,  conglomerate,  trap,  etc.,  the  follow- 
ing, from  the  "Geology  of  New  Jersey,  1868,"  is 
introduced : 

"  Sandstone.— A.  rock  composed  of  grains  of  quartzose  sand  cemented 
together  by  oxide  of  iron,  carbonate  of  lime,  silica,  or  other  agent,  the 
baud  constituting  the  largest  part;  and  it  may  be  of  any  degree  of  fine- 
ness, from  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  downwards.  It  may  contain 
fragments  of  mica,  feldspar,  or  other  rock,  and  may  be  of  any  color,— 
white,  drab,  yellow,  red,  purple,  blue,  green,  or  gray. 

"  Conglomerate. — A  rock  composed  of  pebbles  or  fragments  of  other 
rocks  is  a  conglomerate.  The  pebbles  may  be  oi  quartz,  limestone,  slate, 
oi"  other  rock,  and  they  may  vary  in  size  from  a  buckshot  to  the  bowlder 
(if  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter.  The  cementing  material  may  be  oxide  of 
iron,  carbonate  of  lime,  or  other  fine  substances,  and  the  color  may  de- 
pend either  upon  the  paste  or  on  the  pebbles. 

12 


"Shale. — Rocks  which  are  nearly  destitute  of  sandy  particles,  and  con- 
tain a  great  deal  of  clay,  which  are  tender  and  split  or  break  with  an  un- 
even fracture,  are  called  shales.  They  are  frequently  but  little  harder 
than  dried  clayey  mud,  and  when  exposed  to  the  weather  soon  crumble 
down  into  earth.  In  this  formation  they  are,  in  their  natural  state,  of  a 
red  color,  and  these  are  by  far  most  abundant.  But  in  the  vicinity  of 
trap-rocks  they  are  much  changed,  the  colorpassing  from  a  red  to  purple, 
dark -blue,  and  black.  The  hardness  in  such  cases  has  also  increased  with 
the  change  of  color,  till  the  black  is  almost  as  hard  as  flint,  and  breaks 
with  a  smooth  conchoidal  fracture  like  that  of  a  mineral.  Shales  are  also 
seen  about  New  Brunswick,  and  other  places  where  a  little  copper  is 
disseminated  through  the  rock,  which  are  entirely  changed  in  color  with- 
out any  increase  in  hardness.  The  change  follows  the  joints  of  the  rock, 
or,  in  some  cases,  the  seams  in  the  line  of  stratification,  and  the  color 
passes  from  the  red  to  a  blue  or^  bluish-drab.  Dark -colored  and  black 
shales  are  also  found  in  some  places,  which  owe  their  color  to  the  pres- 
ence of  bituminous  matter.  They  are  not  changed  in  hardness;  fre- 
quently considerable  vegetable  remains ;  fossil  fish  are  found  in  such ; 
and  when  they  are  heated  they  give  off  a  gas  which  burns  with  a  bright 
blaze. 

*'  Limestone  or  calcareous  shale  has  been  found  to  a  limited  extent  in 
this  foiTaation. 

"  Basalt. — Under  this  name  are  included  the  trap-rocks,  which  are  dark- 
colored,  have  a  specific  gravity  greater  than  2.9,  and  on  their  weathered 
surfaces  are  brown  or  dark  gray,  and  if  they  have  been  covered  by  soil 
are  of  a  dull,  earthy,  yellowish -brown  color.  In  their  fresh  fractures 
they  may  be  either  coarse  or  fine-grained,  crystalline  or  massive,  and, 
though  usually  dark -colored,  may  vary  much  in  shade.  When  powdered 
and  tried  with  a  magnet,  they  are  found  to  contain  particles  of  magnetic 
iron  ore. 

"  Trachyte;  White  or  Trachytic  Trap. — This  variety  is  not  near  so  com- 
mon as  the  basaltic.  Its  chief  localities  are  about  Round  Valley  Moun- 
tain and  the  northern  part  of  Hunterdon  County.  Rocks  of  this  kind 
are  light-colored  by  the  weather  to  a  dull,  chalky  white,  and  in  or  under 
the  soil  are,  on  their  surface,  of  a  yellow-white  color.  They  have  a 
specific  gravity  of  2.8  or  less.  They  are  of  various  degrees  of  coarseness, 
and  are  rougher  to  the  touch  than  the  basaltic  varieties." 

The  rocks  of  this  period  are  remarkably  uniform  in 
dip.  Having  their  outcrops  extending  in  lines  north- 
east and  southwest,  they  verge  towards  the  northwest 
at  an  angle  of  about  ten  degrees.  To  this  rule,  how- 
ever, there  are  some  exceptions. 

By  far  the  greatest  part  of  the  rocks  of  this  forma- 
tion are  shale  and  sandstone.  Everywhere  they  con- 
stitute the  rocks  of  the  valleys  and  of  the  sides  of  the 
ridges.  Exposures  of  them  are  seen  almost  every- 
where along  the  roadsides,  the  banks  of  the  rivulets, 
the  railroad  cuts,  the  escarpments  of  the  hills,  and  in 
the  beds  of  streams,  in  quarries,  etc.  For  opportuni- 
ties to  observe  and  study  no  Hunterdonian  can  go 
amiss,  nor  need  he  go  far  from  his  own  dwelling.  In 
color  they  vary,  but  some  shade  of  red  is  quite  com- 
mon, hence  the  name,  red  shale  and  red  sandstone. 
They  exist  in  layers  that  vary  in  quality  and  in  thick- 
ness. It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  a  layer  that  is  at 
one  place  a  perfect  shale,  while  farther  on  it  is  a  per- 
fect sandstone.  And  between  these  sites  is  seen  a 
shading  of  the  shale  towards  the  sandstone  so  uniform 
that  no  eye  can  determine  at  what  point  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  shale  and  sandstone  occurs. 
At  one  place  the  layer  may  be  thin-bedded,  at  another 
thick-bedded,  and  farther  on  thin-bedded  again.  As 
a  rule,  that  portion  of  a  bed  that  is  shaly  is  thinner 
in  bed  than  that  part  which  is  sandy.  But  to  this 
rule  are  many  exceptions. 

During  the  process  of  weathering,  the  shale  first 
splits  up  into  thin  laminae;  these  laminse  are  often- 


170 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


times  as  thin  as  the  leaves  in  a  book.  In  this  con- 
dition the  rock  is  of  short  duration.  It  soon  mould- 
ers into  a  soil  that,  as  is  found  in  roads  in  dry  weather, 
may  be  worked  up  into  an  impalpable  powder.  In- 
deed, when  exposed  to  the  weather  the  red-ahale  rock 
is  very  rapid  in  the  process  of  disintegration  and 
crumbling  to  soil.  While  fresh  the  blocks  look  as  if 
they  would  form  a  beautiful  and  durable  wall ;  and 
so  they  do  when  immediately  laid  up  in  mortar.  But, 
exposed  to  the  action  of  the  climate  during  the  fall, 
winter,  and  spring,  the  exterior  of  each  block  crum- 
bles, the  interspaces  become  filled  with  the  moulder- 
ing fragments,  and  during  the  following  summer  ixom 
the  surface  of  the  mouldering  heap  red  and  white 
clover  grows  most  luxuriantly. 

Where  better  material  is  regarded  as  too  expensive, 
the  most  indurated  ft,yers  of  the  red-shale  rock  are 
sometimes  quarried  for  building  purposes.  For  cellar- 
walls  the  stones  from  these  layers  do  very  well,  pro- 
vided that  they  are  laid  up  immediately  with  a  free 
use  of  rich  mortar.  But  this  provision  is  essential. 
Nor  is  the  use  of  the  red-shale  stones  in  architecture 
confined  to  the  building  of  cellar-walls.  Within  the 
county  there  are  several  houses  the  walls  of  which 
are  built  entirely  of  this  material.  In  the  village  of 
Eingos  stands  an  old  hip-roofed  house  that  was  built 
out  of  red-shale  stones  which  were  quarried  out  of  the 
layers  along  the  south  side  of  the  road  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  above  where  the  building  stands  by  one 
Landis  in  the  year  1837.  The  walls  in  this  edifice  are 
in  excellent  condition,  and  will  not  need  rebuilding 
in  five  hundred  years.  Indeed,  walls  made  of  red- 
shale  stones,  with  plenty  of  mortar  rich  in  freshly- 
slacked  lime,  seem  to  grow  firmer  with  age.  However, 
as  a  building  material,  red  shale  is  not  in  good  re- 
pute. 

Frail's  Quarry. — On  a  farm  owned  by  A.  J.  Prall, 
in  the  township  of  East  Amwell,  is  a,  quarry  from 
which  have  been  taken  a  great  many  perches  of 
stones,  mainly  for  building  bridges.  The  quarry  is  in 
the  side  of  Bleak  Eidge,  along  the  west  bank  of 
Mountain  Brook ;  it  is  well  drained  and  easy  to  work. 
In  it  the  layers  range  in  thickness  from  eight  to 
twenty  inches.  They  are  divided  by  two  systems 
of  joints  that  meet  very  nearly  at  right  angles.  They 
dip  towards  the  northwest  at  an  angle  of  twelve  de- 
grees. The  stones  from  this  quarry  dress  well,  "take 
mortar"  quickly,  are  very  sightly,  make  a  strong  wall, 
and  resist  the  disintegrating  effects  of  the  climate  ex- 
traordinarily. From  this  quarry  may  be  taken  stones 
that  are  three  feet  wide,  a  foot  or  more  thick,  and  from 
six  to  twelve  feet  long. 

WycJcoff's  Quarry. — About  a  mile  southwest  of  Rea- 
ville,  in  the  bank  on  the  west  side  of  the  Neshanic, 
is  a  quarry  which  has  been  occasionally  worked  for 
stones  to  build  bridges.  The  abutments  of  the  bridge 
over  the  Neshanic  near  this  site  were  here  obtained. 

Nevius'  Quarry. — Along  the  east  bank  of  the  Ne- 
shanic, near  Nevius'  mill,  is  an  outcrop  of  indurated 


shale  that  has  at  some  time  been  worked  for  building- 
stones. 

An  analysis  of  the  red  shale  shows  it  to  contain 
all  of  the  ingredients  to  form  a  productive  soil : 

Silicic  acid  and  quartz 73.00 

Peroxide  of  iron 10.00 

Alumina 3.20 

Lime *-S3 

Magnesia 0.90 

Potash 0,73 

Soda 0.97 

Sulphuric  acid trace 

Carbonic  acid 

Water 1.00 

Altered  Shale. — In  some  places  the  shale  presents 
an  appearance  that  leads  the  geologist  to  believe  that 
it  has  been  exposed  to  intense  heat,  and  to  a  very 
great  degree  by  this  agency  altered  in  its  appearance, 
in  its  physical  qualities,  and  in  its  chemical  composi- 
tion. Such  is  the  case  with  those  layers  found  adja- 
cent to  the  trap-rocks  hereafter  to  be  described.  For 
instance,  as  we  ascend  the  Sourland  Eidge  from  Van 
Lien's  Corner,  all  along  the  roadsides,  at  and  near  the 
base  of  the  hill,  the  rock  exhibits  the  appearance  of 
ordinary  shale;  but  as  we  ascend,  the  appearance  of 
the  rock  becomes  such  that  one  believes  it  to  have 
been  altered  by  igneous  agencies.  Near  the  base 
it  is  easily  broken,  easily  impressed  with  the  ham- 
mer ;  on  its  exposed  outcrop  it  exhibits  its  Ifimi- 
nated  structure,  and  is  covered  with  a  deep  soil,  made 
from  its  disintegrated  laminae.  About  midway  up  the 
ascent  we  notice  that  the  layers  of  rock  are  harder, 
broken  with  more  difficulty,  show  less  of  the  laminar 
structure  along  the  outcrop,  aiid  are  covered  with  a 
less  depth  of  soil.  Farther  up  the  layers  are  still 
harder,  and  the  weathered  surfaces  present  less  of  the 
lamination ;  the  soil  over  the  layers  is  also  less  deep. 
Near  to  and  at  the  brow  of  the  ridge  the  layers  are 
well  defined,  are  of  almost  flinty  hardness,  break  with 
diflficulty,  and  to  the  blow  of  the  hammer  yield  a  con- 
choidal  fracture.  Many  of  the  specimens  found  along 
the  brow,  if  suspended  when  struck  with  the  hammer, 
ring  like  pot-metal  or  like  the  blacksmith's  anvil. 
Here  and  there  specimens  may  be  found  that  preieiit 
an  appearance  that  leads  one  to  believe  that,  at  some 
distant  time,  they  have  been  in  a  state  of  fusion,  their 
seams  being  obliterated  by  that  coalescence  of  the 
sides  of  continuous  layers  that  much  resembles  the 
union  of  contiguous  bricks  and  stones  that  have 
been  heated  up  to  the  melting-point.  "  This  feature 
is  well  exhibited  in  the  altered  shale  north  of  Pero 
Hill.  Here,  in  place,  is  seen  a  great  succession  of 
strata  completely  fused  together ;  so  that,  if  quarried, 
the  beds  would  divide  up  into  blocks  from  one  foot  to 
five  feet  thick,  and,  in  proportion,  as  long  and  as 
wide.  Indeed,  upon  the  surface  and  imbedded  into  the 
soil  are  fragments  of  indurated  shale,  three  feet  thick, 
four  feet  wide,  and  six  feet  long,  that  are  almost  as 
hard  as  flint. 

The  shale  north  of  Cedar  Summit  ex'hibits  the  same 
phenomena  very  boldly.  Upon  the  surface  here  are 
huge  blocks  of  altered  shale  of  flinty  hardness.    Upon 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  AND   GEOLOGY   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


171 


the  bank  that  skirts  the  eastern  side  of  the  road  that 
extends  from  Wertsville  to  Cedar  Summit  rests  a 
block  of  this  material  that  is  four  and  a  half  feet 
wide,  four  and  a  half  feet  deep,  and  eight  feet  long. 
The  layers  of  this  stone  seem  to  be  completely  and 
very  firmly  joined  by  fusion. 

At  many  other  places  similar  appearances  are  pres- 
ent to  one  ascending  the  northern  slope  of  the  Sour- 
land  Ridge, — for  instance,  along  the  road  from  Ein- 
gos  to  Rocktown,  from  Wertsville  to  Cedar  Summit, 
from  Unionville  to  Bihl's  Corner,  and  from  Wyckoffs 
Corner  to  Cedar  Summit. 

The  indurated  rock  above  described  doubtless  is 
but  ordinary  shale  altered  by  the  agency  of  heat  com- 
municated to  it  from  the  basaltic  trap  over  which  it 
lies.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  trap  that 
underlies  this  indurated  rock  was  injected,  in  a  mol- 
ten condition,  into  the  bed  in  which  it  now  exists. 
In  the  process  of  cooling  it  must  have  imparted  to 
the  contiguous  shale  an  enormous  amount  of  heat, — 
enough  to  fuse  the  layers  contiguous  to  it, — while 
those  farther  distant  must  have  suifered  a  less  eleva- 
tion of  temperature.  Hence  the  gradation  in  the 
amount  of  alteration  that  we  find  in  the  successive 
layers  of  the  shale  which  is  found  along  the  northern 
slope  of  this  ridge. 

Another  evidence  that  the  rock  here  described  has 
been  subjected  to  a  high  degree  of  heat  is  the  occur- 
rence in  it  of  mineral  in  a  crystalline  form.  At  many 
places  along  the  slope  of  the  ridge  are  found,  in  the 
indurated  rocks,  crystals  of  quartz,  tourmaline,  epi- 
dote,  and  those  of  kindred  minerals.  In  many  places, 
too,  the  rock  is  shivered  or  broken  up  into  very  small, 
regular  or  irregular,  fragments,  which  are  sometimes 
cuboidal,  more  frequently  lozenge-shaped, — a  fractur- 
ing that  is  easily  explainable  on  the  hypothesis  that 
the  layers  now  formed  out  of  these  pieces  were  once 
layers  of  ordinary  shale  that  have  been  subjected  to 
intense  heat  and  very  great  lateral  pressure. 

To  the  rock  modified  or  altered  by  the  influence  of 
heat  is  given  the  term  "altered  shale."  To  show  that 
in  chemical  composition,  as  well  as  in  physical  ap- 
pearance, it  differs  from  ordinary  shale,  the  following 
table  is  given,  being  the  results  of  the  analysis  of 
three  specimens  of  altered  shale, — one  fi-om  Hunter- 
don County,  the  others  from  Mercer  County.  No.  1 
is  a  specimen  from  along  the  Lockatong  Creek ;  No. 
2,  from  the  farm  of  Spencer  S.  Wearts ;  No.  3,  from 
Moore's  mills,  upon  Stony  brook : 


No.  1.         No.  2. 


No.  3. 


Silica 51.08 

Alumina 22.45 

Protoxide  of  iron y.-42 

Manganese 93 

Lime 2.63 

Magnesia 3.37 

Potash 1.38 

Soda 2.18 

Sulphuric  acid 2.81 

Carbonic  acid 1.3U 

■Water 2.64 

99.93 


51.2 

68.60 

20.2 

20.66 

8.1 

5.80 

.1 

3.8 

4.76 

6.4 

.65 

1.44 

6.43 

"5.6 

.80 

1.7 

.65 

99.93 

The  above  table  shows  that  the  altered  shales  con- 
tain in  considerable  quantities  the  elements  for  mak- 
ing a  valuable  soil. 

At  many  places  altered  shale  is  used  for  architec- 
tural purposes.  Upon  the  Sourland  Ridge  and  along 
the  brow  of  the  table-land  are  many  houses  built  of 
the  surface-stones  which  are  but  the  fragments  of 
altered  shale.  In  color  these  stones  are  generally 
purple  or  dark  blue.  They  are  very  hard,  and  very 
durable :  a  wall  made  of  them  is  very  beautiful.  But 
since,  under  the  hammer,  the  fracture  is  conchoidal,. 
they  are  difficult  to  shape  and  are  much  hated  by 
masons.  They  do  not  "  take  mortar"  well,  and,  as  a 
consequence,  they  make  a  wall  that  is  less  strong  than 
one  made  of  common  shale-stones. 

From  strata  farther  away  from  the  trap-rock,  where 
the  layers  have  been  less  altered  by  heat,  stones  may 
be  quarried  that  work  well  under  the  hammer,  "  take 
mortar"  middling  well,  and  are  comparatively  durable. 
Of  this  character  are  the  stones  obtained  from  the 
quarry  on  the  farm  owned  by  Joseph  G.  Quick,  also 
from  the  one  on  the  farm  owned  by  Ashur  Higgins,  and 
from  the  quarry  at  the  factory  near  Eingos,  from  Dr. 
G.  H.  Larison's  quarry,  at  the  western  terminus  of 
Anastomosing  Eidge  in  Lambertville,  and  at  Patrick 
Hunt's  quarry,  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  Sourland, 
in  the  same  city. 

The  altered  shale  along  the  northern  slope  of  the 
Sourland  Eidge  and  along  Bleak  Eidge  abounds  in 
the  minerals  epidote,  tourmaline,  steatite,  pyrites,  and 
mica. 

Epidote  is  found  in  abundance  in  the  altered  shale 
along  Swan  Eill,  in  the  city  of  Lambertville.  More 
sparingly,  it  is  found  in  the  shale  of  the  quarries 
within  the  city  limits.  Near  Basaltic  Cliff  is  another 
site  at  which  are  found  in  considerable  numbers  no- 
dules of  epidote.  From  this  locality  there  is  at  the 
Academy  of  Science  and  Art  a  block  of  altered  shale 
containing  nodules  of  this  mineral  from  an  inch  and 
a  half  to  two  inches  in  diameter. 

Tourmaline  occurs  in  the  ''sandy  shale"  on  the 
"high  grounds"  southeast  of  Lambertville.  Gener- 
ally, the  crystals  are  small.  In  color  they  are  dark 
brown  or  black. 

Steatite  occurs  in  the  joints  of  the  quarry  worked 
by  Patrick  Hunt  at  Lambertville.  Its  color  is  light 
red  or  reddish-gray. 

Cavities  lined  with  quartz  crystals  often  occur  in 
the  strata  of  altered  shale.  In  these,  sometimes,  the 
crystals  are  alriiost  acicular  and  long;  in  others, 
columnar  and  short. 

Crystals  of  iron  pyrites  occur  in  the  sandy  layers 
of  altered  shale. 

Flakes  of  mica  occur  in  the  arenaceous  strata  of 
shale.  At  some  places  pieces  of  shaly  sandstone  are 
picked  up  that,  from  the  presence  of  the  mineral, 
glitter  as  if  set  with  scales  of  burnished  silver. 

All  along  the  brow  of  the  table-land,  from  the 
Delaware  River  to  the  Cakepoulin  Rivulet,  occur 


172 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


outcrops  of  altered  shale.  Indeed,  from  river  to 
rivulet  there  are  two  lines  of  outcrops  that  are  ap- 
proximately parallel. 

The  altered  shale  along  these  lines  is  very  similar 
to  that  found  upon  the  northern  slope  of  the  Sourland 
Eidge.  At  some  places  it  is  flinty,  rings  when  struck 
with  the  hammer,  and  breaks  with  a  conchoidal  frac- 
ture; at  others  it  is  less  indurated  and  breaks  with 
more  regularity.  In  it  exist  the  same  kind  of  min- 
erals found  in  the  altered  shale  of  the  Sourland. 

The  shale  forming  Baven  Eock  is  a  part  of  the 
most  southerly  of  these  lines. 

Sandstone. — That  part  of  a  layer  of  a  sedimentary 
Triaasic  rock  that  consists  largely  of  grains  of  quartz- 
ose  sand  is  known  as  sandstone, — sometimes  called 
"  freestone."  As  above  intimated,  sandstones  do  not 
constitute  entire  layers,  but  the  same  layer  is  called  a 
shale  in  that  part  which  is  largely  made  up  of  clay 
and  is  nearly  destitute  of  sandy  particles  ;  while  that 
part  of  it  that  is  made  up  chiefly  of  sand-grains,  with 
an  absence  of  clay,  is  called  a  sandstone. 

As  above  stated,  as  a  rule  that  part  of  a  layer  which 
is  sandy  is  thicker  than  that  part  which  is  shaly.  This 
condition  of  the  layer  gives  a  clue  to  the  solution  of 
the  problem  concerning  the  origin  of  the  strata  com- 
posing the  Triassic  Period,  as  found  in  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  Triassic  rock,  the  most 
plausible  theory  is  that  at  the  close  of  the  Carbon- 
iferous Age  there  existed  a  lagoon  that  extended 
from  the  Hudson  Eiver  southwestward  through  Penn- 
sylvania and  Maryland  into  Virginia.  This  lagoon 
was  flanked  upon  the  northwest  and  upon  the  south- 
east by  rock  belonging  to  the  Archaean  Age.  Along 
the  northwest  the  land  rose  up  abruptly  into  the 
Archaean  highlands,  as  at  present.  Here  was  a  short 
slope  to  contribute  of  its  detritus  to  the  filling  up  of 
this  ancient  lagoon.  But  towards  the  southeast  rose 
up  a  plain  of  Archaean  rocks  that  extended  away  from 
the  shore  of  the  lagoon  far  back  into  a  region  which 
is  now  covered  by  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic.  From 
this  extended  slope  the  streams  transported  the  de- 
tritus and  deposited,  as  silt,  the  clayey  elements  of 
their  freight  to  form  the  red-shale  rock,  and  the  coarse 
and  sandy  elements  to  form  the  sandstones  and  con- 
glomerates. 

As  the  streams  were  transporting  to  this  lagoon 
their  freight  of  detritus,  to  be  spread  out  to  form  the 
layers  of  trias,  those  particles  which  were  coarser  and 
heavier — such  as  sand-grains  and  the  like — would  be 
first  deposited,  while  the  finer-grained — and  conse- 
quently the  more  easily  transportable — would  be  car- 
ried farther  on  and  spread  more  extensively  over  the 
bottom  of  the  lagoon.  Hence,  we  infer  that  those  por- 
tions of  a  layer,  or  of  a  succession  of  layers,  that  are 
sandy  are  at  the  bottom  of  what  once  was  an  estuary 
of  an  ancient  stream,  and  in  consequence  was  the 
recipient  of  the  heavier  particles  of  the  freight  brought 
down  by  each  successive  freshet  of  the  stream ;  while 


the  lighter  particles  of  the  same  freight  were  carried 
beyond  these  gritty  beds,  to  be  spread  out  to  form 
laminae  of  shale. 

Every  observer  must  have  noticed  that  the  shale-rock 
consists  of  laminae ;  that  the  sandstones  are  destitute 
of  laminae.  At  some  places  it  is  possible  to  trace  a 
thin  layer  of  sandstone  as  it  thins  out  into  a  lamina 
of  shale.  Perhaps  every  layer  of  sandstone,  no  mat- 
ter how  thick,  is  but  a  swell  of  gritty  material  in  a 
lamina  of  a  Triassic  layer  that  at  the  time  of  its 
deposition  extended  over  the  bottom  of  the  whole 
lagoon.  If  this  be  so,  we  see  that  the  estuaries  of 
streams  must  have  filled  up  more  rapidly  than  those 
parts  of  the  lagoon  that  were  farther  away.  This 
must  have  caused  frequent  changes  in  the  course  of 
the  streams  as  they  flowed  through  those  estuaries. 

Of  this  we  have  abundant  evidence  in  any  quarry 
that  we  may  visit.  However,  in  some  it  is  more 
noticeable  than  in  others.  At  Stockton  we  see  a  suc- 
cession of  layers  of  sandstone  superimposed  by  a  suc- 
cession of  laminae  of  shale.  These  laminae  in  turn  are 
superimposed  by  a  succession  of  layers  of  sandstone. 
These  sandstone  are  again  superimposed  by  layers  of 
shale ;  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  layers  that  consti- 
tute the  quarry.  This  happened,  no  doubt,  by  the 
filling  in  of  the  bed  of  the  stream  with  sand,  while  the 
elements  to  form  shale  were  carried  farther  away. 
Nor  is  it  difiicult  to  determine  in  what  direction  the 
current  of  the  estuary  moved.  Ui^on  the  surface  of 
freshly-exposed  layers  in  the  quarries  at  Stockton  is 
seen  the  arrangement  of  the  particles  of  sand  forming 
the  stones.  This  arrangement  is  rrjarvelously  similar 
to  that  of  the  grains  in  a  bar  of  sand  deposited  in  any 
of  our  mill-ponds  at  the  time  of  a  freshest  from  a 
heavy  shower.  Further,  the  largest  stones  of  this 
justly-famous  quarry  may  be  broken  to  pieces,  and 
every  piece  reveals  the  same  structure.  Nor  is  this 
quarry  the  only  site  that  ofi^ers  testimony  to  this 
hypothesis.  The  whole  bed  of  sand  forming  Sandy 
Eidge  everywhere  exhibits  the  same  structure.  In- 
deed, so  boldly  is  this  fact  exhibited  in  the  structure 
of  this  ridge  that,  when  a  boy,  I  used  to  hear  the  men 
working  in  the  sand-pits  of  this  deposit  remark, 
"  This  sand  looks  as  if  it  had  been  washed  here  by 
some  great  freshet  of  an  enormous  river." 

The  arrangement  of  the  particles  of  sand  forming 
the  stones  of  the  quarry  at  Stockton  and  the  huge 
deposit  of  sand  known  as  Sandy  Eidge  are  such  as  to 
show  that  the  current,  at  the  time  these  beds  were 
formed,  moved  from  southwest  to  northeast,  or,  in 
other  words,  moved  from  the  site  at  which  these  quar- 
ries appear  in  the  direction  of  the  line  of  Sandy 
Eidge.  Hence,  we  may  infer  that  the  stones  of  the 
quarry  at  Stockton,  Brookville,  and  Prallsville  are 
composed  of  the  sand-grains  and  pebbles  first  depos- 
ited in  the  bed  of  the  stream  in  the  ancient  estuary, 
that  the  sands  of  Sandy  Eidge  and  those  of  the  de- 
posit at  Sand  Brook  were  the  sediments  of  the  current 
under  less  rapid  movement,  and  that  the  fine-grained 


PHYSICAL  GEOGKAPHY  AND   GEOLOGY  OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


173 


sands  at  the  eastern  terminus  of  these  ridges  are  the 
small  particles  that  were  carried  along  by  a  current 
that  had  lost  much  of  its  rapidity  of  movement ;  while 
the  laminae  of  shale  beyond  these  ridges,  forming  the 
layers  of  the  Red  Shale  Valley,  consist  of  the  clayey 
elements  that  were  easy  of  transportation,  and  floated 
on  to  be  deposited  in  waters  more  quiet, — -perhaps 
almost  tranquil.  In  support  of  this  hypothesis  are  the 
conglomerate,  of  coarse  but  well-worn  fragments, 
forming  the  top  of  the  hill  below  Stockton ;  the  bed 
of  finer  pebbles  beyond ;  the  pits  of  building-sand  in 
the  same  ridge,  farther  to  the  east;  the  fine  sand, 
graduating  into  a  sandy  shale  and  then  into  a  red 
shale,  at  the  eastern  terminus  of  Sandy  Ridge. 

Quarries  at  Stockton  and  in  its  vicinity. — Sandstones 
outcrop  at  various  sites  in  the  Triassic  parts  of  our 
county,  but  there  are  only  a  few  places  at  which  they 
are  in  layers  thick  enough  to  work  well  for  building 
purposes.  At  Stockton  and  in  its  vicinity  are  numer- 
ous quarries.  Here  the  layers  of  sandstone  are  some- 
times six  or  seven  feet  in  thickness.  Especially  is 
this  the  case  in  Hoppock's  quarry,  at  Prallsville, 
from  which  have  been  taken  the  stones  for  the  con- 
struction of  some  of  the  strongest  pieces  of  masonry 
within  the  Central  States. 

The  stones  in  this  quarry  are  beautiful.  In  respect 
to  grain,  they  are  fine  ;  in  color  they  are  light  gray ; 
in  composition  they  are  mainly  quartz  and  feldspar. 
In  this  quarry  the  layers  are  divided  into  regular, 
smooth-faced  blocks  of  large  size.  From  it  have  been 
taken  cuboidal  blocks  the  sides  of  which  were  six  feet 
across.  With  the  "wedge  and  feather"  these  blocks 
spilt  easily.  With  the  chisel  they  are  readily  worked 
into  handsome  cornices,  sills,  stepstones,  and  the 
like. 

As  at  present  worked,  the  face  of  the  quarry  is  about 
thirty -three  feet.  The  dip  of  the  strata  here  is  gently 
towards  the  northwest. 

This  quarry  was  opened  about  1813.  In  1832-33  it 
was  worked  by  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  Com- 
pany. Some  years  ago  it  was  worked  by  one  Kessler. 
It  is  now  in  the  care  of  the  heirs  of  William  Hop- 
pock,  deceased. 

Several  of  the  largest  railroad-bridges  in  the  Lehigh 
Valley,  and  many  other  of  the  most  important  stone 
structures  built  within  the  present  decade,  are  con- 
structed of  material  from  the  quarries  at  Stockton  and 
vicinity. 

The  quarries  in  the  vicinity  of  Stockton  have  each 
its  peculiarity  of  bedding.  The  one  at  Brookville  is 
thin-bedded.  In  this  the  layers  range  from  eight  to 
fifteen  inches  in  thickness.  In  color  the  stone  is  a 
buflish  gray. 

The  quarry  at  Stockton  exhibits  layers  ranging  in 
thickness  from  six  to  twenty-four  inches.  In  this  are 
a  few  intercalations  of  shale.  The  color  of  the  stones 
here  is  light  gray.  Out  of  the  stones  of  this  quarry 
many  a  beautiful  building  has  been  constructed. 

In  the  canal  company's  quarry,  north  of  the  Wick- 


echeoche  Rivulet,  the  layers  range  in  thickness  from 
four  to  eight  feet.  The  rock  is  composed  almost  ex- 
clusively of  quartz-grains.  In  some  places  it  is  con- 
glomerate. It  contains  very  little  cementing  material. 
In  color  it  is  almost  white. 

The  layers  all  dip  towards  the  northwest.  They 
are  divided  by  two  systems  of  joints  which  are  nearly 
at  right  angles.  These  extend  almost  vertical.  Upon 
this,  to  a  great  extent,  depends  the  ease  with  which 
this  quarry  is  worked.  A  blast  here  sometimes  forces 
a  block  that  would  weigh  twenty-five  tons. 

Haven  Hock. — At  this  place  is  a  deposit  of  coarse 
quartz-grains  that  have  solidified  into  a  very  hard 
sandstone.  These  are  quarried  and  used  for  building 
purposes.  The  layers  are  not  very  thick.  In  color 
they  are  light  gray.  Near  by  is  another  formation  of 
sandstone,  also  quarried  for  building  purposes.  In 
this  the  stone  is  -fine-grained  and  in  thin  layers.  In 
color  it  is  pale  red.     Some  layers  are  rather  shaly. 

Sergeant's  Quarry. — About  a  mile  southwest  of 
Flemington,  on  a  farm  owned  by  John  Sergeant,  is 
an  outcrop  of  sandstone  that  has  occasionally  been 
worked  for  building-stone.  The  layers  are  thin  and 
the  grain  of  the  rock  very  fine.  In  color  it  is  bufi", 
inclining  to  gray. 

About  a  mile  south  of  Flemington,  on  a  farm  owned 
by  Gershom  C.  Sergeant,  is  an  outcrop  of  sandstone 
strata.  These  have  never  been  worked  for  building- 
stone.  The  strata  are  but  few,  and  are  quite  thin. 
In  color  the  stone  is  buff,  with  shining  specks  of  mica. 
It  consists  mainly  of  fine  grains  of  quartz,  feldspar, 
and  small  flakes  of  mica,  cemented  by  means  of  the 
oxide  of  iron.  The  dip  of  these  strata  is  very  steep. 
Flagstone  Quarries  at  Milford. — Along  the  Hakiho- 
kake  Creek,  about  a  mile  from  Milford,  is  an  exten- 
sive quarry  of  excellent  flagstone,  owned  by  Mr. 
Clark.  In  this  quarry  the  layers  range  in  thickness 
from  one  to  twelve  inches.  They  are  divided  by  a 
system  of  joints  extending  N.  75°  E.  Another  system 
extends  N.  15°  W.  They  split  evenly,  yielding  slabs 
with  even  surfaces  that  are  highly  prized  for  flooring 
or  sidewalks.  The  dip  of  the  layers  is  20°  N.  40°  W. 
In  color  the  stone  is  bluish ;  in  grain  it  is  fine.  From 
this  quarry  have  been  taken  stones  that  measure 
twenty-two  feet  in  length  by  seventeen  in  breadth. 
This  quarry  was  opened  in  1860.  In  it  have  been 
found  thin  seams  of  coal  and  impressions  of  stems  of 
plants.  Here,  too,  have  been  found  some  indistinct 
footprints. 

On  a  branch  of  the  Hakihokake  is  Rowland's 
quarry.  In  this  the  layers  are  thickest  at  the  top, 
and  range  from  one  to  twenty-four  inches.  The  rock 
is  composed  almost  entirely  of  quartz.  In  grain  it  is 
rather  coarse ;  in  color,  a  dark  gray.  Here,  too,  have 
been  found  thin  seams  of  coal.  From  this  quarry 
have  been  taken  stones  that  were  twenty  by  twenty 
feet. 

These  quarries  are  located  upon  a  high  hill  near  the 
Belvidere  and  Delaware  Railroad,  and  are  easy  to 


174 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


work.    From  them  are  shipped  large  quantities  of  very 
superior  flagging. 

Conglomerate. — The  follo\Ying  description  of  the 
conglomerate  of  Hunterdon  County,  found  in  the 
"  Geology  of  New  Jersey  for  1868,"  is  so  lucid  and 
so  complete  that  it  is  quoted  nearly  entire  : 

"Along  the  Delaware  Elver,  above  Milford,  there  is  a  remarkably 
coarse  conglomerate  exposed  in  the  high  bluff  on  the  roadside.  A  red 
shaly  rock  alternates  with  this  conglomerate.  The  latter  is  geneniUy  in 
beds  from  one  to  ten  feet  thick,  and  with  less  shale  between  them  towards 
the  northwest.  The  dip  is  16°-20='  N.  00'  W.  The  conglomerate  thins 
out  in  certain  strata,  and  shale  takes  its  place.  Nearly  all  of  the  mate- 
rial in  it  is  silicions.  Some  of  the  rounded  quartzites  in  it  are  a  foot  in 
diameter.  There  are  a  few  red-shale  pebbles,  and  very  rarely  one  of 
limestone  is  seeu  among  them.  The  matrix  is  red  and  similar  to  the 
material  of  the  alternating  layers  of  shale.  The  general  aspect  of  the 
rock  is  dnll  red,  in  places  grayish.  This  conglomerate  is  seen  along  the 
river  for  nearly  two  miles.  It  may  also  be  seen  in  the  Nockamixon 
Cliffs,  ou  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 

"  Westof  this  and  along  the  river  road,  south  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
at  Johnson's  Ferry,  a  conglomerate  crops  out,,  dipping  40'  N.  60°  W.  It 
consists  of  a  red  siliceo-argillaceous  paste,  cementing  together  angular 
and  partially-rounded  pebbles  and  masses  of  quartz,  gneiss,  and  grayish 
limestone.  Some  of  these  imbedded  fragments  are  a  foot  in  diameter. 
The  rock  appears  back  of  the  church,  dipping  steeply  to  the  southeast, 
while  close  to  it  on  the  north  is  the  magnesian  limestone,  which  also 
dips  towards  the  southeast.  The  two  rocks  are  here  seen  only  a  few  rods 
apart. 

"  Near  Amsterdam  a  calcareous  conglomerate  occurs,  near  the  residence 
of  .laoob  Bobbins,  on  the  east  of  the  road  to  Holland  Station.  It  has  been 
used  for  lime,  but  only  to  a  small  extent.  Its  dip  appears  to  be  towards 
the  southeast. 

"  At  Little  York  some  ragged  rocks  of  calcareous  conglomerate  are 
seen  projecting  above  the  surface.    Their  dip  is  almost  vertical. 

"  A  calcareous  conglomerate  occurs  near  New  Germantown  and  Leba- 
non, occupying  a  narrow  strip  of  country  between  the  gneiss  and  the  red 
shale  and  sandstone.  That  near  New  Germantown  lies  west  of  Cold 
Brook,  and  extends,  between  that  stream  aud  a  part  of  the  Fox  Hill 
range,  from  the  village  northerly  about  one  and  a  half  miles  to  the  resi- 
dence of  H.  0.  Hoffman,  at  the  road-corners.  Northward  the  drift  pre- 
vents the  farther  tracing  of  tliis  rock.  East  of  Cold  Brook  the  rock  is  a 
hard,  flinty,  red  quartzite.  The  conglomerate  is  made  up  of  blue-lime- 
stone pebbles,  and  slightly-rounded  masses  cemented  together  by  a  red 
shaly  paste.    It  is  quarried  on  several  farms  as  a  source  of  lime. 

"Northwest  of  New  Germantown,  and  west  of  the  conglomerate  just 
described,  a  calcareous  rock  is  quarried,  near  the  North  Rockaway  Creek, 
on  the  lands  of  Peter  W.  Melick. 

"  West-southwest  of  these  outcrops  is  the  conglomerate  north  and 
northeast  of  Lebanon.  Wjiethor  it  is  connected  with  that  at  New  Ger- 
mantown is  uncertain.  It  is  seen  on  several  farms  east  of  the  Lebanon 
and  Cokesburg  road,  occupying  a  belt  of  country  about  half  a  mile  wide, 
bordering  the  gneiss  on  the  north  and  the  red  shale  on  the  south.  The 
rock  dips  to  the  north  and  northwest,  except  at  Hoffman's  quarry,  where 
it  dips  gently  towards  the  south.  At  Van  Sickle's  aud  at  Eamsey's  quar- 
ries the  dip  is  about  ten  degrees  towards  the  northwest.  Near  George  E. 
Apgar's  the  rock  dips  also  to  the  northwest. 

"  Northeast  of  Pottersvllle,  near  the  border  of  the  gneiss,  there  is  a  hill 
containing  a  calcareo-silicious  conglomerate.  The  hill  is  about  half  a 
mile  long,  and  perhaps  one  hundred  feet  high.  On  the  surface  the  rock 
is  cellular  or  amygdaloidal,  owing  to  the  calcareous  matter  dissolving  out 
and  leaving  the  cavities  in  it.  On  the  west-noithwest  is  a  limestone°that 
has  been  quarried.    It  is  probably  this  conglomerate." 

TKAP-KOCKS. 

Of  trap-rocks  in  Hunterdon  County  there  are  two 
kinds,  basaltic  and  trachitic,  the  former  being  much 
the  more  abundant. 

Trap-rock  of  the  Sourland  Hidge.—Fiom  the  Dela- 
ware northeastward  to  the  terminus  of  the  Sourland 
Ridge,  as  a  core  through  its  centre,  extends  a  layer  of 
basaltic  trap.     It  outcrops  at  but  few  places,  but  it 


may  be  traced  all  along  by  the  overlying  belt  of  gritty 
soil  bestrewed  with  basaltic  bowlders  that  has  resulted 
from  its  decay. 

It  may  be  seen  in  places  along  the  western  escarp- 
ment of  Goat  Hill;  on  the  top  of  Goat  Hill,  south  of 
Mount  Airy,  at  Fisher's  Peak,  along  the  sides  of  the 
road  that  extends  from  Ringos  to  Rocktown,  at  Ba- 
saltic Cliff,  along  the  side  of  the  road  south  of  Basal- 
tic Cliff,  and  west  of  the  Rock  Mills.     It  is  in  the 
form  of  a  dike  between  layers  of  altered  shale.    With 
the  strata  of  shale  it  seems,  in  all  particulars,  entirely 
conformable.     Its  thickness  cannot  be  accurately  de- 
termined, yet  we   may    approximately   measure   it. 
Upon  its  surface  the  soil  that  has  resulted  from  its  de- 
composition is  about  half  a  mile  wide ;  perhaps  the 
underlying  trap-rock  is  about  the  same  width.     The 
outcrop  south  of  Ringos   affords  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity to  determine  the  dip  of  this  stratum  of  trap. 
At  this  site  the  dip  is  N.  20°  W.     The  altered  shale 
that  outcrops  along  its  southern  border,  and  conse- 
quently  extends   beneath  it,    and  that   which   out- 
crops along  its  northern  border,  and  as  a  consequence 
overlies  it,  has  a  dip,  upon  an  average,  of  twenty  de- 
grees towards  the  northwest.     If,  then,  the  dip  of  this 
trappean  layer  is  twenty  degrees,  and  its   horizontal 
surface  is  half  a  mile  wide,  its  thickness  must  be  not 
far  from  nine  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet — a  dike 
of  no  mean  proportions. 

The  trend  of  this  trappean  dike  is  not  straight  or 
direct ;  at  one  place  it  exhibits  a  remarkable  curve. 
Starting  from  the  Delaware  at  Goat  Hill,  it  extends 
northeast  for  about  five  miles  ;  it  then  curves  north- 
ward to  Fisher's  Peak  ;  thence  it  extends  northeast  to 
Basaltic  Cliff;  thence  southeast  to  Snydertown,  where 
it  resumes  its  northeastern  course,  and  continues  it  to 
the  terminus  of  the  ridge. 

Trap  of  Gilbo.—The  main  bulk  of  this  hill  consists 
of  basaltic  trap.  Its  outcrop  seems  to  be  ellipsoidal, 
the  greater  diameter,  which  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  length,  extending  nearly  north  and  south.  To- 
wards the  west,  quite  to  the  river,  the  trap  is  bare  ; 
upon  the  other  side  it  is  covered  with  strata  of  altered 
shale.  These  strata  seem  to  dip  uniformly  towards 
the  northwest,  and  are  conformable  to  those  of  the 
shale  between  which  it  is  injected. 

Trap  near  Point  Pleasant.— 'Nea.r  Point  Pleasant  is 
an  outcrop  of  trap  that  is  very  fine-grained.  As 
measured  across  it  along  the  road  it  is  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  wide.  From  the  river  eastward  it  can  be 
traced  about  a  mile.  It  forms  the  core  of  a  hill  that 
rises  to  the  height  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty-five 
feet  above  mean  tide-level. 

Upon  the  southeast  side  this  trap  is  flanked  by  very 
hard  strata  of  altered  shale  that  form  the  western 
terminus  of  that  long  line  of  outcrops  that  extends, 
with  interruptions,  from  this  site,  in  a  curve,  along 
the'southern  and  eastern  brow  of  the  table-land  to  the 
Cakepoulin  Creek,— a  distance  of  about  eighteen 
miles.     Upon  the  northwest  a  deep  ravine  in  part  sep- 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY  AND   GEOLOGY  OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


175 


arates  it  from  the  altered  shale.  However,  a  little 
way  back  from  the  river  it  is  covered  by  strata  of  al- 
tered shale  that  form  the  western  terminus  of  that 
chain  of  outcrops  that  extends,  in  a  curve  almost 
parallel  with  the  line  of  outcrops  just  described,  from 
this  site  to  the  hank  of  the  Cakepoulin  Creek. 

Trap  near  Sidney. — In  a  cut  through  the  hill  near 
Sidney,  made  by  the  construction  of  the  Easton  and 
Amboy  Railroad,  trap  is  disclosed.  In  color  and  in 
texture  it  very  much  resembles  the  trap  at  Point  Pleas- 
ant. It  seems  to  be  in  a  stratum  that  stands  vertical. 
On  the  east  side  it  is  flanked  by  the  altered  shale 
that  forms  the  northern  terminus  of  that  chain  of 
outcrops  that  gives  prominence  to  the  brow  of  the 
table-land. 

There  are  many  considerations  that  lead  to  the  be- 
lief that  the  trap  near  Sidney  and  that  near  Point 
Pleasant  are  connected, — that  both  are  but  the  out- 
crops of  a  great  dike  of  trap  that  extends  between 
the  layers  of  altered  shale  whose  outcrops  form  the 
brow  and  the  counter-brow  of  the  table-land.  Al- 
though within  these  two  lines  of  outcrops  of  altered 
shale  there  are  neither  outcrops  of  trap  between 
these  points,  nor  even  fragments  of  trap  in  the 
soil,  nor  yet  that  ochre-oolor  of  the  surface  peculiar  to 
a  soil  that  results  from  the  decay  of  the  trap,  yet  it 
may  be  that  but  a  few  feet  beneath  the  surface  of  a 
soil  made  from  the  disintegration  of  the  altered  shale 
a  stratum  of  trap  extends  from  the  Point  Pleasant 
outcrop  to  the  outcrop  in  the  cut  made  by  the  Easton 
and  Amboy  Railroad.  In  support  of  this  hypothesis 
is  the  fact  that  from  two  sites  in  the  chain  of  out- 
crops forming  the  brow  of  the  table-land  may  be 
traced  the  trap-dike  of  Dike  Hill.  One  of  these  sites 
is  almost  north  of  Sand  Brook ;  the  other  is  north- 
west of  the  same  village. 

Again,  from  a  site  in  the  brow  of  the  table-land 
just  south  of  the  point  at  which  the  road  extending 
from  Flemington  to  Croton  crosses  the  brow  may  be 
traced  the  dike  of  basaltic  trap  that  extends  from  the 
above-named  place  across  the  Red  Shale  Valley  to 
its  terminus  in  Basaltic  Cliff.  Also,  from  a  site  in 
the  same  line  of  outcrops  about  three  miles  farther 
north  may  be  traced,  in  the  •  direction  of  Round 
Mountain,  a  dike  some  two  miles  in  length. 

It  seems  that  at  the  time  of  injection  there  was 
thrown  in  between  the  layers  of  altered  shale  a  quan- 
tity of  molten  liquid  not  large  enough  to  fill  the 
space  to  the  surface,  and  yet  seemingly  large  enough 
to  separate  the  layers  several  feet,  and,  as  it  cooled,  to 
hold  them  apart.  Consequently,  subsequent  to  the 
injection,  all  along  from  Point  Pleasant  to  the  rail- 
road cut  there  must  have  been  a  yawning  abyss.  This 
chasm  must  have  been  peculiar. 

The  northern  side,  formed  of  the  layers  of  shale 
baked  hard  by  the  heat  escaping  from  the  injected 
molten  fluid,  must  have  so  projected  southeastward 
as  to  efiect  a  partial  covering — a  long  deep  trench 
partly  covered  with  a  shaly  roof  that  projected  for- 


ward and  upward.  The  rear  portion  of  the  floor  must 
have  been  level  and  formed  a  trappean  rock ;  the  front 
part  must  have  been  composed  of  altered  shale  that 
sloped  upward  to  the  opening.  Hence,  it  must  have 
appeared  like  an  immense  corridor  extending  from 
end  to  end  along  the  brow  of  the  table-land. 

In  the  course  of  time  this  chasm  began  to  be  filled 
with  debris  and  detritus  from  the  contiguous  sides. 
As  the  roof  wall  had  no  columns  to  support  it,  and  as 
upon  its  under  side  as  well  as  upon  its  upper  side  it 
was  subjected  to  the  disintegrating  influences  of  the 
atmosphere,  it  soon  began  to  moulder  and  fall  to 
pieces,  and  to  fill  the  chasm  with  the  ruins  of  its 
decay.  As  along  its  free  margin  fragments  were  de- 
tached and  fell,  a  mural-like  escarpment  resulted ; 
hence  those  outcrops  of  altered  shale  that  form  in 
many  places  the  wall-like  line  of  elevation  that  we 
call  the  counter-brow. 

As  the  detritus  and  debris  of  the  contiguous  lands 
have  not,  in  many  places,  entirely  filled  the  space  be- 
tween, a  long  narrow  hollow  or  valley  is  left,  the 
trough  formed  of  the  brow  and  the  counter-brow  of 
the  table-land. 

Trap  of  Bound  Mountain. — An  ellipsoidal  area  cov- 
ered with  trap  forms  the  central  and  the  most  elevated 
parts  of  Round  Mountain.  The  greater  diameter  of 
this  area  extends  east  and  west ;  it  is  about  one  mile 
and  a  half  long.  The  other  diameter  is  less  than  a 
mile.     Perhaps  the  core  of  this  hill  consists  of  trap. 

Trap  of  Cushatong  Mountain  and  Pickle's  Moun- 
tain.— On  the  north,  the  east,  and  the  south  sides, 
Round  Valley  is  environed  with  a  narrow  area  of 
trap  that  in  shape  somewhat  resembles  a  horseshoe. 
This  trappean  area  forms  the  core  and  the  most  ele- 
vated parts  of  Cushatong  and  Pickle's  Mountain.  In- 
deed, in  many  places  the  sharp  back  of  the  projecting 
dike  constitutes  the  crest  of  the  mountain  ;  in  others 
the  core  of  trap  is  covered  by  a  soil  that  has  resulted 
from  its  decay.  Everywhere  the  sides  of  the  ridge 
are  bestrewed  with  fragments  of  the  decaying  trap. 
In  fact,  the  entire  ridge  that  forms  the  elevations 
known  as  Cushatong  and  Pickle's  Mountain  seems  to 
be  composed  of  trap. 

The  trap  of  this  semicircular  belt  is  of  that  variety 
known  as  trachyte.  It  seems  to  be  in  the  form  of  a 
dike  that  stands  vertical, — which  has  broken  ver- 
tically through  both  the  underlying  Archaean  rocks 
and  the  successive  layers  of  shale.  In  these  respects, 
in  chemical  composition,  and  in  position  it  differs 
very  greatly  from  the  dikes  in  the  southeast  part  of 
the  county. 

In  appearance  this  trachytic  trap  differs  very  much 
from  the  basaltic.  The  crystals  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed are  coarse;  when  exposed  to  the  weather  it 
becomes  white,  and  its  surface  is  rough;  it  fractures 
with  a  heavy  blow,  yielding  a  rough  surface ;  its 
specific  gravity  is  2.74 ;  in  composition  feldspar  pre- 
dominates ;  "  in  its  fracture  and  general  appearance 
it  resembles  syenitic  granite." 


176 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


For  architectural  purposes  this  rock  has  very  little 
value,  hut  the  soil  that  results  from  its  decay  is  very 
fertile  and  well  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
cereals  as  well  as  to  that  of  pears,  apples,  plums, 
cherries,  and  especially  of  peaches.  On  this  soil  the 
peach-tree  grows  to  extraordinary  proportions  and 
lives  to  an  extraordinary  age.  In  quality  the  fruits 
that  grow  upon  this  soil  are  superior. 

Trap  of  New  Germantown  and  Silver  Hill. — "  Near 
the  gneiss  of  the  Highlands  and  west  of  New  Ger- 
mantown is  another  semicircular  trap-range,  and 
facing  the  open  semicircle  is  a  round  hill  of  the  same 
rock,  known  as  Silver  Hill.  Both  of  these  outcrops 
are  bordered  on  the  north  and  east  by  the  calcareous 
conglomerate  of  the  Triassic  age.  Silver  Hill  is  quite 
elevated,  and  very  stony  on  its  top  and  north  side. 
Its  southern  slope  is  shaly.  The  main  ridge,  west  of 
the  village  of  New  Germantown,  has  the  conglom- 
erate on  the  east  along  Gold  Brook  and  near  the  vil- 
lage. This  ridge  bends  west  and  crosses  the  Eocka- 
way  at  Trimmer's  mills,  where  its  breadth  is  only  one 
hundred  yards.  Its  northwest  termination  is  just  be- 
yond the  Potterstown  road  and  the  Tewksbury  town- 
ship line.  South  of  this  is  red  shale.  In  the  valley 
between  this  and  Silver  Hill  the  surface  is  also  shaly, 
but  no  shale  is  seen  in  place.  North  and  west  of 
these  trap-outcrops  is  the.gneiss,  separated  from  it  by 
blue  limestone  at  one  point,  and  probably  by  the  con- 
glomerate also,  which,  as  has  already  been  mentioned, 
occurs  east  of  these  hills."* 

Anastomosing  and  Insulated  Trap-Dikes. — The  trap 
above  described  seems  to  exist,  for  the  most  part,  in 
the  form  of  dikes,  which  have  been  made  by  inject- 
ing, at  an  early  time,  molten  liquid  through  long 
lines  of  fissures  in  the  basement  or  Archfean  rocks 
into  the  spaces  between  layers  of  shale.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  trap  which  forms  the  ridge  known  as 
Cushatong  and  Pickle's  Mountain,  it  is  all  in  layers 
or  beds  entirely  or  nearly  conformable  to  the  strata  of 
the  shale  between  which  it  lies.  Indeed,  in  every 
case  the  trap  seems  not  only  to  exist  in  a  layer  with 
regular  outline,  but  the  layer  itself  is  stratified,  in 
most  places,  with  the  greatest  regularity. 

But  another  system  of  dikes  exists  that  presents 
other  peculiarities.  Notable  among  these  peculiari- 
ties are  the  following :  They  do  not  exist  in  layers 
conformable  to  the  strata  of  shale ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  stand  vertical,  and  for  the  most  part  seem  to  be 
in  dikes  that  extend  across  the  strata  of  shale.  In 
each  case  the  bed  of  trap  is  narrow,  and  in  some  no- 
table cases  a  dike  extends  between  two  larger  masses 
of  trap  in  the  form  of  dikes,  forming  a  kind  of  anasto- 
mosis. In  some  cases  the  dike  is  short  and  narrow 
and  entirely  separated  from  any  of  the  less  or  larger 
dikes,  forming  a  kind  of  trappean  island  in  an  area  of 
shale. 

Of  the  anastomosing  dikes,  the  most  notable  is  that 

*  Geology  of  New  Jersey,  1868,  p.  194. 


one  which  extends  between  the  hill  w^est  t)f,  Fleming- 
ton,  near  the  brow  of  the  table-land,  and  Basaltic 
Clifi',  upon  the  Sourland  Eidge.  This  line  of  trap  is 
not  direct.  Commencing  at  the  cemetery,  we  can 
trace  it  a  little  north  of  east  across  the  road  that  ex- 
tends from  Flemington  to  Klinesville.  A  few  yards 
beyond  it  curves  around  towards  the  south,  then  to- 
wards the  west  until  it  recrosses  this  road.  From 
this  site  it  trends  a  little  east  of  south  to  the  crest  of 
Bleak  Eidge  ;  from  thence  southwest  to  Basaltic  Cliff. 
All  the  way  across  theEed  Shale  Valley  it  maybe  easily 
traced  by  the  ochreous  soil  that  has  resulted  from  its 
decay,  as  well  as  by  the  train  of  small — in  some 
places  large — pieces  of  trap  with  which  the  ochreous 
soil  is  bestrewn.  It  may  be  seen  in  place  at  both 
sites  where  it  extends  across  the  Flemington  and 
Klinesville  road,  on  the  hill  not  far  from  the  ceme- 
tery west  of  Flemington,  in  the  side  of  the  road  that 
extends  from  Flemington  to  Stockton,  near  the  mines, 
and  in  the  railroad  cut  north  of  Copper  Hill. 

The  northern  part  of  this  dike  is  the  narrowest.  In 
the  side  of  the  road  north  of  Flemington  it  stands 
vertical  and  is  well  exposed  ;  here  it  has  a  thickness 
or  width  of  about  three  feet.  Near  the  old  mines 
it  seems  to  be  about  ten  feet  thick.  Where  cut 
through  by  the  railroad,  north  of  Copper  Hill,  it  is 
about  eighty  feet  wide.  At  the  summit  between 
Copper  Hill  and  Pleasant  Corner,  also  at  A.  T.  Wil- 
liamson's gate,  in  the  Old  York  Eoad,  it  is  about 
thirty  feet  wide. 

The  trap  of  this  dike  is  basaltic ;  it  is  fine-grained 
and  very  dark.  Upon  the  surface,  at  some  places, 
the  fragments  are  very  small  and  very  few  ;  at  others 
they  are  very  large  and  very  abundant.  From  Cop- 
per Hill  southward  they  are  abundant. 

There  is  a  peculiarity  as  respects  the  position  of  the 
surface-fragments  of  trap  of  this  dike.  Whether 
large  or  small,  all  of  them  lie  upon  the  ochreous 
soil  covering  the  subjacent  trap,  or  else  are  upon 
the  shaly  soil  to  the  eastward  of  it.  It  may  be  that 
within  the  last  few  years,  in  a  few  cases,  by  agricul- 
tural processes,  more  or  less  of  the  small  fragments 
have  been  transported  westward  of  this  dike.  My 
attention  was  called  to  this  peculiarity  in  the  spring 
of  1858.  At  that  time,  from  Copper  Hill  southward, 
the  dike  extended  through  forests.  Consequently,  we 
may  assume  that  the  surface-trap  had  not  been  moved 
by  art.  At  this  time  it  was  quite  impossible  to  find 
even  small  specimens  upon  the  shaly  soil  that  skirted 
the  dike  along  its  western  border.  But  upon  the 
shaly  soil  towards  the  east  from  the  dyke  are  found, 
in  many  places,  thousands  of  tons  of  trap,  and,  what 
is  somewhat  remarkable,  the  largest  fragments  are 
farthest  eastward. 

This  singularity  leads  to  the  belief  that  at  the 
time  of,  and  perhaps  for  a  short  period  after,  its  in- 
jection this  dike  acted  as  a  volcano,  throwing  up  into 
the  air  from  its  boiling  surface  of  molten  fluid  quan- 
tities of  lava  that  solidified  more  or  less  while  in  the 


PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY  AND   GEOLOGY  OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


177 


region  between  the  earth  and  the  sky.  While  high 
up  in  the  air,  acted  upon  by  the  west  winds,  the  cool- 
ing masses  were  carried  so  far  towards  the  east  that 
they  fell  upon  sites  sometimes  two  hundred  yards 
eastward  of  the  line  of  the  dike.  And  we  may  some- 
what estimate  the  activity  of  the  projectile  force  by  the 
amount  and  the  kind  of  work  it  did.  Upon  A.  T. 
Williamson's  farm  are  several  large  pieces  of  trap 
that  lie  some  one  hundred  yards  east  of  the  dike. 
The  largest  of  these  is  fifteen  feet  in  length,  eleven 
feet  in  width,  and  five  feet  in  thickness,  and  the 
piece  would  weigh  at  least  sixty  tons.  To  have 
thrown-  this  so  high  into  the  air  that  the  wind  could 
carry  it  this  distance  eastward  before  it  returned  to 
the  surface  must  have  taken  a  great  deal  of  force. 

Trap  of  Dike  Ridge. — The  core  of  Dike  Ridge  is  a 
narrow  dike  of  fine-grained  basaltic  trap.  The  dike 
seems  to  stand  vertical,  and  in  many  places  to  con- 
stitute the  entire  upper  portion  of  the  ridge.  In  the 
process  of  disintegration  it  breaks  up  into  lozenge- 
shaped  masses,  the  largest  of  which  have  a  diameter 
of  not  more  than  three  inches.  In  color  the  fresh 
fractures  are  very  dark;  the  weathered  surfaces, 
ochreous.  It  may  be  seen  in  place  at  the  south- 
eastern extremity  of  the  ridge,  at  the  site  at  which 
the  Sand  Brook  makes  its  way  out  to  the  Red  Shale 
Valley.  Here,  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  rivulet, 
the  outcrop  is  a  craggy  clifi"  rising  to  the  height  of 
seventy-five  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  stream.  It 
may  also  be  seen  in  place  near  the  crest  of  the  ridge 
along  the  side  of  the  road  that  extends  from  Higgins' 
still-house  to  the  Dunkard  church ;  also  near  the  top 
of  the  hill  on  the  north  side  of  Sand  Brook;  and 
near  the  south  side  of  the  road  which  extends  from 
Copper  Hill  across  the  ridge  to  the  Sand  Brook  Val- 
ley. 

Klineavilk  Dike.— A.  little  north  of  Klinesville  a 
narrow  dike  extends,  apparently  from  the  Sudo-dike 
in  the  brow  of  the  table-land,  northeast  across  the 
road.  Upon  the  surface  we  picked  up  a  number  of 
lozenge-shaped  pieces  of  trap,  and  the  soil  is  very 
ochreous.  In  color  the  freshly-fractured  surfaces  are 
very  dark,  the  weathered  surfaces  are  ochreous.  The 
grain  of  the  stone  is  very  fine.  It  is  not  only  pos- 
sible, but  highly  probable,  that  this  dike  forms  an 
anastomosis  between  the  trap  of  the  Sudo-dike  and 
the  dike  that  constitutes  the  core  of  Round  Moun- 
tain. 

Trap-Dihe  near  Three  Bridges.— Less,  than  a  mile 
northeast  of  the  village,  across  the  road  that  leads 
from  the  Three  Bridges  to  Centreville,  extends  a  nar- 
now  dike  of  basaltic  trap.  The  surface-pieces  that 
we  picked  up  are  cuboidal,  very  dark  upon  the  sur- 
face, of  a  fresh  fracture,  deeply  ochreous  upon  the 
weathered  surface. 

Trap  of  the  AkxsocJcen  Dihe.—Yxom  Fisher's  Peak, 
a  little  south  of  west,  extends  a  narrow  dike  of 
basaltic  trap  that  can  be  traced  almost  to  the  Dela- 
ware.    It  extends  across  the  road  near  the  summit 


less  than  a  mile  southwest  of  Mount  Airy.  Here, 
and  west  of  this  site  for  a  mile  or  more,  it  forms  the 
core  of  Anastomosing  Ridge ;  about  a  mile  east  of  the 
Delaware  it  ceases  to  form  the  core  of  this  ridge. 
From  this  point  it  is  traced  along  the  northern  slope 
of  the  ridge  to  the  bank  of  and  across  the  Alex- 
socken  Creek.  Where  crossed  by  the  Alexsocken  the 
walls  of  the  dike  are  well  exposed,  but  between  them 
no  trap  is  seen.  For  the  distance  of  a  hundred  feet 
the  stream,  in  low  water,  flows  between  these  walls. 
They  are  apart  about  three  feet  in  the  narrowest  place. 
They  consist  of  altered  shales  that  exhibit  evidences 
that  at  some  time  they  have  been  heated  almost  to  a 
molten  condition.  So  much  is  this  the  case  that  the 
chasm  presents  the  appearance  of  a  miniature  extinct 
volcano,  and  no  doubt  such  it  is. 

The  shale  here,  in  the  process  of  disintegration, 
breaks  up  into  small  lozenge-shaped  masses,  the  edges 
of  some  of  which  are  almost  as  sharp  as  a  knife.  In 
color  it  is  very  dark, — almost  glossy  black  in  some 
places.  No  fragments  of  trap  have  been  found  here, 
but  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  floor  of  this 
chasm — or,  at  the  least,  the  space  but  a  few  feet  below 
the  floor — is  filled  with  this  substance. 

At  the  Alexsocken  Creek  the  altered  shale  that 
forms  the  walls  of  this  pseudo-dike  are  very  well  ex- 
posed for  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  They  trend 
S.  84°  W.  The  chasm  is  not  exactly  vertical ;  as  it 
extends  downward  it  inclines  a  little  towards  the 
south. 

I  have  reasons  to  believe  that  this  dike  extends  from 
the  Alexsocken  to  the  trap  that  forms  the  core  of 
Gilbo.     If  so,  this  too  is  an  anastomosing  dike. 

Trap  near  Van  Lieu's  Corner. — About  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  south  of  Van  Lieu's  Corner,  across  the  road  to 
Hopewell,  extends  a  dike  that  trends  almost  east  and 
west,  and  may  be  traced  from  the  road  eastward  for  a 
mile  or  more.  It  seems  insular.  It  is  narrow,  but  it 
has  been  very  prolific  in  surface-fragments. 

This  dike  is,  no  doubt,  but  an  injection  of  basalt 
into  a  rent  into  the  strata  of  shale  that  overlies  the 
trap  of  the  Sourland. 

I  doubt  not  that  several  other  anastomosing  and  in- 
sular dikes  exist  in  the  Triassic  portion  of  Hunterdon 
County.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  me  that,  directly  subse- 
quent to  the  deposition  of  the  material  out  of  which 
the  strata  of  shale  were  formed,  some  profound  com- 
motion occurred  in  the  fluid  that  then  existed  beneath 
the  Archsean  rocks  which  established  a  great  wave, 
or  a  line  of  waves,  along  the  northwestern  border  of 
the  trias.  The  wave  or  waves,  moving  southeastward 
beneath  the  Archaean  rocks  upon  which  the  shale 
rests,  fractured  these  old  basement-strata  in  long  lines 
at  right  angles  to  the  direction  of  its  motion,  as  a 
wave  that  passes  beneath  a  sheet  of  ice  breaks  it  up 
into  great  slabs  which  have  their  longer  diameter  at 
right  angles  to  the  course  of  the  wave.  The  space 
made  by  these  long  lines  of  fracture  at  once  became 
filled  with  the  molten  material.     Thus  originated  the 


178 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


great  dikes  that  are  conformable  to  tlie  strata  of  the 
shale.  And,  as  the  inequality  of  the  surface  of  a 
wave  in  a  pond  is  such  as  to  fracture  the  lifted  slab 
of  ice  into  smaller  pieces,  so  the  wave  in  the  molten 
basaltic  fluid  fractured  the  floating  fragments  of 
Archsean  rock  and  its  superimposed  freight  of  shale 
into  pieces  of  various  length  and  of  various  shape. 
The  spaces  affected  by  these  transverse  or  secondary 
fractures  were  at  once  injected  with  molten  trappean 
material.  Thus  originated  the  anastomosing  or  in- 
sular dikes,  which  are  secondary  both  in  size  and  in 
time  of  origin. 

AVhen  this  molten  trappean  material  was  injected, 
the  contiguous  shale  must  have  been  so  heated  that 
in  many  places  it  assumed  the  liquid  form,  and  the 
water  it  contained  must  have  been  quickly  converted 
into  steam.  And  of  this  there  is  abundant  evidence. 
All  along  the  dike  in  the  Dike  Eidge  are  beds  of 
amygdaloid  or  scoriaceous  rock  that  have  resulted 
from  reducing  the  shale  to  a  molten  condition  and 
then  rendering  the  molten  mass  cellular  by  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  pent-up  steam.  Other  sites  there  are 
that  abound  in  scoriaceous  shale. 

In  chemical  composition  as  well  as  in  physical 
qualities  there  is  considerable  difference  in  the  trap 
that  exists  in  separate  dikes,  and  even  in  different 
parts  of  the  same  dike.  The  difference  in  chemical 
composition  may  be  learned  by  inspecting  the  follow- 
ing analyses,  published  in  the  "  Geology  of  New 
Jersey,  1868"  ■ 

Specimens  from 

Point      Cemetery  Anastomo-  Goat  Pickle's 

Gilbo.  Pleasant.     Hill,      slug  Dike.  Hill.  Mountain, 

Silica 60.4       60.6           5:i.4              50.6  51.4  GH.l 

Protoxide  of  iron.  16.4       13.0           1:1.0              12  2  12.2  7.3 

Alumina 16.6        12.5           11.2              14.9  18.3  16.7 

Magnesia 4.9         7.2             6.9                6.0  5.3  1.2 

Lime 7.1        11.1             6.6              ll.l  8.0  6.2 

Soda 1.4         1.6             2,3                1.9  1.1  3.1 

Potassa 2,0         0,7             1,3                0.6  0.9  0  4 

Water 1.8         1.6             4.8                2,9  1,9  2,1 

98,6       98.2  99.6  100.2         99.1  99.1 

These  analyses  show  that  the  trappean  rock,  wher- 
ever found,  consists  of  elements  that  make  good  soils. 
Nor  is  it  possible,  in  Hunterdon  County,  to  find  a 
belt  of  soil  that  is  the  result  of  the  decay  of  trap-rock 
that  is  not  susceptible  of  the  highest  culture. 

For  architectural  or  sculptural  purposes  the  trap- 
rocks  of  Hunterdon  County  were  formerly  regarded 
as  almost  worthless.  But,  in  the  year  1868,  Mr.  James 
Murphy,  a  sculptor  of  Flemington,  began  a  series  of 
experiments  which  have  shown  that  the  bowlders  of 
trap  upon  the  Sourland  Eidge  are  very  valuable  for 
sculptural  purposes.  At  first  it  was  extremely  dif- 
ficult to  find  a  customer  who  would  take  a  grave- 
monument  worked  from  basalt,  but  Mr.  Murphy  in- 
forms me  that  at  present  about  four-fifths  of  the 
orders  that  come  to  his  establishment  call  for  monu- 
ments of  basaltic  granite. 

With  the  "  wedge  and  feather"  the  coarser-grained 
basaltic  rock  is  readily  worked.  Sills,  cornice,  step- 
stones,  and  building-stone  of  any  size  or  shape  can 


easily  be  worked  out  of  this  rock.  The  time  will  come, 
no  doubt,  when  this  will  be  the  material  in  greatest 
request  for  fine  edifices.  At  present,  owing  to  the 
cost,  it  is  not  attracting  much  attention  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  only  structure  in  Hunterdon  that  is  built 
of  this  material  is  the  one  in  which  the  author  of  this 
chapter  now  sits  writing  this  article.  It  was  erected 
by  the  writer  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1875. 

From  Goat  Hill  much  valuable  basaltic  granite  has 
been  shipped  to  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere.  Upon 
this  site  the  rock  works  well,  and,  the  canal  being 
near  by,  it  is  easy  of  transportation.  At  this  place 
have  been  split  out  slabs  twenty  feet  long  that  were 
not  more  than  two  and  a  half  feet  wide  and  two  feet 
thick.  From  this  site,  also,  thousands  of  tons  have 
been  shipped  for  paving  material. 

The  other  sites  upon  the  Sourland  at  which  the 
surface-trap  has  been  successfully  worked  are  Shep- 
herd's Hill,  Eocktown,  Basaltic  Cliff!',  and  Pero  Hill. 
As  they  exist  in  the  larger  dikes,  the  trap-rocks  are 
stratified.  This  may  be  seen  in  the  exposure  near 
Eocktown,  in  that  upon  the  west  side  of  Goat  Hill, 
and  elsewhere.  In  the  main,  the  layers  are  thick.  In 
some  places  are  beds  that  are  twenty  feet  deep ;  at 
others  not  more  than  one  or  two  feet ;  while  upon  the 
top  of  Goat  Hill,  on  lands  owned  by  W.  F.  Bain- 
bridge,  is  a  quarry  or  working  of  basaltic  trap  in 
which  the  layers  are  in  many  cases  less  than  half  an 
inch  in  thickness.  Slabs  of  basalt  four  feet  long,  two 
and  a  half  feet  wide,  whose  average  thickness  was  less 
than  an  inch,  are  here  obtained.  This  quarry  is 
worked  for  flagstones  and  for  bridge-covering ;  and 
from  it,  for  these  purposes,  is  taken  some  of  the  most 
handsome  and  substantial  material. 

In  the  main,  the  strata  of  trap  are  traversed  by  two 
systems  of  joints  that  cross  each  other  at  such  angles 
as  to  divide  the  beds  into  blocks  somewhat  lozenge- 
shaped.  Occasionally  the  blocks  are  rather  cuboidal, 
sometimes  rhombohedral.  Be  the  blocks  whatever 
shape  they  may,  when  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  they 
yield  to  climatic  influences,  and  in  the  process  of  dis- 
integration the  course  is  always  the  same.  The  block 
exposed  first  loses  its  corners.  Upon  examination  of 
the  pieces  that  have  fallen  we  learn  that  the  surface 
by  which  it  adhered  to  the  parent  block  is  concave; 
upon  examining  the  surface  of  that  part  of  the  block 
from  which  a  corner  fell,  we  learn  that  it  is  convex. 
In  the  process  of  time,  from  each  of  the  projecting 
parts  of  the  remaining  portion  of  the  parent  block  a 
somewhat  meniscus-shaped  piece  becomes  disjointed 
and  falls.  In  time,  from  each  of  the  protuberances 
another  meniscus-shaped  piece  separates,  and  so  the 
process  is  repeated,  until  the  residue  of  the  block  be- 
comes almost  a  perfect  sphere.  Nor  does  this  process 
of  concentric  exfoliation  cease  at  this  juncture,  for 
meniscus-shaped  pieces  still  separate  from  the  spheroid 
until  the  core  is  in  size,  in  many  cases,  less  than  a 
walnut.  The  core,  however,  disintegrates  in  another 
way.     At  first  it  divides ;    then  it  subdivides ;    and 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY  AND   GEOLOGY  OP   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


179 


finally  its  crystals  disjoin  and  crumble  into  very  small 
particles. 

In  many  cases,  when  tlie  process  of  concentric  ex- 
foliation has  progressed  only  so  far  as  to  round  off  the 
corners  a  little,  the  parent  block  separates  through 
the  middle.  Thus  are  produced  two  fragments,  each 
of  which  has  four  sharp,  well-defined  corners  and 
four  convex  protuberances.  But  angularity  is  not 
allowable  by  the  law  that  regulates  the  disintegration 
of  detached  basaltic  blocks.  Ere  long  the  corners  of 
the  newly-formed  fragments  fall,  meniscus-shaped 
pieces  follow,  and  in  a  short  time  the  disintegrating 
block  becomes  at  first  irregularly  plano-convex,  then 
irregularly  ovoid,  and  finally  irregularly  spheroid.  In 
many  cases  where  the  parent  block  is  very  large  the 
meniscus-shaped  fragments  are  correspondingly  large, 
and  ofltimes,  especially  when  separated  from  inferior 
parts  of  the  parent  stone,  remain  standing,  sometimes 
in  a  vertical  position,  but  more  frequently  they  are 
inclined.  Occasionally  the  separation  is  such  that 
the  parent  block,  while  exfoliating,  divides  into  four, 
eight,  or  sixteen  pieces,  or  any  other  number  that  may 
result  from  a  fission  in  which  the  joints  are  horizontal 
and  vertical.  Hence  arise  so  many  of  those  fantas- 
tic forms  seen  in  the  shapes  of  the  trappean  bowlders 
along  the  Sourland  Ridge.  Some  of  these  are  worthy 
of  mention. 

A  little  north  of  Pero  Hill,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
road,  is  a  large  bowlder  projecting  its  upper  surface 
some  three  feet  above  the  soil.  This  table-rock  is 
about  twenty-seven  feet  long  and  about  twenty-six 
feet  wide.  Upon  it  are  three  irregularly  oblong  rocks, 
each  of  which  is  about  fifteen  feet  long,  five  feet  high, 
and  seven  feet  wide.  These  superimposed  rocks  are 
known  as  the  "Three  Brothers." 

Along  the  east  side  of  the  base-rock  lies  a  bowlder 
about  one-half  the  size  of  one  of  the  Brothers,  which 
within  a  few  years  has  dropped  from  one  of  these  su- 
perimposing fragments,  and  within  a  few  years  more 
another  segmentation  will  take  place  with  another  of 
the  Brothers  r  in  fact  it  began  long  since,  and  is  rap- 
idly completing  its  work.  Now,  these  five  rocks,  the 
table,  the  Three  Brothers,  and  the  fragment  which 
has  fallen  off,  have  in  an  earlier  day  been  but  one 
ro'ck,  an  immense  bowlder  almost  cubical  in  shape. 
At  first  the  segmentation  took  place  horizontally. 
When  the  two  parts  had  grown  entirely  distinct,  and 
their  adjacent  edges,  by  the  exfoliating  process,  had 
become  somewhat  rounded,  the  upper  rock  fractured 
vertically,  with  joints  that  extend  from  east  to  west. 
But  these  several  vertical  fractures  were  not  all  made 
at  the  same  time.  At  first  was  separated  the  south 
Brother ;  after  this  the  northern  piece  divided  in  two  ; 
and  finally,  the  segment  that  now  lies  upon  the  ground 
fell  from  the  south  Brother. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  road,  a  little  way  north  of 
the  Three  Brothers,  may  be  seen  specimens  of  this 
kind  of  work  on  a  scale  far  more  grand.  But,  as  they 
are  farther  removed  from  public  view,  their  fantastic 


forms  have  not  so  much  attracted  the  attention  of 
lovers  of  the  marvelous. 

A  favorable  example  of  the  process  of  concentric 
exfoliation  may  be  seen  in  the  bank  along  the  road 
extending  from  Ringos  to  Rocktown ;  a  more  favor- 
able one  still  may  be  found  in  a  sand-pit  upon  the 
northern  slope  of  Goat  Hill. 

The  disjointed  corners  and  the  meniscus-shaped 
spalls,  as  a  rule,  are  very  ephemeral.  They  soon 
crumble  and  moulder  to  soil.  Each  is  but  the  result 
of  a  step  in  the  process  of  disintegration.  This  will 
be  learned  upon  a  careful  inspection  of  any  basaltic 
bowlder  that  is  rapidly  disintegrating.  Even  those 
masses  that  are  decaying  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
soil  exhibit  this  fact  in  a  striking  manner.  In  sand- 
pits along  the  Sourland  we  often  see  a  vertical  wall 
that  seems  to  consist  of  solid  blocks,  each  of  which  is 
formed  of  a  core  around  which  are  concentric  layers 
capped  with  corners.  But  when  this  fantastic  wall  is 
struck  with  the  pick  it  yields,  crumbles,  and,  except- 
ing the  cores  of  the  apparent  blocks,  moulders  to 
sand. 

COPPER  OKE. 

In  the  altered  shale  along  the  northern  part  of  the 
Anastomosing  Dike  exists  that  variety  of  copper  ore 
known  as  gray  cupric  sulphide.  This  ore  occurs  mas- 
sive and  is  sectile.  In  color  it  is  a  dark  lead-gray. 
Specimens  are  sometimes  found  that  polish  readily  by 
rubbing  them  with  a  woolen  cloth.  This  is  the  kind 
of  ore  found  in  the  mine  at  Flemington ;  also  in  those 
on  Gershom  C.  Sergeant's  farm  and  at  Copper  Hill. 

Copper  ore  of  the  same  grade  has  been  found  in  a 
digging  on  the  southeast  side  of  Dike  Ridge.  Indeed, 
it  may  be  looked  for  along  any  of  the  anastomosing 
or  insular  dikes. 

Cupro-ferric  sulphide,  or  copper  pyrites,  is  occa- 
sionally found  associated  with  cupric  sulphide. 

OXIDE   OF    MANGANESE. 

A  vein  of  this  ore  was  found  on  a  hill  about  equi- 
distant between  Clinton  and  Lebanon,  and  somewhat 
south  of  the  line  between  them.  It  is  on  lands  of 
John  T.  Leigh  and  the  estate  of  Gen.  George  Taylor. 
The  hill  is  of  red  sandstone  and  conglomerate,  and 
the  openings  in  it  are  in  a  northwest  and  southeast 
line  at  intervals  for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
They  indicate  a  vein  about  ten  feet  wide,  and  the 
openings  have  been  made  four  or  five  feet  deep.  The 
ore  is  quite  distinct  from  the  rock,  and  not  at  all 
intermixed.  The  ore  contains  between  seventy  and 
eighty  per  cent,  of  oxide,  but  a  portion  of  it  is  sesqui- 
oxide. 

It  has  not  been  applied  to  any  use,  and  the  open- 
ings were  made  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  iron 
ore. 

FOSSILS. 

Fossil  wood  is  found  in  small  fragments  at  almost 
every  point  where  the  shale  is  quarried.  In  some 
places  may  be  found  the  fruit  of  the  Triassic  forest. 


180 


HUNT5)RD0N   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


Such  is  the  case  in  the  shale  in  the  bank  of  the 
Locatong  Rivulet,  where  it  cuts  through  the  brow 
of  the  table-land.  At  this  site  are  some  layers 
of  shale  that  seem  to  have  been  formed  of  sticks, 
twigs,  leaves,  and  fruit,  cemented  together  by  mud. 
Indeed,  the  shale  of  these  layers,  when  pulverized 
and  heated  in  a  retort,  gives  off  abundantly  an  in- 
flammable gas.  In  most  places  the  shale  is  too  soft, 
if  exposed,  to  retain  in  a  legible  condition  the  fossils 
it  contains,  but  where  indurated  it  retains  its  fossil- 
iferous  treasures  for  a  greater  length  of  time. 

The  only  well-defined  fossils  indicative  of  animal 
life  are  those  found  by  Prof  Smock  in  the  indurated 
shale  along  a  rill  near  Tumble's  Station,  not  far  from 
the  Delaware.  These  are  the  tracks  of  a  reptile 
whose  stride  was  thirteen  inches,  and  the  length  of 
whose  central  toe  was  three  and  a  half  inches. 
Doubtless  the  animal  that  made  these  tracks  belonged 
to  the  Dinosaurs,  and  at  the  time  of  making  them 
was  erect,  walking  upon  its  feet,  with  its  hands  pend- 
ent. The  slabs  upon  which  are  the  tracks  are  in  the 
museum  of  Rutgers  College,  at  New  Brunswick,  ,N.  J. 

In  the  quarries  of  Milford  tracks  are  said  to  have 
been  found,  although  quite  indistinct.  The  writer 
has  searched  all  the  accessible  exposures  of  shale  for 
the  past  twenty  years,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
those  upon  the  slabs  in  Rutgers  College,  has  seen  no 
tracks. 

QUATEKNAET  AGE. 

The  rocks  of  this  age  belong  either  to  the  Glacial 
Period,  or  else  to  the  modern  era  of  the  Recent  Pe- 
riod. 

Olaoial  Period.— The  rocks  belonging  to  this  period 
are  unstratified  drift.  They  do  not  occur  in  all  parts 
of  the  county,  nor  are  they  very  abundant  or  of  great 
depth  at  any  place.  A  part  of  the  surface  of  Leb- 
anon, Tewksbury,  Clinton,  and  Readington  is  be- 
strewn with  small  bowlders,  gravel,  and  sand  of  this 
period.  The  most  southern  limit  of  the  drift  is  in  the 
southern  part  of  Clinton  township,  between  the  South 
Branch  and  Prescott  Brook.  Here  is  a  deposit  of 
small  bowlders,  gravel,  and  sand  that  overlies  the  red 
shale.  From  this  deposit  we  have  picked  up  bowl- 
ders of  Medina  sandstone,  Oneida  conglomerate,  Pots- 
dam sandstone,  magnesian  limestone,  fossiliferous 
limestone,  Hudson  River  slate,  Lower  Helderberg 
limestone,  Oriskany  sandstone,  gneiss  and  cauda-galli 
grit.  Hence,  we  see  that  this  mass  of  drift,  small  as 
it  is,  consists  of  fi-agments  from  nearly  all  the  older 
rocks  that  lie  to  the  north  of  it.  And  perhaps  one 
would  express  a  truth  should  he  affirm  that  this  little 
tongue  of  drift  contains  fragments  of  every  formation 
that  lies  within  a  hundred  miles  north  of  it. 

Modern  Era  of  the  Recent  Period.— In  this  county, 
during  this  era,  no  extensive  beds  of  rock  either  have 
formed  or  are  now  forming.  Since  within  the  county 
there  are  no  estuaries,  bays,  or  lakes  into  which 
streams  flow,  we  seem  almost  barren  of  opportunity 
for  the  deposition  of  rook  of  this  era.     However,  de- 


posits have  taken  place  upon  a  small  scale,  and  are 
still  taking  place.  These  deposits  are  confined  almost 
exclusively  to  ponds  of  water  the  result  of  art, — mill- 
ponds  and  the  like.  Of  these  there  are  none  so  large 
or  so  important  as  to  deserve  a  special  description. 

But,  while  there  are  but  few  areas  over  which  rocks 
are  now  forming,  excepting  these  small  areas,  the  en- 
tire soil  of  our  county  is  suffering  change — disintegra- 
tion and  transposition — to  effect  the  formation  of  de- 
posits upon  the  bottoms  of  the  bays  or  estuaries  into 
which,  beyond  the  limits  of  our  county,  our  streams 
flow.  This  change  is  immense,  and  the  amount  of 
material  annually  transported  from  the  surface  of  our 
county  to  the  Delaware  Bay  and  to  Raritan  Bay  is 
enormous.  But  so  silently  is  this  change  effected, 
and  so  commonplace  are  the  agents  employed  in 
effecting  it,  that  the  commonalty  of  people  scarcely 
notice  it. 

At  each  rainfall  the  rills,  rivulets,  and  rivers  are 
swollen.  The  pluvial  waters  saturate  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  flood  the  soil,  and  flow  off  to  the  sea.  At 
each  rainfall  some  substances  are  dissolved  from  the 
soil,  others  are  held  in  suspension,  others  are  pushed 
along  at  the  bottom  of  the  flow ;  all  are  transported 
seaward.  In  this  way,  during  every  considerable  rain, 
tons  of  the  soil  are  carried  from  our  fields  and  de- 
posited upon  the  bottoms  of  the  estuaries  of  the 
streams  that  drain  our  land. 

About  twenty-five  years  ago  the  writer  began  to  make 
systematic  observations  upon  the  Wickecheocke  Rivu- 
let and  its  basin.  As  this  stream  has  a  rapid  flow, — 
about  eighty  feet  in  a  mile, — it  is  favorable  to  this 
kind  of  study.  The  observations  that  have  been  made 
show  the  following:  Since  the  observations  began, 
between  Sergeant's  saw-mill  and  the  bridge  that  spans 
the  stream  some  quarter  of  a  mile  above,  the  rivulet 
has  eroded  the  solid  rock  to  a  depth  of  two  and  a  half 
feet ;  between  the  bridge  and  Pine  Hill  Pond  it  has 
excavated  a  channel  about  five  feet  deep.  Twenty- 
five  years  ago  a  little  way  below  the  saw-mill  was  a 
pond,  about  four  and  a  half  feet  deep,  with  solid, 
smooth  rock  floor ;  at  present  there  is  a  riffle  about 
where  the  middle  and  the  deepest  part  of  the  pond 
formerly  were.  By  eroding  the  bed  of  the  channel 
below  the  pond  the  stream  has  drained  the  pool,  and 
now  the  area  of  rook  previously  covered  with  water 
is  as  dry,  and  exhibits  its  joints  as  plainly,  as  the 
rock  in  any  well-worked  quarry.  Nor  is  the  change 
respecting  the  altitude  and  condition  of  the  stream 
here  greater  than  at  any  other  place  for  a  full  mile 
down  the  stream. 

At  the  point  where  the  stream  from  Sergeantsville 
flows  into  the  Wickecheoche  was  some  time  ago  a  pond. 
It  was  about  fifty  yards  long,  about  twenty-five  yards 
wide,  and  about  four  and  a  half  feet  deep,— a  favorite 
resort  for  the  young  who  were  learning  to  swim. 
Upon  the  south  side  the  bank  was  steep,  formed  of 
rocks  that  well  preserved  the  mark  made  by  a  chisel. 
Upon  these  rocks  the  writer  used  to  keep  his  mark- 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY  AND   GEOLOGY   OP  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


181 


iiigs.  But  now  the  pond  is  gone,  and  the  rocks  have 
been  eroded  and  removed.  Here  now  is  a  riffle  which 
is  at  least  ten  feet  below  the  altitude  that  marked  our 
old  swimming  place.  Farther  down,  where  the  stream 
flows  through  what  was  formerly  B.  Larison's  farm, 
the  surface  of  the  water,  upon  an  average,  is  fully  five 
feet  lower  than  it  was  twenty-five  years  ago. 

In  this  way  we  might  take  up  section  after  section 
and  show  that  from  Pine  Hill  to  the  canal  at  Pralls- 
ville  the  Wickecheoche  is  rapidly  deepening  the  bed 
of  its  basin  and  transporting  seaward  the  material  of 
its  banks. 

While  this  rivulet  is  excavating  its  bed,  the  pluvial 
waters  are  washing  from  the  slopes  that  form  its  basin 
silt,  detritus,  and  debris  to  lower  the  level  of  their 
surfaces.  To  be  sure,  this  lowering  of  the  altitude  of 
these  slopes  is  less  than  the  lowering  of  the  altitude 
of  the  bed  and  banks  of  the  stream.  Yet,  from  mark- 
ings upon  pillars  and  the  like,  it  is  evident  that  from 
the  face  of  the  farm  on  which  the  writer  was  raised  so 
much  detritus  has  been  transported  that  the  surface, 
upon  an  average,  is  fully  twelve  inches  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  sod  which  he  used  to  plow.  Indeed,  he 
who  farms  the  old  homestead  now  plows  not  the  soil 
which  the  writer  used  to  turn  twenty-five  years  ago. 
That  which  he  now  tills  was  the  subsoil  then,  beneath 
the  reach  of  the  plowshare.  Similar  changes  are,  and 
have  been,  effected  everywhere.  The  surface  of  our 
fields  is  removed,  our  hills  are  lowered,  our  valleys 
deepened,  the  estuaries  of  our  streams  filled. 

The  removal  of  the  finer  particles  of  the  surface  of 
the  land — the  loam,  clay,  sand,  and  gravel — by  clima- 
tic influences  effects  many  phenomena  that  are  hot 
easily  explained  by  the  tyro.  Of  these  phenomena, 
we  will  discuss  but  one, — the  bowlders  and  surface- 
stones  existing  in  our  county  that  are  not  a  part  of 
the  drift  material. 

We  have  already  stated  that  the  strata  belonging  to 
the  Triassic  Period  vary  in  chemical  and  physical 
composition  and  in  degree  of  hardness  or  durability. 
Some  of  the  strata  yield  readily  to  climatic  influences, 
easily  moulder  into  soil,  and  are  quickly  transported 
to  expose  the  subsoil.  Other  strata  are  more  durable 
and  for  a  greater  length  of  time  resist  decay.  Again, 
in  the  same  stratum  there  are  sections  which,  in 
chemical  and  physical  composition,  are  quite  unlike 
the  main  portion  of  the  bed.  These  sections  are 
sometimes  harder,  sometimes  softer,  than  the  main 
part  of  the  layer.  Hence  it  is  that  a  durable  layer, 
or  a  durable  portion  of  an  average  layer,  maybe  both 
underlaid  and  overlaid  by  softer  and  more  yielding 
rock.  And,  as  the  softer  and  more  yielding  rock  is 
the  soonest  removed,  the  layer  underlying  as  well  as 
the  layer  overlying  a  given  hard  stratum  may  be  dis- 
integrated and  transported,  while  the  hard  strata,  or 
the  hard  section  of  a  softer  one,  are  only  exposed 
along  the  line  of  their  strike,  or  so  disintegrated  that 
they  are  separated  into  bowlders,  spalls,  sand,  and  the 
like.     Hence  results,  in  long  ridges,  the  projecting 


outcrop  of  the  more  silicious  layers,  everywhere  seen 
over  the  face  of  the  red  shale.  So,  too,  has  resulted 
the  bowlders  that  seem  to  be  collected  upon  isolated 
patches  or  are  scattered  over  the  surface,  as  seen 
in  the  Sandy  Ridge  district  and  elsewhere.  Likewise 
has  resulted  the  cobble-stone,  or  scattered  surface- 
stone,  more  or  less  numerous  everywhere. 

At  some  places  these  bowlders  and  surface-stones 
are  far  removed  from  the  strata  from  which  they  have 
been  detached.  Such  is  the  case  with  the  basaltic 
bowlders  south  of  Rooktown.  Here  we  find  large 
bowlders  of  basalt  lying  upon  the  surface  of  altered 
shale,  two,  three,  four,  and  five  hundred  yards  from 
any  stratum  or  bed  of  rock  of  the  same  kind.  In- 
deed, the  nearest  bed  of  this  kind  of  rock  is  that 
forming  the  dike  that  extends  along  to  the  north  of  the 
village,  and  from  this  layer,  doubtless,  they  have  been 
detached.  At  an  early  time  the  Sourland  Ridge,  at 
this  place,  and  indeed  at  every  other  place,  was  very 
much  higher  than  it  now  is.  At  that  time  the  eleva- 
tion, as  now,  was  effected  by  the  continuity  and  thick- 
ness of  its  strata.  Then  the  strata  of  altered  shale 
that  flank  the  dike  on  the  south  were  longer  than 
now,  and,  with  the  same  dip  that  they  now  have,  ex- 
tended upward  and  reached  farther  towards  the  south. 
Upon  these  strata  of  altered  shale  the  trap-dike 
rested.  At  the  same  time,  the  dike  itself  was  covered 
with  indurated  shale.  But,  the  shale  being  the  most 
easily  disintegrated  and  transported,  the  layer  above 
has  been  first  removed,  exposing  the  outcropping 
basalt;  the  outcropping  basalt  has  then  been  sepa- 
rated at  its  joints  into  large  blocks,  which,  by  exfoli- 
ating, have  effected  large  interspaces,  so  as  to  expose 
more  or  less  the  underlying  altered  shale ;  the  under- 
lying altered  shale,  then  subjected  to  climatic  in- 
fluences, has  been  disintegrated  and  transported  more 
rapidly  than  the  fragments  of  basalt  that  rested  upon 
it.  As  the  transporting  process  reduced  the  elevation 
of  the  surface,  the  detached  portions  of  the  basalt  re- 
main to  show  how  far  towards  the  southeast  the  dike 
extended  in  earlier  times. 

There  is  a  phenomenon  relating  to  surface-bowlders, 
and  to  surface-stone  in  general,  that  demands  ex- 
planation. Everywhere  the  cobble-stones  and  bowl- 
ders are  seen,  not  resting  upon  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  but  partly  sunken  into  it,  as  it  were.  How 
happens  this?  In  the  spring,  at  the  time  that  the 
frost  disappears  from  the  soil,  the  earthy  substance  is 
surcharged  with  water,— so  much  so  that  the  entire 
soil  becomes  an  imperfect  liquid.  Then  the  bowlders 
and  surface-stone  sink  into  the  ground  until  they 
reach  that  point  at  which  their  weight  is  poised  by 
the  specific  gravity  of  the  liquid  soil.  Trees  main- 
tain their  relation  to  the  soil  in  the  same  way.  But 
for  this  process  the  transporting  of  the  soil  by  cli- 
matic influences  would  in  a  short  time  not  only  leave 
bowlders  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  would 
lay  bare  the  roots  of  every  tree  and  every  perennial 
plant. 


182 


HUNTBRDOxV   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


CHAPTEE    11. 

LAND  TITLES    AND    SETTLEMENT. 

Title  derived  from  the  Crown — Deeds  from  Indians — Head-lands — Irregu- 
larity in  Surveys — Treaty  with  Indians,  1703 — Dividends  of  Land — 
Proprietary  Tracts — Early  Settlement — The  Quakers  make  first  Settle- 
ment, in  1076 — First  Church — First  Accurate  Survey  in  Hunterdon, 
1707— Tax-roll  of  1722— Early  Settlers  in  Various  Portions  of  the 
County — Early  Bridges— First  Eoad — Early  Mills — During  the  Revo- 
lution— Growth,  etc. 

The  title  to  the  lands  of  West  as  well  as  East  Jer- 
sey was  derived  from  the  Crown.  Although  deeds 
from  Indian  claimants  are  held  by  some  of  the  pres- 
ent owners,  unless  patents  or  surveys  were  also  ob- 
tained, the  legal  title  must  rest  upon  possession  and 
not  upon  deeds.  After  the  division  of  the  province, 
in  1663,  West  Jersey  was  sold  in  hundredths.  Fen- 
wick,  to  whom  a  conveyance  had  been  made  in  trust 
for  Byllinge,  and  who  himself  executed  a  long  lease 
to  Eldridge  and  Warner,  was  recognized  as  entitled 
to  ten  hundredths,  and  other  parties  became  proprie- 
tors of  ninety  hundredths,  so  that  a  full  proj)rietary 
right  in  West  Jersey  was  a  hundredth  part.  These 
were  subdivided  into  lots  of  one  hundred  parts 
each.  No  patents  were  issued  in  West  Jersey.  In 
1676  the  proprietors,  freeholders,  and  inhabitants 
established  and  signed  certain  concessions  and  agree- 
ments regulating  the  government  and  the  mode  of 
acquiring  title  to  land.  "Head-lands"  were  granted 
to  settlers,  and  commissioners  appointed  to  regulate 
the  setting  forth  and  dividing  them.  The  amount  of 
land  thus  appropriated  was  not  large.  After  the  right 
to  head-lands  ceased  title  was  derived  from  the  orig- 
inal proprietors  of  the  hundredths.  Regular  deeds  of 
conveyance — formerly  by  lease  and  release,  in  modern 
times  by  deeds  of  bargain  and  sale,  either  of  a  frac- 
tional part  or  of  a  specified  number  of  acres — trans- 
ferred thp  title. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  settlement  there  was 
much  irregularity  in  the  mode  of  making  surveys. 
For  many  years  the  surveys  called  for  fixed  monu- 
ments, and,  the  measurement  of  the  lines  being  re- 
turned much  shorter  than  they  really  were,  great  frauds 
were  perpetrated  by  making  the  survey  to  include  more 
land  than  the  acres  specified.*  This  led,  about  1786, 
to  the  order  to  surveyors  to  establish  a  "beginning" 
corner,  and  then  to  confine  themselves  to  strict  course 
and  distance.  This  remedied  the  abuse  in  part,  but 
it  was  found  in  some  cases  that,  though  no  fixed  cor- 
ners were  specified  in  the  return,  they  were  marked 
on  the  ground,  and,  being  re.spected  by  other  survey- 
ors, they  were,  after  a  lapse  of  time,  necessarily  recog- 
nized by  the  council  and  courts  as  established  monu- 
ments, although  a  large  overplus  of  land  became  thus 
included  in  the  survey.f 


*  An  allowance  of  five  acres  to  the  hundred  was  made  in  West  Jersey 
fur  highways. 

t  Appendix  to  "  Constitution  and  Government  of  the  Province  and 
State  of  New  Jersey,"  by  L.  Q.  C.  Elmer,  1872,  pp.  481,  et  sei]. 


Commissioners  were  elected  who  were  empowerc 
"to  set  forth  and  divide  all  the  lands  of  the  Provinc 
as  were  taken  up,  or  by  themselves  shall  be  taken  u 
and  contracted  for  with  the  natives,  and^he  said  lane 
to  divide  into  one  hundred  parts,  as  occasion  sha 
require."!  The  fir.?t  and  second  divisions  extende 
as  far  as  the  Assanpink  (Trenton). 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  th 
people  of  West  Jersey,  some  eight  thousand  strong, 
began  to  look  with  longing  eyes  upon  the  territory  t 
the  north,  which  was  yet  held  by  the  Indians,  s 
the  proprietors  urged  the  council  to  grant  them 
third  dividend  or  taking  up  of  land.  In  complianc 
with  this  request,  John  Wills,  William  Biddle,  Jr, 
and  John  Reading  were  appointed  a  committee  t( 
treat  with  the  natives.  The  committee  reported  at  i 
meeting  of  the  council  June  27,  1703,  "  that  they  hai 
made  a  full  agreement  with  Himhammoe  for  oni 
tract  of  land  adjoining  to  the  division-line"  (i.e.,  th( 
line  between  East  and  West  New  Jersey)  "and  lyinj 
on  both  sides  of  the  Raritan  River.  .  .  .  And  also  wit! 
Coponnockous  for  another  tract  of  land,  lying  betweer 
the  purchase  made  by  Adlord  Boude||  and  the  boun- 
daries of  the  land  belonging  to  Himhammoe  fronting 
on  the  Delaware."1f  This  purchase  was  computed  tc 
contain  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres,  and  the 
cost  was  estimated  at  seven  hundred  pounds.  It  was 
proposed  to  allow  five  thousand  acres  for  each  dividend 
to  a  projjrietary. 

At  another  meeting  of  the  council,  Nov.  2,  1703, 
the  same  committee  was  sent  to  those  Indians,  partic- 
ularly to  Coponnockous,  to  have  the  tract  of  land 
lately  purchased  "  marked  forth,  and  get  them  to  sign 
a  deed  for  the  same,  .  .  .  and  that  they  go  to  Him- 
hammoe's  wigwam  in  order  to  treat  with  them,  and  to 
see  the  bounds  of  the  land  lately  purchased  of  him." 
This  purchase  covered  the  greater  part  of  the  present 
county  of  Hunterdon. 

The  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  above 
mentioned  were  divided  among  the  proprietors,  but 
the  tract  extending  northward  from  Trenton,  and  em- 
bracing the  original  township  of  Hopewell,  belonged 
to  the  West  Jersey  Society,  a  company  of  English 
proprietors.  Daniel  Coxe,  who  owned  twenty-two 
proprietary  shares  and  obtained  his  title  in  1685,  con- 
veyed this  tract  to  them  in  1691.  One  of  the  fir.st  to 
take  up  land  out  of  this  tract  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  acres  was  Benjamin  Field.  His  estate  had 
two  tracts, — one  of  three  thousand,  on  the  Delaware, 
and  another  of  two  thousand,  near  Ringos. 

Joseph  Helmsley  and  Thomas  Hutchinson,  both  of 
Pennsylvania,  bought  ten  proprietaries  of  land  in 
this  county  of  the  trustees  of  Byllinge.  In  1676, 
William  Biddle,  "  of  Burlington  County,"  bought  the 

X  Chap.  i.  of  Concessions  of  "  The  Trustees."    Quoted  in  Gordon's  Hist. 
N.  J.,  p.  68. 
g  Gordon's  History,  p.  57. 

II  The  Buude  tia<  t  extendeil  south  friim  Lamhertvillc. 
1[  Smith's  Histoiy  of  Kew  Jersey,  pp.  !t5-U7. 


LAND  TITLES   AND  SETTLEMENT. 


183 


third  division  of  one-fourth  of  a  proprietary  of  land 
of  Helmsley,  and  in  1686  the  same  amount  of  Hutch- 
inson. Biddle  dying,  it  descended  to  his  son,  William, 
who  subsequently  sold  a  portion  (1705)  to  ,Tohn  Hol- 
combe,  of  Abington,  Pa.,  and  in  1714  a  part,  lying 
west  of  Rosemont,  to  Charles  Wolverton.  Mr.  Hol- 
combe  is  the  ancestor  of  the  Holcombe  families  in 
this  county.  Eleven  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  tlie 
Biddle  tract  was  sold  in  1732  to  Peter  Emley,  of  Mans- 
field (now  Washington),  Warren  Co. ;  this  passed  to 
Christopher  Cornelius  in  1750,  and  four  hundred 
acres  of  it  to  Daniel  Howell  the  same  year,  near  the 
north  boundary  of  Delaware  township.  This  was  the 
Howell  from  whom  the  ferry  took  its  name.  His 
land  joined  John  Beading's  at  the  Delaware  River. 

In  the  surveyor-general's  office,  at  Burlington,  is 
recorded,  in  Liber  M,  folio  10,  the  ninety-one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  ninety-five  acre  tract  called 
the  Morris  purchase.     In  1701  was  surveyed  to  Gov- 
ernor A.  Hamilton  and  Benjamin  Fields,  for  the  West 
Jersey  Society,  two  thousand  acres  (Liber  A,  folio  43, 
Hunterdon  County).     This  was  a  part  of  tiae  pur- 
chase from  the  Indians  made  by  Adlord  Boude.     In 
1702,  also,  a  tract  of  three  thousand  acres  was  sur- 
veyed to  Benjamin  Field  (recorded  Liber  A,  folio  43, 
Hunterdon  County),  being  near  an  Indian  town  called 
"  Nishalemensey,"*  at  "AUexhocken  brook."    The 
ten  thousand  acre  tract  of  the  "West  Jersey  Society  is 
recorded  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  office,  Trenton,  in 
Revel's  book,  folio  142.     This  was  on  the  Delaware, 
adjoining  the  thirty  thousand  acre  tract,  while  in  the 
same  book  (folio  143)  is  recorded  a  twenty  thousand 
acre  tract,  which  adjoined  the  Coxe  purchase.     The 
West  Jersey  Society  had  an  aggregate  of  four  hun- 
dred and   seventy-four  thousand   one  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  acres  of  land  in  this  section  of  the  State. 
The  three  thousand  acre  tract,  before  referred  to  as 
surveyed  in  1702  to  Benjamin  Field  of  Burlington,  was 
not  fully  conveyed  to  him  on  account  of  his  sudden 
death,  leaving  a  will,  dated  May  13,  1702,  in  which 
he  constituted  his  wife,  Experience,  sole  executrix ; 
but  he  appears  to  have  become  possessed  of  sixteen 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  the  tract,  and  she,  by  deed 
(dated  May  29,  1702),  conveyed  the  same  to  Nathan 
Allen,  of  Allentown,  in  the  county  of  Monmouth. 
He  began  to  sell  the   same   to  settlers   about  1720. 
Thus,  among  others,  Philip  Peter  became  possessed 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  deed  dated  May  2d  and 
3d,  1720 ;  Rudolph  Harley,  "  of  Somerset,"  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  acres,  at  what  is  now  Ringos. 

In  1677,  William  Penn  and  his  associates,  by  deeds 
of  lease  and  release,  conveyed  to  Francis  Collins, 
Richard  Mew,  and  John  Ball  one  whole  proprietary 
in  Kingwood  and  Alexandria,  Richard  Mew  to  have 
two-sevenths  of  the  whole  tract.  At  his  death  it  de- 
scended to  his  son,  Noel,  who  devised  it  to  his  son, 
Richard,  who  in  1716  sold  one-half  of  it  to  his  sister 

*  In  eomu  di-eds  aleo  ajpUeJ  "  Wishalanieiity.'" 


and  the  other  half  to  John  Mumford,  of  Rhode 
Island.  In  1735,  Mumford  sold  to  Dr.  John  Rodman, 
of  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.  The  title  then  descended  through 
his  son  to  his  grandson,  William,  who  in  1794  sold  to 
Thomas  Lowrey  for  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eighty-four  pounds  six  shillings  seven  pence. 

Of  the  "  Society's  Great  Tract,"  James  Alexander 
purchased,  in  1744,  ten  thousand  acres,  taking  in  the 
whole  of  Round  Valley  and  sourrounding  mountains, 
and  all  the  land  from  Bray's  Hill  to  White  House. 
Two  thousand  acres  (the  Lebanon  part)  of  this  were 
conveyed  in  1782  by  Alexander's  heirs  to  Anthony 
White.  A  tract  of  five  thousand  and  eighty-eight 
acres,  extending  from  Asbury  to  Hampton  Junction, 
was  purchased  by  John  Bowlby  in  1740.  The  Coxe 
tract  lay  east  of  this,  and  extended  to  Clinton ;  it  ad- 
joined the  Kirkbride  tract,  the  two  covering  an  area 
of  four  miles.  Northward  lay  the  tracts  of  Budd  and 
Logan,  James  Parker,  George  Willocks,  and  others, 
and  south  lay  the  Penn  tract  of  five  thousand  acres, 
the  dividing-line  between  the  Penn  and  Coxe  tracts 
being  in  the  village  of  Flemington. 

In  the  south  part  of  the  county  were  several  tracts. 
Robert  Dimsdale  had  extensive  tracts  about  Lambert- 
ville  and  Mount  Airy ;  John  Calow,  northward,  along 
the  Delaware ;  William  Biddle  held  five  thousand 
acres  north  of  Calow's  tract  and  fronting  on  the  river. 
John  Reading  took  up  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Pralls- 
ville  and  Barber's  Station.  Other  owners  of  tracts 
were  Benjamin  Field,  Gilbert  Wheeler,  John  Kays, 
Richard  Bull,  John  Clarke,  etc.  Allen  and  Turner, 
of  Philadelphia,  bought  at  an  early  day  from  the  pro- 
prietors ten  thousand  acres  north  and  west  of  Clin- 
ton, extending  from  Van  Syckel's  to  German  Valley. 
But  it  is  impossible  to  give  here  the  details  of  the  sub- 
divisions and  the  innumerable  transfers  of  these  tracts 
occurring  in  their  subsequent  history.  The  most  of 
that  considered  essential  on  this  subject  is  given 
elsewhere,  by  the  township  writers,  in  their  separate 
treatment  of  the  civil  divisions  of  the  county. 

BAKLY   SETTLEMENT. 

In  the  opening  up  to  settlement  of  the  territory 
now  constituting  the  county  of  Hunterdon  there  were 
two  points  of  approach, — the  Delaware  Bay  on  the 
south,  and  Baritan  Bay  on  the  east, — openings  to 
the  sea  of  the  (two)  rivers  of  the  same  name,  one 
coursing  along  the  western  line  of  this  territory,  the 
other,  with  its  tributaries,  draining  nearly  all  of  its 
hiUs  and  watering  nearly  all  of  its  valleys.  The 
course  of  immigration  from  the  Old  World  and  the  ear- 
lier settled  portions  of  the  New  was  up  these  streams, 
spreading  westward  from  Woodbridge  and  Piscata- 
way  into  the  valleys  of  the  Raritan  and  Millstone 
Rivers,  and  thence  along  the  branches  of  the  Raritan 
into  Hunterdon  County,  and  at  the  same  time  extend- 
ing northward  up  the  Delaware,  from  Burlington  and 
from  Trent's  Town,  into  Hopewell,  Amwell,  and  all 
portions  of  the  vast  domain  of  old  Hunterdon. 


184 


HUNTBEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  first  settlements  in  Hunterdon  County  were 
made  by  the  Quakers  about  the  year  1676,  at  the  Falls 
•of  the  Delaware,  as  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Assanpink*  was  then  and  for  some  time  known. 
Among  those  who  came  from  Hull,  England,  in  1678, 
on  the  "  Shield,"  which  was  the  first  vessel  that  had 
ever  ascended  the  Delaware  as  far  as  Burlington,  were 
a  number  who  settled  in  what  was  known  after  1713 
as  the  south  part  of  Hunterdon,  but  which  then  was 
a  part  of  Burlington  County.  Prominent  among 
these  pioneers  were  Mahlon  Stacy,  who  took  up  a 
tract  of  eight  hundred  acres,  principally  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Assunpink ;  f  Thomas  Potts,  and  Thomas 
Lambert,  who  settled  at  Lamberton  about  1679,  and 
from  whom  the  place  derived  its  name.  Mahlon 
Stacy  lived  in  a  log  house  near  the  site  of  the  present 
residence  of  Edward  H.  Stokes,  Esq.t  In  1680, 
Mahlon  Stacy  built  a  grist-mill  on  the  Assanpink, 
and  about  the  same  time  Thomas  OUive  erected  one 
on  his  plantation,  on  Rancocas  Creek.  These  two 
mills  were  for  several  years  the  only  ones  in  this 
section  of  West  New  Jersey.  Nathaniel  Pettit  took 
up  eight  hundred  acres  of  land  to  the  north  of  Stacy, 
and  adjoining  the  tracts  of  Peter  Fretwell,  William 
Spencer,  and  Joshua  Ely.  Pettit  and  Spencer  not  only 
took  up  land,  but  were  actual  settlers,  as  the  records 
show  them  to  have  been  respectively  assessor  and 
collector  of  the  township  in  1701.  At  the  northwest 
corner  of  William  Spencer's  land,  later  the  Dickin- 
son farm,  commenced  Thomas  Hutchinson's  manor. 
Andrew  Heath  also  settled  prior  to  1700,  and  to  him 
the  township  owes  its  name. 

In  1703,  John  Hutchinson  (only  son  and  heir  of 
Thomas  Hutchinson,  who  died  intestate)  conveyed 
two  acres  of  land  to  the  inhabitants  of  Hopewell,  for 
a  "  public  meeting-house  and  also  for  a  place  of  burial" 
(AAA,  folio  105,  p.  114,  ofiice  Secretary  of  State,  Tren- 
ton). This  was  the  first  house  built  for  public  wor- 
ship in  Hopewell,  and,  so  far  as  has  been  ascertained, 
the  first  in  the  State,  except  that  of  the  Quakers.? 
It  was  occupied  by  the  Episcopalians  until  their 
church  was  built,  in  Trenton,  and  occasionally  for 
many  years  after.  A  portion  of  the  foundation  is  still 
standing,  and  in  it  the  stone  which  perpetuates  the 
memory  of  Samuel  Tucker,  president  of  the  Second 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  as  well  as  that  of 
his  wife,  etc.  The  Presbyterians  built  a  log  church 
in  1712,  near  the  spot  on  which  the  brick  church  now 
stands,  in  Ewing.  The  land  was  given  by  Alex- 
ander Lockart,  who  was  county  clerk  of  Hunterdon 
in  1721. 

*  Mahlon  Stacy,  iu  writing  to  his  friends  in  England,  in  1680,  dates  his 
letter  from  the  "  Falls  of  the  Delaware  in  West  Jersey." — Smithes  Hist., 
p.  114. 

t  This  creek  is  called  in  the  public  records  Derwent,  St.  Pink,  Sun 
Pink,  Assanpink  (meaning  "  stony  creek,"  from  its  gravelly  bottom),  and 
Assunpink,  its  present  name. — Raum'i  Hist,  p.  42. 

I  Ibid,  p.  43. 

g  The  Quaker  meeting-house  at  Burlington  was  established  in  1696; 
that  of  Trenton  city  in  1739. 


Among  other  early  settlers  of  Hopewell  were  Moore 
Furman,  the  first  mayor  of  Trenton,  prominent  in 
the  affairs  of  the  county ;  William  Green  and  John 
Eeading,  who  were  the  first  assessors  of  Hunterdon 
County;  John  Muirhead,  who  was  the  first  sheriff'; 
Col.  William  Trent,  ||  who  in  1723  was  Speaker  of 
the  New  Jersey  Assembly  and  a  commissioner  of 
the  county  of  Hunterdon  along  with  John  Eeading ; 
William  Yard,  who  settled  in  1712,  and  William 
Trent  in  1714  (the  latter  purchased  the  Mahlon 
Stacy  tract  before  referred  to ;  and  his  oldest  son, 
James,  established  the  ferry  on  the  Delaware  at  the 
"  Old  York  Eoad"  crossing  in  1726  ;T[)  William  Yard, 
who  was  county  clerk  in  1722;  John  Porterfield,  who 
was  a  justice  of  the  Hunterdon  courts  in  1721 ;  and 
Joseph  Stout,  who  in  1727,  with  John  Porterfield, 
was  admitted  to  a  seat  in  the  General  Assembly,  the 
first  members  from  the  county  of  Hunterdon. 

Joseph  Stout  was  the  son  of  Jonathan,  the  head  of 
one  of  the  three  families  who  settled  in  the  north  part 
of  Hopewell,  near  the  Sourland  Mountain,  in  1704. 
At  this  time  "  the  place  was  a  wilderness  and  full  of 
Indians."  The  Jonathan  Stout  here  referred  to  was 
the  founder  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  the  north  part 
of  Hopewell,  whose  membership  extended  far  into 
old  Amwell,  and  which  was,  no  doubt,  the  first  so- 
ciety of  this  denomination  in  Hunterdon  County.  It 
is  generally  held — and  may  be  true — that  Daniel 
Coxe,  the  great  landowner  of  Hunterdon  County, 
was  a  non-resident  and  never  lived  within  its  borders,** 
but  the  records  at  Trenton  show  that  some  of  his  de- 
scendants lived  in  the  county,  and  were  prominent 
and  influential  in  its  early  affairs.ff  The  name  of 
Daniel  CoxeJt  appears  in  1746,  "in  the  19th  reign  of 
King  George  II.,"  as  one  of  the  burgesses  of  the 
borough  of  Trenton,  under  the  royal  charter,  along 
with  William  Morris,  Joseph  Warrell,  Andrew  Smith, 
Alex.  Lockart,  Theophilus  Phillips,  Samuel  Hunt, 
Eeuben  Armitage,  Joseph  Decou,  Andrew  Eeed,  David 
Martin,  and  Robert  Pearson.  The  Common  Council 
were  Joseph  Paxton,  Theophilus  Severns,  Benjamin 
Biles,  Jasper  Smith,  Cornelius  Ringo,  Jonathan  Stout, 
John  Dagworthy,  Jr.,  George  Ely,  Thomas  Burrows, 
Jr.,  Jonathan  Walters,  Joseph  Phillips,  John  Hunt, 
William  Plasket,  John  Welling,  Daniel  Lanning,  and 
Benjamin  Green. J? 


II  He  died  Dec.  26, 1724.  f  Raum's  Trenton,  p.  70. 

**  Wickes'  Hist.  Med.  in  N.  J.,  el  aU. 

ft  The  court  minutes,  in  the  clerk's  office  at  Flemington,  also  corrobo- 
rate the  statement;  Daniel  Coxe's  name  there  appeai-s  as  a  justice  in 
1723,  and  as  a  judge  oihciating  on  the  bench  of  the  county,  in  1726,  etc. 

XX  Tliis  Daniel  Coxe  must  have  been  Col.  Daniel,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
proprietor.  The  latter  is  said  to  have  died  about  1739.  Dr.  Mott,  in  his 
"  History  of  Hunterdon  County"  (p.  60),  says  that  Judge  Coxe  waa  a  grand- 
son of  Daniel  Coxe,  the  first  proprietor,  "  whose  large  proprietary  tracts 
made  his  descendants  immensely  wealthy.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  cen- 
tury Charles  Coxe  bought  the  farm  of  twelve  hundred  acres  owned  by 
Judge  Johnson  at  Sidney,  and  afterwards  the  residence  of  Judge  Wilson. 
In  the  old  mansion  Judge  Coxe  spent  his  summers,  extending  a  princely 
hospitality"  to  his  friends,  including  tlie  first  families  of  Philadelphia. 

§g  Liber  AAA,  Oom'rs,  p.  206,  Sec.  Off. 


LAJSTD  TITLES  AND  SETTLEMENT. 


185 


The  first  accurate  surrey  of  the  south  part  of  old 
Hunterdon  County,  now  embraced  in  Mercer,  of  which 
there  is  any  record  is  to  be  found  in  the  Book  of  Sur- 
veys, page  103,  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
at  Trenton,  having  the  marginal  note,  "  Re-survey  of 
Hopewell  tract  for  Col.  Cox,  31,000."    It  is  as  follows : 

'•  SEPTBMBEE,  1707. 

**  Eesurveyed  then  for  Coll.  Daniel  Cox,  hie  tract  of  land  called  Hope- 
well, beginning  at  the  upper  comer  of  the  same  by  the  river  Delaware, 
at  a  white  oak  corner  in  the  low  land,  and  rune  thence  East  South  East 
fourty  chain  to  a  markt  maple  and  hickory  for  a  corner;  then  East  three 
hundred  and  one  chain  to  a  white  oak  for  a  comer ;  then  north  by  west 
one  hundred  and  sixty-five  chain  to  a  white  oak  comer;  then  East  two 
hundred  sixty-four  chain  to  a  white  oak  corner ;  then  again  Ea£t  two 
hundred  and  forty  chains  to  a  white  oak  comer  in  a  line  called  the  Scotch 
line,  or  ine  of  partition  between  East  and  West  Jersey  ;  then  along  the 
said  line  neare  South  South  West  four  miles  and  thirtj'-two  chains  to  a 
white  oak  comer  in  the  line  of  Maiden  head  Indian  purchase ;  then 
alonge  the  said  line,  south  west  and  south  south  west  to  the  head  of  a 
creek  called  little  Shabbaconck ;  then  south  west  to  a  creek  called  Great 
Shabbakonk ;  then  down  by  the  same  fivety-six  chaine  to  a  tree  markt 
for  a  comer  on  the  south  west  side  thereof;  then  south  west  eighty-two 
chain  to  a  hickory  comer  to  land  surveyed  to  Thomas  Hutchinson ;  then 
by  the  same  North  West  two  hundred  eighty-five  chaines  to  a  hickory 
comer  by  the  land  surveyed  to  Pope  and  Wetherell ;  then  bounded  by 
the  same  by  a  line  Korth  East  seventy-three  chains  and  East  by  South 
fourty-nine  chaine,  and  South  Eleaven  chaine  and  East  by  South  fivety-six 
chaine,  and  Korth  by  East  one  hundred  and  three  chaiues  and  a  halfe, 
and  west  sixty-four  chains,  and  South  West  by  West  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  chaine  to  a  hickory  comer  at  the  Dellawar  aforesaid,  and 
so  bounded  up  by  the  said  river  to  the  first  mentioned  corner  containing 
one  and  thirty  thousand  acres  besides  allowances  for  highways. 

"Resui-veyed  by  me,  Daniel  LEEns." 

Another  testimony  to  the  oft-stated  fact  that  the 
lands  of  New  Jersey  were  fairly  purchased  of  the  In- 
dians is  the  deed  to  Adlord  Boude,  agent  of  Daniel 
Coxe,  from  the  Indian  chiefs  Hoham,  Teplaopamun, 
Mehekighue  (Meheekissue),  Capernonickon,  Nahu- 
sing,  Mehkaekan  (Neheekan),  and  Shawonne,  dated 
March  30,  1688.  This  was  for  the  lands  previously 
mentioned,  being  portions  of  what  are  now  Hunterdon 
and  Mercer  Counties. 

In  1722,  when  Hunterdon  County  embraced  the  five 
townships  of  Hanover,  Amwell,  Maidenhead,  Trenton, 
and  Hopewell,  the  tax-roll  contained  the  names  of 
138  men  subject  to  taxation,  16  of  whom  were  single 
men.  It  shows  also  11  slaves,  785  cattle  and  horses, 
487  sheep,  and  2  mills,  the  latter  owned  by  Philip 
Eingo,  now  Moore's,  and  the  other  by  Cornelius  An- 
derson, in  Hopewell.  The  number  of  acres  of  land 
then  in  possession  was  16,995.  The  tax-list  is  here 
given,  as  much  for  its  record  of  early  settlers  as  for 
its  statistical  information  :* 

Hue  Standland,  cattle  and  horses,  9 ;  sheep,  2  ; 
acres,  50. 

Thomas  Smith,  cattle  and  horses,  16 ;  sheep,  15 ; 
acres,  200. 

Eichard  Arnal,  cattle  and  horses,  3  ;  acres,  50. 

Nicholas  Hagerte,  cattle  and  horses,  3 ;  acres,  130. 

Joshaway  Ward,  cattle  and  horses,  3. 

Eldad  Davis,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  100. 

John  Feald,  cattle  and  horses,  13 ;  sheep,  12 ;  acres, 
200. 

*  The  orthography  of  the  original  is  here  retained. 

13 


Robert  Darck,  cattle  and  horses,  2 ;  sheep,  2. 
Abraham   Laru,   cattle   and  horses,  8 ;    sheep,   6 ; 
acres,  50. 

Peter  Laru,  cattle  and  horses,  10  ;  sheep,  10 ;  acres, 
50. 

James  Laru,  cattle  and  horses,  6 ;  sheep,  4 ;  acres,  50. 
Thomas  Woacer,  cattle  and  horses,  3. 
John  Allbado,  cattle  and  horses,  6 ;  acres,  200. 
Samuel  Bouldwin,  cattle  and  horses,  6 ;  acres,  500. 
Francis  Hege,  cattle  and  horses,  7;  acres,  600. 
Ely  Allbado,  cattle  and  horses,  8 ;  sheep,  2 ;  acres, 
200. 

Cornelius  Allbado,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  acres,  150. 
Francis  Fonnoy,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  acres,  150. 
Robert  Shaw,  cattle  and  horses,  7  ;  acres,  140. 
Timothy  Titus,  cattle  and  horses,  6 ;  slaves,  1 ;  acres, 
200. 
Thomas  Roberds,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  40. 
William  Reede,  single. 
Joseph  Huflf,  single. 

James  Evanse,  cattle  and  horses,  6 ;  acres,  200. 
Robert  Maclelean,  cattle  and  horses,  7  ;  acres,  100. 
John  Johnson,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  100. 
Roger  Woolverton,  single. 
Andrew  Millburne,  single. 
Jonathan  Stricklin,  Sr.,  single. 
Henry  Heldren,  single. 
John  Bennett,  single. 

John  Murched,  cattle  and  horses,  16  ;  sheep,  25 ; 
slaves,  1 ;  acres,  200. 

John  Coe,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  40. 
Ezekel  Oleno,  cattle  and  horses,  1. 
Nathaniel  Moore,  cattle  and  horses,  16  ;  sheep,  25 ; 
acres,  300. 
Charles  Hufi",  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  100. 
Jonathan  Stickler,  Jr.,  single. 
Joseph  Hart,  single. 

John  Smith,  cattle  and  horses,  12 ;  slaves,  1 ;  acres, 
166. 

William  Merrell,  Jr.,  cattle  and  horses,  20 ;  sheep, 
7  ;  acres,  130. 

Hezekiah  Bonham,  Jr.,  cattle  and  hoxses,  5_;-  acres, 
150. 

Philip  Ringo,  mills,  1 ;  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres, 
60. 

Benjamin  Drack,  cattle  and  horses,  17 ;  acres,  260. 
Joshua  Andrus,  Jr.,  cattle  and  horses,  6. 
Frederick  Debough,  cattle  and  horses,  7. 
Aran  Funhuck,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  acres,  200. 
Tunus  Huff",  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  50. 
Andru  Routtenhors,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  acres,  110. 
Danel  Deno,  cattle  and  horses,  1 ;  acres,  50. 
Samuel  Runyoun,  cattle  and  horses,  2 ;  acres,  50. 
Jesse  Hide,  cattle  and  horses,  9 ;  acres,  200. 
Danel  Geano,  cattle  and  horses,  7 ;  acres,  100. 
Steven  Geano,  cattle  and  horses,  6 ;  acres,  50. 
Joseph  Combs,  single. 

William  Merrel,  Sr.,  cattle  and  horses,  24;  sheep, 
20 ;  slaves,  2  ;  acres,  300. 

Benjamin  Merrel,  cattle  and  horses,  5. 
Nehemiah  Bonham,  cattle  and  horses,  2 ;  acres,  150. 
Jabes  Jarvis,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  100. 
Joseph  Davis,  cattle  and  horses,  3. 
Ananies   Olen,   cattle  and  horses,  12;   sheep,   8; 
acres,  350. 

Edward  Butler,  cattle  and  horses,  1. 
Barth  Corvine,  cattle  and  horses,  3  ;  acres,  100. 
Johannes  Hendrikx,  cattle  and  horses,  13 ;  sheep, 
10 ;  acres,  149. 
Samuel  Fitch,  cattle  and  horses,  16 ;  acres,  200. 
John  Everit,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  acres,  100. 
John  Framton,   cattle   and  horses,  14 ;  sheep,  6  ; 
acres,  100. 


186 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Samuel  Furman,  Jr.,  cattle  and  horses,  3 ;  acres,  50. 

Jonathan  Furman,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  sheep,  4 ; 
acres,  50. 

Thomas  Eunyon,  cattle  and  horses,  15 ;  sheep,  16 ; 
acres,  150. 

Viencien  Runyon,  cattle  and  horses,  2. 

Roger  Parke,  Jr.,  cattle  and  horses,  16  ;  sheep,  16  ; 
acres,  200. 

Roger  Parke,  Sr.,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  sheep,  9. 

John  Park,  cattle  and  horses,  15 ;  sheep,  20 ;  acres, 
300. 

John  Reede,  cattle  and  horses,  16 ;  sheep,  4 ;  acres, 
240.  ' 

John  Sharp,  single. 

William  Whited,  single. 

Joseph  Longlee,  cattle  and  horses,  3  ;  acres,  60. 

Samuel  Furman,  Sr.,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  sheep, 
6 ;  acres,  100. 

John  Capender,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  acres,  90. 

Joshua  Ely,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  acres,  200. 

Richard  Smith,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  acres,  100. 

Joses  Lombard,  cattle  and  horses,  2. 

Joseph  Stout,  cattle  and  horses,  28 ;  sheep,  18 ; 
acres,  280. 

Hezekiah  Bonel,  cattle  and  horses,  1 ;  acres,  10. 

Isaak  AsstoU,  single. 

Thomas  Combs,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  acres,  140. 

David  Stout,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  sheep,  1 ;  acres, 
250. 

Thomas  Evans,  cattle  and  horses,  5;  sheep,  8; 
acres,  100. 

Thomas  Ourtes,  cattle  and  horses,  15;  sheep,  14; 
acres,  150. 

William  Brient,  Sr.,  cattle  and  horses,  6 ;  sheep,  6 ; 
acres,  100. 

Robard  Blackwel,  cattle  and  horses,  8 ;  acres,  250. 

Enoch  Armitage,  cattle  and  horses,  11;  sheep,  4; 
acres,  250. 

Ralph  Hunt,  cattle  and  horses,  9 ;  sheep,  6 ;  acres, 
300. 

Thomas  Huf,  sheep,  6. 

Henere  Hendrix,  sheep,  6  ;  acres,  100. 

Jeremiah  Hendrix,  single. 

Peter  Hendrix,  single. 

Addom  Bratten,  sheep,  3 ;  acres,  50. 

William  Larason,  cattle  and  horses,  11 ;  sheep,  9 ; 
acres,  160. 

John  Titus,  cattle  and  horses,  22 ;  sheep,  10 ;  acres, 
200. 

Efrom  Titus,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  100. 

Ralph  Hunt  (stone  brock),*  cattle  and  horses,  7 ; 
acres,  100. 

John  Hunt,  yoreng ;  cattle  and  horses,  2 ;  acres,  100. 

Elisha  Bord,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  acres,  40. 

Elnathan  Boulder,  cattle  and  horses,  18 ;  sheep,  20 ; 
acres,  100. 

Thomas  Reede,  cattle  and  horses,  8 ;  acres,  200. 

John  Hart,  cattle  and  horses,  10 ;  sheep,  6 ;  acres, 
200. 

Samuel  Hunt,  cattle  and  horses,  9 ;  sheep,  10 ; 
acres,  200. 

John  Hunt,  cattle  and  horses,  13 ;  sheep,  11 ;  acres, 
200. 

Edward  Hart,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  50. 

Isaac  Herren,  cattle  and  horses,  9 ;  sheep,  7 ;  acres, 
260. 

Thomas  Merrel,  cattle  and  horses,  9 ;  acres,  100. 

Peter  Ringo,  cattle  and  horses,  1 ;  acres,  50. 

William  Cornel,  cattle  and  horses,  20 ;  sheep,  30 ; 
slaves,  1 ;  acres,  200. 

Andru  Foster,  cattle  and  horses,  1 ;  acres,  100. 

Jemse  Terrel,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  3. 

Calap  Carman,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  90. 


Andru  Smith,  cattle  and  horses,  25;  sheep,  15; 
slaves,  1 ;  acres,  500. 

John  Hickson,  cattle  and  horses,  14 ;  acres,  100. 

William  Larance,  cattle  and  horses,  12 ;  sheep,  5 ; 
acres,  200. 

Henery  Oxly,  cattle  and  horses,  15 ;  sheep,  7  ;  acres, 
200. 

William  Huff,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  sheep,  1 ;  acres, 
500. 

William  Briant  (Stone  bruk),*  cattle  and  horses, 
13  ;  sheep,  28 ;  acres,  300. 

Cornelius  Andrus,  Sr.,  mills,  1 ;  cattle  and  horses, 
17 ;  sheep,  3 ;  acres,  184. 

Samuel  Everit,  cattle  and  horses,  9;  sheep,  4; 
acres,  100. 

Joseph  Reeder,  cattle  and  horses,  7 ;  acres,  200. 

William  Miller,  cattle  and  horses,  2 ;  acres,  120. 

Joseph  Reed,  Sr.,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  sheep,  13 ; 
acres,  80. 

Thomas  Finne,  single. 

Joseph  Reede,  Jr.,  cattle  and  horses,  4 ;  acres,  60. 

Jemes  Melven,  cattle  and  horses,  9 ;  sheep,  1 ;  acres, 
500. 

David  Price,  cattle  and  horses,  3. 

William  Lin,  cattle  and  horses,  5 ;  acres,  200. 

Joseph  Nasbet,  cattle  and  horses,  1. 

Nicolas  Roberds,  cattle  and  horses,  3. 

Jorge  Wolse,  cattle  and  horses,  11 ;  acres,  200. 

Thomas  Burrus,  cattle  and  horses,  18;  sheep,  18; 
acres,  297. 

These  particulars  of  the  early  settlement  of  Hope- 
well are  given  not  only  because  it  was  a  part  of  Hun- 
terdon County  at  that  time  and  for  many  years,  but 
because  its  settlement  was  intimately  connected  with 
thQse  other  portions  of  the  county  now  known  as  Hun- 
terdon. It  will  he  seen,  by  examining  the  foregoing 
names  and  comparing  them  with  the  lists  of  public 
oificials  (see  Civil  List  in  another  chapter),  that  by 
far  the  greater  portion  of  them  were  officers  of  Hun- 
terdon, and  prominent  in  many  ways  in  civil  affairs 
of  the  county.  But  we  leave  it  now,  to  consider  that 
portion  embraced  within  its  present  limits. 

The  first  settler  of  Amwell  township,  without  doubt, 
was  John  Reading,  who  settled  near  Lambertville  in 
1703,  or  soon  after.  He  was  recorder  of  Burlington 
from  1693  to  1701,  was  one  of  the  proprietaries  of 
West  Jersey,  and  was  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Provincial  Council.  He  was  a  member  of  that  body 
in  1701,  and  immediately  after  engaged  in  surveying 
the  West  Jersey  Society's  lands  in  what  is  now  Hun- 
terdon County.  While  thus  engaged  he  selected 
several  fine  tracts  for  himself,  which  he  soon  after- 
wards purchased.  These  lands  were  north  of  Lambert- 
ville, in  the  vicinity  of  Prallsville  and  Barber's 
Station ;  also  about  Centre  Bridge,  which  was  called 
"  Reading's  Ferry"  until  1770,  when  it  went  by  the 
name  of  "  Howell's  Ferry."  These  lands  were  pur- 
chased of  the  Indians  in  1703,  and  John  Reading  was 
one  of  the  three  commissioners  appointed  to  treat 
with  the  natives,  his  associates  being  John  Wills  and 
William  Biddle,  Jr. 

Other  early  settlers  in  Amwell  were  the  Stouts,  in 
the  south  part  of  the  township,  the  Ringo  family,  in 

*  Stoney  Brook. 


LAND  TITLES  AND   SETTLEMENT. 


187 


the  centre  and  eastern  portion,  and  Jolin  Holcombe 
and  the  Coryells,  in  its  western  part, — most  of  whom 
were  occupying  their  respective  plantations  as  early 
as  1720,  and  some  of  them  even  earlier.    John  Hol- 
combe purchased  lands  as  early  as  1705,  but  did  not 
occupy  them  for  several  years.    He  was  the  ancestor 
of  the  Holcombe   families  of  Hunterdon  County. 
From  one  of  the  Stouts  the  township  is  said  to  have 
taken  its  name,  but  it  is  more  likely  that  it  was 
named  from  Amwell,  in  England.    When  we  consider 
that  all  the  early  settlers  of  this  section  were  English- 
men, and  that  many  of  their  settlements  were  called 
after  places  in  their  native  land,  it  seems  reasonable 
that  such  should  have  been  the  case  in  this  instance. 
It  may  appear  like  sacrilege  to  destroy  the  old  tradi- 
tion of  "  I  hope  you're  well,"  and  "  I  am  well,"  which 
has  not  only  been  treasured  for  years  as  the  origin  of 
the  names  of  Hopewell  and  Amwell  townships,  and 
handed  down  from  one  generation  to  another,  but 
quoted  by  the  historian  and  interwoven  with  the  an- 
nals of  the  church   and   home  circle ;   yet  honesty 
demands,  and  that  future  for  whom  these  records  are 
being  prepared  calls  for,  the  proof  or  verification  of 
the  tradition.     Having  an  ardent  desire  to  verify  this 
statement,  the  writer  has  labored  hard  and  made  dili- 
gent search,  but  not  one  stroke  of  the  pen  among  all 
the  records  now  existent  points  to  such  an  origin  for 
the  names.    And,  while  this  is  so,  there  is  indubitable 
proof  that  "  Hopewell"  at  least  had  a  different,  and 
even  an  earlier,  origin,  in  evidence  of  which  is  the 
following  fact:  May  20,  1688,  Cornelius  Empson,  of 
Brandywine  Creek,  sold  to  Andrew  Smith  two  hun- 
dred acres,  which  tract,  the  deed  says,  he,  the  said 
Empson,  "doth   enfeoff  and  confirm  unto  the  said 
Andrew  Smith,  heretofore  laid  forth  in  the  county  of 
Burlington  aforesaid,  and  also  settled  upon,  and  by 
him  the  said  Andrew  Smith   called  and  to   be   called 
Hopewell." 

John  Ringo,  however,  gave  his  name  to  a  settle- 
ment which  has  become  historic  in  this  section,  and 
which  enjoys  the  honor  of  being  the  only  village  and 
post-office  of  the  name  in  the  known  world. 

Coryell's  Ferry  was  established  about  1732  by  John 
Emanuel  Coryell,  who  came  from  Somerset  County. 
The  settlement  now  known  as  Lambertville  has  a 
much  earlier  origin, — the  tradition  says  in  1707, — and 
it  is  very  likely  that  both  John  Holcombe  and 
Emanuel  Coryell  came  there  between  1705  and  1710, 
Holcombe  having  purchased  his  lands,  as  before 
stated,  in  1705.  John  Lambert,  from  whom  the  vil- 
lage was  named,  in  1812,  in  compliment  to  his  eiforts 
in  procuring  its  post-office,  was  a  son  of  Gershom 
Lambert,  who,  with  his  brother  John,  settled  (near 
each  other)  about  three  miles  from  Lambertville,  and 
were  the  first  of  the  name  in  Amwell.  They  came 
about  1740.  His  son,  Joseph,  purchased  the  ferry  of 
the  Coryells,  and  it  was  thenceforth,  and  until  1812, 
known  as  Lambert's  Ferry. 

Adventurous  settlers  pressed  farther  up  the  Dela- 


ware, purchasing  tracts  in  Kingwood  and  Alexandria 
townships,  even  so  far  north  as  the  Musconetcong 
Mountain,  establishing  settlements  at  Baptisttown, 
Quakertown,  and  in  Bunn's  Valley,  a  little  later  at 
Frenchtown  and  Milford,  and  up  the  Musconetcong 
Creek  at  Bethlehem  and  German  Valley,  in  what  is 
now  Bethlehem  and  Lebanon  townships.     Quaker- 
town  was  settled  prior  to  1744,  for  the  records  of  its 
"  meeting"  date  back  to  that  year.    Among  the  ear- 
liest settlers  in  that  vicinity  were  the  Kings,  Wilsons, 
Rockhills,  and  Stevensons,  all  members  of  the  Bur- 
lington Quarterly  Meeting.    The  Dalrymple  family, 
numerous  in  Kingwood,  were  of  Scotch  origin.   Many 
others  from  "  Old  Scotia"  settled  in  the  north  part  of 
the  county,  among  whom  were  the  heirs  of  James 
Alexander,   and   notably   William   (Lord    Stirling), 
Walter  Rutherford,  etc.     In  1740,  John  Bowlby  pur- 
chased a  tract — five  thousand  and  eighty-eight  acres 
— reaching  from  Asbury  to  Hampton  Junction ;  while 
he  was  running  his  boundaries  Col.  Daniel  Coxe  was 
laying  out  an  adjoining  tract  on  the  east,  and  there 
was  great  strife  as  to  which  should  first  get  his  survey 
on  record,  in  order  to  secure  as  much  of  the  Muscon- 
etcong Creek  as  possible.     Bowlby  was  successful. 

The  settlement  of  German  Valley,  in  the  north 
part  of  the  county,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  was  due  to  accident  rather  than  design,  as 
the  emigrants  who  located  there  had  a  very  different 
destination.     A  colony  of  German  Reformed  people 
who  had  been  driven  by  persecution  to  Rhenish  Prus- 
sia, and  from  Holland  had  embarked  for  New  York 
with  intent  to  settle  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  but 
had  been  carried  by  adverse  winds  into  Delaware  Bay 
instead,  attempted  to  make  their  way  overland  to  the 
point  for  which  they  set  out.     "They  started  from 
Philadelphia  and  went  up  to  New  Hope  ;  there,  cross- 
ing the  river,  they  took  the  Old  York  Road.     Pre- 
cisely where  this  band  struck  the  mountainous  region 
is  not  known,  but  their  vision  was  charmed  with  the 
tempting  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  streams.     They 
found  this  whole  section  astir  with  pioneers,  who  were 
prospecting   and  settling.      Abandoning,    therefore, 
their  original  intention,  they  resolved  to  establish 
themselves  on  the  good  land  around  them.     From 
them  and  their  descendants  Germantown  and  German 
Valley  derive  their  names.    The  names  of  many  of 
these  pioneers  are  yet  found  on  the  church  records  of 
Lebanon.    Probably  at  New  Germantown  a  few  Eng- 
lish people  had  already  settled,"*  but  they  were  few 
and  scattered.    Yet  this  point,  now  known  as  New 
Germantown,  and  early  called  "  Smithfield,"  was  the 
first  point  occupied  in  what  is  now  Tewksbury  town- 
ship.    Robert  R.  Honeyman,  after  searching  among 
the  records  of  New  Germantown  to  prove  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  many  of  the  local  traditions,  prepared 
an  able  article,  which  was  published  in  "  Our  Home" 
in  1873  and  from  which  a  pertinent  extract  is  made : 


f  History  of  Hunterdon  County,  Eev.  George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  1878,  p.  14. 


188 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


"  It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  who  was  the  first  settler,  or  the  date  of 
the  first  settlement,  at  New  Germantown.  Our  local  sources  of  informa- 
tion on  these  points  are  scant,  and  we  are  quite  well  assured  that  no  ac- 
cessible records  at  Burlington  or  Trenton  would  furnish  more  light.  But, 
with  the  information  at  hand,  we  can  safely  assert  that  New  Germantown 
was  the  first  settlement  in  lewksbury  township,  and  that  it  was  settled 
by  the  English.  .  .  .  Johnson,  Thompson,  Cole,  Plat,  Ireland,  Carlisle, 
and  other  English  names  appear  cotemporaneonsly,  and  soon  disappear. 
But  Smith  waa  the  ruling  man,— a  large  landowner,  wealthy,  and  am- 
bitious of  founding  a  town.  The  street  now  ranning  east  and  west 
through  the  Tillage  formerly  known  as  the  'Potterstown  Eoad'  (but 
called  '  Church  Street'  in  the  existing  surrey  uf  James  Honeyman,  1818, 
and  '  King  Street'  in  the  surrey  of  Edward  Wilmot,  1755)  was  first  called 
'  Smith's  Lane.'  A  tract  of  ground  lying  between  the  Fox-Hill  Eoad— 
so  called  from  its  first  existence — and  Smith's  Lane  was  called  '  Smith's 
Field,'  and  the  first  name  by  which  the  settlement  wa£  known  was 
Smiihftdd.  But  the  Germans  were  rapidly  filling  np  the  country,  and 
Smithfield  was  destined  to  become  a  German  town  in  fact  as  well  as  in 


The  village  began  to  be  called  by  the  latter  name 
about  the  year  1750.  In  the  charter  for  the  old  Lu- 
theran Church,  procured  from  George  III.  in  the  year 
1767,  appear  the  following  German  names,  indicating 
many  of  the  settlers  of  that  period,  and  somewhat  the 
earlier  settlers  of  this  portion  of  the  county :  Law- 
rence Kudolph,  Philip  Weigs,  Jacob  Klein,  Peter 
Eisli,  Christopher  Vogt,  Balthus  Pickel,  Anthony 
'  Melick,  etc.,  and  the  Eev.  Henry  Muhlenberg,  Sr., 
who  succeeded  Paul  Bryzelius,  who  followed  John 
Albert  Waygand,  the  first  pa-stor  (dating  from  1748), 
save  the  Lutheran  missionaries,  who  preached  here  as 
early  as  1742. 

Other  early  settlers  in  this  section  were  John 
Honeyman,  John  Bergen,  George  Wilcox,  Adam 
Ten  Eyck,  and  Frederic  Bartles.  The  latter  was  in 
the  cavalry  service  of  Frederick  the  Great,  and  was 
the  grandfather  of  Charles  Bartles,  Esq.,  of  Flem- 
ington. 

At  Fairmount,  originally  called  Parkersville,*  the 
first  settlers  came  about  1740.  There  was  preaching 
at  the  church  of  Fox  Hill  as  early  as  1747,  according 
to  Michael  Schlatter.  The  name  of  the  hill  and  of 
the  settlement  (Foxenburg)  was  derived  from  a  man 
named  Fox,  an  enterprising  farmer,  who  introduced 
a  new  and  superior  kind  of  wheat. 

One  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  White 
House  was  Baltus  Pickel,  who  owned  a  tract  at  the 
foot  of  Cushetunk  Mountain,  now  better  known  as 
"  Pickle's  Mountain."  Abram  Van  Horn,  from  Mon- 
mouth, came  about  1749,  and  settled  on  both  sides  of 
the  creek,  along  the  turnpike  (south  of  the  railroad) ; 
he  built  a  mill  which,  like  most  of  those  of  the  Eari- 
tan  valley,  ground  flour  for  the  patriot  army  during 
the  Revolution.  Adrian  Ten  Eyck  purchased  in 
1724,  and  about  that  date  emigrated  irom  Somerset 
County  and  located  thereon.  Cornelius  Wyckoff, 
also,  very  early  located  here,  settling  on  the  Bock- 
away.  He  owned  six  hundred  acres,  and  left  numer- 
ous descendants. 

The  territory  between  the  South  Branch  and  Rin- 


*  From  James  Parker,  one  of  the  early  Jersey  proprietors,  who  owned 
a  large  tract  here. 


gos  was  occupied  about  1740.  In  that  year  Adam 
Bellis  located  near  Copper  Hill,  and  about  the  same 
time  the  Stouts  and  Kuhls.  In  1756,  Samuel  Fleming 
and  Thomas  Lowrey  settled  at  Flemington,  around 
whom  clustered  Philip  Kase  (at  the  Mine  farm), 
George  Creed,  the  first  physician  of  the  place,  Joseph 
Smith,  John  Haviland,  Thomas  Hunt,  Robert  Bur- 
gess, William  Norcross,  and  James  Farrar.  North  of 
Flemington,  besides  those  before  named,  were  Fred- 
erick Van  Fleet,  who  came  firom  Esopus,  N.  Y.,  in 
1725,  and  bought  lands  of  Van  Etta  at  what  was  later 
known  as  Van  Fleet's  Corner.  His  son,  Thomas,  was 
the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  vice-chancellor 
of  the  State.  Governor  John  Reading,  a  son  of  the 
first  John,  located  on  the  South  Branch  about  the  year 
1715,  two  miles  from  Flemington,  where  afterwards 
he  built  the  Reading  homestead,  and  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-one;  it  is  now  occupied  by 
Philip  Brown. 

But  it  is  impossible,  in  this  connection,  to  enu- 
merate even  the  advance-guard  of  that  vast  army  of 
emigrants  who  came  in  and  occupied  the  land  in  the 
"  early  days,"  for  "  their  name  is  Legion.'' 

The  most  that  has  been  aimed  at  in  the  foregoing 
account  of  early  settlement  has  been  to  show  in  out- 
line, as  near  as  possible,  when  the  several  portions 
of  the  county  were  first  settled.  In  the  township  his- 
tories which  are  given  herewith  may  be  found  more 
extended  notices  of  the  early  families  of  the  county. 

The  tide  of  emigration,  advancing  westward  along 
the  Raritan,  spread  along  the  two  main  branches  of 
that  stream,  as  we  have  seen,  adding  Scotch  Presby- 
terians and  Dutch  Huguenots  to  the  already  located 
Quaker  element,  and,  combining,  gave,  as  Bancroft 
says,  to  "  the  rising  commonwealth  a  character  which 
a  century  and  a  half  has  not  efiaced."  This  part  of 
Hunterdon  County — ^the  district  between  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  branches  of  the  Raritan  and  the  Delaware 
— soon  became  known,  and  its  natural  advantages 
attracted  many  settlers.  There  was  an  abundance 
of  timber,  oak,  hickory,  beech,  and  maple,  and  the 
forests  were  full  of  game  and  the  streams  teemed  with 
fish.  The  Raritan  was  navigable  up  to  the  union  of 
the  North  and  South  Branches.  Long  afterwards 
much  of  the  heavy  produce  was  carried  to  market  on 
those  streams.  In  seasons  of  freshets  the  farmers  up 
the  river  conveyed  their  grain  to  New  Brunswick  in 
flat-bottomed  boats,  floating  them  down  and  pulling 
them  back.  Old  persons  tell  how,  fifty  years  ago, 
brooks  were  double  their  present  volume.  No  won- 
der, then,  that  East  and  West  Jersey  joined  hands 
over  Hunterdon  County,  and  that  the  children  were 
attracted  away  from  their  old  homesteads  at  an  early 
day,  for  that  same  eagerness'  to  occupy  the  frontier 
and  push  farther  west  which  has  been  the  ruling 
passion  for  the  last  half-century  possessed  and  ani- 
mated the  sons  of  the  settlers  in  the  seventeenth 
century. 

In  addition,  the  political  institutions  were  so  liberal 


LAND   TITLES   AND   SETTLEMENT. 


189 


in  their  character  that  those  who  appreciated  civil 
and  religious  liberty  were  attracted.  And  thus  it 
came  to  pass  that  no  county  in  the  State  had  so 
mixed  a  population,  composed,  as  it  was,  of  Hugue- 
nots, Hollanders,  Germans,  Scotch,  Irish,  English, 
and  native  Americans. 

The  earliest  record  in  the  matter  of  building  new 
bridges  in  Hunterdon  County  was  May  9,  1764,  when 
action  was  taken  upon  building  a  stone  bridge  over 
Assunpink  Creek  at  Trenton.  Nottingham  was  to 
pay  one-third  of  the  cost,  and  the  justices  and  free- 
holders of  Hunterdon  voted  three  hundred  pounds  to 
be  raised  by  tax  for  the  purpose  of  paying  its  share 
(two-thirds)  of  the  cost;  Aug.  13,  1765,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  additional  was  voted  to  complete  the 
bridge. 

The  first  action  looking  to  the  erection  of  a  bridge 
within  the  present  limits  of  Hunterdon  was  at  a  meet- 
ing held  at  John  Daily's,  Eeadington,  Aug.  12,  1779, 
"agreeable  to  a  notice  issued  by  Nicholas  Egbert  and 
Cornelius  Polhemus,  two  of  the  overseers  of  the  roads 
of  said  township,  in  order  to  consult  about  building  a 
bridge  over  the  South  Branch  of  Karitan  River  at  a 
place  known  by  the  name  of  Reading's  Ford,  the 
question  being  put  whether  it  should  be  notice  or  no 
notice,  and  it  passed  in  the  negative.''  The  bridge 
was  ordered  to  be  built,  however,  Nov.  23,  1785,  and 
two  hundred  and  fifteen  pounds  were  appropriated 
therefor.  Thomas  Reading  took  the  contract  for  its 
erection. 

The  first  road  laid  out  in  this  county  of  which  we 
find  official  mention  is  called  in  the  records  "the 
Amwell  road,  that  leads  from  Malayehik  into  the 
road  that  comes  from  Green's  plantation  to  Cornelius 
Anderson's,"  and  is  of  date  Dec.  13, 1721.*  The  draft 
of  this  road  may  be  found  in  the  history  of  West 
Amwell  township,  in  this  work. 

Among  the  early  mills  of  Hunterdon  was  the  grist- 
and  fulling-mill  of  John  Grandin,  on  the  South 
Branch,  later  known  as  "  Johnston's  Mills."  It  was 
in  a  ruined  condition  a  hundred  years  ago.  Other 
pioneer  mills  were  those  of  Philip  Ringo,  in  Amwell  ; 
the  one  near  Copper  Hill,  built  at  an  early  day  by 
Cornelius  Stout,  which  was  supplanted  in  1812  by 
another  on  the  same  site ;  "  Hunt's  Mill,"  at  what  is 
now  Clinton ;  that  of  Abraham  Van  Horn,  on  the 
Cushetunk  ;  Lowrey's  old  red  grist-mill  and  saw-mill 
at  Lowreytown,  later  known  as  Mill-ford,  and  now 
Milford ;  Dall's  old  mill,  and  a  host  of  others,  for 
Hunterdon  County  was  noted  for  its  mill-seats  at  an 
early  day,  and  in  no  county  in  the  State  were  mills 
more  numerous.  All  along  the  North  and  South 
Branches  of  the  Raritan,  and  even  on  some  of  their 
tributaries,  they  could  be  found,  and,  almost  without 
exception,  during  the  Revolution  they  supplied  flour 
to  the  patriot  army  whilst  operating  in  this  portion  of 
the  State. 

*  Minutes  of  Court,  Hunterdon  County,  vol.  1.  p.  7. 


It  has  been  published  that  the  first  religious  society 
established  in  the  county  was  the  Friends'  Meeting 
at  Quakertown.  This  is  an  error.  The  Quakei"  Church 
there  dates  back  only  to  about  1733,  the  date  of  the 
deed  to  the  land  on  which  their  meeting-house  was 
erected.  The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Hopewell,  at 
Pennington,  was  established  in  1698,  and  the  Baptist 
Church  of  Hopewell  in  the  year  1705.  The  Reading- 
ton  Reformed  Dutch  Church  dates  from  1719.  All 
these,  and  possibly  others,  antedate  the  Quakertown 
Church. 

Hunterdon  County  was  noted  for  its  patriotism, 
during  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  hands  down 
to  us  a  long  list  of  patriots  who  served  with  its  militia 
and  the  Continental  line  during  the  war.  Many  of 
her  sons  were  prominent  members  of  the  Provincial 
Congress  or  Council  of  Safety,  and  many,  too,  distin- 
guished themselves  upon  the  battle-field.  Gen.  Daniel 
Morgan,  Col.  John  Mehelm,  Gen.  Charles  Stewart, 
Col.  Maxwell,  Col.  Philip  Johnston,  Col.  Bonnell, 
Maj.  Runyon,  Capts.  Adam  Hope,  Nathan  Stout, 
Joseph  Stout,  David  Schomp,  William  Chamberlin, 
and  a  host  of  other  honored  names,  present  them- 
selves. In  the  chapter  upon  the  "Revolutionary 
Period,"  and  the  several  township  histories,  will  be 
found  detailed  accounts  of  the  Revolutionary  heroes. 

It  was  some  time  after  peace  was  declared  before 
business,  both  public  and  private,  became  settled,  so 
much  had  the  war  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the 
country  diverted  public  attention  from  matters  trans- 
piring right  at  home.  It  was  but  a  few  years,  how- 
ever, before  it  was  found  that  the  location  of  the 
county-seat  at  Trenton,  in  an  extreme  corner  of  the 
large  county,  was  not  only  an  inconvenience,  but  a 
matter  of  deprivation  to  a  large  portion  of  its  people, 
who  asked  for  a  more  central  location.  Accordingly, 
in  1785  it  was  removed  to  Flemington,  although  the 
court-house  was  not  built  until  1791.  This  delay  was 
due,  doubtless,  to  the  poverty  of  the  country  and  the 
worthlessness  of  the  Continental  money.  In  the 
chapter  on  "  Courts  and  County  Buildings"  are  many 
interesting  facts  bearing  upon  this  topic. 

In  1790,  Hunterdon  stood  first  among  the  counties 
of  the  State  as  to  population.  It  had  20,153.  Sussex 
came  next  (19,500),  and  Burlington  followed  with 
18,095.  The  population  of  the  townships,  at  that 
time,  was  as  follows:  Amwell,  5201;  Kingwood, 
2440;  Alexandria,  1503;  Bethlehem,  1335;  Hopewell, 
2320;  Trenton,  1946;  Maidenhead,  1032;  Lebanon, 
Readington,  and  Tewksbury,  combined,  4370.  The 
number  of  slaves  was  1301 ;  of  free  blacks,  191. 

In  1800  the  county  gained  1108,  and  ranked  as 
fourth  in  the  State.  The  growth  of  the  county  since 
that  date— a  period  of  eighty  years— can  scarce  be 
comprehended  by  a  comparison  of  the  present  popula- 
tion—39,000— of  1880,  unless  it  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  Hunterdon  of  to-day  is  but  a  fragment  of  the 
territory  which  at  the  commencement  of  this  century 
gave  an  aggregate  of  twenty-one  thousand  souls. 


190 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


CHAPTER    III. 

ORGAWIZATIOM'  AND   CIVIL  HISTORY. 

Hunterdon  set  off  from  Burlington — Changes  in  its  Temtory — First  oflB- 
cere — Townships — Colonial  Elections — Poll-List  of  1738 — First  Deed  on 
Record — Innkeeper's  Prices  in  1722 — Early  Taverns  Licensed — Ex- 
tracts from  "  Records  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Justices  and  Freehold- 
ers, beginning  1739" — Wolf  and  Panther  Bounties — First  Meeting  of 
the  Board  at  Flemington,  Etc. 

Peeviotjs  to  1693,  West  Jersey  had  been  divided 
into  three  counties, — Burlington,  Salem,  and  Falls ; 
in  1693,  Cape  May  County  was  formed,  and,  in  1694, 
Gloucester.  The  bounds  of  Burlington  were  fixed  in 
1694,  when  the  General  Assembly  enacted  that  they 
should  be  "  on  the  south  by  the  river  Cropwell 
(formerly  called  Pensaukin),  and  on  the  north  by  the 
river  Derwent  (formerly  called  Sunpink)."*  But  in 
1710  the  territory  of  Burlington  was  definitely  defined. 
By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  what  is  now  Hunterdon 
County  was  first  an  undefined  country, — a  part  of  the 
grant  of  the  English  Crown  to  the  Duke  of  York, — 
subsequently  was  in  Monmouth  County,  later  in  Bur- 
lington, and  finally  was  organized  under  its  present 
name. 

Hunterdon  County  was  set  off"  from  Burlington  by 
an  enactment  of  the  General  Assembly  for  "  erecting 
the  upper  parts  of  the  western  division  of  New  Jer- 
sey into  a  county,"  which  was  passed  March  11,  1713, 
and  was  in  the  following  words  : 

"  That  all  and  singular  the  lands  and  upper  parts  of  the  said  western 
division  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  lying  northwards  of,  or  situate 
above,  the  brook  or  rivulet  commonly  called  ASHunpink,  be  erected  into 
a  county,  and  it  is  hereby  erected  into  a  county,  named,  and  from  hence- 
forth to  be  called,  the  county  of  Hunterdon;  and  the  said  brook  or  rivu- 
let, commonly  known  and  called  by  the  name  of  Assunpink,  shall  be  the 
boundary-line  between  the  county  of  Burlington  and  the  said  county  of 
Hunterdon."! 

From  1713  until  1738,  when  Morris  was  erected  from 
its  territory,  Hunterdon  County  embraced  a  vast  terri- 
tory,— nearly  or  quite  four  times  its  present  area, — 
reaching  from  the  Assunpink,  to  the  boundary-line 
between  the  provinces  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey, 
and  from  the  Delaware  River  to  the  east  line  of 
West  New  Jersey,  including  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the 
present  counties  of  Mercer,  Hunterdon,  Morris,  War- 
ren, and  Sussex.  March  15, 1738-39,  in  pursuance  of 
an  act  passed  that  date,  Hunterdon  County  gave  up 
"  all  the  lands  and  upper  parts  of  "  its  territory  "  lying 
to  the  northward  and  eastward  of  a  well-known  place 
in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  being  a  fall  of  water  in 
part  of  the  North  Branch  of  Raritan  River  called  in 
the  Indian  language,  or  known  by  the  name  of,  Alla- 
matonck,  to  the  northeastward  of  the  northeast  end 
or  part  of  the  lands  called  the  New  Jersey  Society 
lands,  along  the  line  thereof  crossing  the  South 
Branch  of  the  aforesaid  Raritan  River,  and  extend- 
ing westerly  to  a  certain  tree,  marked  with  the  letters 
L.  M.,  standing  on  the  north  side  of  a  brook  empty- 

*  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  350. 

t  Revised  Statutes  of  New  Jersey,  1877,  p.  200. 


ing  itself  into  the  said  South  Branch,  by  an  old 
Indian  path  to  the  northward  of  a  line  to  be  run  north- 
west from  the  said  tree  to  a  branch  of  the  Delaware 
River,  called  Muskonetkong,  and  so  down  the  said 
branch  to  Delaware  River ;"  said  lands  being  erected 
into  a  county  thenceforth  to  be  known  as  Morris. 
The  upper  portion  of  Morris  was,  June  8, 1753,  set  off" 
as  Sussex  County,  t  From  this  Warren  was  erected, 
Nov.  20,  1824,^  its  southerly  boundary  being  "the 
middle  of  the  Muskonetkong  Creek,"  which  has  ever 
since  defined  the  bounds  of  Hunterdon  upon  the 
north. 

March  16,  1786,  was  passed  an  "  act  to  ratify  and 
confirm  an  agreement  made  between  the  commis- 
sioners appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  and  the  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  for  the 
purpose  of  agreeing  upon  and  accurately  describing 
which  of  the  islands,  islets,  and  insulated  dry  land 
mentioned  in  the  agreement  between  the  two  States, 
bearing  date  on  the  26th  day  of  April,  1783,  belong  to 
each  of  the  said  States,  according  to  the  purport  of 
that  agreement."  From  this  act  is  quoted  the  follow- 
ing, showing  that  a  portion  of  the  territory  of  Hun- 
terdon County  was  in  the  Delaware  River : 

"  And  that  the  following  islands,  opposite  to  the  county  of  Hunterdon, 
in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  townships  hereafter  named, — that  is 
to  say,  opposite  to  the  township  of  Trenton,  Yard's  island,  Mott's  two 
islands,  and  Gould's  two  islands;  opposite  to  the  township  of  Hopewell, 
Stout's  island;  opposite  to  the  township  of  Amwell,  Smith's  Mill  island, 
Coryell's  island,  Holcombo's  two  islands,  Eagle  island,  and  Bull's  ifeland ; 
opposite  to  the  township  of  Kingwood,  Rush  island,  Eidge's  island.  Shy- 
hawk's  three  islands,  Pinkerton's  island,  and  Man-of-war  island ;  oppo- 
site to  the  township  of  Alexandria,  StuU's  island,  Lowrey's  island,  and 
Loughley's  island  and  bar, —  .  .  .  shall  be  annexed  to  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,"  etc. 

Hunterdon  County  at  that  time  had  a  frontage  upon 
the  Delaware  of  fifty  miles. 

The  last  permanent  change  in  the  marginal  lines 
of  the  county  occurred  Feb.  22,  1838, ||  and  Feb.  14, 
1839,1[  when  she  yielded  up  portions  of  her  southern 
lands  to  Mercer,  embracing  all  of  the  present  town- 
ships of  Hopewell,  Ewing,  and  Lawrence,  as  well  as 
all  of  the  city  of  Trenton  which  lies  north  of  the 
Assunpink. 

The  last  change  affecting  its  relations  with  its  ad- 
joining neighbors  was  in  1844,**  when  Tewksbury 
was  set  off  to  Somerset  County.  This  was  a  political 
measure,  hence  was  but  a  temporary  transfer ;  it  was 
returned  to  its  original  status  the  following  year.tt 


t  Ibid.,  p.  203.  g  Ibid.,  p.  204:. 

1  Ibid. 

U  "  All  of  that  part  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon  embraced  within  the 
limits  of  the  township  of  Hopewell  shall  be  .  .  .  made  a  part  of  the  county 
of  Mercer;  .  .  .  and  the  boundary-line  between  the  said  township  of 
Hopewell  and  the  township  of  Amwell,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon, 
shall  be  hereafter  the  boundary-line  between  the  county  of  Mercer  and 
the  county  of  Hunterdon."— 4cto  of  Aasembh/,  1839,  p.  39. 

**  Proceedings  General  Assembly,  sixty-eighth  session,  second  sitting, 
p.  263,  Stat. 

tt  Ibid.,  sixty-ninth  session,  firat  sitting,  p.  45,  Stat. 


ORGANIZATION  AND   CIVIL   HISTORY. 


191 


The  county  was  named  in  honor  of  Gen.  Robert 
Hunter,  who  was  governor-general  of  the  provinces 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  at  the  time  this  county 
was  formed,  having  been  appointed  thereto  June  10 
1710. 

"  He  was  a  nataye  of  Scotland,  and,  when  a  boy,  was  put  an  apprentice 
to  an  apothecary.  But  he  deserted  his  master  and  entered  the  army, 
and,  being  a  man  of  wit  and  personal  beauty,  acquired  the  affections  of 
lady  Hay,  whom  he  afterwards  married.  He  had  been  nominated,  in  the 
year  1707,  lieutenant-governor  of  Virginia,  under  George,  Earl  of  Ork- 
ney, but,  having  been  captured  by  the  French  in  his  voyage  to  that 
colony,  was  carried  into  France.  He  was  unquestionably  a  man  of  merit, 
since  he  enjoyed  the  intimacy  of  Swift,  Addison,  and  others  distinguished 
for  sense  and  learning.  He  mingled  freely  with  the  world,  and  was 
somewhat  tainted  by  its  follies ;  had  engaging  manners,  blended,  per- 
haps not  unhappily  for  his  success  in  the  province,  with  a  dash  of  original 
vulgarity.  His  administration,  of  ten  years'  duration,  was  one  of  almost 
unbroken  harmony."* 

He  was  the  most  popular  Governor  with  whom  the 
province  had  been  favored,  and  hence  the  respect 
shown  him  in  the  christening  of  the  only  county 
formed  during  his  term  of  office. 

Although  the  county  was  formed  in  March,  1714,  its 
inhabitants  were  restricted  from  choosing  members  of 
the  General  Assembly  until  the  year  1727,  and  con- 
tinue! to  vote  for  representatives  for  Burlington  as 
before  the  county  was  divided.!  In  1727  it  was  au- 
thorized to  choose  two,  and  John  Porterfield  and  Jo- 
seph Stout  took  seats  in  the  General  Assembly  as  the 
first  members  from  Hunterdon  County.  Joseph  Stout 
lived  in  the  north  part  of  Hopewell,  and  Mr.  Porter- 
field  near  Trenton.  J 

In  December,  1720,  the  court  "required  the  justices 
and  freeholders  to  meet  at  the  court-house  on  the  25th 
of  that  month  to  levy  taxes  to  defray  the  county 
charges,"  and  in  March  following  they  ordered  the 
innkeepers  to  meet  at  the  house  of  William  Yard 
{where  court  had  been  held  years  before)  to  take  out 
license.?  The  justices  and  freeholders  were  a  joint 
body  in  the  care  of  the  county  business,  and  so  con- 
tinued until  1798,  when  the  freeholders  were,  by  act 
of  the  Legislature,  incorporated  as  a  separate  body. 

William  Green  and  John  Reading  were  the  first  as- 
sessors of  Hunterdon  County,  and  Ralph  Hunt  the 
first  collector.  II  John  Muirhead  was  the  first  sheriff, 
holding  until  1727.  Joseph  Yard  was  the  first  clerk 
of  the  board  of  justices  and  chosen  freeholders,  so  far 
as  existing  records  show ;  he  served  as  such  from  1739 
to  1763.  For  a  list  of  the  officers  of  the  county,  see 
the  "  Civil  List,"  elsewhere  given. 

At  the  organization  of  the  county  it  was  divided 
into  the  following  townships :  Trenton,  Hopewell, 
Maidenhead,  and  Amwell,  of  which  only  the  latter  was 
within  the  present  limits  of  the  county.  In  1738  the 
records  show  the  townships  named  above,  and  "  Read- 
ing" and  Bethlehem  in  addition  ;  Alexandria  was  set 

*  Gordon's  History  of  New  Jersey, 
■f  Kaum's  Trenton,  p.  57. 
t  Ibid.,  pp.  66.  68. 

g  Minutes  of  Hunterdon  County,  vol.  i.  p.  61,  clerk's  ofdce,  Flem- 
ington. 
II  Hist.  Coll.  New  Jersey,  Barber  and  Howe,  p.  284. 


off  March  5,  1765.  In  1791— the  year  the  first  court- 
house was  erected  at  Flemington— the  list  of  town- 
ships had  been  increased  by  the  addition  of  Kingwood, 
Lebanon,  and  Tewksbury,  while  "Reading"  appears 
with  an  extra  syllable, — Readington. 

In  1798  the  above-mentioned  townships  were  in- 
corporated by  the  State  Legislature^  The  townships 
which  have  been  since  erected  are  as  follows :  Clinton, 
from  Lebanon,  in  1841 ;  Delaware,  from  Amwell,  in 
1838 ;  Raritan,  from  Amwell,  in  1838 ;  East  and  West 
Amwell,  by  division  of  Amwell,  in  1846 ;  Franklin, 
set  off  from  Kingwood,  in  1845;  High  Bridge,  from 
Clinton  and  Lebanon,  in  1871 ;  Union,  from  Bethlehem, 
in  1853 ;  Holland,  from  Alexandria,  in  1874.**  But 
after  the  erection  of  Mercer,  in  1838,  the  townships  of 
Trenton,  Hopewell,  and  Lawrenceville  (formerly 
Maidenhead)  figure  no  more  as  civil  divisions  of 
Hunterdon  County. 

Lambertville  was  incorporated  as  a  city  in  1872,  and 
the  town  of  Clinton  and  borough  of  Frenchtown  were 
created  in  the  years  1865  and  1867,  respectively. 
Frenchtown  was  erected  out  of  the  territory  of  Alex- 
andria, to  which  a  portion  of  Kingwood  was  added  in 
1876.  Clinton  borough  was  formed  from  Clinton, 
Franklin,  and  Union  townships. 

COLONIAL    ELECTIONS.ft 

Under  the  colonial  election  law  of  1709  none  were 
permitted  to  vote  for  representatives  in  the  General 
Assembly  but  freeholders  having  one  hundred  acres 
of  land,  or  worth  fifty  pounds  in  real  and  personal 
estate.  The  persons  elected  to  serve  as  representa- 
tives were  required  to  have  one  thousand  acres  of  land, 
or  to  be  worth  five  hundred  pounds  current  money. 

By  the  law  of  1725  the  sheriff,  to  whom  a  writ  had 
been  directed  for  electing  a  member  or  members  of 
the  General  Assembly,  was  required  to  give  notice  by 
advertising,  and  on  the  day  and  at  the  place  specified 
proceed  to  the  election  by  reading  his  writ  and  ap- 
pointing one  clerk  and  one  inspector  for  each  candi- 
date,— the  same  to  be  nominated  by  the  candidates 
respectively, — whose  duty  it  was  to  set  down  the 
names  of  the  electors,  the  place  of  their  residence, 
and  the  person  they  gave  their  votes  for.  The  poll 
was  to  be  taken  until  all  the  electors  then  and  there 
present  had  voted  ;  and  he  was  not  to  adjourn  to  any 
other  place  without  the  consent  of  the  candidates,  nor 
by  unnecessary  adjournment  delay  the  election. 

By  the  act  of  May  10,  1768,  members  of  General 
Assembly  were  limited  to  the  term  of  seven  years. 
Previous  to  that  time  the  term  of  service  was  discre- 
tionary with  the  Governor. 

Morris  County  was  set  off  from  Hunterdon  in  1738, 
but  was  not  allowed  representation  in  the  General 
Assembly  "  until  His  Majesty's  Pleasure  be  farther 

K  Ibid. 

**  Subsequently  re-annexed  to  Alexandria,  and  again  set  off  in  1879. 
ft  The  article  concerning  colonial  elections  and  poU-liet  for  1738  is 
contributed  by  Henry  Race,  M.D. 


192 


HUNTERDON"  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


known  therein,  or  that  it  shall  be  otherwise  ordered 
by  Act  of  Assembly."  But  "until  such  time  that  the 
said  Morris  County  shall  be  allowed  the  privilege  of 
Choosing  Representatives  of  their  own  in  the  General 
Assembly,  it  shall,  and  may  be  lawful,  to  and  for  the 
Freeholders  of  the  said  county,  from  time  to  time,  as 
occasion  shall  be,  to  appear  at  Trenton,  or  elsewhere  in 
the  said  County  of  Hunterdon,  and  there  to  vote,  and 
help  to  elect,  and  choose  Representatives  for  the  said 
County  of  Hunterdon,  after  the  same  Manner  as  for- 
merly, before  the  making  of  the  Act,  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  do."* 

All  of  what  is  now  Hunterdon,  Mercer,  Morris,  Sus- 
sex, and  Warren  was  represented  in  the  following 
poll-list;  and,  from  the  promiscuous  order  in  which 
the  names  of  the  precincts  occur,  it  is  nearly  certain 
that  the  election  was  held  at  only  one  place. 

The  Pole  of  the  Freeholders  of  the  County  of  Hunterdon  for  Bepresen* 
tatives  to  serve  in  Geneinl  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey 
for  the  County  of  Hunterdon,  taken  -per  Christopher  Search,  One  of  the 
aerks,  Oct.  9, 1738,  Before  David  Martin,  Esq.,  High  Sheriff. 

CANDIDATE,  JOHN  EMLET. 


Freegift  Stout,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Burcham,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Holcomb,  Amwell. 

Wm.  Bryant,  Hopewell. 

Ephraim  Quimby,  Amwell. 

Jos.  Burt,  Hopewell. 

Antony  Hemp,  Bethlehem. 

Kami.  Stout,  Hopewell. 

Dennis  Wolverton,  Amwell. 

Isaac  Wolverton,  Amwell. 

Josh.  Higgena,  Amwell. 

Peter  Wooliever,  AmwelL 

Wm.  Krettinghoueen,  Amwell. 

Henry  Wooliever,  AmwelL 

John  Kobbina,  Amwell. 

Henry  Coate,  Amwell. 

ThoB.  Hunt,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Buise,  Amwell. 

Aaron  Pi-all,  Amwell. 

Job  Robins,  Amwell. 

Andrew  Pettit,  Bethlehem. 

Jno,  Olivant,  Amwell. 

Peter  Kockifeller,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Garrison,  Amwell. 

Job.  Howell,  Bethlehem. 

Wm.  Wurt,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Buckman,  Amwell. 

Peter  Fisher,  Amwell. 

Peter  Overfelt,  Bethlehem. 

Amos  Thatcher,  Amwell, 

Bichd.  Heath,  Bethlehem. 

Henry  Weaver,  Amwell. 

Jos.  HixBon,  Amwell. 

Jeremiah  Cluck,  Amwell. 

Andrew  Heath,  Amwell. 

Job  Warford,  Bethlehem. 

Chrifltian  Weaver,  Amwell. 

James  Bray,  Bethlehem. 

Jno.  TouDgblood,  Amwell. 

Geo.  Wm.  Wamback,  Amwell, 

Jno.  Lewis,  Amwell. 

Danl.  Lowe,  Amwell. 

Josiah  Furman,  Hopewell. 

Roger  Park,  son  of  Jno.,  Hopewell. 

Thos.  Buckman,  Amwell. 


Benj.  Hixon,  Amwell. 
Garret  Vancampa,  Readington. 
Thos.  Martin,  Amwell. 
Peter  Laroc,  Hopewell. 
David  Stout,  Hopewell. 
James  Laroc,  Hopewell. 
Jno.  Warford,  Bethlehem. 

Scamp,  Readington. 

Jno.  Huff,  Maidenhead. 
Wm.  Binge,  Maidenhead. 
Derrick  Hoagland,  Amwell. 
Benj.  Slack,  Hopewell. 
Jho.  Farnaworth,  Amwell. 
Abram  Laroc,  Amwell, 
Jeremiah  Smith,  HopeweU. 
David  Oliphant,  Amwell. 
John  Vansickel,  Readington. 
Hermanus  Kester,  Bethlehem. 
Peter  Vanest,  Readington. 
Adrian  Auter,  Readington. 
Jno.  Stale,  Beadington. 
Jacob  Gray,  Amwell. 
Whalter  Harney,  Beadington. 
Andrew  Stall,  Readington. 
Caleb  Carman,  Hopewell, 
Benjn.  Stout,  Amwell. 
Lawrence  Updike,  Maidenhead. 
Abraham  Hattan,  Hanover, 
Tolkert  Derrickson,  Beadington. 
Isaac  Whitehead,  Hanover. 
Jonas  Goball,  Hanover. 
Jos.  Howard,  Hanover. 
Benj.  Hallaway,  Hanover. 
David  Wheeler,  Hanover. 
Isaac  Whitehead,  Hanover. 
Mathiaa  Nichols. 
Thos.  Cock,  Bethlehem. 
Jno.  Phillips,  Hopewell. 
Wm.  Updyke,  Amwell. 
Benj.  Stevens,  Maidenhead. 
Peter  Prall,  Amwell, 
Jas.  Stout,  Amwell. 
Richard  Burt,  Trenton. 
Isaac  Anderson,  Hopewell. 
Ralph  Hunt,  Hopewell. 


*  Chap,  clx.  Col.  Laws. 


Ezekiel  Rose,  Amwell. 
Setli  Lowrey,  Amwell. 
Jos.  Sackett,  Trenton, 
Michael  Henry,  Readington. 
Isaac  Boeder,  Trenton. 
Roger  Park,  Hopewell. 
Nicholas  Emmans,  Beadington. 
Wm.  Fowler,  Bethlehem. 
Galeace  Frazer,  Trenton. 
Benj.  Anderson,  Trenton. 
William  Green,  Trenton. 
Jno.  Hobbs,  Trenton. 
Enoch  Armitage,  Hopewell. 
Henry  Vankirk,  Hopewell. 
Jno.  Porter,  Amwell. 
Elnathaa  Baldwin,  Hopewell. 
David  Stout,  Hopewell. 
Stephen  Burrough,  Amwell. 
Saml.  Stevenson.  Bethlehem. 
Joseph  King,  Bethlehem. 
Jno.  Johnson,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Weymer,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Vauvorst,  Amwell. 
Henry  Best,  Amwell. 
Tunis  Quick,  Amwell. 
Jonathan  Foreman,  Hopewell. 


John  Coate,  Bethlehem, 
Thos.  Lake,  Amwell, 
Jno.  Biles,  Maidenhead. 
Jno.  Stout,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Bainbridge,  Maidenhead. 
Josh.  Reader,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Johnson,  Maidenhead. 
Jamea  Stout,  James'  son,  Amwell- 
Thos.  Smith,  Maidenhead. 
Antony  Deardorff,  Amwell. 
Honust  Moore,  Amwell. 
Valentine  End,  Amwell. 
Coonroad  Boltenhouaer,  AmwelL 
Gudolph  Hartley,  Amwell. 
Geo.  Beckelshammer,  Amwell. 
Henry  Farnsworth,  Amwell, 
Wm.  Mott,  Trenton. 
Honust  Houshale,  Amwell. 
Jos.  Stout,  Amwell. 
Honust  Rapman,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Updike,  Amwell.  •■ 
Ephraim  Olivant,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Williamson,  Amwell. 
Henry  Deardorff,  Amwell. 
Ghas.  Harelocker,  Amwell  (141), 


CANDIDATE,  BENJ'N.  SMITH. 


Freegift  Stout,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Burcham,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Holcomb,  Amwell. 

Ephraim  Quimby,  Amwell. 

Job.  Burt,  Hopewell. 

Antony  Kemp,  Bethlehem. 

Dennia  Woolverton,  Amwell. 

Isaac  Woolverton,  Amwell, 

Josh.  Higgens,  Amwell. 

Peter  Wooliever,  Amwell. 

Wm.  Retting! lousen,  AmweU. 

Henry  Wooliever,  Amwell, 

Jno.  Robbins,  Amwell. 

Henry  Coate,  Amwell. 

Jno,  Buise,  Amwell. 

Aaron  Prall,  Amwell. 

Job  Robbins,  Amwell. 

Batw.  Anderson,  Hopewell. 

Jno.  Olivant,  Amwell. 

Peter  Rockifeller,  Amwell, 

Nathan  Davia,  Trenton. 

Jno.  Garrison,  Amwell. 

Jos.  Howell,  Bethlehem. 

Wm.  Wart,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Ruckman,  Amwell. 

Peter  Fisher,  Amwell, 

Peter  Oveifelt,  Bethlehem. 

Amos  Thatcher,  Amwell. 

Richd.  Heath,  Bethlehem. 

Joa.  Hixon,  Amwell. 

Jeremiah  Cluck,  Amwell, 

Andrew  Heath,  AmweU. 

Job  Warford,  Bethlehem. 

Henry  Weaver,  Amwell. 

Chriatian  Weaver,  Amwell. 

James  Bray,  Bethlehem. 

Jno.  Toungblood,  Amwell. 

Geo.  Wm.  Wamback,  Amwell. 

Jno.  Lewis,  Amwell. 

Danl.  Laroc,  Amwell. 

Aaron  Skeyhawk,  Bethlehem. 

Cornehus  Skeyhawk,  Bethlehem. 

Henry  Freeman,  Bethlehem. 

Roger  Park,  son  of  Jno.,  Hopewell. 

Thos  Buckman,  Amwell. 

Benj.  Hixon,  Amwell. 

Thos.  Martin,  Amwell. 

Peter  Laroc,  Hopewell. 


James  Laroc.  Hopewell. 
John  Warford,  Bethlehem. 
Derrick  Hoagland,  Amwell. 
Benjamin  Slack,  Hopewell. 
Abram  Laroc,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Vansickel,  Beadington. 
Hermanus  Kester,  Bethlehem. 
Peter  Vanest,  Beadington. 
Adrian  Auter,  Beadington. 
Jno.  Stull,  Beadington. 
Jacob  Gray,  Amwell. 
Whaltor  Harney,  Beadington. 
Andrew  Stall,  Readington. 
James  Scott,  Maidenhead. 
Benj.  Stout,  Amwell. 
Lawrence  Updike,  Maidenhead. 
Abram  Hattaway,  Hanover. 
Volkert  Derrickson,  Beadington. 
Isaac  Whitehead,  Hanover. 
Jonas  Goble,  Hanover. 
Jos.  Howard,  Hanover. 
Benjn.  Hattaway,  Hanover. 
David  Wheeler,  Hanover. 
Isaac  Whitehead,  Jr.,  Hanover. 
Mathias  Nichols,  Hanover. 
John  Phillips,  Hopewell. 
Wm.  Updyke,  Amwell. 
Benj.  Stevens,  Maidenhead. 
Peter  Prall,  Amwell. 
James  Stout,  Amwell. 
Richard  Burt,  Trenton. 
Isaac  Anderson,  Hopewell. 
Ralph  Hunt,  Hopewell. 
Ezekiel  Rose,  Amwell. 
Seth  Lowrey,  Amwell. 
Joa.  Sacket,  Trenton. 
Michall  Henry,  Readington. 
Isaac  Beeder,  Trenton. 
Roger  Park,  Hopewell. 
Nicholas  Emmans,  Readington. 
Jno.  McClocklen,  Hopewell. 
Wm.  Fowler,  Bethlehem. 
Daniel  Doughty,  Bethlehem. 
Galeace  Frazer,  Trenton. 
Jno.  Stevenaou,  Bethlehem. 
Benj.  Anderson,  Hopewell. 
Wm.  Green,  Trenton. 
Jno.  Hobbs,  Treoton. 


ORGANIZATION   AND   CIVIL   HISTORY. 


193 


Enoch  Annitage,  Hopewell. 
Henry  Vankirk,  Hopewell. 
Elnathao  Baldwin,  Hopewell. 
Nehemiali  Howell,  Maidenhead. 
Jasper  Smith,  Maidenhead. 
Saml.  Stevenson,  Bethlehem. 
Josh.  King,  Bethlehem. 
Jno.  Johnson,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Wea,ymer,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Vanvorst,  Amwell. 
Henry  Best,  Amwell. 
Tunis  Quick,  Amwell. 
Robt.  Blackwell,  Hopewell. 
Jno.  Ck)ate,  Bethlehem. 
Thos.  Lake,  Amwell. 
Jao.  Biles,  Maidenhead, 
Wm.  Binge,  Maidenhead. 
Jno.  Stont,  Aniwell. 
Jno.  Huff,  Maidenhead. 
Jqo.  Bainbridge,  Maidenhead. 


Jos.  Ileeder,  Amwell. 
Jbo.  Jobuson,  Maidenhead. 
James  Stout,  Jas'.  son,  Amwell. 
Thos.  Smith,  Maidenhead. 
Antony  DeardorfF,  Amwell. 
Honust  Moore,  AmwelL 
Valentine  End,  Amwell. 
Coonroad  Boltenhousen,  Amwell. 
Gudolph  Harley,  Amwell. 
Geo.  Beckelshommer,  Amwell. 
Henry  Farnsworth,  Amwell. 
Wm.  Mott,  Trenton. 
Honust  Honshall,  Amwell. 
Jos.  Stout,  Amwell. 
Honust  Bapman,  Amwell. 
Ephraim  Olivant,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Williamson,  Amwell. 
Henry  Deardorff,  Amwell. 
Charles  Horelocker,  Amwell  (136). 


CANDIDATE,  DANIEL  COXE. 


Thos.  Newman,  Amwell. 
Bobt.  Eaton,  Amwell. 
Hugh  Martin,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Titus,  Jr.,  Hopewell. 
"Wm.  Bryant,  Hopewell. 
Saml.  Stout,  Hopewell. 
Jno.  Burroughs,  Trenton. 
Wm.  Crumb,  Eeadingtou. 
Tho.  Grant,  Amwell. 
Wm.  Lummox,  Amwell. 
Bat''.  Anderson,  Hopewell. 
Nathan  Davis,  Trenton. 
Timothy  Baker,  Maidenhead. 
George  Green,  Amwell. 
Josiah  Furman,  Hopewell. 
Michal  Shnrt,  Beadington. 
Chaa.  Morgan,  Hopewell. 
Garret  Vancampa,  Beadington. 
Godfrey  Peters,  Amwell. 
Cliaxles  Huffi  HopewelL 
David  Stout,  HopewelL 
Ralph  Hunt,  Hopewell. 
Saml.  Hnnt,  Maidenhead. 
Theophilns  Phillips,  Maidenhead. 
George  Scamp,  Beadington. 
George  Biggs,  Beadington. 
Christ.  Howell,  Trenton. 
Jno.  Parker,  Trenton. 
James  Gary,  HopewelL 
Andrew  Millborne,  HopewelL 
Jeremiah  Smith,  Hopewell. 
David  Olivant,  Amwell. 
Caleb  Carman,  HopewelL 
Joshua  Anderson,  Hopewell, 
Abraham  Temple,  Hopewell. 


Jno.  Heart,  Hopewell. 
Andrew  Bedrick,  Beadington. 
Christian  Hassel,  Beadington. 
DanL  Sebring,  Beadington. 
Thos.  Cock,  Bethlehem. 
Jacobus  Swart,  Reading^on. 
Eliakim  Anderson,  Hopewell. 
Jno.  Anderson,  Hopewell. 
Wm.  Johnson,  Trenton. 
Saml.  Green,  Greenwich. 
Henry  Stewart,  Greenwich. 
Jno.  Anderson,  Greenwich. 
Wm.  McCoy,  Bethlehem. 
Abraham  Vanawker,  Walpack. 
Jno.  McClocklen,  Hopewell. 
Cornelius  Aducher,  Walpack. 
Bichd.  Green,  Amwell. 
Benj.  Seaverns,  AmwelL 
Jno.  Wright,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Pearson,  Trenton. 
Bonjn.  Temple,  Hopewell. 
Tunis  Quick,  Walpack. 
Thos.  Quick,  Walpack. 
Edward  Hunt,  Maidenhead. 
Nehemiah  Howell,  Maidenhead. 
David  Stout,  Hopewell. 
Steph.  Burroughs,  Amwell. 
Jonathan  Stiles,  Hanover. 
Jno.  Kenney,  Hanover. 
Jasper  Smith,  Maidenhead. 
Phillip  Phillips,  Maidenhead. 
Jonathan  Foreman,  HopewelL 
Bobt.  Blackwell,  HopewelL 
Cornelius  Anderson,  Hopewell. 
Jno.  Updyke,  Amwell  (70). 


CANDIDATE,  JOSH.  PEACE. 


Thos.  Newman,  AmwelL 
Bobt.  Eaton,  Amwell. 
Hugh  Martin,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Titus,  Jr.,  Hopewell. 
Jno.  Burroughs,  Trenton. 
Andrew  Pettit,- Bethlehem. 
Timothy  Baker,  Maidenhead. 
George  Green,  Amwell. 
Godfrey  Peters,  Amwell. 
Charles  Huff,  HopewelL 
Ralph  Hunt,  Hopewell. 
Saml.  Hunt,  Maidenhead. 
TheophiluB  Phillips,  Maidenhead. 
Chris'.  Howell,  Trenton. 
John  Parker,  Trenton. 
James  Gary,  HopewelL 


Jno.  Farnsworth,  Amwell. 
Jno.  Heart,  Hopewell. 
Jas.  Scott,  Maidenhead. 
Saml.  Green,  Greenwich, 
Henry  Stewart,  Greenwich. 
Thos.  Anderson,  Greenwich. 
Wm.  McCoy,  Bethlehem. 
Abram.  Yanawken,  Walpeick. 
Ricbd.  Green,  Amwell. 
Benj.  Seaverns,  AmwelL 
Jno.  Wright,  AmwelL 
Benjn.  Temple,  HopewelL 
Edward  Hunt,  Maidenhead. 
Philip  Philips,  Maidenhead. 
Josh.  Moore,  Hopewell  (31). 


CANDIDATE,  ABRAM  TANHORNE. 
Wm.  Crumb,  Readington.  Christian  Hassell,  Beadington. 

Michael  Shurt,  Beadington.  Jacobus  Swart,  Beadington. 

George  Biggs,  Readington.  Thos.  Quick,  Walpack  (7). 

Andrew  Bedrick,  Readiugton. 

CANDIDATE,  JNO.  COATE. 
Daniel  Doughty,  Bethlehem. 

CANDIDATE,  MARTIN  BEYARSON. 
Thos.  Stevenson,  Bethlehem. 

The  officers  of  the  townships  of  the  county  of  Hun- 
terdon for  the  year  1721  were, — Amwell :  Samuel 
Green  and  Adrian  Lane,  Freeholders ;  Samuel  Green, 
Assessor;  John  Grandin,  Collector;  George  Green 
and  John  Holcombe,  Surveyors  for  the  Highways. 
Hopewell :  Joseph  Stout  and  Philip  Ringo,  Freehold- 
ers ;  Nath.  May,  Assessor ;  Cornelius  Anderson,  Col- 
lector ;  Thomas  Burns  and  Philip  Ringo,  Surveyors 
for  Highways.  Maidenhead :  John  Bainbridge  and 
John  Browery,  Freeholders  ;  John  Bainbridge,  As- 
sessor ;  Alexander  Harper,  Collector ;  Edmund  Bain- 
bridge and  Alexander  Biles,  Surveyors.  Trenton : 
Alexander  Lockart  and  Richard  Scudder,  Freehold- 
ers ;  Alexander  Lockart,  Assessor ;  Charles  Clarke, 
Collector  ;  John  Burroughs  and  Charles  Clarke,  Sur- 
veyors for  the  Highways. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  that  in  that  early  day 
one  person  filled  several  offices.  But  even  so  early  as 
1709  to  be  a  freeholder  involved  the  ownership  of  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  or  the  possession  of  fifty  pounds 
current  money.  From  1725  until  after  the  Revolu- 
tion the  sheriff  gave  public  notice  of  the  day  and 
place  of  election,  and  opened  the  polls,  "  between  the 
hours  of  ten  and  twelve,"  by  reading  his  writ.  Voting 
was  done  by  the  holding  up  of  hands,  and  there  was 
but  one  place  of  election  in  the  county.  The  polls 
were  frequently  kept  open  two  or  three  days,  and 
sometimes  a  week  or  longer.  In  1789,  when  voting 
for  the  location  of  the  general  government, — to  be 
temporarily  at  New  York  or  Philadelphia, — it  was 
said  the  polls  were  kept  open  three  or  four  weeks. 
Voting  by  ballot  does  not  appear  to  have  been  prac- 
ticed until  after  the  Revolution. 

At  that  time,  too,  attendance  upon  an  election 
involved  both  several  days^  time  and  considerable  in- 
convenience, as  many  of  the  early  settlers  had  a  long 
distance  to  go  to  reach  the  county-seat,  which  they 
rode  on  horseback  (the  only  mode  of  travel  then  in 
use)  over  rough  roads  or  through  the  woods,  fording 
streams,  consuming  nearly  or  quite  a  day  in  going  and 
another  in  returning  to  their  homes.  But  after  1790 
the  voting  was  done  in  the  respective  townships. 

The  first  deed  of  which  any  record  appears  in  the 
present  county  of  Hunterdon  is  in  vol.  i.  (p.  13), 
"  Minutes  of  the  Court  of  Hunterdon  County,"  and 
bears  the  date  of  "  15th  of  January  in  the  first  year 
of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord,  George  ye  first, 
over  England  King,"— 1714.  It  is  "between  Alex- 
ander Lockart,  of  Nottingham,  in  the  county  of  Bur- 
lington, within  the  western  division  of  Nova  Cesaria, 


194 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Esquire,  on  the  one  part,  and  Charles  Clarke,  of 
Hopewell,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  in  the  western 
division  aforesaid,  Taylor,  on  the  other  part,"  etc. 
This  was  for  two  hundred  and  ninety  acres  lying  in 
Hopewell,  then,  but  not  now,  in  this  county. 

The  first  deed  on  record  in  the  county  clerk's  ofiice, 
riemington,  is  on  page  1  of  volume  A,  and  bears  date 
of  Jan.  1,  1784.  It  was  from  George  Beaty  and  wife, 
of  Trenton,  to  Susannah  Medford,  of  Philadelphia, 
widow,  for  land  situated  near  Trenton,  which  was 
confiscated  by  the  State  from  Isaac  Allen  "  for  offend- 
ing against  the  form  of  his  allegiance  to  the  said  State 
of  New  Jersey,"  and  sold  at  public  vendue,  March 
25,  1779,  to  George  Beaty. 

One  of  the  first  recorded  deeds  for  land  situated  in 
what  is  now  Hunterdon  County  is  that  for  the  lot 
upon  which  the  court-house  is  located. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1722,  it  was 

"  Ordered  by  the  court  that  All  publique  houses  in  this  Couuty  shall 
pay  obedience  and  deuly  observe  and  keep  All  the  Directions  of  prices 
of  liquors  And  other  things  contained  in  sd  order  which  shall  here  After 
be  exprest  by  the  particulars,  And  that  the  clerks  of  the  County  shall 
record  the  same  and  give  a  copy  to  each  puhlique  house  proprietor  in  the 
County.  And  they  shall  hang  upe  the  same  in  some  puhlique  place  in 
their  Beverall  houses,  so  that  all  Travelers  And  others  may  have  Recourse 
thereto.  And  that  it  shall  so  remain  on  the  penalty  of  the  forflture  of 
their  licenses  in  case  of  default — viz.,  as  follows,  the  prices  all  to  be  proc- 
lamation money : 

d.    qr. 

To  every  Hott  Dinor 7        1^ 

iJito  cold  as  Breakfast  And  Supper 4        ^ 

Madera  wine  per  pint 11 

Hott  dito  per  pint 1     ... 

D:  Caneroy  Mamsey  or  white  wine  per  pint 1       3 

D:  Hott  Mamsey  or  white  wine  per  pint 1      6 

D:  tealls  wine  per  pint 7 

D;  Claret  l\ine  per  pint 1      3 

Metheglin  per  pint 6 

Rum  per  gill 3 

B:  Hott  per  gill 4 

Eume  punch  per  quart  fewer  gills  of  rum  in  it  Made 

with  Muskevado  Shewgar 1      8 

D;  Made  of  Duble  refined  Shewgar 1      8 

Brandy  per  gill    2J^ 

Brandy  punch  per  quart  fower  gills  brandy  made  of 

Muskevado  Shewgar 3     ,., 

D:  made  with  Duble  refined  Shewgar 3      3 

And  so  in  proportion  for  a  greater  or  Lesser  quan- 
tity of  Brandy  or  Rum  punch  per  quart. 

Poor  per  quart 4 

D:  BristoU  or  London  beer  per  the  bottle 1      3 

Syder  per  quart 3 

Lodging  per  night 3 

Horse  pasturage  per  night  or  twenty  fower  owrs 4V< 

Standing  ditto  all  Hay  per  night  or  twenty  fower  owrs  ..      4^ 

Oats  per  peck 9 

Indian  Corn  per  peck 1     ... 

Bran  per  peck 3" 

In  1732,  Abraham  Lane  petitioned  for  a  license  "  to 
keep  a  publick  house  of  entertainment  in  the  town- 
ship of  Beading" ;  the  court  ordered  (October  term) 
that  it  be  granted.  At  the  May  term  of  1738  the  fol- 
lowing petitions  for  tavern  license  were  granted : 
Benjamin  Slecht,  John  Eouse,  and  Jonah  Sherman, 
of  Hopewell;  Richard  Loveland,  James  Neilson, 
William  Hoff,  William  Yard,  and  Thomas  Barns,  of 
Trenton;  Abraham  Hathaway  and  Jacob  Hord,  of 
Hanover;  Joseph  Inslee,  Philip  Ringo,  and  John 
Taylor,  of  Amwell ;  and  Daniel  Sebring,  of  Eeading- 
ton.  Each  was  required  to  enter  into  a  recognizance 
of  twenty  pounds,  and  a  surety  to  give  ten  pounds. 

These  were  some  of  the  earliest  licensed  innkeepers 


of  this  county.  A  little  later  (1746)  the  records  show 
quite  a  number  in  Amwell  alone, — Philip  Ringo,  Na- 
thaniel Parker,  George  Van  Buskirk,  Andrew  Pettit, 
Peter  Kesler,  and  Samuel  Fleming.  The  last  named 
was  licensed  in  subsequent  years  as  late  as  1763.  But 
they  soon  grew  to  be  very  numerous  all  over  the 
county ;  "  their  name  was  Legion,"  and  the  amount  of 
liquor  sold  by  them  almost  taxes  our  credulity.  The 
war  of  the  Revolution  brought  rum  and  whisky  into 
general  use,  and  the  manufacture  of  ardent  spirits 
was  largely  carried  on  in  this  section.  "  In  one  town- 
ship along  the  Raritan,  at  the  commencement  of  this 
century,  eight  distilleries  were  in  operation.  Custom 
required  each  hand,  in  hay  or  harvest,  to  be  fiirnished 
with  one  pint  of  rum  a  day.  Almost  every  farmer 
had  his  cellar  stocked  with  barrels  of  cider,  spirits, 
and  rye  whisky."* 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  assessors  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon  at  the 
house  of  Philip  Ringo,  in  Amwell,  on  the  12th  day  of  June,  1753,  pur- 
suant to  an  order  from  the  justices  and  freeholders  of  s*  county  to  divide 
the  quota  for  raising  the  sum  of  One  Hundred  and  Thirty  Pounds  for 
repairing  the  Gaol  and  Court-House  and  killing  wolves  and  panthers, 
etc.    The  Quota  of  each  Township  is  as  follows, — viz. : 

£      8.      i. 

Kingwood 12    13      0 

Bethlehem 16      5    11 

Reading 18      4      5 

Lebanon 21       6      8 

Amwell 34      6      2 

Hopewell 16    12      5 

Maidenhead 6    16      8 

Trenton 4    15      9 

(Signed  by)  "  Joseph  Deacon,  George  Readimq, 

"CoBNELiua  Lahe,  Charles  Hoff, 

"  William  Bay,  William  Bates, 

".ioHN  Van  Cleve,  Azahiah  Hunt, 


"Records  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Justices  and 
Freeholders  of  the  County  of  Hunterdon  on  publick 
affairs  Relating  to  said  County  Beginning  Sept.  7, 
1739," — such  is  the  inscription  upon  the  outside  cover 
of  what  is  the  earliest  official  record  extant  of  the 
board  of  freeholders  of  this  county.  It  is  a  leather- 
bound  volume,  and  the  inscription  appears  to  have 
been  written  with  a  red-hot  iron.  It  is  possible  that 
the  records  of  their  proceedings  prior  to  1739  were 
not  preserved  in  any  book,  which  supposition  is  rather 
strengthened  by  one  of  the  first  items  entered  in  the 
above  volume : 

"  Ordered  that  there  shall  be  a  Record  Book  provided  for  the  said  clerk 
of  Ten  Shillings  Price  at  the  expense  of  the  county." 

The  following  is  the  account  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  first  session  of  the  board,  as  found  in  the  above- 
mentioned  volume : 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Justices  and  Freeholders  for  the  County  of  Hun- 
terdon on  the  Seventh  Day  of  September,  1739,  at  the  Court-House  in 
Trenton,  Its  agreed,  ordered,  and  directed  as  follows:  first.  That  there  be 
Twelve  pounds  allowed  for  the  Chief  Justice  and  the  Expense  of  the 
Special  Commission  for  the  Tryall  of  James  Fitzgerald,  now  in  Prison 
for  Murder.  Secondly,  that  the  Sheriff  set  Workmen  at  work  to  do 
What  is  Necessary  to  be  done  to  the  Prison,  according  to  the  Account  of 
What  is  Wanting,  this  Day  Rendered  to  us  and  hereunto  annexed,  hav- 
ing been  Perused,  be  allowed  and  also  to  be  paid.    It  is  Lastly  agreed  by 


*  Hist.  Hunterdon  Co.,  G.  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  p.  53. 


ORGANIZATION  AND   CIVIL   HISTORY. 


195 


and  Between  the  said  Justice  and  Freeholders  that  they  meet  again  at 
the  Court-House  in  Trenton  in  order  to  adjust  all  the  Accounts  Belating 
to  said  County  on  the  first  Monday  in  October  next. 

"  BiCHAED  Green,  Michael  Henbie, 

"  Nathaniel  Haet,  Petee  Monfoed, 

"  John  Peice,  Benjamin  Stout, 

"  Alexandeb  Lockhaet,      Edwabd  Kockhill, 
"  Daniel  Doughty,  W.  Moeeis, 

"  John  Andehson,  Jaspee  Smith, 

"  Nathaniel  Mooee,  Chaeles  Claee." 

i"  F.  Bowes, 

David  Martin  is  mentioned  as  late  steriflf,  and  Ms 
account  of  three  pounds  three  shillings  was  pre- 
sented and  audited,  and  his  receipt  for  the  fall  amount 
bears  date  of  April  9,  1740. 

The  following  account  of  "  sundries  of  repairs  on 
the  Gaol"  also  appears  : 

"1739.    The  Co.  of  Hunterdon  to  Thomas  Clark,  Dr. 
"  To  paid  for  writing  6  notices  for  the  Justices  and 

Freeholders  to  meet,  at  Is.  each £0    6  0 

"  To  expenses  for  a  man  and  horse  2  days  in  putting 

up  the  notices  in  each  township 0  13  0 


fO  19  0 


The  board  met  in  October,  pursuant  to  adjourn- 
ment, and  there  were  present  the  following  :  Justices, 
Joseph  Stout,  William  Morris,  Charles  Clark,  James 
Gould,  Andrew  Smith;  Freeholders:  Alexander 
Lockart,  Richard  Green,  Trenton ;  Capt.  John  Ander- 
son, John  Price,  Maidenhead ;  Nathaniel  Moore,  Na- 
thaniel Hart,  Hopewell;  John  Garrison,  Benjamin 
Stout,  Amwell ;  Michael  Henry,  Peter  Monfort,  Read- 
ing ;  Daniel  Doughty,  Bethlehem. 

At  this  meeting  the  accounts  of  Benjamin  Smith 
and  William  Morris  were  examined  and  allowed. 
Joseph  Yard  was  appointed  clerk,  with  compensation 
of  eight  shillings  per  day.  It  was  "  agreed  to  adjourn 
for  one  hour  to  the  house  of  William  Yard,  in  Tren- 
ton." William  Morris,  Benjamin  Smith,  Alexander 
Lockart,  John  Anderson,  Michael  Henrie,  and  Daniel 
Doughty  were  appointed  a  committee  to  inspect  the 
account  of  the  county  collector  "  and  make  a  report 
thereon  to  the  Justices  and  Freeholders  to-morrow 
morning  at  Ten  of  the  Clock  at  the  Court-House,  to 
which  time  and  place  they  adjourn." 

At  this  adjourned  meeting,  October  2d,  "  on  motion 
being  made  by  some  of  the  Justices  and  Freeholders 
for  the  raising  of  money  to  pay  oflF  the  Demands  of 
sundry  persons  that  are  in  arrears  for  the  Publick, 
and  also  for  the  Defraying  the  charge  of  Killing  of 
Wolves  and  Panthers,  and  also  for  other  incidental 
charges  of  said  County,  the  question  being  put,  what 
sum  should  be  raised,  it  was  agreed  by  a  majority  of 
them  that  the  sum  of  £100  be  raised  for  the  uses 
above  mentioned, — that  is  to  say,  the  sum  of  £40 
towards  Defraying  the  charge  of  killing  wolves  and 
panthers,  and  the  sum  of  £60  for  other  Publick  pur- 
poses." 

After  some  other  unimportant  business,  the  record 
says  "the  justices  and  freeholders  broke  up  their 
meeting." 

The  expenditure  for  building  the  "  Trenton  gaol" 
is  itemized  in   an  account  presented  at  the  meet- 


ing of  Oct.  1  and  2,  1739.  It  is  dated  Aug.  17, 
1737,  and  aggregates  £332.  11;  2. ;  Benjamin  Smith 
builder.  An  itemized  account  of  William  Morris  for 
the  court-house  (£62.  15.  3J.)  also  appears.  In  the 
general  account  is  seen  the  following  items  : 

Cash  pd.  for  72  grown  wolves,  at  20« £72  00  0 

"  "    16      "      panthers,  at  15s 12  00  0 

*'  '•   19  young  wolves,  at  58 4  16  0 

The  aggregate  indebtedness  of  the  county  at  this 
time,  as  shown  by  this  book,  was  £706. 15.  5.,  many  of 
the  bills,  however,  dating  back  to  1734,  the  first  item 
being  "  To  bal.  of  ac't  as  per  settlement,  Feb.  26,  1734, 
£77.  13.  lOJ." 

May  12,  1762,  "  and  upon  application  for  the  rais- 
ing money  for  the  repairing  and  cleaning  the  arms 
belonging  to  said  county,  the  sd  Justices  and  Freehold- 
ers do  order  that  the  sum  of  £20  be  raised  on  the  sd 
county  for  that  service.  Mansfield  Hunt  was  ap- 
pointed armourer  for  the  arms  of  the  Upper  Regi- 
ments of  Hunterdon,  and  Timothy  Maxwell  to  be 
armourer  of  the  Lower  Regiments  of  Hunterdon 
County." 

May  13,  1772,  the  hoard  requested  Messrs.  Grandin 
and  Martin  "to  collect  the  gunns  belongii)g  to  the 
Upper  Regiment,  and  have  them  cleaned,  and  make 
report  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  number." 

Nov.  2,  1773,  an  account  was  presented  by  Furman 
&  Hunt  for  repairing  the  stone  bridge  in  Trenton,  the 
jail,  stocks,  and  pillory. 

The  amount  of  money  received  by  the  collector  in 
1773  was  £1808.  17.  10.  Abraham  Hunt  was  al- 
lowed to  make  repairs  on  court-house  and  jail,  and 
to  get  a  new  pair  of  stocks,  post,  and  pillory.  At  the 
same  time  {13th  May),  James  Martin  reported  as  in 
his  possession  fifty-four  guns,  ten  cartouche-boxes, 
six  bayonets,  and  Mordecai  McKenney  reported 
forty-five  guns,  fifty-five  bayonets,  eight  cartouche- 
boxes,  "  and  that  he  knows  of  a  few  more  not  yet  col- 
lected together."  Gershom  Lee  and  Mordecai  Mc- 
Kenney were  instructed  to  sell  them  at  public  ven- 
due and  produce  the  account  at  the  next  meeting. 
The  next  year  (1774)  they  reported  that  the  sales  had 
realized  about  £139. 

Dec.  8, 1778,  Rensselaer  Williams,  Esq.,  was  ordered 
to  insert  an  advertisement  in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette  re- 
questing the  chairman  and  clerks  of  county  and  town- 
ship committees  and  the  several  captains  of  militia  to 
present  their  several  accounts,  vouchers,  etc.,  to  the 
board  of  freeholders  on  the  second  Wednesday  of  May 
next,  agreeable  to  a  law  of  this  State  "  entitled  an 
act  for  recovering  the  arrearages  of  the  ten  thousand 
pounds  tax,  and  for  other  proposes  therein  men- 
tioned." 

Prior  to  1791  most  of  the  sessions  of  the  board  were 
held  at  Trenton,  either  at  the  court-house  or  the 
houses  of  Richard  Furman  (1757),  Rachel  Horten 
(1759),  Isaac  Yard  (1767,  1768,  1776),  Richard  Ten- 
ant (1769,  1770,  1771,  1775),  etc.  They  met  in  Am- 
well in  June,  1748,  at  Philip  Ringo's  ;  in  September, 


f 


196 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


1766,  at  John  Eingo's  ;  in  1782  at  William  Ringo's ; 
and  in  1783  at  John  Snyder's.  They  met  at  Mer- 
shon's  tavern  in  1780,  in  Readington,  at  Mathias 
Sharp's  in  1774,  at  John  Daily's,  August,  1779,  at 
Richard  Stillwell's  in  1788,  and  at  Mahlon  Taylor's, 
Bethlehem,  in  1781.  Of  the  session  at  Tenant's, 
Dec.  26, 1771,  the  record  states  parenthetically,  "  hay- 
ing not  met  in  May  last  occasioned  by  the  smallpox." 
They  met  in  May,  1789  and  1790,  at  Robeson's  and 
Meldrum's  taverns,  respectively. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  first  meeting  of 
the  board  held  at  Flemington : 

"  Flemington,  January  3d,  1791. 

"  The  Board  of  Justices  and  Freeholders  met  at  this  place  agreeable  to 
a  notice  given  by  order  of  Joseph  Reading,  Joseph  Beavers,  and  Thomas 
Reading,  Esqrs. 

"Present,  Justices :  John  Smith,  Benjamin  Smith,  Oliver  Barnet,  Elias 
WicofF,  Jacob  Anderson,  Francis  McShane,  Jona.Vl^olverton,  Charles  Cox, 
Ezeliiel  Cole,  Thomas  Stout,  John  Lambert,  Thomas  Reading,  Abraham 
Vandyke,  Bavid  Frazer. 

"  Present,  Freeholders :  Conrad  Kotts,  John  Mott,  Trenton ;  Joseph 
Briarly,  Ralph  Philips,  Maidenhead ;  John  P.  Hunk,  Henry  Baker, 
Hopewell;  William  Chamberlain,  Joseph  Lambert,  Amwell;  Joseph 
King,  John  Louder,  Kingwood  ;  Thomas  Lowery,  John  Brink,  Alexan- 
dria ;  John  Crawford,  Peter  Case,  Bethlehem  ;  Daniel  Hunt,  Wm.  Haz- 
lett,  Lebanon ;  Tunis  Melick,  Simeon  Fleet,  Tewksbury;  John  Taylor, 
John  Emmons,  Readington. 

"  The  Board  then  proceeded  to  business,  and  the  question  waa  put 
whether  it  was  legal  to  go  into  business  at  this  place,  or  illegal  ;  it  was 
carried  by  a  majority  to  be  legal. 

*'  The  queation  being  put  what  sum  should  be  raised  for  building 
court-house,  gaol,  etc.,  it  was  carried  for  the  sum  of  Twenty-five  hundred 
pounds." 

Col.  John  Taylor,  Col.  William  Chamberlain,  and 
John  Snyder  were  appointed  a  committee  to  "  make 
a  draught  of  a  plan  of  Court-House,  Gaol,  &c.,  to  be 
presented  at  the  next  meeting  of  this  Board."  Ad- 
journed to  meet  the  17th  of  January,  at  the  house  of 
George  Alexander,  in  Flemington. 

The  last  record  in  this  old  freeholders'  book  was  of 
a  meeting,  Aug.  14, 1797,  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas 
Reading,  "in  order  to  view  the  repairs  necessary  to 
be  made  to  a  bridge  over  the  South  Branch  of  the 
Raritan  near  Mr.  Reading's." 


CHAPTER    IV. 
COTJKTS    AND    COUNTY    BtTILDINGS. 

First  Courts — First  Judges,  Magistrates,  and  Grand  Jury — Court-house 
and  Jail  at  Trenton— First  Record  of  the  "Cort  of  General  Quarter 
Sessions" — Extracts  from  "Minutes  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Court" 
— Notable  Early  Trials — Orphans'  Courts — Trials  for  Murder — The 
County  Buildings. 

The  courts  were  held  at  Burlington  and  at  Mount 
Holly  until  1714,  when  the  Assembly  enacted  that 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions 
should  be  held  alternately  at  Maidenhead  (Lawrence- 
ville)  and  Hopewell  "until  a  court-house  and  gaol 
for  the  county  shall  be  built."*    And  in  pursuance  of 

*  Laws  and  Ordinances,  vol.  i.  p.  100,  State  library,  Trenton. 


the  act  passed  April  6,  1676,  "  that  the  county  courts 
should  be  held  at  one  time  in  one  town,  and  at  an- 
other time  in  another  town,"!  tte  courts  of  Hunter- 
don County  were  held,  from  June,  1714,  to  Septem- 
ber, 1719,  at  Maidenhead  in  June  and  December, 
and  at  Hopewell  in  March  and  September,  of  those 
years. 

The  first  session  convened  at  Maidenhead  on  the 
second  Tuesday  of  June,  1714,  but  at  what  house  is 
not  known.  They  were  afterwards  held  "at  the 
houses  of  Theophilus  Phillip.=i,  William  Osborne,  Mr. 
Hornor,  and  Daniel  Bailey.  In  Hopewell  they  were 
held  at  the  houses  of  Andrew  Heath  and  Robert  Lan- 
ning, — the  place  afterwards  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Na- 
thaniel Lanning."J  At  the  first  court  held  in  the 
county — at  Maidenhead — the  magistrates  present  were 
John  Bainbridge,?  Jacob  Bellerjeau,  Philip  Phillips, 
William  Green,  John  Holcombe,  Samuel  Green,  and 
Samuel  Fitch. 

In  1719  (September)  the  courts  were  first  held  at 
Trenton,  at  the  house  of  William  Yard,  now  No.  24 
East  Front  Street.  ||  "  It  having  been  represented  to 
the  Governor  that  the  holding  of  the  courts  alter- 
nately in  Maidenhead  and  Hopewell  was  attended 
with  inconvenience,  in  March,  1719,  he  recommended 
that  the  courts  should  be  held  and  kept  in  Trenton 
from  the  month  of  September  next  ensuing."1[ 

The  first  grand  jury  of  Hunterdon  County  was  com- 
posed of  William  Hixson,  Daniel  Howell,  Robert 
Lanning,  Henry  Marshon,  Richard  Compton,  George 
Woolsey,  Joseph  Reeder,  Jr.,  Thomas  Standling, 
Richard  Scudder,  Timothy  Baker,  John  Burroughs, 
John  Titus,  Samuel  Everett,  John  Ely,  and  Richard 
Lanning. 

"At  this  time"  (1719),  says  Raum,  in  his  "History 
of  Trenton,"  "  it  does  not  appear  that  the  court-house 
was  built,  but  probably  was  about  a  year  after,  or  it 
might  have  been  in  course  of  erection  at  that  time." 
It  stood  on  the  lot  on  which  is  now  located  the  bank- 
ing-house of  the  Trenton  Banking  Company,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  given  to  the  county  by  Col.  (after- 
wards Judge)  William  Trent.  It  was  sold  by  the 
board  of  chosen  freeholders  of  Hunterdon  County  to 
the  Trenton  Banking  Company  in  1814,  just  one  hun- 
dred years  after  Trent  purchased  it.  It  is  described 
by  Raum  as  being  a  two-story  building,  of  gray  sand- 
stone, with  stuccoed  front.  The  cells  were  in  the 
lower  story.  The  upper  story  was  used  as  a  court- 
room,** the  entrance  to  which  was  by  a  number  of 
stone  steps,  erected  on  the  outside  of  the  building  and 


■f  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  116. 

X  Raum*s  Trenton,  p.  60. 

g  The  ancestor  of  Com.  Bainbridge.  He  died  in  1732,  aged  seventy- 
flve  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  church-yard  at  Trenton, 
where  a  tablet  honors  his  memory. 

II  Baum's  Trenton,  p.  61. 

If  Laws  and  Ordinances,  p.  223,  State  library,  Trenton. 

•*  In  this  court-room  the  Baptist  denomination  held  their  first  meetings 
in  Trenton,  and  there  the  Rev,  Peter  Wilson,  of  Hightstown,  delivered 
his  ever-memorable  discourses.— ilciimi. 


COUETS  AND   COUNTY  BUILDINGS. 


197 


surmounted  by  an  iron  railing.  The  steps  extended 
over  the  pavement,  commencing  from  the  gutter,  and 
persons  going  into  the  court-room  were  compelled  to 
ascend  from  the  street.  Pedestrians  going  up  and 
down  the  street  passed  directly  under  these  steps. 
The  steps  were  afterwards  removed  from  the  street 
and  placed  crosswise  upon  the  front  of  the  building, 
commencing  from  either  corner,  on  the  north  and 
south  sides  of  it,  and  meeting  at  the  top,  in  the  centre 
of  the  building.  Subsequently  these  steps  were  taken 
away  and  placed  inside  the  building. 

The  jail  was  kept  for  many  years  by  Jacob 
Wrighter.  The  following  was  one  of  the  early  orders 
of  the  court  to  constables :  "  to  find  themselves  with 
constables'  staves,  painted  upon  the  upper  end  with 
the  King's  coat-of-arms,  and  to  have  them  by  next 
court,  on  penalty  of  being  fined." 

A  log  jail  was  built  very  early,  but  what  year  is  not 
known,*  at  the  forks  of  the  roads  leading  from  Tren- 
ton to  Pennington,  and  from  Pennington  to  the 
Eight-Mile  Ferry,  nearly  opposite  the  residence  of 
the  late  Jesse  Moore,  Esq.  There  was  no  jail  from 
1714;  until  after  March,  1720,  as  the  high  sherifi",  John 
Muirhead,  complained  to  the  court,  at  that  time, 
"  that  there  was  no  gaol  for  the  county ;"  and  that  it 
was  buUt  between  1720  and  1728  appears  from  the 
fact  that  in  the  latter  year  John  Dagworthy,  his  suc- 
cessor, complained  to  the  court  that  it  was  so  out  of 
repair  that  escapes  took  place  daily.  "  Ordered  to  be 
repaired."!  This  is  not  saying  much  for  the  jail, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  inferences  that  might  be 
drawn  therefrom,  the  record  does  not  show  many 
criminal  cases  to  have  been  presented  by  the  grand 
jury. 

Among  other  old  parchment  commissions  from  the 
English  Crown,  to  be  found  in  the  county  clerk's 
office  at  Flemington,  are  the  following : 

"  GEORGE  by  the  grace  of  God  of  great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland 
King-defender  of  the  Faith:  To  onr  well  beloved  and  faithful  Daniel 
Ooxey  Thofiuu  Leonard,  and  James  Trent,  Eeqnires,  Enowye  that  we  have 
assigned  cunstitnted  and  appointed  and  by  these  presents  do  assign,  con- 
stitute and  appoint  yon  the  said  Daniel  Coxe,  Thomas  Leonard  and 
Janies  Trent  to  be  Judges  or  any  one  oJ  you  to  be  Judge  of  our  County 
Court  for  holding  of  pleas  for  our  County  of  Hunterdon  in  onr  province 
of  Kew  Jersey  in  America,  vrith  authority  to  use  and  exercise  all  powers 
and  jnrisdictionB  belonging  to  the  said  court ;  and  you  the  said  Daniel 
Coxe,  Thomas  Leonard  and  James  Trent  assisted  with  Joseph  Stout,  Ja- 
cob Doughty,  Jasper  Smith,  John  Budd,  Isaac  Herring,' Nathaniel  Moore, 
John  Daggworthy,  and  Joshua  Anderson,  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  our 
said  County  or  any  two  of  them  to  hear  try  &  determine  all  causes  and 
matters  Civil,  by  Law  cognizable  in  the  said  Court  and  to  award  execu- 
tion thereon  accordingly.  LN"  TESTOIONT  whereof  we  have  caused 
the  great  seal  of  our  said  Province  of  New  Jersey  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 
Witness  onr  trusty  and  weU  beloved  Williaji  Buenet,  Esquire,  our  Cap- 
tain General  and  Governor  in  chief  of  our  provinces  of  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  and  territories  thereon  depending  in  America,  and  Vice  Admiral  of 
the  same,  &".  at  Fort  George,  in  New  Tork,  this  Twentielh  day  of  Septem- 
ber, in  the  Twelfth  year  of  our  Eeign,  zt ;  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One 
Thousand  seven  hundred  and  Twenty  five." 

*  Barber's  Hist  Coll.  New  Jersey  (p.  284)  says  about  the  year  1721,  but 
this  IS  evidently  an  error :  it  must  have  been  many  years  earlier.  The 
stone  court-honse,  with  jail  in  basement,  was  erected  about  1720,  and  it 
•does  not  appear  plausible  that  a  log  one  should  be  built  so  soon  after. 

t  Minutes  of  the  Conrt,  voL  i. 


This  is  countersigned  "Smith,"t  and  has  the  great 
seal  of  the  province  attached. 

The  commission  of  some  of  the  earliest  justices,  in 
nearly  the  same  language,  is  from  "  George  the  Sec- 
ond, by  the  Grace  of  God  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,— To  our 
trusty  and  well-beloved  Theophilus  Sevems  and  Ben- 
jamin Biles,  John  Hackett,  and  Nicholas  "Wycofl; 
Esqr.  Know  ye  that  we  have  assigned  you  and  each 
of  you  with  our  other  Justices  joyntly  and  severally, 
our  justices  to  keep  Our  Peace  in  Our  county  of  Hun- 
terdon," dated  "  18th  May  in  the  24th  year  of  our 
Eeign."? 

The  following  extracts  from  the  earliest  court 
records  now  extant,  must  be  of  historic  value  and 
general  interest  to  the  present  generation,  illustra- 
tive, as  they  are,  of  the  manner  of  administering  the 
afiairs  of  a  century  and  a  half  a^o. 

In  what  is  called  the  first  volume  of  "  Minutes  of 
the  Court  of  Hunterdon  County,"  the  first  entry  is  of 
the  laying  out  of  a  road  near  Trenton.  This  bears 
date  of  June  5,  1721.  The  items  are  all  numbered, 
the  above  beipg  488,  implying  that  this  record-book  is 
not  the  first  docket,  although  the  oldest  on  file  in  the 
county  clerk's  office  at  Flemington. 

The  first  of  court  proceedings  commences  as  follows : 
"  June  y»  6th,  1721,  The  Cort  of  Generall  quarter  ses- 
sions cald  And  opened,  present  upon  the  Bench,  Tim- 
othy Baker,  Jasper  Smith,  Jacob  Bellerjeau,  Thomas 
Leonard,  Charles  Wolverton,  Kalph  Heart,  John  Por- 
terfield."  Constables  were  called  from  the  townships 
of  Trenton,  Hopewell,  Amwell,  and  Maidenhead. 
All  appeared  except  Abram  Temple,  from  Hopewell, 
who  was  "  fined  thirty  shillings,  proclamation  money, 
for  neglect  of  his  duty  as  constable."  It  was  ordered 
"  that  William  Lawrason  be  appointed  in  the  roome  of 
Abram  Temple  the  remainder  of  the  year  for  Hope- 
well." The  officers  of  the  townships  are  also  recited.  1| 
"  The  Grand  Jury  came  into  Court  cald  over  And  dis- 
mist.  The  Court  adjurned  till  to-morrow  morning  att 
eight  of  the  clock  in  the  forenoon.''  The  court  con- 
vened agreeable  to  adjournment  and  organized.  The 
only  business  before  them  was  "The  presentment 
Against  the  Barke  mill  and  Lento1[  continowd  till 
next  court.  Proclamation  made  And  the  quarter 
sessions  of  the  pleas  Adjurned  According  to  ordi- 
nance. .  .  .  (Signed  by  the  judges.)  .  .  .  Grod  save 
the  King !" 

Of  the  same  date  appears  a  "  Proclamation  made. 
The  Court  of  Common  Pleas  opened,  present  upon 
the  bench  Thomas  Leonard,  Jacob  Bellerjeau,  John 
Porterfield,  and  William  Green,  Esquires."  The  first 
case  was  that  of  "Abraham  Beekley  vs.  Elizabeth 


X  Possibly  James  Smith,  who  was  "  appointed  clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  1715." — Elmer^s  Coiui.  and  Gov't  of  (he  Prov.  and  State  of  N.  J., 
p.  7. 

i  1751. 

Ij  For  their  names  see  chapter  on  Organization  and  Civil  History. 

U  Lean-to. 


198 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 

^S 


Eenshaw,  £6.  2.  0.  old  money."  Mr.  Bass  appears  as 
attorney;  discontinued.  The  next  case  was  "John 
Debegin  vs.  John  Lawrence,  Debit  £6.  6.  8.  Mr.  Bass 
for  the  plaintifl".  Judgment  granted  and  esecution 
awarded."  Ten  other  cases  were  presented, — seven 
for  debit,  one  for  trespass. 

On  the  5th  of  September  following  a  court  of  Quar- 
ter Sessions  was  opened  in  due  form,  the  grand  jury 
called  and  sworn,  and  the  charge  given  by  Jeremiah 
Bass,  Esq.  On  the  next  day  the  court  of  Common 
Pleas  was  in  session,  and,  after  organization,  the  jury 
was  called  and  sworn,  as  follows :  William  Merrill,  Sr., 
Thomas  Curtis,  Roger  Marks,  Jr.,  Philip  Adington, 
James  Stout,  Jr.,  Bright  Stout,  Joseph  Stout,  John 
Parks,  Andrew  Smith,  David  Stout,  John  Chambers, 
John  Burtis. 

The  case  this  jury  was  called  to  act  upon  was  that 
of  Abram  Temple  -vs.  Thomas  Burroughs.  Mr. 
Grandin  appeared  for  the  plaintiff,  and  Mr.  Bass  for 
the  defendant. 

On  "j'  sixth  of  March,  1722,"  there  was  "An  In- 
dictment brought  into  court  Against  John  Louis  Law- 
bower  for  cursing  the  King.  Said  Louis  Appears  and 
submits  to  the  Court.  Eather  than  contend  with  the 
King  y'  said  Louis  pleads  guilty,  the  judgment  of  this 
Court  is  that  the  said  Louis  receive  fifteen  lashes  on 
the  bare  backe.  And  the  oathe  be  tendered  him,  and 
if  he  refuses  taking  the  said  oathe  that  he  shall  find 
security  for  his  good  behavior.  And  stand  committed 
till  he  find  the  same." 

The  following  item,  from  the  "  Minutes  of  the  Hun- 
terdon County  Court"  (vol.  i.  p.  19),  is  the  first  refer- 
ence therein  to  servitude,  and  is  an  example  of  a 
multitude  of  cases  acted  upon  in  all  the  ensuing  years, 
down  to  very  recent  times ;  it  is  dated  June  5,  1722 : 

"  Upon  examination  of  John  Kaymond,  of  Norwalk,  in  Connecticut 
Collony,  concerning  the  title  of  right  he  claimed  concerning  A  negro 
named  French  Manuell,  of  the  money  he  the  said  Raymond  had  dis- 
bursed for  him,  affter  due  examination  of  the  said  affair  it  is  ordered  by 
the  Court  that  French  Manuell  servs  the  said  Raymond  or  hie  aBsigns  in 
the  county  of  Hunterdon  during  the  term  and  time  of  seven  years  from 
this  date  hereof.  And  that  the  said  negro  remain  in  custody  till  Inden- 
ture be  signed  agreeable  to  the  above  said  order  And  fees  payed,  and 
that  there  be  A  counterpart  of  said  Indenture  given  to  said  negro  for  his 
security." 

Aug.  7,  1723,  the  court  ordered  "that  William 
Landor  and  Francis  Eliot  be  wheept  ten  lashes  each 
on  their  bare  backs,  well  layed  on,  at  the  publique 
whipping-post  for  their  contempt  to  this  court,  and 
that  they  be  remanded  back  to  Gaole  till  their  fees  be 
payd  and  that  they  have  their  punishment  forthwith." 

The  30th  of  January,  1723,  was  a  memorable  day 
in  the  courts  of  Hunterdon  County.  On  that  day  in- 
dictments were  brought  against  eleven  persons;  six  of 
whom  were  of  one  family.  The  punishment  ordered 
by  the  court  was  "lashes  on  the  bare  back,  to  be  done 
at  the  publique  whipping-post ;"  three  were  to  receive 
ten  lashes  each,  two  to  receive  eight  lashes  each,  and 
one,  a  woman,  to  receive  "three  stripes  on  ye  bare 
back." 

Aug.  6,  1723,  appears  on  the  record  the  following : 


"DoMi  Rex  vs.  R.  Denset,     "J 
AKD  > 

DoMi  Rex  va.  D.  Malonet.     } 

"  (Confessed  that  he  waB  guilty  of  breaking  ye  stocks  about  ye  ower  of 
one  or  two  in  the  morning  on  ye  fourth  day  of  July  laBt." 

Each  was  ordered  to  pay  his  part  for  repairing  the 
"  stocks,"  and  ten  shillings  costs  thereon,  and  to  stand 
committed  till  the  fine  was  paid. 

In  1725  (July  6th),  Edmond  Beeks  asked  the  court 
to  recognize  his  claim  to  the  services  of  a  boy  aged 
about  twelve  years.  The  court  ordered  that  the  boy 
remain  in  the  possession  of  George  Green,  of  Amwell, 
until  August  16th,  and  appointed  Samuel  Green,  An- 
drew Smith,  and  John  Knowles  to  examine  into  the 
case,  with  authority  to  bind  the  lad  out  until  he  was 
twenty-one  if  they  found  Mr.  Beeks  had  no  legal 
claim  upon  him.  At  the  same  time  Martha  Heath 
was  bound  out  by  the  court  to  William  Snowdon,  of 
Trenton,  until  she  was  eighteen. 

May  13,  1726,  Arthur  Howell  was  appointed  by  the 
court  "  doctor  of  ye  county."  In  March  of  the  same 
year  indictments  were  brought  against  Thomas  Shird, 
"one  of  ye  attorneys  of  the  court,"  for  taking  ex- 
travagant fees  of  one  Vroom ;  Jacob  and  Isaac  An- 
derson, for  stealing  a  book  entitled  the  "  New  Testa- 
ment," belonging  to  John  Titus,  and,  at  the  meeting 
of  the  grand  jury  next  year,  against  Jacob  Anderson, 
"  for  stealing  a  horse-bell"  !  In  May,  1728,  "  Albertus 
Opdyke  came  into  court  and  swore  upon  the  Holley 
Evangelist  of  Almighty  God  that  the  Hog  that  was 
in  dispute  between  Ralph  Hunt  and  himself  was  not 
his."  Ordered  that  Ralph  Hunt  pay  Albertus  Opdyke 
fifteen  shillings  and  ninepence. 

At  the  October  term,  1732,  the  court  ordered  the 
"  managers  of  the  publick  money"  to  forthwith  cause 
to  be  built  "  a  good  and  sufficient  pair  of  stocks  and 
whipping-post,  to  be  placed  by  the  prison." 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  singular  trials 
of  the  Rev.  William  Tennent  and  others  in  1744: 

"  About  the  year  1744  there  was  an  unusual  attention  to  religion  in 
this  part  of  the  country.  The  Rev.  Wm.  Tennent  and  the  Rev.  John 
Rowland  were  considerably  instrumental  in  calling  the  attention  of  the 
people  to  spiritual  concerns.  Mr.  Rowland's  popularity  and  success  was 
such  as  to  draw  upon  him  the  enmity  of  those  who  disregarded  religious 
truth,  and  among  the  number  was  the  chief  justice  of  the  State,  the  sou 
of  Lewis  Morris,  Esq.,  then  Governor.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Council, 
as  well  as  the  head  of  the  judiciary.  The  appointment  of  young  Morris 
to  this  oflHce  was  highly  reprobated  by  the  people,  who  opposed  the  union 
of  the  legislative  and  judiciary,  and  more  especially  as  this  union  was  in 
the  person  of  the  son  of  the  Governor.*        ' 

"  At  this  time  there  was  a  man  traveling  about  the  country  by  the 
name  of  Tom  Bell,  of  notoriously  bad  character.  It  happened  one  even- 
ing that  Mr.  John  Stockton,  of  Princeton,  met  with  Bell  at  a  tavern  in 
that  place  and  addressed  him  a^  Mr.  Rowland.  Bell  told  him  his  mis- 
take. Mr.  Stockton  informed  him  that  his  error  had  arisen  from  his  re- 
markable resemblance  to  Mr.  Rowland.  This  hint  was  sufBcient  for 
Bell.  The  next  day  he  went  into  a  neighboring  town  of  Hunterdon 
County,  where  Mr.  Rowland  had  preached  once  or  twice,  and  introduced 
himself  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rowland  who  had  before  preached  for  them,  and 
he  was  invited  to  ofBciate  for  them  the  next  Sabbath. 

"Bell  received  the  kindest  attention  of  the  family  where  he  stayed 
until  the  next  Sabbath,  when  he  rode  with  the  family  in  their  wagon  to 
church  ;  just  before  reaching  which  Bell  discovered  that  he  had  left  his 


■-  Mulford's  History,  p.  345. 


COURTS  AND   COUNTY   BUILDINGS. 


19» 


nolea  behind,  and  proposed  to  the  master  of  the  family,  who  rode  by  the 
wagon  on  a  fine  horse,  to  take  his  horse  and  ride  back,  that  he  might  get 
his  notes  and  return  in  time  for  the  service.  To  this  the  gentleman  as- 
sented, and  Bell  mounted  the  horse,  rode  hack  to  the  house,  rifled  the 
desk  of  his  host,  and  made  off  with  the  horse;  and  wherever  he  stopped 
he  called  himself  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rowland. 

"  At  this  time  the  Bev.  Messrs.  Tennent  and  Rowland,  with  Mr.  Joshua 
Auderson  and  Bei^amiii  Stevens,  were  in  Maryland  or  Pennsylvania  on 
business  of  a  religious  nature.  Soon  after  their  return  to  New  Jersey, 
Mr.  Rowland  was  charged  with  the  robbery.  At  the  court  the  judge 
with  great  severity  charged  the  jury  to  find  a  bill.  But  it  was  not  until 
they  had  been  sent  out  the  fourth  time,  with  threats  from  the  judge,  that 
they  agreed  upon  a  bill  for  the  alleged  crime. 

"  On  the  trial  Messrs.  Tennent,  Anderson,  and  Stevens  appeared 
as  witnesses,  and  fully  proved  an  alibi;  ...  bo  Mr.  Rowland  was  ac- 
quitted, to  the  great  disappointment  and  mortification  of  his  prosecutors. 
.  .  .  Their  vengeance,  therefore,  was  directed  against  those  pei-sons  by 
whose  testimony  Rowland  had  been  cleared,  and  ikey  were  accordingly 
accused  of  perjury,  and,  on  ex^arte  testimony,  the  grand  jury  found  bills 
of  indictment  against  Messrs.  Tennent,  Anderson,  and  Stevens  *  for  will- 
ful and  corrupt  peijury.'  ,  .  .  These  indictments  were  removed  to  the 
Supreme  Court  But  Mr,  Anderson,  living  in  the  county,  and  feeling 
his  entire  innocence,  and  being  unwilling  to  lie  under  the  imputation  of 
peijury,  demanded  a  trial  at  the  first  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer. 

"  He  was  accordingly  tried,  pronounced  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  stand 
on  the  court-house  steps  one  hour  with  a  paper  on  his  breast,  on  which 
was  written  in  large  letters  'This  is  for  vrillful  and  corrupt  peijury.' 
And  the  sentence  was  executed. 

"  Messrs.  Tennent  and  Stevens  were  bound  over  to  appear  at  the  next 
court. 

"  They  attended,  having  employed  Mr.  John  ^Joxe,  an  eminent  lawyer, 
to  conduct  their  defense.  Mr.  Tennent  knew  of  no  person  living  by 
whom  he  could  prove  his  innocence,  .  .  .  and,  consideiiug  it  as  probable 
that  he  might  suffer,  he  had  prepared  a  sermon  to  preach  from  the  pil- 
loiy,  if  that  should  be  his  fate.  On  his  arrival  at  Trenton  he  found  Mr. 
Smith,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  America,  and  a  relig- 
ious man,  who  had  volunteered  in  his  defense ;  also  Mr.  John  Kinsey, 
one  of  the  first  counselors  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  come  by  request  of 
Gilbert  Tennent  (his  brother)  for  the  same  purpose,  Messrs.  Tennent 
and  Stevens  met  these  gentlemen  at  Mr.  Coxe's  the  morning  before  the 
trial  was  to  come  on.  Mr,  Coxe  wished  them  to  bring  in  their  witnesses, 
that  they  might  examine  them  before  going  into  court.  Mr.  Tennent 
replied  that  he  did  not  know  of  any  witness  but  GJod  and  his  own  con- 
science. Mr.  Coxe  replied, '  If  you  have  no  witnesses,  sir,  the  trial  must 
be  put  off;  othervrise,  you  will  most  certainly  be  defeated.  Tour  enemiep 
are  making  great  exertions  to  ruin  you.'  'I  am  sensible  of  this,'  said 
Mr.  Tennent ;  '  yet  it  never  shall  be  said  that  T  have  delayed  the  trial  or 
been  afraid  to  meet  the  justice  of  my  country.  I  know  my  innocence, 
and  that  God  whom  I  serve  will  not  give  me  over  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  Therefore,  gentlemen,  go  on  with  the  trial.'  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Kinsey  told  him  that  his  confidence  and  trust  in  Grod  as  a  Christian  min- 
ister of  the  gospel  were  well  founded,  and  before  a  heavenly  tribunal 
would  be  all-important  to  him,  but  assured  him  that  they  would  not  avail 
in  an  earthly  court,  and  urged  his  consent  to  put  off  the  trial.  But  Mr. 
Tennent  utterly  refused. 

"Mr.  Coxe  told  him  that  there  was  a  flaw  in  the  indictment  of  which 
he  might  avail  himself.  After  hearing  an  explanation  from  Mr.  Coxere- 
specting  the  nature  of  the  error,  Mr.  Tennent  declared  that  he  would 
rather  suffer  death  than  consent  to  such  a  course.  Mr.  Stevens,  however, 
seized  the  opportunity  afforded,  and  was  discharged.  Mr.  Coxe  still  urged 
Mr.  Tennent  to  have  the  tri^l  put  ofi;  .  .  .  but  Mr.  T.  insisted  that  they 
should  proceed,  and  left  them,  they  not  knowing  how  to  act,  when  the 
bell  summoned  them  to  court. 

"  Mr.  Tennent  had  not  walked  fax  before  he  was  met  by  a  man  and  wife, 
who  asked  if  his  name  was  notTennent.  He  told  them  it  was,  and  asked 
if  they  had  any  business  with  him. 

"  The  man  said  they  had  come  from  the  place  in  Pennsylvania  or  Mary- 
land where,  at  a  particular  time,  Messrs.  Rowland,  Tennent,  Anderson, 
and  Stevens  had  lodged,  and  in  the  house  where  they  were;  that  on  the 
next  day  they  had  heard  Messrs.  Tennent  and  Rowland  preach ;  that  a 
few  nights  before  they  (the  man  and  wife)  iad  left  home,  on  waking  out 
of  a  sound  sleep,  both  had  dreamed  that  Mr.  Tennent  was  at  Trenton  in 
the  greatest  distress,  and  that  it  was  in  their  power,  and  theirs  only,  to  re- 
lieve him.  This  dream  was  twice  repeated  to  them  both,  and  so  deep  was 
the  impression  made  on  their  minds  that  they  had  come  to  Trenton  and 
wished  to  know  of  him  what  they  were  to  do. 

•*  Mr.  T.  took  them  before  liis  counsel,  who,  after  pxamining  them  and 


finding  the  testimony  of  the  man  and  his  wife  full  and  to  the  purpose,, 
were  perfectly  astonished.  Before  the  trial  began,  another  person  came 
to  Mr.  T.  and  told  him  that  he  was  so  troubled  in  mind  for  the  part  he 
had  taken  in  the  prosecution  that  he  could  find  no  rest  till  he  hsid  deter- 
mined to  come  out  and  make  a  full  confession.  Mr.  T.  sent  this  man  to 
his  counsel.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Stockton,  Irom  Princeton,  appeared  and 
added  his  testimony. 

"  On  trial,  the  advocates  of  the  defendant  ao  traced  every  movement  of 
Mr.  Tennent  on  the  Saturday,  Sabbath,  and  Monday — the  time  of  the 
theft  and  robbery  by  Bell — that  the  jury  did  not  hesitate  to  acquit  Mr. 
Tennent. 

"  Thiis  was  Mr.  Tennent,  by  the  remarkable  interposition  of  Divine 
Providence,  delivered  out  of  the  hands  of  his  enemies."* 

The  court  records  of  the  year  1776  present  two  very 
dissimilar  forms  of  expressing  the  time  of  holding  its- 
sessions,  indicative  of  the  impending  struggle  for  in- 
dependence. The  May  term  opened  "  at  the  court- 
house in  Trenton,  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May,  in  the 
16tk  year  of  the  Reign  of  King  George  the  Third  /"  the 
August  term,  "  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  seventy-six/' 

At  the  August  term  of  1778  inquisition  was  brought 
by  the  State  against  thirty-three  persons  "  for  going 
to  the  army  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,"  and,  on 
default  to  appear,  commissioners  were  ordered  to  ad- 
vertise their  property  agreeably  to  law.  This  was 
sold,  and  the  proceeds  reverted  to  the  State. 

In  1785  the  courts  first  met  at  Flemington,  although 
the  court-house  was  not  erected  until  1791, — a  delay 
occasioned,  most  likely,  by  the  "troublous  times"  fol- 
lowing the  Revolutionary  war. 

In  1784,  Orphans'  Courts  were  established  in  this 
State,  and  provision  was  made  by  law  for  one  surro- 
gate being  appointed  in  each  county,  whose  power 
was  limited  to  the  county.  The  original  jurisdiction 
of  the  ordinary  remained  as  before,  until,  in  1820,  it 
was  restricted  to  the  granting  of  probates  of  wills, 
letters  of  administration,  letters  of  guardianship,  and 
to  the  hearing  and  final  determining  of  disputes  that 
may  arise  thereon.  In  these  matters  it  is  still  con- 
current with  that  of  the  Surrogates'  and  Orphans' 
Courts,  and  from  all  orders  and  decrees  of  the  Orphans' 
Courts  an  appeal  may  be  taken  to  the  prerogative 
court.  Prior  to  1844  the  surrogate  was  appointed  by 
the  joint  meeting  of  the  Legislature ;  the  new  con- 
stitution provided  for  his  election  by  a  popular  vote.f 
In  the  first  volume  of  records  of  the  Orphans'^ 
Court  of  Hunterdon  County,  in  the  surrogate's  office 
at  Flemington,  the  following  is  the  first  entry : 

"  May  Term,  1785,  Saturday,  14:th.— At  an  Orphans'  Court  holden  at 
Trenton,  in  and  for  the  county  of  Hunterdon.    Present,  Joseph  Beading,. 
Jared  Sexton,  Robert  L.  Hooper,  Joseph  Beavers,  Esquires,  Judges. 
Proclamation  made,  and  the  court  opened  for  all  persons  who  will  sue  or  * 
complain. .  .  .  The  court  adjourned  agreeably  to  law." 

From  the  above  it  appears  that  no  business  was 
transacted,  the  first  evidence  of  which  is  of  date 

"  A-trGUST  Term  (6th  day),  1785. 
"  Proclamation  made,  and  the  court  opened.   Present,  Joseph  Reading^ 
Jared  Saxton,  Joseph  Beavers,  Esq",  judges.    Sarah  Hall  presented  a  pe- 
tition to  the  court  praying  that  Conrad  Kotts  may  be  appointed  guardiaa 


*  "  Log  CoUege,"  by  A.  Alexander,  D.D.,  p.  189. 

f  Elmer's  O-onst.  and  Gav.  of  New  Jersey,  pp.  12, 13. 


200 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


to  her  son,  Tbomas  Hall ;  and  the  said  Conrad  Kotts  appearing  in  court 
with  Archibald  Yard,  his  secnrity,  and  offering  to  accept  said  trust,  or- 
dered by  the  court  that  the  prayer  of  the  petition  be  granted,  and  that 
the  surrogate  take  bonds,"  etc. 

The  settlement  of  the  estate  of  Francis  Tomlinson, 
deceased,  was  ordered  by  the  court,  and  on  citation  for 
settlement  of  the  estate  of  Maurice  Robeson,  deceased 
(John  Eockhill  "surviving  executor" ),  "  Mr.  Smith  ap- 
pearing for  executor,"  it  was  "  ordered  that  John  Eock- 
hill attend  before  the  surrogate  of  the  county  at  Pitts 
Town  on  Wednesday  the  23d  of  Nov''  next  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon  for  the  purpose  of  settlement." 
Similar  orders  were  made  in  the  cases  of  "  Andrew 
Keephart,  administrator  of  Jacobus  Johnson,  dec'd, 
against  Cornelius  Johnson,  surviving  exec'  of  Cor- 
nelius Johnson,  dec'd,"  and  "  John  Case  &  Others, 
Legatees,  &°,  ag"  Peter  &  Mathias  Case,  ex"  of  An- 
thony Case,  deceased."  Court  then  "adjourned  ac- 
cording to  law." 

The  first  grand  jury  (which  was  May  term  of 
court,  1838),  after  a  portion  of  Mercer  County  was 
taken  from  Hunterdon  County,  was  summoned  by 
John  Eunk,  sheriff,  and  was  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing: John  Eockafellow,  Henry  S.  Hunt,  George 
Opdycke,  Isaac  E.  Srope,  Henry  Disborough,  Eichard 
Bennett,  Adam  M.  Bellis,  Morgan  Scudder,  James  B. 
Green,  Joseph  Huffman,  John  Eamsey,  Amos  Hart, 
Benjamin  S.  Hill,  John  Vanderbeek,  James  Cooley, 
Larason  Stryker,  William  H.  Johnson,  Eichard  S. 
Demott,  Joseph  Boss,  Nelson  Thatcher,  Tunis  Smith. 
The  first  colored  person  to  serve  as  a  juror  in 
Hunterdon  County  figured  in  a  case  before  Esq. 
Angel,  June  18,  1873.* 

Three  persons  only  have  been  convicted  of  murder 
in  this  county.  The  first,  James  "Van  Atta,  of  Alex- 
andria, a  white  man  of  about  thirty  years  of  age,  shot 
a  neighbor  with  whom  he  was  at  enmity,  and  buried 
him  in  the  forest ;  he  was  hung  in  July,  1794.  The 
second  was  a  slave  named  Brom,  who  killed  a  fellow- 
slave  in  his  master's  kitchen  with  a  trammel ;  he  ex- 
piated his  crime  on  the  gallows  Nov.  11, 1803.  These 
executions  took  place  in  the  upper  part  of  Fleming- 
ton,  near  the  Eeading  mansion.  The  last  case  of  capi- 
tal punishment  was  the  hanging  of  James  Guise,t  the 
colored  boy,  for  the  willful  murder  of  his  aged  mistress, 
in  Hopewell,  with  an  ox-yoke.  He  was  hung  Nov. 
28,  1828,  the  gallows  being  erected  in  a  field  west  of 
the  village  of  Flemington,  near  the  road  to  Centre 
Bridge.  His  trial  was  one  of  unusual  interest,  and 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  this  county.  James 
'  Guise,  commonly  known  as  "Little  Jim,"  was  a 
colored  boy  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  idle  and 
vicious.  He  murdered  Mrs.  Beaks,  an  old  lady  with 
whom  he  lived  in  Hopewell.  Eefused  a  gun  for 
which  he  had  asked  her,  he  struck  her  with  a  piece  of 
a  neck-yoke,  the  prongs  of  which   inflicted  mortal 


*"  Our  Home,"  1873. 

t  Barber  and  Howe's  "  Hist.  Coll.  of  New  Jersey"  erroneously  giTes  the 
name  as  James  Bunn.    The  records  plainly  say  Guise. 


wounds.  Tie  trial,  which  commenced  the  first  Tues- 
day in  May,  1828,  was  largely  attended.  Sixteen 
witnesses  appeared  for  the  State,  and  three  for  the 
defense.  Upon  the  bench  during  that  term  sat  the 
Hons.  George  R.  Drake,  associate  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  George  Eea,  David  Stout,  Luther  Op- 
dyke,  and  John  Thompson.  William  Halstead,  Esq., 
was  counsel  for  the  State,  and  Messrs.  Saxton,  Clark, 
Scott,  and  Prall  were  assigned  by  the  court  to  de- 
fend the  prisoner.  The  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of 
"  Guilty  in  manner  and  form  as  he  stands  indicted, 
and  so  we  say  all."  Joseph  W.  Scott,  Esq.,  moved 
that  judgment  be  respited,  to  get  the  advisory  opinion 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  which  was  granted  till  the 
"fourth  Tuesday  of  October  next."  October  9th 
James  Guise  was  brought  into  court,  the  same  judges 
being  on  the  bench, 

"And  at  the  said  court  at  Flemington  aforesaid  the  said  James  Guise 
being  set  at  the  bar  and  being  asked  if  he  had  anything  to  say  why  the 
court  should  not  pronounce  sentence  of  death  against  him,  he  answered. 
No ;  whereupon,  on  motion  for  judgment  for  the  State,  the  court  order 
that  the  said  James  Guise  be  taken  from  hence  to  the  place  from  whence 
he  came,  and  that  on  Friday,  the  28th  day  of  November  next,  between 
the  hours  of  ten  in  the  morning  and  two  in  the  afternoon,  he  be  taken 
to  the  place  of  execution  and  be  hanged  by  the  neck  until  he  be  dead."J 

From  that  date  to  the  present  time  no  death-sen- 
tence has  been  pronounced  in  Hunterdon  County. 

This  trial,  conviction,  and  sentence  formed  a  source 
of  great  excitement  among  the  people  of  Hunterdon, 
and,  while  a  few  plead  for  his  deliverance  on  the  score 
of  his  youth,  the  great  masses  felt  that  justice  ought 
to  take  her  course, — that  the  young  wretch  should 
suffer  the  penalty  of  the  law.  The  Supreme  Court, 
to  whom  the  question  was  submitted,  saw  fit  not  to 
reverse  the  verdict. 

In  prison  "  Little  Jim"  manifested  the  same  ma- 
lignity of  disposition  that  had  characterized  his  for- 
mer life,  and  which  is  often  found  in  the  full-blooded, 
ignorant,  and  superstitious  Guinea  negro.  It  is  said 
he  would  glare  upon  those  who  passed  the  grating  of 
his  cell  "  with  looks  that  made  stout  hearts  quail.  He 
had  listened  with  curious  interest  to  the  proceedings 
of  his  trial,  and  caught  up  many  parts  of  the  forms  of 
law  used  in  the  court-room.  In  his  cell  mice  would 
scamper  across  the  floor,  and  he  with  cat-like  dex- 
terity would  catch  them.  At  one  time  he  succeeded 
in  capturing  thirteen  and  tying  them  fast  with  a 
string.  Twelve  he  constituted  into  a  jury  ;  the  thir- 
teenth, a  reckless  little  dark-colored  mouse,  was  forced 
to  play  the  culprit.  The  trial  being  over,  Jim^ would 
say  to  the  poor  little  mouse,  '  Now,  you  wicked  little 
nigger,  you  know  you  killed  that  old  woman !  How 
say  you,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  guilty  or  not  guilty?' 
'  Guilty  I'  and  the  offender's  body  would  soon  dangle 
from  a  string." 

Thousands  came  to  Flemington  to  witness  this,  the 
last  execution  within  the  limits  of  Hunterdon  County. 
An  immense  crowd  had  gathered,  in  wagons,  standing 


X  Court  Record. 


COURTS  AND   COUNTY  BUILDINGS. 


201 


or  sitting  wherever  they  could.  As  the  culprit  stood 
upon  the  fatal  drop,  the  cap  drawn  over  his  eyes,  by  a 
cunning  movement  unknown  to  the  sheriff  he  slipped 
up  the  cap,  and  when  the  pin  was  removed  he  caught 
his  toes  on  the  edge  of  the  platform,  his  eyes  wide 
open,  staring  at  the  cro^wd.  The  people  turned  away 
horrified,  while  the  slieriff  was  compelled  to  return  to 
the  scafibld  and  push  the  culprit's  feet^from  the  plant. 
This  was  the  end  of  "  Little  Jim  !"       "   ' 

COUNTY    BUILBINGS. 

The  first  court-house  of  Hunterdon  County,  after 
Flemington  became  the  county-seat,  was  erected  in 
the  summer  of  1791.  It  was  on  the  site  of  the  present 
buildings,  and  was  constructed  of  stone  brought  "from 
Large's  land  in  Kingwood."  The  history  of  this 
edifice,  as  it  appears  in  the  records,  is  as  fojlows : 

At  the  first  meeting,  held  at  Flemingtqn,  of  the 
board  of  justices  and  freeholders  of  Hunterdon 
County,  Jan.  3,  1791,  "  the  question  being  put  what 
sum  should  be  raised  forbuilding  court  hous,  gaol,  etc., 
it  was  carried  for  the  sum  of  twenty-five  hundred 
pounds."  Col.  John  Taylor,  Col.  William  Chamber- 
lain, and  John  Snyder  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
make  a  draft  of  a  plan  for  the  same.  The  board  met 
at  the  house  of  George  Alexander,  January  27th. 
The  record  states  that 

"  Mr.  George  Alexander  appeared  before  the  Board  and  offered  half  an 
acre  of  land  free  gratis  for  the  use  of  building  the  Court-house,  Gaol,  and 
Gaol-yard,  on  the  southeast  corner  of  bis  IJwelling-Honse  Lott,  exclusive 
of  the  Beads,  which  was  accepted,  and  said  buildings  is  to  be  erected 
thereon  accordingly.  The  several  plans  were  then  brought  forward  by 
the  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  when  a  plan  of  sixty  feet  by 
thirty-five  feet,  two  stories  high,  the  first  story  nine  feet  high,  the  second 
story  fourteen  feet  high,  and  to  be  finished  complete  agreeable  to  Plan, 
was  adopted," 

William  Chamberlain,  Thomas  Stout,  and  Joseph 
Atkinson  were  appointed  managers. 

"  A  motion  was  made  and  seconded  to  take  a  vote  whetlier  the  man- 
agers should  employ  workmen  by  the  Day  or  by  the  Qrate  ;  it  was  car- 
ried for  the  latter.  The  managers  are  to  draw  money  from  time  to  time 
as  occasion  may  require  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  said 
building,  and  to  render  account  of  the  expenditure  of  the  same  to  the 
Justices  and  chosen  Freeholdei's  when  thereunto  required  by  said 
Board." 

In  this  connecticffi  the  deed  for  the  court-house  lot 
is  given,  as  being  of  historic  value.  It  is  recorded  in 
Volume  A  of  deeds  of  Hunterdon  County,  p.  S&i  :  - 

"  George  Alexander  "^  "        ' 

to' 
The  Boaju)  of  Justices  asd  Fa^eholdeks  oe  the 
County  of  Hintehdon. 
"  This  indenture,  made  the  fifteenth  day  of  March,  in  tlie  fifteenth  year 
of  the  Independence  of  America,  Annoque  Domini  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-one,  Between  George  Alexander  of  Flemington,  in 
the  township  of  Aniwell,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon  and  State  of  New 
Jersey,  innkeeper,  of  the  one  part,  and  tlie  hoard  of  justices  and  chosen 
freeholders  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon  of  the  other  part.  Whereas  the 
court-house  and  g<Lol  belonging  to  the  county  of  Hunterdon  is  now  in 
one  corner  of  the  county  and  much  out  of  repair,  by  reason  whereof  a 
great  nnmber  of  the  inhabitants  of  sd  county  petetioned  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  to  make  a  law  for  the  inhabitants  of  sd  county 
by  a  majority  of  votes  of  said  county  to  fix  a  place  where  the  court-house 
and  gaol  of  and  for  sd  county  should  be  built.  Whereupon  the  Legisla- 
ture of  the  said  State  of  New  Jersey,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  May, 
14 


Anno  Dominy,  1790,  passed  a  law  allowing  the  inhabitants  of  the  county 
of  Hunterdon  (entitled  to  vote  at  the  general  elections),  at  an  election  to 
be  noticed  by  the  sherifF  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon  to  the  said  inhabit- 
ants  that  they  should  assemble  at  the  house  of  John  Meldrum,  in  tlie 
township  of  Amwell,  at  the  place  called  Ringo  Tavern,  and  by  a  majority 
of  votes  to  fix  the  place  where  tlie  court-house  and  gaol  shall  be  built  for 
the  said  county,  and  tliat  the  election  shonldbe  opened  and  concluded  in 
the  mode  in  which  elections, for  representatives  fyr.  said  county  are,  as  is 
particularly  set  forth  in  the  law.  Whereupou  ^Vi]liam  Lowry,  Esqr., 
high  Bheriff  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  did  give  tlie  notice  required  by 
law  as  afbresaid  tbaton  the  second  Tuesday  in^ctober  then  next  ensuing 
.  .  .  tlieelection  vpould  be  openedpu  tl»^.!@ay  ajidt4>^cB  (afgr^gaid  forth© 
purposes  aforesaid,  at  which  time  andpl^cg^the  inha;bitajQtp;of  said^^ounty 
met  and  proceeded  as  directed  by  the  law'.'anc^  on  the' votes*  ieing  cast 
up,  it  appeared  that  A  m&j'orit^  was  for  Ihe  court-house  anifl  gaol  to  be 
built  at  Flemington  (which  is  in  thetownsbiprfif  AmweU,in  the  county 
of  Hjinterdon),  as  by  :tlie  certificate  of  the  paid  §he4fF  and,  inspectors  of 
the  said  election  which  is  in  the  followii^  words, — viz.:  We  do  hereby 
certify  to  all  whom  if  may  concern  that  at  an'elecfio'n  "beguii  on  the 
twelfth  instant  and  ended  this  day  agreeable  to-an  actof  thefficgislature 
of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  passed  at  Perth -iLmboy  thetwen^^jUi  day 
of  May  last  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  on  a  place  for  "building  a  court- 
house and  gaol  for  the  county  of  Hunt^rdorij  theiowii'6f  riemiugton^ 
extending  half  a  mile  on  each  of  t^e  public  roads  from  ihh  house  of 
George  Alexander,  innkeeper  in  said  town ^  was  fixed  by  ft  majority  of 
viites  for  the  above  mentioned  purpose.  "Witness  our  hands  and  seals  tlje 
tweuty-firat  day  of  October  Anno  Domini  one  thousand'  seveh.tiuudred 
and  ninety.  William  Lowr^,  High  Sheriff  [L.s.]'^Kathkiii^l  temple,. 
Insp.  [i.s.]  ;  'Andrew  Reeder,  lusp.  [l.s^]  ;.Thoinfi8  Bowlsby,  tnsp.  [l.s.]; 
Reuben  McPherson,  Im-p.  [l.s.];  Heniy  Rockafello.Wj  In^.  ^.s.];  John 
Dawes,  Insp.  [l.s.];  Joseph  Scudder,  Insp.  [^.e.];  Arthur  Henrie,  In^. 
[l.s.];  Bzekiel  Blue,  Insp.  [l.s.];' Chtirles  Reading,  i]isp.'[x:sj!  After 
which— to  wit,  the  27th  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  liord  'one 
thousand  seven  .hundred  and  ninety-one— thq -chose a  freeholdersfof  each 
and  every  township  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  together  with  the  jus- 
tices of  the  said  county,  having  been  "previously  notified' to  medt  for  the 
purposes  of  choosing  managers  to  build  the  said  court-House  atiS'gaol  in 
the  way  and  manner  as  prescribed  by  the  said  laW,  agd,  a  sufficient  num- 
ber being  met  and  making  a  board  on  the  day  aforesaid,  did  choose,  nom- 
•  inate,  and  appoint  managers,  .  .  .  who,  pursuant  to  a  law  ot  the  State'^of 
New  Jersey,  made  this  3d  day  of  March,  Anno  Domini  178B,"a^re'e  with 
George  Alexander,  of  Flemington,  in  the  township  of  Amwell  and  counV 
of  Hunterdon  aforesaid,  innkeeper,  for  one-half  acre  of  land,  to  be 
bounded  on  and  exclusive  of  roads,  being  a  part  of  the  lott  of  land  where- 
on the  said  Georjie  Alexander  lives,  and  on  the  southeast  end  thereof  and 
on  the  road  leading  to  Treuton,.and  also  bntting  on  the  road  as  now  used, 
leading  round  the  said  lott  to  Howejl's  Ferry  on  Delaware  River,-a,nd  the 
other  two  sides  butting  and  bounded  on  other  parts  of  the  said  George 
Alexander's  lott  as  aforesaid,  which  by  the  survey  thereof  runs  thus, — 
viz. :  Beginning  at  a  stone  .for  aijomer  in  &  line  of  four-rod  fbadleadiug 
to  Trenton;  thence  sputii  two  degrees  east  two"  chains  to  a  stone  corner 
on  said  ruad^  and  also  a  corner  in  the  turn  of  a-  four-rod  road  leading  to 
Howell's  Fetry  on  Delaware  River -.thence  on  the  Uneof  that  road  south 
sixty-six  and  one-quarter  degrees  west  two  chains  and^a  half  to  a  stone 
for  a  corner^j  thence  north^  two  degrees  west  two  chains  to  a  ^tone  for  a 
corner;  thence  north,  siittfilx  and  one-quartei:  Segrees  eaatjtwoichaios 
and  a  half  to  tlie. place. of  heginning;  qpntainiug  halfan  acre  of  land. 
Now  this  indentiire  witnesseth  that  the  said  George  Alexander, etc.,  etc. 
.  .  .  for  divers  good  causes  and  valuable  cdnsideratipn;' him  thereunto 
moving,  and  also  for  and  In  consideration  of  the  sum  of  five  shillings  in 
gold  and  edlver  "money  to  him  "in  hand  paid  by  thei  eaidijoard  of  justices 
and  freeholders  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  etc.,  etc. %.'  ;  .^ 

"  In  witness  whereof  the  said  parties  have  interchangably  set  their 
hands  and  seals  hereunto.    Dated  the  day  and  y^  abov^written. 

"  GeORQE   ALEXANnEE  [l.B.]. 

'       -    ■         -      ^        ''  -f^  -* 
"Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of  -.  "^   ■. 

"Joseph  Johnson,  '''-'?  %- 

"Jasper  Smith,  .,>,':,                 -  >                  '  -'   -.^..i 

"Acknowledged  before  Joseph  Reading.  ^- 

"  Recorded  Nov.  22, 1793."  ^         j 

On  the  27th' of  August,  1792,  at  a'-fneetinj^-^of  the 
justices  and  freeholders  held  at  the  house 'of  John 
Meldrum,  a  letter  was  laid  before  the  board  by  Sam- 
uel  R.   Stuart,   attorney   for    Susanna    Smith,   who 


202 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


claimed  a  right  of  dower  "  in  the  lot  of  land  whereon 
the  court-house  and  gaol-yard  is  erected  in  Fleming- 
ton."  A  committee  (John  Gregg,  Joseph  Hankerson, 
and  Thomas  Reading)  was  appointed  to  settle  with  her 
"  and  take  her  quit-claim  for  said  land  and  report  at 
the  next  meeting."  On  the  5th  of  August,  1793,  the 
committee  reported  her  claim  settled  for  four  pounds 
five  shillings  four  pence,  and  produced  the  neces- 
sary legal  paperSi  At  this  meeting,  also,  the  man- 
agers for  huilding  the  court-house  and  jail  appeared 
before  the  board  and  offered  their  account  for  settle- 
ment. Andrew  Keeler,  Joseph  Lambert,  and  Capt. 
John  Phillips,  the  committee  to  examine  accounts, 
presented  the  court-house  bill,  August  SOth,  as  cor- 
rect. The  amount  originally  allowed  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  public  buildings  was  £2500.  The  itemized 
bill  of  expense  was  £2427.  6.  5. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  1793,  the  board  met  at  the 
court-house,  and  the  May  term  of  court  the  same  year 
was  also  held  there. 

This  structure  (which  embraced  the  jail)  was  burned 
on  Wednesday  night,  Feb.  13,  1828.  Owing  to  the 
want  of  an  effective  fire-engine,  all  attempts  to  save 
the  building  were  futile,  and  on  the  following  morn- 
ing all  that  remained  of  the  venerable  structure  were 
the  naked  walls  and  the  smoking  embers  of  its  pon- 
derous timbers.  The  fire  was  supposed  to  have  been 
the  work  of  design.*  The  prisoners  confined  in  the 
jail  were  transferred  to  the  jail  of  Somerset  County. 
Fortunately,  the  county  records  were  saved,  the  clerk, 
perceiving  the  imminent  danger  of  their  destruction, 
having  removed  them  to  a  place  of  safety. 


HTrNTEEDON  COUNTY   COUKT-HOUSK 

After  the  destruction  of  the  court-house  the  courts 
were  held  in  the  meeting-house  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  congregation  of  Flemington,  whose  trus- 
tees, with  commendable  promptness  and  liberality, 
tendered  its  use  for  the  purpose.  An  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature (passed  Feb.  15,  1828)  made  it  "lawful  to 
hold  the  Circuit  Courts,  Courts  of  Oyer  and  Ter- 
miner and  General  Jail  Delivery,  Courts  of  Common 


*  Bimterdon  GazeUe,  Veh.  20,  1828. 


Pleas,  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and 
Orphans'  Courts,  to  be  held  in  and  for  said  county  of 
Hunterdon,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in 
Flemington  until  the  inhabitants  of  said  county  shall 
erect  a  court-house  for  said  county."  (Proceedings 
General  Assembly,  1828.)  The  corner-stone  of  the 
present  court-house  was  laid  on  Wednesday,  May  7, 
1828,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies,  by  Hia  Honor,  Justice 
Drake,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  which  the  Rev.  J.  F. 
Clark  and  Mr.  McClay,  of  New  York,  participated, 
and  after  which  Peter  I.  Clark  delivered  an  appro- 
priate address.f 

It  is  a  large  stone  structure,  rough-cast,  with  Gre- 
cian front  and  Ionic  columns,  and  is  two  stories  in 
height,  the  court-room  being  in  the  upper  and  the 
jail  and  sheriff's  residence  in  the  lower  or  basement 
story.  Adjoining  the  court-house,  and  north  of  it,  is 
located  a  neat  two-story  brick  building  which  contains 
the  clerk's  and  surrogate's  offices  of  the  county,  with 
all  the  books,  records,  etc.,  of  their  respective  depart- 
ments. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE    BENCH    AUD    BAR    OE    HtTETTEEDOlSr 
OOXTNTY. 

Hunterdon  County  noted  for  tbe  Ability  of  her  Judges  and  the  Brilliancy 
of  her  Bar — Early  Colonial  Judges — Judges  and  Justices — Samuel 
Johnston,  Samuel  Tucker,  Daniel  Coxe,  Isaac  Smith,  Moore  Furman, 
Jasper  Smith,  John  Mehelm,  John  Dagworthy,  Andrew  Smith,  Stacy 
G.  Potts,  John  Carr,  John  S.  Stirea,  Joseph  Beading,  etc. — Eminent 
Jurists — Early  Lawyei-s — Later  Lawyers — Biographical  Notices  of 
George  C.  Maxwell,  William  Maxwell,  Joseph  Bonnell,  Thomas  Potts 
Johnson,  Samuel  R-  Stewart,  Nathaniel  Saxton,  William  H.  Sloan, 
Alexander  Wurts,  Garret  D.  Wall,  Richard  Howell,  Samuel  Lilly, 
James  N.  Beading,  Samuel  Leake,  George  A.  Allen,  Richard  S.  Kuhl,  etc. 

Hunterdon  County  has  been,  even  from  colonial 
times,  noted  no  less  for  the  number  and  ability  of  its 
bench  than  for  the  brilliancy  of  its  bar,  the  members 
of  both  embracing  an  array  of  names  which  has  given 
added  lustre  to  the  jurisprudence  of  the  State. 

Among  the  names  of  the  early  colonial  judges  of 
this  county  we  find  those  of  Thomas  Leonard,  James 
Trent,  Joseph  Stout,  Daniel  Coxe,  John  Reading, 
Benjamin  Smith,  John  Dagworthy,  Martin  Ryerson, 
Andrew  Smith,  Theophilus  Phillips,  Thomas  Cadwal- 
lader,  and  Andrew  Reed,  officiating  on  the  bench 
from  abput  1724  to  1750  and  later. J  During  the  pe- 
riod extending  from  1750  to  the  Revolution  the  court 
records  present  the  names  of  John  Garrison,  Jasper 
Smith,  Cornelius  Ringo,  Philip  Ringo,  Samuel  Stout, 
Theophilus  Severns,  William  Clayton,  Benjamin 
Byles,  Isaac  Smith,  John  Grandin,  Micajah  Howe, 
and  Lewis  Chamberlain. 

f  In  the  corner-stone  were  inclosed  a  Bible,  the  laws  of  New  Jersey, 
a  brass  plate  upon  which  was  engraved  the  year  of  erection,  the  name* 
of  the  architect,  building  committee,  etc. 

X  See  preceding  chapter,  on  "  Courts  and  County  Buildings,"  for  many 
interesting  facts  connected  with  this  early  period. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


203 


During  the  Revolutionary  period  the  bench  pre- 
sents to  our  notice,  among  others,  the  honored  names 
of  Samuel  Johnston,  Joseph  Reading,  Moore  Furman, 
John  Mehelm,  Robert  Hooper,  Nathaniel  Hunt, 
James  Ewing,  Joseph  Beavers,  and  Jared  Sexton. 

Many  of  the  above-mentioned  judges  were  "judge 
and  justice,"  but  in  that  vast  army  of  justices  who 
held  court  in  this  county  from  1721  to  1800,*  other 
than  those  before  named,  are  to  be  found  the  names 
of  Timothy  Baker,  Jacob  Belleijeau,  Charles  Wolver- 
ton,  Ralph  Heart,  John  Porterfield,  John  Burroughs, 
Jeremiah  Bass,  Hezekiah  Bonham,  John  Knowles, 
Adrian  and  Harmon  Lane,  Richard  Scudder,  Robert 
Eaton,  John  Haywood,  John  Budd,  Joshua  Ander- 
son, Francis  Bowes,  William  Cornell,  Abr.  Ketchell, 
Benjamin  Rounsaval,  Abraham  Van  Horn,  Edward 
Rockhill,  Ralph  and  John  Smith,  Nicholas  and  Elias 
WyckofF,   Henry  Woolsey,  Daniel,  Nathaniel,   and 
Edward  Hunt,  Andrew  Muirhead,  Henry  Traphagen, 
Richard  and  Luther  Opdyke,  Benjamin  Van  Cleve, 
Nathan  Stout,  David  Frazier,  William  Lowrey,  John 
Lambert,  Hugh  Runyan,  Thomas  Reading,  Henry 
Rockafeller,  Nicholas  Stillwell,  Jacob  Cline,  John 
Coryell,  John  T.  Blackwell,  etc.     And  during  the 
first  quarter  of  the  present  century  we  come  across 
the  new  names  of  "justices"  of  Ananias  Mulford, 
Benjamin  Dean,  Robert  McNeely,  Philip  and  David 
Johnston,   George    Rea,   Peter   Risler,   Jacob   Case, 
David   Brearley,   Peter   and   Zachariah   Flomerfelt, 
Paul  H.  M.  Prevost,  Matthias  Crater,  Richard  Gano, 
Baltus  Stiger,  Morris  Fritts,  James  Larason,  Thomas 
Capner,  Asa  C.  Dunham,  David  and  William  Stout, 
James  Honeyman,  John  Thompson,  etc.    Those  who 
desire  the  dates  for  the  above,  or  wish  to  trace  the 
line  of  judges  and  justices  to  the  present  time,  are 
referred  to  the  "  Civil  List,"  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 
It  wOl  be  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  this  work, 
to  give  personal  mention  of  but  a  few  of  the  several 
hundred  judges  and  justices  who  have  figured  in  the 
courts  of  Hunterdon  County. 

Prominent,  however,  among  the  early  colonial 
judges  was  Samuel  Johnston,  who  settled  in  the 
county  about  1740  and  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
its  northern  part.  His  house  is  said  to  have  been  the 
most  stately  mansion  in  all  this  portion  of  the  State, 
and  in  its  broad  halls  he,  as  chief  magistrate  of  this 
section  of  West  Jersey,  held  court  on  Monday  of  each 
week.  His  house  became  the  resort  of  culture  and 
talent.  He  was  the  father  of  Col.  Philip  Johnston, 
who  left  his  class  in  Princeton  College  to  serve  in  the 
French  war  in  Canada,  and  who,  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, was  killed  while  leading  his  (the  First  New 
Jersey)  regiment  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island.  His 
daughter  Mary,  reputed  to  have  been  one  of  the  best- 
read  women  in  the  province,  became  the  wife  of 
Charles  Stewart,  of  Hunterdon  County. 

Daniel  Coxe,  son  of  Dr.  Daniel  Coxe,  the  pro- 

*  For  more  full  list  see  chapter  on  "  CHtU  List  of  Hunterdon  County." 


prietor,  was  born  in  1664,  probably  at  Burlington. 
He  became  a  lawyer,  and  in  1710  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Hunter  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Council, 
and  in  1734  was  made  an  associate  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  New  Jersey.  He  died  April  25, 1739. 
He  was  a  public-spirited  citizen,  and  a  judge  of  no 
ordinary  ability.  He  did  very  much  in  laying  the 
foundation  of  law  and  morality  for  the  State  of  New 
Jersey.  He  proposed  a  scheme  of  confederation  of 
all  the  American  colonies,  and  the  same  scheme  was 
adopted,  with  but  slight  modification,  in  1776.  The 
design  of  his  proposed  scheme  of  union  was  to  limit 
the  influence  of  the  Spaniards  and  French  in  the 
South.  The  work  containing  these  propositions  was. 
published  in  London  in  1722. 

Samuel  Tucker  was,  Sept.  4,  1776,  elected  an 
associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  No- 
vember following  held  a  term  of  the  court, ^the  first 
under  the  State  constitution,  the  last  at  which  the 
colonial  justices  (Frederick  Smyth,  chief  justice,  and 
David  Ogden)  were  present  having  been  held  in  May. 
He  was  not  a  lawyer,  but  was  prominent  in  civil  mat- 
ters, and  held  many  important  public  stations.     He 
was  a  man  of  much  influence  at  Trenton  and  through- 
out Hunterdon   County  during  his  time.     He  was 
sheriff  of  Hunterdon,  a  member  of  Assembly  in  1769, 
and  held  the  position  until  the  Revolution  put  an 
end  to  the  provincial  government.     He  was  an  active 
member  and  president  of  the   different  Provincial 
Congresses,  and  signed  the  constitution  of  1776  in 
that  capacity.     He  was  also  treasurer  of  the  State, 
and  as  such  had  a  large  amount  of  the  paper  cur- 
rency, etc.,  in  his  custody,  which,  in  an  affidavit  laid 
by  him  before  the  Legislature  in  February,  1777,  he 
alleged  were  taken  out  of  his  possession  in  December 
previous  by  a  party  of  British  horsemen  who  made 
him  prisoner.     Governor  Livingston   disputing  the 
accuracy  of  his  statement,  he  appeared  before  the 
Legislature  and  resigned  his  commission.     His  weak- 
ness in  taking  advantage  of  the  offer  of  British  pro- 
tection during  the  panic  which  prevailed  at  Trenton 
previous  to  its  capture  by  the  Hessians  was  attrib- 
utable, perhaps,  to  the  fact  that  his  wife  was  an  Eng- 
lish lady.     It  is  certain  he  thus  forfeited  his  character 
as  a  patriot,  and  died  in  1789  still  under  the  cloud.f 

Isaac  Smith,  who  resided  at  Trenton,  held  the 
office  of  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  for 
twenty-eight  years,  until  1805,  being  succeeded  by 
William  Rossell.  He  was  a  physician,  but  appears 
to  have  made  of  himself  a  pretty  good  lawyer.  He 
was  an  ardent  Whig,  and  a  colonel  of  militia  during 
the  Revolution.  From  the  time  of  his  retirement 
from  the  bench,  in  1805,  until  his  death,  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Trenton  Banking  Company.  He  died 
Aug.  20,  1807,  aged  sixty-eight  years.! 
MooEE  FuEMAN,  grandfather  of  the  late  Capt. 


■f-  Judge  Elmer's  Beminiscences,  pp.  265,  266. 
I  Ibid.,  p.  2T1. 


204 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


WiUiam  E.  Hunt,  of  Trenton,  was  a  commissary  of 
the  American  army  in  1776.  He  was  the  first  mayor 
of  Trenton,  in  1777  was  judge,  and  in  1781  first  held 
court  as  a  justice.  His  ofiice  was  in  a  one-story  brick 
building  which  formerly  stood  where  the  Chancery 
Building  in  Trenton  now  stands. 

Jasper  Smith  was  one  of  the  early  colonial  judges 
of  this  county,  officiating  in  1754,  et  seq.  He  was  the 
descendant  of  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  H9pewell, 
possibly  was  related  to  Benjamin  or  Andrew  Smith, 
as  both  were  prominent  on  the  bench  of  the  county 
about  1739-*  It  is  very  probable  he  was  the  son  of 
Jasper  Smith,  whose  name  appears  in  a  deed  of  date 
March  18, 1698-99,t  and  was  a  member  of  the  council 
of  Trenton  in  1748. J  Judge  Jasper  Smith  graduated 
at  Princeton  College  in  1758.  In  1776  he  was  one  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety  from  Amwell  township.  He 
seems  to  have  taken  an  active  part  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle.  He  may  have  resided  near  Law- 
renceville,  N.  J.,  about  the  opening  of  this  century, 
as  his  name  appears  as  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  Lawrenceville,  on  the  first  preserved 
record  of  that  church,  in  1807.  He  died  in  1814. 
His  son,  Jasper,  united  with  the  same  church  in 
1808,  and  left  the  parsonage  property  to  that  body. 
The  will  is  on  record  in  the  Hunterdon  County  clerk's 
office.  He  was  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Flemington, 
and  built  the  house  now  owned  by  John  Jones,  Esq. 
He  was  prominently  connected  with  the  courts  and 
legal  business  of  this  vicinity  during  the  early  part 
of  this  century.  His  relatives  still  reside  in  the 
bounds  of  Lawrence  township,  Mercer  Co.,  to  which 
place  he  subsequently  removed  from  Flemington, 
dying  there. 

John  Mehelm,  who  was  judge  of  Hunterdon 
County  in  1779,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Ire- 
land and  took  an  active  part  in  the  Revolution.  He 
was  located  on  the  North  Branch,  at  a  place  since 
known  as  Hall's  Mills.  He  was  also  surrogate  for 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties  during  Governor 
Livingston's  administration,  and  was  removed  by 
Governor  Bloomfield  in  1801.  In  all  the  old  docu- 
ments his  name  is  coupled  with  that  of  John  Hart, 
another'  member  of  the  bench  of  Hunterdon  County 
(1774),  an  honored  Revolutionary  patriot,  and  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  went 
by  the  name  of  "  Honest  John  Hart." 

John  Dagworthy,  who  was  one  of  the  bench  of 
1739,  was  in  1728-29  the  high  sherifi'  of  the  county 
who  complained  of  the  jail  being  so  out  of  repair  that 
escapes  took  place  daily.  § 

Andrew  Smith  was  no  doubt  the  eldest  son  of 
Andrew,  the  first  of  the  name  in  Hopewell,  Hunter- 
don Co.  (whose  purchase  in  1688,  which  he  named 


*  Hunterdon  County  Court  Records. 

t  Rev.  George  Hale,  D.D.,  History  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Hope- 
■weU,  p.  47. 
X  Raum's  History  Trenton,  p.  72. 
g  Minutes  of  the  Court,  vol.  ii. 


"Hopewell,"  was  adopted  as  the  name  of  the  town) ; 
he  graced  the  bench  in  1739,  and  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  had  brothers,  Jonathan  and  Timothy; 
married  Mrs.  Mershon,  and  had  Charles  and  Zebulon, 
unmarried,  and  Andrew,  who  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Josiah  Hart,  Sr.,  and  had  Benjamin  (deceased), 
George  W.,  and  Nathaniel.  || 

Stacy  G.  Potts,  for  seven  years  one  of  the  jus- 
tices of  the  Supreme  Court,  became  in  1808  a  resident 
of  Trenton,  then  in  this  county.  He  was  of  English 
Quaker  descent,  and  educated  in  the  Friends'  school. 
He  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  Mr.  Stockton, 
but  finished  with  Garret  D.  Wall.  In  1828-29  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Legislature ;  from  1831—41  clerk  of 
the  Court  of  Chancery ;  in  1844  the  honorary  degree 
of  A.M.  was  conferred  on  him  by  Princeton  College ; 
in  1852  he  became  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  was  at  different  times  connected  with 
various  boards  and  institutions  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  was  in  1836 
ordained  a  ruling  elder.  He  died  in  1865.  Perhaps 
the  most  important  case  before  Judge  Potts  was  that 
of  Cornelius  vs.  Giberson  (1  Dutch.  1),  involving  the 
location  of  the  line  between  East  and  West  Jersey. 
His  ruling  on  that  question  remains  undisturbed,  al- 
though the  judgment  was  reversed  on  the  question  of 
fact  as  to  adverse  possession.1[ 

John  Care,  who  was  a  judge  of  the  Common 
Pleas  Court  in  1829,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  etc.,  was 
born  in  1763,  and  died  in  1831  (December  9th).  He 
was  highly  esteemed  for  his  public  services  and  pri- 
vate worth,  as  a  faithful  officer  and  exemplary  Chris- 
tian. He  was  for  many  years  a  deacon  of  the  Baptist 
Church  of  Flemington. 

The  Stout  family  of  Amwell  and  Hopewell  was 
ably  represented  upon  the  bench,  quite  early  ia  the 
history  of  the  county,  by  Joseph  Stout,  in  1726  and 
again  in  1736  ;  Samuel  Stout,  in  1754 ;  Nathan  Stout, 
1795  and  1800 ;  David  Stout,  1804  to  1828 ;  and  Wil- 
liam Stout,  in  1842.  Thomas  Stout  was  a  judge  and 
justice  in  1787  and  1792. 

John  S.  Stires  was  a  judge  and  justice  of  Hun- 
terdon County  from  1823  until  his  death,  in  1851. 

Samuel  L.  Southard,  who  when  living  was  often 
denominated  New  Jersey's  "  favorite  son,"  and  who, 
besides  many  other  honors,  was  elevated  to  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  although  a  native  of  Somerset 
County,  passed  the  first  few  years  after  his  admission 
to  the  bar  in  Hunterdon  County,  residing  in  Flem- 
ington.** When  appointed  an  associate  justice,  in 
1815,  he  was  perhaps  the  youngest  man  ever  graced 
with  that  honor  in  New  Jersey, — only  twenty-eight. 
See  further  sketch  in  the  chapter  on  "  Bench  and  Bar 
of  Somerset  County,''  in  this  work. 

Joseph  Reading  first  appears  as  a  judge  of  the 


II  Rev.  George  Hale,  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Hopewell,  pp.  42, 43. 
If  Elmer's  Reminiscencea. 

**  He  built,  and  resided  in  until  about  1817,  the  house  now  occupied  by 
Alexander  Wurts,— the  fll-st  north  of  the  surrogate's  office. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  HUNTEEDON  COUNTY. 


205 


Common  Pleas  Court  in  1777,  and  served  for  twenty- 
five  or  more  years.  For  a  more  extended  notice  see 
history  of  the  Reading  family,  elsewhere. 

Samuel  Lilly,  of  Lambertville,  a  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  was  born  in  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  Oct. 
28,  1815.     His  grandfather,  Samuel,  the  emigrant  an- 
cestor of  the  American  branch  of  the  family,  was  an 
eminent  barrister  in  England,  but  after  coming  to 
America  took  orders  as  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  and 
became  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  Elizabethtown, 
N.  J.    His  father,  William,  was  a  merchant  and  an 
early  settler  at  Lambertville.    Samuel,  his  son,  gradu- 
ated from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1837,  and, 
■with  a  doctor's  diploma,  commenced  practice  at  Lam- 
bertville, where  he  soon  acquired  a  reputation  as  a 
skillful  physician.    But  it  is  not  with  his  medical  rec- 
ord we  have  here  to  deal ;  that  may  be  found  treated 
in  another  portion  of  this  work,  under  the  heading  of 
"  Medical  Profession."     From  1849-51  he  was  mayor 
of  Lambertville ;  for  eight  years  director  of  the  board 
of  freeholders  of  Hunterdon  County ;  in  1852-53  a 
member  of  Congress ;  in  1861  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent   Buchanan    consul-general    to    British    India. 
"During  his  connection  with  the  consulate,  the  civil 
war,  and  our  relations  with  England  growing  out  of 
the  Mason  and  Slidell  affair,  rendered  the  adminis- 
tration of  his  office  one  of  great  responsibility.    Some 
American  merchant-vessels,  loaded  partly  with  salt- 
petre,  were   detained   at  Calcutta   during  that  ex- 
citement.    Dr.    Lilly   contended   vigorously   for  the 
rights  of  the  American  traders,  who  were  then  allowed 
to  depart.     Previous  to  his  leaving  Calcutta  for  the 
United  States  the  American  merchants  there  resi- 
dent presented  him  a  handsome  service  of  plate,  and 
on  his  arrival   at  Lambertville    he   was   welcomed 
by  an  ovation  at  the  hands  of  his  fellow-townsmen."* 
In  1868-72  he  was  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  for  the  county  of  Hunterdon.     He  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  to  locate  and  build  the  new  State 
Lunatic  Asylum.     In  1873  he  was  appointed  by  Gov- 
ernor Parker  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Errors 
and  Appeals.     He  died  in  1879,— April  3d.     He  left 
but  one  child, — John, — who  is  now  practicing  law  in 
Lambertville. 

Judge  Lilly  "was  a  man  of  good  and  temperate 
habits,  of  refined  and  literary  tastes,"  eminent  as  a 
judge,  and  honored  as  a  man. 

David  Van  Fleet,  of  Flemington,  was  born  in 
Readington,  Hunterdon  Co.,  Aug.  13,  1819,  a  son  of 
William  Van  Fleet,  of  that  place,  and  of  Dutch  de- 
scent. He  received  a  good  common-school  education, 
followed  school-teaching  for  a  time,  and  clerked  in  a 
store  at  Centreville,  N.  J.  In  1848  he  was  elected  to 
the  State  Legislature,  and  re-elected  in  1849.  For  a 
few  years  following  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  at  Centreville.  In  1856  he  was  one  of  the 
Democratic  Presidential  electors;  in  1859  surrogate 


of  Hunterdon  County  ;  in  1869  was  appointed  by 
President  Grant  one  of  the  inspectors  of  customs  at 
New  York ;  and  in  1872  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  of  Hunterdon  County.  He  is  a  Master  in 
Chancery,  and  also  trustee  for  several  estates,  as  well 
as  a  director  of  the  Hunterdon  County  National 
Bank.  Is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  He  married,  1845,  Susan  A.  Cole,  daughter 
of  Davjd  O.  Cole,  of  Readington. 

EMINENT   JURISTS. 

New  Jersey  has  always  been  noted  for  the  intel- 
lectual ability  of  its  jurists.  The  high  character  of 
those  of  the  past  generation  is  well  sustained  by"  the 
present.  As  an  evidence  of  this  is  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  present  year  (1880)  the  honorary  degree  of 
LL.D.  has  been  conferred  by  Princeton  and  Lafay- 
ette Colleges  upon  four  distinguished  members  of  the 
bench  and  bar  of  this  State,  one-half  of  which  honors 
came  to  Hunterdon,  the  Hon.  Bennet  Van  Syckel,  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  Vice-Chancellor  A.  V.  Van 
Fleet,  being  the  honored  recipients  of  this  county. 

Bennet  Van  Syckel,  associate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey,  was  born  in  Hunter- 
don County  (Bethlehem  township),  April  17,  1830. 
Immediately  after  his  graduation  from  Princeton,  in 
1846,  he  entered  the  law-office  of  Hon.  Alexander 
Wurts,  Flemington,  with  whom  he  remained  until 
admitted  to  the  bar,  in  1851.  He  at  once  commenced 
his  legal  practice  in  Flemington,  and  soon  won  a  high 
reputation  at  the  bar.  He  possesses  forensic  abilities 
of  the  first  order.  In  1869  he  was  appointed  to  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  reap- 
pointed in  1876.  Incumbent  of  the  position,  he  ex- 
emplified "  in  the  discharge  of  his  judicial  duties,  as 
formerly  in  his  practice,  that  profound  learning  and 
spotless  integrity  which  have  made  the  judiciary  of 
New  Jersey  known  and  honored  throughout  the  land." 
In  1853  he  married  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  W.  H. 
Sloan,  of  Flemington,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons 
and  two  daughters.! 

Abbam  V.  Van  Fleet,  vice-chancellor  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  was  born  in  Hillsborough, 
Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Jan.  6,  1831.  He  was  admitted 
to  practice  as  an  attorney  at  the  November  term  of 
1852,  and  as  a  counselor  in  1858.  He  opened  his  first 
law-ofBce  in  Flemington,  where  he  soon  acquired  a 
large  and  lucrative  business.  He  has  devoted  him- 
self actively  to  his  chosen  profession.  He  received 
the  appointment  in  1875  of  vice-chancellor  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  from  Chancellor  Runyan,  and 
was  duly  commissioned  by  Governor  Bedle.  His 
term  of  office  will  expire  in  May,  1882.  He  is  a  bril- 
liant lawyer,  and  in  the  administration  of  the  vice- 
chancellorship  "he  has  confirmed  his  previous  repu- 
tation of  being  one  of  the  finest  Chancery  lawyers  in 


{■ 


*  Biographical  EncyclopBedia  of  New  Jersey,  p.  75. 


f  One  of  his  sisters  married  (1843)  John  T.  Leigh,  a  hanlter,  of  Clinton, 
N.  J. ;  she  died  in  1860. 


206 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  State."  Tlie  opinions,  as  delivered  by  him,  will 
he  found  in  the  New  Jersey  Chancery  Reports,  com- 
mencing with  11th  C.  E.  Green. 

EARLY   LAWYERS. 

The  name  of  Jeremiah  Bass  appears  in  the  Hunter- 
don County  court  records  as  an  attorney,  June  6, 
1721,  and  the  last  time  it  is  seen  in  that  connection  is 
March  10,  1725.  He  was  appointed  attorney-gen- 
eral March  28,  1719.  Others  were  admitted  to  prac- 
tice from  the  dates  given  below  : 

Daniel  Grandin,  June  6, 1721,  practiced  until  about 
1739 ;  William  Biles,  Dec.  5,  1721 ;  Edward  Rodol- 
phus  Price,*  March  5,  1722;  David  McBride,  Jan. 
29,  1823  (his  name  last  appears  March  14,  1726) ;  P. 
Evans  and  James  Alexander,  Aug.  7,  1724  (the  latter 
appointed  attorney-general  June  6,  1723) ;  Finnick 
Lyell,  March  10,  1825;  J.  Kinsey,  July  26,  1725 
(last  appears  August  term,  1728) ;  James  Gould,  Oct. 
18,  1725 ;  Robert  Lawrence,  March  14,  1726 ;  Philip 
Kearney,  Oct.  16,  1726;  Lawrence  Smith,  July  25, 
1726  (appointed  attorney-general  in  1728) ;  C.  Mott, 
July,  1727 ;  Benjamin  Price  and  Thomas  Shird,  Oct. 
15,  1727 ;  Henry  Vernon,  James  Trent,  and Par- 
ker, August,  1728 ;  Francis  Costigan,  E.  Pierce,  and 
William  Smith,  May  term,  1729  ;  Jeremiah  Forster, 

August  term,  1730 ;  Brown  and  J.  Hooper,  May, 

1731 ;  Francis  Bowes,  August,  1731 ;  Samuel  Burtill 

and  Jamieson,  August,  1731 ;   M.   Evers   and 

David  Ogden,  1732;  Joseph  Warrell,  May,  1733  (ap- 
pointed attorney-general  Aug.  28,  1733) ;  John  \a,u- 
ghan  "produced  a  lycence  to  the  court  wherein  His 
Excellency  Wm.  Cosby,  Esq.,  appointed  him  to  prac- 
tice as  an  attorney-at-law  in  all  the  courts  of  record 
within  the  province  of  New  Jersey :  Ordered  by  the 
Court  to  be  read  and  published,"  Aug.  6,  1735 ;  R. 
Mcholls,  Aug.  7,  1735 ;  [John]  Dagworthy,  October 
term,  1735 ;  John  Coxe,  May  term,  1736  ;  Jacob  An- 
derson, October  term,  1736  ;  John  Clark,  Lyne,  White, 
Burnham,  Hartshorn,  and  B.  Lagrange,  1745 ;  Abra- 
ham  Cotman,   1747;   Robert  Ashfield,   1748;   Wm. 

Pidgeon, Scattergood,  C.  Skinner,   1750  (latter 

appointed  attorney-general  July  10,  1754)  ;  R.  Wil- 
liams, 1753 ;  Joseph  Read ;  Richard  Stockton,  May 
term,  1755;  John  Smyth,  Aaron  Dowd,  1757;  W. 
Thompson,  1758;  Elias  Boudinot,  1761;  G.  Ross, 
Jasper  Smith,  J.  Anderson,  Bard,  Deare,  1763 ;  J. 
Debow,  J.  AUer,  John  Leferty,  B.  Leferty,  David 
Brearley,  J.  D.  Sergeant,  B.  Reed,  1767  ;  William  De 
Hart,  1768 ;  Abram  Ogden,  William  Paterson,t  1769 ; 
J.  Taylor,  Chambers,  Hassert,  Dongan,  Pettit,  Linn, 
and  Ebenezer  Cowell,  1771 ;  J.  B.  Scott,  1775-;  Bloom- 
field,  1779 ;  William  Wilcox  and  William  C.  Hous- 
ton,!, 1780. 

The  appendix  to  the  "  Rules  of  the  Supreme  Court," 

*  Admitted  to  "  practice  in  all  the  courts  in  thiB  province"  June  4, 1723. 
t  Appointed  attorney-general  Sept.  4,  1776 ;  afterward  became  Gov- 
ernor. 
X  Appointed  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  Sept.  28, 1781. 


1868,  gives  the  date  of  admission  of  W.  C.  Houston 
as  "  April  term,  1781,"  and  records  "  Richard  Stock- 
ton, April  term,  1784," — evidently  the  "junior"  of 
the  Richard  Stockton  admitted  in  1756,  as  above 
given,  who  was  an  associate  justice  in  1774,  and  was 
appointed  chief  justice  in  1776,  but  declined  the 
honor. 

From  this  point  onward  special  mention  will  be 
made  of  the  more  prominent  of  the  members  of  the 
Hunterdon  County  bar. 

LATER    LAWYERS. 

Geokge  C.  Maxwell,  son  of  John  Maxwell,  at 
the  close  of  the  last  and  beginning  of  the  present 
century  was  practicing  law  in  the  Hunterdon  courts 
and  resident  in  Flemington.  He  was  admitted  as  an 
attorney  in  1797,  as  a  counselor  in  1800,  and  as  a  ser- 
geant-at-law  in  1816.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Flemington,  of  which  he  was  a 
deacon  in  1806  and  1809.  He  was  considered  in  his 
day  as  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  county.  He 
died  in  Flemington. 

William  MaxwelIj  practiced  law  in  Flemington 
from  1808,  the  date  of  his  admission  to  the  bar,  until 
his  death.  He  became  a  counselor  in  1817.  He  was 
not  only  a  prominent  lawyer,  but  an  influential  citi- 
zen and  an  active  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Flemington,  holding  the  office  of  deacon  in  that 
body  from  1817-19.  He  died  about  1828,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Presbyterian  church-yard.  Upon  his 
tombstone  (which  contains  no  record  of  his  birth  or 
death)  is  the  following  mortuary  legend  : 

"  In  memory  of  William  Maxwell,  Esq.,  Councillor-at-Law. 
Acqualege,  necessitas,  Sortitur  insignes  et  imos." 

He  married  a  daughter  of  Henry  Dusenberry,  of 
New  Hampton. 

Joseph  Bonnell  was  born  in  1793,  and  died  in 
1823.  He  was  a  son  of  Alexander  and  Catharine 
Bonnell,  whose  ashes,  as  well  as  his  own,  repose  in 
the  Presbyterian  burial-ground,  the  three  graves 
being  side  by  side.  His  father  died  in  1819,  while 
his  mother  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four, 
dying  in  1854.  Joseph  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1817,  became  a  counselor  in  1820,  and  practiced  law 
in  Flemington  until  his  decease.  His  sister  Mary  be- 
came the  wife  of  Alexander  Wurts,  Esq. 

Lucius  Horatio  Stockton — known  to  his  as- 
sociates as  Horace  Stockton — was  a  younger  brother 
of  Richard,  and  in  early  life  was  thought  to  be  quite 
equal  if  not  superior  to  him  in  talent.  He  graduated 
at  Princeton  in  1787,  was  licensed  in  1791,  and  died 
in  1835.  He  resided  in  Trenton.  He  early  mani- 
fested eccentricity,  which  so  increased  in  later  years 
as  in  a  great  measure  to  destroy  his  usefiilness.  He 
was  a  warm  politician,  under  the  elder  Adams  held 
the  office  of  United  States  attorney  for  this  district, 
and  later  was  nominated  as  Secretary  of  War,  but 
was  not  confirmed. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR, OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


J07 


Thomas  Potts  Johnson  was  the  second  son  of 
"William  Johnson,  an  early  settler  of  Hunterdon- 
County,  who  came  from  Irelaud,  and  all  of  whose  de- 
scendants have  been  noted  for  their  learning.  His 
mother  was  Ruth,  a  sister  of  Stacy  Potts,  of  Trenton. 
In  his  youth  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  carpenter 
trade,  hut  was  forced  to  relinquish  it  on  account  of 
rupturing  a  blood-vessel.  He  also  taught  school  in 
this  county  in  his  early  manhood.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Robert  Stockton,  Esq.,  and  studied  law 
with  the  Hon.  Richard  Stockton.  In  1794  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  bold,  out- 
spoken, and  fearless  advocate,  and  one  of  the  most 
learned  and  eloquent  men  that  ever  adorned  the  New 
Jersey  bar.  He  was  alike  distinguished  for  his  won- 
derful memory,  his  rare  intellectual  attainments,  and 
his  piety.  After  a  brilliant  career  at  the  bar  he  re- 
tired on  account  of  failing  health,  and  spent  the  last 
years  of  his  life  in  the  family  of  his  son-in-law.  Dr. 
Richard  Corson,  of  New  Hope,  Pa.,  at  which  place 
he  ended  his  days  on  earth.  His  portrait  may  be 
seen  in  the  court-room  at  Flemington.* 

Samuel  R.  Stewart  was  a  son  of  Gen.  Charles 
Stewart,  who  after  the  Revolution  moved  to  Fleming- 
ton,  where  he  died  June  24, 1800.  He  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  Princeton  College  in  1786 ;  was  admitted  to 
practice  at  the  bar  in  1790 ;  became  a  counselor  in 
1794.    He  died  in  1802. 

Charles  Stewart,  son  of  the  above,  and  grand- 
son of  Gen.  Charles,  was  born  in  Flemington,  in  a 
house  his  father  occupied,  near  the  present  residence 
of  John  C.  Hopewell.  He  was  a  classmate  at  Prince- 
ton of  Alexander  Wurts,  Esq. ;  graduated  in  1815 ; 
studied  law,  afterwards  theology ;  went  as  a  mission- 
ary to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  in  1828  was  ap- 
pointed chaplain  in  the  United  States  navy.  He 
died  at  Cooperstown,.  N.  Y.,  in  1870,  aged  seventy- 
five  years.  One  of  his  sons,  a  graduate  of  West 
Point,  served  through  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  and 
later  was  in  command  of  the  United  States  Engineers' 
Corps  at  San  Francisco. 

Peter  D.  Vroom,  subsequently  Governor  (born 
1791,  died  1874),  had  a  law-office  in  Flemington,  and 
practiced  his  profession  there  for  several  years  prior 
to  1820,  when  he  removed  to  Somerville. 

Andrew  Miller,  one  of  the  early  lawyers  of 
Flemington,  was  a  native  of  Somerset  County,  born 
in  1799,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1822.  After  prac- 
ticing a  couple  of  years  at  Somerville  he  removed  to 
the  county-seat  of  Hunterdon,  taking  the  place  of 


*  The  following  eiDecdote  concerning  Mr.  Johnson  is  preserved :  At 
one  of  the  neighboring  courtB  a  dispute  arose  between  Johnson  and  his 
opponent  respecting  a  point  of  law,  during  which  the  latter  remarked, 
in  a  tannting  manner,  "  that  he  was  not  to  be  taught  law  by  a  carpenter!" 
••  May  it  please  Your  Honors,"  replied  Mr.  Johnson,  "  the  gentleman  has 
been  pleased  to  allnde  to  my  hairing  been  a  carpenter,— I  am  proud  of 
it :  so  was  tbe  reputed  father  of  our  Lord  and  Sayiour  Jesus  Christ,— and 
I  could  yet,  give  me  a  block  of  wood,  a  mallet,  and  a  chisel,  hew  out 
something  that  would  veiy  much  resemble  Ihal  gentleman's  head.  True, 
I  could  not  put  in  brains,  but  it  would  have  more  manner!  /" 


Joseph  Bonnell,  then  recently  deceased.  For  some 
fifteen  years  Mr.  Miller  resided  and  practiced  in 
Flemington,  but  about  the  year  1839  he  removed  to 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Residing  at  several  differ- 
ent places  during  the  intervening  years,  he  a  few 
years  since  returned  to  his  native  place,  Somerville, 
where  he  is  now  residing,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one 
years,  retired  from  practice. 

Nathaniel  Saxton  was  a  native  of  Hopewell 
township,  then  in  Hunterdon  County.     He  removed 
to  Flemington,  as  a  young  man,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century.     He  appears  to  have  been  an 
indefatigable  student  and  worker,  for  he  not  only 
served  for  years  as  a  deputy  in  the  county  clerk's 
office  of  Hunterdon,  but  at  the  same  time  studied  and 
practiced  surveying,  and  as  a  student  entered  upon 
the  legal  profession.     Blackstone  and  Chitty  seem, 
however,  to  have  been  most  to  his  taste.     He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  as  an  attorney  at  the  May  term  of 
1804,  and  became  a  counselor  in  September,  1808. 
In  1828  he  was  elevated  to  the  rank  of  a  sergeant-at- 
law.     He  was  for  one  term  (1834)  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate.    He  ranked  as  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers 
of  his  ,time,  and  in  the  Chancery  line,  as  well  as  in 
real-estate  matters,  was  without  a  peer  in  the  State.f 
Although  not  brilliant  as  an  advocate,  he  was  noted 
as  a  sound,  reasoning  counselor.     He  was  far  more 
successful  in  the  legal  arena  than  he  was  in  his  own 
private  affairs  ;  continually  buying  and  accumulating 
property,  he  seldom  sold.     He  was  in  his  later  years 
much  embarrassed  thereby,  and  died  (in  1847)  com- 
paratively poor,  aged  about  eighty  years.     He  was 
buried  in  the  Presbyterian  churchyard,  in  Fleming- 
ton.     He   is    recollected  by   Charles    Bartles    (who 
studied  law  with  him)  and  others  as  a  most  eccentric 
man.     He  never  married,  and  none  of  his  father's 
family  are  known  to  be  living  at  this  time.    He  re- 
sided on  Main  Street,  where  Dr.  Parrish  now  lives. 

William  H.  Sloan,  a  distinguished  member  of 
the  New  Jersey  bar,  and  for  many  years  a  resident  of 
the  county-seat  of  Hunterdon,  was  born  in  Warren 
Co.,  N,  J.,  April  25,  1799.  He  was  the  oldest  child 
of  the  Rev.  William  B.  Sloan  (and  Mary  Perfine,  his 
wife),  pastor  for  many  years  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  Greenwich,  N.  J.  None  of  his  children  are 
living ;  a  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Mary,  wife  of  Henry 
Field,  resides  in  Philadelphia.  William  H.  Sloan's 
grandmother  was  Elizabeth  Kirkpatrick,  a  sister  of 
the  celebrated  Judge  Kirkpatrick,  of  whom  a  sketch 
may  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  work.  William  H. 
received  his  early  education  at  the  Somerville  acad- 
emy, and  later  was  graduated  from  Princeton  College. 
He  then  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  entering 


+  Lucius  Q.  C.  Elmer's  "  Reminiscences  of  the  Bench  and  Bar  of  New- 
Jersey  "  speaks  of  "  Nathaniel  Saxton,  the  Chancery  reporter,  generally 
called  Nattj',"  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  fun  at  the  little  social  gather^ 
ings  at  the  "  Rising  Sun  Tavern,-  in  Trenton,  where  the  American  Hotel 
now  stands,  where  "  songs  were  sung,  old  stories  revived,  and  flashes  of 
wit  sparked,  each  one  deeming  it  a  duty  to  contribute  as  well  as  he  could 
to  the  general  amusement"  (p.  183). 


208 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  oflSce  of  the  late  Peter  I.  Clark,  of  Flemington. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  February  term, 
1821,  and  became  a  counselor  in  1824.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Flemington, 
and  occupied  for  some  time  "  the  office  of  the  late 
William  Maxwell,  Esq." 

He  took  an  active  part  in  politics,  and  was  a  warm 
advocate  and  earnest  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
party.  He  held  many  local  positions  of  trust,  also 
served  as  surrogate  of  the  county  for  five  years  (1835- 
40),  and  represented  his  district  in  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  State  in  1833-34.  "  His  acquaintance 
was  extensive,  and  he  was  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him  for  his  gentlemanly  bearing,  frankness  of  man- 
ner, and  nobleness  of  character.  As  a  lawyer  he  was 
sound,  discriminating,  and  judicious,  courteous  and 
respectful  to  the  court,  obliging  and  kind  to  his 
brethren  of  the  bar,  faithful  and  true  to  his  clients, 
honorable  towards  all." 

He  married,  in  August,  1835,  Caroline  Imlay, 
daughter  of  Robert  Imlay,  a  merchant  of  Philadel- 
phia; she  is  still  (1880)  living.  The  children — six  in 
number,  three  sons  and  three  daughters — are  as  fol- 
lows :  Robert  I.,  William  H.,  Charles  W.,  Mary  Eliz- 
abeth (wife  of  Bennett  Van  Syckel,  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey,  and  now  residing  at 
Trenton),  Annie  B.  (wife  of  Charles  Brearley,  of 
Trenton),  and  Margaretta. 

None  of  the  brothers  or  sisters  of  W.  H.  Sloan  are 
living.  Their  names  were  John  B.,  La  Rue,  Eliza- 
beth, and  Mary.  The  first  named  was  a  physician  at 
Easton,  Pa. ;  Elizabeth  married  H.  Conover,  son  of 
the  late  Dr.  Conover,  of  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Sloan  died  of  typhus  fever  at  his  residence,  in 
Flemington,  Jan.  21,  1850,  aged  fifty.  His  remains 
repose  in  the  Presbyterian  cemetery,  where  a  monu- 
ment is  erected  to  his  memory.  His  memory,  how- 
ever, will  not  soon  fade  from  the  recollections  of  our 
people,  being  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  very  many. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  court  and  bar  at  the  court-house 
in  Flemington,  Feb.  12,  1850,  of  which  Judge  Ran- 
dolph was  chairman,  after  the  announcement  to  the 
court  of  his  death,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  a 
committee,  consisting  of  A.  Wurts,  Judge  Thompson, 
and  A.  G.  Richey,  Esqs.,  was  appointed  to  draft  reso- 
lutions expressive  of  the  loss  sustained  by  the  court, 
the  bar,  and  the  community  in  his  death.  At  an  ad- 
journed meeting  held  February  14th  at  the  same 
place  the  committee  reported  resolutions — which  were 
adopted — bearing  public  testimony  to  the  worth  and 
virtues  of  the  deceased,  and  of  respect  to  his  memory. 
Alexander  Wuets,  the  youngest  of  eight  sons  of 
John  Wurts,  an  extensive  iron-manufacturer  of  Mor- 
ris Co.,  N.  J.,  was  born  in  Flanders,  N.  J.,  in  the 
year  1799.  A  member  of  the  class  of  1815  of  Prince- 
ton College,  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.  In  the  winter  of  1819-20  he  located  in 
Flemington,  and  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  in  May, 
1820.     In  1823  he  was  admitted  as  a  counselor-at- 


law.  In  1824  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly, which  honorable  station  he  again  filled  in  the 
years  1828-32,  and  during  the  last  tljree  years  was 
Speaker  of  the  House.  He  served  in  the  Legislative 
Council  in  1833.  In  1838  he  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Congress,  but,  with  the  entire  ticket, 
was  defeated.  He  was  in  1844  the  member  from 
Hunterdon  County  of  the  convention  to  revise  the 
State  constitution,  of  which  body  he  was  chosen  vice- 
president,  and,  before  its  close,  its  president.  In  the 
fall  of  1844  he  was  elected  the  first  State  senator 
from  Hunterdon  County,  and  served  in  that  body 
for  two  years.  Soon  after  (in  1848),  he  was  appointed 
by  the  Legislature  one  of  the  three  commissioners  to 
investigate  the  charges  preferred  against  the  Camden 
and  Amboy  Railroad  and  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal  Companies.  This  laborious  duty  occupied 
nearly  a  year,  but  resulted  in  fully  exonerating  the 
companies  and  in  allaying  the  excitement  then  ex- 
isting in  the  imblic  mind  against  them. 

Governor  Fort,  in  1853,  nominated  Mr.  Wurts  as 
chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey,  which  nomination  was  promptly  con- 
firmed by  the  State  Senate ;  but  he  respectfully  de- 
clined the  proffered  honor.  He  was  induced,  how- 
ever, in  1865,  to  become  the  candidate  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  for  the  State  Senate,  upon  the  assurance 
that  the  party  to  which  he  was  attached  could  thereby 
be  harmonized.  He  was  elected  and  served  for  three 
years.  He  has  been  for  over  twenty  years  one  of  the 
managers  of  the  State  Lunatic  Asylum,  and  since  1859 
president  of  the  board.  Although  now,  in  a  great 
measure,  retired  from  public  and  professional  life,  he 
is  often  consulted  on  important  legal  questions.  His 
unflinching  integrity  and  thorough  legal  acquirements 
give  weight  to  his  opinions.  There  is  no  man  now 
living  in  the  State  who  has  been  in  public  life  so  long 
as  he,  and  yet  retains  the  confidence  of  all  parties 
in  so  great  a  degree.  He  was  often  importuned  to  be- 
come a  candidate  for  Governor,  but  never  would  take 
any  steps  himself  to  secure  the  nomination.  He  mar- 
ried. May  26,  1831,  Mary,  daughter  of  Alexander  and 
Catharine  Bonnell,  of  Flemington.* 

Garret  D.  Wall,  for  many  years  a  resident  of 
Hunterdon  and  a  legal  practitioner  in  its  courts,  was 
born  in  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.,  in  1783.  He  was  the 
son  of  James  Wall,  an  officer  of  the  Continental 
army,  who  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth  captured  an 
English  officer.  On  his  father's  death.  Garret,  then 
nine  years  old,  went  to  reside  with  his  uncle.  Dr. 
John  G.  Wall,  of  Woodbridge.  In  1798  he  removed 
to  Trenton  and  became  a  student  in  the  law-office  of 
Gen.  Jonathan  Rhea,  then  clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State.  On  attaining  his  majority  (in 
1804)  he  was  licensed  as  an  attorney ;  in  1807  he  was 
advanced  to  the  grade  of  counselor,  and  in  1820  to 


*  Since  the  compilation  of  this  chapter  Judge  Wurte  has  deceased.   He 
died  Teb.  16, 1881. 


THE   BENCH  AND  BAR  OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


209 


that  of  aergeant-at-law.  He  was  clerk  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  for  five  years  (1812-17) ;  member  for 
Hunterdon  County  of  the  lower  branch  of  the  State 
Legislature, — in  1822  as  a  Federalist  and  in  1827  as  a 
Jackson  Democrat ;  in  1829  was  elected  by  the  Legis- 
lature to  the  high  position  of  Governor,  which,  how- 
ever, he  declined;  was  appointed  in  1829  United 
States  district  attorney  for  New  Jersey,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  ably  discharged  the  duties  of  that  office. 
In  1834  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
serving  until  the  close  of  Van  Buren's  administration, 
— 1840.  He  was  pronounced  in  his  opposition  to  the 
United  States  Bank,  and  one  of  the  most  efiective 
speeches  he  ever  delivered  was  adverse  to  its  continu- 
ance. After  1828,  Burlington  was  his  place  of  abode ; 
he  returned  to  that  place  fi'om  Washington  in  1840, 
and  resumed  his  professional  duties.  In  1848  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals, 
and  held  the  position  until  his  death,  in  November, 
1850. 

He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  his  preceptor,  Gren.  Jonathan  Rhea  ;  his  second 
marriage  occurred  in  1828. 

"  He  was  a  counselor  of  the  highest  ability  and 
learning,  whUe,  as  a  pleader,  he  entered  into  the  case 
as  if  he  were  the  client,  not  the  attorney ;  and  some 
of  his  arguments  before  the  jury  or  court  were  of  the 
highest  eloquence."  "  His  distinguishing  character- 
istics as  an  advocate  were  his  quick  sensibility,  an  in- 
tuitive insight  into  character  and  motives,  and  that 
ready  tact  which  enabled  him  readily  to  recover  from 
his  own  mistakes  and  promptly  to  take  advantage  of 
those  of  his  adversary." 

He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  cause  of  education, 
and  was  a  trustee  of  Burlington  College.  He  was 
eminently  hospitable  and  remarkably  proud  of  his 
native  State,  particularly  of  its  Revolutionary  record. 
He  inherited  quite  a  martial  taste,  and  was  early  con- 
nected with  a  volunteer  company.  During  the  war  of 
1812,  as  captain  of  the  "Phoenix  Infantry  Company," 
he  was  detailed,  with  other  troops,  to  aid  in  the  pro- 
tection of  the  city  of  New  York. 

Richard  Howei.l,  the  lawyer,  soldier,  and  Gov- 
ernor, resided  in  Trenton  from  1788  until  his  death, 
at  the  early  age  of  forty-nine.  May  5, 1803.  His  mili- 
tary career  and  honors  were  brilliant,  but  will  be 
found  noticed  elsewhere.  He  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice as  an  attorney  in  1779 ;  appointed  clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Court  Sept.  4, 1788 ;  was  Governor  from  1792 
until  1801,  and  then  resumed  his  legal  practice  at 
Trenton.  He  was  a  member  of  the  bar  in  the  courts 
of  Hunterdon  County  for  over  fifteen  years.  None  of 
his  opinions  as  a  chancellor  have  been  published. 
He  was  a  man  of  free-and-easy  address,  very  popular, 
although  somewhat  affected  by  his  ariny  habits.* 

James  N.  Reading  was  born  at  the  homestead  of 
his  maternal  grandfather.  Dr.  John  F.  Grandin,  at 


*  Jadge  Elmer's  Reminiscences. 


Hamden,  where  his  son,  John  Grandin,  now  resides. 
He  was  named  after  his  grandmother  Grandin's 
father.  Dr.  James  Newell,  whose  wife  was  a  Law- 
rence and  sister  of  the  father  of  Commodore  Law- 
rence. James  N.  Reading  is  the  son  and  oldest  child 
of  Joseph,  who  was  the  youngest  child  and  only  son 
of  John  (3),  he  being  the  oldest  son  of  John  (2),  who 
was  the  oldest  son  of  Governor  John  Reading.  He 
commenced  his  academic  course  at  Flemington,  under 
Charles  Bartles,  Esq.,  who  then  had  charge  of  the 
academy.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Prince- 
ton Academy,  then  entered  Nassau  Hall  in  1827,  and 
was  graduated  in  1829,  taking  the  fifth  honor  in  a 
class  of  twenty-six ;  studied  law  with  Samuel  L. 
Southard  in  Trenton,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1832 ;  became  a  counselor-at-law  in  1836.  He  mar- 
ried (Feb.  10,  1835)  Sarah  C.  A.  Southard,  a  niece  of 
the  Governor.  From  1832  to  1850  he  practiced  law 
in  Flemington,  fifteen  of  which  years  he  was  prose- 
cuting attorney  for  Hunterdon  County.  During  his 
residence  in  Hunterdon  County  he  took  considerable 
interest  and  quite  an  active  part  in  its  military  affairs. 
His  first  appointment  was  to  the  office  of  brigade  in- 
spector ;  resigning  that  after  two  years'  service,  he  was 
appointed  colonel  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  the  Hun- 
terdon brigade,  which,  with  the  office  of  State's  attor- 
ney, he  held  until  he  moved  to  the  West. 

In  1850  he  removed  to  Jefferson  Co.,  Mo.,  and  for 
two  years  was  president  of  a  lead-mining  company. 
He  then  returned  to  New  Jersey,  settled  up  his  pri- 
vate business,  and  in  the  fall  of  1853  moved  to  Morris, 
Grundy  Co.,  111.,  which  has  since  been  his  place  of 
residence,  with  exception  of  the  years  1859-61,  when 
he  resided  in  Chicago  and  practiced  law  in  copart- 
nership with  Mr.  (afterward  Judge)  Wallace.  He 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  of  Hli- 
nois  in  the  fall  of  1856,  and  filled  the  position  until 
the  fall  of  1858,  when  he  officiated  as  clerk  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court,  filling  a  vacancy.  In  June,  1861,  his 
partner  having  joined  the  Union  army  as  a  major  of 
the  cavalry  branch  of  the  service,  Mr.  Reading  closed 
his  law-office  in  Chicago  and  returned  to  Morris. 
During  the  war  he  was  deputy  United  States  marshal 
for  Grundy  County,  and  also  United  States  commis- 
sioner, at  the  same  time  continuing  his  legal  busi- 
ness. In  1865  he  was  elected  county  judge,  which 
position  he  held  for  three  successive  terms,— twelve 
years, — and  then  declined  a  re-election.  He  is  an  in- 
defatigable worker,  having,  in  addition  to  his  legal 
practice  and  official  duties,  been  largely  engaged  in 
the  real-estate  business  ever  since  his  removal  to  Illi- 
nois.    He  is  ah  able  lawyer  and  jurist. 

Thomas  L.  Southard  studied  law  in  the  office  of 
James  N.  Reading,  his  brother-in-law  ;  was  licensed 
to  practice  in  November,  1838,  and  two  years  later 
removed  to  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  where  he  practiced 
his  profession.  He  made  a  promising  commencement, 
betokening  an  active  and  brilliant  career,  but  died 
suddenly  in  March,  1843. 


210 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Of  Samuel  Leake,  Judge  James  N".  Beading  says, 
"  At  an  early  day  there  was  a  lawyer  Leake  at  Flem- 
ington,  of  whom,  the  records  there  or  at  Trenton  must 
make  mention,  and  of  whom  I  have  heard  some  quaint 
things.  I  judge  he  must  have  heen  a  man  of  consid- 
erable legal  attainments.''  By  the  court  records  it  is 
seen  that  Samuel  Leake  was  licensed  as  an  attorney 
in  1776,  a  counselor  in  1780,  as  a  sergeant  in  1792, 
and  was  a  legal  contemporary  with  Thomas  Potts 
Johnson,  John  Frelinghuysen,  Mahlon  Dickerson, 
Lucius  W.  Stockton,  George  C.  Maxwell,  and  others. 

Judge  Elmer,  in  his  "  Reminiscences,"  relates  that 
upon  the  occasion  when  Governor  Bloomfield  presided 
for  the  first  time  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  he  made 
a  short  address  saying  he  was  a  Republican  and  did 
not  desire  to  be  addressed  by  the  title  of  "Excel- 
lency." Mr.  Samuel  Leake,  an  old  and  rather  ec- 
centric lawyer,  immediately  rose  and  made  him  a 
formal  address,  with  much  earnestness  and  solemnity, 
saying,  "  May  it  please  Your  Excellency,  Your  Ex- 
cellency's predecessors  were  always  addressed  by  the 
title  'Your  Excellency,'  and,  if  Your  Excellency 
please,  the  proper  title  of  the  Governor  of  the  State 
was,  and  is,  'Your  Excellency.'  I  humbly  pray, 
therefore,  on  my  own  behalf,  and  in  behalf  of  the  bar 
generally,  that  we  may  be  permitted,  by  Your  Ex- 
cellency's leave,  to  address  Your  Excellency,  when 
sitting  in  the  high  Court  of  Chancery,  by  the  ancient 
title  of  '  Your  Excellency.' "  It  would  seem  the 
Federal  lawyers  did  not  give  the  Governor  credit  for 
much  sincerity  in  the  wish  he  expressed  about  the 
title ;  however,  he  never  made  objection  after  Leake's 
speech. 

•  Judge  Charles  Ewing  studied  law  with  Samuel 
Leake,  who  is  "more  remembered  for  his  peculiarities 
as  unusually  precise  and  methodical  in  all  his  busi- 
ness, but  he  had,  besides,  a  high  reputation  for  accu- 
rate legal  knowledge,  and  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of 
the  most  sterling  Integrity.  Any  attempt  to  depre- 
ciate him  in  the  hearing  of  Mr.  Ewing  was  sure  to 
meet  a  stern  rebuke.  To  the  end  of  his  life  he  always 
spoke  of  him  in  the  highest  terms  of  affection  and  re- 
spect ;  he  was  too  good  a  judge,  and  had  too  many 
opportunities  of  knowing  well  the  entire  character  of 
Mr.  Leake,  to  leave  it  doubtful  that  he  was  a  lawyer 
of  uncommon  excellence."  Richard  Stockton  spoke 
of  him  as  a  learned  lawyer.* 

Mr.  Leake  was  born  in  Cumberland  Co.,  N.  J., 
Nov.  2, 1747.  In  his  youth  he  attended  the  two  cele- 
brated schools  of  Fagg's  Manor  and  Pequea.  He 
taught  school  for  a  few  years  in  Delaware,  then  en- 
tered Princeton  College,  taking  his  Bachelor's  degree 
in  1774.  He  began  the  study  of  the  law, — first  with 
Richard  Howell,  afterwards  Governor,  then  with 
Charles  Pettit,  of  Burlington.  He  was  licensed  in 
1776.  In  1785  he  removed  to  Trenton,  where  he  rose 
rapidly,  soon  standing  at  the  head  of  the  bar  of  Hun- 

*  Judge  Elmer's  Eeminiscences  of  New  Jersey,  133,  327,  403. 


terdon  County.  "  He  paid  unusual  attention  to  the 
students  of  his  office,  regularly  devoting  one  hour 
every  day  to  their  examination."  He  was  proverbi- 
ally systematic  and  precise.  He  died  March  8,  1820, 
in  his  seventy-third  year.  The  Supreme  Court  being 
in  session  at  the  time,  the  bar  not  only  resolved  to 
attend  the  funeral,  but  recommended  to  their  brethren 
throughout  the  State  to  wear  the  customary  badge  of 
mourning  and  respect.     His  epitaph  is  as  follows  : 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Samuel  Leake,  Esq.,  sergeant-at-Iaw,  Died 
March  8, 1820,  aged  72.  Educated  to  the  bar,  he  attained  the  highest 
degree  of  eminence;  distinguished  for  candor,  integrity,  zeal  for  hia 
clients,  and  profound  knowledge  of  jurisprudence,  he  fulfilled  the  duties 
of  his  station  with  singular  usefulness, '  without  fear  and  without  re- 
proach,' Deeply  versed  in  human  literature,  and  devoutly  studious 
of  the  words  of  sacred  truth,  he  lived  the  life  of  a  Christian  and  died  the 
death  of  the  righteous." 

John  Manners,  born  in  Hunterdon  County,  April 
8,  1786,  was  both  lawyer  and  physician.  After  prac- 
ticing medicine  for  some  years  he  determined  upon 
entering  the  legal  profession,  and  accordingly  read 
law  with  James  N.  Porter,  of  Easton,  Pa.  He  was 
admitted  as  an  attorney  and  as  counselor  in  Febru- 
ary, 1820.  Although  qualified  to  practice  at  the  bar  of 
both  the  State  and  the  United  States  courts,  he  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  very  largely  employed  in  either, 
and  it  is  probable  that  he  studied  law  mainly  with 
the  view  of  making  it  a  stepping-stone  to  political 
preferment.  He  was  for  three  years  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate  for  Hunterdon  County,  and  for  one  year 
president  of  that  body.  Had  he  lived,  he  would  no 
doubt  have  arisen  to  greater  eminence.  He  died  June 
24,  1853.t 

William  F.  Clemson  came  from  Philadelphia  to 
Flemington  a  young  man.  He  was  licensed  as  an  at- 
torney at  the  September  term  (1835),  as  a  counselor  in 
1838,  and  located  at  the  county-seat  for  two  or  three 
years,  then  went  to  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  where  he  re- 
mained until  after  the  execution  of  Parks  and  Carter, 
whom  he  was  engaged  in  defending,  when  he  removed 
with  a  portion  of  Parks'  family  to  Ohio. 

John  C.  Elmendoef,  a  native  of  Somerset  County, 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1837,  came  as  a  young  man  to 
Flemington  to  find  a  field  for  legal  sway,  but  after  a 
few  months'  residence  removed  from  the  place.  He 
became  a  counselor-at-law  in  1841.  He  has  been  a 
register  in  bankruptcy  since  1867.  For  fifteen  years 
he  was  public  prosecutor  for  Middlesex,  and  for 
twenty-two  years  (1854^76)  treasurer  of  Rutgers  Col- 
lege. He  married  Maria  L.  Frelinghuysen.  He  is 
now  practicing  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

John  H.  Wakefield,  licensed  as  an  attorney  in 
September,  1843,  and  as  counselor  in  1857,  practiced 
for  several  years  very  acceptably  at  the  Hunterdon 
bar,  but  removed  to  Boston,  where  he  had  a  brother 
of  distinction,  and  took  quite  a  distinguished  stand 
himself,  but  only  lived  a  few  years  after  taking  up  his 
residence  there. 


t  See  also  sketch  of  Dr,  Manuers,  with  "Medical  Profession,"  in  thia 
work. 


JOHN   N.   VOORHEES. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


211 


Col.  Peter  I.  Clakk,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  Mghly  -  esteemed  members  of  the  bar  of  this 
county,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  in 
1790.  He  was  the  second  son  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Clark,  D.D.  He  graduated  at  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  in  1809.  He  afterwards  taught  a  female  sem- 
inary in  his  native  city.  He  studied  law  there,  and 
removed  to  Flemington  about  1815.  He  held  very 
many  positions  of  trust  in  the  community  in  which 
he  lived,  and  his  integrity  as  well  as  his  talents  were 
fully  tested  in  his  incumbency  of  responsible  stations. 
"  Able,  faithful,  and  scrupulously  honest"  is  the  uni- 
versal verdict.  He  took  considerable  interest  in  mar- 
tial affairs,  and  as  early  as  1828  was  major  of  the 
Fourth  Regiment,  Hunterdon  brigade  of  militia; 
subsequently  he  was  raised  to  the  grade  of  a  Colonel. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  of  1828, 
which  instructed  its  nominees  for  electors  to  cast  their 
votes  for  Andrew  Jackson  and  John  C.  Calhoun.  He 
took  a  prominent  part  in  politics,  was  a  warm  friend 
of  the  Bible  cause,  and  one  of  the  first  members  of  the 
County  Bible  Society.  He  was  its  president  from  1846 
to  1849.  He  was  a  devoted  Christian,  becoming  a 
melnber  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1842,  and  an 
elder  about  thirteen  years  later.  "His  noble,  com- 
manding presence,  frank  and  genial  countenance, 
rich,  musical  voice,  courteous  dignity,  and  suavity  of 
manner"  come  readily  to  the  remembrance  of  all  who 
had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance.   He  died  in  1863. 

George  A.  Allen,  of  Flemington,  was  born  at 
Westport,  Conn.,  descended  from  a  family  of  English 
origin,  who  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Con- 
necticut. After  receiving  a  good  preparatory  educa- 
tion, George  commenced  teaching  school,  being  thus 
employed  at  Milfbrd,  Conn.,  and  later  at  Flemington, 
N.  J.  At  the  latter  place  he  entered  the  office  of 
Judge  James  N.  Reading  (now  of  Morris,  111.),  and  so 
thoroughly  prosecuted  his  studies  as  to  be  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  May,  1844.  In  January,  1848,  he  was  li- 
censed as  a  counselor-at-law.  In  1850  he  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Charles  Bonnell,  of  Flemington. 
In  1856  he,  with  others,  founded  the  Hunterdon  Re- 
publican, was  long  one  of  its  editors  and  proprietors. 
In  1861,  upon  the  first  call  for  troops,  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  Third  New  Jersey  Volunteer  Infantry 
Regiment,  being  subsequently  promoted  to  a  cap- 
taincy. On  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  he 
returned  to  Flemington  and  resumed  his  legal  prac- 
tice. "As  a  Chancery  lawyer  he  enjoyed  a  reputation 
second  to  none  in  the  State.  He  prepared  his  cases 
with  the  utmost  care,  .  .  .  and  in  arguing  a  case  ar- 
ranged the  facts  and  circumstances  in  the  most  forcible 
and  logical  manner,  never  allowing  judge  or  jury  to 
lose  sight  of  the  main  points.  .  .  .  His  undoubted 
probity  and  his  unswerving  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  his  clients  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  profession 
in  this  section  ofthe  State."*    His  eldest  son,  William 

*  Biographical  EncyclopEedia  of  NeT?  Jersey,  pp.  64,  65* 


D.  Allen,  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  in  1875,. 
and  his  second  son,  Charles  W.,  after  graduating  at  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  and  taking  a  course  at  the  Medical  Uni- 
versity in  Vienna,  Austria,  received  the  appointment 
of  assistant  port  physician  at  Boston,  which  position 
he  now  holds.  Alexander  B.  is  engaged  in  the  drug 
business  in  Flemington,  and  Edward  B.,  the  youngest,, 
is  now  at  school. 

John  N.  Voorhees  was  born  at  Bound  Valley, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  March  4,  1835.  He  is  a  son  of  the 
late  Judge  Peter  E.  Voorhees.  He  was  prepared  for 
college  at  the  grammar-school  of  Rutger's,  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  entered  that  college  in  1850,  graduating 
in  1854.  He  immediately  entered  the  law-office  of 
Hon.  Alexander  Wurts,  at  Flemington,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1857. 

After  admission,  Mr.  Voorhees  at  once  commenced 
the  practice  of  his  profession  at  White  House,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  where  he  remained  till  1871,  when  he 
removed  to  Flemington  and  became  a  law-partner  of 
Hon.  John  T.  Bird,  in  the  firm  of  Bird  &  Voorhees. 
The  following  year  Chester  Van  Syckel  was  admitted 
as  a  partner,  and  the  firm  became  Bird,  Voorhees  & 
Van  Syckel,  and  so  continued  till  the  senior  partner 
retired,  in  1873.  The  firm  of  Voorhees  &  Van  Syckel 
practiced  about  one  year,  when  they  dissolved,  and 
Mr.  Voorhees  associated  with  him  his  former  student, 
George  H.  Large,  who  still  remains  in  this  relation. 

These  firms  have  controlled  a  large  and  profitable 
practice,  and  among  their  clients  have  been  several 
important  railroad  corporations.  Mr.  Voorhees  has 
been  connected  with  a  number  of  criminal  cases,  no- 
ticeable among  which  are  the  Patenburg  rioters  and 
Brenan  murder  cases,  the  successful  management  of 
which  has  given  him  a  high  reputation  as  an  advocate. 

He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Randolph  prose- 
cutor of  the  pleas  for  Hunterdon  County,  a  position 
he  resigned  after  holding  the  appointment  one  year. 

He  is  in  politics  a  Democrat,  and  has  rendered  his 
party  good  service  as  a  speaker  at  mass-meetings  and 
other  gatherings.  He  ip,  however,  no  politician,  nor 
has  he  ever  sought  or  held  any  office  of  a  political 
character,  his  large  and  increasing  legal  business 
leaving  him  little  time  to  devote  to  other  matters. 

Mr.  Voorhees  has  been  twice  married :  first,  Dec. 
8,  1857,  to  Ellen,  daughter  of  John  K.  Large,  of 
White  House,  N.  J.  She  died  Aug.  23,  1863.  He 
married  for  his  second  wife  Hannah  M.,  sister  of  the 
above,  Sept.  26,  1865.  He  has  a  son  and  a  daughter 
by  the  first  marriage. 

Richard  S.  Ktthl,  of  Flemington,  was  born  near 
that  place  Aug.  24, 1839,  and  is  the  son  of  Leonard  P. 
Kuhl,  a  prominent  citizen  and  farmer  of  the  county. 
He  graduated  at  Lawrenceville  in  1860,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  entered  the  law-office  of  B.  Van  Syckel, 
now  one  of  the  New  Jersey  Supreme  Court  judges. 
He  remained  under  his  preceptorship  four  years, 
when  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  as  an  attorney-at- 


212 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW    JEESEY. 


.  law,  February,  1864.  He  at  once  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Flemington  ;  was  admit- 
ted to  practice  as  a  counselor  in  February,  1867. 
"  His  progress  in  his  profession  was  rapid,  and  he 
soon  took  ranli  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  the 
county.  He  is  a  fine  and  effective  spealjer.  He  was 
one  of  the  counsel  for  the  defense  in  the  case  of  the 
Patenburg  rioters,— a  case  wliich  attracted  much  at- 
tention a  few  years  since.  For  a  long  time  he  was 
secretary  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Agricultural  So- 
ciety. He  has  always  been  prominent  in  every  move- 
ment of  his  town,  social,  moral,  or  financial."* 

John  T.  Bied  is  a  native  of  Bethlehem  township, 
this  county,  born  Aug.  16,  1829.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  his  neighborhood  and  a  classical 
academy  at  Hackettstown,  N.  J.  He  studied  for  the 
bar  with  the  Hon.  A.  G.  Richey,  of  Asbury,  and  was 
admitted  during  the  November  term  of  1855.  He 
practiced  for  three  years  at  Bloomsburj',  N.  J.  In 
1862  he  was  licensed  as  a  counselor,  and  the  following 
year  appointed  by  Governor  Parker  prosecutor  of  the 
pleas  of  Hunterdon  County,  which  office  he  held  five 
years.  After  seven  years'  residence  at  Clinton  he 
removed  to  Flemington,  in  1865.  In  1868  he  was 
elected,  and  in  1872  re-elected,  to  Congress  by  the 
Democratic  party.  In  Congress  he  took  an  active 
part.  His  speeches  were  printed,  and  gave  evidence 
of  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  subjects  under  con- 
sideration. His  speech  on  the  civil  service,  in  1872, 
was  considered  by  the  opposition  as  the  ablest  that 
had  been  delivered  in  Congress  upon  that  question. 
At  the  close  of  his  second  term  he  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Flemington.  He  is  an  earnest  and 
working  Democrat,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  is  interested  in  Sabbath-school  work,  and  was 
for  one  term  president  of  the  County  Bible  Society. 
As  a  lawyer  he  is  engaged  upon  most  of  the  leading 
cases  coming  before  the  Hunterdon  County  courts. 
He  was  married  in  1854  to  Annie,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Hilton,  of  Bloomsbury,  Hunterdon  Co.  In  the  Demo- 
cratic conventions  of  1877  and  1880  he  was  a  promi- 
nent candidate  for  the  nomination  for  Governor.  He 
was  engaged  as  one  of  the  counsel  in  the  case  of  the 
Patenburg  rioters,  and  also  assisted  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  Brennan,  charged  with  the  murder  of  his  wife, 
at  High  Bridge,  both  being  cases  of  note  not  only  in 
this  county,  but  exciting  much  interest  throughout 
the  State. 

Jacob  Weart  was  born  June  8, 1829,  in  Hopewell 
township,  then  in  Hunterdon  County.  The  birth- 
place of  Mr.  Weart  was  adjacent  to  the  line  between 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset,  and  his  father  afterwards 
extended  his  farm  by  the  purchase  of  lands  in  Som- 
erset which  were  annexed  thereto.  He  resided  with 
his  father  until  the  spring  of  1848,  when  he  went  to 
Clinton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  to  study  law  with  Dr.  John 
Manners,  who  was  both  a  lawyer  and  a  physician. 


*  Biographical  Encyclopajdia  of  New  Jersey,  p.  149. 


In  1849  he  opened  an  office  at  New  Germantown  and 
commenced  practicing  in  the  justice's  court,  still  con- 
tinuing his  legal  studies.  In  the  latter  part  of  1850 
he  entered  the  office  of  the  late  Ezra  Darby,  of  Eliza- 
beth ;  he  also  studied  with  John  J.  Chetwood,  com- 
pleting his  legal  reading  with  Chief  Justice  Mercer 
Beasley,  of  Trenton,  in  1852,  when  he  removed  to  Jer- 
sey City,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

Mr.  Weart  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  and  solicitor 
June  term,  1852,  and  as  a  counselor-at-law  June 
term,  1855.  From  March,  1867,  until  April,  1871,  he 
was  internal  revenue  collector  for  the  Fifth  District 
of  New  Jersey;  during  his  incumbency  he  collected 
and  paid  into  the  Treasury  nearly  ten  million  dollars. 
He  conceived  the  idea  of  erecting  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  John  Hart,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  from  New  Jersey,  and  drew 
the  act  appropriating  the  money  by  the  State, — the 
first  appropriation  ever  made  by  tbe  State  of  New 
Jersey  to  commemorate  the  memory  of  any  of  her 
dead.  On  the  dedication  of  the  toonument,  at  Hope- 
well, July  4,  1865,  Mr.  Weart  made  the  opening  ad- 
dress, and  Governor  Joel  Parker  delivered  the  oration 
and  eulogy.f 

Both  as  a  lawyer  and  an  advocate,  as  a  writer  and 
an  orator,  Mr.  Weart  reflects  credit  not  only  upon 
the  county  of  his  nativity,  Hunterdon,  but  upon  the 
home  of  his  adoption,  Hudson  County. 

Edmund  Peeey  was  born  at  Basking  Ridge,  Som- 
erset Co.,  Oct.  4,  1825.  He  was  sixth  among  the  sons 
of  Samuel  Perry,  three  of  whom  were  members  of  the 
bar  of  New  Jersey  and  one  a  physician.  Edmund  at 
an  early  age  taught  school  for  a  time  at  Clarksville, 
in  this  county ;  he  afterwards  studied  law  at  Asbury 
with  Hon.  A.  G.  Richey,  now  of  Trenton,  and  further 
prosecuted  his  legal  studies  at  New  Brunswick.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  October,  1848,  and  began 
practice  at  New  Hampton,  from  whence  he  removed 
to  Flemington.  For  a  time  he  was  editor  and  pub- 
lisher of  the  Hunterdon  Democrat,  a  journal  estab- 
lished at  the  last-named  place.  In  1859  he  was 
elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  in  1861  chosen  by 
that  body  as  its  president,  which  honorable  station  he 
filled  with  dignity  and  in  a  manner  that  gained  him 
much  praise.  As  president  of  the  Senate  he  officially 
received  President  Lincoln  when  he  passed  through 
Trenton,  en  route  to  Washington,  previous  to  his  first 
inauguration.  Mr.  Perry  was  chairman  of  the  judi- 
ciary committee  for  two  years.  He  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  1866,  and 
served  five  years.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  his  acquaintance  was  ex- 
tensive throughout  the  State ;  during  many  years  he 
was  the  intimate  and  esteemed  friend  of  the  Stock- 
tons, Chancellor  Williamson,  and  others  of  the  old 
leaders  of  the  party. 

f  Mr.  Weart's  address  at  Hopewell  at  the  "  Centennial  Celebration," 
July  4,  1876,  was  published  in  various  newspapers  and  in  "Flowers' 
Family  Magazine,"  vol.  i.  p.  261. 


'''»''--a_^,r„,„j/  5«rto"«- 


cnt 


THE   BENCH  AND  BAR  OP   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


213 


Mr.  Perry  had  ever  a  warm  and  true  heart  for  his 
friends,  manifesting  an  untiring  devotion  to  their  in- 
terest and  an  earnest  zeal  for  their  preferment  or 
honor.  He  gave  much  attention  to  politicSj  was  a 
zealous  partisan,  and  was  considered  one  of  the 
shrewdest  politicians  of  this  section.  He  died,  after 
a  short  illness,  Nov.  2,  1878,*  and  left  a  widow  and 
three  children, — ^two  sons  (hoth  members  of  the  bar) 
and  a  daughter.  Samuel  E.  Perry  is  now  practicing 
law  in  Lambertville,  and  Belmont  Perry  is  prosecutor 
of  the  pleas  at  Woodbury,  N.  J.  For  many  years 
Mr.  Perry  was  more  or  less  prominently  connected 
with  public  affairs,  and  enjoyed  the  commanding  in- 
fluence of  a  leader.  July  15, 1848,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth A.,  daughter  of  John  T.  White  and  Charlotte  L. 
Woodbridge,  of  Hartford,  Conn. 

Edward  Payson  Conkling  was  born  in  Boonton, 
Morris  Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  10,  1847.  His  grandfather  on 
his  father's  side,  Thomas  Wheeler  Conkling,  was  for 
many  years  principal  of  one  of  the  public  schools  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  was  subsequently  a  mer- 
chant and  farmer  on  Long  Island,  where  he  died  at 
an  advanced  age.  His  father.  Rev.  Cornelius  S. 
Conkling,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
came  to  New  Jersey  as  a  clergyman,  settling  at  Boon- 
ton,  Morris  Co.,  where  he  preached  several  years ;  he 
afterwards  settled  in  West  Milford,  Passaic  Co.,  and 
after  preaching  there  a  few  years  removed  to  Mount 
Pleasant,  Hunterdon  Co.,  for  which  he  was  elected 
county  superintendent  of  public  schools  in  1872,  and 
held  the  office  seven  years,  when  he  removed  to  Stock- 
ton, N.  J.,  where  he  now  resides.  He  married  Cla- 
rissa C.  Mowbray,  and  had  three  children,  of  whom 
Edward  Payson  Conkling  is  the  only  survivor. 

The  subject  of  this  notice  received  the  rudiments 
of  his  education  at  the  common  schools  of  Mount 
Pleasant,  and  at  a  private  school  taught  in  that  vil- 
lage by  his  father.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at 
the  academy  in  Carversville,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  and  en- 
tered the  sophomore  class  at  Lafayette  College,  Eas- 
ton,  Pa.,  where  he  graduated  in  1869.  Subsequent  to 
graduation  he  taught  one  winter  in  the  Susquehanna 
Collegiate  Institute,  at  Towanda,  Pa.,  and  then  com- 
menced the  study  of  law  with  the  late  George  A. 
Allen,  of  Flemington.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1872,  and  for  two  years  practiced  in  partnership  at 
Flemington  with  Hon.  John  T.  Bird.  He  then 
opened  an  office  for  himself  in  Flemington,  where  he 
has  continued  in  practice  ever  since. 

Mr.  Conkling  is  a  Democrat  and  one  of  the  rising 
lawyers  of  his  county,  having  attained  a  good  prac- 
tice in  all  the  courts  of  the  State.  He  has  taken  some 
active  part  in  politics,  but  with  a  view  of  securing 
the  election  of  others  rather  than  office  for  himself. 
His  talents  and  energies  have  been  chiefly  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  his  profession. 

*  His  remainB  were  conveyed  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  by  a  special  triiin  gen- 
erously proTided  by  the  Central  Railroad  Cumpaoy,  and  there  interred  in 
the  old  family-plat  in  the  Eiver  View  Cemetery. 


Mr.  Conkling  married  Miss  N.  Jennie  Kee,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Kee,  of  Flemington,  in  1872,  and  has 
three  children,  all  sons. 

Augustus  E.  Sanderson,  of  Lebanon,  was  born 
in  Littletoii,  Mass.,  Feb.  15,  1832.  Educated  at  the 
Appleton  Seminary,  Mount  Vernon,  N.  H.,  in  1854 
he  removed  to  Lebanon,  N.  J.,  and  commenced  the 
study  of  law  with  M.  D.  Trefren.  He  was  licensed  as 
an  attorney  in  1858,  and  made  a  counselor  in  1863. 
Immediately  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  at  Lebanon.  For  several 
years  he  was  township  superintendent  of  schools ;  in 
1870  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  and 
again  in  1871.  During  both  sessions  he  served  on 
the  judiciary  committee.  He  also  introduced  the  first 
free  school  bill,  which,  as  supplemented  by  the  Kun- 
yon  bill,  is  at  present  the  existing  school  law  of  the 
State.  He  has  the  respect  of  his  fellow-townsmen  as 
well  as  of  the  members  of  the  legal  fraternity.  He 
was  married,  in  1856,  to  Mary  A.  Groeiidyke,  of 
Lebanon. 

Edward  R.  Bullock,  of  Flemington,  was  born  in 
Falls  township,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  Oct.  17,  1818;  hia 
parents  were  descended  from  English  Quakers.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  Edward  was  apprenticed  to  a 
marble-cutter  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  with  whom  he  stayed 
five  years,  and  afterwards  worked  at  the  same  busi- 
ness untn  1842,  when  he  went  to  Lafayette  College, 
Easton,  Pa.,  but  remained  only  one  year,  again  re- 
suming his  trade.  In  1847  he  came  to  Flemington, 
and  set  up  the  marble-cutting  business  on  his  own 
account.  At  the  age  of  thirty-five  (1853)  he  read  law 
with  A.  V.  Van  Fleet,  now  vice-chancellor ;  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1857,  and  licensed  as  a 
counselor  June,  1866.  In  1868  he  was  appointed 
prosecutor  of  pleas  for  Hunterdon  County,  and  held 
the  office  until  1871.  In  1870  he  was  made  United 
States  commissioner.  "  His  advancement  in  the  pro- 
fession, like  his  preparation  for  it,  has  been  gradual, 
but  thorough  and  sure.  The  qualities,  indeed,  that 
shaped  his  earlier  career,  so  checkered  and  eventful 
as  to  have  been  almost  romantic,  could  hardly  fail  to 
inspire  the  admiration  and  trust  of  his  fellow-citizens, 
and  in  the  long  run  to  assure  his  solid  triumph."  He 
was  married  in  1844  to  Janet  Pollock,  of  Easton,  Pa. 
His  eldest  son,  James  I.,  a  captain  in  the  Fifteenth 
New  Jersey  Volvmteers,  was  lost  with  the  steamer 
"  General  Lyon,"  and  his  only  surviving  son,  John 
A.,  is  a  member  of  the  Hunterdon  bar. 

Peter  Vredenburgh*  was  a  native  of  Hunter- 
don County,  being  born  at  Beadington  in  1805.  He 
was  the  son  of  Dr.  Peter  Vredenburgh,  of  Somerville ; 
graduated  at  Rutgers  in  1826 ;  studied  law ;  was  li- 
censed as  an  attorney  in  1829,  and  afterwards  prac- 
ticed and  resided  in  Monmouth  County.  He  was  a 
distinguished  lawyer,  and  had  high  official  honors 


f  His  BOD,  Maj.  Peter  Vredenburgh,  Jr.,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Winchebter,  Va. 


^2U 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


■conferred  upon  him,  one  of  whicli  was  the  position 
of  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which  he 
held  for  fourteen  years.     He  died  in  1873. 

Nathaniel  W.  Vooehees,  although  a  native  of 
Somerset  (born  at  Mine  Brook,  June  29,  1829),  has 
spent  the  latter  half  of  his  life  in  Hunterdon.  After 
his  graduation  from  Rutgers,  in  1847,  he  read  law 
with  the  Hon.  Eichard  S.  Field,  of  Princeton.  Ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1852,  four  years  later  he  removed 
to  Clinton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  where  he  served  for  sev- 
eral years  as  cashier  of  a  banking  company,  and  later 
accepted  the  cashiership  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Clinton,  which  position  he  still  retains.  In  1873, 
A  vacancy  occurring  on  the  bench  of  the  Common 
Pleas  Court,  he  was  appointed  judge,  and  filled  the 
position  so  acceptably  that  he  was  tendered  the  ap- 
pointment for  the  succeeding  and  full  term ;  this,  how- 
ever, he  declined, 'as  he  has  refused  other  proffered 
official  honors.  But  Mr.  Voorhees  was  named  in  1875 
as  a  candidate  for  secretary  of  the  State  Senate,  and 
by  that  body  was  elected.  He  was  re-elected  the  suc- 
•ceeding  year.  His  wife  is  Naomi,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Leigh,  of  Clinton ;  they  were  married  in  1854. 

John  C.  Raffeety,  son  of  William  Eafferty,  D.D., 
president  of  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  Md.,  a 
native  of  Ireland,  was  born  at  Woodbury,  N.  J.,  Dec. 
29,  1816.  He  was  graduated  from  Yale  College  in 
1835,  and  studied  law  with  A.  D.  Logan,  in  New 
York  City  ;  attended  the  Cambridge  law-school  in 
1837-38,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  New  York 
in  1838.  In  1841  he  married  a  daughter  of  O.  W. 
Ogden,  and  settled  in  New  Germantown,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  where  he  engaged  in  agriculture  and  milling.  In 
1853  he  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an  attorney  in 
New  Jersey.  In  1855  he  was  State  senator  for  Hun- 
terdon County,  in  1859  secretary  of  the  Senate,  and  in 
1860  re-elected  as  the  same.  In  1862  he  moved  to 
Flemington  and  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law,  be- 
ing licensed  as  a  counselor  in  1863.  The  same  year 
he  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  State  military 
agent  at  Washington  for  New  Jersey,  which  position 
he  filled  with  great  credit  until  March,  1866,  when  he 
returned  to  Flemington.  For  the  years  1867-69  he 
was  county  superintendent  of  public  schools.  In  1872 
he  was  again  elected  secretary  of  the  State  Senate. 
He  is  now  (1880)  practicing  his  profession  as  public 
prosecutor  (appointed  in  1877)  and  residing  at  Flem- 
ington. 

Alexander  H.  Holcombe  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
as  an  attorney  in  June,  1853,  as  a  counselor  in  1858. 
He  resides  at  Lambertville,  where  he  is  engaged  in 
practice. 

Martin  Wyckoff  was  born  in  Hunterdon  County, 
near  White  House,  in  1834.  He  studied  law  with 
Hon.  Alex.  Wurts,  of  Flemington,  where  he  resided 
until  admitted  to  the  bar,  in  1860.  He  served  with 
distinction  throughout  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, — first 
in  the  Third,  later  in  the  Thirty-first,  Regiment, — and 
afterwards  resumed  his  profession  at  Asbury,  N.  J. 


He  married,  in  1862,  a  daughter  of  Hugh  Capner,  of 
Flemington  ;  she  died  in  1876. 

OCTAVIUS  P.  Chambeelin,  born  in  Delaware  town- 
ship, Hunterdon  Co.,  in  1882,  was  graduated  at  the 
University  of  Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  1859,  and 
studied  law  with  George  A.  Allen  of  Flemington ;  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1864,  and  forthwith  began  a 
practice  which  has  steadily  grown  to  the  present 
time.  He  was  appointed  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for 
Hunterdon  County, — an  office  which  he  held  until 
1877.  He  is  a  forcible  and  persuasive  speaker,  a 
patient,  indefatigable,  and  faithful  attorney. 

William  W.  Miller,  the  gifted  young  lawyer, 
although  he  never  practiced  his  profession  in  Hunter- 
don County,  was  a  native  of  it.  He  was  graduated  at 
Princeton  before  he  was  sixteen,  then  read  law  with 
Theodore  Frelinghuysen  ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1818,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  He  resided, 
after  his  admission,  at  Morristown,  and  later  at  New- 
ark. His  career,  which  opened  most  brilliantly,  was 
prematurely  closed  by  his  death,  at  Paris,  France, 
July  24,  1825,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight  years. 
He  was  buried  at  "P6re  la  Chaise."  His  speech  in 
behalf  of  the  Greeks,  in  Trinity  church,  Newark,  in 
1824,  won  for  him  applause  which  rang  through  the 
whole  country,  and  is  still  spoken  of  as  a  masterpiece 
of  eloquence. 

Chester  Van  Syckel,  son  of  the  late  Aaron  Van 
Syckel,  was  born  in  Union  township,  this  county,  June 
6,  1838.  His  preparatory  education  was  received  at 
the  school  of  Rev.  John  Vanderveer,  Easton,  Pa.,  and 
in  1859  he  entered  Lafayette  College.  He  was  grad- 
uated A.M.  from  Princeton  College  in  1859.  He  at 
once  began  his  legal  studies  in  the  office  of  his 
brother,  Bennet,  and  at  the  November  term,  1862,  of 
the  Supreme  Court  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an 
attorney,  and  as  a  counselor  in  February,  1867.  For 
two  years  he  was  associated  in  business  with  his 
brother,  and  afterwards  was  a  member  of  the  suc- 
cessive law-firma  of  Bird,  Voorhees  &  Van  Syckel 
aud  Voorhees  &  Van  Syckel  until  1872,  since  when 
he  has  practiced  alone.  He  has  for  years  been  a  special 
Master  in  Chancery  and  a  Commissioner  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.     His'  standing  at  the  bar  is  high. 

Charles  A.  Skillman,  of  Lambertville,  was  born 
Dec.  16,  1827,  in  Hopewell,  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J.  His 
great-grandfather  was  an  early  settler  in  the  Millstone 
Valley,  now  Somerset  County.  Charles  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  Princeton  in  1847 ;  studied  law  with  William 
Halstead,  of  Trenton ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
November,  1851,  and  the  next  year  removed  to  Lam- 
bertville, which  place  has  since  been  his  residence. 
In  1858  he  was  appointed  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for 
Hunterdon  County, — a  position  he  held  for  four  years. 
"  He  enjoys  a  high  reputation  not  only  as  a  lawyer 
and  an  officer,  but  as  a  man  and  a  citizen." 

John  F.  Dumont,  born  near  New  Germantown, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  Nov.  11,  1824,  was  of  Huguenot  ex- 
traction, his  ancestors  leaving  France  shortly  after 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAE  OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


215 


the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  and  settling  in  Som- 
erset County  about  1710.    His  grandfather  William, 
and  his  maternal  grandfather,  John    Finley,  both 
figured  prominently  in  the  Revolutionary  army.     In 
1845,  John  F.  entered  the  law-ofBce  of  S.  B.  Eansom, 
of  Somerville,  with  whom  he  remained  until  admitted 
to  the  bar,  in  January,  1849.    He  practiced  at  New 
Germantown  until  1852,  when,  having  been  licensed 
as  counselor  and  appointed  prosecutor  of  the  pleas 
for  Hunterdon  County,  he  removed  to  Flemington. 
In  1856  he  moved  to  Phillipsburg,  Warren  Co.,  where 
he  still  resides  and  practices  his  profession.    He  mar- 
ried, in  1853,  Annie  E.,  daughter  of  Rev.  David  Kline. 
Theodore  J.  Hoitman,  of  Clinton,  was  born  in 
Clinton  township,  of  this  county.     He  was  a  graduate 
of  Rutgers  and  a  student  of  S.  B.  Ransom,  of  Somer- 
ville (now  of  Jersey  City).    He  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  1854,  and  was  located  at  Asbury,  N.  J.,  until 
1860,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Eighth 
New  Jersey  Regiment ;  after  the  close  of  the  war  he 
resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Clinton,  his  native 
place,  where  he  has. since  remained.     "Mr.  Hoflfman 
has  been  engaged  in  a  number  of  notable  suits  in  the 
New  Jersey  courts,  that,  perhaps,  which  gained  him 
greatest  credit  being  the  celebrated  case  of  John  F. 
ytiger  vs.  The  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,"  in 
-which  he  was  the  attorney  of  record.     He  married 
(1855)   Amanda,  daughter   of  the  late   Aaron  Van 
■Syckel. 

Chaeles  Baetles  was  for  many  years  connected 
-with-  the  bar  in  active  practice  in  Flemington.  In 
1822  he  entered  the  law-office  of  Nathaniel  Sax- 
ton,  at  Flemington,  and  in  1824  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  opened  an  office  in  Flemington,  and  there 
practiced  law  for  twenty  years.  During  that  time, 
and  particularly  in  later  years,  he  was  interested  in 
real-estate  operations,  railroad  matters,  etc.  (For  a 
further  notice  of  this  gentleman  see  history  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Flemington,  in  this  work.) 

Stephen  B.  Ransom,  born  at  Salem,  Conn.,  Oct. 
12,  1814,  in  the  years  of  his  early  manhood  engaged 
in  school-teaching,  officiating  at  New  Germantown 
and  elsewhere.  He  studied  law  under  Phineas  B. 
Kennedy,  oif  Belvidere,  and  William  Thompson,  of 
Somerville,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  September, 
.  1844.  For  three  years  he  practiced  law  at  New  Ger- 
mantown. He  afterwards  removed  to  Somerville,  and 
-subsequently  to  Jersey  City,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Maria  C, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Apgar,  a  merchant  of  Hunterdon 
County,  who  went  to  California  and  died  there  in 
1849.  Mr.  Ransom  was  the  candidate  for  Governor 
on  the  Prohibition  ticket  in  1880. 

John  A.  Bullock  was  born  at  Easton,  Pa.,  March 
6,  1847,  and  removed  to  Flemington  with  his  parents 
in  April  of  the  same  year ;  he  commenced  to  learn 
the  trade  of  printer,  and  pursued  it  for  nearly  four 
years ;  afterwards  read  law  with  his  father,  Edward 
R.  Bullock ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1869,  and  has 


since  practiced  his  profession;  in  1872  married  Eliza 
A.,  daughter  of  David  Van  Fleet,  of  Flemington.  He 
is  a  promising  and  rising  young  lawyer. 

John  L.  Connet  was  born  in  Bedminster  town- 
ship, Somerset  Co.,  Oct.  10,  1848;  entered  Rutgers 
College  in  September,  1867,  but  withdrew,  after  a  two 
years'  course,  to  commence  the  occupation  of  teach- 
ing, and  subsequently  received  the  degree  of  A.B. ; 
in  July,  1869,  he  began  studying  law  with  R.  S.  Kuhl, 
of  Flemington ;  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1873, 
and  has  earned  a  reputation  for  sound  judgment  and 
legal  knowledge ;  married,  in  1879,  Rosalie,  daughter 
of  Hervey  C.  Finch,  of  Flemington.  He  is  a  very 
earnest  and  painstaking  lawyer,  and  faithful  in  an 
eminent  degree  to  the  interests  of  his  clients. 

Lambeet  H.  Seegeant,  son  of  Gershom  C.  Ser- 
geant, was  born  near  Flemington,  N.  J.,  in  1841.  The 
family  is  of  German  lineage.  Until  his  eighteenth 
year  Lambert  assisted  his  father  upon  the  farm  and 
attended  the  neighboring  schools,  finishing  with  a  two 
years'  course  at  the  Flemington  High  School.  He 
spent  four  years  in  legal  study  under  the  preceptpr- 
ship  of  Bennett  Van  Syckel,  and  then  entered  the 
Law  Department  of  the  University  of  Albany,  from 
which  he  returned  a  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  May,  1868. 
He  then  returned  to  the  office  of  Judge  Van  Syckel, 
and  remained  with  him  until  the  November  term  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
The  next  month  he  located  in  Lambert-ville  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law.  In  1873  he  was  appointed 
city  solicitor,  and  again  in  1876.  In  1874  and  1875  he 
was  elected  mayor,  and,  for  the  third  time,  in  1876. 
May  6,  1874,  he  married  Sadie,  daughter  of  William 
Scarborough,  of  New  Hope,  Pa. 

Among  other  noted  lawyers  and  jurists  who,  al- 
though never  practicing  their  profession  in  this  county, 
were  natives  of  it,  or  here  received  their  legal  train- 
ing, may  be  mentioned  Judge  James  Buchanan, 
Augustus  G.  Richey,  Henry  D.  Maxwell,  Woodbury 
D.  Holt,  of  Trenton,  etc. 

Judge  James  Buchanan,  a  distinguished  member  of 
the  Trenton  bar,  is  not  only  a  native  of  Hunterdon 
County,  but  here  received  his  early  education,  here 
began  the  study  of  the  law,  and  here  passed  all  his 
years  nearly  to  the  time  of  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
in  1864.  And,  although  Mercer  County  has  the 
benefit  of  his  talents  and  his  record,  it  is  again  to 
Hunterdon  he  looks  when  choosing  a  helpmate  for 
life.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and  Clinton  / 
Academy,  read  law  with  Hon.  J.  T.  Bird,  of  Flem- 
ington, and  in  1873  married  Mary  I.  Bullock,  of  the 
same  place. 

Hon.  Augustus  G.  Richey,  another  member  of 
the  Trenton  bar,  was  prepared  for  his  profession  in 
Hunterdon  County,  in  the  office  of  Col.  James  N, 
Reading,  Flemington,  and  in  1844'  selected  his  wife 
from  among  Hunterdon's  fair  daughters,— Annie  G., 
eldest  daughter  of  Hon.  Isaac  G.  Farley. 


216 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  HUNTBRBON  COUNTY  BAR. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  bar  of  this  county, 
showing  the  names  of  all  attorneys  admitted  since  the 
year  1820,  with  dates  of  their  admission  to  practice. 
An  examination  of  the  Supreme  Court  records  will 
show  that  all  the  lawyers  admitted  prior  to  1820,  for 
Hunterdon,  are  deceased,  and  that  the  Hon.  Alex- 
ander Wurts,  of  Flemington,  was,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  the  oldest  living  member  of  the  bar  of  this 
county.  This  list,  with  the  exception  of  those  marked 
as  deceased,  removed,  and  out  of  practice,  comprises 
the  present  bar  of  Hunterdon  County : 

1820. — Alexander  Wurts.* 

1821.— William  H.  Sloau.* 

1824.— Charles  Bartles.f 

1829.— Peter  Vredenburgh,  Jr.J 

1832. — James  N.  Reading.! 

1836.— William  F.  Olemson.t 

1837.— John  C.  Elmendorf.f 

1843.— John  H.  Wakefield.* 

1844. — George  A.  Allen,*  Stephen  B.  RanBom.l 

1848.— Edmund  Perry.* 

1849.— John  F.  DumontJ 

1850.— Sylvester  G.  Hill. 

1861.— Bennet  Van  SyckelJ  Charles  A.  Skillman. 

1862.— Abram  V.  Van  Fleet,  Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees.} 

1863. — John  C.  Rafferty,  Alexander  H.  Holcombe. 

1854.— Theodore  J.  Hoffman. 

1865.— John  T.  Bird. 

1857. — J.  Newton  Voorhees,  Edward  B.  Bullock. 

1858. — Augustus  E.  Sanderson. 

1859.— Martin  Wyokoff.J: 

1862.— Chester  Van  Syckel. 

1863.— John  Belmont  Perry  .J 

1864.— Octavius  P.  Ohamberlin,  Theodore  Abbott,  Richard  S.  Kuhl. 

1868. — Lambert  H.  Sergeant,  Martin  L.  Trimmer.  | 

1869.— John  A.  Bullock,  James  L.  Van  Syckel.J 

1870.— John  H.  Nunu. 

1871.— Edward  P.  Conkling. 

1872.— H.  Burdett  Herr,  John  Lilly. 

1873. — John  L.  Connett,  George  W.  Dunham. 

1874.— Edward  B.  Reeder. 

1876.— William  D.  Allen,  Henry  A.  Fluck,  George  H.  Large. 

1876. — Asa  Jones,  H.  G.  Chamberlin. 

1877.— Albert  B.  Kline,  James  A.  Kline,  Wilmer  F.  Herr,  Samuel  E. 

Perry,  Wm.  Bellis,  Jr. 
1878.— J.  W.  Creveling. 
1879.— Paul  A.  Queen,  George  F.  Hanson,  Henry  C.  Suydam,  Willard  C. 

Parker,  John  C.  Pyatt,!  Oliver  I.  Blackwell,  C.  H.  Skillman. 
1880.— A.  0.  Hulsizer,  Walter  F.Hayhurst,  William  E.  Purcell,  Benjamin 

W.  Ellicott,  Lawrence  S.  Mott. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


THE  MEDICAL  PBOFESSIOIT  OF  HTJlSTTEKDOIir 
COUBTTY. 

Medicine  and  Doctors  in  the  Early  Days— The  District  Medical  Society 
of  Hunterdon  County— Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Physicians  of  the 
County,  both  dead  and  living — History  of  Homoeopathy  in  Hunterdon, 
etc. 

Dr.  John  Blane,  in  his  "Medical  History  of 
Hunterdon  County,"  referring  to  the  practice  of  the 
early  days,  says,-— 


*  Deceased. 


t  Not  now  practicing. 


J  Removed. 


"  Every  neighborhood  appears  to  have  had  some  one  who  could  bleed 
and  extract  teeth  ;  some  (generally  German)  could  cup.  OccasiouHlly  a 
'  handy  man'  could  straighten  a  crooked  bone  if  it  was  broken,  get  great 
credit  for  doing  so,  and  was  called  a  doctor.  Female  accoucheurs  were 
plentiful,  particularly  among  the  German  and  English  part  of  the  popu- 
lation. 

"  In  nearly  all  cases  the  remedies  were  the  growth  of  the  soil,  but  very 
little '  apothecary  medicine*  being  used,  and  that  of  the  most  simple  kind. 
Lingering  cases  among  the  wealthy  received  attention  from  a  great  dis- 
tance,— Burlington,  Bucks  County,  and  Philadelphia.    Easton  was  little 
known,  Somerville  had  not  come  into  existence.    lu  looking  over'  the 
county  map  and  gathering  all  the  information  tangible  on  the  subject,  I 
find  the  following-named  places  have  been  locations  and  centres  for  the 
profession  {they  are  arranged  according  to  the  date  of  the  first  physician 
locating) :  Pittstown,  1748  ;  South  Branch  and  Three  Bridges,  1750;  Beth- 
lehem and  upper  part  of  Kingwood,g  1760;   New  Germantown,  1766 
Flemington,  1765;  Quakertown,  1760;  Ringos,  1771;  Hamden,  1783 
Readington,  1784;  Milford,  1700;  Oakdale,  or  Barber  Station,^  1790 
Prallsville.g  1791;  Reaville,1791 ;  New  Hampton,  1800 ;  Bloomsbury,  1800 
White  House,  1800  ;  Lambertville,  1802;.Milltown,g  1807;  CUnton,  1810 
Boar's  Head,g  1812 ;  Clarksville,  1812 ;  Spring  Mills.J  1816 ;  Frenchtown, 
1820;  Everittstown,  1821;  Mount  Pleasant,?  1827;  Barbertown,g  1828 
Lebanonville,  1831;  I'en^ville,  1831;  Clover  Hill,  1836;  Kocktown,J 
1838;  Sergeantsville,  1840;  Little  York,  1840;  Bosemont,  1841;  Stanton, 
1841;  Woodsville,  1846;  California,  1861  ;  Centreville,  1851 ;  Fairmount, 
formei  ly  Fox  Hlll.g  1863 ;  Annandale,  1866  ;  Wert6Ville,g  1866 ;  Meclian- 
icsville,  1860;  Baptisttown,  1860;  Mountainville,  1861;  Stockton,  1866; 
Junction,  1866;  Cokesburg.  1868;   High  Bridge,  1809;   and  New  Mar- 
ket§  at  what  date  I  cannot  ascertain." 

"THE    DISTRICT    MEDICAL    SOCIETY    FOR    THE 
COUNTY    OE   HUNTERDON" 

was  organized  June  12,  1821,  at  Flemington,  by  per- 
mit and  authority  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  The 
members  at  organization  were  Drs.  Nicholas  Belle- 
ville, ||  John  McKelway,||  James  T.  Clark,  ||  Joseph 
Phillips,  II  William  Johnson,  ||  Henry  B.  Poole,  ||  Wil- 
liam P.  Clark,  II  John  Bowne,||  William  Geary,  ||  Henry 
S.  Harris,  John  A.  Hendry,  ||  Heniy  H.  Schenck,|| 
Edmund  Porter,  ||  John  Sloan,  ||  John  Lilly,  ||  0.  W> 
Ogden,||  William  Barnet,||  Isaac  Ogden,||  and  Henry 
Holcombe.  II 

The  following  is  a  list  of  those  who  have  since 
joined  the  society,  with  the  date  of  their  admission: 

1823.- 
1824.- 
1826.- 
1826.- 
1827.- 
1828,- 
1836.- 


1846.- 
1847.- 

1848.- 
1849.- 
1860.- 
1861.- 

1852.- 
1863.- 
1854.- 

1866.- 
1866.- 
1857.- 
1859.- 


-May  6,  (John  B.  Price ;  October  28,  John  F.  Schenck. 

-May  4,  Ulsrael  L,  Coriell,  ||W.  A.  A.  Hunt. 

-May  3,  ||G.  W.  Case. 

-May  2,  ]|David  P.  Hunt. 

-May  1,  IJJohn  Houeyman. 

-April  29,  pierrill  W.  Williams.lf 

-May  3,  John  Blane,  ||Jacob  E.  Hedges,  ||WilIiam  Duryea,  ILewis 

R.  Needham,  ||Henry  Field,  ||Joseph  A.  Landis;  Joseph  Welling.lf 

|]John  Manners,  [Cicero  Hunt,  George  P.  Rex. 
-July  14,  IIHenry  Southard,  Benjamin  Davidson.^f 
-May  3,    ||Josiah    Quimby,    ||Samuel  Lilly,    ||John    H.  Phillips,. 

Thomas  E.  Hunt ;  October  26,  ||  William  R.  Hand. 
-October  24,  Henry  Race. 

-May  1,  Albert  S.  Clark  ;f  November  16,  HJames  Pyatt. 
-October  22,  Justice  Lessey.T[ 
-May  6,  ||Jacob  R.  Ludlow,  ||Abm.  T.  B.  Van  Doren;  October  28, 

William  S.  Creveling. 
-May  4,  [|Williard  P.  Combs,  [Henry  Smith. 
-May  3,  HCharles  Bartolette,  fA.  J.  McKelway,  ||  James  Riley. 
-May  9,  [A.  H.  Koon;  October  26,  Isaac  S.  Creamer,  Simeon  T. 

Dana.  I 
-May  8,  [John  Leavett,  ||J.  Alfred  Gray,  Henry  Wagoner.f 
-May  3,  D.  W.  C.  Hough.f 
-October  20,  Matthias  Abel. 
-May  10,  John  Grandin,  N.  B.  Boileau. 


§  Have  ceased  to  be  locations  for  physicians. 

II  Deceased.  ^  Removed  from  county. 


THE   MEDICAL  PKOFESSION   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


217 


I860. — May  8,  George  H.  Xjarison,  *Henry  B.  Nightingale,  *Alexander 

Barclay. 
1861.— October  29,  John  Linaberry. 
1862.— May  13,  Moses  D.  Knight,  •Thomas  M.  Bartolette,  Beriah  A. 

Watson  it  October  28,  'William  Eice.f 
1864.— May  10,  C.  W.  Larison;  October  25,  *James  H.  Studdiford. 
1865.— May  9,  Irenus  B.  Glen  ;t  October  24,  fLevi  Tarrow,  George  R. 

Sullivan. 
1866.— October  23,  George  T.  Bibble,  Asher  Biley,  *John  K.  Todd. 
1867.— May  14,  B.  B.  Matthews  ;t  October  22,  Theodore  H.  Studdiford, 

Obadiah  H.  Sproul,  *Charles  R.  Cowdric. 
1868.— May  12,  George  B.  Tonng.t 
1869.— April  16,  John  Q.  Bird  jt  October  19,  Jeremiah  0.  Hoff,  Charles 

Thompson,!  *Bichard  Ludlow,  Nathan  Caae.-f 
1870.— April  19,  Austin  W.  Annitage;t  October  18,  A.  S.  Pittinger. 
1871.— October  17,  *Charle8  M.  Lee,  William  Knight. 
1873.— April  1.5,  William  H.  Schenck,  Albert  Shannon. 
1875.— April  27,  G.  W.  Bartow. 
1876.— October  17,  G.  M.  Best,  A.  M.  K.  Beading. 
1879.— April  24,  E.  K.  Deemy,  John  L.  Cooper ;  October  21,  A.  0.  Smith, 

William  B.  Little. 
1880.— October  19,  J.  H.  Ewing. 

The  first  officers  were  Nicholas  Belleville,  Presi- 
dent'; William  Johnson,  Vice-President ;  Hervey  B. 
Poole,  Secretary  ;  John  Bowne,  Treasurer.  The  first 
board  of  censors  was  composed  of  Drs.  John  McKel- 
way,  John  Lilly,  William  P.  Clark,  and  Henry  B. 
Poole,  who  received  their  first  application  in  the  per- 
son of  John  B.  Price,  Oct.  22,  1822  (a  student  of  Dr. 
Johnson's),  for  examination,  which  was  satisfactory, 
and  a  certificate  granted  accordingly ;  he  afterwards 
became  a  member  of  the  society. 

From  1828  to  1835  the  society  was  inoperative,  but 
was  resuscitated  in  the  last-named  year.  After  one  or 
two  meetings  it  "  went  to  sleep,"  and  remained  in  a 
somnolent  state  until  1846,  when  a  new  charter  was 
granted.  May  12th,  by  the  State  society  to  Drs.  John 
F.  Schenck,  John  Lilly,  John  Blane,  Henry  South- 
ard, and  Benjamin  Davidson,  all  of  whom  (except 
Dr.  Davidson,  and  he  by  John  Bowne)  met  at  Flem- 
ington,  July  14, 1846,  and  again  organized  by  electing 
John  Bowne  president,  John  Lilly  vice-president, 
John  F.  Schenck  treasurer,  and  Henry  Southard  sec- 
retary. Since  that  time  the  society  has  gone  on  in  a 
progressive  manner. 

The  successive  presidents  have  been : 

1821,  Nicholas  Belleville ;  1822,  John  Bowne  ;  1823,  Isaac  Ogden ;  1824, 
William  Johnson;  1825,  John  Lilly;  1826,  John  McKelway;  1827, 
Israel  Coriell ;  1828,  John  Honeyman ;  1836,  WilUam  Johnson ;  1846, 
John  Bowne;  1847,  John  Lilly;  1848,  John  Blane;  1849,  William 
Johnson;  1860,  W.  A.  A.  Hnnt;  1851,  Albert  S.  Clark  ;  1862,  Samuel 
Lilly ;  1853,  Thomas  E.  Hunt ;  1864,  Justus  Lessey ;  1855,  John  Blane ; 
1856,  A.  S.  Clark ;  1857,  William  Johnson;  1869,  John  F.  Schenck; 
1860,  John  Leavett;  1861,  William  S.  Creveling;  1862,  H.  B.  Night- 
ingale ;  1863,  Matthias  Abel ;  1864,  Isaac  S.  Cramer ;  1866,  J.  A.  Gray ; 
1866,  N.  B.  Boileau  ;  1867,  J.  H.  Studdiford  ;  1868, 1.  R.  Glen ;  1869, 
Samuel  Lilly ;  1870,  C.  W.  Larisou ;  1871,  Matthias  Abel ;  1872,  Wil- 
liam S.  Creveling;  1873,  M.  D.  Knight ;  1874,  A.  S. Pittinger ;  1876, 
T.  H.  Studdiford ;  1876,  George  E.  Sullivan ;  1877,  N.  B.  Boileau ;  1878, 
George  H.  Larison ,  1879,  William  H.  Schenck ;  1880,  Albert  Shannon. 

The  secretaries  of  the  society  have  been  : 

1821-26,  Henry  B.  Poole;  1826-36,  John  P.  Schenck;  1836,  L.  R.  Need- 
ham;  1846,  Henry  Southard;  1847-51,  Samuel  Lilly;  1861,  J.  E. 
Ludlow;  1852-65,  Willard  F.  Combs;  1865-69,  Alfred  Gray;  1859-63, 
L  S.  Cramer;  1863,  H.  B.  Nightingale;  1864-71,  G.  H.  Larison;  1871 
-80,  0.  H.  Sproul. 

t  Removed  from  county. 


The  treasurers  of  the  society  have  been  : 

1821,  John  Bowne;  1822-23,  W.  P.  Clark;  1824-28,  Henry  Holcombe; 
1836-45,  John  Lilly;  1846-49,  John  F.  Schenck;  1850-54,  George  P. 
Rex;  1866-68,  John  P.  Schenck  ;  1859-80,  John  Blane. 

The  board  of  censors  have  been : 

1821,  John  Bowne,  John  Lilly,  H.  B.  Poole,  H.  S.  Harris;  1822,  John 
McKelway,  John  Lilly,  William  P.  Clark,  H.  B.  Poole ;  1823,  John 
McKelway,  John  Lilly,  H.  B.  Poole,  William  Johnson ;  1824,  John 
Bowne,  J.  McKelway,  H.  B.  Poole,  John  Lilly ;  1826,  John  Bowne, 
H.  B.  Poole,  John  A.  Hendry,  H.  Holcombe  ;  1826,  John  McKelway, 
H.  B.  Poole,  William  Johnson,  John  Bowne,  John  Lilly ;  1827-28, 
J.  Bowne,  J.  Lilly,  William  Johnson,  J.  F.  Schenck,  Israel  L.  Coriell ; 
1847,  J.  Lilly,  William  Johnson,  John  Blane,  Henry  Southard;  1848, 
J.  Lilly,  William  Johnson,  J.  F.  Schenck,  G.  P.  Eex ;  1849,  J.  Lilly, 
J.  Blane,  J.  F.  Schenck,  G.  P.  Eex ;  1860,  J.  Lilly,  J.  Blane,  A.  S. 
Clark,  G.  P.  Rex ;  1851-52,  William  Johnson,  J.  Blane,  S.  Lilly,  G. 
P.  Rex ;  1863,  J.  Blane,  A.  S.  Clarke,  S.  Lilly,  6.  P.  Eex,  William 
Johnson ;  1854,  William  Johnson,  Charles  Bartolette,  W.  S.  Crevel- 
ing, John  Blane ;  1855,  A.  S.  Clark,  I.  S.  Cramer,  W.  S.  Creveling, 
John  Blane ;  1866,  J.  A.  Gray,  William  Johnson,  A.  H.  Koon,  John 
Blane ;  1867,  J.  A.  Gray,  William  Johnson,  S.  Lilly,  John  Blane ;  1858, 
J.  A.  Gray,  William  Johnson,  J.  F.  Schenck,  John  Blane;  1859,  J.  A. 
Gray,  William  Johnson,  I.  S.  Cramer,  W.  S.  Creveling  ;  1860,  J.  Blane, 
.John  Leavett,  I.  S.  Cramer,  J.  F.  Schenck ;  1861,  J.  Blane,  William 
Johnson,  W.  S.  CreveUng,  J.  F.  Schenck ;  1862,  H.  B.  Nightingale,  N. 
B.  Boileau,  J.  Blane,  M.  Abel ;  1863,  G.  H.  Larison,  I.  S.  Cramer,  W. 
S.  Creveling,  John  S.  Linaberry ;  1864-66,t  N.  B.  Boileau,  M.  Abel, 
William  Johnson,  J.  Blane. 

Among  the  papers  which  have  been  read  before  this 
organization,  receiving  the  approbation  of  the  society, 
— several  of  which  were  published, — we  name  that  by 
Dr.  Clark,  1821,  entitled  "A  Cursory  Analysis  of  the 
Theory  of  Health,  Predisposition,  and  Disease ;"  Dr. 
Johnson,  1822,  "An  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Cure 
of  Erysipelas;"  Dr.  John  Sloan,  1822,  "Intermittent 
Fever ;"  Dr.  J.  Bowne,  1823,  "  Observations  on  Cy- 
nanche  Trachealis;"  Dr.  J.  Lilly,  1826,  "Desultory 
Eemarks  on  Vaccination ;"  Dr.  J.  Blane,  1850,  on 
"Allowing  Graduates  to  Practice  without  License;" 
Dr.  G.  P.  Eex,  1851,  "Enteric  Fever;"  Dr.  S.  Lilly, 
1851,  "Epidemic  Cholera;"  Dr.  Creveling,  1853, 
"  Phthisis  Pulmonalis ;"  Dr.  McKelway,  1854,  "  Psoas 
Abscess ;"  Dr.  Johnson,  1856,  "  Erysipelas"  (contir.- 
ued  since  1822) ;  Dr.  G.  H.  Larison,  1864,  "  Small- 
pox;'' Dr.  Glen,  "Surgery"  (ordered  printed);  Dr. 
Blane,  1865,  "History  of  Medical  Men  and  Medi- 
cine in  Upper  Towns  of  Hunterdon  County ;"  Dr.  T. 
H.  Studdiford,  1869,  "  Prolapsus  Uteri ;"  Dr.  O.  H. 
Sproul,  1869,  "Scarlet  Fever;"  Dr.  N.  Case,  1870, 
"  Cholera  Infantum ;"  Dr.  M.  Abel,  1871,  "  Report  on 
Practice  of  Medicine ;"  Dr.  Boileau,  1871,  "  Report 
on  Obstetrics"  (ordered  printed) ;  the  paper  by  Dr. 
Armitage,  1871,  on  "  Phthisis ;"  and  many  others. 

Of  the  members  of  the  society  the  following  served 
as  surgeons  during  the  late  civil  war :  Dr.  B.  A.  Wat- 
son, in  Fourth  Infantry,  Nov.  25,  1864,  to  July  9, 
1865  (as  assistant  surgeon  from  March  26,  1863) ;  Dr. 
G.  R.  Sullivan,  in  Thirty-ninth  Infantry,  as  assistant 
surgeon  from  July  11, 1862,  and  as  surgeon  from  Sept. 
28,  1864,  to  June  17,  1865;  Dr.  A.  Barclay,  Jr.,  in 
Thirtieth  Infantry,  as  assistant  surgeon,  from  Sept.  15, 
1862,  to  March  5,  1863 ;  and  Dr.  J.  R.  Todd,  in  Sec- 

X  The  society  has  had  no  censors  since  1865. 


16 


218 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ond  Cavalry  as  assistant  surgeon,  from  April  15,  1864, 
to  Nov.  1,  1865.  Dr.  T.  H.  Studdifcrd  was  in  the 
medieal  department  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  during  the  war. 
Honorary  Members.— T\ye,  roll  contains  the  following 
names:  Isaac  Ogden,*  elected  May  11,  1826;  J.  R. 
Ludlow,*  elected  Oct.  28,  1851 ;  William  Johnson,* 
elected  May  8,  1866 ;  John  F.  Schenck,  John  Blane, 
elected  May  12,  1868;  John  McKelway,*  Henry  S. 
Harris,  elected  April  18,  1871. 

The  meetings  have  always,  with  two  exceptions, 
been  held  at  Flemington,  generally  alternating  be- 
tween the  county-house  and  the  Union  Hotel.  In 
1862  the  society  met  at  Perryville,  at  the  oflBce  of  Dr. 
John  Blane,  and  in  1864  at  the  office  of  Dr.  G.  H. 
Larison,  in  Lambertville. 

Up  to  1872  ninety-four  members  had  been  admitted 
into  the  society.  Of  this  number  twenty -six  had  been 
lost  by  death,  four  had  been  expelled,  twenty-four 
had  removed  from  the  county  or  been  honorably  dis- 
charged, two  by  cutting  of  the  county,  and  seven 
dropped  for  delinquency  ;  leaving,  at  that  date,  thirty- 
one  members  in  good  standing.  The  loss  in  member- 
ship since  that  time  has  somewhat  exceeded  the  gain 
by  admission  of  new  members ;  so  that  at  the  present 
time  (1880)  the  membership  numbers  twenty-four,  as 
follows :  A.  Shannon,  Stanton,  President ;  George  N. 
Best,  Stockton,  First  Vice-President ;  A.  C.  Smith, 
Bloomsbury,  Second  Vice-President ;  O.  H.  Sproul, 
Stockton,  Secretary ;  John  Blane,  Perryville,  Treas- 
urer ;  C.  W.  Larison,  Ringos,  Reporter  ;  W.  R.  Little, 
Bloomsbury ;  M.  Abel,  Quakertown ;  N.  B.  Boileau, 
Perryville ;  Isaac  S.  Cramer,  Sergeantsville ;  W.  H. 
Schenck,  Flemington ;  W.  S.  Creveling,  Bethlehem ; 
T.  H.  Studdiford,  G.  H.  Larison,  Lambertville ;  John 
S.  Linabury,  Mountainville ;  M.  D.  Knight,  Little 
York ;  George  R.  Sullivan,  Flemington ;  George  T. 
Ribble,  Milford;  J.  0.  Hoff",  Bloomsbury;  A.  S.  Pit- 
tinger,  Glen  Gardiner ;  William  Knight,  Clinton ;  G. 
W.  Bartow,  Three  Bridges  ;  M.  K.  Reading,  Baptist- 
town  ;  John  H.  Ewing,  Flemington. 

Of  the  members  of  this  society,  three  have  become 
fellows  of  the  State  Medical  Society  by  virtue  of  hold- 
ing the  officeof  president  of  the  latter  organization, — • 
viz.,  Samuel  Lilly*  in  1858,  John  Blane  in  1861,  and 
G.  H.  Larison  in  1874. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  first  physicians 
who  settled  at  the  several  points  named,  with  the 
dates  of  their  commencement  of  practice :  John  Rook- 
hill,  at  Pittstown,  in  1748;  George  A.  Vescelius, 
South  Branch  and  Three  Bridges,  1749;  Rev.  John 
Hanna,  Bethlehem,  1760 ;  Oliver  Barnet,  New  German- 
town,  1765 ;  George  Creed,  Flemington,  1765 ;  Aaron 
Forman,  Quakertown,  1766 ;  Gershom  Craven,  Ringos, 
1771 ;  John  F.  Grandin,  Hamden,  1783  ;  Jacob  Jen- 
nings, Readington,  1784;  William  McGill,  Milford, 

1790;  Clark,  Oakdale,  1790,  or  earlier;   John 

Bowne,   Prallsville,  1791  ;    William  Prall,  Reaville, 


1791  I    Holmes,   New   Hampton,   about   1800; 

Isaac  Ogden,  White  House,  1800 ;  Richard  Kroesen, 
•Lambertville,  1802 ;  Benjamin  V.  C.  Hunt,  Clinton, 
1810;  James  Pyatt,  Boar's  Head,  1812.;  Jonathan 
Axford,  Clarksville,  1812  ;  John  McGloughen,  Spring 
Mills,  1815;  Edmund  Porter,  Frenchtown,  1820; 
Henry  Holcombe,  Everittstown,  1821 ;  Henry  S.  Har- 
ris, Mount  Pleasant,  1827 ;  William  R.  Hand,  Bar- 
bertown,  1828;  Henry  Field,  Lebanonville,  1831; 
John  Blane,  Perryville,  1831 ;  George  P.  Rex,  Clo- 
ver Hill,  1834;  Dunn,  Rocktown,  1838;  Rich- 
ard Mershon,  Sergeantsville,  1840 ;  Thomas  T.  Mann, 
Little  York,  1840 ;  John  Barcroft,  Rosemont,  1841 ; 
Henry  A.  Kirkpatrick,  Stanton,  1841;  Frederick 
Gaston,  Woodsville,  1846  ;  Jacob  K.  Stryker,  Califor- 
nia, 1849;  Joseph  Stevenson,  Centreville,  1851; 
George  T.  Heston,  Fairmount,  1853;  Robert  Fen- 
wick,  Annandale,  1855 ;  Louis  Blackwell,  Wertsville, 

1855 ;   Hoffman,  Mechanicsville,    1860  ;  John 

Leavitt,  Baptisttown,  1860  ;  John  S.  Linaberry, 
Mountainville,  1861 ;  O.  H.  Sproul,  Stockton,  1866 ; 
Robert  Fenwick,  Junction,  1866 ;  William  C.  Al- 
paugh,  Cokesburg,  1868;  William  Hackett,  High 
Bridge,  1869. 

Personal  sketches  of  many  of  the  more  prominent 
medical  men  of  Hunterdon  County  are  here  given. 

John  Rockhill. — Dr.  Blane,  in  his  "  Medical 
History  of  Hunterdon  County,"  says  of  Dr.  Rockhill 
that  he  was  the  first  regular  physician  in  the  county 
of  whom  there  is  any  reliable  record.  He  was  a  son 
of  Edward  Rockhill,  of  Burlington  Co.,  N.  J. ;  born 
March  22,  1726 ;  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Thomas 
Cadwallader,  of  Philadelphia.  At  the  commencement 
of  his  medical  life,  in  1748,  he  migrated  to  Pittstown, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  and  there  was  physician  to  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends.  He  died  there  April  7,  1798,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Friends'  burying-ground  at  Quaker- 
town.  He  married  (1)  a  Miss  Robeson,  whose  brother 
married  the  doctor's  sister,  the  grandmother  of  ex- 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  Robeson.  In  addition  to 
Blane's  record,  from  which  the  above  is  derived,  we 
add  that  he  married  (2)  Elizabeth  Potts,  widow  of 
Thomas  Potts,  who  was  (1772)  sheriff'  of  Sussex 
County  and  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  of 
1776.  The  doctor  had  no  issue  by  his  second  mar- 
riage. Her  children  by  a  former  marriage  intermar- 
ried with  his  by  a  former  wife,  and  for  several  gener- 
ations the  Potts  and  Rockhill  families  have  been 
closely  intermarried.     Mrs.  Rockhill,  who  survived 

her  husband  some  years,  was   a  daughter   of  ■ 

Lukens,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  sister  to  the  well-known 
John  Lukens,  surveyor-general  of  that  State  prior  to 
the  Revolution.  Dr.  Rockhill  was  in  some  manner 
related  to  the  old  Jersey  family  of  Lambert  (Thomas 
Lambert,  who  came  in  the  "  Shield,"  1678).  In  some 
family  papers  he  speaks  of  "  Cousin  Achsah"  (Lam- 
bert). He  was  therefore  probably  related  to  his  pre- 
ceptor. Dr.  Cadwallader,  who  married  into  the  family 
of  Lambert.     He  entered  into  some  speculations  in 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF  HUNTEEDON   COUNTY. 


219 


land  with  the  latter,  Dr.  Eockhill  doing  the  suryey- 
ing;  the  papers  are  dated  1754-55,  and  show  that 
Cadwallader  was  at  that  date  in  Trenton.  From  the 
"  New  Jersey  Biographical  Encyclopsedia"  we  extract 
the  following  reminiscences : 

"  The  range  of  country  over  which  his  functions  were  exercised  was 
enonnoua,  being  limited  only  by  the  Blue  Mountains  on  the  north  and 
the  Delaware  on  the  west,  and  extending  on  the  south  and  east  fairly 
into  the  territory  covered  by  the  physicians  of  Burlington,  Baritan,  and 
New  Brunswick.  Owing  to  the  troublous  state  of  the  times,  his  practice 
was  largely  surgical,  one  of  his  notable  cases  being  a  most  dangerous 
gunshot  wound  that  be  treated  with  remarkable  skill  and  success. 
During  a  foray  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  living  to  the  north  of  the 
mountains  the  house  of  a  settler  named  Wedges  was  attacked,  plundered, 
and  burned ;  and,  while  the  family  were  escaping  to  the  woods,  one  of 
the  children,  a  girl  of  twelve,  was  shot  directly  through  the  lungs.  She 
fell,  as  was  supposed,  dead;  but  when  her  people  returned  the  next 
morning  she  was  found  in  the  brush,  very  much  exhausted,  but  yet  alive. 
Dr.  BocKhill  was  sent  for, — the  distance  to  Pittstown  was  nearly  forty 
miles,  and  the  roads  little  more  than  blazed  tracks  through  the  woods, — 
and  by  his  exertions  saved  her  life.  She  entirely  recovered,  and  subse- 
quently married  a  son  of  Edward  Marshall — the  Edward  Marshall  who 
took' the  famous  'longwalk'  along  the  Delaware — and  reared  a  fatoily  of 
twelve  children." 

Frederick  A.  Potts  lives  on  a  part  of  the  old  Rock- 
hill  property. 

George  Akdkew  Viesselius. — This  old-time 
physician,  familiarly  known  as  the  "  Red-Cheeked 
Doctor,"*  was  born  and  educated  in  Holland  or  Ger- 
many, and  emigrated  to  America  not  later  than  1749. 
He  lived  on  the  "  Old  York  Road,"  half  a  mile  from 
Three  Bridges,  in  Amwell  township.  He  was  an  en- 
ergetic and  successfal  practitioner,  and  in  his  prac- 
tice traversed  a  large  district  of  country.  He  died 
in  1767.  His  remains  were  interred  on  his  own  land 
with  no  monument  to  mark  the  spot. 

His  wife  was  Miss  Psyche  Gardiner,  of  Three 
Bridges.  They  had  five  children, — Hendrick,  An- 
drus,  Theodoras,  Margaret,  Ida.  The  farm  remained 
in  the  family  until  Henry  and  Catharine,  his  wife, 
sold  it.  May  1,  1797,  to  Gabriel  Carkhoff,  who  took 
the  old  stone  building  down  and  built  the  house  now 
occupied  by  his  son-in-law,  Barrillia  Robbins. 

When  Dr.  Viesselius  died  medical  advice  was  so 
scarce  that  his  widow  was  frequently  called  on,  and 
she,  with  the  assistance  of  a  bound  boy  (Jacob  Tidd), 
often  prepared  washes,  salves,  plasters,  etc.  Jacob 
afterwards  set  up  business  for  himself.f 

John  Manners,  who  was  a  physician  as  well  as  a 
lawyer,!  was  born  in  Hunterdon  County  in  1786. 
He  was  the  son  of  John  and  Rachel  Manners.  After 
a  full  course  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey  he  entered 
the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, from  which  he  received  his  degree  of  M.D. 
in  1812.  Soon  after,  he  was  licensed  to  practice  in 
New  Jersey.    He  located  at  Flemington,  but  subse- 


*  So  called  on  account  of  one  of  his  cheeks  being  very  red,  probably  a 
congenital  aflfection. — BUtne, 

t  The  reader  is  referred  to  Dr.  Blane's  "  Medical  History  of  Hunterdon 
County"  (p.  80)  for  an  amusing  anecdote  involving  Drs.  Viesselius  and 
Bamet. 

XSee  sketch  with  "Bench  and  Bar  of  Hunterdon  CJouoty,"  in  this 

work. 


quently  removed  to  a  handsome  country-seat  near 
Clinton,  this  county,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
"  Belvoir."  Having  married  (in  1810)  a  daughter  of 
Dr.  Thomas  Cooper,  of  South  Carolina,  he  was 
brought  into  intimate  relations  with  many  eminent 
Southerners,  which  developed  in  him  an  admiration 
for  Southern  character  and  customs,  and  led  him  to 
make  Belvoir,  as  near  as  he  could,  the  model  of  a 
Southern  homestead.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
County  Medical  Society  in  1836.  His  latter  years 
were  devoted  more  to  law  than  to  physic.  He  died 
June  24, 1853,  and  by  his  will  he  prescribed  his  place 
of  burial^  and  his  epitaph,  which  is  as  follows  : 

"  Erected  to  the  memory  of  Hon.  John  Manners,  Esq.,  A.M.,  M.D.,  and 
Counsellor-at-Law  of  the  Supreme  Court,  United  States  of  America.  The 
Friend  and  Medical  Pupil  of  Benjamin  Rush,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Philadelphia. 
The  Friend,  the  Pupil,  and  the  Son-in-Law  of  Thomas  Cooper,  M.D., 
LL.D.,  etc.,  of  South  Carolina ;  and  the  Friend  and  Correspondent  of 
Thomas  Jefferaon,  LL.D,,  of  Virginia,  formerly  President  of  the  United 
States."! 

John  Bowne  studied  medicine  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Dr.  Moses  Scott,  of  New  Brunswick,  and  Prof. 
William  Shipman,  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  licensed 
in  1791,  and  commenced  at  once  to  practice  in  Pralls- 
ville.  Four  years  later  (1795)  he  removed  to  Bingos, 
where  he  followed  his  profession  for  over  sixty  years, 
and  at  the  same  time  successfully  managed  his  farm. 
"  He  was  born  Sept.  2,  1767,  upon  a  farm  which  was 
in  June  28,  1778,  the  battle-field  of  Monmouth,"  the 
scenes  of  which  battle  were  indelibly  stamped  upon 
his  memory,  and  during  which  his  father  and  family 
sought  refuge  in  the  woods  and  two  days  later  re- 
turned to  a  desolated  home. 

"He  was,"  says  Dr.  Stephen  Wickes,1[  "intelli- 
gently conservative  in  the  adoption  of  new  modes  of 
practice.  He  was  a  man  of  cheer,  fond  of  anecdote, 
quick  in  reply,  and  possessed  of  a  temperament  which 
rendered  labor  light.  Business  and  duty  were  not 
hardships  to  him.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Mount  Airy,  and  for  more  than  fifty 
years  one  of  its  raling  elders.  In  the  eventful  times 
in  which  he  lived  he  was  warmly  attached  to  the  in- 
stitutions and  liberties  of  his  country,  and  was  ready 
on  all  suitable  occasions  to  give  expression  to  his 
opinions,  and  to  sustain  these  with  argument  spiced 
with  the  wit  and  humor  for  which  he  was  noted.  He 
never  descended  to  the  vulgar,  nor  in  any  way  brought 
reproach  upon  the  Christian  name  which  he  so  uni- 
formly illustrated,  and  to  which  so  early  in  life  he 
connected  himself" 

He  became  quite  wealthy.  He  died  Nov.-  4, 1857, 
on  the  farm  at  Barber's  Station  on  which  he  had 
lived  for  nearly  sixty-two  years,**  and  now  the  resi- 
dence of  his  only  son,  Hon.  Joseph  G.  Bowne.  He 
was  a  prominent  member  of  the  State  Medical  So- 
ciety, which  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree 

g  Trenton,  N.  J. 

I  Biographical  Encyclopsadia  of  New  Jersey ,':pp. '463,  464. 
iy  History  of  New  Jersey  Medicine,  Wickes,  p.  163-64. 
**  Medical  and  Bttrgiml  Reporter,  November,  1859. 


220 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


of  M.D.  He  was  also  one  of  the  founders,  an  active 
member,  and  for  years  an  officer,  of  the  Hunterdon 
County  Medical  Society.  He  was  elected  a  member 
in  1818  of  the  Cliosophic  Society  of  Nassau  Hall, 
Princeton.*  His  remains  were  interred  in  the  Barber 
burial-ground,  on  the  road  from  Headquarters  to 
Lambertville,  where  a  beautiful  engraved  obelisk  of 
Italian  marble  marks  his  grave,  on  the  shaft  of  which 
is: 
On  the  right-hand  side : 

"  John  Bowne,  M.D., 

Bom 

September  2d,  1767. 

Licensed 

August  3d,  1791. 

Died 

NoTember  4th,  1857. 

Fifty  yeai-s  a 

Kuliog  Elder  iu  the 

2d  Presbyterian  Church,  Amwell." 

On  the  left-hand  side: 

"  Ann  Coole, 

wife  of 

John  Bowne,  M.D., 

Born 

March  6th,  1770. 

Died 

Febraary  18th,  1866." 

"  Dr.  Bowne  was  a  most  remarkable  man.  Although 
of  small  stature,  he  was  blessed  with  a  very  robust 
constitution,  was  a  man  of  the  most  indomitable  en- 
ergy. His  practice  in  his  palmiest  days  extended 
over  an  area  of  more  than  twenty  miles  long  by  six 
miles  wide,  at  a  time  when  public  roads  were  few  and 
far  between,  his  labors  being  performed  principally 
on  horseback.  He  might  at  all  times  and  seasons  of 
the  year,  in  fair  weather  or  foul,  be  seen  emerging 
from  his  gate  at  the  earliest  dawn  on  his  daily  visits 
to  his  patients.  As  a  physician  he  was  bold,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  sound  and  judicious  practitioner. 
He  possessed  the  regard  and  esteem  of  all  his  profes- 
sional brethren  in  a  most  unbounded  degree."! 

Oliver  Baenet,  born  in  1743,  was  a  brother  of 
Dr.  William  Barnet,  of  Elizabethtown,  who  was  not 
only  distinguished  as  a  physician,  but  was  a  promi- 
nent Whig  and  patriot  during  the  Revolution.  The 
home  of  Oliver  was  in  New  Germantown,  Hunterdon 
Co.  He  was  wealthy,  endowed  with  civil  offices,  and, 
like  his  brother,  an  earnest  Eevolutionary  patriot  and 
successful  physician.  He  was  surgeon  of  the  Fourth 
Eegiment,  his  commission  dating' Feb.  14, 1776.  J  He 
was  one  of  the  associate  justices  at  the  trial  in  West- 
field  of  the  murderer  of  Eev.  James  Caldwell,  of 
Elizabethtown. 

Dr.  Barnet's  name  is  still  remembered  in  the  place 
of  his  residence  in  connection  with  many  anecdotes 
illustrative  of  his  peculiar  character.  One  is  related 
by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Messier,  of  SomervUle.     Dr.  Barnet 


«  Biographical  Bncyclopa-dia  of  New  Jersey,  p.  475. 
+  Dr.  Blane's  Med.  Hist.  Hunterdon  County,  p.  26. 
X  Stryker's  Register. 


had  a  colored  man,  Cuffy,  who  drove  his  coach  and 
was  a  favorite.  After  building  a  vault  for  himself  on 
a  sightly  knoll,  he  told  Cuffy  that  when  he  died  he 
might  be  put  in  it  with  himself  and  Mrs.  Barnet;  but 
Cuffy  stammered,  '  N-n-no,  doctor,  I  guess  not." — 
"Why  not,  Cuffy?"  — Well,  doctor,"  said  Cuffy, 
"  there  will  be  a  resurrection;  and  if  the  devil  comes 
for  you,  he  might  make  a  mistake  and  take  me.  No, 
I  don't  want  to  be  put  there."  The  old  doctor  laughed 
and  changed  the  subject.  Dr.  Barnet  died  in  1809, 
aged  sixty-six.  His  remains  rest  in  the  vault  alluded 
to,  erected  on  his  estate.^ 

Isaac  Ogden,  born  near  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  in 
1764  was  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1784.  Upon  enter- 
ing his  profession  he  settled  at  Six-Mile  Eun,  near  his 
native  town.  He  there  married  a  daughter  of  Elder 
Peter  Stoothoff".  It  was  said  that  he  rocked  the  cradle 
of  his  wife  when  an  infant,  while  as  a  student  he 
boarded  in  her  father's  family.  ||  The  only  child  by 
this  marriage  became  in  early  life  the  wife  of  Eev. 
Isaac  N.  Wyckoff,  D.D.,  then  of  Somerset  County, 
now  of  Albany,  N.  Y.     She  died  in  1827. 

Dr.  Ogden  left  his  first  place  of  residence,  and  after 
being  a  short  time  at  White  House  removed  to  New 
Germantown.  He  there  succeeded  to  the  practice  of 
Dr.  Oliver  Barnet,  his  brother-in-law,  about  1809,  and 
during  the  next  few  years  practiced  extensively  and 
successfully.  He  had  considerable  celebrity  as  an  ob- 
stetrician. He  was  an  earnest  student  of  astronomy, 
and  for  several  years  he  published  an  almanac,  in 
which  were  weather  "prognostications"  in  rhyme, 
which  at  the  time  had  an  extensive  circulation,  and 
of  which,  preserved  as  curiosities,  copies  are  still  to 
be  found  in  out-of-the-way  country-houses  and  in  the 
hands  of  book-collectors.1[  He  became  a  member  of 
the  State  society  in  1788,  and  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon  County 
in  1821.  He  was  president  of  the  latter  in  1823  and 
in  1826,  when  he  removed  from  the  county  (to  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.),  was  elected  the  first  honorary 
member.  During  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  aban- 
doned the  practice  of  medicine  almost  entirely,  and 
acted  as  postmaster.  He  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy, 
and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the  First  Reformed 
Church  of  New  Brunswick.  His  memorial  stone  has 
the  following  inscription : 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Isaac  Ogden,  who  departed  this  life  on 
the  6th  of  May,  1829,  in  the  68tb  year  of  llis  age.  A  kind  husband,  an 
affectionate  father,  an  humble  Christian."** 

Abraham  Bertron,  or  Beetrand,  was  a  practi- 
tioner living  on  the  south  branch  of  the  Raritan 
Elver,  not  far  from  Readington.  Tradition  locates 
him  there  about  the  year  1784.  He  lived  in  a  small 
house  on  the  hill,  near  Levi  Mettler's  present  resi- 
dence.    In  1786  he  kept  the  tavern  at  North  Branch, 

§  Wickes'  Hist.  Med.  in  New  Jersey  to  1800,  pp.  136, 137. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  351. 

H  N.  J.  Biog.  Bncy.,  p.  436. 

**  MSS.  Notes  of  Hev.  Dr.  Messier,  et  cMis. 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION  OF   HUNTERDON    COUNTY. 


221 


Jacob  Egbert,  born  near  Flemington,  Dec.  25, 
1771,  was  brought  up  there  with  his  father,  and  en- 
tered the  Methodist  ministry  at  about  the  age  of 
twenty-one  or  twenty-two,  continuing  as  an  itinerant 
preacher  for  several  years.  He  removed  to  Port  Eliz- 
abeth, Cumberland  Co.,  N.  J.,  married,  commenced 
the  study  of  medicine,  and  was  licensed  in  1805.  He 
died  at  Pemberton,  N.  J.,  in  the  autumn  of  1831. 

Lewis  R.  Needham  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Jep- 
thah  B.  Munn,  and  later  with  Dr.  John  Blane ;  at- 
tended medical  lectures,  and  in  1835  received  his 
doctor's  degree.  After  being  examined  and  licensed 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  Dr.  Blane,  which 
association  continued  until  his  death.  He  was  a  phy- 
sician of  marked  ability,  and  consequently  highly 
successful.  He  was  possessed  of  genial  manners  and 
a  kindly  disposition.  His  wife  was  Susan  F.  Sayre, 
of  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.  He  was  born  at  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  in  1806,  and  died  at  Perryville,  N.  J.,  Nov. 
12,  1841. 

Henky  H.  ScheNck,  Jr.,  oldest  son  of  Dr.  Henry 
and  Ellen  (Hardenberg)  Schenck,  of  Millstone,  Som- 
erset Co.,  N.  J.,  was  born  in  New  York  State  in  1782 
(February).  He  subsequently  removed,  with  his 
father,  to  Neshanic,  N.  J.  He  married  Jane  Herder ; 
began  the  study  of  medicine,  but  soon  after  became  a 
soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  After  the  war  he  practiced 
medicine  vigorously  and  successfully,  both  at  Quaker- 
town  and  at  Eeadington,  settling  at  the  latter  place 
about  1810,  and  being  in  practice  there  until  his  death, 
Dec.  20, 1823.  His  remains  rest  in  the  churchyard  at 
Eeadington.  He  left  a  widow  and  several  children, 
but  none  of  them  in  the  profession.  His  name  is  the 
twelfth  on  the  roll  of  members  of  the  medical  society 
of  this  county.  In  Eeadington  he  resided  first  in  the 
old  parsonage  building,  about  two  miles  from  the 
church,  on  the  road  leading  from  Eeadington  to 
White  House,  later  in  the  old  brick  Ten  Eyck  house, 
on  the  Old  York  Eoad,  east  of  the  church,  and  closed 
his  life  in  a  house  a  few  hundred  yards  farther  east, 
subsequently  occupied  by  Mr.  Titus.* 

John  Honeyman  was  born  near  New  German- 
town,  Hunterdon  Co.,  Feb.  22,  1798.  He  was  the 
eldest  son  of  James  Honeyman  and  Mary  Miller,  and 
a  grandson  of  John  Honeyman,  who  figured  in  the 
French  and  Indian  war  under  Wolfe,  and  during  the 
Eevolution  as  "  the  spy  of  Washington."  While  in 
his  "  teens"  the  subject  of  this  notice  taught  the  New 
Germantown  Academy,  and  afterwards  attended  Mid- 
dlebury  College,  Vermont.  He  studied  medicine  with 
Dr.  William  Johnson,  of  White  House,  attended  lec- 
tures in  1822-23  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  commenced  practice  in  his  native  village  in  1824. 
After  a  professional  career  of  fifty  years,  he  died  Jan. 
2,  1874.  He  held  numerous  offices  in  the  medical  so- 
ciety and  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  he  was  a 
ruling  elder  for  twenty  years.    He  had  a  large  prac- 

*  Dr.  Blane. 


tice,  was  esteemed  far  and  wide,  and  by  economy 
accumulated  a  competence.  His  character  was  so 
extremely  exemplary  that  it  is  said  of  him  that  he 
never  prevaricated,  never  told  an  untruth,  never  ut- 
tered a  harsh  word,  never  made  an  enemy.  His  death 
created  avoid  in  the  medical  profession  which  will  long 
be  felt,  for  he  had  the  love  and  respect  of  the  frater- 
nity. At  about  thirty  years  of  age  he  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  S.  Nevius,  daughter  of  Judge  Peter  S.  Ne- 
vius,  of  Pleasant  Plains,  Somerset  Co.  They  had  one 
daughter,  who  married  Judge  H.  D.  Maxwell,  of 
Easton,  Pa.,  and  three  sons, — viz.,  John  C,  who  be- 
came a  physician ;  Peter  N.,  a  merchant ;  and  A.  V. 
D.,  an  attorney,  editor,  and  publisher  in  Somerville. 
The  children  are  all  living, — John  and  Peter  in  New 
Germantown,  their  native  place.  For  further  details 
of  his  life  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  "  Family  Me- 
morial," published  in  1874. 

John  Forman  Geandin  was  born  May  28,  1792 ; 
studied  medicine  under  Dr.  Newell,  of  Allentown,  N. 
J. ;  practiced  his  profession  all  his  life  at  Hamden, 
where  he  died  in  1811.  His  grandson,  John  Forman 
Grandin,  M.D.,  studied  medicine  under  Hon.  John 
Manners,  M.D.,  at  Clinton ;  received  his  degree  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1852,  and  has  since 
practiced  his  profession  in  Clinton  Township,  N.  J. 
For  further  sketch  of  Dr.  Grandin  see  biographical 
department  of  Clinton  township. 

George  P.  Eex,  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
Sept.  2,  1818,  was  educated  in  the  classical  schools  of 
that  city  ;  studied  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  George 
McClellan,  and  was  graduated  at  Jefferson  Medical 
College  in  1834;  settled  at  Clover  Hill,  N.  J.,  that 
year,  and  practiced  medicine  ;  was  married  in  1836  to 
Gertrude  V.,  daughter  of  Jacob  Williamson,  Esq., 
and  in  1837  moved  to  Eeaville,  his  present  residence. 
In  1856  he  removed  to  Perry,  Pike  Co.,  111.,  and  soon 
after  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Education,  and  assisted  in  building  the  State  Normal 
University,  at  Bloomington,  111.,  as  a  member  of  the 
building  committee.  In  1861  he  entered  the  military 
service  as  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-third  (Normal)  Illi- 
nois Infantry  Eegiment,  and  served  through  the  war 
as  division  surgeon  and  medical  director ;  was  mus- 
tered out  in  December,  1865.  He  was  largely  engaged 
in  cotton-planting  near  Selma,  Ala.,  in  1866-67,  and 
was  made  post-surgeon  of  the  United  States  army  at 
Selma,  Ala.,  in  September,  1867.  In  1868  he  was 
elected  high  sheriff  of  Dallas  Co.,  Ala.,  and  in  1869 
was  appointed  by  President  Grant  United  States  as- 
sessor of  internal  revenue  for  the  Second  District  of 
that  State,  embracing  twenty-six  counties.  He  re- 
mained in  this  position  until  1871,  when,  his  health 
failing  him,  he  returned  to  Eeaville,  N.  J.,  where  he 
has  since  resided  and  practiced  his  profession,  being 
one  of  the  three  oldest  physicians  in  Hunterdon 
County.  He  became  a  member  of  the  County  District 
Medical  Society,  May  3, 1836,  was  its  treasurer  in  1850, 
and  one  of  the  board  of  censors  from  1848  to  1853. 


222 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


John  Feelinghtjysen  Schenck,  a  native  of  Ne- 
shanic,  Somerset  Co.  (born  June  6,  1799),  is  of  Dutch 
descent,  his  ancestors  having  come  from  Holland  and 
settled  in  the  Millstone  valley.  His  father,  Dr. 
Henry  H.  Sohenck,  was  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the 
Eevolutionary  army.  His  maternal  grandfather  was 
Eev.  Jacob  R.  Hardenberg,  first  president  of  Queen's 
(now  Rutgers)  College.  He  commenced  reading 
medicine'  with  his  brother.  Dr.  Jacob  R.  Schenck, 
and  continued  his  studies  with  Dr.  Henry  Vander- 
veer;  attended  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, New  York,  and  was  licensed  to  practice  in 
1820.  He  established  himself  first  at  North  Branch, 
but  soon  removed  to  Readington ;  his  stay  there  was 
also  brief,  as  he  settled  in  Flemington  in  1822,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  There,  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
In  1870  he  retired  from  regular  practice,  and  since 
then  his  professional  labors  have  been  confined  to  an 
occasional  consultation  with  his  son.  Dr.  W.  H. 
Schenck.  When  he  first  established  himself  in  Flem- 
ington there  was  but  one  other  physician  in  the 
place,  and  for  a  long  time  only  the  two.  Possessing 
high  natural  qualifications,  a  thorough  professional 
training,  a  zealous  enthusiasm,  and  an  unflagging 
energy,  he  speedily  built  up  a  very  large  practice,  ex- 
tending over  a  wide  reach  of  country  surrounding 
Flemington.  Since  1820  he  has  been  connected  with 
both  the  Somerset  and  the  Hunterdon  County  Medi- 
cal Societies ;  has  been  president,  and  is  now  an 
honorary  member,  of  the  latter  association.  In  1820 
he  married  a  sister  of  Dr.  Van  Deursen,  of  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J. ;  she  died  in  1848,  and  in  1850 
he  married  Miss  Annie  M.  Churchill,  of  Portland, 
Conn.,  who  died  in  1865.  His  son.  Dr.  William  H. 
Schenck,  is  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  the 
county.  Another  son,  J.  Rutsen  Schenck,  was  long 
connected  with  journalism  in  Hunterdon  and  Somer- 
set Counties,  and  died  April  1,  1879. 

Samuel  S.  Claek,  now  of  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  is  a 
native  of  Hunterdon  County  (having  been  born  in 
Flemington,  Nov.  8,  1845),  although  he  never  prac- 
ticed medicine  here.  After  i-eceiving  his  degree  of 
M.D.,  in  1848,  he  located  at  Belvidere,  where  he  has 
since  resided. 

Joseph  F.  Shepaed  was  born  March  30,  1819,  in 
Raritan  (then  Amwell)  township,  Hunterdon  Co.; 
son  of  the  late  Joseph  Shepard,  farmer.  He  studied 
medicine  with  the  venerable  Dr.  Schenck,  of  Flem- 
ington, with  whom  he  remained  iive  years,  also  at- 
tending the  University  of  New  York,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1853.  He  practiced  a  short  time  in 
Hightstown,  after  which  he  removed  to  Phillipsburg, 
Warren  Co.,  where  he  settled  permanently. 

Heney  Holcombb,  a  native  of  Hunterdon  County, 
was  born  Aug.  5,  1797.  From  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  he  was  graduated  in  1818 ;  with  Dr.  George 
Holcombe,  his  cousin,  he  read  medicine,  and  subse- 
quently (1821)  received  his  degree  of  M.D.  from  the 


University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  first  settled  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Rowland's  Mills,  in  Read- 
ington township,  but  in  1822  removed  to  Everitts- 
town,  Alexandria  township,  where  for  the  ensuing 
thirty-seven  years  he  was  engaged  as  a  physician  and 
s'lrgeon.  His  practice  increased  rapidly,  and  soon 
extended  over  almost  the  entire  county  and  across 
the  river  into  Pennsylvania.  One  of  the  founders 
(1821)  of  the  County  Medical  Society,  he  was  for  sev- 
eral years  its  treasurer,  and  in  1825  a  member  of  the 
board  of  censors  ;  also  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Philadelphia  Medical  Society.  He  was  interested  in 
agricultural  matters,  and  owned  a  large  farm,  which  he 
managed  successfully.  He  died  April  7,  1859.  His 
wife  was  Catherine,  daughter  of  Samuel  Case,  and  his 
only  child  subsequently  married  Baltus  Pickel,  Esq., 
of  Trenton. 

Heney  B.  Poole,  born  at  Enfield,  England,  April 
24,  1791,  came  to  America  in  1801 ;  studied  with  Dr. 
Augustus  R.  Taylor,  of  Middlesex,  N.  J. ;  was  li- 
censed in  1818,  and  at  once  began  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Flemington.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
•of  the  County  Medical  Society,  and  its  first  secretary ; 
afterwards  (1826)  its  vice-president,  and  a  member  of 
the  board  of  censors.  He  was  also  a  member  and 
officer  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  In  1827-28  he 
practiced  in  New  York,  then  moved  to  South  River, 
Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  practiced  until  1855, 
when  he  was  disabled  by  paralysis.  He  died  Dec.  2, 
1861,  in  his  seventy-first  year. 

James  H.  Studdifoed  was  born  in  Lambertville, 
N.  J.,  September  12,  1832.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev. 
Dr.  P.  0.  Studdiford,  of  the  same  place.*  He  was 
graduated  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey  with  high 
honors  in  1852.  He  at  once  entered  the  oflice  of  Dr. 
Josiah  Simpson,  his  uncle,  and  began  the  study  of 
medicine.  To  this  instruction  he  added  three  courses 
of  medical  lectures,  1852-54,  and  in  the  spring  of  the 
latter  year  received  the  degree  of  M.D.  In  1856  he 
was  licensed  to  practice,  and  located  as  a  physician  at 
Quakertown,  this  county,  as  successor  to  Dr.  A.  J. 
Clark ;  in  1857  he  settled  in  Lambertville,  where  he 
died  in  1870, — March  23d.  He  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  County  Medical  Society,  and  an  elder 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

John  Wall  was  born  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  in  1787 ; 
received  his  professional  education  under  Dr.  John 
Wilson,  of  Solebury,  Pa.,  Dr.  Wall's  native  town. 
"  About  1807  he  succeeded  Dr.  McKissack  at  Pitts- 
town,  Hunterdon  Co. ;  acquired  a  considerable  prac- 
tice, and  became  in  that  locality  extremely  popular. 
.  .  .  His  charges  for  professional  services  were  very 
small,  and  he  rarely  took  the  trouble  to  collect  even 
these.  If  the  recovered  patient  left  a  jug  of  apple- 
brandy at  the  doctor's  door,  it  was  considered  in  the 
light  of  full  payment  of  a  long  bill ;  and  while,  in 


*  See  sketch  of  this  veDerable  clergyman  with  history  of  Lambei-t- 
ville,  in  this  work. 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION  OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


223 


the  end,  his  too  free  use  of  his  liquid  fees  tended  to 
throw  his  practice  into  other  and  steadier  hands,  it 
is  none  the  less  true  that  his  professional  ability  was 
quite  exceptional.  He  was  very  fond  of  out-door 
sports, — hunting,  fishing,  and  riding, — and  in  such 
passed  much  of  his  time.  A  marked  characteristic  of 
the  man  was  his  use  of  the  words  '  that  is,'  and  '  that 
is  to  say,'  on  most  all  occasions.  He  never  married. 
He  died  Sept.  12,  1826,"*  aged  thirty-nine  years, 
seven  months,  and  twenty-two  days. 

William  P.  Clark,  son  of  Eev.  Joseph  Clark, 
and  brother  of  Col.  Peter  I.  Clark,  of  Flemington, 
was  bom  in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. ;  was  graduated 
in  1819,  subsequently  studied  medicine,  was  licensed, 
and  practiced  in  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.  He  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Clinton,  this  county,  and  in  1821  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  County  Medical  Society.  His 
essay,  "  A  Cursory  Analysis  of  the  Theory  of  Health, 
Predisposition,  and  Disease,"  read  at  the  first  semi- 
annual meeting  of  the  society,  Oct.  23,  1821,  was  the 
only  paper  read  at  that  meeting,  and  the  first  read 
before  that  society.  In  1836-37  he  was  third  vice- 
president  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Medical  Society. 
He  removed  to  Belvidere,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  in  1825, 
and  was  there  engaged  in  active  practice  until  his 
death,  Sept.  4,  1857.    He  never  married. 

William  Johnson,  son  of  Thos.  P.  and  Mary 
(Stockton)  Johnson,  was  born  at  Princeton,  N.  J., 
Feb.  18,  1789.  He  read  medicine  with  Dr.  John  Van 
Cleve  of  that  place,  and  received  his  degree  of  M.D. 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1811.  The 
same  year  he  was  licensed,  and  commenced  practice 
at  White  House.  For  more  than  fifty  years  he  was 
one  of  the  leading  practitioners  of  the  county,  and 
among  his  office  students  were  a  number  of  subse- 
quently eminent  physicians.  He  died  Jan.  13,  1867, 
at  White  House,  where  he  was  buried.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  County  Medical  Society,  and  a 
member  (and  vice-president  in  1823)  of  the  State 
Medical  Society.  He  had  two  sons,  who  became 
physicians, — ^Thomas  and  John  V.  C.  He  was  for 
more  than  fifty  years  a  member,  and  most  of  the  time 
ruling  elder,  in  the  Reformed  Church  (Rockaway) 
at  White  House. 

Edmund  Pobtee,  late  of  Frenchtown,  N.  J.,  was 
born  in  Connecticut  (1791) ;  received  his  medical 
education  in  New  England,  and  shortly  after  being 
licensed  settled  in  Easton,  Pa.,  from  whence  he  pere- 
grinated to  Union  Co.,  Pa.,  to  the  West  Indies,  and 
finally  back  to  the  United  States,  locating  at  French- 
town,  this  county,  where  he  remained  until  his  death, 
July  12,  1826.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Hunterdon  County  Medical  Society,  and  one  of  its 
first  delegates  to  the  State  Medical  Society.  He  was 
twice  a  candidate  for  the  State  Assembly,  and  the  last 
time  was  elected.  He  was  a  successful  and  popular 
physician,  methodical  to  an  extreme,  but  possessed  of 

*  Biog.  Ency,  of  New  Jersey,  pp.  460,  461. 


a  cheerful,  sanguine  temperament.  He  was  for  the 
times  a  voluminous  writer  upon  medical,  political, 
and  miscellaneous  topics,  contributing  largely  to  the 
periodical  press  of  the  day.  He  cherished  a  desire  to 
write  for  posterity,  and  to  this  end  deposited  in  the 
cellar-wall  of  a  house  built  for  his  use  in  Frenchtown, 
in  1823,  a  curious  document  which  a  party  of  investi- 
gating antiquarians  unearthed  some  twenty-five  years , 
later,  and  from  which  are  extracted  the  following 
paragraphs : 

"  To  futurity  I  address  myself,  iu  the  year  of  our  Lord  1823.  Perhaps 
this  memento  may  be  of  serviee  or  curiosity  to  future  generations,  it 
found  among  the  rubbish  of  this  mansion,  erected  by  order  of  Edmund 
Porter,  M.D.,  physician  and  surgeon  ;  member  of  and  principal  founder 
of  the  Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon  County,  N.  J. ;  licentiate  of  the 
Connecticut  Medical  Society,  also  of  the  Medical  Society  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's (West  Indies),  and  Union  Medical  Society  of  Penusylvania, 
and  author  of  a  number  of  medical  essays,  political  pieces,  to  he  found 
in  the  New  York  Medical  Repository  and  AnKrican  Medical  Recorder,  the 
New  England  Journal  of  Medicine,  and  in  the  newspapers, — viz..  The  Tren- 
ton Trite  American,  The  Spirit  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Eastern  Sentinel,  etc., 
etc.  ... 

''  Edmund  Porter  was  born  in  Haddani,  Conn.,  June  18, 1791 ;  emi- 
grated to  Pennsylvania  in  1815 ;  married  Mary  More,  Sept.  28, 1816  ;  have 
three  children  [names  and  dates  of  birth]  ;  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  this  town  June  10, 1820.  Intermitting  fever  makes  its  ap- 
pearance after  an  absence  of  twenty  years  ;  has  been  common  along  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware  Eiver,  and  dysenteria  interiorly ;  charcoal  pulv. 
proved  a  useful  adjunct  in  the  latter  complaint.  ,  .  . 

"  Finder  of  this  document,  know  that  I  wrote  it  to  amuse  ;  if  it  should 
afford  you  an}',  remember  the  end  of  all  things,  and  prepare  yourself  to 
die,  as  all  of  us  have  done  whose  names  you  see  enrolled  on  this  me- 
morial, .  .  .  We  look  to  future  generations  to  preserve  unimpaired  the 
liberty  and  independence  which  thus  far  we  have  assisted  to  perpetuate 
at  the  risk  of  our  lives  and  fortunes.  This  voice  from  the  tombs  admon- 
ishes you  to  do  the  same  as  we  have  done  for  you  I !  1    Farewell." 

Of  his  children,  it  is  believed,  none  now  survive, 
nor  has  he  any  living  descendants!  His  portrait  is  in 
the  possession  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Medical 
Society.! 

Nicholas  Jacques  Emanuel  db  Belleville, 
the  first  president  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Medical 
Society,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders,  was 
born  in  Metz,  France,  in  1752 ;  was  educated  in  that 
country,  and  practiced  in  the  hospitals  of  Paris.  He 
came  to  America  in  1777,  with  Count  Pulaski,!  at- 
tending him  in  the  capacity  of  surgeon  until  the  fall 
of  1778,  when  he  settled  at  Trenton,  Hiinterdon  Co., 
and  there  resided  until  his  death,  Dec.  17,  1831,  in 
the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age.  On  several  occa- 
sions he  was  called  to  attend  the  exiled  King  of  Spain, 
at  Bordentown.  Dr.  Nicholas  Belville  (as  he  was 
generally  called)  acquired  a  large  practice,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  medical  pillars  of  the  State,  being 
constantly  sought  in  consultation,  and  the  favor  of 
studying  under  his  supervision  being  eagerly  solicited 
by  young  men  desirous  of  adopting  medicine  as  a 
profession.  His  manner  was  quick  and  peremptory, 
but  his  deportment  in  the  sick-room  was  kind  and 
soothing.  He  was  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  church- 
yard, Trenton,  of  which  church  he  was  a  pew-holder 
and  an  occasional:  attendant.    Gen.  Philemon  Dick- 


t  Ibid.,  pp.  486,  487. 

X  Notes  of  Philemon  Dickinson. 


224 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


inson,  with  whom  he  was  on  intimate  terms,  held  him 
in  high  consideration,  and  to  him,  more  than  to  any 
other,  he  confided  the  details  of  his  private  life  and 
social  relations.  One  of  his  pupils,  Dr.  F.  A.  Ewing, 
prepared  for  the  press,  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  his 
obituary  notice,  and  furnished  the  inscription  for  his 
tomb.  He  married  Ann  Brittain,  and  had  two  daugh- 
ters, one  of  whom  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  James 
Clark,*  and  the  other,  of  Lieut.  Hunter  of  the  United 
States  navy. 

John  Blane,  son  of  Thomas  Blane  and  Elizabeth 
(Toombs)  Blane,  was  born  in  North  Brunswick,  Mid- 
dlesex Co.,  N.  J.,  July  7,  1802.  After  receiving  as 
good  an  education  as  the  neighborhood  and  private 


r 

teachers  afforded,  he  taught  school  in  Hillsborough, 
Somerset  Co.,  a  year,  and  then  went  to  a  select  school 
at  that  time  taught  by  Abraham  G.  Voorhees,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  boarding  in  the 
family  of  the  principal ;  stayed  a  year,  and  then  taught 
a  short  time  again,  and  then,  in  the  spring  of  1822, 
he  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  William  McKissack,  of 
Millstone,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  under  whose  instruc- 
tions he  remained  five  years,  with  the  exception  of 
attending  medical  lectures  in  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  the  winter  of  1825-26,  and  the 
lectures  of  the  Rutgers  Medical  College,  1826-27. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York  having 


*  History  of  New  Jersey  Medicine. 


decided  that  the  diploma  of  Eutgers  College  did  not 
confer  the  right  to  practice  in  that  State,  he  passed  an 
examination  before  the  board  of  censors  of  Somerset 
Co.,  N.  J.,  and  received  his  diploma  from  the  Medical 
Society  of  New  Jersey,  April  26,   1827  {the  society 
afterwards — Jan.   22,  1856 — conferred  the  degree  of 
M.D.),  and  commenced  practice,  in  connection  with 
the  apothecary  business,  at  526   Pearl  Street,  New 
York  City.     At  the  end  of  the  year  he  gave  up  this 
and  went  to  Clarksville,  Hunterdon   Co.,  N.  J.,  in 
partnership  with  Dr.  W.  A.  A.  Hunt,  and  then,  in 
April,  1831,  removed  into  Bethlehem  (now  Union) 
township,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since.     He  is  a 
member  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon, 
— served  as  its  president  in  1848  and  1855, — and  is 
(1881)  its  treasurer  and  historian ;  of  the  Medical  So- 
ciety of  New  Jersey  (he_was  for  sixteen  years  one  of 
its  censors,  and  its  president  in  1861).    Was  delegated 
to  the  American  Medical  Association  in  1855,  and  has 
been  since  1867,  and  is  now,  one  of  its  necrological 
committee. 

In  May,  1840,  he  married  Miss  Cornelia  Hunt, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Smith,  of  Hunterdon  County.  By 
her  he  has  had  two  daughters, — Nancy,  the  eldest, 
married  Dr.  N.  B.  Boileau,  of  Hunterdon,  and  Mary 
married  Dr.  Nathan  Case,  of  Warren  County. 

His  traveling  over  an  extensive  field  of  practice 
was  performed  for  thirty  years  on  horseback,  and,  he 
believes,  with  advantage  to  his  general  health. 

Hehey  S.  Haeeis,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Hunterdon  County  Medical  Society,  and  an  honorary 
member,  read,  studied,  and  practiced  medicine  under 
the  supervision  of  Dr.  Henry  Vanderveer,  of  Bed- 
minster,  for  four  years ;  afterwards  in  the  office  of  Dr. 
Charles  Smith,  of  New  Brunswick.  After  receiving 
his  certificate  from  the  medical  society  of  Middlesex 
County  he  commenced  practicing  medicine  in  Hun- 
terdon County  in  1819,  and  continued  until  1831  at 
Milford  and  Mount  Pleasant,  frequently  riding  several 
miles  into  Pennsylvania.  He  subsequently  removed 
to  Allamuchy,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  practiced 
thirty-five  years,  and  then  removed  to  Belvidere, 
N.  J.,  where  he  now  resides.  Hon.  Henry  S.  Harris, 
member  of  Congress,  is  a  grandson  of  Dr.  Harris. 

Gebshom  Craven  was  born  in  1744,  graduated  at 
Princeton  in  1765,  and  attended  medical  lectures  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  ;  was  surgeon  of  the 
Second  Eegiment  Hunterdon  troops  during  the  Eevo- 
lution.  He  was  the  first  regular-bred  physician  to 
locate  at  Eingos,  which  he  did  in  1771.  He  was 
popular,  persistent,  and  successful.  He  reared  an 
interesting  family,  to  whose  interests  he  was  greatly 
devoted.  He  continued  his  practice  up  to  the  year 
1812,  when  he  was  disabled  by  paralysis.  He  died 
in  1819,  leaving  a  widow  and  several  children  to  in- 
herit little  or  no  earthly  estate,  but  the  heritage  of  a 
good  name.  His  remains  were  buried  in  the  Episco- 
pal churchyard,  near  Eingos,  where  a  stone  bears  this 
inscription : 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


225 


"In 

Memory  of 

Br.  G.  Craven,  Kebecca 

his  wife,  and  three  of  their  children. 

Doet.  Gersbom  Craven 

Died  Mny  3d,  A.D.  1819, 

In  the  75th  year  of  his  age. 

Eebeoca  died  March  3d,  A.D.  1836, 
In  the  80th  year  of  her  age. 

John  died  June  Ist,  A.D.  1790, 
Aged  15  years. 

Elizabeth  died  Aug.  16,  A.D.  1805, 
In  the  27th  year  of  her  age. 

Titus  died  Sept.  5th,  A.D.  1794, 
aged  6  years. 

On  the  right  hand  may  they  stand,  saying — 
*  Here,  Lord,  are  we  and  those  thou  hast  given  us.'  "* 

Geokge  Creed,  a  native  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  was 
born  Oct.  1,  1735.  Upon  commencing  practice,  in 
1765,  he  settled  in  Flemington,  from  whence  he  re- 
moved to  Trenton,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  died  suddenly,  of  apoplexy,  about  1775.t 
He  was  undoubtedly  the  pioneer  practitioner  of  Flem- 
ington. His  wife  died  in  Trenton  in  1835,  in  her 
ninety-fourth  year,  and  his  daughter  (Mrs.  Eyall) 
died  in  1859,  aged  ninety-one. 

Aabon  Foeman  was  a  prominent  physician  and 
surgeoa  of  this  county.  Although  an  Episcopalian, 
he  married,  in  1769,  Ann,  the  daughter  of  John 
Emley,  a  Quaker.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  convic- 
tions and  firm  of  purpose.  He  joined  the  State  Medi- 
cal Society  in  1767. 

Dr.  Forman  was  of  Welsh  parentage,  and  born 
Feb.  4, 1745 ;  he  moved  from  Freehold,  N.  J.,  to  a  farm 
near  Quakertown,  and  practiced  in  that  vicinity  from 
1766  to  1794,  when  he  removed  to  Pittstown.  He  left 
five  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  since  deceased.  The 
latest  survivor  was  the  venerable  John  E.,  of  Alexan- 
dria, who  died  Aug.  10,  1867,  aged  ninety-five  years. 
Dr.  Forman's  wife,  Ann,  died  Dec.  13,  1794,  aged 
fifty-two  years.  She  and  her  husband  were  buried  in 
the  Friends'  burying-ground  at  Quakertown.  He 
erected  over  her  grave  the  first  grave-stone  with  an 
inscription  in  that  burial-ground.  He  died  Jan.  11, 
1805,  and  was  buried  by  the  side  of  his  wife. 

Dr.  Forman  was  proud  of  his  profession  and  careful 
of  his  medical  reputation.  He  early  introduced  in- 
oculation for  the  smallpox,  and  treated  many  hun- 
dred patients  of  that  kind  successfully.  He  was  a 
venerable-looking  man,  but  possessed  of  fine  social 
qualities  and  a  loving  heart,  combined  with  great 
firmness  of  will  and  decision  of  character. 

William  McGill  resided  between  Frenchtown 
and  Milford,  on  the  farm  now  or  recently  owned  by 
Mr.  Hawk.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  is  still 
standing.  He  commenced  practicing  medicine  in 
the  closing  years  of  the  last  century.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  Lowrey,  one  of  the  pioneers  of 

•  Blane's  Med.  Hist.,  pp.  86,  87. 

f  Hall's  Preshyterian  Church,  Trenton. 


Flemington,  later  the  founder  of  Frenchtown,  and 
afterward  of  Milford.  He  had  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren, none  of  whom  are  believed  to  be  living.  One 
of  them,  Joseph,  read  medicine  with  his  father.  His 
wife  survived  him,  and  for  many  years  boarded  a 
physician.  Dr.  Mershon,  who  kept  up  the  practice. 
Dr.  McGill  is  represented  as  a  very  popular  and  good 
practitioner,  a  large,  portly  man,  dignified  in  deport- 
ment, and  unsuspicious  of  any  one.  He  died  much 
regretted.  His  remains  were  buried  in  the  grounds 
of  the  Kingwood  Presbyterian  Church,  with  the 
Lowrey  family.     His  headstone  reads : 

"In 

Memoi-y  of 

DocT.  William  McGill, 

who  departed  this  life 

June  23rd,  1816, 

In  the  47th  year  of  his  age. 

I  pass  the  gloomy  vale  of  death. 

From  fear  and  danger  free ; 
For  there  His  aiding  rod  and  staff 

Defend  and  comfort  me. 

Let  friends  no  more  my  suffering  mourn. 
Nor  view  my  relics  with  concern. 
Oh,  cease  to  drop  the  pitying  tear : 
I've  passed  beyond  the  reach  of  fear." 

William  Peall  was  a  native  of  Amwell,  this 
county,  and  son  of  Abraham  Prall;  born  in  1771, 
read  medicine  with  Dr.  Moses  Scott,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  entered  the  profession  in  1793,  near  Rea- 
ville,  where  he  continued  until  his  death.  He  was  a 
popular  physician,  and  had  a  large  practice.  His  first 
wife,  Mercy  Reeder,  died  Sept.  18, 1798 ;  his  second  wife 
was  Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  Lewis  Chamberlin.J  Dr. 
Prall's  remains  were  interred  in  the  graveyard  formerly 
attached  to  the  Presbyterian  church  (since  torn  down 
and  removed),  between  Larison's  Corner  and  Reaville, 
where  a  stone  contains  this  record : 

"In 

Memory  of 

DoCT.  William  Prall, 

who  died  Feb.  9, 1825, 

In  the  54th  year  of  his 

age." 

Both  his  wives  were  buried  in  the  same  cemetery.? 

Zaccue  Peall,  son  of  Isaac,  and  cousin  of  Abra- 
ham, the  father  of  Dr.  William  Prall,  of  Amwell,  read 
with  his  uncle,  Abraham  P.  Hagaman,  of  Somerset 
County.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1816.  He  practiced  in  Amwell  for 
a  while,  and  then  removed  to  near  Willow  Grove,  Pa., 
where  he  died  without  leaving  any  family.  He  is 
said  to  have  adopted  and  practiced  homoeopathy  during 
the  latter  part  of  his  life.|| 

John  A.  Hendey,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Hun- 
terdon County  Medical  Society,  in  1821,  was  the 
eldest  son  of  Capt.  Samuel  Hendry  and  Elizabeth 
Anderson,  and  was  born  at  Burlington,  N.  J.,  in 
1786.11    He  commenced  practice  at  Ringos  in  1808, 

t  See  sketch  of  the  Prall  family  in  liistoiy  of  East  AmweU  township. 

8  Blane's  Medical  History  of  Hunterdon  County,  pp.  94,  96. 

1  Dr.  Blane.  H  Communicated  by  Dr.  Hendry's  daughter. 


226 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  continued  there  until  1827,  when  he  sold  out  to 
Dr.  M.  W.  Williams  and  removed  to  New  York  City ; 
he  became  a  member  of  the  "  Medical  Society  of  the 
City  and  County  of  New  York"  in  1831.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  New  Jer- 
sey after  the  death  of  his  father,  who  was  an  ofacer  in 
the  Revolutionary  war  and  stood  by  Washington's 
side  when  Andr6  was  executed.  While  at  Ringos, 
Dr.  Hendry  lived  in  the  house  later  occupied  by  Dr. 
Cicero  Hunt.  He  died  June  23, 1884,  by  the  breaking 
of  a  blood-vessel,  and  was  buried  at  Stuyvesant 
church.  He  married  Abby  Chambers,  of  Trenton, 
April  18,  1810,  and  had  nine  children.  Drs.  M. 
Chambers  and  H.  Holcombe  were  his  pupils  at  Rin- 
gos, and  Drs.  Pyatt  and  Geary  were  his  associates.  He 
was  commissioned  by  Governor  Ogden  as  surgeon  of 
the  militia  of  Hunterdon  County. 

H.  A.  Teerence  was  born  in  Cork,  Ireland,  Aug. 
28,  1848.     He  is  descended  from  a  brother  of  Brian 
Boru,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  native  Irish 
kings.    Exiled  from  Ireland  on  account  of  the  revolu- 
tionary movement  of  1864-65,  he  came  to  America, 
finished  his  medical  studies,  and  in  1873  went  back  to 
Ireland.     After  graduating  at  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons,  Dublin,  he  returned,  in  1875,  to  America, 
and  settled  at  New  Hampton  Junction,  this  county. 
He  is  accredited  with  being  a  successful  practitioner. 
Qliver  Wayne  Ogden,  about  the  year  1811,  was 
engaged  in  a  very  extensive  practice  in  New  German- 
town  and  its  vicinity.     He  studied  medicine  under 
the  superintendence  of  his  uncle,  the  late  Dr.  Isaac 
Ogden.    He  attended  lectures  in  Philadelphia,  and 
was  a  licentiate  of  his  native  State.     He  was  a  more 
energetic  practitioner  than  his  uncle.     His  address 
was  prepossessing,  his  manners  easy,  and  he  had  an 
exuberance  of  animal  spirits.     He  did  not  continue 
many  years  in  practice  :  having  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  United  States  marshal  for  the  district  of  New 
Jersey,  he  let  the  practice  go  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  duties  of  the  new  office.     He  married  a  niece  of 
Dr.  O.  Barnet, — a  Miss  Wisner.     He  attained  quite  a 
fortune,  but  lost  it  in  unfortunate  speculations.     He 
died  about   1840,  of  pulmonary  consumption,  aged 
about  sixty-two  years.     He  was  one  of  the  original 
members   of   the  District   Medical  Society   of   this 
county  in  1821.     Hon.  J.  C.  Rafferty,  Flemington, 
is  his  son-iu-law. 

William  Baknet,  a  nephew  of  Dr.  Oliver  Barnet, 
read  medicine  with  his  uncle.  Dr.  O.  W.  Ogden,  at- 
tended lectures  in  Philadelphia,  and  commenced 
practicing  in  New  Germantown  a  little  before  the  war 
of  1812,  in  which  he  enlisted  as  an  officer.  He  died 
early  in  life.  He  was  talented,  courteous,  and  very 
highly  esteemed,  and  was  one  of  the  first  members  of 
the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon  County, 
was  present  at  its  semi-annual  session,  Oct.  23,  1821, 
and  it  is  presumed  he  died  shortly  after.* 


Israel  L.  Coriell  was  living  in  Mill  town.  King- 
wood  township,  and  practicing  there,  in  1824,  or 
earlier.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  county 
society  during  its  early  years.  Dr.  Coriell  was  killed, 
not  far  from  the  year  1828,  by  being  thrown  from  his 
sulky  in  the  neighborhood  of  Locktown.  He  was  a 
native  of  Somerset  County,  and  his  remains  were 
taken  there  for  interment.     He  never  married. 

Merrill  W.  Williams,  a  native  of  Dorchester, 
Conn.,  practiced  in  Ringos  from  1827  until  1829,  when 
he  removed  to  Somerville,  and  later  to  New  York 
City.  He  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Lawrence  Van- 
derveer.  He  married  Miss  Eliza  B.  Duryea,  of  Mill- 
stone.    She  died  in  1847  ;  he  about  the  yearl877. 

Jacob  E.  Hedges  was  born  in  Somerset  County, 
son  of  William  J.  Hedges,  a  merchant  of  that  place. 
Dr.  Hedges  became  a  member  of  the  County  Medical 
Society  in  1836,  at  which  time  he  was  practicing  at 
Milford.  During  the  first  of  his  practice  Dr.  John 
McGloughen  was  living,  who  recommended  him 
highly,  so  that  Dr.  Hedges  soon  acquired  a  good  prac- 
tice, which  was  cut  short  by  his  early  death.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Disborough,  of  Mil- 
ford.  They  had  no  children.  He  was  buried  in  the 
Presbyterian  churchyard  in  Mount  Pleasant,  Alex- 
andria, where  a  monument  bears  the  following  le- 
gend: 

*'  Sacred 

To  the  memorj'  of 

Dr.  Jacob  E.  Hedges, 

who  died 

July  22d,  1841, 

aged  29  years,  and  3  months. 

Noble,  generous,  free-heai'ted,  he 
Was  early  called  away  from  friends 
Who  deeply  mourn  his  untimely  death. 

Art  is  long,  and  time  is  fleeting, 

And  our  hearts,  though  strong  and  brave. 

Still  like  muffled  drums  are  beating 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave." 

William  Duryea,  son  of  Col.  H.  B.  Duryea,  of 
Blawenburg,  Somerset  Co.,  was  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  in  1833 ;  was  admitted  as  a 
member  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunter- 
don County,  May  3,  1836,  at  which  time  he  was  prac- 
ticing at  Flemington.  Soon  afterwards  he  removed 
to  the  West,  where  it  is  said  he  died.f 

Henry  Southard,  a  native  of  Somerset  County, 
was  a  practitioner  at  Flemington  and  Reaville,  in 
this  county,  and  a  member  of  its  district  medical  so- 
ciety until  Oct.  26,  1847,  when  he  returned  to  his 
native  county  and  became  connected  with  its  medical 
society.  (See  a  further  sketch,  under  head  of  "  Med- 
ical Profession  of  Somerset  County,"  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.) 

JosiAH  QuiNBY,  the  son  of  Josiah  Quimby,  of 
Hanover  township,  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.,  was  born  Feb. 
2,  1783.  He  read  with  Dr.  John  S.  Darcy,  attended 
lectures  in  New  York  in  1815  and  1816,  and  shortly 


) 


•  Dr.  Blane's  Medical  History,  pp.  39,  40. 


t  Dr.  Blane. 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


227 


after  located  at  Readington,  this  county,  where  lie 
continued  to  practice  until  lie  died.  He  married,  in 
March,  1818,  Margaret,  daughter  of  William  Dalley, 
of  Readington  township,  whom  he  left  a  widow  with 
five  children,— William  D.,  Phoebe,  Ann,  Josiah,  and 
Margaret  He  lived  on  the  road  leading  from  Read- 
ington to  Centreville,  about  equidistant  between 
them ;  he  afterwards  lived  on  a  farm  on  the  road  lead- 
ing to  Pleasant  Run,  known  as  the  Aray  farm,  where 
he  died.  He  was  a  man  of  easy  and  kind  disposition, 
very  moderate  in  his  charges,  and  very  diffident  in  his 
collecting ;  of  which  fact,  no  doubt,  some  took  advan- 
tage, to  his  and  his  family's  injury.  In  the  new  ceme- 
tery attached  to  the  Readington  church,  on  a  large 
headstone,  is  the  following : 

"In 
Memory  of 

JOBIAH  QUINBT,  M.D., 

who  died 

February  14th,  1854, 

Aged  61  years,  and  12  days. 

Let  friends  forbear  to  mourn  and  weep. 
Whilst  sweetly  in  the  dust  I  sleep; 
The  toilsome  world  I  left  behind, 
A  glorious  crown  I  hope  to  find." 

Albert  S.  Clakke,  who  practiced  at  Quakertown 
from  1848  to  1856,  became  a  member  of  the  County 
Medical  Society  in  1849,  firom  which  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged  in  1856,  at  which  time  he  removed  to 
Bushnell,  111.,  where  he  was  recently  living  and  prac- 
ticing his  profession. 

James  Pyatt  was  a  native  of  Middlesex  County, 
read  medicine  with  Dr.  Freeman,  of  Woodbridge,  at- 
tended lectures  in  New  York,  and  located  at  the 
Boar's  Head  in  Delaware  (then  Amwell)  township, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  continuing  to  prac- 
tice until  near  the  time  of  his  decease.  He  married 
Sarah  King,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  King,  a  wealthy 
landholder  in  that  neighborhood ;  she  and  three  chil- 
dren survived  him, — John  (since  deceased,  leaving  no 
children),  J.  King  Pyatt,  living  near  Croton,  and 
Rachel  (since  deceased),  who  became  the  wife  of  Dan- 
iel Rittenhouse,  of  the  same  place.  Dr.  Pyatt  was 
active  and  energetic,  and  had  a  large  practice.  He 
also  kept  the  Boar's  Head  Hotel  for  several  years.  He 
was  buried  in  the  cemetery  attached  to  the  Old  School 
church  at  Baptisttown,  and  over  his  grave  appears 
the  following  legend : 

*  Da,  James  Ptatt, 

Died 

October  26th,  1864, 

Aged  80  years  and  29  days. 

Death  is  the  path  that  must  be  trod. 
If  ute  would  pass  from  Earth  to  Gfod ; 
Clap  our  glad  wings  and  fly  away, 
To  join  the  blessed  in  endless  day." 

Abraham  T.  B.  Van  Doben,  born  June  15, 1823, 
practiced  in  Readington  from  1843  to  1848,  and  at 
Ringos,  1850-52 ;  subsequently  went  South,  but  soon 
returned  to  Branchville  (now  South  Branch),  where 


he  died,  June  30th  of  that  year.  (See  sketch  in  "Med- 
ical Profession  of  Somerset  County,"  in  this  work.) 

Willaed  F.  Combs  was  a  native  of  Delhi,  N.  Y., 
born  in  1828.  He  came  to  New  Jersey  and  read  medi- 
cine with  his  cousin,  Dr.  H.  S.  Combs  (son  of  Seth 
Combs,  of  Delhi),  who  was  then  practicing  medicine 
in  German  Valley,  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.  He  attended 
lectures  in  New  York,  was  licensed  in  1851,  and  the 
following  year  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  district 
society  of  Hunterdon  County,  and  was  at  once  elected 
its  secretary,  vice  Dr.  J.  R.  Ludlow,  resigned  and  re- 
moved from  the  county.  Dr.  Combs  practiced  at  Stan- 
ton and  at  Flemington,  where  he  died  of  pericarditis, 
Aug.  16,  1854.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  His  wife  was  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Asa  Jones,  of  Flemington.  He  left  two  children, — 
Frank  and  Caroline,  living  in  Flemington.  "  A  gen- 
tleman of  prepossessing  manners,  comely  in  person, 
and  very  sociable,  he  enjoyed  a  popularity  seldom 
possessed  by  one  so  young  in  the  profession."* 

Chaeles  Baetolette,  a  native  of  Flemington, 
was  a  son  of  Rev.  Charles  Bartolette,  Baptist  minis- 
ter of  that  place.  He  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Mer- 
shon,  of  Flemington,  and  was  graduated  from  Jeffer- 
son Medical  College  in  1846,  when  he  commenced 
practice  in  Milford,  this  county,  succeeding  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Taylor.  He  there  continued  until  his  death. 
"  He  was  a  good  practitioner  of  both  medicine  and 
surgery.  He  was  about  five  feet  eight  inches  in 
height,  well  proportioned,  brown  hair,  expressive 
blue  eyes,  frank,  open  countenance,  good  conversa- 
tional powers,  pleasing  in  address,  and  in  every  way 
calculated  to  win  and  retain  the  confidence  and  af- 
fection of  his  patients,  as  well  as  of  all  others  who 
knew  him."  March  8, 1851,  he  married  Anna,  daugh- 
ter of  George  and  Ellen  Carpenter,  of  Milford ;  she 
and  four  children  (Ellen,  Peter,  Louisa,  Charles)  are 
still  living.  He  was  buried  in  the  Union  Cemetery, 
Milford,  and  over  his  grave  the  marble  records  : 

"  Born 

April  8th,  1826, 

Died 

March  10th,  1866. 

The  warm  heart  that  throbbed  for  others'  sorrows,  and  the 

open  hand  of  charity,  are  now  still  in  death;  and 

await  the  awards  of  the  great  Physician." 

He  also  was  a  member  of  the  District  Medical  So- 
ciety. 

A.  J.  McKelway,  who  was  practicing  at  Ringos 
from  1852  to  1854,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Hun- 
terdon County  Medical  Society,  removed  from  the 
county  in  1854;  was  surgeon  of  the  Eighth  New 
Jersey  Volunteers  from  Sept.  14,  1861,  to  April  7, 
1864  ■  is  now  practicing  medicine  in  Gloucester  Co., 
N.  J.,  of  whose  county  medical  society  he  is  a  mem- 
ber.! 

Simeon  S.  Dana,  a  graduate  of  Jefferson  Medical 

*  Dr.  Blane's  Medical  History. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  63;  Trans.  State  Medical  Society,  1880,  p.  9. 


228 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


College,  received  his  diploma  from  the  State  Medical 
Society  in  1852,  while  residing  at  Finesville,  Warren 
Co.,  N.  J.  In  the  fall  of  1854  he  removed  to  Earitan 
township,  locating  at  Clover  Hill  as  the  successor  of 
Dr.  Eex.  In  the  same  year  he  joined  the  County 
Medical  Society.  He  died  in  1861,  in  the  prime  of 
manhood,  while  on  a  visit  to  the  place  of  his  nativity 
in  Massachusetts.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Julia  Hall, 
of  Somerset  County,  who,  after  her  husband's  death, 
removed  with  her  children  to  Massachusetts. 

Thomas  M.  Baetolette,  youngest  son  of  Rev. 
Charles  Bartolette,  and  brother  of  Dr.  Charles,  with 
whom  he  studied  medicine,  was  born  in  Flemington, 
Nov.  4, 1827.  In  1855  he  was  graduated  from  JeflFerson 
Medical  College,  when  he  commenced  practice  at 
Mount  Pleasant,  succeeding  Dr.  Jacob  Winters.  In 
1864  he  moved  to  Asbury,  N.  J.,  where  he  died  Sept. 
29,  1866.  He  was  buried  near  his  brother,  in  the 
cemetery  at  Milford.*  He  was  a  member  of  the 
medical  society  of  this  county.  He  married,  in  1855, 
Amy  K.,  daughter  of  Henry  W.  and  Sarah  Johnson, 
of  Milford,  and  left  one  child, — Evangeline, — who 
has  since  become  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Mil- 
ford. Mrs.  Dr.  Bartolette  subsequently  married  a 
Mr.  Hallahan,  and  is  living  near  Eiegelsville. 

Chables  B.  Ferguson  was  Dr.  Wall's  successor 
at  Pittstown,  locating  there  in  1826,  and  continuing 
his  practice  with  average  success  for  five  years,  when 
he  removed  to  Doylestown,  Pa.,  where  he  subsequently 
died. 

RlCHAKD  Gagen,  who  practiced  in  Pittstown  from 
1835-37,  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  He  was  well  read 
in  his  profession,  and  very  successful  in  practice.  He 
would  not  stoop  to  some  of  the  customs  of  the  times. 
From  Pittstown  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  thence 
to  New  Orleans,  where  he  died  about  1840.  He  was 
a  very  precise  man,  and  remarkably  neat,  but  very 
diffident  and  unassuming. 

George  T.  Blake  was  a  native  of  Maine,  a  grad- 
uate in  medicine  in  the  city  of  New  York ;  located  in 
New  Germantown,  this  county,  in  1853;  practiced 
there  four  years  or  more,  and  removed  to  Elizabeth. 
He  subsequently  made  a  specialty  of  treating  cancers. 
He  died  in  1861. 

Ciceko  Hunt,  born  in  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J.,  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  James  T.  Clarke,  of  Trenton,  and 
located  in  1828  at  Eingos,  where  he  labored  as  a 
physician  unremittingly  for  thirty-five  years,  until 
1863,  when  he  relinquished  the  business  to  his  partner, 
C.  W.  Larison,  M.D.     He  died  Dec.  1,  1876. 

Jacob  W.  Williamson,  son  of  Abraham  Wil- 
liamson, born  May  12,  1821,  residing  near  Eingos, 
practiced  a  short  time  at  his  native  place.  He  went  to 
California,  but  after  a  short  stay  came  back  and  located 
at  Somerville.  In  1852  he  returned  to  Eingos,  where 
he  died  August  9th.  He  was  buried  in  the  cemetery 
between  Pleasant  Corner  and  Eeaville. 

*  "He  was  the  last  of  the  surviviDg  brothers  of  the  fsiraily.  All  the 
sisters,  four  io  number,  still  survive."— K-ant.  StaU  Society,  1867. 


Jacob  Jennings,  the  first  physician  located  in 
Eeadington,  practiced  there  in  1784,  and  probably 
earlier.  He  owned  and  resided  on  the  farm  where 
Jacob  G.  Scomp  now  lives.  He  had  an  extensive 
practice.  He  was  a  member  of  the  North  Branch 
(now  Eeadington)  Eeformed  Church,  and  in  1789  be- 
came a  minister  of  that,  and  later  of  the  Presbyterian, 
denomination.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Governor 
Henry  A.  Wise,  of  Virginia. 

Ebenezer  Sherwood,  born  in  Woodbury,  Conn., 
in  1782,  studied  medicine  with  Drs.  Charles  Smith 
and  Moses  Scott,  of  New  Brunswick.  After  being 
licensed  to  practice  he  located  in  Eeadington  (1807), 
where  he  continued  seven  years.  He  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  Sloan,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Eliza- 
beth, deceased.  His  first  wife  dying  in  1814,  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lane,  widow  of  John  Lane,  and 
removed  into  German  Valley,  locating  at  what  is  now 
known  as  Middle  Valley,  where  he  practiced  until 
1844,  then  removing  to  Peapack,  where  he  spent  the 
remaining  nine  years  of  his  life,  dying  Feb.  25,  1854. 
He  was  a  Presbyterian,  a  man  of  ordinary  size,  rather 
slender,  of  general  good  health,  although  in  his  later 
years  rheumatism  compelled  him  to  use  crutches. 
While  practicing  in  the  valley  he  had  a  private  insti- 
tution for  the  treatment  and  relief  of  the  insane. 
This  was  before  the  day  of  asylums.  He  left  a  widow, 
four  sons,  and  three  daughters.  The  eldest,  Eev. 
Jona.  H.,  was  in  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
at  Milford,  where  he  died ;  Marshall,  the  youngest,  is 
a  practicing  lawyer  in  Iowa;  the  other  two  are 
farmers. 

John  Van  Horn,  a  native  of  Eeadington,  this 
county,  was  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Jacob  Jennings,  and  com-~ 
menced  practice  about  1787,  living  in  the  house  with 
his  brother  on  the  Old  York  Eoad,  about  one  and  one- 
half  miles  from  the  Eeadington  church.  He  practiced 
for  twenty  years,  and  was  found  dead  in  the  road, 
after  a  dark,  stormy  night,  some  distance  from  home, 
near  David  Scomp's,  with  indications  of  epilepsy. 
The  head-stone  in  the  Eeadington  churchyard  con- 
tains the  following : 

"In 

Memory  of 

DocT.  John  Van  Horn, 

who  departed  this  life 

A.  D.  1807, 

In  the  41st  year  of  his  age. 

A  message  for  me  was  suddenly  sent. 

My  age  but  forty-one ; 
My  friends,  make  haste  for  to  repent, 

For  your  time  may  quickly  come." 

Wesley  Cramer,  son  of  William  Cramer,  of 
Round  Valley,  Hunterdon  Co.,  after  acquiring  his 
profession,  located  in  Eeadington  in  1854.  He 
boarded  with  L.  B.  Stout.  He  subsequently  prac- 
ticed in  Lebanon ville,  and  afterwards  to  Aurora,  111. 

William  P.  Woodruff,  who  practiced  in  Mil- 
ford from  1830  to  1837,  moved  thence  to  German  Val- 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF   HUNTBEDON   COUNTY. 


22"9 


ley,  where  he  stayed  but  a  short  time;  removed  to 
Ohio,  and  died  there  in  1851. 

William  Mobelan  came  from  Sussex  Co.,  N.  J., 
to  New  Hampton  in  1810,  and  practiced  there  ten  or 
more  years.  Dr.  Blane  says,  "  He  is  spoken  of  both 
by  patients  and  members  of  the  profession  as  a  popu- 
lar and  successful  physician.  He  was  generous  and 
confiding,  loved  to  enjoy  life  in  his  peculiar  way, 
and  was  not  content  unless  he  had  a  friend  to  partake 
with  him.  He  had  been  twice  married,  had  a  son, 
"William,  whom  he  educated  for  the  profession,  and  a 
daughter,  who  married  John  Hunt,  near  Asbury." 

Samuel  W.  Fell,  born  at  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  in 
1788,  located  at  New  Hampton  before  the  war  of 
1812.  He  married  Miss  Lydia,  daughter  of  Maj. 
Henry  Dusenberry,  and  commanded  a  company,  the 
"  Washington  Greens,"  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  after 
its  close  resumed  his  practice  at  New  Hampton,  but 
subsequently  removed  to  Belvidere,  where  h?  died, 
July  11,  1824,  aged  thirty-six  years.  His  wife  died 
March  18,  1839,  aged  forty-eight  years.  His  only  son, 
J.  W.,  studied  medicine  under  Dr.  McClenahan,  and 
after  his  graduation  went  to  England. 

John  Van  Cleve  Johnson,  son  of  William  John- 
son, M.D.,  deceased,  of  WhiteHouse,  studied  medicine 
with  his  father,  whom  he  for  some  time  aided  in  his 
extensive  practice.  He  then  removed  to  Somerville 
and  assisted  Dr.  H.  Vanderveer,  and  in  July,  1858, 
returned  to  White  House,  practicing  with  his  father 
until  the  latter's  death,  in  1867.  He  still  pursues  his 
profession  there,  occupying  his  father's  late  residence.* 
Dr.  Thomas  Johnson,  another  son  of  William,  is  now 
practicing  at  Eeadington. 

Thomas  Elder,  a  rather  eccentric  Scotchman,  who 
purchased  at  a  sheriff's  sale  most  of  the  village  of 
Bloomsbury  after  the  manufacture  of  iron  was  dis- 
continued, practiced  medicine  rather  for  the  accom- 
modation of  his  neighbors  than  from  choice,  but  was 
popular  and  successful  therein.  He  was  a  high- 
minded,  honorable  man,  but  very  proud.  He  finally 
sold  out  and  removed  to  Philadelphia  with  his 
family. 

Hugh  Hughes,  son  of  Dr.  John  S.  Hughes,  who 
was  his  preceptor,  practiced  at  Washington,  N.  J., 
from  1816  to  1822,  when  he  changed  locations  with 
Dr.  John  Sloan,  then  at  Bloomsbury.  Dr.  Hughes 
practiced  at  the  latter  place  from  1822  until  his  death, 
in  1856,  April  22d.  He  was  born  March  17,  1794. 
He  never  married.  He  was  buried  in  the  Greenwich 
churchyard.  His  obituary  may  be  found  in  vol.  ix. 
of  the  Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter. 

Richard  Kroesen,  born  in  Eeadington  township 
in  1766,  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Jacob  Jennings,  practiced 
in  Eeadington,  New  Germantown,  Eingos,  and  Lam- 
bertville,  where  he  died,  March  19,  1807,  aged  forty- 
one  years.  His  remains,  at  first  interred  in  the  Pres- 
byterian cemetery  at  Lambertville,  were  afterwards 

*  Dr.  Blane's  Medical  History  of  Hanterdon  County,  p.  98. 


removed  to  Mount  Hope  Cemetery.  His  wife  was 
Miss  Abigail,  daughter  of  Abraham  Ten  Eyok. 

William  Coryell  came  with  Dr.  John  Lilly  as  a 
stable-boy.  When  he  grew  up  he  studied  medicine 
with  his  employer,  and  was  graduated  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  in  1826.  He  then  went  into 
partnership  with  his  preceptor  and  benefactor,  and 
continued  until  his  death,  three  years  later. 

William  Alexander  Anderson  Hunt,  one  of 
the  oldest  practitioners  in  the  county,  was  the  son  of 
Eev.  Holloway  W.  Hunt,  for  many  years  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  churches  of  Alexandria  and  Bethle- 
hem. Dr.  Hunt  read  with  Dr.  William  McKissack,  at- 
tended medical  lectures  in  New  York,  and  was  licensed 
to  practice  in  1816 ;  he  joined  the  Somerset  District 
Medical  Society  in  1817,  and  that  of  this  county  in 
1823.  The  University  of  the  City  of  New  York  con- 
ferred on  him,  in  1847,  the  honorary  degree  of  M.D. 
He  practiced  in  Eeadington  1817-19,  and  at  Clarks- 
ville  until  near  the  time  of  his  decease,  Sept.  9,  1878. 

David  FoRST.f  a  native  of  Solebury,  Bucks  Co., 
Pa.,  born  in  1786,  read  with  Dr.  John  Wilson,  of  that 
place,  and  in  1807  settled  to  practice  in  the  lower  part 
of  Kingwood,  where  he  continued  as  a  successful  phy- 
sician until  his  decease,  Aug.  6,  1821.  His  wife  died 
in  Philadelphia  in  1862,  aged  seventy-three  years. 
Both  were  buried  in  "  Barber's  Burying-ground." 

Benjamin  Van  Cleve  Hunt,  son  of  Daniel  Hunt, 
of  Clinton,  after  acquiring  his  profession,  located  near 
that  place.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Dr.  John  F.  Grandin,  of  Hamden.  About  1819  he 
emigrated  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  died.  He 
sustained  a  good  reputation  as  a  practitioner,  and 
well  maintained  the  dignity  of  the  profession. 

CoNYNGHAM  Crawford,  a  native  of  Ireland,  was 
graduated  from  Eutgers  and  Jefferson  Colleges,  and 
settled  at  Hunt's  Mills  (Clinton)  in  1828.  He  built 
the  house  lately  occupied  by  Dr.  Henry  Field,  de- 
ceased, to  whom  he  sold.  He  removed  to  Philadel- 
phia in  1832 ;  subsequently  went  to  Louisiana,  where 
he  died. 

John  McGloughlen  was  born  in  Ireland.  He 
came  to  Alexandria  township  about  1787,  taught 
school,  boarding  with  Dr.  George  Campbell.  He 
married  Miss  Jane  Stull,  and  commenced  farming  at 
Helltown  (now  Spring  Mills).  He  was  frequently 
called  to  visit  the  sick  and  prescribe  for  them,  and 
after  Dr.  Campbell  was  afflicted  with  paralysis  (1812), 
and  particularly  after  Dr.  McGill's  death,  in  1815, 
these  calls  for  medical  aid  were  greatly  increased. 
"  He  was,  through  the  wants  of  the  times,  the  com- 
mon consent  of  the  people,  owing  to  their  confidence 
in  his  skill  and  ability,  made  emphatically  the  Cin- 
cinnatus  of  our  profession;  and  the  next  year  (1816) 
the  Legislature  passed  a  law  licensing  all  who  were 
in  regular  practice  at  the  time.  This  completed  his 
ability  to  collect,  but  did  not  add  to  his  practice,  as 

f  Generally  pronounced  Fuss. 


230 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


he  alreadj'  had  all  he  was  able  to  do,  riding  day  and 
night.  He  practiced  over  grounds  on  which  there 
are  no  less  than  fourteen  practicing  physicians  now 
located,  at  a  time  when  roads  were  poor  and  no 
bridges  to  cross  the  Delaware.  He  practiced  largely 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  for  over  fifteen  years  sur- 
geon to  the  Second  Regiment  of  the  Hunterdon  bri- 
gade of  militia.  He  was  a  stout-built,  full-habited 
man,  with  keen  blue  eyes  and  browu  hair.  He  was 
quick  at  repartee,  kindly  in  his  manners,  and  very 
hospitable.  He  died  Sept.  17,  1835,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Stull  (now  known  as  Salter's)  burying-ground, 
between  Milford  and  Frenchtovvn."* 

Jacob  K.  Steyker,  a  native  of  German  Valley, 
Morris  Co.,  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Combs;  was 
graduated  at  the  University  of  New  York,  1849;  lo- 
cated at  California,  this  county,  where  he  practiced 
until  his  death,  Sept.  8,  18(32,  at  the  age  of  forty-one 
years  and  eleven  months.  He  was  buried  in  the 
cemetery  attached  to  the  Lo^ver  Yallej'  Presbyterian 
church.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Leonard 
Flomerfelt.  His  one  surviving  child  is  since  deceased. 
He  was  a  very  careful  and  observant  practitioner,  and 
a  much  more  useful  man  in  the  profession  than  some 
who  have  made  more  noise  and  stir  in  the  world.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

CoENELius  W.  Larison  was  graduated  M.D.,  Jan. 
20,  1863.  He  immediately  thereafter  settled  at  Rin- 
gos,  Hunterdon  Co.,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  in  educational  matters, 
in  which  he  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest.! 

Rev.  Geoege  H.  Laeison,  of  Lambertville,  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  Samuel  Lilly,  of  Lambertville ; 
attended  lectures  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  1858  receiving  the  degree  of  M.D.  He  com- 
menced practicing  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  but  the  fol- 
lowing year  removed  to  Lambertville,  where  he  has 
since  resided,  and  where  he  has  an  extensive  and 
lucrative  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  County 
Medical  Society,  and  was  for  seven  years  its  secretary ; 
is  also  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  and 
for  years  wa,s  one  of  its  vice-presidents  or  its  jjresiding 
officer.^ 

Andrew  B.  Larison  was  born  at  Sandy  Ridge, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  Dec.  31, 1841.  He  was  the  third  son 
of  Benjamin  Larison,  and  a  brother  of  Dr.  C.  W. 
Larison,  of  Ringos.  He  entered  Geneva  Medical 
College  in  1861,  graduating  therefrom  in  1864,  and 
immediately  entered  the  United  States  army  as  an 
assistant  surgeon.  After  the  war  he  attended  the 
Lewisburg  (Pa.)  University,  and  was  ordained  a  min- 
ister of  the  Baptist  Church  in  1870 ;  henceforward  he 
was  engaged  as  principal  of  the  Ringos  seminary, 
and  as  pastor  of  the  church  at  the  same  place  until 
his  death,  Sept.  25,  1872. 

Geoege   R.   Sullivan,   of  Flemington,  son    of 


*  Dr.  Blane,  Med.  Hist,  1673. 

t  See  further  sketch  in  history  of  East  Amwell  tuwiishiii. 

X  See  further  sketch  in  history  of  Lanihertville. 


James  T.  Sullivan,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in 
Maryland  in  1836.  He  was  graduated  from  Newton 
University,  receiving  his  degree  of  M.D.  in  1859  from 
the  Maryland  Medical  College.  He  removed  to  Hun- 
terdon County  in  1860,  locating  in  Flemington,  and 
laboring  successfully  as  a  physician  until  July,  1862, 
when  he  entered  the  service  of  his  country  as  assistant 
surgeon  of  the  Fifteenth  Volunteer  Infantry  Regi- 
ment. After  two  years'  service  with  this  command 
he  was  (1864)  appointed  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Regiment,  and  served  until  peace  was  declared.  "  Few 
surgeons  rendered  more  continuous  service  in  the 
army  than  Dr.  Sullivan,  and  certainly  none  more 
valuable.  From  the  battle-fields  of  Virginia  he  re- 
turned to  Flemington,  wdiere  he  resumed  his  jirofes- 
sional  duties,  continued  uninterruptedly  until  the 
present  time,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  months' 
visit  to  Europe  in  1S80.  His  practice  is  extensive, 
and  he  is  in  frequent  request  as  a  consulting  physi- 
cian. He  has  rare  ability  as  a  surgeon,  and  has  per- 
formed many  of  the  most  important  oj^erations  which 
have  claimed  the  attention  of  the  profession  in  the 
State."  He  married,  in  1877,  Miss  Adah,  daughter 
of  the  late  George  F.  Crater,  of  Flemington. 

John  H.  Ewing,  who  is  now,  and  has  been  since 
1879,  associated  in  practice  with  Dr.  Sullivan,  is  a 
native  of  Flemington,  where  he  was  born  in  the  year 
1853.  He  was  graduated  at  Jefiersou  Medical  College 
in  1877,  and  subsequently  practiced  his  profession  at 
St.  Mary's  Hospital,  Philadelphia. 

De  Witt  C.  Hough  was  for  six  years  engaged  as 
a  physician  at  Frenchtown.  He  removed  to  Rah  way, 
N.  .1.,  in  1856  ;  was  surgeon  of  the  Seventh  New 
Jersey  Infantry  Regiment  during  the  war ;  since  its 
close  has  enjoyed  various  civil  honors  and  a  large  and 
iuflnential  practice  in  the  city  to  which  he  removed 
from  this  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  District 
Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon  County  during  his 
residence  here,  joining  in  1855  and  being  honorably 
discharged  in  1856. 

William  H.  SfHENCK,  born  at  Flemington,  Sept. 
21,  1826,  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
place  and  the  gramimar-school  of  Rutgers  College ; 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  father.  Dr.  John  F.  Schenck,  and  was 
graduated  from  the  University  of  New  York  in  1848. 
He  then  entered  into  practice  at  Flemington,  in  com- 
pany with  his  father.  In  1850-51  he  was  engaged  in 
medical  practice  at  Ringos,  and  after  a  year  spent  in 
the  drug  business  in  New  York  he  embarked  in  1853 
for  Australia,  where  he  resided  for  fourteen  years, 
engaged  in  mining  and  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. While  there,  in  the  year  1862,  he  married 
iMargaret  JIcLean,  a  native  of  Scotland.  In  1867 
he  returned  to  America  and  resumed  his  residence 
and  his  practice  in  Flemington,  where  he  still  con- 
tinues. 

John  Lilly  was  a  prominent  physician  and  resi- 
dent practitioner  of  medicine  in  Lambertville  since 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


231 


1809*    He  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Lilly,  barrister,  and 
■was  born  in  Staffordshire,  England,  in  1783.     He  was 
"apprenticed"   to   Dr.  Samuel  Stringer,  of  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  and  after  serving  four  years  was  licensed  in 
1807.     In  1808  he  commenced  practice  at  Keading- 
ton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  succeeding  Dr.  John  Van  Horn, 
but   the   following   year  removed  to  Lambertville, 
same  county,  becoming  the  successor  of  Dr.  Kroesen, 
then  recently  deceased.    He  was  in  1821  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunter- 
don County ;  was  its  president  in  1825  and  1847,  vice- 
president  in  1823  and  1846,  treasurer  from  1836  to 
1846,  a  censor  from  1821  to  1825,  inclusive,  and  in 
1847-48,  and  was  repeatedly  a  delegate  to  the  State 
Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  an  active  member. 
"His  mind  and   character  were  those  of  a   refined 
gentleman,  scrupulously  neat  in  his  personal  habits, 
pure  and  chaste  in  all  his  acts  and  words ;   he  was 
very  attentive  to  his  patients ;   his  judgment  sound 
and  clear,  and  his  practice  in  emergent  or  dangerous 
cases  prompt  and  energetic.  .  .  .  He  was   always  a 
stickler  for  the  most  rigid  professional  ethics.     He 
never  permitted  himself  to  be  betrayed  into  the  vio- 
lation of  the  strictest  code,  and  was  not  slow  to  con- 
demn such  violation  on  the  part  of  others."!     He  was 
a  member,  even  early  in  life,  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  for  years   a  vestryman  or  senior 
warden  of  St.  Andrew's  at  Lambertville.     In  1840-41 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  New 
Jersey.    He  died  June,  1848.t    His  wife  was  Miss 
Julia    Moodie,    of   Lansingburg,   N.  Y.,  whom    he 
married  in  1808. 

Samuel  Lilly  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  with  the  degree  of  M.D.  in  1837,  and 
immediately  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  Lambertville.  He  soon  acquired  an  exten- 
sive business  and  high  reputation  as  a  physician.  He 
was  a  leading  member  of  the  County  Medical  So- 
ciety,? of  the  State  Medical  Society  (of  which  he  was 
president  in  1853),  and  an  official  of  the  American 
Medical  Association.  He  died  April  3,  1880.  He 
was  buried  at  Mount  Hope  Cemetery.  "  As  a  practi- 
tioner he  preferred  surgery,  and  was  a  good  and  safe 
operator."  He  wrote  many  medical  essays,  etc.,  was 
a  man  of  temperate  habits,  about  five  feet  nine  inches 
high  and  weighing  two  hundred  pounds,  frank  and 
affable,  and  of  refined  and  literary  tastes.  He  was 
twice  married,— in  1839  to  Mary  A.  Titus,  of  Mercer 
County,  who  died;  in  1860  to  Mary  Ellen  Torbert 
(widow),  daughter  of  Lewis  Coryell;  she  died  in 
1867.11 

Geokge  W.  Campbell,  late  of  Frenchtown,  and 
son  of  James  Campbell,  was  born  at  Newtown-Stewart, 

*  New  Jersey  Biographical  EncyclopEedia,  p.  75. 

t  Dr.  John  Blaae. 

I  On  one  of  the  vralls  in  the  interior  of  St.  Andrew's  church  is  a  tablet 
to  his  memory,  the  inscription  on  which  ends  with  these  words:  "In  puce 
dormet.^^ 

§  Admitted  May  3, 1847. 

I  See  sketch  in  connection  with  "Bench  and  Bar." 


County  Tyrone,  Ireland,  Aug.  15,  1758.  Educated 
at  Dublin  University,  he  received  special  medical  in- 
struction from  Dr.  Farling.  He  received  his  degree 
of  M.D.  while  the  American  Revolution  was  in  prog- 
ress, and,  sympathizing  with  the  patriot  cause,  he 
emigrated  to  this  country  and  joined  the  Continental 
army.  He  served  as  surgeon  until  peace  was  de- 
clared, when  he  settled  at  Frenchtown.^  In  1787  he 
became  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  His 
exceptionally  thorough  education  and  his  extensive 
surgical  experience  during  the  war  combined  to  throw 
into  his  hands  a  very  large  practice.  Here  he  mar- 
ried Rachel,  youngest  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Thatcher, 
by  whom  he  had  two  children.**  He  was  actively 
engaged  in  his  profession  until  prostrated  by  paralysis 
in  1812,  his  death  following  a  second  stroke  in  Au- 
gust, 1818.  He  was  buried  in  the  Kingwood  Presby- 
terian churchyard. 

William  Welch,  a  native  of  Hunterdon,  born  in 
Bethlehem,  Sept.  12,  1837,  son  of  William  Welch,  of 
Valley  Station,  who  was  a  farmer  in  that  township. 
After  his  graduation,  in  1859,  he  settled  in  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  which  has  been  his  residence  and  the 
theatre  of  his  professional  labors  until  the  present 
time.  He  holds  high  rank  in  the  profession,  both  as 
a  practitioner  and  as  a  writer. 

John  Leavitt,  of  Baptisttown,  was  born  in  New 
Hampshire  in  1819.  He  read  with  Dr.  R.  M.  Mc- 
Lenahan,  of  New  Hampton,  Hunterdon  Co.  After 
receiving  his  diploma  he  commenced  practicing  at 
Asbury,  Warren  Co.,  but  after  some  subsequent 
changes  located  at  Baptisttown,  this  county,  in  1854. 
He  was  there  engaged  in  active  practice  until  his 
death,  Oct.  20,  1875.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Dis- 
trict Medical  Society,  and  in  1860  its  president.  He 
was  very  conservative  in  practice. 

Howard  Sehvis  was  born  near  Ringos,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  Oct.  6,  1829.  His  father.  Garret,  was  post- 
master at  Clinton,  also  sheriff  and  a  member  of  the 
Legislature;  his  mother,  Susan  Stout,  was  a  grand- 
daughter of  John  Hart,  a  signer  of  the  "  Declaration." 
Howard  was  a  student  of  Dr.  Charles  C.  Philips,  of 
Deerfield,  N.  J. ;  entered  the  Medical  Department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1856,  and  in  1858 
received  his  degree.  He  at  once  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  at  Fairmount,  this  county,  but 
in  1863  removed  to  New  Hampton,  and  succeeded  to 
Dr.  R.  M.  McLenahan's  practice,  the  latter  giving  up 
professional  labor  on  account  of  failing  health. 
About  three  years  ago  he  removed  to  Hampton  Junc- 
tion. He  has  made  the  record  of  an  eminently  suc- 
cessful physician  and  surgeon.     In  1867  he  married 


f  He  was  commissioned  "  surgeon,  hospital  Flying  Camp,  Continental 
army,  April  11, 1776."— Slrjiter'e  Regisla-  New  Jersey  in  the  Revolution. 

**  His  wife  survived  him,  living  with  her  daughter  until  her  decease, 
Feb.  14, 18:)7.  His  daughter,  Ann  (who  married  John  Fine,  Esq.,  of  War- 
ren County,  since  deceased),  subsequently  lived  with  her  son  in  New 
York  City.  Hia  son,  James,  died  in  lS\5.—Blane's  Medical  History  of  Eun- 
O'.rdnn  Connty. 


232 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Belinda,  daughter  of  Philip  Johnston,  of  Washington, 
N.  J. 

Henry  A.  Kiekpateick,  son  of  the  late  Rev. 
Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  D.D.,  of  Amwell,  was  born  in 
1816.  Having  read  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr. 
Cicero  Hunt,  of  Ringos,  he  entered  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  where  he  was  graduated  M.D.  in  1841,  and 
the  same  year  established  himself  at  Stanton,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  where  he  continued  until  his  decease. 
He  acquired  a  large  practice  and  the  reputation  of  a 
skillful  physician.  He  married  (1)  Mary  Servis,  of 
Ringos,  and  (2)  a  daughter  of  Jacques  Quick,  of 
Readington.  He  died  Sept.  29,  1851.  He  was  buried 
in  the  cemetery  of  the  United  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Amwell,  and  the  marble  over  his  grave 
bears  this  inscription : 

"lu 

Memory  of 

DocTR.  H.  A.  Kirkpatrick, 

who  died 

Sept,  29th,  1S61, 

III  the  35th  year  of  his  age. 

Oft  between  Deiith  and  his  patient  he  stood, 

And  relieved  by  the  healing  art. 
Yet  thoupli  science  and  knowledge  his  mind  had  enlarged. 

He  fell  by  the  conqueror's  dart. 
But  Death  though  the  body  he  brings  to  the  tomb 

In  spite  of  the  genius  of  man, 
The  soul  that's  in  Jesus  is  free  from  all  harm. 

Let  bis  power  do  all  that  it  can." 

His  wife,  Mary,  died  April  7,  1846,  aged  thirty 
years,  and  her  grave  and  that  of  her  husband  are  side 
by  side. 

Sylvester  Van  Syckel,  of  Clinton,  was  born 
in  Union  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  Feb.  21,  1826. 
He  is  a  son  of  the  late  Aaron  Van  Syckel,  and  a 
brother  of  Judge  Bennet  Van  Syckel,  late  of  Flera- 
ington,  now  of  Trenton.  The  family  is  of  Dutch 
extraction.  Graduating  from  Princeton  in  1846,  he 
became  the  pupil  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Valentine 
Mott,  and  attended  lectures  at  the  University  of  New 
York ;  became  an  M.D.  in  1849,  and  was  successively 
assistant  physician,  house  physician,  and  house  sur- 
geon of  Bellevue  Hospital.  He  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Clark  one  of  the  quarantine  hospital  phy- 
sicians in  1850,  during  the  ship-fever  epidemic.  He 
removed  to  Clinton  (1850),  commenced  there  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  and  soon  had  an  extensive 
ride.  For  many  years  he  has  held  a  leading  place 
among  the  physicians  of  that  section.  March  24 
1853,  he  joined  his  fortunes  with  those  of  Mary  E., 
daughter  of  John  Carhart,  of  Clinton.  Of  his  six 
children,  three  are  now  (1880)  living,— John  C,  Wil- 
liam C,  and  V.  Lamar. 

Nathaniel  B.  Boileau,  son-in-law  of  Dr.  John 
Blane,  graduated  an  M.D.  in  1858,  and  has  since 
practiced  in  this  county,  for  the  past  thirteen  years  at 
Perryville.  See  further  sketch  in  the  history  of  Union 
township. 

John  R.  Todd  was  graduated  from  the  New  York 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  March  10,  1864. 


April  15,  1864,  he  was  commissioned  an  acting  as- 
sistant surgeon  in  the  United  States  volunteers,  and 
attached  to  the  Second  New  Jersey  Cavalry  Regiment. 
Nov.  1,  1865,  he  was  honorably  discharged,  and  in 
January,  1866,  having  been  licensed,  he  commenced 
practice  at  Lebanonville,  Hunterdon  Co.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  District  Medical  Society,  and  in  ex- 
cellent standing  as  a  physician  and  citizen.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  W.  Johnson,  Esq.  He  died 
(Lebanonville)  in  1876.  In  October,  1880,  his  widow 
married  Dr.  John  Grandin,  of  this  county. 

William  Wetherell,  of  Lambertville,  son  of  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  minister,  was  born  in  Wrights- 
town,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  Jan.  1,  1819.  His  literary  edu- 
cation was  received  at  the  Newtown  Academy,  and 
his  medical  instruction  from  Dr.  C.  W.  Smith,  of 
Wrightstowu,  supplemented  by  two  courses  of  lectures 
at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1846.  He  soon 
after  removed  to  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  and  commenced 
practice.  During  the  years  that  have  supervened  he 
has  won  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  community 
in  which  he  resides.  "  Jealous  for  the  honor  of  his 
profession,  and  concerned  for  the  safety  of  the  public, 
he  has  always  given  earnest  attention  to  the  subject  of 
regulating  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  was  mainly 
instrumental  in  getting  through  the  Legislature  the 
present  law  regulating  practice  in  the  State." 

Robert  Mills  McLenahan,  who  practiced  as  a 
physician  at  New  Hampton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  from 
the  time  of  receiving  his  doctor's  degree  (1836)  until 
within  a  short  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
April  28,  1864,  was  born  Oct.  19, 1817,  at  Pennington, 
N.  J. ;  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Joseph  Welling, 
and  was  graduated  from  the  New  York  Medical  Col- 
lege. His  genial  manners,  combined  with  high  pro- 
fessional abilities,  won  him  a  reputation  seldom 
enjoyed  by  u.  country  physician.  So  heavy  became 
his  labors,  and  with  constantly  failing  health,  that  he 
called  in  the  professional  aid  of  Dr.  Howard  Servis, 
who  became  his  successor.  His  first  wife  was  Chris- 
tiana, daughter  of  the  late  Aaron  Van  Syckel,  of 
Union  township  ;  she  died  March  8, 1856.  His  second 
wife,  a  Jliss  Johnston,  survives  him.  His  remains 
repose  in  the  Baptist  churchyard  in  ITnion  township. 
John  Alfred  Gray  was  born  on  the  homestead- 
farm  of  his  father,  Joseph  Gray,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Princeton,  July  6,  1812.  His  mother's  maiden  name 
was  Annie  Furman ;  his  parents  were  both  natives  of 
New  Jersey.  Before  entering  college  he  was  the 
pupil  of  Rev.  Dr.  Baird,  of  Princeton.  He  was  grad- 
uated at  Nassau  Hall  in  1S;!2,  and  studied  his  profes- 
sion with  Samuel  ETowell,  M.D.,  of  Princeton ;  at- 
tended lectures  at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1836.  He  then  removed 
to  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  for  a  time  was  assistant  editor 
of  the  Tn/nio  Blade;  from  thence  he  removed  to 
Rocky  Hill,  Somerset  Co.,  where  he  practiced  from 
1844  to  1854,  when  he  removed  to  Flemington,  where 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


233 


he  continued  until  his  death.  July  3,  1837,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Ahhy  Douglas,  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  who  died 
at  Eocky  Hill,  Feb.  22,  1846.  On  May  24,  1848,  he 
married  Miss  Jane  Allen  Hart,  daughter  of  the  late 
Neal  Hart,  Esq.,  of  Eocky  Hill*  who  survived  him. 
Dr.  Gray  was  an  efficient  practitioner,  but  failing 
health  in  his  later  years  impaired  his  usefulness  in 
the  profession.  He  was  conservative  in  practice,  and 
yet  not  behind  the  times.  He  was  a  member  in  good 
standing  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunter- 
don County,  attending  to  his  duties  with  alacrity, 
and  was  its  president  in  1865.  In  1864  he  became 
a  member  of  the  American  Medical  Association.  He 
died  at  his  residence  in  Flemington,  Sept.  29,  1872.* 

Henry  Eace,  son  of  Jacob  Eace  and  Sophia  Hoff 
his  wife,  was  born  Feb.  23,  1814,  in  Kingwood,  now 
Franklin,  township.  He  studied  medicine  with  Drs. 
H.  H.  Abernethy  and  Henry  Southard,  and  graduated 
in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, March  31,  1843.  He  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  immediately  after,  at  Pittstown, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  which  situation  he  has  occupied  ever 
since,  except  from  February,  1849,  to  April,  1851, 
spent  in  California.  He  was  married  May  6,  1857,  to 
Ada  Louisa  Woodruff,  of  Milford,  N.  J.f 

Geokge  Newton  Best,  son  of  Cornelius  Best  and 
Elsie  Alpaugh  his  wife,  was  born  at  Eound  Valley, 
Clinton  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Oct.  16, 
1846.  He  prepared  for  college  at  Pennington  Insti- 
tute, Pennington,  N.  J.,  and  entered  Lafayette  Col- 
lege, class  of  1873  ;  passed  through  freshman,  sopho- 
more, and  half  of  junior  year.  On  leaving  college  he 
took  charge  of  Eiegelsville  high  school ;  also  taught 
at  Wilmington,  Del.  He  studied  medicine  under  the 
preceptorship  of  Dr.  A.  S.  Jordan,  of  Eiegelsville, 
N.  J. ;  attended  three  courses  of  medical  lectures  and 
graduated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1875. 
He  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  the 
same  year,  at  Eosemont,  Hunterdon  Co.,  where  he 
still  remains.  He  was  married  in  1877  to  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Eichard  Wilson,  of  Eaven  Eock,  N.  J. 

Thomas  Edgar  Hunt,  son  of  William  A.  A.  Hunt, 
M.D.,  and  his  wife  Eliza  S.  Auten,  and  grandson  of 
Eev.  Hollovvay  W.  Hunt,  who  for  more  than  forty 
years  was  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Bethlehem,  was  born  at  Clarksville,  Hunterdon  Co., 
N.  J.,  about  1827.  After  receiving  his  preliminary 
education  he  studied  medicine  with  his  father,  and 
attended  the  medical  lectures  of  the  University  of 
New  York,  graduating  in  1847.  On  the  3d  of  May 
of  the  same  year  he  received  from  the  medical  society 
of  New  Jersey  his  diploma  to  practice  in  this  State, 
and  at  the  same  time  became  a  member  of  the  Dis- 
trict Medical  Society  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon. 
Of  this  society  he  was  vice-president  in  1852,  and 
president  in  1853.    About  this  time  he  received  the 

*  Dr.  John  Blane,  in  Trans.  Stiite  Society,  1872,  pp.  112, 113. 
t  See  also  slietch  of  the  Kace  family  in  the  history  of  Franklin  town- 
ship, in  this  work. 
16 


honorary  degree  of  A.M.  from  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  at  Princeton.     In  1848  was  delegate  to  the 
American  Medical  Association,  and  was  for  some  time 
permanent  member  of  the  same.     He  married  Miss 
Cynthia  Martin,  daughter  of  Judge  Martin,  of  Orange 
Co.,  N.  Y. ;  they  have  had  a  large  family  of  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living, — two  daughters  and  four  sons. 
William  C.  Alpaugh,  a  native  of  Tewksbury 
township,  this   county,  born   Sept.  14,  1841,  was  of 
German  extraction,  his  ancestors  being  among  the 
earliest  settlers  of  the  State.     He  lived  upon  his  fath- 
er's farm  until  his  .sixteenth  year,  and  for  two  years 
thereafter  was  engaged  in  school-teaching.     He  spent 
the  two  years  following  at  the  Hackettstown  Presby- 
terian Seminary,  and  then  read  medicine  with  Dr. 
Barclay,  of  Lebanon,  N.  J.     In  1865  he  entered  the 
Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  and  in  1867  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  Charity  Hospital,  con- 
nected therewith.     The  next  year  he  was  graduated 
second  in  a  class  of  more  than  one  hundred  students. 
He  at  once  began  a  regular  practice,  but  in  the  spring 
of  1869  was  induced  to  settle  at  High  Bridge,  Hun- 
terdon Co.     He  was  associated  on  the  start  with  Dr. 
Fields,  of  Clinton,  but  after   1872  practiced  alone. 
He  has  a  deservedly  high  reputation  as  a  physician 
and  surgeon,  an  extensive  practice,  and  a  wide  ride. 
Alexander  Barclay,  whose  father  was  also  a 
physician,!  was  born  at  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  Jan.  9, 
1832.     He  read  medicine  under  his  father,  attended 
lectures,  was  graduated  M.D.,  and  licensed  by  the 
board  of  State  censors.     He  then  (1860)  began  prac- 
tice at  New  Germantown.     During  the  war  of  the 
Eebellion   he   served    as    assistant    surgeon   of   the 
Thirtieth  Eegiment  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  resign- 
ing therefrom  March  5,  1863,  and  returning  to  New 
Germantown.     He  resumed  his  practice,  which  he 
continued  until  his  death,  caused  by  his  horse  taking 
fright  and  running  away,  he  being  thrown  from  his 
carriage ;  his  skull  was  fractured  and  effusion  resulted, 
causing  his  death  at  the  end  of  three  days, — June  18, 
1865.     His  professional  standing  was  excellent.     He 
was  a  member  of  the  County  Medical  Society.     He 
was  quite  a  musician,  and,  in  fact,  had  a  diversity  of 
talents.     His  wife  was  a  Miss  Waldron,  of  New  Ger- 
mantown ;  left  two  children, — a  son  and  a  daughter. 

John  P.  B.  Sloan,  born  near  Bloomsbury,  N.  J., 
May  26,  1799,  after  being  licensed  as  a  physician,  es- 
tablished himself  in  Bloomsbury,  Hunterdon  Co.  He 
subsequently  removed  to  Washington,  N.  J.,  and  died 
at  Ea-ston,  Pa.,  Feb.  10,  1849.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders,  in  1821,  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Medical 
Society,  in  whose  archives  is  still  preserved  a  well- 
written  dissertation  by  him  on  "Intermittent  Fever,'' 
read  before  that  body  at  its  semi-annual  meeting  in 
October,  1822,  which  shows  that  he  was  disposed  to 
analytical  investigation  of  disease, — a  taste  by  no 
means  common  among  country  practitioners  of  his 

J  Dr.  Alexander  Barclay,  of  Newhurg,  N.  T. 


234 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


time.  He  was  the  son  of  Eev.  William  B.  Sloan,  for 
many  years  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Greenwich,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J. 

John  S.  Linabeery,  born  in  Morris  Co.,  N.  J., 
son  of  John  Linaberry,  received  his  primary  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  Hunterdon  County,  was  a  stu- 
dent at  Ann  Arbor  University,  Michigan,  and  gradu- 
ated in  medicine  at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York  in  1861,  soon  after  which  he  settled  at  Moun- 
tainville,  in  Tewtsbury  township,  this  county,  w'here 
he  has  since  successfully  practiced  his  profession.  In 
1862  he  was  married  to  Ellen  Eobinson,  of  this  county. 

Henet  B.  Nightingale  was  the  son  of  the  Rev. 

Nightingale,  a  Baptist  minister  of  Doylestown, 

Pa.  He  was  well  educated,  was  a  graduate  at  Phila- 
delphia, a  member  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of 
this  county,  a  scientific  and  judicious  practitioner, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  at  Eosemont  (commencing  about 
the  year  1859)  and  at  Flemington,  ending  his  days  of 
usefulness  at  the  former  place,  Sept.  10,  1873,  aged 
about  fifty  years.  He  left  a  widow  and  a  large  family 
to  mourn  his  loss. 

James  Eeiley,  born  at  Durham,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa., 
in  the  year  1829,  was  graduated  from  Union  College 
in  1849;  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Condict,  of  Blairs- 
town ;  attended  lectures  at  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons,  New  York  City,  and  soon  after  com- 
menced practice  at  Lambertville,  in  this  county.  In 
1862  he  was  appointed  surgeon  of  the  Twenty-fifth 
Eegiment  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and  soon  be- 
came brigade  surgeon ;  was  mustered  out  of  service  in 
June,  1863.  He  helped  to  raise  the  Thirty-third 
Eegiment  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and  was  appointed 
its  surgeon.  He  served  with  distinction  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  in  1865.  He  died  March  23,  1872, 
at  Succasunna,  N.  J.,  where  he  had  enjoyed  an  ex- 
tensive practice  for  years. 

John  Watson  Young,  son  of  Nelson  V.  Young, 
Esq.,  was  born  at  Mount  Airy,  in  West  Amwell  town- 
ship, this  county,  Jan.  1,  1840.  He  studied  with  Dr. 
William  Wetherell,  of  Lambertville,  who  was  his  at- 
tending physician  during  his  last  illness.  He  matric- 
ulated at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  and  was  gradu- 
ated at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1862.  The 
same  year  he  located  at  Montague,  Sussex  Co.,  N.  J. 
there  practiced  his  profession,  and  there  died,  Feb. 
14,  1864.  He  was  buried  at  Mount  Airy.  His  son 
bears  his  name, — John  Watson  Young. 

AsBUEY  Parish,  M.D.,  was  born  May  17,  1846,  at 
Franklin,  Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y.  He  was  graduated  at 
the  Jefi"erson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia  in 
March,  1874 ;  served  as  substitute  resident  physician 
at  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital  for  some  time;  was 
then  appointed  to  the  resident  staff  of  jphysicians  of 
the  St.  Mary's  Hospital,  and  served  one  year.  In  the 
summer  of  1876  he  commenced  practice  in  Fleming- 
ton,  where  he  is  still  located.  He  married  Theresa 
H.  Down  in  February,  1877. 


The  practicing  physicians  in  the  county  at  the 
present  time  are  the  following :  Matthias  Abel,  T. 
M.  A'Hearn,  William  C.  Alpaugh,  John  Blane,  N. 
B.  Boileau,  George  N.  Best,  G.  W.  Bartow,  Isaac  S. 
Cramer,  William  S.  -Creveling,  Emanuel  K.  Deemy, 
John  H.  Ewing,  John  F.  Grandin,  William  Hackett, 
T.  Edgar  Hunt,  Edgar  Hunt,  Jeremiah  O.  Huff,  John 
V.  0.  Johnson,  Thomas  Johnson,  Moses  D.  Knight, 
William  Knight,  Cornelius  W.  Larison,  George  H. 
Larison,  John  S.  Linaberry,  William  E.  Little,  J.  D. 
McCauley,  Asbury  Parish,  A.  S.  Pitinger,  Henry 
Eace,  A.  M.  K.  Eeading,  George  P.  Eex,  Lewis  C. 
Eice,  George  T.  Eibble,  Asher  T.  Eiley,  John  V. 
Eobbins,  John  F.  Schenck,  William  H.  Schenck, 
Howard  Servis,  0.  H.  Sproul,  Albert  Shannon,  A.  C. 
Smith,  Theodore  H.  Studdiford,  George  R.  Sullivan, 
Sylvester  Van  Syckel,  Horace  G.  Wetherell,  William 
Wetherell,  Peter  C.  Young. 

HOMCEOPATHY  IN  HUNTERDON. 

The  first  person  in  this  county  to  practice  medicine 
upon  the  principle  of  similia  similibus  curantur  ("like 
cures  like")  was  Claeence  W.  Mitlfoed,  a  retired 
Baptist  clergyman  of  Flemington.  He  was  not,  we 
believe,  a  college  graduate,  although  well  read  in  the 
science  of  medicine.  He  became  pojjular  as  a  phy- 
sician, and  had  an  immense  practice.  This,  taken  in 
connection  with  his  enfeebled  state  of  health,  caused 
him,  in  1860,  to  associate  with  himself  Dr.  Joseph  Tay- 
lor, but  he  continued  in  active  practice  nearly  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  July,  1864.  He 
was  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Flemington  from 
1844  to  1849.  His  son.  Dr.  Joseph  Mulford,  was  a 
graduate  of  Hahnemann  College,  Philadelphia.  He 
removed  to  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  was  a  surgeon  in 
the  army  during  the  Eebellion,  and  is  now  serving  in 
the  same  capacity  in  the  United  States  army. 

William  E.  Hand,  a  native  of  Somerset  County, 
commenced  the  "  regular"  practice  of  medicine  in 
Hunterdon  County  at  Clarksville  in  partnership  with 
Dr.  W.  A.  A.  Hunt  in  1826.  He  married  a  daughter 
of  J.  Annin,  of  Somerset,  and  in  1827  removed  to 
Barbertown,  this  county.  While  at  this  place  he  be- 
came a  convert  to  the  principles  of  Hahnemann,  for 
in  1856  his  name  was  dropped  from  the  roll  of  mem- 
bers of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon 
County  "  for  practicing  homoeopathy."  He  remained 
in  practice  at  Barbertown  until  1870,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Virginia,  and  died  there  in  1871,  aged  about 
seventy-five  years. 

J.  Irons,  formerly  of  Philadelphia,  settled  in  Lam- 
bertville about  the  year  1859.  After  a  residence  and 
practice  there  of  two  or  three  years  he  removed  from 
the  place,  and  is  since  deceased. 

Joseph  Taylor,  also  of  Philadelphia,  came  to 
Flemington  in  1860,  as  stated  above,  to  assist  Dr. 
Mulford.  He  was  a  grandson  of  the  celebrated  Rich- 
ard Gardner,  M.D.,  of  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Taylor 
served  for  two  years  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Union  army, 


THE  PRESS   OF  HUNTEEDON   COUNTY. 


235 


1862-63,  after  which  he  practiced  his  profession  in 
Flemington  until  1866,  and  at  Frankford,  Pa.,  until 
his  death,  in  1871.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Hahne- 
mann College. 

J.  J.  CuEEiE,  a  native  of  Swedesboro',  N.  J.,  and 
a  graduate  of  Hahnemann  College,  came  to  Flem- 
ington in  1866,  where  he  practiced  until  1871,  then 
removed  to  Hightstown,  in  this  State.  He  subse- 
quently went  to  Columbus,  Burlington  Co.,  N.  J., 
where  he  is  now  engaged  in  active  practice. 

T.  B.  J.  BuRD  was  born  in  1846,  ki  Hunterdon 
County ;  graduated  from  the  Hahnemann  College  in 
1871,  and  at  once  commenced  practice  at  Washington, 
Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  but  soon  removed  to  Flemington, 
engaging  at  once  in  a  practice  of  homoeopathy,  which 
he  still  continues.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Homoeop- 
athic Society  of  New  Jersey. 

Isaac  Coopee,  formerly  a  resident  at  MuUica  Hill, 
Gloucester  Co.,  N.  J.,  established  himself  as  a  prac- 
ticing homoeopathic  physician  at  Frenchtown  in  the 
year  1871.  Four  years  later  he  removed  to  Trenton, 
where  he  is  still  in  practice. 

John  M.  Lowe  came  to  Milford,  Alexandria  town- 
ship, of  this  county,  in  1873,  where  he  is  still  en- 
gaged in  his  profession.  He  was  graduated  by  the 
University  of  New  York  in  1858,  and  has  been  prac- 
ticing homcBopathy  for  the  past  fifteen  years. 

Rurtrs  Eeed,  from  Yonkers,  N.  Y.,  settled  at  Lam- 
bertville  in  1877,  and  is  now  (1880)  practicing  there. 
He  was  graduated  from  Hahnemann  College. 

David  Kittingee  was  also  a  graduate  of  the 
Philadelphia  College  (Hahnemann),  and  settled  in 
Flemington  in  1861  or  1862.  When  Dr.  Taylor  went 
into  the  army.  Dr.  Kittinger  took  his  practice,  but 
upon  the  former's  return  the  latter  removed  to  Wil- 
mington, Del.,  where  he  now  resides  and  practices. 

By  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  at  the 
present  time  only  three  regular  homoeopathic  physi- 
cians in  Hunterdon  County, — viz..  Dr.  Lowe,  at  Mil- 
ford  ;  Dr.  Eeed,  at  Lambertville,  and  Dr.  Burd,  at 
Flemington. 

There  is  no  homoeopathic  medical  society  in  this 
county. 


CHAPTER    VIL 


THE    PKESS    OF    HUNTEEDOIT  COUNTY. 

First  Newspaper  in  the  State— The  First  Paper  in  the  County— The  Hun- 
terdon Gazette,  the  Pioneer  Paper  in  what  is  now  Hunterdon— The 
Hunterdon  Eepublican— Clinton  Newspapers— The  Lambertville  Press 
— The  Press  of  Frenchtown— Other  Papers. 

The  State  of  New  Jersey  did  not  have  a  newspaper 
until  the  year  1777,*  although  a  magazine  of  some 
note — "The  American  Magazine"— had  been  pub- 

*  It  was  styled  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  and  commenced  Dec.  5, 1777. 
Imprint:  "  Burlington,  printed  hy  Isaac  Collins."  A  folio  sheet,  about 
eight  by  twelve  inches,  price  twenty-six  shillings  per  annum.  It  was  re- 
moved to  Trenton  in  1778,  and  discontinued  in  1786. 


lished  at  Woodbridge,  Middlesex  Co.,  some  years 
before.  About  six  months  after  the  New  Jersey  Oa- 
zette  suspended,  the  Federal  Post  or  the  Trenton  Weekly 
Mercury  was  established  (May  5,  1787),  which  has 
since  passed  through  many  hands  and  changes  of  title, 
— as  the  Advertiser  and  as  the  Federalist, — and  is  now 
the  State  Gazette.  The  True  American  appeared  in 
1801,  and  disappeared  in  1828,  although  the  name 
was  again  revived  in  1845.  In  1821,  Stacy  G.  Potts 
and  Joseph  Justice  commenced  the  Emporium,  a  relig- 
ious and  literary  paper ;  in  1827  it  became  a  Jackson 
organ.  It  was  discontinued  in  1838,  the  year  Mercer 
County  was  formed.  The  National  Union  was  pub- 
lished in  1833,-  by  E.  B.  Adams.  These  papers  were 
the  only  newspapers  published  in  Trenton,  so  long  as 
that  place  remained  in  Hunterdon  County. 

THE  HUNTERDON  GAZETTE. 
The  first  paper  which  was  issued  in  what  is  now 
Hunterdon  County  was  the  Hunterdon  Oazette.  This 
paper  was  printed  and  published  at  Flemington,  by 
Charles  George,  editor  and  proprietor ;  it  appeared  as 
a  non-partisan  sheet  on  the  25th  day  of  March,  1825, 
and  was  placed  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  yearly. 

Mr.  George  continued  to  publish  the  Gazette  until 
the  2d  of  May,  1832,  when  the  paper  was  discontinued, 
although  Mr.  George  continued  to  keep  a  job-office 
until  July  18,  1838,  when  John  S.  Brown  bought  the' 
material  and  revived  the  Oazette.  He  continued  the 
publication  until  the  1st  of  March,  1843.  Mr.  Brown 
changed  the  paper  to  a  Whig  organ,  and  advocated 
the  election  of  William  H.  Harrison  to  the  Presidency. 
At  the  last-named  date  the  paper  was  sold  to  John 
H.  Swallow,  who  was  aided  in  conducting  the  paper 
by  Henry  C.  Buffington,  who  had  it  under  his  control 
for  some  years,  Mr.  Swallow  subsequently  retiring. 

In  1856  (possibly  earlier)  the  paper  was  edited  by 
Willard  Nichols.  After  his  retirement  (date  not 
known)  Alexander  Suydam  became  the  proprietor, 
and  sold  it  in  1863  to  J.  Eutsen  Schenck,}  who  sold 
it  to  Charles  Tomlinson  in  July,  1866.  Mr.  Tomlin- 
son  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  the  Democrat, 
and  published  it  until  July  10,  1867.  At  that  time 
he  purchased  the 

HUNTERDON  COUNTY  DEMOCRAT, 
and  united  the  two  interests,  and  continued  to  pub- 
lish under  the  latter  title  until  his  death.  Thus  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  Hunterdon  County  Democrat,  as 
at  present  organized,  is  the  successor  of  the  first  paper 
published  in  the  county. 

This,  the  second  paper  established,  was  commenced 
as  a  political  necessity  on  the  5th  of  September,  1838. 
The  Gazette,  up  to  near  that  time,  was  non-partisan, 
and  readily  gave  either  party  a  hearing.  This,  how- 
ever could  not  last,  and,  the  Gazette  soon  after  becom- 
ing the  organ  of  the  Whigs,  their  political  opponents 


+  Son  of  Dr.  John  F.  Schenck,  of  Flemington,  who  served  his  appren- 
ticeship in  the  Hunterdon  Democrat  ofBoe,  under  Mr.  Seymour. 


236 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


were  left  without  a  journal  devoted  to  their  interests. 
The  Democrats,  feeling  the  need  of  a  mouthpiece, 
took  measures  to  start  a  paper :  on  the  5th  of  Septem- 
her,  1838,  the  Hunterdon  Democrat,  appeared  under 
the  proprietorship  of  G.  C.  Seymour,  and  printed  for 
the  proprietor  by  Josephus  Shann.  It  was  a  sheet 
twenty-one  by  thirty  inches  in  size,  and  the  subscrip- 
tion was  two  dollars  per  annum.  Mr.  Shann  left  the 
Democrat  April  1,  1839,  when  Mr.  Seymour  assumed 
the  whole  management. 

In  September,  1849,  Hon.  Edmund  Perry*  became 
the  editor  and  proprietor,  and  held  it  until  18.54.  On 
Jan.  1, 1853,  Adam  Bellis  became  the  publisher  under 
some  agreement  with  Mr.  Perry.  About  Jan.  1, 1854, 
Mr.  Bellis  became  owner  in  part,  and  continued  to 
manage  it  as  editor  and  publisher  until  July,  1866,  at 
which  time  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Nightin- 
gale,! who,  as  its  editor  and  publisher,  managed  it  till 
July,  1867,  when  Charles  Tomlinson  became  the 
owner,  and  merged  the  two  interests  of  the  Democrat 
(formerly  Oazette)  with  the  Hunterdon  County  Demo- 
crat, and  continued  to  publish  it  until  his  death,  Aug. 
5, 1875.  Under  the  management  of  Adam  Bellis  (now 
of  the  Warren  Journal)  the  Democrat  became  a  paying 
institution,  and  under  the  management  of  Charles 
Tomlinson  its  prosperity  was  increased. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Tomlinson  the  property  and 
good  will  were  purchased  by  Robert  J.  Killgore,  who 
succeeded  to  the  chair  editorial  on  the  1st  of  October, 
1875,  and  who  continues  to  give  his  attention  to  the 
paper. 

The  Democrat,  in  all  the  forty-two  j-ears  of  its  exist- 
ence, has  been  conservative  in  its  course,  and  has  ex- 
ercised an  influence  for  union  and  harmony  in  the 
party  that  established  it.  It  has  taken  no  part  in  the 
making  of  candidates  for  local  or  county  ofiices,  but 
when  made  it  has  exerted  an  honest  and  persevering 
influence  to  elect  the  same.  Of  all  the  editors  of  the 
Democrat  but  two  survive,  Adam  Bellis  and  the  pres- 
ent editor.  Mr.  Swallow,  who  once  owned  the  Oazette 
for  a  short  time,  is  still  alive. 

In  March,  1868,  Mr.  L.  R.  Rnnkle  succeeded  J. 
Rutsen  Schenck  as  local  editor  of  the  Democrat, — a 
position  he  has  filled  acceptably  ever  since.  It  is  but 
justice  to  Mr.  Runkle  to  record  the  fact  that  much  of 
the  interest  which  has  attached  to  the  paper  during 
the  past  twelve  years  is  due  to  his  persevering  indus- 
try and  tact.  Of  those  who  have  learned  the  art  of 
printing  in  this  office,  it  may  be  truly  said  that  John 
Y.  Foster  j  has  made  his  mark  the  highest.  Of  the 
present  force  on  the  paper,  Messrs.  L.  R.  Runkle, 
W.  S.  Runkle,  Forrest  A.  Rice,  and  John  H.  Choyce 
learned  the  "Art  jireservative  of  all  Arts"  in  this 
office. 

*  See  sketch  in  "Bench  and  Bar  of  Hunterdon  County,"  elsewhere  in 
this  worlt. 

f  A  personal  sketcli  of  Dr.  Niglitingale  will  he  found  in  the  "  History 
of  the  Medical  Profession,"  ante. 

X  Author  of  the  work  ''New  Jersey  in  tlie  Eehellion,"  etc. 


THE  HUNTERDON  REPUBLICAN, 
also  published  at  Flemington,  was  established  in  1856. 
The  Presidential  campaign  of  that  year  found  the 
young  Republican  party  without  a  newspaper  to  rep- 
resent its  principles  in  Hunterdon  County.  A  stock 
company  was  formed,  and  soon  sufficient  shares  were 
subscribed  and  paid  for  to  warrant  the  establishing 
of  a  Republican  paper.  On  the  15th  of  October,  1856, 
the  first  number  was  issued,  Thomas  E.  Bartow  being 
its  editor.  He  continued  at  its  head  until  the  fall  of 
1862,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  late  G.  A.  Allen, 
Esq.,^  and  William  G.  Callis,  who  was  then  employed 
in  the  office.  Mr.  Allen  retired  from  his  editorial 
connection  with  the  paper  in  1872,  leaving  it  to  the 
sole  control  of  Mr.  Callis,  by  whom  it  is  now  (1880) 
conducted. 

Since  its  establishment  the  paper  has  been  twice 
enlarged,  and  is  now  one  of  the  largest  and  hand- 
somest of  our  State  papers. 

CLINTON    NEWSPAPERS. 

The  first  representative  of  the  press  in  Clinton  was 
the  Clinton  Times,  established  in  February,  1859,  as  a 
local  paper,  neutral  in  politics,  by  William  Abell.  In 
April,  1860,  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  A.  J.  Shampa- 
nore,  who  converted  it  into  a  political  organ  repre- 
senting the  Republican  party.  In  January,  1861, 
he  enlarged  it  and  changed  its  name  to  the  New  Jer- 
sey Leader.  Soon  afterwards  Shampanore  &  Little 
became  its  publishers  ;  then  Mr.  Little  was  announced 
as  publisher,  and  Mr.  Shampanore||  as  editor.  On  the 
1st  of  January,  1864,  William  Abell1[  resumed  the 
proprietorship,  and  published  the  paper  as  a  Demo- 
cratic journal.  He  continued  its  issue  until  the  sum- 
mer of  1865,  when  it  was  discontinued.  The  full  files 
of  both  the  Times  and  Leader  are  now  in  the  hands  of 
Enoch  Abell,  Esq.,  of  Union  township. 

On  the  11th  of  April,  1S68,  J.  Rutsen  Schenck,  who 
had  been  previously  the  publisher  of  the  Hunterdon 
County  Oazette,  began,  in  Clinton,  The  Constitutional 
Democrat,  with  a  new  establishment.  Dec.  15,  1868, 
John  Carpenter,  Jr.,  purchased  it,  changed  the  naine 
to 

THE   CLINTON   DEMOCEAT, 

and  has  continued  its  publication  as  a  Democratic 
paper  to  the  present  time.  It  claims  to  have  the 
largest  regular  circulation  of  any  newspaper  in  Hun- 
terdon County,  and  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential and  prosperous.  William  H.  Carpenter  is  the 
local  editor ;  John  Carpenter,  Jr.,  editor  and  proprie- 
tor. 


2  Personal  sketcli  in  "  Bench  and  Bar"  chapter,  mile. 

II  A,  J.  Shampanore  subsequently  published  the  Belvidere  Intellir/encar 
(now  the  Apollo),  and,  associated  with  his  son,  is  the  present  proprietor 
of  The  Bound  Brook  Chronicle. 

1  Published  the  HacMlslonii  Guuelte  from  1861  to  1804.  When  he 
discontinued  the  Leada;  in  1865,  it  was  not  for  w.int  of  patronage,  for 
its  circulation  hart  been  increased  to  fifteen  bundled  subscribers,  but 
because  he  "  thought  he  was  tired  of  the  pi  inting  business."  He  is  now 
(i^epfeniber,  ISSO)  residing  in  Providence,  H.  I.—  Vide  person.al  letter. 


THE  PRESS   OP   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


237 


THE  LAMBERTVILLE  PRESS. 
The  first  paper  published  in  Lambertville  was  The 
Telegraph.  It  was  started  in  May,  1845,  by  Jolin  E. 
Swallow.  He  sold  subsequently  to  Messrs.  George  C. 
Large  and  William  B.  Hughes ;  the  latter  disposed  of 
his  interest  to  Edwin  G.  Clark,  and  the  paper  was  pub- 
lished under  the  firm-title  of  Large  &  Clark,  and 
later  by  Mr.  Clark  alone.  While  the  latter  gentle- 
man had  sole  charge  of  the  paper  he  changed  the 
name  to  The  Delaware  Valley  Diarist.  In  1853, 
Franklin  P.  Sellars  purchased  the  establishment  of 
Mr.  Clark,  and  upon  taking  possession  he  changed 
the  name  of  the  paper  to  The  People's  Beacon.  He 
had  charge  until  1858,  when  the  ofiice  again  changed 
owners,  and  the  paper  its  name ;  he  sold,  in  that  year, 
to  Clark  Pierson,  who  continued  the  paper  under  the 
title  of  The  Beacon,  which  name  it  still  bears.  In 
November,  1869,  Hazen  &  Roberts  purchased  the  es- 
tablishment. April  1,  1875,  Phineas  K.  Hazen  bought 
his  partner's  interest,  and  has  conducted  the  sheet  to 
the  present  time,  both  as  editor  and  proprietor. 

During  the  ownership  of  Clark  Pierson,  The  Beacon 
was  enlarged  from  a  seven-  to  an  eight-column  paper. 
It  has  always  been  neutral  in  politics.  Its  publica- 
tion-office is  located  on  the  corner  of  Bridge  and 
Union  Streets,  in  connection  with  which  is  a  good  job- 
printing  office. 

The  Lambertville  Record  was  founded  in  September, 
1872,  by  Clark  Pierson,  as  its  editor,  publisher,  and 
proprietor,  and,  without  any  changes,  as  such  still  re- 
mains. It  was  started  as  a  Republican  paper,  and 
so  continues.  It  is  a  well-managed,  ably-conducted 
local  paper.  Its  office  is  situated  at  the  corner  of 
Union  and  Coryell  Streets.  Mr.  Pierson  is  also  post- 
master. 

FRENCHTOWN   PAPERS. 

The  first  paper  in  Frenchtown  was  the  Press,  which 
was  established  April  2,  1868,  by  Charles  S.  Joiner. 
It  was  a  weekly  paper,  independent  in  politics,  and  a 
twenty-four-column  quarto  in  size.  In  the  great  fire 
of  June  29,  1878,  the  office  was  destroyed.  The  last 
number  of  The  Frenchtown  Press  was  a  half-sheet, 
containing  an  account  of  the  fire,  and  issued  from  one 
of  the  Trenton  printing-offices,  July  3, 1878. 

The  Hunterdon  Independent  first  appeared  May  6, 
1871.  Its  publishers  were  S.  D.  &  R.  Slack,  and  An- 
drew Slack  was  its  proprietor.  Boss  Slack  retired 
from  the  firm  in  the  spring  of  1874,  and  S.  D.  Slack 
continued  the  publication  of  the  paper  until  his  death, 
Jan.  21,  1879.  The  Independent  was  then  purchased 
by  J.  R.  Hardon  &  Co.,  who  had  charge  until  Decem- 
ber, 1879,  when  Mr.  Hardon  became  sole  editor,  pub- 
lisher, and  proprietor.  He  still  continues  its  publi- 
cation, the  office  being  located  at  the  corner  of  Bridge 
and  Harrison  Streets.  It  is  a  thirty-two-column  paper, 
and  is  published  weekly. 

The  Frenchtown  Star  was  founded  by  W.  H.  Sipes, 
in  May,  1879.    It  was  designed  to  be  a  monthly  peri- 


odical, and  its  initial  number  was  eight  pages  of  six  by 
nine  inches  in  size,  but  it  was  enlarged  with  its  second 
number  to  twelve  pages,  and  so  continued  for  ten 
months.  March  31,  1880,  the  form  was  changed  to  a 
twenty-four-column,  and  it  was  made  a  weekly  at  the 
same  time.  Mr.  Sipes  still  continues  its  publication, 
his  office  being  located  at  the  head  of  Bridge  Street. 

OTHER  PAPERS. 
The  Family  Casket  was  first  issued  at  White  House, 
on  Wednesday,  the  8th  of  April,  1868,  by  A.  J.  Sham- 
panore.  It  was  twenty  by  twenty-six  inches  in  size, 
and  was  published  weekly,  at  one  dollar  per  annum. 
On  the  1st  of  October  of  that  year  it  was  enlarged  to 
a  seven-column  sheet,  it  having  attained  a  circulation 
of  six  hundred.  It  was  edited  and  published  by  Mr. 
Shampanore  until  Sept.  12,  1877,  when  he  sold  it  to 
E.  S.  Stout ;  but,  the  latter  gentleman  not  being  able 
to  continue  it,  the  establishment  reverted  to  its  orig- 
inal owner,  who,  on  the  1st  of  December,  1877,  re- 
moved the  office  to  Bound  Brook,  where  the  paper 
reappeared  Jan.  30,  1878,  but  the  following  April  its 
name  was  changed  to  the  Bound  Brook  Chronicle. 
The  Casket  was  independent  in  all  things,  but  took  a 
decided  stand  in  favor  of  temperance,  being  in  1871- 
72  the  organ  of  the  Good  Templars.  It  was  first 
published  over  B.  V.  Pickel's  store ;  in  April,  1870, 
it  was  removed  to  the  building  now  occupied  as  the 
post-office ;  in  June,  1872,  it  occupied  the  structure 
now  known  as  James  Mallison's  hardware-store,  the 
owner  having  built  it  on  purpose  for  a  printing-office. 
Its  success  was  remarkable,  the  paper  having  reached 
a  circulation  of  twelve  hundred  and  thirty-two  on  its 
third  anniversary. 

The  Leader,  a  weekly  newspaper  devoted  to  local 
news  and  interests,  was  established  at  Milford  by  John 
C.  Rittenhouse,  March  17,  1880.  This  is  the  first 
publication  of  any  kind  in  Milford.  It  was  started  a 
five-column  paper  in  size,  all  printed  at  home,  but 
was  soon  enlarged  to  seven  columns  to  the  .page,  with 
"  patent  outsides,"— that  is,  the  first  and  fourth  pages 
of  the  paper  are  furnished  the  publisher  ready  printed 
from  some  other  establishment.  In  connection  with 
the  Leader  is  a  job-printing  office,  under  the  same 
management,  and  located  in  Conine's  building. 

The  first  number  of  The  Mutual  Insurance  Advocate 
was  issued  April  1,  1873.  It  was  originally  proposed 
to  make  it  an  occasional  publication,  but  during  most 
of  the  seven  years  it  has  been  published  it  has  ap- 
peared as  a  quarterly.  It  was  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  mutual  insurance  in  general,  but  was  published  by 
the  Beadington  Farmers'  and  Citizens'  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company  of  New  Jersey.  Its  editor  was 
Aaron  J.  Thompson,  the  assistant '  secretary  of  the 
company  from  its  organization  to  the  present  time. 
The  last  number,  recently  issued,  contained  the  .fol- 
lowing announcement :  "  This  number  of  the  Advo- 
cate makes  twenty-three  issues.  Hereafter,  other 
methods  of  advertising  will  be  resorted  to." 


238 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


In  1872  were  puLlislied  at  Glen  Gardner  the  Moun- 
tain Echo  and  the  Glen  Gardner  Sentinel,  printed  at 
Washington,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  hy  the  Touchstone 
and  Star  offices  respectively.  They  were  issued  but 
a  year  or  two,  and  then  discontinued.  The  Philocrat 
is  now  published  as  a  weekly  newspaper.  It  was 
established  in  1879  by  Dr.  Thomas  C.  Hunt,  edited 
by  Eev.  William  Henderson,  of  California,  until  the 
summer  of  1880,  when  Dr.  Henderson  assumed  the 
editorial  control.  Is  a  four-page,  five-column  paper, 
devoted  to  the  advocacy  of  the  temperance  cause. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

AUTHORS  OF  HUNTEEDOH"  COTJIirTX.* 

Prefatory  RemarkB — Sketches  of  Forty-seven  Authors  of  the  County, 
arranged  Alphabetically,  with  List  of  their  Publications. 

Purposely,  a  wide  scope  has  been  permitted  in 
this  chapter  on  authors.  The  design  is  to  record  what 
has  been  done  by  natives  of  this  county,  or  those  who 
have  resided  in  it,  in  the  way  of  influencing  others 
through  the  press.  Hence  Legal  Decisions,  Lectures, 
Addresses,  Tracts,  Serials,  and  extended  articles  in 
Newspapers  and  Magazines  have  been  included.  The 
list  has  not  been  restricted  to  those  who  have  written 
books. 

The  rule  of  selection  was  to  take  those  who  were 
born  in  the  county  and  have  published  whether  while 
living  in  the  county  or  elsewhere.  Of  those  not 
natives  of  the  county,  the  selection  comprises  those 
who  have  resided  in  the  county,  and  some  or  all  of 
whose  productions  appeared  while  residents.  Editors 
have  not  been  included,  because  their  publications  re- 
ceive mention  in  the  chapter  on  the  press.  Probably 
some  names  are  omitted  that  should  appear.  Of  the 
forty-seven  authors  mentioned,  twenty-one  were  na- 
tives of  the  county. 

Bailey,  Rev.  William. — Born  Feb.  14,  1819,  in 
Bethlehem,  Albany  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  graduated  at  Rutgers 
College,  July,  1842 ;  graduated  from  theological  semi- 
inary  of  Reformed  Church,  New  Brunswick,  July, 
1845;  entered  the  ministry  of  Reformed  Church  at 
Guilderland,  Albany  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1845 ;  remained 
there  to  1847 ;  pastor  at  Schodaok,  N.  Y.,  1847-56 ; 
at  Constantine,  Mich.,  1868 ;  Albany  Third  Church, 
1868 ;  White  House,  N.  J.,  1868  to  present.  Mr.  Bailey 
has  been  an  active  and  successful  pastor,  fully  enlisted 
in  all  Christian  work. 

Publications. — He  contributed  a  valuable  historical 
article  on  "The  White  House"  to  a  magazine  pub- 
lished by  A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  Esq.,  of  Somerville,  in 
1873.  He  has  also  written  for  The  Christian  Intelli- 
gencer and  The  Sower. 

BiED,  Hon.  John  T. — (See  a  biographical  sketch 

*  Prepared  by  George  S.  Mott,  D.D. 


in  the  chapter  on  the  "  Bench  and  Bar,"  elsewhere 
given.)    P'  Z*  t- 

Publications.— While  in  Congress  he  made  a  number 
of  able  speeches  which  were  published,— in  1869, 
"The  Method  proposed  to  Reconstruct  Georgia;" 
1870,  "Against  Repudiation,"  "The  Farmer  and 
Tariff,"  "In  Opposition  to  the  Third  Attempt  at  Re- 
construction of  Georgia,"  "On  the  Regulation  of 
Commerce  by  Congress ;"  1871,  "  On  the  Enforcement 
of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,"  "  On  National  Edu- 
cation ;"  1872,  "  Civil  Service,"  "  Revenue  Reform," 
"The  Tariff;"  1873,  "  Credit  Mobilier." 

Blane,  John,  M.D.— Born  in  the  township  of 
North  New  Brunswick,  Middlesex  Co.,  July  7,  1802. 
(For  further  particulars  see  "  History  of  the  Medical 
Profession  of  Hunterdon  County,"  in  this  work.) 

Publications.— T)r.  Blane  has  devoted  considerable 
attention  to  historical  subjects.  He  has  written  a 
valuable  history  of  the  medical  society  of  this  county, 
which  embodies  about  all  that  is  known  of  the  history 
of  the  physicians  of  the  county  from  1748  to  1872. 
In  1837  he  made  a  minority  report  against  the  mo- 
nopoly powers  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad 
Company.  He  was  chairman  of  a  committee  of  in- 
quiry, being  senator  that  year  from  this  county. 

Buchanan,  James,  Esq. — Born  at  Eingos,  June 
17,  1839;  removed  to  Clinton,  1849;  began  study  of 
law  with  Hon.  J.  T.  Bird,  1860;  1863-64,  law  school 
of  Albany  University;  began  practice  of  law  at 
Trenton,  1864;  in  1875,  honorary  degree  of  A.M. 
conferred  by  Lewisburg  University;  in  1865  was  ap- 
pointed reading  clerk  New  Jersey  Assembly  ;  member 
board  education,  Trenton,  1868-69 ;  presiding  judge 
Mercer  County,  1874^79. 

Publications. — He  is  the  author  of  several  pamph- 
lets,— "  Protection  to  American  Ship-Building,"  an 
address  before  the  National  Board  of  Trade,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  1879;  "Growth  and  Importance  of  the 
Baptist  Denomination,"  an  address  before  the  New 
Jersey  Baptist  State  Convention,  October,  1879 ; 
"  History  of  the  Central  Baptist  Church,  Trenton, 
N.  J.;"  "Our  State  Finances."  He  has  contributed 
at  different  times  about  one  hundred  articles  for  the 
daily  and  weekly  press,  both  secular  and  religious, 
among  the  most  prominent  of  which  are  "  Legal 
Status  of  Women  in  New  Jersey,"  1869  ;  "  Capital 
Punishment,"  1878.  Judge  Buchanan's  articles  give 
evidence  of  an  active  and  well-informed  mind.  His 
style  is  clear  and  direct. 

Buchanan,  Rev.  Joseph  Chandler. — Born  at 
Ringos,  May  17, 1841 ;  resided  at  Clinton  for  several 
years ;  graduated  from  Madison  University,  New  York, 
1866;  received  A.M.  1869;  ordained  and  installed 
over  Baptist  Church,  Scotch  Plains,  N.  J.,  Oct.  1, 1869 
-78 ;  present  pastor  Baptist  Church,  Pemberton,  N.  J. 
Publications. — He  has  published  three  sermons, — • 
"Thoroughly  Furnished,"  "Home  Life,"  and  "The 
Great  Calamity," — also  four  annual  reports  of  East 
New  Jersey  Baptist  Association,  1872-76,  inclusive. 


AUTHOKS   OP  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


239 


He  has  contributed  nearly  fifty  articles  to  Examiner 
and  Chronicle,  Religioiis  Herald,  National  Baptist.  In 
1871  lie  published  a  "Historical  Sketch  of  Baptist 
Church  of  Scotch  Plains,  N.  J."  He  has  been  prom- 
inent as  a  member  of  various  boards  of  benevolent, 
religious,  and  educational  work  of  his  denomination. 

Clyde,  Ret.  John  C— Born  Oct.  22, 1841,  at  White 
Deer  Valley,  near  Williamsport,  Pa. ;  entered  Lafay- 
ette College,  Easton,  in  1860 ;  remained  one  year,  and 
then  spent  a  year  at  Belle  Centre,  Logan  Co.,  Ohio, 
from  which  he  had  come  to  college.  In  August, 
1862,  he  joined  the  Seventy-second  Regiment  Illi- 
nois Volunteers.  He  remained  in  the  army  until 
July,  1863,  serving  most  of  the  time  as  deputy  pro- 
vost-marshal on  the  Mississippi  River  at  Columbus, 
Ky.  He  was  honorably  discharged,  returned  to  La- 
fayette College  in  September,  1863,  and  graduated  in 
1866.  He  then  entered  the  theological  seminary  at 
Princeton,  and  graduated  1869.  Licensed  by  Second 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  April,  1868,  he  supplied 
the  church  at  Tioga,  Pa.,  four  months  of  vacation ; 
1869-70,  stated  supply  at  Chesterville,  Iowa ;  August, 
1870,  to  June,  1872,  supply  of  Presbyterian  Church, 
Shenandoah,  Pa. ;  June,  1872,  to  July,  1879,  pastor 
Presbyterian  Churches  at  Frayer  and  Charlestown, 
Chester  Co.,  Pa. ;  July,  1879,  pastor  of  Presbyterian 
Church,  Bloomsbury ;  degree  of  A.M.  in  course  from 
Lafayette  College. 

Publications. — The  authorship  of  Mr.  Clyde  has  so 
far  been  of  the  historical  order.  In  1876  he  published 
"  History  of  the  Allen  Township  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  the  Community  which  has  sustained  it,  in  what 
was  formerly  known  as  the  'Irish  Settlement,'  North- 
ampton Co.,  Pa."  This  is  a  12mo  of  one  hundred 
and  ninety-eight  pages.  In  1879,  "  Genealogies,  Ne- 
crology, and  Reminiscences  of  the  'Irish  Settlement;' 
or,  a  Record  of  those  Scotch- Irish  Presbyterian  Fam- 
ilies who  were  the  First  Settlers  in  the  '  Forks  of  Dela- 
ware,' now  Northampton  Co.,  Pa."  This  is  a  12mo 
of  four  hundred  and  twenty  pages.  In  1880,  "Ros- 
brugh,  a  Tale  of  the  Revolution ;  or,  Life,  Labors,  and 
Death  of  Rev.  John  Rosbrugh,  Pastor  of  Greenwich, 
Oxford,  and  Mansfield  Woodhouse  (Washington) 
Presbyterian  Churches,  N.  J.,  from  1764  to  1769  ;  and 
of  Allen  Township  Church,  Pa.,  from  1769  to  1777 ; 
Chaplain  in  the  Continental  Army ;  Clerical  Martyr 
of  the  Revolution ;  Killed  by  Hessians  in  the  Battle 
of  Assanpink,  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  Jan.  2,  1777. 
Founded  upon  a  paper  read  before  the  New  Jersey 
Historical  Society  at  its  meeting  in  Trenton,  Jan.  15, 
1880 ;  to  which  is  appended  genealogical  data  of  all 
the  Rosbrughs  of  the  connection  in  America.''  While 
in  the  army  he  contributed  a  series  of  letters  to  Belle- 
fontaine  (Ohio)  Republican;  in  1871,  a  series  of  arti- 
cles on  "College  Secret  Societies,"  va. Nassau  Literary 
Magazine,  Princeton;  in  1872,  a  series  on  "Rotary 
Eldership,"  in  Presbyterian,  Philadelphia.  He  has 
also  written  short  articles  on  various  topics  for  differ- 
ent journals.    Mr.  Clyde  gathers  with  great  care  and 


industry  all  accessible  details  which  bear  upon  his 
theme,  and  these  he  weaves  together  with  skill,  pre- 
senting an  attractive  narrative. 

Comfort,  Rev.  Laweence  L.— Born  Nov.  5, 1822, 
in  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  graduated  at  Union  College 
1848,  and  at  theological  seminary  New  Brunswick 
1851.  Licensed  in  1851,  he  was  pastor  of  Reformed 
Church,  White  House,  1852-54;  New  Hurley,  1854- 
71.  Settled  at  Berea  1872,  and  at  Montgomery,  N.  Y. 
1873.     He  died  July  21,  1879. 

Publications. — While  pastor  at  White  House  he 
published  a  sermon  on  "Temperance,"  Dec.  18,  1853, 
pp.  15. 

Demaeest,  Rev.  Coenelius  T. — Graduated  from 
Columbia  College  1804,  and  licensed  1807;  was  set- 
tled at  White  House  1808-13;  while  there  was  elected 
a  trustee  of  Rutgers  College;  pastor  at  English  Neigh- 
borhood from  1813-39;  King  Street,  New  York,  1851 
-62.     Died  1863. 

Publications. — He  was  engaged  in  church  contro- 
versy, and  published  "A  Lamentation  over  Rev. 
Solomon  Froeligh,  with  copious  historical  Notes." 
(For  further  see  Corwin's  "Manual,"  p.  233.) 

Honeyman,  John,  M.D. — Born  at  New  German- 
town,  Feb.  22,  1798 ;  graduated  Medical  Department 
University  of  Pennsylvania  1824;  practiced  at  New 
Germantown,  and  died  Jan.  2,  1874.   SiAeJ2a-Q.   jpi-b  i 

Publications. — ^His  publications  were :  1.  "  On  Tem- 
perance," in  Temperate  Reporter,  1837;  2.  "History 
of  Revival  under  Dr.  Pohlman,"  in  Lutheran  Observer, 
1840.  In  a  memoir  of  him,  published  1874,  are  let- 
ters, addresses,  and  six  poems  from  his  pen. 

HoNEYMAN,  Petee  Nevius. — Born  June  12, 1840, 
at  New  Germantown,  where  he  still  resides ;  gradu- 
ated at  Allentown  Seminary  1856,  and  became  a  mer- 
chant. Like  most  of  the  family  of  this  name,  he  plies 
a  facile  pen.     He  is  a  son  of  the  preceding. 

Publications. — He  has  contributed  articles  to  sev- 
eral newspapers,  besides  a  series  in  Hackettstown 
Gazette,  1862 ;  "  Plots  and  Counterplots,"  a  serial  ia 
thirty-six  chapters,  in  Belvidere  Intelligencer,  1864- 
65 ;  "  Byron  Hunter,''  serial  in  twenty  chapters,  in 
same,  1865 ;  "  The  Mysterious  Spectre,"  in  twenty 
chapters,  in  same,  1865 ;  also  about  a  dozen  poems. 

HONEYMAN,  Col.  Robert  Raymond. — Born  at 
New  Germantown,  Oct.  1,  1836 ;  died  June  14,  1873. 
He  was  colonel  of  Thirty-first  New  Jersey  Regiment. 
(See  Army  Record  of  this  History.) 

Publications. — His  publications  were,  in  "  Our 
Home,"  1873 :  1.  "  New  Germantown :  Its  Local 
History ;".  2.  "  An  Arkansas  Tour ;"  3.  His  "  War 
Journal"  (posthumous).  He  also  contributed  various 
articles  to  the  Hunterdon  Republican  about  1858. 

Honeyman,  Rev.  William  Edgae. — Born  July 
26,  1839,  at  New  Germantown,  brother  of  above ; 
graduated  at  Princeton  College,  1861,  and  at  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary,  1864 ;  preached  at  Rock- 
away,  N.  J.,  Shenandoah,  Pa.,  and  Ashland,  Pa.,  to 
November,  1870,  when,  health  failing,  he  returned  to 


240 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


New  Germaiitowii.  In  May,  1871,  went  to  Wabasha, 
Minn.,  thence  to  Colorado  and  California,  returning  to 
New  Jersey  in  1879. 

Publications. — Two  articles  of  his  appear  in  "  Our 
Home,"  1873:  1.  "Ascent  of  Long  Peak,  Col.  ;"  2. 
"  Minnesota  Climate  for  Invalids."  In  newspapers  a 
number  of  sermons  in  part  or  in  full.  He  has  written 
considerably  for  different  journals. 

Hunt,  Ciceeo,  M.D. — Born  in  Ewing  township, 
Mercer  Co.,  N.  J.,  1801;  died  Dec.  1,  1876.  (See 
sketch  in  Medical  chapter,  Hunterdon  County,  in 
this  work.) 

Publications. — He  took  a  deep  interest  in  politics, 
and  wrote  two  articles  on  political  questions,  pub- 
lished in  Hunterdon  Gazette,  December,  1858,  and 
July,  1860.  His  chief  excellence  as  a  writer  was  in 
his  poetical  compositions.  He  composed  an  ode  on 
"  The  Celebration  and  Completion  of  the  Erie  and 
Hudson  Canal,  Oct.  20,  1825."  This  was  written 
while  he  was  assistant  physician  at  the  State's  prison, 
N.  Y.  This  ode  was  selected  by  the  committee  out 
of  148  competing  odes.  It  was  sung  in  New  York  City, 
at  the  celebration,  and  was  published  in  the  journals 
of  that  city.  He  also  prepared  a  poem,  which  was 
dedicated  to  the  young  gentlemen  of  the  Lyceum  at 
Eingos,  1847.  It  expatiates  on  the  works  of  Nature. 
It  presents  the  causes  ^vhich  led  our  forefathers  to 
this  land,  and  the  difficulties  they  encountered ; 
closing  with  the  injustice  done  the  savages,  their 
fate,  and  their  end.  A  long  poem  of  his,  entitled 
"  America,"  was  published  in  the  Hunterdon  Gazette, 
January,  1856.  The  theme  is  the  organization  of  the 
American  party.  These  poems  indicate  a  poetic 
talent  which,  if  cultivated,  would  have  secured  a 
good  reputation  to  Dr.  Hunt. 

Janeway,  John  Livingstone,  D.D. — Born  in 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  1815 ;  son  of  Jacob  J.  Jane- 
way,  D.D.,  a  very  prominent  divine  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  the  last  generation.  John  graduated 
at  Eutgers  College,  1835 ;  theological  seminary,  New 
Brunswick,  1840.  Pastor  at  Montville,  N.  J.,  1843-50 ; 
at  Flemington,  of  Presbyterian  Church,  1850-69. 
Degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  by  Lafayette  College, 
1866.  He  served  as  chaplain  of  Third  New  Jersey 
Eegiment  and  of  the  Thirty-first. 

Publications. — Two  sermons  by  him  have  been  pub- 
lished :  1.  "  On  the  Death  of  President  Lincoln ;"  2. 
"  Memorial  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  P.  0.  Studdiford, 
D.D." 

KiEKPATEiCK,  Eev.  Jacob,  D.D. — Born  Somerset 
Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  8,  1785 ;  graduated  Princeton  Col- 
lege, 1804;  studied  law  under  George  C.  Maxwell, 
Esq.,  Flemington,  but  at  the  end  of  three  years  began 
tlie  preparation  for  the  gospel  ministry  with  John 
Woodhull,  D.D.,  of  Freehold,  N.  J. ;  licensed  to 
preach  Aug.  8,  1809 ;  stated  supply  of  Eingos  and 
Mount  Airy  Churches,  1810-15 ;  pastor  1815  to  death. 
May  2,  1866.  (For  sketch  of  his  life  see  "  Kirk- 
patrick  Memorial,"  published  in  Philadelphia,  1867.) 


Publication. — His  only  publication  is  "Half-Cen- 
tury Sermon." 

Laege,  Geoege  H. — Born  Dec.  1,  1850,  at  White 
House  Station;  graduated  Eutgers*  College,  1872; 
admitted  to  bar  of  New  Jersey,  1875,  having  studied 
under  J.  N.  Voorhees,  Esq.,  Flemington. 

Publications. — "The  Imagination,  its  Nature,  Uses, 
and  Abuses,"  in  "  Our  Home ;"  editor  of  Targum,  a 
college  paper;  essays  on  "Literary  Eevivals"  and 
on  "  Character  of  George  Washington,"  for  which 
college  prizes  were  obtained. 

Laeison,  Eev.  Geoege  Holcombe,  M.D. — Born 
Jan.  4,  1831,  in  Delaware  township.  (See  Medical 
chapter  in  this  work,  for  a  biographical  notice.) 

Publications. — "  Annual  Address  before  the  ■Medical 
Society  of  New  Jersey,  May  25,  1875."  This  gives 
evidence  of  an  acquaintance  with  the  classics  and 
with  the  history  of  medicine  most  creditable  to  the 
author ;  also  an  essay,  "  Diseases  Prevalent  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Delaware." 

Lloyd,  Eev.  Aaeon. — Born  Erie  Co.,  Pa.,  July 
27,  1817  ;  graduated  at  Eutgers  College,  1842 ;  at  New 
Brunswick  Theological  Seminary,  1845;  settled  at 
Gorham,  1846-47  ;  over  Presbyterian  Church,  Phelps, 
1848-50;  Livingston,  N.  Y.,  1851-53;  missionary  at 
Hudson,  N.  J.,  1853-55 ;  pastor  at  White  House, 
1855-56 ;  Pekin,  1857-60. 

Publications. — "Scripture  Ofl[ice  of  the  Deacon," 
1850 ;  "  Sermon  before  the  City  Missionary  Society," 
1853. 

Macbeth,  Peof.  James  Walkee. — Born  at  Dal- 
rymple,  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  1814.  He  was  graduated 
at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  receiving  the  prize  for 
the  Greek  poem;  from  this  college  he  received  the 
degree  of  A.M.  He  studied  divinity  at  the  same  uni- 
versity, and  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  About  1852  he  came  to  this  country  and  de- 
voted himself  to  teaching.  From  1855  to  1861  he  was 
pi'incipal  of  a  classical  school  at  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  then 
at  Hempstead,  L.  I.,  and  in  several  other  places.  He 
took  charge  of  the  high  school,  Flemington,  1873,  and 
remained  until  1875,  when  he  was  elected  professor 
of  history,  belles-lettres,  and  political  economy  in  the 
University  of  West  Virginia.  Professor  Macbeth  died 
July  6,  1879,  in  the  ripeness  of  his  intellect. 

Publications. — While  at  Flemington  he  published 
his  work  on  "Might  and  Mirth  of  Literature,"  which 
at  once  attracted  the  attention  of  scholars  ;  it  quickly 
passed  to  the  third  edition.  The  book  is  a  marvel  of 
toil,  learning,  and  discrimination  in  selecting  the 
finest  gems  of  the  world's  literature.  It  is  the  most 
able  and  scholarly  work  ever  published  by  any  author 
in  this  county.  It  is  the  fruit  of  years  of  reading 
and  thought.  The  book  is  a  12mo.  Prof.  Mac- 
beth's  exuberant  imagination,  high  culture,  and  great 
attainments  were  also  exhibited  in  two  works  in 
manuscript  completed  just  before  his  death, — one  a 
theological  poem,  the  other  a  Scotch  novel  entitled 
"  Bonnie  Dalrymple."     In  addition  to  these,  he  pub- 


AUTHORS   OF  HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


241 


lished  several  essays  on  educational  and  religious  top- 
ics, among  which  is  "Theology  for  the  Million,"  a 
liamphlet,  also  a  series  of  articles  on  "  English  Phi- 
lology." 

Maxwell,  Heney  Dusenbuey. — Born  in  Flem- 
ington,  Dec.  5,  1812 ;  studied  law  with  Nathaniel  Sax- 
ton,  Esq. ;  licensed  as  attorney,  1834  ;  opened  an  office 
in  Easton,  Pa. ;  in  1850  went  as  consul  to  Trieste, 
Austria ;  presiding  judge  of  Northampton  Co.,  Pa., 
1856-62  ;  died  Oct.  3,  1874.  (For  further  see  chapter 
on  "  Bench  and  Bar.") 

Publications. — 1.  A  series  of  letters  from  Greece, 
1850,  in  Easton  Wliig  ;  2.  "  Charge  to  Grand  Jury," 
1856;  3.  Various  political  speeches  during  war  of  the 
Rebellion. 

Melick,  Miss  Annie  E. — Born  at  Germantown, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J. 

Publications. — She  wrote  nine  poems  of  decided 
merit,  also  two  prose  articles  in  "  Our  Home,"  under 
nom  de  plume  of  "M.  A.," — "The  Commonplace," 
"  About  Nutting." 

McNaie,  Rev.  John. — Born  in  Pennsylvania, 
1805 ;  graduated  at  Jefferson  College,  1828 ;  studied 
theology  about  two  years  in  Princeton  Seminary,  and 
was  ordained  as  an  evangelist  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Erie,  Nov.  7,  1833.  His  several  fields  of  labor  were 
Warren,  Pa.,  Philadelphia,  Yinceunes,  Iowa,  Milford, 
N.  J.,  Stroudsburg,  Pa.  He  was  settled  at  Clinton, 
1851-64.  While  at  Clinton  he  was  chaplain  of  a 
nine  months'  regiment.  He  received  the  degree  of 
D.D.  from  Lafayette  College.  He  died  January  27, 
1867. 

Publication. — The  only  one,  so  far  as  known,  is  a 
book  of  poems.  ^^'^W^  ^r.^^^S  rv^^^^sV^f 

MoTT,  Rev.  Geokge  S.,  D.D. —Born  Nov.  25, 
1829,  in  the  city  of  New  York ;  pastor  at  Flemington, 
1869  to  present;  degree  of  D.D.  conferred  by  Prince- 
ton College,  1874.  (See  his  biography  in  Chapter 
X.,  History  of  Hunterdon  County,  on  subsequent 
pages.) 

Publications.— Bo6k%:  "The  Prodigal  Son,"  1863, 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication ;  "  The  Resurrec- 
tion of  the  Dead,"  1866,  A.  D.  F.  Randolph;  "The 
Perfect  Law,"  1868,  American  Tract  Society.  Ar- 
ticles :  In  Presbyterian  Magazine,  1857,  "  David  and 
Goliath."  In  Princeton  Review,  1863,  "  Paul's  Thorn 
in  the  Flesh;"  1871,  "Retribution;"  1872,  "Anni- 
nihilatiou;"  1873,  "The  Sunday-school,  its  Past  and 
Present."  In  "  Our  Home,"  1873,  "  Capital  Punish- 
ment." Religious  Tracts:  "Holding  on  to  Christ," 
of  which  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  copies  have 
been  printed,  published  by  American  Tract  Society ; 
and  the  following  by  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publica- 
tion :  "  Gaming  and  Gambling ;"  "  There  is  no  Pass- 
ing;" "Eating  and  Drinking  Unworthily,"  referring 
to  the  Lord's  Supper;  "Nurse  them  at  Home." 
Miscellaneous :  In  1864,  "  A  Discourse  at  the  Funeral 
of  Capt.  George  V.  Griggs,"  by  request  of  Co.  K 
("  Harris  Light"),  Second  New  York  Cavalry ;  in  1865, 


"Seven  Weeks  of  Prayer,"  Newton,  N.  J.;  1873, 
Opening  Address  at  the  Fourteenth  Annual  Meeting 
of  Somerset  County  Sunday-school  Association ;  in 
1875,  "  Sermon  before  the  Hunterdon  County  Bible 
Society ;"  in  1876,  "  History  of  Presbyterian  Church, 
Flemington,  N.  J.;"  in  1878,  "The  First  Century  of 
Hunterdon  County,"  both  in  pamphlet;  in  1876,  ar- 
ticles on  the  Sunday-school  lesson  for  the  first  quarter 
of  the  year,  published  in  Somerset  Gazette.  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  many  articles  in  different  newspapers, 
both  secular  and  religious. 

MoTT,  Laweenc;e  S. — Born  March  9, 1856,  in  Rah- 
way,  N.  J.  ;  son  of  above ;  graduated  at  Princeton 
College,  1877 ;  studied  law  in  the  offices  of  John  T. 
Bird,  Esq.,  Flemington,  and  John  Emery,  Esq.,  New- 
ark ;  took  one  year's  course  in  Columbia  Law  School, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  New  Jersey,  June, 
1880. 

Publications.  —  In  1871  he  started  the  "Young 
American  Monthly,''  a  boys'  amateur  journal,  which 
attained  a  circulation  of  five  hundred  copies  in  1873, 
when  it  was  discontinued  on  account  of  his  entrance 
into  college.  During  that  period  he  wrote  most  of 
the  articles  for  his  paper,  and  contributed  about  fifty 
stories  and  sketches  to  other  boys'  papers.  At  Prince- 
ton he  contributed  several  articles  for  the  college 
magazines.  While  studying  law  several  articles  were 
published  in  Flowers'  Magazine,  of  Somerville,  and 
and  many  sketches  and  articles  on  various  topics  in 
the  Hunterdon  Republican,  Somerset  Gazette,  Herald, 
Sun,  and  Times  of  New  York,  the  Times,  Record,  and 
Evening  News  of  Philadelphia.  Early  in  1879  he  be- 
came the  regular  correspondent  of  New  York  Times 
for  the  central  counties  of  New  Jersey,  and  so  re- 
mained until  his  connection  with  the  regular  staff  of 
the  Philadelphia  Times,  September,  1880. 

Noll,  Arthur  Buetis. — Born  in  New  York  City, 
Oct.  16,  1814.  He  has  been  a  school-teacher  since 
1837, — in  New  Germantown,  this  county,  from  1846 
-53,  again  from  1868-76.  He  had  charge  of  a  depart- 
ment of  the  Family  Casket,  and  wrote  all  relating  to 
education  and  schools,  from  1868-79. 

Opdyke,  George. — Born  in  Kingwood  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  in  1805.  He  began  life  on  a  farm,  and 
there  remained  until  his  sixteenth  year,  when  hebegan 
teaching  a  district  school.  Believing  that  the  West 
afforded  the  best  chance  for  a  young  man,  he  opened 
a  clothing-store  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  A  better  open- 
ing soon  presented  itself  in  New  Orleans,  and  he  was 
in  the  clothing  trade  there  for  several  years.  In  1832 
he  transferred  his  business  to  New  York  City.  About 
1850  he  began  the  importation  of  dry-goods,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  business  until  1 867.  In  the  early  part 
of  1867  he  withdrew  from  the  dry-goods  business,  and 
in  the  following  year  established  the  banking-house 
of  George  Opdyke  &  Co.  In  1858  he  was  elected  to 
the  Legislature  of  New  York,  in  1861  mayor  of  New 
York  City,  and  was  in  office  at  the  time  of  the  draft 
riots  of  July,  1863,  the  suppression  of  which  was 


242 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


largely  due  to  his  prompt  and  decisive  action.  He 
died  June  12,  1880. 

Publications. — In  1852  a  wort  on  political  economy. 
Finance  was  a  study  of  peculiar  interest  to  him. 
This  excellent  treatise  has  not  received  the  attention 
it  truly  deserves,  partly  from  the  fact  that  the  house 
which  published  it  (Putnam)  retired  from  active  busi- 
ness soon  after  the  issue  of  the  first  edition.  He  was 
a  frequent  contributor  to  the  press  from  1860-76  on 
political  and  financial  questions.  His  reports  to  the 
New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  were  regularly  pub- 
lished. His  messages  as  mayor  of  New  York,  1862;- 
63,  were  published  by  Hurd  &  Houghton  in  1866. 

Ogden,  Isaac,  M.D. — Graduated  from  Princeton 
College  in  1784,  and  established  himself  as  a  physi- 
cian at  Six-Mile  Run.  Subsequently  he  removed  to 
White  House,  and  a  few  years  later  (1809)  to  New 
Germantown,  and  in  1826  he  went  to  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

Publications. — For  several  years  he  published  an 
almanac,  in  which  he  presented  prognostications  of 
the  weather,  generally  in  rhyme.  At  the  time  it  had 
a  very  extensive  circulation. 

Olmstead,  James  Munson,  D.D. — Born  in  Still- 
water, N.  Y.,  Feb.  17,  1794;  graduated  from  Union 
College,  1819,  and  from  theological  seminary,  Prince- 
ton, 1822;  pastor  of  Presbyterian  Churches,  Landis- 
burg  and  Centre,  Pa.,  1825-32;  Middle  Tuscarora, 
1834^-37 ;  Flemington,  1837-49.  In  1854  he  removed 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  died  Oct.  16,  1870. 

Publications. — "  Thoughts  and  Counsels  for  the  Im- 
penitent," 1846,  a  popular  work  which  reached  third 
edition ;  "  Our  First  Mother,"  written  ip  the  form  of 
letters  from  a  pious  and  intelligent  mother  to  her 
daughters  and  nieces  ;  "  Noah  and  His.  Times,"  1854, 
which  was  received  with  very  great  commendation ; 
"  The  Voice  of  God,"  a  sermon  preached  at  Fleming- 
ton  on  occasion  of  national  fast,  Friday,  May  14, 
1841.  His  works  give  evidence  of  study  and  ability. 
His  style  was  direct,  and  often  pungent. 

Porter,  Edmund,  M.D. — Born  Haddam,  Conn., 
June  18,  1791.  After  various  sojourns  in  different 
places,  he  established  himself  in  Frenchtown,  1820, 
where  he  practiced  until  his  death,  July  12,  1826. 

Publications. — He  contributed  largely  to  the  medical 
journals  and  newspaper  press  on  political,  medical, 
and  miscellaneous  topics.  They  are  found  in  the  New 
York  Medical  Repository,  American  Medical  Recorder, 
New  England  Journal  of  Medicine,  also  in  the  Trenton 
True  American,  The  Spirit  of  Pennsylvania,  The  East- 
ern Sentinel.  (For  an  interesting  sketch  of  his  eccen- 
tricities see  "  Biographical  Encyclopaedia  of  New 
Jersey.") 

Eacb,  Henry,  M.D. — Born  in  Franklin  township, 
this  county,  Feb.  23,  1814.  (See  biographical  sketch 
in  the  chapter  upon  the  "  Medical  Profession  of  Hun- 
terdon County.") 

Publications. — During  the  summer  of  1851  he  pub- 
lished -a  series  of  articles  :  "  Stray  Leaves  from  the 


Note-Book  of  a  Eeturned  Californian;"  1854r-55  he 
wrote  many  of  the  leading  editorials  for  The  Re- 
former, a  temperance  paper  then  published  at  Tren- 
ton. After  the  rejDeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
he  wrote  a  series  of  political  articles  for  the  Lambert- 
ville  Beacon,  under  the  nom  de  plume  of  "  No  Dough- 
face." He  also  wrote  elaborate  articles  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  "  Free  Soil"  movement  for  the  Hunterdon 
Gazette  and  the  Belvidere  Apollo.  He  was  the  prime 
mover  in  the  establishment  of  the  Hunterdon  Repub- 
lican, for  which  he  wrote  many  of  the  editorials  that 
appeared  for  the  first  two  years.  He  has  been  a  fre- 
quent contributor  since,  as  also  to  other  papers. 

KusHTON",  Key.  William  Otis. — Born  New  York 
City,  Dec.  6,  1852 ;  graduated  from  the  College  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  1872,  and  from  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  1875  ;  settled  over  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Fairmount,  N.  J.,  1875-77 ;  West  Union,  Iowa,  1877 
to  present  time. 

Publications. — In  1876  he  published  "  History  of 
Presbyterian  Church,  Fairmount;"  besides  this  two 
other  sermons  in  newspapers :  1.  "  Eeign  of  the  Lord : 
A  Thanksgiving  Sermon,  Nov.  29,  1877;"  2.  "The 
Breach  of  Uzzah,"  Aug.  29,  1880.  He  has  also  writ- 
ten for  the  local  press. 

Scott,  Rev.  James. — Born  Scotland,  1809 ;  grad- 
uated at  Universities  of  Glasgow  and  Belfast;  settled 
over  Presbyterian  Churches  of  German  Valley  and 
Fox  Hill,  1834r43 ;  Newark  First  Reformed  Church, 
1843  to  death,  in  1868. 

Publications. — "  Life  of  Rev.  Robert  Pollock,"  12mo, 
pp.  364,  New  York,  1848.  An  epic  poem.  On  this 
he  had  long  been  engaged.  It  had  but  recently  been 
finished  when  he  died.  He  left  directions  for  its 
publication. 

Shurts,  Rev.  Jacob  Vandeveer. — Born  Flem- 
ington, N.  J.,  Oct.  15,  1849 ;  graduated  at  Wyoming 
Seminary,  1874,  and  Bangor  Theological  Seminary, 
1877 ;  settled  over  Presbyterian  Church,  Chaumont, 
N.  Y.,  1877. 

Publications. —  In  1875  he  prepared  "  Daily 
Thoughts,"  being  selections  fi:om  sermons  and  wri- 
tings of  Rev.  T.  De  Witt  Talmage,  D.D.,  published 
by  Dodd  &  Mead, — an  admirably-conceived  and  well- 
edited  book.  He  has  contributed  to  Watertown 
Times,  Dispatch,  Family  Casket,  Church  at  Work. 

Strobel,  Rev.  Philip  Arthur.— Born  Sept.  16, 
1812,  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  graduated  at  Lutheran 
Theological  Seminary  of  South  Carolina ;  pastor  of 
Spruce  Run  Lutheran  Church,  June,  1860,  to  Decem- 
ber, 1864. 

Publications. — "  History  of  the  Saltzburgur,"  a  col- 
ony of  German  Lutheran  Protestants  who  settled  at 
Ebenezer,  Ga.,  1754.  Published  in  1854,  by  T.  N. 
Kurtz,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  350  pp.  Pamphlets  :  "  On 
the  Adaptation  of  Lands  in  Southwest  Georgia  to  the 
Raising  of  Cereals,"  Savannah,  1849 ;  series  of  ar- 
ticles to  prove  the  genuineness  of  the  Blue  Laws  of 
Connecticut,  1849.     Sermons:  "Value  of  the  Soul," 


AUTHOKS  OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


243 


Columbus,  S.  C,  1842;  "Thanksgiving  Sermon,"  in 
Lockport,  N.  Y.,  1859 ;  "  Thanksgiving  Sermon," 
Danville,  N.  Y.,  1877.  Three  articles  for  Dr.  Sprague's 
"  Lutheran  Ministers  in  the  United  States,"  1858, 
besides  various  reports  and  articles  in  Lutheran  Ob- 
server, Kaleigh  Christian  Advocate,  Charleston  Obser- 
ver. In  press  now,  "  Jubilee  Memorial  Volume  of 
Hartwick,  Lutheran  Synod  of  New  York,"  Lutheran 
Publication  House  of  Philadelphia. 

Studdifoed,  Rev.  Peteb. — Born  in  New  York 
City,  1763 ;  graduated  at  Columbia  College,  1786 ; 
studied  theology  with  Dr.  John  Livingstone ;  pastor 
at  Keadington  and  Bedminster,  1787-1800 ;  Reading- 
ton,  1800-26 ;  appointed  professor  of  Hebrew,  1812. 
Died  Nov.  30, 1826.* 

Publications. — "  Funeral  Sermon  of  Jacob  R.  Har- 
denbergh,  D.D.,"  1790;  "Justification,  with  some  of 
its  Precious  Fruits,"  sermon  in  New  Jersey  Preacher, 
1813. 

Stttddifoed,  Peter  Ogilvie,  D.D. — Born  Jan. 
11,  1799,  at  Readington,  N.  J.;  died  June  5,  1866.t 

Publications. — Although  a  ripe  scholar  and  able 
preacher,  his  publications  were  simply  a  Fourth-of- 
July  oration  before  his  old  friends  at  Readington,  N.  J., 
1845,  and  his  sermon  at  the  death  of  his  lifelong 
friend.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick,  which  was  published  after  his 
death. 

Studdiford,  Peter  Augustus,  D.D. — Born  in 
Lambertville,  Hunterdon  Co. ;  son  of  the  above.  He 
graduated  from  Princeton,  1849,  and  from  the  theo- 
logical seminary,  1855.  Degree  of  D.D.  was  con- 
ferred by  Princeton  College,  1874.t 

Ptt6&aiioras.—"  Thanksgiving  Sermon,"  at  Belle- 
ville, N.  J.,  1862;  "Historical  Discourse  at  Semi- 
centennial Anniversary  of  Hunterdon  County  Bible 
Society,"  Aug.  21,  1866 ;  "  Historical  Discourse  at  the 
Semi-Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  Lambertville,"  Sept.  22,  1872;  sermon 
preached  at  the  dedication  of  Thompson  Memorial 
Church,  October,  1874. 

Stewart,  Charles  Samuel,  D.D. —Born  Flem- 
ington,  1795;  graduated  at  Princeton  College,  1815. 
Among  his  classmates  were  Dr.  Charles  Hodge, 
Bishop  Mcllvaine,  and  Alexander  Wurts,  Esq. 
Graduated  from  Princeton  Seminary,  1818,  then 
studied  law  at  Litchfield,  Conn.;  went  as  missionary 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  1823;  health  of  his  wife 
failing,  he  returned,  1826 ;  entered  the  navy  as  chap- 
lain, 1828.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  Dec.  15,  1870, 
he  was  the  senior  chaplain  of  the  navy.  His  last 
cruise  ended  in  1862.  The  next  year  he  received  the 
degree  of  D.D.  from  New  York  University. 

Publications. — 1.  "  Residence  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands,"  one  volume,  1828.  This  passed  through 
six  American  editions,  and  was  republished  in  Lon- 
don, Edinburgh,  and  Dublin,  being  recognized  as  a 

*  A  further  biography  may  be  Been  ia  Chapter  X.,  on  following  pages 
of  this  work, 
f  See  sketch  with  history  of  Lambertville. 


standard  authority  on  the  early  history  of  that  mission, 
2.  "A  Visit  to  the  South  Seas,"  two  volumes,  1831. 
This  was  reprinted  in  London,  edited  by  Rev.  William 
Ellis,  missionary  to  Polynesia,  and  afterwards  to  Mad- 
agascar. 3.  "  Sketches  of  Society  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,"  two  volumes,  1834.  4.  "  Brazil  and  La 
Plata,"  1856.  He  left  many  manuscripts,  and,  had 
his  life  and  health  been  spared,  they  would  have  baen 
published.  He  was  for  many  years  a  correspondent 
of  the  New  York  Observer. 

SwAiM,  Thomas,  D.D.— Born  March  30,  1817,  at 
Pemberton,  N.  J. ;  graduated  at  Madison  University 
and  Theological  Seminary,  1846  ;  settled  at  Washing- 
ton, 1846-50  ;  Baptist  Church,  Flemington,  1851-67 ; 
Philadelphia,  1857-80;  degree  of  D.D.  conferred  1864 
by  Lewisburg  University,  Pa. 

Publications. — Sermon  commemorative  of  Rev. 
Clarence  W.  Mulford,  preached  at  Flemington,  July 
10,  1864;  "A  Discourse  on  Abraham  Lincoln,"  1865; 
and  other  discourses  in  pamphlet  form.  Besides  these, 
he  has  contributed  several  hundred  articles  to  various 
newspapers  of  the  Baptist  denomination, — New  York 
Examiner ;  Watchman,  Boston ;  National  Baptist, 
Philadelphia  ;  Religious  Herald,  Richmond. 

Thompson,  John  Bodine,  D.D. — Born  Oct.  4, 1830, 
near  Pleasant  Run,  Readington  township,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J. ;  graduated  at  Rutgers  College,  1851 ;  taught 
from  1851-67;  graduated.from  theological  seminary. 
New  Brunswick,~1858 ;  settled  at  Metuchen  Reformed 
Church,  1859-66;  Tarrytown,  1866-69;  Saugerties, 
1869-71;  Free  Church,  Italy,  1871-73;  Peekskill, 
1873-74;  Catskill,  1874  to  present;  D.D.  by  Rutgers 
College,  1870. 

Publications.— " Church  Manual,"  1867;  "Hymns 
of  the  Church,"  1869 ;  "  Hymns  of  Prayer  and  Praise," 
1870;  "Christian  Praise,"  1870;  "Christian  Praise  for 
Baptist  Churches,"  1870 ;  "  Christian  Praise"  enlarged, 
1880.  Sermons :  "  Signs  of  Promise,"  during  the  war ; 
"Development:  A  Thanksgiving  Sermon,"  1868;  "In 
Memoriam  Goodwin  Ensign,"  1876 ;  "  The  Centennial 
Exposition,"  1876  ;  "  The  Immovable  Attachment  of 
the  Reformed  Church  of  America  to  its  own  Faith  and 
Order,"  1876  ;  "The  Christology  of  St.  John,"  1877  ; 
"The  Doubter"  (a  Tract),  1878.  He  has  edited 
"Teachers'  Column"  in  Somerset  FZiijr,  1852;  "Good 
News,"  a  religious  monthly,  1868 ;  "  Christian  at 
Work  in  Italy,"  1872.  He  has  published  many  arti- 
cles in  different  papers;  the  most  important  are 
"  Letters  of  Travel,"  in  New  York  Times,  signed  "  H. 
H.,"  1851;  "Heart  Fancies,"  in  the  Carpet-Bag, 
Boston,  1851-52;  "The  Abrahamic  Covenant,"  "The 
Life  of  Trust,"  "Our  Country,"  in  Berg's  Evangelical 
Quarterly,  1860-61 ;  "  My  Religion,"  in  the  Bound 
Table,  1868;  "My  Life,"  etc.,  in  Good  News,  1868; 
"  Letters  of  Basilius,"  1871 ;  "  The  Dominie's  Letters," 
in  Christian  Intelligencer,  1878-79 ;  "  Liturgical  Arti- 
cles," 1871;  articles  on  "The  History  of  the  Churches 
of  the  Reformation,"  1875;  "Catechisms,"  1879, 
"  Fatherhood  of  God,"  1880,  in  The  Sower  ;  lessons  on 


244 


HUNTERDON    OOUNTY',  NEW    JKltSEY. 


the  Gospels,  in  Sunday-School  Times,  1870.  Besides 
this,  Dr.  Thompson  h;is  written  for  a  kirge  number  of 
papers,  both  secular  and  religious. 

Van  Dyke,  Rev.  Joseph  Smith. — ^Born  Nov.  2, 
1832,  at  Bound  Brook,  N.  J. ;  graduated  from  Prince- 
ton College,  18r>7,  and  theological  seminary,  18G1 ; 
tutor  in  college  during  seminary  course  ;  settled  over 
Presbyterian  Church,  Bloomsliury,  1861-00  ;  Cran- 
berry, 1809  to  tlip  present. 

Publications. — "  Pojiery  the  Foe  of  the  Church  and 
■of  the  Kepublio,"  published  by  Zicgler  &  Mc(.Iurdy, 
Philadelphia.  This  is  a  valuable  work,  evincing  re- 
search and  setting  foi'th  in  clear  and  pungent  sentences 
the  view  of  popery  as  stated  in  the  title.  It  is  highly 
recommended  and  has  reached  the  very  large  sale 
of  ten  thousand  copies, — an  unusual  number  for 
a  work  of  that  character.  Sermons :  "  Elements 
and  Evidences  of  National  Decay;"  "The  Scriptural 
Mode  of  evidencing  Piety;"  "Hard  Times"  (six 
sermons);  "  Justice  and  Judgment;"  "God's  Great- 
ness;" "A  Word  to  the  Weary;"  a  tract  on  "Legal 
Prohibition  of  the  Liquor  Traffic:  Address  to  the  Peo- 
ple of  New  Jersey,"  an  appeal  on  temperance;  "Criti- 
cism of  Stone's  'Livitation  Pleeded :  Jieiisons  for 
Return  to  Catholic  Unity,'"  in  "Our  Monthly,"  1872. 
In  addition,  he  has  written  numerous  articles  for 
Presbyterian  Baniirr,  Presbyter  inn.  Standard,  Presby- 
terian Journal,  The  Presbyterian,  New  York  Observer, 
New  Jersey  Oood  Templar.  Mr.  Van  Dyke  lias  two 
books  nearly  ready  for  the  press, — one  on  sacred 
biography ;  the  other  on  the  origin,  antiquity,  and 
primitive  condition  of  man. 

Van  Fleet,  Abraham  V.,  LL.D.— Born  Jan.  6, 
1831,  in  Hillsborough  township,  Somerset  Co.;  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  November,  18S2;  ))egan  practice 
in  Flemington,  December,  18G2 ;  appointed  vice- 
chancellor,  May,  1875 ;  degree  of  LL.D.  conferred 
by  Lafayette  College,  1880.  (For  further  sketch,  see 
chapter  on  "Bench  and  Bar.") 

Publications. — His  written  opinions  will  be  found  in 
reports  of  Chancery,  commencing  with  11  C.  E. 
Green.  Such  legal  opinions  are  entitled  to  be  called 
literary  work  as  much  as  are  any  products  of  the  pen. 
They  require  more  research  and  mental  application 
than  a  great  deal  of  the  current  literature. 

Van  Liew,  Rev.  John,  D.D.— Born  near  Ne- 
shanic,  N.  J.,  Sept.  30,  1798  ;  graduated  from  Rutgers 
College,  1816 ;  from  theological  seminary.  New  Bruns- 
wick, 1820;  settled  Meadville,  Pa.,  1820-23;  Mend- 
ham,  N.  J.,  1824-2.'), — both  Presbyterian ;  over  Read- 
ington  Reformed  Church,  1826  to  his  death,  Oct.  18, 
1869 ;  degree  of  D.D.  conferred  by  Rutgers  College, 
1867.  (For  further  see  Corwin's  "  Manual  of  Re- 
formed Church.") 

Publications. — "  Testimonial  to  Rev.  Peter  0.  Stud- 
diford,  D.D.,"  1866;  "Discourse  at  Dedication  of 
Reformed  Church,  Readington,"  1865. 

Van  Syckel,  Bennet,  LL.D. — Born  in  Union 
township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  April  17, 1830.     (See 


chajjtcr  on  the  Bench  and  Bar  of  this  county,  ante- 
cedent.) 

Publinitiniis. — llis  opinions  in  the  Supreme  Court 
and  in  the  Court  of  Errors  will  be  found  in  New 
.Jersey  Law  Re.i)Orts,  c()mmcncing  with  fourth  of 
Vroom,  and  in  the  Chancery  Reports,  commencing 
with  sixth  of  ('.  E.  Green.  Among  the  earlier  opin- 
ions arc  those  in  the  Vanderveer  will  case,  reported  in 
sixtli  C.  E.  Green,  T)!!!,  and  in  the  celebrated  case  of 
Black  versus  Tlie  Delaware  and  Raritnn  Canal  Com- 
pany, reported  in  ninth  C.  E.  Green,  455. 

Vassar,  Rev.  Thoma.s  Edwin. — Bom  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  3,  1834  ;  previous  to  entering  the 
ministry  practiced  dentistry;  studied  Ihcology  under 
Rufus  I'abi'ock,  D.D.,  and  was  licensed  as  a  Bajitist 
minister,  1856;  ])astor  of  Bajitist  Church  of  Amcuia, 
1857-65;  Lynn,  Mass.,  lH(i5-72;  Flemington,  N.  J., 
1872-80,  when  he  became  pastor  of  South  Baptist 
Church,  Newark.  For  onv  year,  1862-63,  lie  served 
as  chaplain  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fiftietli  Ivegi- 
ment  New  Yurk  Volunteers.  (For  further  see  "  Bio- 
graphii"il  Encyclopiedia  of  Now  Jersey.") 

Publications. — "Uncle  John  Vassar,"  American 
Tract  Society,  1879.  This  is  a  biograjihy  of  the  de- 
voted coljiorleur  and  missionary  John  Vassar,  whose 
name  is  in  all  the  churches.  The  life  and  labors  are 
portrayed  in  a  graphic  style  ^Yell  calculated  to  arouse 
the  ardor  and  consecration  of  the  reader.  Twelve 
thousand  cojiies  have  been  circulated  in  this  county. 
The  book  has  been  rejirintcd  in  London.  Sermons: 
"The  Hidden  Life,"  "  Ebenezer  Jubilee  Memories," 
"It  is  the  Lord,"  "The  Pillar  and  (irouiul  of  the 
Truth,"  "  Parting  Words,"  "  Three-Fourths  of  a  Cen- 
tury Reviewed,"  "The  Soldier's  Dui's  and  Duties," 
"The  Threefold  Cord,"  "The  Beloved  Physician," 
"Woman's  Wrongs,  and  the  Way  to  Right  them." 
Addresses:  "  Farewell  Counsels  to  Fellow-Soldiers,'' 
"  A  Symmetrical  Character,"  "  The  Nati<m's  Dead," 
"What  Decoration  Day  Means,"  "The  Moral  Ele- 
ment in  Education,"  "The  Beauty  of  Israel,"  "Tlie 
Adult  Department  of  Sunday-School  Work,"  "Our 
Unilcveloped  Itesources,"  "  AVar  Days,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Patriot's  Duly,"  "  Woman's  Work  in  the  War." 
VooRHEKs,  Natifanihl  W.,  Esq. — Bom  Mine 
Brook,  Somers(  t  Co.,  N.  J.,  June  29,  1829;  graduated 
from  Rutgers  (iollege,  1847;  admitted  to  the  bar, 
1852;  in  1856  became  casliier  of  First  National  Bank 
of  Clinton,  whieh  position  he  still  retains.  (For 
further  see  "Bench  and  Bar  ol'  Hunterdon  County," 
this  work.) 

Piditicatiinis. — Articles  for  newspaper  and  periodical 
press,  chiefly  on  current  subjects  of  interest,  and  re- 
lating to  financial,  political,  and  historical  subjects; 
in  1873,  a  pamphlet,  "Thoughts  of  HajJiiiness  from  a 
Bible  Stand-jioint  of  View  ;"  an  address  before  Hun- 
terdon County  Bible  Society,  and  puljlishedby  request. 
Welch,  Ashbel,  A.M.— Born  Madison  Co.,  N.  Y., 
Dec.  4,  1809 ;  studic<l  under  Prof.  Henry  at  Albany 
Academy  in   1827 ;   has  been  civil    engineer,   caiuil 


SOCIETIES. 


245 


and  railroad  superintendent,  and  president  of  rail- 
road companies.  (For  personal  sketch,  see  history  of 
Lambertville,  in  this  work.) 

Publicatioiu. — These  are  numerous  and  valuable, 
the  principal  of  which  are  "  Eeport  to  General  Rail- 
road Convention  on  Safety  Signals  for  Eailroads,"  Oc- 
tober, 1866 ;  "  Comparative  Economy  of  Steel  and  Iron 
Eails,"  Journal  of  Franklin  Institute,  1870.   In  Ti-ans- 
actions  of  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  On  Form,  Weight,  and  Material  of  Rails," 
1874  and  1875  (this  was  noticed  favorably  in  Proceed- 
ings of  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  of  Great  Britain, 
1876);  " Interoceanic  Canal  Projects,"  1880;  "Ship 
Canal-Locks,"  1880.     An  address  before  Pardee  Sci- 
entific Department,  Lafayette  College,  1871 ;  address 
before  International  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, at  Toronto,  Canada,  July,  1876 ;  address  before 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  New  Jersey, 
Morristown,  1879,  on  "  The  Association  Work  among 
Railroad  Men"  (printed  as  atract  by  the  International 
Committee,  and  distributed   over  the  country) ;    an 
historical   address  before  Hiinterdon   County   Bible 
Society   on  the  five  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
WyclifFe  translation  of  the  Bible.    Also  three  articles 
in    The  Princeton  Reviev:, — "  Anointment   of  Jesus 
by  Mary  of  Bethany,"  July,  1874,  and  January,  1875  ; 
"Perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath,"  January,  1876;  "  God's 
Seventh  Day's  Rest,"  October,  1S77. 

Williams,  Ret.  Albert. — Born  April  29,  1809, 
at  West  Orange,  N.  J. ;  graduated  from  Princeton 
College,  1829,  and  from  the  theological  seminary 
there  in  1832;  served  four  years  as  chaplain  of  the 
American  Seamen's  Friend  Society,  and  in  1838 
became  pastor  of  Presbyterian  Church,  Clinton,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years,  when,  in 
1849,  as  one  of  the  second  company  of  pioneers,  he 
sailed  for  California,  where  he  still  resides.  (For  a 
full  sketch  of  Mr.  Williams  see  "  Biographical  En- 
cyclopsedia  of  New  Jersey.") 

Publication. — "  A  Pioneer  Pastorate  and  Times," 
San  Francisco,  1879. 

Weight,  Rev.  William  Jaxe.s,  Ph.D. — Born  in 
1831,  at  Weybridge,  Vt. ;  graduated  from  Union  Col- 
lege, 1857,  and  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  1802  ; 
settled  over  Presbyterian  Church,  Ringos,  1805-68. 

Publications. — Sermon  on  Jacob  Ivirkpatrick,  D.D., 
1866.  Dr.  Wright  is  now  engaged  in  the  publication 
of  a  series  of  "  Mathematical  Tracts,"  on  an  average 
seventy-four  pages  each.  These  relate  to  the  higher 
mathematics,  such  as  "  Determinants,"  "  Trilinear 
Co-ordinates,"  "  Invariants,"  "  Theory  of  Surfaces.'' 
These  receive  high  commendation  from  Thomas  Hill, 
ex-president  of  Harvard,  and  Prof.  Duffield,  of 
Princeton.  He  is  the  first  American  member  of  the 
London  Mathematical  Society. 

Weight,  Mes.  Juli.\.  McNaie. — Born  (!)swego, 
N.  Y.,  1840 ;  wife  of  Dr.  Wright. 

Publications. — Few    authoresses    have    written    so 
many  and  such  excellent  works  as  has  3Irs.  AVright. 


Her  first  book,  "  Freddie  the  Runaway,"  was  pub- 
lished in  1859,  when  she  was  only  nineteen  years  old ; 
the  next  year  two  more.  In  1861,  "  Blind  Annie 
Lorimer"  was  published  by  the  Presbyterian  Board. 
In  each  of  the  two  following  years  three  18mo  volumes 
came  from  her  pen.  While  she  lived  in  Ringos 
several  books  were  published,  among  them  "  Golden 
Heart  and  Golden  Life"  and  "  Almost  a  Nun,"  which 
had  a  large  sale.  Up  to  1870  she  had  written  from 
two  to  four  books  each  year ;  since  that  date,  the  fol- 
lowing: "History  of  the  Early  Church  in  Britain;'' 
"  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Bible  Story ;"  "Patriot  and 
Tory;"  "Secrets  of  Convent  and  Confessional;'' 
"  Complete  Home."  Most  of  her  books  belong  to  the 
Sunday-school  literature,  and  the  better  class  of  that. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


SOCIETIES. 


Sketch  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Bible  Society — Hunterdon  County 
Agricultural  Society — County  Grange,  Patrons  of  Hnsbandry — The 
Temperance  Alliance — Teachers'  Institutes — County  Sunday-School 
Association. 

THE   HUNTERDON   COUNTY  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 

This  society  was  organized  in  1816.     Pursuant  to 
public  notice,  a  large  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  county  assembled  on  Thursday,  October  16th,  at 
the  stone  meeting-house  in  Amwell,  otherwise  known 
as  the  United  First  Presbyterian  church,  which  has 
long  since  been  torn  down.     Among  those  present  at 
this  initial  meeting  were  most  of  the  ministers  and 
many  of  the  prominent  laymen  of  the  county  at  that 
day,  not  one  of  whom  survives  at  the  present  time. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Huntington,  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J., 
preached  the  sermon  fi-om  Nehemiah  iv.  6.    The  meet- 
ing was  duly  organized,  with  Gen.  John  Beatty,  of 
Trenton,  as  temporary  chairman,  and  Joseph  Bishop, 
of  Ringos,  as  secretary.     The  constitution  was  then 
considered  and  adopted,  after  which  the   following 
persons  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year, — the  first 
officers  of  the   society :    Hon.  Samuel  L.  Southard, 
President ;  Gen.  John  Beatty,  First  Vice-President ; 
Rev.  Jacob  Ivirkpatrick,  Second  Vice-President ;  Rev. 
J.  F.  Clark,  Third  Vice-President ;  Rev.  John  Boggs, 
1  Fourth  Vice-President ;  Peter  I.  Clark,  Correspond- 
'  ing  Secretary  ;  Joseph  Bishop,  Recording  Secretary  ; 
I  John  Q.  Blackwell,  Treasurer  ;  Peter  Gordon,  Jacob 

Anderson,  Peter  Thompson,  Charles  Rice,  Dr.  John 
I  Bowne,  Thomas  Gordon,  Benjamin  Hayden,  Richard 

JI.  Green,  Jacob  Johnson,  James  Dunham,  Abraham 
'  Stout,  Isaac  Dunn,  John  Carr,  Jeptha  Arrison,  John 
I  Scudder,  James  Stevenson,  John  Prall,  Jr.,  Jeremiah 

Kershow,  John  Carpenter,  Samuel  W.  Fell,  Henry 
I  Gulick,  Levi  Knowles,  Richard  Stockton,  Jr.,  Dennis 

Wyckoff,  and  Joshua  Bunn,  Managere. 
'       At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers  it  was  re- 


246 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


solved  that  five  hundred  copies  of  the  constitution 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  be  printed  in 
pamphlet  form  for  circulation  through  the  county.  It 
is  an  evidence  of  the  thoroughness  of  the  organiza- 
tion and  of  the  general  interest  awatened  that  at  a 
subsequent  meeting  of  the  board  committee-men  were 
appointed  for  the  different  townships,  and  also  "  dis- 
tributing managers,"  to  supply  the  destitute  with 
copies  of  the  Scriptures.  It  seems,  however,  "  like  a 
day  of  small  things"  when  we  read  the  resolution  that 
a  committee  be  appointed  to  purchase  a  number  of 
Bibles,  not  exceeding  one  hundred,  as  soon  as  the 
treasurer  is  enabled  to  furnish  the  money. 

At  the  second  annual  meeting,  held  at  Flemington, 
July  29,  1817,  the  sermon  was  preached  by  Eev.  Sam- 
uel Howe,  of  Trenton,  and  the  plan  of  holding  quar- 
terly meetings  was  resolved  upon.  A  collection  was 
taken  up,  amounting  to  fifteen  dollars  and  eighty- 
three  cents. 

The  third  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Flemington, 
July  28,  1818,  when  an  important  change  was  made 
in  the  connection  of  the  society.  Up  to  this  time  it 
had  been  auxiliary  to  the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society, 
but  it  was  at  this  session  resolved  to  sever  the  relation 
and  transfer  its  allegiance  to  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety. This  latter  relation  has  since  been  sustained. 
The  Rev.  John  Boggs,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church 
in  Hopewell,  preached  the  annual  sermon. 

It  is  a  mark  of  progress  that  at  the  next  annual 
meeting,  held  at  Lebanon,  Aug.  31,  1819,  it  was  re- 
solved to  purchase  two  hundred  Bibles,  and,  as  soon 
as  the  funds  would  admit,  twenty-five  more, — double 
the  number  they  were  able  to  purchase  three  years 
before. 

The  first  record  of  any  remittances  to  the  American 
Bible  Society  was  in  1821,  when  the  treasurer  was  di- 
rected to  pay  to  the  parent  society  fifty  dollars.  From 
the  report  of  the  latter  society  we  find  that  for  the 
three  years  ending  in  1821  the  total  amount  sent  them 
by  the  Hunterdon  County  Bible  Society  was  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  dollars  and  fifteen  cents. 

At  a  special  meeting  held  in  Trenton  in  1823  it  was 
recommended  to  form  auxiliary  societies  in  the  sev- 
eral townships;  but  this  recommendation  was  not 
carried  into  effect. 

In  1825  was  made  the  first  systematic  effort  to  sup- 
ply the  destitute  of  the  county  with  Bibles.  Mr. 
Barrett,  who  was  appointed  to  carry  out  this  work, 
reported  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  board  of  man- 
agers that  he  had  found  one  hundred  and  sixty  fam- 
ilies without  the  Word  of  God.  He  had  evidently 
canvassed  but  a  portion  of  the  county,  as  in  1826 
measures  were  taken  to  employ  one  or  more  agents  to 
ascertain  the  wants  of  the  destitute.  The  agent,  Wil- 
liam Corwin,  reported  to  the  managers,  June  3,  1827, 
that  he  had  explored  the  townships  of  Lebanon, 
Readington,  and  Tewksbury,  and  found  sixty-four 
families  destitute. 

From  1827  to  1839  (except  for  the  year  1832)  the 


minutes  are  missing.  In  1832  a  communication  was 
received  from  Chief  Justice  Ewing,  requesting  a  com- 
mittee to  be  appointed  by  the  society  to  meet  and 
confer  with  the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society  in  reference 
to  supplying  the  Sandwich  Islands  with  the  Sacred 
Word. 

In  1841  measures  were  again  taken  to  seek  out  those 
who  were  without  Bibles.  In  1845  the  various  evan- 
gelical ministers  in  the  county  preached  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Bible  cause.  In  1847  a  colporteur  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  was  employed  to  make  a  re- 
survey  of  the  county,  that  none  might  be  left  in  want 
of  God's  Holy  Word.  During  the  ensuing  two  years 
increased  care  was  given  to  the  collections,  and  the 
Bible  cause  was  much  advanced  by  a  more  systematic 
work  in  its  behalf.  John  C.  Agin,  as  colporteur,  was 
again  in  the  field  in  1849. 

The  thirty-sixth  annual  session  (at  Flemington,  in 
August,  1851)  was  one  of  unusual  interest.  Two  of 
the  prominent  members  of  the  bar  took  active  part  in 
the  proceedings.  A  donation  of  two  hundred  dollars 
was  made  to  the  parent  society,  and  five  hundred  dol- 
lars pledged  for  the  ensuing  year,  which  pledge  was 
redeemed,  and  that  amount  paid  to  the  American 
Bible  Society  in  1852.  In  1853  they  increased  it  to 
eight  hundred  dollars,  and  this  year  appears  to  have 
been  the  first  in  which  delegates  were  appointed  to 
other  societies  ;  this  fraternal  greeting  was  extended 
to  the  societies  of  Somerset,  Mercer,  and  Warren. 
In  1854  and  1855  one  thousand  dollars  were  pledged 
and  paid  to  the  parent  society. 

In  1856  a  colporteur  was  employed,  the  collections 
were  eleven  hundred  dollars  and  ten  cents,  and  one 
thousand  dollars  was  donated  to  the  American  Bible 
Society.  In  1857  this  society,  for  the  fifth  time,  sup- 
plied the  county  with  the  Scriptures. 

In  August,  1860,  on  motion  of  Rev.  Mr.  Janeway, 
it  was 

"  Eesolved,  That,  iu  view  of  the  increasing  demand  that  God  in  His 
providence  is  making  upon  His  people  for  the  foreign  field,  the  Hunter- 
don County  Bible  Society  endeavor,  the  ensuing  year,  to  raise  the  sum 
of  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and,  if  this  sum  ho  raised,  that  five  hundred 
dollars  be  devoted  to  the  Turkish  mission." 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  1862  it  was  resolved  to 
send  a  Testament  to  every  soldier  who  goes  to  the 
Federal  army  from  Hunterdon  County. 

In  the  minutes  of  1863  are  resolutions  of  respect  to 
the  memory  of  Col.  Peter  I.  Clark  and  Samuel  E.  Stry- 
ker,  Esq.,  the  former  of  whom  had  been  president, 
and  the  latter  holding  that  oflice  at  the  time  of  his 
death  ;  and  in  1864  tributes  of  respect  were  paid  to 
the  memory  of  Rev.  Joseph  Rogers  and  Col.  A.  W. 
Dunham,  two  of  the  managers. 

The  report  of  John  C.  Agin,  colporteur  for  Hun- 
terdon County  Bible  Society  for  the  year  1864  to  1865, 
was  as  follows : 

Number  of  families  visited gggo 

Number  of  families  not  at  home "!!!*.*.!!!    292 

"Whole  number  of  families 5955 


SOCIETIES. 


247 


Families  destitute 419 

Families  refused 218 

Families  supplied  by  gift 164 

Families  supplied  partly  by  sale 25 

Families  supplied  by  sale 12 

Siuple  persons  supplied  with  Bible 7 

Catholic  families  visited 277 

Catholic  families  supplied 54 

Bibles  given 164 

Testaments  given 123 

The  semi-centennial  jubilee  of  this  society  was  held 
in  August,  1866,  in  a  beautiful  grove  near  the  church 
in  which,  fifty  years  before,  it  was  organized.  Some 
two  thousand  persons  were  present.  Nothing  marred 
the  joy  of  the  occasion  save  that  two  loved  and  hon- 
ored men,  earnest  workers  in  the  cause,  who  had 
looked  forward  to  this  meeting,  had  been  called  away 
by  death.  After  the  preliminary  exercises,  in  which 
Kev.  John  Van  Liew,  of  Eeadington,  Eev.  John  Bur- 
rows, of  Mount  Airy,  Rev.  Mr.  Upham,  of  Eeaville, 
Eev.  Mr.  Graw,  of  Lambertville,  Eev.  Dr.  W.  H. 
Green,  of  Princeton,  and  others,  participated,  Hon. 
Alexander  Wurts  took  the  chair  as  president  of  the 
society.  After  the  transaction  of  the  usual  business 
the  society  took  a  recess  and  repaired  to  the  tables 
near  by,  where  a  bountiful  repast  had  been  provided. 
Dinner  over,  the  society  resumed  its  session,  and 
listened  to  the  "  Memorial  Address"  delivered  by  the 
Eev.  P.  A.  Studdiford,  of  Lambertville,  selected  by 
the  executive  committee  in  place  of  the  late  Eev.  Dr. 
P.  0.  Studdiford.*  Among  the  delegates  present  from 
sister-societies  were  Hon.  John  Hill,  Morris;  Eev. 
James  Le  Fevre,  Col.  J.  D.  Hope,  Somerset ;  and  Rev. 
Dr.  Sheldon,  from  the  American  Bible  Society.  Ees- 
olutions  were  adopted  expressive  of  the  feelings  of 
the  society  in  the  removal  by  death  of  Jacob  Kirk- 
patrick,  D.D.,  and  Peter  O.  Studdiford,  D.D.  This 
was  followed  by  several  tributary  addresses,  which, 
together  with  the  usual  miscellaneous  business,  filled 
out  the  balance  of  the  session. 

The  financial  reports  show  that  the  average  of 
moneys  received  for  the  first  ten  years  was  but  a  trifle 
over  fifty-seven  dollars  per  annum.  This  steadily  in- 
creased, until  the  decade  from  1856-66  presents  an 
aggregate  of  eleven  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  dollars  and  ninety-four  cents,  or  an  average  of 
one  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty -three  dollars  and 
ninety  cents  per  year. 

The  annual  sessions  since  1866  have  been  held  as 
follows ; 

1867,  at  Mount  Pleasant  Presbyterian  church ;  1868, 
Stanton  Eeformed  church,  sermon  by  Eev.  Mr.  Swaim ; 
1869,  at  Presbyterian  church,  Lambertville,  sermon 
by  Eev.  David  Tully  (at  this  session  a  minute  was 
adopted  on  the  death  of  Adam  Stiger,  the  last  survivor 
of  the  founders  of  the  society) ;  1870,  at  Presbyterian 
church,  Milford,  sermon  by  Eev.  J.  G.  Van  Slyke  (re- 
ceipts, $2068.38) ;  1871,  at  Bethlehem  Presbyterian 
church,  Sidney,  sermon  by  Eev.  N.  L.  Upham  (re- 


*  This  address,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  much  of  the  information 
pertaining  to  the  society's  early  history,  was  published  in  pamphlet  form 
in  1867. 


ceipts,  12050.03,  and  motion  adopted  to  recanvass  the 
county) ;  1872,  at  Reformed  church,  Lebanon,  sermon 
by  Eev.  M.  Herr  (receipts,  $1997.78 ;  John  C.  Agin, 
canvassing  agent,  reported :  Families  visited,  3678  ; 
families  destitute  of  Bibles,  240 ;  families  refused  to 
receive  Bibles,  154 ;  Eoman  Catholic  families  visited, 
162 ;  Eoman  Catholic  families  supplied,  8 ;  Bibles 
donated,  35 ;  New  Testaments  donated,  23 ;  New  Tes- 
taments sold,  177 ;  Bibles  sold,  147 ;  value  of  books 
donated,  $35.36 ;  amount  received  for  Bibles  and  Tes- 
taments sold,  221.08) ;  1873  ;  at  Kirkpatrick  Memorial 
Presbyterian  church,  Eingos,  sermon  by  Eev.  Wil- 
liam Bailey  (receipts,  $1703.13) ;  1874,  at  Reformed 
church,  Eeadington,  address  by  the  president,  in  place 
of  the  customary  sermon  (receipts,  $1515.97) ;  1875, 
at  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Mechanicsville,  ser- 
mon by  Eev.  G.  S.  Mott,  D.D.  (receipts,  $1496.06) ; 
1876,  at  the  Fair  Grounds,  Flemington,  president's 
address  in  place  of  sermon  (receipts,  $1372.44 ;  it  was 
estimated  that  two  thousand  persons  were  present,  and 
that  there  were  four  hundred  vehicles  in  the  inclo- 
sure) ;  1877,  at  Agricultural  Society's  grounds,  Flem- 
ington, address  by  William  P.  Emory,  the  president 
(receipts,  $1050.53) ;  1878,  at  Presbyterian  church, 
Bloomsbury,  sermon  by  Eev.  P.  A.  Studdiford  (re- 
ceipts, $1005.15) ;  1879,  at  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
Clinton,  sermon  by  Rev.  Mr.  Anderson  (receipts, 
$972.02) ;  the  last  session  (that  of  1880)  was  held  at 
the  Presbyterian  church,  Lambertville,  Sermon  by 
Rev.  J.  H.  Smock,  and  receipts,  $727.89.  This  being 
the  semi-millennial  of  the  English  Bible,  Ashbel 
Welch,  Esq.,  delivered  an  appropriate  address  on  the 
subject.  The  officers  elected  were:  President,  Rev. 
C.  H.  Traver ;  Vice-Presidents,  Cornelius  Arnett,  Rev. 
William  Rose,  Rev.  Alexander  Miller,  Rev.  Thomas 
E.  Gordon,  Moses  Robbins,  Wilson  Thomas ;  Record- 
ing Secretary,  Rev.  C.  S.  Converse;  Corresponding 
Secretary,  Rev.  G.  S.  Mott ;  Treasurer,  J.  H.  Higgins. 
The  presidents  of  the  society  have  been  : 

1816-17, 1822,  Hon.  Samuel  L.  Southard  ;t  1818-26,  Gen.  John  Beatty;t 
1826-32,  Chief  Justice  Charles  Ewingf  (no  record  for  1832-39); 
1839-46,  Dr.  John  Bowne,t  of  Amwell ;  1846-49,  Col.  Peter  I.  Clark,t 
of  Flemington;  1849-63,  Samuel  D.  Stryker,  Esq.;!  1863-68,  Hon. 
Alexander  Wurts  jf  1868,  N.  W.  Voorhees,  Esq. ;  1869,  Hugh  E.  War- 
ford,  Esq. ;  1870,  Hon.  John  T.  Bird ;  1871,  E.  E.  Bullock,  Esq. ;  1872, 
N.  W.  Voorhees,  Esq. ;  1873,  John  N.  Voorhees,  Esq. ;  1874,  Judge 
David  Van  Fleet;  1876,  Vice-Chancellor  A.  V.  Van  Fleet;  1876,  Dr. 
George  P.  Eex ;  1877,  William  P.  Emory,  Esq. ;  1878,  Benjamin  E. 
Young;  1879,  Dr.  John  W.  Blane  ;  1880,  Eev.  C.  H.  Traver. 

The  list  of  vice-presidents  is  too  large  to  be  here 
given  in  full,  embracing,  as  it  does,  the  greater  part 
of  the  active  membership  of  the  society ;  but  among 
them  have  figured  Rev.  J.  Van  Liew,  D.D.,  Rev.  C. 
0.  Winans,  Peter  D.  Rockafellow,  Esq.,  Rev.  George 
S.  Mott,  D.D.,  J.  A.  Anderson,  Esq.,  C.  F.  Moore, 
Eev.  William  Bailey,  Eev.  J.  H.  Smock,  Eev.  J.  B. 
Kugler,  Eev.  J.  D.  Hewitt,  Rev.  John  Ewing,  Rev. 
J.  P.  W.  Blattenberger,  Rev.  J.  B.  Campbell,  Rev.  P. 
A.  Studdiford,  William  V.  Case,  Rev.  C.  S.  Converse, 

f  Deceased. 


248 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


Rev.  Alexander  Miller,  Eev.  T.  E.  Gordon,  Moses 
Bobbins,  C.  Arnett,  Wilson  Thomas,  etc. 
Since  1867  the  other  officers  have  been : 

COEEESPONBING  SECEETART. 
1868,  Rev.  John  Burrows;  1869-71,  Rev.  H.  Doolittle;  1872-80,  Eev.  G.  S. 
Mott,  D.D. 

EECOEDING  SECRETAET. 
1S68,  Eev.  J,  L.  Janeway ;  1869-72,  ,T.  Burrows  ;  1S73-79,  J.  D.  Hewitt ; 
1880,  C.  S.  Converee. 

TREASURER. 
1808-72,  Wm.  P.  Emory ;  1S73,  E.  Vosseller;  1874-80,  Joseph  H.  Higgins. 

The  county  is  at  the  present  time  being  recanvassed 
on  the  voluntary  plan,  without  expense  to  the  society. 

THE   HUNTERDON    COUNTY   AGRICULTURAL   SO- 
CIETY. 

This  society  was  organized  Feb.  11,  1856,  under 
and  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New 
Jersey  entitled  "  An  Act  to  incorporate  The  Hunter- 
don County  Agricultural  Society,"  approved  Jan.  31, 
1856.  The  original  incorporators  mentioned  in  the 
act  were  Hugh  Capner,  Charles  Bartles,  Jacob  S. 
Williamson,  Alexander  V.  Bonnell,  Judiah  Higgins, 
Sr.,  and  Andrew  Van  Syckel.  The  amount  of  capital 
stock  originally  subscribed  Avas  six  thousand  dollars, 
to  be  divided  into  two  hundred  and  forty  shares,  of 
twenty-five  dollars  each.  This  was  afterwards  in- 
creased to  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  divided  into ' 
four  hundred  shares,  of  twenty-five  dollars  each. 

The  officers  of  the  society  are  elected  annually  by 
the  stockholders,  and  consist  of  a  president,  tAvo  vice- 
presidents,  treasurer,  secretary  and  corresponding 
secretary,  and  fourteen  directors.  At  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  stockholders,  held  on  the  16th  of  February, 
1856,  the  following  officers  were  chosen  to  serve  for 
the  ensuing  year,— viz. :  President,  Hugh  Capner; 
Vice-Presidents,  Jacob  S.  Williamson,  John  C.  Raf- 
ferty;  Secretary,  George  W.  Eisler;  Corresponding 
Secretary,  John  J.  Clark;  Treasurer,  Bennet  ^'an 
Syckel;  Directors,  Jacob  F.  Prall,  John  W.  Bellis, 
John  E.  Young,  Andrew  Van  Syckel,  Jacob  Johnson, 
Thomas  Exton,  Michael  Shurts,  Joseph  '^''ai)  Syckel, 
Elias  Conover,  Jonathan  Higgins,  John  C.  Hope- 
well, D.  B.  Kirkpatrick,  Eunkle  Eea,  Miller  Kline. 

The  society  purchased  a  fine  level  tract  of  land 
containing  about  forty  acres,  and  erected  spacious 
buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  people  and  the 
protection  of  articles  on  exhibition,  and  sheds  and 
stables  for  the  shelter  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  swine, 
etc.  The  laying  out  of  the  grounds,  the  erection  of 
the  fence,  and  the  construction  of  all  the  buildings 
were  under  the  management  and  general  superin- 
tendence of  John  J.  Clark.  The  location  was  chosen 
with  a  \\c\v  to  comfort,  convenience,  and  accommo- 
dation. The  buildings  have  been  enlarged  and  added 
to,  until  the  society  now  have  one  of  the  finest  county 
fair  grounds  in  the  State. 

The  first  exhibition  of  the  society  was  held  in  the 
fall  of  1856,  and  in  each  year  since  a  fair  has  been 


held,  with  the  exception  of  the  fall  of  1862.  It  was 
then  postponed  on  account  of  the  fact  that  regiments 
of  soldiers  were  in  camp  on  the  grounds  immediately 
adjoining  the  fair  grounds.  The  exhibits  have  al- 
ways been  large  and  excellent  in  quality,  but  during 
the  last  four  or  five  years,  especially  of  stock  and 
machinery,  have  greatly  exceeded  those  of-  former 
j'ears,  and  have  been  constantly  increasing. 

The  object  of  the  organization  was,  and  is,  to  en- 
courage rivalry  among  farmers,  manufacturers,  and 
stock-raisers,  and  to  promote  to  the  fullest  extent 
possible  all  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  county. 
It  is  essentially  a  county  organization,  although  as  to 
some  matters,  especially  trotting,  competition  has 
been  thrown  open  to  the  outside  world. 

In  1874  the  society  joined  the  National  Trotting 
Association,  and  was  a  member  for  one  year.  Then 
they  dropped  their  membership  until  the  year  1880, 
when  it  was  renewed,  and  it  is  unlikely  that  they  will 
again  sever  the  connection. 

The  following  have  been  the  officers  of  the  society, 
in  addition  to  those  already  named,  during  the  suc- 
cessive years  since  the  organization  of  the  society : 

1857. — President,  Hugh  Capner;  Vice-Presidents,  Jacob  H.  Huffman, 
F.  S.  Holcombe ;  Secretary,  John  N.  Voorhees  ;  CorresponJiiig 
Secretary,  John  J.  Clark  ;  Treasurer,  Bennet  Van  Syckel. 

1858. — President,  Hugh  Capner;  Vice-Presidents,  Robert  Killgore,  Al- 
bertus  K.  Wagner;  Secretary,  John  N.  Voorheea;  Correspond- 
ing Secretary,  William  Hill  ;  Treasurer,  Thomas  C.  Haward. 

1859.— President,  Hngh  Capner;  Vice-Presidents,  A.K.Wagner,  R.  .1. 
Killgore ;  Secretary,  Martin  Wyckofl ;  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Alexander  Soydam  ;  Treasurer,  Thomas  C.  Haward. 

1800. — President,  John  C.  Hopewell ;  Vice-Presidents,  A.  K.  Wagner,  E. 
J- Killgore;  Secretary,  Martin  "Wyckoff ;  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, John  J,  Clark ;  Tresurer,  T.  C.  Haward. 

1801-62. — President,  John  C.  Hopewell;  Vice-Presidents,  George  F.  Cra- 
ter, A.  K.  Wagner;  Secret<ary,  Martin  Wyckoff;  Correspoiulirig 
Secretary,  J,  J.  Clark;  Treasurer,  T.  C.  Haward. 

1863-65. — President,  John  C.  Hopewell;  Vice-Presidents,  A.  K.  Wnguer, 
George  F.  Crater  ;  Secretary,  Reading  Moore ;  Corresponding 
Secretary,  F.  S.  Holcombe  ;  Tre.asurer,  T.  C.  Haward. 

1860-08— Pi esident,  J,  C.  Hopewell;  Vice-Presidents,  A.  K.  Wagner, 
George  F.  Crater;  Secretary,  John  L.  Jones;  Corresponding 
Secretary,  R.  S.  Kuli] ;  Treasurer,  T.  C.  Haward. 

1800-71.— President,  John  C.  Hopewell ;  Vice-Presidents,  A.  K.  Wagner, 
George  F.  Crater;  Secretiiry,  John  L.  Jones;  Corresponding 
Secretary,  E.  S.  Kuhl;  Tre.asuror,  D.avid  V.an  Fleet. 

1872-74. — President,  John  C.  Hopewell;  Vice-Presidents,  George  F.  Cr.i- 
ter,  Caleb  F.  Fislier ;  Secretarj',  John  L.  Jones;  Corresponding 
Secretary,  E.  S.  Knlil;  Treasurer,  David  A'an  Fleet. 

1875-76. — President,  John  C.  Hopewell;  Vice-Presidents,  C.  F.  Fisher, 
George  F.  Ci  ator;  Secretary,  J.  L.  Jones;  Corresponding  Secie- 
tary,  Henry  A.  Fluck;  Treasurer,  David  Van  Fleet. 

1S77. — President,  J.  C.  Hopewell ;  Vice-Presidents,  C.  F.  Fisher,  Andrew 
Van  Syckel;  Secretary,  J.  L.  Jones;  Corresponding  Secretary, 
H.  A.  Flock  ;  Treasurer,  R.  S.  Kuhl. 

1878. — President,  John  C.  Hopewell ;  Vice-Presidents,  C.  F.  Fisher,  An- 
drew Van  Syckel ;  Secretary,  J.  L.  Connet ;  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary, W.  H.  Johnson  ;  Treasurer,  E.  S.  Kuhl. 

1879.— President,  John  J.Clark;  Vice-Presidents,  C.  F.  Fisher,  Andrew 
Van  Syckel ;  Secretary,  J.  L.  Connet;  Corresponding  Secretary, 
W.  H.  Johnson;  Treasurer,  E.  S.  Kuhl. 

The  following  arc  the  officers  and  directors  for  the 
year  1880:  President,  John  J.  Clark;  Vice-Presi- 
dents, C.  F.  Fisher,  John  L.  Jones ;  Secretary,  John  L. 
Connet;  Corresponding  Secretary,  Willard  C.  Parker; 
Treasurer,  E.  S.  Kuhl;  Directors,  F.  S.  Holcombe, 


SOCIETIES. 


249 


Martin  Wyckoff,  Joseph  Haines,  Jonathan  Higgins, 
John  H.  Eockafellar,  Jacob  F.  Quick,  Hiram  Moore, 
Michael  Shurts,  James  R.  Kline,  Louis  A.  Exton, 
Simpson  S.  Stout,  James  M.  Duckworth,  David  Van 
Fleet,  Jacob  R.  Fisher. 

The  annual  fair  is  held  in  the  last  week  of  Sep- 
tember of  each  year. 

THE   COUNTY   GRANGE,  PATRONS   OP   HUSBANDRY. 

Pomona  Grange,  No.  3,  of  Hunterdon  County,  was 
organized  in  Flemington,  June  12, 1875,  by  Mortimer 
"Whitehead,  with  the  following  as  its  first  officers  : 
Master,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  of  Grange  No.  12 ;  Overseer, 
D.  R.  Hill,  No.  74  ;  Lecturer,  T.  V.  M.  Cox,  No.  56  ; 
Steward,  Charles  Robinson,  No.  76 ;  Assistant  Stew- 
ard, Levi  Snyder,  No.  88 ;  Chaplain,  Paul  K.  Hoff- 
man, No.  80 ;  Sec,  E.  M.  Heath,  No.  88 ;  Treas.,  C. 
Watson,  No.  80 ;  Gate-Keeper,  Ely  Dalrymple,  No. 
75 ;  Ceres,  Mrs.  T.  V.  M.  Cox,  No.  56 ;  Pomona,  Mrs. 
Susan  Prall,  No.  80  ;  Flora,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Schenck, 
No.  12 ;  Lady  Assistant  Steward,  Mrs.  H.  E.  Hol- 
combe,  No.  12. 

On  the  8th  of  February,  1876,  the  following  officers 
were  elected  and  installed :  Master,  T.  V.  M.  Cox ; 
Overseer,  D.  R.  Hill ;  Lecturer,  E.  M.  Heath  ;  Stew- 
ard, David  Bodine;  Assistant  Steward,  D.  V.  L. 
Schenck ;  Chaplain,  Rev.  N.  S.  Allen ;  Sec,  Joseph 
Sergeant ;  Gate-Keeper,  E.  E.  Holcombe.  The  other 
officers  remained  as  in  the  previous  year. 

Since  that  date  the  principal  offices  have  been 
filled  as  follows : 

MASTER. 
1877-78,  William  Taylor,  No.  103 ;  1879,  H.  F.  Bodine,  No.  88 ;  1880,  J.  X. 
Cox,  No.  66. 

OVEBSEEB. 
1877,  N.  S.  ConOTer,  No.  97;  1878,  Isaac  Hoffman,  No.  101 ;  1879,  J.  T. 
Cox,  No.  56 ;  1880,  J.  V,  L.  Schenck,  No.  12. 

LECTUEER. 
1877,  E.  M.  Heath,  No.  88;  1878-80,  Charles  Watson,  No.  80. 

SECBETABY. 
1877,  r.  S.  Holcombe,  No.  12 ;  1878-79,  D.  V.  L.  Schenck,  No.  12 ;  1880,  F. 
S.  Holcombe. 

TEEASTJBEE. 
1877,  Charles  Watson,  No.  80 ;  1878-79,  D.  R.  Hill,  No.  74;  1880,  H.  F. 
Bodine,  No.  88. 

STEWAED. 
1877,  J.  T.  Cox,  No.  60 ;  1878,  L.  B.  Carhart,  No.  97 ;  1879, 1.  H.  Hoffman, 
No.  101 ;  1880,  W.  H.  Opie,  No.  66. 

The  officers  for  the  present  year  (1880),  besides 
those  above  mentioned,  are:  Chaplain,  Rev.  J.  Ro- 
denbaugh,  No.  88  ;  Assistant  Steward,  I.  H.  Hoff- 
man, No.  101;  Gate-Keeper,  E.  E.  Holcombe,  No.  12; 
Ceres,  Mrs.  H.  0.  Holcombe,  No.  12 ;  Pomona,  Mrs. 
M.  A.  Hagaman,  No.  101 ;  Flora,  Mrs.  E.  Bodine,  No. 
88 ;  Lady  Assistant  Steward,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Schenck,  No. 
12. 

This  society,  which  embraces  at  the  present  time 
-seven  subordinate  granges,  is  well  sustained  by  the 
members  of  the  order  in  the  county. 
17 


THE   TEMPERANCE   ALLIANCE. 

The  Hunterdon  County  Temperance  Alliance  was 
instituted  March  IS,  1879,  and  is  auxiliary  to  the  New 
Jersey  State  Temperance  Alliance.  The  first  officers 
were :  President,  E.  R.  Bullock ;  Vice-Presidents,  Rev. 
J.  G.  Williamson,  M.  B.  Lanning,  Martin  Herr,  C.  H. 
Traver,  and  William  Bailey;  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, Rev.  J.  P.  W.  Blattenberger ;  Recording  Secre- 
tary, Rev.  A.  M.  Harris ;  Treasurer,  C.  C.  Dunham. 

Article  II.  of  the  Constitution  recites  that  the  ob- 
jects of  the  Alliance  "  shall  be  to  provide  for  a  thor- 
ough canvass  of  the  county,  by  sermons  and  lectures, 
in  behalf  of  temperance  ;  to  organize  and  strengthen 
temperance  societies ;  to  combine  religious  bodies 
and  all  friends  of  temperance  in  efforts  to  suppress 
the  evils  of  intemperance ;  and  to  secure  by  law  the 
prohibition  of  the  traffic  in  alcoholic  drinks." 

Meetings  are  held  annually  and  semi-annually,  on 
the  last  Tuesday  in  May  and  November.  The  first 
semi-annual  meeting  was  held  at  Frenchtown,  Nov. 
24,  1879.  The  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Fleming- 
ton,  May  25, 1880.  The  officers  of  the  preceding  year 
were  re-elected,  except  that  the  Rev.  William  Bailey 
was  chosen  corresponding  secretary  in  place  of  Rev. 
J.  P.  W.  Blattenberger.  The  semi-annual  meeting 
of  this  year  (1880)  was  held  at  Clinton,  November 
30th. 

Besides  the  officers  named  above,  there  is  a  board 
of  managers,  composed  of  one  person  in  each  town- 
ship, whose  duty  (among  other  things)  it  is  to  form 
an  alliance  in  each  township,  to  be  auxiliary  to 
the  County  Alliance.  Some  of  the  townships  have 
effected  the  organization  of  such  auxiliary  societies. 
There  is  also  an  executive  committee  of  nine,  the 
president,  corresponding  secretary,  and  treasurer 
being  ex-officio  members,  the  other  six  being  selected 
by  the  board  of  managers  from  their  number. 

A  healthy  state  of  public  sentiment  exists  in  Hun- 
terdon County  upon  this  subject,  and  this  society,  with 
kindred  organizations,  will  most  likely  receive  a  cor- 
dial support. 

HUNTERDON    COUNTY   TEACHERS'   ASSOCIATION 
AND    INSTITUTES.* 

The  teachers  of  the  county  have  firequently  met  for 
the  purpose  of  mutual  improvement  and  interchange 
of  ideas.  The  first  regularly  organized  association 
was  held  about  1860  or  1861.  George  Fleming,  now 
principal  of  the  Clinton  Institute,  says  he  was  present 
at  a  meeting  held  at  Centreville,  although  that  was 
not  the  first.  R.  S.  Hoppock,  now  a  merchant  of 
Mount  Pleasant,  was  president.  This  association  was 
short-lived,  as  its  meetings  ceased  after  a  year  or  two. 

Another  organization  was  effected  about  1870. 
There  was  more  enthusiasm  displayed  at  this  time, 
and  most  of  the  prominent  teachers  of  the  county 
enrolled  themselves  as  members.  Among  them  were 
J.  C.  Butler,  R.  S.  Hoppock,  W.  D.  L.  Robbins,  John 

*  Contributed  by  Prof.  George  Fleming,  of  Clinton. 


250 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


C.  Holder,  A.  B.  Hall,  A.  G.  Creveling,  Charles  E. 
Green,  L.  K.  Shouse,  P.  E.  Tharp,  A.  H.  Skinner, 
David  Butler,  S.  E.  Opdyke,  P.  G.  Wyckoff,  T.  O. 
Allen,  C.  M.  Sitgroves,  E.  J.  Bell,  S.  E.  Opdyke,  W. 
B.  Sarson,  and  I.  N.  Leigh.  Several  ladies  were  also 
members  of  the  society.  The  association  meetings 
were  held  three  or  four  times  a  year  until  about  1875, 
when  the  "hard  times"  that  followed  the  financial 
crash  of  1873  caused  the  suspension  of  active  opera- 
tions for  a  time.  During  the  present  year  (1880)  the 
meetings  of  the  association  have  been  resumed,  and 
several  have  been  held  at  Flemington  Academy. 
There  are  at  present  about  twenty  or  twenty-five 
names  on  the  roll  of  members.  E.  F.  Pierce,  princi- 
pal of  Flemington  Academy,  is  president,  C.  E. 
Nightingale  is  secretary,  and  George  Fleming,  of 
Clinton,  is  acting  treasurer. 

The  Teachers'  Association  is  under  the  direction 
and  control  of  the  teachers.  An  institute  is  held  an- 
nually, under  the  direction  of  the  State  superin- 
tendent, towards  the  support  of  which  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  dollars  is  annually  appropriated  by  the  Leg- 
islature. The  object  sought  to  be  attained  is  the  in- 
struction of  the  teachers  by  competent  persons  from 
outside  of  the  county.  The  first  institute  under  the 
present  school-law  was  held  at  Flemington  in  1870 
or  1871. 

COUNTY    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    ASSOCIATION. 

June  38,  1860,  a  convention  of  the  friends  of  Sun- 
day-schools was  held  in  Flemington,  by  whom  a  county 
convention  was  formed  and  ofiicers  appointed,  includ- 
ing a  secretary  for  each  township  in  the  county,  and 
on  the  19th  of  September  following  the  association 
held  a  convention,  when  reports  from  sixty-three 
schools  were  presented.  Eev.  P.  A.  Strobel  was  ap- 
pointed corresponding  secretary. 

The  second  annual  convention  was  held  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Clinton,  Oct.  8,  1862.  Eev.  Thomas  Swaim, 
D.D.,  was  appointed  president  forthe  ensuing  year,  and 
Eev.  P.  A.  Strobel  corresponding  secretary.  Feb.  25 
and  26,  1862,  voluntary  conventions  were  held  in 
Clinton  and  Flemington,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting 
such  measures  as  might  be  deemed  best  calculated  to 
enlist  the  interest  of  Christians  generally  in  the  Sab- 
bath-school work,  and  measures  were  taken  to  estab- 
lish an  association  in  each  township  in  the  county. 

The  third  annual  convention  was  held  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Frenchtown,  Sept.  16,  1863,  Eev.  Thomas 
Swaim,  D.D.,  presiding.  This  was  the  first  conven- 
tion the  proceedings  of  which  were  published.  The 
corresponding  secretaries  reported  to  the  county  asso- 
ciation the  death  of  some  of  their  most  active  and 
useful  members  :  Eev.  Joseph  Eodgers,  of  French- 
town  ;  Col.  A.  W.  Dunham,  of  Clinton ;  Hon.  Peter 
I.  Clark,  of  Flemington ;  and  John  O.  Eeed,  Esq. 

The  fourth  annual  convention  was  held  in  the  Ee- 
formed  church  at  Eeadington,  Sept.  21,  1864,  Eev.  J. 
L.  Janeway  president. 


The  corresponding  secretary  reported  eighty-five  (a 
gain  of  eleven)  schools,  sis  thousand  four  hundred 
and  thirty-one  scholars,  eighty-nine  conversions,  and 
twenty-three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-five 
volumes  in  libraries. 

The  following  ofiicers  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing 
year :  President,  Rev.  J.  Kirkpatrick,  D.D. ;  Vice- 
Presidents,  Hon.  H.  Hagerman,  Hon.  J.  Pickel,  and 
M.  S.  Stiger,  Esq. ;  Eecording  Secretary  and  Treas- 
urer, J.  S.  Higgins. 

At  the  fifth  annual  convention,  held  in  Lambert- 
ville  in  September,  1865,  one  hundred  and  twent3'-five 
conversions  were  reported  among  the  Sunday-school 
children.  Rev.  0.  S.  Conkling  corresponding  secre- 
tary. 

Subsequent  conventions  were  held  as  follows :  Sixth, 

1866,  Presbyterian    church,    Flemington ;    seventh, 

1867,  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Clinton ;  eighth, 

1868,  Kingwood  Baptist  church,  Baptisttown ;  ninth, 

1869,  at  New  Germantown ;  tenth,  1870,  Presbyterian 
church,  Eingos ;  eleventh,  1871,  Baptist  church,  Cro- 
ton ;  twelfth,  1872,  Eeformed  church.  High  Bridge ; 
thirteenth,  1873,  Presbyterian  church,  Bloomsbury; 
fourteenth,  1874,  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Me- 
chanicsville ;  fifteenth,  1875,  Presbyterian  church, 
Stockton ;  sixteenth,  1876,  Baptist  church,  Fleming- 
ton  ;  seventeenth,  1877,  Baptist  church,  Wertsville ; 
eighteenth,  1878,  Eeformed  church,  Stanton  ;  nine- 
teenth, 1879,  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Quaker- 
town;  twentieth,  1880,  Presbyterian  church,  Flem- 
ington. 

Since  1865  the  presidents  have  been  Eev.  H. 
Doolittle,  1866;  Eev.  J.  P.  Dailey,  1867;  Eev.  A. 
Armstrong,  1868 ;  Eev.  J.  Burroughs,  1869 ;  Eev. 
William  Bailey,  1870 ;  Rev.  H.  Doolittle,  1871 ;  Rev. 
S.  Sproul,  1872;  Rev.  Jacob  Fehrman,  1873  ;  Rev.  C. 
S.  Conkling,  1874-75;  Rev.  Wm.  Swan,  1876;  Rev. 
E.  A.  Chalker,  1877 ;  Eev.  T.  E.  Vassar,  1878 ;  Eev. 
J.  G.  Williamson,  1879 ;  Rev.  C.  H.  Traver,  1880. 

The  corresponding  secretaries  for  the  same  time 
were  Rev.  C.  S.  Conkling,  1866-72 ;  Hugh  E.  War- 
ford,  1873-77  ;  E.  Vosseller,  1878-80. 

John  W.  Lequear  has  been  recording  secretary 
since  1872.  (To  him  we  are  under  obligations  for  the 
facts  from  which  this  sketch  is  compiled.) 

The  following  ofiicers  were  chosen  at  its  last  session 
for  the  ensuing  year,  1881 :  President,  Eev.  G.  F. 
Love ;  Vice-Presidents,  Revs.  J.  D.  Randolph,  J.  M. 
Helsley,  and  C.  E.  Walton ;  Corresponding  Secretary 
and  Treasurer,  E.  Vosseller ;  Eecording  Secretary,  J. 
W.  Lequear. 

Since  1866,  when  the  association  was  called  to 
mourn  the  death  of  two  pioneer  pastors  and  Sunday- 
school  coadjutors.  Revs.  Kirkpatrick  and  Studdiford, 
many  of  their  efiicient  workers  and  zealous  advocates 
have  rested  from  their  labors. 

At  the  twentieth  annual  convention,  held  Nov.  4, 
1880,  the  corresponding  secretary  reported  about  100 
Sunday-schools  in  the  county,  with  reports  from  71. 


SOME   OF  THE  PROMINENT  MEN   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


251 


CHAPTER    X. 

SOME    OF   THE   PKOMINEIifT  MEN  OE 
TERDOIT    COUBTTT. 


HUW- 


Gen.  Daniel  Morgan — Gen.  Philemon  Dickinson — Gen.  William  Maxwell 
— Col.  Charles  Stewart — Col.  Philip  Johnson — Col.  Joab  Honghton — 
Col.  Mark  Thompson — Col.  Isaac  Smith — John  Mehelm — John  Hart — 
John  Stevens — Robert  Livingston  Stevens — Edwin  A.  Stevens — Rev. 
Peter  Stnddiford — Rev.  Casper  Wack — Rev.  John  Vanderveer — Rev, 
George  S.  Mott,  D.D. — Henry  D.  Maxwell — Ell  Bosenbury — Peter 
Cramer — Charles  W.  Godown — James  M.  Ramsey. 

It  is  attempted  in  this  connection  to  present  only 
sketches  of  some  of  the  patriots  and  soldiers  of  the 
Revolutionary  period,  together  with  a  few  of  the 
legislators,  divines,  etc.,  of  the  present  time  who  have 
not  been  specially  treated  elsewhere. 

Gen.  Daniel  Morgan,  who  in  the  Revolutionary 
struggle  proved  one  of  our  bravest  and  most  efficient 
generals,  was  a  native  of  Hunterdon  County,  although 
his  nativity   has  been   accorded  to   other  localities. 
Rogers,  in  his  "  Heroes  and  Statesmen  of  America," 
says  he  was  born  in  Durham  township,  Bucks  Co., 
Pa.*    This  is  a  mistake  growing  out  of  the  fact  that 
the  family  for  a  short  time  lived  there,  being  in  some 
way  connected  with  the  iron-works,  but  afterwards 
removed  to   Lebanon   township,   this   county.     Dr. 
John  Blane   says,   "My   informants   stated  he  was 
born  here,— a  fact  they  had  from  their  mother  and 
aunts,  who  lived  less  than  a  mile  irom  the  Morgan 
family  residence,  which  was  on  land  afterwards  owned 
by  Maj.    Dusenberry,   of  New  Hampton.     Some  of 
them  even  pointed  out  the  spot  where  some  moulder- 
ing logs  and  the  stones  of  the  back  of  the  fireplace 
were  to  be  seen"  marking  the  site  of  the  dwelling. 
They  further  stated  that  when  Daniel  was  old  enough 
to  drive  a  team  he  went  to  Pittstown,  where  he  drove 
a  pair  of  oxen  for  the  business  proprietors  of  the 
place,  and  that  about  1750  he  went  from  there  to  Vir- 
ginia.    His  connection  with  the  war  of  independence 
is  too  well  known  to  need  mention  here.     His  corps 
of  riflemen  was  the  terror  of  the  enemy  and  the  pride 
of  the  Continental  army.     He  also  served  in  Brad- 
dock's  expedition  of  1755.    Among  all  of  Hunterdon's 
sons,  none  have  done  her  more  honor  or  left  a  more 
illustrious  name  than  has  Gen.  Daniel  Morgan. 

The  patriotic  citizens  of  South  Carolina  on  the  17th 
of  January,  1881,  celebrated  the  one  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  battle  of  Cowpens  with  appropriate 
ceremonies,  and  the  executives  and  the  people  of  the 
Old  Thirteen  States  have  been  invited  to  unite  with 
them  in  the  erection  of  a  massive  memorial  column 
of  granite,  with  suitable  inscriptions,  to  commemorate 
the  event.  It  is  expected  that  when  the  monument 
is  completed  Congress  will  provide  the  means  for  a 
bronze  statue  of  Gen.  Morgan,  to  complete  the  monu- 
mental design.  The  financial  officer  of  the  New  Jer- 
sey Historical  Society  has  issued  an  address  appealing 


*  In  "  Appleton's  Encyclopedia"  (1861)  it  is  stated  he  was  born  in  New 
Jersey  in  1736. 


to  the  people  of  New  Jersey  for  contributions  to  aid 
in  this  patriotic  object. 

Gen.  Philemon  Dickinson,  a  gallant  officer  of 
the  Revolution,  was  a  Whig  of  the  truest  dye,  and 
entered  the  army  at  the  commencement  of  the  con- 
test. Possessed  of  an  ample  fortune,  he  hazarded  it 
for  the  good  of  his  country,  preferring  poverty  with 
liberty  to  wealth  with  slavery.  He  was  at  the  head 
of  the  New  Jersey  militia  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth, 
where  he  displayed  the  greatest  bravery.  After  the 
establishment  of  the  Federal  government  he  was 
elected  to  Congress  from  this  State,  and  in  all  the 
civil  and  military  stations  in  which  he  figured  he 
served  honestly  and  well.  The  last  twelve  years  of 
his  life  were  passed  in  retirement  at  his  residence, 
near  Trenton,  where  he  died  Feb.  4,  1809,  aged  sixty- 
eight.t 

Gen.  William  Maxvs^ell  as  a  soldier  and  patriot 
had  few  superiors,  and  was  honored  and  loved  for  his 
integrity  and  kindness  of  heart.     No  man's  record 
shines  out  more  brilliantly  in  the  history  of  the  strug- 
gle upon  the  soil  of  New  Jersey  than  does  his,  and 
it  is  strange  that  historians,  beyond  the  mere  mention 
of  the  position  he  took  on  the  field,  have  left  his  name 
in  comparative  obscurity.    He  was  born  near  the  north 
boundary  line  of  Hunterdon  County,  and  joined  the 
army  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.J     In  1776  he  was 
appointed  colonel,  and  raised  a  battalion  of  infantry 
in  Hunterdon  and  adjoining  counties.     He  was  with 
Gen.  Schuyler  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  in  October 
following  was  appointed  a  brigadier  in  the  Continen- 
tal service.     He  was  conspicuous  at  Trenton,  and  after 
that  battle  was  engaged  in  harassing  the  enemy  dur- 
ing the  winter  and  spring  of  1777,  being  stationed 
near   the   British  lines   at  Elizabethtown.     In  the 
autumn  he  participated  in  the  battles  of  Brandywine 
and    Germantown,  and  the   next  winter   (1777-78) 
shared  the  sufferings  at  Valley  Forge.     He  was  active 
in  the  pursuit  of  Clinton  across  New  Jersey  the  fol- 
lowing summer,  and  sustained  an  important  part  in 
the  battle  of  Monmouth.     He  subsequently  annoyed 
the  enemy  in  their  retreat  towards  Sandy  Hook,  and 
in  June,  1780,  was  engaged  in  the  action  at  Spring- 
field.    In  August  he  resigned  his   commission   and 
quitted   the  service.     He  was  highly   esteemed  by 
Washington,  who,  on  transmitting  his  resignation  to 
Congress,  said,  after  speaking  of  his  merits  as  an  offi- 
cer   "  I  believe  him  to  be  an  honest  man,  a  warm 
friend  to  his  country,  and  firmly  attached  to  its  inter- 
ests."!    He  was  a  frequent  guest  after  the  war  at  the 
mansion  of  Col.  Stewart,  at  Landsdown,  where  he  died, 
quite  suddenly,  while  on  a  visit,  in  1796.     He  was 
buried  in  the  Greenwich  Presbyterian  churchyard,  in 


f  "  LossiDg's  Fieia-Book  of  the  Revolution,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  220. 

t  He  also  served  with  the  colonial  forces  in  1756,  and  on  the  field  of 
Monongahela  lirst  met  Gen.  Morgan.  There  three  men  met  who  twenty 
years  later  were  to  win  laurels  as  the  heroes  of  Quebec,— Daniel  Morgan, 
Philip  Johnston,  and  William  Maxwell. 

g  "  LoBsing's  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution,"  ii.,  p.  368. 


252 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JEESEY. 


Warren  County.  John  Maxwell,  of  Flemington,  was 
his  brother,  and  the  eminent  lawyers,  George  0.  and 
William,  of  the  same  place,  were  his  nephews.  Gen. 
Maxwell  resided  near  Clinton,  but  after  the  Eevolu- 
tion  removed  to  Greenwich,  Warren  Co. 

Col.  Chaeles  Stewart  was  born  at  Gortlea, 
County  Donegal,  Ireland,  in  1729.  His  grandfather, 
Charles,  was  a  Scotchman  and  an  oificer  in  the  army 
of  William  of  Orange.  For  his  services  at  Boyne  he 
received  the  estate  in  Ireland  called  Gortlea.  The 
grandson  emigrated  to  America  in  1750.  He  became 
a  favorite'  at  the  house  of  Judge  Johnston,  whose 
daughter,  Mary,  he  married.  Many  of  his  friends 
were  loyalists,  and  vainly  tried  to  retain  him  on  the 
king's  side,  but  he  was  firm ;  the  puritan  ideas  and 
love  of  liberty  inherited  from  his  ancestors,  and  which 
impelled  him  to  leave  the  mother-country,  made  him 
a  staunch  patriot.  Union  farm,  rented  from  Allen  & 
Turner,  of  Philadelphia,  was  the  residence  of  Col. 
Stewart  and  family  during  the  war,  after  which  he 
returned  to  his  own  mansion,  at  Landsdown,  later  re- 
moving to  Flemington. 

Col.  Stewart  died  June  24,  1800,  and  was  buried  in 
the  cemetery  of  the  old  stone  church  at  Bethlehem, 
where  a  tablet  is  erected  to  his  memory,  containing 
an  epitaph  composed  by  his  lifelong  friend.  Chief 
Justice  Smith,  of  Trenton.  He  was  a  leading  spirit 
in  Hunterdon  County  during  the  Revolution,  and 
rendered  important  services  from  the  commencement 
to  the  close  of  the  struggle.  He  was  colonel  of  the 
First  Regiment  of  minute-men,  then  colonel  of  the 
regiment  of  the  line.  In  1776  he  became  one  of 
Washington's  staff  as  commissary-general,  and  so  re- 
mained to  the  end  of  the  war.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Congress  of  1784^85,  and  also  surveyor-general  of 
the  province  of  Pennsylvania.  His  daughter,  Martha, 
was  the  wife  of  Capt.  Robert  Wilson,  of  the  Conti- 
nental army,  who  was  wounded  at  Germantown,  and 
who  died  in  Hackettstown  in  1779.  A  grandson, 
Charles  (son  of  Samuel),  was  a  classmate  in  Prince- 
ton of  Judge  Alexander  Wurts,  was  a  missionary  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  a  chaplain  in  the  navy,  and 
died  at  Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  in  1870.*  A  grand- 
daughter, Mrs.  Hoyt,  widow  of  the  late  Capt.  Hoyt, 
lives  at  Landsdown. 

Col.  Stewart  was  of  medium  height,  spare  in  flesh, 
with  keen  blue  eyes,  expressing  intelligence,  kind- 
ness, and  firmness.  His  portrait,  executed  by  Peale, 
is  still  preserved.  His  homestead  estate  remains  in 
the  possession  of  his  descendants. 

Col.  Philip  Johnston,  a  brother-in-law  of  Col. 
Charles  Stewart,  was  the  eldest  of  seven  children,  and 
was  born  in  1741.  His  father.  Judge  Samuel  John- 
ston, was  a  colonial  magistrate  thirty  years  before  the 
Revolution.  The  family  were  from  Scotland,  and  be- 
longed to  an  ancient  barony  in  Anandale.  They 
were  a  warlike  clan  and  a  great  terror  to  the  border 

*  A  Bon  of  his  waa  giaduated  at  West  Point  with  Gen.  McClellan,  and 
served  faithfully  and  efficiently  during  the  late  war  of  the  Rebellion. 


thieves.     Philip  left  his  class  in  Princeton  College  to 
serve  in  the  French  war  in  Canada,  from  which  he 
returned  with  military  honor  and  reputation.     This 
fact  drew  many  to  his  standard  when  he  called  for 
volunteers  in  1776.     He  was  appointed  by  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  of  New  Jersey  to  the  command  of 
the  First  Regiment.     At  the  head  of  this  regiment  he 
went  into  the  battle  of  Long  Island.     He  was  one  of 
the  bravest  in  that   hotly-contested   fight.     Force's 
"  Revolutionary  Archives"  gives  the  following  extract 
from  a  Philadelphia  journal  of  the  day :  "  We  hear 
that  in  the  late  action  on  Long  Island,  Col.  Philip 
Johnston,  of  New  Jersey,  behaved  with  remarkable 
intrepidity  and  fortitude.     By  the  well-directed  fire 
of  his  battalion  the  enemy  were  several  times  repulsed 
and  lanes  were  made  through  them,  until  he  received 
a  ball  in  his  breast,  which  put  an  end  to  as  brave  an 
ofiicer  as  ever  commanded.     Gen.  Sullivan,  who  was 
close  to  him  when  he  fell,  says  that  no  man  could  be- 
have with  more  firmness  during  the  whole  action." 
Just  as  he  was  leaving  home  for  the  seat  of  war  he 
went  into  the  room  where  his  little  children  were  in 
bed,  and,  kissing  them,  he  kneeled  down  and  com- 
mended his  family  to  God  in  iDrayer.     One  of  those 
three  daughters,  Mary,  became  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Scudder,  and  was  the  mother  of  Dr.  John  Scudder, 
the  world-renowned  missionary  to  India.f 

Col.  Joab  Houghton,  a  native  of  Hopewell,  then 
in  Hunterdon  County,  was  born  in  the  northeast  part 
of  the  township,  near  the  present  boundary  line  of 
Hunterdon.  He  was  an  active  partisan  ofiicer  of  the 
Revolution,  served  all  through  the  war,  and  did  good 
service  in  repelling  and  harassing  the  marauding-par- 
ties of  British  while  their  army  overran  this  section 
of  country.  On  one  occasion,  at  Pennington,  he  cap- 
tured a  Hessian  sergeant  and  twelve  men.  After  the 
war  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from 
Hunterdon  County.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  died  about  1795,  at  an  advanced  age. 

Col.  Mark  Thompson,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
men  of  his  day,  lived  about  two  miles  from  Clarks- 
ville,  at  the  site  of  the  Change-water  forge,  of  which 
valuable  property  he  was  an  early  owner.  He  was  a 
colonel  in  the  militia  in  the  first  levy  of  troops  for  the 
defense  of  the  State  during  the  Revolution.  His  son, 
Robert  C,  inherited  the  property.  Of  the  six  sons  of 
the  latter  all  were  long  since  deceased  except  Theo- 
dore, who  removed  to  Princeton,  where  he  was  living 
at  last  accounts.! 

Col.  Isaac  Smith,  born  1740,  graduated  at  Prince- 
ton, 1755,  was  a  tutor  in  1757,  a  member  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  in  1767.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  he  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  First 
Regiment,  Hunterdon.     From  1777  to  1795  he  was  a 


f  These  facts  are  taken  from  an  article  in  the  Clirislian  InleUigeiicer  by 
Key.  William  Hall,  Jan.  25, 1BY7.  The  correctness  of  them  is  asserted 
by  Mrs.  Hoyt,  granddaughter  of  Col.  Stewart.— Dr.  Moll's  Hist.  Bmiter- 
don  Co. 

t  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 


SOME   OF  THE   PROMINENT   MEN   OP   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


253 


justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey.  He 
was  subsequently  elected  to  Congress.  He  was  a  suc- 
cessful physician,  although  public  duties  withdrew 
him  much  from  his  practice.  He  died  Aug.  29,  1807, 
aged  sixty-eight,  and  was  buried  in  Trenton.  A 
sketch  of  his  life  and  character  may  be  found  in  the 
"  Portfolio,"  vol.  i.,  February,  1809.* 

John  Mehelm  was  another  member  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  of  1775  who  represented  this  county 
and  afterwards  took  an  active  part  in  the  Revolution. 
He  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Ireland.  In  early 
life  he  was  a  schoolmaster  in  Berks  Co.,  Pa.  He  was 
a  handsome  writer  and  a  fine  scholar.  He  purchased 
one  hundred  acres  of  land  and  a  mill  on  the  North 
Branch,  near  Pluckamin,  since  known  as  Hall's  Mills. 
Here  during  the  Revolutionary  war  he  manufactured 
flour,  which  was  used  by  the  army  while  lying  at 
Pluckamin  and  encamped  at  Morristown.  He  was 
colonel  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  Hunterdon,  served 
on  thestaff  of  Maj.-Gen.  Dickinson;  was  also  quarter- 
master-general, and  continued  a  pure  and  able  patriot. 
He  was  often  associated  with  John  Hart,  and  was  also 
the  friend  and  companion  of  "Washington.  Col.  Me- 
helm was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  which 
met  at  Burlington,  June  10,  1776.  He  was  appointed 
surrogate  for  the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and  Somer- 
set, which  office  he  held  until  1801,  when  he  was  re- 
moved.f 

John  Hart,  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of 
Revolutionary  times,  and  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  was  born  in  the  town- 
ship of  Hopewell,  N.  J.  He  was  a  deputy  in  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  of  1775  from  Hunterdon  County,  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  in  1776,  and  a 
member  of  the  Continental  Congress.  When  the 
British  troops  took  possession  of  this  portion  of  the 
State,  Mr.  Hart's  farm  and  stock  were  pillaged  and 
destroyed  by  the  Hessians,  and  his  children  escaped 
from  insult  only  by  removing  from  the  vicinity.  Mrs. 
Hart,  at  the  time  too  sick  for  removal,  died  amid  the 
soldiers,  her  end  no  doubt  hastened  by  the  exciting 
scenes  then  transpiring.  Mr.  Hart  himself  was  driven 
from  the  bedside  of  his  dying  wife  and  hunted  through 
the  hills  and  woods  of  his  native  county.  It  is  little 
wonder,  then,  that  he  was  a  patriot,  and  that  he  earn- 
estly espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonists.  He  died 
in  1780,  leaving  a  bright  example  of  patriotism  and 
devotion  to  his  country. 

John  Stevens  was  an  early  settler  in  the  Round 
Valley.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Edward  [Edwin], 
John,  and  Robert  Livingston  Stevens,  who  became 
the  pioneers  in  the  railroad  and  steamboat  enterprises 
of  the  State.  Robert,  when  only  twenty  years  old, 
took  the  "Phojnix" — a  steamboat  built  by  his  father, 
and  one  of  the  first  ever  constructed — from  New  York 
to  Philadelphia  by  sea,  which  is  indisputably  the  first 


*  "Wickes'  Hietory  of  New  Jersey  MediciDe. 

f  Mott'a  History  of  Hunterdon  County,  pp.  35,36. 


instance  of  ocean  steam-navigation.  This  was  in  1808. 
Tradition  says  that  Livingston,  the  associate  of  Robert 
Fulton,  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Round  Valley.t 

Col.  John  Stevens  (born  1749,  died  1838)  as  early 
as  1789  presented  a  memorial  to  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  New  York  stating  that  he  had  perfected  his 
plans  in  regard  to  steam-navigation.  In  1804  he 
launched  a  small  vessel  worked  by  steam  with  screws, 
and  in  1807  he  built  the  steamboat  "  Pha3nix."  Ful- 
ton, meanwhile,  had  constructed  the  "  Clermont"  and 
obtained  the  exclusive  right  of  navigating  the  Hud- 
son ;  Stevens,  therefore,  sent  his  vessel  to  the  Dela- 
ware. He  subsequently  invented  a  revolving  steam- 
battery,  and  was  the  pioneer  in  the  matter  of  the  use 
of  steam  for  railways,  suggesting  the  construction  of 
one  from  Albany  to  Fort  Erie.  The  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad  was  planned  by  him.  But  when  he 
applied  to  the  State  for  a  franchise  to  build  it,  it  was 
denied  on  the  plea  of  being  so  visionary  a  scheme 
that  they  did  not  wish  to  encourage  him  in  his  at- 
tempts to  bankrupt  himself  and  impoverish  his  fam- 
ily. He  had  six  sons  and  five  daughters ;  the  names 
of  the  former  were  John  Cox,  Robert  Livingston, 
James  Alexander,  Richard,  Francis  Bowes,  and 
Edwin  Augustus. 

Richard  Stevens  graduated  from  Columbia  Col- 
lege and  became  a  surgeon  in  the  navy  (born  1788, 
died  1856). 

Robert  L.  Stevens  was  the  assistant  of  his  father 
in  perfecting  his  inventions,  and  was  himself  an  emi- 
nent inventor.  In  1813  he  devised  and  made  for  the 
government  elongated  percussion-shells  for  smooth- 
bore guns,  and  in  1822  used  anthracite  coal  in  a  fur- 
nace, and  soon  after  in  his  steamers ;  in  1836  intro- 
duced the  T-rail  on  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad, 
of  which  he  was  president,  and  in  1842  was  com- 
missioned to  build  for  the  United  States  government 
an  iron-plated  floating  battery,  which  remained  un- 
completed at  his  death.  § 

Edwin  Augustus  Stevens  was  born  in  1795,  and 
died  at  Paris  in  1868.  In  conjunction  with  his 
brothers  he  established  passenger-  and  tow-boats  on 
the  Hudson  and  other  rivers.  At  the  breaking  out 
of  the  late  civil  war  he  urged  the  government  to  put 
in  service  the  ironclad  battery  of  which  his  brother 
had  long  before  commenced  the  construction,  offering 
to  complete  it  and  to  receive  pay  for  it  only  in  case  it 
should  prove  successflil.  This  offer  being  declined, 
he  expended  considerable  sums  upon  it,  and  at  his 
death  bequeathed  it  to  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  to- 
gether with  one  million  dollars  for  its  completion ; 
this  amount,  however,  proved  insuflicient,  and  the 
battery  remains  unfinished. 

Rev.  Peter  Studdiford  was  the  son  of  Capt. 
John  Studdiford,  from  Pen  Ryn,  Cornwall,  England. 
His  mother  was  Catharine  Burgher.     Capt.  Studdi- 


X  "  First  Century  of  Hunterdon  County,"  p.  13. 
3  Joluison's  New  Universal  Cyclopa?dia,  vol.  iv,  p.  I 


2U 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ford  died  of  yellow  fever  in  the  "West  Indies,  leaving 
his  wife  and  orphan  son  in  New  York  City,  where 
Peter  was  born.  The  celebrated  De  Witt  Clinton  was 
his  room-mate  at  Columbia  College,  where  they 
formed  a  -warm  friendship.  He  finished  his  education 
under  the  Eev.  Dr.  Livingston,  and  settled,  in  1796, 
at  South  Branch  Mills,  having  been  previously  licensed 
by  the  Synod  of  New  York  (1787).  The  service  of 
ordination  was  performed  by  J.  R.  Hardenbergb,  John 
M.  Van  Harlingen,  Jr.,  and  John  Duryea.  Mr.  Stud- 
diford  preached  at  Bedminster  and  Eeadington  until 
the  year  1800,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death  was 
pastor  of  the  Eeadington  Church  alone.  He  died  in 
his  own  house  at  South  Branch  Mills.  His  remains 
lie  at  Eeadington,  beside  those  of  Simeon  Van  Arsdale, 
and  the  following  inscription  is  engraven  upon  his 
tomb : 

"  Beneath  this  tablet  lie  the  remains  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Studdiford,  who, 
after  a  long  and  laborious  ministry,  died  on  November  21at,  A.D.  1S26,  in 
the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
A.D.  17G3.  Having  completed  his  collegiate  and  theological  studies  in 
the  place  of  his  birth,  he  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  of  North  Branch.  Here  he  continued  to  labor  with  unabated 
zeal  and  diligence  until  visited  by  the  sickness  which  issued  in  his  death. 
Possessing  enlarged  views  of  divine  tnith  and  a  rich  store  of  various 
knowledge,  he  was  ready,  instructive,  and  forcible  in  his  preaching.  He 
loved  his  Master's  work,  and  shrank  not  from  labor  in  its  performance. 
As  a  pastor  he  was  affectionate  and  faithful ;  as  a  citizen,  truly  patriotic ; 
as  a  neighbor,  benevolent,  candid,  and  obliging;  and  as  a  Christian, 
humble,  devout,  and  liberal." 

He  married  in  early  life,  and  his  wife  sleeps  beside 
him.     Her  tombstone  is  inscribed : 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Phoebe,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Studdiford, 
and  only  daughter  of  James  and  Lavinia  Vanderveer,  of  the  township 
of  Bedminster,  and  county  of  Somerset.  She  departed  this  life  March 
17, 1808,  aged  33  years,  9  months,  and  11  days." 

Later  in  life  he  married  Maria  Van  Horn,  who 
long  survived  him,  and  died  in  Somerville,  at  the 
house  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Ruckle. 

Mr.  Studdiford  was  one  worthy  to  wear  the  mantle 
of  the  Frelinghuysens  and  other  pioneers  of  the  Ee- 
formed  Dutch  Church  in  America.  He  traversed  the 
wilderness  of  upper  Hunterdon  to  preach  in  the  rude 
meeting-houses  at  Lebanon,  White  House,  and  Stan- 
ton, which  afterwards  were  colonized  from  his  church 
and  became  flourishing  congregations;  he  often  jour- 
neyed as  far  as  the  Delaware,  and  held  meetings  in 
private  houses  where  no  churches  were  near.  His 
labors  in  this  direction  were  immense,  and  he  per- 
formed them,  not  that  they  were  a  part  of  his  charge, 
but  because  the  great  love  he  bore  his  Master's  service 
would  not  let  him  rest  while  famishing  little  congre- 
gations needed  his  services.  Therefore  he  was  gen- 
erally beloved,  and  his  death  was  mourned  by  those 
of  all  denominations,  within  the  whole  limits  of  Hun- 
terdon and  Somerset  Counties,  as  that  of  a  near  and 
dear  friend. 

His  sou,  Eev.  Peter  0.  Studdiford,  became  a  com- 
municant of  the  Eeadington  Church,  and  after  being 
licensed  preached  his  first  sermon  at  Lambertville, 
where  he  gave  his  life's  labors,  and  where  he  died. 


(See  sketch  of  his  life  in  connection  with  the  history 
of  Lambertville.) 

Eev.  John"  Vanderveer  was  born  in  Hunterdon 
County,  May  5, 1800 ;  was  graduated  from  the  College 
of  New  Jersey  in  1817,  from  the  New  Brunswick 
Seminary  in  1822,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Eeformed 
Church  in  the  last-named  year.  He  was  one  of 
Nature's  noblemen.  He  was  noted  as  an  educator, 
the  "  Vanderveer  School,"  at  Easton,  being  famous 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Among  the 
hundreds  who  received  their  education  at  the  "  Min- 
erva Seminary"  there  were  not  a  few  who  became 
distinguished  in  the  different  walks  of  life.  He  was 
honest,  pure,  warm-hearted,  and  benevolent. 

Eev.  George  Scuddee  Mott,  D.D.,  resident  of 
Flemington  and  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  Nov.  25,  1829. 
His  father  was  Lawrence  S.  Mott,  also  a  native  of 
New  York  City.  One  of  his  ancestors  had  to  flee 
from  the  city  on  its  occupation  by  the  British ;  an- 
other was  killed  at  the  Indian  battle  of  Minisink. 
Our  subject  prepared  for  college  at  a  private  school 
in  his  native  city,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  York  in  1850,  taking  the  fourth  honor. 
He  entered  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  the 
fall  of  1850,  graduating  therefrom  in  1853.  He  im- 
mediately accepted  a  call  to  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Eahway,  N.  J.,  and  remained  five  years. 
For  the  nine  years  following  he  was  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Newton,  N.  J.  He  removed  to 
Flemington  in  1869,  to  assume  the  pastorate  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  that  place,  which  position  he 
is  still  (1880)  filling  with  great  acceptance. 

In  1873  he  was  elected  professor  of  sacred  rhetoric 
in  Lincoln  University,  Pennsylvania,  but  declined 
the  proffered  position.  In  1874,  Princeton  College 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
He  is  an  able  writer,  the  author  of  several  valuable 
works,*  and  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  periodical 
press  and  denominational  publications  of  the  East. 
He  takes  a  lively  interest  in  all  moral  and  reformatory 
measures,  and  is  actively  participant  in  the  Bible 
cause  and  Sunday-school  work  in  Hunterdon  County. 
He  is  at  the  present  time  the  corresponding  secretary 
of  the  Hunterdon  County  Bible  Society. 

Henry  D.  Maxwell  was  born  in  Flemington, 
Dec.  5,  1812,  and  was  the  son  of  William  Maxwell, 
Esq.,  whose  biography  is  given  in  the  chapter  on  the 
"Bench  and  Bar."  At  fifteen  years  of  age  he  was 
prepared  for  college,  but  the  death  of  his  father  left 
to  his  care  and  that  of  his  brothers  a  widowed  mother, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  project.  Ob- 
taining a  situation  as  usher  in  the  boarding-school  ot 
Eev.  Dr.  Steel,  at  Abington,  Pa.,  he  for  eighteen 
months  aided  in  preparing  young  men  for  that  college 
life  which  he  was  compelled  to  forego.  When  seven- 
teen, Hon.  Samuel  L.  Southard,  then  Secretary  of 


*  See  chapter  on  "  Books  and  Authors,"  preceding. 


CIVIL  LIST   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


255 


the  Navy,  sent  him  a  warrant  as  midshipman  in  the 
navy,  hut,  again  out  of  consideration  for  his  mother's 
wishes,  he  declined  it.  Eeturning  now  to  Fleming- 
ton,  he  studied  law  with  Nathaniel  Saxton,  Esq.,  but 
afterwards  entered  the  office  of  Thomas  A.  Hartwell, 
Esq.,  of  Somerville,  and  completed  his  term  with  his 
cousin,  John  P.  B.  Maxwell,  of  Belvidere.  He  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  September,  1834,  and  opened 
an  office  at  Phillipsburg.  In  1835  he  removed  to 
Easton,  and  practiced  law  there  until  his  death. 

In  1850,  President  Taylor  appointed  him  United 
States  consul  to  Trieste,  Austria,  but  he  resigned  the 
jjost  in  one  year.  In  July,  1856,  he  became,  by  ap- 
pointment, president  judge  of  the  Third  Judicial  Dis- 
trict, and  again  in  1862.  In  the  war  he  was  paymaster- 
general  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  local  offices  held  by 
him  were  almost  innumerable.  His  death  occurred 
Oct.  3,  1874. 

Eli  Bosenbdey,  of  Clinton,  State  senator  from 
Hunterdon  County,  was  born  in  Delaware  township, 
this  county,  Sept.  9, 1822.  He  was  in  early  life  a  car- 
penter and  builder,  but  in  1864  became  engaged  as  a 
manufacturer  and  wholesale  dealer  in  lumber.  He 
was  elected  and  served  as  mayor  of  the  town  of  Clin- 
ton during  the  years  1873-74.  Democratic  in  politics. 
In  1879  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  his  term 
expiring  in  1882. 

Petek  Ceamee,  State  senator  from  Warren  Co., 
N.  J.  (elected  in  1878, — the  first  Eepublican  senator 
from  Warren  County),  is  a  native  of  Hunterdon 
County,  being  born  near  Germantown,  Feb.  10,  1824. 
For  the  past  thirty  years,  however,  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  Warren  County. 

Chaeles  W.  Godown,  member  of  the  State  Leg- 
islature from  the  First  District  of  this  county  (em- 
bracing Delaware,  Kingwood,  Earitan,  Eeadington, 
East  and  West  Amwell  townships,  and  city  of  Lam- 
bertville),  was  born  in  Delaware  township,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  in  1824.  He  is  a  carriage-manufacturer,  has 
filled  several  minor  offices  in  his  township,  and  in 
1878  received  the  Democratic  nomination  for  the  As- 
sembly and  was  elected. 

James  M.  Eamsey  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Clinton 
township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  and  is  about  fifty-nine 
years  of  age.  He  is  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  is 
also  engaged  as  a  stock -dealer.  He  has  been  for 
nearly  twenty  years  a  director  of  the  Clinton  Bank, 
has  for  two  terms  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
chosen  freeholders  of  Hunterdon  County,  and  in  1878 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly  from  the  Sec- 
ond District  of  this  county  by  the  Democratic  party, 
of  which  he  is  an  earnest  supporter,  being  (1879-80) 
the  chairman  of  the  Democratic  Congressional  Com- 
mittee.   His  residence  is  at  Lebanon,  N.  J.* 

Sketches  of  Frederic  A.  Potts,  James  N.  Pidcock, 
and  others  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  work. 


Numerous  biographies  of  Hunterdon  County  notables 
will  also  be  found  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the 
Bench  and  Bar,  the  Medical  Profession,  Authors,  etc. 


CHAPTEE    XL 

CIVIL  LIST  OF  HUUTEKDON  COUITTT. 

A  List  of  the  National,  State,  and  Count}'  Officers  of  Hunterdon  County. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  persons  who  have  held 
office,  by  election  or  appointment,  in  the  county  of 
Hunterdon,  and  also  of  those  who,  being  natives  or 
residents  of  the  county,  have  held  office  under  the 
State  and  national  governments. 

GOVERNORS. 

1757-58,  John  Beading ;  1790-92,  William  Pateraon ;  1802-3,  John  Lam- 
bert; 1829,  Garret  D.  Wall.f 

STATE    TREASURER. 
1836,  Jacob  Kline. 

QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL. 
1776,  John  Mehelm;  1824,  Garret  D.  Wall. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 
1776,  William  Paterson. 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE    COUNCIL. 
1802-3,  John  Lambert. 

VICE-PRESIDENT    OP   THE    COUNCIL. 
1798-1800,  John  Lambert. 

PRESIDENTS    OF    THE   SENATE. 
1852,  John  Manners;  1861,  Edmund  Perry. 

SECRETARIES    OF   THE    SENATE. 
1857-58,  A.  B.  Chamberlain;  1859-60,1870,  John  C.  Eatferty;  1875-76, 
1879,  N.  W.  Voorhees. 

SPEAKER    OF   THE    HOUSE. 
1830,  Alexander  Wui-ta. 

CLERK   OF   THE   HOUSE. 
1846,  Adam  C.  Davis. 

ENGROSSING  CLERK  OF  THE  HOUSE. 
1863-64,  Joseph  B.  Gorniah. 

CHIEF  JUSTICES. 
1723,  William  Trent ;  1853,  Alexander  Wurts  (declined). 

VICE-CHANCELLOR. 
1875-82,  Abraham  V.  Van  Fleet. 

CLERKS  OF  THE  SUPREME   COURT. 
1812,  Garret  D.  Wall ;  1827,  Zaohariah  Eussell. 

PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTORS  FROM  HUNTERDON 
COUNTY. 
1805,  Moore  Furman ;  1809,  Benjamin  Egbert  ;t   1813,  Dr.  Wm.  McGee  ;§ 
1817,  Eobert  McNeely  ;||  1821,  Aaron  Van  Syckel  ;1f  1821,  Samuel  L. 


*  Legislative  Manual,  1880,  p.  110. 


■f-  Declined. 

J  Bled  at  Pattenburg,  Hunterdon  County,  March  28, 1848,  aged  oighty- 
§  Also  member  of  Assembly  ;  died  June  23, 1815,  aged  forty-seven. 
II  Also  member  of  Assembly  and  mayor  of  Trenton. 
If  Member  of  Assembly  and  sheriff;  died  Nov.  28, 1838,  aged  seventy- 
four. 


256 


HUNTERDON   COrNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Southard  ;»  1824,  Isiac  G.  Fiu-lee  ;t  1M5.  Jacob  Kline ;  ISS,  Gabriel 
Hoff  ;{  1S3T,  Joshua  S.Bunn;  IWl,  John  Kviuk  ;  lSi9,  John  Kuiik;3 
ISo",  DaTid  Van  Fleet  ;  ]  1S77,  John  C.  Dunham. 

FISH-WARDENS. 

ISSO,  Bichard  B.  Beading,  Andrew  J.  Scarborough. 

UNITED  ST.iTES  SENATORS. 
1809-15,  John  Lambert;  1SS5-41,  Garret  D.  Wall. 

UNITED  STATES  REPRESENTATIVES. 
lSOo-9,  John  Lambert  (deceased) ;  1S36-39,  Willi.xm  Halstead  (died 
March  4, 1S7S,  aged  eighty-four);  1S42-43.  I&iac  G.Farlee  (died  Jan. 
12, 1S55,  aged  seventy-six) ;  1844,  John  Kuuk  i^deceaseiil ;  1852,  I>r. 
Samuel  Lilly  (died  April  3,  ISSO,  aged  sixty-five  ;  1808-74.  John  T. 
Bird. 

INSPECTORS  OF  CUSTOMS.  NEW  YORK. 
lSoT-62,  John  P.  Rittenhouse ;  18S9,  Pavid  Yan  Fleet. 

FOREIGN  CONSULS. 

1830,  Cbas.  D.  Cox,  at  Tripoli  (died  December,  1830) ;  1861.  Santuel  Lilly, 
consul-general  to  CtUcutta,  British  India. 

UNITED  STATES  DISTRICT  ATTORNEYS. 
Kichard  Stockton,  Garret  D.  Wall. 

CONVENTION  OF  17S7. 
John  Stevens,  Hon.  D.ivid  Biearlev,  Joshua  Corshon. 

REPRESENTATIVES  IN  CONGRESS. 
1805-9,  John  Lambert;  1811-13,  George  C.  Maxwell;  1S33-37,  1839^1, 
Philemon  Dickinson ;  1844-45,  Isaac  G.  Failee  ;  1846-47,  John  Bunk ; 
1864-55,  Samuel  Lilly. 

DELEGATES  TO  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS. 

1776-77,  John  Hart;  1783-84,  John  Stevens. 

MEMBERS  OF  LEGISLATIVE  COUNCIL. 

1776-80,  John  Stevens  (vice-president) ;  1781-83,  Joseph  Beading;  1784, 
Philemon  Dickinson  (vice-president) ;  17S5-S8,  Robert  Lettis  Hooper 
(vice-president) ;  1789-90,  Benjannn  Yan  Cleve ;  1791-1805,  John 
Lambert;  1800-7,  John  Wilson;  1808-14,  John  Hans;  lSlS-16, 
George  Anderson;  1817-21,  Elnatlian  Stevenson;  1822-23,  John 
Cavanagh;  1824-2G,  Klnathan  Stevenson;  1827-29,  George  Max- 
well; 1830,  Thomas  Capner;  1831-32,  Peter  I.  Clark;  183:'., 
Alexander  Wurts ;  1834,  Natlianiel  Saxtou  ;  1835,  "William  Wilson; 
1836,  Henry  S.  Hunt ;  1837-38,  Joseph  Moore  ;  1839,  James  Snyder; 
1840-41,  John  Lilly,  M.D.  ;  1842-43,  William  Wilson. 

STATE  SENATORS. If 
1845-46,  Alexander  W\irts;  1847-49,  Isaac  G.  Farlee;  1850-52,  John 
Manners,  M.D. :  1853-65,  Alexander  Y.  Bonnell ;  1856-68,  Col.  John 
C.  Bafferty;  1859-61,  Edmund  Perry;  1862-64,  John  Blane,  M.D.; 
1866-67,  Alexander  Wurts;  1808-70,  Joseph  G.  Bowue;  1871-73,  | 
David  H.  Banghart ;  1874-76,  Frederic  A.  Potts ;  1877-79,  James  K. 
Pidcock;  1880-82,  Eli  Boseubury.  \ 

MEMBERS  OP  ASSEMBLY. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  members  of  the  colo- 
nial Assembly  since  the  surrender  of  the  government 


*  Attorney-general,  United  States  senator.  Governor,  etc. ;  died  June 
26, 1S42,  aged  fifty-five. 

t  County  clerk,  judge,  member  of  Assembly  and  Senate  ;  died  Jan.  12, 
1865. 

I  Sheriff  and  member  of  Assembly ;  died  Jan.  29, 1830,  aged  fifty-six. 

g  Sheriff  and  member  of  Congress ;  died  Sept.  22,  1872,  aged  eighty- 
two. 

B  Judge,  surrogate,  and  member  of  Assembly. 

If  Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1844  this  officer  was 
known  as  "  member  of  the  Council,"  the  title  being  changed  in  the  year 
above  named  to  "  member  of  the  Senate."  Since  tliat  date  the  Legisla- 
ture has  embraced  two  houses,  called  the  "Senate"  (composed  of  one 
senator  from  each  county,  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years),  and  the 
"  General  Assembly,"  composed  of  members  annually  elected,  and  appor- 
tioned among  the  counties,  "  as  nearly  as  may  be,  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  their  inhabitants," 


bv  the  proprietors  in  1702.  Until  ITiT  the  names  are 
those  of  the  members  of  "  West  New  Jersey,"  Hun- 
terdon not  yet  erected. 

1703  (1st  .\BsemWyi,  Poter  Tretwoll,  Thomas  Ganluer,  Thomas  Lamlwrt, 
William  Biddle,  William  SteN  i  uson.  lieslore  Lippincott,  John  Eoyoe. 
John  Hugg,  Jr.,  Joseph  Cooper,  William  Hall,  John  Jlasou,  John 
Smith;  1704  ^2u  .\sseuiM.\ '.  Kestoiv  Lippiucott,  John  llugg,  Jr., 
John  Koyco,  John  Smith,  William  Hall,  John  51ason,  Thomas  Bryan, 
RobertWheeler,  Peter  Tretwoll  (Spe:ikorl,Thomi\s  Lambert,  Thomas 
Gardner.  Joshua  Wright ;  17U7  ^Sd  Assembly),  Peter  CaKhou,  Wil- 
liam Hall,  of  Salem,  Kicluud  Johnson,  John  Thompson,  Thomas 
Bryan,  Samuel  Jennings,  Thomas  Ganlnor,  John  Eoyoe,  Poter 
Pawle;  1708-9  ^4th  .\sseniMy),  Thomas  Ganluer,  Thomas  Rapier, 
Hugh  Sharp,  Nathaniel  Crips.  Johu  Royce,  John  Kaign,  Kichard 

Johnson,  Nathaniel  IlreaJing,  Hugh  Middleton,  John  Lewis, 

Eldridge;  1727-:50  (9th  and  10th  Assomblies«l.  John  PorterfleUI, 
Joseph  Sto\it  ;  1738  (11th  Assembly),  Beiyaniiu  Smith,  Johu  EmWy  ; 
1740  (12th  Assemhlyl,  Benjamin  Smith,  Joseph  Peace;  174;'  tl3th 
Assomblyl,  William  Mott,  A  ndren  Smith  ;  1744-45  ^14th  and  15th  As- 
semblies). William  Mott.  Daniel  Doughty  ;  174ti-51  06th  to  18th  As- 
semblies), William  5Iott.  John  KulMy  ;  17.M  (19th  Assembly),  .Rweph 
Yard,  Peter  Middali ;  1761  i20th  A.*,-embly),  George  Beading,  John 
Hart;  1769  (21st  .\ssenibly\  John  Hart,  Samuel  Tucker;  1772-75 
(22d  Assembly),  Samuel  Tucker,  John  Mehelra. 

STATE  LEGISLATURE. 
1770-77  (1st  and  2d  .\6semblies),  .John  H.art,  John  Moliolm,  Chailos 
Coxe  ;  1778  (3d  .Assembly),  John  Hart,  Nehemiah  Dunham,  David 
Cluuilbors  ;  1779  ^4th  .\sson\My),  Benjannn  Yan  Clevo,  Jared  So\ton» 
"William  Gano;  1780  l5th  AssoniMy),  Bon.ialniu  Yan  Cleve,  Jared 
Sexton,  John  Lanibeit ;  1781  (6th  Assembly),  John  Moholm,  speaker, 
Benjaurin  Yan  Clove,  John  Lambert;  1782  t7th  As^touil'ly),  John 
Liunbert,  Samuel  Tucker,  Noheniiah  Dunham;  178:'.-84  l^Sth  and 
Dth  .\ssomblies),  John  Lambert,  Samuel  Tucker,  Beiyamiu  Yan 
Clove;  1785  (10th  As.sombly\  P'onjamin  Yan  Cleve,  John  LiUnbort, 
Joab  Houghton;  178(V-87  (11th  and  12th  Assemblies^  Boigamin 
Van  Cleve.  Joab  Houghton,  John  .Anderson :  1788  (13th  -\ssomL'ly\ 
Benjamin  "\'an  Cleve,  John  Lambert,  Bobert  Taylor;  17S9-90  Il4th 
and  15th  Assemblies).  .Tohn  .Xndereon,  Joshua  Carshon,  Charles  Ax- 
ford;  1791  (I6th  .VssoniMyl,  Thouurs  Lowrey, Benjamin  Van  Cleve, 
.\arou  D.  Woodrufl":  1792  (17 1 h  -Assembly),  Thomas  Ltiwrey,  Benjauiiu 
Yan  Cleve,  Johu  Taylor;  1793  (18th  Assemblyl,  Simon  WyckofT,  Ben- 
jamin Van  Cleve, Samuel  Stout;  1794(19th  .\ssembly),  Simon  "Wyok- 
off,  Johu  .Vndersou,  David  Fmzer;  1795  (20th  Assembly),  Simon 
Wyckoff,  Benjamin  Yan  Clove.  Diuid  Frazor;  1790  (21st  Assembly), 
Simon  Wyckofl",  P.enjamin  Yan  Clevo,  Stephen  Burrows ;  1797  (22d 
Assembly),  Simon  Wyckofl",  Benjamin  Van  f^leve,  Stephen  Burivws, 
Samuel  Stewart ;  1708  (2:vd  A^^eulbly),  Benj.amin  Yan  Clove,  Simon 
"S^"\ oUofl".  Joseph  Bea\  oi-s,  Joseph  Hankinsou ;  1799  ("24th  -Vssembly), 
Joseph  Hankinsou,  Stephen  Burrows,  Johu  Haas,  Johu  Lequear; 
ISOO  (25th  ,^.^sonlM\\  Stoplioii  Burrows, .lohn  Haas,  Simon  Wyckofl, 
Benjamin  Yan  Clove, 

MEMBERS  OF  ASSEMBLY  FROM  HUNTERDON 
COUNTY  (l.'^iOO  TO  ISlIT). 
lSOO-5,  Stephen  Burrows,  John  Haas.  Simon  Wyokotl,  Beiyamiu  Yan 
Cleve;  lSOC-7,  Nathan  Stout,  John  Haas,  Joshua  Wright,  Joseph 
Haid;iusou  ;  180S-9,  Moses  Stout,  Aaron  \an  Syokel,  Joshua  Wright, 
Joseph  Haukiusou;  1810,  Moses  Stout,  Aavon  Yan  Sxokol,  James  J. 
"VN'ilson,  Ehiathan  Stevenson  ;  1811,  Closes  Stout,  .Varon  Yan  Syokel. 
James  J.  Wilson,  .Tohn  Prall,  Jr.;  1812.  William  Potts,  Aaron  Van 
Syckol,  James  J,  Wilson,  .Benjamin  Wiight;  1813.  William  Potts, 
-Aaron  Van  Syokel,  David  Manners,  Beiyamiu  Wiight;  1814,  John 
Opdycke,  Aaron  Yan  Syokel,  Edward  Yaid,  Samuel  Baibor;  181,-.. 
John  Opdycke,  Samuel  L,  Southard,  Aaron  D,  Woodrufl",  Sauniol 
Barber;  1817,  Abraham  Stout,  William  Nixon,  John  Farlee,  Saninol 
Barber;  181S,  Abraham  Stout,  William  Nixou,  John  Farlee, Elnathan 
Stevenson;  1819,  Abraham  Stout,  Isaac  G.  Farlee,  George  Maxwell, 
Israel  Taylor;  1820,  Eoliert  JUNeoley,  Thomas  Trail,  ,Tr,,  George 
Maxwell,  Israel  Taylor;  1821,  Thomas  Capnor,  Isaac  G,  Farlee,  Geo, 
Maxwell,  Israel  Taylor;  1S22,  Levi  Knowles,  Garret  D,  "Wall,  George 
Maxwell,  James  J.  Wilson;  1S24,  Enoch  Clifford,  Asa  C,  Dunham. 
Aloxnmlor  Wni  l.s,  David  Johnson  ;  182,^.,  Enoch  ClilTonl,  Asa  C.  Dun- 


**  Hunteidon  County  first  appears  in  the  9th  .\ss 


ssomblv,  1727 


CIVIL  LIST   OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


257 


liam,  Thomas  Capner,  David  Johnson;  1820,  Enoch  Clifford,  Asa  C. 
Dunham,  Thomas  Capner,  John  Barton. 

MEMBERS    OF    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    (1827  TO  1880). 

1827,  Enoch  Clifford,  A.  C.  Dunham,  Thomas  Capner,  John  Barton  ;  1828, 
Enoch  Cliiford,  Garret  D.  Wall,  I.  G.  Earlee,  Thomas  Capner;  1829, 
Enoch  Clifford,  Alexander  Wurts,  I.  G.  Earlee,  Stacy  G.  Potts;  1830, 
Enoch  Clifford,  Gabriel  Hoff,*  Alexander  Wurts,  I.  G.  Parlee,  Stacy 
G.  Potts ;  1831,  Edward  S.  Mcllvaine,  Alexander  Wurts,  Enoch  Clif- 
ford, William  Marshall,  John  Barton  ;  1832,  Edward  S.  Mcllvaine, 
Alexander  Wurts,  Enoch  Clifford,  Wm.  Marshall,  Cornelius  Ludlow ; 
1833,  Edward  S.  Mcllvaine,  John  K.  Kline,  Sutphen  Garrison,  Wil- 
liam H.  Sloan,  Andrew  Weart;  1834,  William  McKee,  John  K.  Kline, 
Sutphen  Garrison,  William  H.  Sloan,  William  Marshall ;  1835,  John 
Hall,  John  Blane,  Wilson  Bray,  Joseph  Brown,  William  Marshall; 
1836,  John  Hall,  John  Blane,  Wilson  Bray,  Joseph  Brown,  Andrew 
Larason ;  1837,  John  Hall,  James  A.  Phillips,  David  Neighbour, 
Jonatlian  Pickel,  John  H.  Hutfman;  1838,  James  Snyder,  Philip 
Hiler,  David  Neighbour ;  1839-40,  Garret  Servis,  Joseph  Exton,  Philip 
Hiler;  1841-42,  John  B.  Mattison,  Isaac  R.  Srope,  Leonard  N.  Momer- 
felt,  Jonathan  Dawes ;  1843-44,f  Jonathan  Picke!,  John  Swackham- 
mer,  John  H.  Case,  Joseph  Johnson;  1845,  Jonathan  Pickel,  John 
Swackbammer,  John  H.  Case,  Amos  Moore;  1846,  Henry  Stevenson, 
Isaac  R.  Srope,  Joseph  Fritts,  Erederick  Apgar;  1847,  John  Lambert, 
.Toseph  Fritts,  Frederick  Apgar,  Isaac  R.  Srope ;  1848,  Andrew  Bang- 
hart,  David  Yanfieet,  Jonathan  Pickel,  John  Lambert;  1849,  John 
Lambert,  Andrew  Banghart,  David  Yanfieet,  Jonathan  Pickel ;  1850 
-51,  Luther  Opdycke,  John  R.  Toung,  John  Marlow,  William  Tirs- 
man;  1852,  John  R.  Young,  Andrew  Vanayckel,  Peter  H.  Allen, 
Hiram  Bennett;  1853,  Samuel  H.  Britton,  Peter  H.  Allen,  Andrew 
Yansyckel,  John  Lambert ;  1864,  Samuel  H.  Britton,  Peter  B.  Voor- 
hees,  Lewis  Toung,  John  Lambert;  1855,  Lewis  Young,  Peter  E. 
Yoorhees,  Edward  Hunt,  Jacob  S.  C.  Pittenger;  1856-67,  John  P. 
Rlttenhouse,  William  Sergeant,  John  M.  Yoorhees,  Joseph  W.  Wil- 
liver;  1858-59,  John  H.  Horn,  %\'illiam  Snyder,  Cornelius  B,  Sheets, 
Frederick  Apgar  ;  1860,  David  D.  Schomp,  Ambrose  Barcroft,  Charles 
Denson,  Thomas  Banghart;  18G1,  David  D.  Schomp,  Ambrose  Bar- 
croft, Charles  Denson,  Jacob  H.  Huffman ;  1862,  Simeon  R.  Huselton, 
Joseph  W.  Wood,  Jacob   H.  Huffman;  1863,  Simeon  R.  Huselton, 
Joseph  W.  Wood,  David  H.  Banghart ;  1864,  Joseph  W.  Wood,  David 
B.  Boss,  David  H.  Banghart;  1865,  James  J.  Willever,  David  B.  Boss, 
William  J.  Gliff;  1866,  William  J.  GlifT,  James  J.  Y^illever,  Richard 
H.  Wilson ;  1867,  Richard  H.  Wilson,  Baltes  Pickel,  William  J.  Gliff; 
1868,  Baltes  Pickel,  John   Williamson,  Theodore  Probasco;  1869, 
Theodore  Probasco,  John  Williamson,  John  P.  Lair ;  1870,  Theodore 
Probasco,  John  Kugler,  John  P.  Lair;  1871,  John  Kugler,  Peter 
Yoorhees,  Augustus  E.  Sanderson;  1872,  Peter  Yoorhees,  Augustus 
E.  Sanderson;  1873-74,  William  L.  lloppock,  John  Carpenter,  Jr. ; 
1875-76,  William  W.  Swayze,  James  Bird ;  1877-78,  Henry  Britton, 
John  Hackett;  1879-80,  Charles  W.  Godown,  James  N.  Ramsey. 

JUDGES  OF  THE  COURT  OF  COMMON  PLEAS. 
The  following  list  of  Common  Pleas  judges  from 
1725  to  1880  is  compiled  from  the  court  records  of 
Hunterdon  County,  the  parchment-rolls  of  oaths  of 
office,  etc.  The  year  given  is  the  date  of  appoint- 
ment : 

1725,  Thomas  Leonard,  .Tames  Trent,  Joseph  Stout;  1726,  Daniel  Coxe; 
1728,  John  Porterfleld;  1733,  John  Budd;  1734,  Daniel  Coxe.t  John 
Reading,  Joseph  Stout;  1736,  William  Morris;  1739,  Benjamin 
Smith,  William  Morris,  John  Dagworthy,  Martin  Ryerson,  Isaac 
Herring,  Andrew  Smith,  Theophilns  PhilliiJS,  Thomas  Cadwallader; 
1749,  Andrew  Reed  ;  1751,  John  Garrison,  Martin  Ryerson ;  1764, 
Jasper  Smith,  Cornelius  Ringo,  Philip  Ringo,  Samuel  Stout,  Theophi- 
lus  Sevems ;  1761,  William  Clayton  ;  1762,  Benjamin  Biles ;  1708, 
Isaac  Smith,  John  Grandin  ;  1770,  Micajah  Howe,  Lewis  Chamber- 
lin;  1774,  John  Hart;  1777,  Samuel  Johnson,  Joseph  Reeling, 
Moore  Furman;  1779,  John  Mehelm  ;  1781,  Joseph  Reading;  1782, 
Jared  Saxton,  Robert  L.  Hooper  ;  1783,  Joseph  Beavers  ;  1785,  James 

*  Elected  in  fall  of  1829  and  died  Jan.  21, 1830. 

t  Until  1844  the  members  of  the  Legislature  were  elected  in  October, 
and  the  Legislature  met  in  the  latter  part  of  the  same  month. 
X  Died  1730. 


Ewing,  Nathaniel  Hunt;    1786,  John    Mehelm,  Moore  Furman; 
1787,g  Robert  Hooper ;  1788,  Joseph  Beavers,  David  Frazer,  Daniel 
Hunt ;  1789,  William  Hazlett ;  1790,  Oliver  Barnet,  Nathaniel  Hunt, 
Jas.  Ewiug  ;  1791,  John  Mehelm  ;  1792,  Robert  L.  Hooper  ;  1794, 
David  Frazer,  Daniel  Hunt,  Joseph  Beaver;  1705,  William  Hazlett, 
Nathan  Stout;  1796,  James  Ewing,  David  Frazer,  John  Welling, 
Joseph  Reading ;  1797,  William  Hazlett,  Oliver  Barnes  ;  1799,  Dan- 
iel Hunt,  Thomas  Reading,  Ezekiel  Cole  ;  1800,  Nathan  Stout,  Ben- 
jamin Smith,  Nathaniel  Hunt,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  John  Coryell ;  1801, 
John  Lambert,  John  Wilson,  David  Frazer,  JohnWilling,  Richard  Op- 
dyke  ;  1803,  John  Covenhoven,  Benjamin  Egbert,  Caleb  Shreve,  John 
Smith  ;  1804,  John  T.  Blackwell,  David  Stout;  1805,  Oliver  Barnet, 
Paul  H.  M.  PrevoBt ;  1806,  Abraham  Ten  Eyck,  Paul  Egbert,  James 
Ewing,  Daniel  Cook,  Elnathan  Stevenson,  Luther  Opdyke,  Richard 
Opdyke  ;  1807,  Peter  Bisler,  John  Wilson ;  1808,  George  Rea,  J.  T. 
Blackwell,  Peter  Flomerfelt,  Caleb  Shreve,  Benjamin  Egbert ;  1809, 
BaltuB  Stiger,  Peter  Fisher ;  1810,  Paul  H.  M.  Prevost;  1811,  Robert 
McNeely,  Daniel  Cook,  Jacob  Kline,  Paul  Egbert,  Abram  Ten  Eyck, 
Peter  Risler,  Elnathan  Stevenson,  John  Wilson,  Luther  Opdyke, 
Richard  Opdyke ;  1812,  Levi  Knowles,  Thomas  Gordon,  James  Ste- 
venson, John  Coryell,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  Ralph  Hunt,  James  Ewing  ; 
1813,  Jonathan  Stevens,  Jacob  Williamson,  John  Carpenter,  Caleb 
Shreve;  1814,  Peter  Flomerfelt,  Jacob  Case,  David  Stout,  Baltus 
Stiger,  Peter  Fisher ;  1815,  Foster  Walters,  Philip  Johnston;  1816, 
Daniel  Cook,  Robert  McNeely,  Jacob  Kline,  Luther  Opdyke,  John 
Wilson,  Elnathan  Stevenson  ;  1817,  James  Ewing,  Dennis  Wyckoff, 
Ralph   Hunt;    1818,   Thomas   Capner,   Caleb   Shreve;    1819,   Peter 
Fisher,  Baltus  Stiger,  David  Stout;  1820,  Foster  Walters,  John 
Thompson  ;  1821,  Daniel  Cook,  Luther  Opdyke,  Elnathan  Stevenson  ; 
1822,  John  Wilson,  James  Ewing,  John  Barton,  Dennis  Wyckoff, 
Ralph  Hunt,  Elijah  Wilson,  Thomas  Capner,  IsaM  G.  Farlce,  Zach- 
ariah  Flomerfelt;    1823,  Edmund   Burroughs,  George  Rea,    David 
Johnston  ;  1824,  Jacob  J.  Young,  Baltus  Stiger,  David  Stout ;  1826, 
Foster  Walters,  John  Thompson;    Robt.  McNeely;  1826,  Daniel 
Cook,    Luther   Opdyke,   George  Rea,    Elnathan   Stevenson;    1S27, 
Elijah  Wilson,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  Edmund  Burroughs,  Ralph  Hunt ; 
1 828,  John  Barton,  David  Stout,  Richard  Coxe,  Jacob  J.  Young ;  1 829, 
John  Haas,  Benj.  Egbert,  John  Carr,  John  Barton,  .Nathaniel  Fur- 
man ;  1830,  Richd.  Coxe,  Robt.  McNeely,  Foster  Wallers,  Baltus  Stiger ; 
1831,  Joseph  Johnston,  William  Howell,  Jacob  Y.  Young,  Joseph  W. 
Dusenbury,  Robert  K.  Reading,  Archibald  Kennedy,  Elijah  Wilson, 
Cornelius  Ludlow  ;  1832,  Luther  Opdyke,  John  Barton  ;  1833,  Evan 
Evans,  Samuel  Hill;  1835,  Jos.  Brown;  1830,  James  S.  Manners; 
1837,  John  S.  Stires,  Wm.  Probasco;  1838,  Wm.  Howell,  Peter  Ten 
Eyck;  1839,  Peter  H.  Huffman;  1840,  Andrew  Banghart,  Israel  Wil- 
son, Lucius  M.  Prevost,  John  Thompson,  Andrew  Hoagland,  John 
Bailey,  David  Clarke,  Peter  B.  Lowe,  Nathaniel  C.  Mattison,  Isaiah 
P.  Large  ;  1841,  Edward  Wellstcad,  David  Ilnlsizer,  Peter  C.  Rea  ; 
1842,  Elijah  Wilson,  Adams  C.  Davis,  Elisha  Blue,  Joseph  Huffman, 
David  P.  Srope,  William  Stout,  John  Coryell,  Peter  H.  Huffman, 
Samuel  Skinner,  William  R.  Prall,  Samuel  Hill,  William  A.  Huff, 
Peter  Sigler,  Samuel  Coolcy,  Peter  R.Fisher;  1843,  Hart  Johnson; 
1845,  Joseph  Thompson,  of  Readington  ;  1840,  John  Barber,  of  Dela- 
ware (died  Jan.  4,  1867,  at.  79);  1847,  Samuel  Hill,  of  Raritan  (died 
April  7,  1868,  ajt.  66) ;  1848,  Robert  Foster,  of  Union;  1849,  Joseph 
Brown,  of  Raritan  (died  March  20,  1805,  mt.  76);    1850,  Joseph 
Thompson,  of  Readington  ;  1851,  William  Egbert,  of  Union  ;  1852, 
Isaac  G.  Farlee,  of  Raritan  (died  Jan.  12, 1868,  ajt.  67) ;  1853,  Mahlon 
Smith,  of  Delaware;   1854,  Isaac  R.  Srope,  of  Kingwood  (died  April 
14, 1802,  ait.  60) ;  1855,  none  appointed ;  1860,  Peter  E.  Yoorhees,  of 
Readington;  1867,  none  appointed;  1868,  Mahlon  Smith,  of  Dela- 
ware (died  May  27, 1868,  aet.  73) ;  1859,  Isaiah  P.  Large,  of  Reading- 
ton  (died  Oct.  1,  1866,  ast.  70) ;  1860,  none  appointed;  1861,  Peter  I. 
Clark  (to  fill  vacancy  ;  died  May  26, 1863,  aged  73) ;  1862,  Jacob  H. 
Huffman,  of  Clinton  (died  Nov.  21,  1863) ;  1863,  John  N.  Yoorhees, 
of  Kingwood ;  1803,  Jonathan  Pickel,  of  Alexandria  (to  fill  vacancy) ; 
1864,  Edmund  Perry,  of  Raritan,  Jonathan  Pickel,  of  Alexandria 
(died  Feb.  7, 1869,  aged  71) ;  1805-60,  none  appointed ;  1867,  Robert 
Foster,  of  Clinton;  1868,  Dr  Samuel  Lilly,  of  Lambortville  (died 
April  3,1880,  aged  65) ;  1809,  Peter  E.  Yooriiees,  of  Readington  (died 
Oct.  16,  1872,  aged  62);  1870-71,  none  appointed;  1872,  David  Yan 
Fleet,  of  Raritan,  John  C.  Eafferty  (to  fill  vacancy);  1873,  Nathaniel 
W.  Yoorhees,  of  Clinton  (to  fill  vacancy),  and  Sylvester  H.  Smith,  of 
Bethlehem ;  1876-70,  none  appointed ;  1877,  Alexander  Wurts,  of 


g  From  1787  the  judges  of  the  Orphans'  Court  are  identical  with  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 


258 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Karitan ;  1878,  John  S.  Jones,  of  Baritan  ;  1879,  James  P.  Huffman, 
of  Clinton  ;  1880,  none  appointed. 

JUDGES  OF  THE  ORPHANS'  COURT. 

Joseph.  Reading,  Joseph  Beavers,  Moore  Furman.,  May  12, 1785 ;  Nathan- 
iel Hunt,  James  Ewing,  Oct.  25, 1786  ;  Joseph  Reading,  Nov.  1, 1786. 

From  this  date  the  judges  of  the  Orphans'  Court 
are  identical  with  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  with  which  list  they  may  be  found. 

JUSTICES. 
The    following    table    of  justices    of   Hunterdon 
County,  from  June  5,  1721,  to  1881,  is  compiled  from 
the  court  records,  the  rolls  of  oaths  of  ofB.ce,  parch- 
ment warrants,  etc. : 

1721  (June  5),  Timothy  Baker,  Jasper  Smith,  Jacob  Bellerjeau,  Thomas 

Leonard,  Charles  Wolverton,  Ralph  Heax't,  William   Green,  John 

Porterfield. 
1722,  Alexander  Harper,  Charles  Clark,  William  Trent,  John  Burroughs, 

Jasper  Smith,  Samuel  Green,  Abraham  Kitchell, 
172:i,  Jeremiah  Bass,  Robert  Eaton,  Theophilus  Phillips,  Daniel  Vander- 

beck,  Hezekiah  Boiiham,  Philip  Ringo,  John  Knowles,  Adrian  Lane, 

Richard  Scudder,  Daniel  Coxe,  Nath.  French,  James  Trent,  Andrew 

Smith,  Robert  Eaton. 
172-i,  Daniel  Coxe,  Philip  Ringo,  Nath,  French,  Stephen  Leonard,  John 

Hay  ward. 
1725,    Joseph  Stout,  John   Budd,   John  Dagworthy,  Joshua   Anderson, 

Daniel  Howell,  Isaac  Herring,  Paul  Vanderbeck. 
1728,  Francis  Bowes,  William  Cornell. 
17:3U,  Jacob  Doughty,  Joseph  Higbee. 
ll'.yi,  John  Linley. 
17;i;i.  Benjamin  Smith,  John  Hynd  Sliaw,  Martin  Ryerson,  Jacob  Kay- 

kendall, 
lloi,  Joseph  Reed,  James  Gould,  Alexander   Lockart,  Samuel  Green, 

Daniel  Sebring,  Charles  Clark,  Abraham  Kitchell,  Abraham  Van 

Horn. 
17:38,  John  Stephens. 
1739,  James  Van  Aukland,  William  Allen,  Philip  Ringo. 

1745,  Nathaniel  Ware,  Samuel  Stout,  Benjamin  Rouuseval,  Nathaniel 
Fresh,  Samuel  Johnson. 

1746,  Edward  Rockhill,  Thomas  Ketchem,  Jasper  Smith,  Ralph  Smith, 
Nicholas  WyckofF,  Theophilus  Phillips,  Cornelius  Ringo. 

1747,  Ralph  Hart. 

1749,  Miirtin  Ryei-son,  David  Martin,  William  Clayton,  Charles  Clarke, 
Hugh  Martin,  John  Arrison. 

1751,  Benjamin  Byles. 

1755,  John  Hart,  John  Phillips,  James  Smith, 

1756,  Abner  Phillips,  Charles  Huff. 

1757,  John  Opdyke. 

1750,  John  Hackett. 
1760,  Richard  Porter. 

1762,  John  Grandin,  John  Anderson,  Jonathan  Sergeant,  Courtland 
Slvinner,  B.  Temple,  Azariah  Hunt,  Joseph  Reading,  John  Stout. 

1763,  Henry  Woolsey,  Samuel  Johnson,  Charles  Clark. 

1764,  Micajah  Howe,  Andrew  Bray,  James  Cole. 

1767,  Samuel  Tucker,  John  Rockhill. 

1768,  Abram  Temple,  Louis  Chamberlain,  John  Opdj'ke,  Benj.  Clark. 

1771,  Harman  Lane,  Joseph  Beavers. 

1772,  William  Allen. 

1773,  Noah  Hart,  Daniel  Hunt. 

1774,  John  Jewell,  Nathaniel  Hunt. 

1776,  Samuel  Stout,  Edward  Hunt. 

1777,  Richard  Stevens,  Benjamin  Van  Cleve,  Nathan  Stout,  Jared  Sexton, 
Oliver  Barnfett,  Jeremiah  Woolsey,  Andrew  Muirhead. 

1778,  William  Hazlett,  Benjamin  Yard,  Rensselaer  Williams, 

1779,  John  Hazlitt. 

1780,  Daniel  Hunt,  Francis  McThaw,  Charles  Coxe,  Henry  Traphagen, 
Peter  Brunnar. 

1781,  Ezekiel  Cole,  Harman  Lane,  Abner  Pratt,  Benjamin  Williams, 
Richard  Opdyke,  Daniel  Hunt,  David  Frazer,  Joseph  Reading, 
Nathaniel  Hunt,  M.  Furman,  Benjamin  Van  Cleve,  Josliua  Corshon, 
Joseph  Beavers,  Richard  Stevens,  Charles  Coxe,  Oliver  Barnet. 

1782,  Jared  Sexton,  Robert  L.  Hooper,  William  Abbott,  Nathan  Stout, 


Albert  Opdyke,  Andrew  Muirhead,  Jeremiah  Woolsey,  Pomfret  Wil- 
liams, 

1783,  Joseph  Chamberlin,  Benjamin  Van  Cleve,  Thomas  Reading,  John 
Hunt,  Benjamin  Clark,  Richard  Opdyke. 

1784,  Benjamin  Yard,  Francis  McShane,  Henry  Traphagen. 

1785,  Benjamin  Smith,  Peter  Gordon. 

1786,  James  Ewing,  John  Smith,  John  Mehelm,  Elias  WyckofF,  Nathan- 
iel Hunt,  Joseph  Reading,  John  Lambert,  Benjam.in  Van  Gleve, 
Daniel  Hunt,  Moore  Furman. 

1787,  Joseph  Beavers,  John  Welling,  Thomas  Stout,  Charles  Case,  David 
Frazer,  Jacob  Anderson,  Oliver  Bassett  [Barnet],  William  Abbptt, 
Nathaniel  Hunt,  William  Hazlett,  Robert  Hooper. 

1788,  Thomas  Reading,  Joseph  Chamberlin,  Jonathan  Wolverton. 

1789,  A.  D.  Woodruff,  Thomas  Bowlsby. 

1790,  Ezekiel  Cook,  Nathaniel  Hunt,  Benjamin  Smith,  Abraham  Van 
Dyke,  James  Ewing,  John  Haas. 

1791,  Henry  Traphagen,  John  Suyder,  Joseph  Reading,  William  Lowrey, 
N.  Dunham,  Elias  Wyckoff,  John  Lambert,  Benjamin  Van  Cleve, 
SamuelStout,  John  Smith,  John  Welling,  John  B.  Hunt,  D.  M,  Hunt. 

1792,  William  Abbott,  Simon  Wyckoff,  Joseph  Beavers,  William  Hazlett, 
Nathan  Stout,  Thomas  Stout,  Oliver  Barnett,  Robert  L.  Hooper. 

1793,  David  Frazer,  Jacob  Anderson,  Charles  Coxe,  Thomas  Reading, 
William  P.  Moore. 

1794,  David  Bishop,  Richard  Opdyke,  Hugh  Runyan. 

1795,  Ezekiel  Cole,  Thomas  Bowlsby. 

1796,  Benjamin  Smith,  James  Ewing,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  Abram  Van  Dyke, 
Samuel  Large,  Henry  Rockafeller,  Nicholas  Stillwell,  Samuel  Stout, 
John  Welling,  Joseph  Reading. 

1797,  Nehemiah  Dunham,  John  C.  Rockhill,  John  Lambert,  James 
Gregg,  William  Hazlett,  Simon  Wyckoff,  Charles  Coxe,  Israel  Carle, 
Oliver  Barnes, 

1798,  Nathan  Stout,  John  Coryell,  Joseph  Beavers. 

1799,  John  T.  Blackwell,  John  Haas,  Thomas  Bowlsby,  Ezekiel  Cole, 
David  Bishop,  Andrew  Reeder,  Richard  Opdyke. 

1800,  Hugh  Runyan,  James  Ewing,  Benjamin  Smith,  Nathaniel  Hunt, 
John  Gulick,  David  Rockafeller. 

1801,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  Samuel  Large,  Joseph  Scudder,  John  Lambert, 
Jacob  Housel,  Henry  Rockafeller,  Jacob  Kline,  John  Wilson,  Luther 
Opdyke,  Daniel  Hunt,  Benjamin  Egbert,  John  Welling. 

1802,  Nicholas  Stillwell, 

1803,  Anannias  Mulford,  Caleb  Shreve,  Benjamin  Dean,  William  Potts, 
Benjamin  Wright,  Abraham  Ten  Eyck,  Baltus  Stigers. 

1804,  Daniel  Egbert,  Martin  Hulsizer,  Daniel  Cook,  Abner  Reeder,  Jacob 
Case,  Richard  Van  Dyke. 

1805,  Levi  Knowles,  Hugh  Runyan,  Paul  H.  M.  Prevost. 

1806,  David  Rockafeller,  James  Ewing,  Robert  McNeely,  Peter  Flomer- 
felt,  William  Potts,  Matthias  Crater,  William  Hann,  Jacob  Kline. 

1807,  Benjamin  Egbert,  Philip  Johnson,  George  Rea. 

1808,  David  Brearley,  Anannias  Mulford,  Elnathan  Stevenson,  Caleb 
Shreve,  Peter  Risler,  Silas  Walters,  Peter  Fisher,  Henry  Allen,  Baltus 
Stigers. 

1809,  Abraham  Van  Sickle,  Philip  Alpaugh,  William  Nixon,  John  Barton, 
Levi  Knowles,  J.  Pursel,  Paul  Egbert,  Richard  Opdyke,  Daniel  Cook, 
John  Thompson,  Abner  Reeder,  Jacob  Case. 

1810,  John  Little,  Paul  H.  M.  Prevost,  David  Rockafeller,  David  Stout. 

1811,  Robert  McNeely,  Nathaniel  Hart,  Pliilip  Johnson,  Matthias  Crater, 
Peter  Flomeifelt,  William  Hann,  Luther  Opdyke,  John  Wilson,  Jacob 
Kline. 

1812,  Thomas  Gordon,  Cornelius  Williamson,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  David 
Myers,  John  Carpenter,  Ralph  Hunt,  John  Coryell,  George  Rea, 
James  Dunham,  Daniel  Agnew,  James  Ewing,  William  Demond. 

1813,  Jonathan  Stevens,  David  Everitt,  William  Burroughs,  Richard 
Gano,  Morris  Fritts,  Francis  Robertson,  John  Apgar,  Peter  Fisher, 
Henry  Allen,  Elnathan  Stevens,  Peter  Risler,  Baltus  Stiger,  George 
Rea,  Ananias  Mulford,  Caleb  Shreve,  Pliilip  Alpaugh,  Silas  Walters. 

1814,  Peter  Flomerfelt,  John  Rockhill,  Richard  Opdyke,  Foster  Walters, 
Richard  Slack,  Cornelius  J.  Wyckoff,  John  Thompson,  David  Stout, 
John  Barton,  Daniel  Cook. 

1815,  Levi  Knowles,  S.  Johnston,  Philip  Johnston,  Jacob  J,  Young,  Zach- 
ariah  Flomerfelt,  John  Thompson,  David  Rockafeller,  James  Larason. 

1816,  John  Cavanagh,  Elijah  Wilson,  William  Wortman,  John  Carr, 
Robert  McNeely,  Israel  Taylor,  William  Hann,  Hart  Johnson, 
Matthias  Crater,  Elijah  Warford,  Luther  Opdyke,  Philip  Johnson, 
John  Wilson. 

1817,  George  Rea,  Ralph  Hunt. 

1818,  Thomas  Capner,  Jacob  Housel,  James  Ewing,  John  Coryell,  Jonathan 
Britain,  Philip  Alpaugh,  Henry  Allen,  Caleb  Shreve,  Elnathan  Ste- 


CIVIL  LIST  OF   HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


259 


vena,  Peter  "Fisher,  Silas  Walters,  Peter  Wortman,  George  Bea,  Baltus 
Stiger,  William  Marshall. 

1819,  Richard  Opdyke,  George  Maxwell,  John  Haas,  Cornelius  J.  WyckofT, 
Enoch  Clifford,  John  Tliompson,  John  Barton,  Daniel  Cook,  Ezra 
Shomp,  Edmund  Burroughs,  Foster  Waltere,  John  Kockhill. 

1820,  Joseph  Boss,  Jacob  J.  Young,  Joseph  Johnston,  Zachariah  Flomer- 
felt,  Matthias  Crater,  James  Larason,  Elijah  Wilson. 

1S21.  John  Carr,  William  Hann,  Robert  McNeely,  Israel  Taylor,  Luther 
Opdyke,  David  Johnston,  Samuel  Evans,  John  Anderson,  David 
Eockafeller,  Henry  Miller,  Stephen  Garrison,  Asa  Buuyan,  John 
McKinstry. 

1822,  John  Wilson,  Ralph  Hunt,  Asa  C.  Dunham,  George  Rea,  Philip 
Marshall,  David  Stout,  William  Stout,  Thomas  Capner,  Isaac  G. 
Farlee,  Enoch  Johnson,  Uriah  Sutton,  William  Voorhis,  Philip 
Alpaugh. 

1823,  John  S.  Stires,  James  Honej-man,  Jonathan  Brittain,  John  Coryell, 
William  Marehall,  Bates  Hortman,  Edmund  Burroughs,  Thomas 
Little,  Enoch  Clifford,  Elnathan  Stevenson,  Henry  Allen. 

1824,  Baltns  Steger,  Richard  Opdyke,  David  Trimmer,  John  Haas,  John 
0.  Rockhill,  James  Caugle,  John  C.  Salter,  John  Thompson,  John 
Barton. 

1825,  Jacob  Housel,  Archibald  Kennedy,  Ezra  Shomp,  Joseph  Boss,  Na- 
thaniel Brittain,  Samuel  Cooley,  Joseph  Johnston,  Jacob  J.  Young, 
Foster  Walters,  Elijah  Wilson,  John  Carr,  James  Larason. 

1S26,  James  Snyder,  Robert  McNeely,  David  Eockafeller,  Samuel  Evans, 
John  Mclnsti-y,  John  Anderson,  Luther  Opdyke,  Henry  Miller,  David 
Johnston,  Sutphin  Garrison. 

1827,  John  S.  Stires,  Enoch  Johnson,  George  Bea,  Nathan  Furman,  Wil- 
liam Voorhis,  David  Stout,  Asa  C.  Dunham,  Philip  Marshall,  Uriah 
Sutton,  Philip  Alpaugh,  John  Coryell,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  Ralph  Hunt. 

1S2S,  Robeson  Rockhill,  William  Probasoo,  Daniel  Piereon,  RicliardCoxe, 
Andrew  Banghart,  Samuel  Hill,  Elnathan  Moore,  Charles  Bonnell, 
William  Cliandler,  William  McKee. 

1829,  John  Haas,  Henry  S.  Hunt,  Philip  Gordon,  Benjamin  W.  Dennis, 
Garret  A.  Coveuhoven,  George  W.  Smith,  Adam  Steger,  William  H. 
Yawger,  Benjamin  Egbert, 

1830,  Joseph  Johnston,  Ezra  Sohomp,  John  C.  Salter,  Archibald  Kennedy, 
Sam'l  Cooley,  Joshua  Bunn,  Joab  Sexton,  Henry  "Van  Cleve,  Nicholas 
Wyckoff,  Philip  Bead,  Morris  Fritts,  Jacob  J.  Young,  Evan  Evans. 

1831,  James  Snyder,  David  Hulsizer,  Jonathan  M.  Higgins,  Robert  K. 
Reading,  Abraham  T.  Williamson,  Joseph  W.  Dusenbury,  William 
Howell. 

1832,  Elijah  Wilson,  Enoch  Johnson,  William  Toorhees,  John  Coryell, 
John  S.  Stires,  Daniel  Cook,  William  Stout,  Uriah  Sutton,  David 
Rockafellow. 

1833,  David  Stout,  Daniel  Stires,  William  McKee,  "William  Probasco,  El- 
nathan Moore,  Daniel  Pierson,  Albeitus  King,  David  P.  Hrope,  John 
Thompson,  Moses  A.  Taylor,  David  Pai'k,  George  Henry,  Andrew 
Banghart,  Samuel  Hill,  William  Cliandler,  Richard  Cox,  William  B. 
Piall,  Peter  Huffman,  Peter  Haver,  Joseph  Beavers,  John  Coryell, 
Green  Sergeant,  Philip  Marshall,  Philip  F.  Hawk,  Peter  Alpaugh, 
Boberson  Bockhill,  John  Barber,  Isaac  B.  Srope,  Henry  H.  Fisher. 

1835,  James  Larason. 

183G,  George  Praster,  Peter  H.  Dilts,  James  Snyder,  Bobert  K.  Beading, 
David  Hulsizer,  William  Nixon.  William  Grant,  Amos  Hart. 

1837,  Peter  H.  Huffman,  John  Barber,  Elijah  Wilson,  John  Coryell,  Jo- 
seph Anderson,  William  Stout,  Uriah  Sutton,  George  W.  Scott,  George 
A.  "Vanselius,  Enoch  Johnson,  James  Stevenson,  Samuel  Skinner, 
Adams  C.  Davis,  Henry  Suydam,  Eichard  Sked. 

1838,  Lewis  M.  Prevost,  Albertus  King,  John  Thompson,  Andi'ew  Bang- 
hart, Peter  Haver,  Joseph  Beavers,  David  P.  Srope,  David  Stout, 
David  Park,  Samuel  Hill,  William  B.  Prall,  Levi  M.  Metier,  John 
Swackhammer,  Isaac  E.  Srope,  John  Barber,  Peter  C.  Bea,  Leonard 
N.  Bolman,  William  Eoberson,  Halloway  W.  Hunt,  Sr.,  Ichabod  S. 
Leigh, 

1840,  Ezekiel  Blue,  Charles  W.  Bonnell,  William  G.  Alpaugh,  Enoch 
Abel,  William  A.  Huff,  Conrad  P.  Apgar,  A.  Sutphin. 

1841,  Peter  Gulick,  Samuel  M.  Higgins,  Philip  Lippincott. 

1842,  Elisha  Blue,  Adams  C.  Davis,  Elisha  AVilson,  George  A.  Vescelius, 
David  S.  Srope,  Peter  Haver,  Joseph  Chapman,  John  Coryell,  John 
Barber,  Heni-y  Suydam,  Lewis  M.  Prevost,  Albertus  King,  John 
Thompson,  Levi  M.  Mettler,  David  Parks,  Lambert  Boeman, 

1843,  Philip  P,  Hawk,  Lewis  M.  Prevost,  Isaiah  P.  Large,  George  W. 
Scott,  Jacob  H.  Huffman,  Joseph  Anderson,  Lambert  Boeman,  Wil- 
liam Eoberson,  William  Prohasco,  Thomas  E.  Large,  Joseph  Beavers. 
Uriah  Hoagland,  John  S.  Williamson,  Robert  M.  Honeyman,  -John 
0.  Biggs,  David  P.  Srope. 


1844,*  David  Hulsizer,  Joseph  Brown,  John  S.  Stires,  Lewis  Young,  An- 
drew Banghart,  Dr.  John  Lilly,  Frederick  Apgar,  Lewis  H.  Marteuis, 
Sutphin  Garrison,  Aaron  Eckle,  Albertus  K.  Wagner,  Hiram  Ben- 
nett, George  Neighbour,  Peter  Apgar,  Amos  Wilson,  Enoch  Clifford, 
Philip  Biley,  Daniel  Stires,  William  W.  Aller,  Daniel  Pierson,  Hemy 
S.  Trimmer,  Nicholas  0.  Dunham,  Bergen  Brokaw,  Henry  M.  Kline, 
William  Egbert,  James  S.  Manners,  John  H.  Prevost,  William  M. 
Dalrymple,  Jolin  Swackhamer,  George  Henry,  John  R.  Young, 
Mahlon  Smith,  John  Smith,  William  A.  Loder,  David  Van  Fleet, 
Elijah  Drake. 

1846,  John  Walters,  Peter  F.  Baylor,  Frederick  Apgar,  John  C.  Rafferty, 
Jacob  H.  Huffman,  Robert  Finley,  John  S.  Stires,  David  Van  Fleet, 
Bergen  Brokaw,  Isaiah  P.  Large,  Samuel  F.  Brittain,  Hiram  Ben- 
nett, Daniel  Carrell,  James  Snyder,  Mahlon  Smith,  Asher  Lambert. 

1849,  Aaron  H.  Stover,  Henry  S.  Trimoner,  Daniel  Pierson,  Enoch  W. 
Drake,  Caleb  F.  Fisher. 

1850,  Leonard  P.  Kuhl,  Augustus  Hunt,  George  C.  Seymour,  Samuel 
Hill,  John  Rinehart,  William  Egbert,  Morris  F.  Martenis,  John  S. 
Davis,  William  Iliff,  Frederick  Apgar,  Jacob  H.  Huffman,  Austin 
Clark.  David  Van  Fleet,  Isaiah  P.  Large,  Bergen  Brokaw,  John  S. 
Stires,  Samuel  H.  Britton,  Hiram  Bennett,  James  Snyder,  Albertus 
K.  Wagner,  Andrew  Woolverton,  Alexander  German,  Israel  Wilson, 
Jacob  S.  Manners,  Peter  H.  Dilts,  Lemuel  H.  Pai-sons,  Boberson 
Bockhill,  Joseph  W.  Willever. 

1851,  Sylvester  H.  Smith,  William  R.  Prall,  David  Neighbour,  Mahlon 
Smith. 

1852,  Rynear  Rowland. 

1853,  Jacob  S.  C.  Pittinger,  Edward  R.  Bullock,  Peter  F.  Opdyke,  Uriah 
Larue. 

1854,  Joseph  Hann,  Uriah  Larue,  William  Iliff,  William  A,  Huff,  Aaron 
H.  Stover,  Samuel  H.  Britton,  John  N.  Voorhees,  Job  n  Trimmer, 
Henry  S.  Trimmer,  Nelson  V.  Young,  John  S.  Drake.f 

1865,  Samuel  M.  Higgins,  William  Hill,  Miller  Kline,  Leonard  P.  Kulil, 
John  Hance,  Sylvester  H.  Smith,  Frederick  Apgar,  William  Iliff, 
Garret  Servis,  Jacob  H.  Huffman,  Peter  D.  Rockefellow,  Isaiah  P. 
Large,  David  Van  Fleet,  Bergen  Brokaw,  Joseph  Hann,  Abraham 
Slack,  Derrick  A.  Sutphin,  Andrew  Woolverton,  Mahlon  Smith, 
David  B.  Boss,  Jacob  S.  Williamson,  Israel  Wilson,  Lemuel  H.  Par- 
sons, Peter  II.  Dilts,  Robeson  Rockhill,  William  Egbert. 

1856,  James  H.  Bell,  Rauce  Hann  Gray,  James  M.  Duckworth. 

1857,  Eleazur  Smith,  John  Macklin,  Uriah  Larue. 

1858,  Caleb  F.  Quick. 

1859,  Samuel  H.  Britton,  Aaron  H.  Stover,  Eiias  W.  Sweazey,  James  M. 
Duckworth,  Thomas  P.  Tinsman,  John  S.  Trimmer,  Henry  S.  Trim- 
mer, John  S-  Drake,  Nelson  V.  Toung. 

1860,  Robert  J.  Kilgore,  Miller  Kline,  Newton  Gary,  Caleb  F.  Quick, 
John  Hance,  Joh  n  C.  Lake,  Morris  F.  Martenis,  Nathan  Lance,  Jacob 
H.  Huffman,  John  Macklin,  Peter  A.  Beavers,  John  J.  Hulsizer, 
Samuel  D.  Barcroft,  Uriah  Larue,  James  McVey,  Andrew  Woolvo 
ton,  Mahlon  Smith,  David  B.  Boss,  Jacob  S.  Durham,  Israel  Wilson, 
John  W.  Bergen,  Lenniel  H.  Parsons,  William  Egbert. 

1861,  William  J.  Hardy,  Asa  S.  Snyder,  John  Vescelius,  Dennis  W, 
Stevens,  Austin  Claik,  George  H.  Rowland,  John  Swackhamer,  Isaac 
E.  Srope.  John  N.  Voorhees,  Hiram  B.  Eittenhonse,  Israel  Wilson, 
Joseph  Servis. 

1862,  James  M.  Case,  John  McK.  Dippolt. 

18G3,  Vincent  B.  Mathews,  William  H.  Keifer,  Joseph  C.  Wright. 

1864,  Joseph  C.  Wright,  John  S.  Trimmer,  Henry  S.  Trimmer. 

1865,  Jacob  S.  Prall,  Robert  J.  Killgore,  Lewis  H.  Staats,  Watson  B. 
Everitt,  John  Hance,  John  C.  Lake,  Nathan  Lance,  Morris  F.  Mar- 
tenis, Frederick  Apgar,  Joseph  H.  Melick,  Austin  Clark,  John  Hig- 
gins, John  A.  Cole,  George  W.  Vroom,  Euliff  S.  Swackhamer,  David 
Pittenger,  Samuel  D.  Barcroft,  David  Jackson,  Mahlon  Snrith,  An- 
drew J.  Rouusavall,  Jacob  Bodine,  Charles  W.  Angel,  Ruliff  S. 
Hulsart,  Enoch  Abel,  William  Egbert,  Thomas  W.  Gibbons. 

1866,  Peter  H.  Dilts,  Henry  Mains,  John  C.  Durham,  James  P.  Chamber- 
lin,  John  M.  Voorhees,  Ranee  H.  Gray,  Eleazer  Smith. 


*  Previous  to  1844  a  large  number  of  justices  were  annually  appointed 
by  the  Legislature,  and  after  that  year  they  were  elected  by  the  town- 
gl^ips^ — two  to  each  township  unless  there  were  over  four  thousand  inhab- 
itants, when  four  was  the  number. 

I  April  11, 1854,  two  justices  of  the  peace  were  elected,  *'to  supply  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  removal  of  Augustus  Hunt,  and  non-accept- 
ance of  the  said  office  by  George  C.  Seymore,  Esqrs.,"  for  unexpired 
term  of  their  offices. — Earitan  Township  Becords. 


260 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1867,  Aaron  Mathews,  Dr.  Jeremiah  0.  Hoff,  ■William  M.  Sine,  Samuel 
Carhart,  John  V.  Brokaw,  John  Slater. 

1868,  Jacob  G.  Schomp.  Yincent  K.  Mathews. 

1869,  John  S.  Drake,  Nelson  T.  Young,  Joseph  O.Wright,  Edward  M. 
Heath,  Joseph  Williamson,  Henry  S.  Trimmer,  John  S.  Trimmer, 
William  Iliff,  Fredeiiclc  P.  Huffman,  James  M.  Duckworth,  William 
Bonnell,  Aaron  H.  Stover,  Richard  Bloom. 

1S70,  David  Jackson,  Edward  M.  Heath,  Andrew  J.  Rounsavall,  Joseph 
Williamson,  Charles  W.  Angel,  John  S.  Coryell,  Peter  B.  Crater, 
Oliver  H.  Huffman,  Nathan  Lance,  Samuel  Eiuehart,  Leonard  G. 
Neighbour,  AVilliam  B.  Sutton,  Lewis  H.  Staats,  Watson  B.  Everitt, 
William  S.  Quick,  Zebulon  Stout,  Sylvester  H,  Smith,  John  Hance, 
John  Higgins,  Morris  S.  Hoagland,  Jolin  V.  Brokaw,  John  Lewis, 
Peter  H.Anderson,  Enoch  Abe],  Thomas  W.  Gibbous. 

1871,  John  C.  Lake,  Bobert  S.  Smith,  John  Macklin,  James  K.  Brewster, 
Dr.  Jeremiah  Hayhnrst,  David  Pitteuger,  William  S.  Briwn,  Leon- 
ard G.  Neighbour,  John  J.  Anderson,  Joseph  ITritts,  Ira  C.  Harvey, 
Peter  D.  Myers,  William  Wert,  Freeman  Wood,  Eleazer  Smith,  J.  P. 
Bailey. 

1872,  Samuel  Rockafellow,  Joseph  Servis,  Robert  W.  Hunt,  David  Dun- 
ham, M.  Gulick,  William  H.  Keifer. 

1873,  John  Purcell,  William  H.  Keifer. 

1874,  Nelson  V.  Young,  William  Dean,  William  B.  Woodruff,  Henry  S. 
Trimmer,  Williani  Bonnell,  Richard  Bloom,  James  M.  Duckworth, 
Aaron  H.  Stover,  James  Petty,  John  S.  Drake,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  Wil- 
liam T.  Srope. 

1875,  Oliver  H.  Huffman,  Samuel  Einebart,  George  Banghart,  William 
B.  Sutton,  Lemuel  B.  Myers,  Clinton  B.  Blackwell,  George  Hanson, 
John  V.  Brokaw,  John  Lewis,  John  B.  Davis,  John  Higgins,  Mathias 
McOrea,  Enoch  Abel,  A.S.  Storms,  William  R.  Boarder,  David  Jack- 
son, Andrew  J.  Rounsavall,  Joseph  Williamson,  John  W.  Henderson, 
William  Iliff,  John  Hance,  David  Chamberlin,  Charles  W.  Angel. 

1870,  Derrick  A.  Sutphin,  John  C.  Lake,  George  Opdycke,  William 
Large,  Henry  P.  Cullen,  John  P.  S.  Miller,  Nathan  Schuyler,  Fred- 
erick P.  Huffman,  Enoch  Abel,  John  Carpenter,  Jr.,  James  P.  Gary, 
Nathan  Lance.  James  Petty,  Ira  C.  Harvey,  William  F.  Dilts,  Ira 
Higgins,  Dennis  AV.  Stevens,  Eleazer  Smith,  Thomas  B.  Apgar. 

1S77,  Peter  A.  Beavers,  John  H.  Horn,  Joseph  C.  Wright,  Levi  Holcombe, 
Samuel  B.  G.  Willet,  David  Dunham,  Anthony  M.  Trimmer,  William 
Lyman. 

1878,  Alexander  Silvers,  Joseph  Williamson,  Hugh  Reynolds. 

1879,  William  I.  Srope,  Rusling  Hoppock,  Aaron  H.  Stover,  Richard 
Bloom,  William  Bonnell,  Henry  S.  Trimmer,  James  Huff,  Dr.  Jere- 
miah Hayhnrst,  William  Dean,  Alexander  Silvers. 

1880,  William  H.  Keifer,  George  Hanson,  William  S.  Riley,  Henry  H. 
Anderson,  Silas  S.  Wright,  William  D.  S.  Robbins,  John  II.  William- 
son, Aaron  T.  Trimmer,  John  W.  Henderson,  AA'illiam  Craig,  Ben- 
jamin E.  Tine,  Oliver  H.  Huffman,  Peter  Walters,  Sanuicl  Rineliart, 
John  Hance,  Robert  S.  Smith,  John  V.  Brokaw,  John  V.  F.  Wyckoff, 
Leonard  B.  Huffman,  John  T.  F.  Dilts,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  John  S. 
Drake. 

PROSECUTOR  OF  THE  PLEAS. 
1818-20,  Fred.  Frelinghuysen ;  IS21-22,  Peter  D.  Vroom;  1823-28,  ^^■i^- 
liam  Halstead,  Jr.;  1829-32,  Peter  I.  Clark  {died  May  2G,  1863,  aged 
seventy- three) ;  18.33-37,  William  Halstead  (died  March  4, 1878,  aged 
eighty-four) ;  1838-53,  James  N.  Reading;  1863-56,  John  F.  Dumont ; 
1857,  Marston  D.  Trefren  ■,  1858-62,  Charles  A.  Skillman;  1863-07, 
John  T.  Bird ;  1863-70,  Edward  E.  Bullock ;  1S71,  John  N.  Voorhees 
(to  All  vacancy) ;  1872,  Octavins  P.  Chamberlin ;  1877-80,  John  C. 
Rafferty. 

COUNTY   CLERKS. 

The  following  list  is  compiled  from  the  court  rec- 
ords and  from  the  parchment  rolls  and  record-books, 
containing  the  oaths  of  office,  in  the  county  clerk's 
oiBce  of  Hunterdon  County. 

1721,  Alexander  Lockart;*  1722,  William  Yard;  1723,  Alexander  Lock- 
art;  1726-29,  Maurice  Trent;  1730-31,  Jeremiah  Forster;  1732, 
Richard  Ashiield  ;  1733-34,  Joseph  Y"ard;  1735-40,  Joseph  WarreU; 
1746-66,  Theophilus  Severns;  1767-62,  Moore  Furnian ;  1703-75, 
Anthony  White  ;t  1776-80,  Ebenezer  Cowell;  1781-94,  Samuel  W. 

*  Also  one  of  the  first  burgesses  of  Trenton  borough  under  the  royal 
charter. — Baum's  Hist.  Trenton,  p.  72. 
+  A.  Cottman,  deputy  clerk. 


Stockton;  1796-1804,  Lucius  Wittman  Stockton;  1806-9,  Ralph 
Hunt;  1810-29,  J.  T.  Blackwell  ;J:  1830-39,  Isaac  G.  Farlee;  1840-44, 
Peter  I.  Clark;  1845-49,  Joseph  Besson  ;g  1850-54,  William  Emery ; 
1855-59,  Charles  Tomlinson;  1800-64,  John  B.  AlpaugU;  1865-69, 
Andrew  B.  Rittenbouse;  1870-74,  Moses  K.  Everitt;  1875-78,  George 
W.  Abel;l  1879-84,  John  M.  Hyde. 

SURROGATES    OF    THE    COUiSTTT    OF    HUNTERDON 
FROM   MARCH    6,  1S04,  AS    FOUND  OF    RECORD.If 

James  J.  Wilson,  found  in  ofBce  March  6, 1804;  resigned  June  30, 1807. 
George  C.  Maxwell,  appointed  June   30,  1807;  term  expired  June  28, 

1611. 
John  T.  Blackwell,  June  28,  1811,  to  March  16,  1818. 
Joseph  Bonnell,  March  16,  1818,  to  Oct.  19, 1823. 
John  F.  Blackwell,  Oct.  19,  1823,  to  Dec.  2,  1823. 
George  Maxwell,  Dec.  2, 1823,  to  July  26,  1834. 
Alexander  Wnrts,  Jnly  20,  1S34,  to  Slarch  4,  1835. 
William  H.  Sloan,  March  4, 1835,  to  March  4, 1840. 
Adam  0.  Davis,  March  4,  1840,  to  March  4,  1845. 
George  C.  Seymour,  March  4,  1845,  to  March  4,  1850. 
Jesse  C.  Reed,  March  4,  1850,  to  Oct.  24,  1854. 
John  C.  Reed,  Oct.  24,  1854,  to  Nov.  17,  1S54. 
Charles  Thatcher,  Nov.  17,  1864,  to  Nov.  17,  1869. 
David  Van  Fleet,  Nov.  17,  1869,  to  Nov.  17,  1804. 
Joseph  C.  Smith,  Nov.  17, 1864,  to  Nov.  17, 1869. 
Robert  J.  Killgore,  Nov.  17,  1860,  to  Nov.  17,  1874. 
Peter  S.  Dalley,  Nov.  17, 1874,  to  Nov.  17,  1879. 
William  H.  Johnson,  elected  November,  1879,  for  live  years. 

HIGH  SHERIFFS. 
1723-26,  John  Muirhead;  1727-32,  John  Dagworthy;  1733-36,  Bennett 
Bard;  1738-39,  David  Martin;  1702,  John  Aller;  1782,  Joseph  Co- 
shon;  1784-85,  John  Anderson  ;  1780-88,  Joshua  Coshon ;  1789-91, 
William  Lowrie  ;  1792-94,  John  Anderson;  1795-90,  Jacob  Ander- 
son ;  1797-98,  Elias  Phillips  ;  1790-1800,  George  Holcombe;  1801-3, 
John  Phillips;  1804-0,  Aaron  Van  Sickle;  1807-9,  Nathan  Price; 
1810-12,  John  Opdyke;  1S13-14,  William  Nixon;  1817-18,  James  J. 
Manners;  1819-21,  John  Cavauagh  ;  1S22-24,  Edward  Wellstead; 
1825-27,  Gabriel  Hoff;  1828-30,  Peter  Forman;  1831-32,  Wilson 
Bray;  1833-35,  Asa  Jones;  1836-38,  John  Runk;  1839^1,  John  Bo- 
dine;  1842^3,  Alexander  V.  Bonnell;  1844-40,  A.  B.  Chamberlin; 
1847-49,  Garret  Servis ;  1850-52,  J.xmes  Snyder;  1853-66,  Enoch  Abel ; 
1866-68,  George  B.  Holcombe;  1850-61,  Robert  Thatcher;  1862-64, 
John  L.Jones;  1865-07,  Joseph  P.  Lake;  1866-70,  Richard  Bellis; 
1871-73,  John  P.  Kittenhouse;  1874-77,  Wesley  Bellis  ;**  1878-81 , 
Heber  0.  Beldon. 

CORONERS. 

1781,  Thomas  Thompson,  David  Jones. 

1782,  John  Carpenter,  Timothy  Titus. 

1783,  Thomas  Curtis,  Peter  Howell. 

1784,  John  Snyder,  William  Philips,  Thomas  Curtis,  John  Snyder. 

1785,  J.  W.  Singer,  Benjamin  Smith,  Charles  Wycoff. 

1786,  J.  W.  Singer,  Elisha  Bird. 

1787,  J.  W.  Singer,  Thomas  Curtis. 

1788,  J.  Polhemus,  Jacob  Lnpp,  William  Tindak. 

1789,  John  Meldnmi,  J,  Polhemus. 

1790,  George  Holcorab,  Jacob  Lupp,  John  Meldi-um. 

1791,  David  Wrighten,  George  Alexander,  Jacob  Lupp. 

1794,  James  Gregg,  Jonathan  Baldwin. 

1795,  Nathan  Price,  Jonathan  Baldwin,  Jonathan  Higgins. 
1790,  Jonathan  Higgins,  Nathan  Price. 

1800,  Jonathan  Higgins,  Nathan  Price,  Edmund  Roberts,  James  Ewing, 

Henry  Allen. 
1802,  Nathan  Price,  Samuel  Arment. 

1804,  Peter  Fisher.  Samuel  Arnwine. 

1805,  H.  M.  Prevost,  Peter  Fisher,  Daniel  Cook. 


X  Died  Aug.  4, 1831. 

g  He  died  in  the  spring  of  1849,  and,  M.arch  24, 1849,  A.  B.  Chamberlin 
was  appointed,  and  served  until  eleclion,  in  November  of  same  year. 

II  Died  before  expiration  of  his  term,  January,  1878,  and  J.  M.  Hyde 
appointed  to  fill  vacancy. 

•;  Compiled  by  Peter  S.  Dalley,  late  surrogate. 

■*■*  Wesley  Bellis  served  four  yeai-s ;  when  he  had  held  the  office  one 
year  the  Slate  constitution  was  amemled,  making  the  term  three  years. 


CIVIL  LIST  OF   HUNTERDON  COUNTY. 


261 


1806,  Jacob  Diltz,  Michael  Shirts,  Foster  Walters. 
1S07,  John  Lambert,  Jacob  Runkle,  Foster  Walters 
1808,  Ira  Stout,  Jacob  Runkle,  Louis  Labow. 
1S09-10,  William  Nixon,  Louis  Labow,  Charles  Ent. 

1511,  William  Martin,  Charles  Ent,  William  Nixon. 

1512,  Samuel  Rittenhouse,  William  Martin,  Thomas  Jewell. 
1813,  John  Lake,  Enoch  Clifford,  (Jharles  Ent,  -Andrew  Waart. 
1S"20,  Caleb  Runk,  Moses  Quick,  Charles  Carhart. 

1822,  Jonas  Lake,  John  Harcourt,  Elnatban  Morse,  Samuel  Evans. 

1S23,  Gabriel  Hoff. 

1824,  Moses  Quick,  Asher  Reading,  James  Taylor. 

1S26,  James  Taylor,  Moses  Quick,  George  Rittenhouse,  Asher  Reading. 

1828,  Benjamin  W.  Dennis,  Elnathan  Moore,  Daniel  Vliet. 

1829,  Sutphin  Garrison.  Elnathan  Moore,  Benjamin  W.  Dennis. 
1830-31,  Lemuel  Howell,  Sutphin  Garrison,  Peter  R.  Fisher. 
1836-37,  Henry  S.  Stryker,  Samuel  B.  Sattergood,  Peter  A.  Kline. 
1838,  Nathan  Risler,  Peter  A.  Kline,  Henry  S.  Stryker. 

1S40,  Oliver  W.  Farley,  Joseph  Thompson,  Thomris  Tomson. 
1841,  Emley  Holcombe,  Oliver  W,  Farley.  Joseph  Thompson. 
1842-43,  Emley  Holcombe,  Ezra  Brewster,  William  R.  Moore. 
1844,  Michael  Shurts,  William  R.  Moore,  Joseph  J.  Scarborough. 
1845-47,  Henry  Heldebrandt,  John  H.  Smith,  Henry  S.  Stryker. 
1848-50,  William  R.  Moore,  Philetus  Cook,  Thomas  Ent. 
1851,  Joseph  R.  West,  John  G.  Pidcock,  James  Callis. 
1S52,  Herbert  Hummer,  David  Chamberlin,  Joseph  R.  West. 
1853,  Jonathan  Rake,  Herbert  Hummer,  David  Chamberlin. 
1854-55,  Ephraim  0.  Parker,  John  Lewis,  Lemuel  B.  Myres. 

1855,  John  Lewis,  Lemuel  B.  Myres,  Ephraim  0.  Parker. 

1856,  John  Lewis,  Ephraim  0.  Parker,  Elijah  B.  Metier. 

1857,  James  M.  Case,  Thomas  Chen^,  Eli  Camp. 

1858,  Samuel  Johnson,  James  M.  Case,  George  A.  Apgar. 
1859-61,  George  W.  Beatty,  James  M.  Case,  Samuel  Johnson. 
1S62,  Jacob  Kline,  Samuel  Johnson,  John  B.  Creed. 

1SG3,  Horace  P.  Housel,  Samuel  Johnson,  Geoi'ge  H.  Rowland. 
1864-65,  Horace  P.  Housel,  William  Kimble,  George  H.  Rowland. 

1866,  Charles  W.  Angel,  William  Kimble,  Diivid  Chamberlin. 

1867,  Charles  W.  Angel,  Herbert  Hummer,  Nelson  Read. 

1868,  Charles  W.  Angel,  George  Hnusou,  George  H.  Rowland. 

1869,  Mortimer  P.  Fomiau,  Joseph  C.  Wright,  George  Hanson. 

1870,  Lewis  Young,  George  Hanson,  Mortimer  P.  Forman. 
1871-73,  Nelson  V.  Young,  George  Hanson,  Lewis  Young. 

1874,  Dr.  George  H.  Larason,  Henry  S.  Tiimmer,  William  J.  Tliff.* 
1878,  John  H.  Horn,  Clinton  B.  Blackwell,  William  H.  Carpenter. 

COUNTY    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENTS. 
1S6S,  John  C.  Rafferty ;  1871,  Rev.  Cornelius  S.  Conkling;  1879,  Buliff  S. 
Swackhamer. 

COMMISSIONERS     TO     TAKE    ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
AND    PROOF    OF   DEEDS. 

1816,  John  Cavanagh,  Cornelius  J.  Wyckoff,  George  Maxwell. 

1817,  James  Larason,  Jacob  Housel. 

1820,  Cornelius  Lake,  Cornelius  J.  Wyckoff,  John  Brittain,  Edmund  Bur- 
roughs, Robeson  Rockhill. 

1821,  Jacob  J.  Young,  Anthony  M.  Farley,  John  Lake,  James  Larason. 

1822,  Jacob  Housel,  M.  J.  Stockton,  Thomas  D.  Jenkins. 
1S23,  Joseph  Bobs. 

1824,  Richard  Opdyke,  Philip  Alpaugh,  Enoch  Johnson. 

1825,  John  R.  Tucker,  Cornelius  Lake,  John  B.  Stires,  Wilson  Housel, 
Joseph  Wood,  William  Nixon,  J.  Welling,  Robeson  Rockhill,  Cor- 
nelius J.  Wyckoff,  Andrew  Bartles. 

1826,  Samuel  Evans,  James  Larason. 

1827,  Thomas  D.  Jenkins,  John  Lake,  Joseph  Boss. 

1828,  Emley  Holcombe. 

1830,  Cornelius  Lake,  J.  G.  Hoagland,  Wilson  Housel,  William  Nixon, 
John  B.  Tucker,  John  W.  Bray. 

1831,  Andrew  Bartles,  James  Larason,  John  Lake. 

1837,  Joseph  Huffman,  Tewksbury ;  William  Rinehart,  Bethlehem  ;  Peter 
Thompson,  Alexandria. 

1838,  David  S.  Mannere,  Amwell;  Jacob  P.  Fisher,  Delaware. 

1840,  Joseph  Chapman,  John  H.  Large,  Wilson  Housel,  Tunis  Smith. 

1841,  Samuel  Fritts,  William  Bonnell,  William  Vliet,  Amos  Hoagland, 
George  P.  Rex,  Jacob  S.  Mowry,  David  P.  Huffman,  David  Neighbour. 

1842,  Philip  C.  Huffman,  Peter  Thompson. 


*  Elected  for  three  years  in  1875. 


1843,  James  J  Fisher,  Delaware  ;  Jacob  Cole,  Readington ;  Peter  C.  Rea, 
Raritan;  Jacob  P.  Fisher,  David  Neighbour,  Lebanon. 

1844,  Morris  S.  Stiger,  Clinton ;  Jeremiah  Smith,  Delaware ;  Joseph  Bes- 
son,  George  Trimmer,  Raritan;  Isaac  R.  Srope,  Kingwood;  James 
M.Johnson,  Lebanon;  Joseph  Thompson,  Alexandria ;  Moses  Far- 
row, Bethlehem;  John  Opdycke,  Kingwood;  Joseph  Johnson,  Leb- 
anon; Gideon  Phillips,  Emley  Holcombe,  Amwell. 

1845,  George  W.  A.  C.  Lundy,  Moses  E.  Hoyt,  Franklin;  Peter  F.  Op- 
dycke,  Kingwood;  John  S.  Williamson,  Amwell;  Aaron  Eckle, 
Alexandria;  David  Neighbour,  Lebanon;  Abraham  Conover,  Dela- 
ware. 

1846,  John  Y.  Thatcher,  Kingwood ;  Isaac  Johnson,  Peter  Thompson, 
Alexandria ;  David  P.  Srope,  Lebanon ;  Robert  Foster,  Edward  C. 
Rockhill,  Bethlehem;  Jacob  S.  Manners,  East  Amwell;  David  B. 
Huffman,  Clinton ;  William  Yliet,  Tewksbury ;  Mosea  B.  Hoyt, 
Franklin;  Jacob  Reed,  West  Amwell;  Nelson  Thatcher,  Beading- 
ton. 

1847,  Moses  E.  Hoyt,  Franklin;  Aaron  Thompson,  Readington;  David 
Neighbour,  Lebanon;  David  B.  Huffman,  Clinton;  Jacob  F.  Apgar, 
Robert  M.  Honeyman,  Tewksbury. 

1848,  Nelson  V.  Young,  West  Amwell. 

1849,  Samuel  Cooley,  Alexandria ;  Dr.  George  P.  Rex,  Ralph  Rudebock, 
Raritan  ;  Edwin  N.  Ball,  Joseph  Anderson,  Bethlehem. 

1850,  John  S.  Williamson,  John  L.  Case,  East  Amwell ;  George  Muirhead, 
West  Amwell;  Andrew  B.  Rittenhouse,  Delaware ;  Peter  F.  Opdyke, 
Kingwood ;  George  W.  A.  C.  Lundy,  George  W.  Waterhouse,  Frank- 
lin; Lewis  M.  Prevost,  William  A.  Huff,  Alexandria;  Peter  Melick, 
Bethlehem  ;  Peter  H.  Huffman,  Clinton  ;  Wesley  J.  Lindabury, 
Tewksbury ;  Isaiah  P.  Large,  John  Vanderbeck,  Readington  ; 
Adams  C.Davis,  Raritan;  Lemuel  H.  Pareons,  Lewis  S.  Paxaon, 
Alexander  Grant,  Lambertville. 

1851,  John  H.  Williamson,  West  Amwell;  Charles  Holcombe,  Ralph 
Schenck,  East  Amwell;  Miller  Kline,  Raritan;  John  W.  Bellis, 
East  Amwell ;  David  Chamberlin,  Bethlehem  ;  Samuel  D.  Barcroft, 
Amplius  B.  Chambeilin,  King\vood  ;  James  M.  Johnson,  Lebanon. 

1852,  Joseph  Bartles,  Frederick  Apgar,  Tewksbury  ;  David  D.  Schomp, 
Sr.,  Readington ;  David  Neighbour,  Lebanon ;  Michael  Shurts, 
Clinton;  Jeremiah  Smith,  Delaware;  Ingham  Coryell,  Lambert- 
ville ;  Henry  S.  Trimmer,  Franklin, 

1853,  Samuel  Grovendycke,  Clinton;  David  Chamberlin,  Bethlehem; 
David  B.  Boss,  Delaware  ;  Lewis  Young,  Lebanon ;  Joseph  P.  Lake, 
Bethlehem;  Roberson  Rockhill,  William  Bounell,  Union;  Charles 
Tomlinson,  Bethlehem. 

1854,  Peter  H.  Dilts,  Lambertville  ;  Jolin  P,  Rittenhouse,  Berzilla  Bob- 
bins, Baritau  ;  Peter  C.  Bloom,  Alexandria. 

1855,  William  A.  Huff,  Nathaniel  Eicke,  Alexandria;  Peter  F.  Opdycke, 
Kingwood ;  George  W.  A.  C.  Lundy,  Andrew  Emmons,  Peter  Melick, 
Franklin;  Robert  Foster,  Union  ;  Peter  Vanpelt,  Clinton;  Isaiah  P. 
Large,  Aaron  Thompson,  Readington;  Samuel  W.  Salter,  Tewks- 
bury ;  Lemuel  H.  Pareous,  Lewis  S.  Paxeon,  Lambertville ;  John  H. 
Williamson,  William  W.  Metier,  East  Amwell;  Reading  Moore, 
Delaware. 

1856,  Ralph  Schenck,  Daniel  Skinner,  John  S.  Drake,  West  Amwell ; 
Jeremiah  Trout,  Delaware;  Joseph  B.  Pierson,  Luther  Opdycke, 
Franklin;  Amplius  B.  Chamberlin,  Samuel  D.  Barcroft,  Kingwood ; 
Augustus  Blackwell,  Miller  Kline,  Raritan  ;  JohnL.  Case,  John  W. 
Bellis,  East  Amwell. 

1857,  Cornelius  H.  Rose,  AVest  Amwell;  Michael  Shurts,  Clinton;  Jehu 
Huffman,  Delaware ;  Henry  S.  Trimmer,  Franklin;  David  Neigh- 
bour, Lebanon;  David  D.  Schomp,  Readington;  Joseph  Bartles, 
Frederick  Apgar,  Tewksbury;  William  T.  Srope,  Kingwood:  Peter 
H.Rowland,  Abraham  W.  Giant,  Lebanon ;  John  Hance,  Bethle- 
hem. 

1858,  David  Chamberlin,  Joseph  P.Lake,  Bethlehem;  Samuel  Groven- 
dycke, Clinton  ;  David  B.  Boss,  Delaware;  Theodore  Probasco,  Frank- 
lin ;  Joseph  R.  Wert,  Lambertville  ;  Peter  Apgar,  Tewksbury ;  Wil- 
liam Bonnell,  William  P.  Rockhill,  Union. 

1859,  William  Hill,  Raritan;  Edward  Hunt,  Andrew  G.  M.  Prevost, 
Joseph  W.  Thompson,  Alexandria;  Sylvester  H.  Smith,  Bethlehem; 
Peter  F,  Baylor,  Thomas  Banghart,  Lebanon ;  Lewis  J.  Titus,  Wil- 
liam V.  Cooley,  Lambertville;  Samuel  Carhart,  Clinton. 

1860,  Peter  H.  Dilts,  Mortimer  P.  Forman,  Lambertville ;  Garret  Q.  Hix- 
son,  East  Amwell ;  John  M.  Yoorheea,  Kingwood ;  William  Naught- 
right,  Lewis  Y'^oung,  Lebanon;  Jacob  H.  Huffman,  Clinton;  Enoch 
Abel,  Union;  George  W.  Yroom,  Aaron  Thompson,  Readington; 
Jonathan  Potter,  Tewksbury. 

1862  John  S.  Drake,  Ralph  Schenck,  Alexander  Matthews,  West  Am- 


262 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


■well ;  John  L.  Case,  Andrew  Wj'ckoff,  East  Arawell ;  Jeremiah  Trout, 
Jehu  Huflman,  Delaware;  Augustus  Blackwell,  Itobert  J.  Killgore, 
Baritan;  Amplius  B.  (Jliamberlin,  Samuel  D.  Barcroft,  Kiugwood; 
Joseph  B.  Pierson,  John  B.  Tomer,  Franklin  ;  Alvah  A.  Olark, 
Tewksbury;  David  D.  Schomp,  Jr.,  Keadington;  Michael  Shurts, 
Samuel  Carhart,  Clinton. 

1863,  David  B.  Boss,  Delaware ;  John  S.  Drake,  West  Amwell ;  Hiram  B. 
Rittenhouse,  Kiug^vood;  Joseph  E..  Wert,  Lambertville ;  John  B. 
Tomer,  Theodore  Probasco,  Reuben  Pierson,  Franklin;  William  J. 
Iliff,  Tewksbury;  Joseph  P.  Lake,  John  Hance,  Bethlehem  ;  Nathan 
Lance,  Lebanon;  William  Bonnell,  Peter  R,  Williamson,  Union; 
George  M.  Freck,  CUnton. 

1864,  Aaron  Matthews,  Aaron  H.  Stover,  Charles  Alpaugh,  Alexandria; 
David  Chamberlin,  John  Hance,  Joseph  P.  Lake,  Bethlehem;  George 
H.  Rowland,  Clinton;  Robert  Sharp,  Delaware;  Reuben  Pierson, 
John  B.  Tomer,  Franklin  ;  Hiram  B.  Rittenhouse,  Wesley  Bellis, 
Kingwood;  Joseph  R.  Wert,  Lambertville;  Peter  H.  Rowland,  Na- 
than Lance,  Lebanon  ;  Chester  Vausyckel,  Raritan ;  William  J.  Iliff, 
Tewksbury;  John  S.  Drake,  Richard  H.  Wilson,  Caleb  F.  Fisher, 
West  Amwell. 

1866,  Nelson  Abbott,  West  Amwell;  David  Williamson,  East  Amwell; 
Peter  F.  Opdycke,  Kingwood;  Ferdinand  S.  Holcombe,  Delaware; 
Aaron  Thompson,  Readington ;  William  Dean,  Lambertville;  Wil- 
liam P.  Rockliill,  Nathan  S.  Wyckoff,  Union;  Charles  W.  Altemus, 
William  H.  Huifman,  John  A,  Young,  Town  of  Clinton;  George  W. 
A.  C.  Lundy,  Franklin;  Albert  Proctor,  Tewksbury. 

1867,  Sylvester  H.  Soiith,  Bethlehem;  Theodore  H.  Risler,  Samuel  Car- 
hart,  Clinton;  Clemeut  H.  Bonnell, Union;  Peter  Vaupelt,  Theodore 
J.  Huffman,  Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees,  Town  of  Clinton;  Amos  Mer- 
selius,  John  W.  Lequear,  Kingwood;  Ralph  Rudebock,  Raritan; 
Cornelius  H.  Rose,  West  Amwell ;  Jacob  S.  Dunham,  Simpson  S. 
Sked,  East  Amwell;  Conrad  P.  C.  Apgar,  Dr.  Charles  H.  Dayton, 
Tewksbury. 

1868,  James  Labaw,  East  Amwell ;  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  Andrew  Holcombe, 
West  Amwell;  William  R.  Bearder,  Delaware;  Charles  W.  Angel, 
Lambertville;  Uriah  Larue,  Reuben  Pierson,  Franklin;  Peter  G. 
Schomp,  John  V.  Brokaw,  Readington ;  William  J.  Iliff,  Tewksbury ; 
Miller  Kline,  Andrew  B.  Rittenhouse,  Dr.  Miller  K.  Reading,  Rari- 
tan; Michael  Shurts,  Clinton;  John  Hance,  Bethlehem;  Nathan 
Lance,  Lebanon ;  William  T.  Srope,  David  C.  Roberson,  William  H. 
Eckle,  Frenchtown. 

1870,  Enoch  Abel,  Union;  Peter  H.  Dilts,  Lambertville;  Jonathan  Pot- 
ter, Tewksbury;  Jeremiah  Trout,  Delaware. 

1871,  Thomas  Lequear,  Peter  F.  Opdycke,  King^vood;  Egbert  T.  Bush, 
Franklin;  John  K.  Large,  Readington  ;  Nelson  Abbott,  West  Am- 
well ;  John  B.  Fisher,  East  Amwell;  Courtland  S.  Reynolds,  Lam- 
bertville; Ira  C.  Harvey,  Clinton;  William  P.  Rockhill,  Union; 
Thomas  Banghart,  Peter  A.  Beavers,  High  Bridge. 

1872,  Nelson  Abbott,  West  Amwell;  Jacob  S.  Dunham,  East  Amwell; 
Robert  Foster,  Theodore  J.  Huffman,  Town  of  Clinton  ;  Sylvester  H. 
Smith,  Bethlehem;  Dr.  Jeremiah  Hayhurst,  Lambertville;  John  W. 
Lequear,  Kingwood;  Joseph  W.  Tomswn,  Alexandria;  Jacob  Roun- 
savell,  Clement  H.  Bonnell,  Union ;  Julius  Johnson,  Franklin. 

1873,  John  G.  Muirhead,  Edward  B.  Holcombe,  West  Amwell ;  Caleb  F. 
Quick,  Newton  Gary,  David  Dunham,  Raritan;  Aaron  Thompson, 
John  A.  Craig,  Readington ;  William  McConnell,  Bethlehem  ;  David 
H.  Huffman,  Clinton ;  Conrad  P.  C.  Apgar,  Tewksbury  ;  Clark  Pier- 
son, Lambertville;  Everitt  Hartpence,  Delaware;  John  Slater, 
Thomas  Palmer,  Andrew  Roberson,  Frenchtown;  Jnhn  Pierson,  Wm, 
J.  Case,  Franklin;  Natlian  Lance,  Lebanon;  Levi  Hixsou,  East  Am- 
well ;  William  Lance,  High  Bridge. 

1874,  Isaac  B.  Manning,  Jesse  Sinclair,  Alexandria;  Gideon  Moore,  Geo. 
W.  A.  C.  Lundy,  Delaware;  Moses  Bobbins,  Erastus  C.  Bloom, 
Bethlehem ;  Anthony  M.  Trimmer,  Town  of  Clinton  ;  Malachi  Neigh- 
bour, High  Bridge;  Jacob  R.  Fisher,  Tewksbury ;  Ira  C.  Harvey, 
Clinton  ;  Edward  B.  Hulcombe,  West  Amwell ;  Charles  A.  Skillrnan, 
Lambeitville;  John  Geary,  Clinton;  William  V.  Cooley,  Lamberts 
Tilla;  John  B.  Woodruff,  Bethlehem. 

1876,  Clark  Pierson,  William  B.  Neice,  Charles  F.  Moore,  Edward  H. 
Holcombe,  William  L.  Hoppock,  Lambertville;  John  K.  Large, 
Readington ;  George  G.  Alpaugh,  Jonathan  Potter,  Tewksbury  ;  Wm. 
P.  Rockhill,  Mathias  McCrea,  Union ;  Israel  S.  Curtis,  Dr.  Henry  Race, 
Alexandria ;  DavidHaver,  Ira  C.  Harvey,  Clinton  ;  Richard  B.  Read- 
ing, Delaware ;  John  B.  Fisher,  East  Amwell;  Albert  P.  Williams, 
Frenchtown;  Peter  A.  Beavers,  Thomas  Banghart,  Benjamin  Cole, 
High  Bridge  ;  Augustus  Godley,  Holland  ;  Thomas  Lequear,  Ezekiel 
E.  Bonhani,  Kingwood  ;  Joseph  Bonnell,  William  V.  Prall,  Lebanon  • 


Isaac  W.  Clevenger,  William  Dean,  Lambertville ;  Stephen  K.  Large, 
Readington. 

1877,  Wilson  M.  Rittenhouse,  Delawai'e ;  Ira  Higgins,  Levi  Holcombe, 
East  Amwell;  Bartolette  Hann,  John  C.  Amwine,  Kingwood ;  Hugh 
Reynolds,  Theodore  F.  Skillrnan,  John  Purcell,  Simeon  R.  Huselton, 
Vincent R.  Matthews,  Lambertville;  John  P.  Brothers,  Readington  ; 
George  H.  Matthews,  West  Amwell;  Oliver  H.  Huffman,  Clinton; 
Jolin  Trimmer,  Jr.,  Franklin ;  James  Hauu,  Frenchtown  ;  James  M. 
Duckworth,  George  W.  Hager,  Joseph  Myers,  Holland  ;  John  S.  Ten 
Eyck,  High  Bridge  ;  Bennett  V.  Leigh,  James  R.  Kline,  Town  of 
Clinton;  Joseph  A'an  Syckol,  Union;  William  Bonnell,  Richard 
Bloom,  Alexandria  ;  Samuel  Rinehart,  Lebanon. 

1S78,  George  M.  Freck,  James  S.  Clark,  Clinton;  George  B.  Holcombe, 
East  Amwell ;  Reuben  Pierson,  Charles  M.  Trimmer,  Franklin  ; 
David  C.  Hough,  Joseph  C.  Wright,  John  M.  VuorheeB,  Frenchtown ; 
George  W.  llonness.  High  Bridge;  William  C.  Alpaugh,  Peter  Hart, 
Holland  ;  John  H.  Horn,  Derrick  A.  Sutphen,  Dr.  George  H.  Lara- 
son,  Lambertville;  George  W.  Smith,  David  Dunham,  Hawley  C. 
Olmstead,  Raritan  ;  John  N.  Sharp,  Readington  ;  Samuel  Clark, 
Tewksbury;  Charles  E.  Barker,  Union;  John  S.  Drake,  Andrew 
Holcombe,  West  Amwell. 

1879,  Isaac  B.  Manning,  Alexandria ;  Moses  Bobbins,  Sylvester  H.  Smith, 
Israel  J.  Eyears,  Bethleiiem;  William  Johnson,  Clinton;  Gideon 
Moore,  George  W.  A.  C.  Lundy,  Delaware  ;  Julius  Johnson,  Frank- 
lin; John  B.  Jones,  William  B,  Neice,  William  V.  Cooley,  Dr.  Jere- 
miah Hayhurst,  Lambertville;  Tlionias  Banghart,  Lebanon;  John 
Quick,  Asa  Suydam,  Raritan  ;  Jacob  R.  Fisher.  John  W.  Hendereon, 
Peter  T.  Alpaugh,  Tewksbury  ;  Anthony  M.  Trimmer,  Town  of  Clin- 
ton ;  Charles  W.  Carliart,  Union ;  Edward  B.  Holcombe,  John  Keed, 
Elisha  Sunt,  West  Amwell;  Jesse  Sinclair,  James  C.  Bobbins,  Hol- 
land. 

1880,  George  H.  Carr,  AVest  Amwell ;  Israel  S.  Curtis,  Alexandria ;  Thos. 
Palmer,  Frenchtown  ;  Jonas  Rapp,  Holland. 

COLLECTORS   OF   THE    COUNTY    OP   HUNTERDON 
FROM    1739    TO    1797. 

1722-23,  Capt.  Ralph  Hunt ;  1734-44,  Jos^pli  Peace;  1745-47,  John  Read- 
ing ;  1748-49,  Andrew  Reed ;  1750-Gl,  John  Garrison  ;  1754-55,  Wil- 
son Hunt;  1756,  Andrew  Smith,  Jr.;  1757-59,  Cornelius  Wyckoff; 
1759-65,  Daniel  Reading  ;^=  176G-71,  Jacob  Matteson  ;  1772-74,  Jona- 
than Higgins;  1775-78,  Joachim  Griggs;  1779-82,  William  Abbott; 
17S3-84,  Joshua  Corshon;  1785-94,  Tunis  Quick;  1795-97,  Daniel 
Kuhl. 

The  above  list  of  collectors  is  from  the  ancient 
record  book  of  the  "  Board  of  Justices  and  Free- 
holders of  Hunterdon  County/'  covering  the  years 
1739  to  1797.  For  the  names  of  the  collectors  and 
the  clerks  of  the  Board  of  Chosen  Freeholders  from 
1800  to  1880,  given  on  page  265,  we  are  indebted  to 
William  T.  Srope,  Esq.,  of  Frenchtown, 

CLERKS    OF    THE   BOARD  OF  JUSTICES    AND    FREE- 
HOLDERS   FROM    1739   TO    1797.t 

1730-63,  Joseph  Yard ;  1763-74,  Ahraham  Hunt;  1774 ,  Stacy  Potts ;  1775, 
AhrahamHunt;  1776-77,  Benjamin  Yard;  1778,  Jared  Sextuu;  1779, 
Benjamin  Yard;  1780,  Benjamin  Stevens;  1781-82,  John  Temple; 
1783-84,  Joshua  Corshon ;  1785,  John  Wyckoff ;  1786,  Daniel  Agnew ; 
1787,  Elias  Philips;  1788,  Jonathan  Stevens;  1789,  John  Philips; 
1790,  Ralph  Philips;  1791,  Benjamin  Yan  Cleve;  1792-97,  Julin 
Lambert. 

FREEHOLDERS. 
BETHLEHEM. 
1800-1,  Clement  Bonnell  (died  Jan.  24,1856,  aged  ninety) ;  1800-2,  Emley 
Drake;  1802-26,  Aaron  Vansyckel  (died  Nov.  28, 1838,  aged  seventy- 
four)  ;  1803-24,  Baltus  Stiger  (died  July  2S,  1830,  aged  sixty-eiglit); 
1825-26,  John  Lake  (died  April  16, 1854,  aged  seventy-eight) ;  1827- 


*  To  fill  vacancy  occasioned  by  death  of  Mr.  Wyckuff. 
t  Obtained  from  the  only  volume  extant  of  their  proceedings  from  the 
organization  of  the  county,  in  1714,  to  1800. 


CIVIL  LIST   OF  HUNTERDON   COUNTY. 


263 


35,  George  Gano  (died  April  11, 1849,  aged  eighty) ;  1828-36,  John 
Yansyckel ;  1827,  Enock  Clifford  (died  Sept.  15, 1861,  aged  eighty- 
two)  ;  183S-;i7,  Br.  John  Blane ;  1837,  John  Einehart,  Sr.  (died  Aug. 
26, 1852,  aged  eighty-four) ;  1838-39,  Joseph  Exton  (died  Feb.  8, 1874, 
aged  eighty-one);  1838,  Azai-iah  \V.  Dunham  (died  Aug.  28,  1863, 
aged  sixty-one)  ;  1839,  James  Bird  (died  Dec.  13, 1876,  aged  eighty) ; 
1840,  Dr.  John  Blane  ;  1840-42,  Alexander  V.  Bonncll  (died  Aug.  13, 
1872,  aged  sixty-three);  1841-43,  James  Bird  (died  Dec.  13,  1876, 
aged  eighty);  1843-16,  John  Srope  (died  April  28,  1869);  1844^6, 
Sutphin  Garrison  (died  March  16, 1878,  aged  eighty-six) ;  1846-47, 
Dr.  John  Blane;  1847-48,  James  Bird  (died  Deo.  13,  1876,  aged 
eighty);  1848,  William  R.  Toung;  1849-50,  Dr.  John  Blane;  1849- 
51,  William  Tinsman  ;  1851-63,  John  McClary ;  1864,  Joseph  P.  Lake ; 
1865-56,  Andrew  Miller  (died  April  27, 1868,  aged  sixty) ;  1857-68, 
Joseph  P.  Lalie ;  1869-60,  William  Tinsman ;  1861-62,  Moses  Barrow ; 
1863-65,  Joseph  W.  Willever;  1866-68,  William  H.  Drake;  1809-71, 
David  Qiamberlin;  1872-74,  Mathias  H.  Case;  1876-77,  William 
Bowlby  ;  1878,  George  Bruner. 

EEADINGTON. 
1800-2,    Joseph    Hankinson;    1800,   Peter   Scliamp;    1801-16,    Dennis 
Wyckoff;  1803-7,  Ezekiel  Cole;  1808,  Tunis  Quick;  1809-11,  David 
Schamp  (died  April  5, 1839,  aged  eighty-flve) ;  1812-17,  John  J.  Pit- 
tenger;  1816,  Cornelius  Ten  Byck  (died  Jan.  20,  1867);  1817-19, 
Dennis  Wyckoff;  1818,  John  Thompson ;  1819,  Abraham  A.Yan  Fleet; 
1820,  Joseph  Hankinson ;  1821-22,  Abraham  A.  Van  Fleet ;  1822,  John 
Farlee ;  1823-26,  John  Thompson  ;  1827-28,  John  T.  Van  Fleet ;  1827, 
Cornelius  G.  Lane ;  1828-29,  Peter  P.  Schamp ;  1829,  John  Baker ; 
1830,  George  W.  Scott;  1830-31,  John  T.  Van  Fleet;  18.31,  Peter  P. 
Schamp;  1832-.33,  John  Thompson,  Cornelius  Ten  Eyck  (died  Jan. 
20, 1867) ;  1834,  Peter  P.  Schamp,  John  S.  Hoagland;  1836-36,  John 
Hall  (died  July  3, 1872,  aged  eighty-four),  David  D.  Schamp  (died 
February,  1864) ;  1837-38,  Eobert  E.  Steele,  John  M.  Wyckoff  (died 
Dec.  12, 1869,  aged  seventy) ;  1839-40,  Peter  A.  Kline,  John  S.  Hoag- 
land ;  1841,  David  0.  Cole ;  1841-42,  John  Swackhammer  (died  May 
30, 1864,  aged  seventy-three) ;  1842,  Oliver  H.  Ewing  (died  Sept.  18, 
1871,  aged  seventy-nine);  1843-44,  David  0.  Cole,  Peter  E.  Voor- 
hees  (died  Oct.  16, 1872,  aged  sixty-two) ;  1845^6,  Oliver  H.  Ewing 
(died  Sept.  18, 1871,  aged  seventy-nine),  George  Hall  (died  Feb.  10, 
1871,  aged  seventy-three) ;  1847-48,  Eynear  Rowland,  John  K.  Large 
(died  Sept.  5, 1879,  aged  sixty-nine) ;  1849-60,  Peter  S.  Dalley,  Adrian 
H.  Pickel  (died  May  25,  1878,  aged  seventy) ;  1851-52,  Abraham  A. 
Brokaw  (died  July,  1876,  aged  eighty-six);   1853-64,  George  A. 
Schamp;  1856-56,  George  Hall  (died  Feb.  10,  1871,  aged  seventy- 
three);  1857-58,  Jacob  G.  Schamp ;  1859-61,  George  W.  Vroom;  1862, 
Jacob  Johnson ;  1863-64,  Eichard  Bellis ;  1866-66,  Peter  Voorhees ; 
1867-68,  David  D.  Schamp,  Jr. ;  1869-70,  Peter  E.  Voorhees  (died  Oct. 
1 6, 1872,  aged  sixty-two) ;  1871,  Peter  Kline ;  1872,  John  P.  Brothers ; 
1873,  Peter  Kline ;  1874-76,  Daniel  Brown  ;  1876-77,  John  N.  Sharp ; 
1878-79,  Peter  Voorhees ;  1880,  Josiab  Cole. 

KINGWOOD. 
1800-1,  Joseph  King,  Richard  Opdycke;  1802,  Samuel  Eunk ;  1802-3, 
Hugh  Eunyan;  1803^,  Eichard  Opdycke;  1804,  John  Wilson; 
1806-7,  Hugh  Eunyan  (died  July  11, 1823,  aged  eighty-flve) ;  Thomas 
Lequear;  1808,  John  Wilson;  1808-9,  DaTiiel  Bray;  1810-22,  John 
Britton  (died  Dec.  27, 1822,  aged  sixty-one) ;  1810-10,  John  Little; 
1817-20,  Jacob  Sebold  (died  Feb.  2, 1853,  aged  ninety-two)  ;  1821-22, 
William  Voorhees;  182.3-26,  Johnson  Eunyan  (died  Jan.  29,  1852, 
aged  seventy)  ;  1823,  Wilson  Bray ;  1824,  Jonathan  Britton  ;  1825- 
30,  John  Bnnk;  1826-27,  Peter  Sigler  (died  Nov.  9,  1863,  aged 
seventy-seven);  1828-29,  Wilson  Bray  (died  Nov.  22,  1860,  aged 
lifty-seven) ;  1830-33,  Edward  Welsted  (died  April  27,  1844,  aged 
sixty) ;  1831,  Eichard  Barcroft  (died  Nov.  18, 1833,  aged  thirty-five) ; 
1832-33,  John  Eunk  (died  Sept.  22,  1872.  aged  eighty-two) ;  1834, 
William  Nixon  (died  Feb.  11 ,  1839,  aged  sixty-three) ;  1834-38,  Joseph 
Opdycke  (died  Dec.  24,  1846,  aged  fifty-flve)  ;  1835,  Eichard  Cox 
(died  November,  1841) ;  1836,  John  Majors  (died  Nov.  12, 1839,  aged 
forty-six)  ;  1837-42,  Jacob  E.  Fox  (died  Jan.  19, 1849,  aged  fifty-four) ; 
1839-40,  William  Snyder  (died  Jan.  29, 1863,  aged  seventy-two) ;  1841, 
Jonae  Bosenbury  (died  January,  1866) ;  1842,  David  Hulsizer  (died 
March  28, 1862,  aged  eighty-one) ;  1843,  Edward  Mason  (died  Oct.  30, 
1865,  aged  sixty  nine)  ;  1843-44,  Opdycke  Arnwine  ;  1844,  John  Allen 
(died  Aug.  17, 1868.  aged  sixty-six) ;  1845^7.  Moses  Boberson;  1846- 
46,  Nathaniel  Britton  (died  Feb.  14,  1866,  aged  fifty-eight) ;  1847-49, 
John  Sine  (died  Aug.  12,  1877,  aged  seventy) ;  1848,  Amplius  B. 
Chamberlin  (died  May  9,  1879,  aged  seventy-two);  1849,  John  L. 


Larason  (died  Oct.  3, 1866,  aged  seventy) ;  1860,  Mahlon  Emmons ; 
1850,  Francis  Myres  (died  Dec.  6, 1862,  aged  fifty-seven);  1861-52, 
Samuel  H.  Britton  (died  Sept.  7, 1860,"  aged  sixty-one) ;  1853,  William 
H.  Slater  ;  1854r-56,  Isaac  E.  Srope  (died  April  14, 1802,  aged  sixty) ; 
1867,  Joseph  Lair ;  1 868-60,  Wesley  Bellis ;  1801-63,  George  T.  Srope ; 
1864-66,  John  Kugler;  1867-69,  Oliver  Clark  ;  1870-72,  William  Eit- 
tenhouse ;  1873-76,  William  B.  Hockenbury  ;  1876-77,  Paul  C.  Larue ; 
1878,  Peter  Polhemus. 

EAEITAN. 
1838,  Joseph  Case,  Jacob  Voorhees  (died  Feb.  11, 1870,  aged  eighty-two) ; 
1839-41,  John  B.  Mattison  (died  Februarj',  1862) ;  1839-42,  Jonas 
Moore  (died  Oct.  11, 1880,  aged  eighty-one) ;  1842-43,  John  Marlow 
(died  Oct.  9, 1868,  aged  seventy) ;  1843-44,  Mahlon  Fisher  (died  Dec. 
29,  1874,  aged  sixty-five);  1844-40,  Jacob  Eockafellow;  1845^6, 
Thomas  Cheri-y  (died  Jan.  16, 1878) ;  1847-49,  Alexander  V.  Bonnell 
(died  Aug.  13,1872,  aged  sixty-three) ;  1847,  William  E.  Eisler  ;  1848, 
William  H.  Johnson  (died  March  31,1872,  aged  seventy-four) ;  1849- 
60,  Wm.  M.  Bellis;  1860,  Joseph  H.  Eeading  (died  Oct.  21, 1867,  aged 
forty-four) ;  1851-63,  John  H.  Capner ;  1854,  Kobert  Thatcher ;  1866- 
66,  Richard  Emmons;  1867-58,  Robert  Thatcher  ;  1859-60,  William  R. 
Risler ;  1861,  Gershom  0.  Sergeant ;  1862,  William  R.  Eisler ;  1863-64, 
Gerehom  C.  Sergeant;  1865-66,  Eobert  Thatcher;  1867-68,  Oliver 
Kugler  ;  1869-70,  John  B.  Eockafellow  ;  1871,  Henry  Britton  ;  1872- 
74,  Jacob  Case;  1876-76,  Isaac  Smith  (died  Feb.  22,  1877);  1877, 
Wilson  J.  Leigh  :  1878-79,  William  E.  Eisler;  1880,  Wilson  J.Leigh. 

WEST  AMWELL. 
1846,  Charles  Holcombe;  1846-49,  Joseph  Phillips  (died  Jan.  10,1874, 
aged  eighty)  ;  1847-48,  Thomas  B.  Ctirr  (died  Aug.  28, 1860) ;  1849- 
51,  Alexander  P.  Holcombe;  1850-64,  Joseph  Matthews  (died  Oct. 
14,  1877,  aged  eighty-one);  1855,  Charles  Wilson;  1856-69,  Isaac 
Matthews ;  1860-62,  Cornelius  H.  Eose  ;  1863-65,  Joseph  Q.  Farley  ; 
1866-68,  Charles  Wilson;  1869-71,  George  H.  Matthews;  1872-74, 
Peter  S.  Pidcock ;  187.5-77,  Bloomfleld  Blackwell ;  1878,  James  0. 
Packenthall. 

TOWN  OF  CLINTON. 

1865-72,  George  Gulick  (died  March  7,  1880,  aged  flfty-six);  1873-75, 
Bloomfleld  Leigh ;  1876-79,  Watson  Corsen  ;  1880,  John  S.  Madison. 

HIGH  BRIDGE. 

1871-73,  Peter  A.  Beavers;  1874-75,  Amos  A.  Apgar;  1876-77,  John  T. 
Lance;  1878,  John  T.  Dorland. 

AMWELL. 

1800,  Arthur  Gray ;  1800-11,  Joseph  Lambert ;  1801,  Joseph  Ott ;  1802-11, 
Moses  Stout;  1812,  Samuel  L.  Southard  (died  June  26,1842,  aged 
fifty -five) ;  1812-15,  Peter  Fisher ;  1813-16,  James  S.  Manners  (died 
1851) ;  1816-21,  Samuel  Barber ;  1817-25,  Abraham  E.  Sutphin;  1822- 
24,  Derrick  Hoagland  (died  Dec.  17,  1835,  aged  eighty-five) ;  1825, 
Jacob  Hoagland ;  1820,  Charles  Bonnell  (died  March  24, 1830,  aged 
thirty-four) ;  1826-28,  Joseph  Holcombe  ;  1827-31,  Caleb  Moore  (died 
Jan.  14,  1835,  aged  thirty);  1829-30,  James  S.  Sutphin;  1831-33, 
Abraham  Gulick  (died  April  27, 1866,  aged  sixty-eiglit) ;  1832,  John 
Hoppock  (died  July  12, 1866,  aged  eighty-two) ;  1833-34,  John  H.  Ott 
(died  Dec.  29, 1846,  aged  fifty-three) ;  1834^36,  Eichard  Sked  (died  Jan. 
26, 1841) ;' 18.35-36,  John  Hoppock  (died  July  12, 1866,  aged  eighty- 
two)  ;  1S37,  James  J.  Fisher  ;  1837-39,  John  R.  Toung  (died  1860) ; 
1838-40,  Israel  Wilson  (died  Aug.  1, 1866,  aged  seventy-one) ;  1840-43, 
Israel  Higgins  (died  May  20, 1866,  aged  seventy-one) ;  1841,  Peter  T. 
Lowe  ;  1842-44,  John  E.  Young  (died  1860) ;  1844-45,  Charles  Hol- 
combe'; 1845,  David  S.  Ott  (died  Dec.  11, 1851,  aged  sixty-ona). 

LAMBEETVILLE. 
1849-60,  Thomas  B.  Carr  (died  Aug.  28, 1860,  aged  fifty) ;  1849-51,  John 
Lambert ;  1852,  Dr.  Samuel  Lilly  (died  April  3, 1880,  aged  sixty-flve) ;. 
1863-66,  John  Lambert;  1857-60,  Dr.  Samuel  Lilly;  1861,  Ingham 
Coryell';  1862,  John  Runk  (died  Sept.  22,  1872,  aged  eighty-two); 
1863-65,'Dr.  Samuel  Lilly  ;  1866-68,  John  H.  Wilson  ;  1869,  Augustus 
C.  Barber :  1870,  Vincent  R.  Matthews ;  1871,*  Augustus  C.  Barber ; 
1872-74,  James  Bird  ;  1872,  Stacy  B.  Bray,  Dr.  Samuel  Lilly  ;  1873- 
76  Neh'emiah  Green ;  1873,  John  Huriey  ;  1874-76,  Levi  Reynolds  ; 
1875-77,  Joseph  H.  Boozer;  1876-78,  Preston  B.  Goodfellow;  1877- 
79,  Jam'es  Callan  ;  1878-80,  Jonas  J.  Woi-man  ;  1879,  Joseph  Smith; 
1880,  John  Foran,  Charles  Frank  Hart. 

*Dividediiito  three  wards,  and  one  freeholder  from  each  ward  after 
1871. 


264 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


LEBANON. 

1800-2,  William  Hazlett,  Balph  Hunt ;  1803,  David  Frazer,  Henry  Du- 
senbuiy;  ISO'l-lS,  Ralph  Hunt;  1805,  Silas  Waters;  1807,  John 
Gulick;  1808-11,  Frederick  Eiitts;  1812-18,  Morris  Fritts  (died  June 
30, 1S36,  aged  sixty-six) ;  1814-15,  Herbert  Hummer;  181 6-17,  A\'illiam 
Johnson  ;  1818,  Henry  Aller(died  March  21,  1855,  aged  ninety-two) ; 
1819-20,  Kalpb  Hunt,  Andrew  Banghart  (died  Aug.  23,  185G,  aged 
seventy-six)  ;  1821-29,  Morris  Fritts  (died  June  30,  1836,  aged  sixty- 
six)  ;  1821-22,  Henry  Aller  (died  March  21,  1855,  aged  ninety-two); 
1827,  John  W.  Bray;  1828-31,  John  Eockafellow  (died  March  27, 
1848,  aged  fifty-nine) ;  1830,  William  Alpaugh,  Sr. ;  1831-33,  Andrew 
Banghart ;  1832-33,  John  H.  Huffman  (died  Jan.  19,  1869) ;  1834, 
Joseph  Beavers  ;  1834-35,  John  C.  Weart ;  1835,  Peter  F.  Baylor  (died 
Aug.  22, 1875) ;  1836-37,  Joseph  Beaver,  Jesse  Runklo ;  1838-39,  John 
P.  Tawger  (died  Feb.  26,  1S58,  aged  fifty-six);  1838-40,  John  Eock- 
afellow; 1840^1,  William  B.  Prall  (died  Jan.  19,  1878,  aged 
eighty);  1841,  Joseph  Beavers;  1842,  David  P.  Srope  (died  March 
29, 1876,  aged  eighty-eight) ;  1842^3,  Jacob  Johnson ;  184.3^4,  Joseph 
Beavers;  1844-45,  Peter  F.  Baylor  (died  Aug.  22,  1876);  1845-46, 
Abraham  Lunger;  1846^7,  Jacob  Johnson  ;  1847-48,  Henry  Slater 
(died  1871) ;  1848,  David  Johnson  ;  1849-50,  Morris  Fritts,  William 
C.  Beavei-s  ;  1851,  D,avid  Johnson  ;  1862-53,  Elias  Fritts  (died  Sept. 
6,  1863,  aged  foiiy-six) ;  1854-56,  John  S.  Smith  ;  1856-57,  Thomas 
Banghart;  1859,  William  C.  Beavers;  1860-01,  John  Hill  (died  Aug. 
30,1870):  1862-63,  John  Eveland ;  1864-65,  John  A.  Smith;  1866, 
Ambrose  Fritts  (died  Sept.  10,  1880,  aged  fifty-nine)  ;  1867-68,  David 
H.  Banghart  ;  1869-70,  William  A.  Melick  ;  1871-73,  Joseph  Bon- 
nell ;  1874-76,  Jacob  Hipp ;  1877-79,  Peter  Martenis ;  1880,  Jacob 
Hill. 

TEWKSBUBT. 

1800,  Abraham  Vandyke;  1800-14,  John  Haas  (died  April,  1846);  1801- 
16,  Jacob  Kline;  1815-16,  Oliver  W.  Ogden  (died  November,  1839) ; 
1817-19,  John  Haas ;  1817,  Henry  Miller  ;  1818-19,  John  McKinstry ; 
1820-23,  Jonathan  Potter;  1820,  Henry  Miller;  1821-23,  John  Mc- 
Kinstry; 1824-29,  Jolm  Haas;  1S24-26,  Mathiaa  Lane;  1827-29, 
John  McKinstry;  1830-31,  Mathias  Lane,  John  Crater;  1832, 
Joshua  Farley ;  1832-35,  Joseph  Hoffman  (died  Oct.  1,  1860,  aged 
seventy-six);  1833,  John  McKinstry;  1834r-:i5,  Peter  R.  Fisher; 
1836-39,  Frederick  Apgar  (died  September,  1877) ;  1836-38,  Nickolas 
Wykotf;  1839-40,  George  Henry;  1840^3,  Philip  Hiler  (died  May 
11, 1871,  aged  eighty-two) ;  1841-13,  Nickolaa  Emelick  (died  Jan.  23, 
1872,  aged  eighty-four) ;  1845,*  Nickolaa  Apgar,  Philip  Hann ; 
1846-47,  Oliver  W.  Farley,  John  B.  Brown  (died  May  28,  1863, 
aged  sixty-four) ;  1848-49,  William  P.  Alpaugh,  James  N.  Bamsey  ; 
1850,  Andrew  Vansyckel ;  1850-52,  John  C.  Bafferty  ;  1853,  Henry 
J.  Stevens;  1854,  John  C.  Bafferty;  1855-56,  James  N.  Bamsey; 
1857-58,  William  Kick;  1859,  Bichard  Hoffman;  1860-62,  Serring 
Potter;  1863-04,  Samuel  Olark;  1865,  Serring  Potter  (died  July 
23,  1880,  aged  eighty);  1806-67,  David  F.  Apgar;  1868-69,  Wil- 
liam P.  Alpaugh ;  1870-71,  William  Eick ;  1872-73,  Joseph  C.  Far- 
ley; 1874^75,  John  Rinehart,  Jr. ;  1876-77,  George  G.  Alpaugh  (died 
Dec.  6, 1877);  1877,  John  Einehart,  Jr.  (to  fill  vacancy);  1878,  Jacob 
A.  Speoht;  1879,  Joseph  0.  Farley. 

ALEXANDEIA. 
1800,  David  Everitt;  1800-2,  William  Godley;  1801,  Luther  Opdycke; 
1802,  Dr.  William  McGill  {died  June  23,  1815,  aged  forty-seven); 
1803-9,  Luther  Opdycke;  1803-8,  John  Case  (died  June  4,  1856, 
aged  eighty-five) ;  1809,  Jacob  Vanderbelt  (died  March  26,  1835,  aged 
sixty) ;  1810-12,  Jacob  Housel ;  1810-11,  Jeremiah  Hotf ;  1812,  Henry 
Eckle  (died  Aug.  24, 1830,  aged  forty-eight);  1813-14,  Dr.  William 
McGill;  1813,  Benjamin  Wright  (died  Feb.  9,  1826,  aged  seventy- 
nine);  1814-22,  Paul  Henry  Mallet  Prevost  (died  Jan.  6,  1839,  aged 
seventy-nine);  1815-19,  David  Everitt;  1 820-22,  Josiah  Prall ;  1823, 
George  Maxwell  (died  Aug.  12,  1834,  aged  sixty);  1823-30,  Henry 
Eckle;  1824-31,  James  Larason  (died  July  25,  1848,  aged  eighty- 
three)  ;  1831-33,  Cornelius  Ludlow  (died  Nov.  24,  1836,  aged  forty- 
two);  1832,  Hall  Opdycke;  1833,  Nathaniel  Wright  (died  March  1, 
1868,  aged  eighty-two);  1834-35,  James  Larason  ;  1834-36,  Jolm  Bon- 
nell  (died  June  25,  1861,  aged  eighty-three);  1836-37,  John  Eckle 
(died  Dec.  4, 1837) ;  1837-38,  Peter  Tinsman  ;  1838-39,  Edward  Hunt 
(died  Nov.  1, 1874) ;  1839-10,  John  Bonnell  ;  1840,  Solomon  Welder 
(died  September,  1875);  1841-42,  Henry  Kels  (died  Feb.  19,  1870, 
aged  eighty-three);  1841^3,  Peter  Alpaugh  (died  Dec.  7,  1868,  aged 


*  Set  off  in  1844  to  Somerset  County. 


seventy-six);  1643-45,  Jonas  Thatcher;  1844,  Charles  Vorhis ;  1845- 
47,  David  Coughlin  (died  Deo.  28,  1869,  aged  sixty-four);  1846-48, 
James  Dalrymple  (died  Dec.  15,  1865,  aged  eighty) ;  1848,  Mathias 
Bunn,  Garret  Lair;  1849-50,  George  G.  Lunger;  1850,  George  Hill 
(died  June  7,  1863,  aged  seventy-six);  1851-52,  John  Apgar;  1853, 
James  M.  Duckworth;  1864,  David  Coughlin;  1855-57,  William 
Bunn;  1858,  David  Coughlin;  1859-61,  William  C.  Alpaugh;  1862- 
64,  Joseph  J.  Scarborough  (died  Nov.  7,  1876,  aged  seventy-six); 
1865-67,  Samuel  V.  Eckle;  1868-70,  Enoch  H.  Opdycke;  1871-73, 
Isaac  M.  Swope ;  1874-76,  Philip  Apgar ;  1877-79,  Samuel  B.  Piokel ; 
3880,  Charies  E.  Stull. 

DELAWAEE. 
1838-39,  James  J.  Fisher  (died  Oct.  3,  1870,  aged  eighty-six);  1838-43, 
James  Snyder  (died  June  14,  1874,  aged  eighty-six) ;  1840-42,  Abra- 
ham Conover ;  1843-44,  Amplius  B.  Chamberlin  (died  May  9,  1879, 
aged  seventj'-two) ;  1844-40,  John  S.  Wilson  (died  May.  1851) ;  1845-4C, 
Jeremiah  Smith  ;  1847,  Acker  Moore,  Jacob  Godown;  1848,  Jeremiah 
Smith;  1848-49,  Eohert  Dilts;  1849,  John  Dilts  ;  1850,  Peter  Eocka- 
fellow, Acker  Moore ;  1851-53,  Andrew  B.  Eittenhouse  (died  Sept.  22, 
1872) ;  1854,  Charles  B.  Everitt ;  1865-57,  Joseph  B.  Case  (died  July  23, 
1870,  aged  flfty-nine);  1858-60,  David  Jackson  (died  Feb.  17, 1878); 
1861-62,  Amos  Thatcher  (died  June  21,  1862,  aged  forty-one) ;  1862- 
63,  Andrew  B.  Eittenhouse;  1864-66,  Daniel  B.  Sharp;  1867-69, 
George  N.  Holcombe;  1870-75,  Joseph  Smith ;  1876-78,  Jonathan  M. 
Dilts;  1879,  William  Aller. 

UNION. 
1853-55,  Cornelius  B.  Sheets ;  1856-57,  Gardner  Housel ;  1858-59,  Peter 
E.  Williamson  (died  Nov.  8,  1878,  aged  seventy);  1860-61,  Abraham 
H.  Housel;  1862-67,  John  P.  Lair  (died  Nov.  24,  1871,  aged  fifty- 
eight);  1868-69,  George  G.  Lunger;  1870-71,  Asher  S.  Housel  (died 
July  28,1880,  aged  seventy. four);  1S72-74,  George  G.  Lunger;  187.J- 
77,  Sylvester  Taylor;  1878-80,  William  P.  Sinclair  (died  Oct.  20, 1880). 

CLINTON. 
1841-42,  Peter  H.  Huffman  (died  March  6,  1867,  aged  seventy-three) ; 
1841-43,  John  Eockafellow  (died  March  27,  1848,  aged  fifty-nine) ; 
1843-44,  Joseph  Fritts  (died  March  2,  1877,  aged  seventy-seven); 
1S44-45,  Jacob  M.  Kline  ;  1845-46,  Peter  H.  Aller  (died  April  3, 
1876);  1846^7,  John  Bockafellow;  1S47-48,  Jacob  H.  Huffman  (died 
Mov.  21,  1863,  aged  fifty-six) ;  184,'i-49,  Peter  P.  Huffman  (died  April 
24,  1860,  aged  fifty) ;  1849-50,  Peter  H.  Aller;  1850-51,  Samuel  Grov- 
endycke  (died  June  19,  1864,  aged  fifty-eight) ;  1852-53,  John  B. 
Kline  (died  May,  1850) ;  1854-55,  Pearson  Atchley;  1856-57,  William 
Cr eager;  1858-59,  John  H.  Bockafellow;  1800-61,  Peter F.  Huffman; 
1862-63,  Peter  A.  Beavers ;  1864,  George  Gulick  (died  March  7,  ISSO, 
aged  fifty-six) ;  1866-66,  John  C.  Cramer ;  1807-68,  Isaac  Aller ;  1869, 
Phineas  K.  Apg.ar;  1870,  John  Vandoren;  1871-72,  John  N.  Storr; 
1873-74,  James  N.  Bamsey ;  1876-70,  Michael  Shurts ;  1877-78,  David 
K.  Huffman ;  1879,  Anderson  J.  Probasco. 

FEANKLIN. 
1845^6, Theodore  Holcombe;  1846,  Daniel  Little;  1846Hi7,  Philip Shafer, 
(died  April  28,  1861,  aged  fifty-nine);  1847-48,  Daniel  Little;  1848- 
49,  Joseph  G.  Case  (died  August,  1855) ;  1849-50,  William  R.  Yoiing ; 
1850-51,  Christopher  Case  (died  Aug.  12, 1877,  aged  eighty-one) ;  1862 
-63,  Philip  Shafer  ;  1854^55,  William  Snyder  (died  Jan.  29, 1863,  aged 
seventy-two) ;  1856-57,  John  J.  Anderson  ;  1858-69,  Ishi  Butler ;  1860- 
61,  Thomas  G.  G.  W.  Larue  (died  Jnne  7, 1866,  aged  forty) ;  1862,  Wil- 
liam Large ;  1863-64,  Daniel  Little ;  1865-66,  Theodore  Probasco ; 
1867-68,  Jacob  S.  Pierson  ;  1869-70,  Cornelius  G.  Aller ;  1871-72, 
Lemuel  B.  Myres ;  1873-74,  John  Trimmer,  Jr. ;  1875-76,  William  J. 
Case;  1877-78,  Beuben  Pierson;  1870,  James  W.  Hummer. 

EAST   AMWELL. 

1846,  Jacob  S.  AVilliamson  (died  Aug.  8,  1860,  aged  forty-flve);  1846-48, 
Abraham  T.  Williamson  ;  1847^9,  Jacob  S.  Manners ;  1849-51,  Noah 
HixBon ;  1860-63,  Levi  Hixson  (died  Nov.  6,  1878) ;  1854-67,  Simpson 
S.  Sked  (died  July  27,  1868) ;  1858-60,  Samuel  W.  Dilts  (died  Fob.  22, 
1874,  aged  sixty-five)  ;  I8G1-62,  Ealph  Sutphen;  1863-65,  Noah  Hix- 
son ;  1866-68,  John  C.  Duriiam ;  1809-71,  John  B.  Dalrymple ;  1872- 
74,  Edwin  H.Durham;  1875-76,  William  Sutphen;  1877-79,  David 
Nevius;  1880,  Peter  W.  Shepperd  (died  May  0,  1880),  Silas  Nona- 
maker. 

FKENCHTOWN. 

1867-68,  Bryan  Hough ;  1868,  Eeuben  K.  Neice,  Keubeu  E.  Wright  j  1869, 
Moses  K.  Everitt;  1870,  Samuel  Bockafellow;  1871-72,  Gabriel  H. 


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CITY  OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


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Slater;  1873-74,  Edward  B.  KaohUne;  1875-76,  Adam  S.  Horing; 
1877-78,  Henry  Loux;  1879,  John  L.  Slack. 

HOLLAND. 
1874-76,  George  W.  Vansyckel;  1877,  Watson  Smith;  1879,*  Jesse  Sin- 
clair. 

DIRECTORS  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  CHOSEN  FREE- 
HOLDERS. 

1800-2,  Joseph  Haukinson ;  1803,  Hugh  Bunyan  ;  1804,  Richard  Opdyke; 
1805,  Hugh  Eunyan ;  1806-9,  Aaron  Vansyckle ;  1810-11,  Ealph  Hunt; 
1812,  Samuel  L.  Southard ;  1813-27,  James  Stevenson ;  1828-38,  David 
Stout ;  1839,  Joseph  Exton ;  1840-41,  John  B.  Mattison  ;  1842,  Alex- 
ander T.  Bonnell ;  1843,  James  Snyder ;  1844,  Amplius  B.  Chamber- 
lin;  1845,  Jacoh  M.  Kline  ;  1846,  John  Eockafellow ;  1847-49,  Alex- 
ander V.  Bonnell ;  1850,  Dr.  John  Blane ;  1851-62,  John  C.  Kafferty  ; 
1853,  Andrew  B.  Kittenhouse ;  1854,  John  Lambert;  1855,  Simpson 
S.  Sked;  1856,  John  Lamhert;  1857-60,  Dr.  Samuel  Lilly;  1861, 
George  W.  Vroom ;  1862,  John  Bunk ;  1863-65,  Dr.  Samuel  Lilly ; 
1866,  Eobert  Thatcher;  1867-72,  George  Gnllck;  1873-74,  James 
Bird;  1875-76,  George  W.  Vansyckel;  1877,  Joseph  H.  Boozer;  1878- 
79,  Samuel  B.  Pickel ;  1880,  George  Bruner. 

CLERKS   OP   THE    BOARD   OF   CHOSEN   FREE- 
HOLDERS. 

1800-2,  John  Lamliert  (died  Feb.  4,  1823,  aged  seventy-seven) ;  1803, 
Dennis  Wyokoff;  1804r-7,  Nathan  Price  (died  Oct.  16, 1842,  aged  sev- 
enty-two) ;  1808,  William  Maxwell ;  1808-9,  Nathaniel  Saxton  (died 


August,  1850) ;  1810-19,  Thomas  Gordon  (died  Sept.  26,  J818,  aged 
forty) ;  1820-32,  Thomas  Capner  (died  Sept.  7, 1832,  aged  sixty-three) ; 
1833,  Andrew  Miller ;  1834,  James  N.  Reading ;  1836-37,  Dr.  Thomas 
L.Woodruff;  1838,  Joseph  Besson  (died  March  18, 1849,  aged  forty- 
nine)  ;  1839,  Asa  Jones  (died  Jan.  27, 1874,  aged  eighty-threo) ;  l«io 
-43,  Hart  Wilson ;  1844,  John  Eockafellow  (died  April,  1848) ;  1845- 
46,  Alexander  V.  Bonnell  (died  Aug.  13,  1872,  aged  sixty-threi-) ; 
1847-49,  Andrew  Van  Syckel;  1860-62,  Charles  BobertS;  1863, 
Charles  Tomlinson  (died  Aug.  6, 1876,  aged  flfty-six) ;  1B64,  Andrew 
B.  Bounsavall ;  1855,  John  0.  Beed  (died  Aug.  18, 1863,  aged  thirty- 
three);  1856-67,  Andrew  B.  Bounsavall;  1868-61,  Biohard  H.Wil- 
son; 1862-64,  William  T.  Srope;  1866-07,  Edward  M.  Heath;  1808- 
70,  Charles  Alpaugh ;  1871-73,  Henry  M.  Vliet;  1874^76,  John  W. 
Dilts;  1877-79,  John  0.  Beeves;  1880,  William  D.  Bloom. 

COUNTY   COLLECTORS. 

1800-1,  Paul  Kuhl  (died  Nov.  26, 1B25,  aged  eighty-flve);  1802-7,  John 
Lequear  (died  Nov.  16, 1828,  aged  eighty-four) ;  1808-19,  Alexander 
Bonnell  (died  Aug.  4, 1819,  aged  forty-one) ;  1820-39,  Asher  Atkin- 
son (died  Jan.  29, 1857,  aged  eighty-seven) ;  1840-44,  Joseph  Besson 
(died  March  18, 1849,  aged  forty-nine) ;  1846-47,  Mahlon  Fisher  (died 
Dec.  29, 1874,  aged  sixty-five ;  1848-50,  Asa  Jones  (died  Jan.  27, 1874, 
aged  eighty-three) ;  1851-53,  George  G.  Lunger ;  1864,  Adam  Bellis ; 
1855,  John  K.  Large  (died  Sept.  6, 1879,  aged  sixty-nine) ;  1866-67, 
Adam  Bellis ;  1858-61,  Peter  S.  Dalley;  1862-66,  William  Tiusman; 
1866-69,  John  H.  Bockafellow;  1870-72,  Samuel  Binehart;  1873-75, 
Fisher  Pidcock ;  1876-78,  Joseph  Smith  ;  1879,  William  W.  Swayze. 


CITY    OF    LAMBEBTVILLE. 


Lambeetvillb,  tlie  largest  town  in  Hunterdon 
County,  distant  about  16  miles  from  Trenton  and  12 
ftom  Flemington,  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Delaware  Eiver,  on  a  narrow  plain 
bounded  on  the  east  by  a  succession  of  hills  which 
sweep  around  in  an  elliptical  curve  from  the  river  at 
a  little  distance  north'  of  the  town  to  a  point  imme- 
diately south  of  it.  The  town,  however,  is  gradually 
growing  beyond  this  narrow  plain,  so  as  to  include 
what  is  now  known  as  Cottage  Hill. 

Goat  Hill,  which  quite  shuts  in  the  town  to  the 
south,  is  part  of  the  trap-ridge,  which  extends  as  far 
east  as  the  Sourland  Mountain.  About  a  mile  north 
of  the  place  there  is  another  ridge  of  the  same  species 
of  rock,  which  is  lost  to  view  a  few  miles  east  of  the 
Delaware  Eiver.  In  a  line  with  Goat  Hill,  which, 
with  the  hills  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  forms 
the  "  Narrows,"  are  the  rapids  known  for  more  than 
a  century  as  Wells'  Falls.  The  rush  of  the  water,  the 
massive  rocks,  and  the  wild,  precipitous  sides  of  the 
adjacent  hills  present  a  scene  strikingly  picturesque. 

The  hills  immediately  to  the  east  and  southeast  of 
the  town  are  quite  hold  and  abrupt,  but  those  to  the 
northeast  and  north  rise  up  with  a  gentle  acclivity. 
From  these  hills  there  are  extensive  and  beautiful 
views  of  the  surrounding  country. 

From  the  most  elevated  points  near  the  town  may 

*  Set  back  to  Alexandria  March  4, 1878 ;  set  off  again  March  6, 1879. 
+  By  P.  A.  Studdiford,  D.D. 

18 


be  seen  the  range  of  the  Orange  Mountain,  nearly  30 
miles  away,  Pickel's  Mountain,  near  the  White  House 
station,  in  the  upper  part  of  this  county,  and  distant 
about  25  miles,  and,  at  about  the  same  distance  to  the 
northwest,  the  Haycock  Mountain,  in  Pennsylvania. 
Few  places  have  more  picturesque  surroundings  than 
has  Lambertville,  and  the  wonder  is  that  it  has  not 
attracted  more  of  the  attention  of  the  lovers  of  fine 
scenery. 

The  first  people  in  this,  region  of  country  of  whom 
we  have  any  knowledge  were  the  red  men  who  styled 
themselves  the  Lenni  Lenape  (which  means  "the 
original  people").  They  were  familiarly  known 
among  the  whites  as  the  Delawares.  This  name  was 
naturally  given  them  because  the  river  Delaware  was 
in  the  central  part  of  their  possessions. 

In  1705,  when  John  Holcombe,  of  Abington,  Pa., 
made  his  first  purchase  here,  this  region  was  all  a  wil- 
derness. There  was  no  clearing  and  no  road, — only 
an  Indian  path  extending  from  the  Neshaminy, 
in  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Indian  encampments  along 
the  Raritan,  in  New  Jersey.  This  path  was  almost 
identical  with  the  present  York  Eoad.  It  passed  up 
near  the  bed  of  the  brook  at  the  head  of  York  Street, 
and  so  led  on  nearly,  if  not  quite,  in  the  line  of  the 
present  road  until,  within  a  short  distance  of  Mount 
Airy,  it  turned  a  little  more  to  the  right,  striking  what 
is  now  the  York  Eoad  just  beyond  the  Alexauke'n. 

The  whole  lowland  where  Lambertville  is  situated. 


266 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


from  the  nature  of  the  soil,  was  quite  likely  heavily 
timbered  with  oak,  walnut,  beech,  and  maple.  The 
surrounding  forests  were  full  of  game.  Along  these 
hills  the  wolf  and  the  bear  roamed,  while  the  panther 
and  the  wild-cat  with  feline  instinct  stealthily 
crouched  for  their  prey,  and  the  deer  browsing  on  the 
foliage  of  the  thick  underbrush  presented  an  inviting 
mark  to  the  unerring  arrow  of  the  Indian.  Foxes, 
red  and  gray,  the  otter  and  the  beaver,  were  also  to 
be  found.  Even  as  late  as  1748  there  were  panthers 
in  this  region,  as  we  learn  from  Smith's  "  History  of 
New  Jersey."  In  Col.  W.  W.  Davis'  "History  of 
Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,"  it  is  stated  that  the  last  wolf  killed 
in  that  county  was  caught  in  Plumstead  about  the 
year  1800. 

As  there  was  plenty  of  game  in  the  forests,  so  there 
was  plenty  of  fish  in  the  river  and  in  its  tributaries. 
Sturgeon,  it  is  likely,  were  quite  as  numerous  as  shad 
are  now,  and  shad  came  in  immense  shoals.  Even  as 
late  as  the  early  part  of  this  century  an  old  resident 
of  Lambertville  informs  us  that  there  were  caught  in 
one  haul,  just  below  Frenchtown,  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  shad.  There  was  an  abundance  of  striped 
bass  (or  rock-fish)  and  perch,  and  of  all  the  species  of 
fish  now  to  be  found,  with  the  exception  of  black 
bass,  which  have  lately  been  put  into  the  river. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  country  at  the  time 
of  its  first  settlement  by  the  whites. 

In  consequence  of  a  treaty  made  with  the  Indian 
chiefs  Eimhammoe  and  Coponnocken,  the  council  of 
proprietors,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Burlington,  June 
27, 1703,  declared  a  third  dividend  of  land,  which  em- 
braced the  country  in  this  vicinity. 

Among  the  first  who  took  up  lands  in  this  vicinity 
under  the  grant  of  the  council  of  proprietors  were 
Benjamin  Field,  Robert  Dimsdale,  William  Biddle, 
John  Reading  (father  of  the  colonial  Governor  of  that 
name),  Gilbert  Wheeler,  Richard  Bull,  and  John 
Clark. 

Benjamin  Field  had  conveyed  to  him  5000  acres  of 
land  in  two  tracts, — namely,  one,  of  2000  acres,  north 
of  the  Society's  line  drawn  eastwardly,  that  is,  the 
line  which  is  now  the  boundary  between  Hunterdon 
and  Mercer  Counties,  and  which  was  the  northern 
boundary  of  what  was  known  as  the  Society's  30,000 
acres ;  the  other,  of  3000  acres,  lying  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Alias  Hocking  (Alexauken)  Brook,  and  having 
one  of  its  corners  near  an  Indian  town  called  Wisha- 
lamenty.  The  site  of  this  Indian  town  is  thought, 
from  a  careful  comparison  of  the  old  surveys,  to  have 
been  somewhere  between  the  Rock  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  the  York  Road.  These  two  tracts 
purchased  by  Benjamin  Field  were  parts  of  the  orig- 
inal purchase  made  of  the  Indians  by  Adlord  Boude. 
Field's  grant  was  made  to  him  May  19,  1701. 

Robert  Dimsdale  bought  extensive  tracts  of  land  to 
the  east  of  this  place,  the  western  boundary  of  which 
was  about  a  mile  from  the  Delaware  River. 

John  Calow's  tract  embraced  the  farm  now  owned 


by  John  V.  C.  Barber,  which  fronts  on  the  river  and 
lies  immediately  north  of  Lambertville  and  partly 
within  its  limits,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Alex- 
auken. 

The  farm  which  is  now  the  property  of  John  C. 
Holcombe,  and  which  adjoins  the  Calow  tract  on  the 
north,  was  conveyed  to  William  Biddle,  of  Burling- 
ton County,  in  1705,  by  the  council  of  proprietors. 

John  Reading  took  up  lands  near  what  is  now 
known  as  Prallsville.  He  sat  at  the  meeting  of  the 
council  of  proprietors  held  in  Burlington  in  1703,  at 
which  meeting  measures  were  adopted  for  the  disposal 
of  the  land  above  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware.  From 
the  very  interesting  historical  sketch  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Flemington,  written  by  the  pastor, 
the  Rev.  George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  we  learn  that  "John 
Reading,  with  his  wife  Elizabeth,  came  from  England 
to  this  country  previous  to  the  year  1685,  and  settled 
in  the  town  of  Gloucester,  in  West  Jersey."  He 
bought  a  warrant  for  the  location  of  4000  acres.  A 
part  of  this  grant  he  took  up  for  himself  For  the 
remainder  he  sold  warrants  to  individuals,  who  either 
had  their  lands  duly  surveyed  and  conveyed  to  them- 
selves, or  in  turn  sold  their  warrants  to  others.  In 
1704,  John  Reading  sold  a  warrant  to  James  Paget 
for  200  acres.  In  virtue  of  this,  Paget  took  posses- 
sion of  a  tract  which,  fronting  on  the  Delaware,  was 
bounded,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  on  the  north 
by  the  "  Bull  line,"  so  called  from  a  celebrated  sur- 
veyor of  that  day,  and  on  the  south  by  a  line  which, 
extending  due  east  to  a  point  a  mile  from  the  river, 
passes  through  the  site  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  thence  diagonally  through  Church  Street. 

John  Reading  sold  a  warrant  to  Richard  Bull  for 
large  tracts  of  land.  In  virtue  of  this  warrant  Bull 
surveyed  and  took  possession  of  100  acres  immediately 
north  of  the  Paget  tract,  just  mentioned.  This  tract, 
thus  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  aforementioned 
"  Bull  line,"  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  line  a 
little  above  Perry  Street  and  nearly  parallel  to  it. 
The  "Bull  line,"  several  times  mentioned  in  old 
deeds,  begins  at  the  river  at  a  point  near  the  mill  for- 
merly Wert's  saw-mill,  now  a  part  of  the  estate  of  the 
late  William  Cowin,  and  passes  just  south  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  thence  a  little  north  of 
the  old  brewery,  thence  over  the  hill  to  a  boundary- 
stone  in  the  York  Road,  and  thence  along  the  east  side 
of  Holcombe's  grove  to  the  distance  of  a  mile  from 
the  river. 

John  Clark's  land,  as  appears  from  old  deeds,  was 
southeast  of  this  town. 

Gilbert  Wheeler's  tract,  of  250  acres  which  fronted 
on  the  river,  was  immediately  between  the  lands  of 
John  Calow  on  the  north  and  those  of  Richard  Bull 
on  the  south. 

The  tract  of  land  south  of  that  supposed  to  be 
Paget's  seems  to  have  been  from  the  first  settlement 
of  this  part  of  the  country,  or  at  least  from  a  very 
early  date,  in  the  possession  of  John  Coates,  inasmuch 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


26Y 


as  he  owned  the  ferry  property,  and  hence  the  ferry 
was  called  by  his  name.  South  of  the  ferry  tract  were 
probably  the  lands  owned  by  Neill  Grant,  which  in 
that  case  extended  over  Cottage  Hill  and  Goat  Hill. 
As  to  this,  however,  as  well  as  to  the  exact  location 
of  the  Paget's  tract,  there  is  much  that  is  conjectural. 
Some  of  the  original  surveys  do  not  fit  together ;  in 
some  instances  they  seem  contradictory.  Mr.  Martin 
Coryell,  to  whom  the  writer  of  this  historical  sketch 
is  indebted  for  very  valuable  assistance,  has.  carefully 
examined  these  surveys,  but,  while  finding  no  diffi- 
culty in  locating  some  of  them,  has  not  been  able,  in 
regard  to  others,  to  arrive  at  any  positive  conclusion. 
In  the  deed  given  to  John  Holcombe,  Bull's  tract  is 
mentioned  as  bounded  on  the  south  "  by  lands  for- 
merly belonging  to  Hugh  Howell,  now  owned  by 
Robert  Eaton.'' 

But  no  trace  of  any  subsequent  conveyance  of 
Eaton's  land  can  be  found.  This  tract,  however,  was 
subsequently  in  possession  of  John  Emanuel  Coryell, 
and  the  deed  made  out  to  him  for  the  land  which  for- 
merly belonged  to  Paget,  and  for  which  Paget  had 
purchased  a  warrant  from  John  Reading,  when  com- 
pared with  other  deeds  of  property  conveyed  to  Cor- 
yell, seem  to  justify  the  supposition  that  Paget's  tract 
was  identical  with  that  which  had  been  Eaton's. 
Here  there  is  a  contradiction,  but  the  writer  knows 
not  how  to  remove  it.  No  doubt  there  were,  more 
frequently  then  than  now,  defective  titles,  and  the 
lands  forfeited  were  probably  remanded  to  the  council 
of  proprietors,  who  resold  them  as  to  original  pur- 
chasers. 

About  the  tracts  north  of  the  "  Bull  line"  there  is 
no  room  for  doubt,  as  their  boundaries  are  made  per- 
fectly plain  in  the  original  deeds. 

Taking,  then,  these  several  tracts  in  their  order, — 
those  the  location  of  which  is  certainly  known,  and 
those  as  to  the  bounds  of  which  there  can  be  only 
plausible  conjecture, — beginning  with  William  Bid- 
die's  land  on  the  north  (now  the  farm  of  John  C. 
Holcombe),  the  next  in  order  is  John  Calow's,  then 
Gilbert  Wheeler's,  then  Richard  Bull's,  then  James 
Paget's,  then  John  Coates',  and  last  Neill  Grant's, 
while  east  of  these  several  tracts  is  that  of  Robert 
Dimsdale,  farther  east  and  northeast  Benjamin  Field's, 
and  southeast  John  Clark's. 

Gilbert  Wheeler  and  Richard  Bull  sold  the  above- 
mentioned  tracts  to  Richard  Wilson,  of  Bucks  Co., 
Pa.  On  the  16th  of  November,  1705,  Wilson  sold 
them  to  John  Holcombe,  of  Abington,  Pa.  On  May 
29,  1733,  Holcombe  bought  of  John  Wey,  of  Long 
Island,  the  land  known  as  the  Calow  tract,  and  subse- 
quently the  farm  to  the  north  of  this  of  William 
Biddle.  When  John  Holcombe  moved  here  from 
Abington  we  are  not  informed,  but  probably  it  was 
not  long  after  his  purchase. 

The  tradition  respecting  the  Holcombes  is  that  they 
came  originally  from  Devonshire,  England.  There  are 
three  branches  of  the  family  in  this   country,— one 


branch  in  Connecticut,  one  in  New  Jersey  and  Penn- 
sylvania, and  one  in  Virginia.* 

Another  conjecture  as  to  the  Holcombes  who  first 
settled  in  this  vicinity  is  that,  being  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  they  may  have  come  directly  from 
England  in  company  with  other  members  of  that  so- 
ciety. Jacob  Holcombe,  brother  of  the  John  Hol- 
combe who  settled  here,  we  learn  from  Col.  W.  W. 
Davis'  "  History  of  Bucks  County,"  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Buckingham  township,  which  was  then 
included  in  what  is  now  known  as  Solebury.  About 
the  year  1700  he  made  an  original  purchase  of  .500 
acres  near  the  Great  Spring,  where  he  resided,  so  far 
as  can  be  ascertained,  until  his  death.  He  survived 
his  brother  John,  and  was  an  executor  of  his  estate, 
his  brother's  wife,  Elizabeth,  being  an  executrix. 

Frequent  mention  is  made  of  the  Holcombes  in  the 
records  of  the  Buckingham's  Friends'  Meeting.  So  far 
back  as  1728  the  name  of  Jacob  Holcombe  appears  on  a 
marriage  certificate.  In  the  records  of  1735  we  find  the 
names  of  John,  Thomas,  and  Samuel  Holcombe.  The 
certificate  of  the  marriage  of  Samuel  Wilson,  of  Am- 
well,  and  Rebecca  Canby,  of  Buckingham,  in  1730,  has 
initslistof  signers  the  name  of  John  Holcombe.  Other 
certificates  bear  as  witnesses  the  names  of  Mary,  Re- 
becca, and  Susanna  Holcombe.  The  only  descendant 
of  Jacob  Holcombe  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge 
is  John  Dilts,  of  Lambertville. 

From  John  Holcombe,  the  brother  of  Jacob,  are 
descended  all  the  Holcombes  in  this  part  of  New 
Jersey,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  in  Pennsylvania. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Woolrich,  of  Abington,  Pa., 
in  February,  1707.  She  was  an  active  and  influential 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  John  Holcombe 
left  five  children, — viz.,  Samuel,  Grace  (married  Philip 
Colvin),  Mary  (married  Samuel  Furman),  Julia  Ann 
(married  Daniel  Howell),  and  Richard. 

Samuel,  the  elder  son,  after  his  marriage,  removed 
to  the  farm  which  was  owned,  not  many  years  ago,  by 
his  grandson,  and  now  belongs  to  the  Hudint  estate. 
In  Samuel's  last  will  and  testament  his  wife's  Chris- 
tian name  is  given  as  Eleanor.  He  had  seven  sons 
and  two  daughters, — namely,  John,  Jacob,  Samuel, 
George,  Elijah,  Richard,  Thomas,  Phebe,  and  Eliza- 
beth. 

Maj.  Emley  Holcombe,  whose  name  will  be  further 
mentioned  in  this  historical  sketch,  was  a  grandson 
of  Samuel,  and  son  of  Richard.   He  early  commenced  ■ 

*  One  of  the  Connecticut  branch— William  Fredeiiolc  Holcombe,  M.r., 
a  resident  of  tlie  city  of  New  York,  who  has  given  much  attention  to"  the 
liistory  of  his  family— says  that  there  was  a  Thomas  Holcombe,  the 
owner  of  a  house  in  Dorchester,  Mass.,  where  he  resided  as  early  as 
1633  ■  that  in  1635  he  sold  it  to  one  Thomas  Jones  and  removed  to  Wind- 
sor Conn.,  where  he  died  in  1657.  He  further  says  that  there  was  a 
John  Holcombe  residing  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  in  1673,  but  subsequently 
to  that  date  no  trace  of  him  can  be  found.  He  may  have  removed  to 
Pennsylvania  and  have  been  the  father  of  John  and  Jacob  Holcombe, 
■who  settled,  the  one  liere,  the  other  near  what  is  known  as  the  Great 
Spring.    This,  however,  is  entirely  conjectural. 

As  to  the  Virginia  Holcombes,  the  doctor  informs  us  that  he  can  find 
no  date  of  births  antecedent  to  1686. 


2fi8. 


HUNTERDON    COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


mercantile  business  in  Lambertville,  and  resided  here 
until  his  death. 

A  granddaughter  of  Samuel  Holcomhe,  Mrs.  Grace 
Britton,  died  in  Lambertville,  in  the  spring  of  1880, 
in  the  one  hundred  and  second  year  of  her  age. 

The  will  of  Samuel  Holcomhe  was  admitted  to  pro- 
bate Sept.  21,  1769.  His  wife,  Eleanor,  Samuel,  his 
third  son,  and  his  only  brother,  Eichard,  were  the  ex- 
ecutors of  the  will. 

Richard,  just  mentioned,  the  younger  son  of  John 
Holcomhe,  the  first  known  settler  here,  married  twice. 
His  first  wife  was  Mary  Harvey,  by  whom  he  had 
one  child, — a  daughter.  His  second  wife  was  the 
Widow  Emley,  whose  maiden  name  was  Atkinson. 
By  her  he  had  two  children, — a  son  and  a  daughter. 

Among  the  early  settlers  whose  descendants  are 
still  living  in  this  locality,  the  next  family  in  order 
of  time  is  that  of  the  Coryells. 

After  the  Eevocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  the 
family  of  Coryells  left  their  home  in  that  part  of 
France  which  borders  on  Switzerland  and  Germany, 
and  sought  reftige  in  this  country.  The  tradition  is 
that  they  landed  at  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J. ;  in  what 
year  is  not  known.  They  settled  near  the  present 
sites  of  IS'ew  Market  and  Dunellen,  on  the  borders  of 
Somerset  and  Middlesex  Counties,  where  many  of  the 
descendants  of  one  of  the  brothers  are  now  residing. 
One  tradition  is  that  there  were  two  brothers, 
David  and  John  Emanuel ;  another,  there  were  three. 
That  the  latter  tradition  is  probably  correct  appears 
upon  investigating  the  old  register  of  the  First  Ee- 
formed  Church  of  Somerville.  That  David  and  John 
Emanuel  were  brothers  accords  with  the  general  tra- 
dition of  the  family.  That  there  was  another  brother, 
Abraham,  is  at  least  probable,  from  the  fact  that  the 
old  church  register  referred  to  presents  the  name  of 
Abraham  Coryell,  who  had  a  son  Abraham  baptized 
Jan.  29,  1738, — the  same  year  in  which  David's  son 
Abraham  was  born,  and  not  far  from  the  time  when 
John  Emanuel's  son  Abraham  was  born.  Abraham 
Coryell,  therefore,  was  of  the  same  generation  as  Da- 
vid and  John  Emanuel.  He  may  have  been  their 
cousin,  but  was  probably  their  brother.  Abraham's 
wife's  name,  as  given  in  the  church  register,  then 
kept  in  the  Low  Dutch  language,  was  Catryntie  (or 
Catharine). 

The  following  items  the  writer  gathered  from  the 
baptismal  records  of  the  First  Eeformed  Church  of 
Somerville,  through  the  kindness  of  the  venerated 
pastor,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Abram  Messier : 

"  June  2,  172S,  Annetie  (Anne)  daughter  of  Ba-v-id  and  Elsie  Koriel. 

"  May  16, 1731,  daughter  of  David  Koriel  Januetje  (Jane). 

"August  20, 1738,  David  Coryell,  child  Moses. 

"Jan.  7, 1739,  Ahraham,  son  of  David  and  Elsie  Coryell. 

"Jan.  29, 1738,  Abraham,  eon  of  Abraham  and  Catrynte  (Catherine). 

"  June  1, 1740,  NeUje  (Nellie),  daughter  of  Emanuel  and  Sarah  Co'r- 
yelL' 

"Jan.  6,  1743,  child  (name  not  given)  of  Abraham  and  Catryntie 
(Catharine)  Koryell ;  Auntie  Van  Cott  godmother. 

"  May  19, 1746,  David  Koryel,  wife  Elsie,  child  Jannetje  (Jane)." 


It  is  evident  from  this  copy  of  the  register  that 
there  was  no  uniformity  in  the  spelling  of  the  name. 
In  two  documents  recorded  at  the  office  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  at  Trenton,  John  Emanuel's  signature  is 
given,  in  which  he  writes  his  name  "  Coryal."  His 
descendants  write  the  name  "  Coryell,"  but  those  of 
David  write  it  "Coriell." 

David  Coryell  repeatedly  bought  small  tracts  of 
land  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  Market,  until  he 
became  quite  an  extensive  landholder.  Most  of  the 
present  site  of  Dunellen  and  considerable  of  the  land 
to  the  mountain,  on  the  north,  was  in  his  possession. 
Some  of  his  purchases  date  back  to  1725. 

The  children  of  David  were  Anne,  Jane  (probably 
died  early),  David,  Moses,  Abraham,  Jane,  and  Eli- 
sha.  David,  the  son  of  David,  died  Sept.  23,  1803,  in 
the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  Abraham,  son  of 
David,  died  Sept.  22,  1828,  aged  ninety  years. 

The  branch  of  the  family  now  living  in  the  vicinity 
of  Plainfield  all  seem  to  be  the  descendants  of  David. 
Whether  there  are  any  living  descendants  of  the  first- 
mentioned  Abraham,  whom  ^e  have  assumed  to  be 
the  brother  of  David  and  John  Emanuel,  we  have 
not  ascertained. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  John  Emanuel  ever 
owned  any  land  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Market  and 
Dunellen.  In  1732  he  removed  to  this  place  and 
bought  of  John  Purcell  a  tract  of  200  acres  which 
Purcell  had  purchased  of  John  Coates,  to  whom  the 
tract  was  deeded  by  his  father,  Samuel  Coates.  This 
was  doubtless  the  ferry  lot,  as  Coryell  obtained  a 
patent  for  the  ferry  on  Jan.  7,  1733,  in  which  patent 
it  is  mentioned  as  being  formerly  known  as  Coates' 
Ferry.  The  northern  boundary  of  this  tract  was  a 
line  running  from  the  river  nearly  due  east  through 
what  is,  now  Church  Street.  In  1743  he  purchased  of 
Thomas  Paget  the  tract  north  of  Church  Street 
which  James  Paget,  father  of  Thomas,  had  located, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  virtue  of  a  warrant  bought  of 
John  Eeading. 

In  an  old  paper,  still  extant,  drawn  up  in  1760,  by 
arbitrators  selected  to  make  an  equitable  division  of 
the  estate  (in  accordance  with  his  last  will  and  testa- 
ment), this  tract  is  called  the  "  Bungtown  lot."  This 
nickname,  then,  is  of  quite  ancient  origin.  A¥hy  it 
should  not  have  been  given  to  the  ferry  lot,  which 
is  styled  "  Lot  Number  One,"  it  is  difficult  to  explain, 
for,  as  the  tavern  was  near  the  ferry,  one  would  think 
that  there  would  have  been  the  scene  of  some  of  the 
pugilistic  encounters  so  frequent  in  those  days.  Per- 
haps, obtaining  stimulants,  they  repaired  to  the  open 
fields  above  for  the  free  exercise  of  their  muscular 
dexterity  and  vigor.  Among  the  names  of  the  signers 
of  this  paper  of  arbitration  is  that  of  Dr.  Jonathan 
Ingham,  the  father  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  D.  Ingham, 
who  was  so  long  in  public  life  and  who  was  the  first 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  Gen.  Jackson's  first  ad- 
ministration. 

Emanuel  Coryell  in  1737  purchased  of  the  heirs  of 


CITY   OF  LAMBERTVILLE. 


269 


Neill  Grant  a  large  tract  of  land  which,  as  nearly  as 
we  can  ascertain,  extended  over  Cottage  Hill  and 
Goat  Hill.  He  built  the  stone  tavern  which  occupied 
the  site  of  Mr.  Gri£ath  Williams'  house,  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  Ferry  and  Union  Streets,  and  which 
was  torn  down  only  about  twenty-five  years  since. 
This  tavern  was  a  noted  place  in  the  time  of  the  Kev- 
olution.  Many  a  soldier  slaked  his  thirst  at  the  old 
well  which  still  affords  its  cooling  refreshment  to  the 
neighborhood;  but  there  is  reason  to  suspect  that 
many  a  one  whetted  his  appetite  at  the  old  tavern 
with  a  more  stimulating  fluid.  Hiding  from  our 
view,  however,  the  carousals  and  brawls  which  must 
often  have  been  witnessed  there,  we  will  think  only 
of  its  Revolutionary  associations, — of  the  toil-worn 
soldiers  who  stopped  there  or  filed  by  in  that  tramp 
whose  sound  was  heard  round  the  world ;  of  the  gen- 
erals and  statesmen  who  were  devoting  their  lives  to 
the  cause  of  freedom ;  of  Washington,  Green,  Hamil- 
ton, Knox,  Stirling,  the  youthful  Monroe, — then  a 
lieutenant, — and  Paterson,  also  a  lieutenant.  We 
shall  have  more  to  say  farther  on  as  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary events  associated  with  Coryell's  Ferry. 

The  name  of  Emanuel  Coryell  appears  with  that 
of  Benjamin  Canby  as  one  of  the  witnesses  to  the  will 
of  John  Holcombe,  proved  in  1743.  The  Christian 
name  of  Emanuel  Coryell's  wife  was  Sarah,  and  there 
appears  in  old  documents  good  ground  for  the  suppo- 
sition that  she  was  the  daughter  of  John  Lambert,  of 
South  Wingfield,  county  of  Derby,  England.  They 
had  at  least  seven  children,  named  as  follows :  John, 
Cornelius,  George,  Abraham,  Nellie,  William,  and 
Sarah.  Of  these,  Nellie  and  William  died  in  child- 
hood. 

The  widow  of  Emanuel  Coryell  married  George 
Ely,  of  Solebury,  Pa.,  and  their  names  are  mentioned 
in  the  articles  of  arbitration  already  referred  to. 
Sarah,  the  surviving  daughter  of  Emanuel,  was  not 
of  age  when  the  arbitration  was  made.  Her  brother 
Cornelius  acted  as  her  guardian.  She  was  subse- 
quently married  to  Philip  Atkinson  for  her  first  hus- 
band, and  to  John  Ely  for  her  second. 

John,  eldest  son  of  Emanuel  Coryell,*  married  and 
settled  in  Pennsylvania,  near  the  ferry.  After  the 
death  of  the  widow  of  Benjamin  Canby,  in  1760,  the 
ferry  property,  on  the  Pennsylvania  side,  was  sold 
(formerly  Wells'  Ferry),  and  it  was  bought  by  John 
Coryell. 

In  the  records  of  Bucks  County  there  is  recorded  a 
mortgage  dated  July  21,  1764,  John  Coryell,  of  Sole- 
bury,  Pa.,  and  Elizabeth  his  wife  being  of  the  one 
part,  and  John  Hughes,  Esq.,  of  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, of  the  other  part.  The  tract  of  land  mortgaged 
was  one  hundred  and  six  acres  in  extent,  in  Solebury 
township,  and  bounded  by  the  river  Delaware.  The 
amount  of  the  mortgage  was  five  hundred  pounds. 


*  For  these  items  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Reuben  Ely,  who  has  been 
painstaking  in  his  investigations. 


John  Coryell  was  granted  a  license  to  keep  a  public 
house  of  entertainment  in  Solebury,  Pa.,  in  June, 
1774.  Cornelius,  the  second  son  of  Emanuel,  was 
born  in  1732 ;  he  lived  until  1831.  His  remains  were 
interred  in  the  Presbyterian  churchyard,  which  was 
the  family  burying-ground.  He  was  granted  by  the 
articles  of  arbitration  a  large  tract  of  land,  including 
a  great  part  of  the  original  Coates  tract  and  a  part 
of  the  Neill  Grant  tract,  extending  over  the  northern 
slope  of  Goat  Hill  and  the  heights  above  Cottage 
Hill.  His  place  of  residence  was  on  Goat  Hill. 
Some  of  the  older  inhabitants  of  the  town  have  a 
distinct  recollection  of  him.  He  married  Sallie  Shaw, 
and  had  the  following-named  children, — viz.,  George, 
Mary,  Jacob,  Tunis,  John,  Eleanor,  Cornelius,  and 
Joseph. 

George  Coryell,  the  third  son  of  John  Emanuel, 
came  into  possession,  by  the  articles  of  arbitration, 
of  the  tract  lying  north  of  Church  Street  and  east  of 
Main,  below  Church,  to  a  little  below  Swan's  Creek. 
He  built  a  residence  on  the  site  of  the  house  now 
owned  by  Samuel  Hoppock,  on  Main  Street,  near  the 
northwest  corner  of  Main  and  York  Streets.  This 
house  was  burnt  down  in  the  early  part  of  this  cen- 
tury. Just  before  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  when  the 
Federal  troops  were  here,  it  was  the  headquarters  of 
Maj.-Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene. 

George  Coryell  was  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary 
army.  The  following  incident  is  told  of  him  as 
having  happened  shortly  before  the  battle  of  Trenton. 
The  writer  of  this  sketch  is  indebted  for  it  to  Mr. 
Martin  Coryell,  the  great-grandson  of  Cornelius,  who 
was  the  brother  of  George.  When  the  American 
army  had  taken  its  position  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river,  Capt.  Coryell,  desiring  more  thoroughly  to 
complete  his  family  arrangements  preparatory  to  a 
prolonged  absence  with  the  army,  took  a  bateau 
and  recrossed  the  river.  Whilst  at  his  house  he  was 
surprised  and  captured  by  advanced  scouts  of  the 
British  army.  He  was  then  pinioned  and  placed  in 
the  bow  of  his  boat,  and,  with  a  soldier  to  row  and 
an  ofiicer  in  the  stern,  the  batteries  of  the  American 
army  placed  above  the  ferry  were  carefully  reconnoi- 
tred. As  Capt.  Coryell  was  recognized  by  his  com- 
rades as  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  British,  they 
withheld  their  fire ;  and  so  the  reconnoissance  was 
made  in  safety,  and  the  captain  escaped  unhurt.  He 
died  in  1814. 

His  youngest  son.  Judge  John  Coryell,  was  all  his 
life  a  resident  of  this  place,  and  died  Oct.  31,  1861, 
in  the  ninetieth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for  several  years  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Hun- 
terdon County. 

Abraham,  the  fourth  son  of  John  Emanuel,  was 
left,  by  the  articles  of  arbitration,  the  ferry,  with  its 
franchises  and  seventy-five  and  three-fourths  acres, — 
a  part  of  the  Coates  tract,  previously  mentioned. 
During  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  lived  in  Kingwood 


270 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


township.  His  remains  are  deposited  by  the  side  of 
those  of  his  brother  Cornelius  in  the  old  family 
burying-ground,  now  the  Presbyterian  churchyard. 
This  burying-ground  was  on  the  line  between  the 
Coates  tract  and  what  is  supposed  to  have  been 
Paget's.  He  left  five  children,— viz.,  Sarah,  George, 
John,  Joseph,  and  Emanuel.  A  grandson  of  Abra- 
ham by  his  eldest  son,  George,— Mr.  Tunison  Coryell,— 
is  still  living  in  hale  and  hearty  old  age  at  Williams- 
port,  Pa.,  respected  and  beloved  by  all  who  know  him. 
The  ferry  called  Coryell's  Ferry  wa's,  down  to  the 
year  1770,  more  generally  known  as  Wells'  Ferry.  It 
was  so  named  from  John  Wells,  to  whom  it  was  leased 
in  1719,  by  the  colonial  government  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  virtue  of  a  patent  of  royal  authority.  This  grant 
was  renewed  in  1730.  Whether  Emanuel  Coryell 
and  Wells  were  rival  ferrymen,  or  whether  they  had 
a  joint  interest  in  the  ferry,  there  are  no  data  at  hand 
to  determine.  Wells  bought  in  1734,  on  the  Penn- 
.sylvauia  side,  near  the  ferry,  a  tract  of  100  acres, 
li'rom  him  the  rapids  just  below  Lambertville  get  the 
name  of  "  Wells'  Falls." 

We  proceed  now  to  give  some  account  of  the  Lam- 
bert family,  whose  history  has  been  so  much  identified 
with  that  of  the  place.  Savage's  "  Genealogical  Dic- 
tionary" mentions  that  one  John  Lambert  came  to 
America  in  1632.  Another  John  Lambert  and  his 
brother  Gershom  are  supposed  to  have  been  sons  of 
that  John.  These  being  family  names,  it  is  quite 
probable  that  one  of  them  was  the  father  of  John 
Lambert,  who  lived  in  Connecticut  from  1715  to 
173.5.  He  married,  in  1713,  Abigail  Bumstead,  sister 
of  Jeremiah  Bumstead,  of  Boston,  and  had  four  sons. 
These  four  sons,  with  their  father,  came  to  New 
Jersey  at  some  time  between  1735  and  1746, — precisely 
when,  we  cannot  determine.  Thomas,  the  eldest  son, 
settled  in  New  Germantown,  in  Hunterdon  County, 
and  left  children ;  Jeremiah,  the  second,  died  child- 
less; John,  the  third,  and  Gershom,  the  youngest, 
settled  about  two  miles  north  of  Coryell's  Ferry. 
Tliey  bought  adjoining  tracts  of  land.  John  had  the 
following  children, — namely,  Gershom,  Jeremiah, 
Sallie,  Elizabeth,  Nancy,  Abigail,  and  John. 

Gershom,  the  eldest  son  of  John,  owned  the  farms 
now  in  the  possession  severally  of  Theodore  Plensel, 
Peter  Todd,  Prall  Wilson,  and  John  Lambert,  Jr. 
He  saw  Gen.  Washington  several  times  while  he  was 
at  Coryell's  Ferry,  and  just  before  the  battle  of  Mon- 
mouth he  went  to  the  general's  headquarters,  at  Rich- 
ard Holcombe's  house,  to  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  providing  a  substitute.  He  sent  two  repre- 
sentatives to  the  army  during  the  war.  He  used 
to  relate  that  he  had  seen  Gens.  Washington  and 
Greene  in  close  conversation  under  the  large  wal- 
nut-tree which  until  lately  was  standing  by  the  road- 
side near  the  Holcombe  mansion.  He  aided  the 
American  forces  in  crossing  the  river,  and  when  the 
army  lay  at  Morristown  he  had  barrels  made  by  one 
Charles  Cozzens,  a  cooper,  and  carted  them  over  there. 


Gershom,  the  youngest  son  of  John  Lambert,  who 
came  from  Connnecticut,  and  uncle  of  the  Gershom 
we  have  just  been  speaking  of,  had  five  children, — 
namely,  John,  Joseph,  Gershom,  Sarah,  and  Jerusha. 
John,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in  May,  1746.  He 
took  the  homestead,  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  grand- 
son, Thomas  Seabrook.  From  all  accounts  he  was  a 
man  of  much  intelligence  and  of  decided  ability,  in- 
tegrity, and  energy.  He  was  held  in  high  esteem  by 
the  community  in  which  he  lived  and  the  State  to 
which  he  belonged,  as  is  shown  by  the  frequency  of 
his  election  to  offices  of  great  responsibility  and  trust. 
He  represented  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  Legislature 
of  the  State,  both  in  the  General  Assembly  and  in  the 
Council.  He  was  for  some  time  vice-president,  and 
afterwards  president,  of  the  Council,  and  acting  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State.  He  subsequently  became  member 
of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  in  Congress,  and, 
serving  in  that  capacity  for  several  years,  he  was 
elected  United  States  senator,  his  term  expiring  in 
1815.  He  failed  of  a  re-election  because  of  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  war  of  1812.  He  thus  showed  his  inde- 
pendence of  party  dictation  and  his  adherence  to  his 
convictions  of  truth.  He  died  in  February,  1823,  and 
his  remains  were  interred  in  Barber's  burying-ground, 
about  four  miles  from  Lambertville.  He  was  married 
twice.  His  first  wife  was  Susannah  Barber,  by  whom 
he  had  seven  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  child- 
hood. He  married  for  his  second  wife  a  widow  from 
Monmouth  County — Mrs.  Hannah  Dennis — whose 
maiden  name  was  Little.  By  her  he  had  three  chil- 
dren, all  daughters. 

Joseph  Lambert,  a  brother  of  the  Hon.  John  Lam- 
bert, lived  in  this  place  for  many  years.  His  resi- 
dence occupied  the  site  of  that  of  Mrs.  Weeden's,  on 
Bi-idge  Street.  He  had  a  store  adjoining  his  dwell- 
ing, and  was  extensively  engaged  in  business  in  com- 
petition with  the  Parrys  in  New  Hope.  His  build- 
ings were  consumed  by  fire  (if  we  have  been  correctly 
informed  as  to  the  time)  in  1823.  He  married  twice. 
His  first  wife  was  a  Wilson,  by  whom  he  had  four 
children, — two  sons  and  two  daughters.  His  second 
wife  was  Mary,  widow  of  Jonas  Tyson,  and  daughter 
of  Jacob  Holcombe,  the  grandson  of  the  first  Hol- 
combe who  settled  here.  By  her  he  had  six  children, 
— five  sons  and  one  daughter.  His  eldest  son,  Capt. 
John  Lambert,  built  the  hotel  on  Bridge  Street  corner 
of  Union,  and  was  the  first  postmaster  in  this  place. 
He  was  an  active  and  useful  citizen. 

We  come  now  to  the  recital  of  some  of  the  inci- 
dents of  the  Eevolutionary  war  associated  with  this 
locality.  The  holding  of  Coryell's  Ferry  secure  from 
the  grasp  of  the  enemy  was  an  important  matter  in 
that  great  struggle. 

After  the  taking  of  Fort  Washington  by  the  British, 
and  the  fall  of  Fort  Lee,  Washington  was  compelled 
to  leave  New  York  to  the  enemy.  He  retreated 
across  New  Jersey  and  took  up  his  headquarters  at 
the  Falls  of  the  Delaware,  on  the  Pennsylvania  side, 


CITY    OF    LAMBERTVILLE. 


271 


opposite  Trenton ;  he  stationed  his  troops  along  the 
river  as  high  up  as  Coryell's  Ferry,  and  had  redoubts 
thrown  up  to  guard  the  several  ferries.  The  troops 
which  were  stationed  opposite  here  were  under  com- 
mand of  Lord  Stirling.  They  threw  up  a  strong  re- 
doubt on  the  top  of  the  hill  back  of  the  school-house 
in  New  Hope.  A  space  which  they  leveled  off  can 
still  be  seen,  making  a  slight  indentation  in  the  out- 
line of  the  hill  as  it  is  viewed  from  the  New  Jersey 
side  of  the  river.  Another  redoubt  was  thrown  up 
not  far  from  where  the  two  streets  come  together, 
opposite  the  Presbyterian  chapel  in  New  Hope. 

Gen.  Washington  visited  this  point  while  the  troops 
were  stationed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and 
it  is  said  that  he  went  with  Cornelius  Coryell,  one  of 
the  sons  of  John  Emanuel,  to  the  hill  now  known  as 
Cottage  Hill  to  see  whether  the  enemy  could  com- 
mand the  American  redoubts  from  that  point.  He 
ordered  a  stockade  intrenchment  to  be  made  on  the 
hill  in  New  Hope  and  batteries  to  be  placed  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  above  the  ferry.  As  it  was  very  im- 
portant that  the  army  should  have  control  of  all  the 
hoats  on  the  Delaware,  he  sent  Capt.  Daniel  Bray 
{who  afterwards  became  a  general  in  the  New  Jersey 
militia),  Capt.  Jacob  Gerhart,  and  Capt.  Thomas  Jones 
to  collect  all  the  craft  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Del- 
aware and  Lehigh  and  bring  them  to  Coryell's  Ferry. 
This  they  did,  and  hid  them  behind  Malta  Island, 
just  below  what  are  known  as  the  Union  Mills,  at 
Wells'  Falls.  At  that  time  there  were  no  mills  there, 
no  wing-dam,  and  the  main  channel  of  the  river  was 
between  that  island  and  the  Pennsylvania  shore. 
The  island  was  densely  wooded,  so  that  if  the  enemy 
looked  down  from  the  Jersey  heights  the  boats  could 
not  be  seen.  These  boats  were  thus  gotten  in  readi- 
ness for  the  army's  crossing  at  McConkey's  Ferry  on 
the  memorable  Christmas  night  of  1776.  Some  of 
the  boats,  it  is  said,  drifted  down  the  stream,  becom- 
ing unmanageable  because  of  the  floating  ice. 

Just  at  this  point  in  our  narrative  the  following 
letters  and  extracts  from  epistles  written  by  Washing- 
ton to  the  Continental  Congress  from  his  headquarters 
at  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware  are  of  special  interest : 

"  Headquarteus,  Falls  of  Delaware,  Dec.  11, 1776. 

"  Sir,— After  I  had  writtea  you  yesterday,  I  received  cei-tain  infoi-ma- 
tion  that  the  enemy,  after  repairing  Crosswiclc's  bridge,  had  advanced  a 
party  of  about  .WO  to  Bordentown.  By  their  taking  this  route  it  con-, 
firms  me  in  my  opinion  that  they  have  an  intention  to  land  between  this 
and  Philadelphia,  as  well  as  above,  if  they  can  procure  boats  for  that 
purpose. 

"  I  last  night  directed  CJom.  Seymour  to  station  all  his  galleys  between 
Bordentown  and  Philadelphia,  to  give  the  earliest  intelligence  of  any 
appearance  of  the  enemy  on  the  Jersey  shore. 

"  I  yesterday  rode  up  the  river  about  11  milea  to  Lord  Stirling's  post, 
■where  I  found  a  prisoner  of  the  Forty-second  Regiment  who  had  been 
brought  in.  He  informed  me  that  Lord  Cornwallis  was  at  Pennington 
with  two  battalions  of  grenadiers  and  three  of  light  infantry,  all  British, 
the  Hessian  Grenadiers,  the  Forty-second  Highland  Regiment,  and  two 
other  battalions,  the  names  of  which  he  did  not  remember.  He  knew 
nothing  of  the  reasons  of  their  being  assembled  there,  nor  what  were 
their  future  intentions. 

"  But  I  last  night  received  information  from  my  Lord  Stirling,  which 
had  been  brought  in  by  his  scouts,  which  in  some  measure  accounted  for 


their  being  there.  They  had  made  a  forced  march  from  Trenton  on 
Sunday  night  to  Coryell's  Ferry,  in  hopes  of  surprising  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  boats  to  transport  them ;  but,  finding  themselves  disappointed,  had 
marched  back  to  Pennington,  where  they  remained  yesterday.  From 
their  several  attempts  to  seize  boats,  it  does  not  look  as  if  they  had 
brought  any  with  them,  as  I  was  at  one  time  informed.  I  last  night 
sent  a  pei-son  over  to  Trenton  to  learn  whether  there  was  any  appearance 
of  building  any,  but  he  could  not  perceive  an}'  preparation  for  a  work 
of  that  kind  ;  so  that  I  am  in  hopes,  if  proper  care  is  taken  to  keep  all 
the  craft  out  of  their  way,  they  will  find  the  crossing  of  the  Delaware  a 
matter  of  considerable  difficulty." 

lExtracl.'] 

"  Trenton  Falls,  Dec.  12, 1776. 
"  The  intelligence  we  obtain  respecting  the  movements  and  situation 
of  the  enemy  is  far  from  being  so  certain  and  satisfactory  as  I  could 
wish,  though  every  possible  means  in  my  power,  and  that  I  can  devise, 
are  adapted  for  that  purpose.  The  latest  I  have  received  was  from  Lord 
Stirling  last  night.  He  says  that  two  grenadiers  of  the  Inniskillen  regi- 
ment, who  were  taken  and  brought  in  by  some  countrymen,  informed 
him  that  Gens.  Howe,  Cornwallis,  Vaughan,  etc.,  with  about  6000  of  the 
flying  army,  were  at  Pennington  waiting  for  pontoons  to  come  up,  with 
which  they  mean  to  pass  the  river  near  the  BUie  Mounts,*  or  at  Coryell's 
Ferry, — they  believe  the  latter  ;  that  the  two  battalions  of  guards  were 
at  Brunswick,  and  the  Hessian  grenadiers,  chasseurs,  and  a  regiment  or 
two  of  British  troops  are  at  Trenton." 

"  HEAnQUARTERS,  Trenton  Falls,  Doc.  l^i,  1776. 

"  Sir, — The  apparent  design  of  the  enemy  being  to  avoid  this  ferry  and 
land  their  troops  above  and  below  us  induced  me  to  remove  fi'om  this 
place  the  greater  part  of  the  troops  and  throw  them  into  a  diffei'eut  posi- 
tion on  the  river,  whereby  I  hope  not  only  to  be  more  able  to  impede 
their  passage,  but  also  to  avoid  the  danger  of  being  inclosed  in  this  angle 
of  the  river,  and,  notwithstanding  the  extended  appearances  of  the  enemy 
on  the  other  side,  made  at  least  in  part  to  divert  our  attention  from  any 
particular  point,  as  well  as  to  harass  us  by  fatigue,  I  cannot  divest  mj'- 
self  of  the  opinion  that  their  principal  design  is  to  ford  the  river  some- 
where above  Trenton ;  to  which  design  I  have  had  particular  respect  in 
the  new  arrangement,  wherein  I  am  so  happy  as  to  have  the  concurrence 
of  the  general  officers  at  this  place.  Four  brigades  of  the  army,  under 
Gens.  Stirling,  Macy,  Stephen,  and  Be  Fernoy,  extend  from  Tardley's  up 
to  Coryell's  Ferry,  posted  in  such  a  mfinner  as  to  guard  every  suspicious 
part  of  the  river  and  to  afford  assistance  to  each  other  in  case  of  attack. 
Gen.  Ewing,  with  the  Flying  Camp  of  Pennsylvania  and  a  few  Jersey 
troops  under  Gen.  Dickinson,  are  posted  from  Tardley's  Feri"y  down  to 
the  ferry  opposite  Bordentown.  Col.  Cadwallader,  with  the  Pennsylvania 
militia,  occupies  the  ground  above  and  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ne- 
shaminy  Elver  as  far  down  as  Dunk's  Ferry,  at  which  place  Col.  Nixon 
is  posted  with  the  Third  Battalion  of  Pennsylvania.  A  proper  quantity 
of  artillery  is  appointed  to  each  brigade,  and  I  have  ordered  small  re- 
doubts to  be  thrown  up  opposite  every  place  where  there  ia  a  probability 
of  fording. 

"  I  shall  remove  farther  up  the  river  to  he  near  the  main  body  of  my 
small  army,  with  which  every  possible  opposition  shall  be  given  to  any 
further  approach  of  the  enemy  towards  Philadelphia." 

On  Dec.  26,  1776,  was  fought  the  memorable  battle 
of  Trenton,  which  was  the  turning-point  in  the 
American  Eevolution.  On  Christmas  Day,  as  the 
soldiers  were  around  their  camp-fires  preparing  their 
dinners,  orders  came  to  march.  According  to  tradi- 
tion, so  urgent  were  the  orders  that  they  left  without 
their  dinners  and  directly  took  up  the  line  of  march 
for  McKonkey's  Ferry  (now  Taylorsville).  On  arriv- 
ing there  they  were  stationed  back  of  the  ferry  until 
night,  when  they  made  the  memorable  crossing  of  the 
river  amidst  floating  ice  and  in  the  face  of  a  violent 
storm  of  hail  and  snow. 

In  connection  with  Coryell's  Ferry  in  the  following 
year  there  is  an  interesting  letter  of  Maj.-Gen.  Bene- 

*  "  Blue  Monuts,"  in  this  letter,  is  a  mistake  for  "  Beaumont's."  Joh  n 
Beaumont  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  opposite  Moore's  Station,  and 
near  Brownsburgh,  Pa.    He  was  frequently  called  Blnomount. 


272 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


diet  Arnold  addressed  to  Gen.  Washington.  Arnold, 
whose  name  is  now  loaded  with  infamy,  Avas  then  in 
high  repute  in  the  American  army.  This  letter  is 
published  in  the  *'  Correspondence  of  the  Eevolu- 
tion/'  vol.  i.  p.  384.     It  is  as  follows  : 

"Coryell's  Ferry,  16  June,  1777,  8  o'clock  p.m. 
*'My  dear  General, — I  wrote  Your  Excellency  yesterday  that  the 
boats,  Bcows,  &c.,  were  sent  up  the  river  11  miles  to  a  place  called  Tohe- 
gan,*  except  such  as  were  necessary  here,  which  would  be  eecured  from 
the  enemy  in  case  of  their  approach ;  since  which  I  had  no  direct  and 
but  very  imperfect  intelligence  from  Tour  Excellency.  I  am  at  a  loss  if 
any  part  of  your  army  has  removed  from  Middlebr6ok,  and  more  bo  of 
Your  Excellency's  intentions.  The  enemy,  I  am  informed,  are  at  Somer- 
set Heights,  intrenching.  Gen.  Sullivan  is  at  Flemington  with  1600 
Continental  troops,  the  Jersey  militia,  and  1000  men  I  have  sent  him 
from  this  place  half  Continental,  the  others  militia.  I  expect  Col.  Bull 
here  to-morrow  with  500  State  troops,  part  of  two  battalions  engaged  for 
the  war.  Gen.  Mifflin  wrote  me  yesterday  that  the  city  militia  will  move 
this  morning;  lam  informed  there  are  about  2000  of  them.  They  bring 
10  pieces  of  cannon  and  one  royal  howitzer,  200  tents,  lOUO  felling-axes, 
1000  spades  and  shovels.  One  quarter  part  of  the  militia  of  this  State 
are  ordered  out  immediately,  except  two  of  the  western  counties.  The 
whole,  including  the  city  militia,  I  am  informed,  will  make  10,U00  men. 
Three  thousand  of  the  Southern  Continental  troops  are  ou  their  march, 
and  will  be  in  Philadelphia  in  the  course  of  a  week  ;  six  heavy  pieces  of 
cannon,  four  galleys,  and  ten  armed  boats  are  arrived  at  Bristol  and 
Trenton  Ferries.  The  enemy  must  be  despei-ate  indeed  if  they  attempt 
to  push  for  Philadelphia. 

"As  the  militia  can  he  hut  illy  spared  at  this  busy  season,  I  wish  ia 
know  aa  early  as  possible  Your  Excellency's  orders  respecting  them, — 
if  you  wish  to  have  them  in  the  Jerseys  or  on  thisf  side  the  Belaware. 
If  the  latter,  for  the  defence  of  the  passes  on  the  river  one-half  will 
effectually  answer  the  purpose.  I  have  examined  and  inclosed  Tour 
Excellency  a  sketch  of  the  passes  between  this  and  Trenton  Ferry. 

'*  Four  or  five  thousand  men,  with  a  few  pieces  of  cannon,  will  effectu- 
ally guard  the  whole,  and  as  far  down  as  Philadelphia  with  the  assis- 
tance of  the  galleys  and  armed  boats,  against  20,000  men.  Above  Cory- 
ell's Ferry  I  am  conviaced  the  enemy  will  never  attempt  to  pass.  I  hope 
the  troops  will  be  ordered  for  a  different  purpose, — tliat  of  securing  the 
enemy  where  they  are  in  the  Jerseys.  If  they  are  detained  here,  I  shall 
employ  them  in  fortifying  the  hanks  of  the  river  against  the  passes. 

"  I  have  sent  off  this  evening,  vUi  Flemington,  four  wagons,  and  musket 
cartridges  66.000,  under  an  escort  of  75  men. 

"  I  have  only  to  add,  with  great  respect  I  am 

"Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  Benedict  Arnold." 

Washington  was  here  again  July  30  and  31,  1777, 
as  appears  from  his  letters  of  those  dates,  which  are 
given  on  page  67  of  this  work. 

Just  at  this  point  a  letter  from  Alexander  Hamilton 
to  Robert  Morris,  written  at  Coryell's  Ferry  while  the 
army  was  lying  here,  is  of  special  interest.  Hamilton 
was  then  chief  of  Gen.  Washington's  staff.  In  this 
letter  he  gives  his  views  as  to  the  design  of  the  enemy. 
It  is  as  follows  : 

"Headquartebs,  Coryell's  Ferry,  July  29, 1777. 
"  Dear  Sir, — I  have  the  pleasure  of  your  favor  of  tlie  25th.  I  cannot 
he  induced  to  think  the  enemy  so  numerous  as  you  apprehend,  and 
would  place  no  dependence  on  what  is  said  either  by  deserters  or  pris- 
oners, further  than  as  it  respects  their  own  company,  nor  even  that  with, 
regard  to  prisoners  in  general,  who  commonly  have  their  cue,  as  the 
phrase  is,  and  know  very  well  how  to  manufacture  stories  calculated  to 
serve  the  purposes  of  the  side  they  belong  to.     If  we  may  judge  at  all 

*  This  is  now  spelled  Tohiclcon,  which  is  the  name  of  the  brook  that 
empties  into  the  Belaware  at  Point  Pleasant.  Up  this  stream,  and  under 
its  steep,  wild,  and  (then)  thickly-wooded  hanks,  was  the  favorite  haunt 
of  the  noted  Tory  outlaws,  the  Doanes. 

f  From  this  it  is  evident  that  Arnold  had  his  headquarters  for  the  time 
on  the  Pennsylvania  side  of  Coryell's  Ferry. 


from  the  state  of  the  British  and  foreign  regiments  in  Howe's  army  or 
the  proportion  of  recruits  they  have  had  this  year,  we  cannot  but  believe 
the  representations  j^ou  mention  greatly  exaggerated.  'Though  the 
Northern  army  have  not  suffered  much  by  action,  they  have  probably 
suffered  more  by  sickness  than  the  Southern:  for  many  accounts  agre& 
that  they  have  been  very  sickly,  and  particularly  that  there  was  a  great 
mortality  among  them  while  lying  at  the  Isle  of  Noix.  From  the  esti- 
mate of  the  first  prisoner,  they  must  have  been  greatly  reduced  by 
some  means  or  other;  for  it  appears  that  before  his  company  had  been 
augmented  by  the  24  foreigners  it  was  oniy  26  strong,  and  it  is  very 
improbable  it  should  have  had  so  large  an  augmentation,  for  I  am  mor- 
ally certain  the  regiments  under  Howe  have  not  had  50  men  each  as 
recruits,  and  I  see  no  reason  to  suppose  Burgoyne's  could  have  had  much 
better  luck.  Eight  companies,  at  26  men  each,  amount  to  208.  Suppose 
each  regiment  to  have  received  100  recruits,  which,  by  every  rule  of 
comparison,  must  be  more  than  the  truth;  this  brings  a  regiment  to 
about  300  men.  Ten  regiments  at  300  each  amount  to  3000, — tlie  num- 
ber of  British  troops  in  Canada.  Again,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  4000  was 
the  allotment  of  foreign  troops  for  the  Northern  department  As  the 
sickness  spoken  of  fell  chiefly  upon  them,  they  in  all  probability  lost 
more  in  that  way  than  they  had  gained  in  recruits.  But,  even  if  this 
were  not  the  case,  they  cannot  exceed  the  original  number :  4000  added 
to  3000  make  7000.  Besides  these,  there  are  the  grenadiers  and  hffht 
infantry.  Of  these  there  cannot  be  above  18  companies  each,  which, 
allowing  them  to  contain  every  one  50  men,  amount  to  1800;  and  this 
brings  them  to  about  S800  men  in  their  whole  force  of  British  and  for- 
eign troops.  Of  these,  at  least  one-sixth  must  be  unfit  for  duty,  by  every 
calculation,  which  reduces  the  number  of  men  fit  for  the  field  to  about 
7500.  Part  of  these  must  be  left  in  Canada,  if  it  were  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  to  guard  their  magazines  and  for  other  duty  of  that  tind. 
Nor  could  they  with  safety  commit  the  charge  of  those  things  to  the 
Canadians,  many  of  whom  are  notoriously  disaffected,  and  would  be  very 
likely  to  destroy  instead  of  preserve  them.  From  this  view, — which  I 
verily  believe  is  too  favorable  to  them,— they  cannot  bring  more  tlian 
between  GOOD  and  7000  British  troops  to  act  out  of  Canada.  Out  of  these 
GOOO  or  7000,  a  considerable  part  must  be  left  to  garrison  Ticonderoga 
and  secure  their  rear  in  case  of  accidents,  for  they  could  not,  without 
madness,  attempt  to  advance  and  leave  the  posts  behind  them  in  a  de- 
fenceless state;  and  they  may  be  obliged  to  increase  their  attention  to 
this  matter  by  keeping  a  body  of  men  somewhere  about  the  Grants, 
which  has  been  recommended.  Wlien  tliis  last  deduction  is  made,  Bur- 
goyne  cannot  advance  with  more  than  between  6000  and  6000  men,  to 
suppose  him  to  act  with  his  whole  collective  force,  except  Canadians  and 
Indians,  who  are  not,  by  any  accounts,  numerous. 

"Let  us  now  take  a  view  of  our  own  force.  When  Glover's  brigade 
gets  up,  and  the  recruits  for  the  regiments  there,  now  on  their  march, 
arrive,  Gen.  Schuyler  will  have  about  5000  Continental  troops.  Surely 
the  Eastern  States  cannot  sleep  so  soundly  wheu  the  danger  is  so  immi- 
nent, but  that  they  will  reinforce  him  with  8000  or  10,000  militia.  If  this 
happens,  and  he  cannot  stop  Gen.  Burgoyne's  progress,  it  must  proceed 
from  other  causes  than  the  want  of  men.  With  about  the  same  army 
last  year,  Gen.  Washington  kept  Howe,  with  16,000  or  17,00p  men,  at 
hay. 

*'  Perhaps  it  may  be  said  there  will  not  be  time  to  collect  this  force,  as 
the  enemy  are  advancing  with  very  great  rapidity.  I  am  much  mistaken 
if  there  will  not  be  abundant  time.  The  nature  of  the  ground,  the  diffi- 
culty of  transporting  the  immense  quantity  of  baggage,  provisions,  etc., 
necessary  to  accompany  an  army  of  5000  men  penetrating  an  enemy's 
counti-y,  the  want  of  wagons  for  the  purpose,  the  impediments  thrown  in 
the  way  by  cutting  up  the  roads,— all  these  obstacles  will  retard  their 
jnarch  much  more  than  is  at  first  sight  imagined,  and  will  give  full  time 
to  prepare  them  a  good  reception. 

"On  the  whole,  I  am  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  unless  Howe  co-oper- 
ates with  Burgoyne  against  your  State  it  lias  very  little  to  fear;  and  I 
even  doubt,  if  he  goes  to  the  southward,  whether  Burgoyne  will  attejupt 
to  penetrate  far.  At  present  there  is  every  appearance  of  a  Southern  ex- 
pedition. "Seventy  sail  of  the  enemy's  have  been  seen  passing  by  Little 
Egg  Harbor,  making  short  tacks  to  the  capes  of  Philadelphia.  Three 
divisions  of  the  army  are  arrived  here  and  at  Howell's  Ferry,  four  miles 
up.  One  is  coming  by  way  of  Princeton,  etc. ;  another  coming  after  us 
by  way  of  Morristown.  I  wish  this  last  to  halt  there.  Two  brigades 
more  have  been  ordered  to  cross  the  North  River  and  wait  further  orders. 
"We  shall  not,  however,  pass  the  Delaware  till  we  hear  of  the  arrival  of 
the  enemy  in  the  capes  of  Philadelphia.  Nor  will  these  two  brigades  be 
ordered  on  till  the  same  event  takes  place.  We  shall  act  the  most  cau- 
tious part  possible  in  our  circumstancps. 

"I  communicated  your  letter  to  the  general.     He  agrees  with  me  in 


CITY   OF  LAMBERTVILLE. 


273 


point  of  the  enemy's  numbers.  With  respect  to  animating  the  Eaatern 
States,  he  has  -written  the  most  urgent  letter  to  their  several  Assemblies, 
■which  I  am  in  hopes  will  answer  the  end  you  propose  from  sending  per- 
sons to  each  of  them. 

"  It  were  to  be  wished  your  forts  and  ships  were  well  supplied  with 
cannon ;  but  it  is  wholly  out  of  the  general's  line  to  strip  the  ships  to 
the  eastward  of  their  cannon  for  that  purpose.  If  your  convention  were 
to  make  application  to  the  Congress  or  Board  of  War,  it  might  succeed ; 
but  I  should  have  vei-y  little  hope  of  it. 

"  I  am,  with  great  esteem,  dear  sir, 

"  Tour  most  obedient, 

"  Alexander  Hamilton." 

In  the  second  volume  of  the  official  letters  of 
Washington  to  Congress  there  is  one  dated  "  Camp 
near  Pennibacker's  Mill,  Oct.  17,  1777,"  in  which  is 
this  passage : 

"  We  shall  here  wait  for  the  reinforcements  coming  on,  and  shall  then 
act  according  to  circumstances.  Gen.  Yaruum,  with  the  detachment 
from  Peefcskill,  amounting  to  about  1200,  including  officers,  would  be 
last  night  at  Cksryell's  Ferry." 

The  following  winter  the  army  was  quartered  at 
Valley  Forge,  where  the  sufferings  of  the  soldiers  were 
so  severe  as  to  make  forever  memorable  their  sacrifices 
in  the  cause  of  liberty.  The  enemy  was  in  possession 
of  Philadelphia.  Gen.  Howe,  having  been  recalled  to 
England,  was  succeeded  in  command  by  Sir  Henry 
Clinton.  He  was  instructed  to  evacuate  Philadelphia 
and  to  march  on  to  New  York.  "Washington  surmised 
Clinton's  plans,  and  after  holding  a  council  of  war 
determined  to  bring  the  enemy  to  battle  before  reach- 
ing New  York.  He  accordingly  took  up  the  line  of 
march  for  Coryell's  Ferry,  choosing  that  route  in 
order  to  secure  the  highlands  of  New  Jersey.  The 
army,  since  the  appointment  of  Baron  Steuben  as  in- 
spector-general, was  somewhat  improved  in  condition, 
but  still  it  must  have  presented  a  rather  worn  and 
ragged  appearance  as  it  filed  along. 

In  the  volumes  of  Revolutionary  correspondence 
there  is  the  following  letter  : 

"TO  BRIG.-GEN.  WAYNE:  INSTBUCTIONS. 

"Sir, — Ton  are  to  proceed  with  the  First  and  Second  Pennsylvania 
Kegiments  and  the  brigade  late  Conway's,  by  the  direct  route,  to  Coryell's 
Ferry,  leaving  a  proper  interval  between  your  division  and  Gen.  Lee's, 
so  as  to  prevent  their  interfering  with  each  other.  The  instructions 
given  to  Gen.  Lee  are  lo  hall  on  the  first  strong  ground,  after  passing  the 
Delaware  at  Oie  said  Jerry,  until  further  orders,  unless  he  should  receive 
authentic  intelligence  that  the  enemy  have  proceeded  by  the  direct  road 
to  South  Amboy  or  still  lower ;  in  this  case  he  is  to  coutinue  his  march 
to  the  North  River. 

'•  Given  at  Head  Quarters  this  18th  day  of  June,  1778." 

On  the  second  day  following  this,  Washington  wrote 
a  letter  to  Gen.  Gates  which  is  as  follows  : 

"  JOUE  o'clock,  20th  June,  1778. 
"  To  Maj.-Gen.  Gates  : 

"  Sir,— I  think  it  necessary  to  inform  you  by  the  return  of  express  who 
brought  your  packet  for  Congress  that  I  am  now,  with  the  main  body  of 
the  army,  within  ten  miles  of  CoryeH's  Ferry.  Gen,  Lee  is  advanced  with 
si.K  brigades,  and  will  cross  to-night  or  to-morrow  morning.  By  the  last 
intelligence  the  enemy  were  near  Mount  Holly  and  moving  very  slowly ; 
but,  as  there  are  so  many  roads  open  to  them,  their  route  could  not  be 
ascertained.  I  shall  enter  the  Jerseys  to-morrow  and  give  you  the  ear- 
liest notice  of  their  movements  and  whatever  may  affect  you.  As  the 
supplies  of  forage  and  provision  in  your  quarter  will  be  objects  of  the 
utmost  importance,  they  will  therefore  claim  your  attention. 

"  I  am,  sir,"  etc. 


In  Washington's  correspondence  is  another  letter 
bearing  the  same  date  (June  20,  1778),  from  which  is 
taken  the  following  extract : 

,  "Sir, — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  am  now  advanced  with 
the  main  body  of  the  army  within  ten  miles  of  Coryel's  Ferry,  and  shall 
halt  to  refresh  the  troops,  and  for  the  night,  as  the  weather  is  very  rainy. 
Gen.  Lee  is  with  the  six  brigades  mentioned  in  my  former  letter." 

On  the  following  day  he  wrote  another  letter  re- 
specting some  Indians  in  Virginia.  It  is  dated  "  June 
21,  ten  miles  from  Coryell's."  At  the  same  time  and 
place  he  wrote  also  a  letter  to  Maj.-Gen.  Arnold. 

On  the  22d  of  June  the  army  crossed  the  river,  and 
on  that  day  he  wrote  the  following  letter,  dated : 

"  Headquarters  near  Coryel's,  June  22, 1778. 
"  Sir, — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  am  now  in  Jersey,  and 
that  the  troops  are  passing  the  river  at  Coryel's  and  are  mostly  over. 
The  latest  intelligence  I  have  had  respecting  the  enemy  was  yesterday, 
from  Gen.  Dickinson.  He  says  that  they  were  in  the  morning  at  Moores- 
town  and  Mount  Holly,  but  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  learn  what 
route  they  would  pursue  from  thence  ;  nor  was  it  easy  to  determine,  as 
from  their  situation  they  might  either  proceed  to  South  Amboy  or  by 
way  of  Bruuswic.  We  have  been  a  good  deal  impeded  in  our  march  by 
rainy  weather.  As  soon  as  we  have  cleaned  the  arms  and  can  get  mat- 
ters in  train  we  propose  moving  towards  Princeton,  in  order  to  avail 
ourselves  of  any  favorable  occasions  that  may  present  themselves  of  at- 
tacking or  annoying  the  enemy. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,"  etc. 

Washington  suspected,  as  he  mentions  in  a  subse- 
quent letter,  that  the  enemy  were  aiming  to  draw  him 
down  into  the  low  country,  that  by  a  skillful  flank 
movement  they  might  secure  the  heights. 

While  here  Gen.  Washington  made  the  house  of 
Richard  Holcombe  (the  younger  son  of  the  first 
John  who  lived  here)  his  headquarters,  and  Gen. 
Greene  had  his  headquarters  at  George  Coryell's,  in 
the  house  before  mentioned,  which  occupied  the  site 
of  the  frame  dwelling  now  owned  by  Samuel  Hoppock, 
at  the  northwest  corner  of  York  and  Main  Streets. 

The  following  extract  from  "  General  Greene's 
Memoirs"  is  of  interest  at  this  point : 

"  Clinton  moved  slowly,  with  the  intention,  as  Washington  and  some 
of  his  officers  thought,  of  drawing  the  Americans  into  the  lower  counti-y 
in  order,  by  a  rapid  movement,  to  gain  their  right  and  take  possession  of 
the  strong  grounds  above  tliem.  The  Americans  moved  slowly,  too,  for 
the  weather  was  oppressive  and  the  roads  heavy  with  frequent  rains  and 
deep  sand.  On  the  21st  they  crossed  the  Delaware,  of  happy  omen,  at 
Coi7eirs  Ferry,  Greene  marking  out  tlie  route  and  order  of  march  and 
places  of  encampment, — a  duty  that  kept  him  more  than  half  of  the  time 
in  the  saddle. 

"  Food  it  was  difficult  to  obtain,  and,  in  spite  of  all  his  exertions, 
Wayne's  detachment  suffered  greatly  for  want  of  it.  At  Hopewell,  on 
the  24th,  another  council  was  called,  and  Lee,  supported  by  a  majority, 
still  opposed  an  attack.  After  a  long  discussion  it  was  decided'  that  a 
detachmetit  of  ISOO  men  be  immediately  sent  to  act  as  occasion  may 
serve  on  the  enemy's  loft  flank  and  rear,  in  conjunction  with  other  Con- 
tinental troops  and  militia,  who  are  already  hurrying  about  them,  and 
that  the  main  body  preserve  a  relative  position,  so  as  to  be  able  to  act  as 
circumstances  may  require.'  " 

From  the  Revolutionary  correspondence  associated 
with  this  locality  it  is  quite  evident  that  Coryell's 
Ferry  was  an  important  strategic  point  in  the  Revo- 
lution, and  that  most  of  the  prominent  generals  of  the 
Continental  army  were  here  at  different  times. 

This  neighborhood  furnished  a  full  proportion  of 
Revolutionary  soldiers.     Their  names  have  not  been 


274 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


obtained.  Some  of  the  older  inhabitants,  liowever, 
remember  tlie  two  brothers  Ent,  who  had  seen  service 
in  tlie  war  of  indei^endence,  and  who  used  to  attend 
the  celebrations  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  were 
always  honored  with  a  conspicuous  position  on  the 
speakers'  platform,  thus  giving  point  to  the  orator's 
allusions  to  the  Revolution  and  stimulus  to  his  elo- 
quence. 

The  incidents  of  the  war  of  1812  associated  with 
this  place  are  quite  insignificant  compared  with  those 
of  the  Eevolution,  and  yet  they  are  worthy  of  men- 
tion. 

Two  companies  were  recruited  here,  one  commanded 
by  Capt.  John  Scott,  the  other  by  Capt.  Lambert 
Hoppock,  a  grandson  of  the  Hon.  John  Lambert. 
Capt.  Scott  and  his  officers  hired  rooms  on  Coryell 
Street,  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Krewson.  There  were 
some  also  at  a  tavern  opposite  to  Mrs.  Krewson's,  on 
the  site  of  Mr.  Henry  Mattthew's  dwelling.  The 
men  were  quartered  at  an  old  frame  house  which 
stood  back  from  the  street,  in  the  centre  of  the  lot  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  Bridge  and  Main  Streets. 
This  building  was  torn  down  about  twenty-eight 
years  ago.  Capt.  Scott  was  at  first  an  ensign  in  Capt. 
Hoppock's  company,  but  afterwards  recruited  another 
company,  of  which  he  was  made  captain. 

The  following  muster-roll  of  Capt.  Hoppock's  com- 
pany is  a  matter  of  interest : 

Muster  roU  of  a  company  of  Infmilrij  under  tlie  command  of  Capt.  J.  X. 
Hoppocli,  Fifteenth  Regiment  of  the  army  of  the  TJnited  States,  covimamkd 
by  Col  Zeb.  M.  PUce,  from  the  Zlst  day  of  Anyusl,  when  last  muttered,  to  llie 
31st  day  of  October,  1S12. 

OFFICERS. 
John  L.  Hoppock,  Oa,ptain ;  William  K.  Barnet,  First  Lieutenant; 
Samuel  McDougal,  Second  Lieutenant;  John  Scott,  Second  Lieu- 
tenant; Charles  Roberts,  Ensign;  John  Knapp,  First  Sergeaut- 
Henry  Shields,  Second  Sergeant;  Charles  Wilson,  Third  Sergeant; 
Thomas  Dennis,  First  Coi-poral ;  Jacob  Busk,  Second  Corporal; 
William  Cozens,  Third  Corporal ;  Isaiic  Hoffman,  Fourth  Corporal ; 
William  J.  Brooks,  Fifth  Corporal ;  Itobert  Burke,  Sixth  Corporal ; 
Joseph  Rake,  musician. 

PRIV.\TES. 
William  Heabon,  William  Groff,  Nathaniel  Thatcher,  Andrew  Aston, 
George  C.  Biggs,  Peter  Bell,  William  Bunn,  Stephen  Beard,  James 
Barr,  Isaac  Buck,  Charles  Bl.^keIey,  Artliur  Courtney,  Daniel  Crihbs, 
John  Craig,  Timothy  Carroll,  William  Coburn,  William  Cross,  James 
Coyle,  Stephen  Deccus,  James  Dickens,  George  Derrick,  Benjamin 
Derrickson,  James  Douglierty,  Humphrey  Fagan,  William  Forker, 
Dennis  Ferrj-,  Michael  Gallaher,  Edward  Grant,  John  Gregg,  Ed- 
ward Gallaher,  George  Hull,  Patrick  Harkins,  Henry  Howard,  John 
Hillerman,  James  Hendricks,  Imla  Haines,  William  Jenkins,  Thomas 
Kennedy,  Isaac  Kennedy,  John  Kough,  Anthony  Livingston,  Asa 
Lucas,  Reuben  McPherson,  .John  llatthews,  Thomas  McGowen, 
George  Moore,  Peter  McDevit,  George  McLaughlin,  Daniel  McDevit, 
Thomas  McMillen,  Joseph  Murphey,  James  Nichols,  Daniel  O'Her- 
ren,  Michael  O'Oain,  John  Pye,  John  Russell,  Abuer  Rouse,  Isajic 
Reed,  John  Reever,  James  Roe,  Eli  Bobison,  Jacob  Ross,  Alexander 
Shaw,  Jacob  Smalley,  Andrew  Scott,  Daniel  Sweney,  Henry  W. 
Swain,  Solomon  Southwick,  John  Dher,  David  Vaught,  John  Wil- 
son, Christopher  Wilson,  Oakum  (Holcombe?)  Wilson,  Joseph  Wil- 
son, .lacob  Wilson,  James  Wilson,  James  White,  Abram  Derweer, 
Henry  Shepherd,  Obed  Lincoln,  Daniel  Bramble. 

Second  Lieut.  Samuel  McDougal  was  promoted  to 
a  first  lieutenancy  and  transferred  to  Capt.  Vandal- 
son's  company,  and  Ensign  Scott  was  promoted  in 


place  of  McDougal.  Hence  the  names  of  both  appear 
as  second  lieutenants  in  the  muster-roll  of  Capt.  Hop- 
pock's company,  as  McDougal  was  then  in  transitu. 
Capt.  Hoppock  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Plattsburg, 
N.  Y. 

The  place  which  had  so  long  been  known  as  Coryell's 
Feny  became  more  widely  known  as  Lambertville, 
owing  to  the  post-office  being  so  named  in  honor  of 
the  Hon.  John  Lambert,  who,  while  United  States 
senator,  secured,  in  1814,  the  appointment  of  post- 
master for  his  nei^liew  and  namesake,  Capt.  John 
Lambert.  This  was  the  first  post-office  here.  Some 
of  the  Coryell  family,  particularly  Judge  John  Coryell, 
strove  to  have  it  named  "  Georgetown,"  for  the  judge's 
father,  George  Coryell. 

There  were  not  a  dozen  houses,  all  told,  in  the  vil- 
lage at  that  time.  The  upper  part  of  what  was  then 
the  village-plat — ^that  is,  the  land  lying  between 
Church  Street  on  the  south  and  the  Bull  line  on  the 
north — was  mostly  in  the  possession  of  the  judge,  and 
that  he  still  clung  to  the  name  is  shown  b}'  the  fact 
that  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  corner-stone  of 
which  was  laid  in  1817,  was  styled  the  Union  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Georgetown  and  Lambertville,  and 
was  built  on  the  line  dividing  the  Coryell  from  the 
Lambert  property.  The  name  of  Georgetown  grew 
more  and  more  into  disuse,  until  in  a  few  years  it  was 
entirely  dropped. 

Lambertville,  at  the  time  of  the  establishment  of 
the  post-office,  although  it  was  a  mere  hamlet,  had 
gotten  to  be  quite  a  trading-point,  especially  for  lum- 
ber, which  was  sold  in  large  quantities  on  both  sides 
of  the  river. 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  1817,  the  corner-stone  of 
the  "  Union  Presbyterian  church  of  Georgetown  and 
Lambertville"  was  laid.  The  building  was  not  fin- 
ished, however,  until  several  years  afterwards. 

A  meeting  in  reference  to  the  erection  of  a  church 
had  been  held  on  August  7th  of  the  previous  year  at 
the  public-house  of  John  Lambert,  Jr.  At  this  meet- 
ing John  Coryell,  Esq.,  acted  as  chairman,  and  John 
Lilly,  M.D.,  as  secretary.  The  chairman  presented  a 
draft  of  a  subscription-paper  in  the  following  words : 

"  Whereas,  a  desire  has  been  manifested  by  a  nnmber  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  this  vicinity  that  a  house  should  be  erected  in  some  convenient 
situation  to  hear  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  it  is  believed  that  the 
present  is  a  favorable  time  to  commence  the  undertaking ;  Therefore,  We 
whose  names  are  hereunto  annexed  do  agree,  in  behalf  of  ourselves^  onr 
executors  and  administr.ators,  to  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  to  such  persons 
as  may  bo  appointed  hereafter  to  receive  the  same  by  the  said  subscribers 
the  sums  severally  annexed  to  our  names  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
house  for  the  worehip  of  Almighty  God,  on  Union  Street,  near  the  grave- 
yard lying  between  Georgetown  and  Lambertville,  to  be  styled  the  TJuion 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Georgetown  and  Lambertville." 

This  paper  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  meet- 
ing, and  the  following  persons  were  appointed  to 
solicit  subscriptions,— viz.,  John  Coryell  and  Samuel 
D.  Ingham,  Esqs.,  John  Lambert,  Jr.,  Maj.  Emley 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


275 


Holcombe,  John  Lilly,  M.D.,  and  Wilson  Lambert. 
Upwards  of  $500  were  immediately  subscribed.  Hon. 
Samuel  D.  Ingham  and  Samuel  McNair,  Esq.,  were 
present  as  commissioners  from  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Solebury,  Pa.,  empowered  to  propose  a 
union  with  the  projected  church  under  one  pastoral 
charge,  but  no  action  was  taken. 

On  the  24th  of  the  same  month  they  again  assem- 
bled, according  to  adjournment,  and  the  secretary  was 
directed  to  give  notice  to  the  subscribers  of  a  meeting 
to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Lambert,  Jr.,  on  the 
31st  instant,  at  4  p.m.,  to  concert  measures  for  the 
building  of  the  proposed  church  edifice.  The  sub- 
scribers met,  pursuant  to  notice,  when  it  was  an- 
nounced that  $1500  had  been  raised.  It  was  resolved 
to  commence  the  building  as  soon  as  practicable,  and 
John  Coryell,  Esq.,  John  Lambert,  Jr.,  Cornelius 
Van  Horn,  and  Wilson  Lambert  were  appointed 
managers. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  managers  John  Coryell, 
Esq.,  was  appointed  president,  and  John  Lilly,  M.D., 
secretary  and  treasurer.  It  was  then  decided  that  the 
church  should  be  built  of  brick,  44  by  50  feet,  with  a 
gable  end,  surmounted  by  a  tower  and  cupola,  facing 
Union  Street.  The  negotiations  for  a  union  with  the 
Solebury  Church  proved  unsuccessful. 

In  the  mean  while  two  instalments  of  the  subscrip- 
tions had  been  called  in,  and  a  building  committee 
had  been  appointed,  consisting  of  Emley  Holcombe, 
John  Coryell,  and  Amos  Wilson.*  Subscriptions 
were  obtained  from  a  wide  extent  of  country,  and  a 
number  of  people  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
gave  freely  several  days'  labor. 

About  this  time  land  for  tlie  erection  of  a  church 
edifice  was  purchased  of  John  Coryell,  Esq.,  and  Capt. 
John  Lambert,  Jr.,  for  the  nominal  sum  of  one  dollar 
each,  said  land  bounding  the  graveyard  on  the  east. 
The  church  was  thus  to  be  built  partly  in  Georgetown 
and  partly  in  Lambertville,  Georgetown  being  the 
northern  portion  of  the  village  and  Lambertville  the 
southern.     Hence  the  title  of  the  church. 

At  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  a  large  congrega- 
tion assembled.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Dunn,  pastor  of 
the  Solebury  Church,  preached  the  sermon,  from 
Isaiah  xi.  9.  Thirty-two  families,  it  was  found,  had 
expressed  a  willingness  to  unite  in  the  support  of  the 
church. 

The  bricks  for  the  edifice  were  made  by  Joseph 
Raisner  (familiarly  known  as  "Boss  Raisner"),  just 
south  of  Swan's  Creek  and  east  of  Main  Street,  the 
carpenter- work,  was  done  by  Cornelius  Van  Horn,  and 
the  large  walnut  pillars  which  in  part  supported  the 
tower  were  turned  in  the  orchard  then  standing  oppo- 
site to  the  church. 

A  board  of  trustees  was  organized  in  May,  1820, 
consisting  of  Emley  Holcombe,  John  Coryell,  Wilson 


"  John  LatnbGrt,  Jr.,  and  Philip  Marshall  were  successively  elected,  but 
for  satisfactory  reasons  declined  to  serve. 


Lambert,  Jonathan  Pidcock,  and  Joseph  Scarborough. 
On  June  7th  of  that  year  they  were  sworn  into  office 
by  Ezra  Shamp,  justice  of  the  peace.  Emley  Hol- 
combe was  chosen  president  of  the  board. 

After  the  building  was  inclosed  there  was  occa- 
sional preaching.' 

In  October,  1820,  the  attention  of  the  Presbytery 
of  New  Brunswick  was  called  to  the  enterprise  by  Mr. 
Amos  Wilson,  who  had  been  appointed  to  represent 
the  interests  of  the  congregation.  No  church  organ- 
ization had  as  yet  been  effected.  In  the  following 
spring  and  summer  Mr.  Charles  Hodge  (who  after- 
wards became  widely  known  as  the  profound  theolo- 
gian. Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  of  Princeton)  supplied  the 
pulpit.  His  labors  were  blessed  in  encouraging  the 
people  to  go  on  in  the  work  which  they  had  under- 
taken, and  thus  led  the  way  to  the  organization  of  the 
church.  It  was  probably  through  his  influence  that 
the  pulpit  was  supplied,  in  1821,  by  Peter  0.  Studdi- 
ford,  a  young  man  who  had  barely  reached  adult 
years  and  who,  from  all  accounts,  looked  at  that  time 
like  a  mere  stripling.  Dr.  Hodge  and  he  had  been 
schoolmates  at  Somerville,  N.  J.  They  were  also  in 
the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  together,  Dr. 
Hodge,  however,  graduating  a  year  before  his  ac- 
quaintance and  friend  of  early  boyhood. 

Mr.  Studdifordf  had  no  idea  of  settling  here,  but 
the  people  were  pleased  with  him  and  he  saw  that 
this  was  missionarj'  ground,  so  he  consented  to  take 
charge  of  the  new  enterprise,  and  removed -here  in 
December,  1821.  He  at  once  commenced  discharging 
all  the  duties  of  a  pastor,  although  the  church  was 
not  regularly  organized  until  Sept.  24,  1822,  and  he 
was  not  formally  installed  as  pastor  until  June,  1825. 

The  following-named  persons  were  duly  enrolled  as 
members  of  the  church  at  the  date  of  its  organization : 
Maj.  Emley  Holcombe,  Jonathan  Pidcock  and  his 
wife,  Mary,  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Sole- 
bury, Pa. ;  Allen  Breed  and  his  wife,J  from  the  First 
Congregational  Church  of  Stamford,  Conn.;  John 
Hutchinson,  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Allen- 
town,  N.  J. ;  Catharine  Larison,  from  the  Presbyter- 
ian Church  of  Kingwood ;  William  Prall  and  his 
wife,  Charlotte,  from  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Amwell,  N.  J. 

Maj.  Emley  Holcombe  and  Jonathan  Pidcock  were 
duly  constituted  ruling  elders.  Maj.  Holcombe  had, 
however,  been  previously  ordained  an  elder  in  the 
Solebury  Church. 

The  Solebury  Church  was  united  with  the  church 
at  Lambertville  in  one  joint  pastoral  charge,  and  Mr. 
Studdiford  was  installed  the  pastor  of  both  on  the 
same  day.  This  joint  charge  continued  until  the 
spring  of  1848,  when  the  pastoral  relation  with  Sole- 
bury was  dissolved,  and  he  became  pastpr  exclusively 

f  A  biographical  sketch  of  Dr.  Studdiford  is  given  elsewhere  in  this 
work. 

I  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Breed  were  the  parents  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  P. 
Breed,  of  Philadelphia. 


276 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


of  the  church  at  Lambertville,  remaining  such  until 
his  death. 

In  May,  1853,  the  congregation  determined  to  re- 
build on  the  site  of  the  original  structure.  The  new 
edifice  was  dedicated  in  January,  1855. 

In  the  summer  of  1868  the  present  building  was  en- 
larged. A  chapel  owned  by  this  church  was  erected 
in  New  Hope  in  the  summer  of  1872, — an  enterprise 
which  has  been  attended  with  great  success. 

An  excellent  double-pipe  organ,  by  Johnson  of 
Westfield,  Mass.,  was  purchased  in  May,  1877,  and 
placed  in  the  church,  near  the  pulpit. 

This  church,  at  the  time  of  its  organization,  was 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick 
and  so  continued  until  1840,  when  it  was  set  over  to 
the  Presbytery  of  Raritan,  which  had  just  been  formed 
by  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey.  In  June,  1870,  at  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Synod  at  Elizabeth,  when  the 
Presbyteries  were  reconstructed,  the  Presbytery  of 
Raritan  was  dissolved,  and  the  church  at  Lambert- 
ville was  again  attached  to  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick. 

This  church,  which  was  organized  in  September, 
1822,  with  seven  members  and  two  ruling  elders, 
reported  460  communicants  in  the  spring  of  1880. 

The  ruling  elders  in  this  church,  from  its  organiza- 
tion to  the  present  time,  have  been  the  following : 
Emley  Holcombe  and  Jonathan  Pidcock,  installed 
Sept.  22, 1822 ;  William  Wilson  and  James  Seabrook, 
Aug.  2,  1829;  Ashbel  Welch  and  John  Smith,  April 
14,  1844 ;  John  H.  Anderson  and  James  D.  Stryker, 
Sept.  11, 1853  ;  James  Hervey  Studdiford,  M.D.,  John 

A.  Anderson,  and  Peter  S.  Pidcock,  June,  1868;  Au- 
gustus C.  Barber,  Charles  A.  Skillman,  Hugh  B.  Ely, 
and  John  V.  C.  Barber,  May  4,  1879. 

There  were  no  deacons  in  the  church  until  1868, 
when  T.  Quick  Phillips,  Augustus  C.  Barber,  and 
Hugh  B.  Ely  were  installed  in  that  oflace.  On  May 
4,  1879,  the  following-named  persons  were  set  apart 
to  the  office  of  deacon  :  Holmes  D.  Ely,  Frank  R. 
Fritz,  John  H.  Horn,  William  H.  Titus,  and  James 
Petrie. 

The  following-named  persons  constitute  the  present 
board  of  trustees :  Thomas  B.  Fidler,  Charles  O.  Hol- 
combe, Edward  H.  Holcombe,  Frank  R.  Fritz,  and 
Thomas  H.  Gray.  Thomas  B.  Fidler  is  president  of 
the  board,  and  Edwin  H.  Holcombe  the  treasurer. 

THE   BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1825,  the  Baptist  Church 

was  organized  at  the  house  of  Philip  Marshall,  Esq., 

with  the   following  constituent  members:   William 

Garrison,  Philip  Marshall  and  his  wife  Sarah,  James 

B.  Bowen  and  his  wife  Lucy  A. 

Previous  to  this  organization  there  had  been 
preaching  at  the  hoases  of  Esquire  Marshall  and  Maj. 
Garrison,  by  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Kennard,  Rev.  John 
Booth,  and  Rev.  James  McLaughlin.  Mr.  Kennard 
was  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  church  at  Harborton. 


He  subsequently  became  pastor  of  a  church  in  North- 
ern Liberties,  Philadelphia,  where  his  labors  were 
blessed  to  the  ingathering  of  a  great  number  to  the 
membership;  so  that  his  church  became  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  city.  He  was  a  man  greatly  respected 
and  beloved  for  his  kindness  of  heart,  his  piety,  his 
zeal,  and  his  entire  devotion  to  his  work. 

On  Feb.  12, 1825,  the  first  church-meeting  was  held, 
when  it  was  resolved  to  build  a  house  of  worship,  and 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  secure  subscriptions  for 
that  purpose. 

At  the  next  meeting,  held  on  the  21st  of  that  month, 
the  Rev.  John  Booth  was  received  into  the  member- 
ship by  certificate.  At  the  same  meeting  the  church 
proceeded  to  the  election  of  its  officers,  and  made 
provision  for  the  regular  preaching  of  the  gospel. 
William  Garrison  and  Philip  Marshall  were  elected 
deacons.  Arrangements  were  made  for  the  regular 
observance  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  procure  supplies  for  the  pulpit. 

March  2,  1825,  Elder  John  Booth,  Philip  Marshall, 
and  William  Garrison  were  elected  trustees.  On  the 
fifth  of  the  same  month  a  meeting  of  contributors 
towards  building  a  house  of  worship  was  held  to  de- 
cide upon  a  site.  After  considering  the  different 
locations  proposed,  the  decision  was  in  favor  of  the 
place  where  the  present  edifice  stands.  At  this  meet- 
ing a  building  committee  was  appointed.  On  the  8th 
of  May  of  the  same  year  the  congregation  invited 
Elder  James  McLaughlin  and  Elder  John  Booth  to 
supply  their  pulpit  for  six  months,  both  of  whom 
acceiDted. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  first  church  edifice  was 
laid  with  appropriate  services  on  June  13,  1825,  and 
the  house  was  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  in 
October  following.  Thus  the  church  was  organized, 
arrangements  were  made  for  preaching  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  sacraments,  and  a  house  of  wor- 
ship was  erected  and  dedicated,  all  during  the  year 
1825, — a  proof  certainly  of  earnest  zeal  and  unflagging 
energy  of  purpose. 

At  a  meeting  on  August  4th  of  the  same  year  it 
was  resolved  to  unite  with  the  New  Jersey  Baptist 
Association. 

Feb.  26,  1826,  Elder  John  C.  Goble  was  called  to 
be  pastor  of  this  church,  in  union  with  the  church  at 
Harborton.  He,  however,  declined  the  call.  On 
April  17th  of  the  same  year  Elder  John  Booth  was 
dismissed  by  letter  to  the  Baptist  Church  of  Perth 
Amboy,  of  which  church  he  took  the  pastoral  charge. 

The  first  regular  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in 
Lambertville  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Trott,  who  came 
here  from  Morristown.  He  took  charge  of  the  church 
at  Harborton  in  connection  with  this  church,  and  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  Oct.  19,  1826,  from  which  time 
he  supplied  the  two  churches  until  April,  1831,— a 
period  of  four  years  and  a  half,— when  he  resigned 
and  removed  to  Welch  Tract,  Del. 

June  3,  1827,  Jame=  B.  Bowen,  by  request  of  the 


CITY    OF   LAMBERTVILLB. 


277 


church,  stated  his  views  with  reference  to  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  together  with  his  reasons  for  con- 
cluding that  he  was  called  to  the  work.  It  was  there- 
upon resolved  that  opportunity  be  given  him  on  the 
next  Wednesday  evening  to  exercise  his  gifts.  At  a 
subsequent  meeting  it  was 

"  Eesoluedj  That  meetings  be  held  every  other  Tuesday  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  him  an  opportunity  to  speak  before  them." 

Again  (Oct.  4,  1827),  it  is  recorded  that, 

"  From  a  consideration  of  the  weakness  of  our  little  church,  it  is  agreed 
to  give  Brother  Bowen  the  liberty  of  exercising  his  gifts  witliln  the 
bounds  of  the  neighboring  churches  for  four  months,  that  we  may  have 
the  opinion  of  our  brethren  of  other  churches  concerning  his  call  to  the 
ministry." 

Jan.  10, 1828,  the  church  gave  Mr.  Bowen  a  general 
license  to  preach.  On  the  22d  of  October  of  the  next 
year  he  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Elders  Trott,  Boggs,  Bateman,  and  Matthews  officiat- 
ing. In  April,  1830,  he  was  dismissed  by  letter  for 
the  purpose  of  becoming  pastor  of  a  church  in  Mont- 
gomery Co.,  Pa. 

The  church  at  Lambertville,  with  six  other  churches, 
agreed  to  withdraw  from  the  New  Jersey  Association 
on  Oct.  2, 1828,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  the  Central 
New  Jersey  Association,  which  Association  was  duly 
organized  in  the  same  montli,  at  Hightstown. 

On  July  9,  1831,  license  to  preach  the  gospel  was 
given  to  Benjamin  Braker,  late  of  England. 

September  10th  of  the  same  year  David  B.  Stout, 
who  had  been  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
church  on  April  19,  1829,  was  granted  permission  to 
preach  the  gospel  for  a  season  in  the  bounds  of  the 
neighboring  churches,  and  on  Oct.  13,  1831,  a  full 
license  was  given  him.  On  March  31st  following  he 
was  chosen  a  supply  for  one  year,  and  on  the  10th  of 
the  next  May  he  was  ordained,  Elders  John  Boggs, 
Joseph  Matthews,  James  B.  Bowen,  and  Charles 
Bartolette  officiating. 

From  November,  1831,  until  April,  1832,  when  Mr. 
Stout  took  charge,  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Elder 
Joseph  Wright,  who  had  previously  been  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Butternuts,  Otsego  Co., 
N.  Y.  The  previous  pastor  of  the  Ijambertville 
Church  held  decidedly  the  views  of  those  known  as 
"  Old-School  Baptists,"  and  the  church  was  so  leav- 
ened with  his  teaching  that  Mr.  Wright's  advocacy  of 
Sunday-schools,  foreign  missions,  and  ministerial  edu- 
cation were  distasteful  to  many,  and  in  consequence 
he  withdrew.  June  5,  1833,  Mr.  Stout,  who  had  sup- 
plied the  pulpit  since  April  1st  of  the  previous  year, 
vyas  called  as  pastor  for  one  year,  and  on  Jan.  4, 1834, 
a  call  was  made  to  him  to  become  pastor  without 
limit  of  time.  He  served  the  church  for  over  five 
years,  for  six  months  in  connection  with  the  Baptist 
Church  of  New  Britain,  Pa.,  after  that  for  three  years 
in  connection  with  the  Baptist  Church  of  Harborton. 
The  remainder  of  his  pastorate  was  exclusively  con- 
fined to  the  Lambertville  Church.  He  resigned  April 
16,  1837,  to  become  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at 


Middletown,  N.  J.,  where  he  continued  in  the  active 
duties  of  the  ministry  until  his  death,  in  1876. 

When  Mr.  Stout  became  the  pastor  of  the  church 
here  the  membership  numbered  only  19 ;  when  he 
resigned  his  charge  it  had  increased  to  85.  •  The 
largest  number  received  in  any  one  year  during  his 
ministry  was  36  ;  the  whole  number  baptized  was  45. 
In  1835  the  church  edifice  was  enlarged.  The  work 
was  commenced  in  July  and  finished  in  October. 

On  Oct.  1,  1836,  J.  S.  Eisenbrey  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel.  Oct.  25, 1837,  a  call  was  presented 
to  Elder  E.  Saxtou,  which  he  declined.  On  Decem- 
ber 2d  of  the  same  year  a  call  was  extended  to  Mr. 
Daniel  Kelsey,  of  Cohansey,  N.  J.,  which  he  accepted, 
entering  upon  his  duties  early  in  the  following  year. 
He  was  ordained  Feb.  19,  1838,  Elders  D.  B.  Stout 
and  Joseph  Wright  officiating.  He  served  the  church 
about  six  months,  when  he  resigned. 

Elder  John  Segur  was  called  to  be  pastor  Nov.  10, 
1838,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  next  month  entered 
upon  his  duties.  At  the  commencement  of  his  pas- 
torate a  powerful  religious  interest  was  awakened 
under  the  preaching  of  Elder  Ketchum,  an  evangel- 
ist, and,  as  the  result  of  it,  44  persons  were  received 
into  the  membership.  Mr.  Segur  closed  his  pasto- 
rate April  1,  1840,  having  served  for  a  period  of  one 
year  and  four  months. 

In  May,  1840,  the  Rev.  George  Young,  of  Burling- 
ton, accepted  a  call,  and  remained  until  March,  1841, 
when  he  resigned  to  take  charge  of  the  Baptist 
Church  in  Paterson,  N.  J.  In  December  of  the  same 
year  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Walter  supplied  the  pulpit  for 
three  months.  His  engagement  was  subsequently  ex- 
tended, and  he  remained  one  year  and  four  months. 

March  4,  1843,  letters  of  dismission  were  granted 
to  20  members  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  the 
Solebury  Baptist  Church,  and  on  the  3d  of  April  Mr. 
Walter  and  two  other  members  were  dismissed  to  the 
same  church,  of  which  Mr.  Walter  became  pastor. 

The  Rev.  George  Young  was  again  called  to  the 
pastorate  and,  accepting  the  call,  continued  in  charge 
for  nine  months  and  a  half,  giving  half  of  his  time  to 
the  church  at  Sandy  Eidge. 

William  B.  Shrope  was  invited  in  October,  1844,  to 
supply  the  church  until  spring.  In  the  following  June 
he  was  ordained ;  in  January,  1846,  he  became  pastor. 
A  remarkable  religious  interest,  under  the  preaching 
of  Elder  Ferguson,  an  evangelist,  greatly  stirred  the 
church,  adding  to  its  numbers  and  its  strength,  about 
40  being  received  into  its  membership. 

The  Rev.  John  Davis,  of  Hamburg,  N.  J.,  was 
called.  May  6,  1849,  to  the  pastorate,  Mr.  Shrope  hav- 
ing resigned  his  charge  the  previous  December. 
Mr.  Davis  remained  until  Aug.  11,  1850,  when  he 
resigned  to  become  agent  of  the  American  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society. 

Oct.  26,  1851,  Rev.  A.  Armstrong  took  pastoral 
charge  of  the  church,  which  at  this  time  was  in  a  low 
state,  but  soon  began  to  revive.    In  1853  a  neat  and 


2*78 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


substantial  parsonage  was  built,  and  enlarged  about 
three  years  later.  The  church  edifice  was  also  en- 
larged and  remodeled.  The  work  was  commenced  in 
August,  1863,  and  the  building  was  rededicated  March 
30,  1854. 

Mr.  Armstrong  resigned  his  charge  Nov.  30,  1860, 
having  served  nine  years  and  baptized  110  persons. 

The  Rev.  Henry  A.  Cordo,  of  New  Brunswick, 
succeeded  him.  May  1, 1861,  and  continued  in  charge 
until  October  1,  1864,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Meriden,  Conn. 

In  1864  the  church  withdrew  from  the  Central  New 
Jersey  Association  to  aid  in  forming  the  Trenton 
Association,  but  in  1870  returned  to  her  old  home  in 
the  Central  Association. 

Rev.  Franklin  Johnson,  formerly  of  Bay  City, 
Mich.,  became  pa,stor  Dec.  1,  1864,  and  served  the 
church  until  June,  1866,  when  he  removed  to  Passaic, 
N.  J.,  to  take  Charge  of  the  Baptist  church  there.  It 
is  to  him  the  credit  is  due  of  inciting  and  encourag- 
ing the  people  to  undertake  the  erection  of  the  pres- 
ent edifice.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  E. 
Young  (son  of  a  former  pastor),  who  continued  in 
charge  |rom  September,  1 866,  until  January  10,  1869, 
when,  owing  to  failing  health,  he  resigned  his  pastor- 
ate. During  his  brief  ministry  here  there  was  a  large 
ingathering  to  the  membership  of  the  church.  It 
was  also  while  he  was  pastor  that  the  corner-stone  of 
the  present  house  of  worship  was  laid,  Sept.  9,  1868. 

The  building  is  of  the  Romanesque  order,  after  de- 
signs of  David  Gendell,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
the  material  is  freestone,  the  front  being  of  cut 
stone,  including  the  tower,  which  is  85  feet  high. 
The  dimensions  of  the  building  are :  width,  53J  feet, 
length,  101  feet,  exclusive  of  the  tower.  The  lecture- 
room  is  under  the  main  audience-room,  but  raised 
above  the  level  of  the  street,  and  will  comfortably 
seat  400  persons.  In  the  rear  are  rooms  for  church- 
parlor,  infant-school,  and  library. 

In  1869  the  corporate  name  of  the  church  was 
changed,  by  act  of  Legislature,  from  "  Lambertville 
Baptist  Church"  to  "The  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Lambertville."  The  lecture-room  was  dedicated 
March  17,  1870. 

Rev.  A.  D.  Willifer  was  called  to  the  pastoral 
charge  Sept.  27,  1869,  and  came  on  November  7th. 
He  continued  pastor  until  February,  1874. 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Thomas,  the  next  pastor,  com- 
menced his  labors  Nov.  16,  1874,  but  in  December, 
1879,  removed  to  Philadelphia,  having  accepted  a 
call  in  that  city.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  present 
pastor,  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Mick. 

The  whole  number  received  into  the  membership  of 
the  church  from  the  date  of  its  organization  to  Jan. 
1,  1881,  is  as  follows :  By  baptism,  695 ;  by  certifi- 
cate, 220 ;  experience,  31 ;  restoration,  23.  Dismissed 
by  letter,  299 ;  excluded,  171 ;  deceased,  93.  Present 
membership,  396. 

The  names  of  those  who  have  served  as  deacons 


are  as  follows:  William  Garrison,  Lemuel  Howell, 
William  Drake,  Isaac  Fergus,  James  Ashmore,  John 
R.  Swallow,  Thomas  S.  Murray,  Charles  McDonald, 
George  H.  Larison,  William  O.  Talcott,  John  H. 
Roberts,  Philip  Marshall,  Levi  Stout,  Theodore 
Housel,  Levi  Clawson,  Alexander  Grant,  Martin  L. 
Reeve,  Lewis  S.  Paxson,  George  Pierson,  Henry 
Stout,  Thomas  C.  Horn,  William  G.  Moore,  John 
Van  Horn. 

THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH.* 

It  is   impossible  to  fix  the  date  when  Methodist 

'  itinerants  first  preached  the  gospel  in  this  place.   The 

tradition  is  that  tlie  itinerant  who  preached  in  New 

Hope  frequently  served  here,  long  before  any  society 

was  formed. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  present  century  a  Quarterly 
Meeting  was  held  in  Hunterdon  County,  not  far  from 
Lambertville.  In  the  spring  of  1837  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Heavender  and  the  Rev.  James  M.  Tuttle  were  ap- 
pointed to  labor  in  the  Flemington  Circuit.  They 
made  a  bi-weekly  appointment  for  preaching  at  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Gerhart,  on  Coryell  Street, — the  house 
now  occupied  by  William  Lyman,  Esq.,  opposite  Ly- 
ceum Hall  (the  old  Methodist  church). 

Soon  after  this  appointment  was  made  a  class  was 
formed,  which  consisted  of  the  following  persons : 
Mrs.  Gerhart,  Mrs.  Bateman,  Newton  Bateman,  John 
Silvers,  and  James  Taylor.  There  were  a  few  others, 
whose  names  have  not  been  obtained.  The  ministers 
who  commenced  this  work  here  in  1837  were  returned 
to  the  circuit  the  following  year. 

Permission  was  granted  to  preach  in  the  room  where 
a  day-school  was  kept  by  Robert  M.  Foust.  This  was 
in  the  frame  building,  now  turned  into  a  dwelling,  next 
to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Charles  Barber,  on  the  west 
side  of  Union  Street,  between  York  and  Coryell 
Streets.  The  attendance  on  the  preaching  increased, 
and  soon  the  necessity  for  erecting  a  house  of  worship 
became  apparent. 

John  Silvers  was  appointed  the  first  class-leader  in 
the  infant  church ;  but,  as  he  lived  at  Mount  Airy, 
the  duty  of  leading  generally  devolved  on  Newton 
Bateman,  his  assistant. 

In  1839  the  society  in  Lambertville  was  attached  to 
that  of  Pennington.  The  circuit  was  known  in  Con- 
ference as  the  Pennington  and  Rock  Ridge  mission. 
Isaac  Winner  and  Thomas  Henry  were  the  ministers. 
Mr.  Henry  took  an  active  part  in  erecting  the  church 
building,  which  was  completed  in  1839,  and  is  now 
known  as  Lyceum  Hall.  The  trustees  were  Jesse 
Matthews,  of  Amwell ;  Wilson  Bray,  of  Kingwood ; 
John  Silvers,  of  Mount  Airy ;  Alexander  Coryell,  of 
Lambertville;  and  Thomas  Henry,  the  minister  in 
charge.  The  building  committee  consisted  of  Alex- 
ander Coryell  and  Thomas  Henry.     The  church  was 


«  For  the  ijarticulnrs  of  the  hiatory  of  the  Metliodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Lambertville  we  are  indebted  to  a  series  of  articles  ou  that  subject  pub- 
liBlied  in  tlie  Lambeitville  Beneon. 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


279 


dedicated  in  1840  by  the  Eev.  Charles  Pitman  and 
D.  W.  Bartine. 

In  the  spring  of  1840  the  Eev.  J.  Lewis  was  ap- 
pointed to  labor  in  the  Pennington  charge.  The  Con- 
ference gave  him  a  nominal  supervision  of  the  church 
at  Lambertville,  with  the  understanding  that  a  young 
man  by  the  name  of  Noah  Edwards  should  be  sent 
to  minister  to  the  people.  Mr.  Edwards  was  quite 
successful  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
church. 

About  this  time  Jeremiah  Hoff,  who  had  recently 
come  into  the  neighborhood,  became  identified  with 
the  church.  This  estimable  and  somewhat  eccentric 
man  had  long  been  a  Methodist,  and  had  done  very 
earnest  and  efficient  work  for  his  denomination  in 
other  parts  of  the  State.  He  was  universally  known 
as  "Father  Hoff,"  and  his  quaint  and  pointed  say- 
ings were  often  repeated  by  his  acquaintances  and 
friends. 

In  1841  the  Lambertville  charge  was  detached  from 
that  of  Pennington,  and  the  Rev.  William  Rogers  was 
appointed  pastor.  He  was  a  devout  and  earnest  man, 
but,  on  account  of  feeble  health,  could  perform  but 
little  work. 

In  1842  the  church  was  placed  on  the  Flemington 
Circuit,  and  the  Revs.  J.  W.  McDougal  and  T.  T. 
Campfield  were  appointed  the  preachers.  There  was 
great  religious  interest  in  all  parts  of  the  circuit,  and 
the  Lambertville  Church  shared  largely  in  the  results. 
In  1843  the  Revs.  Edward  and  Joseph  F.  Canfield 
were  appointed  to  labor  on  the  Flemington  Circuit, 
which  still  included  Lambertville.  During  this  year 
a  church  was  built  in  West  Amwell,  which  is  now 
known  as  the  "  Rock  church." 

On  the  old  records  of  that  society  are  the  following 
familiar  names :  Jesse  Matthews,  a  local  preacher  and 
steward;  Nelson  Abbott,  an  exhorter ;  John  Udy, 
Joseph  Abbott,  and  John  Q.  Taylor,  leaders ;  Walter 
Harhourt  and  Manville  Dayton,  members,  and  many 
others  whom  space  will  not  permit  us  to  mention. 
In  the  list  is  the  name  of  Levi  Larue,  who  is  now  a 
member  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference.  The  Rock 
Church  remained  in  connection  with  the  Lambert- 
ville Church  until  1858,  when  it  was  detached,  and, 
with  the  church  at  New  Market,  formed  into  an  inde- 
pendent charge. 

Lambertville  was  made  a  separate  charge  in  1844, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Putnam  was  appointed  pastor.  His 
ministry  here  was  quite  successful.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1845,  by  the  Rev.  A.  E.  Ballard,  who  was 
a  single  man,  and  consequently  required  but  a  small 
support.  But,  small  as  his  salary  was,  the  church  was 
so  weak  in  numbers  and  resources  that  it  was  very 
difficult  to  raise  it.  Under  his  ministry  there  was  a 
large  accession  to  the  church,  and  a  greater  stimulus 
was  given  to  Christian  activity  among  its  members 
than  ever  before. 

The  Eev.  Thomas  T.  Campfield  was  again  sent  to 
this- charge  in  1846,  and  his  labors  were  not  without 


good  results.  He  continued  here  but  one  year,  as 
most  of  his  predecessors  had,  and  was  followed,  in 
1847,  by  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Stokes,  who  remained  two 
years,  "  greatly  beloved  by  all  the  people  and  emi- 
nently successful  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel." 

"  In  1849  the  Rev.  E.  Hance  was  appointed  pastor. 
Through  his  exertions,  aided  by  the  presiding  elder, 
the  Rev.  John  K.  Shaw,  the  church  debt  was  greatly 
reduced.  For  many  years  the  feeble  society  staggered 
under  a  heavy  debt,  which  at  one  time  brought  the 
church  near  the  verge  of  ruin.  For  the  reduction 
of  this  debt  the  society  is  greatly  indebted  to  Mr. 
Hance." 

He  was  succeeded,  in  1851,  by  the  Rev.  A.  M. 
Palmer.  Through  Mr.  Palmer's  efforts  the  parsonage 
was  built.  "  His  pastorate  was  also  blessed  with  an 
extensive  revival  of  religion  in  the  Rock  Church. 

"In  1858  the  Rev.  Enoch  Green  was  appointed 
pastor.  Some  valuable  members  were  added  to  the 
church  under  his  ministry.  In  this  year  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  L.  Thomas,  a  local  preacher  and  a  member 
of  the  Lambertville  Church,  joined  the  Conference. 
His  health,  however,  failed,  and  he  located  the  same 
year. 

"In  1855  the  Rev.  S.  E.  Post  became  pastor." 
During  his  ministry  the  church  edifice  was  remod- 
eled and  many  were  added  to  the  membership. 

In  1857  the  Rev.  Joseph  Ashbrook  was  appointed 
pastor.  Some  valuable  members  were  added  to  the 
church  under  his  ministry.  The  Rev.  John  Fort  suc- 
ceeded him,  in  1859,  and  under  his  charge  the  church 
continued  to  flourish. 

In  1861  the  Rev.  John  Stephenson  was  appointed 
to  labor  here.  He  had  been  in  the  Wesleyan  ministry 
in  England,  and  about  1865  returned  to  that  country, 
where  he  is  now  laboring  as  a  clergyman  in  the  Es- 
tablished Church.  "His  preaching  was  appreciated 
by  the  church  here,  and  blessed  of  God  in  the  salva- 
tion of  souls.  During  this  year  (1861)  many  of  the 
church-members  entered  the  service  of  their  country  ; 
some  fell  on  the  field  of  battle,  others  suffered  in  rebel 
prisons,  and  some  returned  to  their  homes  after  three 
or  four  years  of  faithful  service." 

In  1863  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hanlon,  D.D.,  assumed 
pastoral  charge,  and  in  the  following  winter,  during 
the  special  services,  a  general  and  widespread  interest 
was  awakened  in  the  church,  resulting  in  a  large  ad- 
dition to  the  membership. 

The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Graw,  D.D., 
who  came  here  in  the  spring  of  1865.  In  June  of 
that  year  the  congregation  resolved  to  build  a  new 
house  of  worship.  On  August  1st  the  work  was  com- 
menced, and  in  the  summer  of  1866  the  church  was 
dedicated.  The  dedication  sermon  was  preached  by 
the  Rev.  Bishop  Simpson. 

The  new  edifice  is  well  proportioned  and  tastefully 
and  substantially  built.  It  is  55  feet  in  width  by  80 
in  length,  exclusive  of  tower.  Much  credit  is  due  to 
the  Rev.  Drs.  Hanlon  and  Graw  for  the  erection  of 


280 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


this  building, — to  the  one  for  his  agency  in  securing 
an  eligible  site,  and  to  the  other  for  urging  the  jjeople 
on  to  the  inception  and  completion  of  the  work 
which  they  had  had  in  view. 

Dr.  Graw  was  succeeded  in  the  pastoral  charge  by 
the  Eev.  Henry  M.  Brown,  who  remained  two  years. 
The  next  was  the  Rev.  William  Walton,  who  was 
here  three  years.  The  Rev.  John  S.  Heisler  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Walton  in  the  spring  of  1873,  but  had 
charge  of  the  church  only  one  year.  During  that 
year,  however,  there  were  many  members  added.  The 
Rev.  Charles  R.  Hartranft  was  the  next  in  succession, 
and  the  first  to  occupy  the  tasteful  parsonage  which 
had  been  built  during  the  previous  year.  The  Rev. 
Richard  A.  Chalker  was  sent  here  by  Conference  the 
next  year  (1875),  and  was  returned  for  the  two  fol- 
lowing years.  The  present  pastor,  the  Rev.  Henry 
G.  Williams,  came  in  March,  1878,  and  was  returned 
by  Conference  for  the  two  following  years.  His 
pastoral  term  will  expire  in  March,  1881. 

The  present  officers  of  the  church  are  : 

Trustees,  William  Johnson,  John  J.  German,  Alexandei'  Silvers,  Wil- 
liam F.  Herr,  Rufus  Reed,  M.  D.,  George  K.  Mellick,  Wesley  Case. 
Stewards,  John  B.  Conine,  Austin  Green,  Johnson  J.  Lair,  Thomas  E. 
Louden,  William  H.  Wilmot,  Charles  W.  Bunn,  Johu  H.  Kennedy, 
George  M.  Shamalia.    Sunday-school  Superinlendeni,  Rufus  Reed,  M.D. 

THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
was  laid  in  the  summer  of  1842.  After  the  ceremony 
was  finished  the  large  congregation  present  was  ad- 
dressed by  the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Moriarty,  at  that  time 
pastor  of  the  church  of  St.  Augustine,  Philadelphia. 
The  service  of  the  church  had  been  at  intervals  ad- 
ministered here  at  the  houses  of  members  of  that 
denomination  before  there  was  any  church  edifice 
built. 

Among  the  first  to  officiate  here  was  the  Rev.  Daniel 
McGorian.  He  was  pastor  at  that  time,  if  we  mistake 
not,  of  St.  John's  Church,  Trenton. 

The  Rev.  John  Charles  Gilligan  afterwards  offici- 
ated here,  and  it  was  under  his  ministry  that  the 
church  was  built.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
John  P.  Makin,  who  subsequently  went  to  Trenton, 
where  he  labored  for  so  many  years,  much  beloved  by 
his  people  and  respected  by  the  community  generally. 
If  we  are  correctly  informed,  the  next  incumbent 
of  the  priesthood  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hannegan,  dur- 
ing whose  ministry  the  parsonage  was  built.  Next  to 
him  came  a  French  priest,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jego,  who 
officiated  here  from  early  in  1854  until  1861. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  James  Carney,  who 
was  an  incumbent  of  the  pastoral  office  for  two  years, 
when  he  sickened  and  died,  deeply  lamented  by  the 
people  of  his  parish.  His  immediate  successor,  the 
Rev.  James  Callen,  remained  only  one  year.  For 
the  next  three  years— namely,  from  1864  to  1867 — the 
pastoral  functions  were  discharged  by  the  Rev.  James 
O'Keefe.  He  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Mur- 
phy, who  remained  until  1873,  when  the  Rev.  P.  F. 


Connolly  took  charge.  The  latter,  after  serving  this 
church  three  years,  removed  to  Bordentown.  His 
successor  was  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Connolly,  who  came 
early  in  the  spring  of  1876,  but  died  in  January, 
1878.*  Soon  afterwards  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
pastoral  office,  the  Rev.  Henry  Ter-Woert,  was  sent 
here  by  the  bishop.  Since  he  has  had  charge  the 
church  has  made  purchase  of  a  valuable  lot  on  Bridge 
Street,  on  which  it  is  intended  to  erect  a  new  house  of 
worship  when  the  financial  condition  of  the  church 
will  justify  it. 

ST.  ANDREW'S  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 
We  are  unable  to  give  as  full  and  minute  an  ac- 
count as  is  desirable.  Most  of  the  facts  here  pre- 
sented have  been  taken  from  a  brief  historical  paper 
prepared  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Putnam,  of  Jersey  City,  and 
read  at  the  reopening  of  the  church  edifice  for  divine 
worship,  Aug.  4,  1867. 

"The  documents  at  present  existing,  consisting  of 
copies  of  letters  written  more  than  a  century  ago  and 
parochial  records  of  equal  antiquity,  together  with 
legislative  enactments  and  conventional  journals, 
show  that  as  early  as  1725  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
Amwell,  was  in  existence  and  was  a  flourishing 
parish."     It  was  then  located  at  Ringos. 

The  parish  was  organized  under  a  charter  granted 
by  the  British  Crown,  by  a  missionary  of  the  vener- 
able society  "  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts."  The  name  of  the  missionary  does 
not  appear  in  any  of  the  papers  now  accessible.  "The 
fact  transpires,  however,  that  a  most  unhappy  differ- 
ence arising  between  the  pastor  and  his  flock  re- 
sulted not  only  in  his  leaving  there,  but  in  nearly 
breaking  up  and  dispersing  his  congregation." 

In  1768,  some  eighteen  years  subsequent  to  this  dis- 
astrous trouble,  the  Rev.  William  Frazer,  a  man  of 
evidently  superior  character,  was  appointed  by  the 
venerable  society  a  missionary  to  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
Amwell,  with  the  charge,  also,  of  congregations  at 
Kingwood  (now  Alexandria)  and  Musconetcong. 

There  is  a  letter  of  Mr.  Frazer's  in  existence  to  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Benton,  of  London,  describing  his  mission- 
ary field  at  the  time  when  he  entered  upon  his  task 
in  it.  "  At  Amwell,"  he  writes,  "  there  is  the  shell 
of  a  stone  church,  with  three  families  only  of  the  old 
congregation  remaining  who  have  not  forsaken  it.  At 
Kingwood  there  are  thirty  families,  but  no  church 
edifice,  public  worship  having  to  be  celebrated  in 
barns  and  private  houses,  and  wherever  else  accom- 
modation can  be  had." 

Dividing  his  time  equally  between  these  three  con- 
gregations, Mr.  Frazer  labored  with  great  assiduity 
and  devotion  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle,  the  records  extant  showing  that  his 
baptisms  of  infants  and  adults  numbered  more  than 
200. 


*  His  funeral  wjis  attended  by  alarge  congregation.  The servicee were 
conducted  by  the  Bight  Rev.  Bishop  Corrigan,  of  Newark,  assisted  by  a 
large  number  of  the  clergy  of  his  diocese. 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


281 


As  lie  was  a  loyalist,  and  as,  of  course,  holding  ap- 
pointment and  pay  from  the  English  society,  he  could 
not  consistently  omit  the  prayers  for  the  king  and 
Parliament,  piiblic  sentiment  demanded  the  closing 
of  his  church  and  the  cessation  of  his  ministry.  This 
continued  while  the  war  lasted;  and,  though  there 
are  traces  of  his  pen  in  his  letters  to  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Benton,  indicating  that  he  was  exposed  to  severe  suf- 
ferings and  trials,  yet  his  conduct  must  have  been 
very  prudent  and  his  character  very  high,  as  no  sooner 
were  the  hostilities  over  than,  with  general  acceptance, 
he  opened  his  church  again  and  resumed  his  ministry, 
as  appears  from  the  following  certificate,  bearing  the 
original  signatures  of  the  wardens  and  vestrymen  at 
that  time  in  of&ce : 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  wardens  and  vestrymen  of  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
in  the  township  of  Amwell,  county  of  Hunterdon,  and  Western  Division 
of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  do  certify  and  declare.  That  the  Rev'd  Wil- 
liam Frazer  did  open  his  church  in  said  Amwell  on  Christmas  Day  last, 
and  has  ever  since  regularly  performed  divine  service  in  the  same ;  and, 
as  far  as  is  consistent  with  our  knowledge,  his  conduct  and  behavior  has 
been  prudent  and  exemplary,  and  in  evei-y  respect  becoming  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel. 

"  Witness  our  hand  this  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of 
onr  Lord  1785. 

"  Evans  Godown,  Robert  Sharp,  Wardens. 

"Joseph  Robeson,  John  Anderson,  Jonas  Chatburn,  Sam'l  Opdycke, 
John  Meldrum,  Robert  Stevenson,  John  Stevenson,  John  Tottei'son,  David 
Heath,  John  Welch,  Veslnjmen" 

Of  Mr.  Frazer  it  remains  to  say  that  he  continued 
in  the  active  discharge  of  his  ministry  and  in  teach- 
ing a  classical  school  in  Trenton  (which  seems  to  have 
been  undertaken  when  the  war  suspended  his  public 
services)  until  1795,  when,  after  a  Sunday  spent  in 
Amwell,  he  returned  to  his  home,  and  died  suddenly 
the  day  following,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Frazer  left  his  large  and  impor- 
tant field  in  Hunterdon  County  without  any  other 
care  than  the  infrequent  and  irregular  visits  of  the 
clergymen  in  charge  of  St.  Michael's,  in  Trenton,  and 
those  from  the  lower  part  of  the  State,  and  in  course 
of  time  from  the  bishop,  for  nearly  fifty  years. 

The  church  seemed  well-nigh  extinct.  "  In  1845, 
however,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Adams,  having  charge  of  the 
churches  at  Flemington,  Alexandria,  and  Clinton, 
came  to  Lambertville,  it  being  within  the  limits  of 
the  ancient  parish  of  Amwell.  Here  Col.  John  Sharp 
and  Judge  John  Coryell,  as  surviving  members  of  old 
St.  Andrew's,  co-operated  with  him  in  organizing  the 
corporation,  under  the  general  act  of  the  Legislature 
of  New  Jersey,  under  the  title  of  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
Amwell,  at  Lambertville,'  Col.  Sharp  and  Dr.  John 
Lilly  being  the  wardens,  and  Judge  Coryell  being 
senior  vestryman,  thus  continuing  the  old  parish  into 
the  new.  Under  these  auspices  the  present  church 
edifice  was  erected,  and,  though  there  was  a  brief 
period  of  prosperity,  it  soon  passed  away.  Great 
domestic  sorrow  desolating  the  home  of  Mr.  Adams, 
his  departure  became  a  matter  of  necessity,  again 
subjecting  the  remnant  who  adhered  to  the  church  to 
the  same  infrequent  and  irregular  ministrations  that 
19 


had  been  its  fortune  for  half  a  century,  until,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  in  the  spring  of  1850,  the  Eev. 
David  Brown  assumed  the  pastoral  charge,  which  he 
continued  to  hold  until  August,  1867." 

During  that  summer  the  church  building  was  reno- 
vated and  greatly  improved.  "It  was  reopened  for 
divine  worship  on  Sunday,  Aug.  4,  1867,  with  appro- 
priate services."  The  Eev.  Dr.  Putnam,  of  Jersey 
City,  who  was  deputed  by  Bishop  Odenheimer,  he  not 
being  able  to  be  present,  read  a  history  of  the  parish ; 
the  Eev.  Dr.  Walker,  of  Burlington,  preached  the 
sermon ;  and  an  address  was  delivered  by  the  Eev. 
David  Brown.  In  the  evening,  owing  to  the  sudden 
death  of  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  Lilly,  M.D., 
only  the  service  was  read,  in  which  the  Eev.  Mr. 
Forges,  of  Flemington,  assisted. 

By  means  of  the  repairs  and  alterations  then  made 
the  church  presents  a  very  neat  appearance.  The 
chancel  was  handsomely  frescoed,  the  seats  rearranged, 
the  walls  replastered,  and  one  of  Frink's  patent  re- 
flectors put  in,  which  illuminates  the  church  in  the 
most  perfect  manner,  throwing  a  mellow  light  in 
every  part  of  the  room.  The  outward  appearance  of 
the  building  was  also  somewhat  changed,  the  cone  on 
the  tower  having  been  removed  and  a  neat  scroll-work 
substituted  ;  a  vestry-room  was  also  built  at  the  rear 
of  the  edifice. 

St.  Andrew's  Church  has  passed  through  many 
trials  and  discouragements,  but  just  now  the  outlook 
is  more  hopeful  than  it  has  been  for  several  years. 

From  September,  1866,  till  Aug.  4, 1867,  Eev.  F.  B. 
Chetwood  acted  as  assistant  to  the  rector.  From 
August,  1867  (after  Mr.  Brown's  resignation),  to  May, 

1868,  Eev.  W.  G.  Walker,  D.D.,  of  Burlington,  sup- 
plied the  pulpit.     From  May  24,  1868,  till  May  1, 

1869,  the  Eev.  William  McGlathery  was  rector ;  Sept. 
12,  1869,  till  March,  1870,  Eev.  Charles  Eitter;  Nov. 
27,  1870,  till  April  10,  1871,  Eev.  Samuel  H.  Meade ; 
Oct.  16,  1871,  till  Oct.  1,  1872,  Eev.  John  Ireland; 
Nov.  3,  1872,  until  the  spring  of  1873,  Eev.  J.  Van 
Linge,  D.D.  During  the  remainder  of  1873  the 
church  was  in  charge  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocese, 
services  being  rendered  by  several  clergymen.  From 
January,  1874,  Frederic  P.  Davenport  officiated  as 
lay-reader  until  his  ordination  to  the  deaconate.  May 
31st  of  the  same  year.  From  that  time  he  continued 
in  charge  till  September,  1875. 

The  Eev.  William  Wardlaw  officiated  from  October, 
1875,  till  August,  1876  ;  from  October,  1876,  till  Aug- 
ust, 1877,  the  Eev.  William  Baum;  from  October, 
1877,  till  Jan.  20,  1879,  the  Eev.  Thomas  B.  Newby. 
He  was  elected  rector  Dec.  4,  1877.  Sept.  21,  1879, 
the  Eev.  Elvin  K.  Smith,  as  missionary  in  Hunter- 
don County  by  appointment  of  Bishop  Scarborough, 
became  pastor  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  one  of  the 
missions  in  the  county. 

Some  account  of  the  life  of  the  Eev.  David  Brown, 
who  was  for  seventeen  years  a  rector  of  St.  Andrew's 
Church   well  deserves  a  place  in  these  annals.     He 


282 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


was  born  in  Hopkinstown,  K.  I.,  Oct.  3,  1786.  In 
the  spring  of  1799  he  removed  to  Stephentown,  N.  Y., 
and  from  there  to  Cobleskill,  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y., 
in  1800.  He  taught  school  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  married  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  In  1807  he 
studied  law.  In  1816,  feeling  called  to  enter  the 
ministry,  he  went  to  the  city  of  New  York  to  study 
divinity  with  the  Eev.  Theodore  Lyell,  CD.  In  the 
mean  while  he  kept  the  church  academy  for  one  year. 
He  was  ordained  in  1816  by  Bishop  Hobart.  His 
first  ministerial  labors  were  at  Hyde  Park,  N.  Y. ; 
afterwards  he  ministered  in  sacred  things  at  Fredonia 
and  Lockport,  in  the  same  State.  While  at  Fredonia 
he  had  the  pleasure,  as  well  as  the  honor,  of  receiving 
the  "nation's  guest,"  Gen.  Lafayette,  on  his  visit  to 
that  village  in  June,  182.5.  In  1833  he  removed  to 
St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  and  from  thence  to  Florence, 
Ala.  He  then  removed  to  Cold  Spring,  N.  Y.  In 
July,  1850,  he  was  instituted  rector  of  St.  Andrew's 
Church,  Lambertville,  by  Bishop  Doane.  He  resigned 
his  charge  in  August,  1867,  but  continued  to  reside  in 
Lambertville  until  his  death,  in  December,  1875.  He 
was  married  three  times.  His  last  wife  died  only  a 
few  weeks  before  the  termination  of  his  own  useful 
and  honorable  life. 

PUBLIC    SCHOOLS. 

Until  1843  there  were  no  public  schools  in  the 
place.  During  that  year  a  two-story  brick  school- 
house  was  erected  on  the  east  side  of  Franklin  Street, 
between  York  and  Coryell  Streets,  which  has  since 
been  turned  into  a,  dwelling. 

Previous  to  1843  there  had  been  good  private  schools, 
and  at  several  times  classical  schools  were  commenced, 
which  flourished  for  a  while  and  then  declined.  The 
proximity  to  Trenton  and  the  facility  of  communica- 
tion with  that  city  have  induced  many  to  send  their 
children  to  its  excellent  schools ;  so  that  it  has  seemed 
impossible  to  keep  up  a  select  school  of  a  high  grade 
for  any  length  of  time  in  Lambertville. 

The  first  principal  of  the  public  school  here  was 
William  H.  Lord.  He  was  assisted  and  succeeded  by 
a  Mr.  Sexton.  After  him,  David  Cole,  Arthur  W. 
Lundy,  and  Enoch  Drake  successively  had  charge. 
These  all  taught  in  the  school-house  in  Franklin 
Street. 

The  first  trustees  were  Samuel  Haselton,  Jacob  B. 
Smith,  George  A.  Kohl,  James  Britton,  Burroughs 
Hunt.  Samuel  Haselton  was  president  of  the  board, 
and  George  A.  Kohl  treasurer. 

In  1853  the  spacious  school-house  on  Coryell's  Hill 
was  built,  and  the  services  of  an  experienced  teacher, 
James  M.  Robinson,  were  secured.  He  continued  as 
principal  for  several  years,  when  he  resigned  his  po- 
sition, and  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  J.  Willever. 
William  Lyman  was  the  next  principal.  Upon  his 
resignation  James  M.  Robinson  was  again  placed  in 
charge,  and  continued  to  be  principal  until  his  death, 
in  1871. 


L.  K.  Strouse  was  appointed  in  his  place,  and  after 
serving  for  three  years  was  succeeded  by  Thomas 
Ruth,  who  was  an  incumbent  of  the  office  only  one 
year,  at  the  expiration  of  which  the  present  principal, 
Charles  W.  Bunn,  was  chosen  in  his  stead.  Owing  to 
the  lack  of  room  in  the  school-house  on  Coryell's  Hill, 
and  to  the  necessity  of  having  a  graded  system  of 
schools,  a  building  for  a  primary  school  was  erected 
in  the  Third  Ward  in  1875,  and  another  building  for 
the  same  purpose  in  the  First  Ward  in  1878. 

The  present  valuation  of  school  property  is  $16,000, 
and  the  school  expenses  aggregate  about  $10,000  per 
annum.  Fifteen  teachers  are  at  present  employed. 
The  school  district  is  known  as  "Lambertville,  No. 
108." 

REMINISCENCES— PROGRESS    AND    IMPROVEMENTS 
—MANUFACTORIES. 

Within  a  few  years  after  the  establishment  of  the 
post-office  here  under  the  name  of  Lambertsville,  the 
village  came  to  be  known  altogether  by  that  title. 
In  course  of  time  the  name  was  changed  by  usage 
from  Lambertsville  to  Lambertville. 

The  town-plat  was  gradually  enlarged  as  street 
after  street  was  laid  out.  The  Old  York  Road  origi- 
nally extended  from  the  ferry  below  the  site  of  the 
Delaware  bridge  through  what  is  now  Ferry  Street, 
past  the  old  stone  tavern  before  mentioned  to  the  cor- 
ner of  Main  and  Ferry  Streets,  thence  up  the  river 
road,  or  Main  Street,  to  the  corner  of  York,  and 
thence  up  the  bed  of  the  creek  nearly  in  the  line  of 
the  present  York  Road. 

When  the  corner-stone  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
was  lai4  there  was  an  orchard  immediately  to  the 
east  of  it,  the  gate  to  which  was  a  little  to  the  east  of 
Gordon's  Alley.  Not  long  after  this.  Church  Street 
was  laid  out  to  Union  Street,  which  was  opened  at  or 
before  this  time  from  Bridge  to  Coryell  Street.  Bridge 
Street  was  laid  out  on  the  completion  of  the  New- 
Hope  Delaware  bridge,  and  the  Bridge  Street  Hotel 
was  built  about  the  same  time  by  Capt.  John  Lam- 
bert. 

Coryell  Street,  which  was  not  legally  laid  out  until 
Dec.  1,  1818,  must  have  been  opened  as  early  as  1803, 
as  the  houses  of  Dr.  Richard  Kroesen  and  of  Joshua 
Anderson  were  built  in  that  year. 

The  Georgetown  and  Franklin  turnpike,  extending 
from  Georgetown  (or  Lambertville)  to  New  Bruns- 
wick, was  incorporated  Feb.  25,  1816.  The  invest- 
ment, however,  was  not  at  all  remunerative :  hence 
the  charter  was  given  up,  and  the  turnpike  became  a 
public  road,  Sept.  14,  1841. 

York  Street  must  have  been  opened  not  long  before 
1826,  as  there  were  no  houses  built  on  it  west  of  Main 
Street  until  that  date. 

Union  Street  was  a  mere  alley  above  Coryell  Street 
and  half  way  to  York  until  1842,  when  it  was  made  of 
uniform  width  to  Delevan  Street. 

Delevan  Street  was  opened  about  1832.     At  that 


1 

D 

e 

DiiU 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


283 


time  there  was  a  thrifty  orchard  where  that  street  is, 
between  the  river  road,  or  Main  Street,  and  Gordon's 
Alley. 

Formerly  the  river  road,  above  Delevan,  had  its 
course  a  little  east  of  its  present  location,  there  being 
a  turn  in  it  eastward  just  above  the  old  brewery,  and 
another  westward,  this  side  of  the  old  Holcombe  man- 
sion. Where  the  road  now  runs  just  above  the  brew- 
ery there  was  a  small  burying-ground  for  colored 
people. 

Below  Swan's  Creek,  before  1849,  there  were  no 
streets  laid  out.  Until  the  autumn  of  1857,  Delevan 
Street  was  the  farthest  street  north.  At  some  time 
during  that  autumn  the  lowlands  belonging  to  John 
Holcombe,  lately  deceased, — the  son  of  Richard  and 
grandson  of  the  first  Holcombe  who  settled  here, — 
were  sold,  and  several  streets  were  soon  thereafter  laid 
out  and  several  dwellings  erected.  All  the  houses  and 
places  of  business  which  we  now  see  above  Delevan 
Street  have  been  built  since  the  autumn  of  1857. 

In  1871,  Mr.  Eichard  McDowell  purchased  the 
tract  east  of  Mount  Hope  Cemetery,  opened  several 
streets  and  divided  the  tract  into  building-lots.  This 
has  grown  to  be  a  very  pleasant  part  of  the  town, 
known  as  Cottage  Hill,  from  every  part  of  which  a 
fine  view  can  be  had  of  the  surrounding  country. 

Before  and  during  the  period  of  the  Eevolution 
there  was  no  road  along  the  river  below  Coryell's 
Ferry.  There  was  a  by-road  leading  to  the  foot  of 
Goat  Hill  and  up  to  the  farm-house  near  the  summit. 
Years  afterwards  a  road  was  opened,  down  the  river 
across  Swan's  Creek  near  its  mouth  and  immediately 
along  the  river-bank,  to  a  point  at  the  distance  of  two 
miles,  whence  its  course  became  identical  with  that 
of  the  present  road.  When  the  canal  was  excavated 
the  road  was  made  an  extension  of  Main  Street  from 
the  foot  of  Goat  Hill,  where  it  crossed  the  canal  and 
extended  along  its  bank  nearly  in  the  course  in  which 
the  road  had  run  before,  but  elevated  more  above  the 
level  of  the  river,  to  the  point  before  mentioned  two 
miles  distant,  whence,  recrossing  the  canal,  it  became 
identical  with  the  road  as  it  now  is  from  that  point 
onward.  The  road  as  first  designated  was  not,  how- 
ever, legally  laid  out  from  Bridge  Street  to  the  Prime 
Hope  Mills  (then  existing),  near  Wells'  Falls,  until 
Dec.  19,  1827.  When  the  Belvidere  Delaware  Kail- 
road  was  built  it  compelled  the  vacating  of  the  public 
road  on  the  bank  of  the  canal,  between  the  canal  and 
the  river,  and  the  making  of  it  along  the  base  of  Goat 
Hill. 

Just  at  this  point  some  mention  of  the  public  im- 
provements which  have  done  so  much  for  Lambert- 
ville  may  naturally  be  made. 

The  feeder  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  was 
commenced  in  1831  and  completed  in  the  summer  of 
1834.  The  excursion  in  celebration  of  the  canal  was 
made  to  Lambertville  June  25th  of  the  latter  year, 
and  on  the  next  day  was  the  excursion  to  New  Bruns- 
wick. 


The  Belvidere  Delaware  Railroad  was  finished  as 
far  as  Lambertville  in  February,  1851.  It  was  com- 
pleted to  Manunka  Chunk  in  1857.  The  building  of 
this  railroad  gave  an  impetus  to  business  here,  stimu- 
lated manufacturing,  and  gave  value  to  the  water- 
power  in  affording  facility  of  communication  to  the 
great  cities.  The  machine-shops  of  the  railroad  were 
located  here,  and  until  the  lease  of  the  property  of 
the  United  Railroads  of  New  Jersey  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  locomotives  as  well  as  passenger-  and 
freight-cars  were  constructed  at  these  shops.  Al- 
though this  branch  of  industry  has  been  removed, 
yet  the  needful  repairs  to  cars  and  locomotives  still 
give  employment  to  a  large  number  of  men. 

There  had  been  some  manufacturing  in  the  village 
before  the  building  of  the  railroad.  The  flouring-mill 
now  under  the  management  of  Holcombe  &  Niece 
was  built  in  1835.  A  few  years  later  the  flouring-  and 
saw-mills  now  owned  by  Frederic  F.  Lear  were  built 
by  William  Hall.  About  the  same  time  a  saw-mill 
was  erected  by  Burroughs  Hunt.  There  had  been  a 
small  mill  near  Wells'  Falls,  on  the  New  Jersey  side 
of  the  river,  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  but 
this  was  demolished  to  make  way  for  mills  which 
were  considered  quite  extensive  in  that  day.  The 
latter,  known  as  the  Prime  Hope  Mills,  were  built 
by  Benjamin  and  David  Parry,  not  far  from  the  year 
1790.  The  Messrs.  Parry  conducted  an  extensive 
business  at  these  mills  and  at  their  mills  in  New  Hope. 
They  were  among  the  first  to  send  kiln-dried  corn- 
meal  to  the  West  Indies.  When  the  Belvidere  Dela- 
ware Railroad  was  built  the  Prime  Hope  Mills  had  to 
be  demolished,  and  not  a  vestige  of  them  remains 
except  a  small  part  of  the  foundation  walls. 

Up  to  the  time  of  building  the  railroad  the  village 
was  still  much  resorted  to  for  lumber.  After  that 
time,  however,  there  was  quite  a  marked  change  in 
this  respect.  The  lumber  trade  was  much  diminished. 
To  more  than  compensate  for  this,  manufactures  of 
various  kinds  were  much  increased. 

THE  LAMBERTVILLE  IKON-WOEKS, 

which  were  first  established  here  by  Laver  &  Cowin 
in  the  spring  of  1849,  are  now  in  the  possession  of 
Ashbel  Welch,  Jr.  The  principal  business  consists 
in  the  making  of  patent  axles,  of  the  patent  Eclipse 
safety-boilers,  and  of  steam-engines.  The  making  of 
axles,  which  is  a  new  branch  of  business  in  this  estab- 
lishment, is  steadily  increasing. 

INBIA-IIUBBEE  MANUFACTURE. 

The  manufacture  of  India-rubber  goods  was  com- 
menced in  1860,  but,  not  proving  successful,  the  busi- 
ness ceased  for  a  time.  The  property  having  passed 
into  other  hands,  the  business  was  begun  again  on 
Jan.  18,  1865,  but  was  carried  on  in  a  moderate  way, 
only  12  or  15  persons  being  at  first  employed.  On 
March  13,  1868,  the  main  factory-building  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  It  was  then  decided  to  rebuild  on  a 
larger  scale  and  to  add  new  and  improved  manufac- 


284 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


turing  facilities.  Hitherto  the  manufacture  had  been 
confined  principally  to  the  lighter  class  of  work,  but 
on  the  completion  of  the  repairs  and  improvements, 
in  October,  1868,  the  manufacture  of  a  heavier  class 
of  goods,  such  as  belting,  packing,  etc.,  was  begun. 
Additions  and,  improvements  have  since  been  made 
from  time  to  time,  requiring  the  emploj'ment  of  more 
persons,  until  now  there  are  125  employed,  and  the 
variet)'  of  work  made  is  surpassed  by  only  two  or 
three  factories  in  the  country.  The  boot  department, 
which  was  commenced  in  December,  1876,  has  greatly 
enlarged  the  business  of  the  company. 

PAPER-MILLS. 

The  "  Mountain  Spring  Mill,"  the  first  paper-mill  in 
Lambertville,  was  built  by  James  C.  Weeden.  It 
was  commenced  Dec.  4,  1859,  and  finished  in  the 
summer  of  1860.  The  business  was  very  successfully 
carried  on  by  the  firm  of  James  C.  Weeden  &  Co. 
until  the  death  of  Mr.  Weeden,  in  March,  1866.  The 
name  of  the  firm,  however,  was  continued,  and  the 
business  was  conducted  by  the  widow  of  Mr.  Weeden 
and  her  nephew,  William  H.  Gandy,  with  the  same 
degree  of  success  for  several  years.  Aug.  16,  1878, 
the  firm  was  dissolved  and  the  business,  until  July 
31,  1879,  was  conducted  in  behalf  of  Mrs.  Weeden  by 
Edward  R.  Solliday.  Since  that  time  it  has  been 
managed  for  her  by  Cornelius  Lake. 

The  "  Perseverance  Paper-Mill"  was  built  by  Wil- 
liam McCready  in  the  spring  of  1868.  The  business 
was  conducted  by  him  until  July  1,  1870,  when 
an  organization  was  formed  with  the  title  of  the 
"  Lambertville  Paper  Manufacturing  Company," 
under  whose  management  the  business  has  been  con- 
tinued ever  since.  The  first  ofiicers  were  William 
Cowin,  President;  Joseph  Smith,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer ;  William  McCready,  Superintendent.  Mr. 
Cowin  subsequently  resigned  his  office,  and  Griffith 
L.  Williams  was  elected  in  his  stead.  Since  that 
time  there  has  been  no  change  in  the  ofiicers  of  the 
company. 

The  mill  was  much  enlarged  in  the  summer  of  1879, 
and  again  in  the  autumn  of  1880.  It  has  facilities 
for  steam-  as  well  as  for  water-power.  Its  capacity 
for  production  is  8000  pounds  a  day,  and  it  gives 
employment  to  40  operatives.  The  products  of  its 
manufacture  are  manilla  and  flour-sack  paper,  for 
which  the  principal  markets  are  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  "  Centennial  Paper-Mill"  began  operations 
under  the  management  of  William  H.  Gandy  &  Co., 
July  4,  1876,  but  on  November  1st  of  that  year  the 
present  firm — McDowell  &  Son — came  into  possession 
of  the  mill.  The  firm  is  engaged  in  the  almost  exclu- 
sive manufacture  of  manilla  paper.  About  30  opera- 
tives are  employed.  The  mill  is  capable  of  producing 
more  than  7000  pounds  of  paper  daily. 

In  fact,  all  the  paper-mills  of  Lambertville  are 
prospering   under  their  several   eflicient  managers, 


and  we  hope  are  destined,  with  the  other  vigorously- 
conducted  manufacturing  establishments,  to  add  to 
the  wealth  and  jarosperity  of  the  town. 

THE   COTTON-MILL. 

A  meeting  was  held  on  Feb.  2,  1866,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  the  feasibility  of  organizing  a 
company  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  thread,  and  it 
was  decided  to  form  such  an  organization.  Accord- 
ingly, a  charter  for  the  "  Amwell  Mills  Company" 
was  obtained  on  April  6, 1866.  The  first  ofiicers  were 
William  Cowin,  President;  Joseph  J.  Frazer,  Secre- 
tary ;  Joshua  Hilton,  Superintendent. 

Mr.  Hilton  resigned  his  ofiice  March  9,  1868,  when 
Joseph  J.  Frazer  was  elected  in  his  jilace,  continuing 
until  December,  1873,  when  he  resigned  on  his  re- 
moval to  Massachusetts.  Josejah  Smith  succeeded 
Mr.  Frazer  in  January,  1874. 

Owing  to  the  financial  depression  throughout  the 
country  and  the  over-production  of  cotton  goods,  the 
company  met  with  but  little  success,  but  was  reorgan- 
ized Nov.  1,  1877,  under  the  corporate  title  of  "  The 
Amwell  Spinning  Company,"  and  has  since  been 
more  prosperous ;  it  lately  declared  a  dividend  of  six 
per  cent.,  clear  of  tax,  on  its  net  earnings  during  the 
past  year. 

The  officers  of  the  new  company  are  as  follows : 
Ashbel  Welch,  President;  Joseph  Smith,  Treasurer 
and  Manager;  Ashbel  Welch,  Jr.,  Secretary. 

The  cotton  yarn  whicli  the  company  manufacture 
is  reputed  to  be  of  excellent  quality. 

THE  SPROAT  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY 

was  organized  Nov.  1,  1880.  It  manufactures  twine 
and  rope  from  jute,  flax,  and  hemp.  The  capacity  of 
the  mill  is  2000  pounds  per  day,  and  it  gives  employ- 
ment to  42  persons.  The  officers  of  the  company  are 
Ashbel  Welch,  President;  Joseph  Smith,  Secretary 
and  Treasurer ;  John  Sproat,  Superintendent. 

In  1843,  John  Sproat  (now  deceased),  the  father  of 
the  present  superintendent,  came  to  Lambertville  and 
leased  of  Jonathan  Fisk  a  building  which  stood  below 
where  the  railroad-station  now  is  and  converted  it 
into  a  twine-factory,  and  with  his  brother  Henry  com- 
menced business  as  the  firm  of  J.  &  H.  Sproat.  In 
1847  the  factory  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was,  how- 
ever, rebuilt,  and  business  was  resumed. 

In  1855  the  firm  sold  out  their  interests  to  James 
French,  and  the  brothers  Sproat  removed  to  Lansing- 
burg,  N.  Y.,  but  in  three  years  moved  back  again 
and  took  possession  of  their  former  mill.  In  1862, 
John  Sproat,  Sr.,  removed  into  the  substantial  brick 
building  now  owned  by  the  Sproat  Manufacturing 
Company. 

Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Sproat  and  the  settling  up 
of  his  estate  the  mill  lay  idle  for  a  considerable  time, 
but  seems  now  to  have  commenced  with  most  favor- 
able auspices  under  the  new  management. 


CITY   OF  LAMBEETVILLE. 


285 


TtJE  LAMBERTVILLE  SPOKE-MANUFACTUKING  COMPANY 

carries  on  an  extensive  business  and  sends  its  pro- 
ducts to  the  most  distant  regions  of  the  globe.  Aus- 
tralia, New  Zealand,  and  California,  as  well  as  Great 
Britain  and  some  parts  of  the  European  continent, 
furnish  a  market  for  its  wares.  The  business  has 
within  the  last  two  years  been  greatly  enlarged  by 
facilities  for  making  wheels,  a  sufficient  number  being 
manufactured  every  day  to  supply  a  hundred  wagons. 

The  manufacture  of  spokes  was  commenced  here 
by  Mr.  William  Thatcher,  who  built  the  mill,  in 
1868.  He  continued  in  the  business  for  a  short  time 
only.  For  several  years  Mr.  John  Finney  has  been 
the  leading  member  of  the  company,  owning  seven- 
eighths  of  the  stock. 

In  1871,  William  G.  Moore  commenced  the  manu- 
facturing of  spokes,  but  his  mill  is  now  running  only 
a  part  of  the  time. 

THE   STEAM   SAW-MILL 

owned  and  managed  by  Cornelius  Arnett  was  erected 
in  1863.  Large  quantities  of  hard-wood,  and  occa- 
sionally of  pine,  are  sawed  at  this  mill. 

Mr.  Arnett  sends  ship-timber  to  the  ship-yards  on 
Staten  Island  and  in  New  York  City.  He  has  also 
sent  ship-timber  to  Australia.  He  is  now  largely  en- 
gaged in  preparing  telegraphic  supplies,  such  as  pins 
and  brackets.  These  he  has  sent  largely  to  the 
Southern  States,  and  once  filled  a  large  order  for  mili- 
tary service  on  the  vast  plains  beyond  the  borders  of 
civiliz  ation. 

BANKING   AND    INSURANCE. 
THE  LAMBEKTVILLE  NATIONAL  BANK 

was  originally  chartered  as  a  State  bank  under  the 
general  banking  law  of  New  Jersey.  Its  charter  was 
obtained  June  20,  1857.  Its  first  board  of  directors 
was  chosen  May  5,  1858,  and  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing persons :  Samuel  D.  Stryker,  James  D.  Stryker, 
Thomas  B.  Carr,  Nelson  V.  Large,  Jacob  Skillman, 
Charles  A.  Skillman,  Ingham  Coryell,  John  G.  Read- 
ing, Liscomb  R.  Titus,  Charles  Moore,  and  John  C. 
Hopewell.  Samuel  D.  Stryker  was  chosen  president 
of  the  board,  Charles  A.  Skillman  secretary,  and 
Martin  L.  Reeve  cashier.  The  first  discount  com- 
mittee appointed  were  Samuel  D.  Stryker,  Ingham 
Coryell,  and  Charles  A.  Skillman. 

Samuel  D.  Stryker  continued  to  be  president  until 
his  death,  in  January,  1863,  when  his  brother,  James 
D.  Stryker,  was  chosen  to  succeed  him,  and  has  been 
annually  re-elected  to  the  present  time. 

Martin  L.  Reeve  served  the  bank  faithfully  as 
cashier  until  hk  death,  June  11,  1871.  William 
Crook,  who  had  served  for  a  time  as  teller,  was  elec- 
ted to  fill  the  vacancy  thus  created,  and  continued  to 
act  until  January,  1874,  when  he  resigned  the  office, 
and  the  teller,  Isaiah  P.  Smith,  was  elected  in  his 
stead.  Hampton  C.  Shafer  was  chosen  in  the  place 
of  Mr.  Smith,  and  continued  to  act  as  teller  and  as- 
sistant   cashier   until   his   removal   to   Scranton,    in 


January,  1881.  Frank  Phillips  was  chosen  to  fill  his 
place. 

The  original  capital  of  the  bank  was  $50,000 ; 
present  capital,  $100,000.  It  was  chartered  as  a 
national  bank  July  20,  1865. 

Samuel  D.  Stryker,  the  first  president,  was  one  of 
the  most  successful  and  sagacious  business  men  Lam- 
bertville  has  ever  had.  He  came  to  this  place  in  the 
spring  of  1826,  and  remained  here  until  his  death. 
He  was  for  many  years  treasurer,  and  then  for  a  long 
while  president,  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Bible 
Society.  He  was  seventy-two  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  left  a  large  estate  and  bequeathed 
a  sum  of  money  for  a  public  library,  to  become 
available  when  a  like  sum,  principal  and  accruing 
interest,  should  be  raised  by  the  town  of  Lambertville 
or  by  any  association  of  its  citizens.  Such  an  assoiia- 
tion,  after  a  long  delay,  is  about  to  be  formed,  to  be 
known  as  the  "Stryker  Library  Association."  The 
money  needed  to  meet  the  conditions  has  almost  all 
been  raised. 

AMWBLL   NATIONAL   BANK. 

"The  Lambertville  Building  and  Loan  Savings- 
Bank"  was  incorporated  Feb.  11,  1875,  and  dissolved 
July  26,  1876.  Its  first  officers  were  the  following : 
Samuel  Lilly,  M.D.,  President;  William  V.  Cooley, 
Cashier;  Richard  McDowell,  William  L.  Hoppock, 
John  A.  Anderson,  Nelson  V.  Young,  Henry  C. 
Hooker,  George  A.  Allen,  Ashbel  Welch,  John  Gro- 
man,  William  V.  Cooley,  Directors. 

On  the  dissolution  of  this  bank  the  Amwell  Na- 
tional was  formed,  with  a  capital  of  $60,000,  which 
continued  to  be  the  capital  until  Jan.  14,  1879,  when 
it  was  increased  to  $70,000.  On  July  28, 1876,  the  first 
board  of  directors  was  elected, — viz.,  Samuel  Lilly, 
M.D.,  William  V.  Cooley,  Ashbel  Welch,  Richard  Mc- 
Dowell, Henry  C.  Hooker,  William  L.  Hoppock,  John 
A.  Anderson,  Hugh  B.  Ely,  William  V.  Case,  Hiram 
Scarborough,  J.  Patterson  Smith.  Samuel  Lilly, 
M.D.,  was  chosen  president,  Ashbel  Welch  vice- 
president,  William  V.  Cooley  cashier,  and  F.  W. 
Van  Hart  teller. 

THE  HUNTERDON  COUNTY  MUTUAL  FIRE  INSURANCE  COM- 
PANY 

was  organized  March  13,  1845,  and  the  first  meeting 
was  held  at  that  date.  John  Coryell,  Esq.,  was  elected 
president  and  Jacob  Servis  Gary  secretary. 

The  officers  of  the  company  at  the  present  time  are 
as  follows :  Dr.  Jeremiah  Hayhurst,  President ;  Joseph 
Smith,  Secretary;  Charles  A.  Skillman,  Treasurer; 
Augustus  C.  Barber,  General  Agent. 

GAS-LIGHT  COMPANY. 
The  Lambertville  Gas  Company  was  chartered 
April  21,  1856.  The  first  officers  chosen  were  the 
following :  John  Runk,  President ;  Charles  A.  Skill- 
man,  Secretary;  Samuel  Lilly,  M.D.,  Treasurer; 
Samuel    Lilly,   M.D.,    Liscomb    R.   Titus,    Ingham 


286 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Coryell,  Samuel  H.  Titus,  Thomas  B.  Carr,  Alexander  j 
H.  Holcombe,  Directors. 

The  gas-works  were  built  under  contract  with  Lis- 
comb  R.  Titus.  These  have  been  much  enlarged  and 
improved.  For  several  years  they  were  not  remuner- 
ative, but  under  the  efficient  management  of  Richard 
McDowell  they  have  become  profitable.  For  the  five 
years  beginning  with  1870  and  ending  with  1874  the 
gas  stock  yielded  a  dividend  of  ten  per  cent,  per 
annum,  clear  of  tax,  but  since  1874  the  dividend  has 
been  seven  i^er  cent.  The  present  capital  is  $30,000, 
divided  into  1500  shares  at  120  a  share.  The  present 
officers  are  James  D.  Stryker,  President ;  William  V. 
Cooley,  Treasurer ;  Charles  A.  Skillman,  Secretary ; 
Richard  McDowell,  Superintendent;  William  V. 
Cooley,  William  G.  Moore,  Richard  McDowell,  Henry 
C.  Hooker,  Augustus  C.  Barber,  Charles  A.  Skillman, 
Directors. 

LAMBERTVILLE    WATER-POWER    COMPANY. 

The  Lambertville  Water-Power  Company  was  or- 
ganized Oct.  28,  1857,  and  purchased  of  the  estate  of 
Dr.  John  Wilson,  deceased,  valuable  lands  and  water- 
rights  along  the  feeder  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  town.  Some  of  the 
most  valuable  mills  have  since  been  constructed  on 
that  water-power.  Liscomb  R.  Titus,  Imlah  Moore, 
Charles  Moore,  Ingham  Coryell,  and  Augustus  G. 
Richey  were  elected  the  first  board  of  directors.  Lis- 
comb R.  Titus  was  chosen  president,  Imlah  Moore 
vice-president,  and  Charles  Moore  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. 

The  following  persons  were  chosen  oflicers  of  the 
company  in  February,  1880:  James  D.  Stryker,  Presi- 
dent ;  A.  H.  Holcombe,  Secretary  and  Treasurer ; 
James  D.  Stryker,  A.  0.  Gandy,  Joseph  Sproat,  Henry 
Matthews,  Richard  McDowell,  Directors. 

LAMBERTVILLE    WATER    COMPANY. 

The  Lambertville  Water  Comjoany  was  organized 
July  21,  1877.  The  water-right  of  a  pond  on  Swan's 
Creek  and  two  and  eight-tenths  acres  were  bought  of 
A.  Smith  Wilson.  The  reservoir  contains,  when  full, 
1,800,000  gallons  of  water.  The  daily  ilow  of  the 
creek  into  the  reservoir  has  been  carefully  estimated 
at  400,000  gallons  daily  for  nine  months  of  the  year, 
and  70,000  gallons  daily  for  three  months. 

The  water-shed  from  which  the  water  is  collected 
is  the  " trap-dike"  known  as  "Goat  Hill,"  and  has 
an  area  of  1000  acres,  and,  from  a  low  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  rain-fall  during  the  year  that  could  be 
made  available  by  impounding  all  the  water,  it  would 
reach  the  enormous  quantity  of  326,700,000  gallons. 

THE    LAMBERTVILLE  VIGILANT   SOCIETY « 
was  organized  Feb.  24,  1887.     Jacob  B.  Smith,  Esq., 
was  made  chairman,  and  William  B.  Ely  secretary. 


*  We  are  indebted  for  the  facta  here  given  to  Dr.  J.  Hayhurst,  wlio, 
as  president,  gave  an  historical  address  to  the  society  at  their  annual 
meeting  in  February,  1877. 


Amos  Ely,  Ezekiel  Blue,  and  William  M.  Case  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  draft  a  constitution. 

Jacob  B.  Smith  was  elected  the  fiirst  president  of 
the  association,  and  continued  to  be  re-elected  every 
year  until  his  death,  when  Dr.  Samuel  Lilly  was 
elected  president  in  his  stead,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  until  the  annual  meeting  in  1857,  when 
Johnson  Barber  was  chosen.  Mr.  Barber  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1860,  by  John  H.  Anderson,  who  held  the 
office  for  two  years.  James  D.  Stryker  was  the  next 
president.  He  was  elected  at  the  annual  meeting  in 
1862,  and  held  the  office  for  six  years,  when  the  present 
incumbent,  Dr.  J.  Hayhurst,  was  chosen. 

FIRE    DEPARTMENT. 

We  are  not  able  to  give  the  date  at  which  the  first 
fire  company  was  formed  in  Lambertville,  but  of  the 
first  fire-engine  many  of  the  citizens  have  a  distinct 
recollection.  It  was  a  very  small  machine,  rotary  iu 
its  action  and  turned  by  a  crank  upon  each  side.  It 
was  nicknamed  the  "cofiee-mill."  This  gave  jjlace  to 
a  heavy,  lumbering  machine  named  the  "  Globe," 
bought  at  second-hand  from  a  Philadelphia  com- 
pany. 

The  fire  company  was  then  known  as  the  "  Union 
Fire  Company."  It  was  suffered  to  decline  in  interest, 
and  became  virtually  defunct.  This  state  of  things 
continued  for  some  time,  when  the  "Aquetong  Fire 
Company''  was  formed,  in  1863,  and  a  new  engine 
purchased  from  the  manufacturers  at  Cohoes,  N.  Y. 
The  new  "Union  Fire  Company"  was  formed  July 
18, 1864.  In  September,  1869,  a  steamer  was  purchased, 
and  has  proved  to  be  a  very  effective  engine. 

"  The  Fleet- Wing  Hook-and-Ladder  Company"  was 
organized  in  18G4  and  incorporated  in  1867.  In  1868 
its  truck-house  was  built,  and  is  creditable  to  the 
company  and  ornamental  to  the  town. 

During  the  past  year  the  Aquetong  Company  was 
dissolved. 

"The  Hibernia  Fire  Company"  was  formed  Jan. 
13,  1870.  The  members  purchased  a  hand-engine, 
which  has  been  of  great  service  when  occasion  re- 
quired. 

The  fire  department  of  Lambertville,  in  its  equip- 
ments and  management,  will  compare  favorably  with 
that  of  any  town  of  its  size. 

SECRET    SOCIETIES. 
MASONIC. 

The  first  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  iu 
this  vicinity  was  established  in  New  Hope,  in  the 
house  now  occupied  by  William  H.  Murray.  When 
the  brick  hotel  in  New  Hope  was  built,  by  William 
Maris,  a  room  iu  it  was  fitted  up  for  the  use  of  the 
lodge,  and  was  occupied  by  them  for  a  considerable 
period.  The  Hon.  William  Wilson,  Capt.  John  Lam- 
bert, and  Thomas  Thomson,  all  of  Lambertville  and 
vicinity,  were  members. 

In  June,  1847,  Ancel  St.  John,  William  Wilson, 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


28T 


Thomas  Sterrett,  John  Runk,  Thomas  Thomson,  Ed- 
ward Badger,  and  McKenzie  Hall  petitioned  the  Most 
Worthy  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  State 
of  New  Jersey  for  a  dispensation  to  open  a  Masonic 
lodge  in  Lambertville,  N.  J.  The  dispensation  was 
granted  June  13,  1847,  and  "Amwell  Lodge,  No.  13," 
was  instituted  June  16,  1847,  by  the  following  grand 
officers :  John  Merchant,  M.  W.  Grand  Master ;  John 
J.  Crockett,  R.  W.  Senior  Grand  Warden';  William 
H.  Earl,  E.  W.  Junior  Grand  Warden ;  Edward 
Stewart,  W.  Senior  Grand  Deacon ;  John  Vanderbilt, 
Tiler.  The  first  officers  of  the  lodge  were  Ancel 
St.  John,W.  Master ;  William  Wilson,  Senior  Warden ; 
Thomas  Sterrett,  Junior  Warden ;  McKenzie  Hall, 
Treas. ;  Thomas  Thomson,  Sec.  A  charter  was  granted 
to  the  lodge  Jan.  12,  1848.  Since  its  institution  233 
have  joined  the  lodge.  The  present  number  of  mem- 
bers is  96. 

From  "Amwell  Lodge"  went  forth  "Darcy  Lodge, 
No.  37,"  located  at  Flemington,  N.  J.,  and  instituted 
in  1853;  "Orion  Lodge,  No.  56,"  located  at  French- 
town,  N.  J.,  and  instituted  during  1860;  "Orpheus 
Lodge,  No.  137,"  located  at  Stockton,  and  instituted 
in  1873;  and  a  portion  of  "Cyrus  Lodge,  No.  138," 
located  at  Pennington,  N.  J.,  and  instituted  Feb.  7, 
1877. 

The  "  Wilson  Chapter  of  Eoyal  Arch  Masons"  in 
Lambertville  was  instituted  May  11,  1864.  The  first 
members  were  William  Wilson,  John  F.  Schenck, 
Frederic  M.  Slaughter,  Jacob  S.  S.  Pittenger,  Charles 
Schulhaus,  Jacob  Young,  Gabriel  H.  Slater,  Isaac  S. 
Cramer,  William  B.  Brown,  and  John  T.  Sergeant. 

Since  the  chapter  was  instituted  103  new  members 
have  joined  it.     The  present  membership  is  67. 

The  "  St.  Elmo  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar" 
was  instituted  Oct.  4,  1878.  The  first  officers  were 
Joseph  H.  Boozer,  E.  C. ;  J.  S.  Eoberts,  Gen. ;  J. 
Simpson  Large,  C.  G. ;  W.  H.  Everett,  S.  W. ;  E.  B. 
Eeading,  J.  W. ;  C.  Schulhaus,  Treas. ;  W.  H.  Titus, 
Recorder;  John  Lilly,  J.  S.  Cramer,  O.  H.  Sproull, 
Trustees. 

In  the  year  1877  the  Masons  built  their  present 
hall.  This  spacious  and  tasteful  edifice  is  an  orna- 
ment to  the  town. 

ODD-rELLOWS. 

About  the  year  1840  there  existed  in  Lambertville 
a  secret  society  called  the  "  Forlorn  Hope."  The 
principal  officers  were  Hiram  Blake  and  Louis  Pax- 
son ;  the  members,  Amasa  Ely,  William  B.  Ely, 
Thomas  L.  Southard,  Jonathan  Fisk,  Thomas  B. 
Carr,  besides  others  whose  names  we  have  not  ob- 
tained. From  this  association  originated  the  society 
of  the  order  of  Odd-Fellows,  and  on  Jan.  19,  1843, 
"  Lenni  Lenape  Lodge,  No.  15,"  I.  0.  O.  F.,  of  New 
Jersey,  was  instituted.  The  first  officers  were  Daniel 
Skinner,  Thomas  B.  Carr,  Martin  Coryell,  Joseph  B. 
Gray,  and  Samuel  Lilly.    Meetings  have  been  held 


regularly  every  Tuesday  evening  for  38  years.  Six 
lodges  have  had  their  origin  in  this  lodge.  In  May, 
1879,  the  lodge  commenced  rebuilding  their  hall,  and 
now  have  a  stately  and  commodious  edifice,  an  orna- 
ment to  the  town  and  a  specimen  of  thorough  as  well 
as  tasteful  workmanship. 

UNITED  AMERICAN  MECHANICS. 

The  first  council  of  United  American  Mechanics 
instituted  in  Lambertville  was  the  "Star  Council.'' 
The  date  of  its  institution  is  not  known,  as  the  books 
and  charters  of  the  council  were  given  to  the  State 
Council  after  its  dissolution. 

The  next  formed  in  Lambertville  was  "  Union 
Council,"  which  was  organized  Jan.  4, 1848,  and  con- 
tinued in  operation  under  a  dispensation  from  the 
State  Council  till  May  31st  of  the  same  year,  when  it 
ceased  to  exist. 

On  Aug.  23,  1858,  the  persons  who  had  previously 
composed  the  membership  of  Union  Council  organ- 
ized themselves  into  a  tribe  of  Eed  Men  known  as 
"Tuscarora  Tribe,  No.  11,  Improved  Order  of  Eed 
Men,"  which  continued  in  operation  until  some  time 
during  the  year  1863,  when,  in  consequence  of  the 
war  reducing  their  membership,  they  returned  their 
charter  to  the  Great  Council  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  and  the  tribe  was  disbanded.  After  a  lapse 
of  a  little  over  five  years  the  council  was  reinstituted, 
Dec.  28,  1868,  since  which  time  it  has  continued  in 
operation,  and  is  now  flourishing. 

"Vigilant  Council  of  United  American  Me- 
chanics," now  in  operation,  was  organized  Dec.  30, 
1870. 

OTHEK  SOCIETIES  AND  ASSOCIATIONS. 

"Eed  Jacket  Tribe  of  Improved  Order  of  Eed  Men" 
was  instituted  Nov.  17,  1873. 

"Lone  Star  Lodge,  No.  16,  Knights  of  Pythias," 
was  organized  Dec.  22,  1868,  with  nine  charter  mem- 
bers,—viz.,  Theodore  Abbott,  James  Gordon,  Ashbel 
W.  Angel,  Charles  H.  W.  Van  Sciver,  Thomas  Fla- 
herty, Augustus  C.  Barber,  J.  Gaddis,  Amos  Johnson, 
and  Charles  W.  Crook. 

The  "  Major  C.  A.  Angel  Post,  No.  20,  Grand  Army 
of  the  Eepublic,"  has  the  following-named  officers, 
who  were  installed  Nov.  20,  1878  :  Post  Commander, 
C.  H.  W.  Van  Sciver;  Senior  Vice-Commander, 
Ashbel  W.  Angel ;  Junior  Vice-Commander,  George 
W.  P.  Fisher ;  Officer  of  the  Day,  Charles  A.  Slack ; 
Quartermaster,  Frank  E.  Pierson ;  Chaplain,  Harry 
S.  Kroesen ;  Surgeon,  John  J.  Green ;  Adjutant,  Ben- 
jamin H.  Joiner ;  Officer  of  the  Guard,  H.  A.  Conover ; 
Quartermaster-Sergeant,  Asa  L.  Miller;  Sergeant- 
Major,  William  H.  Moon ;  Inside  Guard,  Henry  L. 
Van  Horn;  Outside  Guard,  Joseph  Taylor;  Ord- 
nance-Sergeant, G.  L.  Akers. 

"  The  Emerald  Beneficial  Association"  was  organ- 
ized June  8,  1878.  Thomas  J.  Murphy  was  chosen 
president,  John  Hurley  secretary,  and  Martin  Drudy 
treasurer. 


288 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  present  officers  are  John  F.  McEntee,  Presi- 
dent ;  John  E.  Kilroy,  Secretary ;  John  Purtell, 
Treasurer. 

PATRIOTISM    DURING    THE    CIVIL    WAR. 

The  contribution  of  Lambertville  for  the  support 
of  the  national  government  in  the  late  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion in  men  and  supplies,  as  shown  by  the  rosters 
of  the  companies  sent  forth  and  by  the  amounts 
raised  by  the  Ladies'  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  deserves 
honorable  mention. 

For  a  list  of  the  three  months'  men, — Co.  E,  Capt. 
Angel,  and  Co.  I,  Capt.  Huselton,  of  the  Third 
Regiment, — as  well  as  of  other  soldiers  enlisted  for 
the  three  years'  service,  see  Chapter  X.,  d.  seq.,  in 
the  "  General  History  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Counties,"  at  the  beginning  of  this  work. 

In  this  historical  sketch  of  Lambertville  it  is  due 
to  the  patriotism  of  its  citizens,  especially  to  that  of 
the  ladies,  that  some  account  should  be  given  of  what 
was  accomplished  in  supplying  the  wants  of  our  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers  in  the  late  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion. In  this  respect  Lambertville  bears  favorable 
comparison  with  any  place  of  its  size  in  the  land. 

LADIES'  SOLDIERS'   AID   SOCIETY.* 

"  On  Sunday,  Oct.  6, 1861,  a  call  was  read  in  the  different  churches  of 
the  place  for  a  meeting  '  to  consider  the  subject  of  supplying  clothing 
and  reading-matter  to  the  troops  now  in  the  field  for  the  defense  of  the 
government.'  " 

This  meeting  was  held  on  Monday  evening,  October 
7th,  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  clergymen  and 
a  large  number  of  the  people  of  the  different  churches 
were  present.  Samuel  D.  Stryker,  Esq.,  presided. 
After  brief  appeals  by  the  clergymen  and  others,  an 
eloquent  address  was  made  by  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Jane- 
way,  of  Flemington,  who  spoke  by  special  invitation. 

"  A  letter  from  Bovernor  Olden  was  read  by  the  Hon.  John  Bunk,  fol- 
lowed by  some  remarks  from  Mr.  Bunk  urging  the  citizens  to  raise  funds 
to  procure  rubber  blankets  for  the  soldiers,  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose. 

"  By  a  vote  of  the  hidies,  it  was  determined  to  hold  a  meeting  on  Thurs- 
day, the  10th,  to  form  an  aid  society.  This  meeting  was  accordingly  held, 
and  largely  attended.  The  ladies  were  favored  with  the  presence  and 
advice  of  Mrs.  Samuel  D.  Ingham,  who  had  been  engaged  in  working  for 
the  soldiers  for  some  time  in  the  city  of  Trenton. 

"  A  society  was  then  formed,  and  some  of  the  ofBcers  were  chosen.  At 
subsequent  meetings  the  organization  was  perfected  and  a  constitution 
adopted.  It  was  determined  to  hold  weekly  meetings  for  work  during 
the  war. 

"The  following  were  the  otBcers  of  the  association,  chosen  at  its  or- 
ganization,—viz. :  President,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Anderson;  Vice-President,  Mrs. 
Jane  N.  Van  Horn ;  Secretary,  Miss  Mary  M.  Welch ;  Treasurer,  Mrs. 
D.  P.  Paxson,— with  a  board  of  eight  managers,  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing persons,— viz. :  Mrs.  A.  A.  Kneass,  Mrs.  John  Eunk,  Mrs.  M.  L. 
Beeve,  Mrs.  Alexander  Ooryell,  Mrs.  Sidney  BlacUwell,  Mrs.  William 
WetheriU,  Mrs.  Ingham  Coryell,  and  Mrs.  William  Jauney. 

"  During  the  second  year  Mrs.  Paxson  resigned  the  position  of  treas- 
urer, and  Mrs.  A.  A.  Kneass  was  chosen  to  fill  the  office.  The  vice-pres- 
ident, Mrs.  Jane  Van  Horn,  died  in  June,  1864.  At  a  subsequent  election 
Mrs.  William  WetheriU  was  chosen  in  Mrs.  Van  Horn's  place,  the  presi- 
dent, secretary,  and  treasurer  were  re-elected,  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  Anderson 
was  elected  corresponding  secretary." 


*  Taken  almost  verbatim  from  the  Third  Annual  Report,  Oct.  10, 18G4, 
of  the  Ladies'  Soldiers'  Aid  Society. 


Our  brief  space  will  not  allow  us  to  enter  into  par- 
ticulars, but  in  justice  to  the  society,  which  accom- 
plished so  much  good  and  reflected  so  much  credit  on 
our  town,  it  may  be  permitted  us  to  mention  that  at 
the  close  of  the  third  year  of  the  war  $3658.76  had 
been  raised,  and  297  boxes  and  barrels  of  stores  for 
the  sick  and  wounded  had  been  sent  to  the  front. 
The  report  of  the  society  for  the  last  year  of  the  war 
the  writer  has  not  had  access  to. 

Through  the  instrumentality  of  the  ladies,  also, 
funds  were  secured  for  the  erection  of 

THE   SOLDIEES'   MONUMENT. 

On  one  face  of  this  monument  are  engraved  the 
names  of  the  officers  from  Lambertville  who  were 
killed  or  died  from  wounds  or  disease  in  the  service 
of  their  country, — viz.  : 

Lieut.  C.  Augustus  Angel,  Lieut.  William  Eagan,  Lieut.  George  C.  Jus- 
tice, Capt.  Charles  L.  Kneass,  Adjt,  Josiah  S.  Studdiford,  Lieut.-Com- 
mander  H.  M.  Blue,  Lieut.  C.  W.  Arnett. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  monument  the  names  of 
non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  : 

Adam  Mann,  John  Mann,  Charles  Mann,  Alexander  H.  Naylor,  John 
O'Daniell,  Jr.,  Anderson  Pidcock,  Patrick  Pursel,  George  W.  Phillipa, 
Patrick  Began,  Michael  Reagiu,  Hiram  Rooks,  Augustus  Bisler, 
Joseph  B.  Snook,  Richard  Sibbett,  Jr.,  George  W.  Taylor,  Hugh  S. 
Taylor,  Palmer  Thorn,  Israel  Trauger,  William  H.  Tracy,  Elias  Van 
Camp,  William  B.  Phillips,  William  B.  Cook. 

FROM   DELAWABE   TOWNSHIP. 
William  H.  Keth,  George  F.  Williams,  Eviu  J.  Green,  Eichard  G.  Everitt, 
Edward  Naylor. 

On  another  side  of  the  monument  the  following 
names  of  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates : 

Samuel  Ashbrook,  Albert  Black,  Abram  Black,  Charles  Brandt,  George  P. 
Brewer,  James  Bell,  Isaac  Cathrall,  William  Chidester,  John  Craig, 
Patrick  Dever,  John  Ely,  William  Fisher,  Lorenzo  D.  Gibson,  James 
Gibson,  Jacob  W.  Gaiis,  John  Gutchol,  Wilson  Horn,  Elias  Kramer, 
John  Mahan,  Gottlieb  Mueller. 

MOUNT    HOPE    CEMETERY. 

A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Lambertville  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  question  of  forming  a 
cemetery  association  was  held  July  25,  1847.  An  or- 
ganization was  effected,  and  on  Feb.  17,  1848,  an  act 
of  incorporation  was  obtained,  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Mount  Hope  Cemetery  Association  of  Lambertville." 
The  corporators  were  Ancel  St.  John,  Louis  S. 
Paxson,  John  H.  Wakefield,  Jacob  S.  Gary,  John  H. 
Anderson,  and  Amasa  Ely. 

At  a  meeting  held  May  29,  1849,  of  which  John  H. 
Wakefield  was  chairman  and  Thomas  Chattle  secre- 
tary, the  following  were  elected  a  board  of  managers : 
John  H.  Anderson,  Thomas  Chattle,  John  H.  Wake- 
field, Samuel  Lilly,  M.D.,  and  Ashbel  Welch.  Samuel 
Lilly,  M.D.,  was  made  president,  Thomas  Chattle 
secretary,  and  John  H.  Wakefield  treasurer. 

The  first  interment  in  the  cemetery  was  in  Decem- 
ber, 1849. 

THE    HOLCOMBE    RIVERVIEW    CEMETERY. 
This  was  incorporated  in  September,  1878.   The  first 
meeting  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  an  organization 


c 


ty 


u 


CITY"   OF  LAMBERTVILLE. 


289 


was  held  Aug.  28, 1878.  The  following  persons  were 
chosen  managers,  viz.,  William  Dean,  Stacy  B.  Bray, 
Jacob  S.  S.  Dean,  John  C.  Holcombe,  John  V.  C. 
Barber,  George  W.  Day,  and  Jonas  Mertz. 

The  first  interment  made  was  in  September,  1878. 
The  number  of  lots  sold  to  January,  1881,  was  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five. 

INCORPORATION    OF   THE   VILLAGE. 

The  village  of  Lambertville  was  incorporated  as  a 
borough  March  1,  1849.  The  first  mayor  was  Sam- 
uel Lilly,  M.D. 

Supplements  were  made  to  the  charter  Feb.  19, 
1851,  Feb.  26,  1855,  March  29,  1858,  and  March  15, 
1859. 

"An  act  to  revise  and  amend  the  charter  of  the 
Town  of  Lambertville"  was  passed  by  the  Legislature, 
and  approved  by  the  Governor  April  13,  1868.  In 
the  following  year,  March  31st,  a  supplement  to  the 
revised  charter  was  approved,  and  on  March  26, 1872, 
the  borough  of  Lambertville  became  a  city,  a  legisla- 
tive enactment  to  that  eflFect  having  been  approved 
by  the  Governor  on  that  day.  Joseph  H.  Boozer  was 
mayor  when  the  city  charter  was  obtained,  Richard 
McDowell  being  the  first  elected  under  that  charter. 
The  city  was  divided  into  three  wards  by  this  new  act 
of  incorporation. 

The  population  of  Lambertville,  according  to  the 
census  of  1880,  was  4183. 

The  ratio  of  the  growth  of  Lambertville  during  the 
decade  ending  with  1880  was  much  less  than  that  of 
the  two  decades  immediately  preceding.  This  was 
owing  partly  to  the  effect  of  the  lease  of  the  Belvi- 
dere  Delaware  Railroad  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  which  occasioned  the  removal  of  all  the 
work  in  the  construction  of  locomotives  and  passenger- 
and  freight-cars,  and  partly  to  the  financial  depres- 
sion. There  are,  however,  brighter  prospects  now; 
and  should  the  Delaware  be  utilized  for  manufactur- 
ing purposes,  as  it  certainly  will  be  in  time,  there  is 
no  reason  why  the  valley  of  the  Delaware  should  not 
be  as  thriving  in  manufacturing  enterprises  as  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut.  When  that  desideratum 
shall  be  attained,  considering  its  already- assured  po- 
sition, Lambertville  must  share  largely  in  the  general 
prosperity. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


ASHBEL  WELCH. 
Ashbel  Welch  was  born  in  Madison  Co.,  N.  Y., 
Dec.  4,  1809.  His  father  was  originally  a  farmer, 
living  near  Windham,  Conn.,  on  land  occupied  by  his 
ancestors  of  the  same  name  since  about  1680.  He  is 
the  seventh  in  descent  from  each  of  the  following 
original  settlers  of  New  England :  Governor  William 
Bradford,   of   Plymouth,   and   Alice   Carpenter,   his 


second  wife ;  Thomas  Richards,  of  Weymouth,  and 
Welthean  his  wife ;  Rev.  Peter  Hobart,  first  minister 
of  Hingham,  Mass. ;  William  Manning,  of  Cambridge  ; 
and  Isaac  Stearns,  of  Watertown. 

When  Mr.  Welch  was  about  six  or  seven  years  of 
age,  the  family  removed  from  Madison  County  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Utica,  where,  some  years  later,  he  at- 
tended the  school  of  Abraham  Kasson.  One  of  his 
schoolmates  there  was  Horatio  Seymour,  and  one  of 
the  younger  scholars  was  Ward  Hunt.  He  afterwards 
studied  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  at  the 
Albany  Academy,  under  Professor  Henry,  late  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  In  his  eighteenth  year  he 
left  school  (though  he  never  discontinued  his  studies) 
and  commenced  his  professional  career, — that  of  a 
civil  engineer, — under  his  brother,  Sylvester  Welch, 
on  the  Lehigh  Canal.  Among  his  associates  in  that 
hard-working  corps  were  W.  Milnor  Roberts,  Solo- 
mon W.  Roberts,  and  Edward  Miller,  all  of  whom 
afterwards  became  eminent  civil  engineers.  In  1830 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal  Company,  under  Canvass  White,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  original  of  American  engineers. 
Since  then  he  has  been  a  citizen  of  New  Jersey,  and 
since  1832  a  resident  of  Lambertville. 

In  1836,  Mr.  Welch  took  charge  of  the  works  of  the 
Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  Company,  and  retained 
that  charge  for  many  years,  in  the  mean  time  con- 
structing several  other  works,  among  which  was  the 
Belvidere  Delaware  Railroad,  commenced  in  1850 
and  finished  in  1854.  On  the  20th  of  December,  1852, 
the  stockholders  of  the  canal  company  suddenly  de- 
termined to  double  the  capacity  of  their  locks  and 
canal.  Mr.  Welch  organized  his  staflF,  drew  his  plans 
and  specifications,  procured  his  materials,  employed 
and  officered  a  force  of  four  thousand  men,  and  fin- 
ished the  work  in  three  months,  and  all  within  his 
estimate.  One  of  the  items  of  work  was  twenty 
thousand  cubic  yards  of  cement  masonry,  laid  in  the 
dead  of  winter  and  kept  from  freezing  by  housing  and 
artificial  heat. 

From  1862  to  1867,  as  vice-president  of  the  Camden 
and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  he  was  the  executive 
officer  of  the  "  Joint  Companies,"  whose  works  ex- 
tended across  New  Jersey.  At  the  beginning  of 
1867,  he,  with  Hon.  Hamilton  Fish  and  others,  eff'ected 
the  consolidation  of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  Com- 
pany with  the  "Joint  Companies,"  thus  bringing  the 
whole  system  of  railroads  and  canals  between  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  into  one  interest  and  under 
one  management.  He  was  appointed  general  presi- 
dent of  the  Associated  Companies,  Hon.  Hamilton 
Fish  being  vice-president,  and  Hon.  Joseph  P.  Brad- 
ley secretary.  This  position  he  held  until  Dec.  1, 
1871,  when  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  took 
possess.ion  of  the  works  under  their  lease.  His  policy 
was  to  improve  the  works  connecting  the  two  great 
cities  of  the  Union  in  such  a  manner  as  to  remove  all 
ground  of  complaint   and   all   fear  of  competition. 


2,90 


HUNTEKDON    COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Those  associated  companies  are  now  merged  into 
"  The  United  New  Jersey  Eailroad  and  Canal  Com- 
pany." He  is  still  president  of  the  Belvidere  Dela- 
■svare  and  some  smaller  railroad  companies,  all  oper- 
rated  hy  lessees. 

One  special  object  Mr.  Welch  had  in  view  in  try- 
ing to  effect  the  consolidation  of  the  "Joint  Com- 
panies" and  the  New  Jersey  Eailroad  and  Transpor- 
tation Company  was  to  reach,  over  the  New  Jersey 
Railroad,  a  good  terminus  for  the  whole  system  on  the 
harbor  of  New  York.  Having  secured  the  assent  of 
his  associates  in  this  direction,  he  purchased  seventy 
.acres  at  Harrison's  Cove,  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Hudson,  opposite  the  business  heart  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  elaborated  a  plan  by  which  the 
greatest  amount  possible  of  water-front  should  be  ob- 
tained on  it  by  means  of  short  ship-canals  running 
partly  through  it.  The  object  was  to  bring  railroads, 
ships,  store-houses,  ferries,  and  carts  all  together,  so 
as  to  reduce  the  cost  of  moving  and  handling  to  the 
least  possible  amount.  A  recapitulation  of  his  views 
is  contained  in  his  printed  report  to  the  board  of 
directors  of  June  18,  1868.  To  get  control  of  this 
terminus  was  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  Penn- 
.sylvania  Eailroad  Company  in  leasing  the  works  of 
the  United  Companies. 

Mr.  Welch  conducted  tlie  negotiation  for  the  lease 
with  the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad  Company,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  provisions,  believed  to  be  new  in 
such  leases,  making  the  stock  of  the  United  Com- 
panies very  much  more  valuable  than  it  otherwise 
would  have  been.  One  item  was  that  each  stock- 
holder should  receive  his  ten  per  cent.,  notwithstand- 
ing any  new  agreement  the  directors  might  make  or 
that  the  majority  of  the  stockholders  might  agree  to. 
Believing  from  the  first  that  the  act  under  which 
the  lease  was  effected  was  insufficient  (which  was 
afterwards  so  decided  by  the  court  of  last  resort),  Mr. 
Welch  drew  up,  and  the  Legislature  passed,  an  act 
validating  the  lease  as  it  was. 

Mr.  Welch  is  not  merely  an  administrator,  but  es- 
pecially an  originator.  In  1863  he  originated  and 
put  in  operation  a  system  of  safety  signals  on  the  line 
between  New  Brunswick  and  Philadelphia, — extended 
in  1867  from  New  Brunswick  to  Jersey  City,  and  in 
1872  over  the  Pennsylvania  Eailroad  from  Philadel- 
pihia  to  Pittsburgh, — which  has  entirely  prevented  the 
most  dangerous  class  of  accidents,  previously  so  fre- 
quent and  so  fatal.  It  is  sometimes  confounded  with 
the  English  "  block  system,"  from  which,  however, 
it  differs  essentially,  and  from  which  Mr.  Welch  re- 
ceived no  hint,  not  knowing  of  its  existence  at  the 
time  he  invented  his  system,  which  he  called  "the 
American  safety  system."  The  system  was  described 
in  a  report  made  by  him  to  the  National  Eailroad 
Convention  held  in  New  York  in  1866.  In  1866  he 
adopted  a  plan  of  a  steel  rail  more  economical  and 
forming  better  connections  than  those  previously  in 
use,  the  principles  of  which  are  stated  at  length  in 


his  "  Eeport  on  Rails"  made  to  the  American  Society 
of  Civil  Engineers  at  its  annual  convention  in  1874. 
These  principles  have  since  been  extensively  recog- 
nized and  adopted. 

Mr.  Welch's  efforts  have  not  been  confined  exclu- 
sively to  his  profession.  From  1840  to  1845  he  was 
associated  with  Capt.  Eobert  F.  Stockton  in  the  oper- 
ations which  resulted  in  building  the  war-steamer 
"  Princeton,"  the  first  propeller-ship  ever  constructed 
in  America,  and  in  the  introduction  of  cannon  of 
extraordinary  size,  since  followed  by  Eodman  and 
others. 

In  1843  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton, 
conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  A.M. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
since  1832,  and  an  elder  since  1844,  and  has  several 
times  been  a  member  of  the  General  Asseinbly  of  that 
church.  He  was  an  occasional  contributor  to  the 
Princeton  Review  while  it  was  an  organ  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  America,  his  chief  articles  being 
"The  Anointment  of  Jesus  by  Mary  of  Bethany," 
"The  Perpetuity  of  the  Sabbath,"  and  "God's  Sev- 
enth Day  of  Eest."  In  the  article  on  "The  Perpe- 
tuity of  the  Sabbath"  he  takes  the  position — probably 
never  suggested  before — that  many  Hebrew  local 
laws  were  declaratory  of  the  moral  law,  just  as  many 
English  statute  laws  are  declaratory  of  the  common 
law.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  was 
sujierintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school,  and  he  now 
conducts  the  Congregational  Bible-class  in  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Studdiford's  church.  For  many  years  he  has 
been  a  most  diligent  student  of  the  sacred  Scriptures. 
Thoroughly  orthodox  in  his  belief,  he  is  also  inde- 
pendent and  original  in  his  Bible  investigations, 
taking  nothing  at  second  hand,  but  seeking  to  find 
for  himself  the  meaning  of  the  inspired  text.  Few 
laymen  have  given  as  much  attention  as  he  to  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  and  not  many  of  the  clergy  are 
better  versed  in  the  principles  of  its  interpretation. 

In  politics  Mr.  Welch  is  not  tied  to  either  party 
organization,  but  has  decided  opinions,  one  of  which 
has  long  been  in  favor  of  civil  service  reform,  which 
he  considers  essential  to  the  salvation  of  the  republic. 
He  was  married  in  1834  to  Mary  H.  Seabrook,  who 
died  in  1874,  leaving  five  children,  the  eldest  of  whom 
is  the  widow  of  Mr.  William  Cowin,  of  Lambertville, 
and  the  youngest  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Rev.  E. 
Eandall  Hoes,  of  Mount  Holly,  and  now  of  New  Eo- 
chelle,  N.  Y.  She  died  April  7,  1879.  His  eldest 
son,  Ashbel  Welch,  Jr.,  operates  the  Lambertville 
Iron-Works. 

Mr.  Welch  is  loved  and  honored  by  a  large  circle 
of  friends,  among  whom,  as  well  as  in  the  world  at 
large,  his  influence  has  ever  been  potent  for  good. 
Cautious  and  conservative,  yet  kind  and  conciliatory, 
he  eminently  "  follows  after  the  things  which  make 
for  peace."  Earnest  and  independent  in  his  search 
for  truth,  wise  in  counsel,  public-spirited  as  a  citizen, 
liberal  as  a  benefactor,  firm  and  conscientious  in  the 


;*A      *> 


/       -4 


F.  'ti\  ;;  TUIlJ'j'D'3P";"Ifl©.  IDKJDi. 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


291 


maiatenance  of  right,  true  and  faithful  in  all  the  re- 
lations of  life,  he  combines  in  himself  qualities  which 
make  him  one  of  the  most  valuable  members  of 
society. 


DR.  P.  0.  STUDDIFORD. 
Peter  Ogilvie  Studdiford,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Bridge- 
water  township,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  near  the  present 
village  of  Brauchville,  on  the  South  Branch  of  the 
Raritan,  on  the  11th  of  January,  1799.  His  father, 
the  Eev.  Peter  Studdiford,  was  for  forty  years  the 
venerated  and  beloved  pastor  of  the  Keformed  Prot- 
estant Dutch  Church  of  Eeadington,  N.  J.  His 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Phoebe  Vanderveer, 
was  a  daughter  of  James  Vanderveer,  an  extensive 
landholder  of  Bedminster,  Somerset  Co. 

Dr.  Studdiford  early  manifested  an  unquenchable 
thirst  for  learning.  When  only  nine  years  old  he 
was  placed  under  the  care  of  the  celebrated  teacher 
the  Rev.  Robert  Finley,  D.D.,  at  the  Classical  Acad- 
emy in  Basking  Ridge.  There  he  studied  with  great 
assiduity  and  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fine  classical 
attainments.  'He  subsequently  went  to  the  academy 
at  Somerville,  then  under  the  care  of  Cullen  Morris, 
Esq. 

"  Having  completed  his  preparation,  he  entered 
Queen's  (now  Rutgers)  College,  at  New  Brunswick, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1816  graduated  at  that  institu- 
tion with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class. 

"After  leaving  college  he  was  occupied  for  about 
three  years  in  teaching — first  in  Bedminster,  and 
afterwards  in  Somerville — with  great  acceptance,  al- 
though many  of  his  pupils  in  both  places  were  older 
than  hiinself. 

"  On  the  8th  of  July,  1819,  he  entered  the  theolog- 
ical seminary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Prince- 
ton, where  he  remained  prosecuting  his  studies  for  the 
ministry  until  the  29th  of  September,  1821.  On  the 
27th  day  of  April  in  the  same  year,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  in  Trenton,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  together  with  nine  of 
his  fellow-students." 

He  preached  during  the  spring  vacation  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  General  Assembly's  Board  of  Missions  at 
Bristol  and  Tullytown,  in  Pennsylvania. 

On  Wednesday,  the  28th  of  November,  1821,  in  the 
Presbyterian  church  at  Trenton,  he  was  ordained  as 
an  evangelist  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
at  the  same  time  with  the  Rev.  Charles  Hodge,  D.D., 
and  the  Rev.  William  J.  Armstrong,  D.D.,  and  on 
the  following  Sabbath,  the  2d  day  of  December,  1821, 
he  commenced  his  labors  at  Lambertville,  having 
agreed  to  preach  at  that  place  and  at  the  church  in 
Solebury,  Pa.,  alternately  for  a  year. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1822,  on  the  applica- 
tion of  seven  persons,  the  "  Church  of  Georgetown 
and  Lambertville"  was  organized. 

Dr.  Studdiford   continued  to  supply  this  church 


and  that  of  Solebury  until  the  month  of  June, 
1825,  when  he  was  formally  installed  pastor  of  these 
churches.  Early  in  1848  his  pastoral  relation  with 
the  Solebury  Church  was  dissolved,  and  from  that 
time  until  his  death  he  remained  pastor  exclusively 
of  the  church  in  Lambertville. 

He  married  Eleanor  W.  Simpson,  daughter  of  Judge 
John  N.  Simpson,  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

Eight  children  were  the  fruit  of  this  marriage, — ■ 
seven  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  daughter  and 
two  sons  died  in  early  childhood. 

His  sixth  son,  Josiah  Simpson  Studdiford,  after 
graduating  with  honor  from  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  and  almost  finishing  his  preparation  for  the 
profession  of  law,  entered  the  service  of  his  country 
when  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  broke  out,  as  adjutant 
of  the  Fourth  New  Jersey  Regiment,  and  was  killed 
in  a  gallant  bayonet-charge  at  Crampton  Pass,  South 
Mountain,  Md.,  Sept.  14,  1862. 

In  the  year  1821  the  College  of  New  Jersey  con- 
ferred on  the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch  the 
honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  and  in  1844  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity. 

In  the  year  1826,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  he  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
of  Readington,  to  which  his  father  had  so  long  min- 
istered. But  this  call,  as  well  as  very  eligible  calls  to 
several  other  churches  during  his  ministry,  he  was 
constrained  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  decline. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  1866,  he  departed  this  life  while 
on  a  visit  to  his  brother-in-law  in  the  city  of  Balti- 
more. 

Dr.  Studdiford  was  an  able  theologian,  a  finished 
classical  scholar,  a  ripe  Hebraist,  a  master  of  varied 
learning,  a  most  instructive  preacher.  One  of  the 
most  modest  and  unselfish  of  men,  he  labored  with 
untiring  zeal  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  looking  for 
no  other  reward  than  the  approbation  of  his  Divine 
Master. 

At  his  funeral  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  who  had  been 
a  schoolmate  of  his  at  Somerville,  bore  this  decided 
testimony :  "  What  he  was  as  a  boy  he  was  as  a  man. 
The  impression  he  made  on  his  schoolfellows  was 
the  impression  he  has  left  on  this  community  after  his 
forty-five  years  of  pastoral  service  among  them.  In- 
tellectual superiority,  distinguished  scholarship,  and 
goodness  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense  of  that 
word  were  his  characteristics  in  school,  and  have  been 
his  characteristics  through  life.  He  was  a  good  stu- 
dent, a  good  and  obedient  pupil,  good  in  his  moral 
character,  good  to  all  around  him.  Although  I  knew 
him  longer,  perhaps,  than  any  one  in  this  large  audi- 
ence, you  knew  him  better,  for  he  lived  among  you 
and  lived  for  you.  It  is,  however,  a  satisfaction  to 
his  old  friends  to  bear  their  testimony  to  his  varied 
excellence.  We  all  esteemed  him  as  an  eminently 
wise,  judicious,  learned,  and  able  theologian.  In  the 
course  of  fifty-five  years  I  never  heard  him  speak  evil 
of  any  man,  and  I  never  heard  any  man  speak  evil  of 


292 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


him.  In  tlie  discharge  of  liis  pastoral  duties  he  was, 
as  you  well  know,  instructive,  faithful,  and  laborious. 
In  the  judicatories  and  boards  of  our  church  he  was 
uniformly  kind  and  courteous,  and  his  opinions  were 
always  received  with  the  greatest  deference.  Very 
few  men  have  lived  a  more  honorable  and  useful  life, 
and  very  few  have  been  more  lamented  in  death." 

In  the  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Dr:  Hodge,  pub- 
lished in  his  "Memoirs,"  is  the  following  passage: 
"  The  only  one  of  my  schoolmates  at  Somerville  with 
whom  I  was  associated  in  after-life  was  the  Rev.  Peter 
O.  Studdiford.  During  his  whole  ministerial  life  he 
was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Lambert- 
ville,  N.  J.  That  church  rose  under  his  care  from  a 
mere  handful  to  being  one  of  the  largest  in  the  Synod. 
Dr.  Studdiford  was  distinguished  for  learning,  wis- 
dom, and  goodness  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense 
of  that  word." 


MARTIN    CORYELL. 

Martin  Coryell  was  born  July  20,  1815,  at  New 
Hope,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.  His  father,  Lewis  S.  Coryell, 
was  the  great-grandson  of  Immanuel  Coryell,  who  was 
an  early  settler  in  the  section  ^^■hich  has  become 
famous  as  the  place  of  Washington's  crossing  of  the 
Delaware  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  Coryell's 
Ferry,  embracing  both  sides  of  the  river,  was  settled 
by  branches  of  the  Coryell  family,  many  of  whose 
descendants  are  still  living,  and  among  whom  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  prominent. 

Lewis  C.  Coryell,  father  of  Martin,  was  born  in 
Round  Valley,  Hunterdon  Co.,  and  spent  most  of  his 
life  on  the  west  side  of  the  Delaware  River,  in  Bucks 
Co.,  Pa.,  opposite  Lambertville,  where  he  died,  Jan. 
28,  1865,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  an  active  business  man,  taking  a  prominent  part 
in  the  improvements  of  his  day,  and  promoting  by  his 
energy  and  means  their  accomplishment.  He  was 
intrusted  with  many  important  offices  :  was  commis- 
sioner for  the  improvement  of  the  Delaware  River 
above  tide-water,  superintendent  of  the  mechanical 
work  on  the  Delaware  Divisfon  Canal,  and  director 
in  several  railroad,  coal,  and  other  companies. 

Martin  Coryell  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  town  and  at  the  select  school  of  Dr.  Peter  0. 
Studdiford,  at  Lambertville.  For  two  years  he  was  a 
pupil  (in  his  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  years)  of  the 
then  eminent  mathematician  and  astronomer,  John 
Gummere,  in  Burlington;  but  failing  health  com- 
pelled him  to  relinquish  his  studies  and  to  learn 
the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  for  a  year 
with  results  beneficial  to  his  health,  but  his  ener- 
gies were  directed  into  other  channels.  While  at 
work  upon  the  "  State  dam"  in  the  Delaware  River  at 
Wells'  Falls,  Canvass  White,  an  engineer  of  emi- 
nence selected  to  construct  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal,  came  upon  the  work  to  examine  and  consult 
with  those  in  charge  of  the  dam  upon  the  feasibility 


of  extending  that  work  across  the  river  and  making 
it  a  feeder  for  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal.  In 
making  a  close  examination  of  the  river,  Mr.  Coryell 
was  selected  to  manage  the  boat  in  the  somewhat 
dangerous  rapids.  Mr.  White  was  so  well  pleased 
with  this  service  that  he  requested  Col.  Simpson  Tor- 
bert  to  employ  him  to  establish  and  determine  high- 
and  low-water  marks  along  the  river;  and,  later,  he 
was  given  a  position  as  rod-man  on  the  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal. 

While  at  home  on  a  visit  in  the  winter  of  1839-40, 
a  freshet  occurred  which  seriously  damaged  the  Dela- 
ware Division  Canal.  He  was  called  upon  to  exam- 
ine into  the  extent  of  the  damage  and  to  estimate  the 
cost  and  time  necessary  to  restore  navigation.  This 
service  was  satisfactorily  performed,  and  Mr.  Coryell 
was  retained  in  the  State  employ  as  a  principal  as- 
sistant on  the  Delaware  Division  Canal  until  the  year 
1842,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  Morris  Canal  as 
engineer,  under  John  Cryder,  representing  the  Eng- 
lish bondholders.  This  proved  a  troublesome  and, 
pecuniarily,  a  disastrous  affair,  and,  with  the  mone- 
tary derangements  which  followed  and  the  cessation 
of  work  on  public  improvements,  Mr.  Coryell  turned 
his  energies  into  other  channels.  He  soon  after,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Judge  Fox,  turned  his  attention  to 
the  law,  especially  land  and  water  cases,  and  his  name 
was  enrolled  as  a  law-student  in  the  office  of  B.  H. 
Brewster,  of  Philadelphia,  a  fellow-student  of  Sena- 
tor Don  Cameron ;  but,  on  account  of  injury  to  his 
eyes,  the  result  of  night-reading,  he  sought  other 
employment. 

In  1844  he  was  employed  by  the  canal  commission- 
ers of  Pennsylvania  on  the  Columbia  Railroad.  His 
duties  were  to  inaugurate  and  popularize  the  use  of 
steam  as  a  motive-power  on  the  West  Chester  Rail- 
road (then  operated  as  a  horse-power  railroad),  which 
he  successfully  achieved  in  spite  of  much  local  oppo- 
sition. He  was  then  made  superintendent  of  the 
Schuylkill  level  of  the  Columbia  road,  extending 
from  Philadelphia  to  the  Plane, — an  important  and 
difficult  position  in  those  days  of  combined  railroad 
and  canal  transportation. 

During  the  next  few  years  he  officiated  as  engineer 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  :  he  surveyed  the  un- 
derground workings  of  the  Hazleton  Coal  Company's 
mines ;  was  engineer  and  manager  of  the  Lake  Supe- 
rior Copper  Company,  and  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
in  that  mining  region.  In  1847  he  returned  to  New 
Jersey,  and  was  employed  to  construct  a  coal-wharf 
at  Bergen  Point,  and  soon  after  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Raritan  Canal  Company,  under  Ashbel  Welch, 
Esq.,  under  whose  superintendence  Mr.  Coryell  lo- 
cated the  greater  part  of  the  Belvidere  Railroad,  and 
prepared  and  put  down  the  superstructure  from  Tren- 
ton to  Lambertville.  In  1853  he  was  engineer-in- 
chief  of  the  Brunswick  Canal,  and  during  the  next 
six  or  seven  years  he  was  engaged  in  like  capacity 
upon  the  railroads  and  canals  of  Pennsylvania  and 


C^yZ-'^^^c-^i^^L^ 


■""■a  :,y  s.^,KJi^/  SiirC7>J", 


'MoM?GMIEAB"iro 


CITY  OF  LAMBERTVILLE. 


293 


New  Jersey,  particularly  developing  the  coal  region 
of  Hazleton  and  what  is  now  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad. 

In  1862  he  removed  to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  set- 
tling at  Wilkesbarre,  where  he  pursued  his  profession 
of  civil  and  mining  engineer.  He  was,  in  1864,  upon 
the  organization  of  the  Warrior  Eun  Mining  Com- 
pany, made  director,  secretary,  treasurer,  and  mana- 
ger. The  colliery  was  placed  on  a  business  basis 
and  then  leased,  when  Mr.  Coryell's  connection  as 
manager  ceased. 

His  professional  duties  have  taken  him  to  all  parts 
of  the  land,  and  rendered  him  familiar  with  the  vari- 
ous coal-fields  and  mining  regions  of  Pennsylvania, 
Michigan,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  etc.  He  spent  one 
season  at  Cape  Breton,  examining  the  coal  property 
of  Robert  Belloni  at  Cow  Bay. 

Mr.  Coryell  removed  to  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  in 
1876,  designing  to  make  it  the  place  of  his  permanent 
residence.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Amwell  National 
Bank  of  Lambertville.  To  him  is  largely  due  the 
successful  establishment  of  the  city  water-works,  of 
which  he  still  owns  a  controlling  interest. 

In  June,  1842,  he  married  Myra  A.  Coryell,  who 
was  born  at  Lambertville  in  1820. 


WILLIAM    McCREADY. 

William  and  Sarah  McCready,  grandparents  of 
William  McCready, — the  one  a  native  of  Scotland, 
and  the  other  of  Ireland, — came  to  this  country  im- 
mediately after  their  marriage  and  settled  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  where  they  reared  a  family,  consisting 
of  three  sons  and  three  daughters.  One  of  the  sons, 
Thomas,  married  Catharine  McKinley,  of  New  York, 
and  had  three  children, — William,  John,  and  Thomas. 
William,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  the  eldest  of 
the  family,  and  was  bom  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
July  19,  1817.  His  lot  in  life  was  destined  to  be  a 
checkered  one,  and  to  furnish  a  striking  example  of 
perseverance  and  energy  under  peculiar  difficulties. 

When  about  thirteen  years  of  age  he  was  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources,  and  from  that  time  until  he 
was  twenty-one  he  was  engaged  in  Philadelphia  and  in 
Montgomery  Co.,  Pa.,  in  learning  the  trade  of  a  hat- 
ter, serving  an  apprenticeship  of  eight  years.  At  the 
close  of  this  period,  in  1838,  he  established  himself  as 
a  hatter  at  New  Hope,  and  in  1839  bought  out  an  op- 
position establishment  in  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  and  con- 
ducted both  shops.  The  business  proved  successful,  and 
he  soon  added  thereto  a  milling  interest,  and  subse- 
quently went  into  the  hardware  trade,  including  the 
handling  of  coal  and  iron,  continuing  in  these  pur- 
suits till  1861,  when  he  sold  out  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Rebellion. 

Mr.  McCready,  however,  was  not  long  out  of  busi- 
ness at  this  time.  He  built  a  flax-mill  and  a  hay- 
packing  establishment,   and  followed  these  by  the 


erection  of  a  paper-mill  and  then  commenced  his 
career  as  a  manufacturer  of  paper.  In  all  these  un- 
dertakings he  encountered  a  series  of  disasters  truly 
discouraging  to  a  less  resolute  and  determined  nature. 
Some  secret  enemy  seemed  to  be  bent  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  business,  and  employed  the  "  fire  fiend" 
to  execute  his  work  of  revenge.  His  hatting  estab- 
lishment was  first  burned  down ;  then,  when  he  had 
gotten  his  hay-presses  and  his  flax-mill  in  successful 
operation,  these  were  also  destroyed  by  fire ;  he  then 
built  and  equipped  his  first  paper-mill,  which  was  like- 
wise burned.  He  was  thus  obliged  to  contend  against 
an  unseen  and  unknown  enemy.  When  his  hatting  and 
hay  business  were  burned  he  had  no  insurance ;  in  the 
flax  and  paper  business  the  insurance  was  small.  But 
his  energy  and  determination  never  faltered,  though 
each  fire  seemed  like  a  crushing  blow  to  his  hopes 
and  prospects  of  success. 

He  built  a  new  paper-mill  on  a  much  larger  scale 
in  1867,  to  which  he  gave  the  .very  appropriate  name 
of  "  Perseverance  Mill."  This  mill  is  now  well 
known  to  the  paper  trade  throughout  the  country.  It 
stands  on  the  bank  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal  at  Lambertville,  and  has  been  for  more  than  a 
decade  gradually  growing  up  to  the  proportions  which 
Mr.  McCready  designs  it  finally  to  attain,  as  he  has 
been  able  to  appropriate  means  for  additions  and  im- 
provements. Although  nominally  belonging  to  the 
Lambertville  Paper-Manufacturing  Company,  it  is  as 
much  under  the  control  and  management  of  Mr. 
McCready  as  if  it  were  absolutely  his  property,  the 
company  having  been  formed  to  relieve  him  from 
financial  embarrassment,  and  to  enable  him  to  pay  off 
his  creditors  and  redeem  the  property  under  his  own 
able  and  skillful  management. 

In  justice  to  Mr.  McCready,  a  brief  history  of  this 
arrangement  should  be  given.  In  consequence  of 
various  disasters,  involving  a  loss  of  business  and 
heavy  expense  in  building,  etc.,  he  became  embar- 
rassed in  1869,  and  offered  to  turn  over  to  his  creditors 
every  dollar  of  his  property  as  security,  so  far  as  it 
would  go.  They  having  the  utmost  confidence  in 
his  integrity  as  a  business  man,  refused  to  see  him 
sacrificed,  and  formed  a  company  under  the  name 
of  the  Lambertville  Paper-Manufacturing  Company, 
allowing  him  to  go  on,  at  the  same  time  paying  in- 
terest to  the  company,  till  his  debts  should  be  paid 
up.  He  entered  into  this  arrangement  with  the 
company,  first  for  five  years ;  but  at  the  expiration  of 
that  time,  although  he  had  made  the  business  profit- 
able, the  property  was  not  redeemed.  Feeling  con- 
scious of  his  ability  to  carry  the  matter  through 
successfully,  Mr.  McCready  offered  the  company  good 
inducements  to  extend  the  time  five  years  longer; 
and  while  he  has  put  the  business  upon  such  a  foot- 
ing as  to  be  able  to  redeem  it  at  any  moment,  he  has 
thought  it  advisable,  with  the  consent  of  the  com- 
pany, who  deem  themselves  fully  secured,  to  expend 
a  portion  of  the  profits  of  the  business  in  the  enlarge 


294 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ment  of  the  mill  and  the  increase  of  facilities  for 
manufacturing.  This  he  has  been  constantly  doing, 
and  is  at  the  present  time  erecting  a  large  stone  and 
brick  addition  to  the  main  building.  The  capacity  of 
the  mill  at  the  present  time  is  from  three  to  four  tons 
of  manilla  and  flour-sack  paper  per  day,  with  a  ready 
market  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

This  meagre  outline  exhibits  somewhat  the  energy, 
integrity,  and  business  capacity  of  Mr.  McCready. 
It  shows,  at  least,  the  drift  of  his  life  and  some  of  the 
obstacles  he  has  overcome  by  that  earnest,  practical, 
and  persistent  genius  peculiar  to  the  Scotch-Irish. 
He  is  energetic,  persevering,  honest,  and  truthful, 
exact  in  all  matters,  and  an  excellent  business  man. 

In  politics  he  has  generally  acted  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  local 
affairs.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Lam- 
bertville  in  18.53,  and  was  afterwards  re-elected  with- 
out opposition  for  four  consecutive  terms. 

He  has  been  twice  married,  and  has  raised  a  large 
family  of  children,  eight  of  whom  are  living.  He 
first  married  Elizabeth  Thompson,  Dec.  3,  1840  ;  his 
second  wife,  whom  he  married  Sept.  8,  1863,  was 
Olivia,  daughter  of  Pierson  A.  Beading.  His  two 
oldest  sons  are  in  extensive  and  successful  business  as 
paper  merchants  in  Philadelphia. 

ALEXANDER    HENRY    HOLCOMBE. 

Alexander  Henry  Holcombe  is  of  English  descent 
by  his  paternal  ancestors,  and  on  the  maternal  side 
of  Holland  extraction.  His  first  American  ancestor, 
John  Holcombe,  came  from  England  to  Philadelphia 
soon  after  the  arrival  of  William  Penn,  and,  after 
spending  a  short  time  at  Abington,  Pa.,  came  and 
located  a  large  tract  of  land,  a  portion  of  which  is 
now  covered  by  the  upper  part  of  the  city  of  Lam- 
bertville.  Mr.  Holcombe  was  a  Quaker  or  Friend. 
He  married,  in  1707,  Miss  Elizabeth  Woolrich,  who 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  They 
had  sons — Samuel  and  Eichard — and  several  daugh- 
ters. Samuel  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Of  his  nine  children,  Richard,  the  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  was  the  sixth  in  the  order  of 
birth ;  he  married  Hannah  Emley  in  1776,  by  whom 
he  had  six  children,  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 

Emley  Holcombe,  the  eldest  son  of  Richard  and 
Hannah  (Emley)  Holcombe,  was  born  in  Amwell 
township,  near  Lambertville,  Sept.  21,  1777.  He  was 
brought  up  to  the  mercantile  business,  beginning  his 
career  as  clerk  in  a  store  at  Mount  Airy,  whence,  after 
he  had  attained  his  majority,  he  came  to  Lambert- 
ville, where  he  was  clerk  for  several  years,  until  he 
married  and  purchased  his  home.  He  pursued  the 
mercantile  business  till  near  the  close  of  his  life,  and 
was  also  commissioner  of  deeds  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  was  brigade  inspector,  with  the  rank  of  major,  in 
1812 ;  took  an  active  part  in  the  formation  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Lambertville,  was  president 


of  the  building  committee  and  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees, and  was  senior  elder  at  the  organization,  Sept. 
24,  1822,  having  previously  been  an  elder  in  the 
Solebury  Church,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa. 

Major  Emley  Holcombe  married.  May  12,  1808, 
Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Veghte) 
Skillman  ;  the  latter  was  the  widow  of  Garret  Stryker, 
who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Mary 
Skillman  was  born  Dec.  20,  1779.  The  children  of 
Emley  and  Mary  (Skillman)  Holcombe  were  William, 
Ellen  Ann,  John  Emley,  Theodore,  Charles  Ogden, 
Isaac  Skillman,  Mary,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
Maj.  Emley  Holcombe  died  July  11,  1846,  at  the  age 
of  nearly  sixty-nine  years. 

A.  H.  Holcombe,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  was 
born  in  Lambertville,  June  1,  1821.  He  was  brought 
up  to  the  mercantile  business,  part  of  the  timeas  junior 
partner  in  the  firm  of  E.  Holcombe  &  Son,  and  after- 
wards that  of  Titus  &  Holcombe,  until  he  commenced 
studying  law  with  John  H.  Wakefield,  Esq.,  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Hunterdon  County  bar,  who  re- 
moved to  Boston.  Mr.  Holcombe  finished  his  legal 
studies  with  Col.  Peter  I.  Clark,  of  Flemington,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1853.  His  education,, 
besides  that  received  at  the  common  schools,  has  been 
of  a  practical  business  character,  self-acquired,  and,  in 
the  main,  the  result  of  his  great  love  of  books  and  his- 
fondness  for  reading  and  study.  After  being  admitted 
to  the  bar,  he  commenced  practice  immediately  at 
Lambertville,  where  he  has  continued  in  the  profes- 
sion ever  since.  He  was  duly  admitted  to  the  degree 
of  counselor  after  the  first  three  years  of  practice,, 
and  in  the  progress  of  his  profession  has  endeavored 
to  keep  abreast  of  the  times. 

Previous  to  the  war  of  1861,  he  was  commissioned 
by  Governor  Newell  judge-advocate  of  the  Hunterdon 
brigade,  and  held  that  position  after  the  war  broke 
out,  when,  as  a  member  of  the  brigade  board,  he  as- 
sisted in  enrolling  the  militia  of  the  county.  During 
the  war  he  was  commissioned  by  Adjt.-Gen.  Stockton 
to  raise  a  company  of  volunteers.  Under  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  passed  in  1876  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Bedle  one  of  his  aides,  ranking  as  colonel. 
Mr.  Holcombe  has  been  since  early  life  a  member 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lambertville, 
and  has  been  active  in  all  its  interests,  especially  in 
the  choir  and  Sunday-school. 

He  was  married  April  11,  1867,  to  Malvina  Kay,, 
daughter  of  the  late  William  G.  Mentz,  Esq.,  of  Phil- 
adelphia. They  have  had  six  children,  of  whom  five 
are  living ;  their  first-born  died  in  infancy. 

The  fine  residence  of  Mr.  Holcombe — a  cut  of  which 
appears  on  another  page — was  built  by  him  in  1870, 
and  first  occupied  by  his  family  in  the  fall  of  1871. 

In  politics  he  has  never  taken  a  very  active  part, 
though  he  has  been  identified  with  the  Democratic 
party.  He  was  clerk  of  the  Common  Council  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war,  and  has  held  other  civil 
offices. 


/^^^^-t.^c^L^^^-^^^V^ 


Rev.  George  H.  Larison,  M.D.,  is  of  Danish  descent.  His 
ancestor  John  Larison,  in  the  war  ijetween  the  king  and  nobles 
of  1665,  had  his  property  confiscated,  and,  leaving  the  country, 
went  to  the  seashore  disj^uised  as  a  peasant,  whence  he  escaped 
to  Scotland,  and  soon  after  came  to  America.  landing  on  Long 
Island,  where  he  purch:ised  a  large  tract  of  land  upon  which 
he  settled.  He  had  six  sons ;  two  were  killed  by  the  Indians, 
and  four  survived,  whose  names  were  Roger,  James,  William, 
and  John.  Roger  went  to  Pennsylvania,  and  nothing  was 
afterwards  heard  of  him  ;  James  settled  on  Stony  Brook,  Hope- 
well township,  now  in  Mercer  Co.,  N,  J.,  where  he  bought  an 
estate  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land,  now  owned  by 
Ralph  Ege,  and  reared  a  family  of  six  sons ;  he  died  there  in 
1792,  and  was  buried  on  his  farm.  His  six  sons  were  John, 
Andrew,  Roger,  William,  Elijah,  and  David;  and  his  daughters, 
Acbsa,  Rachel,  and  Catharine.  William,  who  owned  an  original 
tract  of  laijd  in  Mercer  County,  died  there  about  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  John  lived  in  the  same  neighborhood  in  Mercer 
County,  where  he  died  at  an  advanced  age,  leaving  seven  sons. 

Andrew,  the  second  son  of  James  Larison,  was  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  married  a  Severn?, 
and  had  sons, — George,  Andrew,  James,  and  Benjamin,  An- 
drew being  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  G.  H.  Larison.  He  was 
born  May  17,  1776,  and  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Wil- 
son, born  Oct.  15,  1778;  they  had  sons — John,  Andrew,  and 
Benjamin — and  daughters, — Sarah  and  Lavina.  Andrew  Lari- 
son, Sr.,  died  July  26,  1861  j  his  wife,  Mary,  died  Sept.  24,  1S56. 
Benjamin,  the  father  of  Dr.  Larison,  married  Hannah  Ann  Hol- 
combe,  daughter  of  Capt.  George  Holcombe,  and  had  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  the  doctor  is  the  eldest.  His  brothers  were  Cor- 
nelius W.,  M.D.,  of  Ringos;  the  late  Rev.  Andrew  B.  Larison, 
M.D.,  of  Ringos;  and  John  D.  Larison,  present  proprietor  of 
the  original  homestead. 

George  Holcombe  Larison  was  born  in  Delaware  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  Jan.  4, 1831,  and  was  brought  up  on  his  father's 
farm,  attending  in  boyhood  the  common  schools  of  his  district. 
He  subsequently  engaged  for  a  time  in  teaching.  In  1853  he 
entered  the  University  of  Lewisburg,  Pa.,  from  which  he  sub- 
sequently received  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
Having  resolved  to  adopt  the  profession  of  medicine,  he  com- 
menced his  studies  with  Hon.  Samuel  Lilly,  M.D.,  as  preceptor, 
and  attended  lectures  at  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  graduated,  in  1858,  with 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  immediately  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Dolington,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa., 
and  the  following  year  removed  to  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  where 
he  has  since  resided,  and  has  attained  an  extensive  and  profitable 
practice. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon 
County,  and  was  for  seven  years  its  secretary.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  and  was  elected  its  third 


vice-president  in  1872;  and  presided  over  the  one  hundred  and 
ninth  annual  meeting,  held  at  Atlantic  City,  May  25,  1875,  when 
he  delivered  the  annual  address.  Previous  to  his  being  elected 
president  of  this  body  he  had  held  the  positions  of  first,  second, 
and  third  vice-president.  While  holding  the  latter  office  he 
wrote  an  essay  on  "Diseases  Prevalent  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Delaware,"  which  was  well  received,  and  published  with  the 
transactions  of  the  society.  During  the  prevalence  of  the  small- 
po.x  in  Lambertville,  in  1863-64,  he  attended  ninety-nine  cases 
and  only  lost  four.  He  subsequently  prepared  a  paper  on 
"Small-pox  and  its  Treatment,"  for  the  medical  society  in 
1864,  which  was  well  received  by  the  profession,  and  filed 
among  the  important  papers  of  the  society.  His  practice  is  a 
general  one,  but  he  makes  a  specialty  of  obstetrics,  and  has  so 
far  attended  over  one  thousand  cases  successfully  j  he  has  also 
achieved  great  success  in  surgical  cases. 

Dr.  Larison  has  on  three  or  four  occasions  been  a  delegate  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Medical  Society,  and  at  one  of  its  sessions  in 
Carlisle  delivered  an  address  before  that  body.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  vice-presidents  of  the  American  Academy  of  Medicine, 
founded  in  1876,  and  was  elected  to  the  same  office  in  1878  and 
1879. 

He  was  for  seven  years  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Lam- 
bertville, and  has  held  all  the  grades  in  the  New  Jersey  State 
militia  from  second  lieutenant  to  brigadier-general,  excepting 
that  of  lieutenant-colonel.  He  is  surgeon  on  the  staff  of  Col. 
Angel's  well-known  regiment — the  Seventh  Regiment  New 
Jersey  National  Guard. 

In  educational  matters  Dr.  Larison  has  taken  a  prominent 
part.  He  was  elected  town  superintendent  of  schools  in  1862, 
and  has  filled  that  position  both  under  the  town  and  city  or- 
ganization to  the  present  time,  being  continuously  re-elected 
on  the  Democratic  ticket,  although  parties  have  had  a  variety 
of  changes  during  these  years  ;  the  schools  have  been  prosper- 
ous under  his  management.  He  has  also  at  times  devoted  his 
leisure  hours  to  the  preparation  of  pupils  for  college  and  for 
the  medical  profession. 

During  his  attendance  at  the  University  of  Lewisburg  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  he  is  now  a  regu- 
larly ordained  minister  of  that  denomination.  Until  quite  re- 
cently he  was  pastor  of  a  church,  chiefly  of  his  own  gathering, 
at  Solcbury,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Delaware,  in  Bucks  Co., 
Pa.,  to  whom  he  ministered  every  Sunday  morning  and  evening 
for  seven  years.  Under  his  ministry  this  church  received  ad- 
ditions numbering  about  one  hundred  members.  Dr.  Larison 
has  been  connected  with  the  Reading  Association  of  Baptist 
Churches.  At  the  organization  of  that  body,  at  Reading,  Pa., 
he  preached  the  opening  sermon,  and  was  chosen  moderator  of 
the  meeting. 

He  married,  in  1859,  Sarah  Q.,  daughter  of  Caleb  F.  Fisher, 
of  Ringos,  N.  J, 


/?2^^^^2.:^^^l<l,-..^^ 


CITY   OF   LAMBERTVILLE. 


295 


RICHARD  McDowell. 
Richard  McDowell  was  born  near  Dublin,  Ireland, 
Jan.  8,  1824.     He  is  a  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Toft) 
McDowell, — the  former  died  in  Ireland  when  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  about  five  years  old  ;  the  latter 
came  with  him  to  this  country  in  1832,  and  died  in 
Lambertville,  N.   J.,   April  14,  1879.     Richard  was 
brought  up  at  Crescentville,  near  Philadelphia,  till 
seventeen  years  of  age,   at  which  time  he  went  to 
Bridesburg,  Pa.,  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  machinist. 
He  spent  an  apprenticeship  there  of  four  years,  and 
one  year  as  a  journeyman,  and  was  married  there, 
June  24,  1845,  to  Elizabeth  B.,  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  Jones,  of  Bridesburg,  Pa.,  formerly  of  Wales. 
He  next  spent  two  years  as  a  machinist  in  Hazelton, 
Pa.,  when  he  removed  to  Trenton,  N.   J.,  and  re- 
mained about  four  years  in  the  employ  of  Van  Cleve 
&   McKain,  in  the  machine  business.     On  Jan.   1, 
1856,  he  moved  to  Lambertville  and  took  a  place  in 
the  shops  of  the  Belvidere  Delaware  Railroad  Com- 
pany, under  N.  S.  Congdon,  master-mechanic.    At  the 
death  of  Mr.  Congdon,  Sept.  25,  1862,  Mr.  McDowell 
was  appointed  master-mechanic  in  his  place.     This 
appointment  was  made  at  the  instigation  of  Ashbel 
"Welch,  then  president  of  the  Belvidere  Delaware  Rail- 
road Company,  and  has  been  held  by  Mr.  McDowell 
ever  since. 

Besides  the  regular  business  of  his  occupation,  he 
has  been  active  and  very  successful  in  outside  en- 
terprises,-— as,  for  instance,  in  the  purchase  of  a  con- 
trolling interest  in  the  Lambertville  Gas  Works,  in 
1868,  and  in  the  Cottage  Hill  addition  to  Lambertville, 
in  1871,— out  of  which  he  has  realized  handsome 
returns.  In  1873  he  built  a  fine  residence  on  Cottage 
Hill,  at  a  cost  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  which  is 
considered  one  of  the  finest  in  Hunterdon  County. 
In  1867  he  built  and  fitted  up  the  Centennial  Paper- 
Mill  at  Lambertville,  in  charge  of  which  he  placed 
his  son,  who  has  carried  on  the  business  successfully 
ever  since.  He  assisted  in  organizing  the  Amwell 
National  Bank  of  Lambertville,  of  which  he  is  at 
present  one  of  the  directors. 

He  has  five  children  living, — three  sons  and  two 
daughters.  John  W.,  the  eldest  son,  is  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  McDowell  &  Son,  paper  manufacturers 
of  Lambertville;  the  other  two  sons  are  attending 
school,  and  the  daughters  reside  at  home. 

Mr.  McDowell  has  been  till  within  a  few  years  a 
Whig  and  a  Republican  in  politics ;  but  in  the  cam- 
paign for  Mr.  Tilden,  in  1876,  he  became  a  Democrat, 
and  has  since  acted  with  that  party.  He  has  been 
elected  a  number  of  times  to  the  City  Council,  and 
was  chosen  the  first  mayor  of  Lambertville  upon  the 
adoption  of  the  city  charter,  in  1872. 


20,  1820.  The  house  in  which  he  first  saw  the  light 
stood  on  a  spot  now  occupied  by  the  bed  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Canal.  The  town  of  his  birth,  like  the 
house,  has  disappeared,  so  that,  unlike  most  people,. 
Mr.  Arnett  would  find  it  difficult  to  point  out  its 
exact  location.  His  father,  Jacob,  died  while  Cor- 
nelius was  yet  an  infant.  The  only  other  child — a 
brother — died  in  his  youth.  Jacob  Arnett's  widow 
survived  her  husband  about  twenty  years,  dying  ins 
1842,  in  Bucks  County,  not  far  from  Smithtown. 


ji^C-^^^C?^ 


CORNELIUS   ARNETT. 
Cornelius  Arnett,  one  of  Lambertville's  best-known 
citizens,  was  born  in  Smithtown,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  July 


Young  Cornelius  began  life,  therefore,  under  aus- 
pices that  promised  to  develop  his  vigorous  energies. 
His  mother  was  poor,  and  he  was  early  taught  to- 
exercise  the  spirit  of  self-reliance.  At  the  age  of 
seven  he  was  a  strong,  rugged  lad,  and,  as  a  beginning 
of  a  career  marked  since  that  period  by  industrious 
perseverance  and  self-help,  he  was  "  put  out"  to  one 
Mr.  Delp,  a  Bucks  County  farmer,  for  whom  he 
labored  diligently  during  the  space  of  five  years. 
After  that  he  worked  two  years  for  a  farmer  named 
Daniel  Bevighouse,  and  then  for  four  years  drove  a 
tow-horse  on  the  Pennsylvania  Canal.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen — that  is  to  say,  in  1838 — he  made  his  home- 
in  Lambertville,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  trade 
of  shoemaking  with  his  uncle,  Thomas  Ent,  with 
whom  he  remained  one  year. 

In  1839  he  engaged  in  the  shoemaking  business  at-- 
Lambertville  on  his  own  account.  Sept.  2,  1840,  he 
married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Joseph  Reasoner,  of 
Hunterdon  County,  and  in  a  little  while  gave  up  his. 


296 


HUNTERDON    COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


shoemaking  business  to  take  control  of  the  brick- 
making  enterprise  previously  conducted  at  Lambert- 
Yille  by  his  wife's  father.  Shortly  after,  however,  he 
resumed  shoe-manufacturing,  and  carried  that  on,  as 
well  as  the  brick  business,  until  1864,  when  he  aban- 
doned the  shoe  trade  permanently.  Still  his  time  was 
fully  occupied,  as,  in  1855,  he  added  to  his  interests 
that  of  building  contractor,  and  was  largely  engaged 
in  the  construction  of  bridges,  buildings,  etc.  In 
18(33  he  erected  the  capacious  saw-mill  which  he  still 
carries  on  in  connection  with  his  building  and  brick- 
manufacturing  industries.  In  these  various  enter- 
prises he  employs  upwards  of  sixty  people,  and 
contributes  largely  to  the  manufacturing  prosperity 
■of  Lambertville. 

Mr.  Arnett  has  thus,  since  his  seventh  j'ear,  been 
the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  and  that  his  history 
is  the  record  of  a  busy  life  is  apparent  at  a  glance. 
He  has  been  too  busy  to  give  any  time  to  jaolitics, 
even  had  his  inclinations  pointed  that  way.  During 
three  terms  he  has  acted  as  a  valued  member  of  the 
Lambertville  Common  Council,  but  for  public  office 
he  has  no  taste.  He  is  quite  content  to  be  an  humble 
citizen,  faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  manifold 
business  duties.  To  use  his  own  language,  "  he  was 
born  and  cradled  a  Democrat,"  but  the  issues  of  the 
war  set  him  firmly  upon  the  rock  of  Republicanism, 
and  there  he  has  ever  since  unfalteringly  stood.  For 
upwards  of  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  I.  0.  O.  F. ;  for  more  than  forty  years  a  staunch 
and  unflinching  advocate  and  worker  for  the  cause  of 
temperance,  and  nearly  that  length  of  time  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  His  children  have 
numbered  nine, — Charles  W.,  who  was  born  July  26, 
1841,  entered  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  was  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  May  5, 1862,  and,  being 
conveyed  home,  died  there  Nov.  11,  1862 ;  Anna  E. 
was  born  Sept.  6,  184.3,  and  died  June  8,  1870 ;  Vic- 
toria was  born  March  9,  1846,  and  is  now  Mrs.  J.  J. 
Lair,  of  Lambertville;  Emeline,  born  Aug.  12,  1848, 
is  Mrs.  P.  K.  Hazen,  of  Lambertville ;  George  W., 
born  Feb.  19,  1851,  lives  in  Lambertville;  Franklin 
P.,  born  Oct.  7,  1853,  died  June  11,  1856 ;  Mary  H., 
born  July  i,  1856,  is  now  Mrs.  C.  H.  Wilmot,  of  Lam- 
bertville ;  Clara  V.  and  Edward  B.  McClellan,  born, 
respectively,  Oct.  11,  1858,  and  Oct.  18,  1862,  are 
living  with  their  parents. 


JAMES  C.  WE  EDEN. 
James  C.  AVeeden  was  born  in  Kent,  England,  on  the 
15th  of  September,  1815;  he  died  at  Lambertville, 
N.  J.,  March  25,  1866,  aged  fifty  years  six  months 
and  ten  days.  While  in  England  Mr.  AVeeden  had 
followed  various  occupations :  he  was  first  a  mason, 
and  then  engaged  in  butchering,  which  he  carried 
on  till  he  removed  to  Manchester  and  established 
himself  in  the  wholesale  stationery  and  paper-stock 
trade,  which  he  conducted  up  to  the  time  of  his  emi- 


gration to  America.  He  married,  in  Brighton,  Eng- 
land, Ann  Bage,  who  was  born  in  Surrey,  about  fifty 
miles  from  London,  and  who  still  survives  and  resides 
at  Lambertville. 

In  1851,  Mr.  Weeden  came  with  his  wife  to  this 
country,  landing  in  Philadelphia.  He  came  from 
there  to  New  Hope,  opposite  Lambertville,  where,  in 
May  following,  ■he  took  charge  of  the  Ingham  or 
Great  Spring  Paper-Mill.  He  had  full  control  of  the 
mill  from  that  time  forward,  and  made  the  enterprise 
of  manufacturing  paper  there  very  profitable.  In 
1860  he  commenced  building  a  much  larger  mill  at 
Lambertville,  called  the  Mountain  Spring  Mill,  the 
first  ground  for  which  was  broken  on  the  4th  of 
December. 

The  difficulties  in  carrying  out  such  an  enterprise 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  when  everything  was  in 
a  state  of  uncertainty,  were  very  great.  But  Mr. 
Weeden  persevered  in  the  face  of  all  these  discour- 
agements, and  his  efforts  were  finally  crowned  with 
success.  The  price  of  paper  advanced  during  the  war, 
and  he  made  money.  He  continued  in  successful 
business  till  the  time  of  his  death,  and  left  a  com- 
petence to  his  widow  during  her  lifetime. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weeden  had  no  children  of  their 
own,  but  brought  up  a  nephew,  William  H.  Gaudy, 
now  of  Lambertville.  In  1865,  Mr.  AVeeden  gave 
him  an  interest  in  the  business,  and  he  carried  it  on 
as  superintendent  after  his  uncle's  death  till  August, 
1878,  under  the  firm-name  of  J.  C.  AA^eeden  &  Co.,  as 
it  had  before  been.  Since  1878  Mrs.  AA''eeden  has 
had  full  control  of  the  busiiiess,  and  has  carried  it  on 
herself.  For  the  last  twenty-five  years  they  have 
manufactured  Mann's  patent  parchment  copying- 
paper  and  tissue  manillas. 

Jlr.  AV^eeden  was  very  much  respected  in  Lambert- 
ville, and  his  death  was  felt  to  be  a  great  loss  to  the 
community.  During  his  residence  here  he  had  shown 
himself  ready  to  aid  every  good  work.  To  the  poor 
and  the  suffering  he  was  a  liberal  benefactor.  To  the 
cause  of  Christian  beneficence  he  contributed  regu- 
larly and  largely.  He  took  an  active  interest  in 
Christian  missions  and  in  the  Bible  cause.  As  a 
citizen,  he  was  public-spirited  and  patriotic;  as  a 
neighbor,  ever  ready  to  oblige ;  and  as  a  Christian, 
humble  and  affectionate.  He  had  made  a  public 
profes.sion  of  religion  quite  early  in  England,  and  was 
received  as  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Lambertville  in  1855. 

He  was  a  Republican,  and  did  much  to  aid  the 
friends  of  the  Union  during  the  Rebellion,  working 
on  local  committees,  contributing  funds,  and  acting 
as  treasurer  of  the  Union  League  of  Lambertville. 
He  was  also  active  in  promoting  every  measure  for 
the  benefit  of  the  city  in  which  he  lived ;  among 
other  things,  he  was  instrumental  in  organizing  the 
Aquitong  Fire  Company,  of  which  he  was  vice-presi- 
dent at  the  time  of  his  decease.  That  company,  at  a 
meeting  held  March  26, 1866,  testified  their  apprecia- 


^:^^€.^^ 


CITY   OF  LAMBERTVILLE. 


297 


tion  of  his  character,  and  their  deep  sorrow  occa- 
sioned by  his  death,  in  a  series  of  resolutions,  which 
we  quote,  as  follows : 

"Whereas  God  in  his  all-wise  and  mysterious 
providence  has  called  us  to  mourn  the  loss  of  our 
most  estimable  and  valued  member,  taken  from  us  in 
the  midst  of  life,  and  at  a  period  of  ripened  manhood, 
thereby  warning  us  that  life  in  all  its  most  cheering 
prospects  is  uncertain,  therefore 

"Resolved,  That  with  hearts  filled  with  deep  sorrow 
we  have  heard  the  announcement  of  the  death  of 
James  C.  Weeden,  a  useful  member  and  an  honored 
vice-president  of  this  company. 

"  Resolved,  That  iu  the  death  of  our  beloved  brother 
we  are  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  one  whose 
active  usefiilness  and  kindness  had  greatly  endeared 
him  to  us  and  to  the  community,  and  whose  memory 
will  long  be  cherished  by  those  who  knew  him. 

"Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the 
family  of  the  deceased  in  their  sore  bereavement, 
humbly  trusting  that  He  who  '  tempers  the  wind  to 
the  shorn  lamb'  will  fold  His  love  and  protection 
around  them  and  speak  consolation  to  their  stricken 
hearts. 

"  Resolved,  That,  as  a  testimonial  of  respect  for  the 
memory  of  the  deceased,  our  engine-house  and  appa- 
ratus be  draped  in  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

"  Resolved,  That  our  company  will,  as  a  body,  at- 
tend the  funeral  of  the  deceased,  and  that  the  other 
fire-companies  be  invited  to  unite  with  us  on  that 
occasion. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  pre- 
sented to  the  family  of  the  deceased  by  the  secretary, 
and  also  be  published  in  the  Lambertville  Beacon. 
"Jambs  M.  Eobinson, 
"  William  Dean, 
"Jos.  Smith, 

"  Committee." 

The  Union  League,  at  a  meeting  held  March  28, 
1866,  passed  a  series  of  similar  resolutions,  in  which 
they  testify  to  the  excellence  of  Mr.  Weeden's  char- 
acter, and  express  their  sense  of  bereavement  at  his 
death. 


JOHN  SPEOAT. 


"SPKOAT, 

iMPOnTER  OP 

Patent  Linen  Shoe  Thread,  Sewing  Thread,  Gelting  Twine,  Booltbind- 

erB',  Saddlers',  and  Druggists'  Thread  and  Twine  of  every 

description,  Fine  Linen  Yarns,  Sic, 

No.  37  Strawberry  Street, 

Philadelphia." 

In  1843,  Mr.  Sproat  came  to  Lambertville,  N.  J., 
and  leased  of  Jonathan  Fisk  a  building  which  stood 
below  where  the  depot  now  stands,  converted  it  into 
a  factory,  and,  with  his  brother  Henry,  started  the 
manufacturing  of  the  various  articles  enumerated 
in  his  card,  under  the  firm-name  of  J.  &  H.  Sproat. 
In  1844  this  firm  introduced  the  first  foreign  machin- 
ery for  manufacturing  these  goods.  English  laws 
had  previously  prohibited  machines  from  going  out  of 


John  Sproat  was  born  in  Cockermouth,  Cumberland, 
England,  May  19,  1810.  He  died  at  Lambertville, 
N.  J.,  April  16,  1878,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his 
age.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  Denwood,  was  a  native  of 
the  same  town  in  England.  They  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica in  1840,  in  the  spring  of  which  year  Mr.  Sproat  went 
from  Philadelphia  to  New  Hope,  Pa.,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  charge  of  the  flax-mills  situated  there.  Sat- 
isfactory arrangements  not  being  made,  he  returned 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  continued  the  business  in 
which  he  was  at  that  time  engaged,  which  the  follow- 
ing card  will  explain : 
20 


^\^ 


that  country,  although  certain  parts  of  machines  had 
been  smuggled  into  this  country  with  other  goods. 
About  this  time,  however,  a  law  was  passed  which  per- 
mitted their  importation,  and,  as  above  stated,  J.  & 
H.  Sproat  received  the  first  lot  of  machinery  from 
England.  In  1847,  when  they  had  completed  their 
factory  and  everything  was  in  running  order,  the  build- 
ing, with  its  entire  contents,  was  consumed  by  fire. 
There  being  no  insurance,  it  was  a  total  loss.  How- 
ever by  the  encouragement  of  certain  liberal  citizens, 
they  were  induced  to  rebuild.  John  Sproat,  Sr.,  went 
to  England  to  order  new  machinery,  which  was  sent 
over  and  in  one  year  the  business  was  again  resumed. 
In  1 855  they  sold  out  their  interest  to  James  French 
and  removed  to  Lansingburg,  N.  Y.    After  about  three 


298 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


years,  however,  they  returned  to  Lambertville.  Mr. 
French,  meantime,  had  removed  his  machinery  to 
Newark,  and  they  re-entered  the  old  factory  and  re- 
commenced business.  In  those  days  flax  was  raised 
in  abundance  in  this  section  of  country. 

In  1862,  John  Sproat,  St.,  moved  into  the  substan- 
tial brick  building  situated  on  the  water-power  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  city.  This  building  was  stocked 
with  the  most  approved  machinery  that  could  be 
obtained  from  foreign  countries.  In  1869  he  admit- 
ted into  the  firm  Joseph  and  John  Sproat,  Jr.,  two  of 
his  sons,  who  were  experienced  workmen,  and  the 
firm  was  changed  to  John  Sproat  &  Sons.  Their 
business  continued  to  increase.  In  1871  a  wing  was 
added  to  the  main  building.  The  mill  is  run  by 
water,  for  which  purpose  two  Jonvill  turbine-wheels, 
fifty  horse-power  each,  are  used.  When  the  mill  is 
running  at  full  force,  about  one  hundred  hands  are 
employed. 

Before  the  death  of  the  founder  of  this  large  and 
successful  business,  the  trade  of  John  Sproat  &  Sons 
extended  all  over  the  United  States,  and  when  it  is 
stated  that  this  trade  was  held  and  increased  without 


the  aid  of  a  single  traveling  salesman,  some  idea  may 
be  formed  of  the  reputation  of  the  house  and  the 
quality  of  the  goods.  The  machinery  for  the  mill  was 
mostly  obtained  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland, 
and,  on  business  connected  with  its  purchase  and  other 
matters,  Mr.  Sproat  crossed  the  ocean  twenty-four 
times.  During  his  long  business  career  he  steadily 
pushed  on  his  work  with  unabating  efforts,  and  the 
many  misfortunes  encountered  on  the  way  only  in- 
creased his  energy,  so  that  he  lived  to  witness  the 
great  success  of  his  life-work.  The  mills  of  James 
French  of  Newark,  the  Valley  Falls  Twine-Manu- 
facturing Company  of  New  York,  the  firm  of  Finley 
&  Schlicter,  and  the  Cable  Flax-Mills  of  Troy,  N.  Y., 
are  among  the  offsprings  of  the  Sproat  Mills  of  Lam- 
bertville, N.  J.  Joseph  and  John  Sproat,  Jr.,  are 
the  successors  of  John  Sproat  &  Sons. 

Mr.  Sproat  was  a  public-spirited  and  liberal  citizen, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  the  improvement  of  Lam- 
bertville. He  built  quite  a  number  of  houses  in  the 
place,  and  aided  many  poor  men  to  provide  them- 
selves with  homes  by  selling  them  lands  and  giving 
them  a  chance  to  pay  for  them  on  easy  terms. 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  VILLAGES  OF  HUNTERDON  CO. 


R  A  R  I  T  A  N; 

INCLUDING  FLEMINGTON,  THE  COUNTY-SEAT. 


SITUAIION,   BOUNDARIES,   AREA,   Etc. 

This,  one  of  the  east  townships  of  Huntwdon 
County,  is,  owing  to  its  rhombic  shape,  almost  cen- 
tral, its  extreme  northern  and  western  points  reach- 
ing far  into  the  towns  adjoining  it  on  the  north  and 
west. 

It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  townships  of 
Clinton  and  Readington;  on  the  east  by  Hillsbor- 
ough, in  Somerset,  and  East  Amwell,  in  Hunterdon  ; 
on  the  south  by  East  Amwell  and  Delaware ;  and  on 
the  west  by  Franklin  township.  It  is  about  5  miles 
wide  and  8  long,  although  the  distance  between  its 
northern  and  southern  angles  is  fully  11  miles.  Its 
area  is  36.78  square  miles,  or  23,539  acres.     It  is  at 


"Earitan"  Ib  an  Indian  name,  the  signiflcation  of  wliich  is  "forked 


the  present  time  (1880)  divided  into  376  farms  and 
contains  a  population  of  4190,  independent  of  Flem- 
ington,  or  an  aggregate  of  5944,  it  being  the  most 
populous  township  in  the  county. 

The  township  of  Raritan  comprises  only  a  little 
more  than  one-fourth  of  the  old  Amwell  township, 
which  (embracing  the  territory  of  th«  present  town- 
ships of  Raritan,  Delaware,  and  East  and  West  Am- 
well) was  purchased  of  the  Indians  in  1703. 

Raritan  was  formed  from  Amwell  in  1838,  since 
which  date  its  boundaries  have  been  unchanged. 
(F;or  a  particular  description  of  the  lines  which  sep- 
arate her  from  her  sister  townships,  see  Sec.  1  of  the 
act  of  the  Sixty-second  General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  New  Jersey. t) 


t  Quad  vide,  in  history  of  this  township,  under  head  ' 
tion." 


Civil  Organiza- 


RARITAN. 


299 


PHYSICAL   FEATURES. 

The  northern  portion  of  this  township  is  somewhat 
hilly ;  the  southern,  level  or  gently  undulating. 

The  South  Branch  of  the  Earitan,  a  noble  mill- 
stream,  flows  in  a  southwest  direction  from  the 
north  to  the  east  side  of  the  township,  where  it 
crosses  the  Somerset  line.  The  next  stream  in  size 
and  importance  is  the  Neshanic  River,  which,  with 
its  branches,  waters  the  central  and  southern  portions 
of  the  township,  and  flows  mainly  in  a  southeasterly 
direction.  The  head-waters  of  the  Wickesheo,  or 
several  small  brooks  which  empty  into  that  stream 
near  the  Delaware  line,  drain  its  western  borders. 
Half  a  dozen  creeks  between  the  Franklin  township 
line  and  the  Bushkill  flow  in  a  nearly  easterly  direc- 
tion and  empty  into  the  South  Branch  of  the  Earitan. 
With  all  these  water-courses,  some  of  which  afford 
good  water  privileges,  the  township  is  well  irrigated. 

There  are  no  very  considerable  elevations  in  the 
township,  those  most  noticeable  being  Mullen  Hill 
and  Mount  Carmel,  the  slopes  of  which  are  gentle 
rather  than  abrupt,  and  mark  on  either  hand  beauti- 
ful and  fertile  valleys,  the  pride  of  the  husbandmen 
of  Earitan,  which  will,  in  the  future  as  in  the  past, 
yield  their  treasures  for  the  enrichment  of  her  sons 
and  daughters. 

EARLY   SETTLEMENT. 

Adam  Bellis  and  his  young  wife  came  as  Dutch 
emigrants  about  the  year  1740, — ^possibly  earlier, — 
and  settled  near  the  confluence  of  the  three  head- 
branches  of  the  Neshanic,  about  two  miles  south  of 
Flemington.  There  he  built  a  log  hut,  in  the  forest, 
on  land  purchased  of  Mr.  Stevenson, — a  tract  of  210 
acres,*  which  was  the  eastern  portion  of  the  1400- 
acre  tract  of  John  Stevenson,  and  a  part  of  the  2100- 
acre  tract  of  William  Stevenson.  Indian  wigwams 
stood  near  the  Bellis  cabin,  and  for  many  years  sub- 
sequent to  Adam's  settlement  there  the  friendly  In- 
dians remained  in  the  neighborhood.  They  used 
frequently  to  cut  ash  saplings  on  his  land  to  make 
their  bows.  It  is  related  that  on  one  such  occasion, 
"feeling  the  importance  of  his  ownership,"  he  re- 
monstrated with  them  for  so  doing,  when  Nashaway 
mournfully  replied,  "  All  my  land  before  white  man 
come !"  In  the  pioneer  hut  William  Bellis  was  born. 
He  was  the  grandfather  of  William  Bellis,  who  now 
lives  on  a  part  of  the  premises.  Adam  subsequently 
built  a  new  house,  still  known  as  the  old  Bellis  home- 
stead. Of  the  five  sons  of  Adam  Bellis  two  only  re- 
mained in  Earitan  township, — namely,  William,  who 
died  on  the  homestead  in  1826,  and  John,  who  lived 
on  a  part  of  the  place. 

Adam  (1)  had  a  brother  William,  who  early  settled 
where  Gideon  Quick  now  lives ;  but  he  afterwards 

*  The  parchnieDt  deed  from  "  Jo^  Stevenson"  to  "  Adam  Bellows," 
dated  June  1, 1743,  for  210  acres,  is  now  in  possession  of  Wm,  M.  Bellis. 
It  is  evident  Mr.  Bellis  was  located  several  years  on  his  land  before  lie 
got  a  deed  for  it. 


sold  out  and  left  the  neighborhood.  The  Bellis  fam- 
ily has  grown  to  be  quite  numerous,  being  well  rep- 
resented in  different  portions  of  the  county ;  many 
of  its  members  are  prominent  citizens,  and  have  filled 
various  public  offices. 

A  genealogical  view  of  the  Bellis  family,  from 
Adam  (1)  Bellis,  down  through  the  line  of  his  eldest 
son,  William,  is  as  follows : 

1.  William  (1),  born  Dec.  18,  1740;  married  Mary 
Housel,  daughter  of  Martin  Housel,  of  Amwell ;  died 
Feb.  27,  1826. 

2.  Peter,  born  July  30, 1743 ;  subsequently  moved  to 
Kentucky,  where  he  died. 

3.  Catharine,  born  in  1746;  never  married,  and 
died  on  the  homestead. 

4.  John,  born  in  1750  ;  married  Nellie  Williamson, 
of  Larison's  Corner.  Two  of  her  sisters  married  John 
Housel  and  Eichard  Williamson.  Mrs.  John  Bellis 
died  at  Eingos.  Her  husband  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Eevolution,  and  died  near  Flemington,  July  11, 
1838. 

5.  Adam  (2),  born  in  1753,  married  Mary  Eocka- 
feller,  sister  of  Jacob  Eockafeller.  Adam  died  near 
Cherryville,  in  what  is  now  Franklin  township. 

6.  Andrew,  born  July  17,  1757,  married  Elizabeth 
Servis,  of  Amwell.  He  subsequently  moved  to  Hope- 
well. 

7.  Charity,  born  April  15,  1760;  never  married, 
but  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  died  on  the  old 
home-farm. 

The  children  of  William  (1)  and  Mary  (Housel) 
Bellis  : 

1.  Adam  (3),  born  Jan.  19,  1774;  never  married, 
and  died  young. 

2.  Eleanor  (Lena),  born  Sept.  29,  1775;  married 
Eev.  John  Jacob  Wack,  of  German  Valley,  who 
preached  in  the  old  Dutch  church,  but  subsequently 
removed  to  New  York  State. 

3.  William  (2),  born  Dec.  15,  1776;  married  Mar- 
garet Young,  daughter  of  Peter  Young.  William 
died  on  the  old  homestead.  Of  his  descendants,  John 
Young  Bellis  is  now  living  below  Eeaville. 

4.  David,  born  Oct.  12,  1778;  married  Eleanor 
Schenck,  daughter  of  Eoelif  (Eafe)  Schenck.  He 
died  in  1872.  John  William  Bellis,  a  son  of  David, 
now  lives  on  the  old  Eoelif  Schenck  farm,  and  David 
S.,  another  son,  lives  near  Copper  Hill. 

5.  John  (2),  born  May  26,  1781 ;  married,  first, 
Margaret  Cool;  second,  Sarah  Lisk.  The  children 
by  the  last  marriage:  1.  Margaret,  married  Christo- 
pher Werts;  2.  David  (2),  married  a  daughter  of 
Abram  Werts,  and,  after  her  decease,  Anna,  a  daughter 
of  William  Chamberlin;  3.  John  (3),  married,  first, 
a  daughter  of  Paul  Cool  Dilts,  and  later  a  lady  from 
New  York.    John  (2)  lived  near  Clover  Hill. 

6.  Mathias,  born  April  24,  1783 ;  married  Eliza- 
beth Sutphin,  daughter  of  "  Eafe"  Sutphin ;  died 
June  4, 1826.  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  died  Oct.  20, 1847. 
Of  their  children,  two  only  are  (1880)  living, — viz.. 


300 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


William  M.,  located  in  this  township,  in  the  house 
built  by  his  father,  on  a  portion  of  the  old  homestead 
farm,  which  Mathias  purchased  of  his  father,  Wil- 
liam ;  and  Hannah,  the  wife  (now  widow)  of  Abram 
Prall,  now  residing  in  East  Amwell.  Charity  died 
Aug.  5,  1832 ;  Hiram,  Aug.  14,  1836. 

Other  early  settlers  were  the  Rockafellers,  whose 
farm  was  where  Gershom  Sergeant  now  lives ;  the 
Williamsons,  whose  old  homestead  was  near  the  old 
Dutch  church  at  Larison's ;  and  the  Sutphins,  who 
emigrated  from  the  Millstone  valley  of  Somerset 
County  in  an  early  day  and  located  in  Earitan  (then 
Amwell)  where  Andrew  Blackwell  now  lives. 

John  Williamson,  the  emigrant  ancestor  of  the 
Williamson  family,  came  to  New  Amsterdam  (New 
York)  in  1661,  on  the  ship  "St.  Jean  Baptist,"  John 
Tunison  also  coming  on  the  same  vessel. 

The  ancestor  of  the  Sutphins  (or  Zutvens)  was 
Dirck  Janse,  from  Zutven,  or  Sutven,  in  the  Nether- 
lands, who  emigrated  in  1651,  and  settled  at  Flatbush, 
L.  I.,  whence  he  removed  about  1680  to  New  Utrecht, 
where  he  probably  died,  his  will  being  proved  in 
1707  and  recorded  in  the  surrogate's  office  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  His  sons,  Jacob,  Jan,  Dirck  (2),  and 
Guisbert,  settled  in  Monmouth  and  Somerset  Counties 
as  early  as  1716,  some  of  the  descendants  removing  a 
little  later  into  Hunterdon  County.  One  of  these 
was  Jacob  Sutphin,  who  settled  in  Amwell  (now 
Earitan)  township,  about  a  mile  north  of  Larison's 
Corner.  He  purchased  several  lots  of  land,  one  of 
which  was  located  on  the  Neshanic,  below  Reaville, 
a  tract  of  about  200  acres,  now  in  possession  of  Eobert 
Cain.  Mr.  Sutphin  at  the  time  of  his  death  owned 
about  220  acres.  Nov.  12,  1741,  he  married  Maritje, 
eldest  daughter  of  Roelif  Schenok.  He  died  in  1804. 
He  had  two  sons — Eoelif  (1)  and  John— and  three  or 
four  daughters. 

Eoelif  (1)  Sutphin  was  born  in  1744;  died  in  1811. 
He  married  Johannah,  daughter  of  James  Stout,  of 
Amwell,  and  had  children:  1.  Jacob,  born  1773,  died 
1794;  never  married.  2.  James  Stout,  born  1778, 
died  1868,  aged  ninety;  married  Charity  Hortman. 
3.  John,  born  1780,  died  1794.  4.  Abram  R.,  born 
1782,  deceased;  married  Mary  Lowe,  daughter  of 
Eichard,  of  Somerset  County.  5.  Mary,  born  1769 
deceased ;  married  Jacob  Sutphin.  6.  Jemima,  born 
1771,  deceased ;  married  Peter  Young.  7.  Johanna, 
born  1775,  deceased;  married  Arthur  Schenck.  8. 
Elizabeth,  born  1784,  deceased;  married  Mathias 
Bellis. 

The  children  of  James  S.  and  Charity  (Hortman) 
Sutphin:  1.  Jacob,  born  1797,  died  1828;  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Abram  Prall;  2.  Ealph,  born 
1802  (living  in  Amwell) ;  married  Eachel,  daughter 
of  John  H.  Bellis;  3.  John  J.,  born  1811;  died  1875; 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Elijah  Wilson  ;  4.  James| 
born  1819  (living  in  Minnesota) ;  married  Catharine^ 
daughter  of  John  Bodine ;  5.  Catharine,  born  1798, 
died  1868;   married  Peter,  son  of  Abram  Prall;   6. 


Hannah,  born  1804,  died  1852;  married  Leonard  K., 
son  of  John  Bellis ;  7.  Mary,  born  1807  (living  in 
Amwell);  married  William,  son  of  Lewis  Chamber- 
lin ;  8.  Elizabeth,  born  1813  (living  in  Delaware 
township);  married  James,  son  of  Elijah  Wilson;  9. 
Eachel  Ann,  born  1815  (living  in  Amwell) ;  married 
Charles,  son  of  Capt.  John  Wilson. 

The  children  of  Ralph  Sutphin  and  Rachel  Bellis 
are  Sarah  K.,  born  in  1831,  married  L.  S.  Blackwell, 
Sept.  17, 1868,  and  resides  in  East  Amwell;  Jacob  S., 
born  in  1840,  and  married  Alida,  daughter  of  Caleb 
F.  Fisher,  Dec.  9,  1873;  Annie  R.,  born  in  1848, 
married  Dr.  Farley  Fisher,  son  of  Caleb  F.  Fisher, 
Dec.  28,  1870,  and  resides  in  Middlebush,  Somerset 
Co.,  N.  J. 

The  Atkinsons  and  Bonnells  were  early  settlers. 
Alexander  Bonnell  died  in  1819,  and  was  buried  (as 
was  also  his  wife,  Catharine,  who  died  in  1854,  and 
his  son  Joseph,  the  lawyer,  who  died  in  1823)  in  the 
Presbyterian  churchyard,  Flemington.  Asher  At- 
kinson was  an  uncle  of  Charles  Bonnell,  and  of  Mrs. 
Alexander  Wurts,  still  living  in  Flemington,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-six  years.  Charles  Bonnell,  Esq.,  died 
in  Flemington,  March  24,  1830. 

John  Maxwell,  the  brother  of  Gen.  William  Max- 
well, was  the  son  of  an  emigrant  from  the  North  of 
Ireland,  who  as  a  dissenter — a  Scotch  Presbyterian- 
sought  this  country  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  its 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
Warren  County,  near  the  Hunterdon  line.  John 
settled  in  Earitan  township,*  and  married,  at  an  early 
day,  Elizabeth  Kirkpatrick,  of  Somerset  County ;  his 
sons,  John,  George  C,  and  William,  were  prominent 
citizens  here.  The  former  was  a  merchant,  and  also 
owned  the  mills  now  known  as  Rockafellow's.  He 
died  prior  to  1822.  George  C.  and  William  were  both 
prominent  lawyers  ;  the  first  named  died  before  1822, 
the  latter  about  1828.  (See  further  mention  under 
the  head  of  "Bench  and  Bar  of  Hunterdon  County.") 
Another  early  settler  in  the  same  neighborhood  was 
John  Jewell,  who  located  a  farm  where  William 
Johnson  now  lives.  He  also  purchased  the  property 
now  owned  by  David  Bellis,  to  whom  it  was  con- 
veyed by  John  Jewell's  son.  Old  deeds  to  land  in 
this  vicinity  contain  references  to  the  "  Jewell  farm," 
evidencing  that  the  family  were  among  the  very 
earliest  to  settle  here. 


*  His  epitaph  is  as  follows :— "  In  Memory  of  John  Maxwell,  Esq., 
Second  son  of  John  and  Anne  Maxwell.  He  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  Mot.  26th,  A.D.  1739,  And  at  an  early  age  emigrated 
with  his  Father  To  New  Jersey.  He  was  a  Lieutenant  in  the  First  Com- 
pany raised  in  Sussex  County,  for  the  defence  of  his  adopted  Country,  In 
the  Revolutionary  War  ;  And  soon  after,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  her  for- 
tunes, joined  the  Army  of  General  Washington,  as  Captain  of  a  Company 
of  Volunteers.  He  was  engaged  in  the  Battles  of  Trenton,  Princeton, 
Brandywine,  Gennantown,  Monmouth,  and  Springfield,  And  ever  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  brave  and  able  ofScer.  Having  served  his  Country 
in  various  civil  and  military  offices,  And  faithfully  discharged  his  various 
duties.  As  a  Soldier,  Citizen,  and  a  Christian,  He  closed  a  long  and  useful 
life,  at  his  residence  At  Flemington,  February  15th,  A.D.  1828,  In  the 
89th  year  of  his  age." 


KAKITAN. 


301 


The  old  Housel  property  lay  south  of  the  Bellis 
farm,  where  David  Conover  now  lives,  and  east  was  a 
Mr.  Trimmer.  Farther  on  was  Cornelius  Stout's 
mill,  built  by  him  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago. 
He  was  an  Englishman,  and  not  related  to  the  other 
numerous  family  of  Stouts.  He  sold  the  mill  to 
Henry  Bake,  from  whom  Col.  Abraham  R.  Sutphin 
purchased  it,  and  who,  in  1812,  built  the  present  mill, 
near  where  George  Kuhl  now  resides. 

This  portion  of  Earitan  township  appears  to  have 
been  an  early  Dutch  settlement. 

"  For  about  sixty  years  the  people  spoke  the  Dutfih  language  ;  it  was 
iised  in  preaching  and  in  the  family.  The  records  were  kept  in  Dutch, 
counting  was  done  in  Dutch  fashion,  brides  Tvere  '  given  away'  in  the 
manner  of  the  old  country,  and  the  marriage  service  read  and  spoken  in 
the  mother-tongue.  The  people  who  tilled  the  soil  by  the  side  of  the 
Neshanic  were  honest,  economical,  generous,'  and  brave.  They  would 
put  a  lump  of  sugar  in  their  mouth  and  suck  it  while  they  drank  their 
tea,  thus  economizing  their  sweets,  yet,  at  the  appearance  of  the  stran- 
ger guest,  their  tables  would  fairly  groan  with  the  good  cheer  of  hos- 
pitality. If  we  had  looked  into  the  old  Dutch  church  at  Larison's  a 
hundred  ye^rs  ago,  we  would  probably  have  found  old  Adam  Bellis  and 
his  children  and  their  neighbors  compnsing  the  greater  part  of  the  con- 
gregation. We  could  have  seen  the  men  arrayed  in  homeapun  suits, — 
coats  reaching  to  their  knees  and  breeches  down  to  their  boot-tops,  big 
enough  for  two  men,  and  coats  thickly  set  with  little  brass  buttons.  The 
women  would  have  appeared  in  enormous  straw  hats  not  unlike  the  '  sun- 
downs' of  the  present  day,  and  petticoats  reaching  half-way  below  the 
knees.  ...  If  we  had  seen  these  people  at  home  on  New  Year's  day,  we 
would  have  beheld  the  children  and  their  families  gathered  around  the 
ancestral  'board,  upon  which  smoking  dishes  were  displayed,  flanking 
the  indispensable  goose  well  stuffed  with  onions.  As  the  cider  sparkled 
and  foamed,  and  the  apple-jack  began  to  work,  the  past  was  held  up  as 
a  miiTor :  the  sire  would  tell  his  adventures  in  crossing  the  ocean  and 
stories  of  his  first  intercourse  with  the  Indians  :  while  the  sons  would  tell 
of  their  exploits  on  many  a  bloody  field,  of  the  scenes  of  their  old  cam- 
paigns in  driving  the  British  out  of  Jersey."* 

John  Anderson,  who  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in 
Earitan  in  1754,  was  no  doubt  the  ancestor  of  most  of 
the  name  in  this  vicinity. 

Martin  Kyerson  was  an  early  resident,  and  lived  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  George  Rea;  subsequently 
moved  to  Newton,  Sussex  County,  N.  J.,  where  he 
died.  (See  history  of  Presbyterian  Church.)  Martin 
sold  to  Tunis  Quick.  His  son  Martin  was  a  judge  of 
the  Superior  Court. 

Jonathan  Higgins,  grandfather  of  Judiah  Higgins, 
of  Flemington,  was  an  early  settler  in  the  south  part  of 
the  township.  He  came  from  Kingston,  but  in  what 
year  it  is  now  impossible  to  ascertain, — although  some 
time  prior  to  the  Revolution, — and  settled  near  and 
north  of  Ringoa.  His  son  Jonathan  (2)  was  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  Continental  service,  officiating  as  wagon- 
master  ;  he  was  born  in  1756,  and  was  three  times 
married.  His  first  wife  was  a  granddaughter  of  Gov- 
ernor Reading ;  his  second,  Miss  Polhemus,  a  sister 
to  his  third  wife,  Eleanor,  all  of  Amwell  (now  Rari- 
tan)  township.  The  latter  was  the  mother  of  Judiah, 
of  Flemington.  Jonathan  Higgins  (1)  had  two  other 
sons  (besides  the  Jonathan  (2)  named  above), — 
namely,  Judiah  (1),  who  lived  on  the  Centre  Bridge 
Road,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  from  Flemington, 
and  Nathaniel,  who  settled  north  of  Ringos,  near 

*  Traditions  of  our  Ancestors. 


the  Delaware  line,  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Hig- 
gins' School  District,  No.  85.  The  latter  operated  a 
mill  there  for  many  years,  and  there  ended  his  days 
on  earth.  The  mill  was  run  until  a  few  years  ago, 
but  is  now  unused.  Capt.  Jonathan  Higgins  died 
near  Flemington,  Oct.  11,  1829.  Judiah  Higgins  (2) 
was  born  on  the  Higgins'  homestead,  north  of  Rin- 
gos, July  16,  1799.  He  is  the  son  of  Jonathan  (2) 
and  Eleanor  his  (third)  wife.  Judiah  married  Charity, 
daughter  of  William  Fisher,  of  East  Amwell ;  she 
was  born  Nov.  30,  1803.  This  venerable  couple  are 
now  (1880)  living  in  Flemington, f  at  the  advanced 
ages  of  eighty-one  and  seventy-seven  respectively. 

THE   HEADING  FAMILY. 

In  1712  and  1715,  John  Reading,  Jr.,  surveyed 
tracts  for  parties  in  Burlington,  securing  for  himself 
at  the  same  time  600  acres  on  the  South  Branch.  He 
soon  afterwards  removed  here  and  built  the  Reading 
homestead,  now  occupied  by  Philip  Brown.  He  be- 
came one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  State ;  was  a 
member  of  the  colonial  council  from  1728,  and  vice- 
president  for  ten  or  twelve  years.  Upon  the  death  of 
Governor  Hamilton,  in  1747,  the  government  devolved 
upon  him  until  the  arrival  of  Governor  Belcher; 
again,  on  the  death  of  the  latter  official,  in  1757,  Mr. 
Reading  became  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  colony, 
administering  the  office  until  the  arrival  of  Governor 
Bernard,  in  1758.  John  Reading  was  born  at  Glou- 
cester, N.  J.,  June  6, 1686,  and  died  Nov.  7, 1767,  at  the 
ripe  age  of  eighty-one.  He  and  his  sister  Elsie,  when 
children,  were  taken  to  England  by  their  mother, 
Elizabeth  Reading,  to  be  educated,  the  father  remain- 
ing in  this  country.  They  were  absent  nine  years. 
Upon  their  return  it  was  found  that  John  had  es- 
chewed the  principles  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and 
embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Presbyterians,  to  which 
he  was  ardently  attached  all  his  life,  and  so  his  de- 
scendants have  continued.  His  influence,  services,  and 
money  were  freely  bestowed  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
religious  privileges,  educational  advantages,  and  na- 
tional freedom.  He  succeeded  to  the  greater  part  of 
his  father's  estate. 

By  way  of  parenthesis,  a  few  words  about  John,  the 
father  of  the  Governor,  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth.  He 
came  from  England.  They  were  Quakers,  and  left 
their  country  on  account  of  the  persecution  to  which 
their  sect  were  subjected.  He  settled  at  Gloucester, 
N.  J.,  prior  to  1685,  as  he  was  that  year  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  which  met  at  Burlington.  He  was 
also  recorder  of  the  town  of  Gloucester  from  1695  to 
1701,  inclusive.  About  1701  he  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land  near  Lambertville,  to  which  he  soon  after 
removed  with  his  family.  He  there  resided  until  his 
death,  following  the  business  of  surveying.  He  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  define  the  boundary  line 
between  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  1719.t    He 


f  To  which  place  they  removed  in  1866. 
X  Smith's  New  Jersey,  p.  412. 


302 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  his  wife  were  buried  in  the  ground  of  the  Buck- 
ingham meeting-house,  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  opposite 
to  his  own  residence.  Their  son  John  put  up  head- 
stones at  their  graves,  but  they  were  subsequently- 
broken  down  by  the  boys  of  the  Quaker  school  near 
by,  and  have  entirely  disappeared. 

"  Governor"  John  Reading  married  Mary  Eyerson,* 
sister  of  Col.  P.  Eyerson,  then  in  the  British  service. 
They  lived  and  died  on  the  homestead  farm  in  Eead- 
ington.  He  is  said  to  have  planted  the  walnut-trees 
there.  He  owned  three  mill  properties,  beginning 
with  Mettler's  and  running  down  the  stream ;  also 
about  1600  acres  of  laud,  including  the  farms  now 
owned  by  Barton,  Stothoff,  Deats,  James  Ewing,  Clark, 
and  Brown.  His  name  heads  the  list  of  the  first  trus- 
tees of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1748.  He  had 
seven  sons,  of  whom  John,  the  eldest,  died  in  1776, 
Daniel  in  1768,  George  in  1792,  Joseph  in  1806,  and 
Thomas  in  1814.  Five  of  the  seven  sons  (above  named) 
of  the  Governor  settled  near  him,  and  became  con- 
spicuous in  church  and  in  civil  and  military  affairs. 
Thomas  lived  on  the  Brown  farm.  He  was  a  prom- 
inent man.  He  was  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  effort 
to  establish  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  one 
of  its  first  elders  and  trustees.  He  was  captain  of  the 
sixth  company  of  the  Third  Battalion  of  the  Jersey 
brigade,  mustered  in  1774.  He  served  until  the  bat- 
talion was  discharged.  A  grandson,  John,  entered 
the  company  of  his  uncle  as  ensign ;  in  January,  1777, 
he  was  promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  and  served  until 
1780.  Another  grandson,  Samuel,  was  first  lieutenant 
in  Capt.  Stout's  company  of  the  "  Jersey  Line,"  First 
Establishment,  Dec.  18,  1775.  He  was  taken  prisoner 
June  8, 1776.  He  became  captain,  and  in  1781  major, 
of  the  First  Eegiment,  and  served  to  the  close  of  the 
war.  Yet  another,  Charles,  was  lieutenant  in  the 
Third  Eegiment,  Hunterdon,  and  afterwards  captain. 

The  Governor's  oldest  daughter,  Ann,  married  Eev. 
Charles  Beatty,  one  of  the  first  graduates  of  the  Log 
College,  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Presbytery 
of  New  Brunswick.  They  had  eleven  children,  nine 
of  whom  reached  mature  life.  Their  descendants  are 
numerous ;  some  of  them  were  conspicuous  in  church 
and  State.  "With  few  exceptions  they  have  been 
Presbyterians,  many  of  them  ruling  elders.  On  the 
female  side  eight  have  married  Presbyterian  minis- 
ters,—viz.,  Eevs.  Enoch  Green,  J.  W.  Moore,  P.  F. 
Fithian,  Samuel  Lawrence,  Alexander  Boyd,  Eobert 
Steel,  D.D.,  Henry  E.  Wilson,  D.D.,  B.  Wilbur;  Eev. 
C.  C.  Beatty,  D.D.,  of  Steubenville,  Ohio,  a  distin- 
guished and  honored  Presbyterian  minister,  is  a  grand- 
son. Miss  Beatty,  the  well-known  and  now  sainted 
missionary  at  Debra,  India,  was  a  great-grand- 
daughter. Gen.  John  Beatty,  a  son,  was  in  the  Eevo- 
lution,  and  so  was  his  brother.  Col.  Erkuries  Beatty. 
John  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  prominent 
citizens  of  Trenton. 


*  No  doubt  a  daughter  of  Judge  Martin  Eyerson. 


Elizabeth,  another  daughter  of  the  Governor,  mar- 
ried John  Haokett,  of  Hackettstown.  Another  daugh- 
ter, Mary,  was  married  to  Eev.  William  Mills,  of  Ja- 
maica, L.  I. 

The  children  of  the  Governor's  oldest  son,  John, 
were  Charles,  who  lived  on  the  Risler  farm,  now 
owned  by  J.  C.  Hopewell;  Alexander,  who  died  at 
Eowland's  Mills ;  Montgomery,  who  moved  to  Sussex 
County ;  and  John,  whose  son  Joseph  owned  and  died 
on  the  farm  recently  held  by  Mr.  Bunn.  Joseph  was 
the  father  of  Judge  James  N.  Eeading,  long  a  promi- 
nent lawyer  in  Flemington,  now  residing  at  Morris, 
111.  ;t  also  of  John  G.  Eeading,  long  a  merchant  of 
Flemington,  now  residing  in  Philadelphia,  and  of 
Philip  G.  Eeading  of  Frenchtown. 

Daniel,  the  third  son  of  the  Governor,  had  two 
sons,  Daniel  and  John  Eeid,  and  several  daughters. 
One  married  Mr.  Wood  and  was  the  mother  of  George 
Wood,  an  eminent  lawyer  of  New  York;  another 
married  a  Montgomery,  and  was  the  mother  of  Gen. 
Montgomery;  another  married  Eev.  Mr.  Grant,  the 
first  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Fleming- 
ton.  The  son  Daniel  lived  on  James  Ewing's  farm, 
and  had  one  son,  Daniel  K.,  and  two  daughters.  This 
Daniel  K.  had  but  one  child,  and  he  is  the  Daniel 
Kennedy  that  left  the  money  to  build  the  academy, 
which  is  now  the  public  school  of  Flemington. 
John  Eeid  Eeading  had  several  children,  of  whom 
were  Eobert  K.,  the  father  of  Franklin  Eeading,  of 
Williamsport,  and  a  daughter  who  married  Isaac  G. 
Farlee. 

The  Governor  and  many  of  his  descendants  lie  in 
the  old  Amwell  churchyard,  others  in  the  Presby- 
terian burial-ground  at  Flemington. 

Upon  the  subscription  paper  for  the  old  Amwell 
(Presbyterian)  church  parsonage,  1753,  appears  the 
name  of  John  Eeading  — the  Governor — for  fifty 
pounds. t 

Joseph  Eeading  was  the  youngest  son  and  only 
child  of  John  Eeading,— known  as  "  Valiant"  John, 
to  distinguish  him  from  others  of  the  name,— he 
being  the  grandson  of  Governor  John  Eeading. 
Joseph  Eeading  was  a  farmer,  and,  although  favored 
with  but  limited  educational  advantages,  was  pos- 
sessed of  good  sound  sense.  He  was  a  man  of  unim- 
peachable integrity,  and  had  the  confidence  of  all 
who  knew  him.  He  was  generally  esteemed.  He 
transacted  a  great  deal  of  public  business,  did  much 
in  the  way  of  settling  estates  and  in  aiding  his  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  and  was  always  ready  to  espouse  the 
cause  of  the  weak  or  oppose  the  encroachments  of 
the  strong.  He  was  married,  Nov.  6, 1804,  to  Eleanor, 
second  daughter  of  Dr.  John  F.  Grandin  and  Mary 
Newell.  Their  oldest  son,  James  Newell  Reading, 
—named  after  his  Grandmother  Grandin's  father,  Dr. 
James  Newell,— is  the  present  possessor  of  an  ancient 


t  See  sketch  with  the  "Bench  and  Bar  of  Hunterdon  County." 
t  Uist.  of  the  Presb.  Church,  Flemington,  Rev.  G.  S.  MotJ,  D.D. 


RARITAN. 


303 


silver  tankard,  an  heirloom  of  the  family.  Upon  it 
the  Reading  coat-of-arms 
are  engraven,  being  three 
boars'  heads,  with  bars 
and  flame,  on  an  embossed 
shield.  A  seal  bearing  this 
coat-of-arms  is  said  to  be 
in  the  jjossession  of  Frank- 
lin Reading,  one  of  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Governor's 
son,  Daniel,*  now  residing 
at  Williamsport,  Pa. 

Austin  Gray  Eunyon  was  the  first  person  buried  in 
the  Presbyterian  graveyard.  Col.  Hugh  Eunyon, 
great-grandfather  of  Hugh  Capner,  was  an  officer  in 
the  Revolutionary  army.  He  was  a  very  bold  and 
fearless  man,  and  full  of  energy  and  action  amid 
scenes  of  danger.    He  settled  at  Quakertown. 

Francis  Besson,  with  his  wife,  Lizzie,  and  ten  chil- 
dren, came  from  Grermany  about  1750  with  a  colony, 
a,mong  whom  was  Abraham  Shurts.  Besson  bought 
land  and  lived  about  four  miles  west  of  Flemington, 
near  where  Mr.  Peartree  now  resides.  Francis  Bes- 
son's  great-granddaughter,  Mrs.  Margaret  Kline,  was 
living  in  1860  near  Lebanon  Station,  Clinton  town- 
ship, this  county,  over  eighty  years  of  age.  She  re- 
members hearing  her  grandmother  tell  about  the 
Indians,  who  lived  near.  They  often  came  to  the 
house  with  wooden  ladles  and  bowls  to  exchange  for 
butter,  milk,  etc.  She  often  saw  them  bury  their  dead  : 
they  washed  the  body,  perfumed  it,  and  painted  the 
face,  then  followed  silently  and  in  single  file  to  the 
grave,  where  it  was  placed  in  a  sitting  posture,  and 
after  placing  money,  etc.,  beside  it,  the  earth  was 
heaped  up  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid. 

The  Capner  family  (originally  "  Capnerhurst") 
were  quite  early  settlers.  Thomas  Capner  purchased 
170  acres,  the  homestead  portion  of  the  old  Mine  farm, 
from  Mrs.  White,  the  widow  of  Philip  Kase,  about 
1810.  (See  a  more  extended  account  of  the  Capner 
family  in  the  history  of  Flemington.) 

Jacob  E.  Voorhees,  living  near  Three  Bridges, 
occupies  the  old  Nicholas  Ott  place.  Ott  sold  to 
Abraham  Wambaugh  in  1809,  and  he  to  Jacob  Voor- 
hees, father  of  Jacob  R.,  in  1815.  In  the  orchard  are 
four  fall  pippin  trees,  still  bearing  fruit,  that  bore 
over  seventy  years  ago,  one  of  which  measures  11  feet 
4  inches  in  circumference. 

Some  of  the  descendants  of  Derrick  Hoagland,  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  old  Amwell,  reside  in  Raritan. 
His  great-grandson,  Aaron  C.  Hoagland,  lives  about 
one  mile  from  Copper  Hill ;  his  grandfather  Amos 
settled  on  the  Neshanic,  near  Reaville,  and  there 
Andrew,  the  father  of  Aaron  C,  was  born.  Andrew 
married  Mary  Carmen,  a  native  of  this  township,  she 
being  born  near  Copper  Hill.    Her  father,  Elijah 


*  Daniel  died  April  9, 1834,  aged  BeveDty-one  years ;  Ms  wife,  Jane 
Kennedy,  died  July  30, 1840,  aged  over  seventy  years. 


Carmen,  owned  a  farm  and  saw-mill  on  the  Walnut 
Brook ;  the  latter  was  erected  about  1790,  is  still  in 
operation,  and  is  owned  by  A.  C.  Hoagland. 

John  Manners  was  another  early  settler  of  Raritan. 
One  of  his  sons,  James  S.,  was  sheriff  about  1815 ; 
another.  Dr.  John  Manners,  studied  medicine  and 
practiced  for  a  time  in  Flemington,  then  moved  to 
near  Clinton,  where  he  followed  his  profession.  The 
emigrant  ancestor  of  the  Manners  family,  John  Man- 
ners (from  whom  the  above-named  John  was  de- 
scended), was  born  in  England  in  1679,  and  settled 
in  Amwell  in  1718.  He  married  a  Stout,  a  daughter 
of  Richard.  (For  a  more  full  account  of  the  Manners 
family  see  the  history  of  East  Amwell  township,  else- 
where in  this  volume.  A  sketch  of  Dr.  John  Man- 
ners may  also  be  seen  in  the  chapter  on  the  "  Medical 
Profession  of  Hunterdon  County.") 

The  Quicks  were  also  early  settlers,  on  the  place 
now  occupied  by  N.  Higgins,  near  Pleasant  Corner. 

Dr.  Jacob  Rutsen  Schenck,  who  lived  at  Neshanic, 
on  the  Brunswick  road,  in  the  early  day  traveled  all 
over  the  eastern  part  of  Raritan  township  (or  Am- 
well, as  it  was  then  called)  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. His  brother,  John  F.,  also  a  physician,  was 
located  at  Flemington,  and  his  father,  likewise  a  dis- 
ciple of  jEsculapius,  lived  over  the  line,  in  Hills- 
borough, Somerset  Co. 

Philip  Kase  was  one  of  the  first  settlers.  He  was 
from  Germany,  and  was  probably  the  ancestor  of 
many  of  the  Case  family  now  living  in  the  county. 
By  a  deed  of  the  date  of  March  9, 1738,t  was  conveyed 
to  him  a  portion  of  the  William  Penn  tract,  now 
known  as  the  Mine  farm,  by  Thomas  Penn,  for  him- 
self, and  as  attorney  for  his  brothers  John  and  Rich- 
ard. Philip  had  two  sons,  John  and  Philip,  the  last 
named  being  called  the  "half-bushel-maker."  He 
used  to  tell  about  his  mother  getting  lost  in  the 
woods.  She  went  to  hunt  her  cow,  and  wandered 
around  for  several  hours.  She  finally  saw  a  column 
of  smoke  curling  above  the  tree-tops.  Going  in  that 
direction,  she  came  to  a  house,  and  after  knocking  at 
the  door  discovered  it  to  be  her  own  dwelling.  The 
wolves  would  often  howl  about  this  house.  On  one 
occasion  a  wolf  came  on  to  the  door-step  and  attacked 
the  dog,  when  Mrs.  Case  valiantly  charged  him  with 
a  stick  and  drove  him  off.  The  old  original  Case 
house  was  built  of  stone  cemented  with  mud ;  not- 
withstanding which  fact,  when  Hugh  Capner  tore  it 
down  several  years  ago  he  found  the  walls  solid  and 
strong.  Abbey  Case,  a  descendant  of  Philip,  lived 
and  died  in  Flemington,  and  her  sister,  the  late  Mrs. 
Joseph  Brown,  lived  with  her  son  Philip  on  the  old 
Governor  Reading  farm,  near  Mettler's  Mills,  until 
her  death.  A  grandson,  John  Case,  is  still  living,  a 
resident  of  Flemington. 

An  old  settler  in  the  north  part  of  the  township  was 
Jonas  Moore,  who  came  quite  early  in  this  century. 

f  Now,  or  recently,  in  the  possession  of  Hitgh  Capner,  Esq. 


304 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Forty- three  years  ago  (1838)  came  also  to  the  same 
neighborhood,  north  of  Flemington,  George  B.  Stot- 
hoff  and  George  F.  Crater.  They  were  both  from 
Peapack,  Somerset  Co.  The  first  named  purchased 
of  Charles  Bartles  the  property  formerly  owned  by 
Joseph  Hampton.  Mr.  Crater  subsequently  removed 
to  Flemington,  where  for  many  years  he  kept  public- 
house,  and  died  about  a  year  since. 
t 

PHYSICIANS. 
The  first  to  practice  the  healing  art  in  Earitan  town- 
ship was  George  Creed,  in  1765,  at  Flemington.  How 
long  he  continued  is  not  known,  but  he  was  followed 
by  John  Gregg  and  William  Prall,  at  Flemington 
and  Eeaville  respectively.  The  latter  commenced  in 
1793,  and  continued  until  his  death,  in  1825 ;  the  for- 
mer, likewise,  until  his  demise,  in  1808.  Others  who 
have  practiced  here  in  former  years,  but  are  since  de- 
ceased, are  the  following  (the  dates  given  are  the 
years  they  were  engaged  in  practice) :  William  Geary, 
1808-34;  John  Manners,  1818-19;  Henry  B.  Poole, 
1819-23  ;  Henry  Southard,  1846-47 ;  and  Willard  F. 
Combs,  1852-54.  The  latter  died  in  1854  ;  a  son  and 
daughter  now  reside  here.  Of  the  living  practition- 
ers John  F.  Schenck  is  the  oldest,  he  having  com- 
menced in  1823,  and  his  son,  William  H.  Schenck,  in 
1848.  G.  P.  Rex,  of  Eeaville,  dates  from  1854.  At 
the  last-named  place  William*  and  Zaccur  Prall* 
were  early  physicians,  1793  and  1816  being  the  re- 
spective dates  of  their  medical  advent.     C.  R.  Prall, 

Johnson,  and  I.  R.  Glen  also  practiced  there, 

but  Dr.  Rex  is  now  (1880)  the  only  one  there  resi- 
dent. In  Flemington,  Richard  Mershon  practiced 
in  the  years  1843-44,  but  removed  from  the  county, 
and  Justice  Lessey  commenced  in  1854,  but  in  1858 
went  to  Philadelphia.  Other  and  later  physicians 
engaged  in  Flemington  are  J.  A.  Gray,   George  R. 

Sullivan,  Henry   B.  Nightingale, Parrish,  and 

J.  H.  Ewing. 

CANALS  AND  RAILROADS. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  township  were  early  inter- 
ested in  matters  of  canal  and  railroad  communication. 
They  were  from  the  first  earnest  supporters  and  advo- 
cates of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal,  and  were 
also  among  the  first  agitators  for  railroad  advantages. 
Although  other  meetings  had  been  previously  held  in 
Flemington,  the  most  notable  gathering  of  the  kind 
was  held  in  that  village,  Oct.  8,  1831,  at  the  court- 
house, at  which  it  was 

"Mesalved,  That  the  middle  and  upper  part  of  Hunterdon  County, 
which  may  be  considered  among  the  most  populous  and  fertile  districts 
of  the  State,  labors  under  peculiar  disadvantages  from  its  distance  from 
market  and  the  want  of  communications  to  encourage  the  improTement 
of  its  natural  advantages  ;  that  it  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad  from  Somerville  to  the  neighborhood  of  Fleming- 
ton,  and  thence  to  Lambertville,  or  any  point  on  the  Delaware  below 
the  head  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  feeder,  so  as  to  intersect 
that  improvement  and  secure  to  this  section  of  country  a  communication 
to  the  markets  of  both  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 


*  Deceased. 


"Eeaolved,  That  from  our  knowledge  of  the  country  from  the  valley  of 
the  Karitan  to  Flemington,  and  thence  through  the  Amwell  valley  to 
the  Delaware,  we  are  satisfied  that  a  railroad  can  be  constructed  on  this 
route  at  as  small  an  expense  as  over  any  other  route  of  the  same  extent 
in  this  State. 

*'  Resolved,  That  the  decided  advantages  of  the  route  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  railroad  over  any  other  route  through  this  county  above  or  be- 
low, the  importance  of  public  places  through  which  it  will  pass  as  places 
of  business,  the  state  of  improvement  and  the  fertility  of  soil  of  this  re- 
gion of  country,  the  value  and  importance  of  the  water-power  on  the 
Karitan  between  Somerville  and  Flemington,  the  great  extent  of  water- 
power  on  the  Delaware  at  and  near  liambertville,  with  the  advantages 
which  may  be  derived  from  a  spur  extending  from  the  main  line  of  this 
road  at  some  suitable  point  between  Somerville  and  Flemington,  to  Clin- 
ton, are  such  as  to  warrant  the  construction  of  the  railroad  and  spur  a& 
above  contemplated,  afford  a  satisfactory  assurance  that  the  produce  of 
the  road  will  yield  to  the  stockholders  an  adequate  remuneration  for  the 
capital  invested. 

'^  Uesoloed,  That  in  our  opinion  it  is  proper  that  an  application  should 
be  made  to  the  Legislature  at  the  next  session  to  authorize  the  construc- 
tion of  the  railroad  and  spur  as  above  proposed." 

A  strong  committeef  was  then  and  there  appointed 
to  circulate  petitions  for  the  above  purpose,  with  a 
further  committee  (John  Mann,  of  Somerset,  and 
Isaac  G.  Farlee,  John  W.  Bray  and  Philip  Marshall, 
of  Hunterdon)  to  forward  the  same  to  the  Legisla- 
ture. 

CIVIL   ORGANIZATION. 

The  township  of  Raritan  was  organized  in  1838  by 
a  special  act  of  the  Legislature,t  along  with  the  town- 
ships of  Amwell  and  Delaware,  out  of  the  territory  of 
old  Amwell,  which  previously  embraced  fully  one- 
third  of  the  area  of  the  county. 

We  quote  from  the  organic  law,  which  not  only 
framed  this  township,  but  which  has  defined  its 
boundaries  through  the  intervening  years  :§ 

"  An  Act  to  establish  two  new  townships  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  to 
he  called  the  townships  of  Delaware  and  Raritan. 
"Sec.  1.  Be  it  Enacted  by  the  Council  and  General  Assembly  of  IhU 
State,  and  it  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  avlhority  of  the  same.  That  all  that  part 
of  the  township  of  Amwell,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  which  lies 
within  the  boundaries  and  descriptions  following — to  wit:  Beginning  in 
the  Delawari-  River,  in  the  western  boundary  line  of  the  county  of  Hun- 
terdon, at  the  division  line  between  the  townships  of  lUngwood  and 
Amwell ;  thence  down  the  said  river  Delaware,  along  said  boundary  line, 
to  the  mouth  of  Alexsockin  Creek  ;  thence  up  the  middle  of  the  said 
creek,  the  several  courses  thereof,  to  the  middle  of  the  Old  York  Road, 
leading  from  Lambertville  to  the  village  of  Ringos;  thence  north- 
easterly up  the  middle  of  said  road  until  it  intersects  the  road  leading 
from  Trenton  to  Quakertown,  by  the  way  of  Ringos  and  Buchanan's 
tavern,  at  the  village  of  Ringos;  thence  northwardly,  following  the 
middle  of  the  said  road  leading  from  Trenton  to  Quakertown,  until  it 
intersects  the  division  line  between  the  townships  of  Kingwood  and  Am- 
well ;  thence  southwestwardly  following  the  said  division  line  to  the  place 
of  beginning— shall  be,  and  hereby  is,  set  off  from  the  said  township  of 
Amwell,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  into  a  separate  township,  to  be 


t  The  committee  was  John  B.  Mattison,  William  Taylor,  Robert  K. 
Reading,  Esq.,  Joseph  Reading,  William  P.  Young,  Daniel  Kinney,  Jacob 
M.  Kline,  Richard  Coxe,  Esq.,  Alexander  V.  Bonnell,  James  W.  Hope, 
Elnathan  Moore,  Stephen  Albro,  Thomas  Alexander,  Gen.  Nathan  Price,. 
George  Trimmer,  Richard  Williamson,  Ellas  Conover,  Richard  Lowe, 
EUsha  E.  Holcombe,  Johnson  Barber,  Rensselaer  Johnson,  Philip  Mar- 
shall, Esq.,  Jacob  B.  Smith,  Samuel  D.  Stryker,  and  Lemuel  HowcU,  of 
Hunterdon,  and  John  Mann,  Esq.,  John  Wyckoff,  Esq.,  Charles  Code, 
and  Dr.  Butser  G.  Schenck,  of  Somerset. 

t  Passed  Feb.  2a,  1838. 

g  The  only  change  in  its  boundaries  since  1838  was  an  insignificant  one, 
in  1864,  when  a  few  acres  in  its  extreme  southern  poHion,  a  part  of  the 
village  of  Ringos,  was  set  off  to  East  Amwell  by  act  of  the  Legislature. 


EAKITAN. 


305 


called  aud  known  by  the  name  of  the  township  of  Delaware ;  and  that 
all  that  part  of  the  township  of  Amwell,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon, 
■which  lies  within  tlie  boundaries  and  descriptions  following — to  wit: 
Beginning  at  a  corner  in  the  division  line  between  the  townships  of 
Lebanon,  Kingwood,  and  Amwell,  on  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan 
River;  thence  down  the  eaid  South  Branch  of  Raritan  River  until  it  in- 
tei-sects  the  division  line  between  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Hunter- 
don, commonly  called  the' province  line;  thence  southeastwardly  along 
said  division  line  between  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  to 
the  middle  of  the  road  leading  from  Clover  Hill  to  Manner's  tavern,  now 
called  Greenville  ;  thence  southwardly  along  the  middle  of  the  Baid  road 
to  said  Manner's  tavern,  now  called  Greenville,  where  it  intersects  the 
Old  Tork  Koad,  leading  to  the  village  of  Ringos;  thence,  still  south- 
westwardly,  along  the  middle  of  the  said  Old  York  R^ad  until  it  inter- 
sects the  road  leading  from  Trenton  to  Quakeilown  at  the  village  of 
BingoB ;  thence  northwardly  along  the  middle  of  said  last-mentioned 
road,  by  way  of  Buchanan's  tavern,  until  it  intersects  the  division  line 
between  the  townships  of  Kingwood  and  Amwell;  thence  northeast- 
wardly along  the  said  division  line  between  the  townships  of  Kingwood 
and  Amwell  to  the  placp  of  beginning  last  aforesaid — shall  be,  and  hereby 
is,  set  off  from  the  said  township  of  Amwell,  in  the  countj'  of  Hunterdon, 
into  a  separate  township,  to  be  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  the 
township  of  Raritan." 

THE  FIRST  TOWN-MEETING 

of  Raritan  township  pursuant  to  the  above  enactment 
was  held  April  9,  1838.  Its  proceedings  are  thus 
recorded  in  the  clerk's  book  : 

"  At  the  first  annual  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township 
of  Raritan,  held  at  the  house  of  Mahlon  C.  Hart,  in  Flemington,  on  Mon- 
day, the  9th  day  of  April,  a.d.  1838,  the  following  officers  w^ere  elected, 
to- wit:  Moderator,  Joseph  Case;  Town  Clerk,  Joseph  Besson ;  Assessor, 
Jesse  C.  Reed;  Collector,  Peter  Ewing;  Chosen  Freeholders,  Joseph  Case 
and  Jacob  Voorhees ;  Surveyors  of  Highways,  John  W.  Larason  and  Asa 
Jones  ;  Commissioners  of  Appeals,  Peter  Ewing,  Andrew  Bearder,  and 
Jacob  B-ockafellow ;  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  Jesse  C.  Reed  and  Peter 
Ewing;  Poundkeeper,  Mahlon  C.  Hart;  Constable,  Henry  S.  Stryker; 
Judge  of  Election,  John  B.  Mattison;  Town  Committee,  John  B.  Matti- 
Bon,  William  Kuhl,  George  Trimmer,  John  Kuhl,  and  Samuel  HiU ; 
School  Committee,  Andrew  C.  Davis,  Aaron  C.  Hogeland,  and  George 
Trimmer;  and  Overseers  of  Roads,  1,  Andrew  Ltiir ;  2,  John  Barton  ;  3, 
Joseph  West;  4,  Andrew  Bearder;  n,  Peter  Ewing;  6,  Albert  S.  Coxe; 
7,  JohnHoff;  8,  Peter  J.  Case;  9,  Mahlon  Pettit;  10,  Oliver  Little;  11, 
William  Higgins  ;  12.  Lambert  Bosenbury ;  13,  Enoch  Hoffman. 

"Six  hundred  dollars  to  be  raised  for  support  of  poor;  ffillOO  for  open- 
ing aud  repairing  roads.  Interest  of  surplus  revenue  to  be  added  to 
township  school  money.    Dog-tax  to  pay  for  sheep  killed  by  dogs. 

"  Election  to  be  held  both  days  at  Flemington,  at  the  house  of  Mahlon 
C.  Hart ;  town-meeting  to  [be]  held  at  the  court-house  in  Flemington. 

"  John  Marlow  appointed  to  meet  a  person  appointed  by  the  township 
of  Amwell  to  divide  the  roads  between  said  townships  of  Raritan  and 
Amwell.  Isaac  HoflFraan  appointed  to  meet  a  person  appointed  by  the 
township  of  Delaware,  to  divide  the  roads  between  said  townships  of 
Raritan  and  Delaware. 

'*  Carried  that  town-meeting  be  held  next  spring  by  ballot ;  also  that 
nominations  be  made  any  time  before  poll  opened. 

*'  liesolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  town-meeting  public  sentiment 
and  public  convenience  have  both,  for  many  years  past,  loudly  called  for 
and  demanded  a  division  of  the  old  township  of  Amwell,  and  that  we  do 
cordially  approve  of  the  late  act  of  the  Legislature,  by  which  the  town- 
ships of  Raritan  and  Delaware  are  set  oflF  from  the  said  township  of  Am- 
well, and  that  this  resolution  be  recorded  by  the  clerk  with  the  other 
proceedings  of  this  town-meeting. 

*'  The  above  resolution  unanimously  agreed  to. 

"Joseph  Case, 

"  Moderator, 

"Atteat: — Job.  Besson, 

"  aierh'' 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  TOWNSHIP  RECORDS. 
Jan.  5, 1839 — "  Question  was  put  whether  said  township  should,  or 
should  not,  purchase  a  farm  to  keep  their  paupers  on.    Carried  to  pur- 
chase a  farm.* 

*  By  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature  (passed  Nov.  9, 1838,  as  a  supple- 
ment to  the  act  establishing  the  towns  of  Delaware  and  Raritan)  Jacob 


The  following  is  the  first  collector's  report  of  Ear- 
itan  township : 

Dr.— 1838. 

To  school  fund,  including  int.  on  surplus  revenue,  ^73.93 

"  cash  of  B.  Horn,  late  collector 44.76 

"  amt.  of  duplicate 3,381.19 

$3,899.88 
Cr. 

By  paid  school  districts $473.93 

"      "    for  repairing  roads,  etc 800.43 

"  tax  remitted  and  money  paid  Del 22.42 

"  paid  county  collector 1,339.37 

"      "    poor,  including  part  of  steward's  wages...  454.82 

Sheep  bills 68.75 

Incidental  bills,  including  com.  fees,  etc 98.46 

Assessor  and  collector  fees 151.86 

Bal.  on  tax  warrant  not  col 87.48 

Cash  in  hands  of  collector 402.26 


Not.  20, 1850.—"  Town  committee  met  at  house  of  John  D.  Hall.  The 
poor-house  farm  was  set  up  at  public  vendue,  and  sold  to  James  S.Rock- 
afellow  at  forty-eight  dollare  and  thirty-six  cents  per  acre.  The  wood 
lot,  containing  three  acres  more  or  less,  belonging  to  the  township,  waa 
sold  at  public  sale  to  Thomas  Spencer  for  ten  dollars  per  acre."t 

Oct.  23,  1854. — "  Committee  met  at  the  farm  purchased  of  Samuel 
Groff,  to  select  a  suitable  place  to  erect  a  house  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  poor;  after  viewing  the  ground  agreed  to  build  a  house  24  by  38 
feet,  13  ft.  posts,  at  west  end  of  house  on  said  farm,  to  have  four  rooms 
and  entry  below  and  the  same  above.  Also  agreed  to  let  out  the  build- 
ing of  the  house  by  contract,  .  .  the  house  to  be  finished  up  in  good 
workmanlike  manner  by  the  first  day  of  April  next." 

THE    CIVIL    LIST 
of  the  principal  officers  of  Raritan  township,  from  its 
organization  in  1838  to  the  present  time  (1880),  is 
hei'ewith  given : 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 
1838,  Joseph  Case,  Jacob  Voorhees;  1839-41,  Jonas  Moore,  John  B.  Mat- 
tison; 1842,  Jonas  Moore,  John  Marlow  ;  1843,  Mahlon  Fisher,  John 
Marlow  ;  1844,  Mahlon  Fisher,  Jacob  Rockafellow ;  1845-46,  Thomas 
Cherry,  Jacob  Rockafellow ;  1847,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  William  R.  Risler ; 
1848,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  William  H.  Johnson  ;  1849,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  Wil- 
liam M.  Bellis;  1850,  Joseph  H.  Reading,  William  M.  Bellis;  1851- 
53,  John  H.  Capner;  1854,  Robert  Thatcher;  1855-57,  Richard  Em- 
mans;  1858,  Robert  Thatcher;  1859-60,  William  R.  Risler;  1861, 
Gershom  C.  Sergeant;  1862,  William  R.  Risler;  1863-64,  Gershom 
G.  Sergeant;  1865-66,  Robert  Thatcher;  1867-68,  Oliver  Kugler; 
1869-70,  John  B.  Rockafellow  ;  1871,  Henry  Britton;  1872-74,  Jacob 
Case;  1875-76,  Isaac  Smith;  1877,  Wilson  J.  Leigh;  1878-79,  Wil- 
liam R.  Risler;  1880,  Wilson  J.  Leigh. 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
1838-44,  Joseph  Besson ;  1845-46,  A.  V.  Bonnell ;  1847,  William  R.  Moore ; 
1848,  William  Swallow;  1850-51,  John  G.  Reading;  1852-^3,  Peter 
Nevius;  1854,  Lewis  C.  Case ;  1855-57,  Peter  Nevius;  1858-61,  J.  J. 
Clark;  1862,  George  W.  Forker;  1863-65,  Reading  Moore;  1866-67, 
J.  K.  Schenck ;  1808-69,  George  W.  Dunham ;  1870-71,  Jacob  M. 
Bellis;  1872,  John  C.  Coon;  1873-76,  George  W.  Dunham;  1877, 
George  W.  Forker;  1878-80,  H.  G.  Chamberiin. 

ASSESSORS. 
1838-40,  Jesse  C.  Reed ;  1841,  Mahlon  Smith ;  1842-45,  William  Swallow ; 
1846-49,  Mahlon  Smith;  1850,  William  Swallow;  1851,  William  R. 
Risler ;  1852-63,  William  Swallow ;  1854,  John  P.  Bittenhouse ;  1855- 
57,  David  B.  Kirkpatrick :  1858-69,  David  Dunham;  1870-71,  Lewis 
H.  Staats  ;  1872-79,  Charles  W.  Hoff ;  1880,  David  Dunham. 

B.Smith  of  Amwell,  James  J.Fisher  of  Delaware,  and  John  Kuhl  of 
Raritan,  were  appointed  commissioners  to  sell  the  poor-house  farm, 
"with  all  and  singular  the  appurtenances,  known  as  the  '  poor-house 
establishment'  of  the  township  of  Amwell,  and  now  held  and  used  in  com- 
mon by  the  said  townships  of  Amwell,  Delaware,  and  Raritan,"  the  pro- 
ceeds to  be  divided  between  the  three  towns.  This  was  done,  and  subse- 
quently Raritan  purchased  a  poor  farm  for  her  sole  use,  as  per  record  of 
Jan.  5, 1839. 

■j-  The  same  month  the  keeping  of  the  poor  of  the  tovraship  was  let  to 
James  S.  Rockafellow,  as  per  articles  of  agreement  entered  into  for  one 
year  from  April  1, 18B1. 


306 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


COLLECTOES. 
1S38,  Peter  Ewing;  1S47-48,  Kicliard  Hope ;  1S49-61,  Atkinson  J.  Hol- 
combe;  1852-64,  DaTid  Dunham;  1865-67,  John  V.  McCann ;  1858, 
William  Chamberlin;  1S59-G1,  William  B.  Swallow;  1862-64,  Isaac 
Smith;  1865-Yl,  George  Hanson;  1872-74,  King  Pyatt;  1875-80,  De 
Witt  C.  Kittenhouse. 

OVERSEEES  OF  POOE, 
1S3S,  Jesse  C.  Reed,  Peter  Ewiug;  1839^0,  Peter  Ewing ;  1847,  Sidiard 
Hope ;  1848,  William  H.  Johnson ;  1849-60,  Andrew  Boarder ;  1851-63, 
Mahlon  Smith;  1854,  William  Swallow;  1855-59,  Mahloa  Smith; 
1860-69,  James  S.  Rockafellow ;  1870,  Hiram  Eobbins  ;  1871,  William 
Van  Nest ;  1872-73,  John  F.  S.  Smith ;  1874-77,  Jomes  S.  Rockafellow ; 
1878,  James  S.  Kockafellow,  Lemuel  B.  Myers ;  1879,  Charles  E.  Lake, 
Lemuel  B,  Myers ;  1880,  Charles  E.  Lake. 

SCHOOL  SUPEEINTENDENTS. 

1847*^9,  William  H.  Sloan  ;  1860-51,  George  P.  Eex;  1862,  A.  V.  Bon- 
nell ;  1863,  William  B.  Shrope  ;  1854,  Miller  Kline ;  1866-50,  George 
P.  Eex;t  1857-58,  Dr.  J.  A.  Gray;  1869-60,  John  C.  Coon;  1861, 
Henry  Stothoff;  1862-64,  Ahijah  J.  Eittenhouse  ;  1865-66,  Octavius 
P.  Chamberlin. 

CONSTABLES. 

1838^1,  Henry  S.  Stryker;  1842-46,  Eichard  Hope;  1847^9,  Ephraim 
Eobbins  ;t  1860-52,  William  C.  Bellis  ;  1853-54,  William  B.  Swallow ; 
1856-68,  John  V.  McCann ;  1859-62,  Elijah  Fleming;  1803-64,  Reu- 
ben Paxson  ;  1866-71,  George  Hanson ;  1872-74,  King  Pyatt ;  1875- 
80,  De  Wittt  C.  Eittenhouse. 

TOWN  COMMITTEES. 
IS  is,  John  B.  Mattieon,  William  Kuhl,  George  Trimmer,  John  Kuhl, 
Samuel  Hill ;  1839,  Jacob  Voorhees,  John  Barton,  Andrew  Hoagland, 
John  Kuhl,  William  Taylor;  1840,  Jacob  Voorhees,  John  Barton, 
Andrew  Bearder,  James  Sutphin,  William  H.  Sloan ;  1841,  Jacob 
Voorhees,  John  Barton,  Andrew  Bearder,  John  W.  BcUis,  William 
H.  Sloan  ;  1842^3,  Leonard  P.  Kuhl,  John  Barton,  Andrew  Bearder, 
W.  H.  Johnson,  William  H.  Sloan  ;  1844,  Leonard  P.  Kuhl,  John  G. 
Ewing,  George  Trimmer,  W.  H.  Johnson,  William  H.  Sloan ;  1845, 
Leonard  P.  Kuhl,  John  G.  Ewing,  Malilon  Smith,  W.  H.  Johnson, 
William  H.  Sloan ;  1846,  Leonard  P.  Kuhl,  John  Marlow,  Andrew 
Bearder,  Henry  Suydam,  William  H.  Sloan;  1847-48,  Leonard  P. 
Kuhl,  John  Marlow,  Andrew  Bearder,  William  Lair,  William  H. 
Sloan;  1849,  William  H.  Sloan,  William  Lair,  George  W.  Risler, 
Henry  Suydam,  L.  P.  Kuhl ;  1850,  Charles  Bartles,  Eunkle  Eea,  Geo. 
W.  Eisier,  Henry  Suydam,  D.  B.  Kirkpatrick;  1851,  Charles  Bartles, 
Runkle  Rea,  George  W.  Eisier,  L.  P.  Kuhl,  Robert  Thatcher ;  1852- 
53,  Charles  Bartles,  Asher  Mattison,  George  W.  Eisier,  L.  P.  Kuhl, 
Eobert  Thatcher;  1854,  Willium  E.  Moore,  Asher  Mattison,  George 
W.  Risler,  Peter  J.  Case,  William  H.  Johnson;  1866-56,  William  R. 
Moore,  John  Quick,  W.  R.  Risler,  L.  P.  Kuhl,  A.  J.  Holcomb  ;  1857, 
Augustus  Blackwell,  John  Quick,  W.  E.  Eisier,  George  A.  Ilea,  A.  J. 
Holcomb;  1858,  Augustus  Blackwell,  W.  M.  Bellis,  L.  L.  Dayton, 
George  A.  Rea,  A.  J.  Holcombe  ;  1859,  Robert  Thatcher,  J.  H.  Capner, 
L.  L.  Dayton,  Geo.  A.  Rea,  A.  J.  Holcomb  ;  1860,  William  Swallow, 
Sr.,  J.  H.  Capner,  L.  L.  Dayton,  G.  W.  Risler,  A.  J.  Holcomb;  1861, 
John  C.  Hopewell,  William  Swallow,  Sr.,  John  L.  Jones,  John  Y. 
Bellis,  Augustus  Blackwell;  1862,  Eobert  J.  Killgore,  William  Swal- 
low, Sr.,  -Tohn  L.  Jones,  John  Y.  Bellis,  Augustus  Blackwell;  1863- 
64,  Robert  J.  Killgore,  Samuel  F.  Case,  Joseph  H.  Higgins,  John  Y. 
Bellis,  Augustus  Blackwell ;  1865,  Andrew  B.  Everitt,  Samuel  F. 
Case,  Joseph  H.  Higgins,  Geo.  A.  Evans,  Augustus  Blackwell ;  1866- 
67,  Andrew  B.  Everitt,  Samuel  Waldron.  Joseph  H.  Higgins,  Gershom 
Sergeant,  Abel  Webster;  1868-69,  John  L.  Jones,  Gershom  Sergeant, 
Abel  Webster,  Samuel  Waldron,  Abraham  Hoppock;  1870,  John  L. 
Jones,  William  Hill,  Abel  Webster,  Samuel  Waldron,  Abraham  Hop- 
pock ;  1871,  John  L.  Jones,  Miles  Cunningham,  Abel  Webster,  Jacob 
E.  Voorhees,  Abraham  Hoppock  ;  1872-73,  John  L.  Jones,  Miles  Cun- 
ningham, William  R.  Risler,  Caleb  F.  Quick,  Mahlon  J.  Smith  ;  1874, 
John  B.  Rockafellow,  Miles  Cunningham,  William  R.  Risler,  E.  L. 
Everitt,  Mahlon  J.  Smith;  1876,  John  B.  Eockafellow,  H.  H.  Ander- 
son, William  E.  Risler,  E.  L.  Everitt,  Jeremiah  Everitt;  1876,  John 

*  Until  this  date  a  "school  committee"  was  elected. 

t  In  consequence  of  his  removal  from  the  State,  Dr.  J.  A.  Gray  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  vacancy,  July  26, 1866. 

X  William  C.  Bellis  was  elected  May  14, 1849,  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by 
death  of  E.  Eobbins. 


B.  Rockafellow,  H.  H.  Anderson,  J.  H.  Capner,  Peter  T.  Anderson, 
Jeremiah  Everitt;  1877,  William  E.  Eisier,  H.  H.  Anderson,  George 
W.  Smith,  Peter  T.  Anderson,  William  B.  Swallow ;  1878,  Hawley  C. 
Olmstead,  John  J.  Clark,  George  W.  Smith,  Peter  T.  Anderson,  J.  W. 
Yard;  1879,  Josiah  Britton,  Augustus  Dilts,  John  J.  Clark;  1880, 
Josiah  Britton,  A.  B.  Everitt,  Hawley  C.  Olmstead. 

The  town-meetings  have  usually  heen  held  at  the 
court-house,  and  the  elections  variously  at  the  inns 
in  Flemington.J 

The  amount  voted  for  road  purposes  in  1880  was 
$5000. 

VILLAGES   AND    HAMLETS. 

Flemington  is  the  most  considerable  village  in 
the  township,  but  its  history  is  so  fiilly  given  here- 
after as  to  need  no  further  mention  in  this  connection. 
To  that  account  the  reader  is  referred. 

Keaville,  on  the  east  side  of  the  township,  is 
quite  a  settlement,  and  contains  a  school,  church 
(Presbyterian),  hotel,  store,  and  several  shops,  besides 
a  score  or  more  of  dwellings.  It  was  named  after  an 
early  and  prominent  resident,  Eunkle  Bea  (it  had 
previouslyjseen  known  as  Greenville),  who  was  really 
its  founder  and  first  postmaster.  The  post-office  was 
established  in  the  year  1850.  It  has  daily  mail 
communication  with  Flemington. 

"  Reaville  Lodge,  No.  100,  I.  O.  of  G.  T.,"  was 
organized  in  March,  1870,  with  43  members.  It 
flourished  for  a  few  years,  and  then  suspended.  Its 
hall  is  now  used  as  a  dwelling. 

Copper  Hill  is  a  hamlet  and  post-office  located 
midway  between  Flemington  and  Ringos.  It  derives 
its  name  from  the  old  copper-mine  in  its  vicinity, 
which  at  one  time  was  considered  a  bonanza,  but 
(like  those  near  Flemington)  has  not  been  worked 
for  years.  The  post-office  was  established  about  1860, 
and  J.  H.  Kuhl  was  the  first  incumbent.  Mathias 
Dilts  is  the  present  postmaster.  The  business  of  the 
place  is  represented  by  W.  H.  Johnson,  engaged  in 
grain-buying,  and  by  C.  E.  Kyno,  blacksmith.  The 
"  store"  has  not  been  kept  for  some  time,  the  building 
being  used  at  present  for  storage  purposes.  The 
brush-factory  once  in  operation  here  was  removed  to 
Flemington.  There  is  a  school-house  and  a  mill  in 
the  vicinity. 

Clover  Hill,  in  the  east  portion  of  the  township, 
is  in  great  part  within  Hillsborough  township,  Somer- 
set Co.  It  contains,  however,  a  hotel,  store,  church 
(Reformed  Dutch),  blacksmith-shop,  and  post-office. 

Pleasant  Coener  {alias  "Larison's,"  after  its 
quondam  hotel-keeper)  is  a  small  hamlet,  about  one 
mile  from  Ringos,  on  the  York  Road.  Its  hotel  is  now 
closed,  but  thirty  years  ago,  when  Burke  was  "  mine 
host,"  it  was  much  fi-equented  by  the  sporting  gentry, 
and  was  noted  for  its  amusements  and  good  cheer. 
Racing  and  cock-fighting  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 
Most  of  this  settlement,  except  the  hotel,  is  in  East 
Amwell  township. 

§  "  Election  to  be  held  first  day  at  the  inn  of  Asa  Jones,  in  Flemington, 
second  day  at  the  inn  of  John  M.  Piice,  Flemington." — Town  Recordi, 
1840. 


EARITAN. 


307 


Flemington  Junction  is  one  and  a  half  miles 
from  Flemington,  at  the  South  Branch.  It  is  a  station 
of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  and  has  a  passenger 
and  freight  depot.  Mr.  Van  Zandt  is  the  present 
station-agent.  It  is  a  point  of  shipment  for  a  very 
considerable  amount  of  freight,  and  promises  to  be- 
come in  time  quite  a  settlement. 

Klinesville  was  once  a  post-office  and  a  place  of 
considerable  business  and  promise.  It  derived  its 
name  from  Miller  Kline,  who  there  carried  on  the 
dry-goods  and  grocery  trade.  It  is  now  without  either 
store  or  post-office.  Three  or  four  farm  residences 
now  constitute  the  place. 

CuoTOK  is  four  miles  west  of  Flemington,  and 
partly  in  Delaware  township.  It  has  a  hotel,  store, 
saw-mill,  school,  and  post-office.  The  Croton  Pres- 
byterian church  is  located  in  Delaware. 

RiNGOS  Station,  on  the  line  of  the  Flemington 
branch  of  the  Belvidere  Delaware  Railroad,  is  located 
at  the  extreme  south  point  of  Raritan  township,  the 
station-house  being,  in  fact,  over  the  line,  in  the 
township  of  Delaware.  Besides  the  railroad  depot, 
it  embraces  the  store  of  A.  H.  Landis,  a  shop,  and  a 
few  dwelling-houses. 

By.the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  the  post-offices  of 
this  township  are  (1880)  those  of  Flemington,  Rea- 
ville,  Copper  Hill,  and  Clover  Hill. 

THE    COPPER-MINES. 

The  opening  of  the  copper-mines  in  1836  —  or, 
rather,  the  reopening,  as  they  were  undoubtedly 
worked  at  a  very  early  period  in  the  history  of  this 
county — was  an  important  event  for  Flemington,  and 
unquestionably  brought  many  settlers  thither.  "  They 
were  once  considered  valuable,  but  have  not  been 
worked  for  several  years,  owing  to  the  want  of  capital 
and  skill,  requisite  in  deep  mining,  being  properly 
applied."*  And  yet  there  is  documentary  evidence 
to  show  that  about  $400,000  were  expended  on  this 
property,  independent  of  the  "early  days,"  when  it 
may  have  been  worked  for  its  copper.f 

In  1837  the  Flemington  Mining  Company  was 
organized.  Camman  and  Dr.  Peter  I.  Stryker  were 
the  purchasers  of  the  Mine  farm,  and  formed  the 
company.  They  ran  a  few  years  and  failed,  the  prop- 
erty reverting  to  Hugh  Capner,  its  original  owner. 
Later  another  company  purchased  of  Capner,  and 
likewise  failed,  and  also  a  third,  who  spent  a  large 
amount  of  money,  the  property  being  finally  pur- 
chased by  Allen  Hay,  of  New  York  City,  who  still 
holds  the  title  to  the  mining  property,  but  not  to  the 
surface,  which  was  sold  to  other  parties. 

In  1847,  Charles  Bartles  bought  the  Rev.  Charles 
Bartolette  property,  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the 
Mine  farm,  "  with  the  mines  and  minerals  thereon  to 
be  found."  He  at  once  sold  to  parties  who  formed 
an  association  called  "  The  Central  Mining  Company 

*  History  of  Our  Ancestors,  1870. 

t  Keport  of  M.  W.  Dickeson,  M.D.,  1869,  p.  4. 


of  Flemington,"  in  order  the  more  effectually  to  pros- 
ecute mining  operations.  John  G.  Reading  and  Wil- 
liam H.  Sloan,  Esqs.,  of  Flemington,  with  Jonathan 
Ogden  and  Edward  Remington,  of  Philadelphia,  were 
trustees,  etc.  J 

In  1857,  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  was  incorporated 
the  "Hunterdon  Copper  Company,"  Asa  Jones,  Ben- 
net  Van  Syckel,  George  A.  Allen,  and  Charles  Bartles 
being  the  corporators,  and  John  L.  Jones,  Hugh 
Capner,  J.  G.  Reading,  Asa  Jones,  B.  Van  Syckel, 
G.  A.  Allen,  and  Charles  Bartles  the  first  board  of 
directors.  Its  capital  stock  was  10,000  shares  of  $50 
each. 

The  mineral  right  of  this  company  covered  400  acres 
in  fee,  the  surface  right  17  acres  in  fee,  with  the  priv- 
ilege of  appropriating  any  of  the  400-acre  surface 
that  might  be  necessary  for  reaching  or  working 
the  copper  ore  in  said  tract.  This  covered  property 
now  in  Delaware  township,  west  of  Copper  Hill. 
The  geological  formation  in  which  the  lode  of  copper 
is  here  found  comprises  the  argillaceous  and  slaty  red 
sandstone  and  numerous  strata  of  silicious  rock,  in 
places  changed  by  action  of  intense  heat  into  a  dark, 
compact  trap-rock. 

Another  early  mine  was  reopened  by  the  "  Neshanic 
Mining  Company,"  incorporated  Feb.  29,  1836.  In 
1840  the  Legislature  gave  it  power  to  construct  a  rail- 
road from  its  mining-lands  in  Raritan  township  to  a 
point  on  the  South  Branch  and  Delaware  Rivers, 
respectively,  provided  said  road  shall  be  used  only 
for  mining  purposes.?  We  do  not  learn  that  the 
road  was  ever  built,  and  the  mine  was  worked  but  a 
short  time,  when  operations  ceased.  Charles  Watson 
now  owns  the  property. 

All  these  mines  were  in  a  short  time  abandoned, 
and  since  1860  there  have  been  no  efforts  niade  to 
work  them. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  following  reminiscences  of  the  early  schools 
and  school-buildings  of  this  township  are  gathered 
from  the  Centennial  report  (1876)  of  Rev.  C.  S.  Conk- 
ling,  county  school  superintendent  at  that  time. 

In  the  Klinesville  District  (No.  80)  three  school- 
buildings  have  existed,  the  first  two  of  which  stood 
near  the  site  of  the  present  edifice,  a  good  frame 
structure,  erected  in  1861.  Annie  Dilworth  was 
the  teacher  in  1861,  and  John  Barton,  Asa  Suy- 
dam,  and  John  Kuhl  trustees. 

The  first  school-house  in  the  Oak  Grove  District 
(81),  according  to  the  recollection  of  the  oldest  inhab- 
itants, was  a  log  building,  16  feet  square  and  6  feet 
high,  which  stood  in  1803,  and  may  have  been  stand- 
ing several  years  earlier.  Among  the  oldest  living 
inhabitants  of  the  district  in  1876,  Elizabeth  Hen- 
derson, then  over  seventy-nine  years  of  age,  attended 
school  in  the  old  log  building  in  1803. 

J  Articles  of  Association,  Central  Mining  Company,  1847. 
§  Acts  of  Assembly,  1840,  p.  40. 


308 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  logs  out  of  which  the  school-cabin  was  built  had 
the  bark  remaining  on  the  outside  of  the  building, 
and  the  structure  was  plastered  on  the  inside  with 
clay.  It  had  two  windows,  of  four  lights  each. 
Asher  Stout  was  a  teacher  in  this  house.  The  next 
building  was  erected  in  1806.  It  was  a  frame,  16  feet 
square,  7  feet  high,  and  had  three  windows. 

In  1818  another  frame  house  was  erected,  18  by  20 
feet,  and  8  feet  high.  The  district  at  that  time  took 
the  name  of  Walnut  Grove.  The  present  house  was 
built  in  1853,  dedicated  by  the  township  superin- 
tendent in  December,  and  occupied  the  following 
year.  The  trustees  at  that  time  were  Joseph  T. 
Boss,  Amos  V.  Hunt,  and  George  B.  Stothoff.  The 
first  teacher  was  Elmer  W.  Merritt.  This  house  is 
21  by  30  feet,  with  11  feet  ceiling.  The  trustees  in 
1876  were  A.  J.  Holcombe,  Andrew  Bartles,  and 
Cornelius  J.  Garribrant,  with  Frances  McCrea  as 
teacher. 

The  only  school-house  which  District  82  (known 
as  Voorhees')  has  had  is  the  present  modest  structure, 
20  by  22  feet,  erected  in  1833,  and  standing  in  a  beau- 
tiful grove  at  Voorhees'  Corner.  This  school  is  said 
to  have  enjoyed  the  services  of  over  fifty  teachers. 
The  first  was  Silas  H.  Benedict,  who  has  long  since 
rested  from  his  labors.  The  teacher  in  1876  was  Stacy 
R.  Everett.  The  first  trustees  were  A.  L.  Case,  John 
Mattison,  Jacob  I.  Young.  In  1876  the  board  con- 
sisted of  Asher  Higgins,  Jacob  Case,  L.  C.  Case. 

The  Eeaville  School  District  (No.  83)  had  a  log 
house  25  by  25  feet,  built  in  1835,  which  stood  a  mile 
and  a  half  east  of  the  village.  The  trustees  in  1835 
were  John  Hagaman,  George  P.  Rex,  and  Job  Sil- 
vers ;  in  1876  the  board  was  composed  of  Robert  R. 
Smith,  Thomas  Valk,  and  George  B.  Holcombe; 
teacher,  Dennis  Runyan.  The  present  school-house 
is  a  frame  building. 

"Pleasant  Ridge  District,''  No.  84,  has  had  three 
houses,  the  first  erected  in  1826.  It  was  a  frame,  18 
by  20  feet  in  size.  When  this  was  replaced  by  the 
second  is  not  known,  but  it  was  a  modest  affair,  and 
stood  near  the  site  of  the  present  building  ;  the  latter 
■  was  erected  about  1874  or  1875,  and  is  an  ornament 
to  the  neighborhood.  The  trustees  in  1826  were  Peter 
Prall,  Andrew  Blackwell,  and  Peter  P.  Quick.  In 
1876— fifty  years  later— the  board  embraced  John  C. 
Polhemus,  John  B.  Low,  and  A.  J.  Prall,  and  the 
teacher  was  Eva  Baldwin. 

District  No.  86,*  known  as  "  Neshanic,"  built  its 
first  house  in  1810,  near  or  on  the  site  of  the  present 
structure,  on  land  deeded  for  that  purpose.  The  house 
now  in  use— the  third— was  erected  in  1856  ;  it  is  20 
by  30  feet.  Paul  Kuhl  was  one  of  the  first  trustees. 
In  1876  the  board  was  composed  of  Wilson  I.  Leigh, 
M.  C.  Dilts,  Mahlon  I.  Smith,  and  the  teacher  at  that 
time  was  Minnie  Balderston. 


I    *  The  Bohool-houso  of  "  Higgins  District,"  No.  85,  is  in  Delaware  town- 
ship, although  the  district  is  about  equally  in  Delaware  and  Raritau. 


The  Flemington  District  (87)  had  a  school-house  in 
1760, — a  frame  building, — which  stood  in  the  rear 
(east)  of  the  Baptist  meeting-house.  The  second  was 
of  brick,  erected  about  1810,  and  was  used  until  1862, 
when  the  Reading  Academj'  was  built.  The  second 
school-house  is  still  standing, — about  one  hundred 
yards  west  of  the  Baptist  church,  facing  Church 
Street, — and  the  contrast  between  the  old  and  the 
new  houses  is  very  great.  The  oldest  deed  of  school 
property  to  be  found  is  of  date  Jan.  1,  1812.  The 
first  trustees  of  this  district  are  said  to  have  been 
Peter  Ha)^vard,  Thomas  Capner,  James  Clark,  Jona- 
than Hill,  John  Maxwell,  and  the  first  teacher  Wil- 
liam Leigh.  The  trustees  in  1876  were  J.  W.  Brit- 
ton,  J.  H.  Higgins,  Elias  Vosseller.  (For  an  account 
of  the  Reading  Academy  see  history  of  Flemington 
village,  on  subsequent  pages.) 

District  No.  88,  "Wagoner's,"  had  a  school-house,  it 
is  said,  over  one  hundred  years  ago.  It  was  located  on 
the  road  from  Flemington  to  Sergeantsville,  about 
two  miles  from  the  former  place,  on  what  is  now  the 
property  of  Elijah  Hoagland.  It  was  a  one-story  stone 
house.  There,  seventy-five  years  ago  (in  1806),  a 
teacher  named  Ammerman  taught  reading,  writing, 
spelling,  and  arithmetic,  using  "Dilworth's  Spelling- 
Book"  and  the  "American  Tutor's  Arithmetic,"  with 
the  New  Testament  as  a  reading-book.  In  1822  an- 
other house  was  built,  in  which  John  Risler  was  the 
first  teacher.  This  building  was  succeeded  by  another 
erected  in  1851.  At  that  time  it  was  known  as  the 
"  Valley"  school  district,  and  its  trustees  were  Wil- 
liam Brittain,  Elijah  Fleming,  and  John  Sergeant. 
The  present  house  was  erected  in  1872.  The  structure 
stands  within  sight  of  the  old  building,  with  which  it 
is  in  striking  contrast;  it  is  in  size  24  by  36  feet,  is 
well  fitted  and  furnished,  and  is  an  ornament  to  the 
county. 

In  "  Harmony"  District,  No.  89,  John  G.  Trimmer, 
Jacob  Bearder,  and  Henry  Trimmer— the  first  trus- 
tees—were the  prime  movers  in  the  erection  of  the 
school-house,  which  was  put  up  in  1810,  accomplished 
wholly  by  donation.  The  building  was  18  by  20  feet, 
and  the  land  on  which  it  stood  was  leased  to  the  dis- 
trict by  John  G.  Trimmer  for  the  term  of  ninety-nine 
years.  The  first  and  the  last  teachers,  respectively, 
in  this  building  were  Adam  Williamson  and  Delia 
Cowdric.  The  last  trustees  in  this  house  were  George 
Trimmer,  Peter  Hartpence,  Sr.,  Asher  Crance,  Jacob 
Bearder,  Jr.,  and  John  Shepherd.  The  old  house  was 
torn  down,  and  a  new  one  erected  in  the  rear  of  the 
former  location,  in  1851,  on  land  leased  to  the  district 
by  Holcombe  Dilts  for  ninety-nine  years.  It  is  of 
stone,  octagonal  in  shape,  about  25  by  25  feet.  Delia 
Cowdric  was  the  first  teacher.  The  trustees  then  were 
Peter  Hartpence,  Sr.,  John  Shepherd,  and  Jacob 
Bearder,  Jr.  This  building  is  still  in  use.  During 
the  seventy  years'  existence  of  the  Harmony  school 
there  have  been  about  sixty  teachers  employed.  In 
1876,  Maggie  Warno  was  the  incumbent. 


RARITAN. 


309 


The  Summit  District  (90)  is  not  very  ancient,  hav- 
ing been  formed  so  late  as  1853.  The  first  house 
was  erected  in  1850,  and  stood  near  the  site  of  the  one 
now  in  use,  which  was  erected  in  1872.  The  first 
school-house  was  20  by  22  feet ;  the  present  one,  a 
frame,  is  26  by  30.  Its  location  is  two  miles  from 
Flemington.  Clara  Bonham  taught  in  1876,  at  which 
date  Moses  Lake,  Jeremiah  Everitt,  and  Samuel  F. 
Case  were  trustees. 

The  following  tabulated  statement  of  the  condition 
of  the  schools  of  this  township  for  the  school  year 
ending  Aug.  31,  1879,  is  from  the  superintendent's 
last  published  report : 


_  ^ 

j,  i 

Hi 

e  5-^ 

Q 

1 

si 

s 

o 

Name  of  Dis- 

it 
11 

9 

Ot3  « 

if 

5  i 

O   >^ 

1 

s 

II 

"o 

trict  or  School. 

■w.O 

^ia 

as 

HI 

>5 

ri 

1 "° 

sia 

Sl2 

11 

m 

1^ 

Si 

a 

a 

<  1 

i; 

,„. 

<•" 

■< 

125 

125 

s 

80 

KlinesTille 

$319.68 

?1,000 

62 

10. 

15 

60 

1 

81|0ak  Grove 

320.29 

600 

68 

10. 

25 

4t 

1 

82 

Voorhees' 

314.14 

4O0 

47 

10.5 

16 

4( 

1 

RS 

Keaville 

526.75 
316.07 

600 
1,000 

84 
51 

9. 
11.6 

43 
14 

60 
60 

"T 

1 

84 

Plensant  Kidge 

86 

Neshanic 

414.45 

70C 

46 

10.6 

21 

6C 

1 

87 

Flemington .... 

3,066.34 

14,000 

454 

10. 

168 

326 

1 

6 

8S 

Wagoner's 

317.22 

1,00C 

47 

10. 

30 

60 

1 

8£ 

Harmony 

315.38 

30C 

52 

11.2 

15 

40 

1 

M( 

322.75 

1,000 

74 

10. 

24 

40 

1 

Total 

$6,232.07 

1 
$20,6001       085 

10.3 

371 

785 

4 

11 

Of  the  total  amount  received,  $3929.20  was  from 
State  appropriation,  $302.87  apportionment  from  sur- 
plus revenue,  $1500  district  school-tax  voted  for  pay- 
ment of  teachers'  salaries,  and  $600  district  school- 
tax  voted  for  building  purposes.  Besides  the  attend- 
ance of  pupils  given  in  the  above  table,  it  was 
estimated  that  56  children  were  in  attendance  upon 
private  schools,  and  that  130  attended  no  school  dur- 
ing the  year. 

CHURCHES. 

The  churches  of  this  township  are  two  of  the  Pres- 
byterian denomination,  located  at  Eeaville  and  Flem- 
ington, and  one  each  of  the  Baptist,  Methodist  Epis- 
copal, Protestant  Episcopal,  and  Roman  Catholic 
denominations,  located  in  the  village  of  Flemington. 

THE  PEESBYTEEIAN  CHUECH,  TLEMINGTON. 

For  the  history  of  this  religious  body  we  are  in- 
debted mainly  to  the  "  Historical  Discourse"  delivered 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Flemington,  July' 16, 
1876,  by  Rev.  George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the 
church. 

There  were  many  Presbyterian  families  located  in 
Flemington  and  its  vicinity,  and  it  was  but  natural  that 
they  should  early  make  an  efibrt  to  establish  a  church 
in  their  neighborhood.  The  great  distance  to  the  old 
church  in  Amwell,  the  bad  condition  of  the  roads  in 


the  winter  season,  the  impassable  streams  during  the 
spring,  and  the  fact  that  no  refreshment  could  there  be 
obtained,*  were  the  inciting  causes  which  led,  in  April, 
1791,  to  the  circulation  of  a  paper  in  Flemington  ask- 
ing subscriptions  to  a  fund  to  be  paid  to  the  First 
Amwell  corporation  towards  the  support  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Grant  (to  whom  the  First  and  Second  Amwell  churches 
were  about  to  give  a  call),  provided  he  would  preach 
at  Flemington  one-fourth  of  his  time.     These  pioneers 
were  offered  the  use  of  the  Baptist  meeting-house 
when  it  was  not  occupied  by  that  congregation,  and 
they  also  counted  upon  the  holding  of  services,  if 
need  be,  in  the  court-room  of  the  court-house  which 
was  to  be  built  the  following  summer.     Over  $100 
(£21)  were  subscribed,  to  be  paid  in  "  hard  money."t 
For  some  unexplained  cause  this  project  was  aban- 
doned.    The  next  efibrt — the  project  of  Jasper  Smith, 
that  the   old  meeting-house  should  be  torn  down, 
and  a  new  one  erected  at  Flemington — also  failed  ; 
but,  nothing  daunted,  the  friends  of  the  new  church 
now  took  the  preliminary  steps  towards  its  organiza- 
tion.    A  paper  was  circulated,  reciting  why  it  was 
desirable  to  form  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Fleming- 
ton,  the  signers  agreeing  to  unite  in  the  formation  of 
such  an  organization.     It  was  to  be  under  the  care  of 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick.     The  paper  bore 
the  date  of  June  23, 1791,  and  contained  the  names  of 
John  Griggs,  Martin  Johnson,  John  Reading,  Joseph 
Reading,  F.  V.  Hicks,  Jacob  Painter,  Nicholas  Em- 
mons, Peter  Case,  John  Case,  Samuel  GroflT,  Rebecca 
Heavison,  Samuel  Griggs,  Charles  Reading,  Jacob 
Johnson,  Gilbert  Van  Camp,  James  Alexander,  Joa- 
kim  Griggs,  Isaac  Hill,  Jasper  Smith,  Henry  Bailie, 
George  Alexander,  Daniel   Reading,  Richard  Hill, 
Joseph  Capner,  John   Derrick,  Philip  Yawger,  Ely 
Peirson,  John  R.  Reading,  John  Henry,  Cornelius 
Polhemus,   Thomas    Reading,    Hendrick     Johnson, 
Arthur  Gray,  Joseph  Gray,  James  Clark,  Susannah 
Smith,  Peter  Order,  Samuel  Hill,  Peter  Latourette, 
Jacob   Hufi'man,   John  Gray,  Henry  Baker,  Philip 
Case,   Rem.  Voorhees,   John  Phillips,   John  Hart- 
pence,   Thomas   Carhart,  Paul   Cool,  John  Schank, 
Peter    Yawger,    Jacob    Polhemus,    Amos    Hartley, 
Richard  Phillips,   William   Schank,  Jr.,   Elizabeth 
Blackwell,  William  Case. 

Jasper  Smith  appeared  before  the  next  Presby- 
tery in  behalf  of  the  petitioners,  who  asked  to  be 
enrolled  "  as  a  new-formed  church,  to  have  regular 
supplies  ordered  to  them  until  they  could  build  a 
church,  and  are  able  to  support  a  regular  and  stated 
preacher  of  the  gospel  among  them."     The  petition 

*  The  custom  then  generally  prevailed  of  having  two  services  on  the 
Sabbath,  with  only  a  short  intermission,  during  which  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  adjourned  to  a  taveru  or  some  store  and  partook 
of  cake  and  beer,  prepared  for  the  Sunday  customers.  "  It  was  deemed 
a  serious  privation  that  no  such  opportunity  was  afforded  at  Fii-st  Am- 
well, for  the  church  was  in  the  open  country." 

f  At  this  date  paper  money  was  not  equal  to  hard  money,  as  it  was 
called  in  hard-money  engagements.  "  One-half  is  now  (1790)  the  cur- 
rent exchange." 


310 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


also  stated  that  a  temporary  place  of  meeting  had 
been  procured,  and  that,  of  the  fifty-five  heads  of 
families  signing,  thirteen  only  were  connected  with 
the  old  church  as  subscribers  towards  the  salary. 
This  application  was  strenuously  opposed  by  the  two 
Amwells  through  their  representative,  John  Prall,  Jr., 
because  such  a  measure  would  so  weaken  them  that 
they  could  not  support  a  pastor.  The  Presbytery, 
instead  of  coming  to  a  decision,  resolved  to  "  meet  at 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Amwell,  on  the  first 
Tuesday  in  November,  ...  to  examine  into  and 
settle,  if  possible,  the  differences,"  etc.  The  Presby- 
tery convened  as  appointed.  Great  interest  appears 
to  have  been  taken  in  this  case,  evidenced  by  the  large 
attendance  and  prominent  members  present,  among 
whom  were  Drs.  Witherspoon  and  Stanhope  Smith, 
of  Princeton  College,  Armstrong,  of  Trenton,  and 
Joseph  Clark,  of  Allentown,  afterwards  of  New 
Brunswick.  After  mature  deliberation,  Presbytery 
resolved  unanimously  that  "  matters  do  not  appear 
ripe  for  forming  the  petitioners  into  a  new  congrega- 
tion,'' and  advised  "  all  parties  to  unite  in  prosecuting 
the  call  for  Mr.  Grant,"  who  was  to  "preach  one- 
quarter  part  of  his  time  at  Amwell  First  Church,  one 
other  fourth  part  of  his  time  at  Flemington,  and  the 
remaining  half  of  his  time  at  Amwell  Second  Church, 
and  that  the  salary  be  apportioned  to  the  time  at  each 
place."  This  decision  was  acquiesced  in,  and  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Grant  was  not  only  called,  but  duly 
ordained  and  installed  in  December,  1791. 

Jan.  9,  1792,  a  meeting  was  held  of  the  newly- 
formed  congregation  in  the  Baptist  meeting-house, 
"where  more  than  thirty  families*  (of  Presbyterians) 
statedly  assembled  for  worship."  Their  purpose,  ac- 
cording to  a  notice  previously  given  (of  which  the 
original  is  on  file),  was  to  elect  trustees,  and  thereby 
secure  incorporation.  "  Jasper  Smith,  counselor-at- 
law,  Thomas  Beading,  Esq.,  Capts.  Arthur  Gray  and 
Charles  Reading,  Messrs.  Cornelius  Polhemus,  Samuel 
Hill,  and  Joseph  Capner"  were  elected  and  incorpo- 
rated as  "  The  Trustees  of  the  Flemington  English 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Amwell,  in  the  County  of 
Hunterdon  and  State  of  New  Jersey."  The  trustees 
chose  Jasper  Smith  as  their  president. 

In  the  spring  of  1793  ground  was  broken  for  a  build- 
ing. A  lot  had  been  purchased  of  Joseph  Robeson, 
containing  1  acre  37  perches,  for  £40  silver.  The 
deed  was  not  given  until  July  17,  1794.  The  edifice 
was  45  by  55  feet,  built  of  stone.  The  walls  were 
pointed  and  the  corners  laid  with  hewn  stone,  brought 
"from  Large's  land,  in  Kingwood,  where  the  like 
stones  were  got  for  the  court-house."  For  the  day 
in  which  it  was  built  it  was  a  most  creditable  struc- 
ture, showing  the  liberality  and  good  taste  of  the 
people.  It  stood  within  the  present  graveyard  fence. 
The  front  was  just  where  the  south  fence  of  the  Mettler 


*  Thirty  families  were  required  by  law  of  1786  in  order  to  obtain  incor- 
poration. 


plot  runs  and  faced  to  the  south,  where  were  two  doors 
of  entrance.  On  each  of  the  sides  were  two  rows  of 
three  windows  each.  The  windows  on  the  upper  row 
were  arched.  The  north  end  had  two  arched  win- 
dows. The  outside  was  handsomely  finished  and 
painted,  but  the  inside  walls  were  not  plastered. 
Rough  benches,  made  of  saw-mill  slabs  put  on  legs, 
furnished  seats  for  the  worshipers.  Two  aisles  ex- 
tended through  the  building.  In  the  winter  days  a 
little  heat  was  produced  fi-om  two  pits,  set  in  the  floor 
of  these  aisles,  about  two-thirds  up  towards  the  pul- 
pit. Each  pit  was  about  5  feet  long  and  1  foot  deep, 
and  bricked.  These  were  filled  with  glowing  char^ 
coal.  About  1816  two  stoves  for  burning  wood  were 
put  in,  but  these  did  not  warm  the  church  suiHciently. 
When  anthracite  coal  was  introduced,  two  coal-stoves, 
made  of  sheet  iron  by  Mahlon  Smith,  were  used  for 
years,  in  addition  to  the  wood-stoves.  This  partly- 
finished  building  cost  £650  cash,  besides  material  and 
labor  which  were  given  to  the  value  of  £300  more. 

May  11, 1794,  Mr.  Grant  preached  for  the  first  time 
in  the  new  house.  The  dedication  sermon  was  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Armstrong,  of  Trenton.  The  church  then 
chose  as  overseers  "to  keep  order  in  the  church  in 
the  time  of  worship,  and  to  conduct  divine  worship 
and  read  a  sermon  when  the  pastor  is  absent,"  Jacob 
Mattison,  Joakim  Griggs,  Thomas  Reading,  and  Jas- 
per Smith.  The  two  last-named  gentlemen  were 
ordained  the  first  elders,  July  16,  1797.  At  this  date 
collections  were  taken  to  support  missionaries  on  the 
frontier,  which  was  then  Middle  New  York  and 
Western  Pennsylvania. 

But  the  congregation  labored  under  serious  disad- 
vantages. The  pastor  preached  but  once  in  three 
Sundays.  He  lived  near  Reaville;  consequently, 
the  people  saw  him  seldom,  and  this  church  was 
little  more  than  a  preaching-post.  Religion  declined, 
especially  in  this  church,  at  that  time,  owing  in  part 
to  Mr.  Grant's  health,  which  was  so  delicate  that  he 
was  frequently  unable  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his 
ministry  here.  The  church  was  also  in  arrears  in 
money  matters,— a  trouble  which  likewise  existed  in 
the  congregations  of  Amwell.  In  April,  1809,  Mr. 
Grant  requested  that  the  pastoral  relation  between 
him  and  the  several  congregations  should  be  dis- 
solved, urging  his  want  of  health  to  perform  the 
duties  required.  This  was  granted.  He  died  in 
March,  1811.  The  church  was  served  by  supplies 
for  one  year. 

Meanwhile,  this  congregation  proposed  to  the  Ger- 
man congregation  at  Larison's,  which  had  also  be- 
come vacant,  to  join  with  them  in  the  call  and  sup- 
port of  one  and  the  same  pastor.  This  proposal 
would  probably  have  been  accepted  had  not  the  First 
Amwell,  on  becoming  acquainted  with  the  overture, 
offered  to  unite  with  them  on  the  same  terms.  This 
last  seemed  to  them  the  most  desirable  and  natural 
union,  as  it  was.  Thus  the  old  house  (First  Amwell), 
the  new  house  (Second  Amwell),  and   the  German 


EARITAN. 


311 


congregations  united  for  the  support  of  one  pastor, 
together  possessing  funds  the  interest  of  which 
amounted  to  $600,  while  the  Flemington  portion 
was  left  by  itself,  without  funds,  and  even  in 
debt. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  a  few  individuals  under- 
took the  apparently  hopeless  task  of  raising  by  sub- 
scription support  for  a  pastor  for  the  whole  of  his 
time,  and  the  people  responded  with  a  most  unex- 
pected liberality.  This  enabled  the  congregation, 
in  the  spring  of  1810,  to  call  Jacob  Field,  a  licentiate 
of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  on  a  salary  of 
$600  per  annum  for  two  years,  and  then  to  increase  at 
the  rate  of  $20  a  year  until  it  amounted  to  $600. 
Under  the  circumstances, ,  this  was  a  large  salary. 
It  equaled  that  paid  by  congregations  far  more  able, 
and  proves  what  a  church  can  do  when  aroused  and 
quickened  by  provocation.  Mr.  Field  supplied  the 
congregation  for  six  months  before  accepting  the 
call,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  Nov.  28,  1810. 

About  this  time  another  subscription  was  started 
to  obtain  money  for  the  completion  of  the  church 
building.     Seven  hundred  dollars  were  procured,  and 
during  the  summer  of  1810  the  interior  of  the  house 
was  finished.    The  walls  were  plastered  and  the  ceil- 
ing rounded  and  covered  with  narrow  boards  painted 
sky-blue.    Candlesticks  fastened  to  the  pillars  fur- 
nished light  when  there  was  evening  service,  which 
was  seldom.    Wooden  candelabra  were  made  for  the 
pulpit  in  1816.    Oil-lamps  were  not  introduced  until 
about  1825.    The  old  slab  benches  were  put  in  the 
gallery,  and  fiffcy-four  pews  took  their  places  on  the 
ground  floor.     It  was  agreed  to  leave  the  pews  free 
until  the  next  spring.    April  3, 1811,  a  meeting  of  the 
congregation  was  held,  of  which  George  C.  Maxwell 
was  made  president,  Alexander  Bonnell  vice-presi- 
dent, and  Thomas  Gordon  secretary.     "  It  was  unan- 
imously resolved  that  the  pews  should  be  rented  for 
the  purpose  of  supporting  the  pastor,  and  other  pur- 
poses."   And  so  it  has  continued  until  this  day.    At 
this  meeting  a  resolution  was  passed  that  "  any  per- 
son or  persons  who  choose  may  have  a  door  to  their 
pew,  but  at  their  own  expense."    The  rents  amounted 
to  $635.75.    The  highest  was  $23,  and  the  lowest  $5. 
If  we  compare  the  value  of  money  then,  and  the  in- 
comes of  the  people,  with  the  same  now,  we  shall  find 
that  pew-rents  were  higher  in  1811  than  in  1876. 
The  following-named  members  of  the  congregation 
hired  the  pews :  Jonathan  Hill,  Cornelius  William- 
son, John  E.  Reading,  W.  Maxwell,  J.  Beading,  Jr., 
T.  Gordon,  J.  Maxwell  (these  four  were  probably  un- 
married men,  as  they  occupied  one  pew),  Christopher 
Cool,  Sr.,  William  Case,  Dr.  William  Geary,  John  G. 
Trimmer,  James  Disbrow,  Charles  Beading,  Jr.,  H. 
Grofi;  Peter  Grofi"  (these  four  also  took  one  pew), 
Peter  Dilts,  Leonard  Kuhl,  Peter  Kuhl,  Jr.  (these 
three  one  pew),  Neal  Hart,  Peter  Haward,  Joakim 
Hill,    Mathew    Thompson,    Henry    Baker,    Preston 
Bruen,  Elnathan  Moore,  Ferdinand  Johnson,  Der- 


rick Waldron,  Andrew  Van  Fleet,  William  Bloom, 
Peter  Nevius,  James  Clark,  Jr.,  John  Schenck,  Sr., 
John  Schenck,  Jr.,  Cornelius  Wyckoff,  John  Beading, 
Sr.,  Thomas  Beading,  Eev.  Jacob  T.  Field,  Alexan- 
der Bonnell,  Mercy  Gray,  Mrs.  Sarah  Hill,  Mrs. 
Hannah  Gray  (these  three  one  pew),  Daniel  Bead- 
ing, Charles  Beading,  Isaac  Hill,  George  C.  Maxwell, 
William  Young,  Jacob  Young,  Christopher  Bowe, 
Joseph  Case,  Thomas  Capner,  Matthew  Lare,  Joseph 
Stillman,  Mrs.  Elijah  Carman,  George  Beading, 
Christopher  Cool,  Martha  Wilson,  Edward  Wyckoff, 
Elizabeth  Griggs,  William  Young,  David  Bellis, 
Samuel  McNair,  John  Maxwell,  John  Lee,  Abraham 
Huffman,  Isaac  Van  Dorn,  Joseph  P.  Chamberlin, 
Col.  David  Bishop,  Arthur  Schenck.  Only  four  pews 
were  unlet,  and  of  four  more  the  half  of  each  was 
taken.  The  pastoral  relation  between  this  church 
and  Mr.  Field  continued  only  three  years.  It  ter- 
minated by  his  own  request,  April  27,  1813. 

Jacob  Ten  Eyck  Field  was  born  in  Lamington, 
N.  J.,  Oct.  31,  1787.  Early  in  life  he  connected  him- 
self with  the  church  of  that  place.  He  entered  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  in  1806,  and  pursued  theolog- 
ical studies  under  Bev.  Dr.  WoodhuU,  of  Monmouth, 
then  labored  for  a  few  years  as  missionary  in  and 
around  Stroudsburg,  Pa.,  before  coming  to  Fleming- 
ton.  After  leaving  this  church  he  accepted  a  call  to 
Pompton,  N.  J.  He  died  at  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  May 
17,  1866,  in  his  eightieth  year.  He  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  Drs.  Kirkpatrick  and  Studdiford.  He 
"  stood  up"  with  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  when  he  was  mar- 
ried, and  in  turn  was  married  by  the  doctor,  and  they 
went  to  their  reward  almost  hand  in  hand. 

In  the  summer  of  1815  (June  14th),  John  Flavel 
Clark  was  ordained  and  installed.     In  1818  a  Sab- 
bath-school was  organized  and  held  in  the  academy 
for  three  years,  when  it  was  removed  into  the  gallery 
of  the  church.    In  winter  it  was  brought  down  around 
the  stoves.    This  remained  a  union  school  until  about 
1824,  when  each  congregation  formed  its  own  school. 
The  first  superintendent  of  this  union  school  was 
Daniel  Griggs,  who  held  the  position  for  three  years, 
and  until    he   removed   from   the  village.     Mahlon 
Smith  then  became  its  superintendent,*  and  during 
the  three  years  it  was  under  his  charge  there  was  a 
revival,    which    strengthened    the    school    and    the 
church.     Augustus  Frisbie  became  superintendent  at 
a  later  date,  resigning   in  1842,  when  Augustus  G. 
Eichey,  now  of  Trenton,  was  elected  to  that  office. 
He  retired  in  1844,  on  leaving  Flemington,  and  Wil- 
liam P.  Emery  took  his  place  in  1845.     He  continued 
superintendent   (with   the   exception   of  two  years, 
when  Col.  Clark  occupied  that  post)  until  his  resig- 
nation, in  1870.    Hon.  J.  T.  Bird  was  then  elected 
and  served  for  two  years.    On  his  resignation  E.  Vos- 
seller  was  called  to  the  head  of  the  school,  which 
position  he  yet  retains. 

*  He  also  had  charge  of  the  school  at  Walnut  Grove,  which  he  organ- 
ized in  1819. 


312 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


This  church  continued  to  enjoy  Mr.  Clark's  exclu- 
sive services  until  1820,  and  from  that  time  until 
1836  united  with  the  First  Amwell  in  his  support, 
each  paying  one-half  of  his  salary,  and  he  preaching 
for  both  on  alternate  Sabbaths.  For  sixteen  years 
existed  this  harmonious  co-operation.  In  1836  both 
churches  deemed  it  expedient  to  resume  their  sepa- 
rate pastoral  relations;  and  Mr.  Clark,  receiving  a 
call  from  each,  decided  to  accept  that  of  Amwell. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Clark  the  interior  of 
the  church  and  its  surroundings  were  much  improved. 
In  1827  a  new  pulpit  was  put  in ;  it  was  a  small  hex- 
agon, large  enough  for  only  one  person,  and  stood  on 
a  high  pillar  with  a  sounding-board  over  it.  The 
time-honored  slab  benches  in  the  gallery  were  super- 
seded by  rows  of  seats.  The  graveyard  was  enlarged 
in  1833,  and  the  next  year  the  whole  plot  was  in- 
closed. 

In  1837  (April  19th),  Eev.  J.  M.  Olmstead  was  in- 
stalled. There  were  then  109  members  on  the  roll. 
He  entered  vigorously  upon  his  duties,  and  the 
growth  of  the  church  confirmed  the  wisdom  of  hav- 
ing the  entire  services  of  a  pastor.  Under  his  min- 
istry the  church  was  blessed  with  several  seasons  of 
religious  interest.  At  one  communion  in  1842,  34 
united  on  confession.  In  October,  1839,  the  Presby- 
tery of  Earitan  was  formed,  and  this  church  was 
transferred  to  it  from  the  Presbytery  of  Newton,  with 
which  it  had  been  connected  since  the'  formation  of 
that  Presbytery,  in  1818.  The  first  meeting  of  the 
new  Presbytery  was  held  in  Flemington,  and  also  the 
last,  in  May,  1869,  in  which  year  that  Presbytery  was 
dissolved  and  divided  among  the  adjoining  Presby- 
teries. In  the  summer  of  1844  a  lecture-room  was 
erected,  27}  by  37J  feet,  on  a  lot  which  was  given  by 
William  H.  Sloan,  Esq.  Mr.  Olmstead  built  the 
house  which  is  now  the  parsonage.  In  October,  1847, 
he  sent  a  letter  to  Presbytery,  stating  that  on  account 
of  feeble  health  he  would  be  unable  to  preach  for 
several  months.  The  ministers  of  Presbytery  offered 
to  give  a  Sabbath  and  thus  supply  the  pulpit,  and  an 
appointment  was  accordingly  made  for  every  other 
Sabbath.  Although  Mr.  Olmstead's  health  improved 
under  this  rest,  he  soon  became  satisfied  that  his 
strength  was  not  adequate  to  the  work  of  the  parish. 
He  resigned,  and  the  pastoral  relation  ceased  Nov  1 
1849. 

The  church  was  vacant  one  year,  when  Oct.  29, 
1850,  Eev.  John  L.  Janeway  was  installed  on  a  salary 
of  $700,  which  afterwards  was  raised  to  $1000.  The 
membership  of  the  church  numbered  163.  The  con- 
gregation had  now  so  grown  that  all  desiring  seats 
could  not  be  accommodated.  The  building  also 
needed  repairs.  In  1848  a  committee  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  ascertain  what  alterations  and  repairs  were 
necessary.  A  report  was  made,  but  no  further  steps 
were  taken.  Committees  were  appointed  and  reports 
made  for  several  years,  but  nothing  definite  was  un- 
dertaken until  in  March,  1852,  when  an  architect  was 


employed  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  repair- 
ing, of  the  expense  of  an  addition,  and  of  an  entire 
new  building.     During  the  next  year  (1858)  a  sub- 
scription was  opened  for  a  new  house.      But  little 
was  accomplished,  so  that  at  the  meeting  of  the  con- 
gregation the  next   April   the   committee  was   con- 
tinued.   Progress  was  checked  by  a  desire  to  have  the 
church  located  in  a  central  part  of  the  town.    Finally, 
it  was  determined  to  build  on  the  present  site,  and 
additional  land  was  purchased  of  William  E.  Bellis, 
lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  church-lot,  at  the  ex- 
treme southern  point  of  which  stood  a  tavern,  just 
where  the  front  entrance  now  opens.     The  building 
committee  were  A.  J.  Holcombe,  Hugh  Capner,  J.  C. 
Hopewell,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  William  P.  Emery.     The 
corner-stone  was  laid  in  May,  1856,  and  the  church 
was  dedicated  the  next  May,  on  the  14th,  on  a  very 
stormy  day.   The  sermon  was  preached  by  Prof  Wil- 
liam H.  Green,  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 
The  edifice  cost  something  over  $11,000,  which  was 
made  up  by  subscriptions  and  the  sale  of  pews.     The 
same  year  (1857)  an  additional  acre  was  purchased  of 
Mahlon  Smith,  enlarging  the  church-yard  to  its  pres- 
ent dimensions.     At  that  date,  also,  the  practice  of 
holding  quarterly  celebrations  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  inaugurated.    In  1859  a  melodeon  was  introduced, 
which  was  replaced  by  an  organ  in  1867.    At  first  the 
singing  was  led  by  a  precentor.     Col.  Clark  for  some 
sixteen  years  had  charge  of  the  choir,  up  to  1857, 
when  he  resigned.     His  services  were  gratuitous. 

During  the  absence  of  the  pastor  (Eev.  Mr.  Jane- 
way)  in  the  war  of  the  Eebellion  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  by  Eev.  N.  L.  Upham,  who  afterward  settled 
at  Eeaville. 

Under  the  ministration  of  Dr.  Janeway  the  con- 
gregation increased  in  numbers  and  influence.  In 
1852  and  1866  were  seasons  of  religious  awakening 
which  added  many  to  the  church.  But  the  exposures 
of  the  camp  while  he  was  chaplain  seemed  to  have 
undermined  his  constitution,  and  on  account  of  his 
enfeebled  health  he  resigned  in  December,  1868. 

In  January,  1869,  George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  the  present 
pastor,  was  called,  and  installed  May  4th  of  the  same 
year.  During  the  summer  the  lecture-room  became 
too  small  to  accommodate  the  classes  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  and  Hopewell  Hall  was  hired.  The  lecture- 
room  was  given  up  to  the  infant-school,  which  was 
organized  as  a  separate  department  in  May.  In  a  few 
months  Miss  S.  Hopewell  was  called  to  the  head  of  it, 
an  still  remains  there.  Beginning  with  15  it  has  num- 
bered as  high  as  100.  In  1879  the  two  schools  took 
possession  of  the  present  chapel. 

In  1870  the  house  of  Dr.  Janeway,  on  Main  Street, 
was  purchased,  repaired,  and  enlarged  into  the  present 
commodious  and  attractive  parsonage  at  a  total  cost 
of  $11,683. 

During  the  present  pastorate  there  have  been  three 
revivals,— in  1870  when  66  united  on  confession ;  in 
1874,  37,  and  in  1876,  the  same  number.     The  total 


EARITAN. 


313 


additions  are  218  on  confession  and  140  by  certificate 
from  other  churches.  The  membership  now  is  430. 
During  the  same  period  the  congregation  has  con- 
tributed $24,869  for  missionary  and  benevolent  pur- 
poses, and  has  disbursed  $47,552  in  meeting  its  ex- 
penses. In  1877  the  congregation  sent  the  pastor 
to  Europe,  generously  providing  him  with  a  purse 
sufiicient  for  a  journey  of  three  months  and  a  half. 

In  the  history  of  this  church,  covering  as  it  does 
nearly  a  century  of  time,  it  is  only  possible  to  here 
give  the  prominent  facts  of  the  past.  Appended  is  a 
chronological  list  of  the  pastors,  elders,  deacons,  and 
trustees. 

Pastors. 
1791-1809,  Thomas  Grant;  1810-13,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck  Field ;  1815-36,  John 
Flavel  Clark  ;  1837-49,  James  Munson  OlmBtead ;  1850-68,  John  L. 
Janeway  ;  1869,  George  Scudder  Motfr.* 

Elders. 
Thomas  Beading,  ordained  1797,  died  1814 :  Jasper  Smith,  ordained  1797 ; 
Arthur  Schenct  ;|  Jonathan  Hill;f  Isaac  Hill,  ordained  1811 ;  Cor. 
WiUiamson,  ordained  1811,  died  1818 ;  Jeptha  Anderson,  ordained 
1816,  died  1820 ;  Paul  Knhl,  Jr.,  ordaiued  181 6,  died  1859 ;  Christopher 
Cool,  ordained  1816,  died  1844 ;  John  G.  Trimmer,  ordaiued  1816,  died 
1844;  Daniel  Marsh,  ordained  1838,  died  1866;  Mahlon  Smith,  or- 
daiued 1838 ;  John  Griggs,  ordained  1838,  died  1872  ;  Cor.  William- 
son, ordained  1838,  died  1853 :  Leonard  P.  Kuhl,  ordained  1848,  died 
1857 ;  William  P.  Emery,  ordained  1848 ;  Peter  I.  Clark,  ordained 
1857,  died  1863;  John  Kershow,  ordained  1867,  died  1868 ;  John  T. 
Yard,  ordained  1857  ;  Peter  Neviue,  ordaiued  1864 ;  George  B.  Stot- 
hoff,  ordained  1864 :  William  B.  Kuhl,  ordained  1S69,  died  1870 ;  John 
T.  Bird,  ordaiued  1869 ;  E.  E.  Bullock,  ordained  1869 ;  A.  T.  Conuet, 

ordained  1869. 

Beacons. 

1869,  John  C.  Coon,  John  S.  Emery ,{  Richard  S.  Kuhl,  Joseph  Higglus. 

Tntsiees.^ 
1792.— Jasper  Smith,  Thomas  Beading,  Arthur  Gray,  Charles  Beading, 

Samnel  Hill,  Joseph  Capner,  Cornelius  Polhemus. 
1795.— Jasper  Smith,  Samuel  Hill,  Thomas  Beading,  Arthur  Gray,  Samuel 

Bobert  Stewart. 
1806. — Thomas  Reading,  George  C.  Maxwell,  Charles  Beading,  William 

Bennet,  Samuel  Hill,  Joseph  Capner,  Isaac  Hill. 
1809.— Geoj-ge  C.  Maxwell,  Charles  Reading,  John  B.  Beading,  Samuel 

Hill,  Isaac  Hill,  Arthur  Schenck,  Jonathan  Hill. 
1814.— Samuel  L.  Southard,  Charles  Beading,  Cornelius  Wyckoff,  Samuel 

Griggs,  John  R.  Reading,  Jonathan  Hill,  John  G.  Trimmer. 
1817.— Thomas  Gordon,  William  P.  Toung,  Andrew  Van  Fleet,  Cornelius 

Wyckoff,  Samuel  Griggs,  John  R.  Beading,  William  Maxwell. 
1819. — David  P.  Shrope,  William  Williamson  (in  place  of  Thomas  Gordon 

and  William  Maxwell,  resigned). 
1820 — Daniel  Marsh  (in  place  of  Slirope,  resigned). 
1821.— Nathaniel  Saxton,  Cornelius  Wyckoff,  Samuel  Griggs,  William 

Williamson,  Daniel  Marsh,  Andrew  Van  Fleet,  William  P.  Toung. 
1823. — Joseph  Reading,  George  Bialer,  John  F.  Schenk,  M.D.|| 
1825.— Nathaniel  Saxton,  Samuel  Griggs,  CorneUus  Wyckoff,  Daniel 

Mareh,  Joseph  Beading,  William  P.  Young,  Neal  Hart. 
1828.— Joseph  Beading,  Elisha  B.  Johnson,  Alexander  Wurts,  .George 

Maxwell,  Daniel  Marsh,  Neal  Hart,  Bobert  K.  Bea<ling. 
1831.— Joseph  Beading,  Bobert  K.  Beading,  Daniel  Marsh,  Paul  Kuhl, 

Christopher  Kuhl,  John  Trimmer,  Henry  M.  Kline. 
1833.— Joseph  Beading,  John  Trimmer,  Paul  Kuhl,  Christopher  Kuhl, 

Daniel  Marsh,  Neal  Hart,  Cornelius  Williamson. 
1834.— Thatcher  Prall,  Leonai-d  P.  Kuhl   (in  place  of  Trimmer  and 

Kuhl,  resigned). 
1836.— Charles  Bartles,  John  Griggs,  Paul  Kuhl,  Thatcher  Prall,  Leonard 

P.  Kuhl,  Neal  Hart,  Cornelius  'Williamson. 

*  Now  (1881)  officiating. 

f  Date  of  ordination  not  stated.  J  Bemoved  in  1876. 

g  In  the  years  not  enumerated,  the  same  persons  were  tnistees  as  in  the 
last  year  recorded. 

II  Van  Fleet  and  Toung,  resigned. 
21 


1838.— Bobert  K.  Reading,  Leonard  P.  Kuhl,  William  G.  Kuhl,  Samuel 
Hill,  Benjamin  S.  Holt,  .Toseph  P.  Boss,  John  Griggs. 

1839.— Thatcher  Prall  (in  place  of  William  G.  Kuhl). 

1844.— Charles  Bartles,  Augustus  Frisbie,  Alexander  Wurts,  John  W. 
Kline,  L.  P.  Kuhl,  Joseph  P.  Boss,  Peter  I.  Clark. 

1846. — George  B.  Stothoff,  Cornelius  Williamson  (in  place  of  Kline  an* 


1847. — William  P.  Emery,  John  Chapman  (in   place  of  Wurts  and 

Frisbie). 
1848.— James  N.  Beading  (in  place  of  Williamson). 
1849. — John  Chapman,  .Tames  N.  Reading,  William  H.  Sloan,  L.  P.  Kuhl, 

Peter  W.  Burk,  Edward  E.  Bullock,  William  P.  Emery. 
1850. — Charles  Bartles,  Peter  I.  Clark  (in  place  of  Sloan  and  Cliapman). 
1852. — John  G.  Reading  (in  place  of  James  N.  Reading). 
1855.— George  B.  Stothoff  (in  place  of  C.  Bartles). 
1867.— Charles  Bartles  (in  place  of  E.  B.  Bullock). 
1858.— George  B.  Stothoff,  Peter  I.  Clark,  John  G.  Reading,  William  P. 

Emei-y,  Peter  W.  Burk,  Charles  Bartles,  William  E.  Kuhl. 
1864. — Peter  Nevius  (in  place  of  P.  I.  Clark,  deceased). 
1867. — Bichard  Emmons  (in  place  of  J.  G.  Beading). 
1870. — T.  C.  Haward  (in  place  of  William  B.  Kuhl,  deceased). 
1873.— J.  T.  Bird,  A.  T.  Connet  (in  place  of  C.  Bartles  and  E.  Emmons). 
1874.— P.  K.  HofTman  (in  place  of  W.  P.  Emery). 
1876.— John  T.  Bird,  Thomas  C.  Haward,  Andrew  T.  Connet,  Paul  K. 

Hoffman,  John  L.  Jones,  L.  L.  Nevius,  John  Kershow. 

The  names  of  some  of  the  earlier  members  of  this 
church  are  here  appended.  The  proceedings  of  the 
Session  of  Flemington  Church  were  not  regularly 
recorded  previous  to  1810.  At  that  time  the  following 
names  were  on  the  roll :  John  Reading,  Sr.,  Thomas 
Heading,  Jonathan  Hill  and  wife,  John  G.  Trimmer, 
William  Bellows,  Sr.,  Mrs.  Mary  Cool,  John  Maxwell, 
Sr.,  and  wife,  Abraham  Williamson,  Mrs.  Griggs, 
Arthur  Schenck.  Probably  there  were  a  few  others 
not  recorded. 

1810. — Ccm/ession:  Isaac  Hill,  Mrs.  Mary  Hill,  Joakim  Hill,  William 
Bloom  and  wife,  John  Phillips,  Mrs.  Mercy  Gray,  Miss  Nancy  Bead- 
ing, Christopher  Cool  and  wife. 

1811. — Confession:  Mrs.  Eachel  Field,  Miss  Mary  Toung.  Certificate: 
Cornelius  Williamson,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Williamson,  David  Baker. 

1812. — Confession :  Mrs.  Wyckoff,  Mrs.  Vandoren,  Mrs.  Phebe  Polhemus. 
Certificate :  Mrs.  Abigail  Marsh,  Mrs.  Mary  Baker. 

1815. — Confession :  Ann  Williamson,  Cornelius  Williamson,  Bichard  Wil- 
liamson. Certificate :  Jeptha  Arrison  and  wife,  William  Williamson 
and  wife. 

1816. — Confession :  Mrs.  Andrew  Van  Fleet,  Agnes  Lee,  Hannah  Clark, 
Daniel  Griggs,  Mahlon  Smith,  Flora,  Margaret,  and  Phebe  (colored), 
Mrs.  Betty  Case,  Mrs.  Anna  Cool,  Mrs.  Hannah  Sutphin,  Mrs.  Catha- 
rine Hoagland,  Mrs.  Phebe  Smith,  Joseph  Painter,  Mrs.  Margaret 
Bonnell.    . 

1818. — Covfession:  James  HeiTing,  Mary  Johnson,  Catharine  Williams, 
Betsey  Griggs,  Mrs.  William  H.  Toung,  Mrs.  Hopy  Henderson, 
Eachel  Lisk,  Catharine  Vanomer,  Daniel  Marsh,  John  Pittenger, 
Katy  (colored).     Oi-iifica(e:  Sally  Case,  Auchy  Pittenger.    .    . 

1823. — Confession:  William  Corwine,  Mrs.  Catharine  Yard,  Mrs.  Ann 
Huff,  Samuel  D.  Stryker  and  wife,  Charity  Huff,  Mary  Hart,  Mar- 
garet Bughuer,  John  Anderson,  James  Callis,  Mrs.  Sarah  Thompson, 
Mrs.  Sarah  Maxwell,  Amy  Ann  Case,  Ann  ('ase,MrB.  Elizabeth  Shep- 
herd Mrs.  Elisha  E.  Johnson,  Elizabeth  Clioice,  Miss  Nancy 
Thompson. 

1824. — Confession :  William  C.  Young. 

1825. Confession :  Leonard  Kuhl.  (Certificate :  Mrs.  Jane  Schenck,  Jo- 
seph (colored). 

THE  AMWELL  FIEST  PEESBYTEBIAN  CHnECH,  AT  EBA- 

VILLE.f 

The  first  Presbyterian  Church  organized  in  that 
part  of  Hunterdon  County  included  in  the  present 
townships  of  Earitan,  Delaware,  East  and  West  Am- 

If  By  Eev.  J.  P.  W.  Blattenberger. 


314 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


well,  and  tlie  city  of  Lambertville  (but  then  called 
Amwell)  was  organized  some  time  between  1715  and 
1733.  The  minutes  of  the  Presbyteiy  of  Philadelphia 
and  New  York  from  1715  to  1733  are  lost.  No  men- 
tion is  made  of  the  church  in  the  minutes  as  in  exist- 
ence prior  to  1725,  but  it  is  there  found  subsequent  to 
1733.  Dr.  Sprague  mentions  the  probability  of  the 
Eev.  Robert  Orr  having  preached  there  in  1715.* 

The  first  building  for  public  worship  of  which  we 
have  any  knowledge  was  situated  on  the  York  Road, 
between  Reaville  and  Ringos,  and  stood  in  the  grave- 
yard. Unlike  our  present  church  buildings,  its  great- 
est length  was  parallel  to  the  highway ;  the  door  was 
on  the  side  facing  the  road,  and  directly  in  front  of  it 
was  the  pulpit ;  there  were  galleries  on  three  sides. 
It  was  built  of  wood.  The  old  building  was  taken 
down  in  1839  and  rebuilt  in  the  village  of  Reaville, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  old  site.  Such  of  the 
material  as  could  be  was  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  present  building.f  The  lot  of  ground  where  the 
old  church  stood  is  now  almost  covered  with  graves. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, Aug.  8,  1738,  agreed  that  Mr.  Wales  preach  at 
John  Traissier's  upon  the  third  Sabbath  of  this  instant, 
upon  the  Monday  following  at  Edward  Barber's,  and 
upon  the  Tuesday  at  Amwell  meeting-house.  J  Thus 
it  seems  a,  meeting-house  was  in  existence  at  that 
early  date. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  Presbytery,  held  at 
Freehold,  Sept.  7, 1738,  more  supplies  were  requested. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  scarcity  of  ministers,  for 
Presbytery,  in  answer  thereto,  "  do  conclude  that  they 
cannot  afford  them  any  supplies  till  the  meeting  of 
our  next."  It  seems,  however,  that  they  did  appoint 
Rev.  John  Rowland  to  preach  there.  Rev.  William 
Tennent  was  appointed  to  preach  at  Amwell  the  first 
Wednesday  in  September,  1739. 

In  September,  1739,  the  people  of  Amwell  offered 
a  petition  for  the  ordination  of  Mr.  John  Rowland. 
On  October  11th  the  Presbytery  met  (first  meeting  of 
Presbytery  at  Amwell)  at  Amwell,  with  a  view  to  or- 
dain Mr.  Rowland.  It  held  its  first  session  on  the 
evening  of  the  first  day  at  the  house  of  Michael 
Henry.  Among  those  present  were  William  and  Gil- 
bert Tennent. 

We  have  the  following  record  of  this  meeting : 

"  The  affair  of  Mr.  Rowland  being  reassumed,  the  Presbyteiy  do  report 
that  after  deliberate  consideration  upon  the  present  circumstances  of 
Amwell,  inasmuch  as  they  desired  but  one-third  part  of  Mr.  Rowland's 
time  and  labors  among  them,  judged  it  improper  to  ordain  him  to  that 
place  in  particular,  and  therefore,  the  necessitous  state  of  the  church  so 
requiring,  they  proceeded  to  ordain  him  to  the  ministry  of  the  word  in 
general." 

This  means  that  he  was  ordained  as  an  evangelist 
and  not  installed.     He  supplied  Amwell  and  Law- 

*  "  Annals  of  American  Pulpit,"  vol.  iii.  p,  14,  note. 

t  For  description  of  the  old  church  we  are  indebted  to  George  P.  Bex 
M.D,  who  was  a  member  of  the  building  committee  of  the  new  church. 

X  The  references  to  meetings  of  Presbytery  are  taken  from  minutes  of 
Presbytery,  unless  otherwise  stated. 


renceville  for  about  six  months,  and  much  good 
resulted  from  his  labors.  There  was  a  revival  in 
1740.     He  died  before  the  autumn  of  1747.^ 

After  Mr.  Rowland,  the  congregation  had  various 
supplies.  A  call  was  made,  Aug.  2,  1742,  for  a  "  Mr. 
McCray's  services"  (supposed  to  be  Rev.  James  Mc- 
Crea,  licensed  by  this  Presbytery  Nov.  7,  1739,  or- 
dained Aug.  4,  1741),  the  answer  to  which  was  that 
"  Mr.  McCray  supply  Amwell  one-quarter  part  of  his 
time,  as  formerly."  Mr.  McCray's  services  continued 
until  May  28,  1745. 

May  22,  1746,  Mr.  Davenport  was  appointed  to 
"  supply  the  Second  Bethlehem  one-quarter  of  his  time 
equally  between  them,  half  of  his  time  at  Amwell, 
and  the  other  quarter  at  Hopewell  (Pennington)  and 
Maidenhead"  ( Lawrence ville).  On  May  19,  1847, 
Amwell  petitioned  for  three-quarters  of  Mr.  Daven- 
port's time,  which  was  granted.  His  relation  as 
stated  supply  ceased  with  the  October  meeting  of 
Presbytery.  He  is  mentioned  as  occasionally  supply- 
ing the  church  thereafter  that  same  year  and  in  1748. 

In  October,  1747,  Rev.  Charles  Beatty  was  appointed 
to  "  supply  Amwell  one-quarter  of  his  time,  and  Mr. 
James  Campbell  supply  them  three  Sabbaths  before 
our  next." 

The  Eev.  Charles  Beatty  married  Ann,  the  oldest 
daughter  of  Governor  John  Reading.  ||  In  1748  and 
1749,  Mr.  Beatty,  Mr.  Campbell,  Mr.  Allen,  and  Mr. 
Chestnut  are  some  of  the  supplies.  Mr.  Campbell 
was  the  principal  supply  until  June  12,  1750,  when 
he  declined  a  call  from  Amwell,  accepting  one  to  New 
Providence  and  Charlestown. 

The  first  pastor  of  the  Amwell  Church  was  Eliab 
Byram.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  University  in 
1740,  and  became  pastor  at  Mendham,  N.  J.,  in  1743. 
He  was  an  evangelist  in  Virginia  from  1746  to  1751. 
He  accepted  a  call  to  Amwell,  June  25,  1751,  but  had 
supplied  the  congregation  from  May,  1751,  at  which 
time  he  was  received  from  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York.  He  was  installed  at  Amwell,  Aug.  14,  1751. 
He  died  before  May,  1754.  His  body  is  supposed 
to  lie  under  the  heavy  horizontal  slab  in  the  old 
graveyard,  from  which  the  hand  of  time  has  effaced 
whatever  inscription  might  have  been  placed  upon  it. 
By  his  side  sleeps  Hannah,  daughter  of  Rev.  William 
Kirkpatrick,  who  died  Aug.  7,  1786,  aged  nineteen 
years.     Her  grave  is  covered  with  a  similar  slab. 

The  first  mention  of  any  one  as  commissioner  from 
Amwell  is  the  name  of  Derrick  Hoagland,  at  Bound 
Brook,  May  30,  1753,  where  a  request  was  made  by 

J  Whiteiield  preached  at  Amwell  in  17.39,  and  says  in  his  diary, 
"  Some  thousands  of  people  had  gathered  here  by  noon,  expecting  to  hear 
me." 

II  Governor  John  Reading  was  connected  with  the  Amwell  First 
Church.  Two  communion-cups  of  hammered  silver,  and  very  heavy  and 
costly,  and  still  in  use  in  the  First  Church  at  Reaville,  were  given  by  the 
Governor.  They  bear  this  inscription  :  "  A  Gift  of  the  Honorable  John 
Reading,  Esq.,  deceased,  to  the  Eastern  Presbyterian  Congregation  in 
Amwell,  1767."  The  Governor  and  his  wife  lie  side  by  side  in  the  old 
yard,  where  the  plain  stones  that  mark  their  resting-place  may  be  seen. 
Many  of  their  descendants  are  also  buried  there. 


EARITAN. 


315 


him  for  supplies.  He  subsequently  appears  in  Pres- 
byterj'  as  an  elder,  so  with  his  name  we  begin  our  roll 
of  elders. 

In  1753  a  parsonage  was  purchased ;  the  old  sub- 
scription-papers are  before  me,  with  the  names  of  the 
subscribers.  Its  location  cannot  now  be  definitely 
ascertained. 

The  interval  between  the  death  of  Mr.  Byram  and 
the  settlement  of  the  next  pastor  was  filled  by  sup- 
plies. Among  them  we  find  Mr.  Halt's  name.  He  ' 
became  the  next  pastor.  The  Eev.  Benjamin  Hait 
was  received  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
Oct.  25,  1754,  and,  having  accepted  the  call  to  Am- 
well,  Nov.  13,  1755,  was  installed  Dec.  4,  1755.  He 
was  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  the  pre- 
ceding year.  He  remained  ten  years ;  after  leaving 
here  he  went  to  Wallkill,  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and 
afterwards  settled  at  Connecticut  Farms,  N.  J.,  where 
he  died  in  1779. 

Michael  Henry  is  named  among  the  elders  at  Pres- 
bytery in  1756, — undoubtedly  the  same  Michael  at 
whose  house  the  first  meeting  of  Presbytery  was  held. 
From  the  time  of  Mr.  Halt's  dismission,  May  29, 
1765,  to  August,  1766,  the  church  had  several  sup- 
plies, among  the  number  Kev.  William  Kirkpatrick,* 
who  was  Mr.  Halt's  successor.  He  was  installed  the 
second  Wednesday  of  August,  1766. 

The  names  of  the  following  elders  are  gleaned  from 
the  records  of  Presbytery,  as  representing  this  church 
at  Presbytery:  April  19,  1768,  Abraham  La  Eue; 
May  20,  1768,  Jacob  Ruder ;  Oct.  18,  1768,  Peter  Wil- 
son ;  Nov.  16,  1868,  William  Norcross ;  April  18, 1769, 
Alexander  White. 

From  the  death  of  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  to  the  installa- 
tion of  his  successor — a  period  of  about  seven  years — 
the  church  had  numerous  supplies.  Among  those  most 
frequently  mentioned  is  the  name  of  Rev.  Samuel 
Kennedy,  pastor  at  Basking  Ridge  from  1751  to  1787, 
who  was  famous  in  his  day  as  one  of  several  Presby- 
terian clergymen  who  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  which  was  construed  as  an  at- 
tempted interference  in  the  concerns  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  He  was  not  only  a  clergyman  and  a  teacher, 
but  a  physician  also.f  The  minutes  of  Presbytery, 
Philadelphia,  May  17,  1771,  say,— 

"  Mr.  William  Mackey  TenDent,  a  candidate  under  the  care  of  Lewis 
Town  Presbytery,  who  is  now  in  these  parts,  is  requested  to  supply  Am- 

*  William  Kirkpatrick  was  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in 
1757,  was  licensed  to  preach  hy  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  at 
Princeton,  Aug.  15, 1768,  and  was  ordained  dm  tUulo  at  Cranberry,  Julji 
4,  1759.  In  March,  1760,  he  was  sent,  in  answer  to  a  petition  made  to 
Presbytery,  to  preach  at  Trenton.  He  preached  there  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  until  June,  176S,  when  he  accepted  the  call  from  Amwell. 
His  death  occurred  Sept.  8,  1769.  He  was  moderator  of  the  Synod  in 
1769.  Tradition  represents  him  as  an  eloquent  man  and  distinguished 
for  his  piety  and  usefulness.  His  funeral  was  attended  by  an  immense 
concouiBe  of  people.  His  remains  were  buried  in  front  of  the  pulpit  of 
the  "Old  House,"  Amwell.  A  heavy  horizontal  slab  covers  his  grave, 
upon  which  an  inscription  commemorating  his  virtues  may  still  bo  seen. 
To  Mr,  Kirkpatrick,  it  is  believed,  belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  fii-st 
stated  clerk  of  Presbytery.    He  was  appointed  Oct.  23, 1700. 

t  See  "  Sprague's  Annals,"  vol.  iii.  p.  176. 


well  as  many  Sabbaths  as  be  can  between  this  time  and  the  next  Pres- 
bytery." 

Rev.  William  Mackey  Tennent,  D.D.,  was  a  son  of 
the  Rev.  Charles  Tennent,  and  a  grandson  of  the  Eev. 
William  Tennent.  He  became  a  distinguished  min- 
ister. He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity 
from  Yale  College  in  1794,  and  died  pastor  at  Abing- 
ton.  Pa.,  in  1810. 

There  was  what  may  be  termed  a  remarkably  liberal 
collection  taken  at  Amwell  for  education  in  1772.  At 
the  meeting  of  Presbytery  held  at  Kingston,  Oct.  8, 
1771,  the  subject  of  educating  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry was  under  discussion,  and  it  was  resolved  to 
notify  all  the  churches.  Mr.  Tennent  was  appointed 
to  present  the  subject  to  the  vacant  Amwell  Church, 
and  at  meeting  of  Presbytery,  Trenton,  April  14, 1772, 
he  reports  the  sum  subscribed,  £114  17s.  6d. ;  paid,  £87 
7s.  6d. ;  lost,  £1  10.s.  Od ;  outstanding,  £26.  This  was 
the  largest  sum  subscribed,  with  exception  of  Bedmin- 
ster,  and  the  largest  paid  by  £25. 

The  next  pastor  was  John  Warford,  who  was  or- 
dained and  installed  July  31,  1776,  at  what  is  called 
the  upper  house  in  the  minutes,  meaning  the  Second 
Church. t  He  married  the  widow  of  Kirkpatrick,  his 
predecessor.  His  salary  was  £100  a  year  (Dr.  Jacob 
Kirkpatrick,  "Historical  Discourse,"  p.  7,  says  £50, 
which  is  an  error).  The  price  of  produce  having  in- 
creased during  the  Revolution,  mostly  from  the  de- 
preciation of  the  Continental  money,  the  congregation 
resolved : 

"  Whereas,  Tlie  prices  of  country  produce  are  much  risen  to  what  they 
were  when  the  Eev'd  Mr.  Warford  settled  in  Amwell,  when  his  congre- 
gation agx-eed  to  pay  him  as  salary  £100  pounds  per  annum,  to  which  we 
respectively  subscribed  or  engaged  to  pay,  we  who  had  subscribed  or 
taken  seats  iu  order  to  pay  the  salary  now  engage  to  make  up  our  re- 
spective engagements  in  produce  attheprice  they  respectively  bore  when 
we  entered  iuto  such  engagement,  or  pay  as  much  money  as  will  pur- 
chase such  or  so  much  produce,"  etc. 

This  is  dated  Jan.  21,  1779,  and  signed  by  "  Jasper 
Smith,  John  Henry,  David  Bartron,  Charles  Reading, 
John  Reading,  son  of  Daniel,  William  Abbit,  Abra- 
ham Deremer,  Tunis  Quick,  William  Schanck,  Abra- 
ham Williamson,  Peter  Prall,  Thomas  Lowrey,  Isaac 
Hill,  Jatnes  Stout,  Jacob  Mattison,  Joseph  Hankin- 
son,  Jr.,  John  Hankinson,  Arthur  Gray,  Samuel  Car- 
man, David  Jones,  Samuel  Furman,  David  Bishop, 

Garrett  Schanck,  James  Stout,  Capt.   James, 

Peter  Philips,  Cornelius  Stout,  Maj.  Samuel  Hill, 
John  Phillips,  Thomas  Reading,  Thomas  Wilson, 
Jonathan  Pidcock,  Jacob  Bommon,  Walter  Wilson, 
'Thomas  Burrowes,  Abraham  Hegeman,  Thomas  Han- 
kinson, Daniel  Wilson."  This  list  will  enable  us  to 
see  who  were  then  the  supporters  of  the  church. 

At  the  same  time  it  was  determined  to  circulate  a 
subscription  to  purchase  a  new  parsonage,  as  the  old 
one  was  very  much  out  of  repair.  The  subscription 
although  liberal,  on  account  of  the  rapid  rise  in  the 
price  of  land,  was  not  sufiicient,  and  the  project  was 


J  Built  about  1764. 


316 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


abandoned.  Tlie  trustees  hired  "  a  plantation  adjoin- 
ing the  parsonage  for  £150,  in  order  to  better  support 
the  minister,"  the  amount  being  raised  by  special  sub- 
scription. 

In  1784,  during  Mr.  Warford's  pastorate,  a  proposal 
was  made  to  sell  the  two  buildings  "  commonly  called 
the  old  and  new  meeting-houses  of  the  English  Pres- 
byterians of  Amwell,  and  erect  one  house  for  the  two 
congregations  at  a  central  point."  The  measure  was 
abandoned. 

Mr.  Warford's  relations  to  the  congregations  ceased 
Oct.  16,  1787  ;  he  is  mentioned  as  a  supply  occasion- 
ally during  the  winter  and  spring.  He  was  afterwards 
(July,  1789)  installed  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Salem,  about  50  miles  from  New  York  City. 
In  1784,  Mr.  Abraham  Praul's  name  appears  as  an 
elder. 

Dr.  Witherspoon,  Dr.  Stanhope  Smith,  and  others 
supplied  the  vacant  pulpit.  Mr.  Grant's  name  as 
supply  ajipears  first  in  November,  1790 ;  he  subse- 
quently became  pastor. 

In  September,  1791,  Jasper  Smith  and  fifty-five 
others  in  and  about  Flemington  petitioned  to  be 
formed  into  a  congregation.  Mr.  John  Prall,  Jr.,  in 
behalf  of  the  united  congregations  of  Amwell,  op- 
posed the  measure,  and  it  was  deferred  until  the 
next  meeting  of  Presbytery,  at  which  meeting  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  by  Presbytery  that  the  circum- 
stances would  not  justify  the  forming  of  another 
congregation.  One  reason  given  was  that  it  would 
nullify  the  call  to  Mr.  Grant.  (This  is  the  first  men- 
tion of  a  call  having  been  made.) 

A  call  was  made  for  Mr.  Grant's  services,  he  to 
preach  one-fourth  of  his  time  at  Flemington,  one- 
fourth  at  First  Amwell,  one-half  at  Second  Amwell. 
The  salary  was  £130,  gold  or  silver,  with  the  use  of 
parsonage.  Rev.  Thomas  Grant  was  ordained  and 
installed  at  the  Amwell  Second  Church  Dec.  13, 1791 ; 
his  relations  ceased  on  account  of  failing  health  April 
25,  1809.  He  died  in  March,  1810.  He  remained  a, 
longer  time  than  did  any  of  his  i^redecessors. 

Joseph  Reading,  son  of  the  Governor,  John  Praul, 
Jonathan  Burrowes,  and  Col.  David  Bishop,  in  ad- 
dition to  those  previously  named,  represented  the 
Amwell  Church  in  Presbytery.  As  the  records  are 
lost,  it  is  in  this  way  only  that  the  names  of  the 
elders  can  be  ascertained  up  to  1820. 

Col.  Bishop,  who  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
men  of  his  day  in  the  county,  was  elected  commis- 
sioner to  the  General  Assembly  in  the  years  1801-3 
and  1806-7.  He  died  Dec.  22, 1815.  His  monument 
is  in  the  old  yard. 

In  1809  proposals  were  made  to  the  German  con- 
gregation at  Larison's  by  the  Flemington  congrega- 
tion to  unite  in  the  support  of  a  pastor.  "  This," 
says  Dr.  Mott,*  "  would  probably  have  been  accepted 
had  not  the  First  Amwell,  on  becoming  acquainted 

*  Dr.  Mott's  History  of  the  Flemington  Church,  pp.  25,  26. 


with  the  overture,  offered  to  unite  with  them  on  the 
same  terms.  .  .  .  Thus  the  old  house  (First  Amwell), 
the  new  house  (Second  Amwell),  and  the  German 
congregation  (First  German  Reformed)  united  for  the 
support  of  a  pastor."  The  First  and  German  Church 
elected  trustees  to  hold  the  funds  of  the  two  churches 
in  common,  with  the  title  of  the  United  First  Church, 
each  worshiping  in  its  respective  building. 

In  1810,  Jacob  Kirkpatrick  was  called  to  supply 
these  churches.  He  was  licensed  Aug.  8,  1809 ;  or- 
dained June  20,  1810.  He  was  installed  pastor  of 
Amwell,  June  16,  1815. 

In  October,  1817,  Amwell  was  set  off  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Newton.  The  relations  between  the  First 
Church  and  the  German  Church  continued  until 
March  19,  1818,  when,  "  at  a  meeting  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Congregations  held  at  the  stone  house 
(Larison's),  a  motion  was  made  by  Jacob  Young,  and 
seconded,  that  this  united  congregation  dissolve  their 
present  connection  in  order  that  each  branch  may 
choose  trustees  for  itself     Carried,  34  to  6."t 

The  congregation  at  Larison's  assumed  the  title 
"  United  First." 

Mr.  Kirkpatrick's  relation  to  the  First  Church 
seems  to  have  continued  to  Nov.  1,  1818.  The  last 
receipt  that  appears  on  the  records  of  the  trustees 
signed  by  him  is  for  salary  to  that  date. 

Aug.  18,  1819,  a  committee  fi-om  the  First  Church, 
consisting  of  Messrs.  Titus  Quick,  John  Schenk,  and 
Jacob  J.  Young,  met  a  committee  from  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  at  "New  Shannack"  (Neshanic),  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Henry  H.  Schenk,  John  Wyckoff, 
Jr.,  and  Nicholas  Williamson,  to  consider  an  action 
taken  at  a  meeting  of  the  first-named  congregation, — 
to  wit,  that  a  call  be  extended  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smats 
or  Smaltz,  and  to  submit  to  the  government  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church.  Arrangements  were  made 
at  this  meeting  to  unite  with  the  "  New  Shannack" 
Church  in  this  call,  but  at  the  meeting  which  was 
held  on  the  1st  of  September,  1819,  the  action  of  the 
previous  meetings  was  reconsidered,  and  the  union 
did  not  take  place. 

April  1,  1820,  the  Amwell  congregation  agreed  to 
unite  with  the  Flemington  congregation  in  support- 
ing a  pastor. 

April  29th  a  call  was  made  out  for  half  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Clark's  services  as  a  supply  for  three  years  at  a 
salary  of  $325.  The  matter  was  not  settled  until  later 
in  the  year.  This  union  lasted  for  almost  sixteen 
years.  The  separation  grew  out  of  a  desire  to  have 
preaching  at  both  churches  every  Sabbath.  Almost 
simultaneously  a  call  was  extended  from  each  to  Mr. 
Clark.  He  accepted  that  from  the  First  Church, 
April  27,  1836,  and  his  relation  with  the  Flemington 
Church  ceased.  Mr.  Clark,  however,  soon  severed 
his  connection  with  the  First  Church  that  he  might 
accept  a  call  to  the  First  Presbyterian   Church  of 


t  This  is  a  copy  of  tlie  minutes.    See  Trustees'  Records,  p.  89. 


RARITAN. 


317 


Paterson,  N.  J.  The  relation  was  dissolved  Dec.  27, 
1836* 

The  next  pastor  was  the  Eev.  David  Hull,  who 
began  his  ministry  in  1837  as  a  supply  for  six  months. 
He  continued  until  April  16,  1844,  when  the  pastoral 
relation  was  dissolved.  Mr.  Hull  is  still  living,  at  a 
ripe  old  age,  in  the  city  of  Williamsport,  Pa.,  honor- 
a,bly  retired  from  the  active  work  of  the  ministry. 
The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Hull  died  while  he  was  pastor, 
and  was  buried  in  the  old  yard. 

In  1839,  during  Mr.  Hull's  pastorate,  the  present 
church  building  was  erected.  The  old  church  in  the 
graveyard  was  torn  down  and  part  of  the  material 
used  in  the  construction  of  the  new  church.  It  was 
resolved  to  build  in  Greenville  (Reaville),  about  one 
and  a  half  miles  from  the  old  site.  The  building 
committee  consisted  of  John  Hagaman,  George  F. 
Wilson,  Gideon  Quick,  Jacob  W.Schanck,  and  George 
P.  Kex,  M.D.  The  building  was  to  be  42  feet  wide 
and  56  feet  long,  and  the  cost  was,  as  near  as  can 
be  ascertained,  $2300  and  the  old  church.  The  con- 
tractor and  builder  was  Mr.  Jacob  Voorhees,  of  the 
congregation.  The  building  was  commenced  Feb. 
11,  1839,  and  finished  in  the  autumn.  It  is  a  frame 
building. 

May  26,  1840,  the  First  Church  united  with  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Clover  Hill  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  pastor,  and  elected  one  set  of  trustees  who 
administered  ^he  affairs  of  the  two  churches.  This 
union  lasted  until  the  year  1863. 

The  next  pastor  at  the  First  Church  was  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Carrell,  who  was  installed  Nov.  26,  1844.  The 
relation  was  dissolved  April  11,  1859.  Mr.  Carrell 
was  pastor  of  the  united  churches  for  about  fourteen 
years.  He  is  at  present  a  resident  of  Lambertville, 
N.  J.  His  last  pastoral  charge  was  Kingwood,  in  this 
county.  We  are  without  any  other  facts  in  his  his- 
tory. 

Rev.  George  P.  Van  Wyck  was  Mr.  Carroll's  suc- 
cessor. He  was  installed  the  last  Tuesday  in  Janu- 
ary, I860;  relations  dissolved  Oct.  22, 1862.  He  is  at 
present  a  chaplain  in  the  United  States  navy. 

Rev.  J.  B.  H.  Janeway,  son  of  Thomas  L.  Janeway, 
D.D.,  of  Philadelphia,  was  the  next  pastor ;  ordained 
and  installed  May  7,  1863 ;  relations  dissolved  Sept. 
6,  1864.  The  death  of  Mr.  Janeway's  wife  led  to  this 
early  dissolution  of  his  relations.  There  were  numer- 
ous additions  to  the  church  in  this  brief  pastorate. 
Mr.  Janeway  was  very  highly  esteemed  by  his  people. 
He  resides  at  present  in  Philadelphia,  where  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  until  recently,  he  has  been  secretary 
and  actuary  of  a  life  insurance  company. 

Rev.  Nathan  L.  Upham,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr. 
Janeway,  was  his  successor.  He  was  installed  the 
second  Tuesday  in  June,  1865;  relations  dissolved 
Nov.  1,  1871.  His  pastoral  charge  at  present  is  Mer- 
chantville,  N.  J. 


*  See  Dr.  Mott'B  Historical  Discourse,  FlemiDgton  Church,  pp.  33,  34. 


In  the  spring  of  1865  a  lot  was  purchased  of  Robert 
R.  Smith,  in  Reaville,  on  which  to  build  a  parsonage. 
Messrs.  Zebulon  Stout,  Barzilla  Robbins,  and  John 
W.  Priestley  were  the  building  committee.  The 
structure  and  lot  cost,  exclusive  of  much  work  done 
by  the  congregation,  over  $5000.  The  edifice  reflects 
credit  upon  the  liberality  and  taste  of  the  congregation 
and  the  building  committee,  it  being  one  of  the  finest 
properties  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  John  H.  Schofield. 
He  was  installed  Feb.  20,  1872;  relations  dissolved 
Feb.  3,  1874,  he  having  accepted  a  call  to  the  church 
at  Kingston,  N.  J.,  with  which  his  relations  have  re- 
cently been  dissolved. 

The  Rev.  John  S.  Beekman  was  called  to  the  First 
Church  Jan.  4,  1875 ;  installed  Feb.  16,  1875.  His 
relations  continued  until  the  spring  of  1878.  During 
the  early  part  of  Mr.  Beekman's  pastorate  there  was  a 
revival  of  religion  resulting  in  a  number  of  accessions 
to  the  church.f 

The  present  pastor,  John  P.  W.  Blattenberger,  was 
installed  Dec.  31,  1878,  he  having  been  called  from 
the  pastorate  of  the  Bergen  Street  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  in  the  city  of  Newark.  He  was  gradu- 
ated, in  1873,  in  college  and  theological  departments 
of  Drew  Seminary.  A  revival  of  religion  followed 
the  installation  as  the  result  of  meetings  held 
growing  out  of  the  observance  of  the  week  of  prayer. 
At  the  communion  held  March  2, 1879,  47  were  added 
on  profession  and  17  by  letter.  This  is  supposed  to 
be  the  largest  addition  at  any  one  time  in  the  church's 
history. 

We  are  without  data  as  to  the  early  history  of  the 
Sabbath-school.  The  present  superintendent  is  Elder 
George  P.  Rex,  M.D.  It  numbers  156  members,  and 
is  very  efScient  in  all  its  departments. 

The  old  church  is  in  a  prosperous  condition.  There 
are  no  debts.  The  parsonage  has  been  thoroughly 
renovated  and  repaired.  The  membership  has  largely 
increased,  and  the  greatest  harmony  prevails ;  and  it 
is  hoped  that  its  future  may  be  one  of  increased  use- 
fulness. 

Pastors. 
1751-54,  Eliah  Byram;  1755-65,  Benjamin  Hait;  1766-69,  William  Kirk- 
patrick  ;  1776-87,  John  Warford ;  1791-1809,  Thomas  Grant;  1815-18, 
Jacob  Kirkpatriok  (supply  1810-15);  1820-36,  .John  Flavel  Clark; 
1837-44,  David  Hull ;  1844-59,  Benjamin  Carroll ;  1860-62,  George  P. 
Van  Wyck ;  1863-64,  Joshua  B.  H.  Janeway;  1865-71,  Nathan  L.  Up- 
ham ;  1872-74,  John  H.  Schofield ;  1875-78,  John  S.  Beekman ;  1878  to 
present  time,  John  P.  W.  Blattenberger. 

Elders. 
Derrick  Hoagland,  Michael  Henry,  Abraham  La  Eue,  Jacob  Kuder,  Peter 
Wilson,  William  Norcross,  Alexander  White,  Abraham  Prall,  Joseph 
Reading,  John  Prall,  Jonathan  Burrows,  David  Bishop  (died  1815), 
Titus  Quick,  John  Hoagland  (ordained  1822,  removed  1856),  Tunis 
Quick  (ordained  1822),  Peter  P.  Young  (ordained  1831,  removed  1867), 
George  F.  Wilson  (ordained  1831,  removed  1852),  John  P.  Quick  (or- 

f  Mr.  Beekman  is  a  native  of  Middlebuah ;  graduated  at  Princeton  Col- 
lege in  1857 ;  theological  seminary,  1860.  He  was  ordained  pastor  of  the 
Old  Farmington  Church,  in  Illinois,  in  1862 ;  called  thence  to  French 
Grove,  same  Presbytery  (Peoria),  in  1866.  He  is  now  engaged  in  private 
teaching  in  Princeton  and  supplying  vacant  churches  on  the  Sabbath. 


318 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


dained  1831),  John  E.  Holcomte  (ordained  1853,  died  1859),  ■ffilliam 
Waldron  (ordained  1663,  died  1866),  Ealph  Sutphin  (ordained  1863), 
John  H.  Johnson  (ordained  1866,  removed  18Y2),  Jacob  S.  Prall  (or- 
dained 1865,  remoTed  1868),  Jacob  Voorhees  (ordained  1865,  died 
18Y0),  Zebulon  Stout  (ordained  1870),  William  Hill  (ordained  1870), 
IreniBiis  E.  Glen,  M.D.  (ordained  1870,  removed  1871),  John  T.  Bellis 
(ordained  1872),  George  P.  Eex,  M.D,  (ordained  1872),  Abraham  J. 
Prall  (oraained  1872).* 

BAPTIST  CHUECH,  FLEMINGTON. 

The  beginning  of  any  local  interest  in  the  Baptist 
denomination  in  Flemington,  as  near  as  can  now  be 
ascertained,  was  in  the  year  1765  (ten  years  before 
the  first  gun  of  the  Eevolution  was  fired),  when 
Thomas  Lowrey  and  James  Eddy  gave  the  land  (about 
half  an  acre)  for  a  Baptist  meeting-house.  The  lot 
was  situated  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  main 
street  and  the  New  Brunswick  and  Somerville  roads.f 


The  house  was  erected  in  1766,  under  the  direction  of 
Thomas  Lowrey,  James  Eddy,  Gershom  Lee,  Jonathan 
Higgins,  John  Jewell,  and  others.  This  was  the  first 
Baptist  meeting-house  in  Amwell  township,  which  at 
that  time,  together  with  the  adjoining  township  of 
Kingwood,  was  a  part  of  Bethlehem ;  since  1838, 
when  Amwell  was  divided,  this  church  has  defined 
its  location  as  in  Earitan  township.  Although  not  a 
regularly-constituted  church,  it  was  called  the  "Bap- 
tist Meeting  of  Amwell,"t  and  was  supplied  with 
preaching  by  neighboring  ministers.  Eev.  David 
Sutton,  of  Kingwood,  supplied  them  for  some  time 
during  the  Revolutionary  war;  he  was  finally  shut 
out  of  the  meeting-house  by  Mr.  Jewell,  because  he 
was  thought  to  be  too  favorable  to  the  British. 
About  this  time  the  American  soldiers  used  the  house 
as  a  barracks  and  hospital,  the  marks  of  their  fire- 
arms being  visible  on  the  floor  as  late  as  1825. 

Following  Sutton  was  Rev.  Nicholas  Cox,  "  a  min- 
ister of  considerable  talent,  then  of  Kingwood."  He 
supplied  a  part  of  his  time  regularly,  but  in  1790-91 
declared  himself  a  Universalist.     This  was  a  great 


*  The  writer  would  acknowledge  obligations  to  Rev.  Amzi  L.  Arm- 
strong, stated  clerk  of  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  for  transcript  of 
proceedings  of  Presbytery;  also  to  Rev.  George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  and  E. 
Vosseler,  Esq.,  of  Flemington,  for  the  loan  of  documents. 

f  Barber's  Hist.  Coll.  State  of  New  Jersey,  p.  253. 

X  The  title  of  this  church  was  changed  in  1853  to  the  "  Baptist  Church 
of  Flemington."  See  "  Minutes  of  the  Seventy-seventh  General  Assem- 
bly of  State  of  New  Jersey,"  1853,  pp.  197,  354,  417. 


shock,  and  prostrated  the  church  for  some  time. 
There  was  but  little  preaching  for  the  next  four 
years;  then  Eev.  J.  Ewing,  of  Hopewell,  supplied 
them  for  ten  months.  In  1795,  Rev.  G.  A.  Hunt,  of 
Kingwood,  engaged  with  them  for  one-third  of  his 
time.  At  this  period  the  meeting-house  was  almost 
in  ruins;  but,  their  circumstances  becoming  more 
auspicious,  the  house  was  repaired,  and  June  19, 
1798,  there  were  fifteen  persons  constituted  into  a 
regular  Baptist  church,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Bap- 
tist Church  of  Amwell."  The  names  of  these  original 
members  were  Nathaniel  Higgins,  William  Merrell, 
Jane  Merrell,  Elizabeth  Hartenbrook,  Sarah  Ott, 
John  Runyan,  John  Carr,  John  Manners,  Sarah  Sut- 
phin, Hannah  Wolverton,  Eachel  Manners,  Anna 
Higgins,  Elizabeth  Yard,  Anna  Craven,  and  Mar- 
garet Wilson.  The  first  six  were  baptized  at  Flem- 
ington by  Eev.  G.  A.  Hunt,  of  Kingwood  church ;  the 
others  were  from  Kingwood  and  Hopewell  churches. 
They  then  elected  their  deacons,  their  clerk,  and  a 
board  of  trustees.  Eev.  Mr.  Hunt  baptized  fifty  into 
his  fold  during  his  pastorate,  which  he  resigned  in 
the  fall  of  1803.  In  conjunction  with  Kingwood,  in 
1804,  they  called  the  Rev.  James  McLaughlin  as  their 
minister.  He  officiated  until  1809,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Eev.  Dr.  Daniel  Sweeney,  whose  pastorate  con- 
tinued less  than  one  year.  Feb.  1,  1812,  they  called 
Rev.  Charles  Bartolette,  of  Lower  Dublin,  Pa.,  who 
had  the  pastoral  charge  for  thirty-four  years.  When 
he  came  the  membership  was  only  about  seventy. 

The  church  edifice  was  again  repaired  and  painted. 
A  course  of  prosperity  was  now  fully  inaugurated, 
and  their  numerical  strength  so  augmented  as  to  ren- 
der their  house  too  small  for  their  accommodation ; 
therefore,  in  1836,  the  second  edifice  was  erected. 
The  number  of  communicants  in  1844  was  about  300. 
Rev.  Mr.  Bartolette  resigned  in  April,  1846,  having 
baptized  more  than  400  during  his  stay.|  His  suc- 
cessors, with  the  year  of  pastorate,  have  been  Revs. 
Clarence  W.  Mulford,  1846-49 ;  Levi  G.  Beck,  1849- 
51 ;  Thomas  Swaim,  1851-67  ;  E.  J.  Woods,  1867-72  ; 
T.  E.  Vassar,  1872-80.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Vassar  resigned 
this  charge  during  the  fall  of  the  present  year  (1880), 
and  up  to  the  present  time  no  call  has  been  made  to 
his  successor. 

The  imperfection  of  the  early  records  of  the  church 
render  it  difficult  exactly  to  report  the  statistics  of 
this  church,  but  they  give  a  summary  something  as 
follows :  997  baptized,  about  200  received  by  letter, 
about  250  died,  100  excluded,  nearly  550  dismissed, 
and  a  fraction  over  500  still  remain  in  good  standing. 
During  the  past  forty  years  the  charitable  collections 
have  amounted  to  over  $30,000,  while  the  amount 
raised  for  church  edifices  and  the  support  of  the  gos- 
pel has  been  quite  $150,000.  Seven  persons  have  gone 
forth  from  this  church  to  preach  the  gospel, — Thomas 
Barrass  and  William  Pollard  in  1830  ;  Edward  Bar- 

g  He  died  a  few  years  later,  and  was  buried  in  the  shadow  of  the  Sandy 
Eidge  church. 


RARITAN. 


319 


rass  in  1831;  William  B.  Stroupe  and  John  L. 
Brooks  in  1843;  Moses  Heath  in  1851;  and  J.  D. 
Merrell  in  1854. 

The  seventy ^fifth  anniversary  of  the  organization  of 
this  church  was  celebrated  by  suitable  exercises,  on 
which  occasion  an  historical  sermon  was  preached* 
by  Eev.  T.  E.  Vassar,  and  addresses  delivered  by  ex- 
pastor  Dr.  Thomas  Swaim,  Eev.  H.  F.  Smith,  A.  D. 
WilUfer,  etc. 

Officers  of  the  CImrch  (1880). 
Pastor,  Thomas  Edwin  Vassar ;  Deacons,  John  0.  Biggs,  Judiab  Higgins, 
Jr.,  Asa  Suydam,  Avery  Parker,  Jonatlian  Higgins,  Chester  Van 
Sycliel ;  Clerk,  Asa  Saydam ;  Treasurer,  Hariy  A.  Fluok. 


BAPTIST  CHUKCH,   FLEMINGTON. 

The  present  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1867.  It 
cost,  including  organ  and  furniture,  over  $40,000.  Has 
1000  sittings.  The  structure  is  the  largest  of  any  in 
the  county  used  for  divine  worship,  and  the  congre- 
gation one  of  the  largest,  if  not  the  largest,  about 
800  persons  being  connected  with  it. 

The  Sunday-school  was  formed  in  1830.  Its  first 
superintendent  was  Charles  George,  the  editor  of  the 
paper  now  known  as  the  Hunterdon  County  Democrat. 
It  numbered  25  all  told,  most  of  the  teachers  belong- 
ing to  a  family  now  extinct  in  Flemington,  but  then 
prominent, — the  Blackwells.  The  school  has  enrolled 
to-day  330.  Its  superintendent  is  J.  W.  Britton.  He 
is  assisted  by  30  officers  and  teachers. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHUKCH,  FLEMINGTON.f 

A  great  sensation  was  produced  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  when,  one  Sunday  morning  in  1822,  the  Rev. 


*  Afterwards  published  in  pamphlet  form. 


t  By  Kev.  K.  Johns, 


Dr.  Clark  stated  that  he  had  been  requested  by  per- 
sons calling  themselves  Methodists  to  announce  that  a 
meeting  would  be  held  by  them  that  afternoon  in  the 
court-house.  The  men  who  thus  desired  to  commence 
Methodist  meetings  in  Flemington  were  David  and 
Isaac  James,  brothers  and  local  preachers  from  Tren- 
ton. They  had  been  invited  to  come  by  Asher  At- 
kinson, a  Quaker,  distinguished  for  his  love  of  a  good 
argument  on  knotty  theological  questions,  and  partic- 
ularly noted  for  a  strong  antipathy  against  the  Oalvin- 
istic  creed. 

Popular  opinion  was  divided  on  the  question  of 
allowing  the  court-house  to  be  used  by  the  strange 
Methodists,!  and  Asher  Atkinson,  finding  that  the 
janitress  was  disposed  to  keep  the  building  closed, 
strongly  remonstrated  with  her,  saying,  "  Let  me  tell 
you  I  am  going  to  do  as  I  please :  when  I  say  a  thing 
I  mean  it.  They  are  coming  here,  and  are  going  to 
preach.  The  sheriff  has  given  his  consent,  and  they 
shall  preach."  David  James  was  the  preacher  that 
day,  and  thus  the  first  Methodist  sermon  ever  heard 
in  Flemington  was  preached  by  him,  his  brother  fol- 
lowing with  another  sermon  a  week  or  two  afterwards. 

In  1823,  Flemington  was  made  a  regular  a];^oint- 
ment  on  the  Trenton  Circuit,  Bartholomew  Weed  and 
James  McLauren  being  the  stationed  preachers. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year  a  camp-meeting,  called  the 
"Stony  Ground  Camp-meeting,"  was  held  on  land 
owned  by  Asher  Atkinson,  located  near  Mr.  Charles 
Hanson's.  At  this  meeting  about  forty  professed 
conversion.  The  most  of  them  joined  the  Methodist 
Church  and  were  organized  into  a  class.  Among  the 
number  were  Samuel  Atkinson  and  Thomas  Carhart. 
Polly  Timbruck,  living  in  the  old  house  now  occupied 
by  the  Miller  family,  having  joined  the  little  band, 
class-meetings  were  regularly  held  in  her  house. 

About  this  time  John  Atkinson  (half-brother  to 
Samuel),  a  cabinet-maker,  came  from  Philadelphia  to 
live  here.  He  was  an  earnest  Christian,  was  the  first 
regular  class-leader,  and  has  been  called  the  father  of 
Methodism  in  Flemington. 

John  Creamer  and  Isaac  Wirmer  were  stationed 
here  in  the  spring  of  1824,  and  then  the  question  of  a 
church  edifice  was  agitated.  A  subscription  paper 
was  drawn  up  by  William  Iliff',  secretary  of  the  offi- 
cial board,  and  indorsed  by  the  widely-known  and 
much-esteemed  Manning  Force,  then  presiding  elder 
of  the  Trenton  district.  David  James  and  John  At- 
kinson were  appointed  a  committee  to  "  collect  dona- 
tions and  subscriptions  for  building  a  meeting-house, 
to  and  for  the  use  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Society 

X  During  these  years  the  little  band  of  Methodists  had  to  contend  with 
the  strongest  prejudices  on  every  side.  The  following  extract  from  the 
records  of  the  Readington  Reformed  Dutch  Church  will  convey  some 
idea  of  the  estimate  placed  upon  them  by  the  other  churches  of  the  town 
and  county : 

April  17th,  1785. — '*  Margaret  Demott,  for  an  offense  to  the  church  in 
countenancing  the  erroneous  doctrine  of  the  Metliodifjts,  having  hereto- 
fore been  debarred  the  use  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  now,  upon  confession 
of  sin,  readmitted  to  the  benefit  of  that  sacred  ordinance." 


320 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEAV  JERSEY. 


of  Flemington."  A  board  of  trustees  was  elected, 
consisting  of  Andrew  Hoagland,  Samuel  Atkinson, 
Asher  Hankinson,  John  Atkinson,  and  Peter  Bodine, 
taking  for  their  corporate  name  "  The  Trustees  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Society  of  Flemington."  The 
lot  on  which  the  church  now  stands,  designated  as 
"  on  the  corner  adjoining  Charles  Bonnell's  tavern," 
was  obtained  from  Thomas  Capner,  Esq.,  for  the 
nominal  sum  of  $50. 

The  subscription-list  shows  that  moneys  were  ob- 
tained from  Trenton,  Pennington,  Bordentown,  Allen- 
town,  Crosswicks,  Lebanon,  Haverstraw,  Nyack,  New 
York,  New  Brunswick,  and  other  places,  in  sums 
ranging  from  six  and  one-quarter  cents  up  to  $20. 
The  building,  commenced  in  the  fall  of  1825,  was 
completed  in  the  spring  of  1826,  John  Walker  and 
Richard  W.  Petherbridge  being  the  stationed  preach- 
ers. A  camp-meeting  for  the  Trenton  and  Asbury 
Circuits  was  held  in  this  neighborhood,  probably  on 
grounds  near  the  residence  of  John  Huff,  from  June 
9  to  14,  1825.      ' 

After  the  burning  of  the  court-house,  in  1828,  this 
church  was  occupied  for  the  holding  of  the  several 
courts ;  four  regular  terms,  besides  special  terms  for  a 
year,  were  held  therein. 

In  1826,  John  Walker  and  James  Moore  were  sta- 
tioned on  the  circuit;  1827-28,  Thomas  Davis  and 
William  H.  Bull;  1829,  J.  Finley  and  M.  Lacost; 
1830,  John  Finley  and  James  H.  McFarland;  1831, 
Eichard  W.  Petherbridge  (second  term)  and  John 
Buckley ;  1832,  Solomon  Higgins,  while  Mr.  Pether- 
bridge seems  to  have  settled  on  the  circuit  as  super- 
numerary,— ^that  is,  temporarily  retired ;  1833,  Thomas 
J.  Thompson. 

In  1834,  Flemington  appears  on  the  minutes  as  a 
separate  circuit  on  the  East  Jersey  district,  it  having 
been  heretofore  connected  with  the  Trenton  Circuit. 

J.  S.  Swaim  was  appointed  preacher  in  charge.  J. 
L.  Lenhart  followed  him  in  1835.  Mr.  Lenhart  pos- 
sessed considerable  popular  talent,  and  years  later, 
when  chaplain  in  the  United  States  navy,  met  with  a 
tragic  fate,  going  down  with  the  "Cumberland"  in 
the  gallant  but  unequal  conflict  with  the  ironclad 
"  Merrimac." 

The  total  number  of  members  reported  this  year 
for  the  circuit  was  127  whites  and  5  colored  (in  those 
days  the  colored  members  were  reported  separately) ; 
the  amount  of  collections,  $4.78.  In  the  following 
spring,  when  Mr.  Lenhart's  time  expired,  170  white 
members  and  18  colored  were  reported.  J.  Lewis  was 
then  stationed  here. 

In  the  year  1837  the  old  Philadelphia  Conference 
was  divided,  and  Flemington  appears  in  the  minutes 
of  the  New  Jersey  Conference  and  Newark  district. 
The  circuit  must  have  been  divided  also,  for  only  98 
white  and  3  colored  members  were  reported ;  but  the 
collections  amounted  to  $19.29.  Manning  Force  was 
presiding  elder,  James  Hevener  and  J.  M.  Tuttle  the 
preachers  for  tVis  and  the  following  year.     While 


Mr.  Tuttle  was  here  controversy  between  the  Baptists 
and  Methodists  ran  high.  He  invited  Rev.  Anthony 
Atwood  to  come  and  preach  on  the  points  in  dispute. 
He  having  lately  published  a  book  or  tract  on  "  Bap- 
tism," Mr.  Tuttle  supposed  him  to  be  just  the  man 
for  the  occasion.  Three  sermons  were  preached  by 
Mr.  Atwood. 

In  1839,  William  Hanley  and  James  White  were 
stationed  here ;  1840,  Abraham  K.  Street  and  George 
Hichins ;  1841,  A.  K.  Street  and  Washington  Thomas ; 
1842,  J.  W.  McDougall  and  T.  T.  Campfield.  Mr. 
Campfield's  letter  gives  a  full  and  interesting  account 
of  the  circuit,  especially  of  the  great  revivals  with 
which  it  was  favored,  and  of  the  work  of  a  Methodist 
preacher  in  those  days : 

1  "Our  Sabbath  preaching-places  were  Flemington,  Readington,  Ser- 
geantaville,  Lambertville,  and  the  Rocks,  in  Amwell  township.  We  held 
an  extra  meeting  in  the  woods  at  Amwell,  commencing  on  the  15th  of 
September  and  continued  it  until  November, — part  of  the  time  in  the 
woods,  at  night  in  a  large  barn.  When  it  stormed  we  had  it  in  the  school- 
house.  Over  70  conversions  ;  60  of  this  number  joined  our  church.  Then 
we  held  an  extra  meeting  at  Readington  which  lasted  twelve  weeks  ;  120 
converted;  102  joined  the  church.  We  then  commenced  an  extra  meet- 
ing at  Flemington  about  Christmas  of  that  year,  and  about  30  con- 
verted. In  January,  1843,  we  held  a  meeting  at  Lambertville;  25  con- 
verted and  joined  our  church.  In  February  we  held  a  meeting  at 
Sergeantsville,  with  60  conversions,  Eev.  Enoch  Green,  of  the  New  Jer- 
sey Conference,  being  one  of  them.  This  meeting  was  continued  until 
the  last  of  March.  Then  we  went  to  Conference,  held  at  New  Bmns- 
wick,  N.  J.  Mr.  McDougall  lived  at  Flemington,  in  a  rented  house,  near 
the  Presbyterian  church.  I  had  my  home  among  the  people,  a  few  days 
in  a  place.  Rev.  McDougall  received  $300  as  salary,  and  a  house ;  my 
allowance  waa  SIOO.    Over  300  were  converted  duripg  that  year." 

In  1843,  Edward  Page  and  J.  F.  Canfield  were  here ; 
391  white  and  14  colored  members  were  reported.  In 
1844,  "Flemington  and  Readington"  was  the  name 
given  to  the  charge,  and  Edward  Saunders  was  the 
preacher ;  1845^6,  Caleb  A.  Lippincott.  He  was 
altogether  a  most  remarkable  man, — eccentric,  pos- 
sessing natural  talents  of  a  very  high  order,  and 
highly  successful  everywhere.  The  parsonage  was 
then  built,  its  first  occupant  being  Nesley  Robertson, 
1847—48.  The  house  was  in  an  unfinished  state  when 
Mr.  Robertson  arrived,  and  the  people  thought  them- 
selves unable  to  add  the  improvements  necessary  to 
make  it  habitable,  but  by  his  persuasions  a  successful 
effort  was  made. 

In  1849-50,  Joseph  Ashbrook  was  appointed.  Dur- 
ing his  first  year  an  unfortunate  disagreement  between 
him  and  some  of  the  prominent  members  made  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  and  hindered  the  prosperity  of  the 
church.  So  strong  was  the  feeling  that  a  protest  was 
made  against  his  return  the  second  year ;  and  when, 
in  the  face  of  that  protest,  Mr.  Ashbrook  was  reap- 
pointed, several  persons  left  the  church,  never  to  re- 
turn. In  1851-52,  J.  W.  McDougall  was  stationed 
here  for  the  second  time. 

In  1853-54,  J.  P.  Daily  was  pastor. 

In  1855-56,  Fletcher  Lummis  preached ;  in  1857,  S. 
Armstrong.  Mr.  Armstrong  was  a  man  of  marked 
ability,  a  strong  anti-slavery  man. 

In  1858-59,  Thomas  Walters,  a  genial  Englishman, 


RARITAN. 


321 


a  good  singer,  and  a  master  in  the  art  of  phonograpliy. 
He  was  popular  with  all  classes.  The  Presbyterians 
were  particularly  friendly  towards  him,  and  when  his 
two  little  children,  twins,  died,  they  gave  him  the 
burial-spot  in  their  graveyard  where  the  little  ones 
were  tenderly  laid  away. 

G.  Vanhorne  was  the  preacher  for  1860-61.  During 
his  term  the  church  edifice  was  greatly  improved  and 
enlarged,  at  an  expense  of  over  $4000.  The  proposed 
constitutional  amendment  changing  the  term  of  min- 
isterial service  from  two  years  to  three  was  brought 
before  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and  the  vote  was 
declared  to  be  in  favor  of  the  old  rule  of  two  years. 
In  1862-63,  Sylvester  H.  Opdyke  served ;  1864-66,  J. 
P.  Daily.  From  an  item  in  the  pastor's  report,  April 
30,  1864,  to  the  Quarterly  Conference,  we  learn  when 
the  Sunday-school,  in  connection  with  the  church, 
was  established.    He  says, — 

"  There  is  nothing  in  connection  witii  this  church  that  is  a  more  cheer- 
ing sign  of  advancement  than  the  present  state  of  its  Sunday-school. 
Eleven  years  ago  we  found  this  charge  with  no  Sunday-school ;  there  is 
now  a  good  one  at  this  place,  kept  open  all  the  year,  and  an  average 
attendance  of  fifty  scholars." 

David  Walters  had  charge  in  1867-69.  Flemington 
become  a  station  the  year  of  Mr.  Walter's  appoint- 
ment, the  Eeadington  Church  in  connection  with  Al- 
lertown  having  J.  W.  Dalley  as  its  pastor. 

In  1870-71,  Albert  H.  Brown  was  the  preacher  in 
charge;  1872-74,  G.  H.  Winans ;  1875,  S.  J.  Morris; 
1876-78,  T.  E.  Gordon;  1879,  Eichard  Johns,  at 
present  stationed  here. 

The  last  official  report  gives  the  church  197  mem- 
bers and  13  probationers. 

The  Sunday-school,  under  the  superintendency  of 
Dennis  S.  Hall,  reported  27  officers  and  teachers  and 
146  scholars. 

THE  EPISCOPAL  CHUECH,  FLEMINGTON. 

When  the  first  Episcopal  services  were  held  here  is 
not  known,  although,  no  doubt,  quite  early  in  this 
century.  A  chapel  was  also  built  quite  early,  but  at 
what  time  is  not  definitely  known.  By  appointment 
of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  of  the  diocese,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Crane  officiated  here  on  every  alternate  Sabbath  after- 
noon, "at  four  o'clock,  in  the  session-room."  This 
was  in  the  summer  of  1838.*  The  Eight  Rev.  Bishop 
Doane,  on  his  annual  visitation,  preached  at  "  Cal- 
vary church,"  Tuesday  evening,  Oct.  18,  and  Wed- 
nesday morning,  Oct.  19,  1842.t 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Perry  contributes  the  following  reminis- 
cences : 

"  About  thirty  years  since  we,  as  a  family,  removed  to  Flemington, 
wishing  to  enjoy  church  privileges,  A  chapel  belonging  to  the  diocese 
then  occupied  the  lot  where  Dr.  Rowland's  house  now  stands.  A  fine 
avenue  of  trees  extended  quite  a  distance  into  the  lot,  which  ran  through 
to  a  parallel  street,  intended  to  be  used  as  a  cemetery.  Mr.  William  Clark 
buried  a  child  there ;  I  know  not  how  many  others. 

"  The  same  spring  that  we  came  to  Flemington  the  officiating  mission- 
ary, Mr.  Adams,  left  the  place  with  other  prominent  members,  including 
the  family  of  William  Davis,  who  were  earnest  and  efiicient  workers. 


*  Eunterim  GaneUe,  .July  18, 1838. 


t  Ibid.,  1842. 


The  chapel  was  closed  for  some  time.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  from  Lam- 
bertville,  held  afternoon  services  in  it  a  few  times  to  an  exceedingly 
small  congregation.  Afterwards  the  chapel  was  sold,  to  close  the  mort- 
gage. 

"  The  Rev,  S,  P,  Jacques,  from  Port  Colden,  opened  the  services  again, 
with  much  earnestness,  in  the  court-room,  and  the  communion-service  in 
our  parlors,  to  a  very  few  communicants.  Then,  that  we  might  have 
regular  Sunday  services,  I  secured  the  services  (from  the  New  York 
Theological  Seminary)  of  a  student,  Mr,  Wenman,  as  a  tutor  to  my  sons 
through  the  week,  the  bishop  constituting  him  a  lay-reader.  After  Mr. 
Wenman  left  we  had  infrequent  sei-vices,  sometimes  led  by  lay-readers, 
sometimes  by  ordained  ministers." 

After  this  services  were  held  here  at  intervals,  but 
without  any  settled  rector,  and  sustained  mainly 
through  the  zealous  labors  of  a  few  churchmen  and 
women,  prominent  among  whom  may  be  mentioned 
Mrs.  Dr.  Sullivan.  During  the  past  year  the  erection 
of  a  fine  chapel  was  commenced  in  the  village,  and 
the  tokens  indicate  a  revival  of  interest  and  effiDrt  in 
this  church. 

ST,  MARY  MAGDALENE    DE   PASSIO  (ROMAN    CATHOLIC) 
CHURCH   OF  FLBMINGTONt 

Prior  to  1847  there  were  but  two  families  of  this 
faith  in  Flemington,  embracing  four  adults  and  one 
child.  The  working  of  the  copper-mine,  west  of  the 
village,  brought  thither  quite  a  number  of  Irish 
miners.  There  was  no  church  here  at  that  date,  but, 
through  the  invitation  of  the  miners.  Father  Mackin, 
of  Trenton,  visited  this  place  Sept,  18, 1847,  held  ser- 
vices at  the  house  of  a  miner  named  James  Hurley, 
on  Sunday  the  19th,  and  then  went  to  Lambertville, 
where  was  a  Catholic  mission.  He  was  the  first  priest 
to  celebrate  mass  in  or  near  Flemington.  He  visited 
Flemington  again  on  Christmas  Eve,  and  in  February 
following. 

In  April,  1848,  the  mining  was  suspended  and  the 
miners  (who  were  Catholics)  all  left.  From  that  time 
until  1853  no  priest  came  here.  In  that  year  Father 
Jeigou,  a  French  priest,  was  located  in  the  Lambert- 
ville parish,  which  then  included  this  place ;  he  vis- 
ited Flemington  once  a  month  for  four  years,  and 
held  mass  in  the  dwelling-houses  of  Myles  Cunning- 
ham, Joseph  Purcell,  William  Purcell,  Nicholas 
Barry,  and  William  Dennis.  During  this  time  they 
had  grown  to  number  six  Catholic  families.  Many 
young  women  of  this  faith  also  came  to  Flemington 
and  found  employment  as  servants.  Such  was  the 
increase  that  in  1858  it  was  proposed  to  build  a 
church.  September  16th  of  that  year,  at  a  meeting 
held  at  the  house  of  Myles  Cunningham,  it  was  re- 
solved to  purchase  a  lot  and  build  a  church.  The  lot 
was  purchased  of  ex-Sheriff  Bonnell,  and  William 
Purcell  and  Myles  Cunningham  solicited  subscrip- 
tions from  the  people  of  the  village  to  pay  for  the 
same.  The  citizens  generally  and  generously  re- 
sponded to  this  appeal  for  help,  and  they  proceeded 
to  erect  a  small  church,  24  by  34  feet,  which  accom- 
modated the  Catholic  people  until  1879.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  that  year,  and  during  the  ministrations  of  the 
late  pastor,  Rev.  B.  Henry  Ter  Woert,  it  was  resolved 

X  From  memoranda  furnished  by  Myles  Cunningham. 


322 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JEESEY. 


to  build  a  new  church.  To  the  subscription-paper 
which  was  circulated  the  people  of  the  village  of  all 
denominations  very  kindly  responded,  some  giving 
liberally,  and  almost  all  giving  something.  The 
corner-stone  was  laid  on  the  iirst  Sunday  in  Septem- 
ber, by  Right  Kev.  Bishop  Corrigan,  and  December 
21st  it  was  dedicated  by  the  same  personage.  The 
church  is  37  by  66  feet,  and  cost  $3200,  besides  some 
$500  in  labor,  etc.  The  lot  is  paid  for,  and  the  church 
also,  save  a  small  incumbrance.  Myles  Cunningham 
and  James  H.  Murphy  are  the  present  trustees. 

From  1848  to  1879  this  church  was  attended  by  the 
priests  located  at  Lambertville, — namely.  Fathers  Jei- 
gou,  Carny,  Catlen,  O'Keefe,  Murphy,  P.  F.  Conuolly, 
J.  P.  Connolly,  and  B.  H.  Ter  Woert,  the  latter  of 
whom  officiated  until  July  1,  1880.  The  present 
pastor.  Father  Brady,  resides  at  Clinton,  and  attends 
the  three  churches, — of  that  place,  High  Bridge,  and 
Flemington.  This  church  has  received  six  visits  and 
two  lectures  from  the  Eight  Kev.  Bishop  Bailey, 
bishop  of  the  diocese,  and  three  visits  and  lectures 
from  Bishop  Corrigan. 

The  Catholic  population  of  Flemington  about  a 
year  ago  was  250  individuals,  but  since  that  date 
several  families  have  moved  to  Raritan,  Somerset 
Co.,  so  that  it  does  not  now  embrace  more  than  180. 

CEMETERIES. 

The  first  burial-ground  of  Flemington  was  on  the 
knoll  back  of  the  dwelling  of  Judiah  Higgins,  uj^on 
Mr.  Fleming's  land.  His  first  wife  was  there  interred. 
Afterwards  most  of  the  bodies  were  removed  to  the 
cemetery  on  the  south  side  of  Academy  Street.* 

The  cemeteries  now  in  use  for  mortuary  purposes 
are  those  connected  with  the  Presbyterian,  Baptist, 
and  Catholic  churches,  and  the  public  ground  incor- 
porated as  Prospect  Hill  Cemetery. 

The  Presbyterian  burial-ground  was  established  at 
about  the  same  time  as  was  the  church,  and  inter- 
ments were  there  made  prior  to  1800.  It  is  said  that 
Austin  Gray  Runyan  was  the  first  person  there  buried. 
His  inscription  is  as  follows : — 

"In 

Memory  of 

AnTiiuR  Gray  Runyan, 

Son  of  Hill  & 

Nancy  Kunyan, 

who  departed  this 

life  the  2lBt  of  July,  1794, 

aged  2  years,  10  monthB, 

&  26  days." 

Here  are  the  graves  of  many  of  the  early  settlers 
of  this  neighborhood,  as  well  as  those  of  Gearhart, 
Howe,  and  other  Revolutionary  heroes ;  but,  unfor- 
tunately, the  slabs  marking  the  resting-place  of  the 
latter  worthies,  save  alone  that  at  the  grave  of  John 
Howe,  are  without  inscription  of  any  kind,  while 
that  of  the  last  named  is  almost  illegible.  The  fol- 
lowing inscriptions  are  from  some  of  the  old  tablets : 

*  Historical  Discouree,  Rev.  G.  S.  Mott,  pp.  9, 10. 


"  Sacred  to  the  memory 

of 

Ruth,  the  wife  of   M'™    Bennet,   1   "William  Bennet,  who  departed  this 

who   departed  this   life  Mar.  29,   I   life  April  11,  1S08,  in    the  C6th 

1798,  in  the  55th  year  of  his  age.  year  of  his  age. 

Blessed  are  those  servants  whom  the  Lord  when  he  cometh  shall  iind 
watching. — Luke,  xii.  chapt.,  37'^  verse. 

In  life  how  peaceful  moved  this  happy  pair  I 
How  blest  in  death,  released  from  mortal  care ! 
Te  angels,  o'er  tlieir  dust  your  vigils  keep : 
Calm  be  their  slumbers,  undisturbed  their  sleep. 
And  ye  who  tread  in  solemn  silence  near, 
Repress  the  sigh,  restrain  the  swelling  tear; 
No  more  to  wound  shall  earthly  sorrows  fly: 
Eternal  bliss  awaits  Ihem  in  the  sky." 

The  stone  erected  to  the  "  memory  of  William 
Maxwell,  Esq.,  councillor-at-law.  Acqualege,  ne- 
cessitas,  sortitur,  insignes  et  imos,"  contains  neither 
date  of  birth  nor  that  of  death. 

In  the  Maxwell  plot  are  also  the  graves  of  John  W. 
Maxwell,  who  died  April  3,  1848,  aged  twenty-five 
years  and  one  month,  and  of  Naomi,  daughter  of  John 
W.  and  Hannah  Jlaxwell,  who  died  June  10,  1848. 

*'  Here  lieth  the  remains  of  Joseph  HanUinson,  Jun',  sou  of  Joseph  & 
Hann.ah  Hankinson,  who  departed  this  life  August  10'^,  ISOO,  in  the  22'i 
year  of  his  age." 

In  this  churchyard  also  repose  the  bodies  of  Mary, 
daughter  of  Rev.  W,  B.  Sloan  (died  May  14,  1836), 
and  others  of  his  fomily ;  Neal  Hart,  who  died  in 
1837,  in  his  fifty-ninth  year ;  Nancy,  wife  of  George 
Johnson  and  daughter  of  John  and  Plannah  Ivuglar, 
born  in  1800,  died  in  1830;  Martin  Johnson,  who 
died  Sept.  7,  1828,  aged  seventy-five  years,  and  his 
wife,  Anna,  who  died  much  earlier, — Feb.  5,  1812 — 
aged  fifty-three  years,  four  months,  and  seventeen 
days. 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Eleanor  Smith,  wife  of  Jafpcr  Smith,  of  Am- 
well.  Esq',  and  daughter  of  Ool.  Ryerfon,  of  Reading-Town  i  who  died 
Nov  2'2, 1706,  in  the  26  Tear  of  her  age. 

"  To  preferve  the  memory  and  in  honor  of  a  virtuous  and  good  wife 
this  stone  was  erected." 

Three  graves  side  by  side,  and  three  large  hori- 
zontal slabs  of  equal  size,  mark  the  place  of  interment 
of  Alexander,  Joseph,  and  Catharine  Bonnell.  The 
inscription  on  one  is : 

"The  grave  of 

Joseph  Bonnell,  EyQl'inE, 

Counsellor-at-Law, 

who  died 

Oct.  13>i>,  A.B.  1823, 

aged  30  years. 

*'  They  who  knew  him  need  no 

monumental  eulogy. 

They  who  knew  him  not  would 

view  as  living  vanity  the 

posthumous  efforts  of  the 

Tablet." 

The  other  two  inscriptions  inform  us  that 

"Alexander  Bonnell,  born  Jan,  31, 1708  ;  died  Aug.  1819." 
"  Catharine,  relict  of  Alex.  Bonnell,  born  Jan.  12, 1770,  died  May  26, 
1854." 

Another  states  that  Charles  Bonnell  died  March  24, 
1830,  aged  thirty-four  years. 


RARITAN. 


323 


*•  In  memory  of  Gabriel  Hoff,  who  died  Jan.  29, 1S30,  in  the  76th  year 
of  his  age. 
"Farewell  my  Friends  &  Children  dear 
I  am  not  dead  but  sleeping  here." 
"  Ann,  wife  of  Gabriel  Hoff,  died  April  11, 1857,  aged  78  years." 
"  Jane  Kennedy,  widow  of  Daniel  Keading,'died  July  30, 1840,  aged  70 
years,  6  months,  and  13  days." 

"  Levi  R.,  son  of  Cornelius  and  Elizabeth  Ann  Vorhis,  died  May  4, 
1846." 

"  In  memory  of  Thomas  Capner, 

a  native  of 

Leicestershire,  England, 

Emigrated  to  America  in  the 

year  1787,  died  September  7th  1832, 

aged  63  years." 

"  Mary,  relict  of  Thomas  Capner,  who  died  Feb.  28, 1856,  in  the  80th 

year  of  her  age." 

"  Hopy  Henry,  wife  of  Joseph  Henderson,  Nov.  27, 1840,  aged  62  years." 
"  Christina  Capner,  wife  of  Peter  Nevius,  and  daughter  of  Hugh  and 
Matilda  Capner,  died  Dec.  12, 1865,  aged  34  yeare." 

In  this  "  city  of  the  dead"  the  Beading  family  are 
largely  represented.  Some  of  the  inscriptions  we  give, 
in  brief, — viz. : 

"  Daniel  Reading,  died  Apr.  9, 1S34,  aged  71  years,  2  months,  and  4 

days." 

"  Ann  Beading,  born  Jan.  29, 1777  ;  died  Apr.  17, 1861." 

"  Elizabeth  H.  Beading,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Eleanor  Beading,  died 

Oct.  19, 1828." 
"  Joseph,  son  of  James  N.  and  Sarah  C.  A.  Beading,  died  Jan.  29, 1845, 

aged  8  months." 

"  Daniel  K.  Beading,  bom  Feb.  1, 1804 ;  died  Nov.  23, 1835." 

"  Robert  K.  Beading,  born  June  20, 1790  ;  died  Dec.  13, 1863." 

''  Alexander  Beading,  died  Dec.  5, 1820,  aged  62  years." 

"  Mary  Reading,  died  May  4, 1825,  set.  53  years." 

"Elizabeth  Reading,  died  May  9, 1821,  aged  47  years." 

"  Eliza  Reading,  died  Sept.  16, 1818." 

"  John  Reid  Beading,  died  Apr.  30, 1821." 

"  Daniel  B.  Beading,  born  Deo.  1 7, 1796 ;  died  Dec.  25, 1868." 

The  following  is  the  inscription  upon  the  monument 
of  Major  Boeman : 

"  Lambert  Boeman, 

Major  15th  Reg't  N.  J.  Vols., 

Fell  in  the  Battle  of 

Cedar  Creek,  Va., 

At  the  head  of  his  command 

as  acting  col.  of 

the  loth  New  Jersey, 

October  19th,  1864, 

In  the  32nd  year 

of  his  age." 

"  With  permission  of  the  family,  this  monument  is  erected  hy  a  few 
personal  friends  of  the  Departed,  as  a  token  of  their  love  and  gratitude, 
and  to  transmit  to  posterity  a  gratefnl  remembrance  of  the  patriotism 
and  self-sacriflcing  devotion  manifested  by  him  in  the  darkest  and  most 
trying  hours  of  peril  to  his  country." 

From  the  Baptist  churchyard  are  taken  the  follow- 
ing : 

"John  T.  Blackwell,  died  Aug.  4, 1831,  aged  69  years." 
"  Asher  Higgins,  died  Dec.  10, 1823,  aged  36  years." 
"  William  Bishop,  died  July  23, 1842,  aged  68  years,  i  months,  and  20 
days." 
"  Abraham  Quick,  died  Sept.  2, 1823." 
"  Henry  Gulick,  died  Aug.  9, 1854,  in  his  82d  year." 
"  John  Brittain,  died  Sept.  15, 1844,  aged  77  years,  10  days." 
"  Jacob  Francis,  died  July  26, 1836,  aged  81  years." 
"  Mary  Ann  Bellis,  wife  of  Gabriel  W.  AUer,  died  Aug.  1, 1841." 

The  Roman  Catholic  cemetery,  on  Bonnell  Street, 
in  the  western  part  of  the  village,  was  purchased  in 
1865  and  established  as  the  burial-ground  of  that  de- 


nomination.   Being  of  so  recent  a  date,  but  few  inter- 
ments have  been  made. 

PEOSPECT   HILL   CEMETERY. 

This  cemetery  is  owned  by  "  Prospect  Hill  Ceme- 
tery Association  of  Flemington,"  incorporated  April 
13, 1870,  by  William  P.  Emery,  Charles  Bartles,  John 
C.  Hopewell,  Judiah  Higgins,  and  Abraham  V.  Van 
Fleet,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $20,000,  divided  into 
400  shares.  Its  officers  at  organization  were :  Presi- 
dent, Charles  Bartles ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  C.  C. 
Dunham ;  Directors,  the  five  corporators  above  named, 
and  David  Van  Fleet,  C.  C.  Dunham.  They  have 
served,  with  exception  of  Joseph  H.  Higgins  as  di- 
rector in  place  of  Abram  Van  Fleet,  until  the  present 
(1880).     William  P.  Emery  is  superintendent. 

The  grounds  embrace  two  tracts,  purchased  of  Daniel 
Suydam  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Kee,  and  aggregate  a  frac- 
tion less  than  18  acres,  upon  Mullen  Hill,  lying  to  the 
northward  of  Capner  Street.  The  first  plot  sold  was 
to  John  Grabow.  The  first  interment  was  the  body 
of  Dr.  J.  A.  Gray.  A  large  share  of  the  burials  have 
been  of  bodies  removed  from  the  old  village  church- 
yards, as  is  shown  by  some  of  the  inscriptions  upon 
tablets  erected  over  their  remains. 

INDUSTRIES. 

The  pursuits  of  the  people  of  this  township,  outside 
of  the  village  of  Flemington,  are  now,  and  have  been 
from  the  first,  agricultural.  With  the  culture  of  the 
cereals  is  combined  dairying  to  a  considerable  extent. 
Large  quantities  of  milk  particularly  are  shipped  daily 
from  Flemington  to  the  New  York  market. 

There  are  also  several  grist-  and  flouring-mills  in 
different  parts  of  the  township,  some  of  which  date 
from  before  the  Revolution.  Such  an  one  was  that 
on  Jonathan  Higgins'  place,  near  Ringos,  and  run  by 
many  succeeding  generations  of  the  family  until  about 
seven  years  ago. 

A  bone-mill  located  on  the  Neshanic,  near  Copper 
Hill,  and  a  saw-  and  grist-mill  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood, are  owned  by  William  Hill. 

Kershow's  mill,  on  the  South  Branch,  is  the  most 
prominent  of  the  existing  grist-mills  of  the  township. 

On  the  South  Branch  of  Baritan,  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  from  Flemington,  a  fulling-mill  was  carried 
on  in  the  early  part  of  this  century  by  Daniel  D.  Wil- 
liams. About  1826  (possibly  earlier)  it  was  repaired 
and  run  by  Levi  M.  Metier.  His  advertisement  in 
the  Hunterdon  Gazette  of  1826  states  that  he  has 
"  been  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  woolen  cloths 
for  a  number  of  years,"  and  that  the  mill  was  "  late 
the  property  of  William  Conover."  Fifty  years  ago 
(1830)  Jacob  Voorhees  had  a  cabinet-shop  two  miles 
east  of  Flemington,  at  the  "cross-roads,"  near  the 
Voorhees  school-house. 

MATTERS    OF  SPECIAL  NOTE. 
"At  the  opening  of  the  Revolution,  near  the  Presbyterian  church 
stood  a  long,  low,  frame  building,  beginning  a  few  feet  in  front  of  John 
Capner's  lawn-fence  and  extending  a  few  feet  south  of  the  north  end  of 


324 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Ilia  dwelling.  For  many  years  it  wa5  a  store*  famous  in  all  these  ports. 
In  this  store-house  a  quantity  of  muskets  was  placed  by  the  Conti- 
nentals. When  the  British  occupied  Trenton  they  were  informed  of  this 
fact,  and  sent  500  cavalry  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  tliese  arms.  Tliey 
arrived  earlyln  the  morning,  and  found  in  the  main  street  a  man  with  a 
cart,  whom  they  pressed  into  their  service.  The  chests  in  wliich  the  guns 
were  packed  were  taken  out  of  the  building  and  put  into  the  cart,  and 
the  whole  troop  hastened  away.  But  when  they  reached  Tattersall's 
Lane,  where  the  tile-kiln  now  is,  they  became  alarmed,  and  concluded  it 
would  be  better  to  destroy  the  muskets  than  attempt  to  carry  them  away, 
so  they  broke  the  guns  by  striking  them  upon  the  posts  of  the  fence.  In 
the  mean  time  Capt.  John  Schenck  had  collected  a  band  of  men  and 
secreted  them  in  a  piece  of  woods  between  Copper  Hill  and  Larison's. 
As  the  horsemen  filed  through  this  they  were  fired  upon.  Capt.  Geary, 
the  commander  of  the  British,  ordered  his  troops  to  halt  and  face  the 
spot  whence  the  firing  proceeded,  when  he  was  almost  instantly  shot 
through  the  head.  His  men  wheeled  and  fled.  '^This  resistance  probably 
saved  the  village  and  neighborhood  from  other  raids.  This  captain — 
afterwards  Col.  Schenck — was  a  brave  officer  ;  he  was  in  nearly  all  the 
important  battles  of  New  Jersey. "f 

A  company  of  American  soldiers  were  quartered 
one  winter  during  the  Revolution  near  the  Presby- 
terian church.  The  Baptist  church  was  also  occupied 
as  barracks  by  the  Americans. 

Barber,  in  his  "  Historical  Collections  of  New 
Jersey,"  says  that  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
a  detachment  of  the  American  army  encamped  on 
Gray's  Hill  near  the  village,  and  Washington  had  his 
headquarters  at  the  residence  of  Col.  Stewart,  then  a 
commissary. 

Among  those  who  figured  conspicuously  in  the 
Revolution  was  Col.  Hugh  Runyon,  a  bold  and  fear- 
less officer,  "  full  of  energy  amid  scenes  of  danger ;" 
Joseph  Capner,^ ancestor  of  the  Capners  in  Fleming- 
ton,  married  one  of  his  daughters.  Col.  Charles 
Stewart,  for  many  years  a  resident  of  this  township, 
was  commander  of  the  First  Regiment  of  minute-men 
in  this  State ;  was  afterwards  promoted  to  colonel  of 
the  line,  and  commissioned  by  Congress  in  1776  as 
commissary-general,  serving  on  Washington's  staff 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  The  sons  of  Adam  Bellis 
were  active  participants  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle 
on  the  battle-fields  of  Trenton,  Monmouth,  etc. 
Thomas  Gearhart,  who  outlived  most  of  his  fellow- 
comrades,  was  as  witty  as  brave,  and  he,  as  well  as 
John  Howe,  was  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  church- 
yard in  Flemington. 

Raritan  township  during  the  late  Rebellion  raised 
large  sums  of  money  and  furnished  her  full  share  of 
men, — in  fact,  fully  sustained  her  reputation  for  loy- 
alty to  the  Union. 

The  last  public  celebration  of  Independence  Day  in 
Flemington  was  in  1860.  The  exercises  were  held  in 
the  old  apple-orchard  on  the  farm  of  John  H.  Capner, 
the  orator  of  the  day  being  a  Rev.  Mr.  Lewers,  of 
Milford.  E.  R.  Bullock,  Esq.,  read  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  This  occasion  is  also  memorable 
for  the  fire  that  then  occurred.  In  the  afternoon  Mr. 
Capner's  large  barn,  situated  near  Main  Street,  was 
entirely  consumed,  with  its  contents,  including  two 

*  This  store  was  kept  in  connection  with  a  mill,  on  the  site  of  John 
Rockafellow's  mill, 
f  Dr.  Mott'B  Hist.  Disc.,  pp.  17, 18. 


horses,  while  an  intoxicated  man  asleep  in  the  barn 
barely  escaped  with  his  life.  A  strong  north  wind 
carried  a  shower  of  sparks  over  the  town,  which,  fall- 
ing thickly  upon  the  roofs  of  many  houses,  promised 
a  general  conflagation.  The  result,  no  doubt,  would 
have  been  serious  but  for  the  rain  which  fell'  in 
torrents. 


FLEMINGTON  VILLAGE. 

This  beautiful  village  is  situated  very  nearly  in  the 
geographical  centre  of  Raritan  township,  of  which, 
and  contiguous  territory,  it  is  the  leading  business 
and  commercial  mart,  being  also  the  seat  of  justice 
for  the  county.  The  location  here  of  the  court-house 
and  county  buildings  has  greatly  fostered  the  growth 
of  the  village.  It  is  about  equidistant  from  Reaville, 
Barley  Sheaf,  Copper  Hill,  and  Klinesville,  within  a 
radius  of  three  miles.  Flemington  is  located  about  a 
mile  south  of  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan  River, 
11  miles  northeast  from  Lambertville,  9  south  from 
Clinton,  10}  east  from  Frenchtown,  and  about  14  (in 
a  straight  line)  west  from  Somerville. 
Its  boundaries  are  thus  described : 

"  Beginning  at  the  Arch  bridge,  near  Kichard  Emmans' ;  thence  run- 
ning due  south  to  the  public  road  leading  from  Flemington  to  .Tohu  C. 
MerriH's ;  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  the  southeast  corner  of  George 
Hanson's  lot,  near  Thomas  Hartpence's;  thence  due  west  to  Thomas  Ed- 
mondson's  line;  thence  north  along  said  Edmoudson's  line  to  Charles 
Bartles'  line;  thence  along  said  Bartles'  line  north  to  the  public  road 
leading  from  Flemington  to  Sergeantsville ;  thence  in  a  straight  line  to 
the  west  end  of  Bonnell  street;  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  the  south- 
west corner  of  Mrs.  Kee's  land;  thence  along  Mrs.  Kee's  land  to 
the  northwest  comer  thereof;  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  the  creek 
north  of  Samuel  Johnson's  house;  theuce  down  the  said  creek,  tlie  sev- 
eral courses  thereof,  to  the  place  of  beginning."J 

By  the  foregoing  description  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  town  is  somewhat  irregular  in  shape,  and  that  its 
eastern  line  is  the  only  one  pursuing  a  straight,  un- 
deviating  course,  its  northern  line,  the  Bushkill 
Creek,  being  tortuous  in  the  extreme. 

Flemington  is  a  little  more  than  a  mile  in  width, 
and  about  a  mile  and  one-third  long,  embracing  an 
area  of  one  and  a  half  square  miles.  Its  population, 
according  to  the  recently  completed  census  of  1880, 
is  1748, — an  increase  of  336  over  that  of  1870. 

The  title  to  the  lands  of  this  village,  as  well  as  to 
a  vast  area  beyond,  was  originally  held  by  Daniel 
Coxe  and  William  Penn,  two  of  the  proprietaries  of 
the  West  Jersey  Company.  The  north  portion  of  the 
village  was  in  Coxe's  tract,?  the  south  part  in  Penn's, 
the  dividing  line  between  the  two  tracts  being  from 
east  to  west,  passing  by  the  lamp-post  now  standing 
in  front  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  A  high  stone 
just  over  the  brook,  beyond  Kershow's  mill,  is  where 
this  line  touched  the  South  Branch.  To  make  their 
title  the  more  secure,  the  proprietors  purchased  the 

X  An  Act  for  the  Improvement  of  Flemington,  approved  March  14, 
1870. 
i  Commonly  called  the  Mount  Carmel  tract,  embracing  4170  acres. 


FLEMINGTON  VILLAGE. 


325 


lands  of  the  Indians,  the  deeds  for  which  bear  date 
of  1703.  This  land  was  first  surveyed  in  1712.  The 
Penn's  estate  tract  embraced  5000  acres.* 


NATOBAL  FEATTOES. 

Flemington  lies  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
many  valleys  of  the  Earitan  and  its  tributaries.     For 
many  miles  south  and  east  the  surface  is  undulating 
■with,  hills   on  the  north  and   south.     From  Mount 
Carmel,  on  the  west,  a  beautiful  view  of  the  village 
and  its  vicinage  is  afforded.    In  this  valley  is  the 
county-town  of  Hunterdon.     The  principal  portion 
of  the  village  lies  upon  nearly  level  ground  and  upon  I 
what  is  called  "  Main  Street,"  which  runs  north  and 
south.     Parallel  to  it  are  Spring,  Broad,  and  Stover 
Streets  on  the  east,  and  New  and  Brown,  on  the  west  ; 
while  the  east-and-west  streets  are  named  Church, 
Williams,  Lyceum,  and  Capner,  and  Penn  Avenue. 
Bonnell  and  Minef  Streets  start  near  the  centre  of 
the  village  and  run  diagonally,  south  of  west.     Wyc- 
koff  Avenue  runs  eastward  from  Branch  Street,  and 
the  latter,  from  the  Presbyterian  church  to  the  Bush- 
kill,  in  a  nearly  northeast  direction.     At  the  junction 
of  Penn  Avenue  and  Main  and  Branch  Streets,  also, 
comes  in  the  "  Clinton"  road,  from  the  northwest. 
The  Bushkill  Creek  bounds  the  village  on  the  north, 
and  is  the  only  stream  worthy  of  mention  within  its 
limits.    The  soil  is  of  the  red  shale,  underlying  which 
is  the  "  Old  Ked  Sandstone." 

BABLT  SETTLEMENT. 

From  the  earliest  deeds  it  appears  that  the  first 
purchase  of  land  in  this  section  was  in  1731,  when 
Daniel  Coxe  sold  210  acres  to  William  Johnson,  who 
two  months  later  sold  about  one-fourth — 56J  acres — 
to  David  Chambers,  then  of  Philadelphia.  This  was 
conveyed  in  1748  to  Henry  M.  Mullen,  from  whom 
"  Mullen  Hill"  derives  its  name.  This  passed  in  1756 
to  John  Wood,  and  in  1761  to  Thomas  Lowrey. 

Samuel  Johnson,  son  of  the  William  above  named, 
was  another  purchaser  of  the  Coxe  tract  in  1754.  He 
bought  105  acres,  and  the  next  year  sold  4  acres  to 
William  B.  Potter,  who,  June  11,  1756,  sold  the  same 
to  Samuel  Fleming,  the  recognized  pioneer  settler  of 
the  village. 

Many  of  the  early  settlers  were  of  Irish  nativity. 
William  Johnson,  Thoma-s  Lowrey,  and  Samuel  Flem- 
ing came  from  Ireland.  Others  were  of  Scotch, 
English,  or  German  descent.  Among  them  may  be 
named  Philip  Kase  (Case),  Joseph  Smith,  James 
Farrar,  George  Alexander,  Robert  Burgess,  John 
Haviland,  Thomas  Hunt,  William  Norcross,  and  Dr. 
George  Creed.  Some  of  these  were  without  the  limits 
of  Flemington  as  now  constituted,  but  in  the  early 
days  the  "Flemings'  settlement"  covered  a  consider- 
able territory.     (For  a  sketch  of  William  Johnson 

*  "First  Century  of  Hunterdon  County." 

t  So  named  from  its  running  to  the  old  copper-mine  west  of  tlie  vil- 
lage. 


and  his  descendants,  see  the  chapter  on  the  "  Bench 
and  Bar"  in  this  work.) 

In  1756  Samuel  Fleming  purchased  land.  He 
brought  with  him  from  Ireland  a  boy,  Thomas  Low- 
rey, who  afterwards  married  his  daughter  Esther,  and 
became  a  prominent  man,  acquiring  possession  of  sev- 
eral properties  in  the  village.^  Fleming  and  Lowrey 
and  his  wife  were  devoted  patriots  during  the  Eevolu- 
tion.  The  old  house  where  Fleming  lived,  and  the 
first  in  the  village,  is  still  standing.  It  is  the  second 
house  on  the  north  side  of  Academy  Street,  and  was 
recently  occupied  by  Charles  Miller.  Fleming  kept 
a  tavern  there.  As  in  time  other  houses  were  erected 
the  place  was  called  "  Flemings,"  and  finally  Flem- 
ington. Samuel  Southard  afterwards  purchased  and 
occupied  this  house,?  until  he  built  the  one  on 
Main  Street,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Alexander 
Wurts,  Esq. 

Esther  (Fleming)  Lowrey,  one  of  the  pioneer 
women  of  this  settlement,  "was  remarkable  for  her 
amiable  and  generous  qualities,  and  was  a  practical 
and  intelligent  woman.  Coming  from  Ireland  when 
a  child,  she  retained  much  of  the  richness  of  the 
brogue,  especially  when  excited.  Fleming  and  Low- 
rey were  both  strong  Whigs,  and  Esther  particularly 
earnest  in  the  cause  of  the  Revolution.  It  is  related 
that  one  morning,  about  daybreak,  news  came  to  the 
village  that  the  American  army  had  met  with  a  serious 
disaster.  Esther's  patriotic  blood  was  stirred  to  a 
rage  at  the  news,  and,  rushing  to  the  chamber  door,  she 
called  out  in  her  strongest  native  accent,  "  Thomas, 
get  up  and  mount  the  ould  mare,  and  ride  as  fast  as 
yez  can  and  find  out  if  the  dom  lie  is  thrue."|| 

Fleming  seems  to  have  been  unfortunate  in  his 
purchases  and  sales  of  lands  and  in  his  business  specu- 
lations. Buying  from  year  to  year  so  embarrassed  him 
financially  that  finally  he  was  sold  out  to  pay  his  obli- 
gations. Dr.  George  Creed  buying  at  auction  his 
dwelling-house.lf 

Lowrey  was  as  successful  as  Fleming  was  unfortu- 
nate. He  was  a  shrewd  man,  and  became  rich  and 
influential.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Am- 
well  Baptist  Church  in  1765,  was  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  in  1775  from  Hunterdon,  lieuten- 
ant-colonel in  the  Third  Hunterdon  Regiment  in 
1776,  later  was  colonel,**  and  after  the  war  a  member 
of  the  State  Legislature.  In  1785  he  sold  his  prop- 
erty in  Flemington  and  vicinitytf  and  removed  to 
Frenchtown,  where  he  purchased  large  tracts  of  land, 
erected  mills,  founded  Frenchtown,  and  built  up  Mil- 


}  Witbout  doubt  the  first  purchase  Lowrey  made  was  650  square  feet, 
in  1758,  on  which  the  storehouse  was  subsequently  built,  in  which  he 
engaged  in  merchandising. 

g  Dr.  Motts'  Hiet.  Disc,  1876. 

II  Traditions  of  our  AncestoiB,  chap.  xi. 

f  Dr.  Mott's  Hist'l  Discoui-se,  p.  9. 

**  Minutes  of  Provincial  Congress  and  Council  of  Safety,  1775-76,  pp. 
170, 184,  237,  465. 

ttlt;was  at  this  time  that  Eobert  Burgess  purchased  107J^  acres  of 
Lowrey,  for  £800,  "  hard  mouey." 


326 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ford,  wliich  latter  was  for  a  time  called  Lowerytown. 
He  died  at  Frenclitowii  in  1809. 

In  1767,  Thomas  Lowrej'  owned  two  lots,  lying  south 
of  what  is  now  Penn  Avenue,  extending  east  from  the 
road  to  Trenton  (now  Main  Street)  20  chains,  and 
south  on  the  Trenton  road  3  chains  68  links,  amount- 
ing to  hetween  6  and  7  acres.  The  northwest  quarter 
part  of  the  west  lot  he  purchased  of  J.  Anthony. 

The  next  lot  south  was  owned  by  Jasper  Smith, 
contained  3  acres  and  10  chains  in  depth.  Next  south 
lay  the  lot  of  William  Pearson,  of  same  shape  and 
area  as  Jasper  Smith's.  Then  came  five  narrow  lots, 
all  of  equal  depth  (10  chains),  and  each  containing 
an  acre.  The  second  and  third  from  the  north  were 
owned  by  William  Disher  and  Jacob  Mallison  re- 
spectively. Below  these  lay  the  8-acre  lot  of  Joseph 
Hudnett,  being  8  chains  fronting  on  the  Trenton  road, 
and  extending  back  (east)  10  chains. 

With  the  exception  of  the  seven  lots  above  men- 
tioned, all  the  remaining  land  on  the  east  of  Main 
Street,  embracing  both  "front"  and  "back"  lots,  and 
extending  from  the  old  store-house*  to  the  Baptist 
meeting-house  lot,  on  the  New  Brunswick  road, — in 
other  words  from  the  Presbyterian  church  to  the 
Baptist  church,— was  divided  April  24,  1767,  be- 
tween Thomas  Lowrey,  Joseph  Morris  (for  William 
Morris'  heir),  James  Eddy,  Christopher  Marshall, 
and  Gershom  Lee,  so  that  each  had  a  little  more  than 
14  acres  as  his  individual  share. 

"The  following  is  ti  true  copy  of  an  original  Draft  &  Notes  thereon, 
in  my  possession,  supposed  to  have  been  made  24  April,  17G7. 
(Signed)  "N.  S.ixton." 


.^' 


0 


licucMofccmpan^    ,i 


Jasp?rSMUIi.. 


William  Pearson 
3  g. 


10  Chains 

""  Thomas  Lowrey 
J  lla,35|)erch. 
J        Nsi. 

[BelDnsinelolhislottmu;! 
Ibe^ddpdLotls  8.11.21, 
^OnflncfroriUQlts. 


I  Joseph  Hudnel 
S       -Ba. 


^I.Motvrfv  b:ioiiosri'iai  To" 


=    w  Morns' Meirs 

=   Belongs  to  Nd2 

in 'aloe 


James  Eddy. 

(No3) 


I  Christ  Marsmll 

(No4) 
'•nlqZOrodi 


Gershom  Lee 

,(No5)  H 

.      Loir        '.(lin^Or^ 


Thomas  Lowrey. 
3a.,2q..28rQds. 


Thos.  Lowrey. 

JBa.aq.SGrods 


N.P3E.1. 


■  I   Wm  Morris'  heir. 

N52. 

ID12  belong',  tolliis.iSiLlqZOR 
Trnuc  Lofts 


Jaines  Eddy. 

N!3 
9iL,3n,l6R. 


Christ'  Marshall 

N!4, 
9a.3q.;i6R. 


Ton 


i    Gershom  Lee. 

No5. 
3a,3q„16R. 


'ewBrunsivic/c  - 


's   "> 


PLAK  OF  FLEMIJSTGTON,  1767. 


*  At  the  junction  of  the  old  road  from  HoweH's  Ferry  (now  obsolete) 
ivlth  the  Trenton  road,— that  is,  near  where  the  Presbyterian  church 
stands. 


"  A  Plan  of  several  lotts  of  ground  in  Amwell  aa  divided  the  24  of 
April  17G7  between  Thomas  Lowrey,  Joseph  Morris  for  William  Morris's 
heir,  James  Eddy,  Christopher  Marshall  &  Gershom  Lee,  with  their  sev- 
eral names  wrote  on  each  division  as  they  are  numbered  beginning  from 
No.  1  to  5,  containing  upwards  of  14  acres  to  each  Lott. 

[Indorsed]  "  Date  of  release,  2d  June,  1767." 

Gershom  Lee  deeded  to  Thomas  Lowrey,  Dec.  10, 
1769,  a  tract  of  21  acres,  32  perches  (part  of  533J 
acres  purchased  by  John  Reading  as  part  of  3333 
acres  of  Daniel,  John,  and  William  Cose,  in  1745), 
and  sold  by  his  heirs  to  Gershom  Lee,  March  16, 
1768.  Joseph  Taylor  and  Robert  Dods  were  wit- 
nesses to  this  indenture. 

After  the  Revolution,  Col.  (afterwards  Gen.)  Charles 
Stewart,  who  rendered  important  service  to  the  Amer- 
ican cause  from  the  very  commencement  of  the  strug- 
gle, removed  from  Landsdown  to  Flemington,  taking 
up  his  residence  in  a  house  near  that  of  John  C. 
HoiDewell,  Esq.,  and  owning  a  large  farm  extending 
to  Coxa's  Hill.  There  he  lived  until  his  death, 
June  24,  1800,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one.f  He 
was  buried  in  the  old  Presbyterian  churchyard  at 
Bethlehem.  A  long  epitaph  is  inscribed  upon  his 
tombstone,  which  was  written  by  his  life-long  friend. 
Chief- Justice  Smith,  of  Trenton,  in  these  words  : 

"  He  was  an  early  and  decided  friend 

to  the  American  Revolution 

and  bore  the  important  office  of 

Cuuimissary-General  of  Issues 

to  uuivei-sal  acceptance. 

His  friendships  were  fen'id 

and  lasting, 

and  commanded  both  his  purse 

and  his  services. 

His  hospitality 

was  extensive  and  bountiful; 

The  friend  and  the  stranger 

were  almost  compelled  to 

come  in." 

His  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Bower,  after  the  .war, 
received  marked  attention,  in  Philadelphia,  from 
Mrs.  Washington.  His  daughter,  Martha,  married 
Robert  Wilson,  a  young  Irishman  of  education,  who 
came  to  this  country  and  volunteered  in  the  Conti- 
nental army  soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington.  He 
was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown.  Capt.  Wilson  died  in  Hackettstown,  in 
1779,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight.  Mrs.  Wilson 
was  distinguished  for  beauty  and  for  a  brilliant  and 
cultured  mind.  J 

Some  of  Gen.  Stewart's  descendants  have  continued 
in  the  service  of  their  country  to  this  day.  One  of 
his  grandsons,  Charles  Stewart,  son  of  Samuel  Stewart, 
was  born  in  Flemington,  where  his  father  lived,  near 
and  east  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was  grad- 
uated at  Princeton  in  1815,  and  was  a  class-mate  of 
Alexander  Wurts ;  first  studied  law,  afterward  theol- 
ogy, and  went  as  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 


t  "The  Kret  Century  of  Hunterdon  County,"  p.  33. 

t  Mrs.  Ellet,  in  her  "Women  of  the  American  Revolution,"  devotes  a 
chapter  to  this  lady,  the  daughter  of  one  of  Flemingtou's  early  resi- 
dents. 


FLEMINGTON  VILLAGE. 


327 


from  whence  he  returned  in  1825.  In  1828  he  received 
the  appointment  of  chaplain  in  the  navy,  in  which 
office  he  continued  until  1862,  visiting  all  parts  of 
the  world.  He  died  at  Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five.*  A  son  of  his  was  graduated 
with  Gen.  McClellan  at  West  Point,  and  during  the 
Rebellion  had  charge  of  the  Engineers'  department 
at  Fortress  Monroe ;  since  the  war  he  has  had  com- 
mand of  the  United  States  Engineers'  Corps  at  San 
Prancisco,  Cal.  A  granddaughter  of  Gen.  Stewart, 
Mrs.  Hoyt,  widow  of  the  late  of  Capt.  Hoyt,  resides 
at  Landsdown,  in  this  county,  and  has  in  her  pos- 
session the  old  family  record. 

Flemington's  old  hero  was  Thomas  Gearhart,  one 
of  the  early  settlers.  He  was  a  daring  soldier,  and 
was  shot  through  the  knee  by  the  British,  who  were 
in  ambush  on  the  river-shore.  The  ball,  which  had 
lodged  behind  the  knee-cap,  subsequently  became 
visible  under  the  skin.  The  doctors  offered  to  cut  it 
out,  but  the  proud  old  soldier  said,  "  No ;  I  got  that 
ball  in  the  Revolution,  and  I  mean  to  carry  it  as  long 
as  I  live !"  and  he  did,  although  it  made  him  a  cripple 
for  life ;  it  was  buried  with-,  him.  With  native  wit, 
he  was  the  joker  of  his  regiment  during  the  war,  sub- 
sequently entertaining  many  a  crowd  in  Flemington 
with  his  droll  stories.  He  lived  where  Andrew  B. 
Rittenhouse,  lately  deceased,  resided,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Presbyterian  churchyard,  where  his  grave  is 
pointed  out  by  Mahlon  Smith ;  but  the  unlettered 
slab  would  not  indicate  that  a  herb  slept  beneath. 

Johannes  Bursenbergh  was  an  early  settler  in  or 
near  Flemington.f 

Of  Dr.  George  Creed  little  is  known.  He  was  born 
at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  Oct.  1, 1735 ;  commenced  practicing 
his  profession  at  Flemington  in  1765,  was  the  pioneer 
physician  of  the  village,  and  was  the  purchaser  of 
Fleming's  dwelling-house.t 

In  1775,  John  Haviland  was  the  owner  of  a  half- 
acre  lot,  on  which  was  a  tan-yard,  and  where  now  is 
the  brickyard?  in  the  north  part  of  the  village. 

James  Farrar  cotemporaneously  had  a  lot  of  3} 
acres  north  of  Lowrey's  store-house. 

Samuel  L.  Southard,  afterwards  the  distinguished 
senator  and  Supreme  Court  judge,  built,  in  1814,  the 
house  now  owned  by  Alexander  Wurts.  He  removed 
from  the  village  in  1817. 

Jasper  Smith  built  the  house  now  owned  by  John 
Jones,  Esq.  Mr.  Smith  was  professionally  a  lawyer, 
and  a  man  of  great  energy  and  public  spirit,  and  had 
much  to  do  in  securing  the  county-seat  to  Fleming- 
ton.  He  was  a  devoted  church-member,  and  some- 
what strict  in  ideas.     Pitching  bullets  in  the  street 

*  Kev.  Geo.  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  Hiatorical  Biaconrse,  pp.  16, 17. 

t  "  First  Century  of  Hunterdon  County,"  Dr.  Mott,  p.  19. 

J  He  subsequently  removed  to  Trenton,  K.  J.,  where  he  died  suddenly 
of  apoplexy  about  1776. — BalTe  Hist.  Preahy.  Church,  Frenlon. 

gHist'l  Disc,  Dr.  Mott,  p.  9.  John  H.  Capner  says  Mr.  Haviland 
never  had  definite  title  to  it,  and  that  the  half-acre — nowpartof  a  larger 
tract  owned  by  John  C.  Hopewell — never  had  a  brickyard  on  it,  although 
near  one. 


was  a  favorite  amusement  in  his  day,  which  he  very 
much  opposed.  He  finally  became  so  much  provoked 
at  the  practice  that  he  one  day  picked  up  the  bullets 
and  threw  them  away.  It  is  related  that  afterward 
the  men  engaged  in  this  sport  turned  the  tables  on 
him  by  heating  a  bullet  almost  to  melting  and  placing 
it  in  his  way,  at  the  same  time  warning  him  that  he 
might  some  time  get  his  fingers  burned.  He  did  pick 
it  up,  but  dropped  it  quickly;  nor  did  he  trouble 
their  bullets  again. 

James  Clark,  Sr.,  was  one  of  the  oldest  residents  in 
Flemington.  He  was  born  in  1755,  and  died  Deo.  20, 
1828.  He  bore  a  part  in  the  Revolution,  and  at  his 
demise  left  a  wife  and  three  children.  "  He  was  de- 
servedly held  in  general  esteem."  He  lived  in  a 
house,  since  torn  down  or  removed,  which  stood  where 
David  Dunham  now  lives.  His  son,  also  known  (after 
his  father's  death)  as  James  Clark,  Sr.,  died  in  Flem- 
ington ;  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but  followed^arm- 
ing  mainly.  His  youngest  son,  John  Clark,  now  lives 
in  the  old  Reading  house,  built  by  the  "  Governor," 
near  what  is  now  Kershow's  Mills,  in  1764. 

In  1804,  Peter  Haward  went  to  Philadelphia  and, 
for  $70,  bought  a  German  to  serve  him  for  several 
years.  His  son,  Thomas,  lives  now  in  a  house  built 
on  his  father's  lot,  near  the  South  Branch  depot.  The 
house  his  father  built,  close  by,  is  still  standing,  occu- 
pied by  tenants,  and  owned  by  two  of  his  daughters. 
His  oldest  daughter,  Catharine,  married  Joseph  H. 
Schenck,  of  Philadelphia,  and  his  youngest  daughter, 
Sarah,  married  Henry  C.  Hill,  of  Norristown,  Pa. 
Mary  and  Jane  never  married. 

Among  other  prominent  early  families  of  this  vi- 
cinity were  the  Blackwells.  John  T.  Blackwell,  son 
of  James  H.,  lived  where  is  now  the  Blackwell  block 
of  stores,  on  Main  Street.  He  was  appointed  judge 
of  the  court  Feb.  8,  1804;  was  county  clerk  for  nine- 
teen years  and  surrogate  for  seven.  He  died  in  1831. 
His  wife  was  Susan  Hunt;  his  daughter,  Clarissa, 
died  in  1823.  James  H.  Blackwell  was  postmaster 
for  ten  years  (1820-30) .  He  lived  in  the  second  house 
north  of  the  Union  Hotel,  on  the  east  side  of  Main 
Street.  John  H.  Blackwell  was  surrogate  in  1823. 
Oliver  H.  Blackwell,  born  in  Hopewell  township, 
came  to  Flemington  soon  after  1800,  with  his  father, 
John  T.  He  died  in  1877.  None  of  the  name  now 
remain  in  the  place,  and  of  all  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  John  T.,  one  son  only  (John  P.)  is  living,  or  was 
quite  recently,  in  New  York. 

The  Gregg  family  was  a  prominent  one  in  Fleming- 
ton  during  the  latter  part  of  the  last  and  early  part 
of  the  present  century.  James  Gregg  was  postmaster 
here  in  1794,  and  Dr.  John  Gregg  practiced  physic 
from  about  the  same  time  until  1808.  They  were  of 
the  Quaker  faith.  There  is  not  a  representative  of 
this  family  now  living  in  Flemington. 

The  Capner  i^ami%.— Joseph  "  Capnerhurst"  came 
from  England  just  after  the  Revolution  and  bought 
the  Mine  Farm,  formerly  Case's,  and  married  Chris- 


328 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


tiana  Eunyan.  He  had  but  two  sons,  Thomas  and 
Hugh.  He  had  a  brother  named  Thomas,  who  had 
sons, — John  H.  and  James. 

The  name  "  Capnerhurst"  was  abreviated  to  "  Cap- 
ner"  shortly  after  Joseph  came  to  this  country.  Jo- 
seph Capner  had  a  passion  for  blooded  stock,  prin- 
cipally for  sheep.  He  was  the  second  who  keiDt 
Bakewell  sheep  in  this  country.  The  first  were 
smuggled  here  by  a  man  named  Beans.  Joseph  Cap- 
ner's  Bakewells  were  considered  the  finest  sheep  in 
the  Union,  and  were  sold  to  wool-growers  in  almost 
every  State.  When  Hugh  was  about  seven  years  old 
his  father  would  send  him  out  with  a  little  bag  of 
oats  to  feed  the  sheep,  that  he  might  acquire  a  fond- 
ness for  them.  It  was  through  this  early  training 
that  Hugh  Capner  became  celebrated  as  an  importer 
of  the  best  Bakewells  and  as  having  one  of  the  finest 
flocks  in  the  Union. 

Thomas  Capner,  a  brother  of  Joseph,  and  John  H. 
Capner's  father,  came  from  England  when  a  boy. 

John  Hall,  the  great-uncle  of  Hugh  and  John  H., 
came  here  before  the  Revolution  to  look  at  the  coun- 
try, and  returned.  He  sympathized  with  the  Ameri- 
cans, but  had  landed  property  in  England,  and  Capt. 
Coltman,  wishing  to  come  over  and  help  fight  our 
battles,  left  his  wife  in  Mr.  Hall's  family  and  em- 
barked for  America.  He  was  a  gallant  soldier,  and 
fought  bravely  all  through  the  war.  After  the  war 
Mr.  Hall  returned  to  America,  bringing  with  him  the 
Capner  family  and  Capt.  Coltman's  wife.  This  was 
(says  John  H.  Capner)  about  the  year  1792.  Joseph 
settled  at  Flemington,  as  already  related,  and  Thomas 
went  to  a  saw-mill  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wissahickon, 
in  Pennsylvania,  Here  he  became  partner  of  Moses 
Hill,  a  wealthy  Quaker  of  Philadelphia.  He  after- 
wards moved  to  Trenton.  When  his  brother  Joseph 
died,  Thomas  came  to  Flemington  (not  far  from  the 
year  1810),  rented  the  Mine  farm,  and  kept  up  the 
reputation  of  the  family  for  raising  and  importing 
Bakewell  sheep.  When  Thomas,  the  son  of  Joseph, 
became  of  age  he  bought  the  farm.  This  farm  de- 
scended to  Hugh  Capner,  by  purchase  fi-om  Thomas, 
and  he  sold  it  to  the  mining  company. 

Thomas  Capner  died  in  Flemington,  in  1832,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  churchyard. 

John  H.  Capner,  son  of  Thomas,  was  born  at 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  in  1807 ;  came  here  with  his  father 
about  1810,  settling  on  the  home-farm  ;  since  1818 
has  resided  in  Flemington,  on  the  place  where  he  is 
now  living,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  quite  hale 
and  hearty.  His  wife,  Anne  Hill,  was  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  Hill,  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. ;  she  was 
born  in  1810,  and  died  Aug.  3,  1880,  aged  seventy. 
They  had  no  children.  His  brother,  James,  lived  in 
the  village,  in  a  house  once  belonging  to  Samuel 
Fleming. 

Among  other  early  settlers  at  Flemington  may  be 
named  the  Bonnell,  Rea,  Callis,  Atkinson,  Maxwell, 
Hoff,  Chamberlin,  and  Smith  families.     The  earlier 


representatives  of  these  names  sleep  in  the  village 
churchyards,  but  their  memories  still  live.  Their 
names  will  be  found  running  all  through  these  annals, 
figuring  in  "  Church  and  State,"  in  civic  matters,  and 
in  mercantile  pursuits,  while  many  of  their  descend- 
ants are  to-day  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  vil- 
lage. George  Eea  was  postmaster  over  seventy  years 
ago. 

In  1808,  Flemington  was  but  a  small  village.  From 
the  Presbyterian  church  to  the  Baptist  there  were  but 
sixteen  houses,  of  which  three  were  occupied  as  tav- 
erns. Water  was  scarce,  and  frequently  had  to  be 
hauled,  sometimes  from  the  Branch.  This  led,  in 
1808,  to  the  introduction  of  water  through  wooden 
logs.  Women  at  that  time  went  to  the  polls  and 
voted,  as  they  were  permitted  under  the  old  constitu- 
tion of  the  State.* 

Neal  Hart  kept  tavern  at  the  present  stand  of  the 
Union  Hotel.  His  daughter  Eliza  married  Charles 
Bartles.  Mary,  another  daughter,  married  John  H. 
Anderson,  formerly  a  merchant  here,  but  later  of  Lam- 
bertville,  at  which  place  his  sons  are  still  living.  Mr. 
Hart  died  Sept.  4,  1837,  aged  fifty-nine. 

Samuel  Hill  built  the  pottery-works  about  1815, 
operating  them  until  his  death,  in  1858.  He  was  born 
Aug.  13,  1793.  His  son  William,  the  present  post- 
master, was  born  Feb.  13,  1822. 

Isaac  G.  Farlee,  born  in  April,  1787,  was  an  early 
settler  at  White  House,  came  here  in  his  later  life, 
built  the  house  now  occupied  by  Robert  J.  Killgore, 
and  died  there,  Jan.  12,  1855,  aged  sixty-seven.  His 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  John  Reid  Reading,  a  sister 
of  Daniel  K.,  and  the  widow  of  Mr.  De  Pue.  George 
Farlee,  a  sou  of  Isaac  G.,  now  resides  near  New  York 
City,  and  Augustus  Ritchie,  a  son-in-law,  is  a  member 
of  the  Trenton  bar. 

FLEMINGTON  IN"  1822. 

1.  ResideDCe  of  Asher  Atkinson,  now  occupied  by  his  daughter,  Ann 
GrofE. 

2.  Presliyteriiin  Church.   Since  rebuilt  near  the  bite  of  tlie  old  hotel  (3). 

3.  ^Hotel,  then  l^ept  by  Elnathan  Moore,  previously  by  Jonathan  More- 
head.     Since  removed  to  make  way  for  the  church. 

3^2.  Store-house,  used  by  Lowrey  during  tlie  Revolution  for  storing 
comniissai-y  supplies,  etc. 

4.  Residence  of  John  Capner. 

5.  Slaughter-house,  owned  by  Thomas  Capner. 
C.  lionnell's  Hotel. 

Y.  Alexander  Wurts'  residence,  huilt  by  Hon.  S.  L.  Southard. 

8.  Clerk's  and  surrogate's  office, — brick. 

9.  Court-HouBC, — stone. 

10.  Store,  S.  I>.  Stryker.    Owned  by  Johu  Maxwell  estate. 

11.  Residence  of  Mrs.  Cyntliia  K.  Clark.    Owned  by  John  Maxwell 
estate. 

12.  Residence  of  S.   D.  Stryker,— brick.     Owned  by  John  Maxwell 
estate.    Now  the  residence  of  Chester  Van  Syckel. 

13.  Residence  of  William  Maxwell.    It  constitutes  the  main  part  of 
the  present  residence  of  Clinrles  Bartles,  Esq. 

14.  An  old  houbc  belonging  to  Nathaniel  Saxton,  and  since  removed. 
It  was  on  the  site  of  Dr.  Parish's  residence. 

15.  Residence  of  Cliarles  Miller,t  back  of  Charles  Bartles',  in  the 
meadow.    Previously  Fleming's  tavern.    This  is  the  oldest  house  now 


*  Items  from  a  diary  kept  by  Peter  Haward,  father  of  T.  C.  Haward. 
t  He  died  there,  and  his  descendants  have  since  lived  in  it    It  is  now 
occupied  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Kimball. 


FLEMINGTON  VILLAGE. 


329 


standing  in  the  Tillage.  The  old  Centre  Bridge  road,  since  taken  np, 
ran  close  to  this  tavern,  and  thence  northeasterly  to  the  Trenton  road 
(now  Main  Street),  striking  it  near  whefe,  in  1822,  Moore's  hotel  stood. 
In  1822  It  waB  the  only  residence,  except  that  of  Kev.  Meld,  not  located 
on  the  main  street. 

16.  Residence  of  the  Rev.  J.  T.  E.  Field,  and  built  by  him.  Now  owned 
and  occupied  by  Vice-Chancellor  Tan  Fleet. 


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PLAN  OF  riEMINGTON  IN  1822. 

17.  Pottery  built  and  owned  by  Samuel  Hill.  The  principal  part  of  the 
present  works. 

18.  Kesidence  of  Samuel  Hill. 

19.  Late  the  residence  of  John  Kline,  next  to  the  railroad.    Bow 
owned  by  Moses  Everett. 

20.  Carpenter-shop,  owned  by  Peter  Haward,  near  where  depot  now  is. 

21.  Tenant-house.  Still  standing  as  built,-the  first  house  south  of  the 

railroad. 

22.  Kesidence  of  William  Barrass. 

23.  Tenant-house. 

24.  Academy  building,  standing  well  back  from  the  street. 

22 


25.  Barcalow'B  chair-factoi-y. 

26.  Kesidence  of  Dr.  Geary. 

On  IhcEast  Side  of  Main  Street. 

27.  Red  house,  owned  and  occupied  by  James  Clark,  Sr. 

28.  Baptist  church.  Afterwards  rebuilt  more  to  the  ^vestward,  and 
facing  the  main  street. 

29.  A  small  shanty  built  by  "Daddy  Miiilc,"  and  in  1822  occupied  by 
Jacob  and  Mary  Francis  as  a  cake-  and  beer-shop.  They  were  all  colored 
people. 

30.  Residence  of  Jane  and  Maiy  Haward.  Now  owned  by  the  Mary 
Haward  estate. 

31.  A  small  frame  school-house  built  by  Peter  Haward  for  an  English 
lady,  a  school-teacher,  named  Miss  Allen. 

32.  An  old  red  house,  owned  by  estate  of  George  C.  Maxwell.  Now- 
owned  by  W,  P.  Emery. 

33.  Residence  of  J.  Stillwell,— brick.    Now  occupied  by  Hiram  Deats. 

34.  Kesidence  of  George  Foiker,  and  built  by  him.  Now  occupied  by 
his  widow  and  family. 

35.  House  owned  by  Joseph  P.  Charaberlin,  and  occupied  by  his  father. 
A  part  of  the  present  J.  T.  Bird  residence. 

30.  Tailor-shop.  A  small  frame  building  (vacant  in  1822)  where  now 
is  the  Democrat  office. 

37.  Residence  of  Joseph  P.  Chamberlin,  where  is  now  Parker's  jewelry- 
store. 

373^.  House,  residence  of  the  widow  of  John  Maxwell,  Jr. 

38.  Hotel.  Neal  Hart,  proprietor.  About  on  the  site  of  the  "  Union" 
hotel. 

39.  Kesidence  of  John  T.Blackwell. 

40.  Dwelling-house,  owned  by  Gershom  Lambert,  of  New  Hope,  on  the 
site  of  George  A.  Rea's  store,  occupied  by  a  Scotch  fiddler  named  Mat- 
thew Thompson  about  1822. 

41.  The  Hooley  property,  now  occupied  by  N.  G.  Smith,  a  small,  one- 
story  frame  building,  then  used  as  a  jewelry-shop. 

42.  House  now  owned  by  Garry  Voorhees'  mother,  then  occupied  by 
Samuel  Large  as  a  residence. 

43.  House  then  occupied  by  Mr.  Cain,  now  by  Robert  Ramsey's- 
widow. 

44.  Residence  of  John  L.  Jones,  then  owned  and  occupied  by  Rev. 
John  F.  Clark.     It  was  built  by  Jasper  Smith. 

45.  Stone  house  occupied  and  owned  by  Samuel  Atkinson,  on  the  site 
of  which  is  one  now  occupied  by  Clarkson  C.  Dunham. 

46.  Residence  of  Esq.  George  Kea  (deceaaedj.  Since  somewhat  altered, 
and  now  the  residence  of  Peter  Nevius. 

47.  Mahlon  Smith's  residence  and  black sraitli-shop,  where  Isaac 
Smith's  widow  now  lives. 

48.  Stone  house  owned  by  Mrs.  Martha  Wilson,  of  Cooperstown,  N.  T., 
and  occupied  (1822)  by  Elisha  Bird.  Since  rebuilt,  and  now  owned  by 
John  C.  Hopewell. 

49.  Nearly  opposite  M.  Smith's,  and  next  south  of  the  Webster  lot,  was 
the  residence  of  Anna  (Jewell)  Stratton  ;  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Key. 

INDEPENDENCE  JUBILEE   IN   1826. 

This  particular  natal  day  was  hailed  with  unusual 
demonstrations  of  joy.  It  was  ushered  in  by  the 
ringing  of  the  village  bell,  the  display  of  the  national 
flag,  and  by  a  salute  of  fifty  guns,~-the  nation  being 
fifty  years  old  that  day.  The  procession  was  formed 
at  the  house  of  N.  Price  in  the  following  order : 

Capt.  Case's  Cavalry  Company. 

Capt.  Voorhees'  Light  Infantry. 

Capt.  Swing's  La  Fayette  Guards. 

Band. 

Flag. 

The  Clergy. 

Orator  of  the  Day. 

Reader  of  the  '*  Declaration." 

Committee  of  Arrangements. 

Choir. 

Ladies,  in  white,  representing  the  thirteen  original  States. 

Misses,  representing  the  eleven  new  States. 

Civilians,— Citizens  and  Strangers. 


330 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


When  the  procession  arrived  at  the  court-house,  the 
venerable  survivors  of  76  joined  the  procession.  Their 
names  were : 

Col.  David  Schamp,  Readington,  with  "  Trentou"  Ijanuer ;  John  Howe, 
Amwell,  with  "  Princeton"  banner ;  James  Clark,  Sr.,  Flemington, 
with  "  Monmouth"  banner  ;  Adam  Butterfaus,  Amwell,  with  "  Sara- 
toga" banner ;  Kichard  Mills,  Bethlehem,  with  "  Yorktown"  ban- 
ner ,  Jacob  Andereon,  with  banner  of  "  1776 ;"  Samuel  Barber  and 
Capt.  Tunis  Case,  marshals;  William  Bennett,  John  Besson,  Sr., 
William  Bowne,  Eobert  Butler,  William  Bilby,  Albert  Conover,  Paul 
Coon,  Sr.,  Samuel  Corwine,  John  Chamberlin,  Adam  Conrad,  Wil- 
liam C.  Dilts,  Nicholas  Danbury,  William  Danbury,  Daniel  Bnt, 
William  Fulper,  John  Farley,  Joseph  Fish,  Peter  Geary,  Adam 
Hummer,  Capt.  John  Higgins,  Martin  Johnson,  Christopher  Kuhl, 
James  Metier,  John  Ma.xwell,  Sr.,  George  Pownell,  Tunis  T.  Quick, 
John  Servis,  Michael  Shurts,  Moses  Stout,  George  N.  Schamp,  Elijah 
Thatcher,  Johu  Trimmer,  William  Taylor,  William  Van  Fleet, 
Jerome  Waldron,  Lewis  English  (colored),  Jacob  Francis  (colored). 

The  procession  then  moved  to  the  church,  the  inte- 
rior of  which  was  magnificently  decorated  with  wreaths 
of  laurel  and  festoons  of  evergreen.  After  prayer  by 
Rev.  J.  F.  Clark,  and  a  song  by  the  special  choir, 
etc.,  the  "  Declaration''  was  read  by  Alexander  Wurts, 
Esq.,  and  an  appropriate  oration  delivered  by  Andrew 
Miller,  Esq. ;  another  psalm  was  then  sung,  and  the 
benediction  pronounced,  when  the  procession  reformed 
and  moved  to  the  inn  of  Peter  Smick  (during  which 
a  salute  of  twenty-four  guns,  in  honor  of  the  States 
of  the  Union,  was  fired),  where  a  bountiful  dinner 
was  partaken  of  One  of  the  volunteer  toasts  on  this 
occasion  was  to  "The  memory  of  Brig.-Gen.  William 
Maxwell,  of  the  New  Jersey  line.  His  surviving 
Light  Infantry  will  never  forget  how  he  said  to  them 
'  Shin  'em,  boys !' " 

At  this  day,  1880, — after  a  lapse  of  fifty- four  years, — 
few,  if  any,  of  the  active  participants  of  this  celebra- 
tion survive,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  convey 
adequately  the  kind  and  degree  of  enthusiastic  feeling 
manifested. 

FLEMINGTON   FIFTY   YEAES   AGO. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  take  a  retrospective  glance 
at  this  village  at  it  was  a  half  century  ago.  From  the 
files  of  the  Hunterdon  Oazette  and  Farmers'  Weekly 
Advertiser,  for  1825,  we  find  that  fifty-five  years  ago 
the  following  tradesmen  and  mechanics  were  engaged 
in  business  in  Flemington  : 

Thomas  J.  Stout,  blacksmith,  in  a  shop  which  he 
advertisecl  as  "  near  Mr.  Bonnell's  hotel,"  really 
located  where  now  are  the  stores  of  Lemuel  Fisher 
and  E.  Vosseller  ;  Samuel  Hill,  earthen-ware  manu- 
facturer ;  James  and  John  Callis,  watchmakers ;  P.  W. 
Dunn,  saddler  and  harness-maker;  Hugh  Capner, 
brick-maker;  William  1\\S  and  Samuel  Nailor, 
tailors ;  Hannah  Blackwell,  on  the  hill  near  Hoag- 
land's,  milliner,  in  business  since  1820.  Charles  Bon- 
nell  kept  tavern,  although  he  was  succeeded  by  Peter 
Smick  in  May,  1826. 

The  firms  engaged  in  general  merchandise  were 
Stryker  &  Anderson  (S.  D.  Stryker  and  J.  H.  Ander- 
son) and  Joseph  P.  Chamberlin.  In  1826,  Ellsha  R. 
Johnston  became  a  competitor,  and  the   following 


spring  Knowles  &  Carhart  opened  a  "  country  store" 
at  the  old  stand  of  Asher  Atkinson.* 

John  F.  Sclienck  practiced  medicine,  while  S.  G. 
Opdycke,  Alexander  Wurts,  Charles  Bartles,  Natty 
Saxton,  A.  Miller,  Peter  I.  Clark,  and  Zaccur  Prall 
(also  a  doctor)  were  resident  attorneys  and  solicitors. 

Once  a  week  the  mail  came  in  from  New  York, 
and  likewise  from  Philadelphia,  via  Trenton  and  the 
"  Swift-Sure''  coaches,  over  the  Old  York  Eoad.  But 
the  Flemington  people  had  another  means  of  news, 
for  Mr.  George  published  his  Oazette  once  a  week, 
albeit  it  had  more  columns  of  legal  advertisements 
than  items  of  local  news.  Probably  the  latter  were 
scarce  in  those  times,  and  yet  .the  following,  which 
appeared  in  his  paper  of  date  Nov.  1,  1826,  evidences 
there  was  some  stir  in  this  locality  : 

"  NOTICE. 

"  My  wife  in  the  fall,  she  pack  her  goods  all. 
She  left  me,  she  went  in  a  hluster ; 
Now  plainly  I  say  her  debts  I'll  not  pay. 
And  you  run  your  own  risk  if  you  trust  her. 

"  Samuel  H.  Snider." 

During  the  next  three  years  several  changes  oc- 
curred. In  1828,  Dr.  Zaccur  Prall  left  Flemington 
for  the  Schuylkill  coal  region  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
1829  and  1830  the  mechanic  arts  received  accessions 
in  N.  Magonigal,  John  Atkinson,  John  Volk,t 
Joseph  McNeely,t  Mahlon  Smith,  and  John  Mc- 
Eathern,  whose  handiwork  was  respectively  classified 
as  cooperage,  funiture,  chair-  and  cabinet-making, 
and  the  last  two  were  partners  in  blacksmithing. 

In  1829,  Elnathan  Moore  was  supplying  our  farmers 
with  "  Deats'  patent  plows,"  etc.,  and,  in  1830,  John 
H.  Anderson,  Johnston  &  Hoff",  John  S.  Rockafeller, 
G.  &  W.  L.  Alexander,  and  E.  H.  Knowles,  with 
store-goods  of  every  class.?  About  this  time,  too, 
John  Durant,  assisted  by  his  two  bo5's,  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  hats  and  the  dyeing  of  woolen, 
cotton,  and  silk  goods.  He  subsequently  removed  to 
New  Germantown.  In  1829  a  tri-weekly  stage-line 
commenced  running  between  Trenton  and  Fleming- 
ton.  In  1829  Margaret  Boss,  and  in  1830  the  Misses 
Moore  and  Runkle,  were  engaged  in  millinery  and 
mantua-making. 

From  1825  to  1830  the  military  enthusiasm  ran  high, 
and  this  village  had  its  "  uniform  infantry  company" || 
and  its  "  troop"  of  cavalry.1[  The  "  Fourth  Regiment 
of  the  Hunterdon  Brigade"  at  that  time  was  manoeu- 
vred by  Col.  J.  S.  Manners  and  Adjt.  R.  L.  Sutphin. 

*  After  182S  Knowles  continued  the  business  alone. 

I  In  1830  it  became  Laird  St,  Yolk's  chair-factory ;  it  was  opposite  N. 
Price's  tavern. 

X  Succeeded,  in  1832,  by  John  K.  Clioyce. 

§  In  1831  the  mercantile  firms  wore  Miller  &  Chamberlin;  Farlee 
Maxwell  &  Hoff  (Isaac  G.  Farlee,  Amos  T.  Maxwell,  Joseph  C.  Hoff),  at 
Asher  Atkinson's  old  stand,  occupied  "  recently  by  Capt.  E.  H.  Knowles ;" 
and  Ale-xanders  &  Davis,  in  the  store-house  formerly  occupied  by  J.  H. 
Anderson. 

II  In  1826  it  was  commanded  by  Capt.  Yoorhees,  and  0.  H.  Blackwell 
was  iirst  sergeant. 

1[  The  "  Fifth  Troop  of  the  Hunterdon  Squadron,"  in  1827,  was  com- 
manded by  Peter  I.  Case,  and  Johu  Wyckoff  was  its  *'  orderly." 


FLEMINGTON   VILLAGE. 


331 


During  this  time  the  court-house  had  been  burnt 
and  rebuilt,  and  the  village  had  grown  to  considerable 
dimensions,  and  yet  was  without  gas,  a  water-supply, 
or  railroad  communications.  A  vivid  contrast  is  the 
Flemington  of  1830  with  the  Flemington  of  1880. 

Jan.  17,  1828,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  the 
court-hoase  to  consider  the  questions  of  turnpiking 
the  streets  and  improving  the  sidewalks,  and  a  com- 
mittee (Charles  Bonnell,  Samuel  Hill,  Neal  Hart, 
Charles  George,  and  E.  E.  Johnson)  was  appointed 
to  solicit  subscriptions.  That  there  was  urgent  need 
for  action  is  witnessed  by  the  following  item  in  the 
Gazette  oiVeh.  13,  1828: 

"  The  public  roads  have  not  been  in  a  worse  condition  in  twenty  years. 
Those  whose  business  required  them  to  be  at  court  here  this  week  ex- 
perienced much  difficulty  in  attending.  Learning  that  the  roads  were  in 
many  places  impassable,  we  did  not  send  our  carriers  on  the  routes  of 
Thursday  and  Friday." 

Charles  Bartles,  wlio  came  to  Flemington  in  1822, 
says  he  frequently  aided  in  prying  out  of  the  mud 
wagons  and  teams  which  became  "stalled"  in  the 
main  street. 

The  first  sidewalk  in  Flemington  was  built  by 
Oharles  Bartles  in  front  of  his  residence  in  1833.  He 
has  also  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to  set  out  shade- 
treeSj  in  the  spring  of  the  same  year.  Soon  after, 
B-obert  Reading  set  out  some  elms  in  front  of  the  court- 
house. This  was  all  that  was  done  in  this  direction 
for  about  ten  years,  when  Col.  Clark  set  out  trees  on 
his  lot.  After  that  the  planting  of  trees  became 
general,  and  Flemington  is  now  one  of  the  best-shaded 
towns  in  this  section. 

REMOVAL   OF   COUNTY-SEAT, 

The  following  memorial  and  remonstrance  of  the 
citizens  of  Flemington  and  vicinity  was  presented  to 
the  State  Legislature  in  February,  1828,  after  the 
court-house  was  burned;  it  so  fully  portrays  the 
agitation  concerning  the  removal  of  the  county-seat 
that  it  is  given  nearly  entire : 

"The  Memorial  and  Remonstrance  of  the  Subscribers,  Citizens  of 
Flemington  and  its  Vicinity,  in  the  County  of  Hunterdon,  and 
OF  other  Sections  of  said  County, 

"  Respectfully  Sheweth,  That  for  several  years  past  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Tillage  of  Lambertsville,  in  this  county,  have  been  circulating  peti- 
tions for  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  of  the  county  to  that  place; 
during  which  time  they  have  labored  assiduously  to  satisfy  themselves 
of  the  propriety  of  the  measure  and  convince  the  public  that  they  would, 
in  some  way  or  other,  be  benefited  by  the  change.  By  dint  of  unwearied 
patience  and  perseverance  they  have,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  succeeded 
in  obtaining  their  own  approbation,  and  the  signatures  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  persons,  some  feeling  a  deep  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  that  par- 
ticular place,  and  others  feeling  little  or  no  interest  at  all  in  that  or  any 
other  location,  but  who  could  not  resist  continued  and  importunate  solici- 
tation to  subscribe  their  names  to  a  petition,  ,    . 

'•  Some  three  or  four  years  ago,  having  obtained  a  sufficient  number  of 
subecribere  to  give  countenance  to  the  measure,  they  ventured  to  present 
petitions,  and  bring  the  subject  before  your  honorable  body,  and  a  bill  waa 
actually  reported,  which  upon  further  reflection,  however,  was  abandoned 
by  them  as  hopeless  and  chimerical ;  and  so  the  project  is  still  considered 
by  the  great  body  of  substantial  yeomanry  of  the  county,  and  by  many 
of  the  most  respectable  citizens  of  their  own  neighborhood.  The  Legis- 
lature has  not  since  been  troubled  with  it  until  lately,  when  some  for- 
tuitous circumstances,  entirely  unconnected  with  their  claims  on  the  one 
hand,  or  the  public  interest  on  the  other,  but  backed  by  the  recent  de- 


struction of  part  of  the  public  buildings  at  this  place,  have  again  encour- 
aged them  to  press  the  subject  on  the  attention  of  your  honorable  body. . . . 
"  In  pursuance  of  an  act  passed  in  May,  1790,  the  seat  of  justice  of  the 
county  of  Hunterdon  was,  by  a  large  majority  (upwards  of  three-fifths) 
of  all  the  votes  of  the  county,  at  an  election  held  in  October  in  that  year, 
located  in  Flemington.  The  place  at  that  time  contained  about  10  or  12 
houses;  since  which  time  all  the  property  in  the  village  has  changed 
hands  at  advanced  prices,  and  about  35  new  dwell ing-ho\ises  have  been 
erected,  on  the  faith  of  the  seat  of  justice  having  been  established  at  the 
place,  which  now  contains,  beside  3  churches  and  the  county  offices  (yet 
uninjured),  between  40  and  50  dwelling-houses,  all  occupied,  several  of 
them  with  two  families  each ;  besides  store-houses,  shops,  and  outbuild- 
ings. There  are  in  the  place  4  taverns,  4  stores,  a  post-office,  printing- 
office,  an  earthen  manufactory,  20  mechanics  of  different  occupations,  11 
professional  men,  and  the  county  officers,  besides  other  citizens,  to  all  of 
whom  a  removal  would  be  a  Bacrifice.  And  we  hesitate  not  to  declare 
that  Flemington,  within  the  circuit  of  the  village,  contains  more  build- 
ings, public  and  private,  than  Lambertsville,  and  considerably  more  in- 
habitants, some  buildings  in  the  latter  place,  erected  some  years  ago  on 
speculation,  remaining  to  this  day  unoccupied. 

"  The  public  buildings  in  Flemington  were  erected  in  1791,  plain,  sub- 
stantial, and  sufficiently  large  for  the  accommodation  of  the  county,  al- 
though the  court-room  was  not  arranged  to  the  best  advantage  for  the 
convenience  of  the  court  and  bar  ;  and  on  this  account  only  was  an  ap- 
plication made  by  the  members  of  the  bar  to  the  board  of  freeholders  for 
some  alterations.  This  application  was  not  refused  on  account  of  any  con- 
templated change  of  the  seat  of  justice,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  board 
appointed  a  committee  with  instructions  to  examine,  and  report  the  most 
eligible  plan  of  improvement.  The  report  was  made  to  a  special  meet- 
ing of  the  board  called  on  another  occasion :  the  season  being  far  advanced, 
and  the  assessments  begun,  it  was,  on  that  account  only,  postponed  to 
the  ensuing  spring,  and,  not  being  again  urged,  was  not  afterwards 
acted  on.    .    . 

"  But  least  of  all  will  Flemington  suffer  by  a  comparison  with  Lam- 
bertville  with  respect  to  its  local  situation  for  the  convenience  of  the 
county  as  the  seat  of  justice.  By  inspection  of  the  map,  your  honorable 
body  will  perceive  that  the  county  of  Hunterdon  extends  from  Trenton 
up  the  Delaware  about  4.i  miles.  Lambertsville  is  situated  on  the  western 
margin  of  the  county,  not  exceeding  16  miles  from  the  southern  and  not 
less  than  26  from  the  northwestern  extremity,  on  the  Delaware,  nor  less 
than  36  miles  by  the  nearest  practicable  route  from  the  northeastern  ex- 
tremity, on  the  Muscouetcong,  adjoining  the  county  of  Morris;  while 
Flemington  is  23  miles  from  Trenton,  about  20  from  the  northwest  and 
25  from  the  northeast  extremity,  being  nearly  equidistant,  and  if  any- 
thing about  a  mile  below  the  central  point  between  the  three  extremes 
of  the  county,  and  at  least  12  miles  nearer  to  that  point  than  Lamberts- 
ville. And  when  it  is  considered  that  the  lower  end  of  the  county  from 
Trenton  up  to  Lambertsville  does  not  average  more  than  from  8  to  12 
miles  in  width,  that  up  as  far  as  Flemington  it  does  not  exceed  15  miles, 
that  opposite  Flemington  its  eastern  boundary  is  suddenly  extended  down 
the  Raritan  to  a  much  greater  width,  and  that  from  thence  upward  to 
the  Muscouetcong  it  averages  between  20  and  30  miles  in  width, — the 
whole  extent  of  which  is  thickly  inhabited,— it  is  abundantly  manifest 
that  the  greater  portion  both  of  the  territory  and  population  of  the 
county  he  above  Flemington.  And  when  it  is  further  considered  that 
from  this  place  upward  the  country  is  uneven  and  mountainous,  it  is 
evident  that  in  short  days  and  bad  roads  it  would  take  some  of  these 
upper  inhabitants  two  days'  travel  to  reach  the  seat  of  justice,  if  estab- 
lished at  Lambertsville ;  and  that  a  great  portion  of  the  population  of  the 
county  would  be  put  to  great  inconvenience,  and  have  just  reason  to 
complain  of  such  a  location. 

"  On  behalf  of  the  application,  it  is  said  to  be  in  conformity  to  the 
principles  of  pure  republicanism  to  facilitate  the  expression  of  the  pub- 
lic voice.  Pure  republicanism  requires  that  the  opinions  and  interests 
of  a  few  should  yield  to  that  of  many,  and  not  that  the  property,  inter- 
est and  convenience  of  many  should  be  sacrificed  to  the  aggiaudizement 
of  a  few,  or  the  interest  of  one  section  or  district  of  country  to  that  of 
another.  That  it  is  proper  to  afford  an  opportunity  of  expressing  the 
public  voice  as  to  the  location  of  a  seat  of  justice  is  not  denied,  but  in 
the  present  instance  that  haa  long  since  been  done,  the  privilege  has 
been  exercised,  and  exercised  judiciously;  and  we  humbly  apprehend 
that  it  is  not  proper,  after  it  has  been  thus  exercised,  the  seat  of  justice 
located  and  property  to  a  large  amount  invested  on  the  faith  of  that  lo- 
cation, that  this  property  should  be  sMrificed,  and  the  seat  of  justice  set 
afloat  to  be  scrambled  for  by  all  those  who  may  fancy  that  the  advan- 
tages of  their  situation  entitle  them  to  it  or  enable  them  to  obtain  it. 
"But  it  is  said  that  it  is  proper  to  take  the  public  opinion  ou  the  locar 


332 


HUNTERDON    COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


tion  at  this  time,  because  part  of  the  public  buildings  have  been  de- 
stroj'ed.  The  destruction  of  part  of  the  public  buildings  undoubtedly 
renders  it  proper  that  they  should  be  rebuilt,  but  by  no  means  proper  or 
necessary  that  the  remainder  of  the  public  buildings  should  also  be  de- 
stroyed, private  propei'ty  to  a  large  amount  sacrificed,  the  harmony  of 
the  county  disturbed,  and  the  inhabitants  put  tn  much  more  expense  in 
contending  for  the  location  than  would  have  replaced  the  buildings. 
This  would  render  the  destruction  of  a  public  building  a  calamity  indeed. 

*'  Your  memorialists  humbly  trust  that  where  a  seat  of  justice  has  been 
once  located  by  the  public  voice,  legally  and  decisively  expressed,  and 
expensive  improvements  made  on  the  faith  of  that  location,  your  honor- 
able body  will  listen  to  an  application  to  change  it  only  when  coming 
from  portions  of  the  community  who  can  demonstrate  that  from  their 
local  situation  they  are  subject  to  unnecessary  inconvenience  or  oppres- 
sion, and  not  when  coming  from  those  who  have  no  such  injury  to  com- 
plain of,  but  can  boast  of  the  advantages  tliey  enjoy,  and  seek  a  change 
of  the  location  only  to  enhance  those  advantages,  raise  the  value  of  their 
property,  fill  their  empt}' liouses,  build  up  their  village,  and  aggrandize 
themselves  at  the  expense  of  their  neighbors. 

"  They  therefore  humbly  pray  that  your  honorable  body  will  not  pass 
any  law  authorizing  an  election  for  the  seat  of  justice  in  the  county  of 
Hunterdon. 

"  And  your  memorialists,  as  in  duty  bound,;will  ever  pray." 

The  bill  introduced  into  the  Legislature  providing 
for  an  election  to  determine  the  location  of  the  county- 
seat  was  negatived  in  the  House  on  Wednesday,  March 
5th,  and  on  the  following  Monday  the  board  of  chosen 
freeholders,  in  session  at  Flemington,  resolved  to  pro- 
ceed in  the  erection  of  a  court-house  and  jail  with 
convenient  dispatch,  and  appointed  apj)ropriate  com- 
mittees to  effect  the  same. 

EARLY  PHYSICIANS. 

Dr.  John  Gregg  was  an  early  resident,  and  the 
second  physician  to  locate  in  Flemington,  being  the 
successor  of  Dr.  Creed.  He  established  himself  here 
about  1790,  and  practiced  as  a  physician  and  surgeon 
from  that  time  until  1808,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Dr.  William  Geary.  Dr.  Gregg  was  (says  Mahlon 
Smith)  a  bachelor,  and  boarded  with  his  brother, 
James  Gregg,  who  lived  where  Peter  Nevius  now 
resides.  He  was  very  fond  of  hunting  and  fishing, 
and  was  crippled  in  the  leg  by  being  accidentally 
shot  by  a  fellow-hunter.  In  1808  he  removed  to 
Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  William  Geary  was  a.  Scotchman.  When  he 
came  to  Flemington  is  not  definitely  known,  but  his 
record  as  a  practicing  physician  here  dates  from  1808. 
He  was  small  of  stature,  quick,  shrewd,  a  good  horse- 
man, an  excellent  doctor,  and  a  popular  man.  In 
1832  he  was  still  in  Flemington,  but  left  shortly  after 
for  Trenton,  his  former  residence,  where  he  lived  a 
short  time,  and  died.  He  left  a  widow  and  several 
children.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Among  other  early  physicians  prior  to  1840  were 
John  Manners,  Henry  B.  Poole,  John  F.  Sohenck,  and 
William  Duryea.  (See  chapter  on  "Medical  Pro- 
fession," in  this  work,  for  further  sketches  of  Flem- 
ington physicians.) 

The  incipiency  of  the  express  business  in  this  place 
is  to  be  found  in  the  early  post-carriers,  who  seem  to 
have  made  a  practice  not  only  of  forwarding  letters, 
but  of  delivering  packages,  money,  and  light  articles^ 


very  often  without  receiving  any  compensation.  But 
Jacob  Lacy  advertised  in  the  village  paper  in  1831* 
that  he  had  "  worked  for  nothing  long  enough,"  and 
absolute!;/ would  not  forward  letters,  packages,  etc.,  un- 
less the  small  sum  charged  for  his  trouble  was  left  with 
the  article  to  be  sent,  and  that  in  no  case  would  he  go 
off  the  post-route. 

OKGANIZATION,  CIVIL  LIST,  Etc. 

Flemington  is  not  incorporated,  and  has  no  civil 
government  independent  of  the  township  of  which  it  is 
a  part,  without  we  except  the  board  of  highway  com- 
missioners. A  few  years  since  some  efibrts  were  made 
towards  securing  an  incorporation,  but,  the  project 
being  opposed  by  many  of  the  leading  citizens,  it  was 
abandoned.  An  "  Act  for  the  Improvement  of  Flem- 
ington" was  procured  from  the  Legislature  in  1870, 
which  created  the  board  of  commissioners,  defined 
their  powers,  etc. 

Board  of  Commissioners.  —  This  body,  exercising 
the  power  and  performing  the  duties  of  highway  com- 
missioners for  the  town  of  Flemington,  and  provided 
for  by  an  Act  of  the  Senate  and  General  Assembly, 
approved  March  14,  1870,  is  composed  of  seven  mem- 
bers, elected  annually.  The  board  has  been  consti- 
tuted as  follows  : 

1870-73,  John  0.  Hopewell,  Eunkle  Bea,  Samuel  M.  Higgins,  Myles 
Cunningham,  Nathaniel  G.  Smith,  Abel  W'ebster,  John  L.  Jones; 
1874,  John  C.  Hopewell,  Runkle  Bea.  John  L.  Jones,  Samuel  L. 
Higgins,  Myles  Cunningham,  Isaac  Smith,  Andrew  T.  Connet;  IS?.!, 
same  as  1874,  except  Henry  Britton  in  place  of  M.  Cunningbam ; 
1876,  Kunkle  Bea,  Isaac  Smith,  T.  R.  Trewin,  Henry  Britton,  Tunis 
Sergeant,  John  M.  Moses,  Joseph  H.  Higgins ;  1877,  Bunkle  Rea, 
Nathaniel  G.  Smith,  John  L.  Jones,  John  H.  Capner,  Tom  B.  Trewin, 
Richard  Emmons,  Joseph  H.  Higgins;  1878,  Eunkle  Rea,  John  H. 
Capner,  King  Pyatt,  William  G.  Pedrick,  J.  Wesley  Britton,  George 
Harrison,  Joseph  H.  Higgins;  1879,  Bunkle  Bea,  John  H.  Capner, 
John  W.  Britton,  David  Dunham,  Jos.  B.  Case,  William  B.  Hall, 
William  G.  Pedrick  ;  1880,  David  Van  Fleet,  John  B.  Hopewell,  John 
H.  Capner,  John  W.  Britton,  William  Pnroell,  William  H.  Hall, 
Uriah  W'arman.f 

Until  187.5  the  board  met  in  Hopewell  Hall,  since 
which  date  its  sessions  have  been  held  in  the  upper 
story  of  the  Flemington  engine-house. 

THE   POST-OFFICE. 

The  post-office  of  Flemings  (now  Flemington)  was 
established  in  1794.  James  Gregg  was  the  first  to 
handle  the  mails,  which  at  that  time  embraced  letters 
only  ;  in  fact,  it  is  only  in  quite  recent  years  tliat 
newspapers  have  been  carried  through  the  mails  in 
this  county.  They  were  distributed  through  the  vil- 
lage and  throughout  the  county  by  a  carrier  mounted 
on  a  horse,  whose  services  were  paid  for  by  the  pub- 
lisher of  the  paper.J  In  the  early  days  the  mails 
were  "posted"  in  the  same  manner.  In  1826  the 
"  Swift-Sure"  stage-coach  line  brought  letters  from 
Philadelphia,    New    York    City,    and    intermediate 


*  Hunterdon  Ckiunty  GazeUe,  Aug.  24,  18,31. 

t  The  first-named  commissioner  in  the  above  list  served  as  president 
of  the  board.  The  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  board  have  been  .lohn 
L.  Jones,  1870-76 ;  Joseph  H.  Higgins,  187f)-78  ;  Wm.  H,  Hall,  1879-80. 

X  See  files  of  the  Hnnierdon  Gasetic,  Flemington,  1825,  et  acq. 


FLEMINGTON   VILLAGE. 


333 


points  on  the  route,  three  times  a  week.  In  1829  a 
tri-weekly  mail-line  was  established  between  Trenton 
and  Flemington.  No  doubt  prior  to  these  dates  the 
mails  were  "  few  and  far  between."  In  the  po.st-office 
may  still  be  seen  a  box,  of  the  size  of  and  resembling 
a  ballot-box,  which  was  used  by  the  early  postmasters 
of  Flemington  to  contain  the  mail,  and  the  old  case 
of  "  distributing-boxes"  still  stands  in  the  office. 

The  first  printed  "  List  of  Advertised  Letters"  pub- 
lished in  Flemington  or  in  Hunterdon  County  ap- 
peared in  the  Oazette,  April  7, 1825,  and  contained  the 
names  of  "  Jacob  Buzart,  Agesilus  Besson,  Henry  Bu- 
chanan, William  M.  Bellis,  Mrs.  Sarah  Case,  Major 
Carman,  Lewis  Dunn,  Miss  Rebecca  Devitt,  Mrs.  Anne 
Housel,  George  Holcombe,  Ross  Jones,  George  N. 
Jones,  Miss  Marcia  Johnson,  Benjamin  Johnson, 
Henry  M.  Kline,  Mrs.  Henry  and  J.  M.  Kline,  Dan- 
iel Larrowe,  Mrs.  Rachel  Lanning,  Aggie  Lewrue 
(Taylor),  Michael  Murphy,  Philip  Rake,  John  W. 
Seymour,  William  Suydam,  John  Smith,  John  Sty- 
res,  Joseph  Schenck,  Joseph  Thatcher,  Cornelius 
Williamson,  Henry  Wright,  Peter  Wolverton." 

Early  in  1838  the  post-road  from  New  Brunswick  to 
Flemington  was  established  by  Congress. 

The  following  has  been  kindly  furnished  for  this 
history  by  the  present  obliging  incumbent  of  the 
Flemington  office : 

"  Post-Office  Department, 
"Officr  of  the  First  Assistant  Postmastkr-General, 

"  Washington,  D.  C,  Aug.  6, 1880. 
*'  William  Hill,  Esq.,  P.-M.  Flemington,  J.  N. : 

"Sir, — In  compliance  with  the  request  contained  in  your  note  of  the 
28th  of  July,  I  take  pleasure  in  furnishing  you  with  the  date  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  your  office,  together  with  a  list  of  all  the  postmasters 
who  have  been  appointed  since  that  time.  Owing  to  the  fire  which 
turned  the  building  on  the  15tb  of  December,  1830,  tliree  of  the  earliest 
record  books  were  destroyed,  but,  by  the  auditor's  ledgers,  which  for- 
tunately were  preserved,  it  is  ascertained  that  the  office  began  to  render 
accounts  on  the  1st  of  January,  1795.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the 
ofBce  was  established  in  the  month  of  November,  1794.  The  following 
comprises  the  list  of 

"POSTMASTEES  FROM   1794-1880: 
"James  Gregg,  November,  1794;  George  Boa,  Jr.,  July  1,  1808;  John 
Maxwell,  Jr.,  Oct.  1,  1813;  James  H.   Blackwell,  April  11,  1820; 
John  Callis,  Jan.  13, 1830;  John  S.  Brown,  June  21, 1S41;  George  W. 
Eisler,  Oct.  26, 1841 ;  James  Callis,  Aug.  2, 1845 ;  John  R.  Holcombe, 
June  9, 1849;  John  Volk,  June  18, 1853;  Joseph  H.  Higgins,  March 
30,  1853 ;  Nathaniel  G.  Smith,  May  10,  1861 ;  Asa  Jones,  Oct.  15, 
1866;  Nathaniel  G.  Smith,  March  20, 1869;*  William  Hill,  April  19, 
1877,  present  incumbent. 
"  The  foregoing  names  and  dates  are  believed  to  be  correct  as  found 
on  the  record  books  of  the  department,  each  postmaster  holding  tlie  office 
up  to  the  appointment  of  his  successor. 

"  I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  E.  C.  Fowler, 
"  For  First  Assistant  P.-M.  Gen." 

The  Flemington  office  is  now  graded  as  third  class, 
with  a  salary  of  $1500  per  annum. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  first  school  appears  to  have  been  established 
about  1760,  when  a  small,  one-story  frame  house  20 

•  At  and  from  this  date  the  office  became  "  Presidential,"  and  Mr. 
Smith  was  appointed  by  the  President,  instead  of  by  the  Postmaster- 
<3eneral. 


by  30  feet  was  erected  in  the  rear  of  the  Baptist  meet- 
ing-house. It  was  rather  a  rude  affair,  and  very 
simply  furnished.  The  second  structure  was  of  brick, 
erected  about  1812,  and  was  located  on  the  back  end 
of  the  academy  lot,  on  the  west  side  of  Main  Streert, 
nearly  opposite  the  Baptist  church  and  facing  Church 
Street.  Rev.  W.  W.  Blauvelt,  D.D.,  then  a  young 
man  of  eighteen,  taught  in  the  academy  about  1818. 

The  brick  school-house  was  known  as  the  "  acad- 
emy" at  least  as  early  as  182G.  In  that  year  the  trus- 
tees of  the  academy  resolved  to  open  a  classical 
school.  They  proposed  that  "  all  branches  usually 
attended  to  in  our  most  respectable  academies  shall 
be  taught."  This  school  was  to  "be  under  the  imme- 
diate superintendence  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clark  (pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  place),"  the  pupils 
being  expected  to  board  in  the  same  house  with  the 
principal,  and  applications  for  admission  to  be  made 
to  the  president  of  the  board  of  trustees,  John  F. 
Clark,  to  Andrew  Miller,  Esq.,  or  to  Mr.  Charles 
George.t  William  M.  Hough  was  engaged  as  teacher 
of  the  English  department,  and  the  school  opened 
Oct.  16,  1826.     In  1827  he  became  principal. 

Feb.  25,  1829,  the  trustees  advertised  for  "  a  suit- 
able teacher  to  take  charge  of  the  English  department 
in  the  academy."  Edward  Murray  was  secured,  and 
the  village  paper  announced  that  he  would  "open 
school  in  the  academy  on  Wednesday,  Nov.  25, 1829." 
Charles  Parties,  Esq.,  also  taught  in  this  school  in 
1822.  J.  J.  Rockafellow  taught  in  the  "academy" 
in  1840.  The  old  Flemington  Academy  building  is 
still  standing,  about  100  yards  west  of  the  Baptist 
church. 

The  oldest  deed  of  school  property  in  this  district, 
to  be  found,  bears  date  of  Jan.  1,  1812.t  Among  the 
early  teachers  here  Mahlon  Smith  names  Messrs. 
Leigh,  Mendham,  Kissam,  and  Brown,  and  says  the 
latter  was  the  last  teacher  in  the  old  building,  which 
stood  in  the  rear  of  the  Baptist  church.  The  first 
trustees  were  Peter  Haward,  Thomas  Capner,  James 
Clark,  Jonathan  Hill,  and  John  Maxwell. 

Various  select  schools  have  been  taught  here  from 
time  to  time.  One  of  the  earliest  was  that  of  an 
English  maiden  lady,  a  Miss  Allen,  in  a  house  built 
for  the  purpose  by  Mr.  Peter  Haward,  which  stood 
on  the  east  side  of  Main  Street,  a  little  north  of  where 
is  now  the  track  of  the  South  Branch  Railroad.  Miss 
Harriet  T.  Thayer  taught  a  select  female  school  in 
1829,  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  S.  Maxwell,  and  the 
same  year  Nathaniel  G.  Mattison  gave  instruction  in 
penmanship  at  the  house  of  Elnathan  Moore.  In 
1867,  Prof.  McBeth  established  an  "English  and 
classical  school,"  but  four  or  five  years  later  sold  to 
I.  N.  Leigh  and  removed  to  West  Virginia.  Mr. 
Leigh  had  charge  of  the  school  until  September, 
1880,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  it  to  Mr. 


t  Himierdon  QazeOe,  Sept.  20, 1826. 

X  Rev.  C.  S.  Conkling's  Centennial  Report,  1876. 


334 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Bahler,  who  is  now  conducting  the  same.  Sir.  Leigh, 
upon  retiring  from  this  institution,  assumed  the  man- 
agement of  the  Eingos  Academy. 

The  Flemington  High  School,  a  sclaool  conducted 
for  many  years  under  Baptist  management,  was  estab- 
lished by  Rev.  Moses  Heath  in  the  fall  of  1855.  The 
following  spring  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Jonathan 
Dayton  Merrill,  a  graduate  of  Rochester  University. 
He  had  charge  until  the  spring  of  1856,  when  he  I'e- 
turned  to  college  to  finish  his  theological  course,  hip 
place  being  taken  by  Mr. Sherwin.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1859,  John  S.  Higgins,  also  a  graduate  of  Roch- 
ester University,  became  principal,  Mr.  Sherwin  re- 
maining as  assistant.  In  the  fall  of  1861,  Cornelius 
W.  Larison  became  associate  principal,  and  at  this 
period  the  school  was  conducted  in  two  separate 
buildings,  for  the  boys  and  girls  respectively.  In  1857 
-58  there  were  180  pupils  and  5  teachers, — Mr.  Hig- 
gins, Mr.  Sherwin,  Mrs.  Higgins  {instrumental  music). 
Miss  Higgins  (drawing,  painting,  etc.),  and  Joanna 
Higgins  (the  English  branches).  Prof.  Abijah  Rit- 
teuhouse,  formerly  professor  of  mathematics  in  the 
State  Normal  School  of  New  Jersey,  was  the  last  prin- 
cipal of  this  school,  and  subsequently  became  the  first 
of  the  Reading  Academy,  when  the  classical  school 
went  out  of  existence. 

This  school  was  first  opened  in  the  old  Episcopal 
church,  where  now  is  the  residence  of  Dr.  George  H. 
Rowland,  and  subsequently  in  the  Lyceum  Hall,  then 
owned  by  Hugh  Capner.  It  was  quite  successful,  and 
did  a  noble  service  in  the  cause  of  education. 

"The  Reading  Academy,"  the  only  public  school 
in  Flemington,  was  established  in  1862  with  a  fund 
left  by  the  will  of  the  late  Daniel  K.  Reading.  The 
cost  of  erection  was  about  $6000.  In  was  named  in 
honor  of  its  founder.  The  Hon.  Alexander  Wurts 
supervised  its  construction.  Abijah  Rittenhouse  was 
the  first  principal.  After  a  few  years  he  went  to  the 
oil  regions,  being  succeeded  by  J.  R.  Enke.  Other 
teachers  since  Mr.  Enke  have  been  Isaiah  N.  Leigh, 
William  T.  Fidler,  Simeon  R.  Opdyke,  and  Prof.  R. 
F.  Pierce,  the  present  principal. 

The  building,  as  erected  in  1862,  was  a  substantial 
brick  edifice  42  x  50  feet,  two  stories  in  height,  di- 
vided into  four  rooms,  with  accommodations  for  200 
scholars.  In  1875  it  was  enlarged  and  improved  at  an 
expense  of  $4000,  embracing  eight  rooms.  During 
the  present  year  (1880)  many  important  improve- 
ments and  conveniences  have  been  introduced  at  a 
further  cost  of  $1000,  and  it  now  takes  first  rank 
among  the  public  schools  of  the  State.  The  present 
(1880)  trustees  are  David  Van  Fleet,  Chester  "Van 
Sycke,  and  G.  C.  Stiger.  The  teachers  are  R.  F. 
Pierce  (principal),  Mrs.  Mary  Cox,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Higgins, 
Miss  Caddie  Combs,  Miss  Drake,  Miss  Bailey, 

"THE  FLEMINGTON   GAS-LIGHT   COMPANY." 

In  1859  gas  was  introduced  into  this  village,  and  in 
the  following  year  the  water-works  were  established. 


These  two  important  measures  are  due  to  the  energy 
and  public  spirit  of  John  C.  Hopewell,  who  desired 
gas,  and  Charles  Bartles,  the  champion  of  the  aqueous 
element.  They  joined  issue  in  the  matter,  and  Mr. 
I3artles  procured  the  charters  for  both  institutions  in 
1859.  The  gas-works  were  built  in  the  north  part  of 
the  village,  on  Branch  Street,  near,  the  Bushkill 
Creek,  in  1859,  and  pipes  laid  throughout  the  village. 
The  incorporation  is  known  as  the  "  Flemington  Gas- 
Light  Company."  The  first  officers  were  John  C. 
Hopewell,  President ;  Bennet  Van  Syckel,  Secretary 
and  Treasurer. 

Its  present  (1880)  managers  are  :  President,  William 
P.  Emery  ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  C.  C.  Dunham ; 
Directors,  Charles  Bartles,  W.  P.  Emery,  John  C. 
Hopewell,  John  B.  Hopewell,  and  C.  C.  Dunham. 

"THE   FLEMINGTON  WATER   COMPANY." 

Water  was  introduced  so  long  ago  as  1808,  in  wooden 
logs  bored  through  the  centre,  and  was  brought  from 
Coxe's  spring,  on  the  property  now  occupied  by  Rob- 
ert Thatcher.  Mr.  Bartles  says  it  was  in  bad  repair 
in  1822,  and,  although  there  had  been  two  plugs  con- 
structed,— one  at  the  court-house  and  another  just 
north  of  the  Presbyterian  church, — the  whole  affair 
had  been  neglected  and  left  to  go  to  ruin,  so  that  for 
many  years  prior  to  1859  the  place  was  without  an 
adequate  water-supply  in  every  dry  season. 

Two  springs,  located  on  John  Capner's  and  J.  C. 
Hopewell's  lands  respectively,  were  largely  the  supply 
in  times  of  scarcity  until  the  water-works  were  built, 
water  often  being  hauled  from  them  when  wells  and 
cisterns  gave  out.  "  The  Flemington  Water  Company" 
purchased  springs  about  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of 
the  village,  and  the  first  supply  was  brought  in  iron 
pipes  from  thence  to  the  reservoir  on  Mullen  Hill. 
An  additional  reservoir,  of  three  times  the  capacity  of 
the  first  constructed,  was  afterwards  built,  adjoining 
and  connected  with  it.  An  engine-house  was  also 
built,  and  a  small  engine  put  in,  on  the  west  side  of 
the  hill,  in  Suydam's  meadows,  to  pump  water  from 
Mine  Brook  and  other  streams.  A  six-inch  main 
was  recently  laid  to  Kershow  &  Chamberlin's  mill, 
and  the  necessary  power  provided  to  pump  the  water 
from  the  South  Branch.  The  springs  before  men- 
tioned supply  all  the  water  required  for  nine  months 
in  the  year,  but  for  the  remaining  three  months  the 
South  Branch  is  now  had  to  guard  against  any  defi- 
ciency. The  first  officers  of  the  water  company  were 
Charles  Tomlinson,  President;  George  H.  Bartles, 
Secretary  and  Treasurer.  The  first  directors  were 
Bennet  Van  Syckel,  John  C.  Hopewell,  Charles  Bar- 
ties,  William  P.  Emery,  Charles  Tomlinson,  Alexan- 
der Wurts,  John  L.  Janeway,  John  G.  Reading,  and 
Hugh  Capner. 

Its  officers  for  1880  are  as  follows :  William  P.  Em- 
ery, President ;  C.  C.  Dunham,  Secretary  and  Treas- 
urer. The  board  of  directors  is  composed  of  John  C. 
Hopewell,  Charles  Bartles,  William  P.  Emery,  Alex- 


FLEMINGTON  VILLAGE. 


335 


ander  Wurts,  Joseph  H.  Higgins,  Peter  I.  Nevius, 
John  B.  Hopewell,  A.  V.  Van  Fleet,  and  C.  0.  Dun- 
ham. 

FIEE  DEPARTMENT. 

In  1842,  Samuel  Hill,  William  P.  Emery,  Abraham 
Fulper,  Mahlon  Fisher,  Wilson  Forker,  John  Capner, 
Charles  Miller,  Tunis  Sergeant,  Joseph  P.  Boss,  and 
their  associates,  were  incorporated  as  the  "  Fame  Fire 
Company  of  Flemington,"  with  a  capital  stock  not  to 
exceed  $3000,  "  which  shall  be  solely  and  exclusively 
applied  to  procuring,  maintaining,  and  repairing  such 
engines,  hose,  reservoirs  of  water,  ladders,  buckets, 
fire-hooks,  engine-houses,  and  other  implements  and 
machines,  and  to  such  other  incidental  expenses,  as 
shall  to  the  said  company  appear  best  calculated  to 
secure  the  property  of  their  fellow-citizens  from  in- 
jury or  destruction  by  fire."* 

Practically,  nothing  was  done  under  this  charter,  so 
that  the  only  protection  against  fire  which  the  people 
of  Flemington  possessed  up  to  1862  was  the  "  bucket 
brigade."  In  that  year  certain  private  individuals 
who  did  not  desire  to  leave  the  place  at  the  mercy  of 
the  flames  at  every  chance  conflagration  purchased  a 
steam  fire-engine  and  erected  a  commodious  two- story 
engine-house.  This  was  an  entirely  voluntary  action 
on  their  part.  The  names  of  these  public  benefactors 
are  engraven  upon  a  plate  on  the  engine,  and  are  as 
follows:  "The  Flemington  Water  Company,  The 
Flemington  Railroad  Company,  The  South  Branch 
Railroad  Company,  Charles  Parties,  John  L.  Jane- 
way,  John  G.  Reading,  Robert  Thatcher,  John  H. 
Capner,  Thomas  C.  Haward,  Alexander  V.  Bonnell, 
Charles  Tomlinson,  Edmund  Perry,  William  P.  Emery, 
George  F.  Crater,  Alexander  Wurts,  Bennet  Van 
Syckel,  Anderson  &  Nevius,  Hugh  Capner,  Joseph 
H.  Higgins,  Albert  G.  Smith,  John  C.  Hoiaewell.'' 

A  company  was  formed,  but  after  a  few  years  it  be- 
came disorganized.  A  year  or  two  since  it  was  recon- 
stituted, and  now  (1880)  has  the  following  officers 
and  members :  President,  A.  T.  Connet ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, L.  F.  Reinert ;  Secretary,  G.  T.  Gray  ;  Assistant 
Secretary,  C.  H.  Higgins ;  Treasurer,  J.  A.  Bullock ; 
Foreman,  John  H.  Stockton ;  First  Assistant  Fore- 
man, C.  D.  Fulper;  Second  Assistant  Foreman, 
George  W.  Fulper ;  Engineer,  George  T.  Gray ; 
First  Assistant  Engineer,  H.  Hughs ;  Second  Assist- 
ant Engineer,  Jacob  Johnson ;  Third  Assistant 
Engineer,  Frank  Gray ;  C.  A.  Anderson,  Edward  E, 
Allen,  John  H.  Bullock,  C.  D.  Burk,  William  Bellis, 
Theodore  B.  Bellis,  Peter  Bodine,  Frank  Burk,  Robert 
Baum,  James  Bellis,  A.  T.  Connet,  Samuel  Case, 
Samuel  A.  Duckworth,  George  W.  Fulper,  Charles 
D.  Fulper,  E.  B.  Fulper,  George  T.  Gray,  Frank  Gray, 
Arthur  Hughs,  S.  B.  Hill,  Davis  Hanson,  C.  H.  Hig- 
gins, Jacob  H.  Johnson,  James  H.  Kline,  William 
S.  Kline,  John  C.  Pyatt,  John  B.  Price,  L.  T.  Rein- 
ert, T.  H.  Rice,  C.  D.  Rittenhouse,  John  H.  Stockton, 

*  Acts  of  Assemlily,  1842  (passed  March  2). 


B.  P.  Stout,  George  W.  Sheppard,  J.  Q.  Thompson, 
Odell  Van  Doren,  George  Van  Ness,  Hugh  Van 
Doren,  John  Warn,  Lemuel  Warman,  L.  K.  Young. 
Some  five  or  six  years  since  the  purchasers  and 
owners  of  the  engine  property  offered  to  donate  the 
same  to  the  township  authorities  provided  they 
would  purchase  a  sufficient  quantity  of  good  hose  to 
take  the  place  of  that  which  was  old  and  unservice- 
able. This  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  engine,  etc., 
\^re  transferred  to  their  guardianship.  The  engine- 
house  is  located  on  the  lot  adjoining  and  west  of  the 
court-house,  on  Lyceum  Street.  The  second  story, 
used  as  an  assembly  room  by  the  fire-company  and 
the  board  of  highway  commissioners,  is  carpeted  and 
neatly  furnished,  the  furniture  being  the  gift  of  Dr. 
J.  H.  Schenck,  of  Philadelphia. 


Under  the  "  Act  to  regulate  the  business  of  Bank- 
ing," approved  Feb.  27,  1850,  the  "Tradesmen's 
Bank"!  and  the  "  Bank  of  North  America"  t  were  or- 
ganized at  Flemington.  The  bank  commissioners  of 
the  State,  in  their  report  for  1853,  state  that  neither 
had  gone  into  full  and  bond  fide  operation,  and  that 
the  former  had  declared  an  intention  to  "  wind  up  its 
affairs." 

The  banks  now  in  operation  are  the  following  : 

"  The  Hunterdon  'County  National  Bank  of  Flem- 
ington" is  the  successor  or  outgrowth  of  the  old 
"  Hunterdon  County  Bank,"  organized  in  1854,  under 
the  general  banking  laws  of  the  State.  Subsequently 
it  received  a  special  charter  from  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, and  was  thus  continued  until  May,  1865,  when 
it  was  converted  into  a  national  bank.  Isaac  G.  Far- 
lee  was  its  first  president,  in  1854 ;  his  successor  was 
George  A.  Allen,  followed  in  1S58  by  Charles  Bartles, 
who  now  fills  the  position.  The  cashiers  have  been 
William  Emery,  Charles  Tomlinson,  C.  C.  Dunham, 
and,  since  1876,  John  B.  Hopewell.  The  tellers  were 
successively  J.  T.  Conover,  C.  C.  Dunham,  and  J.  L. 
Connet. 

The  present  board  of  directors  are  Charles  Bar- 
ties,  John  C.  Hopewell  (vice-president),  William  P. 
Emery,  Judiah  Higgins,  Runkle  Rea,  Peter  S.  Dalley, 
Avery  Parker,  Joseph  H.  Higgins,  Peter  P.  Quick, 
John  W.  Priestly,  Andrew  Van  Syckle,  William  R. 
Risler,  and  David  Van  Fleet. 

It  has  a  capital  stock,  paid  in,  of  $200,000. 

"  The  Flemington  National  Bank"  was  organized 
April  27,  1876,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000,  and 
with  the  following  officers  and  management :  Presi- 
dent, Peter  E.  Emery;  Vice-President,  John  L. 
Jones ;  Cashier,  C.  C.  Dunham ;  Attorney,  J.  N.  Vor- 
hees ;  Directors,  C.  C.  Dunham,  Miller  Kline,  Moses 
K.  Everitt,  John  Shields,  Edward  P.  Conkling,  John 
N.  Voorhees,  William  Richards,  Jr.,  Hiram  Deats, 
Peter  E.  Emery,  John  L.  Jones,  Thomas  B.  Fidler, 

t  Ch.  T.  Cromwell  president  in  1863. 

J  L.  I.  Merriam  was  president,  and  John  C.  Coon,  Jr.,  caahier,  in  1853. 


336 


HUNTERDON    COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Zenas  L.  Nevius,  and  Peter  I.  Nevius.  The  principal 
official  changes  have  been  the  election  of  John  L. 
Jones  to  the  presidencj-  of  the  bank  in  October,  1S77, 
and  of  Peter  I.  Nevius  to  the  vice-presidency  in  No- 
vember of  the  same  year. 

The  present  officers  are  :  President,  John  L.  Jones  ; 
Vice-President,  Peter  I.  Nevius  ;  Cashier,  C.  C.  Dun- 
ham; Teller,  Louis  Anderson;  Attorney,  E.  P.  Conk- 
ling  ;  Directors,  J.  L.  Jones,  P.  I.  Nevius,  C.  C.  Dun- 
ham, George  H.  Dunham,  W.  E.  Anderson,  Millar 
Kline,  H.  A.  Holcombe,  Moses  K.  Everitt,  E.  P. 
Conkling,  Zeuas  L.  Nevius,  William  Eichards,  Jr., 
William  W.  Fisher,  and  Joseph  Plaines. 

The  bank  is  located  in  Eea's  building,  on  Main 
Street. 

"  The  Hunterdon  County  Savings-Bank  and  Trust 
Company"  was  established  in  187G,  under  a  charter 
from  the  State,  and,  although  most  of  its  officers  and 
managers  are  also  interested  in  the  "Flemington  Na- 
tional Bank,"  and  its  business  is  transacted  in  the 
banking-house  of  that  institution,  it  is  an  entirely 
separate  corporation.  It  commenced  operations  Oct. 
6,  1876,  at  which  date  the  first  deposit  was  received. 
The  result  of  this  financial  enterprise  demonstrates 
that  a  savings  institution  in  Flemington  can  hardly 
get  more  than  a  nominal  business.  After  over  three 
years  of  passive  existence  it  voted,  in  May,  1880,  to 
discontinue  the  payment  of  interest  after  July  1st 
following,  and  to  retire  its  business  as  fast  as  practi- 
cable. This  is  being  done,  and  the  bank  will  soon  be 
numbered  among  "  the  things  that  were." 

SOCIETIES. 

Various  societies  of  a  literary,  social,  or  secret  char- 
acter have  from  time  to  time  been  instituted  in  Flem- 
ington, have  flourished  for  a  season,  and  have  died 
out. 

One  of  the  associations  of  the  "  old  days"  was  the 
"  Flemington  Vigilant  Society,"  for  the  detection  of 
thieves  and  robbers.  It  was  in  existence  in  1824,  and 
no  doubt  was  organized  several  years  prior  to  that 
date.  Its  officers  in  1824^2.5  included  Thomas  Cap- 
ner.  President  and  Treasurer;  Charles  Bonnell,  Sec- 
retary ;  Capt.  Jonathan  Higgins,  Thomas  Capner, 
Neal  Hart,  Samuel  D.  Sutphin,  and  Andrew  Van 
Fleet,  Directors.  The  "  pursuers"  at  that  time  were 
William  R.  Prall,  Samuel  Higgins,  William  Marsh, 
Peter  Quick,  Robeson  Rockhill,  James  Taylor,  Thomas 
W.  Reading,  Jesse  H.  Landis,  Capt.  J.  Higgins,  and 
Charles  Bonnell.  It  had  an  existence  until  four  or 
five  years  ago,  but  for  the  last  ten  years  of  its  life  it 
was  a  mere  matter  of  form. 

The  only  societies,  other  than  those  of  a  religious 
character,  now  to  be  found  in  the  village  are  the 
lodges  of  the  Masons  and  Odd-Fellows,  and  a  re- 
cently-organized post  of  the  Grand  Army,  sketches  of 
which  are  herewith  given. 

"  Hiram  Lodge,  No.  2.5,  F.  and  A.  M.,"  was  the  first 
Masonic  organization  of  Flemington,  and  the  second 


established  in  Hunterdon  County.*  From  the  min- 
utes of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey  (August  ses- 
sion, 1811)  we  ascertain  that  a  petition,  received 
"  from  Bro.  Ephraim  F.  Ogden,  and  seven  others,  all 
Master  Masons,  praying  that  a  warrant  may  be 
granted  to  form  a  new  lodge,  to  be  held  at  Fleming- 
ton,  to  be  called  Hiram  Lodge,  No.  2.5,"  was  read,  and 
it  was  resolved  "  that  the  prayer  of  the  petition  be 
granted  and  that  a  warrant  do  issue  accordingly."! 
At  a  meeting  of  the  grand  body  held  Aug.  11,  1811, 
at  Trenton,  this  lodge  was  represented  by  Ephraim  F. 
Ogden,  W.  M.,  John  Cherry,  8.  W.,  and  Thomas  Gor- 
don, J.  W.  The  first  return  contains  seven  names, 
and  is  for  November,  1811.  Meetings  were  held  at 
Flemington  on  or  before  full  moon  on  Mondays. 
Their  last  return  to  the  Grand  Lodge  was  dated  Nov. 
13,  1820,  signed  by  Samuel  Hill,  Secretary,  and  eon- 
tains  the  names  of  .James  Herring,  W.  M.  (who  was 
a  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York, 
and  a  very  influential  and  prominent  man  there  in 
his  time) ;  John  Bush,  S.  W. ;  Dr.  William  Geary,J 
J.  W.  ;  John  T.  Blackwell,  Treas. ;  John  Maxwell, 
S.  D. ;  Jacob  Moore,  J.  D. ;  Daniel  Case,  Henry  M. 
Kline  (the  father  of  Miller  Kline),  Daniel  P.  Shrope, 
Henry  B.  Poole,  Joseph  P.  Chamberlin,  Henry  H. 
Scheuck,  Abrm.  R.  Sutphin,  Andrew  Wilson,  and 
Nathan  Price. 

Although  few,  if  any,  meetings  were  held  after 
1820,  its  warrant,  jewels,  etc.,  were  not  taken  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  until  after  November,  1826,  as  appears 
by  the  "Proceedings"  of  that  date,  p.  240. 

"  Darcy  Lodge,  No.  .37,  F.  and  A.  M.,"  held  its  first 
meeting  May  24,  18.'i.5,  under  dispensation  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  State.  Its  charter  bears  date  of 
Jan.  9,  1856,  and  its  charter  members  were  John  A. 
Partridge,  Edmund  Perry,^  John  C.  Coon,  George  F. 
Crater,?  Jacob  S.  C.  Pittinger,  John  P.  Rittenhouse, 
Justus  Leesey,  John  S.  Hockenbury,  and  William 
Nichols.  The  first  Worshipful  Master  was  John  A. 
Partridge,  in  1855-56.  His  successors  to  the  present 
time  have  been  .John  F.  Schenck,  18.57;  Edmund 
Perry,  1858;  J.  Alfred  Gray,  1859;  J.  S.  C.  Pittinger, 
1860;  J.  A.  Gray,  1861 ;  .Jacob  Young,  1862 ;  John  F. 
Schenck,  1863-64 ;  J.  A.  Gray,  1865 ;  I.  S.  Cramer, 
1866-67 ;  Henry  S.  Crater,  1868 ;  J.  A.  Gray,  1869 ; 
George  A.  Poulson,  1870 ;  Dr.  Henry  B.  Nightingale, 
1871;  William  8.  Riley,  1872;  George  T.  Robbins, 
1873-74;  John  S.  Hankinson,  1875  ;  Edward  P.  Conk- 
ling, 1876 ;  S.  S.  Robbins,  1877-78 ;  Richard  S.  Kuhl, 
1879;  A.  H.  Rittenhouse,  1880.     The  first  return  to 


*  The  first  lodge  established  was  "  Unity  Lodge,  No.  7,'"  of  Kingwood, 
in  1788. 

t  Proceedings  Grand  Lodge  N.  J.,  p.  136. 

X  Joseph  H.  Hough,  Grand  Sec,  Trenton,  writes  (Aug.  7, 1880)  of  Dr. 
Geary  :  "  He  was  a  resident  here  when  I  was  made  a  Mason,  and  I  have 
frequently  sat  in  the  lodge  with  him.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  and  his 
certificate  was  spelled  Garrioch.  I  had  it  in  my  possession  some  lime, 
then  gave  it  to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Hays,  who  is  living  a  short  distance 
from  here." 

§  Deceased. 


FLEMINGTON  VILLAGE. 


337 


the  grand  body  of  the  State,  in  1856,  shows  that  the 
lodge  then  had  22  members. 

The  present  (1880)  officers  are  Albert  H.  Ritten- 
house,  W.  M. ;  Dr.  Thomas  B.  J.  Burd,  S.  W. ;  Wil- 
liam G.  Callis,  J.  W. ;  George  T.  Gray,  Treas. ;  Wil- 
liam G.  Pedriclc,  Sec. ;  A.  T.  Connet,  Chaplain ;  Wil- 
liam E.  Trewin,  B.  D. ;  John  Warne,  J.  D. ;  Jacob 
Spangenberg  and  Elisha  S.  WyeljofF,  M.  of  C. ;  Jacob 
M.  Bellis  and  Edward  P.  Conkling  (P.  M.),  Stewards  ; 
John  S.  Hankinson  (P.  M.),  Tiler. 

This  lodge  numbers  58  members  at  the  present 
time.  Its  stated  communications  are  held  at  Masonic 
Hall,  on  the  first  and  third  Thursday  evenings  of 
each  month. 

"Flemington  Lodge,  No.  94, 1.  O.  of  0.  F.,"  was 
organized  Dec.  17,  1875,  with  the  following  charter 
members :  H.  S.  Crater,  H.  A.  Fluck,  G.  F.  Crater, 
E.  Tunnewald,  J.  P.  Eittenhouse,  J.  E.  Potts,  Frank 
JlcCue,  John  Ramsey,  and  G.  Crater.  The  first  offi- 
cers were  E.  Tunnewald,  N.  G. ;  H.  A.  Fluck,  V.  G.  ; 
H.  S.  Crater,  Sec. ;  John  Eamsey,  Treas.  The  prin- 
cipal officers  of  the  lodge  since  then  have  been  as 
follows : 

July  3, 1S76.— H.  A.  Fluck,  N.  G.;  .John  Smith,  Sec;  John  P.  Eitten- 
house, Grand  Represeutative. 

Dec.  30, 1876.— Joseph  R.  Potts,  N.  G. ;  John  Smith,  Sec. 

July  1, 1877.— Frederick  Biutlemau,  N.  G. ;  John  Smith,  Sec. ;  Henry  A. 
Fluck,  Grand  Representative. 

Dec.  24, 1877.— Frank  G.  Bush,  N,  G. ;  John  F.  Smith,  Sec. 

June  24,  1878.- John  A.  Schultz,  N.  G.;  Howard  Sutphin,  Sec;  F.  Bar- 
tleman.  Grand  Representative. 

Dec.  30, 1878.— J.  V.  Smith,  N.  G. ;  Howard  Sutphin,  Sec. 

June  30, 1879.— William  C.  March,  N.  G. ;  Wm.  H.  Johnson,  Sec. :  Joseph 
V.  Smith,  Grand  Represeutative. 

December,  1879.— Howard  Sutphin,  N.  G. ;  George  F.  Hanson,  Sec. 

July,  1880.— Davie  Hanson,  N.  G.;  Charles  Higglns,  Y.  G.;  John  H.  De- 
mott,  Sec. ;  George  W.  Grouse,  Treas. 

The  lodge  numbers  at  the  present  time  (1880)  80 
members,  and  holds  its  meetings  weekly. 

"  Major  Boeman  Post,  No.  48,"*  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Eepublic,  was  organized  in  Flemington,  Aug. 
25,  1880,  by  Chief  Mustering  Officer  Peter  F.  Rogers, 
of  Newark,  assisted  by  members  of  the  organization 
from  that  city,  Lambertville,  and  Junction.  Its 
charter  members  were  A.  T.  Connet,  John  C.  Coon, 
Simpson  S.  Stout,  James  Mattison,  Abrain  W.  Boss, 
James  S.  Fisher,  William  T.  Barber,  Hiram  G.  Voor- 
hees,  Fredolin  Bartleman,  Samuel  L.  Hart,  Cornelius 
Emmons,  Jacob  Veit,  Jeremiah  Opdyke,  George  W. 
Sheppard,  Theodore  B.  Bellis,  Francis  M.  McCue, 
Christopher  Thudeum,  John  C.  Higgins,  and  Robert 
Hugh  Kelley.  The  following  officers  were  elected : 
Post  Commander,  Andrew  T.  Connet ;  Senior  Vice- 
Commander,  John  C.  Coon ;  Junior  Vice-Commander, 
Simpson  S.  Stout;  Adjutant,  James  Mattison;  Quar- 
termaster, William  T.Barber;  Surgeon,  Abram  W. 
Boss;  Chaplain,  James  S.  Fisher;  Officer  of  the  Day, 
Theodore  B.  Bellis;  Officer  of  the  Guard,  Jacob  Veit; 

*  Originally  chai-tered  as  No.  46,  but  within  a  few  weeks  changed  to 
No.  48. 


Sergeant-Major,  Frank  M.  McCue;  Quartermaster- 
Sergeant,  Samuel  L.  Hart. 

This  new  organization  started  off  under  favorable 
auspices,  and  with  over  20  members. 

"  The  Flemington  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
No.  2,"  was  established  and  organized  in  December, 
1877.  The  design  of  the  association  is  to  assist  the 
members  in  the  acquisition  of  real  estate  and  the 
making  of  improvements  thereon,  and  removing  iii- 
eumbrances  therefrom  by  the  payment  of  periodical 
instalments,  and  also  to  accumulate  a  fund  to  be  re- 
turned to  the  members  who  do  not  obtain  advances 
when  each  share  shall  become  worth  $100. 

The  following  have  been  the  officers  and  directors 
•since  the  organization  of  the  association  up  to  the 
present  time : 

1877. — President,  diaries  Bartles  ;  Secretary,  J.  L.  Connet;  Treasurer,  J. 
T.  Thatcher ;  Directors,  A.  T.  Connet,  J.  B.  Hopewell,  Joseph  H.  Hig- 
gins, K.  S.  Kuhl,  Avery  Parker,  Elias  Vosseller. 

1878-80.— President,  Charles  Parties  ;  Secretary,  J.  L.  Connet ;  Treasurer, 
J.  T.  Thatcher ;  Directors,  Avery  Parker,  J.  B.  Hopewell,  Elias  Vos- 
seller, J.  H.  Higgins,  A.  T.  Connet,  George  T.  Gray. 

The  meetings  of  the  board  of  directors  are  held  on 
the  second  Monday  of  each  month.  The  annual 
meeting  of  the  stockholders  for  the  election  of  officers 
is  held  on  the  second  Monday  of  December  of  each 
year. 

INDUSTRIAL,  MANUFACTURES,  Etc. 

Flemington  has  several  industries  which  employ  a 
number  of  hands,  and  whose  business  adds  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  place.  Among  them  may  be  named 
the  tile-works  and  the  pottery  owned  and  operated 
by  the  Messrs.  Fulper,  the  steam  grist-mill  of  H.  & 
J.  W.  Britton,  and  the  sash-and-blind  factory  of  G. 
T.  Gray,  both  near  the  depot ;  the  marble-  and  gran- 
ite-works of  James  H.  Murphy ;  the  brush-manufac- 
tory of  Eli  C.  Cook ;  the  brick-yard  of  Pedrick  Broth- 
ers ;  while  the  manufacture  of  carriages,  wagons,  and 
sleighs  is  carried  on  by  John  E.  Skillman  and  Arthur 
Hughes. 

The  principal  business  interests  at  the  present  time 
are  the  following : 

Agricultural  Tvipleinents.—J .  P.  Bodine,  G.  H.  Slater. 

BuoiU,  elc—B.  Vosseller. 

Baola  and  SJioca.—Z.  0.  Finch,  George  A.  Rea,  Jacob  Spagennberg,  E. 
C.  Green. 

Bakery. — John  GoU. 

Confectionery. — P.  A.  Eeinert. 

Cigars  md  Tobacco.— J.  V.  Smith,  Reading  Moore. 

Dry-goods,  Ootking,  e(o.— II.  C.  Finch,  William  H.  Fulper,  Richards 
&  Sutphin,  Peter  I.  Nevius,  Nevius  Bros. 

Dnigj.— Joseph  H.  Higgins,  Alexander  B.  Allen,  J.  Miller  Bellis,  A.  J. 
Green. 

Hardware.— Q.  H.  Slater,  J.  P.  Bodine. 

Oocerics.— William  H.  Hall,  J.  W.  Race,  Wilson  Fulper,  N.  G.  Smith, 
L.  Bellis. 

Hitfes,  Tallow,  cic— George  A.  Rea. 

Ice. — David  B.  Boss. 

Jewelry.— t^yery  Parker,  S.  D.  Hart,  Lemuel  Fisher. 

Livery. — Jacob  R.  Johnson,  Jacob  Veite. 

Lumber.— W.  F.  Emery. 

Millinery.— W.re.  M.  Housell,  Mrs.  L.  M.  Davis,  Mrs.  Mary  Ramsey, 
Miss  0.  Webster,  Mrs.  Van  Zandt,  Mrs.  Brown,  Mrs.  Parks. 

Meat-Markets.-S.  W.  Wyokoff,  Stephen  G.  Gano. 


338 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Fholcgraplier. — George  B.  Spencer. 

Plaster,  Coal,  elc.—Z.  0.  Nevius  &  Co. 

JReslauranls.—J.  H.  Stockton,  Joseph  Gray,  P.  A.  Reinert. 

Seicing^machines.—^.  H.  Trimmer. 

Excess  and  Baggage.— ViWson  Moore,  Ogden  Robinson. 

Legal  Blanks. — E.  J.  Killgore. 

IToteZs.—" Union  Hotel,"  L.  Humphrey,  proprietor;  "County  House," 
William  H.  Force,  proprietor. 

Newspapers.— HunteTdon  CounUj  Democrat,  Robert  J.  KillBore,  publisher ; 
The  EmUerdon  RepMican,  'William  G.  Callis,  editor. 

MILITARY. 

In  1805  an  infantry  company  called  the  "  Fleming- 
ton  Volunteers"  was  formed.  In  September,  1807,  all 
the  members  of  this  company  volunteered  to  be  ready 
to  march  at  a  moment's  notice,  whenever  called  by 
the  Governor. 

Fifty  years  ago,  and  over,  the  martial  spirit  of  the 
Flemington  people  found  vent  through  several  com- 
panies, among  which  were  the  "  Uniform  Infantry 
Company,"  commanded  by  Capt.  Voorhees,  of  which 
0.  H.  Blackwell  was  "  orderly,"  and  Peter  I.  Case's 
troop,  the  "  Fifth"  of  the  Hunterdon  squadron,  of 
which  John  Wyckoff  acted  as  first  sergeant.  Later 
came  the  "  Flemington  Grays,"  of  which  H.  S.  Stryker 
was  orderly  in  1840. 

The  meeting  of  the  Hunterdon  brigade  of  militia 
at  Flemington  on  June  9, 1830,  was  not  only  a  notice- 
able event,  but  the  first  parade  of  the  kind  in  the 
county  deemed  of  sufficient  moment  to  receive  men- 
tion by  the  press.  The  four  regiments  were  com- 
manded respectively  by  Cols.  Parks,  Stires,  Van  Kirk, 
and  Clark.  The  several  troops  of  cavalry  composing 
the  Hunterdon  squadron  were  under  command  of 
Maj.  Mcllvaine.  Infantry  companies  ("Phoenix," 
"  Blues,"  and  "  Guards" )  belonging  to  the  independent 
battalion  of  Trenton,  and  Capt.  Gaston's  spirited 
troop  of  Somerset  cavalry,  were  also  present.  His 
Excellency  Governor  Vroom  and  suite,  Maj. -Gen. 
Stryker  and  suite,  several  of  the  field-  and  staff-officers 
of  the  Somerset  brigade,  and  Brig.-Gen.  Williamson, 
of  the  Warren  brigade,  graced  the  occasion  with  their 
presence.  The  review  and  inspection  were  highly 
creditable  to  the  Hunterdon  troops. 

"When  the  national  flag  was  insulted  at  Sumter, 
and  the  whole  North  was  aroused,  Flemington  re- 
sponded with  both  men  and  money.  The  first 
company  of  three  months'  volunteers  was  com- 
manded by  Capt.  George  A.  Allen,  and  left  in  May, 
186lJ  as  Co.  H  of  the  Third  Regiment.  Rev.  John 
L.  Janeway,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
this  village,  was  chaplain.  The  farewell  service,  held 
in  the  Presbyterian  church,  was  solemn  and  impres- 
sive. These  troops  were  the  first  that  reached  Wash- 
ington from  the  North.  (An  account  of  its  services, 
with  a  list  of  its  members,  may  be  found  in  Chapter 
X.  of  the  General  History  in  this  volume,  commencing 
at  page  116,  and  on  following  pages  sketches  of  the 
other  companies  raised  in  Flemington.) 

Rev.  Mr.  Janeway,  of  Flemington,  also  served  as 
chaplain  of  the  Thirtieth  Regiment. 


ELEMINGTON  IN   1880. 

Since  1785,  when  Flemington  became  the  county- 
seat,  the  growth  of  the  place  has  been,  although  slow, 
steadily  progressive.  The  business  incident  to  the 
seat  of  justice,  gave  then,  and  will  always  give,  an 
added  impoi*tance  to  the  little  settlement,  now  grown 
to  be  a  considerable  village,  embracing  a  present 
(1880)  population  of  1754  souls.  Its  activity  and 
wealth  were  stimulated  by  the  opening  of  "The 
Flemington  Railroad"  to  Lambertville  in  1854,  and 
still  further  by  the  building  of  the  "  South  Branch 
Railroad"  to  this  point  in  1862.  Since  then  its  pros- 
perity and  advancement  have  been  assured.  The 
beauty  of  its  situation  none  can  dispute,  while  its  fine 
churches,  good  school,  and  business  enterprise,  with 
its  healthful  climate  and  ample  supply  of  gas  and 
water,  combine  with  the  high  moral  tone,  intellectual 
culture,  and  law-abiding  character  of  its  people  to 
give  it  an  enviable  name  among  the  villages  of  this 
State.  There  are  few  places  of  its  size  that  possess 
at  once  the  rural  beauty,  the  repose  and  quiet,  and 
the  conveniences  of  the  metropolis  in  so  great  a  de- 
gree as  Flemington,  in  which  all  seem  happily  blended. 
And  in  that  distant  future  for  which  we  write  we  ven- 
ture to  prophesy  that  Flemington  will  still  stand  in  the 
fore-front  of  the  villages  (perchance  boroughs)  of  the 
State. 

The  writer  is  under  obligations,  and  hereby  returns 
thanks,  to  the  following-named  persons  (residents  of 
Flemington),  for  information  furnished  and  courtesies 
extended  during  the  compilation  of  this  sketch:  Rev. 
George  S.  Mott,  D.D.,  Hon.  Alexander  Wurts,  Charles 
Bartles,  Esq.,  Rev.  T.  E.  Vassar,  D.D.,  Robert  J.  Kill- 
gore,  editor  of  the  Democrat,  William  G.  Callis,  editor 
of  the  Republican,  John  B.  Hopewell,  C.  C.  Dunham, 
Rev.  R.  Johns,  Andrew  T.  Connet,  John  F.  Schenck, 
M.D.,  William  Hill,  postmaster,  David  Van  Fleet, 
Esq.,  John  Hyde,  county  clerk,  William  H.  Johnson, 
surrogate,  H.  G.  Chamberlin,  Col.  J.  C  Rafferty, 
Mahlon  Smith,  John  Capner,  Judiah  Higgins,  E.  P. 
Conkling,  Esq.,  A.  H.  Rittenhouse,  Dr.  Thomas  B.  J. 
Burd,  John  L.  Connet,  E.  Vosseller,  Hon.  John  T. 
Bird,  E.  R.  Bullock,  and  many  others. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


CHARLES  BAHTLES. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of  German  extraction, 
and  traces  hia  descent  from  Frederick  Bartles,  his 
grandfather.  The  latter,  while  serving  in  the  cavalry 
of  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia,  was  captured  by 
the  French,  but  succeeded  in  effecting  his  escape ; 
from  Paris  he  reached  Amsterdam,  whence  he  pro- 
ceeded to  London  and  thence  to  this  country,  arriving 
in  Philadelphia  some  time  previous  to  the  Revolution- 
ary war.     He  married  a  Miss  Apt  of  that  city,  and  sub- 


Si---^.:':  So-ioJJi-  - 


FLEMIN&TON   VILLAGE. 


339 


scquently  settled  among  the  early  German  colonists  at 
New  Germantown,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  He  was  a 
man  of  enterprise,  and  soon  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  wrought  iron  at  Hackelbarny,  on  the  line  be- 
tween Hunterdon  and  Morris  Counties.  He  followed 
this  business  several  years  in  connection  with  John 
Plum,  of  New  Brunswick,  the  maternal  grandfather 
of  Charles  Bartles,  who,  it  is  said,  manufactured  the 
first  cut  nails  ever  made  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 
In  1793,  Frederick  Bartles  was  induced  by  Col. 
Charles  Williamson,  the  agent  for  the  Pulteny  estate, 
in  what  is  now  Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.,  to  emigrate  to  the 
head- waters  of  the  Susquehanna,  near  Bath,  in  view  of 
the  great  advantages  afforded  for  the  transportation 
of  the  products  of  that  rich  country  down  the  Susque- 
hanna and  its  tributaries  to  Columbia,  Harrisburg, 
and  Baltimore.  He  settled  at  "  Bartles'  Hollow," 
now  Bradford,  N.  Y.,  where  he  built  the  first  mills, 
and  shipped  flour  and  large  quantities  of  fine  lumber 
down  the  river  in  arks.  He  was  thus  the  first  to  in- 
augurate that  mode  of  transportation  which,  before 
the  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal,  conveyed  most 
of  the  products  of  the  rich  "  Genesee  country"  to 
market  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  through  the  western 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River.  The  headquarters 
of  this  enterprise  was  at  Bath,  which  city  Col.  Wil- 
liamson founded  as  the  prospective  great  inland  com- 
mercial centre  of  New  York,  or  what  was  then  con- 
sidered "  the  West."  Within  a  few  miles  of  this  place 
Mr.  Bartles  established  himself,  constructed  a  canal 
from  the  outlet  of  Mud  Lake  to  the  Conhocton, 
through  which  he  sent  down  large  cargoes  of  flour 
and  lumber  to  Baltimore  and  other  Atlantic  cities. 

We  find  the  following  reference  to  Mr.  Bartles'  op- 
erations in  Clayton's  "  History  of  Steuben  County"  : 

"In  1798, Mr.  Bai-tles  rafted  one  hundred  thousand  feet  of  boards  from 
his  mills  to  Baltimore.  In  1800  he  ran  two  arks  from  the  same  place,  of 
which  the  following  record  was  made  by  the  county  clerk : 

"  '  Steuben  County  :— This  fourth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred,  started  from  the  mills  of  Frederick  Bartles,  on  the  outlet  of 
Mud  Lake,  two  arks  of  the  following  dimensions :  one,  built  by  Col. 
Charles  Williamson,  of  Bath,  72  feet  long  and  15  wide,  the  other,  built 
by  Nathan  Harvey,  71  feet  long  and  15  wide,  were  conducted  down  the 
Conhocton  (after  coming  through  Mud  Creek  without  accident)  to 
Painted  Post,  for  Baltimore.  .Those  arks  are  the  first  built  in  this 
country,  except  one  built  on  the  Conhocton,  at  Wliite's  saw-mill,  five 
miles  below  Bath,  by  a  Mr.  Patterson,  Sweeny,  and  others,  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, 70  feet  long  and  16  wide,  which  was  finished  and  started  about  the 
2(lth  of  March  of  the  same  year. 

" 'This  minute  is  entered  to  show,  at  a  future  day,  the  first  commence- 
ment of  embarkation  in  this  (it  is  hoped)  useful  invention. 

"'By  Henry  A.  Townbenu, 
"  ^  Clerk  of  Steuben  County.^ " 

While  Frederick  Bartles  was  engaged  in  these  en- 
terprises he  made  his  settlement  the  busy  centre  of 
other  industries.  He  was  the  first  to  manufacture 
forged  iron  in  all  the  country  west  of  Seneca  Lake  ; 
from  his  nail-factory  at  Bartles'  Hollow  were  carried 
wrought  nails  in  saddle-bags  to  different  parts  of  the 
wilderness,  and  are  now  to  be  seen  in  several  of  the 
old  buildings  in  the  vicinity  built  before  or  about  the 
beginning  of  this  century. 


One  of  the  sons  of  Frederick  Bartles  was  Andrew, 
the  father  of  our  subject.  He  resided  at  New  German- 
town,  where  he  followed  in  early  life  the  occupation 
of  a  hatter,  but  later  that  of  a  farmer.  He  married 
Catherine,  daughter  of  John  Plum,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  already  referred  to  in  connection  with  the 
iron  interest.  Mr.  Plum  was  a  lieutenant  in  Wash- 
ington's army  during  the  Revolution,  and  was  with 
the  army  at  Morristown  while  his  home  in  New 
Brunswick  was  occupied  by  British  officers.  Cathe- 
rine, the  mother  of  Charles  Bartles,  was  then  a  girl 
of  ten  or  eleven  years  of  age,  and  waited  upon  the 
officers.  A  table  on  which  these  officers  messed  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Bartles,  having  been  handed 
down  as  an  heirloom  in  his  family  by  his  grand- 
mother. It  is  of  solid  mahogany,  probably  of  German 
make,  a  fine  specimen  of  the  art,  and,  although  con- 
siderably over  a  hundred  years  old, — possibly  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty, — it  is  at  this  writing  as  good  as  new. 

Andrew  Bartles  married  Catherine  Plum  about  the 
year  1790.  The  fruit  of  their  marriage  was  eight 
children, — four  sons  and  four  daughters, — of  whom 
three  survive, — viz.,  Charles,  our  subject;  Julia  (un- 
married), who  resides  with  her  sister  near  Flemington ; 
and  Phebe,  wife  of  George  B.  Stoothoff. 

Charles  Bartles  was  born  in  New  Germantown, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  March  18,  1801.  His  early  life 
was  there  spent  on  a  farm,  where,  besides  receiving 
the  advantages  of  the  common  schools,  he  attended 
the  classical  school  of  Ernest  Louis  Hazelius,  a 
learned  Lutheran  clergyman,  educated  in  Germany, 
afterwards  Doctor  of  Divinity  and  president  of  Co- 
lumbia College,  South  Carolina.  Mr.  Bartles  also  stu- 
died under  Rev.  Dr.  Studdiford,  at  Lesser  Cross-Roads, 
in  Bedminster,  and  finished  his  preparation  for  col- 
lege under  Rev.  Horace  Galpin,  at  Lamington.  He 
was  so  far  advanced  by  these  excellent  opportunities 
that  he  entered  the  junior  class  of  Union  College  in 
September,  1819.  William  H.  Seward  was  at  that 
time  a  member  of  the  senior  class.  Mr.  Bartles  grad- 
uated with  his  classmates— Rev.  Dr.  Messier,  Judge 
Hiram  Gray,  of  Elmira,  and  others  in  1821,— and  on 
the  day  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  (March  18, 
1822)  he  arrived  at  Flemington  and  entered  as  a  stu- 
dent the  law-office  of  Nathaniel  Saxton,  Esq. 

During  the  four  years  which  followed  Mr.  Bartles 
was  engaged,  in  connection  with  his  law  studies  and 
his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  discharging  a  pecuniary 
obligation  whiteh  he  had  incurred  in  going  through 
college.  On  account  of  the  financial  embarrassment 
of  his  father,  no  assistance  could  be  rendered  him 
from  home  in  procuring  an  education ;  so  that,  during 
the  last  year  at  college,  he  had  borrowed  a  small  sum 
of  his  grandfather,  and  was,  at  the  time  of  graduation, 
three  hundred  dollars  in  debt.  This  was  no  great 
amount,  to  be  sure,  but  times  were  hard  and  business 
of  all  kinds  very  much  depressed.  It  was  during  the 
time  of  depreciated  values  and  scarcity  of  money 
which  followed  the  financial  crash  of  1817.   Still,  Mr- 


340 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Bartles  resolved  that  his  indebtedness  should  be  paid, 
as  the  first  object  to  which  he  would  devote  himself 
before  considering  plans  for  the  future.  Tlie  accom- 
plishment of  this  truly  honest  and  worthy  object  ne- 
cessitated a  course  of  self-denial  and  discipline  which 
proved  of  the  greatest  service  to  him  through  life, — 
which,  indeed,  as  Mr.  Bartles  himself  thinks,  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  future  success.  He  was  obliged  to 
eurii  all  he  could  and  save  all  his  earnings,  to  say 
"No"  emphatically  to  every  temptation  to  engage  in  so- 
cial pleasures  and  amusements, — temptations  enough 
of  this  kind  being  offered  in  the  social  habits  of 
members  of  the  bar,  and  even  of  the  bench,  of  those 
days,  in  the  convivial  parties  and,  often,  niglitly  ca- 
rousals and  dissipations  witnessed  at  the  principal 
hotel  in  Flemington.  Mr.  Bartles,  as  a  student-at- 
law  and  as  a  young  lawyer,  was  often  solicited  to  join 
these  convivial  parties,  under  the  plea  that  such  asso- 
ciations would  introduce  him  to  business,  but  he 
found  it  necessary  to  decline.  His  evenings,  and 
sometimes  a  good  portion  of  the  night,  were  occu- 
pied in  writing  at  his  desk.  Being  often  solicited  by 
friends  to  join  evening  parties  at  the  hotel,  he  persist- 
ently declined,  first  because  he  deemed  it  dishonora- 
ble to  accept  sucli  entertainments  when  he  had  not 
the  means  of  reciprocating  them,  and,  secondly,  be- 
cause such  habits  would  lead  to  dissipation,  neglect 
of  business,  and  final  ruin,  as,  alas !  proved  true  in 
the  cases  of  some  of  those  who  invited  and  urged  liim 
to  attend  their  parties.  Mr.  Bartles,  in  view  of  his 
■own  convictions  and  the  necessity  wliich  he  felt  laid 
upon  him,  adopted  habits  of  strict  temperance,  econ- 
omy, and  persistent  labor.  He  resolved  to  waste  no 
time  and  to  buy  nothing  for  which  he  could  not  pay 
the  money  down.  Guided  by  these  principles,  he  ad- 
dressed himself,  first  of  all,  to  the  work  of  paying  his 
indebtedness;  and  he  paid,  little  by  little,  as  he 
could  earn  the  means,  till  it  was  all  finally  discharged. 
Could  a  certain  drawer  in  an  old  desk  reveal  its 
secrets,  it  might  disclose  how  many  small  sums  were 
there  daily  and  weekly  deposited  from  scanty  earn- 
ings before  the  three  hundred  dollars  were  finally 
made  up.  It  took  him  till  twenty -five  years  of  age  to 
square  the  old  score,  and  at  that  period  he  began  life 
for  himself,  with  no  capital  except  the  intellectual 
and  moral  strength  he  had  gained  and  the  sound 
principles  he  had  adopted  for  self-government. 

For  fifteen  months  after  graduation  he  taught  school 
in  Flemington.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1824, 
and  at  once  commenced  practice  at  Flemington.  His 
business  increased,  and  was  continued  till  1854.  Hon. 
Alexander  Wurts,  P.  I.  Clark,  William  Maxwell, 
Nathaniel  Saxton,  and  himself  then  constituted  the 
Hunterdon  County  bar. 

In  1832,  in  connection  with  Aaron  Van  Syckel,  he 
engaged  largely  in  real  estate  operations,  which  were 
continued  till  1860.  During  this  period  they  handled 
farming  property  amounting  in  value  to  over  a  quar- 
ter of  a  million  of  dollars,  and  all  these  sales  were 


settled  \vithout  the  foreclosure  of  a  mortgage,  the  re- 
turn of  a  property,  or  the  distress  of  a  purchaser  in 
any  way.  They  never  lost  a  dollar  in  all  these  trans- 
actions, and  never  sued  but  one  man,  and  then  for  a 
sum  of  less  than  five  hundred  dollars. 

In  l.S'iO,  Mr.  Bartles  turned  his  attention  to  rail- 
road matters :  he  succeeded  in  securing  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Flenungton  Railroad,  giving  Flemington 
direct  connection  \vith  Philadelphia,  and  conferring 
substantial  advantages,  not  only  upon  the  town  itself, 
but  upon  a  large  tract  of  intervening  country. 

In  1854,  in  company  with  J.  R.  Reading  and  Mr. 
Fisher,  he  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  and  pur- 
chased large  tracts  of  timber-land  in  Pennsylvania, 
on  Bennett's  Branch  of  the  Sinnamahoning,  erecting 
mills  at  Williamsport.  The  firm  of  Reading,  Fisher 
&  Co.,  at  Williamsport,  of  which  Mr.  Bartles  has  been 
an  active  member,  has  been  among  the  heaviest 
operators  in  all  that  country  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  They  have  disposed  of  their  lumber  chiefly  to 
wholesale  dealers.  The  investments  have  proved  very 
profitable,  for,  in  addition  to  the  timber  on  the  lands, 
a  large  portion  ha-s  been  found  to  be  underlaid  with 
coal,  which  is  now  accessible  by  railroads. 

Mr.  Bartles  has  devoted  himself  so  thoroughly  to 
business  as  to  have  no  time  or  inclination  for  political 
offices,  although  as  a  politician  and  statesman  he 
might  have  achieved  eminent  success.  His  extensive 
information,  his  comprehensive  views,  above  all,  his 
knowledge  of  men  and  his  tact  and  influence  in  man- 
aging them,  are  qualities  which  fit  him  admirably  for 
the  sphere  of  the  politician  and  the  legislator,  and 
they  have  often  been  called  into  requisition  by  his 
friends  and  by  the  exigencies  of  various  public  enter- 
prises. As  one  of  the  pioneers  in  internal  improve- 
ments in  the  State,  he  was  early  enlisted  in  the  Cam- 
den and  Amboy  Railroad  and  in  the  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal,  and  assisted  these  companies  in  pro- 
curing various  acts  of  legislation  favorable  to  their 
interest.  This  he  did,  not  for  pay, — for  he  never  re- 
ceived a  dollar  for  his  services  in  their  behalf, — but 
simply  as  a  citizen,  believing  these  improvements  to 
be  of  great  advantage  to  the  State.  He  was  always, 
in  the  face  of  the  most  bitter  local  opposition,  the 
constant  and  unswerving  friend  of  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad  Company,  and  possessed  in  a  very 
high  degree  the  confidence  of  that  corporation. 
Hence  he  was  often  called  upon  to  assist  them  in 
procuring  amendments  to  their  charter  and  other  acts 
of  legislation  ;  and  when  their  influence  was  needed 
to  assist  him  in  any  emergency,  it  was  always  cheer- 
fully rendered. 

Mr.  Bartles  obtained  the  charter  for  the  Fleming- 
ton  Railroad  in  1850,  which  was  finished  through  in 
1854.  He  was  elected  first  president  of  the  road,  and 
held  that  office  till  it  went  into  the  hands  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company.  He  was  also  one 
of  the  first  directors  in  the  Belvidere  Delaware  Rail- 
road, and  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  ever  since. 


FLEMINGTON  VILLAGE. 


341 


He  was  elected  president  of  the  Hunterdon  County 
Bank  (no-ivthe  Hunterdon  County  National  Bank)  in 
1858,  and  is  still  holding  that  important  office. 

Of  the  influence  of  Mr.  Bartles  in  various  local  im- 
provements much  might  be  said  had  we  the  space  to 
enter  into  the  minutite  of  his  active  and  useful  life. 
In  most  of  the  improvements  which  have  changed 
the  aspect  of  his  village  and  much  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  rendering  them  beautiful  and   fruitful 
compared  with  half  a  century  ago,  he  has  not  only 
been  a  pioneer  but  a  steady  and   constant  worker. 
He  early  saw  the  importance  of  a  good  water-supply 
for  the  village  of  Flemington,  and  also,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Mr.  Hoi^ewell,  the  advantages  of  lighting 
the  houses  and  streets  with   gas.     The   inhabitants 
were  few  and  the  stock  hard  to  dispose  of;  neverthe- 
less these  men  united  their  energies  and  procured 
charters  for  the  gas  and  water  companies  in  the  win- 
ter of  1859.     A  large  share  of  the  stock  they  took 
themselves,  and  have  since  managed  these  interests 
successfully,  and  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  village. 
Mr.  Bartles  has  held  the  presidency  of  the  Fleming- 
ton  Water- Works  since  their  establishment. 

He  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  Neal  Hart,  of  Flem- 
ington, in  the  spring  of  1833.  She  died  Feb.  25, 1845. 
Of  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  the  issue  of  this  mar- 
riage, two  are  now  living  (1880).  He  has  also  two 
children  by  his  second  marriage  to  Eliza  Randall,  of 
New  Hartford,  N.  Y.,  who  died  March  19,  1877. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  1823,  Mr.  Bartles  came  to  board 
in  the  house  where  he  now  resides.  He  boarded  there 
until  his  marriage,  in  1833,  when  he  bought  the  place 
and  the  family  moved  out,  leaving  him  in  possession. 
He  has  lived  there  ever  since,  and  expects  to  spend 
there  the  remainder  of  his  days.  For  one  of  his  age, 
— nearly  eighty  years, — he  is  remarkably  hale  and 
active,  being  in  the  vigorous  possession  of  nearly  all 
his  bodily  and  mental  faculties. 


at  first.  After  seven  years  of  very  successful  trade, 
he  retired  from  business  in  1854  and  settled  at  Flem- 
ington, N.  J.,  on  property  purchased  of  Judge  Joseph 
Brown,  now  included  within  the  village  limits.  In 
the  improvement  of  this  property  Mr.  Hopewell  has 
expended  over  ten  thousand  dollars,  having  erecteij. 
upon  a  portion  of  it  a  fine  residence  for  his  son,  Mr. 
John  B.  Hopewell,  cashier  of  the  Hunterdon  County 
National  Bank,  and  has  made  other  desirable  im- 
provements. 

Mr.  Hopewell  married  Ann  Housell,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1835.  She 
was  born  and  broughfup  near  Flemington,  N.  J.,  and 
was  the  daughter  of  Abraham  Housell.  The  children 
of  this  union  were  seven  in  number,  six  of  whom — 
three  sons  and  three  daughters — are  living. 

Since  his  settlement  in  Flemington,  Mr.  Hopewell 
has  been  active:in  various  local  enterprises  tending  to- 
benefit  the  village  and  adjacent  country.     In  1859  he 
built  the  Flemington  Gas- Works,  which  have  been 
under  his  management  ever  since,  and  in  1860  the 
Flemington  Water-Works.     When   he   removed   to 
Flemington  he  was    elected   a   director  in   the   old 
Hunterdon    County   Bank.      When    the    bank  was 
changed  to  a  national  bank,  in  1865,  he  was  elected 
director  and  vice-president,  and  still  holds  these  offi- 
ces.    In  1864  he  built  the  fine  brick  building  of  the 
Hunterdon  County  National  Bank.     It  contains  the 
bank,  the  post-office,  and  a  store  in  the  first  story, 
lawyers'   offices  in  the   second,  and   a   commodious 
public  hall  in  the  third.     He  was  instrumental  in 
getting  for  the  village,  in  1864,  the  steam  fire-engine, 
hose,  and  apparatus,  and  the  brick  engine-house.   He 
was  president  of  the  gas  company  from  its  formation 
till  1868,  when  he  leased  both  the  gas-  and  water- 
works, and  consequently  resigned  the  presidency  of 
the   former.     He   was  president  of  the   Hunterdon 
County  Agricultural  Society  from  1858  till  February, 
1878,  when  he  declined  re-election,  on  account  of  his 
advanced  age. 


JOHN    C.    HOPEWELL. 

John  C.  Hopewell  was  born  at  Mount  Holly,  Bur- 
lington Co.,  N.  J.,  Nov.  26,  1814.  He  is  the  son  of 
Becket  and  Eebecca  Hopewell.  The  former  was  horn 
Sept.  16,  1768,  and  died  in  1827.  John  C.  Hopewell, 
when  a  boy,  was  apprenticed  to  the  hatter's  trade, 
which  he  learned  partly  at  Mount  Holly  and  finished 
in  the  city  of  Philadeliahia,  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 
He  then  followed  his  trade  as  a  journeyman  in  Phila- 
delphia about  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  he  engaged  in  the  hat  and  cap  trade  in  that  city, 
and  continued  till  the  financial  crash  of  1837,  which 
resulted  in  his  failure,  with  many  of  the  best  business 
houses  in  the  country. 

In  1842  he  removed  to  Flemington,  N.  J.,  and  re- 
established himself  in  the  hat  business,  which  he 
carried  on  successfully  five  years,  and  then  returned 
to  Philadelphia  with  good  credit  and  means  enough 
to  establish  himself  more  favorably  in  business  than 


RUNKLB    KEA. 


Eunkle  Eea  was  born  in  Flemington,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J.,  Jan.  19,  1804.     His  father,  George  Eea, 
was  born  and  brought  up  near  Pittstown,  in  the  same 
county,  and  was  a  clock-  and  watch-maker  by  trade, 
carrying  on  that  occupation  at  Princeton,  Trenton,  and, 
later,  at  Flemington,  after  his  removal  to  the  latter 
place.     He  finally  gave  up  the  business,  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  devoted  himself  to  farming  and 
milling,  having  erected  a  grist-mill  on  Sand  Brook, 
where  he  lived  and  died.     For  about  twenty  years  of 
his  life  he  was  one  of  the  judges  of  the  county  court. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Eunkle,  and  had  a  family  of 
ten  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the 
second  in  the  order  of  birth.     Eunkle  was  brought  up 
on  a  farm,  receiving  such  education  as  the  common 
schools  aff"orded,  and  continued  a  farmer  till  after  his 


342 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


marriage  to  his  first  wife,  Rachel  Manners,  which  oc- 
curred in  1834.  In  1835  he  gave  up  farming  and  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  business  at  Reaville,  then  called 
Greenville,  but  upon  the  establishment  of  a  post- 
office  there  the  name  was  changed  to  Reaville,  in  com- 


married,  for  his  second  wife,  Ellen  Sullivan,  daughter 
of  Nathan  P.  Sullivan,  of  Philadelphia,  by  whom  he 
has  had  one  child,  a  son,  deceased. 


RUNKLE   REA. 

pliment  to  Mr.  Rea,  who  was  appointed  postmaster. 
He  remained  in  mercantile  business  there  about 
thirty-four  years,  and  held  the  office  of  postmaster 
from  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  the  office  till 
1862,  when  he  was  appointed  deputy  collector  of  in- 
ternal revenue,  and  held  that  office  till  1877,  when  he 
went  out,  on  account  of  his  age,  being  seventy-four 
years  old. 

Mr.  Rea  was  a  capable  and  efficient  officer  of  the 
government,  arid  left  a  record  which  has  been  com- 
mended by  both  political  parties  for  its  .soundness  and 
honesty.  In  1869  he  disposed  of  his  mercantile  in- 
terest at  Reaville  and  removed  to  Flemington.  His 
enterprise  and  means  have  enabled  him  to  take  an 
active  part  in  the  improvement  of  the  beautiful 
county-seat  of  Hunterdon  County,  he  having  built 
several  houses  in  the  place,  besides  his  own  com- 
modious residence.  He  has  been  for  several  years  a 
director  in  the  Hunterdon  County  National  Bank.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican.  For  many  years  he  has 
been  treasurer  of  the  Hillsborough  Fire  Insurance 
Association,  located  at  Neshanic,  Somerset  Co.  He 
has  also  been  president  of  the  Street  Commission  and 
Fire  Department  of  Flemington. 

Although  in  his  seventy-seventh  year,  at  this  writ- 
ing, he  is  hale  and  vigorous,  and  attends  to  business 
with  remarkable  activity  for  one  of  his  years. 

He  had  seven  children  by  his  first  wife,  five  of 
-whom  are  living.     She  died  in  1847,  and  in  1849  he 


PETER    I.   KEVIUS. 

Peter  I.  Nevius  was  born  on  the  North  Branch  of 
the  Raritan,  in  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Jan.  8,  1824.  He 
is  a  son  of  Mina  and  Johanna  (Stoothoff')  Nevius.  The 
former  was  a  miller  and  agriculturalist  in  the  town- 
ship of  Branchburg,  Somerset  Co.,  and  in  the  latter 
part  of  his  life  removed  to  Readington,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  where  he  followed  the  same  occupation  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1861.  He  had  six  children, 
of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  fourth  and 
the  only  surviving  member  of  the  family. 

The  early  life  of  Mr.  Nevius,  up  to  the  age  of 
eighteen,  was  spent  in  Branchburg  and  Readington 
townships,  where  he  received  such  educational  advan- 
tages as  the  common  schools  afforded.  He  began  his 
apprenticeship  as  clerk  in  the  dry-goods  business  in 
New  Brunswick,  whence  he  removed  to  South  Branch, 
Somerset  Co.,  and  was  clerk  in  a  store  at  that  place 
two  years.  Early  in  1846  he  removed  to  Fleming- 
ton,  where  he  engaged  as  clerk  for  'George  W.  Risler, 
remaining  two  years,  when  he  became  clerk  for  Wm. 
P.  Emery,  and  remained  two  years  in  that  position. 

Mr.  Nevius  then  entered  into  partnership  in  mer- 
cantile business  at  Flemington  with  William  E.  An- 
derson, under  the  firm-name  of  Anderson  &  Nevius, 
in  which  relation  he  remained  till  1856,  when,  Maj. 
Lambert  Boeman  being  admitted  as  a  partner,  the 
firm  became  Anderson,  Nevius  &  Boeman,  and  so  re- 
mained till  1861,  when  Mr.  Boeman  went  into  the 
army  and  the  firm  was  dissolved,  Messrs.  Anderson 
and  Nevius  selling  out  to  Fulper  &  Connet,  After 
about  a  year  Mr.  Nevius  accepted  the  ofier  of  a  part- 
nership with  Messrs.  Fulper  &  Connet,  the  firm  being 
Fulper,  Nevius  &  Connet,  which  it  remained  a  year 
or  two,  when  the  other  partners  purchased  Mr.  Con- 
net's  interest  and  the  firm  became  Fulper  &  Nevius. 
Mr.  Nevius  continued  a  partner  in  this  firm  till  the 
spring  of  1867,  when  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Anderson,  Nevius  &  Connet,  which  existed  till 
1872 ;  the  firm  was  then  Peter  I.  Nevius  &  Co.,  Mr. 
Ezekiel  Williams  being  taken  in  as  a  partner,  and  so 
continued  till  the  spring  of  1880,  since  which  time 
Mr.  Nevius  has  been  sole  proprietor.  He  is  esteemed 
an  honorable  dealer,  and  by  close  attention  to  business 
has  been  quite  successful.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Flemington,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  has  been  a  ruling  elder  in  that  body. 

Mr.  Nevius  married  for  his  first  wife,  June  6,  1855, 
Christiana,  daughter  of  Hugh  Capner,  Esq.,  of  Flem- 
ington, by  whom  he  had  two  children.  One  died  in 
infancy ;  the  other,  Hugh  Nevius,  is  in  business  with 
his  father  as  a  clerk.  Mrs.  Nevius  died  Dec.  13, 
1865,  and  Mr.  Nevius  married  his  present  wife,  Mary 
F.,  daughter  of  Rev.  Peter  Allen,  of  Rockland  Co., 
N.  Y.,  Oct.  10,  1867. 


WEST    AMWELL. 


GEOGRAPHICAL— AREA,  ETC. 
West  Amwell  is  the  most  southerly  township  in 
Hunterdon  County.  It  is  bounded  north  by  Dela- 
ware township,  east  by  East  Amwell, — ^both  in  Hun- 
terdon County, — south  by  Hopewell,  in  Mercer  County, 
and  west  by  the  Delaware  Kiver,  which  separates  it 
from  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.  It  is  the  smallest  township  in 
the  county,  its  area  being  only  19.4  square  miles,  or 
12,185  acres.  Its  present  population  is  (1880)  1040, — 
a  very  slight  gain  since  1870,  when  it  contained  1032. 
The  increase  in  Lambertville  during  the  same  period 
has  been  338,  which  shows  that  here,  at  least,  the 
tendency  of  immigration  is  rather  to  ''city"  than  to 
"  country."     It  contains  160  farms. 

PHYSICAL  FEATURES. 

By  far  the  larger  half  of  the  township  is  hilly ;  the 
northern  portion,  however,  is  pleasantly  undulating 
and  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  cereals,  etc.,  but  the 
eastern  and  southern  parts,  from  Eocktown  to  Goat 
Hill,  are  hilly,  rough,  and  in  some  places  almost 
mountainous.  Still,  very  much  of  the  surface  of  these 
rugged  slopes  is  cultivated,  and  found  well  adapted  to 
small-fruit  culture.  "Goat  Hill"  is  bold  and  pic- 
turesque, and  of  considerable  elevation.  Its  primitive 
rocks  outcrop  in  many  places  ;  upon  its  western  face, 
near  the  Delaware  Eiver  and  Canal,  are  extensive 
quarries  of  sienitic  granite  and  trap,  worked  for 
building  purposes,  for  monuments,  and  for  the  Bel- 
gian-block pavements.  The  prevailing  rock-formation 
is  the  red  shale,  which  outcrops  in  many  places,  in 
others  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  alluvium,  which 
is  principally  disintegrated  shale.  The  south  part  of 
the  township  is  in  many  places  strewn  with  bowlders 
varying  from  a  few  hundred  pounds  to  as  many  tons' 
weight. 

The  Alexsocken  Creek  forms  a  portion  of  the  north 
line  of  West  Amwell.  In  old  deeds  is  found  the  term 
"alias  Socken,"  which  leads  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  present  cognomen  is  a  commingling  of  the  two 
words.*  This  stream  rises  in  the  township  and  flows 
mainly  westerly  and  southwesterly,  emptying  into  the 
Delaware  at  Lambertville.  The  brooks  and  rivulets 
which  swell  the  Alexsocken  in  this  township  are 
quite  insignificant  in  volume  and  length,  and  flow 

*  On  an  old  map  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  published  in  1777,  by 
■Wilham  Faden,  Charing  Cross,  from  a  survey  made  in  17G9,  the  orthog- 
raphy Is  Aliabhocking.  This  creek  has  almost  as  many  various  spell- 
ings a^  it  has  vi'indings. 


principally  in  a  northerly  direction.  Moore's  Creek 
crosses  the  southeast  corner  of  the  town,  below  Goat 
Hill,  and  southwesterly  to  the  Delaware.  The  reader 
is  referred  to  the  general  chapter  upon  the  "  Physical 
Features  of  Hunterdon  County,"  antecedent,  in  this 
work,  for  much  interesting  information  upon  this 
topic. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 
The  territory  embraced  by  what  is  now  the  town- 
ship of  West  Amwell  included  the  tracts  of  Winder, 
Stevenson,  Bull,  Wheeler,  Calow,  etc.  The  Winder 
tract  was  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township, 
fronting  on  the  Delaware. 

The  Thomas  Stevenson  tract  lay  east  of  the  Winder 
tract  in  the  southern  and  eastern  part  of  the  township. 
Neil  Grant  owned  land  next  north  of  Winder,  and 
bordered  on  the  Delaware,  as  did  also  the  400  acres  of 
Benjamin  Field  (1700),  and  the  lands  of  John  Eead- 
ing. 

To  the  northward  lay  Eichard  Bull's  tract,  and, 
next  above,  that  of  Gilbert  Wheeler. 

In  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township,  and  ex- 
tending over  the  Alexsocken  into  Delaware  township, 
was  the  tract  of  John  Calow,  from  George  Hutchin- 
son, 1695. 

The  central  and  upper  part  of  West  Amwell  was. 
occupied  by  the  Eobert  Dimsdale  tract,  of  1200  acres. 
The  Delaware  Indians  had  a  path  through  the 
woods  from  Lambertville,  through  Mount  Airy, 
Eingos,  and  Eeaville,  to  Newark,  upon  which  line  the 
Old  York  Eoad  was  subsequently  laid ;  while  another 
path  ran  from  the  banks  of  the  Minse,t  north  of 
Flemington,  to  the  wigwams  of  the  Assunpink,  at 
Trenton.  These  paths  crossed  at  Eingos.  Long 
before  there  were  any  settlers  in  Amwell  these  woods 
were  traversed  by  the  landed  proprietors,  surveyors, 
and  "  those  going  to  and  fro  between  the  settlements 
of  the  lower  Delaware  and  those  of  East  Jersey. 
When,  therefore,  land  had  been  nearly  all  taken  up 
around  those  early  settlements,  attention  was  directed 
to  this  well-known  and  attractive  region."! 

One  of  these  proprietors,  and  possibly  the  first  set- 
tler of  Amwell,  was  John  Eeading,  father  of  the  Gov- 
ernor. He  was  a  Quaker,  and  one  of  those  who  left 
England  on  account  of  persecution.     With  his  wife. 


f  A  brook  emptying  into  the  South  Branch  about  two  miles  above 
Flemingtou,  but  not  now  known  by  that  name. 
1  Rev.  Dr.  George  S.  Mott. 

343 


344 


HUNTERDON    COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Elizabeth,  he  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in 
Gloucester,  N.  J.,  previous  to  1683,  as  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  council  which  met  at  Burlington  in  that 
year.  He  settled  in  old  Amwell  above  Lambertville, 
in  what  is  now  Delaware  township,  not  long  after 
1703,  but  in  what  precise  year  is  not  now  known. 
(See  sketches  of  the  Eeading  family,  in  histories  of  ' 
Delaware  and  Earitan  townships.)  i 

One  of  the  earliest  settlers  within  the  present  limits 
of  this  township  was  Emanuel  Coryell,  for  an  account 
of  whom  see  the  history  of  Lambertville,  preceding. 

Jonathan  Pidcock,  a  son  of  Jonathan,  the  Irish 
emigrant  who  early  settled  at  Neeley's  Mills,  Bucks 
Co.,  Pa.,  after  his  father's  death  bought  property  at 
the  foot  of  Goat  Hill,  just  below  where  is  now  the 
rubber-mill,  and  erected  a  dwelling,  a  store,  and  a 
grist-mill.  This  was  prior  to  1776.  He  owned  a 
number  of  Durham  boats,  on  which  his  sons  Emanuel 
and  Charles  ran  down  the  river  cargoes  of  flour  and 
produce,  and  brought  back  store  merchandise.  When 
the  war  broke  out  his  three  eldest  sons — the  two  just 
named  and  Philip — -(vent  into  the  New  Jersey  militia, 
and  served  through  the  struggle.  John  Holcombe's 
first  purchase  was  in  1705,  of  land  just  north  of  what 
later  was  the  village  of  Lambertville.  On  it  he  built 
a  stone  house,  which  is  still  standing,  and  occupied 
by  a  tenant  of  one  of  his  descendants.  He  died  in 
1743,  and  his  will  was  proved  in  "  the  eighth  month" 
of  that  year;  Emanuel  Coryell  and  Benjamin  Canby 
were  witnesses  to  the  document.  In  it  he  bequeathed 
to  his  son  Richard,  with  other  property,  "  a  farm  in 
Amwell  township," — the  one  he  "bought  of  John 
Ways."  Richard  lived  and  died  in  the  stone  house 
erected  by  his  father.  In  that  house  Gen.  Wash- 
ington and  his  staff  found  shelter,  and  Richard  was 
their  host.  He  died  in  the  "  12th  month,  1783."  He 
left  £5  to  the  Buckingham  Meeting,  of  which  he  was 
a  member.  His  widow  rode  in  his  funeral  procession 
to  Buckingham,  on  horseback.  Samuel  Holcombe 
settled  near  Mount  Airy,  on  which  his  son,  recently 
deceased,  lived  and  died  at  an  advanced  age  (over 
eighty).  The  store  and  dwelling  long  occupied  by  him 
was  an  old  tavern  during  the  Revolution,  and  the 
Alexsauken  mill,  at  Mount  Airy,  is  of  equal  antiquity. 
In  the  previously-given  history  of  Lambertville 
will  be  found  an  extended  account  of  the  Coryell, 
Holcombe,  and  Lambert  families,  the  original  settlers 
of  that  part  of  this  township,  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred. 

One  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  Joseph  Morehead, 
an  Ifish  orphan  boy,  then  scarcely  eighteen,  might 
have  been  seen  moving  with  a  musket  on  his  shoulder, 
to  Newark,  to  join  the  gallant  Col.  Peter  Schuyler, 
with  whom  he  subsequently  marched  to  Crown  Point 
and  Ticonderoga,  sharing  all  the  hardships  of  Indian 
warfare.  Joseph  Morehead  was  born  in  1730,  and 
came  from  Ireland  in  1747.  He  immediately  enlisted 
in  Schuyler's  battalion  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 
Fighting  Indians  and  hunting  seems  to  have  princi- 


pally engaged  his  attention  until  1770,  when  he  mar- 
ried Jude  Aten  and  purchased  a  house  and  lot  in 
x\.mwcll,  where  he  commenced  to  work  at  his  trade, 
that  of  a  weaver.  He  remained  in  Amwell  until  1778, 
and  there  four  of  his  children  were  born, — John, 
Sarah,  Elizabeth,  and  Molly.  Joseph  Morehead  re- 
moved with  his  family,  in  1778,  to  Readington  town- 
ship, where  he  purchased  what  is  still  known  as  the 
"  Morehead  farm,"  near  Readington  village.  (See  the 
history  of  Readington  township  for  a  further  account 
of  this  family.) 

Thomas  Wilson,  a  colored  man,  was  an  early  resi- 
dent of  Amwell,  and  became  possessor  of  considerable 
real  estate  in  the  townships  of  Amwell  and  Hopewell,, 
viz.,  a  lot  in  Hopewell,  conveyed  to  him  hj  Joseph 
and  Sarah  Burroughs,  Aug.  1,  1802  ;*  Lot  No.  2,  in 
Amwell,  "adjoining  lands  of  William  Atchley,  and 
the  road  leading  from  Harbourtown  to  Amos  Moore's 
on  the  Delaware  River,"  by  conveyance  from  Daniel 
Coxe  Runyan  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  May  13,  1805 ; 
Lot  No.  3,  in  Hopewell,  conveyed  to  him  June  16, 
1809,  by  Nathan  Price,  sheriff  of  Hunterdon  County; 
and  lot  4,  also  in  Hopewell,  deed  dated  June  20, 1814. 
He  paid  for  these  lands  in  full,  and  occupied  them 
during  his  life.  Wilson,  however,  being  a  slave  at 
the  time  the  above  deeds  were  executed  and  during 
his  whole  life,  was  unable,  in  law,  to  hold  the  lands 
or  any  interest  in  them.  Therefore,  in  1842  (after 
Wilson's  decease,  and  subsequent  death  of  Mary,  his 
wife), — there  being  no  children,  no  relations  living, 
— the  Legislature  authorized  John  Dilts,  of  Hope- 
well, to  sell  the  lands  at  public  sale,  and  to  execute 
and  deliver  deeds  for  the  same  to  the  purchasers, 
which  was  to  be  as  valid  title  as  if  it  had  not  been 
conveyed  to  Thomas  Wilson. f 

Another  early  settler  was  Peter  Fisher,  who  emi- 
grated from  Germany,  and  about  1729  settled  on  the 
land  now  occupied  by  Caleb  Fisher,  west  of  Ringos. 
In  the  year  named  he  purchased,  for  £54,  200  acres, 
in  what  is  novv  West  Amwell,  of  Thomas  Eman.  This 
was  a  part  of  the  Benjamin  Field  tract,  located  at  and 
near  Ringos,  which  passed  through  the  hands  succes- 
sively of  Field,  Marmaduke  Horsman,  John  Arney, 
his  son  Joseph,  and  Eman,  to  Fisher.J  Upon  that 
plantation  Peter  Fisher  lived  and  died,  and  there  his 
descendants,  down  to  Caleb  F.,  have  resided.  On 
this  farm,  not  far  from  the  present  dwelling,  and  on 
the  site  of  the  old  one,  formerly  stood  an  Indian  wig- 
wam. At  the  foot  of  the  hill,  near  the  present  dwell- 
ing of  Charles  Wilson,  was  an  old  Indian  burial- 
place,  visible  to  this  day. 

Peter  Fisher  was  married  in  Germany ;  his  wife's 
name  is  not  known.  His  sons,  as  named  in  his  will, 
were  Anthony,  William,  Christopher,  and  Jacob.  In 
a  sketch  of  the  family  by  the  late  James  J.  Fisher 


*  Recorded  in  Book  G,  fol.  403,  Hunterdon  Ckiunty,  clerk's  office. 
t  Acts  of  Assembly,  1842,  pp.  G4,  66. 

t  The  release  for  tlie  surplus,  after  surveyiug,  twenty-eight  acres,  was 
dated  1730. 


WEST  AMWELL. 


345 


occur  the  additional  names  of  Peter  and  John.  They 
must  have  deceased  before  their  father,  which  would 
explain  the  omission  of  their  names  in  the  will, 
which  bears  date  "Amwell,  June  19,  1775."  An- 
thony (Tunis)  and  William  were  his  executors.  All 
the  sons,  except  William,  settled  in  West  Amwell ; 
he  located  in  East  Amwell.  Jacob,  the  youngest,  re- 
mained on  the  old  homestead.  One  of  the  daughters 
married  a  Bellis ;  another,  a  Kuhl. 

Jacob  Fisher  married  Sarah  Hoppock,  of  Amwell, 
and  had  children, — Anthony,  Peter,  Jacob,  Annie, 
Mary,  and  Sarah.  Peter  married  Annie  Runk,  and 
settled  first  in  Delaware  township,  and  later  near 
Clinton ;  of  his  descendants  a  granddaughter  only  is 
now  living  in  this  township.  Anthony  married,  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia,  and  died  without  issue. 
Jacob,  another  son  of  Jacob,  married  Anna  Cham- 
berlain, and  to  them  were  born  Sarah,  Maria,  John 
C,  Caleb  F.,  and  Lucretia,  the  latter  dying  in  infancy. 
Jacob  died  Sept.  24,  1813,  aged  nearly  thirty-four 
years ;  Anna,  his  wife,  died  Feb.  6,  1855,  aged  nearly 
seventy-two  years.  Sarah  married  Gideon  Quick  (see 
sketch  of  Quick  family) ;  Maria  became  the  wife  of 
John  H.  Larison,  and  had  four  children, — George, 
Jacob  F.,  Lucretia  Ann,  and  Abram  W.,  all  living  ex- 
cept the  last  named ;  John  C.  married,  first,  Cornelia 
Maria  Skillman,  and  had  Jacob,  Thomas  (deceased), 
Mary,  Martha,  Cornelia,  and,  second,  married  Adaline 
Chamberlain,  by  whom  he  had  three  children, — Jean- 
nie,  James  0.,  and  one  deceased.  A  sketch  of  Caleb 
F.  Fisher  may  be  found  in  the  biographical  depart- 
ment at  the  close  of  this  township  history. 

One  of  the  oldest  living  residents  of  this  township 
is  Uriah  Akers,  born  Nov.  30,  1803,  in  a  house  then 
standing  about  a  mile  east  of  the  borough,  but  which 
was  long  since  torn  down.  His  father,  who  took  the 
place  as  a  renter  of  Esq.  John  Coryell,  died  in  a  house 
at  the  foot  of  Goat  Hill  which  has  since  disappeared ; 
the  house  erected  on  its  site  is  owned  by  the  heirs  of 
Samuel  Ege,  and  occupied  by  John  Lanyer.  Ab- 
ner  Akers  died  in  February,  1844.  His  wife,  Mary, 
was  a  daughter  of  Elijah  Holcombe,  of  Holcombe's 
Island ;  she  died  in  Indiana,  where  one  of  her  daugh- 
ters resided,  and  whither  she  went  after  her  husband's 
death.  Joseph  Akers,  in  Lambertville,  son  of  the 
above,  is  the  only  survivor  living  in  this  township  of 
all  Uriah's  brothers  or  sisters.  His  sister  Cordelia 
married  successively  Solomon  Price  and  Christopher 
Case,  in  West  Amwell,  then  moved  to  Indiana,  where 
she  married,  for  her  third  husband,  a  Mr.  Ballard. 
Maria,  who  married  Aardn  Holcombe,  resides  in 
Iowa.  These  are  all  that  are  living ;  those  deceased 
were  named  Daniel,  Leah,  and  Ruth,  the  latter  being 
the  wife  of  Samuel  Skillman. 

Uriah  Akers  married,  in  1830,  Elizabeth  Clauson, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Nailor)  Clauson, 
who  at  the  time  of  their  death  were  living  at  the  foot 
of  Bell-mont.  The  children  born  to  them  were:  1, 
Thomas,  1831 ;  died  in  1832.  2,  Mary  Elizabeth,  1832 ; 
23 


living  in  Lambertville,  the  wife  of  Edward  Leonard. 
3,  Camille,  1834 ;  married  George,  son  of  Daniel  and 
Mary  (Ronsafer)  Moore,  and  lives  at  Trenton.  4,  Ab- 
ner,  1836 ;  now  in  Maryland.  5,  Joanna,  1837  ;  died  in 
1838;  6,  Ruth,  1839;  died  in  1855.  7,  Sarah  Cath- 
arine, 1840 ;  married  John  Cofiee ;  is  a  widow,  resid- 
ing in  Lambertville.  8,  Lavinia,  1842;  living  in 
Lambertville,  unmarried.  9,  Charlotte,  1844;  mar- 
ried Elwood  Kitchen,  and  resides  in  Trenton.  10, 
Emma  M.,  1847;  wife  of  Ely  Green,  of  Trenton. 
11,  Louisa,  1849  ;  died  in  infancy.  12,  Uriah,  1851 ; 
died  at  Fort  Preble,  Portland,  in  1873.  13,  Samuel 
H.,  1853 ;  died  in  1866.  Uriah  Akers,  Sr.,  and  his 
wife  are  now  living  on  Goat  Hill. 

Among  other  prominent  early  families  maybe  men- 
tioned the  Phillips,  the  Wyckoffs,  and  the  Abbotts. 
The  first  named  was  quite  numerous  in  this  section  in 
the  early  days.  Capt.  John  Phillips  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolution,  in  which  struggle  his  company  did 
good  service.  He  lived  on  the  Rocktown  road,  about 
a  mile  from  that  village,  on  the  place  now  owned  by 
Robert  Fisher.  Hannah  Phillips  is  a  granddaughter 
of  Capt.  John. 

The  Wyckoffs  lived  near  Rocktown,  and  John  kept 
the  hotel  then,  as  did  also  Daniel,  his  son.  The 
family  burial-ground  is  on  the  Robert  Fisher  farm. 
John  Wyckoff  died  Sept.  30,  1831. 

Benjamin  and  Nelson  Abbott,  in  the  south  part  of 
the  township,  are  the  only  ones  now  owning  land  in 
this  section  out  of  a  once  numerous  family.  John 
Abbott,  fatlier  of  the  above,  was  twice  married, — first 
to  Ann  Schenck,  and  subsequently  to  Mar.garet  Boor- 
eam.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  lived  on  a  lot  now 
owned  by  Baxter  Agin.  For  a  time  he  resided  on  the 
Wesley  Drake  farm.  His  children  were  John  S., 
Nelson,  and  Joseph  by  his  first  marriage,  and  Ann 
S.,  William,  Benjamin,  and  Isaac  W.  by  his  second. 

Another  old  residenter  was  John  .Tames,  who  died 
at  an  advanced  age  at  Pennington  in  1880.  He  owned 
a  large  tract  of  land  east  of  Jonathan  L.  Phillips'. 
None  of  his  children  are  living. 

George  Peterman  commenced  the  tanning  and  cur- 
rying business  at  the  "  Prime  Hope  tannery"  in  the 
spring  of  1828.  This  tannery  had  previously  been 
occupied  by  Cornelius  Coryell. 

In  1826 — fifty-four  years  ago — the  following  mer- 
chants were  trading  at  Lambertville :  S.  D.  &  J.  D. 
Stryker,  Knowles  &  Co. ;  James  B.  Bowen,  boots  and 
shoes;  John  Scudder  &  Co.,  proprietors  of  the  Eagle 
Distillery.  It  may  be  interesting  to  note  the  market- 
prices  of  that  date.  They  are  given  by  the  Hunter- 
don County  Gazette  as  follows  : 

"  LamhertviUe  Price  Current. 
Sept.  13, 1826. 

Wheat,  new 80-85 

Rye,        "    •'56 

Corn 62-.65 

Outs 37-.i0 

Flour,  super 2.76-3  00 

Xiye,        "     2.00-2.26 

Dried  apples -50 

Flaxseed 1.10-1.15 


346 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Mustard  seed 4.00 

Flax 08-(l9 

Hams 09-10 

Butter .16 

Lard .09 

Eggs 12H 

John  Lambert  was  postmaster  of  Lambertville  in 
1827.  He  died  Feb.  6,  1828,  and  was  succeeded/'by 
William  Garrison.  We  give  the  following  letter-list 
of  Jan.  7,  1828:  "Miss  Eaohel  Phillips,  Philip 
Young,  William  Eittenhouse,  Mrs.  Ann  Bacon,  Cath- 
arine Smith,  William  Case,  Samuel  Hensel,  Philip 
Purson,  John  K.  Large,  Tunis  Quick,  Jared  S.  Stout, 
Christopher  Cool,  Joseph  Palmer." 

The  first  storehouse  was  built  by  Emanuel  Coryell, 
near  the  residence  of  Griffith  Williams.  There  was  a 
bridge  over  the  river  in  1812  or  1814,  and  a  few  years 
later  (1817)  the  first  church  edifice  was  erected, — that 
of  the  Presbyterians.  At  the  foot  of  Goat  Hill,  near 
the  rubber-mill,  stood  an  old  stone  tavern,  one  of  the 
first,  if  not  the  very  first,  erected  in  the  town.  Its 
roof  sloped  on  one  side  so  as  to  reach  the  ground,  and 
the  massive  chimney  was  at  one  corner  of  the  build- 
ing. Among  other  old  buildings  that  survived  those 
early  days  until  recently  is  the  "  Old  Red  Tavern,'' 
near  Smith's  mills,  and  recently  occupied  as  a  dwell- 
ing, and  the  old  Krewson  house,  in  the  rear  of  Cor- 
win's  shops  ;  both  are  torn  down. 

It  is  stated  by  a  recent  writer  of  local  reminiscences 
that  Lambertville  was  first  known  as  "  Bungtown." 
This  is  traditional,  and  has  no  verification  in  history. 

Pidcock's  (or  Prime  Hope)  mills,  down  the  river, 
and  the  Alexsockin  mill  at  Mount  Airy,  were  in  ex- 
istence before  the  Revolution. 

Prime  Hope  went  down  at  the  time  the  "  feeder" 
was  being  built.  Andrew  Larison's  mill,  two  and  a 
half  miles  east,  purchased  prior  to  1830;  he  ran  it 
until  his  death,  in  1861,  and  then  it  became  the  prop- 
erty of  his  sons,  Benjamin  and  Andrew,  who  sold  to 
Joseph  Romine ;  it  was  burned  down  about  1870. 
Flaxseed  oil  was  made  there  prior  to  1843. 

Capt.  James  Thackenthall's  mill,  at  foot  of  Mount 
Airy  hill,  is  an  old  grist-mill ;  about  twelve  years  ago 
he  became  its  possessor,  and  has  since  operated  it. 

Isaac  Matthews  had  a  small  oil-mill  half  a  mile 
below  Larison's  mill,  since  burned  down. 

OLD    AMWELL. 

As  the  history  of  neither  of  the  civil  divisions  framed 
out  of  the  territory  of  Amwell  as  it  existed  prior  to 
1838  can  give  a  fair  view  of  the  township  in  the  early 
days  (and  an  attempt  to  so  treat  it  would  involve  a 
repetition  of  the  same  facts  and  statements  in  each  of 
them),  it  is  here  attempted  to  throw  together  some 
matters  which  the  author  desires  to  place  on  record 
in  these  pages. 

From  1709-14,  Amwell  was  one  of  the  three  towns 
which  constituted  the  county  of  Burlington.  The  act 
of  March  15,  1713-14,  setting  off"  Hunterdon  County, 
made  the  Assuripink  the  southern  boundary  and  left 
Amwell  one  of  the  four  towns  which  lay  to  the  north 


of  it.  Its  southern  boundary  has  been  but  little,  if 
any,  altered  since  that  date,  but  on  the  north  almost 
every  succeeding  decade  has  witnessed  a  loss  of  terri- 
tory by  the  formation  of  new  towns.  Thus,  before 
1753,  Reading,  Kingwood,  Lebanon,  and  Bethlehem 
were  erected.  Thenceforward,  until  1838,  it  existed 
as  a  tract  of  country  about  twelve  miles  square, 
bounded  by  the  Delaware  River  on  the  west,  by  the 
"South  Branch"  on  the  east,  by  the  Hopewell  town- 
ship line  on  the  south,  and  by  the  present  southern 
line  of  Kingwood,  Franklin,  and  Readington  town- 
ships on  the  north. 

In  1785,  when  Flemington  became  the  county-seat, 
it  was  in  Amwell  township,  and  so  remained  until 
1838,  in  which  year  it  was  divided  into  three  parts 
(Raritan,  Delaware,  and  Amwell) ;  in  1846  the  lower 
third  j^art,  then  known  as  Amwell,  was  erected  into 
two  townships,  each  retaining  the  old  name  with  the 
distinctive  appellation  of  "East"  and  "West." 

EABLT   KECOEDS   OF   OLD   AMWBLL. 

The  officers  of  Amwell  township  for  1723,  as  appears 
by  the  court  records,  etc.,  at  Flemington,  were  George 
Green  and  Samuel  Cook,  Freeholders ;  Samuel  Green, 
"  'Sessor"  ;  John  Knowles,  Collector ;  Daniel  Howell 
and  Thomas  Windor,  Commissioners  of  Highways. 

In  1724,  George  Green  and  John  Holcombe  were 
the  chosen  freeholders;  1725,  David  Howell  and 
Daniel  Robins,  Freeholders ;  John  Manners,  "  'Ses- 
sor" ;  John  Holcombe,  Collector;  Jacob  StuU  and 
Henry  Ketcham,  Commissioners  of  Highways ;  John 
Holcombe  and  Jerome  Vanorst,  Overseers  of  the 
Poor.  March  14,  1726,  John  Holcombe  and  Duncan 
Oliphant,  Freeholders;  Daniel  Sebring  and  David 
Stout,  Commissioners  of  Highways ;  Samuel  Green, 
Assessor ;  John  Holcombe,  Collector. 

In  July,  1727,  it  was  "  ordered  by  the  court  that 
the  officers  of  Amwell  stand  as  they  were  last  year," 
and  in  March,  1728,  the  court  made  a  similar  order. 
It  would  appear  from  this  that  the  court  appointed 
the  officers  of  Amwell  township  at  that  time,*  and 
continued  to  do  so  until  about  1734. 

Officers  appointed  March  11,  1729,  for  Amwell: 
John  Manners,  Assessor ;  Samuel  Green,  Collector ; 
John  Knowles,  Overseer  of  the  Poor ;  Resolve  Wal- 
dron  and  Henry  Ketcham,  Surveyors  of  the  Roads  ; 
William  Miller,  Constable. 

In  May,  1730,  the  Court  of  Hunterdon  County  ap- 
pointed the  following  officers  for  Amwell :  Henry 
Ketcham  and  George  Fox,  Surveyors  of  the  Roads ; 
John  Manners,  Assessor ;  Peter  Lomas,  Collector; 
David  Stout,  Sr.,  Overseer  of  the  Poor  ;  Samuel  Fur- 
man,  Constable. 

In  March,  1734,  occurs  the  first  mention  of  a  town- 
meeting  being  held  in  Amwell  and  officers  chosen. 
The  following-named  were  elected :  Thomas  Ketcham, 

*  The  reports  of  the  election  of  officers  for  the  townships  of  Trenton, 
Hopewell,  and  Hanover  are  given  in  the  records  of  1727,  hut  no  mention 
of  an  election  in  Amwell. 


WEST   AMWELL. 


347 


Henry  Ketcham,  Freeholders ;  Samuel  Green,  Asses- 
sor; Philip  Ringo,  Collector;  Rudolph  Harley,  Con- 
stable; Samuel  Barns,  Deputy  Constable;  John  Hol- 
combe  and  Joseph  Hixon,  Surveyors  of  the  Roads ; 
Samuel  Green,  Township  Clerk. 

March,  1735,  the  assessor  and  collector  were  re- 
elected, but  there  was  a  change  in  the  other  offices, — 
viz.,  John  Reading  and  Joseph  Hixon,  Commissioners 
of  Highways ;  Samuel  Stout  and  Samuel  Hall,  Free- 
holders ;  Johannis  Moor,  Constable. 

In  1737  the  list  of  officers  elected  was  handed  in, 
and  from  that  date  the  names  were  not  entered  in  the 
records  of  the  court,  but  placed  on  file.  In  the  May 
term  of  1738  the  township  of  Hunterdon  appears  be- 
fore the  court  by  its  clerk,  who  returned  a  list  of 
officers  elected,  which  was  read,  approved,  and  or- 
dered placed  on  file.  It  is  evidently  a  clerical  error, 
as  in  no  other  place,  in  court  or  freeholders'  records, 
is  there  mention  of  a  township  by  that  name. 

At  the  May  term  of  court,  1738,  among  the  peti- 
tions for  keeping  public-houses  which  were  then 
granted  were  the  following  for  Amwell  :  Joseph 
Inslee,  Philip  Ringo,  and  John  Taylor.  Each  was 
required  to  enter  into  a  recognizance  of  £20,  with  a 
surety  bound  in  £10  more. 

In  1746  the  licensed  innkeepers  of  Amwell  were 
Philip  Ringo,  Nathaniel  Parker,  George  Van  Bus- 
kirk,  Andrew  Petit,  Peter  Kesler,  and  Samuel  Flem- 
ing. Philip  Ringo  and  Samuel  Fleming  appear  to 
have  presided  over  their  hostelries  for  a  long  time. 
The  name  of  the  latter  appears  as  a  licensed  inn- 
keeper in  the  court  minutes  of  the  May  term,  1756 
(with  Christian  and  John  Smith  as  sureties  in  £20 
each),  and  again  in  1763.  In  the  last-named  year 
William  Fleming  was  also  licensed. 

From  an  old  town-book  of  the  township ,of  Amwell 
the  following  extracts  are  taken.     They  will  give  an 
idea  of  the  manner  of  conducting  and  recording  the 
business  of  the  township  at  that  time. 
The  first  entry  is  as  follows : 

"  At  a  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  Amwell, 
met  at  the  house  of  Derilck  Hoagland  on  the  11th  day  of  March  Anno 
Dom,  1746.  The  inhabitants  then  and  there  met  and  assembled,  pro- 
ceeded to  elect  theoflicers  {following  to  sei-ve  £for  the  ensuingyear  as  the 
Act  of  Assembly  directs  : 

"  Peter  Prall,  Town  Clerk ;  Robert  Meldnim,  Constable ;  Benjamin  Stont 
(son  of  Dafid),  William  Montgomery,  Overseers  of  the  Poor ;  John  Bead- 
ing, Esq.,  Benjamin  Stout  (captain),  Godfrey  Peters,  Jacob  Pattison,  Sur- 
veyors ffor  the  Boads ;  Jacob  Mattison,  Assessor ;  Andrew  Pettit,  Col- 
lector; Daniel  Gregg,  Joseph  Higgins,  Freeholders  ;  Paul  Flagg,  Peter 
Bellisfelt,  Overseers  ffor  Earitan  Koad;  William  Hixson,  Johannes  Wil- 
liamson, Overseers  ffor  York  Eoad  and  liock  Eoad ;  John  Jewell,  Over- 
seer for  Swamp  Koad;  Adam  AUer,  Samuel  Holcombe,  Overseers  ffor 
Eiver  Eoad ;  Peter  Prall,  Clerk  ffor  the  Strays." 

March  11 ,  1745.—"  The  overseers  of  the  poor  ffor  this  town  have  agreed 
■with  Walter  Cane  to  keep  John  Huddy  in  meat,  drink,  washing,  and 
lodging,  and  clothing  sufHcient  ffor  him,  and  to  keep  the  town  indemni- 
fied ffrom  the  said  John  Huddy  ffor  the  ensuing  year,  ffor  which  the 
said  Walter  Cane  is  to  have  eight  pounds  seven  shillings,  to  be  paid  by 
the  overseers  of  said  town." 

April  8th,  1746.—"  Then  balliinced  accounts  with  William  Montgomery 
and  Benjamin  Stont,  overseers  of  the  poor,  and  there  is  due  to  tlie  town 
ffrom  Benjamin  Stout  the  sum  of  ffour  pounds  fBve  shillings  and  eleven 


pence.  And  be  it  remembered  that  there  is  in  the  hands  of  Freegift 
Stout,  of  last  year's  account,  the  sum  of  one  pound  ffive  shillings,  and 
fflve  pence,  which  is  not  discounted  in  this  year's  account,  and  is  yet  due 
Ihe  Uywny 

The  succeeding  entry  is  a  record  of  the  next  town- 
meeting  to  elect  officers,  at  which  the  same  officers 
generally  were  re-elected,  except  some  changes  in 
overseers  of  roads. 

Peter  Prall  continued  to  be  yearly  elected  clerk 
until  1761,  during  which  year  he  died,  as  we  find  by  a 
meeting  held  on  Nov.  2,  1761,  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  township  of  Amwell  at  the  house  of  John  Ringo, 
for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  town  clerk  and  clerk  for 
the  strays  in  the  place  of  Peter  Prall,  deceased ;  at 
which  meeting  Richard  Reading  was  elected  town 
clerk,  and  Joseph  Reed  clerk  for  the  strays. 

As  an  illu.9tration  of  the  depreciation  of  the  Conti- 
nental currency  towards  the  close  of  the  Revolution, 
we  find  that  in  1779-80  the  amount  levied  on  the  tax- 
payers of  the  townsliip  of  Amwell,  as  shown  by  a  set- 
tlement with  the  township  collector,  was  £32,474  lis. 
Id.,  and  on  December  2d  it  was  voted  to  raise  £6000 
for  the  support  of  the  poor,  whereas  in  1777  only  £100 
was  ordered  to  be  raised  for  that  purpose. 

One  of  the  earliest  roads  in  this  section  was  the  fol- 
lowing, record  of  which  is  found  on  page  7,  vol.  i.  of 
"  Minutes  of  Court  in  Hunterdon  County,"  in  the 
clerk's  office,  Flemington : 

"  A  draught  of  the  Amwell  Eoad  that  leads  from  Malayehik  into  the 
Koad  that  cums  from  Greens  planation  to  Cornelius  Andersons. 

"  MowNT  Amwell,  December  y  ISth,  1721 . 
"  Then  layed  out  A  Road  fewer  Rods  in  Breadth  According  to  An  Act 
of  Assembly  Made  And  provided  for  that  purpose  Beginning  in  yo  said 
townshyp  by  y  Eeadington  paith  that  leads  from  Mr,  Eeadings  old  plan- 
tation to  wher  John  Reading  now  Lives  Att  two  Black  oaks  trees  marked 
by  s*  paith  thence  along  As  Markt  to  A  white  oake  tree  Marked  To  the 
sutherd  of  Nathaniel  petits  plantation  thence  Along  As  Marked  to  A 
hickory  tree  Markt  by  nishaning  kricke  thence  over  s^  kricke  As  direct 
As  may  be  to  ttie  school  bowse  on  the  west  seid  of  ye  sd  schoole  howse, 
thence  Along  straight  As  marked  to  A  Black  oake  tree  on  the  west  side 
ol  the  paith  that  Leads  from  James  Stouts  to  Joseph  Hicksons  then 
along  as  marked  Betwixt  the  palatins  Land  And  John  Warforts  thenes 
Along  As  Marked  by  the  east  side  of  the  old  Indian  towne  to  A  red  oake 
tree  Marked  in  or  near  the  Line  Betwixt  Benjamin  Hicksons  Land  And 
Ruckmans  Thenes  Along  y*'  s"*  line  till  it  passeth  the  house  of  ye  s^  Ruck- 
man,  then  through  the  corner  of  yc  s<*  Ruckman  field  to  A  white  oake 
tree  thenes  Along  As  marked  to  A  Blacke  oake  tree  Marked  on  ye  east 
side  of  the  old  Koad  that  Leads  from  George  Greens  old  plantation  to  Cor- 
nelius Andersons  plantation. 
"  Layed  out  By  us  Commissioners  the  day  and  year  Above  written. 
"Philip  Eingo,  George  Green, 

"  John  Burroughs,  John , 

"  Charles  Clark,  Chas.  I.  Burroughs, 

"  CommisBioners. 
"  Entered  the  above  Draught  January  26",  1721^. 

"Alexander  Lockhart, 

"  Becorder,^' 

Feb.  4,  1722,  the  Court  ordered  the  commissioners  of 
Hanover  and  Amwell  townships  to  lay  out  a  road 
leading  from  Amwell  to  Hanover,  to  meet  at  John 
Reading's  the  1st  of  October  next  for  that  purpose. 

The  following  copy  of  the  original  order  of  the  jus- 
tices and  surveyors  of  Amwell  township  is  valuable 
as  indicating  some  of  the  early  settlers  : 


348 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"  To  Peter  Ten-it,  one  of  the  overseers  of  the  roads  in  the  township  of 
Amwell,  in  the  Coun^-  of  Hunterdon,  or  whom  it  may  concern, 
"  Whereas,  Jasper  Smith  of  Amwell  hath  complained  to  us  Joseph 
Heading  and  Thomas  Heading  Esquires  two  justices  of  the  peace  for  the 
County  of  Hunterdon,  and  Cornelius  Hoppock  and  Derrick  Hoagland  the 
surveyors  of  roads  for  the  township  of  Amwell  aforesaid,  that  he  con- 
ceives himself  injured  by  the  encroachments  made  on  a  road  laid  out,  of 
28^1*  day  of  September  1734  Beginning  at  that  time  at  a  post  in  a  road 
leading  froni  the  south  branch  of  llaritan  to  Delaware  being  also  a  corner 
between  David  Eviland  and  Andrew  Little  from  thence  down  their  line 
south  to  a  white  oak  tree  which  coruer  and  tree  being  since  down  and 
removed  we  the  subscribers  being  therefore  called  upon  as  aforesaid  to 
ascertain  the  line  as  aforesaid  on  which  the  road  was  laid  out  equally  on 
both  sides  for  a  four  rod  road  and  on  viewing  the  ground  and  having  the 
line  run  agree  as  follows,  viz.,  That  the  said  line  and  corner  for  a  begin- 
ning be  fixed  four  feet  two  inches  east  of  and  from  the  southeast  corner 
of  a  store-house  as  called  belonging  to  Eobert  Burgess  Jun^  in  a  part  of 
which  house  Cornelius  Garey  now  lives  and  runs  from  thence  south  three 
degrees  east  as  the  compass  will  now  stand  within  two  rods  of  the  front 
or  westerly  side  of  Lemuel  Piei-sons  dwelling  house  where  he  now  lives 
and  continuing  the  said  corner  to  opposite  the  meeting  house  called  the 
baptist  meeting  house,  on  which  line  you  the  said  Peter  Territ  as  over- 
seer of  the  road  aforesaid  are  hereby  requested  to  govern  yourself  and  to 
open  the  said  road  clear  of  all  obstructions  two  rods  on  each  side  of  the 
said  line — causing  the  said  road  to  be  fully  opened  to  four  rods  wide  as 
originally  laid  on  the  day  &  year  aforesaid,  pursuant  to  Act  of  Assembly 
in  such  case  made  and  provided,  given  under  our  hands  the  nineteenth 
day  of  June  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-six  1786. 

(signed)  "  Jos.  Reading, 

"  Thos.  Reading, 
"  Corns.  Hoppock, 
*'  Derrick  Hoagland." 

CIVIL  ORGANIZATION,  Etc. 
West  Amwell  township  was  formed  out  of  the  for- 
mer township  of  Amwell,  by  act  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, early  in  1846.  It  was  entitled  "  An  Act  to  Divide 
the  township  of  Amwell,  in  the  County  of  Hunterdon," 
and  was  approved  Feb.  27, 1846.  The  portion  relating 
to  this  township  was  in  tlie  following  terms  : 

"Beit  enacted"  etc.,  "  That  the  township  of  Amwell,  in  the  county  of 
Hunterdon,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  divided  into  two  separate  and  in- 
dependent townships ;  and  all  that  part  of  the  said  township  of  Amwell 
which  lies  west  of  the  middle  of  the  great  road  leading  direct  from 
Woodsville,  by  New  Market  and  Rocktown,  to  the  village  of  Ringos,  in 
said  county,  shall  be,  and  is  hereby,  set  off  into  a  separate  township,  to 
be  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  '  the  township  of  West  Amwell.'  "* 

Section  3  of  the  above-mentioned  enactment  pro- 
vides that  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  West 
Amwell  shall  hold  their  first  annual  town-meeting  at 
the  inn  of  John  Menagh,  in  the  village  of  Mount 
Airy.t 

In  1864  that  portion  of  Binges  which  lay  in  West 
Amwell— south  of  the  Old  York  Eoad,  and  west  of  the 
road  from  Eocktown  to  Eingos  Station — was,  by 
legislative  enactment,  annexed  to  East  Amwell. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  TOWN  RECORDS  OF  WEST  AMWELL. 
March  16,  I860.—"  Pursuant  to  an  act  to  divide  the  township  of  West 
Amwell  into  the  township  of  West  Amwell  and  the  town  of  Lambert- 
ville,  this  is  to  certify  that  we,  the  joint  committees  appointed  to  settle 
the  matter  of  division  and  all  liabilities,  have  this  day  settled  all  matters 
according  to  the  minutes  of  the  clerk  of  the  town  and  township,  except 
the  matter  of  roads  and  Hannah  Akers,  a  lunatic,  which  are  deferred." 

Signed  by  George  A.  Kohl,  George  B.  Holcombe, 
commissioners  of  Lambertville ;  Gideon  Phillips,  Nel- 
son V.  Young,  commissioners  of  West  Amwell. 


*  Session  Laws,  1846,  p.  81. 


t  Ibid.,  p.  82. 


April  14,  1851. — Decided  that  the  York  Eoad  be 
kept  free.  No  plank-road  on  any  road  in  said  town- 
ship that  is  a  public  road. 

1851.— Amount  of  duplicate  was  $1487.34.  "Paid 
James  N.  Reading  counsel's  fees  $5." 

1854. — The  township  of  West  Amwell  paid  142.10 
to  East  Amwell,  being  the  balance  due  after  deduct- 
ing the  debts  of  the  township. 

CIVIL  LIST  OF  WEST  AMWELL. 

The  following  persons  have  served  as  the  principal 
officers  of  the  township  from  its  organization  to  the 
present  time : 

John  H.  Wilson  was  the  first  assessor  of  West  Am- 
well (1846),  he  having  served  the  two  preceding  years 
as  assessor  of  the  former  township  of  Amwell.  He 
continued  to  fill  the  office  until  the  spring  of  1848, 
when,  Lambertville  having  been  set  off  from  West 
Amwell  and  incorporated  into  a  town,  he  was  again 
chosen,  and  served  one  year  in  the  township  as  at 
present  constituted. 

George  B.  Holcombe  was  the  first  collector  of  the 
township,  and  served  two  years,  when,  Lambertville 
being  set  off,  and  he  residing  therein,  he  was  chosen 
as  its  collector,  and  Israel  Higgins  was  elected  col- 
lector of  West  Amwell. 

The  first  township  committee  of  West  Amwell  was 
composed  of  the  following  gentlemen :  George  A. 
Kohl,  Israel  Higgins,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  Jacob  B. 
Smith,  and  John  Sebold ;  first  township  clerk,  John 
S.  Drake  ;  first  constable,  John  C.  Todd. 

In  accordance  with  a  usage  at  that  time  existing, 
the  assessor  and  collector  of  the  township  were  also 
elected  overseers  of  the  poor ;  consequently,  John  H. 
Wilson  and  George  B.  Holcombe  were  overseers  until 
Lambertville  was  set  off,  and  then  Israel  Higgins  in 
the  place  of  George  B.  Holcombe. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  officers  of  this 
township  from  its  organization  to  the  present  time  : 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 
1846,  aiarles  Holcombe,  Joseph  Phillips ;  1847-48,  Thomas  B.  Carr,  Joseph 
Phillips;  1849,  Alexander  P.  Holcombe,  Joseph  Phillips;  186U-51, 
Alexander  P.  Holcombe,  Joseph  Mathews;  1852-54,  Jos.  Mathews; 
1855,  Charles  Wilson  ;  1856-59,  Isaac  Mathews ;  1860-62,  Cornelius 
H.  Rose ;  1863-65,  Joseph  Q.  Taylor ;  1866-68,  Charles  Wilson  ;  1869- 
71,  George  H.  Mathews;  1872-74,  Peter  S.  Pidcook ;  1875-77,  Bloom- 
fleld  Blackwell ;  1878-80,  James  C.  Fackenthall. 

ASSESSORS. 
1846^9,  John  H.  Wilson  ;  1850-54,  Edward  G.  Phillips;  1855-58,  Joseph 
Phillips;  1869-62,  Samuel  Holcombe ;  1863-06,  John  S.  Drake;  1807- 
70,  Nelson  T.  Young;  1871-72,  Isaac  Mathews;  1873,  James  J. 
Fisher  ;  18^,  Isaac  Mathews  ;  1876-77,  William  H.  Drake;  1878-80, 
Jacob  F.  Lariaon. 

COLLECTORS. 
1846-47,  George  B.  Holcombe  ;  1848-52,  Israel  Higgins;  1853-55,  Daniel 
Skinner;  1866-59,  Joseph  Mathews;  1860-63,  George  M.  Holcombe; 
1864^06,  Caleb  Fisher  ;  1867-69,  Isaac  Mathews  ;  1870-72,  Alexander 
Mathews;  1873-76,  Charles  Wilson;  1875-78,  Alexander  Mathews; 
1879-80,  Edward  B.  Holcombe. 

TOWN   CLERKS. 
1846-49,  John  S.  Drake;  1850-64,  George  M.  Holcombe;  1855,  Nelson  V. 
Young ;  1856-60,  Edward  G.  Phillips  ;  1861-66,  Edward  B.  Holcombe ; 


CALEB   PARLEY  FISHER. 


Caleb  Farley  Fisher  was  born  May  6,  1S09,  on  the  estate 
where  he  now  resides,  in  West  Amwell,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J. 
The  following  history  of  this  place  was  given  by  Dr.  George  11. 
Larison,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Fisher,  on  the  occasion  of  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  marriage  of  the  occupants.  The  land  was 
purchased  of  the  Indians,  in  1703,  by  John  Mills,  William  Bid- 
die,  Jr.,  and  John  Reading,  on  the  part  of  the  province  of  West 
Jersey,  and  the  two  Indian  chiefs,  Himhammoe  and  Copounoc- 
kous,  on  the  other  part.  The  tract  contained  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  acres  more  or  less,  and  was  purchased  for  seven 
hundred  pounds.  It  was  then  divided  into  proprietary  shares 
of  Ave  thousand  acres  each,  of  which  Benjamin  Field  took  his 
portion  in  two  lots, — one  of  three  thousand  acres  fronting  on 
the  Delaware  from  Lambertville  southward,  thence  east,  and 
the  other  two  thousand  acres  in  and  around  Ringos, — of  which 
said  Benjamin  Field  conveyed  a  smaller  tract  of  two  hundred 
acres  to  certain  land  speculators  in  succession,  Marmnduke 
Horsman,  John  Arney  and  his  son  Joseph,  and  Thomas  Eaman, 
who  sold  the  same  to  Peter  Fisher  in  1729,  where  he  lived  and 
died  at  an  old  age,  and  his  children's  children  down  to  Caleb 
F.  Fisher  have  followed  him. 

On  a  site  near  the  present  dwelling,  by  a  spring  of  never- 
failing  water,  formerly  stood  an  Indian  wigwam,  and  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  near  the  dwelling  of  Charles  Wilson,  was  an 
Indian  burying-ground,  which  is  visible  to  this  day. 

Mr.  Fisher  married,  Dec.  2,  1829,  Rebecca  A.  Holcombe,  by 
whom  be  has  had  the  following  named  children:  Jacob,  born 
Aug.  23,  1830;  Ann  Elizabeth,  born  Dec.  8,  1831;  Martha  Re- 
becca, born  Dec.  23,  1833;  James  J.,  born  Oct.  18,  1835;  Sarah 
Q.,  born  Dec.  29,  1837;  Emma,  born  Sept.  9,  1839:  Farley,  born 
Nov.  1,1841;  Robert  H.,  born  Oct.  17,  1843;  Lewis  C,  born 
Aug.  21,  1845;  John,  born  Sept.  28,  1847;  Alida,  born  April 
29,  1850;  Maria  L.,  born  Oct.  11,  1853.  All  these  lived  to 
maturity. 

After  fifty  years  of  married  life,  with  its  varied  experiences, 
they  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  on  the  2d  of  December, 
1879.  The  children  were  all  present,  as  well  as  numerous 
grandchildren.  Dr.  George  H.  Larison,  of  Lambertville,  gave 
the  history  of  the  old  homestead.  Hon.  Joseph  G.  Bowne,  who 
had  been  groomsman  at  the  marriage  in  1829,  made  a  very 
appropriate  and  touching  address,  in  which  he  alluded  to  the 
changes  of  half  a  century  since  he  stood  with  the  young  bride 
and  groom  at  the  marriage  altar,  and  witnessed  the  solemn 
ceremonies  pronounced  by  that  eminent  minister,  Jacob  Kirk- 
patrick,  D.D.,  of  Ringos.  He  was  among  the  few  survivors 
present  on  that  occasion.     The  grandchildren  then  present  sig- 


nalized the  occasion  by  presenting  Mr.  Fisher  with  a  handsome 
gold-headed  cane,  and  Mrs.  Fisher  with  a  large  easy  rocking- 
chair,  accompanied  by  the  following  card: 

"  West  Asiwell,  N.  J.,  Dec.  2,  1879. 

"We,  the  undersigned  grandchildren  of  Caleb  F.  Fisher  and 
Rebecca  A.  Fisher,  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  your  marriage, 
present  you,  our  grandfather,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  with  a  cane,  and 
you,  our  grandmother,  Rebecca  A.  FisHer,  with  this  chair,  as 
remembrances  of  this  semi-centennial  anniversary  of  your 
marriage. 

"Children  of  Jacob  F.  Fisher:  Edward  G.  Fisher,  Wm.  L. 
Fisher,  Laura  M.  Fisher,  George  L.  Fisher,  Fred  Fisher,  Minnie 
J.  Fisher,  Harry  Fisher. 

"  Children  of  Wm.  F.  Holcombe :  Parley  F.  Holcombe,  Theo- 
dore F.  Holcombe,  Solomon  H.  Holcombe. 

"  Children  of  Charles  Johnson  :  Sarah  F.  Johnson,  Fisher  C. 
Johnson,  George  Johnson. 

"Children  of  James  J.  Fisher:  Charles  H.  Fisher,  S.  Harry 
Fisher,  Farley  F.  Fisher,  Anna  F.  Fisher. 

"  Children  of  George  H.  Larison  :  Francis  W.  Larison. 

"  Children  of  John  N.  Golden  :  Kate  S.  Golden,  W.  F.  Golden. 

"Children  of  Farley  Fisher:  Bertha  Fisher,  Edwin  Fisher, 
Otis  Cliflford  Fif^her,  Lizzie  H.  Fisher. 

"  Children  of  Robert  H.  Fisher:   Clinton  W.  Fisher. 

"  Children  of  Lewis  C.  Fisher  :  Laura  W.  Fisher,  Lizzie 
Fisher,  Lula  Maud  Fisher." 

The  anniversary  was  closed  by  an  invocation  and  benediction 
by  Rev.  C.  S.  Converse. 

Mr.  Fisher  has  pursued  the  occupation  of  a  farmer  on  the 
old  homestead  all  his  life,  and  has  taken  but  little  active  part 
in  politics.  He  was  the  efficient  collector  of  his  township  during 
the  war,  when  more  than  ordinary  labor  and  responsibility  de- 
volved upon  that  oEB,cer,  and  his  services  were  sought  by  his 
townsmen.  He  has  served  on  the  committee,  first  and  last,  for 
a  period  of  twenty  years,  and  at  present  holds  the  office  of 
justice  of  the  peace.  It  is,  however,  his  policy  to  make  the 
duties  of  this  office  as  light  as  possible  by  advising  his  neigh- 
bors to  settle  their  difficulties  among  themselves  without  resort 
to  litigation.  He  joined  the  First  United  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Amwell  in  November,  1831,  and  was  appointed  ruling  elder 
in  Mny,  1836,  which  office  he  still  holds.  He  has  always  lived 
on  the  homestead  on  which  he  was  born,  and  during  his  life- 
time his  church  has  passed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Newton,  then  Raritan,  and  now  New  Bruns- 
wick. 


Jacob  Reed  was  born  at  New  Market,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J.,  July  4,  1 806,  and  has  resided  there  ever 
since.  His  great-grandfather,  Richard  Reed,  was 
born  June  30,  1711,  and  his  wife,  Mary,  Nov.  9, 
1713.  He  purchased  the  property  of  Aohsa  Lambert, 
of  Trenton,  the  deed  bearing  date  April  20,  1747. 
The  estate  passed  from  him  to  his  son  John,  and  from 
John  to  Jacob  Reed,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
hence  has  had  but  three  owners  in  a  period  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-one  years.  His  father,  Levi  Reed, 
being  a  young  man  of  twenty-six  when  he  died,  did 
not  inherit  the  property. 

John  Reed,  son  of  Richard,  was  born  July  6, 1742, 
and  was  a  lieutenant  of  militia  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  He  married  Leah  Golden,  who  was  born  April 
19,  1757,  and  had  eight  children,  five  of  whom 
reached  maturity.  Of  these,  Levi  Reed,  father  of 
Jacob,  was  born  July  29,  1784,  and  married  Lena, 
daughter  of  John  Quick  and  Mary  Schenck,  both  of 
Hunterdon  County.  They  had  two  children,  one  of 
whom  died  in  infancy  ;  the  other,  Jacob  Reed,  the 
subject  of  this  notice,  was  born  July  4,  1806,  as 
above  stated.  He  inherited  from  his  grandfather  the 
farm  on  which  he  now  resides,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  acres,  portions  of  the  original 
three  hundred  and  thirty-four  acres  having  been  sold 
by  his  grandfather  at  an  earlier  date. 

Mr.  Reed  was  brought  up  on  the  farm,  and  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  common  schools.  He  has 
followed  the  occupation  of  farming  from  boyhood,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  a  successful  man  in  that  primitive 
and  honorable  callin        He  has  been  twice  married. 


He  married,  first,  Ann,  daughter  of  Thomas  Stout 
and  Elizabeth  Burrows.  She  died  Sept.  3,  1834. 
By  this  marriage  there  were  three  children,  two  of 
whom  reached  maturity,  and  one  is  still  living, — viz., 
Ellen,  wife  of  John  C.  Quick.  The  other,  Margaret, 
was  born  March  16,  1833,  married  Horatio  N.  Ege, 
of  Hopewell  township,  Mercer  Co.,  and  thence  moved 
to  Jersey  City.  She  raised  a  family  of  five  children, 
— one  son  and  four  daughters.  She  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  early  life, 
and  was  a  Christian  woman  and  a  friend  to  the  poor. 
She  died  Oct.  17, 1 875.  Her  last  words  were,  "  Hark  I 
I  hear  the  sweet  music  of  the  skies!  Briajht!  Bright !" 
Her  remains  were  deposited  in  Greenwood  Cemetery, 
New  York,  lot  No.  22,889. 

Ellen  Quick  has  two  children, — Sarah  and  Mary. 

For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Reed  married  Maria, 
daughter  of  John  Wyckofi",  of  West  Amwell,  Oct. 
31,  1837.  They  have  three  sons  living, — viz.,  John 
W.,  who  married  Sarah  F.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
and  Maria  Hunt ;  Levi  H.  Reed,  who  married  Ann 
Sarepta,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  and  Ann  Blackwell, 
who  reside  on  the  farm  t  and  Abraham  G.  Reed,  of 
Jersey  City,  who  married  Jennie,  daughter  of  Schenck 
and  Elizabeth  Moore. 

In  politics  Mr.  Reed  is  a  Republican.  He  has  held 
several  township  offices,  such  as  collector,  overseer  of 
the  poor,  member  of  the  town  committee,  etc.,  and  has 
sustained  the  reputation  of  a  man  of  honesty  and  integ- 
rity. He  has  also  held  the  office  of  commissioner  of 
deeds.  In  all  his  business  transactions  he  has  avoided 
litigation,  having  never  sued  any  one  nor  been  sued. 


WEST  AMWELL. 


349 


1866-69,  Richard  H.  Wilson  ;  1870-72,  William  H.  Drake  ;  1873-76, 
Edward  B.  Holcombe;  1877-79,  Philander  H.  Hartwell;  1880,  Seeley 
S.  Phillips. 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 
1846,  George  A.  Kohl,  Israel  Higgins,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  Jacob  B.  Smith, 
John  Sebold;  1847-48,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  John  Sebold;*  1849,  Gideon 
Phillips,  David  W.  Wilson,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  John  Sebold,  Nelson  T. 
Toang;  1850,  Gideon  Phillips,  John  H.  Wilson,  Caleb  F.  Fisher, 
John  A.  Abbott,  Nelson  T.  Young;  1851,  Gideon  Phillips,  John  H. 
Wilson,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  John  C.  Holcombe,  Nelson  V.  Tonng;  1852, 
Gideon  Phillips,  John  H.  Wilson,  Daniel  Skinner,  John  C.  Holcombe, 
Nelson  V.  Young;  1853,  John  S.  Drake,  John  H.  Wilson,  Cornelius 
H.  Rose,  Lewis  Drake,  Jacob  Eeed ;  1864,  John  S.  Drake,  John  H. 
Wilson,  Cornelius  H.  Hose,  Peter  Larew,  Jacob  Eeed ;  1855,  John  S. 
Drake,  Isaac  Mathews,  Jr.,  Cornelius  H.  Eose,  Peter  Larcw,  Jacob 
Eeed ;  1856,  John  S.  Drake,  George  Muirhead,  Cornelius  H,  Rose, 
Tunis  Fisher,  Lewis  Hagaman;  1857,  John  S.  Abbott,  George  Muir- 
head, Henry  E.  Dilts,  Tunis  Fisher,  Lewis  Hagaman  ;  1858,  John  S. 
Drake,  Vincent  E.  Mathews,  Henry  B.  Dilts,  Tunis  Fisher,  Andrew 
Holcombe ;  1869,  John  S.  Drake,  Jonathan  Phillips,  H.  E.  Dilts,  Chas. 
Wilson,  Andrew  Holcombe :  1860,  John  S.  Drake,  Peter  S.  Pidcock, 
George  E.  Wilson,  Charles  Wilson,  Andrew  Holcombe  ;  1861,  John  S. 
Drake,  Peter  S.  Pidcock,  Geo.  B.  Wilson,  Chas.  Wilson,  Isaac  Mathews, 
Jr.;  1862,  John  Cray,  Peter  S.  Pidcock,  Joseph  Sebold,  Charles 
Wilson,  Isaac  Mathews,  Jr. ;  1S63,  George  H.  Mathews,  Henry  R. 
Dilts,  Lemuel  Phillips,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  Isaac  Mathews.  Jr. ;  1864, 
George  H.  Mathews,  Henry  R.  Dilts,  Lemuel  Phillips,  Charles  Wil- 
son, Isaac  Mathews,  Jr.;  1865,  G«orge  H.  Mathews,  Jacob  Eeed, 
Lemuel  Phillips,  Charles  Wilson,  Isaac  Mathews,  Jr.;  1866,  George 
H.  Mathews,  Jacob  Reed,  Lemuel  Phillips,  Andrew  Holcombe,  Isaac 
Mathews,  Jr. ;  1867,  George  H.  Mathews,  Jacob  Eeed,  Lemuel  Phil- 
lips, Andrew  Holcombe,  Caleb  F.Fisher;  1868-69,  John  S.  Drake, 
Hiram  Wilson,  Israel  Wilson,  Andrew  Holcombe,  Caleb  F.  Fisher; 
1870,  John  S.  Drake,  Hiram  Wilson,  Elias  Lambert,  Andrew  Hol- 
combe, Caleb  F.  Fisher;  1871,  John  S.  Drake,  Hiram  Wilson,  Elias 
Lambert,  Eichard  H.  Wilson,  Caleb  F.  Fisher ;  1872,  John  S.  Drake, 
Hiram  Wilson,  Ellas  Lambert,  Eichard  H.  Wilson,  Alfred  Buchanan ; 
1873,  Caleb  F.  Fisher,  Hiram  Wilson,  John  G.  Muirhead,  Eichard  H. 
Wilson,  Asher  Ege ;  1874,  Robert  H.  Smith,  Jacob  A.  Wilson,  Samuel 
E.  Vanbuskirk,  Alfred  Buchanan,  Asher  Ege ;  1876,  John  S.  Drake, 
Jacob  A.  Wilson,  Samuel  E.  Vanbuskirk,  Alfred  Buchanan,  Theo- 
dore H.  Smith;  1876,  John  S.  Drake,  Jacob  A.  Wilson,  Samuel  E. 
Vanbuskirk,  Hiram  Wilson,  Theodore  H.  Smith ;  1877,  John  S. 
Drake,  Isaac  Mathews,  Robert  H.  Fisher,  Hiram  Wilson,  Theodore 
H.  Smith ;  1878,  John  S.  Drake,  Isaac  Mathews,  Robert  H.  Fisher, 
Hiram  Wilson,  Peter  S.  Pidcock ;  1879,  Peter  S.  Pidcock,  Robert  H. 
Fisher,  John  H.  Wilson;  1880,  Lemuel  Phillips,  John  S.  Drake, 
Charles  Wilsou. 

VILLAGES. 

There  are  no  villages  of  any  importance  in  this 
township,  nor  any  post-office,  Lambertville,  Eingos, 
etc.,  affording  postal  facilities. 

Mount  Airy  contains  a  church,  a  school,  a  black- 
smith- and  wagon-shop,  a  store  (kept  by  A.  B.  Hol- 
combe), and  a  grist-mill,  owned  by  James  Fackenthall, 
and  about  a  dozen  dwellings.  The  hotel  formerly 
kept  here  has  gone  down. 

Rocktown  and  New  Market  are  partly  within  East 
Amwell.  At  the  former  there  was  early,  and  for 
many  years,  a  tavern,  now  occupied  as  a  store  (see  an 
account  of  New  Market,  in  history  of  East  Amwell). 

CHURCHES. 
The  only  churches  in  West  Amwell  are  the  small 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  New  Market,  supplied 

*  Notwithstanding  a  diligent  search  was  made  by  the  writer,  and  many 
of  the  citizens  of  the  township,  for  some  of  the  missing  town  records, 
these  two  years  were  not  satisfactorily  filled.  The  two  persons  named 
evidently  served  in  1847-48,  having  been  elected  in  1846,  and  being  still 
in  office  in  1849. 


by  the  pastors  of  that  denomination  located  at  Lam- 
bertville, and  the  feeble  Unitarian  Society  "  on  the 
mountain."  But  Lambertville,  with  its  numerous 
and  fine  houses  of  worship,  as  well  as  the  several 
churches  at  Eingos  and  other  adjacent  points,  afford 
the  people  of  the  township  ample  religious  privileges. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  four  school  districts  of  this  township  are  num- 
bered 104,  105,  106,  and  107,  and  are  known  by  the 
appellations  of  Eocktown,  Mount  Airy,  High  Valley, 
and  Mount  Eange,  respectively.  Each  district  has  a 
very  good  school-house,  particularly  that  of  Mount 
Airy,  which  is  valued  at  about  $2000,  the  others  at 
from  $500  to  $600  each.  These  schools  have  three 
male  and  one  female  teacher,  who  taught  last  year 
an  average  of  nearly  ten  months,  giving  instruction 
to  106  scholars.  As  the  buildings  will  comfortably 
seat  200  pupils,  the  facilities  and  accommodations 
seem  to  be  equal  to  the  present  demand  or  the  needs 
of  the  immediate  future,— unless  the  323  children  of 
school  age  in  the  township  should  all  become  imbued 
with  a  desire  for  knowledge  and  attend  at  the  same 
time.  In  1879  there  were  62  children  in  the  township 
who  did  not  attend  either  public  or  private  schools. 

The  following  history  of  the  schools  is  compiled, 
by  permission,  from  the  "  Centennial  Eeport  of  the 
Schools  of  Hunterdon  County,"  1876,  by  the  then 
officiating  county  school  superintendent,  Eev.  Corne- 
lius S.  Conkling. 

In  the  Eocktown  district.  No.  104,  the  first  school- 
house,  built  of  logs,  stood  in  Hagaman's  woods,  near 
C.  F.  Fisher's  farm.  When  it  was  erected  cannot  be 
learned.  John  Mountain  taught  there  very  early, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  he  was  the  first  teacher. 

The  second  school-house  was  a  frame  one,  and 
stood  on  the  corner  of  the  lot  where  the  present 
building  stands.  It  was  built  about  eighty -five  years 
ago.  The  oldest  teacher  in  this  building  that  is  now 
remembered  was  Joshua  Jones.  The  house  now  in 
use  was  built  in  1854.     It  is  a  frame  building. 

District  No.  105  is  known  as  "  Mount  Airy.''  In 
1798  there  was  a  school-house  on  the  farm  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  Hon.  I.  G.  Bowne ;  in  1800  there 
was  a  school-house  on  the  farm  of  Hon.  F.  S.  Hol- 
combe, near  the  station.  There  were  also  school- 
buildings  on  the  farms  respectively  of  Joseph  Hop- 
pock,  west  of  Mount  Airy  station,  and  Samuel  Barber, 
near  Dilts'  Corner.  The  last-named  house,  when 
rebuilt,  was  removed  to  Van  Dolah's,  and  is  now  the 
school-house  of  District  96,  and  both  were  in  what 
are  now  the  bounds  of  "  Van  Dolah's."  Master  Moun- 
tain also  taught  in  the  Mount  Airy  district. 

The  first  house  of  which  any  very  clear  knowledge 
can  be  ascertained  was  20  feet  square,  of  stone,  and 
octagonal  in  shape.  Judge  Holcombe  says,  "  I  com- 
menced going  to  school  in  this  house  in  1823,  and 
Joshua  Jones  was  my  first  teacher."  Nelson  V. 
Young,  now  of  Lambertville,  taught  here  for  fifteen 


350 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


years.     The  old  school-house  was  still  standing  in 
1877,  when  the  present  one  was  erected  on  its  site. 

High  Valley  district,  No.  106,  has  a  neat  but  small 
school-building,  but  we  can  give  no  data  of  their  early 
schools  or  houses. 

In  Mount  Eange,  No.  107,  the  first  house  was  of 
stone,  20  by  22  feet,  but  when  built  or  where  located 
is  not  known.  The  present  building  was  erected  in 
1858 ;  it  is  21  by  28  feet,  and  has  good  seating  accom- 
modations. 

SOCIETIES,  Etc. 

The  only  incorporated  company  (outside  of  Lam- 
bertville  and  its  industrial  interests)  of  which  we  find 
any  mention  is  the  "  Lambertville  and  Rocky  Hill 
Turnpike  Company,"  incorporated  by  act  of  the 
Legislature  in  1860.  Ingham  Coryell,  Charles  A. 
Skillman,  Alexander  B.  Holcombe,  Bloomfield  Black- 
well,  David  0.  Larue,  Jacob  V.  Young,  Joseph  B. 
Dalrymple,  John  L.  Case,  aud  John  Riley  were  the 
corporators,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $20,000.  Their 
charter  of  incorporation  empowered  them  to  "  con- 
struct a  plank  or  turnpike  road  from  Lambertville  to 
Rocky  Hill,  in  Somerset  County,  with  a  branch  from 
the  same  at  or  near  Ringos  to  Ringos  Station,  on  the 
Flemington  Railroad."* 

"  The  Mount  Airy  Vigilant  Society"  was  organized 
on  the  second  Wednesday  in  January,  1873,  with  the 
following  officers:  C.  F.  Fisher,  President;  Isaac 
Mathews,  Vice-President;  Edward  B.  Holcombe, 
Treasurer;  F.  S.  Holcombe,  Secretary.  Its  first  di- 
rectors were  John  S.  Drake,  John  H.  Wilson,  Ander- 
son Wilson,  Horace  Runkle,  and  Bloomfield  Black- 
well.  The  officers  and  managers  remain  much  the 
same  at  the  present  time. 

There  are  no  secret  societies  in  the  township,  al- 
though Lambertville  has  a  fair  representation  of  the 
various  orders. 


NOTEWORTHY  INCIDENTS  AND  PERSONAGES. 

Capts.  Cornelius  Hoppock,  John  Phillips,  and  Robert 
Sharp  were  Revolutionary  worthies  from  this  section. 
Samuel  Holcombe  was  a  scout  during  the  war,  and 
two  of  his  relatives,  Elijah  and  Maj.  George,  were 
soldiers  in  the  patriot  army.  The  latter  is  said  to 
have  been  a  most  daring  olficer.  He  was  once  cut  off 
from  his  command  by  a  party  of  British  soldiers,  and 
escaped  by  swimming  a  stream  amid  a  shower  of  bul- 
lets from  the  enemy.  Emanuel,  Charles,  and  Philip 
Pidcock,  sons  of  the  pioneer  Jonathan,  went  into  the 
militia  and  served  valiantly  through  the  war.  On 
one  occasion  a  company  of  British  and  Tories  came 
up  from  Trenton  to  "hunt  rebels."  Charles f  was  at 
home,  disabled  from  hard  marching.  He  tried  to  es- 
cape by  the  front  door,  but  that  was  guarded.  He 
went  to  the  back  door,  and  there  too  stood  two  armed 
men,  but,  taking  advantage  of  the  darkness,  he  sprang 
past  the  guard  and  fled  up  the  steep  sides  of  Goat 
Hill,  the  rocks  cutting  his  feet  at  every  step.  A  sharp 
volley  of  balls  fell  around  him,  and  the  soldiers 
rushed  up  the  hill  after  him.  Young  Pidcock  found 
a  hiding-place  under  a  large  rock ;  his  pursuers  even 
stood  upon  it,  but,  failing  to  find  him,  gave  up  the 
search.  During  the  affair  the  officer  in  command  of 
the  party  lost  his  chapeau.  Charles  became  its  pos- 
sessor, and  was  proud  of  his  trophy. 

We  refer  the  reader  to  the  history  of  Lambertville, 
in  this  work,  for  incidents  connected  with  the  Revo- 
lution, particularly  those  events  which  happened  at 
Coryell's  Ferry  and  vicinity. 

No  noteworthy  incident  has  recently  occurred  to 
excite  the  quiet  of  this  peaceable,  industrious  people. 
A  memorable  occasion,  however,  was  the  golden  wed- 
ding of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  Dec.  13, 1859, 
and  another,  although  of  a  mournful  character,  was 
the  death  of  that  venerable  pastor. 


EAST     AMWELL. 


SITUATION,   BOUNDARIES,    Etc. 

East  Amwell  is  located  in  the  southeastern  cor- 
ner of  Hunterdon  County,  bordering  upon  both  Som- 
erset and  Mercer.  As  a  remnant  of  the  territory  of 
ancient  Amwell,  it  yet  is  noted  as  one  of  the  finest 
agricultural  districts  in  the  county.  It  now  contains 
27  square  miles  of  territory,  or  17,248  acres,  and  is 
larger  than  the  portion  from  which  it  was  severed  in 
1846,  known  as  West  Amwell. 

It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Raritan  township ; 


*  Session  Laws,  1860,  pp.  676-83. 


east  by  Hillsborough  and  Montgomery,  in  Somerset 
County  ;  south  by  Hopewell,  of  Mercer  County ;  west 
by  West  Amwell  and  Delaware  townships. 


PHYSICAL   FEATURES. 

The  surface  of  East  Amwell  is  that  of  undulating 
hill  and  dale,  except  in  its  southern  portion,  which  is 
quite  hilly  and  rough.    Its  soil,  save  in  the  small  dis- 


+  Obarles  Pidcock— known  to  the  older  citizens  as  "  Uncle  diaries"— 
tended  the  mill  at  Wells'  Falls,  aud  lived  in  a  long  narrow  house  at  the 
foot  of  Goat  Hill. 


EAST  AMWELL. 


351 


trict  mentioned,  is  very  fertile  and  suited  to  a  mixed  | 
husbandry. 

Sourland  Mountain  is  a  range  of  liigli  liills  which 
follow  along  the  south  line  of  this  township,  crosses 
its  southeast  corner,  and  runs  well  into  Hillsborough 
in  a  southwest  by  northeast  direction. 

The  principal  streams  are  the  Neshanic  Kiver  and 
Back  and  Eocky  Brooks.  The  former  heads  in  Dela- 
ware township,  flows  nearly  easterly,  crosses  the  north 
part  of  this  township,  and  empties  into  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Raritan,  in  Somerset  County.  Mal- 
lard Brook,*  commonly  known  as  Back  Brook,  rises 
west  of  Eingos,  flows  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the 
township,  and  joins  the  Neshanic  at  a  point  about  a 
mile  from  the  eastern  line  of  the  town. 

The  "  Three  Brothers"  is  a  noticeable  natural  fea- 
ture on  Pero's  Hill  where  three  large  bowlders,  of 
some  ten  or  more  tons'  weight  each,  located  in  a 
group,  stand  up  prominently  on  the  high  elevation. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT    AND    PIONEER    INCIDENTS 
OF   THE    TOWNSHIP. 

It  has  been  stated  and\generally  believed  that  John 
Ringo  was  the  first  permanent  white  settler  of  Am- 
well,  but  the  honor  is  contested  by  Francis  Moore. 
History  fixes  Eingo's  advent  in  the  year  1720. t  We 
can  find  no  authoritative  data  as  to  Moore,  and  his 
claim  rests  wholly  on  the  statements  of  old  men  re- 
cently living  in  the  neighborhood, — that  he  came  be- 
fore Eingo  and  built  a  little  rum-shop  about  opposite 
to  where  was  the  tavern  at  Ringos.J  At  all  events, 
about  1720,  Francis  Moore  purchased  100  acres  at 
Eingos,  on  the  east  side  of  the  King's  Road  (Old 
York  Road),  and  sold  the  same  to  John  Dagworthy, 
Esq.,  May  9, 1724.  At  this  day  it  is  difficult  to  say  to 
whom  the  honor  of  the  first  settlement  of  East  Amwell 
belongs. 

When  John  Ringo  came  this  country  was  frequented 
by  Indians  and  wild  beasts.  He  built  a  log  hut  at  the 
point  where  the  two  main  Indian  "paths"  crossed, 
and  there  he  was  accustomed  to  entertain  travelers, 
there  being  no  house  near.  It  hence  obtained  noto- 
riety as  "Ringo's  tavern."  Its  roof  often  sheltered 
Governor  John  Reading,  Mahlon  Stacy,  Robert  Dims- 
dale,  and  others  of  the  large  proprietors  when  here 
marking  out  their  tracts.  There,  too,  Capt.  Johnson, 
Joseph  Higgins,  Jonathan  Burroughs,  Peter  Fisher, 
Derrick  Hoagland,  Capt.  Schenck,  John  Bunyon, 
Walter  Wilson,  Dr.  Craven,  and  scores  of  others  met 
and  talked  over  current  topics.  ,  This  place  was  kept 
by  John  Ringo  and  his  descendants  for  nearly  three- 
quarters  of  a  century.  Before  the  Revolution  he  had 
considerable  money,  and  it  is  said  he  would  pace  up 
and  down  the  road,  much  distressed  lest  the  British 
should  get  it.    He  finally  buried  it,  and  died  without 


revealing  the  hiding-place,  so  that  his  family  were 
left  comparatively  poor.^  By  his  will  he  left  £9  to 
provide  a  fence  around  his  grave.  He,  together  with 
his  family,  was  buried  in  a  small  cemetery  about  200 
yards  back  of  the  new  Presbyterian  church  at  Eingos ; 
their  graves  are  marked  by  initial  letters,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  rude  stone  wall.  Eingo's  old  tavern 
was  burned  in  1840. 

The  Hunterdon  Oazette  (Flemington)  of  Wednesday, 
April  22,  1840,  contained  the  following : 

"  Tlie  old  tavern  at  Eingos,  which  we  believe  has  been  standing  up- 
wards of  one  hundred  years,  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  Saturday  night. 
We  are  indebted  to  a  correspondent  for  the  following  account. 

"On  Saturday  evening,  at  8  o'clock,  the  cry  of  'Fire!'  was  heard  in 
our  streets,  when  we  beheld  the  flames  bursting  from  the  east  end  of  the 
shed  belonging  to  the  tavern  ;  .  .  .  and  so  rapid  was  its  progress  that 
a  horse  which  was  tied  in  the  shed  was  with  some  difficulty  loosed  and 
rescued.  The  tavern-house,  standing  but  a  few  feet  distant,  and  unoccu- 
pied by  any  family,  and  of  course  closed,  in  one  moment  took  fire  ;  the 
whole  roof  was  in  a  blaze.  The  bolted  door  was  forced  open,  and  all 
available  means  brought  into  requisition  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  de- 
vouring element,  but  in  vain ;  in  a  very  little  time  the  whole  length  and 
breadth  of  this  large  and  ancient  house  glowed  in  one  general  mass  of 
fire. 

"The  barn,  belonging  to  Judge  Wilson,  on  the  north,  and  especially 
the  large  store-house  owned  by  W.  L.  Skillman  on  the  south,  were  in  the 
most  imminent  danger,  the  latter  being  only  a  few  paces  distant  from  the 
fire.  The  remarkable  calmness  of  the  wind,  and  its  westerly  position 
bearing  the  flames  away,  rendered  our  exertions  successful  in  saving  the 
store-house  and  contents,  the  new  tavern-house,  and  adjoining  build- 
ings.        .    ." 

Thus  this  noted  travelers'  rest,  with  its  sign  bearing 
a  portrait  of  Washington,  passed  away,  to  come  to  us 
of  a  later  generation  only  through  the  medium  of  old 
men's  tales  and  the  historic  page. 

Philip  Ringo  lived,  in  1736,  where  Peter  Young 
lately  resided.  ||  Philip  Ringo's  name  appears  for  the 
first  time  in  connection  with  this  township  in  a  deed 
for  5  acres  of  land  dated  Aug.  6,  1736 ;  the  convey- 
ance is  to  him  from  John  Dagworthy,  and  in  the  de- 
scription occurs  this  sentence ;  "  South  of  the  present 
dwelling-house,  and  over  against  Theophilus  Ket- 
chum's  land,  innholder." 

Ringo  was  witness  to  a  deed,  executed  in  1742,  for 
the  mill  property  known  as  the  "  Race  Mill,"  about  a 
mile  south  of  Eingos.  His  land  adjoined  that  of 
John  Eingo.  Among  other  claims  to  land  by  the  In- 
dians in  1758,  was  one  made  by  Teedyscung,  the  Del- 
aware chief,  to  a  tract  "  called  Neshannock,  begin- 
ning at  Philip  Ringo's  house,  which  stands  near  a 
corner  of  it ;  and  so  along  the  road  that  leads  from 
thence  to  Brunswick,  as  far  as  Neshannock  Creek; 
thence  up  the  same  to  George  Hatten's ;  thence  on  a 
strait  course  to  Petit's  place,  and  so  on  to  a  hill  called 
Paatquacktung ;  thence  in  a  strait  line  to  the  place  of 
beo-inning ;  which  tract  was  reserved  at  the  sale,  and 
marked  out  by  Waubaway,  who  is  alive."1f  This  In- 
dian title  was,  however,  extinguished  by  a  treaty 
made  at  Easton  in  October  of  that  year. 


"■-  otherwise  Duck  Brook, 
t  Hist.  OoU.  N.  J.,  p.  242. 

X  An  old  deed  for  the  transfer  of  some  property  in  Eingos  recites  that 
one  of  the  boundary  lines  is  "  along  the  line  of  land  of  Francis  Moore." 


g  His  buried  treasure  has  never  been  found,  and  many  doubts  are  ex- 
pressed as  to  his  having  ever  hid  any. 
J  He  died  in  1879. 
\  Smith's  History  of  Now  Jersey,  p.  445. 


352 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Philip  was  much  more  prominent  in  the  affairs  of 
the  settlement  than  was  his  brother  John,  of  whom 
there  are  no  recollections  save  those  associating  him 
with  the  tavern.  Philip  was  judge  of  the  Hunterdon 
County  courts  in  1754,  and  his  name  appears  as  a  jus- 
tice as  early  as  1723,  and  is  last  found  in  1745.  He 
was  a  Presbyterian,  and  we  find  him,  in  1715,  present- 
ing to  Presbytery  a  call  from  Hopewell  and  Maiden- 
head (now  Lawrenceville)  for  the  labors  of  Mr.  Robert 
Orr.  An  old  tax-list  of  1722  shows,  also,  that  he 
owned  one  of  the  two  mills  of  the  township,  four  head 
of  cattle  and  horses,  and  fifty  acres  of  land.*  His 
real  estate  passed  to  his  son  John,  who,  on  his  death, 
left  his  wife,  Martha,  executrix.  His  estate  was  sub- 
ject to  a  mortgage  held  by  William  Pidgeon,  Esq., 
who  (on  his  decease)  made  Clayton  Newbold,  William 
Coxe,  and  Anthony  Sykes  his  executors ;  they  ob- 
tained judgment,  and  Joshua  Corshon,  sheriff  of  Hun- 
terdon County,  exposed  the  same  to  sale,  whereupon 
it  was  purchased  by  Joseph  Robeson  for  £1305.  In 
the  deed  there  is  one  exception, — viz.,  in  the  25-acre 
tract  there  was  reserved  25  feet  square,  in  the  north- 
west corner,  for  a  burying-place.  This  is  the  back 
part  of  the  lot  lately  owned  by  Jesse  Landis.f 

What  relationship  Cornelius  Ringo,  of  Hopewell, 
sustained  to  Philip  is  not  shown.  He  was  a  justice 
in  1746,  and  otherwise  prominent  in  Hunterdon 
County  in  the  early  days. 

The  3000-acre  tract  known  as  the  Benjamin  Field 
purchase  of  1702  passed  into  the  hands  of  Nathan 
Allen,  of  Allentown,  who  began  to  dispose  of  the 
same  to  settlers  about  1720.  Dec.  6,  1721,  a  convey- 
ance was  made  to  Rudolph  Harley,  of  Somerset,  for 
176  acres,  comprising  all  the  land  west  and  south  of 
Ringos,  and  extending  to  the  east  side  of  the  Old 
York  Road.  The  description  of  the  land  does  not 
mention  names  of  persons  who  owned  adjoining 
tracts.  This,  however,  is  not  proof  positive  that 
there  were  no  other  settlers  there.  Harley,  in  1726 
(August  25th),  sold  25  acres  to  Theophilus  Ketchum, 
"  innholder,"  being  the  land  upon  which  most  of  the 
old  village  stood.  It  is  claimed  that  Ringo's  old 
tavern  formerly  stood  on  this  tract.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  8  acres  sold  to  John  Justus  Ganse,  the  balance 
of  the  Harley  estate  was  sold,  March  29,  1754,  to  Ru- 
dolph Harley,  Jr. ;  but  it  immediately  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Henry  Graff,  his  brother-in-law,  who 
sold  it  to  his  son-in-law,  Henry  Landis,  May  1,  1772. 
By  a  quit-claim  deed  executed  June  26,  1758,  by 
Nicholas  Austin  and  Sarah,  his  wife  (Quakers),  of 
Abington,  Pa.,  the  following  persons,  nearly  all  of 
whom  were  actual  settlers  in  this  section,  are  shown 
as  being  possessed  of  portions  of  the  above-mentioned 
tract :  Ichabod  Leigh,  llSf  acres ;  Henry  Landis,  80 ; 
William  Schenck,  280;  Jacob  Sutphin,  150;  Tunis 
Hoppock,  100;  Jacob  Moore,  130;  John  Becelsimon, 

*  Rev.  Geo.  Hale's  Historical  Discourse,  pp.  12, 13. 
t  KecoUectious  of  John  Hunkle,  and  MS.  notes  of  Rev.  Aaron  S.Lan- 
iiing. 


30 ;  Obadiah  Howell,  8 ;  Justus  Ransel,  30 ;  Rudolph 
Harley,  142;  John  Housel,  3;  Gershom  Mott,  2; 
John  Ringo,  40 ;  James  Baird,  18  ;  Anna  Lequear,  80 ; 
George  Thompson,  100 ;  Jeremiah  Trout,  3 ;  Hon. 
Barrack,  100 ;  George  Trout,  17 ;  John  Hoagland, 
200;  Derrick  Hoagland,  180;  John  Williamson,  ISO, 
— computed  to  contain  1989|  acres. 

From  the  above  it  would  seem  that  this  portion  of 
Amwell  was  quite  thickly  settled  for  that  early  date. 
In  many  of  the  deeds  the  occupations  of  the  settlers 
are  stated,  from  which  we  learn  that  there  were  then 
a  cooper,  a  gunsmith,  a  saddletree-maker,  and  a 
foundry  where  brass  castings  were  made  for  saddle- 
mountings.  Among  those  who  came  early  to  this 
locality  for  saddletrees  was  Henry  Landis,  a  young 
man  learning  his  trade  at  Gerihantown,  Pa.  An- 
other young  man, — Henry  Graff,  from  Neuwrid  on 
the  Rhine, — making  the  acquaintance  of  young  Lan- 
dis at  Germantown,  and  desiring  to  go  to  some  Ger- 
man settlement,  in  1724  accompanied  Landis  to  Am- 
well, where  he  found  a  home  with  Rudolph  Harley, 
and  a  wife  in  his  daughter  Anna.  Graff  was  born  in 
1699.  He  set  to  work  at  once  to  clear  and  cultivate 
his  new  wilderness  home.  In  a  few  years  (1737)  he 
was  joined  by  Landis,  who  left  Germantown  and  set- 
tled at  Ringos  on  attaining  his  majority.  He  was 
born  in  Germany,  Aug.  16,  1716.  In  1737  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Naas,  who  lived  on  the  Neshanic.  He 
at  once  established  a  small  business,  which  eventually 
so  increased  as  to  enrich  him.  In  1750  he  began  to 
build  the  stone  house,  still  standing,  late  the  residence 
of  his  grandson,  Henry  Runyan.  His  large  barn 
stood  until  1840,  when  it  was  removed  by  the  late 
Henry  Runyan.  He  added  to  his  land  until  in  1800- 
he  possessed  over  300  acres  in  and  around  Ringos, 
and  had  given  his  sons  Joseph  and  Samuel  fine  farms 
a  short  distance  south  of  his  own.  He  married,  for 
his  second  wife,  March  6,  1754,  Catharine  Graff.  She 
was  born  Sept.  11,  1734. 

Of  the  sons,  John  married  a  Servis,  of  Amwell ; 
Henry  married  Mary  Carver  ;  Daniel,  Barbara  Sli- 
fer ;  Jacob,  Mary  Harley,  of  Skippack,  Pa. ;  Joseph, 
Sarah  Colvin,  of  Amwell;  Samuel,  Hannah  Hevelin, 
of  Bucks  Co.,  Pa. ;  David,  Mary  Paxson,  of  same 
county;  Solomon,  Elizabeth  Reeder,  of  Amwell. 
Isaac  remained  single. 

Henry  Landis  was  a  Dunkard,  and  for  many  years 
the  meetings  were  held  at  his  house  and  at  the 
houses  of  the  Lawshes,  Moores,  Runkles,  and  Wag- 
oners, also  members  of  that  denomination.  He  made 
his  will  seven  years  before  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  July,  1809,  he  having  nearly  completed  his  ninety- 
third  year.  He  appointed  John  Lequear,  Paul  Kuhl, 
and  his  son  David  his  executors. 

The  children  of  Henry  Graff  were  Lena,  Elizabeth, 
Sarah,  Rebecca,  Henry,  Mary,  Hannah,  Daniel, 
Joseph,  Benjamin,  Samuel.  Hannah  married  John 
Runkle,  of  Amwell.  Daniel,  Joseph,  and  Benjamin 
lived  in  Sussex  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  Samuel  resided  on  the 


EAST   AMWELL. 


353 


homestead  east  of  riemington,  whither  his  father 
moved  after  selling  his  farm  at  Eingos  to  Henry 
Landis. 

The  Rev.  Aaron  S.  Laning,  of  Pennington,  N.  J., 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Rudolph  Harley,  contributes 
the  following  reminiscences : 

"  In  my  boyhood  I  had  the  story  of  the  settlement  of  this  part  of  Am- 
well  told  me  often  by  the  late  John  Eunkle,  born  in  1752,  in  Hunterdon. 
His  mother  was  of  the  Toungblood  stock.  They  lived  on  a  farm  at  what 
is  now  Weart's  Corner.  Bunkle  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Flemington. 
His  grandfather  Tonngblood  died,  and  his  father  worked  the  farm.  He 
told  me  he  used  to  go  down  there  and  work  during  the  week,  and  would 
return  by  the  paths  to  Eingos,  and  so  along  by  Harley's  house,  to  his 
uncle's  (Honness  Boss),  to  stay  over  the  Sundays.  Harley's  house  stood 
about  half  a  mile  west  of  Ringos,  and  remains  of  it  are  yet  plainly  visi- 
hle.  He  described  the  country  as  then  one  vast  wilderness,  with  here 
and  there  a  log  house  and  small  clearings;  the  roads  were  horse-  or 
foot-paths ;  Ringo's  (tavern)  was  a  small  log  house  with  a  porch  in  front. 
The  settlers  about  Weart's  Corner  were  mostly  Hollanders,  including  the 
Toungs,  the  Tounghloods,  the  Fishers,  Hyronimus  Mingo,  and  others. 
The  beautiful  meadow  stretching  down  from  the  roadside,  above  the  old 
stone  house  of  Landis,  to  the  southeast,  was  a  swamp  of  green-brieiB.  The 
settlers  around  Ringos  were  principally  German.  He  and  his  father  had 
often  gone  to  Trenton  to  mill  on  horseback.  This  John  Ruukle  lived  to 
the  age  of  ninety-three.  He  married  a  Graff  for  his  first  wife,  and  the 
widow  of  John  Bunyan,  nte  Rebecca  Landis,  for  his  second.  He  was  the 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  W.  P.  Emery,  of  Flemington,  and  others  in  that 
vicinity." 

"  The  eastern  portion  of  Old  Amwell,  on  the  north- 
ern slope  of  Sourland  Mountain,"  says  a  writer  in  the 
Hunterdon  Republican  in  1873,  "is  somewhat  cele- 
brated as  being  the  home  of  several  descendants  of 
Richard  and  Penelope  Stout,"  the  history  of  the 
latter  of  whom  is  almost  too  marvelous  for  belief. 
But  the  sober  pages  of  history  reveal  this  record  :* 

"  She  was  born  at  Amsterdam,  about  1602 ;  her  father's  name  was  Van 
PfinciB.  She  and  her  firsthusband  (whose  name  is  not  known)  sailedfor 
New  York  (then  New  Amsterdam)  about  1620 ;  the  vessel  was  stranded 
at  Sandy  Hook ;  the  crew  got  ashore,  and  marched  towards  the  said  New 
York.  But  Penelope's  (for  that  was  her  name)  husband,  being  hurt  in 
the  wreck,  could  not  march  with  them  ;  therefore  he  and  his  wife  tarried 
ill  the  woods.  They  had  not  been  long  in  the  place  before  tlie  Indians 
killed  them  both  (as  they  thought),  and  stripped  them  to  the  skin. 
However,  Penelope  came  to,  though  her  skull  was  fractured  and  her  left 
shoulder  so  hacked  that  she  could  never  use  that  arm  like  the  other ;  she 
was  also  cut  across  the  abdomen,  so  that  her  bowels  appeared  ;  these  she 
kept  in  with  the  hand.  She  continued  in  this  situation  for  seven  days, 
taking  shelter  in  a  hollow  tree  and  eating  the  excrescence  of  it ;  the  sev- 
enth day  she  saw  a  deer  passing  by  with  arrows  sticking  in  it,  and  soon 
after  two  Indians  appeared,  whom  she  was  glad  to  see,  in  hope  tliey  would 
put  her  out  of  her  misery.  Accordingly,  one  made  towards  her  to  knock 
heron  the  head ;  but  the  other,  who  was  an  elderly  man,  prevented  him, 
anil,  throwing  his  matchcoat  about  her,  carried  her  to  his  wigwam  and 
cured  her  of  her  wounds  and  bruises.  After  that  he  took  her  to  New  York 
and  made  a  present  of  her  to  her  countrymen, — viz.,  an  Indian  present, 
expecting  ten  times  the  value  in  return.  It  was  in  New  York  that  one 
Richard  Stout  married  her  :  he  was  a  native  of  England,  and  of  a  good 
family.  She  was  now  in  her  twenty-second  year,  and  he  in  his  fortieth. 
She  bore  him  seven  sons  and  three  daughters, — viz.:  Jonathan  (founder 
of  Hopewell),  John,  Richard,  James,  Peter,  David,  Benjamin,  Mary, 
Sarah,  and  Alice.f  The  mother  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  ten, 
and  saw  her  offspring  multiplied  into  five  hundred  and  two  in  about 
eighty -eight  years." 

James,  a  grandson  of  Richard  and  Penelope  Stout, 
settled  in  Amwell,  on  the  west  side  of  Jacob  Man- 
ners'  farm,   where   Abraham    Runkle    now   resides. 

*  Benedict's  Hist.  Baptists ;  Hist.  Coll.  New  Jersey. 
t  Nathan  Stout,  in  history  of  the  family,  in  1823,  says  daughters'  names 
were  Deliverance,  Sarah,  and  Penelope. 


His  brother,  David,  came  soon  after  and  brought 
his  family,  settling  about  a  mile  north  of  James., 
Benjamin,  David's  youngest  son,  settled  northwest 
of  the  Manners  farm.  David  gave  the  lot  for  a 
family  burying-ground,  which  was  then  on  a  part  of 
his  farm.  The  old  David  Stout  dwelling-house  is 
still  standing,  about  a  mile  northeast  of  Jacob  Man- 
ners' residence. 

The  Manners  family,  closely  connected  with  the 
Stouts  by  marriage,  was  one  of  the  earliest  in  the 
township.  John  Manners,  the  emigrant  settler  of 
Amwell,  was  an  Englishman, — born  in  Yorkshire, 
England,  in  1679.  He  settled  at  Freehold  and  mar- 
ried Rachel,  one  of  Richard  Stout's  daughters.  In 
1718  they  came  to  Amwell  and  purchased  the  farm 
where  Jacob  S.  Manners  now  lives.  A  deed,  of  date 
1728,  shows  that  John  Manners  owned  about  400 
acres.  This,  as  well  as  Benjamin  Stout's  land,  was 
purchased  of  0.  Van  Syckel,  who  bought  of  Thomas 
Stevenson,  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  the  William 
Penn  grant  from  the  "  West  Jersey  Society"  of 
Quaker  proprietors.  John  Manners'  house  formerly 
stood  but  a  few  feet  east  of  the  present  wagon-house, 
"and  about  200  yards  east  of  the  present  mansion- 
house  there."  Here  the  second  John  Manners  was 
born.  The  ruins  of  the  second  house  built  by  John 
Manners,  in  1750,  are  still  to  be  seen,  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  present  mansion.  John  Manners,  Jr., 
married  Mary  Higgins  (daughter  of  Jediah  Higgins 
and  Hannah  Stout,  daughter  of  Jonathan,  son  of 
Richard  the  first),  and  had  a  son,  John,  who  re- 
moved to  Readington  and  was  the  father  of  Dr. 
JohnJ  and  Gen.  James  S.  Manners.  The  latter,  born 
in  1780,  was  three  years  sheriif  of  the  county  and  a 
general  of  the  militia;  he  lived  near  Kuhl's  Mill, 
and  died  in  1851,  without  issue.  John  Manners,  Jr., 
after  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Mary  Higgins,  mar- 
ried Rachel,  a  daughter  of  James  Stout.  They  had 
two  children, — Rachel,  born  in  1773,  and  David, 
born  in  1777,  who  was  the  father  of  Jacob  S.  Man- 
ners, who  now  lives  on  the  homestead. 

David  Manners,  son  of  John,  Jr.,  married  Mary 
Schenck,  and  had  nine  children,  the  names  of  the 
five  sons  being  as  follows :  John,  Abraham,  Theodore, 
Abraham  (2),  and  Jacob  S.  Abraham  died  without 
issue;  John  married  a  daughter  of  the  Hopewell 
John  Stout;  Abraham  (2)  married  a  daughter  of 
Abram  Quick  (her  mother  being  a  Stout) ;  Theodore 
married  Caroline  Werts ;  and  Jacob  S.  married  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  Blackwell,  and  lives  on  the  old 
Manners  homestead.  Jacob  S.  Manners  has  recently 
purchased  a  lot  adjoining  the  old  Stout  graveyard  and 
laid  it  out  for  a  family  cemetery. 

Peter  (1)  Young  in  1726  purchased  1000  acres  in 
Amwell  east  of  the  Manners  tract,  upon  which  he 
settled,  along  with  his  sons,  Peter  (2),  Jacob,  and 


J  For  sketch  of  Dr.  John  Manners  see  chapter  on  "  Medical  Profession 
of  Hunterdon  County,"  elsewhere  in  this  work. 


354 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Henry.  His  location  was  at  what  is  now  Wertsville. 
Peter  (3)  Young,  of  Eingos,  a  great-grandson  of 
Peter  (1),  died  in  1879,  over  eighty  years  old. 

Peter  Young  (3)  was  a  son  of  Jacob,  the  son  of 
Peter  (2),  and  the  grandson  of  the  first  Peter.  His 
wife  was  Elizabeth  Guthrie.  She  died  about  fifteen 
years  ago,  and,  with  her  husband,  lies  buried  in  the 
churchyard  at  Larison's  Corner.  Their  sons — Amos, 
John,  and  Jacob — are  all  deceased. 

Eoelif  Sutphin,  who  lives  on  the  old  "  Indian  Path" 
road,  about  midway  between  Eingos  and  Wertsville,  is 
a  son  of  James  S.  and  Charity  (Hortman)  Sutphin. 
James  S.  Was  born  in  1778,  and  was  second  son  of  Eoelif 
(or  "Eafe")  and  Johannah  (Stout)  Sutphin,  the  said 
Eoelif  being  the  son  of  Jacob  Sutphin,  who  migrated 
from  Somerset  County  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century  and  settled  in  Amwell,  now  Earitan,  township, 
about  a  mile  north  of  Larison's  Corner,  upon  a  tract  of 
220  acres  which  he  purchased  there ;  he  subsequently 
bought  another  tract  of  200  acres  on  the  Neshanic, 
south  of  Eeaville,  which  remained  in  the  family  for 
generations,  hut  is  now  occupied  by  Eobert  Cain. 
Eoelif,  the  son  of  James  S.,  married  Eachel  Bellis, 
daughter  of  John  H.  Bellis.* 

Another  prominent  family  of  Amwell  is  that  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Prall,  descended  from  Abram  (1),  who 
very  early,  but  at  what  date  is  unknown,  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land  in  this  township,  embracing  the 
farms  now  occupied  by  William  B.  Prall  and  William 
W.  Fisher,  the  latter  being  the  old  homestead.  Abram 
was  twice  married,  Peter  being  a  son  by  his  first  wife, 
and  Dr.  Williamf  by  his  second,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Elizabeth  Stout ;  by  the  latter,  also,  two  daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth  and  Hannah. 

Peter  Prall,  son  of  Abram  (1),  was  born  in  Amwell, 
in  1750,  on  the  homestead  farm.  He  married  Mary 
Quick,  also  of  Amwell.  He  died  March  2,  1829, 
aged  seventy-eight  years  nine  months.  Their  chil- 
dren were  Abram  (2),  born  in  1770,  married  Sarah 
Fisher,J  and  Catharine,  who  married  John  P.  Quick. 
The  children  of  Abram  (2),  and  his  descendants,  are 
as  follows  :  Mary  Prall,  who  married  Joseph  Sutphin ; 
Peter,  born  May  3,  1796,  married,  in  1817,  Catharine 
Sutphin,  daughter  of  James  Stout  Sutphin  ;  Sally, 
became  the  wife  of  Jacob  Sutphin,  also  a  son  of  James 
S. ;  Ann,  married  Christopher  Griggs ;  and  Catharine, 
married  John  Griggs.  Jacob  was  twice  married,  first 
to  Margaret  Case,  second  to  Mary  Young ;  Eliza  be- 
came the  wife  of  George  Smith;  Abram  (3),  born 
Dec.  9,  1811,  married  Hannah  Bellis,  a  daughter  of 
Mathias  Bellis.  Peter  Prall  died  July  6,  1839;  his 
wife,  born  Aug.  28,  1798,  died  July  10,  1867. 

*  For  a  more  full  account  of  tbe  Sutphin  and  Bellis  families  gee  liistory 
of  Baritan  township,  in  this  work. 

t  See  sketch  in  Medical  chapter,  Hunterdon  County. 

X  Peter  Ksher  came  from  Germany  about  1728-29,  and  settled  in  what 
is  now  West  Amwell,  upon  the  land  now  occupied  by  Caleb  F.  Fisher; 
he  had  four  sous,  the  youngest  of  whom  was  Jacob,  tbe  father  of  Sarah 
Fisher.  She  died  Sept.  18, 1831,  aged  fifty-six.  (See  further  account  in 
history  of  West  Amwell  township.) 


Abram  and  Hannah  Prall  were  married  Sept.  16, 
1832.  Their  children  were  William  B.,  born  Dec.  10, 
1834,  and  Abram  J.,  born  April  28,  1840.  A  sketch 
of  William  B.  Prall  and  family  is  given  in  another 
place. 

The  children  of  Mathias  Bellis  and  Elizabeth  Sut- 
phin are  as  follows :  1,  William  M.,  born  July  2, 
1802 ;  2,  Ealph  M.,  Dec.  10,  1803 ;  3,  Adam  M.,  Sept. 
16,  1806  ;  4,  Hiram,  May  17,  1809  ;  5,  Mary  Ann, 
May  2,  1811;  6,  Hannah,  March  23,  1813;  7,  Eliza- 
beth, Jan.  14,  1817 ;  8,  Charity,  March  23,  1822. 

William  M.  Bellis  married  Abi  Housel,  April  4, 
1841. 

Ealph  M.  Bellis  (son  of  Mathias)  married  Lucretia 
Young,  and  died  April  22,  1870,  aged  over  sixty-six 
years. 

The  Blackwell  family  is  an  old  one,  representing, 
in  Andrew  Blackwell,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Am- 
well, whose  descendants  are  to  be  found  in  the  Hol- 
combe,  Wilson,  Van  Derveer,  Case,  Larison,  and 
other  well-known  families  of  this  section.  Andrew 
Blackwell  was  born  Oct.  11,  1787  ;  Anna  Hunt,  his 
wife,  was  born  Jan.  20, 1792.  They  had  nine  children, 
all  deceased  except  Noah,  Eandolph,  Bloomfield,  and 
Andrew,  who  all  reside  in  East  Amwell,  save  Bloom- 
field,  who  is  living  near  Mount  Airy,  in  West  Amwell. 

Jacob  Quick,  Sr.,  was  an  early  settler  at  what  is 
now  Van  Liew's  Corners,  on  a  portion  of  which  Moses 
S.  Quick  now  resides.  He  died  Sept.  15,  1800,  aged 
eighty-six  (born  1714).  His  son,  Jacob,  Jr.,  was  born 
in  1749,  married  Jerusha  (Eose?),  and  died  Nov.  7, 
1816,  aged  sixty-seven.?  His  wife  was  born  Nov.  2, 
1753.  Their  children  were  Jane,  born  in  1771 ;  Jacob, 
1774;  Ezekiel  Eose,  1777;  Abraham,  1779;  Eosan- 
nah,  1781  (married  Josie  Quick;  had  no  issue); 
Mary,  1785. 

CIVIL  ORGANIZATION. 

East  Amwell  was  set  off  in  1846 1|  from  the  former 
township  of  that  name.  In  1854,  Eingos,  before  sit- 
uate in  Delaware,  West  Amwell,  and  Earitan  town- 
ships, was  annexed  to  East  Amwell. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  record  of  the 
first  town-meeting,  held  at  the  house  of  Charles  W. 
Holcombe,  at  Weart's  Corner  : 

"At  tbe  first  annual  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  of 
East  Amwell,  held  April  13, 1846,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  officers  for 
the  above-named  township  for  the  ensuing  year,  tbe  following  officers 
were  elected:  .John  S.  Williamson,  Moderator;  Jacob  S.  Durham,  Cleric ; 
John  Hoagland,  Judge  of  Election;  Ralph  Sutphin,  Assessor;  John  V. 
Hoagiand,  Collector;  Jacob  S.  Williamson,  Abraham  T.  Williamson, 
Chosen  Freeholders ;  N.  0.  Durham,  John  S.  Williamson,  Israel  Wilson, 
Richard  Van  Lieu,  John  L.  Case,  Township  Committee;  Jacob  F.  Prall, 
James  S.  Fisher,  Surveyors  of  Highways;  Andrew  H.  Qiiick,  Nathan 
Stout,  John  S.  Hoagland,  Commissionei's  of  Appeal ;  Ralph  Sutphin,  John 

g  Both  the  Jacob  Quicks  were  buried  in  the  private  burial-ground,  on 
the  farm  originally  located  by  Jacob,  Sr.,  and  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  Van  Liew  family. 

II  "An  Act  to  Divide  the  Township  of  Amwell,"  etc.,  approved  Feb.  27, 
1846.  (Session  jtaics,  1846,  p.  81,  ei  fleg.)  In  this  enactment  the  township 
of  East  Amwell  was  defined  as  "  all  that  part  of  the  said  township  of  Am- 
well which  lies  east  of  the  middle  of  the  great  road  leading  direct  from 
Woodsville  (by  New  Market  and  Rocktown)  to  the  village  of  Ringos." 


EAST  AMWELL. 


355 


S.  Hoagland,  Overseers  of  the  Poor;  Jonathan  Quick,  Puundkeeper ; 
Abraham  K,  Quick,  Constable:  David  Hille,  Ealpb  Schank,  William 
Metier,  School  Committee;  Christopher  Servis,  Garret  Hixon,  Jacob  Ser- 
vis,  Wm.  Fisher,  Alison  Chamberlin,  Jonathan  Hig^us,  Solomon  Labaw, 
James  H.  Wikoff,  Overseers  of  the  Highways. 

"  Toted  that  the  next  election  and  town-meeting  be  held  at  the  house 
of  Kichard  Yan  Lieu." 

EXTRACTS  FEOM  THE  RECORDS. 
April  20,  1846,  "  according  to  the  provisions  of  an 
act  entitled  'An  Act  to  Divide  the  Township  of  Am- 
well,' "  the  township  committees  of  East  Amwell  and 
West  Amwell  met  at  the  house  of  Amos  Williamson, 
in  Eingos,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  ascertain 
the  ratio  of  taxation, — Kichard  Van  Lieu  on  the  part 
of  East  Amwell,  and  Caleb  F.  Fisher  on  the  part  of 
West  Amwell ;  the  committee  then  divided  the  Tren- 
ton road,  "  and  agreed  that  East  Amwell  take  the  road 
from  the  Hopewell  line  to  within  100  yards  of  David 
Larowe's  gate,  and  West  Amwell  from  that  place  to 
Ringos."  April  23d,  the  joint  committee  met  and 
divided  the  surplus  revenue,  being  $3368.35  for  East 
Amwell  and  $3804.80  for  West  Amwell.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  sell  the  township's  right  to 
the  Gilchrist  lot  on  the  mountain,  and  the  finances 
were  adjusted  by  a  division  of  the  bonds  and  mort- 
gages, and  by  the  payment  of  $23.20  by  West  to  East 
Amwell.  April  24th,  the  joint  committee  met  and 
divided  the  books,  papers,  etc.,  settled  with  Jacob 
Reed,  "  late  collector,"  and  divided  the  balance  due 
the  townships,— $78.59  to  East  and  $88.77  to  West 
Amwell. 

At  a  special  town-meeting,  Aug.  23,  1862,  it  was 

"  Besolvedf  That  East  Amwell  is  heart  and  hand  with  the  national  gov- 
ernment in  its  efforts  to  suppress  the  existing  Kebellion  at  whatever  cost 
of  time,  treasure,  and  blood." 

The  bounty  duplicate  for  1863  was  $11,807.42. 

TOWNSHIP   OFFICERS. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  township 
officers  of  East  Amwell  from  the  date  of  its  organiza- 
tion: 

CHOSEN  FEEEHOLDEKS.* 
1846,  Jacob  S.  Williamson ;  1S46-48,  Abram  T.  Williamson ;  1847-49,  Jacob 
S.  Manners ;  1849-61,  Noah  Hixson ;  1860-63,  Levi  Hixson ;  1864-67, 
Simpson  S.  Sked ;  1868-60,  Samuel  W.  Dilts ;  1861-62,  Kalph  Sut- 
phin;  1863-66,  Noah  Hixson;  1866-68,  John  0.  Durham;  1869-71, 
John  Dalrymple;  1872-74,  Edwin  H.  Durham;  1876-76,  Wiliiam 
Sutphen ;  1877-79,  David  Nevius ;  1880,  Peter  W.  Shepherd.f  Silas 
Nonamaker. 

ASSESSOES. 

1846-62,  Ealph  Sutphin ;  1853-69,  Oliarles  Ewing ;  1870-77,  Abram  Quick ; 
1878,  Benjamin  Y.  Hill ;  1879-80,  Ira  Munson. 

COLLECTOES. 
1846-47,  John  S.  Hoagland ;  1848-52,  0.  W.  Holcombe  ;  1863-65,  Nathan 
Stout;  1856-59,  Joseph  Servis;  1860-63,  William  S.  Eiley ;  1864, 
Abraham  Quick;  1865,  Joseph  Servis;  1866,  Afm.  T.  Hixson;  1867- 
68,  Jacob  C.  Young;  1869-70,  Thomas  C.  Smith;  1871-78,  Jacob  S. 
Herder;  1879-80,  Samuel  W.  Dilts. 

CLEEKS. 
1846-65,  Jacob  S.  Durham;  1856,  John  Young;  1857-62,  Jacob  S.Dur- 
ham; 1863-65,  Peter  W.  Shepherd;  1866-68,  Ira  Higgins;  1869-74, 

*  Prior  to  1851  two  freeholders  were  chosen  ;  since  that  date,  only  one. 
t  Died  May  6, 1880. 


Eobert  I.  Hunt;  1875,  William  M.  Eue ;  1876,  Ira  Munson;  1877, 
William  Eue ;  1878-80,  Abraham  Borton. 

TOWN  COMMITTEES.}: 
1846-48,  N.  0.  Durham,  John  S.  Williamson,  Israel  Wilson,  Eichard  Vau 
Lieu,  John  L.  Case ;  1849,  N.  0.  Durham,  Jacob  F.  Prall,  Simpson 
Sked,  Eichard  Van  Lieu,  John  L.  Case ;  1850-61,  John  E.  Young, 
Andrew  H.  Quick,  Simpson  Sked,  Abraham  T.  Williamson,  John  L. 
Case;  1852,  John  E.  Young,  Andrew  H.  Quick, Simpson  Sked,  Abra- 
ham T.  Williamson,  George  M.  Prall ;.  1863,  John  S.  Williamson, 
W^illiam  Golden,  Simpson  Sked,  Jacob  S.  Manners,  George  M.  Prall; 
1854,  John  E.  Young,  Levi  K.  Chamberlin,  Simpson  Sked,  Jacob  S. 
C.  Pittinger,  John  L.  Case;  1855-57,  James  S,  Fisher,  Mahlon 
Schenck,  Simpson  Sked,  Eobert  E.  Smith,  John  C.  Durham ;  1858, 
James  S.  Fisher,  Mahlon  Schenck,  Simpson  Sked,  David  Williamson, 
John  C.  Durham ;  1859,  James  S.  Fisher,  Mahlon  Schenck,  Simpson 
Sked,  David  Williamson,  Lewis  S.  Servis ;  1860,  James  S.  Fisher, 
Mahlon  Schenck,  Simpson  Sked,  Andrew  Wyokoff,  John  C.Durham; 
1861,  James  S.  Fisher,  Mahlon  Schenck,  Andrew  H.  Quick,  Jacob 
W.  Nevius,  John  0.  Durham  ;  1862,  David  S.  Wert,  James  P.  Cham- 
berlin, Stout  Hunt,  Jacob  W.  Nevius,  John  C.  Durham;  1863,  David 
S.  Wert,  Jacob  C.  Sutphin,  Solomon  Labaw,  John  L.  Case,  Joseph 
Servis ;  1864,  Andrew  WyckofF,  Jacob  S.  C.  Pittinger,  Solomon 
Labaw,  John  L.  Ciise,  Jolin  Williamson  ;  1866,  Cicero  Hunt,  Stout 
Hunt,  Solomon  Labaw,  John  L.  Case,  Levi  Eeed  ;§  1866,  Cicero 
Hunt,  Horace  P.  Quick,  Sidney  B.  Snook,  Jonathan  Higgins,  Ean- 
dolph  S.  Blackwell ;  1867,  John  W.  Bellis,  Samuel  W.  Dilts,  Sidney 
B.  Snook,  Benjamin  B.  Mathews,  Jacob  S.  Herder;  1868,  Thomas  C. 
Smith,  Samuel  W.  Dilts,  Abram  Quick,  Joseph  P.  Servis,  Jacob  S. 
Herder;  1869,  Joseph  Dalrymple,  David  0.  Larowe,  John  L.  Case, 
Benjamin  Y.  Hill,  Jacob  S.  Herder;  1870-71,  Joseph  Dalrj'mple, 
David  0.  Larowe,  John  L.  Case,  Benjamin  V.  Hill,  Jacob  C.  Young  ; 
1872,  Samuel  W.  Dilts,  Peter  W.  Shepherd,  John  L.  Case,  Waterhouse 
Woodruff,  Jacob  C,  Young;  1873,  Samuel  W.  Dilts,  Peter  W.  Shep- 
herd, David  Nevius,  Waterhouse  Woodi-ufF,  Benjamin  V.  Hill;  1874, 
John  C.  Durham,  Peter  W.  Shepherd,  David  Nevius,  Theodore  Y. 
Craft,  Benjamin  V.  Hill ;  lb75,  Abram  Van  Doren,  Levi  Eeed, 
David  Nevius,  John  Fisher,  Benjamin  V.  Hill  ;  1876,  James  Eiley, 
John  C.  Durham,  Martin  V.  Case,  Peter  W.  Shepherd,  Ira  Higgins; 
1877,  Abraham  Eunkle,  William  Golden,  T.  Y.  Craft,  William  W. 
Fisher,  John  Eue ;  1878,  Abraham  V.  Chamberlin,  James  Riley,  T. 
Y.  Craft,  Eobert  I.  Hunt,  John  Eue;  1879,  William  S.  Young,  James 
Riley,  Eobert  I.  Hunt;  1880,  Daniel  Stout,  William  S.  Toung,  Ira 
Higgins. 

VILLAGES   AND    HAMLETS. 
This  township  contains  no  large  village,  although  a 
number  of  hamlets  are  found  in  its  several  parts. 

Eingos  is  the  most  prominent  on  account  of  its  early 
settlement  and  the  renown  of  the  name,  and  lies  in 
the  western  corner  of  the  town,  close  to,  but  south  of, 
the  Flemington  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
upon  which  line,  in  this  neighborhood,  is  Ringos  Sta- 
tion, although  in  Delaware  township.  There  is  no 
post-office  at  the  latter  place,  nor  anything  to  particu- 
larize except  the  station-building.  The  post-office  is 
at  the  village,  II  which  was  for  many  years  the  most 
important  village  in  the  whole  Amwell  Valley.  A 
store  was  kept  there,  to  which  the  Indians  resorted 
from  as  far  as  Somerville.  There  public  meetings 
were  held  to  petition  the  king  for  the  removal  of 
grievances.  Later  on,  celebrations  for  the  whole 
county  centered  there.  It  was  also  a  place  of  consid- 
erable trade.  Among  others,  Henry  Landis,  as  early 
as  1737,  carried  on  a  saddlery  business.^     Lambert- 

t  Prior  to  1879  this  board  was  composed  of  five  members  ;  since  that 
date,  only  three, 
g  Appointed. 

II  This  is  the  only  post-office  of  the  name  in  the  United  States. 
f  Eev.  G.  S.  Mott,  D.D. 


356 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ville  at  this  time  was  an  insignificant  settlement ;  at 
the  time  of  the  Revolution  even  it  was  far  behind 
Ringos  in  size. 

Ringos  contains  two  churches, — the  "  Kirkpatrick 
Memorial,"  Presbyterian,  and  a  Baptist  church, — a 
district  school  (District  No.  103),  a  seminary,  and 
the  "Academy  of  Science  and  Art,''  accounts  of 
which  may  be  found  under  the  head  of  "  Schools." 
Business  is  represented  by  the  "Ringos  Tavern" 
(Theodore  J.  Young,  proprietor),  two  country  stores 
(kept  respectively  by  Borton  &  Brother  and  David 
Williamson),  two  blacksmith-shops,  two  wheelwright- 
shops,  one  harness-shop,  and  one  shoemaker-shop. 
The  present  postmaster  is  David  Williamson.  Wil- 
liam L.  Skillman  served  as  such  over  forty  years  ago, 
1838-40. 

Pleasant  Corner  is  situate  about  a  mile  north- 
east of  Ringos,  on  the  Old  York  Road.  It  was  so 
named  some  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  although  it  is 
often  called  "  Larison's  Corner,"  after  its  recent  hotel 
proprietor.  Here  is  located  the  United  First  Presby- 
terian Church.  The  blacksmith-shop,  which  has 
been  operated  under  many  different  "  knights  of  the 
anvil,"  is  owned  by  Hiram  Hoffman,  but  is  not  at 
present  in  operation.  Larison's  Hotel  (on  the  Rari- 
tan  township  side  of  the  road)  is  likewise  enjoying 
rest,  although  formerly  a  popular  hostelry.*  The 
property  is  owned  by  the  widow  of  Augustus  Black- 
well,  a  daughter  of  John  W.  Larison,  the  old  inn- 
keeper. 

Wertsville  takes  its  name  from  the  Werts  family, 
and  is  located  in  the  centre  of  the  eastern  part  of  the 
township.  It  is  known  locally  as  "  Werts'  Corners," 
but  its  post-office,  first  and  last,  is  Wertsville.  There 
are  here  a  church  of  the  Bapti.st  (New  School)  denom- 
ination and  the  public  school  of  the  district.  Peter 
V.  D.  Manners  keeps  the  store  and  post-ofiice,  and 
the  industries  of  the  place  are  represented  by  a  wagon- 
shop  and  a  shoemaker-shop. 

Van  Liew's  Corners,  about  a  mile  from  Werts- 
ville, a  little  south  of  west,  is  a  small  cluster  of  resi- 
dences surrounding  the  store  of  Chamberlin  &  Van 
Liew.  Durham's  nurseries  are  in  the  vicinity.  This 
settlement  is  in  the  same  school  district  as  Wertsville. 

Unionville,  on  the  Indian  Path  Road,  between 
Ringos  and  Van  Liew's,  is  a  rural  settlement,  and 
contains  a  two-story  frame  school-house,  in  the  upper 
part  of  which  is  a  good-sized  hall  where  public  meet- 
ings, etc.,  are  sometimes  held.  This  place  formerly  bore 
the  name  of  "  Minksville,"  so  called  from  an  old  black- 
smith named  Mink  located  there,  but  long  since  dead 
or  removed.  Its  inhabitants  have  neither  store  nor 
post-office,  but  in  their  stead  have  a  butcher-shop,  of 
which  Samuel  W.  Dilts  is  proprietor. 

New  Market,  in  the  south  part  of  the  township, 
on  the  Rocktown  Road,  is  quite  a  smart  settlement, 

*  Id  1828  it  was  kept,  says  Dr.  John  Blane,  liy  Jolin  Bellia,  "with 
whom  boarded  my  old  friend  and  preceptor,  Abraham  Montfurt,  who  was 
then  teaching  in  that  neigliborhood." 


although  a  portion  of  it  lies  in  West  Amwell.  It  con- 
tains a  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  the  store  of  L. 
K.  Chamberlin,  and  a  blacksmith-shop.  An  old  tan- 
nery, now  gone  down,  was  operated  for  years  by  Lan- 
sing Chamberlin. 

Snydertown,  just  north  of  New  Market,  and  so 
close  that  the  two  villages  almost  join,  contains  a 
number  of  residences,  a  saw-  and  feed-mill,  owned 
by  R.  P.  Crosedale,  and  a  tannery  operated  for  some 
time  and  until  about  four  years  ago.  It  is  owned  by 
L.  K.  Chamberlin,  but  the  building  is  now  vacant. 

Reaville  is  almost  wholly  within  Raritan  town^ 
ship,  the  harness-shop  of  Robert  R.  Smith  being  the 
only  business  interest  on  the  East  Amwell  side  of  the 
Old  York  Road.f 

RocKTOAVN,  also,  lies  almost  entirely  in  West  Am- 
well.    (See  history  of  that  township.) 

BuTTONWOOD  Corners,  in  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  township,  comprises  a  dozen  houses  and  a  school- 
house  (District  No.  101),  situated  on  the  slope  of  the 
Sourland  Mountain,  in  a  rough  and  hilly  section  of 
country. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  public  schools  of  this  township  are  embraced 
in  four  districts, — viz.,  Wertsville,  No.  100  (frame) ; 
Mountain  Grove,  No.  101 ;  Unionville,  No.  102 
(frame) ;  and  Ringos,  No.  103  (frame).  The  present 
valuation  of  school  property  is  $3400.  Each  of  these 
schools  has  a  female  teacher,  and,  although  the  build- 
ings will  comfortably  seat  from  fifty  to  sixty  scholars, 
the  average  number  who  attended  during  the  past 
year  was  but  a  little  over  one-half  that  number.  The 
cost  of  the  free  schools  of  East  Amwell,  exclusive  of 
building  and  repairing,  is  about  $1800  a  year.  The 
statistics  of  the  school  officials  show  that  there  are  333 
children  in  the  township  of  school  age, — between  the 
ages  of  five  and  eighteen.  In  1879,  252  of  these  were 
enrolled  on  the  school  registers,  the  average  attend- 
ance being  210. 

In  the  "Wertsville"  District  (No.  100)  there  was  a 
log  school-house  built  in  1747.  It  was  located  on 
land  leased  from  Benjamin  Stout  for  ninety-nine 
years.  In  1798  there  was  a  frame  school-house,  one 
story,  25  feet  square,  built  on  the  same  land.  The 
lease  expired  in  1846,  and  the  school-house  was 
moved  on  to  land  belonging  to  the  heirs  of  William 
Weart,  deceased.  School  was  kept  in  it  until  1853, 
when  it  was  sold  to  David  S.  Wert  and  made  into  a 
dwelling-house,  being  used  for  that  purpose  at  this 
time.  In  1853  a  new  two-story  frame  school-house, 
30  by  44  feet,  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $1500,  about 
one  hundred  yards  south  of  the  site  of  the  first  one ; 
this  is  in  good  condition,  and  school  is  now  kept  in 
it.  Its  balcony  is  furnished  with  a  fine-sounding 
bell. 

The  teachers  were  nearly  all  foreigners  until  about 
1820,  and  all  male  teachers.     James   Ewing,  native 

t  See  Rai"itan  townsliip  liisloi-y  for  a  description  of  this  village. 


EAST   AMWELL. 


357 


of  Scotland,  taught  from  1788  to  1795.  In  1826  a 
Miss  Bartine  taught  during  the  summer.  The  next 
female  teacher  was  employed  in  1858.  Alfred  Hazard 
taught  from  about  1840  to  1845 ;  then  Charles  S.  Man- 
ners, for  two  or. three  years;  O.  H.  Hazzard,  about 
five  years,  followed  by  Damon  Y.  Hyde.  David 
Hyde,  his  brother,  was  the  first  to  teach  in  the  new 
school-house. 

The  first  school-house  in  "Mountain  Grove"  Dis- 
trict (No.  101)  was  built  in  1812.  It  was  a  small 
frame.  The  first  teacher  was  William  Dougherty ; 
the  first  trustees,  James  Wardenbrook,  Jeremiah 
Smith,  and  Ralph  Elberson.  The  present  house  was 
erected  in  1863. 

"  Unionville"  District  (No.  102)  boasts  one  of  the 
oldest  school-houses  in  the  township.  It  was  built  in 
1780,  about  half  a  mile  southeast  of  the  village  now 
known  as  Unionville.  It  was  an  old-fashioned  one- 
story  frame  house.  One  of  the  early  teachers  was 
John  Carr,  Sr.  He  had  charge  of  the  school  during 
the  Revolution.  This  house  was  used  for  forty  years, 
and  in  1820  was  replaced  by  one  built  about  a  rod 
west  of  the  spot  on  which  the  third  and  present  house 
now  stands.  It  was  a  low,  one-story  frame  building. 
The  land  on  which  it  stood,  about  one-eighth  of  an 
acre,  was  purchased  of  Lewis  Quick.  The  first  who 
taught  in  it  was  Garret  Service.  The  present  school- 
building  was  erected  in  1868,  and  the  old  house  turned 
into  a  dwelling.  The  site  was  bought  of  Green  Quick, 
and  contains  an  acre.  The  house  is  a  frame,  two 
stories,  with  cupola.  The  first  teacher  in  this  house 
was  Phebe  Baldwin.  Among  other  teachers  in  this 
school  have  been  the  following :  Miss  Armitage,  Otis 
Fisher,  Dr.  0.  W.  Larison,  Miller  K.  Reading,  Henry 
Gulick,  Susan  Green,  Ada  Nelson,  Annie  R.  Green, 
Phebe  Baldwin,  Annie  Stout,  Sarah  E.  Piatt,  Charles 
M.  Lee,  Dennis  Runyon,  Wm.  H.  Pittman,  Annie 
Sutphin,  Bessie  Davis,  Laura  Rose,  Lida  Lawrence, 
Jennie  Vanhorn,  Emma  Wall,  Carrie  J.  Combs, 
Mahlon  Schanck,  Bessie  Sked,  Cornie  Fisher,  Rettie 
Dalrymple. 

The  patient  and  protracted  research  of  Peter  S. 
Young,  since  deceased,  has  thrown  much  light  upon 
the  history  of  District  No.  103  ("Ringos").  Beforethe 
Revolution  a  high  school  was  taught  by  Rev.  William 
Frazier,  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  and  in  1776  the 
building  stood  on  the  ground  afterwards  occupied  by 
the  Episcopal  church.  A  school  was  also  kept  at 
Larison's  Corner  until  the  present  academy  was  built, 
in  1811.  For  years  a  high  school  (private)  has  been 
kept  at  Ringos.  The  first  school-house  was  built  in 
1720,  of  logs,  in  what  is  now  the  lower  part  of  the 
village.  It  was  quite  ■  a  small  affair.  The  second 
house,  a  frame,  stood  near  Larison's  Corner,  and  the 
third  near  and  by  the  side  of  the  present  grave- 
yard. The  church  was  at  one  time  occupied  for  a 
school,  taught  by  Joseph  Lequear  and  a  Mr.  Fitzpat- 
rick.  The  present  school-house  of  this  district  was 
erected  in  1854.    It  is  21  by  34  feet.    The  teachers 


since  1870  have  been  P.  D.  Meyers  and  Kate  Miley, 
1870-71 ;  Lydia  A.  Baldwin,  1872-75 ;  Charles  Night- 
ingale and  Mary  Bond,  1876;  Lyda  Lawrence, 
1877-79 ;  Eetta  Dalrymple,  1879-80  ;  Corriie  Fisher, 
1880.  The  trustees  in  1870  were  Jacob  Brewer,  T.  Y. 
Van  Marter,  Jacob  Fisher.  Other  trustees  who  have 
served  since  1870  are  William  Brewer,  1871-76  ;  Da- 
vid Williamson,  1872-74;  Ira  Munson,  1875-80;  Levi 
Holcombe,  1877-79  ;  Silas  Nonamaker,  1874-80 ;  Ja- 
cob Dilts,  1880. 

THE  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCE  AND  AET,  AT  EINSOS. 

This  school  is  an  outgrowth  of  a  demand  made 
upon  Cornelius  W.  Larison  as  a  teacher  of  science 
immediately  after  his  return  home  from  the  university 
at  Lewisburg.  Early  in  the  autumn  of  1875  there 
were  made  by  young  men  desirous  of  a  knowledge  of 
practical  science  numerous  applications  for  tuition, 
but,  situated  as  he  then  was,  he  felt  it  impossible  to 
afford  such  instruction  as  was  demanded  or  such  as  he 
was  willing  to  give.  The  seminary  in  which  he  used 
to  teach  did  not  afford  suflicient  scope,  nor  did  he 
think  that  practical  science  was  carried  to  the  extent 
so  often  demanded  of  him, — a  branch  suited  to  be  a 
prominent  factor  in  the  curriculum  of  a  school  that 
was  organized  for  general  culture.  Accordingly,  in 
the  fall  of  1875,  a  building  suitable  to  the  purpose  of 
scientific  instruction  was  erected,  laboratories  fitted 
up,  and  the  work  of  teaching  begun. 

In  the  summer  of  1876  it  was  thought  that  a  school 
of  practical  science  and  art  was  needed  at  Ringos. 
Accordingly,  a  curriculum  of  study  was  laid  down, 
and  the  school  began  Aug.  23,  1876.  The  faculty 
was  as  follows :  Cornelius  W,  Larison,  M.D.,  princi- 
pal, natural  science  ;  Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Larison,  math- 
ematics, English  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  drawing, 
Latin  and  criticism,  music  and  elocution. 

The  school  commenced  with  only  six  pupils,  but 
during  the  term  the  expectations  of  its  patrons  were 
fully  met,  and  such  were  the  demands  for  tuition  from 
new  pupils  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  ensuing  term 
it  became  necessary  to  add  a  member  to  the  faculty. 
Accordingly,  Mary  W.  Prall  was  appointed  teacher 
of  English  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  drawing. 

The  following  term  began  with  sixteen  pupils. 
Among  these  were  two  who  had  received  the  degree 
of  A.B.  from  a  university.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
academic  year  1877-78,  Miss  Sarah  A.  Prall  was  ap- 
pointed teacher  of  music  and  elocution. 

Aug.  14,  1880,  occurred  the  first  commencement  of 
the  academy.  On  this  occasion  there  were  graduated 
two  students, — Lewis  C.  Prall  and  Edwin  S.  William- 
son. 

The  "  purpose  and  plan  of  the  institution,"  as 
shown  in  its  catalogue  of  1877,  "  is  to  afibrd  an  op- 
portunity for  a  practical  education  in  those  depart- 
ments of  science  and  art  that  most  directly  bear  upon 
the  rounds  of  every-day  life.  And,  since  it  sometimes 
happens  that  students  wish  to  pursue  the  study  of 


358 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


some  particular  branches  beyond  tlie  limits  set  in  the 
curriculum  of  a  well -organized  academy,  or  even  col- 
lege, an  arrangement  is  made  to  afford  such  a  favora- 
ble opportunity  to  prosecute  such  studies  as  may  be 
elected,  beyond  the  limits  indicated  in  the  curricu- 
lum of  this  school." 

The  school  is  well  provided  with  apparatus,  etc. 
The  classes  are  frequently  taken  to  the  mountains,  or 
to  the  seaside,  where  they  can  study  from  nature. 
During  the  past  year  twentj^-one  days  were  thus 
spent. 

THE   SEMINARY   AT   RINGOS. 

When  the  Rev.  Andrew  B.  Larison  was  called  to  be 
pa,stor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Eingos,  the  congre- 
gation was  small  and  not  very  well  able  to  sustain 
him.  However,  he  accepted  the  pastorate  upon  the 
condition  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  devote  a  few 
hours  each  day  to  teaching,  and,  in  connection  with 
his  brother,  started  a  school.  A  scheme  to  purchase 
the  building  known  as  the  old  Amwell  Academy,  and 
to  start  a  school  therein,  was  soon  formed.  The  two 
brothers  entered  into  jjartnership,  under  the  firm-name 
"  The  Seminary  at  Kingos,  N.  J."  The  building  was 
bought,  and  preparations  to  begin  a  school  were  made 
in  December,  1869.  The  school  was  arranged  for  both 
sexes. 

The  first  term  began  Jan.  3,  1870.  There  were  in 
attendance  29  pupils.  The  faculty  was  as  follows: 
Bev.  A.  B.  Larison,  M.D.,  principal,  Latin,  Greek, 
and  moral  science ;  Mrs.  K.  B.  Larison,  English  litera- 
ture and  French  ;  C.  W.  Larison,  M.D.,  natural  sci- 
ence. The  school  fully  met  the  expectations  of  its 
patrons,  and  at  once  became  very  popular. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  second  academic  year 
it  became  necessary  to  enlarge  the  faoilty.  Charles 
M.  Lee,  M.D.,  was  added  as  teacher  of  mathematics, 
and  Miss  Margaret  Aller  as  teacher  of  music. 

Sept.  25,  1872,  the  seminary  suffered  the  loss  of  its 
worthy  principal,  Eev.  A.  B.  Larison,  M.D.  This 
necessitated  a  considerable  change.  His  widow,  Mrs. 
Catharine  B.  Larison,  became,  in  his  stead,  partner  to 
the  survivor  of  the  firm.  C.  W.  Larison  became  the 
principal  of  the  school,  and  assumed  the  duties  of 
teacher  of  Latin  and  Greek,  in  addition  to  his  duties 
as  teacher  of  natural  science.  Mrs.  Catharine  B. 
Larison  kept  charge  of  the  department  of  English 
literature  and  French,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Larison 
was  appointed  teacher  of  mathematics. 

June  19, 1874,  the  seminary  held  its  first  commence- 
ment. The  deportment  of  the  officers  and  students 
was  such  as  to  win  for  it  many  friends.  From  this 
day  its  old  supporters  grew  more  and  more  warmly 
attached  to  it,  new  ones  became  zealous,  and,  as  time 
advanced,  opponents  became  fewer.  There  was  but 
one  student  to  receive  the  honors, — Miss  Carrie  Wal- 
dron,  of  Kingston,  N.  Y. 

During  the  first  term  of  the  academic  year  187-4— 75 
several  changes  occurred :  C.  W.  Larison,  having  been 
appointed  professor  of  natural  science  in  the  univer- 


sity at  Lewisburg,  Pa.,  resigned  his  position  in  the 
faculty.  Mrs.  Catharine  B.  Larison  became  principal, 
and  the  Eev.  Ebon  J.  Pearce,  A.M.,  was  employed 
to  teach  Latin  and  Greek.  Under  this  arrangement 
the  school  prospered,  and  new  friends  were  gained  for 
the  institution.  At  this  time  the  school  in  the  village 
that  had  been  started  in  opposition  to  the  seminary 
closed,  and  many  advocates  of  that  enterprise  now 
patronized  the  old  institution. 

In  December,  1877,  Eev.  Charles  S.  Converse,  A.M. 
was  appointed  lecturer  on  belles-lettres.  His  work 
proved  very  satisfactory,  and  many  of  the  lectures 
were  published  in  the  Lambertville  Record.  About 
the  same  time,  Eev.  J.  M.  Helsley  was  appointed 
lecturer  on  biblical  literature. 

During  the  academic  years  1877-78,  Miss  Mary  A. 
Eeading  acted  as  an  assistant  to  the  principal,  and 
Miss  Annie  Williamson  as  teacher  of  music. 

In  this  school  there  has  been  for  some  years  a  cus- 
tom of  selecting  from  the  higher  classes  the  students 
most  efficient  as  teachers  to  assist  the  principal. 
Among  those  thus  selected  have  been  Eettie  Dalrym- 
ple,  Mary  A.  Eeading,  Annie  Ingraham,  Amos  Haines. 
Hiram  Fisher,  Cora  Williamson,  Lizzie  M.  Reading, 
and  Mary  Y.  Fisher. 

The  graduates  of  the  seminary  are  as  follows : 
Class  of  1873 :  Carrie  Waldron,  Kingston,  N.  Y. ; 
Class  of  1874 :  Mary  S.  Hampton,  Oliver  I.  Black- 
well,  Lorenzo  D.  Hagaman ;  Class  of  1877 :  Henri- 
etta Dalrymple,  George  E.  Mathews,  E.  Stanton  Wil- 
liamson ;  Class  of  1878 :  Annie  E.  Ingraham,  Mary 
A.  Eeading ;  Class  of  1880 :  Mary  Y.  Fisher,  Lizzie 

M.  Eeading.* 

CHUllCHES. 

Within  the  limits  of  this  township  are  now  located 
six  churches,  of  which  two  are  Presbyterian — the 
"  Kirkpatrick  Memorial,"  at  Eingos,  and  the  "United 
First,"  at  Pleasant  Corner;  two  belong  to  the  Bap- 
tist denomination,  and  are  located  at  Eingos  and 
Wertsville ;  one,  Methodist  Episcopal,  is  located  at 
New  Market;  and  a  Unitarian,  on  the  Sourland 
Mountain,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  township. 

So  early  as  1725  an  Episcopal  church  was  in  exist- 
ence at  Eingos.  It  was  built  of  logs,  and  was  located 
just  beyond  the  railroad  station.!     It  was  organized 

*  Since  this  article  was  prepared  Tsaiah  N.  Leigh  has  taken  charge  of 
the  school,  during  the  absence  of  Miss  Larison  as  teacher  in  the  Female 
Institute  at  Lewisburg,  Pa. 

f  An  indenture  made  Jan.  22,1725,  between  Wm.  Lummox,  and  John 
Knowles  and  Duncan  Olipliant,  all  of  Amwell  township,  witnesseth,  that 
"  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  five  shillings  of  current  silver  money," 
Wm.  Lummox  conveyed  unto  Knowles  and  Olipliant  a  tract  of  land  con- 
taining eleven  acres,  '*  being  a  part  of  the  plantation  whereon  the  said 
Wm.  Lummox  now  lives,"  the  bounds  of  which  began  in  the  line  of 
Wnt.  Lummox  and  Francis  Moore's  land,  and  ran  "  by  land  of  Godfrey 
Peters,  crossing  the  King's  road"  (the  Old  York  Road) ;  being  part  of  a 
larger  tract  purchased  by  Lummox  of  Nathan  Allen  of  Monmouth.  This 
conveyance  was  in  "  trust  to  the  sole  benefit  and  towards  the  settling  of 
the  Church  of  England  ministry,  and  for  no  other  intent  or  purpose 
whatsoever."  Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of  John  Parke,  Na- 
thaniel Pettit,  John  S.  Locker,  Christopher  Becket,  etc.,  and  attested 
by  John  Reading. 


EAST  AMWELL. 


359 


under  a  charter  from  tlie  Crown  by  a  missionary  of 
the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  For- 
eign Parte.*  Both  organization  and  edifice  have  long 
since  ceased  to  exist,  and  at  the  present  time  no  Epis- 
copal society  is  to  be  found  in  East  Amwell. 

THE  UNITED  FIEST  CHDECH  OF  AMWELL.f 

Little  or  nothing  can  be  found  of  the  earliest  eccle- 
siastical history  of  the  Amwell  Germans.  Churches 
abounded  in  this  region  at  an  early  day.  St.  Peter's 
(Episcopal)  church  was  located  where  the  Eingos 
public  school  now  stands,  and  the  Amwell  First 
(Presbyterian)  church  was  only  one  and  a  half  miles 
to  the  east,  in  the  old  graveyard.  A  few  years  later 
(1754)  the  Amwell  Second  (Presbyterian)  church  was 
erected  at  Mount  Airy. 

Our  German  ancestors  early  took  measures  to  have 
a  church  of  their  own.  Tradition  speaks  of  an  old 
log  house,  but  there  is  nothing  certain  concerning  it. 
The  earliest  authentic  date  is  November,  1747, — the 
time  when  Eev.  Michael  Schlatter  visited  Amwell. 
The  German  churches  in  America  had  very  few  min- 
isters (only  four  in  1750)  and  but  sixteen  charges, 
several  neighboring  congregations  constituting  one 
charge.  All  but  three  of  these  were  in  Pennsylvania. 
Only  one  was  in  New  Jersey,  composed  of  the  Amwell 
and  Rockaway  and  Fox  Hill  congregations. 

Eev.  Michael  Schlatter  was  sent  from  Germany  as 
general  superintendent  in  1746.  He  resided  in  Phil- 
adelphia, and  had  charge  of  the  German  churches 
there  and  in  Germantown,  but  most  of  his  time  was 
spent  in  visiting  the  vacant  churches.  Being  invited 
by  the  New  Jersey  congregations,  he  came  to  them  in 
November,  1747,  and  administered  the  rites  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  and  baptism.  At  this  time  the  Amwell 
church  had  been  without  regular  preaching  for  up- 
wards of  three  years.  Thirty  members  took  part  in 
this  communion-service. 

The  next  date  is  Jan.  21,  1749,  when  the  deed  to 
the  graveyard  was  made  by  James  Whittaker  to  Wil- 
liam Ease,  Peter  Hofman,  and  William  Bellowsfelt, 
"  trustees  for  the  Calvinistical  High  Dutch  Congrega- 
tion." Whittaker  derived  his  title  from  the  heirs  of 
Anthony  Diezdorf,  to  whom  it  was  deeded  in  1742  by 
Nathan  Allen,  of  Allentown.  The  old  stone  house 
was  erected  the  same  year.  The  minutes  of  the  old 
Dutch  Church  in  New  York,  of  date  May  22,  1749, 
record  a  resolution  to  pay  £15  to  the  High  Dutch  Re- 
formed Congregation  at  Amwell,  to  help  in  building  a 
church,  since  their  own  means  fall  short,  signed  by 
John  Eitzema,  pastor.  The  church  was  consecrated 
Dec.  1,  1749.  The  services  were  conducted  by  Eev. 
George  Michael  Weiss  (or  Weitzius)  and  Eev.  John 
Philip  Leidich.  December  2d  a  congregational  meet- 
ing was  held,  and  "Articles  of  Order  and  Discipline" 
adopted  and  signed  by  the  ministers  present  and 
twenty-three  male  members.    A  more  extended  series 


of  rules  was  adopted  on  July  12,  1762,  in  addition  to 
those  of  1749.  They  were  again  confirmed  in  congre- 
gational meeting  Nov.  16, 1763. 

The  record-book  of  the  old  church  has  unfortu- 
nately been  lost.  For  the  next  sixty  years  little  can 
be  given  of  interest,  except  such  facts  about  early 
pastors  as  are  given  in  "  Harbaugh's  Lives.''  It  has 
been  found  impossible  to  obtain  a  complete  list  of  the 
German  pastors,  and  there  is  some  uncertainty  about 
the  dates  of  some  of  them.  Their  names,  as  far  as 
known,  will  be  given  in  regular  order. 

Eev.  John  Conrad  Wirtz  did  not  live  at  Amwell, 
but  came  to  Eockaway  and  Fox  Hill  (Lebanon  and 
German  Valley)  soon  after  Mr.  Schlatter's  visits 
(1750-62).  He  is  supposed  to  have  preached  also  in 
the  Amwell  church.  But  little  is  known  of  him.  He 
was  the  ancestor  of  Hon.  Alexander  Wurts,  of  Flem- 
ington. 

Some  old  receipts  indicate  that  Eev.  John  Casper 
Lapp  was  serving  here  in  1755-56,  but  nothing  is 
known  of  him. 

Eev.  William  Kalis  (1757-59)  came  from  London 
in  1756  and  labored  in  Philadelphia  till  his  settlement 
here.  After  leaving  Amwell  he  preached  in  New 
York.  Eev.  Caspar  Michael  StabelJ  (1762-63)  re- 
sided in  Amwell,  but  preached  also  in  Lebanon  and 
German  Valley.  His  ministry  here  was  short,  but 
successful.  He  died  in  1766,  and  is  buried  in  our 
graveyard. 

The  name  of  Eev.  Frederic  Dalliker  (1763-70)  was 
originally  De  la  Cour ;  he  was  probably  of  Huguenot 
descent.  He  died  in  1799  and  is  buried  in  the  Ger- 
man Eeformed  cemetery  at  Faulkner  Swamp,  Pa. 

The  life  of  Eev.  John  Wesley  Gilbert  Nevelling 
(1770-83)  abounds  in  historic  interest.  Born  in  West- 
phalia in  1750,  he  came  to  America  in  his  boyhood, 
and  studied  theology  with  his  uncle  and  another 
German  minister.  He  preached  at  Amwell  when  lit- 
tle more  than  a  boy — only  twenty ;  and  soon  after  was 
ordained.  Mr.  Nevelling  was  an  ardent  patriot  in 
the  Eevolution.  He  sold  his  property  and  loaned  the 
money — some  $25,000 — to  Congress.  He  was  after- 
wards defrauded  of  his  certificate  and  left  destitute. 
The  British  offered  a  large  reward  for  his  capture,  and 
at  one  time  Gen.  Washington  sent  a  troop  of  horse  to 
protect  him.  After  the  war  he  removed  to  Eeading, 
Pa.,  but  was  soon  disabled  by  a  remarkable  accident. 
He  was  a  devoted  smoker.  While  riding  on  horse- 
back his  horse  fell  with  him,  and  the  stem  of  his  pipe 
pierced  his  throat.  The  remainder  of  his  long  life 
was  spent  as  an  invalid;  he  was  a  paralytic  sixty 
years  and  entirely  helpless  forty.  He  lived  in  Phila- 
delphia in  his  last  years,  and  died  Jan.  18,  1844,  aged 
ninety-four. 

Eev.  John  Jacob  Waok  (1798-1805)  was  the  last 
German  pastor.  He  married  an  aunt  of  John,  Wil- 
liam, and  David  S.  Bellis,  now  elders.     He  was  the 


*  "  First  Century  of  Hunterdon  County,"  Kev.  Dr.  Mott. 
f  By  Eev.  C.  S.  Cimverae, 


X  The  name  was  also  spelt  Stapel  and  Stapfel. 


360 


HUNTBKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


first  pastor  who  used  English,  in  this  church.  After 
leaving  Amwell  he  lahored  in  New  York,  and  was  a 
chaplain  in  the  army  during  the  war  of  1812-14.  He 
subsequently  became  an  independent  minister. 

English  Period. — We  now  enter  the  second  period 
of  our  history.  Like  the  other  German  churches  of  this 
neighborhood  the  difficulty  of  being  remote  from  the 
Oerman  Synod  of  Pennsylvania  was  keenly  felt.  All 
of  them  about  the  same  time,  led  by  the  same  cause, 
abandoned  their  old  connection  and  entered  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  name  of  the  church  was  changed  at  this  time. 
At  first  it  was  spoken  of  in  the  old  deeds  as  "The 
High  Dutch  Calvenistical  or  Preisbeterian  Church;" 
in  1800  they  adopted  the  title  "  German  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Amwell;"  in  1809  it  became  the  "  Amwell 
Dutch  Reformed  Church;"  and  in  1810  it  assumed  its 
present  title,  the  "  United  First  Church  of  Amwell." 

This  was  the  result  of  a  union  with  the  Amwell 
First  Church.  All  the  Amwell  Presbyterian  Churches 
were  at  this  time  vacant.  The  Flemington  Church 
made  overtures  for  a  union  in  supporting  a  pastor, 
but  they  were  declined.  A  similar  proposition  from 
the  Amwell  First  was  accepted.  Together  they  had 
funds  yielding  about  $600  a  year.  In  April,  1810,  in 
conjuction  with  the  Amwell  Second  Church,  they 
called  the  Rev.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  a  licentiate  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick.  He  was  ordained  in 
the  Amwell  First  Church,  or  "old  house,"  June  20, 
1810.  The  arrangement  was  that  he  should  preach 
twice  a  month  at  Mount  Airy  and  once  a  month  in 
each  of  the  two  houses  of  the  United  First. 

In  1818  the  United  First  Church  divided  its  funds 
and  separated  into  its  component  elements.  For 
several  years  unsuccessful  efforts  had  been  made  to 
secure  a  new  church  building  in  place  of  the  two  old 
ones,  which  were  too  small  and  uncomfortable.  They 
were  unable  to  agree,  and  it  was  thought  best  to  sever 
the  connection.  The  old  First  Church  branch  resumed 
that  name,  while  the  German  branch  retained  the 
name  United  First. 

The  same  year  the  present  building  was  erected,  on 
a  lot  given  by  Mr.  Joseph  Kugler,  to  the  west  of  the 
old  graveyard.  Both  branches  desired  to  retain  Dr. 
Kirkpatrick's  services,  but  it  was  decided  that  he 
should  remain  with  the  United  First  and  Amwell 
Second,  preaching  alternately  in  the  two  places. 

In  1823  a  separate  bench  of  elders  was  elected  for  the 
United  First  Church.  After  the  union  with  the  Am- 
well First,  one  Session  attended  to  the  spiritual  affairs 
of  the  three  congregations,  aud  this  arrangement  con- 
tinued for  several  years  after  the  withdrawal  of  the 
First  Church.  It  was  now  thought  best  that  each 
congregation  should  have  its  own  Session.  The  ear- 
liest list  of  elders  to  be  found  is  of  date  1798,  twelve 
years  before  the  union.  They  were  Peter  Young, 
Jacob  Fisher,  Peter  Eisler,  and  John  Trimmer ;  with 
Adam  Bellis,  Jacob  Young,  Paul  Kuhl,  Jr.,  and  Jacob 
Bearder  as  deacons.     In  May,  1823,  Peter  Young  and 


George  Dilts  were  the  elders  present  at  the  first 
meeting  of  the  separate  Session.  John  T.  Skillman 
and  John  Vandyke  were  nominated  at  this  meeting, 
and  ordained  in  August,  1823.  Others  have  since 
been  elected  at  intervals, — in  January,  1830,  David 
Bellis  and  Thomas  Skillman;  May,  1836,  John  Kuhl, 
C.  Farley  Fisher,  and  Derrick  Sutphin ;  November, 
1848,  William  M.  Bellis,  James  J.  Fisher,  Sr.,  and 
John  William  Bellis;  May,  1859,  George  F.  Wilson 
and  D.  B.  Kirkpatrick;  March,  1867,  Theodore  Y. 
Van  Marter  and  Dr.  Jacob  Dilts;  February,  1873, 
David  S.  Bellis,  Jacob  Brewer,  William  W.  Fisher, 
and  William  Brewer.  Thus  in  nearly  sixty  years 
this  church  has  elected  eighteen  ruling  elders.  Six 
are  still  in  active  service,  and  three  others  are  living 
and  in  the  bounds  of  the  village  congregation. 

In  September,  1852,  the  congregation  decided  to 
employ  a  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Kirkpatrick.  This 
action  was  the  result  of  a  conviction  that,  as  both 
churches  were  large  and  able,  they  ought  to  have 
preaching  in  both  houses  every  Sabbath.  Rev.  S.  M. 
Osmond  was  called  in  1853,  and  labored  zealously 
here  for  four  years.  Poor  health  then  led  to  his  res- 
ignation. After  his  departure  the  two  congregations 
separated  in  peace,  and  were  served  by  separate  pas- 
tors, Dr.  Kirkpatrick  remaining  with  the  United 
First.  In  January,  1866,  another  co-pastor  was 
employed  on  account  of  Dr.  Kirkpatrick's  failing 
strength ;  Rev.  W.  S.  Wright  was  called,  and  installed 
on  April  28,  1866. 

Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick  died  May  2,  1866,  in 
the  fifty-sixth  year  of  his  pastorate  in  this  church. 
He  was  universally  beloved  and  esteemed.  The 
funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  his  aged  friend  and 
co-presbyter.  Rev.  Dr.  Studdiford,  who  soon  followed 
him  to  his  rest.  He  sleeps  in  the  old  graveyard.  A 
handsome  marble  shaft  was  erected  over  his  remains 
by  a  subscription  of  the  congregation.  In  his  semi- 
centennial "  Historical  Discourse"  Dr.  Kirkpatrick 
speaks  of  having  "  enjoyed  ten  special  seasons  of 
revival.  In  one  year  we  received  117 ;  in  another, 
67  ;  and  from  40  down  to  20.  The  whole  number 
received  is  over  600."  In  these  fifty  years  he  "  sol- 
emnized 635  marriages ;  attended  more  than  800 
funerals ;  preached  at  home  and  abroad  more  than 
10,000  times." 

Mr.  Wright's  pastorate  was  of  short  duration.  The 
connection  was  dissolved  by  the  Presbytery  of  Rari- 
tan,  Oct.  1,  1867.  He  is  now  laboring  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  Samuel  Harrison,  called 
June  27,  1868,  and  installed  September  5th,  of 
the  same  year.  His  pastorate  commenced  under 
great  difficulties  arising  from  the  division  of  the 
church.  For  many  years  there  had  been  a  lecture- 
room  in  Ringos,  in  which  Sunday-school,  prayer- 
meetings,  and  other  services  were  held.  Many  were 
in  favor  of  removing  the  church  to  the  village,  but  a 
majority  voted  against  it.     The  result  was  that  the 


EAST  AMWELL. 


361 


Kirkpatrick  Memorial  church  was  built  in  Ringos, 
and  47  members,  including  three  elders,  dismissed  by 
the  old  church  in  December,  1868.  The  old  church 
■was  repaired  and  enlarged  at  this  time.  Mr.  Harri- 
son's pastorate  will  long  be  remembered  for  the  re- 
vival of  1870.  Eighty-three  were  received  into  the 
church  on  profession  at  the  spring  communion,  and 
six  more  later  in  the  year.  During  his  pastorate  a 
Sunday-school  was  established  at  the  church,  also  a 
ladies'  missionary  society. 

Mr.  Harrison  resigned  in  the  fall  of  1875,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  throat  affection  that  disabled  him  from 
preaching.  He  studied  medicine,  and  is  now  prac- 
ticing at  Clover  Hill,  N.  J. 

The  present  pastor,  Rev.  Charles  S.  Converse,  was 
ordained  and  installed  May  8, 1876.  This  is  the  only 
ordination  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  this  church. 

The  United  First  Church  now  numbers  200  mem- 
bers (or  about  240,  including  scattered  absentees),  and 
is  a  united  church  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name. 

THE  "  KIEKPATBICK  MEMOEIAL  CHURCH"  (PBESBTTEEIAN) 
AT  BINGOS,  N.  J.» 

This  church  was  erected  as  a  memorial  of  the  minis- 
try of  Rev.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  D.D.,  for  fifty-six 
years  pastor  of  the  Amwell  churches  in  this  vicinity. 
During  the  later  years  of  his  life  Dr.  Kirkpatrick 
made  several  attempts  to  induce  the  Amwell  United 
First  Church,  located  at  Larison's  Corner,  about  a 
mile  out  of  Ringos,  to  remove  to  the  village  of  Rin- 
gos, but  these  attempts  proved  ineffectual.  After  his 
death,  in  1866,  the  effort  was  renewed  by  members  of 
that  congregation  resident  in  the  village  and  vicinity, 
but  still  without  success.  Then  a  separation  was  de- 
termined upon,  as  the  following  historical  minute 
shows : 

"  The  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Blngos  and  vicinity,  having  long 
been  impressed  with  the  need  of  the  means  of  grace  for  themselves  and 
their  children  nearer  to  them  than  the  old  place  of  worship,  used  all 
honorable  and  Christian  efforts  with  their  brethren  of  the  United  First 
Church,  Amwell,  to  unite  with  them  in  the  erection  of  a  more  commodi- 
ous and  enduring  edifice  in  the  village,  and  that  the  whole  congregation 
might  be  transferred.  Having  failed  in  this  attempt,  they  resolved  to 
build,  cherishiug  no  unkind  feelings  towards  those  who  did  not  come 
with  them." 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice  was  laid  Oct.  3, 
1868.  The  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Janeway,  D.D.,  made  an 
address  and-laid  the  stone. 

The  people  applied  to  the  Presbytery  of  Raritan  to 
set  them  apart  in  a  new  organization,  and  at  a  meet- 
ing held  at  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  Dec.  23,  1868,  the 
Presbytery,  satisfied  with  their  reasons,  and  believing 
that  the  cause  of  Christ  would  be  thereby  promoted, 
resolved  to  grant  their  request  and  organize  them 
into  a  church,  with  the  name  of  the  "  Kirkpatrick 
Memorial  Church."  Accordingly,  on  December  28th, 
the  committee  appointed  by  Presbytery  met  with 
the  applicants  at  Ringos,  for  the  purpose  of  organiz- 
ing them  into  a  church.  Forty-nine  persons  pre- 
sented certificates  of  dismission  and  were  enrolled  as 


*  By  the  Rev.  Alex.  Miller. 


members,  viz. :  From  the  Amwell  United  First 
Church :  Jacob  Dilts,  Mahlon  Schenck,  Hannah  M. 
Schenck,  Liscomb  T.  Schenck,  Virginia  C.  Schenck, 
Edward  H.  Schenck,  Frances  J.  K.  Schenck,  George 
F.  Wilson,  Mary  A.  Wilson,  Nathaniel  G.  Wilson, 
Caroline  Wilson,  David  Williamson,  Mary  L.  Wil- 
liamson, Martha  Williamson,  Mary  Williamson,  Sa- 
rah C.  Williamson,  Jane  E.  C.  Williamson,  Elizabeth 
Kirkpatrick,  Joseph  C.  Sutphin,  Cornelia  A.  Sutphin, 
Mary  F.  Egbert,  Mary  Ten  Eyck,  Catharine  Tindall, 
Anna  C.  Young,  Peter  I.  Young,  Jacob  Young,  Theo- 
dore Y.  Van  Marter,  Ann  S.  Van  Marter,  Jacob  S. 
Van  Marter,  Mary  C.  Van  Marter,  Robert  I.  Hunt, 
Catharine  T.  Hunt,  Frances  M.  Hunt,  John  J.  Con- 
over,  Henrietta  Conover,  George  Rowland,  Amanda 
Rowland,  Levi  M.  Housel,  Rebecca  A.  Housel,  Ada- 
line  Housel,  Thomas  Van  Fleet,  Catharine  Servis, 
Caroline  Blackwell,  Elizabeth  N.  Young,  Peter 
Brewer,  Catharine  Brewer,  Sarah  A.  West,  Elias 
Brister.  From  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Lambert- 
ville: Mrs.  Eliza  Schenck. 

At  the  same  time,  Jacob  Dilts,  George  F.  Wilson, 
and  Theodore  Y.  Van  Marter  were  elected  and  in- 
stalled as  ruling  elders,  they  having  been  previously 
ordained  as  elders  in  other  churches.  The  financial 
interests  were  committed  to  a  board  of  trustees,  con- 
sisting of  Jacob  Dilts,  John  J.  Conover,  Edward  H. 
Schenck,  Cornelius  Vreeland,  J.  C.  Sutphin,  J.  S. 
Van  Marter,  and  Noah  Blackwell.  Services  were 
held  in  the  lecture-room,  a  frame  building  36  by  24 
feet,  which  had  been  erected  near  the  centre  of  the 
village  by  them  and  other  residents  many  years  be- 
fore, and  used  for  Sabbath-school,  prayer-meetings, 
and  occasional  preaching  services.  At  the  separation 
from  the  old  church  this  property  fell  to  the  new  or- 
ganization, which  built  library  and  infant  class  rooms 
in  the  rear  of  the  building,  adding  14  feet  to  its 
length.     It  is  now  valued  at  about  $1500. 

Meantime,  the  new  edifice  was  completed,  and  ded- 
icated Oct.  27,  1869.  It  is  a  substantial  stone  struc- 
ture, Gothic  style,  one  story  and  basement,  with 
pitched  roof,  75^  by  48i  feet,  and  with  seating  capac- 
ity of  about  600.  The  massive  memorial  tower  14  by 
14  feet,  projecting  irom  the  front  centre  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  spire  running  to  a  height  of  120  feet, 
forms  a  spacious  outer  vestibule  to  the  church.  Its 
cost  may  be  set  down  at  $12,000. 

For  over  a  year  after  organization  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  mainly  by  Dr.  Janeway  and  other  members 
of  Presbytery.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  John  D. 
Hewitt,  who  was  installed  in  this,  his  first  pastorate, 
April  18,  1870.  Here  he  ministered  successfully  for 
nearly  seven  years,  his  pastoral  relation  being  dis- 
solved Dec.  29,  1876,  upon  his  acceptance  of  a  call 
to  engage  in  home  mission  work  at  Helena,  Mon. 
After  a  vacancy  of  a  few  weeks,  he  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Alexander  Miller,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  who,  on 
April  22,  1877,  was  formally  installed  as  the  second 
pastor. 


24 


362 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


In  the  spring  of  1872  a  deaconate  on  the  rotary 
principle  was  inaugurated,  Amos  M.  Hart,  David 
Lawshe,  and  Isaac  Cherry  being  elected  for  one,  two, 
and  three  years,  respectively,  and  ordained  and  in- 
stalled May  12th  of  that  year. 

In  the  fall  of  1875  a  lot  was  bought  on  the  north 
side  of  the  church,  and  a  parsonage  built  the  follow- 
ing spring,  at  a  total  cost,  including  lot,  of  about 
$3500. 

When  the  church  was  organized,  the  old  "  Eingos 
Sabbath-school,"  previously  carried  on  in  the  lecture- 
room,  was  reorganized  as  "  The  Kirkpatrick  Memorial 
Sabbath  -  school."  The  successive  superintendents 
have  been  D.  Williamson,  George  F.  Wilson,  H.  H. 
Gorton,  D.  Lawshe,  and  W.  M.  Rue.  It  numbers 
about  100  officers,  teachers,  and  scholars. 

The  present  officers  of  the  church  are :  Pastor,  Rev. 
Alexander  Miller;  Elders,  Jacob  Dilts,  T.  Y.  Van 
Marter,  Jacob  S.  Van  Marter,  David  Williamson, 
John  Rue ;  Deacons,  Amos  M.  Hart,  John  Conover, 
Levi  Holcombe;  Trustees,  D.  Williamson,  W.  M. 
Rue,  P.  0.  Holcombe,  Noah  Blackwell,  Ira  Munson, 
William  S.  Quick,  John  Conover;  Superintendent  of 
Sunday-school,  William  M.  Rue. 

This  church  now  numbers  170. 

THE  BAPTIST   OHAPEL,   BIN60S. 

From  the  time  Dr.  C.  W.  Larison  settled  in  Ringos, 
in  1863,  he  was  active  in  his  efforts  to  facilitate  the 
progress  of  the  gospel  in  the  village.  He  believed 
that  the  establishment  of  a  new  church  (there  being 
but  one, — ^the  Presbyterian)  would  draw  the  crowd 
away  from  the  tavern  and  tend  to  improve  the  morals 
of  the  place.  After  many  discouragements  and 
prophecies  of  failure,  Israel  Poulson,  a  Dunkard 
minister,  then  a  merchant  in  the  village,  advised  them 
to  move  forward  in  the  name  of  the  Baptist  people, 
and  to  invite  those  of  that  denomination  in  the  vicinity 
to  assume  charge  of  the  enterprise. 

Dr.  Larison  then  made  application  for  the  use  of 
the  ''session-room,"  on  alternate  Sabbaths,  for  the 
purpose  of  holding  religious  services  therein,  but  was 
refused.     A  building  was  now  a  necessity. 

In  response  to  an  invitation  given,  a  number  of 
Baptists  met  at  the  office  of  Dr.  0.  W.  Larison,  at 
Ringos,  Oct.  10,  1867.  At  this  meeting  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  to  organize  a  society  and  build  a 
chapel. 

A  committee  to  purchase  a  site  (Jacob  S.  Durham, 
John  C.  Nevius,  and  Dr.  C.  W.  Larison)  was  chosen, 
who  reported  that  they  had  purchased  the  ground  for 
the  church  enterprise  for  the  sum  of  $311. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  chosen  as  a  board  of 
trustees :  Rev.  A.  Armstrong,  Frenchtown ;  Dr.  George 
H.  Larison,  Lambertville ;  Dr.  Charles  M.  Lee,  George 
W.  Sharp,  Stockton ;  Acher  Moore,  Sandy  Ridge ;  Dr. 
C.  W.  Larison,  Ringos ;  Jacob  S.  Durham,  John  C. 
Nevius,  Wertsville. 

Rev.  S.  Siegfried,  Dr.  G.  H.  Larison,  and  Dr.  C.W. 


Larison  were  chosen  a  committee  to  submit  at  the 
next  meeting  a  plan  for  a  chapel  edifice,  and  to  pre- 
pare and  submit  a  constitution  for  the  government  of 
the  corporate  body.  Oct.  12,  1867,  the  constitution 
was  submitted  and  adopted,  and  in  accordance  with 
it  the  body  hereafter  was  known  as  the  "  Baptist 
Chapel  at  Ringos." 

Oct.  19,  1867,  C.  W.  Larison,  Jacob  S.  Durham,  C. 
M.  Lee,  William  Daily,  and  John  C.  Nevius  were  ap- 
pointed a  building  committee.  Under  their  manage- 
ment was  erected  the  edifice  at  present  known  as  the 
Baptist  church  at  Ringos.  It  is  a  frame  structure,  44 
by  24  feet,  with  posts  19  feet  high.  It  was  dedicated 
Aug.  12,  1868. 

Pursuant  to  previous  arrangements,  a  Sabbath-school 
was  organized  Aug.  17,  1867,  and  September  1st, 
eleven  individuals  organized  themselves  into  a  regular 
Baptist  Church. 

THE   FIRST   BAPTIST   CHUKCH  OF   KINGOS.* 

As  above  stated,  on  the  1st  of  September,  1868,  a 
Baptist  Church  was  organized.  It  was  incorporated 
as  "  The  First  Baptist  Church  of  Ringos,"  and  was 
composed  of  twelve  members, — Mr.  and  Mrs.  David 
F.  Bond,  from  the  Lambertville  Baptist  Church ;  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  E.  C.  Green,  Mrs.  Hannah  Young,  and  Mr. 
A.  B.  Larison,  from  Sandy  Ridge  Baptist  Church  ;  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  A.  C.  Hill,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Daily, 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Reading,  from  the  Fleming- 
ton  Baptist  Church.  Messrs.  David  F.  Bond  and 
William  Daily  were  chosen  deacons. 

A  council  of  recognition  convened  Sept.  2,  1868. 
Rev.  George  Young,  of  Sandy  Ridge,  was  chosen 
moderator,  and  Rev.  H.  D.  Doolittle,  of  Somerville, 
secretary.'  The  Articles  of  Faith  and  Discipline  hav- 
ing been  examined,  and  meeting  the  approval  of  the 
Council,  the  new  interest  was  recognized  as  a  regu- 
larly-constituted Baptist  Church.  The  recognition 
sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  William  Swindon,  of 
Pennsylvania;  prayer  by  Rev.  Samuel  Sproul,  of 
Baptisttown,  N.  J. ;  hand  of  fellowship  by  Rev.  J. 
M.  Carpenter,  of  Pennsylvania;  and  charge  to  the 
church  and  benediction  by  Rev.  A.  Armstrong,  of 
Frenchtown,  N.  J. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Carpenter  supplied  the  pulpit  about 
four  months,  and  to  him,  with  the  few  faithful  workers 
gathered  about  him,  the  church  owes  much  of  its 
present  prosperity.  In  April,  1869,  Mr.  H.  H.  Leamy, 
a  student  of  Crozer  Theological  Seminary,  at  Upland, 
Pa.,  was  secured  as  a  supply  and  served  the  church 
with  much  acceptance  till  Sept.  1, 1869.  During  this 
period  Dr.  C.  W.  Larison,  Mr.  Silas  Nonamaker  and 
wife,  Mrs.  Henry  More,  and  Miss  Charlotte  Emly 
united  with  the  church. 

Jan.  30,  1870,  Mr.  A.  B.  Larison  was  called  to  the 
pastorate.  He  was  ordained  Feb.  9,  1870,  in  the 
Baptist  chapel  at  Ringos.  With  his  coming  a  new 
era  seemed  to  open  to  the  church.     A  revival  at  once 


*  By  Kav.  J.  M.  Htlsley,  pofitor. 


EAST  AMWELL. 


363 


began,  and  about  thirty  united  with    the    church 
during  the  first  three  months  of  his  ministry. 

The  church  depended  on  supplies  from  Crozer 
Seminary,  Pennsylvania,  till  Sept.  7,  1873,  when 
Ebon  J.  Pearce,  of  Upland,  Pa.,  became  its  pastor. 
He  remained  in  charge  only  about  a  year,  after  which 
preaching  was  supplied  by  the  students  of  Crozer 
Seminary.  During  this  period  another  revival  oc- 
curred which  increased  its  membership  to  nearly  100. 
Soon  after  this  Mr.  T.  C.  Young  was  called  to  the 
pastoral  charge.  He  was  ordained  May  6,  1875,  and 
served  with  ability  till  February,  1876,  when  he  re- 
signed to  accept  a  call  from  the  Bethlehem  Baptist 
Church. 

During  the  next  fourteen  months  the  church  had 
no  regular  pastor,  but  was  supplied  from  time  to  time 
by  students  and  neighboring  pastors,  when  such  could 
be  obtained.  Internal  feuds  and  dissensions  about 
this  period  seemed  to  threaten  its  very  existence. 

In  April,  1867,  Mr.  J.  M.  Helsley,  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, who  had  just  completed  his  course  at  Crozer 
Theological  Seminary,  was  called  to  the  pastoral  care. 
Comparative  harmony  was  restored,  and  the  little 
band,  so  near  dissolution,  now  numbers  110  members. 


THE  WBRTS'  CORNER  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

On  March  1,  1834,  a  meeting  was  called  at  the 
school-house  at  Werts'  Corner  (now  Wertsville)  of 
persons  favorable  to  the  erection  of  a  Baptist  meet- 
ing-house, at  which  it  was  resolved  to  erect  a  building 
to  be  known  as  the  Baptist  meeting-house  at  Werts' 
Corner.  At  an  adjourned  tneeting,  held  March  22, 
1884,  articles  were  drawn  and  subscribed  to. 

One  acre  of  land  was  given  by  James  Servis  and 
Betsey  Hoaglaud,  as  a  site  for  a  meeting-house  and 
burying-grcund  forever.  A  structure  was  erected  upon 
the  lot,  40  by  48  feet,  and  dedicated  with  appropriate 
services. 

A  council  was  called  Oct.  1,  1836,  for  the  purpose 
of  constituting  a  regular  Baptist  Church.  The  minis- 
tering brethren  who  were  present  were  Eevs.  G.  S. 
Webb,  Daniel  T.  Hill,  Morgan  J.  Rheece,  and  David 
B.  Stout.  Rev.  G.  S.  Webb  was  moderator,  and  Rev. 
Morgan  J.  Rheece  clerk.  Letters  of  dismission  were 
presented  from  the  Amwell  Baptist  Church  at  Flem- 
ington  by  the  following  persons:  N.  O.  Durham, 
Mary  Durham,  Mahlon  Higgins,  Ann  Higgins,  Abra- 
ham I.  Van  Doren,  Abraham  Larison,  Mary  Carr, 
and  Elizabeth  Young.  The  letters,  together  with  the 
Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  having  been  exam- 
ined and  approved,  the  church  was  regularly  consti- 
tuted and  recognized.  Rev.  Morgan  J.  Rheece  pre- 
sented the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  The  church 
then  elected  N.  0.  Durham  and  Abraham  I.  Van 
Doren  deacons,  and  N.  O.  Durham  clerk. 

Rev.  William  Pollard  was  called  as  pastor,  and  in 
much  bodily  weakness  and  infirmity  he  served  faith- 
fully three  years,  dying  Nov.  30,  1839,  much  beloved. 
He  baptized  twenty-one  persons  during  his  pastorate. 


After  this  the  church  was  dependent  on  supplies  for 
a  few  months. 

Near  the  close  of  May,  1840,  Brother  F.  Ketchum, 
an  evangelist,  commenced  a  series  of  meetings,  and 
twenty-eight  were  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
church. 

June  13,  1840,  Rev.  James  Spencer  accepted  a  call 
and  became  pastor ;  he  remained  until  the  middle  of 
December,  1841,  having  baptized  nineteen  during  this 
period. 

The  church  was  again  dependent  on  supplies  until 
April,  1842,  when  Rev.  Joseph  Wright  accepted  a 
call,  dividing  his  time  between  Werts'  Corner  and 
Sandy  Ridge.  This  arrangement  continued  for  one 
year.  He  then  accepted  a  call  for  the  whole  of  his 
time  at  Werts'  Corner,  continuing  as  pastor  until 
April,  1849,  and  baptizing  forty-two  during  his  term 
of  service. 

June  1,  1849,  Rev.  Ephraim  Sheppard  accepted  a 
call ;  he  served  for  about  five  years  and  four  months, 
baptizing  eighteen  persons. 

From  October,  1854,  to  March  following  the  church 
was  destitute  of  a  pastor.  In  March,  1855,  Rev.  Ed- 
ward C.  Ambler  accepted  a  call,  and  remained  until 
September,  1856 ;  he  baptized  seventeen  persons  during 
his  pastorate. 

A  call  was  then  extended  to  Rev.  George  Young, 
which  he  accepted,  and  served  until  October,  1857. 
During  his  pastorate  he  baptized  his  two  sons,  Charles 
and  George.  They  were  both  afterwards  licensed  by 
the  church  to  preach. 

June  1, 1858,  Samuel  Cox,  a  licentiate  of  the  Second 
Baptist  Church  of  Salem,  N.  J.,  accepted  a  call,  and 
on  the  10th  of  that  month  was  ordained  to  the  min- 
istry by  a  council  convened  for  that  purpose.  He 
remained  until  Oct.  1,  1860,  baptizing  six  during  his 
stay. 

In  October,  1860,  Rev.  Joseph  Beldon  accepted  a 
call,  and  commenced  his  labors  the  1st  of  February 
following;  he  continued  to  serve  until  June  1,  1865. 

From  June  1,  1865,  to  October,  1867,  the  church 
was  destitute  of  a  pastor,  but  enjoyed  occasional 
preaching;  prayer-meetings  were  held,  and  quite  a 
number  were  converted ;  nine  professed  their  faith, 
and  were  baptized  by  Rev.  Ephraim  Sheppard,  who 
volunteered  his  services  to  administer  the  ordinances 
and  preach  until  a  pastor  might  be  obtained. 

Oct.  1,  1867,  Rev.  Simeon  Siegfried  took  charge, 
and  remained  until  April  1,  1869. 

Rev.  Joseph  Wright  then  commenced  as  supply, 
faithfully  laboring  until  stricken  with  palsy ;  he  bap- 
tized six  while  thus  serving. 

In  the  summer  and  fall  of  1875,  Thomas  C.  Young 
preached  twice  a  month  in  the  afternoon  and  held  a 
series  of  evening  meetings,  baptizing  ten  persons  on 
profession  of  faith. 

Nov.  1, 1876,  George  B.  Young  commenced  serving 
the  church,  and  resigned  in  May  following.  Six  were 
baptized  and  added  during  his  pastorate. 


364 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


In  1878,  Dr.  George  H.  Larison  supplied  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  and  baptized  four. 

The  churcli  has  no  settled  pastor  at  present  (1880), 
nor  has  it  had  for  some  time  past,  but  has  been  sup- 
plied by  Eev.  J.  M.  Helsley  and  other  neighboring 
pastors. 

The  present  trustees  are  Jacob  S.  Durham,  Jacob  S. 
Herder,  Israel  H.  Hill,  J.  R.  S.  Hill,  John  C.  Dunham, 
B.  V.  Hill,  and  David  Van  Doren. 

METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHUECH,  NEW  MABKET. 

The  church  at  New  Market  grew  out  of  a  class  that 
met  at  Woodville,  Mercer  Co.,  one  mile  south  of  New 
Market.  According  to  the  church  record  of  Penning- 
ton Station  this  class  was  formed  in  1844,  Header 
Blackwell  as  leader.  The  members  were  John  A. 
Abbott,  Margaret  Abbott,  Walter  Harbourt,  Eliza 
Harbourt,  Ann  E.  Abbott,  Theophilus  Harbourt, 
Catharine  Titus,  Wilmina  Tibbett,  and  Joseph  Ab- 
bott. 

In  1858,  Eev.  James  R.  Bryan  was  preacher  in 
charge,  and  Eev.  Jonathan  Vannote  junior  preacher. 
A  revival  occurred  under  their  administration,  which 
lesulted  in  a  large  addition  to  the  Woodville  class ; 
«o  that  the  class  was  divided,  and  Theodore  Silvers 
and  John  L.  Burroughs  were  appointed  leaders.  The 
following  appear  as  members  of  these  classes :  Theo- 
■dore  Silvers,  Frances  Silvers,  Jacob  Williamson,  Mary 
Young,  William  N.  Brady,  Sarah  M.  Brady,  N.  E. 
Blackwell,  Olivia  Brady,  Frances  Conover,  Sarah 
Conover,  Asa  Eobbins,  Jane  Mathews,  Alice  Akers, 
■Sarah  Cromwell,  Jacob  R.  Brady,  Mary  Cromwell, 
William  Wolverton,  Helen  B.  Wolverton,  J.  H. 
Stillwell,  E.  H.  Stillwell,  W.  Penrod,  Eunice  Pen- 
jod,  Henry  B.  Brady,  Samuel  Holcombe,  Deliverance 
Blackwell,  Mary  E.  Wilson,  Margaret  Snook,  William 
Reed,  Lucretia  Ege,  John  L.  Burroughs,  Eichard 
Burroughs,  Zimri  Wood,  Susannah  Wood,  Ann  Chaf- 
fee, Penelope  P.  S.  Burroughs,  Charity  Burroughs, 
Jacob  Tindall,  Warner  R.  Mathews,  A.  H.  Drake, 
William  H.  Scudder,  Mary  Scudder,  Elizabeth  Golden, 
Jacob  S.  Deen,  Ann  M.  Deen,  Jacob  Williamson,  Jr., 
Elizabeth  Larew,  Ellen  Smith,  Ketura  Smith,  and 
Elizabeth  Petit. 

This  large  accession  rendered  a  church  edifice  a 
necessity,  and  the  same  year  (1858)  the  present  struc- 
ture was  erected,  and  the  above  persons  constituted 
the  society.  The  size  of  the  building  is  48  by  36  feet. 
The  basement  story  has  a  Sunday-school  room  and 
two  class-rooms ;  the  audience-room  has  seating  ca- 
pacity for  250  persons.   The  building  cost  about  $3800. 

The  following  were  the  first  trustees:  Richard 
Burroughs,  William  H.  Scudder,  Zimri  Wood,  Ralph 
B.  Smith,  and  Theodore  Silvers.  The  present  board 
(1880)  consists  of  Levi  Eeed,  Andrew  Cromwell, 
Cornelius  Dallas,  Samuel  Schenck,  Edward  Larew, 
Cornelius  Gulick,  and  Ferdinand  H.  Akers.  The 
pastors  since  organization  have  been  James  R.  Bryan, 
Jonathan  Vannote,  Benjamin  S.  Sharp,  John  P.  Con- 


nelly, John  J.  Graw,  John  B.  Westcott,  J.  T.  Streck, 
Samuel  Parker,  George  Hitchens,  Milton  Relyea, 
Caleb  A.  Malsbury,  Benjamin  C.  Lippincott,  Henry 
Belting. 

The  church  at  present  has  a  membership  of  67. 

CEMETERIES. 

The  only  public  cemetery  in  the  township,  other 
than  the  denominational  churchyards,  is  that  known 
as  the  "  Union  Cemetery  at  Ringos."  It  was  incor- 
porated Oct.  25, 1876,  by  Cornelius  W.  Larison,  Noah 
H.  Blackwell,  John  B.  Dalrymple,  Levi  Holcombe, 
John  H.  Young,  Silas  Nonamaker,  and  Austin  S. 
Wilson.  The  first  officers  were  Cornelius  W\  Larison, 
President ;  Noah  H.  Blackwell,  Vice-President ;  Levi 
Holcombe,  Secretary  ;  Silas  Nonamaker,  Treasurer. 

In  1876,  4.29  acres,  west  of  the  village  and  adjoin- 
ing the  township  line,  were  purchased  of  Noah  H. 
Blackwell  and  constituted  a  cemetery  under  the  above 
organization.  The  grounds  have  been  laid  out,  roads 
made,  trees  set  out,  and  a  memorial  monument  erected 
in  the  centre  of  the  cemetery.  The  first  interment 
was  a  child  of  Peter  Snyder,  in  1877. 

The  ofiicers  for  1880  are  the  same  as  above  given 
except  that  John  H.  Young  is  vice-president  in  place 
of  Noah  H.  Blackwell. 

The  other  cemeteries  of  this  township  are  those 
connected  with  the  Baptist  Church  at  Wertsville  and 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Pleasant  Corner.  There 
is  also  an  old  burial-ground,  disused  for  the  past  sixty 
years,  located  on  the  property  of  Joseph  G.  Quick 
and  Roeliflf  Sutphin,  north  of  Mountain  Brook,  and 
in  the  same  vicinity  is  another,  formerly  the  pauper 
burial-ground  in  the  days  of  the  old  poor-farm,  but 
this  has  been  abandoned  for  many  years.  Another 
old  cemetery,  and  one  well  known,  is  located  between 
Ringos  and  Larison's,  near  the  Ringos  school. 

Amodg  family  burial-places  may  be  mentioned  that 
of  the  Chamberlin  family,  on  the  M.  Huffman  farm, 
near  the  Back  Brook;  that  of  the  Quick  family  at 
Van  Liew's  Corners,  on  the  estate  of  the  late  E.  Van 
Liew ;  and  that  of  the  Manners  and  Stout  families, 
about  a  mile  east  of  Wertsville. 

SOCIETIES. 

POWHATTAN  LODGE,  No.  72,  I.  0.  0.  E., 

was  instituted  Jan.  20,  1848,  with  the  following  char- 
ter members :  Jacob  W.  Williamson,  Joseph  A.  Pit- 
tinger,  Abraham  T.  Williamson,  Augustus  Hunt,  and 
Wellington  Fergus.  The  principal  first  oflScers  were 
J.  W.  Williamson,  Noble  Grand ;  Augustus  Hunt, 
Vice  Grand  ;  Wellington  Fergus,  Sec. ;  J.  A.  Pittin- 
ger,  Treas.  June  28th :  Augustus  Hunt  was  elected 
Noble  Grand,  and  D.  B.  Kirkpatrick  Vice  Grand. 

The  presiding  officers  since  1848,  with  the  dates  of 
their  election,  have  been  as  follows  :* 

1848,  D.  B.  Kirkpatrick ;  1849,  John  S.  William- 
son, David  Williamson;    1850,  Wellington  Forgus, 

*  The  ofBcera  are  elected  semi-annually. 


EAST  AMWELL. 


365 


John  Denson;  1851,  David  B.  Boss,  Joseph  Servis; 
1852,  Nathaniel  Coffee,  John  F.  Servis ;  1853,  Jacob 
Williamson,  Jacob  S.  C.  Pittinger;  1854,  David 
Shepherd,  James  A.  Foote ;  1855,  P.  Mathews ;  1856, 
D.  H.  Bodine,  John  Young ;  1857,  Joseph  M.  Dal- 
rymple,  J.  F.  Larison,  John  F.  Shepherd;  1858, 
Charles  Denson,  Peter  W.  Shepherd ;  1859,  Jacob  J. 
Fisher,  Jacob  Young ;  1860,  James  S.  C.  Pittinger, 
Isaac  Hoppock. 

In  1860  the  charter  of  Powhattan  Lodge  was  re- 
voked by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey. 

The  lodge  was  resuscitated  Feb.  2,  1874,  under  the 
same  name  and  number.  The  representatives  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  on  this  occasion  were  D.  D.  Taylor,  of 
Lackatong  Lodge;  P.  D.  D.  Curtiss,  of  Magnolia 
Lodge ;  P.  G.'s  John  Horn,  of  Lenni  Lenape  Lodge, 
Hervy  Witten,  of  Pennington  Lodge.  The  charter 
members  were  Joseph  Dalrymple,  Peter  W.  Shep- 
herd, James  G.  Phillips,  and  David  Williamson. 
The  first  officers  were  Joseph  Dalrymple,  Noble 
Grand ;  Joseph  G.  Phillips,  Vice  Grand ;  Peter  W. 
Shepherd,  Sec. ;  David  Williamson,  Treas. 
The  succeeding  Noble  Grands  have  been : 

1874. — June,  J.  G.  Pliillips;  December,  Amos  M.  Hart. 
1875.— June,  Harry  Weber ;  December,  Edward  Larue. 
1876. — JuDe,  Ira  Munson ;  December,  William  Weber. 
1877. — June,  E.  C.  Green ;  December,  Jacob  Dilts. 
1878.— Jane,  Abm.  M.  Eixson ;  December,  Abm.  S.  Wilson. 
1879.— June,  James  B.  Housel;  December,  Josepb  Abbott. 

The  officers  of  the  lodge  elected  June  26,  1880,  are 
Theodore  Servis,  Noble  Grand;  George  Suydam, 
Vice  Grand ;  P.  C.  Young,  Sec. ;  A.  M.  Hart,  Treas. 

The  lodge  holds  weekly  meetings  in  their  hall,  in 
the  second  story  of  the  Odd-Fellows'  building,  for- 
merly owned  by  the  lodge,  but  now  private  property. 

EINGOS  TOTAL  ABSTINENCE  SOCIETY. 

For  some  years  the  temperance  cause  was  almost 
entirely  neglected  in  the  vicinity  of  Ringos.*  At  one 
time  the  Eev.  Dr.  Zirkpatrick,  who  was  pastor  here, 
with  the  aid  of  a  few  zealous  laymen,  did  some  effi- 
cient work ;  since  then,  however,  nothing  was  done 
by  any  one  except  the  pastors  of  the  different  churches, 
who  preached  a  sermon  on  the  subject  occasionally. 

In  the  fall  of  1879  one  of  the  pastors  heard  a  man 
abusing  his  wife  while  still  suffering  from  the  efiects 
of  a  drunken  revel,  and  the  same  day  a  number  of 
men  became  intoxicated  at  a  political  caucus.  This 
led  to  a  consultation  among  the  three  pastors  of  the 
place,  and  a  course  of  action  was  marked  out. 

November  9th,  Mrs.  J.  T.  Ellis,  of  Flemington, 
lectured  by  request  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
made  so  good  an  impression  that  on  the  evening  of 
November  14th  an  association  was  formed  at  the  Bap- 

*  Not.  6, 1826,  the  good  people  of  Amwell  met  at  the  house  of  Isaa* 
Lowe,  and  organized  a  reformatory  association,  with  the  lengthy  title  of 
"  The  Amwell  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Vice  and  Immorality,  and 
the  Encouragement  of  Virtue  and  Good  Morals."  A  constitution  was 
adopted,  an  address  delivered,  and  olHcers  chosen.  As  no  further  men- 
tion has  come  to  our  notice,  it  is  believed  that  it  must  have  been  short- 
lived. 


tist  chapel.  The  society  was  called  "The  Ringos 
Total  Abstinence  Society."  Subscription  to  the 
pledge  constitutes  any  one  a  member. 

The  society  meets  on  the  last  Friday  evening  of 
each  month.  The  present  officers  are :  President, 
C.  R.  Nightingale;  Vice-Presidents,  William  Rue, 
Amos  Bond,  Hiram  Fisher ;  Secretary,  J.  M.  Helsley ; 
Treasurer,  Datis  Reed. 

The  society  numbers  about  110  members,  very  few 
having  retrograded.  It  owes  much  of  its  success  to 
the  earnest  efforts  of  Mr.  C.  R.  Nightingale. 

EINGOS  GRANGE,  No.  13, 

was  organized  Oct.  11, 1873,  by  George  W.  Thompson, 
General  Deputy  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  with  the 
following  charter  members :  Newton  K.  Young,  Mrs. 
Margaret  Young,  Eev.  J.  D.  Hewitt,  David  Bellis, 
John  W.  Bellis,  Mrs.  Sarah  Bellis,  David  Bond,  Anna 
T.  Bond,  Elisha  E.  Holcombe,  Hannah  Holcombe, 
William  S.  Quick,  Sallie  Quick,  F.  S.  Holcombe,  Mrs. 
J.  W.  Holcombe,  D.  Williamson,  0.  Wilson,  Rachel 

A.  Wilson,  P.  O.  Holcombe,  Martha  Holcombe,  John 

B.  Blackwell,  and  Jacob  Sutphin.  The  following 
officers  were  elected  and  installed:  Master,  David 
Williamson ;  Overseer,  D.  S.  Bellis ;  Lecturer,  J.  W. 
Bellis;  Steward,  E.  E.  Holcombe;  Asst.  Steward, 
J.  B.  Blackwell ;  Chaplain,  Rev.  J.  D.  Hewitt;  Treas., 
William  S.  Quick;  Sec,  F.  S.  Holcombe;  Gate- 
keeper, C.  Wilson ;  Ceres,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Bellis ;  Pomona, 
Mrs.  Anna  T.  Bond;  Flora,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Holcombe; 
Lady  Asst.  Steward,  Mrs.  Martha  Holcombe. 

The  Masters  for  the  succeeding  years  have  been : 
1874,  E.  E.  Holcombe;  1875-76,  F.  S.  Holcombe; 
1876-77,  E.  E.  Holcombe;  1878-79,  D.  V.  L.  Schenck; 
1879,  C.  F.  Fisher. 

The  following  are  the  officers  for  the  present  year 
(1880) :  Master,  J.  W.  Bellis ;  Overseer,  A.  Black- 
well ;  Lecturer,  E.  E.  Holcombe;  Steward,  A.  W. 
Muirheid ;  Asst.  Steward,  J.  B.  Blackwell ;  Chaplain, 
G.  B.  Stothoff';  Treas.,  D.  V.  L.  Schenck;  Sec,  F.  S. 
Holcombe;  Gate-keeper,  R.  S.  Blackwell;  Ceres, 
Mrs.  D.  V.  L.  Schenck ;  Pomona,  Mrs.  R.  S.  Black- 
well  ;  Flora,  Mrs.  A.  Blackwell ;  Lady  Asst.  Steward, 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Holcombe.  This  organization  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition. 

MANUFACTURING   AND   INDUSTRIAL. 

The  first  mill  erected  in  this  township  was  known 
as  the  "  Race  Mill,"  situated  about  a  mile  south  of 
Ringos.  The  land  on  which  it  stood  was  purchased 
in  1727  by  William  Dawlis,  who  built  the  mill  some- 
where about  1780-32 ;  at  his  death  he  devised  it  to 
his  sons  Herman  and  William.  In  1742,  William 
executed  a  deed  of  release  of  the  same  to  Herman, 
which  document  Philip  Ringo  signed  as  a  witness.t 

The  only  woolen  factory  in  the  township  was  estab- 
lished years  ago,  and  located  about  midway  between 
Ringos  and  Rocktown.     It  was  owned  and  operated. 


■j-  "  Traditions  of  Our  Ancestors,"  1870. 


366 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JEESEY. 


along  with  a  grist-mill  in  the  same  neighborhood,  by 
P.  W.  Shepherd  &  Son.  The  former  died  in  June, 
1880,  but  the  mills  are  still  carried  on  by  the  son. 

A  saw-mill  and  a  feed-mill,  on  the  Back  Brook,  one 
mile  east  of  Eingos,  are  owned  by  A.  T.  Williamson. 
A  general  custom  grist-mill,  with  both  water-  and 
steam-power,  is  located  on  the  Neshauic,  near  the 
east  line  of  the  township ;  it  is  owned  by  the  estate 
of  Jacob  Vanderveer.  The  mills  at  Snydertown  were 
built  prior  to  1820. 

James  Eiley's  apple-distillery  and  cider-mill  has 
been  in  operation  for  many  years.  A  large  grist- 
mill and  grain  distillery  at  Ringos  was  established 
about  1857  by  Jonathan  Higgins,  who  ran  it  until 
1870  or  thereabouts,  when  it  was  suspended  and  the 
machinery  taken  out.     The  building  is  still  vacant. 

The  tannery  at  Snydertown  was  in  operation  for 
many  years,  and  up  to  about  four  years  ago,  when  the 
business  was  discontinued. 

In  1828  the  general  mercantile  trade  was  repre- 
sented by  Richard  L.  and  Hugh  L.  Sutphin  and 
Richard  Lowe,  under  the  firm-name  of  Sutphin  & 
Lowe ;  but  Oct.  31,  1829,  there  was  a  change,  R.  L. 
Sutphin  withdrawing,  and  the  firm-title  becoming 
Sutphin  &  Lowe. 

NOTEWORTHY   INCIDENTS. 

John  Carr,  Sr.,  taught  school  during  the  Revolu- 
tion in  a  one-story  frame  school-house,  which  stood 
about  half  a  mile  southeast  of  the  village  now  known 
as  Unionville.  At  one  time  during  his  incumbency 
there  were  present  in  this  school-house  twenty-one 
boys  and  a  number  of  girls.  While  the  children  were 
all  out  at  play  a  gentleman  in  military  costume  rode 
up  on  horseback,  accompanied  by  his  life-guard. 
Opposite  the  school-house  he  halted,  faced  about,  and 
began  talking  to  the  boys.  Finally  he  formed  them 
in  a  line,  with  the  tallest  boy  at  the  head  and  graded 
down  in  size  to  the  smallest ;  when  formed  he  asked 
them,  "How  many  of  you,  when  you  become  men, 
will  be  willing  to  fight  for  your  country?"  Twenty- 
one  hands  were  at  once  elevated.  It  is  scarcely  ne- 
cessary to  add  that  the  chieftan  was  Gen.  George 
Washington.  The  American  army  was  crossing  New 
Jersey  at  that  time.  • 

The  venerable  Peter  S.  Young,  of  Eingos,  who  died 
so  recently,  related  the  above  incident  in  1876,  and  it 
was  committed  to  manuscript. 

General  Lafayette,  it  is  said,  made  his  quarters  for 
some  time  in  this  township,  during  a  period  when 
sickness  detained  him  at  the  mansion  of  Henry 
Landis.  The  same  house,  on  another  occasion,  shel- 
tered sixty  Tories,  but  they  were  in  irons,  coupled 
two  and  two,  and  in  charge  of  a  strong  guard  of 
Whigs. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


CORNELIUS   WILSON   LARISON,  M.D. 

Cornelius  Wilson  Larison,  M.D.,  was  born  Jan.  10, 
1837,  near  Sandy  Ridge,  in  Delaware  township,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  N.  J.  He  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  and  Han- 
nah A.  (Holcombe)  Larison,  both  natives  of  Hunterdon 
County.  They  had  nine  children, — four  sons  and  five 
daughters, — of  whom  the  subject  of  this  notice  is  the 
second  son  and  the  third  child.  His  early  life  till 
nearly  the  age  of  twenty  years  was  spent  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  acquirement  of  such  rudimentary  educa- 
tion as  the  country  schools  afforded.  On  the  29th  of 
October,  1856,  he  entered  the  Medical  Department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia,  in- 
tending to  pursue  a  course  of  medical  study.  Finding, 
however,  that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  him  first  to 
graduate  in  a  regular  literary  course,  he  gave  up  the 
study  of  medicine  for  the  time  being,  and,  in  pursuance 
of  his  purpose,  began  a  course  of  preparation  for  col- 
lege at  the  Flemington  high  school,  entering  that  insti- 
tution on  the  1st  of  May,  1857.  He  was  there  fitted  for 
college,  and  entered  the  Pennsylvania  University,  at 
Lewisburg,  Sept.  20, 1858,  remaining  there  till  March, 
1860,  when  he  was  appointed  associate  principal  and 
teacher  of  mathematics  and  natural  science  in  the 
Flemington  high  school,  where  he  remained  till  the 
end  of  the  school  year,  and  resigned  on  account  of 
failing  health.  In  October,  1861,  he  entered  the  med- 
ical college  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  where  he  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  M.D.,  Jan.  20,  1863,  and  in  March 
following  settled  at  Ringos,  N.  J.,  as  a  medical 
practitioner,  in  partnership  with  Dr.  Cicero  Hunt. 

Dr.  Larison's  reputation  as  a  teacher  drew  to  him 
at  Ringos  a  number  of  students  desirous  of  fitting 
for  college  and  for  the  profession  of  medicine,  and  to 
meet  the  wants  of  these  he  associated  teaching  with 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  Among  those  who 
were  instructed  in  the  sciences  and  in  medicine  by 
Dr.  Larison  during  the  first  year  may  be  mentioned 
Rev.  A.  B.  Larison,  M.D,  C.  M.  Lee,  M.D.,  and  A. 
O.  S.  Carpenter,  M.D.  In  1870,  in  connection  with 
Dr.  Andrew  B.  Larison,  he  organized  the  seminary  at 
Ringos,  the  history  of  which  is  given  in  another 
part  of  this  work.  He  was  appointed  professor  of  the 
natural  sciences  in  the  university  at  Lewisburg,  Pa., 
in  August,  1874. 

In  March,  1873,  he  had  associated  with  him  in 
practice  Dr.  Charles  Milton  Lee.  This  arrangement 
gave  him  greater  opportunity  for  studies  outside  of 
his  profession,  among  which  geology  took  first  rank, 
and  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  year  in  the  study 
of  that  interesting  science  in  the  Appalachian  Moun- 
tains. Early  in  June,  1874,  Dr.  Lee  died,  deeply 
lamented  by  all  who  knew  him.  This  induced  Dr. 
Larison  to  resign  his  professorship  and  return  home 
and  resume  his  practice,  which  he  did,  July  1,  1875. 

The  school — denominated  the  Academy  of  Science 


Ciy\/yudiuj  l^  cCcioxlnu 


EAST  AMWELL. 


367 


and  Art — at  Eingos  grew  out  of  the  circumstance  that 
certain  students  and  tutors  acquainted  with  Dr.  Lari- 
son  were  desirous  of  studying  the  sciences  in  a  more 
practical  way  than  is  usually  pursued  at  the  colleges. 
With  this  object  in  view,  the  present  school-building 
and  laboratory  were  erected  in  the  fall  of  1875.  Early 
the  year  following  the  school  was  organized.  The 
pupils  each  year,  with  their  teacher,  make  excursions 
in  the  fields,  forests,  and  mountains,  and  to  the  sea 
and  streams,  gathering  practical  information  in  geol- 
ogy, physical  geography,  zoology,  botany,  and  other 
sciences.  The  doctor  maintains  a  course  of  lectures 
the  year  round. 

In  June,  1876,  he  was  appointed  professor  of  zoology 
in  the  university  at  Lewisburg,  and  delivers  there 
an  annual  course  of  lectures  to  a  large  class  of 
students. 

He  has  been  reporter  for  the  District  Medical  So- 
ciety of  Hunterdon  County  for  fifteen  consecutive 
years,  and,  under  the  appointment  of  the  Governor, 
held  the  office  of  the  first  county  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  for  Hunterdon  County.  Much  of 
his  time  has  been  devoted  to  teaching  in  various 
grades  and  departments  of  education, — he  has,  in  fact, 
taught  all  classes  of  schools  from  the  common  district 
school  up  to  the  university.  He  accomplishes  much 
because  he  is  an  earnest  and  indefatigable  worker  in 
everything  he  sets  his  hand  to,  and  has  great  strength 
and  tenacity  of  will  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  Few 
men  have  been  able  to  bring  forth  better  results  out 
of  unpromising  circumstances. 

Dr.  Larison  married,  in  March,  1873,  Mary  Jane, 
daughter  of  Gershom  C.  Sergeant,  of  Earitan  town- 
ship, and  has  two  children, — Pollie  and  Ben. 


dren,- 
Ann. 


-Amos,  William,  James  S.,  Charity,  and  Mary 


James  S.  Fisher  was  born  and  brought  up  on  the 
homestead,  and  was  an  honorable  and  upright  citizen. 
He  followed  the  occupation  of  farming  through  life, 
and  the  home  residence  erected  by  him  in  1850,  and 
many  other  improvements  and  home  comforts,  bear 


JAMES   SLACK   FISHER. 

The  late  James  Slack  Fisher,  subject  of  this  brief 
memoir,  was  born  Oct.  23,  1800,  on  the  estate  where 
his  family  now  reside,  in  East  Amwell,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J.,  and  died  there  Sept.  22,  1879,  aged  nearly 
seventy-nine  years. 

His  great-grandfather,  Peter  Fisher,  came  from 
Germany  and  settled  about  1728  on  the  place  where 
Caleb  F.  Fisher  now  lives.  His  grandfather,  Wil- 
liam Fisher,  son  of  Peter,  moved  upon  the  present 
homestead  in  East  Amwell  in  1777.  He  married, 
first.  Charity  Young,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  Peter 
and  a  daughter  Mary.  His  second  wife  was  Charity 
Youngblood,  by  whom  he  had  five  children,— John, 
William,  Anna,  Sarah,  and  Hannah. 

William  Fisher,  son  of  William  and  Charity  Young- 
blood,  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
was  bom  June  21,  1768,  in  what  is  now  West  Am- 
well. He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  as  were  all 
his  ancestors.  He  married,  Aug.  2,  1794,  Lucretia, 
daughter  of  James  and  Eebecca  (Chamberlain)  Slack, 
who  was  born  Oct.  12,  1771.    They  had  five  chil- 


the  evidence  of  his  careful  and  industrious  hand.  He 
was  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  and  highly  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  him.  He  married  Catharine  L., 
daughter  of  William  and  Eleanor  Stout,  March  4, 
1835.  She  was  born  Nov.  25,  1816.  The  children  of 
this  marriage  were  ten  in  all,  of  whom  seven  survive, 
— viz.,  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  The  names  of 
the  daughters  are  as  follows:  Ellen  S.,  Eebecca  S., 
Caroline  S.,  and  Kate.  The  eldest  son,  William  H. 
Fisher,  is  an  active  business  man  in  St.  Paul,  Minn. ; 
the  second  son,  James  S.  Fisher,  carries  on  the  home- 
stead farm  for  his  mother ;  he  served  in  the  Union 
army  during  the  late  civil  war.  He  enlisted  in  the 
Thirty-eighth  Eegiment  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and 
was  honorably  discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war ;  the 
third  and  youngest,  Claudius  E;  P.  Fisher,  M.D.,  is 
a  graduate  of  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  in  practice  at  Neshanic,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J. 


ABRAHAM   TEN   BROOKE   -WILLIAMSON. 
The  subject  of  this  notice  is  descended  from  one  of 
the  oldest  families  in  this  portion  of  New  Jersey. 
His  great-grandfather,  John  Williamson,  came  firom 


368 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Holland  and  settled  about  one  mile  north  of  Eingos, 
N.  J.,  before  the  year  1731,  as  his  deed  bears  date 
that  year.  The  property  was  formerly  owned  by 
"  John  Chamber,  of  Amwell,"  who  deeded  it  to 
"  Henry  Vroom,  of  Kingstown,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.," 
June  22,  1726. 


A.   T.   WILLIAMSON. 

Abraham,  one  of  the  sons  of  John  Williamson,  the 
original  settler,  married  Katharine  Ten  Brooke,  and 
had  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  of  whom  Abraham 
Ten  Brooke  Williamson,  Sr.,  was  the  father  of  our 
subject.  He  married  Penelope  Sutphen,  and  had 
children, — Katharine  K.,  John  S.,  Abraham  T.,  Ann 
C,  Sarah,  and  Jacob  W., — three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  of  whom  Katharine,  Sarah,  and  Abraham 
T.  are  living.  The  latter  was  born  on  the  estate 
which  has  descended  from  his  great-grandfather,  near 
Eingos,  N.  J.,  on  the  13th  of  June,  1815,  and  was 
brought  up  on  the  farm,  receiving  such  education  as 
the  schools  of  his  neighborhood  furnished. 

On  the  23d  of  January,  1850,  he  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  James  Shepherd,  by  whom  he  has  three 
children, — Katharine  Ellen,  John  S.,  and  Annie  M. 
T.  Williamson. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Williamson,  on  the  York  Eoad, 
near  Eingos,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  this  por- 
tion of  Hunterdon  County.  His  fellow-townsmen 
elected  him  to  the  office  of  chosen  freeholder  in  1846, 
and  he  discharged  its  duties  in  a  satisfactory  manner 
for  three  years.  He  takes  little  part,  however,  in  poli- 
tics, being  devoted  strictly  to  the  interests  of  his  occu- 
pation as  a  farmer. 


NATHAN    STOUT. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  descendant  in  the 
seventh  generation  from  Eichard  Stout  and  Penelope 
Van  Princes,  the  line  of  descent  being  from  Eichard^ 
through  David,  his  seventh  son  ;  through  James,  first, 
son  of  David;  John,  first  son  of  James  ;  Nathan,  Sr.,, 


/7 


fifth  son  of  John ;  and  William,  fourth  son  of  Na- 
than, Sr. 

The  Stouts  of  New  Jersey  are  of  both  English  and 
Dutch  ancestry,  the  blood  of  the  two  nationalities, 
having  joined  their  currents  in  a  most  singular  and 
romantic  manner. 

Eichard,  the  first  of  the  name  in  America,  was  born 
in  Nottingham,  England,  and,  being  disappointed 
in  his  first  love  affair  with  a  young  woman  deemed 
by  his  father  below  his  rank,  he  embarked  on  board 
of  a  man-of-war,  where  he  served  seven  years,  and 
was  finally  discharged  at  New  Amsterdam,  now  New 
York.  About  this  time  a  ship  with  passengers  firom 
Amsterdam,  Holland,  bound  to  the  same  port,  was 
driven  on  the  shore  now  called  Middletown,  in  Mon- 
mouth Co.,  N.  J.,  where  the  crew  and  passengers  were- 
soon  cut  ofi'  by  the  Indians,  the  whole  company  being, 
as  they  thought,  destroyed.  But  a  certain  woman, 
whose  husband  the  Indians  had  killed,  found  herself 
strong  enough  to  creep  to  a  hollow  tree,  where  she 
remained  in  her  wounded  and  forlorn  condition  till 
discovered  by  an  Indian,  who  took  pity  on  her,  car- 
ried her  to  his  wigwam,  healed  her  wounds,  and  in  a 
short  time  conveyed  her  in  a  canoe  to  New  Amster- 
dam, where  he  sold  her  to  the  Dutch.     This  woman 


EAST  AMWELL. 


36» 


was  Penelope  Van  Princes,  who  not  long  afterwards 
became  the  wife  of  Richard  Stout,  and  was  the  ma- 
ternal ancestor  of  the  numerous  Stout  family  of  New 
Jersey.  They  became  acquainted  with  each  other  in 
New  Amsterdam,  and  were  there  married. 

Not  the  least  curious  part  of  this  strange  but  au- 
thentic story  is  the  fact  that  this  couple  should  seek  a 
home  on  the  very  shore  where  her  late  husband  and 
so  many  fellow-passengers  had  been  killed  by  the 
Indians ;  but  so  they  did,  soon  after  their  marriage, 
and  the  first  settlement  made  by  the  Stouts  of  New 
Jersey  was  at  Middletown,  Monmouth  Co.,  in  the 
year  1648.  There  were  at  that  time  six  white  families 
in  the  settlement,  including  their  own. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  brief  sketch  to  follow  all  the 
branches  of  a  family  which  has  become  so  numerous 
and  widely  scattered.  The  ancestors  who  first  settled 
in  Hunterdon  County  were  Jonathan  and  David,  the 
former  the  third,  and  the  latter  the  seventh,  son  of 
Richard,  the  first  settler  in  Monmouth.  Jonathan 
married  a  Miss  Bullen  and  moved  to  Hopewell  town- 
ship, then  in  Hunterdon  County,  about  the  year 
1686.  David  settled  about  the  same  time  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  ridge  in  Amwell,  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  Abraham  Runkle,  where  he  bought  about 
seven  hundred  acres  of  land.  Nathan  Stout,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  first  son  of  William, 
who  was  the  fourth  son  of  Nathan,  Sr.,  who  was  the 
fifth  son  of  John,  who  was  the  first  son  of  James, 
who  was  the  first  son  of  David,  the  first  settler  in 
Amwell. 

Nathan  Stout  was  born  in  Amwell,  Hunterdon  Co., 
N.  J.,  Dec.  31,  1812,  and  has  always  resided  in  the 
township,  in  that  part  now  known  as  East  Amwell, 
being  a  farmer  and  an  honorable  and  exemplary  citi- 
zen. He  married  Mary  Ann  Fisher.  Their  children 
are  William  F.,  Henry  H.,  Simpson  S.,  Lucretia  F., 
and  Mary  Y.  The  first  of  these,  William  F.  Stout, 
went  to  Independence,  Iowa,  and  married  Martha  A. 
Hariman.  He  died  in  his  thirty-fifth  year,  leaving  one 
child,  Ettie  H.  Stout.  Henry  H.  Stout  entered  the 
Union  army  in  the  late  war,  and  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  the  Wilderness.  Lucretia  F.  Stout  died  of 
consumption.  Mary  Y.  Stout  married  Augvistus 
Young,  and  has  three  daughters, — Lucretia  F.,  Mar- 
garet, and  Mary. 


WILLIAM  B.  PKALL. 

William  B.  Prall  was  born  near  Wertsville,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  estate  where  he  now  resides, 
April  10,  1834. 

Abraham  Prall,  his  great-great-grandfather,  settled 
on  the  estate  adjoining,  as  near  as  can  now  be  ascer- 
tained, about  the  year  1730.  He  conveyed  the  prop- 
erty to  his  son,  Dr'.  William  Prall,  and  in  1770  bought 
the  Prall  homestead,  where  the  descendants  have  ever 
since  resided.    This  estate  was  left  to  Peter  Prall,  his 


son  by  his  first  marriage,  during  his  lifetime.  Peter 
married  Mary  Quick,  of  Amwell,  and  had  two  chil- 
dren, a  son  and  a  daughter,— Abraham  and  Catharine. 
Abraham  became  the  successor  of  Peter  on  the  home- 
stead. He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Jacob  Fisher, 
and  had  children,— Peter,  Mary,  Sarah,  Ann,  Cath- 
arine, Jacob,  Eliza,  Abraham,  and  John,  the  latter  of 
whom  died  young;  the  others  married  and  raised 
families. 


Abraham,  the  next  to  the  youngest,  was  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  on  the 
adjoining  farm  Dec.  9,  1811,  and  lived  there  till  the 
death  of  his  grandfather,  when  he  settled  upon  the 
present  homestead.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Matthias  Bellis,  of  Raritan  township.  Her  great- 
grandfather bought  the  place  where  she  was  born 
about  1740 ;  it  is  still  in  possession  of  the  Bellis 
family. 

Abraham  Prall  was  a  prominent  and  enterprising 
farmer,  and  was  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew 
him.  He  died  of  consumption,  Sept.  6,  1843.  Mrs. 
Prall  is  still  living,  and  resides  with  her  son,  Abraham 
J.  Prall,  on  the  adjoining  farm.  She  was  born  March 
23,  1813. 

They  had  two  children, — viz.,  William  B.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  notice,  born  April  10, 1834,  and  Abraham 
J.,  above  mentioned,  born  April  28,  1840. 

William  B.  Prall  was  brought  up  on  the  homestead, 
and  received  the  rudiments  of  a  common-school  edu- 
cation. His  father  being  in  limited  circumstances  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  William  was  thrown  chiefly 
upon  his  own  resources,  and  by  energy,  industry,  and 


370 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


good  management  made  his  way  to  the  prosperity  and 
competence  he  now  enjoys.  When  he  was  eighteen 
years  of  age  the  property  on  which  he  now  lives  was 
left  for  sale  by  his  grandfather.  His  mother  bought 
it,  with  the  understanding  that  he  should  take  it  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one.  This  was  assuming  a  heavy 
responsibility,  considering  that  the  property  was  much 
depreciated  in  value  and  had  no  buildings  of  any  con- 
sequence upon  it  excepting  a  barn.  Mr.  Prall,  how- 
ever, came  into  possession,  assuming  all  the  indebted- 
ness on  the  place,  which  he  had  completely  discharged 
in  1865.  He  has  greatly  enhanced  the  market  value 
of  the  property,  and  has  erected  upon  it  fine,  com- 
modious buildings.  In  addition  to  this,  he  has  pur- 
chased and  paid  for  a  house  and  lot  which  he  bought 


of  his  brother,  which,  on  the  recent  division  of  the 
farms,  fell  to  his  portion.  These  facts  are  mentioned 
in  this  connection  to  show  that  Mr.  Prall  has  neither 
been  idle  nor  unsuccessful  since  he  assumed  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  a  business  man  on  attaining  his  ma- 
jority. His  path  in  life  has  not  been  altogether 
bright,  for  the  shadow  of  sickness  has  fallen  at  times 
heavily  upon  his  household. 

He  married,  Jan.  30,  1855,  Elizabeth  B.,  daughter 
of  Joseph  G.  Quick,  of  East  Amwell.  She  was  born 
March  4, 1836.  They  have  five  children,  whose  names 
and  births  are  as  follows :  Abraham,  born  Sept.  11, 
1855;  Cornelia,  born  July  14,  1857  (died  Jan.  29, 
1858) ;  Anna  C,  born  Nov.  27,  1858 ;  Hannah,  born 
March  28,  1866;  William  B.,  born  March  14,  1871. 


DELAWARE. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  AND    DESCRIPTIVE. 

The  township  of  Delaware  lies  on  the  west  border 
■of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  north  and  east  by 
Earitan  and  East  Amwell  townships,  south  by  West 
Amwell,  southwest  by  the  Delaware  River,  and  north- 
west by  Kingwood  and  Franklin  townships.  The 
population  of  the  township  in  1870  was  2968  ;  in  1880, 
3092.     There  were  366  farms  in  1880. 

Section  3  of  the  act  of  1838  provided  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  township  of  Delaware  should  hold 
their  first  annual  town-meeting  at  the  inn  of  Henry 
Wagner,  in  the  village  of  Sergeantsville.  The  bound- 
aries of  Delaware  are  thus  defined  in  the  act  erect- 
ing the  township,  passed  Feb.  23,  1838 : 

"Be  U  enacted,  That  all  that  part  of  the  township  of  Amwell,  In  the 
county  of  Hunterdon,  which  lies  within  tlie  boundanes  and  descriptions 
following^to  wit,  Beginning  in  the  Delaware  River,  in  the  western 
boundary  line  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  at  the  division  line  between 
the  townships  of  Kingwood  and  Amwell ;  thence  down  the  said  river 
Delaware,  along  said  boundary  line,  to  the  mouth  of  Alexsocken  Creek ; 
thence  up  the  middle  of  the  said  creek,  the  several  courses  thereof,  to 
the  middle  of  the  Old  York  Road,  leading  from  Lambertville  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Kingos ;  thence  northeasterly  up  the  middle  of  said  road  until  it 
intersects  the  road  leading  from  Trenton  to  Quakertown,  by  the  way  of 
EingOB  and  Buchanan's  Tavern,  at  the  village  of  Binges  ;  thence  north- 
wardly, following  the  middle  of  the  said  road  leading  from  Trenton  to 
Quakertown,  until  it  iqtereects  the  division  line  between  the  townships 
of  Kingwood  and  Amwell;  thence  sonthwestwardly,  following  the  said 
division  line,  to  the  place  of  beginning— shall  be  and  hereby  is  set  off 
from  the  said  township  of  Amwell,  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  into  a 
separate  township,  to  be  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  township 
of  Delaware."* 

NATURAL  FEATURES. 
The  surface  of  this  township,  after  a  gradual  rise 
from  the  Delaware  Kiver  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half, 

*  Session  Laws,  1838,  pp.  132, 133.  The  only  subsequent  change  in  the 
bounds  established  in  1838  was  in  1854,  in  the  setting  off  to  East  Amwell 
of  an  insignificant  strip  of  its  territory,  comparatively  but  a  few  acres, 
being  that  portion  of  Delaware  embraced  in  School  District  No.  103, 
which  lay  to  the  west  of  the  Old  York  Koad. 


is  a  broad  undulating  table-land,  with  no  abrupt 
mountain  ledges  or  narrow  valleys,  but  one  of  the 
most  fertile  farming  sections  in  Hunterdon  County. 
It  has  a  diversity  of  soil,  such  as  red  shale,  gravelly 
loam,  sandy  loam,  and  some  clay  loam,  all  susceptible 
of  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  to  which  most  of  the 
farm-land  in  the  township  has  been  brought  by  her 
intelligent  farmers. 

The  township  is  abundantly  watered  by  the  Alex- 
socken Creek,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  south  bound- 
ary line  between  this  township  and  West  Amwell  and 
the  city  of  Lambertville,  emptying  into  the  Delaware 
River  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township.  The 
Horn  Brook  rises  in  School  District  No.  94,  finding 
its  way  to  the  Delaware  at  Brook ville,  a  small  hamlet 
below  Stockton.  The  Wickhecheoke  rises  in  School 
District  No.  93,  mingling  its  waters  with  those  of  the 
Delaware  at  Prallsville,  half  a  mile  above  Stockton. 
The  Lackatong  Creek  rises  in  School  District  No.  97, 
and  empties  into  the  Delaware  at  Eagle  Island,  be- 
tween Prallsville  and  Raven  Rock.  The  general 
direction  of  all  these  streams  is  southwesterly.  There 
are  a  few  tributaries  of  other  streams  in  the  east  part, 
which  flow  into  the  township  of  Raritan. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT  AND  PIONEER  INCIDENTS. 
The  earliest  date  found  of  a  purchase  of  land  in 
what  is  now  Delaware  township  is  that  of  John  Cal- 
lowes,  who  bought  of  George  Hutchinson,  March  17, 
1695,  a  tract  of  land,  a  part  of  which  is  in  Delaware, 
in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  township,  along  the 
river  north  from  Alexsocken  Creek.  John  Wey  sold 
the  same  tract.  May  29,  1733,  to  John  Holcombe. 
This  is  in  School  District  No.  98,  and  it  is  now  owned 
in  part  by  John  V.  C.  Baker;  John  C.  Holcombe  also 
owns  a  portion  of  the  original  tract. 


DELAWARE. 


371 


The  next  lot  above  on  the  river  front  was  purchased 
by  William  Biddle,  Sept.  18, 1734,  and  the  next,  hack 
of  Biddle's,  was  owned  by  John  Holcomhe,  and  still 
back  of  Holcomhe's,  in  what  is  now  School  District 
No.  96,  was  a  lot  of  300  acres,  originally  owned  by 
Gershom    Lambert,   but    now  by  Butterfoss,   Dilts, 
Housel,    Leonard,    Melick,    and    others.      A    little 
farther  up  the  river  is  the  old  John  Reading  tract, 
■which  covered  what  is  now  the  villages  of  Stockton 
and  Prallsville.    Joseph  Reading  located  above  the 
Wickhecheoke  Creek,  opposite  the  upper  end  of  Hen- 
drick's  Island.     Richard  Reading,  according  to  old 
maps  and  surveys,  located  along  the  river,  between 
the  creek  and  Joseph  Reading's.     From  John  Read- 
ing came  the  name  of  Reading's  Ferry  at  what  is  now 
Stockton.      Reading    subsequently    (Dec.   28,   1749) 
deeded  to  Joseph  Howell  the  tract  up  the  river  from 
the  old  Ferry  road  (now  Ferry  Street,  Stockton)  and 
including  Prallsville.    "  The  16th  day  of  the  first  year 
of  the  reign  of  Our  Sovereign  Lord  George  the  Third," 
Joseph  Howell  and  his  wife,  Susanna,  deeded  to  George 
Ely,  Jr. ;   Aug.  11,  1792,  the  latter  deeded  to  John 
Prall,  Jr.,  from  whom  Prallsville  derived  its  name ;  in 
1832,  John  Prall's  executors  deeded  to  Peter  Miller ; 
April  1,  1841,  Miller  deeded  to  Thomas  Holcomhe ; 
May  27, 1850,  Holcomhe  deeded  to  Asher  and  Maurice 
Woolverton;  and  April  1,  1851,  Maurice  Woolverton 
purchased  Asher  Woolverton's  interest  in  the  above 
tract,  where  he  (Maurice)  now  resides.     The  Joseph 
Beading. property  spoken  of  as  above  Prallsville  is 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  Gardner  Johnson. 

In  "Traditions  of  our  Ancestors,"  published  sev- 
eral years  ago,  John  W.  Lequear  says, — ■ 

"  In  the  course  of  my  duty  as  a  surveyor,  and  from  the  estate  of  my 
esteemed  relative  John  Waterhouse,  of  Rosemont,  a  number  of  old  deeds 
have  (alien  into  my  hands.  I  have  derived  great-pleasure  in  looking 
over  them  and  locating  the  tracts  as  originally  taken  up.  ...  Thomas 
in  1686,  bought  of  Helmsley  1665  acres;  he  dying,  it  descended  to 
his  son  William ;  he  sold  it,  or  a  portion  of  it  lying  west  of  Eosemont,  to 
Charles  Woolverton  in  1714;  he,  May  18, 1719,  conveyed  284  acres,  con- 
stituting the  farms  of  John  Hartpence  and  William  B.  Allen,  and  six 
acres  on  the  southeast  corner  of  John  Huffman's  larm.  The  southwest 
corner  of  the  tract  was  in  John  Beading's  line,  near  John  Huffman's 
gate,  and  was  sold  to  George  Fox,  who  came  from  England.  'While  he 
owned  this  tract  a  young  man  came  over  from  England  to  George  Fox's, 
•where  he  died  soon  after  his  arrival,  of  ship-fever,  and  was  the  first  per- 
son buried  in  Eosemont  burying-ground,  one-quarter  of  an  acre  being 
reserved  after  this  for  a  graveyard.  June  10, 1729,  Mr.  Fox  conveyed 
this  to  Thomas  Can  by.  Aug.  19, 1735,  Canby  conveyed  it  to  Henry  Coat ; 
March  2, 1741,  Mr.  Coat  conveyed  it  to  Derrick  Hoagland.  William  Eet- 
tinghonse  (as  it  was  then  spelled)  owned  the  land  on  the  east  of  this ;  he 
and  Derrick  Hoagland  altered  their  boundary  line  to  conform  to  its 
present  course  in  the  road  north  of  Rosemont  Mr  Hoagland  conveyed 
this  in  1760  to  his  son  James;  in  1760  he  conveyed  it  to  his  brother  Wil- 
liam. Peter  Morrow  had  purchased  six  acres  off  the  southwest  comer 
of  Derrick.  This  tract  was  afterwards  conveyed  to  Asa  Beed,  then  to 
Thomas  Lequear,  then  in  part  to  John  Waterhouse.  William  Biddle  sold 
lloO  acres  to  Peter  Emley  about  1732.  Mr.  Emiey  sold  600  acres  to 
Christopher  Cornelius  in  1750.  Mr.  Cornelius  sold  400  acres  to  Daniel 
Howell  in  1750,  near  the  upper  boundary  line  of  what  is  now  Delaware 
township,  east  of  'Duck's  Flat,'  a  part  now  occupied  by  Thomas  Robin- 
son." 

In  1718,  Robert  Elton  sold  to  Ralph  Brock,  mill- 
wright, 800  acres  of  land  near  Rosemont.  In  1710, 
Edward  Kemp,  of  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  sold  Brock  200 


acres,  which  he  had  purchased  in  1709,  of  William 
Biles.  Brock,  in  1734,  sold  the  whole  of  this  1000 
acres  to  William  Rettinghousen.  He,  in  1742,  con- 
veyed it  to  Richard  Green,  of  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.  The 
tract  lay  northeast  of  Eosemont.  The  old  Ritten- 
house  graveyard  is  to  be  seen  near  Lambert  Hop- 
pock's  house  above  Prallsville.  Several  of  the  Howell 
family  are  buried  there.  William  Rettinghousen 
had  four  sons, — Isaac,  Lot,  Peter,  and  Moses.  His 
daughters  were  Catharine,  who  married  Richard 
Heath  ;  Abigail,  married  Mr.  Freeman  ;  Anna,  mar- 
ried Mr.  Dansville ;  Rebecca,  married  Amos  Bonham, 
from  whom  William  Bonham,  of  Rosemont,  was  de- 
scended. 

William  Heath  was  an  early  resident  of  this  town- 
ship, and  owned  a  large  tract.  Richard,  his  young- 
est son,  having  been  drafted  to  perform  duty  in  the 
New  Jersey  militia  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
the  father,  believing  himself  more  able  to  bear  the 
fatigues  of  the  service,  took  his  son's  place.  During 
the  march  of  the  company  to  headquarters  a  fray 
occurred  with  some  Tories,  and,  the  day  being  very 
hot,  he  was  overcome  and  drank  a  large  quantity  of 
buttermilk  and  water  in  a  farmhouse,  which  cooled 
his  blood  so  suddenly  that  it  caused  his  death  in  a  few 
hours.  He  left  a  wife,  Magdalen,  and  three  sons  and 
four  daughters.  The  oldest  son,  Andrew,  became  heir 
to  his  father's  property  under  the  English  law  of 
primogeniture.  The  estate  was  large,  and,  with  ex- 
treme liberality,  he  gave  a  farm  to  his  brother  John 
oif  the  east  side  of  his  plantation,  and  one  off  the 
west  side  to  his  brother  Richard.  He  kept  the  central 
portion  and  homestead  for  himself,  and  lived  there 
with  his  mother,  Magdalen,  until  her  marriage  with 
Uriah  Bonhone,  when  he  sold  his  property  and  re- 
moved to  Virginia.  John  and  Richard  Heath  both 
married  and  settled  on  the  farms  given  them  by  their 
brother,  and  at  their  death  each  left  a  large  family. 

Of  the  daughters  of  William  and  Magdalen  Heath, 
Mary  married  Samuel  Wilson,  and  removed  with  him 
to  Kentucky  ;  Elizabeth  married  Jesse  Hall,  and  be- 
came the  mother  of  Judge  John  H.  Hall,  of  Sussex 
County,  the  founder  of  the  Stissex  Register,  and  a 
prominent  man  of  that  county  ;  Sarah  married  Jacob 
Dilts,  of  Amwell,  and  died  in  July,  1831,  leaving  six 
sons  and  two  daughters ;  and  Prudence  married  Heze- 
kiah  Bonhone,  son  of  Uriah,  and  removed  to  Sussex 
County. 

March  2,  1714,  Charles  Wolverton*  bought  of  Wil- 
liam Biddle  a  tract  of  1665  acres.  This  is  the  earliest 
record  we  have  of  the  Wolvertons  in  Hunterdon 
County.  ■  The  location  of  this  tract  was  about  Eose- 
mont, extending  almost  to  Prallsville  on  the  south, 
and  to  the  north  and  west  about  one  and  a  half 
miles.  To  this  point,  which  was  then  almost  the 
western  frontier,  Charles  Wolverton  came  from  Long 


*  In  some  cases  it  is  spelled  WoUerlon,  again  WoUerton,  in  others  Wool- 
verUm. 


372 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Island.  Just  when  lie  or  his  father  came  across  the 
ocean  is  not  now  known.  The  part  of  England 
whence  they  originally  came  was  Wolverhampton. 

Charles  Wolverton,  the  original  settler,  had  six  sons, 
— Maurice,  Dennis,  Charles,  Jr.,  Gabriel,  Isaac,  and 
Joel.  The  order  of  their  birth  is  not  known.  To 
each  of  tliem  was  left  a  farm  of  about  280  acres  out 
of  the  original  tract  of  1665  acres.  Dennis  died 
Aug.  9,  1774,  aged  sixty-three ;  he  was  buried  at 
Eosemont.  From  this  point  we  can  trace  but  one  of 
the  lines  of  descent, — that  through  the  son  Maurice. 
He  married  a  Miss  Baker.  They  had  two  sons 
and  three  daughters.  One  son  died  young.  The 
other  children  were  John,  Margaret,  who  married 
Silas  "Wilson,  Abigail,  who  married  a  Kensall,  and 
Sophia,  who  married  Samuel  Cowdrick.  The  date 
of  Maurice's  death  was  somewhere  about  1787. 

John  inherited  his  father's  farm  in  consideration  of 
his  paying  to  each  of  his  three  sisters  £115.  This 
farm  was  situated  above  Rosemont,  being  lands  now 
owned  by  E.  P.  Tomlinson,  Andrew  Sherman,  and 
others.  The  old  homestead  stood  just  east  of  where 
Mr.  Tomlinson  now  lives.  He  lived  On  this  farm 
until  1799,  when  he  removed  to  one  on  the  Delaware, 
above  Prallsville.  He  served  in  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution. He  married  Rachel  Quimby.  They  had 
seven  children, — Samuel,  born  April  22, 1779 ;  Mary, 
who  married  Joshua  Opdyke,  horn  Feb.  2,  1782 ; 
Sarah,  who  married  John  Stockton,  born  July  2, 
1784;  Martha,  born  June  81,  1787;  Margaret,  who 
married  Asher  Reading,  horn  March  14, 1788 ;  James, 
born  Oct.  19, 1791 ;  Anna,  who  married  Ambrose  Bar- 
croft,  born  June  22,  1794. 

John  Wolverton  died  Dec.  10,  1837,  aged  eighty- 
two.  He  was  buried  at  Rosemont.  His  son  Samuel 
was  a  cabinet-maker,  and  James  a  blacksmith.  Sam- 
uel was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Mary 
Johnson.  They  had  one  child, — Asher,  born  Jan.  80, 
1812.  Mary  Wolverton  died  March  6,  1812,  aged 
twenty-four.  Samuel  married  Elizabeth  Wilson  for 
his  second  wife.  Their  son,  Maurice,  was  born  Feb. 
19,  1827.  Elizabeth  died  Sept.  28,  1836,  aged  forty- 
eight.  Samuel  served  in  the  militia  in  the  war  or 
1812.  He  died  Sept.  19,  1841,  aged  sixty-three,  and 
only  four  months  later,  Jan.  17, 1842,  his  mother  died, 
in  her  eighty-ninth  year.  Asher,  Samuel's  older  son, 
married  Mrs.  Ann  Fisher,  nie  Gearhart.  He  lived  on 
the  old  Wolverton  farm,  opposite  Eagle  Island,  until 
April,  1872,  when  he  removed  to  Stockton,  where  he 
now  resides.  Maurice,  the  other  son  of  Samuel,  mar- 
ried (1850)  Caroline  M.,  daughter  of  William  L. 
Hoppock. 

James,  the  sixth  child  and  second  son  of  John 
Wolverton,  married  Mary  Sergeant.  They  had  five 
sons  and  five  daughters,— Sarah,  wife  of  Elias  John- 
son, born  Dec.  2,  1818 ;  Rachel,  wife  of  Henry  Fell, 
born  Nov.  18,  1820 ;  Jane,  wife  of  George  Hoppock, 
born  July  6,  1822 ;  John,  born  Oct.  27,  1825 ;  Mary, 
wife  of  Charles  Jones,  born  Jan.  29,  1828 ;  Permelia, 


wife  of  Gardner  B.  Johnson,  born  April  29,  1833 ; 
James,  born  Sept.  4,  1834 ;  Joseph,  born  Oct.  6, 1836  ; 
Charles,  born  Nov.  22,  1838 ;  Samuel,  Sept.  12,  1843. 

Mary,  wife  of  James  Wolverton,  died  June  23, 1853, 
aged  fifty-five,  and  James  died  March  8,  1871,  aged 
seventy-nine.  His  son  John  studied  medicine,  and  is 
one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  Trenton,  N.  J.  Jo- 
seph studied  medicine,  became  a  surgeon  in  the  army 
in  the  late  war,  and  is  now  a  druggist  in  Trenton. 
James  commenced  the  study  of  medicine,  and  died 
March  3,  1861.  Charles  S.  is  a,  farmer  on  the  old 
homestead,  near  Rosemont;  he  married  Elizabeth 
Fell.  Samuel  is  a  dentist  in  Trenton ;  his  wife  was 
Susan  Lukens.  The  children  of  Maurice  and  Caro- 
line M.  Wolverton  are  Elizabeth  (died  Sept.  13, 
1854),  William  H.,  Eva,  and  Samuel. 

The  following  facts  concerning  the  Reading  family 
— one  of  the  first  to  locate  in  Delaware  township — 
are  communicated  by  P.  A.  Reading  : 

'*  Joseph  Heading  was  my  grandfather.  He  lived  on  a  plantation  of  sev- 
eral hundred  acres,  alout  a  mile  southwest  of  what  is  now  Kosemout 
which  tract  was  originally  bounded  hy  two  creeks  on  its  east  and  west 
sides.  Tt  was  entailed,  and  the  entail  ran  out  in  his  eldest  son's  (William) 
heirs.  This  original  homestead  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Gardner 
Johnsou.  On  the  northeast  line  and  county  road  is  the  family  burial- 
ground  of  the  later  descendants  of  the  family.  Tlie  old  homestead  com- 
manded a  view  of  the  Delaware  River,  of  the  Pennsylvania  shore,  etc. 
I  remember  visiting  it  when  a  boy  of  eight  to  twelve  years.  The  man- 
sion was  reached  from  the  county  road  by  a  drive  of  one-fourth  of  a  mile, 
on  each  side  of  which  were  cheiTy-  and  other  fruit-trees,  planted  in  reg- 
ular order,  till  the  mansion-house  w.as  reached,  thence  continuing  for 
one-eighth  of  a  mile  to  the  Delaware  River  with  a  double  row  of  multi- 
caulis,  or  silk-worm  trees.  The  attic  of  the  dwelling  was  devoted  to  the 
hatching  and  rearing  of  silk-worms,  from  which  my  Aunts  Mary,  Amy, 
and  their  sister  reeled  off  the  silk  thread  and  manufactured  their  own 
dresses. 

"  This  original  plantation  was  divided,  and  a  portion  of  it  is  now  in  the 
occupancy  of  one  of  my  grandfather's  great-grandsons,  John  Reading. 
The  two  estates — or  'palatines,'  as  they  used  to  be  called — extended  from 
the  county  road  to  the  Delaware  River,  about  one  mile.  My  grandfather, 
Joseph,  at  his  death,  in  1806,  willed  to  my  father  a  farm  of  some  250  acres, 
directly  on  the  bank  of  the  Delaware  River,  immediately  opposite  what 
is  known  as  'Lower  Black  Ledge.'  The  eastern  line  is  marked  by  a  creek, 
which  empties  into  the  Delaware  at  what  is  now  the  head  of  the  feeder 
of  the  Delaware  and  Rarifcin  Canal ;  it  embraces  what  was  at  one  time 
the  most  valuable  shad-fishery  between  the  head  of  tide-water,  Trenton, 
and  Easton.  With  it  was  connected  the  ferry  riglit  for  the  Jersey  side. 
This  ferry  long  since  disappeared,  and  a  bridge  at  Point  Pleasant  station 
has  taken  its  place.  This  second  Reading  home  was  my  birthplace. 
The  old  stone  mansion  is  yet  standing,  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  below 
Point  Pleasant,  and  half  a  mile  above  Bull's  Island  station;  it  is  owned 
by  me,  although  rented  out.  It  is  in  sight  from  the  car-windows  of  the 
Belvidere  Delaware  trains.  I  am  a  frequent  visitor  there,  often  taking 
my  children  and  grandchildren  to  see  my  birthplace  and  the  play-ground 
of  my  youth.  I  was  eighty-three  years  old  on  the  11th  inst.  (October, 
1880),  and  until  my  hist  sickness  used  to  walk  up  to  the  homestead  and 
back — eight  miles — the  same  day. 

"  My  great-grandfather,  the  Governor,  settled  desirable  farms  for  some 
of  his  sons  near  Flemington,  on  the  Raritan  River,  and  two  of  the  houses 
built  by  him  I  think  are  standing  yet.  The  one  nearest  the  Tillage 
named  was  long  occupied  by  John  Reed  Reading, — '  Gentleman  John,'  as 
he  was  familiarly  called.  These  houses  were  built  of  brick  imported 
from  London,  and  constructed  in  the  old  Virginia  style, — a  red  brick  and 
a  black  one  alternating."* 

Among  a  number  of  old  documents  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Cyrus  Van  Dolah,  Jr.,  is  a  bill  of  Henry  Van 

^-  See  a  further  account  of  the  Reading  family  in  the  history  of  Baritau 
township,  in  this  volume. 


DELAWARE. 


373 


Dolah  for  sundry  goods  bought  of  Lewis  Moore  in 
1731.  Another  paper  is  an  agreement  to  purchase 
the  Van  Dolah  farm,  dated  May  6, 1738,  witnessed  by 
Honust  Vanvorst  and  Christopher  Search.  There  are 
also  a  receipt  of  Capt.  Derrick  Hoagland,  dated  April 
18,  1744,  for  £2  Is.,  from  Sarah  Johnson,  widow  of 
Henry  Van  Dolah ;  an  article  of  agreement  signed  by 
Isaac  Stelle  and  Hendrick  Van  Dolah,  dated  April  1, 
1736 ;  and  the  lea^e  of  the  farm  to  Andrew  Orison,  by 
the  widow  of  Henry  Van  Dolah,  dated  Dec.  5,  1743, 
signed  by  Emanuel  Coryell,  Sarah  Van  Dolah,  and 
Andrew  Orison,  with  John  Larison  and  Edward  Mur- 
phy as  witnesses. 

We  also  cite  the  following : 

'*  Received,  April  26, 1808,  of  Henry  Van  Dolah,  one  of  the  executoi-B 
of  Garrett  Van  Dolah,  late  of  Amwell,  deceaaed,  eight  dollars  for  making 
his  coffin.    Rec^  by  me  Israel  Poulson." 

"  A  true  and  perfect  inventory  of  all  and  singular  the  goods  and  chat- 
tels, rights  and  credits  of  Garrett  Van  Dolah,  late  of  Amwell,  in  the 
county  of  Hunterdon,  and  State  of  New  Jersey,  deceased,  made  this  '21st 
day  of  August,  1807 : 

Purse  and  apparel $38.18 

Books 9.00 

2  pr.  steelyards 3.00 

3  pair  of  beds,  etc 60.00 

1  Hetchel 3.00 

Pewter  Platter  and  basin 4.00 

1  Dresser  (now  owned  by  C.  V.  D.,  Jr.) 1.50 

1  Smooth  rifle  '*  "  "  10.00 

1  Clock 25.00 

1  Negro  man  Jack* - 20.00 

1  Horse 5.33 

4  cows  and  2  young  cattle S4.00 

1  Spinning-wheel,  owned  by  C.  V.  D.,  Jr 1.00 

Hand  irons,  dough  trough,  and  brass  candle  stand...        3.50 

Total S2CY.51." 

The  following  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  the  last  will 
and  testament  of  John  Van  Dolah,  late  of  this  town- 
ship : 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen,  this  Eighteenth  day  of  November, 
the  Tear  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-eight,  this 
to  be  my  last  will  and  Testament  in  the  fear  and  Lov  of  CJod.  I  pool  my 
two  Brothers,  Garret  Vandolah  and  Peter  Vandolah ;  I  leav  Them  my 
Executors  to  Divide  my  Estate,  as  follows :  To  my  eldest  Brother,  Garret 
Vandolah,  I  leav  one-third  part  of  my  estate,  and  to  my  other,  Peter  Van- 
dolah, Another  third  part  of  my  Estate;  and  to  my  two  Sisters,  Anna 
Wilgus  and  Charity  Hausman,  I  leav  the  other  third  Part  of  my  estate, 
Equally  Divided  between  my  two  sisters,  to  be  divided  by  my  Executors. 
This  my  last  Will  and  testament  Sined  and  Sealed  in  the  presents  of  us 
witnest."  his 

"  John  X  Vandolah. 
mark. 
"Jacob  Labrowz, 
"  Abraham  Laerowe, 

his 
"  Richard  X  Chamberlin." 
mark. 

The  farm  on  which  Cyrus  Van  Dolah,  Jr.,  now 
lives  was  purchased  of  E.  Marcellison,  in  1738, 
by  Hendrick  Van  Dolah.  The  deed  was  witnessed 
by  Hannah  Vanvorst,  Joseph  Bell,  and  Christopher 
Search,  and  acknowledged  before  Andrew  Keed,  May 
10,  1756.  The  farm  is  located  in  School  District  No. 
96,  and  is  part  of  the  Biddle  tract  of  5000  acres.  When 
it  was  purchased  of  Marcellison  there  were  220  acres, 
but  by  a  distribution  of  the  property  there  remain 
113  acres,  which  have  descended  by  bequest  to  the 
present  owner,  Cyrus  Van  Dolah,  Jr. 

*  Died  April  30, 1812. 


Israel  Poulson,  first  pastor  of  the  '*  German  Baptist 
Church"  in  this  township,  was  also  collector  of  Am- 
well township  previous  to  the  formation  of  Delaware 
township,  and  in  a  notice  published  in  the  Hunter- 
don County  Gazette  of  Nov.  2,  1829,  he  states  that  on 
specified  days  he  will  be  at  the  houses  of  William  Rit- 
tenhouse,  James  W.  Hart,  Delilah  Buchanan,  Nathan 
Price,  Samuel  Large,  John  S.  Stout,  David  W.  Young, 
Cornelius  H.  Anderson,  Lemuel  Howell,  and  John 
Larison,  to  receive  tax.  He  concludes  his  notice  in 
the  following  w;ords : 

"There's  one  thing  more  you  may  remember: 
TJnleas  'tis  paid  by  the  twentieth  December, 
Of  course  there  will  be  two  cents  coat, 
Which  will  be  so  much  to  you  lost; 
And  if  not  paid  in  five  days  more, 
An  additional  sum  of  thirty-four. 
The  law  is  plain,  you  all  may  see ; 
Then  I  would  have  you  not  blame  me  ; 
If  I  return  you  to  the  Squire, 
'Twill  be  just  what  the  laws  require." 

CIVIL    ORGANIZATION. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  records  present 
the  proceedings  of  the  first  town-meeting  held  in 
Delaware  township  : 

'*  At  the  first  annual  town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township 
of  Delaware,  held  at  the  house  of  Henry  Wagners,  in  Sergeantsville, 
April  9,  A.D.  1838,  the  following  were  chosen,  to  wit :  John  Barber,  Esq., 
Moderator ;  Amplius  B.  Chamberlin,  Town  Clerk ;  Jacob  Rake,  Assessor; 
Mahlon  Smith,  Collector  (assessor  and  collector,  overseer  of  the  poor  to 
serve  without  pay) ;  Benjamin  Harn,  Mahlon  Smith,  Jacob  F.  Buchanan, 
Commissionere  of  Appeals ;  Jas.  J.  Fisher,  Jas.  Snyder,  Esq.,  Chusen 
Freeholders ;  Albertus  Wagner,  John  Hoffman,  Surveyors  of  Highways  ; 
William  Kake,  Constable ;  Abraham  Conover,  Judge  of  Election ;  John 
Barber,  Esq.,  Adam  Williamson.  Benjamin  Harn,  James  J.  Fisher,  Wil- 
liam Sergeant,  Town  Committee ;  Jacob  Rake,  A.  B.  Chamberlin,  William 
Wilson,  School  Committee. 

"  One  thousand  dollars  to  be  raised  for  making  and  repairing  roads. 
The  committee  to  ascertain  the  amount  to  be  raised  for  the  poor. 

"  Dog  tax  to  pay  for  sheep  killed  by  dogs. 

"  Overseers  of  tlie  Roads :  Joseph  Sergeant,  Samuel  Wolverton,  James 
Barcroft,  Abraham  Williamson,  Mahlon  Smith,  Joseph  Lair,  James  D. 
Pearce,  Gabriel  Aller,  Henry  Trimmer,  Jacob  Bodine,  Job  Wolverton, 
Nelson  Holcomb,  Robert  Bonhani,  John  C.  Holcomb,  John  Lair,  Nicholas 
B.  Higgins.  Richard  Shepherd,  John  Hoppock,  Samuel  Holcombe,  John 
H.  Ott. 

"  Elections  to  be  held,  first  day  at  the  house  of  Peter  B.  Mellick,  and 
the  second  day  at  the  house  of  Henry  Wagner,  at  Sergeantsville. 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  town-meeting  public  convenience 
will  be  promoted  by  the  division  of  the  township  of  Amwell;  so  far  we 
approve  of  said  division,  and  we  have  no  desire  that  the  present  arrange- 
ment should  be  disturbed.  But  at  the  same  time  we  would  say  that  any 
act  of  this  kind  passed  without  the  knowledge  or  consent  of  those  imme- 
diately interested  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  fundamental  principles  of 
our  form  of  government. 

"Signed,  John  Bahber,  ilfoderafor. 
'*  Attest,  A.  B.  Chamberlin,  Clerk.'''* 

SUNDRY  TRANSACTIONS. 

At  a  special  town-meeting  held  Dec.  29,  1838,  at 
the  house  of  Henry  "Wagner,  in  Sergeantsville,  it  was 
resolved,  "  that  the  township  will  not  buy  a  poor- 
house  farm,"  but ''that  the  paupers  be  kept  all  to- 
gether by  some  one  individual  and  resident  of  this 
township." 

April  13,  1840,  it  was  voted  "that  $1000  be  raised 
I  for  making  and  repairing  roads,  $500  for  the  use  of 


374 


HUNTERDON    COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  poor,  and  that  the  interest  of  the  surplus  revenue 
go  towards  supporting  the  poor."     It  was 

"  Resolved,  That  this  township  buy  a  poor-house  property,  and  that  we 
take  the  proceeds  of  the  poor-houae  estahlishment  to  purchase  said 
property." 

The  committee  appointed  to  purchase  said  prop- 
erty consisted  of  John  Barber,  Adam  Williamson, 
and  Abram  Conover,  and  it  was  decided  that  *'  the 
interests  of  our  share  of  the  old  poor-house  establish- 
ment go  towards  the  support  of  the  poor." 

At  a  special  town-meeting  held  May  17,  1864,  at 
the  house  of  George  W.  Comley,  in  Sergeantsville,  in 
accordance  with  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature,  ap- 
proved March  25,  1864,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  $31,000  shall  be  raised  by  assessment  and 
taxation,  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  a  special  act  of  the 
Legislature,  approved  March  25,  1864,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  us  to 
raise  this  tax. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  sum  so  ordered  to  be  raised,  or  such  part  thereof 
as  shall  come  into  the  hands  of  the  collector,  shall  be  applied  by  him  to 
the  payment  of  the  commutation  money  for  the  exemption  from  the 
draft  of  such  persons  as  shall  be  drafted  and  accepted  for  the  township 
of  Delaware  at  the  ensuing  draft  (the  one  now  ordered)." 

Oct.  27,  1864,  the  inhabitants  met  Tigreeable  to 
public  notice,  and  the  following  resolutions  were  read 
by  the  clerk : 

'*  Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  ^6,000  shall  be  raised  by  assessment  and 
taxation,  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  a  special  act  of  the 
Legislature  approved  March  25,  1864,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  us  to 
raise  this  tax. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  sum  so  ordered,  or  such  part  thereof  as  shall  come 
into  the  hands  of  the  collector,  shall  be  applied  by  him  to  the  payment 
of  the  obligations  and  debts  incurred  by  the  township  committee  of  the 
township  of  Delaware  in  raising  money  to  pay  bounties  to  volunteers  to 
fill  the  quota  of  said  township  of  Delaware  on  th'e  hist  call  of  the  gov- 
ernment for  500,000  men,  and  wherever  any  person  has  furnished  a  sub- 
stitute which  counted  on  the  quota  assigned  to  said  township  under  said 
call  for  500,000  men,  such  person  shall  be  paid  the  sum  of  §668.08." 

A  vote  was  then  taken,  which  resulted  as  follows : 
For  the  resolution,  237  ;  against,  none. 

A  special  town-meeting  was  held  Jan.  14,  1865,  at 
Sergeantsville,  to  take  proper  measures  to  provide  for 
a  call  for  trooj>s ;  John  T.  Sergeant  was  elected  mod- 
erator and  Edward  M.  Heath  appointed  clerk.  G.  S. 
Bellis,  J.  G.  Sutphin,  and  Dr.  I.  S.  Cramer  were  con- 
stituted a  committee  on  resolutions,  which  it  appears 
were  presented,  but  never  placed  on  record. 

TOWNSHIP    OFPICERS. 
From  the  first  election,  in  1838,  to  the  present  time 
the  officers  have  been  as  follows : 

TOWN  CLEKKS. 
1838-44,  Amplius  B.  Chamberlin ;  1845-51,  Reading  Moore ;  1852-55,  John 
M.  Chamberlin;  1856-64,  Andrew   B.   Rittenliouse;  1865-73,  E.  M. 
Heath;  1874^76,  H.  F.  Bodine;  1877-79,  Asa  H.  Holcombe;  1880, 
George  W.  Holcombe. 

COLLECTORS. 
1838-40,  Mahlon  Smith ;  1841-43,  John  HufTman  ;  1844r46,  Jacob  Bodine ; 
1847-49,  Philip  Rockafellow;  1850,  Robert  Bonham ;  1851-52,  Wil- 
liam Reading  ;  1853-55,  Dilts  Larowe ;  1856,  Charles  Denson ;  1857-59, 
Cornelius  L.  Hunt ;  18G0-62,  Samuel  Fauss  ;  1863-65,  David  Jackson  ; 
1866-67,  Gershom  Lambert;  1868-70,  Allison  Holcombe;  1871-73, 
John  Bush;  1874-76,  Daniel  R.  Sharpe ;  1877-79,  L.  C.  Fielier;  1880, 
J.  P.  Dilta. 


TOWN  COMMITTEE. 

1838,  John  Barber,  Adam  Williamson,  Benjamin  Horn,  James  J.  Fisher, 
William  Sergeant;  1839,  Benjamin  Horn,  N.  B.  Higgine,  John  S. 
Wilson,  Adam  Williamson,  Asher  Lambert;  1S40,  Jonas  Sutton, 
Asher  Lambert,  John  S.  Wilson,  Adam  Williamson,  Benjamin  Hoi-n  ; 
1841,  John  C.Fisher,  Mahlon  Smith,  Asher  Lambert,  John  S.  Wilson, 
William  Hice;  1842,  Asher  Lambert.  Maiilou  Smith,  Benjamin  Horn, 
John  S.  Wilson,  William  Hice;  1843,  James  Wolverton,  Mahlon 
Smith,  Asher  Lambert,  William  Hic^e,  Benjamin  Horn;  1844,  Benja- 
min Horn,  William  Hice,  Aslier  Lambert,  John  Barber,  Mahlon 
Smith;  1845-47,  Mahlon  Smith,  Benjamin  Horn,  Asher  Lambert, 
William  Hice,  JamesSnj'der;  1848^9,  Asher  Lambert,  "William  Hice, 
Jacob  Bodine,  Mahlon  Smith,  James  Snyder ;  1850,  Tobias  Shadinger, 
William  Hice,  Charles  R.  Swallow,  James  Snyder,  Hiram  Kobbiiis; 
1851,  Jacob  Bodine,  William  S.  Dalryniple,  Tobias  Shadinger,  .rohn 
Hofiman,  Mahlon  Smith;  1852,  Mahlon  Smith,  Jacob  Bodine,  Read- 
ing Moore,  Tobias  Shadinger,  John  Iloflnian  ;  1853,  Mahlon  Smith, 
John  Hoffman,  John  J.  Sutphin,  Silas  Huffman,  Reading  Moore ; 
1854,  John  HofTmau,  Rending  Moore,  Andrew  B.  Rittenhouse,  Silas 
Hoffman,  J.  J.  Sutphin  ;  1855,  Eli  Kitchen,  A.  B.  Kittenhouse,  Daniel 
J.  Moore,  Silas  Hoffman,  Daniel  Ponlson;  1856,  A.  B.  Rittenhouse, 
D.  J,  Moore,  Daniel  Punlson,  Andrew  Wolverton,  Eli  Kitchen; 
1857,  Malilon  Smith,  D.  J.  Moore,  D.  Ponlson,  Andrew  Wolverton, 
Eli  Kitchen;  1858,  William  H.  Earcroft,  William  Bearder,  Wil- 
liam H.  Larue,  A.  Wolverton,  Mahlon  Smith;  1859-60,  W,  Bear- 
der, John  T.  Risler,  Eli  Kit<-lien,  W.  H.  Larue,  Cliarles  W.  Go- 
down  ;  1861,  Eli  Kitchen,  John  T.  Risler,  Jonathan  M.  Dilts,  Charles 
W.  Godown,  J.  M.  Dilts;  1862, Eli  Kitchen,  Jonathan  M.  Dilts,  Jona- 
than M.  Hoppock,  Francis  Rittenhouse,  Gershom  Lambert;  lS6:j- 
64,  Eli  Kitchen,  J.  M.  Dilts,  John  Bodine,  Francis  Rittenhouse,. 
Gershom  Lambert;  1865,  J.  M.  Dilts,  William  H.  Barcroft,  G.  Lam- 
bert, Cyins  Risler,  William  Aller;  1SG6-G8,  Eli  Kitchen,' W.  H.  Bar- 
croft, William  Aller.  Andrew  Wolverton,  Cyrus  Risler;  1869.  Eli 
Kitchen,  W.  H.  Barcroft,  William  Aller,  William  R.  Bearder,  Thomas 
Lake;  1S70,  Thomas  Lake,  Eli  Kitchen,  Acker  Moore,  William  R. 
Bearder,  W.  H.  Barcroft;  1871-73,  John  Hoffman,  Thomas  Lake, 
Acker  Moore,  W.  R.  Bearder,  Eli  Kitchen ;  1874,  Anderson  Bray, 
Thomas  Lake,  J.  HofFnian,  A.  Moore,  W,  B.  Bearder;  lb75,  J.  Hoff- 
man, A.  Moore,  Anderson  Bray,  Azariah  Stout,  Jeremiah  F.  Horn; 

1876,  Charles  Fisher,  J.  F.  Horn,  A.  Bray,  A.  Moore,  J.  Hoffman; 

1877,  J.  Hoflman,  A.  Moore,  C.  T.  Fisher,  E.  Kitchen,  A.  Bearder; 

1878,  C.  T.  Fisher,  E.  Kitchen,  A.  Bearder,  D.  B.  Ege,  Albert  Juhn- 
son;  1879,  Andrew  R.  Bearder,  Daniel  B.  Ege,  Albert  R.  Johnson; 
1880,  Daniel  B.  Ege,  Albert  Johnson,  Samuel  Horner. 

CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 

1838-39,  James  Snyder,  Esq.,  and  James  J.  Fisher;  1S40-42,  James  Sny- 
der, Esq.,  and  Abraham  Conover;  1843,  A.  B.  Chamberlin  and  James 
Snyder ;  1844,  A.  B.  Chamberlin  and  John  S.  Wilson  ;  1845-46,  John 
S.  Wilson  and  Jeremiah  Smith;  1847,  Acker  Moore  and  Jacob  Go- 
down  ;  1848,  Robert  Dilts  and  Jeremiah  Smith;  1849,  Robert  Dilts 
and  John  Dilts;  1850,  Peter  Rockafellow  and  Acker  Moore  ;  1851-53, 
Andrew  B.  Rittenhouse;  1854,  Charles  B.  Everiit;  1855-57,  Joseph 
B.  Case;  1858-60,  David  Jackson;  1861-62,  Amos  Thatcher;  ISii:!, 
Andrew  B.  Rittenhouse;  1864-66,  Daniel  Sharp;  1867,  George  N. 
Holcombe;  1868,  G.  W.  Holcombe;  1809,  George  N.  Holcombe  ;  1870- 
75,  Joseph  Smith;  1876-78,  Jonathan  M.  Dilts;  1879-80,  William 
Aller. 

The  following  county  and  State  officials  have  been 
elected  from  Delaware : 

Sheriffs. — Amplius  B.  Chamberlin,  1844;  James 
Snyder,  1850. 

County  Clerks. — Andrew  B.  Kittenhouse,  18G4; 
served  five  years.  It  is  said  "no  man  ever  held  the 
office  who  sustained  himself  and  the  interests  of  the 
county  more  creditably." 

Surrogates. — Jesse  C.  Reed,  1849 ;  died  near  the 
close  of  his  term,  Oct.  26,  1854.  His  son,  John  C. 
Reed,  was  appointed  by  Governor  Rodman  to  fill  the 
unexpired  term,  which  was  but  a  few  weeks. 

Judges  of  Common  Pleas. — John  Barber,  1846 ;  died 


DELAWARE. 


375 


Jan.  4, 1867,  aged  seventy -nine.  Mahlon  Smith,  1853  ; 
held  the  position  ten  years  ;  died  May  27,  1868,  aged 
seventy-three. 

Directors. — James  Snyder,  1843 ;  he  had  been  a 
member  of  both  branches  of  the  Legislature,  and  was 
subsequently  elected  sheriff  of  the  county.  Amplius 
B.  Chamberlin,  1844 ;  elected  sheriff  the  same  year, 
which  terminated  his  residence  in  Delaware  township. 
Andrew  B.  Eittenhouse,  1853. 

Cleric  of  Board  of  Chosen  Freeholders. — Edward  M. 
Heath,  1865. 

Members' of  Assembly. — James  Snyder,  1838;  Wil- 
liam Sergeant,  1856. 

State  Senators. — James  Wilson,  1835,  1842-43  ;  born 
in  the  north  of  Ireland;  came  to  this  country  in  1806; 
died  Nov.  14,  1865,  aged  eighty-six.  James  Snyder,  I 
1889.  Joseph  G.  Bowne,  1868 ;  he  accepted  the  nomi- 
nation very  reluctantly,  not  being  an  office-seeker,  in 
the  common  acceptation  of  the  term,  and  made  an 
honorable  and  reliable  officer. 

Assistant  United  States  Marshals.  —  John  Barber, 
1850.  William  W.  Moore,  1870 ;  he  was  unable  to 
perform  the  duties  of  the  office,  which  was  done  by 
John  C.  Sine.    Mr.  Moore  died  Sept.  13,  1870. 

VILLAGES   AND    HAMLETS. 

Stocktok,  located  in  School  District  No.  98,  is  a 
village  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  four  miles  up 
the  Delaware  from  Lambertville.  It  was  first  known 
as  "Beading's  Ferry,"  subsequently  as  "Howell's 
Ferry,"  after  Howell  purchased  the  property  from 
Beading.  Upon  the  advent  of  the  railroad  at  this 
place,  the  name  was  again  changed,  and  became 
"  Centre  Bridge  Station,"  which  corresponded  to  the 
name  of  the  post-office  and  hamlet  on  the  Pennsyl- 
vania side  of  the  river,  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
turnpike  bridge. 

This  place  soon  became  the  centre  of  trade  and 
shipments  for  the  products  of  the  township,  so  that  in 
1851  a  post-office  became  a  necessity,  and  was  estab- 
lished with  the  name  of  "  Stockton."  Jeremiah  Smith 
was  appointed  the  first  postmaster.  The  office  was 
kept  at  first  in  the  tavern,  and  subsequently  trans- 
ferred to  the  store  now  kept  by  G.  W.  Mason. 

The  pioneer  store  was  kept  by  Daniel  E.  Sharp  and 
Gershom  Lambert,  in  1842,  in  the  old  stone  house 
across  the  creek,  west  of  the  Baptist  church.  It  was 
built  in  1842  by  Col.  John  Sharp.  The  first  house 
was  that  of  Joseph  Howell.  It  stood  on  the  present 
site  of  0.  S.  Conkling's  steam  saw-mill.  The  ferry 
was  at  this  time  owned  by  Joseph  Howell,  and  ran 
from  what  is  now  the  foot  of  Ferry  Street,  in  Stock- 
ton, to  a  point  nearly  opposite,  on  the  Pennsylvania 
shore. 

The  pioneer  blacksmith  was  John  Loomis,  who  in 
1832  started  an  axe-factory  in  the  old  stone  building 
above  the  Sharp  &  Lambert  store-house.  Mr.  Loomis 
ran  his  machinery  by  water  conveyed  from  the  stream 
in  wooden  troughs.    The  pioneer  tavern  stood  on  or 


near  the  site  of  the  present  Baptist  church,  and,  in 
1832,  Asher  Johnson  built  a  part  of  the  present 
"Stockton  House;"  it  was  enlarged  in  1850  by 
Charles  Bartels  and  Aaron  Van  Sickel.  This  firm 
also  built  the  store  now  occupied  by  G.  W.  Mason, 
on  the  corner  opposite  the  hotel. 

The  pioneer  shoemaker  was  Daniel  Dilts.  He  lived 
a  short  distance  above  Conkling's  mill,  where  John 
White  now  lives. 

Smith  Phillips  was  an  early  blacksmith.  His 
shop  was  where  that  of  Samuel  Hoffman  now  stands. 
The  first  physician  to  locate  here  was  Dr.  0.  H. 
Sproul,  in  1866,  now  practicing  in  the  village. 

Previous  to  1830  all  of  the  present  village  west  of 
Bridge  Street  was  covered  by  an  old  orchard.  The 
fir.st  brick  house  was  built  by  William  Bodine,  on 
Main  Street. 

The  stone-quarry  in  rear  of  the  Stockton  House  was 
opened  in  1874  by  Peter  Best,  who  sold  the  stone  to 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Eailroad  Company. 

There  are  at  present  in  the  village  three  churches, 
one  hardware-store,  by  S.  B.  Hill ;  one  dry-goods  and 
grocery  store,  by  G.  W.  Mason ;  two  grocery-stores, 
kept  by  G.  J.  Fisher  and  R.  E.  Boss.  There  are  also 
a  blacksmith-,  a  harness-,  a  shoe-,  and  a  barber-shop ; 
lumber  business,  conducted  by  Messrs.  Salter  &  Huff- 
man ;  hotel,  by  J.  S.  Hockenbury  ;  one  school-build- 
ing, with  two  schools ;  one  steam  saw-mill,  spoke- 
works,  and  paper-mill ;  railroad  depot,  with  Reading 
M.  Dilts  as  express-messenger,  Theodore  Barber  tele- 
graph-operator, and  Daniel  M.  Dilts  baggage-master 
and  freight-ageijt.  There  are  also  saloons,  meat- 
markets,  and  milliner-shops,  as  usually  found  in 
towns  of  this  size. 

The  population  in  1880  was  577.  The  present  post- 
master is  Gabriel  Wolverton.  William  Dilts  is  the 
oldest  man  in  the  village  of  Stockton;  his  age  is 
eighty-four. 

Headquaeters  is  located  in  the  northwest  part  of 
School  District  No.  94,  and  is  by  road  four  and  a  half 
miles  northeast  from  Stockton.  The  place  was  so 
named  from  the  fact  that  Washington  made  the  old 
stone  house,  still  standing  on  the  corner  of  the  road, 
his  headquarters  for  a  few  days  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. It  is  a  two-story  structure,  built  in  1758. 
Here  George  Holcombe  kept  a  store  for  many  years, 
and  several  pleasing  anecdotes  are  related  of  the  haps 
and  mishaps  at  the  old  Headquarters.  A  store,  steam 
saw-  and  grist-mill,  shoe-shop,  blacksmith-  and  wagon- 
shop  of  Manuel  Green,  and  about  a  dozen  dwellings- 
are  located  here.  The  principal  part  of  the  property, 
including  old  Headquarters,  is  now  owned  by  John, 
A.  Carroll. 

Ceoton  is  a  small  hamlet  in  the  extreme  north 
corner  of  the  township,  in  School  District  No.  92. 
The  first  store  was  opened  in  1840,  by  David  Bocka- 
fellow;  it  is  now  kept  by  Smith  Fields,  and  is  the- 
only  store  here.  A  post-office  was  established  in  1845, 
with  JohQ  S.  Hockenbury  as  postmaster.  Smith  Fields- 


376 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


is  the  present  incumbent,  and  keeps  the  office  in  his 
store.  In  1847  a  tavern  was  opened  by  'Asher  Trim- 
mer, and  is  now  kept  by  Hart  Johnson.  The  first 
blacksmith  was  Dennis  Carter,  who  was  succeeded  by 
Eldridge  Green,  the  present  knight  of  the  anvil.  Hol- 
combe  Warford  and  John  W.  Hockenbury  are  the 
present  wagon-  and  carriage-makers,  while  Bateman 
&  Hockenbury  operate  a  saw-mill.  There  is  also  a 
Baptist  church,  together  with  a  few  dwellings. 

Previous  to  1845  this  place  was  known  as  "  Aller- 
town,"  from  the  number  of  Aller  families  living  near 
here,  but  when  the  post-office  was  established  the 
name  was  changed. 

Peallsville  is  located  in  School  District  No.  98, 
half  a  mile  from  Stockton,  and  was  settled  as  early  as 
1793,  when  John  Prall,  Jr.,  built  the  house  in  which 
Maurice  Wolverton  now  lives.  Mr.  Prall  also  built 
an  oil-  and  grist-mill  on  the  Wickhecheoke  Creek, 
which  here  empties  into  the  Delaware.  He  was  also 
the  pioneer  merchant,  and  built  what  is  known  as  the 
old  Prall  House,  the  mills,  and  the  store,  all  of  stone. 
He  also  opened  the  quarries  here,  and  at  one  time 
conducted  a  very  extensive  business.  William  L. 
Hoppock  was  postmaster  from  1832,  the  date  of  the 
establishment  of  the  office,  to  1851,  when  that  at 
Stockton  was  opened  and  the  one  at  Prallsville  dis- 
continued. For  several  years  William  Prall  and  Jacob 
Lambert,  son  and  son-in-law  of  John  Prall,  kept  the 
store,  while  John  conducted  the  rest  of  the  business. 
The  grist-mill  has  been  enlarged  to  a  first-class  custom 
and  flouring-mill,  S.  Stover  proprietor.  The  rest  of 
the  original  Prall  property  is  owned,  by  the  heirs  of 
the  William  Hoppock  estate.  The  first  physician  was 
John  Bowne,  1791-95,  when  he  removed  to  Oakdale. 

LoCKTOWN  is  located  on  the  northwest  border  of 
the  township,  in  School  District  No.  91.  The  first 
church  was  built  in  1745.  The  first  storekeeper  was 
Mr.  Roberson ;  his  store  stood  on  the  site  of  the  one 
now  kept  by  John  M.  Chamberlin.  The  first  tavern- 
keeper  was  Benjamin  Hyde;  the  old  house  is  now 
occupied  by  William  Nixon.  The  first  postmaster 
was  John  Bellis,  appointed  in  November,  1856. 

There  are  at  present  a  store  by  J.  M.  Chamberlin 
(who  is  also  postmaster)  and  a  blacksmith-shop  by 
Samuel  A.  Carroll,  two  churches, — Baptist  and  Chris- 
tian,— and  a  school-house.  Population  of  the  village 
in  1880,  29. 

EosEMONT  Village  is  located  in  the  northeast 
part  of  School  District  No.  97,  three  miles  from 
Stockton.  The  place  was  first  settled  by  William 
Rittenhouse,  who  built  the  stone  house  now  owned 
by  George  Hoppock,  bearing  the  date  1754.  Mr.  Rit- 
tenhou.se  had  owned  the  farm  since  1719.  He  opened 
a  tavern,  and  upon  the  sign  was  painted  the  emblem 
of  a  treasurer,  "crosskeys,"  and  the  place  was  long 
known  as  the  "  Crosskeys  Tavern."  The  name  was 
subsequently  changed  to  "Rittenhouse,"  by  which 
the  village  was  known  for  some  time,  and  finally  to 
"Rosemont,"  by  which  appellation  the  village  has 


since  been  known.   There  has  never  been  a  post-oflice 
here,  and  at  present  there  is  no  tavern. 

The  first  merchant  was  Henry  Winters ;  he  was 
succeeded  by  Samuel  Hartpence,  who  continues  the 
mercantile  business.  The  pioneer  blacksmith  was 
James  Opdyke ;  his  shop  stood  on  the  site  now  occu- 
pied by  the  residence  of  Samuel  Hartpence.  The 
first  wagon-maker  was  Samuel  Green,  in  the  house 
where  James  Hammer  now  lives.  Mahlon  William- 
son was  the  first,  and  is  the  present,  shoemaker,  he 
having  lived  here  for  fifty  years.  Dr.  John  Barcroft, 
who  boarded  at  the  Rosemont  Tavern  for  about  six 
months  in  1841^2,  was  the  first  physician.  The 
first  death  of  a  resident  was  that  of  Mrs.  William 
Rittenhouse. 

There  are  at  present  a  store  kept  by  Samuel  Hart- 
pence; a  blacksmith-shop  by  W.  A.  Shepherd;  a 
carriage-  and  sleigh-factory  by  R.  C.  Phillips;  a 
harness-shop  by  H.  A.  Chapin ;  an  undertaker,  Sam- 
uel Hartpence;  a  shoemaker,  Mahlon  Williamson; 
two  churches,  Methodist  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian; 
one  physician,  G.  N.  Best.  Population  of  the  village 
in  1880,  50. 

Seegeantsville  is  a  pleasant  village  located 
in  School  District  No.  95,  close  to  the  centre  of  the 
township  and  three  miles  northeast  from  Stockton. 
It  has  a  population  of  139.  Where  the  first  settler 
located  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty.  From  the  best 
traditionary  evidence  it  is  believed  that  the  Sergeants 
were  among  the  first,  as  the  three  brothers,  Joseph, 
John,  and  Charles,  previous  to  1825,  kept  a  small 
grocery  on  the  corner  where  G.  H.  Fisher's  harness- 
shop  now  stands.  Before  1827  the  locality  was  known 
as  "  Skunktown,"  from  the  fact  of  its  being  frequented 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  by  skunks. 

In  1827  it  was  found  desirable  that  a  post-office 
should  be  established,  and  Henry  H.  Fisher,  Esq., 
procured  the  appointment  of  Jonas  Thatcher;  the 
office  was  named  "  Sergeantsville,"  in  honor  of  the 
numerous  family  of  Sergeants  who  lived  in  the  vicin- 
ity at  that  time. 

The  principal  early  merchants  were  Jonas  Thatcher 
and  Sergeant  Lake.  Their  store  was  in  the  old  Fisher 
store-house,  opposite  the  tavern.  The  stone  store- 
building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  roads  was 
built  in  1830  by  H.  H.  Fisher.  The  first  tavern  was 
kept  by  Nathaniel  Gordon,  father  of  John, .  pre- 
vious to  1825.  John  Sergeant  had  a  blacksmith-shop 
here  prior  to  1825.  Dr.  Richard  Mershon  was  the 
first  physician,  in  1840.  Sergeantsville  has  been  the 
business  centre  of  the  township  ever  since  the  organ- 
ization of  Delaware. 

There  are  at  present  one  store  by  J.  F.  Shepherd, 
a  tavern  by  Jacob  Wilson,  a  blacksmith-shop  by 
Jacob  L.  Green,  carriage-and-sleigh  manufactory  by 
Henry  Quick,  a  shoe-store  and  manufactory  by  A.  B. 
Williamson,  a  harness-shop  by  G.  H.  Fisher,  a  tin- 
shop  by  AVashington  Timbrook,  a  nursery  by  I.  S. 
Cramer  (also  the  physician),  a  grange  and  Methodist 


DELAWARE. 


m 


Episcopal  church.  Mrs.  Harriet  Jackson  is  post- 
mistress. 

Sand  Brook  is  a  small  settlement  in  the  northeast 
part  of  the  township,  in  School  District  No.  93,  five 
and  a  half  miles  from  Stockton,  one  mile  from  Head- 
quarters, and  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Sergeants- 
ville.  It  contains  a  German  Baptist  Church,  of  which 
Rev.  John  P.  Moore  is  present  pastor;  a  school,  of 
which  Joseph  S.  Fauss  is  the  teacher ;  a  grist-mill, 
run  by  water-power,  Hiram  Moore  proprietor ;  a  store, 
kept  by  Charles  W.  Moore  ;  a  blacksmith-shop  and  a 
wagon-shop,  operated  by  G-eorge  F.  Green  and  Joseph 
H.  Crum  respectively.  John  A.  Moore  is  present  pos1> 
master. 

Oakdale  is  a  small  collection  of  houses  at  Bar- 
ber's Station,  on  the  Lambertville  and  Flemington 
Railroad.  It  is  located  in  School  District  No.  105, 
in  the  south  part  of  the  township. 

Bkookville,  half  a  mile  from  Stockton,  on  the 
river  road  to  Lambertville,  is  a  hamlet  of  about  a 
dozen  houses,  grocery,  and  the  foundry  and  machine- 
shops  of  Hiram  Deats,  at  the  mouth  of  Horn  Creek. 
This  is  also  in  School  District  No.  98.  The  property 
was  owned  by  one  Cavanagh ;  it  was  bought  at 
sheriff's  sale  by  Daniel  Butterfoss,  and  by  him  sold  to 
Hiram  Deats,  who  in  1851  built  tlie  foundry  and 
saw-mill.  The  Mansion  House  was  erected  in  1852, 
and  several  other  buildings  during  that  and  the  next 
two  or  three  years.  John  V.  Higgins  was  associated 
with  Mr.  Deats  ;  he  died  in  1852.  During  the  next 
few  years  a  large  number  of  stoves  were  made  here, 
but  for  the  last  fifteen  years  but  little  has  been  done 
aside  from  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments. 

Raven  Bock  Post-Office  is  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  township,  at  Bull's  Island  station,  on 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  in  School  District  97.  At 
present  it  embraces  a  railroad  station,  a  store,  and  a 
dozen  dwellings.  Previous  to  1859,  M.  H.  Hoffman 
was  postmaster ;  he  resigned  in  that  year,  and  Wes- 
ley Johnson  was  appointed. 

SCHOOLS. 

There  are  in  this  township  eleven  school  districts 
and  twelve  teachers. 

Number  92  is  the  "  Croton"  District,  with  the  school- 
house  in  the  northern  part.  It  has  had  two  school- 
houses.  The  fir.st,  erected  in  1829,  stood  about  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  village,  and  at  no  great  dis- 
tance from  the  present  building,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  same  road.  It  was  a  frame  structure,  18  by  20 
feet,  and  was  in  use  forty-one  years,  when  it  was  re- 
placed by  the  present  house,  built  in  1871,  in  the 
centre  of  an  acre  lot  donated  for  the  purpose  by  Mrs. 
Ellicott,  of  Croton.  Among  the  earliest  trustees  the 
name  of  Asa  Jones  is  found. 

District  No.  93  is  known  as  "Sand  Brook." 
The  first  school-house  was  probably  erected  about 
1790.  In  1831  a  new  one  was  constructed  on  its  site, 
25 


of  stone,  20  by  23  feet.  This  was  repaired  in  1871. 
It  is  impossible  to  uame  the  trustees  farther  back  than 
1820,  in  which  year  the  board  consisted  of  Henry 
Trimmer,  Amos  Sutton,  Jacob  Moore,  George  Bu- 
chanan, and  Isaac  Huffman. 

District  No.  98,  known  as  the  "  Stockton"  District, 
embraces  the  village  of  Stockton  and  the  hamlets  of 
Brookville  and  Prallsville,  with  the  school-house  at 
Stockton.  This  is  the  only  district  in  the  township 
which  supports  two  schools  and  employs  two  teachers. 
The  schools  are  open  ten  months  in  the  year.  The 
first,  or  one  of  the  first,  to  teach  in  this  district  was 
John  Schomp.  This  district  does  not  appear  to 
have  had  a  school  prior  to  1832.  The  first  house 
stood  near  where  the  present  edifice  is  located,  and 
was  built  that  year.  It  was  an  old-fashioned,  oc- 
tagonal building,  about  20  feet  in  diameter.  The 
first  teacher  was  Rev.  Joseph  Wright,  still  (or  re- 
cently) living  in  Wertsville,  this  county.  For  a  short 
time  prior  to  1875  this  district  was  divided  into  Upper 
and  Lower  Stockton  Districts,  or  Nos.  98  and  99,  but 
about  the  latter  date  they  were  consolidated,  and  No. 
99  was  dropped,  the  district  since  being  known  as 
"  Stockton,  No.  98."  The  immediate  result  of  the 
union  was  the  construction,  in  1875,  of  a  commodious 
and  tasteful  building,  50  by  27  feet,  with  a  wing  27 
by  25,  affording  two  large  rooms.  The  first  teachers- 
in  this  building  were  Lewis  C.  Paxson  and  S.  Hunt. 

The  Locktown  District  (91)  was  formed  and  the 
school-house  built  in  1804.  The  first  trustees  were 
William  Lair,  Capt.  John  Heath,  and  Richard  Heath, 
who  served  for  over  twenty  years.  The  first  teacher 
was  William  Heath,  who  taught  for  seven  years,  and 
was  followed  by  Adam  Williamson  for  about  the  same 
length  of  time.  The  third  teacher  was  Rev.  John 
Ellis,  who  was  at  the  same  time  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Baptisttown.  He  was  succeeded  by  Royal 
Barrett,  of  Massachusetts.  The  first  house  was  a 
frame  structure,  20  by  24  feet,  and  stood  north  of  the 
Old  School  Baptist  church.  The  present  edifice, 
built  in  1866,  is  of  stone,  25  by  36  feet.  The  district 
lies  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township. 

The  old  school-house  in  District  94  (Moore's)  stood 
originally  about  one  mile  from  its  present  location,  on 
the  public  road  leading  from  Headquarters  to  Ringos. 
It  was  moved  twice.  It  stood  first  on  ground  now 
owned  by  William  P.  Fisher ;  it  was  afterwards  re- 
moved to  lands  of  David  Moore,  later  to  those  of 
Gideon  Moore,  and  subsequently  sold.  Among  the 
teachers  in  this  house  was  Mrs.  Bhoda  Wagner, 
widow  of  Albertus  K.  Wagner,  and  also  Cyrus  Van 
Dolah.  The  present  house  was  built  in  1866.  Its 
size  is  26  by  34  feet.  This  district  is  in  the  southeast 
part  of  the  township. 

District  No.  105  is  a  joint  district,  running  into  this 
township  from  West  Amwell ;  it  lies  between  Districts 
Nos.  94  and  96,  and  reaches  to  Barber's  Station. 

District  No.  85  lies  on  the  east  side  of  the  township, 
and  is  known  as  the  "  Higgins  District."     This  dis- 


378 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


trict  had  a  school-hoijse  prior  to  1776.     The  clerk  of 
the  district  says, — 

"  The  old  building  I  can  trace  back  over  one  hundred  years.  It  waa 
ultimately  sold  for  $46,  and  is  still  standing,  about  300  yards  south  of  the 
new  building,  ou  the  east  side  of  the  road,  where  it  hjis  now  (1876)  stood 
for  forty-five  years.  Previous  to  this  time  it  stood  about  one  mile  north 
of  its  present  location.  In  1831  the  trustees,  then  all  living  in  the  south 
part  of  the  district,  put  the  house  on  wheels,  and,  with  several  yoke  of 
oxen,  removed  it  to  the  spot  where  it  now  stands.  This  resulted  in  a 
lawsuit :  the  north  part  of  the  district  sued  the  southern  for  damages, 
and  recovered  half  the  value  of  the  building,  or  $40.  The  most  ancient 
board  of  trustees  was  Paul  Kuhl,  Jacob  Dilts,  George  Trout,  William 
Bishop,  Nicholas  Swallow,  and  Asa  Higgins.  The  above-named  Paul 
Kuhl  was  one  of  the  first  teachers. 

"The  school-house  often  stood  empty  in  those  early  days  for  a  long 
time,  as  schools  were  made  up  by  subscription  ;  at  such  times  the  chil- 
dren attended  the  adjoining  districts.  After  the  old  house  was  removed, 
the  people  in  the  north  part  of  the  district  sent  their  children  to  the  Sand 
Brook  school."* 

The  present  building  was  erected  in  1873,  and  is  a 
large,  tasteful  ediiice. 

District  No.  97,  known  as  the  "Beading"  District, 
lies  in  the  west  corner  of  the  township.  The  first 
school-house,  built  in  1796,  stood  about  25  feet  east 
■of  the  present  building.  It  was  20  feet  square,  and 
constructed  of  stone.  The  lease  dates  back  ninety- 
four  years.  John  Kitchen  taught  here  sixty-seven 
years  ago.  The  names  of  the  earliest  trustees  that 
can  be  ascertained  are  Samuel  Wolverton,  John 
Beading,  and  John  Huffman.  The  following  persons 
(all  living  in  1876)  attended  school  in  this  building: 
George  Huffman,  seventy-six  years  ago ;  George  Ser- 
geant and  John  Huffman,  sixty-seven  years  ago ;  Jehu 
Huffman,  sixty-six  years  ago ;  Elias  S.  Johnson,  fifty- 
four  years  ago.  The  clerk  says,  "There  have  been 
only  two  school-houses,  as  far  as  we  can  prove,  al- 
though there  are  traditions  of  an  old  log  school-house 
belonging  to  this  vicinity,  which  is  reported  to  have 
stood  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  present  site." 
The  building  now  in  use  was  erected  in  1861.  It  is  of 
stone,  27  by  33  feet,  in  good  condition,  and  will 
accommodate  sixty  pupils. 

District  No.  89  is  a  joint  district,  the  school-house 
standing  on  the  Raritan  side  of  the  road,  near  the 
old  "  Boar's  Head"  tavern. 

District  No.  96  is  "  Van  Dolahs."  The  school-house 
is  near  the  centre  of  the  district,  and  is  octagonal  in 
shape.  This  district  has  had  three  school-houses. 
The  first,  of  logs,  was  erected  in  1780,  and  was  20  feet 
square.  Early  trustees  were  William  Sharp,  Caleb 
Eunk,  and  Charles  Barber.  Charles  Rice  was  the 
first  teacher.  Of  the  second  building  we  have  no  ac- 
count.  The  one  now  in  use  was  built  in  1822,  of  stone. 

District  No.  95,  known  as  the  "Sergeant"  District, 
is  located  in  the  west  half  of  the  township,  and 
bounded  east  by  Districts  Nos.  93  and  94 ;  south  by 
Districts  Nos.  96  and  98 ;  west  by  District  No.  97  • 
northwest  by  a  Kingwood  district;  north  by  District 
No.  91.  It  is  not  known  when  or  where  the  first 
house  was  built.  The  present  building  was  greeted 
in  1830,  and  was  enlarged  in  1874. 

*  Eeport  of  County  School  Superintendent,  1876. 


CHURCHES. 
BAPTIST   CHURCH  OF  LOOKTOWN. 

The  Baptist  Church  of  Kingwood,  now  worshiping 
at  Locktown,  was  organized  .luly  27, 1745,  at  Baptist- 
town.  The  original  or  constituent  members  were 
Elder  Thomas  Curtis  (also  the  first  pastor),  John 
Walter  (church  clerk),  William  Fowler,  John  Burt, 

David  Drake,  James  Wolverton, Euckman,  Job 

Warford,  Thomas  Hill,  Eleanor  Hunt,  Edward  Slater, 
Elsie  Curtis,  Martha  Burtis,  Agnes  Drake,  Abigail 
Wolverton,  Elizabeth  Warford,  Elizabeth  Collins, 
Ann  Larue,  Elizabeth  Barris,  Mary  Still,  and  Mary 
Green.  The  first  meeting-house  was  built  in  1750,  of 
logs,  30  by  88  feet,  on  a  lot  donated  to  the  church  by 
George  Burket.  The  second  was  a  frame  building, 
and  the  present  structure,  of  stone,  was  built  in  1819. 
The  first  two  stood  on  or  near  the  site  of  the  present 
edifice. 

Thomas  Curtis  remained  pastor  from  its  organiza- 
tion till  his  death,  in  1749.  He  was  succeeded  in 
1749  by  Malachi  Bonham,  who  remained  until  Feb. 
17,  1757.  The  next  minister  was  David  Sutton,  from 
March  26,  1764,  to  Aug.  3,  1783,  when  he  resigned, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Nicholas  Cox,  who  ministered 
from  Nov.  4,  1784,  to  June  5, 1790.  He  was  followed 
by  Garner  A.  Hunt,  Oct.  5, 1795,  who  continued  until 
May  1, 1807,  when  he  left  the  Baptists  and  joined  the 
Presbyterians.  The  next  pastor  was  James  McLaugh- 
lin, Nov.  1,  1808,  for  about  one  year.  In  the  spring 
of  1813  the  church  called  John  Ellis,  who  continued 
till  the  spring  of  1817.  He  was  succeeded,  in  the 
spring  of  1818,  by  Elder  David  Bateman,  who  oflSci- 
ated  until  his  death,  Aug.  10,  1832.  April  1,  1833, 
William  Curtis  was  chosen,  but  he  resigned  at  the 
end  of  six  months.  Aug.  30,  1834,  James  W.  Wigg 
came,  and  continued  till  Feb.  2, 1839.  April  1,  1840, 
Elder  J.  Felty  took  charge,  but  resigned  at  the  end  of 
one  year.  In  January,  1841,  Elder  William  Hause 
became  pastor,  and  continued  till  April  1,  1845. 
Elder  G.  Conklin  was  his  successor.  May  16, 1846,  and 
remained  until  his  death,  April  16,  1868.  May  28, 
1870,  the  church  called  Elder  A.  B.  Francis  to  the 
pastorate,  which  he  retained  until  November,  1876. 

Present  membership,  71 ;  present  value  of  property, 
$5000. 

BAPTIST  CHUBCH   OF  SANDT  EIDGB. 

Feb.  1, 1812,  Eev.  Charles  Bartolette  accepted  a  call 
from  the  Baptist  Church  of  Amwell,  now  Flemington, 
and  devoted  a  part  of  his  time  to  Sandy  Eidge,  con- 
tinuing to  do  so  under  adverse  circumstances,  riding 
from  seven  to  nine  miles  and  preaching  from  house 
to  house,  in  the  summer  season  on  Sabbath  afternoons, 
and  in  winter  on  week-days. 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  built  near~the  site 
of  the  present  edifice,  and  was  opened  for'divine  wor- 
ship in  January,  1818.  Oct.  24, 1818,  a  church  was  con- 
stituted with  nineteen  members  from  other  churches, 
fourteen  of  whom  were  members  from  the  Amwell 
Church,  as  follows :  Samuel  Hunt,  Mary  Larowe,  Mat- 


DELAWARE. 


379 


thew  Covenhoven,  Esther  Butterfoss,  Rebecca  Ent, 
Catharine  Dilts,  Phebe  Johnson,  Anna  Reeder,  Mary 
Hunt,  Isaac  Wolverton,  John  Hunt,  Esther  Hunt, 
Nehemiah  Hunt,  Elizabeth  Hunt,  William  Mitchell, 
Mary  Ringo,  John  Smith,  Sr.,  Rebecca  Larowe,  and 
Hannah  Rittenhouse.  The  ministers  present  were 
Revs.  Thomas  B.  Montague,  David  Bateman,  Alex- 
ander Hastings,  and  Charles  Bartolette. 

The  first  deacons  were  Samuel  Hunt  and  William 
Mitchell,  who  were  chosen  the  same  day.  Dec.  5, 
1818,  Samuel  Hunt,  William  Mitchell,  Samuel  Rit- 
tenhouse, John  Smith,  Joseph  Brittain,  John  Coven- 
hoven,  and  John  Hunt  were  elected  trustees  ;  and  the 
first  clerk.  Garret  Wilson,  was  chosen  Feb.  20,  1819. 
Two  persons  were  baptized  Oct.  25,  1818,  Samuel 
Hunt  and  Joseph  Brittain,  being  the  first  into  this 
membership. 

March  24,  1818,  the  church  extended  a  call  to  Mr. 
Bartolette  to  become  their  supply,  he  to  give  half  his 
time  here  and  the  other  half  to  Flemington.     He 
served  thus  till  the  spring  of  1832,  during  which 
period  he  baptized   seventy-one.      Mr.    Bartolette's 
duties  at  the  Flemington  Church  requiring  all  his 
time,  this  church  extended  a  call  to  Rev.  Joseph 
Wright,  who  then  settled  as  pastor.      Mr.  Wright 
closed  his  labors  here  in  the  autumn  of  1842,  after  a 
ministry  of  ten  years.     During  the  winter  of  1842-43, 
Rev.  E.  B.  Hall  supplied  the  church ;  the  following 
spring  Rev.  George  Young  was  called,  and  remained 
till  April,  1847.     May  21,  1847,  Rev.  J.  E.  Rue  was 
installed,  and  continued  till  Jan.  1,  1850.     During 
this  time  were  purchased  six  acres  of  land  adjoining 
the  church  property,  on  which  the  present  parsonage 
house  was  built.     Mr.  Rue  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
cause  of  education,  and  Sandy  Ridge  was  represented 
in  the  university  at  Lewisburg,  Pa.,  until  1870.    Early 
in  1850,  Rev.  J.  James  Baker  settled,  and  continued 
till  April,  1854.      During  his  ministry  the  church 
maintained  four  Sabbath-schools  and  kept  up  regular 
preaching    at   four    outposts, — Stockton,   Sergeant's 
Mills,  Sand  Brook,  and  Hopewell.     Rev.  J.  Timber- 
man  was  called  as  supply  in  April,  1854,  and  served 
as  pastor  till  April,  1857.     After  him  the  church  was 
supplied  by  Rev.  Joseph  Wright  for  nearly  a  year, 
until  the  spring  of  1858,  when  Rev.  Samuel  Sproul 
was  called ;  he  continued  his  labors  till  the  close  of 
the  year  1867.     During  his  ministry  the  church  built 
two  fine  substantial  houses  of  worship,— one  at  Stock- 
ton, in  1861,  and  the  other,  in  1866,  at  Sandy  Ridge, 
on  grounds  adjoining  the  original  edifice.    For  nearly 
a  year  Rev.  Morgan  R.  Cox  officiated  (until  Oct.  1, 
1867),  when  Rev.  George  Young,  formerly  a  pastor, 
settled,  and  remained  until  Jan.  1,  1872. 

Nov.  27,  1867,  the  new  house  was  dedicated.  The 
cost  of  rebuilding  was  $5500.  It  is  44  by  60  feet,  of 
stone,  having  a  fine  basement  and  audience-room.  It 
is  a  neat  and  attractive  place  of  worship.  Five  per- 
sons have  been  licensed  by  this  church  to  preach,— 
viz.,  Charles  E.  Wilson,  William  E.  Lock,  William  V. 


Wilson,  A.  Ammerman,  and  Edward  C.  Romine. 
The  church  from  its  infancy  has  always  contributed 
to  the  different  benevolent  objects  of  the  denomina- 
tion, and  was  one  of  the  few  represented  in  forming 
the  New  Jersey  Baptist  State  Association. 

The  following  have  been  chosen  deacons :  Samuel 
Hunt,  William  Mitchell,  Garret  Wilson,  Jonas  Lake, 
Tobias  Shadinger,  Dilts  Larue,  Achor  Moore,  C.  Hig- 
gins,  James  Romine,  Benjamin  Larison.  The  present 
value  of  property  is  $7000,  and  the  present  member- 
ship is  180.  The  Sunday-school  numbers  70,  with  an 
average  attendance  of  6.0.  James  M.  Cox  is  super- 
intendent. 

CHKISTIAN  CHUECH,  lOCKTOWN. 

In  giving  a  history  of  this  church  it  is  thought 
proper  to  make  brief  mention  of  the  pioneer  efforts. 

The  following  is  from  a  record  kept  by  one  of  its 
members : 

"  About  the  middle  of  January,  1827,  Mrs.  Abigail  Eoberta,  accom- 
panied by  her  husband,  Mr.  Nathan  Eoberts,  visited  the  county  of  Hun- 
terdon and  attended  a  number  of  meetings  in  different  neighborhoods, 
which  produced  great  excitement  among  the  people  who  came  out  to 
hear  her  preach.  .  .  .  The  third  Sunday  in  June,  1829,  there  was  ap- 
pointed a  two-days'  meeting  in  the  woods  near  Locktown,  attended  by 
Simon  Clough,  of  New  York,  William  Lane,  of  Ohio,  John  F.  Thompson, 
of  Johnsonsburg,  N.  J.,  and  Mrs.  Roberts.  On  Saturda.v  the  meeting  was 
held  in  a  public- house  occupied  by  Benjamin  Hide  (Hyde).  On  Sunday 
the  meeting  was  held  in  the  woods,  a  large  assembly  of  people  being 
present.  William  Lane  preached  on  the  '  Sonship  of  Christ,'  and  the 
sermon  caused  great  excitement  among  the  people." 

From  further  records,  we  conclude  the  organization 
of  the  church  took  place  between  Oct.  16,  1829,  and 
Feb.  13,  1832.     The  following  is  the  record  : 

"On  Sunday,  Oct.  16, 1829,  the  First  Christian  Church,  acknowledged 
at  Milford,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  with  a  part  of  her  members  livinj;  in 
the  townships  of  Amwell  and  Kingwood,a  distance  of  from  eight  to  four- 
teen miles,  were  met,  and  took  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  build- 
ing a  house  for  public  worship.  A  plot  of  ground  was  selected,  and  the 
owner,  Jcfeeph  Lair,  agreed  to  deed  three-quarters  of  an  acre  in  the 
southwest  corner  of  his  farm  for  that  pui-pose.  The  aforesaid  membeiB 
making  their  intention  known  to  the  body  of  the  church,  it  was  agreed 
on,  and  a  meeting  appointed  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Cooley,  in  Milford, 
for  the  purpose  of  appointing  trustees;  which  meeting  took  place  April 
21,1832. 

"  Francis  Roberson  was  appointed  chairman,  and  Samuel  Cooley  secre- 
tary, when  Francis  Eobersou  was  appointed  trustee  for  one  year,  Philip 
Gordon  for  two,  and  Elisha  liittenhouse  for  three  years.  Trustees  were 
appointed  to  raise  funds  and  superintend  the  building.  The  building 
was  commenced  the  last  of  May,  raised  about  the  middle  of  June,  and  so 
far  completed  that  meetings  were  held  in  it  on  Saturday  and  Sunday, 
13th  and  14th  of  October,  1832.  The  dedicatory  sermon  was  preached  by 
William  Lane,  from  Romans  xvi.  17." 

At  a  meeting  held  April  21,  1832,  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions defining  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  Church 
were  adopted,  which  are  too  lengthy  for  publication 
in  this  work.  The  proceedings  of  that  meeting  were 
signed  by  Francis  Roberson,  chairman,  and  Samuel 
Cooley,  secretary.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the 
subscription  list  by  which  money  was  raised  to  build 
the  church  : 

"  And  to  the  end  that  the  same  may  be  established,  we  the  subscribers 
do  hereby  promise  and  engage  to  pay  to  Francis  Roberson,  Philip  Gor- 
don JSsq.,  and  F,lisha  Rittenhouse,  trustees  appointed  as  aforesaid,  or 
either  of  them,  or  their  successors  in  office,  or  either  of  them,  the  several 
sums  Bet  to  our  respective  names,  at  such  times  and  in  such  instalments 


380 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


as  the  trustees  aforesaid,  or  a  majority  of  them,  may  agree  upon,  on  de- 
mand. In  witness  whereof,  we  hereunto  subscrihe  oar  names,  and  affix 
tlie  several  sums  thereto  respectively,  the day  of ,  a.d.  1832." 

The  trustees  have  been  as  follows  :  1830^0,  Francis 
Roberson,  Philip  Gordon,  Elisha  Kittenhouse,  Jona- 
than Harden,  David  Lair,  William  Eake,  Tennis  Ser- 
vis,  Isaac  Hann ;  1840-50,  Elisha  Kittenhouse,  Nathan 
Stout,  Mahlon  Emmons,  Isaac  Hann,  Tunis  Servis ; 
1850-60,  Nathaniel  Stout,  Joseph  B.  Slack,  Eli  Brit- 
ton,  Abraham  Slack,  Thomas  Hibbs;  1860-70,  Fran- 
cis Rittenhouse,  S.  D.  Horner,  David  Bodine,  John 
Bodine,  George  Hoppock,  Wesley  Hawk,  John  Eick, 
Samuel  Bodine;  1870-80,  Peter  Hoppock,  Asa  Cor- 
son, David  Bodine,  Wesley  Hawk,  Edward  Hellier, 
William  J.  Walker,  Richard  S.  Conover,  John  T. 
Eick,  Sylvester  Lake. 

The  present  chapel  was  built  in  1864,  on  the  site  of 
the  old  one,  and  the  balance  of  the  building  debt  can- 
celed in  1871.  During  this  time  the  sheds  attached 
to  the  chapel  were  built,  at  a  cost  of  $225.  Between 
April  1,  1876,  and  July  1,  1877,  the  society  built  the 
present  parsonage,  located  on  the  opposite  corner  of 
the  street  from  the  church,  at  a  cost  of  $1100. 

The  following-named  persons  have  served  as  pastor : 
William  Lane,  from  the  date  of  organization  till 
May,  1838;  James  Macdoran,  William  Lane,  Wil- 
liam Lauer,  Philip  Hawk,  Henry  Black,  1858 ;  Elder 
James  Lauer,  1859.  Oct.  21,  1859,  Elder  William  H. 
Pittman  was  chosen,  and  served  ten  years.  In  the 
spring  of  1870,  Elder  John  Soule  took  charge  and 
remained  four  years.  In  the  spring  of  1874,  Elder 
B.  F.  Summerbell  became  pastor  for  one  year,  and 
was  succeeded  by  J.  M.  Woodward,  in  April,  1875. 
April  1,  1876,  Elder  George  Tenney  became  pastor, 
and  remained  till  July  1,  1877  ;  he  was  followed  by 
Elder  John  N.  Spoor,  until  Dec.  9,  1877,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  the  present  pastor.  Elder  Jacob 
Rodenbaugh. 

The  present  membership  is  204;  present  value  of 
property,  $4000. 

METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH,   SERGEANTSVILLB. 

In  1830  a  "  woods  meeting"  was  held  near  Ser- 
geantsville,  when  quite  a  religious  interest  was 
awakened;  a  class  of  Methodists  was  formed,  with 
Amos  Hoagland  as  leader,  and  Jonathan  Rake,  Amos 
Merseilles,  Philip  Rockafellow,  and  a  few  females  as 
members.  Meetings  were  continued  at  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Hoagland,  who  then  lived  in  the  house  now 
occupied  by  H.  H.  Fisher,  Esq.,  of  Sergeantsville, 
and  it  was  in  this  house  that  the  first  class  at  this 
place  was  formed. 

In  1832  the  society  built  a  church,  of  stone,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  edifice,  the  lot  and  $100  in  cash 
being  donated  by  H.  H.  Fisher,  Esq.  Amos  Hoag- 
land, Jonathan  Rake,  Amos  Merseilles,  and  Philip 
Rockafellow  were  the  pioneer  trustees,  and  Rev. 
James  M.  Tuttle  the  first  preacher.  There  is  no 
record  of  any  formal  laying  of  the  corner-stone  or 
of  the  dedication. 


In  1867  the  society  enlarged  the  old  church  at  a 
cost  of  $4300.  The  rear  end  and  side  walls  remain 
as  they  were  originally,  the  walls  being  raised  and 
an  addition  built  on  in  front,  making  the  seating 
capacity  550.  The  church,  as  rebuilt,  was  dedicated 
in  the  summer  of  1868,  by  Rev.  David  Bartine. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  ministers  who  have 
served  this  society  and  congregation :  Revs.  McDou- 
gal,  Canfield,  E.  Page,  Caleb  C.  Lippincott,  Josiah 
Campfield,  Street,  W.  M.  Burroughs,  J.  L.  Hays, 
Richard  Thomas,  in  1867-68,  Albert  Van  Dusen, 
George  T.  Jackson,  Frederick  Bloom,  and  John  H. 
Timbrell,  the  present  pastor,  who  also  preaches  at 
Stockton,  this  being  a  part  of  the  Stockton  and  Ser- 
geantsville charge. 

The  stewards  are  Wilson  H.  Snyder  (president  of 
the  board),  John  H.  Green,  Robert  Post,  John  B. 
Fuher,  Manuel  Green,  and  Joseph  Hagaman ;  the 
leaders,  Robert  Post,  John  B.  Fuher,  and  Elisha 
Alward ;  the  trustees,  W.  H.  Snyder,  John  H.  Green, 
Robert  Post,  John  B.  Fuher,  George  R.  Hann,  Ed- 
ward C.  Green,  Elisha  Alward,  Manuel  H.  Green, 
and  Joseph  Hagaman. 

Present  membership,  85  ;  present  value  of  prop- 
erty, $6000.  A  flourishing  Sabbath-school  is  con- 
nected with  the  society,  of  which  John  H.  Green  is 
superintendent. 

GERMAN   BAPTIST   CHURCH. 

This  branch  of  the  Christian  Church  seems  to  have 
had  its  origin  among  the  Pietists  in  Germany,  in  1708, 
a  miller  by  the  name  of  Alexander  Mack  being 
their  spiritual  leader.  The  word  Dunher,  by  which 
they  are  sometimes  known,  is  a  corruption  of  the  Ger- 
man TunJcer,  the  signification  being  "dippers,"  or 
"  Baptists  by  plunging."  In  the  fall  of  1719,  Peter 
Becker,  with  a  company  of  Dunkers,  came  to  Penn- 
sylvania and  settled  in  Germantown,  but  soon  tlieir 
principal  settlement  was  in  Ephrata,  in  Lancaster 
County.  It  is  supposed  that  a  society  was  organized 
in  what  is  now  Delaware  township,  and  a  church  built 
about  a  mile  northeast  of  Headquarters,  where  tlieir 
church  now  stands,  as  early  as  1750.  The  only  records 
of  this  church  now  in  existence  are  in  the  hands  of 
Cyrus  Van  Dolah,  the  church  clerk,  from  which  we 
make  the  following  extracts : 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  German  Baptist  Church  which  is  in  Amwell 
township,  N.  J.,held  on  the  11th  of  August,  1835,  at  their  meeting-li..use, 
for  the  purpose  of  transacting  business  relative  to  the  peace  and  K"od 
order  of  said  church,  it  was  resolved  that  there  be  a  record  made  and 
kept  of  all  important  business  transacted  relative  to  said  church  alTairs. 

"  Israel  Poulson, 

"  Elder. 
"Gideon  Moore, 
"  Jacob  Waggoner, 

"  Abraham  Lawsh  e, 
"  Clerk. 
"Resolved,  That  Gideon  Moore,  Henry  Lawshe,  and  Asa  Moore  be  the 
trustees." 

"April  13, 1839.— Agreed  to  take  a  lot  of  Gideon  Moore  for  a  bur.ving- 
place.'* 


*  This  lot  adjoins  the  church  lot. 


DELAWARE. 


381 


The  land  upon  which  the  meeting-house  stands  was 
deeded  to  the  church  by  Israel  Poulson  and  his  wife, 
Hannah,  and  the  deed  specifies  that  it  is  "  for  the  use 
of  a  German  Baptist  Church,  and  for  no  other  use 
whatsoever,"  and  is  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in 
presence  of  Peter  Fisher  and  Hetty  Poulson,  May  27, 
1811.  The  deed  was  given  to  Gideon  Moore,  Samuel 
Faus,  and  Henry  Lawshe,  trustees,  etc.  The  church 
building  was  originally  of  wood,  but  was  rebuilt  in 
1856  at  a  cost  of  $1600.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev. 
Israel  Poulson. 

The  church  property  is  valued  at  $3500. 

GERMAN   BAPTIST   CHUECH  OF   SAND    BBOOK. 

This  church,  locally  known  as  the  "  Moorites,"  is  a 
branch  from  the  German  Baptist  Church  located  in 
School  District  No.  94,  on  the  road  from  Headquarters 
to  vSand  Brook,  and  was  organized  by  adopting  the 
following  articles  of  association,  under  which  the 
church  is  still  working : 

"  We  the  undersigned,  after  careful  and  serious  consideration,  do 
nnunimously  agree  to  stand  in  union  together  aa  professed  Christian 
bretliren  and  sisters,  inasmuch  as  we  thinly  it  is  an  all-important  matter 
and  privilege  that  we  have  the  indisputable  right  to  worship  God  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  our  own  conscieuces,  consistent  with  His  word  as 
we  understand  it,  for  which  privilege  we  confess  that  we  have  great 
C4iuse  to  be  vei"y  thankful;  therefore  we  have  concluded  that  by  the  as- 
sisting grace  of  God  we  design  to  try  to  keep  the  ordinauces  of  the  Lord's 
house  according  to  the  doctrines  and  principles  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  and  His  holy  apostles,  as  they  are  delivered  unto  us  in  tlie 
Gospel,  which  our  Saviour  says  shall  judge  us  in  the  coming  day.  There- 
fore we  feel  that  we  are  under  obligation,  as  much  as  in  us  lies,  to  try 
and  live  in  union  together  in  the  church  militant  (because  we  feel  tliat 
it  has  in  time  past  done  much  hurt  and  made  sore  by  being  of  different 
minds) ;  and  therefore  we  would  that  there  should  be  no  pre-eminence 
one  above  another,  considered  that  in  regard  to  the  business  that  we  de- 
sign to  transact  of  importance  we  want  to  be  united  in,  and  agreed  to 
have  officers  in  said  church,  and  also  did  legally  appoint  as  elder  John  P. 
Moore,  and  as  deacons  WiUiam  H.  Moore  and  Jacob  Bouss  ;  and  further 
agreed  that  our  plan  of  receiving  members  in  said  church  is  that  all  the 
members  present  must  be  agreed,  and,  to  excommunicate,  all  must  be 
consulted  before  and  agreed  to;  which  subscribe  our  names,  this  tenth 
day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-nine. 

(Signed) 

"  John  P.  Moobb,  Elizabeth  Trimmer, 

"William  H.  Moore,     Mary  Dalrtmple, 
"  Daniel  J.  Moore,         Catharine  Dalrtmple, 
"William  S.Moore,        Asa  Moore, 
"Sarah  Brewer,  Silab  Shearman, 

"  Catharine  A.  Moore,  Martha  Moore, 
"Hester  Corson,  Luct  Ann  Sine, 

"  Keziah  Coudrick,         Catharine  Shearman, 
"Martha  Coudrick,       Anna  Moore." 

The  church  edifice,  centrally  located  in  the  village 
of  Sand  Brook,  was  built  of  stone.  Elder  John  P. 
Moore  has  the  pastoral  care  of  the  church  at  present 
(1880). 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUECH,  EOSEMONT. 

The  first  Methodist  Society  at  Rosemont  was  or- 
ganized in  1859  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Hartpence 
hy  Rev.  William  M.  Burroughs,  with  ,the  following 
members  :  Asher  Reading,  Samuel  W.  Reading,  Asa 
Cronce,  Lewis  Snyder,  Wilson  H.  Snyder,  Joseph 
Reading,  Sr.,  Samuel  Hartpence,  and  Charles  Green. 
The  church  was  built  in  1860,  of  wood,  and  dedicated 


November  8th  of  the  same  year  by  Bishop  Edmund 
S.  Janes.  The  present  membership  is  42 ;  value  of 
property,  $2800. 

The  pastors  who  have  served  are  W.  M.  Burroughs, 
John  L.  Hays  (two  years),  John  E.  Switzer  (two 
years),  Richard  Thomas  (two  years),  Henry  Trum- 
bower  (two  years),  Albert  Van  Dusen  (two  years), 
George  T.  Jackson  (two  years),  P.  G.  Ruckman  (one 
year),  Richard  Thomas  (three  years),  J.  M.  Michael 
(two  years),  and  A.  S.  Compton,  the  present  pastor. 

The  first  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school  was 
Wilson  H.  Snyder.  The  total  number  of  scholars  is 
75,  with  an  average  attendance  of  30.  Asa  Cronce  is 
the  present  superintendent. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHDECH  OF  STOCKTON. 

The  first  property  owned  by  the  board  of  trustees 
for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Stockton  was 
a  lot  on  Broad  Street,  purchased  of  Aaron  Van  Sickle, 
on  which  the  society  built  a  chapel,  which  was  used 
for  some  years  for  a  place  of  worship,  and  subse- 
quently converted  into  a  parsonage.  The  first  board  of 
trustees  was  organized  in  1865,  under  the  administra- 
tion of  Rev.  H.  Trumbower,  pastor,  and  was  as  follows : 
Charles  Romine,  John  Hendricks,  Pliilip  Rockafellow, 
Thomas  C.  Wanamaker,  Charles  R.  Hunter,  Garret 
S.  Bellis,  and  Henry  M.  Trumbower.  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  board  have  been  very  loosely  kept,  conse- 
quently most  of  them  have  been  mislaid  or  destroyed. 

The  chapel  referred  to,  with  the  lot  upon  which  it 
was  built,  cost  $1000.  The  trustees  purchased  of  Wil- 
liam Bodine,  for  $550,  a  lot  on  Main  Street,  upon 
which  was  erected  the  present  church  edifice,  at  a  cost 
of  $3500.  The  building  is  of  wood,  and  has  a  neat 
and  attractive  audience-room,  with  a  seating  capacity 
of  300.  There  was  no  formal  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone of  either  chapel  or  church.  The  former  was 
dedicated  in  1866  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Graw,  then  of  Lam- 
bertville,  and  the  latter  in  1876  by  Rev.  Robert  L. 
Dashiel,  since  deceased. 

The  first  class-leader  and  original  members  of  this 
society  were  as  follows :  Pierson  Williamson  (leader), 
P.  Williamson  and  wife,  Charles  Romine  and  wife, 
Philip  Rockafellow  and  wife,  Hannah  Ann  Wana- 
maker, John  Hendricks,  Mrs.  Hunter,  George  Day 
and  wife,  Daniel  Dilts  and  wife,  Silas  Huffman  and 
wife,  and  Charles  Green  and  wife. 

The  pastors  of  the  church  since  its  organization 
have  been  Revs.  H.  Trumbower,  Richard  Thomas,  A. 
Van  Dusen,  Phineas  G.  Ruckman,  George  Jackson, 
Frederick  Bloom,  and  John  H.  Timbrell,  the  present 
pastor.  Present  membership,  45 ;  value  of  property, 
$5000. 

The  present  officiary  of  the  church  is  as  follows : 
Stewards,  Silas  Huffman,  William  McNeal,  Albert 
Rockafellow ;  Trustees,  William  McNeal,  Silas  Huff- 
man, Daniel  Dilts,  Albert  Rockafellow,  Pierson  Wil- 
liamson, John  R.  Bowlsby,  Charles  Titus;  Leaders, 
William  McNeal,  A.  H.  Rockafellow. 


382 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  Sunday-school  was  formerly  part  of  a  union 
school  whose  sessions  were  held  in  the  Baptist  church, 
and  was  organized  June  28,  1868,  with  Rev.  Richard 
Thomas  as  superintendent  and  George  Day  as  assist- 
ant, with  25  scholars.  It  is  at  present  flourishing, 
with  William  McNeal  as  superintendent,  Albert 
Rockafellow  assistant,  Jesse  W.  Weller  librarian. 

BEREAN  BAPTIST  CHDRCH  Or  STOCKTON. 

The  records  of  this  church  furnish  us  the  following 
in  relation  to  its  history : 

"  Stockton,  N.  J.,  March  9,  1859. 

"  A  number  of  brethren,  members  of  the  Sandy  Ridge  Baptist  Church, 
feeling  the  need  of  a  suitable  house  of  worship  in  the  village  of  Stockton, 
N.  J.,  assembled  themselves  together  and  appointed  Garret  Wilson,  To- 
bias Shadinger,  and  Frederick  S.  Phillips  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
house  of  worship  in  said  village,  to  be  built  under  the  direction  of  five 
persons,  whom  we  agree  to  elect  ou  the  6th  of  April  next  "at  the  school- 
liouse  in  Stockton,  at  7J^  o'clock  P.M.,  and  to  be  held  in  trust  by  them  as 
a  place  of  worship  until  there  shall  be  constituted  and  recognized  a  reg- 
ular Baptist  Church.  The  following  persons  were  elected  to  erect  said 
building  and  hold  the  same  in  trust  until  such  time  as  recognized  an 
independent  Baptist  Church :  George  W.  Sharp,  Tobias  Shadinger,  Joseph 
II.  Butterfoss,  Asa  Reed,  and  Fredenck  S.  Phillips. 

"  Arrangements  were  made  for  building  said  house,  and  it  was  com- 
menced in  the  fall  of  1859,  and  dedicated  in  Januaiy,  1861.  After  the 
dedication  the  pulpit  was  supplied  as  a  branch  of  the  mother-church  at 
Sandy  Ridge  until  Feb.  1, 1866,  when  the  following  brethren  and  sisters, 
receiving  letters  of  dismission  from  the  Baptist  Church  at  Sandy  Ridge, 
met  in  council  with  members  of  neighboring  churches,  and  were  consti- 
tuted and  recognized  as  the  '  Berean  Baptist  Church  of  Stockton :'  Gar- 
ret Wilson,  Tobias  Shadinger,  George  W.  Sharp,  Joseph  H.  Butterfoss, 
Rev.  Joseph  Wright,  Hester  Wright,  Joseph  M.  Van  Cleve,  Hester  A.  Van 
Clave,  R.  A.  Robertson,  Sarah  M.  Rittenhouse,  Watson  R,  Bodine,  James 
Salter,  Jacob  H.  Ten  Eyck,  Rachel  M.  Smith,  Mary  Ann  Sbarp,  Mary  E. 
Sharp,  Melis-sa  Ann  Wanamaker,  Rachel  Ann  Dilts,  Dickerson  Naylor, 
Mrs.  Naylor,  Asa  Reed,  Sarah  Reed,  Esther  A.  Butterfoss,  C.  Q.  Higgins, 
Elizabeth  Higgins,  Mahala  Lambert,  William  R.  Allen,  Reading  Hol- 
combe,  Eliza  Holcombe,  Mary  E.  Holcombe,  Ellen  Runk,  Anna  H.  Wolver- 
ton,  Permelia  W.  Boss,  John  E.  Bodine,  Catharine  Shadinger,  Sarah  Dilts, 
Edward  Knowles,  Mary  Bodine,  Charles  W.  Bodine,  Hannah  Shadinger, 
Susan  S.  Paxson,  Elizabeth  Sharp,  Ann  E.  Sharp,  Amelia  Knowles,  and 
Margarette  Allen." 

The  first  deacons  were  Garret  Wilson,  Tobias  Shad- 
inger, and  C.  Q.  Higgins.  The  first  trustees  after  the 
recognition  of  the  church  were  George  W.  Sharp, 
Tobias  Shadinger,  Frederick  S.  Phillips,  Joseph  H. 
Butterfoss,  Asa  Reed,  William  R.  Allen,  and  Henry 
B.  Helyer. 

March  20,  1866,  the  church  called  Rev.  Charles  E. 
Gordo  to  the  pastorate,  which  he  filled  till  July,  1867. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  following:  Rev.  John  S. 
Hutson,  May  17,  1868,  to  Sept.  1,  ]871 ;  Rev.  Alfred 
Caldwell,  Nov.  2,  1871,  to  Feb.  14, 1875 ;  Rev.  Benja- 
min F.  Robb,  Sept.  5,  1875,  to  June  1,  1879 ;  Rev. 
George  W.  Noecker,  Oct.  19,  1879,  and  at  present 
officiating  as  pastor. 

The  present  (1880)  deacons  are  C.  Q.  Higgins, 
James  Salter,  and  Charles  W.  Bodine,  and  the  trus- 
tees James  Salter,  William  Bodine,  Joseph  M.  Van 
Cleve,  Henry  B.  Helyer,  Charles  W.  Bodine,  Enoch 
Meginnis,  and  Hiram  Beats,  Jr. 

The  present  membership  is  142;  cost  of  prop- 
erty when  built,  $5100 ;  present  value,  $5450. 

The  Sunday-schools  in  Stockton  were  conducted  as 
union  schools,  but  of  them  there  is  no  record  prior  to 


the  spring  of  1867,  when  a  division  took  place,  and 
the  Baptist  Sunday-school  was  formed.  The  first 
superintendent  was  Tobias  Shadinger.  Average  at- 
tendance of  scholars,  75 ;  present  number  of  scholars, 
168 ;  number  of  officers  and  teachers,  27.  Present 
superintendent,  Andrew  J.  Hunt. 

FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  STOCKTON. 

In  the  spring  of  1867  it  was  found  that  there  were 
at  least  thirty  Presbyterian  families  in  Stockton  and 
its  vicinity,  a  goodly  number  of  whom  were  desirous 
of  organizing  a  Presbyterian  Church  and  erecting  a 
house  of  worship.  A  subscription  was  accordingly 
started,  and  $3500  was  soon  subscribed  for  the  purpose 
of  purchasing  a  lot  and  putting  up  a  building.  En- 
couraged by  this  success,  they  took  measures  to  or- 
ganize a  church  in  connection  with  the  Old  School 
General  Assembly.-  Accordingly,  on  April  9,  1867,  a 
petition  to  that  efiect  was  presented  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Raritan,  in  session  at  Frenchtown,  N.  J.,  signed 
by  twenty-five  members  in  good  standing  in  neighbor- 
ing Presbyterian  Churches,  and  also  by  fifteen  other 
persons,  mostly  heads  of  families  and  holding  to  the 
Presbyterian  faith,  although  not  communicants.  The 
request  of  the  petitioners  was  granted  by  the  Presby- 
tery, and  an  adjourned  meeting  of  that  body  was  held 
at  Stockton,  April  23,  1867.  The  following  persons 
then  presented  certificates  from  the  several  churches 
with  which  they  had  lately  been  connected : 

From  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Roeemont :  George  W.  Runk.  Eliza 
H.  Wilson,  Rachel  Alward,  Jacob  Morgan  Vanderbelt,  Elizabeth  Vander- 
belt,  John  Stockton,  Elizabeth  Stockton,  Leman  K.  Strouse,  Sarah  Cath- 
arine Strouse,  and  Jane  E.  Hoppock. 

From  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lamhertville :  Daniel  D.  Dilts,  Mary 
Dilts,  Hannah  Hoppock,  Caroline  M.  Wolverton,  Eden  B.  Hunt,  Louisa 
Hunt,  Clarkson  T.  Hunt,  Lizzie  Hunt,  Silas  W.  Volk,  Lizzie  S.  Volk, 
Eliza  Rounaaville,  and  Sarah  E.  Hendrick. 

From  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Alexandria:  William  V.  Case  and 
Sarah  Case. 

From  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Amwell :  Sarah  Maria  Lefler. 

The  church  was  then  duly  organized  as  the  "  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Stockton,"  with  the  foregoing 
members,  twenty-five  in  all,  and  George  W.  Runk, 
Eden  B.  Hunt,  and  William  V.  Case  were  chosen 
ruling  elders.  Mr.  Runk  having  been  ordained  as  a 
ruling  elder  in  the  church  at  Rosemont,  the  other  two 
were  ordained,  and  all  were  then  installed. 

At  the  request  of  the  church,  the  Presbytery  ap- 
pointed Rev.  B.  Carroll  stated  supply.  This  gentle- 
man for  several  years  had  labored  in  the  church  at 
Rosemont,  and  also  preached  in  the  school-house 
and  elsewhere  in  Stockton  and  vicinity. 

On  May  11,  1867,  a  meeting  of  the  congregation 
was  held  at  the  school-house*  in  Stockton,  at  which 
the  following  persons  were  elected  trustees :  George 
W.  Runk,  Maurice  Wolverton,  John  Stockton,  Wil- 
liam V.  Case,  and  Clarkson  T.  Hunt.  A  certificate 
of  organization  was  then  duly  drawn  up  and  signed 
by  the  trustees,  which  was  soon  after  recorded  in  the 

*  The  old  stone  school-house  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present 
public  school-house. 


DELAWARE. 


383 


clerk's  office  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  according 
to  law,  thus  constituting  the  trustees  and  their  suc- 
cessors in  office  a  body  corporate. 

The  building  committee  consisted  of  John  Stockton, 
Maurice  Wolverton,  and  Robert  Sharp,  with  John 
Finney  as  treasurer.  June  6, 1867,  the  trustees  of  the 
church  having  purchased  from  Eden  B.  Hunt  a  lot  of 
ground,  150  feet  front  on  Main  Street,  or  the  river 
road,  the  building  committee  proceeded  to  erect 
a  church  edifice  thereon;  and  on  the  1st  of  July 
following  entered  into  an  article  of  agreement  with 
James  Bird,  of  Lambertville,  to  erect  and  complete 
the  structure  for  $6270,  the  house  to  be  of  sandstone, 
40  by  60  feet,  Gothic  style  of  architecture.  Aug.  27, 
1867,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Rev.  B.  Carroll, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies. 

At  a  congregational  meeting  held  March  11,  1868, 
a  call  was  made  to  Rev.  Wm.  Swan,  who  was  installed 
June  2,  at  which  time  the  church  was  dedicated.  He 
continued  to  officiate  with  great  acceptance  and  suc- 
cess for  a  little  more  than  ten  years,  when,  in  the  fall 
of  1878,  having  received  a  call  from  a  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  he  obtained  a  dissolution 
of  his  pastoral  relation  to  the  church,  and  on  Sunday, 
November  10th,  preached  his  last  sermon  in  this 
church,  after  which  it  was  several  months  without  a 
pastor.  April  4,  1879,  at  a  congregational  meeting, 
Rev.  John  S.  Foulk,  of  Northumberland,  Pa.,  was 
called;  he  accepted  the  call,  commenced  preaching  at 
Stockton  May  25th,  was  installed  July  22d  following, 
and  is  officiating  at  the  present  time.  The  church 
numbers  at  the  present  time  (1880)  151  members  in 
full  communion.  The  property,  including  the  par- 
sonage, is  estimated  to  be  worth  $10,000. 

THE  CROTON  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

This  church  was  organized  April  21,  1861,  by 
twenty-two  persons  dismissed  from  the  Kingwood 
Baptist  Church,  seven  from  Oherryville,  twelve  from 
Flemington,  and  thirty-seven  baptized  converts,  mak- 
ing seventy-eight  constituent  members,  under  the  pas- 
toral care  of  Rev.  W.  D.  Hires,  a  missionary  of  the 
New  Jersey  Baptist  State  Convention.  Hiram  Rob- 
bins,  Daniel  B.  Rittenhouse,  Holcombe  "Warford,  and 
Watson  B.  Everitt  were  chosen  deacons,  and  Edward 
Barrass  clerk. 

May  1,  1861,  the  church  was  recognized,  according 
to  Baptist  usage,  by  a  council  of  ministers  and  mes- 
sengers from  the  Flemington,  Cherryville,  Sandy 
Ridge,  Bethlehem,  and  other  churches.  The  council 
was  organized  with  Rev.  Thomas  Swaim  moderator, 
and  Rev.  H.  C.  Putnam  clerk.  After  the  examination 
of  the  church's  covenant  and  Articles  of  Faith,  it  was 
voted  to  recognize  it  as  a  regular  Baptist  Church. 

June  1,  1861,  the  following  persons  were  elected 
trustees :  Hiram  Robbins,  Holcombe  Warford,  Jacob 
Bearder,  Smith  Cronce,  Watson  B.  Everitt,  King 
Pyatt,  and  William  Eick.  The  church  was  incorpo- 
rated June  12, 1861. 


Rev.  William  Archer  succeeded  Rev.  W.  D.  Hires 
Nov.  12,  1864,  and  the  following  year  a  substantial 
brick  house,  36  by  54  feet,  with  spire,  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  15000,  and  dedicated,  free  of  debt,  Dec.  8, 
1865.  Rev.  James  French  preached  the  dedication 
sermon.  Miss  Susan  B.  Rittenhouse  presented  the 
church  with  a  handsome  pulpit  Bible  and  hymn- 
book. 

April  1,  1866,  Rev.  W.  Archer  resigned,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  Cox  as  a  supply  for  six 
months.  In  April,  1867,  Rev.  W.  Humpstone  be- 
came the  pastor,  and  continued  in  that  office  for  three 
years,  leaving  in  April,  1870.  The  following  January, 
Rev.  B.  C.  Morse  was  chosen,  and  entered  at  once 
upon  his  labors.  During  his  pastorate  a  neat  and 
commodious  parsonage  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$2000.  Deacon  D.  B.  Rittenhouse  gave  an  acre  lot 
for  the  site.  In  -August,  1874,  Rev.  B.  C.  Morse  re- 
signed, and  in  the  following  January  Rev.  G.  F.  Love, 
of  Deckertown,  N.  J.,  was  called ;  he  entered  upon 
his  work  Feb.  1,  1875,  and  has  continued  until  the 
present. 

It  appears  from  the  records  of  the  church  that  228 
persons  have  been  received  since  its  organization  by 
letters,  experience,  and  baptism. 

CEMETERIES   AND    BURIAL-PLACES. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  burial-places  in  this 
township,  but  no  cemetery  association  organized 
under  and  by  authority  of  the  laws  of  the  State. 

RosEMONT  Bueial-Ground,  located  in  Bosemont, 
was  occupied  as  a  place  of  interment  as  early  as  1729, 
and  probably  earlier,  as  the  first  person  buried  there 
was  a  young  man  (name  not  now  known)  who  came 
over  from  England,  on  a  visit  to  George  Fox  (at  the 
time  the  owner  of  the  farm  on  which  the  graveyard  is 
located),  and  died  of  ship-fever  while  at  Fox's.  He 
was  buried  in  this  ground,  after  which  a  quarter  of 
an  acre,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  what  is  now  known 
as  Rosemont  burying-ground,  was  set  apart  for  burial 
purposes.  George  Fox  sold  the  farm  in  1729,  so  that 
the  burial  must  have  been  in,  or  previous  to,  that 
year. 

On  one  of  the  old  headstones  can  be  found  the  fol- 
lowing inscription :  "  C.  K.  1748."  The  following  are 
the  names  of  a  few  of  the  oldest  persons  buried  in 
these  grounds:  Sophia  Stewart,  died  Nov.  3,  1843, 
aged  one  hundred  and  three ;  Elizabeth  H.  Wolver- 
ton, died  Jan.  2,  1785,  aged  seventy-two ;  David  Mor- 
gan, died  Feb.  1, 1877,  aged  ninety -three ;  David  Ent, 
died  June  30,  1847,  aged  ninety-one. 

The  first  death  of  a  resident  of  what  is  now  Rose- 
mont was  that  of  Mrs.  William  Rittenhouse,  which 
was  caused  by  drowning  in  the  well  on  the  old  tav- 
ern property,  now  owned  by  George  Hoppock.  Mah- 
lon  Williamson  has  served  as  sexton  for  forty-six 
years,  and  has  in  that  time  officiated  at  the  interment 
of  over  900  persons.  He  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  resi- 
dent of  this  township. 


384 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Sandy  Eidge  Burying-Ground,  adjoining  the 
church  at  that  place,  was  occupied  in  1819,  and  the 
first  interment  was  that  of  the  remains  of  Rebecca 
Doyle,  who  died  April  24,  1819,  aged  sixty-two.  Her 
grave  was  dug  by  Garret  Van  Dolah,  who  then  owned 
the  farm  now  occupied  by  Cyrus  Van  Dolah,  Jr. 

We  find  on  other  tombstones  in  this  gravej'ard  the 
following  (the  date  given  being  that  of  the  death  of 
the  person) :  Tunis  Case,  Aug.  21,  1846,  aged  eighty- 
four  ;,Rev.  Joseph  Wright  (for  several  years  pastor  of 
the  Sandy  Ridge  Baptist  Church),  Jan.  3,  1880,  aged 
eighty-four;  Anna  Smith,  April  4,  1843,  aged  eighty- 
seven;  Mary  Hunt,  July  11,  1839,  aged  eighty-seven; 
Esther  Butterfoss,  June  24,  1846,  aged  eighty -eight ; 
Jacob  Hunt,  April  10,  1843,  aged  eighty ;  Elizabeth 
Hunt,  April  26,  1842,  aged  eighty-one ;  Mary  Hice, 
Sept.  29,  1841,  aged  eighty-three. 

The  Barber  Burying-Ground,  located  on  the 
old  John  Barber  farm,  in  School  District  No.  96,  now 
owned  by  William  Barber,  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
burying-places  of  what  is  now  Delaware  township. 
Following  are  some  of  the  inscriptions  marking  the 
resting-place  of  a  few  of  the  pioneers  :  Nancy  Barber, 
Dec.  27,  1797,  aged  thirty-five ;  Jacob  Dennis,  Sept. 
20,  1799,  aged  thirty-four;  Catharine  Van  Dolah, 
March  10,  1800,  aged  seventy-seven ;  Nancy  Coven- 
hoven,  Oct.  1,  1801,  aged  fifteen;  Laughlin  Currie, 
Nov.  10,  1803,  aged  sixty-six;  Garret  Van  Dolah, 
Aug.  10,  1807,  aged  ^ighty-one;  Caleb  Farley,  Oct. 
6,  1808,  aged  fifty-one ;  Eleanor  Runk,  June  3,  1810, 
aged  sixty -five ;  John  Covenhoven,  Sept.  9, 1812,  aged 
fifty -two. 

German  Baptist  Burying-Ground  is  located 
near  the  German  Baptist  church,  in  the  north  part  of 
School  District  No.  94.  In  this  yard  the  following 
inscriptions  were  found  upon  headstones :  Israel 
Poulson,  Sr.,  died  Feb.  13,  1856,  aged  eighty-six  (for 
many  years  pastor  of  the  German  Baptist  Church)  ; 
David  Moore,  Sr.,  May  1,  1860,  aged  ninety-eight; 
Henry  Trimmer,  Oct.  5, 1850,  aged  eighty-two ;  Dinah 
Trimmer,  June  25,  1858,  aged  ninety;  Mary  Case, 
Jan.  23,  1846,  aged  ninety -three ;  Sarah  Myers,  Oct. 
2,  1872,  aged  eighty-one;  John  White,  May  24,  1851, 
aged  eighty-four;  Elizabeth  White,  Aug.  23,  1859, 
aged  eighty-two;  Ann  Carver,  aged  ninety;  Philip 
Berin,  Feb.  12,  1849,  aged  ninety-two;  Anna  Hop- 
pock,  Jan.  5,  1866,  aged  ninety-nine;  George  Cronse, 
June  22,  1867,  aged  eighty-two;  Lois  Cronse,  July 
31,  1868,  aged  eighty-two ;  Andrew  Shepherd,  Feb.  9, 
1862,  aged  eighty-four;  Jacob  Lawshe,  Nov.  28,  1865, 
aged  ninety-nine;  Hannah  Lawshe,  Dec.  24,  1861, 
aged  eighty-nine. 

Reading  Burying-Ground  is  near  the  Reading 
school-house,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  G.  B.  John- 
son, in  School  District  No.  97.  The  Reading  family 
are  represented  as  follows :  Lucy  Reading,  died  Aug. 
5, 1831,  aged  sixty -nine;  Joseph  Reading,  died  March 
11,  1810,  aged  fifty;  Elisha  E.  Reading,  died  Aug. 
18,  1824,  aged  forty-nine ;  Ann  Reading,  died  March 


28,  1843,  aged  fifty-eight ;  John  Reafling,  died  Nov. 
12,  1871,  aged  eighty-two;  Joseph  H.  Reading,  died 
Feb.  5,  1874,  aged  fifty-one ;  Elizabeth  Reading,  died 
Feb.  8,  1873,  aged  eighty. 

There  are  other  burial-places  in  this  township,  in 
some  of  which  there  are  merely  the  common  field- 
stone  placed  at  either  end  of  the  grave  to  mark  the 
last  resting-place  of  the  departed,  but  without  in- 
scriptions of  any  kind.  There  are  others,  however, 
which  are  properly  cared  for ;  some  of  these  are 
Locktown,  Sand  Brook,  and  one  near  Ringos. 

A  little  northwest  of  the  residence  of  Maurice 
Wolverton,  near  Prallsville,  and  on  his  farm,  is  an 
old  burial-place  containing  about  an  acre.  It  is  now 
in  a  neglected  state,  being  overrun  with  trees,  bushes, 
and  weeds.  Here  rest  the  remains  of  the  older  stock 
of  the  Rittenhouse  family.  Many  of  the  graves  are 
marked  by  the  common  unlettered  field-stones,  there 
being  but  little  marble.  The  graves  of  John  Cava- 
nagh's  two  wives  are  here, — Ann,  aged  twenty,  and 
Hannah,  aged  twenty-two.  There  is  also  a  marble 
gravestone  upon  which  is  inscribed,  "  Peter  Ritten- 
house, born  1737  ;  died  1804,  aged  67  years ;  his  wife, 
Sarah,  died  May  16,  1814,  aged  76."  This  Peter  Rit- 
tenhouse was  a  son  of  William  (the  first).  The  fol- 
lowing is  inscribed  on  a  field-stone  in  this  graveyard, 
and  is  supposed  to  refer  to  the  Cavanagh  familv : 
"A.  W.  D.  C.  D.  C.  1732." 

SOCIETIES. 
"  Delaware  Council,  No.  53,  Order  of  United  Amer- 
ican Mechanics,"  of  Stockton,  was  instituted  Nov.  7, 

1870,  by  State,  Councilor  A.  W.  Johnson,  with  the 
following  charter  members :  Daniel  M.  Sherman,  John 
W.  Dilts,  Alfred  Wanamaker,  Charles  S.  Hendricks, 
William  Sharp,  Charles  A.  Slack,  John  Moore,  Daniel 
D.  Sperling,  Azariah  Stout,  Daniel  R.  Sharp,  Fred- 
erick S.  Phillips,  Moses  R.  Dilts,  Bennett  S.  Cooper, 
Jacob  H.  Ten  Eyck,  AVilliam  R.  Quick,  Henry  C. 
Wanamaker. 

The  original  oflftcers  were  :  Councilor,  Alfred  Wan- 
amaker; Vice-Councilor,  Charles  S.  Hendricks ;  Rec. 
Sec,  Daniel  M.  Sherman;  Asst.  Rec.  Sec,  Frederick 
S.  Phillips;  Fin.  Sec,  Henry  C.  Wanamaker;  Treas., 
Daniel  R.  Sharp;  Inductor,  Azariah  Stout;  Exam- 
iner, Bennett  S.  Cooper;  S.  P.,  Daniel  D.  Sperling; 
0.  P.,  William  R.  Quick. 

The  succeeding  presiding  officers  of  the  council 
have  been  as  follows  : 

1871,  Daniel  Sherman,  Azariah  Stout;  1872,  Bennett  S.  Cooper,  Freder- 
ick S.  Phillipa ;  1873,  Charles  Slack,  Andrew  Stout ;  1874,  Daniel  B. 
Sharp,  J.  D.  Kinney  •,  1876,  John  B.  Watson,  William  Sharp ;  1876, 
Miles  W.  Johnson,  B.  B.  Maxwell ;  1877,  J.  W.  Dilts,  G.  Wolverton  ; 
1878,  Jesse  W.  Weller,  A.  Vt.  Miller ;  1879,  Daniel  E.  Sharp,  William 
E.  Quick;  1880,  Jesse  W.  Weller,  J.  D.  Kinney. 

The  regular  meetings  of  this  council  are  held  on 
Thursday  evening  of  each  week,  in  Masonic  Hall,  in 
the  village  of  Stockton.     Total  membership,  40. 

The  present  officers  are  :  Councilor,  J.  D.  Kinney ; 
V.  C,  Alfred  Wanamaker ;  R.  S.,  R.  B.  Maxwell ;  A. 


DELAWARE. 


385 


E.  S.,  J.  F.  Sherwood ;  F.  S.,  William  A.  Phillips  ; 
Treas.,  J.  B.  Watson ;    Indr.,  J.  P.  Quinn ;    Exr.,  J. 

F.  Everett ;  I.  P.,  Daniel  White ;  O.  P.,  Daniel  E. 
Sharp ;  Junr.  Exr.,  J.  W.  Weller  ;  Senr.  Exr.,  Wil- 
liam E.  Quick. 

"  Orpheus  Lodge,  No.  137,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,"  was  in- 
stituted in  Stockton,  Jan.  22,  1874,  with  Joshua 
Primmer,  A.  J.  Eounsaville,  and  Isaac  S.  Cramer  as 
w^arrant  members.  The  following  were  the  original 
officers :  Worshipful  Master,  Isaac  S.  Cramer  ;  Senior 
Warden,  A.  J.  Eounsaville ;  Junior  Warden,  Joshua 
Primmer ;  Treas.,  C.  S. Wolverton ;  Sec,  G.  B.  Johnson ; 
Senior  Deacon,  J.  M.  Hoppock ;  Junior  Deacon,  H. 
P.  Crellen ;  Tiler,  S.  Hartpence.  The  lodge  was  in- 
stituted and  officers  installed  by  W.  A.  Pembrook, 
Grand  Master;  J.  V.  Bentley,  Deputy  Grand  Master; 
M.  B.  Smith,  Senior  Grand  Warden ;  Joseph  L.  De 
La  Cour,  Junior  Grand  Warden ;  Joseph  H.  Hough, 
Grand  Sec. 

The  succeeding  Masters  of  the  lodge  have  been  A. 
J.  Eounsaville,  1876;  Nathaniel  Shepherd,  1877; 
Eobert  Kewven,  1878;  Norris  Haruem,  1879;  G. 
Wolverton,  1880. 

The  regular  communications  are  held  on  the  Mon- 
day evening  on  or  before  the  full  of  the  moon  in  each 
month,  in  Masonic  Hall,  in  the  village  of  Stockton. 
Present  membership,  43. 

"Locktown  Grange,  No.  88,  P.  of  H.,"  was  organized 
March  5,  1875,  by  County  Deputy  George  B.  Stothoff, 
in  the  school-house,  with  the  following  charter  mem- 
bers :  H.  F.  Bodine,  Amy  Bodine,  E.  M.  Heath,  Annie 
B.  Heath,  David  Bodine,  Emily  Bodine,  John  T.  Eick, 
W.  B.  Hockenbury,  Kate  Hockenbury,  Anderson  Bray, 
Cyrus  Eisler,  George  D.  Eittenhouse,  Deborah  Eitten- 
house,  Asa  Hockenbury,  Jonas  L.  Strimple,  Asa  Cor- 
son, Lydia  Corson,  W.  S.  Hawk,  Charles  Hardon,  J.  T. 
Horn,  E.  S.  Conover,  Levi  Snyder,  H.  Elma  Snyder, 
A.  D.  Ward,  Uriah  Sutton,  Susan  Stout,  William  E. 
Bearder.  The  following  officers  were  elected  and  in- 
stalled: Master,  E.  M.  Heath;  Overseer,  A.  D.  Ward ; 
Lecturer,  Cyrus  Eisler ;  Steward,  David  Bodine ;  Asst. 
Steward,  Levi  Snyder;  Chaplain,  W.  E.  Bearder; 
Treas.,  W.  B.  Hockenbury ;  Sec,  H.  F.  Bodine;  Gate- 
Keeper,  E.  S.  Conover ;  Ceres,  H.  Elma  Snyder ;  Po- 
mona, Kate  Hockenbury;  Flora,  Deborah  Eitten- 
house; Lady  Asst.  Steward,  Amy  Bodine. 

The  first  meetings  for  a  year  were  held  in  a  room 
at  the  hotel.  The  hall  of  Samuel  A.  Carroll  was 
rented  April  1,  1876,  and  occupied  for  three  years. 
At  a  meeting  held  Sept.  30,  1878,  it  was  resolved  to 
build  a  hall,  and  David  Bodine,  Andrew  Bearder,  and 
(October  19th)  E.  M.  Heath  were  appointed  a  build- 
ing committee.  The  edifice  was  erected  and  dedica- 
ted Feb.  1,  1879,  by  H.  F.  Bodine  (he  being  ap- 
pointed by  the  W.  M.  of  the  New  Jersey  State 
Grange),  assisted  by  the  Master  and  building  com- 
mittee of  Locktown  Grange. 

In  1875  twelve  persons  were  initiated ;  since  that 
time  from  one  to  three  have  joined  each  year.    The 


following  is  a  list  of  the  successive  Masters  and  secre- 
taries since  1875  : 

MASTERS. 

1876,  David  Bodino;  1877-78,  H.  F.  Bodine;  1879,  David  Bodine;   1880, 
Andrew  Bearder. 

SECRETAKIES. 

1870,  H.  F.  Bodine ;  1877-78,  A.  W.  Carrell;  1879-80,  John  T.  Eicls:. 

A.  W.  Carrell  was  purchasing  agent  in  1877-78,  H. 
F.  Bodine  in  1879-80,  and  in  1877  Amos  B.  Sutton 
was  elected  selling  agent,  which  position  he  still 
holds.  The  purchases  in  1880  amounted  to  about 
$800.  Of  the  charter  members,  twenty-one  are  still 
connected  with  the  grange,  and  five  have  left;  two 
have  withdrawn  to  join  other  granges.  Present  num- 
ber of  members,  38.  The  grange  is  in  a  prosperous 
condition.  The  County  Grange  has  held  two  ses- 
sions in  Locktown  since  the  hall  was  erected. 

"  Sergeantsville  Grange,  No.  101,"  was  organized 
April  6,  1876.  Place  of  meeting,  Fisher's  Hall,  at 
Sergeantsville. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  charter  mem- 
bers :  Joseph  Williamson,  D.  Wilson  Hoppock,  Isaac 
Smith,  Charles  Heath,  Edwin  T.  Phillips,  Joseph 
Hageman,  Joseph  Ensminger,  Mary  Ann  Ensminger, 
Jacob  Smith,  Samuel  D.  Barcroft,  Elizabeth  Barcroft, 
James  P.  Dilts,  John  B.  Fisher,  Deborah  B.  Fisher, 
Asa  Cronce,  Elisha  Alwood,  Joshua  Primmer,  Asher 
Eeading,  Thomas  P.  Holly,  Anna  Holly,  Frank  Ven- 
erble,  Hiram  Johnson,  Anderson  Eeading. 

The  following  were  the  first  officers  elected  for 
1876  :  Master,  Joseph  Williamson ;  Overseer,  James 
P.  Dilts  ;  Lecturer,  Joshua  Primmer ;  Steward,  D. 
Wilson  Hoppock  ;  Assistant  Steward,  Joseph  Ens- 
minger ;  Chaplain,  Asa  Cronce  ;  Treas.,  John  B. 
Fisher;  Sec,  Edwin  T.  Phillips;  Gate-Keeper,  Frank 
Venerble  ;  Ceres,  Sarah  Venerble ;  Pomona,  Adaline 
Phillips ;  Flora,  Elizabeth  Barcroft ;  Lady  Assistant 
Steward,  Anna  Holly. 

Jan.  20,  1877,  J.  B.  Fisher  was  chosen  Master,  D. 
W.  Hoppock  secretary,  Samuel  D.  Barcroft  lecturer, 
and  Asa  Cronce  chaplain. 

The  Master  for  1878  was  J.  B.  Fisher,  and  for  1879, 
Isaac  H.  Hofiman. 

Officers  for  1880 :  Master,  E.  P.  Tomlinson ;  Over- 
seer, John  T.  Hampton ;  Lecturer,  Isaac  H.  Hoffman ; 
Steward,  J.  B.  Fisher;  Assistant  Steward,  Frank 
Venerble ;  Chaplain,  Asa  Cronce ;  Treasurer,  Joseph 
Williamson;  Secretary,  Delia  A.  Tomlinson;  Gate- 
Keeper,  Asher  Eeading ;  Ceres,  Deborah  Fisher ;  Po- 
mona, Martha  Hageman;  Flora,  Annie  Carcoflf; 
Lady  Assistant  Steward,  Mary  J.  Hoffman. 

The  present  number  of  members  enrolled  is  40. 

CORPORATIONS. 
The  Centre  Bridge  Company  was  incorporated  by 
act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  passed  Feb.  18, 
1811,  supplemented  by  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania passed  March  23, 1811.  Letters  patent  were 
granted  Aug.  17,  1812,  by  Joseph  Bloomfield,  Gover- 


386 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


nor  of  New  Jersey,  to  Alexander  Bonnell,  Samuel 
McNair,  George  Kea,  John  Britton,  James  Hart, 
Henry  Dusenbury,  Thomas  McEwin,  William  Mitch- 
ell, Samuel  Johnson,  William  Hart,  Watson  Fell, 
Peter  Fisher,  John  Wilson,  and  Morris  Eobinson, 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  said  act  to  receive 
subscriptions  for  building  the  bridge. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  stockholders  for  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  was  held  Oct.  21,  1812,  when  the  fol- 
lowing were  elected :  President,  William  Mitchell ; 
Managers,  Watson  Fell,  Samuel  Johnson,  John  Wil- 
son, Albertus  King,  Peirson  Reading,  George  C.  Max- 
well ;  Treasurer,  Aaron  Eastburn ;  Secretary,  William 
Sitgreave. 

Dec.  24,  1812,  a  contract  was  made  with  Capt.  Pe- 
leg  Kingsley  and  Benjamin  Lord  for  building  the 
bridge.  John  Euckraan  was  appointed  surveyor,  and 
Aug.  19,  1813,  John  Abell  was  made  toll-collector, 
salary  to  begin  Jan.  1,  1814.  The  company  pur- 
chased of  Joseph  Howell  the  right  of  his  ferry,  to- 
gether with  land  for  a  road,  also  stone  and  sand,  for 
which  he  received  forty  shares  of  stock. 

Dec.  2,  1813,  the  company  contracted  with  Thomas 
Lake  to  fill  in  against  the  abutment  on  the  New  Jer- 
sey side  of  the  river,  which  contract  was  fulfilled  on 
the  part  of  Lake,  and  the  bridge  was  informally  opened 
in  the  spring  of  1814.  During  the  fall  and  winter  of 
1816-17  a  stone  toll-house  was  built  on  the  Jersey 
side,  where  the  present  toll-house  stands,  by  William 
Mitchell. 

The  records  of  the  company,  dated  Jan.  18,  1841, 
mention  "the  destruction  of  the  toll-house,  two  piers, 
and  three  spans  of  the  Centre  Bridge,  on  the  Jersey 
side,  by  the  late  freshet,  on  the  8th  of  January,  in  the 
Delaware,  which  was  higher  than  any  ever  known  be- 
fore from  records  or  the  memory  of  man."  Feb.  22, 
1841,  the  managers  contracted  with  Cortland  Yardley 
to  rebuild  the  Centre  Bridge  complete  for  $4200.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  managers  held  Nov.  29,  1841,  the 
following  schedule  of  tolls  was  adopted  : 

Coach  and  4  horeee 30.75 

"        "    2      "       37H 

"        "    1  horse 25 

Wagon"    4  horses 50 

"        "    2      "      25 

"        "    1  horse 15 

Cair  or  sulkey  and  1  horse 15 

Cart  and  1  horse 15 

Horse  and  rider 10 

"      extra 06^ 

Cattle,  each 03 

Sheep  or  swine,  each 01 

Foot-passengers 02 

Lime-wagons,  one  cent  per  hushel ;  no  load  less  than  25 

hushels. 
All  funerals  free. 

Persons  on  foot  going  directly  to  and  from  divine  service, 
free  on  Sabbath  days. 

The  length  of  the  bridge  is  883  feet  8  inches. 

The  present  officers  are  John  W.  Reading,  Presi- 
dent ;  Dr.  I.  S.  Cramer,  Anderson  Bray,  Thomas  H. 
Ruckman,  Lukens  Thomas,  Jesse  B.  Fell,  William 
S.  Barron,  Managers;  Cyrus  Risler,  Treasurer;  Dr.  0. 
H.  Sproul,  Secretary;  R.  M.  Dilts,  Toll-Collector. 

The  "Delaware   and  Raritan  Canal-Feeder"  was 


constructed  along  the  river  front  of  this  township  in 
1832.  In  1878  the  company  built  permanent  cribs 
opposite  Bull's  Island,  so  that,  with  a  temporary 
dam,  plenty  of  water  can  be  obtained  for  the 
feeder. 

The  "  Belvidere  Delaware"  (now  the  "  Pennsylva- 
nia") Railroad  was  built  across  this  township,  along 
its  river  front,  in  1851-52.  It  has  two  stations  in  this 
township, — one  at  Stockton,  the  other  at  Bull's  Island, 
or  Raven  Rock  post-office,  in  the  west  corner  of  the 
township. 

INDUSTRIAL    PURSUITS. 

The  industries  of  this  township,  aside  from  agricul- 
ture, are  limited  to  a  few  enterprises,  although  there 
is  quite  a  large  amount  of  capital  employed. 

The  original  mills  at  Headquarters  were  probably 
the  first  of  the  kind  in  what  is  now  Delaware  town- 
ship, having  been  built  in  1756.  During  the  Revo- 
lution these  mills  were  a  portion  of  the  granary  of  the 
little  American  army  then  protecting  New  Jersey. 
At  present  there  is  a  steam  grist-  and  saw-mill  at  that 
place,  which  does  a  fair  amount  of  custom-work.  The 
mills  are  owned  by  J.  A.  Carroll. 

Sergeant's  mill,  one  mile  west  of  Sergeantsville,  was 
the  next  most  prominent  in  its  day,  having  been  built 
as  early  as  1820.  Here,  too,  quite  a  large  business 
was  done  in  the  line  of  custom- work,  and  there  is  still 
a  custom  grist-  and  saw-mill  at  this  place,  owned  by 
E.  S.  Johnson. 

The  Prallsville  mills  were  built  by  John  Prall,  Jr., 
soon  after  he  purchased  the  property,  in  1792.  He 
built  a  grist-mill  on  the  site  of  the  present  one,  a  saw- 
mill, and  an  oil-mill,  which  was  subsequently  con- 
verted into  a  plaster-mill.  The  grist-mill  is  the  largest 
of  its  kind  in  the  township.  The  other  mills  at  this 
place  have  long  since  been  abandoned. 

During  the  Revolution  the  Rittenhouses  had  a  tan- 
nery near  Prallsville,  and  the  general  troubles  made 
oil  scarce.  During  a  freshet  several  large  sturgeon 
came  up  the  creek ;  the  waters  left  them  in  pools 
whence  they  could  not  escape,  and  the  Rittenhouses 
conceived  the  idea  of  rendering  them  up  for  the  oil, 
which  proved  to  be  admirably  adapted  to  their  busi- 
ness. 

In  the  spring  of  1862,  Mr.  John  Finney  erected  a 
steam  saw-mill,  120  by  20  feet,  in  Stockton,  on  the 
wharf  of  the  canal-feeder,  and  commenced  the  manu- 
facture of  both  pine  and  hard  lumber. 

Early  in  1865,  Messrs.  William  V.  Case  and  H.  W. 
Case  purchased  the  saw-mill  and  built  an  addition  to 
it ;  they  also  doubled  the  original  size,  and  carried  on 
a  large  business,  under  the  firm-name  and  style  of 
W.  V.  Case  &  Bro. 

In  1874  the  Messrs.  Case  built  a  large  mill,  1 20  by 
40  feet,  for  the  manufacture  of  spokes,  besides  the 
necessary  sheds  and  outbuildings,  and  commenced 
operations  under  the  style  of  the  "Stockton  Spoke- 
Works.''     They  put  in  all  the  necessary  machinery, 


DELAWARE. 


38*7 


and  when  running  at  their  full  capacity  turned  out 
about  18,000  spokes  per  week. 

In  the  spring  of  1877  their  mill  was  burned  and  a 
large  quantity  of  stock  consumed,  but  in  a  few  weeks 
they  had  the  whole  rebuilt,  new  machinery  in,  and 
the  works  again  in  operation. 

The  Messrs.  Case  continued  in  business,  having  at 
different  times  other  parties  associated  with  them  as 
partners,  until  the  fall  of  1878,  when  they  failed,  and 
Rev.  C.  S.  Conkling,  the  principal  mortgagee,  took 
the  mills.  He  has  successfully  operated  the  saw-mill 
ever  since,  cutting  about  1,200,000  feet  of  lumber  per 
annum,  chiefly  hard-wood. 

There  is  also,  in  connection  with  the  saw-mill,  a 
turning-shop,  in  which  all  kinds  of  wood-turning  is 
done,  but  chiefly  telegraph  brackets  and  pins,  of 
which  from  1000  to  1200  are  turned  out  daily. 

There  is  also  a  handle-factory,  in  which  from  1 200 
to  1500  hatchet-  and  hammer-handles  are  daily 
turned. 

The  spoke-works  remained  idle  from  the  time  of 
the  failure  of  the  Messrs.  Case  and  their  purchase  by 
Conkling  until  the  spring  of  1880,  when  Messrs.  J. 
L.  Kugler  &  Co.,  by  whom  they  have  since  been  op- 
erated, took  charge  of  them. 

In  the  spring  of  1877  a  gentleman  came  to  Stock- 
ton with  samples  of  paper-ware  manufactured  in  Ca- 
nandaigua,  N.  Y.,  at  a  factory  of  which  he  had  been 
the  superintendent.  The  factory  had  burned  down, 
and  he  had  lost  all,  being  unable  to  rebuild.  His  ob- 
ject, therefore,  was  to  form  a  stock  company  for  the 
manufacture  of  paper-ware,  and,  representing  the 
business  as  being  profitable,  he  induced  a  number  of 
the  business  men  of  Stockton  to  organize  a  company 
with  a  capital  of  $15,000.  On  April  6th  of  the  year 
aforesaid,  having  secured  subscriptions  amounting  to 
$6000,  a  certificate  of  incorporation  was  executed.  A 
lot  of  ground  was  purchased,  and  a  factory  60  by  30 
feet,  of  three  stories,  was  erected,  besides  a  commo- 
dious drying-house  and  paint-shop.  Suitable  machi- 
nery was  put  in,  and  the  business  of  manufacturing 
paper-ware  was  commenced  about  September  1st  fol- 
lowing. But  the  company  was  soon  in  debt  19000, 
and  disappointed  in  selling  their  goods  at  such  prices 
as  they  had  been  led  to  expect,  it  became  bankrupt 
about  a  year  after  organization.  The  factory  and 
machinery  were  sold  Aug.  2,  1878,  being  purchased 
by  the  firm  of  E.  P.  Conkling  &  Co.,  of  which  Mr. 
Conkling  was  the  principal  member,  and  to  whom 
the  other  members  soon  sold  out  their  several  inter- 
ests, leaving  him,  as  he  is  at  this  date,  sole  owner. 

In  the  winter  of  1879  the  firm  of  George  O.  Baker  & 
Co.,  of  New  York  City,  rented  the  factory  and  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  various  kinds  of  paper- 
ware,  but  on  April  9th  following,  the  drying-house 
and  paint-shop  being  burned  down,  consuming  also  a 
large  quantity  of  ware,  the  firm  became  discouraged 
and  gave  up  the  works.  In  the  following  fall  Mr. 
J.  L.  Knox,  of  New  York,  rented  them,  and  is  still 


successfully  carrying  on  the  business,  making  chiefly 
pails,  of  which  about  100  dozen  per  week  are  turned 
out,  and  employing  about  16  hands. 

The  Prallsville  quarries  were  opened  in  1830  or  1831 
by  John  Prall,  who  furnished  stone  for  the  railroad- 
bridge  across  the  Delaware  at  New  Hope.  The  quar- 
ries are  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  the  William  Hop- 
pock  estate,  but  are  not  being  worked. 

The  quarry  in  the  rear  of  the  Stockton  House,  now 
owned  by  J.  S.  Hockenbury,  was  opened  in  1832  by 
Asher  Johnson.  A  large  quantity  of  stone  was  taken 
out  and  used  in  building  bridges  on  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Eailroad.  The  quarry  is  not  being  worked  at 
present. 

The  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  Company  are 
working  their  quarries,  located  a  short  distance  above 
those  at  Prallsville.     Fifteen  men  are  employed. 

Asher  Wolverton  owns  a  valuable  quarry  along 
the  feeder  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal,  but  at 
the  present  time  (1880)  it  is  not  being  worked. 

The  "  Hunterdon  Nurseries,"  at  Sergeantsville, 
were  established  in  1870  by  Dr.  Isaac  S.  Cramer,  the 
present  proprietor. 

There  are  two  carriage-manufactories  in  this  town- 
ship, owned  respectively  by  Hon.  C.  W.  Godown,  at 
Dilts'  Corners,  and  Henry  Quick,  at  Sergeantsville. 

PHYSICIANS. 

Dr.  Clark,  who  lived  at  Oakdale,  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  there  in  1790.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  Bowne,  1795  to  1857.  He  also  prac- 
ticed medicine  at  Prallsville,  1791-95,  when  he  moved 
to  what  is  now  Barber's  Station,  where  he  remained 
for  sixty-one  years.     He  died  Nov.  4,  1857. 

Prior  to  1790  the  nearest  physician  to  what  is  now 
Delaware  township  was  at  Flemington,  Quakertown, 
and  Kingwood. 

Richard  Mershon  practiced  at  Sergeantsville,  1840- 
42,  being  followed  in  1842  by  John  Stout.  Isaac  S. 
Cramer  is  now  in  practice  at  Sergeantsville. 

The  first  physician  at  Rosemont  was  John  Barcroft, 
1841-42.  George  N.  Best  is  the  present  physician 
at  Rosemont. 

H.  O.  Sproul  has  practiced  at  Stockton  from  1866 
to  the  present  time,  and  is  the  only  physician  there. 

STATE    AND    COUNTY   OFFICIALS. 

The  following  have  been  elected  to  the  positions 
named  from  Delaware  township  :  State  senator,  Hon. 
William  Wilson  ;  members  of  the  State  Legislature, 
John  Lambert,  David  B.  Boss,  C.  W.  Godown; 
sheriffs,  James  Synder,  A.  B.  Chamberlin;  judges, 
Mahlon  Smith,  F.  S.  Holcombe ;  county  clerk,  A.  B. 
Rittenhouse. 


388 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

JOSEPH  WILLIAMSON. 
p  Joseph  Williamson,  son  of  Matthias  and  Susan 
(Slack)  Williamson,  of  Hunterdon  County,  was  born 
in  the  township  of  Delaware,  Oct.  10,  1839.  His 
grandfather  was  Abraham  Williamson,  who'  was  born 
in  Germany  or  Holland,  and  came  to  this  country 
about  1773.    He  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  the  Eev- 


olution,  and  fought  in  several  battles  under  Washing- 
ton. He  settled  in  Delaware  township  about  the  year 
1780,  on  the  road  from  Sergeantsville  to  Kingwood 
church,  on  property  now  owned  by  his  grandson, 
Joseph  Williamson.  He  had  five  children,  four  of 
whom,  Derick,  Abraham,  Eleanor,  and  Sarah,  signed 
the  deed.  May  1, 1828,  given  to  Matthias  Williamson, 
father  of  our  subject,  for  the  homestead  farm.  All 
lived  to  an  advanced  age,  but  are  now  deceased. 

Matthias  Williamson,  the  youngest  of  the  family, 
bought  out  the  other  heirs,  and  remained  upon  the 
homestead  where  he  was  born  in  1787,  and  died  in 
1875,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-eight  years.  He 
married  Susan  Slack,  Oct.  13,  1832,  and  had  four 
children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy  and  two  sur- 
vive,—viz.,  Joseph,  our  subject,  and  Margarette,  for- 
merly wife  of  the  late  Martin  V.  B.  Rittenhouse,  of 
Kingwood  township,  and  present  wife  of  Bartlett 
Hann,  a  farmer  in  Kingwood. 

Joseph  Williamson  was  born  on  the  homestead 
farm,  and  resided  there  till  1877,  when  he  purchased 
the  farm  adjoining  the  village  of  Sergeantsville  on 


the  west,  the  homestead  of  John  H.  Gordon,  whose 
daughter  Mary  Ann  he  married,  Dec.  15,  1864.  He 
has  followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer  and  peach- 
culturist  all  his  life,  and  since  1877  has  resided  on  the 
place  near  Sergeantsville,  still  owning  and  carrying 
on  the  old  farm.  He  may  be  regarded  as  a  model 
farmer  of  his  district,  and  has  rendered  the  occupation 
successful  financially  and  in  everj'  other  respect. 

In  politics  Mr.  Williamson  is  of  the  faith  of  his 
fathers, — a  Democrat, — and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity.  For  two  terms  he  has  held  the 
oflice  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  has  been  called  to 
fill  other  offices  of  trust  and  resijonsibility  in  his 
township.  He  has  frequently  been  a  delegate  to  the 
county  and  congressional  conventions,  and  has  served 
the  interests  of  his  party  and  constituents  with  intel- 
ligence and  ability.  He  has  five  children, — four  sons 
and  one  daughter, — viz.,  Franklin  P.,  Kate  G.,  Mat- 
thias, John  H.,  and  Fred  B.,  in  the  order  named. 


ANDREW    LARASON.'' 
Andrew  Larason,  son  of  Andrew  and  Mary  (Wil- 
son) Larason,  was  born  in  Kingwood  township,  two 
miles  from  Frenchtown,  N.  J.,  Oct.  2,  1803,  and  re- 


^?7^:e^^:^c. 


moved  with  his  parents  to  Harbortown,  Mercer  Co., 
when  he  was  eight  years  old.  After  remaining  there 
five  years  he  removed  with  his  father  to  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides.  The  place  is  known  as  the 
"Old  Larason  Farm,"   and  was   purchased   by  his 


*  Sometimes  spelled  Larison. 


cz^. 


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cc'*.^<>^^>?-t/ 


^ — ,. 


59 


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IP 

55 


■in 


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DELAWARE. 


389 


father  of  Joseph  Higgins  in  1816.  At  that  time  there 
was  a  tannery  upon  the  place,  which  was  then  quite 
old,  and  the  house  which  Mr.  Larason  still  occupies. 
He  lived  with  his  father  on  the  place  till  the  death 
of  the  latter,  in  1861,  when  he  came  into  possession 
of  the  estate.  His  mother  had  already  departed  this 
life. 

Mr.  Larason  married  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  John 
Phillips,  in  January,  1837.  They  had  two  children, 
both  sons, — viz.,  John  P.  and  David  W.  The  former 
died  of  scarlet  fever  at  the  age  of  seven  years ;  the 
latter  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  George  Wilson,  and 
has  four  children, — Mary,  John,  Cora  May,  and 
Howard  Larason. 

Mr.  Larason  has  lived  a  quiet,  unobtrusive  life  on 
his  farm,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  in  this  section  of 
New  Jersey,  and  bears  the  evidence  of  many  im- 
provements made  by  his  own  hands.  He  is  an  up- 
right and  worthy  citizen  of  the  old  school,  conscien- 
tious and  conservative  in  politics,  and  a  supporter  of 
the  church  of  his  neighborhood. 


BENJAMIN   LARISON. 

Benjamin  Larison  was  born  Jan.  5,  1805,  in  King- 
wood  township,  near  Frenchtown,  N.  J.  He  is  a  son 
of  Andrew  and  Mary  (Wilson)  Larison,  both  natives 
of  Amwell  township. 

Andrew  Larison,  Sr.,  moved  with  his  family  in  1810 
to  a  large  farm  which  he  purchased  at  Harborton,  in 
Mercer  County,  where  he  remained  till  1816,  when  he 
purchased  the  large  farm  known  as  the  LaS'ison  home- 
stead, on  the  York  Road,  between  Mount  Airy  and 
Ringos,  N.  J.  This  farm  has  ever  since  remained  in 
the  family.  Here  Andrew  Larison,  Sr.,  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  was  a  prominent  and  well- 
to-do  farmer  and  drover,  and  represented  his  district 
two  terms  in  the  Legislature  (1835  and  1836).  He 
was  born  May  17,  1776,  and  died  July  26,  1861,  aged 
eighty-five  years,  two  months,  and  nine  days.  His 
wife  Mary  was  horn  Oct.  15,  1778,  and  died  Sept.  24, 
1856,  aged  seventy-seven  years,  eleven  months,  and 
nine  days. 

Benjamin  was  the  youngest  of  three  sons,  the  others 
heing  John  and  Andrew,  and  the  daughters,  Sarah  and 
Lavina.  The  former  married  Aaron  C.  Wilson,  a 
large  farmer  near  Harbortown,  in  Hopewell  town- 
ship. The  latter  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  E.  Holcombe, 
of  Hopewell.  Benjamin  was  raised  on  the  old  home- 
stead and  educated  at  the  common  schools.  He 
married  Hannah  Ann,  daughter  of  Capt.  George 
Holcombe,  near  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  by  whom  he  had 
nine  children,  all  living  except  the  late  Andrew  B. 
Larison,  M.D.,  pastor  and  founder  of  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Ringos.  The  survivors  are  George  H. 
Larison,  M.D.,  of  Lambertville ;  Corzielius  W.  Lari- 
son, M.D.,  of  Ringos;  John,  residing  on  the  home- 
stead farm  ;   Lucy  A.,  residing  at  home ;    Mary  C, 


who  married  Thomas  C.  Johnson  ;  Sarah,  wife  of 
Reading  Bodiue ;  Ellen  and  Jane,  at  home. 

Mr.  Larison  has  never  sought  or  held  any  political 
offices,  but  has  been  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church  at 
Sandy  Ridge  for  several  years.  He  is  an  upright  and 
worthy  citizen  and  an  exemplary  Christian. 

He  lived  on  the  old  homestead  from  1828  to  1874, 
when  his  wife  died  and  he  bought  the  adjoining  lot, 
on  which  he  has  erected  an  elegant  stone  cottage, 
beautified  the  grounds,  and  made  other  improve- 
ments.    (See  cut  of  the  place,  on  another  page.) 


BLISHA  PATTERSON  TOMLINSON. 
The  original  ancestors  of  the  Tomlinson  family 
were  of  Scandinavian  origin,  or  descendants  of  the 
Northmen.  The  first  of  the  name  who  came  to  this 
country  was  Matthew  Tomlinson,  who  embarked  on 
board  a  ship  at  London,  Richard  Goodladd  master, 
bound  for  America,  May  21, 1638.     Matthew  Tomlin- 


0^     d/    c:^2^rn.---^^-?<Az,-i:7 


cry-\ 


son's  age,  as  set  down  in  this  ship  record,  was  thirty- 
one  years.  He  appears  to  have  settled  at  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  among  the  early  colonists  of  that  place.  We 
find  that  William  Tomlinson  and  his  wife  Abigail 
were  accepted  as  citizens  of  Derby,  New  Haven  Co., 
Conn.,  in  December,  1677.  Mr.  Tomlinson  traces  his 
descent  directly  from  this  couple  through  Isaac,  Sr., 
Isaac,  Jr.,  Timothy,  and  Samuel,  his  father.  The 
latter  was  a  native  of  Woodbury,  Litchfield  Co., 
Conn.,  where  the  family  resided  at  the  time  of  the 
birth  of  our  sxibject. 

His  maternal  ancestors,  the  Pattersons,  iare  traced 


390 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


back  through  six  generations  to  the  first  settlers  of 
Stratford,  Conn.  His  mother,  Jennett  Patterson,  was 
the  oldest  daughter  of  Elisha  Patterson,  of  Eoxbury  ; 
he  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Patterson,  who  was  a  son  of 
Abraham,  a  son  of  Charles,  etc.  Thus  his  ancestors 
on  both  sides  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  New 
England, — the  Tomlinsons  of  New  Haven,  and  the 
Pattersons  of  Stratford,  Conn., — whence  they  have 
become  scattered  widely  in  the  Eastern  States  and 
other  portions  of  the  country. 

Elisha  Patterson  Tomlinson  was  born  in  Woodbury, 
Litchfield  Co.,  Conn.,  Aug.  2,  1822.  In  the  spring 
of  1861  he  purchased  his  farm  in  Delaware  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  upon  which  he  settled  and  has 
since  resided.  He  married,  Jan.  1,  1867,  Delia  A., 
daughter  of  John  Beading. 

In  the  management  of  his  farm  Mr.  Tomlinson 
combines  the  three  branches  of  agriculture, — dairying, 
grain  and  stock  raising.  He  is  a  progressive,  wide- 
awake farmer,  and  has  devoted  much  attention  to  the 
subject,  both  theoretically  and  practically.  Of  late 
he  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  promoting  agriculture 
by  the  establishment  of  analysis  and  experimental 
stations,  for  the  testing  of  fertilizers  adapted  to  the 
various  sections, — a  mode  of  safety  to  farmers  and  of 
practical  development  of  the  resources  of  the  soil 
destined  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  State.  He  has 
been  for  some  time  a  member  of  the  State  Horticul- 
tural Society,  and  is  a  reader  of  books  on  that  subject, 
as  well  as  on  agriculture,  and  has  a  large  and  choice 
collection. 

As  a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  he  has 
taken  an  active  interest  in  that  order,  and  during  the 
first  two  years  of  his  connection  with  it  held  the  ofiice 
of  lecturer  of  the  grange  at  Sergeantsville. 


ISAAC   S.    CRAMER,    M.D. 

Isaac  S.  Cramer,  M.D.,  son  of  Peter  E.  and  Sarah 
(Smith)  Cramer,  was  born  at  Changewater,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  N.  J.,  May  24,  1834.  His  paternal  ancestors 
were  German,  those  on  his  mother's  side  English. 
His  grandfather,  Noah  Cramer,  was  born  in  Lebanon 
township,  and  married  a  Miss  Emery.  His  maternal 
grandfather  was  Isaac  Smith,  born  in  Bethlehem  (now 
Union)  township,  and  married  Nancy  Potts,  who  was 
born  in  Warren  County,  near  Washington ;  both  she 
and  her  husband  died  at  Asbury,  N.  J.,— the  former 
Sept.  4,  1867,  aged  eighty-three;  the  latter  Feb.  9, 
1845,  aged  fifty-seven  years,  eight  months,  and  five 
days.  Isaac  and  Nancy  (Potts)  Smith  had  two  sons 
and  two  daughters,  of  whom  Sarah,  the  mother  of 
Dr.  Cramer,  is  the  eldest,  and  is  still  living,  at  Wash- 
ington, Warren  Co.  She  was  born  Aug.  20,  1813. 
The  other  surviving  members  of  the  family  are  Amos 
Smith,  residing  near  Chicago,  and  Cornelia  H.,  wife 
of  Hon.  John  Plane,  M.D.,  of  Perryville,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J. 


Peter  E.  Cramer,  father  of  Dr.  Cramer,  was  born 
March  6,  1810,  and  died  Jan.  3,  1836.  The  early  life 
of  Dr.  Cramer  was  spent  chiefly  at  school,  although 
he  was  clerk  in  a  country  store  for  about  two  years. 
His  parents  removed  from  Changewater,  his  native 
place,  to  Upper  Valley,  in  Morris  County,  where  his 
father,  being  a  miller  by  occupation,  went  to  take 
charge  of  the  mills,  and  died  there,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six,  Jan.  3,  1836,  leaving  his  widow  and  two 
young  children.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  then 
only  twenty  months  old.  His  mother,  being  thus  de- 
prived of  the  support  of  her  young  husband,  went  to 
her  father's,  in  Union  township,  formerly  Bethlehem. 
In  April,  1840,  she  removed  to  Bloomsbury,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  and  during  two  years  in  that  place  put  her 
children  to  school.  She  then  removed  to  Asbury, 
where  the  children  enjoyed  schooling  privileges  for 
three  j^ears,  and  then,  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying 
better  advantages,  she  spent  a  year  with  the  boys  at 
New  Hampton.  Returning  to  Asbury,  she  remained 
there  till  the  spring  of  1849.  During  the  year  1849, 
Mr.  Cramer  attended  the  academy  at  Stewartsville, 
Warren  Co. ;  returned  to  Asbury  in  the  spring  of 
1850,  and,  after  a  short  time  spent  in  a  store,  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  John  Blanc. 
He  continued  his  studies  till  he  went  to  attend  lec- 
tures at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in 
New  York,  where  he  graduated,  receiving  his  well- 
earned  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  March  10,  1854. 
After  graduation  he  commenced  practice  with  Dr. 
Blane,  and  continued  there  till  Jan.  8,  1855,  when  he 
removed  to  Sergeantsville,  where  he  has  pursued  the 
practice  of  his  profession  ever  since.  The  country 
practice  has  rendered  the  doctor's  ride  extensive  and 
laborious,  but  he  has  realized  the  pleasure  of  doing 
much  good,  as  well  as  that  of  achieving  success  as  a 
practitioner. 

Dr.  Cramer  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  Masonry 
since  1858,  at  which  time  he  was  made  a  member  of 
Darcey  Lodge,  No.  37,  of  Flemington.  He  was  subse- 
quently chosen  Master  of  the  lodge.  He  assisted  in 
instituting  Orpheus  Lodge,  No.  137,  at  Stockton,  in 
1873,  of  which  he  was  Master  for  two  years.  He  is 
now  treasurer  of  the  lodge.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  13,  of  Lambertville;  St. 
Elmo  Commandery,  No.  14,  of  Lambertville ;  and  is 
Past  High  Priest  of  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  behalf  of  the  party,  being  frequently  a  del- 
egate to  county.  Congressional,  and  State  conventions, 
although  declining  to  hold  ofiice  himself.  He  has 
been  for  several  years  secretary  of  the  District  Medi- 
cal Society  of  Hunterdon  County,  and  has  done  much 
to  advance  the  interests  of  that  institution.  He  has 
also  been  president  of  the  society,  and  delegate  to  the 
State  Medical  Society  and  the  American  Medical  As- 
sociation, of  which  he  is  a  member. 

Feb.  14,  1855,  Dr.  Cramer  married  Margaret  E., 
daughter  of  Jonathan  W.  Ingham,  a  brother  of  Hon. 


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KINGWOOD. 


391 


Samuel  D.  Ingham,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under 
Gen.  Jackson.  She  was  a  native  of  Warren  County, 
and  a  graduate  of  the  female  seminary  at  Penning- 
ton, N.  J. 


JOSHUA    PRIMMEK. 

Joshua  Primmer  was  born  in  Hopewell  township, 
formerly  Hunterdon  (now  Mercer)  Co.,  N.  J.,  June  25, 
1813.  He  is  the  son  of  Kichard  and  Lydia  (Bunn) 
Primmer.     The  latter  was  a  daughter  of  Jonathan 


Bunn,  of  Hopewell  township.  Both  of  his  grand- 
fathers were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  His 
grandfather  •  Primmer  was  born  in  Germany,  and 
came  to  this  country  when  a  boy.     He  served  in  the 


old  French  war,  and  was  with  Gen.  Braddock  in  his 
memorable  defeat  at  Fort  Du  Quesne.  He  served 
through  the  Revolution  under  Washington,  and  was 
in  many  important  battles,  but  never  wounded. 

His  grandfather  Bunn  was  born  within  a  mile  and 
a  half  of  Pennington,  where  his  father,  Rev.  Joshua 
Bunn,  bought  land,  under  George  II.,  in  1748,  which 
is  still  in  possession  of  the  Bunn  family. 

Richard  Primmer  had  seven  children, — three  sons 
and  four  daughters, — four  of  whom  are  living, — viz., 
Mary,  wife  of  Joseph  Waters,  of  Hopewell  township  ; 
Frances,  wife  of  George  Simmons,  of  Trenton ;  Han- 
nah, wife  of  Josiah  Baldwin,  of  Pennington,  Hunter- 
don Co. ;  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Mr.  Primmer's  early  life  was  spent  near  Pennington. 
He  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade  in  Trenton,  and 
about  1833  began  to  work  at  that  occupation  in  Hope- 
well. He  then  removed  to  Titusville,  N.  J.,  where 
he  continued  to  pursue  the  business  seventeen  years, 
when  he  settled  on  a  farm  two  miles  from  Stockton, 
in  Delaware  township.  He  carried  on  farming  and 
blacksmithing  there  twenty  years.  In  the  spring  of 
1875  he  bought  the  place  where  he  now  resides,  and 
settled  upon  it  that  year.  It  is  a  neat  place  of  twenty- 
five  acres,  well  supplied  with  home  comforts,  where 
Mr.  Primmer,  in  a  measure  retired  from  the  active 
labors  which  have  characterized  him  through  life, 
can  spend  with  his  family  the  remainder  of  his  days 
in  peace  and  quietness. 

He  married  Mary  W.,  daughter  of  Tunis  Servis,  of 
Hunterdon  County,  April  26,  1837.  They  have  had 
no  children  of  their  own,  but  partially  brought  up 
their  niece, — Miss  Anna  R.  Primmer, — who  lived  with 
them  till  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Elisha  Opdyke,  in  1878. 

Mr.  Primmer  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  has 
held  no  offices  of  preferment,  devoting  his  life  to  his 
calling  as  a  mechanic  and  farmer,  having  the  reputa- 
tion of  an  honest  and  upright  man.  He  was  formerly 
a  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
but  withdrew  from  that  body  in  1863.  He  never 
received  a  classical  education,  but  studied  the  Eng- 
lish and  Greek  grammars  under  William,  son  of  the 
Rev.  John  Boggs,  a  man  born  blind,  but  of  remark- 
able memory  and  attainments. 


KINGWOOD. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
King  WOOD  is  one  of  the  west  border  townships  of 
the  county,  as  well  as  of  the  State,  and  is  in  shape 
nearly  a  keystone  or  a  wedge,  the  narrow  end  to  the 
south.  The  township  is  bounded  northeast  by  Frank- 
lin township ;  southeast  by  Delaware ;  south,  south- 
west, and  northwest  by  the  Delaware  River  and  the 


borough  of  Frenchtown;  north  by  the  township  of 
Alexandria.     It  contains  34  square  miles. 

NATURAL  FEATURES. 

A  portion  of  the  river  front  of  this  township  is  bold 
and  picturesque  with  its  perpendicular  rocks  and  over- 
hanging ledges.  One  of  the  principal  features  is  "  War- 


392 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ford's  Rock,''  a  short  distance  above  Tumble  Station. 
The  main  rock  at  this  point  presents  a  bold  perpen- 
dicular front  of  250  feet  in  height,  and  upon  its  sum- 
mit stands  a  rock-shaft  about  10  or  12  feet  high,  the 
upper  end  projecting  over  all  around,  giving  it  the 
appearance  of  an  old-fashioned  one-legged  table,  the 
upper  surface  being  nearly  level.  This  is  known  as 
"  Tea-Table  Rock."  The  top  is  large  enough  to  hold 
half  a  dozen  or  more  persons.  The  spot  is  much 
visited  by  pleasure-seekers  during  the  summer  months. 

The  upper  half  of  the  river  front  presents  a  gentle 
slope,  upon  which  are  some  of  the  best  farms  in  King- 
wood.  The  "  divide,"  or  ridge,  runs  from  a  little 
east  of  the  south  point  of  the  township  northeasterly 
through  Baptisttown,  passing  out  across  the  east  end 
of  School  District  No.  34.  The  waters  on  the  north- 
west of  this  ridge  find  their  way  to  the  Delaware  in  a 
westerly  direction.  Lackatong  is  the  principal  creek. 
It  rises  in  Franklin  and  fiows  into  Delaware  township. 
Mud  Run  empties  into  the  Lackatong  at  Kingwood 
post-office.  Warford  and  Copper  Creeks  flow  into 
the  Delaware,  as  does  also  the  Little  Nickisakawick. 

The  islands  in  the  Delaware  belonging  to  this  town- 
ship are  Ridges,  Rush,  Hawk,  and  Rittenhouse,  all 
between  Tumble  Station  and  Frenchtown. 

The  surface  of  the  township,  except  a  small  strip  in 
the  southwe.stern  part,  is  pleasantly  undulating. 

EARLY  SETTLERS  AND  PIONEER  INCIDENTS. 

Among  the  pioneers  in  the  seventeenth  century  was 
John  Kugler,  probably  the  ancestor  of  all  the  Kngler 
families  of  Hunterdon  County.  He  left  Germany 
when  only  thirteen  years  of  age,  sold  himself  to  a 
ship-owner  for  his  passage,  and  worked  for  a  man 
named  Eastburn,  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.  He  subsequently 
purchased  500  acres  of  land  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the 
Delaware,  which  included  what  is  now  Tumble  Sta- 
tion. A  part  of  the  original  purchase  is  still  in  pos- 
session of  one  of  his  descendants. 

Tradition  says  that  Abraham  Shurts  came  from 
Germany  in  1740,  when  but  fourteen  years  of  age, 
and  that  he  brought  with  him  "Auche,"  who  was 
but  twelve.  This  romantic  young  couple  afterwards 
became  man  and  wife,  and  from  them  have  sprung 
the  numerous  Shurts  family  scattered  all  over  the 
county.  He  purchased  204  acres  lying  along  the  road 
from  Flemington  to  Clinton,  about  three  miles  from 
the  latter  place,  where  stood,  but  a  few  years  ago,  an 
old  still-house  or  distillery.  Abraham  was  a  proud 
old  Dutchman,  who  buttoned  his  breeches  above  the 
knee,  instead  of  below,  as  was  the  custom,  who  wore 
a  pointed  hat  with  a  big  rim,  linsey-woolsey  coat 
reaching  nearly  to  his  heels,  and  a  pair  of  flare-top 
boots. 

The  Besson  family  were  among  the  early  settlers. 
The  late  Mrs.  Margaret  Kline,  who  lived  near  Leb- 
anon Station,  said  that  her  great-grandparents,  Fran- 
cis and  Lizzie  Besson,  came  from  Germany  with  their 
ten  children  in  the  same  colony  with  Abraham  Shurts. 


Mrs.  Kline  remembered  hearing  her  grandmother  tell 
of  Indians  who  lived  close  by  them ;  she  saw  them 
bury  their  dead  on  more  than  one  occasion. 

Mrs.  Kline's  father,  William  Yauger,  served  in  the 
Revolution,  and  often  went  out  to  hunt  Tories,  of 
whom  there  were  many  in  Kingwood,  and  for  whom 
he  had  a  particular  aversion. 

The  earliest  tavern  in  Kingwood  was  kept  in  a  log 
cabin  by  William  Campbell.  He  was  an  ardent  Whig, 
and  kept  the  little  tavern  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 
William  Hart  next  kept  the  tavern,  then  John  John- 
son, son-in-law  of  Hart,  and  it  went  by  the  name  of 
"Johnson's  Tavern"  for  many  years.  Martha,  wife 
of  Gen.  Washington,  was  once  a  guest  here. 

John  Bray  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  this 
township.  He  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  early 
settled  in  Middletown,  Monmouth  Co.,  where  he  and 
his  brothers,  James  and  Andrew,  were  large  landed 
proprietors.  In  1713  there  was  surveyed  to  John 
Bray  a  500-acre  tract  in  Kingwood,  which  covered  in 
part  the  farms  of  Samuel  Niece,  Henry  Fisher,  and 
David  Manners.*  Feb.  28, 1737,  John  Bray  purchased 
10.33  acres  in  Kingwood  of  Samuel  Bickley,  of  New 
Castle,  Del.,  for  £350.  His  sons  were  John,  Samuel, 
and  James ;  his  daughters,  Elizabeth,  who  married 
Thomas  Lequear,  Sr.,  and  Susannah,  who  became  the 
wife  of  John  Smalley.  Their  descendants  are  now 
occupying  valuable  farms  on  the  land  bought  by  their 
ancestor,  John  Bray,  Sr.  John,  Jr.,  settled  where 
Joseph  Pickle  now  lives,  James  where  Rebecca  Bon- 
ham  resides,  and  Samuel  where  Lewis  Dilley  is  now 
located.  Susannah  Smalley's  farm  is  now  occupied 
by  Rachel  Brink  and  children.f  Elizabeth  Lequear 
settled  where  Thomas  Lequear  now  lives.  This  prop- 
erty has  descended  from  father  to  son  without  passing 
out  of  the  family,  the  present  occupant,  Thomas  Le- 
quear, being  the  great-grandson  of  John  Bray,  Sr., 
and  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  Lequear.  John  Bray, 
Sr.,  died  in  1765. 

James  Bray,  brother  of  John,  Sr.,  owned  a  tract  of 
560  acres  in  Kingwood,  now  occupied  by  the  Rose 
brothers,  David  Manners,  and  Mahlon  Emmons. 
James  lived  upon  this  tract  and  there  ended  his  days. 
He  was  struck  by  lightning  and  instantly  killed  while 
returning  from  church  at  Baptisttown.  In  1793,  An- 
drew, grandson  of  James  Bray,  conveyed  179  acres  to 
John  Cowdric,  whose  descendants  now  own  a  portion 
of  it.  After  disposing  of  this  farm,  Andrew  removed 
to  Newton,  Sussex  Co.,  N.  J. 

Gen.  Daniel  Bray  and  John,  his  half-brother,  lineal 
descendants  of  the  above,  lived  and  died  a  short  dis- 
tance north  of  the  Kingwood  Methodist  church. 
Daniel  married  Mary  Wolverton  in  1772,  and  died  Dec. 


*  John  Bray,  Jr.,  sold  :i67  acres  of  this  tract,  in  1727,  to  James  Bray  ; 
it  was  afterwards  purchased  hy  Thomas  Cox,  who  sold  (1768)  to  Eynear 
Van  Syckel.  It  descended  to  Aaron  and  David  Tan  Syckel,  from  whose 
estate  Mr.  Niece  bought  the  portion  he  owns. 

t  The  farms  occupied  liy  Rebecca  Bonliam  and  Rachel  Brink  are  now 
in  the  possession  of  John  Bray's  descendants. 


KINGWOOD. 


393 


5,  1819.     He  figured  prominently  as  an  officer  during 
the  Revolution.     (See  page  48  of  this  work.) 

Daniel  Bray  figured  in  the  State  militia,  in  which 
he  attained  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  He  had 
nine  children, — John,  Daniel,  Wilson,  Andrew,  Jon- 
athan, Delilah,  Betsy,  Hannah,  and  Susan. 

Wilson  Bray,  son  of  Gen.  Daniel,  was  born  in  1795, 
and  died  in  November,  1850.  In  early  life  he  was 
engaged  in  merchandising  at  Baptisttown,  Everitts- 
town,  and  Frenchtown.  He  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Thomas  West,  of  Kingwood.  He  subsequently 
purchased  his  father-in-law's  farm  of  200  acres  near 
the  Kingwood  Methodist  church.  He  had  seven  sons 
and  eight  daughters, — John  W.,  Fletcher,  Wilson, 
Stacy,  Thomas  W.,  William,  Charles  B.,  Lucinda, 
Nancy,  Elizabeth,  Ellen,  Mary,  Emeline,  Anna,  and 
Francelia.  John  W.  and  Fletcher  are  deceased.  Of 
the  other  sons,  only  Wilson  and  Stacy  B.  reside  in  this 
county.  Fletcher  bought  the  east  end  of  the  old 
homestead-farm  when  sold  by  the  administrators, 
and  erected  the  buildings  thereon  ;  this  farm  is  now 
owned  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fogg  and  Cavender  Opdyke. 
Fletcher  married  Lavinia,  daughter  of  John  Larison, 
Esq.,  and  died  in  1876,  in  Frenchtown. 

Wilson,  the  third  son  of  Wilson  Bray,  was  born  in 
1824,  and  is  a  coal-merchant  in  Lambertville. 

Andrew  Bray,  a  son  of  Gen.  Daniel,  owned  two 
farms  near  what  was  formerly  Elisha  Rittenhouse's 
mill,  near  Locktown.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Elisha  Rittenhouse.  Of  his  three  sons  (Daniel 
being  deceased),  Elisha  and  Anderson  live  on  the  old 
homestead  with  their  mother,  who  has  been  widowed 
over  thirty  years. 

One  of  the  general's  daughters,  Delilah,  married 
Jonathan  Rittenhouse,  both  deceased.  Their  oldest 
son,  Daniel,  is  living  in  i'lemington,  with  his  daugh- 
ter, now  Mrs.  John  Hyde,  wife  of  the  county  clerk. 

Susan  Bray  married  Israel  Bateman,  and  lived  for 
many  years  on  a  farm  east  of  the  Kingwood  Methodist 
church,  Hannah  married  Jonathan  Blackwell,  and 
Betsy  married  Edward  Rittenhouse. 

John  Bray,  the  general's  half-brother,  had  six  sons 
and  one  daughter.  His  eldest  son,  John,  purchased 
the  homestead  at  his  father's  death,  and  his  heirs  sold 
it  to  Mr.  Green. 

Jonas  Ingham,  maternal  great-great-grandfather  of 
John  W.  Lequear,  came  from  England.  His  daugh- 
ter Elizabeth  married  Joshua  Waterhouse,  who  came 
from  Yorkshire,  England,  in  1735.  In  1746  he  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  land  of  George  Fox,  Sr.,  a  mile  east 
of  Kingwood  Tavern,  and  settled  upon  it.  In  1763 
he  purchased  247  acres  adjoining  land  of  Israel  Pem- 
berton  and  wife. 

What  is  now  known  as  Milltown,  in  School  District 
No.  39,  was  formerly  known  as  Runk's  Mills,  from  the 
fact  that  Samuel  Runk,  father  of  Hon.  John  Runk, 
an  ex-member  of  Congress,  owned  the  property  and 
built  mills  at  this  place.  This  was  formerly  a  part  of 
the  Wheeler  tract. 
26 


Among  the  early  settlers  of  Kingwood  the  Opdyke 
family  occupy  a  prominent  position.  They  were  from 
Holland.  Joshua,  the  first  who  settled  in  Kingwood, 
a  grandson  of  Albert,  who  emigrated  from  Holland, 
purchased  a  large  tract  northeast  of  Barbertown  of 
the  heirs  of  William  Biles.  Joshua  had  two  sons, 
Luther  and  Richard  ;  his  daughter  Catharine  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Van  Syckel.  Fanny  married  Mr.  Hoag- 
land,  and,  after  his  death,  Ambrose  Barcroft,  and  was 
the  mother  of  the  late  Stacy  B.  Barcroft,  of  Phila- 
delphia. Richard  Opdyke  married  Grace  Thatcher, 
and  had  twelve  children, — Daniel,  Jeremiah,  Richard, 
Joshua,  Elisha,  Samuel,  Elijah,  Jonathan,  Benjamin, 
Nancy,  Fanny,  and  Rebecca.  Luther's  son  George 
was  the  father  of  the  late  Hon.  George  Opdyke,  for- 
merly mayor  of  New  York. 

The  Dalrymple  family,  numerous  in  Kingwood,  are 
of  Scotch  descent.  Jesse,  a  descendant  of  a  younger 
son  of  John,  third  Earl  of  Stair,  came  to  this  country 
in  1765.  He  was  a  fifer  in  the  militia  of  New  Jersey. 
The  pioneer  Dalrymples  were  Presbyterians,  and  were 
located  mostly  in  the  northeastern  portion  of  the 
township,  near  the  Presbyterian  church.  James  Alex- 
ander was  the  agent  of  Sir  John  Dalrymple  in  New 
Jersey,  and  also  surveyor-general.  Through  him  the 
members  of  the  Dalrymple  family  selected  their 
land. 

Nicholas  Groendyke  once  kept  the  store  at  Mill- 
town. 

Theodore  Hall,  the  pioneer  of  the  Hall  family,  was 
born  in  England,  and  came  with  his  brother  Jacob 
to  the  United  States ;  they  settled  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Philadelphia.  Theodore  married  Gertrude  Gordon 
in  1729 ;  of  this  union  were  born  Joseph,  in  1730, 
who  removed  to  Western  Virginia ;  Isaac,  who  died  in 
early  manhood ;  Samuel,  who  settled  early  in  King- 
wood  and  married  Rhuhamah  Everitt,  by  whom  he 
had  a  large  family,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age  ; 
Jacob,  and  Jesse,  who  also  settled  in  Kingwood. 
Jacob  married  Elizabeth  Davis  and  had  a  large 
family. 

Jesse  Hall  married,  in  December,  1779,  Elizabeth, 
second  daughter  of  William  Heath,  of  Amwell.  Their 
children  were  Gordon  G.,  1780,  died  1848 ;  Andrew, 
1781,  died  1832 ;  Jesse,  1783,  died  in  early  manhood ; 
Sarah,  1785,  married  Edward  Lane;  Heath,  1788, 
died  in  1854 ;  John  H.,  1791,  died  at  Newton,  N.  J., 
1865 ;  Susan,  1793,  married  Hannen  Jones ;  and  Asa, 
1795,  died  1849. 

Besides  the  five  sons  of  Theodore  and  Gertrude  Hall 
already  mentioned,  there  were  four  daughters  :  Susan, 
married  and  removed  to  Western  Virginia ;  Rebecca, 
married  and  removed  to  Reading,  Pa. ;  Mary,  married 
John  Lake  and  lived  for  many  years  in  Kingwood ; 
and  Gertrude,  who  became  the  wife  of  Luther  Op- 
dyke, of  Kingwood,  and  died  leaving  five  sons  and 
two  daughters. 

Theodore  Hall  settled  in  Kingwood  in  1757,  follow- 
ing his  sons.    He  lived  near  the  east  bank  of  the  Del- 


P,0-t 


HUNTBKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


aware  Eiver,  engaging  in  the  milling  business  on  the 
west  side.  He  was  finally  drowned  by  the  upsetting 
of  his  canoe  while  crossing  the  river  during  a  freshet. 
His  wife  died  in  1805,  aged  about  ninety-five. 

Thomas  Roberson  married  Catharine  Pierce  and 
settled  in  Kingwood,  about  three  miles  south  of  Bap- 
tisttown,  on  a  farm  now  owned  by  Alpheus  Bonham. 
He  had  seven  children, — Francis,  Thomas,  Jonathan, 
John,  Sarah,  Mary,  Catharine.  Francis  married 
Mary  Horner,  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
ex-sheriff  Wesley  Bellis.  He  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  many  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  old  grave- 
yard at  Baptisttown.  Thomas  married  Mary  Kimple, 
and  moved  to  the  State  of  Delaware  about  fifty  years 
ago ;  Jonathan  married  Gertrude  Yoorhees,  and  lived 
about  half  a  mile  east  of  his  father,  on  a  farm  now 
owned  by  Mrs.  Ellicott ;  John  married  Levina  Thatch- 
er, and  lived  near  the  present  home  of  Moses  Bonham ; 
Sarah  married  Peter  Slater,  and  lived  about  a  mile 
southwest  from  Baptisttown,  where  Daniel  Warne 
now  resides;  Mary  married  Charles  White,  and  lived 
near  where  Opdyte  Arnwine  is  now  located;  Catha- 
rine married  Daniel  Werts  ;  Elizabeth  married  John 
Bellis. 

Of  the  sons  of  Francis,  William  married  Sarah 
West ;  Thomas  married  Lucy  West ;  Francis  married 
Nancy  Rittenhouse ;  Daniel  married  three  times,  his 
first  wife  being  Jane  Rittenhouse.  These  children 
are  all  deceased  except  Francis  and  Daniel.  Francis 
lives  at  Baptisttown  with  his  son  Daniel.  Of  the 
children  of  Thomas  Roberson  (2),  most  of  whom  are 
deceased,  none  reside  in  Kingwood  township.  The 
children  of  John,  sou  of  the  first  Thomas,  were  named 
AVilliam,  Elizabeth,  Margaret,  Catharine,  Jonathan, 
Lavina,  John,  Moses,  Mary,  and  Thomas. 

Thomas  and  John  W.  Lequear,  descendants  of  the 
Huguenots,  are  worthy  representatives  of  some  of 
the  first  pioneer  families  in  the  settlement  of  this 
county.  Thomas  married  Elizabeth  Bray,  daughter 
of  the  pioneer  John,  came  from  Monmouth  County, 
and  settled  on  a  part  of  the  land  of  his  father-in-law. 
They  had  three  daughters  and  a  son  Thomas  ;  one  of 
the  daughters  married  Daniel  Smith.  Young  Thomas 
married  Mary  Kuntz,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children, 
three  of  whom  died  in  childhood ;  the  others  were  five 
daughters,  and  one  son  named  John.  The  Thomas 
last  mentioned  was  during  his  long  life  a  leading 
man  in  the  township ;  he  was  enabled  by  industry  to 
buy  large  fertile  farms  for  each  of  his  five  daughters. 
His  son  John,  the  father  of  Thomas  and  John  W.,  was 
a  practical  land  surveyor  and  farmer.  He  married 
Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Ingham  and  granddaughter 
of  Joshua  ^Vaterhouse,  who  came  from  Yorkshire, 
England.  Thomas  and  John  W.  are  the  surviving 
sons  of  John*  Lequear.     Another  son,  William,  fell 

*  Jotin,  father  of  the  present  John  W.  and  Thomas  Lequear,  was  one 
of  the  first  to  introduce  lime  as  a  fertilizer  in  this  township,  about  1830, 
and  in  1832  built  a  kiln  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  Avhere  he  burned 
lime  for  several  years.  I 


at  the  battle  of  Champion  Hill,  near  Vicksburg,  in 
1863. 

Joshua  Waterhouse  in  1746  bought  land  in  King- 
wood  near  the  store ;  he  raised  a  large  family,  who  were 
among  the  most  respected  and  useful  citizens.  Ing- 
ham Waterhouse  married  Jane  Dean,  whose  grand- 
parents came  from  England. 

Paul  H.  M.  Prevost  at  one  time  owned  the  we.stern 
half  of  "William  H.  Rittenhouse's  farm  of  59  acres, 
and  May  2,  1814,  sold  it  to  Joshua  Opdyke. 

Henry  M.  Prevost  bought  170  acres  of  Philip 
Coolej',  lying  in  the  "Barrens;"  he  sold  16J-  acres  of 
this  to  Abraham  Housel,  who  at  one  time  carried  on 
tanning  near  Robert  L.  A\'illiams'  wagon-house. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  the  county,  there  was 
surveyed  a  tract  of  312  acres  to  John  Green,  most  of 
which,  after  passing  through  several  ownerships,  came 
into  the  possession  of  John  Kugler,  miller,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1782-83.  Kugler  owned  463  acres,  lying 
east  of  Tumble  Station  and  extending  out  to  the  road 
by  Nathan  R.  Holt's.  This  land  was  bounded  north 
by  lands  of  Daniel  Cain,  William  Reeder,  Stephen 
Gauo,  Mary  Longley,  and  George  Warne;  east  by 
Noah  Stout ;  south  by  George  Opdyke,  Jonathan  Pet- 
tit,  and  George  Warne. 

Hon.  Wesley  Bellis  says  that  his  uncle,  the  late 
Samuel  Bellis,  was  probably  the  first  of  that  name 
to  locate  in  this  township.  He  took  a  deed  from  Ich- 
abod  Oliver,  dated  May  3,  1814,  covering  the  farm 
where  ex-Sheriflf  Bellis  now  lives.  Samuel  was  born 
Sept.  7,  1787,  of  German  parents. 

In  1823  a  license  was  granted  to  Isaac  Barber  to 
keep  a  tavern  at  Barbertown,  in  the  house  now  occu- 
pied by  Samuel  Gano.  The  tavern-sign  was  a  new 
moon. 

The  oldest  highway  is  that  known  in  the  early  days 
as  "  the  King's  Highway,"  running  in  a  north-and- 
south  direction  across  the  township.  Some  of  the 
first  settlers  located  along  or  near  this  road  as  early 
as  1714.  It  lies  also  upon  the  "divide"  of  the  town- 
ship. Other  roads  were  made  as  the  increase  of  pop- 
ulation and  business  demanded. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Kugler's  purchase,  in  1783,  the 
public  road  between  Thomas  Jlartin's  and  Asher 
Wolvertou's,  nearly  straight  to  the  river,  went  no 
farther  than  Charles  Kugler's  southwest  corner,  and 
then  turned  north  as  the  present  road  goes,  by  way  of 
the  Warsaw  school-house,  and  so  down  the  hill  to  the 
river.  These  roads  running  to  the  river  at  that  time 
appeared  to  end  there,  as  there  was  no  road  from 
Bull's  Island  up  the  river  around  Warford's  Rook, 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  there  was  any  from  Frenchtown 
down  the  river  to  the  end  of  the  afore-mentioned 
road,  as  there  was  none  in  1776. 

In  the  old  day-book  of  John  Waterhouse,  in  1796, 
when  he  kept  the  old  Kingwood  store,  that  stood  be- 
tween the  present  store  of  John  Bellis  and  the  tavern' 
at  Kingwood,  are  the  names  of  many  of  the  residents 
of  that  date.     A  few  extracts  are  given : 


KINGWOOD. 


,395 


George  Opdycke,  Jr.,  to  lib  candles 0 

WilliaDi  I)ilce,to  1  rawhide  wliip 0 

James  Bray,  Jr.,  to  one  boy's  bat 0 

Amos  Honliam,  to  J^  sheet  of  pins 0 

Cornelius  Sharap,  to  1  cow-bell 0 

John  Heath,  to  1  qt.  wine 0 

Thomas  West,  to  J^  yd.  brown  hoUand 0 

John  Hoiisel,  Sr.,  to  ^  snuff. 0 

John  Cline,  to  3^1b  tea 0 

Richard  Heath,  Sr.,  }^  gal.  rum 0 

Isaac  Hudnit,  to  1  bottle  British  oyle 0 


6 
0 
3 
0 

7    0 
2     6 


"  John  Cowdrick"  was  a  good  customer  in  his  pur- 
chase of  "  liquor  for  tavern."  The  Brays  and  Le- 
quears  figure  frequently  in  its  pages. 

CIVIL   OUGANIZATION. 
Kingwood  was  formed  from  Bethlehem  township 
about  1746.     The  proceedings  of  the  town-meeting 
for  1816  form  the  oldest  township  record  extant.     It 
is  as  follows  : 

"At  our  Annual  Townnieeting  Held  this  Twelf  Day  of  April  Anno 
Domini  181G,  at  the  house  of  .Tones  Thatcher,  inkeeper  in  baptisttown, 
for  the  Townslii[)  of  Kingwood,  Whare  the  following  Pearsons  was  Chosen 
by  a  Majority  of  Votes  to  Searve  the  Township  the  insuing  Year  to  their 
Respective  Officers,  ic. :  John  Britton,  Clarke ;  George  Opdycke,  Assessor ; 
Isaac  Kitchen,  Collector  ;  John  Barton,  John  Little,  Peter  Fox,  Commis- 
sioners ;  John  Britton,  John  Little,  Chosen  Freeholders ;  Thomas  Lequear, 
John  Prall,  Surveyors  of  Highways;  George  Opdycke,  Isaac  Kitchen, 
Overseers  of  Poor;  John  Rose,  David  Hulsizer,  Constables;  Daniel  Bray, 
John  Little,  Poundkeepers;  Peter  Fox,  Judge  of  Election;  Jacob  Hall, 
Thomas  Little,  John  Barton,  Samuel  Lott,  Seth  Rose,  Town  Committee." 
(We  omit  the  overseers  of  roads.) 

The  following   persons   have  filled  the   princij)al 
offices  of  the  township  since  1800 : 

TOWN   CLERKS. 
1800-1,  Joseph  King;  1S02,  Gabriel  Hoff;  1803-22,  John  Britton;  1823, 

Wilson  Bray;  1824-27,  John  W.  Snyder;   1828,  Jacob  R.Fox;  1829, 

John  L.  Larison;  1830-31,  Jacob  R.  Fox;  1832-33,  John  Britton; 

1S34,  Peter  Wert;  183.5^2,  Samuel  H.  Britton;  1843,  F.  E.  Lee; 

1844r-49,  Samuel  H.  Britton  ;  1850-52,  A.  B.  Kounsavell ;  1863,  W.  H. 

Slater;  1854,  William  T.  Srope  ;  1855-68,  A.  B.  Eounsavell ;  1859-61, 

William  T.  Srope  ;  1862-63,  Moses  K.  Everitt ;  18C4,  David  Sticker ; 

1865-68,  Samuel  S.  Srope;  1869-70,  A.  B.  Eounsavell;  1871,  A.  B. 

Eittenhouse  ;  1872-74,  A.  B.  Eounsavell ;  1876,  Albert  Rockafellow; 

1876,  Lambert  Rockafellow  ;  1877-78,  A.  B.  Kugler ;  1879-80,  Asher 

W.  Carrell. 

ASSESSOES. 
1800-8,  Thomas  Lequear;    1809-16,  John  Cowdrick;  1816-26,  George 

Opdycke;  184C-48,  George  Slack;  1849-50,  Charies  Roberts;  1851-53, 

Isaac  R.  Srope;   1854-60,  Cyrenus  Wagner;    1857,  Andrew  Slack; 

1858-60,  William  M.  Beers  ;  1861-63,  John  L.  Tinsman ;   1S64,  Elias 

Johnson;  1865-69,  William  M.  Beers;  1870-71,  Simeon  Opdycke; 

1872,  John  W.  Lequear ;  1873-74,  Wesley  Bellis ;  1876,  William  B. 

Sutton  ;  1876-79,  Hiram  Rittenhouse;  1880,  was  a  tie  vote. 

COLLECTORS. 
1.SI1I1-4,  Absalom  Eunyon ;  1805-16,  Isaac  Kitchen ;  1817-20,  George  Lari- 
son ;  1821-23,  Uriah  Sutton;  1824-28,  John  Cowdrick;  1829-30, 
Adam  Williamson;  1831-36,  John  V.  Thatcher;  1836-38,  Edward 
Mason;  1839-41,  F.  E.  Lee;  1842-43,  John  L.  Larison;  1844^6, 
John  Sine ;  1847-49,  Jonathan  Rose;  1860-52,  Cyrenus  Wagner; 
1863-55,  John  Eick  ;  1866,  Mahlon  Emmons ;  1857,  Joseph  Kugler ; 
1868-59,  Oliver  Clark  ;  1860-02,  John  Sine  ;  1863-64,  Seth  F.  Hose ; 
1866-67,  Wesley  BoULs;  1868-70,  R.  W,  Bloom;  1871-73,  Charles 
Kugler;  1874-75,  William  H.  Barcroft;  1876-78,  Charles  Kugler; 
1879-80,  E.  W.  Bloom. 

In  the  winter  of  1845  the  subject  of  dividing  King- 
wood  and  setting  off  a  new  township,  to  be  called 
Franklin,  was  agitated.  A  public  meeting  of  those 
o]iposed  was  held,  January  13,  at  the  liouse  of  Jacob 
S.  Moore,  of  which  Eichard  Opdyke  was  chairman. 


and  Samuel  H.  Britton  secretary.  The  committee  to 
draft  a  remonstrance  were  John  V.  Thatcher,  Samuel 
H.  Britton,  Isaac  R.  Srope,  Peter  F.  Opdyke,  and  Op- 
dyke  Arnwine,  who  reported  for  signatures  a  remon- 
strance, from  which  we  quote : 

"  That  the  proposed  division  is  intended  by  its  advocates  to  beneiit  a  few 
innholders  or  tavernkeepers,  and  to  induce  othei-s  to  spring  up  (which 
would  probably  be  the  case)  in  certain  portions  of  our  township,  wliich 
would  be  (as  it  now  is)  entirely  unnecessary  and  useless,  giving  encour- 
agement for  places  of  vice  and  corrupting  the  morals  of  the  rising  gener- 
ation, under  the  pretence  of  accommodating  the  inhabitants  of  the  town- 
ship, should  a  division  take  place,  and  entirely  useless  to  the  traveling 
portion  of  the  community." 

This  was  signed  by  455  voters,  and  a  committee 
consisting  of  Albertus  K.  Wagner,  Samuel  H.  Brit- 
ton, John  V.  Thatcher,  Isaac  E.  Srope,  and  John  L. 
Larison  was  appointed  to  oppose  the  division  before 
the  Legislature.  But  opposition  was  of  no  avail. 
"Wilson  Bray,  of  Kingwood,  Peter  Sigler,  of  Frank- 
lin, and  Adam  C.  Davis,  of  Earitan,  were  appointed 
commissioner.^  to  run  the  line  between  the  townships. 
The  highest  number  of  votes  ever  polled  in  the  town- 
ship previous  to  the  division  was  650. 

Among  the  residents  of  Kingwood  who  have  held 
official  positions  in  the  county  are :  Sheriffs,  William 
Nixon,  Edward  Welsted,  Gabriel  Hoff,  Wilson  Bray, 
John  Ruiik,  Wesley  Bellis ;  county  clerks,  A.  B. 
Chamberlin,  Charles  Tomlinson,  Moses  K.  Everitt; 
judges  of  Common  Pleas,  Isaac  E.  Srope,  John  M. 
Voorhees ;  county  collector,  John  Lequear ;  directors 
of  the  board  of  chosen  freeholders,  Hugh  Runyan, 
Eichard  Opdyke,  John  Eunk;  clerks  of  the  board 
of  freeholders,  Charles  Eoberts,  Charles  Tomlinson, 
Andrew  B.  Eounsaville,  William  T.  Srope ;  members 
of  Assembly,  William  Nixon,  Gabriel  Hoff,  Wilson 
Bray,  I.  E.  Srope,  Luther  Opdyke,  Samuel  H.  Brit- 
ton, Jacob  S.  C.  Pittenger,  John  M.  Voorhees ;  assist- 
ant United  States  marshals,  John  V.  Thatcher,  Wil- 
liam T.  Srope,  Peter  T.  Opdyke.  (For  the  list  of 
chosen  freeholders  see  page  263  of  this  work.) 

VILLAGES    AND    HAMLETS. 

Baptisttown  is  the  largest  village  in  this  town- 
ship, and  was  settled  soon  after  1720,  when  Isaac 
Wolverton  and  William  Fowler  and  their  families, 
together  with  a  Warford  family,  located  at  that  point. 
In  1734,  John  Burtis,  Ann  Lanner,  and  Mary  Green 
arrived  in  the  neighborhood  and  formed  a  part  of  the 
new  colony.  The  place  has  slowly  increased  in  pop- 
ulation and  business  interests  until  there  are  at  pres- 
ent two  churches,  a  school-house,  blacksmith-  and 
wagon-shop,  tavern,  two  stores,  and  about  thirty 
dwellings.  The  village  is  located  in  School  District 
No.  35,  at  the  intersection  of  the  Frenchtown  road 
with  the  old  "  King's  Highway."  The  merchants  for 
the  last  forty  years  have  been  John  W.  Snyder,  Wil- 
son Bray  (son  of  Gen.  Daniel),  John  D.  Scott,  Moses 
M.  Bateman,  Ellis  Hulsizer,  Anderson  Horner,  Wil- 
liam H.  Slater,  Andrew  Eoberson,  John  Bellis,  Abel 
Webster,  Andrew  B.  Eittenhouse,  David  Pittenger, 


396 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


George  W.  Mason,  William  Ritteiihouse,  John  C. 
Arnwine,  Andrew  B.  Rounsaville,  William  Sherman. 
Ex-Mayor  George  Opdyke,  of  New  York  City,  was 
a  clerk  here  in  his  youthM  days.  There  was  but  one 
store  until  about  1844,  since  which  there  have  been 
two,  sometimes  three. 

There  has  been  but  one  tavern,  the  tavern-keepers 
of  which  since  1816  have  been  Jonas  Thatcher,  Amos 
Sine,  Frederick  Burdine,  Peter  Skillman,  Daniel 
Snyder,  Larason  Stryker,  Jonathan  Britton,  John  R. 
Hoppock,  Alfred  Taylor,  William  Britton,  John  V. 
Thatcher,  Samuel  Slater,  John  W.  Metier,  Jacob  S. 
Moore,  John  Menagh,  Anderson  Horner,  William 
Eick,  Peter  S.  Taylor,  Jacob  C.  Hawk,  Charles  Eck- 
lin,  George  M.  Shomp,  John  P.  D.  Abbott,  Anson  W. 
Baldwin. 

The  pioneer  postmaster  was  Wilson  Bray,  appointed 
by  Andrew  Jackson.  Others  have  been  John  W. 
Snyder,  Moses  M.  Bateman,  Jacob  S.  Moore,  Albertus 
K.  Wagner,  Anderson  Horner,  Uriah  Larue,  William 
H.  Slater,  George  W.  Mason,  William  Rittenhouse^ 
James  P.  Gray,  Abel  Webster,  Moses  K.  Everitt,  John 
Arnwine.     Population  of  the  village  in  1880,  170. 

Barbbetown"  was  named  after  one  of  its  early 
settlers.  It  is  located  in  the  southeast  part  of  School 
District  No.  38,  on  the  old  "  King's  Highway."  There 
are  at  present  two  stores,  a  blacksmith-shop,  half  a 
dozen  dwellings,  and  90  inhabitants. 

KiNGWOOD  is  a  hamlet  located  in  the  north  part  of 
School  District  No.  39.  Many  years  ago  it  was  known 
as  "  Johnson's  Tavern,"  and  was  in  the  early  part  of 
the  present  century  the  centre  of  attraction  for  the 
early  settlers  in  that  vicinity.  When  the  post-office 
was  established,  it  was  named  "  Kingwood."  There 
was  at  one  time  a  saw-mill  here,  built  by  a  Mr. 
Tomlinson.  There  was  in  early  times  a  store  where 
the  tavern  wagon-house  now  stands.  The  present 
store  was  built  in  1833.  There  are  at  present  a  store 
by  John  Bellis  (also  postmaster,  appointed  April  12, 
1869),  a  tavern,  and  three  or  four  dwellings.  Popula- 
tion in  1880,  92. 

MiLLTOWN  is  located  in  the  southwest  part  of 
School  District  No.  39,  on  the  Lackatong.  For 
several  years  previous  to  1830  there  was  considerable 
business.  There  was  a  saw-mill,  built  by  George  Fox, 
below  the  present  grist-mill,  but  it  went  to  decay 
many  years  ago.  Hon.  John  Runk  at  one  time  had 
a  saw-mill  and  an  oil-mill,  both  gone  to  decay. 
Samuel  Holt  also  had  a  saw-mill  and  distillery. 
Milltown  at  present  embraces  a  grist-mill,  a  store, 
blacksmith-  and  wagon-shop,  and  a  few  dwellings, 
with  131  inhabitants. 

Tumble  Station  is  the  name  of  a  station  and 
post-office  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  in  the 
southwest  corner  of  School  District  No.  41.  It 
consists  of  a  station-house  and  two  dwellings. 

Point  Pleasant  is  a  railroad-station  on  the 
Pennsylvania  Road,  at  the  Jersey  end  of  the  Point 
Pleasant  bridge. 


SCHOOLS. 

There  are  eight  school  districts,  and  in  1879  there 
were  seven  male  and  two  female  teachers,  District 
No.  40  having  two  teachers. 

District  No.  34,  in  the  east  corner  of  the  township, 
is  known  as  "  Oak  Summit"  District.  The  old  school- 
house  stood  about  half  a  mile  north  of  the  store,  on 
lands  now  owned  by  Philip  Hofif,  and  was  an  old, 
worn-out  building  fifty  years  ago.  It  was  replaced  a 
few  years  ago  by  the  present  handsome  structure. 
The  first  teacher  was  Jonathan  P.  Finley,  of  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary. 

No.  35,  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  township,  is 
known  as  "  Baptisttown"  District.  The  first  house, 
after  its  removal  from  Baptisttown,  was  built  in 
1855, — a  small  affair,  which  stood  until  replaced,  in 
1870,  by  the  present  structure. 

In  Union  District,  No.  36,  the  first  school  was 
taught  in  a  private  house  on  Mud  Run  Creek,  near 
the  present  residence  of  J.  W.  S.  Johnson.  The  first 
school-house  was  near  to  Slacktown ;  the  next  at  that 
place,  from  whence  it  was  removed  in  1874  to  its 
present  site,  half  a  mile  south.  Peter  S.  Opdyke 
says,— 

''  Some  time  about  1820,  Union  School  District  embraced  the  territory 
now  comprieing  the  present  Union  District,  No.  36,  as  well  as  the  present 
District  37.  As  the  inhabitants  began  to  increase,  the  school-house  built 
in  1820  was  thought  to  be  too  small,  and  they  then  built  what  is  locally 
known  as  the  '  eight-square  house,'  at  Slacktown.  The  house  built  by 
old  Union  was  upon  ground  leased  by  Samuel  H.  Britton  to  the  district. 
It  was  situated  near  the  centre  of  what  was  then  known  as  the  '  Black 
Bear  Swamp,'  so  called  because  a  black  bear  had  been  killed  there." 

The  present  school  is  near  the  centre  of  "  Peaceable 
Island,"  on  lands  donated  by  Alpheus  Bonham. 

Independence  District,  No.  37,  is  in  the  east  part  of 
the  township.  In  this  district  is  the  "eight-square'' 
house  above  mentioned.  The  first  house,  erected  in 
1843,  was  18  by  20  feet.  The  first  teacher  was  William 
W.  Brady.  The  next  house,  and  the  one  now  occupied, 
was  built  in  1852,  of  stone. 

Spring  Hill  District,  No.  38,  is  on  the  west  side  of 
the  township.  The  first  school-building  was  of  logs, 
erected  about  1776,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  nortli- 
west  of  the  present  building,  on  land  now  owned  liy 
Joseph  D.  Larison.  John  Welsh  was  the  only 
teacher  now  known  to  have  taught  in  the  house.  In 
1813  a  stone  house  was  built  where  the  present  house 
stands.  In  October  of  that  year  Moses  Everitt  (the 
grandfather  of  our  late  county  clerk)  deeded  a  small 
lot  of  land,  inclosing  the  school-house,  to  George 
Larison,  George  Opdyke,  and  Jeremiah  Opdyke,. 
trustees.  Ann  Beatty  was  the  first  teacher.  About 
fifty-five  years  ago  Benjamin  Dennis  taught  there. 
Jared  S.  Stout,  a  few  years  later  (fifty-one  years  ago), 
was  the  first  in  this  section  to  break  in  upon  the  per- 
nicious habit  of  treating  by  substituting  rewards  for 
the  old-time  treat  of  egg-nog  and  whisky.  Mr.  Stout 
is  still  living  at  Scotch  Plains.  Another  teacher  was 
Barzilla  Williams,  now  living  at  Erwinna,  Pa.  In 
1854  the  jiresent  house  was  erected  under  the  super- 


KINGWOOD. 


397 


vision  of  Bateman  Brink,  John  Webster,  and  John 
B.  Rittenhouse,  as  trustees. 

Scott's  District,  No.  39,  on  the  southeast  border  of 
the  township,  embraces  the  hamlets  of  Kingwood  and 
Milltown.  The  first  school-house  dates  to  1790,  stood 
near  the  site  of  the  present  building,  and  was  built  of 
logs.  There  is  no  date  as  to  the  second  building. 
The  third,  now  in  use,  was  built  in  1853,  of  stone. 

Rock  Ridge  District,  No.  40,  occupies  the  south 
point  of  the  township.  The  first  house  was  of  stone, 
built  in  1803,  on  ground  leased  of  John  Lewis,  of 
Pennsylvania,  for  ninety-nine  years,  for  a  considera- 
tion of  "three  barleycorns.''  The  present  building 
was  erected  in  1858,  of  wood,  and  will  seat  40  scholars. 

Warsaw  District,  No.  41,  has  property  valued  at 
$800,  and  the  attendance  of  pupils  in  1879  was  13. 
This  district  has  had  three  school-houses.  The  date 
of  building  the  first  one  is  unknown,  but  it  was  an  old 
house  in  1800.  It  stood  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north- 
east of  the  present  edifice,  and  was  a  frame  building, 
18  by  20  feet.  The  second  was  of  stone ;  this  became 
dilapidated,  and  was  replaced  in  1869  by  the  present 
substantial  brick  structure,  22  by  28  feet.* 

Total  value  of  township  school  property  in  1879, 
$8550 ;  total  attendance  of  pupils,  134.  The  houses 
can  comfortably  seat  850  pupils. 

Among  the  early  teachers  in  this  township  was  one 
named  Taylor.  He  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1742,  and 
came  to  America  in  1759.  He  had  a  good  education, 
and  as  soon  as  he  reached  this  country  commenced 
teaching.  Nearly  all  of  the  Metier  family  of  school 
age  at  the  time  were  among  his  pupils. 

In  1763 — ^how  much  earlier  is  not  known — Uriah 
Bonham  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kingwood  town 
as  teacher.  He  married  Auche,  a  daughter  of  George 
Fox  the  elder. 

CHURCHES. 
METHODIST. 

The  first  Methodist  church  in  Hunterdon  County 
was  built  on  the  site  of  the  present  structure  in  King- 
wood,  by  the  efforts  of  Eev.  Manning  Force,  when 
he  first  entered  the  ministry.  Previously,  however, 
the  first  class  was  formed  by  him,  with  the  following 
probationers:  Thomas  and  Rachel  West,  William 
West  and  wife,  father  and  mother  of  Thomas,  and 
Mary  West,  daughter  of  Thomas,  aged  eleven.  The 
venerable  mansion  where  this  class  was  formed,  built 
by  Jonathan  Wolverton  in  1737,  is  still  standing,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  church. 

As  is  well  known,  the  first  Methodist  ministers 
through  this  region  traveled  on  horseback,  with 
saddle-bags  strapped  behind.  In  riding  the  circuit, 
the  old  Wolverton  house,  occupied  by  Wilson  Bray, 
was  universally  known  as  the  "  home  of  the  preachers." 

BAPTIST. 

Soon  after  1720  a  few  Baptists  settled  near  Baptist- 
town,  among  whom,  in  1729,  were  Isaac  Wolverton 

*  Keport  of  C.  S.  Conkling,  county  school  Buperintendent  in  1876. 


and  wife,  William  Fowler  and  wife,  and  Elizabeth 
Warford.  In  1734,  John  Burtis,  Ann  Lanner,  and 
Mary  Green  arrived. 

In  1738,  Rev.  Thomas  Curtis  began  a  settlement 
near  them,  and  the  next  year  removed  his  family 
thither.  He  and  the  before-mentioned  Baptists  built  a 
small  meeting-house,  long  since  gone.  His  first  con- 
vert was  one  Edward  Hunt,  who  went  to  Hopewell 
for  baptism.  In  1748,  James  and  John  Bray,  from 
Middletown,  N.  J.,  arrived,  increasing  the  number  of 
Baptists  to  twelve.  Mr.  Curtis  visited  once  in  three 
weeks  the  lower  part  of  Bethlehem  township,  now 
Kingwood,  and  there  another  little  meeting-house 
was  raised,  in  1741,  near  where  the  present  house 
stands  in  Baptisttown.  The  first  fruits  of  his  ministry 
here  were  Job  Wolverton,  Elizabeth  Collins,  Martha 
Burtis,  Edward  Slater,  and  John  Reuben,  who  were 
baptized  by  Rev.  Joseph  Eaton  while  he  ministered 
at  Hopewell ;  he  occasionally  preached  and  baptized 
also  at  Kingwood,  then  called  Bethlehem  Church.  Mr. 
Curtis'  next  converts  in  this  place  were  David  Drake, 
Agnes  Drake,  Thomas  Hill,  Mary  Hill,  and  Elizabeth 
Barris ;  these  were  baptized  by  Rev.  Thomas  Davis, 
who  succeeded  Mr.  Eaton  in  the  ministry  at  Hope- 
well, and  who  preached  and  baptized  occasionally  at 
Kingwood. 

The  above  accessions  increased  the  Baptists  in 
Kingwood  to  the  number  of  twenty-two,  and  made 
them  think  of  becoming  a  distinct  society.  Accord- 
ingly, having  obtained  a  release  from  Hopewell,  they 
formed  a  church,  July  81,  1742,  and  the  same  year 
joined  the  Philadelphia  Baptist  Association.  Rev. 
Thomas  Curtis  preached  under  the  authority  of  a  li- 
cense until  Oct.  28, 1745,  when  he  was  ordained  pastor. 
He  died  April  28, 1749,  in  his  sixty-fourth  year.  His 
successor  was  Malachi  Bonham,  who  was  ordained  in 
1749.  He  continued  until  Feb.  17,  1757.  He  died  in 
1789,  aged  seventy-six. 

In  1750  the  church  built  a  new  meeting-house,  a 
few  rods  from  where  the  old  one  stood,  on  a  one-acre 
lot,  the  gift  of  George  Burkit ;  this  building  is  still 
standing. 

The  next  minister  was  Rev.  David  Sutton,  from 
March  26,  1764,  to  Aug.  8,  1T88.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Nicholas  Cox,  Nov.  4, 1784.  April  3,  1790,  he 
made  it  known  that  he  had  embraced  the  doctrine  of 
universal  salvation,  and  was  excluded  therefor,  June 
5,  1790.  The  church  was  without  a  pastor  till  Oct. 
26,  1795,  when  Rev.  Garner  A.  Hunt  was  called ;  he 
remained  till  May  1,  1807,  when  he  joined  the  Pres- 
byterians. 

In  June,  1798,  ten  members  were  dismissed  to  join 
the  then  new  Baptist  Church  at  Flemington. 

This  church  was  without  a  pastor  till  Nov.  1, 1808, 
when  Rev.  James  McLaughlin  settled ;  he  remained 
a  little  over  a  year.  The  church  was  again  without  a 
pastor  till  July,  1811,  when  Mr.  McLaughlin  was 
again  called.  Until  this  time  the  same  minister  sup- 
plied Amwell  (now  Flemington)  and  Kingwood  alter- 


398 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


nately,  but  about  this  time  tlie  connection  was  dis- 
solved, and  Mr.  McLaughlin  jireached  every  Lord's 
Day  for  Kiugwood,  beginning  Sept.  14,  1811,  and 
stayed  about  a  year. 

The  church  called  Rev.  John  Ellis,  who  served 
from  181.3  until  the  spring  of  1817.  In  the  spring  of 
1818,  Elder  David  Bateman  was  called,  and  remained 
pastor  until  his  death,  Aug.  10,  1832.  A  few  weeks 
after,  the  church  engaged  Rev.  William  Curtis  to 
preach  until  April  1,  18.33,  when  he  was  called  for 
one  year,  but  after  serving  six  months  resigned.  The- 
church  then  licensed  Thomas  Risler  to  preach,  and 
Aug.  30,  1834,  called  Elder  James  W.  Wigg,  who  en- 
tered upon  his  duties  the  first  Sabbath  in  October, 
1834. 

Soon  after  Elder  Wigg  commenced  his  pastorate 
an  anti-mission  and  anti-temperance  spirit  crept  into 
the  church,  which  resulted  in  a  division  and  a  with- 
drawal from  the  Philadelphia  Association,  and  a 
union  with  the  "  Delaware  River  Baptist  Association," 
leaving  the  anti-mission  party  in  a  majority ;  they 
held  a  meeting  in  February,  ]  839,  and  by  resolution 
dismissed  Elder  Wigg  and  claimed  the  meeting- 
house. Up  to  this  time  this  history  covers  both  Bap- 
tist Churches  now  at  Baptisttown. 

The  mission  faction  of  the  old  church,  having 
peaceably  given  up  their  rights  to  the  property,  set 
about  organizing  a  separate  society  and  building  a 
new  house.  Accordingly,  April  14,  1839,  a  council 
convened  at  the  Christian  chapel  in  Delaware  town- 
ship, consisting  of  sixty  members  from  the  old 
Kingwood  Church  and  fifty-two  converts  that  had  re- 
cently been  baptized,  and  formed  an  indejiendent 
church,  to  be  called 

THE   MISSIONARY   PAKTICULAR   BAPTIST   CHUKOH   OF 
KINGWOOD. 

Soon  after,  Elder  J.  W.  Wigg  was  called  to  be  their 
pastor.  During  the  summer  of  1839  services  were 
held  at  the  house  of  Moses  Burd,  while  the  new 
church  was  being  built  at  Baptisttown.  It  was  dedi- 
cated in  the  fall  of  1839.  Joseph  West  and  Mordecai 
Roberts  were  the  first  deacons  chosen,  and,  soon  after, 
John  Dalrymple  and  Jeremiah  Hoff  were  chosen. 
Delegates  were  appointed  to  attend  the  Central  New 
Jersey  Baptist  Association  and  ask  admission  to  that 
body.  Elder  Wigg  continued  pastor  of  this  new 
church  till  the  spring  of  1841.  The  pastors  since 
have  been  Rev.  Stiles  F.  Randolph,  until  the  spring 
of  1842 ;  Elder  Edward  Haydock,  who  remained  one 
year ;  Rev.  Charles  Cox,  of  Hightstown,  from  April 
1,  1844,  until  April  1,  1850;  Elder  Thomas  Barrass, 
.spring  of  1850  till  Oct.  1,  1861,  he  having  resigned 
the  previous  April ;  Rev.  A.  Armstrong,  November, 
1861,  until  the  last  Sabbath  in  April,  1866.  The 
church  was  supplied  till  September,  1866,  when  Rev. 
Gi;orge  Young  was  called,  but  remained  only  a  short 
time.  Jan.  1,  1867,  the  church  called  Rev.  Samuel 
Sproul,  of  Sandy  Ridge,  and   he  entered  upon  his 


duties  April  1,  1867.  In  the  fall  of  1870  the  church 
purchased  a  lot  and  built  a  comfortable  parsonage, 
into  which  the  pastor  moved  in  the  spring  of  1871. 
Elder  Sproul  remained  till  Oct.  1,  1874.  The  church 
was  then  supplied  by  Rev.  F.  T.  Cailhopper  and 
Rev.  W.  E.  Watkinson  until  the  first  Sabbath  in  April, 
1875,  when  Rev.  W.  E.  Watkinson,  the  present  pas- 
tor, commenced  his  labors.  The  present  value  of 
church  property  is  .$6000;  the  present  membership, 
150.  Pr&sent  church  oflicers  are:  Pastor,  Rev.  Wil- 
liam E.  Watkinson ;  Deacons,  Jeremiah  Hoflf,  Fran- 
cis R.  Lee,  Peter  V.  Dalrymple,  and  John  W.  Le- 
quear  j  Treasurer  and  Clerk,  John  W.  Lequear;  Trus- 
tees, Daniel  B.  Roberson,  Peter  V.  Dalrymple,  John 
Hoff,  John  S.  Burd,  Paul  C.  Larue,  John  W.  Lequear, 
and  David  B.  Sherman. 

THE   PEESBYTEKIAN   OHURCII    OF   KINGWOOD.* 

There  was  a  Presbyterian  congregation  worsliiping 
at,  or  near  the  place  of,  the  present  church  previous 
to  1745.  Of  its  earlier  history  there  is  no  record.  At 
that  date,  we  are  informed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Webster,  in 
his  "  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  America," 
Lower  Bethlehem  (then  the  name  of  this  church) 
made  application  for  the  ministerial  services  of  Rev. 
Daniel  Lawrence.  This  implies  with  much  certainty 
that  the  congregation  had  a  hoase  in  which  to  wor- 
ship ten  years  before  the  erection  of  the  "old  stone,'' 
and,  if  ten  years,  with  equal  probability  a  period  so 
long  that  the  rude  structure  had  become  unfit  for 
further  use.  In  1752  the  congregation  presented  a 
petition  to  Presbytery  for  leave  to  build  a  meeting- 
house, but  it  was  not  built  till  1755.  The  deed  of 
conveyance  for  the  church  lot,  lately  found  among  the 
papers  of  Jacob  Race,  deceased,  who  was  a  ruling 
elder  in  that  church,  bears  date  Sept.  26,  1754.  It  is 
from  Lawrence  Haff f  to  "  James  Barcalow,  Charles 
Hoff,  and  Henry  Coxe,  trustees  for  the  Presbyterian 
congregation  at  Kingwood,"  for  one  acre  and  a  quar- 
ter of  land,  it  being  part  of  a  tract  which  Lawrence 
Haff  had  purchased  from  Robert  Murfin  J  in  1745.  The 
deed  also  grants  "  liberty,  nevertheless,  to  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Low  Dutch  Calvinistical  persuasion  to 
preach  and  perform  divine  service  therein  at  such 
times  as  there  is  no  religious  worship  performed  by 
the  above  congregation,  freely,  peaceably,  and  without 
interruption  of  the  above  elders,  or  of  any  person 
claiming  under  them." 

In  1748,  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis  was  installed  at  Bethle- 
hem. The  records  of  New  Brunswick  Presbytery 
show  that  some  years  after  his  installation  he  asked 
Presbytery  to  dissolve  his  relation  to  Lower  Bethle- 
hem (Kingwood).  Half  his  time  had  been  given  to 
Bethlehem  and  the  other  half  to  South  Bethlehem. 


*  Coiitnbuted  by  Dr.  Henry  Race. 

f  Lawrence  Haff  (pronounced  Hawff )  was  a  chosen  freeholder  from 
174G  to  1748. 

X  Robert  Mnrtin  came  over  from  Hull,  England,  in  the  ship  "  Shield," 
in  1G78,  and  landed  at  Burlington. 


KINGWOOD. 


399 


In  1754  lie  was  dismissed  from  Kingwood,  and  the 
pastorate  was  vacant  till  1763.  Eev.  John  Hanna 
then  became  pastor,  giving,  at  first,  one-third  of  his 
time  to  Kingwood,  one-third  to  Bethlehem,  and  one- 
third  to  Greenwich.  That  same  yeai'  Mount  Pleasant 
congregation  petitioned  Presbytery  for  a  pastor,  and ' 
Mr.  Hanna  was  withdrawn  from  Greenwich  and  one- 
third  of  his  time  given  to  Mount  Pleasant.  Mr. 
Hanna  continued  in  charge  until  his  death,  in  1801. 

Feb.  8,  1787,  the  trustees  of  this  church  were  in- 
corporated as  "  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
called  Mount  Bethel,  in  the  Township  of  Kingwood."* 
The  trustees  were  Joseph  Chamberlin,  John  Ten- 
brook,  Elisha  Bird,  John  Sherrard,  Isaac  Gray,  Gabriel 
Hoff,  Samuel  Gano. 

We  have  never  heard  by  oral  tradition  that  the 
name  of  Mount  Bethel  had  been  given  to  that  church, 
but  it  must  have  been  retained  to  the  close  of  Mr. 
Hanna's  pastorate,  as  will  appear  from  the  following 
paper : 

"  Nov.  7,  1800,  Keceived  of  Mr.  Race,  one  of  the  Trustees  of  Mouut 
Bethel  congregation,  for  salary,  six  Pounds  two  shillings. 

*'  John  Hakxa." 

The  "old  stone"  was  a  venerable-looking  house 
with  a  hip  roof,  and  gables  inclosed  with  shingles 
down  to  a  level  with  the  front  and  back  walls.  It 
had  ten  large  windows,  with  heavy  sash,  two  in  each 
side  and  end  and  one  in  each  gable.  The  inside  work 
was  plain  and  unpainted.  The  pulpit  had  a  sound- 
ing-board high  overhead.  There  were  two  seats  in 
front — the  hindmost  higher  than  the  other — for  the 
ruling  elders.  The  pews  had  high,  straight  backs, 
and,  like  the  pulpit,  were  made  of  Jersey  cedar.  In 
the  centre  aisle  was  an  arrangement  constructed  of 
brick,  about  4  by  5  feet  in  area,  for  an  open  charcoal 
fire,  for  warming  the  house  in  winter. 

Rev.  HoUoway  W.  Hunt  succeeded  Eev.  Mr. 
Hanna.  He  gave  one-third  of  his  time  to  Kingwood, 
and  two-thirds  to  Bethlehem  and  Mount  Pleasant. 
He  continued  in  charge  until  1825,  when  the  pastoral 
relation  was  dissolved  by  Presbytery,  the  church  de- 
clared vacant,  and  supplies  appointed.  These  were, 
in  1826,  Eev.  Isaac  S.  Demun  ;  in  1827,  Rev.  Alexan- 
der Heberton,  June  to  September.  The  church  was 
then  vacant  until  1836,  when  Rev.  John  McNair 
supplied  Kingwood  and  Milford. 

In  1837  the  old  church  was  taken  down  and  the 
present  one  erected.  The  same  year  Rev.  Mr.  McNair 
was  installed  as  pastor  of  Kingwood  and  Milford.  In 
1838  he  resigned  his  two  charges,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Joseph  Campbell,  D.D.,  who  officiated  till 
his  death,  in  1840.  In  1841,  Rev.  J.  H.  Sherwood 
succeeded  in  both  churches.  In  1842,  Milford  sep- 
arated from  Kingwood.  In  1843,  Eev.  Samuel  F. 
Porter  supplied  the  pulpit,  and  was  installed  pastor 
in  1844.     He  resigned  the  charge  in  1857,  and  was 

*  Becorded  Aug.  6, 1788,  in  Book  A,  vol  i.  p.  282,  Registry  of  Deeds,  in 
county  clerk*8  office. 


succeeded  the  same  year  by  Rev.  Joseph  Rogers,  who 
was  pastor  till  1868. 

In  1864,  Rev.  J.  D.  Randolph  was  installed  over 
the  Kingwood  and  Frenchtown  Churches.  In  1867 
he  withdrew  from  Kingwood  and  gave  all  his  time  to 
Frenchtown.  From  June,  1868,  to  October,  1872, 
Rev.  J.  Thompson  Osier,  was  pastor  of  Kingwood 
Church.  From  February,  1873,  until  April,  1877, 
Rev.  Benjamin  Carrell  officiated. 

Since  the  last-mentioned  date  the  church  has  had 
no  pastor.  Rev.  Cornelius  S.  Conkliug  acted  as  mod- 
erator of  Session  and  stated  supply  of  the  pulpit  from 
October,  1877,  till  April,  1880,  since  which  time  Rev. 
J.  D.  Randolph  has  officiated.  The  present  ruling 
elders  are  Philip  Hoff,  Runyon  W.  Bloom,  and  Emley 
Bellis ;  trustees,  Runyon  W.  Bloom,  George  Dalrym- 
ple,  Philip  Hoff,  and  David  Kline. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 

No  doubt  in  the  early  history  of  this  township  there 
were  many  private  or  farm  burying-places,  but  they 
have  been  so  sadly  neglected  (real  estate  frequently 
changing  ownership,  and  many  of  these  places  being 
plowed  over)  that  at  the  present  day  there  is  no  trace 
or  remembrance  of  scarcely  any  of  them. 

The  burial-ground  at  Baptisttown  is  as  old  as,  and 
probably  the  largest  of,  any  in  the  township.  In 
this,  too,  as  in  most  old  yards,  the  graves  of  the  first 
and  second  generations  have  no  inscriptions,  being 
marked  only  by  rough  field-stones.  Following  are 
some  whose  names  are  legible :  James  Shaw,  July  24, 
1824,  aged  eighty;  Thomas  Curtis,  Sept.  19,  1823, 
aged  seventy-one ;  Daniel  Curtis,  1848,  aged  eighty- 
five;  Daniel  Opdyke,  1862,  aged  ninety-five;  Maiy, 
his  wife,  1864,  aged  eighty-eight;  Francis  Robersou, 
1837,  aged  seventy-six;  George  Opdyke,  1851,  aged 
seventy-seven ;  William  Horner,  Feb.  23,  1855,  aged 
eighty-eight;  John  Kugler,  1812,  aged  seventy-four ; 
Edward  Doyle,  Dec.  31,  1805,  aged  seventy-seven; 
John  Mason,  1813,  aged  seventy-two  ;  Abraham  Slack, 
1840,  aged  about  eighty.  The  wall  around  this  ground 
was  built  in  1828. 

PRESBYTERIAN   BrRYING-GBOUND. 

This  burial-place,  located  on  the  old  "King's 
Highway,"  in  the  north  part  of  the  township,  is 
thickly  set  with  graves.  Many  of  the  pioneers  of 
Kingwood  here  rest  beneath  unlettered  slabs.  Among 
those  that  have  a  record  we  find  many  of  the  Slater 
family,  including  those  of  John  and  Eachel,  his  wife. 
John  died  March  14,  1848,  aged  sixty-four,  and 
Rachel  in  1848,  at  the  same  age.  Samuel  Slater, 
born  in  1739,  died  in  1819,  and  Ann,  his  wife,  born 
1721,  died  in  1794.  Other  inscriptions  give  the  fol- 
lowing names  and  dates :  John  Taylor,  born  in  1756, 
died  in  1835,  and  Sarah,  his  wife,  born  in  1758  and 
died  in  1839 ;  Garret  Van  Syckel,  born  in  1740,  died 
in  1810;  Emma,  wife  of  Peter  Ten  Brook,  died  in 
1805,  aged  forty-nine ;  Ezekiel  Everett,  born  in  1746, 


400 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  died  aged  eighty,  and  Mary,  his  wife,  born  in 
1741,  and  dying  in  1810,  appear  to  be  the  first  of  a 
large  number  of  the  Everett  family  buried  here ;  Ben- 
jamin Wright,  born  March  3, 1749,  died  aged  se^'enty- 
nine ;  Asa  Wright,  died  1845  ;  Piety  E.  Wright,  died 
Nov.  15,  1844,  aged  eighty ;  John  Chamberlin,  born 
in  1742,  died  in  1830,  and  Eleanor,  Ms  wife,  born  in 
1752,  died  in  1846,  aged  ninety-six ;  Joseph  Chamber- 
lin, born  in  1732,  died  in  1816,  and  Amy,  his  vrife, 
born  in  1729,  died  in  1784.  These  have  representa- 
tives living  in  this  township,  as  well  as  those  whose 
names  follow.  Samuel  Lett,  died  in  1819,  aged  forty- 
seven  ;  Cornelius  Hoff  was  born  in  1740  and  died  in 
1826,  and  Margaret,  his  wife,  was  born  in  1748  and 
died  in  1815.  Charles  Tomlinson,  born  in  1767,  died 
in  1829,  and  Mary,  his  wife,  died  in  1857,  aged  eighty- 
four.  John  Thomson,  born  in  1784  and  died  in  1805  ; 
John  Roat  was  born  in  1734,  and  died  aged  eighty, 
and  Ann,  his  wife,  was  born  in  1743,  and  died  aged 
eighty-two ;  Jesse  Dalrymple,  the  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier referred  to  elsewhere,  was  born  in  1756  and  died 
in  1844,  aged  eighty-eight,  and  Esther,  his  wife,  was 
born  in  1758  and  died  in  1830,  aged  seventy-two  ; 
George  Warne,  an  elder  of  the  church,  descended 
from  Thomas  Warne,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Bur- 
lington, was  born  in  1745  and  died  in  1805.  A  broad 
marble  slab,  gray  with  age,  has  this  inscription : 
"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Thomas  Lowrey,  Esq.,  died 
Nov.  10,  1809,  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age."  By  the 
side  of  it  is  the  last  resting-place  of  his  amiable  wife, 
Esther,  who  died  Oct.  13,  1814,  aged  seventy-six,  and 
on  the  tablet  over  the  grave  is  written,  "  Blessed  are 
the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord."  Near  their  graves 
are  those  of  their  sons,  Samuel,  who  died  in  1791, 
aged  twenty-seven,  and  William,  died  in  1802,  aged 
forty-two  ;  also  Martha  (wife  of  Dr.  William  MoGill), 
died  in  1833,  aged  seventy-four.  Here  also  is  the 
grave  of  Dr.  William  McGill,  a  physician  at  French- 
town.     He  died  June  23,  1815,  aged  forty-seven. 

"Independence"  burying-ground,  in  School  Dis- 
trict No.  37,  adjoining  the  school  lot,  is  a  small 
ground,  well  cared  for,  and  inclosed  with  a  neat  and 
substantial  wall.     It  has  but  few  graves. 

SOCIETIES   AND    CORPORATIONS. 

"  The  Kingwood  Vigilant  Society"  was  organized  at 
the  house  of  Samuel  Slater,  Jan.  17,  1835.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  society  was  to  guard  against  the  operations 
of  horse-thieves,  who  had  been  depredating  quite  ex- 
tensively during  1833  and  1834;  the  large  number  of 
horses  stolen,  and  not  recovered,  aroused  the  people 
to  adopt  means  of  self-protection. 

This  society  had  an  average  membership  of  fifty, 
and  continued  in  existence  for  thirty-six  years,  when 
the  funds  were  divided  and  the  organization  dis- 
banded. 

"The  Kingwood  Temperance  Society"  was  formed 
on  Christmas  evening  in  1846,  with  the  following 
officers  :  President,  Daniel  B.  Rittenhouse ;  Vice-Pres- 


idents, Amos  Marcelius  and  Joseph  Dalrymple;  Sec- 
retary, Rev.  Stacy  W.  Hilliard.  In  1853  the  dele- 
gates to  the  State  temperance  convention  were  John 
V.  Thatcher,  Joseph  Kugler,  Samuel  Hartpence, 
Pierson  R.  Niece,'  Francis  R.  Lee ;  alternates,  Wilson 
Bray,  Hiram  Bennett,  Henry  Housel,  and  William 
H.  Slater. 

MASONIC. 

Though  Kingwood  cannot  boast  of  a  single  secret 
organization  at  the  present  day,  yet  she  may  claim 
to  have  founded  the  first  Masonic  lodge  in  this  part 
of  the  State,  and  especially  in  the  county  of  Hunter- 
don. Its  meetings  were  held  for  a  number  of  years 
at  the  log  house  of  Gen.  Daniel  Bray,  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  north  of  the  Kingwood  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

It  was  chartered  as  "  Unity  Lodge,  No.  7,  F.  and 
A.  M."  It  was  first  represented  in  the  Grand  Lodge 
June  23,  1788.  In  that  year  Daniel  Bird  was  Wor- 
shipful Master;  Jonathan  Wolverton,  Senior  War- 
den ;  Daniel  Bray,  Junior  Warden.  The  minutes  of 
this  old  pioneer  lodge,  from  Jan.  22,  1788,  to  Feb.  11, 
1802,  are  in  the  possession  of  Joseph  H.  Hough, 
Grand  Secretary,  Trenton,  and  they  show  that  the 
lodge  met  in  different  places  in  Hunterdon  County, 
to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  members.  One  of  the 
meetings  was  held  at  Pennington.  The  first  "return" 
now  existing  of  this  lodge  to  the  grand  body  is  dated 
Jan.  11, 1791,  and  contains  the  names  of  25  members ; 
at  that  date  the  sessions  were  held  at  James  Hart's 
tavern,  in  Kingwood. 

POINT   PLEASANT   DELAWARE   BRIDGE    COMPANY. 

In  1853  the  commissioners  named  in  the  act  to  in- 
corporate the  above-named  company  proceeded  to 
build  a  bridge  across  the  river  Delaware  from  Point 
Pleasant,  in  Pennsylvania,  to  the  township  of  King- 
wood,  in  New  Jersey. 

The  commissioners,  all  residing  in  Kingwood  ex- 
cept Hugh  Oapner,  were  John  Kugler,  Hiram  Ben- 
nett, Thomas  Lequear,  Nathan  R.  Holt,  George  Wan- 
amaker,  Thomas  V.  Roberson,  Joseph  Hann,  Wil- 
liam D.  Shaw,  Hugh  Capner,  Samuel  Stewart,  Samuel 
D.  Barcroft,  William  Hann,  Jr.,  Samuel  Hartpence, 
John  V.  Thatcher,  Samuel  H.  Britton,  Reuben  Kug- 
ler, Jonathan  Rose,  Thomas  Skillman,  John  Emmons, 
Rev.  Amos  Marcelius,  Samuel  Niece,  Charles  Tom- 
linson, Isaac  R.  Srope,  Mahlon  Emmons,  Cyrenius 
A.  Slack,  George  Arnwine,  and  John  Sine.  The 
bridge  was  built  in  1853,  and  the  Jersey  end  is  located 
at  Point  Pleasant. 

INDUSTRIAL    PURSUITS. 

Soon  after  John  Kugler  settled  in  this  township,  he 
and  his  sons  put  up  a  small  saw-mill  at  the  mouth 
of  Warford  Creek.  As  the  flow  was  not  constant, 
it  became  necessary  for  them  to  avail  themselves  of 
freshets ;  they  frequently  got  up  in  the  night  and  went 


KINGWOOD. 


401 


to  sawing  when  a  sudden  shower  came  up  and  filled 
the  stream;  they  therefore  gave  it  the  name  of 
the  "  Thundergust  Saw-Mill." 

Just  below  the  mouth  of  this  creek,  Mr.  Kugler 
built  the  first  lime-kiln  in  this  part  of  the  country  ; 
he  boated  his  limestone  down  the  Delaware  from 
Durham. 

Soon  after  settling  in  Jersey  he  built  himself  a  Dur- 
ham boat,  and  we  learn  he  did  a  great  deal  of  repair- 
ing of  boats  at  the  landing  below  the  rifts,  near  the 
lime-kiln.  Joseph  Eodman,  who  for  many  years  car- 
ried on  boat-building  at  Bull's  Island,  was  brought  up 
by  Mr.  Kugler,  and  from  him  acquired  his  knowledge 
of  the  trade. 

At  an  early  day  the  old  Kingwood  store,  near  where 
Samuel  Lewis'  wagon-house  now  stands,  was  the 
grand  centre  of  trade  for  a  wide  region  of  country 
extending  from  Lambertville  and  Flemington  on  the 
south  and  east,  and  some  distance  north,  there  being 
no  store  at  Frenchtown,  Baptisttown,  or  Quakertown. 
The  articles  of  trade  were  somewhat  different  from 
those  of  the  present  day.  The  extensive  forests 
abounding  with  large  numbers  of  shell-bark  hickory- 
trees,  which  produced  annually  large  quantities  of 
nuts,  families  would  gather  as  many  as  thirty  bushels 
of  a  season.  Every  one  owning  a  tract  of  land  would 
have  a  piece  sown  to  flax,  and  farmers  have  been  known 
to  work  out  400  pounds  or  more  of  a  season.  Nearly 
all  salable  articles  were  disposed  of  at  the  Kingwood 
store.  A  portion  was  carried  to  the  Philadelphia 
market,  wagons  and  Durham  boats  affording  the  only 
means  of  transportation. 

Jacob  Kugler  lived  a  part  of  his  life  in  Chester  Co., 
Pa.,  then  moved  to  Everittstown,  N.  J.,  and  from 
there  to  Tumble  Station,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  Samuel  Rambo  owned  a  lot  of 
land  there,  and  built  the  stone  dwelling  burned  a  few 
years  ago.  Jacob  Kugler  bought  this  of  Samuel,  and 
they  together  built  a  saw-mill  at  Tumble  in  1807. 
In  1817,  Kugler  built  the  grist-mill.  The  wheels  of 
these  mills  were  turned  by  the  waters  of  the  Delaware, 
as  an  undershot  paddle-wheel  was  used  till  about 
1837,  when  two  reacting  water-wheels  were  put  in  by 
Mr.  Kugler's  sons.  This  was  probably  the  only  mill 
run  by  the  waters  of  the  Delaware  between  Easton 
and  Trenton.  These  mills  were  burned  on  the  night 
of  Feb.  3,  1853,  the  night  before  the  first  locomotive 
came  to  Frenchtown.  They  were  owned  by  Samuel 
Hartpence  and  Hiram  Deats. 

The  upper  mill  at  Milltown  was  built  by  John 
Snyder  in  1755.  The  mill  of  Mr.  Kugler  became  an 
important  one,  as  there  was  no  lack  of  water,  while 
the  other  mills  in  the  township  were  often  idle  on  ac- 
count of  low  water. 

The  first  tannery  built  along  the  river  in  Kingwood 
township  was  operated  by  Joshua  Stout,  on  the  creek 
above  Bull's  Island.  Much  of  the  leather  tanned  here 
went  to  the  neighborhood  to  be  used  for  blacksmiths' 
bellows,  horse-collars,  and  leather  aprons. 


PHYSICIANS. 

In  1824  or  1825,  Israel  L.  Coriell  came  from  Bask- 
ing Eidge  to  Milltown,  and  was  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent young  physicians  in  the  county  in  his  day. 
He  was  killed  by  being  thrown  from  his  sulky  in 
August,  1829. 

William  R.  Hand  was  a  native  of  Somerset  County. 
He  located  at  Barbertown,  where  he  practiced  till 
1870,  when  he  removed  to  Virginia,  where  he  died. 

George  Campbell,  a  Scotchman,  located  here  Aug. 
15,  1758,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion near  Frenchtown.  He  died  in  August,  1818,  and 
was  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the  Kingwood  Presby- 
terian church. 

Charles  M.  Lee,  who  died  in  Baptisttown  in  1875, 
was  a  native  of  that  place.  John  Leavitt  located  in 
Baptisttown  in  1855,  where  he  died  in  1876. 

PROMINENT   MEN   OP   KINGWOOD. 

John  Runk,  son  of  Samuel  Runk,  who  lived  and 
died  at  Milltown,  one  mile  southwest  of  Kingwood 
Hotel,  was  a  merchant  at  Kingwood,  but  a  miller  by 
profession,  and  about  the  time  he  arrived  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  he  married  a  Miss  Tenbrook.  He  first 
entered  public  life  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
chosen  freeholders  in  1825.  In  1830  he  was  the  un- 
successful Federal  candidate  for  sheriff,  but  in  1836 
was  elected  and  served  three  years.  In  1844  he  was 
elected  member  of  Congress,  but  failed  of  election 
in  the  next  campaign  for  the  same  office.  In  1850, 
Mr.  Runk  was  the  candidate  of  the  Whig  party  of 
New  Jersey  for  Governor,  but  was  defeated."  He  was 
one  of  the  Presidential  electors  in  1848,  and  cast 
his  vote  for  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor.  He  removed  to 
Lambertville,  when  he  retired  from  political  life,  ex- 
cept holding  the  office  of  director  of  the  board  of 
chosen  freeholders.  In  early  life  he  united  with  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  and  remained  an  honored  mem- 
ber while  he  lived.  He  died  at  Lambertville,  Sept. 
22,  1872,  aged  eighty-two. 

Wilson  Beay  was  a  merchant  at  Baptisttown,  also 
a  farmer,  and  lived  on  the  farm  occupied  by  Wilson 
B.  Kline,  once  known  as  the  "  poor-house  farm."  In 
1830,  Mr.  Bray  was  elected  sheriff  of  this  county,  and 
served  one  term ;  then  settled  on  the  farm  at  the  King- 
wood  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  subse- 
quently elected  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly, 
serving  two  years.  After  this  he  became  an  earnest 
advocate  of  temperance,  and  in  1847  was  elected  pres- 
ident of  the  "Kingwood  Temperance  Society.''  He 
was  a  safe  political  leader,  and  a  faithful  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  November,  1850, 
while  on  a  visit  to  his  brother  in  Philadelphia,  he  was 
taken  suddenly  ill,  and  died  in  a  short  time. 

Edwaed  Welsted  was  a  practical  surveyor  and 
conveyancer.  He  was  a  member  of  Kingwood  town- 
ship committee,  1818-25,  and  subsequently  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  He  was  elected  sheriff  in  1821,  and 
served  three  years. 


402 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Samuel  H.  Beitton,  born  in  Kingwood  town- 
ship, about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  south  from 
Baptisttown,  entered  public  life  as  a  constable,  which 
office  he  held  a  number  of  years,  then  township  clerk, 
chosen  fi-eeholder  (two  years),  a  member  of  the  As- 
sembly, and  several  years  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
was  also  an  auctioneer.  He  was  possessed  of  good 
business  qualifications.  He  died  in  Frenchtown,  Sept. 
7,  1860,  aged  sixty-one. 

Eev.  Amos  jMaecelius  resided  at  Milltown.  He 
was  a  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  was  a  faithful  and  zealous  worker  for 
the  Master's  kingdom.  His  education  was  somewhat 
limited,  but  he  was  at  one  time  a  politician  of  some 
note,  and  was  appointed  by  the  Legislature  a  com- 
missioner of  deeds  for  Kingwood  township.  He  died 
April  17,  1870,  aged  sixty-seven. 

Isaac  E.  Skope  came  to  Kingwood  about  1835, 
and  subsequently  became  member  of  the  township 
committee,  township  assessor  for  a  number  of  years, 
chosen  freeholder  for  four  years,  member  of  the  As- 
sembly five  years,  judge  of  the  Conrt  of  Common 
Pleas,  and  acted  as  administrator,  executor,  and 
commissioner  in  the  settling  of  estates.  He  died 
in  1862. 

Gabeiel  Hoff  was  born  two  years  previous  to 
the  declaration  of  indejiendence.  He  Avas  town 
clerk  of  Kingwood  township  in  1802,  was  a  Presi- 
dential elector,  elected  sheriff  of  Hunterdon  County 
in  1824,  and  served  three  years.  In  1829  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly.  He  died  Jan. 
.30,  1830,  aged  fifty-six. 

Amplius  B.  CHAjfP.EELiisr,  born  in  Connecticut 
in  1807,  came  to  this  township  when  nineteen,  and 
stopped  with  Samuel  Hudnit,  near  Locktown.  He 
taught  school  at  Locktown  for  five  years,  and  was 
subsequently  honored  with  several  offices  of  profit 
and  trust,  one  of  T\-hich  was  the  unexpired  term  of 
Joseph  Besson,  who  died  in  1849.  He  was  sheriff  of 
Hunterdon  County  in  1844  for  three  years,  and  at  the 
close  of  the  term  removed  to  Kingwood,  where  he 
afterwards  lived.  He  was  clerk  of  the  State  Senate  for 
two  years,  besides  holding  a  number  of  township 
oflSces.  He  died  May  9,  1879.  His  first  wife  was 
Miss  Elizabeth  Myers,  and  his  second  (who  survives 
him)  was  Mrs.  Amy  Bittenhouse. 

Hon".  Geoege  Opdyke,  ex-mayor  of  New  York 
City,  was  born  in  Kingwood,  obtained  a  fair  educa- 
tion, and  for  a  few  terms  was  employed  as  a  district 
school-teacher.  "When  he  arrived  to  the  estate  of 
manhood  he  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  was  op- 
posed to  slavery,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  Free-Soil 
Convention  held  at  Buffalo  in  1848.  His  first  busi- 
ness enterprise  was  keeping  a  clothing-store  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  but  he  soon  moved  to  New  Orleans,  La. 
About  1832  he  went  to  New  York,  and  in  1850  began 
the  importation  of  dry-goods,  which  he  continued 
till  1867,  when  he  engaged  in  the  banking  business, 
and  up  to  the  panic  of  1873  met  with  notable  success. 


I 


It  was  with  some  difficiilty  that  his  banking-house 
weathered  the  storm  of  reverses  at  that  time,  but  he 
came  through,  and  was  afterwards  very  successful  in 
business.  In  1856  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
New  York  Legislature.  He  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  in  1862  was 
elected  mayor  of  New  York.  During  the  draft-riots 
of  1863  numerous  attempts  were  made  to  assassinate 
him,  but  he  remained  at  his  post  of  duty,  and  finally, 
with  the  aid  of  United  States  troops,  he  quelled  the 
uprising.  From  that  time  to  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1880,  he  was  prominently  identified  with 
the  business  interests  of  the  country.  He  left  a  for- 
tune of  ftl,500,000. 

Besides  the  prominent  men  already  mentioned  of 
whom  Kingwood  can  boast,  there  were  AVilliam  and 
John  Scott,  Hon.  Eli  Moore,  William  Euuk,  John 
Barcroft,  John  Wanamaker,  of  Philadelphia,  Dr. 
Bethel,  and  others. 

MILITARY. 
THE   LOCKTOWN  VOLUNTEEKS. 

This  company,  composed  chiefly  of  members  from 
Kingwood  township,  was  organized  Aug.  7, 1858.  The 
election  for  officers  resulted  as  follows:  Captain,  John 
Bellis ;  first  lieutenant,  Edward  M.  Heath ;  second 
lieutenant,  Martin  V.  B.  Bittenhouse ;  third  lieuten- 
ant, Francis  Bittenhouse;  orderly  sergeant,  Andrew 
B.  Everitt;  second  sergeant,  Peter  W.  Lair;  drum- 
mer, Joel  Heath.  This  company  made  their  first 
appearance  in  public  at  Frenchtown  with  the  Third 
Begiment  of  the  Hunterdon  Brigade,  June  13,  1859. 

Sept.  10,  1859,  a  splendid  flag  was  procured,  and  on 
that  day  the  first  annual  target-practice  was  held  at 
Locktown.  A  silver  mec'al  bearing  on  the  obverse 
the  inscription,  "  Presented  to  the  Locktown  Yolun- 
teers  by  Eli  Britton,"  and  on  the  reverse,  "Sept.  10, 
1859,"  was  given  to  Joel  Heath  for  good  marksman- 
ship. At  the  second  practice  (1860)  the  medal  was 
awarded  to  Wilson  M.  Bittenhouse ;  at  the  third,  in 
1861,  again  to  Joel  Heath.  In- 1862,  Peter  W.  Lair, 
Theodore  Sutton,  Uriah  Sutton,  Izer  Bake,  John  B. 
Hardon,  AVilliam  Harden,  Henry  Ilardon,  and  sev- 
eral others  of  this  company  enlisted,  and  in  1864  the 
company  was  disbanded  and  the  arms  and  equipments 
returned  to  the  State  arsenal. 

BAPTISTTOWN   CAVALEY. 

The  second  troop  of  cavalry  in  this  township  was 
formed  at  Baptisttown,  with  the  above  name,  July  23, 
1859,  with  the  following  officers:  Captain,  William 
Eick ;  first  lieutenant,  Asa  Bittenhouse ;  second  lieu- 
tenant, Israel  S.  Curtis ;  cornet,  Asa  B.  Hockenbury  ; 
bugler,  John  Taylor,  Jr. ;  orderly  sergeant,  Moses  K. 
Everitt.  The  company  was  formed  of  the  best  young 
men  of  the  township,  but  was  unable  to  keep  up  its  or- 
ganization after  the  breaking  out  of  the  Eebellion,  on 
account  of  a  large  number  of  its  members  enlisting. 


0<L^ 


KINGWOOD. 


403 


THE  BAPTISTTOWN   EIFLE  COMPANY 

was  formed  April  25,  1861.  The  first  officers  were : 
Captain,  William  Roberts;  first  lieutenant,  Charles 
A.  Eoberson;  second  lieutenant,  Jacob  B.  Dalrym- 
ple;  drummer,  William  J.  Eounsavell;  orderly  ser- 
geant, Jesse  Dalrymple.  This  company  also  was 
broken  up  by  its  members  enlisting  during  the  Re- 
bellion. There  is  at  present  no  military  organization 
in  the  township. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  those  who  Tolunteered 
from  this  township,  as  nine  months'  men,  in  the 
United  States  service,  in  1862  : 

Hugh  M.  Eobinson,  Holcombe  Hyde,  Elijah  Robinson,  Jeremiah  Case, 
Samuel  Van  Norman,  Isaiah  M.  Parker,  Joliu  Prall,  Martin  Hyde, 
Jeremiah  W.  Opdyke,  John  B.  Mason,  Thomas  K.  Lake,  Joseph  L. 
Lair,  Horace  A.  Wambargo,  .Tesse  Dalrymple,  John  Taylor,  Sylvester 
Sowders,  Reed  Myers,  Geo.  McFerne,  Edward  Housel,  James  Kerr, 
Sanford  Lefever,  John  C.  Opdyke,  Charles  M.  Lee,  John  R.  Slater, 
James  W.  Hawk,  James  Ashcroft. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


WESLEY   BBLLIS. 

Wesley  Bellis  was  born  in  the  township  of  Alexan- 
dria, Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  1st  of  December, 
1822.  His  great-grandfather,  Barnet  Bellis,  is  be- 
lieved to  have  come  from  Germany.  He  was  born 
Aug.  20,  1756.  His  grandfather,  John  Bellis,  Sr.,  was 
an  early  settler  in  the  township  of  Alexandria,  having 
removed  there  from  Old  Amwell.  He  married  Eliz- 
abeth Holcombe,  a  descendant  of  John  Holcombe, 
the  first  settler  of  that  name  in  Amwell,  near  Lam- 
bertville,  and  had  nine  children, — Barnet,  Charlotte, 
Eleanor,  Samuel,  Rebecca,  Phrebe,  Uriel,  Isaac,  and 
.John.  He  died  Jan.  26,  1829,  aged  seventy-three 
years.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  June  4,  1843,  aged 
eighty-five  years. 

Their  youngest  son,  John  Bellis,  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  March  7,  1779 ;  married,  Feb.  2,  1822, 
Elizabeth  Roberson,  of  Kingwood.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Francis  and  Mary  Roberson,  and  was 
born  March  7,  1777.  The  children  of  John  and  Eliz- 
abeth Bellis  were  Wesley,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
born  as  above;  Mary,  born  Dec.  2,  1824,  married  Wil- 
liam Bodine,  a  farmer  near  Stockton,  N.  J. ;  John, 
born  Jan.  8,  1828,  married,  first,  Amy  M.,  daughter  of 
Andrew  B.  Rittenhouse,  Nov.  27,  1853 ;  married,  sec- 
ond, Rachel  Ann,  daughter  of  James  Rittenhouse, 
Oct.  17,  1868. 

The  maternal  grandparents  died  as  follows :  Thomas 
Roberson,  Dec.  12, 1837,  aged  seventy-six  years ;  Mary 
Roberson,  Aug.  26,  1845,  aged  eighty-one  years. 

The  parents  died  as  follows :  John  Bellis,  Dec.  29, 
1827,  aged  thirty  years,  nine  months,  and  twenty-two 
days;  Elizabeth  Bellis,  Nov.  27,  1837,  aged  thirty- 
three  years,  three  months,  and  four  days. 

Wesley  Bellis  was  brought  up  on  the  homestead 


farm  of  his  grandfather  Roberson,  to  which  his 
mother  removed  after  the  death  of  his  father,  which 
occurred  when  he  was  five  years  of  age.  His  mother 
died  when  he  was  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  he  worked 
two  summers  in  succession  as  an  employe,  attending 
school  in  winter  as  he  had  opportunity.  His  grand- 
father's estate  consisted  of  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  acres,  which  was  divided  soon  after  his  death, 
and,  Mr.  Bellis,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  purchased 
the  homestead  farm,  embracing  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  acres.  He  has  greatly  improved  the  es- 
tate, having  built  upon  it,  in  1879,  a  fine  residence 
and  other  buildings.  On  the  10th  of  February,  1844, 
he  married  Rachel  Thatcher,  daughter  of  John  V. 
and  Charlotte  Thatcher,  of  Kingwood  township,  who 
was  born  Aug.  24,  1822.  The  fruit  of  this  union  has 
been  five  children,  as  follows :  Mary  Elizabeth,  born 
June  14,  1845,  married  Wesley  Hawks,  and  lives  near 
Locktown,  in  Delaware  township ;  Charlotte,  born 
Jan.  4,  1847,  died  Feb.  19,  1856;  Martin  F.,  born 
Sept.  6,  1849,  married  Violette  Rittenhouse,  Dec.  10, 
1873,  and  resides  in  Flemington ;  Emma  Jane,  born 
Aug.  6,  1852,  died  Jan.  11,  1856;  infant  son,  born 
May  14,  1855,  died  May  15,  1855.  Rachel,  wife  of 
Wesley  Bellis,  died  May  16,  1855. 

He  married  his  second  wife,  Mary  Catherine 
Stryker,  of  Kingwood,  Jan.  2,  1858.  She  was  born 
in  Franklin  township,  near  Quakertown.  The  chil- 
dren of  this  marriage  are  Rachel  J.,  born  Oct.  15, 
1858  ;  Francis  S.,  born  April  20,  1860 ;  Catharine  R., 
born  May  15,  1863 ;  Laura  May,  born  Feb.  5,  1867 ; 
Thurston  Roy,  born  Aug.  20,  1872;  Simeon  0.,  born 
March  7,  1877  ;  Lydia,  born  Aug.  7,  1880. 

Mr.  Bellis  has  always  adhered  to  the  Democratic 
faith  of  his  fathers,  and  has  taken  some  active  part  in 
politics.  He  has  been  elected  to  fill  several  offices  of 
trust  in  his  township,  such  as  freeholder,  assessor, 
collector,  and  member  of  the  township  committee. 
In  the  fall  of  1874  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county 
for  one  year  under  the  old  constitution,  and  under 
the  revised  constitution  was  re-elected  for  a  term  of 
three  years,  thus  holding  the  office  four  consecutive 
years,  and  discharging  its  duties  Avith  credit  and  sat- 
isfaction. 


JOHN   KUGLER. 


His  great-grandfather,  Juhn  Kugler,  came  from 
Germany  when  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  sub- 
sequently purchased  land  in  Kingwood  township, 
Hunterdon  County,  on  wdiich  he  settled.  He  owned 
the  property  at  one  time  on  which  George  W.  Kugler 
now  resides.  It  was  in  the  possession  of  John  Kugler, 
Jr.,  and  descended  from  him  to  the  late  Samuel  Kug- 
ler, who  died  there  in  September,  1879,  and  the  estate 
was  purchased  of  the  executors  by  the  present  occu- 
pant. The  first  John  Kugler  had  three  sons,  John, 
Joseph,  and  Jacob ;  John  and  Jacob  settled  in  King- 
wood  on  the  original  estate,  and  the  last-mentioned 


404 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


owned  mills  known  as  Kugler's  Mills,  at  what  is  now 
Tumble  Station,  on  the  Belvidere  Delaware  Eailroad. 
John  Kugler,  Jr.,  or  the  second  of  the  name,  mar- 
ried Hannah  Snyder,  and  had  three  sons  and  seven 
daughters ;  his  oldest  son,  John,  was  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;   was  born  on  the  old  home- 


JOHN   KUGLER. 

stead  in  Kingwood  township  in  1798 ;  married  Eliza, 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Eittenhouse,  of  Kingwood,  and 
had  nine  children,  seven  sons  and  two  daughters,  six 
of  whom  are  living, — viz.,  John,  the  subject  of  this 
notice;  Jonathan,  a  farmer,  residing  in  Alexa.ndria 
township ;  Oliver,  farmer,  of  Earitan  township  ;  Har- 
riet, unmarried ;  Wilson,  farmer,  residing  in  King- 
wood  ;  and  George  W.,  farmer,  of  Gloucester  Co.,  N.  J. 
John  Kugler,  the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  born 
near  Kingwood  Methodist  church  in  the  township  of 
Kingwood,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  23,  1823. 
His  early  life  was  spent  chiefly  in  Alexandria  town- 
ship, where  he  received  a  common-school  education, 
and  was  bred  to  the  occupation  of  a  farmer,  which  he 
has  followed  through  life.  When  at  the  age  of  eight- 
een he  was  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  and  made 
a  successful  start  in  life  by  his  own  exertions.  He  is 
now  one  of  the  substantial,  forehanded  farmers  of  the 
county. 


In  1848  he  married  his  first  wife,  Mary,  daughter  of 
Isaac  G.  Schomp,  of  Earitan  township,  by  whom  he 
had  six  children,  two  sons  and  four  daughters,  four  of 
whom,  one  son  and  three  daughters,  are  living.  Mrs. 
Kugler  died  in  1863.  In  1865  he  married,  for  his 
second  wife,  Mary  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Mahlon 
Thatcher,  of  Kingwood.  Four  children  living  are 
the  fruit  of  this  marriage,  one  son  and  three  daugh- 
ters. 

In  politics  Mr.  Kugler  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  behalf  of  the  principles  of  his  party. 
He  has  held  most  of  the  responsible  ofllices  in  his 
township ;  has  been  freeholder  several  years,  member 
of  the  township  committee,  judge  of  elections,  etc. 
He  has  frequently  been  a  delegate  to  county,  congres- 
sional, and  State  conventions  of  his  party.  In  the  fall 
of  1869  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  First  As- 
sembly District  of  the  county  in  the  Legislature, 
and  served  acceptably  in  that  body  in  the  winter  of 
1870-71. 


THE    MATHEW   FAMILY. 

Five  generations  have  passed  since  the  first  of  this 
family,  William,  emigrated  from  Wales  and  settled 
near  what  is  now  Mount  Airy.  He  was  the  great- 
great-grandfather  of  Daniel  M.,  of  Frenchtown. 
William  had  six  sons  and  three  daughters.  Of  the 
sons,  Henry  removed  to  New  York,  William  settled 
in  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  in  Warren  County,  near 
Washington,  Jessie  and  Pierson  resided  in  the  south 
part  of  this  county,  and  Jeremiah,  the  youngest, 
married  Kesiah  Allen,  settled  near  Mount  Pleasant, 
and  had  five  sons  and  seven  daughters ;  one  of  the 
sons,  William,  married  Mary  Bigler,  and  had  Jere- 
miah, John,  Joseph,  and  Elizabeth.  The  latter  (now 
Mrs.  John  Wene)  lives  near  Ashury.  John  married 
Elizabeth,  a  sister  of  the  late  ex-Mayor  Opdyke,  of 
New  York.  Joseph  is  living  at  Everittstown.  Jere- 
miah married  Sybilla  Butterfoss,  and  had  John  H., 
Daniel  M.,  and  HoUoway.  Daniel  M.  married  Maggie 
Hull,  and  resides  at  Frenchtown.  Daniel  M.,  after 
graduating  with  honors,  taught  school  in  this  county 
for  twelve  consecutive  years,  and  was  the  first  to  in- 
troduce a  Latin  grammar  into  a  public  school  in  this 
part  of  the  county.  He  has  been  a  preacher  in  the  local 
ranks  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination  for 
twenty-five  years.  His  preserved  published  communi- 
cations on  various  subjects  make  a  good-sized  volume, 
and  to  him  we  are  indebted  for  much  valuable  infor- 
mation to  be  found  in  this  volume. 


FREISrCHTOWN     BOEOUGH. 


FOETY  years  ago  there  was  no  bridge  across  the 
Delaware  at  this  place,  and  vehicles  and  stock  had  to 
be  taken  across  in  a  ferrying  flat  propelled  by  setting- 
poles.  How  long  there  had  been  a  ferry  here  before 
the  bridge  was  built  is  not  known,  but  it  is  certain 
that  Burgoyne's  army,  as  prisoners  of  war,  were  here 
ferried  over  the  Delaware. 

Fifty  years  ago  there  was  no  grain-mart  near 
Frenchtown.  The  corn  was  carted  in  wagons  across 
the  country  to  New  Brunswick,  requiring  two  days  to 
make  the  trip.  Perhaps  a  large  part  of  it  was  taken 
down  the  Delaware  in  Durham  boats. 

The  mail  at  an  early  day  was  carried  on  horseback 
from  Trenton  up  through  Kingwood,  a  branch  of  the 
route  extending  to  this  village,  crossing  the  river  in  a 
bateau  to  the  Erwinna  post-office.  William  Roat,  a 
great-uncle  of  John  L.  Tomlinson,  carried  the  mail 
from  Trenton.  Letters  were  then  transported  at  rates 
corresponding  to  the  distance,  ranging  from  six  and  a 
quarter  to  twenty-five  cents.  In  those  days  there  were 
neither  envelopes  nor  postage-stamps. 

The  first  post-ofiice  in  Frenchtown  was  established 
in  or  about  1839,  where  Allen  &  Everts  kept  store,  and 
one  of  them  was  made  postmaster.  Afterwards  it  was 
changed  to  L.  M.  Provost's  store, — the  "  Big  Gun," — 
then  down  to  Dr.  Hough's  drug-store,  with  Bryan 
Hough  as  deputy  postmaster.  After  that  W.  W. 
Hedges  was  postmaster  at  the  same  place  until  1861, 
when  Bryan  Hough  received  the  appointment,  and  in 
1865  moved  the  office  to  Hough  &  Smith's  shoe-store, 
where  it  was  kept  until  1867.  Oliver  Worman  was 
the  next  incumbent,  with  the  office  in  his  store  (now 
Brink's  hardware-store) ;  from  thence  he  took  it  to 
the  brick  store  next  to  the  depot  in  1869,  about  which 
time  Philip  G.  Beading  took  charge  of  it,  and  kept  it 
in  Worman's  store.  In  1869,  C.  B.  Higgins,  the  pres- 
ent postmaster,  was  appointed,  and  moved  it  to  its 
present  location. 

IMPROVEMENTS  AT  FRENCHTOWN. 

By  deed  dated  May  20,  1776,  John  Stevens  and 
Elizabeth,  his  wife,  and  James  Parker  and  Gertrude, 
his  wife,  conveyed  to  Thomas  Lowrey  a  tract  of  land 
partly  in  Kingwood  and  partly  in  Alexandria  town- 
ship. William  Lowrey  became  possessed  of  this  lot, 
and  he  and  his  wife,  Martha,  in  a  deed  dated  Dec.  1, 
•1794,  conveyed  this  lot  to  Thomas  Lowrey.  What 
relationship  William  held  to  Thomas  Lowrey  is  not 
known.     Thomas  now  owned  968  acres  at  and  around 


where  Frenchtown  is  now  situated.  About  1785, 
Thomas  Lowrey  built  the  grist-mill,  and  probably  the 
saw-mill.  He  also  built  the  stone  house  between  Dr. 
Reiley's  residence  and  D.  W.  Pinkerton's  harness- 
shop.  These  were  among  the  first  improvements  in 
Frenchtown. 

During  the  French  Revolution  of  1792  a  Swiss,  by 
the  name  of  Paul  Henry  Mallet  Prevost,  a  republican, 
joined  the  French  army  at  Alsace  as  commissary-gen- 
eral. But  he,  not  approving  of  some  extreme  meas- 
ures, was  proscribed,  and,  with  his  secretary,  Nicolas 
Louis  Toulaine  Defresnoye,  escaped  into  Germany, 
and  finally  came  to  America,  landing  in  Philadelphia. 
In  looking  for  a  home  he  by  some  means  came  to 
Frenchtown,  and,  being  delighted  with  the  place,  set 
about  buying  out  Mr.  Lowrey. 

Mr.  Lowrey  had  sold  his  Frenchtown  property 
several  times  to  purchasers  who  were  unable  to  make 
the  final  payments,  he  taking  the  property  back.  Mr. 
Prevost  bargained  with  Mr.  Lowrey  for  the  968  acres 
for  £7664.  Mr.  Lowrey  thought  he  had  him  fast,  as 
he  would  be  unable  to  make  the  second  and  third 
payments.  But,  to  his  utter  astonishment,  Mr.  Pre- 
vost said,  "  Mr.  Lowrey,  if  you  deducts  de  interest,  I 
pays  de  second."  To  this  Mr.  Lowrey  reluctantly 
consented.  Mr.  Prevost  then  said,  "  Mr.  Lowrey,  if 
you  deducts  de  interest,  I  pays  de  third."  This  struck 
"  Old  Quicksilver"  with  astonishment,  and  so  wrought 
upon  his  mind  that  he  took  to  his  bed.  In  Mr.  Low- 
rey's  sale  of  the  Frenchtown  property  the  deed  bears 
date  Dec.  4,  1794,  and  was  made  to  Nicolas  Toulaine 
Defresnoye,  Mr.  Prevost's  secretary.  Jan.  19,  1802, 
Mr.  Defresnoye  and  his  wife,  Frances,  conveyed  by 
deed  893  acres  of  this  land  to  Andrew  M.  Prevost  for 
£7133.  It  was  bounded  on  the  south  by  lands  of 
Thomas  and  Edward  Marshall  and  Ezekiel  Rose,  the 
southeast  corner  being  the  stump  in  the  road  near 
John  Fulper's,  on  the  east  by  Daniel  Opdyke,  and  on 
the  west  by  the  Delaware. 

Mr.  Prevost  built  the  dwelling  now  owned  by  John 
Stillwell,  and  this  became  the  residence  of  Paul  H. 
M.  Prevost  during  his  lifetime,  and  after  him,  for 
many  years,  the  home  of  Lewis  M.,  his  son,  who  mar- 
ried Mary  Exton,  of  High  Bridge. 

Fifty  years  ago  there  was  standing,  where  the  river 
road  turns  down  by  the  depot,  a  frame  building  oc- 
cupied by  Jacob  Welch,  a  clock-  and  watch-cleaner 
and  repairer.  This  shop  was  afterwards  occupied  by 
Daniel  Curtis  &  Sons  as  a  tailor-shop. 

405 


406 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


The  first  store-house  in  Frenchtown  was  a  low 
story-and-a-lialf  stone  building  near  where  H.  E. 
A\'arford's  new  brick  store  stands ;  on  the  east  end  a 
stone  addition  was  built  to  it  for  a  dwelling.  A  little  to 
the  east,  some  distance  back  from  the  street,  stood  a 
frame  building  occupied  many  years  as  a  dwelling.  In 
the  spring  of  1834,  Clarissa  and  Frances  Calvin,  sisters, 
opened  the  first  millinerj'-shop  in  Frenchtown.  In 
after-years  this  shop  was  occupied  by  Cyrenius  A. 
Slack,  who  carried  on  the  shoemaking  business.  The 
upper  story  was  occupied  by  Ambrose  Silverthorne 
as  a  tailor-shop.  Oliver  Worman  some  years  ago 
moved  this  old  house  a  little  farther  east,  but  when 
near  the  place  it  was  to  occupy  it  fell  into  a  mass  of 
ruins. 

The  brick  house  now  the  residence  of  Jacob  C. 
Hawk  was  built  for  Mr.  Prevost's  residence  by  Capt. 
William  Conner  and  his  son  James,  the  grandfather 
and  father  of  Jonathan  M.  Conner,  of  Kingwood. 
The  next  house  on  the  south  side  of  Bridge  Street  was 
near  where  Ishmael  Brink's  hardware-store  now  stands, 
the  first  story  of  stone,  and  above  that  frame,  and  was 
occupied  by  Ealjih  Ten  Eyck,  who  carried  on  shoe- 
making.  There  was  no  house  between  this  and  the 
saw-mill,  except  a  little  one-story  shop  where  William 
Martin's  store  now  stands.  This  was  built  about  1830, 
and  occupied  some  years  by  John  B.  Tomer  as  a 
harness-shop.  Tomer  and  Zachariah  F.  Laroche 
were  the  village  musicians.  Laroche  came  here  with 
the  Prevosts.  The  first  accordeon  in  this  place  was 
in  1838,  and  the  first  melodeon  owned  in  French- 
town  was  by  James  Emory  in  1850.  The  old  building 
where  Brink's  store  stands  was  used  in  after-years  by 
Lewis  M.  Prevost  as  an  ofiice  when  he  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  In  ,this  building  a  governess  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  Prevost,  in  1838,  organized  the  first 
Sunday-school  in  Frenchtown.  Near  where  the 
leather-store  of  the  Kachline  Brothers  stands  was 
a  small  frame  shop  occupied  by  Capt.  Brown  as  a 
shoemaker-shop.  There  was  a  dwelling  on  the  tract 
near  William  Sipes'  residence  where  Philip  Hinkle 
lived  for  over  forty  years.  These  were  all  the  build- 
ings on  the  south  side  of  what  is  now  Bridge  Street. 

The  brick  hotel  opposite  the  depot,  now  kept  by 
Joseph  Opdj'ke,  was  built  by  Paul  H.  M.  Prevost. 
It  was  kept  by  Thomas  Alexander  at  an  early  day; 
after  him  by  Nathan  Eisler  for  many  years.  Risler 
for  some  time  owned  a  black  bear,  and  at  times  he 
had  what  was  called  a  "bear  bait."  A  bear  was  tied 
by  a  rope  to  a  stake.  The  spectators  then  formed  a 
circle,  when  a  dog  would  be  let  in  to  try  his  prowess 
with  the  bear. 

Samuel  Lott,  father  of  the  late  Henry  Lott,  for- 
merly kept  the  old  tavern  on  the  site  where  Opdyke's 
Railroad  House  now  stands.  It  is  said  he  built  one 
of  the  first  houses  in  Frenchtown,  bringing  the  frame 
up  from  Centre  Bridge  in  a  Durham  boat;  whether  it 
was  this  old  ta^'ern  or  not  is  not  known.  He  was 
afterwards  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree.     When  the 


present  hotel  was  built,  a  portion  of  the  old  tavern 
was  left  standing;  this  was  used  for  some  time  by 
Ingham  ^\'aterhouse  as  a  currjdng  and  leather-finish- 
ing shop.  The  brick  dwelling  of  H.  E.  Warford  was 
built  by  Jonathan  Britton  about  seventy-five  years 
ago.  The  old  "  Temperance  House"  was  built  over 
forty  years  ago  by  Lewis  F.  Laroche.  The  first  pre- 
liminary survey  for  the  railroad  was  made  about  that 
time,  and  Mr.  Laroche  called  his  new  house  "  The 
Railroad  House."  This  was  somewhat  premature,  as 
the  locomotive  did  not  reach  the  village  until  Feb.  4, 
1853,  fifteen  years  afterwards. 

On  March  13,  1852,  the  steamboat  "Major  Bar- 
nett"  ascended  the  Delaware  River  from  Lambert- 
ville  to  Easton,  the  steam-whistle  for  the  first  time 
awakening  the  echoes  of  the  Delaware  vallej-.  W^here 
Harrison  Street  now  is  there  was  an  alley  which  led 
back  to  the  dwelling  of  Samuel  Pittenger  and  the  old 
building  occupied  before  the  fire  by  Voorhees  <& 
Hanu's  oftice.  This  latter  building  was  the  farm- 
house, and  here  Louis  F.  Laroche  lived  over  forty 
years  ago.  This  lane  then  turned  and  led  up  to  the 
barn,  where  the  town-hall  now  stands.  A  little  west 
of  Pittenger  was  a  small  house  in  which  Isaac  Quick 
lived.  On  the  corner  of  Harrison  and  Bridge  Streets, 
where  Williams'  Block  now  stands,  Thomas  Pitten- 
ger lived  in  a  frame  dwelling,  and  carried  on  the 
blacksmith  business  in  a  shop  where  Abie's  saloon 
stands.  He  afterwards  built  one  over  where  Pitten- 
ger's  store  is,  and  built  the  house  where  Mrs.  Pitten- 
ger lives. 

The  first  drug-store  in  the  place  was  kept  by  John 
Hull  in  a  part  of  the  old  house  that  stood  on  the  site 
of  the  Williams  Block.  The  building  occupied  by 
the  Opdyke  brothers  as  a  drug- store  was  built  in  1833, 
where  Abel's  barber-shop  now  stands.  From  there 
to  the  mill-house,  and  from  this  house  to  the  hotel, 
there  were  no  buildings.  Where  the  National  Hotel 
stands  Samuel  Powers  carried  on  blacksmithing. 
About  1833  he  built  an  addition  to  his  small  dwell- 
ing, put  up  the  sign  of  a  "Buck,"  and  opened  a 
"hotel,"  the  second  in  Frenchtown.  Mrs.  Powers 
kept  this  hotel  for  a  number  of  years  after  her  hus- 
band's death,  and  died  a  few  years  ago,  aged  one 
hundred.  Mr.  Williams  in  1850  put  up  the  present 
"  National  Hotel."  From  this  house  north,  up  the 
Milford  road,  there  was  not  a  single  house  this  side 
the  borough  limits.  An  apple-orchard  extended  from 
the  barn  where  the  town-hall  stands  up  to  within  a 
few  yards  of  G.  H.  Slater's  house,  and  out  to  the  Mil- 
ford  road. 

The  first  physician  of  Frenchtown  was  Dr.  Edmund 
Porter,  who  came  to  Frenchtown  in  1820.*  He  built 
a  house  on  the  site  of  Emley  Hyde's  residence  (then 
Main,  now  Bridge  Street),  and  deposited  in  the  cellar 
wall   a  paper  which    remained    there   about  thirty 


*  See  biogiapliy  in  clmpter  on  the  Medical  Profession  of  Hunterdon 
County. 


FRENCHTOWN   BOROUGH. 


407 


years,  -when  curiosity  prompted  its  removal.  From 
that  paper  it  was  learued  tliat  the  architects  of  the 
house  were  Enos  Rose  and  Stephen  Ashton  ;  David 
Everitt,  house  carpenter ;  John  Powers,  blacksmith ; 
John  B.  Turner,  saddler;  Joshua  Hoagland,  black- 
smith ;  John  Price,  shoemaker  ;  Andrew  Curtis, 
blacksmith  ;  Reuben  Warford  and  Allen  Rittenhouse, 
apprentice  blacksmiths ;  Ralph  Mathews  and  John 
Grossman,  cabinet-makers  ;  Jacob  Weltz,  silver- 
smith ;  George  Frees,  innkeeper ;  Frank  Pelts,  an  old 
soldier  of  the  war  of  1812;  Henry  Grout,  farmer; 
Jesse  Warwick,  hatter ;  Peter  Snyder,  weaver ;  Zach- 
ariah  Laroche,  farmer  ;  Charles  Birch,  laborer ;  Seth 
Rose,  "major  of  the  militia.''  Then  follows  the 
names  of  several  whom  he  says  were  the  first  persons 
at  that  time  in  the  community,  and  this  paragraph : 

"  Paul  H.  M.  Prevost,  Esquire  is  tlje  principal  owner  of  the  property  in 
tliis  vicinity;  David  Warford  v/as  postmaster  and  nicrcliant;  widow 
Kiionii  Frees,  mistress  of  the  Alexandria  Hotel.  The  fourtli  day  of  July 
is  to  be  celebrated  here,  it  being  the  47th  of  American  Independence. 
William  Voorhees  and  John  Clifford  Esquires,  and  Samuel  Powers,  and 
David  R.  Wai-ford,  Presidents  and  Vice-Presidents  of  ttie  day.  Dr.  Albert 
Tyler  is  to  deliver  the  oration.  Dr.  Luther  Towner,  the  invocation,  and 
Hon.  Joshua  B.  Calvin  to  read  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 
Key.  Mr.  Hunt  is  requested  to  mate  a  short  address.  John  Scott,  Mar- 
stial  of  the  day.  Capt.  Izra  Brewster  will  appear  with  the  Kingwood 
Unifoim  Company  equipped  and  in  uniform." 

Other  physicians,  prior  to  1850^  were  Charles  Mer- 
rick, 1828-32;  William  Taylor,  1840-51;  John  C. 
Pursell,  1841^8  ;  Dewitt  C.  Hough,  1848-56. 

EARLY  MERCHANTS. 
About  sixty  years  ago  Samuel  Cooley  kept  a  store 
on  the  corner  where  the  American  Hotel  once  stood. 
Thomas  Bayley  kept  the  old  store  where  the  present 
brick  store  of  H.  E.  Warford  now  stands.  Between 
1820  and  1825,  David  R.  Warford  kept  the  old  store. 
Believing  that  opposition  was  the  life  of  trade,  a  store 
was  opened  in  the  "Brick"  (where  H.  E.  Warford 
now  lives),  probably  not  before  1828 ;  at  this  time  the 
Carhart  Brothers  kept  it.  In  1829,  Holcombe,  Bocka- 
fellow  &  Merrick  kept  the  "  Brick,"  and  Magor  & 
Gordon  kept  the  old  store.  Gordon  bought  out  the 
opposition,  and  carried  on  the  "Brick"  as  the  only 
store  here  for  two  years,  up  to  1833.  Johnson  &  Fine 
opened  a  lumber-yard  about  this  time. 

OTHER    BUSINESS    ENTERPRISES. 

In  1836,  Robert  L.  Williams  came  from  New  York 
State,  and  shortly  after  locating  here  began  the  build- 
ing of  improved  fan-mills  for  cleaning  grain,  the  first 
ever  made  in  this  county.  He  occupied  an  old  shop 
near  his  dwelling,  once  belonging  to  the  tannery  of 
Mathias  Pickel.  He  also  made  grain-cradles  with 
bent  fingers.  For  a  few  years  he  entered  largely  into 
the  cultivation  of  broom-corn,  which  he  made  up  into 
brooms. 

In  1850,  Robert  L.  Williams  built  the  National 
Hotel,  which  has  been  kept  by  William  Runyon, 
Andrew  Risler,  Egge  Brothers,  Michael  Vanhart, 
Charles   Eichlin,  Jeremiah  Trimmer,  John   SoUers, 


William  Nixson,  William  Cawley,  Abram  Fluck, 
William  C.  Metier,  and  William  C.  Apgar,  the  pres- 
ent proprietor. 

In  1845,  Philip  G.  Reading  and  W.  W.  Hedges 
went  in  partnership  in  the  lumber  business,  where 
the  spoke-factory  now  stands,  between  Second  and 
Third  Streets.  In  a  year  or  two  afterwards  they  built 
a  steam  saw-mill  for  making  siding.  In  1858,  Mr. 
Reading  introduced  the  turning  of  axe-handles  and 
wagon-spokes.  In  1859,  Mr.  Kugler  entered  into 
partnership  with  Mr.  Reading  in  the  spoke-  and 
handle-factory,  and  carried  on  the  bxisiness  till  1869, 
when  the  factory  was  burned.  Kugler  &  Fargo  re- 
built it,  and  the  same  firm  continues  the  business. 

In  1851,  Augustus  Godly  built  the  distillery  just 
below  the  mouth  of  Little  Nishisakawick,  where  he 
carried  on  a  distillery  for  a  year  or  two,  and  failed. 
Samuel  Drinkhouse,  of  Easton,  Pa.,  purchased  the 
property  and  carried  on  the  distillery  business  ex- 
tensively for  many  years ;  the  buildings  were  burned 
in  1874.  The  lime-burning  business  was  carried  on 
quite  extensively  at  this  place  for  several  years  by 
Philip  Lair,  Joseph  Kugler,  and  others. 

The  first  tinsmith  in  Frenchtown  was  a  Mr.  Hort- 
man,  who  carried  on  the  business  for  a  few  years  pre- 
vious to  1850.  Isaac  and  Alfred  Taylor  were  among 
the  first  carpenters,  coming  about  1880. 

In  the  fall  of  1836,  Hugh  Capner  bought  of  H.  M. 
Prevost,  181.68  acres  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  the 
village,  and  soon  after  this  began  to  open  streets  run- 
ning from  Milford  road  to  the  river,  and  extended 
Harrison  Street  up  to  Fifth  while  in  his  possession. 
There  was  not  much  growth,  however,  until  after 
Samuel  B.  Hudnit  bought  his  lot,  in  1848,  after  which 
he  continued  to  buy  and  build. 

In  1846,  Jesse  Sinclair  moved  to  Frenchtown  and 
carried  on  the  mason  trade.  He  built,  probably,  all 
the  stone  houses  in  Frenchtown.  He  died  in  the 
Able  house. 

CIVIL  ORGANIZATION. 
The  act  of  the  Legislature  incorporating  the  bor- 
ough of  Frenchtown  was  approved  April  4,  1867.  A 
supplement  was  approved  March  26,  1872,  and  an- 
other March  80,  1876.  The  first  town-meeting  was 
held  on  the  second  Monday  in  April,  1867.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  principal  local  ofiicers  from  that  time 
to  the  present : 

MAYOES. 

186Y,  1870,  1872,  Samuel  B.  Hudnit ;  1868-69,  Dr.  William  Kice ;  1871, 
Franklin  B.  Fargo  ;  1873,*  James  S.  White ;  1874,  Levi  Troxell ; 
1876-76,  Thomas  Palmer;  1877-78,  Adam  S.  Haring;  1879-80,  Ed- 
ward B.  Kacbline. 

COMMON   COUNCIL. 

1867,  Isaac  W.  Carmichael;  1867-68,  Henry  Lett;  1867,  Philip  G.  Head- 
ing; 1867,  John  H.  Black;  1867,  Oliver  Worman;  1867,  Moses  K. 
Everitt;  1868,  John  L.  Slack  ;  1868,  1869,  1872,1876, 1877, 1879,  Ish- 
mael  Brink;  1868,  Dr.  Charles  R.  Cowdric;  1868,  Newbury  D.  Wil- 
liams; 1868,  1873,  1875,  Andrew  Roberaon ;  1869,  Peter  W.  Lair; 
1869  187(1, 1874, 1875,  Franklin  B.  Fargo ;  1869,  1876,  Peter  T.  Lowe ; 

^-  Resigned  Sept.  20, 1873 ;  Jacob  C.  Hawk  appointed  to  fill  vacancy. 


408 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1 869,  Silas  S.  Wright ;  1 870,  Eeuben  K.  Niece ;  1870, 1872, 1873,  Aaron 
P.Kachline;  1870,  1871,  1877,  Gabriel  H.  Slater;  1870,  George  H. 
Sanders ;  1871,  Levi  Tioxell ;  1871, 1874, 1877, 1878,  Morris  Maxwell ; 
1871,  Peter  S.  Kngler;  1872, 1876, 1878,  Jacob  C.  Hawk  ;  1872, 1873, 
1876,  LeTi  Hann;  1872,  1673,  1875,  Henry  Lonx;  1873-80,  Joseph 
Hawk;  1873-75,  1879-80,  Isaac  Taylor;  1874,  Edwin  G.  ■Williams; 
1874,  1875, 1879,  1880,  Eli  Swallow ;  1874, 1876,  Nathan  Shurtz ;  1875, 
1876,  1878,  Edward  B.  Kachline  ;  1876,  Joseph  Dalrymple ;  1877-80. 
William  H.  Martin;  1877,  Dr.  E,  K.  Deeniy ;  1877,  Henry  Hager- 
man  ;  1877,  Abraham  Slack  ;  1878,  Daniel  Stabler  ;  1878,  1879,  Geo. 
Hays  ;  1879,  1880,  William  E.  Shurtz;  1880,  Alfred  M.  Brink.* 

TOWN   CLERKS. 
1867,  1868,  James  Dilts;  1869,  Benjamin  H.  Joiner;  Adam  S.  Haling 
appointed  Oct.  7,  18S9;  1870,  1873,  David  C.  Hough;  1871, 1872,  Wil- 
liam Kitchen;  1874,  1875,  John  L.  Slack;  1876,  Silas  S.  Wright; 

1877. 1878,  Theodore  P.  Williams;  1879,  1880,  John  S.  Curtis;  Edwin 
G.  Williams  appointed  to  fill  vacancy  in  1879. 

ASSESSORS. 
1867,  1868,  1870,  1880,  Thomas  Palmer;   1869,  Peter  S.  Kugler;  1871, 
Charles  H.  Hoff;  1872,  Alfred  Brink;  1873,  1875,  Simeon  R.  Opdyke; 
1876,  1877,  Herbert  A.  Hummer;  1878,  1879,  James  Dilts;  1880,  C. 
P.  Kachline. 

COLLECTORS. 
1867,  William  Britton;  1868,  Adam  S.  Haring;  1869,  James  S.White; 

1870,  Ishmael  Brink ;  1871,  1872,  James  Dilts ;  1873,  1874,  William 
H.Martin:  1875,  1876,  Justice  W.  Britton;  1877,  J.  W.  Pinkerton ; 

1878. 1879,  Alfred  M.  Brink ;  1880,  A.  P.  KachUne. 

TREASDREKS. 
1867,  1868,  Henry  Lott ;  1869,  Ishmael  Brink;  1S70,  1871,  Gabriel  H. 
Slater ;  1872, 1873,  Aaron  P.  Kachline  ;  1874, 1878,  Isaac  Taylor ;  1876, 
Henry  Lonx ;  1876,  Edward  B.  Kachline  ;  1877,  Philip  G.  Reading ; 
1879-80,  Daniel  M.  Matthews. 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 
1867, 1868,  Bryan  Hough ;  1868,  Reuben  K.  Wright,  elected  December 
17th;  1869,  Moses  K.  Everitt;  1870,  Samuel  Kockafcllow;  1871,  1872, 
Gabriel  H.  Slater,  resigned  February,  1873;  1873,  1874,  Edward  B. 
Kachline;  1876,  1876,  Adam  S.  Haring;  1877,  1878,  Henrj-  Loux; 
1879-80,  John  L.  Slack. 

JUSTICES   OF   THE  PEACE. 
1867-71,  John  Slater;  resigned  in  April,  1871;  1871,  Freeman  Wood; 
1869, 1871,  1877,  1879,  Jos.  C.  Wright ;  1872-77,  Samuel  Eockafellow ; 
1880,  Silas  S.  Wright;  1874^84,  William  T.  Srope. 

The  commissioners  appointed  in  1867  to  divide  the 
property  between  the  township  of  Alexandria  and  the 
borough  of  Frenchtown  were  Moses  K.  Everitt,  Sam- 
uel B.  Hudnit,  Isaac  W.  Carmichael,  Newbury  D.  Wil- 
liams, and  William  Britton. 

SCHOOLS. 

Forty-five  years  ago  the  Frenchtown  school-house 
stood  in  the  little  valley  nook  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Milford  road,  just  above  the  northern  borough  limit, 
near  the  little  spring  by  the  roadside.  On  the  road 
to  the  stone  church  another  school-house  stood,  near 
where  Newbury  Dotterer  lives;  this  was  torn  down 
about  1842,  and  another  built  in  Moses  Eoberson's 
woods,  near  Jeremiah  Case's  lane.  This  was  after  a  few 
years  torn  down,  and  the  Hillside  school-house  erected 
in  1858. 

The  people  of  Frenchtown,  anxious  to  have  a  school 
in  the  village,  obtained  permission  of  Isaac  Johnston 
to  build  a  school-house  on  the  north  end  of  his  lot 


*  In  1871  there  was  a  tie  vote  between  Newbury  D.  Williams  and  Peter 
S.  Kugler,  in  1874  a  tie  vote  between  Hiram  Danby  and  Hiram  Roberson,    | 
and  in  1878  a  tie  vote  between  George  Hays  and  Isaac  Taylor.  I 


near  Charles  Slack's  house.  When  Mr.  Johnston 
failed  a  mortgage  rested  on  the  property,  and  to  save 
the  school -house  the  people  removed  it  to  the  land  of 
Philip  G.  Reading.  Here  it  remained  for  several 
years.  In  1857  a  larger  house  was  built,  on  land  they 
could  call  their  own,  a  lot  on  the  hill,  donated  by 
Hugh  Capner,  to  whom  the  old  house  was  sold.  He 
moved  it  across  the  mill-race ;  it  is  now  the  carriage- 
shop  of  Savidge  &  Swallow. 

The  trustees  and  teachers  of  the  Frenchtown  pub- 
lic school  for  1880  were  as  follows :  Trustees,  E.  K. 
Deemy,  John  Roberson,  and  Isaac  Taylor ;  Teachers : 
S.  R.  Opdyke,  grammar  department ;  M.  F.  Kugler, 
intermediate ;  Kate  Taylor,  primary  ;  Kate  E.  Palmer, 
auxiliary ;  Eva  R.  Kugler,  select  school. 

CHURCHES. 
CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 

The  Christian  Church  of  Frenchtown  was  organ- 
ized Jan.  5,  1861.  The  constituent  members  were 
Charles  Kline,  Garret  Lair,  Sr.,  Robert  L.  Williams, 
Elijah  R.  Lair,  Sarah  Ann  Taylor,  Mary  Ann  Cawley, 
Eleanor  M.  Ojjdyke,  Thomas  Hunt,  Susanna  Sinclair, 
Hannah  Lair,  Esther  Lair,  Mary  H.  Kline,  Clarissa 
Williams,  Abraham  Slack,  and  Susanna  Matthews. 
The  following  were  then  elected  for  the  ensuing  year: 
Deacons,  Garret  Lair,  Sr.,  and  Charles  Kline  ;  Treas- 
urer, Thomas  Hunt;  Church  Clerk,  Elijah  R.  Lair. 
January  15th,  46  persons  received  the  right  hand  of  fel- 
lowship, and  were  received  into  the  church  by  Elders 
W.  Pittman  and  H.  Burnham.  April  6,  1861,  the 
following  were  elected  trustees :  David  0.  Roberson, 
for  one  year ;  Thomas  Taylor,  for  two  years ;  Abraham 
Slack,  for  three  years. 

The  ministers  who  have  served  this  church  and 
congregation  are :  Jan.  20,  1861,  Elder  J.  E.  Hayes ; 
Feb.  22, 1865,  Elder  John  C.  McGlaughlin ;  April  16, 
1867,  Elder  Ford  ;  Dec.  19,  1868,  Elder  William  H. 
Pittman;  Dec.  15,  1870,  Elder  J.  C.  Soule;  Sept.  11, 
1874,  Elder  B.  F.  Summerbell;  March  5,  1876,  Elder 
C.  A.  Beck  ;  April  11, 1877,  Elder  George  E.  Tenney; 
Jan.  16,  1878,  Elder  Jacob  Rodenbaugh,  present  pas- 
tor. The  above  dates  are  those  of  the  election  of  the 
different  elders,  and  from  one  date  to  the  succeeding 
one  is  the  term  of  service  of  each  elder. 

The  meeting-house  of  this  organization  is  located 
on  the  north  side  of  Kingwood  Avenue,  and  cost 
about  $1000. 

Present  value  of  property,  $1500 ;  present  member- 
ship, 51.  Superintendent  of  Sunday-school,  S.  R. 
Opdyke  ;  average  attendance  of  pupils,  40. 

The  present  (1880)  officers  are:  Trustees,  Simeon 
R.  Opdyke,  Charles  Kline,  Joseph  Hawk ;  Deacons, 
Charles  Kline,  William  Roberson,  S.  R.  Opdyke; 
Financial  Committee,  Alfred  Brink,  Charles  Kline, 
Mahlou  Emmons ;  Church  Clerk,  Alfred  Brink. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

When  the  first  Methodist  sermon  was  preached 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  village  of  French- 


FKBNCHTOWN  BOROUGH. 


409 


town  it  is  impossible  to  state.  Edward  Hinkle  re- 
members hearing  Rev.  Amos  Marcelius  preach  a  ser- 
mon in  a  house  on  Bridge  Street  in  1832.  No  doubt 
many  had  been  preached  here  before  this  date  by 
either  local  or  itinerant  ministers. 

The  earliest  regular  appointment  by  the  circuit- 
preachers  of  which  there  is  any  account  was  in  Mr. 
Walbert's  wheelwright-shop,  on  Bridge  Street,  where 
now  is  G.  H.  Slater's  hardware-store.  The  room  was 
also  used  by  other  denominations.  The  Methodists 
later  sought  another  room,  and  found  it  across  the 
street,  in  a  building  owned  by  Cyrenius  Slack.  Ze- 
rubbabel  Gaskill  was  the  circuit-preacher.  A  class 
was  formed  by  liim,  and  Cyrenius  Slack  was  made  the 
leader. 

The  little  society  resolved  to  build  a  church,  and  a 
board  of  trustees  was  elected,  composed  of  C.  Slack, 
A.  Silverthorn,  John  Hull,  Charles  Shuster,  John 
Eodenbaugh,  Lewis  M.  Prevost,  and  Sylvester  Cham- 
berlain.* The  lot  was  purchased  of  Hugh  Capner. 
The  church  building  was  raised  Oct.  24,  1844.  This 
was  during  the  administration  of  Z.  Gaskill.  The 
building  was  small,  with  galleries  at  the  sides  and 
end.     It  was  used  for  service  before  it  was  completed. 

During  the  pastorate  of  T.  T.  Carapfield  (who, was 
sent  to  the  newly-made  station  in  1846)  the  parsonage 
was  purchased  for  $850. 

The  church  edifice  was  greatly  enlarged  and  im- 
proved under  the  administration  of  Rev.  W.  Cham- 
berlain ;  a  basement  was  put  under  it,  the  side  gal- 
leries were  taken  down,  and  a  steeple  was  built  and  a 
fine-toned  bell  hung  therein.  The  church  was  for- 
mally reopened  Feb.  28,  1862.  Bishop  E.  S.  Janes 
officiated  in  the  morning,  and  Dr.  I.  Wiley  (now 
bishop)  in  the  evening. 

Eight  years  rolled  round,  and  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Taylor 
was  in  the  pastoral  charge.  Twenty  feet  was  added 
to  the  rear,  and  the  church  was  also  frescoed. 

The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  C.  Clarke,  Jr.,  who  re- 
mained three  years.  His  concluding  year  was  signal- 
ized by  a  revival. 

In  1874,  Rev.  H.  C.  McBride  filled  the  charge. 
Dec.  16,  1876,  Rev.  E.  M.  GriflBith,  feeling  that  his 
health  would  no  longer  permit  him  to  continue  in 
active  work,  resigned.  Rev.  P.  G.  Ruckman  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  presiding  elder  as  pastor  for  the  unex- 
pired term. 

In  1877  this  charge  was  transferred  to  Elizabeth 
District,  of  which  Rev.  Arndt  was  elder,  and  J.  H. 
Runyan  became  preacher  in  charge  of  Frenchtown. 

At  the  Conference  of  1878,  Brother  Runyan  was 
returned  as  pastor.  During  this  year  the  parsonage 
debt  of  $200  was  paid  off.  In  1879,  Brother  Rupyan 
was  returned  for  the  third  year.  At  the  Conference 
of  1880,  Rev.  T.  E.  Gordon  was  appointed  preacher 

*  Of  this  first  board  C.  Slack  is  still  living  in  the  village,  and  is  a  re- 
.'■pected  member  of  the  church ;  Silverthorn  emigrated  to  the  West ; 
Hull  resides  in  Lambertville ;  Shuster,  Eodenbaugh,  Prevost,  and  Cham- 
berlain are  deceased. 

27 


in  charge.  The  church  is  in  a  flourishing  condition, 
and  numbers  246  members. 

The  following  are  the  original  members  living  at 
this  date  (Sept.  1,  1880)  so  fiir  as  known :  Mrs.  Han- 
nah A.  Slack,  Frenchtown;  Ambrose  Silverthorn, 
Kansas;  Charles  Schimmerhorn,  Indiana;  George 
Thorne,  Trenton;  Eli  Frazier,  Pennsylvania;  Mrs. 
Caroline  Hoffman,  Lambertville ;  Martha  Conner  and 
sister,  Kingwood. 

The  officers  for  1880  are :  Preacher  in  Charge,  Rev. 
T.  E.  Gordon ;  Superintendent,  T.  S.  Dedrick ;  Local, 
D.  M.  Matthews ;  Stewards,  W.  H.  Stabler,  N.  F. 
Rittenhouse,  Eli  Swallow,  Morris  Maxwell,  D.  W.  C. 
Case,  Munson  Baldwin,  G.  W.  Hummer,  I.  O.  Smith, 
F.  T.  Miller;  Trustees,  Obadiah  Stout,  President; 
Edwin  Beidleman,  Secretary ;  D.  M.  Matthew,  Treas- 
urer ;  F.  F.  Fargo,  John  L.  Slack,  David  Robinson ; 
Superintendent  of  Sunday-school,  Morris  Maxwell ; 
Assistant  Superintendent,  0.  Stout;  Secretary,  Joseph 

C.  Hough ;   Librarian,  G.  W.  Hummer ;  Treasurer, 

D.  M.  Matthew. 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

In  1844  the  Rev.  Samuel  F.  P*ter,  then  pastor  of 
Kingwood  Presbyterian  Church,  commenced  preach- 
ing occasionally  in  Frenchtown  in  the  wheelwright' 
shop  of  Mr.  John  Walbert,  standing  on  what  is  now 
known  as  Bridge  Street.  The  result  of  this  occasional 
service  was  the  erection,  during  the  following  year 
(1845),  of  a  house  of  worship  on  what  is  now  Second 
Street.  This  building  is  at  present  used  as  a  town- 
hall.  The  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Porter  commenced  hold- 
ing stated  services  in  this  building  as  soon  as  it  was 
completed,  though  no  separate  church  organization 
was  asked  for  till  April,  1849,  when  a  petition  was 
presented  to  the  Presbytery  of  Raritan  by  certain 
members  of  Kingwood  Church  asking  for  the  organi- 
zation of  a  church  in  Frenchtown.  This  petition  was 
granted  by  the  Presbytery,  and  a  church  organized 
May  16,  1849.  The  following  are  the  names  of  the 
original  members:  Joseph  Kugler,  Maria  Kugler, 
Philip  G.  Reading,  Evalina  Reading,  Mary  Ann 
Hedges,  Thomas  Pittenger,  Mary  Pittenger,  New- 
bury D.  Williams,  Lucy  A.  Williams,  P.  Snyder 
Kugler,  Isaac  Taylor,  Eleanor  Allen,  Richard  John- 
son, Sarah  M.  Prevost,  Elizabeth  Joice,  Margaret 
Eounsavall,  Dutilda  Rittenhouse,  Abigail  Eichlin, 
Mary  Rose,  Elizabeth  Risler,  Abigail  Risler,  Eliza 
Ann  Freyling,  H.  Smith,  Margaret  Smith. 

The  following  pastors  have  served  from  the  time  of 
organization:  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Porter,  July,  1849,  till 
spring  of  1857  ;  Rev.  Joseph  Rogers,  Nov.  2, 1857,  till 
his  death,  August,  1863 ;  Rev.  J.  Davidson  Randolph, 
Jan.  31,  1864,  present  pastor. 

The  names  of  the  ruling  elders  are  as  follows:  Jo- 
seph Kugler,  from  organization  till  Jan.  23,  1863 ; 
John  Case,  October,  1849,  to  the  present;  Hugh  E. 
Warford,  Jan.  11,  1863,  till  the  present. 

The  following  have  been  trustees :  Joseph  Kugler, 


410 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Judge  Prevost,  Thomas  Pittenger,  Sylvester  Cham- 
berlain, Alfred  E.  Taylor,  Philip  G.  Reading,  John 
Case,  Andrew  M.  Prevost,  N.  D.  Williams,  H.  E. 
Warford,  0.  Worman,  P.  S.  Kugler,  William  Spear, 
H.  R.  Major,  Jonas  Melick,  Jordan  H.  Stover,  Levi 
Troxell,  Edwin  G.  Williams. 

The  first  church  building,  erected  in  1845,  was  a 
wooden  structure,  24  by  36  feet.  A  second  and  larger 
house  was  built  in  1854.  This  was  also  a  frame  build- 
ing, 40  by  60  feet.  It  was  enlarged,  handsomely 
frescoed,  and  refurnished  in  1871. 

The  growth  of  the  church  in  membership  has  been 
gradual  from  the  time  of  its  organization,  there  hav- 
ing been  some  additions  in  nearly  every  year  of  its 
history.  Several  revivals  have  been  enjoyed,  and  a 
goodly  number  added  to  the  membership.  The  largest 
addition  made  at  one  time  was  in  January,  1871,  when 
28  were  received.  The  present  membership  is  150. 
The  church  has  a  ladies'  missionary  society,  the  offi- 
cers of  which  are :  President,  Mrs.  S.  M.  Randolph ; 
Vice-President,  Mrs.  Louisa  Hoif;  Secretary,  Mrs. 
Maria  Rogers ;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  Susan  Hart. 

THE  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  prior  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  church  here  there  was  occasional  preach- 
ing by  Baptist  ministers.  At  an  annual  meeting  of 
the  New  Jersey  Baptist  State  Convention  the  .subject 
of  occupying  this  point,  in  connection  with  Phillips- 
burg  and  Belvidere,  by  an  itinerant  missionary,  was 
brought  up  for  consideration,  and  the  Rev.  J.  G. 
Penny  was  appointed,  April  1,  1859,  as  an  itinerant 
missionary  on  the  Belvidere  and  Frenchtown  field. 
Services  were  first  held  in  the  Methodist  church,  and 
later  in  the  Christian  church.  This  arrangement  was 
continued  harmoniously  until  their  own  house  of 
worship  was  erected. 

Shortly  after  entering  upon  his  labor  the  missionary 
learned  that  Daniel  T.  Rittenhouse,  a  member  of 
Kingwood  Baptist  Church,  had  pledged  the  sum  of 
$500  towards  the  erection  of  a  Baptist  edifice  in 
Frenchtown.  Brother  Penny  entered  at  once  into 
this  enterprise  with  zeal,  and  was  permitted  to  see 
the  work  nobly  advancing  before  he  retired  from  the 
field.  A  building  committee  was  appointed,  consist- 
ing of  M.  N.  Thatcher,  William  H.  Slater,  Bryau 
Hough,  D.  T.  Rittenhouse,  and  D.  C.  Robinson,  to 
whom  great  credit  is  due  for  erecting  so  good  a  house, 
in  so  convenient  a  location,  for  the  small  sum  of 
$3000. 

Rev.  Mr.  Penny  was  succeeded  here  in  the  spring 
of  1861  by  Rev.  W.  D.  Hires.  The  congregation  was 
also  very  much  increased. 

In  the  following  November  the  Rev.  A.  Armstrong 
became  pastor  of  the  Kingwood  Baptist  Church,  and 
incorporated  this  interest  into  his  pastoral  work.  The 
meeting-house  was  dedicated  Dec.  25,  1861.  The 
debt  of  $500  on  the  church  was  paid  off  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1864.     The  time  had  now  come  when  it  seemed 


desirable  for  an  independent  Baptist  Church  to  be 
formed,  which  was  done  in  the  spring  of  1866,  with 
the  following  officers  :  Pastor,  Rev.  A.  Armstrong ; 
Deacons,  M.  N.  Thatcher,  Charles  Burket,  Elisha 
Rittenhouse.  Present  membership,  138.  The  fol- 
lowing pastors  have  served :  Rev.  A.  Armstrong, 
1866-69;  S.  C.  Boston,  1870-72;  W.  H.  Shermer, 
1872-73;  W.  H.  Pease,  1873-76;  S.  S.  Woodward, 
1876-78;  W.  D.  Hires,  1878  to  present  date. 

The  present  officers  are  as  follows  :  Pastor,  William 
D.  Hires  ;  Deacons,  M.  N.  Thatcher,  Charles  Burket, 
Jacob  B.  Dairy mple ;  Church  Clerk,  J.  W.  Britton. 
Missionary :  President,  Mrs.  Mary  Dalrymple ;  Sec- 
retary, Mrs.  Awilda  Webster;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  J.  C. 
Hires. 

FRENCHTOWN    CEMETERY. 

This  is  located  within  the  borough  limits,  on  the 
ridge  of  land,  east  side  of  Cemetery  Street,  between 
the  Big  and  Little  Nishisakawick.  In  it  are  found 
the  names  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Frenchtown  and 
vicinity.  Over  the  spot  where  the  Prevosts  were 
buried  is  a  large  marble  tablet  bearing  the  following 
inscription : 

"  To  the  memory  of 

Paul  Henry  Mai.let  Pjievost 

dec<J  5th  January  1835  M  79 

Jeanne  Elizabeth  Patrt 

hiB  wife 

dec"  in  1810  M5\. 

rRANoie  Lewis  Mallet  Piievost 

his  brother 

dec!  in  1824  age  601 

All  natives  of  Geneva,  and  interred  within  a  few 

feet  of  this  spot.    This  tablet  ie  inscribed  by 

surviving  descendants  in 

1837." 

Within  a  few  feet  of  the  above  stands  a  tombstone 
inscribed  as  follows : 

"  To  the  memoi-y  of 
Frances  G.  Mallet  Prevost 

relict  of 

Francis  L.  Mallet  Prevost 

Native  of  Lubry,  Switzerland, 

decs  in  1853,  M  84. 

Among  Others  are  the  following  inscriptions:  Sam- 
uel H.  Britton,  born  Aug.  11, 1799,  died  Sept.  7, 1860 
Mary  Britton,  born  Aug.  11,  1799,  died  May  21,  1868 
Eli  Britton,  born  Aug.  9,  1829,  died  March  6,  1864, 
Dr.  George  W.  Britton,  born  Nov.  23,  1832,  died  May 
11,  1869 ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Joseph  Lair,  born  July 
28,  1805,  died  March  4,  1873;  William  Senders,  born 
Dec.  30,  1802,  died  May  8,  1876 ;  Ambrose  Fox,  died 
Sept.  27,  1876,  £et.  67 ;  Anna  Cronce,  born  Aug.  14, 
1799,  died  July  12,  1875 ;  Mary  Cronce,  born  April 
8,  1798,  died  May  3,  1877;  John  Slater,  born  Nov. 
30,  1812,  died  Nov.  22,  1874;  Mary  Ann  Slater,  born 
Dec.  16,  1817,  died  Nov.  26,  1874;  Abraham  StuU, 
born  Feb.  2,  1811,  died  Nov.  12,  1871 ;  Benjamin  Rit- 
tenhouse, died  March  8,  1874,  jet.  73;  Isaac  Hiner, 
born  Aug.  11,  1808,  died  Dec.  10,  1875;  John  Leavitt, 
M.D.,  born  Dec.  3,  1818,  died  April  4,  1876 ;  Mary  D. 


FRENCHTOWN  BOROUGH. 


411 


Opdyke,  died  Jan.  23,  1876,  set.  72;  Mary,  wife  of 
John  Cline,  born  Dec.  15,  1798,  died  April  23,  1870 ; 
John  Servis,  died  Sept.  26,  1876,  set.  76;  Gertrude 
Opdyke,  wife  of  Moses  Heath,  born  June  22,  1804, 
died  Aug.  2,  1877 ;  Samuel  Schuyler,  died  July  20, 
1879,  set.  77 ;  John  L.  Larison,  died  Oct.  3,  1826,  set. 
70 ;  Sarah,  wife  of  John  L.  Larison,  died  Oct.  2, 
1865,  set.  70 ;  Hannah  Snyder,  died  March  3,  1862, 
fet.  65 ;  William  W.  Voorhees,  died  March  15,  1875, 
fet.  60 ;  John  Eick,  died  Jan.  27,  1868,  »t.  54 ;  Amy 
Eick,  died  Oct.  25,  1872,  ffit.  54 ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Mahlon  Wombough,  died  Sept.  29,  1870,  set.  84 ;  Cor- 
nelius Hoff,  born  Sept.  20,  1805,  died  April  26,  1872 
Eliza  Hoff,  born  July  7,  1810,  died  May  26,  1866 
William  Dilley,  died  Sept.  25,  1862,  set.  71;  Amy, 
wife  of  Peter  Hann,  died  May  3,  1877,  set.  60 ;  Wil- 
liam Search,  died  June  9,  1873,  set.  84;  Thomas 
Roberson,  died  Feb.  3, 1867,  set.  78. 


SOCIETIES  AND  CORPORATIONS. 
"  Oriole  Lodge,  No.  39,  Independent  Order  of  Good 
Templars,"  was  organized  Sept.  16,  1868,  with  25 
charter  members.  The  following  were  the  principal 
officers :  W.  C.  T.,  Abel  B.  Haring ;  W.  V.  T.,  Maria 
Rogers;  W.  S.,  Ross  Slack;  W.  F.  S.,  Lewis  S.  Wil- 
liams ;  W.  Treas.,  Edwin  G.  Williams ;  W.  M.,  Charles 
S.  Burkit ;  W.  Chap.,  Rev.  John  B.  Taylor.  The  suc- 
ceeding presiding  oflBoers  have  been  Abel  B.  Haring, 
Ross  Slack,  Maria  Rogers,  Susan  E.  Risler,  Edwin  G. 
Williams,  Morris  L.  Morgan,  Jennie  Garren,  Richard 
J.  Dalrymple,  William  T.  Srope,  Lucretia  D.  Wright, 
William  C.  McPeck,  John  K.  Ashton,  Nellie  V.  Wil- 
liams, Silas  S.  Wright,  Elwood  S.  Stout,  Anna  Mor- 
gan, Henry  V.  Rogers,  Newbury  D.  Williams,  Anna 
E.  Dalrymple,  Sylvanus  D.  Slack,  T.  C.  Wood,  John 
W.  Slack,  Charles  B.  Salter,  Joseph  E.  Cook,  Hannah 
D.  Morgan,  Jennie  Pinkerton. 

This  organization  was  the  means  of  doing  a  great 
amount  of  good  in  this  vicinity,  and  had  upon  its 
rolls  at  one  time  160  members.  The  charter  was  sur- 
rendered Feb.  12,  1873. 

The  "Frenchtown  Temperance  Association"  was 
organized  Jan.  4, 1878.  The  first  officers  were :  Presi- 
dent, Rev.  James  H.  Runyou ;  Vice-Presidents,  E.  S. 
Williams,  A.  S.  Haring;  Secretary,  D.  M.  Matthew; 
Treasurer,  John  R.  Hardon. 

July  2,  1879,  the  name  was  changed  to  "  The 
Frenchtown  Temperance  Alliance,"  and  a  constitu- 
tion adopted  to  conform  to  the  Hunterdon  County 
Temperance  Alliance,  to  which  it  is  auxiliary.  The 
regular  meetings  are  held  monthly.  The  alliance  at 
present  numbers  204  members,  with  the  following 
officers  for  1880-81 :  President,  A.  S.  Haring ;  Vice- 
Presidents,  Revs.  J.  D.  Randolph,  W.  D.  Hires;  Sec- 
retary, D.  M.  Matthew ;  Treasurer,  John  R.  Hardon ; 
Executive  Committee,  W.  T.  Srope,  Esq.,  George  W. 
Hummer,  Ross  Slack,  Justus  W.  Britton,  Revs.  T.  S. 
Dedrick,  T.  E.  Gordon. 

"The  Independent  Order  of  Good  Helpers,"  auxil- 


iary to  the  Good  Templars,  was  organized  Nov.  8, 
1868.    It  existed  only  about  a  year. 

"  Orion  Lodge,  No.  56,  F.  and  A.  M.,"  was  instituted 
at  Frenchtown,  Aug.  14,  1860.  The  first  officers  were 
Rev.  George  H.  Jones,  W.  M. ;  William  H.  Slater, 
S.  W. ;  S.  K.  Risler,  J.  W.  The  Past  Masters  are 
Rev.  George  H.  Jones,  W.  H.  Slater,  G.  H.  Slater, 
Jonas  Rymond,  N.  W.  Tomson,  J.  C.  Fackenthall, 
John  L.  Slack,  Howell  Mclntyre,  A.  S.  Haring, 
Thomas  Rogan,  and  Alfred  M.  Brink. 

Since  Jan.  6,  1879,  the  sessions  have  been  held  in 
Masonic  Hall,  in  Williams'  Block.  Present  member- 
ship, 88.  The  principal  present  officers  are  Rev.  James 
H.  Runyan,  W.  M. ;  Thomas  Palmer,  S.  W. ;  Charles 
Kline,  J.  W. ;  J.  L.  Slack,  Sec. 

"  Lilly  Encampment,  No.  20,  I.  O.  of  0.  F.,"  was 
instituted  Feb.  18,  1848.  It  was  named  in  honor  of 
Dr.  Samuel  Lilly,  of  Lambertville.  The  charter 
members  were  Lewis  D.  Gray,  Scott  A.  Erwin,  Philip 
R.  Haspel,  Charles  G.  Thomas,  Thatcher  McPeck, 
Samuel  Rymond,  and  Cornelius  D.  Ruth.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1852,  it  was  moved  to  Milford. 

"  Home  Lodge,  No.  95,  Knights  of  Pythias,"  was- 
instituted  March  31,  1874,  when  seventeen  deposited 
cards  of  dimit  from  "  Evening  Star  Lodge,"  of  Milford, 
and  became  original  members  of  "  Home  Lodge."  On 
this  occasion  the  rank  of  "  Page"  was  conferred  upon 
Henry  Hagerman,  Lorenzo  S.  D.  Kerr,  William  H.^ 
Martin,  Preston  Smith,  Charles  A.  Roberson,  Justus- 
W.  Britton,  Robert  B.  Lyons,  Adam  H.  Miller,  Aaron 
B.  Majors,  George  W.  Bunn,  Henry  Hardon,  Samuel 
H.  Stabler,  Abel  B.  Haring,  Standford  Opdyke, 
Charles  Rockafellow,  William  Kitchen,  Dr.  Isaac 
Cooper,  John  S.  Curtis,  and  Daniel  Stabler. 

The  following  were  the  first  officers  elected :  Past 
Chancellor,  Garret  L.  Peer  ;  Chancellor  Commander, 
John  L.  Slack;  Vice-Chancellor,  George  W.  Bunn; 
Prelate,  William  H.  Stabler;  Master-at-Arms,  Charles 
A.  Slack ;  Keeper  of  Records  and  Seal,  William  T. 
Srope ;  Master  of  Finance,  Preston  Smith ;  Master  of 
Exchequer,  Justus  W.  Britton ;  Inside  Guard,  Henry 
Hagerman;  Outside  Guard,  Andrew  V.  Kugler;  Trus- 
tees, Charles  A.  Roberson,  William  T.  Srope,  and 
Levi  V.  Abel.  The  lodge  was  incorporated  Nov.  3, 
1875. 

The  following  are  the  Past  Chancellors :  G.  L.  Peer, 
J.  L.  Slack,  C.  A.  Slack,  A.  B.  Haring,  J.  R.  Hardon, 
P.  Smith,  W.  H.  Moser,  W.  H.  Stabler,  W.  T.  Srope, 
A.  S.  Haring,  R.  B.  Lyons,  H.  C.  Roberson,  and  H. 
Hardon.  The  regular  meetings  are  held  at  Odd-Fel- 
lows' Hall  on  the  second  and  feurth  Wednesday 
evening  of  each  month. 

"Magnolia  Lodge,  No.  57,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd-Fellows,"  was  instituted  March  20, 1847,  with  the 
following  charter  members :  William  V.  Cooley,  Fitz- 
gerald Slocum,  Charles  Roberts,  William  Logan,  Syl- 
vester R.  Chamberlin,  Uriah  Larue,  William  H. 
Slater,  Anderson  Horner,  John  Sine,  Andrew  B. 
Rounsavall,  Mershon  Roberson,   Charles  Z.  Fitzer, 


412 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


John  H.  Eoberts,  Elijah  R.  Lair,  Samiiol  B.  Iludnit, 
William  Bmith,  M'illiam  Britton,  John  Britton,  DaviJ 
C.  Roberson,  Thomas  Pitteiiger,  and  Robert  L.  Wil- 
liams. The  first  I'lectivo  olficors  were  Williiiiii  V. 
Cooley,  N.  G. ;  Fitzgerald  Slocum,  V.  G. ;  Cliarlrs 
Rol)erts,  S. ;  "William  Logan,  T. 

The  lodge  immediately  began  to  increase  in  mem- 
borship,  and  paved  the  way  to  sueeess  by  its  good 
works.  Sept.  2,  1850,  a  handsome  banner  was  pre- 
sented to  the  lodge  by  the  ladies  of  Frenchtown. 
The  presentation  was  made  by  Edward  E.  Bullock, 
and  the  reception  by  A.  V.  Van  Fleet  (now  Vice- 
Chancellor  of  the  Stale). 

During  its  existence  the  lodge  has  paid  several 
thousand  dollars  in  benefits. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Past  Grands  of  the 
lodge : 

W.  V.  Cooley,  F.  Slocum,  C.  Roberts,  A.  B.  EouiiBimill,  W.  Logon,  M. 
Roliersoii,  C.  F.  Bodiafollow,  D,  C.  Roberson,  S.  B.  Iludnit,  W.  Smith, 
W.  H,  Slater,  J.  Aijliton,  H.  H.  Sinter,  J.  A.  ('alhoun,  U.  L.  Willinnis, 
A.  G.  M.  Prevost,  S.  D.  Bnrcroft,  Dr.  D.  C.  Hough,  T.  A.  Ruiijon,  V. 
McCue,  I.  B.  Andrus,  G.  L.  Smith,  H.  W.  Carey,  M.  Ma.\uill,  J,  F. 

Lightfoot,  A.  W.  Lundy,  B.  IJougli,  D.  F.  Moore,  D.  Roberson,  B.  R. 

Bullock,  A.  S.  Haring,  W,  T.  SrojK-,  P.  F.  Opdyke,  W.Brilton,  T. 
Palmer,  J.  Hawk,  H.  S.  Mciine,  \V.  H.  Stabler,  W.  KoLprson,  S.  S. 
■Wright,  0.  A.  Slack,  D.  0.  Ilongli,  B.  J.  Dalrymple,  B.  Pliilkill,  P. 
W.  Lair,  J.  L.  Slack,  A.  B.  Haling,  G.  L.  Peer,  J.  K.  Koigbtly,  E. 
Beidelman,  R.  Slack,  Henry  lliigtMimui,  A.  H.  Miller,  R.  B.  Lyons, 
E.  G,  Williams,  J.  E.  Cook,  II.  Harden,  .1.  W.  Britton,  0.  Gordon,  P. 
S.  Kngler,  M.  E.  Sropc,  J.  B.  Lyons,  and  D.  C.  Dalryniple. 

The  lodge  stands  upon  a  firm  financial  as  well  as 
■social  basis,  and  is  composed  of  .some  of  the  best  men 
ill  Frenchtown.  Regular  meetings  are  held  every 
Saturday  evening  in  Odd-Fellows'  Hall,  over  War- 
ford  &  Moore's  store.  J.  B.  Lyons  is  N.  (>.,  and  1). 
0.  Hough  secretary. 

The  "  Daughters  of  Rebecca"  are  composed  of 
members,  with  their  wives,  of  the  IndeiiendcnK  )rder 
of  Odd-Fellows  -who  have  attained  to  the  Royal 
Purple  degree.  This  lodge  was  instituted  Fob.  28, 
1861.  The  officers  for  the  term  commencing  July  1, 
1880,  are:  N.  G.,  William  T.  Srope;  V.  G.,  Meli.ssa 
Peer;  S.,  Henry  Hardon;  C,  Sarah  Jane  Roberson; 
W.,  Robert  B.  Lyons ;  Chaplain,  William  H.  Stabler ; 
Relief  Committee,  Matilda  Slack,  Mcli.ssa  Peer, 
Amanda  Srope,  Mary  E.  Smith,  Hannah  L.  Stabler, 
and  Sarah  E.  Philkill.  The  regular  meetings  are  held 
in  the  rooms  of  "  Magnolia  Lodge,  No.  fi7,  I.  0.  of 
O.  F.,"  on  the  second  and  fourth  Monday  evening  of 
each  month. 

"Manhattan  Tribe,  No.  29,  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men,"  wa.s  instituted  Oct.  20,  1871,  with  the  fol- 
lowing charter  members :  Joseph  E.  Cook,  Daniel 
F.  Moore,  Hiram  Danley,  Garret  L.  Peer,  E.  Page 
Southwick,  A.  B.  Haring,  Henry  Loux,  John  M. 
Swope,  Henry  Hagerman,  A.  P.  Williams,  John  L. 
Slack,  Charles  Kline,  William  Silverthorn,  David  0. 
Roberson,  Levi  Troxel,  William  Roberson,  A.  S. 
Haring,  David  Curtis,  Peter  W.  Lair,  Eli  Swallow, 
Isaac  Taylor. 

The  first  principal  officers  were :  Sachem,  Joseph 


E.  (\)ok  ;  Senior  Safi'anu ire,  David  Curtis;  Junior 
Sagamore,  Charles  Kline;  Prophet,  G.  L.  I'ecr; 
Chief  of  Records,  Peter  W.  Lair;  Keejier  of  \\'am- 
pum,  D.  F.  ]\To(ire.  Tlie  successive  presiding  olli- 
cers  have  been  (!.  L.  Peer  (by  virtue  of  law  became 
the  first  past  o(lieer),  David  Curtis,  Charles  Kline, 
Eli  Swallow,  A.  S.  Haring,  Daniel  F.  Moore,  Henry 
Ijoux,  Peter  W.  Lair,  \.  B.  Il:iring,  Jluiison  liaidwin, 
Daviil  O.  Roberson,  William  H.  Stabler,  .loliii  L. 
Slack,  Henry  Hagerman,  (f.  L.  Peer. 

The  present  officers  are:  Sacdiem,  \\'illia.in  il. 
Stabler;  Senior  Sagamore,  William  Silverthorn; 
Junior  S:iganu)re,  D.  F.  Moore;  Projiliet,  G.  L.  I'eer; 
Chief  of  Records,  .\.  G.  Huring  ;  Keejier  of  Wam- 
pum, Charles  Kline.  Aleetings  are  held  every  Friday 
evening,  in  ( )dd-I'\dlovvs'  Htill.  Present  number  of 
members,  19. 

The  "  Freneblowii  P>eiiev(deTil  Society"  came  into 
existence  during  the  severe  cold  winter  of  IS7.'),  there 
being  a  scarcity  of  work  and  much  suflering  among 
the  laboring  men  of  Frenchtown.  Tlie  benevolent 
work  continued  till  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  of 
1877,  when  licttcr  limes  arrivt^d,  and  the  society  dis- 
solved. 

The  "Frenchtown  Literary  Society"  first  met  in 
the  town-hall  on  the  evening  of  Feb.  7,  ]87().  Its 
object  is  for  the  development  of  literary  and  oratori- 
cal talent,  and  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  parliamentary 
rules  and  usages.  PcU'r  S.  Kiigler  was  chosen  the 
first  president,  and  Thcuidorc  P.  Williams  recording 
secretary.  The  society  then  formed  itself  into  a,  legis- 
lative body.  III  lie  governed  by  the  same  rules  that 
govern  the  Slate  Senate  of  New  Jersey.  It  is  in  .a, 
nourishing  condition. 

The  "  Union  National  Bank"  organized  in  the 
sjiring  of  185(1,  under  the  general  banking  law,  as  the 
"Union  Bank  of  Fi^cnebtown,"  but  was  subseipiciitly 
chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  under  the 
free  banking  law.  The  original  eapitai  stock  wtia 
$100,000,  with  $85,000  paid  up.  The  liankiMg-honso 
was  located  on  Second  Street,  cast  of  Harrison,  and 
was  burned  in  (he  great  fire  of  June,  1878.  The 
original  directors  were  Henry  S.  Stov(^r,  Abraham 
Wyker,  Tobias  Worman,  Rev.  Mr.  Carhart,  Philip 
G.  Reading,  Samuel  Eckel,  Jonathan  Piekel,  Philip 
Hoff,  and  Henry  L.itt,  who  wiia  elected  jircsidont,  and 
N.  D.  Williams  casbic'r. 

May  18,  1S(;5,  the  bank  reorganized  under  the  gov- 
ernment banking  system,  with  a  capital  of  $ll;i,;(50, 
and  elected  the  following  directors:  Tobias  Worman, 
Abraham  Wyker,  Oliver  Worman,  Biiltus  Picket, 
Samuel  Trimmer,  Michael  Uhler,  Isaiab  Quimby, 
Philip  (!.  Reading,  Henry  Wood,  Robert  II.  Housel, 
Hugh  E.  Warford,  and  David  Rittciihouse.  Mr.  Lott 
remained  president  of  the  bank  till  his  death,  in  1873, 
when  Philip  (!.  Reading,  the  present  ]ircsident,  was 
elected.  Mr.  Williams  rcmiiined  cashier  until  March 
26,  1868,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  William  Stover, 
who  served  till  his  death,  Oct.  2,  1880.     A.  B.  Haring 


FRENCHTOWN  BOROUGH. 


413 


is  the  present  cashier.  The  present  directors  are 
P.  G.  Reading,  H.  E.  Warford,  I.  Brink,  W.  H.  Mar- 
tin, J.  M.  Wilson,  D.  M.  Mathew,  W.  H.  Eckel,  J. 
Williams,  and  Michael  Uhler.  They  have  a  com- 
modious and  substantial  place  of  business  in  their 
new  banking-house  on  Bridge  Street. 

The  stockholders  of  the  "  Frenchtown  Building  and 
Loan  Association"  held  their  first  annual  meeting  on 
Monday,  Jan.  15,  1866.  N.  D.  Williams  was  the  first 
president,  and  Henry  Lott  treasurer.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  the  business  of  the  association  would 
close  in  ten  years,  but  it  extended  to  thirteen. 

The  "  Alexandria  Delaware  Bridge  Company"  is 
the  corporate  title  of  the  bridge  company  at  this 
place,  which  was  incorporated  by  act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture of  New  Jersey  passed  March  5,  1841.  A  simi- 
lar act  was  passed  the  same  year  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Legislature.  The  New  Jersey  commissioners  were 
Hugh  Capner,  William  Case,  Sr.,  Lewis  M.  Prevost, 
Cornelius  Huff,  Sr.,  and  William  L.  King;  those  of 
Pennsylvania,  Joseph  M.  Cowell,  John  M.  Pursell, 
George  Wyker,  Henry  S.  Stover,  Adam  Barnets,  and 
N.  D.  Williams.  Mr.  Williams  is  the  only  surviving 
commissioner. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was  to  be  not 
less  than  $30,000,  with  a  privilege  of  increasing  it  to 
$.50,000.    The  shares  were  fixed  at  $50  each. 

At  the  firet  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  Friday, 
April  22,  1842,  Hugh  Capner  was  elected  president. 
July  22,  1842,  Henry  S.  Stover,  Joseph  A.  Holden, 
John  Williams,  and  Lewis  M.  Prevost  were  appointed 
a  building  committee. 

The  bridge  was  completed  in  the  early  part  of  1844 
at  a  cost  of  nearly  $20,000. 

The  present  board  of  officers  are  as  follows :  Presi- 
dent, Jacob  Stover;  Directors,  James  Williams,  Levi 
Ruth,  Moses  Roberson,  Ishmael  Brink,  John  D.  HofF, 
and  Runyon  W.  Bloom;  Secretary  and  Treasurer, 
Bryan  Hough. 

FRENCHTOWN'S  GREAT  FIRE. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  June  29,  1878,  a  fire  was 
discovered  in  the  bam  of  Dr.  E.  K.  Deemy,  on  Har- 
rison Street,  and  in  less  than  two  hours  six  dwelling- 
houses  and  twenty-one  business  firms  were  entirely 
burned  out,  causing  a  loss  of  over  $50,000.  The 
whole  business  portion  of  the  village  was  in  ashes.  It 
was  supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  an  incendiary. 
Among  the  business  places  destroyed  were  the  hub- 


and  spoke-mills,  the  Union  National  Bank,  bed-bot- 
tom factory,  American  Hotel  and  barns,  and  the 
Frenchtown  Press  establishment.  The  Vigilant  hand- 
engine,  belonging  to  Frenchtown,  was  soon  disabled, 
and  assistance  was  rendered  from  Lambertville  by 
Union  Fire  Company,  under  command  of  Chief  En- 
gineer Clark. 

The  distance  burned  on  Bridge  Street  was  240  feet ; 
along  Warford's  alley,  172  feet;  on  Second  Street, 
159  feet;  from  Second  to  Bridge  Street,  299  feet. 
The  burned  district  remains  unoccupied,  except 
the  new  brick  building  of  the  Union  National  Bank, 
on  Bridge  Street,  and  A.  P.  Williams'  block  of  stores, 
corner  of  Bridge  and  Harrison  Streets. 

THE  FIRE  DEPARTMENT 
of  Frenchtown  was  organized  Dec.  10,  1868,  under 
the  name  of  "  Vigilant  Fire  Engine  Company,  No.  1." 
Silas  S.  Wright  was  president,  G.  L.  Peer  foreman. 
The  Common  Council  had  a  short  time  previous  pur- 
chased au  engine  for  the  use  of  the  company. 

In  August,  1869,  the  company  disbanded,  and 
April  9,  1873,  a  new  one  was  organized,  with  the 
following  officers  :  President,  Peter  S.  Kugler;  Vice- 
President,  Charles  S.  Joiner;  Secretary,  Albert  P. 
Brink;  Treasurer,  Albert  P.  Williams;  Foreman, 
Garret  L.  Peer ;  Directors,  Silas  S.  Wright,  Munson 
Baldwin,  William  V.  Voorhees,  Isaac  H.  Wilgus; 
Engineer,  Alfred  Rpberson.  But  in  less  than  a  year 
this  company  was  numbered  with  the  things  of  the 
past,  since  which  time  Frenchtown  has  been  without 
a  fire  department,  though  one  is  much  needed. 

MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES. 
The  New  Jersey  Spoke- Works,  Fargo,  Baldwin  & 
Kachline ;  the  bending-works  of  A.  S.  Haring,  on 
Third  Street;  the  Vegetable  Fibre  Company  (W.  H. 
Stabler  superintendent) ;  the  Empire  Spoke- Works 
(N.  Shurtz  &  Co.),  and  telegraph  pin-factory  of  W. 
H.  Walrath,  on  Cemetery  Street ;  broom-manufactory 
of  R.  H.  Opdyke,  and  fanning-mill  factory  of  R.  L. 
Williams,  on  Kingwood  Avenue ;  chair-factory  of 
AVilliam  Gordon,  Sr.,  on  Harrison  Street;  carpet- 
manufacturer,  H.  M.  Palmer;  sash-and-blind  fac- 
tory, Robinson  &  Lyon,  Cemetery  Street ;  and  H.  M. 
Palmer  and  Charles  Wright,  respectively  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  carpets  and  cigars.  There 
are  also  the  grist-mill  of  D.  R.  Worman  and  the 
saw-mill  of  Worman  &  Taylor. 


ALEXANDRIA. 


Alexandria  township  was  set  off  from  Bethle- 
hem by  the  board  of  justices  and  freeholders  of  Hun- 
terdon County,  March  5,  1765.  It  was  named  after 
James  Alexander,  who.  Nor.  1, 1744,  became  possessed 
of  10,000  acres  of  land,  lying  mostly  in  this  township, 
of  the  West  Jersey  Land  Society's  great  tract.  Be- 
fore Holland  was  set  off,  this  township  contained 
31,095  acres;  since  then,  16,444  acres.  The  valua- 
tion of  taxable  property  is  rated  at  $925,770 ;  popu- 
lation, 1324. 

GEOGRAPHICAL    AND    DESCRIPTIVE. 

Alexandria  lies  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
county.  It  is  hounded  northwest  by  the  Jlusconet- 
cong  Creek,  which  separates  it  from  Warren  County  ; 
northeast  by  Bethlehem  and  Union  townships ;  south- 
east by  Franklin  and  Kingwood  townships ;  south- 
west and  west  by  the  Delaware  Eiver  and  Holland 
township. 

The  JIusconetcong  Mountain  runs  in  a  direction 
nearly  northeast  and  southwest  across  the  northern 
part;  the  southeastern  section  is  nearly  level;  the 
surface  of  the  remaining  part  is  gently  undulating, 
sloping  slightly  towards  the  southwest.  The  Wissa- 
hawkent  Creek,  a  mill-stream,  rises  from  several 
sources  in  the  northeastern  portion,  runs  in  a  south- 
erly direction,  and  empties  into  the  DelawareJ  at 
Milford.  The  branches  of  the  HakeahawkaJ  rise  in 
the  eastern  part,  run  southwesterly  through  the  cen- 
tral, and  empty  into  the  Delaware  at  Case's  saw-mill. 
The  Nississackawayll  rises  in  the  southeastern  section, 
runs  southwesterly,  and  empties  into  the  Delaware  at 
Frenchtown.  Several  branches  of  the  head-waters  of 
the  Capolon,1[  a  creek  tributary  to  the  South  Branch 
of  Earitan,  also  have  their  sources  in  the  southeastern 
part,  and  pass  out  of  the  township  at  Pittstown.     The 

*  By  Henry  Race,  A.M.,  M.D. 

^  CaUed  WicJcakawkin  in  Robert  Emley'a  field-notes  of  a  survey  in 
1747 ;  WeachahaJring  in  Allen  and  Turner's  survey  in  1749 ;  WIuU;ltaka7i  in 
Faden's  map,  1777;  Whichahawlcin  in  some  early  manuscripts;  Hakiho- 
/cake  in  Beers,  Comstock  and  Cliue's  map;  Hakiohahe  in  Cnrneira  map; 
QimqiiiLcommisBicong  in  Hughes'  map,  and  also  in  a  manuscript  of  1770. 

X  The  Delaware  is  called  Zutjdl,  or  Snutli,  River  in  Vischer's  map.  pub- 
lished about  1660,  and  in  Daniel  Leeds'  survey  of  the  Byerly  tract,  in 
1710,  SoiUh  Itieer  or  Fiah  Creek. 

g  Called  HarikokaTte  in  Cook's  map;  KakeaJiawcake  in  Hughes'  map; 
Hakeahawha  in  nearly  all  the  early  surveys  and  other  manuscripts  of 
colonial  times  in  which  it  occurs. 

li  In  the  survey  of  the  West  Jersey  Land  Society's  great  tract,  in  1711, 
it  is  called  EeBhasackaway ;  in  Faden's  map,  1777,  Nenhachackaway ;  in 
Cook's  map,  Ms/iwaftaujicfc ;  in  Beers,  Comstock  and  Cline's  map,  iWc7m- 
okawkk;  and  in  Elisha  Emley's  field-notes,  Neshaaackawick. 

%  Called  Capooaulong  in  the  survey  of  the  West  Jersey  Society's  tract, 
in  nil. 

414 


many  rivulets  which  converge  to  form  these  beautiful 
streams  meander  through  every  neighborhood  south 
of  the  Musconetcong.*-*  They  are  mostly  unfailing, 
and  afford  power  for  several  mills. 

Every  part  of  the  township  is  productive  of  wheat, 
rye,  Indian  corn,  buckwheat,  flax,  the  grasses,  and 
root-crops.  The  red-shale  soil  is  generally  more  fa- 
vorable to  wheat,  rye,  and  oats  than  to  corn,  buck- 
wheat, and  other  late  summer  crops. 

INDIAN    BURYING-GEOUND. 

In  a  survey  made  March  30, 1710,  by  Daniel  Leeds, 
"  for  Thomas  Byerly,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Proprietors  of 
the  Western  Division  of  New  Jersey,"  he  ran  along 
the  Maghaghtmeck  (Musconetcong)  Mountain  "  till 
one  come  opposite  to  the  Indian  Burying-place ;  thence 
N.  W.  through  the  said  Burying-place,  &c."  This 
latter  phrase  seems  to  imply  that  the  "  said  Burying- 
place"  was  of  considerable  extent.  Its  precise  locality 
is  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  public  road 
from  Spring  Mills  to  Hughesville,  on  land  now  be- 
longing to  Jacob  C.  Huff.  There  are  no  traces  of  it 
to  be  seen  at  present.  The  last  part  of  it  was  plowed 
over  about  twenty  years  ago.  Mr.  Henry  Huff,  an 
old  man  living  near,  remembers  that  sixty  years  ago 
it  occupied  a  large  space.  Mr.  Jonas  Wieder  dis- 
tinctly remembers  one  grave,  indicated  by  a  red-shale 
stone,  lettered  "  Chief"  It  is  presumable,  from  its 
extent,  that  this  burial-place  had  been  used  for  a  long 
time  by  the  Indians  of  a  large  scope  of  country. 

The  manner  of  making  and  marking  their  graven, 
as  remembered  by  Mr.  Huff  and  Mr.  Wieder,  was 
similar  to  that  of  white  people.  If  there  is  no  mis- 
take in  the  recollections  of  these  aged  men  respecting 
the  appearance  of  the  graves,  it  would  seem  probalile 
that  the  Delawares  of  this  section  adopted  this  mode 
after  the  first  European  immigration.  The  Indians 
generally  left  their  dead  in  a  sitting  posture  and  cov- 
ered the  graves  in  the  form  of  a  pyramid.  They  were 
very  careful  about  preserving  their  places  of  sepul- 
ture, and  often  returned  to  visit  them. 

EARLY  HISTORY. 
William  Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie,  and  Nicholas  Lucas 
were  seized,  in  trust  for  Edward  Byllynge,  of  ninety 
one-hundredth  (undivided)  parts  of  the  western  di- 
vision of  New  Jersey,  and  by  indenture  bearing  date 
March  2,  1676,  conveyed  one  of  the  said  ninety  one- 
hundredth  parts   to   Robert  Squib,  Sr.,  and   Eobert 

t'*  Musconetcong  Creek  is  called  Maghaghtmeck  in  the  return  of  Daniel 
Leeds'  survey,  1710. 


ALEXANDRIA. 


415 


Squib,  Jr.,  in  fee.  Eobert  Squib,  Sr.,  by  indenture 
dated  Nov.  10,  1686,  released  bis  estate,  and  interest 
therein,  unto  the  said  Robert  Squib,  Jr.,  in  fee. 

Edward  Byllynge,  Gawen  Lawrie,  and  Nicholas 
Lucas,  by  indenture  dated  Dec.  19,  1681,  granted  to 
Eobert  Squib,  Jr.,  in  fee,  one  other  ninetieth  part, 
■whereby  he  became  seized  of  two  ninetieths.  Being 
so  seized,  he  died,  having  first  made  a  will,  dated  July 
7,  1694,  by  which  he  devised  all  his  estate,  including 
the  two  ninetieths,  to  his  executors,  Nathan  Tilson  and 
Jonathan  Johnson,  in  trust,  to  sell  the  same,  and  to 
apply  the  money  arising  therefrom  to  the  uses  men- 
tioned in  hia  will. 

By  indenture  dated  Jan.  26,  1705,  the  above-named 
•executors  conveyed  the  two  undivided  ninetieth  parts 
to  Thomas  Byerly,  Esq.,  one-half  thereof  being  in 
trust  for  Robert  Barker,  of  Gray's  Inn. 

Thomas  Byerly,  by  indenture  dated  March  19, 1709, 
mortgaged  one  of  the  ninetieths  to  George  Clark,  "  for 
the  sum  of  1150  oz.  of  plate  silver  money,  and  the  in- 
terest thereof,  at  the  rate  of  8  per  cent." 

On  or  about  Jan.  19, 1714,  there  were  "surveyed  and 
laid  out"  to  the  said  Thomas  Byerly  2I,.363  acres,  in 
right  of  his  two  proprieties,  in  two  tracts,  situated  in 
the  county  of  Hunterdon  (on  both  sides  of  Musconet- 
cong  Creek  and  bordering  on  the  Delaware),  which 
survey  was  approved  by  the  council  of  proprietors, 
Nov.  13, 1717,  and  recorded  in  the  secretary's  office  at 
Burlington  in  Bass'  Book  of  Surveys,  and  also  in  the 
minutes  of  council,  p.  181.  Thomas  Byerly,  by  his 
will,  dated  May  26,  1725,  devised  all  his  real  estate 
within  the  province  of  New  Jersey  to  his  executors, 
Joseph  Murray  and  John  Kinsey,  in  trust,  half  to  be 
sold  and  the  other  half  conveyed  to  the  above-men- 
tioned Robert  Barker,  in  fee. 

George  Clark  exhibited  his  bill  of  complaint  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery  of  New  Jersey  to  compel  the  ex- 
ecutors of  Byerly  to  redeem  the  premises  by  payment  of 
the  aforementioned  debt.  The  executors  appeared  and 
prayed  the  Court  of  Equity  that  the  said  lands  might 
be  divided,  which  was  done  by  decree  of  the  court,  and 
two  tracts,  one  in  Hunterdon  and  one  in  what  is  now 
Warren  County,  were  directed  to  be  sold  to  discharge 
the  debt.  The  two  tracts  were  sold  at  public  sale 
Sept.  1,  1749,  and  purchased  by  ^Villiam  Allen  and 
Joseph  Turner,  of  Philadelphia,  for  £3000,  proclama- 
tion money.  The  tract  in  Hunterdon  County  con- 
tained 7308  acres ;  that  north  of  the  Musconetcong, 
1701  acres.  The  Hunterdon  tract  lies  in  what  is  now 
Alexandria  and  Holland  townships,  and  is  described 
as  follows : 

"  Beginning  on  the  shore  of  the  river  Delaware,  opposite  the  eastern- 
most point  of  a  great  rock  in  the  river;  thence  north  48°  east  di- 
viding this  laud  from  the  other  moiety  of  the  same  tract)  247  chains  to  a 
post;  thence  north  47°  west,  by  the  said  other  moiety,  1^4  chains  to 
Musconetcong  River;  thence  up  the  said  river,  the  several  courses  of  the 
same,  to  the  northeasterly  corner  of  the  said  tract  (near  Bloumsbury), 
at  a  white-oak  tree,  marked;  thence  south  35°  east  190  chains  to  a 
black -oak  tree  for  a  corner;  thence  south  39°  west  57  chains  to  an- 
other black-oak  tree  for  a  corner;  thence  south  24°  west,  thrice 
crossing  Wissahawken  Creek,  226  chains  to  a  post  for  a  corner ;  thence 


south  51°  west  67  chains  to  a  white-oak  tree  by  the  creek  last  men- 
tioned ;  thence  south  81°  west  23  chains  to  the  river  Delaware  (this 
point  is  70  chains  above  the  mouth  of  Wissahawken  Creek) ;  thence 
along  the  river  to  the  place  of  beginning,— containing  7308  acres." 

The  part  of  Sir  Eobert  Barker's  land  lying  between 
Allen  and  Turner's  (above  described)  tract  and  the 
Musconetcong  Creek  was  known  as  the  Barker  tract 
in  Hunterdon  County. 

THE  BARKER   TRACT. 

The  locality  on  the  borders  of  the  Musconetcong 
Creek  began  to  be  settled  about  1700.  In  the  field- 
notes  of  a  survey  of  this  tract  in  1710  by  Daniel 
Leeds,  for  Thomas  Bryerly,  now  in  our  possession, 
this  statement  occurs :  "  Including  the  Land  whereon 
William  Titfoot,  the  Blacksmith,  is  settled,  who  is  no 
proprietor."  The  fact  of  a  blacksmith  being  settled 
makes  it  presumptively  certain  that  there  was  also  a 
settlement  of  farmers. 

We  find  no  evidence  of  any  rents  having  been  re- 
quired of  the  settlers  on  Barker's  lands  previous  to 
1764.  William  McAdam,  of  New  York,  had  been 
appointed  attorney  for  Sir  Robert  Barker,  "to  act 
for  him  with  regard  to  his  Land  in  West  New  Jer- 
sey." He  appointed  John  Emley  as  a  local  agent, 
Nov.  25,  1764,  with  the  following  instructions : 

"  My  desire  is  that  you  may  use  your  best  endeavore,  by  gentle  and 
persuHsive  means,  to  get  the  present  livers  on  the  estate  to  come  under 
lease  for  one  year,  or,  at  most,  for  three.  ...  I  desire  that  you  may 
employ  some  proper  surveyor  to  Re-survey  the  Lands  and  Lay  them  out 
in  proper  farms,  the  corners  tc  be  well  marked,, and  as  Publicly  Ascer- 
tained as  you  can." 

In  1765  the  following  names  occur  among  Barker's 
tenants : 

Hugh  Hughes,  Jacob  Pence,  Peter  Carlings,  Tliomas  Potts,  P.  Longbury, 
Robert  Tonikins,  James  Baley,  John  Delapp,  Peter  Tinsman,  James 
Graham,  John  Martin,  James  Martin,  William  Crag  (Craig?),  Den- 
nis Pnsley  (Purcell?),  Daniel  Pusley,  Samuel  Cragg,  Thomas  Cragg, 
George  Arwin,  Robins  J.  Slack,  John  Houton,  Christopher  Smith, 
Alexander  Partrick,  Joseph  Harber,  George  Crow,  James  Stewart, 
Hans  J.  Robins,  Christopher  Smith,  Jacob  Pence,  William  Martin, 
Paul  Forgeson,  Henry  Rop,  .Toseph  Reader  (Reeder?),  John  Boon 
(Bu nn  ?),  Benjamin  Tomkins,  Peter  Cinclere  (Sinclair  ?),  Polo.  Tomer, 
Cornelius  Poling,  Widow  Poling,  Samuel  Poling,  John  Martin  Wyess, 
John  Harrison,  George  Erwin  (mill),  Mary  Gammon,  B.  M.  Farling. 

In  1767  we  find  these  additional  names  : 

Philip  Bear,  Philip  Fine,  Thomas  Riche  (Richey  ?),  Martin  Swick,  Henry 
Rose,  Junius  Swiclc,  James  Wycoff,  John  Roberts,  Jonathan  Robins, 
Mrs.  Daniel,  John  Crimer,  John  Hanton,  Baltis  Tomer,  George 
Corwine. 

In  1772,  Joseph  Harber,  tailor,  rented  "  five  acres, 
with  the  tavern-house  and  stables,  in  Barker  Town." 
In  1775  we  find  these  names  : 

Benia  Jones,  Edward  Hunt,  Abram  Clawson,  Christopher  Hynor  (Hiner  ?) 
John  Calvin,  Henry  Hill,  Abram  Covert,  James  Iliff,  Henry  Livring, 
Isaac  Cooper. 

In  1787,  Ralph  Johnson. 

The  rents  were  commonly  low,  the  tenants  agreeing 
to  make  specified  improvements,  plant  and  cultivate 
fruit-trees,  etc.  After  a  few  years  the  more  thrifty  of 
them  were  able  to  purchase  homes  of  their  own. 


416 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


THE   HAMILTON    TBAOT. 

In  1774,  Allen  and  Turner  conveyed  to  James  Ham- 
ilton, of  Philadelphia,  for  $7300,  all  that  remained 
nnsold  to  settlers  of  the  Byerly  tract.  We  find  the 
following  among  Hamilton's  tenants : 

1775. — Nathaniel  Britain,  Pitzer  John  Tomson,  Matthias  Bront,  John 

SheiTed,  Roger  Parlie,  William  Sygn  (Sine?),  C.  Horn,  

Winegardner,  Jacob  "Welsli,  Matthias  Spviglej',  Daniel  Hnnt, 
ITra.  Medler  (Metier),  John  Kanilin,  Jacob  Arnwine. 

1787. — Isaac  Bonnel,  Jacob  Bunn,  William  Hawli,  Matthias  Biakeley, 
Thomas  Carr.  Herbert  Smith,  Samuel  Britain,  John  Tomsou 
(390  acres),  Ralph  Johnson  (612  acres),  Peter  Haughawout, 
William  and  John  Medler  (Metier,  433  acres),  Isaac  Kitchen, 
Antony  Hoff  (360  acres),  Cornelius  Britain,  Henry  Laycock, 
Henry  Winegarden,  Jonah  Parks,  Koger  Parks,  L.  Chamber- 
lain (1783). 

John  Emley  was  agent  for  the  Hamiltons ;  after- 
wards—about 1800— John  E.  Forman.  By  1810  the 
last  lease  had  expired  and  the  property  all  been  sold 
except  one  farm,  which  was  purchased  by  John  E. 
Forman.  This  ^\as  the  Forman  homestead,  near 
Spring  Mills. 

THE  SOCIETY'S   TBACT. 

All  the  land  lying  south  and  southeast  of  Allen 
and  Turner's  (afterwards  Hamilton's)  tract,  and  within 
the  boundaries  of  Holland  and  Alexandria  townships, 
was  surveyed,  June,  1711,  by  order  of  Col.  Lewis 
Morris,  for  an  English  land  company  known  as  "  The 
West  Jersey  Land  Society."  This  tract  extended 
from  the  Delaware  to  the  Lamington  Eiver,  and  con- 
tained 91,89.5  acres,  with  customary  allowances. 

The  following  is  the  return  of  the  survey  of  1711,  as 
recorded  in  the  colonial  record  office  at  Burlington  : 

"Situate,  and  being  in  the  county  of  Burlington,  in  the  province  of 
West  Jersey,  beginning  at  the  north  end  of  Coshanton;*  thence  north 
to  Lamington  Falls,  on  the  North  Blanch  of  Karitan.  where  Peapack 
path  crosses  said  river  ;  thence  along  said  path  ;  thence  west  to  the  South 
Branch  of  Karitan  River ;  thence  southwest  to  Delaware  river  ;t  thence, 
as  the  river  goes,  to  where  the  SokawayJ  comes  into  the  Delaware,  to  the 
top  of  a  hill  on  the  south  side  of  the  upper  branch  of  the  Beshasakaway  ;§ 
thence  to  a  iork  of  a  run,  being  a  branch  of  Capooaulong;||  thence  down 
said  run  to  anotherfork;f  thence**  up  the  same  to  a  fork  of  the  said  run, 
to  a  hickory  sapling  by  the  old  field  of  Sekapus,  to  a  corner  near  his 
plantation  ;tt  thence  east  to  Karitan  Kiver;J+  thence  northeast  to  the 
end  of  a  run  at  tjie  foot  of  the  said  mountain  Coshanton  ;  thence  south- 
east to  Mr.  Willock's  corner." 

Nov.  1,  1744,  the  West  Jersey  Society,  by  their 
attorneys,  Joseph  Haynes  and  Jeremiah  Lattouch, 
sold  to  James  Alexander,  father  of  Lord  Stirling, 
10,000  acres  of  land,  "  with  usual  allowances,  to  be 
elected,  located,  and  chosen  in  any  number  of  par- 
cels by  the  said  James  Alexander."  The  convey- 
ance was  confirmed  by  deed  bearing  date  March  30, 

*  Cushetunk,  or  Picket's  Mountain. 

t  This  corner,  as  we  learn  from  subsequent  surveys,  was  76  chains 
above  the  mouth  of  Wissahawken  Creek. 

I  Nississakaway  ? 

i  Lesser  Nississakaway  7  This  corner,  as  we  learn  from  later  surveys, 
was  9  chains  and  60  links  below  the  mouth  of  Nississakaway  Creek. 

I)  Capolon. 

1[  Near  Ishi  Butler's  house. 

**  Southeasterly. 

tt  Land  now  belongs  to  Samuel  Stevenson.    There  was  an  Indian  vil- 
lage here. 
tt  South  Branch. 


1753,  given  by  Lewis  Johnston  and  Henry  Lane, 
attorneys  for  the  society.  The  tract  was  located  prin- 
cipally in  what  two  years  later  became  Alexandria 
township. ^^ 

Oct.  11,  1752,  Hon.  John  Stevens,  Andrew  John- 
ston, and  John  Johnston  gave  their  bonds  for  the 
sum  of  £20,000,  New  York  currency,  for  the  purchase 
of  what  remained  unsold  of  the  West  Jersey  Land 
Society's  great  tract,  comprising  about  61,000  acres, 
with  five  per  cent,  added  for  highways. 

In  December,  1752,  ^^  were  held  by  Andrew  John- 
ston, ^3-  by  John  Stevens,  ^  by  AVilliam  Alexander 
(Lord  Stirling),  ^^  by  John  Johnston,  -^  by  Thomas 
Bartow,  and  -fg  by  Francis  McEvers.  £10,000,  New 
York  currency,  were  paid  prior  to  July  22,  1761, 
when,  owing  to  diflSculties  with  claimants  for  certain 
parts  of  the  tract,  it  was  arranged  by  Lord  Stirling 
with  the  agents  of  the  society  that,  upon  the  payment 
of  £4000  sterling  in  London,  the  second  and  last  pay- 
ment of  £2000  was  to  be  made  April  16,  1762,  when 
the  bonds  should  be  canceled  and  the  property  made 
free  from  incumbrance. 

By  a  deed  of  partition  dated  Oct.  5,  1765,||||  all  the 
parties  having  right  to  the  same  "  allotted  a  part  of 
the  said  great  tract  into  15  allotments."  By  this  deed 
James  Parker  was  vested  with  three-fifteenth  parts 
of  the  whole  tract. 

According  to  a  paper  in  our  possession,  in  the  hand- 
writing of  and  signed  by  Hon.  John  Stevens,  bearing 
date  of  Oct.  4,  1766,  the  society's  tract  at  this  time 
was  held  as  follows:  Lord  Stirling,  -f^;  John  Stevens, 
T^;  ;  James  Parker,  ^  ■  executors  of  Andrew  Johnson, 
t:\  ;  Patrick  McEvers,  ^^ ;  Nathaniel  Marston,  Jacob 
Ludlow,  and  Henry  Cuyler,  ,\. 

In  1787  the  Hon.  John  Stevens  offered  for  sale  8701 J 
acres  of  land,  "  being  part  of  the  subscriber's  lands  in 
the  county  of  Hunterdon,"  situated  in  the  townships 
of  Alexandria,  Bethlehem,  Lebanon,  and  Tewksbury. 
The  tract  connected  with  his  residence  at  Lebanon 
ValleyHII  contained  about  600  acres.  This  property 
seems  to  have  been  sold  to  William  Abbott,  who  acted 
for  a  time  as  land-agent  for  the  widow  of  Hon.  John 
Stevens  and  for  his  son.  Col.  John  Stevens.*** 

In  1762-63  the  society's  lands  in  Alexandria  were 
surveyed  and  laid  put  into  farm-tracts,  draughted,  and 
numbered.  What  remained  unsold  of  Lord  Stirling's 
two-fifteenth  parts  of  the  society's  tract  in  1790  was 
sold  by  William  Lowry,  sheriff,  to  James  Parker,  who 
sold  one-half  of  it  the  same  year  to  John  Stevens  for 
£250  10s. 

EARLY  SETTLERS. 
The  following  were  citizens  of  that  part  of  Alex- 
andria belonging  to  the  society's  tract  in  1766: 


gj  See  Book  H  2d,  p.  196,  Burlington  Eecords. 

Ill  Recorded  at  Burlington,  Liber  X.  of  Deeds,  p.  47. 

Hlf  Round  Valley,  now  in  Clinton  township. 

***  For  a  part  of  the  foregoing  facts  we  are  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of 
Eugene  Cook,  Esq.,  Hobokeu,  N.  J.  See  also  a  sketch  of  John  Stevens, 
and  his  descendants,  on  page  2ri3  of  this  work. 


ALEXANDRIA. 


417 


1736.— William  Everitt,  Samuel  Everitt,  Jolin  Dillts,  William  Servos, 
Michael  Whip,  M.ittliias  Hand,  Cornelius  Vau  Sitklen,  Thomas 
Beuvers,  Jacob  Haff,  George  McKicken,  John  Queen. 

1756-06.— Samuel  Webster,  Ziba  Osmun,  John  Sager,  John  Erwin,  Thos. 
Little,  Isaac  Osmun,  Daniel  Jones,  Joseph  Gordon,  WiUiam 
Smith,  Jonah  Park,  William  Alpock,  John  Cowen,  Henry 
Krist,  John  Emlej',  John  Krist,  John  Henery,  William  Beavei-s, 
Stephen  Hoff,  Nicholas  Shipman,  Michael  Cypher,  Joseph 
Osmun,  William  Critchfield,  George  Trimble,  Leonard  Ciitzer, 
John  Bodine.         ' 

1766-92. — Joseph  Snyder,  Jacob  Miller,  John  P.  Lance,  John  Farns- 
worth,  John  Park,  Ephraim  Drake,  Aaron  Forman,  Joseph 
Beavers,  AdouijaU  Fariisworth,  Tunis  Stull,  AN'illiam  Dilts, 
John  Reed,  Conrad  Bnnn,  George  Timbler,  Joseph  Webster, 
Jr.,  John  Armstrong,  Henry  Stelle  (Stull?),  Frederic  Pickle, 
Benjamin  Jameson,  Benjamin  Drake,  William  Wires,  John 
Dilts,  Jacob  Shipman,  Absalom  llunyau,  Christopher  Skillman, 
Henry  Rockafeller,  John  Dusenbury,  John  Brunson,  Samuel 
Usselton,  Peter  Wyer,  Samuel  Huwell,  Adam  Wagoner,  Chris- 
topher Teets,  Jacob  Teets,  William  Osmun,  Jesse  Dalrymple, 
William  Murahau,  John  Rose,  Garret  Siecle,  Matthias  Woorts 
(Wurts?),  Philip  Stout,  Paul  Leonard,  Alexander  Davison, 
Samuel  Poland,  Edward  Manning,  Peter  Young,  Daniel  Prig- 
more,  Ephraim  Drake,  Fnlkert  Fulkerson,  Ghershom  Martin, 
Thomas  Biche  (Richey?),  Joseph  Howell,  Peter  Snyder,  John 
Smith,  Jacob  Homer,  Peter  Smith,  John  Perliers,  Peter  Emell, 
Daniel  Polhemus,  John  Hoffman,  Adam  Apther  (Apgar?), 
Philip  Tomer,  Tunis  Hiller,  Stephen  Yard,  Willi.am  Schuyler, 
Benoni  Heath. 

THE    OPDTKE    FAMILY. 

It  is  claimed  by  the  Opdykes  that  the  patriarch  of 
their  family  in  this  country  was  Mynheer  Gysbeet 
Opdtke,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  Dutch  col- 
ony on  Manhattan  Island.  The  marriage  register  of 
the  collegiate  church,  under  date  of  164.3,  records  the 
marriage  of  Gysbert  Opdyke,  of  Wesel,  and  Catharine 
Smith,  of  England.  They  had  three  sons,  one  of 
whom  was  Joshua.  Some  of  his  descendants  after- 
wards removed  to  West  Jersey,  and  are  supposed  to 
have  located  in  Kingwood.  The  following  is  au  out- 
line of  the  second  to  the  seventh  generations  : 

Second  and  Third  Generations. — Not  ascertained.  If  Joshua  Opdyke,  of 
Kiiigwood,  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  above-named  Gysbert  Opdyke, 
it  is  obvious  that  two  generations  at  least  must  have  intervened. 
In  1790,  Joshua  was  a  delegate  from  Kingwood  Baptist  Church  to  an 
Annual  Association.*  Assuming  that  he  was  seventy  years  old  at  that 
time,  bis  birth  must  have  occurred  in  1720,  which  would  have  been 
seventy-seven  years  after  Gysbert's  marriage. 

Fnurtft  Gejieraiion.- Joshua  Opdyke,  supposed  to  have  been  a  great- 
giandson  of  Gysbert,  settled  on  the  Biles  tract,  in  Kingwood,  a  short 
distance  northeast  of  Barbertown.  From  fleld-notes  of  a  survey  by  Dr. 
John  Bockhill,  made  in  April,  1703,  we  learn  that  his  farm  bordered  on 
Mud  Eun,  and  was  contiguous  to  that  of  Joshua  Waterhouse.  He 
married  Anna,  daughter  of  Samuel  Green,  who  lived  at  one  time  near 
Juhnsonsburg  (Log  Jail),  in  Sussex  County.  He  had  three  sons— Luther, 
Bichard,  and  Benjamin — and  seven  daughters. 

Flflh  Seneroiion.— Luther  Opdyke,  son  of  Joshua,  was  born  March  29, 
17.')0.  He  married  Euth  Hall,  by  whom  he  had  six  sons— George,  Dec. 
6, 1773 ;  Joseph,  Feb.  22, 1775  ;  Amos,  Oct.  20, 1781 ;  Luther,  May  9, 1784 ; 
James,  died  young;  Hall,  Aug.  18, 1792— and  two  daughters,— Rebecca, 
N  IV.  1, 1778,  and  Gertrude,  Deo.  19, 1788.  After  the  decease  of  his  wife 
Ruth,  he  married  a  Mrs.  Sinclair  ;  and  after  her  death  he  married  Mary 
Dalrymple.  He  lived  many  years  in  Kingwood,  and  then  removed  to 
Alexandria,  in  which  he  owned  several  farms.  He  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  about  fifty  years. 

Eichard  Opdyke,  son  of  Joshua,  married  Grace  Thatcher.  They  had 
twelve  children. 

.SteWi  Generation  (Partial).- George  Opdyke,  son  of  Luther,  lived  in 
Kingwood.  He  had  five  sons- Joseph,  George  (mayor  of  New  York), 
John,  Horatio,  Stont^-and  four    daughters,- Sarah,  married  Christie 


*  See  Minutes  of  Philadelphia  Baptist  Associalion. 


Little ;  Gertrude,  married  Moses  Heath ;  Niincy,  married  John  Scott ; 
and  Fannie,  married  John  Carrel. 

Joseph  Opdyke,  son  of  Luther,  married  Fannie,  daughter  of  l^athaniel 
Britton,  and  had  two  sons — John  B.  and  Luther — and  one  daughter, 
Hannah,  married  Samuel  Calvin. 

Amos  Opdyke,  son  of  Luther,  married  Rebecca  Bellis.  They  had  four 
sons— Samuel,  .\ng.  23, 1807 ;  John  Bellis,  Oct.  4, 1812  ;  Manning  Force, 
July  24,  1810,  died  young;  Sylvester  Hill,  June  22,  1828,  died  Oct.  21, 
1880— and  two  daughters,— Elizabeth,  June  20,  1821,  and  Phffibe,  Nov. 
28, 1824,  died  young.  Amos  Opdyke  lived  in  Alexandria,  near  Everitts- 
town. 

Luther  Opdyke,  son  of  Luther,  married  Phosbe  Bellis.  They  had  five 
sons — Lewis,  Isiuic,  Amos,  Samuel,  and  Sylvester — and  three  daughters, — 
Rebecca,  Gertrude,  married  John  Kipp,  and  Fannie.  They  lived  near 
Evei-ittstown,  in  Alexandria,  and  about  lS2o  removed  to  Waterloo,  Seneca 
Co.,  N.  Y. 

Hall  Opdyke,  son  of  Luther,  married  Annie  Hortman.  They  had  four 
sons- Albert,  Enoch,  Samuel,  and  Levi— and  four  daughters, — Christiana, 

deceased ;  Elizabeth,  married  Wholston  Vanderbelt ;  Mary,  married 

Eunyon  ;  and  Fannie,  married  Hiram  Vancamp.     They  lived  at  Nissis- 
sackaway  (Wilson's  Mill),  in  Alexandria. 

Eichard  Opdyke,  son  of  Eichard,  had  three  children,— Peter  F.,  lately 
deceased;  Selenda,  married  William  Conner,  removed  to  Illinois;  and 
Deborah,  married  Sidney  Yard,  deceased.  Eichard  Opdyke  lived  in  King- 
wood,  near  Barbertown. 

Seventh  Generation  iPiirtial). — John  Opdyke,  son  of  George,  married 
Esther  Little.  They  had  four  sons— Christie  Little,  George  O.,  Stacy, 
and  John  Scott- and  two  daughters,— Eachel  Little  and  Mary.  They 
lived  at  Shiloh,  Ohio. 

Horatio  Opdyke,  son  of  George,  married  Catharine,  daughter  of  Thom.-Ls 
Eobeson.  They  have  had  eisht  children,— Christie  Osmun,  John  (de- 
ceased), Henrietta  Race  (deceased),  Joseph,  T-ncy  Ann,  Adelaide,  Rachel 
(deceased),  and  Abraham  Lincoln.     They  live  in  Kingwood. 

John  Britton  Opdyke,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Emetine,  daughter  of 
William  Eobeson.  They  had  eight  children,- Henry  Holcomb  (deceased), 
William  E.,  Joseph,  George,  John,S.arah  Robeson  (married Lam- 
bert), Jane  (married Locke),  and  Lizzie.    John  B.  and  his  wife  are 

both  deceased. 

Luther  Opdyke,  son  of  Joseph,  represented  his  district  in  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly  in  1850  and  1851.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
John  Little.    They  are  both  deceased.    They  left  one  son,  Wilson. 

John  Bellis  Opdyke,  son  of  Amos,  has  been  married  three  times.  His 
first  wife  was  Nancy,  daughter  of  Thomas  Robeson.  They  had  four  sous 
—Samuel,  June  17,  1832;  Hiram  Dalrymple,  J.in.  21, 1835,  a  Methodist 
clergyman;  Thomas  Eobeson,  Nov.  21, 1830;  and  Amos,  April  29, 1841— 
and  one  daughter,— Mary  Elizabeth,  born  Nov.  17,  1838.  His  secojid 
wife  was  Rachel,  daughter  of  Tunis  Eicke.  They  had  one  daughter, 
Eachel  Ann,  born  Feb.  28, 1846.  His  third  wife  is  Mary,  daughter  of 
John  Case.  They  have  two  sons — Jeremiah  W.,  Dec.  9,  1848,  and  Stan- 
ford, March  12, 1852- and  one  daughter,  Celia,  born  Oct.  9, 1869.  They 
live  near  Everittstown,  in  Alexandria  township. 

Elizabeth  Opdyke,  daughter  of  Amos,  and  wife  of  Jeremiah  Wright, 
has  two  children,— Sylvester  H.  and  Mary  Frances,  wife  of  Eev.  Wil- 
liam S.  Galloway,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Eev.  Sylvester  Hill  Opdyke,  son  of  Amos,  married  Lizzie  Morey,  of 
Bloomfleld,  111.  He  left  four  children,— Livingston  Atwood,  diaries 
Pomeroy,  George,  and  Florence.  Mr.  Opdyke  gradiiated  at  Wesleyan 
University,  and  in  theology  at  Union  Theological  Seminary.  He  held  a 
prominent  position  in  tlie  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
He  died  at  Newton,  N.  J.,  Oct.  21, 1880. 

Albert  Opdyke,  son  of  Hall,  married  a  daughter  of  Tunis  Eicke.  She 
is  deceased.  He  has  several  children  of  both  sexes.  He  lives  in  Alex- 
andria, not  far  from  Mount  Pleasant. 

Enoch  Opdyke,  son  of  Hall,  married  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Cronce, 
and  has  several  children.  His  wife  is  deceased.  He  lives  at  Everitts- 
town. 

Samuel  Opdyke,  son  of  Hall,  married  Emma  HoUister.  He  died  sev- 
eral years  ago,  leaving  two  sons. 

Eighth  Generation  (Pmiiai).- Samuel  Opdyke,  son  of  John  Bellis  Opdyke, 
married  Mary  Ann  Queen,  and  lives  in  Mount  Pleasant. 

Eev.  Hiram  D.  Opdyke,  son  of  John  B.,  married  Sarah  Almenia  New- 
man, and  has  three  children,— Arthur,  Ada,  and  Edmund  Janes. 

Thomas  E.  Opdyke,  son  of  John  B.,  married  Mary  Sharp,  and  has 
three  children,— Alice,  Jay  Sheridan,  and  Ella. 

Jeremiah  W.  Opdyke,  son  of  John  B.,  married  Amelia  M.,  daughter  of 
Oliver  Vescelius,  of  Fairmount,  Tewksbury  tow-nship,  in  this  county. 
They  have  two  children,- Bay  and  Edna.    They  live  in  Frenchtown. 


418 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JEESEY. 


Stanford  Opdyke,  son  of  John  B.,  married  Emily  Caroline,  daughter  of 
Jacob  Henry.  They  have  two  children, — Mary  and  Gj^sbert.  They  live 
in  Alexandria,  near  Everittstown . 

THE   CASE  FAMIIY. 

John  Case  lived  and  died  on  a  farm  now  occupied 
by  John  L.  Case,  near  Clover  Hill,  in  this  county. 
He  had  ten  children, — five  sons  and  five  daughters. 
The  sons  were  William,  John,  Jacob,  Peter,  and  God- 
frey ;  the  daughters,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Margaret, 
Charity,  and  Catharine.     The  descendants  are : 

Second  Generation. — Jacob  Case,  aon  of  the  foregoing  John,  had  two 
eone, — Anthony  L.  and  John  L., — and  also  daughters.  He  lived  on  the 
homestead  after  his  father's  decease. 

John  Case  lived  near  his  brother  .Tacob,  and  had  sons  and  daughtere. 
William  Case  lived  in  Alexandria,  and  had  three  sons — John,  Chnsto- 
pher,  and  Mahlon — and  two  daughters, — Mary,  wife  of  Daniel  Marsh, 
and  Margaret,  wife  of  Levi  Mettler. 

Peter  Case  lived  in  Alexandria,  and  had  three  sons — Daniel,  Henry,  and 
Godfrey— and  one  daughter,  EUmbeth. 

Godfrey  Case  lived  in  Alex.andria,  and  had  two  sons — Levi  and  John — 
and  four  daughters,— Mary,  wife  of  William  Drake ;  Margaret,  wife  of 
William  Besson;  Catliarine,  wife  of  Spencer  Alpangh;  and  Susan,  wife 
of  Henry  Eckel. 

{William,  Petei-,  and  Godfrey  lived  near  one  another  on  the  road  from 
Everittstown  to  Milford.) 

Mary  Case  uiarrietl  Peter  Blnom,  who  lived  near  Mount  Pleasant. 
Elizabeth  Case  lived  in  Bethlehem  township,  and  left  a  son  and  two 
daughters. 

Margaret  Ciuse  married  David  Stem,  who  lived  in  Warren  Co.,  N.  J., 
liiar  Easton.    She  left  sons  and  daughters. 

Charity  Case  married  Lewis  Rope,  who  lived  in  Pennsylvania,  not  far 
from  Easton.    She  left  sons. 

Catharine  Case  married  John  Case,  a  distant  relative,  who  lived  near 
Pattenburg,  in  this  county.  She  left  three  sons,- Henry,  Godfrey,  and 
John. 

Third  Generalbn.—John  Case,  son  of  the  foregoing  Godfrey,  and  grand- 
Bon  of  John, — to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  much  of  the  material  of  this 
sketch,— married  Eliza,  daughter  of  Elijah  Bittenhouse,  and  has  three 
sous,— Elijah  B.  Case,  C.E.,  Levi  W.  Case,  A.M.,  M.D.,  and  Joseph  Case. 
He  lives  at  Case's  Saw-Mill. 

Levi  Case  married  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Bunn,  and  has  one  son— Whit- 
field—and  two  daughters,— Elizabeth  and  Lucy.  He  lives  on  the  home- 
stead-farm, near  Milford. 

Margaret  Case  (deceased),  wife  of  William  Besson,  had  two  sons— John 
Besson,  attorney-at-law,  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  and  Samuel  Austin  Besson,  A.M., 
attorney-at-law,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.— and  three  daughters,— Elizabeth, 
Hannah  (deceased),  and  Frances. 

Catharine  Case,  wife  of  Spencer  Alpaugh.has  three  daughters,- Mary, 
Adella,  and  Camella.     Tliey  live  at  Little  York,  in  this  county. 

Susan  Case,  wife  of  Henry  Eckel,  has  one  daughter,- Lydia,  wife  of 
Dr.  William  Kice,  of  Trenton,  N.  J.  Henry  Eckel  and  wife  live  at 
Frenchtown,  N.  J. 

Godfrey  Case  (deceased),  son  of  Peter  and  grandson  of  John,  married 
Sallie,  daughter  of  Daniel  Curtis.  They  had  four  children,- Samuel, 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Samuel  Worthington,  Peter,  and  Mary  M.artha,  wife 

of Mathis. 

Henry  Case  (deceased),  son  of  Peter,  married  Torhis.    They  had 

two  sons,— Vorhis  and  Wliitficld. 

John  Case  (deceased),  son  of  William  and  grandson  of  John,  was  mar- 
ried twice.  His  first  wife  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Hoff.  By 
this  marriage  they  had  three  sons— William,  John  F.,  and  Jeremiah  H. 
—and  three  daughters,— Mary,  wife  of  .lohn  B.  Opdyke;  Anne,  wife  of 
Jonathan  Kugler;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  William  Wilson.  His  second 
wife  was  Amy,  daughter  of  William  Hoff.  By  this  marriage  they  had 
one  son— Eli— and  two  daughters,— Catharine,  wife  of  Holloway  H. 
Hewitt,  and  Margaret,  wife  of  Wilson  Silverthorn. 
Christopher  Case  (deceased),  son  of  William,  had  two  wives,— Catharine 

Eupel,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  -William,  and  Case,  by  whom  he 

had  one  daughter,  Annie,  and  three  sons,  George,  Peter,  and  Christopher. 

THE   ECKEL   FAMILY. 

Heineich  Haeckel  came  from  Germany  about 
1750,  and  settled  at  Hellertown,  Pa.     The  name  soon 


became  corrupted  to  Eckel.  A  son  of  his,  John 
Eckel,  married  Mary  Harpell,  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
about  1780  came  to  Alexandria  and  settled  on  the  farm 
at  Mount  Pleasant  on  which  Jacob  Eckel,  a  great- 
grandchild, now  resides.  John  and  Mary  had  five 
children, — Henry,  Philip,  John,  Mary,  and  Hannah. 

Henry  Eckel,  son  of  John,  Jiad  nine  children, — 
Aaron,  John,  Eliza,  Fanny,  Peter,  Mary  Ann,  Henry, 
Samuel,  and  George.  Philip  died  young ;  John  had 
seven  children, — Samuel  C,  Sarah,  Jordan,  Hannah, 
Selinda,  Amaudus,  and  Elizabeth;  Mary  married 
Isaac  Mathews,  of  West  Amwell,  in  this  county  ; 
Hannah  married  Pierson  Baker,  of  Mercer  County. 

Peter  Eckel,  son  of  Henry  and'  grandson  of  John, 
married  Sarah  Welch,  by  which  marriage  there  were 
two  daughters, — Elizabeth  and  Ellen.  After  her  de- 
cease he  married  Emma,  daughter  of  David  and  Eliz- 
abeth Eiockafeller.  They  had  two  children, — Laura 
J.  and  P.  Judson  Eckel.     They  live  in  Alexandria. 

Henry  Eckel,  son  of  Henry,  married  Susan,  daugh- 
ter of  Godfrey  Case.  They  had  two  children, — Lydia 
and  Levi.     They  live  in  Frenchtown. 

CIVIL  LIST. 
This  list  is  necessarily  imperfect,  as  earnest  search 
and  persistent  inquiry  fails  to  develop  any  of  the  town 
records  farther  back  than  the  year  1860. 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDEKS. 
1766-70,  William  Everitt;  176G-74,  Henry  Stoll;  1774,  John  Emley;  177.5, 

John  Emley,  Henry  Stoll ;  1784,  Henry  Stoll  (moderator), ; 

1787-89,  John  Brink,  William  Lowry;  1790,  Thomas  Lowry,  John 
Brink;  1791,  Thomas  Lowry,  John  Emley;  1792,  Thomas  Lowry, 
Adam  Leonard;  1793,  Thomas  Lowry,  Joseph  Chamberlain;  1794, 
Thomas  Lowry,  Benjamin  Wright ;  1795-96,  Heniy  Gulick,  Benja- 
min Wright  ;■*  1800,  David  Everitt,  William  Godley. 

We  are  indebted  to  William  T.  Srope,  Esq.,  for  the 
following  list  of  officers,  copied  from  his  private  col- 
lection of  historical  material : 

TOWN  COMMITTEES. 
1841-43,  Willi.amVliet;  1841,  Robins  Smith,  William  W.  Case;  1841-43, 
Jonas  Thatcher;  1841,  James  Dalrymple;  1S42-43,  Jonathan  Pickel, 
William  Fleming,  Solomon  Weider;  1861,  John  E.  Case;  1861-.54, 
John  H.  SincLair,  Henry  Kels  ;  1861-59,  George  Hice  ;  1851-52,  Wil- 
liam S.  Hartpence  ;  1852-53,  John  Slater ;  1853-58,  Peter  A.  Bloom  ; 
1863-54,  Peter  Eckel ;  1855-56,  John  Kugler;  1855,  Levi  Case,  Moses 
Eohhins;  1S57,  Cornelius  Hoff,  John  Weider;  1858-69,  Joseph 
Ilyers;  1859-07,  Benjamin  Wright ;  1869-60,  Bateman  Stout ;  18-59, 
Christopher  Stariier ;  ISGO,  Francis  B.  Hager,  Jonathan  Kugler, 
Benjamin  G.  Pursell;  1861,  William  H.  Dawes,  Joseph  C.  Wright; 
1862-75,  William  Bunn;  1862-76,  George  W.  Bonnell;  1862,  David 
McCrea;  1863-72,  John  Weider;  1863-66,  Baltis  Pickel;  1868-71, 
Charles  Shuler;  1808-70,  Jacob  Hager;  1868-69,  Richard  Bloom; 
1871-73,  James  M.  Duckworth ;  1872,  Philip  S.  Hawk  ;  1873,  Samuel 
Willson,  Jacob  Bunn;  1874-80,  William  J.  Duckworth;  1874-77, 
Daniel  R.  Hill ;  1876-77,  Aaron  Matthews;  1877-79,  Samuel  Stout; 
1877-78,  Charles  Bockafeller;  1878,  John  Cole,  George  W.  Hager; 
1879-80,  Hiram  W.  Cronce;  1880,  Samuel  B.  Dalrymple. 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
1841-48,  Wholston  Vanderbelt ;  1849,  Jonathan  Pickel ;  1850,  Wholstcin 
Vanderhelt;  1861-62,  Henry  F.  Vannortwick;  1853,  William  C.  Al- 
pangh;  1864,   Hiomas  A.  Runyan;    18.55-66,  Peter  Cole;   1867-69, 
James  H.  Murphy;  1860,  Aaron  Matthews;  1861,  James' N.  Hice; 


«  The  chosen  freeholders  from  1800  to  1880  are  given  on  page  264  of 
this  work,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 


ALEXANDRIA. 


419 


1862-63,  Peter  C.  Bloom ;  1864,  MoaeB  K.  Everitt ;  1865-66,  James  H. 
Murphy;  1867,  James  N.  Hice  ;  1868-75,  Charles  Alpaugh  ;  1876-80, 
William  fionnell. 

ASSESSORS. 

1840-41,  Jonathan  Piokel ;  1842-43,  George  V.  Alpaugh ;  1860,  Samuel 
Stout;  1851,  Wholston  Vanderbelt ;  1852-53,  Lemuel  B.  Myers;  1854, 
William  A.  Huff;  1865-58,  Samuel  Stout;  1869-61,  Joseph  M.  Pickel ; 
1862-64,  Cliarles  Alpaugh;  1865-67,  Aaron  Matthews;  1868-70, 
Thomas  E.  Opdyfce;  1871-73,  William  Bonnell ;  1874-76,  Andrew  J. 
McCrea;  1877-80,  William  D.  Bloom. 

COLLECTOES. 
J 841-43,  George  Hice;  1850,  George  G.  Lunger;  1851-52,  John  B.  Op- 
dylce ;  1863,  Aaron  Root ;  1854-56,  Matthias  Bunn ;  1867-59,  Peter 
■Cole ;  1860-62,  James  H.  Murphy ;  1863-69,  Charles  Warford  ;  1870- 
72,  John  Hackett ;  1873,  Charles  Warford ;  1874-75,  Thomas  R.  Op- 
dyke  ;  1876-80,  William  T.  Bloom. 

SCHOOLS. 

"  Old  Churck"  District  (No.  31)  is  one  of  the  oldest 
in  the  present  limits  of  the  county.  The  school-house 
stood  originally  on  a  lot  situated  on  the  corner  now 
occupied  by  Joseph  Everitt,  in  Frantlin  township. 
The  lot  contained  half  an  acre  of  land,  and  helonged 
to  the  farm  which  John  Emley,  Sr.,  had  bought, 
March,  1737,  of  Robert  Strettel,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
conveyed,  Jan.  1,  1755,  to  his  son,  Elisha  Emley. 
We  have  an  old  lease  for  this  lot,  found  among  the 
papers  of  Jacob  Kace,  Sr.,  deceased,  from  Elisha 
Emley  to  John  Emley,  Sr.,  John  Emley,  Jr.,  Jacob 
Large,  Robert  Large,  Harm  anus  Kester,  and  James 
Willson,  bearing  date  May  1,  1756,  the  language  of 
which  implies  unequivocally  that  a  school-house,  as 
well  as  "  habitation"  for  a  teacher,  had  already  been 
built.  How  long  they  had  been  in  use  we  can  only 
conjecture,  but  we  feel  assured  that  the  inhabitants 
provided  school  privileges  for  their  children  as  soon 
as  practicable  after  settling  in  the  neighborhood. 
This  was  about  1730. 

In  an  old  account-book  of  Dr.  Samuel  Willson's, 
under  date  of  1752,  we  find  two  charges  against 
"  William  Rennels"  and  "Rennels  the  schoolmaster," 
from  which  we  infer  that  William  Reynolds  was  the 
teacher  at  that  time.  Towards  the  close  of  the  century 
William  Bradreth,  familiarly  spoken  of  in  the  tradi- 
tions of  fifty  years  ago  as  "  Old  Bradreth,"  taught 
there;  after  him,  "Old  Master  (William)  Teeple." 
After  Teeple,  Miss  Sarah  Curtis  taught.  She  is  still 
living,  the  widow  of  Samuel  Stout,  and  mother  of 
Bateman  Stout. 

The  lease  for  one  square  chain  of  this  school  lot 
was  renewed  June  18,  1799.  It  was  given  by 
Jacob  Race,  who  then  owned  the  farm  to  which  it 
belonged,  to  Samuel  Kester,  Samuel  Willson,  Thomas 
Hoff,  Benjamin  Kester,  Ichabod  Oliver,  Samuel 
Stout,  William  Large,  William  Quick,  William 
Brewer,  George  Fritts,  John  Large,  John  Little, 
Robert  Little,  Samuel  Webster,  Joseph  Webster,  and 
John  Hull,  in  "  consideration  of  the  sum  of  sixty 
cents."  The  lease  was  for  sixty  years.  The  writer 
remembers  accompanying  an  elder  sister  one  day  to 
the  school-house  when  Miss  Sarah  Curtis  was  teacher. 


It  was  of  logs,  and  stood  thirty  or  forty  yards  from  the 
road-corner.     This  must  have  been  in  1818. 

In  1806  there  seems  to  have  been  disaffection  to- 
wards the  school,  or  its  location,  for  there  was  an  at- 
tempt to  open  another  in  the  part  of  the  district  where 
the  present  house  stands.  We  have  a  school-teacher's 
"  article,"  binding  the  teacher,  Elijah  Allen,  to  teach 
school  for  six  months,  "  in  the  Old  Church  adjoining 
Cornwall  Farm,"  for  $3.50  per  quarter  for  each  scholar. 
The  subscribers'  names  appended  pledged  19  scholars. 
It  is  not  probable  this  school  was  ever  taught,  for  the 
$11  a  month  was  insufficient  pay,  and  there  is  nothing 
said  in  the  subscription  about  "boarding  'round." 

In  1818  the  school-house  was  removed  to  its  present 
site,  near  St.  Thomas'  church.  The  teachers,  after 
the  removal  of  the  house,  as  far  as  known  by  the 
writer,  were  Peter  Lennard,  John  Risler,  and  James 
Hughes.  Hiram  Hubby,  from  Massachusetts,  taught 
four  quarters  ;  then  Peter  Lennard  again,  followed  by 
Patrick  I.  Quirk,  Asher  Bonham,  Jacob  Bloom,  Wil- 
liam A.  HuflF,  George  Elicott,  David  Rittenhouse, 
Emley  Bellis,  John  L.  Tinsman,  Henrietta  Ambler, 
Ruth  Elizabeth  Robeson,  and  several  others  whose 
names  cannot  be  ascertained. 

The  writer  began  the  "pursuit  of  knowledge"  at 
this  old  log  school-house  in  his  sixth  summer.  The 
benches  were  made  of  slabs,  and  had  no  backs.  We 
were  kept  in  school  eight  hours  a  day,  including  two 
recesses  of  fifteen  minutes  each,  and  had  two  hours 
"  noonspell." 

In  1860  the  old  log  house  gave  way  to  the  present 
building,  which  is  a  good,  substantial  structure.  The 
teachers  whose  names  are  remembered  are  Jeremiah 
O.  Hoff",  now  a  practicing  physician,  Miss  Catharine 
Rittenhouse,  Joseph  P.  Stout,  Holloway  W.  Bellis, 
and  Miss  S.  Jennie  Sutton. 

The  trustees  are  John  L.  Tinsman,  district  clerk, 
Joseph  P.  Stout,  and  Sylvester  Dalrymple  ;  number 
of  children,  50 ;  public  money,  $315.37. 

In  "Pittstown  District"  (No.  30)  the  first  school  of 
which  we  have  any  reliable  knowledge  was  kept  in  an 
old  building  directly  in  the  rear  of  the  present  hotel. 
This  building  was  in  a  state  of  advanced  dilapidation. 
Where  the  school  was  previously  kept  is  not  known. 
Rev.  John  Hanna,  who  came  to  Pittstown  in  1761, 
sometimes  had  a  number  of  pupils  under  his  instruc- 
tion, but  never,  as  we  ai-e  aware  of,  a  district  school. 
Steven  Albro  was  the  first,  so  far  as  learned,  who  taught 
in  the  old  house.  James  Hughes  was  teacher  in  1813 ; 
then  came  Nathan  Wakefield. 

In  1822  a  house  was  built  near  the  cross-roads  east 
of  Pittstown,  on  land  belonging  to  Edward  A.  Rock- 
hill,  Esq.  Nathan  Wakefield  was  the  first  teacher  in 
the  new  house,  then  Sela  Hanford,  Jacob  Pittenger, 
Jacob  Bloom,  Robert  Mickel,  Patrick  I.  Quirk,  Mar- 
garet Opdyke,  and  William  Loder. 

In  1832  or  1833  another  house  was  built,  on  land  of 
Mr.  Larason  Stryker,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hickory 
Road,  one  mile  from  the  village.     The  trustees  at  the 


420 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


time  this  house  was  erected  were  Moses  A.  Taylor, 
Jacob  Stires,  and  John  Trimmer.  The  teachers  were 
"William  Grant,  James  Pine,  George  Slack,  Thomas 

Thomas,  •  Tozier,  Washington  Hope,   William 

Godley, Dewees,  William  Kennedy,  William  E. 

Mattison,  now  a  physician  in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J., 
Jacob  Race,  and  Isabella  Probasco. 

In  1854  the  present  building  was  erected,  at  a  cost 
of  $800.  It  is  a  frame,  21  by  34  feet.  The  teachers 
have  been  William  B.  Labaw,  now  a  physician ; 
Pliram  B.  Opdyke,  now  a  Methodist  clergyman  ;  Oli- 
ver H.  Huffman,  Esq.,  a  graduate  of  Eutger.i  College; 
Oran  Landers,  Edwin  Combs,  Nathan  Solomon,  0. 
Herbert  Sproul,  now  a  physician  at  Stockton,  in  this 
county ;  John  Fleming,  Miss  Lydia  Frace,  William 
T.  Stires,  Miss  Esther  Dalrymple,  George  N.  Best, 
1869,  now  a  physician  at  Eosemont,  in  this  county ; 
Miss  Esther  Dalrymple,  1869 ;  Sylvester  H.  Wright, 
Miss  Susan  E.  Burd,  1870;  George  N.  Best,  Miss 
Susan  E.  Burd,  Erastus  S.  Bloom,  1871 ;  Miss  Kate 
Miley,  1872;  Miss  Susan  E.  Burd,  1873;  Miss  Mary 
W.  Lippincott,  1874;  Miss  Emily  McCrea,  1875; 
Julius  Johnson,  Jos.  S.  Fauss,  1876  ;  Miss  Annie  B. 
Cregar,  1877  ;  Julius  Johnson,  Miss  S.  Jennie  Sutton, 
1878 ;  Miss  Sadie  A.  Banghart,  1879 ;  HoUoway  W. 
Bellis,  1879-80. 

The  present  trustees  are  John  Probasco,  district 
clerk.  Beavers  Fritts,  and  William  Young.  There 
are  81  scholars  in  the  district  between  the  ages  of  five 
and  eighteen,  and  the  public  money  is  $324.91. 

The  history  of  "  Little  York,"  No.  24,  dates  back 
to  1809.  William  A.  Huff,  Esq.,  now  deceased,  in  a 
letter  to  Eev.  C.  S.  Conkling,  copied  in  his  centennial 
report,  says, — 

"  About  1809  the  people  of  Little  York  conceived  the  idea  of  organ- 
izing a  school  for  that  neighborhood,  bnt  they  had  no  house.  In  looking 
aro\ind  they  found  an  old  deserted  building,  on  what  was  called  the  Hyde 
lot.  This  was  fitted  up  as  a  school-house,  and  William  Lee,  au  .aged 
Irishman,  employed  .is  teacher.  I  was  one  of  liis  pupils.  Soon,  how- 
ever, measures  were  taken  for  the  erection  of  a  school-building.  Mathias 
Alpaugh  gave  the  land,  some  g.ave  money,  some  material,  and  others 
contributed  labor.  In  the  latter  part  of  1810  the  new  building,  which 
stood  near  Wright's  {or  Globe)  Mills  was  occupied.  The  trustees  were 
Benjamin  Wright,  William  Alpaugh,  and  Mathias  Aipaugh." 

A  second  house  was  erected  in  1825,  a  frame,  20  by 
24  feet.  Esquire  Huff  taught  there  in  1825.  The 
present  building  was  erected  in  1855,  is  of  two  stories, 
24  by  36  feet,  although  only  one  floor  has  been  occu- 
pied by  the  school. 

The  first  house  in  Winchel's  Grove,  No.  29,  was  of 
logs,  roofed  with  straw,  and  was  fifteen  feet  square. 
The  second  house  was  erected  in  1832,  and  the  third 
in  1856.  The  latter  is  20  by  30  feet,  and  is  in  good 
repair,  having  been  refitted  in  1874.  It  will  seat  50 
scholars.*  We  are  indebted  to  Peter  M.  Mechling 
for  the  following  list  of  teachers  and  trustees.  Teach- 
ers :  Jacob  Pittenger,  George  Elicott,  Jemima  Atkin- 
son, Solomon  Vredenhurg,  William  Keifer,  William 
Hackett,  Jeremiah  HoflF,  Daniel  M.  Mathews,  Ocran 


«  Kev.  C.  S.  Conkling. 


Eace,   Timothy    AVinchel,   John    Griffith,   Euhamie 

Brewer,   Clara   Bonhani,   Peter  M.    Mechling,   

Schug,  Benjamin  F.  Severs,  William  Hoppaugh,  and 
John  Y.  Eupell.  Trustees :  Albert  Opdyke,  William 
Eoberts,  Isaac  Hiner,  John  Hackett,  Dewitt  C.  Ed- 
monds, John  Sheridan,  Simon  Cooley,  Ealph  H.  Dal- 
rymple, Abner  Cooley,  and  David  H.  Butler.  Num- 
ber of  children,  52;  public  money,  $315.99. 

An  old  lady,  Mrs.  Sarah  Pittenger,  stated  to  Eev. 
Mr.  Conkling  that  she  had  attended  school  in  Ever- 
ittstown.  No.  28,  about  1785,  in  a  log  school-house 
one  mile  northeast  of  Everittstown,  and  that  it  was 
an  old  building  at  that  time.  It  is  possible  that  it 
stood  near  what  was  known  as  Boss'  tan-yard  as  far 
back  as  1776,  and  that  from  it  sprang  the  two  districts 
of  Everittstown  and  Winchel's  Grove.f  We  learn 
from  Mrs.  Annie  Opdj'ke,  aged  eighty-two,  who  has 
always  lived  in  the  neighborhood,  that  a  school-house 
was  built  in  1818  between  Jeremiah  Wright's  (for- 
merly Amos  Opdyke's)  gate  and  the  brook,  a  few  yards 
distant.  This  house  stood  ten  years,  and  was  removed 
to  ground  now  belonging  to  Samuel  McPherson,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  village.  This  ground 
was  leased  of  Cornelius  Lake  for  ninety-nine  years. 
The  house  was  frame,  20  feet  square.  The  trustees  at 
that  time  were  Godfrey  Hiner,  Cornelius  Lake,  and 
Wesley  Johnson.  In  1858  the  present  house  was 
built.     It  is  22  by  35  feet,  and  will  seat  50  pupils. 

About  1820  a  school-house  was  built  in  Union 
School  District  at  "Case's  Hollow,"  about  two  miles 
from  Everittstown,  on  the  road  from  that  place  to 
Milford.  Andrew  Eace  taught  there  in  1822.  In 
1838  or  1839  the  district  erected  a  house  on  the  corner 
of  the  road  leading  from  Everittstown  to  Frenohtown, 
and  it  superseded  the  former.  In  1855  it  was  removed 
to  "Shuster's  Hollow,"  and  the  district  was  called 
"Union  District."  In  1875  it  was  discontinued  by 
action  of  the  county  superintendent. 

CHURCHES. 

ST.  THOMAS'  CHURCH  OF  ALEXANDRIA. 

St.  Thomas'  Church  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest  in 
the  present  limits  of  the  county.  The  Eev.  John 
Talbot,  missionary  of  St.  Mary's  Church  at  Burling- 
ton,— as  we  learn  by  a  letter  of  his  to  the  secretary  of 
the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  For- 
eign Parts, — visited  this  section  in  September,  1723, 
and  found  the  people  preparing  to  erect  a  house  of 
worship. 

Previous  to  the  setting  off"  of  Bethlehem  township, 
in  1728,  Amwell  formed  "the  northernmost  and  utter- 
most bounds"  of  Hunterdon  County. 

The  first  church  stood  on  the  south  side  of  the  road, 
nearly  opposite  the  present  one.  It  was  probably  a 
frame  building,  for  a  girder  and  other  timbers  in  the 
present  house  contain  mortises  and  other  evidences  of 
having  been  previously  used. 

t  Ibid. 


ALEXANDRIA. 


4-'l 


It  is  not  probable  the  builders  of  this  "  forest  sanc- 
tuary" were  favored  for  several  years  with  the  regular 
services  of  a  minister,  for  there  were  but  few  then  in 
the  colonies.  It  is  presumable  they  met  for  worship, 
and  were  favored  as  often  as  practicable  with  the  vis- 
its of  ministers  from  Burlington,  Hopewell,  Elizabeth- 
town,  Newark,  Woodbridge,  and  Amboy. 

But  few  of  the  early  records  can  now  be  found.  We 
have  an  old  manuscript,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to 
the  courtesy  of  Mrs.  Cornelia  L.  Hay,  of  Somerset 
Junction,  Mercer  Co.,  a  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Frazer,  and  a  great-granddaughter  of  Rev.  Colin 
Campbell,  rector  of  St.  Mary's  Church  of  Burlington 
in  1734.  This  paper  is  without  date,  and  purports  to 
be  a  memorial  addressed  by  the  vestry  and  wardens  of 
St.  Thomas'  Church  to  Rev.  Mr.  Moreton,  their  min- 
ister, expressive  of  their  sj^mpathy  and  encourage- 
ment under  the  political  persecutions  he  had  suffered. 
We  learn  from  the  Fulham  MSS.,  copied  into  the 
Episcopal  Historical  Society's  collections,  that  Rev. 
Andrew  Moreton  was  licensed  by  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don for  missionary  service  in  New  Jersey,  March  17, 
1760. 

The  names  of  the  vestrymen  and  wardens  appended 
to  the  paper  referred  to  are*  William  Lowrey,  Thomas 
Harris,  Jeremiah  Thatcher,  John  Crawford,  William 
Thatcher,  Constantine  O'Neill,  George  Birkhead,  Jr., 
Andrew  Crawford,  John  Roat,  John  Taylor,  Jr.,  John 
Taylor,  George  Birkhead,  Richard  Crooks,  Philip 
Grandin,  Mansfield  Hunt,  Jonah  Park. 

The  principal  proprietors  of  the  West  Jersey  Land 
Society's  great  tract  contributed  to  the  pecuniary  sup- 
port of  the  minister,  as  we  learn  from  the  following : 

"  Wheeeas,  The  subacriliers  being  desirous  in  assisting  to  establish  tiie 
Gospel  in  Amwell  and  Kingwood  Churches,  I  have  desired  John  Emley, 
Attorney  for  the  Purchasers  of  the  Society's  Great  Tract,  to  pay  unto  the 
Church  Wardens  the  sum  of  Ten  Pound,  yearly,  during  the  continuance 
of  this  present  Minister,  which  sum  is  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Society's 
Bents  as  followeth — viz. : 

lord  Stirling £1    6s.  8rf. 

John  Stevens 3    6    8 

James  Parker 2    0    0 

Ex's  of  A.  Johnston 16     8 

McBvers 13    4 

Marston,  ~| 

Henry  Cuyler,  y 1 


Jacob  Ludlow, 


on,  ~| 
ler,  y.. 

OW,J 


10    0    0 
"  Witness  my  hand  this  4th  of  October,  Anno  Domi.  1766. 

"  Jno.  Stevens." 

Dec.  4,  1768,  John  Grandin,  Esq.,  in  behalf  of  the 
wardens,  informed  John  Emley,  the  attorney  of  the 
society's  purchasers,  that  £10  was  "  more  than  they 
wanted," — a  noteworthy  statement, — and  an  appor- 
tionment was  then  made  for  £8.  Half-yearly  receipts 
are  appended  for  each  year  until  Nov.  22, 1773.  These 
are  signed  by  John  Grandin,  Philip  Grandin,  or  Jon- 
athan Forman,  on  the  part  of  the  vestry.  From  this 
paper  we  learn  that  the  same  minister  officiated  at 
both  St.  Thomas'  church  of  Kingwood  and  St.  An- 
drew's of  Amwell. 

*  A  space,  large  enough  for  two  names,  is  lost  by  wear ;  the  name  of 
William  Lowrey  is  so  indistinct  as  to  be  uncertain. 


The  Rev.  William  Frazer  succeeded  Mr.  Moreton. 
In  1768  he  took  charge  of  the  two  churches  of  King- 
wood  and  Amwell  and  a  third  at  a  place  he  calls 
Musconetcong,  28  miles  north  of  the  former.  In  a 
letter  to  Rev.  Dr.  Benton,  of  London,  describing  his 
missionary  field,  he  writes  that  there  were  thirty  fam- 
ilies at  Kingwood,  but  no  suitable  church  edifice,  pub- 
lic worship  having  to  be  celebrated  in  private  houses. 
We  have  a  manuscript  sermon  of  Mr.  Frazer's  for 
which  we  are  indebted  to  Mrs.  Hay,  to  which  is  pre- 
fixed, in  his  handwriting,  this  statement :  "  Preached 
at  Kingwood  on  Friday,  11th  Nov.,  1768,  being  the 
day  appointed  for  the  congregation  to  meet  in  order  to 
fix  on  a  place  where  to  build  a  new  church."  It  was 
at  this  meeting  decided  to  erect  a  stone  building  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  road  from  the  former.  The 
road  is  the  line  between  Kingwood  and  Alexandria 
townships.  The  land  belonged  to  Lewis  Stevens, 
Esq.,  and  was  a  part  of  Cornwall  farm.  The  new 
house  was  not  completed  for  several  years. 

Rev.  Mr.  Frazer  labored  until  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Revolutionary  war.  After  peace  was  declared  he 
returned,  reopened  his  churches,  and  resumed  his 
ministerial  labors.     He  died  in  1795,  aged  fifty-two. 

After  Mr.  Frazer,  Rev.  George  Woodruff,  from 
Trenton,  preached  at  St.  Thomas'  bi-weekly.  The 
Rev.  Clarkson  Dunn,  from  Newton,  N.  J.,  succeeded 
him.  There  was  a  period  of  several  years  early 
in  the  present  century  when  regular  services  were 
entirely  suspended.  The  membership  had  become 
small,  and  there  was  probably  no  vestry,  for  the 
house  and  grounds  were  badly  neglected. 

In  1822  the  house  was  thoroughly  repaired,  and  re- 
ligious services  were  resumed  under  the  ministry  of 
Rev.  Mr.  I)ouglas,  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  A 
Sunday-school  was  conducted  by  Miss  Margaret  Op- 
dyke  and  the  Misses  Susan  and  Mary  Forman.  Bishop 
Croes  officiated  occasionally.  After  Mr.  Douglas  came 
Rev.  Mr.  Jaques,  followed  by  Rev.  William  C.  Crane 
on  alternate  Sundays  for  two  or  three  years  (1836-38). 
After  Prof.  Crane  retired  services  were  conducted 
for  several  years  by  James  R.  Dunham,  of  Clinton, 
who  afterwards,  we  have  understood,  became  a  li- 
censed minister.  In  1845,  Rev.  Mr.  Adams  took 
charge  of  St.  Thomas',  Clinton,  and  Flemington,  re- 
siding at  the  latter  place.  Rev.  Mr.  Jaques  suc- 
ceeded to  Mr.  Adams.  After  him.  Rev.  Mr.  Fergus 
officiated  for  a  year  or  two,  and  retired. 

There  was  then  a  suspension  of  services  for  about 
ten  years,  the  house  being  considered  unfit  for  use. 
During  part  of  this  period  the  Rev.  Dr.  Boggs,  from 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  preached  in  the  school-house 
at  Pittstown.  In  1875-76,  chiefly  through  the  liber- 
ality and  under  the  direction  of  Hon.  Frederic  A. 
Potts,  of  Pittstown,  the  house  was  thoroughly  re- 
paired. 

The  Rev.  Edwin  K.  Smith,  of  Lambertville,  is  the 
present  pastor,  and  there  is  a  fair  prospect  of  a  per- 
I  manent  organization. 


412 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Inside  the  church,  near  the  chancel,  is  a  tahlet  mem- 
orative  of  Lewis  Stevens,  whose  willing  hands  helped 
to  raise  these  walls.  In  front,  by  the  side  of  the  path 
that  leads  to  the  entrance,  side  by  side,  as  if  in  mar- 
tial rank,  repose  six  heroes  of  the  Revolution. 

METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHUECH   OF  EVEEITTSTOWN.* 

This  church  was  organized  in  1817,  under  the  pas- 
torate of  the  Rev.  George  Banghart,  who  had  Rev. 
Richard  N.  Petherbridge  as  his  colleague.  In  1825, 
under  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Collins,  a 
house  of  worship  was  erected.  The  trustees  at  this 
time  were  Amos  Opdyke,  Samuel  Bellis,  Uriah  Bellis, 
Reuben  Lee,  and  Isaac  Hartpence. 

The  names  of  the  successive  pastors  who  have  offi- 
ciated on  this  charge  are : 

1824-25,  Benjamin  Collins;  1826,  Isaac  Winner,  Anthony  Atwood ;  1827- 
28,  Jolin  Finley,  John  K.  Shaw;  1829-30,  William  H.  Wiggins,  Abra- 
ham Gearliart ;  1831,  Pharaoh  Ogden,  Francis  A.  Morrel ;  1832. 
Joseph  McCool,  A.  K.  Street;  1833-34,  Jacob  HeavencJer;  1836-36, 
Abraham  Gearliart,  B.  N.  Keed,  Eichard  Lanniug;  1837-38,  Jacob 
Heavender,  James  M.  Tuttle;  1839,  James  M.  Tuttle,  L.  E.  Dunn; 
1840,  William  Hanley,  James  White  ;  1S41,  A.  K.  Street ;  1842,  Joseph 
GaskiU;  1843-44,  Zerubbabel  Gaskill ;  1846^6,  Abram  M.  Palmer ; 
1847-48,  Thomaa  T.  Campfleld ;  1849-50,  D.  W.  Decker ;  1851-62,  Kod- 
ney  Winans,  Jacob  Horner;  1863,  Cnrtis  Tally  ;  1854-55,  J.J.  Sleeper; 
1886-67,  W.  W.  CbriBtine ;  1S58-59,  John  S.  Coit ;  1860-61,  W.  W,  Voor- 
hees,  C.  P.  De  Camp ;  1862-G3,  J.  P.  Daily  ;  1864,  William  E.  Blakeley ; 
1865-66,  Henry  J.  Hay ter ;  1867-68,  William  S.  Galoway ;  1869,  A. 
H.  Bellis;  1870,  J.  E.  Stratton;  1871-72,  William  H.  Euth ;  1S73, 
William  H.  McBride ;  1874-75,  H.  Bice ;  1876,  James  W.  Hartpence ; 
1877-78,  A.  G.  Miller ;  1879,  E.  S.  Jamison :  1880, 1.  W.  Cole. 

The  present  trustees  are  Hiram  Cronce,  Isaac  Man- 
ning, John  F.  Case,  Samuel  Stout,  Thomas  Cronce, 
Isaac  J.  Snyder,  and  Nathan  Seal. 

From  this  church  have  originated  several  others, — 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Quakertown,  that 
of  Frenchtown,  of  Milford,  and  of  Little  York. 

At  this  time  (1880)  the  subject  of  erecting  a  new 
church  edifice  in  Everittstown  is  under  consideration. 

MOUNT   SALEM  METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHUECH 

is  located  about  two  miles  northwest  of  Pittstown,  on 
the  Hickory  Road, — the  dividing  line  between  Alex- 
andria and  Union  townships.  About  1838  a  society 
was  organized  in  that  neighborhood,  and  met  for  wor- 
ship at  private  houses.  The  Rev.  Manning  Force 
encouraged  this  little  band  to  build  a  church.  David 
Dilts,  a  man  of  some  prominence  in  the  community, 
offered  to  give  the  land  for  the  church  lot.  He  also 
circulated  a  subscription  for  necessary  funds.  Amos 
Opdyke,  Daniel  Jones,  Thomas  Mechling,  and  Rev. 
Robert  Smith,  a  local  preacher,  co-operated  with  him. 
A  title  for  the  land  having  been  obtained  and  a  requi- 
site sum  of  money  subscribed,  a  building  committee, 
consisting  of  Rev.  Manning  Force,  Daniel  Jones,  and 
Rev.  Robert  Smith,  was  appointed.  The  house  was 
a  plain  structure,  23  by  33  feet.  It  was  completed 
and  dedicated,  free  from  debt,  in  1846.  The  name 
Mount  Salem  was  given  to  it  by  the  pastor  in  charge 


*  We  are  nnder  obligations  to  the  pastor  in  charge,  Eev.  I.  W.  Cole,  for 
the  facts  here  embodied. 


at  its  dedication.  Rev.  Mr.  Force,  in  compliment  to 
David  Dilts,  and  in  allusion  to  "  David's  mount  of 
old."  It  was  connected  with  Clinton  Circuit,  which 
at  that  time  comprised  several  churches.  Among  the 
pastors  of  that  period  were  Revs.  George  Banghart, 
John  Fort,  E.  H.  Stokes,  Charles  E.  Walton,  David 
Graves,  J.  C.  McCormick,  J.  N.  Crane,  Samuel  M.. 
Stiles,  John  F.  Dodd,  and  M.  M.  Fogg,  a  supply.  In 
the  spring  of  1858,  by  authority  of  the  Newark  Con- 
ference, Mount  Salem  Church  was  associated  witJi 
Union,  Norton,  and  Pattenburg  Churches.  This  ar- 
rangement was  continued  till  1864,  when  it  was  dis- 
connected from  these  and  associated  with  Quakertown 
Church. 

From  the  period  of  its  organization  the  congrega- 
tion and  the  membership  gradually  increased.  In  a 
few  years  the  house  was  too  small  to  accommodate  the 
people,  and  a  larger  one  was  deemed  necessary.  In 
1864  a  new  board  of  trustees  was  elected,  consisting- 
of  Hiram  Mechling,  Hiram  Stout,  "William  Taylor, 
John  H.  Cooley,  Henry  Maxwell,  Thomas  Mechling, 
and  William  McClary,  and  funds  were  raised  for  the 
enterprise.  A  building  committee,  composed  of  Rev.. 
J.  B.  Heward,  pastor  in  charge,  John  H.  Cooley,  and 
William  Taylor,  was  appointed.  The  contract  was. 
taken  by  Eli  Bosenbury,  of  Clinton,  and  by  the  close 
of  the  year  the  new  house  was  completed.  The  edifice- 
presents  a  neat  and  pleasing  appearance.  Its  size  is 
36  by  52  feet,  with  ceiling  20  feet  high.  Its  cost  was- 
$3600.  It  was  dedicated  in  February,  1865.  Its  pas- 
tors since  that  period  have  been  : 

1864-05,  Rev.  J.  B.  Heward;  1866-68,  Eev.  Mathew  F.  Swaim;  1860-70, 
Eev.  J.  Mead;  1871-73,  Rev.  PetPr  D.  Day  ;  1874-76, Rev. G.  W.  Hor-" 
ton;  1877-7S,  Rev.  Daniel  Halleron;  1879,  Rev.  Thomas  E.  Goidon-, 
1880-81,  Eev.  Charles  E.  Walton. 

THE   OHEISTIAN   CHURCH   OF  LITTLE   YORKf 

is  an  outgrowth  of  the  Milford  Christian  Church,  as. 
will  be  seen  by  the  following  extracts  from  the  records : 

"At  a  regular  Quarterly  Meeting  of  the  First  Christian  Cliurch  in 
Milford,  holden  in  their  house  of  worship,  on  the  fii-st  day  of  January, 
1842,  the  following  resolution  was  introduced  and  tmaniniously  adopted: 

"  liesnli'edj  That  tliis  church  approve  the  organization  of  such  of  its- 
members  as  reside  in  the  vicinity  of  Finesville  and  Pattenburg  into 
branches  of  this  church,  that  they  may  conduct  monthly  fellowship,  and 
other  social  religious  meetings  among  themselves,  receive  and  labor  with 
their  members  ;  but  not  in  such  a  manner  as  to  set  aside  or  in  any  way 
to  interfere  with  their  particular  membership  with  this  church. 

"Agreeably  to  the  above  resolution,  the  members  residing  in  the 
vicinity  of  Pattenburgh  were  properly  organized  and  acknowledged  a 
Branch  of  the  First  Christian  Church  in  Milford  on  this  24th  day  of 
Feby.,  1842,  by  Elder  I.  C.  Goff. 

"  Rev.  -Wm.  Bradley,  Preacher  in  charge. 
•'John  C.  Wagoner,  C/ej-fc. 
"George  G.  Lunger,  ISeasiLrer." 

In  1844  they  built  a  plain,  substantial  stone  church,, 
about  54  by  32  feet,  costing  about  S4000,  and  appointed 
Nathan  Dawes,  Higgons  Harrison,  Joseph  Hoppock,, 
T.  P.  Forman,  and  G.  V.  Alpaugh  trustees. 

June  22, 1850,  the  Pattenburg  branch  of  the  Milford 
Christian   Church   was    constituted   an   independent 

t  W^e  are  indebted  to  John  W.  Queen,  Esq.,  for  this  historical  sketch. 


ALEXANDRIA. 


423 


organization,  to  be  known  as  the  "  Christian  Church 
of  Little  York,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J. ;"  number  of 
members,  63  ;  Pastor,  Eev.  O.  E.  Morrill ;  Clerk,  Isaac 
Y.  Fitzer ;  subsequently  added,  97 ;  but  by  declensions, 
removals,  and  deaths  the  number  has  become  much 
reduced.  Present  Pastor,  K.  B.  Eldridge;  Clerk, 
E.  S.  Hoppock;  Trustees,  Joseph  Hoppock,  Jonas 
Godown,  John  W.  Queen. 

VILLAGES    AND    HAMLETS. 

Everitt's  Mill,  Everittstown. — We  find  Ev- 
eritt's  Mill  mentioned  in  a  survey  of  a  road  made  in 
1759,  leading  from  Calvin's  Ferry,  on  the  Delaware 
River,*  to  the  former  place.  And  in  1766,  in  a  re- 
survey  made  by  Dr.  John  Eockhill,  of  the  farm 
southwest  of  the  present  village,  including  the  ground 
now  occupied  by  it,  it  is  spoken  of  as  having  been 
previously  conveyed  by  deed  from  James  Parker  to 
Samuel  and  William  Everitt.  There  was  no  village 
at  that  time,  and  the  site  of  the  mill  was  probably  in- 
cluded in  the  purchase.  A  principal  thoroughfare, 
leading  from  Hoif 'sf  to  Durham  Ferry,  passed  by  this 
mill.  This  and  the  road  leading  to  the  river  at  Cal- 
vin's Ferry  were  among  the  earliest  in  this  section. 
Samuel  Everitt  was  an  ensign  in  Capt.  Groendyke's 
company.  Second  Hunterdon  Eegiment. 

The  farm  is  described  as  "the  same  Plantation 
Whereon  John  Dilts  now  Dwells,"  and  the  house  is 
located,  on  the  draught  accompanying  the  survey,  a 
few  yards  from  the  corner,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Frenchtown  road.  There  was  a  blacksmith-shop  there 
also. 

The  property  remained  in  possession  of  the  Everitt 
family  until  about  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Abram  La  Rue. 
His  son  Isaac  built  the  hotel,  and  also  an  oil-mill 
below  the  village.  His  successor  was  Samuel  Case, 
the  father  of  Dr.  Henry  Holcombe's  wife.  The  old 
mill — probably  the  second  on  that  site — was  taken 
down  in  1855,  and  the  present  one,  a  large  and  expen- 
sive structure,  erected  in  its  place  by  Dr.  Holcombe. 

The  village  has,  in  addition,  a  post-oflfice,  a  school- 
house,  two  store-houses,  one  tavern,  one  blacksmith- 
shop,  one  tailor-shop,  an'd  about  twenty-five  dwell- 
ings. 

Palmyra  is  one  mile  east  of  Everittstown.  How 
it  came  by  its  classic  name  we  have  never  learned. 

Many  years  ago,  in  colonial  times,  when  there  was 
no  public-house  at  Everitt's  Mill,  nor  anywhere  else 
in  that  section,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Samuel  Powers 
— so  we  are  told  by  Mr.  Charles  Van  Camp — built  a 
log  house  at  that  place  and  kept  tavern  in  it.  Powers 
was  a  blacksmith,  and  had  a  shop  also.  The  militia- 
trainings  were  held  there  for  some  years.  After  Powers 
the  tavern  was  kept  by  Henry  Apgar,  and,  about  ]  770 
to  near  1800,  by  Samuel  Arnwine.  Precisely  when 
the  first  log  house  was  replaced  by  a  better  one  we 


*  Frenchtown. 


f  Pittstiiwn. 


cannot  ascertain.  Early  in  this  century  the  tavern 
was  kept  by  Peter  Slout,  then  by  Eli  Hoppock.  About 
1830,  Hoppock  was  succeeded  by  Peter  Slout,  the 
former  occupant.  The  house  of  this  period  is  re- 
membered by  the  writer :  it  was  one  story,  of  stone. 
After  Slout,  it  was  kept  for  a  year  or  two  by  John 
Trimmer.  It  was  then  purchased  and  kept  by  Charles 
Van  Camp,  present  proprietor.  About  1840-50  it  was 
occupied  by  Elijah  Mettler,  son-in-law  of  Van  Camp. 
Since  that  period  it  has  not  been  used  as  a  public- 
house. 

Charles  Van  Camp,  the  present  proprietor  of  Pal- 
myra, is  an  aged  citizen  of  about  ninety-three.  He  is 
of  Eevolutionary  stock  by  both  parents.  His  grand- 
father, John  Van  Campen,  was  a  drummer,  belonging 
to  the  State  troops  in  the  Eevolutionary  service,  and 
his  maternal  grandfather  was  Joshua  Furman,  a  pri- 
vate in  the  same  service,  in  Capt.  Tucker's  company, 
etc.  Van  Campen  lived  and  died  where  G.  Washing- 
ton Hoflf  now  lives,  near  St.  Thomas'  church,  and 
Furman  spent  his  later  years  and  died  where  John  S. 
Burd  now  lives,  in  the  same  neighborhood. 

NiSHiSACKAWAYt  is  a  hamlet  and  grist-mill,  one 
mile  east  of  Everittstown.  A  saw-mill  was  first 
erected  by  Luther  Opdyke  in  1798.  The  following 
year  he  built  a  grist-mill.  The  old  stone  dwelling 
was  erected  in  1800.  Hall  Opdyke  succeeded  to  the 
proprietorship  on  the  death  of  his  father.  After  his 
decease,  in  1844,  it  was  purchased  by  Wholston  Van- 
derbelt,  who  in  1846  built  the  present  mill.  It  now 
belongs  to  John  M.  Wilson,  together  with  the  other 
buildings  which  comprise  the  hamlet.  It  is  on  a 
branch  of  the  Nishisackaway  Creek,  from  which  it 
took  its  name. 

Mount  Pleasant  is  a  thrifty-looking  village,  sit- 
uated about  equidistant  from  the  northeast  and 
southwest  corners  of  the  township,  and  on  the  west- 
ern boundary  adjoins  Holland.  The  general  and 
township  elections  are  held  here.  The  village  has  a 
post-ofiice,  two  stores,  a  mill,  tavern,  blacksmith- 
shop,  and  wheelwright-shop.  There  is  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  upper  part.  Opposite  is  a  large  and 
carefully-kept  cemetery.  The  church  is  on  the  Hol- 
land side  of  the  township  line.  The  grist-mill  is  the 
second  in  that  locality.  The  first  was  built  of  logs,  in 
colonial  times,  by  John  Sherrerd,  or  Shered.  The 
one  now  standing  was  erected  about  1838,  by  John 
Warne  and  John  Eckel.  It  is  on  a  branch  of  the 
Hakeahawka. 

Little  York  is  located  on. one  of  the  branches  of 
the  Wissahawken  Crsek,  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  township.  It  has  three  churches,' — Methodist, , 
Presbyterian,  and  Unitarian, — two  stores,  two  mills, 
one  tavern,  two  blacksmith-shops,  and  one  wheel- 
wright-shop. 

This  village  was  so  named  about  1828.    For  some 
time  previous,  we  are  informed  by  Mr.  John  Apgar, 

J  Wilson's  Mill. 


424 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


it  was  kuowii  as  "Pokano."  It  acquired  this  unique 
cognomen  from  tlie  incident  of  a  fireman  by  the  name 
of  Hicks,  employed  in  Joseph  King's  distillery,  taking 
a  hot  poker  from  his  furnace  and  striking  the  Irish 
workmen  on  their  noses  as  a  punishment. 

HICKORY   TAVERN. 

March  7, 1767,  John  Stevens  and  James  Parker,  by 
their  attorney,  John  Emley,  leased  to  John  Farns- 
worth  and  Adonijah  Farnsworth  150  acres,  "includ- 
ing 50  of  clear  land,"  for  the  term  of  seven  years,  for 
the  rent  of  five  shillings  a  year.  The  tenants,  in 
addition  to  the  five  shillings'  rent,  agreed  "  to  build  a 
Good  Logg  house  28  foot  by  22,  a  good  Cellar  under 
the  Whole  to  be  Walled  with  Stones ;  build  a  good  Kit- 
chen, ...  a  good  Logg  Barn  and  Stables,"  etc.  This 
"Logg  house"  was  the  first  Hickory  Tavern.  The 
signboard  was  fastened  up  in  a  hickory-tree ;  hence 
the  name. 

July  24,  1769,  "  John  Farnsworth,  of  the  township 
of  Alexandria,  tavernkeeper,"  sold  his  lease  of  the 
"  New  Hickory  Tavern"  to  Spencer  Carter,  of  the 
township  of  Lebanon,  for  £81. 

About  1800  the  log  building  was  superseded  by  a 
large  frame  house,  which  was  erected  for  a  tavern  by 
Peter  Van  Syckel.  He  kept  it  until  his  death  Feb 
12,  1830. 

Peter  Van  Syckel's  son  succeeded  his  father  for 
about  two  years,  when  he  also  died.  It  was  then 
kept  successively  by  John  Kephart,  Isaac  Bennet, 
Matthias  Fishbaugh,  and  John  Bunn.  It  was  dis- 
continued as  a  public-house  about  twelve  to  fifteen 
years  ago. 

The  "Hickory"  was  a  place  of  considerable  note  in 
colonial  times.     It  was  on  "the  King's  Highway," 


leading  from  the  forks  of  the  Delaware  to  the  central 

and  lower  parts  of  Hunterdon,  and  the  iron  from  the 

furnace  near  Bloomsbury  was  transported  over  this 

road  to  HofPs  forge,  at  what  in  later  times  became 

Pittstown.    .  From  Pittstown   to   Bloomsbury  it   has 

been  known,  since  the  Eevokition,  as   the  Hickory 

Road. 

VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.s 

Co.  F,  Thirty-first  Regiment  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers, was  organized  in  Alexandria  township,  and 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service,  Sept.  3, 1862. 

OFFICERS. 
Captain,  Petor  Hiirt;  first  lieutenant,  Joseph  E.  McLauglilin;  second 
lieutenant,  James  I.  Moore.  Sergeants ;  fii-st,  James  Duffee ;  second 
Hugli  M.  Robinson;  third,  Ilart  Sinclair;  fourth,  D.avid  W.  Snyder- 
fifth,  Isaac  Cole.  Coi'porals,  John  Vanderbelt,  John  Roberson,  George 
L.  Yard,  John  Wait,  George  W.  Fackenthall,  Elijah  Robinson,  Wil- 
liam Fraley,  Sylvester  B.  Ball-ymple.  Musicians,  John  Duckworth, 
Henry  Snyder.    Teamster,  Thomas  Wallin. 

PRIVATES. 
Godfrey  Bellis,  Adam  Bigley,  Isaac  Bennett,  Christian  Brotzman,  Henry 
C.  Bear,  Isaac  Bloom,  Robert  Clark,  Britton  Cronse,  John  Carling, 
Joseph  D.  Campbell,  Mathias  S.  Curtis,  James  Connell,  Jeremiah 
Case,  Philip  Dilgart,  Sheridan  W.  Dean,  Elias  Deemer,  Isaac  Durk- 
■worth,  James  E,  Devens,  John  Balton,  Hugh  H.  Harrison,  Edward 
W.  Huff,  Charles  Hartman,  Samuel  Leidy,  George  Loar,  Henry 
Luken,  Joseph  L.  Lesher,  Alfred  B.  Moms,  William  G.  Melick, 
Skidmore  W.  Mettler,  John  W.  Osborn,  Jacob  H.  Piatt,  Isaiah  M. 
Piatt,  William  Piatt,  Benjamin  F.  Sailer,  Jacob  Sailer,  Jr.,  Jacob  E. 
Seyler,  John  Super,  W^illiam  Super,  Daniel  Sullivan,  George  Snyder, 
Isaac  Thompson,  John  G.  Taylor,  George  Vaness,  Alban  J.  White, 
Stewart  C.  Warman,  Daniel  Toung,  Henry  Edinger,  Gershom  L. 
Everitt,  Thomas  Flemming,  Abraham  Gardiner,  Robert  Gano,  David 
0.  Hager,  John  W.  HaiTison,  Peter  S.  Haughawout,  John  E.  Hayes, 
Francis  Eizle,  Charles  Lippincott,  Isaac  S.  Laubach,  William  W. 
Longonouer,  Samuel  Major,  Aaron  Miller,  Wilson  Moore,  William 
Moore,  Amos  Opdyke,  Henry  Potts,  .Tames  Rourke,  George  Sowders, 
John  Sowders,  William  Sowders,  Isaac  M.  Smith,  Isaac  H.  Smith, 
Quintius  S.  Seip,  Augustus  Shaw,  Hugh  Thomson,  William  H.  Teets, 
Duillius  Vanderbelt,  Firman  Vanderbelt,  Barney  Wetzel,  Solomon 
Wolfinger,  Francis  Young. 


HOLLAND. 


FIoLLAND  was  first  set  off"  fi-om  Alexandria  in  1874. 
March  4,  1876,  it  was  set  back ;  March  5,  1879,  it  was 
set  off  a  second  time  by  act  of  the  Legislature. 

It  is  bounded  west  by  the  Delaware  River ;  north 
by  the  Musconetcong  Creek ;  east  and  southeast  by 
the  township  of  Alexandria.  The  dividing  line  be- 
tween Holland  and  Alexandria  is  as  follows  : 

Begins  at  the  Warren  county  line,  in  the  Musconetcong  Creek ;  thence 
along  the  Bethlehem  township  line  to  lands  of  John  Phillips  and  Philip 
Hawk;  thence  southwesterly  in  a  line  of  John  Phillips  and  Philip 
Hawk  to  the  middle  of  the  public  road  leading  from  Bloomsbury  to  Lit- 
tle York;  thence  southwesterly,  following  the  road  and  creek,  to  the 
mill-pond  of  Peter  TJhlor  ;  thence  along  the  middle  of  the  public  road  to 
Mount  Pleasant,  opposite  to  the  residence  of  Edward  Hunt,  deceased- 
thence  along  the  road  leading  to  Frenchtown  to  the  into-section  of  the 
road  leading  from  Everitfstown  to  Milford,  at  ■'  Point  of  Rocks"  -  thence 


westerly,  following  the  public  road  leading  to  Forman  Hawk's  barn  till 
It  intersects  the  road  leading  from  Frenchtown  to  Milford ;  thence  north 
120  yards  to  the  middle  of  a  creek  coming  from  Dark  Hollow;  thence 
westerly  along  said  creek  to  the  Delaware  Kiver. 

The  area  of  the  township  is  14,651  acres,  and  the 
value  of  its  taxable  property,  $1,199,559;  population, 
1886. 

INDIAN    FIELDS.— MOSES    TOTAMT. 
On  the  southern  slope  of  Gravel  Hill,  near  the  sum- 
mit, are  three  old  fields  called  "  Indian  fields."     This 


*  This  company  was  omitted,  by  accident,  in  the  history  of  the  regi- 
ments from  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties,  in  the  General  History 
of  the  two  counties. 

t  By  Heury  Race,  A.M.,  M.D. 


HOLLAND. 


425 


locality  is  traditional  Indian  ground.  It  was  proba- 
bly the  site  of  a  village,  or  a  favorite  place  for  coun- 
cils. The  early  settlers  found  a  number  of  unburied 
skulls  lying  near  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  and  there 
was  a  tradition  that  a  battle  had  been  fought  there 
between  two  native  tribes. 

There  is  another  tradition, — of  how  much  credibility 
we  can  not  determine, — ^that  Moses  Totamy,  a  Dela- 
ware sachem,  was  born  near  this  place,  and  lived  here 
until  he  was  a  young  man,  when  he  changed  his  home 
to  "  Totamy's  Plantation,"  at  Marble  Mountain,  some 
three  and  a  half  miles  above  Phillipsburg.  Totamy 
Falls,  in  the  Delaware  Kiver,  is  near  that  place. 
Moses  Totamy  represented  the  mountain  Indians  in 
the  great  council  held  at  the  forks  of  the  Delaware  in 
1758.  He  was  also,  with  Stephen  Calvin  and  Isaac 
Stille  (Indians),  interpreter  of  the  Delaware  language 
at  the  same  council.  He  was  the  father  of  William 
Totamy,  who  was  interpreter  for  Eev.  David  Brainerd, 
a  missionary  among  the  Indians  in  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey. 

EARLY    HISTORY. 

For  early  history  of  Holland  township  see  "  Early 
History"  of  Alexandria.  The  territory  all  belonged 
to  one  township  at  that  period,  and  it  is  impracticable 
at  this  time  to  separate  definitely  their  early  history. 

CIVIL  LIST. 

For  names  of  chosen  freeholders  see  page  265  of 
this  work. 

TOWN  COMMITTEES. 
1874,  Samuel  Wilson,  Jesse  Sinclair,  Thomas  P.  Tinsman,  Henry  Cole, 
George  W.  Hager ;  1876,  Jesse  Sincliiir,  Isaac  T.  Eiegel,  Jacob  Bunn, 
Augustus  Vanderbelt,  George  W.  Hager;  1876,  Augustus  Vander- 
belt,  Jacob  Bunn,  Isaac  T.  Kiegel,  Jesse  Sinclair,  George  W.  Hager; 
1877,  Jesse  Sinclair,  Isaac  T.  Riegel,  Daniel  Hawk,  Jeremiah  K. 
Ulmcr.  JohnC.  Robbins  ;  1879,*  Isaac  T.  Eiegel,  Philip  F.  Hunt,  Wil- 
liam li.  Smith ;  1880,  Isaac  T.  Eiegel,  Philip  F.  Hunt,  Jeremiah  K. 
Ulmer. 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
1874-76,  Enos  D.  Scarborough  ;  1877-78,  William  W.  Ulmer;  1879-80,  J. 
R.  Dalrymple. 

ASSESSORS. 

1874-77,  Jonas  Rapp;  1879,  Jonas  Eapp;  1880,  Hart  Sinclair. 

COLLECTORS. 
1874-75,  Charles  Warford;    1876-77,  Jacob  V.  Cooley;   1879,  Samuel 
Eckel ;  1880,  Jacob  V.  Cooley. 

SCHOOLS. 

"  Mount  Pleasant"  (District  No.  25)  was  in  opera- 
tion prior  to  1790. 


The  house  stood  near  the  Milford 
road  when  Stephen  Gano  was  teaching,  and  John 
Bloom  (since  deceased)  was  a  pupil.  This  building 
was  abandoned  about  1800 ;  a  new  house  was  built 
near  where  the  church  now  stands,  and  was  then 
called  the  Kingston  school.  This  was  taught  by  a 
Mr.  Bowlby,  and  later  by  Samuel  Cooley.  In  1833  it 
was  sold  to  Nathaniel  Wright,  and  by  him  moved  to 
his  mills,  near  Little  York,  and  used  as  a  horse-stable. 
The  same  year  another  house  was  erected  on  the  same 


site,  22  feet  square.  The  teachers  are  E.  S.  Hop- 
pock,  Mr.  Morgan,  Samuel  Dean,  T.  E.  Galvan, 
and  John  Eoger ;  the  trustees,  William  Bunn,  Eus- 
ling  Hoppock,  and  Philip  Hunt.  Number  of  schol- 
ars, 80  ;  public  money,  $324.60. 

"Milford"  (District  No.  26)  boasts  of  having  had 
three  school-buildings.  The  first  was  erected  in  1810, 
and  stood  on  the  hill  three-fourths  of  a  mile  northeast 
of  the  village.  This  was  a  frame  18  by  22  feet.  The 
name  of  William  Chamberlain  is  given  as  a  teacher 
in  this  place.  The  second  was  built  on  grounds  be- 
longing to  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  was  a  two- 
story  building,  24  by  48  feet.  Date  of  its  erection 
not  given.  The  third  and  present  school-house  was 
built  in  1867,  a  substantial  two-story  stone  edifice,  34 
by  58  feet,  and  divided  into  four  rooms.  Cost  of  erec- 
tion, not  including  grounds,  $4900.  Present  teacher 
(1880),  Mr.  Vannatta.  Number  of  children,  194; 
public  money,  $594.33. 

The  first  house  in  "  Mount  Joy"  (District  No.  19) 
was  put  up  in  1829,  a  frame,  20  feet  square.  The 
present  house  occupies  the  same  ground  and  is  two 
stories,  one  only  being  used  for  school  purposes.  This 
is  22  by  32  feet.  Philip  Lippincott  was  the  first 
teacher ;  Edward  Middagh,  1 874-75,  for  three  years ; 
C.  E.  Clifton,  1877-78;  Charles  Erwin  and  Linnie 
Burwell,  1879-80 ;  present  teacher,  I.  W.  Emans,  from 
Washington,  N.  J.  The  present  trustees  are  I.  E. 
Buck,  J.  M.  Smith,  and  S.  M.  Wolfinger,  district 
clerk.  Number  of  children,  109;  public  money, 
$333.92. 

In  "Spring  Mills"  (District  No.  21)  a  small  log 
house,  about  300  yards  from  the  present  building,  was 
the  first  school-house  in  this  district.  The  year  of  its 
erection  is  not  known,  but  it  is  believed  to  have  dated 
back  to  the  Eevolution.  Its  history,  and  that  of  those 
which  succeeded  it  down  to  the  present  house,  cannot 
be  ascertained.  The  present  building  was  erected  in 
1875.  The  lot  was  bought  of  the  heirs  of  William 
Vliet.  The  house  is  of  brick,  and  cost,  including  the 
ground,  $2200.  The  present  trustees  are  Jacob  E. 
Anderson,  district  clerk,  William  T.  Purcell,  and 
George  Snyder.  Teachers:  1875-76,  F.  S.  Cressman; 
1876-77,  Benjamin  F.  Seavers ;  1877-78,  Eusling  S. 
Hoppock;  1878-79,  F.  F.  Angle;  1879-80,  William 
B.  Condit;  1880-81,  Daniel  E.  Warne.  Number  of 
children,  66 ;  public  money,  $320.29.  The  first  teacher 
of  whom  there  is  any  remembrance  was  John  Mc- 
Glouchan. 

"  Holland"  (District  No.  20)  has  had  four  different 
houses.  The  first  of  logs,  dating  back  to  the  Eevolu- 
tion, is  said  to  have  stood  near  the  place  now  occupied 
by  its  third  successor,  the  building  now  in  use,  erected 
in  1862.  It  is  24  by  36  feet,  two  story,  but  one  floor 
only  occupied  by  the  school.  Teacher  in  1876, 
Francis  D.  Eaub.f  Number  of  children,  81 ;  public 
money,  $324.91. 


*  In  1878  the  township  of  Holland  waa  set  back  to  Alexandria ;  in 
J879  it  was,  a  second  time,  erected  into  a  township. 
28 


t  C.  S.  Conkling. 


426 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"Hawk's"  (District  No.  23)  dates  back  to  1825, 
when  a  log  building  was  standing  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  present  house.  Samuel  Dunn  taught  therein. 
In  1850  the  present  house  was  built,  and  has  seating 
capacity  for  about  thirty  scholars.  The  names  of 
teachers,  as  furnished  by  P.  L.  Hawk,  Esq.,  the  pres- 
ent district  clerk,  are  Russell  Hoppock,  William 
Young,  Emeline  Meritt,  Hannah  Stene,  Sally  Ma- 
hony,  J.  W.  Opdyke,  Livingston  Dalrymple,  Mary 
Alshouse,  Sally  Osmun,  May  Garrison,  Ella  Aller, 
Mr.  Vanderbelt,  Gussie  Anderson.  The  present 
teacher  is  Josie  Slyker.  Number  of  children,  45 ; 
public  money,  $313.84. 

"  Millersville''  (District  No.  22)  is  one  of  the  small- 
est, but  it  had  a  school-house  as  early  as  1811.  It  was 
16  by  20  feet,  of  logs,  and  John  Bullis  was  the  first 
teacher.  The  present  house  was  built  in  1856,  of 
stone.  Number  of  children,  48 ;  public  money, 
$314.46. 

CHURCHES. 

THE   PKESBYTERIAN   CHURCH   OF   MILFOED 

was  built  in  1833.  Henry  Chamberlain  was  a  leader 
in  the  enterprise.  At  its  organization  it  had  seven- 
teen members,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  was  installed  as 
ruling  elder.  Rev.  Mr.  Henshaw  occupied  the  pulpit 
as  missionary,  or  stated  supply,  by  appointment  of 
Presbytery  for  about  three  years;  after  him.  Rev. 
John  McNair,  for  two  years,  in  connection  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Kingwood. 

The  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Campbell, 
D.D.,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Hackettstown  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  His  term  of  service  at  this  place 
was  closed  by  death,  about  two  years  later.  He  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Sherwood,  who  labored 
successfully  for  over  twelve  years.  He  died  in  1854, 
after  a  short  illness.  Over  his  grave  the  congregation 
erected  a  monument  to  testify  their  respect  for  his 
memory. 

The  succeeding  pastors  were  Revs.  P.  A.  Studdi- 
ford,  D.D.,  now  of  Lambertville,  N.  J.,  1856-60; 
James  Lewers,  1860-65 ;  A.  H.  Sloat,  1865-67 ;  John 
Burrows,  1868-73.  The  present  incumbent,  Rev. 
Isaac  M.  Patterson,  began  his  pastorate  in  1873. 

Since  its  organization  this  church  has  enrolled 
nearly  500  members.  The  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Holland  is  an  outgrowth. 

In  1868  the  congregation  removed  the  old  building 
and  erected  the  present  edifice,  which  is  a  handsome 
stone  structure  capable  of  seating  about  600.  The 
parsonage,  also,  is  a  neat,  commodious  building. 

George  Carpenter,  who  officiated  as  a  ruling  elder 
for  more  than  forty  years,  died  in  1875.  The  present 
elders  are  Edward  Hunt,  Peter  Eckel,  Levi  Ulmer, 
and  Jacob  Cooley. 

THE  METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHUEOH   OF   MILFOKD 

was  erected  in  1855,  and  dedicated  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Ryan,  of  Philadelphia.  It  was  included  in  the  As- 
bury  Circuit,  and  as  early  as  1832  such  ministerial 


services  were  given  as  the  preachers  of  that  circuit 
could  bestow  in  connection  with  their  regular  charges. 
This  church  has  always  been  associated  with  some 
other  charge.  From  1855-58  it  was  connected  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Frenchtown ;  1858- 
59,  with  Little  York;  1866-68,  with  Frenchtown; 
1868-77,  with  Everittstown  and  Little  York ;  1877- 
80,  with  Frenchtown. 

MILFOED  CHEISTIAN  CHUECH.* 

Mrs.  Abigail  Roberts  was  the  first  to  announce  the 
sentiments  of  this  church  in  Milford  and  vicinity. 
April  4, 1827,  a  meeting  was  held  preparatory  to  build- 
ing a  church.  On  the  28th  and  29th  of  November, 
1827,  the  house  was  opened  for  public  worship,  the 
sermon  being  preached  by  Elder  Simon  Clough,  of 
New  York.  The  church  was  established  with  ten 
members ;  the  present  number  is  283.  The  following 
is  a  list  of  pastors:  1830,  William  Lane;  1836,  Jona- 
than S.  Thompson;  1838,  William  Lane;  1842,  Isaac 

C.  Goff;   1843,   Jacob   Y.  Melick,   N.  Summerbell; 

1850, Guildford;  1852,  S.  0.  Fuller;  1854,  P.  J. 

Hawk;  1855,  J.  N.  Spoor;  1864,  John  McLaughlin; 
1867,  L.  Ford ;  1869,  Philetus  Roberts ;  1873,  C.  A. 
Beck ;  1877,  J.  J.  Summerbell. 

The  building  now  occupied  was  erected  in  1870. 
The  present  ofiicers  are :  Pastor,  Rev.  J.  J.  Summer- 
bell ;  Clerk,  James  C.  Robbins ;  Deacons,  John  Burg- 
streser,  Paul  P.  Cooley,  David  Stryker,  John  Ulmer, 
James  C.  Robbins,  Jehu  Larue,  Albert  S.  Eckel; 
Treasurer,  John  Burgstreser;  Trustees,  Thomas  Paul 
Forman,  Paul  P.  Cooley,  James  C.  Wright,  Albert 
S.  Eckel,  Watson  Smith. 

THE  FIEST  PEESBYTEEIAN  CHUECH   OF   HOLLAND 

was  organized  Nov.  14,  1850.  Its  membership  at  its 
organization  was  20.  Its  first  trustees  were  John 
Bloom,  John  Thomson,  John  H.  Johnson,  Benjamin 
Snyder,  and  Michael  Fraley ;  first  elders,  Benjamin 
Snyder  and  Jesse  Sinclair;  first  pastor.  Rev.  J.  H. 
Sherwood. 

The  present  organization  is :  Ruling  Elders,  Jesse 
Sinclair,  John  D.  Bloom,  Peter  Snyder,  Stephen  Bun- 
net;  Pastor,  Rev.  I.  M.  Paterson ;  Trustees,  Michael 
Fraley,  Peter  Snyder,  George  W.  Hager,  Duilliu.s 
Vanderbelt,  Jonas  Rapp,  John  Snyder,  and  Simeon 

D.  Sinclair.     Membership,  80. 

THE   PEESBYTEEIAN   CHUECH  "'OF   MOUNT   PLBASANTt 

was  organized  by  or  before  1752.  In  the  records  of 
the  New  Brunswick  Presbytery  it  was  called  "  Beth- 
lehem on  the  Delaware,"  and  "  The  Western  Branch" 
ot  Bethlehem.  Bethlehem  township  then  included 
the  territory  of  the  present  Alexandria  and  Holland. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick 
held  at  Trenton,  Oct.  11, 1763,  this  church  was  spoken 
of  as  the  "  log  meeting-house"  congregation.     This 

■^  We  are  indebted  to  J.  C.  Robbing  for  tiiis  slietcli. 
t  We  are  indebted,  prinL-ipally,  to  the  pastor  in  charge,  Eev.  N.  S. 
Aller,  for  the  Bketch  of  this  ehnrcli. 


HOLLAND. 


427 


log  meeting-house,  we  are  informed  by  reliable  tradi- 
tions, was  located  in  the  village,  on  or  yery  near  the 
place  where  Mr.  Sylvester  Martin's  barn  now  stands. 
At  this  period  it  is  presumable  the  church  was  occu- 
pied by  two  societies, — the  Presbyterian  and  the  Ger- 
man Reformed,  the  latter  using  the  German  language 
in  their  worship.  In  1768  the  German  congregation 
was  associated  with  the  churches  of  Rockaway,  Ger- 
man Valley,  and  Foxenburg,*  under  the  pastoral  care 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Dalliker  (Delacour?). 

The  old  log  meeting-house,  and  also  its  location, 
were  abandoned  for  a  new  house  in  1795.  This  was 
in  the  old  part  of  the  present  cemetery,  directly  oppo- 
site to  the  centre  gate.  It  was  a  frame,  and  commonly 
known  as  the  new  frame  meeting-house  in  Alexan- 
dria. The  land  for  the  church  and  burying-ground 
was  purchased  of  Aaron  Vansyckel  and  John  Eckel, 
and  conveyed  by  them  to  the  "  Trustees  of  the  said 
Church  and  Congregation,  known  as  the  Dutch  and 
English  Presbyterian  Church  and  Congregation  of 
Alexandria." 

May  18, 1802,  the  German  Reformed  Synod  then  in 
session  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  request  of  the  German 
congregation  through  their  pastor,  set  over  the  said 
church  and  congregation  to  the  care  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  Brunswick,  and  the  two  branches  of  this 
congregation  became  united. 

This  house  was  used  for  worship  until  1843,  when 
the  present  edifice  was  erected.  It  stands  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  road,  on  land  purchased  of  Peter 
Bloom,  Sr.  The  frame  of  the  old  building  was  re- 
moved to  Little  York  in  1844,  rein  closed,  and  fitted 
up  for  a  house  of  worship  for  the  convenience  of  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  congregation.  It  is  used  as 
an  outpost  of  the  Mount  Pleasant  Church  in  which 
service  is  held  every  alternate  Sabbath  by  the  pastor. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis  was  the  pastor  or  supply 
of  the  English  branch  of  this  congregation  in  1752-53. 
How  much,  if  any,  longer  we  cannot  ascertain,  as  the 
records  of  the  New  Brunswick  Presbytery  at  this 
period  are  not  very  full.  The  Dutch  branch  was 
probably  supplied  most  of  the  time  by  the  pastors  in 
charge  at  German  Valley. 

The  Rev.  John  Hanna  supplied  the  English  con- 
gregation, worshiping  at  the  log  meeting-house,  from 
about  May,  1760,  until  his  death,  Nov.  4,  1801.  Rev. 
Holloway  W.  Hunt  followed,  and  continued  for  forty 
years ;  he  resigned  in  1842.  Rev.  Robert  W.  Landis 
was  next  in  charge  for  two  years.  His  successor  was 
Rev.  Henry  B.  Elliot,  1844-46.  In  the  spring  of 
1846  the  Rev.  Cornelius  S.  Conkling  accepted  a  call 
and  labored  until  February,  1871,  when  the  present 
incumbent,  the  Rev.  Nathan  S.  Aller,  assumed  the 
ministerial  charge. 

VILLAGES. 
MiLFOED.— From  manuscript  field-notes  of  a  sur- 
vey by  Elisha  Emley,  about  1757,  it  is  seen  that  there 


»  Fox  Hill. 


was  a  saw-mill  3  chains  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wis- 
sahawken  Creek.  To  whom  this  belonged  or  when 
erected  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  It  was 
probably  a  rude  structure  and  of  brief  duration. 

John  Duckworth,  a  very  aged  citizen  of  Milford, 
recently  passed  away,  remembered  back  to  the  period 
when  there  was  no  village  at  that  place.  The  first 
grist-mill  was  built  on  piles  about  the  middle  of 
where  the  pond  now  is.  This  mill  was  burned,  and 
the  place  took  the  name  of  "  Burnt  Mills."  In  a  deed 
of  conveyance  made  in  1805  by  Thomas  Lowrey  the 
creek  is  called  the  "  Burnt  Mill  Greek,''  and  the  land 
sold  the  "  Burnt  Mill  Farm."  Mr.  Lowrey  purchased 
the  old  site  of  "  Burnt  Mills,"  and  it  was  afterwards 
called  Lowreytown.  He  built,  in  1796-97,  for  a  resi- 
dence for  himself,  the  edifice  since  used  for  a  hotel, 
and  known  as  the  Gibson  House.  His  wife  not  liking 
the  situation,  he  then  built  the  house  now  occupied 
by  Edward  Thomas. 

Mr.  Lowreyt  erected  the  first  flouring-mill  by  the 
river-side,  which  he  commenced  in  1798  and  finished 
in  1800.  His  mill  and  the  saw-mill  adjoining  were 
put  up  on  contract  by  Thomas  Elicott. 

Soon  after  the  building  of  the  mills  by  the  river  a 
saw-mill  was  put  up  by  Julius  Foster.  About  1803 
or  1804  the  place  began  to  be  called  Milford.J:  It 
then  had,  besides  the  mills  mentioned,  but  three 
dwellings  and  a  store.  In  1805,  Mr.  Lowrey  sold  the 
two  saw-mills  and  part  of  the  land  to  Jacob  Housel, 
a  son-in-law,  and  James  and  Thomas  Alexander.  In 
1810  his  executors,  A.  D.  Woodruff  and  Dr.  William 
McGill,  conveyed  the  flouring-mill  and  balance  of 
the  land  (reserving  one  house  for  the  widow)  to  Jacob 
Housel.  This  property  wJis  sold  from  him  in  1822 
by  the  sheriff,  and  purchased  by  Aaron  Vansyckel. 
It  subsequently  passed  through  various  hands,  and  in 
1853  came  into  the  possession  of  its  present  owners, 
Wilson  and  Edward  Thomas. 

In  1838,  Wilson  Housel,  son  of  Jacob,  rebuilt  the 
saw-mill,  which  had  been  first  built  in  1798,  and  at 
his  death  it  was  bought,  in  1857,  by  the  present 
owners,  W.  &  E.  Thomas,  and  again  rebuilt  in  1869. 
The  flouring-mill  was  also  replaced  with  the  present 
structure  by  Mordecai  Thomas  in  1849.  It  contains 
six  run  of  burrs,  and  has  a  water-power  of  thirty-one 
feet  fall  on  a  lasting  stream. 

While  these  changes  have  been  occurring  relative 
to  the  mills,  the  village  has  grown  slowly  but  steadily 
in  size  and  importance.  It  now  has  three  churches, 
four  stores,  two  hotels,  two  grist-mills,  one  saw-mill, 
one  drug-store,  one  hardware-store,  one  tin-and-stove 
store,  two  cabinet-makers'  shops,  one  carriage-shop, 
two  blacksmith-shops,  a  post-office,  and  a  railroad 
depot. 

Spring  Mills. — The  mill  at  this  place  dates  back 
to  an  early  period  in  colonial  times.     In  the  field- 

1  See  a  liiatorical  Bketch  of  Mr,  Lowrey  in  the  history  of  Flsmington, 
avie. 
t  Mill  Ford. 


428 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY". 


notes  of  Robert  Emley,  1747,  he  speaks  of- "the  road 
to  Petit's  Mill."  This  mill  had  probably  been  built 
and  occupied  by  a  tenant,  or  by  a  party  who  had  lo- 
cated on  land  for  which  he  had  obtained  no  title  or 
lease.  In  a  letter  in  .the  writer's  possession,  of  Sir 
Robert  Barker's  to  his  attorney,  William  MoAdam, 
Esq.,  of  New  York,  dated  "Spring  Gardens,  Oct.  3, 
1775,"  he  says, — 

"  With  regard  to  the  purchaee  of  the  mill  by  Mr.  Richie,  you  are  the 
best  judge.  I  think,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  form  auy  idea  at  this  dis- 
tauee,  he  has  some  claim  of  preference." 

We  have  no  means  at  hand  by  which  to  prove  to  a 
certainty  that  this  relates  to  Petit's  Mill,  but  think  it 
does. 

Mr.  Jacob  R.  Anderson,  the  present  owner  of  the 
Spring  Mills  property,  says  that  William  Godley  pur- 
chased of  John  Cooley  in  1790,  and  in  1793  took 
down  an  old  rickety  mill,  "  and  in  digging  out  the 
foundation  discovered  where  there  had  been  a  mill 
previous  to  the  one  he  took  down."  Mr.  Anderson 
has  these  facts  from  Mr.  Augustus  Godley,  a  son  of 
the  above-mentioned  William  Godley. 

A  few  years  afterwards  Mr.  Godley  built  a  saw-mill 
also.  In  1835,  Mr.  Augustus  Godley,  who  had  inher- 
ited the  property,  took  down  both  the  grist-  and  the 
saw-mill,  and  erected  a  large  stone  mill.  In  1852, 
Mr.  Anderson,  the  present  proprietor,  bought  the 
mill-property  and  16J  acres.  April  14,  1861,  the  mill 
was  burned,  but  rebuilt  the  same  year  on  the  old 
foundation.  Mr.  Anderson  is  a  grandson  of  Jacob 
Anderson,  a  captain  of  State  troops  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary army. 

Mount  Joy  is  an  extension  of  Riegelsville,  on 
the  Hunterdon  County  side  of  ]\Iusconetcong  Creek. 
It  has  one  store  and  two  saw-mills. 

Amsterdam  is  a  hamlet  at  the  northwest  side  of 
Gravel  Hill.  A  shoe-shop,  carpenter-shop,  and  saw- 
mill comprise  its  places  of  business. 

SMITH'S  HOTEL. 
A  mile  and  a  half  above  Milford,  on  the  line  of  the 
Belvidere  Delaware  Railroad,  stands  an  old  building 
which  fifty  years  ago  was  kept  as  a  hotel.  The  pro- 
prietor was  James  Smith.  He  had  thirteen  children, 
— six  sons  and  seven  daughters, — all  of  whom  are 
still  living.  At  this  time  (1880)  the  youngest  is  forty- 
seven  years  old,  and  the  eldest  about  seventy. 

THE  WARKEN  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY 
is  a  joint  stock  company,  organized  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  manilla  paper.  It  is  located  near  Hughes- 
ville,  and  has  a  capital  of  $40,000.  Its  factory  was 
commenced  in  1872,  and  completed  in  August  of  the 
following  year.  Its  daily  product  is  five,  tons  of  ma- 
nilla paper. 

KNIFE-FACTORY   AT    FINESVILLE. 
About  the  close  of  last  century  Philip  Fine  built  a 
saw-mill,  oil-mill,  and  flour-mill  on  the  south  side  of 
Musconetcong   Creek,  at  Finesville.     The  saw-  and 


oil-mills  went  into  disuse  nearly  half  a  century  ago. 
After  the  decease  of  Philip  Fine  the  flour-mill  was 
continued  by  his  son.  In  November,  1860,  two-thirds 
of  the  property  was  purchased  by  Amos  Davis,  Cyrus 
Lawall,  William  Lawall,  Tobias  Worman,  and  Cyrus 
Stover,  who  converted  it  into  a  paper-mill,  and  used 
it  as  such  until  near  1869,  when  it  was  sold  to  Fred- 
eric S.  Taylor,  Augustus  Bunsby,  and  Francis  Stiles, 
who  changed  it  into  a  knife-manufactory.  It  is  still 
used  in  this  department  of  industry.  The  firm-name 
is  Taylor,  Stiles  &  Co. 

CALVIN'S     FERRY. 

Among    some    old    manuscripts    the   following  is 

found : 

"Upon  application  made  to  us,  the  Surveyors  of  the  Boads  for  the 
Townships  of  Bethlehem,  Kingwood,  aud  Amwell,  for  the  Alter.ation  of 
a  Certain  four  Rod  Road  that  runs  from  Colviu's*  Ferry,  on  Delaware 
River,  Toward  Everitts'  Mill,f  and  we  have  called  to  our  assistance  Six 
More  Surveyors  of  the  Ajacent  County  of  Sussex,  According  to  Law  made 
and  Provided,  and  all  Mett  Together,  this  24  d.iy  of  August,  1759,  aud 
Upon  a  Vew  of  the  said  Road,  and  a  Deleberiite  Consideration  thereon, 
have  thought  Reasonable  the  said  Road  Sliould  be  Alter'd,"  etc. 

Various  documents  we  have  seen  convince  us  that 
in  1759  the  ferry  at  Frenchtown  was  called  Calvin's. 
In  Erskine's  map,  used  in  the  Revolutionary  army, 
1778-80,  this  crossing  is  called  Sherrerd's  Ferry.  At 
a  later  period  it  was  called  Erwin's  Ferry,  and  still 
later  Prevost's  Ferry. 

OTHER    EARLY    FERRIES. 

According  to  Faden's  map,  1777,  the  road  came 
down  Deep  Hollow  50  yards  above  where  Forman 
Hawk's  barn  now  stands,  and  ran  directly  across  the 
valley  fo  the  river  at  a  point  one  mile  below  Milford. 
Here  was  a  crossing  marked  on  the  map  as  "London 
Ferry." 

For  many  years  previous  to  the  building  of  the 
Milford  Delaware  bridge,  in  1841,  there  was  a  ferry 
at  Milford  known  successively  ^s  Lowreytown  Ferry, 
Burnt  Mills  Ferry,  and  Milford  Ferry. 

The  ferry  opposite  the  village  of  Monroe,  Pa.,  is, 
probably,  as  old  as  the  Durham,  Pa.,  furnace,  which 
is  quite  near,  and  was  built  in  1727-28.  It  is  desig- 
nated on  Faden's  map,  1777,  as  Pursley  (Purcell) 
Ferry.  For  many  years  it  has  been  known  as  John- 
son's Ferry. 

A  half-mile  above  the  preceding  is  Stillwell's 
Ferry,  also  called  Brink's.  It  is  opposite  Durham 
Cave,  Pa.  This  ferry  is  probably  as  old  as  the  pre- 
ceding. 

"  Shank's  Ferry"  dates  back  to  an  early  colonial 
period.  It  was  contemporary,  or  nearly  so,  with  the 
two  preceding.  It  has  been  superseded  by  the  Rie- 
gelsville Delaware  bridge. 

TORY  DEN. 
On  the  farm  of  John  M.  Wolverton,  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Musconetcong  Mountain,  just  beyond 


*  Calvin's. 


t  Everittstown. 


HOLLAND. 


429 


the  summit,  is  a  small  cavern  called  the  "  Tory  Den." 
It  is  formed  by  a  large  overhanging  rock  with  projec- 
tions on  two  sides ;  one  side  was  walled  up  with  stone, 
so  that  it  furnished  quite  a  comfortable  shelter. 

There  is  a  tradition  of  the  neighborhood  that  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  (probably  1776-77)  a  small  de- 
tachment of  marauding  soldiers  passed  through 
Greenwich,  closely  pursued  by  Capt.  John  Maxwell's 
company,  as  far  as  Shank's  Ferry,  where  they  eluded 
their  pursuers.  They  then  passed  a  short  distance 
up  the  Musconetcong  valley,  ascended  the  mountain, 
and  concealed  themselves  in  this  rocky  retreat.  Here 
they  wintered,  being  clandestinely  fed  and  cared  for 
by  some  neighboring  Tories.  From  this  circumstance 
the  place  was  called  by  the  patriots  of  that  section 
the  "  Tory  Den,''  which  name  it  still  retains. 

OLD  BURYING-GROUND. 
About  150  yards  south  of  the  manufactory  of  Tay- 
lor, Stiles  &  Co.,  at  Finesville,  on  land  of  John  L. 
Eiegel,  there  was  an  old  burying-ground.  Only  one 
gravestone  now  remains,  and  that  is  broken  in  four 
pieces,  lying  by  an  apple-tree  since  grown  there.  The 
stone  has  the  following  inscription  : 

"  In  Memory  of  Elizabeth,  Daughter  of  Moses  aud  Sarah  Yamans,  who 
Departed  this  life  October  Uth,  a.b.  1778,  Aged  one  Year  and  Nine 
Months." 

The  name,  Yamans,  so  far  as  known  to  the  writer, 
no  longer  occurs  in  Alexandria  or  Holland. 

SKETCH   OF  THE  SINCLAIR  FAMILT.® 

Peter  Cincleare  (Sinclair)  was  a  native  of  Germany, 
and  emigrated  to  America  about  1750.  He  brought 
with  him  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  two  sons,  John  and 
Peter,  and  one  daughter  Mary.  Peter  was  born  1719, 
and  died  1784;  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  was  born  1724, 
and  died  1798.  Their  remains  lie  in  St.  James'  Lu- 
theran churchyard,  Greenwich,  N.  J. 

His  son  John  was  born  in  Germany,  Nov.  12, 1743, 
and  came  with  his  father  to  America  in  1750.  He 
subsequently  married  Anna  Alpaugh,  and  became  the 
owner  of  220  acres  of  land  on  the  Musconetcong 
Mountain,  probably  before  the  Revolution.  Feb.  14, 
1799,  his  house  was  destroyed  by  fire,  at  which  time 
all  deeds  and  papers  were  lost.  The  house  was  re- 
built the  same  year,  a  part  of  which  still  stands,  and 
is  owned  and  occupied  by  Simeon  D.  Sinclair.  It  is 
a  log  structure. 

John  Sinclair  died  Sept.  1,  1821,  leaving  nine  chil- 
dren,—Peter,  born  1784;  William,  1786  ;  John,  1789; 
Reuben,  1790 ;  Samuel,  1791 ;  Elizabeth,  1794 ;  Ann, 
1796 ;  Mary,  1799 ;  Jesse,  1802.  Of  these  last  named, 
Samuel  Sinclair  had  five  children,— three  sons  and 
two  daughters. 

One  of  these  sons,  Jesse,  had  eight  children,  only 
three  of  whom  are  living.  The  Sinclairs  are  numer- 
ous, being  now  found  in  almost  every  State  in  the 
Union. 


THE   VAN   SYCKEL   FAMILY. 

The  following  sketch  of  the  Alexandria  and  Hol- 
land branches  of  the  Van  Syckel  family  from  the  first 
to  the  sixth  generation  is  compiled  principally  from 
Dr.  John  W.  Van  Sickel's  "  History  of  the  Family  ia 
the  United  States :" 

First  Generation. — Ferdenandus  Van  Sycklin,  the  primogenitor  of  the 
Van  Syckel  family  in  this  country,  was  horn  in  the  Netherlands,  about 
the  year  1635.  He  emigrated  to  America  in  1652.  Of  his  European  an- 
cestry nothing  is  known.  He  married,  about  1660,  Eva  Antonis  Jansen, 
born  1641,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  of  whom  Reinier  was  the 
eldest. 

Second  Genemlian  {Partial  ZW).— Keinier  Van  Sycklin,  the  first  child  of 
Ferdenandus  and  Eva,  was  born  about  the  year  1661 ;  married  (1687)  Jan- 
netje  Van  Hooren;  had  four  sons,  of  whom  Cornelius,  Jan,  and  Keinier 
removed  to  New  Jersey  prior  to  1720,  and  became  the  progenitors  of  most 
of  the  New  Jersey  Van  Syckels. 

T.liird  Ceticrad'tm.— Keinier  Van  Syckelen,  the  fourth  child  of  Reinior 
and  Jannetje,  was  born  on  Long  Island  about  1697.    He  man-ied  Henah 

.    They  had  one  child,  Reinier. 

Fourth  Gencmfioii,— Reinier  Van  Sickelen,  a  son  of  Reinier  and  Henah, 
married  Mercy  Longstreet,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children,— Birck  (Kich- 
ard),  Rynier,  Annetje  (Hannah),  Elsje,  Katrina  (Catharine),  Lydia, 
Aaron,  Peter,  Samuel,  and  David. 

Fifth  Generation.— Aa.ron  Tan  Syckel,  the  seventh  child  of  Reinier  and 
Mercy,  was  born  in  Kingwood,  July  8,  17G4,  He  was  married,  about 
1786,  to  Catharine,  daughter  of  Joshua  Opdyke,  by  whom  he  had  eight 
children,— John,  Elijah,  Daniel,  Aaron,  Mercy,  William,  Alice,  anj 
Fannie. 

Peter  Van  Syckel,  the  eighth  child  of  Reinier  and  Mercy,  was  born 
Aug.  26, 1766.  He  married,  about  1788,  Ellen  Vanderbelt,  by  whom  he 
had  eight  children,— John,  Samuel,  Lydia,  Agnes,  George  Warne,  Lewis, 
Elizabeth,  and  Ellen.  He  lived  in  Alexandria  township,  and  kept  tlie 
"  Hickory  Tavern,"  on  account  of  the  sign-board  being  suspended  from 
the  branch  of  a  hickory-tree.    He  died  Feb.  12, 1 830. 

Si^Ui  Generation.— I)s.me\  Van  Syckel,  the  fourth  child  of  Aaron  anJ 
Catharine,  was  born  Nov.  2, 1790.  He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  Cornelius  Carhart,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children,— Holloway 
Whitfield,  Isabella,  Seliuda,  Augustus,  Elbridge,  Sanford,  Horatio  Dis- 
borough,  Albert,  Gustavus  Adollihus,  and  Virginia.  He  next  married 
Mrs.  Sarah  Runkel,  sister  to  his  first  wife  Mary.  No  children  by  this 
marriage.  He  was  a  merchant,  and  also  carried  on  farming.  He  died 
Nov,  8,  1861. 

John  Van  Syckel,  the  first  child  of  Ellen  (Vanderbelt)  and  Peter,  was 
born  Jan.  11, 1789.  He  was  twice  married,- to  Mary,  daughter  of  Luther 
Calvin,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children;  and  Mrs.  Catharine  (Alpaugh) 
Van  Syckel,  the  widow  of  his  brother  Lewis,  by  whom  he  had  four 
children. 

Samuel  Van  Syckel,  the  second  child  of  Peter  and  Ellen,  was  born 
Dec.  11, 1790.  He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Margaret  Hartpence.  No 
children.  He  next  married  Margaret  Barber,  by  whom  he  had  one 
daughter,  Lydia  Catharine.    Samuel  died  Feb.  12, 1865. 

George  Warne  Van  Syckel,  the  fifth  child  of  Peter  and  Ellen  (Vander- 
belt), was  born  Sept.  30,  1797.  He  married,  Dec.  13,  1817,  Rachel, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Schuresm.an,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children.  He 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  lived  in  Holland  township. 

Lewis  Van  Syckel,  the  sixth  child  of  Peter  and  Ellen  (Vanderbelt),  was 
bom  Dec.  19, 1800.  He  married  Catharine  Alpaugh  ;  had  five  children  ; 
died  July  18, 1830. 

John  Van  Syckel,  the  fourth  child  of  Mary  (Opdyke)  and  David  Van 
Syckel,  who  was  the  tenth  child  of  Mercy  (Longstreet)  and  Reinier 
Van  Syckel,  was  born  Sept.  12, 1803.  He  married  Sarah  Ann,  daughter 
of  Michael  Frailey,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children.  He  was  a  farmer, 
and  lived  near  Milford,  in  Holland  township.    He  died  March  27, 1875. 

TINSMAN'S  SAW-MILL.f 
Tinsman's  saw-mill  is  a  short  distance  below  Rie- 
gelsville.     It  was  first  erected  about  1812  by  Henry 
Quinn,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Ireland. 


*  Contributed  by  Jesse  Sinclair,  Esq. 


t  We  are  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Jesse  Sinclair,  Esq.,  for  the  facts 
relative  to  Tinsman's  and  Riegel's  8a%v-mills. 


430 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


He  afterwards  built  a  grist-mill  at  the  same  place. 
These  mills  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  184S.  The  fol- 
lowing year  the  saw-mill  was  rebuilt  by  John  L.  Eie- 
gel,  Thomas  P.  Tinsman,  and  George  Quinn.  It  is 
now  the  property  of  Thomas  P.  Tinsman. 

EIEGEL'S  SAW-MILL. 
Thomas  Purcell  came  to  Alexandria  from  Durham 
township,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.     He  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  first  settler  at  Monroe,  in  Durham  (John- 
son's Ferry),  and  is  said  to  have  built,  in  1780,  the 


first  house  in  that  place.  This  house  was  afterwards, 
and  is  still,  kept  as  a  tavern.  He  also  built  a  saw- 
mill, grist-mill,  and  blacksmith-shop,  and  established 
a  ferry  across  the  Delaware.  In  1793  he  came  to  New 
Jersey,  having  purchased  212  acres  of  land  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Musconetcong  Creek,  near  its  mouth. 
He  built  a  saw-mill,  now  owned  by  Isaac  T.  Eiegel,  on 
this  property.  Purcell,  soon  after,  also  built  another 
saw-mill  on  the  same  property,  half  a  mile  above  the 
former.  This  property  was  bought  by  Benjamin 
Riegel,  and  the  latter  mill  has  since  been  taken  down. 


FRANKLIN. 


GEOGRAPHICAL. 

Franklin  is  a  central  township  of  Hunterdon 
County.  It  is  bounded  north  by  Clinton  borough ; 
northeast  by  Clinton  township,  from  which  it  is  sep- 
arated by  the  South  Branch  of  the  Earitan ;  south- 
east by  Earitan  and  Delaware ;  southwest  by  King- 
wood;  northwest  by  Alexandria  and  Union.  Its 
form  is  rhomboidal,  its  southeastern  and  southwestern 
boundaries  being  straight  lines  meeting  obliquely. 
Its  longest  diagonal  is  about  nine  miles :  its  shortest, 
about  six.     It  has  a  farm  area  of  14,419  acres. 

The  act  to  establish  the  township  has  this  pro- 
vision : 

'*  Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  General  Assembly  of  ilie  State  of  New 
Jersey,  That  all  lliat  part,  of  the  township  of  Kingwood,  in  the  county  of 
Hunterdon,  lying  north  of  a  line  to  begin  at  a  stone  standing  in  the 
Kingwood  and  Deliiware  line,  in  the  great  road  near  Elisha  Warford's 
farm,  and  from  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  the  Alexandria  and  King- 
wood  line,  in  the  middle  of  the  great  road,  opposite  the  school-house 
near  the  Episcopal  church  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Thomas'  Church, 
shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  set  off  from  tiie  said  township  of  King- 
wood  into  a  separate  townsliip,  to  be  called  and  known  by  the  name  of 
the  township  of  Franklin." 

This  has  been  slightly  modified  by  the  act  incorpo- 
rating the  borough  of  Clinton,  as  noticed  elsewhere. 

Two  streams  important  for  their  water-power,  the 
Capoolon  and  the  Lacatong,  have  their  sources 
within  its  borders.  The  Capoolon  rises  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  township,  takes  an  east-by-north- 
east course,  and  empties  into  the  South  Branch.  The 
Lackatong  (in  old  deeds  called  the  Laokolong)  rises 
below  Quakertown,  and  flows  southwesterly  through 
Kingwood  and  Delaware  into  the  Delaware  Eiver. 

NATURAL    FEATURES. 
The  township  presents  no  very  striking  scenery,  yet 
it  has  a  diversity  of  rich  and  highly-cultivated  farm- 
ing districts.     The  surface  is  level  in  the  southern 
part,  rolling  or  hilly  in  the  northern.    The  soil  is  fer- 

*  By  E.  T.  Bush. 


tile,  producing  abundantly  all  the  grains  common  to 
this  latitude.  Fruits  are  largely  grown.  Peaches 
have  lately  become  a  leading  production. 

Franklin  may  still  be  considered  a  well-timbered 
district.  Oak,  hickory,  maple,  and  chestnut  grow 
plentifully,  thu.s  contributing  to  the  general  wealth. 

EARLY   SETTLEMENT. 

Just  when  the  lands  were  first  taken  up  and  who 
were  the  first  settlers  are  questions  wanting  a  satis- 
factory answer.  That  Franklin  was  a  Quaker  settle- 
ment is  undisputed,  and  that  portions  of  it  were  set- 
tled soon  after  1700  is  evident;  but  exactly  when 
and  by  whom  may,  perhaps,  never  be  known. 

The  last  will  and  testament  of  George  Hutchinson, 
of  Philadelphia,  bearing  date  April  29,  1698,  be- 
queathed to  his  daughter  Rachel  1000  acres  of  land 
near  Quakertown,  evidently  lying  to  the  west;  a  part 
at  least  of  the  Laing  property  was  included  in  it. 
She  died  childless,  and  her  nephew,  George  Hutchin- 
son, fell  heir  to  the  property  ;  he  sold  it  to  James 
Bollen  in  1716.  In  1723  it  was  sold  to  John  Tautom, 
who  in  1742  willed  it  to  his  three  daughters,  Mary 
Murfin,  Anne  Hughlings,  and  Sarah  Lovett.  These 
heirs  caused  a  division  to  be  made,  and  the  land  was 
subsequently  sold  in  parcels. 

In  1729,  Jacob  Doughty  bought  1212  acres,  extend- 
ing from  Oak  Grove  to  Quakertown.  This  land  was 
bought  of  Mathews  Gardiner,  who  had  inherited  it 
from  his  father,  by  whom  it  had  been  taken  up  as  a 
"  proprietary  right."  From  this  tract  Doughty  sold 
various  parcels,  as  elsewhere  seen.  His  son  Daniel 
finally  came  into  possession  of  what  had  not  been  other- 
wise conveyed.  The  original  owners,  the  Gardiners, 
do  not  seem  ever  to  have  occupied  the  land. 

Among  the  early  landowners  were  George  Deacon, 
once  owner  of  the  Large  homestead ;  John  Emley, 
who  owned  several  hundred  acres  of  land  west  of  the 
southern  part  of  Doughty's  purchase ;    John  Coats, 


FRANKLIN. 


431 


■whose  land,  afterwards  sold  to  Samuel  Schooley, 
joined  the  Doughty  tract  on  the  east  in  1730.  Amos 
Strettle  seems  to  have  been  quite  an  extensive  land- 
owner at  that  time,  having  purchased  a  large  tract, 
partly  within  the  borders  of  Frantlin,  of  Alexander 
Seaton,  of  County  Down,  Ireland,  by  indenture  bear- 
ing date  1702,  the  same  having  been  purchased  of 
Maurice  Trent  and  Chester  Allen,  who  had  purchased 
it  of  Edward  Byllinge  and  trustees,  Penn,  Lucas,  and 
Lawrie,  in  1680.  In  1731,  Edward  Rockhill,  "  far- 
mer in  Bethlehem,"  bought  "one  whole  propriety, 
^\  and  ^%  of  one  propriety."  This  land  was  in  two 
tracts,  one  about  Pittstown  and  the  other  southwest 
of  Oak  Grove,  described  as  "  timber  swamp."  In  all 
there  were  846  acres,  costing  £102.  Charles  HofF  was 
an  extensive  landholder  as  early  as  1758.  He  lived 
at  Pittstown,  then  called  "HofF's,"  where  he  kept  a 
shop,  and  afterwards,  in  1764,  carried  on  milling. 
John  Stevenson  bought  200  acres  east  of  the  Doughty 
tract  in  1727. 

At  a  later  day  Joseph  and  Jeremiah  King  counted 
their  acres  by  the  thousand  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
township ;  their  land  lay  in  what  is  known  as  the 
■"  Great  Swamp." 

It  is  said  that  the  Friends  selected  the  vicinity  of 
Qiiiikertown  on  account  of  the  richness  of  the  soil,  the 
beauty  of  its  situation,  and  the  absence  of  forests,  the 
last,  as  is  usually  the  case  in  new  countries,  being  con- 
sidered a  great  advantage  to  the  settler.  Tradition 
tells  of  a  time,  scarcely  more  than  a  hundred  years 
ago,  when  Quakertown  could  be  seen  from  Oak 
Grove  across  a  country  that  afterwards  became  densely 
wooded.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  early  deeds,  by  sel- 
dom describing  any  forest  or  timber-land,  seem  to 
bear  testimojiy  to  the  openness  of  the  county.  Much 
of  the  timbered  portion  has  been  cleared  off  within 
the  past  thirty  or  forty  years,  but  some  large  and  val- 
uable pieces  of  woodland  still  remain. 

This  is  said  to  have  been  a  favorite  resort  for  Indian 
huntsmen,  and  the  truth  of  the  tradition  is  attested 
by  great  numbers  of  arrow-heads  found  in  many 
places  in  the  township. 

A  village  of  Delaware  Indians  once  occupied  the 
ravine  below  the  house  now  owned  by  Daniel  Little, 
on  the  property  known  as  the  Rhoda  Large  lot. 

The  most  reliable  records  that  are  now  available 
concerning  the  early  days  are  the  minutes  of  the 
Friends'  meeting  at  Quakertown.*  From  these  many 
facts  concerning  the  old  families  have  been  gathered. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  they  do  not  go  back  to  the  first 
settlement. 

OLD   FAMILIES   AND   THEIR   HOMESTEADS. 

The  Kings  were  among  the  first  settlers.    Har- 

menus  King  came  from  Holland  with  a  colony  of 

Friends  and  settled  at  Burlington  in  or  about  1777. 

He  had  two  sons,  Joseph  and  John.    Joseph  bought 

*  These  records  have  been  kindly  placed  at  our  disposal  liy  Abram  K. 
Vail,  clerk  of  the  meeting. 


954  acres  of  land  along  the  South  Branch  in  1729,  and 
settled  at  or  near  Young's  Mills  (so  named  in  later 
years),  and  built  the  first  mill  at  that  place.  The 
date  of  his  settlement  cannot  be  definitely  fixed,  but 
his  name  occurs  as  trustee  of  the  Friends'  meeting  at 
Quakertown  (then  Bethlehem)  in  1733.  He  had  two 
sons,  Joseph  and  William,  and  a  daughter  named  Re- 
becca. William  at  one  time  lived  at  Oherryville, 
where  his  son  Joseph  was  born.  He  subsequently 
removed  to  the  farm  now  owned  by  Edward  Bidwell, 
which  he  purchased  of  Nehemiah  Dunham  in  1763. 
Here  Joseph  remained  until  after  the  purchase  of  the 
Twining  (now  King's)  Mills  property  for  his  only 
son,  William  L.,  in  1811.  William  L.  King  married 
Elizabeth  Large,  a  great-granddaughter  of  the  orig- 
inal settler,  Samuel  Large.  Their  children  were 
Nancy  and  Joseph, — still  living  at  King's  Mills, — 
Mary,  Sarah,  and  Eliza. 

Jeremiah  King'  settled  in  the  "Swamp,"  on  the 
farm  now  belonging  to  the  estate  of  Jacob  Philhower, 
recently  deceased.  He  was  a  chosen  freeholder  from 
Kingwood  from  1768  to  1774.  He  was  an  extensive 
landholder  in  that  vicinity ;  he  and  William  King  are 
popularly  said  to  have  "owned  the  Swamp."  His 
children  were  John,  Jeremiah,  Joseph,  Albertus, 
Newton,  Sarah,  Mary,  Rachel,  and  a  daughter  who 
married  John  Wood.  Sarah  was  the  wife  of  Dr. 
James  Pyatt ;  she  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  died 
a  few  years  ago.  Rachel  married  Thomas  Little. 
Newton  married  Elizabeth  Case.  Their  children 
were  Sarah  Ann,  Charlotte,  and  Margaret.  Charlotte, 
now  the  wife  of  Thatcher  Trimmer,  Sr.,  still  lives  in 
Franklin. 

John  Coats,  in  1730,  owned  land  east  of  the  Willson 
tract.  A  part  at  least  of  this  was  subsequently  sold 
to  Samuel  Schooley ;  but  we  find  that  Henry  Coats, 
who  is  thought  to  have  been  a  son  of  John,  and 
who  a  tradition  in  the  family  says  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  that  vicinity,  lived  at  a  later  day  on  the 
farm  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Mathews. 
He  married  Deborah  Newbold.  Their  children  were 
Amy,  born  in  1754,  John,  Esther,  Daniel,  Lucy, 
Robert,  Phebe,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  John  A.,  Henry, 
and  Charles. 

Robert  Coats  married  a  Smith.  His  son  Charles 
married  Elizabeth  Case,  and  had  nine  children,— 
Elizabeth,  Lucy,  Mary,  Amy,  Robert,  Nancy,  Sarah, 
William,  and  Thomas.  The  last  named  still  lives 
near  Quakertown. 

Samuel  Large  was  born  in  England  in  1688;  he 
settled  within  the  present  limits  of  Franklin  before 
1780.  He  married  Rebecca  Willson,  sister  to  Samuel, 
the  first  of  that  family  to  settle  here.  They  had  five 
children,— Ebenezer,  Robert,  Jacob,  William,  and 
Ann.  Jacob  married  Mary  Bunting,  and  had  seven 
children,— Aaron,  Samuel,  Anna,  Mary,  Ebenezer, 
William,  and  Rebecca. 

Samuel  the  elder  was  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends ;  he  died  in  1761,  and  was  buried  in  the 


432 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Friends'  burying-ground.  "William,  son  of  Jacob  and 
Mary  Large,  married  Susan  Palmer.  They  bad  seven 
children,— Jacob,  Aaron,  John,  Samuel,  Achilles, 
Nelson,  and  William.  John  married  Eliza,  daughter 
of  George  Brown ;  they  were  the  parents  of  William 
Large,  now  living  near  Quakertown. 

The  homestead,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Wil- 
liam Dubon,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  southwest  of 
Quakertown,  originally  extended  so  far  to  the  north 
as  to  include  the  farm  now  owned  by  Jeremiah  Sny- 
der. It  was  bought  of  George  Deacon,  and  remained 
in  the  family  until  1807,  when  William,  a  grandson 
of  Samuel,  Sr.,  sold  it  and  removed  to  the  Quaker- 
town  tavern.  The  purchaser  was  Uriah  Larue,  whose 
son  Gordon,  the  father  of  the  present  Uriah  and  Paul 
0.  Larue,  lived  on  the  homestead,  and  died  there  in 
1871. 

In  1746,  Thomas  Eobeson  and  his  wife  came  with 
a  certificate  from  Wrightstown,  Pa.  Jonathan  Robe- 
son was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Friends'  meeting 
for  several  years.  In  1764  he  and  his  wife  and  their 
daughter,  Mary,  went  with  a  certificate  to  Greenwich. 
He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  iron  industry  in 
this  country.  He  is  said  to  have  built  the  Oxford 
Furnace.  He  had  two  sons,  John  and  Morris.  The 
latter  married  Tacy  Paul,  and  lived  part  of  the  time 
at  Oxford,  and  part  at  Philadelphia.  He  died  in 
1823,  and  was  buried  in  the  Friends'  burying-ground 
at  Quakertown  by  the  side  of  his  sister  Elizabeth 
Robeson,  who  lived  and  died  in  that  village.  Morris 
was  the  grandfather  of  Hon.  George  M.  Robeson, 
formerly  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Jacob  Race,  the  first  of  the  New  Jersey  branch  of 
the  Race  family  of  which  we  have  any  reliable  record, 
was  born  in  1716.  We  find  papers  of  the  date  of 
1725  showing  that  he  was  then  nine  years  old  and 
had  a  guardian,  Henry  Boss,  of  Amwell.  The 
family  traditions  are  that  his  father  came  from  Ger- 
many. Henry  Boss  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Rocktown.  Jacob  Race,  his  ward,  learned  milling, 
and  in  1768  purchased  "  Dalles'  old  mill,"  near  Mount 
Airy,  built  by  William  Dalles,  who  purchased  the 
property  in  1727.  His  son,  Jacob  Race,  was  born  in 
1764,  and  brought  up  at  that  place.  He  and  his  son 
occupied  the  mill  and  a  small  farm  adjoining  till 
about  1790.  In  1796  the  younger  Jacob  and  his  aged 
father  came  to  the  old  Race  homestead  in  Franklin 
(then  Kingwood)  township,  where  the  father  died  in 
1804.  Jacob  Race,  son  of  the  latter,  in  1787  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  William  Rockafeller  ;  they  had 
five  children, — William,  Mary,  Jacob,  John,  and  An- 
drew. The  first  wife  having  died,  he  was  again  mar- 
ried, in  1801,  to  Sophia,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Hoff 
and  Margaret  Eicke,  his  wife.  By  this  marriage  they 
had  six  children, — Cornelius,  Holloway  W.,  Samuel 
Anna,  Henry,  and  Margaret.  He  died  July  4,  1857, 
aged  ninety-three.  Of  his  children  two  only  are 
living, — John  Race,  of  Clinton,  and  Dr.  Henry  Race, 
of  Pittstown. 


Samuel  Willson  was  born  in  Scarborough,  England, 
in  1681.  He  removed  to  this  country,  and  settled  at 
Chesterfield  prior  to  1707.  Here  were  born  to  him 
and  his  wife,  Hester,  eight  children,— Samuel,  Robert, 
Esther,  Sarah,  James,  Ann,  John,  and  Gabriel.  In 
1730  he  removed  with  his  family  to  what  is  now 
Franklin  township,  and  died  here  in  1761.  The  oldest 
son,  Samuel,  went  to  Sussex  County.  James  studied 
medicine,  married  Martha  Laing,  of  Plainfield,  in 
1736,  bought  the  homestead  of  his  father  in  1742,  and 
lived  there  until  his  death,  in  1777.  The  children  of 
James  and  Martha  Willson  were  Samuel,  Josiah, 
James,  Sarah,  Esther,  and  Anne.  Samuel  never  mar- 
ried. Josiah  settled  at  or  near  Rah  way,  and  died  and 
was  buried  there  in  1788,  aged  forty-four.  James  was 
born  in  1760  ;  he  married  Lucretia  Freeman,  and  lived 
at  the  homestead,  where  he  died  in  September,  1785, 
at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five.  He  left  two  sons, — 
Samuel,  born  in  1782,  and  John,  born  in  1784.  His 
widow  died  about  four  years  later.  Sarah  married  Jo- 
seph King,-  and  died  soon  after.  Anne  remained 
single.  She  and  Samuel  lived  and  died  at  the  home- 
stead. 

Samuel  and  John,  the  orphan  children  of  James 
and  Lucretia  Willson,  were  left  in  charge  of  their 
uncle  Samuel,  who  brought  them  up  according  to 
the  discipline  of  Friends.  John  married  Ruth, 
daughter  of  George  Scott.  They  removed  with  their 
children  to  the  West.  Samuel  married  Hannah 
Mason,  and  had  six  children, — Uriah,  James,  John, 
Samuel,  Edward,  and  Josiah, — of  whom  all  except 
Uriah  and  Edward  live  in  Franklin.  Uriah  died  at 
Quakertown.  James  married  Mary  Laing  in  1836. 
Their  children  are  Samuel,  Anna,  and  Carrie.  John 
married  Elizabeth  Allen,  who  died  soon  after.  He 
subsequently  married  Amy  Bray ;  they  have  one 
daughter.  Belle,  the  wife  of  Rev.  Frank  Tomlinson. 
Samuel  married  Amanda,  daughter  of  John  Swallow. 
They  have  eight  children, — George,  Hannah,  Lucre- 
tia, Elizabeth,  Sarah  Eleanor,  Edward,  Samuel,  and 
Charles.  Edward  married  Mrs.  Lucy  Case,  and  had 
one  child,  Mary,  who  still  survives.  He  lived  at  the 
homestead,  and  died  there  in  1866.  Josiah  married 
Mary  Ann  Bray ;  they  have  two  children, — Addie 
and  Laura. 

The  Willson  homestead  lies  a  little  more  than  a 
mile  southwest  of  Quakertown.  It  was  bought  by 
Samuel  Willson,  of  Jacob  Doughty,  in  1730,  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present  it  has  never  been  out  of 
the  family.  Originally  it  contained  600  acres  and 
cost  £300.  It  then  included  the  farms  now  owned  by 
David  Case,  William  Mathews,  James  Willson,  and 
Josiah  Willson,  besides  portions  included  in  other 
farms.  It  now  contains  about  100  acres  of  the  orig- 
inal tract,  and  belongs  to  Samuel  M^'illson,  who  pur- 
chased it  after  the  death  of  his  brother  Edward. 

The  stone  house  was  built  by  Samuel  Willson  in 
1735  ;  an  addition  was  made  to  it  by  his  great-grand- 
son, Samuel  Willson,  in  1819.     Both  parts  are  still 


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433 


occupied, — the  new  by  a  son-in-law  of  the  present 
owner,  William  H.  H.  Woodruflf,  who  tills  the  farm  ; 
the  old  by  another  son-in-law,  the  writer  of  this 
sketch. 

Richard  Lundy  and  his  wife  came  from  Exeter, 
Pa.,  in  1747.  He  died  and  was  buried  at  Hardwick 
in  1772,  aged  eighty  years. 

Among  the  others  of  the  name  who  are  mentioned 
in  the  Friends'  records  are  Jacob  (probably  a  son  of 
Richard),  married  Mary  Willson  in  1748;  Thomas, 
came  from  Maiden  Creek  in  1745  ;  Joseph,  married 
Sarah  Willson  in  1758  ;  and  Ann,  married  Abraham 
Webster  in  1770. 

Isaac  Lundy  died  at  Hardwick,  at  the  age  of  twentj'- 
seven.  His  son,  Amos  G.,  came  to  live  with  his  uncle, 
Aaron  Large,  on  the  Large  homestead.  He  married 
Abigail,  daughter  of  John  Stockton,  in  1804,  after 
which  they  spent  most  of  their  time  here  until  1818, 
when  they  removed  to  the  State  of  New  York.  Their 
children  were  Nancy,  Amy,  Geo.  W.  A.  C.  (now  of 
Stockton),  Arthur  W.  (now  of  Frenchtown),  Eliza- 
beth, and  John,  all  living  except  the  last  two. 

John  Emley  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Isaiah  Mathews,  evidently  by  or  before  1730.  He 
certainly  owned  the  land  at  that  date.  In  1732  he 
built  the  stone  house,  which,  after  standing  ninety- 
nine  years,  was  rebuilt  by  Edward  Mason  in  1831. 
He  had  three  sons,  two  of  whom,  John  and  Robert, 
in  1762,  after  the  death  of  their  father,  bought  the 
property,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it,  containing  600  acres. 
The  other  son  was  Elisha,  to  whom,  in  1755,  he  deeded 
the  Race  farm,  now  owned  by  Judson  Hoff.  This 
is  described  as  being  part  of  a  larger  tract  bought 
by  John  Emley  of  Robert  Strettle  in  1737.  After 
tlie  death  of  Elisha,  in  1767,  it  was  sold  by  his  ex- 
ecutors to  Robert  Emley,  who  sold  it  to  Thomas  Hol- 
combe.  Holcombe  sold  it  to  Jacob  Race,  father  of 
Dr.  Henry  Race,  in  1791.  Ann  Emley,  daughter  of 
.John,  married  Dr.  Aaron  Forman  in  1769.  Robert, 
a  surveyor,  died  in  1808.  The  family  has  entirely 
passed  away,  not  one  of  the  name  remaining  in  the 
township. 

The  Stevenson  family  was  among  the  earliest  here, 
l)ut  the  line  of  descent  is  not  very  clear.  The  first 
mentioned  are  Thomas  and  Sarah,  whose  children — 
•Tohn,  Sarah,  and  Mary — weire  all  born  here,  the  first 
in  1732.  John  married  Mercy  King;  their  children 
were  Sarah,  born  in  1762,  Mary,  Joseph,  Thomas, 
Abigail,  Anna,  Daniel,  John,  and  James.  Thomas 
married  Rebecca  Webster  in  1794 ;  Joseph,  Susanna 
Kester  in  1796.  They  had  four  children,— Anna, 
John,  Amy,  and  Samuel. 

Another  Thomas  Stevenson  married  a  Jenning,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  lived  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  George  and  Jacob  Race.  Their 
children  were  John,  Samuel,  and  Arthur.  Arthur 
married  a  Husted ;  Andrew,  Samuel,  Sally,  Theodore, 
Thomas,  Rachel,  and  Eliza  were  their  children. 
Samuel,  who   still  lives,  near  Quakertown,  married 


Sally  Case.  Their  children,  all  living  in  the  town- 
ship, are  Henry,  Elizabeth,  and  Martha  Ann.  Eliza- 
beth is  the  wife  of  James  Hoff,  of  Quakertown. 

The  first  Cliffton  settler  was  Henry,  who  married 
Amy,  daughter  of  Isaac  Horner,  in  1777.  Horner 
lived  on  the  property  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
Dr.  M.  Abel  at  Quakertown.  Clifl'ton  seems  to  have 
settled  there  immediately  after  his  marriage,  and  to 
have  either  purchased  or  hired  the  farm  soon  after. 
A  part  of  this  property  was  sold  in  1744  by  David 
Martin,  sheriff,  to  Margaret  Stevenson,  who  sold  it  to 
Henry  Farnsworth  in  1749.  In  1758,  Farnsworth 
willed  it,  together  with  other  lands,  to  his  sous,  Daniel 
and  Thomas,  who  shared  it.  Daniel  sold  his  share, 
96  acres,  to  John  Mulliner  in  1767.  The  latter  sold  it 
to  Isaac  Horner  in  1772. 

The  stone  house  in  which  Horner,  and  probably 
the  elder  Farnsworth,  lived  is  still  standing  in  good 
preservation.  It  is  certainly  much  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years  old,  but  its  exact  age  is  not  known. 

Henry  and  Amy  Cliffton  had  one  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth, unmarried.  She  lived  at  the  homestead,  and 
died  there  in  1853. 

William  Cliffton,  a  half-brother  to  Henry,  was  born 
in  1768.  He  married  Amy  Hampton  in  1796,  and 
the  same  year  purchased  of  Henry  the  farm  now  oc- 
cupied by  Morris  Hampton.  He  died  in  1848,  aged 
eighty.  The  children  of  William  and  Amy  Cliftton 
were  Sarah,  Henry,  William,  Jacob,  John,  Rebecca, 
Joseph,  and  Amy,  all  deceased  except  Amy,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Morris  Hampton  and  lives  on  the  home- 
stead. Morris  and  Amy  Hampton  have  had  three 
children, — Rebecca,  William,  and  Sarah  Elizabeth. 
The  first  two  are  dead ;  the  last  is  the  wife  of  George 
Leaver,  of  this  township. 

Hermanns  Kester,  born  in  1703,  removed  to  King- 
wood  prior  to  1733.  His  children  were  Susanna, 
Elizabeth,  Samuel,  John,  Rebecca,  Hermanns,  Peter, 
Thomas,  and  Margaret.  Samuel  married  Susanna 
Webster,  and  had  ten  children, — Benjamin,  born 
1759,  Anna,  Rachel,  Mary,  Sarah,  Elizabeth,  Susanna, 
Hannah,  Amy,  and  Rebecca. 

John  Kester  married  Deborah  Webster  in  1765. 
We  have  no  record  of  their  f^imily. 

Benjamin,  son  of  Samuel,  married  Rachel  Hamil- 
ton in  1782.  Their  son  William  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Webster,  in  1810. 

Susanna  Kester  was  interred  in  the  Friends'  bury- 
ing-ground  "  the  24th  of  the  second  month,  1882," 
aged  ninety-five. 

Nearly  a  hundred  years  ago  the  Kesters  lived  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  J.  T.  Stires,  but  it  does  not 
appear  whether,  or  not  this  was  the  original  place  of 
settlement.  None  of  the  name  remain  in  this 
vicinity. 

John  Allen,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Jacob  Large,  in  1778.  Their  daughter  Elizabeth 
married  David  Laing  in  1807.  These  were  the  parents 
of  Mary  A.  (deceased,  wife  of  James  Willson),  Eliza- 


434 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


beth,  Eacliel,  Jacob,  and  John.  The  last  mentioned 
still  lives  on  the  homestead,  which  was  conveyed  to 
his  grandfather,  John  Allen,  by  Peter  Potter  in  1776. 
A  part  of  the  stone  house  remains  just  as  it  was  during 
the  Revolution.  An  addition  was  built  to  it  in  1796. 
Daniel  Allen,  a  brother  to  John,  married  Elizabeth 
Lafatra.  Their  son  John  married  Catharine  Snyder, 
and  lived  and  died  at  "  Allen's  Corner,"  where  Jere- 
miah Robeson,  a  son-in-law,  now  lives. 

Thomas  Little  came  from  Ireland  and  settled  on  a 
farm  near  Pittstown,  where  he  died  before  1785.  His 
children  were  Andrew,  John,  Christy,  Martha,  and 
Robert.  Christy  married  Rachel  Cook,  and  had  seven 
children,  —  Daniel,  Sedgwick,  Esther,  Joanna,  Ade- 
laide, Martha,  and  Thirza.  The  homestead  is  still  in 
possession  of  the  family,  being  owned  by  Daniel. 
Sedgwick  lives  on  the  o|)posite  side  of  the  road. 

Herbert  Trimmer  came  from  Germany  and  settled 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Abram  Dilts.  The  date 
cannot  be  exactly  fixed,  but  he  was  living  there  during 
the  Revolution.  His  children  were  Jackson,  George, 
Peter,  Tunis,  William,  and  Anne.  The  children  of 
Jackson  were  John  E.,  Samuel,  Charles,  Aaron,  El- 
dridge,  Francis,  and  Thatcher.  Three  of  these — 
John  E.,  Samuel,  and  Francis — recently  .died  in  this 
township  at  an  average  age  of  eighty-five.  Aaron 
died  at  the  age  of  about  fifty. 

The  children  of  John  E.  Trimmer  were  Asher,  Ann, 
Eliza,  Sarah,  Jeremiah,  John,  Mahlon,  and  Catharine. 
John  and  Mahlon  still  reside  in  the  township.  Sarah, 
wife  of  Mahlon  Fields,  lives  near  Locktown.  All  the 
others  died  before  their  father,  who  lived  to  the  age 
of  ninety-two,  dying  in  1880. 

Francis  had  three  children, — Mahala,  Thatcher, 
and  James.  The  last  is  dead;  Thatcher  is  a  mer- 
chant in  Quakertown,  and  Mahala,  wife  of  Milton 
Schorap,  resides  at  Fleraington. 

Samuel  had  three  sons, — Aaron,  Joseph,  and  Elias 
H.  Joseph  is  dead,  Aaron  lives  in  Kingwood,  and 
Elias  H.  in  Flemington. 

Thatcher  Trimmer,  Sr.,  still  resides  in  the  town- 
ship. His  children,  all  living,  are  Martha  Ann,  Amy, 
Elizabeth,  William,  Jauette,  Mary,  Sarah,  and  New- 
ton. 

John  Trimmer,  a  half-brother  to  Herbert,  was  a 
blacksmith,  and  located  below  the  old  Boar's  Head 
tavern,  about  a  hundred  years  ago.  He  had  three 
sons, — Henry,  Amos,  and  John ;  his  daughters  were 
Mary,  Sarah,  Susanna,  and  Catharine.  Amos  mar- 
ried Susanna,  daughter  of  George  Scott,  of  this  town- 
ship, and  had  six  children,  of  whom  Henry  S.  is  still 
living  in  Quakertown,  and  John  S.  has  spent  nearly 
all  his  life  in  Franklin  township. 

Sarah,  daughter  of  John  Trimmer,  married  Jacob 
Bush,  and  lived  and  died  in  Franklin.  They  were 
the  parents  of  John  S.,  Susan,  Sidney  L.,  Sarah,  and 
Jacob. 

Tunis  Trimmer,  son  of  Herbert,  had  five  sons,  all 
deceased  except  Servis,  who  lives  in  this  township. 


Amos   was    the   father   of   Joseph    P.   Trimmer,   of 
Quakertown. 

Tlie  McPherson  family  is  an  old  one  in  this  vicin- 
ity. The  first  by  that  name  of  whom  we  have  any 
knowledge  was  Samuel,  who  in  1764  owned  land 
extending  from  the  graveyard  at  Nixon's  to  Quaker- 
town.  He  died  in  1772.  Our  efforts  to  gain  a  certain 
knowledge  of  his  family  have  been  futile.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  he  was  the  father  of  three  brothers, — 
Nathaniel,  Samuel,  and  David, — of  whom  mention  is 
made  by  their  descendants,  but  there  is  no  proof. 
Some  assert  that  he  was  himself  one  of  the  three,  but 
thirty-eight  years  intervened  between  his  birth  and 
that  of  David, — a  difference  not  likely  to  exist  be- 
tween brothers.  These  brothers,  it  is  said,  at  one 
time  owned  most  of  the  land  between  Quakertown 
and  Cherryville.  David,  in  1768,  bought  100  acres  of 
Gershom  Lee  and  John  Griggs,  described  as  being  a 
part  of  the  Mount  Carmel  tract,  surveyed  to  Col. 
Daniel  Coxe  in  1712.  Later  David  McPherson  was 
located  at  Quakertown,  keeping  a  tavern.  He  died  in 
1880,  aged  eighty-three,  and  was  buried  at  Nixon's, 
by  the  side  of  his  wife,  Rebecca,  who  died  in  1801. 

Samuel  McPherson  lived  between  Sidney  and 
Young's  Mills,  on  a  farm  now  occupied  by  his  grand- 
son, Harry.  His  children  were  Asa,  Daniel,  Mary, 
Hetty,  and  George.  The  last,  father  of  the  present 
owner,  died  at  the  homestead. 

Asa  was  the  father  of  Samuel,  Mary,  Amos,  and 
Theodore.     The  last  two  are  living  near  Cherryville. 

Reuben  McPherson,  Sr.,  was  killed  by  the  acci- 
dental discharge  of  a  gun  in  1795.  He  left  a  family 
of  seven  children, — Thomas,  Rebecca,  Sarah,  Mary, 
David,  Anna,  and  Reuben.  Thomas  married  Mary 
Chamberlain,  and  had  David,  Elizabeth,  Phebe,  Ger- 
shom, Ann,  Maria,  Rebecca,  Lucretia,  ThomavS,  Cath- 
arine, Truman,  and  Samuel  C. 

Rebecca,  daughter  of  Reuben,  married  John  Cham- 
berlain ;  Sarah  married  George,  the  father  of  John 
Q.  Case,  of  Cherryville;  Mary  married  George  Tee- 
pie  ;  Anna  married  Daniel  Pierson.  Five  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  last  couple  are  living  in  the  township, — 
Mary  Pegg,  Susan  Case,  John,  Reuben,  and  Jacob  S. 
Pierson.  Reuben  McPherson  married  Sarah  Barton, 
and  had  Mary,  Charity,  John,  Elizabeth,  and  Reu- 
ben. He  was  killed  by  falling  from  a  mow  in  1831 . 
All  these  families,  except  the  last  three  and  the  Races, 
belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Bartholomew  Thatcher,  a  Tory  captain  in  the 
British  army,  was  born  in  1785.  About  1810  he  lived 
on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  John  Trimmer,  Jr.  He 
afterwards  lived  and  died  where  Mrs.  Brown  now  re- 
sides, near  Quakertown. 

STORES. 

The  first  store  of  which  there  is  any  knowledge  was 
kept  by  Charles  Hoff  at  Pittstown  as  early  as  1758. 
A  commissary  store  was  kept  by  Moore  Furman  dur- 
ing  the   Revolution  where   now  stands  William   R. 


FKANKLIN. 


435 


Smith's  residence.  Among  others  still  remembered 
is  one  kept  by  "Captain  Ealph"  and  Benjamin  Guild 
— commonly  called  "  Benny  Giles" — about  a  hundred 
years  ago,  at  Pittstown,  near  the  present  location  of 
William  Stryker's  store.  Nabor  Boeman  and  Wil- 
liam R.  Smith  built  the  stone  house  in  which  Joseph 
Tharp  now  lives,  and  kept  a  store  there  about  1840. 
Luther  Opdyke  kept  in  the  same  building  about  1850. 
Both  the  store-houses  now  in  that  village  were  built 
by  Sylvester  Probasco,  who  still  owns  and  occupies 
one  of  them.  The  one  owned  by  Stryker  was  built 
in  1856,  the  other  in  1867. 

The  first  in  Quakertown  was  kept  by  Henry  Cliff- 
ton,  in  the  house  now  owned  and  occiipied  by  Dr. 
Abel.  Cliflfton  settled  there  about  1777  ;  but  it  is  not 
known  when  he  established  the  store ;  there  is  proof 
that  he  was  in  the  business  in  1796.  He  continued 
until  about  1830.  Another,  on  a  lot  now  owned  by 
Elijah  Potts,  was  kept  by  John  Coats  about  1815  ;  he 
was  followed  by  Richard  Arison.  James  Waterhouse, 
as  early  as  1824,  kept  in  the  old  red  house  now  owned 

by  E.  H.  Trimmer.    It  was  subsequently  kept  by ■ 

Larison,  Miller  Kline,  G.  W.  Waterhouse,  and  John 
Tenbrook.  In  1843,  on  the  lot  now  owned  by  Elijah 
Potts,  Christopher  and  John  Sullivan  transformed 
an  old  cooper-shop  into  a  store.  They  were  followed 
by  J.  and  E.  H.  Trimmer,  who  in  1851  erected  the 
store  now  owned  by  John  H.  Vail  and  occupied  by 
J.  D.  Stires.  G.  W.  Waterhouse  and  Benjamin 
Shackleton  built  the  corner  store  in  1844.  It  has 
since  been  kept  by  Trimmer  &  Holcombe,  Cronce  & 
Allen,  Gary  &  Brother,  A.  J.  Green,  Edward  Mason, 
William  and  Thatcher  Trimmer,  and  others.  Theo- 
dore Probasco's  furniture-shop  was  built  by  him  in 
1842,  and  Christopher  Sullivan  was  the  first  occupant. 
The  first  in  Cherryville  was  built  in  1841  by  Wil- 
liam Aller.  This  burned  down  in  1864.  John  Ilofif- 
man,  who  owned  the  property  at  the  time,  rebuilt  in 
1865.  For  several  years  past  it  has  been  kept  by 
Reuben  Pierson. 

James  Waterhouse  kept  for  a  short  time  in  the  old 
stone  building  east  of  the  mill  at  Sidney,  somewhere 
about  1835.  In  1864,  John  M.  Baldwin  built  the 
present  store-house  at  that  place. 

TAVERNS. 

The  Quaker  influence  was  against  taverns,  but  they 
sprung  up  and  flourished  in  spite  of  this  opposition. 
In  the  minutes  of  a  monthly  meeting  held  at  Quaker- 
town  in  1779  we  find  this  entry : 

"  The  committee  on  reformation  report  there  is  one  Fiiend  keeps  a 
tavern,  which  is  under  care ;  they  are  desired  to  continue  their  care,  and 
report  to  a  future  Meeting." 

The  old  tavern-house  at  Cherryville  was  built  in 
1739,  and  still  stands  as  the  oldest  landmark  in  that 
vicinity.  It  has  recently  been  repaired  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  destroy  its  aged  appearance,  and  also  to 
conceal  the  stone  on  which  was  inscribed  the  date  of 
its  erection.    Of  the  early  days  of  this  tavern  noth- 


ing is  known.  About  sixty  years  ago  it  was  kept  by 
one  Fonner,  who  died  and  was  believed  by  the  super- 
stitious to  have  haunted  the  place.  In  1830  it  was 
kept  by  Reuben  McPherson,  who  was  killed  by  falling 
from  the  mow  of  the  shed,  Jan.  16,  1831.  It  is  now 
several  years  since  a  tavern  was  kept  here. 

David  McPherson  kept  a  tavern  at  Quakertown 
about  1790, — some  say  on  the  lot  on  which  William 
Cronce's  house  now  stands.  When  or  by  whom  the 
present  building  was  erected  is  not  known.  William 
Large  was  landlord  from  1807  until  1819.  It  is  now 
the  only  licensed  house  in  the  township,  and  is  kept 
by  Abram  Little. 

Tradition  says  that  whisky  was  sold  as  much  as  one 
hundred  years  ago  at  or  near  what  in  later  years  be- 
came known  as  the  "Frog  Tavern."  There  was  a 
hut  southwest  of  the  spot  on  which  the  house  now 
stands,  in  which  darkeys  dispensed  the  fiery  beverage 
at  "  three  cents  a  smaller."  At  a  later  day  Amos 
Trimmer  built  a  log  house  on  the  site  of  the  present 
building,  and  kept  a  tavern  there  until  his  death.  In 
1851  this  house  was  replaced  by  a  frame  building, 
under  its  present  owner,  Thatcher  Trimmer,  who 
kept  the  tavern  until  it  was  discontinued,  a  few  years 
ago. 

There  used  to  be  a  tavern  where  Cornelius  Aller 
now  lives,  above  Sidney.  It  was  kept  by  Thomas 
McPherson  about  1825,  and  by  James  Waterhouse 
about  1830.  Early  in  the  present  century  a  tavern 
was  kept  by  Hugh  Runyon  at  "  Allen's  Corner." 

PHYSICIANS. 

James  Willson  was  probably  the  first  physician 
within  the  limits  of  Franklin.  He  was  married  in 
1736,  and  bought  the  homestead  of  his  father  in 
1742.  In  existing  documents  the  title  of  M.D.  is  first 
connected  with  his  name  in  1756,  but,  as  most  of  his 
earlier  papers  have  been  lost,  it  is  very  likely  he  be- 
gan to  practice  soon  after  his  marriage.  His  account- 
books,  still  preserved,  covering  the  years  1758  to  1765, 
and  1774  to  1777,  show  quite  an  extensive  practice. 
He  died  in  1777,  aged  sixty-four.* 

The  first  physician  in  Quakertown  is  said  to  have 
been  Aaron  Forman,  who  lived  where  J.  L.  Nixon 
now  resides,  and  practiced  fi-om  1766  to  1794,  when  he 
removed  to  Pittstown.  He  was  the  second  to  prac- 
tice in  that  place,  John  Rockhill  having  preceded 
him.  Other  physicians  at  Quakertown  were  Henry 
H.  Schenck,  1820-21;  William  Watson,  1831-38; 
Albert  S.  Clark,  1848-56 ;  James  H.  Studdiford,  1856 

-57. 

Matthias  Abel  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine 
at  Quakertown  in  1857,  and  is  the  only  physician  now 
in  the  township. 

*  Dr.  Blane  entirely  omits  this  name  from  his  valuable  "  Medical  His- 
tory." This  omission  no  doubt  arose  either  from  a  lack  of  records,  or 
from  the  belief  that  he  was  merely  one  of  the  "  handy  men."  The  writer 
believes  that  the  papers  now  i[i  his  possession  fully  establish  Dr.  Will- 
son's  standing  as  a  regular  practitioner,  and  justify  the  placing  of  his 
name  at  the  head  of  this  list. 


436 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


HIGHWAYS. 

A  deed  from  Daniel  Doughty  to  Joseph  Stemiard, 
of  Philadelphia,  drawn  in  1749,  mentions  the  "  Rar- 
ington"  (Earitan)  road.  This  is  the  old  name  of  the 
road  running  east  and  west  through  that  village.  An 
examination  of  various  deeds  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  laid  out  between  1733  and  1749,  and  the 
Trenton  road  between  1749  and  1764. 

The  road  leading  from  Pittstown  southward  is  men- 
tioned in  a  lease  drawn  in  17;"i6  as  the  "road  leading 
from  John  Emley,  Senior's,  to  Charles  Hoff's,"  now 
Pittstown.  The  road  from  Bellair's  Corner  south- 
ward is  mentioned  in  1773  as  a  "  two-rod  road  that 
runs  between  Adam  Swagart's  and  Messrs.  Monkhill 
and  Clark.son's.''  The  road  to  Allen's  Corner  from  the 
west  is  spoken  of  in  1768  as  a  "  road  leading  to  the  great 
road  leading  to  Trenton.''  The  one  from  Quakertown 
northward  was  a  public  highway  in  1789  ;  that  from 
the  Frog  Tavern  westward  was  laid  out  about  1826. 

The  Lehigh  VaJley  Railroad,  crossing  the  northern 
part  of  the  township,  was  commenced  in  1872.  The 
first  passenger-train  passed  through  this  township 
Jane  12,  1875. 

CIVIL    ORGANIZATION. 

Until  about  the  middle  of  the  last  centur)',  what  is 
now  Franklin  township  was  included  in  Bethlehem. 
From  that  time  to  the  date  of  its  erection  into  a  sep- 
arate township  it  formed  part  of  Kingwood.  The  act 
establishing  the  township  of  Franklin  was  approved 
March  21,  1845.  The  first  town-meeting  is  thus  re- 
corded : 

"April  14th,  1845. — At  our  annual  town-meeting  held  at  the  house  of 
Samuel  Trimmer,  in  Quaker  Town,  in  the  township  of  Franklin,  county 
of  Hunterdon,  and  State  of  New  Jersey,  the  following  persons  were 
chosen  by  the  majority  of  votes,  to  serve  the  township  in  their  respective 
offices  the  ensuing  year :  Moderator,  John  Aller ;  Town  Clerk,  Theodore 
Probasco  ;  Assessor  and  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  William  "W.  Aller  ;  Collec- 
tor and  Overseer  of  Poor,  Edward  Mason ;  Chosen  Freeholders,  Daniel 
Little,  Theodore  Holcomhe ;  Surveyors  of  Highway,  John  Pierson,  John 
Mechlin;  Constable,  Barzilta  Kobbins;  Committee,  John  Sullivan, 
Theodore  Probasco,  Dr.  John  Manners,  George  W.  Waterhonse,  Abra- 
ham Lawshe;  School  Committee,  Daniel  Allen,  John  Lee,  Alexander 
Kea;  Commissioners  of  Appeals,  Edward  Mason,  David  Everitt,  Elisha 
Uurd ;  Judge  of  Election,  Alexander  Rea ;  Pound-keepers,  Joseph  G. 
Case,  Peter  S.  Sigler." 

The  principal  officers  since  the  formation  of  the 
township  have  been  as  follows : 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
1845-47,  Theodore  Probasco ;  1848-49,  Josiah  Willson  ;  1850-54,  Theodore 
Probasco ;  1865-66,  Blias  H.  Trimmer ;  1857-58,  Daniel  Allen  ;  1859, 
Asa  Snyder;  1860-62,  Reuben  Pierson;  1803,  Lemuel  B.  Myers; 
1864,  A.  T.  Trimmer;  1865-69,  Reuben  Pierson;  1870,  Lemuel  B. 
Myers;  1871-72,  Aaron  T. Trimmer;  1873-75,  Asa  R.  Cronce  ;  1876- 
78,  Enoch  B.  Sujdam ;  1879-80,  Edward  0.  Trimmer. 

JUSTICES   OF    THE  PEACE. 

No  record  of  their  election  was  kept  until  1859, 
when  John  Trimmer  and  John  S.  Trimmer  were 
elected.  The  former  held  the  office  until  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1873.  In  1864,  John  S.  Trimmer  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother,  Henry  S.,  who  holds  the 
office  at  present.  In  1874,  William  Large  was  elected  ; 
in  1879,  James  Hoff. 


SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENTS. 

Up  to  1847  a  school  committee  was  chosen  each 
year.  In  1845-46  this  committee  consisted  of  Daniel 
Allen,  John  Lee,  and  Alexander  Rea.  In  1847-48, 
Daniel  Allen  was  superintendent;  1S49,  Elias  H. 
Trimmer ;  1850-55,  Dr.  Albert  S.  Clarke ;  1856,  Theo- 
dore Probasco  ;  1857,  James  H.  Studdiford  ;  1858-66, 
Dr.  M.  Abel.  A  change  in  the  school  law  in  1867 
abolished  the  office. 

ASSESSORS. 
1845,  William  W.  AUer ;  1K4C^7,  Daniel  Allen :  1848-51,  Daniel  Pieraou  ; 
1.S62-63,  Alexander  Kea ;  1854,  HoUoway  H.  Race ;  1856-57,  Luther 
Opdyke;  1858-69,  Joseph  B.  Pierson  ;  1800,  Luther  Opdyke;  1801, 
John  Pierson;  1863-05,  Thatcher  Trimmer;  1806-67,  John  Trim- 
mer; 1369-09,  Uriah  Larue  ;  1870-72,  UeTlben  Pierson;  1873-79, 
Thatcher  Trimmer  ;  18S0,  Charles  M.  Trimmer. 

For  a  list  of  the  freeholders  of  this  township,  see 
page  264  in  this  volume. 

STATISTICAL. 
According  to  the  census  of  1880,  Franklin  has  1339 
inhabitants,  and  the  assessors'  books  for  the  same 
year  show  that  it  contains  14,449  acres,  valued  at 
$871,400.  The  assessed  valuation  of  personal  prop- 
erty is  1446,960 ;  the  amount  of  debt,  $373,373;  the 
amount  of  taxable  property,  $944,987.  The  number 
of  polls  is  387  ;  number  of  surviving  soldiers  of  the 
late  war,  23. 

VILLAGES  AND  HAMLETS. 
Pittstown,  lying  partly  in  this  township,  is  its 
oldest  village.  It  was  so  named  by  Moore  Furman, 
during  the  Revolution,  in  honor  of  William  Pitt,  Earl 
of  Chatham.  Previous  to  this  it  was  called  Hoff's, 
who  preceded  Furman  as  owner  of  most  of  the  prop- 
erty around.*  It  is  sometimes  spoken  of  in  old  deeds 
as  "  Pitts  Town  Mills."  As  elsewhere  noted,  it  was 
the  seat  of  milling  industry  at  a  very  early  day.  It 
is  said  to  have  been  a  point  of  some  importance  during 
the  Revolution.  It  contains  two  stores,  one  grist- 
mill, one  foundry,  one  machine-shop  (all  in  Fraukl|n), 
two  blacksmith-shops,  and  about  twenty  dwellings. 

The  post-office  was  established  May  17,  1821,  with 
Robeson  Rockhill  as  postmaster.  It  was  discontinued 
Sept.  23,  1831,  and  re-established  July  12,  1834,  with 
Leonard  N.  Boeman  postmaster.  The  appointments 
since  have  been  William  R.  Smith,  April  27, 1840,  and 
Aug.  25,  1845 ;  L.  A.  Boeman,  June  21,  1841 ;  Luther 
Opdyke,  July  19,  1850 ;  John  L.  Tinsman,  Dec.  24, 
1850;  William  M.  Stryker,  April  7,  1859,  still  in 
office. 

Quakertown  was  once  called  Fairview,  but  the 
name  seems  never  to  have  gained  general  favor.  Its 
present  name  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  it  was  a 
Quaker  settlement.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
generally  so  called,  however,  until  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century.  In  1794  the  road  to  Pitts- 
town is  mentioned  in  a  deed,  not  as  the  road  from 


*  For  these   facts,  as  well  as  muiy  otliers  concorning  Pittstown  and 
vicinity,  we  arc  indebted  to  Dr.  Henry  Riice. 


FRANKLIN. 


437 


Quakertown,  but  as  "  the  road  leading  from  the  Quaker 
meeting-house,"  etc.  What  is  now  known  of  the 
store  and  tavern  kept  here  at  an  early  day  is  told 
elsewhere.  ' 

In  1789  the  Quaker  grounds  were  surveyed  by 
Robert  Emley,  who  drew  a  draught  of  the  place.  This 
draught  is  still  in  existence.  The  road  running  north 
is  marked  "  Eoad  to  Reba.  Cott's ;"  west  of  that  road  is 
"  Coates'  Lande,"  and  east  of  it  is  "  Murfin's  Lande." 
"  Samuel  Kester's  house"  is  drawn  where  J.  T.  Stires 
now  lives,  "  Henry  Cliifton's  house"  where  Dr.  Abel 
lives,  and  "  John  Brown's  house"  on  Abram  Lawshe's 
corner.  These  are  the  only  houses  shown  in  the 
drawing. 

William,  father  of  Theodore  and  Joseph  Probasco, 
had  a  cabinet-shop  on  what  is  now  Joseph  Probasco's 
corner,  probably  as  early  as  1817 ;  his  residence  was 
the  house  in  which  James  Hoflf  now  lives.  Before 
]  800,  Hezekiah  Waterhouse  built  a  wheelwright-shop, 
afterwards  used  as  a  store-house,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  road ;  it  is  now  occupied  as  a  dwelling,  and  is 
known  as  the  "old  red  house."  Edward  Welstead 
lived  about  sixty  years  ago  on  the  lot  now  belonging 
to  Elijah  Protts.  In  1831  the  ground  on  which  the 
corner  store,  the  residences  of  J.  P.  Trimmer  and 
Samuel  Trimmer,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  the  parsonage  now  stand  was  a  vacant  lot. 

At  present  the  village  contains  a  Methodist  church, 
a  Friends'  meeting-house,  two  stores,  two  blacksmith- 
shops,  and  about  thirty  dwellings. 

The  post-office  was  established  April  2,  1828,  with 
William  Nixon  as  postmaster.  Subsequent  appoint- 
ments: James  Waterhouse,  March  21,  1832;  George 
W.  Waterhouse,  Oct.  15,  1841';  Elijah  Warford, 
March  12,  1852;  Henry  S.  Trimmer,  July  15,  1853; 
Samuel  Trimmer,  June  5,  1857  ;  John  P.  Gary,  June 
16,  1864;  Elias  H.  Trimmer,  June  13,  1865;  Andrew 
J.  Green,  March  26,  1867 ;  John  H.  Vail,  March  19, 
1869 ;  J.  D.  Stires,  April  16,  1877. 

Cherryville,  formerly  called  Dogtown,  is  near 
the  Raritan  line.  It  was  named  in  1839  in  honor  of 
■a  Cherry  family  who  once  owned  most  of  the  land 
around  it.  It  contains  a  Baptist  church,  a  store,  a 
wheelwright-shop,  a  blacksmith-shop,  and  about  a 
dozen  dwellings.  The  post-office  was  established 
Dec.  26,  1850.  William  Large  was  the  first  post- 
master. Since  then  the  following  have  served :  Asa 
S.  Snyder,  Aug.  5,  1857 ;  Reuben  Pierson,  April  11, 
1860,  and  June  4,  1875 ;  Andrew  Emans,  Jan.  10, 
1862. 

Sidney,  so  called  on  a  map  of  1769,  is  a  small 
hamlet  in  the  northeast  of  the  township.  It  contains 
a  store,  a  mill,  and  four  or  five  dwellings.  The  post- 
office  was  established  March  10,  1832,  with  Richard 
Coxe  as  postmaster.  The  office  was  discontinued 
July  11,  1837,  and  re-established  Sept.  6,  1837,  when 
Carmalo  F.  Carnand  was  made  postmaster.  George 
W.  Holcombe  was  appointed  Oct.  4,  1841 ;  David 
Phillips,  May  9,  1843;  James  Boss,  Nov.  7,  1848; 


John  M.  Baldwin,  April  12,  1860;  Joseph  King,  Aug. 
12,  1862 ;  John  M.  Baldwin,  April  2,  1863.  The  last 
named  still  holds  the  office. 

Oak  Grove,  in  the  south  of  the  township,  was  so 
called  on  account  of  the  fine  oak-forests  around  it. 
It  consists  of  a  grist-mill,  a  saw-mill,  a  blacksmith- 
shop,  and  three  dwellings.  The  post-office  was  estab- 
lished in  1857.  Josiah  Willson,  the  first  postmaster, 
still  holds  the  position. 

SCHOOLS. 

No  records  of  the  early  schools  have  been  preserved. 
All  the  information  now  available  concerning  them 
is  stored  up  in  the  memories  of  old  people  or  buried 
beneath  piles  of  dusty  documents.  Just  when  and 
where  the  first  school-house  in  Franklin  was  erected 
it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.  The  first  of  which  there 
is  any  knowledge  was  built  on  or  near  the  corner  now 
occupied  by  Joseph  Everitt's  buildings.  From  a  lease 
in  possession  of  Dr.  Race,  found  among  his  father's 
papers,  we  find  that  the  corner  mentioned  was  leased 
for  school  purposes  in  1756.  About  1810,  Charles 
Potts  taught  in  a  log  house  which  stood  on  a  corner 
of  the  wood  just  west  of  Everitt's  buildings.  This 
was  evidently  the  second  house.  A  few  years  later  it 
was  removed  to  St.  Thomas'  church,  where  it  did  duty 
for  many  years.  The  minutes  of  a  monthly  meeting 
held  in  "  Quakertown,"  No.  42,  in  1752,  have  this 
entry : 

"  "We  have  likewise  considered  the  proposal  for  settling  a  School,  But, 
being  few  of  us  and  so  remote  from  each  other,  and  Some  of  us  under 
Low  Circumstance,  so  that  it  seems  unlikely  to  us  that  we  shall  be  able 
to  raise  a  sufficient  salary  to  Support  Such  School,  otherwise  we  should 
be  very  free,  and  Heartily  join  with  the  Proposal,  believing  it  would  iu 
some  good  degree  answer  the  good  purpose  intended." 

All  authorities  agree  that  the  first  school-house  was 
built  of  logs.  A  draught  drawn  in  1789  fails  to  show 
that  building,  which  indicates,  if  it  does  not  prove, 
that  it  was  not  erected  until  after  that  date.  From 
what  is  known  by  old  residents,  it  would  appear  that 
it  was  built  soon  after. 

In  1817  a  new  school-house,  16  by  21  feet,  was 
erected  south  of  the  road,  on  a  small  triangular  piece 
of  ground  conveyed  by  Henry  Cliflfton.  This  land  is 
now  included  in  the  lot  owned  by  John  Johnson. 
After  the  new  house  was  built,  the  old  one  was  re- 
moved, to  Henry  Cliflfton's  lot,  now  Theodore  Pro- 
basco's, north  of  the  meeting-house,  where  it  is  used 
as  an  "  out-kitchen"  to  this  day.  The  first  trustees 
are  said  to  have  been  Henry  Cliflfton  and  Thomas 
Craven.  The  first  teacher  in  the  new  house  was 
Erastus  Eno,  who  taught  only  a  short  time.  He  was 
followed  by  Henry  Coats,  who  remained  several  years. 
Israel  Clarke  had  charge  of  the  school  about  1823. 
Dr.  Henry  Race  taught  three  terms  in  1836-37. 

In  1850  the  present  two-story  stone  building  was 
erected  by  a  stock  company  for  a  high  school  or 
academy.  It  was  soon  after  opened  to  the  public 
school.  The  upper  story  is  occupied  by  Lackatong 
Lodge,  No.  114  (Odd-Fellows).    The  first  teacher  in 


438 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


this  building  was  Samuel  Peel,  the  second,  Charles 
Kellogg.  The  school  is  now  under  charge  of  Wilson 
Eittenhouse. 

The  first  school-house  at  "Sidney,"  No.  46,  was  built 
of  stone,  on  the  corner  north  of  the  present  school- 
grounds,  in  or  about  1816.  The  first  teacher  wa.s  a 
Mr.  Palmer.  Nathan  Wakefield  taught  about  1825. 
This  building  stood  until  1865,  when  a  frame  house, 
20  by  30  feet,  was  erected.  Miss  Adeline  Probasco 
was  the  first  teacher  in  the  new  house.  Miss  Emma 
Apgar  now  has  charge  of  the  school.  The  trustees 
are  Joseph  Eea,  Jonathan  Butler,  and  Hezekiah  Geb- 
hardt. 

"Franklin,"  No.  42,  was  formed  chiefly  from  the 
lower  part  of  the  Quakertown  District,  though  it  is 
probable  that  district-lines  received  but  little  attention 
at  that  day.  The  first  house,  a  small  log  structure, 
was  built  in  1826.  The  first  teacher  was  Amos 
Lundy.  A.  B.  Chamberlain,  afterwards  sheriif  of  the 
county,  once  taught  in  this  house.  It  was  burned 
down  after  a  few  years,  but  was  replaced  by  a  frame 
building,  18  feet  square,  in  18.37.  Arthur  W.  Lundy 
was  the  first  teacher  in  this  house.  The  new  building, 
as  well  as  the  old,  stood  in  the  edge  of  the  grove  just 
west  of  the  present  school-house.  From  the  circum- 
stance of  its  location  this  school  is  sometimes  called 
"  Maple  Grove."  The  second  house  remained  in  use 
until  1871,  when  a  new  one,  22  by  30  feet,  was  built, 
at  a  cost  of  $800,  on  a  lot  purchased  of  Joseph  Myers. 
George  Robinson  was  the  first  teacher  in  the  new 
house.  The  present  teacher  is  E.  T.  Bush,  and  the 
trustees  are  Abram  E.  Vail,  George  W.  Scott,  and 
William  Dubon. 

The  first  school-house  in  "  Cherryville,"  No.  45, 
was  built  about  1830,"  of  stone,  near  the  road,  on  the 
ground  still  devoted  to  school  purposes.  In  the  win- 
ter of  1830-31  the  school  was  taught  by  Samuel  Wood. 
In  1860  a  frame  house,  22  by  30  feet,  was  erected. 
Among  the  teachers  since  the  school  was  established 

have  been  Peter  Eake  (1833),  Jemima  Atkinson, 

Garfield,  Page,  Nathan  Solomon,  Elias  Trout, 

Matilda  Cook,  Joseph  Buchanan,  John  Stout,  Eeuben 

Pierson,  Clara  Bonham, Skillman,  Emma  Hoff', 

Mrs.  Emma  Opdyke,  and  the  present  teacher,  Elias 
L.  Dalrymple.  The  trustees  are  Whitfield  Henry, 
William  Volk,  and  Gershom  McPherson. 

The  school-house  at  "  Sunnyside,"  No.  44,  formerly 
Young's  Mills,  a  two-story  frame  building,  was  erected 
in  1854.  Nathan  Solomon  was  the  first  teacher.  Miss 
Lizzie  Nixon  now  has  charge.  The  trustees  are  Lem- 
uel Marshall,  Jacob  S.  Smith,  and  Tunis  Smith. 

Long  before  a  school  was  established  at  either 
Cherryville  or  Sunnyside  there  was  a  little  log  school- 
house  below  the  hill,  about  half-way  between  the  two. 
The  date  of  its  erection  is  unknown.  A  stone  house 
was  built  on  the  same  spot, — some  say  in  1839 ;  others, 


*  Bev.  C.  S.  Conliling'B  "  Centennial  Report"  says  that  there  was  a  log 
house,  built  in  ISOO,  near  the  site  uf  the  present  buildiug. 


a  few  years  later.  It  was  soon  abandoned  and  allowed 
to  fall  into  decay. 

In  1852  a  school-house  was  built  at  the  cross-roads 
wesl  of  Oak  Grove.  A  school  was  kept  here  at  irreg- 
ular intervals  until  1871,  when  the  district  was  divided, 
part  being  united  with  Franklin  and  part  with  Bap- 
tisttown  District.  The  house  is  still  standing,  and  is 
occasionally  used  for  religious  purposes. 

Famous  among  the  few  who  made  teaching  a  busi- 
ness was  Jemima  Atkinson,  said  to  have  taught  in 
every  school  in  the  township.  There  are  but  few  who 
were  pupils  here  anywhere  from  twenty-five  to  fifty 
years  ago  who  do  not  cherish  lively  recollections  of 
"Aunt  Jemima." 

The  five  schools  of  Franklin,  according  to  the 
"  Eeport  of  the  State  Superintendent  for  1879,"  had 
a  total  enrollment  of  273,  out  of  a  school  population 
of  285 ;  average  time  of  keeping  the  schools  open, 
10.5  months ;  average  attendance,  117 ;  value  of 
school  property  (estimated),  $4250;  total  amount  re- 
ceived for  school  purposes,  $1616.94 ;  average  salary 
per  month,— males,  $34.67 ;  females,  $28.82. 

CHURCHES. 
I'EIENDS'   MEETING  AT   QDAKEBTOWN. 

The  first  religious  society  organized  in  the  town- 
ship was  the  Friends'  meeting  at  Bethlehem,  then  a 
general  name  for  all  the  country  around.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  exact  date  of  its  organization  cannot  be 
ascertained.  The  first  meeting-house  is  said  ("Tra- 
ditions of  Our  Ancestors")  to  have  been  built  of  logs, 
near  the  site  of  the  present  building,  before  1700,  and 
the  second  in  1714.  This  statement  is  evidently  er- 
roneous. The  first  Monthly  Meeting  was  held  on  the 
"  10th  day  of  the  7th  month,  1744,"  and  from  that 
time  to  this  records  more  or  less  complete  have  been 
preserved.  Back  of  this  there  is  one  date  positively 
fixed  by  deed  of  Jacob  Doughty  to  Samuel  Large, 
Samuel  Willson,  Edward  Eockhill,  John  Stevenson, 
and  Joseph  King,  dated  March  20,  1733,  and  convey- 
ing four  acres  of  land  to  the  said  parties,  for  the  uses 
of  the  meeting.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  though 
there  are  no  records  to  prove  the  fact,  that  the  first 
meeting-house  was  built  soon  after  the  date  of  this 
conveyance. 

At  the  first  Monthly  Meeting,  Benjamin  Williams 
and  Mercy  Stevenson  declared  intentions  of  marriage. 
Caleb  Eaper  was  made  clerk  of  the  meeting.  Among 
the  Friends  first  mentioned  in  the  records  are  found 
the  names  of  Kester,  Webster,  King,  Emley,  Ste- 
venson, Willson,  Williams,  Large,  Paxson,  Lundy, 
Doughty,  Price,  Myers,  Coate  (or  Coats),  Atkinson, 
Schooley,  etc. 

At  the  Burlington  Quarterly  Meeting  held  Dec.  12, 
1744,  permission  was  given  to  build  a  new  meeting- 
house at  Kingwood,  "that  they  already  have  not  be- 
ing large  enough."  It  was  recommended  that  it  be 
built  of  stone,  about  36  feet  long  and  26  wide  in  the 
clear. 


FRANKLIN. 


439 


March  3, 1747,  it  was  ordered  that  the  following  re- 
port be  made : 

"  That  we  are  building  our  new  meeting-house  here  39  feet  long  and 
27  feet  wide,  and  that  we  expect  by  computation  that  the  Cost  will 
amount  to  £150." 

This  house  was  burned  before  it  was  fully  com- 
pleted, and  the  Friends  were  soon  again  busy  with 
their  building.  From  the  minutes  of  the  Monthly 
Meeting  held  Feb.  1 3,  1752,  we  quote : 

"This meeting  appoints  Jeremiah  Williams,  Jonathan  Robeson,  Jos- 
eph King,  and  Thomas  Atkinson  to  agree  with  suitable  workmen  to  re- 
pair the  meeting-house  of  Fiiends  in  Kingwood  (known  by  the  name  of 
Bethlehem  Meeting-house)  in  such  sort,  manner,  aud  form  as  they  think 
best." 

In  1754  they  report  the  house  rebuilt  on  the  former 
model,  "  as  nearly  completed  as  it  was  before  it 
burned  down."  They  were  then  holding  their  meet- 
ings in  the  new  house,  which  it  had  cost  them  £107  to 
"  repair."  This  was  the  old  stone  house  which  stood 
for  more  than  a  century.  For  more  than  eighty  years 
it  was  the  only  house  for  religious  purposes  within 
the  present  limits  of  Franklin  township.  During  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  it  was  used  and  abused  for  a 
time  by  a  detachment  of  British  soldiers.  Tradition 
says  that  during  their  stay  here  some  of  them  died 
and  were  buried  in  the  "  Quaker  wood,"  a  lot  lying 
east  of  the  road,  and  now  owned  by  Joseph  Probasco. 

During  this  trying  period  many  Friends  suifered 
for  opinion's  sake.  Some  were  thrown  into  prison 
and  subsequently  fined  for  refusing  to  take  up  arms 
or  "  become  instruments  for  the  shedding  of  human 
blood."* 

In  1862  the  historic  old  building,  which,  with  its 
old-fashioned  "hip-roof,"  had  stood  as  a  landmark 
to  four  generations,  was  torn  down,  and  replaced  by  a 
smaller  and  more  modern,  but  substantial,  structure. 

John  Willson  and  Abram  E.  Vail  are  the  present 

*  The  following  is  a  brief  account  of  Friends  suffering,  belonging  to 
Kingwood  Preparative  Meeting  in  the  years  1770-78,  for  not  complying 
with  the  unjust  requisition  of  Men  to  become  instruments  in  shedding 
Human  Blood. 

**  Dor  worthy  Friend,  Jos.  Moore,  for  refusing  to  take  the  Test  of  Alle- 
giance to  the  Stale  of  N.  Jersey  so  called  &  abjuring  the  King  of  G.  Brit- 
tain,  was  Confiued  in  Trenton  Jail  near  Six  weeks  &  had  the  Test  ten- 
dered to  him  again  by  the  Court,  but  he  refusing  to  comply,  was  fined  in 
the  sum  of  £50,  aud  discharged  from  confinement,  for  which  sum  the 
following  Chattels  were  distrained:  1  yoke  of  oxen  &  1  Mare,  worth  £40 
Os. ;  for  Militia  Fines  &  Tax,  1  yoke  Oxen,  2  Cows,  1  Mare  &  1  Colt,  worth 
£61  0». 

"Wm.Paxson,l  Mare.l  Gun,  3  young  Cattle  &1  Horse,  worth  £36  lOs. 

"  Saml.  Kester,  1  ox,  2  Cows,  1  Mare  &  2  steers,  worth  £36  0». 

"  Paul  Kester,  1  Mare,  worth  £18  Os. 

"  Jos,  Drinker,  2  Horses  &  1  Cow,  worth  £36  10s. 

"  Henry  ClifTton,  7  Halts,  worth  £St  10s. 

"  Jno.  Kester,  1  Cow  &  1  young  Cattle,  worth  £9  lOs. 

"Susannah  Webster,  for  her  son,  1  Cow,  worth  £3  lOs. 

"  James  Willson,  1  Gun,  worth  £2  5s. 

"  Samuel  Willson,  1  Mare,  worth  £25  Os. 

"  Our  Friend,  John  Allen,  about  the  age  of  22,  for  refusing  to  take  the 
test  to  the  State  of  N.  Jersey  so  called  aud  abjuring  the  Crown  of  G.  Brit 
tain,  was  confined  in  Jail  lor  some  time  &  fined  by  the  Court  £25,  for 
which  was  taken  1  Cow,  1  Feather  Bed,  20  pr.  of  Shoes,  worth  £19  10s. 

"  For  Militia  Fines,  1  Cow,  3  sides  of  Leather,  2  pr.  of  shoes  1  pr.  Boots 
&  Some  Leather,  worth  £8  5k. 

".Tos.  Webster,  1  Cow  &  :i  Cattle,  wortli  fll  lOs." 


trustees.  The  latter  has  also  acted  as  clerk  for  many 
years. 

The  society  is  rapidly  waning.  Only  a  few  of  that 
faith  remain  in  all  the  region  round,  but  the  organi- 
zation is  kept  up  and  meetings  are  held  as  regularly 
as  though  the  house  was  thronged. 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUECH  OF  QUAKEETOWN.-j- 

■  Methodism  was  introduced  into  Quakertown  by 
Daniel  Green  and  his  wife,  who  came  about  1836  and 
opened  their  doors  to  preaching  by  itinerants.  Prior 
to  this  there  was  a  Methodist  church  at  Flemington, 
and  one  at  Everittstown.  When  Daniel  Green  moved 
away  (date  not  recorded),  another  Methodist  couple, 
David  R.  Bodine  and  his  wife,  moved  into  the  house 
vacated  by  Mr.  Green. 

Nine  persons  composed  the  first  class.  These  were 
David  R.  Bodine  and  wife,  Abram  Slack,  Pearson 
Orison  and  wife,  G.  W.  Waterhouse  and  wife,  and 
Abram  Bennett  and  wife.  Of  these  Mr.  Bennett  re- 
mains to  the  present  day.  The  first  preachers  were 
Jacob  Hevender  and  James  M.  Tuttle,  with  Mr.  Ma- 
zellus,  a  local  preacher.  Soon  after  the  "  regular  or 
periodic  visitation,"  a  wood's-meeting  was  held  about  a 
mile  north  of  Quakertown,  at  which  about  thirty  were 
converted.  The  good  work  was  then  transferred  to 
the  old  school-house  in  the  village.  This  was  in  1888. 
The  school-house  soon  proved  to  be  too  small,  and 
it  was  decided  to  build.  The  lot  was  donated  by  G. 
W.  Waterhouse.  The  church  was  erected  in  1840,  at 
a  cost  of  $1200,  upon  very  nearly  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent structure.  Rev.  A.  K.  Street  and  Rev.  George 
Hitchins  were  the  preachers  in  charge.  The  build- 
ing committee  consisted  of  G.  W.  Waterhouse,  D.  R. 
Bodine,  D.  Green,  and  Rev.  A.  E.  Street. 

After  the  building  was  raised,  Peter  S.  Sigler — not 
a  member  of  the  church,  but  a  well-wisher  of  the 
cause — ofiered  to  bear  one-third  the  cost  of  side-gal- 
leries. At  this  liberality  Rev.  George  Hitchins  took 
courage,  and  raised  the  balance  in  a  very  short  time. 
At  this  time  the  Quakertown  Circuit  embraced 
Quakertown,  Frenchtown,  and  Everittstown.  In 
1842,  Zerubbabel  Gaskel  was  appointed  first  preacher 
on  the  new  circuit.  He  served  faithfully  for  two 
years,  and  was  then  followed  by  Joseph  Gaskel,  who 
bore  no  relation  to  his  predecessor ;  he  remained  one 
year.  Abram  M.  Palmer  was  appointed  in  1845.  In 
1847,  Thomas  T.  Campfield  came  to  the  circuit. 
During  his  second  year  he  conducted  a  protracted 
meeting  which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  108  per- 
sons. Sylvanus  W.  Decker  was  appointed  in  1849, 
and  Rodway  Wynans  in  1851. 

In  1853  two  preachers,  Joseph  G.  Tally  and  John 
D.  Blaine,  were  appointed  to  the  Quakertown  Circuit. 
The  latter  died  from  the  efiects  of  rupturing  a  blood- 
vessel. 

Brothers  Korah  and  Robb  were  appointed  about 

•f  Chiefly  condensed  from  a  histovical  sketch  written  by  the  pastor,  Bey. 
D.  Halleran,  iul878. 


440 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


this  time.  They  remained  but  a  short  time.  Joseph 
Horner  then  took  charge,  serving  one  year.  Joseph 
Sleeper  followed,  and  remained  two  years.  In  1856, 
W.  W.  Christine  took  charge.  He  was  followed  by 
John  S.  Coit,  since  deceased.  He  was  instrumental 
in  the  purchase  of  a  parsonage  near  the  church.  It 
was  bought  of  G-.  W.  Waterhouse  for  $1000.  A  great 
revival  crowned  his  labors.  W.  W.  Voorhees  was  the 
next  preacher.  Quakertown  and  Everittstown  now 
constituted  one  charge. 

J.  P.  Daily  succeeded  Mr.  Voorhees,  and  remained 
two  years.  Everittstown  was  now  placed  with  French- 
town.  Mount  Salem  and  Pattenburg  were  connected 
wdth  Quakertown.  J.  B.  Heward  was  pastor  from 
1864  to  1866,  and  M.  F.  Swaim  for  the  next  three 
years,  followed  by  Joshua  Mead,  who  remained  two 
years.  The  question  of  a  new  church  began  to  be 
generally  agitated.  Peter  D.  Day  was  the  next 
pastor. 

In  1874,  George  W.  Horton  was  appointed  to  the 
Quakertown  charge.  He  remained  three  years.  Dan- 
iel Halleran  followed  in  1877,  Some  of  the  points  of 
interest  under  his  ministry  are  thus  noted : 

"  The  church  united. 

"A  hlessed  revival,  116  persons  at  the  altar. 

"  Tlie  inception  [and  completion]  of  a  new  church  enterprise.  Size  of 
Ibuilding  44  by  70  feet,  with  tower  projection  and  pulpit  recess,  7S  feet." 

May  16,  1878,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Eev.  E. 
S.  Arndt,  presiding  elder. 

In  1879,  T.  E.  Gordon  came,  served  one  year,  and 
was  followed  by  Charles  E.  Walton,  who  has  charge 
at  present  (1880). 

THE  BAPTIST  CHUKCH  AT  CHEEKTVILLE.* 

Previous  to  October,  1849,  the  Rev.  Edwin  R.  Hera 
labored  as  a  Baptist  missionary  in  Cherryville  and 
vicinity.  On  the  2d  of  that  month  a  meeting  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Flemington,  Kingwood,  and  Bethlehem 
Baptist  Churches  was  called  at  Cherryville  "  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  propriety  of  organizing  a 
distinct  Baptist  Church  at  Cherryville.''  Resolutions 
favorable  to  the  organization  were  passed. 

In  compliance  with  Baptist  usage,  a  council  of 
churches  was  called  for  Nov.  21, 1849,  for  the  purpose 
of  recognizing  the  new  church.  Delegates  were  pres- 
ent from  the  Baptist  Churches  of  Flemington,  Lam- 
bertville,  and  Kingwood.  Rev.  Joseph  Wright,  of 
Lambertville,  was  made  moderator,  and  Rev.  Levi  G. 
Beck,  of  Flemington,  clerk.  After  due  deliberation, 
the  church  was  recognized.  The  recognition  services 
were :  Sermon  by  Eev.  John  Davis,  of  Lambertyille : 
text,  Matt.  xvi.  18 ;  prayer  by  Rev.  William  Shrope, 
of  Flemington ;  hand  of  fellowship,  Rev.  L.  G.  Beck ' 
■charge  to  the  church.  Rev.  Joseph  Wright.  The  new 
church  consisted  of  49  members,— 39  from  Flemino-- 
ton,  9  from  Kingwood,  and  1  from  Bethlehem.  The 
house  was  built  in  1850. 

The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Edwin  R.  Hera,  April  1 

*  Data  kindly  furnished  by  the  pastor,  Kev.  M.  B.  Laning. 


1850,  to  July  1,  1853.  His  ministry  seems  to  have 
been  successful,  as  the  church  numbered  95  when  he 
resigned.  For  one  year  the  church  was  supplied  with 
preaching  by  different  ministers,  among  whom  for  six 
months  was  Rev.  William  Shrope.  A  unanimous  call 
having  been  extended  to  Rev.  R.  B.  Stella,  he  entered 
upon  his  work  .July  1,  1854.  His  was  the  longest 
pastorate  since  the  organization  of  the  church.  It 
continued  for  more  than  ten  years,  or  until  Aug.  9, 
1864,  when  death  dissolved  the  connection.  During 
his  ministry  84  were  added  to  the  church. 

The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  William  D.  Hires,  Nov. 
6,  1864,  to  April  1,  1867.  During  this  time  29  joined. 
Rev.  William  Hump.stone  took  charge  June  1,  1867, 
and  remained  until  April  1,  1868 ;  20  were  added, 
mostly  by  baptism. 

For  more  than  a  year  no  mention  is  made  of  any 
pastor.  From  May,  1869,  to  March,  1871,  Rev.  E.  S. 
Lear  was  in  charge.  March  4,  1871,  Rev.  Charles  E. 
Young  became  pastor,  and  remained  until  his  death, 
Aug.  24,  1876.     During  his  pastorate  45  were  added. 

From  October,  1876,  to  May,  1877,  Rev.  M.  B. 
Laning  preached  as  a  supply,  when,  receiving  a  call, 
he  became  pastor,  in  which  capacity  he  remains  to  the 
present  time.  During  his  ministry  21  have  been 
added. 

The  total  membership  of  the  church  during  the 
thirty-one  years  of  its  existence  has  been  305.  Many 
of  these  have  moved  away,  some  have  died,  and  about 
160  are  now  enrolled.  The  parsonage  was  bought  in 
1869.     The  church  is  almost  free  from  debt. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 
The  oldest  place  of  public  burial  in  the  township 
is  the  Friends'  burying-ground  at  Quakertown.  Here 
repose  the  ashes  of  many  of  the  earliest  settlers.  Un- 
fortunately, there  was  among  Friends  an  early  aver- 
sion to  the  erection  of  tombstones  with  commemora- 
tive inscriptions.  The  records  of  burials  do  not  date 
back  of  1761,  hence  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  ac- 
count of  the  earliest  interments.  The  first  burials  re- 
corded are : 

"  A  Memorial  of  the  time  of  Death  and  Burial  of  Joseph  King  Senior, 
departed  this  Life  the  10th  Day  ot  the  12th  Month,  1761,  in  the  Seventy- 
eighth  year  of  his  age." 

"  Our  antient  Friend  Samuel  Willson  Died  the  Nineteenth  Day  of  the 
Twelfth  Month,  1761,  and  was  Inter'd  in  Friends  Burying-Ground  at 
Kingwood  the  Twenty-Second  Day  of  the  Same  Month,  about  the  Eigh- 
tieth year  of  his  age." 

"This  our  antient  Friend  Samuel  Large  Departed  this  Life  at  his 
House  in  Kingwood,  the  9th  Day  of  the  6th  Month,  1765,  and  was  de- 
cently Intered  in  Friends  Burying-place  there." 

The  oldest  stone  marked  and  dated  bears  this  in- 
scription : 

"  W.  B.  Ag  31  yrs  1752." 

Among  other  old  inscriptions  are  the  following : 

"  P.  G.  Died  Feb.  13th,  1791." 

"  Susanna  Atkinson,  died  Oct.  24th,  1792,  aged  35  years." 
"  Aaron  Formau,  M.D.,  died  Jan.  11th,  1805,  aged  60  yeara." 
"In  Memory  of  Ann,  wife  of  Dr.  Aaron  Forman,who  departed  this  life 
December  13th,  1794." 
"  Jeremiah  King,  died  July  2, 1829,  in  the  83d  year  of  his  ago." 


oxcui--^^ 


FEANKLIN. 


441 


"  In  memory  of  George  Scott,  who  died  April  12th,1821,  aged  7S  years." 
"  Morris  Robeson." 
"  Elizabetli  Robeson." 

The  next  oldest  burying-ground  is  the  one  opposite 
J.  L.  Nixon's,  formerly  known  as  Craven's.  It  was 
deeded  to  the  Society  of  Friends  by  Daniel  Doughty, 
son  of  Jacob  Doughty,  by  conveyance  bearing  date 
Sept.  20,  1764.  It  is  therein  described  as  "the  lot 
known  as  the  grave  yard,"  showing  that  it  had  pre- 
viously been  used  as  a  place  of  burial.  It  was  then 
bounded  north,  south,  and  west  by  lands  of  Samuel 
McFerson.  The  eastern  boundary  was  a  line  running 
in  the  middle  of  the  Trenton  road.  The  Friends,  who 
still  hold  the  deed  for  it,  opened  it  to  the  public, 
making  it,  of  course,  free  to  all.  Their  object,  it  is 
said,  was  to  prevent  their  own  graveyard  at  Quaker- 
town  from  being  crowded  with  the  remains  of  those 
not  in  sympathy  with  their  society.  The  oldest  in- 
scription, rudely  chiseled  on  a  rough  stone,  reads  thus : 

"  Samuel  McFerson  Sener  was  born  April  the  4  1709  and  departed  thi 
life  September  the  2d  1772.    Aged  63." 

Other  inscriptions : 

"  Temperance  Sutton  departed  this  life  April  the  16  Day  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1774." 

"  In  memory  of  Mary  Drake,  daughter  of  Imla  &  Temperance  Drake, 
who  departed  this  life  September  21st,  1794,  aged  7  years  and  5  months." 

"  In  memory  of  Sarah  Lair,  wife  of  Wm.  Lair,  who  departed  this  life 
January  15th,  1798,  in  the  42d  year  of  her  age." 

"  In  memory  of  Elizabeth  McFerson,  Consort  of  David  McFerson,  died 
December  4th,  1801,  in  the  68th  year  of  her  age." 

"  In  memory  of  Joseph  Stockton  who  died  Dec.  27th,  1800,  aged  68 
years,  9  months  and  2  days." 

"  In  memory  of  Peter  Teeple  who  departed  this  life  November  29th, 
A.D.  1834.  aged  85  years." 

"  In  memory  of  Sarah,  wife  of  Peter  Teeple,  who  died  April  14th,  1852, 
in  the  98th  year  of  her  age." 

There  was  once  a  colored  people's  ground  in  what 
is  now  J.  L.  Nixon's  field,  about  100  yards  northwest 
of  his  house.  It  is  said  to  have  been  the  place  of 
burial  for  the  early  slaves  of  this  vicinity.  People 
now  living  remember  when  two  negroes  belonging 
to  Hugh  Eunyon,  who  lived  at  "Allen's  Corner," 
were  buried  there.  The  stones  are  now  torn  out  and 
the  graves  plowed  over,  leaving  no  trace  of  their  last 
resting-place. 

The  ground  at  Cherryville  was  set  apart  for  burial 
purposes  in  1850.  The  first  three  interments  were 
those  of  John  K.  Everitt,  died  March  5,  1850 ;  Ann 
Maria  McPherson,  died  March  16,  1850;  Hannah 
Maria  Johnson,  died  April  6,  1850. 

"The  Locust  Grove  Cemetery"  was  incorporated 
in  1867.  The  original  members  were  Henry  S.  Trim- 
mer, Sedgwick  Little,  Benjamin  Egbert,  Wm.  M. 
Stryker,  Elijah  Hartpence,  John  B.  Tomer,  Wm. 
Large,  John  W.  Welch,  Joseph  Everitt,  and  Abram 
Bennett.  The  first  interment  was  that  of  William 
Haver's  child;  the  second,  that  of  Christiana,  wife  of 
Benjamin  Botman. 

In  the  edge  of  a  wood  in  the  southwest  corner  of 
David  Burd's  farm  is  a  lone  grave  marked  by  a  rough 
stone  bearing  this  inscription : 

"  Sarah  Yard,  Died  Apriel  12th,  1790,  aged  42  years." 

29 


All  memory  of  her  seems  to  have  been  completely 
lost.  The  writer  has  tried  in  vain  to  find  out  who 
she  was  and  the  circumstances  of  her  burial. 

INDUSTRIAL  PURSUITS. 
The  cultivation  of  the  soil  has  always  been  the 
leading  industry  of  Franklin.  Her  soil,  made  fertile 
chiefly  through  the  agency  of  lime,  produces  fine 
crops  of  all  the  grains  and  fruits  common  to  this  lati- 
tude. The  peach-crop  is  rapidly  growing  in  import- 
ance. In  1846  the  first  peach-orchard  was  planted 
by  Joseph  K.  Potts,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
G-eorge  and  Jacob  Eace.  The  other  pioneers  of  this 
industry  were  Thomas  S.  Potts  and  John  Scott.  The 
fruit  was  then  carted  to  Easton.  The  business  has 
increased  so  rapidly  during  the  last  decade  that  it  is 
now  a  leading  industry. 

Milling  has  been  carried  on  from  a  very  early  day. 
The  abundant  water-power  furnished  by  the  Capoolon, 
the  Lackatong,  and  the  South  Branch  was  not  long 
suffered  to  run  to  waste.  It  is  said  that  the  first 
grist-mill  was  what  was  known  in  later  years  as  the 
old  fulling-mill  at  Pittstown.  It  was  built  by  Ed- 
ward Eockhill  before  1748.  This  was  used  as  a  grist- 
mill until  after  the  Eevolution.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  for  a  long  time  the  only  one  within  a  wide  ex- 
tent of  country.  A  new  mill — that  now  owned  by 
Charles  Hann — ^was  built  by  Moore  Furman  during 
the  Eevolution  for  "  army  purposes."  Subsequently 
the  old  mill  was  used  for  fulling.  Thomas  Twining 
carried  on  the  business  at  one  time,  and  Samuel  Grant 
in  1813.   , 

Another  grist-mill  was  built  at  a  very  early  day  by 
Joseph  King,  Sr.,  where  Young's  Mills  now  are. 
The  new  mill  at  that  place  was  built  in  1850  by  Peter 
E.  Young  and  Nathan  Shurts.  The  factory-building 
was  erected  in  1845  or  1846  by  Peter  R.  Young,  and 
the  business  of  wool-carding  and  weaving  was  begun 
by  Sheppard  &  Brother.     It  was  closed  in  1878. 

Thomas  Twining  bought,  at  a  sale  of  James  Dil- 
worth's  property,  in  1785,  the  mill-site  now  known  as 
King's.  About  two  years  later  he  built  the  old  fall- 
ing-mill, now  used  as  a  dwelling.  The  grist-mill  was 
erected  in  1799  by  the  same  man.  In  1811,  Joseph 
King  bought  the  property  of  Twining,  who  removed 
to  the  State  of  New  York.  William  L.,  son  of  Joseph 
King,  built  the  old  oil-mill  during  the  same  year,  and 
in  1812  commenced  to  manufacture  linseed  oil.  The 
first  mill  proving  insufiicient,  in  1827  he  built  the  one 
now  in  use. 

The  first  mill  at  Little's  (now  Tomer's)  was  built 
by  Christy  Little,  date  unknown.  The  new  one,  still 
in  use,  was  built  by  John  Little  in  or  about  1815, 
after  which  the  old  one  was  for  some  time  used  as  a 
distillery.  The  saw-mill,  farther  down  the  stream, 
was  also  first  built  by  Christy  Little.  It  was  rebuilt 
about  1835  by  Christy,  Jr.,  a  nephew.  The  stone 
building  near  by  was  built  about  1818  by  Christy 
and  Oliver  Little,  for  a  fulling-  and  oil-mill. 


442 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


The  old  mill  at  Sidney  is  said  to  date  back  to  the 
last  century.  In  1860  a  new  one  was  built  by  John 
M.  Baldwin. 

The  saw-mill  at  Oak  Grove  was  built  in  1805  by 
Samuel  Willson ;  the  grist-mill  in  1856  by  Josiah 
Willson. 

Hiram  Deats  began  to  manufacture  plows  near 
Quakertown  in  1831,  started  a  foundry  for  casting  his 
plows  in  1836,  and  added  the  casting  of  stoves  in  1841. 
In  1852  the  stove  business  was  transferred  to  Stockton, 
N.  J.  In  the  same  year  he  built  the  machine-shop 
at  Pittstown,  on  the  site  of  the  old  fulling-mill,  using 
the  same  pond  and  tail-race,  just  as  they  were,  perhaps, 
a  hundred  years  before.  In  1859  the  foundry  was 
built  at  Pittstown,  and  the  entire  business  removed 
from  Quakertown.  In  1860,  Mr.  Deats  began  to 
manufacture  reapers  and  mowers ;  in  1866  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  William  J.  Case,  Rutsan  Case,  and 
his  son,  L.  M.  Deats,  doing  business  under  the  firm- 
name  of  Deats,  Case  &  Co.  Later  the  firm  was  L.  M. 
Deats  &  Co.  For  fifty  years,  up  to  April  1,  1881, 
Mr.  Deats  has  been  either  sole  proprietor  or  senior 
partner. 

About  a  hundred  years  ago  Daniel  Potts  and  James 
Dilworth  owned  the  land  west  of  Cornelius  Best's,  and 
there  operated  a  forge.  Subsequently,  Daniel  Potts 
and  his  son  William  followed  making  scythes,  just 
below  the  hill.  The  forge  was  about  100  yards  south, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Capoolon.  As  late  as  1817  a 
large  grain-distillery  was  in  operation  on  the  mill 
property  at  Pittstown.  It  was  carried  on  by  Benjamin 
Guild,  who  lived  where  William  E.  Smith  now  resides. 
Charles  Hoff  had  a  forge  in  front  of  the  tavern  at 
Pittstown  before  the  Revolution,  traces  of  which  may 
still  be  seen. 

The  manufacture  of  hats  was  at  one  time  extensively 
carried  on  at  Quakertown  and  vicinity.  Early  in  the 
present  century  Thomas  Craven  lived  on  the  farm  now 
occupied  by  J.  L.  Nixon.  He  built  the  old  house  by 
the  road  for  a  hat-shop,  and  carried  on  the  business 
there.  Henry  Clifiton  and  William  Clifiton  also 
manufactured  hats.  John  Spiby  had  a  hat-shop  on 
the  lot  now  owned  by  Aaron  Trimmer.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Lewis  Patterson,  who  relinquished  the  busi- 
ness in  1843,  and  Spiby  in  1848  moved  to  Ohio. 

MISCELLANEOUS   ITEMS. 
The  following  documents  explain  themselves : 

Manumission  1      "  I  do  hereby  manumit  &  set  free  from  Bondage  my 
Caty  Allen,   j  Negro  Child  Caty  Allen. 

"Witness  my  hand  &  seal  this  IStli  day  of  Kot., 
A.D.  1805. 

"  LORANNA  Allen." 
"  Keceived,  December  the  Eighteenth,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  &. 
Ninety-Seven,  of  Henry  Cliffton,  in  behalf  of  Mingo  Whano,  the  sum  of 
seventy-five  pounds,  proclamation  money  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  it 
being  the  full  consideration  for  a  certain  Negro  Woman  named  Christiana 
&  her  Child  named  Samuel  Coates  Whano,  sold  by  me  this  Day  to  the 
said  Mingo  Whano  &  to  his  Heirs  and  assigns  forever,  reed,  per  me. 

"Jacob  Kace,  Junr." 

Mingo  Whano,  thus  having  purchased  his  wife  and 


"her  son,"  manumitted  them  in  due  form,  as  is  wit- 
nessed by  John  Rockhill  and  Robert  Emley,  and  re- 
corded by  Henry  Cliffton. 

The  following  extract  from  an  inventory  of  the 
personal  estate  of  Dr.  James  Willson,  taken  March 
15,  1777,  shows  that  it  was  no  trifling  matter  to  set  up 

housekeeping  at  that  time : 

£   e.  d. 

6  Bushels  of  WTieat  in  seller 2    6  0 

1^  barrels  of  Pork  in  seller 10  10  0 

1  Copper  Oittle 6  10  0 

1  frying  pan 14    0  0 

I  grid  Iron 7    6  0 

II  mettle  SpooDS 6    0    0 

I  Clock 14    0    0 

6  yds.  of  12  Hundred  Linnen 2    6    0 

II  Coarse  Sheats 11    0  0 

llflneSheats 16    6  0 

1  pare  of  Smoothing  Irons 10  0 

568  lbs.  of  Bacon  at  Is.  3d.  per  pound S5    0  0 

"  By  Us, 

"  Egbert  Large, 
"  Joseph  King." 

MILITARY.  ' 

Unfortunately,  there  are  few  records  covering  the 
period  of  the  Revolution.  Though  never  the  scene 
of  hostilities,  Franklin,  according  to  reliable  tradi- 
tional authorities,  was  visited  by  detachments  from 
both  the  British  and  the  American  armies.  The 
British,  it  is  said,  were  at  one  time  encamped  in  the 
locust  grove  northwest  of  Quakertown.  The  ofiicers 
were  quartered  in  the  house  of  John  Allen,  now  be- 
longing to  John  Laing.  It  is  also  a  tradition  well 
established  that  a  part  of  the  American  army  was 
once  encamped  at  Pittstown,  where  there  was  a  gov- 
ernment store-house.  This  store-house  is  said  to  have 
been  a  barn  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Hiram  Deats, 
who  removed  the  building  about  twenty  years  ago. 
Tradition  says  that  Washington  visited  this  village 
when  on  his  way  from  Morristown,  and  stopped  for  a 
short  time  in  the  old  house  that  stood  partly  on  the 
present  site  of  the  dwelling  on  the  same  farm. 

In  the  Rebellion,  Franklin  bore  her  full  share  of 
the  burdens.  Co.  D,  Thirtieth  Regiment,  and  the 
Hunterdon  companies  of  the  Thirty-first  Regiment, 
contained  many  of  her  patriotic  sons,  while  many 
others  enlisted  and  served  in  the  First,  Second,  Third, 
Fifth,  Sixth,  Tenth,  Fifteenth,  Thirty-fourth,  Thirty- 
fifth,  Thirty-eighth,  and  other  infantry  regiments, 
in  the  Second  Cavalry,  with  a  few  representatives  in 
the  artillery  and  naval  service. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


ASA  Mcpherson. 

Asa  McPherson  was  born  in  Raritan  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.J.,   Feb.  2, 1798. 

He  was  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Betty  (Polhemus) 
McPherson,  and  his  grandfather  was  born  in  Scot- 
land, and  immigrated  to  this  country.  Samuel  was 
twice  married,  and  had  in  all  seven  children,  of  whom 


DANIEL   LITTLE. 


FRANKLIN. 


443 


Asa  was  the  first-born.  Asa  McPherson  married 
Eliza  Porter,  of  Clinton  township,  Hunterdon  Co. 
They  had  seven  children,  three  of  whom  died  in 
childhood.  Those  living  are  Samuel,  farmer,  residing 
in  the  township  of  Alexandria;  Amos,  farmer  and 
drover,  of  Franklin  township ;  Theodore,  farmer,  re- 
siding in  the  same  township ;  and  Mary,  wife  of  the 
late  George  Housel,  of  Flemington,  N.  J. 


ASA  Mcpherson. 

Asa  McPherson  was  an  active,  enterprising  business 
man  of  his  township,  and,  as  a  drover  anxi  agricul- 
turist, accumulated  a  handsome  competence.  He  was 
highly  respected  as  a  citizen,  was  an  earnest  and  san- 
guine Eepublican,  but  in  no  sense  an  office-seeker. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Bethlehem  Presbyterian 
Church  till  his  removal  to  Flemington,  in  1866.  He 
spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  with  his  daughter  in 
Flemington,  departing  this  life  Feb.  25,  1880,  aged 
eighty -two  years  and  twenty-three  days. 

Theodore  McPherson,  who  occupies  the  old  home- 
stead, near  Cherryville,  in  Franklin  township,  was 
born  on  an  adjacent  farm,  and  removed  here  when 
about  six  years  of  age.  He  was  brought  up  a  farmer, 
and  has  made  that  his  business  through  life.  In  1866 
he  married  Anna  Stout,  of  Mount  Salem,  Union 
township,  and  has  one  son,  Asa  McPherson. 


DANIEL  LITTLE. 
Daniel  Little  was  born  on  the  estate  where  he  now 
resides,  March  27,  1810.  His  grandfather,  Thomas 
Little,  purchased  the  homestead  of  the  executors  of 
Thomas  Eockhill,  the  deed  bearing  date  Dec.  4, 1749. 
After  his  death  the  executors  conveyed  the  property 


to  John  and  Christy  Little,  sons  of  Thomas,  in  a  deed 
bearing  date  Jan.  30,  1804. 

Thomas  Little  married  Esther  Christy,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  and  had  six  children,  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  deceased.  He  died  before  the  Eevolu- 
tion. 

His  son,  Christy  Little,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  in  a  log  house  which  stood  upon  the 
site  of  the  present  stone  house  on  the  Little  estate. 
He  served  five  years  in  the  Revolutionary  war  as 
brigade  teamster,  entering  the  service  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  and  continuing  till  the  close  of  the  war.  Ee- 
turning  home  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  settled  upon 
the  farm,  and  married,  Dec.  26, 1801,  Eachel,  daughter 
of  Jacob  and  Joanna  Cook.  She  was  born  Deo.  28, 
1777,  and  died  Feb.  10,  1859 ;  he  was  born  Sept.  11, 
1761,  and  died  Oct.  17,  1850.  Their  children  were : 
1.  Charles,*  born  Sept.  16,  1802;  2.  Joanna,*  born 
April  29,  1804 ;  3.  Esther,*  born  March  9,  1806 ;  4. 
Adelaide,*  born  Dec.  27, 1807 ;  5.  Daniel,  born  March 
27, 1810 ;  6.  Sedgwick,  born  April  5, 1812 ;  7.  Mahala, 
born  July  25,  1814;  8.  Thirza,  born  Dec.  12,  1817. 

The  four  members  of  the  family  living  reside  at 
and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Littletown.  Mahala 
married  George  Besson,  and  Thirza,  William  Taylor, 
farmers. 

Daniel  Little  was  brought  up  on  the  homestead, 
which  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the  family  since 
1749,  and  received  such  education  as  the  schools  of 
his  neighborhood  afforded.  His  occupation  has-been 
farming  and  milling,  having  been  joint  proprietor 
with  his  brother  Sedgwick  in  the  flouring-mills  at 
Littletown  for  seven  years,  fi-om  1886  to  1843 ;  at  the 
latter  date  he  sold  his  interest  to  his  brother,  and  has 
since  given  his  attention  to  agriculture.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  discharged  the  duties 
of  the  most  important  local  township  offices.  He  has 
been  for  some  three  years  past  an  elder  in  the  King- 
wood  Presbyterian  Church,  and  for  many  years  a 
member  of  its  board  of  trustees. 

Mr.  Little  married  Maria  Hoff,  Dec.  6,  1839,  who 
was  born  Feb.  11,  1821,  and  died  Aug.  2,  1856.  They 
have  two  daughters, — Margaret  Ann,  residing  at  home, 
and  Emma  Eelis,  wife  of  Norris  Shupe,  of  Shiloh, 
Ohio. 

ASA  CASE. 
Asa  Case,  son  of  William  and  Eachel  (Evans) 
Case,  was  born  in  Earitan  township,  Hunterdon  Co., 
N.  J.,  April  14,  1821.  He  is  the  youngest  of  fifteen 
children,  twelve  of  whom  reached  maturity,  and  his  ' 
life  has  been  devoted  to  agricultural  and  horticultural 
pursuits.  The  farm  on  which  he  now  resides  consists 
of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  well-improved  land. 
He  purchased  the  farm  eleven  years  ago,  and  has  since 
given  his  attention  chiefly  to  peach-growing,  from 
which  he  has  realized  very  successful  results.    He  is 


444 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


a  devoted  temperance  man,  and  an  exemplary  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Chenyville.  July  24, 
1847,  Mr.  Case  married  Elizabeth  Ann  Rodenbock,  a 


ASA   CASE. 

native  of  Hunterdon  County.  She  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  Church  and  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school. 
Of  the  four  children,  the  fruit  of  their  marriage, 
three,  two  daughters  and  one  son,  are  living,  and  are 
also  church  members  with  their  parents. 


HIRAM    BEATS. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  of  German  descent  on 
his  father's  side.  His  grandfather,  William  Deats 
(Deitz),  came  from  Germany  and  settled  in  Hunter- 
don County,  about  four  miles  northwest  of  Fleming- 
ton,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  a  wheel- 
wright, being  a  workman  of  great  skill  and  ingenuity. 
He  had  a  family  of  several  children,  of  whom  John, 
the  father  of  our  subject,  was  the  only  son. 

John  Deats  married  Ursilla,  daughter  of  Capt.  Eli- 
sha  Barton,  who,  with  his  eldest  son,  Henry,  served 
through  the  Revolutionary  war.  Capt.  Barton  lived 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Raritan  township  both  before 
and  after  the  war,  and  died  there  about  1820.  The 
property  then  passed  to  his  son  John,  and  from  him 
to  his  son  Isaac,  and  from  Isaac  to  his  son  John,  the 
present  occupant.  Mr.  Deats  has  lived  to  see  five 
generations  on  the  old  homestead  of  his  maternal 
grandfather,  and  the  sixth  growing  up  in  its  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  Three  generations  lie  buried  in 
the  old  graveyard  on  the  place. 

John  Deats,  like  his  father,  was  a  wheelwright  by 


trade,  and  followed  that  occupation  most  of  his  life. 
He  began  early  to  experiment  in  plows,  and  made  the 
model  of  the  celebrated  Deats  plow,  which,  in  the 
hands  of  his  son  Hiram,  has  become  so  widely  and 
favorably  known.  He  obtained  the  patent  for  it,  and, 
not  being  able  to  engage  in  its  manufacture,  went 
West  for  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  rights  there,  and 
never  returned. 

Hiram  Deats  was  then  a  young  man  verging  upon 
his  majority.  He  was  born  April  12,  1810,  and  had 
spent  a  portion  of  his  minority  in  working  at  the 
shoemaker's  trade  near  Flemington.  The  thought 
occurred  to  him  that  he  could  take  his  father's  model 
and  do  something  with  it  in  the  way  of  manufactur- 
ing plows  for  his  immediate  neighbors.  He  was  a 
young  man,  then  scarcely  of  age  and  extremely  poor, 
and  he  little  dreamed  of  the  magnitude  to  which  the 
business  would  ultimately  grow.  The  wish  to  do 
something  in  this  direction  was  father  to  the  deed, 
and  in  1831  Mr.  Deats  began  at  Quakertown,  near 
his  early  home,  the  manufacture  of  a  plow  which  has 
well  stood  the  test  of  all  competition  for  fifty  years. 
Being  of  an  ingenious  turn,  the  patterns  for  the  first 
castings  were  made  by  him,  and  he  was  able  to  turn 
his  hand  to  almost  any  mechanical  job  required  in  the 
fitting  up  and  working  of  his  foundry  and  shop, — a 
gift  or  faculty  which  was  really  the  key  to  his  future 
success;  for,  had  he  been  obliged  to  hire  all  these 
things  done,  he  never  could  have  succeeded,  and  his 
enterprise  must  have  died  in  its  infancy.  For  many 
years  he  was  sucoessfiil  in  everything  he  touched, 
and,  indeed,  his  whole  life  since  has  fiirnished  but 
few  exceptions  to  this  general  rule  of  prosperity. 

In  1831,  as  we  have  said,  he  began  manufacturing 
the  Deats  plow  near  Quakertown.  In  1836  he  started 
a  small  foundry  for  the  ca;sting  of  his  plows.  To  this 
he  added  the  casting  of  stoves,  which  grew  to  be  a 
considerable  business  and  continued  till  1852,  when 
he  divided  the  business,  transferring  the  stove-casting 
to  Stockton,  N.  J.,  and  built  a  machine-shop  at  Pitts- 
town,  on  the  site  of  the  old  fulling-mill  which  was 
originally  used  as  a  grist-mill  in  the  time  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary war  and  afterwards,  using  the  same  pond 
and  tail-race  which  were  then  used.  (This  was  the 
only  grist-mill  throughout  a  large  extent  of  country 
at  that  early  day.)  At  this  shop  he  commenced  the 
manufacture  of  horse-powers,  threshing-machines, 
corn-shellers,  etc.,  leaving  the  foundry  and  plow 
business  at  Quakertown. 

Seven  years  after,  in  1859,  he  moved  to  Pittstown, 
and  built  an  addition  to  the  machine-shop  and  a  new 
foundry  the  same  year,  bringing  all  the  business  from 
Quakertown,  and  in  the  year  following  added  to  the 
business  the  manufacture  of  reapers  and  mowers. 

Seven  years  later,  in  October,  1866,  he  formed  a  co- 
partnership with  William  J.  Case,  Rhutson  Case  and 
his  son,  L.  M.  Deats,  doing  business  under  the  firm- 
name  of  Deats,  Case  &  Co.  Seven  years  later  Rhut- 
son Case  bought  the  interest  of  William  J.  Case,  and 


LEBANON. 


445 


the  business  was  conducted  under  the  name  of  L.  M. 
Beats  &  Co,  making  in  all  fifty  years  up  to  April, 
1881. 

A  severe  blow  fell  upon  Mr.  Deats  and  his  house- 
hold in  the  death  of  his  son,  Lemuel  Madison  Deats, 
whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of  the  iirm.  He  de- 
parted this  life  July  26,  1879,  in  the  prime  of  his 
manhood  and  usefulness. 

Li  1850,  Mr.  Deats  bought  the  very  desirable  prop- 
erty at  Pittstown  where  he  now  lives.  Upon  this 
property  stood  an  old  house  and  barn  which  were 
there  during  the  Eevolutionary  war,  the  barn  being 
then  used  as  a  government  store-house,  and  the 
house,  it  is  said,  was  that  at  which  Gen.  Washington 
stopped  for  a  time  on  his  return  with  a  portion  of  his 
army  from  Morristown,  after  their  hard  winter  there. 
The  present  house  is  partly  on  the  old  site,  and  three 
long  stones  used  as  steps  to  the  old  house  are  now 
used  at  the  entrance  to  the  yard. 

Mr.  Deats  is  known,  and  has  been  for  half  a  cen- 
tury, as  one  of  the  most  busy  mechanics  in  this  sec- 


tion of  the  countiy,  devoting  more  hours  to  work  and 
business  than  most  of  his  contemporaries.  He  is 
now,  though  on  the  shady  side  of  seventy,  engaged  in 
his  general  business,  in  superintending  improvements 
on  his  farm  near  Flemington,  and  in  the  erection  of  a 
large  brick  building  in  the  village, — interests  which 
require  his  constant  care  and  attention. 

Mr.  Deats  married,  first,  Nov.  10,  1838,  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Higgins,  of  Hillsborough,  Som- 
erset Co.  She  was  born  June  26, 1820,  and  died  Aug. 
6,  1862.  Four  children  were  the  fruit  of  this  mar- 
riage, three  sons  and  one  daughter,  of  whom  only  the 
latter  survives.  Their  names  and  dates  of  birth  are 
as  follows:  Jonathan  H.  Deats,  born  Nov.  8,  1840, 
died  Aug.  16,  1850 ;  Emly  Ogden  Deats,  born  Sept. 
13,  1842,  died  Oct.  31,  1866;  Lemuel  Madison  Deats, 
born  June  23,  1845,  died  July  26,  1879;  Rebecca 
Julia  Deats,  born  Oct.  11,  1848. 

Mr.  Deats  married,  for  his  second  wife,  Elmira 
Stevenson,  of  La  Salle  Co.,  111.,  by  whom  he  has  one 
son,  Hiram  E.,  born  May  20,  1870. 


LEBANON. 


GEOGRAPHICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

This  is  the  extreme  northern  township  of  Hunter- 
don County,  and  is  bounded  northeast  by  Morris 
County;  southeast  by  Tewksbury  and  High  Bridge 
townships;  southwestby  Bethlehem  township;  north- 
west by  Warren  County.  The  Musconetcong  Creek 
is  the  dividing  line  between  this  township  and  War- 
ren County. 

NATURAL  FEATURES. 

The  surface  is  quite  uneven,  rising  at  some  points 
several  hundred  feet  above  tide-water.  A  ridge  of  the 
Musconetcong  Mountains  runs  nearly  east  and  west 
across  the  township,  forming  the  divide,  the  waters  on 
the  south  falling  into  Spruce  Run,  while  those  on  the 
north  empty  into  the  Musconetcong  Creek. 

The  principal  stream  is  Spruce  Run.  It  rises  in 
School  District  No.  1,  a  little  above  Anthonytown, 
flowing  southwesterly,  westerly  through  the  centre  of 
township,  and  southerly,  breaking  through  the  moun- 
tain at  Glen  Gardner  and  Clarksville.  The  South 
Branch  of  the  Raritan  is  the  dividing  line  between 
this  township  and  Tewksbury. 

The  soil  is,  as  a  rule,  susceptible  of  a  high  state  of 
cultivation,  especially  along  the  Musconetcong,  Spruce 
Run,  and  Raritan  River. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 
Among  the  pioneers  was  Abraham  Banghart,  better 
known  as  "  Uncle  Abram."    He  lived  on  the  land  pur- 


chased by  his  father  in  1765.  His  grandfather  came 
from  Rhinebeck,  Germany,  and  hired  out  as  a  team- 
ster with  Allen  &  Turner  at  Solitude  Forge.  His  son 
George  purchased  300  acres  of  William,  Richard,  and 
Daniel  Coxe,  of  Burlington,  and  built  a  log  house  on 
the  same  spot  where  "  Uncle  Abram"  lived  and  died, 
in  School  District  No.  7.  George  married  Abraham 
Van  Buskirk's  daughter,  who  lived  on  the  farm  now 
occupied  by  Samuel  Apgar.  Thomas  Van  Buskirk 
lived  where  the  late  James  Force  lived  and  died. 
Frederick  Fritts  lived  near  the  Lutheran  church,  and 
Jacob  Lernenger  at  what  is  now  "White  Hall." 
These,  with  others  living  at  quite  a  distance,  united 
in  building  the  Lutheran  church  at  Spruce  Run, 
about  1795. 

"  Uncle  Abram"  used  to  say  that  his  father,  though 
a  leading  church-member,  would  attend  parties  and 
was  the  usual  fiddler  at  dances.  Spinning-frolics, 
which  were  very  common,  always  wound  up  with 
a  dance  and  "going  home  with  the  girls  in  the  morn- 
ing." 

In  those  days  wild  turkeys  were  quite  often  seen 
in  this  vicinity,  and  as  late  as  1820  deer  were  very 
plenty  in  Lebanon  township. 

James  Force  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers,  near 
what  is  now  Glen  Gardner.  His  grandfather,  Wil- 
liam Force,  in  company  with  two  brothers,  came  from 
England.  He  married  a  Miss  Wolliver,  whose  father 
was  from  Rhinebeck,  Germany.    Thomas  Force  was 


446 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


a  millwright,  and  settled  at  Rowland's  Mills  over  a 
hundred  years  ago. 

Among  other  pioneers  near  the  Spruce  Run  Lu- 
theran church  were  Mathias  Castner,  Morris  Fritts, 
Leonard  Hipp,  Thomas  Foss,  Philip  Crater,  William 
Fritts,  Jacob  Terreberry,  Jacob  Lunger,  Andrew 
Banghart,  John  Banghart,  Thomas  Banghart,  Isaac 
Hildebrant,  and  William  Taylor,  all  of  whose  de- 
scendants live  on  the  old  homestead  or  in  the 
vicinity. 

In  what  is  now  School  District  No.  5,  where  the 
old  homesteads  are  nearly  or  quite  all  occupied  by 
those  of  a  direct  line  of  descendants,  there  located 
the  Castner  family, — Daniel,  Jacob  S.,  and  Crazy 
Jake, — Joseph  Foss,  Joseph  Thomas,  Samuel  Wea- 
ver, William  F.  Fritts,  George  Ackerman,  and 
Thomas  Aston.  In  District  No.  4  there  were  Peter 
Castner,  William  E.  Prall,  and  J.  Stearns,  son  of 
Abram ;  in  No.  8  Richard  Rounsavall  (where  S.  Shep- 
herd now  lives),  Joseph  Johnson,  Joseph  L.  Bowlby, 
David  Parks,  and  Jacob  Johnson. 

In  School  District  No.  2  the  Hicksonbough,  Backer, 
Huffman,  Erts,  and  Lauce  families  represent  the 
pioneers. 

The  pioneers  of  School  District  No.  3  were  George 
and  Matthias  Trimmer.  One  of  Matthias  Trimmer's 
sons  now  occupies  the  old  homestead  on  which  his 
father  located  over  one  hundred  years  ago.  The 
Neighbours  and  Huffmans  were  also  among  the  pio- 
neers in  the  southeast  part  of  the  township. 

White  Hall  District  was  settled  about  1765  by 
Jacob  Lenenger,  Stoffle  Hildebrant,  George  Fritts, 
John  P.  Lance,  John  Apgar,  Paul  Anthony,  Christo- 
pher Tiger,  and  John  Anderson. 

June  10, 1772,  Samuel  Johnson  and  Mary,  his  wife, 
sold  125  acres  to  "  Peter  Van  Boskerk,"  covering  the 
farm  now  owned  by  John  Eveland,  the  hotel  property 
of  E.  Humphrey,  and  other  lots  in  the  village  of  Glen 
Gardner.  The  same  land  was  sold  to  the  grandfather 
of  John  Eveland  by  Van  Buskirk. 

enOST    STOEY. 

Among  the  old  stories  best  remembered  in  this 
locality  is  that  of  the  Morristown  ghost.  Tom  Bang- 
hart says  that  some  men  from  this  locality  were 
among  the  victims.  In  1788  one  Eansford  Rogers, 
a  school-teacher  from  Connecticut,  professing  a  deep 
knowledge  of  chemistry,  pretended  that  it  gave  him 
power  of  raising  good  and  dispelling  evil  spirits,  and 
through  them  of  finding  hidden  treasure.  A  tradi- 
tion was  then  current  that  immense  sums  of  money 
lay  buried  at  Schooley's  Mountain.  Rogers,  taking 
advantage  of  this,  formed  a  company  and  held  secret 
meetings  at  midnight,  drawing  dupes  into  a  "  charmed 
circle"  and  performing  incantations  too  various  to 
mention.  The  whole  upper  part  of  Hunterdon  County 
was  excited  over  the  matter,  and  numbers  believed 
in  it  till  the  chief  actor,  getting  drunk,  revealed  him- 
self, a  ghost  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  was  sent  to  jail. 


There  are  many  versions  of  this  matter,  but  these  are 
the  main  facts. 

EXTRACTS   FROM   PIONEER   RECORDS. 

'*  Lebanon,  March  17,  1734. — Election  of  officers  :  Schooley  and  Hollo- 
way,  Freeholders;  Samuel  Schooley,  George  Malloat,  Overseers  of  the 
Poor;  John  Moore,  Assessor;  Abraham  McDaniels,  Collector;  Edward 
Barber,  Gasper  Hendershott,  Commissioners  of  Highways ;  Lawrence 
Howleson,  Jacob  Angell,  Overseers  of  Highways ;  James  McGraden, 
Constable. 

"  May,  1734. — Upon  the  petition  of  divers  of  Inhabitants  of  the  town 
of  Lebanon  setting  forth  that  William  Phillips  of  the  s'*  town  retails 
liquore  by  small  measure  and  keeps  a  disorderly  House,  &  it  appearing  to 
this  Court  that  the  s^  Wm.  Phillips  has  no  Lycence  granted  him  to  keep 
a  Publick  House  of  Entertainment,  it's  ordered  by  the  Court  that  Justice 
Martin  Ryeraon  &  Justice  John  Van  Sickle  do  inquire  into  the  Truth  of 
the  allegation  of  the  said  Petition ;  &  if  the  said  justices  shall  think  it 
convenient,  they  may  suppress  the  said  Publick  House  &  order  the  s*  Wra. 
Phillips  to  Retail  no  more  strong  liquors  by  small  measures." 

CIVIL   HISTORY. 
For  lack  of  township  records  we  are  unable  to  give 
civil  officers  of  this  township  prior  to  1841.     Those 
who  have  served  since  that  date  are : 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
1841-42,  Andrew  Banghart ;  1843^5,  James  Madison  Johnston ;  1846-47, 
Peter  A.  Beavers  ;  1848-49,  Morris  F.  Martenis ;  1860-81,  David  H. 
Banghart ;  1862,  George  Beavers  ;  1863,  1864-66,  Nelson  Read ;  1854- 
56,  Ambrose  Fritts;  1857-58,  Michael  Banghart;  1869-60,  Elias 
Fritts;  1861-63,  George  Banghart;  1866,  Stewart  F.  Bell;  1867-68, 
Abraham  S.  Banghart ;  1869-70,  Mansfield  H.  Beatty;  1871,  Christo- 
pher Martenis;  1872-73,  John  H.  Parkinson;  1874-76,  William  V. 
PraU;  1877-78,  Jacob  N.  Miller;  1879-80,  Eugene  Eveland. 

ASSESSORS. 
1841,  Benjamin  Fritts;  1842-43,  1848-49,  William  R.  Prall ;  1844-45, 1802- 
63,  Thomas  Banghart;  1846-47,  George  Beavers;  1850-51,  James 
Madison  Johnston;  1852-63,  David  H.  Banghart;  1864^66,  Samuel 
Fritts;  1856-57,  Morris  F.  Martenis;  1858-61,  Abraham  W.  Grant; 
1864^66,  Frederick  Fritts;  1867-68,  Andrew  Crater;  1869-70,  1873- 
74,  Conrad  Davis ;  1871-72,  Mansfield  H.  Beatty ;  1876-76,  Joseph  Bon- 
nell;  1877-80,  William  V.  Prall. 

COLLECTORS. 
1841^2,  Morris  Fritts;  1843^14,  Bonj.  Fritts;  1845-46,  Ralph  Beavers; 
1847,  Samuel  Fritts ;  1848-49,  Leonard  Hipp  ;  1850-61,  Peter  C.  Apgar ; 
1852-53,  George  Jones ;  1854-66,  John  Hill ;  1866-67,  Abraham  W. 
Grant ;  1858-69,  Lewis  Young ;  1860-61,  Samuel  C.  Fritts  ;  1862-04. 
1867-68,  Samuel  Beinhart ;  1866-66,  Elias  V.  Creger ;  1869-72,  Dennis 
Sullivan ;  1873-76,  Andrew  B.  Flomerfelt ;  1876-78,  John  Eveland  ; 
1879-80,  George  W.  Beatty. 

CONSTABLES. 
1841-42,  Thom.TS  Banghart,  Anthony  W.  Beinhart;  1843-44,  Joseph  A. 
Srope,  Thomas  Banghart ;  1845,  Thomas  Banghart,  John  Dean ;  1846, 
John  Dean,  Abraham  Apgar;  1848-60,  Thomas  Banghart;  1851, 
George  Jones,  Thomas  Banghart ;  1862-66,  Jacob  Crater ;  1856,  J.  J. 
Walters ;  1867,  Geo.  W.  Beatty,  Abraham  W.  Grant ;  1868-60,  Abraham 
W.  Grant ;  1861,  John  B.  Crane  ;  1862-66,  Thomas  Banghart,  John 
B.  Cremmer ;  1866,  J.  B.  Cremmer,  Andrew  Crater,  Thomas  Bang- 
hart ;  1867,  Andrew  Crater,  Nelson  Read ;  1868,  Mai-tin  Lunger,  N. 
Read,  George  C.  Trinmier ;  1869,  Coni-ad  Davis,  Martin  Lunger,  Mar- 
tin O'Brien ;  1870,  Thomas  L.  Anderson,  William  McCann,  John  S. 
Cox  ;  1871-72,  T.  L.  Anderson,  William  McCann  ;  1873,  W.  MoCann, 
Henry  Peirce,  T.  L.  Anderson  ;  1874,  T.  L.  Anderson,  John  H.  Par- 
kinson, W.  McCann  ;  1876-77,  T.  L.  Anderson,  A.  B.  Banghart ;  1878- 
80,  T.  L.  Anderson,  Stewart  T.  Bell. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 
1841,  Abram  Banghart,  Peter  C.  Apgar,  David  Neighbour,  George  Franks, 
Jacob  Anthony ;  1842,  Anthony  W.  Reinhart,  A.  Banghart,  D.  Neigh- 
bour, P.  C.  Apgar,  Geo.  Pranks,  Jacob  Anthony ;  1843,  Lewis  Young, 
D.  Neighbour,  Peter  H.  Rowland,  George  Franks,  David  P.  Srope ; 
1844,  Lewis  Young,  Samuel  Fritts,  Peter  H.  Rowland,  D.  P.  Srope, 
William  R.  Prall ;  1845,  George  Foss,  Samuel  Fritts,  Benjamin  Fritts, 


LEBANON. 


447 


D.  P.  Srope,  W.  R.  Prall ;  1846,  George  Fobb,  Jacob  M.  Trimmer, 
Benjamin  Fritts,  George  Jones,  Morris  F.  Martenis ;  1847,  William  C. 
Beavers,  Frederick  Lance,  G.  Jones,  M.  F.  Martenis,  Lewis  Toung ; 
1848,  Frederick  I.  Hoffman,  F.  Lance,  Sylvester  Bowlby,  Andrew 
Banghart,  Lewis  Toung ;  1849,  F.I.  Hoffman,  A.  Banghart,  S.  Bowlby, 
Abram  Banghart,  John  S.  Davis;  1850,  Abram  Banghart,  John  S. 
Davis,  Peter  Eveland,  Zacharlah  Flomerfelt,  Andrew  Banghart ;  1861, 
Z.  Flomerfelt,  P.  Eveland,  Jacob  Pence,  Andrew  Banghart,  Benjamin 
Fritts;  1862,  Benj.  Fritts,  J.  Pence,  Nelson  Bennett,  Charles  Force, 
Richard  Rounsavall;  1853,  George  W.  Beatty,  N.  Bennett,  Lewis 
Toung,  Jacob  A.  Wise,  Joseph  B.  Fritts;  1854,  L.  Toung,  J.  A.  Wise, 
G.  W.  Beaty,  J.  B.  Tritts,  W.  E.  Prall;  1865,  W.  E.  Prall,  G.  W. 
Bowlby,  Ranee  H.  Gray,  Elias  Fritts,  Jacob  Anthony ;  1856,  Ranee 
H.  Gray,  E.  Fritts,  George  W.  Bowlby,  J.  Anthony,  John  C.  Miller ; 

1857,  J.  C.  Miller,  G.  W.  Beaty,  John  Eveland,  E.  Fritts,  R.  H.  Gray; 

1858,  J.  Eveland,  Q.  W.  Beaty,  Nathan  Lance,  Adam  Reinhart,  Nel- 
son Read  ;  1859,  Adam  Reinhart,  Nathan  Lance,  R.  H.  Gray,  D.  H. 
Banghart,  B.  S.  Beavers ;  1860,  N.  Lance,  D.  H.  Banghart,  Ranee  H. 
Gray,  E.  S.  Beavers,  Abram  S.  Banghart ;  1861,  Nathan  Lance,  D.  H. 
Banghart,  Elias  V.  Creger,  A.  S.  Banghart,  Ebenezer  S.  BeaveiB; 
1862-63,  D.  H.  Banghart,  E.  S.  Beavers,  A.  S.  Banghart,  E.  V.  Oreger, 
Martin  O'Brien;  1864,  Abram  Banghart,  George  Banghart,  Martin 
O'Brien,  E.  "V.  Creger,  Cornelius  Stewart ;  1865,  C.  Stewart,  George 
Banghart,  M.  O'Brien,  Leonard  Neighbour,  Ira  C.  Anderson ;  1866,  0. 
Stewart,  Daniel  C.  Anderson,  Peter  Walters,  L.  G.  Neighbour,  Jona- 
than M.  Welsted ;  1867-68,  C.  Stewart,  D.  C.  Anderson,  G.  Banghart, 
J.  A.  Wise,  William  S.  Brown ;  1869-70,  J.  A.  Wise,  John  Gardner, 
G.  Banghart,  Isaiah  Trimmer,  Joseph  B.  Fritts ;  1871,  G.  Banghart, 
J.  B.  Fritts,  J.  A.  Wise,  G.  Gardner,  D.  C.  Anderson  ;  1872,  D.  C.  An- 
derson, William  Beatty,  J.  B.  Fritts,  George  Gardner,  Peter  Martenis ; 
1873,  D.  C.  Anderson,  P.  Martenis,  G.  Gardner,  G.  W.  Beatty,  William 
Beatty ;  1874,  John  Wise,  John  Fritts,  G.  W.  Beatty,  W.  Beatty,  P. 
Martenis ;  1875,  P.  Martenis,  W.  Beatty,  J.  Fritts,  Isaiah  Apgar,  John 
Wise;  1876,  P.  Martenis,  John  Fritts,  I.  Apgar,  Andrew  Castner, 
John  C.  Miller  ;  1877,  L.  H.  Trimmer,  George  K.  Bird,  Christopher 
Bryant,  J.  Apgar,  A.  S.  Banghart ;  1878,  G.  K.  Bird,  L.  H.  Trimmer, 
J.  C.  Miller,  Joseph  Hipp,  P.  0.  Castner;  1879,  G.  K.  Bird,  John  0. 
Apgar,  Jacob  Hipp;  1880,  John  C.  Apgar,  Jacob  Hipp,  John  M. 
Shannon. 

The  chosen  freeholders  from  1800  to  1880  may  he 
found  on  page  264  of  this  volume. 

VILLAGES   AND   HAMLETS. 

JirerCTION  is  situated  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
township,  a  considerable  portion  of  it  reaching  over 
into  Bethlehem  township  ;  it  is  comparatively  a  new 
town.  Here  is  the  junction  of  the  New  Jersey  Cen- 
tral and  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Kail- 
roads,  from  which  fact  the  place  derived'  its  name. 
Previous  to  the  advent  of  the  Central  Railroad,  in 
1852,  there  was  no  village  here.  But  when  it  became 
established  that  the  junction  of  the  two  roads  was  to 
be  at  this  point,  one  sprang  into  existence  as  if  by 
magic.  A  plot  was  surveyed,  building  loan  associa- 
tions formed,  and  when  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
and  Western  was  completed  to  this  point,  in  1857,  a 
thriving  village  was  ready  to  welcome  it.  The  lands 
upon  which  it  is  located  were  formerly  owned  by  John 
Bowlby,  M.  D.  Wells,  Nathan  Terreberry,  and  A. 
Skillman. 

The  Central  Railroad,  in  1865,  built  extensive  re- 
pair-shops, machine-shops,  etc.,  here,  which  caused  a 
speedy  increase  of  population.  The  Delaware,  Lack- 
awanna and  Western  also  built  similar  shops,  which 
made  a  still  greater  demand  for  tenement-houses, 
stores,  etc. 

The  pioneer  tavern  was  built  in  1852,  a  short  dis- 


tance west  of  the  railroad  shops,  by  Joseph  BonneU. 
The  house  is  now  owned  by  Chester  V.  Dilley,  and  is 
unoccupied.  The  present  National  Hotel,  opposite 
the  depot,  was  built  by  Dennis  Sullivan,  in  1865,  and 
in  1867  the  "  Junction  House,"  a  little  farther  west, 
was  built  by  D.  T.  McCarthy. 

The  pioneer  store  was  kept  by  M.  D.  Wells,  a  short 
distance  east  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  West- 
ern Railroad  shops. 

"  Wells'  Hall"  was  built  in  1875,  on  the  corner  of 
Main  Street  and  Wells'  Avenue,  and  is  three  stories 
high.  The  lower  floor  is  occupied  by  stores  and  the 
post-oflBce,  the  second  is  a  public  hall,  and  the  third 
is  occupied  by  four  diiferent  civic  societies. 

The  first  physician  was  Philip  G.  Creveling,  in 
1866.  The  pioneer  postmaster  was  M.  D.  Wells,  ap- 
pointed in  1865,  and  still  holding  the  oflSce.  The  first 
church  was  built  by  the  Roman  Catholics  in  1860. 
It  was  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  and  is  now  occu- 
pied as  a  private  dwelling.  The  present  Roman 
Catholic  church  was  built  in  1865. 

Business  is  represented  by  ten  or  more  stores,  a 
blacksmith-,  tailor-,  shoe-,  and  other  shops,  three  ho- 
tels, a  school-house,  and  three  cigar-manufactories. 

VILLAGES. 

Glen  Gardner  is  located  on  the  extreme  western 
border  of  the  township,  in  a  romantic  glen  through 
which  winds  the  Belvidere  and  Burlington  turnpike 
(laid  out  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago),  and 
the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  built  here  in 
1852. 

Over  a  century  ago  this  locality  was  known  as 
"  Eveland's  Tavern,"  and  soon  the  glen  became  known 
far  and  near  by  the  name  of  "  Sodom." 

Just  when  the  first  settler  located  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  John  Eveland  built  and  kept  a  tavern  as 
early  as  1760.  The  present  hotel  covers  a  part  of  the 
site  of  the  old  one.  John  Eveland  kept  the  tavern 
for  fifty-five  years,  his  son,  Peter,  for  forty,  his  grand- 
son, John,  for  ten,  when  the  property  was  purchased 
by  E.  Humphrey,  present  owner  and  proprietor.  It 
is  now  known  as  the  "  Clarksville  Hotel."  Jacob 
Leninger  built  a  saw-mill  near  the  tavern ;  it  stood 
adjoining  the  site  of  the  present  grist-mill. 

Soon  after  (or  about  1800)  the  population  of  "  So- 
dom' '  commenced  changing  quite  rapidly.  The  pioneer 
store  was  kept  by  a  Mr.  Clark,  in  1820,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  road  from  the  present  "  Hunterdon 
manufactory."  A  post-office  seeming  to  be  a  neces- 
sity. Dr.  W.  A.  A.  Hunt  was  appointed,  about  1820, 
and  the  office  was  named  Clarksville,  in  honor  of  the 
old  merchant,  and  kept  in  his  store.  The  place  is 
now  better  known  as  Clarksville  than  as  either  Sodom 
or  Glen  Gardner,  as  the  one  is  nearly  forgotten,  while 
the  other  is  of  such  recent  origin  that  it  has  not  come 
into  general  use. 

James  Smith  succeeded  Mr.  Clark  in  the  old  store- 
house in  the  bank,  and  was  followed  by  Dr.  W.  A.  A. 


448 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Hunt,  who  moved  the  building  up  to  near  his  resi- 
dence, where  he  kept  both  store  and  post-ofiice. 

Adam  Runkle  first  kept  the  store  on  the  west  side 
of  the  creek,  at  the  end  of  what  is  now  the  iron  bridge, 
as.  early  as  1825.  Other  merchants  were  John  and 
Aaron  McKinstry,  Prall  &  Eunkle,  Lewis  Young, 
James  P.  Huffman,  Samuel  and  Jacob  Weller,  L.  W. 
Young  &  Son,  Young  &  Grant,  and  Watson  Ander- 
son. In  1864  the  Gardner  Brothers  established  their 
chair-manufactory,  when  the  name  of  the  post-office 
and  village  was  changed  to  "  Glen  Gardner"  in  their 
honor. 

There  are  three  churches  (Methodist  Episcopal, 
Presbyterian,  and  Lutheran),  one  academy,  a  hotel, 
two  grist-mills,  a  frame-factory,  four  stores,  a  coal- 
and-lumber  yard,  several  shops,  and  a  railroad  depot, 
with  Samuel  Van  Arsdale  as  agent ;  Lewis  F.  Bigelow 
is  the  present  postmaster.     Population,  700. 

LowEE,  Valley  is  a  small  hamlet  situated  in 
School  District  No.  3.  There  are  a  church,  school- 
house,  the  post-ofiice,  and  about  a  dozen  dwellings 
located  within  a  mile  of  the  four  corners  where  the 
church  is  situated. 

Anthonytown,  on  the  highlands  of  Hunterdon 
County,  in  School  District  No.  1,  was  settled  as  early 
as  1825  by  David  and  Philip  Anthony.  There  are  at 
present  a  Methodist  church,  a  school-house,  a  store, 
two  saw-mills,  blacksmith-  and  wheelwright-shops, 
and  a  few  dwellings.  The  first  store  was  kept  by 
Jacob  Beatty,  in  185.3.  A  post-ofiice  was  established 
in  1860,  with  G.  W.  Beatty  as  postmaster ;  he  still  acts 
in  that  capacity. 

White  Hall  is  located  in  School  District  No.  6, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  township,  and  was  settled  as 
early  as  1800,  when  Jacob  Leuinger  kept  tavern  here. 
The  house  had  become  weatherbeaten,  and  the  pro- 
prietor painted  it  white ;  hence  the  name  by  which 
the  village  has  been  known  for  eighty  or  more  years. 
There  are  a  tavern,  store,  blacksmith-  and  wheel- 
wright-shop, and  half  a  dozen  dwellings. 

New  Hampton,  situated  on  the  Musconetcong 
Creek,  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township,  was 
settled  as  early  as  1800.  .The  first  tavern,  kept  by 
Elisha  Matlick  in  1812,  is  still  standing,  a  short  distance 
up  the  road,  but  unoccupied.  There  are  a  store,  hotel, 
cabinet-manufactory,  blacksmith-  and  wheelwright- 
shop,  grist-mill,  school-house,  and  about  twenty-five 
dwellings.     The  present  postmaster  is  George  Apgar. 

CEMETERIES. 

There  are  several  burial-places  in  this  township, 
some  of  which  are  private  plats  or  family  grounds  on 
the  "  old  homestead,"  but  the  one  in  which  the  most 
interest  centres  is  probably  the  "  Spruce  Run  Burying- 
Ground,"  which  is  located  about  a  mile  east  of  Glen 
Gardner,  and  opposite  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church. 

The  following  names  and  dates,  taken  from  the  tomb- 
stones and  monuments  in  these  grounds,  give  an  idea 


of  who  the  pioneers  were :  Anna  Apgar,  born  Nov. 
20,  1795,  died  July  4, 1877  ;  George  Apgar,  died  Nov. 
6,  1864,  aged  seventy-one;  Margaret  Stymets,  died 
June  8,  1809,  aged  eighty-one ;  Frederick  Fritts,  Jr., 
died  Aug.  23,  1812,  aged  fifty-three  ;  Daniel  Castner, 
died  Feb.  12,  1839,  aged  eighty-two;  George  Moore, 
died  Jan.  2,  1815,  aged  ninety.  On  his  headstone  are 
the  following  lines : 

"  Remember  me  as  you  pass  by  : 
As  you  are  now,  so  once  was  I ; 
As  I  am  now  you  aU  must  be  ; 
Prepare  for  death,  and  follow  me." 

Elizabeth  Moore,  died  Oct.  17,  1810,  aged  seventy- 
seven;  Christopher  Martenis,  died  April  19,  1822, 
aged  seventy-seven;  Catharine  McKinney,  died 
March  2,  1863,  aged  eighty-five ;  John  McDan- 
iels,  born  July  1,  1785,  died  March  17,  1864; 
Peter  Swick,  died  May  1,  1844,  aged  forty-six;  Mary 
Larue,  died  April  17,  1856,  aged  fifty-five;  Harman 
Dilts,  died  Oct.  28,  1842,  aged  forty-two ;  Benjamin 
Fritts,  born  Nov.  11,  1781,  died  Sept.  29,  1861 ;  Wil- 
liam F.  Fritts,  born  April  18,  1783,  died  Jan.  27, 
1871 ;  Eachael  Fritts,  born  June  13, 1789,  died  March 
28,  1870 ;  John  Anderson,  died  Feb.  27,  1865,  aged 
ninety-six ;  Ann  Anderson,  died  March  8,  1860,  aged 
seventy-four;  Thomas  Hasten,  died  Dec.  15,  1835, 
aged  eighty-eight;  Margaret  Hasten,  died  Dec.  15, 
1852,  aged  ninety-one ;  George  Martenis,  died  April 
15,  1860,  aged  seventy-five  ;  Jane  M.,  wife  of  J.  G. 
More,  died  Feb.  7,  1864,  aged  eighty-one;  Rev.  E. 
Collins,  died  Jan.  1,  1861,  aged  sixty-five ;  Abraham 
H.  Banghart,  died  Sept.  26,  1872,  aged  sixty-three ; 
Andrew  Moore,  born  May  15, 1764,  died  June  1, 1846 ; 
Jacob  Lininger,  died  Aug.  15,  1835,  aged  eighty-two ; 
Thomas  Banghart,  died  May  12,  1859,  aged  eighty; 
Rebecca  Banghart,  died  May  10,  1876,  aged  eighty- 
three;  Christian  Foss,  died  Oct.  8,  1865,  aged  sixty- 
nine  ;  Charles  Plum,  died  April  29, 1860,  aged  thirty- 
nine;  Rev.  David  Kline,  born  Nov.  14,  1812,  died 
Nov.  5,  1877  ;  Jane  Kirkpatrick,  wife  of  Rev.  David 
Kline,  born  June  19,  1814,  died  June  1,  1875. 

"Lower  Valley  Cemetery"  is  located  at  Lower 
Valley,  in  the  southeast  part  of  the  township,  and 
adjoining  the  Presbyterian  church  lot.  This,  aside 
from  the  Spruce  Run  grounds,  is  the  only  one  of  much 
interest  in  the  township.  The  names  of  a  few  of  those 
buried  there  are :  Elizabeth  Gray,  died  June  19, 1867, 
aged  forty-four ;  William  Neighbour,  died  March  10, 
1878,  aged  eighty-three;  Jacob  Swackhamer,  born 
Dec.  31,  1789,  died  April  20,  1851 ;  Dr.  J.  K.  Stryker, 
died  Sept.  8, 1862,  aged  forty-one ;  Conrad  Hoppough, 
died  Oct.  23, 1864,  aged  seventy ;  Ralph  Beavers,  died 
March  31,  1863,  aged  eighty-one;  Elizabeth  Apgar, 
died  March  27,  1863,  aged  eighty-two ;  David  Trim- 
mer, died  March  1,  1824,  aged  sixty-five;  Elizabeth 
Flomerfelt,  died  Aug.  26,  1848,  aged  sixty-nine;  Wil- 
liam Apgar,  died  Feb.  19, 1835,  aged  sixty-six;  Joseph 
Hoover,  died  Aug.  28, 1843,  aged  fifty-four;  Sylvanus 
Young,  died  Dec.  11, 1857,  aged  eighty-two  ;  Leonard 


'aS 


LEBANON. 


449 


Neighbour,  died  Dec.  10,  1854,  aged  ninety;  Peter 
Bunn,  born  April  17,  1794,  died  Sept.  15,  1874;  Ele- 
anor Hofl&nan,  died  Nov.  18,  1869,  aged  seventy-two ; 
Catharine  Teeter,  died  April  13,  1837,  aged  seventy- 
two  ;  William  Wack,  died  Jan.  30, 1864,  aged  seventy- 
two  ;  Ann  Hance,  wife  of  David  Neighbour,  died  Dec. 
2,  1834,  aged  thirty-four;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  David 
Neighbour,  died  July  22, 1857,  aged  fifty-eight. 

SOCIETIES   AND   CORPORATIONS. 

The  Temple  of  Honor  at  Glen  Gardner  was  organ- 
ized Nov.  28,  1872.  The  following  persons  signed 
the  application  for  a  charter :  L.  M.  Castner,  George 
Crater,  George  L.  Dean,  Lewis  Fritts,  David  Hart, 
William  Hart,  Moses  Housel,  Samuel  Litts,  E.  A. 
Martenis,  Frank  Maxwell,  Peter  Nelson,  P.  H.  Pras- 
ter,  Henry  R.  Queen,  James  G.  Shnltz,  Elwood  S. 
Teats,  Joseph  J.  Unanst. 

The  first  principal  officers  were  :  W.  C.  T.,  Samuel 
Litts ;  W.  V.  T.,  Henry  R.  Queen ;  W.  R.,  Lewis  M. 
Castner. 

The  failure  of  the  factories  has  very  seriously  af- 
fected the  society.  It  still  lives,  but  has  only  12 
members.  The  present  officers  are:  W.  C,  M.  G. 
Housel;  W.  V.,  J.  Robbins;  W.  R.,  S.  K.  Doolittle; 
W.  F.  E.,  T.  E.  Hunt;  W.  T.,  W.  M.  Hunt;  W.  W., 
J.  Petty;  W.  G.,  M.  Geary;  W.  S.,  C.  Martenis;  W. 
Chaplain,  C.  H.  Traver. 

"Shabbekong  Tribe,  No.  46,  I.  O.  of  R.  M.,"  is 
located  at  Junction.  The  tribe  was  originally  organ- 
ized at  Washington,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  but  was  re- 
moved to  Junction,  where  the  tribe  was  reorganized 
June  21, 1878,  with  the  following  officers  and  members 
under  the  new  charter:  Sachem,  A.  Weidmann ;  S.  S., 
William  Huselton;  I.  S.,  J.  Duckworth;  0.  S.,  C.  G. 
Blackford;  K.  of  W.,  John  Hoppock;  C.  of  R.,  A.  M. 
Young ;  and  J.  R.  Rex,  E.  B.  Hoppock,  Charles  Weid- 
mann, William  B.  Smith,  G.  German,  William  Rex, 
John  S.  Rodenbaugh,  A.  Rinehart,  A.  B.  Apgar,  S. 
Bowlby,  S.  Apgar,  A.  Nigh,  J.  B.  McLean,  H.  Husel- 
ton, William  Brown,  P.  Young,  William  Dorland,  A. 
Apgar,  James  Brown,  N.  Conover,  J.  Walters,  and  W. 
Busenberry.  Wells'  Hall  was  fitted  up  for  the  tribe 
in  the  summer  of  1880,  at  a  cost  of  $300.  The  tribe 
is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition,  with  75  members. 
The  Past  Sachems  are  A.  Weidmann,  D.  D.  G.  S., 
George  Hummel,  William  Huselton.  The  present  offi- 
cers are :  Sachem,  John  Duckworth ;  P.  S.,  William 
Huselton ;  S.  S.,  G.  W.  Winters ;  I.  S.,  William  Dor- 
land;  K.  of  W.,  John  Hoppock;  C.  of  R.,  0.  J. 
Blackford. 

The  following-named  charter  members  of  "  George 

W.  Taylor  Post,  No.  9,  G.  A.  R.,"  were  mustered  in 

Oct.  24,  1878,  at  Junction:  Capt.  W.  M.  Shipman,  A. 

Weidmann,  Everett  Gordon,  Capt.  Nelson  Bennett, 

;;       Mahlon  Smith,  Bishop  Smith,  George  Hummel,  Hal- 

;       sey  Berry,  Stuart  Bowlby,  John  Busenberry,  Miller 

','       Bell,  John  J.  Bennett,  William  Cooper,  William  Flatt, 

Jethro  German,  Daniel  Grooendyke,  Theodore  Hunt, 


Theodore  Hoffiman,  John  W.  Jobes,  David  S.  John- 
son, Edward  Lewis,  P.  D.  Morgan,  J.  B.  McLean, 
Almier  Nigh,  George  W.  Winters,  U.  A.  Walton,  and 
Herman  Althemus.  Everett  Gordon  was  the  first  Com- 
mander; the  present  Commander  (1881)  is  Miller  G.. 
Bell. 

"  Clarksville  Cornet  Band"  was  organized  at  Glen 
Gardner  in  1871  by  members  of  the  "  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics,"  with  eighteen  pieces,  and  for 
several  years  sustained  a  reputation  second  to  none  in 
the  county.  The  band  at  present  has  twelve  members, 
with  officers  as  follows:  John  L.  Tunison,  President; 
William  Stevenson,  Secretary ;  David  Siegfried,  Treas- 
urer; George  Smith,  Leader;  Lewis  F.  Bigelow,. 
Instructor. 

"  Musconetcong  Lodge,  No.  98,  K.  of  P.,"  was  in- 
stituted at  Junction,  June  9,  1874,  by  William  R. 
Laudenberger,  H.  S.  Puterbaugh,  G.  E.  Hummel,  E. 
E.  Welsted,  William  C.  Staples,  M.  D.  Wells,  Charles 
Ward,  M.  L.  Van  Arsdale,  Charles  Foster,  and  others 
whose  names  we  were  unable  to  obtain.  The  first 
officers  were:  C.  C,  W.  E.  Laudenberger;  V.  C,  H. 
S.  Puterbaugh ;  P.,  G.  E.  Hummel ;  K.  of  E.  and  S., 
M.  D.  Wells ;  M.  A.,  Charles  Ward  ;  M.  of  E.,  W.  C. 
Staples.  The  successive  presiding  officers  have  been 
H.  S.  Puterbaugh,  G.  E.  Hummel,  Charles  Ward,  M. 
D.  Wells,  T.  T.  Cyphert,  Howard  Frendsch,  A.  M. 
Young,  E.  P.  Sharp,  John  Prall,  T.  T.  Cyphert.  The 
present  officers  are :  P.  C,  John  Prall ;  C.  C,  James 
Bowlby;  V.  C,  Alexander  Lukens;  P.,  Hannibal 
Bowlby;  M.  of  A.,  Uriah  Rinehart;  K.  of  E.  and 
S.,  E.  S.  Anderson  ;  M.  of  E.,  W.  R.  Laudenberger ; 
I.  G.,  Halsey  Berry;  0.  G.,  A.  P.  Shive.  Present 
membership,  45. 

"  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  6,  F.  &  A.  M.,"  was  organ- 
ized at  Clarksville  in  1870,  and  assigned  the  number 
originally  belonging  to  a  lodge  at  this  place,  consti- 
tuted, as  the  number  indicates,  in  the  early  days  of 
Masonry  in  New  Jersey.  The  following  officers  were 
installed :  W.  M.,  David  Bruce ;  S.  W.,  Robert  Fo- 
zard ;  J.  W.,  Monroe  Curtis ;  S.  D.,  Stewart  Terri- 
berry;  J.  D.,  Christopher  Staats;  Treas.,  John 
Eveland;  Sec,  Richard  W.  Taylor;  Tiler,  John 
C.  Tomey.  The  Past  Masters  have  been  David 
Bruce,  Robert  Fozard,  Monroe  Curtis,  John  C. 
Tomey,  James  Huntsman,  John  C.  Reeves,  Peter  S. 
Shurts,  H.  S.  Puterbaugh,  John  M.  Shannon,  and 
I.  J.  Eyears. 

The  present  officers  are :  W.  M.,  I.  J.  Eyears  ;  S. 
W.,  L.  F.  Bigelow ;  J.  W.,  W.  H.  Parker ;  Treas., 
James  Huntsman ;  Sec,  A.  S.  Pittenger ;  Chaplain, 
John  C.  Reeves;  S.  D.,  P.  S.  Shrope;  J.  D.,  J.  M. 
Shannon ;  Tiler,  R.  W.  Wolverton.  Present  mem- 
bership, 46. 

INDUSTRIAL   PURSUITS. 

The  grist-mill  in  School  District  No.  3,  at  "  Cater- 
town"  or  "  Teetertown,"  owned  and  operated  by 
Lawrence  H.  Trimmer,  was  built  in  1855.  The 
old  Wack  mill  stood  upon  the  same  site,  and  was 


450 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


known  for  many  years  as  "Wack's  Mills."  S.  Dor- 
land's  grist-mill,  in  School  District  No.  2,  was  built 
in  1820,  and  is  now  operated  by  George  Apgar.  At 
Anthonytown  there  are  two  saw-mills, — one  built  in 
1830  by  David  Anthony,  the  other  in  1840  by  Wil- 
liam Waters.  In  the  northeast  corner  of  the  town- 
ship there  was  a  grist-mill,  built  as  early  as  1785,  but 
it  was  burned,  and  in  or  about  1855  the  present  one 
was  built  by  J.  W.  Homer.  The  place  is  known  as 
Homer's  Mills.  Beatty's  saw-mill,  about  a  mile  south 
of  this,  was  built  in  1855,  by  William  Beatty,  and  is 
still  owned  by  him. 

The  "  Point  Mills,"  on  the  Musconetcong  Creek, 
below  Homer's  mill,  were  built  about  1800  by  Stephen 
Yanatta,  and  here  George  Painter  was  miller  in  1810. 
These  mills  were  once  owned  by  Dr.  Clark,  of  Belvi- 
dere.  They  are  now  owned  and  operated  by  Pidcock 
&  Skinner. 

The  grist-mill  on  this  side  the  Musconetcong,  at 
New  Hampton,  was  built  in  1800  by  Henry  Dusen- 
berry.  It  is  now  owned  by  Wyckoff,  Einehart  &  Co. 
The  saw-  and  grist-mills  of  Josiah  Apgar,  located  on 
Spruce  Run,  were  built  in  1865.  The  saw-mill  of  I. 
Bryan,  below  Apgar's,  was  built  about  1835  by 
John  Crater.  In  or  about  1805,  Thomas  Foss  built 
a  grist-mill  on  Spruce  Run,  still  known  as  the  "  Foss" 
mill,  but  owned  by  David  L.  Everitt. 

The  first  grist-mill  at  Glen  Gardner  was  built  about 
1760.  It  was  in  use  for  a  hundred  years,  when  it  was 
taken  down,  and  the  present  one  built  in  1862  by 
Lewis  Young ;  now  owned  by  William  W.  Sweazy. 
The  grist-mill  farther  down  the  stream  was  built  in 
1835  by  Dr.  W.  A.  A.  Hunt,  and  is  now  operated  by 
David  H.  Banghart.  A  stone  "  bark-mill"  was  built 
in  1816  on  the  present  site  of  the  "  Hunterdon  Manu- 
facturing" mill ;  it  was  subsequently  converted  into  a 
grist-mill,  but  was  destroyed  by  the  "  great  freshet" 
of  1851. 

In  1864  "  The  Gardner  Chair-Manufacturing  Com- 
pany" built  three  large  frame  mills  up  the  small  glen 
on  First  Street,  east  of  the  railroad,  and  for  a  time 
employed  hundreds  of  hands,  but  in  a  few  years  the 
business  was  abandoned,  and  the  mills  are  now  idle. 

In  1868  the  Hunterdon  picture-frame  factory  was 
built,  and  Got.  4,  1869,  about  half  the  building  was 
destroyed  by  a  freshet,  but  immediately  rebuilt.  Dr. 
Hunt  became  proprietor  subsequently.  The  building 
is  now  used  as  a  store-house  for  surplus  goods. 

In  1830,  J.  S.  Prall  &  Son  built  a  large  cabinet- 
shop  and  fnrniture-manufactory  at  New  Hampton, 
with  steam  as  the  motive-power;  they  are  still  in 
business.  A  sash-and-blind  factory  was  built  by  Dr. 
Hunt  about  1865,  operated  a  few  years,  and  aban- 
doned. The  blacksmith-  and  wheelwright-shops  at 
Little  Brook  are  owned  and  operated  by  William  and 
George  Anderson. 

The  mine  at  White  Hall  was  formerly  the  property 
of  George  Fritts,  but  is  now  owned  by  Alvah  Gray 
and  worked  by  the  "  Hellertown  Mining  Company." 


The  other  mines  in  the  township  are  not  working 
at  present. 

CHURCHES. 
MOUNT  LEBANON  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

A  meeting  was  held  in  the  wheelwright-shop  of 
William  Hight,  in  the  township  of  Lebanon,  March 
21, 1844,  to  adopt  measures  for  the  erection  of  a  Meth- 
odist church,  near  the  eight-square  stone  school- 
house,  to  be  called  the  "  Mount  Lebanon  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church."  The  following  building  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  which  comprised  nearly  or 
quite  all  the  Methodists  at  Anthonytown  or  Mount 
Lebanon:  John  Fisher,  Joseph  T.  Gerrard,  Christo- 
pher Tiger,  Henry  Lindaberry,  and  Samuel  L.  Fisher ; 
the  last  named  not  being  a  member  of  the  society.  The 
committee  entered  upon  their  duties  at  once,  and  in 
May  the  corner-stone  was  laid.  During  the  summer 
the  church  was  completed  and  dedicated,  at  a  cost  of 
$900.     It  was  of  stone,  33   by  40  feet,  with  16-foot 


THE  OLD  MOUNT  LEBANON  METHODIST  CHURCH. 

walls.  May  30,  1844,  the  following  trustees  were 
chosen :  John  Fisher,  Cornelius  R.  Hight,  Joseph 
T.  Gerrard,  Henry  Lindaberry,  Samuel  L.  Fisher, 
George  AV.  Beatty,  and  Charles  Watson. 

In  1878  the  church  was  remodeled  and  enlarged, 
and  a  spire  85  feet  high  added,  in  which  was  hung  a 
bell  weighing  1200  pounds,  the  gift  of  D.  F.  Beatty 
(now  of  Washington,  N.  J.),  as  was  also  the  organ 
now  in  use.  The  corner-stone  was  relaid  Sept.  27, 
1878.  The  total  cost  of  repairs  and  improvements 
was  $4000. 

The  first  class-leader  was  Thomas  Waters ;  present 
leader,  Christopher  Bryan.  Local  preacher,  John  H. 
Moore ;  Stewards,  Christopher  Bryan,  Theodore  Mc- 
Catherien,  John  H.  Sliker,  John  L.  Lindaberry; 
Trustees,  John  H.  Sliker,  John  H.  Moore,  George  W. 
Beatty,  John  R.  Castner,  H.  Beatty,  Theodore  Mc- 
Catherien.  Present  membership,  80.  John  H.  Moore 
is  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school ;  average  at- 
tendance, 46. 


LEBANON. 


451 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  LOWER  VALLEY. 

Ttis  church  is  located  in  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  township,  in  the  small  hamlet  of  "  Lower  Valley." 
The  original  members  were  from  other  churches,  and 
more  especially  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Ger- 
man Valley,  with  which  it  was  at  one  time  connected. 
Many  of  the  members  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Lower 
Valley  began  to  feel  the  need  of  a  place  of  worship 
nearer  home,  and  Sept.  13,  1870,  half  an  acre  of  land, 
upon  which  the  church  now  stands,  was  purchased  oi 
Samuel  K.  Weller.  A  building  committee  was  at 
once  appointed,  consisting  of  Samuel  Trimmer,  Oliver 
Bunn,  and  David  Neighbour.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  in  May,  1871,  by  Rev.  I.  A.  Blauvelt,  of  the 
German  Valley  Church,  and  the  building  was  com- 
pleted and  dedicated  Dec.  19,  1871.  It  is  of  wood,  38 
by  65  feet,  and  cost  $12,000. 

May  7,  1872,  this  church  was  regularly  and  legally 
organized  by  the  "  Presbytery  of  Morris  and  Orange," 
with  the  following  constituent  members :  On  certijBcate 
from  German  Valley  Church,  George  Neighbour,  Eliz- 
abeth Neighbour,  David  Neighbour,  Jacob  M.  Trim- 
mer, Susan  L.  Trimmer,  James  Trimmer,  Catharine 
Flumerfelt,  Adaline  Neighbour,  Caroline  Apgar,  John 
Neighbour,  Margaret  Q.  Neighbour,  Charles  Miller, 
Mary  Miller,  James  Foster,  Ellen  Foster,  Elias  V. 
Cregar,  Eliza  Ann  Cregar,  Sylvester  Neighbour,  Zil- 
pha  Neighbour,  Mary  Trimmer,  Elizabeth  Miller, 
Gilbert  Trimmer,  Caroline  Trimmer,  Samuel  Trim- 
mer, Ann  C.  Trimmer,  Leonard  G.  Neighbour,  George 
E.  Naughwright,  Caroline  Trimmer,  George  Apgar, 
and  Ann  Naughwright ;  from  Pleasant  Grove,  Rachel 
Apgar,  Peter  Bunn  and  wife,  Abraham  Hofiinan  and 
wife,  and  Oliver  Bunn ;  from  Flanders,  Mary  Welch ; 
from  Reformed  Church  at  High  Bridge,  Benjamin 
Cole  and  Sophia  Cole;  from  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  of  Spruce  Run,  0.  B.  Hoffman  and  Margaret 
A.  Hoffman. 

The  first  elders  were  George  Neighbour,  David 
Neighbour,  and  Jacob  M.  Trimmer.  May  18,  1872, 
the  following  additional  were  elected :  Elias  V.  Cregar, 
Benjamin  Cole,  and  Abraham  Hoffman. 

In  1874  the  church  officials  purchased  three-quar- 
ters of  an  acre,  adjoining  the  church  lot,  and  built 
thereon  their  present  beautiful  and  commodious  par- 
sonage at  a  cost  of  $4000. 

The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  I.  A.  Blauvelt.  He 
preached  at  German  Valley  in  the  forenoon,  and  at 
Lower  Valley  in  the  afternoon.  He  was  succeeded, 
in  December,  1871,  or  January,  1872,  by  Rev.  R.  H. 
Van  Amburgh,  who  remained  only  till  February, 
1872,  when  Rev.  John  Reed  was  called.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Chester  Poe  Murra,  installed  in  May, 
1876.  His  successor  was  the  present  pastor.  Rev. 
W.  J.  Henderson,  installed  in  May,  1877.  This 
church  is  now  in  the  Elizabeth  Presbytery.  Present 
value  of  property,  $16,000 ;  present  membership,  154. 
The  Sunday-school  was  established  in  1840  by 
David  Neighbour,  the  first  superintendent.    The  pres- 


ent superintendent  is  Johnson  Bennett ;  average  at- 
tendance, 60. 

CLAEKSVILLE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

is  located  at  Glen  Gardner.  There  is  no  written  early 
Methodist  history  connected  with  this  place,  and  such 
as  we  have  is  brief  and  somewhat  indefinite.  There 
was  a  class  sustained  here  more  or  less  regularly  for  a 
great  many  years,  and  the  early  circuit-preachers  held 
forth  at  intervals  in  the  old  stone  school-house,  and 
in  dwelling-houses. 

Wesley  Robertson,  Henry  Trumbour,  and  others 
are  mentioned  as  having  traveled  this  circuit. 

Services  were  held  in  what  was  known  as  Gardner's 
Hall.  April  16,  1863,  the  following  trustees  were 
elected :  T.  Edgar  Hunt,  William  Gardner,  George 
Gardner,  John  Gardner,  Christopher  Martenis,  and 
Eleazar  A.  Smith. 

At  this  time  it  was  resolved  to  build  a  church  and 
parsonage,  the  lots  being  donated  by  Dr.  T.  Edgar 
Hunt,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  who  co- 
operated with  the  society  in  a  most  warm  and  cordial 
manner  for  many  years.  The  church  was  built  in 
1863,  at  a  cost  of  about  $7000,  as  near  as  can  be  as- 
certained. It  has  received  considerable  improvements 
twice  since  then.  In  the  last  instance  it  was  frescoed 
at  a  cost  of  $350.  The  parsonage  was  built  in  1864 
at  a  cost  of  nearly  $3000. 

At  the  Conference  of  1864,  Henry  Hayter  was  sent 
to  the  charge.  He  remained  but  one  year.  During 
his  time  about  eighty-one  are  said  to  have  been  con- 
verted. Rev.  David  Walters  came  in  1865.  He 
remained  two  years.  Rev.  Charles  C.  Winans  ap- 
peared as  the  next  pastor,  in  1867,  remaining  three 
years.  In  1870,  Clarksville  was  severed  from  Union. 
Rev.  Alexander  Craig  followed  Rev.  Winans,  in  1870. 
He  remained  but  one  year.  During  his  short  time  he 
inaugurated  a  series  of  meetings  at  the  Junction, 
where,  with  the  aid  of  an  esteemed  local  brother,  Dr. 
William  Hacket,  the  foundation  was  laid  by  him  of 
the  present  society.  In  1871,  Rev.  Walter  Chamber- 
lain came  and  remained  two  years.  The  next  preacher 
was  C.  S.  Woodruff,  who  came  in  1873  and  remained 
till  1876.  In  the  spring  of  1876,  Rev.  J.  A.  Kings- 
bury, to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  much  of  this  brief 
sketch,  was  sent  to  this  charge,  and  remained  till  April, 
1879,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  S.  K.  Doolittle, 
the  present  pastor. 

The  present  trustees  are  C.  Martenis,  J.  A.  Davis, 
Jacob  Foose,  M.  G.  Housel,  0.  Ward,  J.  Dalrymple, 
and  Peter  Praster.  Present  membership,  126 ;  present 
value  of  church  property,  $15,000. 

JUNCTION  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

The  first  society  was  organized  at  Junction  in  1871, 
while  Rev.  Alexander  Craig  was  pastor  of  the  Glen 
Gardner  Church.  The  place  of  meeting  was  in  a  hall 
since  burned  down.  Rev.  William  Hacket  supplied 
the  infant  society  for  a  time,  and  a  revival  added  a 
member  to  the  class.    M.  D.  Wells  gave  them  a  lot 


452 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


upon  which  to  build  a  church.  Eev.  Walter  Cham- 
berlain, pastor  at  Glen  Gardner,  took  charge  of  .Junc- 
tion, and  Sept.  7, 1872,  the  corner-.9tone  for  the  church 
was  laid.  The  first  trustees  were  George  W.  Rowland, 
T.  H.  Berry,  .James  Warman,  J.  W.  Everett,  Jethro 
German,  Samuel  Emery,  M.  D.  Wells.  The  lecture- 
room  was  dedicated  Feb.  7,  1 87.3. 

In  the  spring  of  187-3,  Rev.  Henry  Bice  w;us  ap- 
pointed pastor.  A  Revival  followed,  and  many  joined. 
In  1874  and  187.5,  Eev.  J.  A.  Dickson  was  pastor; 
1876,  Rev.  H.  B.  Mollyneaux;  1877,  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Thomas ;  1878,  Eev.  J.  A.  Kingsbury  ;  1879,  Rev. 
S.  K.  Doolittle,  present  pastor.  The  audience-room 
was  dedicated  Dec.  19,  1880.     Membership,  7G. 

THE  FIEST   PEESBYTBEIAN  CHUECH   OF   CLAEKSVILLB 

was  organized  March  16,  1869,  by  the  I^re-bytery  of 
Raritan,  with  eighteen  original  members.  The  meet- 
ings were  held  in  the  Mondalia  Academy  at  Glen 
Gardner  until  the  present  house  of  worship  \va.s 
erected,  in  1869,  at  a  cost  of  *2.7,000.  The  building 
is  pleasantly  located  on  the  Bethlehem  side  of  Spruce 
Run.  It  is  a  memorial  of  the  munificence  and  Chris- 
tian zeal  of  Dr.  William  A.  A.  Hunt,  through  whose 
efforts  a  church  was  organized  and  the  hoase  of  wor- 
ship built. 

Rev.  J.  H.  Clark  was  the  first  pastor ;  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  W.  .1.  Henderson,  who  remained  till 
the  spring  of  1874 ;  since  then  the  pulpit  has  been 
supplied  by  Rev.  U.  W.  Condit,  of  Easton,  Pa. 
Present  membership,  23 ;  present  value  of  property, 
$2.5,000.  T.  Edgar  Hunt,  M.D.,  was  the  first  superin- 
tendent of  the  .Sunday-school ;  present  superinten- 
dent, I.  J.  Eyears. 

THE  NEW  HAMPTON  BAPTIST   CHUECH 

is  located  at  Junction.  For  over  thirty  years  it  was 
a  mission  of  the  old  Bethlehem  Baptist  Church.  Rev, 
Thomas  Barras  commenced  preaching  here  and  at 
N"ew  Hampton  village  as  a  missionary  in  18.31,  and 
continued  till  1850.  Jan.  21,  1868,  the  New  Hamp- 
ton Baptist  Church  was  constituted  an  independent 
body. 

Rev.  Mr.  Barras  wa.s  succeeded  by  Rev.  E.  M.  Bar- 
ker, who  served  till  April,  1853.  In  18.54,  Rev.  J.  .J. 
Barker  commenced  missionary  work  here,  and  con- 
tinued till  August,  1858.  During  this  year  the  pres- 
ent church  edifice  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  $1600.  In 
NovemVjer,  1858,  Eev.  William  Archer  came,  and  con- 
tinued until  January,  1864.  He  was  succeeded  Vjy 
Rev.  George  Young,  who  remained  until  .July,  1867, 
followed  in  Xovember,  1867,  by  Rev.  Henry  West- 
cott,  who  continued  till  ,A.pril,  1872.  The  church  was 
supplied  by  Eev.  John  Porter  from  .June  23,  1872, 
untilApril  1,1873,  after  which  Eev.  G.  F.Herjdrickson 
officiated.  He  was  succeeded  by  Eev.  Thomas  Young, 
from  April  16,  1876,  to  April  1,  1878,  when  Eev.  A 
B.  Still,  the  piresent  pastor,  commencf;d  his  labors. 
^Membership,  January,  18-1,  25;  value  of  property, 
$1200.     Deacons,  Nathan  Terreberry,  William  Marte- 


nis ;  Trustees,  Nathan  Terreberry,  J.  D.  Peirce,  Jacob 
S.  Shrope,  B.  Woodruff,  William  Martenis. 

SPEUCE   EUN   LUTIIEEAN   CHUECH. 

This  congregation  was  organized  in  1774  or  the 
beginning  of  1775.  The  first  pastor  was  William 
Graff,  who  lived  at  New  Germantfjwn,  N.  J.,  and 
preached  at  Spruce  Eun  from  1774-75  until  1809. 
The  services  for  many  years  were  exclusively  in  Ger- 
man, and  were  held  every  four  weeks.  From  1775  to 
1800  this  congregation  worshiped  during  the  summer 
in  the  barn,  and  in  the  winter  in  the  hoase,  of  Fred- 
erick Fritts,  on  the  premises  now  owned  by  Peter 
Martenis  and  occujnr^d  by  his  brother  Christopher. 
The  first  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1800  by 
George  Banghart,  Abraham  Van  liuskirk,  Thomas 
Van  Buskirk,  Frederick  Fritts,  Cicorge  Moore,  An- 
drew Miller,  Jacob  Leninger,  and  Stoffel  Hulsizer. 
They  cut  the  yellow-poplar  logs  of  which  it  was  con- 
structed. This  edifice  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the 
main  road,  in  the  cemetery.  The  only  record  left  as 
Ls  that  of  baptisms.  Dominie  Graf  «'as  succeeded  by 
Eev.  E.  L.  Hazel  ius  in  the  fall  of  1809.  .June  13, 
1799,  Daniel  AnUmy,  f"rederick  Fritts,  .Jr.,  William 
Fritts,  Philip  Antony,  Christopher  Martenis,  John 
Rinehart,  and  Andrew  Miller  were  elected  trustees. 

In  1815,  Rev.  E.  L.  Hazelius  resigned,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  Rev.  David  Hendricks,  who  served  until 
1822.  The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  Henry  N.  Pohlman, 
who  served  until  1834,  when  Spruce  Run  became  a 
sejiarate  organization  and  called  Rev.  Richard  Collier, 
who  served  until  I860.* 

At  a  meeting  held  March  5, 1835,  it  was  resolved  to 
erect  a  new  church,  and  a  building  committee  was 
apfjointed,  composed  of  Andrew  Bangliart,  Capt. 
Benjamin  Fritts,  ^lorris  Fritts,  .Jacob  Castner,  Sr., 
and  George  Fritts,  .Jr.  The  structure  was  of  stone, 
and  remained  standing  until  1870.  During  Mr.  Col- 
lier's ministry  the  first  parsonage  was  built,  and  is 
still  standing.  In  consequence  of  failing  health  he 
re-igned,  April,  1860,  and  in  .June  Rev.  P.  A.  .Strobel 
was  elected,  and  served  four  years,  Vjeing  in.stalled 
August  loth.  Oct.  30, 1864,  he  dissolved  his  relation 
with  the  charge,  and  upon  his  recommendation  Rev. 
David  Kline  was  elected  pastor;  he  remained  until 
his  sudden  death,  Nov.  5,  1877.  A  fine  church  was 
built  in  1870.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  .July  30, 
1870,  and  the  church  dedicated  March  9,  1871.  The 
building  cost  -*]  5,000,  and  has  a  basement,  used  as  a 
Sabbath-school,  lecture-room,  etc. 

The  first  Sabbath-school  was  held  intheschool-house 
near  by,  and  continued  there  until  the  pastorate  of  Itev. 
.Strobel.  Jacob  Pence  was  the  first  superintendent; 
present  superintendent,  William  TerreVjerry. 

In  1871   a  section  of  the  congregation  erected  a 


*  At  the  end  of  hia  flrat  year  be  jirpju:hcA  a  lilBtorical  gennoD,  from 
which  a  f«art  of  thi«  BkeV;h  waa  ;;athfer'i'l,  Xfii^cAhnr  with  the  afiCoUDt  j;oi>- 
llfched  in  the  Huut'-rdori  lU^mhW/ui .  187'l,  "  AnnaU  of  tlic  American  Pul- 
pit,'' aod  ioforrriation  fr-jrri  the  preaf  nt  )fasAj:iT. 


LEBANON. 


453 


church  in  Clarksville.  After  the  death  of  Rev.  Kline 
a  unanimous  call  was  given  to  Rev.  C.  H.  Traver, 
who  began  his  labors  in  January,  1S78,  and  still  re- 
mains. 

There  are  now  on  the  roll  over  140,  exclusive  of 
those  in  the  Clarksville  and  Mount  Bethel  Churches. 
The  church  and  parsonage  are  situated  about  a  mile 
nortlieast  of  the  Glen  Gardner  post-office. 

OliAKKSVILLE  LUTHERAN  OIIUECH.* 

The  project  of  building  a  Lutheran  church  at 
Clarksville  was  conceived,  about  1870,  by  several  of 
the  members  of  "  Spruce  Run  Church."  Rev.  David 
Kline,  their  pastor,  favored  this  enterprise,  which 
was  pushed  forwai-d,  and  the  corner-stone  laid  in 
May,  1S71. 

In  the  spring  of  1872,  Rev.  David  Kline  became 
the  pastor  of  this  organization,  embracing  about 
twenty-six  members ;  he  remained  two  years,  and 
was  followed  in  187-1  by  Rev.  A.  K.  Felton.  During 
his  pastorate  the  audience-room  of  the  church  was 
completed,  and  in  1S75  was  dedicated.  Rev.  George 
W.  Anderson  was  the  next,  and  the  present,  pastor. 
The  church  is  -10  by  70  feet,  aud  has  seating  capacity 
for  about  600  pei-sons.  Its  original  cost  was  about 
$13,000.  It  is  eligibly  located  between  Clarksville 
and  Hampton  Junction. 

A  Sabbath-school  was  organized  under  the  super- 
intendence of  Morris  Fritts.  David  H.  Banghart  now 
presides  over  a  school  of  100  scholars  and  teachers. 

ST.  ANN'S  CATHOLIC  CHUKCH. 

Twenty-seven  years  ago,  at  the  time  New  Jersey 
was  formed  into  a  separate  diocese,  there  was  no 
Catholic  Church  deserving  the  name  in  this  section. 
The  Very  Rev.  Father  Riordan,  of  Easton,  still  living, 
was  the  only  priest  to  attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of 
his  co-religionists  from  Belvidere  to_  Frenchtowu. 
But  when  Bishop  Bayley  was  made  first  Bishop  of 
Newark  and  given  episcopal  charge  of  tlie  whole  of 
New  Jersey,  he  thought  proper  to  appoint  two  pastors, 
one  to  take  charge  of  Philipsburg,  and  the  other  to 
care  for  the  northern  part  of  Hunterdon  County  and 
the  eastern  section  of  AVarren.  Father  Roland  was 
assigned  to  the  latter  charge,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Clinton. 

Shortly  after  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  West- 
ern Railroad  formed  a  junction  with  the  Central  Rail- 
road of  New  Jersey,  near  New  Hanipton,  Father 
Roland  set  to  work  bravely,  and  in  a  short  time  Old 
St.  Ann's  was  constructed,  about  one-fourth  mile  west 
of  the  present  site.  After  the  church  was  completed, 
in  1858,  Father  Roland  removed  to  New  Hampton, 
and  subsequently  to  Junction. 

In  1863  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  P.  Leonard. 
To  his  mind  the  old  frame  building  was  inadequate, 
and  he  therefore  determined  to  build  a  better  struc- 
ture.   He  secured  a  plot  of  ground  and  at  once  set 

•  Tioni  notes  furnished  by  Rev.  George  W.  Anilerson. 


about  gathering  funds  to  carry  out  his  design.  In 
1866  he  began  the  present  St.  Ann's.  In  1867  the 
work  was  completed  and  the  church  dedicated.  The 
building  is  of  brick,  in  the  Gothic  style,  the  main 
part  being  70  feet  by  40  feet.  The  chancel  is  20  by 
30,  making  the  entire  length  90  feet.  The  tower  is 
not  yet  finished.  After  having  completed  the  church. 
Father  Leonard  built  the  present  parochial  residence. 

By  this  time  the  congregation  had  grown  to  number 
over  1000  in  the  vicinity  of  the  church,  besides  those 
who  lived  in  Asbury,  Bethlehem,  and  Polktown. 

In  the  fall  of  1869  the  Rev.  Francis  O'Neil  was  ap- 
pointed to  St.  Ann's.  In  the  summer  of  1880  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Brenna,n,  present  incum- 
bent.    The  congregations  number  about  600. 

SCHOOLS. 

There  are  in  this  township  eleven  school  districts. 

"  Mount  Lebanon"  (District  No.  1)  is  situated  on 
the  liighest  land  in  this  county.  As  near  as  can  be 
ascertained,  about  1793  school  was  taught  by  a  Mr. 
Cooper  in  a  log  dwelling  owned  by  Frederick  Hipp. 
The  house  stood  on  lands  now  owned  by  John  Wa- 
ters. A  school  was  also  kept  in  another  private 
house,  in  what  is  now  Anthony  village,  owned  by  the 
then  teacher,  John  Forrester.  This  second  house 
stood  on  lands  now  owned  by  Peter  Waters.  In 
1797  or  1798  the  first  district  school-house  was  built, 
entirely  by  voluntary  subscription,  on  lands  owned 
then  by  John  Emery,  now  by  Lorenzo  Fisher. 
Among  the  first  teachers  in  this  new  house  were 
Fisher,  Weaver,  Creamer,  Achers,  and  Thomas.    Dur- 


THE  OLD  "  EIGHT-SQUAEE"   SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

ing  1833  a  new  stone  (octagon)  structure  was  built  on 
lands  of  Samuel  Slater  and  Jacob  Anthony, — or  rather 
in  the  centre  of  the  public  highway, — said  lands  be- 
ing now  the  property  of  Peter  Slater  and  Moses  Yan- 
atta.  The  building  committee  consisted  of  Benjamin 
Fritts,  John  Waters,  and  Jacob  Anthony,  who  be- 
came the  first  board  of  trustees,  and  so  remained  for 
several  years.  This  house,  after  a  lapse  of  fortj'-three 
years,  became  unfit  for  use,  and  a  new  one  was  built 


454 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


in  1876.  Messrs.  Peter  Lance,  George  W.  Beatty,  and 
Peter  AVaters  were  the  building  committee.  The  new 
house  was  first  occupied  Jan.  24,  1876,  the  teacher 
being  Myron  I.  Skinner. 

The  fii-st  school-house  of  "  Little  Brook"  (District 
No.  2)  was  built  in  1854 ;  the  walls  ai-e  still  standing 
as  remodeled  in  1S72.  The  first  trustees  were  Peter 
L.  Waters,  Isaac  Hofiman,  and  Casper  Linderberger ; 
the  first  teacher,  Albert  Proctor.  . 

"  Lower  Valley"  (District  No.  3)  occupies  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  township.  Its  early  history  is  com- 
prised mainly  in  that  of  District  No.  2,  of  which  it 
was  once  part.  The  old  house  stood  upon  the  site  of 
the. present  one, — the  latter  built  in  lSo7,  26  by  36 
feet,  and  repaired  in  1868. 

"  Changewater"  (District  No.  4)  is  located  on  the 
north  border  of  the  township.  The  first  and  only 
school-house  previous  to  the  present  stood  about  half 
a  mile  south.  It  was  a  frame  building,  built  in  1815, 
in  which  year  a  Mr.  Charleton  was  the  teacher.  The 
present  house  was  erected  in  IS.")!),  and  cost  $1500. 

"  Mount  Airy"  (District  No.  5)  is  the  interior  dis- 
trict of  the  township.  The  first  school-house  stood 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  the  present  one.  It 
was  a  very  modest  affair,  16  feet  square,  of  logs,  and 
was  probably  built  by  the  Thompsons  in  1800  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  children  of  people  employed  in 
the  ii-on-works.  The  present  school-house  was  built 
in  1835,  the  first  teacher  in  it  being  Richard  AVcaver. 
"  White  Hall"  (District  No.  6)  is  in  the  south  part 
of  the  township.  The  first  school-house  was  built  of 
logs,  in  1801,  by  Frederick  Felver.  It  stood  in  what 
is  now  the  village  of  White  Hall.  The  second  house 
was  erected,  of  stone,  in  1820,  by  Benjamin  Fritts.  It 
stood  near  the  present  residence  of  John  S.  Apgar. 
The  third  (present)  house,  also  of  stone,  was  built  in 
1848  by  Peter  C.  Apgar.  The  pioneer  teacher  was 
Samuel  Anderson. 

"Spruce  Run"  (District  No.  7)  lies  in  the  south- 
west part  of  the  township.  Its  early  history  was  ob- 
tained from  papere  of  the  late  Rev.  Richard  Collier, 
late  pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church  there.  There 
have  been  three  houses,  all  standing  upon  the  site  of 
the  present  one.  The  first  was  a  small  frame,  built  in 
1766.  After  it  became  unfit  for  school  purposes,  there 
was  no  school  in  the  district  for  several  years.  In 
1825  a  new  house  was  built,  a  small  stone  building, 
which  in  1874  gave  way  for  the  present  structure. 
The  teacher  in  1793  was  William  Brown. 

"New  Hampton"  (District  No.  8)  lies  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  township.  The  pioneer  house,  of 
logs,  stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  cabinet- 
shop  of  John  L.  Prall  &  Sons.  The  present  edifice 
was  built  in  1823.  Among  the  pioneer  teachers  were 
a  Mr.  Beetles  and  a  Mr.  McConnell. 

In  1870  the  children  of  "  Junction"  (District  No.  9) 
were  included  in  Clarksville  district.  The  present 
trustees  are  M.  D.  'Wells,  L.  L.  Fulpcr,  and  Everett 
Gordon. 


In  "  Clarksville"  (District  No.  10),  on  the  west  side 
of  the  township,  the  school-house  is  of  stone,  rough- 
cast, and  was  built  in  1805. 

"Glen  Gai-dner"  (District  No.  11)  is  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  township.  The  present  building  is 
a  two-story  frame,  built  in  1865,  near  the  depot. 
Academic  branches  are  taught.  John  C.  Bayers  is 
the  present  principal. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


HON.  DANIEL  F.  BEATTY. 
Daniel  Fisher  Beatty,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  on  the  summit  of  Schooley's  Mountain  (near 
Beattystown),  in  Lebanon  township,  Hunterdon  Co., 
N.  J.,  on  the  14th  of  August,  1S48.  He  is  the  son  of 
George  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Fisher)  Beatty,  the  former 
being  a  son  of  James,  who  emigrated  from  the  north 
of  Ireland  and  was  eighty -eight  years  old  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  John  Beatty,  one  of  the  sons  of  James, 
of  Ireland,  was  the  father  of'  Maj.-Gcn.  Sanuiel 
Beatty,  of  Stark  Co.;  Ohio,  who  served  with  distinc- 
tion in  the  Mexican  war,  and  in  the  late  war  of  the 
Rebellion  rose  through  all  the  grades  to  the  rank  of 
major-general. 

James  Beatty  came  to  this  country  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  His  son,  George  W.,  mar- 
ried when  quite  a  young  man,  and  brought  up  a  fam- 
ily of  ten  children,  four  daughters  and  six  sons,  of 
whom  the  third  son,  Daniel  F.,  has  become  noted  for 
his  extraordinary  genius  and  enterprise  in  the  devel- 
opment and  manufacture  of  the  popular  musical  in- 
struments which  bear  his  name.  In  early  life  he 
evinced  not  only  a  rare  business  capacity,  but  a  de- 
cided taste  for  music  and  for  the  rustic  scenes  sur- 
rounding his  native  home  in  the  mountains.  In  the 
reception-room  of  the  old  homestead  the  visitor  is 
shown  the  instrument — an  old-fashioned  melodeon, 
long  since  out  of  date — which  first  inspired  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch,  while  he  little  dreamed  that  in 
after-years  he  should  be  the  means  of  introducing  in- 
struments far  superior  to  this  one  on  which  he  prac- 
ticed his  first  youthful  lessons.  Amidst  these  early 
associations  we  learn  for  the  first  time  the  reason  why 
we  do  not  find  him  established  in  the  city,  like  other 
large  and  influential  manufacturers,  carrying  out  his 
ideas  amidst  the  hum  and  bustle  of  the  busy  mart, 
but  preferring  to  remain  near  the  place  of  his  birth 
and  to  build  up  a  business  which  has  now  become  the 
chief  industry  of  Washington,  N.  J. 

It  is  said  that  "  young  Beatty  gave  early  indica- 
tions that  he  was  not '  cut  out'  for  a  farmer."  Tuck- 
ing his  music-book  under  his  arm,  he  would  sally 
forth  to  the  fields,  and,  while  perhaps  his  father 
would  berate  him  for  not  taking  his  hand  at  the 
plow,  he  would  be  deeply  immereed  in  the  mysteries. 


LEBANON. 


455 


of  the  theory  of  music,  or  making  out  impromptu  ad- 
vertisements of  his  contemplated  occupation,  or,  heside 
the  Cool  spring  of  never-failing  water,  he  would  con 
his  book,  and  amidst  rustic  scenes  and  sounds  instil 
into  his  mind  his  first  rude  conceptions  which  in  after- 
years  moulded  his  tastes  and  pursuits  to  that  refine- 
ment which  early  musical  associations  beget. 

While  at  home  on  the  farm,  Mr.  Beatty  led  the 
choir  in  the  church  of  his  neighborhood.  His  oppor- 
tunities for  education  were  such  only  as  the  common 
schools  afibrded,  but  his  lack  of  classical  culture  is 
compensated  for  in  a  great  measure  by  his  quick  per- 
ception, clear  and  rapid  insight  into  the  nature  of 
things,  the  characters  of  men,  and  the  readiness  with 
which  he  appropriates  the  results  of  science  and  phi- 
losophy. He  sees  and  generalizes  rapidly,  and  comes 
directly  to  his  conclusions,  which  are  generally  found 
to  be  safe  and  accurate.  Above  all,  that  which  gives 
Mr.  'Beatty  his  great  success  is  his  practical  common 
sense  in  business  matters,  which  enables  him  to  ar- 
range his  plans  with  reference  to  the  best  financial 
results, — a  quality  of  mind  which  appeared  early  in 
his  life,  and  which  induced  his  father  to  entrust  him 
with  all  his  finances  while  he  was  yet  in  his  mi- 
nority. 

Starting  out  in  life  for  himself  without  one  dollar 
in  hand,  he  commenced  business  as  a  salesman,  and 
finally  advanced  to  the  manufacture  of  the  instruments 
which  bear  his  name ;  and,  in  the  short  period  of  his 
industrial  life  and  fair  dealing,  he  has  so  prospered 
that  he  now  owns  one  of  the  largest  factories  in 
this  country;  has  large' and  commodious  offices,  di- 
vided into  seven  departments,  connected  by  electric 
bells,  telephones,  and  telegraphs,  by  which  news  is 
received  and  transmitted  to  all  parts  of  the  world, 
adapted  to  all  branches  of  his  extensive  business. 
His  sales  of  musical  instruments  are  simply  enor- 
mous. 

It  may  be  truthfully  said  of  Mr.  Beatty  that  he  is  a 
natural  genius,  a  sociable,  clever  man,  and  has  abun- 
dantly prospered  by  being  so  liberal  in  giving  to  his 
customers  the  profits  of  the  middle  man  by  selling  to 
them  directly.  He  is  a  liberal  and  cheerful  giver  of 
his  substance  to  benevolent  purposes ;  and,  as  a  token 
of  the  high  appreciation  of  his  fellow-townsmen,  he 
was  elected  mayor  of  Washington,  N.  J.,  the  place 
of  his  residence,  which  office  he  holds  at  the  present 
writing.  The  community  which  has  thus  honored 
him  with  its  confidence  is  indebted  more  to  him  than 
to  any  other  person  for  the  prosperity  it  now  enjoys,  on 
account  of  the  immense  organ  and  piano  trade  which  he 
has  centralized  there.  His  generous  donations  of  or- 
ders upon  the  largest  local  stores  to  supply  flour  to 
the  needy  during  the  severity  of  winter,  and  his  lib- 
eral contributions  to  the  various  religious  organiza- 
tions, without  regard  to  denomination,  are  indicative 
of  but  few  of  the  many  incidents  that  are  continually 
transpiring,  and  which  have  made  Mr.  Beatty  exceed- 
ingly popular  among  his  fellow-citizens. 


The  following  account  of  the  growth  and  extent  of 
Mr.  Beatty's  business  is  taken  from  the  New  York 
Daily  Star  : 

"  Daniel  F.  Bealty  is  Btill  a  young  man,  but  lie  has  succeeded  in  build- 
ing up  a  business  that  to-day  ranks  second  to  none  of  its  kind  in  the 
■world,  and  his  name  is  familiarly  known  in  every  State  of  the  Union,  and 
in  the  Canadas,  Mexico,  South  America,  and  in  many  European  coun- 
tries, as  the  head  of  an  establishment  -whose  operations  are  va^  in  con- 
ception, complete  in  details,  and  successful  in  achievement.  His  atten- 
tion was  early  turned  to  music,  and  in  this  way  he  became  interested  in 
the  sale  and  finally  in  the  manufacture  of  musical  instruments.  His 
first  operations  were  on  a  small  scale,  but  his  active  and  progressive 
mind  saw  wide  fields  open  to  energy  and  enterprise  in  his  chosen  voca- 
tion, and  he  has  never  wavered  nor  faltered  in  his  projects.  Mr.  Beatty 
conceived  the  idea  of  embarking  in  business  for  himself,  and  being  a  man 
with  whom  to  conceive  was  to  perform,  he  at  once  established  himself  in 
a  small  ofiice  and  began  to  manufacture  organs  in  a  small  building.  By 
his  shrewd,  skillful,  and  persistent  advertising  he  attracted  wide  atten- 
tion at  once.  His  business  grew  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was  forced  to 
employ  assistant  after  assistant,  until  to-day  he  employs  forty  men  and 
women  to  keep  his  books  and  manage  his  correspondence,  besides  adding 
hundreds  of  workmen  at  the  factories.  The  growth  of  his  business  was 
a  surprise  to  him,  and  resulted  from  his  peculiar  methods  of  advertising. 
Letters  and  orders  poured  in  very  rapidly  with  every  mail,  and  the  in- 
struments were  sold  in  such  numbers  that  he  was  unable  to  supply  the 
demand  without  largely  increasing  his  facilities. 

"  His  organs  are  known  in  every  part  of  the  civilized  world,  and  every- 
where favorably  known  for  their  cheapness,  elegance,  and  durability.  Mr. 
Beatty  is  the  man  who  first  conceived  the  idea  of  reducing  the  prices  of 
organs  and  pianos  to  a  reasonable  basis.  He  exposed  the  deceptions 
practiced  by  the  leading  manufacturers,  and  in  face  of  established  prices 
and  customs  he  boldly  bid  for  the  patronage  of  the  musical  public.  He 
was  ridiculed  and  misrepresented  by  the  monopolists  who  saw  their  profits 
in  danger,  and  no  stone  was  left  unturned  to  defeat  and  ruin  him.  But 
conscious  of  the  justice  of  his  intentions,  assured  that  the  intelligent 
public  would  support  him,  he  gallantly  met  and  repulsed  his  foes  at 
every  turn,  and  they,  instead  of  crushing  him,  were  forced  to  curtail,  and 
some  go  out  of  the  market.  This  was  a  great  thing  for  one  young  man 
to  accomplish  from  an  obscure  inland  village,  but  Daniel  F.  Beatty  did  it. 
These  operations  indicate  the  character  of  Mr.  Beatty's  mind. 

"  But  amid  all  the  rush  and  hurry  of  a  vast  and  far-reaching  business, 
Mr.  Beatty  never  forgets  the  duties  of  a  man  and  a  citizen.  He  was 
elevated  to  the  Mayoralty  of  Washington  entirely  without  his  seeking 
it.  His  fellow-citizens  chose  him.  He  conducted  no  campaign,  and  was 
not  even  present  on  election  day,  business  having  called  him  to  New 
York  on  that  day,  and  the  news  of  his  triumph  was  telegraphed  to  his 
headquarters  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel.  He  bears  his  honors  modestly, 
and  is  the  same  genial,  open-handed,  free-hearted  man  as  ever,  not  for- 
getting to  relieve  the  pauper,  to  donate  freely  to  his  church,  nor  deeming 
it  beneath  him  to  preside  at  Children's  Day  service  in  his  own  church." 


CORNELIUS    STEWART. 

Cornelius  Stewart  was  born  in  the  township  of 
Kingwood,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Dec.  20, 1799.  His 
father,  Lewis  Stewart,  came  from  near  Aberdeen,  Scot- 
land, where  he  was  born  Kov.  29,  1751.  He  married 
Lavina  Hoflf,  born  in  Kingwood,  N.  J.,  Oct.  16,  1769. 
Their  children  were  John,  born  Aug.  31,  1793; 
Samuel,  born  Dec.  30,  1794;  Mary,  born  March  21, 
1797;  Cornelius,  born  Dec.  20,  1799;  Lewis,  born 
Dec.  1,  1801 ;  Thomas,  born  July  6,  1809. 

Lewis  Stewart,  the  father,  died  May  20, 1821 ;  his. 
wife,  Lavina,  survived  him,  and  died  Dec.  9, 1853. 

Cornelius  Stewart,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Carter,  March  15, 1832.  She  was  born 
in  Greenwich  township  (then  in  Sussex,  now  in  War- 
ren Co.) ,  N.  J.,  May  26, 1809.  They  have  had  children : 
Sarah,  born  Dec.  14, 1832 ;  William  Eunkle,  bom  Feb. 


(-■' 


456 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


10,  1835,  died  May  14,  1842;  Lewis,  born  July  16, 
1837,  died  March  18,  1838 ;  Joseph  Carter,  born  Sept. 
1,  1840,  married  Mary  P.  Doolittle,  of  Washington, 
Warren  Co.,  Got.  26,  1864 ;  John  HoflF,  born  Sept.  14, 
1844,  married,  first,  Kebecca  Eoebling,  June  3,  1869 ; 
she  died  Jan.  10,  1871,  and  he  married  for  his  second 
wife  Fannie  Southard,  Oct.  16,  1872,  and  resides  in 
Trenton,  N.  J. ;  Mary  Isabel,  born  Nov.  9,  1847. 


Mr.  Stewart  was  brought  up  on  the  homestead  farm 
in  Kingwood  till  about  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  he 
engaged  in  clerking,  and  followed  that  occupation  till 
1827,  at  which  date  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
with  Joseph  Eunkle,  at  Asbury,  N.  J.,  under  the  firm- 
name  of  Stewart  &  Runkle.  They  continued  in  this 
partnership  about  six  years,  when  the  firm  was  dis- 
solved, and  Mr.  Stewart  carried  on  the  business  alone 
till  1838.  He  then  bought  the  mill  property  where  he 
now  resides,  at  Changewater,  Lebanon  township,  in 
company  with  George  Franks.  The  property  at  that 
time  had  no  improvements  upon  it,  except  an  old  mill, 
which  is  still  standing.  They  built  the  large  stone 
mill,  forty-five  by  sixty  feet  in  dimensions  and  five 
stories  high,  and  erected  the  large  and  commodious 
residencfe  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Stewart.  In  1841,  Mr. 
Stewart  sold  his  interest  in  the  mill  property  to  John 
Strader,  and  removed  to  Port  Coldin,  where  he  re- 
mained three  years  engaged  in  mercantile  business ; 
he  subsequently  followed  the  same  business  in  Wash- 
ington, N.  J.,  for  four  years,  up  to  1846,  when  he  went 
to  New  York  and  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  commis- 
sion business,  in  the  firm  of  Cooper  &  Stewart,  after- 
wards Stewart  &  Mettler,  till  1858,  when  he  returned 
to  Changewater  and  purchased  the  mill  property.     He 


has  followed  the  business  of  merchant,  miller,  and 
farmer  ever  since,  making  improvements  in  his  ma- 
chinery and  keeping  everything  up  to  the  progress  of 
the  times.  His  mill  has  a  capacity  of  eighty  thousand 
bushels  of  grain  a  year,  and  is  considered  the  finest  of 
the  kind  in  this  portion  of  New  Jersey.  It  is  situated 
on  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad, 
and  on  the  Musconetcong  Creek,  a  fine  wa.ter-power, 
about  three  miles  from  Washington,  Warren  Co. 
Quite  a  neighborhood  of  buildings  has  sprung  up  in 
the  place,  and  there  is  a  post-oflSce  at  Changewater, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek  in  Warren  County. 

Mr.  Stewart  possesses  the  energy  and  perseverance 
so  characteristic  of  the  nationality  from  which  he  is 
descended,  and  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world, 
having  been  thrown  upon  his  own  resources  when  a 
small  boy.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  at  Washington. 


NATHAN  LAKCB. 
Nathan  Lance  was  born  in  Lebanon  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Feb.  25,  1820.  He  is  a  son  of 
William  and  Mary  (Anthony)  Lance.  His  grand- 
father, Peter  Lance,  was  an  early  settler  in  Lebanon, 
and  lived  on  a  farm  in  the  township  near  Anthony. 


^^/hi^a 


Nathan  Lance  has  resided  all  his  life  on  the  farm 
where  he  was  born.  He  has  been  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  twenty  years,  and  has  held  nearly  all  the 
local  township  ofiices  at  different  times,  being  in  his 
political  principles  a  Democrat,  as  were  his  father  and 
grandfather  before  him.   Part  of  his  estate  he  inherited 


Mti 


BETHLEHEM. 


457 


from  Ms  father  and  paxt  lie  has  acquired  by  purchase 
from  the  other  heirs. 

In  1843  he  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Morris 
Fritts,  of  Lebanon  township,  and  has  one  child,  Mary 
Cornelia,  wife  of  William  H.  Anderson,  a  farmer,  re- 
siding in  an  adjoining  house  on  the  homestead.  They 
have  five  children, — Lauretta,  Anna,  Emma,  Mar- 
garet, and  Nathan. 

Mr.  Lance  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Pleasant  Grove,  Morris  Co.,  and  is  an  elder  in  that 
body.  

WILLIAM  W.  SWAYZE. 
"Wm.  W.  Swayze,  son  of  Conrad  and  Uzinah  (Yard) 
Swayze,  was  born  Oct.  1, 1837,  in  Bethlehem  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  His  grandfather  was  Andrew 
Swayze,  who  lived  on  a  farm  in  Union  township,  near 
Clinton,  where  he  died.  His  son,  Conrad,  had'  five 
children  who  reached  the  age  of  maturity. .  Mary,  the 
oldest  child,  married  John  Gano,  a  farmer,  residing  in 
Bethlehem  township ;  Sidney  Y.  is  a  farmer,  also  of 
Bethlehem  township ;  Jacob  resides  in  Clinton ;  Sarah 
is  the  wife  of  John  R.  Bowlby,  of  Alexandria  town- 
ship ;  and  "William  W.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  re- 
sides at  Clarksville,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.    He  was 


brought  up  on  a  farm  in  early  life  and  acquired  the 
rudiments  of  an  education  at  the  common  schools.  He 
subsequently  attended  an  academy  at  Easton,  Pa., 
and  also  the  Pennington  Seminary,  and  for  some  time 
followed  the  occupation  of  teaching.  In  1862  he 
married  Leantha,  daughter  of  Robert  Smith,  of  Beth- 
lehem, by  whom  he  has  four  children  living, — viz., 
George  B.  M.,  Lenora,  Minnie,  and  Gracie. 

Mr.  Swayze's  chief  business  has  been  farming  and 
handling  stock,  which  he  has  carried  on  successfully 
on  his  father's  old  homestead  in  Bethlehem.  He  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  local  affairs,  having  held  most 
of  the  offices  in  his  township  at  different  times.  He 
is  at  present  county  treasurer,  and  has  held  the  office 
for  the  last  two  years.  In  his  political  opinions  he  is 
a  Democrat,  and  has  been  quite  active  in  the  party. 
In  1874  he  was  elected  to  the  Legisla,ture  from  the 
Second  Assembly  District,  composed  of  Alexandria, 
Bethlehem,  Clinton,  Franklin,  Tewksbury,  Lebanon, 
and  Union  townships,  and  the  boroughs  of  French- 
town  and  Clinton.  During  his  first  term  in  the  House 
he  served  on  the  committees  on  railroads  and  canals 
and  on  banking  and  insurance,  and  the  second  term 
on  the  committees  on  treasurer's  accounts  and  agri- 
culture. 


BETHLEHEM. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVTB. 
Bethlehem  is  one  of  the  northwest  townships  of 
the  county.  It  is  about  ten  miles  long  by  three  wide, 
and  is  bounded  east  by  Lebanon  and  High  Bridge 
townships;  south  by  Union;  west  by  Alexandria 
township;  north  by  the  Musconetcong  Creek,  also 
the  dividing  line  between  this  township  and  Warren 
County. 

NATURAL   FEATURES. 

The  surface  presents  a  variety  of  topographical 
features.  Along  the  north  half  of  the  township  lies 
the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Musconetcong,  while  the 
southern  half  is  covered  by  the  Musconetcong  Moun- 
tains. 

The  soil  along  the  valley  is  a  rich  alluvial  with  a 
mixture  of  red  shale,  which  returns  large  crops  to 
the  husbandman.  The  mountain-sides  are  more  of  a 
gravelly  loam,  but  produce  good  crops  under  proper 
cultivation. 

There  are  several  small  streams  that  rise  in  this 
township,  while  the  Musconetcong  washes  the  entire 
length  of  the  north  side,  furnishing  ample  water- 
power  for  large  manufacturing  establishments,  which 
is  improved  at  both  Asbury  and  Bloomsbury  villages. 
80 


Spruce  Run  washes  half  of  the  east  border,  fiimishing 
excellent  water-power  at  Clarksville.  Monselaugha- 
way  Creek,  main  branch,  rises  in  the  north  part  of 
Charlestown  School  District  No.  16,  and  runs  south- 
erly into  Union  township.  Other  streams  are  Black 
Brook,  and  Osman,  Creveling,  Bethlehem,  and  VUet 
Creeks. 

A  letter  in  possession  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Dally,  dated 
Aug.  28,  1765,  is  directed  to  "Bethlehem,  in  West 
Jersey,  in  care  of  SamuerBarnhart,"  which  shows  that 
at  least  ten  years  previous  to  the  Revolution  this  re- 
gion was  known  as  Bethlehem.  There  are  also  deeds 
in  the  possession  of  J.  W.  Lequear,  Esq.,  of  King- 
wood  township,  which  describe  tracts  of  land  in 
Bethlehem  township  as  far  back  as  1745.  At  just 
what  date  the  original  township  (which  included 
what  is  now  others  in  this  county)  was  surveyed  or 
laid  out  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain,  but  is  be- 
lieved to  be  as  early  as  1725. 

EARLY    SETTLEMENT. 

It  is  a  pretty  well  established  fact  that  the  first 

white  settlers  of  the  township  were  Hollanders,  and 

came  here  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  Among 

the  descendants  of  the  pioneer  settlers  who  still  retain 


458 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


a  portion  at  least  of  tte  original  purcliases  are  the 
Hoffmans,  Alpaughs,  Crevelings,  Hoppocks,  Duck- 
worths, Willevers,  Vliets,  Boss,  Housels,  Opdykes, 
and  others,  whose  ancestors  were  the  pioneers  along 
the  river. 

Among  the  German  pioneers  we  find  the  names  of 
Deremer,  Bowlby,  Groendyck,  Wene,  Eodenbaugh, 
Kimmerhower,  Shaffer,  Foose,  Frittz,  Grochley,  Sigler, 
and  others,  whose  descendants  are  in  many  cases  in  pos- 
session of  a  part  at  least  of  the  original  tract,  and  yet 
a  very  large  percentage  of  the  present  owners  of  real 
estate  have  no  title-deeds  that  run  back  much  beyond 
the  birth  of  their  oldest  children. 

That  part  of  the  township  immediately  around 
Bloomsbury  has  come  down  through  the  possession  of 
Robert  Johnston,  who  owned  a  large  tract,  including 
not  only  what  is  now  the  village  of  Bloomsbury,  but 
the  farms  of  Moses  Bobbins  and  John  Stute  on  the 
west,  and  the  Taylor  property  on  the  east,  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  running  to  the  top  of  the  mountain.  The 
Taylor  tract  was  probably  the  eastern  part  of  this 
original  tract  of  Robert  Johnston.  A  little  farther 
east  was  a  tract  owned  for  a  short  time  by  a  man 
named  Hamilton ;  then  came  tracts  a  part  of  which 
are  still  in  possession  of  the  descendants  of  the  origi- 
nal owners,  as  previously  stated.  On  the  east  side  or 
end  of  the  township  are  to  be  found  the  Lakes,  Terre- 
berrys,  Shurts,  Vuslers,  Housels,  Walters,  Shaffers, 
Thorps,  Wellers,  and  other  descendants  of  the  pio- 
neers. 

An  old  deed  now  in  possession  of  J.  C.  Lake,  Esq., 
at  Junction,  dated  in  1765,  given  by  John  Bowlby  to 
Thomas  Bowlby,  describes  quite  a  large  tract  of  land, 
covering  a  part  of  what  is  now  Junction  village,  or 
that  portion  lying  in  the  township  of  Bethlehem.  The 
Deremer  family  still  occupy  the  lands  settled  by  the 
original  Deremer  pioneer,  between  Asbury  and  the 
Junction. 

A  piece  of  land  situated  on  the  side  of  the  moun- 
tain, above  Jugtown,  was  deeded  by  Nathan  Parke 
and  his  wife,  Mary,  April  26,  1763,  to  John  Cham- 
bers, of  Bethlehem.  The  document  was  witnessed  by 
Michael  Rosenbury  and  Roger  Ray. 

The  history  of  Jeremiah  Lptt,  a  "  hero  of  the  Revo- 
lution," was  given  by  his  son,  John  L.  Lott,  of 
Bloomsbury,  but  a  few  years  before  his  death. 

Peter  Lott  came  from  Germany  about  1750,  and 
settled  in  the  upper  part  of  Hunterdon  County.  Jere- 
miah Lott,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  enlisted  in  the 
Revolutionary  army.  He  served  seven  and  a  half 
years,  a  greater  part  of  the  time  under  Gen.  Wayne. 
He  was  in  most  of  the  important  battles  in  New  Jer- 
sey, fought  through  the  Southern  campaign,  and  was 
several  times  taken  prisoner.  Lott  was  one  of  those 
who  guarded  Andr§  on  his  way  to  execution.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  party  who  pursued  Sergt.  Champe  to 
the  British  lines  when  he  was  supposed  to  have  de- 
serted. After  the  war  Mr.  Lott  came  to  Bethlehem 
township  and  worked  at  his  trade,  carpentering. 


When  Gen.  Wayne  went  on  his  celebrated  expedi- 
tion to  the  Ohio,  Lott  was  with  him  and  participated 
in  the  battle  of  the  Miami,  Aug.  20,  1793-.  When 
the  Whisky  Insurrection  of  Pennsylvania  broke  out, 
he  again  answered  to  the  roll-call.  He  finally  settled 
in  Bethlehem  township,  between  the  farms  of  John 
McRea  and  Jacob  Race.  He  afterwards  moved  to 
Bloomsbury,  where  he  died  in  1822,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Presbyterian  cemetery.  He  had  seven  chil- 
dren,— Reuben,  moved  to  Ohio ;  Henry,  went  to  Illi- 
nois; James,  to  New  York;  Polly,  married  John 
Brock;  Sarah,  married  a  Mr.  Carter;  Levina,  married 
John  Myers;  and  John  L.,  lived  and  died  in  Blooms- 
bury. Two  of  Jeremiah  Lott's  grandsons,  John  and 
Edward,  were  in  the  late  war.  John  Leacock,  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  John  L.  Lott,  was  of  French 
descent,  and  settled  on  the  mountain,  above  Blooms- 
bury. 

Of  the  Vliet  family,  descendants  of  Maj.-Gen. 
Daniel  Vliet,  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  the  valley, 
we  are  unable  to  give  a  detailed  history,  for  want  of 
the  proper  data.  The  old  general  was  a  prominent 
man  in  the  early  history  of  this  township,  having  for 
years  held  many  of  the  prominent  offices.  He  was 
born  in  1761  and  died  in  1833,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Vliet  family  burying-ground  on  the  old  homestead. 
He  was  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  commanded  the  State 
militia  several  years. 

A   TRADITIONARY    LEGEND. 

About  a  mile  below  Bloomsbury,  in  the  bed  of  the 
Musconetcong  Creek,  is  "  Butler's  Hole,''  about  60 
feet  deep.  In  a  large  rock  opposite  are  several  de- 
pressions, as  though  intended  for  moulds  in  which  to 
run  metal.  Tradition  says  that  Spanish  buccaneers 
once  came  here  and  melted  their  ill-gotten  spoils  into 
ingots  and  secured  them  in  this  hole. 

A  legend  also  states  that  two  young  adventurers  were 
once  fishing  in  the  stream  when  their  lines  became 
entangled  and  they  drew  up  a  large  ingot  of  silver. 
A  party  was  organized  the  next  day  to  search  farther, 
but  they  were  too  late.  The  young  men  had  revisited 
the  spot  by  night  and  cleaned  out  the  hole,  and  were 
nevermore  heard  of. 

Dr.  Hughes  was  a  prominent  character  in  this 
township  as  late  as  1832,  when  he  boarded  with  C. 
Tomlinson,  in  the  old  log  tavern  where  the  brick  store 
now  stands,  in  Bloomsbury.     His  office  was  at  the 

side  of  the  old  house  occupied  at  that  time  by 

Bidleman,  on  the  site  where  is  now  the  residence  of 
Henry  Gardner.  The  old  office  was  moved  iiom  its 
original  foundation  to  where  C.  Alpaugh's  house 
stands,  then  to  the  rear  of  L.  Hulsizer's  residence;  it 
stood  there  till  the  old  doctor  died,  when  it  was  again 
moved. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  OLD  RECORDS. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  ear-marks  mentioned 
in  the  old  township  records  : 


BETHLEHEM. 


459 


1762. — Mary  Clifford's  ear-mark  ia  a  crop  off  the  off  ear  and  a  slit  in  the 
near  ear.  Joseph  Beaver^s  ear-mark  is  a  crop  off  the  near  ear.  Peter 
Gase^s  ear-mark  is  a  half-penny  under  each  ear  and  a  slit  in  the  near  ear. 
Bobert  Biggera'  ear-mark  is  a  "  croop  of  the  off  ear,  and  a  nick  in  the  croop 
and  a  nick  in  fore  part  of  the  near  ear  near  his  head."  Jamps  Biggera'  ear- 
mark is  a  "croop  off  the  near  ear,  and  a  swallow  fork  in  the  off  ear,  and 
a  half- penny  in  the  fore  pai't  of  the  near  ear."  John  Beaver's  ear-mark 
brought  from  old  book,  record  there  in  the  year  1753 ;  his  mark  is  a  half- 
penny under  side  each  ear,  and  a  slit  in  each  ear  top  the  ear. 

1764. — Peter  Miller's  mark  is  a  crop  off  of  the  near  ear,  and  a  slit  on 
the  same. 

1768. — Joseph  Bigger's  ear-mark  is  a  "  cropp  in  the  near  ear,  and  a 
half-penny  on  the  under  side  of  the  off  ear." 

1771. — Thomas  Roy  es'  ear-mark  is  a  "  cropp  of  eich  ear,  and  Halfpenny 
in  ou  nder  said  off  the  off  ear." 

1776. — James  Parker's  ear-mark  is  a  "  aleet  in  the  near  ear,  and  cropp 
in  the  off  a  brand  in  the  near  horn.    J.  P." 

ENTRIES  OF  ESTRATS. 

Nov.  20,  1760,  Bairfoot  Brundson  enters  a  stray  bull  of  a  "  dun  cul- 
lour,  Buposed  to  Be  marked  in  the  Near  ear  with  a  half  Crop  aad  half 
penny  aged  three  years  suposed  to  Be."  November  21st,  John  Horriss 
enters  a  '•  stray  mair,  about  ten  years  old,  of  a  Bay  coUour,  four  white 
feet  as  far  as  the  knees  joynt,  Bauld  face,  glass  eye,  White  each  side  of 
the  Belly,  with  white  Taiil  as  far  as  the  Dock."  December  18th,  Her- 
bert "Winegardner  enters  "  one  stray  Hefer,  two  years  old  next  spring,  of 
a  black  colour,  with  a  white  face  and  two  white  feet,  marked  with  a  Crop 
in  the  off  ear,  and  a  Nick  in  the  under  side  of  the  near  ear."  December 
25th,  Herman  Ditser  enters  a  "  stray  Black  Heiffer  with  four  white  feet, 
a  atax  in  her  forehead,  a  little  white  on  her  Bump,  with  white  Belly,  n. 
Crop  and  slit  in  the  Near  ear,  and  a  Crop  and  a  Slit  in  the  off  ear."  De- 
cember 26th,  "  Henere  Couns"  enters  "  one  white  eu  with  a  Crop  of  the 
Near  ear,  and  a  slit  in  the  Crop." 

Jan.  6, 1761,  Hermon  Rosenkrans  enters  a  "sorril  mair  with  A  White 
face,  Some  Saddle  mark,  Bobed  taill,  Natural  Pacer,  Hip  Shot,  heavy  with 
Colt,  better  than  fourteen  hands  high,  Neither  Brand  or  ear  Mark 
Reesonable ;  suposed  to  Be  old ;  hed  a  yoak  on." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  poor  and  to  whom 
sold,  as  shown  in  the  records  of  date  of  April  12, 
1824: 

Hannah  Taylor  to  Elijah  Piatt 835.00 

Mary  Benward  to  Samuel  Derumple 44.75 

Lenah  Pelee  to  Peter  Bloom..' 32.50 

John  Lee  to  Himself. 40.00 

John  Hunt  and  wife  to  Lida  Hunt 46.00 

David  Penwell  to  Christopher  Srope 66.50 

Sarah  Miera  to  Hurself. 52.00 

Sarah  Robinson  to  Hurself 24.00 

"The  committee  of  the  Town  Put  in  the  Hands  of  Enoch  Clifford, 
Overseer  of  the  Poor,  the  Sum  of  S78.00  ;  allso  in  the  Hands  of  Levi  Met- 
ier, overseer  of  the  Poor,  850.00;  Allso  in  the  Hands  of  John  Lake  two 
dollars  to  Buy  a  Book  for  the  use  of  said  Township,  $2.00. 

"Amount  of  Sertificates  of  the  overseers  of  the  Roads  for  the  year 
1824: 

Mathias  Abel,  overseer $90.00 

William  Young,  overseer 80,00 

Joseph  Bird,  overseer 80.00 

Morris  Cramer,  overseer 45.00 

Abraham  De  Remer,  overseer    45.00^^ 

BenjaminH.  Opdycke,  overseer 50.00' 

The  record  of  the  ''  old  road  from  Hickory  Tavern 
to  South  Branch  of  Raritan"  is  as  follows : 

"  WkereoB,  There  has  been  application  to  us,  the  commissioners  of 
Hunterdon  and  Sussex  county,  for  relaying  and  regulating  of  a  High 
Road ;  and  whereaa  the  road  leading  from  the  Hickory  Tavern,  in  Beth- 
lehem, to  the  Sonth  Branch  of  Rarington,  part  of  the  same,  now  Being 
very  Hilly  and  Inconvenient  for  Travellers,  as  set  forth  in  the  Petition^ 
and  we  the  said  Commissioners  being  mett  on  the  action  and  having 
Viewed  the  Ground,  find  the  Same,  in  Our  Judgement,  to  be  Inconve- 
nient. We  therefore  think  fitt  and  Convenient  to  make  the  following 
alteration : 

"  Beginning  at  the  Wooden  Bridge,  to  the  north  west  of  Bowlsby  Road ; 
thence  Easterly  a  straight  course  to  Biggerses  line;  Thence  East  on  the 
line  to  a  Hill  By  the  Side  of  the  Meadow,  giving  allowance  for  the  slant 
of  the  Hill;  Thence  Crossing  the  Meadow,  going  on  the  firm  Ground  as 


near  the  Line  as  the  Ground  will  admit,  Leaving  Samuel  Buckalow's 
house  to  the  Southward;  Thence  the  Straighteat  and  Best  Course  to  the 
North  Side  Joseph  Bigger's  field  along  an  old  Road ;  Thence  Easterly 
down  the  Ridge  to'  an  old  field  near  a  Corner  Tree  and  Line  Dividing 
the  Land  of  Messrs.  Stephens  and  Parker  (now  in  the  Tenner  of  John 
Eitzgerrel)  &  Land  of  Jonathan  Robeson ;  Thence  Through  the  same  old 
field  on  the  North  side  of  a  Fence  Into  the  EstabUahed  Road  on  the  So- 
ciety and  Jonathan  Robeson's  Line.  And  we  do  hereby  order  the  Same 
to  be  Cleared  Out  &  made  Good,  &  we  do  Disolve  and  make  Void  that 
part  of  the  old  Road  from  the  Before  mentioned  Bridge  to  the  place 
where  this  present  Relayd  Road  Intersect  the  old  road  at  the  aaid  Society 
Line,  being  at  a  Black  oak  sapling.  Given  under  our  hands  this  8th  day 
of  May,  1756. 

"RoBEE,T  Shields,  Phil  Grandin, 

"  Francis  McShane,        Denis  Wolverton, 
"Robert  Harvet,  John  Stewart, 

"Christison  Sherp,        Phillip  Sntder, 
"James  Martin. 
"  A  true  copy  of  tiie  return  (all  but  the  Dutch  namea)  compared." 

The  road  from  Bloomsbury  to  Pittstown,  a  distance 

of  ten  miles,  is  a  part  of  the  old  one  known  as  "the 
King's  Highway,"  and  was  originally  the  dividing 
line  between  Bethlehem  and  Alexandria  townships, 
so  far  as  it  crosses  Bethlehem.  That  small  portion  of 
Bethlehem  west  of  this  road  was  subsequently  taken 
from  Alexandria  and  added  to  Bethlehem.  The  road 
does  not  cross  a  stream  between  Bloomsbury  and 
Pittstown,  though  there  are  many  springs  and  creeks 
on  either  side  of  it. 

The  road  from  Bloomsbury  to  Little  York  was 
opened  for  travel  in  1815. 

SONS    OF    LIBERTY. 

The  following  document  deserves  a  place  on  the 
undying  historic  page : 

"At  a  Town-Meeting  held  at  the  house  of  David  Reynolds,  in  the 
township  of  Bethlehem,  on  the  lj.th  March,  1766,  it  was  agreed  and  con- 
cluded upon  that,  agreeable  to  a  request  made  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  of 
Lower  Hunterdon,  that  a  number  not  exceeding  three  men  should  be 
chosen  in  this  Township,  who  should  have  full  power  to  represent  the 
inhabitants  thereof;  and  meet  their  Brethren  at  the  house  of  John  Rin- 
goes,  on  this  day  sennight,  when  the  Town  unanimously  choae  Mr.  John 
Rockhill,  David  Reynolds,  and  Abraham  Bonnell,  who  are  hereby  di- 
rected to  meet  the  said  Sons  of  Liberty  at  Bingoes  aforesaid,  and  do  and 
perform  every  act  and  thing  that  will  redound  to  the  honor  of  the  Town 
and  for  the  benefit  of  the  Province  in  general;  and  whereas  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  the  operation  of  all  un constitutional  acta  should  he 
opposed,  and  in  particular  that  worst  of  all  acta  called  the  Stamp  Act,  and 
in  order  to  enable  them  thereto,  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  do  promise 
their  countenance  and  assistance  on  all  occasiona,  over  and  besides  pay- 
ing them  all  necessary  expenses  attending  this  meeting,  and  all  other 
meetings  that  may  hereafter  happen  on  this  or  the  like  occasion. 

"Francis  McShanb, 

"  Town  Clerk." 

CIVIL   ORGANIZATION. 

The  organization  of  the  township  is  supposed  to 
have  taken  place  nearly  or  quite  as  early  as  1724,  but 
no  trace  of  the  records  (after  a  vigilant  search)  can 
be  found  prior  to  1763,  although  the  old  ones  are 
known  to  have  been  in  possession  of  some  of  the  town 
clerks  between  1830  and  1835.  There  seems  to  have 
been  a  defect  in  the  laws  of  the  'State  in  relation  to 
the  preservation  of  records,  and  we  believe  the  serious 
results  arising  therefrom  have  never  as  yet  had  the 
effect  of  remedying  the  evil. 


46Q 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


SETTLING   ACCOTJNTS   BETWEEN   BETHLEHEM    AND 
ALEXANDEIA. 
"We,  the  CommiBsionerB  of  Bethlehem  and  Alexandria  TownshipB, 
having  met  at  the  Hickory  Tavern  and  settled  the  accounts  depending 
before  the  division  of  Bethlehem,  as  may  more  at  large  appear  on  the  op- 
posite side. 
"  Witness  our  hands  this  16th  day  of  March,  1765. 

"  John  Hackett,  John  Shippet, 

"Jno.  Emley,  John  Cowan, 

"  David  Reynolds,         Henet  Stoll, 
"  RoBT.  Johnston,  Benjamin  Beunson, 

"  John  Rockhill,  Ephraim  Drake." 

The  "  opposite  side"  referred  to  above  is  an  account 
with  Joseph  Beavers,  one  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor 
for  1765,  and  reads  as  follows : 

1765,  March  16.  £      s.     d. 

By  cash  paid  Benjamin  Opdycke  and  John  Du- 

senberry  after  the  division  of  Bethlehem 28    18    11 

By  cash  paid  William  Silverthorn,  one  of  the 

overseers  of  Bethlehem 11      3      7 

By  John  Baker's  note  of  hand  delivered  to  Ben- 
jamin Opdycke,  one  of  the  overseers  of 
Alexandria 6     

46      2      6 
Ballance  remaining  in  the  hands  of  Joseph  Bea- 
vers, and  due  the  overseers  of  Alexandria...  54      8      3 

£99    10    9 
TOWNSHIP  DIVIDED. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  township  committee,  held  Feb. 
10,  1877,  Peter  S.  Henry,  Mathias  H.  Case,  and 
Charles  Opdyke  were  appointed  a  committee  to  estab- 
lish a  line  from  the  Musconetcong  Elver  southerly 
across  the  township,  so  as  to  divide  it  into  two  election 
districts.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  record  of 
the  committee's  doings  in  the  premises : 

"  Line  beginning  at  the  corner  of  the  farm  of  William  H.  Drake,  on 
the  Musconetcong  River,  following  his  farm-line  adjoining  the  farm  of 
Mrs.  Samuel  Creveling  in  a  southeast  direction  to  the  public  highway 
that  leads  from  Ashury  village  to  Bethlehem  village ;  then  along  said 
highway  a  southwest  direction,  under  the  Central  Railroad  Culvert,  to  a 
road  near  James  Groves  ;  from  there  a  southeast  direction  up  the  moun- 
,  tftin  road  to  a  tree  in  the  forks  of  the  road  along  the  lands  of  Martin 
"^Vykoff;  from  there  across  the  lands  of  Martin  Wykoff  a  southwest  di- 
rection on  to  the  lands  of  George  Hubbs,  near  a  ledge  of  rocks  known  as 
the 'White  Cat  Rocks,' leaving  George  Hubbs  in  the  western  division 
and  the  Bocks  in  the  eastern  division  of  the  township ;  from  there  across 
a  lot  of  mining-grounds  near  a  stone  house,  leaving  the  house  in  the 
eastern  division;  and  from  there  across  a  lot  of  growings  belonging  to 
the  Easton  and  Amboy  Railroad  to  the  lands  of  William  Martin,  across 
bis  said  lands  to  a  stake  in  the  public  highway,  and  in  the  line  of  Union 
township." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  township 
officers  from  1763  to  1880,  inclusive : 

CLERKS. 
1763-64,  John  Farnsworth ;  17G5-90,  Francis  McShane ;  1785,  Albert  Op- 
dycke ;*  1791-94. 1796-1802,  Jacob  Anderson,  Esq. ;  1795, 1803-21,  Geo. 
Garrison;  1822-34,  John  Lake;  1835,  John  Blane;  1836,  1838-41, 
Wilham  Egbert;  1837,  Asher  S.  Housel;  1842-52,  John  H.  Case; 
1853,  Sylvester  H.  Smith  ;  1854^56,  William  Tinsman;  1857-58,  David 
Chamberlin ;  1859-62,  Joseph  B.  Cornish ;  1863-64,  Andrew  J.  Mc- 
Crea;  1865-66,  John  C.  Reeves;  1867,  Joseph  S.  Smith;  1868-73, 
Henry  M.  Yliet;  1874-79,  Charles  Opdyke;  1880,  D.  S.  Stute. 

CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 
1763,  Samuel  Everitt,  James  Henderson;  1764,  Henry  Stull,  Benjamin 
Opdycke;  1765,  John  Shippey,  Daniel  Dunham;  1766,  Cornelius  An- 

*  Early  so  spelled ;  later  spelled  Opdyke.  The  same  change  in  orthog- 
raphy will  be  noticed  in  many  other  names.  No  two  town  clerks  spelled 
these  names  alike,  and  it  is  difiBcult  to  reconcile  their  vagaries  in  this 
particular. 


derson,  Daniel  Dunham;  1767,  John  Crawford,  Daniel  Dunham ;^ 
1768-69,  Thomas  Lake,  Francis  Lock  ;  1770,  Robert  Johnston,  Abram 
Bonnel;  1771,  James  Baird,  Thomas  Lake ;  1772,  James  Baird.  Hugh 
McCaluster;  1773,  William  Bobbins,  Daniel  Dunham;  1774r-75,  Wil- 
liam Robbins,  Thomas  Bowlsby ;  1776,  Cornelius  Carhart,  John  Dusen- 
bury ;  1777,  Capt.  James  Baird,  Capt.  Daniel  Vliet ;  1778,  Aaron  Wat- 
son, John  Crawford  ;  1779,  Abraham  Bonnel,  Benjamin  Opdyke ;  1780, 
Aaron  Watson,  Capt.  Cornelius  Carhart;  1781,  Benjamin  Opdyke, 
Abraham  Bonnel;  1782-83,  Peter  Kes,  Elias  Wyckoff;  1784,  Elias 
Wyckoff,  Garret  Couehouen  (or  Covenhoven);  1785,  Elias  Wyckoff,, 
Thomas  Bowlsby;  1786,  Jacob  Cuek,  Daniel  Yliet;  1787-88,  Elias 
Wasakall,  Esq.,  Joseph  Luis ;  1789,  Peter  Kes,  John  Crawford ;  1790, 
Peter  Case,  John  Crawford ;  1791-95,  Daniel  Vliet,  Col.  Abram  Bonnel ;. 
1796-97,  Col.  Abram  Bonnel,  Samuel  Large ;  1798-1800,  Col.  Clement 
Bonnel,  Emley  Drake. 

The  freeholders  from  1800-80   may  be  found  on 
pages  262,  263  of  this  work. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 

1763,  John  Hackett,  Benjamin  Opdycke,  Thomae  Lake,  William  Vaness, 
David  Reynolds,  James  Henderson ;  1764,  John  Dusenberry,  Benjamin 
Opdycke,  William  Van  Est,  David  Reynolds,  Thomas  Lake,  Robert 
Shields;  1765,  Col.  Hacket,  Thomas  Lake,  Robert  Johnston,  John 
Rockhill,  David  Reynolds,  John  Shippey  ;  1766,  Thomae  Lake,  Corne- 
lius Anderson,  John  Rockhill,  David  Reynolds ;  1767,  Thomas  Lake, 
David  Reynolds,  Cornelius  Anderson,  Abraham  Bonnel,  James  Baird ; 
1768,  Daniel  Fleet,  James  Baird,  Francis  Lock ;  1769,  John  Rockhill, 
Esq.,  James  Baird,  Daniel  Fleet,  Francis  Lock,  Abraham  Bonel ; 
1770,  James  Baird,  John  Bassett,  Robert  Reynolds,  Abraham  Bon- 
nel, Cornelius  Carhart,  Joseph  Hageman  ;  1771,  James  Baird,  Fran- 
cis Lock,  Aaron  Watson,  Joseph  Hageman,  George  Lacey ;  1772,  John 
Rockhill,  Esq.,  Abraham  Cline,  Francis  Lock,  James  Baird,  Thomas 
Bowlsby ;  1773,  John  Rockhill,  Esq.,  Francis  Lock,  Hugh  McCalester, 
Robert  Little,  George  Lacey ;  1774,  Abram  Bonnel,  Cornelius  Carhait, 
Aaron  Watson,  Abraham  Leach,  Garret  Albertson ;  1775,  John  Ruckel, 
Esq.,  Cornealis  Cai'hart,  Aaron  Watson,  Garret  Albertson,  Abr.  Lake, 
Abr.  Bonnel;  1776,  Daniel  Yliet,  Benjamin  Van  Kirk,  John  Dusen- 
bury,  Mashie  Hall,  Francis  McShane ;  1777,  Capt.  James  Baird,  Aron 
Watson,  Col.  Abraham  Bonnel;  1778,  Abraham  Bonnel,  Aaron  Wat- 
son, Garret  Albertson ;  1779,  Capt.  Daniel  Yliet,  Benjamin  Opdycke, 
George  Barton  ;  1780,  Benjamifl  Opdycke,  Capt.  Daniel  Yliet,  George 
Barton;  1781-82, Benjamin  Opdycke,  Machie  Hull,  Abraham  Bonnel; 
1783-84,  Col.  Abraham  Bonnel,  Macbie  Hull,  Albert  Opdyck  ;  1785, 
Daniel  Yliet,  Ephraim  Smith,  Albert  Opdycke;  1786-87,  Col.  Charles 
Stewart,  Daniel  Vliet,  Thomas  Bowlby;  1788-94,  no  township  com- 
mittee recorded;  1795,  Abraham  Bonnel,  Elias  Wyckoff,  Benjamin 
Opdycke ;  1796-97,  no  township  committee  recorded  ;  1798-99,  Luther 
Colvin,  Samuel  Large,  Jacob  Cook,  Aaron  Yenetor,  John  Rockhill ; 
1800,  Luther  Colvin,  Jacob  Anderson,  Jacob  Cook,  Aaron  Venata, 
John  Rockhill;  1801-2,  Samuel  Large,  Jacob  Cook,  Aaron  Venata, 
Luther  Colvin,  Aaron  Vansyckle  ;  1803-5,  Garret  Covenhoven,  Rich- 
ard Lacey,  Sr.,  Henry  Staats,  John  Clifford,  Aaron  Yansyckle ;  18(i6-7, 
Benjamin  Egbert,  Richard  Lacey,  Henry  Staats,  John  Clifford,  Aaron 
Yansyckle;  1808-9,  Benjamin  Egbert,  Richard  Lacey,  George  Gauo, 
Philip  Johnston,  Aaron  Yansyckle ;  1810,  Henry  Staats,  Richard 
Leary,  William  Nixon,  Philip  Johnston,  Aaron  Yansyckle ;  1811, 
Henry  Staats,  William  Robertson,  William  Nixon,  Philip  Johnston, 
Aaron  Yansyckle;  1812,  Henry  Staats,  James  Dunham,  William 
Nixon,  George  Maxwell,  Aaron  Yansyckle  ;  1813-14,  Henry  Stsiats, 
Philip  Johnson,  William  Nixon,  Baltns  Stiger,  Aaron  Yansyckle; 
1815-17,  Cornelius  Carhart,  Edward  Henderson,  William  Nixon, 
Aaron  Yansyckle,  Baltus  Stiger ;  1818,  Cornelius  Carhart,  Edward 
Henderson,  John  Yansyckle,  Baltus  Stiger,  Aaron  Yansyckle;  1819, 
Cornelius  Carhart,  Ebenezer  Stilson,  John  Yansycle,  Baltus  Stiger, 
Aaron  Van  Syckle ;  1820,  William  Counover,  E.  Stilson,  George  Gano, 
Baltus  Stiger,  Jacob  Seagler ;  182,1,  Adam  Stiger,  George  Gano,  Baltus 
Stiger,  Charles  Carhart,  Ebenezer  Stilson  ;  1822,  Adam  Stiger,  George 
Gano,  Joseph  Bird,  Charles  Carhart,  John  Rhinehart;  1823,  Adam 
Stiger,  George  Gano,  Charles  Carhart,  Joseph  Bird,  Alexander  Rea; 
1824,  Adam  Stiger,  George  Gano,  Asa  C.Dunham,  Joseph  Bird,  Alex- 
ander Rea  ;  1825,  Enoch  Clifford,  George  Gano,  A.  C.  Dunham,  Joseph 
Bird,  Robinson  Rockhill ;  1826-27,  Enoch  Clifford,  A.  C.  Dunham, 
Alexander  Rea,  George  Gauo,  Robinson  Rockhill ;  1828,  George 
Gano,  Enoch  Clifford,  Robinson  Rockhill,  John  Rinehart,  Jr ,  Alexan- 
der Rea;  1829,  John  Rinehart,  Jr.,  Benjamin  Egbert,  Robinson  Rock- 


BETHLEHEM. 


461 


hill,  Philip  Johnston,  Enoch  Clifford;  1830,  Enoch  Clifford,  John 
Rinehart,  Jr.,  Aaron  Vansyckle,  John  Srope,  D.  H.  Anderson  ; 
1831,  Enoch  Clifford,  John  Einehart,  Jr.,  D.  H.  Anderson,  Sutphin 
Garrison,  John  Srope ;  1832,  Philip  Johnston,  William  Conover, 
John  Srope,  Samuel  Leigh,  Jr.,  Jacob  A.  Rinehart;   1833,  Philip 
Johnston,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  Samuel  Leigh,  Jr.,  John  Blane,  M.I).,  John 
Rinehart,  Jr. ;  1834,  A.Y.  Bonnell,  Philip  Johnston,  John  Rinehart, 
Jr.,  John  Blane,  M.D.,  Jacob  A.  Rinehart;  1835,  A.  T.  Bonnell,  Jo- 
seph Exton,  William  Egbert,  John  Lake,  Benjamin  H.  Opdycke ; 
1836,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  B.  H.  Opdybke,  Joseph  Exton,  Joseph  Smith, 
James  Bird ;  1837,  Azariah  W.  Dunham,  B.  H.  Opdycke,  William 
Egbert,  James  Bird,  Samuel  Hamilton ;  1838,  William  Bonnell,  A. 
V.  Bonnell,  William  Taylor,  Peter  Mechling,  Jonathan  Bobbins; 
1839,  William  Bonnell,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  P.  Mechling,  Jonathan  Rob- 
bins,  Samuel  Hamilton ;  1840,  William  Emery,  Samuel  Hamilton, 
A.  T.  Bonnell,  P.  Mechling,  J.  Robbins ;  1841,  David  Chamberlin, 
Andl'ew  Miller,  A.  V.  Bonnell,  Moses  Farrow,  John  Rinehart,  Jr. ; 
1842,  George  W.  Rea,  A.  Miller,  A.  V.  Bonnel,  John  Rinehart,  Jr., 
Moses  Farrow ;  1843,  I.  N.  Terwilliger,  Charles  *G.  Wilson,  John 
Rinehart,  Jr.,  Moses  Farrow,  Andrew  Miller ;  1844,  Enoch  Abel, 
.Samuel  Carhart,  J.  Rinehart,  Jr.,  J.  A.  Rinehart,  Andrew  Miller  ;-1845, 
Wm.  Bonnell,  S.  Carhart,  J.  Rinehart,  Jr.,  J.  A.  Rinehart,  A,  Miller ; 
1846-47,  R.  Rockhill,  W.  Tinsman,  S.  Carhart,  J.  Robbins,  J.  Rine- 
hart, Jr.;  1848,  R.  Rockhill,  S.  Carhart,  Dr.  J.  Blane,  J.  Rinehart, 
Esq.,  W.  Tinsman;  1849,  Peter  Bodine,  John  Blane,  John  C.  Weue, 
W.  Tinsman,  B.  Rockhill ;  1850,  P.  Bodine,  John  Blane,  William 
Maxwell,  W.  Tinsman,  R.  Rockhill;  1851,  P.  Bodine,  Peter  Melick, 
W.  Bonnell,  W.  Tinsm.^n,  John  Shafer;  18.r2,  P.  Bodine,  P.  Melick, 
"W.  J.  Fishbough,  W.  Tinsman,  J.  Shafer;  1853,  George  G.  Lunger, 
John  Rinehart,  William  J.  Fishbough,  Andrew  Miller,  John  Shafer ; 
1854-55,  Joseph  Anderson,  J.  Rinehart,  Sylvester  H.  Smith,  A.  Mil- 
ler, William  S.  Welch ;  1856-57,  John  Shafer,  David  Huffman,  James 
Bird,  John  C.  Wene,  Theodore  Gardner;  1858,  Peter  Rinehart,  Wil- 
liam S.  Gardner,  James  J.  Willover,  J.  C.  Wene,  M.  Farrow ;  1859, 
M.  Farrow,  P.  Rinehart,  J.  J.  Willover,  W.  S.  Gardner,  John  Hacket ; 
1860-61,  David  Chamberlin,  George  Juster,  Joseph  Boss,  William 
Bowlby,  W.  S.  Gardner ;  1862-63,  George  G.  Lunger,  Thomas  Young, 
W.H.Drake,  Ebenezer  Wolverton,  James  Bird;  1864,  WilUam  H. 
Drake,  G.  G.  Lunger,  J.  Bird,  John  C.  Reeves,  Thomas  Toung;  1865, 
■W.  H.  Drake,  6.  G.  Lunger,  J.  Bird,  Mathias  H.  Case,  Geo.  F.  Shurta ; 
1866,  W.  H.  Drake,  J.  0.  Lake,  J.  Bird,  M.  H.  Case,  G.  F.  Shurts  ; 
1867-88,  John  L.  Wene,  John  0.  Lake,  Jacob  Hacket,  M.  H.  Case, 
•G.  F.  Shurts ;  1869,  J.  L.  Wene,  J.  Hacket,  George  Race,  T.  Toung, 
John  E.  Smith;  1870,  J.  L.  Wene,  J.  Hacket,  G.  Race,  Thomas 
Young,  Staats  N.  Park;  1871-72,  T.  Tonng,  S.  N.  Park,  G.  Race,  W. 
W.  Sweazy,  John  Miller;  1873,  T.  Toung,  G.  Race,  W.  W.  Sweazy, 
Daniel  Bloom,  William  S.  Welch  ;  1874,  T.  Toung,  W.  S.  Welch,  G. 
Hace,  W.  W.  Sweazy,  Joseph  B.  Boss ;  1875,  John  Stute,  G.  Race,  J. 

B.  Boss,  A.  J.  Rakes,  Peter  L.  Henry;  1876,  A.  J.  Reeves,  John 
Stute,  J.  B.  Boss,  P.  S.  Heni'y,  M.  H.  Case ;  1877,  A.  J.  Reeves,  J. 
Stute,  P.  S.  Henry,  M.  H.  Case,  Charles  Alpaugh ;  1878,  A.  J.  Reeves, 

C.  Alpaugh,  N.  H.  Heft,  M.  H.  Case,  Godfrey  0.  Lott ;  1879,  G.  C.  Lett, 
N.  H.  Heft,  Thomas  T.  Huffman;  1880,  G.  C.  Lott,  T.  T.  Huffman, 
Henry  M.  Vliet. 

VILLAGES  AND   HAMLETS. 

Bloomsbury  is  located  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Musconetcong  Creek,  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
township.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  Bloom  fam- 
ily, who  were  influential  here  in  the  early  history  of 
the  place,  and  are  at  present  represented  in  other  lo- 
calities. It  was  previously  known  as  "Johnson's 
Iron-Works,"  from  Robert  Johnson's  furnace,  which 
was  on  the  Warren  County  side  of  the  creek,  near 
-where  the  old  charcoal-house  now  .stands.  Johnson 
carried  on  business  here  as  early  as  1750.  The  ore 
-was  carted  from  the  south  side  of  the  Musconetcong 
Mountain  and  made  into  what  is  known  as  "blooms," 
.and  some  entertain  the  idea  the  name  (Bloomsbury) 
originated  from  this. 

The  village  is  beautifully  situated  at  the  foot  of  the 
Musconetcong  Mountains,  at  the  lower  end  of  the 


valley.    A  small  part  lies  upon  the  north  side  of  the 
creek,  in  Warren  County. 

The  site  of  the  village  was  owned  as  early  as  1810 
by  George  Beidleman,  of  Easton.  His  son  Willianl 
lived  here,  having  charge  of  the  estate,  and  the  prop- 
erty became  his  by  heirship.  His  house  was  on  the 
corner  of  Bridge  Street  and  Little  York  Road,  where 
Henry  Gardner's  residence  now  stands.  Mr.  Beidle- 
man died  here  about  1838.  His  widow  still  lives  in 
the  village. 

The  next  owner  of  the  Bloomsbury  property  was 
Henry  Jones.  He  was  a  distiller,  and  built  a  still- 
house  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Hufiman's  saw- 
mill, below  the  grist-mill.  This  was  the  pioneer  dis- 
tillery. He  died  about  1828.  He  lived  in  the  yellow 
house  where  Theodore  Melick  now  resides.  His 
widow  in  1832  built  the  house  where  Widow  Beidle* 
man  now  lives. 

As  late  as  1832  the  land  now  occupied  by  Blooms- 
bury was  a  farm,  and  there  were  but  five  houses  on 
the  Bethlehem  side  of  the  creek :  the  old  log  house 
that  stood  where  the  brick  store  now  is  ;  the  old  Bei- 
dleman house,  on  the  corner  where  Gardner's  house 
stands ;  the  old  yellow  house,  down  the  York  Road ; 
and  the  two  log  houses  of  John  L.  and  Bartholomew 
Lott.  These  are  all  standing  except  the  first  named. 
This  was  kept  for  several  years  as  a  tavern  by  Charles 
Tomlinson,  and  was  the  first  on  the  south  side  of  the 
creek.  Besides  it,  Esq.  Cougle  kept  in  1835  in  an  old 
house  on  the  site  occupied  by  the  north  end  of  the 
"  Bloomsbury  House."  This  was  afterwards  kept  by- 
James  Smith,  also  by  Doran  Metier.  The  present 
hotel  was  built  in  1874  by  William  G.  Jones,  now 
proprietor. 

The  pioneer  blacksmith-shop  was  that  of  Bartholo- 
mew Lott,  on  the  Little  York  Road,  near  where  MrSi 
Hart  now  lives. 

The  first  wheelwright  now  remembered  was  Wil- 
liam Britton,  where  the  marble-yard  shop  now  stands* 
The  pioneer  post-ofiioe  was  on  the  Warren  County 
side  of  the  river,  in  the  old  tavern  where  W.  J* 
Smith's  stone  house  now  stands.  From  there  it  was 
removed  to  the  south  side  and  kept  in  the  then  new 
brick  store,  and  from  thence  to  the  store  now  kept  by 
William  Fulmer,  where  John  Carter  was  postmaster, 
with  Sloan  Carter  as  deputy.  Up  to  this  time  the 
mails  were  brought  from  Milford  on  foot,  but  by  wliom 
we  were  unable  to  ascertain.  The  present  postmaster 
is  George  Scott. 

The  village  contains  two  churches,  two  railroad 
depots,  a  school-house,  a  drug-store,  a  lumber-  and 
coal-yard,  a  hardware-store,  a  marble-yard,  the 
Bloomsbury  National  Bank,  Odd -Fellows'  Hall, 
one  hotel,  a  grist-  and  flouring-mill,  two  saw-mills 
(one  water  and  one  steam),  three  general  dry-goods 
and  grocery-stores,  a  grocery-  and  provision-store,  a 
boot-  and  shoe-store,  and  a  dozen  or  more  shops  em- 
bracing the  various  trades. 

South  Asbtjry  is  that  portion  of  Asbury  village 


462 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESET. 


lying  on  the  aouth  side  of  Musconetcong  Creek ;  it  is 
five  miles  east  from  Bloomsbury. 

Asbury  was  originally  called  Hall's  Mills.  At  the 
Revolutionary  period  there  were  only  two  buildings, 
— a  grist-mill,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Musconetcong 
Creek,  and  a  dwelling,  on  the  site  of  what  was  after- 
wards Van  Antwerp's  mill. 

In  1786,  Col.  William  McCullough  united  with  the 
Methodist  Society,  and  through  his  influence  the 
society,  in  1800,  built  a  small  church,  the  corner- 
stone of  which  was  laid  by  the  late  Bishop  Asbury. 
About  this  time  the  bishop's  name  was  given  to  the 
hamlet,  which  it  has  ever  since  borne. 

Chaelestown  is  two  miles  south  of  Junction,  at 
the  head-waters  of  the  Monselaughaway  Creek.  It 
has  a  school-house  (No.  16),  a  blacksmith-  and  wheel- 
wright-shop, and  about  a  dozen  dwellings. 

PoLKTOWN  (named  in  honor  of  the  late  President 
James  K.  Polk)  is  situated  in  the  mountains  of  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  township,  and  contains  ten 
or  twelve  dwellings. 

Bethlehem,  or  West  End,  is  located  near  the 
centre  of  the  township,  on  the  banks  of  Bethlehem 
Creek,  half  a  mile  south  of  Valley  Station,  on  the 
New  Jersey  Central  Eailroad.  Bethlehem  station  is 
on  the  Easton  and  Amboy  division  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Eailroad.  Its  early  settlement  reaches  far 
back  beyond  the  time  when  the  hamlet  was  called 
"Jugtown,''  by  which  title  it  is  best  known.  For 
nearly  seventy-five  years  "Jugtown"  has  been  noted 
for  the  conviviality  of  its  inhabitants.  It  was  a  rest- 
ing-place for  the  travelers  and  teamsters. 

The  pioneer  tavern,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained, 
stood  on  the  upper  side  of  the  road,  opposite  the  pres- 
ent hotel,  and  was  kept  by  Jacob  Smith  as  early  as 
1815.  The  first  store  was  by  Joseph  Cornish,  in  1825, 
on  the  Asbury  road.  The  property  is  now  owned  by 
the  West  End  Iron  Company,  and  the  old  store  is 
used  by  them  as  an  office.  At  present  there  are  a 
tavern,  saw-mill,  blacksmith-  and  wagon-shop,  grist- 
mill, two  stores,  a  carpet-weaver,  tailor,  and  milliner, 
and  two  churches,  Methodist  Episcopal  and  Roman 
Catholic.  The  west  end  of  the  Easton  and  Amboy 
Eailroad  tunnel  is  at  this  place ;  here  also  are  located 
the  mines  belonging  to  the  West  End  Iron  Company, 
the  principal  business  of  the  laboring  class  being 
mining. 

Jan.  1, 1880,  the  name  of  the  post-office  was  changed 
from  Bethlehem  to  "  West  End,"  to  correspond  with 
the  name  of  the  iron  company.  William  S.  Welch  is 
postmaster,  and  the  office  is  kept  in  the  store  attached 
to  the  grist-mill  of  Sylvester  H.  Smith,  Esq. 

Junction  is  situated  on  the  east  line  of  the  town- 
ship, and  the  station  for  the  two  railroads,  the  hotels, 
the  post-office,  and  most  of  the  business  are  in  Lebanon 
township.* 


*  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  history  of  Lehanon,  in  this  work,  for  a 
more  complete  account  of  Junction  village. 


SCHOOLS. 
According  to  the  report  of  E.  S.  Swackhamer, 
county  superintendent  of  schools  for  1880,  there  are 
six  school  districts  in  this  township :  Bloomsbury,  12 ; 
Bethlehem,  13 ;  South  Asbury,  14 ;  Charlestown,  16 ; 
Mountain  View,  17 ;  Hickory,  18.  There  are  also 
parts  of  Disiricts  9  and  10  of  Lebanon  township  and 
parts  of  Districts  48  and  49  of  Union  township  running 
over  into  this  township.  The  trustees  for  1880  were 
as  follows : 

No.  12,  Valentine  Toung,  Jerome  Rappleyea,  and  James  Apgar ;  No.  13, 
John  Creveling,  Charles  Opdyke,  and  Alfred  G.  Smith ;  No.  14,  J. 
H.  Martin,  David  Bowlby,  and  John  Hufiman;  No.  16,  A.  L.  Shrope, 
Tunis  Stiner,  and  Erwin  Lake;  No.  17,  Jacob  Hackett,  Thomas 
Barria,  and  John  L.  Wene  ;  No.  18,  J.  T.  Conover,  J.  J.  Thorp,  and 
George  Bace. 

The  district  clerks  and  money  apportioned  for  1880 
are  as  follows : 

No.  12,  Valentine  Toung,  ST16.87 ;  No.  13,  John  Creveling,  $398.26 ;  No. 
14,  J.  H.  Martin,  $330.44  ■,  No.  16,  A.  L.  Shrope,  $313.84;  No.  17,  Ja- 
cob Hackett,  $316.68 ;  No.  18,  Albert  Myers,  $322.45. 

The  children  of  school  age  in  the  several  districts 
for  the  same  year  were:  No.  12,  234;  No.  13,  130; 
No.  14,  99;  No.  16,  45;  No.  17,  51;  No.  18,  73. 

CHURCHES. 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH,   BLOOMSBURY, 

was  originally  an  appointment  on  the  Asbury  charge, 
and  was  connected  with  the  Asbury  Church  until 
1858,  when  Eev.  Benjamin  Coleman  was  sent  to  this 
place  by  the  presiding  elder,  and  the  connection  be- 
tween the  two  places  was  severed.  Our  researches 
lead  us  to  the  conclusion  that  the  first  Methodist 
preaching  in  Bloomsbury  occurred  fifty-nine  or  sixty 
years  ago,  as  a  circuit-preacher  (probably  Eev.  Seeley 
Bloomer)  visited  the  place  in  1821  and  preached  in 
John  Pippinger's  house,  where  Samuel  Stamets  now 
lives.  Eev.  Samuel  Hull  and  Rev.  Jacob  Hevener 
preached  in  the  village  occasionally  about  this  time. 
Eev.  Seeley  Bloomer  is  known  to  have  preached  at 
Daniel  Stire's  residence,  then  standing  near  the  Cen- 
tral Railroad  arch.  Willever's  and  Stires'  houses 
became  the  headquarters  of  the  Methodist  preachers 
when  in  this  place. 

In  1835  a  suitable  place  for  public  service  was  pur- 
chased. It  was  the  property  now  owned  by  Joseph 
B.  Boss,  and  occupied  as  a  double  dwelling,  near  the 
corner  north  of  the  church.f  A  Eev.  Mr.  Chattels 
preached  the  dedicatory  sermon;  he  was  appointed 
to  this  circuit  about  1889. 

Henry  Willever  and  Daniel  Stires  were  among  the 
early  members,  and  contributed  largely  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  infant  church.  When  Mr.  Willever 
died,  in  1841,  he  bequeathed  $400  to  the  society,  with 
which  to  refit  the  wheelwright-shop  and  adapt  it  to 
church  purposes.  While  this  was  being  done  Rev. 
Mr.  Page  and  his  colaborer,  Rev.  J.  P.  Daly,  preached 
in  the  school-house. 


t  It  was  originally  a  cabinet-shop  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Helsman,  and 
later  a  wheelwright-shop.  ■ 


BETHLEHEM. 


463 


At  length  the  edifice  again  showed  signs  of  decay, 
and  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  William  E.  Blakeslee 
was  commenced  the  movement  which  resulted  in  the 
building  of  the  present  neat  and  tasteful  temple, 
whose  foundation-stone  bears  the  inscription  "  1860." 
The  building  is  of  wood,  38  by  60  feet,  with  stone 
basement,  and  is  situated  south  of  the  old  church. 
It  is  painted  a  light  drab,  with  brown  trimmings, 
and  is  surmounted  with  a  graceful  spire,  in  which  is 
hung  a  pleasant-toned  bell.  The  cost  of  the  new 
church  was  $6000.  Nov.  18,  1874,  it  was  formally 
reopened  by  Prof.  H.  A.  Buttz,  of  Drew  Theological 
Seminary,  assisted  by  Rev.  W.  E.  Blakeslee. 

After  the  new  church  was  erected  the  old  one  was 
used  for  a  parsonage  till  1870,  when  the  present  one 
on  Main  Street  was  completed,  during  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  W.  C.  Nelson.    It  cost  $3000. 

The  first  board  of  trustees  were  Henry  Willever, 
Joseph  Smith,  James  Martin,  Jacob  Stoll,  and  Daniel 
Stires.  One  of  the  first  class-leaders  was  Robert 
Smith ;  he  afterwards  became  a  local  preacher,  and 
his  first  sermon  was  preached  in  the  long  frame  build- 
ing opposite  the  present  residence  of  Mrs.  Zerviah 
Stires.  He  was  one  of  the  five  original  members,  the 
others  being  Daniel  Stires,  Henry  Willever,  and  their 
wives. 

The  preachers,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  who 
have  officiated  are  Revs.  Richard  Lanning,  Seeley 
Bloomer,  Manning  Force  (presiding  elder  and  a 
powerful  preacher),  and  George  Banghart.  Rev. 
Abram  Carhart  was  the  first  preacher  on  this  circuit 
after  the  old  church  was  bought,  for  he  came  in  the 
spring  of  1835.  In  1840,  Rev.  Charles  F.  Deems,  D.D., 
then  a  young  man,  came  to  Bloomsbury  and  traveled 
this  circuit  for  one  year.  The  preachers  since  1835 
have  been  as  follows : 

1835,  Abram  Carhart,  Benjamin  Keed ;  1836,  Abram  Carhart ;  1837,  James 

M.  Tuttle ;  1838,  WUliam  E.  Perry ;  1839, ChattleB ;  1840,  George 

Banghart,  Charles  F.  Deems ;  1841,  George  Hitchene,  Jacob  Hevener; 
1842,  George  Hitohens,  Samuel  B.  Post;  1843,  Abram  Owen,  Richard 
Vanhome;  1844,  Abram  Owen;  1845,  Edward  Page,  Jonathan  T. 
Crane,  Jacob  P.  Daly,  M.  Stokes;  1846,  Edward  Page,  George 
Banghart,  Jacob  P.  Daly  ;  1847,  George  Banghart,  John  Eort,  E.  San- 
ders, Bllinwood  Rutherford,  John  K.  Burr;  1848,  Benjamin  Kelly, 
John  Fort;  1849,  Benjamin  Kelly,  Thomas  S.  Dederick;  1850, 
George  Winsor,  R.  B.  Lockwood ;  1851,  George  Wineor,  Isaac  Trot- 
ter ;  1852-53,  Isaac  Cross,  William  Copp,  William  H.  Diokerson ;  1854, 
Thomas  Bawlings,  O.  Badgeley;  1855,  Oliver  Badgeley;  1856-67, 
Thomas  Walters ;  1858,  Jacob  P.  Daly  ;*  1859-60,  William  B.  Blakes- 
lee; 1861-62,  Charles  Walton ;  1863,  John  F.  Dodd ;  1864-65,  William 
H.  Haggerty;  1866-67,  John  B.  Taylor;  1868-69,  William  H.  Mc- 
CormicK ;  1870-72,  William  C.  Nelson  ;  1873-75,  Joseph  W.  Dally ; 
1876-78, Ruth ;  1879-80,  S.  D.  Doolittle. 

Present  officers:  Trustees,  William  B.  Housel, 
William  A.  Schooley,  James  J.  Willever,  David  P. 
Cline,  Farley  C.  Parker,  Peter  Hop'pock,  James 
Schooley;  Stewards,  James  J.  Willever,  Joseph  B. 
Boss,  Frank  P.  Young,  James  Schooley,  Calvin  H. 
Rugg.  Present  membership,  200 ;  value  of  property, 
$7500.        I \ 

*  In  1858  the  Bloomsbury  Church  was  separated  from  Asbury,  with  a 
young  preacher,  Nathan  Coleman,  as  a  supply  until  the  Conference  of  1859. 


The  Sunday-school  was  organized  in  1836  by 
Thomas  Hilton,  with  only  12  scholars.  From  this 
small  beginning  the  school  has  grown  to  its  present 
size, — 165  scholars,  with  an  average  attendance  of 
125.  The  officers  of  the  school  are  :  Superintendent, 
Frank  H.  Young ;  Assistant,  Calvin  H.  Rugg ;  Secre- 
tary, William  A.  Schooley. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH,  WEST   END. 

West  End  Iron-Mines  was  originally  one  of  the 
preaching-places  on  the  old  Asbury  Circuit,  which 
embraced  several  counties  in  its  territory.  Service 
was  held  at  Joseph  Smith's  house,  which  was  one  of 
the  many  "  Methodist  taverns,"  as  they  were  latterly 
called.  Mr.  Smith  lived  where  his  son  Robert  now 
resides.  Fifty  years  ago  he  was  a  class-leader,  and 
William  R.  Smith  was  also  class-leader,  exhorter,  and 
local  preacher.  Coonrad  Swayze,  Abram  Housel, 
Moses  Farrow,  David  Chamberlain,  Robert  Smith, 
John  Hoppock,  Henry  Staats,  and  Asher  Smith,  to- 
gether with  their  families,  were  among  the  members 
of  the  class  at  that  time. 

.  In  1849  the  society  built  the  present  house  of  wor- 
ship, at  a  cost  of  $800,  and  April  9,  1850,  it  was  dedi- 
cated by  Rev.  Joseph  Ashbrook,  assisted  by  Rev. 
Benjamin  Kelly,  pastor  in  charge  of  the  circuit.  In 
1876  it  was  remodeled  and  repaired  at  a  cost  of  $800. 
The  preachers  of  the  Asbury  Church  have  served  this, 
as  it  is  still  connected  with  that  church  as  a  charge. 
The  church  is  valued  at  $1000,  and  the  membership 
numbers  40. 

There  is  a  flourishing  Sunday-school  connected 
with  this  society,  superintended  by  Rev.  Harris  and 
Mr.  Mathias  Case,  with  an  average  attendance  of  60. 

FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHaRCH,  BLOOMSBDRY.f 

This  church  is  a  daughter  of  the  old  Greenwich 
Church,  in  Warren  County.  It  is  situated  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Bloomsbury,  just  where  the  New  Brunswick 
turnpike  crosses  the  Musconetcong  River  into  Hun- 
terdon. 

The  need  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  at  this  point 
was  occasioned  by  the  impetus  which  the  village  re- 
ceived from  the  extension  of  the  railroad  through  the 
Musconetcong  Valley  to  Easton.  So  great  was  the 
increase  of  population  and  resources  at  this  point, 
that  it  was  felt  to  be  a  question  of  necessity  that  a 
congregation  should  be  organized  and  a  church  edifice 
erected  in  the  locality  to  accommodate  the  forty  or 
more  Presbyterians  who  were  residents  of  the  village 
and  its  immediate  vicinity.  The  question  received  a 
practical  solution  when,  on  Sept.  1,  1857,  the  friends 
of  the  enterprise  founded  the  church.  A  subscription 
was  started  for  the  erection  of  a  building,  and  soon 
over  $4000  were  pledged. 

A  petition  signed  by  129  persons  was  presented  to 
the  Newton  Presbytery  at  its  meeting,  Oct.  6, 1857, 
by  William  J.  Smith  and  John  T.  Bird.    The  request 

f  By  Rev.  John  C.  Clyde,  A.M.,  pastor. 


464 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


was  granted,  and  the  following  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  organize  the  church :  Eevs.  Hugh  N.  Wil- 
son, D.D.,  J.  Arndt,  Eiley,  George  C.  Bush ;  Ruling 
Elders,  Peter  Winter,  of  Harmony,  Adam  R.  Reese, 
of  Phillipshurg,  and  Philip  Mutchler,  of  Asbury. 
The  committee  convened  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  of  Bloomsbury,  on  October  29th  of  that  year, 
and  attended  to  the  duties  of  their  appointment.  The 
following  persons  joined  in  the  organization : 

John  T.  Bird,  William  J.  Smith,  Sarah  E.  Smith,  John  E,  Smith,  Sarah 
C.  Smith,  Mary  Hulsizer,  Nancy  Mitchell,  Lydia  Cochran,  Sarah 
Steiner,  Margaret  Hance,  Thomas  Tonng,  Eebecca  Ann  Young, 
John  Hance,  Catharine  Hance,  Jane  R.  Smith,  Annie  Parker,  Abra- 
ham Hance,  SuBan  Housel,  Susan  McPhereon,  Penelope  McPherson, 
Deborah  Young,  Peter  Hart,  Mary  Hart,  Annie  Creveling,  Henry 
Gardner,  Elizabeth  Gardner,  Henry  K.  Kennedy,  Elizabeth  L.  Ken- 
nedy, Miriam  Kay  Kennedy,  David  F.  Wean,  Absalom  James,  Robert 
I.  Smith,  Mary  H.  Smith,  William  S.  Gardner,  Rachel  Tinsman,  Jo- 
seph 0.  Smith,  James  Bird,  Mary  Bird,  Emily  A.  Hulsizer,  Abraham 
W,  Smith,  William  S.  Hulsizer,  and  William  Tinsman, — forty-two  in 
all,  among  whom  were  twenty-six  heads  of  families. 

James  Bird,  Henry  R.  Kennedy,  William  J.  Smith, 
and  William  Tinsman  were  elected  ruling  elders. 
Nov.  10,  1857,  William  S.  Hulsizer,  John  T.  Bird, 
and  John  Hance  were  elected  deacons,  and  William  S. 
Gardner,  Abraham  Hance,  and  Joseph  W.  Willever 
trustees,  who,  under  date  of  Nov.  16, 1857,  signed  and 
sealed  their  declaration  of  the  corporate  existence  of 
the  "First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bloomsbury."* 
Adam  D.  Runkle  donated  a  suitable  piece  of  land  on 
which  to  erect  a  house  of  worship,  deeding  the  same 
Nov.  19,  1857. 

March  6,  1858,  Mr.  William  E.  Westervelt,  a  licen- 
tiate of  the  Presbytery  of  Passaic,  was  elected  the 
first  pastor.  He  was  ordained  and  installed  April  15th. 
His  pastoral  relations  continued  until  July  2,  1861, 
during  which  there  were  41  additions  to  the  church. 

To  the  lot  of  ground  donated  by  Mr.  Runkle  an 
adjoining  tract  was  added  by  purchase  in  1858,  and  a 
commodious  structure,  44  by  66  feet,  was  erected 
without  delay.  It  was  of  frame,  neatly  finished  and 
furnished,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  700  persons. 
Galleries  extended  around  three  sides  of  the  room. 
It  was  dedicated  Oct.  14,  1858,  the  sermon  being 
preached  by  Rev.  David  X.  Junkin,  D.D. 

Joseph  S.  Van  Dyke,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Elizabethtown,  was  elected  the  second  pastor. 
October  10th,  he  preached  his  ordination  sermon,  and 
was  installed  over  the  church. 

In  the  fall  of  1861  this  church,  with  others,  was 
transferred  from  the  Presbytery  of  Newton  to  that  of 
Raritan. 

May  4th  the  pastoral  relation  between  Mr.  Van 
Dyke  and  the  congregation  was  dissolved.  During 
his  pastorate  118  persons  had  been  received  into  the 
membership. 

April  14, 1866,  Henry  V.  Brittain  was  elected  elder, 
and  Charles  E.  Williamson  and  Moses  Robbins  dea- 


.   *  Recorded,  November  17th,  in  the  Hunterdon  County  records,  where  it 
may  be  found,  Special  Deeds  Folio,  vol.  iil.  pp.  37G,  377. 


July  17,  1869,  Rev.  H.  B.  Scott  was  called,  and  in 
that  year  a  commodious  parsonage,  22  by  59  feet,  was 
built.  During  Mr.  Scott's  pastorate,  in  1876,  an  addi- 
tional elder,  Moses  Robbins,  was  elected,  and  142 
persons  were  admitted  to  the  church. 

In  1870  this  church  was  again  assigned  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Newton,  and  its  name  was  placed  on  the 
roll  of  that  Presbytery  on  June  22d. 

The  ."Louisa  F.  Kennedy  Fund"  was  established 
in  1878  for  the  relief  of  the  needy  in  the  congrega- 
tion. 

Rev.  John  C.  Clyde  succeeded  Mr.  Scott.  He  com- 
menced his  ministry  July  1st.  The  installation  took 
place  Oct.  14,  1879.  Mr.  Clyde  still  continues  in  the 
pastorate,  Jan.  1,  1881. 

THE  MUSCONBTCONG  VALLEY  PRESBYTERIAN  GHUEOH.t 

Pursuant  to  public  notice,  a  number  of  persons  con- 
nected with  the  Mansfield  congregation,  and  residing 
in  the  Musconetcong  Valley,  met  at  the  New  Hampton 
school-house,  Dec.  24,  1836,  to  consider  the  propriety 
of  organizing  a  separate  church.  It  was  thought  best 
to  first  express  good  feeling  towards  those  living  in 
the  Pohatcong  Valley,  and,  with  a  view  of  uniting  the 
parties,  to  propose  erecting  a  new  church  at  or  near 
the  site  of  the  old  one, — that  is,  near  the  Mansfield 
graveyard.  Samuel  Drake  and  Richard  Rounsavel 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  meet  the  other  party 
at  Mansfield  church,  Jan.  6,  1837. 

The  committee  reported,  at  an  adjourned  meeting 
at  New  Hampton,  Jan.  7,  1887,  that  the  proposition 
to  rebuild  on  the  old  site  had  failed,  as  the  decision 
had  been  made  to  remove  the  Mansfield  church  to 
Washington.  On  receiving  this  report  it  was  resolved 
to  build  a  Presbyterian  church  between  the  villages 
of  Asbury  and  New  Hampton. 

A  meeting  was  held  February  4th,  at  which  seven 
trustees  were  elected :  Thomas  G.  Stewart,  William 
Creveling,  Richard  Rounsavel,  Joseph  Cornish,  Cor- 
nelius Stewart,  John  Lake,  and  Joseph  Bowlby. 
Richard  Riddle  was  chosen  treasurer,  and  Cornelius 
Stewart  secretary.  The  same  meeting  decided  on 
location  by  a  majority  vote,  and  also  adopted  the 
name  of  the  new  church,  as  well  as  a  plan  for  the 
building. 

Application  was  made  to  the  Presbytery  of  Newton, 
in  session  at  German  Valley,  in  April,  1837,  for  or- 
ganization into  a  church.  The  request  was  granted, 
and  the  Revs.  William  B.  Sloan,  Jacob  R.  Castner, 
and  D.  X.  Junkin  were  appointed  a  committee  for 
that  purpose.  June  13,  1837,  the  committee  met  at 
the  place  selected  for  the  church  and  performed  the 
duty  assigned  them.  On  the  same  day  Frederick 
Lunger  and  Richard  Riddle  were  chosen  and  ordained 
to  the  ofiice  of  ruling  elder. 

Meetings  for  worship  continued  to  be  held  during 
the  summer  on  the  ground  selected  for  the  church. 


t  By  the  pastor.  Rev.  J.  B.  Kugler. 


BETHLEHEM. 


465 


and  were  supplied  by  members  of  the  Presbytery. 
The  congregation  entered  the  new  building  in  Sep- 
tember, though  it  was  not  yet  completed. 

A  call  was  made  to  the  Eev.  John  McNair,  and 
Nov.  16,  1837,  he  was  installed.  At  the  same  time 
Joseph  Carter,  Samuel  M.  Harris,  Thomas  G.  Stew- 
art, and  Christian  Van  Nortwick  were  chosen  to  the 
office  of  ruling  elder.  Dec.  21,  1840,  Dr.  John  Gray, 
of  Easton,  being  moderator,  Samuel  Drake,  William 
Creveling,  Christian  Van  Nortwick,  and  Isaac  M. 
Carpenter  were  elected  elders. 

Eev.  James  Lewers,  of  the  Presbytery  of  South 
Carolina,  became  the  next  pastor,  in  1841,  contin- 
uing until  May,  1860,^a  little  more  than  nineteen 
years.  Feb.  2, 1850,  Robert  Simonton,  George  Smyth, 
Abram  Apgar,  and  Philip  Muchler  were  chosen  ruling 
elders. 

Sept.  15, 1860,  a  call  was  given  to  the  Eev.  Alfred 
Yeomans,  and  Dec.  20th  he  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled. Oct.  10,  1860,  26  persons  were,  at  their  own 
request,  dismissed,  to  be  organized  into  a  separate 
church  at  Asbury.  Dec.  30,  1860,  Joseph  Cornish, 
Paul  Marlatt,  and  John  Mackey  were  chosen  ruling 
elders.  During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Yeomans  the 
comfortable  parsonage  was  built. 

Oct.  16,  1866,  Eev.  John  B.  Kugler,  of  Strasburg, 
Lancaster  Co.,  Pa.,  was  elected  pastor,  and  continues 
in  that  position  at  the  present  time,  Feb.  12,  1881. 
June  12,  1868,  John  B.  Lunger  was  chosen  to  the 
office  of  ruling  elder  and  duly  installed ;  and  Jan.  28, 
1872,  John  W.  Fritts,  Elijah  G.  Eiddle,  and  Joseph 
Garrison  were  elected,  and  duly  ordained  and  in- 
stalled to  the  same  office. 

Present  membership,  175;  value  of  property,  $10,000. 

CEMBTEEIES. 

There  are  but  five  burial-places  in  this  township, — 
two  at  Bloomsbury,  one  near  West  End,  one  at  the 
Presbyterian  church  near  Junction  village,  and  one 
in  the  Baptist  churchyard  in  Junction  village. 

The  following  inscriptions  from  a  few  of  the  tomb- 
stones are  given : 

Methodist  Episcopal,  at  Bloomsbury  :  Bartholomew 
Lott,  died  April  11,  1865,  aged  eighty ;  Ann  Maria 
Woolever,  died  March  31,  1845,  aged  sixty-four; 
Phineas  Staats,  born  Aug.  15,  1814,  died  Aug.  28, 
1860;  James  Cougle,  born  March  26,  1780,  died 
March  29,  1851 ;  James  L.  Boss,  died  Dec.  25,  1855, 
aged  fifty-three;  Henry  Staats,  died  May  3,  1874, 
aged  sixty-nine ;  William  P.  Lott,  born  July  4,  1818, 
died  Jan.  30,  1873;  Electa  Larison,  born- May- 31y 
1829;  died  Aug.  10,  1864 ;  Martin  J.  Foose,  died  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  May  13, 1863,  aged  thirty- 
two  ;*  Jacob  Y.  McElroy,  First  Independent  Battery 
New  York  Artillery,  fell  in  defense  of  his  country  at 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  9, 1863,  aged  twenty-one ;  Peter 

*  He  was  a  member  of  Co.  C,  Thirty-first  Regiment  New  Jersey  Vol- 
iinteera. 


Foose,  born  Sept.  6,  1802,  died  May  16,  1872 ;  John 
L.  Lott,  born  April  4,  1782,  died  Aug.  6,  1873. 

Presbyterian,  at  Bloomsbury :  James  Bird,  born 
March  6,  1797,  died  Dec.  13,  1876 ;  Mary  Bird,  born 
March  10,  1795,  died  July  20,  1872;  Jesse  Eunkle, 
died  May  6,  1861,  aged  fifty-eight;  Abraham  G. 
Williams,  died  March  3,  1872,  aged  eighty-one; 
William  Hagerman,  born  Aug.  17,  1783,  died  May 
3,  1863;  John  P.  Smith,  born  Oct.  17,  1821,  died 
April  12,  1872;  Elizabeth  Gardner,  born  Jan.  28, 
1790,  died  Sept.  20,  1865;  William  H.  Creveling, 
born  July  31,  1801,  died  May  19,  1880;  Mary  E. 
Creveling,  born  Feb.  22,  1808,  died  Aug.  3,  1880; 
William  M.  Junkin,  U.S.N.,  born  April  8,  1811, 
died  in  Pensacola  Bay,  Sept.  29,  1863,  and  buried 
here  April  8,  1864. 

Fountain  Grove  Cemetery  is  located  at  Glen  Gard- 
ner, and  has  been  occupied  only  since  1866.  There 
have  been  as  yet  but  few  interments,  and  still  fewer 
marble  slabs  mark  the  resting-place  of  the  dead. 
We  found  here  the  following:  Eev.  John  McNair, 
D.D.,  born  May  28,  1808,  died  Jan.  27,  1867 ;  James 
H.  Bell,  died  Oct.  2,  1856,  aged  forty-three;  Moses 
Gardner,  born  Nov.  9, 1800,  died  Dec.  7, 1866 ;  Sarah, 
wife  of  Eobert  Seals,  died  Dec.  22, 1870,  aged  seventy- 
six  ;  Eliza  A.  Hunt,  born  Dec.  30, 1801,  died  Nov.  23, 
1873 ;  W.  A.  A.  Hunt,  M.D.,  born  June  6,  1796,  died 
Sept.  9,  1878. 

In  Valley  Cemetery,  located  on  the  lot  adjoining 
the  Valley  Presbyterian  church,  near  the  Junction, 
lie  the  remains  of  many  of  the  early  settlers  in  this 
locality,  the  names  of  whom  will  be  found  in  history 
of  Presbyterian  Church,  by  Eev.  Kugler. 

SOCIETIES   AND    CORPORATIONS. 

"  The  Bloomsbury  National  Bank"  was  organized 
in  1874,  and  chartered  as  a  national  bank  in  June, 
1875,  with  a  capital  of  $75,000,  subsequently  increased 
to  $100,000.  The  bank  is  located  in  the  Odd-Fellows' 
building.  Henry  E.  Kennedy  was  the  first  president, 
and  Jesse  J.  Lake  the  first  vice-president.  The  offi- 
cers for  1880  were  :  President,  Henry  E.  Kennedy ; 
Vice-President,  Sylvester  Probasco;  Cashier,  Louis 
Anderson  ;  Teller,  Frank  Cline. 

"  Bloomsbury  Vigilant  Society"  was  organized  June 
29,  1867.  Its  object  is  "  for  detection  of  horse-thieves, 
and  mutually  insuring  horses,  mules,  carriages,  and 
harness,  stolen."  The  first  officers  were:  President, 
William  Tinsman;  Vice-Presidents,  William  S. 
Gardner,  William  S.  Hulsizer ;  Directors,  William 
S.  Hulsizer,  William  S.  Gardner,  Charles  Hazard, 
Wiliiam^GT^Jones,  and  William  Tinsman;  Pur- 
suers, Charles  Hazard,  Theodore  Tinsman,  John  M. 
Bayard,  Joseph  Emery,  Eeadon  Stiner,  William  G. 
Jones,  Henry  Gardner,  Henry  Hoif,  Isaac  Wolverton, 
Stacey  B.  Fine,  A.  G.  Smith,  and  William  S.  Hulsizer. 
This  society  was  incorporated  by  act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, April  3,  1871,  and  William  S.  Gardner,  William 
S.  Hulsizer,  Charles  Hazard,  Daniel  Williamson,  and 


466 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


William  Tinsman  were  named  as  incorporators.  The 
bounds  of  the  society  form  a  radius  of  seven  miles 
from  the  village  of  Bloomsbury,  and  the  pursuers  are 
to  advance  seventy-five  miles,  or  farther  if  necessary. 
The  regular  meetings  of  the  society  are  held  in  Jan- 
uary of  each  year. 

The  present  officers  (1880)  are:  President,  William 
S.  Hulsizer ;  Vice-Presidents,  Joseph  W.  Willever 
and  William  Dalrymple ;  Treasurer,  Theodore  Tins- 
man  ;  Secretary,  William  G.  Jones ;  Directors,  James 
Apgar,  Daniel  Williamson,  Charles  Hazard,  Joseph 
W.  Willever,  James  J.  Willever;  Pursuers,  Charles 
Hazard,  Wilson  Metier,  John  Cole,  Joseph  Emery, 
Amos  Maxwell,  Joseph  B.  Boss,  William  Vliet, 
Albert  Insley,  Isaac  Wolverton,  John  B.  Smith, 
Thomas  Lake,  Eeadon  Stiner;  and  Theodore  Tins- 
man  Principal  Pursuer. 

"Touchstone  Lodge,  No.  156,  L  O.  of  0.  F.,"  was 
instituted  at  Bloomsbury,  May  16,  1871,  with  the  fol- 
lowing charter  members :  B.  E.  Bowne,  Henry  Carter, 
John  S.  Carter,  F.  K.  Young,  William  B.  Housel, 
and  Peter  D.  Eockafellow.  The  principal  first  officers 
were:  Noble  Grand,  B.  E.  Bowne;  Vice-Grand,  Henry 
Carter;  Eec.  Sec,  John  S.  Carter;  Treas.,  F.  K. 
Young ;  Warden,  Peter  D.  Eockafellow ;  Conductor, 
Abram  W.  Smith.  The  successive  presiding  officers 
have  been  Henry  Carter,  John  S.  Carter,  S.  N.  Parks, 

F.  K.  Young,  W.  H.  Allen,  Henry  Carter,  W.  B. 
Housel,  W.  S.  Schooley,  W.  M.  Cackender,  W.  C. 
Cole,  W.  H.  Foose,  H.  S.  Apgar,  J.  W.  Creveling, 
Jacob  Stone,  Joseph  L.  Allen,  Nelson  Geary,  and 
John  W.  Bowlby.  The  sessions  are  held  Saturday 
evenings,  in  Odd-Fellows'  building,  Bloomsbury. 
Present  membership,  60.  But  one  member  has  died 
since  organization, — viz.,  George  Wood,  killed  by  ac- 
cident, Jan.  21,  1875. 

The  principal  present  officers  {December,  1880)  are: 
N.  G.,  James  P.  Myers ;  Vice-Grand,  S.  E.  Dalrymple ; 
Eec.  Sec,  Peter  D.  Young ;  Treas.,  S.  N.  Park ;  Con- 
ductor, W.  H.  Foose ;  Warden,  Nelson  Geary. 

"  The  Odd-Fellows'  Hall  Association"  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  investing  the  surplus  funds  of  the 
lodge,  and  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature,  March 
14,  1873.     The  first  officers  were :  President,  William 

G.  Jones;  Vice-President,  Jacob  Stiner;  Secretary, 
F.  K.  Young;  Treasurer,  John  S.  Carter;  Executive 
Committee,  S.  B.  Fine,  John  W.  Bowlby,  and  W.  B. 
Housel.  The  hall  was  erected  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Centre  Streets.  It  is  three  stories  high,  with  a 
Mansard  roof,  and  cost  $7000. 

The  officers  for  1880  were:  President,  Jesse  J. 
Lape ;  Vice-President,  Daniel  Bloom ;  Secretary,  W. 
H.  Foose;  Treasurer,  George  W.  Scott;  Executive 
Committee,  W.  H.  Foose,  George  W.  Scott,  and  W. 
E.  Schooley. 

"  H.  E.  Kennedy  Lodge,  No.  140,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.," 
Bloomsbury,  was  granted  a  warrant  of  dispensation 
Sept.  7,  1874,  under  which  it  worked  until  Jan.  21, 
1875,  when  it  was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 


The  original  members  were  John  Stute,  P.  D.  Eocka- 
fellow, J.  W.  Bowlby,  William  W.  Swayze,  Charles 
Tomlinson,  M.  D.  Knight,  Solomon  W.  Welder,  Eobert 
A.  Shimer,  and  Theodore  B.  Hance.  The  first  W.  M. 
was  Samuel  Phipps ;  first  secretary,  S.  B.  Fine.  The 
Past  Masters  are  Samuel  Phipps,  S.  N.  Park,  William 
Dalrymple,  and  William  A.  Schooley.  Present  mem- 
bership, 52. 

The  principal  officers  for  1880  were :  W.  M.,  F.  K. 
Young;  S.  W.,  D.  S.  Stute;  J.  W.,  J.  J.  Lake; 
Treas.,  W.  G.  Jones;  Sec,  S.  N.  Park;  S.  D.,  W.  A. 
Schooley;  J.  D.,  E.  T.  Vliet;  Tiler,  Jas.  Boss. 

INDUSTRIAL    PURSUITS. 

The  industrial  pursuits  are  about  the  same  as  in 
other  townships,  except  that  of  mining,  in  which  by 
far  the  most  capital  is  invested  and  the  most  men 
employed. 

The  original  mills  at  Bloomsbury  were  built  prob- 
ably as  early  as  1760.  The  grist-mill  was,  most 
likely,  the  first  of  the  kind  in  this  part  of  the  valley, 
and  was  rebuilt  about  1825,  burned  Feb.  6,  1878,  and 
again  rebuilt  and  put  in  its  present  condition  in  1878 
by  John  Herbert,  of  Bound  Brook.  The  present 
owner  is  Thomas  T.  Huffman. 

There  have  been  three  distilleries  at  Bloomsbury. 
The  first  was  built  by  Daniel  Stires,  in  the  bend  of 
the  Little  York  Eoad,  just  below  the  arch-bridge  of 
the  Central  Eailroad.  There  is  no  trace  of  it  left. 
The  next  was  on  the  site  of  Huffman's  saw-mill,  be- 
low the  grist-mill,  and  the  other  was  built  by  Jona- 
than Eobbins,  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Moses 
Eobbins,  a  little  west  of  the  village  of  Bloomsbury, 
and  still  standing,  but  not  used  as  a  distillery. 

The  distillery  below  the  grist-mill  gave  place  to 
cotton-factories,  built  in  1842  and  1843  by  the  Mus- 
conetcong  Manufacturing  Company.  This  company 
was  established  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  and 
finishing  for  market  cotton,  woolen,  and  flax  goods, 
and  was  incorporated  in  1842.  Enoch  Green,  John 
G.  Eichey,  Adam  D.  Eunkle,  George  B.  Green,  and 
Thomas  Green  were  the  first  directors.  The  capital 
stock  was  not  to  exceed  $200,000.  The  factories  were 
located  below  the  grist-mill  at  Bloomsbury,  covering 
the  site  of  the  present  saw-mill,  and  were  burned  in 
1856.  The  present  saw-mill,  on  the  site  of  the  factory, 
was  built  by  John  Herbert,  and  sold  to  T.  T.  Huff- 
man, present  owner. 

The  grist-mill  at  "  Jugtown"  (or  "West  End")  was 
built  in  1825  by  Joseph  Cornish ;  in  1849  it  was  pur- 
chased by  Sylvester  H.  Smith,  the  present  owner. 
The  saw-mill  at  West  End  is  now  owned  and  oper- 
ated by  Charles  Opdyke. 

The  first  manufacturing  establishment  of  any  kind 
at  what  is  now  Bloomsbury  was  a  saw-mill  and  fur- 
nace where  "  blooms"  were  made  from  the  iron  ore, 
to  which  reference  has  already  been  made. 

The  grist-mill  on  the  Bethlehem  Creek  at  Asbury 
was  built  some  time  previous  to  the  Eevolution,  and 


PC^^-i^r- 


BETHLEHEM. 


467 


there  has  been  a  mill  at  this  place  ever  since.  The 
lime  interest  has  been  one  of  importance  in  this  town- 
ship, and  at  one  time  was  extensively  carried  on. 

"WEST  END  IRON  COMPANY." 
The  mines  of  the  company  are  located  in  this  town- 
ship, near  Bethlehem  village,  though  the  post-office  is 
named  "  "West  End,"  to  conform  to  the  name  of  the 
company.  The  ore  from  the  Turkey  Hill  mines,  sit- 
uated about  a  mile  and  a  half  southwest  of  the  vil- 
lage, is  delivered  on  board  cars  run  on  a  branch  from 
that  place  on  the  Easton  and  Amboy  branch  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Eailroad.  The  ore  from  the  Swayze 
mines,  located  the  same  distance  east  of  Jugtown,  is 
carted  to  the  Valley  station,  on  the  Central  Railroad, 
a  distance  of  two  and  a  half  miles.  These  mines  are 
producing  annually  large  quantities  of  the  best  kind 
of  Bessemer  iron  ore. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are :  President,  F.  A. 
Potts ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  John  Kean,  Jr. ; 
General  Manager,  G.  M.  Miller ;  Superintendent,  N. 
H.  Heft. 

PHYSICIANS, 

The  first  physician  known  to  have  located  in  what 
"  is  now  this  township  was  Thomas  Elder,  at  Blooms- 
bury,  between  1800  and  1810.  Just  how  long  he  re- 
mained here  is  unknown.  The  next  was  John  Sloan, 
who  practiced  in  Bloomsbury  from  1820  to  1822.  He 
was  followed  in  1822  by  Hugh  Hughes,  who  died  here 
in  1856. 

Other  physicians  in  Bloomsbury  have  been  J.  M. 
Junkin,  Isaac  C.  Stewart,  Joseph  Bird,  Jeremiah  O. 
HoflF,  Dr.  Elder,  a  Scotchman,  and  the  present  prac- 
ticing physician,  William  E.  Little. 

At  Junction  there  have  been  four  physicians,  of 
whom  there  still  remain  Philip  G.  Creveling,  located 
in  1866,  and  Robert  Fenwick,  the  same  year,  and  still 
in  practice. 

H.  Servis  came  in  1874,  and  T.  A.  Heron  in  1876 ; 
both  still  practice  here. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


turned  to  Asbury  and  resumed  milling  business,  which 
he  followed  till  the  spring  of  1848.  In  1849  he  en- 
gaged in  milling  at  Spring  Mills,  Alexandria  town- 
ship, Hunterdon  Co.,  where  he  remained  one  year, 
and  in  1850  removed  to  his  present  location,  his 
father  having  purchased  the  mill  property  there. 
This. mill  property  is  situated  on  a  mountain  stream 
in  the  village  of  Bethlehem,  upon  which  there  has 
been  a  mill  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  Mr. 
Smith  purchased  the  property  of  his  father  in  1853, 
and  has  rebuilt  the  mill,  and  erected  two  dwelling- 
houses  and  other  buildings  upon  the  place.  He  is 
engaged  in  grinding  both  merchant  and  custom  flour, 
and  in  handling  and  shipping  grain  in  bulk,  the 
highest  amount  having  been  reached  in  1864,  in 
which  year  he  shipped  $45,000  worth  of  grain  in  the 
three  months  of  December,  January,  and  February, 
making  a  large  profit.  Since  then  the  amount  han- 
dled has  not  been  so  large,  though  it  has  steadily 
amounted  to  a  considerable  trade.  In  1873  and  1874, 
while  the  tunnel  on  the  Lehigh  Valley  road  was 
being  built  at  this  place,  Mr.  Smith's  sales  from  his 
mill  and  coal-yard  averaged  12500  per  month. 

He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  having,  as  he  says, 
been  "  left  by  the  Democratic  party  in  1856."  He 
had  previously  been  elected  justice  of  the  peace  by 
the  Democrats,  and  served  for  nine  years,  from  1851 
to  1860.  He  was  again  elected  justice  in  1870,  and 
has  held  various  other  local  offices  in  his  township. 
He  ran  at  the  instigation  of  his  friends  for  member  of 
Assembly  in  1855,  but  was  defeated  by  a  small  ma- 
jority. He  has  frequently  served  as  a  delegate  to 
county,  congressional,  and  State  conventions,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Suffrage  State  Convention  in 
1869.  In  1874  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  lay 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  held  the 
office  five  years.  In  1879  he  was  nominated  for  sena- 
tor for  Hunterdon  County  and  made  a  good  race, 
but  on  account  of  certain  local  issues  was  defeated. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  Oct.  22,  1844,  Ann  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  and  Catharine  McCrea,  of  Bethle- 
hem N.  J.  They  have  had  ten  children, — two  sons 
and  eight  daughters ;  two  of  the  latter  are  deceased. 
His  eldest  son,  Simeon  H.,  is  in  mercantile  business 
at  Bethlehem;  the  youngest,  Abraham  Lincoln,  is 
attending  school  at  Trenton,  N.  J. 


SYLVESTER  H.   SMITH. 

Sylvester  H.  Smith  was  born  in  Franklin  township, 
Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  July  14,  1821.  He  is  a  son  of 
David  and  Mary  (Wyckoff)  Smith,  the  oldest  of 
twelve  children,— five  sons  and  seven  daughters,— all 
living. 

Mr.  Smith  lived  on  a  farm  till  he  was  twenty  years 
of  age,  when  his  father  hired  him  to  George  Painter, 
of  Asbury,  to  learn  the  milling  business.  This  was 
in  1840.  He  remained  at  Asbury,  engaged  in  mill- 
ing till  1843,  in  the  spring  of  which  year  he  went  to 
Waterloo,  Sussex  Co.,  and  engaged  in  the  same  occu- 
pation there,  remaining  till  the  fall,  when  he  re- 


HOWARD  SERVIS,  M.D. 
Howard  Servis,  M.D.,  was  born  Oct.  6,  1829,  near 
Ringos,  N.  J.  His  father  was  Gerret  Servis,  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Hunterdon  County,  who  was  for  three 
years  sheriff,  was  twice  elected  to  the  New  Jersey 
Legislature,  and  for  several  years  was  postmaster  at 
Clinton.  His  mother  was  Susan  Stout  Servis,  a  grand- 
daughter of  John  Hart,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  De- 
claration of  Independence.  Dr.  Servis  was  educated 
solely  by  his  father.  He  studied  medicine  with  Dr. 
Charles  C.  Phillips,  of  Deerfield,  Cumberland  Co.,  N.  J. 


468 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


In  1856  lie  entered  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  Being  over  twenty-one 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  matriculation,  he  was 
required  to  take  but  two  terms,  and  in  1858  received 
his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 


f-^-t^-fi^ 


d     -^^^-^^    ^.   M 


He  at  once  established  himself  at  Fairmount,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  N.  J.,  and  soon  built  up  an  extensive 
practice.  With  unusual  professional  ardor,  he  deter- 
mined, after  having  been  in  active  practice  two  years, 
to  resume  his  academic  studies,  and  he  accordingly, 
in  the  winter  of  1860,  attended  a  special  course  of 
lectures  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  re- 
turned to  Fairmount,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  he  re- 
moved to  New  Hampton,  and  succeeded  to  the  prac- 
tice of  Dr.  McLenahan,  a  prominent  physician,  at 
■whose  request  Dr.  Servis  made  the  change.  With 
such  indorsement,  he  succeeded  to  the  full  practice  of 
Dr.  McLenahan,  and  has  since  won  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  community  in  which  he  resides,  both 
as  a  useful  citizen  and  as  an  eminently  successful  phy- 
sician and  surgeon. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of 
Hunterdon  County. 

He  was  married,  June  12, 1867,  to  Belinda,  daughter 
of  Philip  Johnston,  Esq.,  of  Washington,  N.  J. 


SAMUEL    CRBVELING. 
The  late  Samuel  Creveliug,  of  Asbury,  was  born  in 
Bethlehem  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  6, 
1796,  and  died  March  15,  1880.     He  married  Abigail 


Warne,  Sept.  20,  1820.  She  was  born  July  27,  1800, 
and  died  March  8,  1863.  Their  children  were  Elisha 
W.,  born  Dec.  11,  1821,  married  Mehitable  Stryker, 
Dec.  11,  1840;  Jacob,  born  Nov.  4,  1823;  Susan, 
born  June  19,  1826,  married  Charles  S.  Carpenter, 
Got.  15,  1845  ;  Samuel,  born  Aug.  14,  1828,  married 
Emma  0.  Boyer,  Dec.  23,  1858 ;  Eachel  Ann,  born 
Sept.  14,  1830,  married  William  A.  Young,  Sept.  14, 
1852;  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  July  3,  1834;  Sarah 
Ellen,  born  Sept.  2,  1837,  died  Jan.  8,  1867 ;  Emma 
W.,  born  Feb.  29,  1840,  married  Dr.  Frederick  P. 
Shepherd,  Jan.  1,  1867;  Jane  W.,  born  Feb.  16, 
1843,  married  Charles  W.  Opdyke,  Feb.  27,  1862. 

Mr.  Creveling  was  a  well-known  citizen.  He  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  a  farmer,  residing  on  the  old 
homestead  near  Valley  Station.  The  latter  part  of 
his  life  he  lived  retired  in  the  village  of  Asbury,  su- 
perintending the  interest  of  his  farms.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  many  years, 
was  a  man  of  integrity  of  character  and  exem- 
plary life,  very  liberal  in  support  of  churches.  He 
was  also  very  strong  and  decided  in  his  political 
views,  being  a  staunch  Republican  and  a  warm 
friend  and  supporter  of  the  principles  of  that  party. 
He  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  being  in  his  eighty- 
fourth  year  at  the  time  of  his  death. 


JOHN   0.   WENB. 

John  C.  Wene  was  born  in  Bethlehem  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Sept.  20,  1809.  He  is  a  son  of 
Paul  and  Elizabeth  (Cregar)  Wene.  At  the  age  of 
eight  years  he  went  to  live  with  his  grandfather 
Cregar ;  lived  there  until  he  was  thirteen ;  then  hired 
out  to  Ichabod  Lee,  of  Bethlehem,  for  whom  he 
worked  till  twenty  years  of  age.  The  last  year  of  his 
minority  his  father  gave  him  his  time,  and  he  earned 
eighty-five  dollars,  out  of  which  he  saved  forty.  He 
then  came  with  his  brother  Conrad  to  the  mountain, 
and  they  together  purchased  the  adjoining  farm,  where 
his  brother  now  lives.  After  working  here  one  year 
he  was  induced  to  relinquish  his  interest  in  this  farm 
and  take  the  Bigler  farm,  adjoining,  to  work  upon 
shares.  He  has  ever  since  lived  upon  this  farm, 
having,  on  the  3d  of  September,  1859,  married  a 
granddaughter  of  Mr.  Bigler,  Miss  Elizabeth  Mat- 
thews. 

Mr.  Wene  has  been  an  industrious  and  persistent 
worker  and  a  good  manager,  and  by  prudence  and 
economy  has  saved  a  handsome  competence.  From  a 
boy  of  eight  years  of  age  he  has  depended  upon  his 
own  exertions,  and  had  little  or  no  schooling  except 
what  he  procured  for  himself  after  he  was  twenty-one. 
Yet  he  has  achieved  success,  not  only  in  a  pecuniary 
point  of  view  but  in  the  maintenance  of  a  character 
for  integrity  and  liberality.  He  has  been  for  about 
forty  years  a  member  of  the  Bethlehem  Baptist 
Church,  and  is   one  of  the  largest   contributors   to 


SAMUEL  CEEVELING,  SE. 


SAMUEL   CREVELING,   Jr. 


Samuel  Creveling,  Jr.,  son  of  Samuel  Creve- 
Img,  Sr.,  and  Abigail  (Warne)  Creveling,  was 
born  in  Bethlehem  township,  Hunterdon  Co., 
N.  J.,  Aug.  14,  1828,  and  died  Aug.  19,  1875. 
He  was  brought  up  to  the  occupation  of  a 
farmer,  and  received  his  education  at  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  neighborhood.  He  mar- 
ried, Dec.  23,  1858,  Emma  C,  daughter  of 
David  and  Lydia  (Shimer)  Boyer,  born  in 
Franklin  township,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.  The 
fruit  of  this  marriage  has  been  eight  children, 
as  follows:  infant  daughter,  born  Jan.  9,  1860; 
Harry  J.,  born  April  19,  1861,  died  Sept.  20, 
1862;  Jennie,  born  Jan.  26,  1863;  George  B., 


born  Jan.  23,  1865,  lives  at  home;  Julia,  born 
Jan.  11,  1869;  Charles,  born  Sept.  20,  1870, 
died  Oct.  9,  1870;  Annie,  born  Sept.  20,  1870; 
Luie,  born  May  28,  1874,  died  Aug.  15,  1880. 
Mr.  Creveling  was  a  staunch  Republican, 
and  took  an  active  part  in  the  political  affairs  of 
his  party,  being  a  frequent  delegate  to  conven- 
tions, and  an  earnest  and  indefatigable  worker 
in  behalf  of  the  principles  he  so  highly  valued. 
He  had  a  high  reputation  for  honor  and  integ- 
rity ;  was  a  faithful  and  affectionate  husband,  a 
kind  and  indulgent  father,  and  a  true  friend. 
His  death  was  much  lamented  by  a  large  circle 
of  friends. 


The  ancestors  of  Dr.  Creveling  came  from  Holland ,  and 
were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in  the  Musconetcong  Val- 
ley. The  following  is  a  record  of  the  first  couple  who 
settled  there  and  their  children:  Johannes  Creveling, 
born  Jan.  6, 1706 ;  Catharine,  his  wife,  born  July  12, 1710, 
married,  Sept.  6, 1737,  by  Johannes  Casprivis  Everhartus, 
minister  in  Bannioxcein.  Their  residence  is  given  as 
Woverlingen,  Holland.  Johannes  Creveling  died  Jan. 
20, 1782.  The  children  of  this  couple  were :  William ,  born 
Feb.  14,  1739,  married,  Jan.  28,  1762,  to  Catharine  Wel- 
ler,  by  Charles  Huff,  Esq. ;  Mary,  born  April  24,  1740, 
married,  Jan.  28,  1762,  to  Henry  Strader,  by  Charles 
Huff,  Esq.  ;  Henry,  born  Nov.  6,  1741,  married,  July  1, 
1770,  to  Sarah  Weller,  by  Thomas  Van  Home,  Esq. ; 
Andrew,  born  Feb.  28,  1743,  married,  June  18,  1771,  to 
Margaret  Patrick,  by  Minister  McHannah ;  Johannes, 
born  Feb.  22,  1745,  married,  Feb.  8,  1776,  to  Mary 
Knowles,  by  Mr.  Stright ;  Margaret,  born  Sept.  31, 
1747,  married,  March  30,  1763,  to  David  Beer,  by  Mr. 
Rosebrook,  minister ;  Christiana,  born  Sept.  30,  1749, 
married,  Nov.  29,  1769,  to  Jacob  .Weller,  by  Thomas 
Van  Home,  Esq.;  Peter,  born  Feb.  22,  1753;  Jacob, 
born  March  25,  1755  ;  Anne,  born  March  10,  1758,  mar- 
ried, Dec.  13,  1778,  to  John  Brinkerhoff,  by  Joseph 
Treate. 

Jacob  Creveling,  tenth  child  of  Johannes  and  Catha- 
rine, was  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  William  S.  Creveling. 
His  father  was  William  H.,  youngest  son  of  Jacob 
Creveling,  born  July  31,  1801,  and  married  Mary  Bar- 
ber. He  lived  in  the  Musconetcong  Valley,  on  the  farm 
cleared  by  his  grandfather  Johannes,  and  had  twelve 
children,  nine  of  whom  are  living;  their  names  are  as 
follows:  John  J.,  now  living  at  Bloomsbury,  N.  J.; 
Christiana,  deceased  ;  Jacob,  residing  in  the  city  of  New 


York;  Elizabeth,  deceased,  wife  of  John  Hunt;  Wil- 
liam S.,  M.D.,  of  West  End,  Bethlehem  township, 
Hunterdon  Co.  ;  George,  now  living  in  Washington, 
D.  C. ;  Francelia,  wife  of  Dr.  William  Little,  of 
Bloomsbury,  N.  J. ;  Charlotte  V.,  wife  of  A.  York 
Smith,  residing  at  Hazleton,  Pa.  ;  and  Isabella,  wife  of 
George  W.  Scott,  of  Bloomsbury,  N.  J. 

William  Sloan  Creveling  was  born  at  West  End, 
Bethlehem  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J,,  Nov.  21, 
1829.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  and  received  a 
good  English  education,  reading  in  the  classics  and 
studying  medicine  with  Dr.  John  Blane,  of  Perryville, 
Hunterdon  Co.  He  commenced  his  medical  studies  in 
1846,  and  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  at 
the  University  of  New  York  in  1851.  After  practicing 
one  year  with  his  preceptor,  in  the  spring  of  1852  he 
moved  to  the  village  of  Stanton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  where 
he  remained,  pursuing  a  successful  professional  career, 
for  twenty-two  years,  and  attaining  a  high  reputation 
as  a  physician.  In  1874  he  removed  to  West  End,  or 
Bethlehem  Village,  where  he  still  follows  his  profession 
with  the  same  ardor  and  success. 

Dr.  Creveling  is  a,  member  of  the  State  Medical 
Society,  and  holds  a  practitioner's  license  from  that 
body.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  District  Medical 
Society  of  Hunterdon  County,  of  which  he  has  several 
times  been  president  and  a  delegate  to  other  important 
medical  bodies. 

He  married,  Jan.  2,  1854,  Thisby  M.,  daughter  of  the 
late  John  S.  Britton,  of  Hunterdon  County.  They 
have  two  children,— Martha,  born  Sept.  8,  1855,  wife 
of  Dr.  Albert  S.  Shannon,  successor  of  Dr.  Creveling 
at  Stanton,  N.  J.,  and  Mary,  single  and  living  at 
home. 


MAETIN    H.    CEEVELING. 


Martin  H.  Creveling  was  born  June  2,  1812,  I 
on  the  place  where  his  life  was  spent,  near  the 
village  of  BetHehenci,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J., 
where  he  died  April  24,  1878.  He  was  a  son 
of  Peter  and  Delilah  (Farrell)  Creveling;  was 
educated  at  the  common  schools,  and  followed 
the  occupation  of  a  farmer  all  his  life. 

He  inherited  a  part  of  his  father's  estate,  on 
which  he  was  born,  and  purchased  a  portion 
from  the  other  heirs,  leaving  to  his-  widow 
and  children  who  survive  him  a  comfortable 
competence. 

He  married,  Dec.  24,  1840,  Hannah  Ann 
Alpaugh,    daughter   of   Charles    Alpaugh,   of 


Alexandria  township.  They  have  had  four 
children, — three  sons  and  one  daughter,  all 
living, — viz..  Agues,  James  L.,  Alfred  G.,  and 
Charles  O.  All  except  Alfred  G.  reside  at 
home;  he  married  Julia  J.  Smith,  and  lives  at 
Bloomsburj^,  N.  J. 

Mr.  Creveling  was  a  man  of  upright  and  un- 
blemished character,  and  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  Although  in  feeble  health  for 
some  time,  his  death  was  quite  unexpected.  He 
died  suddenly,  of  pneumonia,  in  three  days  from 
the  time  when  he  was  taken  seriously  Ul.  His 
memory  will  be  cherished  by  many  friends 
and  relatives. 


^-^-^   -^ 


BETHLEHEM. 


469 


its  support  and  to  missionary  and  other  incidental 
interests. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  held  sev- 
eral responsible  offices  in  his  township,  such  as  a 
member  of  the  committee,  collector,  etc. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wene  have  three  children,  one  son 
and  two  daughters, — viz.,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Henry 
Laity,  foreman  of  the  Swayze  mines,  Margaret,  and 
John  Wene.  

DAVID   F.   WENE.« 

His  grandfather,  Conrad  Wene,  lived  in  Tewksbury 

township,  and  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war.    Later 

in  life  he  lived  at  Quakertown,  where  he  attained  the 

remarkable  age  of  one  hundred  and  one  years.    He 


time  of  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Dalrymple,  in  May, 
1837.  He  was  saving,  prudent,  and  industrious,  and 
has  well  realized  the  reward  of  his  virtues.  After  his 
marriage  he  settled  in  Bloomsbury  and  bought  prop- 
erty largely  in  the  village,  much  of  which  he  still 
owns,  although  he  has  missed  few  opportunities  to  dis- 
pose of  a  piece  of  property  profitably. 

He  followed  the  business  of  a  carpenter  and  under- 
taker till  1872,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  the 
lumber  business,  owning  a  saw-mill  at  Bloomsbury 
and  a  farm  near  the  village.  He  has  ten  acres  in 
Warren  County  which  he  has  been  fitting  up  for  a 
cemetery. 

Mr.  Wene  has  been  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
Greenwich  Presbyterian  Church. 


-^^^^^^^^^ 


was  buried  at  LebanoiPcteriS^'  His  third  son,  Peter 
Wene,  father  of  Dar^f^-  5t^  nramed  Folly  De  Forest, 
served  in  the  war'of^l^t^W/Sad  nine  children,  five 
sons  and  four  datS^Mfesf,  fhree  of  whom — viz.,  Mary, 
wife  of  Aaron  Rofff  of  New  Germantown;  Sarah,  wife 
of  John  Stakle,  of  Bucks  Co.,  Pa. :  and  David  F.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch — are  living. 

David  F.  Wene  was  born  in  Lebanon  township, 
N.  J.,  April  8,  1806.  He  went  to  Tewksbury  town- 
ship, where  his  mother  died  when  he  was  eleven 
years  old,  and  he  was  bound  out  to  Kasper  B.  Wyc- 
kofi",  in  Eeadington,  and  remained  there  till  he  was  of 
age,  working  on  a  farm.  After  arriving  at  his  ma- 
jority, he  did  farm -work,  made  brick,  etc.,  up  to  the 

*  Or  Wean. 


JOSEPH  W.  WILLEVBR. 
Joseph  W.  Willever  was  born  Nov.  20,  1820,  on  the 
farm  adjoining  the  place  where  he  now  resides,  being 
part  of  the  original  homestead,  in  Bethlehem  town- 
ship, Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  The  estate  has  been  more 
than  one  hundred  years  in  the  family.  It  belonged 
first  to  the  Conover  (originally  Covenhoven)  fainily, 
one  of  whom,  Sarah,  married  James  Eckman,  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
His  grandfather  Eckman  being  one  of  the  heirs,  the. 
property  came  into  the  Willever  family  partly  in  this 
way  and  partly  by  purchase  by  Mr.  Eckman  of  the 
other  heirs. 

The  Willevers  from  whom  he  is  descended  lived 
many  generations  ago  in  Greenwich  (now  Franklin) 
township,  Warren  Co.,  where  his  great-grandfather, 
Adam  Willever,  was  the  original  proprietor  of  a 
large  tract  of  land,  and  had  also  a  large  tract  near 
Jerseytown,  Pa.  This  land  was  divided  among  his 
six  sons,  three  of  whom  settled  on  the  estate  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  three — viz.,  Joseph,  Peter,  and 
Phillip — on  that  in  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.  Joseph  was 
the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch.  He 
lived  and  died  on  the  old  homestead  in  Warren 
County,  having  married  a  Miss  Kinneman  and  raised 
a  family  of  three  children, — two  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter,— viz.,  Adam,  Peter,  and  Barbara. 

Peter,  the  second  son,  was  the  father  of  the  present 
Mr.  Willever.  He  was  born  and  reared  in  Warren 
County,  and  Jived  there  till  his  marriage  to  Hannah 
Eckma%  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah  (Conover) 
Eckman,  above  referred  to ;  and  after  his  marriage 
came  to  live  with  his  father-in-law  on  the  Eckman, 
now  the  Willever  estate,  in  Bethlehem  township.  He 
was  active  in  town  afiairs,  especially  in  the  militia, 
in  which  he  held  at  difi'erent  times  the  positions  of 
captain  and  major.  He  died  in  1835,  leaving  two 
sons,  Joseph  W.  and  James;  the  latter  now  owns 
the  original  homestettd,  but  resides  at  Bloomsbury, 

N.J. 

Joseph  W.  Willever  was  brought  up  on  the  old 
homestead  and  bred  to  the  occupation  of  a  farmer ; 


JV--*■'•^^, 


470 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


received  his  education  at  the  common  schools ;  has 
been  an  indefatigable  worker,  carrying  on  a  large 
farm,  remodeling  everything  upon  the  premises,  and 
erecting  buildings  which  no  farmer  would  be  ashamed 
to  pattern  after,  for  their  appearance,  convenience,  and 
durability.  He  is  living  in  the  third  house  erected 
upon  the  same  foundation,  probably  laid  more  than  a 
hundred  years  ago  by  John  Beamer,  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, who  came  here  before  the  Conovers  and  erected 
a  stone  house.  That  house  was  torn  down  by  Mr. 
Willever  and  a  frame  one  erected  upon  the  same 
foundation ;  the  latter  was  burned  down  and  another 
built,  which  was  also  destroyed  by  fire,  and  was  re- 
placed by  the  present  brick  residence  in  1859. 

Mr.  Willever  married.  May  19,  1842,  Elizabeth  W., 
daughter  of  James  Horner,  of  Northampton,  Pa. 
They  have  had  eight  cliildren,  five  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing,— viz.,  James  H.,  Hannah  M.,  deceased ;  Jane 
Alice,  deceased  ;  Kobert  M.,  George  W.,  Willard  0., 
deceased ;  Stephen  A.  D.,  and  Anna  E.  James  H. 
was  educated  at  the  Delaware  Literary  Institute,  at 
Franklin,  Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y.  Eobert  M.  and  George 
W.  were  prepared  for  business  at  Eastman's  Com- 
mercial College,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  Stephen  A. 
D.  is  studying  medicine  in  Philadelphia.  Anna  E. 
was  educated  at  the  Moravian  Seminary,  in  Bethle- 
hem, Pa. 

In  politics  Mr.  Willever  is  a  Democrat,  and  has 
held  several  local  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility, 
having  been  justice  of  the  peace  and  a  member  of 
the  Legislature  for  two  years, — 1855  and  1856.  He 
has  been  for  some  fifteen  years  a  director  in  the 
Readington  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Bloomsbury. 


WILLIAM    TINSMAN. 


The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Tinsman  formerly  resided 
across  the  line  from  the  present  homestead,  in  Green- 
wich (now  Franklin)  township,  Warren  Co.,  and  sub- 
sequently removed  to  Kingwood,  Hunterdon  Co., 
where  he  settled  on  a  farm  and  lived  there  till  his 
death.  William  Tinsman,  Sr.,  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  and  brought  up  in 
Franklin  township,  Warren  Co.,  and  in  1838  moved 
across  the  line  into  Bethlehem  township  and  settled 
on  the  place  where  his  son  now  resides.  It  is  a  beau- 
tiful situation,  in  the  rich  valley  between  West  End, 
or  Bethlehem  village,  and  Bloomsbury,  within  sight 
of  both  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  Central  Eailroad  of 
New  Jersey. 

William  Tinsman,  Sr.,  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
John  Fine,  of  Fineville,  N.  J.,  and  had  children, — 
John,  William,  Sally,  Catharine,  Margaret,  Elizabeth, 
Mary,  and  Emily.  Only  #wo  "of  these  are  living  at 
this  writing, — to  wit,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Abraham 
Hance,  of  Blobins'bury,  and  William,  the  subject  ot 
our  sketch. 


William  Tinsman  was  horn  in  Greenwich  (now 
Franklin)  township,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  May  1,  1811. 
He  married,  while  living  in  Warren  County,  Eachel, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  Gardner,  in  1839. 


They  have  had  children,  as  follows :  Mary,  wife  of 
Charles  Alpaugh,  of  Bloomsbury ;  Theodore,  who 
married  Anna  Smith  and  lives  in  Bloomsbuiy ;  Eliz- 
abeth, wife  of  Joseph  B.  Emery,  living  on  the  farm 
with  Mr.  Tinsman ;  and  Margaret,  wife  of  William  S. 
White,  a  keeper  of  lighthouse  in  Salem  Co.,  N.  J. 

Mr.  Tinsman  inherited  part  of  his  estate  from  his 
father  and  purchased  the  rest  of  the  heirs.  He  has 
been  justice  of  the  peace  several  years,  and  has  held 
nearly  all  the  responsible  offices  in  his  township,  has 
been  county  collector,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Leg- 
islature in  1851-52.  He  was  elected  on  the  Dem- 
ocratic ticket,  of  which  party  he  has  always  been  a 
staunch  supporter,  and  an  active  worker  in  many  of 
its  conventions. 

In  his  ecclesiastical  relations  he  was  first  connected 
with  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  represented  it  in  the 
General  Synod.  Since  his  settlement  here  he  has 
joined  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bloomsbury,  in 
which  he  is  an  elder.  He  has  represented  this  church 
m  the  Presbytery,  Synod,  and  General  Assembly,  and 
was  elected  to  represent  it  in  the  Synod  convened  at 
Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  in  October,  1880,  but  his  health 
would  not  admit  of  his  attending.  He  is  a  liberal 
giver  to  charitable  and  church  enterprises. 


Xl^    ^   y^My^ 


ResiDLNCEor  JOSEPH    W.  Wl  LLEYFR,  BethlchemJp.,  Hu  ntekdon  Co  NJ 


f\EsiDENCE  or  W.H  DRAKE,  Bethlehem  Jp    Hlntcpdon   Co,  N.J. 


The  great-grandfather  of  W.  R.  Little  came 
from  Europe,  and  settled  in  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  in 
1710.  He  had  a  son,  Roger,  who  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolution,  although  a  Quaker,  being  forced 
into  the  service  on  account  of  his  value  as  a 
scout.  He  settled  after  the  war  in  Charlestown, 
Chester  Co.,  Pa. ;  was  twice  married,  and  had 
five  children  by  his  second  wife,  of  whom  Wil- 
liam, the  father  of  Dr.  Little,  was  the  third, 
and  was  born  in  the  year  1800.  He  lived 
on  the  homestead  property  till  1857,  when  he 
moved  to  East  Bradford,  Chester  Co.,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  died  there, 
in  1879,  in  his  seventy-ninth  year.  He  never 
would  accept  any  public  office,  although  nomi- 
nated for  the  Legislature  with  a  good  chance  of 
election,  being  a  staunch  Republican.  He  fol- 
lowed farming  through  life.  In  1833  he  married 
Ann  Chrisman,  by  whom  he  had  four  children 
who  arrived  at  mature  age,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters, — viz.,  George  Little,  who  lives  on 
the  homestead  property ;  Martha,  wife  of  Samuel 
Fetters,  of  Glenloch,  Chester  Co.,  Pa. ;  Mary 


J.,  who  died  in  young  womanhood ;  and  Wil- 
liam R.,  the  subject  of  this  notice. 

William  R.  Little  was  born  in  Charlestown 
township,  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  Oct.  27,  1850.  He 
was  brought  up  there,  and  received  his  rudi- 
mentary education  at  the  common  schools ;  was 
prepared  for  college  at  Litiz  Academy,  in  Lan- 
caster Co.,  Pa.,  and  graduated  at  Lafayette 
College,  Easton,  in  1873.  Two  years  later  he 
entered  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania  at  Pliiladelphia,  and  re- 
ceived his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in 
1877.  He  immediately  settled  in  Bloomsbury, 
N.  J.,  where  he  has  remained  ever  since,  acquir- 
ing a  large  practice  and  a  good  reputation  as  a 
physician.  In  addition  to  his  practice  he  is  also 
proprietor  of  a  drug-store  in  Bloomsbury. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society 
and  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunter- 
don County. 

He  married,  April  5,  1878,  Celia,  daughter 
of  William  H.  Creveling,  of  Hunterdon  County, 
and  has  one  son,  William  D.  Little. 


^^/l^uJ-^t^-Z-   u^^  <^ySirtff^^, 


Moses'  great-grandfather,  Jonathan  Robins, 
settled  in  Alexandria  township,  adjoining  the 
"Old  Hickory  Tavern,"  in  1751,  and  bought 
land  of"  one  Widow  Merrill."  The  original  es- 
tate contained  two  hundred  and  eighty-live  acres 
of  land.  He  had  two  sons,  Jonathan  and  Isaac, 
and  four  daughters,  the  former  being  the  grand- 
father of  Moses  Robins.  He  lived  and  reared 
a  large  family  on  the  old  estate.  One  of  his 
sons,  Jonathan,  the  third  of  that  name,  was  the 
father  of  our  subject.  This  Jonathan  married 
Widow  Charity  Lawshe,  and  had  by  her  nine 
children.  George,  James,  and  Ephraim,  of  the 
sons,  are  deceased,  and  one  of  the  daughters, 
Mary,  is  deceased;  those  living  are  Moses, 
Jonas,  Sylvester,  Sarah,  and  Elizabeth.  Jonas 
married  Sarah  Jane  Case,  and  lives  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Alexandria;  Sylvester  married  Isa- 
bella Bird,  and  lives  in  Branchburg  township, 
Somerset  Co.;  Sarah  married  James  Sidders, 
and  lives  near  Urbana,  Ohio;  Elizabeth  mar- 
ried, fir.st,  Reuben  R.  Wright,  deceased,  and 
second,  Jonas  Tharp ;  they  live  in  Union  town- 
ship adjoining  tiie  original  homestead. 

Jonathan  Robins,  the  father,  bought  out  the 
heirs  and  owned  most  of  the  old  homestead 
tract;  and  after  his  marriage  to  Widow  Lawshe 
purchased  the  other  homestead  in  Union  town- 
ship, where  he  died  Dec.  12,  1872,  and  was 
buried  on  the  original  place.  His  wife  died 
March  25,  1859,  aged  sixty-two  years,  ten 
months,  and  twenty-four  days. 


Moses  Robins  was  born  in  Bethlehem  (now 
Union)  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Sept. 
3,  1826.  He  was  brought  up  on  the  place,  and 
lived  there  till  twenty-three  years  of  age.  Oct. 
25,  1849,  he  married  Susan  M.  Kels,  daughter 
of  Henry  Kels,  of  Alexandria,  and  has  had 
children  as  follows :  Lucy  E.,  born  Sept.  2, 
1850,  married  James  A.  Creveling,  Feb.  13, 
1875;  Sarah  E.,  born  May  21, 1853,  died  July 
14,  1857;  George,  born  Aug.  12,  1854,  died 
Nov.  7,  1855;  Sylvester,  born  April  19,  1856, 
lives  at  home;  Mary  A.,  born  Nov.  22,  1857; 
Charity  E.,  born  July  30, 1859;  Henry  K.,  born 
July  1,  1861 ;  John  L.,  born  Oct.  22,  1862, 
died  June  23, 1863;  Anna,  born  Nov.  11, 1864, 
died  Jan.  11,  1873;  Jonathan  E.,  born  Oct.  13, 
1866  ;  Isabella,  born  Aug.  2,  1870. 

Mr.  Robins  moved  to  the  farm  he  now  occu- 
pies in  1853.  It  was  purchased  by  his  father 
of  Adam  D.  Runkle.  He  has  made  great  im- 
provements on  the  place,  both  in  buildings  and 
culture,  and  it  is  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  this 
section  of  New  Jersey. 

He  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  his  town 
in  several  responsible  offices.  Was  nominated 
and  ran  as  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature  in 
1877,  but  was  defeated,  although  running  ahead 
of  his  ticket.  He  has  been  commissioner  of 
deeds  several  years,  school  trustee,  and  district 
clerk.  He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Bloomsbury,  and  he  is 
an  elder  in  that  body. 


TEWKSBURY. 


This  townsliip  is  situated  in  the  nortlieast  corner 
of  the  county,  and  is  bounded  north  by  Morris 
County ;  east  by  Somerset  County  and  Keadington 
township;  south  by  Eeadington  and  Clinton  town- 
ships ;  west  by  High  Bridge  and  Lebanon.  It  com- 
prises 35.82  square  miles,  or  22,925  acres.  By  the 
census  of  1880,  it  has  189  farms  and  a  population  of 
2108. 

NATURAL   FEATURES. 

The  township  is  traversed  by  a  range  of  high  and 
rolling  land  called  Fox  Hill,  after  one  of  the  early 
proprietors.  It  constitutes  a  considerable  portion  of 
its  area,  and  ranges  generally  northeast  and  south- 
west, reaching  from  Pottersville  to  Cokesburg,  and 
from  the  Morris  county  line  to  within  a  mile  of 
New  Germantown.  A  rich  limestone  valley  south  of 
this  covers  most  of  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
township. 

A  little  over  half  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  township 
is  washed  by  the  Lamington  River,  and  the  northern 
half  of  its  west  side  by  the  South  Branch  of  the  Eari- 
tan,  both  of  which  fiirnish  splendid  water-powers  at 
Pottersville  and  Califon.  A  small  branch  of  the 
latter  cuts  across  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township 
and  empties  at  Califon. 

The  north  branch  of  the  Eockaway  Creek  rises  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  township  in  three  branches, 
which  meet  at  Mountainville,  and  runs  thence  south- 
eastwardly  across  the  southern  part  of  the  township, 
and  for  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  its  southern 
boundary.  It  furnishes  water-powers  at  Fairmount, 
Mountainville,  and  to  a  mill  below  Mountainville. 
Cold  Brook  furnishes  water-power  for  the  mill  at  New 
Oermantown. 

The  whole  township  is  a  fine  farming  region,  and 
most  of  it  is  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  Numerous 
hme-Mlns  indicate  the  source  of  fertility  of  the  land. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 
The  earliest  settlement  in  Tewksbury  was  made 
about  1700,*  where  New  Germantown  now  is.  It 
was  originally  composed  of  English  people,  Ealph 
Smith  being  the  leader  and  becoming  the  most  im- 
portant landowner.  The  town  was  first  called,  after 
him,  "Smithfield."  He  resided  in  a  house — stand- 
ing probably  where  Peter  W.  Melick  now  lives — 
rebuilt  and  known  after  his  time  as  Barnet  Hall.  He 
may  have  been  an  ancestor  of  the  numerous  Smith 
femily  hereabouts.    He  appears  to  have  had  a  church 

*  Col.  E.  E.  Honeyman  in  "  Our  Home,"  p.  117. 


building  erected,  which  he  sold  to  the  Lutheran  so- 
ciety in  1749.  -He  also  sold  the  lots  opposite  the 
church,  on  the  south  side  of  Church  Street,  from  Main 
Street  east.  His  name  appears  in  the  managing  com- 
mittee of  the  Lamington  Church  in  1749.t  Other 
English  names  appear  in  that  early  time, — Johnson, 
Thompson,  Cole,  Plat,  Ireland,  Carlisle, — but  they 
disappear  again.  James  Cole  appears  as  the  purchaser 
of  a  lot  corner  of  Main  and  Church  Streets  in  1761, 
though  he  came  from  Boston  in  1734  with  a  family, 
having  left  one  child  "  buried  at  the  east  end  of  the 
old  English  church  in  Boston  in  1728."  He  had  thir- 
teen children. 

Mrs.  Ireland  lived  on  the  lot  next  north  of  that  now 
occupied  by  Mr.  J.  Bosenbury,  but  which  was  probably 
owned  by  John  Carlisle.!  Thomas  Holme  appears  as 
the  owner  of  the  next  lot  north,  and  he  and  John  Fleet 
as  the  owners  of  the  corner  of  Main  and  Church 
Streets,  where  the  tavern  now  stands.  These  names 
all  disappear,  and  their  places  are  taken  by  those  of 
German  settlers  who  came  in  soon  after. 

"  It  was  in  1705  that  a  number  of  German  Reformed 
people  residing  between  two  cities  in  Germany,  called 
Wolfenbeutel  and  Halberstadt,  driven  by  persecution, 
fled  first  to  Neuwird,  in  Ehenish  Prussia,  and' then 
to  Holland,  where;  two  years  later,  in  1707,  they  em- 
barked for  New  York,  but  by  adverse  winds  their 
frail  ship  was  carried  into  Delaware  Bay.  Deter- 
mined, however,  still  to  reach  the  place  for  which 
they  were  destined,  to  have  a  home  among  the  Dutch, 
they  set  off  from  Philadelphia  by  the  overland  route 
to  New  York."g 

Following  the  Old  York  Road,  they  were  led  to 
Hunterdon  County,  and  a  portion  of  them  ultimately 
to  Tewksbury  township,  where  they  settled,  and 
where  the  present  inhabitants  are  largely  their  de- 
scendants. The  old  family  names  of  Pickel,  Welsh, 
Apgar,  Farley,  Alpaugh,  Philhower,  Melick,  Hoff- 
man, Einehart,  etc.,  come  down  from  these. 

Mindurt  Farley  was  in  all  probability  one  of  these 
first  immigrants.  He  was  the  first  settler  in  Cokesburg 
in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  and  bought  about 
200  acres  of  land  where  Oliver  W.  Farley  now  lives. 
He  had  five  sons — Caleb,  Isaac,  John,  Mindurt,  and 
Joshua — and  two  daughters, — Margaret  and  Mary. 
Margaret  married  Abraham  Pickel ;   Mary,  Conrad 


f  Dr.  W.  W.  Blauvelt's  Bennon  ou  hiatory  of  LamiDgton  Church,  quoted 
in  "  Our  Home,"  p.  169. 
t  Col.  Honeyman  in  ^'  Our  Home,"  p.  119. 
g  Sermon  of  Kev.  Mr.  Wack,  in  "  Our  Home,"  p.  389. 

471 


472 


HUNTEEDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Apgar.  Mindurt  had  three  children, — Dr.  Francis 
Asbury  Farley,  who  was  a  man  of  some  peculiarities, 
and  lived  where  William  Farley  now  lives ;  Anthony, 
who  married  a  Miss  McCullough ;  and  Barbara,  who 
married  a  Mr.  Kennedy.  Anthony  had  two  sons — • 
William  and  Mindurt,  the  latter  a  lawyer  of  some 
distinction — and  three  daughters.  Barbara  Kennedy's 
daughter  Catharine  married  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  a  Meth- 
odist minister,  and  her  son  Archibald  is  a  lawyer  of 
Jersey  City. 

Joshua  Farley,  born  in  1769,  married  Miss  Sutton, 
daughter  of  Aaron  Sutton,  another  of  the  first  settlers, 
and  had  ten  children, — Aaron,  Mindurt  (3),  Oliver  W., 
Mercy,  Elizabeth,  Hannah,  Huldah,  Mary,  Charlotte, 
and  Barbara.  Mercy  married  Charles  Wolverton ; 
Elizabeth,  William  Wolverton ;  Hannah,  David  Ulp  ; 
Huldah,  Samuel  I.  Houseworth ;  Mary,  John  Wol- 
verton ;  Charlotte,  Jesse  Eeed ;  Barbara,  Eichard 
Wolverton.  The  six  last  named  removed  to  Penn- 
sylvania. Oliver  W.  lives  on  the  old  homestead,  and 
his  children,  and  those  of  Mercy  and  his  brother's,  were 
brought  up  at  Cokesburg.   His  wife  was  Anna  Apgar. 

Jacob  Apgar  (1)  came  from  Germany,  and  had  nine 
sons,  —  Peter,  Herbert,  Adam,  Frederick,  Caspar, 
John,  Jacob,  Matthias,  and  Conrad.  Jacob  came  to 
Cokesburg,  and  bought  land  half  a  mile  northwest  of 
the  town.  He  married  Charity  Pickel,  and  had  twelve 
children, — Anna,  Sophia,  Effie,  Sallie,  Catharine, 
Frederick,  Conrad,  Nicholas,  Adam,  Jacob,  Caspar, 
and  Matthias.  Most  of  them  lived  around  Cokes- 
burg. Sallie  and  Jacob  went  West;  Anna  married 
Herman  Henry ;  Sophia,  Charles  McKagin ;  Effie, 
John  Melick ;  Sallie,  McCloskey  Skureman ;  Cath- 
arine, George  Cramer;  Frederick,  Eve  Hoffman,  in 
1790  or  1791.  Nicholas  had  eight  children, — Jacob, 
Peter,  Abraham,  Elizabeth,  Charity,  Catharine,  Anna, 
and  Martha.  Jacob  lived  on  Fox  Hill,  the  rest  about 
Cokesburg. 

Frederick,  who  married  Eve  Hoffman,  had  eight 
children, — Jacob  (3),  Conrad,  Anna,  Nicholas,  Freder- 
ick, Charity,  Sallie,  and  Mary.  Conrad,  born  1800, 
married  Mary  Apgar ;  Anna,  1794,  George  Hoffman ; 
Nicholas,  1803,  Delilah  Apgar;  Frederick  married 
the  Widow  Apgar,  once  Katy  Trimmer ;  Sallie,  Aaron 
Alpaugh  ;  Mary,  born  1818  or  1819,  Elijah  Apgar. 

Jacob  married  Margaret  Trimmer,  and  had  ten 
children, — David,  who  married  Charity  Alpaugh,  and 
lives  at  Mountainville ;  Elizabeth  and  Daniel,  who 
died  young ;  Sarah  Ann  married  John  Alpaugh,  also 
of  Mountainville ;  Catharine,  Henry  Roberts,  tanner, 
Fox  Hill ;  Mary,  Arthur  Seals,  and  afterwards  Alfred 
Chamberlain,  Flemington  ;  Martha  married  and  went 
to  Illinois;  Edward  S.,  Effie  Swick,  removed  to 
Philadelphia ;  Wesley  went  to  Iowa ;  Margaret  died 
early. 

Peter  N.  Apgar  married  Isabel  Hoffman,  and  has 
nine  children ;  Abraham  married  Mary  Ann  Apgar, 
and  had  eight  children;  Elizabeth,  Peter  Philhower, 
and  had  fourteen  children, — viz.,  Mary,  married  John 


L.  Hoffman ;  Abraham,  Thisbe  Starker,  then  a  second 
wife,  and  went  to  Illinois ;  Susan,  George  Sutton ; 
Nicholas,  went  to  Illinois;  Jessie,  married  Jacob 
Hoffman,  and  removed  to  High  Bridge;  Martha  Ann, 
Joseph  Apgar,  and  went  to  Dunellen;  Charity, 
Morris  Eick,  and  located  in  Mountainville;  Katy, 
Silas,  Hannah,  and  Harmon. 

Charity  Apgar  married  Andrew  Stout,  and  had 
eleven  children, — Margaret,  Mary  Jane,  John,  George, 
Charles,  William,  Frances,  Charity  Ann,  Martha 
Elizabeth,  Hetty,  and  Amelia.  Catharine  Apgar 
married  Morris  Teats,  and  had  seven  children, — Asa, 
Lucy,  Emma,  William,  Mary  Ann,  Sarah  Elizabeth, 
and  Jacob.  Anna  Apgar  married  Oliver  W.  Farley ; 
their  children  are  at  Cokesburg.  Martha  Apgar  mar- 
ried William  Alpaugh  ;  children  also  at  Cokesburg. 
David  Apgar's  children  are  about  Cokesburg  and 
Mountainville. 

This  was  a  very  numerous  family,  and  the  different 
members  of  the  same  name  were  distinguished  by 
various  nicknames, — "Fiddler  Bill,"  "Pony  Bill," 
" Tinker  Jake,"  "Straw  Creek  Crackle,"  "Old  Cross 
Butler,"  etc. 

Harmon  Hoffman  came  from  Germany,  and  settled 
where  James  Stevenson  now  lives,  between  Cokes- 
burg and  Mountainville.  His  children  were  John, 
Frederick,  Harmon,  Dolly,  and  Mary.  John  Hoff- 
man bought  120  acres  next  to  and  after  Farley's  pur- 
chase at  Cokesburg.  He  married  Miss  Young,  of 
Fox  Hill ;  their  children  were  Henry  I,  Peter  I, 
William  I,  Frederick  I,  John,  Philip  C,  Ann,  Mary, 
Margaret,  Elizabeth,  and  Elsie.  The  middle  letter, 
"I,"  is  not  an  initial  but  a  distinctive  letter,  another 
family  being  Henry  H,  Peter  H,  Frederick  H,  etc., 
another  being  "M,"  and  another  still  "P,"  to  distin- 
guish the  Henrys,  Fredericks,  etc. 

Henry  I  Hoffman  married  Margaret  Fritz.  Their 
children  are  John,  Jacob,  Philip,  Henry,  Mancius, 
Frederick,  Rachel,  Eliza,  Margaret,  Mary  Ann,  and 
Jemima.  They  are  scattered  in  other  parts  of  the 
State  and  the  West. 

Peter  I  married  Ellen  Bauman.  Their  children 
are  Peter  W.,  Thomas  B.,  Noah,  Philip,  Jane,  Eliza- 
beth A.,  Lydia,  Ellen,  and  Mary,  of  whom  Peter  W. 
married  Emily  Cox;  Noah,  Elizabeth  Teats;  Jane, 
Abraham  N.  Hunt;  Lydia,  John  Felmley;  Ellen, 
George  Teats;  Mary,  Andrew  Johnson, — all  in  the 
vicinity.  Peter  I  is  still  living,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
eight,  between  Cokesburg  and  Califon. 

William  I  married  Ellen  Hays.  His  children  are 
Peter,  married  Anna  Eick ;  Frederick,  married  Ann 
Teeter;  John,  married  Sedosa  Brown,  and  lives  in 
Newark ;  Rebecca,  married  Peter  Post,  and  after- 
wards D.  L.  Evert;  Lydia,  married  John  Voorhees, 
of  Elizabeth,  N.  J. ;  Frederick  I  married  Betsy  Lowe. 
His  family  live  in  High  Bridge  township. 

John  married  Lydia  Hays  ;  their  children  are  John 
H.,  married  Harriet  Cox ;  Henry,  Catharine  Rine- 
hart;  Charles,  Mary  Flummerfelt;    Thomas,  Sarah. 


TEWKSBURY. 


473 


Cole ;   Lettie,  John  Fleet ;   Elizabeth,  Peter  Eick ; 
Lydia  Ellen,  Isaiah  Apgar ;  Mary  Jane,  died  young. 
These  are  in  and  near  the  township. 
Philip  C.  died  single. 

Ann  Hoffman  married  Henry  Hoffman ;  she  was 
born  1772  and  died  1868,  aged  ninety -six. 

Mary  married  Jacob  Urts.  Her  children  are  John 
TJrts,  who  married  Mary  Schuyler,  and  Jane,  single. 
Margaret,  still  living,  maried  Benjamin  Eobinson. 
Their  children  are  John,  married  Miss  Johnson ;  Jo- 
seph, Peninnah  Jacques ;  Philip,  Miss  Longwood ; 
William,  Sarah  Emmons;  Elizabeth,  Peter  (?)  Hill; 
Mary  Ann,  Peter  Ely ;  Sarah  Ann,  died  early, 

Elizabeth  married  Mr.  Lomison,  and,  at  his  death, 
Garrett  Conover.  Her  children  were  John ;  Conrad 
married  Miss  Cramer  and  went  West :  Nancy,  Adam 
Hope ;  Elizabeth,  George  Eick,  and  afterwards  Jacob 
Eeed;  Margaret,  Harmon  Hoffman;  Ellen,  Crouch 
Bead;  Catharine,  Harmon  Hoffman;  Garrett  Cono- 
ver ;  and  Sarah  Conover,  who  married  William  Lance. 
Elsie  Hoffman  married  William  Apgar  ("  Fiddler 
Bill") ;  their  children  are  John,  married,  first,  Han- 
nah Potter,  and,  second,  Nellie  Van  Houten ;  Jacob, 
married  Katy  Apgar  ;  George,  went  to  Ohio  with  Ja- 
cob ;  Adam,  married  Mattie  Fleming ;  William,  Miss 
Beam ;  Peter,  Miss  Eobinson,  afterward  a  second  wife; 
Elizabeth,  William  Beam  ;  Barbara,  Peter  Schuyler ; 
Margaret,  John  Jacques  ;  Anna,  William  Trimmer ; 
Mary,  Philip  Trimmer;  Fannie, Benjamin  Eobinson; 
Philip,  died  early. 

.  Frederick  Hofl&nan,  son  of  the  immigrant,  married, 
first,  Miss  Schuyler,  second,  Mamie  Hotrum,  and  had 
nineteen  children, — Mary,  Peter,  Philip,  John,  by  his 
first  wife  ;  George,  Adam,  Harmon  H.,  Jacob,  Conrad, 
Annie,  Effle,  Elsie,  Amy,  Mary  Ann,  Charlotte,  Hul- 
dah,  and  others  who  died  young.  Annie  married 
John  Bunn  ;  Effie,  Jacob  Eeed ;  Elsie,  first,  William 
Eeed,  afterward  Matthias  Apgar;  Charlotte,  James 
Buchanan ;  Huldah,  Peter  Apgar.  Adam  and  Har- 
mon are  still  living,  Adam  near  Califon,  Harmon 
near  Cokesburg. 

Harmon  Hoffman,  son  of  the  immigrant,  married 
Anna  Schuyler.  He  bought  160  acres  where  Enoch 
and  Philip  and  George  B.  Sutton  now  live,  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  southwest  of  Farmersville.  His 
children  were  Henry  M.,  Peter  M.,  Philip,  Lizzie, 
Mary,  and  Ann.  Henry  M.  married  Anne  Hoffman ; 
Peter  M.  married  Charity  Philhower ;  their  children 
were  John,  married  Anna  Eobinson;  Mary,  George 
H.  Lindabury ;  Anna,  Samuel  G.  Hoffman ;  Frederick 
P.,  Mary  Philhower,  and  afterward  Mary  A.  Canada ; 
Effie,  Thomas  Apgar;  Margaret;  Philip  P.,  Sophia 
Apgar.  Frederick  P.  is  still  living  a  mile  northwest 
of  Fairmount.  Philip  married  Mary  Philhower  and 
went  West.  Lizzie  married  Michael  Ehote.  Mary 
married  Coon  Wean.    Ann  married  Henry  Teats. 

John  Alpaugh  came  from  Germany  and  bought  300 
or  400  acres,  a  mile  southward  from  Cokesburg.    His 
children  were  John,  Peter,  George,  Eve,  Elizabeth, 
31 


Ann,  and  Mary.    Their  families  settled  in  Tewks- 
bury. 

Philip  Philhower  and  his  wife,  Mary,  came  firom 
Germany,  with  his  brother  George,  who  went  to  Vir-  ' 
ginia.  They  settled  where  David  Philhower  now 
lives.  It  was  about  200  acres  then,  and  has  been  in 
the  Philhower  name  ever  since.  His  sons  were  Chris- 
topher, John,  Peter,  Jacob,  and  William ;  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  Charity,  Mercy,  Catharine  Ann. 

Christopher  married  Elizabeth  Fox.  Their  children 
were  Christopher,  George  W.,  Catharine,  Charity, 
Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  Sallie.  Catharine  married 
Asher  Morgan;  Charity,  Adam  Philhower;  Mary, 
Adam  Apgar ;  Elizabeth,  a  Mr.  Young. 

John  married  Eachel  Sutton,  of  Fox  Hill.  His 
children  were  Jacob,  Philip,  John,  Peter  J.,  Wil- 
liam, Eichard,  Aaron;  half-brothers,  Frederick, 
Isaac;  Elizabeth  married  Andrew  Schuyler;  Susan, 
Harmon  Hoffman  ;  Mary,  Adam  Tiger ;  the  half-sis- 
ter, Clarissa,  Eobert  Cox. 

Peter  married  Elizabeth  Hotrum.  Their  childrei» 
were  George,  married  Sophia  Ann  Felmley ;  David, 
Elijah,  Mary,  married  Frederick  P.  Hofiinan;  Catha- 
rine, John  Hofiinan ;  Amy,  Peter  F.  Hoffman,  brother 
of  John ;  Charity,  Henry  M.  Hoffman ;  Elizabeth, 
Conrad  Lindabury ;  Mahala,  Jacob  Apgar ;  Huldah, 
and  others  who  died  young.  Elizabeth,  Mahala,  and 
David  were  triplets. 

Jacob  married  Miss  Cramer  or  Hart.  Their  chil- 
dren were  Mary,  Philip,  Treenie,  Elizabeth,  Marga- 
ret, William,  and  Peter.  In  1817,  Jacob  and  his- 
family  went  to  Ohio.  Mary  was  married  to  Philip 
Hoffman,  and  Treenie  to  Peter  Schuyler;  the  rest 
married  in  Ohio. 

William  married  Catharine  Apgar.  Their  children 
were  Adam,  married  Charity  Philhower,  old  Christo- 
pher's daughter;  Peter,  Catharine  Trellsie;  Ann, 
Samuel  Heldebrant;  Philip,  first,  Miss  Merrill, 
second,  Mary  Everett ;  Edward ;  William,  Miss  Hen- 
dershott;  Mary,  Frederick  Sargeant;  Barbara,  a  Mr. 
Sickel ;  Elizabeth  married  Frederick  Apgar ;  Charity, 
Peter  M.  Hoffman ;  Mary,  Peter  Sutton ;  Ann,  Wil- 
liam Fleming  ;  Catharine,  died  young.  The  brother, 
George,  who  went  to  Virginia,  left  only  two  daugh- 
ters, so  that  the  name  died  out  in  his  family. 

Jacob  Tiger  came  from  Germany  in  the  immigra- 
tion, and  bought  a  large  farm  a  little  south  of  Cokes- 
burg. His  children  were  George,  Nicholas,  Jacob, 
Abraham,  Elizabeth  and  other  sisters.  George  mar- 
ried Ann  Teats ;  Nicholas  moved  to  Ohio.  Jacob 
went  to  Peapack.    Elizabeth  married  Peter  Sutton. 

Abraham's  children  were  Jacob,  married  Ann  Jobs 
and  died  aged  seventy-two ;  Adam,  Mary  Philhower, 
and  moved  to  Pennsylvania;  George,  Maria  Lutz; 
Peter,  Ann  Johnson;  Elizabeth;  Effie,  Peter  P. 
Shurtz;  Ann,  Peter  Teats.  The  last  moved  to  Illi- 
nois. 

William  Welsh  came  from  Germany  and  settled  in 
Bound  Valley,  Lebanon  township.    His  sons  were 


474 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY",  NEW  JERSEY. 


Morris,   Jacob,  John,  and  William ;  his  daughters, 
married,  three. 

Jacob  was  the  first  of  the  name  in  Tewksbury.  He 
came  in  1797,  and  settled  where  David  Welsh  now 
lives,  a  mile  northwest  of  New  Germantown.  His 
father  gave  him  the  land,  willing  it  to  his  wife,  to 
revert  to  his  children  at  his  death.  He  married  Cath- 
arine Crater.  His  children  were  William,  married 
Margaret  Drake,  born  1798 ;  Morris,  Susanna  Felm- 
ley ;  David,  Polly  Dean ;  Jacob,  Amanda  Gulick  ; 
Isaac,  Margaret;  David  Terriberry;  Dorothy,  John 
Craig ;  Esther,  William  Sutton ;  Julia  Ann,  William 
G.  Eick. 

William  Welsh,  Jacob's  brother,  married  Margaret 
Drake.  His  children  were  John  Vandervoort,  who 
married  Keziah  L.  Fisher,  and  Mary  Ann,  who  mar- 
ried Jeremiah  H.  Field. 

Tunis  Melick  came  from  Germany  before  or  about 
1735.  He  married  Miss  Van  Horn,  of  Whitehouse, 
and  settled  where  Peter  W.  Melick  now  lives,  buying 
about  200  acres  from  Ralph  Smith  and  afterwards  400 
acres  two  miles  west  of  New  Germantown,  still  in  the 
Melick  name,  owned  by  Peter  W.,  and  known  as  the 
Tunis  Melick  property.  He  had  only  one  son,  Peter 
(married  Susan  Egbert,  of  Readington),  and  several 
daughters.  Ellen  married  Abraham  Vliet;  Anna, 
Isaac  Farley ;  another  daughter,  John  Vliet;  Treenie, 
Mindurt  Farley ;  Margaret,  Dennis  Wyckoff ;  and 
another,  Martin  Mail. 

Peter's  children  were  Tunis,  Mary,  Nicholas  Egbert, 
James,  Peter,  Abraham,  John  V.,  Ellen,  Susan,  Eliz- 
abeth. Tunis  married  Sarah  Van  Sickle.  Their  chil- 
dren were  Susan,  married  Jacob  D.  Trimmer;  Andrew 
V.  S.,  Rachel  McKinstry ;  Peter  W.,  Caroline  Apgar, 
and  Emma  Ray.  Mary  married  Moses  Felmley. 
Nicholas  Egbert  married  Elizabeth  Backer.  Their 
children  were  Peter,  married  Jane  Miller;  Christo- 
pher, Maria  Cortelyou ;  John  W.,  Elizabeth  Apgar ; 
Susan  Ann,  William  Krager;  James,  Emeline  Ken- 
nedy ;  Edwin,  Miss  Dunham ;  Catharine,  Stephen 
Wortman ;  William,  Elizabeth  Fisher ;  Elizabeth, 
Samuel  Sutton. 

Of  the  rest  of  the  emigrant's  sons,  James  married 
Lydia  Van  Sickle ;  Peter,  Ruth  Leek ;  Abraham, 
Maria  Kline ;  John  V.,  Maria  Able.  Their  children 
were  Peter,  married  Margaret  Latourette ;  William  T., 
Rachel  Philhower ;  Ernest,  Fanny  Hoffman  ;  Susan, 
John  Lane ;  Jane,  Smith  Cole ;  Lavinia,  Austin 
Clark ;  John  V.,  Margaretta  Craig ;  Emeline,  Jacob 
Specht. 

Of  the  daughters,  Ellen  married  Andrew  Van 
Sickle;  Susan,  Cornelius  Defore;  Elizabeth,  Charles 
Williams.  Ellen  and  Susan  went  to  New  York  State; 
Elizabeth  to  Ohio ;  Peter  to  Indiana ;  James  to  Pea- 
pack,  and  Abraham  to  Morris  County.  The  rest  set- 
tled about  New  Germantown. 

David  Felmley  was  first  of  the  name  in  Tewksbury. 
He  came  near  100  years  ago.  He  was  born  about 
1756,  and  married  Sophia  Sidells.     He  owned  500 


acres,  and  had  thereon  still-works  and  tannery.  His 
children  were  Moses,  married  Mary  Melick ;  John, 
Hannah  Valley  ;  William,  Ruth  Apgar ;  David,  Miss 
Wyckoff,  Miss  Line,  and  Mrs.  Ginthro,  formerly  Miss 
Stillwill;  James  Parker,  removed  West;  Margaret, 
married  .John  Alpaugh ;  Sarah,  Jonathan  Barkman  ; 
Katy,  William  Apgar  ("Pony  Bill");  Sophia  Ann, 
George  Philhower.  These  all  left  Tewksbury  except 
David,  Sarah,  and  Katy. 

David  lived  in  the  old  parsonage.  His  children 
were  Peter  Wyckoff,  married  Margaret  Condit ;  Pohl- 
man,  Kate  Honeyman ;  Emeline,  Cornelius  Voor- 
hees ;  Margaret,  Edward  Barry. 

Moses'  children  were  David,  married  Sarah  Logan ; 
Susanna,  Morris  Welsh  ;  Peter  M.,  Gertrude  Smith ; 
John,  Ann  Stothoff  and  Ellen  Voorhees ;  Anthony, 
Catharine  Van  Dyke,  Margaret  Cortelyou,  and  Ade- 
line Park ;  twins  who  died  young. 

Sarah  Barkman's  children  were  David,  married 
Ann  Crate ;  Pohlman,  Melinda  Rinehart ;  William ; 
Catharine,  Andrew  Van  Fleet ;  Elizabeth,  William 
Shurtz. 

Katy  Apgar's  family  were  David,  married  Katy 
Alpaugh  ;  William,  Elizabeth  Hotrum ;  Jacob  New- 
ton, 0.  W.  Farley's  daughter  ;  Fanny,  Cornelius 
Lance ;  Katy,  William  McOatharine ;  Livia  Sophia, 
Charles  Fritts.  Sophia  Ann  Philhower's  sons  live 
near  Irvington,  N.  J. 

John  Van  Fleet  came  from  Holland  and  settled  in 
Readington.  John,  his  son,  lived  in  Lebanon.  John, 
son  of  this  last,  came  to  Tewksbury  about  1800,  and 
married  Eleanor  Van  Syckle.  In  1809  he  bought 
the  place  where  Andrew  now  lives.  His  children 
were  John,  Andrew,  Maria,  Isaac,  Elizabeth,  Aaron, 
Alfred,  George,  and  Abraham.  John  married  Miss 
Lance;  Andrew,  Cath.irine  Ann  Barkman;  Maria, 
Joseph  Kennedy.     Nearly  all  went  to  Illinois. 

Andrew  Van  Syckel  came  from  Readington  and 
bought  the  place  where  his  grandson,  Andrew  Van 
Syckle,  now  lives.  Of  his  children,  Capt.  James  Van 
Syckle  married  Catharine  Backer,  and  went  to  Sussex 
County ;  John  M.,  Christina  Cramer,  and  went  to  Illi- 
nois ;  Andrew  married  Sarah  Kennedy,  Whitehouse  ; 
Sarah,  Tunis  Melick;  Eleanor,  John  Van  Fleet ;  Ann, 
Michael  Shurtz,  Illinois;  Rachel,  Samuel  Crater, 
Lebanon  ;  Lena,  John  Hunt,  Readington. 

Philip  Hiler  and  Mary  Rowe  came  from  Baden  in 
1752  to  New  Brunswick.  She  was  but  three  years 
old,  and  was  bound  out,  till  she  was  eighteen,  in  pay 
for  her  passage.  After  their  marriage  they  came  to 
Tewksbury  and  bought  the  farm  John  Bosenbury  now 
owns.  His  children  were  William;  Adam  married 
Christina  Auble ;  Polly,  Sylvester  Davis  ;  Lena,  John 
Henry ;  Philip,*  Margaret  Young ;  Jacob,  Ann  Yaa- 
ger.  His  house  was  built  1792.  Philip's  children 
were  Mary  Ann  S.,  married  Dennis  Potter,  and  then 
John    Bosenbury;    William    Young,  Sarah  Rowe; 


'  Member  of  the  Assembly  of  New  Jersey. 


TEWKSBURY. 


i15 


Eliza  Nevius,  George  Moore.  Adam  was  captain  of 
the  ship  "Kevenge."  He  was  poisoned  by  a  Tory 
■woman.  He  was  a  brave  and  active  officer  and  a 
pure  patriot. 

George  (or  John)  Fisher  came  from  Germany  about 
1790,  and  settled  in  Changewater.  His  son,  Eev. 
George  Fisher,  came  to  Tewksbury  in  1797  or  1798, 
and  about  1815  bought  50  acres,  a  part  of  the  Fox 
Tract,  where  Charles  McKagins  now  lives,  from 
James  Auble.  He  married  Hannah  Hiler.  Their  chil- 
dren were  Mary,  married  Rev.  Mr.  Lee,  of  Denville; 
John,  Miss  Miller ;  Elizabeth,  Ann  Rose,  of  Newton ; 
George,  Anna  Sutton ;  Christopher,  Margaret  Groff ; 
Henry,  Anna  Johnson ;  Susan,  Amos  Hoagland ;  Mar- 
garet, Eev.  Samuel  Hull,  of  Frenchtown. 

Frederick  Bartles  came  from  Germany  to  Philadel- 
phia and  married  Miss  Apt.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
colonists  who  settled  at  New  Germantown.  He  soon 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  at  Hacklebarney, 
and  in  1793  went  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Susque- 
hanna {Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.),  where  he  built  the  first 
mills  and  was  the  pioneer  in  the  use  of  "  arks"  for 
transportation.*  Two  of  his  sons,  Andrew  and  Joseph, 
lived  at  New  Germantown.  Andrew  married  Cath- 
arine Plum  in  1790,  and  was  for  some  time  a  hatter, 
afterwards  a  farmer.  His  children  were  Charles, 
Frederick,  Henry,  Joseph,  Sarah,  Julia,  Ann,  Eliza, 
Phebe.  Charles  married  Eliza  Hart,  and  afterwards 
Eliza  Randall,  and  resides  in  Flemington ;  Frederick, 
Elizabeth  (?)  Williams,  and  lives  in  St.  Louis  ;  Henry, 
Susan  Van  Pelt,  Fox  Hill ;  Joseph,  Phebe  Ann  Hiler, 
Kansas ;  Eliza,  Joseph  Cornish,  merchant  and  farmer, 
Jugtown;  Phebe,  George  B.  Stothoff,  farmer  near 
Flemington.  The  others  were  single.  All  were  born 
in  New  Germantown.  Joseph  was  a  merchant  in 
New  Germantown.  He  afterwards  bought  from  his 
brother  Andrew  the  farm  on  which  Jacob  K.  Bartles 
now  lives,  residing  there  till  he  died.  His  children 
were  Jacob  K.  and  a  brother  who  lives  at  Fleming- 
ton. 

Three  brothers  named  Pickel  early  came  irom  Ger- 
many together.  One  (Baltes)  settled  at  Whitehouse 
and  one  at  Lebanon.  George,  grandson  to  one  of 
these,  was  the  first  of  the  name  to  reside  in  Tewks- 
bury, at  Pottersville.  His  children  were  Frederick, 
married  Mary  Heldebrant ;  Isaac,  Margaret  Gulick, 
Pottersville ;  Alfi-ed,  Sarah  Crater,  Fox  Hill ;  Samuel, 
Deborah  Bartles,  a  farmer  at  Unionville;  Matthias, 
Maria  Smith,  and  went  West ;  George,  Jane  Beavers, 
farmer  at  Pottersville ;  Henry,  Mary  Evert,  Potters- 
ville; Marritta,  John  Kowe,  Pottersville;  Ruth, 
John  Davis,  Chester.  Eev.  Henry  Eugene,  now  in 
Kansas,  is  a  son  of  Matthias. 

Aaron  Sutton  was  one  of  the  first  settlers,  and  kept 
a  store  before  the  Revolution  where  Joshua  A.  Farley 
now  lives,  south  of  Pottersville.  His  family  were 
Mary,  married  John  McKinstry,  who  owned  Van 


•  See  pp.  338,  339  for  a  further  account  of  rrederick  Bartlea. 


Dyke's  mill,  and  a  sister,  who  married  Joshua  Farley, 
of  Cokesburg. 

Aaron's  brother  Richard  married  Miss  Chidester. 
Their  children  were  Aaron,  whose  family  went  else- 
where, and  Samuel,  married  Ellen  Vliet.  His  chil- 
dren were  Anna,  married  George  Fisher,  Fox  Hill ; 
Eleanor,  John  C.  Moore ;  William,  Esther  Welsh,  and 
afterwards  Dorothy  Welsh.  William's  children  were 
Catharine  Ann,  married  William  H.  Vliet;  Samuel, 
Elizabeth  Melick ;  William,  Emma  J.  Goltra. 

Jacob  Kline  came  from  Germany  about  1752,  and 
settled  in  Keadington.  His  son  Jacob  early  settled 
in  New  Germantown,  and  bought  the  farm  on  which 
Benjamin  Van  Doren  now  lives.  He  sunk  the  present 
tan-yard  occupied  by  Jacob  Specht.  His  children 
were  Jacob,  married  Lydia  Quick;  Mary,  Richard 
Field,  of  Bound  Brook,  grandfather  of  Dr.  Field ; 
Fanny,  Isaac  Lewis ;  John,  Sally  Williams ;  Phoebe, 
Joseph  Bartles,  of  New  Germantown ;  Catharine, 
Aaron  Dunham,  Clinton;  Elizabeth,  Jacob  Miller, 
Flanders ;  Letty,  Benjamin  Van  Doren,  New  German- 
town;  Rev.  David,  Lutheran  minister,  at  Spruce  Run, 
Jane  Kirkpatrick. 

Henry  Miller  came  from  Germany  about  1735,  and 
worked  for  his  passage  after  his  arrival.  His  wife's 
name  was  Catharine,  sister  of  Tunis  Melick.  Their 
children  were  Henry,  married  Miss  Baird,  and  then 
Catharine  Sharp;  David,  Elizabeth  Welsh;  Jacob, 
Elizabeth  Sharp ;  Elizabeth,  Christian  Kline ;  Cath- 
arine, Baltus  Stiger.  Henry's  children  were  Jacob 
B. ;  Ann,  married  William  Little  (pronounced  Lytle) ; 
John  P.  Sharp,  Elizabeth  Lambert,  and  then  Eliza- 
beth Neighbor,  daughter  of  David  Neighbor.  David's 
children  were  Jacob  W.,  lawyer  at  Morristown,  Wil-  , 
liam  W.,  David  W.,  Henry,  Eliza,  married  Rev.  John 
C.  Van  Dervoort,  of  Paterson;  Dorothy,  Thomas 
G.  Talmage ;  Mary,  Mr.  Van  Pelt ;  Catharine,  single ; 
Lydia  Ann,  married  Moses  De  Witt,  of  Paterson. 

Samuel  Potter,  the  ancestor  of  the  Potter  family, 
came  from  Wales  about  1685  to  near  Elizabeth.  His 
son  Daniel,  born  1692,  lived  at  Connecticut  Farms. 
Daniel's  son  Samuel,  born  1727,  was  a  colonel  in  the 
Revolution,  and  lived  at  the  cross-roads,  a  little  west 
of  Summit. 

Capt.  Samuel  Potter,  who  was  the  third  child  of 
Col.  Samuel,  married  Sarah  Parsons,  and  lived  on  the 
Lamington  River,  opposite  Pottersville.  His  children 
were  Col.  Jonathan  Potter,  married  Hannah  Wolver- 
ton,  of  Canada ;  Sering ;  Elizabeth,  married  Thomas 
Mulford;  Sarah,  Hugh  Bartley;  Samuel,  died  aged 
twenty. 

Col.  Jonathan  Potter  built  the  house  now  occu- 
pied by  Sering's  widow,  and  came  over  into  Tewks- 
bury township.  His  children  are  Sering,  married 
Elizabeth  Smith  ;  Dennis,  Mary  Ann  Hiler,  now  Mrs. 
John  Bosenbury;  Maria,  died  young;  Sarah,  mar- 
ried Col.  John  McKinstry;  Samuel,  Jane  Rue; 
Thankful,  Benyew  Dunham;  Jonathan  W.,  Gertrude 
Craig ;  Mary,  David  Dunham,  brother  of  Benyew. 


476 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Bering's  children  are  Joseph,  Jonathan,  Bering, 
Edmund,  Harvey,  Elizabeth,  and  Sarah. 

George  A.  Vesceliua,  "the  Eed-Cheeked  Doctor" 
(see  history  of  the  physicians  of  Hunterdon  County), 
was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  Vescelius  family  at 
Fairmount.  Andrew,  his  son,  had  children, — George 
Andrew,  Henry,  James,  Theodore,  Sally  (married 
Henry  Carpenter),  Helen  (married  Mr.  Price),  and  a 
daughter  who  married  Joseph  Fisher.  These  mostly 
moved  to  New  York  State. 

George  Andrew  married  Gertrude  Heldebrant. 
Their  children  are  John,  Helen,  Isaac,  Andrew,  Hi- 
ram, Oliver,  and  Aaron.  John  married  Catharine 
Field.  His  children  are  scattered.  Oliver  carries  on 
the  largest  tannery  in  the  county,  at  Fairmount. 
Aaron  married  Mary  Ann  Miller.  His  daughters  are 
the  singers. 

Andrew  Van  Derbeek  came  from  Six-Mile  Run  to 
Tewksbury  in  1800,  and  bought  about  300  acres  on 
the  Lamington  Eiver,  where  J.  Newton  Van  Derbeek 
now  lives.  He  married  Altha  Barcalow.  His  chil- 
dren were  Maria,  Gertrude,  Elizabeth,  Jacques,  An- 
drew, Cornelius,  John  Barcalow,  Ann,  Elijah,  Wil- 
liam Boyd. 

Maria  married  Joseph  Craig,  uncle  to  Robert 
Craig.  Their  children  were  Altha,  Andrew,  went 
West;  Jacques,  married  Frederica  Harrold;  Susan; 
John,  married  Ann  Filbert;  Ann,  Henry  Parker, 
and  afterwards  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hoffman,  a  Lutheran 
minister ;  Amanda,  Lewis  J.  Harrold,  of  Reading ; 
Sarah,  Charles  Remington,  of  Philadelphia;  Syms 
Henry,  Kate  Sebring. 

Cornelius  married  Elizabeth  McDowell.  Their 
children  were  Jacques,  married  Mary  Ann  Smith, 
and  afterwards  her  twin-sister  Susan ;  John,  Emeline 
Crater,  now  Mrs.  Otis,  of  Somerville.  After  the  death 
of  Elizabeth  McDowell,  Cornelius  married  Eliza  Dun- 
ham. Their  children  were  Benyew,  married  Sarah  J. 
Van  Arsdale ;  William  B.,  Elizabeth  Cole ;  Andrew, 
Eliza  Green. 

John  Barcalow  married  Catharine  Longstreet. 
Their  children  are  Elizabeth,  married  Col.  Arthur 
S.  Ten  Eyck,  of  Somerville;  Horace  A.,  Mary 
Duyckinck;  J.  Newton,  Gertrude  H.  Blauvelt, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Blauvelt,  of  Lamington ;  Emily  L., 
William  S.  Potter,  'of  Somerville;  Anna  M.,  Hon. 
Alvah  A.  Clark,  M.C. 

The  father  of  Jacob  R.  Fisher  came  from  Clinton 
township  to  New  Germantown  about  1824.  His  chil- 
dren were  Fanny,  married  Derrick  Sutphin ;  Jacob  R., 
Dinah  Van  Doren ;  William,  Elizabeth  Seig. 

John  Fox  was  one  of  the  very  earliest  settlers 
of  Tewksbury  township.  He  purchased  a  tract  on 
Fox  Hill,  which  took  its  name  from  him.  He  built 
or  caused  to  be  built,  the  first  Presbyterian  church  of 
Fox  Hill,  a  small  one  inclosed  with  shingles  for 
siding.  Little  is  known  about  him.  He  lived  for  a 
time  south  of  Farmersville,  and  afterwards  above  the 
church,  where  he  died. 


Adam  Reber  was  one  of  three  brothers  who  came 
from  Germany  about  1731  and  settled,  one  at  Clin- 
ton, one  (Adam)  at  Whitehouse,  and  one  at  Easton. 
One  of  them  became  known  as  Adam  Reger,  an- 
other as  Creger,  and  the  other  as  Riker.  Adam 
was  the  ancestor  of  the  family  in  Tewksbury  town- 
ship; his  descendants  are  now  living  in  the  south 
part.  He  removed  here  before  1776,  and  bought  200 
acres  where  the  widow  of  Harmon  Reger  now  lives. 
His  children  were  Frederick,  John,  Harmon,  Mary, 
Margaret,  Kate,  and  Ellen. 

Frederick's  children  were  William,  Jacob,  Adam, 
John,  Isaac,  David,  and  a  daughter. 

John,  born  1782,  married  Sarah  Todd.  His  chil- 
dren were  Adam,  Elisha,  Henrietta,  John,  William, 
Catharine  Sarah,  Augustin,  Job  C.  Adam  married 
Susan  Ann  Lambert;  Elisha,  Margaret  Wyckofi"; 
Henrietta,  Isaac  Vosseller;  John,  Ann  Sutphin; 
William,  Jane  A.  Hickson  and  Mrs.  Mary  Todd; 
Catharine  Sarah,  G.  V.  Stryker ;  Augustin,  Margaret 
Vosseller;  Job ,C.,  Phebe  Sutphin. 

Harmon  married  Margaret  Jobs.  She  is  still  living, 
over  ninety,  on  the  homestead.  Her  child,  Catharine 
Ann,  married  George  Carhart. 

For  the  Smith  family,  see  the  history  of  the  Smith 
family  in  Bedminster ;  for  the  Lindabury  family,  see 
their  family  history  in  Lebanon  township ;  for  the 
Honeyman  family,  see  in  Bedminster  township,  Som- 
erset Co. ;  for  the  Ogden  family,  see  the  history  of 
the  physicians  of  Hunterdon  County,  etc. 

EARLY   LAND   TITLES. 

At  the  time  when  West  Jersey  was  divided  into 
hundredths,  James  Parker,  of  Perth  Amboy,  grand- 
father of  Hon.  Cortlandt  Parker,  was  one  of  the  pro- 
prietors, and  got  a  tract  of  land  in  Tewksbury,  includ- 
ing that  part  west  of  the  New  Germantown  and  Fox 
Hill  road,  and  running  north  from  Cokesburg  and 
New  Germantown  to  and  beyond  the  Morris  county 
line.  From  him  all  the  early  settlers  of  that  part  of 
the  township  got  their  titles.  His  agent  for  a  long 
time  was  Andrew  Parties,  of  New  Germantown. 

The  Livingstons  of  New  York  were,  like  Parker, 
proprietors  east  of  the  Fox  Hill  road,  and  until  1836 
rented  out  their  land  to  residents  at  a  nominal  sum. 

On  the  south  or  east  side  of  the  "  society  line,"  which 
passes  north  of  Robert  Craig's,  being  north  42°  east, 
James  Logan  was  the  proprietor.  It  was  put  out  in 
100-year  leases  at  first,  and  afterwards  sold. 

This  "  society  line"  ran  from  Lamington  Falls  to 
the  top  of  Cushetunk  Mountain,  and  was  the  bound- 
ary of  a  section  known  as  the  "  Society's  Great  Tract," 
which  the  West  Jersey  Society  had  surveyed  for  them 
about  the  year  1711.*  Robert  Craig,  near  New  Ger- 
mantown, has  a  parchment  deed  in  his  possession 
from  James  Logan  to  Joseph  Smith,  bearing  date 
June  1, 1740,  bounding  on  this  "  society  line."     There 


*  See  Mott's  "  First  Century  of  Hunterdon  Ckjunty,"  p.  12. 


TEWKSBURY. 


477 


were  several  "proprietors"  of  West  Jersey  who  held 
lands  through  the  township.  Harvey  Potter,  of  Pot- 
tersville,  has  a  parchment  deed  bearing  date  April 
27,  1722,  conveying  215  acres,  part  of  1100  acres 
which  belonged  to  Thomas  Wetherill  "by  virtue  of 
his  several  shares  or  parts  of  proprieties  throughout 
the  province  of  West  Jersey,  and  was  taken  up  by 
virtue  thereof  by  a  warrant  from  the  council  of  pro- 
prietors, and  surveyed  Oct.  27,  1714."  It  was  sold  by 
Thomas  Wetherill  to  James  Beck  for  "  £100,  current 
silver  money  of  West  Jersey." 

Paul  A.  Heldebrant  bought  from  Peter  E.  Fisher, 
of  New  Germantown,  Livingston's  agent;  so  did 
Joseph  Beavers,  Christian  Fisher,  John  Fisher,  George 
A.  Tiger,  and  E.  W.  Iliff.  Ten  or  twelve  dollars  an 
acre  was  about  the  price  paid  by  them. 

BAKLT   TAVERNS. 

The  first  hotel  in  Tewksbury  was  at  New  German- 
town.  It  occupied  the  ground  where  the  residence 
of  Mr.  John  Specht  now  stands.  A  very  old  building 
is  remembered  by  the  oldest  citizens  as  "  the  old  tav- 
ern," but  it  was  not  the  first  one  occupying  this  site. 
It  was  kept  by  Dr.  Cruzier,  David  Melick,  and  Wil- 
liam Farley  within  the  memory  of  men.  John  Far- 
ley purchased  it  in  1788  "  from  the  trustees  of  Zion 
Church,  the  sale  being  a  perpetual  lease,  or  what  was 
termed  a  quit-rent."* 

The  present  house  was  built  by  Dr.  Oliver  Barnet 
in  1800,  and  was  first  kept  by  Daniel  Melick.  James 
Honeyman,  father  of  Dr.  Honeyman,  owned  and  kept 
it  from  1812  to  1824.  Then  Peter  Fisher  kept  it  over 
twenty  years.  After  him,  Matthias  Cramer,  one  year ; 
Samuel  Clark,  from  1846  to  1872;  James  Large,  one 
year;  John  E.  Clark,  seven  years;  Austin  E.  Clark, 
since  the  spring  of  1880. 

The  hotel  at  Cokesburg  was  there  over  sixty  years 
ago.  It  was  first  built  and  kept  by  John  Farley, 
uncle  to  O.  W.  Farley.  John  Henry  followed  him ; 
then  Conrad  Apgar.  Jacob  Apgar  next  kept  it 
twenty  years;  then  O.  W.  Farley,  twenty  years; 
Richard  Hoffman,  two  or  three;  William  Melick, 
two ;  John  Baker,  six  or  seven ;  John  Wickoff,  one 
year;  William  Wickoff,  a  few  months;  Benjamin 
Wolverton,  one  year;  John  Messerole,  six  months; 
Asa  Alpaugh,  the  present  occupant. 

The  earliest  hotel  at  Mountainville  was  twenty-two 
years  ago ;  Eichard  Hoffman  opened  it,  but  Daniel 
Potter  had  built  the  house  long  before.  A.  C.  Snyder 
kept  it  a  year ;  Eichard  Hoffman  came  back  to  it  a 
year;  Noah  Hoffman  kept  it  five  or  six  years ;  Hiram 
Eittenhouse,  a  year;  Andrew  J.  Potter,  five  years; 
Jonathan  Potter,  now  (1880)  seven  years. 

Jacob  S.  Apgar  built  the  hotel  at  Califon  in  1860, 
and  was  the  first  hotel-keeper  for  two  years;  then 
James  Anderson,  one  year ;  Eichard  Hoffman,  three 
years ;  Isaac  Sheetz,  one  year ;  William  Eeid,  three 


years ;  George  Beavers,  three ;  Morris  Eick,  one  year ; 
Charles  Bowlby,  six  years. 

Where  J.  V.  Welsh  now  lives  Jesse  Gray  kept  a 
hotel  from  1823  to  1830.  There  has  been  none  there 
since.  A  hotel  was  kept  from  about  1888  to  1842  or 
1843  at  the  distillery,  about  a  mile  from  Fairmount, 
but  was  then  discontinued. 

PHYSICIANS. 
Oliver  Barnet  was  the  first  physician  in  Tewksbury. 
He  came  to  New  Germantown  from  Orange  in  1765, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  and  began  his  professional 
career.  He  soon  acquired  a  large  practice,  purchased 
from  Tunis  Melick  the  property  long  known  as  Barnet 
Hall, — ^now  owned  by  Peter  W.  Melick,— became  the 
most  prominent  man  in  the  region,  and  died  in  1809, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-six. 

Isaac  Ogden,  his  brother-in-law,  graduate  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  in  1784  and  physician  at 
White  House,  came  to  New  Germantown  about  1800, 
when  his  family  first  appears  in  Lamington  church.  At 
Dr.  Barnet's  death  he  took  charge  of  his  estate,  which 
he  managed  for  his  sister,  and  relinquished  the  prac- 
tice in  favor  of  his  nephew,  Oliver  Wayne  Ogden, 
who  had  married  a  Miss  Wisner,  a  niece  of  Dr.  Bar- 
net,  and  succeeded  to  his  practice.  "  Dr.  Wayne," 
as  he  was  called,  soon  removed  to  Perth  Amboy,  but 
returned  to  New  Germantown  and  succeeded  to  the 
estate  of  Dr.  Barnet  by  inheritance. 

His  cousin,  William  Barnet,  another  nephew  of  Dr. 
Oliver,  commenced  practice  at  New  Germantown. 
He  died  in  early  life. 

John  Honeyman  was  the  successor  of  Oliver  Wayne 
Ogden.  (For  personal  sketches  of  him  and  others  see 
chapter  on  "  Medical  Profession  of  Hunterdon.") 

Dr.  John  S.  Linaberry,  the  first  physician  at 
Mountainville,  is  in  practice  still. 

FIRST  MILLS,  Etc. 
The  first  mill  in  the  township  was  built  by  Ealph 
Smith,  where  Peter  W.  Melick  now  lives,  before  1762. 
He  sold  it  to  Tunis  Melick,  who  in  turn  sold  to  Dr. 
Barnet  soon  after  1765.  The  mills  on  the  Eockaway 
now  owned  by  John  Lane  were  built  very  early  and 
called  Thompson's  mills.  In  1755  they  were  called 
Johnson's  mills.f  There  was  a  distillery  very  early  on 
Dr.  Dusenbury's  grounds  in  New  Germantown,  built 
probably  near  the  same  time.  Aaron  Sutton  built  a 
mill  at  Califon,  on  the  Lebanon  side  of  the  river,  be- 
fore 1800.  Old  John  Sutton  built  the  first  mill  at 
Fairmount.  It  was  an  old  mill  in  1811.  It  was  re- 
built by  Jacob  T.  Philhower  in  1860.  Cokesburg 
Furnace  was  built  1754.  There  was  also  a  Hackle- 
barney  Forge  near  the  Falls  of  Lamington,  now  Pot- 
tersville.t  There  was  a  mill  on  the  Lamington,  on  the 
property  next  to  that  now  owned  by  William  Sutton, 
built  by  a  Mr.  Van  Dyke,  and  called  Van  Dyke's 


«  Col.  E.  E.  Honeyman  In  "  Our  Home,"  p.  117. 


f  "  Our  Home,"  pp.  117, 120. 

t  Mott'B  History  of  Hunterdon  County,  p.  22. 


478 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


mill,  in  the  last  century.  It  was  torn  down  sixty  or 
sixty-five  years  ago,  and  rebuilt  about  three  hundred 
yards  below  as  a  still-house  on  the  Somerset  County 
side.     There  were  mills  at  Pottersville  very  early. 

The  earliest  road  from  New  Germantown  to  Fox 
Hill  was  about  half  a  mile  east  of  the  present  turn- 
pike, and  was  probably  one  of  the  first  in  the  town- 
ship. It  still  exists.  The  earliest  on  record  is  "  from 
Fox  Hill  to  Hugh  McCan's  mill,  and  down  the  river 
to  the  fording-plaoe,"  June  23,  1756. 

Feb.  15, 1762,  a  road  was  relaid  from  Ralph  Smith's 
mill  to  the  AUamatunk  bridge.  The  first  record  of 
the  appointment  of  overseers  is  in  1757.  Nov.  12, 
1787,  a  road  was  laid  from  a  corner  of  the  field  of 
David  Jones,  adjoining  the  Potterstown  road,  through 
the  woods,  and  so  down  the  Eockaway  to  James  Par- 
ker's saw-mill.  The  road  up  the  Eockaway  Creek  is 
probably  as  old  as  the  township.  There  was  a  very 
old  road  from  Califon  to  Cokesburg. 

In  1811  the  New  Germantown  Turnpike  Company 
was  chartered  and  organized.  It  was  a  toll-road 
twelve  or  fifteen  years,  and  then  made  over  to  the 
township. 

ORGANIZATION. 
Tewksbury  township  was  organized  in  1755.  In 
1832  fifteen  acres  were  set  off  to  it  from  Eeadington. 
In  1844  the  township  was  set  off  from  Hunterdon  to 
Somerset  County.  In  1845  it  was  reannexed  to  Hun- 
terdon. 

FIBST   TOWN-MEETING. 

The  following  minute  is  the  first  found  in  the  town- 
ship-book : 

"  Tewksbury,  March  11, 1755. 

*'  Pursuant  to  a  patent  granted  for  the  said  township  by  His  Excellency 
Jonathan  Belcher,  Esq.,  our  Excellent  Governor,  the  town  met  at  the 
school-house  and  made  choice  of  the  following  persons  for  town  officers 
for  the  current  year, — viz.,  Ralph  Smith,  Town  Clerk  ;  Cornelius  Skin- 
ner and  John  Smith,  Freeholders ;  William  Bay,  Assessor,  sworn  ;  Chris- 
topher Beakman,  Collector,  sworn  ;  John  McCarty  and  John  Kose,  Sur- 
veyors of  Road;  Henry  Smith,  William  Barth,  Tunis  Eike,  William  01- 
bah.  Overseers  of  the  Road;  Patrick  Brown  and  Thomas  Harris,  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor ;  Jonas  Melick,  Constable,  sworn. 

"The  town  voted  that  they  would  pay  the  tax  at  three  places  where 
the  collector  should  advertise  to  meet  them  ;  that  the  assessor  should  be 
allowed  forty  shillings  for  assessing  the  town  ;  that  the  patent  should  be 
paid  for  out  of  the  surplusage  of  the  money  raised  on  the  town,  if  so 
much  shall  remain  after  the  tax  shall  be  paid  the  county  collector,  which 
was  paid  in  the  year  1756." 

The  following  have  been  the  principal  town  ofiicers : 

FREEHOLDERS. 
1755-56,  Cornelius  Skinner,  John  Smith ;  1757,  John  Smith,  Thos.  Harris ; 
1758,  Cornelius  Skinner,  Patrick  Brown ,  1759,  Patrick  Brown,  Hugh 
McCann;  17G0,  John  Smith,  Andrew  Smith;  1761,  Thomas  Harris, 
Jos.  Smith ;  1702,  Ralph  Smith,  Robert  Craig ;  1763,  Patrick  Brown, 
Kohert  Craig;  1764,  Patrick  Brown,  John  Melick;  1765,  Cornelius 
Skinner,  Thomas  Harris  ;  1766,  Patrick  Brown,  Peter  Perrine  ;  1767- 
68,  John  McCarter,  Robert  Craig;  1769,  John  McCarter,  Benyew 
Dunham;  1770,  John  Mehelm,  John  Adams;  1771,  Tunis  Melick, 
Wm-  McLean ;  1772,  Thomaa  Hains,  Bonyew  Dunham  ;  1773,  Tunis 
Melick,  Mindurt  Farley  ;  1774,  Benyew  Dunham,  Godfrey  Rinehart ; 
1775,  Godfrey  Rinehart,  Fred.  Bartles;  1776,  Tunis  Melick,  Abram. 
Van  Dyke ;  1777-78,  Godfrey  Rinehart,  B.  Bary ;  1779,  Simon  Fleet, 
Tunis  Melick ;  1780,  Simon  Fleet,  Anthony  Melick ;  1781,  Simon 
Beeves,  Thomas  Thompson ;  1782,  Thomas  Thompson.  Tunis  Me- 
lick ;  1783,  Anthony  Melick,  Abraham  Van  Dyke ;  1784-85,  Simon 


Fleet  Frederick  Bartles;  1786,  Thomas  Thompson,  John  Adams; 
1787  Thomas  Thompson,  Frederick  Bartles  ;  1788,  Frederick  Bartles, 
Abraham  Van  Dyke  ;  1789-01,  Simon  Fleet,  Anthony  Melick ;  1792- 
94  Anthony  Melick,  Jacob  Kline;  1795-97,  Jacob  Kline,  Dennis 
■Wikotf;  1798,  Abraham  Wikoff,  John  Haase;  1799-1800,  Abraham 
Van  Dyke,  John  Haase;  1801-14,  Jacob  Kline,  John  Haase;  1815- 
17  Oliver  W.  Ogden,  Jacob  Kline  ;  1818-19,  John  Haase,  John  Mc- 
Kiustry;  1820-21,  Jonathan  Potter,  Henry  Miller;  1822-23,  John 
McKinsti-y,  Jonathan  Potter ;  1824-26,  John  Haase, -M.  Lane  ;  1827- 
29,  Johu  Haase,  John  McKiustry;  1830-31,  Matthew  Lane,  John 
Crater ;  1832,  Joshua  Farley,  Jos.  Hoffman ;  1833,  John  McKinstry, 
Joseph  Hoffman  ;  1834-35,  Peter  E.  Fisher,  Joseph  Hoffman;  1836- 
38,  Nicholas  W.vkoff,  Frederick  Apgar;  1839,  Frederick  Apgar,  Geo. 
Henry;  1840,  Philip  Hiler,  George  Henry;  1841-43,  Philip  Hiler, 
Nicholas  E.  Melick  ;  1844-45,  Philip  Hiler,  Nicholas  F.  Apgar;  1846- 
47,  0.  W.  Farley,  John  R.  Brown ;  1848-49,  William  P.  Alpaugh, 
James  N.  Ramsey;  1850-51,  John  C.  Eafferty,  Andrew  Van  Sickle; 
1862,  John  C.  Kafferty;  1853,  Henry  J.  Stevens;  1864,  John  C.  Raf- 
ferty;  1855-56,  James  N.  Ramsey;  1857,  'William  Eick;  1858-69, 
Richard  Hoffman  ;  1860-62,  Sering  Potter ;  1863-64,  Samuel  Clark ; 
1865,  Sering  Potter;  1866-67,  David  F.  Apgar;  1868-69,  William  P. 
Alpaugh;  1870-71,  William  Eick;  1872-73,  Joseph  0.  Farley ;  1874- 
75,  John  Rinehart,  Jr. ;  1876-77,  George  G.  Alpaugh ;  1878,  Jacob  A. 
Specht;  1879-80,  Joseph  0.  Farley. 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
1765-62,  Ralph  Smith;  1763,  John  Welsh;  1764,  Conrad  Wilmot;  17G5, 
John  Forrester ;  1766-67,  Daniel  Castner;  1768-69,  Amos  Dunham; 
1770,  Robert  Simson ;  1771-1805,  Henry  Miller ;  1806-17,  Jacob  Kline ; 
1818-22,  John  W.  Kline ;  1823-30,  Joseph  Bartles;  1831-32,  Jacob  Ap- 
gar ;  1833-34,  Pliilip  Hiler ;  1835-37,  B.  M.  Honeyman  ;  1838^0,  Jos. 
Bartles;  1841,  Robert  M.  Honeyman  ;  1842^4,  Philip  Hiler;  18-15-46, 
Joseph  Bartles ;  1847-49,  Andrew  Van  Syckle ;  1850-51,  John  P.  S. 
Miller;  1852-64,  David  K.  Craig;  18.56-67,  John  P.  S.  Miller;  1868- 
63,  Peter  Apgar;  1864-65,  Asa  S.  Snyder;  1866-68,  Peter  Apgar; 
1869-70,  Joseph  C.  Farley  ;  1871-73,  Austin  Eick ;  1874,  Henry  Comp- 
ton  ;  1876,  Austin  Eick  ;  1876,  John  S.  Skillman ;  1877-79,  William 
Craig ;  1880,  Stephen  H.  Dorland. 

ASSESSORS. 
1755-61,  William  Bay ;  1762,  Thomas  Smith  ;  1763,  John  Mehelm;  1764, 
William  Shaler ;  1765-67,  John  Mehelm ;  1768-69,  Frederick  Trepau- 
gle  ;  1770-76,  Henry  Traphagen  ;  1777-78,  Thomas  Thompson  ;  1779- 
82,  Henry  Traphagen;  1783,  Wm.  Adams;  1784-85,  Henry  Traphagen; 
1786,  Johu  Wikolf;  1787-97,  Dennis  Wikoff;  1798-1814,  John  Haase ; 
1815-17,  Peter  Kline ;  1818-26,  William  Vliet ;  1825-30,  Peter  Kline; 
1831-32,  Henry  Hoffman;  1833,  Philip  I.  llowe;  1834r-36,  Frederick 
Apgar;  1836-38,  Jacob  Apgar;  1839-40,  David  Kline;  1841,  Jacob 
Apgar;  1342-43,  Morris  P.  Eick;  1844,  Peter  Apgar;  1846,  Peter 
Row;  1846-47,  James  Todd  ;  1848-49,  William  Sutton  ;  1850-61,  Con- 
rad P.  C.  Apgar;  1852,  James  Todd;  1883-66,  Peter  Apgar;  1867, 
Eichard  Hoffman;  1868-60,  Henry  McCatharien;  1861,  Jacob  Van- 
doren  ;  1862-64,  William  J.  Iliff ;  1866-68,  George  G.  Alpaugh ;  1869- 
70,  Nicholas  G.  Alpaugh ;  1871-73,  George  N.  Alpaugh  ;  1874-^75,  Wm. 
J.  Moore ;  1876,  Frederick  Apgar  ;  1877-78,  H.  Eugene  Parks ;  1879- 
80,  Manning  L.  McCrae. 

COLLECTORS. 
1766,  Christopher  Beekman ;  1756,  Aaron  Sutton  ;  1757,  Hugh  McCann ; 
1768,  John  Melick;  1769-60,  Eichard  Beard;  1761-62,  James  Cole; 
1763,  Thomas  Cole  ;  1764^67,  James  Cole ;  1768,  Thomas  Harris;  1769- 
70,  Robert  Craig ;  1771-73,  Peter  Perrine;  1774-78,  Patrick  Brown; 
1779-80,  Benyew  Dunham  ;  1781,  Robert  Craig ;  1782,  William  Aden  ; 
1783,  Robert  Craig;  1784-85,  John  Wikoff;  1786,  Abraham  Van 
Dike  ;  1787-90,  John  Haase ;  1791,  Thomas  Harris  ;  1792,  Peter  Mont- 
ford  ;  1793,  Peter  Melick  ;  1794,  Aaron  Sutton  ;  1796-96,  Geo.  Moore ; 
1797-98,  Matthias  McKinstry;  1799-1800,  Eichard  Kroeser;  1801- 
13,  John  Hoffman  ;  1814,  Andrew  Bartles ;  1816,  John  Hoffman ;  1816- 
17,  Philip  Alpaugh  ;  1818-23,  Philip  Hiler;  1824,  Peter  Kline;  1825- 
26,  John  Eodenbaugh;  1827,  Simon  Vliet;  1828-30,  George  Eick; 
1831-34,  John  Rodeubaugh  ;  1836-36,  Jesse  Gray;  1837-38,  Morris  P. 
Eyck ;  1839,  Nicholas  E.  Melick ;  1840,  Frederick  Apgar  ;  1841,  Wm. 
Vliet;  1842-43,  Peter  Row  ;  1844-46,  Jacob  N.  Apgar  ;  1846-47,  Noah 
Hoffman;  1848-49,  Ephraim  Eyck;  1860-51,  WiUiam  Eick;  1852- 
53,  Isaac  Alpaugh  ;  1851-55,  Samuel  Clark  ;  1856,  Geo.  G.  Alpaugh  ; 
1867-59,  Jacob  S.  Apgar ;  1860-61 ,  Jacob  Welsh ;  1862,  Henry  Crater ; 
1863,  Asa  S.  Snyder;  1804-05,  John  P.  S.  Miller;  1866-69,  Isaac  Al- 


TEWKSBURY. 


4'79- 


pangh;  1870-73,  George  N.  Alpaugh;  1874,  George  B.  Sutton  ;  1876, 
George  P.  Sutton  ;  1876,  Jonathan  Potter ;  1877-78,  George  B.  Lina- 
berry  ;  1879-80,  Frederick  H.  Elck. 

TO'WNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 
1776,  Henry  Traphagen,  Henry  Miller,  Patrick  Brown,  Benyew  Dunham, 
Mlndurt  Farley,  Frederick  Bartles ;  1798,  Jonathan  Wolverton,  Jacob 
Kline,  Simon  Vliet,  Abraham  Van  Dike,  William  Bumond;  1799-1880, 
John  Haaae,  Matthias  McKlnstiy,  Ananias  Mulford,  John  Tanderbilt, 
Joshua  Farley;  1801,  John  Haase,  Matthias  McKinstry,  Ananias 
Mulford,  Simon  Yliet,  Joshua  Farley ;  1802,  John  Haase,  Peter  Melick, 
Auanias  Mulford,  Simon  Vliet,  John  McKinstry ;  1803,  John  Haase, 
Peter  Melick,  David  Traphagen,  Ananias  Mulford,  George  Moore ; 
1804-5,  John  Haase,  Peter  Melick,  David  Traphagen,  Ananias  Mul- 
ford, Andrew  Sutton ;  1806-9,  John  Haase,  Ananias  Mulford,  Simon 
Vliet,  Peter  Melrck,  Oliver  W.  Ogden;  1810,  John  Haase,  Ananias 
Mulford,  Simou  Yliet,  William  Vliet,  Jacob  Kline ;  1811,  John  Haase, 
Ananias  Mulford,  Simon  Vliet,  William  Vliet,  Andrew  Bartles ;  1812- 
13,  Philip  Albach,  John  Haase,  Simon  Vliet,  William  Vliet,  Andrew 
Bartles;  1814,  Philip  Albach,  John  Haase,  Simon  Vliet,  William 
Vliet,  Henry  Van  Sickle ;  1815-16,  Jonathan  Potter,  Andrew  Bartles, 
Oliver  W.  Ogden,  John  McKinstry,  Aaron  Longstreet;  1817,  John 
Haase,  William  Vliet,  David  Felmley,  Henry  Miller,  Peter  Kliue; 
1818,  John  McKinstry,  John  Haase,  David  Felmley,  Henry  Miller, 
Nicholas  Hoffman ;  1819-24,  John  McKinstry,  John  Haase,  David 
Felmley,  Henry  Miller,  Andrew  Bartles;  1825-26,  John  McKinstry, 
John  Haase,  David  Felmley,  John  C.  Salter,  Andrew  Bartles ;  1827, 
John  McKinstry,  Jonathan  Potter,  William  Vliet,  John  Haase, 
Nicholas  Wickoff ;  1828,  John  McKinstry,  Jesse  Gray,  George  Hoff- 
man, William  Vliet,  Nicholas  Wickoff;  1829,  John  Kodenbaugh, 
John  Haase,  George  Hoffman,  William  Vliet,  Andrew  Bartles;  1830, 
John  Kodenbaugh,  John  Haase,  George  Hoffman,  William  Vliet, 
Jonathan  Potter ;  1831,  John  Ramsey,  Andrew  Striker,  George  Hoff- 
man, William  Welsh,  John  Hoffman  ;  1832,  John  Hoffman,  Nicholas 
Wickoff",  Andrew  Striker,  George  Hoffman,  William  Welsh;  1833, 
Jesse  Gray,  Nicholas  E.  Melick,  George  A.  Vescelius,  Peter  D.  Sover- 
ine,  Bichard  Sutton;  1834,  David  C.  Traphagen,  William  Welsh, 
Nicholas  E.  Melick,  George  A.  Vescelius,  John  Sheetz;  1835,  David 
P.  Traphagen,  William  Welsh,  Nicholas  B.  Melick,  John  Crater,  M. 
P.  Lane ;  1836,  Frederick  Apgar,  John  McKinstry,  Nicholas  E.  MeUck, 
George  A.  Vescelius,  M.  P.  Lane;  1837,  Frederick  Apgar,  George  A. 
Vescelius,  John  W.  Kline,  Capt.  Richard  Sutton,  George  Jones  ;  1838- 
39,  William  Hoffman,  Frederick  P.  Hoffman,  William  C.  Apgar, 
Bichard  Sutton,  John  W.  Kline ;  1840,  William  Hoffman,  Jacob  N. 
Apgar,  John  Eamsey,  George  Henry,  Leonard  N.  Flomerfelt ;  1841, 
William  Hoffman,  Jacob  N.  Apgar,  John  Bamaey.  Frederick  Apgar, 
PhiletusCook;  1842,  L.  N.  Flomerfelt,  Frederick  Apgar,  William 
Hoffman,  J.N.  Apgar,  John  Ramsey;  1843,  John  Bamsey,  M.  P. 
Lane,  Richard  Sutton,  Elijah  W.  Iliff,  William  Hoffman ;  1844,  John 
Bamsey,  James  Todd,  Andrew  Vansickle,  William  Vleit,  Thomas 
Apgar ;  1845,  Frederick  P.  Hoffman,  James  Todd,  Andrew  Vansickle, 
Frederick  Apgar,  Thomas  Apgar;  1840,  Philip  P.  Hoffman,  Christo- 
pher B.  Vansickle,  John  McEache'm,  Philip  Hann,  Nicholas  E. 
Melick;  1847,  Philip  P.  Hoffman,  John  P.  S.  Miller,  Andrew  Schuy- 
ler, Philip  Hann,  Nicholas  E.  Melick;  1848,  Asa  Tiger,  John  P.  S. 
Miller,  Andrew  Schuyler,  Aaron  Alpaugh,  Nicholas  E.  Melick ;  18-19, 
Asa  Tiger,  John  P.  S.  Miller,  Andrew  Schuyler,  Isaac  Alpaugh, 
Nicholas  E.  Melick ;  1850,  William  Alpaugh,  Jacob  Welsh,  Joseph  N. 
Eamsey,  Isaac  Alpaugh,  Ephraim  Eick ;  1851,  William  Alpaugh, 
William  Welsh,  N.  B.  Melick,  Ephraim  Eick,  Andrew  Vansickle; 
1852,  David  F.  Apgar,  Conrad  P.  C.  Apgar,  Andrew  Vansickle,  N.  E. 
Melick,  George  G.  Alpaugh ;  1853,  William  Eick,  Ephraim  Eick, 
Andrew  Vansickle,  N.  E.  Melick,  George  G.  Alpaugh ;  1854,  John  I. 
Hoffman,  Nicholas  B.  Melick,  Andrew  Vansickle,  George  G.  Alpaugh, 
John  Dougherty ;  1855,  John  I.  Hoffman,  N.  E.  Melick,  Andrew 
Vansickle,  George  G.  Alpaugh,  John  Rioehart,  Frederick  Apgar; 
18SB,  John  Hoffman,  Nicholas  E.  Melick,  Jacob  Welsh,  Wyckoff 
Stevens,  Frederick  Apgar ;  1857,  Isaac  A  Ipaugh,  Nicholas  E.  Melick, 
Jacob  Welsh,  Andrew  Vansickle,  Frederick  Apgar ;  1858-59,  Samuel 
Clark,  Frederick  Apgar,  Robert  Craig,  Andrew  Schuyler,  Andrew 
Vansickle;  1800,  Samuel  Clark,  Conrad  P.  0.  Apgar,  Robert  Craig, 
Andrew  Vansickle,  Andrew  Schuyler;  1861,  Samuel  Clark,  Conrad 
P.  C.  Apgar,  Robert  Craig,  John  B.  Vanderbeck,  Andrew  Vansickle; 
1862,  Asa  S.  Snyder,  John  Hann,  William  P.  Alpaugh,  John  B.  Van- 
derbeck, Jonathan  Potter;  1863,  Dennis  W.  Stevens,  Robert  Craig, 
John  Neighbor,  William  P.  Alpaugh,  Jonathan  Potter:  1864-67, 
Dennis  W.  Stevens,  Robert  Craig,  James  Smith,  Adam  Ecger,  John 


Neighbor ;  1868,  Wesley  G.  Henry,  David  Crampton,  Robert  Craig,- 
Peter  M.  Felmley,  Nathan  T.  Apgar ;  1869,  Wesley  G.  Henry,  An- 
drew Vansickle,  John  Rinehart,  Peter  M.  Felmley,  Nathan  T.  Apgar ;' 
1870,  Wesley  G.  Henry,  John  Rinehart,  Peter  M.  Felmley,  John 
Neighbor.  Henry  Crampton ;  1871,  Matthias  Dilley,  Henry  Cramp- 
ton,  Robert  Craig,  Peter  M.  Felmley,  Abraham  Apgar;  1872-73, 
Matthias  Dilley,  Heni7  Crampton,  Robert  Craig,  Peter  M.  Felmley, 
Georges.  Beavers;  1874-76,  Henry  C.  Hoffman,  Frederick  H.  Eick, 
Charles  W.  Hoffman,  Asa  Alpaugh,  Samuel  Clark  ;  1876-77,  Robert 
Craig,  Peter  M.  Felmley,  George  E.  Salter,  Isaac  Alpaugh,  Nathan 
T.  Apgar;  1878,  John  P.  S.  Miller,  Peter  M.  Felmley,  Isaac  Alpaugh, 
Nathan  T.  Apgar,  Benjamin  Van  Doren ;  1879,  John  P.  S.  Miller, 
Philip  P.  Hoffman,  Isaiah  Wise;  1880,  Philip  P.  Hoffman,  Isaiah 
Wise,  Henry  C.  Hoffman. 

The  town-meetings  were  held  at  New  Germantown 
until  1858,  originally  in  the  school-house  (probably 
the  academy);  in  1859-60,  at  Mountain ville;  1861- 
65,  in  New  Germantown ;  1866-76,  at  Mountainville ; 
1877-79,  in  New  Germantown;  1880,  at  Mountain- 
ville. 

VILLAGES. 
New  Gebmantown  was  begun  about  1700,*  and 
was  first  called  Smithfield,  from  Ealph  Smith,  the 
founder.   It  was  called  New  Germantown  about  1753,1 
when  the  Germans  had  gained  the  ascendancy. 

The  first  street  was  called  "  Smith's  lane," — the  one 
running  east  and  west  through  the  village.  It  was 
afterwards  known  as  the  "  Potterstown  road,"  and  in 
the  survey  of  Edward  Wilmot,  in  1755,  was  called 
King  Street.  In  the  survey  of  James  Honeyman,  in 
1818,  it  was  called  Church  Street. 

James  Cole  owned  the  lot  southeast  corner  of 
Church  and  Main  Streets,  having  bought  it  from 
Ealph  Smith  in  1761.  Michael  Hendershot  owned 
the  next  lot  east;  he  bought  it  in  1753.  Edward 
Kreiter  owned  the  next  lot,  and  Andrew  Shandler  the 
fourth  one,  having  bought  it  in  1759.  The  fifth  was 
owned  by  Godfrey  Kinehart,  he  having  bought  it  from 
Jonathan  Toms.  The  sixth  contained  a  one-story 
stone  house,  now  gone.  All  these,  unless  it  be  the 
fifth,  came  afterwards  into  possession  of  Zion  Church. 
The  first  store  after  Smithfield  became  New  Ger- 
mantown was  kept  by  Godfrey  Rinehart.  The  town 
received  quite  an  impetus  with  the  building  of  the 
turnpike,  soon  after  1811,  but  the  financial  collapse 
after  the  war  of  1812-15  prostrated  everything  and 
destroyed  its  prosperity.  Land  which  had  cost  $100 
an  acre  sold  after  the  war  for  $12.  New  streets  had 
been  opened,  however,  and  built  upon  at  that  time. 
It  had  at  one  time  a  distillery.  It  now  consists  of  a 
mill,  a  tannery,  three  carriage-shops,  a  blacksmith- 
shop,  two  harness-shops,  three  stores,  two  churches,  a 
school-house,  and  about  fifty  dwellings.  Its  popu- 
lation is  249,  by  the  census  of  1880.  There  was  prob- 
ably a  post-office  as  early  as  1739  or  1740. 

PoTTEBSViLLE  was  first  called  Lamington  Falls,  and 
afterwards  Potter's  Mills.  The  name  was  given  when 
the  post-office  was  established  there,  about  1840.  The 
mills  are  very  ancient.    The  grist-mill  was  burned  in 


*  Col.  E.  E.  Honeyman  in  "  Our  Home,"  117. 
f  Dr.  Mott's  History  of  Hunterdon  County,  p.  14. 


480 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1820,  and  rebuilt.  In  1840  it  was  remodeled,  and 
again  rebuilt  in  1878.  The  feed-mill  was  first  a  fac- 
tory, carding  wool  and  weaving  blankets.  It  was 
turned  into  its' present  use  about  thirty  years  ago. 

The  village  consists  of  a  store,  with  a  post-ofiBce, 
flouring-mill,  feed-mill,  blacksmith-shop,  machine- 
shop  and  foundry,  shoe-shop,  and  fifteen  dwellings. 
It  waa  named  after  its  principal  citizen,  Bering  Potter. 

Califon  is  a  station  on  the  High  Bridge  Railroad, 
and,  although  the  mills  have  been  in  existence  many 
years,  the  town  is  of  recent  growth.  It  waa  first 
called  California,  from  Jacob  Neighbor's  enthusiasm 
in  the  milling  business  about  the  time  the  California 
gold-fever  broke  out.  He  bought  corncobs  and  oats 
chafi"  to  grind  up  with  his  feed,  and  was  making  a 
gold  mine  of  his  mills.  There  are  now  two  stores,  a 
hotel,  two  grist-mills,  two  saw-mills,  two  blacksmith- 
shops,  two  wheelwright-shops,  two  shoe-shops,  a  har- 
ness-shop, a  distillery,  a  depot,  and  thirty-one  dwell- 
ings. Of  these  a  grist-mill,  a  saw-mill,  a  harness- 
shop,  a  wheelwright-shop,  a  blacksmith-shop,  the 
depot,  and  nineteen  dwellings  are  on  the  High 
Bridge  side  of  the  South  Branch.  The  post-office  is 
only  three  years  old. 

CoKESBUEG  is  a  very  old  place,  a  furnace  having 
been  built  there  in  1754.*  The  name,  it  is  claimed, 
came  from  the  church,  still  earlier.  It  is  said  to  be 
composed  of  the  names  of  the  two  bishops.  Coke  and 
Ajshury,  and  Cokesbury  to  have  become  Cokesburg 
when  the  post-office  was  established  there  by  a  mis- 
spelling of  the  word  by  the  Postmaster-General. 
There  are  a  hotel,  store,  blacksmith-shop,  wheel- 
wright-shop, two  churches,  and  fourteen  dwellings. 

MOUNTAINVILLE  has  been  so  called  since  the 
school-house  was  built,  forty  or  forty-five  years  ago. 
It  has  a  store,  blacksmith-shop,  wheelwright-shop, 
shoe-shop,  hotel,  school-house,  still-house,  saw-mill, 
two  flouring-mills,  and  twenty-three  dwellings. 

Faemersville  once  had  a  blacksmith-shop,  but 
now  a  school-house  and  eight  dwellings  are  all  the 
town  consists  of. 

Faiemopnt  has  two  stores,  a  blacksmith-shop,  shoe- 
shop,  grist-mill,  saw-mill,  tannery,  distillery,  school- 
house,  and  twenty-three  scattered  dwellings.  There 
axe  two  churches  a  mile  or  more  above.  The  water- 
powers  on  the  branch  of  the  Rockaway  give  it  im- 
portance. The  tannery  of  Oliver  Vescelius  is  the 
largest  in  the  county.  The  post-office  was  established 
in  18-50.  Peter  T>.  Emmons  was  postmaster  two  or 
three  years,  and  John  Vescelius  has  continued  since. 

SCHOOLS. 

School  District  No.  62  centres  at  Fairmount.  The 
first  school  held  there  was  in  an  old  log  house  in  the 
orchard  below  Fairmount.  In  1812  a  school-house 
was  first  built,  and  in  1830  a  new  stone  one  at  a  cost 
of   $1.5.3.     It  was  rebuilt  in  1870,  and  cost  $1,500. 


"  Mott'a  "  First  Century  of  Hnnterdon  County,"  p.  22. 


Frederick  P.  Hoffman,  Jesse  Gray,  Capt.  and  Richard 
Sutton  were  the  first  trustees. 

District  No.  68  includes  Farmersville  and  vicinity. 
A  school  was  originally  taught,  about  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  by  a  Mr.  Rodgers,  in  a  log  house,  in 
which  he  also  lived,  at  a  fee  of  $1  to  $1.50  per  quarter. 
A  log  school-house  was  built  about  1810  near  where 
Adam  Hoffman  now  lives ;  John  Schuyler  taught  in 
it.  When  the  township  was  struck  off  into  districts 
a  school-house  was  built  at  the  turn  of  the  road.  The 
present  house  was  built  about  forty-five  years  ago, 
and  cost  $800.    George  Hoffman  donated  the  site. 

District  No.  64  embraces  Mountain ville  and  the 
adjacent  region.  The  first  school-house  stood  near 
the  Rockaway,  on  a  lot  leased  by  Jacob  0.  Apgar.  It 
cost  $100.  Andrew  Schuyler,  Jacob  Philhower,  and 
Daniel  Porter  took  the  first  action  towards  a  school 
in  Mountainville  in  1830  or  1840,  and  William  Grant 
was  the  first  teacher.  He  afterwards  kept  the  Yellow 
Tavern  at  Bound  Brook.  The  new  school-house  was 
built  on  the  present  site  in  1867  or  1858.  Nathan 
Schuyler,  Jacob  B.  Saunders,  and  William  P.  Al- 
paugh  were  the  building  committee. 

District  No.  65,  known  as  Cokesburg,  has  school 
property  valued  at  $600,  with  158  children  of  school 
age,  of  whom  111  were  enrolled  in  the  school  register 
for  1879.  The  school-house  will  comfortably  seat  90 
pupils. 

CHURCHES. 
ZION  LUTHEBAN  CHURCH.f 

in  New  Germantown,  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  town- 
ship. The  earliest  records  go  back  no  farther  than 
1767,  but  we  learn  from  a  "  History  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  America,"  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hazelius,  that 
the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg  visited  and 
preached  at  New  Germantown  as  early  as  1745.  In 
1748  the  Rev.  John  Christopher  Ilartwick,  founder 
of  Hartwick  Seminary,  New  York,  took  charge  of 
the  congregation,  but  remained  only  a  short  time, 
when  he  received  a  call  to  New  York  City.  He  was 
followed  in  1749  by  the  Rev.  John  Albert  Wygandt. 
According  to  Dr.  Hazelius,  Mr.  Wygandt  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mr.  Schenk,  of  whose  labors  here  we  have 
no  further  information.  It  seems  that  from  this  time 
to  1760,  Father  Muhlenberg  exercised  a  sort  of  "  pre- 
siding eldership"  over  the  infant  congregation.  The 
next  settled  pastor  was  Rev.  Paul  Bryzelius,  who 
came  in  the  fall  of  1760.  A  Lutheran  house  of  wor- 
ship having  been  erected  about  this  date  at  "  Bed- 
minster  Town"  (Pluckamin),  Somerset  Co.,  it  is  prob- 
able that  Mr.  Bryzelius  served  both  congregations. 

In  May,  1767,  the  Rev.  Henry  M.  Muhlenberg,  who 
lived  at  Philadelphia,  was  called  as  rector  of  "the 
united  churches  of  Zion  and  St.  Paul."  It  was  under 
his  direction  and  by  his  influence  that  these  churches 
obtained  a  charter  of  incorporation  from  Governor 
William  Franklin,  dated  June  29,  1767.     la  the  ac- 


t  Condeneed  from  a  Bketch  prepared  by  John  C.  Honeyman. 


NATHAN  SCHUTLEE. 


ANDREW  SCHUTLEE. 


Xathan  Schuyler  was  bom  in  Tewksbury, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J..  Aug.  10,  1S22,  and  was 
a  son  of  Andi-ew  and  Efiiabetli  (Philhower) 
Schuyler. 

His  great-grandfather,  Philip  Schuyler,  came 
from  Grermany,  and  settled  in  German  Vallev, 
N.  J.,  before  the  Revolationary  -wai.  He  had 
sons  Peter  and  John,  the  latter  of  whom  married 
Elizabeth  Sutton  and  had  sous,  John,  Andrew, 
and  Peter,  and  three  daughters.  Andrew,  the 
father  of  our  subject,  settled  at  Mountain ville, 
X.  J.,  on  the  Philhower  farm,  in  1818.  He 
was  tlie  founder  of  the  first  common  school  at 
Mountainville,  and  aided  in  establishing  the  fii-st 
Sunday-school,  of  which  he  was  superintendent. 
An  Old-Line  Whig  in  politics,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  local  affairs,  holding  vai-ious  township 
offices,  and  being  highly  respected  as  a  citizen. 
He  died  in  1S74. 

The  children  of  Andrew  and  Elizabeth  Soluiy- 
ler  were  the  following  named:  Kachel,  wife  of 
Peter  R.  Teats;  Jesse,  deceased;  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  Jacob  B.  Apgar;  Richard,  a  farmer,  residing  in 
Tewksbury:  Xathan,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Dorothea,  wife  of  David  Lindabuiy;  Susan, 
wife  of  John  R.  Apgar;  Aai-on,  deceased;  Fanny, 
wife  of  David  Tiger. 


Xathan  Schuyler  married  Elizabeth  Tiger, 
Oct.  28,  1847,  and  had  children:  Elizabeth  and 
Amos  (twins);  the  former  married  Charles  B. 
Alpaugh,  the  latter  Jemima  Hoffman;  Rachel 
Ann,  wife  of  Peter  Robinson ;  Xoah  S.,  removed 
West;  Fanny  and  Jacob  T.  (twins);  the  former 
married  Peter  Philhower,  the  latter  died  in 
infancy;  Euphema  Jane,  single  and  living  at 
home. 

His  first  wife  died  in  February,  1869.  June 
24,  1S71,  he  mai-ried  his  present  wife,  Sarah 
H.  Mahoney,  who  was  formerly  well  known 
as  a  school-teacher  in  a  number  of  districts  in 
this  section  of  the  country. 

^Ir.  Scliuvler  has  devoted  his  life  to  farmins. 
and  at  present  is  managing  two  adjoining  farms 
in  Tewksbury,  near  Mountainville.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics,  yet  was  elected  justice  of 
tlie  peace  by  the  Democrats  in  1873,  and  now 
holds  the  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  ^leth- 
otlist  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  has  been  a 
class-leadei"  for  tweuty-seveu  years,  and  superin- 
tendent of  tlie  Sunday-school  twenty-two  yeai-s; 
has  held  the  office  of  steward,  and  is  at  present 
secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees;  and  treasurer 
of  the  Cokesburg  Cemetery  Association,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  founders. 


TEWKSBURY. 


481 


ceptance  of  the  charter  by  the  rector,  church-wardens, 
and  vestrymen,  the  two  churches  were  styled  "the 
United  Zion  and  St.  Paul's  Churches  and  Congrega- 
tions, in  the  counties  of  Hunterdon,  Somerset,  and 
Morris,  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey." 

In  the  spring  of  1768,  Eev.  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlen- 
berg, the  eldest  son  of  the  rector,— the  afterward  dis- 
tinguished Gen.  Muhlenberg  of  the  Eevolution,— was 
called  as  assistant  minister.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  February  of  the  next  year  that  he  came  to 
settle  and  live  among  them.  In  June,  1770,  it  was 
agreed  by  the  vestries  that  St.  Paul's  Church,  which 
had  had  service  every  third  Sunday,  should  thereafter 
have  it  only  every  fourth  Sunday,  so  that  the  mem- 
bers of  Zion's  Church  living  in  Eoxbury,  or  "  Ger- 
man Valley,"  might  have  preaching  every  fourth 
Sunday.  The  pastorate  of  Peter  Muhlenberg  con- 
tinued about  three  years,  or  until  the  spring  of  1772, 
when,  having  received  a  call  to  a  parish  in  Virginia, 
he  resigned  his  charge. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  congregations  in  May,  1772,  it 
was  "resolved  that  the  rector,  still  living  in  Philadel- 
phia, should  send  some  assistant  minister  to  visit  the 
two  churches  by  turns  until  he  could  come  himself  and 
live  on  the  glebe  or  find  another  in  his  place."  This 
request  seems  not  to  have  been  complied  with,  for  we 
find  it  recorded  in  April,  1773,  that  the  united  cor- 
porations "resolved  that  the  rector  should  be  desired 
and  requested  to  substitute  one  of  his  sons  for  his 
assistant  minister,  who  would  live  on  the  glebe,  now 
mended  and  repaired."  The  rector  agreed  to  try  and 
do  according  to  their  request.  The  first  mention, 
however,  of  an  assistant  minister  to  succeed  Rev. 
Peter  Muhlenberg  appears  in  the  church-book  under 
date  of  May,  1774,  when  Henry  Muhlenberg,  Jr.,  was 
present  at  the  election  of  vestrymen.  The  congrega- 
tions inquired  of  him  if  he  could  or  would  officiate 
any  longer.  He  said  that  he  had  received  and  ac- 
cepted a  call  from  the  corporation  in  Philadelphia  to 
be  minister  of  the  Lutheran  Zion  and  St.  Michael's 
Churches,  but  that  he  was  willing  to  remain  among 
them  if  they  would  give  him  a  call  to  succeed  the 
present  rector,  and  would  secure  him  from  preaching 
any  other  language  than  the  German,  and  if  it  could 
be  done  by  consent  of  Zion  and  St.  Michael's  corpor- 
ations. The  vestrymen  agreed  to  this,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  visit  and  obtain  the  consent 
of  the  churches  in  Philadelphia.  At  a  subsequent 
meeting  the  committee  reported  the  failure  of  their 
mission.  We  believe,  however,  that  the  junior  Muh- 
lenberg continued  occasionally  to  preach  for  the  peo- 
ple as  a  "  supply."  Thereafter  the  name  of  Muhlen- 
berg disappears  from  the  records  of  the  churches. 

In  1775,  Rev.  William  Graaf  accepted  a  call.  Of 
his  early  history  no  other  information  is  left  than  that 
in  the  inscription  on  his  monument. 

The  war  for  independence  coming  on,  the  churches 
had  a  difficult  time  to  sustain  themselves,  and  the 
newly-elected  pastor  received  but  an  indifierent  sup- 


port. The  fever  of  emigration,  too,  had  seized  upon 
the  community,  so  that  after  1800  we  hear  but  little 
of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church  at  "Bedminster 
Town." 

In  1801  the  Lutheran  brethren  at  Spruce  Run, 
having  the  previous  year  joined  with  the  German 
Reformed  people  in  erecting  a  new  house  of  worship, 
petitioned  for  a  share  in  the  Sunday  service  allotted 
to  New  Germantown.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  every 
fourth  Sunday  falling  to  Zion's  church  was  given  to 
them. 

The  pastorate  of  "  Father  Graaf"  continued  until 
his  death  in  1809,  and  during  the  same  year  a  call 
was  extended  to  the  Rev.  Ernest  Hazelius,  a  former 
teacher  in  the  Moravian  seminary  at  Nazareth,  Pa., 
but  at  this  time  residing  in  Philadelphia.  Besides 
preaching  to  three  congregations,  from  ten  to  sixteen 
miles  apart,  he  successfully  conducted  a  classical 
academy.  In  1815  he  was  elected  professor  of  Chris- 
tian theology  and  principal  of  the  classical  depart- 
ment of  Hartwick  Seminary,  New  York,  and  he  im- 
mediately entered  upon  the  work  assigned  him. 

After  the  departure  of  Mr.  Hazelius,  the  associate 
churches  united  in  calling  Rev.  David  Hendricks,  of 
Saddle  River,  N.  J.  He  came  among  them  in  1816, 
and  remained  till  1822.  Not  an  item  of  information 
is  obtainable  regarding  his  work  in  this  charge.  His 
successor  was  Eev.  Henry  Newman  Pohlman,  who 
remained  twenty-one  years.  In  1828  the  Spruce  Run 
Church  withdrew  from  the  ecclesiastical  union.  In 
the  winter  of  1839-40  a  remarkable  revival  occurred. 
Over  200  were  hopefully  converted,  of  whom  140 
joined  the  associate  churches.  In  1843,  Rev.  James 
R.  Keiser  succeeded  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pohlman,  the  lat- 
ter having  accepted  a  call  to  a  charge  at  Albany.  In 
1846  a  friendly  separation  took  place  between  the  old 
mother-church  and  her  now  flourishing  daughter  in 
German  Valley.  Mr.  Keiser  remained  nearly  seven  . 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Schoharie  village,  N.  Y. 
His  successor,  in  18S0,  was  Eev.  George  S.  Collins, 
who  was  followed  in  1853  by  Eev.  Jacob  C.  Duy.  In 
1872,  Eev.  J.  F.  Diener  accepted  a  unanimous  call, 
and  was  succeeded  in  1879  by  the  present  incumbent, 
Eev.  J.  F.  Kreechting. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHDECH   OF  NEW  GERMANTOWN. 

The  disafiection  which  culminated  in  the  formation 
of  this  church  occurred  in  1782,  when  a  Methodist 
missionary  who  came  to  labor  in  New  Germantown 
was  entertained  by  Mr.  Tunis  Melick,  one  of  the 
church-wardens,  and  made  some  converts.  Mr.  Henry 
Miller,  indignant  at  his  wife's  change  of  views,  brought 
the  matter  to  the  rector's  notice  in  a  paper  which  he 
had  prepared,  and  from  which  the  rector  warned  the 
people  against  him  in  terms  which  brought  Mr.  Tunis 
Melick  to  his  feet  and  Maj.  Godfrey  Einehart,  crea- 
ting a  great  uproar  in  the  church,  and  resulting  in  the 
disciplining  of  these  vestrymen  and  their  disappear- 
ance from  the  church  records  as  officers. 


482 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


After  that  Methodist  preachers  held  services  in  the 
houses  of  sympathizers.  Bishop  Asbury  preached  at 
the  residence  of  Mindurt  Farley,  and  others  at 
various  places,  till,  in  1824,  a  society  was  incor- 
porated and  Wesleyan  Chapel  built,  on  James  Street, 
where  the  cemetery  now  is.  Archibald  Kennedy, 
Nicholas  E.  Melick,  John  Melick,  James  Melick, 
John  Fine,  Mindurt  Farley,  George  Bunn,  Jacob 
Blain,  and  Anthony  Farley  were  the  trustees  of  Wes- 
leyan Chapel,  and  to  them  this  land  was  conveyed  by 
Andrew  Griffith  and  James  Honeyman.*  The  church 
was  rebuilt  in  1865,  when  P.  W.  Melick,  W.  J.  Melick, 
George  G.  Alpaugh,  Nicholas  E.  Melick,  William 
Iliff,  and  Herbert  Murphy  were  trustees. 

FAIBMODNT  PRESBYTEEIAN  CHURCH, 

originally  called  "  Fox  Hill  Church,"  is  one  of  the 
oldest  in  all  the  region  around.  Before  1746  there 
was  a  church  building  there,  an  old  log  house,  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mrs. 
Katie  Sutton. f  Michael  Schlatter  speaks  of  preach- 
ing in  the  Fox  Hill  church  in  1746,  which  was  doubt- 
less in  this  house. 

A  new  house  was  erected  previous  to  1760,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  one,  which  was  then  called  Foxen- 
burg,  from  John  Fox,  a  large  landowner  in  the 
neighborhood.  It  was  also  called  Parkersville,  or 
Parker's  village,  from'  James  Parker,  another  exten- 
sive proprietor,  who  gave  the  site  on  which  the  church 
was  built.  This  church  was  already  standing  in 
1760. 

In  1816  the  building  was  torn  down,  and  a  new  one, 
of  stone,  put  up  in  its  place,  at  a  cost  of  12850.  It 
was  smaller  than  the  former,  but  had  galleries  on 
three  sides.  Jacob  Schuyler,  Jacob  Miller,  and 
George  A.  Vescelius  were  the  trustees.  The  next  year 
the  church  was  legally  incorporated,  and  a  board  of 
trustees  elected,  under  the  corporate  name  of  "  The 
■  President  and  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Parker's  Village  or  Fox  Hill."  Henry  Miller  was 
president. 

This  building  was  demolished  and  the  present  one 
erected,  also  of  stone,  in  1851,  at  a  cost  of  $3800.  It 
was  larger,  but  had  but  one  gallery.  .  The  trustees 
were  David  Crater,  George  Salter,  and  Frederick  Ap- 
gar.  It  was  dedicated  July  25,  1852,  a  bell  having 
been  previously  placed  in  the  tower, — the  first  in  the 
neighborhood,  except  that  at  Chester.  In  1869  the 
name  of  the  church  was  changed,  by  act  of  the  Leg- 
islature, to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Fair- 
mount,  la  1870  the  church  was  repaired.  It  has  a 
parsonage  at  I'airmount. 

Ecclesiastically,  this  church  was  originally  German 
Reformed,  though  the  services  held  there  previous  to 
1768  were  frequently  conducted  by  Rev.  Mr.  Graaf, 
pastor  of  the  Lutheran  Church  at  New  Germantown. 


*  Col,  E.  R.  Honeyman  in  "  Our  Home,"  pp.  126,  129. 
t  This  is  mainly  gathered  from  the  sermon  of  Rev.  W.  Otis  Ruston, 
1876. 


In  that  year  it  was  united  with  German  Valley,  Rock- 
away,  and  Alexandria,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
Frederick  Dalliker,  whose  ministry  continued  from 
1768  to  1782,  when  Rev.  Caspar  Wack  became  pastor 
of  the  churches  of  Lebanon,  German  Valley,  and 
Fox  Hill.  Preaching  had  been  entirely  in  German 
till  his  time,  but  he  gave  an  occasional  sermon  in 
English,  and  towards  the  close  of  his  ministry  alter- 
nated,— English  in  the  morning  and  German  in  the 
afternoon.  His  ministry  continued  from  1782  till 
1809. 

Oct.  6,  1813,  the  church  was  connected  with  the 
Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick.  Previous  to  1835  it 
had  passed  from  this  Presbytery  to  that  of  Raritan. 
In  1841  it  was  transferred  to  that  of  Newton.  In 
1861  it  was  restored  to  that  of  Raritan,  and  after  the 
reunion  it  became  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of 
Morris  and  Orange.  Its  pastors  since  Mr.  Wack 
have  been  Jacob  Castner,  1813-17 ;  John  C.  Van  Der- 
voort,  1819-25;  Mancius  S.  Hutton,  1828-34;  James 
Scott,  1835^3  ;  Isaac  S.  Davison,  1843-47  ;  Charles 
M.  Oakley,  1847-50;  Charles  Wood,  1851-65;  Na- 
thaniel B.  Klink,  1855-59;  John  R.  Wilcox,  1861- 
73 ;  Frank  P.  Tompkins,  1873-74 ;  William  0.  Rus- 
ton,  1875. 

MBTIIODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH   OF  FAIRMOTJNT. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Fairmount  or 
Fox  Hill  was  built  in  1837.  The  trustees  were  Rev. 
George  Fisher,  Silas  Walters,  John  Fisher,  Christian 
Fisher,  and  George  Bunn.  Revs.  Joseph  Chattle 
and  Joseph  C.  Nelson  were  the  pastors.  Previous  to 
that  preaching  had  been  in  private  houses.  It  had 
belonged  about  1800  to  a  large  circuit,  including 
Trenton,  New  Brunswick,  Fox  Hill,  Flanders,  Bel- 
videre,  Newton,  Easton,  Freuchtown,  etc. ;  each  place 
had  service  only  once  in  six  weeks.  There  was  a 
church  organization  previous  to  1837,  and  services 
every  two  weeks.  Among  those  who  preached  were 
Bishop  Asbury,  Manning  Force,  Edward  Sanders, 
Ralph  Arndt,  Benjamin  Kelly,  and  others.  When 
first  erected  it  was  called  Parkersville  Church,  but  the 
name  was  changed  to  Fairmount  when  the  present 
house  was  built,  in  1868.  The  trustees  then  were  Silas 
Walters,  Joseph  Beavers,  George  Fisher,  Conrad  P. 
C.  Apgar,  John  V.  Welsh.  The  building  committee 
were  Rev.  J.  B.  Howard,  George  B.  Linaberry,  and 
Silas  Walters. 

The  present  building  is  a  beautiful  structure,  45 
by  80  feet,  with  a  spire  132  feet  high,  and  a  seating 
capacity  of  600.     It  cost  $13,000. 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  POTTERSVILLE 

is  in  Somerset  County,  and  the  parsonage  in  Hunter- 
don County.  It  was  begun  in  1865.  The  first  meeting 
towards  organizing  a  church  was  held  Aug.  12,  1866. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  May  22,  1866,  and  the 
building  dedicated  Dec.  26,  1866.  The  church  is  44 
by   62   feet;    spire,  122i    feet '  high.     The  cost  was 


TBWKSBUKY. 


483. 


$8264.58;  furnishing,  $2881,  including  gifts.  The 
total  cost  was  about  $10,000.  The  building  committee 
were  Bering  Potter,  Sr.,  Jonathan  Potter,  Simon  W. 
Vliet,  Philip  J.  Philhower,  and  Peter  Miller.  The 
pastors  were  Thomas  W.  Jones,  1867-71 ;  Vernon  B. 
Carroll,  1871-73;  John  Davis,  Noyember,  1873- 
December,  1877 ;  William  H.  Hoffman,  Jan.  10, 1878, 
present  pastor.  The  parsonage  was  a  gift  from  Sering 
Potter,  about  1872,  and  was  worth  $3000. 

A  Presbyterian  church  is  in  process  of  erection  at 
Cokesburg.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  Oct.  14, 1880. 
The  trustees  are  George  M.  Einehart,  Stephen  Ap- 
gar,  and  John  Hope. 

There  is  an  old  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at 
Cokesburg,  but  it  is  not  in  the  township. 

CEMETERIES. 
The  oldest  cemetery  is  the  Lutheran,  at  New  Ger- 
mantown,  which  is  in  the  churchyard,  and  is  prob- 
ably as  old  as  the  church.  The  oldest  date  on  its 
headstones  now  decipherable  is  that  of  Charity  Pickel, 
which  reads  as  follows : 

"  Here  lies  the  Body  of 

Charity, 

the  wfe  of 

Baltes  Pickel  ''■"'  who 

Departed  this  life  December  the  4th,  1761, 

in  the  77th  year  of  her  Age. 

My  Glass  is  Run, 

My  grave  yon  see ; 
Prepare  for  Death 
And  follow  me." 

The  new  cemetery  dates  from  1857. 

There  is  an  old  private  burying-ground  on  the  es- 
tate of  Dr.  Barnet,  now  in  possession  of  Peter  W. 
Melick,  where  lie  the  remains  of  Dr.  Barnet  and  his 
wife,  her  widowed  sister,  Mrs.  Haines,  Dr.  William 
Barnet,  Dr.  Oliver  W.  Ogden,  and  his  wife  and  sister. 
It  is  a  beautiful  spot,  26  by  30  feet,  inclosed  with  a 
wall,  now  going  to  ruin,  the  iron  gate  being  entirely 
gone.  A  substantial  slab  of  good  marble,  lying  on 
the  ground,  without  reference  to  grave  or  situation, 
with  several  pieces  broken  off,  informs  us  that  it  is 

"  In  memoi-y  of 
Dk.  Olivee  Bahnet,  Esq., 

Who  departed  this  life 
in  the  66th  year  of  his  age." 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  cemetery  at  New  Ger- 
mantown  was  established  in  1824.  The  old  Methodist 
Episcopal  cemetery  in  Cokesburg  is  as  old  as  the 
church.     There  is  a  new  one  now. 

The  Presbyterian  cemetery  at  Fairmount  is  very 
old.  There  was  an  old  cemetery  at  one  time  where 
Veacelius'  store  now  stands,  in  Fairmount.  It  was 
free,  and  in  the  memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitants  was 
used  for  negroes  and  poor  people.  It  is  entirely  ob- 
literated. 

The  new  cemetery  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  was 
made  in  1878.  Three  acres  were  given  by  George  E. 
Salter,  and  two  were  purchased  to  add  to  it.  A  stone 
wall  incloses  it. 


The  Methodist  Episcopal  cemetery  of  Fairmount 
was  begun  in  1837.  George  Fisher  gave  the  ground, 
and  the  church  was  built  on  one  corner  of  it.  About 
1866  it  was  enlarged  from  half  an  acre  to  its  present 
size.  The  grave  of  Rev.  George  Fisher  is  a  promi- 
nent one.    His  epitaph  reads  as  follows  : 

"  Rev.  George  Fisher, 

Who  departed  this  life  May  14, 1846, 

Aged  78  years  5  months  and  10  days. 

He  obtained  remission  of  sins  and  united  himself  with  the  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church  A.D.  1806,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  A.D. 

1810.    As  a  preacher  he  was  eminent  for  zeal  and  usefulness,  and  still 

more  distinguished  as  a  Christian  for  sanctity  of  manner  and  deep  and 

iinafFected  piety. 

With  poverty  of  spirit  blest. 

Rest  happy  saint  in  Jesus  rest ; 

A  sinner  saved,  through  grace  forgiven. 

Redeemed  from  earth  to  reign  in  heaven." 

PERSONS  AND  PLACES  OF  NOTE. 
Among  the  persons  of  note  who  have  gone  out  from 
this  township,  or  lived  in  it,  are  Alexander  Adams, 
who  formerly  resided  at  New  Germantown,  but  re- 
moved tt)  New  York  and  died  at  Morristown,  being 
buried  at  Bernardsville.  He  prepared  an  illustrated 
Bible,  which  the  Harpers  published. 

Rev.  Mancius  Smede  Hutton,  pastor  of  the  Fair- 
mount  Presbyterian  Church  from  1828  to  1834,  was 
called  from  there  to  the  South  Dutch  Church  of  New 
York  City,  where  he  remained  as  pastor  till  1875. 

Rev.  George  Enders,  of  Ohio,  a  Lutheran  minister 
of  prominence,  once  worked  on  a  farm  in  Tewksbury 
township  in  his  early  days.  Hon.  A.  A.  Clark,  of 
Somerville,  a  recent  member  of  Congress  and  promi- 
nent member  of  the  bar,  was  brought  up  there.  J. 
Daggett  Hunt,  Esq.,  formerly  city  solicitor  of  New 
York  City,  was  a  native  of  Tewksbury.  Stephen  B. 
Ransom,  of  Jersey  City,  a  lawyer  of  note,  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  Tewksbury.  James  Honeyman, 
much  sought  after  by  the  judges  and  members  of  the 
bar  in  Trenton  for  his  brilliant  witticisms  and  enter- 
taining good  humor,  was  a  hotel-keeper  at  New  Ger- 
mantown.* His  grandson,  A.  V.  D.Honeyman,  editor 
of  "  Our  Home"  and  The  Somerset  Gazette,  and  com- 
piler of  "  Laws  of  New  Jersey,"  was  born  at  New  Ger- 
mantown. 

Among  the  remarkable  places  is  Hell  Mountain,  a 
ridge  near  Mountainville  noted  for  wildcats,  of  which 
some  have  been  shot  there  as  late  as  1870,  and  for  the 
evil  reputation  once  had  of  its  inhabitants,  who  were 
noted  for  robberies  and  State's-prison  offenses,  —  a 
characteristic  now  happily  passed  away.  House  Rock 
is  a  remarkable  and  famous  rock  on  top  of  this  moun- 
tain. 

A  rather  remarkable  fact  pertaining  to  the  locality 
is  the  longevity  of  many  of  the  people.  Peter  I. 
Hoffman  is  a  hale  old  man  of  ninety-eight;  Joachim 
Gulick  is  ninety-six,  still  vigorous ;  George  Fisher  is 
eighty-five,  and  very  many  are  still  living  at  a  great 
age. ; 

*  Col.  B.  E.  Honeyman  in  "  Our  Home,"  p.  128. 


484 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


INDUSTRIAL   PURSUITS. 

The  main  pursuit  of  this  township  is  agriculture, 
which  is  carried  to  a  high  degree  of  success.  There 
are  mills  at  Califon,  Pottersville,  New  Germantown, 
and  Mountainville,  and  tanneries  at  New  German- 
town  and  Fairmount.  There  are  distilleries  at  Cokes- 
burg,  Fairmount,  and  Califon. 

The  distillery  at  Fairmount  has  a  history  worth  re- 
cording. It  was  built  by  John  Lutz,  and  proved  his 
ruin  in  a  few  years.  He  and  his  wife  died  poor.  His 
administrators  sold  it  to  Israel  Lossy,  who  began  with 
$2000.  In  a  few  years  it  ruined  him,  and  he  became 
so  poor  that  his  son  had  to  pay  his  board.  Albert 
Proctor  purchased  it  for  a  trifling  sum,  and  began 
with  a  capital  of  $2000.  He  soon  got  to  the  end  of 
his  money,  and  had  to  sell.  Frederick  L.  Cook, 
grandson  of  John  Lutz,  bought  it.  He  had  $3000, 
but  went  through  it  in  a  few  years  and  died.  His 
estate  was  insolvent,  and  his  wife  sold  the  distillery 
to  Henry  Fleming,  who  is  now  carrying  it  on  with 
spirit.  There  was  another  distillery  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  east  of  it  which  was  carried  on  for  ten  or  twenty 
years,  till  1849.  It  was  conducted  by  John  C.  Moore, 
but  was  owned  by  Henry  Miller. 

There  is  a  mine  of  iron  ore  on  O.  W.  Farley's  place, 
near  Cokesburg.  It  was  opened  by  the  English  before 
the  Revolution,  but  the  industry  stopped  by  that  war. 
It  was  reopened  by  0.  W.  Farley,  nine  or  ten  years 
ago,  and  driven  about  a  year.  From  500  to  600  tons 
of  ore  were  taken  out  in  one  year  and  sent  to  Penn- 
sylvania. There  are  mines  of  iron  near  Califon,  on 
Philip  Hann's  place ;  200  or  300  tons  have  been  taken 
out  by  a  Pennsylvania  company  who  have  leased  the 
right  and  are  now  opening  and  exploring  it.  In 
Nathan  Schuyler's  farm,  and  on  Peter  Bunnell's  and 
Philip  P.  Hoffman's  also,  there  is  an  excellent  quality 
of  ore.  There  is  also  a  mine  of  iron  near  Fairmount, 
on  Henry  Fisher's  land.  Dr.  Mills,  of  Dover,  bought 
it  and  took  out  some.     It  is  yet  undeveloped. 

Christian  Fisher  opened  a  mine  of  black  lead  near 
Fairmount,  but  has  not  yet  fully  developed  it.  There 
is  a  quarry  of  pudding-stone  marble  near  New  Ger- 
mantown, but  it  is  used  for  burning  into  lime. 

MILITARY. 

Some  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  this  township 
served  in  the  Revolution,  among  them  Christopher 
Philhower,  son  of  the  first  settler  of  that  name.  John 
Mehelm,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress of  New  Jersey,  and  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety,  was  a  prominent  patriot  of  the  Revolution. 
See  sketch  in  chapter  upon  "  Prominent  Men  of  Som- 
erset County." 

In  the  early  part  of  the  war  of  1861,  Tewksbury 
township  raised  Co.  A,  Thirty-first  Regiment  New 
Jersey  Volunteers,  at  New  Germantown,  of  which 
R.  R.  Honeyman  was  captain ;  he  afterwards  became 
major,  then  lieutenant-colonel,  and  ultimately  colonel. 

At  a  special  town-meeting  held  at  New  German- 


town  Aug.  3,  1864,  it  was  ordered  that  $300  should 
be  paid  to  every  drafted  man  or  every  man  who 
should  put  in  a  substitute  in  the  three  years'  draft, 
and  $200  to  those  for  one  year's  service.  It  was  first 
arranged  to  raise  this  money  by  a  $25  tax  on  every 
man  liable  to  the  draft,  but  was  afterwards  ordered, 
in  a  meeting  held  in  New  Germantown,  Sept.  2, 1864, 
to  be  refunded  and  the  whole  to  be  raised  by  tax. 

Under  the  proclamation  calling  for  300,000  men, 
a  special  town-meeting  was  held,  also  at  New  Ger- 
mantown, Jan.  2,  1865,  and  resolutions  passed  giving 
to  every  man  who  should  enlist  or  put  in  a  substitute 
the  sum  of  $500. 

At  a  special  town-meeting,  May  26,  1864,  held  at 
New  Germantown,  by  order  of  the  committee,  it  was 
ordered  that  twenty-three  drafted  men  should  be  paid 
$300  each,  and  that  all  future  drafted  men  should  be 
paid  the  same  as  soon  as  mustered  into  the  service. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


ROBERT    CRAIG. 

Moses  Craig,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  emigrated  from  the  North  of  Ireland 
and  settled  in  Bedminster,  Somerset  Co.,  with  the 
Presbyterian  colony  which  formed  the  original  church 
at  Lamington,  about  1780.  The  place  of  his  settle- 
ment was  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Simon  Hageman. 
The  records  of  the  Lamington  congregation  show  that 
he  was  a  pew-holder  in  1754. 

He  bought  the  homestead  farm  in  Tewksbury  of 
Jacob  Yan  Derveer,  as  per  deed  bearing  date  May  2, 
1757,  and,  for  love  and  affection  for  his  son  Robert, 
conveyed  the  same  to  him  by  deed  bearing  date  Dec. 
11,  1759.  He  died  July  31,  1777,  in  the  seventy-fifth 
year  of  his  age. 

Robert  Craig,  the  grandfather,  was  born  Nov.  15, 
1734,  and  married  his  first  wife,  Anna,  Feb.  7,  1756. 
She  was  born  Dec.  3,  1731,  and  died  Feb.  24,  1777, 
leaving  several  children.  He  married  his  second  wife, 
Elizabeth  Taylor,  of  Monmouth  County,  by  whom  he 
had  five  children,  four  sons  and  one  daughter.  She 
died  Aug.  6,  1830.  One  of  the  sons,  William,  born  in 
March,  1785,  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
notice,  and  was  thirteen  years  and  seven  months  old 
when  his  father  died,  Oct.  6,  1797.  He  and  his 
brother  Joseph  bought  out  the  other  heirs  when  they 
became  of  age,  and,  in  1822,  WiUiam  bought  Joseph's 
interest,  and  transmitted  the  estate  by  will  to  his  son 
Robert,  the  present  occupant,  he  paying  his  sisters  a 
legacy.  Thus  the  estate  has  been  in  the  family  over 
one  hundred  and  twenty-three  years. 

William  Craig,  the  father,  was  singular  in  respect 
to  his  eyes  and  hair,  being  very  near-sighted,  and  his 
hair  being  white  and  very  stiff  His  complexion  or 
skin  had  the  same  white  appearance.     He  was  of 


O 


TEWKSBUKY. 


485 


medium  stature,  quick,  stirring,  and  enterprising,  a 
skillful  and  shrewd  manager,  and  successful  in  his 
undertakings.  He  was  particularly  averse  to  being 
put  forward  in  any  conspicuous  position,  and  never 
could  be  persuaded  to  accept  an  office  in  his  township. 
He  devoted  his  energies  to  business,  and  accumulated 
considerable  property  for  the  chance  he  had  and  the 
times  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  modest  in  his  pro- 
fession, and  his  religion  consisted  more  of  sober, 
earnest  conviction  than  of  emotion  or  sentiment. 

Eobert  Craig  was  born  March  10,  1815,  on  the 
homestead  farm,  where  he  has  always  lived  and  pur- 
sued the  occupation  of  an  agriculturist.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  held  several  local  town- 
ship offices,  having  been  a  member  of  the  committee, 
and  treasurer  during  the  war,  when  much  money  had 
to  be  handled  in  paying  for  volunteers.  In  all  this  he 
acquitted  himself  with  credit  and  satisfaction  to  his 
fellow-citizens.  He  has  served  on  the  township  com- 
mittee most  of  the  time  for  the  last  twenty  years. 

He  married,  Jan.  9,  1840,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Richard  H.  Field,  of  Lamington,  N.  J.  They  have 
had  nine  children, — four  sons  and  five  daughters, — to 
vpit :  William,  married  Mary  W.  Dawes,  and  resides 
on  part  of  the  homestead;  Richard  F.,  married  Alice 
L.  Welch,  daughter  of  David  Welch,  deceased ;  Sarah 
E.,  wife  of  Henry  M.  Kline,  of  Clinton,  N.  J. ;  Ger- 
trude P.,  wife  of  David  Denham,  of  High  Bridge 
township,  near  Clinton;  Henry  F.,  married  Mary 
Wyckoflf,  formerly  of  Lamington,  now  of  Kansas; 
Mary  L.,  wife  of  William  Dunham,  of  Pottersville, 
N.  J. ;  the  others,  Margaret  V.,  Anna  B.,  and  Robert, 
are  single  and  reside  at  home. 


SAMUEL   W.   SALTER. 

His  grandfather,  John  Salter,  came  from  West- 
chester County,  N.  Y.,  and  settled  in  Pequanock  town- 
ship, Morris  Co.,  N.  J.  The  deed  for  the  place  bears 
date  July  13,  1764.  It  was  given  by  David  Eansford 
to  "  John  Salter,  Sr.,  of  Westchester  County,  N.  Y." 
He  had  probably  removed  there  from  Connecticut 
previously.  He  was  a  Friend  or  Quaker  in  his  re- 
ligious affiliations;  married  Sarah  Charlotte  Weis- 
senfelt,  and  had  one  son  and  four  daughters, — viz., 
John  C,  Susan,  Elizabeth,  Charlotte,  and  Sarah. 
Elizabeth  married  a  Cook,  and  Charlotte  an  EUery, 
of  New  York.    John  Salter,  Sr.,  died  about  1806. 

John  C.  Salter,  father  of  our  subject,  was  bom  Jan. 
2,  1779,  and  died  April  25,  1847.  He  married  Beulah 
Wills,  of  Mendham,  Morris  Co.,  Aug.  7,  1800.  She 
was  born  March  26,  1778,  and  died  !lS[ov.  3,  1835. 
John  C.  Salter  removed  from  Morris  County  to 
Tewksbury  in  1808,  and  settled  on  the  present  home- 
stead, which  was  given  by  Samuel  Wills  to  his  daugh- 


ter Beulah,  and  purchased  of  Elijah  Dunham,  the 
deed  bearing  date  Nov.  11,  1778.  This  estate  has 
been  in  the  family  ever  since. 

The  children  of  John  C.  and  Beulah  Salter  were 
Nancy,  born  May  31,  1801,  married  Lewis  Young,  of 
Clarksville,  N.  J.,  Feb.  26,  1834;  Samuel  W.,  born 
Sept.  14,  1802,  married,  first,  Sophia  Z.  Sayre,  of 
Madison,  Morris  Co.,  June  16,  1836.  She  died  June 
26,  1845.  He  married  for  his  second  wife  Hannah 
M.,  sister  of  his  first  wife,  July  28,  1846.  She  died 
Oct.  28,  1868.  He  died  Nov.  26,  1872,  in  the  seventy- 
first  year  of  his  age.  The  children  of  Samuel  W. 
Salter  were  George  E., — the  successor  of  his  father 
on  the  homestead  farm,— born  June  19, 1837 ;  Beulah 
W.,  born  March  22,  1839,  died  Nov.  22,  1853;  and 
Martha  M,  born  Aug.  24, 1842,  died  March  20,  1843. 

Samuel  W.  Salter  was  a  merchant  in  early  life,  and 
kept  store  at  Fairmount,  Hunterdon  Co.,  the  place  of 
his  residence.  He  was  a  prominent  man  in  his  neigh- 
borhood and  active  in  every  good  work,  both  in  be- 
half of  the  church  and  other  public  interests ;  was  for 
many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  a  commis- 
sioned officer  in  the  militia.  He  was  highly  esteemed 
for  his  uprightness  of  character,  his  genial  and  kindly 
disposition,  and  his  exemplary  life.  He  had  a  rich 
vein  of  wit  and  humor,  and  many  racy  and  amusing 
anecdotes  told  by  him  are  still  remembered  and  re- 
lated by  the  old  people.  His  faculty  for  amusing 
children  was  great,  and  he  was  the  life  and  soul  of 
every  social  gathering. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Fairmount  Presbyterian 
Church  for  many  years,  and  in  1851,  when  the  new 
church  edifice  was  built,  he  raised  and  collected  the 
subscription,  amounting  to  about  three  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

His  son,  George  E.  Salter,  is  his  successor  on  the 
homestead,  and,  in  addition  to  his  farming,  carries  on 
a  store,  in  partnership  with  his  father-in-law,  at 
Unionville,  Morris  Co.  He  has  recently  given  a  lot 
of  three  acres  of  land  to  the  Fairmount  Presbyterian 
Church  for  a  cemetery,  and  takes  an  interest  in  having 
it  properly  improved  during  his  lifetime.  He  was 
married,  first,  Oct.  11, 1864,  to  Alletta  M.,  of  Liberty 
Corner,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  She  died  May  11,  1866, 
leaving  no  issue.  He  married,  second,  Maggie  A. 
Pitney,  of  Chester,  Morris  Co.,  Jan.  20,  1869.  The 
children  by  this  marriage  have  been  as  follows  :  Liz- 
zie S.,  born  Feb.  24,  1871,  died  April  26,  1872 ;  Louis- 
P.,  born  April  12,  1874;  Annetta  W.,  born  Jan.  6, 
1880. 

It  is  a  remarkable  peculiarity  of  the  Salter  family 
that,  back  as  far  as  the  generations  can  be  traced, 
there  has  been  but  one  son  in  each  family,  and  each 
has  been  a  justice  of  the  peace,  with  the  exception  of 
the  present  George  E.  Salter,  who  declined  the  office. 


BEADINQTOISr. 


SITUATION,  AREA,  BOUNDAEIES. 
This  township,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  im- 
portant in  the  county,  has  an  area  of  nearly  45  square 
miles,  and  contains  28,602  acres.  Its  situation  is  upon 
the  eastern  side  of  the  county.  It  is  of  very  irregular 
shape,  and  has  but  few  straight  lines  in  its  boundaries. 
Branchburg  township,  in  Somerset  County,  bounds 
it  on  the  east,  and  Bedminster,  in  the  same  county, 
upon  the  northeast;  on  the  north  Tewksbury  joins 
with  saw-like  outlines;  westward  lies  the  more  re- 
cent-formed township  of  Clinton;  while  upon  the 
south  and  southwest  Karitan  township  is  separated 
from  it  by  the  South  Branch. 

LEADING   PHYSICAL    FEATURES. 

The  stream  rising  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cushetunk 
Mountains,  and  flowing  south  of  east  across  this  town- 
ship, is  generally  called  (and  so  named  on  the  maps) 
Holland's  Brook,  as  if  after  a  man  named  Holland. 
In  the  ancient  documents  it  is  universally  given  as 
"Hollands,"  or  "Hollants,"  meaning  Hollandish,  the 
significance  of  which  is  apparent,  Hollanders  having 
been  the  first  settlers  in  this  section.  Possibly,  also, 
there  may  be  in  it  some  allusion  to  the  primary 
meaning  of  the  words, — viz.,  "  muddy"  or  "  marshy 
land." 

Campbell's  Brook  (now  Pleasant  Run)  was  un- 
doubtedly so  named  after  John  Campbell,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  lands  at  its  mouth,  which  he  purchased 
in  1685.*  Chamber's  (sometimes  called  Smith's) 
Brook  and  Eockaway  Creek  are  in  the  north  part  of 
the  township.  The  latter  empties  into  the  Laming- 
ton  Eiver,  which  was  formerly  known  as  the  "  Ala- 
matong,"  or  Alamatunk,  and  forms  a  part  of  the 
north  line  of  the  township. 

Other  streams  are  Leslie's  Brook,  so  called  from 
being  the  south  line  of  William  Leslie's  land,  and 
Van  Fleet's  Brook,  which  empties  into  the  South 
Branch  below  Three  Bridges. 

The  mountain  elevations  of  Eeadington  are  only 
the  detached  spurs  of  the  Cushetunk  Mountains, — 
namely,  Round,  and  Pickel's  Mountain. 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 
Eeadington  was  divided  into  four  proprietory 
rights,  Joseph  Kirkbride  taking  the  southeast  part, 
Col.  Daniel  Coxe,  of  Philadelphia,  the  southwest 
(he  having  purchased  it  of  Thomas  Williams  in 
London  in  1705),  Budd  &  Logan  the  northwest,  and 


*  Historical  Notes  of  Judge  Thompson. 


486 


George  Willocks,  of  Perth  Amboy,  the  northeast. 
In  1712,  Coxe  had  his  lands  surveyed,  and  in  1720 
the  survey  was  recorded  in  Burlington.  Kirkbride 
sold,  in  1712,  500  acres  to  Emanuel  Van  Etta,  adjoin- 
ing the  Somerset  county  line  and  extending  from  the 
Centreville  school-house  to  Jacob  Todd's  present  resi- 
dence, having  previously  sold  2000  acres  lying  west 
of  the  Van  Etta  purchase  to  Daniel  Seabring  and 
Jerome  Van  Est.  On  this  tract,  near  Campbell's 
Brook,  was  an  Indian  village  in  the  early  day.  When 
the  Indians  sold  their  rights  to  these  lands,  they  still 
held  as  their  reservation  the  farms  now  owned  by 
Backus  Hoagland  and  John  S.  Craig.  Abr.  StuU 
owned  the  farms  now  belonging  to  Peter  D.  Schomp 
and  H.  Hageman;  the  latter  afterwards  sold  to  Isaac 
Aray,  a  descendant  of  "  Aray  Van  Geena,"  a  negro 
from  Guinea. 

Hollanders,  either  direct  from  the  mother-country 
or  descendants  of  those  who  had  settled  on  Long  Is- 
land, were  the  first  to  locate  in  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Some  of  these  families  are  still 
represented  in  this  vicinity.  The  first  actual  settlers 
of  the  township,  so  far  as  known,  were  Adrian  Lane 
and  Emanuel  Van  Etta,  the  former  at  Eeadington 
village,  and  the  latter  southwest  of  Centreville,  on 
the  farm  where  George  D.  Schomp  now  resides.  Lane 
settled  about  1700,  and  Van  Etta  a  few  years  later. 
The  Lowes  settled  soon  after  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  township.  Other  settlers  from  1710  to  1720 
were  Stull,  Lott,  Biggs,  Schomps,  Smith,  Van  Horn, 
WyckofF,  Cole,  Klein,  Jennings,  Stevens,  Johnson, 
Hoagland,  Fisher,  Probasco,  Schenck,  and  Voorhees, 
several  of  whom  came  from  Long  Island. 

The  Wyckoflfs,  Van  Horns,  Covenhovens,  Eoelif- 
sons,  Johnsons,  Traphagens,  Van  Dorens,  and  Ten 
Eycks  settled  in  that  part  of  Eeadington  known  as 
White  House ;  at  Pleasant  Eun  the  Devores,  Schomps, 
Biggs,  and  Coles  located.  The  three  last-named  fam- 
ilies came  from  Long  Island  in  1712.  Between  Cen- 
treville and  Three  Bridges,  Adrian  Aten  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers,  about  1725. 

Frederick  Van  Fleet  came  from  Esopus,  N.  Y.,  in 
1725,  and  bought  lands  of  Van  Etta,  his  homestead 
being  the  residence  of  the  late  0.  W.  Van  Fleet.  He 
soon  after  became  owner  of  a  large  tract  at  what 
later  was  known  as  Van  Fleet's  Corner.  His  son, 
Thomas,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  vice- 
chancellor,  became  the  owner  of  a  valuable  tract  of 
two  hundred  acres,  a  part  of  which  is  now  owned  by 
his  great-grandson,  John  J.  Van  Fleet.    John's  father, 


READINGTON. 


487 


John  T.  Van  Fleet,  known  as  "Old  Collector,"  was 
born  and  died  on  the  same  property  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three.  His  son-in-law,  Peter  Schomp,  is  now 
the  owner  of  the  homestead,  south  of  the  residence  of 
John  J.  Van  Fleet,  between  Centreville  and  Three 
Bridges.  Col.  Abraham  Van  Fleet,  father  of  the  vice- 
chancellor,  is  remembered  by  many  as  one  of  the 
brightest  young  men  of  Eeadington.  He  died  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty-five. 

Of  the  Devore  family  no  representative  is  now 
found  in  the  township. 

David  Schomp  (whose  father  and  grandfather  bore 
the  same  given  name)  now  owns  and  lives  on  the  old 
Schomp  homestead.  A  part  of  the  old  house  is  still 
standing.  The  "  old  colonel,"  remembered  by  some 
yet  living,  was  a  captain  in  the  secret  service  of 
Washington,  and  before  his  death  received  a  pension 
from  the  government.  He  carried  dispatches  from 
Washington,  at  Valley  Forge,  to  his  officers  at  Ticon- 
deroga,  etc.* 

Mr.  Biggs,  with  his  wife  and  one  child,  located  be- 
fore 1720  at  the  point  since  known  as  Pleasant  Run 
Hotel.  His  pioneer  log  hut  was  superseded  in  1745 
by  a  commodious  (and  for  those  days  stately)  man- 
sion, torn  down  about  1850.  "  Blind  George,"  son  of 
George  Biggs,  was  remarkable  for  his  acuteness  of 
hearing.  He  could  travel  for  miles  on  any  road  he 
had  ever  been  over,  without  getting  lost,  and  tell  just 
where  he  was  at  any  point  along  the  route.  Esq. 
Thompson  tells  of  some  instances,  of  which  he  was 
personally  cognizant,  fully  corroborating  this,  as  on 
one  occasion  he  was  a  pilot  after  dark  for  a  party 
whose  eyes  were  equal  to  any. 

Tunis  Cole  came  from  Bergen  County  to  Somerset 
about  1700.  After  residing  there  several  years  he 
moved  westward;  in  order  to  procure  more  land  for 
his  several  sons.  In  1727,  Tunis  purchased  400 
acres  of  the  Coxe  tract,  upon  which  he  resided  until 
his  death,  in  1760.  He  left  four  sons, — Benjamin, 
David,  Ezekiel,  and  Isaiah.  The  lands  passed  to 
Benjamin,  and  after  his  death  to  his  brother  Isaiah, 
whose  executors  sold,  in  1767,  the  lands  north  of  the 
brook  to  George  Biggs,  the  father  of  "  Blind  George." 
A  part  of  it  is  now  owned  by  Abraham  Smith,  on 
which  is  the  "  old  stone  house,"  just  east  of  the  Flem- 
ington  road. 

The  farm  of  Isaiah  Cole,  south  of  Campbell's 
Brook,  was  divided  between  his  two  sons,  Soyce  and 
Abraham ;  the  former  sold  his  share,  and  removed  to 
Peapack.  David  Cole,  Sr.,  son  of  Tunis,  died  1798, 
having  shortly  previous  executed  his  will  and  ap- 
pointed Eev.  Peter  Studdiford  and  Peter  Schomp  his 
executors,  devising  two-thirds  of  his  real  estate  to  his 
son  David,  and  the  remainder  to  his  daughter  Mar- 
garet. David,  known  as  "  captain  of  the  Grenadiers" 
(a  company  which  did  efiective  service  in  the  Eevo- 

*  Hia  nephew,  Mjg.  Henry  G.  Schomp,  was  among  the  volunteers  to 
put  down  the  Whisky  Inaurrection.  Hia  grandaon  (son  of  Kobert)  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Rebellion  from  Illinois,  and  fell  at  Fort  Donelson. 


lution  and  kept  up  its  organization  for  some  years 
after),  sold  the  old  homestead  to  his  Uncle  Ezekiel  in 
1800  and  removed  to  the  "  lake  country,"  where  he 
died  at  an  advanced  age.  David,  the  third,  died 
some  fifteen  years  or  so  since,  leaving  five  sons  and 
several  daughters. 

Ezekiel  Cole,  one  of  the  four  sons  of  Tunis  the  elder, 
was  without  doubt  the  most  prominent  man  in  the 
township  in  his  time.  He  was  justice  of  the  peace  and 
judge  of  the  courts  during  the  Revolution.  Some  of 
his  dockets  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Hon.  Jo- 
seph Thompson.  His  wife  was  Lena  Shipman.  He 
was  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the  Readington 
church.f 

The  Coles  married  into  the  families  of  Voorhees, 
Higgins,  Hofiman,  Lowe,  Wyckoff,  Schomp,  Van 
Sickle,  etc. 

Michael  Cole  was  an  early  resident  and  large  land- 
owner, but  no  relation  to  the  Tunis  Cole  family.  He 
settled  on  the  east  side  of  Round  Mountain,  where 
now  is  the  farm  of  John  B.  Sharp.  He  died  Oct. 
19,  1827,  aged  ninety-eight. 

Evart  Bergen  purchased,  in  1737,  a  tract  of  over 
300  acres  in  the  north  part  of  the  township.  He  was 
a  descendant  of  the  famous  Bergen  family  of  Long 
Island.  John  Bergen  inherited  his  father's  farm, 
near  White  House,  and  died  June  26, 1828.  His  son, 
Evart,  who  took  the  farm  at  his  death,  was  born  in 
1771,  and  married  Ann  Van  Deursen.  Their  children 
were  William,  died  in  1861 ;  Ann,  married  John,  son  of 
Rev.  Abram  Messier ;  James ;  Maria,  widow  of  James 
Park;  Aletta,  wife  of  James  E.  Bergen,  of  Ricefield; 
Staats,  at  New  Germantown  ;  George,  unmarried  ;  and 
Jane,  died  in  1826.  J 

John  Henry  Schmidt,  the  founder  of  the  family, 
came  to  America  from  Holland  in  1743,  landed  at  New 
York,  and  without  delay  settled  at  Stanton,  Hunter- 
don County.  Here  he  remained  until  his  death,  in 
1776.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  A  year  or  so 
after  he  settled  in  Jersey  he  married  Christina  Hassel, 
a  German  girl  living  in  the  vicinity.  The  pair  had 
seventeen  children, — nine  sons  and  eight  daughters, 
— named  respectively  Christopher,  Martin,  John,  An- 
drew, Joseph,  Isaac,  Peter,  Jacob,  Zachariah,  Charity, 
Laney,  Catharine,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Rebecca,  Sarah, 
and  Christina.  All  married  and  had  families  of  chil- 
dren ranging  from  three  to  thirteen. 

In  the  time  of  the  Revolution  Caspar  Berger  kept 
the  hotel  at  Readington  village.  He  became  a  large 
landholder  on  the  north  side  of  Holland's  Brook, 
and  also  owner  of  the  mill  now  owned  by  Wm.  Fitch. 
He  had  four  sons — John,  Jasper,  Aaron,  and  Peter 
— and  three  or  more  daughters.  John  at  an  early 
day  moved  to  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  Jasper  died,  leaving 
two  sons  and  six  daughters ;  Peter  moved  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Ohio,  and  died  there ;  Aaron,  who  lived  and  died 

f  Tunis,  the  last  survivor  of  Esq.  Cole's  family,  died  in  1863,  aged  over 
fourscore  yeara. 
t  "  Traditiona  of  our  Anceatora,"  1870. 


488 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


on  a  part  of  the  homestead  farm  adjoining  the  Eead- 
ington  church,  left  one  son,  John  S.,  and  one  daugh- 
ter. Jasper's  daughters  are  all  living  in  Readington 
township  or  vicinity.  The  only  child  of  John  S.,  a 
daughter  named  Ann,  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Johnson,  residing  at  Readington.  Caspar's  daughters 
married  into  the  Ten  Eyck,  Lane,  and  Van  Fleet 
families. 

Balthazar  Pickel*  purchased  land  of  the  Budd  & 
Logan  tract  prior  to  1729,  the  exact  date  not  being 
known.  It  lay  jiext  to  that  of  Paulus  De  Witt,  at 
the  foot  of  Cushetunk  (Pickel's)  Mountain.  He  was 
a  native  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  a  brother  of  Frederick,  who  settled  on  Fox  Hill, 
and  Conrad,  who  located  near  Everittstown.  "  Bal- 
thus"  located  first  on  the  Ridge,  on  the  place  now 
occupied  by  Jacob  Hyler,  but  soon  sold  this,  and  pur- 
chased 1000  acres  to  the  westward  of  his  former  loca- 
tion. There  his  descendants  for  five  or  six  generations 
have  lived.  He  was  buried  in  the  Zion  Churchf  grave- 
yard. New  Grermantown. 

Near  by  lies  the  body  of  Charity,  his  wife,  who 
died  in  1761.  Two  of  the  sons  of  the  late  Baltus  A. 
Pickel,  who  died  Oct.  10,  1871,  in  the  eighty-eighth 
year  of  his  age,  reside  on  a  part  of  the  original  pur- 
chase of  their  ancestor,  in  Readington ;  a  grandson 
occupies  a  part  of  the  old  Van  Horn  estate,  with  the 
old  stone  house  located  thereon.  A  sugar-bowl  of 
solid  silver,  marked  "  B.  -|-  P.,  1771,"  was  presented 
to  Mrs.  Adrian  H.  Pickel  by  the  late  Baltus  A. 
Pickel  just  before  his  death,  when  this  interesting 
relic  was  precisely  one  hundred  j'ears  old.  An 
earthen  fruit-dish  of  curious  workmanship,  bearing 
date  of  June  1,  1806,  and  said  to  have  been  made  at 
a  pottery  which  used  to  exist  on  the  premises,  is  care- 
fully preserved  as  a  memento  of  the  past;  also  an 
old-fashioned  oaken  arm-chair,  in  good  state  of  pres- 
ervation.t 

Adrian  Ten  Eyck  emigrated  to  Readington  irom 
Somerset  County,  where  his  family  were  among  the 
first.  Among  his  descendants  are  Cornelius,  of  Me- 
chanicsville,  and  Mrs.  Theodore  Polhemus,  near 
White  House. 

An  early  settler  at  Potterstown  was  a  colored  man 
named  Aray  Van  Genee,  who  acquired  considerable 
property.  A  deed  now  in  possession  of  Joseph 
Thompson,  of  Readington,  is  for  one  acre  of  land 
which  Aray  sold  to  William  Mackinney,  both  of 
Reading ;  the  instrument  is  dated  Jan.  22, 1740.  Aray 
owned  also  the  Wyckofif  farm  at  Potterstown,  and 
sold  it  to  Sharpenstein,  later  abbreviated  into  Sharp. 
The  first  representatives  oT  the  Van  Horns  in  Read- 
ington township  were  Abraham,  Sr.,  and  Capt.  Cor- 
nelius,? supposed  to  have  been  brothers.     Cornelius, 

*  Spelled  Tariously  Baltus,  Balthus,  Baltes,  all  abbreviatione  of  Bal- 
thazar. 

f  Balthazar  Pickel  left  $5000  by  his  will  to  Zion  Church,  also  a  silver 
cup  and  plate. 

J  Eev.  William  Bailey. 

g  Died  Feb.  12,  1744,  aged  forty-nine. 


son  of  Capt.  Cornelius,  made  his  will  June  3,  1783, 
in  which  instrument  four  sons  (and  five  daughters) 
are  named, — Abraham,  Simon,  Cornelius,  and  Wil- 
liam ;  the  last  named  inherited  the  homestead.  ||  The 
testator  states  in  the  will  that  he  bought  of  his 
father.  William  married  his  cousin  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Abraham  Van  Horn  and  sister  of  Cornelius  W. 
Van  Horn.1[  One  of  the  daughters  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  Van  Horn  became  the  first  wife  of  John 
G.  Van  Houten.  Descendants  of  the  family,  of  the 
fifth  generation,  now  occupy  the  homestead,  and 
more  than  a  century  and  a  half  has  elapsed  since  the 
first  of  that  honored  name  came  hither  from  Mon- 
mouth Co.,  N.  J.** 

Abraham  Van  Horn  was  one  of  the  first  members, 
and  always  a  prominent  one,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  of  Readington,  and  later  of  White  House; 
in  his  barn  'for  fifteen  years  the  congregation  wor- 
shiped, and  in  his  orchard  they  built  their  first  meet- 
ing-house. This  same  barn,  it  is  said,  was  used  by 
Mr.  Van  Horn  during  the  Revolution  as  a  place  for 
storage  of  the  provisions  which  he,  as  forage-master, 
collected  for  Washington's  army  encamped  at  Morris- 
town,  and  in  it,  too,  were  some  of  the  Hessian  priso- 
ners lodged  and  fed  while  en  route  from  Trenton  to 
Easton. 

Abraham  Van  Doren  (or  Van  Dorn),  a  descendant 
of  the  Holland  emigrant.  Jacobus,  came  to  Reading- 
ton  from  near  Middlebush  at  an  early  date,  and  lived 
and  died  at  White  House.  He  had  four  wives,  whose 
names  were  Charity  Bennett,  Elizabeth  Bowman, 
Catharine  Nevius,  and  Rachel  Babcock.  Like  his 
father,  he  had  seventeen  children.  So  late  as  August, 
1873,  two  of  them  were  yet  living, — Joseph  Van 
Doren,  aged  eighty-one,  living  with  his  son  Jacob 
near  White  House,  and  Mrs.  Gano,  of  Newark.  His 
aunt  Alche  (born  Nov.  18,  1735,  died  Dec.  13,  1828), 
married  Simon  Wyckoff,  of  Middlebush,  whose  sons 
subsequently  settled  in  Readington  township,  and 
have  become  a  numerous  family.  (See  history  of 
Branchburg  township,  in  this  work,  for  a  further  ac- 
count of  this  family,  once  residents  of  Dobie's  planta- 
tion.) 

Many  of  the  families  of  the  original  settlers  have 
become  extinct  in  the  township :  thus  the  names  of 
Van  Etta,  Lott,  Deyare,  De  Lamater,  Purcell,  and 
Munfort  are  no  longer  found  in  Readington. 

The  following  family  histories,-  embracing  sketches- 
of  the  Posts,  Andersons,  Wyckoffs,  Atens,  Bodines, 
Moreheads,  Thompsons,  and  Smocks,  are  kindly  con- 
tributed to  this  work  by  the  Rev.  John  B.  Thompson,, 
of  Catskill,  N.  Y. 

THE  POST  rAMILT. 
Abraham  Post,  son  of  Johannes.ft  was  born  Oct.  U,  1T40,  and  married , 
Catharine  Demott,  Nov.  14, 17Y6.    Their  children  were  John  (1st),  born 

1  Now  owned  and  occupied  by  the  son  of  Abraham  Pickel. 
IT  Died  in  1862,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one. 
**  William  Bailey. 

ft  Johannes  Post  was  baptized  at  Earitan,  Oct.  29, 1707.    His  wife  was  . 
Altje  Blaum,  born  June  14, 1714.    In  her  old  age  her  home  was  with  her. 


READINOTON. 


489 


Sept.  26, 1767,  died  Sept.  2, 1769-;  John  (2d),  born  Nov.  9, 1769,  died  Feb.  21, 
1772 ;  a  daughter  (name  unknown),  born  Feb.  6, 1772,  died  Feb.  25, 1774 ; 
Abraham,  bom  Aug.  27, 1774,  married  Mary  Tuttle,  and  had  one  child, 
Itf  aria ;  John  (3d),  married  Catharine  Kinney,  and  had  two  children,  both 
dying  in  infancy;  Henry,  born  Dec.  7,  1782;  Peter  (1st),  born  Feb.  5, 
1787,  died  March  15, 1788 ;  Peter  {2d),  known  as  "  Peter  A.,"  or  "  Pieter- 
om,"  born  Sept  12, 1792,  died  1877,  leaving  no  children. 

After  the  death  of  his  wife,  Abraham  Post  secured  as  housekeeper  the 
handsome  widow  of  Simon  Kinney,  whom  he  subsequently  married. 
She  lived  to  be  a  feeble  old  woman,  cared  for  by  her  husband's  grand- 
children and  great-grandchildreu,  retaining  her  peculiarities  to  the  last. 
Abraham  Post  was  a  strong,  active,  impetuous  man,  possessed  of  a  keen 
sense  of  justice,  and  was  also  an  ardent  patriot.    He  was  only  a  lieuten- 
ant in  the  militia,  when,  returning  from  Baritan  Landing,  where  he  had 
sold  a  load  of  corn,  he  met,  near  Somei'ville,  six  or  eight  men  in  separate 
squads  of  two  or  more.    Inquiring  their  destination,  he  wels  informed 
that  they  were  "going  to  camp."    The  answer  was  ambiguous,  as  the 
camp  of  the  patriots  was  at  Plainfield,  and  that  of  the  British  at  New 
Brunswick ;  but,  being  alone,  he  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  inquire  fur- 
ther.   It  was  after  dEU"k  when  be  reached  "  Crook's  Farm"  (known  lat^ 
terly  as  "  the  McBride  Place"),  and  by  this  time  he  had  determined  what 
to  do.    He  quietly  stabled  his  horses  in  Crook's  barn,  and  went  to  the 
house  and  told  him  the  fact,  requesting  that  they  should  be  cared  for  till 
his  return.  He  then  borrowed  a  rifle  and  ammunition  and  started  in  pur- 
suit of  the  men,  recruiting  as  he  went.    He  overtook  them  as  they  were 
camping  for  the  night  in  the  clump  of  oaks  which  then  stood  just  above 
the  village  of  Somerville.    They  were  without  arms,  and  most  of  them 
at  once  acceded  to  his  demand  to  surrender.    Others  betook  themselves 
to  trees  and  hid  among  the  branches.    He  first  secured  those  who  had 
surrendered,  and  then  directed  each  of  his  armed  recruits  to  "pick  his 
man"  in  the  tree-tops.    Wlien  this  was  done  he  again  demanded  that 
they  should  surrender,  and  by  this  time  they  were  all  quite  willing  to 
comply.     He  marched  them  to  White  House  to  deliver  them  to  the 
authorities  for  trial,  but  there  were  not  officers  enough  there  to  hold  a 
court-martial,  and  he  was  ordered  to  conduct  them  to  Trenton.    Here 
he  was  relieved  of  his  charge,  but  was  detained  until  his  prisoners  were 
tried  and  sentenced  to  he  confined  in  the  log  jail  at  AUentown,  Pa.,  and 
he  had  command  of  the  squad  which  conducted  them  thither. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  he  became  a  private  in  Capt.  Coonrad 
Ten  Eyck's  company.  Second  Battalion,  in  which  he  fought  at  the  battle 
of  Monmouth.  He  was  afterwards  a  lieutenant  in  the  Continental  army. 
He  possessed  the  farm  now  owned  by  Peter  I.  Voorhees  and  the  *'  Hoag- 
land  lot,"  now  owned  by  Jacob  G.  Schomp,  as  well  as  the  200  acres  "  lying 
between  Leslie's  Brook  and  John  Yan  Ne&t's  line,"  which  he  bought  of 
the  executors  of  Dr.  William  Leslie,*  now  owned  by  Joseph  Thompson, 
Aaron  Hof&nan,  and  Ebenezer  K.  Smock.  His  land  was  tilled  largely 
by  slave-labor.  He  lived  to  be  nearly  ninety-six  years  old,  as  is  stated 
upon  his  tombstone  in  the  Eeadington  churchyard, 

Henry  A.  Post's  descendants  alone  perpetuate  the  family  of  his  father. 
He  occupied  the  northern  half  of  the  Leslie  farm,  now  owned  by  Aarou 
Hoffman,  and  lived  in  the  house,  still  standing,  built  for  him  by  his 
fe-ther,  in  which  his  children  were  born.  From  his  father  he  inherited 
the  patriotism,  and  from  his  mother  the  piety,  which  made  him  esteemed 
and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  died  before  his  father,  and  his 
descendants  are  scattered  abroad. 

Henry  A.  Post,  born  Dec.  7,  1782,  died  April  17,  1830,  married,  fii-st, 
Jan.  13, 1803,  Elizabeth  (daughter  of  Simon  Wyckoff  and  Jemima  Ander- 
son), who  was  born  Oct.  1, 1775,  and  died  AprU  17, 1808;  second,  April 
23, 1809,  Martha  Anderson,  He  had  eight  children, — viz.,  John  Demott 
Post,  bom  June  11, 1807,  married,  first,  Jane  Tan  Cleef,  of  Millstone, 
and  second,  Catharine  Maria  Eisler,  of  Flemington,  by  each  of  whom  he 
had  three  children,  none  of  whom  live  in  this  county  at  this  time; 
Abraham,  bom  Feb.  11, 1810,  married,  first,  March  12, 1834,  Amy  Eliza 
Herbert,  of  Bound  Brook,  second,  Catharine  Foster,  of  Alexander,  N.  T. ; 
Ann,  bora  Nov.  14, 1811,  died  Aug.  11, 1880  ;  married  Joseph  Thompson;! 
Henry,  bom  Feb.  13, 1816,  living  at  South  Branch,  married,  first,  Mary 
McGrady,  of  Peapack,  and  second,  Eliza  Stevenson,  of  Quakertown; 


Catharine,  bom  March  1, 1818,  married  Aarou  Alpaugh,  with  whom  she 
removed  to  Batavia,  N.T.,  where  they  died,  and  where  their  descendants 
still  live;  Elizabeth,  born  Feb.  19, 1821,  living  at  North  Branch,  married, 
first,  Peter  T.  Melick,  and  second,  Peter  Demott,  both  of  Peapack  ;J 
George  Anderson,  born  March  13, 1822,  married  Marilla  Smith,  and  lives 
at  North  English,  Iowa;  Peter  Quick,  born  June  27, 18-4,  married  Re- 
becca Hoffman,  of  Potterstown,  and  had  only  William  Tennent,  who 
died  in  childhood, 

THE  ANDERSON  FAMILY. 

George  Andersong  (the  third  of  the  name)  married  Anna  Wyckofil 
(See  sketch  of  Wyckoff  family.) 

George,  their  eldest  child,  was  baptized  at  Readington,  April  30, 1777, 
and  probably  died  early. 

Elizabeth,  baptized  May  16, 1779,  married  George  P.  Schamp,  and  had 
Ann,  who  married  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoff  and  died  without  issue ;  Peter 
G.,  who  married  Catharine  Kline,  and  is  living  near  North  Branch; 
George  A.,  married  Catharine  Wyckoff|]  (one  of  his  daughters,  Mary 
Emmeline,  married  Andrew  Thompson) ;  Jacob  G.,  had  two  sons,  John  and 
Peter  G.,  the  former  being  the  well-known  lawyer  of  Somerville,  wha 
married  Wilhelmina  Schamp ;  and  John,  David,  and  Cornelius. 

Martha,  born  Jan.  16, 1783,  died  Jan.  1, 1829  ;  married,  April  23, 1809» 
Henry  A.  Post. 
Jemima  married  Jacob  NefF,  and  had  Ann,  Fanny,  Eliza,  and  Gertrude- 
Ann  married  George  D.  Schamp,  of  Pleasant  Eun.^f    They  had  only 
one  son,  Henry,  and  one  daughter,  Martha  Ann. 

THE  ATEN  FAMILY 

was  originally  Scotch,  but  many  of  its  members  fled  from  persecution  on^ 
account  of  their  religion,  first  to  France,  and  then  to  the  Netherlancte, , 
with  whose  inhabitants  they  became  identified,  and  with  whom  their  de- 
scendants came  to  America  as  Dutch.  Thomas  Aten,  born  in  this  coun^ 
try,  and  his  brother  John  were  residing  near  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  in 
1717. 

Adriaen  Aten,  probably  a  brother  of  these,  settled  on  the  South  Branch.  - 
of  the  Raritan,  on  the  farm  between  Centreville  and  the  Three  Bridges 
now  owned  by  William  C.  Van  Doren.  He  was  a  wealthy  man  for  that 
region,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  care  of  his  plantation.  During  the 
Revolution,  like  most  of  his  Dutch  associates,  he  was  an  enthusiastic  pa- 
triot. Three  of  his  sons  were  in  the  volunteer  corps  on  Long  Island, 
where  one  was  captured,  and  remained  a  prisoner  full  two  years.  Patriots 
carrying  messages  to  and  fro  between  the  Continental  Congress  and  the 
Northern  capitals  found  his  hospitable  mansion  an  ever-ready  resting- 
place.  A  detachment  of  Washington's  army,  passing  northward  to  Mor- 
ristown  oa  a  hot  summer  day,  drank  the  well  dry. 

Adriae:*  Ate n's  wife  was  the  pious  Jacobje  Middagh.  Of  tbeir  nine 
children,  the  eighth,  Jude,  married  Joseph  Morehead.  Another  daughter 
married  William  Van  Fleet  None  of  the  Atens  remain  in  this  town- 
ship, although  a  few  are  still  in  the  Raritan  valleys. 

The  following  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  Adriaen  Aten's  family  record,  feomn 
the  Testament  and  Psalms  in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  BU 
Thompson,  the  grandson  of  his  granddaughter,  Elizabeth  Morehead.  No- 
translation  is  attempted : 

"  In't  Jaar  Onses  Heeren,  1C93.  Den  24  Octoober  is  Gebooren  Jacobje 
Middagh. 

"  In't  Jaar  1719,  Den  25  Augustus  is  Gebooren  Antje  Aten, 

"In't  Jaar  1721,  Den  22  Augustus  is  Gebooren  Dirck  Aten. 

"  In't  Jaar  1723,  Den  3  September  is  Gebooren  Hendrick  Aten. 

*'  In't  Jaar  1726,  Den  27  January,  is  Gebooren  Cathalyntje  Aten. 

"  In't  Jaar  1728,  Den  15  Januarius  is  Gebooren  Mareitje  Aten. 

"In't  Jaar  1730,  Den  29  July  is  Gebooren  Cathalyntje  Aten. 

"  In't  Jaar  1732,  Den  22  December  Zijn  Gebooren  Jan  En  Gerradus 
Aten. 

"  In't  Jaar  1735,  Den  9  July  is  Gebooren  Judick  Aten. 

*'  In't  Jaar  1737,  Den  7  November  is  Gebooren  Adriaen  Aten.'^ 


son  Abraham,  and  her  worth  is  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  his  descend- 
ants. Her  large  Dutch  Bible,  with  the  family  record  of  three  genera- 
tions, is  in  the  possession  of  her  grandson's  grandson,  the  Rev.  Henry 
Post  Thompson.  Johannes  and  Altje  had  five  children,— Geertje,  mar- 
ried Mathias  fimock;  Johannes;  Maria,  married  Johannes  Bennet; 
Abraham,  and  Hendrick. 

*  Bee  Hunterdon  County  records. 

t  See  Thompson  family. 
52 


X  Issue  by  Melick  only, — viz.,  Martha  Ann,  married  Peter  Sutphen ; 
James,  married  Sarah  Ann  Ten  Eyck;  George,  died  unmarried;  Mary 
Jane,  married  Lewis  E.  Elick,  and  lives  in  Iowa. 

3  Son  of  Simon  (and  Mai-y  Van  Anglen)  Anderson,  a  grandson  of  George, 
■who  was  an  early  settler  at  New  Bmnswick,  N.  J.,  prior  to  1717. 

[|  Daughter  of  Peter  Wyckoff  and  Margaret  Becker,  and  granddaughter 
of  John  Wyckoff  and  Altje  Lane,  who  kept  the  Potterstown  tavern. 

^  He  was  called  *'  Maugbty,"  and  he  and  his  son  were  distinguished  as 
"Old  Maught"  and  "Young  Maught." 


490 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEV. 


THE  WTCKOFr  FAMILY 
was,  and  still  is,  numerous  in  this  vicinity.  All  its  branches  are  de- 
scended from  that  Peter  Claus  "Wyckoff  who  came  from  the  Nether- 
lands and  bought  lands,  upon  which  he  settled,  in  Flatbush,  L.  I.,  in 
1665.  He  Buperintended  the  farm  and  stock  of  Director  Stuyresant 
and  was  magistrate  of  the  town  that  year,  and  also  in  1658, 1662,  and 
1663.  He  married  Grieve,  daughter  of  Hendrick  Van  Ness,  and  had  seven 
eons, — Claes,  Hendrick,  Cornelius,  John,  Gerrit,  Martin,  and  Pieter. 

Simon  Wyckoff  son  of  Cornelius,  lived  at  Three-Mile  Kun,  where  he 
was  ordained  elder  in  1734.  His  sons  settled  near  White  House,  one  of 
whom  was  Cornelius  Wyckoff.*  He  purchased  some  600  acres,  and  owned 
the  farm  since  known  as  the  "  Traphagen  place."  His  wife's  name  was 
Elizabeth.  He  died  of  palsy,  April  21, 1776,  and  she  May  1, 1779.  Their 
children  were  Gertrude  (or  Elizabeth),  born  1741,  died  about  1820,  mar- 
ried Abraham  Van  Horn,  and  had,  at  least,  Abraham,  William,  Matthew, 
Cornelius,  and  a  daughter,  who  married  Mr.  Brodhead. 

Jemima,  born  June  19, 1742,  married  John  Vliet,  lived  north  of  New 
Germantown,  and  had  sons  and  daughters. 

George,  who  lived  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  J.  N.  Kamsey,  was  born 
June  2, 1745,  married  Rebecca  Van  Cleef,  of  Millstone,  and  had  (though 
the  order  is  conjectural)  Margreta (baptized  April  14, 1772),  married  Abra- 
ham Voorhees;  Mareytje  (baptized  March  20, 1785),  married  Elias  W. 
Voorhees;  Elizabeth,  married  Ralph  Conover;  Cornelia  (baptized  Nov. 
25, 1787),  died  unmarried;  Johannah,  died  uumaiTied  ;  George,  man-ied 
Catharine  Klickener;  and  John,  died  1879,  unmarried.f 

Simon,  born  Feb.  12,  174r-  (lived  near  Three  Cornei-s,  where  David 
Davis  now  resides),  married  Jemima  Anderson,  and  had  Elizabeth,  born 
1775,  died  1808,  married  Henry  A.  Post;  Martha,  married  Jacob  Vroom 
and  died  without  issue ;  Gitty,  married  Jasper  Berger ;  Anna,  baptized 
Dec.  18,  17S3 ;  Gordina,  married  Charles  Reading,  and  bad  only  Abby, 
who  married  David  0.  Hoff;  Cornelia  (baptized  1787),  married  William 
Welsh  and  removed  to  Ohio;  and  Jemima,  who  married  Samuel  Taylor, 
widower. 

Cornelius,  born  January,  17 — ;  died  early. 

Elizabeth  (or  Gertrude),  married  William  Wyckoff,  and  died  near 
Millstone. 
Annae^e,  baptized  Nov.  12, 1752,  married  George  Anderson. 
Cornelia,  born  July  16, 1754,  married  David  Traphagen,  and  died  with- 
out issue. 

Cornelius  (known  as  "  Gentleman  Cornelius"),  born  Dec.  5, 1757,  in- 
herited the  homestead  afterwards  owned  by  David  Traphagen  the  sec- 
ond, and  married,  for  his  second  wife,  April  24, 1808,  the  youthful  Sophia 
Ten  Eyck.by  whom  he  had  Elizabeth  (born  July  2, 1809),  Eleanor  Rue 
Ten  Eyck  (born  Feb.  26, 1813;  died  Aug.  28,  1813),  Cornelius  (born  in 
1814),  Abraham  Ten  Eyck  (born  Sept.  18, 1816),  Penelope  (born  March 
30,  1818),  and  George  Dennis  (born  Sept.  10,  1820),  who  removed  to 
Illinois.  Dennis,  who  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  judge  of  the  courts 
for  many  years,  and  an  influential  man,  lived  near  Mechanicsville,  on 
the  place  now  owned  by  J.  W.  Van  Houten,  of  Philadelphia.  He  was 
born  April  17, 1760,  and  died  Dec.  6, 1830.  He  married,  first,  Elizabeth 
Ten  Eyck,  by  whom  he  had  three  children,— CorneliuB,  Ann,  and  Ten 
Eyck ;  married,  second,  Margaret  Melick,  by  whom  he  had  Simon  (mar- 
ried    Brodhead),  Tunis  (married  Ann  Vosseller),  George  (married 

Waldron),  Dennis  (married  Patty  Lowe),  Peter  M.  (married,  in 

1832,  Alice  Polbemus.and  resided  at  White  House),  Eliza  (married  Abra- 
ham Van  Pelt),  and  Ellen  (married,  first,  Henry  Vroom,  and,  second, 
John  Kline,  recently  deceased),  still  hving  in  Somerville. 

THE  BODINE  FAMILY 
is  an  honored  one  in  the  history  of  France,  but,  moderate  as  were  the 
advices  of  Jean  Bodin,  the  wise  counselor  of  Henry  III.,  his  relatives 
were  afterwards  compelled  to  flee,  with  other  Huguenots,  to  Holland, 
whence  they  ultimately  came  to  Staten  Island,  at  least  as  early  as  1701.J 
From  the  mouth  of  the  Baritan  they  ascended  to  its  sources.  Among 
the  settlers  of  this  region  there  were  at  least  five  of  this  name,  all  of 
whom  left  a  large  number  of  descendants. 


*  Hifl  Dutch  Bible,  with  the  family  record,  is  in  the  possession  of  Rev. 
Abraham  Thompson.  The  homestead  is  now  owned  by  James  N.  Pid- 
cock,  though  recently  modernized  and  remodeled. 

t  He  was  known  as  "  Plato,"— a  name  probably  given  him  by  some 
achoolmaster,— from  his  broad  shoulders.  It  was  commonly  shortened 
by  his  associates,  unacquainted  with  tlie  Greek  philosopher,  to  "  Plate." 

J  The  earlier  history  of  the  Bodin  family  has  been  traced  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Charies  W.  Baird,  of  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  for  his  forthcoming  work 
on  the  Huguenots  of  America. 


John  Bodine  had  a  plantation,  early  in  the  last  century,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  North  Branch.  Immediately  north  of  it  was  the  Ammerman 
tract,  and  immediately  north  of  that  the  Du  Mont  tract.  This  John 
Bodine  had  a  son  Abraham,  who  married  Mary  Low,  and  had  John, 
baptized  April  15, 1748;  Judick,  baptized  March  31, 174:5,  married  Sam- 
uel Willemsen;  Mary,  probably  the  Mary  that  married  Thomas  Cooper; 
Cathelyntje,  baptized  Sept.  3, 1749;  Sarah,  baptized  Aug.  10,1755;  Cor- 
nelius, baptized  November,  1755,  married  Margaret  Sutpben,  of  Six-Mile 
Run,  born  1754,  and  had  Abraham,  Peter,  John,  Cornelius,  Gilbert, 
Isaax:,  Charles,  and  George,  all  deceased. 

Isaac  Bodine  had  eleven  children,— eight  by  his  first  wife,  Cataleyn, 
and  three  by  his  second  wife,  Jannetje.  These  children,  with  dates  of 
baptism,  were  Jan,  Nov.  19, 1703  ;  Jantien,  April  30,  1707;  Frederick, 
April  26, 1709  ;  Mareyken,  April  25, 1711 ;  Kataleyn,  Aug.  8, 1713 ;  Isaac, 
April  5, 1715  ;  Abraham,  July  31 ,  1717 ;  Elizabeth,  Oct.  31, 1719 ;  Hester, 
Dec.  25, 1723  ;  Isaac,  Aug.  16, 1730;  and  Jannetje,  Aug.  16, 1730. 

Peter  Bodine  had  two  children  by  his  first  wife  and  one  by  his  second, 
Margrita.  Their  names  and  dates  of  baptism  were  Jan,  April  30, 1712 ; 
David,  April  3, 1717  ;  Mareytje,  Oct.  15, 1738. 

Jacob  Bodine's  wife  was  named  Elizabeth.  They  bad  six  children, — 
viz.,  Jan,  St.  Jantien,  Jacob,  Catharine,  Cornelius,  and  Antje. 

Abraham  Bodine  married  Adriantje  Janse,  and  had  nine  children, 
among  whom  were  Catrina,  baptized  April  14, 1725,  and  married  Lode- 
wyk  Haydenbrook ;  Peter,  baptized  December,  1726,  and  twice  married 
(first,  Mareytje;  second,  Widow  Williamson);  John,  baptized  Dec.  5,1730, 
married  Femmetje  Vorhees;  Abraham,  and  Judick.  The  last  named 
was  born  March  17, 1735,  and  ultimately  married  John  Thompson.  (See 
Thompson  family.) 

THE   MOREHEAD   FAMILY. 
Ireland,  as  well  as  Scotland  and  'France,  contribufed  to  build  up  the 
Dutch  settlement  and  church  in  this  vicinity. 

Joseph  Muir  Head  was  born  at  Strabane  .Ireland,  in  1727,  and  came  to 
America  in  1747.  He  served  in  the  French  and  Indian  war  in  Col.  Peter 
Schuyler's  battalion  of  New  Jersey  volunteers.  He  was  in  the  battle  of 
Ticonderoga,  and  the  flint-lock  musket  which  he  carried,  bearing  his 
initials,  "  J.  M.  H.,"  graven  by  his  own  hand,  is  still  in  possession  of  his 
grandson,  Joseph  Thompson.  He  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  and  the  carved 
oaken  box  in  which  he  brought  to  this  country  the  fine  linen  products  of 
his  handicraft  is  etill  preserved  by  his  great-grandson,  John  Ward  Thomp- 
son, of  Oakland,  Bergen  Co  ,  N.  J.g 

How  he  came  to  Aniwell  does  not  appear,  "but  he  was  often  in  the  em- 
ploy of  Adiiaen  Aten,  and  in  1767  married  his  daughter  Jude.  She  was 
considered  an  heiress  in  her  day;  she  was  born  July  9, 1735,  and  died 
July  22, 1819.  With  ffSOO  which  he  had  saved  he  bought  a  house  and  lot 
in  Amwell,  where  his  four  children  were  born.  In  1778  he  bought 
34  acres  adjoining  the  pond  of  what  are  now  Higgins'  Mills,  on  the 
South  Branch,  whence,  iu  1795,  he  removed  to  the  farm  (150  acres,  pur- 
chased of  Simon  Wyckoff)  upon  which  he  died  (April  12, 1819),  at  the 
village  of  Readington,  and  upon  which  his  son  John,  and  afterwards  7iis 
son  John,  and  John  the  third,  lived  until  1876. 

His  daughter  Sarah  Ann  died  iu  1821,  unmarried.  His  third  child, 
Elizabeth,  married  John  Thompson,!  and  his  fourth  child,  Mary,  manied 
John  Schamp.  The  descendants  of  all  three  are  numerous  throughout 
the  townships  of  Readington  and  Branchburg. 

The  children  of  Joseph  and  Jude  Morehead  (as  the  name  is  now  writ- 
ten) were 

John,  horn  .July  28, 1771,  died  Aug.  13, 1844,  married  first  (1799)  Sarah 
Van  Syckel,  who  was  born  Nov.  5, 1779,  and  died  Jan.  14, 1838.  He  lived 
and  died  near  the  head  of  the  "  Brookye."  He  afterwards  married  ( 1839) 
Olive  Ann  Hixon,  daughter  of  George  and  Hannah  Hixon,  and  now  the 
wife  of  Aaron  L.  Stout,  of  Readington.  His  only  child  was  John,  born  in 
Readington,  March  14, 1804,  died  Aug.  25, 1849 ;  married  Sophia  Van  Dom, 
who  died  Nov.  14, 1864.  TheyhadSarah  Ann,  wife  of  Jacob  Vroom;  Hetty 
Maria,  married  John  Ammerman ;  Joanna  (died  June  30, 1853),  married 
Dr.  A.  T.  B.  Van  Doren ;  and  John,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Aaron  C. 
Hoagland. 

Sarah,  born  Nov.  19, 1772,  died  Sept.  12, 1826 ;  unmarried. 

Elizabeth,  born  July  25,  1775,  died  Jan.  16,  1861;  married  John 
Thompson. 

Mary,  born  Sept.  6, 1777 ;  died  at  Pleasant  Run,  in  1870 ;  married  the 
late  John  Schamp,  and  had  Elizabeth  Elisheba,  Mary  Ann,  Peter  I., 
Margaret,  Joseph,  and  Sarah. 


§  It  is  said  that  most  of  his  children  had  a  taste  and  aptness  for  weav- 
ing, and  that  his  daughters  made  carpets  when  over  eighty  years  of  age. 
(I  See  sketch  of  the  Thompson  family. 


KEADINaTON. 


49l' 


THE  THOMPSON  FAMILY. 

No  family  in  this  region  is  more  numerous  than  that  which  owes  its 
origin  to  the  John  Thompson  who  was  born  in  Scotland,  April  15, 1730. 
He  married  Judick  Bodine,  and  their  only  child,  John,  was  born  July 
5, 1772,  near  White  House  Depot,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Philip  D. 
Lare.  Afterwards  the  little  family,  with  several  of  their  friends  and 
Deighbors,  removed  to  Shemokem,  Fa.,  and  made  themselves  a  home  on 
the  western  bank  of  the  Loyalsock. 

In  1778  they  were  compelled  to  flee  for  their  lives.  When  the  women 
.and  children  were  safe,  John  Thompson,  with  Peter  Shufelt  and  William 
"WyckofF,  returned  to  bring  off  his  cattle.  They  incautiously  entered  the 
bouse,  which  was  immediately  surrounded  by  a  band  of  twelve  Indians. 
The  three  men  ran  for  the  woods,  the  Indians  firing  upon  them  as  they 
ran.  Shufelt  was  shot  through  the  shoulder,  Thompson  was  killed  by  the 
second  volley  from  the  Indians,  and  Wyckofi"  was  made  prisoner.* 

John  Thompson's  widow  and  child  returned  to  New  Jersey,  bearing 
^th  them  as  the  only  relic  from  the  destruction  of  their  wilderness 
home  the  little  Scotch  Bible  in  which  the  family  record  was  made  by 
Thompson's  own  finn  hand,  excepting  only  the  last  sad  item,  which  tells 
the  story  of  his  death  as  follows :  "  The  9th  day  of  June,  A.n.  1778,  John 
Thompson  departed  this  life.  Was  killed  and  scalped  by  ye  Tory  and 
Indians  at  Shemokem."t  Jndah  Thompson  bound  her  boy  apprentice 
to  Pietro  Mazzini,  the  Italian  tailor,  that  he  might  teach  him  the  mys- 
teries of  his  craft. 

"  John  Thompson,  Sr."  (as  he  came  to  be  called),  inherited  the  thrifty 
virtues  of  both  his  Scotch  and  Dutch  ancestors.  Before  he  was  twenty- 
one  he  married,  and  soon  after  bought  the  farm,  near  Campbeirs  Brook, 
on  which  he  resided  during  most  of  his- life.  His  credit  was  good,  for 
at  that  time  he  h^d,  as  he  said,  only  "  five  dollars,  his  wife,  and  his 
goose."  He  was  for  more  than  thirty  years  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for 
thirty-two  years  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Hunterdon  County  court. 

The  Rev.  William  I.  Thompson  was  the  ninth  child  of  Judge  John 
Thompson.  A  paralytic  stroke,  at  the  age  of  four,  lelt  his  right  arm  and 
side  to  a  great  degree  helpless.  In  his  youth  he  showbd  special  aptness 
for  mathematical  study.  At  tJie  age  of  sixteen  lie  became  the  teacher  of 
&  district  school,  and  soon  after  determined  to  obtain  a  classical  education, 
— a  resolution  most  remarkable  in  view  of  the  difBculties  involved.  Three 
iqonths  before  gi-aduating  he  succeeded  his  former  teacher  in  the  charge 
of  the  classical  school  at  Somerville,  his  excellent  scholarship  allowing 
him,  none  the  less,  to  be  graduated  with  his  class.  The  surviving  mem- 
bers of  that  class  are  Bevs.' Talbot  W.  Chambers,  John  T.  Demarest,  John 
H.  Duryea,  Harrison  Heermance,  and  John  P.  Mesick.  At  Somerville, 
as  also  at  Millstone,  where  he  afterii'ards  taught,  he  gained  an  enviable 
reputation  for  thoroughness,  both  as  a  scholar  and  as  a  teacher. 

In  1838  he  began  his  special  preparation  for  the  ministry,  and  after 
graduating  from  the  theological  seminary  accepted  a  call  to  the  arduous 
charge  of  Pond's  and  Wyckoff,  in  Bergen  County,  in  which  he  labored  ef- 
ficiently for  three  years.  He  later  assumed  charge  of  the  grammar-school 
at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  After  eighteen  years  of  service,  with  impaired 
health,  he  returned  to  the  friends  of  his  youth,  continuing  to  teach 
among  them,  however,  for  four  years  longer. 

Judge  Joseph  Thompson  is  the  oldest  child  of  Judge  John  Thompson 
by  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Morehrad.  He  was  born  in  the  old,  long, 
red  homestead  mansion,  and  improved  the  opportunities  it  afforded  him. 
He  early  learned  both  to  perform  and  to  plan  the  work  of  tlie  farm.  At 
extra  hours  he  wrought  at  the  loom,  and  expended  the  proceeds  of  his 
labor  in  books,  which  were  diligently  studied.  In  this  way  he  mastered 
land-surveying.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  taught  a  district  school  at 
the  Ridge,  after  that  at  Pleasant  Bun,  to  which  he  gave  the  name,  and 
also  at  Centreville,  Keadington,  White  House,  North  Branch,  and  "  The 
Centre,"  now  Cedar  Grove.  He  married  at  twenty-one,  and  succeeded  to 
the  charge  of  the  farm,  farming  during  the  summer  and  teaching  during 
the  winter,  though  often  called  away  from  both  to  survey  lands  for  many 
miles  around.  In  1837,  with  bis  wife  and  four  children,  he  removed  to 
the  farm  on  which  he  still  resides,  lying  partly  in  Somerset  and  partly  in 
Hunterdon. 

His  mental  and  physical  vigor  and  energy  were  wonderful,  but  a  stil] 


*  William  Wyckoff  was  about  sixteen.  His  father,  Peter  Wyckoff, 
was  captured  on  the  same  day.  One  or  both  of  them  returned  after 
about  two  years  and  told  these  details.  A  negro  captured  at  the  same 
time  was  roasted  alive. 

>  This  date  may  be  erroneous.  Col.  Hosterman's  letter  to  Col.  Win- 
ter, dated  the  10th  of  June,  details  these  events  as  occurring  "  this  day." 
Sie  Penn.  Archives,  vol.  vl.  p.  689,  and  Oomp.  Meginnis'  "  History  of  the 
West  Branch,"  pp.  208-215,  etc. 


more  noted  characteristic  was  his  sterling  integrity.  These  traits  caused 
him,  when  he  was  but  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  to  be  associated  with 
his  father  as  judge  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Orphans'  Court,  a  position 
which  he  held  for  fifteen  years.  Since  that  time  he  has  held  the  same 
position  in  the  Somerset  County  court  for  thirteen  years,  and,  though 
his  legal  knowledge  is  only  such  as  he  could  acquire  by  desultory  read- 
ing in  the  intervals  of  so  busy  a  life,  no  decision  of  his  as  judge  of 
either  of  these  courts  has  ever  been  reversed.  He  has  done  a  very  large 
business  as  a  writer  of  wills,  deeds,  and  mortgages,  as  well  as  a  master 
in  Chancery,  and  in  the  settlement  of  estates  as  executor  and  adminis- 
trator. In  1856  he  organized  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  As- 
sociation, of  which  he  has  been  secretary  from  the  first. 

Judge  Thompson  was  a  teacher  in  the  first  Sunday-school  in  this  re- 
gion. It  was  organized  at  "the  Brookye"  (Pleasant  Run)  in  the  year 
1825,  From  that  day  to  this  the  Sunday-school  movement  has  had  no 
more  faithful  friend.  Converted  in  1830,  he  became  at  once  a  worker  in 
prayer-meetings  and  in  the  church,  in  which  he  was  an  officer  in  1840, 
and  often  since. 

Two  of  his  children  died  in  infancy ;  the  other  six  are  still  living.  The 
faithful  partner  of  his  toils  and  blessings  for  more  than  half  a  centui7 
has  recently  entered  into  rest. 

The  Rev.  John  Bodine  Thompson,  eldest  child  of  Judge  Joseph  Thomp- 
son, like  his  father,  became  a  teacher  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  and 
has  continued  in  that  occupation,  in  some  form  or  other,  almost  from 
that  day  to  this.  He  taught  in  the  public  schools  at  Pleasant  Run  and 
Cedar  Grove  before  going  to  college ;  afterwards  had  charge,  first,  of  a 
classical  school,  and  then  of  all  the  schools  in  Somerville,  of  a  classical 
school  in  Flemington,  and  was  teacher  of  natural  sciences  in  the  Trenton 
Academy.  This  experience  fitted  him  to  become  the  advisor  and  instruc- 
tor of  teachers  as  the  agent  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Teachers'  Associa- 
tion. He  was  an  active  member  of  the  first  and  second  teachers'  insti- 
tutes held  in  the  State,  at  Somerville,  in  1849  and  1850.  He  was  chiefly 
instrumental  in  organizing  the  first  teachers'  institute  in  Hunterdon,  in 
1852.  His  address  to  the  Legislature  at  Trenton,  Feb.  9, 1854,  resulted 
in  the  establishment  of  teachers'  institutes  by  law,  and  he  became  or- 
ganizer and  conductor  of  them  in  most  of  the  counties  of  the  State. 
His  lectures  in  connection  with  them  contributed  largely  towards  the 
establishment  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Normal  School  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  system  of  public  schools  upon  its  present  excellent  basis. 

Dr.  Thompson  was  graduated  from  Rutgers  College  in  1851,  and  from 
the  theological  school  at  New  Brunswick  in  1858.  His  ministerial  life  has 
been  spent  upon  the  banks  of  the  Baritan  and  the  Hudson.  The  late 
Eev.  Dr.  Cohen-Stuart  characterizes  him  further  (in  his  book  of  travels 
published  in  Holland  in  1875)  as  "  a  large,  well-developed  man,  and  a 
true  American, — a  man  who  has  traveled,  seen,  and  learned  a  great  deal ; 
no  stranger  at  all  in  the  literature  of  the  Old  World,— what  an  English- 
man would  call  a  well-informed  man,  and,  what  is  more  than  all,  a  truly 
pious  and  lovely  Christian." 

A  vacation  of  two  years  enabled  Dr.  Thompson  and  family  to  visit  the 
Old  World.  During  his  first  winter  there  he  attended  lectures  on  phil- 
osophy and  logic  at  the  University  of  Tubingen.  After  that  he  sup- 
plied the  American  union  church  in  Florence.  Becoming  interested  in 
the  Free  Italian  Church  (then  just  organized),  he  identified  himself  with 
the  few  evangelists  of  it,  and,  leaving  his  family  in  Europe,  came  to 
America  to  cuUect  funds  for  its  work.briuging  with  him  the  well-known 
patriotic  orator  and  evangelist  Alessandro  Gavazzi.  Their  summer  tour 
procured  contributions  amounting  to  J30,000. 

Dr.  Thompson  is  an  acceptable  and  instructive  minister,  and  has  been 
higlily  honored  by  his  brethren.  Amid  the  duties  of  a  busy  life  he  has 
found  time  for  study.  For  a  time  it  was  the  languages  (especially  Ger- 
man Greek,  and  Hebrew)  that  occupied  his  attention,  and  he  was  more 
than  once  invited  to  become  a  college  professor.  Discourses  published 
during  the  last  few  years,  however,  show  that  all  this  was  but  prepara^ 
tory  to  the  metaphysical  and  theological  pursuits  to  which  he  is  devoting 
the  maturity  of  his  puwers.J  The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was 
conferred  upon  him  by  his  Alma  Mater  in  1870. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Post  Thompson,  second  child  of  Joseph  Thompson 
and  Ann  Post,  was  devoted  to  the  ministry  by  his  parents.  At  an  early 
age  he  entered  Rutgers  College,  whence  he  was  graduated  in  1854,  and 
from  the  theological  seminary  in  1867.  He  was  immediately  settled  at 
Peapack,  where  he  continued  for  sixteen  years.  Obliged  to  relinquish 
the  duties  of  the  pastorate  in  1873,  in  consequence  of  a  partial  paralysis 
of  the  lower  limbs,  he  has  since  continued  to  edify  the  pubUc  with  pro- 
ductions of  his  pen.g    Never  having  married,  he  resides  with  his  father. 


1  See  chapter  on  "  Authors  of  Hunterdon  County." 
3  See  "  Authors  of  Somerset  County,"  in  this  work. 


492 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


devoting  himfielf  in  the  iutervals  of  literary  labor  to  the  care  of  his 
farm. 

The  Eev.  Abraham  Thompson,  third  child  of  Judge  Joseph  Thompson, 
was  also  graduated  from  the  college  and  seminary  at  New  Brunswick, 
and  taught  in  the  academy  at  Holland,  Mich.  He  labored  also,  in  con- 
nection with  his  eldest  brother,  as  a  conductor  of  teachers'  institutes. 
His  first  pastoral  charge  was  at  Pella,  Iowa,  where  he  organized  the 
English-speaking  Reformed  Church,  remaining  until  it  was  firmly  estab- 
Ushed.  During  the  year  1872,  at  request  of  Classis,  he  had  charge  of 
the  Reformed  Church  of  Pekin,  111.  In  1874  he  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment as  rector  of  the  college  grammar-school  at  New  Brunswick,  but 
resigned  two  years  later,  and  in  1877  assumed  charge  of  the  Knox  Me- 
morial Miseion  of  the  Collegiate  Church,  in  New  York  City,  where  he 
still  remains. 

Aai'on  J.  Tliompson,  fourth  child  of  Judge  Joseph  Thompson,  resides 
near  his  father,  and  is  secretary  of  the  Readington  Mutual  Life  In- 
surance Association,  which  he  was  chiefly  instramental  in  organizing. 

The  ancestor  of  this  large  family  on  the  borders  of  these  two  counties 
was  the  Juhn  Thompson  first  above  mentioned.  The  following  schedule 
of  his  descendants  will  be  of  interest  to  many :  * 

John  Thompson's  only  child,  John,  was  bom  July  3,  1772,  and  died 
March  9, 1847.  He  married,  first,  Dec.  1, 1793,  Hannah  Van  Syckle,  who 
was  born  Feb.  29,  1772,  and  died  May  18,  1806  ;t  second,  May.  1807, 
Elizabeth  Morehead,  who  was  bom  July  25, 1775,  and  died  Jan.  16, 1861. 
He  had  eleven  children,  all  of  whom  save  one  became  heads  of  families. 
Their  names  were 

1.  Andrew,  bom  Sept.  23,  1794,  died  in  August,  1850 ;  married,  June 
24, 1816,  Susannah  Lane,  and  had :  1.  Hannah,  married  Samuel  Connet, 
and  had  Stephen,  Susan  Elizabeth,  Eleanor  Ann  (married  William  H. 
Post),  Andiew  Thompson  J  (married  Joanna  S.  Nevius),  Peter  Elmer 
(married  Isabella  Miller),  William  (married  Martha  Lane),  John  Lane,g 
Sarah  Louisa  (married  Peter,  son  of  Jacob  Hnyler),  Charles  Ellis  (un- 
married), resides  with  his  parents  in  Readington  township.  2.  John  A. 
married  Sarah  Ann  Ent,  and  had  Susan  Ann  (married Peter  Dalley),  An- 
drew (married  Mary  Emeline  Schamp),  William  Ent  (married  Margaret 
Dalley),  John  Ent  (married  Acsah  Painter),  Henrietta  (married  Robert 
Kitchen,  aud  Daniel  Ent  (married  Mary  Carkhnff).  3.  Jacob,  married 
Jane  Schenck,  and  had  Andrew,  John  Hardenbergh,  William  Henry 
(married  Heleua  Dalley),  Samuel  (married  Jenny  Van  Doren),  and 
Jacob.  4.  Peter  A.,  married  Ann  Elizabeth  Nelson,  and  had  John  Henry 
(married  Ann  Cole),  Andrew  (married  Harriet  Van  Syckle),  Ellen  Maria 
(married  John  Dow),  Jennetta,  Caroline  Miller,  and  Edward  Andereon. 
6.  William  Van  Fleet,  married  Maria  Quick,  elder  sister  of  Rev.  A.  M. 
Quick,  and  removed  to  Illinois.  6.  Andrew  A.,  married  Sarah  Reed, 
who  died  1874,  and  had  John  Lane,  who  married  Lina  Hill.  7.  Susanna, 
married  Juhn  A.  Lane,  and  had  Henrietta. 

2.  Judah,  born  July  17,  1796  ;  married,  July  20, 1820,  Aaron  L.  Saxon, 
and  had  only  Sarah  Ann,  who  married  Joseph  Linsley. 

3.  Jol)U,  born  Jan.  3, 1798,  died  in  1845  ;  married.  May  5, 1821,  Sarah 
Emans.  and  had  John  J.,  married  Johanna  Stout;  Elizabeth  J.,  married 
Charles  Roberts,  and  died  leaving  one  daughter,  Sarah;  Andrew  J., 
married  Rebecca  Dalley,  who  died  in  1879  at  Grundy  Centre,  Iowa;  Peter 
J.;  Gilbbi-t  Emane,  married  Margaret  Tauger;  and  Aaron  Saxon,  died 
unmarried. 

4.  Peter,  born  May  23, 1800,  died  in  1844;  mariied,  Feb.  11,1830,  Mary 
Ann  Biggs,  and  had  David,  married  Jennetta  Bowman  of  South  Branch ; 
John  P.,  dieil  in  Texas;  Lemuel,  married,  had  three  children,  and  lives 
in  Utah;  Mary  Hannah,  married  John  H.  Case;  Angustus,  captain  in 
the  Ninth  Regimeut,  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and  after  the  war  remained 
in  North  Carolina, 

*  The  numbered  paragraphs  indicate  the  children  of  John  Thompson, 
second. 

f  See  the  Van  Sickle  genealogy,  p.  175, 

J  Andrew  T.  Connet,  the  oldest  living  son  of  Samuel  and  Hannah 
Connet.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  began  clerking  in  a  store,  and 
so  continued  in  various  stores  in  the  villages  of  Somervillc  and  Flem- 
ington  iirit'I  the  civil  war  broke  out.  He  then  enlisted  as  a  private  with 
the  tliree-months'  men  in  Company  H,  Third  Regiment  New  Jersey 
Volunteer-*,  and  later  re-enlisted  in  the  Tliiity-first  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers. He  was  made  first  sergeant  of  Company  D,  and  afterwards  promoted 
to  second  lieuiemintof  the  same  company.  After  his  discharge  from  the 
service,  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Fleniington,  and  in 
1876  bemme  employed  in  the  Hunterdon  County  National  Bank,  in 
which  lie  is  still  engaged. 

g  See  sketch  of  J.  L.  Connet  in  chapter  on  "Bench  and  Bar  of  Hun- 
terdon Couuty." 


5.  Hannah,  horn  Aug.  1, 1802,  married,  Aug.  19, 1820,  Garret  La  Toa- 
rette,  and  had  Hannah  Maria,  married  Ezekiel  Carkhuff;  Andrew,  mar- 
ried Sarah  Maria  Dalley;  Peter,  married  and  resides  near  Baritan,  HI.; 
John,  married  Rebecca  Naylor;  Sarah,  married  Henry  S.  Van  Doren. 

6.  Sarah,  born  June  6, 1804,  married,  May,  1856,  Elijah  Hudnot,  and 
had  Josiah  Austin,  deceased  ;  John  Thompson,  died  1879,  married  Eliza 
Cole  and  Anna  Boss;  Elizabeth,  married  Ely  Everett ;  Abraham,  Mar- 
garet Stout,  and  Peter  T. 

7.  Mary,  born  May  18, 1806,  died  in  1806. 

8.  Joseph,  bom  Sept.  30, 1808,  married,  January,  1830,  Ann  Post  (see 
Post  family),  by  whom  he  had  John  Bodine,  born  Oct.  14, 1830,  married, 
1859,  Hannah  Garrigues  Reeve,  and  has  William,  Reeve  and  Henry  Dal- 
las; Henry  Post,  bom  Nov.  30, 1831,  unmarried;  Abraham,  bom  Dec. 
30, 1833,  married  Anna  Westfall,  and  has  Joseph  Murice,  James  Westfall, 
John  Henry,  and  Hubert  Wayne ;  William,  horn  Jan.  19, 1835,  died  Jan, 
27, 1837 ;  Aaron,  born  December,  1837,  married,  first,  Anna  Louisa  Rarick, 
who  died  in  1878,  and,  second,  1880,  Abby  Thomas,  of  Metuchen;  Martha 
Eliza,  born  Nov.  30, 1839,  married  Aaron  Hofiman ;  Luther,  bom  Jan. 
19, 1842,  and  died  March  9,  1842;  Emma,  horn  Jan.  30,  1843,  married 
Pierre  Henri  Bousquet,  of  Pella,  Iowa. 

9.  Wilham  J.,  bom  March  8,  1812,  died  1867 ;  married,  1846,  Sophia, 
daughter  of  John  Ward,  of  Wyckofi',  Bergen  Co.,  and  had  Kate,  Bessie, 
and  John. 

10.  Aaron,  born  Sept.  16, 1814,  married,  Feb.  26, 1846,  Maria,  daughter 
of  David  D.  Schamp,  and  had  Charity,  married  Derrick  Hageman,  both 
deceased  ;  Elizabeth  Ann,  married  William  Van  Doren  Dalley;  Sophia; 
Lany,  married  Wellington  Kline ;  David,  married  Joanna,  daughter  of 
Jacob  Vroom  ;  John;  Ina,  died  in  infancy. 

11.  Elizabeth,  born  Sept.  2, 1817,  married,  Dec.  15, 1845,  John  Kee,  and 
had  Margaret  Jane,  married  Edward  P.  Conklin,  and  Eliza  Mary,  mar- 
ried J.  Richards,  a  merchant  in  Flemington,  formerly  of  Philadelphia. 

THE   SMOCK  FAMILY. 

Matthias  Smock  (grandson  of  Hendrick  Matthyse  Smock,  who  came 
from  the  Netherlemds  in  1654  and  settled  on  Long  Island)  married 
Geertje  Post  and  had  several  children,  of  whom  Mary,  born  Aug.  13, 
1765,  married  John  Ditmare,  who  died  1804.  His  grave  was  the  first  in 
the  hurying-ground  adjacent  to  the  church  at  Beadington. 

Another  son  of  the  original  Hendrick  Matthyse  was  Johannes  Smock, 
who  about  1690  married  Catharine  Barentse.  He  settled  first  on  Statea 
Island,  but  in  1712  purchased  300  acres  of  land  near  Holmdel. 

The  hue  of  descent  from  Johannes,  through  seven  generations,  down 
to  the  Rev.  John  H.  Smock.of  Readington,  is  as  follows:  Johannes,  mar- 
ried Catharine  Barentse.  His  eldefet  son,  Hendrick,  married  Mary 
Schenck,  whose  first-bom  child.  John,  married  Elizabeth  Conover,  whose 
oldest  son,  Hendrick,  married  Sarah  Lane,  and  his  oldert  son,  John  H., 
married  Elizabeth  Du  Bois,  and  had  Henry,  who  married  Maria  V. 
Boice,  the  parents  of  Rev.  John  H.,  now  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  Readington.  He  was  born  Jan.  20, 1836,  and  was  graduated  at  Rut- 
gers College  in  1863,  and  from  the  theological  seminary  at  New  Bruns- 
wick in  18G6.  He  accepted  a  call  from  the  Reformed  Church  of  Oyster 
Bay,  L.  I.,  and  also  officiated  as  pastor  of  the  church  at  Locust  Valley 
and  Jericho.  L.  I.,  which  were  organized  by  him.  He  was  installed  over 
the  Readington  Church  May  10, 1871. 

Mr.  Smock  was  married  to  Cassie  V.  N.  Gaston,  of  New  Brunswick, 
June  12, 1866.    They  have  had  four  children. 

THE   VAN  SICKLE  FAMILY. 

Gerret  Van  Sickelen  (probably  a  son  of  Comelius  and  Mary,  the  second 
child  of  Jannetje  and  Reinier  the  first)  was  born  on  Long  Island  about 
1712.  He  married  Margrietie  Van  Leuven.  They  had  two  children  bap- 
tized in  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  of  Readington,— firat,  Margrietje, 
July  24,  1737;  and  second,  Gerrit,  Feb.  10,  1740.  Whether  they  had 
other  children  is  not  known, 

Lieut.  Gerrit  Van  Sicklen,  probably  the  second  child  and  only  son  of 
Gerrit  and  Margrietje  (Van  Leuven),  was  horn  in  Readington,  Feb.  2, 
1740.  He  married  Ann  Canaan,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  all 
bom  in  Readington,  and  most  of  them  baptized  in  the  Readington  Dutch 
Refoi-med  church.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary-  war,  and  died 
on  tus  seventieth  birthday,  Feb.  2, 1810.  His  wife,  Ann,  was  born  April 
2, 1752,  and  died  Dec.  22, 1829. 

Jacobus  Van  Sickle,  son  of  John  and  Lena,  was  born  in  1733.  He  was 
a  farmer.  By  deed  of  date  March  2,  1784,  "Jacobus  Van  Sickle  and 
Sarah,  his  wife,  of  Readingtown,"  for  £900  sold  to  "  Peter  Scamp,  of  Tucks- 
bury,"  the  tract  of  land  which  his  father,  John  Van  Sickle,  purchased  of 
RynearVan  Sickle  by  his  indenture  of  release  bearing  date  April  14, 
1748,  which  is  spoken  of  as  "being  butted  and  bounded  on  the  northeast 


READINGTON. 


493 


side  of  Hollandsbrook  by  tbe  land  Formerly  Berteloes,"  by  the  "  Fifty- 
acre  Lott"  of  Michael  Dsmott,  and  by  "  Motforta  [Monfort]  line,"  and 
embracing  "also  the  one-half  of  the  Mill,  being  the  half-part  which  he, 
the  said  Jacobus  Vansickle,  purchased  of  Thomas  Stout,  of  Readingtown," 
etc.  This  mill  was  the  one  in  Readington  village  built  by  Adrian  Lane, 
and  the  first  in  the  township. 

Adriaea  Van  Sicfclen  (son  of  Rynier  and  Henah),  born  1740,  married 
Hannah  Schamp,  and  had  three  children, — Andrew,  born  1765;  Hannah, 
born  1772 ;  and  Sara,  bom  1779.  Andrew  married  Rebecca  Lane,  and 
died  June  12, 1815;  Rebecca  died  May  21, 1838 ;  Hannah  married  John 
Thompson;  and  Sara  married  John  Morehead,  and  died  in  1838. 

The  reader  is  referred  to  a  recently-published  "  Genealogy  of  the  Van 
Sickle  Family"  for  further  details. 

THE   THOMPSON   HOMESTEAD.* 

The  following  sketch,  although  written  to  describe 
the  Thompson  homestead  and  its  family  life,  applies 
equally  well  to  many  of  the  other  old  homes  in  this 
region : 

Fifty  years  ago  the  house  itself  was  a  long,  low,  red  building,  with  a 
hall  through  the  centre  and  a  jessamine  over  both  the  frout  and  back 
doors,  a  sitting-room  and  a  bed-room  on  either  side,  and  a  kitchen,  first 
at  the  west,  and  afterwards  one  also  at  the  eastern  end.  A  room  in  the 
immense  garret  was  furnished  with  "cop-stocks"  (rows  of  wooden  pegs), 
on  which  the  family  cloaks  and  garments  for  Sunday  wear  were  hung, 
where  they  formed  themselves  into  ghostly  shapes,  to  the  terror  of  the 
children  who  ventured  to  disturb  the  awful  silence  of  that "  spare-room." 
The  rafters  were  adorned  with  long,  short,  broad,  straight,  and  curved 
swords,  and  with  bayonets  which  had  seen  service  in  mure  than  one  war. 
On  its  pegs  in  the  hall  hung  the  musket  which  did  duty  annually  at  gen- 
eral training,  and  served  not  much  more  frequently  in  securing  a  rabbit, 
squirrel,  or  partridge  for  the  table.  In  a  convenient  drawer  were  laid 
aside  the  shoe-buckles  and  sleeve-buttons  which  had  gone  out  of  fashion. 
In  another  was  the  brass  tinder-box,  with  its  flint  and  steel  ready  for  use. 
Matches  were  prepared  by  dipping  pine  splinters  in  brimstone,  which,  if 
the  tinder  chanced  to  be  damp,  could  easily  be  hghted  by  a  flash  in  the 
pan  of  the  flintrlock  musket.  Tablespoons  and  teaspoons  of  pewter  were 
made  by  the  head  of  the  household  in  a  wooden  mould  carved  by  him  for 
that  purpose. 

Chocolate  was  a  frequent  breakfast-dish  in  this  household.  Tea  was 
seldom  used,  but  cofiee  was  not  uncommon.  It  was  powdered  with  a 
stone  pestle  in  a  wooden  mortar  excavated  in  the  end  of  an  oaken  block 
which  was  securely  bound  with  iron  hoops.  Loaves  of  bread  were  usually 
baked  in  the  large  brick  oven  at  the  smoke-house,  but  occasionally  a 
single  loaf  would  be  baked  in  the  "Dutch  oven,"  an  iron  pot  which  bad 
a  cluse-fltting  iron  lid  with  an  elevated  rim,  so  that  it  might  be  covered 
with  hot  coals  while  hanging  on  a  trammel  over  the  fire  in  the  huge 
stone  fireplace. 

Turkeys  were  roasted  before  the  fire,  suspended  from  the  mantel- 
piece by  a  strong  cord  which  turned  and  twisted  continually  under  the 
supervision  of  the  mistress,  who  basted  the  turkey  from  time  to  time 
•with  the  fat  which  trickled  from  it  into  the  huge  dripping-pan  below. 
It  mattered  not  that  the  roasting  required  half  a  day  and  half  a  cord  of 
wood,  nor  that  it  was  trying  to  the  face  and  eyes  of  the  baster,  nor  that 
an  unbelieving  posterity  might  suppose  that  the  fiaxen  cord  would  be 
burned  off  before  the  turkey  would  be  roasted  suflaciently :  it  was  so 
roasted.  This  mode  gave  place  to  the  Yankee  "  tin  oven,"  which  was 
much  more  economical  both  of  the  heat  and  of  the  cook.  This,  again, 
was  supplanted  by  the  iron  stove,  which  affords  only  "  baked  meats,*' 
though  a  generation  which  has  no  experience  of  the  delicious  reality 
still  allows  itself  to  be  deceived  with  the  name  of  "roast  turkey." 

What  boots  it  to  speak  of  the  glories  of  departed  goodness  in  the  forms 
of  crullers  and  doughnuts  and  thick  mince-pies,  or  of  the  sweet  waffles 
of  which  the  only  relic  is  the  waffle-iron  in  the  garret?  The  favorite 
dish  for  the  evening  meal  was  soupaan  and  milk.  The  soupaan  was 
made  by  boiling  Indian  meal  in  water  for  three  hours  or  more,  the 
quantity  being  sufficient  for  at  least  two  meals.  That  which  was  not 
eaten  hot  on  the  first  evening  was  boiled  as  long  in  milk  for  the  second. 
This  gave  it  an  excellency  of  taste  unknown  to  the  degenerate  palates 
of  this  day. 

Th&  females  of  the  house  did  not  only  the  cooking,  but  also  the  spin- 
ning andmnch  of  the  weaving.  They  even  worked  in  the  field  occasion- 

*  Prepared  especially  for  this  work  by  John  B.  Thompson,  D.D. 


ally  at  the  light  flax-pulling,  which  was  usually  a  sort  of  a  frolic.  The 
days  of  rotting,  breaking,  dressing,  and  hatcheling  flax  seem  to  have  de- 
parted from  this  land  of  machinery,  but  the  process  was  precisely  that 
which  may  be  seen  among  the  small  European  farmers  everywhere  to 
this  day.  The  coarse  "hock-tow"  filled  with  "shives"  was  used  for 
cushions,  or  for  foot-mats.  The  finer  "  rope-tow"  was  loosely  twisted  by 
the  men  between  the  palms  of  the  hands  and  the  knee,  during  the  long 
winter  evenings,  into  rope-yarn,  to  be  made  into  ropes  for  farm  use.  Or 
the  evening  employment  would  be  varied  by  shelling,  before  the  kitchen 
fire,  large  baskets  full  of  Indian  corn,  the  long  handle  of  the  frying-pan 
being  thrust  through  the  eai-s  of  the  basket  for  this  purpose.  Smaller 
quantities  were  usually  shelled  with  a  cob. 

These  winter  evenings  furnished  to  those  who  had  a  taste  for  such 
things  opportunities  for  reading  and  study  also.  Books  were  not  numer 
ous,  but  the  few  at  hand  were  read  and  reread  again  and  again.  The  taste 
of  more  than  one  generation  was  formed  by  the  books  gathered  in  the 
home  here  described.  The  list  includes,  of  course  (as  first  and  chief  and 
most  read),  religious  books,— the  Bible,  "  The  Life  of  Christ,"  Josephus, 
"  Wliitefleld's  Sermons,"  Newton's  works,  "  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  etc., 
— but  after  these,  also,  "Jack  Halyard,"  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  "The 
Arabian  Nights,"  "  Frederick  Trenck,"  and "'  Baron  Munchausen ;"  "  Cla- 
rissa Harlowe,"  "Charlotte  Temple,"  and  "The  Sori'ows  of  Werther;" 
Captain  Cliurch's  "  Indian  Wars ;"  Bailey's  Dictionary ;  Posthlewaite's 
"Dictionary  of  Commerce;"  Father  Hnet's  " Treatise  on  the  Situation 
of  Paradise;"  and  the  Church  histories  of  Eusebius,  Socrates,  and 
EvagriuB,  with  Valesius'  Notes,  this  last  from  the  library  of  the  colonial 
Governor  Reading. 

In  this  hospitable  home  the  Scotch  and  English  as  well  as  the  Ameri- 
can teachers  always  found  a  welcome,  and  ite  parlors  were  always  at  the 
disposal  of  Christian  preachers  of  every  name  for  public  worship. 

The  farm-work  was  difficult,  but  there  was  much  to  cheer  it  also. 
Carting  the'grain  to  New  Brunswick  for  sale  was  a  sort  of  excursion. 
In  midwinter  the  poultry-box  (large  enough  to  fill  the  farm-wagon),  well 
packed,  went  with  its  owner  or  one  of  his  sons  to  New  York  City.  In 
spring  it  was  the  duty  of  each  member  of  the  "  clam-class"  to  bring  clams 
from  New  Brunswick,  once  for  himself  and  his  neighbors,  thus  furnish- 
ing a  weekly  supply  for  all.  In  autumn  the  neighborhood  shoemaker 
would  come  with  his  kit  of  tools  upon  his  back  and  set  up  his  bench  in 
the  living-room  for  two  or  three  days  or  a  week,  till  every  member  of  the 
family  was  firmly  shod  for  the  winter. 

Every  Sunday  the  farm-horses  plodded  patiently  to  church,  four  or  five 
miles  away,  consuming  as  many  hours  in  the  going  and  returning,  and 
if  the  younger  members  of  the  family  availed  themselves  of  this  long 
absence  of  "the  united  head  thereof"  (as  the  minister  said  when  he 
prayed  for  them  at  his  annual  visit)  to  rummage  among  the  treasures  in 
the  garret,  to  try  philosophical  experiments  with  lenses  from  old  specta- 
cles, or  to  prepare  themselves  a  more  than  usually  luxurious  dinner  of 
fritlers  or  fiap-jacks,  who  could  blame  them  severely?  One  thing  is  cer- 
tain: no  dangerous  pistol,  no  wicked  cards,  no  unhallowed  fiddle,  was 
ever  seen  in  this  correct  household. 

The  discipline  may  seem  to  us  to  have  been  strict  and  the  range  of 
thought  narrow.  Nevertheless,  those  were  the  surroundings  which 
helped  to  make  our  fathers  what  they  were.  Not  all  in  their  cases  or  in 
ours,  but  much  both  in  their  cases  and  in  ours,  is  due  to  heredity 
and  environment;  and,  amid  whatever  privation,  whatever  simplicity 
of  thought  or  manners,  they  had  within  them  that  integrity  of  charac- 
ter, that  steadfastness  of  honest  purpose,  that  eminent  moral  life,  which 
enabled  them  to  leave  to  their  descendants  opportunities  and  capacities 
for  usefulness  and  excellence  surpassed  by  the  inhabitants  of  no  land 
beneath  the  sun. 

HOTELS. 

Keadington  township,  like  many  others,  had  many 
inns  in  the  early  days.  In  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion there  was  a  tavern  at  White  House;  another  at 
Eeadington  was  kept  by  Casper  Berger,  and  later  by 
Peter  Ten  Brook,  and  was  much  noted  as  a  stopping- 
place  for  teamsters  between  Easton  and  New  Bruns- 
wick. Col.  David  Schamp  kept  the  hotel  at 
*'  Brookye/'  now  Pleasant  Run ;  when  he  gave  it  up 
three  others  were  established, — one  a  mile  southeast- 
erly, kept  for  many  years  by  his  nephew,  Henry  G. 
Schamp;   one  half  a  mile  westward,  by  Benjamin 


494 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


Yorks,  and  one  at  Barley  Sheaf,  by  Maj.  Smith;  also 
one  at  Centreville,  kept  by  John  Moore,  and  for  many 
years  by  his  widow. 

Besides  the  seven  above  named,  persons  still  living 
remember  when  a  hotel  was  kept  by  Catharine  Camp- 
bell at  Barley  Sheaf;  one  by  Henry  S.  Low  where  Ann 
Thompson  now  resides ;  one  at  the  forks  of  Camp- 
bell's Brook,  by  John  Smith,  and  generally  known 
as  "  The  Head  of  the  Lake" ;  and  others  by  Capt. 
Mathias  Cramer,  easterly  of  the  old  White  House,  by 
John  Shurts,  in  front  of  the  present  Eeformed  church, 
■Mechanicsville,  and  two  at  White  House  Station. 

Two  taverns  only  are  now  licensed  in  the  township, 
— J.  P.  Woollen's  at  White  House  Station,  and  one 
recently  opened  at  Three  Bridges. 

PHYSICIANS. 

Abraham  Bertron  (Bertrand)  and  Jacob  Jennings 
were  the  pioneer  physicians  of  this  township,  both 
commencing  to  practice  about  1784,  the  former  being 
located  on  the  South  Branch,  the  latter  at  Reading- 
ton.  It  is  impossible  to  say  which  came  first.  Dr. 
Bertron  lived  in  a  small  house  on  the  hill,  near  the 
late  residence  of  Levi  Mettler,  deceased. 

MISCELLANEOUS   ITEMS. 

John  P.  Farlee  was  postmaster  at  White  House  in 
1838. 

The  Jackson  "  committee  of  vigilance  for  the  town- 
ship of  Eeadington,"  in  the  Presidential  campaign  of 
1828,  was  Brogun  Brokaw,  Gilbert  L.  Emans,  Isaac 
Rpwe,  Peter  Berger,  Cornelius  Hoagland,  Dennis  S. 
Hall,  Abm.  Van  Fleet,  Peter  Vlerebome,*  Sylvester 
Emans,*  Garret  A.  Conover,  John  G.  Van  Houten,* 
'Apdrew  Kinney,  Voorhees  Dilley,  Henry  Lowe, 
Matthias  Cramer,  John  Wortman,  Martin  Nevius, 
Washington  Skillman,  John  Craft,  Abram  A.  Bro- 
kaw, Cornelius  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Geo.  Hall,  John  Hall, 
Peter  Emery,  John  Farlee,  Martin  Wyckoff",  Jr.,  John 
M.  Wyckoff,  Abm.  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Rodney  T.  Hyde, 
John  T.  Van  Fleet,  John  J.  Kline,  and  Garret 
.Strvker. 

The  "  panther  story"  seems  well  authenticated,  ac- 
cording to  the  statements  of  many  staid  and  honest  old 
residents,  who  assert  that  it  created  great  excitement 
at  the  time,  particularly  among  the  superstitious 
class.  Howlings  were  heard  in  the  woods  on  all  sides 
after  dark,  and  wild  stories  were  soon  afloat  as  to  the 
cause :  to  panthers,  gorgons,  and  mysterious  monsters 
were  they  variously  ascribed.  At  last  the  mystery 
yras  solved :  a  young  man,  the  originator  (he  had 
several  confederates)  confessed  to  being  the  cause  of 
the  terrific  noises,  which  were  produced  by  whirling 
rapidly  a  thin  diamond-shaped  shingle  fastened  to  a 
string.  The  ringleader,  however,  had  to  leave  the 
country. 

*  still  living  (December,  1880). 


CIVIL  HISTORY. 

The  civil  history  of  this  township  dates  back  to  about 
1733,  prior  to  which  it  was  a  part  of  ancient  Amwell. 
In  the  absence  of  township  records  to  give  the  date  o-f 
organization,  other  sources  of  information  consulted  on 
this  subject  point  to  about  the  year  above  given. 
The  first  mention  in  the  court  records  is  in  1732,  in 
which  it  is  called  "  the  town  of  Reading,"  In  volume 
2,  records  of  the  court  of  Hunterdon  County,  is 
given  the  result  of  the  town-meeting  held  in  March, 
1733.  Among  the  officers  elected  were  Michael  Hen- 
dry and  Jacob  StoU,  freeholders ;  Lawrence  HoflT, 
assessor ;  Garret  Van  Sickle,  collector ;  Meinhart 
Johnson,  clerk ;  Andries  Johnson  and  Aryon  Ten 
Eyck,  commissioners  of  highways;  Thomas  Bowman 
and  Daniel  Sebring,  overseers  of  the  poor. 

In  March,  1734,  the  "  town  of  Reading"  again  held 
its  town-meeting,  and  elected  Lawrence  Hoff  town 
clerk,  Michael  Heodry  and  Lawrence  Hoff  chosen 
freeholders,  Peter  Monfort  assessor,  Hendrick  Lane 
collector. 

A  change  was  made  in  1735,  the  inhabitants  select- 
ing the  following  to  conduct  their  civil  affairs  :  Law- 
rence Hoff  and  Jacob  Stoll,  freeholders ;  Daniel  Selr 
over,  collector ;  Nicholas  Wyckoff,  assessor ;  Law- 
rence Hoff,  clerk ;  Jacques  Barkelow  and  Peter  Van 
Est,  commissioners  of  highways;  Frederick  Van 
Fleet  and  Daniel  Cox,  overseers  of  the  highways ; 
Peter  Monfort  and  Michael  Hendry,  overseers  of 
the  poor ;  and  Orea  Brewer,  constable. 

The  early  records  of  Eeadington  township  have 
been  lost  or  misplaced.  Diligent  inquiry  on  the  part 
of  the  present  clerk,  Samuel  Young,  and  others  has 
failed  to  discover  their  whereabouts.  The  following 
is  the  earliest  record  in  the  possession  of  the  town- 
ship clerk : 

"  Proceedings  of  the  Annual  town-meeting  of  the  township  of  Reading- 
ton,  held  at  the  house  of  James  Sanders  (depot),  April  13, 1857.  The 
following  pereoufl  were  elected  to  office  for  the  ensuing  year.  Moder- 
ator, Peter  D.  Rockafellow  ;  Town  Clerk,  John  Voorhees,  Jr. ;  Assessor, 
John  Lewis ;  Collector,  Adrian  H.  Pickle  ;  Commissioners  of  Appeal, 
Peter  E.  Voorhees,  Philip  D.  Lare,  John  0.  Biggs;  Surveyors  of  the 
Highway,  Henry  B.  Wyckoff,  Peter  Kline,  Jr. ;  freeholder,  Peter  G. 
Schamp  ;  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  Ebenezer  A.  Connet  (north  side),  Peter 
S.  Dalley  (south  side) ;  Surplus  Committee,  Herman  Hagaman,  Tunis 
V.  M.  Cox,  David  Davis ;  Town  Committee,  William  C.  Van.  Doren, 
Aaron  Thompson,  David  Davis,  Archibald  B.Johnson,  Tunis  V.M.  Cox; 
Judge  of  Election,  David  D.  Schamp ;  Pouudkeepers,  Henry  Pickle, 
Michael  T.  Field ;  Constables,  John  Lewis,  John  W.  Catouch ;  Town 
Superintendent,  George  W.  Vroom." 

Then  follow  the  names  of  the  overseers  of  the  36 
road  districts  of  the  township,  and  after  the  passage 
of  sundry  resolutions  and  motions,  the  town-meeting 
closed. 

The  principal  town  officers  since  1857,  as  shown  by 
the  town  records,  have  been  as  follows  :t 

ASSESSORS. 
1858,  John  Lewis ;  1859-61,  Peter  D.  Rockafellow  ;  1 862-64,  James  Swing  5 
1866,  George  A. Schamp;  1866-67,  John  W.  Wert,  Sr. ;  1868-69,  Jacob 
G.  Schamp;  1870-71,  John  V.  Berkaw;  1872,  Cornelius  T.  Swack^ 

t  For  chosen  freeholders  from  1800  to  1880  see  page  263. 


READINGTON. 


495 


hamer ;  1873,  Abram  I.  Toorhees ;  1874r-75,  George  A.  Scbamp ;  1876 
-77,  David  0.  Hough;  1878-79,  Gilbert  L.  Todd;  1880,  John  V. 
Berkaw. 

COLLBOTOES. 
1858,  Adrian  H.  Pickel ;  1859-60,  Ebenezer  A.  Connet ;  1861,  John  E. 
Voorhees  ;  1862-63,  Peter  Dtms;  1864,  William  N.  Hoagland;*  1865 
-66,  Henry  Britton  ;  1867-68,  Garret  C.  Gerhart ;  1869-70,  John  Ram- 
sey; 1871-72,  Fisher  Pidcock;  1873,  John  R.  Case ;  1874-75,  C.  T. 
Swaokhamer ;  1876-77,  Peter  G.  Sohamp ;  1878,  Peter  S.  Latourette ; 
1879,  David  Davis ;  1880,  Peter  S.  Latourette. 

TOWN  CLERKS. 

1858,  John  Voorhees,  Jr.;  1859-61,  William  D.  Quinby;  1862,  David 
Davis ;  1863-64,  John  V.  Berkaw ;  1865-66,  John  W.  Wert,  Jr. ;  1867 
-68,  Jeremiah  S.  Ten  Eyck  ;  1869-70,  Henry  K.  Van  Doren ;  1871-72, 
Jacob  Hiler;  1873,  William  S.  Thompson;  1874,  Aaron  K.  Kline; 
1875-76,  James  Lane  ;  1877-78,  Charles  B.  Messier  ;  1879-80,  Samuel 
Young. 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 

1858,  Wm.  C.  Van  Dom,  Aaron  Thompson,  Garret  C.  Gearbart,  David 
Davis,  Tunis  V.  M.  Cox ;  1859,  James  V.  Brokaw,  James  Ewing,  Gar- 
ret C.  Gearbart,  C.  T.  Swackhamer,  Tunis  V.  M.  Cox ;  1860,  James 
V.  Brokaw,  C.  T.  Swackhamer,  James  Ewing,  Alexander  Force, 
George  A.  Schamp  ;  1861,  James  V.  Brokaw,  Joseph  Potts,  Wm.  A. 
Force,  Andrew  Lane,  George  A.  Scbamp ;  1862,  John  Higgins,  Ezekiel 
Cole,  John  M.  Wyckoff,  T.  V.  M.  Cox,  Philip  D.  Lare ;  1863,  John  M. 
Wyckoff,  John  Higgins,  Philip  D.  Lare,  Henry  Britton,  John  E.  Dal- 
ley  ;  1864,  Peter  S.  Dalley,  John  E.  Dalley,  Henry  Britton,  Isaac  G. 
Stryker,  Wm.  P.  Todd;  1866,  Peter  S.  Dalley,  Isaac  G.  Stryker,  Wm. 
P.  Todd,  George  W.  Vroom,  John  W.  Wert,Sr.;  1866,  John  V.  Ber- 
kaw, Peter  E.  Voorhees,  .tames  Ewing,  George  W.  Vroom,  Wm.  C. 
Van  Doren;  1867,  Daniel  Brown,  Peter  E.  Voorhees,  John  V.  Berkaw, 
James  Ewing,  Wm.  C.  Van  Doren  ;  1868,  Peter  E.  Voorhees,  Daniel 
Brown,  John  Hankinson,  John  Alpaugh,  Peter  S.  Latourette  ;  1S69, 
John  Hankinson,  John  Alpaugh,  Peter  S.  Latourette,  Garret  C. 
Gearbart,  0.  T.  Swackhamer;  1870,  Garret  C.  Gearbart,  C.  C.  Lane, 
Philip  D.  Lare,  John  Higgins,  Peter  P.  Kline ;  1871,  Isaac  G.  Sti-yker, 
John  Higgins,  Philip  D.  Lare,  C.  C.  Lane,  Peter  S.  Latourette  ;  1872, 
Jacob  S.  Swackhamer,  Ezekiel  Cole,  George  Stillwell,  John  S.  Voor- 
hees, Richard  Sbafer ;  1873,  John  S.  Voorhees,  Jacob  S.  Swackhamer, 
John  C.  Lane,  Ralph  Smith,  John  V.  Hall ;  1874,  Jacob  Dilte,  Adrian 
H.  Pickel,  John  0.  Lane,  John  Hankinson,  John  V.  Hall ;  1875, 
Adrian  H.  Pickel,  Jacob  Dilts,  Jacob  G.  Scbomp,  Martin  Wyckoff, 
Minard  W.  Abbott ;  1876,  Jeremiah  S.  Ten  Eyck,  Jacob  G.  Scbomp, 
Garret  C.  Gearbart,  Martin  Wyckoff,  M.  W.  Abbott ;  1877,  Jeremiah 
S.  Ten  Eyck,  Garret  C.  Gearbart,  Lambert  Smith,  Jacob  Hiler,  Wm. 
H.  Sheets;  1878, Garret  Conover,  J.  R.  Swackhamer,  George  W.  Cole, 
Lambert  Smith,  Jacob  Hiler ;  1879,  George  W.  Cole,  John  E.  Swack- 
hamer, Garret  Conover ;  1880,  George  W.  Cole,  John  C.  Lane,  John 
V.  F.  Wyckoff. 

The  disbursements  made  by  the  town  committee, 
and  paid  by  Peter  S.  Dalley,  treasurer,  for  volunteers 
and  substitutes,  Jan.  19,  1861,  to  June  5,  1865,  were 
$225,960.64. 

VILLAGES. 

White  House  is  situated  near  the  confluence  of 
the  two  branches  of  the  Eockaway.  Its  name  is  de- 
rived from  an  old  tavern  located  near  the  bridge,  on 
the  road  leading  from  New  Brunswick  to  Easton,  Pa., 
whose  plastered  walls  were  white.  It  was  built  by 
Abraham  Van  Horn  before  the  Eevolution  for  a 
public-house,  and  as  such  was  kept  for  a  number  of 
years.  William  J.  Van  Horn  is  its  present  owner. 
It  has  been  called  "  Washington's  headquarters,"  but 
the  only  foundation  we  know  of  for  this  appellation 
is  the  tradition  that  Washington  stopped  there  for 
entertainment.  The  Van  Horn  homestead,  a  little 
farther  up  the  stream,  dates  from  about  1757. 


•  Andrew  Lane  elected  to  fill  vacancy,  Sept.  13, 1864. 


The  "White  House"  was  a  noted  stopping-place 
for  entertainment  in  the  early  days,  but  now  the  in- 
terest of  the  traveling  community  centres  about  the 
White  House  station,  on  the  Central  Eailroad  of  New 
Jersey,  a  little  more  than  half  a  mile  distant,  where 
a  thriving  village  has  sprung  up  within  the  last 
twenty  or  twenty-five  years. 

White  House  is  47  miles  from  New  York  City.  It 
has  a  church  of  the  Eeformed  denomination,  a  school, 
a  mill,  operated  by  Dalley  Brothers,  the  store  of  John 
V.  F.  Wyckoff,  blacksmith -shop,  etc.,  and  about  thirty 
dwellings.  The  post-office  is  at  the  station,  where 
also  are  located  three  stores,  a  portable  steam  saw- 
mill, a  hay-press,  a  lumber-  and  coal-yard,  hotel, 
wheelwright-,  blacksmith-,  and  shoe-shops,  and  about 
forty  dwellings. 

Meohanicsville,  about  a  mile  eSst  of  White 
House,  is  a  small  hamlet.  It  is  an  extension  of 
White  House  village,  the  two  places  nearly  running 
together.  Here  are  found  a  Methodist  church,  a 
store,  a  few  mechanical  shops,  and  perhaps  thirty 
houses.     It  has  no  post-office. 

Eeadington  is  located  on  Holland's  Brook,  near 
the  centre  of  the  east  part  of  the  township.  It  is  a 
post-village  of  some  twenty  or  more  houses,  a  grist- 
and  saw-mill,  a  Eeformed  church,  a  store,  and  a  few 
shops  of  the  mechanic  arts.  L.  N.  Huffman  is  present 
postmaster. 

Centreville,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  township, 
on  Campbell's  Brook,  has  a  post-office  and  store, — the 
latter  owned  and  lately  kept  by  C.  B.  Stout,  who  is 
also  postmaster, — a  Methodist  church,  blacksmith- 
shop,  etc.  Neshanic,  two  miles  distant,  is  the  nearest 
railroad  station.  The  post-office  was  established  about 
1828,  with  Leonard  Bunn  as  the  first  incumbent. 
Peter  B.  Lowe  officiated  in  1838,  and  was  engaged  in 
merchandising  at  the  same  time. 

Three  Bridges  is  in  the  south  part  of  the  town- 
ship. The  Easton  and  Amboy  and  South  Branch 
Eailroads  have  stations  here. 

This  village  has  a  church  (Eeformed),  a  school, 
two  stores,  hay-press,  tavern,  blacksmith-  and  wheel- 
wright-shops, and  twenty  or  twenty-five  houses.  John 
D.  Van  Liew  is  postmaster,  and  Samuel  Young  sta- 
tion-agent of  the  South  Branch  Eailroad. 

Pleasant  Eun  was  originally  called  "  Brookye,'' 
but  its  present  cognomen  was  bestowed  about  1825  by 
Joseph  Thompson,  Esq.,  when  drawing  up  the  con- 
stitution for  the  school  at  that  point.  It  is  merely  a 
collection  of  farmhouses  on  both  sides  of  the  stream 
of  the  same  name,  in  the  south  part  of  the  township. 
It  has  a  store,  kept  by  Isaac  E.  Thatcher,  a  black- 
smith-shop, and  a  post-office,  John  A.  Cole  officiating 
in  the  latter. 

Stanton  has  borne  several  names;  it  was  once 
called  "Mount  Pleasant,"  formerly  was  known  aS 
"Housel's,"  at  one  time  went  by  the  name  of 
"Wagoner's  Hill,"  and  finally  was  named  in  honor 
of  Lincoln's  Secretary  of  War.    One  church  (Ee- 


496 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


formed),  a  store  and  post-office,  kept  by  Jolm  V. 
Berkaw,  a  school-house,  aud  about  a  dozen  houses 
constitute  the  place.  Stanton  Station  is  about  a  mile 
distant,  on  the  Easton  and  Amboy  Railroad. 

Rowland's  Mills  is  a  post-village,  one  and  a  half 
miles  from  Stanton,  upon  the  South  Branch.  It  de- 
rives its  name  from  the  former  owner  of  the  mills ; 
besides  these,  it  has  a  blacksmith-shop  and  shoe-shop, 
with  five  or  six  dwellings. 

Deea  Hook  or  "  Three  Corners"  is  about  a  mile 
southwest  from  White  House  station.  It  was  origi- 
nally a  Dutch  settlement,  as  its  name  evidences.  A 
school-house,  blacksmith-shop,  and  a  dozen  houses 
constitute  the  settlement. 

Babley  Sheaf  is  a  small  hamlet  formerly  known 
as  Campbellsville,  and  at  one  time  as  Farmersville. 
Its  present  name  is  indicative  of  its  rural  surround- 
ings. It  is  located  on  the  direct  road  from  Flemington 
to  White  House,  one  mile  from  Metler's  (now  Stover's) 
mills.  It  had  in  former  days  a  hotel,  but  now  con- 
tains only  wheelwright-  and  blacksmith-shops,  to- 
gether with  half  a  dozen  farmhouses. 

CHURCHES. 
Prior  to  1717,  about  which  time  the  Readington 
Church  was  organized,  the  inhabitants  of  this  town- 
ship had  to  go  to  the  Raritan  church  (Somerville)  for 
public  worship.  But  during  the  next  quarter-century 
several  churches  were  established,  not  only  in  the  ad- 
joining townships,  but  in  Readington.  Tradition  as- 
serts that  there  were  at  least  two  log  meeting-houses 
erected  and  used  in  the  vicinity  of  White  House  at 
an  early  day.*  The  site  of  one  was  on  the  farm  now 
owned  by  David  Sanderson  ;  the  other,  on  lands  for- 
merly owned  by  Baltus  Pickel,  but  now  in  possession 
of  G.  0.  Gearhart.f  But  the  first  church  known  to 
have  been  organized  in  this  township  was  the 

EEFORMED   DUTCH   CHURCH   OF  READINGTON 

This  church  was  organized  in  the  early  part  of  the 
last  century.  Its  records  begin  in  1719.  The  first 
church  edifice  was  begun  in  1718,  and  completed  the 
following  year.  It  was  a  log  building,  and  stood  near 
the  junction  of  the  North  and  South  Branches,  nearly 
opposite  the  present  residence  of  John  Vosseller,  in 
what  is  now  Branchburg  township.  The  church  was 
then,  and  for  many  years,  known  as  the  North  Branch 
church.  This  log  building  was  used  for  eighteen 
years ;  tradition  says  it  was  burned  down.  The  first 
sermon  preached  in  it  was  Feb.  21,  1720,  by  Rev. 
Theodorus  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen,J  the  first  settled 
preacher  of  the  four  united  churches  of  Raritan,  Six- 
Mile  Run,  Three-Mile  Run,  and  "  North  Branch." 

*  ll.  B.  Houeyman,  in  an  article  on  the  New  Germantown  Church,  in 
"  Our  Home,"  p.  118,  aaya,  "  Long  before  this  early  date  [1742]  the  '  High 
Dutch'  of  the  county  had  built  them  a  log  church  near  White  House,  the 
old  burying-ground  of  which  exists.  Doubtless  that  very  ancient  society 
was  the  parent  of  this.  There  was  another  still,  of  the  Lutheran  denom- 
ination, located  at  Potterstown,  which  was  in  existence  prior  to  1740. 
t  William  Bailey.  -  - 

_  X  See  personal  sketch  elsewhere  in  this  work._ 


Among  the  original  or  first  supporters  and  members 
of  this  church  were  Jacob  Sebring,  Derrick  Van 
Veghten,  Jan  Van  Sicklen,  Abraham  Dubois,  Koen- 
radt  Ten  Eyck,  John  Pursell,  Daniel  Sebring,  Michael 
Van  Veghten,  Alexander  McDowal,  Tunis  Van  Mid- 
dlewaert,  George  Hall,  Albert  Louw,  William  Rosa, 
Lucas  Schermerhorn,  Benjamin  Burt,  Jacob  Stoll, 
Paulus  Bulner,  Joshua  Crison,  and  Coert  Jans^n. 
This  is  not  a  complete  list,  but,  as  their  names  fre- 
quently recur  in  the  church  record,  we  infer  that  they 
were  among  the  most  active,  and  nearly  all  have  had 
successors  down  to  the  present  time.  The  first  elders, 
appointed  in  1719,  were  Cornelius  Bogart  and  Jan 
Hendricksen ;  the  first  deacons,  Abraham  De  la  Meter 
and  Andreas  Ten  Eyck. 

The  first  entry  in  the  baptismal  register  is  of  date 
Feb.  21,  1720,  recording  the  baptism  of  Matthew,  son 
of  Andreas  and  Adriantje  Ten  Eyck. 

In  1736  the  four  united  congregations  resolved  to 
get  a  colleague  for  Dominie  Frelinghuysen,  and  a 
call  was  prepared  and  sent  to  Holland.  At  the  same 
time  Simon  Van  Arsdalen  was  appointed  a  "  helper.'' 
The  North  Branch  Church  was  at  this  time,  and  until 
Dominie  Hardenbergh  was  called,  of  the  "  Confer- 
entie"  party. J 

The  old  log  church  was  replaced  in  1738  by  a  frame 
building,  which,  with  more  or  less  repairing,  was  used 
for  ninety-five  years.  Joris  Hall,  Jan  Van  Sicklen, 
Nicholas  Wyckoff,  and  Martin  Ryerson  were  the  build- 
ing committee.  Its  location  was  about  three  miles 
west  of  the  old  log  church,  and  in  the  township  of 
Readington.il  The  first  sermon  in  the  new  church 
was  preached  Oct.  7,  1739,  by  Dominie  Frelinghuy- 
sen. 

Sept.  6, 1721,  Emanuel  Van  Etten  was  elected  elder, 
and  Jan  Lou  deacon,  in  place  of  Jan  Hendricksen 
and  Abraham  De  la  Meter.  In  1722,  Abraham  De  la 
Meter  was  chosen  elder,  and  Volkert  Dercksen  deacon, 
in  place  of  Jan  Lou.  In  1727,  Andries  Ten  Eyck  was 
chosen  elder,  and  Pieter  Van  Neste  deacon,  and 
Emanuel  Van  Etten  went  out  of  office.  To  the  fore- 
going were  added,  as  elders  or  deacons,  up  to  1736, 
Thomas  Bouman,  Abraham  Loth,  Simon  Van  Ars- 
dalen, Dirck  De  Mott,  Jan  Van  Neste.  The  minutes 
are  continued  regularly,  and  the  yearly  election  of 
elders  and  deacons  noted,  until  1744,  when  Jan  Van 
Neste,  Abraham  De  la  Meter,  and  Pieter  Wortman 
were  the  elders,  and  Nicholas  Wyckoflf,  Jacob  Ten 
Eyck,  and  Martin  Ryerson  deacons;  but  there  is 
nothing  more  until  1750.  What  occurred  in  those  six 
years  we  cannot  know,  only  Dominie  Frelinghuysen 
died  in  1748,  and  his  son  succeeded  him.  The  latter, 
Johannes  Frelinghuysen,  preached  his  first  sermon  in 
this  church  Aug.  10,  1750.     His  ministry  lasted  only 


g  The  Conferentie  were  not  men  of  progress ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
reprobated  the  idea  of  independence  from  Holland,  opposed  bitterly  any 
attempt  to  found  an  institution  of  learning,  and  would  only  have  a  min- 
istry from  the  Fatherland.— Dr.  A.  Messier. 

1  About  1836  the  name  of  the  church  was  changed  to  "  Readington." 


READINGTON. 


497 


for  thjee  and  a  half  years,  ■when  he  died.  A  minister 
could  not  be  procured  in  Holland,  and  so  there  was 
no  pastor  for  the  ensuing  four  years.  Then  the  young 
student  of  Frelinghuysen,  Rev.  Jacob  Eutsen  Har- 
denbergh,  took  his  place.  During  the  interval,  how- 
ever, Dominie  Fryenmoet  (a  fugitive  minister  from 
Wawarsing,  N.  Y.)  preached  several  times,  and  there 
was  a  strong  effort  made  to  secure  him  as  pastor  of 
the  associate  churches.  Still,  they  could  not  agree, 
and  Dominie  Fryenmoet  went  away. 

Hardenbergh  was  ordaiued  in  1757,  and  was  the 
first  minister  in  the  Dutch  Church  in  America  who 
had  not  been  obliged  to  go  to  Holland  for  study,  ex- 
amination, and  licensure.  His  ministry  embraced  a 
period  of  twenty-five  years.  In  1781  he  resigned  his 
call  and  removed  to  Rosendale,  N.  Y. 

In  1783,  Simeon  Van  Arsdale  was  called,  and  in 
May,  1784,  he  became  the  pastor.*  His  remains  lie 
in  the  Readington  churchyard,  and  on  the  tablet  at 
the  head  of  his  grave  is  the  following  inscription : 

"  In  raemoTy  of  the  Eev.  Simeon  Van  Arsdale,  who  departed  this  life 
the  26th  day  of  May,  1786,  in  the  33d  year  of  his  age. 
"  Here  lies  entombed  a  servant  of  the  Lord, 
A  faithful  preacher  of  his  sacred  word. 
Who  now  with  Christ  in  glory  is  set  down. 
Decked  in  white  robes  and  honored  with  a  crown." 

He  was  succeeded  in  1786  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Stud- 
diford,  who  preached  at  Bedminster,  in  connection 
with  Readington,  until  1800,  and  then  at  Readington 
alone  until  his  death.  His  ministry  lasted  about  forty 
years,  and  was  marked  by  large  accessions  of  mem- 
bers.t  He  died  Nov.  21,  1826,  in  the  sixty-fourth 
year  of  his  age,  and  his  remains  lie  at  Readington,  by 
the  side  of  those  of  D.  Van  Arsdale. 

The  other  pastors  of  this  church  have  been  Rev. 
John  Van  Liew,  1828-69;  Rev.  J.  G.  Van  Slyke, 
1869-70;  Rev.  J.  H.  Smock,  1870  to  present  time 
(1880).  During  the  forty-three  years'  pastorate  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Van  Liew,  560  persons  were  welcomed  to 


*  The  following  is  a  minute  from  the  church  records  of  this  date ; 

"Jan.  15, 1784,  the  Kev.  Consistory  of  North  Branch  convened  at  the 
house  of  Jan  Simonse,  and  was  opened  with  prayer. 

"  Article  I.  Was  presented  to  the  Kev.  Consistory  an  offense  given  to 
the  church  by  M.,  who  in  his  own  house  has  permitted  the  use  of  im- 
proper means  (forbidden  in  God's  Word),  by  a  person  bearing  the  name 
of  sorcerer,  for  the  recovery  of  a  child  said  to  be  tormented  by  witch- 
craft. The  said  M.,  being  present,  did  not,  upon  presentation  of  his  accu- 
sation, show  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  his  transgression,  whereupon  the 
matter  was  postponed  for  consideration  at  the  earliest  meeting  of  Con- 
sistory. 

"Jan.  30, 1784,  the  Rev.  Consistory  met  at  the  house  of  Edward  Bnnn, 
opened  with  prayer.  Article  I.  Was  resumed  the  matter  concerning  M., 
taken  into  consideration  at  the  last  held  meeting  of  Consistory,  and  the 
said  M.,  being  present,  has'  manifested  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  his 
transgression,  and  thereupon  has  made  confession  out  of  which  the  Kev. 
Consistory  has  taken  its  satisfaction. 

"Article  II.  J.  D.,  concerning  whose  child  the  above  mentioned 
offense  was  presented,  having  also  ignorantly  fallen  into  the  same  error, 
and  being  addressed  concerning  it,  has  also,  by  a  hearty  confession,  given 
complete  satisfaction.  His  wife  also  has  given  satisfaction  in  this.  Thus 
the  peeting  is  closed  with  thanksgiving. 

"  Testis.    Simeon  Van  Aetsdalen, 

F.  D.  M.  a  H.  8.,  Prmses:' 

t  See  sketch  on  pages  263-54  of  this  work.  , 


the  communion  of  the  church,  and  1119  infants  and 
85  adults  baptized.  He  died  Oct.  18,  1869,  and  was 
entombed  in  the  new  cemetery  near  his  church.  He 
was  born  in  1798. 

From  the  church  records  are  here  reproduced  the 
names  of  some  of  the  early  members :  April  26,  1760, 
at  the  house  of  Andreas  Ten  Eyck,  were  admitted  to 
the  communion  of  the  church,  on  confession  of  faith, 
Petrus  Van  Neste,  Mattheus  Ten  Eyck,  and  Maria 
Van  Arsdalen,  wife  of  Dirck  Sebring.  Jan.  12,  1762, 
on  confession,  Nicholas  Egbort  and  Jannetje  Corse, 
wife  of  Edward  Harrinton.  Dec.  31,  1764,  Derrick 
Sutphin  and  Petrus  Nevius  (from  Bedminster),  Cath- 
arine, wife  of  Edward  Bunn,  Neeltjie,  wife  of  Abra- 
ham Montfort,  Catharine,  wife  of  Peter  Sutphin. 

The  new  church  at  Readington  was  built  in  1833 ; 
it  stood  thirty-one  years.  It  was  consumed  by  fire 
March  22,  1864,  and  replaced  at  once  by  the  edifice 
now  in  use,  56  by  76  feet  in  size.  It  was  dedicated 
July  20, 1865.  Both  these  churches  were  built  during 
the  pastorate  of  John  Van  Liew,  D.D. 

THE   KEFOEMED   DUTCH   CHURCH   OF   KOCKAWAT 

was  organized  Jan.  10, 1792,  at  the  house  of  Abraham 
Van  Horn,  by  a  committee  from  the  Classis  of  New 
Brunswick.  Revs.  John  Duryea  and  John  M.  Van 
Harlingen  were  present.  This  church  "was  origi- 
nally formed  out  of  persons  who  had  been  connected 
with  Readington,  with  a  few  families  from  Bedmin- 
ster, a  few  from  the  Presbyterian  Church'  of  Laming- 
ton,  and  also  a  few  from  the  Lutheran  Church  of  New 
Germantown.  It  is  first  spoken  of  in  the  minutes  of 
Synod  in  1793  as  a  place  in  which  religious  services 
were  rendered,  and  called  Potterstown.  John  Duryea 
rendered  a  part-service  there  from  1800  to  1801,  preach- 
ing in  the  barn  of  Abraham  Van  Horn.  John  Schure- 
man  attended  a  catechetical  class  within  the  bounds 
of  this  congregation  while  he  was  at  Bedminster."! 

This  church  was  probably  called  the  Potterstown 
Church  because  of  the  residence  there  of  Cornelius 
Wyckoff",  the  first  elder,  whose  family  made  up  a 
very  important  part  of  the  congregation,  and  whose 
earlier  meetings  were  held  at  his  house.  The  first 
Consistory  chosen  was:  Elders,  Cornelius  Wyckofi", 
Sr.,  and  Aaron  Lane;  Deacons,  Henry  Traphagen 
and  George  Covenhoven.?  The  first  members  re- 
ceived into  the  communion  were  Abraham  Van 
Horn,  Matthias  Lane,  John  Wyckoff,  Cornelius  Wyc- 
koff", Jr.,  Gertrude  Wyckoff,  wife  of  A.  Van  Horn, 
Catharine  Sutten,  wife  of  John  Wyckoff;  and  Altie 
Covenhoven,  wife  of  Matthias  Lane. 

Subsequently,  and  previous  to  1808,  were  received 
into  the  church  William  Van  Horn  and  Elizabeth, 
his  wife;  Sarah  Van  Horn,  wife  of  Jacob  Wyckoff; 
Cornelius  W.  Van  Horn  and  Maria  Suydam,^  his 
wife;  Cornelia  Wyckoff;  Ghaertye  Wyckoff;  Lydia 
Barnet,  wife  of  George  Covenhoven;  Abraham  Ten 

J  Kev.  Abram  Messler's  "  Historical  Notes." 
g  Book  of  Minutes. 


^98 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Eyck;  Abraham  Van  Doren  and  Rachel  Babcock, 
his  wife;  Eleanor  Montfert,  Mary  Johnson,  Catha- 
rine Jfline,  Catharine  Adams,  Cornelius  Messier,  Sr. 
(father  of  Rev.  Abram  Messier,  D.D.),  and  Roelif 
'Covenhoven.  Of  the  thirty-five  received  under  the 
ministry  of  Rev.  Demarest,  none  now  survive,  John 
.Reger  being  the  last  to  depart.  Among  later  mem- 
bers we  find,  in  addition  to  those  before  given,  the 
family  names  of  Van  Houten,  Voorhees,  Smock, 
Brokaw,  Space,  Vescelius,  Swackhamer,  Nevius, 
Stryker,  Nefi',  Quick,  Van  Nest,  Van  Deventer, 
Dilley,  Roelifson,  Dumont,  Emory,  Melick,  Young, 
Rodenbough,  Sutphin,  Van  Vleet,  Teunison,  Lowe, 
Plumley,  Johnson,  Stillwell,  Farlee;  and  Rebecca 
Van  Cleef  was  the  one  hundredth  person  who  joined 
;the  church,  Oct.  29,  1820. 

The  first  minister  was  Rev.  John  Duryea,  1799- 
1801  ;*  Aug.  2,  1808,  a  call  was  made  to  Cornelius  T. 
Demarest;  he  continued  until  1813.  Later  this  church 
united  with  the  Lebanon  Church,  and  called  Jacob  I. 
Schultz,  who  was  installed  Nov.  26, 1816.  He  preached 
on  alternate  Sabbaths  in  each  church.  His  was  the 
longest  pastorate  the  church  has  had, — over  eighteen 
years.  His  successors  have  been  Revs.  Peter  S.  Wil- 
liamson, 1835-39 ;  James  Otterson,  1840-45 ;  Goyn  Tal- 
mage,  1845-51 ;  Lawrence  Comfort,  1852-54 ;  Aaron 
Lloyd,  1855-56 ;  Smith  Sturgis,  1857-63 ;  Evert  Van 
Slyke,  186'^66;  William  Bailey,  1868,  still  (1881) 
officiating. 

For  fifteen  years  after  the  organization  the  congre- 
gation worshiped  in  Mr.  Van  Horn's  barn,  but  in 
1807  a  church  was  commenced.  The  site  was  in  Abra- 
ham Van  Horn's  orchard,  not  far  from  the  historic 
barn,  and  midway  between  the  old  white  house  and 
the  store  of  J.  V.  P.  Wyokoff.  William  Van  Horn 
deeded  the  land  and  funds  were  raised  by  subscrip- 
tions, aggregating  $1200.  As  soon  as  the  house  was 
fairly  inclosed  its  use  was  begun.  It  was  not  until 
1819  that  the  "  galleries  were  floored,  seats  put  up," 
and  the  church  completely  finished.  This  house  was 
used  for  more  than  forty  years.  In  1849  a  "new  and 
comfortable  and  most  respectable  house  of  worship" 
was  erected.  It  was  dedicated  Jan.  10,  1850.  The 
church  has  a  desirable  parsonage  property,  free  from 
incumbrance. 

The  White  House  Missionary  Association  was  or- 
ganized in  1824,  and  is  still  in  active  operation. 

THE  EEFOBMED   DUTCH   CHDECH,  THHEE   BRIDGES. 

This  church  is  of  recent  date,  having  been  organ- 
ized in  1874 ;  it  had  no  settled  pastor  until  1880.  Pre- 
viously it  depended  upon  the  ministrations  of  neigh- 
boring preachers  as  stated  supplies.  The  Rev.  P.  D. 
lOakley,  D.D.,  who  was  teaching  at  Neshanic  from 
1870  to  1876,  supplied  the  pulpit  during  the  last  three 
years  of  that  period.    Rev.  Gilbert  Lane  officiated  in 

*  From  1792  uBtil  1808  the  church  -was  supplied  from  the  Classis  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  between  1801-8  the  following  served  the  church  ;  .lames 
8.  Cannon,  William  K.  Smith,  John  S.  Vredenburgh,  and  Ira  Condit. 


1877.  Subsequently,  and  until  quite  recently,  they 
were  supplied  by  Rev.  M.  N.  Oliver,  of  Clover  Hill. 
The  Rev.  Edward  Birdsall  has  been  called  as  pastoi: 
of  this  church.  The  present  membership  (1881)  is 
81,  and  there  are  100  pupils  in  the  Sabbath-school. 

THE   EEFOBMED   DUTCH   CHUECH  OF   STANTON 

was  formed  out  of  families  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  attend  divine  worship  at  Readington,  but  the  dis- 
tance made  it  inconvenient  and  burdensome,  and  led 
them  to  make  an  effi)rt  to  provide  a  more  convenient 
place  for  themselves.  This  culminated,  in  1833,  in 
the  formation  of  what  was  then  called  "  The  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  of  Mount  Pleasant."  Its  organiza- 
tion was  efiected  through  the  Classis  of  Philadelphia, 
October  15th  of  that  year.  Its  original  members  were  ' 
John  M.  Wyckoff,  Josiah  Cole  and  wife,  Abraham 
and  Margaret  Anderson.  The  first  Consistory  was 
composed  of  John  M.  Wyckoff  and  Josiah  Cole, 
elders,  and  Abraham  Anderson,  deacon.  In  1834 
they  proceeded  to  build  a  house  of  worship.  Revs. 
G.  Ludlow,  John  Van  Liew,  and  Jacob  Kirkpatrick 
officiated  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  The 
building  was  completed  before  the  close  of  the  year 
and  dedicated,  the  same  reverend  gentlemen  again 
taking  part  in  the  services. 

In  June,  1835,  the  congregation  presented  a  call  to 
the  candidate  Jacob  R.  Van  Arsdale.  It  was  ac- 
cepted, and  he  was  ordained  and  installed  in  October. 
April,  1850,  he  resigned  and  removed  to  Tyre,  N.  Y. 
He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Horace  Doolittle,  who  la- 
bored until  1872.  His  successor  was  Rev.  Edward 
Cornet,  who  officiated  until  1876,  since  which  date 
Rev.  Abraham  J.  Martine  has  had  charge,  and  is  the 
present  incumbent. 

This  church  from  small  beginnings  has  grown  to 
fair  proportions,  having  in  1872  reported  70  families 
and  140  communicants. 

THE   MEOHANICSVILLB  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHTJRCH.t 

The  first  traces  of  Methodism  in  Mechanicsville 
and  White  House  take  us  back  to  the  early  part  of 
the  century.  The  first  definite  knowledge  of  services 
here  dates  to  about  1836,  when  Rev.  John  Lenhart, 
subsequently  lost  on  the  "  Cumberland,"  in  Hampton 
Roads,  and  James  0.  Rodgers,  still  in  the  work,  were 
appointed  to  the  Flemington  Circuit,  of  which  this 
was  a  part.  They  preached  at  stated  intervals  in  a 
school-house  located  a  short  distance  along  the  ridge 
east  of  Mechanicsville.  Class-meetings  were  held, 
and  Father  Mendham,  now  sleeping  in  the  Mechan- 
icsville cemetery,  is  remembered  as  a,  class-leader  in 
those  days.  After  a  year  or  two  the  Germantown 
Circuit  was  formed,  with  which  this  place  was  incor- 
porated. About  1838,  Rev.  Curtis  Talley  preached 
here.  The  first  board  of  trustees  consisted  of  Judge 
Isaiah  Large,  George  Hall,  John  Hall,  William  Iliff, 
and  J.  S.  Van  Horn. 

■\  By  Rev.  J.  A.  Kingsbury. 


READINGTON. 


■49& 


In  1844,  Eey.  Wesley  Robertson  traveled  the  cir- 
cuit. He  held  a  meeting  in  a  grove,  then  standing 
on  the  north  side  of  the  turnpike,  where  now  is  the 
centre  of  the  village.  There  were  about  forty  con- 
versions, including  several  prominent  citizens  who 
subsequently  became  pillars  in  the  church,  among 
whom  were  Thomas  Applegate,  Dr.  Scott,  and  John 
and  Peter  Ditmars.  Dr.  Scott  furnished  the  society 
with  land,  and  quite  a  sum  of  money  was  raised  on 
subscription,  for  the  new  edifice. 

Rev.  Abraham  Owens  came  next ;  he  preached  at 
the  beginning  in  the  upper  part  of  a  blacksmith-shop 
located  about  where  that  of  E.  K.  Ward,  Esq.,  now 
stands.  He  caused  the  erection  of  the  first  church. 
The  location  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  turnpike, 
at  the  lower  or  eastern  end  of  the  village,  where  the 
cemetery  now  stands.  The  building  was  plain,  with- 
out spire,  and  cost  (including  work  and  materials 
given)  about  $1600. 

About  1850,  Rev.  Benjamin  Kelley  was  sent  to  the 
circuit.  His  labors  at  Mechanicsville  were  crowned 
with  great  success.  A  revival  occurred,  during  which 
about  100  were  converted. 

During  the  next  few  years  preachers  came  and  went 
in  the  order  of  their  appointment,  and  small  revivals 
occurred  which  gradually  swelled  the  membership  of 
the  church.  The  circuit  was  reduced  in  size  until 
New  Germantown  and  Mechanicsville  were  alone 
together,  the  parsonage  being  situated  at  the  former 
place. 

Rev.  W.  W.  Voorhies  came  to  the  charge  in  1866, 
and  remained  for  only  one  year.  A  notable  revival 
occurred  during  the  year,  resulting  in  the  conversion 
of  about  100.  This  large  accession  led  to  a  desire  for 
a  new  and  larger  church.  Rev.  Martin  Herr  followed 
on  the  charge,  and  through  his  energetic  zeal  the 
present  large  and  beautiful  building  was  erected. 
The  old  church  was  sold  and  removed,  and  the  lot, 
which  had  been  considerably  enlarged,  was  made  into 
a  burial-ground.  A  new  property  somewhat  farther 
west  and  more  central,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  was  purchased.  The  church  cost  about  $10,500, 
and  was  dedicated  Dec.  26,  1867. 

In  1869,  Mechanicsville  was  severed  from  New  Ger- 
mantown. About  1872  the  church  was  damaged  by 
a  high  wind  to  such  an  extent  as  to  require  $1500  for 
repairs. 

During  the  second  year  of  the  ministry  of  Rev.  A. 
Van  Deusen  (autumn  of  1877)  another  large  revival 
occurred,  and  before  its  close  about  120  professed 
conversion.  The  present  pastor.  Rev.  J.  A.  Kings- 
bury, came  here  in  the  spring  of  1879.  The  present 
membership  is  about  250. 

A  Sunday-school  has  been  in  operation  since  the 
first  edifice  was  occupied. 

The  society  has  long  been  burdened  with  debt,  but 
for  the  past  few  years,  through  a  kind  legacy  of  $1000, 
und  earnest  labor  and  economy,  it  has  been  cut  down 
very  considerably. 


THE  CEKTEEVILLB  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUEOH.     ' 

The  first  preaching  in  any  way  connected  with  this- 
society  was  by  Rev.  David  Walters,  then  stationed  at 
Flemington.  He  commenced  a  series  of  meetings  in 
the  school-house  near  the  village,  and  the  result  was 
nearly  100  conversions.  The  meetings  were  com- 
menced in  the  early  part  of  March,  1869,  and  con- 
tinued until  the  meeting  of  the  Newark  Conference. 

Rev.  Walters  was  returned  to  Flemington,  and 
continued  to  preach  in  the  school-house,  on  a  week- 
day evening,  once  a  week  during  the  year.  Before 
leaving  for  Conference  he  had  organized  a  society, 
known  as  the  "  Centreville  Methodist  Episcopal  So- 
ciety," and  appointed  J.  A.  Craig  the  first  class- 
leader.  He  had  also  taken  steps  towards  securing 
the  building  of  a  church  edifice.  The  land  was 
donated  by  David  Van  Fleet,  Esq.,  of  Flemington 
(the  deed  bearing  date  of  Feb.  14, 1870),  along  with 
a  subscription  of  $200  and  the  stone  for  the  founda- 
tion. Subscriptions  were  solicited  and  paid  in,  so 
that  in  March  the  church  was  erected,  and  dedicated, 
on  the  10th  of  that  month,  very  nearly  clear  of  debt. 
Its  cost  was  about  $3000,  including  furniture.  The 
trustees  were  David  Van  Fleet,  Charles  M.  Ball, 
Hiram  Huff,  William  Van  Fleet,  Oliver  H.  Smith, 
Peter  D.  Thatcher,  and  Jacob  A.  Craig.  Among 
those  who  had  previously  served  was  Eldridge 
Green. 

Rev.  John  Davis  was  the  first  preacher  in  charge ; 
his  pastorate  was  during  1870-71.  Bro.  Albert  Van 
Deusen  supplied  regularly  for  the  following  year,  while 
stationed  at  Readington  and  Allerton.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Frederic  Bloom,  local  preacher,  1873-74. 
In  1875  no  services  were  held,  except  prayer-  and 
class-meetings,  until  September,  when  Bro.  James 
Perkins  (local)  supplied  the  pulpit.  The  next  spring 
he  was  returned  by  the  Conference,  and  remained 
until  Dec.  1,  1876,  when  Rev.  J.  A.  Craig  was  as- 
signed to  this  charge  in  connection  with  Mount  Ziou 
Church.  He  remained  three  years,  leaving  in  the 
spring  of  1879.  Rev.  Thomas  Sharp  was  his  suc- 
cessor, serving  in  1879,  and  being  returned  for  his 
second  year  in  the  spring  of  1880,  but  supplying  the 
two  churches  named  above. 

There  has  been  a  Sabbath-school  in  connection  with 
the  church  since  its  first  organization.  The  church 
started  with  a  membership  of  about  60,  and  now  num- 
bers about  100.  The  Rev.  J.  A.  Craig,  from  whom 
much  of  the  above  history  has  been  obtained,  is  now 
a  student  at  Drew  Seminary. 

THE  GEOVB  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH  OP  EBAD- 
INGTON. 

This  church  is  located  near  Barley  Sheaf,  in  Read- 
ington township.  Of  its  early  history  it  seems  diffi^ 
cult  to  gather  much  that  is  definite  or  satisfactory. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Weed,  Rev.  John  Creamer,  and  his  as- 
sistant, Isaac  Winner,  all  preachers  on  the  Trenton 
Circuit  as  early  as  1824,  officiated  about  that  date  for 
this  society,  preaching  in  the  old  school-house  at  the 


500 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


"Grove"  once  a  month..  Winner  at  that  time  was 
but  a  youth  and  unmarried.  Mr.  Weed  was  a  faith- 
M  worker,  and  was  successful  in  gathering  a  small 
flock  at  the  Grove.  To  John  Creamer  is  due,  prob- 
ably, the  honor  of  really  establishing  this  church 
upon  a  substantial  footing,  for  success  crowned  his 
efforts. 

Asher  Atkinson,  one  of  the  first  converts  to  Method- 
ism in  the  township,  was  an  active  member  of  this 
church.  He  gave  the  land  upon  which  their  first 
edifice  was  built,  and  assisted  materially  in  putting 
up  the  first  meeting-house,  which  was  a  small,  one- 
story  structure,  with  a  board  ceiling.*  It  stood  about 
200  yards  south  from  the  present  church.  A  few 
grave-stones  on  the  easterly  side  mark  its  site. 

This  church  had  a  nominal  existence  very  early  in 
this  century.  The  Shurts  and  Egbert  families  had 
preaching  in  their  homes  occasionally  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  last  century.  The  name  of  Nicholas 
Egbert,  and  his  Christian  character,  were  fi-equently 
.spoken  of  fifty  years  ago.  He  became  a  leader  in 
the  denomination  in  this  section. 

The  old  church — the  pioneer  Methodist  church  in 
the  township — was  replaced  by  a  new  one  in  1854,  as 
is  shown  by  an  old  book  of  record  of  its  trustees. 
Jacob  P.  Dailey  was  preacher  in  charge  at  that  time. 
July  18,  1854,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  we  circulate  subBcriptiooB  to  obtain  money  to  build  a 
new  church  in  thia  place,  according  to  a  resolution  of  the  last  Quarterly 
Meeting." 

October  27th  the  sum  of  $1135  was  reported  sub- 
scribed. Proposals  for  the  erection  of  the  church 
were  received,  and  that  of  Asa  R.  Dilts  accepted.  The 
church  then  built  was  36  by  50  feet  in  size,  18-feet 
posts,  with  an  end  gallery.  Peter  S.  Dailey  was  sec- 
retary of  the  board  of  trustees.  He  and  John  B. 
Sharp,  both  now  residing  at  Flemington,  were  for- 
merly and  for  many  years  members  of  this  church. 
Revs.  Lenhart  and  Ashbrook  were  among  the  early 
and  successful  preachers  of  the  Grove  Church. 

This  and  the  Allertown  Church  (Clinton  township) 
are  now  united  under  one  charge. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  eleven  school-houses  of  this  township  are  val- 
ued at  $13,500,  and  will  comfortably  seat  800  pupils. 
The  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  the  town- 
ship is  given  as  941,  of  whom  770  were  enrolled  in 
the  school  registers  during  1879,  and  of  which  num- 
ber the  average  attendance  during  the  time  school 
was  kept  was  350.  The  schools  of  this  township  were 
kept  open  an  average  of  nearly  ten  months  during 
1879,  with  four  male  and  eight  female  teachers,  at  an 
average  sa,lary  per  nionth  of  $35.25  for  the  former,  and 
$31.32  for  the  latter! ' 

The  amount  of  money  received  in  1879  was  $4677.09 
from  all  sources. 

*  Mr.  Atkinson  subsequently  removed  to  AUentown,  N.  J.,  and  died 
■there. 


The  following  history  of  the  schools  of  Readington 
township  is  drawn  from  the  manuscript  "  History  of 
Schools  of  Hunterdon  County,"  by  C.  S.  Conkling, 
prepared  in  1876,  while  officiating  as  county  school 
superintendent,  and  from  the  contributions  of  Judge 
Joseph  Thompson  and  others. 

The  first  house  in  "Stanton"  (District  No.  69)  was 
built  in  1802.  Asher  Stout  was  the  first  teacher. 
This  school  was  first  called  "Housel's  Free  School," 
in  memory  of  Jacob  Housel,  who  left  $200  to  the  trus- 
tees by  will,  the  interest  to  be  applied  to  the  educa- 
tion of  the  poor  children  of  the  neighborhood.f  This 
fund  by  some  means  dwindled,  and  in  1844  the  school 
was  merged  in  the  district  school.  In  that  year  a 
constitution  was  drawn  for  the  government  of  the 
Stanton  (then  Mount  Pleasant)  school.  Feb.  19th, 
an  association  was  formed  and  certain  articles  signed 
by  several  persons  (whose  names  are  given  by  the 
clerk),  and  on  April  1st  the  first  board  was  elected, 
— viz.,  Peter  A.  Kline,  William  Wagner,  Anthony 
Harsel,  James  Osborn,  and  John  Britton.  In  1849 
the  number  was  changed  to  three.  The  present 
building  was  erected  in  1848^9.  It  is  a  frame,  20  by 
30  feet,  and  will  seat  60  pupils. 

It  appears  that  the  present  edifice  is  the  third  that 
has  served  "Three  Corners"  (District  No.  70).  The 
first  two  were  both  small  frame  buildings,  but  their 
immediate  locality  and  date  of  erection  are  not 
known.  The  present  house  was  built  in  1866,  a 
frame,  24  by  34  feet,  and  will  seat  60  pupils.  The 
first  trustees  were  Bergen  Davis,  Jacob  J.  Kline,  and 
Peter  Emory.  The  board  in  1876  consisted  of  David 
R.  Emory,  George  Stillwell,  and  Joseph  Lindsley. 
The  first  teacher  was  George  W.  Noel ;  the  present 
(1880)  incumbent  is  Mary  Wells. 

"Station"  (District  No.  71)  school  is  at  White 
House  station.  In  1850  a  public  meeting  was  held 
with  a  view  of  securing  better  school  accommodations, 
the  outgrowth  of  which  was  the  erection  of  the 
"District  of  White  House  Station,"  being  set  oft 
from  Drea  Hook  and  White  House,  which  was  then 
known  as  No.  11.  It  was  resolved  to  build  a  suitable 
school-house  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  A  lot 
was  donated  to  the  district  by  A.  L.  Voorhees,  to 
which  the  people  added  by  purchase.  The  building 
committee  consisted  of  B.  Dumont,  A.  V.  Evergole, 
and  A.  Pickel.  The  building  was  speedily  erected, — 
a  small  frame  structure. 

This  district  was  enlarged  in  1871  by  additions  by 
the  county  superintendent.  The  present  building  was 
erected  in  1871-72,  and  is  28  by  40  feet,  two  stories 
high,  and  one  of  the  best  in  the  county. 

John  G.  Van  Houten,  a  gentleman  much  advanced 
in  life,  and  who  attended  the  first  school  taught  in 
"White  House"  (District  No.  72)  in  1808,  kindly 
furnishes  the  following : 

t  Pre-vious  tb  1838  no  boundary-lines  of  the  districts  were  established. 
The  people  paid  their  own  school  bills,  no  school  taxes  being  levied  by 


READINGTON. 


501 


"  The  flist  school-house  was  built  in  180S,  was  16  by  24,.10-foot  posts, 
ceiling  7^  feet,  and  cost  $100.  It  was  seated  with  slab  benches.  The 
firat  trustees  were  Beuben  Guild,  Dennis  Wyckoff,  and  Nicholas  Still- 
well.    The  first  teacher  was  Cornelius  Bodine,  a  MaBsachosetts  man." 

The  above-mentioned  house  was  used  until  1835, 
when  another  was  built,  18  by  28,  two  stories  high. 
This  had  board  desks,  with  slab  seats,  and  cost  $500. 

The  second  building  served  until  1871,  when  the 
house  now  standing  was  erected.  It  is  26  by  88,  two 
stories,  and  the  two  rooms  are  seated  with  the  most 
approved  patent  desks.  The  cost  of  house,  lot,  etc., 
was  $3459.50. 

The  school-house  which  preceded  the  present  one 
in  "  Cold  Brook"  (District  No.  73)  was  a  stone  build- 
ing, erected  in  1828,  at  which  time  the  trustees  were 
Nicholas  Wyckoff,  David  R.  Conover,  Mathias  Dil- 
ley,  John  Haas,  Jr.,  and  John  Rodenbaugh.  This 
house  stood  at  Cold  Brook,  one  mile  from  Potters- 
town.  There  was,  however,  an  earlier  school-house, 
near  the  site  of  the  one  above  mentioned,  and  the 
first  erected  in  the  district.    When  built  is  not  known. 

The  house  now  in  use — ^the  third  in  the  district — 
was  erected  in  1869,  is  a  frame  building,  22  by  82, 
with  a  seating  capacity  for  50  scholars. 

In  "  Pleasant  Run"  (District  No.  74)  the  first  school- 
building  was  erected  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  was  situated  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  present  one.  The  next  house  was  far- 
ther south,  and  was  built  in  the  early  part  of  this 
century.  It  was  small  (18  by  22),  and  its  seats  were 
arranged  around  the  sides  of  the  room. 

The  house  now  in  use  was  built  about  1838.  It  has 
nearly  fulfilled  its  mission,  and  must  soon  give  way  to 
a  larger  and  better  structure. 

April  2,  1831,  at  the  request  of  David  D.  Schamp, 
Jacob  Q.  CarkhufF,  David  O.  Cole,  T.  S.  La  Tourette, 
and  Tunis  Cole,  trustees,  Joseph  Thompson  drafted  a 
constitution,  which  was  adopted  by  the  inhabitants 
then  convened.  Reuben  Chamberlin  was  the  first 
teacher  who  subscribed  to  the  rules,  April  17,  1832  ; 
Rodney  T.  Hyde  appended  his  name,  and  was  the 
teacher  in  1835.  The  school-house  lot  was  leased  to 
the  district,  and  afterwards  devised  by  Ezekiel  Cole, 
Sr.  His  son,  Ezekiel  E.  Cole,  deeded  the  play-grounds, 
lying  between  the  road  and  the  brook,  to  the  district, 
for  a  nominal  consideration. 

In  "The  Ridge"  (District  No.  75)  the  first  house, 
a  frame,  was  located  a  little  east  of  the  present  one. 
Another  house  was  erected  near  the  then  residence  of 
William  Brokaw.  It  was  vacated,  and  a  new  one 
built  about  1828.  The  present  house  was  erected 
about  1850 ;  it  is  24  by  32  feet  in  size. 

In  "Readington"  (District  No.  76)  it  is  said  there 
was  a  school  near  the  village,  a  short  distance  north- 
west of  the  mill,  long  before  the  Revolution.  The 
earliest  record  existant  (evidently  a  copy  of  the  origi- 
nal) is  dated  Aug.  4,  1804.  When  a  meeting  of  the 
employers  was  held,  the  following  persons  incorporated 
themselves  as  "  The  Holland  Brook  School :"  Abraljam 


Post,  Peter  Quick,  Isaac  Berkaw,  William  Dalley,  Wil- 
liam Spader,  Cornelius  Van  Horn,  Abraham  Smock, 
Andrew  Mattis,  Adrian  Stryker,  Peter  Ten  Brook, 
Wm.  Ditmars,  Derrick  De  Mott.  Having  elected  five 
of  their  number  trustees,  they  caused  their  proceedings 
to  be  recorded  in  "  Registry  of  Special  Deeds  for  the 
County  of  Hunterdon"  (vol.  i.  folio  95),  and  adopted 
a  constitution  and  laws  for  the  government  of  them- 
selves and  the  school,  and  defining  the  duties  of  the 
teacher,  who  was  required  to  sign  his  name  to  an 
agreement  to  comply  with  said  rules,  whereby  we 
have  the  names  of  the  teachers  employed  from  1806 
to  1854,  the  first  being  that  of  Tunis  Ten  Eyck.* 
In  1854  the  practice  of  signing  the  rules  was  aban- 
doned. The  seventh  rule  seems  strange  to  our  ears 
at  this  time,  but  may  have  been  important  then ;  it 
reads  thus : 

"  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  refrain  from  spirituous  liquors 
while  engaged  in  this  school,  and  uot  to  enter  the  school-house  while 
intoxicated,  nor  lose  any  time  through  such  intemperance." 

The  boundary -lines  of  the  district  were  established 
in  May,  1838,  by  Isaiah  P.  Large,  Joseph  Thompson, 
Washington  Skillman,  school  committee  of  Reading- 
ton,  and  R.  S.  Smith,  T.  A.  Hartwell,  A.  Martin,  of 
Bridgewater.  With  a  few  alterations,  the  boundaries 
still  remain  the  same. 

The  school-house  was  a  wooden  structure  16  by  20 
feet,  with  a  low  board  ceiling,  located  at  the  site  of  the 
present  house,  "where  three  highways  do  meet,"  on 
the  southwest  side  of  Holland's  Brook,  with  the  play- 
grounds in  the  roads,  as  at  present.  The  house 
was  erected  in  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1839  it 
was  unanimously  resolved  to  build  a  new  house; 
Bergun  Berkaw,  John  Morehead,  Jr.,  and  Aaron 
Lane,  Jr.,  were  appointed  the  building  committee. 
The  cost  of  erection  was  $754.58,  a  part  thereof  being 
paid  in  timber  and  work.  This  house,  the  one  now 
in  use,  is  a  two-story  building,  of  good  size,  but  one 
floor  only  being  used  for  school  purposes. 

Jan.  10,  1840,  Dr.  Josiah  Quimby,  John  C.  Lane, 
and  Joseph  Thompson  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  draft  a  new  constitution,  which  was  adopted  April 
6,  1840,  and  ordered  to  be  recorded.  In  1851,  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  supplement  to  the  school  act,  the 
boundaries  of  the  district  were  defined  by  Joseph 
Thompson,  superintendent  of  Readington,  George 
W.  Vroom,  of  Branchburg,  and  Lewis  Kiple,  Herman 
Hageman,  and  John  S.  Berger,  trustees  of  the  school, 
and  the  name  changed  to  "  Readington  School,"  the 
boundaries  of  which  are  recorded  in  vol.  iii.  of  special 
deeds,  Hunterdon  County,  pp.  130-32.  A  new  consti- 
tution was  adopted  June  30, 1851,  and  is  still  in  force. 


*  The  "  old  people"  of  fifty  years  ago  used  to  speak  of  John  White  and 
John  Mehelm  as  excellent  teachers  in  the  school  in  the  last  century. 
Among  the  teachers  between  1818  and  1830,  Harry  B.  ^nox  and  William 
Armstrong  were  probably  the  best,  and  made  a  good  reputation  as  in- 
structors. Knox  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  married  Sarah  Egbert,  of 
Keadington,  and  removed  to  Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.  Armstrong  was  a  native 
of  Washington  Co.,  N.  J.,  to  which  place  he  returned. 


502; 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


The  present  teacher  is  Joanna  F.  Wack;  present 
trustees,  Dr.  Thomas  Johnson,  John  Van  Fleet,  and 
Talbot  C.  Guliok,  the  last  named  being  clerk  of  the 
■district. 

"  CentreTille"  (District  No.  77)  has  had  three  sev- 
eral school-houses ;  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the 
first  two  is  unknown.  All  that  can  be  learned  is  that 
Edward  Wilmoth  was  an  early  teacher.  The  present 
building,  at  Centreville,  22  by  30,  a  frame  structure, 
was  erected  in  1851,  and  repaired  in  1875.  There  are 
seating  accommodations  for  50  pupils. 

To  the  Hon.  Joseph  Thompson,  of  Eeadington,  we 
are  indebted  for  much  of  the  history  of  the  schools 
of  "  Three  Bridges"  (District  No.  78).  He  says  that 
in  1813,  when  he  first  went  to  school,  "the  old  house 
stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  Old  York  Road,  at  the 
point  where  the  road  branches  towards  Taylor's  (now 
Kershow's)  Mills,  and  was  known  as  the  school  at 
Van  Fleet's  Corner.  This  house  was  16  by  16  feet, 
8-feet  posts.  The  walls  were  lined  with  boards  to  the 
height  of  4  feet,  and  writing-tables  were  fastened  to 
them  on  three  sides.  The  seats  were  slabs  from  the 
saw-mill,  supported  by  legs  of  hickory  2  feet  in  length. 
All  the  seats  were  destitute  of  backs.  The  ceiling 
was  of  unplaned  oak  boards,  laid  on  beams  8  inches 
thick.  The  teachers  of  that  time  were  generally 
English,  Scotch,  or  Irish,  with  a  few  stray  Yankees. 
The  former  were  good  penmen,  and  the  Irish  good 
arithmeticians.  Grammar  and  geography  were  not 
taught,  except  in  a  few  instances,  and  for  extra  pay. 
The  teacher  collected  his  own  bills  for  tuition,  which 
were  from  $1  to  $1.25  per  scholar  for  a  term  of  thirteen 
weeks.  Every  alternate  Saturday  was  a  holiday. 
The  teachers  boarded  with  their  employers  ^ro  rata. 

About  1840  a  new  building  was  erected,  on  the  site 
•of  the  old  one.  A  solitary  elm  marks  the  place  of  the 
old  school-houses  which  have  been  superseded  by  the 
beautiful  and  convenient  edifice  at  Three  Bridges. 

Early  teachers  were  Oliver  Dunleavy,  Henry  B. 
Mendham,  William  Bailey,  and  George  Hamilton; 
and  early  trustees  were  John  Hoagland,  George  Vlere- 
bome,  and  John  T.  Van  Fleet,  grandfather  of  the 
present  vice-chancellor. 

The  present  building,  24  by  40  feet,  is  in  every  way 
in  marked  contrast  with  the  old  houses.  It  has  a  com- 
manding situation,  and  is  the  pride  of  the  district. 

In  "The  Grove"  (District  No.  79),  a  school-house 
was  standing  on  the  lands  of  George  Biggs,  not  far 
from  the  site  of  the  present  building,  in  1776.  It  is 
said  that  Henry  Mendham  was  an  early  teacher,  and 
George  Sharp  one  of  the  oldest  trustees.  There  are 
reported  to  have  existed  within  the  bounds  of  this 
district  four  school-houses,  but  the  date  cannot  be 
given.     The  present  building  is  in  size  18  by  30  feet. 

SOCaBTIBS   AND    CORPORATIONS. 
In  1827  a  society  was  organized  after  the  plan  of 
the  one  instituted  at  Amwell  the  previous  year.     Its 
title  was  the  "  Eeadington,  Tewksbury,  and  Lebanon 


Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Vice  and  Immorality, 
and  for  the  Promotion  of  Virtue  and  Good  Morals." 
In  its  constitution  its  principal  object  was  stated  to 
be  "  to  carry  into  full  effect  the  salutary  laws  of  the 
State  against  vice  and  immorality  by  aiding  the  civil 
authorities,"  and  every  member  was  pledged  "  to  em- 
ploy his  infiuence  and  exertions  to  attain  this  object," 
but  "  in  no  cases  shall  legal  coercion  be  resorted  to 
except  those  in  which  persuasion,  admonition,  and 
other  mild  measures  are  found  ineifectual."  The  first 
ofiicers  of  the  society  were :  President,  David  Tra- 
phagen;  Vice-President,  Garret  V.  Stryker;  Secretary, 
William  Johnson ;  Treasurer,  Lucas  Voorhees ;  Man- 
agers, William  Johnson,  William  Eockafellar,  Abram 
A.  Johnson,  Martin  Wyckofi',  Jr.,  Capt.  Cornelius 
Ten  Eyck,  Joseph  Cratz,  David  M.  Kline,  C.  Van 
Nostrand,  J.  Mitchell,  Philip  Alpaugh,  Esq.,  John 
Haas,  Esq.,  Isaac  Dumont,  Conrad  Rarick,  Henry 
Miller,  Jr.,  Nicholas  Wyckoff,  William  J.  Alpaugh, 
Peter  P.  Schamp,  Joseph  Van  Doren,  Martin  Nevius, 
and  John  Eeger.  How  long  this  society  existed  is 
not  known. 

"  The  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Assurance  Association 
of  New  Jersey"  was  chartered  March  3,  1856,  by  the  . 
State  Legislature  to  insure  dwelling-houses,  school- 
houses,  churches,  mechanic-shops,  barns,  etc.,  with 
or  without  their  contents,  against  loss  or  damage  by 
fire  or  lightning.  Twenty-two  persons  were  named 
as  the  incorporators,  the  charter  to  continue  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Legislature.  The  directors  appointed 
by  the  charter  were  nine :  Isaac  E.  Srope,  David 
Davis,  Peter  E.  Voorhees,  Tunis  V.  M.  Cox,  John 
P.  Eittenhouse,  and  Nelson  Thatcher,  of  Hunterdon 
County;  John  S.  Hoagland,  Andrew  Fleming,  and 
James  Ten  Eyck,  of  Somerset  County.  The  company 
commenced  business  April  26,  1856,  with  $120,000 
worth  of  property  insured.  The  first  officers  (ap- 
pointed April  26,  1856)  were  Peter  E.  Voorhees, 
President ;  Andrew  Fleming,  Treasurer ;  Joseph 
Thompson,  Secretary. 

The  increase  has  been  gradual,  and,  from  the  state- 
ment on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  at 
Trenton,  the  company  on  Dec.  31, 1879,  had  $12,682,434 
worth  of  property  insured,  extending  over  the  counties 
of  Hunterdon,  Somerset,  Middlesex,  Mercer,  Morris, 
Sussex,  and  Warren.  At  the  same  date  the  losses 
had  been  323,  vaiying  in  amount  from  $3  to  $3000. 
The  company  is  out  of  debt,  and  has  over  $3000  in 
the  treasury. 

The  present  officers  are  David  Davis,  President;  T. 
V.  M.  Cox,  Vice-President ;  Calvin  Corle,  Treasurer ; 
Joseph  Thompson,  Secretary ;  Aaron  J.  Thompson, 
Assistant  Secretary ;  David  Davis,  T.  V.  M.  Cox,  Wm. 
P.  Johnson,  Peter  P.  Quick,  Henry  F.  Bodine,  Andrew 
Van  Sickle,  and  Moses  Eobbins,  of  Hunterdon;  0. 
N.  Dumont,  Calvin  Corle,  and  C.  Nelson  Staats,  of 
Somerset ;  David  W.  Dellisher,  of  Morris ;  William 
Eamsey,  of  Warren ;  Thomas  Armstrong,  of  Sussex, 
Dirwtors. 


■I^nqi-by  AS.RitO 


^oiL^  ^£^ 


EEADINGTON. 


5031 


CEMETERIES. 
There  are  burial-places  connected  with  all  the 
churches  in  the  township  except  the  Centreville 
Methodist  Episcopal,  also  very  many  family  burial- 
grounds,  some  of  quite  early  origin.  -A  little  to  the 
northeast  of  the  Wyckoflf  homestead  are  the  relics  of 
the  old  family  burying-ground,  the  fragments  of  a 
few  headstones  alone  marking  the  site.  From  these, 
in  1873,  it  was  deciphered  that  "  Cornelius  Wyckoff, 
Sr.,  died  April  4,  1796,  in  the  81st  year  of  his  age," 
and  his  wife  "  Elizabeth,  May  1,  1799,  in  her  80th 
year." 

An  important  cemetery  is  that  at  Pleasant  Run,  on 
what  was  formerly  the  Emans  farm,  now  the  prop- 
erty of  James  N.  Pidcock.  It  was  used  as  a  place  of 
interment  by  the  people  of  Readington  township  gen- 
erally, and  is  one  of  the  earliest  within  her  limits.  It 
is  still  occasionally  used.  In  it  repose  the  remains  of 
many  of  the  Biggs,  Coles,  Schamp,  Van  Fleet,  and 
Emans  families. 

Adjoining  the  White  House  station  is  an  ancient 
ground  which  about  1850  was  inclosed  with  a  stone 
wall  by  the  descendants  of  the  Van  Horns,  Pickels, 
Covenhovens,  Andersons,  etc.,  whose  ancestors  were 
buried  there.  The  graves  of  George  Anderson  and  a 
few  others  are  marked  by  red  sandstone  slabs  with 
still  legible  inscriptions. 

The  Smith  burial-ground  is  located  on  the  farm 
first  settled  by  John  Henry  Smith,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  near  the  source  of  the  Pleasant  Run.  In 
it  he  and  various  of  his  descendants  lie  buried. 

On  the  road  from  Readington  to  Drea  Hook  is  the 
Schamp  family  cemetery.  Directly  west,  and  adjoin- 
ing, is  a  very  old  burial-place,  now  disused  and  ne- 
glected. On  the  north  side  of  the  road,  directly  op- 
posite, is  the  burial-lot  of  the  De  Mott,  Decker,  and 
Vroom  families.  This  is  also  in  a  dilapidated  condi- 
tion. 

The  burial-ground  of  the  Readington  Reformed 
Church  was  opened  in  1804.  John  Ditmars,  Sr., 
erected  the  fence  around  it,  and  was  the  first  person 
buried  there.  His  son,  Capt.  John,  followed  soon 
after.  Prior  to  1804  the  church  had  a  cemetery  about 
one-quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  present  one ;  it  was 
located  on  land  then  owned  by  Casper  Berger,  now 
the  property  of  William  Fitch.  Since  the  opening 
of  the  new  yard  the  old  one  has  not  been  used,  and 
is  much  neglected. 


INDUSTRIAL. 

Jacob  Klein,  the  grandfather  of  the  John  who  is 
mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  work,  was  a  tanner  and 
currier,  and  three  of  his  sons  carried  on  the  business 
in  this  township:  John  William,  on  the  original 
homestead;  Peter,  on  the  farm  adjoining  on  the  west; 
and  Aaron,  near  Drea  Hook.  Other  descendants  con- 
tinued the  business  on  Campbell's  Brook,  near  Cushe- 
tunk  Mountain;  but  it  has  long  been  abandoned. 

In  1828,  Washington  Skillman  notified  the  public 


that  he  would  "  continue  the  business  of  wool-carding 
the  present  season,  at  the  well-known  stand  of  Nich- 
olas Stilwell,  at  the  White  House." 

William  Corwine  removed  from  Cushetunk  Moun- 
tain to  Readington  Church  in  1829,  and  With  Mr. 
Cozine  (firm  of  Cozine  &  Corwine)  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  "  double  spread,  diaper,  carpet,  etc." 
At  Mechanicsville,  in  1829,  George  Hall  opened  a 
shop  for  "  cabinet-  and  plough-making,  wheelwright- 
ing,  blacksmithing,  and  painting,"  Ephraim  Parker 
a  saddlery  and  harness-shop,  and  William  Risler  a,' 
tailor-shop. 

More  than  one  hundred  years  ago  Michael  Kinney 
had  an  apple-distillery  near  the  middle  of  the  town- 
ship, on  Holland's  Brook ;  his  son  and  grandson  after- 
wards added  a  rye-distillery.  There  was  another, 
near  the  foot  of  Cushetunk  Mountain,  west  of  White 
House  station,  and  one  at  Centreville ;  afterwards  one 
was  erected  on  the  farm  east  of  White  House,  now 
owned  by  Theodore  Polhemus,  another  near  Pleasant 
Run  store,  and  one  north  from  The  Grove  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  They  all  did  a  thriving  business 
in  their  day.  The  only  one  now  in  operation  is  near 
Pleasant  Run  post-office. 

The  "Readington  Mining  Company,"  which  in 
1847  was  carrying  on  mining  operations  at  the  copper 
mines,  four  miles  north  of  Flemington,  like  most  of 
the  other  mining  companies  of  this  section,  soon  sus- 
pended operations,  and  since  has  been  dormant. 

From  1820-25  considerable  excitement  was  created 
by  the  discovery  of  mineral  springs  near  the  source  of 
Campbell's  Brook.  Buildings  were  erected,  grounds 
improved  and  cleared,  and  it  appeared  for  a  while 
that  they  would  rival  Schooley's  Mountain  Springs. 
Though  the  waters  were  pronounced  by  chemists  to 
be  of  much  benefit  in  certain  diseases,  the  supply  was 
limited,  and  the  speculation  was  a  failure.  Summer 
boarders  from  the  city,  at  White  House  and  vicinity, 
still  visit  the  place  and  drink  of  the  waters. 

EARLY  ROADS. 
A  road  leading  by  the  New  Mills,  built  by  Andrew 
Leake,  in  Readington  township,  was  laid  in  1761, 
"  beginning  at  a  black-oak  on  the  main  road  leading 
from  New  Germantown,  and  along  lands  of  Andrew 
Ten  Eyck,  along  by  a  wheat-field,"  etc.  On  petition  of 
James  Stout,  during  the  same  year,  November  6th,  a 
two-rod  road  was  laid  out,  "  beginning  at  a  four-rod 
road  against  Peter  Rockafellow's  house,  running 
across  said  Rockafellow's  land  as  the  beaten  path  runs 
to  James  Stout's  land,  thence  across  Stout's  land  to 
Stout's  mill."  The  commissioners  who  laid  out  these 
roads  were  Thomas  Atkinson,  Morris  Wolverton, 
Winant  Vandeventer,  and  Isaac  De  Mott.* 


MILITARY. 
Joseph  Hankinson  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 
He  subsequently  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature 

«  "  Traditions  of  our  Ancestors,"  1870. 


504 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  of  Congress.  He  died  in  Eeadington,  Nov.  30, 
1825,  aged  eighty-one.  His  descendants  still  live  on 
the  homestead  farm,  in  the  southwest  part  of  the 
township. 

Col.  David  Schamp,  who  was  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Trenton,  was  the  second  son  of  Hendrick  Schamp  ; 
he  was  a  captain  in  the  secret  service  of  Gen.  Wash- 
ington. He  lived  on  Pleasant  Eun,  in  a  house  a  part 
of  which  is  still  standing,  and  occupied  by  his  grand- 
son, David  Schamp.  His  wife  was  Helena  Hoffman, 
daughter  of  Johannes  Hofiman,  a  large  landholder 
near  Metler's  Mills. 

Other  Revolutionary  worthies  from  this  township : 
FuLkert  Voorhees,  Jacobus  Aray  (colored),  Adrian 
Johnson,  Peter  Latourette,  and  Cornelius  Latourette 
were  in  the  Continental  service ;  in  the  militia  were 
Lieut.  Abram  Post,  Lieut,  (or  Ensign)  Abraham  Ten 
Eyck,  Jacob  Neff,  and  Capt.  Cornelius  Lane. 

Eeadington  did  its  fall  share  in  sustaining  the 
government  during  the  war  of  the  Eebellion. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


HON.    JAMES   N.    PIDCOCE. 

James  Nelson  Pidcock,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  at  Mechanicsville,  N.  J.,  Feb.  8,  1836.  He 
is  descended  from  an  English  family  who  settled  in 
New  Jersey  at  an  early  date,  and  is  a  son  of  John  G. 
Pidcock,  whose  wife's  maiden  name  was  Eamsey. 
His  parents,' when  he  was  about  five  years  of  age,  re- 
moved to  Lebanon,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he 
was  brought  up  till  about  the  age  of  thii-teen  and 
attended  the  public  schools.  About  this  time  he  left 
school  and  went  to  work  with  a  corps  of  engineers  on 
the  Belvidere  Delaware  Eailroad,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged till  1851,  and  so  profited  by  his  experience  that 
he  was  able,  upon  going  South,  to  take  charge  of  the 
construction  of  a  section  (twenty-five  miles  in  length) 
of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Eailroad,  situated  in  the 
State  of  Mississippi.  This  work  he  carried  on  suc- 
cessfully, notwithstanding  the  deleterious  effect  of  the 
climate,  till  the  financial  panic  of  1857  so  damaged 
the  immediate  prospects  of  the  company  that  he  re- 
signed his  position  and  came  home.  He  soon  after 
became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  William  E.  Henry 
&  Co.,  and  took  a  contract  to  build  several  miles  of 
the  Allentown  and  Auburn  Railroad.  The  financial 
disaster  also  impeded  the  progress  of  this  road,  and 
the  company  being  obliged  to  suspend  operations,  he 
and  his  partner  lost  heavily,  but  paid  all  their  in- 
debtedness. 

During  the  remainder  of  that  disastrous  year,  in- 
stead of  remaining  idle  and  complaining  of  hard 
times,  he  planned  new  enterprises,  and,  in  company 
with  J.  E.  Voorhees   and  J.  F.  Wyckoff",  engaged 


largely  in  the  purchase  of  clothing  at  forced  sales  in 
New  York,  disposing  of  the  purchases  by  wholesale 
and  at  auction  through  the  country.  These  operations 
resulted  in  handsome  profits.  Engaging  next  in  busi- 
ness as  drover  and  stock-dealer,  his  profits  largely  in- 
creased until  1861,  when,  owing  to  the  embarrassment 
caused  by  the  first  stage  of  the  war,  he  lost  all  he  had 
saved  during  the  preceding  prosperous  years,  and  had 
literally  to  commence  business  anew,  with  no  other 
capital  than  his  characteristic  energy  and  persever- 
ance. He  chose  to  remain  in  the  stock  trade,  and  did 
so  with  fair  success  till  1865,  when,  in  company  with 
J.  N.  Eamsey  and  Richard  Bellis,  he  commenced 
business  in  New  York  and  Jersey  City  as  live-stock 
commission  merchant.  He  continued  in  this  way 
till  1868,  losing  in  the  mean  time  eighteen  thousand 
dollars  through  the  defalcation  of  a  bookkeeper  in 
the  employ  of  the  firm,  and  then  became  sole  pro- 
prietor of  the  business,  which,  under  his  enterprising 
and  judicious  management,  became  one  of  the  largest 
of  the  kind  in  New  York  and  vicinity,  averaging 
three  hundred  thousand  head  of  live-stock,  sheep,  and 
lambs  a  year,  and  comprising,  besides  the  large  local 
trade,  heavy  consignments  from  the  South  and  West. 

In  1875  he  entered  into  copartnership  with  Mr. 
Philip  S.  Kase,  under  the  firm-name  of  Kase  &  Pid- 
cock. The  present  headquarters  of  the  business  are 
at  the  Central  Stock-Yards  of  Jersey  City. 

In  politics  Mr.  Pidcock  is  a  Democrat,  but  previous 
to  1873  took  no  part  as  a  candidate  for  any  office.  In 
that  year  he  was  the  regular  nominee  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  for  the  office  of  State  senator,  and  was 
defeated  by  Hon.  F.  A.  Potts,  the  Republican  candi- 
date. He  was  again  nominated  in  1876,  and  elected 
by  a  majority  of  sixteen  hundred  and  seventy-five 
votes.  He  is  largely  interested  in  real  estate  in  the 
vicinity  of  White  House,  Hunterdon  Co.,  the  place 
of  his  famil}'  residence.  He  has  been  largely  instru- 
mental in  the  improvement  of  the  village,  selling 
property  on  time  for  building  purposes,  and  advanc- 
ing purchasers  a  large  part  of  the  money  necessary  to 
erect  buildings  thereon.  He  was  married  in  1862  to- 
Fanny  A.  Faulks,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 


BERIAH  A.  WATSON,  M.D. 
Beriah  A.  Watson,  M.D.,  was  born  at  Lake  George,. 
Warren  Co.,  N.  Y.,  on  the  26th  of  March,  1836.  He 
is  the  third  son  of  Perry  and  Maria  (Place)  Watson, 
— the  former  a  native  of  Rhode  Island  and  son  of 
Perry  Watson,  Sr.,  who  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  In  early  youth  he  removed  to  Green- 
wich, Washington  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  his  wife  was 
born,  and  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer 
in  that  and  the  adjoining  county  of  Warren.  Here 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  early  made  acquainted 
with  farm  labor ;  but,  having  a  decided  preference  for 
study,  he  was  allowed  to  attend  school  more  than  J;he 


Salazy J^Ji.Ca  PhJAi^ 


^.      /^    ^^(.^(.Cc^x^^      i^.^. 


KEADINGTON. 


505 


ordinary  winter  months  devoted  to  the  education  of 
farmers'  boys.    He  was  soon  placed  in  the  family  of 
Jonathan  Streeter,  an  intelligent  Quaker  of  that  lo- 
cality, where  he  enjoyed  uncommon  advantages  for 
mental  discipline  and  for  that  orderly  and  systematic 
pursuit  of  knowledge  which  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  future  success  as  a  student  and  medical  writer. 
He  spent  two  years  in  this   Quaker  family,  then 
taught  school  to  acquire  the  means  of  prosecuting  his 
future  studies.    At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  entered 
the  office  of  the  late  Dr.  James  Reiley,  at  Suckasunny, 
Morris  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  studied  medicine,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  1859  entered  the  Medical  Department 
of  the  University  of  New  York,  where  he  took  his  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  the  spring  of  1861. 
After  graduation  he  located  at  White  House,  N.  J., 
where  he  practiced  for  a  short  time.     In  the  fall  of 
1862  he  entered  the  United  States  service  as  a  con- 
tract surgeon,  after  having  passed  an  examination 
before  the  board  of  examiners,   appointed  by  the 
Surgeon-General   U.S.A.,   of   which    Dr.   Valentine 
Mott  was  president,  and  was  ordered  to  report  for 
duty  September  1st,  at  Newark,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  army  hospital  service  until  March  26, 
1863.     He  then  received  a  commission  from  Governor 
Parker  as  assistant  .surgeon  of  the  Fourth  New  Jersey 
Volunteers,  and  reported  promptly  to  the  comman- 
dant of  his  regiment,  but  very  soon   after  was   de- 
tached from  that  command  and  ordered  to  report  to 
Dr.  Asch,  medical  director  of  the  Artillery  Reserve, 
and  by  him  directed  to  take  charge  of  the  artillery 
brigade  then  located  at  Falmouth,  Va.    He  remained 
with  that  command  until  after  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg, when  he  received  orders  to  return  to  his  regi- 
ment (the  Fourth  New  Jersey),  of  which  he  was  com- 
missioned surgeon,  with  the  rank  of  major,  November 
4th.     Shortly  after  this  he  was  detailed  as  one  of  the 
operating  surgeons  to  the  First  Brigade,  First  Divis- 
ion of  the  Sixth  Army  Corps,  stationed  in  front  of 
Petersburg,  Va.,  at  this  time. 

In  this  capacity  he  had  served  but  a  few  months 
when  he  was  ordered  to  take  charge  of  the  First  Di- 
vision, Sixth  Army  Corps  Hospital,  and  at  the  same 
time  made  acting,  medical  purveyor  of  the  corps.  He 
retained  these  positions,  and  continued  to  discharge 
the  duties  until  the  close  of  the  war,  retiring  from  the 
service  July  10,  1865. 

Returning  to  civil  life,  he  made  choice  of  Jersey 
City  as  his  future  residence,  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  Although  actively  engaged  in 
practice,  he  still  finds  time  for  study,  and  very  few 
men  of  any  period  of  life  enter  into  it  with  more  ardor. 
The  passage  of  the  act  legalizing  dissection  of  human 
cadavera  in  this  State  was  secured  principally  through 
his  efibrts  and  those  of  his  friend.  Dr.  J.  D.  McGill. 
The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  the  formation  of 
the  New  Jersey  Academy  of  Medicine. 

He  is  a  fellow  of  the  New  Jersey  Academy  of  Med- 
icine ;  permanent  member  of  the  American  Medical 


Association ;  member  of  the  New  York  Neurological 
Society,  New  York  Pathological  Society,  New  Jersey 
Microscopical  Society,  and  also  of  the  Jersey  City 
Pathological  Society.  He  has  been  president  of  the 
New  Jersey  Academy  of  Medicine,  and  also  of  the 
District  Medical  Society  for  the  county  of  Hudson, 
N.  J.  He  was  appointed  attending  surgeon  to  the 
Jersey  City  Charity  Hospital  at  the  time  of  its  organ- 
ization, in  1869,  and  was  also  appointed  attending 
surgeon  to  the  St.  Francis  Hospital  in  1873,  and  still 
continues  to  discharge  the  duties  of  both  positions. 

He  has  from  time  to  time  contributed  essays  and 
reports  of  cases  to  medical  journals,  among  which  may 
be  mentioned  the  following :  "  A  Case  of  Facial  Neu- 
ralgia treated  by  Extirpation  of  the  Superior  Max- 
illary Nerve,"    The  Medical  Record,  Oct.  16,  1871. 
"  A  Case  of  Hsematoma  of  the  Thigh — Two  Opera- 
tions ;   Death,"    The  Medical  Record,  Feb.  20,  1875. 
"  The  Pathology  and  Treatment  of  Chronic  Ulcers,'' 
New  Yori:  Medical  Journal,  Jnlj,  1875.    "A Supposed 
Case  of  Rabies  Canina  treated  with  Strychnia  and 
Woorara ;  Recovery,"  The  American  Journal  of  Medi- 
cal Science,  July,  1876.     "  Femoral  Aneurism  treated 
by  Plugging  the  Sac ;  Death,  caused  by  Hemorrhage 
from  Deep  Epigastric  Artery,  on  the  Eighteenth  Day ; 
Autopsy ;  Remarks,"  The  American  Journal  of  Medi- 
cal Science,  October,  1876.     "  Stomach-Pump,  Aspira- 
tor, and  Syringe,''  The  Medical  Record,  New  York,  vol. 
ii.  p.  805.  "  Woorara  in  Rabies :  Report  of  Two  Cases, 
with  Remarks,"  The  American  Journal  of  the  Medical 
Sciences,  vol.  Ixxiii.  p.  413.    "  Lever  Exsection-Saw," 
The  Medical  Record,  New  York,  vol.  xiii.  p.  38.    "  Dis- 
cotome,"  Ibid.,  vol.  xiv.  p.  78.  "  Gunpowder  Disfigure- 
ments," The  St.  Louis  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal, 
vol.  XXXV.  p.  145.     "  Pysemia  and  Septicaemia,"  JVew 
York  Medical  Journal,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  367,  461.    "Dis- 
ease Germs :   their  Origin,  Nature,  and  Relation  to 
Wounds,"  Transactions  of  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, vol.  xxix.  p.  263.     Translation  from  German, 
"Woorara  in  Tetanus"  (extract  from  a  "  Contribution 
to  the  Knowledge  of  Tetanus,"  by  A.  E.  Kneoht, 
Physician  to  the  Prison  of  Waldheim,  reported  in 
Schmidt's  Jahrbiicher,  band,  clxxiii.  ?  94),  New  York 
Medical  Journal,  vol.  xxvii.  p.  626.     "Remarks  on 
Treatment  of   Stumps    after    Amputation:    a   New 
Method,"  London  Lancet,  vol.  i.  (1879)  p.  536. 

Teanslations  from  the  French. — "  New  Mode 
of  Surgical  Treatment"  ("Histoire  de  la  Chirurgie 
Franqaise,"  par  le  Docteur  Jules  Rochard,  Edit.  1875, 
p.  635,  et  seq.),  St.  Louis  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal, 
vol.  xxxvi.  p.  442;  vol.  xxxvii.  pp.  23,  439;  vol. 
xxxviii.  p.  478 ;  vol.  xxxix.  p.  484.  "  A  Contribution 
to  the  Treatment  of  Compound  Fractures  of  the  Skull," 
Richmond  and  Louisville  Medical  Journal,  vol.  xxviii. 
p.  1.  "Antiseptic  Treatment  of  Wounds:  Carbolic 
Acid  vs.  Alcohol,"  The  Medical  Record,  New  York^ 
vol.  xvi.  p.  46.  "The  Proper  Period  for  the  Per- 
formance of  Amputation  in  Cases  of  Traumatic  In- 
juries," Gillard's  Medical  Journal,  vol.  xxx.  p.  1  (for- 


50^ 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


merly  the  Richmond  and  Louisville  Medical  Journal'). 
"A  Contribution  to  the  Study  of  the  Action  of  the 
Carbolized  Spray  in  the  Antiseptic  Treatment  of 
Wounds,"  The  American  Journal  of  the  Medical  Sci- 
ences, vol.  Ixxx.  p.  419. 


JOHN   KLINE. 


The  subject  of  this  brief  memoir  was  born  near 
New  Germantown,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  8th 
day  of  August,  a.d.  1784.  He  was  the  grandson 
of  Jacob  Kline,  who  was  born  in  Germany,  March 
6,  1714,  and  Fraenica  Gertraut  Melick,  born  at  Lan- 
daflf,  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  Dec.  9,  1727.  They 
emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  at  Keadington,  on 
the  farm  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  eighty- 
three  years  of  his  life  (from  1796  to  1880).  Jacob 
Kline  was  for  many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  of 
the  county  of  Hunterdon ;  his  docket,  kept  in  the 
German  language,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Lewis 
Vandoren,  of  Peapack,  N.  J.  He  died  A.D.  1789, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Lutheran  cemetery,  at  New 
Germantown.  His  widow,  Fraenica  Gertraut,  died 
A.D.  1801,  at  the  house  of  her  daughter,  at  Ger- 
mantown, Pa.  They  had  sis  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. The  sons,  as  well  as  the  father,  were  not  only 
agriculturists,  but  tanners  and  curriers  also.  Their 
eldest  son,  John  William  Kline,  was  born  Jan.  5, 
1750.  He  married  Altje,  daughter  of  Matthias  Smock 
and  Geertje  Post,  Jan.  24, 1780.  They  had  one  daugh- 
ter, Charity  Kline,  born  Nov.  6,  1780,  married  Henry 
Van  Derveer,  May  12, 1799,  and  had  six  children,  two 
of  whom  are  deceased,  leaving  no  issue, — viz..  Rev. 
John  Van  Derveer,  D.D.,  of  Easton,  Pa.,  and  Jacob 
K.  Van  Derveer,  of  Flemington,  late  of  Clover  Hill. 
Those  still  living  are  Peter  N.  Van  Derveer,  of  Somer- 
ville ;  Alletta  Vandoren,  relict  of  Christianas  T.  Van- 
doren, late  of  Neshanic ;  Mary,  relict  of  John  C.  Van 
Liew,  of  the  same  place ;  and  Henry  Van  Derveer,  of 
North  Branch.  Peter  has  two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. Mary  has  two  sons  and  one  daughter, — Henry 
V.  D.,  John  J.,  and  Anna  Van  Liew.  Henry  Van 
Derveer,  of  North  Branch,  married  Frances  Caroline 
Blackwell,  of  Amwell ;  she  died  without  issue,  August, 
1880. 

John  Kline  was  born,  as  above  stated,  on  what  was 
for  many  years  known  as  "the  Cole  farm,"  half  a 
mile  southwest  from  New  Germantown.  His  father, 
John  William  Kline,  moved  to  Lower  Valley,  and 
engaged  in  mercantile  business  with  David  Miller; 
and  when  John  was  twelve  years  of  age,  he  returned 
with  his  family  to  the  homestead  at  Readington,  three 
years  before  his  father's  death.  He  was  a  man  of  correct 
habits  and  exemplary  character,  much  respected  in 
the  community, — and  so  were  his  brothers  and  sisters, 
— and  attached  to  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church. 

His  son,  the  late  John  Kline,  married  Catharine 
Williamson,  Oct.  27,  1804,  who  died  a.d.  1837 ;  and 


for  his  second  wife  he  married  Ellen  Wyckcff  (widow 
of  Henry  Vroom),  Jan.  27,  1841,  who  survives  him 
and  now  resides  in  Somerville,  N.  J.  Mrs.  Vroom 
(the  youngest  daughter  of  Dennis  Wyckoflf,  Esq. )  had 
one  daughter  by  her  first  husband,  Henrietta  Vroom, 
born  in  Wayne  Co.,  Ohio,  June  27,  1836 ;  was  edu- 
cated at  the  female  institute  in  Somerville.  She 
married  Lewis  Vandoren,  of  Peapack,  Somerset  Co., 
N.  J.,  and  died  January,  1875,  leaving  three  children, 
— John  Henry,  Ellen  Kline,  and  Henrietta  Vroom. 
Mr.  Kline  did  for  her  in  all  respects  as  he  would  have 
done  for  an  only  daughter,  and  she  loved  and  re- 
spected him  as  a  father.  The  death  of  Mr.  Kline, 
which  occurred  Jan.  20,  1880,  was  deeply  lamented 
by  the  \yhole  community.  He  was  the  patriarch  of 
that  section  of  the  country,  and  commanded  more 
than  the  respect  of  all  wh(J  knew  him.  He  was  hon- 
ored and  beloved.  Speaking  of  his  funeral  at  his  late 
residence  on  the  homestead  farm  of  his  father  and 
grandfather,  and  where  he  had  spent  eighty-three 
years  of  his  life,  the  obituary  notice  says,  "  Never 
had  that  wide-spread,  hospitable  roof  covered  a  larger 
company,  and  seldom  has  such  a  gathering  been  so 
entirely  pervaded  and  absorbed  with  affectionate  rev- 
erence for  departed  worth."  Several  years  before  his 
death  he  selected  for  his  funeraj  text,  "To  live  is 
Christ,  to  die  is  gain."  He  was  a  man  of  exemplary, 
devoted  Christian  life,  genial  in  spirit  and  abundant 
in  hospitality;  of  simple,  child-like  faith  and  unos- 
tentatious manners,  he  was  yet  a  man  of  positive 
strength  of  character,  and  exerted  a  wide-spread  influ- 
ence for  good,  being  a  liberal  patron  of  the  church 
and  a  free  giver  to  every  charitable  and  benevolent 
enterprise.  From  the  worldly  abundance  with  which 
Providence  had  blessed  him,  and  from  the  rich  treas- 
ure of  his  inner  life,  he  shed  a  light  and  a  benediction 
upon  all  around  him.  His  body  lies  in  the  Reading- 
ton  cemetery,  near  the  Reformed  church,  of  which 
he  was  many  years  a  member  and  ruling  elder.  A 
granite  monument,  inclosed  by  an  iron  fence,  marks 
the  place  of  burial. 


DAVID   M.  KLINE. 


Godfrey  Kline  and  his  wife  Ida  appear  to  have 
been  the  first  American  ancestors  of  this  branch  of 
the  family,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Germany. 
Their  son.  Christian  Kline,  was  born  March  13, 1754; 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Catharine 
Muller  (or  Miller,  as  it  is  called  in  this  country),  who 
was  born  July  12,  1758.  They  had  children,— Henry 
M.,  David  M.,  Jacob  M.,  Betsy,  Ida,  and  Maria. 
Henry  M.  married  Sally  Ramsey,  and  lived  at  Klines- 
ville,  near  Flemington,  where  he  was  a  merchant,  and 
reared  a  family  of  eight  children.  David  M.  married 
Elizabeth  Hager,  Dec.  28,  1805.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen he  was  indentured  to  his  uncle,  David  Miller,  a 


-^ 


y^y^^<xc  ^fc?tAjL^_^ 


^'^. 


Albert  Shannon,  M.D.,  was  born  near 
Hope,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  5,  1850,  a  son 
of  John  and  Margaret  (Harris)  Shannon,  and 
was  brouglit  up  at  Hope,  receiving  his  prepara- 
tory education  at  Blair  Academy,  Blairstown, 
N.  J.  He  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1872,  having  previously  read  medicine  with 
Dr.  Thomas  Bond,  of  Polkville,  N.  J.  He 
first  settled  in  Chicago,  with  the  view  of  re- 
maining there  permanently  ;  but  his  health  not 


being  good  he  returned  East,  and  settled  at 
Stanton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  practice  of  Dr.  William  S. 
Creveling,  the  latter  removing  to  Bethlehem, 
N.  J.,  to  the  estate  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father. 

Dr.  Shannon  married,  Jan.  19, 1875,  Martha, 
daughter  of  Dr.  William  S.  Creveling,  and  has 
one  child,  Mary  C.  Shannon,  born  Oct.  9, 1876. 
He  has  quite  a  successful  practice  extending 
over  a  rich  section  of  country. 


EBADINGTON. 


507 


mercliant  in  German  Valley,  Hunterdon  Co.,  to  serve 
until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  he  was  to  receive  a  "  freedom  suit  and 
one  hundred  dollars  in  money."    Having  served  his 
time  and  received  his  freedom,  with  the  one  hundred 
dollars  as  capital,  he  started  in  mercantile  business 
for  himself  at  New  Germantown,  where  he  remained 
two  years.    He  then  removed  to  Jacksonville  (now 
Lebanon),  where  he  was  remarkably  successful  in 
business.    He  continued  there  for  the  rest  of  his  life, 
building  up  a  large  mercantile  trade,  and  realizing  a 
handsome  competency.    His  wife  Elizabeth  was  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  Hager,  of  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.    Their 
children  were  Mary  Catharine,  born  Feb.  15, 1807, 
married  William  E.  Smith,  of  Pittstown,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  May  29,  1828 ;  Sophia  Boeman,  born  April  23, 
1809,  married  John  Emery,   of  Lebanon,  Oct.  28, 
1826  (after  his  death  she  became  the  wife  of  George 
S.  Shurts,  of  Lebanon,  where  they  now  reside) ;  Da- 
vid Miller,  born  Nov.  23,  1811,  married  Sarah  Ann 
Everett,  Dec.  14,  1831  (and  also  married  a  second 
wife,  Lydia  Eobison,  of  Baptisttown ;  they  now  re- 
side in  Fulton  Co.,  HI.) ;  Ann,  born  Feb.  20,  1814, 
married  Dr.  Henry  Field,  of  Clinton,  N.  J.,  Dec.  15, 
1831 ;  Oliver,  born  May  25,  1816,  died  in  infancy ; 
Jane,  bom  Dec.  2,  1817,  married  Jonathan  Dawes, 
Dec.  29,  1835 ;  Lambert  Boeman,  born  June  15, 1820 ; 
John  Eamsey,  born  Oct.  15,  1822,  married  Elizabeth 
VanSyckel,  July  23,  1844;  Elizabeth,  born  Aug.  5, 
1825,  married  William  Childs,  of  Basking  Eidge, 
N.  J. ;  William,  born  Dec.  27,  1829,  died  in  infancy. 
Jacob  M.  Kline  married  Phebe  Kuhl  (Cool),  and 
had  several  children.     He  was  for  several   years  a 
merchant  at  Hamden,  N.  J.,  and  removed  to  Fair- 
view,  111.,  where  he  died  recently.     Betsy  Kline  mar- 
ried   John  Eamsey;    Ida  married  Harmon  Diltz ; 
Maria  married  Abraham  Melick. 

David  M.  Kline  died  Dec.  6, 1861,  aged  seventy- 
seven  years.     His  wife  Elizabeth  died  March  19, 1835. 

LAMBEBT  BOEMAN  KLINE, 

the  seventh  child  of  David  M.  and  Elizabeth  Hager 
Kline,  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J., 
June  15, 1820;  married,  first,  Emily  Shannon,  of  Leb- 
anon, May  26,  1841.  They  had  children,  as  follows  : 
David  M.,born  May  5, 1846,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 


two  ;  Sarah  S.,  born  Feb.  28,  1848,  married  George 
W.  Sharp,  of  Annandale,  Hunterdon  Co.,  March  17, 
1869 ;  Julia  B.,  born  Oct.  6, 1851,  married  Charles  M. 
Quimby,  of  Chester,  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.,  Feb.  25,  1873  ; 
William  S.,  born  March  5, 1853,  died  in  infancy ;  Ed- 
gar E.,  born  Aug.  21,  1858,  married  Eliza  A.  Mills,  of 
Chester,  Aug.  30, 1876.  Mrs.  Emily  Kline  died  Sept. 
22, 1861.  Mr.  Kline  married  for  his  second  wife  Har- 
riet W.  Foster,  of  Wooster,  Ohio,  Nov.  8, 1862.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Mary  E.  M.  Kline,  born  Dec.  25, 
1863.  Mr.  Kline  grew  up  behind  his  father's  counter 
as  clerk,  where  he  remained  till  he  took  the  store 
under  his  own  management,  and  continued  a  success- 
ful mercantile  career  till  1863,  when  he  removed  to 
the  homestead  farm  of  Christopher  Eowe,  at  Three 
Bridges,  Hunterdon  Co.,  where  he  now  resides. 

ISAAC  EOWB 

was  a  son  of  Christopher  Eowe  and  Ida  Vesselius, 
who  were  the  grandparents  of  the  present  Mrs.  Har- 
riet W.  Kline,  who  inherited  the  estate,  part  of  which 
had  been  in  the  family  for  over  a  hundred  years.  It 
was  bequeathed  to  her  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  died  Feb.  16, 1862,  and  whose  memory  Mrs.  Kline 
holds  in  grateful  esteem. 

Ida  Vesselius  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  George  An- 
drew Vesselius,  who  was  born  and  educated  in  Hol- 
land or  Germany,  and  came  to  this  country  not  later 
than  1749.  He  lived  on  the  Old  York  Eoad,  half  a. 
mile  from  Three  Bridges,  in  a  stone  house  on  the  top 
of  the  hill,  having  an  extensive  and  successful  prac- 
tice. He  died  in  1767,  and  his  remains  were  interred 
on  his  own  land.  There  is  no  mark  or  monument  to- 
show  where  he  lies. 

Christopher  Eowe  was  born  March  1,  1756,  and  his 
wife  Ida  Nov.  4,  1758.  Their  children  were  as  fol- 
lows:  Mary,  born  March  15,  1782,  married  Jacob 
Young,  of  Earitan  township,  and  died  without  issue ;; 
Jacob,  born  April  25,  1787,  lived  on  the  homestead 
till  Feb.  15,  1857,  when  he  died ;  Isaac,  born  Nov.  25, 
1793,  married  Margaret  Case,  of  Earitan  township, 
and  died  childless ;  Abraham,  born  Sept.  12,  1795, 
died  in  infancy.  Of  the  entire  family  only  two  remain 
at  this  writing, — ^viz.,  Mrs.  Harriet  N.  Kline  and  her 
daughter,  Mary  E.  M.  Kline,  of  Three  Bridges, 
Hunterdon  Co.  .       : 


u  N  I  o  n; 


This  township  was  formed  from  the  south  part  of 
Bethlehem  township  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  session 
of  1852-53.  It  was  brought  about  principally  by 
those  who  opposed  the  then  existing  school  law. 
Two  names  were  proposed  for  the  new  township, — 
"Union,"  the  name  of  the  furnace  formerly  existing 
in  its  northeastern  part,  and  "  Eockhill,"  in  honor  of 
the  families  who  had  for  many  years  owned  and  re- 
sided in  the  extreme  south  part  of  the  township  of 
Bethlehem,  embracing  at  this  time  Eobeson  Eockhill, 
Esq.,  and  Edward  A.  Eockhill,  his  brother,  great- 
grandsons  of  Edward  Eockhill,  a  large  land-proprietor 
(who  lived  here  as  early  as  1731),  and  grandsons  of 
Dr.  John  Eockhill,  who  settled  here  in  1748.  The 
former  name  was  selected. 

It  is  divided  from  Bethlehem  by  a  line  commencing 
at  a  stone  in  the  boundary  of  Alexandria,  in  the  road 
leading  from  Bloomsbury  to  the  Hickory  farm,  on 
the  top  of  the  hill  north  of  the  Hickory,  and  running 
in  an  easterly  direction  about  four  miles  to  the  Union 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  the  mines  (Norton), 
and  thence,  in  the  same  direction,  until  it  strikes 
Spruce  Eun,  which  for  about  three  and  a  half  miles 
divides  it  from  High  Bridge,  formerly  Lebanon  town- 
ship. 

The  territory  is  sufficiently  undulating  to  need  but 
very  little  artificial  drainage.  There  is  no  marsh- 
land in  the  township,  and,  except  the  two  small  mill- 
ponds  of  Pattenburg  and  Cole's  Mill,  scarcely  two 
successive  acres  that  could  not  be  tilled.  It  is  drained 
principally  by  the  "  Big  Brook,"  known  on  maps  by 
the  names  of  "  Albertson's  Brook,"  "  Albertson's 
Branch,''  and  called  by  the  aborigines  "  Monselaugh- 
away"  (said  to  mean  big  brook),  which  empties  into 
Spruce  Eun,  that  discharges  its  waters  into  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Earitan.  There  are  also  several  spring 
runs  in  the  south  of  the  township,  all  making  their 
way  to  the  Capoolon  -and  the  South  Branch  of  the 
Earitan.  These  springs,  without  exception,  supply 
pure  water. 

The  land,  when  properly  tilled,  produces  good 
crops  of  grass,  corn,  wheat,  and  other  grains.  At 
Clinton,  and  thence  up  Spruce  Eun  and  the  Big 
Brook,  there  is  an  abundance  of  good  limestone,  of 
which  considerable  has  been  burned  and  distributed 
in  the  vicinity  as  a  fertilizer ;  its  effects  are  plainly 
visible  in  the  increased  produce  of  the  farms  where 
used.  The  soil  along  the  northern  boundary  is  in 
some  instances  gravelly,  as  is  also  the  western  border, 


508 


*  By  John  Blano,  M.D. 


being  formed  by  the  eastern  slope  of  the  so-called 
Barrens  Eidge;  the  other  parts  are  loam  and  clay, 
with  some  little  red  shale. 

The  township  has,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
comptroller  of  the  treasury,  in  1879,  13,110  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $786,550 ;  and  personal  property  valued 
at  $244,600;  272  polls  paid  a  tax  of  $258.  The  school 
tax  is  $1911.11 ;  county  tax,  $3136.69 ;  road  tax,  $1000 ; 
poor  tax,  $800. 

EARLY   SETTLERS. 

Ferdinand  Srope  came  from  France  about  1750  and 
settled  in  what  was  then  the  township  of  Amwell, 
afterwards  Bethlehem,  and  now  Union  township, 
near  where  Norton  post-office  is  now  located.  Here 
his  son,  Christopher  Srope,  was  born,  Nov.  2,  1761. 
Christopher  married  Thankful  Penwell,  Nov.  24,  1785. 
They  raised  a  large  family  of  children.  Christopher 
died  in  Union  township,  Sept.  19, 1848,  and  his  widow 
in  Kingwood  township,  at  Baptisttown,  June  19, 1852, 
aged  eighty-eight. 

John  Srope,  oldest  son  of  Christopher,  was  a  black- 
smith, and  at  an  early  age  married  Charity  Smith  and 
raised  a  large  family,  of  whom  Eev.  William  B.  Srope, 
formerly  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Lambert- 
ville,  is  one. 

David  P.  Srope,  second  son  of  Christopher,  was 
born  Nov.  1,  1787.  At  that  time  the  then  township 
of  Bethlehem  was  but  sparsely  settled,  his  father 
having,  after  his  discharge  from  the  army,  purchased 
a  small  lot  of  land  when  his  young  wife  and  infant 
children  were  nearly  his  only  companions.  Up  to 
the  age  of  fifteen  he  had  lived  and  labored  within 
five  miles  of  his  birthplace,  but  a  proposition  being 
made  to  him  to  assist  in  the  settling  of  an  estate  in 
the  territory  of  Orleans,  now  the  State  of  Louisiana, 
he  concluded  to  undertake  the  journey.  At  that 
time  there  were  only  a  few  lumbering  stage-coaches 
to  carry  passengers  from  place  to  place.  With  all 
the  disadvantages  of  that  kind  of  travel,  Mr.  Srope 
determined  to  undertake  the  hazardous  journey  to 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  in  a  sulky,  and  then  go  by  water  to 
New  Orleans.  At  that  time  much  of  the  distance  lay 
through  an  almost  trackless  wilderness,  with  scarcely 
a  habitation  within  a  day's  ride.  In  spite  of  the 
dangers  incident  to  the  journey,  Mr.  Srope  started 
out,  and  after  several  weeks  spent  upon  the  road 
arrived  at  Pittsburgh ;  then,  taking  passage  on  board 
of  an  "  ark,"  he  commenced  the  descent  of  the  Ohio 
Eiver,  and  thence  down  the  Mississippi  to  New  Or- 
leans.    On  the  Mississippi  the  ark  passed,  at  Mem- 


UNION. 


509 


phis,  the  first  steamboat  that  ever  plied  on  those 
waters.  Arriving  at  his  destination,  he  spent  several 
months  in  settling  up  the  estate,  and  then  returned 
home. 

Jan.  17,  1817,  Mr.  Srope  married  Miss  Eliza  An- 
derson, of  Andersontown,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J. ;  she  bore 
him  four  children,  of  whom  Joseph  A.  Srope,  justice 
of  the  peace,  residing  at  Washington,  Warren  Co.,  is 
one.    Mrs.  Srope  died  Dec.  7,  1848. 

After  Mr.  Srope's  marriage  he  settled  in  Lebanon 
township,  about  1830,  and  was  elected  a  judge  of  the 
Gourt  of  Common  Pleas  of  Hunterdon  County,  which 
position  he  held  for  ten  years;  he  was  also  a  justice  of 
the  peace  for  twenty  years. 

In  1849,  Mr.  Srope  moved  to  Washington,  Warren 
Co.,  where  he  resided  with  his  son,  Joseph  A.,  till 
March  29,  1876,  the  day  of  his  death;  his  remains 
were  interred  in  the  Mansfield  Cemetery,  near  Wash- 
ington. 

Isaac  R.  Srope,  another  son  of  Christopher,  was  born 
May  4,  1802,  and  was  a  blacksmith,  but  his  life  was 
mostly  spent  in  filling  public  trusts.  He  was  mar- 
ried, Dec.  25, 1828,  to  Sarah  Eoelofson,  by  whom  he 
had  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living.  The 
oldest,  William  T.,  resides  in  Frenchtown  and  is  en- 
gaged in  public  business,  being  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
notary  public,  and  a  master  in  Chancery. 

In  1830,  Isaac  R.  Srope  was  appointed  deputy 
sherifi'  of  Hunterdon  County,  which  ofSce  he  filled 
for  three  years.  In  1837  he  moved  from  Bethle- 
hem township  to  Baptisttown,  in  Kingwood  town- 
ship. He  was  assessor  several  years  both  in  Beth- 
lehem and  in  Kingwood.  In  1841  he  was  elected  to 
the  Assembly  from  Hunterdon  County  without  op- 
position, and  was  re-elected  the  following  year. 
He  served  again  in  1846-47,  and  the  latter  year  was 
the  leader  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  Legislature. 
In  1854  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas.  He  served  three  years  as  chosen 
freeholder  fi-om  Kingwood  township.  In  1861  he 
moved  to  Frenchtown,  and  was  elected  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  which  office  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  decease, 
April  12, 1862. 

Samuel  P.  Srope,  youngest  son  of  Christopher,  was 
born  Oct.  3,  1805.  He  emigrated  to  Ohio  in  1836, 
and  resided  there  until  his  death,  Sept.  20, 1866.  He 
married  Elizabeth  H.  Lewis,  Sept.  25,  1834. 

Sarah  Srope,  one  of  the  daughters,  married  James 
McClouglin,  who  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son, 
David  McClouglin,  in  Clinton  township,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  at  the  advanced  age  of  over  one  hundred  years. 

Rebecca  Srope,  another  daughter,  married  Mor- 
decai  Roberts,  and  her  two  sons,  Charles  and  John 
H.,  have  resided  in  Lambertville  for  several  years. 

Catharine  Srope,  another  daughter,  married  John 

Hough,   and  Joseph  H.  Hough,  who  has  been  for 

more  than  forty  years  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand 

Lodge  of  Masons  of  New  Jersey,  is  her  oldest  son. 

Isaac  Passam  was  an  Englishman  by  birth.     A 


bachelor  of  both  means  and  leisure,  he  came  to  this 
country  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  and  re- 
sided in  Flemington.  Liking  the  country,  he  wrote 
for  some  of  his  nephews  and  nieces  to  come  here. 
But  one  accepted  the  ofier, — Sarah,  daughter  of  John 
and  Hannah  Clark,  who  was  born  in  Leicestershire, 
England,  March  11, 1776.  After  arriving  here  she  con- 
tinued with  the  Capner  family,  with  whom  she  had 
crossed  the  ocean,  until  1799,  when  she  married  Dan- 
iel, son  of  Philip  Case,  more  commonly  known  at 
that  time  by  the  name  of  Tanner  Case ;  his  father 
was  a  German. 

In  1804,  Isaac  Passam  and  Daniel  Case  and  family 
moved  on  a  farm  they  had  purchased  of  the  Cou- 
gle  family,  in  Bethlehem,  and  erected  a  new  stone 
house  and  iirame  barn,  still  standing  and  in  good 
condition,  and  went  to  farming.  The  old  buildings 
were  of  logs  and  very  uncomfortable.  Daniel  was 
very  fond  of  blooded  stock.  He  brought  the  first 
English  sheep  into  this  part  of  the  country,  obtain- 
ing them  from  Capt.  George  Farmer,  of  Middle|ex 
County;  they  were  part  of  the  stock  that  William 
Talbot  was  accused  of  smuggling  into  this  country. 
The  country  was  new,  and  that  kind  of  farming 
did  not  pay  well  at  that  time.  Others,  who  came  on 
later,  fared  better,  and  even  to  this  day  we  see  and 
feel  what  public-spirited  individuals  did  for  us  by 
such  improvement  in  domestic  animals.  Isaac  Pas- 
sam and  Daniel  Case  both  died  in  1826,  and  their  land 
is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  gen- 
erations. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Clark  Case  was  a  woman  of  good  com- 
mon sense,  and  as  a  nurse  in  sickness  could  hardly  be 
equaled.  When  they  moved  into  this  neighborhood 
medical  help  was  scarce  and  distant.  The  nearest  was 
at  Pittstown,  and  Dr.  Forman  dying  very  soon  after 
made  the  want  more  felt.  Her  good  success  in  nurs- 
ing caused  her  to  be  called  on  to  prescribe,  which  she 
did  with  such  success  that  she  devoted  nearly  all  her 
time  to  it ;  she  was  also  in  much  request  as  an  ac- 
coucheuse. In  1816  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey 
passed  a  law  declaring  as  licensed  all  persons  who 
were  of  good  standing  as  physicians.  Thus  she  be- 
came perhaps  the  first  female  practitioner  in  the 
State,  certainly  in  the  county.  She  practiced  until 
age  and  increased  medical  facilities  compelled  her 

to  retire. 

She  always  wished  to  have  a  physician  in  the  fam- 
ily. She  had  but  one  son,  John  H. ;  he  had  no  rel- 
ish for  the  profession,  so  she  had  to  wait  for  another 
generation.  John  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Bennett, 
and  when  their  sons,  Isaac  and  Daniel,  were  born, 
there  seemed  to  be  reasons  why  they  should  not  be 
educated  for  professional  life.  But  when  their  third 
son,  Nathan,  was  born  he  was  immediately  dedicated 
to  the  profession  of  medicine.  She  did  not  see  the 
fruition  of  her  hopes,  as  she  died  in  1859. 

On  the  west  of  the  Passam  and  Case  farm  is  what . 
was  known  as  the  Lompkin  and  Lawshe  farm— since 


510 


HUNTERDON   COUNTr,  NEW  JERSEY. 


owned  by  Jonathan  Eobins  and  now  in  the  hands  of 
his  descendants — and  the  Hickory  farm,  part  of  which 
was  acquired  from  the  Passam  farm;  on  the  south 
the  land  was  owned  by  Henry  Carter  and  called 
the  Carter  farm,  and  the  location  east  of  this  was 
owned  and  occupied  by  John  Clifford. 

Progressing  east,  we  come  to  the  late  residence  of 
William  L.  King,  Esq.,  deceased,  now  owned  by  Miss 
Anna  King,  his  daughter.  There  are  several  dwell- 
ings besides  the  homestead  now  occupied  by  Miss 
Anna  and  Joseph  King,  occupied  mostly  by  me- 
chanics and  the  employees  of  Joseph  King,  who  has 
been  in  business  here  for  several  years. 

Joseph  King,  father  of  William  L.,  purchased  this 
property  of  Thomas  Twining  in  1810,  and  he  (Twin- 
ing) purchased  it  of  James  Parker  and  Gertrude  his 
wife,  then  of  Perth  Amboy,  Middlesex  Co.,  July  3, 
1793,  for  £388.  It  was  on  farm  No.  119  of  the  so- 
ciety's map  of  division.  Mr.  Twining  was  a  Quaker, 
and  ran  a  fulling-mill  and  cloth-dressing  establish- 
ment. It  was  later  operated  by  Jacob  Plain,  son  of 
Jacob  Plain,  of  Rocky  Hill,  Somerset  Co.,  who  during 
his  stay  married  Miss  Ann,  daughter  of  J.  Youel  or 
Yewel,  a  Scotchman.  From  this  union  came  several 
children,  among  them  Eevs.  John  D.  Plain  and 
Joseph  Plain,  ministers  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  Jacob  Plain,  the  present  mail-carrier. 

Farther  east  is  the  Grove  farm,  from  1775  to  1783 
the  residence  of  James  Parker.  He  was  son  of  John 
Parker  and  grandson  of  Elisha  Parker,  who  settled  at 
Woodbridge  in  1765.  James  was  the  grandfather  of 
the  Hon.  Cortlandt  Parker. 

After  Mr.  Parker  left  Hunterdon,  Hugh  Exton 
bought  the  Grove  property,  lived  there  some  time,  and 
sold  out  and  bought  the  "  Union  farm."  It  was  on 
this  farm  that  the  Union  Furnace  stood.  The  ruins 
of  the  stack  are  still  there,  and  bring  to  mind  many 
legends,  particularly  those  of  the  French  and  Indian 
war  in  1755-65.  When  raids  were  made  by  the  In- 
dians, or  when  tlie  whites  anticipated  one,  the  inhab- 
itants for  many  miles  around,  particularly  from  that 
part  of  Warren  County  lying  between  this  and  the 
Blue  Mountains,  used  to  take  shelter  within  the  strong 
walls  of  the  buildings,  which  were  mostly  of  stone. 
Here  the  women  and  children  would  remain  until 
danger  was  over,  the  men  daily  scouring  the  woods 
and,  as  far  as  they  could,  looking  after  their  stock,  and 
coming  in  from  miles  around  to  sleep  at  night.  This 
Union  farm  is  mostly  owned  by  the  descendants  of 
Hugh  Exton  in  the  third  and  fourth  generations. 
Some  fifty  years  ago  it  was  used  as  a  dairy-farm. 

Going  back  to  the  south  border  of  the  township, 
we  have  the  Crawford  and  Wilson  farm.  The  house, 
a  stone  building,  is  in  good  repair ;  it  was  built  in 
1765  by  John  Crawford,  a  vestryman  in  St.  Thomas' 
Episcopal  Church,  in  Alexandria,  previous  to  1764. 
Here  he  kept  a  store  and  tavern.  He  gave  that  part 
of  the  original  Presbyterian  church  lot  that  is  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Kirkbride  line,  and  John  Chamber- 


lin,  living  on  the  east  side  (a  Baptist),  the  other  part. 
This  yard  was  afterwards  enlarged  by  purchase  from 
the  Wilson  farm,  now  so  called  from  two  of  Mr.  Craw- 
ford's daughters  marrying  brothers,  James  and  An- 
drew Wilson,  in  the  hands  of  whose  descendants  it 
has  ever  since  been.  The  present  occupant  is  Mrs. 
Catharine  Hibler. 

From  this  place  we  have  running  in  a  northwest- 
erly direction  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  more 
familiarly  known  as  the  Easton  and  Amboy,  a  dis- 
tance of  five  miles,  having  as  stations  Midvale  and 
Pattenburg,  between  which  (while  the  road  was  build- 
ing), Sept.  22,  1872,  occurred  what  was  called  the 
"  Pattenburg  Riot,"  and  which  caused  a  great  excite- 
ment at  the  time.  It  appears  that  late  on  Saturday 
night  or  early  on  Sunday  morning  a  white  man,  said 
to  be  named  Thomas  Call,  was  found  dead  near  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel,  whereupon  there  was  a  general 
rising  of  the  white  workmen,  who  burned  the  log 
shanty  of  the  negro  workmen,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
tunnel,  and  followed  the  fleeing  inmates  through  Pat- 
tenburg to  another  shanty,  about  a  mile  east,  between 
6  and  7  o'clock,  and  killed  first,  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  Dennis  Powell,  then  Penjamin  Dishmal,  under 
a  porch  of  a  dwelling-house,  and  then  Oscar  Bruce,  in 
the  public  highway.  They  were  buried  the  next  day 
on  land  belonging  to  the  railroad  company,  about  800 
yards  north  from  the  Midvale  station.  They  were 
exemplary  men,  truthful  and  honest,  and  the  negroes 
all  loved,  honored,  and  revered  their  "  Daddy"  Dish- 
mal. 

Thomas  Twining,  when  running  his  fulling-mill 
and  cloth-dressing  establishment,  employed  one  John 
Porter,  a  son  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman  who  was  a 
chaplain  in  the  British  army.  He  was  a  good  scholar, 
an  excellent  linguist,  and  in  epistolary  writing  had 
few  equals  in  either  language,  description,  or  senti- 
ment. When  he  came  to  this  country  or  where  he 
learned  his  trade  is  not  known ;  but  he  was  a  good 
workman.  He  was  a  monomaniac.  On  hearing  a 
lady  spoken  of  as  handsome  or  attractive  in  manners, 
he  avoided  every  chance  of  meeting  or  seeing  her,  for 
fear  of  being  fascinated  and  drawn  into  love.  He 
claimed  to  own  all  the  good  farms  within  his  knowl- 
edge, having  been  forced  to  buy  them.  Through  an 
agent  he  had  received  a  yearly  legacy  of  19  guineas 
annually  from  his  father's  estate,  sent  to  him  by  his 
sister,  who  was  executrix  of  her  father's  will.  The 
agent  left  Twining's,  went  into  Morris  County  or 
upper  part  of  German  Valley,  and  then  the  yearly 
stipend  ceased.  This  loss  is  said  to  have  been  the 
cause  of  his  unsettled  mind. 

After  leaving  these  parts  he  was  in  Morris  County 
some  time,  but  returned.  At  length  it  became  neces- 
sary that  the  town  should  help  him,  but  he  could  not 
and  would  not  be  removed  to  the  poor-house.  After 
some  two  or  three  years'  resistance  he  was  taken  there 
under  the  plea  that  he  might  be  convenient  to  his 
farms  around  there,  and  under  a  bargain  that  he 


UNION. 


511 


■was  a  boarder,  and  not  a  pauper.    He  was  over  six- 
feet  in  height. 

John  Head  made  his  appearance  in  this  township 
shortly  after  the  Revolution ;  he  said  he  had  come 
from  Maryland  and  wished  to  teach   school.    He 
soon  found  one,  and  commenced  teaching.    He  was 
apparently  about  thirty  years  of  age.  He  soon  courted 
and  married  a  widow  old  enough  to  be  his  grand- 
mother,— ^Mrs.  Martin,  the  mother  of  Leonard  Martin, 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.    There  were  a  great  many 
of  the  past  generation  who  received  instruction  from 
Mm.    He  lost  his  wife,  and,  like  many  other  widowers, 
he  married  again,^another  widow;   and  when  too 
old  to  keep  school  they  went  to  Easton  and  kept  a 
shop.    But,  she  dying  in  1831  or  1832,  he  sold  out 
and  returned  to  his  old  friends.    In  the  mean  time  he 
applied  for  and  received  two  pensions, — one  from  the 
State  of  Maryland  for  two  years'  service  in  the  Mary- 
land line  in  the  Revolution,  and  one  from  the  United 
States  for  five  years'  service  in  the  army  during  the 
same.     He  received  a  severe  sabre-wound  in  the  head 
while  in  the  service,  which  may  have  caused  or  in- 
creased his  obliquity  of  mind.     He  was  particularly 
reticent  in  regard  to  his  former  history,  but  it  was 
gathered  that  his  father  was  an  oflBcer  in  the  city  of 
London,  his  mother  dying  when  he  was  born.     He 
was  boarded  out  and   kept  at  school  until  a  young 
man,  when  word  came  to  him  that  his  father  was 
deadj  he  was  persuaded  to  run  away  and  come  to 
America  just  as  the   Revolution  was  brewing.     He 
landed  in  Baltimore,  and  soon  went  into  the  army,' 
serving  in  the  Maryland  line  for  two  years,  and  when 
honorably  discharged  re-enlisted  in  the  Continental 
army  for  five  years,  served  his  time,  got  his  honorable 
-discharge,  and,  being  a  good  penman,  found  some 
business  in  writing  for  a  milling  establishment.     He 
soon  married  a  Quakeress.     They  had  one  child,— a 
daughter.     They  differed  ;  she  drove  him  away  and 
he  came  here.     He  was  afi'able  and  easily  suited.     If 
he  entered  a  house  that  was  a  little  out  of  order,  and 
the  good  woman  would  apologize,  Mr.  Head  had  his 
couplet  ready : 

"  Poor  woman's  work  is  never  done 
Until  the  jndgment-day  conies  on."  : 

He  was  simple  and  childlike  in  manner,  but  very 
■determined  when  his  mind  was  made  up. 

The  territory  of  this  township,  and  some  imme- 
diately adjacent,  was  once  famous  for  distilleries  of 
apple-whisky.  Since  1828  there  was  near  the  Hick- 
ory Tavern  Mr.  Jonathan  Robins  ;  at  the  Cross-roads,- 
George  Stires,  Thomas  Stires,  and  John  Sutphin;  at 
Pattenburg,  Tunis  Stires  and  Thomas  Stires ;  at  Pitts- 
town,  Henry  Stires,  Henry  Snyder,  and  Jacob  Stires; 
at  Barrens,  William  Maxwell  and  Josias  Maxwell ;  at 
Little's,  Maj.  John  Little;  at  Taylor's,  William  Tay- 
lor ;  and  near  Van  Syckelville,  Henry  Carter,  Charles 
Robins,  Ezekiel  Cole,  and  Lewis  Humphrey.  These 
-were  all  in  the  township,  and  just  on  its  borders  were 


located,  at  Sigler's,  Judge  P.  Sigler,  and  Michael 
Haggerty  at  Clinton, — eight  on  the  soil  of  the  town- 
ship, and  two  others  deriving  each  much  of  their 
support  from  it.  A  patent  having  been  granted  by 
the  Patent  Office  for  distilling  spirits  from  grain  early 
in  this  century,  there  were  a  great  many  patent  dis- 
tilleries erected  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Luther  Calvin,  one  of  our  early  settlers,  had  built  his 
grist-  and  saw-mill  a  decade  or  two  before ;  it  proved 
a  great  convenience  to  the  neighborhood,  as  there  were 
no  mill  accommodations  for  a  great  distance  around. 
It  wag,  of  course,  called  Calvin's  Mills.  Here  Sam- 
uel Cummings  and  a  Mr.  Dolphin,  in  or  about  1812, 
commenced  making  rye  whisky  according  to  the  pat- 
ent. It  was  afterwards  run  by  Adam  D.  Bunkle  and 
Samuel  Stevenson.  This  gave  importance  to  the  place, 
which  must  needs  have  a  better  name  than  either 
Calvin's  or  Case's  Mills,  and,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Henry  Carcuff,  it  was  named  Pattenburg,  in  honor  of 
the  patent  distillery. 

Much  of  this  liquor  was  carted  to  Trenton  and 
Philadelphia,  and  there  sold  at  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty-five  cents  per  gallon.  From  various  causes 
this  business  has  gone  down  ;  there  is  not  at  this  time 
a  single  distillery  in  the  township.  Although  there 
was  so  much  liquor  made,  yet  the  people  generally 
were  about  as  temperate  in  the  use  of  it  as  those  of 
any  other  township  in  the  county. 

At  the  time  of  the  birth  of  this  township  there  were 
four  taverns.  One  was  at  Van  Syckelville,  with  a 
stone  in  the  south-southwest  corner  of  the  building 
marked  "  D.  R.  1763."  David  Reynolds  kept  it  some 
time,  and  afterwards  moved  into  Morris  County.  A 
Mr.  Buskirk  kept  it  several  years  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  last  century,  and  the  Messrs.  Van  Syckel  in  this 
century  up  to  about  the  middle,  when  it  ceased  to  be 
a  public-house.  It  was  for  many  years  very  exten- 
sively patronized  by  the  raftsmen  of  the  Delaware, 
who,  after  selling  their  rafts  down  the  river,  would 
make  their  way  back  on  foot  (there  being  no  stage- 
lines,  railroads,  or  canals  in  those  days  in  this  part  of 
the  country),  carrying  with  them  the  proceeds  of  their 
adventure.  They  went  in  companies  and  squads  of 
different  sizes.  They  were  an  honest,  free-hearted 
class  of  men,  good  citizens,  and  generally  welcome 
customers.  The  house  is  still  in  a  good  state  of  pres- 
ervation. 

The  Bonnell  tavern,  established  in  1767,*  was  at 
one  time  very  noted,  that  and  Bingo's  being  the 
places  for  holding  the  elections,  one  day  in  each,  in 
what  at  that  time  constituted  Amwell  township.  It 
was  kept  by  members  of  the  Bonnell  family  nearly  a 
hundred  years,  and  when  the  New  Jersey  turnpike 
was  built,  in  1812-13,  was  one  of  about  forty  that  ad- 
ministered to  the  wants  of  travelers  on  that  road,— an 
average  of  nearly  one  for  every  mile  from  New  Bruns- 
wick to  Easton.    The  signs  were  generally  the  like- 


*  See  Mott's  "First  Century  of  Hunterdon.' 


512 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


nesses  of  military  or  naval  heroes,  as  Perry,  Pike, 
Bainbridge,  Jackson,  and  Lawrence. 

Another  tavern  was  one  that  was  built  by  Cornelius 
Carhart,  along  whose  lands  the  New  Jersey  turnpike 
ran.     It  was  built  of  brick,  and  is  sometimes  called 
the  Brick  Tavern.    It  was  erected  in  September,  1813, 
at  the  time  of  Com.  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  the 
news  of  which  was  received  through  a  courier  as  the 
workmen  were  putting  on  the  last  tier  of  joists,  who 
were  so  overjoyed  at  hearing  of  the  victory  that  when 
they  put  up  the  last  pair  of  rafters  and  nailed  the 
bush  on  the  peak,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  day,  and 
poured  some  whisky  out  of  a  bottle  on  it,  they  unani- 
mously called  it  Perryville,  which  name  it  still  re- 
tains as  a  post-town.     But  it  has  not  grown  much 
since  that  day,  only  one  dwelling  and  a  blacksmith- 
shop  having  been  added  to  the  tavern.    It  was  a  place 
that  for  many  years  (until  the  time  of  railroads)  en- 
tertained drovers  and  droves, — more  than   any  one 
hotel  in  all  this  section  of  country,  thousands  of  cattle 
and  sheep  annually  changing  hands  here.     Kailroad 
facilities  have  in  a  great  measure  broken  up  the  traffic. 
James  Hope  for  several  years  kept  a  tavern  on  the 
New  Jersey  turnpike,  close  to  the  bridge  that  spans 
the  Baritan  at  Clinton.     It  had  a  military  sign,  and 
was  one  of  the  above-mentioned  forty-odd  inns.    This 
one  was  lost  by  the  formation  of  the  town  of  Clinton. 
All  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  the  Mechlin  tavern 
seems  to  be  "  gone,  buried  beneath  the  dusky  mantle  of 
obscurity."     One  Hartpense  kept  it  in  the  early  part 
of  this  century.     It,  no  doubt,  was  built  before  the 
Revolution,  and,  with  the  "  Hickory"  tavern,  helped 
to  quench  the  thirst  of  those  who  carted  iron  from 
Bloomsbury  to  Pittstown.     Its  architecture  was  far  in 
advance  of  that  of  any  other  buildings  of  the  same 
age  in  the  neighborhood.     It  was   kept  by   Peter 
Mechlin,  Sr.,  for  forty  years,  and  by  his  son  William 
twenty  years,  and  then  the  sign  was  down  at  least 
twelve  years  before  the  buildings  were  all  replaced 
by  new  ones  by  William  Mechlin.    The  farm  is  now 
conducted  by  his  son  Hiram. 

Hickory  (tavern),  when  first  built,  was  of  logs  and 
was  in  this  township,  but  when  rebuilt  by  Mr.  Peter 
Van  Syckel,  early  in  the  present  century,  it  was 
placed  on  the  west  side  of  the  line,  in  Alexandria. 
In  its  early  days  it  was  called  the  "  Half-way  House," 
and  was  much  patronized  by  the  teamsters  who  carted 
iron  from  Bloomsbury  to  Pittstown.  (It  is  said  to 
have  derived  its  name,  not  from  any  hickory  that 
grew  there,  but  from  the  scarcity  of  it.  It  is  on  the 
dividing  line  of  the  water-shed.  The  water  from  the 
shed  as  it  then  was  went  from  the  one  side  to  the 
^Delaware,  and  from  the  other  to  the  Earitan.)  In 
after-years  it  was  famous  for  its  balls  and  dances. 
Some  years  since  Garret  Conover  purchased  the  prop- 
erty and  took  down  the  sign  and  sheds,  and  it  is  now 
a  productive  farm. 

The  tavern  in  Van  Syckelville  was  built  in  1763, 
and,  as  the  Union  Iron- Works  were  at  this  time  under 


headway,  it  is  very  probable  that  the  Mechlin  and  the 
"  Hickory"  were  erected  about  the  same  time. 

There  was  a  tavern  for  several  years  at  Midvale,  on 
the  property  now  owned  by  the  Eastou  and  Amboy 
Railroad  Company.  The  present  house  is  in  good 
condition,  though  built  early  in  this  century ;  it  has 
not  been  used  for  a  tavern  for  fifty  years.  The  old 
one  stood  near  where  is  now  Andrew  Van  Syckel's 
store,  and  was  on  the  road  as  it  ran  at  that  time  from 
New  Hampton  to  Trenton. 

John  Crawford,  in  his  stone  house,  built  in  1765, 
near  the  Bethlehem  Presbyterian  church,  for  several 
years  kept  both  store  and  tavern ;  the  house  is  in  good 
condition  still. 

During  the  building  of  the  Easton  and  Amboy  Rail- 
road Lewis  Humphrey  built  a  commodious  tavern  in 
Pattenburg,  now  occupied  by  William  Sinclair.  This 
and  the  Perryville  one,  now  kept  by  William  Mettler, 
late  of  Milford,  are  the  present  taverns. 

Early  in  this  century  Aaron  Van  Syckel,  Sr.,  pur- 
chased a  large  farm,  and,  in  addition  to  the  tavern, 
erected  a  store-house  thereon,  where  for  about  forty 
years  was  kept  by  himself  and  son,  and  later  by  his 
grandson,  one  of  the  best  stores  in  the  county. 

At  that  time  (1827-28)  a  store  was  opened  and  kept 
at  Pattenburg  by  John  and  Andrew  Race.  Several 
have  kept  there  since, — viz,  David  Bowman,  William 
P.  Smith,  Jacob  Apgar,  Srope  &  Roberts  (in  1855), 
Ira  Anderson,  Edward  Dolton,  John  Conover,  Mar- 
tenis  &  Weaver,  Martenis,  Barker  &  Brother,  George 
Barker, — and  on  the  building  of  the  railroad  Peter 
B.  Srope  opened  a  store  and  established  a  coal-yard, 
the  store  being  now  kept  by  Srope  &  Maxwell.  In 
1846,  Peter  B.  Srope,  then  living  at  what  is  now  called 
Norton,  built  a  store-house  which  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  Messrs.  Gano. 

At  Midvale  Peter  Stires  erected  a  store-house  on 
the  completion  of  the  railroad,  now  occupied  by 
Andrew  Van  Syckel. 

CIVIL  HISTORY. 
The  township  of  Union  took  its  stand  among  the 
townships  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  April  11, 
1853,  by  holding  its  first  town-meeting  at  Perryville, 
at  the  house  of  Henry  Eockafellow,*  who  kept  the 
tavern  at  that  time.  The  township  officers  have 
been  as  follows  : 

MOBBBATOES. 
1863-56,  A.  W.  Dunham ;  1866-58,  Oliver  Huffman  ;  1859-65,  George  W. 
Eea  ;  1860,  Sylvester  Taylor ;  1867-68,  George  W.  Eea ;  1869-70,  Syl- 
vester Taylor  j  1871,  George  W.  Eea;  1872,  Joseph  Van  Syckel;  1873- 
80,  George  W.  Kea. 

TOWN  CLEEKS. 
1853-69,  John  H.  Case ;  1869-76,  Asber  S.  Housel,  Esq. ;  1875-76,  George 
B.  Srope ;  1876-78,  Joseph  S.  Taylor;  1878  to  the  present  time,  Alfred 
Cook. 

JUDGES  OF  ELECTION. 
1853-65,  John  Carhart;  1865-69,  Peter  Mechling;  1860-66,  George  W. 
Eea ;  1866-67,  Peter  E.  Williamson ;  1868-69,  Mahlon  Swarer ;  1870- 
73,  George  W.  Eea ;  1874-80,  Cornelius  B.  Sheets. 

*  Every  subsequent  town-meeting  has  been  held  in  the  same  place. 


UNION. 


513 


SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PTTBLIO  SCHOOLS. 
185a-57, 1862-64,  John  Blane;  1865,  ■William  Bonnel] ;  1866,  Enoch  Abel. 

[For  Chosen  Freeholders  see  page  264  of  this  work.] 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 
1853,  William  Maxwell,  Peter  Melich,  Peter  Bodine,  Joseph  Taylor,  John 
Blane ;  1854,  William  Maxwell,  William  B.  Labaw,  Joseph  Taylor, 
John  Worthington,  John  Blane ;  1855,  John  H.  Koberts,  William  B. 
Labaw,  Jos.  Taylor,  John  Worthington,  Oliver  H.  Huffman;  1856, 
George  W.  Bea,  HoUoway  Housel,  Joseph  Taylor,  William  Egbert, 
Oliver  H.  Hufiman  ;  1857-58,  John  P.  lair,  William  Bonnell,  Joseph 
Taylor,  William  Egbert,  Abraham  H.  Housel ;  1859,  William  Max- 
well, William  Egbert,  Abraham  H.  Honsel,  John  P.  Lair,  William 
Bonnell ;  1860,  William  Maxwell,  William  Egbert,  Joseph  Taylor, 
John  P.  Lair,  WilUam  Bonnell;  1861,  Asher  S.  Housel,  William 
Egbert,  Joseph  Taylor,  John  P.  Lair,  William  Bonnell;  1862-63, 
Hiram  Huffman,  Joseph.  Taylor,  William  Bonnell,  William  Taylor, 
Mahlon  Swarer ;  1864,  ■  Hiram  Huffman,  William  Bonnell,  Wil- 
liam M.  Taylor,  Joseph  Taylor,  Joseph  Van  Syckel ;  1865,  Hiram 
Huffman,  A.  S.  Housel,  John  P.  Lair,  Joseph  Taylor,  Joseph  Tan 
Syckel:  1866,  Clement  Bonnell,  A.  S.  Housel,  John  P.  Xair,  Joseph 
Taylor,  William  Mechlin ;  1867,  Clement  Bonnell,  A.  S.  Housel,  John 
P.  Lair,  George  Yonng,  Joseph  Taylor ;  1868,  Clement  Bonnell,  A, 
S.  Housel,  John  P.  Lair,  Sylvester  Taylor,  Joseph  Taylor;  1869,  G. 
G.  Lunger,  A.  B.  Housel,  John  P.  Lair,  Sylvester  Taylor,  Joseph 
Taylor;  1870-71,  G.  G.  Lunger,  Clement  H.  Bonnell,  John  P.  Lair, 
George  W.  Kea,  Joseph  Van  Syckel ;  1872-73,  G.  G.  Lunger,  Clement 
Bonnell,  Joseph  Gano,  George  W.  Rea,  Joseph  Van  Syckel ;  1874,  G. 
G.  Lunger,  Gardner  Housel,  C.  H.  Bonnell,  Joseph  Van  Syckel,  Jos. 
Gano;  1875,  G.  G.  Lunger,  Joseph  Van  Syckel,  Gardner  Housel,  0. 
V.  Hall ;  1876-77,  Samuel  H.  Smith,  G.  G.  Lunger,  C.  E.  Barker,  W. 
Dunham,  S.  C.  Hawk  ;  1878,  G.  G.  Lunger,  Samuel  H.  Smith,  Charles 
E.  Barker,  P.  B.  Srope,  Joseph  Tan  Syckel ;  1879-80,  Jos.  H.  Exton, 
Silas  C.  Hawk,  C.  W.  Carhart. 

ASSESSORS. 
1853-55,  Nathan  Wyckoff ;  1856-60,  John  Worthington  ;  1861,  Ira  C.  An- 
derson; 1862,  Luther  Opdycke;   1863,  A.  W.  Dunham;*    1863-79, 
Enoch  Abel ;  1880,  Wholston  Stockton. 

COLLECTORS. 
1853,  Thomas  J.  Stires  ;  1854-55,  George  W.  Rea;  1856-58,  Holloway  H. 
Smith;  1859,  Aaron  Groff;  1860-61,  David  W.  Stires;  1862-65,  Geo. 
W.  Eea;  1886-68,  Nicholas  Sine ;  1869-71,  John  S.  Shafer  ;  1872-74, 
George  L.  Gano ;  1875-77,  John  S.  Shafer ;  1878,  Enoch  Williamson  ; 
1879-80,  Samuel  H.  Smith. 

SURVEYORS  OF  HIGHWAYS. 
1853,  Joseph  Taylor,  John  Srope  ;  1854-58,  John  Srope,  Joseph  Taylor ; 
1859,  Geo.  W.  Bea,  Asher  S.  Housel ;  1860-62,  Geo.  W.  Rea,  Asher  S. 
Honsel;  1863-64,  Geo.  W.  Bea,  Peter  H.Anderson;  1865,  G.  W. 
Bea,  Isaac  K.  Demott ;  1866-67,  Geo.  W.  Bea,  Clement  Bonnell ; 
1868,  Sylvester  Taylor,  Clement  Bonnell;  1869-70,  Sylvester  Taylor, 
Mahlon  Swarer ;  1871-74,  Sylvester  Taylor,  Wm.  Maxwell ;  1875, 
Enoch  Williamson,  Enoch  Abel ;  1876-77,  Wm.  Sinclair,  Enoch  Wil- 
liamson ;  1878,  David  Dalrymple,  John  Q.  Clickinger ;  1879,  Wm. 
H.  Gardner,  David  Dalrymple  ;  1880,  George  Rinehart,  Peter  Stires. 

COMMISSIONERS  OF  APPEALS. 

1853-84,  Thomas  Mechling,  Cornelius  B.  Sheets,  Wm.  Maxwell;  1855, 
Cornelius  B.  Sheets,  Thomas  Mechlin,  A.  S.  Housel;  1856-58,  Robe- 
son Rockhill,  Wm.  Egbert,  A.  S.  Housel;  1869-62, Isaac  K.  Demott, 
Wm.Bgbert,  Asher  S.  Housel;  1863-67,  Morris  Rodenbough,  Peter 
B.  Williamson,  Asher  Housel ;  1868,  Clement  Bonnell,  Peter  B.  Wil- 
liamson, Asher  S.  Honsel ;  1869-70,  Isaac  Huffman,  Peter  B.  Wil- 
liamson, Asher  S.  Housel;  1871-73,  Jos.  Gano,  Peter  B.  Williamson, 
Asher  S.  Honsel ;  1874,  Henry  Johnson,  Jos.  Gano,  Asher  S.  Housel ; 
1875,  Daniel  Saunders,  George  L.  Boss ;  1876,  Henry  Johnson,  George 
L.  Boss,  Peter  H.  Anderson  ;  1877-80,  George  L.  Boss,  Henry  John- 
son, C.  W.  Carhart. 

JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE.* 

1835,  Daniel  Stires;  1844,  Wm.  Egbert;  1850,  Bobeson  Rockhill,  Asher 
S.  Honsel;  1865,  Robeson  Rockhill,  William  Egbert;  1860,  Jacob 

»  Until  his  death,  13th  of  July,  1863. 

f  Enoch  Clifford  waa  first  justice,  serving  for  many  years. 


Stires,  William  Egbert;  1865,  Enoch  Abel,  William  Egbert;  1870, 
Enoch  Abel,  Peter  H.  Anderson  ;  1875,  Enoch  Abel,  Matthias  MoCrea; 
1880,  Enoch  Abel,  John  Williamson  (did  not  comply). 

OVEBSEERS  OF  BOADS  AND  APPROPRIATIONS. 

1853. — Nicholas  Sine,  Jacob  Apgar,  Adrian  Kinney,  Joseph  Boss,  Edward 
A.  Rockhill,  William  Maxwell,  Peter  H.  Anderson,  Joseph  Ev- 
erett, John  R.  Larison,  and  Edgar  Lance.    Appropriation,  $525. 
1854. — Nicholaa  Sine,  Jacob  P.  Apgar,  Adrian  Kinney,  George  Gulick, 
Joseph  Taylor,  Isaac  Kels,  Peter  H.  Anderson,  Joesph  Everett, 
John  R.  Larison,  Nathan  Wyckoff.    Appropriation,  $525. 
1855. — Nicholas  Sine,  Adrian  Kinney,  Joseph  Taylor,  Henry  Maxwell, 
Henry  Johnson,  Peter  H.  Anderson,  Isaac  Kels,  Joseph  Everett, 
Joseph  Van  Syckel,  Gardner  Housel.    Appropriation,  8S77. 
1856. — Adrian  Kinney,  Nicholas  Sine,  Isaac  Kels,  Henry  Johnson,  Wil- 
liam Martin,  John  Larison,  Henry  Maxwell,  Joseph  Taylor, 
Gardner  Housel,  James  S.  Kels.    Appropriation,  S593. 
1867. — James  S.  Kels,  Wesley  Bird,  Joseph  Taylor,  John  Tiger,  Isaac 
Kels,  John  Srope,  Nicholas  Sine,  Jacob  Lesher,  Henry  Johnson, 
Jacob  Fine.    Appropriation,  $593. 
1858. — John  Tiger,  John  Cooley,  Samuel  Bonnell,  Wesley  Bird,  Mahlon 
Swarer,  Nicholas  Sine,  George  W.  Eea,  Henry  Bockafellow,  Wil- 
liam C.  Young,  John  Srope.    Appropriation,  $593. 
1859.— Elisha  Weene,  John  H.  Cooley,  John  Tiger,  Nicholas  Sine,  Joseph 
Taylor,  Henry  Bockafellow,  Samuel  Bonnell,  James  Stockton^ 
Wesley  Bird,  William  Young.    Appropriation,  $600. 
1860. — ^Elisha  Weene,  .Toseph  Taylor,  William  C.  Young,  Nicholas  Sine, 
Joseph  Maxwell,  Asher  S.  Housel,  John  Tiger,  Lewis  Young, 
Whitfield  Carhart,  Henry  Bockafellow.    Appropriation,  $615. 
1861.— Joseph  Taylor,  John  Tiger,  Nicholas  Sine,  Whitfield  Carhart, 
Lewis  Young,  Asher  S.  Honsel,  Elisha  Weene,  Johnson  Hum- 
mer, Thomas  Bowlsby,  William  Martin,  Henry  Bockafellow. 
Appropriation,  $620. 
1862.— Joseph  Taylor,  John  Tiger,  Nicholas  Sine,  C.  W.  Carhart,  Lewis 
Young,  William  Bellis,  Elisha  Weene,  Johnson  Hummer,  Hiram 
Huffman,  Peter  H.  Anderson,  Henry  Bockafellow.    Appropria- 
tion, $640. 
1863.— Elisha  Weene,  Johnson  Hummer,  C.  W.  Carhart,  William  Bellis, 
Nathan  Wyckoff,  Nicholas  Sine,  Joseph  Taylor,  James  S.  Kels, 
Lewis  Young,  Hiram  Huffmann,  Peter  H.  Anderson.    Appropri- 
ation, $640. 
1864.— Wesley  Bird,  Nicholas  Sine,  Henry  Johnson,  Lewis  Young,  Cor- 
nelius Tunison,  Elisha  Weene,  Henry  Maxwell,  Joseph  Taylor, 
William  Mechling,  Godfrey  Lett,  John  Blane,  Hiram  Huffman. 
Appropriation,  $794. 
1865. — Wesley  Bird,  Henry  Johnson,  Elisba  Weene,  C.  B.  Sheets,  Godfrey 
Lott,  Joseph  Gano,  Cornelius  Tunison,  Henry  Maxwell,  William 
Mechlin,  Thomas  Warner.    Appropriation,  $765. 
1866.— Henry  Johnson,  Henry  Maxwell,  Thomas  Warner,  John  H.  Cooley, 
John  Conover,  Joseph  Carhart,  Joseph    Taylor,   Christopher 
Srope,  James  S.  Kels,  Cornelius  Tunison.    Appropriation,  $780. 
]  867.— Cornelius  Tunison,  John  Butler,  Henry  Johnson,  Thomas  Warner, 
Clement  H.  Bonnell,  John  Conover,  Peter  Hoppook,  C.  B.  Sheets, 
Christopher  Srope,  John  H.  Cooley.    Appropriation,  $920. 
1 868.— George  L.  Gano,  G.  G.  Lunger,  A.  H.  Housel,  John  Conover,  Cor- 
nelius Tunison,  Jacob  P.  Apgar,  Lambert  H.  Smith,  0.  H.  Bon- 
nell, C.  B.  Sheets,  Henry  Bockafellow,  John  P.  Lair.    Appro- 
priation, $930. 
1869.— Henry  Hoppock,  Henry  Johnson,  James  W.  Stockton,  G.  G. 
Lunger,  John  P.  Lair,  Joseph  Gano,  Cornelius  Tunison,  William 
H.  Cole,  George  L.  Gano,  Cornelius  B.  Sheets,  William  Mech- 
ling.   Appropriation,  $1021. 
1870.— Wesley  Bird,  William  Sinclair,  George  L.  Gano,  John  H.  Cooley, 
John  P.  Lair,  Joseph  Gano,  John  R.  Williamson,  Silas  C.  Hawk, 
William  Cole,  William  Taylor,  Henry  Johnson,  Cornelius  B. 
Sheets.    Appropriation,  $1021. 
1871.— Lewis  Humphrey,  William  Sinclair,  Joseph  Gano,  Henry  Johnson. 
Peter  R.  Williamson,  William  M.  Taylor,  Cornelius  B.  Sheets, 
William  Storr,  Wesley  Bird,  John  H.  Cooley,  WilUam  Cole,  Silas 
Hawk.    Appropriation,  $1006. 
1872.— William  Sinclair,  Cornelius  B.  Sheets,  Joseph  Van  Syckel,  Charles 
'  Sine,  Joseph  Gano,  John  H.  Cooley,  William  H.  Cole,  Silas  C. 

Hawk,  George  W.  Bea,  Henry  Johnson,  Clement  Bonnell,  Syl- 
vester Taylor,  Isaac  Huffman.    Appropriation,  $1016. 
1873.— Wm.  Sinclair,  Lambert  K.  Smith,  Wm.  H.  Cole,  Henry  Everett 
George  L.  Gano,  Corn.  B.  Sheets,  George  W.  Bea,  Henry  John- 


514 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


son,  John  H.  Cooley,  Joseph  Gano,  Joseph  Tan  Syckel,  Syl- 
vester Taylor,  Edward  Melicfc.    Appropriation,  SI  016. 

1874. — Georgre  L.  Gano,  Daniel  Bellis,  Lambert  K.  Smith,  Jacob  A.  Leigh, 
Henry  Johnson,  Henry  Maxwell,  Sylvester  Taylor,  George  G. 
Lunger,  Wm.  Sinclair,  Wm.  C.  jToung,  John  Q.  Clickinger, 
Joseph  Gano,  Henry  Everett.    Appropriation,  81010. 

1875.— Wm.  H.  Cole,  C.  B.  Melick,  G.  G.  Lunger,  Henry  Maxwell,  John 
H.  Cooley,  Christ.  Srope,  Joseph  H.  Exton,  Wm.  W.  Biid,  Syl- 
vester Taylor,  John  Q.  Clickinger,  Henry  Hoppock,  Charles 
Line.    Appropriation,  $1016. 

1876.— C.  B.  Melick,  Asher  Smith,  George  L.  Bobs,  G.  G.  Lunger,  John  Q. 
Clickinger,  D.  W.  Stires,  John  H.  Cooley,  William  Cole,  Henry 
Johnson,  Joseph  Exton,  Henry  A.  Hoppock,  Peter  Hummer, 
Wesley  Bird.    Appropriation,  $1015. 

1877.— Wm.  Gardner,  Wm.  Cole,  Wesley  Bird,  G.  G.  Lunger,  Pater  H. 
Anderson,  D.  W.  Stires,  Peter  Hummer,  John  Smith,  Peter  T. 
Young,  George  L.  Boss,  C.  B.  Melick,  Sylvester  Hyde,  C.  B. 
Sheets.    Appropriation,  $1016. 

1878. — Wm.  Gardner,  Nathan  Conc^ver,  Wesley  Bird,  G.  G.  Lunger,  John 
H.  Opdycke,  David  W.  Stires,  Peter  Hummer,  Henry  Everett, 
Wm.  Mechling,  George  L.  Boss,  C.  B.  Melick,  Sylvester  Hyde, 
Com.  B.  Sheets.    Appropriation,  $080. 

1879. — Wm.  H.  Gardner,  Nathan  Conover,  Aaron  Van  Syckel,  Joseph  H. 
Painter,  Joseph  B.  Carhart,  David  W.  Stires,  Peter  Hummer, 
Henry  Everett,  David  Dalrymple,  diaries  Emery,  C.  B.  Melick, 
Sylvester  Hyde,  C.  B.  Sheets.    Appropriation,  $980. 

1680. — Overseers  not  recorded. 

These  overseers  have  had  charge  of  all  the  puhlic 
roads  in  this  township,  and  also  of  the  bordering 
roads.  The  whole  may  be  estimated  at  forty-five  miles, 
a,nd  may  be  described,  as  to  situation,  as  follows  : 

No.  1,  from  Hickory,  via  Pattenburg,  to  the  New  Jersey  turnpike ;  No.  2, 
from  Hickoj-y,  at  Pittstuwn  road,  to  Pattenburg ;  Nu.  3,  from  G.  W. 
Kea's  corner  to  the  Baptist  church,  and  extending  to  ttiwnship's 
north  line ;  No.  4,  from  Mechling's  tavern  to  Hensfoot  and  Perry  ville ; 
No.  5,  a  branch  from  John  Cooley's  to  Midvale;  No.  6,  from  Thomas 
Mechling's,  vta  Cook's  Cross-Roads,  to  the  road  from  Pittstown  to  Clin- 
ton ;  No.  7,  new  road  from  Pittstown  to  Midvale ;  No.  8,  the  old  great 
highway  from  the  north  part  of  the  State  to  Burlington ;  No.  9,  see 
No.  6 ;  No.  10,  from  Bethlehem  Church  to  Midvale  ;  No.  11,  from 
Bethlehem  Church  to  Bonnell's  Corner ;  No.  12,  the  late  New  Jersey 
turnpike  from  Bonnell's  west  to  Bethlehem  township-line  ;*  No.  13, 
from  Bonnell's  Corner,  via  old  road,  to  the  turnpike  at  Sever's  Cor- 
ner ;  No.  14,  from  corner  of  town  of  Clinton  to  the  eight  square 
school-house  ;  No.  15,  from  the  eight-square  school-house  to  the  north 
and  east  township  lines ;  No.  16,  from  McClenahan's  corner,  via  Van 
Syckelville,  and  thence  to  Pattenburg. 

These  roads  give  ingress  and  egress  to  nearly  every 
farm  and  lot  of  land  in  the  township. 

The  State  Legislature  enacted  April  5,  1865 : 

"  That  all  that  part  of  Union  township  lying  and  being  to  the  right 
hand,  or  east  and  south,  of  the  following  line,  shall  be  and  constitute 
henceforth  part  of  the  town  of  Clinton, — namely,  beginning  at  a  stake 
standing  in  the  line  between  the  townships  of  Franklin  and  Union,  in 
late  New  Jersey  turnpike  road,  at  the  place  where  the  public  road  lead- 
ing from  Bonnell's  tavern  to  the  Union  intersects  said  turnpike  road,  and 
running  thence  along  the  line  of  said  road  leading  to  the  Union  in  a 
northej-ly  direction  to  a  stake  in  said  road,  a  corner  to  lands  of  A.  W. 
Dunham,  deceased,  and  in  a  line  of  land  late  of  Godfrey  Case,  deceased  ; 
thence  running  along  lands  of  said  Dunham  and  said  Case  due  east  to 
the  southwest  corner  of  lands  of  William  S.  Wyckoff ;  thence  in  a  north- 
erly direction  along  the  western  line  of  lands  of  said  Wyckoff  to  the  line 
of  lands  of  Garret  Conover ;  thence  in  an  easterly  direction  along  the 
north  line  of  said  WyckofTs  lands  to  the  township  line  between  the 
townships  of  Union  and  Clinton." 

This  took  from  Union  a  mill  once  famed  for  making 
flaxseed  oil,  a  tavern,  the  extensive  limestone-quar- 
ries and  lime-kilns,  and  about  twenty  dwellings. 

*  The  company  owning  this  road  in  1837  gave  up  its  chartered  rights 
to  the  townships  through  which  it  ran. 


April  13,  1863,  $5600  was  raised  to  pay  volunteers 
for  the  war.  Feb.  7,  1864,  the  committee  paid  $28,- 
354.75  for  the  same  purpose.  April  11,  1864,  raised 
$7000  to  pay  war  bonds.  The  township  war  debt  has 
all  been  paid. 

POST-OFFICES,  TOWNS,  AND  HAMLETS. 

Van  Syckel  post-office  is  the  earliest  establishment 
of  the  kind  of  which  any  account  can  be  found.  It 
supplied  much  of  the  township  with  mail  facilities  from 
very  early  in  the  present  century  up  to  the  time  the 
Central  Railroad  caused  a  change  in  many  of  the 
offices  in  the  county. 

Perryville  was  made  a  post-town  in  1818,  and  was 
supplied  by  stages,  two  lines  sometimes  running  on 
the  road  (the  New  Jersey  turnpike)  at  the  same  time. 
The  New  Jersey  turnpike  became  one  of  the  great 
thoroughfares  from  the  East  to  the  West  through  the 
State,  and  so  continued  until  the  building  of  the  New 
Jersey  Central  Railroad,  since  which  time  Perryville 
has  been  supplied  with  mail  three  times  a  week — 
Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday — by  a  mail-messen- 
ger from  Annandale  and  Clinton.  The  delivery  has 
been  for  the  last  five  years  at  Midvale.  Elijah  E. 
Robeson  has  been  postmaster  during  that  time. 

Pattenburg  became  a  post-town  in  or  about  1857, 
with  three  mails  a  week, — Tuesday,  Thursday,  and 
Saturday, — with  Ira  Anderson  for  postmaster  in  1862. 
Henry  Aiken  followed,  and  May  30,  1863,  the  office 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Andrew  Streeter,  who  still 
continues. 

Since  1878  the  mail  has  been  daily  supplied  by 
mail-messenger  Jacob  Blain  from  West  End,  for- 
merly Bethlehem.  The  village  has  about  forty  dwell- 
ings and  250  inhabitants.  It  has  a  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  a  large  stone  school-house,  a  grist-mill,  a 
steam  saw-mill,  two  stores,  a  blacksmith-shop  and 
wheelwright-shop,  a  milliner-shop,  a  boot-and-shoe- 
shop,  a  tavern,  and  a  coal-yard. 

Norton  became  a  post-town  in  1877,  with  a  mail 
three  times  a  week, — Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Satur- 
day,— supplied  by  the  Pattenburg  messenger.  Con- 
rad W.  Gano  is  postmaster.  It  took  its  name  from 
the  ruins  of  the  Norton  Furnace,  which  stands  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  north.  How  the  furnace  got  the 
name  is  uncertain, — most  likely  after  some  proprietor. 
A  map  published  in  1777  shows  it. 

Pittstown  derived  its  name  from  the  great  English 
statesman  William  Pitt.  That  part  of  it  lying  within 
this  township  was  the  residence  of  the  earliest  physi- 
cians. Here,  on  a  gentle  elevation,  about  midway  be- 
tween the  houses  of  Frederick  A.  Potts  and  Wil- 
liam P.  Rockhill,  a  short  distance  from  the  road,  stood 
the  mansion  and  office  occupied  by  Dr.  John  Hanna, 
which  he  sold  to  Dr.  John  Rockhill,  April  17,  1873, 
who  settled  here  in  1848,  and  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  first  regular  physician  in  the  county.  Here,  too, 
in  a  log  house  on  the  west  side  of  the  brook  where  it 
crosses  the  road  at  William  P.  Rockhill's,  lived  Con- 


UNION. 


515 


stantine  O'Neill,  a  blacksmith,  a  vestryman  in  St. 
Thomas'  Episcopal  Church,  in  Alexandria,  prior  to 
1764. 

In  1731,  Edward  Eockhill  is  quoted  as  being  of  the 
township  of  Bethlehem ;  he  owned  two  tracts  of  land 
(846  acres)  in  this  vicinity.  He  was  the  father  of  Dr. 
John  Rockhill,  who  was  the  father  of  Robeson  Eock- 
hill and  Edward  Rockhill,  both  lately  deceased.  This 
Edward  Rockhill  was  father  of  the  present  Capt.  Wil- 
liam P.  Rockhill,  his  children  being  the  sixth  genera- 
tion on  the  same  land.  The  elder  Edward  Rockhill 
died  here  about  1748.  James  Parker  was  his  executor, 
and  sold  land  under  the  will  in  1749. 

PHYSICIANS. 

Dr.  John  Blane  settled  in  Perryville  in  April,  1831, 
and  has  remained  there  to  the  present  time  (1881) ; 
Dr.  N.  B.  Boileau  in  1868,  and  is  still  practicing 
there.  [See  sketches  of  the  above  on  pages  224  and 
524  of  this  work.] 

Nathan  Case,  son  of  John  H.  and  his  wife,  Eliza- 
beth Bennett,  was  born  March  17,  1845,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Bethlehem,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  The  train- 
ing of  his  childhood  and  up  to  his  grandmother's 
death  was  all  in  accordance  with  her  wishes.  After 
her  decease  he  spent  some  time  in  the  classical  insti- 
tution of  Rev.  William  J.  Thompson,  Readington, 
and  afterwards  in  the  model  school  at  Trenton  and 
other  seminaries  of  learning,  and  in  1864  entered  the 
office  of  Dr.  John  Blane.  He  attended  the  medical 
lectures  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York 
and  graduated  there  in  the  spring  of  1868,  from  which 
to  1869  he  practiced  with  his  preceptor ;  then  opened 
an  ofSce  in  Asbury,  continuing  there  until  Jan.  16, 
1871,  when  he  moved  to  Riegelsville,  where  he  has 
charge  of  and  manages  a  very  extensive  practice. 
Nov.  8,  1870,  he  married  Miss  Mary  W.  Blane,  daugh- 
ter of  his  former  preceptor.  They  have  children, — 
John  B.  and  Harriet  C. 

PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 

The  church  lot  and  graveyard,  as  at  first  consti- 
tuted, was  first  inclosed  by  a  stone  wall  in  1793 
(before  that  by  a  post-and-rail  fence)  by  Jacob  Ander- 
son, a  captain  in  the  Revolution,  to  which  he  con- 
tributed very  liberally  in  both  time  and  money.  On 
this  church  lot  the  Presbyterian  congregation  erected 
a  house  of  worship,  said  to  have  been  of  logs,  and 
afterwards,  about  1760,  replaced  by  a  wooden  build- 
ing known  as  the  frame.  After  the  building  of  a 
frame  church  in  Alexandria  this  was  known  as  the 
"  Old  Frame."  It  stood  until  1830,  and  was  succeeded 
by  a  stone  building,— not  in  the  graveyard,  but  in  a 
grove  east  of  it,  purchased  by  the  trustees  of  Joseph 
Boss,  where  the  present  church,  built  in  1870,  stands. 

The  Bethlehem  (Presbyterian)  Church  is  said  to 
have  been  organized  in  1730.  Its  first  called  pastor  was 
the  Rev.  James  McCrea,  afterwards  minister  at  Lam- 
ington;   he  was  the  father  of  Miss  Jane  McCrea, 


butchered  by  savages  belonging  to  Burgoyne's  army. 
He  supplied  the  pulpit,  but  did  not  settle  as  pastor, 
and  next  the  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis,*  who  was  installed 
in  October,  1747;  he  served  fourteen  years,  and  in 

1761  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  Hanna,  who  in 

1762  married  the  Rev.  James  McCrea's  daughter 
Mary,  and  died  in  charge,  Nov.  4, 1801. f  His  succes- 
sor was  Rev.  Holloway  Whitfield  Hunt,  who  con- 
tinued till  1842,  when  he  resigned  and  was  followed 
by  Rev.  Robert  W.  Landis,  who  served  until  1849, 
when  the  congregation  called  the  Rev.  Jos.  G.  Wil- 
liamson, the  present  pastor.  The  elders  at  present 
are  Wesley  Bird,  James  Hummer,  Joseph  King,  Dr. 
Henry  Race,  John  L.  K.  Watters,  William  8.  Wyckoff 
(Asher  S.  Housel  died  July  28,  1880). 

The  trustees  are  James  P.  Huffman  (president), 
Jonathan  Butler,  David  Hufl&nan,  James  Boss,  Jo- 
seph Carhart. 

The  Rev.  Holloway  W.  Hunt,  who  was  always  very 
fond  of  agricultural  pursuits,  after  resigning  his 
charge,  in  1842,  still  lived  on  and  managed  his  farm, 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  southwest  from  Midvale  Sta- 
tion. He  was  the  first  to  use  lime  in  this  neighbor- 
hood to  any  extent  as  a  fertilizer,  by  which  means  he 
brought  his  farm  of  150  acres — not  naturally  of  the 
best  quality — to  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  His 
example  in  this  direction  is  still  followed  by  the  best 
farmers.  He  was  a  native  of  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  born 
1769,  came  to  New  Jersey  the  latter  part  of  last  cen- 
tury, and  died  Jan.  17,  1858.  The  same  plot  contains 
the  remains  of  wife,  daughter,  and  son.  He  left  two 
sons, — Dr.  W.  A.  A.  Hunt,  of  Clarksville,  and  Rev. 
Holloway  W.  Hunt,  Jr.,  of  Schooley's  Mountain, 
New  Jersey  ;  both  are  since  deceased. 

The  Rev.  Robert  W.  Landis  is  still  living  in  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  a  man  of  commanding  appearance, 
neat  in  dress,  easy  in  manners  and  address,  and  a  not- 
able man  in  mixed  company.  His  pastorate  was  at- 
tended with  one  of  the  greatest  accessions  of  members 
the  church  ever  had  at  one  time.  The  old  stone  edi- 
fice was  enlarged  at  that  time.  He  had  a  fine  voice 
and  good  control  of  it,  and  was  an  excellent  singer. 
The  church  had  no  bell,. and  the  congregation  were 
often  engaged  in  conversation  in  small  squads ;  when 
the  hour  arrived  for  service  to  begin,  he,  in  the  pul- 
pit, would  strike  up  a  hymn,  which  very  soon  would 
bring  them  into  the  sanctuary. 

Here,  on  the  east  of  the  church,  is  the  Bethlehem 
Cemetery.  The  company  was  organized  Oct.  12, 1858. 
The  ground  is  handsomely  laid  out,  the  shrubbery  kept 
well  trimmed,  and  its  affairs  are  well  managed.  It 
contains  several  handsome  specimens  of  sculpture 
commemorative  of  our  once  acquaintances,  friends, 
neighbors,   relatives.      The    present    officers   of   the 

»  The  Bev.  Thomas  Lewis  was  at  Mendham,  Morris  Co.,  in  1769. 

t  The  EeT.  John  Hanna  left  throe  sons,— James,  John  AndrS,  and 
William  R.  He  was  a  very  active  man,  and  in  addition  to  the  duties  of 
pastor  of  three  congregations— Bethlehem,  Kingwood,  aad  Alexandria- 
practiced  medicine  quite  extensively.  He  also  managed  a  large  farm, 
for  many  years  ;  it  lies  in  Alexandria. 


516 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


association  are  Joseph  King,  President ;  William 
Wyckoff,  Secretary ;  James  P.  Huffman,  Treasurer. 

There  is  on  the  north  of  the  old  churchyard  a 
heautiful  piece  of  ground,  well  inclosed  with  a  wooden 
fence,  which  several  families  use  as  a  burial-place. 

The  old  churchyard,  although  it  contains  the  names 
of  a  "  multitude  of  those  who  have  gone  before,"  has 
not  so  many  inscribed  monuments  as  we  might  sup- 
pose it  would  have,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  incon- 
venience of  getting  them  in  the  early  day,  when 
the  roads  were  few  and  poor.  The  oldest  bears 
date  1762.  Here  we  find  the  names  of  two  former 
pastors,  Revs.  H.  W.  Hunt  and  John  Hanna.  The 
latter  died  Nov.  4,  1801,  aged  seventy  years.  His 
wife  has  nothing  to  mark  her  resting-place.  Fifty 
years  ago  it  was  asserted  by  old  people  that  she  died 
with  the  smallpox,  caught  from  her  husband's  clothes 
while  he  was  attending  patients  who  had  the  disease, 
and  was  buried  in  a  burying-ground  on  their  own 
farm  in  Alexandria.  Among  the  older  inscriptions 
are  those  of  John  Hacket,  died  1766 ;  Col.  Abram 
Bonnell,  1797 ;  Thomas  Exton,  1857,  aged  fifty-nine ; 
Baltes  Stiger,  1830,  aged  sixty-eight;  Joseph  Bird, 
1830,  aged  sixty ;  Adam  Hope,  1821,  aged  eighty-one ; 
Jonathan  Williams,  1780;  John  Bray,  1806,  aged 
sixty-eight ;  Robert  Johnson,  1821,  aged  eighty- 
eight  ;  John  Wilson,  1830,  aged  seventy-six ;  John 
Crawford,  1815,  aged  eighty- eight ;  Robert  Taylor, 
1821,  aged  eighty ;  and  Jacob  Anderson,  1837,  aged 
eighty-three. 

THE  BETHLEHEM  BAPTIST  CHURCH.* 
The  Bethlehem  Baptist  church  is  located  on  the 
south  side  of  the  New  Jersey  turnpike  road,  in  the 
northwest  part  of  Union  township.  The  meeting- 
house was  erected  in  1837,  on  land  given  by  Aaron 
Van  Syckel,  and  the  parsonage  in  1876,  on  land 
donated  by  his  daughter,  Alice  Killgore. 

The  church  was  raised  up  and  established  under 
the  faithful  labors  of  Rev.  Thomas  E.  Barrass,  who 
commenced  his  labors  in  April,  1831.  Previous  to  this 
there  had  been  preaching  in  the  neighborhood  by  other 
Baptist  ministers,  but  without  much  apparent  success. 
Oct.  31,  1837,  the  church  was  regularly  constituted 
with  14  members.  The  Rev.  T.  E.  Barrass  was  chosen 
pastor,  and  continued  to  labor  until  April,  1850,  making 
nineteen  successive  years.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  abil- 
ity, and  the  church  increased  under  his  ministrations. 
He  received  125  members  into  fellowship  during  his 
pastorate. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  E.  M.  Barker,  who 
commenced  his  work  May,  1850,  and  continued  for 
three  years,  receiving  24  into  the  church.  It  was 
then  supplied  by  Rev.  Marshall  and  other  ministers 
until  March,  1854,  when  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Baker  became 
pastor.  He  continued  his  labors  amid  difficulties 
until  July,  1858,  having  received  24  into  fellow- 
ship.    The  church  was  then  dependent  on  supplies 

*  By  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  A.  B.  Still. 


until  April,  1869,  when  the  Rev.  William  Archer  was 
called.  Through  his  efforts  peace  and  prosperity  were 
restored,  and  an  extensive  revival  was  enjoyed,  which 
resulted  in  many  valuable  additions  to  the  church. 
He  continued  his  labors  until  April,  1864,  having 
received  81. 

After  being  destitute  of  a  pastor  for  some  time,  the 
Rev.  George  Young  was  called  in  1865 ;  he  continued 
until  October,  1867.  At  the  close  of  his  labors  the 
Rev.  Henry  Westcot  succeeded.  In  January,  1868, 
19  were  dismissed  to  constitute  the  New  Hampton 
Baptist  Church,  and  in  January,  1872,  25  to  form  the 
Clinton  Baptist  Church.  In  April,  1872,  Brother 
Westcot  closed  his  labors.  The  church,  being  much 
reduced  by  dismissions  and  other  causes,  was  then 
supplied  by  different  ministers  until  April,  1874, 
when  J.  W.  Porter  became  pastor,  and  continued 
until  July,  1875,  when  he  was  excluded  from  fellow- 
ship. The  church,  being  greatly  depressed,  was  then 
dependent  on  supplies  until  April,  1876,  when  Rev. 
T.  C.  Young  was  called.  During  this  year  the  par- 
sonage was  built.  He  remained  until  April,  1878, 
when  the  church  called  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Still,  who 
continues  at  this  time. 

There  is  a  cemetery  attached  which  contains  the 
remains  of,  and  an  obelisk  monument  to  the  memory 
of,  Aaron  Van  Syckel  and  his  wife.  He  contributed 
largely  to  all  the  improvements,  and  left  funds  to 
keep  them  up.  Also  to  the  memory  of  his  daughter 
Alice,  late  the  wife  of  Robert  Killgore,  through  whose 
liberality  much  has  been  done  to  erect  a  parsonage. 
Here  lie  the  remains  of  Dr.  R.  M.  McLenahan  and 
his  wife  Christiana,  daughter  of  Aaron  Van  Syckel, 
and  of  three  other  of  his  daughters, — Mercy,  Fanny, 
and  iJmily. 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  AT  NORTON. 
The  church  of  this  religious  society  was  built 
in  1828,  and  rebuilt  in  1855,  on  land  donated  by 
George  Garrison,  owing  at  the  time  much  of  its  suc- 
cess to  the  exertions  of  a  local  preacher  and  former 
class-leader,   Abraham   Housel,  who   died   Oct.   19, 

1848,  in  his  forty-ninth  year.  His  remains  were  in- 
terred in  the  burying-ground  attached  to  this  church, 
as  were  also  those  of  John  P.  Lair,  born  Feb.  3, 1813, 
died  Nov.  24,  1871.  In  1868-69  he  was  member  of 
the  General  Assembly. 

Rev.  A.  Van  Deusen,  present  minister  in  charge, 
has  kindly  furnished  the  following  in  regard  to  Union 
charge : 

"  I  may  not  be  able  to  give  much  information  as  to  its  early  history,  as 
it  stood  connected  with  various  circuits  at  different  times.  Asbury  Cir- 
cuit was  formed  as  early  as  1806,  and  occupied  a  large  territory.  In  1836 
-37  it  stood  in  connection  with  Flanders  Circuit,  E.  Sanderson  and  C.  S. 
Vancleve,  preachers;  in  1838  it  was  united  with  Flemington  Circuit, 
Revs.  Jacob  Hevener  and  James  M.  Tuttle,  preachers ;  had  a  revival, 
and  about  40  were  added.  In  1843,  Clinton  Circuit  was  formed,  Wes- 
ley Roberts  and  J.  W.  Barrett,  preachers:  1844,  Edward  Page  and 
S.  B.  Post,  preachers ;  1846,  Manning  Torce  and  S.  B.  Badgley,  con- 
tinued in  1846;  1848,  Clinton  Circuit,  John  Fort  and  George  Banghart; 

1849,  Quakertown  Circuit,  T.T.  Cwupfield  andS.W.  Decker;  1858, Union 


UNION. 


517 


with  Pattenburg,  C.  K  Walton,  for  two  years ;  1861,  S.  M.  Stiles  ;  1862, 
J.  F.  Dodd,  superseded  in  1863  by  S.  M.  Fogg;  1864,  S.  J.  Hayter;  1866- 
66,  Da-rid  Walters,  connection  with  Clarksville ;  1867-68,  0.  C.  Winans; 
1870,  A.  Craig;  1871-72,  Union  and  Pattenburg,  T.  T.  Campfleld;  1873, 
supplied  by  J.  TJ.  Kamsey;  1874,  M.  F.  Warner;  1875-76,  D.  Halleron; 
1877-78,  J.  Mead ;  1879-80,  A.  Van  Deusen,  present  minister  in  charge." 

THE   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  AT  PATTEN- 
BURG 

was  built  in  1853,  on  land  donated  in  1852  to  Trustees 
John  H.  Case,  Joseph  Gano,  Aaron  Streeter,  Godfrey 
Case,  and  Jacob  P.  Apgar.  Ministers  officiating 
there  since,  John  P.  McCormick,  John  N.  Crane, 
David  Graves,  Charles  E.  Walton,  Norman  L.  Hig- 
bee,  Charles  Miller,  M.  N.  Fogg,  John  F.  Dodd, 
Jonathan  Eward,  Thomas  Campfield,  James  N.  Ram- 
say, Daniel  Halleron,  Joshua  Mead,  A.  Van  Deusen. 
Bevs.  Brown,  Stiles,  Swain,  and  Galloway  also  served. 
The  present  trustees  are  Johnson  Hummer,  John 
Bowlby,  Henry  Merrill,  Sidney  Sweery,  George  Bar- 
ber, Gardner  Housel,  Charles  Williams. 

There  is  a  beautiful  cemetery  attached  ;  it  contains 
the  grave  of  Peter  Hardy,  who  died  March  8,  1861, 
aged  eighty-one ;  the  remains  and  monument,  an 
obelisk,  of  William  Mcllroy,  born  May  22,  1784,  died 
Aug.  7, 1860: 

"  He  was  the  friend  and  benefactor  of  this  congregation,  and  by  it  be, 
being  dead,  yet  speaketh  ;'* 

John  H.  Case,  born  Nov.  7,  1807,  died  Aug.  18,  1869. 
He  was  first  town  clerk,  and  had  been  eleven  years 
before  the  division  of  the  township. 

MISCELLANEOUS   ITEMS. 


Old  people  used  to  say  fifty  years  ago  that  not  long 
before  then  the  ruins  of  an  old  log  building  and  evi- 
dences of  a  graveyard  were  visible  a  short  distance 
from  there,  and  Samuel  Leigh  the  elder  stated  it  was 
a  Baptist  institution,  but  did  not  know  its  history. 

There  was  a  burying-ground  of  some  extent  on  the 
farm  once  owned  by  Meshack  Hull,  but  we  have  no 
further  knowledge  of  it. 

It  is  traditional  that  there  was  once  an  old  Baptist 
church  in  that  neighborhood.  Mrs.  Abigail  Johnson 
states  that  when  she  was  a  little  girl  she  had  often 
visited  the  spot  where  their  baptisms  were  performed; 
it  was  in  her  father's  field,  and  known  in  the  family 
by  the  name  of  the  "  dipping-pool,"  and  close  by  were 
the  remains  of  old  timber,  supposed  at  that  time  to 
be  the  ruins  of  the  church,  but  she  has  no  knowledge 
of  any  graveyard  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The 
one  just  mentioned  was  about  600  yards  westward 
from  the  pool,  and  there  was  another  in  a  northerly 
direction,  on  lands  since  owned  by  Thomas  Exton. 

Since  writing  the  above  my  friend  arid  co-laborer 
in  this  work.  Dr.  Henry  Race,  informs  me  that  "  in 
the  year  1738,  Eev.  Thomas  Curtis  began  a  settle- 
ment on  the  point  of  land  which  lies  in  the  fork  of 
Spruce  Run  and  Smalley  Creek,  and  the  next  year 
removed  his  family  there."  In  the  "Minutes  of  the 
Central  New  Jersey  Baptist  Association  for  1875," 


there  is  a  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Baptist  Church 
of  Kingwood,  N.  J." 

There  is  just  north  of  Cole's  Mill,  formerly  Beaver's 
Mill,  and  still  earlier  Albertson's  Mill,  on  the  left- 
hand  side  of  the  road  leading  to  the  Union  and  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Monselaughaway,  an  old  grave- 
yard containing  many  graves.  The  occupants  were 
probably  operatives  in  the  furnace  and  their  families, 
as  iron  plates — one  with  letters  on  it — were  visible  not 
long  since.*  They  were  used  as  headstones.  Adam 
Creager's  child  was  the  last  one  buried  there,  about 
fifty  years  ago. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  at  what  time 
Allen  and  Turner,  of  Philadelphia,  purchased  their 
Union  tract,  or  when  the  furnace  was  built.  See  Dr. 
Mott's  "First  Century  of  Hunterdon  County,"  pp.  23 
and  40. 

John  Clifi'ord,  first  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Carhait's 
company,  Second  Regiment,  Hunterdon,  who  lived 
many  years  in  this  township,  on  the  farm  on  which 
his  great-grandson,  Joseph  Williamson,  now  resides, 
has  said  that  Gen.  William  Maxwell,  during  the  Rev- 
olution, was  very  frequently  at  the  Union  furnace, 
and  when  there  any  sick  person  in  want  of  a  little  good 
tea  could  get  some  without  paying  for  it  by  sending 
to  him.  It  was  a  mystery  that  none  outside  could 
solve ;  some  not  friendly  to  him  thought  of  accusing 
him  of  disloyalty,  but  dare  not  do  it. 

SCHOOL  DISTRICTS. 
The  township  is  so  divided  that  it  contains  but  one 
whole  school  district,  that  at  Cook's  Cross-Roads,  a 
small  one.  The  other  districts  are  fractional.  In  the 
township  outside  the  whole  district  there  are  five 
other  school-houses,— namely  Pattenburg,  Norton, 
the  Eight-square,  one  at  Bethlehem  Church,  and  one 


*  Since  penning  the  above  1  have  been  informed  that  Mrs.  Abigail 
Johnson  (widow  of  Edward  Johnson,  and  daughter  of  George  Beavers 
and  his  wife,  Sarah  Lanning,  and  granddaughter  of  Col.  Joseph  Beavers, 
of  Eevolutionary  memory)  had  frequently,  with  other  children,  played 
there,  and  always  had  a  strong  desire  to  know  what  the  lettering  of  that 
iron  plate  was;  she  made  this  wish  known  to  a  grandnephew,  A.  S. 
Carhart,  who  visited  the  graveyard  and  made  a  drawing  of  the  iron 
headstone,  a  copy  of  which  is  here  presented:— 


a-5C^"c;^ 


This  IB  tbe  last  tombstone  standing,  where  so  many  people  have  been 
buried. 


518 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


at  Maxwell's,  all  supplied  in  part  with  scholars  from 
other  adjoiniug  townships,  and  in  return  send  their 
scholars  to  Clinton,  Franklin,  and  Alexandria. 

School  money  has  heen  raised  as  follows  :  1853,  $2 
per  scholar;  1854,  $2.50;  1855-60,  none;  1861,  $1; 
1862-66,  none;  1867-68,  $2;  1869,  none;  1870,  $2; 
1871-73,  no  vote ;  187^75,  none. 

The  first  school-houses  in  this  township  were  huilt  of 
logs.  One,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  east  of  the  Hickory 
tavern,  was  worn  out  in  the  service ;  for  most  of  the 
time  John  Head  taught  in  it.  It  gave  place  to  a  frame 
at  Pattenburg  in  1804,  which  yielded  to  a  stone  one  on 
the  same  spot,  enlarged  and  rebuilt  in  1868.  It  is  22 
by  34  feet,  and  will  seat  60  scholars. 

At  Norton  a  log  house  stood  east  of  the  road ;  it 
served  its  day  and  went  down,  and  Hensfoot  took  its 
place  (a  long  time  occupied  by  John  Head  as  teacher), 
but,  becoming  worn  out,  was  closed  for  several  years. 
It  was  succeeded  by  one  at  Sever's,  about  1830 ;  here 
Jeremiah  Daily,  William  Loder,  Sr.,  Asher  S.  Housel, 
John  Wheeler,  John  Wilson,  and  others  officiated  as 
teachers. 

One  near  the  Union  was  succeeded  in  1837,  or  about 
that  time,  by  the  Eight-square,  the  present  house, 
which  is  24  feet  square.  It  stands  on  a  lot  deeded  by 
Hugh  Exton  to  Daniel  H.  Anderson,  Charles  Bon- 
nell,  and  Wesley  Bird ;  it  was  thoroughly  repaired  in 
1873.  Its  seating  capacity  is  44  pupils.  The  first 
teacher  in  this  house  was  a  Mr.  Carr,  of  Easton,  Pa. 
The  trustees  now  serving  (1880)  are  Lewis  Exton 
(clerk),  Lambert  Smith,  Michael  Banghart. 

The  one  at  Bellis'  succeeded  a  log  house  over  in 
Alexandria  in  1833.  Of  a  later  date  (1836)  was  a 
stone  house  on  the  road  near  Joseph  Carhart's,  still 
standing,  but  not  used  as  a  school-house;  and  the 
basement  of  the  union  church  at  Norton  was  for  some 
time  used  as  a  school-room,  but  was  abandoned,  it 
was  alleged,  on  account  of  being  unhealthy.  They 
have  a  good  house  there  now,  built  in  1872.  These 
different  structures  in  their  several  times  gave  accom- 
modations to  the  teachers  and  pupils  and  turned  out 
scholars  who  would  do  credit  to  circles  of  greater 
opportunities.  The  first  board  of  trustees  (1833)  were 
Peter  Mechlin,  William  Maxwell,  and  William  Stout; 
Peter  M.  Mechlin  is  now  teacher,  and  for  several 
years  has  taught  the  school  very  acceptably  to  the 
district;  trustees,  Hiram  Stout  (clerk),  Peter  M. 
Taylor,  Edward  Cooley. 

In  1847  the  Hensfoot  was  rebuilt,  and  for  seven 
years  was  under  the  charge  and  care  of  ten  different 
instructors, — Miss  A.  E.  Lesher,  Joseph  Collier,  1848 ; 
A.  J.  Opdycke,  1848;  Mr.  EUicott,  1849;  Eichard 
Barker,  1850;  John  Hackett,  1851;  George  Cook, 
1852 ;  A.  Craig,  a  graduate  of  Union  College,  Schen- 
ectady, Miss  M.  Fine,  1853;  M.  Abel,  1854.  During 
the  latter  part  of  this  term  some  vandals  broke  the 
windows  and  so  damaged  the  house  that  it  was  given 
up  as  a  school-house. 

In  1855-56,  Oliver  H.  Huffman,  a  graduate  of  Kut- 


gers  College,  taught  a  select  school  in  the  house  of 
Dr.  John  Blane.  In  1858,  John  C.  Bergner  com- 
menced in  the  same  place  a  class  in  miisic,  which  he 
continued  four  years. 

The  present  trustees  of  the  Norton  school  (1880) 
are  Godfrey  Lott  (clerk),  Conrad  Creager,  and  Dr.  N. 

B.  Boileau,  and  the  officiating  teacher, Servis. 

The  first  trustees  of  the  Pattenburg  school  were  Tunis 
Stires,  George  Gano,  and  Benjamin  Egbert,  and  John 
Head,  the  first  teacher,  remaining  for  many  years. 
Present  trustees  (1880),  J.  Smith  Hummer  (clerk), 
John  R.  Williamson,  and  Johnson  J.  Martin,  and 
teacher,  Lewis  Streeter. 

Cook's  Cross-Eoads,  a  new  site,  has  a  frame  build- 
ing, erected  in.  1852,  which  will  seat  40  pupils ;  its 
first  board  of  trustees  were  Jacob  Cook,  Cornelius  B. 
Sheets,  and  Isaac  H.  Demot;  present  trustees,  Al- 
fred Cook  (clqrk),  Sylvester  Hyde,  Thomas  Stires. 
The  present  teacher  is  George  L.  Albright. 

The  first  school-house  at  the  Bethlehem  Presbyterian 
Church  is  said  to  have  been  of  logs,  which  no  doubt 
it  was,  and  to  have  stood  in  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  graveyard.  When  it  was  erected  is  not  known. 
Its  successor,  which  stood  northeast  at  the  then  grave- 
yard, was  erected  in  1813.  The  trustees  at  that  time 
were  Peter  Young,  Gideon  Chamberlin,  and  Thomas 
Foster.  Francis  Finigan  was  the  first  teacher,  fol- 
lowed by  David  B.  Huffman  and  Stephen  Albrough 
in  succession.  This  house  was  in  use  until  1838-39, 
when  an  octagonal  stone  building,  on  the  opposite  or 
east  side  of  the  road,  took  its  place.  The  lease  was 
given  by  the  trustees  of  the  Bethlehem  Presbyterian 
Church  to  the  triistees  of  the  district  school,  and 
bears  date  Sept.  1,  1838.'  The  school  trustees  at  that 
time  were  Joseph  Boss,  John  Butler,  and  Daniel 
Carhart;  Elwood  S.  Alpaugh  was  teacher  in  1876. 
Since  then  the  old  octagonal  stone  building  has  given 
way  to  a  moje  modern  wooden  structure,  built  on  the 
same  ground,  which  will  comfortably  seat  40  scholars, 
and  is  more  in  keeping  with  the  surroundings  than 
the  old  one.  The  present  trustees  are  Martin  Frace, 
clerk,  Wesley  Meliek,  Henry  De  Mott ;  the  present 
teacher.  Miss  Clara  Bonham. 

The  value  of  school  property  in  the  township  (1880) 
is  $3850.  Number  of  teachers  employed,  males,  4; 
females,  2 ;  annual  amount  expended  on  schools,  about 
$2000 ;  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  the  town- 
ship, a  little  less  than  400. 

REVOLUTIONARY    SOLDIERS. 

Jacob  Anderson,  lieutenant  (afterwards  captain)  in 
the  militia. 

Abraham  Bonnell,  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Second 
Eegiment  Hunterdon  County.  His  land  is  still  occu- 
pied by  his  descendants. 

John  Clifford,  first  lieutenant  in  Capt.  Carhart's- 
company,  Second  Eegiment  Hunterdon  County.  His 
land  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  fifth  and  sixths 
generations  of  his  descendants. 


^. 


c^ 


,  c^ 


UNION. 


519 


"William  Hackett  went  into  the  battle  at  Monmouth, 
and  has  never  since  been  heard  of. 

Richard  Mills,  member  of  Capt.  Bowman's  com- 
pany, Continental  army.  He  was  an  Englishman  by 
birth,  and  was  said  to  be  very  skillful  in  doctoring  all 
kinds  of  domestic  animals,  by  which  and  the  proceeds 
of  a  cake-and-beer  saloon  kept  by  Mrs.  Sally  Mills 
they  made  a  living.  He  received  a  pension,  which 
was  in  part  extended  to  his  widow.  Some  of  their 
descendants  are  living  in  adjacent  neighborhoods. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  was 
buried  at  St.  Thomas'  Episcopal  Church  in  Alexan- 
dria ;  nothing  but  memory  marks  the  spot  where  he 
lies.  It  is  said  there  are  several  other  old  patriots 
lying  in  the  same  row. 

Amos  Smith  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and 
the  captain  of  a  company  sent  by  New  Jersey  in  sup- 
port of  the  government  in  the  insurrection  in  Penn- 
sylvania in  1798  commonly  called  the  Whisky  In- 
surrection. 

Samuel  Leigh  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.  He 
moved  into  this  township  from  near  Princeton. 

Leonard  Martin  was  a  soldier  in  the  same,  and  re- 
ceived a  pension. 

Christopher  Srope  was  engaged  in  the  army  some 
time. 

Jacob  Johnson,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  at  that 
time  of  Middlesex  County,  but  mqy.ed  hereand  raised 
a  large  family,  many  of  whose  descendants  are  in  this 
and  adjacent  neighborhoods.  He  and  Ms  wife  both 
lived  to  be  very  old.  He  received  a.  pension  and 
back-pay.  in  his  later  days.  J  , 

Capt.  Carhart  commanded  a, company  in  the  Second 
Regiment  Hunterdon  County',  commanded  by  Lieut.- 
Col.  Abraham  Bonnell,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he 
lived  in  the  township,  but  in  Malhsfield,  then  Sussex 
County.*  •   '',, 

Matthias  Abel,  notable  in  hife  day  as  a  vendue- 
cryer,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  .He 
was  a  native  of  Union  township,  then  Bethlehem,  in 
the  county  of  Hunterdon.  He  died  in  1837,  aged 
eighty-three.  He  entered  the  army  as  a  private  in 
1775 ;  was  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island ;  was  with 
Washington  in  his  retreat  over  the  Jerseys  in  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1776.  His  enlistment  expired  the 
day  before  the  battle  of  Monmouth ;  was  out  with  a 
scouting-party  all  night  before  the  battle ;  lay  in  sight 
of  the  battle  during  the  day  with  his  company,  but 
was  not  in  it.  After  the  war  he  lived  in  Union  town- 
ship until  his  death. 

Benjamin  Egbert,  son  of  Abraham  Egbert  and  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  Garrison,  was  born  on  Staten  Island, 
N.  Y.,  Aug.  25,  1768.    At  the  usual  age  he  was  ap- 

*  An  acoouDt  of  the  Carhart  family  in  Hunterdon  County,  and  partic- 
ularly in  Union  township,  will  he  found  In  a  well-written  and  very  in- 
geniously arranged  "  Genealogical  Record  of  the  DeBcendanta  of  Thomas 
Carhart,  of  Cornwall,  England,  compiled  from  ofBcial  records  and  private 
manuscripts,  with  an  appendix  of  notes.  By  Mary  E.  (Carhart)  Dusen- 
bury,"  and  lifeewise  of  the  Dunham  family,  so  far  as  any  of  their  descen- 
dants are  at  this  time  living  in  the  towTisliip. 


prehticed  to  his  uncle,  Nicholas  Egbert,  to  learn  the 
trade  of  tanner  and  currier,  with  the  accompanying 
branches.  Having  served  his  time,  he  married  Re- 
becca Carkhuff  and  settled  in  the  then  township  of 
Bethlehem  {now  Union)  in  1800.  His  ancestors  emi- 
grated from  England  in  about  1660  and  settled  in 
Staten  Island ;  he  was  brought  up  in  the  Episcopal 
Church.  He  was  for  many  years  a  judge  of  the 
County  Court,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace  at  the  same 
time,  and  was  noted  for  decision  and  soundness  of 
judgment.  It  was  remarked  by  a  member  of  the 
Hunterdon  County  bar  (Col.  N.  Saxton)  that  his 
judgments  were  seldom  appealed  from,  and  the  ap- 
peals still  more  seldom  sustained.  He  was  a  man  of 
independent  mind  and  sterling  integrity. 

Of  State  and  county  officers  we  have  had  judges: 
Benjamin  Egbert  and  William  Egbert.  State  Senator : 
Aaron  Van  Syckel,  Sr.,  John  Blane,  and  Frederick  A. 
Potts.  Assemblymen:  Enoch  Cliffijrd,  John  Blane, 
Joseph  Exton,  John  H.  Case,  Cornelius  B.  Sheets, 
and  John  P.  Lair.  Sheriff:  Aaron  Van  Syckel,  Sr. ; 
he  officiated  at  the  execution  of  the  colored  man 
Brom.  Jacob  Anderson  is  said  to  have  been  sheriff", 
but  no  record  could  be  found  as  to  the  time. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


;  FRBDBKIC   A.  POTTS. 

FredOTC  A.  Potts  was  born  at  Pottsville,  Pa.,  in 
April,  1836,  during  the  temporary  residence  of  his 
parents'  in  that  city.  Soon  after  his  birth  his  father 
returned  to  his  former  home  at  Pittston,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  and  there  the  subject  of  this  sketch  grew  to  man- 
hood, and  there  he  still  resides.  His  an  cestry  was  Rev- 
olutionary, and  his  Quaker  great-grandfather  served 
with  distinction  in  the  Continental  Congress,  after- 
wards devoting  himself  to  the  improvement  of  a  vast 
tract  of  land  in  New  Jersey,  on  part  of  which  the 
residence  of  Frederic  A.  Potts  now  stands.  A  son  of 
his  ancestor  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  father 
of  Mr.  Potts  is  still  living  and  in  active  business  life 
as  president  of  the  Park  National  Bank  of  New  York 

City. 

Frederic  A.  Potts  entered  business  life  at  an  early 
age  as  a  clerk  with  Audenreid  &  Co.,  wholesale  coal 
merchants  in  New  York.  With  a  cool  head,  remark- 
able business  energy,  executive  ability,  and  honesty, 
he  soon  occupied  a  prominent  position,  and  in  time 
succeeded  his  employers  in  the  business.  His  manage- 
ment has  been  so  successful  that  be  is  known  as  being 
one  of  the  largest  individual  dealers  in  the  trade. 

In  1874  Mr.  Potts  was  pressed  to  accept  the  nomi- 
nation for  State  senator  in  the  county  of  Hunterdon, 
and,  acquiescing  to  the  wishes  of  his  friends,  was 
elected  against  heavy  Democratic  odds  by  a  majority 
of  two  hundred  and  eighty-six.    During  his  term  of 


520 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


service  lie  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  finance, 
sinking  fund,  and  revision  of  the  constitution,  and  a 
number  of  other  important  committees.  He  intro- 
duced the  bill  on  the  equalization  of  taxes,  which 
would  have  much  relieved  certain  sections  of  the  un- 
just taxes  now  imposed  on  them,  and  especially  dis- 
tinguished himself  for  his  independence  of  action, 
freedom  from  cliques,  devotion  to  the  benevolent  in- 
stitutions of  the  State,  and  active  participation  in  all 
measures  for  bettering  and  reforming  State  affairs. 

In  1878  Mr.  Potts  accepted  the  Republican  nomi- 
tion  for  Congress  in  the  Fourth  New  Jersey  District, 
and  was  defeated  by  fifteen  hundred  votes,  a  gain  of 
four  thousand  five  hundred  over  the  Republican  vote 
of  1876,  when  Mr.  Tilden  had  over  six  thousand  major- 
ity in  the  district.  For  several  years  the  Republican 
party  made  use  of  his  distinguished  executive  ability 
as  chairman  of  the  State  executive  committee.  On 
Aug.  18, 1880,  Mr.  Potts  received  the  Republican  nom- 
ination for  Governor  by  acclamation,  at  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  enthusiastic  Republican  conventions 
ever  held.  The  nomination  was  as  spontaneous  as  it 
was  unsought,  and  was  as  popular  with  Republicans 
as  disheartening  to  Democrats.  After  a  most  excited 
campaign  Mr.  Potts  was  defeated  only  by  the  exer- 
tions of  a  powerful  corporation  which,  on  the  Satur- 
day before  the  election,  instructed  their  employees  to 
vote  for  the  Democratic  nominee.  His  defeat,  how- 
ever, was  tantamount  to  a  victory,  as  he  was  beaten 
by  about  six  hundred  votes  only,  and  this  in  a  Dem- 
ocratic State  in  a  presidential  year,  when  party  lines 
are  most  strictly  drawn.  Mr.  Potts  as  candidate  for 
Governor,  it  is  universally  conceded,  was  the  cause  of 
great  help  to  the  electoral  ticket  in  New  Jersey,  and 
by  his  personal  popularity  he  reduced  the  Democratic 
majority  from  thirteen  thousand  given  to  Gen.  Mc- 
Clellan  to  six  hundred  for  Mr.  Ludlow. 

Mr.  Potts'  great  business  capacity,  intelligence,  and 
foresight  cause  him  to  be  most  eagerly  sought  for  to 
fill  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility.  He  is  pres- 
ident of  the  West  End  Iron  Company,  director  in  the 
Central  and  Midland  Railroad  Companies  of  New 
Jersey,  the  Jersey  City  and  Albany  Railway  Com- 
pany, the  Lehigh  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  Com- 
pany, the  Lehigh  and  Wilkesbarre  Coal  Company,  the 
Connellsville  Coke  and  Iron  Company,  the  Carbon 
and  Iron  Pipe  Company,  the  Tide-Water  Pipe  Com- 
pany, the  National  Park  Bank  of  New  York,  and  the 
Clinton  Bank  in  New  Jersey^  and  prominently  iden- 
tified with  many  charitable  and  religious  institutions. 

Personally  Mr.  Potts  is  a  man  of  magnificent 
physique  and  splendid  presence,  and  his  manner  is 
most  courteous  and  pleasing.  In  short,  none  of  Hun- 
terdon's sons  does  greater  honor  to  the  State  of  his 
ancestry  and  adoption  than  the  Hon.  Frederic  A. 
Potts. 


WILLIAM   EGBERT. 

The  original  ancestor  of  the  Egbert  family  in  this 
country  was  Govert  Egbert,  who  came  over  in  the 
ship  "  Spotted  Cow,"  in  the  year  1660.  His  descend- 
ants mostly  settled  on  Staten  Island,  N.  Y. 

Abraham  Egbert,  a  descendant,  married  Elizabeth 
Garison,  and  had  children,  among  whom  was  Benja- 
min, the  father  of  our  subject,  born  Aug.  25,  1768. 
He  lived  with  his  parents,  assisting  on  the  farm,  until 
he  had  attained  the  age  of  about  fifteen,  when  he 
left  Staten  Island  and  went  to  Readington,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  N.  J.,  and  was  bound  an  apprentice  to  his 
uncle,  Nicholas  Egbert,  to  learn  the  different  trades 


of  tanning,  currying,  and  shoemaking.  After  serving 
his  term  of  apprenticeship,  he  married  Rebecca  Cark- 
huff",  and  settled  in  Bethlehem  township,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  pursued  the  different  branches 
of  his  trade,  together  with  farming,  until  the  weight 
of  years  warned  him  that  it  was  time  to  lay  aside  the 
active  duties  of  a  busy  life.  He  died  March  28,  1848. 
His  widow  survived  him,  and  died  Oct.  14, 1860,  aged 
eighty-eight  years,  four  months,  and  one  day. 

Benjamin  Egbert  was  truly  a  representative  man. 
Embracing  Democratic  principles,  he  advocated  them 
to  the  best  of  his  abilities,  and  held  various  offices 
and  positions  of  trust.  In  religious  faith  he  was  an 
Episcopalian.      '  s 


UNION. 


521 


William  Egbert,  the  subject  of  this  brief  notice, 
was  born  in  the  township  of  Bethlehem  (now  Union), 
county  of  Hunterdon,  N.  J.,  May  5,  1802.  He  re- 
ceived a  good  common-school  education,  in  addition 
to  which  he  had  the  benefit  of  one  term  at  writing- 
school.  Being  studious,  fond  of  reading,  and  of  rather 
a  literary  turn,  he  added  much  to  his  original  stock 
of  learning.  He  has  held  various  positions  of  trust, 
both  military  and  civil.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
was  appointed  paymaster  of  the  First  Battalion, 
Second  Regiment  of  the  Hunterdon  Brigade.  In  1836 
he  was  appointed  major  in  the  same  battalion.  He 
was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace,  and  served  five 
different  terms,  thus  holding  the  ofSce  twenty-five 
years.  He  was  a  judge  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
two  terms  under  the  old  and  one  under  the  new  con- 
stitution, discharging  in  connection  with  the  office, 
and  that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  a  large  amount  of 
careful  and  well-executed  work.  He  was  also  efficient 
in  many  other  ways :  in  settling  estates,  serving  on 
arbitrations,  grand  juries,  delegations,  guardianships, 
etc. ;  was  township  clerk  many  years ;  was  elected  to 
a  seat  in  the  first  board  of  directors  of  the  Clinton 
Bank  (now  National  Bank),  organized  in  the  year  1856, 
which  place  he  still  retains.  He  has  ever  been  active 
in  behalf  of  the  interests  of  education,  discharging 
the  duties  of  trustee  of  common  schools,  and  Sabbath- 
school  work,  as  town  secretary ;  and  in  the  writing  of 
wills,  deeds,  agreements,  and  other  documents,  was 
widely  useful  to  his  neighbors  and  fellow-citizens. 
He  has  ever  been  an  active  and  cheerful  helper,  and 
a  wise  and  reliable  counselor. 

.  Judge  Egbert  succeeded  his  father  in  the  tanning 
and  currying  and  farming  business,  carrying  on  all 
these  branches  till  the  year  1876,  when  he  abandoned 
the  two  former,  and  has  since  continued  farming  on 
the  old  homestead  occupied  by  his  father,  near  Pat- 
tenburg,  formerly  "Calvin's  Mills,"  Union  town- 
ship, Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  He  has  resided  on  the 
same  premises  all  his  life  (seventy-eight  years),  with 
the  exception  of  eight  years'  residence  at  Little  York, 
N.  J.,  where  he  added  to  his  other  occupations  those 
of  store-  and  hotel-keeping. 

He  was  brought  up  in  the  Democratic  faith,  and 
has  seen  no  good  reason  to  change  his  political 
opinions. 

He  has  been  twice  married :  first,  in  the  year  1829, 
to  Eliza  Baily  Kitchen,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane 
Baily  Kitchen.  She  died  in  1834,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren,— Thomas  K.  and  Isabella.  The  latter  died  in 
1847,  aged  fifteen  years.  Thomas  K.  Egbert  still 
survives,  is  a  merchant  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
resides  in  Jersey  City.  He  married.  May  22,  1855, 
Sarah  J.  Shimer,  but  has  had  no  children.  The 
second  wife  of  Judge  Egbert  was  Elizabeth  Calvin 
Van  Syckel,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Calvin) 
Van  Syckel,  whom  he  married  June  2,  1836.  This 
union  has  been  blessed  with  the  following-named 
children:  Samuel  V.,  who  died  in  Flemington  in 
34 


1863 ;  Lizzie  S.,  wife  of  Wilson  Thomas,  merchant, 
miller,  and  lumber-  and  coal-dealer  atMilford,  N.  J., 
married  Oct.  11,  1860,  and  have  one  son ;  Mary  V., 
wife  of  John  B.  Emery,  residing  at  Metuchen,  N.  J., 
and  doing  business  in  New  York,  married  May  30, 
1865,  and  have  three  children ;  Julia  E.,  wife  of 
Sigler  Hoffman,  merchant  at  Bayonne,  N.  J.,  married 
Oct.  15,  1868,  and  have  one  child,  a  son  ;  Emily  M., 
wife  of  Eienzi  Cadugan,  merchant  at  Bayonne,  mar- 
ried June  10,  1869 ;  Alice  V.  and  Laura  E.,  single, 
and  residing  at  home. 

The  parents  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 
about  the  year  1842. 


EDWARD  A.  ROCKHILL. 
Edward  A.  Rockhill,  son  of  John  C.  and  Gaynor 
(Potts)  Rockhill,  was  born  June  4, 1804,  in  Pittstown, 
N.  J.,  on  the  place  now  owned  by  Hon.  Frederic  A. 
Potts.  Robert  Rockhill,  to  whom  he  was  able  to  trace 
his  ancestry,  lived  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  in  the 
year  1600.  In  1640,  during  the  civil  war,  Edward 
Rockhill,  probably  a  son  of  Robert,  was  imprisoned 
for  his  religious  sentiments,  being  a  Friend  or  Quaker, 


EDWARD   A.    EOCKHILL. 

of  which  persuasion  were  all  the  descendants  in  this 
country.  Edward  Rockhill,  a  son  of  the  first-men- 
tioned Edward,  came  from  England  and  settled  in 
Burlington,  N.  J.,  in  the  year  1680,  or  near  that  date. 
His  son  Edward  removed  from  there  and  bought  the 
estate  at  Pittstown  above  referred  to,  including  the 
adjoining  farm  on  which  Capt.  William  P.  Rockhill 
now  lives,  in  the  year  1740.  It  was  then  in  a  wilder- 
ness, with  few  settlers  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 


/ 


i 


522 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


John  Kockhill,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
our  sketch,  was  a  son  of  the  last-mentioned  Edward, 
and  married  Mary  Cook.  He  was  a  deputy-surveyor 
for  the  Western  division  of  New  Jersey,  was  also  a 
prominent  physician,  and  had  an  extensive  practice, 
having  studied  medicine  under  Dr.  Cadwalader,  after 
whom  he  named  his  son,  John  C,  the  father  of  Ed- 
ward A.  Rockhill.  The  children  of  John  C.  Kockhill 
and  Gaynor  Potts  were  Thomas  C.  Rockhill,  a  mer- 
chant in  Philadelphia ;  Robeson  Rockhill,  a  farmer 
and  justice  of  the  peace,  who  resided  on  that  part  of 
the  Rockhill  estate  now  the  home  of  Hon.  F.  A. 
Potts,  and  died  in  1867 ;  Edward  A.,  born  June  4, 
1804,  and  died  March  17,  1872 ;  John  and  Lukens, 
who  died  young ;  William,  a  merchant  with  his 
brother  in  Philadelphia,  married  Miss  Shivers,  and 
had  one  son,  William ;  died  in  1864. 

Edward  A.  Rockhill  married,  in  1829,  Eliza, 
daughter  of  Hugh  Potts,  of  Carlisle,  Pa.,  an  officer 
in  the  regular  army  in  the  war  of  1812-14.  They 
had  four  children, — two  sons  and  two  daughters, — all 
deceased  except  one  son,  William  P.  Rockhill.  Ed- 
ward A.  Rockhill,  as  we  have  said,  died  March  17, 
1872 ;  his  wife  Eliza  died  in  June,  1864.  He  was  a 
man  of  upright  and  exemplary  character,  modest  and 
retiring,  yet  of  firm  and  resolute  convictions.  He 
never  desired  nor  accepted  places  of  public  trust  or 
emolument,  but  was  content  to  follow  his  favorite 
occupation,  that  of  husbandry,  which  he  pursued 
through  life. 

William  P.  Rockhill,  his  son  and  successor  on  the 
estate,  was  born  Aug.  81, 1836,  married,  Oct.  10, 1866, 
Harriet  Potts,  of  Philadelphia,  and  has  two  children, 
■ — a  son  and  a  daughter, — Edward  P.  and  Anna. 

In  February,  1858,  he  went  as  assistant  in  his  uncle 
William's  wholesale  store  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
remained  till  shortly  before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Rebellion.  When  the  war  began  he  enlisted  as  a  pri- 
vate in  the  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  and  was 
in  the  service  about  two  years.  He  went  through 
every  grade  of  promotion  from  corporal  to  captain, 
was  shot  through  the  thigh  by  a  musket-ball  at  the 
battle  of  Stone  River,  Dec.  29,  1863,  resigned  in  con- 
sequence of  sickness  in  July,  1864,  and  returned 
home,  changing  the  sword  for  the  implements  of  hus- 
bandry. Since  the  war  he  has  devoted  himself  ex- 
clusively to  agricultural  pursuits. 


CHARLES    CARHAET. 

Charles  Carhart  was  born  in  Bethlehem  (now 
Union)  township,  Plunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  April  22, 
1813.  He  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Beavers) 
Carhart,  both  of  Revolutionary  stock. 

Cornelius  Carhart,  grandfather  of  John,  was  a 
captain  in  the  Third  Regiment  Hunterdon  militia, 
and  second  major  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  the 
same    county,  in    the    Revolutionary   war.      Joseph 


Beavers,  grandfather  of  Mary,  was  a  colonel  in  the 
Second  Regiment  of  Hunterdon  militia  during  the 
same  memorable  struggle  for  independence. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  being  a  bright,  intelli- 
gent boy,  and  manifesting  a  business  and  trustworthy 
disposition,  was  designed  by  his  parents  for  the  mer- 
cantile business,  to  which  end  he  had  received  as  good 
an  education  as  the  schools  in  the  vicinity  afforded, 
and  was  preparing  to  enter  as  an  assistant  a  firm  in 
which  his  brother  was  engaged  when  a  sad  affliction 
befell  him  in  the  loss  of  his  hearing,  from  the  eflfects 
of  scarlet  fever, — probably  paralysis  of  the  nerve  of 
hearing.  This  turned  the  course  of  all  his  parents' 
expectations :  he  had  to  stay  at  home,  and  a  younger 
brother  subsequently  took  his  place. 

The  means  of  acquiring  instruction  and  knowledge 
were  scarce  at  that  time,  and  he  appeared  to  be  cut 
off  from  their  acquisition;  but  his  inquisitive  mind 
soon  found  books  to  suit  his  taste,  and  he  soon  be- 
came a  great  reader,  and  was  assisted  by  friends  in 
the  selection  of  books  suitable  for  his  purpose  and 
situation,  while  at  the  same  time  he  industriously 
worked  on  his  father's  farm ;  he  became  a  good  ob- 
server of  men  and  business,  kept  himself  well  posted 
in  most  of  the  affairs  of  life,  and  was  better  calcu- 
lated to  transact  his  business  profitably  than  most 
young  men  of  his  age. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1843,  he  married  Miss  Matilda 
Stiger,  daughter  of  Adam  Stiger,  Esq.  She  died  July 
22, 1864.  They  had  several  children,  but  one  of  whom 
survived  her, — viz.,  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Randolph  Ken- 
yon,  a  practical  machinist  and  manufacturer  at  Rari- 
tan,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  On  the  22d  of  November,  / 
1866,  he  married  Emily  Bunting  Matison,  granddaugh- 
ter of  Col.  John  Coursen,  of  the  war  of  1812,  who 
owned  a  fine  estate  in  Sussex  Co.,  N.  J.  There  are  no 
children  by  this  marriage. 

Mr.  Carhart's  life,  so  far,  has  been  that  of  a  good 
citizen  and  a  practical  farmer.  He  has  eminently 
sustained  the  character  of  a  reading,  reflecting,  observ- 
ing farmer,  comparing  efiects  with  causes  and  acting 
accordingly ;  and  has  brought  his  farm  from  a  condi- 
tion of  comparative  poverty  to  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation, so  that  it  is,  in  fact,  the  "  model  farm  of  the 
township."  His  stock,  of  which  he  is  a  good  judge, 
is  always  early  in  market  and  brings  the  highest 
price.  An  appreciative  neighbor  of  his  remarks, 
"  Men  whose  opportunities  have  been  much  greater 
than  his  might  be  profited  by  examining  and  study- 
ing his  methods  and  practicing  them.  He  is  not  only 
the  model  farmer  of  our  township, — and  I  might  safely 
say,  I  believe,  of  our  county, — but  is  a  substantial  and 
useful  citizen,  ever  ready  to  contribute  to  all  objects 
of  an  elevating  and  Christianizing  character,  and 
highly  respected  for  his  integrity  and  uprightness. 
He  is  a  consistent  Christian,  a  member  and  supporter 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church." 


CHAKLES   CAKHAET. 


UNION. 


523 


JOSEPH  KING. 
Josepli[Kiiig,  of  Union  township,  traces  his  ances- 
try back  to  Harmanus  King,  who  came,  with  a  colony 
of  Friends,  from  Holland  to  Burlington,  West  Jersey, 
in  or  near  the  lyear  1676.  The  family  name  comes 
firom   England,   and  has   been  represented  in  that 


country  by  men  of  considerable  prominence.  Several 
branches  of  the  original  English  family  have  at  dif- 
ferent times  emigrated  to  this  country  and  settled. 

Harmanus  King  was  undoubtedly  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, and  went,  with  many  others  of  his  religious  sect, 
to  Holland  to  escape  from  the  tyrannical  bigotry  and 
persecutions  which  followed  the  period  of  the  Resto- 
ration. At  what  place  in  Burlington  County  he  lived 
the  family  record  does  not  inform  us.  He  had  two 
sons, — Joseph  and  John. 

Joseph  King,  son  of  Harmanus  and  Marciahis  wife, 
came  to  Hunterdon  County.  We  learn  from  old  deeds 
that  in  1729  he  bought  nine  hundred  and  fifty-four 
acres  of  land  of  Mary  Tomkins,  of  Chester  Co.,  Pa., 
lying  in  Franklin,  at  that  time  a  part  of  Amwell,  town- 
ship. This  tract  was  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the 
South  Branch  of  the  Earitan,  between  that  stream  and 
Cherryville,  and  included  the  present  site  of  Sunny- 
side.  Mary  Tomkins  had  purchased  this  land  of 
Abraham  Godown,  "  of  Spittsfield,  in  the  Parish  of 
Stepney,''  and  it  was  his  share  of  a  dividend  "  of  one 


full,  equal,  and  undivided  Propriety,"  sold  by  Edward 
Billings  and  trustees,  in  1678,  to  a  land  company  of 
seven  persons,  including  Godown.  Joseph  King  built 
a  grist-mill  on  this  property,  at  the  same  place  the 
present  one  occupies  at  Sunnyside.  In  Burlington 
County  he  had  been  a  farmer.  In  1733,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  thereafter,  he  was  a  trustee  of  the  Friends' 
meeting-house  at  Quakertown.  In  this  office  he  was 
associated  with  Edward  Rockhill,  John  Stevenson, 
Samuel  Wilson,  and  Samuel  Large.  In  1738  we  find 
his  name  recorded  in  a  manuscript  poll-list  as  a  voter 
for  members  of  the  Colonial  Assembly.  He  and  his 
wife  Marcia  had  two  sons — Joseph,  who  was  born 
March  9,  1712,  and  William,  born  April  1,  1714— 
and  one  daughter,  Hannah,  born  Nov.  7,  1717.  Jo- 
seph married  and  lived  for  some  time  in  Bucks  Co., 
Pa.,  then  returned  to  this  State  and  settled  at  Piscat- 
away,  in  Middlesex  County. 

William  King,  son  of  Joseph,  married  Abigail, 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Amy  Doughty,  who  was  born 
Oct.  8, 1716.  They  had  three  daughters  and  one  son, 
— Marcia,  who  was  born  June  4,  1738 ;  Amy,  born 
Oct.  12,  1739;  Anne,  born  Feb.  29,  1740 ;  and  Joseph, 
born  April  20,  1746,  0.  S.  These  were  all  members 
of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Joseph  King,  son  of  William  and  Abigail,  married 
three  times.  His  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
James  Willson,  a  practicing  physician  and  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends.  He  lived  at  the  Willson 
homestead,  near  Quakertown.  His  second  wife  was 
Anne,  daughter  of  Jacob  Large,  and,  at  the  time  of 
her  marriage  to  King,  the  widow  of  Isaac  Lundy. 
His  third  wife  was  Sarah  Scott,  widow  of  Doughty 
Stockton.  He  had  one  son,  William  L.,  by  his  second 
wife.  He  was  a  chosen  freeholder  from  Kingwood 
township  from  1790  to  1797. 

William  Large  King,  son  of  Joseph  and  Anne,  was 
born  Feb.  12, 1789.  His  father  purchased  the  present 
King  homestead  and  mill-property,  one  mile  east  of 
Pittstown,  of  Thomas  Twining  in  1811,  and  he  and 
his  son  removed  there  the  same  year.  The  following 
year,  1812,  William  L.  erected  an  oil-mill  on  this 
property,  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  flax- 
seed oil.  He  built  another  oil-mill  in  1827,  and  con- 
ducted both,  doing  a  heavy  and  profitable  business  in 
that  branch  of  industry.  He  retired  from  it  in  1846. 
He  died  in  May,  1869.  He  was  a  man  of  very  active 
life,  strict  integrity,  and  excellent  business  qualifica- 
tions, and  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  respect  of  a 
large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 

William  L.  King  was  married  Dec.  2,  1810,  to 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Samuel  Large,  who  was  born 
July  28,  1789,  and  died  Oct.  2,  1862.  She  was  kind, 
affectionate,  generous,  and  amiable ;  and  their  house 
was  the  ever-welcome  resort  of  many  friends  and  rela- 
tives. 

William  L.  and  Elizabeth  King  had  five  children, 
— Anne  King;  Mary  L.,  widow  of  Maj.-Gen.  George 
W.  Taylor ;  Joseph  King ;  Sarah  Schenok  King,  wife 


/    I 


524 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


of  Barzillai  Williams;  and  Eliza  P.  King,  wife  of 
Judge  James  P.  HoflFman.  They  are  all  living  but 
Sarah,  who  died  Jan.  26,  1856,  much  lamented  by 
very  many  friends. 

Joseph  King  succeeded  his  father  in  the  manufac- 
turing business  in  1846,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged. 
He  is  noted  for  integrity,  affability,  and  generous  kind- 
ness. 

In  1850  he  was  elected  a  ruling  elder  in  Bethlehem 
Presbyterian  Church. 

He  and  his  sister  Anne  reside  at  the  King  home- 
stead, near  Pittstown. 


JOSEPH    B.    PROBASCO. 
Joseph  B.  Probasco  was  born  at  Quakertown,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  1,  1819.     He   is   a  son  of 
William  and  Rachel  (Scott)  Probasco.    His  ancestors 


J.   B.   PROBASCO. 

came  from  Holland,  and  settled  near  Pluckamin, 
Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  The  family  is  now  numerous 
and  widely  scattered. 

His  father  was  born  in  Warren  County,  and  came 
to  Pittstown,  where  he  was  a  miller  several  years ;  he 
then  bought  property  in  Quakertown,  upon  which  he 
settled  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  pursuing 
the  occupation  of  a  cabinet-maker.  He  married 
Kachel,  daughter  of  Israel  Scott,  of  Mercer  County, 
near  Trenton,  where  she  was  born  and  reared.  He 
was  the  father  of  twelve  children ;  two  died  in  in- 
fancy ;  the  others  were  Theodore,  Elizabeth,  Mary, 
Sarah  Ann,  Joseph  B.,  William,  John,  Rynear, 
Elisha,  and  Sylvester.  The  only  survivors  are,  at 
this  writing,  Theodore,  who  resides  at  Quakertown  ; 


Sarah  Ann,  wife  of  Theodore  Holcombe,  of  the  same 
place;  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  lives  in 
Union  township,  on  the  road  leading  from  Pittstown 
to  Clinton. 

He  served  an  apprenticeship  at  cabinet-making 
with  his  brother  in  Quakertown,  and  worked  at  the 
trade  about  eight  years,  until  his  marriage  to  Eliza- 
beth Teeple,  which  occurred  March  20,  1844.  He 
then  went  to  farming  near  Little's  Mills,  where  he 
remained  nineteen  years,  when  he  bought  the  old 
homestead  in  Quakertown,  built  a  residence  upon  it, 
and  lived  there,  retired,  till  he  came  to  his  present 
place,  in  1873.  He  has  here  a  fine  farm  of  140  acres, 
well  improved,  and  still  owns  the  old  place  in  Quaker- 
town. 

By  the  first  marriage,  above  referred  to,  he  had  two 
children ;  one  died  in  infancy,  the  other  at  Quaker- 
town,  Oct.  21,  1872,  where  also  her  mother  died,  Jan. 
29,  1871.  He  married  for  his  second  wife  Selinda  H. 
Hice,  June  11,  1872.  Three  children  are  the  fruit  of 
this  union,  one  son  and  two  daughters. 

In  political  affiliations  Mr.  Probasco  is  a  Democrat. 
He  has  held  several  township  offices.  He  is  a  self- 
made  man,  having  obtained  all  he  has,  and  all  he  is, 
in  a  certain  sense,  by  his  own  exertions.  Besides  the 
knowledge  and  experience  he  has  attained,  he  has 
gained  a  competence  of  worldly  goods  from  a  very 
humble  and  unpromising  beginning.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Bethlehem  Presbyterian  Church  of  his 
neighborhood. 


NATHANIEL    BRITTON   BOILEAU. 

Nathaniel  Britton  Boileau  was  born  in  Tinicum 
township,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  26th  June,  A.D.  1833.  He 
is  the  son  of  Daniel  Boileau  and  his  wife,  Jane  Ruck- 
man,  who  was  the  daughter  of  James  Ruckman,  Esq. 

His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  at  different  times  held 
the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace,  member  of  the 
Legislature,  county  treasurer,  colonel  of  the  militia, 
and  notary  public. 

James  R.  Boileau,  his  brother,  represented  Bucks 
County  in  the  Legislature,  and  was  county  treasurer 
of  Bucks  County. 

At  a  later  period  Samuel  Boileau,  his  brother,  was 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  for  Northampton  Co.,  Pa. 

He  was  named  for  his  great-uncle,  Nathaniel  B. 
Boileau,  who  was  secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania  from  Dec.  20, 1808,  until  Dec.  16,  1817. 
Simon  Snyder  was  Governor  during  these  nine  years. 

He  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  schools 
of  his  neighborhood  and  Doylestown  and  Franklin  In- 
stitute, Franklin,  Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y. 

He  then,  in  1855,  became  the  student  of  Dr.  Charles 
C.  Jennings,  of  Easton,  Pa.,  and  attended  the  lectures 
of  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 1856-57  and  1857-58,  and  graduated  there, 
the  subject  of  his  thesis  being  cholera  infantum. 


HIGH  BRIDGE. 


525 


Dr.  Henry  110100111136,  of  Everittstown,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J.,  having  died  April  7, 1858,  lie  immediately 
settled  there  in  a  large  and  good  field  for  practice, 
where  he  remained  until  April,  1868,  when  he  removed 
to  Perryville,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since. 

During  his  residence  in  Everittstown  he  was  four 
years  superintendent  of  public  schools  of  Alexandria 
township,  Hunterdon  Co. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  District  Medical  So- 


ciety of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  May  10,  1859,  and 
was  its  president  in  1866.  April  13, 1871,  he  reported 
as  chairman  of  the  section  on  obstetrics  (which  was 
printed),  of  which  he  continues  at  the  head  to  the 
present  time.  In  1864  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association.  March  17,  1863,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Nancy  Smith  Blane,  daughter  of  Dr.  John 
Blane.  They  have  three  children, — ^Mary  B.,  Caro- 
line T.,  Eleanor. 


HIGH     BRIDGE. 


High  Bridge,  one  of  the  smallest  of  Hunterdon's 
townships,  contains  a  population  of  2210  and  includes 
ninety-eight  farms.  It  is  bounded  north  by  Lebanon ; 
south  by  Clinton ;  east  by  Tewksbury ;  west  by  Beth- 
lehem and  Union.  The  South  Branch  of  the  Rari- 
tan  flows  diagonally  through  the  town  from  northeast 
to  southwest,  and  in  its  course  provides  fine  mill- 
power,  especially  at  the  village  of  High  Bridge,  where 
it  drives  the  powerful  machinery  of  the  great  Taylor 
Iron-Works. 

High  Bridge  is  a  station  on  the  New  Jersey  Central 
Railroad,  and  one  of  the  termini,  also,  of  the  High 
Bridge  Railway,  reaching  from  the  latter  point  to 
Port  Oram,  with  a  branch  from  German  Valley  to 
Chester.  The  high  bridge,  from  which  the  locality 
took  its  name,  was  a  massive  and  costly  structure 
thrown  by  the  Central  Railroad  Company  across  the 
South  Branch  of  the  Raritan  and  contiguous  valley 
at  High  Bridge  village  during  the  construction  of  the 
railway  route  previous  to  1852.  The  bridge  was  re- 
garded as  a  model  of  its  kind,  and,  costing  upwards 
of  $200,000,  the  supposition  was  that  it  would  endure 
for  a  long  while.  This  conclusion  was,  however,  a 
mistaken  one,  for  the  great  length  of  the  bridge— 
1300  feet— operated  against  durability,  and  in  1859  it 
was  determined  that  some  more  substantial  work 
must  be  substituted.  There  was  some  agitation  in 
favor  of  a  solid  stone  bridge,  but  the  decision  was 
eventually  for  the  filling  up  of  the  space  with  an 
earthen  embankment,  through  which  the  river  was  to 
have  passage  by  means  of  a  double-arch  culvert. 
The  task  of  constructing  the  embankment  was  accord- 
ingly begun  in  1859.  Five  years  were  required  to 
complete  it,  and  it  cost  fully  $500,000,  the  stone 
arches  alone  costing  $80,000.  As  to  the  bridge,  the 
declaration  is  made  that  the  engineers  were  compelled 
to  bury  in  the  embankment  $60,000  worth  of  iron 
that  could  not  possibly  be  recovered.  The  embank- 
ment is  about  1300  feet  long,  and  112  feet  fi:om  the 
road-bed  perpendicularly  down  to  the  river. 


High  Bridge  township,  near  the  village,  was  once 
rich  in  iron-mines  which  are  still  valuable,  although 
not  worked  at  present  to  a  very  great  extent.  Plum- 
bago ore  has  long  been  known  to  exist,  but  it  has 
been  only  lately  utilized. 

EARLY  TIMES. 
The  history  of  High  Bridge  township,  so  far  as  con- 
cerns the  whites,  began  about  1700,  near  the  present 
village  of  High  Bridge,  and  on  the  land  occupied  by 
the  Taylor  Iron- Works.  Upon  that  spot,  in  1700,  or 
at  all  events  not  far  fi-om  it,  Allan  &  Turner,  of  Phila- 
delphia, established  the  first  iron-works  known  to 
what  are  now  called  the  United  States.  They  owned 
10,000  acres  in  the  neighborhood  of  High  Bridge  and 
17,000  near  Andover,  where  they  had  a  furnace,  and 
thence  to  the  forge  at  High  Bridge  they  caused  the 
pig-metal  to  be  conveyed  by  means  of  pack-horses  or 
mules,  for  in  that  day  wagons  could  not  be  employed, 
since  there  were  no  wagon-roads  except  in  populous 
localities.  Of  course,  under  the  circumstances,  there 
could  not  be  other  than  a  limited  amount  of  iron- 
working  carried  on  at  the  High  Bridge  forge. 

Including  the  present  one,  five  forges  have  stood 
upon  nearly  the  same  ground.  The  first,  a  one-fire 
bloom-forge,  was  situated  about  100  yards  west  of  the 
present  one ;  the  second  near  the  embankment  of  the 
dam;  the  third  about  200  yards  above;  the  fourth 
(known  to  have  been  in  use  during  the  Revolution), 
on  the  site  of  the  one  now  used. 

The  history  of  the  iron-works,  or,  properly  speak- 
ing, the  forge,  between  1700  and  1758,  can  be  but 
briefly  alluded  to.  The  product,  at  first  small,  as 
means  of  travel  began  to  grow  better,  increased,  being 
at  no  time,  however,  of  great  importance.  Although 
not  before  mentioned,  the  fact  has,  of  course,  been 
understood,  that  the  occasion  of  the  establishment  by 
Allan  &  Turner  of  the  High  Bridge  forge  and  flirnace 
at  Andover,  Cokesburg,  and  near  High  Bridge  was 
the  presence  on  their  lands  of  iron  ore  in  considerable 


526 


HUNTEKDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESET. 


quantities.  The  available  ore  in  the  mines  is  still 
plentiful,  and,  although  not  used  for  the  works,  is 
mined  for  distant  iron  interests. 

In  1758,  Kobert  Taylor,  grandfather  to  Lewis  H. 
Taylor  (now  the  head  of  the  iron-works,  and  always 
a  resident  there,  as  was  his  father  before  him),  came 
upon  the  scene  as  an  active  participant  in  the  enter- 
prise. He  was  born  in  Ireland,  and,  being  the  young- 
est son,  determined  at  an  early  age  to  carve  out  his 
own  fortune.  In  1758,  therefore,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, he  embarked  for  America  with  but  a  few  guineas 
in  his  pocket,  bound  to  make  his  way  by  force  of  his 
school  education,  which  happened  to  be  a  valuable 
one.  Directly  upon  landing  he  got  an  engagement  to 
teach  school  in  the  township  of  Kingwood,  in  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  N.  J.  Col.  Hackett,  then  superintendent 
at  the  iron-works,  and  a  man  of  local  importance, 
was  made  acquainted  with  young  Taylor's  capacity, 
and  engaged  him  as  chief  bookkeeper  towards  the 
close  of  1758.  Eobert  went  to  live  with  Col.  Hack- 
ett in  a  house  now  a  portion  of  the  Taylor  man- 
sion, and  still  occupying  the  spot  upon  which  it  was 
first  erected, — as  early,  doubtless,  as  1725,  and  perhaps 
before. 

Mr.  Taylor  continued  as  Allan  &  Turner's  book- 
keeper until  1775,  when.  Col.  Hackett  dying,  he  was 
chosen  superintendent  and  given  charge  of  the  busi- 
ness at  Audover  as  well  as  at  High  Bridge.  Although 
slave  labor  was  chiefly  employed  at  the  works,  there 
were  also  paid  laborers,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  exist- 
ence, within  Mr.  Lewis  H.  Taylor's  knowledge,  ot 
account-books  dated  as  early  as  1729.  From  those 
and  others  (the  latter  going  back  only  to  1770)  there 
appears  to  have  been  a  supply-store  at  the  works,  and 
there,  too,  it  is  likely,  farmers  living  in  the  neighbor- 
hood did  their  trading.  During  the  Revolution,  Mr. 
Taylor  cast  cannon-balls  for  the  American  army  and 
sent  them  in  wagons  to  Trenton,  New  Brunswick,  and 
Philadelphia. 

There  were,  besides  the  Andover  Furnace,  two 
other  furnaces  connected  with  the  iron- works.  There 
was  one  on  Beaver  Brook,  called  the  Amesbury  (built, 
so  the  date-mark  on  the  ruins  says,  in  1764),  and  the 
second  on  the  Union  farm  (supposed  to  have  been 
built  about  1725),  where  Col.  Charles  Stewart  once 
lived,  but  since  1811  owned  by  the  Exton  family. 
The  ruins  of  that  furnace  may  yet  be  seen  near  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Jos.  H.  Exton. 

The  old  homestead  of  the  Taylors,  built,  as  already 
recorded,  about  1725,  still  forms  a  portion  of  the  Tay- 
lor mansion.  One  room  therein  is  substantially  the 
same  as  it  was  at  the  beginning.  It  is  moreover  an 
apartment  replete  with  historic  interest,  for  it  was  not 
only  the  scene  of  the  birth  as  well  as  the  death  of 
Archibald  S.  Taylor,  father  of  Lewis  H.  Taylor 
(seventy-nine  years  elapsing  between  the  two  periods), 
but  it  was  also  the  abode  for  six  months,  during  the 
Revolutionary  era,  of  John  Penn,  the  last  colonial 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Mr.  Chew,  his  attorney- 


general.  Penn  and  Chew  were  sent  thither  by  the 
Federal  government  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  their 
safe-keeping  charged  upon  Robert  Taylor. 

Although  Mr.  Taylor  was  an  ardent  patriot,  and 
caused  the  forges  to  be  known  far  and  near  as  the 
"  Union  Forge,"  Allan  &  Turner,  the  owners,  were 
far  from  being  devoted  to  the  Federal  government. 
Policy,  however,  kept  them  from  manifesting  their 
sentiments  in  a  way  likely  to  bring  confiscation  upon 
their  property,  although  such  a  result  did  eventually 
overtake  them. 

Mr.  Taylor's  patriotism  was  well  known  and  trusted, 
and  he  remained  for  six  months  the  custodian  of  the 
prisoners  at  "  Solitude,"  as  the  Taylor  mansion  was 
called.  Penn  and  Chew  were  not  especially  miser- 
able during  their  imprisonment,  for  they  were  allowed 
not  only  to  roam  at  will  to  any  point  within  six  miles 
of  "  Solitude,"  but  had  among  their  servants  an  Italian 
fiddler  who  ever  and  anon  cheered  with  his  music  the 
souls  of  Penn  and  his  friend.  Mr.  Penn  marked  his 
respect  for  Mr.  Taylor  by  presenting  to  him  a  copy  of 
"The  Memoirs  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  fi-om  the 
dissolution  of  the  last  Parliament  of  Charles  II.  until 
the  sea-battle  of  La  Hogue,  by  Sir  John  Dalrymple, 
Bart."  Upon  the  fly-leaf  appears  Governor  Penn's 
autograph  and  the  inscription,  "  Presented  to  Robert 
Taylor  by  John  Penn,  the  last  Colonial  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania,  while  a  prisoner  on  parole  at  Union 
forge."  The  book  is  still  in  possession  of  Lewis  H. 
Taylor. 

Aaron  Burr  and  his  daughter  Theodosia  once  paid 
a  visit  to  Union  forge,  and  remained  for  some  time 
the  guests  of  Mr.  Robert  Taylor,  and  there  were  also 
many  other  distinguished  occasional  visitors,  among 
whom  were  Brig.-Gen.  Maxwell,  of  the  Revolutionary 
army,  and  Col.  Charles  Stewart,  Washington's  com- 
missary-general. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution  the  works 
were  abandoned  because  of  the  exhaustion  of  the 
wood-supply,  the  near  presence  of  coal  being  then 
not  known.  The  forty  slaves  who  had  been  em- 
ployed there  were  prepared  for  transportation  to 
Virginia,  but  in  the  interim  one,  Mingo  by  name, 
escaped.  An  old  darkey  called  Peter,  too  feeble  to 
endure  the  prospective  journey,  was  allowed  to  re- 
main behind,  and  served  afterwards  as  a  servant  in 
the  Taylor  family. 

Not  long  after  the  abandonment  of  the  works  the 
landed  and  other  interests  of  Allan  &  Turner  were 
sold  (presumably  under  confiscation),  and  Mr.  Taylor, 
by  reason  of  his  long  connection  therewith,  was  chosen 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  divide  and  sell  the  prop- 
erty. In  the  division  he  purchased  the  forge  and  lands 
adjacent  thereto,  aggregating  366  acres,  for  which  he 
paid  £800. 

After  the  sale  of  the  property  and  abandonment 
of  the  works  there  was  no  hum  of  busy  industry 
in  that  locality  for  many  a  year.  Lack  of  transpor- 
tational   facilities  made  the  water-power  and  mines. 


HIGH   BEIDGE. 


527- 


valueless  as  motives  to  iron  manufacture,  and  they  lay 
dormant  until  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railway 
opened  communication  between  that  region  and  the 
outer  world.  In  1851  the  works  were  restored  by  Mr. 
Lewis  H.  Taylor.  Their  history  since  then  will  be 
found  in  another  article,  treating  of  the  town's  in- 
dustries. 

Since  1758  the  Taylors  have  been  closely  identified 
with  the  locality  and  especially  with  the  iron-woris. 
Robert's  son,  Archibald,  was  born  and  died  in  the  old 
mansion  in  which  his  son,  Lewis  H.,  was  born,  and 
where  he  still  lives.  Gen.  George  W.  Taylor,  a  son 
to  Archibald  Taylor,  served  in  the  Mexican  war,  and, 
entering  the  Federal  service  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Eebellion,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Manassas  in 
1862,  while  in  command  of  the  First  New  Jersey  Bri- 
gade. 

Judge  Johnston  once  owned  the  Union  farm,  and 
his  daughter  Mary,  whom  Col.  Stewart  married,  was 
considered  in  her  day  one  of  the  best-read  women  in 
the  country.  Robert  Taylor  lived  on  Union  farm  at 
one  time. 

Col.  Charles  Stewart  was  prominent  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle,  and  from  1776  to  the  close  of  the 
war  was  attached  to  Washington's  staff  as  commissary- 
general.     His  residence  on  Union  farm  was  but  brief. 
He  lived  chiefly  during   his  later  life  at  Lansdown 
and  Flemington.     The  Union  farm  passed  from  Allan 
&  Turner  into  the  temporary  possession  of  more  than 
one  person,  but  in  each  case  the  property  reverted  to 
Allan  &  Turner  (through  inability  of  purchasers  to 
complete  promised    payments),  until  Hugh   Exton 
came  along  in  1811,  and,  buying  the  thousand  acres 
for  about  $30,000,  paid  the  money  down  in  gold,  much 
to   the   surprise   of   Mr.   Taylor,   Allan   &  Turner's 
agent.     Hugh  Exton  came  to  America  from  England 
about  1790,  and,  according  to  documents  now  in  pos- 
session of  a  descendant,  was  naturalized  in  1802.    He 
lived  at  Pittstown  until  he  became  the  owner  of  the 
Union  farm.     At  his  death  he  divided  the  farm  be- 
tween his   four    spns,   Thomas,   Joseph,   John,   and 
Hugh.     All  but  John,  who  located  in  Delaware,  oc- 
cupied  their  possessions,   and    on   them   their  sons 
Joseph  H.,  Joseph  C,  and  Lewis  now  reside.    Joseph 
H.  lives  in  the  old  homestead,  now  somewhat  changed, 
but  yet  containing  the  structure  once  the  home  of 
Col.  Stewart, — in  his  time  a  one-story  house  with  a 
thatched  roof  so  low  in  front  as  to  leave  barely  room 
for   entrance  at  the  doorway.     It  is  said  that  Col. 
Stewart,  coming  to  his  home  on  a  furlough  during  the 
Revolution,  was  compelled  to  make  his  escape  hur- 
riedly upon  receipt  of  information  that  a  band  of 
Tories  was  then  en  route  toward  him,  intent  upon  his 
capture.    He  got  away  safely,  but  his  family  suffered 
indignity  at  the  hands  of  the  baffled  Tories,  who,  en- 
raged at  the  escape  of  their  prey,  visited  their  spite 
upon  the  heads  of  wife  and  children. 

Although  the  older  portion  of  the  house  must  be 
more  than  120  years  old,  the  floors,  of  yellow  pine,  are 


just  as  sound  and  solid  as  they  were  the  day  they 
were  laid.  A  carriage-house  on  the  place  contains 
the  most  of  the  material  once  in  a  store-house  that 
stood  near  the  house  until  1864,  and  was  supposed  to 
have  been  the  supply-store  kept  by  Allan  &  Turner 
as  early  as  1757  in  connection  with  their  forge  at 
High  Bridge.  The  ruins  of  the  furnace  stand  on 
Joseph  H.  Exton's  farm,  and  near  them  the  old  black- 
smith's shop  does  present  duty  as  a  sheep-house.  Upon 
the  walls  of  the  shop  appear  the  date-mark  of  1757 
and  a  word  whose  characters  cannot  now  be  defined. 
Near  the  furnace  are  traces  of  the  presence  of  an  old 
burial-place  in  the  long  ago.  Among  the  broken 
headstones  the  only  one  bearing  a  legible  inscrip- 
tion is  of  cast  iron,  upon  which  appear  the  characters 
"N.  L,  1717." 

On  the  creek  near  there  Hugh  Exton  built  a  saw- 
mill, but  long  before  his  time  there  must  have  been 
a  grist-mill  there,  as  relics  found  by  him  proved. 
About  a  mile  to  the  northward  was  an  old  tavern, 
built  no  one  knows  how  long  ago.  Gabriel  Kane 
was  its  landlord  about  1800,  and  after  him  Thomas 
Banghart  and  his  son  Thomas  presided  over  it.  The 
Bangharts  were  among  the  earliest  comers  to  that 
neighborhood.  So  was  Daniel  Starker,  who  kept  a. 
blacksmith's  shop  at  the  place  now  known  as  Tuni- 
son's  Corners.  Starker  sold  out  to  William  Alpaugh 
and  moved  to  Warren  County,  where  he  died. 

Over  at  Cokesburg  (or  Cokesbury,  as  it  used  to  be 
called)  the  Apgars,  the  Huffmans,  and  the  Alpaugha 
were  among  the  pioneers  as  early  as  1760,  and  prob- 
ably before.  Caspar  Apgar,  now  aged  ninety-three, 
living  just  west  of  Cokesburg,  says  he  was  born  near 
there,  and  that  the  first  of  the  Apgars  in  that  locality 
was  his  grandfather  Glasgow,  who,  with  his  wife, 
came  from  Germany  about  1760  and  settled  on  a  farm 
bought  of  Allan  &  Turner.  Eleven  children — ten 
boys  and  one  girl — were  born  to  them.  The  girl  mar- 
ried John  Emery,  one  of  High  Bridge's  early  settlers. 
Among  the  boys  were  Henry,  Peter,  Conrad,  William, 
Herbert,  and  Jacob.  Jacob  had  eleven  children,  of 
whom  the  only  one  now  living  is  Caspar,  above  men- 
tioned. The  Apgars,  Huffmans,  and  Alpaughs  may 
be  found  in  abundance  in  Hunterdon  County.  In 
1850  it  was  estimated  that  there  were  in  this  country, 
or  had  been,  sixteen  hundred  Apgars  who  had  de- 
scended from  old  Glasgow  Apgar  and  wife. 

John  Huffman,  who  came  to  the  Cokesburg  neigh- 
borhood about  the  time  Glasgow  Apgar  made  his  ap- 
pearance, was  the  ancestor  of  a  long  line  of  Huff- 
mans. One  of  his  grandsons,  Peter  I.  by  name,  lives 
now  in  Tewksbury,  and,  although  in  his  hundredth 
year,  is  quite  active  and  hearty.  When  Huffman, 
Apgar,  and  Alpaugh  began  their  lives  in  the  New 
World  they  found  pioneer  existence  in  America  full 
of  rough  places,  and  as  late  as  1808,  when  Caspar 
Apgar  married  and  settled  on  the  farm  now  occupied 
by  his  son  Andrew,  he  lived  in  a  log  house  in  the 
dense  forest,  without  even  a  road  to  convenience  him. 


528 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


John  Seale,  an  English  school-teacher,  came  to 
America,  perhaps  in  1760,  and  soon  afterwards  settled 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  old  Taylor  forge,  where 
he  rented  a  lot  of  Allan  &  Turner,  and  devoted  him- 
self to  school-teaching,  but  his  grandson  Daniel  can- 
not say  where.  John's  son  Daniel,  horn  near  "Soli- 
tude," became  a  charcoal-burner  under  the  tuition  of 
his  uncle,  Philip  Locke,  and  lived  near  where  Mr.  J. 
Seale  now  resides.  Charcoal-burning  was  an  almost 
universal  occupation  with  the  High  Bridge  settlers  at 
an  early  day,  for  at  the  works  of  Allan  &  Turner 
there  was  constant  demand  and  pay  ready  at  hand 
for  charcoal.  The  only  child  of  Daniel  Seale  the 
collier,  now  in  High  Bridge,  is  his  son  Daniel. 

About  or  before  1800,  John  W.  Sharp  lived  in  Clin- 
ton township,  near  Lebanon,  and  pretty  soon  moved 
to  a  place  in  High  Bridge  township  now  occupied 
by  his  grandson,  David.  David,  son  to  John  W. 
Sharp,  married  a  daughter  of  Morris  Sharp,  living 
on  Bray's  Hill,  in  Clinton,  but  of  no  known  kin  to 
John  W.  Sharp.  The  grandsons  of  John  W.  Sharp 
now  living  in  High  Bridge  are  David,  Morris,  and 
John  W.  The  former  two  live  on  land  owned 
by  their  grandfather,  the  latter  on  a  farm  originally 
occupied  by  Henry  Emery.  Peter  Hoppock,  who 
lived  in  1800,  or  earlier,  on  the  farm  now  occupied 
by  William  Hackett,  inherited  the  place  from  his 
father,  Peter  Hoppock,  of  Flemington,  who  at  his 
death  left  a  hundred-acre  farm  to  each  of  his  four 
sons  and  daughters.  Peter  Hoppock,  the  son,  died 
in  Clinton  in  1850,  aged  eighty,  leaving  seven  sons, 
all  of  whom  but  one  are  dead.  Of  the  daughters  of 
Peter  Hoppock,  the  elder  married  John  Cregar,  Jr. 
(near  whom,  west  of  William  Yauger's  present  place, 
lived  his.  father,  an  old  Revolutionary  soldier) ; 
another  married  Barnet  Fox,  of  Clinton ;  and  a  third 
William  Hann,  with  whom  William  Yauger  took 
service  in  1816,  remaining  until  1832 ;  in  1833,  him- 
self occupying  the  place  as  a  settler,  he  has  resided 
upon  it  to  the  present  day. 

The  Cregars  are  numerous  in  High  Bridge,  and 
rank  high  among  the  worthiest  and  most  intelligent 
citizens,  but  they  do  not  prevail  so  plentifully  in  that 
locality  as  in  Clinton  and  other  townships. 

There  are  also  among  the  descendants  of  early  set- 
tlers the  families  of  Fritts,  Beavers,  Lances,  and  Phil- 
howers. 

ORGANIZATION. 

High  Bridge  was  not  organized  until  1871,  previous 
to  which  its  territory  occupied  portions  of  Clinton  and 
Lebanon  townships.  The  act  creating  it  is  numbered 
386,  and  was  approved  March  29,  1871.  The  region 
set  apart  was  described  as  follows : 

"  All  that  'part  of  the  townships  of  Clinton  and  Lehanon  contained 
within  the  following  bounds :  Beginning  at  a  point  in  the  middle  of 
Spruce  Bun  Brook,  a  corner  of  Clinton  and  Lebanon  townships,  and  in 
the  line  of  Union  townships ;  thence,  first,  in  a  southerly  course  down 
the  middle  of  said  brook,  the  several  courses  thereof  to  the  boundary 
line  of  Clinton  borough ;  thence,  second,  along  the  line  of  said  borough 
in  an  easterly  course  to  the  northeast  corner  of  said  borough  •  thence 


third,  in  a  direct  line,  to  a  stone  bridge  over  the  Beaver  Brook,  near  the 
residence  of  David  Sharp ;  thence,  fourth,  in  a  direct  line  to  a  plank 
bridge  south  of  the  residence  of  Emanuel  Sutton ;  thence,  fifth,  in  a 
direct  line  to  a  point  in  the  middle  of  the  road  leading  from  the  village 
of  Lebanon  to  the  village  of  Cokesburg  where  it  is  intersected  by  the 
road  leading  from  Fairview  school-house  to  said  road ;  thence  on  the 
same  course  until  it  intereects  the  westerly  boundary  of  Tewksbury 
township;  thence,  sixth,  along  the  line  of  said  Tewksbury  township  in 
a  northerly  course  to  a  corner  of  Tewksbury  and  Lebanon  townships  in 
the  middle  of  the  south  branch  of  the  Earitan  Eiver  at  the  village  of 
California;  thence,  seventh,  along  the  road  leading  from  California  to 
the  Puddle  Hotel  to  a  corner  in  the  road  near  the  residence  of  Jacob  M. 
Trimmer ;  thence,  eighth,  in  a  direct  line  to  a  point  in  the  public  road 
leading  from  the  village  of  High  Bridge  to  the  village  of  White  Hall, 
fifty  feet  north  of  Philip  Terreberry's  dwelling-house  ;  thence,  ninth,  in 
a  direct  line  to  a  point  in  the  line  of  Lebanon  and  Bethlehem  townships 
where  the  public  road  leading  from  the  village  of  High  Bridge  to  Clarks- 
ville  first  intersects  the  same  ;  thence,  tenth,  in  a  southerly  course  along 
the  dividing  line  between  the  townships  of  Lebanon,  Bethlehem,  and 
Union  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

Peter  A.  Beavers,  George  W.  Honness,  and  Am- 
brose Fritts  were  appointed  judges'  of  election,  and 
Isaac  Hummer  town  clerk. 

At  the  first  election,  held  at  the  American  Hotel, 
in  the  village  of  High  Bridge,  April  10, 1871,  the  total 
votes  cast  numbered  355.  The  officials  chosen  were  as 
follows :  Town  Clerk,  William  C.  Beavers ;  Judge  of 
Election,  L.  H.  Taylor ;  Assessor,  Ambrose  Fritts ; 
Collector,  Oliver  Bunn;  Freeholder,  Peter  A.  Beavers; 
Overseer  of  the  Poor,  Thomas  Banghart ;  Town  Com- 
mittee, A.  S.  Banghart,  J.  T.  Conover,  Harrison  Apgar, 
Edgar  Lance,  and  Nelson  Bennett ;  Commissioners, 
John  T.  Lance,  William  J.  Taylor,  J.  D.  Cregar  ; 
Surveyors,  Jacob  Hackett,  Peter  Cregar;  Justices 
of  the  Peace,  Eleazur  Smith,  J.  P.  Bailey,  Thomas 
B.  Apgar;  Poundkeepers,  Thomas  Banghart,  Mark 
Devlin;  Constables,  A.  S.  Farley,  J.  B.  Cramer, 
Silas  Hockenbury;  Overseers  of  Highways,  J.  C, 
Sager,  Frederick  Fritts,  Abraham  Crozatt,  George 
P.  Apgar,  Oliver  Bunn,  George  Flomerfelt,  Richard 
Philhower,  William  Robinson,  William  Hildebrant, 
D.  E.  Conover,  David  Alpaugh,  Daniel  Hartman, 
D.  L.  Everett,  Isaac  Cramer,  J.  R.  Apgar,  Harrison 
Apgar,  J.  M.  Apgar,  Isaiah  Apgar,  0.  W.  Hofiman, 
William  Lance,  Thomas  B.  Apgar. 

Those  who  have  been  annually  chosen  as  judges  of 
election,  town  clerks,  freeholders,  and  collectors  from 
1872  to  1880,  are  named  as  follows : 

JUDGES  OF  ELECTION. 
1872,  D.  Neighbour;  1873,  no  record;  1874r-76,  P.  A.  Beavers;  1877-78, 
J.  Tox ;  1879-80,  D.  B.  Alpaugh. 

TOWN  CLBEKS. 
1872,  B.  Terreberry ;  1873,  no  record;  1874r-76,  0.  W.  Chrystie;  1877-78, 
I.  Hummer;  1879,  E.  C.  Farley;  1880,  J.  A.  Apgar. 

TBEEHOLDEBS. 
1872-73,  P.  A.  Beavers;  1874^76,  A.  A.  Apgar;  1876-77,  J.  T.  lance; 
1878-80,  J.  T.  Doriand. 

COLLECTOES. 
1872,  0.  Bunn  ;  1873,  no  record  ;  1874,  J.  T.  Lance  ;  1876-76,  W.  K.  Tay- 
lor; 1877-78,  B.  Apgar;  1879-80,  J.E.Sharp. 

HIGH   BRIDGE  VILLAGE. 
Although  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad  was 
completed  in  1852,  there  was  no  station  at  what  is 


HIGH   BRIDGE. 


529 


now  High  Bridge  village  until  1856,  in  which  year 
the  Taylor  Iron-Works  began  to  widen  and  develop 
in  enterprise.  Beginning  with  1851,  when  Lewis  H. 
Taylor  restored  the  works,  a  village  began  to  grow 
about  them,  but  slowly  at  first.  In  1856  there  was  an 
enlargement  of  the  works,  and  consequently  of  the 
village.  Previous  to  that  there  had  been  a  supply- 
store  at  the  works,  but  in  that  year  a  store  was  built 
by  L.  H.  Taylor  &  Co.,  near  the  railway  station,  and 
opened  as  the  "  company's  store,"  with  Isaac  Hum- 
mer as  manager,  and  William  Lance  and  John  Mc- 
Cloughen  as  clerks.  The  store  was  the  third  building 
put  up  on  the  present  site  of  the  village,  the  first 
iaving  been  a  dwelling-house  occupied  by  Isaac 
Zeek,  a  collier,  and  the  second,  a  grain-house,  near 
the  track,  built  by  Peter  A.  Beavers.  In  1856,  John 
Anderson  built  a  tavern,  and  in  1854  a  post-oflBce  was 
established,  with  D.  L.  Everett  as  postmaster,  and 
W.  J.  Taylor,  son  of  L.  H.  Taylor,  as  deputy;  he 
acted  as  postmaster  till  .the  latter  part  of  1856,  when 
he  removed  to  Philadelphia. 

The  "company's  store"  was  the  only  one  in  the 
•village  until  1860,  when  Johnson  &  Lance  embarked 
in  trade,  and  in  the  same  year  the  "  company's  store" 
passed  into  the  possession  of  Nicholas  Emery. 

High  Bridge  village  contained,  in  1880,  a  population 
of  1034.  The  business  carried  on  by  the  Taylor  Iron- 
Works,  in  which  nearly  200  men  are  employed,  makes 
the  village  a  stirring  place,  and  of  itself  contributes 
greatly  toward  sustaining  the  village  interests,  while 
two  extensive  plumbago-manufacturing  establish- 
ments close  at  hand,  and  the  support  furnished  by 
the  adjacent  rich  agricultural  region,  render  valuable 
assistance  in  encouraging  a  prosperous  growth. 

Besides  being  a  station  on  the  New  Jersey  Central 
Railroad,  High  Bridge  is  connected  with  Port  Oram 
and  Chester  on  the  northeast  by  a  branch  of  the  Cen- 
tral Eailroad,  known  as  the  High  Bridge  Eailroad. 
This  was  opened  in  1876,  and  in  the  fall  of  1880  was 
being  extended  toward  Dover  and  Eockaway. 

Eeferring  to  the  post-ofSce  succession,  it  may  be 
briefly  stated  that  William  Lance  succeeded  D.  L. 
Everett  in  1865,  and  was  in  turn  followed  by  William 
K.  Taylor  and  Elias  Terreberry,  the  latter  being  the 
j)resent  incumbent. 

High  Bridge's  first  physician  was  William  0.  Al- 
paugh,  also  the  first  resident  physician  at  Cokesburg. 
He  was  in  the  latter  place  from  1868  to  1869,  and  has 
been  in  High  Bridge  from  1869  to  the  present.  Wil- 
liam Hackett  was  a  physician  in  High  Bridge  from, 
1869  to  1872,  and  Alfred  Walton  from  1879  to  1880. 

CHURCHES. 
HIGH  BEIDGE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHTTROH. 

There  was  a  Methodist  Episcopal  class  in  High 
Bridge  as  early  as  the  year  1854,  at  which  time  the 
preacher  in  charge  on  the  Clinton  Circuit  held  ser- 
vices in  the  Albright  Methodist  church,  built  in  High 
.Bridge  in  1854.    This,  the  first  church  edifice  erected 


in  High  Bridge,  was  built  by  the  Albright  Methodists, 
but  they  failing  to  prosper,  were  compelled  to  dis- 
solve their  organization,  and  gave  up  the  property, 
which  was  for  a  few  years  used  in  common  by  the 
Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Lutherans,  and  Dutch  Ee- 
formed  congregations,  and  called  a  union  church.  As 
recollection  serves  now,  it  recalls  the  members  of  the 
High  Bridge  class  in  1854  to  have  included  J.  E. 
Bowns,  Thomas  Day,  Amy  Hustleton,  Mrs.  Mary 
Philhower,  Barney  Philhower,  Maria  Dilts,  J.  A. 
Cregar,  William  S.  Apgar;  J.  E.  Bowns' being  the 
leader. 

In  1869  the  High  Bridge  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  established,  at  which  time  the  member- 
ship was  about  80.  Eev.  William  S.  Searls  was  then 
the  pastor,  and  succeeding  him  to  1880  came  Eevs. 
Theodore  D.  Frazee,  John  Faull,  and  Jacob  Tindall. 

In  1873  the  erection  of  the  present  house  of  wor- 
ship, costing  $7000,  was  begun  and  completed,  so  that 
the  basement  was  used  for  meetings  in  1874,  but  not 
fully  finished  until  1879.  The  membership  is  now 
claimed  to  be  200,  and  church  afiairs  are  in  a  pros- 
perous condition.  Eev.  Jacob  Tindall  is  the  pastor ; 
George  Simpson,  William  G.  Simpson,  Wesley  Ap- 
gar, and  C.  S.  Hummel  are  the  class-leaders;  John 
Strobel,  John  W.  Hummer,  Nicholas  Conover, 
Jerome  B.  McLean,  E.  J.  Cregar,  and  Matthias 
Agen,  the  trustees ;  and  William  G.  Simpson,  super- 
intendent of  the  Sabbath-school,  in  which  the  attend- 
ance averages  160. 

THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  HIGH  BRIDGE. 

Members  of  the  Eeformed  Church  living  in  High 
Bridge  and  vicinity  prepared  a  petition,  Jan.  24, 1866, 
and  transmitted  it  to  the  Classis  of  Earitan,  asking  to 
be  organized  as  a  Eeformed  Dutch  Church,  the  peti- 
tioners reciting  that  there  had  been  Eeformed  Dutch 
preaching  in  the  vicinity  "  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years."  Those  who  signed  the  petition  were  D.  L. 
Everett,  Edward  Johnston,  Isaac  Hummer,  Charles 
Fox,  Nicholas  Emery,  W.  C.  Beavers,  W.  J.  Hoff- 
man, A.  V.  Cregar,  Samuel  Carhart,  Jacob  Cregar,  P. 
A.  Beavers,  Henry  Eockafellow,  J.  G.  Scale,  J.  J. 
Tunison,  C.  S.  Hummel,  William  Hackett,  Benjamin 
Cole,  J.  H.  Cregar,  Jacob  Cole,  Charles  Conover, 
Newton  Hoffman,  J.  H.  Bennett,  William  Lance, 
Andrew  Cregar,  Nelson  Bennett,  Parish  Apgar,  Mrs. 
Jane  Hoffman,  Thomas  Conover,  Jacob  Hackett. 

In  accordance  with  the  petition,  the  church  was  or- 
ganized Feb.  13, 1866,  Eev.  P.  M.  Doolittle,  president 
of  the  Classis  of  Earitan,  presiding.  Charles  Conover 
and  Isaac  Hummer  were  chosen  elders,  and  John  G. 
Scale  and  J.  H.  Bennett  deacons.  Eev.  Eobert  Van 
Amburgh  preached  a  while  for  the  church,  and  May 
27  1866,  Eev.  Cornelius  Wyckoff  commenced  his 
labors  as  stated  pastor.  In  1869,  Eev.  Eobert  Van 
Amburgh  became  pastor,  and  in  1870  a  church  and 
parsonage  were  built,  worship  having  previously  been 
held  in  the  church  built  in  1854  by  the  Albright 


530 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSET. 


Methodists  and  sold  to  the  Keformed  Dutch  congre- 
gation some  years  after.  In  1871,  Eev.  Jacob  Fehr- 
man  took  charge,  and  remained  in  the  pastorate  until 
his  death,  March  1,  1874.  At  that  time  the  member- 
ship was  78.  In  1875,  Eev.  Artemas  Dean,  the  present 
pastor,  began  his  labors. 

November,  1880,  the  elders  were  Charles  Conover, 
David  Neighbour,  James  H.  Walker,  and  David 
Apgar;  the  deacons,  Thomas  Richards,  Frederick 
Apgar,  William  H.  Day,  and  John  Alpaugh.  The 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school  is  James  H. 
Walker.  In  the  church  the  membership  is  107 ;  in 
the  school  the  attendance  is  125. 

ST.  JOSEPH'S  (EOMAN   CATHOLIC)    CHUECH. 

There  was  no  Roman  Catholic  preaching  at  High 
Bridge  until  1876,  when  Rev.  Francis  O'Neil,  sta- 
tioned at  the  Junction,  began  to  hold  occasional  ser- 
vices, and  for  six  months  preached  once  a  month  or 
so  in  a  public  hall  and  in  the  old  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  building.  After  his  departure  no  regular  ser- 
vices were  held  until  Eev.  J.  F.  Brady  took  charge  of 
the  congregation  at  Clinton  in  the  summer  of  1879. 
At  that  time  he  began  to  preach  at  High  Bridge  also, 
and,  the  congregation  purchasing  the  old  Albright 
Methodist  church  building,  remodeled  and  made  of  it 
a  neat  house  of  worship,  which  they  dedicated  Nov. 
25,  1880.  Regular  services  are  now  held  three  times 
each  month.  In  November,  1880,  St.  Joseph's  con- 
gregation included  forty-six  families. 

SOCIETIES. 

"Eialto  Lodge,  No.  161,  I.  O.  O.  F;"  was  chartered 
Nov.  8,  1871,  with  six  members,  as  follows  :  N.  G., 
Henry  Eockafellow;  V.  G.,  Theodore  Perry;  Sec, 
J.  B.  Everett ;  Treas.,  J.  B.  Cronce ;  Allen  Apgar 
and  A.  B.  Valentine.  Among  those  who  have  served 
the  lodge  as  Noble  Grands  since  1871  have  been 
Henry  Rockafellow,  Thomas  Perry,  Thomas  Rich- 
ards, William  P.  Frey,  C.  C.  Apgar,  William  J.  Iliflf, 
A.  B.  Valentine,  Henry  K.  McLean,  J.  B.  Everett,  J. 
K.  Naughright,  T.  H.  Dunn,  D.  L.  Apgar.  In  No- 
vember, 1880,  the  membership  was  60  and  the  officers 
D.  L.  Apgar,  N.  G. ;  George  Simpson,  Y.  G. ;  J.  B. 
Everett,  R.  Sec. ;  F.  A.  Apgar,  P.  Sec.  ;  J.  T.  Dor- 
land,  Treas. 

VILLAGES. 

East  High  Bridge. — On  the  south  side  of  the 
South  Branch  of  the  Raritan  is  a  hamlet  known  as 
Everettstown  or  East  High  Bridge,  but,  properly  con- 
sidered, a  portion  of  High  Bridge  village.  D.  L. 
Everett  made  the  first  improvement  there  in  1838, 
when  he  erected  a  dwelling  and  wagon-shop.  Mr. 
Everett  has  since  lived  there,  pursuing  his  business 
of  wagon-making,  and,  as  a  village  began  to  cluster 
about  him,  he  was  naturally  looked  upon  as  its  father, 
and  so  it  came  to  be  known  as  Evqrettstown. 

CoKESBUEG  has  long  been  a  hamlet.  It  lies  upon 
both  sides  of  the  eastern  town  line  of  High  Bridge, 


with  but  a  meagre  village  showing  in  the  latter  town- 
ship. In  the  Tewksbury  portion  there  are  two 
church^!,  a  school,  a  store,  wagon-shop,  etc. 

SCHOOLS. 

In  School  District  No.  60,  known  as  "  Silverthorn" 
(after  a  family  of  that  name  early  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  school-house),  there  was  a  school-house 
in  1825  near  the  locality  now  called  Tunison's  Cor- 
ners. How  long  the  school  had  existed  there  cannot 
be  told.  Daniel  Scale  went  to  school  there  and  re- 
members that  Benjamin  Lloyd  was  his  teacher,  and 
that  among  the  scholars  were  children  of  the  Birds, 
Hildebrants,  Crozats,  Rolands,  Cregars,  and  Apgars. 
Charles  Q.  Phillips  and  a  Mr.  Armstrong  were 
teachers,  and  Obadiah  Evans  taught  there  in  1836. 
In  1848  the  school  lot  became  the  property  of  Caleb 
Halstead,  of  New  York,  who  donated  the  present 
site,  conditioned  that  a  stone  school-house  be  erected 
thereon.  That  house  was  acpordingly  built,  and  in 
1875  replaced  by  the  present  frame  structure,  22  by 
32  feet,  and  possessing  a  seating  capacity  for  100 
scholars.  In  November,  1880,  the  teacher  was  James 
White,  and  the  trustees  George  N.  Cregar,  James 
McKerren,  and  Edgar  I.  Cregar. 

The  present  school-house  in  District  No.  59,  called 
"  Eocky  Eun,"  was  built  in  1870.  Moses  Gardner 
was  the  first  teacher,  and  Thomas  Banghart,  Sr.,  Con- 
rad Honness,  and  George  Eodenbough  the  first  trus- 
tees. In  the  High  Bridge  district  school  was  taught 
at  a  very  early  period.  John  Scale,  a  school-teacher, 
lived  at  the  iron-works  long  before  1800,  and,  as  it  is 
certain  he  taught  school,  the  inference  is  that  he 
taught  in  his  home  locality.  A  school-house  was 
built  in  1846  in  East  High  Bridge,  in  which  the  first 
teacher  was  Philip  Creveling.  The  present  school- 
house,  a  two-story  frame,  standing  in  East  High 
Bridge,  was  built  iii  IBB4.  It  will  seat  170  and  has 
an  average  attenda^nce  of  130.  I.  P.  Bailey  is  the 
principal ;  Lizzie  Henry  and  Emma  Cook  the  assist- 
ants. Isaac  Hoffman,  Henry  Estes,  and  Thomas 
Richards  were  the  trustees  in  1880. 

INDUSTRIES. 

The  iron-works  at  High  Bridge,  lying  motionless 
from  the  time  when  Allan  &  Turner's  property  was  .sold 
(about  1783)  until  1851,  were  in  that  year  restored  to 
activity  by  Mr.  Lewis  H.  Taylor,  although  not  carried 
on  at  first  in  a  very  extensive  way.  The  building  of 
the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad,  in  1851,  was  the  in- 
centive to  the  revival  of  the  industry,  just  as  the  lack 
of  transportation  had  caused  its  cessation  years  before 
and  kept  it  quiet  until  then. 

In  1851  these  works  consisted  of  a  bloomery-forge 
with  one  hammer  and  one  fire,  making  about  one  and 
a  quarter  tons  of  bar-iron  per  week.  In  1852  another 
fire  was  added,  doubling  the  production.  In  1853  the 
manufacture  of  wagon-axles,  in  addition  to  bar-iron, 
was  commenced.     In  1854  a  scrap-furnace  and  ham- 


JACOB    CREQAR. 


HIGH  BRIDGE. 


531 


mer  were  added,  and  the  production  from  tHs  time 
to  1858  was  mainly  wagon-axles. 

About  1856  tlie  manufacture  of  car-axles  began,  but 
they  were  not  made  in  any  quantity  until  the  third 
hammer  and  second  scrap-furnace  were  built,  in  1863. 
In  1866,  W.  J.  Taylor,  son  of  L.  H.  Taylor,  re- 
turned to  High  Bridge,  became  interested  with  his 
father,  took  charge  of  the  business  and  began  extend- 
ing the  works.  The  first  addition  under  his  manage- 
ment was  a  car -wheel  foundry  in  the  same  year. 

In  1868,  Mr.  Taylor,  in  connection  with  his  father, 
formed  a  stock  company  under  the  corporate  title  of 
"  Taylor  Iron-Works,"  with  an  authorized  capital  of 
$500,000.  His  father  was  made  president  and  he  the 
general  manager  and  treasurer,  with  many  of  the 
representative  men  of  the  Central  Eailroad  Company 
of  New  Jersey  as  stockholders.  During  the  next  four 
years  many  improvements  were  made,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  were  the  building  of  the  dam  and 
the  railroad  connecting  the  works  with  the  Central 
Bailroad.  The  dam  is  twenty-six  feet  high,  and  its 
erection  employed  one  hundred  men'for  about  a  year. 
In  1874,  Mr.  Taylor  retired  from  the  management, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Walker  as  secretary 
and  treasurer,  L.  H.  Taylor  remaining  president. 

The  force  of  men  under  regular  employment  reaches 
185.  The  departments  of  the  works  are  a  forge, 
foundry,  and  machine-shop.  The  company  owns 
about  two  miles  of  railway -track,  locomotive,  cars, 
etc.,  and  a  landed  territory,  in  connection  with  the 
works,  of  130  acres.  The  motive-power  is  furnished 
by  the  South  Branch  of  the  Earitan,  and  is  claimed 
to  equal  the  power  of  473  horses — the  total  fall  being 
38  feet. 

The  directors  of  Taylor's  iron-works  for  1880  were 
John  Brown  and  Jesse  Lines,  of  Easton ;  William  J. 
Taylor,  of  Chester ;  Lewis  H.  Taylor,  of  High  Bridge; 
James  Moore,  of  Elizabeth.  S.  P.  Eaber,  the  super- 
intendent, has  been  such  since  1872. 

The  iron  mines  once  the  supply  of  the  works  have 
not  contributed  towards  their  support  for  many  years. 
They  were  sold  years  ago  by  Mr.  L.  H.  Taylor  to  the 
Thomas  Iron  Company,  a  Pennsylvania  corporation. 
"  The  American  Chemical,  Mining,  and  Manufac- 
turing Company''  was  formed  for  the  manufacture  of 
plumbago  from  ore  found  in  considerable  quantities 
near  High  Bridge.  The  company's  works  are  located 
just  north  of  High  Bridge  village,  where  they  have 
six  and  a  half  acres  of  land,  upon  which  there  is  a 
vein  of  ore  512  yards  in  length  and  from  8  to  20  feet 
in  width  on  the  surface.  The  capital  invested  in  the 
enterprise  is  represented  to  be  $30,000. 

South  of  High  Bridge  village,  the  "Phoenix  Plum- 
bago Company,"  composed  of  Thomas  Brown,  of  Phil- 
adelphia, James  Cope  and  J.  L.  Moyer,  of  Beading, 
began  the  manufacture  of  plumbago  in  November, 
1880.  They  occupy  a  four-story  frame  building,  with 
an  invested  capital  of  $30,000,  and  have  five  acres  of 
land,  upon  which  the  ore- vein  measures  from  3  to  13 


feet  in  width.    From  30  to  35  men  are  employed.. 
The  superintendent  is  John  Hackett. 

IRON  ORB. 
There  is  yet  considerable  ore  in  the  iron  mines  of 
High  Bridge,  and,  although  the  Thomas  Iron  Com- 
pany, controlling  the  greater  share  of  them,  are  not 
working  them  at  present,  various  parties  are  getting 
out  ore  at  various  places,  the  most  extensive  work 
being  done  by  a  New  York  firm  near  High  Bridge 

village. 

'  *»»  ■ 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


JACOB   ORE  GAR.. 

Jacob  Cregar  was  born  in  Lebanon   (now  High 

Bridge)  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  March  29,. 

1821.   He  is  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Charity  (Voorhees) 

Cregar.     His  grandfather,  John  Cregar,  was  an  early 


JACOB   CREGAR. 

settler  in  the  vicinity  of  High  Bridge,  where  he  owned 
several  farms.  He  died  on  the  place  now  owned  by 
Mr.  Conover,  adjoining  the  borough  of  Clinton,  leav- 
ing sons — John,  William,  Andrew,  and  Peter — and 
daughters, — Polly,  Elizabeth,  and  Catharine. 

Andrew  Cregar,  the  father  of  Jacob,  was  born  near 
Clinton,  and  resided  there  with  his  father  till  after 
his  marriage,  when  he  bought  the  farm  where  Jacob 
now  resides  near  the  village  of  High  Bridge.  He  had 
a  family  of  thirteen  children, — nine  sons  and  four 
daughters, — five  of  whom  (four  sons  and  one  daughter) 
are  living, — to  wit,  Peter,  Andrew,  Elias  V.,  Jacob, 
and  Eliza  Ann,  wife  of  Dennis  Balbey,  of  Indiana. 

Jacob  Cregar  was  born  and  brought  up  on  the  farm 


532 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


where  lie  now  resides.  He  married  Mary  Catharine, 
daughter  of  George  Neighbour,  of  Lower  Valley,  Leb- 
anon township,  and  has  had  six  children, — three  sons 
and  three  daughters, — four  of  whom  are  living, — viz., 
George  N.,  who  married  Emily  Ann  Haver,  and  lives 
on  the  homestead  farm ;  Mary  Elizabeth,  who  mar- 
ried Oliver  Fritts,  farmer  near  Hamden ;  Isaac  L., 
who  married  Susan  Hummer,  of  High  Bridge ;  and 
Susan  E.,  wife  of  Cyrus  Bird,  of  Union  township. 

Mr.  Cregar  followed  farming  from  boyhood  till  the 
spring  of  1877,  when  he  transferred  the  farm  to  his 
sons,  still  keeping  a  general  oversight  of  the  business. 
Besides  the  farm  on  which  he  lives,  he  bought  another, 
where  his  son  Isaac  now  lives,  in  1878.  He  has  now 
three  farms,  including  two  hundred  and  sixty-five 
acres,  under  a  good  state  of  improvement  and  culti- 
vation. Since  retiring  from  active  farming,  Mr.  Cre- 
gar occupies  his  time  chiefly  in  looking  after  his  in- 
vestments and  other  business  interests.,  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  in  politics  a 
Republican,  though  he  has  neither  sought  nor  held 
office. 

DAVID  NEIGHBOUR,  ESQ. 
In  the  year  1705  a  colony,  having  left  their  native 
home  in  Saxony,  "between  Wolfenbottle  and  Halber- 
stadt,"  fleeing  from  oppression,  in  1707,  sailed  from 
Holland  to  America.  By  adverse  \vinds  they  were 
driven  south,  and  entered  the  Dfelaware  Bay  and 
landed  at  Philadelphia.  Determined  not  to  relin- 
quish their  original  purpose, — to  join  the  Dutch  at 
New  Amsterdam  (New  York  City), — they  set  out  on  a 
land  journey  across  the  then  wilderness  of  New  Jer- 
sey, and  fell  upon  the  goodly  land  known  as  German 
Valley,  where  they  resolved  to  settle. 

Among  these  pilgrims  were  Leonhard  Nachbar  and 
his  future  wife,  Miria  Margareta,  the  great-grand- 
parents of  David  Neighbour,  Esq. 

From  tombstones  in  the  old  churchyard  in  German 
Valley  we  take  the  following  record : 

"  Leonhard  Nachbar,  who  departed  this  life  August 
the  26th,  1766,  Aged  68  years  and  3  months." 

"Miria  Margareta,  the  wife  of  L.  N.,  who  died  No- 
vember the  17th,  1770,  aged  72  years  and  3  months." 
These  were  the  parents  of  Leonhard  Nachbar,  who 
died  in  1805.  This  Leonhard  was  the  father  of  Leon- 
hard, Jr.,  who  died  in  1854,  and  was  the  father  of 
David.  David  was  born  in  German  Valley,  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  his  son  Silas,  Nov.  25,  1797,  and 
is  the  fifth  in  a  family  of  six  sons  and  four  daughters. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  he  entered  the  store  of  Welsh 
&  Dellicker,  on  Schooley's  Mountain,  as  clerk,  and 
at  twenty-one  became  partner  with  Mr.  Dellicker, 
where  he  remained  until  1823. 

In  1823  he  removed  to  Lower  Valley,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  where  he  established  a  store  and  carried  on  the 
mercantile  business,  in  connection  with  his  farm,  until 
1852.  In  the  latter  year  he  quit  the  store,  continuing 
on  the  farm  till  1859,  when  he  went  to  New  York 


City,  where  he  spent  eight  years,  and  then  returned 
to  the  old  homestead,  where  he  now  resides. 

He  was  married  thrice :  in  1820  to  Miss  Ann 
Hance,  of  Schooley's  Mountain  ;  the  second  wife 
was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Trimmer,  of  German  Valley,  who 
died  in  1857 ;  tod  the  third  was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Chi- 
chester, of  New  York.  The  first  marriage  was  blessed 
with  six  sons  and  one  daughter,  and  all  except  one 
are  living. 

The  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  has  been  frequently 
evinced.  In  1837  and  1838  he  was  elected  to  the  As- 
sembly, and  in  1844  a  member  of  the  convention  from 
Hunterdon  County  to  frame  the  new  constitution  for 
New  Jersey,  and  for  thirteen  years  held  the  office  of 
town  treasurer. 

In  the  church,  the  Presbytery  of  Newton  elected 
him  in  1846  and  in  1859  to  represent  it  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  its  sessions 
in  Philadelphia  and  Indianapolis,  Tnd.  He  always 
was  a  faithful  elder  in  attendance  on  the  sessions  of 
Presbytery  and  Synod.  His  sterling  character  is 
known  and  read  of  all  acquaintances  and  friends. 

Of  the  advantages  of  early  education  he  says,  "  It 
was  after  the  A,  B,  C  character, — the  simplest  kind  ; 
almost  next  to  nothing."  One  fact  is  worth  recording 
for  general  history,  as  it  marks  the  changes :  at  the 
close  of  each  quarter  of  school,  custom  demanded 
that  the  schoolmaster  treat  the  scholars  to  a  quart  of 
whisky  and  sugar,  or  be  barred  out  or  smoked  in.  In 
his  school-days  this  law  was  executed. 

David,  being  blessed  with  superior  natural  gifts, 
however,  and  by  diligence  and  improving  every  op- 
portunity, qualified  himself  to  discharge  the  private 
and  public  duties  and  trusts  reposed  in  him. 

For  about  fifty  years  he  was  a  constant  supporter 
of  the  German  Valley  Presbyterian  Church,  and  for 
over  forty  of  these  years  scarcely  ever  missed  a 
Sabbath  from  the  sanctuary,  although  he  lived  six 
miles  from  the  church.  Stormy  Sabbaths  were  un- 
known days  to  him  and  his  family.  As  a  pillar  in  the 
church,  the  pastors  found  in  him  a  man  on  whom  they 
could  rely.  Through  his  energy,  wise  counsels,  and 
Christian  spirit,  the  neat  and  commodious  Presby- 
terian church  and  manse  of  Lower  Valley  were 
erected.  In  every  good  work  his  Christian  liberality 
has  abounded. 

In  the  autumn  of  1877  children  and  grandchildren, 
neighbors,  and  friends  gathered  at  the  old  homestead, 
and  appropriately  celebrated  the  completion  of  his 
fourscore  years. 

Had  those  native  talents  received  an  academic 
training,  he  would  have  been  a  marked  man  in  the 
world.  But  it  was  not  so  ordered.  By  fidelity  and 
perseverance  he  carved  out  for  himself  a  life  which 
has  borne  good  fruit  for  his  family,  the  church  of 
God,  and  the  commonwealth.  He  now  enjoys  vigor 
of  body  and  mind  remarkablfe  for  men  of  his  age. 
Although  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  his  "eye  is  not 
dim  nor  his  natural  force  abated." 


c^^JSy/U^'^^^  y/Cj;-^x^l^^!><:^/i^ 


o  L  I  isr  T  o  ]sr. 


The  township  of  Clinton,  lying  a  little  to  the  north- 
east of  the  centre  of  Hunterdon  County,  contained  in 
1880  a  population  of  2133  and  had  within  its  limits 
170  farms.  Its  boundaries  are  High  Bridge  and 
Tewksbury  on  the  north,  Earitan  and  Eeadington  on 
the  south,  Eeadington  on  the  east,  Clinton  village  and 
Franklin  township  on  the  west,  the  South  Branch  of 
the  Earitan  separating  it  from  the  latter. 

Clinton  is  traversed  through  its  northern  part 
by  the  New  Jersey  Central  Eailroad,  and  touched  on 
the  west  by  the  Easton  and  Amboy  Eailroad.  An- 
nandale  and-  Lebanon  are  small  villages  and  stations 
on  the  line  of  the  Central,  but  two  miles  apart.  Lime- 
stone deposits  of  value  abound,  and  lime-burning  is  a 
consequent  industry. 

Bound  Valley  is  a  marked  feature  in  the  land- 
scape. Passing  southward  from  Lebanon  station,  the 
traveler  enters  it  after  a  journey  of  perhaps  a  mile, 
and  sees  before  him  a  spot  famous  in  a  traditionary 
and  natural  way.  The  valley,  shut  in  on  every  side 
by  hills,  occupies  a  nearly  circular  space,  measuring 
about  three  miles  in  one  direction  and  two  in  another, 
and  containing  upwards  of  3000  acres.  Pickel's  and 
Cushetunk  Mountains  are  at  the  northern  and  eastern 
boundaries,  on  the  west  is  a  chain  of  low  hills,  and 
on  the  south  Eound  Mountain. 

Although  Clinton  is  richly  agricultural  and  pro- 
duces largely  of  wheat  and  corn,  much  dependence  is 
fixed  upon  stock-raising  and  the  production  of  milk. 

EARLY   HISTORY. 

According  to  the  best  obtainable  authorities,  the 
township  was  first  peopled  in  the  vicinity  of  Lebanon 
and  at  Eound  Valley,  and  it  would  appear  that  Ger- 
mans were  among  the  earliest,  if  not  themselves  the 
first,  settlers.  The  German  Valley,  which  spreads 
over  the  territory  now  occupied  by  Lebanon,  was  en- 
tered by  a  colony  of  Germans  as  early  as  1707,  who 
soon  spread  up  and  down  the  valleys  of  northern  Hun- 
terdon, but  congregated  most  thickly,  doubtless,  in 
German  Valley,  wherefore  the  name.  Many  gathered 
about  Lebanon,  but  to-day  their  descendants  are  scat- 
tered, and  just  who  were  the  earliest  settlers  at  that 
place  cannot  be  positively  stated,  although  between 
1768  and  1771  the  inhabitants  of  that  region  included 
the  families  of  Peter  Elscher,  John  Eodenbough  (then 
written  Eothenbach),  Peter  Huffman,  Peter  Sharp- 
stein,  John  Huffman,  the  Pickels,  Hummers,  Beckers, 
Kas,  Luneburgs,  Hinderscheits  (written  now  Hender- 
schott),  Epschers,  Laus,  Diltz,  Schurtz,  Ten  Eycks, 


Kramers,  Ohlbachs,  Schencks,  Meyers,  Eichs,  Van 
Horns,  Gerhards,  Humerichs,  Schumachers,  Enders, 
Withauers,  Hebers,  Hochstenbachs,  Schaffers,  Belers, 
Fishers,  Wetters,  Mils,  Eeits,  Kleins,  Dufurs,  Kru- 
gers,  Kribs,  Eckers,  Bittesfelds,  Philips,  Papetchers, 
Stadels,  and  Schneiders. 

From  a  deed  now  in  the  possession  of  A.  E.  Sander- 
son, of  Flemington,  it  appears  that  in  1711  the  West 
New  Jersey  Society  caused  to  be  surveyed  certain  ter- 
ritory in  Hunterdon  County,  N.  J.,  since  known  as  the 
society's  great  tract.  Of  this  tract  James  Alexander 
purchased  10,000  acres  in  1744,  his  purchase  including 
the  whole  of  the  Eound  Valley  and  surrounding  moun- 
tains, reaching  northward  beyond  Lebanon  village, 
westward  to  Bray's  Hill,  and  eastward  well-nigh  to 
White  House.  About  Lebanon  his  purchases  aggre- 
gated 2000  acres,  which  he  was  to  hold  in  trust  for 
Anthony  White,  to  whom  Alexander's  heirs  conveyed 
it  upon  Alexander's  death,  in  1755.  Alexander's 
heirs  were  William,  Lord  Stirling,  Peter  Van  Brug 
Livingston  and  Mary,  his  wife,  Walter  Eutherford 
and  Catharine,  his  wife,  John  Stevens  and  Elizabeth, 
his  wife,  and  Susanna  Alexander.* 

The  Alexander  mansion  stood  upon  portion  of  the 
farm  now  owned  by  Peter  T.  Haver.  It  had  a  fine 
location,  and  to  it  the  patriotic  members  of  the  fam- 
ilies of  Stirling,  Livingston,  Eutherford,  and  Stevens 
hastened  for  refuge  when  hard  pressed  by  British 
enemies.  In  that  mansion  Edwin  A.  Stevens,  the 
New  Jersey  railway  pioneer,  was  born,  and  there 
also,  says  tradition,  Livingston,  the  associate  of  Eob- 
ert  Fulton,  was  a  frequent  visitor.  In  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  New  Jersey,  held  August,  1775,  the  repre- 
sentatives included  EalphHart,  Jacob  Jennings,  Eich- 
ard  Stevens,  and  John  Stevens,  Jr.,  of  Eound  Valley. 
Among  the  earliest  settlers  were  Peter  Haver,  William 
Eick,  Morris  Welch,  and  Abraham  Voorhees.  The 
name  of  Eick  does  not  present  itself  among  those  now 
resident  in  the  valley,  but  there  one  may  still  find 
numerous  descendants  of  the  Haver,  Welch,  and 
Voorhees  families. 

The  Cregars  were,  and  still  are,  a  famous  family. 
John  Cregar  was  the  first  of  his  name  to  locate  in 
Clinton,  and  since  his  day  the  Cregars  have  greatly 
multiplied  not  only  in  Clinton,  but  in  all  Hunterdon. 
Five  of  his  granddaughters  are  still  living  in  Hun- 
terdon County  whose  combined  ages  reach  the  sum 
of  upward  of  400  years.  Their  names  are  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Yauger,   Mrs.  J.  S.   Cramer,  Mrs.  Archibald 


*  "  First  Century  of  Hunterdon  County, 


'  George  S.  Mott,  D.D. 
533 


534 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


HufiFman,  Mrs.  P.  H.  Huffman,  and  Mrs.  William 
Hackett. 

Among  the  early  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
valley  were  two  brothers,  Abram  and  John  Shurts. 
A  deed  still  extant  testifies  that  Abram  Shurts  bought 
from  William  Coxe,  of  Philadelphia,  in  1761,  a  piece 
of  land  on  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan,  and  his 
brother  John  owned  a  place  adjoining.  Part  of  the 
old  Abram  Shurts  farm  is  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Emanuel  Fritts.  John  Shurts  willed  his  property 
to  his  son,  known  as  "Big"  Michael  Shurts,  who  built 
the  first  grist-mill  near  the  Round  Valley.  It  stood 
on  Prescott  Brook,  and  near  there  he  had  also  a  dis- 
tillery. "  Little"  Michael  Shurts,  a  distant  relative, 
owned  a  farm  adjoining  him,  and  also  a  distillery. 
John  Dawes,  a  Quaker,  had  a  mill  on  Prescott  Brook 
near  where  Jonathan  Dawes  now  lives.  Old  John 
Dawes  was  famous  in  his  day  as  a  mediator  between 
disputants  and  as  an  esteemed  authority. 

Just  above  Dawes  was  Benjamin  Lowe,  an  elder 
and  trustee  of  the  Bethlehem  Church.  Years  before 
that,  even,  John  Lowe  came  to  the  valley  from  Ger- 
many. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Young,  of  Clinton  village,  says  that  his 
great-grandfather,  George  Young,  came  from  Ger- 
many and  settled  in  the  Round  Valley  at  a  time  when 
there  was  no  grist-mill  nearer  to  him  than  on  the 
Raritan,  six  miles  west  of  New  Brunswick.  There 
were  then  no  roads  for  wagons,  but  only  trails  through 
the  woods. 

One  of  the  most  widely  known  of  the  families  early 
in  Clinton  township  was  the  Grandin  family,  of  whom 
Philip  was  the  head.  Probably  in  1760,  or  mayhap 
before,  Philip  and  his  brother  John  purchased  a  tract 
of  about  1000  acres  lying  on  the  South  Branch  of  the 
Raritan  and  reaching  eastward.  It  covered  the  site 
of  the  village  of  Hamden,  and  was  long  known  as 
the  Hamden  tract.  The  brothers  Grandin  built  on 
the  river  a  grist-mill  and  a  fulling-mill,  and  opened  a 
store, — all  at  the  place  now  called  Hamden.  They 
lived  in  the  same  house,  on  the  place  latterly  occu- 
pied by  Joseph  Fritts.  At  his  death  Philip's  prop- 
erty passed  to  his  two  sons,  Philip  and  John  F.  The 
former  acquired  the  mills  and  the  homestead,  and  in 
a  little  while  (about  1790)  induced  a  man  named  Ab- 
bott to  open  a  tavern  there.  The  place,  which  was 
known  as  Grandin's  Mills  and  Grandin's  Town,  was 
on  a  route  of  considerable  travel,  and  "  Grandin's 
Tavern"  came  to  be  recognized  as  an  excellent  halt- 
ing place. 

John  Grandin  about  1775  built  the  house  now  oc- 
cupied by  his  son  John.  It  was  considered  a  great 
house  in  those  days.  The  lumber  used  was  pitch  pine 
and  came  from  Monmouth  County.  This  mansion 
was  noted  for  its  inviting  and  cheering  welcome,  and 
social  reunions  were  frequent  within  its  hospitable 
walls.  Dr.  Grandin  was  likewise  a  famous  physician, 
and  from  1783  to  1811  (the  period  of  his  death)  he  rode 
over  Hunterdon's  hills  for  twenty-eight  years.     Dr. 


H.  B.  Poole  was  his  successor  as  the  Hamden  phy- 
sician, although  he  tarried  only  from  1823  to  1826. 
In  1862,  John  F.  Grandin,  son  to  John  Grandin  and 
grandson  to  the  first  Dr.  John,  entered  upon  medical 
practice  at  Hamden,  and  remains  in  practice  there  to 
this  day.* 

John  Van  Fleet  and  John  Smith  were  early  settlers 
in  the  Grandin  neighborhood,  and  just  east  of  there 
Peter  Aller  gave  to  the  locality  of  his  settlement  the 
name  of  Allertown,  by  which  it  is  still  known.  Peter 
AUer's  son  Henry  was  justice  of  the  peace. 

Mathias  Cramer,  the  first  of  his  name  to  settle  in 
Clinton  township,  located  before  the  Revolution  upon 
the  farm  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  John  S.  Cra- 
mer. Mathias  was  taken  one  day  during  the  Revo- 
lution from  his  home  to  Jones'  tavern  by  Adam  Run- 
kel  and  Peter  Aller,  who  sought  to  induce  him  to 
enter  the  Federal  service.  Mr.  Cramer,  however,  was 
enfeebled  with  consumption,  and,  that  fact  becoming 
speedily  apparent  to  an  army  surgeon,  he  ordered 
Cramer's  release.  From  that  time  forward  he  declined 
rapidly  in  health,  and  died  in  1783. 

Tunis  Cramer  lived  before  1800  in  an  old  log  house 
now  standing  on  what  is  known  as  the  Runkel  place, 
just  south  of  J.  S.  Cramer's,  and  in  that  log  house 
Adam  Runkel  made  his  home  at  an  early  day.  John 
Emery  (a  distiller),  John  W.  Sharp,  Henry  Huffman, 
and  Hugh  Martin  lived  early  in  that  vicinity,  but  the 
information  to  be  gleaned  touching  them  is  at  this 
late  day  exceedingly  meagre. 

TURNPIKE,   TAVERNS,    MILLS,  Etc. 

The  Easton  and  New  Brunswick  turnpike  (some- 
times called  the  New  Jersey  pike),  passing  through 
Clinton  towship,  via  Clinton  village  and  Lebanon, 
was  in  its  day  a  famous  thoroughfare.  Although  the 
route  was  made  a  turnpike  under  a  charter  in  1812, 
there  was  a  road  over  essentially  the  course  now  occu- 
pied by  the  old  pike  long  before  that  time,  and  there 
were  taverns  and  other  signs  of  busy  life  upon  it. 
John  S.  Cramer  remembers  that  in  1812,  when  he  was 
a  lad  of  fourteen,  he  assisted  in  "working"  the  portion 
of  that  road  passing  through  the  neighborhood  of 
what  is  now  the  village  of  Annandale.  He  recalls 
also  having  been  told  that  that  road  was  considerably 
traveled  as  early  as  1776,  and  that  in  that  year  the 
stone  house  now  occupied  by  Elijah  Stout  was  built, 
as  was  also  the  house  now  owned  by  John  Race. 
The  Stout  house  was  opened  in  1776  as  a  tavern  by  a 
Mr.  Jones. 

Before  or  about  1812,  George  Henry  was  landlord, 
and  in  1812  took  a  contract  to  gravel  the  road  between 
Beaver  Brook  and  Hunt's  Mills.  Peter  Fisher  suc- 
ceeded Henry  in  1816,  and  Gen.  Hope  took  it,  in  1830, 
to  turn  it  over,  however,  in  1831,  to  John  C.  Wert, 
its  last  landlord,  who  continued  to  conduct  its  fortunes 
until  the  completion  of  the  Central  Railroad,  in  1852, 
put  a  veto  upon  the  glory  of  the  pike. 


*  See  biographical  Aetches  at  close  of  this  township  history. 


CLINTON. 


535 


In  1816  or  1817,  Henry  Miller  and  Nathan  Stiger 
opened  a  store  on  the  pike  where  Mr.  Boyd  now  lives. 
Farther  along  to  the  eastward,  David  Fraser  (an  Irish- 
man and  surveyor)  kept  a  store  in  1798,  near  the  present 
John  Fulkerson  place,  and  across  the  way  Richard  (or 
■"Derrick")  Anderson  had  a  little  shop.  John  Ful- 
kerson, who  learned  his  trade  at  Somerville,  started 
a  blacksmith-shop  on  the  pike  in  1821  near  Beaver 
Brook.  There  was  an  old  blacksmith-shop  near  Peter 
Huffman's,  on  the  road  to  Allertown,  in  which  Wil- 
liam Jewett  was  the  smith.  "William  Johnson  suc- 
ceeded Fraser  in  the  latter's  store,  and,  after  him, 
Peter  Ten  Eyck  (who  married  Fraser's  widow)  carried 
on  the  business  as  long  as  the  store  lasted. 

Wm.  Johnson  built  a  store  on  Bray's  Hill,  and 
kept  post-office  there  as  early  as  1820.  Before  that 
Andrew  Bray  had  a  tannery  there,  and  afterward  J. 
W.  Bray  a  distillery.  Soon  after  1820,  John  Henry 
opened  a  tavern  east  of  Johnson's  store. 

Gen.  Hope  was  at  one  time  concerned  in  the  own- 
ership and  management  of  the  stage-line,  and,  among 
others,  his  son  William  was  one  of  the  most  famous 
"  whips"  known  to  the  road.  On  the  pike  in  Clinton 
there  were  the  Hope  tavern,  at  Clinton  village,  and 
the  Ramsey  tavern,  at  Potterstown,  where  a  Ramsey 
kept  also  a  store.  The  store-  and  tavern  have  been 
from  the  outset  in  possession  of  the  Ramseys.  James 
Ramsey,  the  first  of  that  family  in  Hunterdon  County, 
settled  in  Readington  about  1790,  at  which  time  An- 
drew Van  Syckel  settled  at  Potterstown.  In  1800, 
James  Ramsey,  Jr.,  son  to  James,  located  in  Clinton, 
adjoining  another  son,  Alexander.  On  the  Alexander 
Ramsey  farm  now  lives  Nelson  Ramsey,  son  to  the 
James  Ramsey  last  mentioned.  On  the  pike  just 
east  of  Lebanon  was  a  grist-mill,  owned  in  1812  by 
Peter  Huffman,  who  bought  it  of  "Big"  Michael 
Shurts, — doubtless  the  builder.  Peter  Huffman  owned 
also,  in  1812,  a  mill  on  Beaver  Brook,  near  where 
Annandale  now  is,  and  shortly  afterwards  bought 
Michael  Shurts'  Prescott  Brook  mill.  Peter  Huffman 
owned  these  three  mills  at  one  time. 

On  and  near  the  pike,  close  to  Clinton  village, 
William  Yauger  settled  in  1823,  John  Race  in  1823, 
David  Miller  in  1826,  and  Adam  Stiger  in  1833. 

TOWNSHIP  ORGANIZATION. 
Clinton  township  was  organized  by  act  of  Legisla- 
ture, dated  March  11,  1841,  from  a  portion  of  Leba- 
non township,  as  will  more  fully  appear  by  reference 
to  a  copy  of  the  act,  which  appears  below.  Clearly, 
the  township  was  called  after  Clinton  village,  which 
lay  within  the  limits  of  the  township,  and  which 
began  its  existence  in  1828.  To  whom  belongs  the 
honor  of  having  suggested  the  name  cannot  now  be 
said,  nor  is  it,  perhaps,  historically  important  to  know. 
Under  act  approved  March  29,  1871,  a  portion  of 
Clinton  was  set  off  to  High  Bridge,  and  by  act  ap- 
proved the  same  day,  "that  portion  of  the  township  of 
Tewksbury  lying  and  being  southeast  from  where 


a  straight  line  running  from  the  point  where  the 
townships  of  Tewksbury  and  High  Bridge  intersect 
each  other,  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  course  in,  the  act 
creating  the  township  of  High  Bridge,  to  an  arch 
bridge  over  Cold  Brook,  in  a  line  between  the  town- 
ships of  Tewksbury  and  Readington,"  was  annexed 
to  the  township  of  Clinton. 
The  act  organizing  Clinton  is  as  follows : 

"  An  ^ctio  set  off  from  the  township  of  Lebanon,  in  the  county  of  Kunterdonf 
a  new  township,  to  be  called  the  township  of  Clinton. 
"  Section  1.  Be  it  enacted,  That  all  that  part  of  the  township  of  Leba- 
non, in  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  lying  to  the  southward  of  the  following 
line, — to  wit,  beginning  on  the  north  Bide  of  a  certain  bridge  over 
Spruce  Run,  near  the  buildings  of  William  Alpaugh,  and  at  a  point 
where  said  bridge  is  crossed  by  the  line  dividing  the  township  of  Lebanon 
from  the  townsliip  of  Bethlehem,  and  running  thence  on  a  northeasterly 
course,  and  in  a  direct  line,  across  the  said  township  of  Lebanon  to  the 
southeasterly  corner  of  a  school-house,  situate  on  the  lands  of  Frederick 
I.  Huffman,  near  the  Tewksbui-y  line,  and  thence,  continuing  on  the  same 
course,  to  the  line  dividing  the  township  of  Lebanon  from  the  township 
of  Tewksbury,  and  to  end  there,  shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  set  off 
from  said  township  of  Lebanon,  and  established  as  a  separate  township, 
to  be  called  the  township  of  Clinton." 

Section  2,  of  the  above  act,  gave  to  the  "  inhabitants 
of  the  township  of  Clinton  all  the  powers  and  privileges 
enjoyed  by  the  other  townships  of  the  county."  Sec- 
tion 3  provided  that  the  first  annual  town-meeting 
should  be  held  at  the  inn  of  John  C.  Wert.  Section 
4,  that  the  town  committees  of  the  two  townships 
should  allot  and  divide  all  property  and  moneys  on 
hand  or  due  between  the  townships  of  Lebanon  and 
Clinton  "  in  proportion  to  the  taxable  property  and 
ratables"  of  each ;  Section  5  relates  to  the  support  of 
paupers ;  and  Section  6  declares  "  that  this  act  shall 
take  effect  on  the  second  Monday  in  April  next,  and 
not  before." 

In  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  act,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  township  met  at  the  inn  of  John  C. 
Wert,  the  second  Monday  in  April,  1841,  and  then 
and  there  elected  the  following  officers :  Moderator, 
John  Rockafellow ;  Town  Clerk,  David  B.  Huffman ; 
Assessor,  Lucas  Voorhees ;  Collector,  John  Lowe ; 
Commissioners  of  Appeal,  Peter  H.  Huffman,  John 
Rockafellow,  and  Michael  Shurts ;  Freeholders,  Peter 
H.  Huffman  and  John  Rockafellow ;  Highway  Sur- 
veyors, Thomas  B.  Apgar  and  David  M.  Kline ;  Town 
Committee,  Peter  H.  Huffman,  John  Rockafellow, 
George  Alpaugh,  and  John  H.  Huffman ;  Overseers 
of  the  Poor,  John  H.  Cregar  and  Lucas  Voorhees ; 
Constable,  Mahlon  Smith;  Poundkeepers,  John  C. 
Wert,  Charles  Menau,  and  Joseph  Cougle;  School 
Committee,  William  G.  Alpaugh,  Peter  Haver,  Peter 
Emery. 

It  was  voted  to  raise  $800  road-tax,  $600  poor-tax, 
and  that  the  roads  be  worked  by  tax.  Overseers  of 
highways  were  appointed  as  follows :  John  A.  Apgar, 
John  H.  Huffman,  Aaron  Groff,  George  S.  Shurts, 
Henry  Rockafellow,  Godfrey  Emery,  Simon  Kinny, 
Peter  Apgar,  Sr.,  Henry  Stiger,  John  Demott,  Wil- 
liam Butler,  John  H.  Cregar,  Lucas  Voorhees,  John 
T.  Huffman,  John  A.  Quick,  Nelson  Bennett,  Peter 


536 


HUNTEKDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Yauger,  William  Hackett.  At  a  meeting  of  the  town 
committee,  April  17,  1841,  at  the  inn  of  Charles 
Menau,.  John  Rockafellow  was  elected  treasurer. 

The  persons  chosen  annually  from  1842  to  1880  to 
be  moderators,  town  clerks,  assessors,  and  collectors 
are  named  in  the  following  :* 

MODERATOES. 

1842-44,  J.  Eockafellow;  ] 845-48,  J.  H.  Huffman;  1849,  W.  Emery; 
1850-63,  J.  H.  Huffman  ;  1864^55,  J.  R.  Kline ;  1856-62,  T.  H.  Eis- 
ler;  1863,  P.  A.  Beavers;  1864,t  P.  F.  Hoffman ;  1865-68,  W.  Cregar; 
1869,  I.  Hummer;  1870,  P.  P.  Hoffman;  1871-73,  L,  L.  Grippen; 
1874,  J.  Pritts;  1875-77,  L.  L.  Grippen  ;  1878-79,  S.  Kadley;  1880,  A. 
"W.  Lowe. 

CLERKS. 

1842-43,  D.  B,  Huffman  ;  1844-46,  W.  Emery ;  1847-49,  M.  Shnrts ;  1850- 
53,  J.  H.  Rockafeller  ;  1854^61,  P.  A.  Beavers ;  1862-66,  A.  E.  Sander- 
son; 1867-69,  J.  S.  Clark;  1870,  P.  T.  Haver;  1871-73,  B.  B.  Tine; 
1874-76,  J.  Shurts ;  1877-78,  N.  W.  Hoffman ;  1879-80,  P.  Eocka- 
fellow. 

ASSESSOES. 

1842-43,  A.  BelliB ;  1844-45,  P.  P.  Huffman ;  1846-47,  J.  M.  Webster ; 
1848-49,  T.  Eisler;  1850-51,  M.  Shurts;  1862-53,  P.  P.  Huffman; 
1854,  A.  McCoy ;  1855-56,  J.  H.  Eockafellow  ;  1857-58,  N,  Hoffman ; 
1859-60,  S.  Carhart;  1861-02,  D.K.Hoffman;  1863-65,  M.  Shurts; 
1866-67,  G.  N.  Apgar;  1868-09,  M.  Shurts;  1870,  W.  Lance;  1871, 
D.  E.  Potts;  1872-73,  J.  B.  Cougle ;  1874-75,  B.  B.  Tine;  1876,  "N. 
Hoflinan ;  1877-80,  G.  N.  Apgar. 

COLLECTORS. 
1842-43,  J.  P.  Tauger;  1844,  G.  R.  Emery;  1845-48,  G.  A.  Apgar;  1849- 
50,  W.  S.  Welsh ;  1851-52,  P.  Eockafellow  ;  1853-54,  P.  Fritts ;  1855- 
67,  J.  N.  Stoor;  1858-69,  J.  Cox  ;  1860-61,  J.  Mcaoughen;  1862-64 
G.  A.  Apgar ;  1865-60,  P.  Rockafellow  ;  1867-68,  D.  E.  Potts;  1869-^ 
70,  W.  Cregar ;  1871-72,  J.  S.  Clark ;  1873-74,  A.  Van  Syckel  ;  1875- 
76,  S.  H.  Leigh;  1877-80,  N.  Hilderbrant. 

LEBANON   VILLAGE. 

As  early  as  1820  or  thereabout  there  was  on  Bray's 
HiU  a  post-office  named  Lebanon,  of  which  the  post- 
master was  William  Johnson,  who  also  kept  a  store. 
Southeast  from  there  something  more  than  a  mile  is 
now  the  village  of  Lebanon,  then  occupied  by  "a 
commons,"  according  to  the  language  of  a  present 
dweller  in  Lebanon  then  familiar  with  that  locality. 
William  Huffman  was  then  living  in  a  log  house  on 
the  site  of  Eev.  Robert  Van  Amburgh's  residence, 
and  about  that  time,  or  perhaps  shortly  thereafter, 
one  John  Tway  had  a  blacksmith-shop  near  the 
brook  just  west  of  the  old  graveyard  at  Lebanon. 
The  Easton  and  New  Brunswick  turnpike  then  tra- 
versed the  route  now  followed  by  Church  Street,  and 
on  that  road,  about  1825,  David  M.  Kline  opened  a 
store  near  where  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  now 
stands.  There  was  a  brick  church  in  the  old  grave- 
yard, and  there,  also,  was  the  house  of  Jacob  Corson, 
a  tailor. 

About  1827,  William  Johnson,  the  storekeeper  and 
postmaster  on  Bray's  Hill,  died,  and,  no  one  succeed- 
ing to  his  business,  the  post-office  was  transferred  to 
David  M.  Kline.  In  that  year  the  Easton  and  New 
Brunswick  turnpike  was  straightened  at  Lebanon, 
and  Kline  moved  his  store  over  to  the  line  of  the 


*  For  Chosen  Freeholders  see  page  264  of  this  work, 
t  Office  of  Judge  of  Elections  substituted. 


road,  upon  the  site  now  occupied  by  S.  J.  Shurts' 
store,  which  contains  the  original  structure  built  by 
Kline.  Tway,  the  blacksmith,  had  also  built  a  stone 
house  upon  the  new  road,  and  near  it  a  stone  smithy. 
The  house  he  converted  into  a  tavern,  and,  being  a 
staunch  admirer  of  Gen.  Jackson,  not  only  called  his 
tavern  the  Jacksonville  Hotel,  but  christened  the 
place  by  that  name,  and  tried  hard  to  have  the  post- 
office  title  changed  to  suit  the  case,  but,  as  there  was 
a  Jacksonville  in  Burlington  County,  the  scheme 
miscarried,  and  Lebanon  after  a  time  replaced  Jack- 
sonville as  the  village  name,  that  territory  being  then 
in  Lebanon  township.  The  tavern  opened  by  Tway 
— still  standing  opposite  the  present  village  inn — was 
kept  by  him  until  1830;  then,  transferring  its  pos- 
session to  Austin  Clark,  he  opened  a  store, — the 
second  in  the  village. 

To  follow  the  post-office  succession,  it  may  be 
briefly  stated  that  Kline  was  succeeded  by  John 
Tway,  after  whom  came  Adam  Bellis,  the  harness- 
maker  ;  Samuel  Clark,  storekeeper ;  Henry  Dilley, 
the  shoemaker;  and  David  K.  Hoffman,  the  present 
incumbent.  Mail  was  from  the  first  received  daily 
by  stages  over  the  Easton  and  New  Brunswick  pike. 

Lebanon  of  the  present  is  located  upon  the  New 
Jersey  Central  Railroad,  and  contained  in  July,  1880, 
a  population  of  314.  It  boasts  of  two  fine  churches, 
an  excellent  public  school,  and  many  pleasant-looking 
homes.  Lebanon  station  is  a  milk-shipping  point  for 
a  large  dairying  district. 

LEBANON   DUTCH   REFORMED   CHDEOH. 

The  history  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  Leb- 
anon goes  back  farther  than  recorded  testimony  takes 
it,  but  just  how  much  farther  is  pure  conjecture.  The 
oldest  church  records  extant  begin  with  1769,  while 
other  documentary  evidence,  traveling  back  to  1747, 
cites  the  fact  that  in  that  year  there  was  a  church  at 
Lebanon.  The  presumption  is  that  the  early  settlers 
in  Bound  Valley  and  at  Lebanon  set  up  a  temple  as 
early  as  1740,  and  conducted  worship  according  to  the 
forms  of  the  German  Reformed  Church.  They  built  a 
log  church,  and  presently  laid  out  about  it  a  church- 
yard or  burial-place.  The  old  graveyard  still  marks 
the  spot,  but  no  church  stands  there.  The  old  log 
house  was  replaced  by  a  frame  edifice  in  1780,  and  in 
1817  a  large  brick  church  was  reared  upon  the  site.  Its 
foundation-walls  are  still  there,  but  the  structure  it- 
self parted  company  with  the  graveyard  in  1854,  in 
which  year  the  present  roomy  and  handsome  temple 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $6000. 

In  1746  the  Church  of  Holland  appointed  a  Swiss 
minister  to  visit  America  as  an  exploring  and  super- 
intending missionary  to  look  after  the  numerous 
Dutch  Reformed  Churches  and  supply  them  with 
ministers,  Bibles,  and  such  help  as  they  needed  gen- 
erally. His  name  was  Michael  Schlatter,  and,  fortu- 
nately for  the  historian,  he  kept  a  journal  of  his 
American  experience.     In  it  he  wrote: 


CLINTON. 


537 


"  On  the  3d  of  July,  1747, 1  received  a  very  earnest  letter  from  the  con- 
gregations at  Rockaway  (Lebanon),  Fox  Hill,  and  Amwell,  in  the  region 
of  the  Baritan,  distant  abont  70  miles  from  Philadelphia.'*'  They  urge 
me  with  the  strongest  motives — yea,  they  pray  me  for  God's  salce — to  pay 
them  a  visit,  that  I  may  administer  to  them  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  by 
baptism  incorporate  their  children  with  the  church,  who  have  already, 
during  three  or  more  years,  remained  without  baptism.  November  13th 
of  that  year  I  undertook  a  journey  to  those  congregations,  and  on  the 
14th  came  to  Rockaway  (Lebanon).  Here  I  received  twenty  young 
persons  into  the  church  after  they  had  made  a  profession  of  the  faith, 
preached  a  preparatory  sermon  on  the  15th,  and  on  the  following  day  ad- 
rainistered  the  Holy  Supper  in  a  small  church  to  an  attentive  and  reverent 
assembly." 

Schlatter  repeated  these  visits  twice  during  1748, 
once  in  1749,  and  once  in  1750.  In  the  latter  year  he 
wrote  to  the  Church  of  Holland  respecting  the  con- 
gregations at  Fox  Hill  and  Lebanon  that  "  these  im- 
plore earnestly  that  God  may  at  length  send  forth  a 
faithfiil  laborer  into  this  harvest."  In  response  to 
that  request,  John  Conrad  Wirtz,  who  had  been 
preaching  in  the  neighborhood  of  Easton,  was  sent  to 
take  charge  of  the  churches  at  Lebanon  and  in  the 
German  Valley,  and  served  them  continuously  for 
eleven  years.  In  1761  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Cas- 
par Michael  Stapfel.  He  remained  only  a  year,  but 
left  behind  him  a  remarkably  excellent  impression. 

For  a  period  of  nine  years  after  Mr.  Stapfel's  re- 
tirement, the  Lebanon  Church  was  dependent  upon 
irregular  and  uncertain  services,  and  did  not  have 
regular  worship  until  1770,  when  Rev.  Frederick  Del- 
licker,  who  had  for  some  time  been  laboring  at  Am- 
well, took  charge  of  the  churches  at  Lebanon,  Ger- 
man VaUey,  Fox  Hill,  and  Alexandria,  and  remained 
with  them  until  1782.  His  successor  was  Rev.  Cas- 
par Wack,  who  began  his  labors  in  1782  and  closed 
them  in  1812.  To  the  close  of  Mr.  Wack's  pastor- 
ate these  churches  were  German  Reformed,  and  in 
them  the  preaching  had  nearly  always  been  con- 
ducted in  the  German  language  save  towards  the  close 
of  it,  when  he  spoke  mostly  in  English.  Upon  his 
departure  the  churches  named  were  neglected  by  the 
German  Synod,  and  in  a  brief  time  were  absorbed  by 
other  denominations,  the  Lebanon  Church  becoming 
Dutch  Reformed  and  the  others  Presbyterian. 

The  records  of  the  Lebanon  Church  make  no  men- 
tion of  members'  names  previous  to  1817,  although 
they  do  observe  the  organization  of  the  church  to 
have  taken  place  in  1762.  Nevertheless,  no  further 
observation  takes  place  therein  until  the  first  record 
of  births  and  baptisms,  under  date  of  1768.  In  1817, 
as  gleaned  from  the  records,  the  church  members 
were  52  in  number,  and  of  these  25  were  females. 
The  names  of  the  27  male  members  were  John  Lowe, 
John  W.  Alpaugh,  George  Cramer,  George  Apgar, 
Henry  Aller,  John  I.  Alpaugh,  Peter  Huffman,  Chris- 
topher Baker,  Jacob  Nitzer,  Peter  Apgar,  John  Huff- 
man, John  Alpaugh,  Herman  Lance,  George  Young, 
Caspar  Backer,  Morris  Sharp,   Cornelius  J.  Lowe, 


*  Schlatter  was  then  in  charge  of  the  old  German  Reformed  Church 
at  Philadelphia. 

36 


Caspar  Lunenburg,  Frederick  J.  Huffman,  William 
Alpaugh,  David  M.  Kline,  William  Yauger,  John 
Haas,  Andrew  Van  Syckel,  Nicholas  Wyckoff,  David 
Canfield,  Abram  Blue. 

Since  1812  the  pastors  of  the  church  have  been 
Rev.  Jacob  I.  Shultz,  1816-32;  Rev.  C.  P.  Wack, 
1833-iO ;  Rev.  Robert  Van  Amburgh,  1840-48 ;  Rev. 
John  Steele,  1848-53 ;  Rev.  Robert  Van  Amburgh, 
1853-70 ;  Rev.  W.  B.  Van  Benchoten,  1870-73 ;  Rev. 
Joseph  B.  Campbell,  1873-75  ;  Rev.  S.  W.  Roe,  D.D., 
1875  to  the  present  time  (1881).  The  church  has  now 
a  membership  of  347,  representing  200  families. 
There  are  four  Sabbath-schools  in  connection  with 
the  church,  aggregating  a  membership  of  upwards  of 
200,  and  located  at  four  different  points  in  the  town- 
ship. The  school  at  Lebanon  employs  12  teachers, 
and  is  in  charge  of  J.  N.  Groendycke.  The  church 
elders  are  James  Ramsey,  Moses  Felmy,  John  A.  Ap- 
gar, Jr.,  and  James  Van  Syckel.  The  deacons  are 
Morris  Conover,  George  Winters,  Jackson  Cramer, 
and  David  Rhinehart. 

LEBANON  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

In  1870,  Rev.  Mr.  Fort  organized  a  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Class  in  the  Bray's  Hill  school-house  with  about 
a  dozen  members,  of  whom  John  E.  Tiger  was  the 
class-leader.  In  1872  the  locale  was  changed  to  Leb- 
anon, and  there  a  house  of  worship  was  built,  the  cost 
being  about  $6000.  Since  removing  to  Lebanon  the 
church  has  been  served  in  the  pastorate  by  Revs. 
Searles,  Taylor,  Van  Zandt,  Fall,  and  Tyndall.  The 
class-leaders  have  been  John  E.  Tiger  and  George 
Stout.  The  Sunday-school  superintendent  is  J.  C. 
Cramer. 

PHYSICIANS  OF  LEBANON. 

Henry  Field,  the  first  physician  recorded  as  haviiig 
located  at  Lebanon,  lived  there  only  during  1832, 
when,  removing  to  Clinton,  he  practiced  there  until 
his  death.  George  Trumpore  was  at  Lebanon  from 
1842  to  1845,  and,  removing  to  Essex,  remained  away 
until  1856.  He  tarried  in  Lebanon  two  years  after 
that,  and  disappeared.  J.  W.  Blackfan,  residing  a 
little  way  out  of  the  village,  began  to  practice  in 
1845,  and  to  the  present  day  has  continued  steadily  to 
pursue  his  professional  labors.  Robert  Fenwick  was 
a  physician  at  Lebanon,  1856-58 ;  Byron  Thornton, 
1857-59 ;  Henry  Salter,  between  1850  and  1860 ;'  and 
Aaron  Burgess,  1859-61.  Fenwick  moved  to  New 
York,  Thornton  to  Germantown,  Salter  to  Iowa,  and 
Burgess  to  Pennsylvania.  Alexander  Barclay  occu- 
pied the  field  from  1862  to  1866,  and  J.  R.  Todd  from 
1866  to  1871.  Todd  came  back  in  1872  and  remained 
until  his  death,  in  1876.  William  Knight  was  at  Leb- 
anon from  1871  to  1872,  and  Sanford  Roe  from  1877 
to  1879,  his  present  field  being  in  Schoharie  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Lebanon's  only  resident  physician  in  November, 
1880,  was  Abram  Jones,  who  had  been  in  the  village 
since  1876. 


538 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


VILLAGE  OF  ANNANDALE. 
Annandale,  containing  in  July,  1880,  a  population 
of  380,  is  a  station  on  the  New  Jersey  Central  Eail- 
road,  and  consequently  a  place  of  more  or  less  activity. 
Eighteen  passenger-trains  stop  each  twenty-four 
hours,  while  the  freight-  and  coal-trains  are  innumer- 
able. Lime-kilns  in  the  vicinity  supply  the  country 
round  about  and  furnish  annually  200  cars  of  lime. 
The  railway  shipments  of  milk  average  annually 
eighty  cans  per  day,  while  the  receipts  by  rail  of  lum- 
ber, coal,  and  malt  amount  to  a  handsome  exhibit. 

The  village  took  its  rise  simultaneously  with  the 
completion  of  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad,  June 
20,  1852.  N.  N.  Boeman,  a  tavern-keeper  at  White 
House,  George  M.  Freeh,  the  station-agent  at  that 
point,  Jacob  Young,  a  merchant,  and  James  Kenna 
and  Thomas  Kinney,  railway  employees,  moved  from 
White  House  to  occupy  Clinton  Station  (as  Annan- 
dale  was  called).  Freeh  was  transferred  to  that  point 
to  be  the  station-agent,  Boeman  went  there  to  put  up 
a  tavern,  Young  to  build  a  store  and  begin  trading, 
Kinney  and  Kenna  to  work  for  the  railway  company. 
Upon  their  arrival  they  found  the  present  site  occu- 
pied by  the  farms  of  the  widow  of  Peter  Young,  the 
widow  Jane  Huffman,  and  John  H.  Cregar.  Boeman 
purchased  the  first  village  lot,  and  built  thereon  the 
present  village  tavern,  of  which  he  was  the  landlord 
from  1852  to  1879.  Freeh,  the  railroad  agent,  lived 
in  the  station-building  erected  in  1852,  and  Jacob 
Young,  losing  no  time,  built  a  store  and  grain  ware- 
house. July  4,  1852,  the  first  through-train  for  pas- 
sengers from  New  York  to  Easton  passed  Clinton 
Station. 

The  village  bore  the  name  of  Clinton  Station  until 
1873,  when  the  then  president  of  the  Central  Eailroad, 
John  T.  Johnston,  suggested  the  present  name  upon 
being  requested  to  re-christen  the  place.  The  pre- 
sumption seems  to  be  that  he  called  it  after  a  town  in 
his  own  native  Scotland.  The  only  resident  physician 
the  town  ever  had  was  William  Knight,  now  of  Clin- 
ton, who  practiced  from  1872  to  1878.  Theodore 
Eisler  was  the  first  village  postmaster,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  turn  by  Josiah  Cole  and  John  Lair.  Be- 
sides the  ordinary  village  enterprises,  Annandale  has 
a  sash-and-blind-factory,  whose  proprietors,  B.  E. 
Young  &  Co.,  carry  on  also  a  large  lumber  trade. 

THE  EEFOEMBD  PEOTESTANT  DUTCH  CHURCH. 

Annandale  has  had  but  one  church  organization, 
and  that  has  continued  to  flourish.  There  was  a  meet- 
ing of  the  people  of  the  village,  June  1, 1866,  to  nomi- 
nate oficers  of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church 
"to  be  formed  at  Clinton  Station."  Rev.  Robert  Van 
Amburgh  presided  and  George  M.  Freeh  was  chosen 
clerk,  whereupon  Archibald  Huffman  and  John  H. 
Cregar  were  chosen  elders  and  George  M.  Freeh  and 
George  H.  Rowland  deacons.  June  28,  1866,  Revs. 
James  Le  Fever,  Robert  Van  Amburgh,  and  P.  P.  M. 
Doolittle,  with  Elders  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  and 


John  A.  Apgar,  met  to  organize  the  church.  On  that 
occasion  Archibald  Huffman,  Mary  Huffman,  John 
H.  Cregar,  Anna  Cregar,  George  H.  Rowland,  Mercy 
Rowland,  George  M.  Freeh,  and  Barbara  Freeh  pre- 
sented certificates  of  dismission  from  the  Reformed 
Protestant  Dutch  Church  of  Lebanon,  and  were  or- 
ganized as  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of 
Clinton  Station.  April  20,  1867,  an  addition  of  sev- 
enteen was  made  to  the  membership,  and  in  1868  the 
present  house  of  worship  was  built. 

Rev.  J.  A.  Van  Dorn,  who  preached  as  supply  at 
the  first,  was  on  Sept.  9,  1869,  called  to  be  the  stated 
pastor.  He  resigned  April  8, 1873,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Robert  Van  Amburgh,  to  whom,  Nov.  12, 
1877,  followed  Rev.  George  H.  Cleaveland,  the  present 
pastor. 

The  church  membership,  November,  1880,  was  111. 
The  deacons  were  Andrew  B.  Lare,  John  Prugh,  J. 
S.  Wyckoff,  and  Millard  Prugh ;  the  elders,  William 
B.  Lare,  I.  C.  Harvey,  N.  P.  Wyckoff,  and  William  H. 
Yauger;  superintendent  of  Sunday-school,  B.  E. 
Young. 

ALLERTOWN    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

Methodist  Episcopal  services  were  doubtless  held 
at  Alleirtown  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  but  his- 
torical recollections  are  meagre  for  want  of  testimony. 
It  is  known,  however,  that  a  Methodist  church  was 
built  at  AUertown  in  1822,  upon  land  donated  by 
Henry  Aller,  and  that  in  1830  or  thereabouts  Revs. 
Winner  and  Atwood  were  preachers.  There  was  no 
Methodist  Sunday-school  there  then,  but  there  was 
one  conducted  by  the  Presbyterians,  which,  in  charge 
of  John  Lowe,  had  weekly  sessions  in  the  AUertown 
school-house.  In  1875  the  old  church  edifice  was  re- 
placed with  the  fine  structure  now  standing  upon  its 
site.  Since  the  beginning  the  church  organization 
has  steadily  prospered,  and  has  now  a  membership  ot 
about  200.  The  pastor  is  Rev.  Mr.  Mead,  who  holds 
weekly  services.  The  Sunday-school  superintendent 
is  Benjamin  Fritts.  Referring  briefly  to  the  old 
church  built  in  1822,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  observe 
that  it  was  constructed  mainly  by  the  contributions 
in  labor  and  material  furnished  by  the  members, 
and  that  among  those  most  prominent  in  church 
affairs  then  were  Jeremiah  Huff,  Nathaniel  Atchley, 
George  Alpaugh,  and  John  Green. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 

Doubtless  the  oldest  graves  to  be  found  in  Clinton 
township  are  in  the  old  graveyard  at  Lebanon,  but  no 
evidence  remains  to  prove  the  assertion,  since  many  of 
those  oldest  graves  are  without  headstones,  while  such 
as  are  thus  marked  boast  no  legible  legends.  There  is 
an  old  burial-place  on  the  John  Fulkerson  place,  near 
Annandale,  but,  save  in  the  cases  of  two  graves  that 
have  been  especially  cared  for,  the  resting-places  of 
the  dead  in  that  spot  are  unmarked  except  by  here 
and  there  a  fragment  of  a  headstone.    The  two  graves 


CLINTON. 


539 


alluded  to  are  those  of  Hugh  Martin  and  Martha,  his 
brother's  wife.  About  these  graves  David  Fraser 
years  ago  built  a  stone  wall,  which  fronts  the  high- 
way. Martha  Martin's  grave  is  designated  by  a  plain 
slab,  upon  which  is  written : 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  Martha,  'wife  of  Alexander  Martin,  who  died 
May  11, 1753,  aged  74." 

Over  flugh  Martin's  grave  is  a  white  marble  tablet, 
upon  which  appears  in  plainly  traceable  characters 
the  following  story : 

"  Here  lie  the  remains  of  Hugh  Martin,  who  lived  in  this  vicinity 
many  years,  during  which,  possessing  the  confidence  of  his  government 
and  his  fellow^citizens,  he  diecharged  the  duties  of  several  ofBces  of  profit 
and  trust  with  integrity  and  honesty.  In  the  practice  of  the  private 
and  public  virtues,  eminent ;  as  husband,  father,  relative,  and  friend,  be- 
loved ;  as  a  magistrate,  revered.  To  religion  a  support,  to  science  a 
patron,  and  to  the  poor,  a  friend.  He  waa  born  in  Ireland,  County  Ty- 
rone, and  died  March  7, 1761,  aged  63. 

"  Let  sculptured  marble  vainly  boast, 
And  birth  and  titles  scan ; 
God's  noblest  work,  of  value  most. 
Here  lies  an  ttonest  man. 

"  His  weeping  sons  in  North  Carolina  pay  this  tribute  to  his  memory. 
Go,  traveler,  and  imitate  his  virtues." 

The  oldest  record  in  the  old  Lebanon  cemetery  is 
that  which  tells  of  the  death  of  Matthias  Cramer, 
March  24,  1783,  aged  forty-six.  One  old  headstone  is 
marked  "  A.  H.  D.,  1787,"  and  no  more.  Among  the 
oldest  inscriptions  besides,  are  those  of  Philip  Eyck, 
Sr.,  1788 ;  Eve,  his  wife,  1792  ;  Charlotte  Huffman, 
John  Huffman,  and  Mary  Huffman,  1801 ;  Eve  Eick 
and  Mary  Eodenbough,  1803 ;  Mary  Sharp,  1804 ;  C. 
Huffman,  1805;  John  Wyckoff,  1806;  Anna  Huff- 
man, John  Van  Campen,  1809  ;  Sarah  Huffman, 
1810  ;  Jacob  Huffman,  Margaret  Eike,  Jacob  Eisler, 
Jacob  Huffman,  1811;  Mary  Huffman,  1813;  John 
S.  Alpaugh,  Jacob  Apgar,  Catharine  Lindaberry, 
Maria  Wack,  Samuel  Jones,  1815 ;  and  E.  Huffman, 
1816.  A  single  tablet  recites  the  sorrowful  story  of 
the  deaths,  between  Jan.  6  and  29, 1830,  of  Timothy 
L.  Porter  and  his  four  children,  Cornelia,  William, 
John,  and  Amy,  all  with  a  malignant  fever. 

TOWNSHIP   SCHOOLS. 

The  school  districts  in  Clinton  township  are  num- 
bered 54,  55,  56,  57,  and  58,  and  named  respectively 
Annandale,  Bray's  Hill,  Lebanon,  Bound  Valley,  and 
Hamden.  Mr.  John  S.  Cramer  recollects  attending 
school -in  the  Annandale  District  as  early  as  1803,  in 
a  log  school-house  that  stood  near  Peter  H.  Huff- 
man's. The  teacher  was  Sallie  Price,  and  among  the 
scholars  were  John  Aller,  John  and  Peter  Huffman, 
and  Ann  Huffman.  A  second  log  school-house  was 
built  pretty  soon  after  that,  just  north  of  the  present 
Stout  place,  and  to  that  school  went  John  S.  Cramer, 
John  Grandin,  Mary  and  Sallie  Fox,  Ann  and  Betsey 
Cregar,  William  Hunt,  Ishe  Hunt,  and  Philip  Gran- 
din. Of  course  there  were  other  scholars,  but  their 
names  cannot  be  recalled.  There  had  to  be  twenty- 
five  scholars  to  make  a  school,  and  some  of  them  had 


to  come  a  long  way.  The  teacher  in  that  second  log 
school-house  was  William  Thatcher.  Not  many  of 
the  pupils  are  left.  Thatcher  was  also  a  teacher  in 
the  red  school-house,  near  the  Stout  place,  and  third 
in  the  list  of  remembered  school-buildings.  The 
second  teacher  in  the  red  school-house  (next  follow- 
ing Thatcher)  was  Charles  Q.  Phillips.  The  fourth 
school-house  was  built  in  1836,  and  occupied  a  site 
about  opposite  the  Dutch  Reformed  church.  The 
building  now  occupied  by  the  district  school  in  An- 
nandale was  erected  in  1865  for  a  public  hall,  and 
since  1869  has  been  the  property  of  the  district.  It 
is  a  three-story  frame  structure,  with  seating  capacity 
for  about  250,  although  the  average  attendance  does 
not  reach  beyond  100.  E.  C.  Harvey  is  the  principal, 
and  Maggie  Eockhill  the  assistant.  The  trustees  are 
William  A.  Young,  George  Creveling,  and  J.  H. 
Miller. 

As  to  the  Bray's  Hill  school,  it  can  only  be  stated 
that  there  was  a  school  there  as  early  as  1810,  and 
perhaps  before.  It  is  at  all  events  certain  that  the 
early  dwellers  in  the  Lebanon  District  sent  children 
there,  for  in  the  latter  district  there  was  no  school 
until  as  late  as  1842.  The  present  Bray's  Hill  school- 
house  was  built  in  1845.  It  is  a  frame  structure,  24 
by  30,  and  in  it  the  average  attendance  reaches  40. 
The  trustees  for  1880  were  William  Beavers,  John  D. 
Cregar,  and  Noah  Tiger. 

The  first  school-house  built  in  the  Lebanon  District 
was  a  frame,  24  by  30,  erected  in  1842  at  a  point 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  village.  The 
first  trustees  were  William  H.  Huffman,  Henry  A. 
Apgar,  and  Samuel  Clark ;  the  first  teacher,  Garrett 
Servis.  The  present  house,  a  two-story  frame,  was 
built  in  1869,  and  cost  $3500.  There  are  two  de- 
partments, with  an  aggregate  attendance  of  about  80. 
The  principal  is  0.  H.  Huffman,  and  the  assistant 
Laura  Huffman.  The  trustees  for  1880  were  James 
Van  Syckel,  L.  L.  Grippin,  and  G.  N.  Apgar. 

The  first  school-house  known  to  Eound  Valley  is 
said  to  have  been  built  in  1785,  upon  a  spot  but  200 
yards  removed  from  the  present  house.  It  was  a 
framed  house  covered  with  pine  shingles,  and  meas- 
ured 18  by  20.  The  first  teacher  was  a  Mr.  Blue,  but 
tradition  tells  that  there  was  a  teacher  and  a  school- 
house  in  the  Valley  even  before  Blue's  time.  David 
Haver  has  an  arithmetic  that  was  written  in  1778  by 
J.  S.  Cramer,  who  is  vaguely  mentioned  as  having 
taught  about  that  time  in  a  log  school-house  "  one 
mile  down  the  Valley."  The  district  has  had  five 
school-houses,  of  which  the  present,  standing  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  Valley,  is  a  two-story  frame,  30  by 
40,  cost  $3500,  and  was  built  in  1872.  The  principal 
is  Henry  Allen;  the  trustees  are  William  Johnson, 
David  Sharp,  and  John  Eockafellow. 

In  the  Hamden  District  school  was  first  kept  at 
Allertown  in  1814,  in  a  house  that  had  previously 
served  as  the  residence  of  "Daddy"  Butler,  the 
cooper.    The  first  teacher  was  a  Mr.  Cumback.    A 


I 


540 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


stone  school-house  is  said  to  have  been  erected  in 
1826  near  where  the  present  house  stands.  The  trus- 
tees in  1826  were  John  Grandin,  Elias  Hoagland, 
and  Jacob  McLain.  The  present  house  was  built  in 
1849.  It  is  a  frame,  24  by  28,  and  can  seat  40.  The 
trustees  for  1880  were  Emanuel  Fritts,  Charles  Cane, 
and  George  W.  Shafer. 

The  only  information  to  be  gleaned  from  the  town- 
ship records  touching  the  condition  of  the  public 
schools  previous  to  1850  stands  under  the  head  of 
"  School  Report  for  1849,"  from  which  it  appears  that 
in  that  year  the  State  fund  due  the  township  amounted 
to  1206.27,  and  that  the  amount  of  school  tax  wa« 
$400,  the  whole  divided  between  nine  districts.  It  is 
further  learned  that  in  1863  the  township  contained 
fourteen  school  districts,  with  a  total  of  964  school 
children. 

CLINTON    IN   THE    EEBELLION. 

The  first  town-meeting  in  Clinton  to  consider  the 
question  of  raising  soldiers  for  service  in  the  Rebellion 
was  held  Aug.  23,  ]862,  the  object  being  to  consider 
the  propriety  of  raising  a  bounty-fund  sufficient  to 
avoid  a  draft  for  the  nine  months'  service.  On  that 
occasion  a  r«-;olution  was  adopted  to  raise  ?jy  tax  a 
sum  sufficient  to  pay  $100  each  for  all  men  assigned 
as  the  township's  quota  under  the  nine  months'  call. 
At  the  same  meeting  it  was  reported  that  the  town- 
ship had  already  in  the  service  .58  men. 

Aug.  29,  1862,  the  township  treasurer  paid  to  106 
men  the  sum  of  $100  each  as  bounty,  under  resolution 
j/a-ssed  Aug.  29,  1862. 

Dec.  23,  1863,  a  town-meeting  was  held  to  raise 
?jounties  for  men  to  serve  under  the  two  calls  recently 
issued  by  the  general  government,  when  it  was  voted 
to  pay  $350  each  for  volunteers  to  the  number  of  98, 
but  only  >'300  per  man  drafted,  in  case  a  draft  became 
necessary,  and  that  every  man  in  the  town  between 
the  ages  of  twenty  and  forty-five  liable  to  the  draft 
should  pay  to  the  town  committee  the  sum  of  .^25  on 
or  before  .Jan.  3,  1864,  or,  in  defeult,  forfeit  all  claim 
to  the  $300  appropriated  for  drafted  men.  Dec.  30, 
1863,  this  assessment  was  paid  by  290  men,  aggre- 
gating $.5.500. 

Under  the  calb  82  men  volunteered  and  received  a 
bounty  of  $28,700,  the  town  borrowing  $15,000  at 
sixty  flays,  and  $75'>0  at  thirty  days.  The  same  year 
$17,000  was  paid  out  to  volunteer--  and  for  sub-ititutes 
for  those  who  had  paid  assessments  to  be  insured 
against  the  draft. 

L'nder  the  President's  call  of  .luly,  1864,  for  500,000 
men,  Clinton  was  to  furnish  79 ;  56  volunteered,  and 
received  bounties  of  from  $500  to  $675,  or  a  total  of 
$36,650 ;  23  substitutes  were  purchased  at  $600  each,  so 
that  for  the  79  men  the  town  paid  out  $50,450.  Inci- 
dental to  raising  the  money  for  this  expenditure  there 
was  an  additional  expense  of  $1371.29  for  interest, 
etc.  Under  tlie  call  of  Deeernber,  1864,  the  town  paid 
for  substitutes  and  volunteers  the  sum  of  $47,610,  79 
men  being  furnished. 


Of  those  who  entered  the  military  service  from 
Clinton  during  the  war  of  181 2  the  names  are  recalled 

of  .John  AUer,  from  Sussex  County,  Doolittle, 

Saul  Hoppock,  Peter  Hoppock,  and  Peter  Lance. 
Lance  went  out  as  a  substitute  for  David  Sharp. 
Benjamin  Fritts  was  drafted,  and  hired  .John  Loomi- 
son  as  a  substitute ;  but,  luckily  enough  for  Loomison, 
the  war  closed  before  he  got  started,  although  not 
before  he  had  got  his  hire  of  Fritts.  John  Aller,  the 
last  of  the  survivors,  died  in  187-5,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

EEV.   EGBERT   VAN   A.MBrRf>H. 

Rev.  Pi«bert  Van  Amburgh  was  bom  .Ian.  9,  1809, 
about  six  miles  south  of  Poughkeepsie,  in  the  south- 
em  i)art  of  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  is  of  both  Hol- 
land and  French  descent,  iim  early  occupation 
was  that  of  hu.sbandry,  and  in  all  the  varieties  of  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  he  was  among  the  first  in  labor  and 
success;  even  at  ten  years  of  age  he  could  handle  a 
scTthe  with  the  same  ease  and  agility  as  any  older 
laborer. 

His  first  twenty  years  were  passed  in  the  usual 
routine  of  a  farmer's  life,  receiving  such  education 
an  the  common  schook  of  his  neighborhood  af- 
forded. When  he  had  nearly  attained  his  majority, 
he  received  a  decided  religious  impres-sion,  accom- 
fianied  by  a  strong  sense  of  Divine  responsibility  that 
he  should  devote  himself  exclusively  to  the  service  of 
the  Lord.  He  at  once  began  to  prepare  himself  under 
the  tutelage  of  the  Rev.  Eliphalet  Price,  a  very  able 
and  worthy  Presbyterian  mininter,  of  Hughjsonville, 
N.  Y.,  and  from  thence  be  repaired  to  Whitesboro',  in 
the  same  State.  In  1834  he  entered  Rutgers  College, 
at  New  Bninswick,  from  which  institution  he  gradu- 
ated in  the  class  of  1837.  He  subsfyjuently  matricu- 
lated in  the  theological  seminary  in  the  same  city,  and 
took  his  degree  in  1840.  Jn  both  institutions  the 
highest  honors  were  conceded  to  him. 

When  he  entered  the  public  ministry,  bis  preaching 
was  so  pop'ular  and  so  significantly  successful  that  he 
wa«  tendered  a  call  in  almost  ever\'  vacant  church 
where  he  ministered.  He  accepted  a  call  to  the  Re- 
formed Church  of  Lebanon,  N.  J.,  and  in  a  compara- 
tively brief  period  the  congregation  grew  until  the 
church  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  field  of 
his  labors  embraced  a  rich,  rural  country,  thickly  -et- 
tled,  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  square.  The  calls  to 
duty  were  frequent,  and  the  duties  thernselvis  multi- 
form and  various.  His  labors  were  numerous,  olUiO. 
burdensome,  and  little  time  was  left  him  for  study  or 
recreation.  Years  glided  by,  with  scarcely  any  cessa- 
tion or  rest,  until  August,  1837,  when  he  res)gn<:/l  his 
charge  and  went  to  Fordham,  X.  Y.,  where  he  be^;ar/je 
pastor  of  an  old  church.     The  congregation  there  had 


i  tJlr  o~i^-i  y^^  /z^u 


/ 


^^^^^^v  ^^^^^^^'^ 


CLINTON. 


541 


been  for  years  agitating  the  expediency  of  erecting  a 
new  edifice ;  but  internal  and  external  strength  was 
apparently  paralyzed,  and  their  efibrts  resulted  in 
nothing,  notwithstanding  for  seventeen  years  they 
had  been  striving  to  attain  their  object.  In  this  state 
of  lethargy  he  came  among  them,  and  instilled  new 
life  into  the  fold.  The  old  dilapidated  structure  was 
filled  to  overflowing  during  the  first  year  of  his  min- 
istry, and  in  February,  1838,  a  meeting  was  called  to 
take  measures  for  the  erection  of  a  new  edifice.  In 
August  following  a  beautiful  brick  building  was  dedi- 
cated, free  of  debt,  with  the  exception  of  about  twelve 
hundred  dollars;  This  building  was  soon  filled  with 
an  interested  worshiping  assembly,  and  his  salary  was 
largely  increased  from  the  pew-rents. 

From  Fordham  he  removed  to  Hughsonville,  N.  Y., 
after  the  former  charge  became  independent.  He  was 
recalled  to  Lebanon  in  August,  1853,  and  almost  im- 
mediately the  old  brick  church  was  converted  into  a 
new,  convenient,  and  elegant  frame  structure,  not  sur- 
passed by  any  church  edifice  at  that  time  in  Hunter- 
don County.  Here  also  his  labors  were  crowned  with 
remarkable  success.  Great  numbers  of  the  middle- 
aged,  as  also  of  the  young  and  old,  were  added  to  the 
church,  and  from  the  adjoining  counties  the  popula- 
tion flocked  to  this  church,  insomuch  that  all  could 
not  obtain  sittings,  even  on  ordinary  occasions,  and  it 
became  the  largest  assemblage  of  any  country  con- 
gregation in  the  State. 

In  1869  he  accepted  a  call  to  High  Bridge,  a  church 
of  his  own  organizing,  it  having  grown  under  his  care 
from  a  very  few  worshipers  in  an  obscure  school-house 
to  a  fairly-sustaining  congregation  with  a  church  edi- 
fice. When  he  had  become  settled  as  their  permanent 
pastor,  the  building  was  found  to  be  too  small  to  ac- 
commodate the  necessary  congregation,  whereupon  he 
immediately  agitated  the  question  of  building  a  new 
edifice,  and  in  the  face  of  strenuous  opposition  he 
pushed  the  matter  forward,  and  soon  had  the  corner- 
stone laid,  obtained  the  means,  and  speedily  there  was 
completed  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Gothic  ar- 
chitecture in  the  State,  which  now  lifts  its  spire 
heavenward,  as  if  indicating  its  future  prosperity  and 
the  moral  elevation  of  the  surrounding  inhabitants. 

He  next  took  charge  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Lower  German  Valley.  This  also  was  an  infant  con- 
gregation, and  under  his  ministry  it  rapidly  advanced 
in  strength  and  devotion.  At  the  close  of  his  pastor- 
ate at  Lower  German  Valley  he  settled  over  a  congre- 
gation he  had  previously  organized  at  Annandale, 
N;  J.  At  this  point  a  large  debt  had  been  nearly 
liquidated  in  about  two  years,  and  the  number  of  at- 
tendants nearly  doubled.  He  remained  their  pastor 
till  November,  1878. 


He  is  now  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age,  and  is 
yet  as  vivacious  in  spirit,  active  in  labor,  and  as  per- 
severing in  his  efibrts  as  he  was  in  his  youth.  He 
possesses  a  warm  temperament,  with  great  decision 
of  character,  accompanied  by  an  energetic  spirit,  that 
contends  earnestly  for  victory,  in  the  battle  of  life. 
He  is  a  benevolent  and  generous  giver,  and  his  house 
is  where  the  needy  and  afflicted  are  wont  to  gather. 

Mr.  Van  Amburgh  is  not  at  present  in  charge  of 
any  congregation,  but  his  time  is  occupied  with  occa- 
sional preaching  and  his  various  business  interests,  in 
connection  with  his  farm  and  property  in  the  village 
of  Lebanon. 


JONATHAN   DAWES. 


Jonathan  Dawes,  son  of  John  and  Catharine  (Por- 
ter) Dawes,  was  born  in  Lebanon  (now  Clinton)  town- 
ship, in  the  same  house  where  his  ancestors  for  sev- 
eral generations  lived  and  died.  His  great-grand- 
father, Adrian  Dawes,  came  from  White  Marsh,  near 
Valley  Forge,  where  he  lived  when  Washington's 
army  lay  there  during  that  memorable  winter  of  the 
Eevolutionary  struggle.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  and  was  born  in  Wales,  whence 
he  immigrated  to  this  country. 

John  Dawes,  son  of  the  above,  and  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  settled  on  the  present  homestead  in  1775. 

He  married  Alice  Janney,  of  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Margery  Janney,  of  Cheshire, 
England,  who  settled  in  Bucks  County  in  1683.  He 
(Thomas  Janney)  died  Dec.  12,  1696.  John  and 
Alice  Dawes  had  six  children, — two  sons  and  four 
daughters.  The  father  of  Jonathan  Dawes  was  the 
youngest  of  the  family,  and  was  born  Feb.  10,  1787 ; 
he  married  Catharine  Porter,  May  3,  1807 ;  they  had 
four  children,  of  whom  Jonathan  Dawes  was  the  only 
son,  born  Feb.  9,  1808,  and  brought  up  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides.  The  house  where  he  lives  was 
built  by  his  grandfather,  in  1787. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  two  years, — 
1841  and  1842, — elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket, 
with  which  party  he  has  always  voted.  He  married 
Jane  Kline,  daughter  of  David  M.  Kline,  Sr.,  Dec. 

29,  1835.  She  was  born  Dec.  2,  1817,  in  Clinton 
township,  Hunterdon  Co.  They  have  had  four  chil- 
dren, whose  record  we  give  as  follows : 

Martha,  V.,  born  March  6,  1837,  married  George 
T.  Stryker,  of  Clinton  township ;  Elizabeth,  bom  ■ 
July  9, 1840,  died  Aug.  9, 1841 ;  Mary  W.,  born  May 

30,  1844,  married  William  Craig,  residing  near  New 
Germantown;  John,  born  Nov.  23,  1847,  married' 
Laura  Sharp,  of  Clinton  township,  Dec.  24, 1879. 


542 


HUNTERDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


JOHN   r.    QRANDIN,  M.D. 


JOHN   GFANDIN 


JOHN    F.    GRANDIN,   M.D. 

Daniel  Grandin  and  Mary,  his  wife,  came  from 
France  and  settled  in  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.  Their 
sons,  John  and  Philip,  both  came  to  Hunterdon  and 
purchased  one  thousand  acres  of  land  on  the  South 
Branch,  being  a  part  of  the  five  thousand  acre  tract 
of  Daniel  Coxe.  They  called  this  the  Hamden  tract. 
They  did  not  buy  it  all  at  one  time,  but  built  their 
mills  when  they  came  from  Monmouth.  The  original 
deed  was  destroyed  by  fire  when  the  old  Grandin 
house,  which  stood  near  the  late  residence  of  Joseph 
Fritts,  was  burned.  They  owned  the  mill  property 
as  far  back  as  1759,  and  probably  several  years  earlier. 
The  water-right,  still  owned  by  Jacob  M.  Johnson, 
at  the  mills  was  given  in  1752,  and  transferred  to  the 
Grandius  in  1759,  at  which  latter  date  they  appear  to 
have  been  established  for  some  time  at  the  mills. 
The  land  where  Dr.  Grandin  and  family  now  live  at 
Hamden  was  sold  in  1763  by  Samuel  Eogers  to  Sam- 
uel Lippincott,  and,  in  1772,  Samuel  Lippincott  and 
wife  sold  it  to  John  and  Philip  Grandin.  John  mar- 
ried Abigail  Lippincott ;  they  had  no  issue.  Philip 
was  the  progenitor  of  the  Grandin  family.  He  mar- 
ried Eleanor  Forman,  and  was  a  fuller,  dyer,  and 
miller.  John  attended  to  the  store  and  farm,  and  was 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  but  both  lived  in  the  same 
house,  the  one  burnt  near  the  Fritts  residence.  Philip 
and  Eleanor  (Forman)  Grandin  had  two  sons  and  five 
daughters, — viz.,  Dr.  John  Forman  Grandin,  Philip, 
Mary,  Jane,  Abigail,  Eleanor,  and  Rachel. 

John  Grandin,  born  in  Monmouth,  April  28,  1721, 
died  Aug.  5, 1777.     His  wife,  Abigail  Lippincott,  died 


March  18,  1788.  They  were  both  buried  in  the 
Friends'  burying-ground  at  Kingwood,  now  Quaker- 
town.  Philip  died  Feb.  23,  1791 ;  Eleanor,  his  wife, 
died  March  1st  of  the  same  year,  just  six  days  after, 
and  both  were  buried  in  the  same  grave,  at  the  King- 
wood  Friends'  burying-ground. 

Philip,  son  of  the  first  Philip,  and  brother  of  Dr. 
John  Grandin,  married  Mercy  Gray ;  they  died  with- 
out issue,  and  were  buried  at  Kingwood. 

Dr.  John  F.  Grandin's  wife,  Mary  Newell,  was  a 
first  cousin  of  that  gallant  hero,  Capt.  Lawrence, 
whose  dying  words  have  thrilled  the  world  with  their 
eloquent  import,  whose  name  is  upon  every  school- 
boy's lips,  whose  last  utterance  we  might  well  take  as 
a  precept  in  all  our  struggles  through  life, — "  Don't 
give  up  the  ship  !"  Dr.  John  F.  Grandin  and  Mary, 
his  wife,  had  six  children,— to  wit,  Elizabeth,  born 
April  18,  1785,  married  Dr.  Benjamin  Hunt,  son  of 
Daniel  Hunt,  of  Hunt's  Mills,  now  Clinton ;  both  re- 
moved to  Ohio  and  lived  there.  Eleanor,  born  Sept. 
15, 1786,  married  the  late  Joseph  Reading,  near  Flem- 
ington ;  she  died  in  Philadelphia.  Mary,  born  Feb. 
3,  1788,  married  John  W.  Bray,  of  Clinton;  after- 
wards removed  to  California,  where  they  both  died. 
Lucy,  born  April  2,  1790,  married  Elmore  Williams, 
of  Cincinnati,  who  built  the  first  brick  house  ever 
erected  in  that  city,  where  he  died,  leaving  an  estate 
of  over  a  million  of  dollars.  John,  born  May  28, 
1792,  married  Elizabeth  H.,  daughter  of  the  late 
Daniel  Reading,  who  lived  on  the  farm  at  Flemington 
now  known  as  the  Fair  Ground.  This  family  of 
Readings  were  descendants  of  Hon.  John  Reading, 
well   known   as  a  very  useful  and  highly-esteemed 


CLINTON. 


543 


man,  once  temporary  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and 
always  prominent  in  the  early  history  of  the  State.  ' 
Philip  Grandin,  the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  John  For- 
man  Grandin,  was  born  Feb.  11,  1794 ;  he  married 
Hannah  Piatt,  removed  to  Ohio,  and  died  there, 
leaving  a  large  fortune.  His  widow  and  children 
still  live  in  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  near  Cincinnati. 

Elizabeth  H.  Grandin  died  Oct.  14,  1842,  and  was 
buried  in  Bethlehem. 

John  and  Elizabeth  H.  Grandin  had  five  children, 
— Daniel  Reading  Grandin,  Mary  Newell,  Elizabeth, 
Dr.  John  Forman  Grandin,  and  Jane  Elizabeth. 
The  third  child  died  June  10, 1832.  Mary  N.  mar- 
ried George  F.  Slocum,  of  Wilkesbarre,  a  son  of 
Joseph  Slocum,  Esq.,  who  was  a  brother  of  Frances 
Slocum,  who  was  carried  off  from  her  father's  house 
Nov.  2, 1778,  by  the  Indians. 

Dr.  John  Forman  Grandin,  the  elder,  was  the 
father  of  John  Grandin,  born  on  the  homestead.  May 
28,  1792,  and  who  still  resides  there  at  the  advanced 
age  of  nearly  eighty-nine  years.  The  former  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  Newell,  of  AUentown,  N.  J.,  whose 
daughter  Mary  he  married,  and  reared  a  family  of  two 
sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  John  only  survives. 
Dr.  Grandin  practiced  medicine  all  his  life  at  Ham- 
den,  and  had  a  very  large  and  successful  practice. 
He  died  in  1811 ;  his  wife  died  in  Cincinnati,  in  1849, 
aged  eighty-seven  years. 

For  three  generations  there  were  but  two  sons  in 
the  Grandin  family,  and  they  bore  the  names  of  John 
and  Philip.  The  present  family  of  John  Grandin  and 
Elizabeth  Beading  is  an  exception,  there  being  two 
sons,  Daniel  Reading  and  Dr.  John  Forman  Grandin, 
both  living  on  the  old  homestead  near  Hamden. 

John  Foreman  Grandin,  M.D.,  was  prepared  for 
college  under  the  instruction  of  Rev.  John  Van  Der- 
veer,  deceased,  at  Easton,  Pa. ;  entered  Lafayette  Col- 
lege, where  he  spent  the  freshman  and  sophomore 
years,  and  completed  the  junior  and  senior  years  at 
Union  College,  graduating  from  the  latter  in  1849. 
He  studied  medicine  with  the  Hon.  John  Manners, 
M.D.,  at  Clinton,  N.  J.,  and  received  his  degree  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1852.  He  has  prac- 
ticed his  profession  ever  since  where  he  now  resides. 
He  was  married,  Oct.  13,  1880,  to  Fannie  Todd,  of 
Lebanon,  N.  J. 


David  McCloughan ;  Susan,  who  married,  first, 
George  Larue,  and,  second,  David  B.  Huffman ; 
Henry,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Arzilla,  deceased,  wife 
of  George  V.  Creveling;    Joseph   A.,  farmer,  near 


JOSEPH   FRITTS. 

Joseph  Fritts  was  born  in  Lebanon  (now  Clinton) 
township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Oct.  14,  1802,  and 
died  March  2, 1879.  He  was  a  son  of  Charles  and 
Susan  (White)  Fritts.  His  brothers  were  Peter, 
Charles,  and  Benjamin,  and  his  sisters  Maria,  Chris- 
tiana, Sally,  Laney,  and  Elizabeth.  Six  of  the  fam- 
ily are  living  at  this  writing. 

Joseph  Fritts  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Henry 
Aller,  Esq.,  and  had  nine  children,  six  sons  and  three 
daughters,  viz.:   Charles,  deceased;   Mary,  wife  of 


JOSEPH   TRirTS. 

Lebanon,  who  married  Susan  Huffman  ;  Stires,  man- 
ufacturer of  flax,  etc.,  in  Clinton  township,  who  mar- 
ried Margaret  Probasco ;  Emanuel,  farmer,  in  Clinton 
township,  who  married  Mary  Elizabeth  Kuhl ;  Oliver, 
farmer,  in  Clinton  township,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Cregar,  of  High  Bridge. 

Mr.  Fritts  followed  farming  all  his  life,  and  was  a 
well-known  and  enterprising  citizen.  He  started  in 
life  poor,  married  young,  and  four  or  five  years  lived 
on  rented  farms,  saving  about  two  hundred  dollars. 
Putting  this  with  five  hundred  dollars  borrowed 
money,  he  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  acres  near  Allertown,  paying  therefor,  in  eleven 
annual  installments,  sixteen  dollars  an  acre,  and 
meeting  all  his  obligations  for  six  years,  when  he  sold 
the  place  for  thirty-two  dollars  an  acre.  This  was  his 
start  in  a  series  of  land-operations  which  he  carried 
on  largely  and  profitably  during  most  of  his  life. 
With  the  proceeds  thus  acquired  he  bought  the  farm 
commonly  called  the  Shirts  farm,  which  he  owned  at 
his  death.  He  afterwards  bought  the  farm  of  eighty 
acres  on  which  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  McCloughan, 
lives ;  he  then  bought  the  old  homestead  farm  of  his 
father  and  brother,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three  acres,  upon  which  he  erected  new  build- 
ings, as  also  upon  the  Shirts  farm ;  at  the  same  time 
he  bought  a  lot  of  twenty-three  acres  at  Lebanon 
Depot,  for  which  he  paid  three  thousand  six  hundred 
dollars;  he  bought  also  for  his  son-in-law,  George 


\ 

4 


544' 


HUNTEKDOX  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Larue,  a  lot  and  shops  near  Dawestown,  and  pur- 
chased a  farm  of  eighty-six  acres  adjoining  the  Shirts 
farm,  of  John  Fine ;  he  next  bought  of  A.  K.  Kinney 
a  farm  of  ninety-seven  acres  at  Hamden,  paying  for 
the  same  thirteen  thousand  dollars ;  at  the  same  time 
he  purchased  of  Mr.  Kinney  the  flax-mill  and  lot  at 
Hamden.  These  are  hut  a  portion  of  his  real  estate 
operations ;  he  bought  also  a  farm  near  Young's  Mills 
containing  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  acres,  for 
■which  he  paid  eighty-one  dollars  an  acre ;  and  about 
two  years  before  he  died  he  bought  a  mill-property 
at  Annandale  for  which  he  paid  nine  thousand  four 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Much  of  this  property,  of 
course,  he  bought  and  sold,  so  that  at  the  time  of  his 
decease  he  owned  four  farms,  two  mill-properties,  and 
considerable  wood-land. 
These  facts  are  given  not  to  make  a  parade  of  his 


possessions,  but  to  show  how  fortune  sometimes  at- 
tends the  earnest  efforts  of  a  man  who  begins  the 
struggle  of  life  single-handed  and  without  capital, 
save  his  own  energy  and  industry.  Mr.  Fritts  was  a 
man  of  great  firmness  and  excellent  judgment;  he 
read  and  kept  himself  well  informed  on  current  topics 
and  matters  of  general  occurrence ;  his  judgment  was 
frequently  sought  in  matters  of  importance,  and  was 
usually  found  correct ;  he  was  calm  and  deliberate  in 
coming  to  a  decision,  but  when  he  made  up  his  mind 
he  was  not  easily  moved.  He  was  highly  esteemed 
for  his  uprightness  and  integrity  as  a  man  and  a  citi- 
zen, and  was  called  to  settle  a  number  of  estates  and 
to  fill  several  of  the  responsible  ofiices  of  his  town- 
ship. He  was  freeholder  and  justice  of  the  peace 
several  years,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
for  two  terms, — 1845  and  1846. 


OLIISTTON     VILLAGE. 


Clinton  Village— or  Clinton  borough,  as  it  is 
commonly  known — is  picturesquely  located  upon  the 
South  Branch  of  the  Earitan  Elver  (which  divides 
it),  distant  54  miles  from  New  York  City.  It  includes 
within  its  limits  eight  farms,  and  had,  in  July,  1880, 
a  population  of  842.  There  is  at  this  point  on  the 
Earitan's  branch  a  fine  water-power  that  has  been 
utilized  from  time  immemorial,  and  now  drives  two 
large  grist-mills. 

By  an  unfortunate  chance  Clinton  has  no  imme- 
diate railway  facilities,  although  upon  the  south  the 
Easton  and  Amboy  Eailroad  passes  within  two  miles 
of  the  town,  and  upon  the  east,  an  equal  distance  re- 
moved, is  the  line  of  the  New  Jersey  Central  Eailroad. 
Annandale,  a  station  upon  the  latter,  is  the  point 
chiefly  in  demand  by  travelers  to  and  from  Clinton, 
stage  connection  between  the  two  places  giving  fre- 
quent and  easy  communication.  Despite  the  lack  of 
railway  transportation,  Clinton  is  and  must  remain  a 
flourishing  town,  by  reason  not  only  of  its  milling  in- 
terests, but  also  because  it  is  the  centre  of  a  rich  agri- 
cultural district,  and  the  locale,  also,  of  well-nigh 
inexhaustible  limestone -quarries.  The  village  is 
handsomely  laid  out,  carries  on  a  mercantile  trade 
of  considerable  importance,  maintains  two  banks,  two 
hotels,  and  a  newspaper,  and  among  its  architectural 
features  boasts  four  churches  and  a  fine  public  school. 

EARLY   HISTOEY. 

During  the  Eevolution,  or  perhaps  sooner,  Daniel 

Hunt,  a  Jerseyman,  bought  a  considerable  tract  of  land 

adjacent  to  the  spot  where  Spruce  Eun  enters  the  South 

Branch  of  the  Earitan,  and  with  it  a  grist-mill, "  rudely 


built  of  stone,"  that  stood  upon  the  site  now  occupied 
by  the  Parry  mill.  How  long  that  mill  had  stood 
there  or  who  erected  it  no  man  can  now  say,  although 
it  is  supposed  to  have  been  an  old  mill  when  Mr.  Hunt 
came  into  possession  of  it.  At  the  death  of  Daniel 
Hunt  the  mill-property  passed  to  his  son  Ealph.  He 
probably  succeeded  to  the  property  in  1810,  and  two 
years  afterwards  erected  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the 
stream  a  woolen-mill,  which,  slightly  enlarged,  is  now 
Philip  Gulick's  grist-mill. 

Before  the  Hunts  came  to  the  place,  however,  Ne- 
hemiah  Dunham,  a  famous  character  in  his  day,  was 
a  resident  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  In  1760  he 
bought  600  acres  (about  one-third  of  the  tract  being 
now  within  the  limits  of  the  borough)  of  the  great- 
grandfather of  Secor  Eobeson,  and  in  that  year  made 
his  home  there,  his  previous  residence  having  been  in 
Middlesex  County.  Mr.  Durham  was  a  great  cattle- 
raiser  and  dealer,  and  during  the  Eevolution  supplied 
the  Federal  army  with  vast  quantities  of  beef.  The. 
greater  portion  of  his  estate  is  still  in  possession  of  his 
heirs. 

Capt.  Adam  Hope,  who  came  to  Union  township 
in  1765  fi:om  "the  forks  of  the  Delaware,"  located  at 
a  date  not  long  after  upon  a  place  about  200  yards 
west  of  Corson's  tavern. 

As  to  other  early  inhabitants,  history  will  in  this 
instance  fix  a  point  at  1818  and  say  what  the  village 
was  then  and  what  it  became  afterwards.  The  narra- 
tive touching  the  days  of  1818  and  immediately 
thereafter  has  been  gleaned  from  the  recollections  ol 
Judge  Eobert  Foster,  a  native  of  Hunterdon  County, 
and  a  resident  in  Clinton  village  since  then.     In  that 


CLINTON  VILLAGE. 


545 


year  Mr.  Foster,  then  a  lad  of  eighteen,  came  from 
what  is  now  Union  township  (where  his  grandfather 
settled  in  1760)  to  Hunt's  Mills  (as  the  present  village 
was  then  and  had  long  been  known)  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  how  to  make  spinning-wheels  at  the  shop 
of  Gen.  James  W.  Hope,  who  was  manufacturing 
spinning-wheels,  burning  lime,  trading  horses,  and 
farming,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  William  A. 
Hope,  his  son,  now  living  near  the  old  place,  was  in 
his  time  considered  the  greatest  horseman  and  Jehu 
in  those  parts. 

In  1818  there  were  also  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river  John  and  James  Dunham,  farmers,  and  sons  to 
Nehemiah  Dunham,  already  named.  John  moved 
to  Ohio  that  year,  and  James  died  on  his  farm  two 
years  afterwards.  Aaron,  his  son,  lives  now  in  Clin- 
ton. There  was  a  blacksmith-shop  very  near,  where 
John  Case  has  a  shop.  Ralph  Hunt  owned  it,  and 
hired  John  Green  to  work  it  for  him.  In  1819,  Green 
married,  rented  the  shop,  and  carried  it  on  himself 
until  1843,  when  he  moved  to  "  Headquarters,"  near 
Flemington,  where  he  died  a  few  years  ago.  Edward 
Hagan,  a  cooper,  and  John  Hagan,  a  tailor,  had 
shops  nearly  opposite  the  present  Democrat  office. 
John  was  a  bachelor,  and  boarded  with  his  brother. 
They  remained  in  the  village  but  a  brief  time  after 
1818.  Michael  Haggerty,  a  miller  in  the  employ  of 
Ealph  Hunt,  lived  in  a  house  just  west  of  Green's 
blacksmith-shop.  Elisha  Hummer,  a  farmer,  lived  in 
a  house  now  occupied  by  Jacob  Fox,  and  Dr.  Benja- 
min Hunt,  who  had  been  at  Hunt's  Mills  from  1810 
or  before,  was  living  in  the  house  now  occupied  by 
James  E.  Kline.  In  1818  he  moved  to  Ohio,  and 
following  him  as  the  village  physicians  came  William 
P.  Clarke  and  John  D.  Manners.  Ralph  Hunt,  the 
miller,  lived  in  a  house  on  the  site  now  occupied  by 
Samuel  Parry's  house.  All  his  mill-employees  ex- 
cept Haggerty  were  single  men  and  boarded  at  his 
house.  Hunt  had  a  grist-mill  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river  and  near  at  hand  had  also  a  fiilling-mill.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  stream,  directly  opposite,  in 
what  is  now  known  as  Gulick's  Mill,  he  carried  on  a 
flaxseed-oil  mill,  a  plaster-mill,  and  a  woolen-mill. 
Close  by  he  had  a  saw-mill,  while  he  did  something 
also  in  the  way  of  lime-burning. 

Tradition  relates  that  in  1798  three  brothers  named 
La  Tourette  rented  the  mills  and  opened  a  store  at 
Hunt's  Mills  in  the  house  subsequently  the  dwelling 
of  Ralph  Hunt,  keeping  it  four  years.  Ralph  Hunt 
kept  store  in  the  same  building,  but  gave  up  the  un- 
dertaking previous  to  1818.  In  1817,  Abraham  Bonnell 
established  a  small  store  about  half  a  mile  west  of 
Green's  smithy,  but  closed  it  within  a  twelvemonth. 
In  that  building,  in  1818,  Jesse  Warne  opened  a  sad- 
dler's shop.  It  would  appear  accordingly,  from  what 
has  been  written,  that  Hunt's  Mills  was  not  in  those 
early  days  a  lucrative  field  for  the  trader.  In  1825, 
however,  when  J.  W.  Bray  came  in  and  reopened 
the  old  Ralph  Hunt  store,  a  new  liiercantile  era  ap- 


peared to  dawn.  Bray  was  successful,  and  since  1825 
the  business  history  of  Clinton  has  hadno  break.  In 
1818  a  post-office  was  established  at  Hunt's  Mills,  and 
Ishe  Hunt  (son  to  Ealph  Hunt)  was  appointed  post- 
master. Mail  was  received  once  a  week  by  sulky  ex- 
press, which  traveled  a  mail-route  from  Trenton  via 
Hunt's  Mills  to  Frenchtown,  and  so  on.  Ishe  Hunt 
was  the  Hunt's  Mills  postmaster  until  his  removal 
from  the  town,  in  1828. 

THE   NEW  VILLAGE. 

The  year  1828  brought  about  a  marked  change  in 
the  condition  of  affairs  at  Hunt's  Mills.  Ralph  Hunt 
and  his  sons,  who  up  to  that  time  had  carried  on  the 
mills,  succumbed  to  financial  embarrassments,  and, 
relinquishing  the  property  to  their  creditors,  removed 
in  a  little  while  to  Ohio.  Not  one  of  the  family  now 
remains  in  or  near  Clinton.  Archibald  Taylor  bought 
the  mills  and  considerable  adjacent  property,  and  en- 
trusted the  management  thereof  to  his  son,  John  B., 
and  J.  W.  Bray,  both  of  whom  had  for  a  time  been 
associated  in  the  distillery  business  near  Hunt's  Mills. 
In  1828,  Bray  &  Taylor  took  hold  of  the  mills,  im- 
proved them  and  their  surroundings,  became  partners 
in  the  store  opened  in  1825  by  J.  W.  Bray,  and,  sur- 
veying a  number  of  village  lots  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  re-christened  the  place  Clinton  as  a  mark 
of  honor  to  De  Witt  Clinton,  Governor  of  New  York, 
who  died  about  that  time. 

In  1828,  Enoch  Stevenson,  a  saddler  and  harness- 
maker,  set  up  a  shop  in  the  village  (dying  after  a  few 
years),  and  Israel  Smith  opened  a  tavern  in  1830  in  a 
building  previously  erected  by  Bray  &  Taylor,  and 
still  kept  as  a  tavern  by  John  Corson.  The  same  year 
Gen.  Hope  opened  a  tavern  on  the  turnpike,  about  a 
mile  east  of  the  village,  in  a  house  now  occupied  by 
Elijah  Stout.  He  remained  there  a  year,  when,  re- 
turning to  the  village,  he  bought  out  landlord  Smith, 
whose  old  tavern-stand  he  kept  for  twenty-five  years 
afterwards,  and  then  left  it  to  his  son,  William  A., 
who  was  the  landlord  for  some  little  time.  Hope's 
successor  was  John  C.  Wert,  who  is  remembered  to 
have  had  in  front  of  his  tavern  a  sign  bearing  a 
picture  of  Gen.  Pike.  When  Israel  Smith  sold  his 
tavern  business  to  Gen.  Hope  he  crossed  the  river  and 
built  the  brick  tavern  now  known  as  Weller's  Hotel, 
which  he  opened  in  1832,  kept  it  a  dozen  years  or  so, 
and  sold  to  Jacob  Corson,  from  whom  John  B.  Weller 
&  Brother  got  it. 

In  1830  or  1831,  Bray  &  Taylor  disposed  of  their 
store  business  to  James  R.  Dunham  and  George  W. 
Taylor,  and  in  1834  financial  misfortunes  forced  them 
to  abandon  their  mill  business.  Dunham  &  Taylor 
thereupon  became  possessed  of  the  mill  on  the  east 
bank,  and  John  W.  Snider  of  the  west  side  mill, 
Snider  also  opening  a  store  on  the  west  side  in  1834. 
In  1836,  Dunham  &  Taylor's  mill  was  burned,  but 
was  rebuilt  in  the  same  year  by  Charles  and  James 
R.  Dunham,  who  carried  it]on  after^that.    It  is  now 


546 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


known  as  the  Parry  mill.  In  1832,  Morris  S.  Stiger 
and  Jolin  Race  opened  a  store  in  the  building  now 
the  residence  of  David  Crotsley.  Two  years  before 
that  A.  V.  Bonnell  and  A.  W.  Dunham  engaged  in 
trading  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  Morris  S. 
Stiger  and  his  father,  Adam,  soon  built  the  store  now 
occupied  by  J.  A.  Young,  and  for  fully  thirty  years 
the  former  continued  to  be  one  of  Clinton's  leading 
merchants.  ' 

In  1839,  James  P.  Huffman  &  Co.  commenced  busi- 
ness as  traders  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  The 
firm  was  composed  of  James  P.  Huffman  (who  in 
1830  entered  Bray  &  Taylor's  employment  as  clerk), 
John  A.  Young,  and  Robert  Foster  (the  latter  of  whom 
had  been  from  1818  engaged  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river  in  making  spinning-wheels,  chairs,  coffins,  etc.). 
Robert  Foster  is  now  one  of  Clinton's  capitalists,  J. 
A.  Young  is  still  in  business  in  the  village,  while 
James  P.  Huffman  has  long  been  a  well-known  jurist. 
After  a  stay  of  nine  months  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  Messrs.  Huffman  &  Co.  removed  to  the  stone 
store  now  standing  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  built 
in  1829  by  Bray  &  Taylor.  In  1839,  Augustus  Kline 
commenced  to  trade  in  the  building  now  occupied  by 
Henry  M.  Kline,  and  after  that  John  T.  Leigh  be- 
came a  village  merchant,  although  poor  health  forced 
him  to  retire  from  the  business  in  a  short  time.  With 
the  statement  that  Jacob  Corson  built  in  1856  the 
store-building  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Shipman  closes 
the  reference  to  the  growth  of  the  business  portion  of 
Clinton. 

As  to  the  history  of  the  Clinton  post-office,  J.  W. 
Bray  took  it  from  Ishe  Hunt  in  1828  and  kept  it  until 
1834.  The  postmasters  after  that  to  the  present  have 
been  Adam  Stiger,  Jas.  P.  Huffman,  Adam  Stiger 
(second  term),  Peter  Van  Pelt,  Garret  Servis,  Peter 
Van  Pelt  (second  term),  Wm.  H.  Baker,  and  Charles 
W.  Altemus,  the  latter  since  1869. 

VILLAGE   INCORPORATION. 
The  town  of  Clinton  was  incorporated  by  act  ap- 
proved April  5,  1865,  which  provided  as  follows  : 

"  All  that  part  of  the  townships  Of  Clinton,  Franklin,  and  Union  in 
the  county  of  Hunterdon,  contained  within  the  following  limits, — to  wit, 
Beginning  at  a  stake  standing  in  the  line  between  the  said  townships  of 
Franklin  and  Union,  in  the  road  formerly  known  as  the  New  Jersey 
turnpike,  at  the  place  where  the  public  road  leading  from  Bonnell's  tav- 
ern to  the  Union  intersects  said  road  foraaerly  known  as  the  New  Jersey 
turnpike,  running  from  thence  along  the  line  of  said  road  leading  from 
said  tavern  to  the  Union  in  a  northerly  direction  to  a  stake  in  said  road, 
a  corner  to  lands  late  of  A.  W,  Dunham,  deceased,  and  in  a  line  of  lands 
late  of  Godfrey  Case,  deceased ;  thence  running  along  lands  late  of  said 
Dunham  and  said  Case  due  east  to  the  southwest  corner  of  lands  of  Wm. 
S,  Wyckoff;  thence  in  a  northerly  direction  along  the  western  line  of 
the  lands  of  said  Wyckoff  to  the  line  of  lands  of  Garrett  Conover;  thence 
in  an  easterly  direction  along  the  north  line  of  said  Wyckoff'e  lands  to 
the  northwest  corner  of  lands  of  the  late  Caleb  G.  Halstead,  deceased ; 
thence  along  the  north  line  of  the  last-named  tract  and  lands  of  Henry 
Fields,  including  the  same,  to  a  corner  in  a  straight  line  with  the  north 
line  of  said  Henry  Fields'  lands,  on  the  lands  of  John  Race,  and  four 
hundred  feet  from  the  line  between  said  Fields  and  said  Raee ;  thence  in 
a  southerly  direction  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Oliver  Kline's  lot ;  thence 
along  the  eaat  line  of  said  Kline's  lot  and  lands  of  Wm.  S.  King  in  a 
southerly  direction  to  the  line  of  Isaac  Aller's  land ;  tbence  along  said 


AUer's  line  to  the  east  line  of  John  Macklin's  land ;  thence  along  the 
line  of  said  Aller  in  a  southerly  direction  to  the  road  between  said  Aller 
and  Jacob  D.  Fritts ;  thence  along  said  road  in  a  westerly  direction  to  a 
comer  in  the  great  road  leading  from  Clinton  to  Flemington ;  thence 
alongsaid  road  in  a  southerly  direction  to  the  southeast  corner  of  James 
P.  Huffman's  land  ;  thence  along  the  line  of  said  Jas.  P.  Huffman's  land 
in  a  westerly  direction  to  a  corner  in  the  South  Branch  of  the  Karitan 
Biver;  thence  due  west  to  a  corner  in  line  of  lands  belonging  to  George 
Jones  and  Nehemiah  Dunham ;  thence  along  said  line  in  a  northerly 
direction  to  the  northeast  corner  of  said  Jones'  land  ;  ftom  thence  in  a. 
northwesterly  direction  to  the  place  of  beginning, — shall  be,  and  hereby 
is,  erected  into  a  borough  or  town  corporate,  which  shall  be  called  and 
known  by  the  name  of  '  The  Town  of  Clinton ;'  and  the  inhabitants 
thereof  shall  be,  and  hereby  are,  incorporated  by  the  name  of  '  The  In- 
habitants of  the  town  of  Clinton.' " 

The  first  town-meeting  was  held  at  John  B.  Wel- 
ler's  hotel,  in  Clinton,  on  the  second  Monday  in 
April,  1865,  when  the  following  officers  were  chosen : 
Morris  S.  Stiger,  Mayor;  John  B.  Weller,  EK  Bosen- . 
berry,  John  T.  Leigh,  James  P.  Huffman,  John  A. 
Young,  and  Lemuel  Madison,  Councilmen ;  John  C. 
Besson,  Clerk.  The  iirst  meeting  of  the  council  was 
held  April  19,  1865,  when  William  Skinner  was  ap- 
pointed town  treasurer,  at  a  salary  of  $25  per  annum, 
and  John  T.  Leigh  and  Jas.  P.  Huffman  street  com- 
missioners. Herewith  is  given  a  list  of  the  names  of 
those  who  have  served  as  mayors,  councilmen,  clerks, 
and  treasurers  from  1866  to  1880,  inclusive : 

1866. — Mayor,  Morris  S.  Stiger  ;  Councilmen,  John  B.  Weller,  John  T. 
Leigh,  John  A,  Young,  Eli  Bo8enberr.y,  James  P.  Huffman,  and 
Lemuel  W.  Madison ;  Clerk,  John  C.  Besson ;  Treasurer,  N.  W. 
Voorhees. 

1867. — Mayor,  John  T.  Leigh ;  Councilmen,  Lambert  Humphrey,  John 
S.  Madison,  Sylvester  Van  Syckel,  Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees,  Wil- 
liam C.  Beeves,  and  Charles  W.  Altemus;  Clerk,  Theodore  J. 
Hoffman  ;  Treasurer,  Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees. 

1868.— Mayor,  C.  W.  Altemus ;  Councilmen,  N.  W.  Voorhees,  J.  S.  Madi- 
son, H.  C.  Belden,  John  W.  Probasco,  S.  Van  Syckel,  W.  C. 
Beeves ;  Clerk,  P.  Van  Pelt ;  Treasurer,  N.  W.  Voorhees. 

1869.— Mayor,  John  T.  Leigh;  Councilmen,  John  B.  Weller,  Heber  C. 
Belden,  John  H.  Low,  John  Case,  Oliver  Kline,  Bloomfield 
Leigh  ;  Clerk,  P.  Van  Pelt ;  Treasurer,  Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees. 

1870. — Mayor,  John  A.  Young;  Councilmen,  John  H.  Low,  John  Case, 
James  P.  Huffman,  Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees,  John  B.  Weller, 
Bloomfield  Leigh ;  Clerk,  P.  Van  Pelt ;  Treasurer,  Nathaniel  W. 
Voorhees. 

1871.— Mayor,  John  Carpenter,  Jr. ;  Councilmen,  Eobert  Foster,  Charles 
W.  Altemus,  John  B.  Weller,  Bloomfield  Leigh,  Oliver  Kline, 
William  L.  Rodenbough ;  Clerk,  Theodore  J.  Hoffman ;  Treas- 
urer, N.  W.  Voorhees. 

1872.— Mayor,  C.  W.  Alt«mus  ;  Councilmen,  John  B.  Weller,  H.  C.  Bel- 
den, Bloomfield  Leigh,  Samuel  Smith,  Jonathan  B.  Allen,  Wil- 
liam L.  Bodenbough ;  Clerk,  Theodore  J.  Hoffman  ;  Treasurer, 
Nathaniel  W.  Voorhees. 

1873.— Mayor,  Eli  Bosenberry  ;  Councilmen,  J.  B.  Weller,  H.  C.  Belden, 
J.  E.  Emery,  S.  M.  Smith,  Oliver  Kline,  and  Jonathan  B.  Allen  ; 
Clerk,  Theodore  J.  Hoffman;  Treasurer,  N.  W.  Voorhees. 

1874.— Mayor,  Eli  Bosenberry ;  Councilmen,  George  Gnlick,  Blisha  Wene, 
S.  Van  Syckel,  Wm.  C.  Reeves,  John  Lunger,  Jacob  Sweazy; 
I  Clerk,  W.  H.  Baker ;  Treasurer,  N.  D.  Stiger. 

1875.— Mayor,  H.  C.  Belden;  Councilmen,  S.  Van  Syckel,  Charles  W. 
Altemus,  George  Gulick,  N.  D.  Stiger,  and  Jonathan  E.  Allen; 
Clerk,  V-  H.  Baker;  Treasurer,  N.  D.  Stiger. 

1876.— Mayor,  H.  C.  Belden ;  Councilmen,  g.  Van  Syckel,  N.  D.  Stiger, 
Jacob  Sweazy,  Bloomfield  Leigh,  M.  C.  Mulligan,  and  George 
Gulick ;  Clerk,  D.  M.  Gulick ;  Treasurer,  N.  D.  Stiger. 

1877.— Mayor,  Charles  Baylor  ;  Councilmen,  Geo.  Gulick,  Philip  Gulick, 
John  Lunger,  Lambert  Humphrey,  Bloomfield  Leigh,  and  John 
Case;  Clerk,  D.  M.  Gulick;  Treasurer,  Theodore  J.  Hoffman. 

1878.— Mayor,  Erastus  Bunyau;  Cnuucilmen,  John  S.  Madison,  Robert 
Foster,  John  W.  Hulsizer,  Cliarles  Bowlsby,  Samuel  Smith,  and 


CLINTON  TILLAGE. 


547 


M.  0.  Mulligan ;  Clerk,  D.  M.  Gulick  ;  Treasurer,  Theodore  J. 

Hoffman. 
1879. — ^Mayor,  Wm,  H.  Carpenter ;  Councilmen,  Holiert  Foster,  John  W. 

Hnlsizer,  Charles  Bowlsby,  Philip  Gulick,  John  Case,  A.  S. 

Leatherman;  Clerk,  Thomas  Bodenhough ;  Treasurer,  Samuel 

L.  Voorhees. 
1880. — Mayor,  Erastus  Eiinyan;    Councilmen,  N.  "W.  Voorhees,  John  A. 

Young,  L.  B.  Baker,  A.  L.  Leatherman,  S.  Van  Syckel,  Watson 

Corson ;  Clerk,  Thomas  Rodenbough ;  Treasurer,  Samuel  L. 

Voorhees. 

From  tlie  anmial  report  of  the  finances  of  the  town 
issued  March  31,  1880,  it  is  learned  that  during  the 
fiscal  year  the  collector  received  $6869,  paid  out 
$6482.68,  and  had  on  hand  (including  balance  received 
from  former  collector)  $1125.24.  The  amount  of  un- 
paid taxes  aggregated  $69.63.  The  treasurer's  report 
showed  receipts  of  $2162.35,  and  payments  of  $1886.47, 
with  balance  on  hand  of  $275.88. 

SCHOOLS. 
As  far  as  present  recollection  goes,  the  first  school 
taught  in  what  is  now  Clinton  village  was  a  subscrip- 
tion school,  by  Nathan  Wakefield,  in  1817,  in  an  old 
building  formerly  used  as  a  currying-shop  on  an  old 
tan-yard  about  100  yards  east  of  the  Clinton  National 
Bank.  The  existence  of  that  tan-yard  dated  back 
some  years  at  that  time,  for  it  was  then  and  had  long 
been  abandoned,  the  last  proprietors  having  been 
Thomas  Parish  and  Henry  Stiger.  Wakefield  was 
teacher  there  but  one  term,  although  he  taught  in  the 
neighborhood  a  long  time. 

The  first  district  school-house  in  the  borough  limits 
was  a  stone  structure,  20  feet  square,  built  in  1827 
(upon  ground  donated  by  David  Miller),  and  stood  at 
the  corner  of  Centre  and  New  Streets.  The  first 
teacher  therein  was  Eeuben  Frame.  Feb.  22, 1869, 
the  borough  voted,  by  61  to  11,  to  have  a  new  school- 
house,  and  appropriated  $10,000  therefor.  It  is  a 
handsome  irame  edifice,  two  stories  in  height,  and  oc- 
cupies a  commanding  site.  There  are  four  depart- 
ments, although  but  three  are  occupied.  The  school 
enumeration  is  242.  Principal,  George  Fleming; 
Assistants,  the  Misses  Walton  and  Eutan.  The  trus- 
tees of  the  district  (numbered  53)  are  J.  S.  Madison, 
Erastus  Eunyan,  and  Alfred  Tritts. 

CHURCHES. 
THE  PEESBTTEKIAN  CHURCH  OP  CLINTON. 

Previous  to  1829  there  was  no  public  preaching  in 
the  borough,  although  a  Sunday-school,  started  in 
1825  in  a  school-house  near  the  present  residence  of 
Elijah  Stout,  was  transferred  to  Gen.  Hope's  spinning- 
wheel  factory  in  1826,  and  in  1827  was  held  in  the 
village  school-house,  just  then  erected.  The  demand 
for  church  services  at  home  was  not  over-urgent,  for 
the  reasons  that  the  population  was  meagre  and 
churches  near  by,  at  Bethlehem'  and  Lebanon.  When 
Clinton  village  began  to  expand,  however,  church 
conveniences  began  to  assume  the  form  of  a  pressing 
demand,  and  in  response  thereto'  the  New  Jersey  Mis- 
sionary Society,  at  the  recommendation  of  Dr.  Archi- 


bald Alexander,  sent  William  Millar  Carmichael,  a 
graduate  of  Hamilton  College  and  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  and  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Albany.  His  first  sermon  was  preached  in  May  or 
June,  1829,  in  the  village  school-house.  He  con- 
tinued his  labors  six  weeks,  and,  returning  to  Prince- 
ton to  graduate,  came  again  to  Clinton  in  the  follow- 
ing November,  and  remained  until  March,  1830,  when 
he  passed  to  other  fields.  In  1829  the  Presbytery 
of  Newton  sent  also  occasional  supplies  to  Clinton, 
and  for  two  years  after  Carmichael's  departure  pro- 
vided preaching  about  two  Sabbaths  each  month. 
Among  these  supplies  were  Eevs.  Hutton,  Campbell, 
Kirkpatrick,  Clark,  Van  Dervoort,  Blauvelt,  and 
Gray. 

During  the  winter  of  1829-30  an  agitation  in  favor 
of  the  erection  of  a  Presbyterian  church  took  shape, 
and  at  a  meeting  in  which  A.  C.  Dunham,  J.  W.  Bray, 
J.  B.  Taylor,  Nehemiah  Dunham,  A.  W.  Dunham, 
A.  S.  Taylor,  aiid  others  participated  it  was  resolved 
to  build  a  house  of  worship  iipon  a  lot  dbnated  by 
Bray  &  Taylor,  and  the  work  of  construction,  being 
commenced  in  May,  1830,  was  completed  the  same 
year,  in  which  the '  edifice  was  also  dedicated.  Al- 
though a  chur'cii  was  built  in  1830,  a  churcli  organi- 
zation was  not  effected  until  June,  1831,  when  the 
work  was  accomplished  by  a  committee  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Newton,  consisting  of  Drs.  Kirkpatrick, 
Campbell,  and  Gray.  The  number  of  communicants 
at  organization  was  10,— to  wit,  William  H.  Yauger, 
Sr.,  Mrs.  Yauger,  John  Race  and  wife,  Nehemiah 
Dunham  and  wife,  John  H.  Eodenbough  and  wife, 
Mary  Ann  Emery,  and  A.  W.  Dunham. 

The  elders  ordained  on  that  occasion  were  Nehe- 
miah Dunham,  William  H.  Yauger,  and  John  Eace. 
The  first  pastor  provided  for  the  church  was  Alexan- 
der Macklin.  He  was  sent  as  stated  supply  in  April, 
1832,  and  in  1833  was  ordained.  During  his  first  year 
he  increased  the'  membership  from  13  to  56,  and  at 
the  close  of  his  second  year  to  76.  Oct.  6, 1833,  the 
Ladies'  Missionary  Society,  still  active,  was  formed. 
The  officers  were  Mrs.  Mary  Bray,  Directress ;  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Miller,  Treasurer;  Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Miller, 
Secretary ;  Mrs.  Adaline  Taylor  and  Mrs.  Ann  Field, 
Managers. 

Mr.  Macklin  severed  his  connection  with  the  church 
in  the  fall  of  1835,  and  to  him,  in  June,  1836,  suc- 
ceeded Eev.  Arthur  B.  Bradford,  who  remained  a 
little  more  than  two  years.  Eev.  Albert  Williams 
preached  as  'stated  supply  from  December,  1838,  to 
May,  1839,  was  then  installed  as  pastor,  and  re- 
mained until  November,  1848.  During  his  pastorate 
the  church  building  was  burned  (Sept,  22, 1845),  but 
rebuilding  was  at  once  commenced',  and  in  Novem- 
ber 1846,  the  new  house  was  dedicated.  The  next 
pastor,  Eev.  James  C.  Watson,  was  installed  in  No- 
vember, 1849,  but  remained  only  a  year,  and  after 
that  dependence  was  had  upon  supplies  until  Novem- 
ber, 1851,  when  Eev.  John  McNair  was  installed. 


548 


HUNTERDON   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


He  remained  twelve  years,  and  in  May,  1864,  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  I.  A.  Blauvelt,  during  whose  term 
of  four  years  the  churcli  building  was  reconstructed 
at  a  cost  of  $6800.  In  1868  a  parsonage  was  built. 
In  October,  1869,  the  present  pastor,  Eev.  John 
Ewing,  was  installed.  From  the  beginning  to  the 
present,  540  persons  have  been  received  into  mem- 
bership, and  of  these  200  remain  (November,  1880). 

Mention  having  been  made  that  a  Sunday-school 
was  organized  near  Clinton  (or  Hunt's  Mills)  in  1825, 
it  remains  to  be  said  that  the  same  school  is  known 
as  the  Presbyterian  Sunday-school.  Mr.  Henry  Miller 
was  the  moving  spirit  in  its  organization,  and  in  suc- 
cession to  the  present  as  superintendents  may  be 
named  David  Miller,  Adam  Stiger,  A.  W.  Dunham, 
Morris  S.  Stiger,  Eli  Bosenbury,  Peter  Van  Pelt, 
Eev.  John  Ewing,  N.  D.  Stiger,  and  William  H. 
Baker. 

PROTESTANT   EPISCOPAL   CHUBCH. 

A  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  established  in 
Clinton  in  1837,  and  in  1838  a  house  of  worship  was 
built.  The  first  rector  was  Eev.  William  C.  Crane ; 
the  second,  Eev.  James  Adams.  AVith  the  close  of 
the  latter's  labors,  about  1846,  the  organization  ceased. 
The  church  building  was  afterwards  used  for  private 
school  purposes,  and  is  still  known  as  the  "  Acad- 
emy." 

CLINTON  METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHUECH. 

Just  when  Methodist  meetings  were  first  held  in 
Clinton  village  cannot  be  positively  stated,  although 
it  may  be  estimated  that  the  first  class  was  formed 
at  that  point  about  1830.  Certain  it  is  that  there 
was  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Allertown 
before  there  was  one  at  Clinton  (or  Hunt's  Mills), 
for  in  1822,  when  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  edifice  was  built  at  Allertown,  John  Green, 
the  Hunt's  Mills  blacksmith,  was  a  leading  member  of 
the  organization,  and  the  inference  is  fair  that  he  went 
down  there  to  church  because  there  was  none  at  his 
home.  Probably  about  1830,  Methodist  meetings 
were  held  in  the  stone  school-house,  and  in  1839  a 
building  was  put  up,  at  which  time  a  Eev.  Mr.  Wig- 
gins was  the  preacher  in  charge,  and  Nehemiah  Clin- 
tan  leader  of  the  Clinton  class.  In  1842,  Nathaniel 
Megronnigall  was  the  class-leader  at  Clinton,  Walter 
Burrows  presiding  elder,  George  Banghart  preacher 
in  charge,  and  Eichard  Van  Horn  junior  preacher. 
In  1844  the  Clinton  charge  included  Clinton,  Aller- 
town, Cokesburg,  Lebanon,  Lebanonville,  Mount 
Lebanon,  Clarksville,  Bethlehem,  and  Mountainville. 
In  that  year  the  preachers  in  charge  were  Eevs.  Ed- 
ward Page  and  Samuel  E.  Post ;  from  1845  to  1855, 
Eevs.  Manning  Force,  John  Fort,  George  Banghart, 
E.  H.  Stokes,  J.  P.  McCormick,  Eodney  Winans,  and 
J.  N.  Crane.  In  1863  the  house  of  worship  now  in 
use  was  erected. 

November,  1880,  Annandale  and  Clinton  were  in 
the  charge  and  included  162  members.  The  class- 
leaders  were  George  Fleming,  Jacob  D.  Fritts,  and 


James  Astle.  The  trustees  were  C.  B.  Melick,  Ed- 
mund Melick,  Theodore  Melick,  Isaiah  Fritts,  N.  S, 
Wyckoflf,  B.  0.  Smith,  and  Christopher  Starner.  The 
Sunday-school,  at  Clinton,  in  charge  of  J.  H.  Low 
and  eighteen  teachers,  had  an  average  attendance  of 
of  110. 

BAPTIST   CHUBCH   OF   CLINTON. 

Until  May,  1870,  the  Baptists  residing  at  Clinton 
worshiped  at  the  Bethlehem  Baptist  church,  but  on 
May  22d  of  that  year  six  persons,  led  by  Eev.  Henry 
Westcott,  formed  a  branch  church  at  Clinton. 

It  was  resolved  straightway  to  build  a  church,  and, 
J.  T.  Leigh,  J.  D.  Cregar,  and  Elisha  Wene  being 
chosen  a  building  committee,  ground  was  broken  in 
the  summer  of  1871 ;  October  25th  the  corner-stone 
was  laid,  Eevs.  E.  A.  Woods,  of  Flemington,  Andrew 
Armstrong,  of  Easton,  and  Henry  Westcott  officiating. 
In  February,  1872,  the  Bethlehem  Church  resolved 
that  the  church  at  Clinton  should  be  an  independent 
organization,  and  accordingly,  March  2,  1872,  letters 
were  granted  to  25  persons,  who,  with  12  others,  united 
in  forming  the  Clinton  Church.  The  names  of  the  37 
constituent  members  were  Eev.  Henry  Westcott,  Mary 
M.  Westcott,  Hattie  E.  Westcott,  J.  F.  Westcott,  John 
T.  Leigh,  Mary  Leigh,  Emily  Leigh,  Samuel  and  Mary 
Leigh,  J.  D.  Cregar,  Mary  E.  Cregar,  Elizabeth  Cregar, 
A.  C.  Cregar,  Zilpah  Cregar,  Henry  and  Ann  Eocka- 
fellow,  William  and  Mary  E.  Chamberlain,  Mary 
K.  Chamberlain,  Edward  and  Mary  Ann  Barrass, 
Sarah  G.  Barrass,  Elisha  and  Mary  A.  Wene,  Sarah 
Ann  Yauger,  Mary  C.  Wagner,  Hettie  Bodine,  David 
Brown,  John  Hulsizer,  Eachel  Prall,  Mrs.  Wm.  Briggs, 
Ellen  Volk,  Ann  E.  Case,  Julia  Stewart,  Mrs.  Dilts, 
W.  D.  L.  Bobbins,  Amelia  M.  Eobbins. 

The  church  was  recognized  March  20,  1872,  and 
the  edifice  dedicated  Aug.  1,  1872.  The  deacons  first 
chosen  were  Edward  Barrass,  John  T.  Leigh,  J.  D. 
Cregar,  and  W.  D.  L.  Eobbins,  who  was  appointed 
clerk,  and  J.  T.  Leigh  treasurer.  Eev.  Henry  West- 
cott, who  was  engaged  as  the  first  pastor,  served  to 
Feb.  2,  1873.  Eev.  W.  H.  Shermer  succeeded  him 
April  13,  1873,  resigned  Feb.  11,  1877,  and  in  March 
of  the  latter  year  was  followed  by  Eev.  G.  B.  Young. 
Mr.  Young  retired  in  June,  1879,  and  then  came  Eev. 
H.  D.  Doolittle,  who  served  until  his  death,  June  23, 
1880. 

The  church  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition,  with 
an  active  membership  of  66.  The  pulpit  is  temporarily 
supplied  at  present. 

CHURCH  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION  (ROMAN 
CATHOLIC). 

Eeligious  services  were  held  by  Catholic  priests  in 
Clinton  village  as  early  as  1840,  perhaps  before.  The 
priests  came  from  Easton  and  preached  in  houses  of 
professors  of  the  faith,  although  the  preaching  was 
not  very  frequent,— not  oftener  than  once  in  two 
months  or  maybe  less.  In  1850,  Father  Eearidon, 
of  Easton  (still  a  priest  there),  visited  Clinton  once 


CLINTON  VILLAGE. 


54» 


in  six  weeks  or  two  months,  and  held  services  in  the 
residence  of  Francis  Mulligan.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  his  labors  his  congregation  included  some- 
thing like  eighteen  families,  for  whom  he  preached 
several  years.  About  1860,  Francis  Mulligan's  barn 
was  fitted  up  as  a  church,  and  meetings  were  held  in 
that  until  the  completion  of  the  present  house  of 
worship,  in  1879.  The  successive  pastors  after  Father 
Hearidon  were  Revs.  Jago,  Rolland,  Leonard  O'Neil, 
and  Brady,  the  priest  now  in  charge.  November, 
1880,  the  congregation  represented  forty  families,  the 
trustees  then  being  James  Mulligan  and  Barney  Carr. 

PHYSICIANS. 

The  first  physician  resident  in  what  is  now  the 
village  of  Clinton  was  doubtless  Benjamin  Van  Cleve 
Hunt,  brother  to  Ealph  Hunt,  proprietor  of  Hunt's 
Mills.  Dr.  Hunt  made  his  home  at  Hunt's  Mills 
before  1810,  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  James  R. 
Kline.     In  1818,  Dr.  Hunt  removed  to  Ohio. 

In  the  same  year  William  P.  Clarke  occupied  the 
field  at  Hunt's  Mills,  and  remained  until  1825.  John 
Manners  located  in  1818,  and  practiced  until  his 
death,  in  1853.  Drs.  C.  Crawford,  Henry  Field,  and 
Moore  were  village  doctors  from  1829  to  1850,  and  in 
1851  came  Sylvester  Van  Syckel,  yet  in  practice.  In 
1866,  Joseph  B.  Bird  became  a  partner  with  Dr.  Van 
Syckel,  and  remained  until  1873.  Dr.  James,  who 
came  in  1877,  remained  but  a  short  time.  Wm. 
Knight  and  J.  M.  Frace  came  in  1878,  and,  with  Dr. 
Van  Syckel,  comprised  the  list  in  November,  1880. 

BANKING. 
CLINTON  NATIONAL  BANK. 

This,  the  oldest  banking  institution  in  Clinton,  was 
founded  in  1856,  under  the  general  banking  law,  as 
the  Clinton  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000,  of  which 
$80,000  was  paid  in.  There  were  thirteen  directors,— 
Robert  Foster,  James  P.  Hufiinan,  J.  T.  Leigh,  J.  A. 
Young,  Wm.  Egbert,  E.  A.  Rockhill,  J.  H.  Hufi'man, 
Jos.  Boss,  Peter  Melick,  Peter  Sigler,  N.  S.  Cramer, 
Bennet  Van  Syckel,  and  Whitfield  Dunham, — of 
whom  Robert  Foster  was  chosen  president  and  N.  W. 
Voorhees  cashier.  Business  was  commenced  in  a 
building  standing  just  west  of  the  post-office,  but 
about  1860  the  present  banking-house  was  occupied. 
In  July,  1865,  the  institution  was  reorganized  as  "  The 
Clinton  National  Bank,"  with  a  capital  of  $100,000. 

In  1874,  Mr.  Voorhees  was  succeeded  as  cashier  by 
B.  V.  Leigh,  and  in  January,  1875,  Mr.  Foster  re- 
tired from  the  presidency,  when  Joseph  Van  Syckel 
was  chosen  to  succeed  him.  Messrs.  Van  Syckel  and 
Leigh  are  still  respectively  president  and  cashier,  and 
John  T.  Leigh  vice-president.  The  directors  for 
1880  were  J.  H.  Rockafellow,  J.  N.  Ramsey,  N.  Boyd, 
T.  E.  Hunt,  Edward  Humphrey,  Wm.  Egbert,  Elijah 
Stout,  S.  Van  Syckel,  J.  Van  Syckel,  John  T.  Leigh, 
A.  J.  Reeves,  Fisher  Pidcock,  and  Sydney  Yard. 


riEST  NATIONAL  BANK. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Clinton  was  incorpo- 
rated Jan.  29,  1875,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  The 
subscribers  to  the  stock  at  the  first  meeting,  held  in 
Weller's  Hotel,  numbered  twenty -five,  of  whom  Rob- 
ert Foster,  John  A.  Young,  Samuel  Parry,  James  R. 
Kline,  Whitfield  Dunham,  F.  A.  Potts,  John  F.  Gran- 
din,  Wm.  Johnson,  Benjamin  E.  Young,  Jacob  R. 
Fisher,  Peter  A.  Beavers,  Peter  Cramer,  and  Martin 
Wyckofi"  were  chosen  directors.  Robert  Foster  was 
elected  president  and  N.  W.  Voorhees  cashier. 

Under  authorization,  the  bank  commenced  business 
April  8,  1875.  From  the  published  report  dated  Oct. 
1, 1880,  it  appears  that  at  that  time  the  loans  and  dis- 
counts aggregated  $158,780 ;  that  there  were  due  from 
approved  reserve  agents  $55,410,  and  from  other  na- 
tional banks  $4363  ;  value  of  real  estate  held  by  the 
bank,  $2300;  outstanding  currency,  $90,000;  undi- 
vided profits,  $5304.60 ;  deposits,  $145,870 ;  due  other 
national  banks,  $6055.76.  Robert  Foster  has  been  the 
president  and  N.  W.  Voorhees  the  cashier  since  1875. 
The  directors  for  1880  were  Robert  Foster,  Peter  A. 
Beavers,  Peter  Cramer,  Whitfield  Dunham,  J.  R. 
Fisher,  J.  F.  Grandin,  Wm.  Johnson,  J.  R.  Kline, 
F.  A.  Potts,  Samuel  Parry,  Martin  Wyckofi",  B.  E. 
Young,  J.  A.  Young. 

LIME-BURNING. 
There  were  lime-burners  in  and  near  the  present 
village  perhaps  before  the  Revolution,  and  likely 
enough  among  the  first  of  them  were  the  Hunts. 
Peter  Young,  father  of  John  A.,  of  Clinton,  burned 
lime  in  1816  upon  a  field  within  the  present  borough, 
where  the  same  had  been  done  long  before.  Gen. 
Hope  was  a  lime-burner,  and,  indeed,  so  were  many 
of  the  early  comers.  The  lime-cliffs  rising  abruptly 
upon  the  west  bank  of  the  river  within  the  village 
limits,  and  extending  about  two  miles  up  Spruce  Run, 
were  not  much  quarried  before  1840,  but  since  then 
have  been  steadily  worked.  In  the  borough  limits 
the  limestone  hills  are  estimated  to  cover  about  640- 
acres.  Although  now  the  amount  burned  annually 
aggregates  60,000  bushels,  there  is  less  done  than 
there  was  a  few  years  ago. 

VILLAGE    GRAVEYARDS. 

There  was  no  village  cemetery  in  Clinton  until 
1830,  when  the  burial-ground  at  the  Presbyterian 
church  was  laid  out.  The  oldest  grave  there  is  said  to- 
be  that  of  Midshipman  Robert  Taylor,  who  died  in  th& 
naval  service  of  the  United  States  at  Port  Rogers  in 
the  West  Indies,  Sept.  14,  1823,  and  in  1830  was- 
brought  to  Clinton  and  laid  to  rest  in  the  new  ceme- 
tery. In  that  burial-place  the  striking  architectural 
features  are  two  handsome  granite  shafts.  One  com- 
memorates the  death  of  Brig.-Gen.  Geo.  W.  Taylor, 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Manassas,  Aug.  27,  1862, 
and  died  at  Alexandria,  Sept.  1,  1862.  The  second 
records  the  death  of  Capt.  Archibald  Taylor,  of  the 


550 


HUNTEEDON  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Third  Regiment  New  Jersey  Infantry,  who  fell  at 
Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3,  1863,  aged  twenty. 

Just  nortli  of  the  village  there  is  a  tastefully  laid 
out  cemetery  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  a  third  burial-ground   at  the  Catholic 

church. 

SOCIETIES. 

"  Stewart  Lodge,  No.  34,  F.  and  A.  M.,"  named  in 
honor  of  E.  Stewart,  then  M.  W.  G.  M.,  was  organ- 
ized Dec.  1,  1854,  at  White  House,  in  Eeadington 
township.  Present  at  the  first  meeting  were  J.  C. 
Eafferty,  W.  M. ;  E.  E.  Hall,  S.  W. ;  G.  T.  Blake,  J. 
W. ;  J.  A.  Apgar,  Treas. ;  M.  D.  Trefren,  Sec. ;  J.  E. 
Kline,  S.  D. ;  S.  Clark,  J.  D. ;  P.  Cook,  Tiler.  Jan. 
10,  1855,  a  charter  was  issued  to  the  lodge.  In  1865 
its  quarters  were  removed  to  Annandale  (then  called 
Clinton  Station),  and  in  1873  a  second  removal  was 
made,  to  Clinton.  The  Masters  of  the  lodge  since 
1854  have  been  J.  C.  Eafferty,  M.  D.  Trefren,  A.  E. 
Sanderson,  Joel  Bryant,  J.  E.  Ewing,  E.  H.  Gano, 
W.  E.  Hoffman,  H.  Altemus,  W.  D.  L.  Bobbins,  and 
W.  H.  Baker.  The  membership,  November,  1880, 
was  90,  when  the  officers  were  William  H.  Baker,  W. 
M. ;  James  R.  Kline,  S.  W. ;  John  Lunger,  J.  W. ;  J. 
B.  Weller,  Treas. ;  E.  Laquay,  Sec. ;  Herman  Alte- 
mus, S.  D. ;  Watson  Corson,  J.  D. ;  H.  Crampton, 
Tiler. 

"  Clinton  Lodge,  United  American  Mechanics," 
was  organized  July  8,  1869,  with  the  following  as 
members  :  John  Bosenbury,  Samuel  W.  Smith,  John 
Manning,  Daniel  Stires,  Whitfield  Sweazey,  Emanuel 
Manning,  J.  E.  Van  Syckel,  Eobert  S.  Eodenbough, 
J.  H.  Lowe,  T.  T.  Bosenbury,  Frederick  Lunger,  A. 
G.  Manning,  J.  E.  Allen,  H.  Altemus,  Samuel  Man- 
ning, Jesse  Teats,  Theodore  Madison,  E.  P.  Holeman, 
William  C.  Eeeves,  Alfred  Fritts.  The  first  coun- 
cilor was  J.  H.  Lowe.  After  him  the  councilors  to 
1880  have  been  T.  T.  Bosenbury,  J.  E.  Allen,  J.  Bo- 
senbury, E.  H.  Eodenbough,  William  L.  Eodenbough, 
William  H.  Waldron,  A.  D.  Manning,  Samuel  Man- 
ning, Charles  H.  Matthews,  E.  H.  Eodenbough.  Al- 
though the  lodge  has  had  as  many  as  111  members  at 


one  time,  the  number  has  now  fallen  to  38.  The  offi- 
cers in  November,  1880,  were  R.  H.  Eodenbough,  C.  ; 
John  Bosenbury,  V.  C. ;  A.  M.  Trimmer,  Sec. ;  T.  T. 
Bosenbury,  A.  Sec. ;  W.  H.  Waldron,  F.  Sec. ;  B.  C. 
Smith,  Treas. ;  O.  Urich,  Inductor ;  James  Altemus, 
Ex. ;  Jacob  Eike,  J.  P. ;  A.  D.  Manning,  O.  P. 

"  Capoolong  Lodge,  No.  185,  I.  0.  0.  F.,"  was  or- 
ganized June  29,  1875,  with  the  following  members  : 
William  Knight,  N.  G. ;  Daniel  Cowel,  V.  G. ;  A.  V. 
Lunger,  E.  S. ;  J.  J.  AUer,  P.  S. ;  E.  E.  Hartpence, 
Treas.  The  membership  is  now  45.  The  officers  are 
E.  V.  Blue,  N.  G. ;  A.  Bunn,  V.  G. ;  William  Hum- 
mer, R.  Sec. ;  P.  Wagner,  P.  Sec. ;  J.  H.  Lowe,  Treas. 
The  Noble  Grands  of  the  lodge  since  1875  have  been 
William  Knight,  L.  B.  Baker,  A.  V.  Lunger,  E.  R. 
Hartpence,  G.  W.  Gebhardt,  M.  F.  Proof,  William 
Lunger,  E.  Laquay,  and  E.  V.  Blue. 

"Independent  Gospel  Temperance  Union"  was  or- 
ganized June  21, 1878,  in  Dr.  Everett's  office.  Gospel 
temperance  meetings  are  held  monthly  in  the  Clinton 
churches  and  in  the  Stone  church  at  Bethlehem. 
The  officers  are  Eev.  J.  E.  Ewing,  President ;  Eev.  J. 
H.  Euth,  I.  G.  Williamson,  and  J.  T.  Leigh,  Vice- 
Presidents;  George  Fleming,  Eecording  Secretary; 
G.  W.  Everett,  Corresponding  Secretary ;  Peter  Case, 
Treasurer. 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL   INSTITUTE. 

At  a  county  Sunday-school  convention  held  in 
Bloomsbury,  Oct.  15,  1873,  the  county  was  divided 
into  three  Sunday-school  districts,  of  which  No.  1 
was  to  be  the  townships  of  Bethlehem,  Lebanon, 
High  Bridge,  Tewksbury,  Clinton,  and  Union,  and 
the  borough  of  Clinton.  The  first  president  of  No.  1 
was  B.  E.  Young,  and  the  first  secretary  Rev.  T.  D. 
Frazee,  chosen  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  institute, 
May  26,  1874.  The  officers  in  November,  1880,  were 
Eev.  S.  W.  Eoe,  D.D.,  of  Lebanon,  President;  Wil- 
liam S.  Wyckoff,  of  Clinton,  Vice-President ;  William 
H.  Baker,  of  Clinton  borough,  Secretary  and  Treas- 
urer. The  present  representation  in  the  institute  in- 
cludes forty-four  Sunday-schools. 


HISTORY  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE  PHYSICJAL  FEATURES  OP   SOMEBSET 
COUNTY.* 

Ijocation — Extent — Boundaries — Physical  Features — Geological  Forma- 
tions— The  Red  Sandstone,  Red  Shale,  Limestone,  Trap,  and  other 
Boc]£B — Minerals  and  Mines,  etc. 

EXTENT  AND  BOUNDARIES. 
Somerset  Cottn'ty  is  situated  very  nearly  in  the 
geographical  centre  of  the  State,  lying  between  40° 
22'  and  40°  45'  north  latitude,  and  extending  from 
74°  27'  westward  to  74°  47'  west  of  Greenwich.  Its 
central  latitude  is  40°  34'.  Its  climate  is  mild  and 
healthful.  It  contains  nearly  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  thousand  acres,  or  three  hundred  and  six  square 
miles,  of  surface.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Morris  and  Union  Counties,  on  the  east  by  Union  and 
Middlesex,  on  the  south  by  Middlesex  and  Mercer, 
and  on  the  west  by  Mercer  and  Hunterdon  Counties. 

TOPOGRAPHY,  Etc. 

The  predominant  aspect  of  the  surface  is  that  of  a 
soft  and  gentle  pastoral  landscape,  except  in  its 
northern  part,  where  its  hills,  in  graceful  outlines, 
harmoniously  blend  with  the  woodlands,  meadows, 
and  fields  of  its  central  and  southern  portions.  No 
towering  mountains  or  steep  acclivities  are  here  to  be 
found;  yet  from  many  an  eminence  views  are  obtained 
as  fine  and  as  wide-spreading  as  can  be  had  in  some 
localities  only  from  mountain-tops. 

The  surface  in  the  larger  part  of  the  county  is  roll- 
ing or  undulating, — neither  flat  nor  hilly,  but  so  com- 
posed of  hill  and  dale  as  to  insure  proper  drainage, 
and  yet  present  no  obstacle  to  agriculture  and  tillage. 
Its  mountains,  so  called,  rise  to  an  altitude  of  from 
only  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet. 
They  are  of  the  trap  formation,  but  it  nowhere  as- 
sumes the  columnar  form. 

The  South  Branch  of  the  Earitan,  rising  in  Brook- 
lyn Pond,  in  Morris  County,  a  few  miles  north  of 
Drakesville,  courses  along  the  western  base  of  Fox 
Hill,  receives  the  waters  of  Budd's  Lake,  and  drains 
the  German  Valley ;  it  then  passes  west  of  Eound 
Mountain  and  enters  upon  the  red-shale  district,  flow- 
ing to  the  northward  of  Flemington,  thence  nearly 
eastward  to  Neshanic,  where  it  changes  its  course,  its 
direction  being  nearly  northeasterly  to  the  point  where 
it  joins  the  North  Branch  in  forming  the  Earitan 

*  By  Rev.  Abram  Messier,  D.D. 


Eiver,  through  which  its  waters  are  discharged  into 
the  bay  at  Amboy. 

The  North  Branch  has  its  head  near  Calais,  in 
Morris  County,  not  far  from  the  source  of  the  South 
Branch ;  but  this  stream  is  not  diverted  by  the  range 
of  Fox  Hill,  and  therefore  naturally  finds  a  channel 
more  directly  towards  the  red-shale  district,  and,  flow- 
ing nearly  southerly,  meets  the  South  Branch  and 
sends  its  waters  oceanward  by  the  same  channel.  It 
has  a  larger  branch,  and  a  longer,  called,  first.  Black 
Eiver,  then  the  Lamington,  which  first  receives  the 
waters  of  the  North  and  South  Eockaway.  These 
principal  streams  discharge  almost  all  the  waters  of 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties.  They  all  flow 
through  broad  valleys,  whose  rich  alluvial  soils  afibrd 
a  sure  reward  to  the  husbandman's  labor.  The  South 
Branch  is  the  westernmost  stream  in  New  Jersey 
which  finds  its  way  to  the  Atlantic. 

The  valley  of  the  Earitan  forms  a  prominent  fea- 
ture in  the  topography  of  Somerset  County.  The 
river  of  that  name  has  only  one  principal  branch, 
coming  into  it  from  the  south,  the  Millstone  with  its 
several  affluents.  When  the  first  settlers  came  to 
the  vicinity  of  Somerville,  its  broad  alluvial  lands 
were  found  without  trees,  with  extensive  meadows 
rich  in  pasture  and  ready  for  the  hand  of  the  agri- 
culturist. The  Indians  had  used  them  long  before  as 
corn-lands.  It  is  this  broad  valley,  with  its  contiguous 
table-lands,  which  gives  to  Somerset  the  title  of  "  the 
garden  of  the  State." 

The  hills  in  the  north  part  of  the  county  can  hardly 
be  called  mountains,  yet  they  give  variety  to  the 
scenery.  In  the  trap  range  north  of  Somerville  is  a 
romantic  gorge  which  has  become  quite  celebrated  as 
a  resort  for  pleasure-parties.  It  forms  the  passage 
through  which  Middle  Brook  (called  by  the  Indians 
"  Eaweighweros" )  finds  its  way  to  the  Earitan.  En- 
tering the  gorge  from  the  south,  a  narrow  dell  is  seen, 
on  the  west  side  of  which  the  Eound  Top  rises  nearly 
three  hundred  feet ;  on  the  east  the  wall  of  trap  is 
nearly  perpendicular,  and  upon  it  rests  a  rock  about 
twelve  feet  in  height  and  five  or  six  square,  resem- 
bling an  old  broken  stone  chimney.  This  is  the 
famed  "  Chimney  Eock.''  A  short  distance  beyond 
is  a  precipice  nearly  as  high  as  that  upon  the  east 
side.  Here  the  two  branches  of  the  little  stream 
unite.  Just  above,  upon  the  right-hand  branch,  is  a 
beautiful  cascade,  known  as  "  Buttermilk  Falls.''  The 
left-hand  stream  winds  around  the  precipice  and  leads 

551 


552 


SOMBKSET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  romantic  visitor  into  Washington  Valley,  around 
which  cluster  memories  of  the  Eevolution.  This 
gorge  was  protected  by  cannon,  and  formed  the 
avenue  of  communication  from  the  north  to  the 
south  side  of  the  mountain  during  that  exciting 
period. 

The  woodland  in  the  north  part  of  the  county  is 
yet  abundant  and ,  increasing ;  it  consists  principally 
of  the  oak  in  all  its  varieties,  ash,  maple,  elm,  hickory, 
and  chestnut.  In  the  red-shale  district  of  the  county 
especially  the  foliage  has  a  vivid  brightness — due, 
perhaps,  to  the  peculiar  soil — which  has  caused  it  to 
be  designated  "the  greenest  place"  in  New  Jersey. 
Whatever  the  cause,  this  brightness  and  freshness  of 
foliage  is  often  remarked.  It  is  a  natural  beauty  for 
which  Somerset  is  distinguished. 

GEOLOGICAL. 

Geologically  considered,  the  area  of  Somerset  County 
is  made  up  almost  entirely  of  five  distinct  formations. 
The  first  and  the  largest  is  the  argillaceous  sandstone, 
or  red  shale,  one  of  the  most  extensive  of  the  Triassic 
formations.  The  second  is  the  variegated  conglomer- 
ate, upon  which  the  red  shale  rests  along  its  northwest 
line  in  an  unconformable  manner.  The  third  em- 
braces the  trap  ranges  protruded  from  it ;  and  fourth 
the  older  gneiss  rocks,  upon  which  the  conglomerate 
rests.  This,  as  a  formation  of  the  Azoic  Age,  occu- 
pies a  position  next  to  the  primitive  granite.  Asso- 
ciated with  this  rock  is,  fifth,  the  blue  limestone,  which 
crops  out  in  a  few  places  only  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  county,  but  which  is  of  great  economic  value 
when  it  is  used  in  architecture  and  in  agriculture. 
These  several  formations  will  be  treated  in  the  order 
indicated  above. 

THE  BED  SANDSTONE  AND  KED  SHALE. 

This  formation  presents  to  view  commonly  a  dull- 
red,  highly-argillaceous  sandstone,  in  which,  when 
the  proportion  of  the  clay  is  in  excess,  the  rock  as- 
sumes a  slaty  texture  and  fracture ;  in  other  instances 
the  sandy  particles  are  more  predominant,  though 
very  fine,  and  then  it  assumes  a  massive  form.  Then, 
again,  it  appears  in  a  condition  in  which  it  has  em- 
bodied a  small  quantity  of  mica,  which  modifies  its 
form,  and  it  can  be  broken  up  in  masses  for  building 
purposes  or  split  into  flagstones.  Several  beds  of  the 
series,  especially  low  down  in  the  mass  of  the  strata, 
resemble  somewhat  a  coarse  conglomerate,  showing 
that  they  have  been  formed  from  the  rocks  of  an 
older  class  and  assuming  a  yellowish  hue.  Eanges  of 
this  form  of  the  rock  are  seen  almost  everywhere  in 
Somerset  County,  and  when  denuded  or  exposed  near 
the  surface  are  employed  extensively  in  agriculture 
and  masonry. 

The  prevailing  red  hue  of  the  strata  is  obviously 
due  to  the  fact  that  they  contain  a  portion  of  the  red 
oxide  of  iron.  Some  of  the  beds  of  the  shale  and 
fine-grained   sandstone,   from    local   causes,   have   a 


bluish-green  hue,  while  other  large  tracts  have  a  dull- 
brown  color,  the  eifect  of  the  heat  of  the  adjacent 
trap  rocks,  and  in  some  localities  they  have  been  so 
baked  that  they  have  a  ringing  sound  when  struck 
like  clink-stone.  We  give  an  analysis  of  the  red 
shale  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Brunswick,  which  will 
show  all  the  materials  of  which  it  is  composed.  In  100 
parts,  73  are  silicic  acid  and  quartz ;  peroxide  of  iron, 
10 ;  alumina,  3.20 ;  lime,  4.93  ;  magnesia,  0.98 ;  potash, 
0.73 ;  soda,  0.97,  with  a  trace  of  sulphuric  and  car- 
bonic acid  and  water.  The  soil  of  a  large  part  of 
Somerset  County  is  made  up  of  this  compound  mass, 
and  its  value  is  sufficiently  evident  from  these  com- 
ponent parts.  The  lime,  iron,  potash,  soda,  and  mag- 
nesia are  specially  noticeable  as  valuable  ingredients. 

In  the  vicinity  of  New  Brunswick,  from  thence 
northwest  to  Bound  Brook,  and  perhaps  even  as  far 
as  the  vicinity  of  New  Germantown,  the  red  sand- 
stone and  shale  are  of  a  soft  and  argillaceous  char- 
acter, decomposing  rapidly  when  exposed  to  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere.  There  are  only  a  few 
layers  scattered  through  it  which  furnish  a  stone  that 
is  of  any  value.  The  soil  resting  on  the  top  of  it 
always  presents  a  tinge  of  color  which  has  been  de- 
rived from  its  decomposition.  In  many  places  it 
comes  up  so  near  the  surface  that  the  growth  of  trees 
is  rendered  difficult  and  uncertain,  and  the  vegetation 
produced  on  it  is  peculiarly  liable  to  injury  from 
drought ;  yet  in  a  good  season  it  yields  the  farmer  a 
profitable  remuneration  for  his  labor,  and  when  it  has 
been  treated  with  lime,  which  absorbs  and  preserves, 
in  time  of  drought,  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere,  it 
claims  to  be  called  fertile  land.  There  are  only  two 
portions  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  which  are  more 
desirable  as  agricultural  lands, — the  valleys  of  the 
Musconetcong  and  Paulinskill,  in  Sussex  and  Warren 
Counties,  and  the  marl  district  in  Monmouth. 

The  rocks  of  the  red  sandstone  and  shale  are  all 
regularly  stratified  and  have  a  uniform  dip  to  the 
northwest,  except  when  they  have  been  subjected  to 
some  disturbance  from  the  upheavel  or  protrusion  of 
other  formations.  This  dip  varies  from  five  to  twenty 
degrees. 

The  thickness  of  the  red  sandstone  and  shale  for- 
mation of  this  vicinity,  according  to  Prof.  Cook,  is 
twenty-seven  thousand  feet,  or  more  than  five  miles. 

*'  If  the  mode  of  computation  is  right,  the  result  must  he  accepted. 
Those  who  think  the  strata  were  once  horizontal,  and  were  thrown  into 
their  present  inclined  position  at  some  later  period,  adopt  this  conclusion, 
others,  who  think  the  strata  were  deposited  on  a  slope,  as  we  now  lind 
them,  do  not  consider  the  above  as  being  the  true  thickness.  They  suppose 
that  the  strata  on  the  southeast  border  were  first  deposited  on  this  north- 
west slope,  and  then  that  the  upper  edges  were  worn  off  and  the  material 
carried  farther  northwest,  to  be  again  deposited  and  form  new  strata 
upon  the  lower  parts  of  those  already  deposited.  Without  any  addition 
of  material  there  would  then  he,  in  this  way,  a  multiplication  of  strata 
all  having  the  same  dip;  and  such  a  process  could  go  on  until  the  forma- 
tion had  widened  out  to  its  present  extent.  Such  a  mode  of  formation 
would  not  require  that  the  whole  series  of  strata  should  be  more  than  a 
few  hundred — or  possibly  a  thousand — feet  in  thickness."* 

*  Geology  of  New  Jersey,  page  175. 


THE   PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


553 


We  will  not  decide  the  question  of  right  between 
the  two  modes  of  calculation,  except  to  say  that  a 
well  in  New  Brunswick  has  been  sunk  four  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  several  in  Newark  four  hundred  and 
six  hundred  feet,  and  one  in  Paterson  thirteen  hun- 
dred feet,  all  in  the  red  sandstone  and  shale.  Perhaps 
some  future  observations  may  determine  the  question 
at  present  in  dispute ;  until  then  we  will  have  to  wait 
patiently. 

All  observations  unite  in  showing  that  the  red  sand- 
stone and  shale  of  New  Jersey  are  of  a  sedimentary 
character.  The  materials  composing  them  must  have 
been  deposited  in  water  during  the  progress  of  many 
ages ;  and,  since  an  analysis  shows  so  little  trace  of 
any  of  the  ingredients  of  the  salt  water  of  the  ocean, 
we  add,  deposited  in  fresh  water. 

In  what  period  of  geological  history  this  widely- 
diffiised  series  of  sedimentary  strata  originated  we 
are  not  able  to  determine,  but  some  data  may  afford 
an  approximation.  The  organic  remains  in  them  are 
but  few.  They  are  certainly  not  so  recent  as  the 
green  sand,  as  is  proved  by  their  passing  unconform- 
ably  beneath  that  formation ;  and  that  they  are  more 
modern  than  the  coal  is  not  less  conclusively  shown 
by  their  reposing  unconformably  and  without  signs 
of  disturbance  upon  the  lower  members  of  the  Appa- 
lachian rocks  in  districts  of  the  country  where  the 
uplifting  of  these  and  of  the  carboniferous  strata  at 
the  top  of  the  same  series  has  obviously  been  cotem- 
poraneous.  The  vast  space  of  time  during  which 
the  depositions  were  being  made  may  be  imagined  by 
the  thickness  of  the  strata,  which,  as  we  have  said, 
has  only  been  imperfectly  ascertained,  but  must  evi- 
dently be  very  great. 

Some  indications  of  the  period  of  the  formation  of 
the  red  shale  and  sandstone  formation  in  New  Jersey 
are  also  found  in  the  fossils  which  they  contain.  There 
are  no  marine  shells  at  all,  proving  that  these  strata 
are  not  upheavals  from  any  primitive  ocean.  But  there 
are  remains  of  plants,  footprints  of  birds,  and  fossil 
fish  found  in  many  different  places.  We  are  confined 
to  our  own  small  field,  and  therefore  begin  by  saying 
that  the  plants  seem  to  be  of  the  Lepidodendron  class, 
belonging  to  the  lower  series  of  the  Devonian  period, 
and  cotemporary  with  the  Pittsburgh  coal.  The  fossil 
plants  found  in  our  district,  however,  are  not  well 
defined,  and  it  would  be  unsafe  to  place  much  depend- 
ence upon  any  inferences  as  to  the  age  of  the  strata 
made  from  them, — at  least  at  present. 

Fossil  fishes  have  been  found  in  the  debris  thrown 
out  of  the  copper  mines  in  Washington  Valley,  and 
in  several  places  in  the  shales  at  the  west  foot  of  the 
mountain  between  Bound  Brook  and  Pluckamin. 
Several  specimens  of  these  are  to  be  seen  among  the 
collection  of  the  Geological  Survey  at  Trenton. 
There  is  also  an  extensive  collection  in  the  museum 
of  Columbia  College,  New  York.  Footprints  of  dif- 
ferent three-toed  animals  or  reptiles  have  also  been 
found. 


In  Washington  Valley,  in  a  grayish  flagstone,  there 
are  marks  which  resemble  the  bed  which  the  sunfish 
[Ichthyosaurus  orthagoniscus)  makes  preparatory  to 
depositing  his  spawn.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  circle 
from  twelve  to  twenty  inches  in  diameter.  The  im- 
pressions are  so  plain  that  no  one  who  has  ever 
noticed  a  sunfish-bed  in  a  clear  fresh-water  stream 
can  possibly  mistake  it.  It  is  another  instance  in 
proof  of  the  conclusion  above  indicated,  that  the 
strata  of  the  red  shale  and  sandstone  were  deposited 
in  fresh  water.  There  are  many  other  places  outside 
of  our  district  in  which  the  fossil  fish  and  focitmarks 
have  been  found. 

The  sandstone  variety  of  the  Triassio  formation  in 
Somerset  County,  as  distinct  from  the  red  shale,  has 
not  yet  attracted  the  attention  which  its  value  for 
economic  purposes  warrants  us  in  saying  that  it  will 
attain.  It  is  easily  formed  into  any  required  shape ; 
it  is  durable,  resisting  the  action  of  the  atmosphere 
in  a  remarkable  degree ;  it  is  abundant  in  almost  all 
the  neighborhoods  of  this  county ;  it  is  not  generally 
deeply  imbedded,  so  that  little  labor  is  required  to  ob- 
tain it ;  and  it  can  be  had  in  almost  all  the  districts  at 
a  comparatively  small  expense.  The  brown  and  yel- 
lowish varieties  are  seen  in  several  important  edifices 
in  the  State.  Rutgers  College,  the  Newark  court- 
house, State-House  at  Trenton,  and  Trinity  Church 
in  New  York  City  are  all  built  of  it. 

There  remains  only  one  more  circumstance  of  im- 
portance to  be  mentioned  respecting  the  red  shale 
and  sandstone.  It  seems  to  have  been  subjected,  at 
some  period  after  its  deposition,  to  a  process  of  denu- 
dation, by  which  the  upper  surface  of  the  strata  or 
the  outcrop  has  been  abraded  and  worn  away,  ex- 
posing them  almost  naked  to  the  action  of  the 
weather.  In  some  localities  are  found  sand-hills, 
identical  in  their  character  with  the  mass  of  the 
same  material  which  forms  the  surface  of  a  large  dis- 
trict of  country  southeast  of  South  River,  in  Middle- 
sex County,  and  on  the  borders  of  Monmouth.  Can 
this  sand  have  come  from  our  district?  There  are 
also  many  evidences  of  a  violent  and  powerful  move- 
ment from  the  northward.  Large  rocks  of  gran- 
itic gneiss  are  found  lying  on  the  surface  of  the  soil 
in  many  places  within  our  district,  which  must  have 
been  transported  from  the  gneiss  hills  or  gneiss  forma- 
tions in  Morris  and  Sussex  Counties.  Some  of  these 
rocks  must  weigh  at  least  twenty  tons,  or  more.  Sev- 
eral pieces  of  the  variegated  conglomerate  which  is 
in  place  on  the  east  side  of  Greenwood  Lake  have 
been  found  on  the  trap  ranges  north  of  Somerville. 

THE  TRAP  FORMATION. 

All  authorities  unite  in  affirming  that  trap  is  of 
igneous  or  volcanic  origin.  Ordinarily,  it  is  of  a 
greenish  gray  color,  and  its  aspect  varies  from  that  of 
a  fine-grained,  compact  basalt  to  that  of  a  coarsely- 
crystallized  greenstone.  It  contains,  in  difierent  lo- 
calities, besides  its  more  essential  components, — horn- 


554 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


blend,  feldspar,  augite,  and  titaniferous  oxide  of  iron, 
— various  other  minerals  of  more  rare  occurrence,  such 
as  epidote,  prehnite,  zeolite,  stilbite,  an  alcime,  and 
datholite. 

Trap  consists,  in  its  purer  state,  mostly  of  feldspar. 
When  united  with  hornblend  it  belongs  to  the  variety 
classed  as  greenstone.  When  associated  with  augite  it 
is  called  doleriie.  When  it  consists  of  feldspar,  au- 
gite, and  the  titaniferous  oxide  of  iron,  it  is  properly 
called  a  basalt.  A  fourth  variety  is  called  loadstone, — 
an  amygdaloidal  rock  composed  of  a  vesicular  cement 
or  paste,  usually  a  fine-grained  and  rather  earthy  ba- 
salt containing  small  spherical  cavities  occupied  by 
extraneous  minerals.  The  crystalline  structure  of 
the  trappean  rooks  is  no  less  various  than  their  com- 
position. It  presents  every  gradation  from  that  of  a 
homogeneous  paste,  in  which  all  trace  of  a  distinct 
grain  disappears,  to  a  coarsely-granular  aspect,  in 
which  we  may  easily  detect  the  several  other  constit- 
uent minerals. 

The  structural  appearance  of  the  trap  rocks  is  usu- 
ally that  of  an  amorphous  or  massive  character,  des- 
titute of  any  greater  regularity  in  its  joints  than  a 
tendency  to  a  cubical  or  trapezoidal  form  in  the  blocks 
into  which  it  naturally  separates.  But  in  some  in- 
stances it  displays  a  tendency  to  a  bedded  form,  as  if 
while  in  a  fluid  state  layer  after  layer  had  flowed  one 
over  another  in  forming  the  mass  which  was  thrown 
up.  In  only  a  few  places  in  this  section  does  it  as- 
sume the  true  basaltic  character,  separating  into  reg- 
ularly-formed prismatic  columns. 

Almost  every  relation  which  igneous  rocks  ever  pre- 
sent to  the  strata  intersected  by  them  is  seen  in  the 
several  positions  of  the  red  sandstone  and  trap  in  Som- 
erset and  Hunterdon  Counties.  The  usual  mode  is 
where  it  reposes  unconformably  upon  the  secondary 
strata.  A  very  striking  instance  of  this  is  seen  in  the 
gorge  of  Chimney  Eock,  near  Middlebrook.  There 
may  be  traced  the  trap  above  the  red  shale  from  the 
south  side  of  the  mass,  which  at  a  distance  looks  like 
an  old  dilapidated  chimney  resting  on  the  shale  and 
conforming  to  its  dip  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards, 
until  the  falls  of  the  east  branch  of  the  Middle 
Brook  are  reached,  at  which  point  the  trap  protruded 
upwards  through  the  red  shale,  and,  being  in  a  semi- 
fluid state,  gradually  settled  over  in  a  southward 
direction  until  it  became  solid,  and  so  it  has  remained 
ever  since.  A  little  to  the  northwest — perhaps  five 
hundred  yards — some  years  since  a  pit  was  dug  in 
order  to  obtain  the  red  shale  in  a  pure  form  for  the 
purpose  of  grinding  it  into  paint,  and  huge  broken 
masses  were  uncovered,  looking  as  if  they  had  been 
thrown  ofi"  in  a  confused  heap  when  the  trap  was 
forced  through  the  strata,  previously  lying  in  a  per- 
fectly conformable  position  as  they  were  originally 
deposited. 

This,  with  many  other  facts,  appears  to  us  to  be 
conclusive  evidence  that  the  trap  is,  geologically, 
more  recent  than  the  sandstone,  but  does  not  point 


out  the  precise  period  when  it  was  protruded;  nor 
can  we  determine  decisively  whether  the  different 
trap  ridges  in  Somerset  were  all  upheaved  at  the  same 
time  or  at  different  periods  in  the  Triassic  Age  of 
geological  science.  Evidences  of  the  intense  volcanic 
heat  embodied  in  it  when  it  was  extruded  to  the  surface 
are  numerous. 

A  broad  ridge  of  trap  extends  from  near  Neshanic 
church  southwestward  until  it  crosses  the  river  into 
Pennsylvania.  It  has  an  elevation  varying  from  three 
to  five  hundred  feet.  Its  length  is  about  seventeen 
miles,  and  the  average  breadth  about  two  miles.  The 
range  has  a  narrow  core  or  dyke  of  trap  rock  in  its 
centre  flanked  on  each  side  by  dark  indurated  argil- 
laceous shale.  At  the  end  near  Flaggtown  it  is  so 
changed  in  color  and  baked  by  heat  that  it  rings  like 
clink-stone  when  struck  with  a  hammer. 

The  outcropping  trap  is  seen  at  Mount  Airy,  near 
Rock  Mill,  and  at  the  northeastern  terminus  of  the 
range,  near  Flaggtown.  About  a  mile  south  of  this 
terminus,  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  ridge,  there  is 
a  remarkable  indentation,  formed,  apparently,  by  the 
wash  of  a  small  stream  of  water  making  its  way  down 
to  the  level  land,  in  which  are  great  masses  of  rock 
lying  in  confusion,  one  upon  another,  touching  only 
at  the  point  of  contact,  and  which  has  been  called 
expressively  "The  Devil's  Half- Acre."  A  mile 
farther  south  a  huge  mass  of  rock  standing  alone 
is  called  "Fort  Hans;"  and  still  another  farther 
south,  similar  to  the  first,  is  known  as  the  "  Roaring 
Rocks."  These  localities  are  favorite  resorts  for  pic- 
nic parties,  and  are  considered  great  curiosities  by 
many  intelligent  people,  who,  however,  have  no  con- 
ception of  their  geological  relations  and  origin. 

Looking  from  the  Neshanic  Mountain  to  the  south- 
east, we  see  Rocky  Hill  culminating  in  Mount  Rose, 
rising  to  the  height  of  four  hundred  and  thirteen  feet, 
and  terminating  west  of  Hopewell.  The  trend  of  the 
mountain  is  west-southwest  from  the  Millstone  River, 
and  it  extends  about  nine  miles  to  Mount  Rose.  Here 
it  changes  to  a  northwest  course,  which  is  preserved 
until  its  termination  is  reached.  Neither  of  the  slopes 
are  very  steep,  yet  there  is  a  difference  between  them. 
That  towards  Blawenburg  and  Hopewell  is  very 
much  more  gradual  than  that  on  the  south  side  of  the 
ridge.  The  outcrop  of  the  trap  is  only  seen  near  the 
Millstone,  about  Mount  Rose,  and  south  of  Hopewell. 
Loose  rocks  and  yellow  trap  soil  are  characteristic  of 
the  whole  range.  On  each  side,  between  the  trap  and 
the  red  shale,  may  be  observed  a  bluish  shale  indu- 
rated and  changed  in  its  color  by  contact  with  the  ig- 
neous rock,  proving,  as  elsewhere,  the  heated  state 
of  the  trap  when  it  was  protruded  from  below. 

There  is  another  ridge  on  a  line  connecting  Rocky 
Hill  and  what  is  called  Bald  Pate  Mountain,  known 
also  as  Pennington  Mountain.  It  is  isolated  from  the 
former  merely  by  an  interval  of  shale,  and  is  about 
two  miles  long  and  half  a  mile  wide.  Its  south  face 
is  very  steep  and  rocky,  and  rises  to  the  height  of  two 


THE  PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


555 


hundred  feet.  Its  general  direction  is  northeast  and 
southwest.  It  is  not  unlike  the  other  trap  formations 
in  this  vicinity,  and  therefore  demands  no  further 
notice. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Millstone  Eiver  is  a  range 
of  trap  elevations  which  must  be  regarded  as  a  con- 
tinuation of  Rocky  Hill  in  its  eastern  direction.  In 
some  places  it  is  covered  deeply  with  drift  and  but 
imperfectly  visible,  yet  no  one  passing  over  the 
country  can  well  fail  to  see  how  the  trap  at  Green's 
Pond  and  at  Ten-Mile  Run  is  an  integral  part  of 
Rocky  Hill.  Professor  Rodgers  says  of  this  forma- 
tion,— 

"  CbmmeQcing  at  its  eastern  termination,  near  Lawrence's  Brook,  we 
observe  the  shale  on  both  sides  of  the  dyke  a£snming  a  bluish  tint  or  color 
and  an  extremely  compact  stnictnre.  In  the  southern  declivity  it  is 
purplish  or  chocolate  color  in  its  tints  and  excessively  hard  and  tough. 
It  is  studded  throughout  with  small  spherical  knobs  or  crystalline  nodules, 
consisting  of  the  minerals  known  as  epidote  and  homblend  in  u  state  of 
imperfect  crystallization.  This  belt  of  altered  shale  extends  from  a  point 
half  a  mile  southeast  of  the  straight  turnpike  to  the  Millstone  River,  near 
Kingston.  The  changes  induced  in  the  whole  lithoid  character  and 
stmcture  of  the  shale  by  the  intinided  igneous  rock  are  finely  exhibited 
along  the  canal  at  both  the  southern  and  northern  bases  of  the  Rocky 
Hill  dyke,  evincing  a  curious  gradation  in  the  crystalline  action  as  we 
approach  the  trap." 

Large  blocks  of  this  altered  shale  are  to  be  seen 
along  the  Millstone  as  far  north  as  Weston,  but  in 
places  so  rem.ote  from  the  river  and  so  high  above  its 
present  current  as  to  show  some  action  of  flood  and 
ice  in  former  ages  not  now  existing. 

East  of  Neshanic  Mountain  and  not  far  from  Plain- 
ville,  about  half-way  towards  the  Millstone  River, 
there  is  a  small  outcrop  of  trap,  made  evident  by  the 
broken  fragments  which  completely  cover  the  ground 
for  a  circular  space  of  a  hundred  or  more  feet  in  di- 
ameter. On  the  bank  of  the  Raritan  and  Delaware 
Canal,  also,  below  Blackwell's  Mills,  another  small 
outcrop,  not  more  than  six  or  eight  feet  in  width,  ap- 
pears. It  seems  to  have  burst  out  from  below  through 
a  fissure  of  the  red  shale  and  remained  there,  standing 
alone  and  producing  but  little  visible  effect  of  any 
kind  except  the  small  blocks  which  lie  on  the  surface 
around  it,  covering  a  space  of  several  square  yards. 
In  excavating  the  Raritan  Canal  the  hill  was  so  cut 
away  as  to  expose  this  little  pillar  for  thirty  feet  in 
perpendicular  height. 

We  are  now  brought  to  the  most  prominent  of  the 
trap  ranges  in  our  district, — viz.,  the  two  parallel 
ranges  north  of  Somerville :  perhaps  we  might  more 
accurately  say  three.  The  first  range  begins  near 
Pluckamin  and  has  a  southeastern  and  eastern  direc- 
tion until  it  reaches  the  gorge  at  Middle  Brook ;  thence 
it  tends  east  and  northeast  until  it  reaches  Paterson. 
At  Milburn  there  is  a  broad  gap,  and  at  Plainfield  a 
narrow  passage,  through  which  a  branch  of  Green 
Brook  finds  its  way  out  towards  the  Raritan.  Be- 
tween its  inner  and  outer  slopes  there  is  a  great  dif- 
ference. The  inner  is  gentle;  the  outer  steep,  and 
often  precipitous.  North  of  Somerville  the  red  shale 
in  some  places  rises  up  almost  to  the  top  of  the  dyke 


of  trap, — in  fact,  is  immediately  contiguous  to  it.  At 
other  places  the  debris  of  the  trap  rests  upon  it  and 
overlies  it,  so  as  to  hide  it  from  sight.  Always  the 
fact  of  protrusion  is  so  visibly  present  as  to  indicate 
impressively  its  origin.  The  height  of  the  whole 
ridge  is  remarkably  uniform,  ranging  from  three 
hundred  to  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  sea- 
level.  Washington  Rock,  near  Plainfield,  is  five  hun- 
dred and  eleven  feet  in  height.  The  top  of  the  range 
is  never  broad, — in  many  places  is,  in  fact,  less  than 
a  mile  in  width. 

Parallel  to  this  first  range  is  a  second,  beginning 
near  Bernardsville  and  running  first  southwest,  then 
south-southeast  and  south,  following  closely  the  trend 
of  the  first.  It  is  more  than  double  the  width  of  the 
first  range  until  it  has  passed  beyond  the  limits  of 
Somerset  County.  Its  height  is  much  more  variable 
than  that  of  the  first,  and  its  slope  more  gentle.  In 
fact,  the  abrupt  dyke  is  seldom  visible.  Between 
these  two  ranges  there  is  an  elevated  valley  known  as 
Washington  Valley. 

Beyond  this  second  mountain  there  is  still  another 
trap  range,  or  Third  Mountain.  Long  Hill  and  Bask- 
ing Ridge  are  parts  of  it.  Both  these  formations  are 
less  elevated  than  the  other  two,  and  they  are  narrow 
and  level-topped,  with  the  red  shale  rising  up  nearly 
to  the  apex  of  the  elevation.  Their  average  height  is 
not  more  than  two  hundred  feet.  Their  general 
aspect  indicates  that  the  protruding  force  had  in  a 
measure  subsided  when  the  eruption  took  place,  or, 
perhaps,  being  farther  from  the  centre  of  action,  had 
less  power  to  overcome  the  resistance  opposed  to  it, 
and  so  not  only  threw  up  less  material,  but  also  less 
in  elevation. 

The  age  of  the  great  geological  formation  in  Som- 
erset County  we  do  not  pretend  to  fix.*  It  may 
have  been  not  only  more  recent  than  those  which 
remain  to  be  noticed,  but  perhaps  the  most  recent  of 
all.  It  is  evidently  the  result  of  some  great  volcanic 
action  which  either  then  expended  itself  entirely  or 
has  since  remained  dormant. 

The  next  formation  to  be  considered  is  what  Prof. 
Rodgers  calls  "the  variegated  calcareous  conglom- 
erate," forming  the  northwestern  boundary  of  the 
red  shale  and  sandstone  strata  so  extensively  spread 
out  in  our  district.  Conglomerate,  says  Dr.  Cook, 
is  a  rock  composed  of  fragments  or  pebbles  of  other 
rocks.  The  pebbles  may  be  of  quartz,  limestone, 
slate,  or  other  substances,  and  they  may  vary  in  size 
from  a  buckshot  to  the  bowlder  of  a  foot  or  more  in 
diameter.  The  cementing  material  may  be  oxide  of 
iron,  carbonate  of  lime,  or  other  fine  substances,  and 
the  color  may  depend  upon  the  cementing  paste  or 
upon  the  pebbles  themselves  inclosed  in  it. 

*  We  have  no  historical  records  of  these  remote  times.  Man  had  not 
then  found  a  habitation  upon  the  surface  of  this  mundane  sphere ;  and 
there  is  nothing  by  which  we  can  calculate  passing  events.  We  only 
know  that  some  things  must  have  been  first  and  others  last  in  the  con- 
solidation of  the  crust  of  the  globe. 


556 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


The  theory  of  the  formation  of  the  conglomerate  is 
given  in  Eodgers'  report.  It  overlies  the  red  sandstone 
and  shale,  and  therefore  is  of  a  later  origin.  There 
is  but  little  difficulty  in  explaining  both  its  source  and 
the  character  of  the  circumstances  attending  its  form- 
ation. The  fragmentary  materials  of  which  it  consists 
can  be  traced,  in  every  instance,  to  the  older  rocks  of 
the  neighboring  hills,  immediately  bordering  on  the 
conglomerate  on  the  northwest ;  and  we  can  also  dis- 
cover a  relation  between  the  amount  of  the  several 
kinds  of  pebbles  and  that  of  the  strata  along  the 
flanks  of  the  formation  itself 

In  order  to  account  for  the  violent  denudation  which 
has  taken  place  along  the  range  of  the  old  gneiss  and 
granite  rocks,  we  have  only  to  advert  to  the  state  of 
things  attendant  upon  the  outburst  of  the  trap  ranges. 
This  rock,  intersecting  and  overlying  all  portions  of 
the  red  shale  and  sandstone,  as  well  its  earliest  as  its 
latest  formed  beds,  was  manifestly  of  simultaneous 
date  through  the  entire  region  of  our  district  not  only, 
but  of  the  whole  continent.  The  violent  agitation 
of  this  whole  belt  of  countiy,  and  the  vertical  rising 
of  the  red  shale  depositions  to  a  higher  level,  would 
necessarily  set  in  violent  motion  the  entire  body  of 
the  waters  in  the  whole  basin.  These,  rushing  im- 
petuously over  the  shattered  strata  along  the  base  of 
the  hills,  confining  the  current  on  the  northwest, 
would  quickly  roll  their  fragments  into  that  confused 
mass  of  coarse  heterogeneous  pebbles  which  we  see, 
and  strew  them  into  the  detached  beds  where  we  now 
find  them.  The  protrusion  of  the  trap,  the  deposition 
and  formation  of  the  conglomerate,  and  the  elevation 
and  final  draining  of  the  whole  red  sandstone  basin 
can  only  be  considered  to  have  been  consecutive  phe- 
nomena. The  whole  time  occupied  by  these  stupen- 
dous changes  must  have  been  comparatively  brief 
compared  with  the  period  which  produced  the  mate- 
rials of  the  basin  so  extensive  in  range  and  so  vast  in 
depth  :  we  mean  the  red  shales  and  sandstone  of  New 
Jersey  and  the  other  States. 

In  attempting  to  describe  the  calcareous  conglom- 
erate, its  range  and  principal  localities  within  the 
limits  of  our  district,  we  may  say  that  it  constitutes 
the  uppermost  member  of  the  middle  secondary  se- 
ries. It  overlies  the  red  shale  along  its  northwestern 
margin,  not  in  a  continuous  belt,  but  rather  in  several 
insulated  patches,  which  range  in  one  general  line 
near  the  foot  of  the  primary  or  older  formations.  In 
almost  every  portion  of  its  range  its  materials  are 
very  heterogeneous,  consisting  of  pebbles  or  water- 
worn  bits  of  rock  of  all  sizes  belonging  to  most  of 
the  older  formations  existing  in  the  region  where  it 
is  found.  A  portion  of  the  motley  mass  is  made  up 
of  variously  colored  sandstone  pebbles.  Sometimes 
there  is  a  considerable  mixture  of  small  pieces  of  the 
primary  rocks,  and  in  certain  places  of  the  range  the 
strata,  throughout  nearly  the  whole  thickness,  are 
made  up  of  pebbles  of  limestone  cemented  by  a  lime- 
stone paste.     Usually  the  cement  or  imbedding  paste 


contains  a  prevailing  portion  of  the  red  argillaceous 
shale  of  the  underlying  strata.  This  admixture  of 
red  matter  in  the  formation  in  New  Jersey  is  easily 
explained.  The  harder  sandstones  and  limestone 
have  retained  their  fragmentary  state,  while  the  soft 
red  shale  has  been  reduced  to  powder  or  mud  by  the 
violent  action  which  brought  together  the  mass  of 
water-worn  materials,  and  so  became  mixed  up  with 
them.  That  they  are  water-worn  is  placed  beyond  a 
doubt  by  the  form  in  which  they  appear  in  the  mass 
of  the  conglomerate :  nothing  else  could  have  ab- 
raded all  the  angles  which  these  bits  of  rock  must 
have  had  when  broken  off  from  their  original  strata 
except  the  friction  and  wear  of  water. 

A  large  portion  of  the  conglomerate,  in  its  course 
through  New  Jersey,  exhibits  all  the  characteristics 
of  the  rock  from  which  the  pillars  of  the  Hall  of 
Representatives  in  Washington  are  made,  known  as 
Potomac  marble. 

The  relation  of  the  red  shale  to  the  conglomerate 
as  underlying  strata  is  also  clearly  seen  on  the  road 
to  Peapack,  east  of  Lamington  River.  The  rock  is 
generally  of  a  silicious  character  in  this  locality,  re- 
sembling a  coarse  arenaceous  sandstone,  and  the  shale 
dips  to  the  northwest.  At  New  Germantown  the  red 
shale  has  been  changed  near  the  brook  to  a  greenish 
gray  color  by  the  vicinity  of  the  trap  cropping  up 
here  in  a  narrow  dyke. 

COPPEB. 

It  is  found  in  the  red  shale  and  sandstone  of 
New  Jersey,  and  has  been  known  to  exist  there  since 
the  earliest  settlement  of  the  country.  Mines  were 
opened  before  the  Revolution  at  Belville  and  New 
Brunswick.  We  confine  our  notice  to  Somerset 
County.  It  exists  in  almost  a  pure  native  form  as  a 
red  oxide,  as  a  basilicate,  as  a  gray  sulphuret,  and  as 
pyrites  or  yellow  copper  ore. 

Native  Copper  has  been  found  in  the  vicinity  of 
Somerville  in  several  places.  Notably  one  large 
piece,  nearly  all  pure,  weighing  seventy-eight  pounds, 
was  taken  out  of  a  small  ravine  three  or  four  feet  in 
depth  on  the  north  side  of  the  First  Mountain,  about 
twenty -five  years  since,  by  a  farmer,  and  was  in  pos- 
session of  Albert  Camman.  It  had  the  appearance 
of  having  been  acted  upon  by  heat,  was  mixed  with 
the  gray  oxide  in  a  part  of  it,  and  incrusted  with  the 
green  carbonate  in  some  other  parts. 

Red  Oxide,  as  it  is  found  near  Somerville,  in  the 
Bridgewater  mine,  varies  in  color  from  purple  to 
brick-red,  has  a  compact  structure,  and  is  nearly  des- 
titute of  lustre.  It  occurs  mostly  in  the  altered  red 
shale  immediately  in  contact  with  the  trap  rock,  as  if 
it  had  been  diffused  by  its  upheaval  and  heat,  and 
suggests  the  idea  of  having  come  up  with  the  trap 
from  a  lower  depth. 

There  is  also  a  compound  of  the  carbon  and  oxide 
of  copper  found  near  New  Brunswick  associated  with 
the  red  oxide.     It  resembles  some  dark  earthy  sub- 


THE   PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  SOMEESET  COUNTY. 


557 


stance,  and  is  easily  crushed  between  the  fingers.  On 
examination  with  a  microscope  small  black  shining 
particles  were  discerned  diffused  through  the  mass, 
found  to  'be  carbon,  probably  anthracite.  Heated  in 
the  flame  of  an  alcohol-lamp,  it  burned  and  continued 
in  a  red-hot  state  until  the  carbon  was  consumed. 
Heated  to  three  hundred  degrees,  it  loses  seventeen  per 
cent,  of  its  weight.  When  treated  with  nitric  acid, 
after  being  ignited,  a  residuum  of  twenty-five  per  cent, 
was  found  to  be  silica.  It  is  an  important  fact  that 
so  large  a  portion  of  carbon — 35.50 — should  be  asso- 
ciated with  this  copper  ore.     This  is  unusual. 

Carbonates  of  Copper. — Some  of  the  native  copper 
ores  are  incrusted  with  the  blue  and  green  carbonates. 
A  locality  of  this  ore  has  been  found  on  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware  and  Earitan  Canal,  about  a  mile  north- 
west of  New  Brunswick.  The  strata  of  shale  where 
it  occurs  are' all  nearly  horizontal,  and  alternate  with 
a.  gray  shale  containing  particles  of  mica.  In  the 
cleavage  and  fissures  of  this  shale  the  blue  carbonate 
is  found  in  the  form  of  crystalline  incrustation.  The 
locality  is  near  the  bed  of  a  ravine,  and  when  it  is  re- 
membered that  the  red  oxide  is  common  in  the 
vicinity,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  account  for  the  for- 
mation of  these  carbonates,  which  seems  to  be  con- 
tinually going  on.  Water  charged  with  carbonic 
acid  dissolves  a  portion  of  this  oxide,  and  whenever 
circumstances  favor  the  escape  of  the  excess  of  the 
carbonic  acid  these  salts,  as  a  residuum,  are  deposited. 
The  mineral  is  manifestly  the  product  of  precipitation 
fi-om  an  aqueous  solution,  and  to  find  the  above  result 
it  is  only  necessary  to  admit  that  the  carbonates  of 
copper  are  rendered  soluble  by  an  excess  of  carbonic 
acid.  The  color  varies  from  a  light  to  a  bluish  green. 
It  can  be  scratched  with  a  knife,  and  is  easily  broken. 
The  fracture  is  uneven  and  slightly  conchoidal.  In 
structure  usually  it  is  opaque,  but  sometimes  translu- 
cent and  having  a  vitreous  lustre. 

Oray  Sulphuret  of  Copper  is  massive,  sectile,  has  a 
•dark  lead-gray  color,  and  is  seen  sometimes  in  the 
form  of  roundish  grains  in  the  altered  shale  rock. 

Copper  Pyrites  is  found  also  ;  it  is  massive,  of  a 
bright  yellow  color,  and  is  a  mixture  of  the  sulphurets 
of  copper  and  iron. 

Copper  has  likewise  been  found  in  the  First  Moun- 
tain, in  the  gorge  at  Chimney  Rock,  at  the  old  Bridge- 
water  copper  mine,  southeast  of  Martinville,  at  the 
north  end  of  the  First  Mountain,  south  of  Plucka- 
min,  and  in  other  localitias.  Deep  shafts  have  been 
sunk  at  some  of  these  places,  but  hitherto  without 
success  or  profit  enough  to  encourage  operations. 
Eecently  it  is  claimed  that  a  new  method  of  sepa- 
rating the  ore  has  been  discovered,  by  which  the  silver 
which  it  contains  is  preserved  and  is  sufficient  to  pay 
all  expenses,  leaving  the  copper  which  it  contains  as 
a  clear  profit.  This  is  particularly  said  to  be  true  of 
the  copper  ore  in  the  neighborhood  of  Plainfield.  We 
can  only  add,  if  it  should,  after  sufficient  trial,  prove 
to  be  true,  it  may  bring  into  operation  a  new  industry 


in  our  vicinity,  and  render  the  treasures  which  have 
long  been  claimed  to  be  hid  in  our  mountains  avail- 
able for  economic  purposes.  There  are  so  many  lo- 
calities in  our  counties  where  these  ores  exist  that 
success  in  mining  them  will  certainly  prove  to  be  an 
extensive  source  of  wealth. 

IRON  ORES. 

The  ores  of  iron  are  not  so  abundant  in  this  district 
as  in  the  more  northern  counties  of  the  State :  the 
formations  are  not  of  such  a  character  as  to  admit  of 
it.  Iron  is  found  only  in  Azoic  or  primitive  rock, 
and  as  these  are  found  only  in  a  small  part  of  Som- 
erset, large  beds  of  ore  are  not  to  be  expected.  On 
the  geological  map  of  the  State,  only  one  spot  in 
Somerset  is  marked  as  having  an  iron  mine.  It  is  in 
Bernard  township,  north  of  Madisonville,  on  the 
line  of  Morris  County. 

The  ore  is  a  black  oxide  of  iron,  and  is  more  or  less 
magnetic.  When  quite  pure  it  contains  74.4  per  cent, 
of  iron  and  24.6  of  oxygen.  Its  color  is  black  in 
mass,  and  also  in  ppwder;  it  gives  a  black  streak 
when  scratched,  and  has  a  metallic  lustre.  Its  crystal- 
line form  is  a  regular  octohedron  ;  but,  as  found  most 
commonly,  it  consists  either  of  irregular  grains  or  of 
compact  masses. 

The  iron  mine  in  Bernard  township,  on  the  south 
end  of  Mine  Mountain,  was  opened  many  years  since. 
It  is  located  on  the  extreme  border  of  the  gneiss.  It 
has  never  been  much  operated,  and  is  at  present  in 
ruins.  It  is  principally  remarkable  as  being  the  only 
iron  mine  in  Somerset  County. 

OTHEE  MINBEALS. 

The  sulphate  of  barytes  has  been  found  a  mile  west 
of  New  Brunswick ;  perhaps  this  is  not  in  Somerset, 
but  it  once  was.  The  specimens  are  opaque,  having 
a  yellowish  color  and  a  foliated  structure,  but  others 
exhibit  crystals  which  are  translucent  and  have  a 
bluish  tint.  It  is  much  sought  after  by  persons  who 
deal  in  paints,  and  is  valuable  in  commerce. 

Plumbago  or  graphite  occurs  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  east  of  Peapack.  It  is  found  generally  in  thin 
laminae,  in  the  granite  gneiss  and  crystalline  lime- 
stone. On  the  farm  of  Elias  Engleman  a  bed  four 
or  five  feet  thick  occurs  in  the  gneiss  rock,  forming 
the  southeast  bank  of  a  deep  ravine,  but  it  is  not  pure, 
and  has  not  been  made  available. 

MAGNESIAN  LIMESTONE. 

By  these  terms  we  designate  the  common  blue  lime- 
stone of  New  Jersey.  When  free  from  other  sub- 
stances it  contains  fifty-four  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of 
lime  and  forty-six  per  cent,  of  the  carbonate  of  mag- 
nesia, and  may  be,  therefore,  properly  characterized 
as  magnesian  limestone.  The  age  of  this  rock  is  de- 
termined by  its  position  above  the  Potsdam  sandstone 
and  beneath  the  fossiliferous  Trenton  limestone.  In 
New  Jersey  it  is  destitute  of  any  fossiliferous  remains 
and  lies  near  the  gneiss,  and,  so  far  as  it  has  been  ob- 


558 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


served,  is  separated  from  it  only  by  a  thin  layer  of 
sandstone.  It  is  fine-grained  and  not  at  all  crystal- 
line, and  its  lustre  is  somewhat  vitreous.  It  varies  in 
color  from  a  drab  to  pale  blue,  and  in  some  instances 
is  almost  black.  It  is  comparatively  soft,  and  effer- 
vesces when  any  strong  acid  is  applied  to  it.  In  some 
localities  it  is  almost  a  pure  dolomite,  from  the  large 
amount  of  magnesia  which  it  contains,  and  in  still 
other  localities  quartz  crystals  have  been  found  in  it. 
It  ordinarily  occurs  in  beds  of  from  six  or  eight  inches 
to  two  feet  in  thickness,  and  between  these  it  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  thin  layers  of  calcareous  slate  or 
shale,  while  in  others  it  is  so  intermixed  with  extra- 
neous substances  that  it  will  not  slack  when  burned. 
It  occurs  in  New  Jersey  in  a  long  narrow  series  of 
parallel  belts  extending  from  the  northeast  to  the 
southwest.  The  strata  are  not  horizontal,  but  are 
folded  or  doubled  up  about  certain  lines  or  axes  which 
correspond  with  their  longest  direction. 

In  some  cases  these  strata  are  folded  upwards,  and 
again,  in  others,  downwards.  It  does  not  occur  by 
itself,  but  is  found  separated  froto,  and  yet  surrounded 
by,  other  rocks. 

At  Peapack  there  is  a  bed  of  this  limestone,  ex- 
tending into  Morris  County,  in  length  about  fourteen 
miles,  and  varying  in  breadth  from  an  eighth  to  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.  It  has  been  extensively  used  for 
burning  into  quicklime.  It  is  employed  in  making 
mortar,  but  its  most  extensive  use  has  been  in  agri- 
culture. In  fact,  the  use  of  it  has  changed  the  face 
of  the  country  for  miles  around  Peapack,  and  added 
largely  to  its  agricultural  productiveness. 

It  belongs  to  the  magnesian  limestone,  and  ap- 
proaches to  a  true  dolomite  in  its  composition,  as  we 
have  said.  As  a  stone  it  is  fine-grained  generally,  but 
in  some  places  assumes  a  sub-crystalline  form.  In 
one  place  it  appears  as  a  calcareous  conglomerate, 
consisting  of  quite  large,  rounded  masses  of  limestone 
in  a  calcareous  paste.  In  some  of  the  quarries  there 
are  shaly  beds  interposed  between  the  strata,  and  it 
has  a  variety  of  color,  passing  from  a  drab  to  a  red 
and  dark  gray.  In  one  place  there  is  at  the  bottom 
of  the  quarry  eight  feet  of  dark  sub-crystalline  rock 
overlaid  by  about  tliirty  feet  of  a  light-gray,  fine- 
grained limestone.  In  another  the  reddish  layers  seem 
to  alternate  with  the  paler  varieties.  The  burning  of 
lime  has  been  one  of  the  most  active  industries  in  the 
vicinity  of  Peapack,  and  has  been  prosecuted  actively 
for  a  long  time.  The  drab-colored  and  reddish  beds 
were  used  with  full  success  for  water-lime  in  building 
the  Morris  Canal. 

At  Pottersville,  east  of  the  Lamington  River,  there 
is  an  outcrop  of  limestone  of  a  light  color.  It  is  also 
found  to  extend  on  the  west  side  of  the  stream,  and  is 
reached  there  in  sinking  wells.  Its  area  is  evidently 
contracted,  for  the  red  shale  and  gneiss  leave  but  a 
small  space  unoccupied  by  rock  exposure.  In  this 
locality  it  is  a  dolomite  limestone  with  a  slight  admix- 
ture of  foreign  matters. 


AZOIC  PEEIOD. 

It  only  remains  now  briefly  to  describe  that  part  of 
the  primitive  or  Azoic  formation  which  finds  a  loca- 
tion within  the  bounds  of  this  county.  Properly 
speaking,  there  is  no  granite  within  its  borders.  The 
formation  is  what  is  denominated  gneiss,  and  dis- 
tinctively consists  of  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica,  but 
having  these  materials,  especially  the  mica,  arranged 
in  planes,  so  that  it  breaks  rather  easily  into  slabs  or 
flags.  In  some  places  hornblend  takes  the  place  of 
the  mica,  and  \h&[i,  properly,  it  is  aienite  or  sienitic 
gneiss.  On  the  other  hand,  granite  is  an  unstratified 
crystalline  rock,  of  a  gray  or  fleshy-red  color.  It  dif- 
fers from  gneiss  in  not  having  the  mica  in  planes  and 
in  having  the  granular  form.  The  varieties  are  gnds- 
soid  granite,  in  which  the  mica  has  traces  of  regular 
arrangement;  graphic  granite,  having  quartz  and 
feldspar  without  mica,  and  having  the  particles  so 
arranged  as  to  resemble  hieroglyphic  characters ;  por- 
phyritic  granite,  having  the  feldspar  in  distinct  crys- 
tals ;  and  sienitic  granite,  containing  both  hornblend 
and  mica. 

Granite  is  regarded  as  the  oldest  rock,  having  been 
formed  into  masses  while  the  earth  was  passing  from 
a  semi-fluid  to  a  solid  state,  before  any  living  thing, 
plant  or  animal,  had  begun  to  exist  upon  its  surface. 
When  it  is  found  upon  the  surface  of  our  globe  it  has 
evidently  been  protruded  from  its  lower  place  by  some 
tremendous  force,  bearing  up  with  it  the  strata  which 
had  been  formed  over  it,  and  raising  them,  in  some 
places,  almost  to  a  vertical  position ;  so  that  they  seem 
to  stand  on  their  edges,  leaning  against  the  granite 
by  which  they  have  been  lifted  up.  Hence  it  is  found 
on  the  apex  of  all  our  primitive  mountains,  notably 
the  great  Appalachian  range,  which  extends  north- 
east and  southwest  throughout  our  whole  continent 
from  near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  Newfoundland.  In 
our  district  it  is  found  only  in  those  portions  which 
approach  the  primitive  Appalachian  range,  and  it 
appears  in  such  a  position  as  to  demonstrate  the  fact 
of  its  precedence  of  all  other  rocks  in  age.  It  seems  to 
come  out  from  under  them  in  some  places  ;  in  others 
they  lie  up  against  it ;  or  again,  in  others,  they  butt 
up  against  its  steeply-inclined  strata,  as  against  a  per- 
pendicular wall. 

Its  composition  gives  us  quite  a  variety  of  different 
forms.  In  some  places  feldspar  makes  up  from  two- 
thirds  to  three-fourths  of  its  material,  and  the  rest  a 
mainly  pure  quartz.  Sometimes  hornblend  is  found 
in  such  quantity  as  to  give  it  its  color ;  at  others  it 
makes  up  the  largest  portion  of  its  mass.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  common.  The  quartz  is  generally  in  grains, 
which  are  flattened  in  the  direction  of  the  stratification, 
and  range  in  size  from  a  sixteenth  to  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  in  thickness.  In  some  coarse-grained  specimens 
the  grains  of  quartz  are  quite  large  and  not  so  much 
flattened.  The  feldspar  also  varies  in  its  color  and  in 
the  ease  of  decomposition,  and  gives  character  to  the 
rock.     It  is  often  so  hard  and  unchangeable  that  it 


LAND  PURCHASES   AND  SETTLEMENTS. 


559 


miglit  be  taken  for  quartz.  In  some  instances  it  is 
opaque  and  harsh  to  the  touch,  crumbling  easily,  while 
in  others  still  it  is  entirely  decomposed,  forming  a 
mass  of  soft  earth,  with  the  quartz  grains  giving  it 
still  a  form  of  stratification.  Its  color  varies  from 
bluish  flesh-color  to  white  and  opaque,  with  a  few 
specimens  which  display  a  greenish  tinge.  In  a  word, 
the  gneiss  in  our  district,  while  it  preserves  its 
distinguishing  characteristics,  displays  the  greatest 
variety  in  form  in  its  appearance  and  composition. 

The  Azoic  formations  in  this  county  are  not  the 
most  extensive,  and  yet  they  occupy  an  important 
space.  Bernard  township,  north  of  Mine  Brook,  is 
composed  entirely  of  gneiss,  and  it  extends  westward 
to  the  Peapack  Valley,  where  the  blue  limestone 
crops  out  from  under  it  east  of  the  brook. 

The  soil  formed  by  the  decomposition  of  the  gneiss 
rocks  is  not  so  rich  in  vegetable  matter  as  the  alluvial 
formations  of  the  river-valleys,  and  not  equal  in  pro- 
ductiveness even  to  the  limestone  soils,  but  still  they 
are  capable  of  being  improved  by  fertilizers,  and  they 
then  yield  a  generous  return  for  the  labor  of  culture 
bestowed  on  them.  A  large  portion  of  these  soils  re- 
mains still  in  wood,  and,  where  the  hills  are  steep 
and  mountainous,  are  likely  to  continue  so  for  years 
to  come.  The  gneiss  hills  hold  in  reserve  the  timber, 
which  certainly  is  one  of  the  most  important  and 
essential  productions  of  our  soil.  So  it  becomes  evi- 
dent on  reflection  that  in  the  economy  of  Providence 
everything  has  its  own  place,  and  what  is  first  sought 
is  not  always  the  most  important  and  valuable.  In 
times  to  come  the  woodlands  of  our  district  will,  we 
opine,  have  a  value  second  to  no  other  part  of  it. 


CHAPTER    II. 


IiAITD  PTTKCHASES  AND   SETTLEMElfTS. 

Indian  Tribute  to  Jersey's  Honorable  Dealings— First  and  Second  In- 
dian Purchases — Early  Settlements — The  Scotch — Early  Dutch  Set- 
tlers, their  Ways  and  Customs,  Style  of  Building,  etc.— List  of 
Persons  who  purchased  Land  in  Somerset  County  north  of  the 
Baritan. 

"  It  is  a  proud  fact  in  the  history  of  New  Jersey 
that  every  foot  of  her  soil  has  been  obtained  from  the 
Indians  by  fair  and  voluntary  purchase  and  trans- 
fer,— a  fact  that  no  other  State  of  the  Union,  not  even 
the  land  which  bears  the  name  of  Penn,  can  boast  of." 
These  words  were  uttered  by  the  Hon.  Samuel  L. 
Southard,  of  Somerset  County,  before  the  Legislature 
of  New  Jersey,  on  the  occasion  of  the  purchase  of  the 
last  remaining  rights  owned  by  the  Delaware  Indians 
in  this  State  in  1832.  On  the  same  occasion,  Shawus- 
kukhkung,  an  educated  Delaware,  who  had  been 
chosen  by  his  people  to  present  their  claims  and  peti- 
tion, said,  in  an  address  to  the  Legislature, — 


"  Not  a  drop  of  our  blood  have  you  spilled  in  battle ;  not  an  acre  of  our 
land  have  yon  taken  but  by  our  consent.  These  facta  speak  for  themselTes; 
and  need  no  comment.  They  place  the  character  of  New  Jersey  in  bold 
relief  and  bright  example  to  those  States  within  whose  territorial  limits 
our  brethren  still  remain.  Nothing  save  benisonscaufall  upon  her  from 
the  lips  of  a  Lenni  Lenap6." 

These  words  were  true ;  the  tribute  which  they  ex- 
press is  deserved.  It  was  ever  the  policy  of  the  pro- 
prietors, as  of  the  provincial  and  State  authorities,  to 
recognize  the  possessory  title  of  the  Indian  tribes  to 
the  lands  of  which  they  were  found  in  occupation,  and 
it  was  an  established  principle  that  no  title  to  lands 
could  be  perfect  unless  based  on  a  purchase  from  the 
aborigines  of  their  rights  in  the  same.  Of  course 
this  principle  was  acted  on  in  Somerset  County,  as  in 
all  other  parts  of  New  Jersey. 

The  territory  of  Somerset  County  was  embraced  in 
several  purchases,  the  principal  of  which  are  here 
mentioned.  The  first  Indian  purchase  within  the 
boundaries  of  this  county  was  made  May  4,  1681, 
from  two  Earitan  Indians  (presumed  to  have  been 
chiefs)  named  Konackama  and  Qureromak,  of  a  tract 
extending  from  the  mouth  of  the  stream  now  known  as 
Bound  Brook  (called  by  the  Indians  Sacunk),  thence 
along  the  Earitan  River  on  the  north  side  to  a  brook 
called  Raweighweros  (now  Middle  Brook),  and  thence 
northward  to  a  certain  Stony  Hill ;  thence  easterly  to 
Metape's  wigwam,  at  the  mouth  of  Cedar  Brook, 
where  it  unites  with  Green  Brook,  and  thence  south- 
erly along  Bound  Brook  to  the  place  of  beginning. 
This  tract — called  by  the  natives  Bakahova-walaby — 
included  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Bound 
Brook,  thence  west  to  Middlebrook,  and  north  to  the 
mountain.  The  price  paid  to  the  Indians  was  one 
hundred  pounds  in  goods.  The  purchasers  named  in 
the  deed  were  Philip  Carteret,  John  Palmer,  of  Staten 
Island,  Gent.,  Gabriel  Minville,  Thomas  Codrington, 
John  White,  John  Delaville,  Richard  Hall,  and  John 
Royce,  of  the  City  of  New  York.  The  tract  thus 
purchased  "was  divided  into  five  portions.  John 
Royce  had  eight  hundred  and  seventy -seven  acres; 
Thomas  Codrington,  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
acres  next  to  him;  the  proprietors,  eleven  hundred 
and  seventy  acres  next  to  Bound  Brook;  Thomas 
Codrington,  one  thousand  acres  on  the  rear  next  to 
Chimney  Rock  and  the  mountain.  The  remainder, 
north  of  the  plot  belonging  to  the  proprietors,  was 
not  surveyed  immediately."* 

The  date  of  the  second  purchase  from  Indians  of 
lands  in  Somerset  County  is  Sept.  12,  1681.  The' 
names  of  the  Indian  granters  were  Machote  alias  Ke- 
neckome,  Negacape,  Awips,  and  Pamascome,  who,  for 
a  consideration  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,- 
sold  to  James  Graham,  Cornelius  Corsen,  and  Samuel 
Winder  a  tract  as  follows : 

"  Extending  from  Kaweighweros  (Middle  Brook),  on  both  sides  of  the 
Earitan,  to  a  place  called  Backahackawac  (apparently  according  to  an 


•  Kev.  Dr.  Abraham  Messler's  "  Centennial  History  of  Somerset 
County,"  from  which  all  extracts  in  this  chapter  having  reference  to 
land  titles  and  settlements  are  taken,  unless  otherwise  credited.     • 


560 


SOMEESET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY, 


ancient  map),  the  line  between  Caleb  Miller  and  the  late  John  M.  Maun, 
and  running  on  this  line  north  until  it  leacbes  the  mountain,  and  along 
the  mountain  until  it  reaches  Middle  Brook,  and  do\vn  said  brook  to  the 
place  of  beginning.  It  included  three  plots  based  on  the  river,  and  at 
least  five  north  of  them  along  the  mountain.  The  first  of  these  west  of 
Middle  Brook  was  assigned  to  John  Palmer,  and  contained  eight  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  acres.  The  second  belonged  to  John  White,  contain- 
ing also  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven  acres.  The  third  remained 
unappropriated;  and  on  the  north  R.  L.  Hooper,  Alexander  McDowell, 
James  Hooper,  and  '  the  heirs  of  Hooper'  had  large  possessions.  The 
exact  amount  included  in  this  purchase  is  not  stated,  but  it  contained 
many  broad  acres,  and  would  now  be  a  princely  inheritance.  Somerville 
stands  on  it;  and,  besides  this,  more  than  thirty  farma  whose  fertility  is 
unsurpassed  by  any  portion  of  the  county  of  Somerset  were  included  in 
its  wide  extent." 

On  the  19th  of  November  in  the  same  year  two 
Indians  named  Pawark  and  Manansamit  sold  to 
Robert  Vauquellen*  a  large  tract, 

"  extending  from  the  west  line  of  the  former  plot — that  is,  from  the 
eadt  aide  of  the  land  formerly  owned  by  John  M.  Mann— to  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  at  Pluckamin,  and  on  the  Baritan  the  weat  line  was  the  west 
point  of  the  island,  in  front  of  E.  H.  Veghte's  property ;  thence  runuing 
north  until  it  intersected  a  west  line  from  the  point  of  the  mountain, 
where  the  east  line  terminated.  It  embraced  all  the  land  between  Caleb 
Miller'a  property  on  the  east  and  the  old  Paterson  farm  on  the  west,  and 
extended  north  nearly  up  to  the  village  of  Pluckamin,  a  broad  and  val- 
uable tract,  including  some  of  the  most  beautiful  farms  in  the  vicinity, 
and  on  it,  on  Peter's  Brook,  stood  the  old  Van  Nest  mansion,  in  which 
'Prince  George' lived  and  died,  but  which  has  since  been  demolished. 
The  tract  included  the  island,  before  mentioned,  which  was  known  by  the 
Indian  name  of  Matanique.  The  whole  splendid  plat  of  rich  land  when 
surveyed  was  divided  into  six  portions.  On  the  east  side,  joining  the 
river,  Graham  and  Winder  had  nineteen  hundred  acres ;  north  of  them, 
Samuel  Winder  had  five  hundred  ;  north  of  this,  D.  B,  Dunstar  owned 
eeven  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  Returning  again  to  the  river,  John  Rob- 
inson had  six  hundred  and  sixty,  Archibald  Riddle  three  hundred ;  north 
of  this  plat.  Sir  John  Dalrymplefive  hundred,  leaving  a  large  plat  north 
of  it  still  unappropriated." 

On  the  same  date  as  that  of  the  last-mentioned 
purchase,  John  Robinson,  William  Pinhorn,  Richard 
Jones,  and  Matthew  Taylor  bought,  for  the  consid- 
eration of  "  certain  goods  named  in  the  deed,"  from 
the  Indians  Pawark,  Cowalanuck,  Manansamit,  and 
Agnamapamund,  a  tract  as  follows  : 

"  Extending  from  the  western  boundary  of  the  last-mentioned  plat  up 
to  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South  Branches.  This  place  was  called 
by  the  natives  Tuck-a-rama-hacking.  From  this  point  the  line  ran  east 
of  north  to  a  place  nearly  equidistant  between  the  North  Branch  and 
Lamington  River,  at  or  near  what  was  the  late  turnpike-bridge  above 
Burnt  Mills;  thence  due  east  until  itmetthe  line  of  the  former  purchase, 
and  thence  south  to  the  place  of  beginning.  .  ,  .  This  plat  was  afterwards 
surveyed  and  divided  as  follows:  William  Pinhorn  had  deeded  to  him, 
March  8, 1697,  five  hundred  acres  on  the  east  side  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty  on  the  river;  Lord  Neill  Campbell,  Jan.  9, 1685,  had  one  thousand 
six  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  embracing  all  the  land  between  Pinhorn  and 
the  junction  of  the  two  branches,  and  extending  north  as  far  as  Pinhorn's 
grant  extended.  Immediately  north  of  these  two  grants,  and  including 
all  that  remained  on  the  east  side  of  North  Branch,  William  Ackman  had 
four  hundred  acres,  Archibald  Riddle  three  hundred,  and  Sir  John  Dal- 
rymple  five  hundred  acres.  The  land  on  fhe  west  aide  was  taken  by  John 
Johnson,  while  Lord  Neill  appropriated  to  himself  another  one  thousand 
acres,  and  other  smaller  proprietors,  whose  deeds  extended  west  and  em- 
braced land  beyond  the  western  line  of  the  Indian  grant  and  reached  the 
present  boundary  of  Branchburg  townahip,  took  the  balance.  Their 
names  were  Michael  Hawden,  George  Willocks,  Miles  Foster,  and 
Thomas  Gordon,  and  their  deeds  all  bear  the  date  of  1703." 

*  This  name  is  found  differently  spoiled  in  the  old  records, — as  Vau- 
quillen,  Voquillen,  Voquillin,  Vanquellin,  Vanquillin.  In  Daily's 
•'  Woodbridge  and  Vicinity,"  p.  38,  it  is  mentioned  as  Voquilin,  aliaa, 
Vocklin,  alioB  Vanquuillen,  alias  Liprary,  alias  Laprairie,  etc. 


In  regard  to  the  early  settlements  in  what  is  now 
Somerset  County,  the  authority  above  quoted  (Kev, 
Dr.  Messier)  says  the  first  was  made  in  1681: 

"  On  the  first  day  of  November  in  that  year  John  Inians  &  Co.  secured 
a  title  for  two  lots,  embracing  the  land  on  which  the  city  of  New  Bruns- 
wick now  stands,  having  a  mile  of  river  front  and  two  miles  in  depth. 
From  the  north  of  Inians  &  Co.  to  Bound  Brook  there  were  laid  out 
nineteen  lots,  having  a  little  less  than  one-half  a  mile  on  the  river  and 
extending  two  miles  in  depth.  The  last  of  these  lots,  with  an  adjoining 
plot  on  the  south  side,  was  owned  by  William  Dockwra  and  contained 
nine  hundred  acres.  Behind  these,  facing  the  Millstone,  were  two  other 
lots,  the  lower  containing  eight  hundred  acres  and  belonging  to  George 
Willox  ;  and  the  upper,  containing  five  hundred  acres,  was  the  property 
of  Dockwra.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Millstone  three  and  a  half  miles 
to  an  island  in  the  Raritan  River  (in  front  of  R.  H.  Veghte'a  resi- 
dence), thence  south  by  west  two  miles,  and  east  two  milea  to  Millstone 
River,  containing  three  thousand  acrea,  exclusive  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  acrea  of  meadow,  had  been  previously  deeded  to  Capt.  Anthony 
BrockhoUs,  William  Pinhorn,  John  Robinson,  Mathew  Nichols,  and 
Samuel  Edsall.  The  land  was  sold  to  John  Royce  &  Co.,  of  New  York, 
in  1685,  and  was  to  be  known  in  future  as  Roycefield.  The  bounds  as 
given  in  the  deed  of  transfer  were  '  beginning  at  a  place  called  Hunter's 
Wigwam,  on  Millstone  River,  thence  north  by  east  and  northeast  to  the 
Raritan  River,  opposite  th6  west  end  of  a  small  island  formerly  belonging 
to  Robert  Vauquellen,  and  thence  down  the  Raritan  three  and  a  half 
miles  and  up  the  Millstone  to  the  place  of  beginning.  Farther  up  the 
Millstone  were  twelve  plata  of  twelve  thousand  acres  owned , by  Polhemus 
Gortleyou.  Lott  and  others  located  in  1701.  John  Harrison  and  Wil- 
liam, hia  father,  owned  land  at  Rocky  Hill." 

Upon  the  tract  first  mentioned  as  having  been  pur- 
chased from  the  Indians  (May  4,  1681),  two  of  the 
purchasers — Thomas  Codrington  and  John  Eoyce — 
became  settlers  : 

'*  Codrington  settled  on  the  west  side  of  the  plot,  of  which  he  was  part 
owner,  on  the  banks  of  Middle  Brook,  and  became  a  man  of  extensive 
influence  in  the  county.  His  name  is  still  borne  by  some  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Somerset.  The  location  of  his  habitation,  caUed  Racawacahana, 
may  be  indicated  by  saying  it  was  recently  owned  by  Dr.  Samuel  Swan  ; 
it  passed,  soon  after  the  Revolution,  into  the  hands  of  John  Campbell, 
nephew  of  Lord  Neill  Campbell,  at  one  time  Deputy  or  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor of  East  Jersey,  and  aubaequently  into  others,  and  finally  into  pos- 
session of  its  present  owners.  It  is  one  of  the  first  three  homesteads 
formed  in  the  county.  Royce  lived  first  at  Piscataway,  and  then  in  what 
has  since  been  known  as  Roycefield,  near  the  late  residence  of  John  J. 
Staata.  He  was  a  merchant  in  New  York,  but  came  to  Somerset  County 
probably  soon  after  the  date  of  this  Indian  purchase.  He  owned,  or 
claimed  to  own,  a  tract  ot  twenty  thousand  acres  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Raritan,  about  which  some  dispute  existed.  Andrew  Hamilton,  the 
Governor,  writes  of  him  in  1700  that  'he  had  an  old  patent  which  con- 
tains 20,000  acrea,  but  because  the  stations  were  uncertain  and  the 
boundaries  would  not  meet  he  addressed  the  proprietors  at  home  for  a 
new  patent,  which  he  had,  and  obtained  about  six  thousand  acres,  fur 
which  be  was  to  pay  five  pounds  a  year  for  the  whole,  instead  of  one- 
half  per  acre,  and  the  proprietors,  forgetting  to  make  him  surrender  his 
old  patent,  he  now  claims  twenty  thousand  by  it,  and  so  takes  away  upon 
Millstone  River  from  Mr.  Hart,  and  on  the  Raiitan  from  Mr.  Plumstead 
and  Mr.  Barker,  considerable  tracts  of  land  ;  so  that  he  uses  both  patents, 
— the  old  one  if  he  can,  and  the  new  one  if  the  old  fail  him ;  it  was  a 
great  oversight.  He  is  the  very  leader  of  the  troublesome  sort  of  thff 
people,  and  it  is  he  that  infuses  the  motive  in  them  of  holding  to  their 
Indian  titles.'  This  is  not  favorable  altogether  to  Mr.  Royce.  He,  how- 
ever, managed  to  maintain  his  position  and  influence,  and  was  choaen 
the  same  year  one  of  the  representatives  of  New  Jersey  in  the  colonial 
Legislature.'* 

Of  the  persons  named  as  purchasers  of  the  second 
Indian  tract  before  mentioned,  it  is  not  known  that 
any  became  settlers  upon  it,  though  two  of  them, 
James  Graham  and  Samuel  Winder,  came  to  live  in 
the  province.  Other  settlers,  however,  were  very 
soon  attracted  to  the  rich  lands  embraced  in  the  pur-. 
chase : 


LAND   PURCHASES   AND   SETTLEMENTS. 


561 


"  The  earliest  permanent  settlements  along  this  part  of  the  Haritan 
■were  formed  on  it.  According  to  the  declaration  of  John  "Worth,  of 
Elizabethtown,  Codrington,  Royce,  White,  Peter  Van  Nest,  Jerome  Van 
Nest,  the  Tunisona,  and  Graham  came  and  located  here  sixty  years  pre- 
■vious  to  1741,  or  in  1681,  the  very  year  this  land  was  bought.  The  resi- 
dences of  Bo3*ce  and  Codrington  have  already  been  designated.  The 
Van  Nest  house  was,  it  is  said,  on  the  very  spot  now  occupied  by  D.  Fre- 
linghuysen's  residence,  and  the  Tunisons  located  where  John  C.  Gan*et- 
eon  now  resides.  But  the  residence  of  Graham  has  not  been  ascertained. 
He  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  province,  more  than  once  of  the  execu- 
tive council,  and  he  resided  in  the  county  somewhere  on  the  river.  He 
was  a  man  of  influence  in  those  days,  and  yet  he  may  not  have  remained 
any  length  of  time  on  the  Earitan.  .  .  .  Jerome  Van  Nest  and  Peter 
settled  permanently  on  the  Karitan,  and  their  descendants  are  yet  among 
our  most  respectable  citizens.  But  the  original  farm  on  which  they  iirst 
located  has  now  for  many  years  been  in  other  possessors'  hands.  The 
Tunisons,  Cornelius  and  John,  came  here  from  Fort  Orange,  now  Albany, 
aud  were  originally  from  the  vicinity  of  Utrecht,  in  Holland.  The  name 
is  found  early  in  colonial  annals,  and  was  prominent  in  more  than  one 
way ;  and  it  has  become  widely  extended  in  the  State." 

Neither  the  names  of  the  first  settlers  nor  the  date 
of  the  earliest  settlement  on  the  Vauquellen  tract 
(purchased  Nov.  19,  1681)  are  known.  On  the  other 
Indian  purchase  of  the  same  date,  none  of  the  orig- 
inal grantees,  or  of  the  persons  to  whom  the  subdivi- 
sions were  allotted,  became  actual  residents,  except 
Lord  Neill  Campbell,  who  was  a  brother  of  the  Duke 
of  Argyle. 

"  He  was  appointed  Deputy  Governor  by  the  proprietors  of  East  New 
Jersey  for  two  years  on  the  4th  of  June,  1685,  and  reached  the  province 
in  the  ensuing  October.  His  residence  was  on  his  plantation  on  the  banks 
of  the  Raritan  ;  the  property  is  now  owned  by  George  McBride.  He  had 
sent  sixty-five  servants  to  settle  on  it  previous  to  his  coming.  He  must 
have  arrived  in  September.  On  the  5th  of  October  his  commission  was 
read,  and  on  the  18th  his  council  named." 

But  his  stay  was  very  short.  On  the  10th  of  De- 
cember he  appointed  Anthony  Hamilton  to  fill  his 
official  place,  and  soon  after  sailed  for  Scotland, 
whence  he  never  returned. 

Says  Dr.  Messier, — ■ 

"  It  will  be  seen  by  adverting  to  the  names  of  the  original  owners  of 
land  by  Indian  purchases  along  the  Earitan  that  they  appear  to  have 
been  nearly  all  Scotchmen,  and  that  none  of  them  really  became  per- 
manent residents.  The  explanation  is  this.  The  principal  and  most  active 
proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey  were  inhabitants  of  Scotland,  and  their 
efforts  to  induce  emigration  and  settlements  upon  their  lands  were  made 
in  their  native  country.  As  the  effect  of  this,  Amboy  was  fixed  upon  as 
a  site  for  a  town,  and  was  named  New  Perth,  and  from  thence  settle- 
ments of  people  from  Scotland  and  England  spread  out  northwest  and 
west  as  far  as  Scotch  Plains,  Plainfleld,  and  Bound  Brook,  and  single 
families  even  farther.  From  this  immigration  the  churches  of  Bound 
Brook,  Basking  Bidge,  and  Lamiugton  proceeded.  It  was  an  influx 
coming  almost  entirely  direct  from  Scotland,  and  the  first  pastors  of 
these  churches  were  all  native  Scotchmen,— Scotch  Presbyterians  of  the 
Knox,  Rutherford,  and  Erskine  stamp.  Besides  this,  there  were  several 
families  of  German  origin  and  of  the  Lutheran  Church  who  settled 
about  Pluckamin,  ,  .  , 

"From  1624,  when  the  Dutch  began  to  colonize  at  first,*  until  1681, 
May  4th,  when  the  first  land  titlet  is  dated,  a  period  of  fifty-seven  years, 
no  one  seems  to  have  seen  or  been  attracted  by  the  beauty  and  fertility 
of  this  wide-spreading  valley,  or  ventured  to  endeavor  to  reclaim  it  from 
its  wild,  untrodden  wilderness  state.  Its  primitive  inhabitants  even  had 
deserted  it  almost  entirely  and  gone  towards  the  sea-shore,  attracted  by 
the  abundant  food,  and  only  bird  and  beast  claimed  it  as  their  home. 
But  the  time  came  when  a  different  state  of  things  began  to  exist.  The 
titles  for  the  fertile  lands  had  been  secured,  and  settlers  came  to  occupy 
them.  Some  of  these  have  been  already  mentioned,  and  we  find  that 
from  1681  to  1699  there  had  arrived  from  Long  Island  the  following 

*  In  the  neighborhood  of  Karitan  Bay. 
■f  In  the  territory  of  Somerset  County. 


heads  of  families,  mostly  of  Dutch  extraction;  Coers  Vroom,  Michael 
Hanson,  Andrew  AUyn,  Michael  Van  Veghten,  Dirk  Middagh,  Frederick 
Garretson,  John  Woi-tman,  Peter  Van  Nest,  Jeronemus  Van  Nest,  Jacob 
Sebring,  Isaac  Bodine,  Edward  Drinkwater,  James  Tunison,  Cornelius 
Tunison,  Pieter  Dumont,  Maurice  Maurison,  Johannes  Dameld,  John 
Roelefson,  Hendrick  Rynierson,  Thomas  Possell,  Cornelius  Powelson, 
Jan  Hans  Coeverden,  Folkerd  Hendrik  Harris,  Josias  Merlet,  Andrew 
Anderson,  Elton  Nyssen,  William  Olden,  William  Clausen,  Lawrence 
Opdyke,  William  Mouersen,  Reuben  Jansen,  Gabriel  Leberstein,  Folkerd 
Hendricksen, 

"At  North  and  South  Branch,  Andreas  Ten  Eyck,  Abraham  Dubois, 
John  Pnssell,  Josias  Claesen,  Jan  Hendricksen,  Dauiel  Sebring,  Coenrad 
Ten  Eyck,  Derick  Van  Veghten,  Alexander  McDowel,  Jan  Van  Sieklen, 
Benjamin  Bart,  Jacob  Stoll,  Teunis  Van  Middleswoith,  George  Hall,  Al- 
bert Louw,  William  Rosa,  Paulus  Bulner,  Lucus  Schernierhorn,  Pieter 
Van  Nest,  Emanuel  Van  Etten,  Johanes  Grauw,  John  Emeus,  Coert  Jan- 
sen, George  Dildine,  John  Reading,  Garret  Van  Vleet,  William  Brown, 
John  Cook,  Hendrick  Boesenboom,  Frans  Waldron,  Godfried  Peters, 
David  Busum,  David  Subair,  Abram  Broca,  Jacob  Rayuierse,  Garret 
Smock,  In  the  vicinity  of  New  Brunswick  were  Adrian  Bennet,  Aert 
Artsen,  Roelif  Sebring,  Johanes  Folkerson,  Hendrick  Bries,  Roelif  Voor- 
hees,  Lawreus  Willimse,  Roelif  Nevius,  Jan  Van  Voorhees,  Jacob  Ouke, 
Johanes  Stoothoff,  Jaqes  Fonteyn,  Jacobus  Buys,  Thomas  Auten,  Thomas 
Davidts,  William  Klassen,  Johanes  Coevert,  Hendrick  Bries,  Andrias 
Wortman,  Bernardus  Kuetor,  Christopher  Van  Arsdalen,  Jacob  Corse, 
Cornelius  Suydam,  Jons  Andersen,  Martin  Vanderhoeve,  Johanes  Met- 
selaer,  Samuel  Montfort,  Jan  Aten,  William  Moore,' Nicklas  Bason, 

"At  Three-Mile  Bun,  Hendrick  Bries,  Boelf  Lucas,  Jan  Voorhees, 
Aert  Aertsen,  Isaac  Van  Dyke,  Johanes  Folkeisen,  Jan  Aeten,  Laurens 
Willimse,  Roelif  Nevius,  Charles  Fonteyn,  Hans  Stoothoff,  Thomas 
Bouwman,  Derek  Volkerse,  Garret  Bnlmer,  Jan  Lavor,  Simon  Wickoff, 
Pieter  Hoff,  Garret  Doriand,  Andries  Boat,  ,Tan  Broca,  James  Fonteyn, 
Adrian  MoUenar,  Jacob  Rapleyea,  Joris  Hael,  Jan  Laeten,  William 
Lambers,  Peter  Kinne,  Hendrick  Trapbagen,  Luycus  Schermerhorn, 
Jans  Van  Middlesworth,  Johannes  Fisher,  Joeremias  Field,  Luycas  Wea- 
sels, Jacob  Koersen,  Nicholas  Hayman,  Cornelius  Jan  Onwegen,  William 
Harrise,  Andreas  Ten  Eyck,  William  Dey,  Manuel  Van  Allen,  Abram 
Elemeteren,  Johannes  Seigeler,  Jaurien  Remer, 

"  We  are  not  able  to  indicate  specifically  or  certainly  the  place  of  resi- 
dence of  each  of  these  families.  The  Sebrings  and  Harrises  lived  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bound  Brook,  Pieter  Dumont  on  the  south  side  of  the  Rarir 
tan,  Powelsons  near  Pluckamin,  All  of  them  evidently  did  not  remain 
permanently  or  leave  descendants.  The  names  of  others  continue  to 
occur  in  the  records  for  many  years,  but  aome  of  them  have  at  last  passed 
away.  All  of  them,  we  judge,  were  religious  men,  and  aided  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  Raritan  Church,  then  a  church  in  the  wilderness.  Most 
of  them  are  known  to  have  immigrated  to  Somerset  from  Long  Island, 
and  among  them  there  are  several  names  which  indicate  a  Huguenot 
origin,  Somerset  County  has  had,  in  fact,  a  largo  infusion  of  this  noble 
blood,  and  among  the  family  traditions,  in  many  instances,  linger  inter- 
esting reminiscences  of  the  night  of  St,  Bartholomew,  at  the  time  when 
they  fled  from  France  to  Holland,  leaving  their  all  behind  and  never 
looking  back,  rescuing  only  their  lives,  their  children,  and  their  silver 
from  the  deadly  spoiler," 

The  Dutch  settlers  were  generally  persons  of  deep 
religious  feeling,  honest  and  conscientious,  and,  ad- 
ding to  these  qualities  those  of  industry  and  frugality, 
they  generally  became  prosperous.  The  style  of  their 
buildings  they  doubtless  brought  with  them  from 
Holland,  their  Fatherland.  They  were  built  with 
one  story,  with  low  ceiling,  with  nothing  more  than 
the  heavy  and  thick  boards  that  constituted  the  upper 
floor  laid  on  monstrous  broad  and  heavy  beams,  on 
which  they  stored  their  grain,  it  being  used  as  a 
granary  and  for  the  spinning  of  wool ;  sometimes  partg 
of  it  would  be  divided  into  sleeping-apartments. 
Their  fireplaces  were  usually  very  large,  extending 
generally  without  jambs,  and  sufficient  to  accommo- 
date a  whole  family  with  a  comfortable  seat  around 
the  fire.  The  chimneys  were  so  large  as  to  admit  of 
having  their  meat  hung  up  and  smoked  within  them, 


562 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


which  was  their  usual  practice.  When  jambs  were 
added,  they  were  often  set  around  with  earthen 
glazed  tiles  imported  from  Holland,  ornamented  with 
Scripture  scenes,  which  furnished  the  children  and 
others  with  amusement  and  instruction. 

Their  style  of  building  corresponded  well  with  their 
habits,  which  were  simple,  unaffected,  and  econom- 
ical, contributing  materially  to  their  independence 
and  solid  comfort.  They  brought  their  children  up 
to  habits  of  industry.  Almost  every  son  was  taught 
some  mechanical  art,  and  every  daughter  was  re- 
quired to  become  well  acquainted  with  all  knowledge 
necessary  to  housekeeping.  The  farmers  burnt  their 
own  lime,  tanned  their  own  leather,  often  made  their 
own  shoes  and  boots,  did  much  of  their  own  car- 
pentering, wheelwrighting,  etc.  The  spinning-  and 
woolen-wheels  were  set  in  motion  in  proper  season, 
and  all  materials  for  clothing  the  family,  white  as 
well  as  colored,  were  manufactured  at  home.  No 
female  was  considered  a  suitable  candidate  for  matri- 
mony who  could  not  show  some  stores  of  domestic 
linen  and  other  evidences  of  industry  and  economy. 
So  economical  were  the  females  of  their  time  that 
they  frequently  took  their  spinning-wheels  with  them 
when  they  went  to  spend  a  social  afternoon  with  a 
neighbor.  They  often  helped  the  men  in  the  field 
in  times  of  planting,  harvesting,  and  in  other  busy 
seasons.  Such  a  thing  as  a  carpet  was  not  known. 
The  floors  of  their  houses  were  scrubbed  and  scoured 
and  kept  as  white  as  their  tables,  which  were  used 
without  cloths.  Their  floors  were  sanded  with  sand 
brought  from  the  beach  for  that  purpose  and  put  in 
regular  heaps  on  the  floor,  and,  becoming  dry,  it 
would  be  swept  with  the  broom  in  waves  or  so  as  to 
represent  other  beautiful  figures.  When  the  first  im- 
ported carpet  was  introduced  is  not  now  known,  but 
the  first  rag  carpet  was  made  a  short  time  previous  to 
1800.  It  was  woven  by  Adrien  Hageman  for  the 
widow  of  George  Martense.  Frugality,  industry,  and 
economy  characterized  all  their  actions.  They  lived 
chiefly  within  themselves,  and  knew  but  little  of  the 
dangers  and  diseases  incident  to  luxury  and  indo- 
lence. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  persons  who  pur- 
chased land  of  the  proprietors  or  their  heirs,  with 
dates  and  number  of  acres,  and,  in  some  cases,  its  lo- 
cation. They  are  taken  from  Schedule  No.  3  (and 
accompany  the  map  of  Indian  titles  and  land  grants) 
in  the  Elizabethtown  Bill  of  Chancery,  published  by 
James  Parker,  of  New  York,  in  1747.  The  lot- 
n\imbers  below  given  correspond  with  those  upon  the 
accompanying  map  of  the  Indian  purchases  and  sub- 
divisions of  land  tracts  in  Somerset  County,  north  of 
the  Karitan  River : 

Number.  Acres. 

3.  John  Palmer,  Sept.  26,1683 877 

4.  TboxaaB  Codrington,  Sept.  25,1683 877 

5.  John  Royce,  Sept.  26,1683 877 

6.  JohnWhite,  Sept.  26,1683 877 

7.  Graham,  Winder  &  Co.,  Sept.  28, 1683 1904 

8.  Proprietors.  Besemed  and  sold  to  Thomas  Rudyard,  Sept. 

26,1683 1170 


Number.  Acres. 

10.  Peter  Sonmans,  Oct.  9. 1686,  at  Green  Brook 2600 

12.  John  Campbell,  Nov  9,1686 1874 

13.  John  Dobie,  Not.  9, 1685 376 

14.  John  Drummoud,  Nov.  9, 1686 1000 

16.  Andrew  Hamilton,  Nov.  9, 1685 700 

22.  Andrew  Hamilton,  April  25, 1687,  on  Holland's  Brook 600 

23.  Andrew  Hamilton,  Oct.  .3, 1687 250 

26.  John  Robinson,  May  1, 1686,  on  north  side  of  Vanquillen..    660 

32.  Thomaa  Codrington,  April  20,  1688,  in  rear  of  his  land 1000 

34.  J.  and  G.  Alexander,  June  16, 1686,  at  Blue  Hills 462 

36.  Robert  Fullerlon,  June  4,  16S6,  at  Bine  Hills 30O 

37.  Hendrick  Corson,  June  10,  1688,  junction  of  North  and 

South  Branches 500 

38.  James  Cole,  Sr.,  April  23, 1688 125 

39.  Sir  Ev.  Cameron,  south  side  of  Bound  Brook 1300 

43.  William  Ackman 400 

44.  Archibald  Riddle,  joins  Ackman 30O 

48.  Lord  Neill  Campbell,  Jan.  9, 1686,  on  North  Branch  and 

Baritan 1650 

49.  William  Dockwra,  May  20, 1690,  on  south  side  of  the  Pas- 

saic River 300O 

60.  Samuel  Winder,  in  rear  of  Graham,  Winder  &  Co 600 

61.  Margaret  Winder,  May  20, 1690,  daughter  of  T.  Eudyard..  1000 
63.  John  Johnston,  May  20, 1600,  west  side  of  North  Branch..    400 

65.  Lord  Neill  Campbell,  May  24, 1690,  on  North  Branch lOOO 

66.  Sir  Ev.  Cameron,  May  24,  1090,  at  Blue  Hills 2000 

67.  Sir  John  Dalrymple,  Feb.  17, 1692,  on  N.  Branch  at  Riddle's    60O 

68.  Ann  Wert,  Aug.  14, 169:1,  on  North  Branch  at  Dalrymple's    912 

69.  Campbell  &  Blackwood,  Aug.  4, 1693,  on  North  Branch 3900 

60.  Wm.  Pinhorn,  Mai'ch  3, 1697,  joyniug  Lord  Neill  Campbell    50O 

61.  John  Johnston,  on  North  Branch,  joyuing  his  own  land...  .  100 

62.  Johnston  &  Willocks,  June  6, 1701 3160 

63.  George  Willocks,  June  7,  1701,  against  Margaret  Winder..      60 

64.  Dr.  John  Johnston,  joining  Lord  Neill  Campbell  on  North 

Branch 

66.  Michael  Handon,  west  side  of  North  Branch 466^ 

66.  George  Willocks,  west  side  of  North  Branch 466?^ 

67.  Miles  Foster,  west  side  of  North  Branch 466>^ 

68.  Thomas  Gordon,  North  Branch,  at  Peter  Van  Neste 600 

69.  Campbell  &  Blackwood,  two  tracts 7600 

71.  Elisha  Parker,  in  the  Blew   Hills,  between  them  joins 

AdamHude's 469 

72.  Elisha  Parker,  between  the  same,  a  mile  west  of  John 

Johnston's  house 260 

73.  Elisha  Pariier,  between  1st  and  2d  mountain,  joining  his 

other  tract 80 

74.  Adam  Hude,  joining  Parker's,  1st  above  tract 469 

76.  Adam  Hude,  joining  Parker's,  2d  tract 260 

76.  John  Campbell,  120  chains  up  from  Passaic  River  on  Dead 

lUver 200 

77.  Judiah  Higgius,  on  Bound  Brook  and  Rohnbous  Brook, 

Piscataway 50O 

82.  William  Penn,  1717,  on  Dead  River  and  Passaic 760O 

86.  John  Pittinger,  joining  Penn's  Land 200 

88.  McDowell  &  Pittinger,  May  1,1721,  on  Peapack 132 

90.  John  Hamilton,  March  25, 1727,  between  1st  &  2d  mountain    60O 

93.  Alexander  McDowell,  on   Dan'l  Shoemaker's,  formerly 

Pittinger's,  on  Penn's  Land 60 

94.  James  Alexander,  Feb.  12, 1727,  begin  at  N.  E.  corner  of 

Sir  Ev,  Cameron 118% 

96.  John  Parker,  Feb.  12,  1727,  begin  at  HoUinsbead  &  Ham- 

ilton      165 

97.  John  Parker,  March  28, 1728,  in  Harrison's  Neck 147 

98.  R.  S.  Hooper,  May  16, 1726 125 

99.  James  Alexander,  Sept.  17, 1741,  east  side  of  North  Branch 

of  Dead  River 272iJ 

100.  George  Ricarick,  March  28, 1728,  between  Dead  River  and 

Peun  Brook 184iJ 

101.  Joseph  Jennings,  Dec.  29, 1727,  on  first  mountain,  at  falls 

of  Stony  Brook 4 

102.  Alexander  McDowell,  Sept.  16, 1728,  N.  W.  cor.  of  M.  Vegh- 

ton's,  on  Raritan  (Lot  3,  John  Palmer) 1425^ 

103.  Daniel  Holliushead,  June  18,  1727,  on  Dead  River. 132^ 

104.  Daniel  Holliushead,  March  25,  1727,  between  1st  &  2nd 

mountain 393 

106.  John  Parker,Feb.  27,1730,  joyningSutton's, on  Harrison's 

Purchase 835^ 

106.  John  Parker,  Sept.  29, 1730,  of  Harrison's  Purchase 159 

107.  David  Cossart,May23,1729,onSirEv.Cameron's2000ax;re8    100 

108.  Ephraim  Dunhams,  March  1,  1730,  joining  Penn's  Brook 

and  20  chains  on  Pas-saic  River 100 

109.  John  Parker,  Nov.  4, 1729,  between  1st  &  2d  mountain,  on 

Dead  River,  at  Moses  Ayer's  Place 98^ 

110.  Dr.  Wm.  Beekman,  on  Dunstar's  and  Tieppell's 200 

111.  John  Parker,  July  10, 1731,  between  1st  &  2d  mountain,  in 

Han-ison's  Neck 100 

112.  John  Parker,  in  the  mountains  by  Judiah  Higgin's  Salt 

Pond 100 

113.  James  Alexander,  Jan.  12,  1727,  N.  W.  cor.  of  Lockiell's 

2000  acres  on  Bound  Brook 116?^ 

114.  James  Alexander,  Jan.  12, 1727,  behind  Sonman's,  118%....    493^;^ 

116.  Elisha  Smalley,  March  17, 1736.  Blue  Hills,  on  Stony  Brook      22 

117.  Nathaniel  Rolph,  March  28, 1740,  on  Harrison's  Purchase.      83 

118.  James  Hooper,  Oct,  18, 1740,  rear  of  Raritan  Lots,  S.  E.  cor. 

of  JMargaret  Winder 20O 

119.  Alexander  &  Dunsta,  June  1, 1740,  on  Peapack  and  North 

Branch 1240 

120.  Andrew  Hamilton,  Jan.  1, 1741.  on  Lamintunk 876 

121.  James  Alexander,  Se[it,  17,  1741,  in  G  tracts  in  Harristm's 

Neck T86^ 

122.  Alexander  &  Dunsta,  Oct.  16,  1741,  on  Harrison 683 


ERECTION,  OEGANIZATION,  AND   BOUNDARIES   OF   SOMERSET   COUNTY.       563 


Number.  Acres. 

123.  Heirs  of  Hooper,  Oct.  17, 1741,  at  let  mountain 100 

130.  FeterRunyan,  Junel6, 1743,  on  suutlisideof  FasBaic  Biver      30 

131.  Peter  Bnnyan,  June  16,  ]  743,  on  south  Bide  of  Fas&aic  Kiver      25 
139.  Alexander  &  Dunstar,  Oct.  25,  1743,  between  1st  &  2d 

mountain 1633 

142.  J.Alexander,  July  10, 1744,  at  Basking  Eidge 65^ 

It  has  not  been  the  intention  to  give,  in  this  chap- 
ter, more  than  a  very  brief  glance  at  the  principal 
purchases  from  the  natives  and  the  proprietors  of  lands 
comprising  the  territory  of  Somerset  County,  and  at 
a  few  of  the  very  earliest  of  the  pioneers  who  came 
to  locate  their  homes  within  it.  For  more  extended 
and  detailed  accounts  of  the  land  titles  and  settle- 
ments in  the  county,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the 
separate  histories  of  the  several  townships,  which  will 
be  found  in  subsequent  pages  of  this  work. 


CHAPTER   III. 

ERECTIOW,    OKGANIZATIOW,    AITD    BOTTH"DA- 
KIES  OF  SOMERSET  COUITTY. 

Original  Counties — Somerset  as  a  Township,  and  Formation  as  a  County 
—.Townships  Formed^Boundaries  of  County  Defined — Part  of  Es- 
sex annexed  to  Somerset — Boundary  between  Somerset  and  Morris 
Counties — Be-establishment  of  Line  between  Middlesex  and  Somerset 
— Part  of  Montgomery  Township  surrendered  to  Mercer,  and  Frank- 
lin to  Middlesex — Tewksbury  Township  annexed  to  Somerset,  etc. 

The  province  of  East  Jersey  was  first  divided  into 
counties  in  1683.  The  Provincial  Assembly  which 
convened  for  its  first  session  on  the  1st  of  March  in 
that  year*  passed  an  act,  which  was  duly  concurred  in 
and  approved,  dividing  the  province  into  four  coun- 
ties, and  appointing  a  high  sheriff  for  each.  Those 
four  counties  were  Bergen,  Essex,  Middlesex,  and 
Monmouth. 

"  Bergen  included  all  the  settlements  between  the  Hudson  and  Hack- 
ensack  Kivers,  and  extended  to  the  northern  hounds  of  the  province ; 
Essex  included  all  the  country  north  of  the  dividing  line  between  Wood- 
bridge  and  Elizabethtown,  and  west  of  the  Haokensack ;  Middlesex,  all 
from  the  Woodbridge  line  on  the  north  to  Cheesequake  Harbor  on  the 
southeast,  and  back  southwest,  and  northwest  to  the  province  bounds ; 
and  Monmouth  comprised  the  residue."! 

Somerset  County  was  set  ofl"  from  the  territory  of 
Middlesex  and  separately  erected,  by  act  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Assembly,  at  a  session  which  was  commenced 
at  Amboy  on  May  14,  1688.  The  act  provided  and 
declared  that  a  certain  tract  of  country, 

"  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bound  Brook,  where  it  empties  into 
the  Baritan  EiTer,and  to  run  up  the  said  brook  to  the  meeting  of  Bound 
Brook  with  Green  Brook,  and  from  the  said  meeting  to  run  a  northwest 
line  into  the  hills  ;  and  upon  the  southwest  side  of  the  Baritan  River,  to 
begin  at  a  small  brook,  where  it  empties  itself  into  the  Baritan  about 
seventy  chains  below  the  Bound  Brook,  and  from  thence  to  run  up  a 
southwest  line  to  the  uttermost  line  of  the  province,  be  divided  from  the 
said  county  of  Middlesex,  and  hereafter  to  be  deemed,  taken,  and  be  a 
county  of  this  province;  and  that  the  same  county  be  called  the  county 
of  Somerset,  any  statute,  law,  or  usage  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding."! 


*  The  Assembly  called  together  by  Deputy  Governor  Rudyard. 
t  Whitehead's  East-Jeraey-uDderthe  Proprietary  Governments,  Edition 
1875,  p.  128. 
t  IJeaming  and  Spicer,  p.  305. 


The  reasons  which  moved  the  Legislature  to  set  off 
the  new  county  were  declared,  in  the  preamble  to  the 
act,  to  be  that 

"  The  uppermost  part  of  the  Earitan  Elver  is  settled  by  persons,  whom, 
in  their  husbandry  and  manuring  their  lands,  are  forced  upon  quite  dif- 
ferent ways  and  methods  from  the  other  farmers  and  inbabitanlB  of  Mid- 
dlesex County.  Because  of  the  frequent  floods  that  carry  away  their 
fences  on  the  meadows,  the  only  arable  land  they  have,  and  so,  by  con- 
sequences of  their  interests,  are  divided  from  the  other  inhabitants  of 
said  county." 

The  old  division  line,  run  by  Keith  in  1687,  formed 
at  that  time,  as  now,  the  western  boundary  of  the 
county,  in  that  part  which  is  south  of  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Raritan  River.  Such  of  its  other 
boundaries  as  were  vague  and  indefinite  have  since 
been  more  clearly  defined,  and  others  have  been  ma- 
terially changed  by  reductions  of  the  territory  of  the 
county. 

In  1692,  nine  years  after  the  province  was  divided 
into  counties,  an  act  was  passed  to  divide  each  county 
into  townships.  The  existence  of  towns,  hamlets, 
and  divisions  was  recognized,  but  their  bounds  had 
never  been  legally  fixed.  It  was  necessary  to  do  this 
for  the  proper  choosing  of  deputies,  constables,  the 
levying  of  taxes,  etc.  Several  settlements  did  not 
seem  to  be  included  in  any  town.  Some  of  these 
towns,  as  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway,  already  ex- 
isted by  independent  charters.  The  constable  of  Pis- 
cataway took  charge  of  the  out-plantations  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Raritan  as  far  east  as  South  River 
(1688,  p.  308),  and  to  the  recently-enacted  borders  of 
Somerset.  Other  constables  took  charge  of  neighbor- 
ing out-plantations. 

In  1693  an  act  was  passed  dividing  the  four  counties 
of  the  province  into  townships.  Somerset  County, 
being  yet  sparse  in  population,  was  not  divided,  but 
the  act  provided  that  "  The  county  of  Somerset,  as  it 
is  already  bounded  by  a  former  act  of  Assembly," 
shall  be  a  township.  This  included  the  whole  county 
according  to  the  bounds  of  1688.  The  township  of 
Piscataway,  in  Middlesex,  extended  westward  to  the 
bounds  of  Somerset  County.  Besides  that  part  of  it 
on  the  ea?t  side  of  the  Raritan,  it  took  in  nearly  the 
whole  of  Franklin,  the  southeastern  corner  of  Hills- 
borough, and  nearly  one-half  of  Montgomery  town- 
ships ;  all  of  Mercer,  east  of  Keith's  line,  down  to  the 
bounds  of  Monmouth ;  and  along  the  line  of  Monmouth 
to  the  West  Branch  of  South  River,  and  down  the 
said  river  to  its  mouth.  This  included  the  townships 
of  North  Brunswick,  East  Brunswick,  South  Bruns- 
wick, and  Cranberry,  in  Middlesex,  and  the  townships 
of  Princeton,  West^  Windsor,  East  Windsor,  and 
Washington,  in  Mercer. 

As  Somerset  was  not  divided  into  townships  in 
1693,  the  act  concludes,— 

"  Provided  also  that  when  any  county  shall  hereafter  come  to  be  better 
settled  and  inhabited,  this  shall  not  be  understood  to  hinder  other  subdi- 
visions to  be  made  upon  application  to  the  General  Assembly  to  that 
effect."§ 


J  Ibid.,  pp.  330,  331. 


564 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


In  1695  (Laws,  p.  359),  when  a  tax  was  levied  and 
the  proportion  of  each  town  was  designated,  Somerset 
County  was  not  yet  divided  into  towns.  Peter  Van 
Nest  was  the  assessor  for  Somerset,  and  was  charged 
with  the  collection  of  four  pounds  sixteen  shillings 
six  pence  as  Somerset's  share. 

In  1698  (Laws,  p.  371),  while  each  town  had  its 
number  of  representatives  fixed  at  one  or  two,  the 
county  of  Somerset  had  yet  only  one.  There  was  no 
division  into  townships  up  to  that  time. 

The  houndaries  of  the  county  were  defined  in  "  An 
act  for  dividing  and  ascertaining  the  boundaries  of 
all  the  counties  in  this  province,''  passed  Jan.  21, 
1709,  as  follows : 

"  Sec.  3.  The  county  of  Somerset  beginB  where  Bonnd  Brook  empties 
itself  into  Raritan  River;  thence  down  the  stream  of  Raritan  to  the 
mouth  of  the  brook  known  by  the  name  of  Lawrence's  Brook ;  thence 
running  up  the  said  Lawrence's  Brook  to  the  great  road  that  leads  from 
Inian's  ferry  to  Cranberry  Brook ;  from  thence  south  forty-four  degrees 
westerly  to  Sanpiucli  Brook;  thence  down  the  said  Sanpinck  Brook  to 
the  said  division  line  of  the  eastern  and  western  division  aforesiiid,  and 
so  to  follow  the  said  division  line  to  the  limits  of  the  above  said  county 
of  Essex;  thence  east  along  the  line  of  Essex  County  to  Green  Brook; 
and  thence  running  down  the  said  Green  Brook  and  Bound  Brook  to 
where  it  began."* 

The  boundary  line  established  by  the  above  act 
as  between  Somerset  and  Middlesex  Counties  was 
changed  and  redefined  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
passed  March  15,  1713,  which  provided,— 

"Sec  1.  That  the  boundary  line  between  Somerset  and  Middlesex 
Counties  shall  be  and  begin  where  the  road  crosseth  the  river  Raritan, at 
Inian's  ferry,  and  run  from  thence  along  the  said  old  road  by  Jedediah 
Higgins'  house,  leading  towards  the  falls  of  Delaware,  so  far  as  the  eastern 
division  of  this  province  extends. 

********** 
"Sec.  3.  That  the  boundary  lines  between  the  said  counties,  settled  by 
act  of  General  Assembly  of  this  province,  passed  in  January,  1709,  so  far 
and  no  further  as  the  same  is  altered  by  this  act,  shall  be,  and  is  hereby, 
repealed,  to  all  intents  and  purposes."! 

It  was  not  until  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
after  the  erection  of  Somerset  that  it  became  organ- 
ized as  a  separate  county.  ^  During  this  period  it  had 
no  courts  of  its  own,  but  was  dependent  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  upon  those  of  Middlesex.  The 
precise  date  of  its  separate  organization  cannot  be 
given,  but  it  was  in  or  about  1713.  On  Feb.  28,  1713 
-14,1  an  act  was  passed  directing  the  manner  of  elect- 
ing freeholders  and  their  meeting  with  the  justices  as 
a  board  for  the  transaction  of  public  business ;  among 
which  they  were  charged  with  the  repairing  of  such 
court-houses  and  jails  as  were  already  built,  and  the 
erection  of  such  buildings  in  counties  which  had  none, 
and  they  were  empowered  to  appoint  and  pay  man- 
agers to  superintend  the  building  of  such  court-houses 
and  jails. 

The  counties  in  which  public  buildings  had  already 
been  erected  were  named  in  the  act,  and  Somerset 
was  not  among  them,  but  provision  was  made  for  the 
location  of  a  county-site  "  for  the  county  of  Somerset 

*  Rev.  Stat.,  p.  198.  f  Ibid.,  pp.  200,  201. 

%  AUinson's  Col.  Laws,  1713,  p.  16  ;  Neville,  1703-76,  p.  32. 


at  the  most  convenient  place  which  shall  be  agreed 
on  by  a  major  part  of  the  freeholders  who  inhabit 
there."  It  was  under  this  authority  that  the  public 
buildings  of  Somerset  County  were  erected  soon  after. 
The  tenor  of  the  above-mentioned  act  implies  that, 
before  its  passage,  Somerset  County  had  been  sepa- 
rately organized,  and  the  holding  of  its  own  courts 
(independent  of  those  of  Middlesex)  provided  for. 
It  is  certain  that  about  three  years  later  (1717)  Som- 
erset had  its  own  courts  in  operation,?  as  this  fact  is 
shown  by  the  records. 

The  county  of  Morris,  which  forms  the  northern 
and  part  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  Somerset,  was 
set  off  and  defined  as  a  separate  county  by  act  of  the 
Provincial  Assembly,  March  15, 1738-39.  Two  years 
later  the  territory  of  Somerset  was  increased  by  the 
operation  of  "  An  act  to  annex  part  of  the  county  of 
Essex  to  the  county  of  Somerset,"  passed  Nov.  4, 
1741,  which  provided, — 

"  Sec.  1.  That  from  and  after  the  publication  hereof,  the  lines  and 
bounds  of  the  said  county  of  Somerset  shall  be  as  follows, — vide  licet,  be- 
ginning at  the  South  Branch  of  Raritan  River,  where  the  reputed  divi- 
sion line  between  East  and  West  Jersey  strikes  the  same,  along  the  rear 
of  Raritan  lots,  until  it  meets  with  the  North  Branch  of  said  river- 
thence  up  the  same  to  a  fall  of  water  commonly  called  AUamatonck ; 
from  thence  along  the  bounds  of  Morris  County  to  Pasaaick  River;  thence 
down  the  same  to  the  lower  corner  of  William  Dockwrae's  two  patents 
on  the  same  river ;  and  thence,  on  a  straight  line,  southeasterly,  to  the 
head  of  Green  Brook ;  and  thence  down  the  same  brook  to  Bound  Brook ; 
thence  down  said  Bound  Brook  to  the  place  where  it  empties  itself  into 
Raritan  River;  thence  down  Raritan  River  to  the  place  where  the  road 
crosseth  said  river  at  Inian's  ferry;  from  thence  along  said  old  road, 
which  leads  by  Jedediah  Higgins'  house,  towards  the  falls  of  Delaware, 
until  it  intersects  the  division  line  aforesaid ;  thence  along  the  said  divi- 
sion line  to  the  South  Branch  of  Raritan  River,  aforesaid,  where  it  first 
began;  any  act  or  acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Province,  or  any 
article,  clause,  or  thing  in  them  or  any  of  them  contained,  to  the  contrary 
thereof,  in  anywise,  notwithstanding."! 

On  the  21st  of  March,  1749,  an  act  affecting  the 
boundary  between  Somerset  and  Morris  Counties  was 
passed  by  the  Provincial  Legislature,  enacting  as  folr 
lows: 

"Sec.  1.  That  from  and  after  the  publication  hereof,  the  division  line 
between  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Morris  shall  be  as  follows, — vide 
licet,  beginning  at  a  fall  of  water  commonly  called  AUamatonck  falls,  and 
also  mentioned  in  the  before-recited  act;  and  from  thence  on  a  straight 
line,  in  a  course  east  and  by  north,  as  the  compass  now  points,  to  the 
Main  Branch  of  Passaick  River ;  and  so  down  the  said  river,  as  the  before- 
recited  act  directs,  anything  herein,  or  in  any  other  act,  to  the  contrary 
thereof  uotwithstanding."lf 

A  survey  and  re-establishment  of  the  line  between 
Middlesex  and  Somerset  Counties  in  1765  is  thus  men- 
tioned in  a  historical  paper  from  the  pen  of  the  late 
Hon.  Ralph  Voorhees  :** 

"  In  1713  the  boundary  line  between  Middlesex  and  Somerset  Counties 
was  changed  from  the  first  one,  which  ran  up  Lawrence's  Brook,  to  the 
one  beginning  where  the  old  road  crossed  the  river  Raritan  at  Inian's 
Ferry,  and  following  said  road  until  it  crossed  the  '  Province  Line.'  In 
1765  it  was  represented  that  the  line  running  from  the  province  line  to 
the  Earitan  River  was  very  dubious,  by  reason  of  persons  altering  it  from 

g  See  "  Courts  and  County  Buildings." 
I  Rev.  Stat.,  p.  201. 
IT  Ibid.,  p.  200. 

**  One  of  a  series  published  in  1873  in  the  Fredonian,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. 


ERECTION,  ORGANIZATION,  AND   BOUNDARIES  OF  SOMERSET   COUNTY.      565 


th  e  old  road,  which  ran  in  general  upon  the  line  of  the  countieB ;  and  com- 
missioners were  thereupon  appointed — Azariah  Dunham  one  of  them — to 
riin  the  line  and  permanently  mark  it,  which  had  never  been  done  before, 
as  it  appeared  that  tlie  old  road,  following  the  old  Indian  path,  had  been 
considered  as  the  division  line.  Azariah  Dunham  was  a  prominent  sur- 
TCj'or,  a  good  scholar,  and  a  man  of  public  notoriety,  ofQciating  in  various 
public  capacities.  He  ran  the  line  as  directed,  and  made  a  complete  map 
of  the  survey,  which  is  still  in  existence,  and  in  a  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion. The  map  contains  all  the  streets,  and  the  location  of  all  the  houses 
standing  near  the  old  road,  with  the  names  of  their  owners,  to  the  prov- 
ince, or  Hunterdon  county  line,  a  short  distance  beyond  Princeton."* 

On  the  24tli  of  NovemlDer,  1790,  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  passed  "  An  act  for  altering 
and  resettling  part  of  the  boundary  line  between  the 
counties  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex."t  By  the  terms 
of  that  act  it  was  provided, — 

"  Sec.  1.  That  the  middle  of  the  main  six-rod  road,  as  established  by 
law,  from  the  ferry  at  the  city  of  Kew  Brunswick,  formerly  called  loian's 
ferry,  to  the  boundary  line  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  on  the  road  to 
Trenton,  shall  be  the  boundary  line  of  those  parts  of  the  counties  of 
Middlesex  and  Somerset  which  are  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
Karitan. 

"  Sec.  2.  That  all  the  lands  and  tenements  lying  to  the  northward  of 
the  line  hereinbefore  established,  and  heretofore  belonging  to  tlie  county 
of  Middlesex,  shall  be,  and  are  hereby,  annexed  to  the  county  of  Somer- 
set; and  all  the  lands  and  tenements  on  the  southward  of  said  line,  here- 
tofore belonging  to  the  county  of  Somerset,  shall  be,  and  are  hereby, 
annexed  to  the  said  county  of  Middlesex." 

In  the  erection  of  the  county  of  Mercer  (by  act 
of  the  Legislature  approved  Feb.  27, 1838)  a  small 
portion  of  the  southernmost  territory  of  Somerset  was 
taken  off  and  made  a  part  of  the  new  county.  Fol- 
lowing is  given  that  part  of  the  act  by  which  the 
change  was  eflfected : 

"...  All  that  part  of  the  township  of  Montgomery,  in  the  county  of 
Somerset,  which  lies  south  of  the  following  line,— to  wit,  Beginning  on 
the  Millstone  River  where  the  boundary  line  between  the  counties  of 
Middlesex  and  Somerset  crosses  the  same,  continuing  down  said  river  to 
the  original  southeasterly  corner  of  a  tract  of  land  called  the  Van  Horn 
tract,  and  thence  running  westerly  along  the  original  south  boundary 
of  said  tra«t,  and  continuing  on  in  the  same  course  to  the  middle  of  the 
road  called  the  Pennington  road,  leading  from  the  village  of  Rocky  Hill 
to  the  village  of  Pennington;  and  thence  westerly  along  the  middle  of 
said  road  to  the  boundary  line  of  the  county  of  Somerset,— shall  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  attached  to  and  made  a  part  of  the  county  of  Mercer ; 
.  .  .  and  said  line  shall  hereafter  be  the  boundary  line  between  the 
connty  of  Mercer  and  the  county  of  Somerset."^ 

In  1844?  the  township  of  Tewksbury,  in  Hunterdon 
County,  was  annexed  to  Somerset  County  by  legisla- 
tive act,  and  in  the  following  year  the  same  township 
was  in  the  same  manner  taken  from  Somerset  and  re- 
annexed  to  Hunterdon.  || 

Again,  Feb.  1,  1850,  the  limits  of  Somerset  were 
contracted,  and  a  fraction  of  its  territory  given  to 
Middlesex  County,  by  an  act  (approved  on  the  above- 
mentioned  date)  which  provided  and  declared, — 

"  That  all  that  part  of  the  township  of  Franklin,  in  the  county  of 
Somerset,  lying  within  the  bounds  of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
contained  within  the  limits  following— viz..  Beginning  in  the  Karitan 
River,  in  the  now  boundary  line  of  the  counties  of  Middlesex  and  Som- 
erset, and  running  westerly  by  said  line  along  the  old  stage-road  leading 

*  The  survey  is  recorded  in  Liber  B.  3  of  Deeds,  page  342,  et  eeq..  Secre- 
tary's offtce  of  New  Jersey,  at  Burlington, 
t  Revised  Statutes  State  N.  J.,  p.  201. 
i  Ibid.,  p.  205. 
I  Ibid.,  p.  253. 
1  Ibid.,  1845,  p.  45. 


to  Trenton  until  it  strikes  the  Mile-Run  brook ;  thence  down  said  brook 
the  several  courses  thereof  to  Baritan  River ;  thence  down  said  Raritan 
River  to  the  place  of  beginning — shall  be, and  the  same  is  hereby,set  off 
and  made  a  part  of  the  county  of  Middlesex,  and  shall  be  annexed  to^ 
and  made  a  part  of,  the  township  of  North  Brunswick,  in  the  county  of 
Middlesex;  and  the  boundary  line  between  the  township  of  North 
Brunswick,  as  by  this  act  constituted,  and  the  adjoining  township  of 
Franklin,  in  the  county  of  Somerset,  shall  be  the  boundary  line  between 
the  county  of  Middlesex  and  the  county  of  Somerset,"  etc.^ 

Subsequent  changes  in  the  boundary  between  Mid- 
dlesex and  Somerset  Counties  were  made  by  two  acts 
of  the  State  Legislature,  passed  in  1855  and  1858  re- 
spectively. The  act  defining  the  south  line  of  Som- 
erset, between  Kingston  Bridge  and  Little  Rocky 
Hill,  approved  March  29,  1855,  was  as  follows  : 

"  Sec.  1.  A  line  commencing  at  a  point  in  the  centre  of  the  Kingston 
bridge  where  the  same  crosses  the  Millstone  Kiver,  and  running  easterly, 
along  the  centre  of  the  Princeton  and  Kingston  branch  turnpike,  to  th& 
forks  of  the  old  road  leading  to  New  Brunswick,  and  said  turnpike;, 
thence  along  the  centre  of  the  old  road  leading  to  New  Brunswick,  the 
several  comei-s  thereof,  as  the  road  now  runs,  until  it  strikes  the  present 
division  line  at  the  top  of  Little  Rocky  Hill,  be  and  is  hereby  constituted 
the  division  hue  between  the  said  counties"  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex. 

The  other  enactment,  approved  Feb.  6, 1858,  was  in 
these  terms : 

"  Sec.  1.  From  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  that  the  boundary  lino 
between  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex  shall  commence  in  tlifr 
centre  of  the  Franklin  and  Georgetown  turnpike  road,  atthe  point  where 
the  said  road  intersects  and  forms  the  boundary  line  of  the  city  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  runs  thence  along  the  centre  of  said  turnpike  road  to 
William  E.  Barker's  Ten-Mile  Run." 

This  alteration  of  the  boundary  line  set  some  of  the 
inhabitants  of  North  Brunswick  and  South  Brunswick 
over  to  the  township  of  Franklin,  in  Somerset,  and 
changed  some  of  the  people  of  the  last-named  town- 
ship into  North  and  South  Brunswick,  in  Middlesex 
County. 

Finally,  in  1876,  the  Legislature  passed  "  An  act  to 
straighten  the  county-line  brook  dividing  Union  and 
Somerset  Counties,  in  the  city  of  Plainfield"  (ap- 
proved March  16th  in  that  year),  which,  after  reciting 
in  its  preamble,  "  Whereas.a  certain  stream  of  water 
known  as  Green  Brook  (the  same  being  the  county 
line  between  Union  and  Somerset  Counties),  at  a 
point  in  the  city  of  Plainfield  where  the  same  crosses, 
a  street  known  as  Elm  Place,  because  of  its  present 
course  before  crossing  said  Elm  Place  being  nearly  at 
right  angles  with  the  general  course  of  the  Stream, 
causes  the  roadway  and  adjoining  properties  to  over- 
flow in  time  of  high  water,"  enacted 

"  That  the  boards  of  chosen  freeholders  of  the  counties  of  Union  and 
Somerset  shall  so  change  the  course  of  Green  Brook,  crossing  Elm  Place 
in  the  city  of  Plainfield,  as  that  it  shall  cross  said  street  in  aline  parallel 
with  the  general  course  of  the  stream  north  of  Elm  Place.  .  .  .  That 
the  county  line  shall  be  so  changed  as  that  Green  Brook,  when  so 
straightened,  shall  continue  to  be  the  dividing  line  between  the  countieft 
of  Union  and  Somerset  the  same  as  before  the  passage  of  this  act." 

This  was  the  last  of  the  changes  in  the  boundary 
lines  of  Somerset  County,  leaving  them  as  at  present 
established.  » 


%  Ibid.,  p.  1290. 


566 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

COTJETS    AND    COUM"TY   BUILDINGS. 

Early  Courts — Gi-and  Jury  of  1717 — Precept  to  the  Coroner,  1729 — Early 
Trials,  etc. — Orphans'  Court — Marriage  Bonds — Public  BuildlngB — 
Court-Houae,  Jail,  etc. 

In  1675,  under  Berkeley  and  Carteret,  provision  was 
made  by  law  for  the  holding  of  courts  in  the  four 
counties  of  New  Jersey,  as  follows :  two  courts  to  be 
held  in  Bergen,  two  in  Essex,  two  in  Monmouth,  and 
two  in  Middlesex.  The  Supreme  Court  met  once  a 
year  at  a  place  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

While  Somerset  County  was  included  in  Middlesex 
the  courts  were  held,  according  to  act  of  1682  (chap, 
vi.  p.  231),  on  the  third  Tiiesdays  of  March  and  Sep- 
tember in  the  public  meeting-house  in  Woodbridge, 
and  on  the  third  Tuesdays  of  June  and  December  in 
the  public  meeting-house  in  Piscataway.  In  this 
same  year  an  act  was  passed  (chap.  v.  pp.  229,  230) 
for  the  holding  of  a  court  once  a  month  in  each  town 
in  East  Jersey,  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  every  month, 
for  the  determining  of  small  causes  and  cases  of  debt 
to  the  value  of  forty  shillings  or  under.  Thus  towns 
were  recognized,  but  their  limits  were  not  defined.  In 
1686  the  County  Courts  of  Middlesex  were  directed 
to  be  held  on  the  third  Tuesdays  of  December  and 
September  at  Perth  Amboy ;  on  the  third  Tuesdays 
of  March  and  June  respectively  at  Piscataway  and 
Woodbridge. 

In  1694  an  act  was  passed  which  provided 

"  That  the  county  of  Somerset  shall  be  subject  and  liable  unto  the 
officers  and  jurisdiction  of  the  county  of  Middlesex  until  there  he  a 
suflBcient  number  of  inhabitants  to  constitute  officers  and  jurisdiction 
within  the  said  county.  Anything  heretofore  made  and  enacted  to  the 
contrary  in  any  wise  notwithstanding."* 

The  county  remained  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Mid- 
dlesex until  1714,  at  which  time  an  act  was  passed  pro- 
viding for  the  erection  of  a  court-house  in  Somerset 
County.  In  1717  "  the  grand  jury  of  Somerset  came 
into  court,  reported  nothing  ofiered,  and  were  dis- 
charged."! In  1720,  at  a  session  of  court,  the  grand 
jury  returned  an  indictment  against  Hannah  Taylor. 
A  precept  dated  April  8, 1729,  directed  to  the  coroner 
of  the  county,  which  has  been  preserved,  is  as  follows : 

"New  JeesetI  George  the  Second  by  the  Grace  of  God  of  Great 

>  SS.      Brittain,  France,  and  Ireland  King,  Defender 
SOMEESET     J  of  the  faith,  &c. 

"To  the  Coroner  of  the  County  of  Somerset  Greeting: 

"  We  command  you,  that  you  of  the  Goods  and  Chattels  of  Adrian  Ben- 
nett, Late  of  the  County  of  Somerset,  Inuholder  in  your  Bailiwick,  Ton 
cause  to  be  made  fourteen  pounds,  fourteen  shillings  and  four  pence 
which  Daniel  Hollingshead,  the  judge  and  justiceof  our  County  Court  for 
holding  of  pleas  for  the  County  of  Somerset,  in  the  said  Court,  Recovered 
against  him  the  said  Adrian  Bennett,  By  reason  of  a  Certain  Trespass 
«pon  the  case  Lately  done  to  him  the  said  Hollingshead,  &c.,  &c. 

"  Witness  Thomas  Leonard,  Esq.,  judge  of  our  said  Court,  at  ye  house 
aforesaid,  ye  third  Day  of  April,  in  ye  Second  year  of  our  reign. 

"Will,  Hollingshead,  CV:. 

"  Vera  Copia. 

"Fbahois  Hakrison,  Cbroncr." 


*  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  348. 

■f  Hon.  Ealph  Voorhees  in  "  Our  Home,"  p.  5. 


The  records  of  the  court  were  destroyed  by  fire  at 
the  burning  of  the  court-house  in  1737.  The  next 
year  an  act  was  passed  for  building  a  court-house  in 
place  of  one  "  accidentally  burnt  down."  This  was 
followed  by  the  erection  of  a  court-house  and  jail  at 
Millstone. 

In  1752  a  negro  servant  of  Jacob  Van  Neste's  was 
convicted  at  Millstone,  under  English  laws,  of  mur- 
dering his  master,  and  condemned  to  be  burned. 

"  Sherifif  Van  Doren  enforced  the  penalty.  It  is  said  that  many  of  the 
negroes  of  the  surrounding  country  were  present,  forming  the  inner, 
while  the  whites  formed  the  outer,  circle  around  the  fire.  During  the 
burning  the  sheriff  mounted  his  horee,  with  a  drawn  sword  in  hand,  and 
rode  between  the  spectatoi-s  and  the  fire,  to  keep  the  former  at  a  proper 
distance.  Sberiflf  Van  Doren  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  so  great  pop- 
ularity as  to  have  held  Ms  office  for  twenty  years."J 

A  case  was  brought  before  Jacob  Van  Ostrand, 
justice  of  the  peace,  bearing  date  Dec.  18,  1769, 
entitled  an  action  in  regard  to  "  J.  Castner's  Harry, 
and  Jeronimus  Van  Nest  complainant  for  breaking 
his  negro  Jupiter's  head."  Harry  confessed  that  he 
had  hit  him  with  a  stand-block  a  foot  square,  weigh- 
ing five  or  six  pounds.  He  was  ordered  to  be  con- 
fined in  jail,  Dec.  22,  1769.  Justice  Van  Ostrand 
associated  with  himself  two  other  justices  of  the  peace, 
Mr.  Van  Home  and  Benjamin  Morgan,  and  five  free- 
holders,— viz.,  William  Crook,  John  Vroom,  John 
Baptist  Dumont,  Samuel  Staats  Coejeman,  and  Mat- 
thew Ten  Eyek,  Sr.  Several  witnesses  were  examined 
after  having  been  duly  sworn.  The  three  justices  and 
the  freeholders  found  him  guilty  of  murder,  and 
ordered  him  to  be  executed  on  the  31st  of  December. 

The  Board  of  Freeholders  audited  the  following  account  on  Dec.  3, 
1779 :  "  Agreed  that  the  sum  of  £224  14s.  be  paid  unto  Peter  Dumont, 
Late  Sheriff  of  said  county,  for  executing  the  sentence  of  death  on  a 
negro  convicted  of  murder." 

The  records  of  the  court  were  burned  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  court-house  by  Col.  Simcoe  in  October, 
1779,  and  it  is  not  known  what  negro  the  above  has 
reference  to  or  the  particulars.  Mr.  Dumont  was 
sheriff  in  1774^76. 

The  first  record  of  court  after  the  destruction  of  the 
court-house  dates  Hillsborough,  January  term,  1778. 
The  judges  at  this  term  were  Peter  Schenck,  Jacob 
Bergen,  Abram  Van  Neste,  and  Enos  Kelsey.  Twenty- 
two  cases  were  brought  against  the  State,  "  on  appeal 
from,  etc.,  for  not  going  out  in  the  militia  in  April 
last."  The  court  did  not  remit  the  fine  in  twelve 
cases.  Richard  Stockton's  was  the  first  case.  He 
made  allegation  that  he  was  not  within  the  meaning 
of  the  several  militia  laws  of  the  State,  and  upon 
heavy  proofs  the  court  ordered  him  discharged.  The 
fines  were  remitted  in  eleven  cases.  The  grand  jury, 
being  called,  appeared  and  answered  as  follows: 
Garret  Voorhees,  Martin  Hoagland,  Abram  Low, 
Richard  Hall,  Jacobus  Van  Huys,  Bernardus  Garret- 
son,  Wim'  Van  Cleefe,  Albert  Voorhees,  Daniel 
Perrine,  John  Stryker,  Mindert  Wilson,  Frederick 
Probasco,  Isaac  Brown,  Lawrence  Van  Cleefe,  Lucas 


t  "  Our  Home,"  1873,  p.  6. 


COURTS  AND   COUNTY  BUILDINGS. 


567 


Neffus,  Peter  Wycioff,  Ryneer  Veghte,  John  Brokaw, 
Garret  Garretson,  John  WyckofT,  and  Benjamin  Bro- 
kaw.   Two  indictments  were  brought  in. 

In  June,  1778,  the  grand  jury  presented  indictments 
against  Jupiter,  negro  of  Col.  McDonald,  and  Jove, 
negro  of  John  Phenix,  for  petty  larceny.  They  were 
tried  and  convicted  at  the  October  term,  and  it  was 
ordered  that  the  negroes  be  whipped  with  twenty 
lashes  on  the  same  afternoon,  and  twenty  more  on  the 
following  Monday  at  Pluckamin.  In  the  January 
term  of  Quarter  Sessions  the  next  year,  David  Henry's 
negro  Caesar  was  indicted,  tried,  and  convicted  of  theft. 
It  was  ordered  that  he  receive  thirty-nine  stripes  on 
the  bare  back  at  Hillsborough,  and  thirty-nine  stripes 
on  "  Monday  next  se'n-night  at  the  cross-roads." 

The  following  deserves  preservation  as  an  account 
of  a  trial  in  1780.  It  was  held  in  some  private  house 
in  Millstone : 

"  At  a  Court  of  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  peace  holders  at  Hills- 
borough, in  and  for  the  County  of  Somerset,  June  Term,  1780, 

"  Tdesday,  June  20, 1780. 
"  The  State  "\ 

_,  „    '      „,  r   Indictment  for  Felony. 

Tobie,  Negro  Slave       1 

of  Mary  Middagh.      J 
■"The  Defendant  being  Charged,  plead  not  guilty,  and  put  himself  on 
hia  God,  and  the  Country. 

"  Wednesdat,  June  21, 1780. 
"  The  said  negro,  Tobie,  being  sent  to  tlie  Bar,  on  motion  of  Mr.  At- 
torney-General for  trial,  it  is  ordered  that  the  Shedfl'make  return  of  his 
Venire,  &c.,  whereupon  he  made  return  accordingly,  when  the  following 
persons  appeared  and  wore  sworn  as  Jurors : 

"  John  Schureman,  Foreman, 
"  John  Messeroll,  Peter  Van  Gelder, 

"  Josiah  Clawsim,  Jacob  Wyokoff. 

"  Benjamin  Hegeman,        William  Post, 
"  Peter  Pumyea,  John  Y,  Arsdalen, 

"  Henry  Cock,  Aaron  Ten  Eyck, 

"  George  Van  Nest, 
"  Then  evidences  were  sworn  in  behalf  of  the  State. 
"The  Jury  withdrew  to  consider  of  their  verdict,  having  Hugh 
Walker,  a  Constable,  sworn  to  attend  them, 

"  The  Jury  returned  into  court,  and,  being  called  over,  appear  and 
say,  that  they  are  agreed  upon  their  verdict,  and  by  John  Schureman, 
their  foreman,  say  that  they  find  the  said  negro  Tobie  Guilty  of  the  said 
Felony  whereof  he  stands  charged,  in  manner  and  form,  etc, 

"  The  said  negrd  Tobie,  being  sent  to  the  bar,  on  motion  of  Mr,  At- 
torney-General for  Judgment,  the  said  Tobie  was  asked  by  the  Court 
what  he  had  to  say  or  otTer  why  Judgment  should  not  be  given  against 
him,  and  the  said  Tobie  not  saying  anything  in  Bar  thereof.  It  is  ordered 
that  the  said  negro  Tobie  be  taken  to  the  place  from  whence  he  came, 
^nd  from  thence,  on  Saturday  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  June  instant,  to 
the  place  of  Execution,  and  there  between  the  hours  of  ten  in  the  fore- 
noon and  three  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  be  hanged  by  the  neck 
until  he  be  dead." 

Thus  it  appears  that  "Tobie"  was  charged  with  an 
indictment  on  June  20th,  was  tried  the  21st,  and  was 
executed  on  the  24th  1 

After  the  burning  of  the  court-house  in  Millstone 
(1779),  an  act  passed  the  General  Assembly  of  New 
Jersey,  June  5,  1780,  "  declaring  that  all  cases  hereto- 
fore brought  before  the  court  of  Somerset  County 
should  be  brought  to  such  place  as  the  freeholders  of 
the  county  may  direct  as  the  place  for  holding  court." 
The  last  term  of  court  in  Hillsborough  was  held  in 
January,  1783.  The  April  term  of  the  same  year  was 


held  at  Bridgewater,  in  a  small  building  known  as  the 
"Court-Martial  House,"  then  standing  on  Mount 
Pleasant  east  of  Somerville.  Upon  the  completion  of 
the  court-house  (then  standing  east  of  the  present 
one),  the  same  year,  courts  were  held  therein  for  six- 
teen years.  The  October  term  of  court,  1799,  was 
held  in  the  present  court-house,  since  which  time  the 
courts  of  Somerset  County  have  been  regularly  held 
there. 

The  records  show  that  while  the  courts  were  held 
in  the  old  court-house,  between  the  years  1783  to  1799, 
three  negroes  were  indicted  for  arson,  as  follows: 
Oct.  9,  1788,  indictments  were  found  against  "  Dine,  a 
female  negro  slave,"  and  "Sam  the  elder  and  Sam  the 
younger,"  both  negroes.  Dine  and  Sam  the  elder 
were  sentenced  to  be  hung  on  Oct.  17,  1788,  and  Sam 
the  younger  on  the  14th  of  November  in  the  same 
year.  The  records  also  show  that  at  the  January  term 
of  court,  1786,  an  indictment  was  presented  against 
Samuel  McDonald  for  felony,  but  there  is  no  account 
of  the  case  coming  to  trial. 

By  an  act  approved  April  18,  1846,  it  was  ordered 
that 

"  The  Circuit  Courts,  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and  General 
Jail  Delivery,  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  the  Court  of  General  Quarter 
Sessions  of  the  Peace,  and  the  Orphans'  Court  shall  hold  annually  three 
stated  terms  at  the  times  and  places  following,  and  not  otherwise,  that  is 
to  say,  ,  .  .  In  the  county  of  Somerset,  at  Bridgewater,  on  the  Third 
Tuesday  in  April,  September,  and  December,  respectively."* 

ORPHANS'  COURT. 

For  many  years  the  Governor  of  the  State  was  also 
surrogate-general  and  granted  letters  of  administra- 
tion and  letters  testamentary,  the  affidavits  of  proofs 
of  wills  being  obtained  by  the  surrogate  of  the  county 
where  the  deceased  resided.  All  papers  recorded 
prior  to  1804  are  in  the  office  of  the  Governor  at 
Trenton.  From  that  time  a  record  is  on  file  in  the 
Surrogate's  office  at  Somerville.  Many  statements  of 
accounts  and  other  papers  of  which  no  other  record  is 
kept  are  in  the  vaults  of  this  office.  Among  them  is 
a  package  of  marriage  bonds,  a  copy  of  one  of  which 
is  here  given,  followed  by  a  list  of  the  names : 

"  Know  all  Men  by  these  Presents: 

"  That  we,  Gisbert  Lane  and  John  Bennet,  are  held  and  firmly  bound 
unto  His  Excellency  William  Livingston,  Governor  and  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  New  Jersey,  etc.,  in  the  sum  of  Five  Hundred  Pounds,  current 
Lawful  Money  of  New  Jersey,  to  be  paid  to  the  said  William  Livingston, 
Governor,  etc,,  his  successors  or  assigns ;  for  which  payment  well  and 
truly  to  he  made  we  bind  ourselves,  our  Heirs,  Executors,  and  Admin- 
istrators, and  every  of  them,  jointly  and  severally,  firmly  by  these  pre- 
sents, sealed  with  our  Seals,  dated  the  seventh  day  of  August,  Anno 
Domini  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  eighty-five. 

"  The  condition  of  this  obligation  is  such  that,  whereas  there  Is  a  mu- 
tual contract  of  marriage  between  Gisbert  Laoe  of  the  one  party  and 
Libby  Bennet  of  the  other  party,  and  the  parties  have  complied  with 
the  terms  prescribed  in  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey, 
made  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One  Thousand  Seven  hundred  and  nine- 
teen entitled  '  An  Act  to  prevent  Clandestine  Marriages.'  Now,  if  it  shall 
hereafter  appear  that  the  certificates  produced,  or  either  of  them,  have 
been  fraudulent,  or  that  either  the  aforesaid  Gisbert  Lane  or  the  said 
Libby  Bennett,  or  either  of  them,  had  some  lawful  let  or  impediment  of 

»  Bevised  Statutes  State  of  New  Jersey,  p,  222, 


568 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


pre-contract,  aflBnity,  or  consanguinity  to  hinder  them  heing  joined  in 
the  holy  bondB  of  matrimony,  and  afterwards  of  living  together  as  man 
and  wife,  then  this  obligation  to  stand  and  remain  in  full  force  and 
virtue,  otherwise  to  be  void  and  of  none  effect. 
"  Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of 

"  GisBEBT  Lane,    [seal] 
"  John  Bennet.    [seal]" 

The  names  of  parties  to  other  similar  bonds  in  tie 
same  file  are  as  follows : 

Hendrick  Bennet,  Jinney  Bennet;  Gisbert  Lane, Libby  Bennet,  Aug.  7, 
1785 ;  Roeleff  Yoorhees,  Mary  Van  Cleef,  Aug.  9, 17S5 ;  John  Lim- 
burger,  Molly  E«bs,  Aug.  9, 1785  ;  Abraham  Van  Horn,  Anne  Coven- 
hoven,  Oct.  10, 1785 -,  Jacob  Van  Noordstrandf,  Frances  Nevill,  Nov. 
18,  1785 ;  Peter  Quick,  Jenny  Cornell,  Nov.  20,  1785 ;  Daniel  Am- 
merman,  Lanah  Brokaw,  Dec.  7,  1785 ;  Barent  Cornell,  Catharine 
StoothofF,  Dec.  12,  1785  ;  John  McDowell,  Catharine  Parkinson, Dec. 
16,  1786 ;  John  Brokaw,  Catharine  Deforest,  Dec.  26,  1785 ;  Hugh 
Logan,  Aeltje  Van  Doren,  Feb.  6,  1780;  William  Willett,  Nellie 
Wyckoff,  Feb.  16, 178(5 ;  John  Duyckinck,  Jr.,  Elizabeth  Kivingston, 
March  4, 1786  ;  Abraham  Tunison,  Abagail  Wortman,  April  1, 1786 ; 
Isaac  Brokaw,  Marie  Boice.  April  10, 1786 ;  Isaac  Deforest,  Keneertje 
Wortman,  April  10, 1786  ;  John  Christopher,  Polley  Van  Lieu,  May 
3, 1786 ;  GuiBbert  Sutphin,  Mary  W.  Eoff,  Sept.  2, 1786 ;  Matthew  Lane, 
Marie  Johnson,  Sept.  27,  1786 ;  Cornelius  V.an  Hergelen,  Elizabeth 
Wyckoff,  Oct.  2,  1786  :  Jacob  Debow,  Caty  Lake,  Dec.  16,  1786 ; 
Minna  Fisher,  Mary  Blane,  Jan.  19,  1787 ;  Benjamin  Coddington, 
Anne  Teeple,  Sept.  1, 1787. 

A  list  of  the  surrogates  will  be  found  in  the  Civil 
List  of  the  county,  given  elsewhere.  Among  the  wills 
recorded  in  this  office  is  that  of  Robert  Morris,  the 
eminent  financier  of  the  Revolution.  It  bears  date 
April  21,  1778,  is  signed  by  John  De  Lancey,  Robert 
Campbell,  and  John  W.  Watkins  as  witnesses,  and 
was  admitted  to  probate  Jan.  8,  1815. 

At  the  June  term  of  the  Orphans'  Court,  1833,  the 
executors  of  Robert  Boggs,  an  executor  of  Robert 
Morris,  appeared  and  reported  a  "  balance  due  ac- 
countant, $12,015.49,"  and  James  Boggs,  surviving 
executor  of  Robert  Morris,  rendered  his  account  of 
"  Balance  in  favour  of  estate,  $6243.04." 

At  the  April  term  of  the  Orphans'  Court  in  1841 
there  was  presented  by  the  executors  of  James  Boggs, 
an  executor  of  Robert  Morris,  a  statement  of  receipts 
and  disbursements  of  all  property  that  came  into  his 
possession ; 

Balance  on  hand 


8133,217  53 
6,213.04 


?139,460.57 


The  executors  of  Robert  Boggs  presented  a  state- 
ment of  receipts  and  disbursements  of  all  property  re- 
ceived by  Robert  Boggs,  executor  of  Robert  Morris : 

$206,283.42 
Balance  due  accountant 12,015.49 


8218,298.91 


$139,460.67 
218,298.91 


Total  of  Morris'  estate ^67  759.48 

From  1804  to  1810  the  office  of  the  surrogate  was 
in  the  house  of  Joseph  Doty,  surrogate,  still  standing 
southwest  from  the  depot.  Afterwards  it  was  held  in 
the  present  county  clerk's  office  until  the  present  sur- 
rogate's office  was  erected,  east  of  the  court-house. 

The  judges  of  the  Orphans'  Court  are  the  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 


COUNTY   BUILDINGS. 

From  1694  to  1714  the  county  of  Somerset  was 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  Middlesex  County.  The 
first  action  towards  the  establishment  of  a  separate 
court  and  the  erection  of  a  court-house  was  taken 
Feb.  28,  1714,  when  an  act  was  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  New  Jersey*  which  provided  that  the 
justices  and  freeholders  of  the  county  "  shall  agree 
upon  a  sum  of  money  that  shall  be  needful  for  re- 
pairing such  gaols  and  court-houses  as  are  already 
built,  and  for  building  such  as  are  wanting.''  The 
counties  in  the  State  where  court-houses  had  been 
erected  were  mentioned  in  the  act.  A  site  for  Somer- 
set County  was  not  located,  but  was  provided  for  as 
follows : 

"  For  the  county  of  Somerset  at  the  most  convenient  place  in  the 
county  which  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  a  major  part  of  the  freeholders 
that  inhabit  there." 

The  site  selected  for  the  court-house  and  jail  was 
at  Six-Mile  Run,  in  what  is  now  the  township  of 
Franklin,  "  about  three  hundred  yards  east  of  where 
the  present  church  is  located  and  opposite  the  present 
residence  of  Peter  Stothoffi"! 

The  location  of  the  first  court-house  of  Somerset 
may  be  understood  by  an  examination  of  the  deed  ot 
Elbert  Stothoff'  and  Antje  his  wife  to  Isaac  Van 
Zandt,  dated  Feb.  20,  1730,  in  which  instrument 
occur  these  words : 

"  Beginning  at  the  easterly  corner  of  the  Somerset  County  court-house, 
standing  in  the  road  that  leads  from  Inian's  Ferry  to  Eocky  Hill ;  bounded 
southeast  upon  the  said  road,  easterly  upon  Mrs.  Fleets',  northerly  upon 
said  StothofF,  and  southerly  upon  said  county  court-house,  containing 
one-half  of  an  acre  of  land." 

June  8,  1758,  in  a  survey  relating  to  a  quit-claim 
from  John  to  Wilhelmus  Stothoff",  a  small  lot  was 
passed  by  them  in  the  survey,  described  as  "  com- 
monly called  the  court-house  lot."J  In  the  earliest 
deeds  this  lot  was  called  "  The  Point,"  it  being  the 
most  southerly  point  of  the  Harrison  tract  of  ten  thou- 
sand acres. ^ 

The  amount  of  money  appropriated  for  the  court- 
house is  not  known,  nor  the  precise  time  of  its  erec- 
tion. 

Courts  were  held  in  the  county  as  early  as  1717,  for 
in  that  year  "the  grand  jury  of  Somerset  came  into 
court,  reported  nothing  off"ered,  and  were  discharged."  || 
The  court  records  from  that  time  till  1738  were  un- 
doubtedly burned  with  the  court-house  and  jail  in  the 
fall  of  1737  or  the  spring  of  1738.  On  the  15th  of 
March,  1738,1  an  act  was  passed  "  for  building  a  court- 
house and  gaol  in  the  county  of  Somerset,"  the  first 
section  of  which  is  as  follows  : 


"  Acts  of  General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  1703-76,  p.  32,  Nevill. 

t  E.  Voorhees'  iirst  paper  in  "  Our  Home."  In  the  seventh  paper,  p. 
292,  he  says,  "  A  part  of  the  foundation  of  the  old  court-house  is  still  to. 
be  seen  at  old  Six-Mile  Eun,  opposite  the  house  of  Capt.  Beardsley." 

t  The  court-house  was  at  Millstone  prior  to  that  time,  however. 

i  "  Earitan  and  its  Early  Settlers,"  p.  292,  "  Our  Home." 

II  Voorhees  first  paper,  "  Our  Home,"  p.  5. 

f  Acts  of  General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  1703-76,  p.  247,  NevUl. 


COUKTS  AND  COUNTY  BUILDINGS. 


569 


"Whereas,  The  court-house  and  gaol  belonging  to  the  county  of 
Somerset  were  by  accident  lately  burnt  down,  and  no  law  in  this  prov- 
ince haying  provided  tor  building  thereof,  and  it  being  highly  necessary 
it  should  be  built;  therefore 

"  Be  U  enacted  by  IJie  Governor,  Council,  and  AseemUy  of  Oie  said  province 
and  a  is  lierA;/  enacted  by  the  authority  of  (he  same,  That  it  shall  and  may 
be  lawful  for  any  three  justices  of  the  peace  of  the  said  county,  whereof 
ojie  is  to  be  of  the  quorum,  and  they  are  hereby  enjoined,  commanded, 
and  required,  in  conjunction  with  the  freeholders  chosen  for  the  said 
county,  by  virtue  of  an  act  for  raising  of  money  for  building  and  re- 
pairing of  gaols  and  court-houses,  to  meet  together  as  soon  as  convenient 
after  the  publication  of  this  act,  at  any  place  the  said  justices  and  free- 
holders shall  think  proper  in  the  said  county,  and  then  and  there  draw 
advertisements,  to  be  fixed  up  in  the  most  publick  place  in  each  precinct 
of  the  said  county ;  thereby  giving  notice  to  all  persons  who,  by  law, 
are  qualified  to  give  their  votes  for  the  choice  of  representatives  in  the 
said  county,  to  assemble  themselves  together  at  any  place  where  the  free- 
holders chosen  as  aforesaid  shall  think  most  convenient  within  the  said 
county,  some  day  by  the  said  justices  and  a  majority  of  the  said  free- 
holders appointed,  not  exceeding  forty  days  nor  less  than  twenty,  from 
the  time  of  fixing  up  such  advertisements ;  then  and  there  by  plurality 
of  votes  to  elect  the  place  whereon  such  court-house  and  gaol  shall  be 
built." 

It  was  provided  by  the  act  that  on  the  day  appointed 
the  justices  should  receive  votes  from  all  qualified 
voters  ;  that  the  chosen  freeholders  should  he  judges 
of  the  election,  and  have  power  to  adjourn  it  from 
day  to  day,  not  exceeding  three  days,  "until  all  votes 
are  taken  that  attend."  The  justices  and  freeholders 
were  empowered  to  "number  the  persons  voting;  and 
for  what  place  soever  a  majority  of  votes  shall  happen 
for  building  the  court-house  and  gaol,  in  that  place 
and  not  elsewhere  shall  the  same  be  built."  The  free- 
holders were  authorized  and  empowered  to  order  the 
assessment  and  collection  of  a  tax  amounting  to  such 
sum  as  they  might  think  sufficient  for  the  erection  of 
the  court-house  and  jail,  and  to  appoint  a  suitable 
person  as  manager  to  superintend  and  have  charge  of 
their  construction. 

The  records  of  the  board  of  justices  and  freeholders, 
covering  a  period  of  thirty-four  years  from  this  time, 
have  been  lost  or  destroyed,  and  therefore  no  ofBcial 
account  is  found  of  the  holding  of  the  election 
authorized  by  the  above-mentioned  act,  or  of  the  se- 
lection of  the  site  of  the  court-house  and  jail ;  but 
records  are  found,  dated  in  1772  at  the  court-house 
at  Millstone,  thus  showing  that  the  county  buildings 
had  been  located  and  built  at  that  place. 

The  following  notes,  taken  from  the  second  minute- 
book  of  the  board  of  justices  and  freeholders,  will  be 
interesting  to  the  citizens  of  the  county,  as  a  century 
has  passed  since  they  were  written,  viz. : 

"  Millstone,  1771. — Voted  that  John  Brokaw,  Esqr.,  have  30s.  proc* 
for  being  clerk  the  year  past." 

May  13, 1772,  there  were  present  as  justices  Peter 
Schenck,  Abram  Van  Nest,  Peter  Perrine,  Jacob  Van 
Ostrand,  John  Brokaw ;  and  as  freeholder  John  Bap- 
tist [Dumont?]. 

"  A  petition  came  in  by  John  Denton.  The  contents  was,  that  he  went 
and  brought  the  commission  from  Burlington  to  hold  a  Circuit  Court  at 
Millstone.  Toted  that  he  should  have  2bs.,  and  receive  an  order  on  the 
county  collector  for  the  same." 


37 


*  Proclamation  money, — 78.  6d.  to  the  dollar. 


May  12,  1773,  the  court-house  had  been  repaired 
by  Cornelius  Lott,  for  which  he  received  "twenty-four 
shillings,  light  money." 

John  Smock  brought  in  an  account  for  numbering 
the  inhabitants  of  Hillsborough.  He  was  allowed 
thirty  shillings  for  the  same.  Charles  Eoberts  and 
Peter  De  Hart  were  allowed  fifteen  shillings  for  num- 
bering the  inhabitants  of  the  eastern  precinct  of  the 
same. 

May  11,  1774,  Hendrick  Fisher  received  twelve 
shillings  from  the  county  collector  for  bringing  the 
papers  and  minutes  of  the  Houses  of  Assembly  from 
Burlington. 

^  Charles  Eoberts  received  eight  shillings,  proclama- 
tion money,  for  his  trouble  in  apprehending  some 
negroes  that  were  supposed  to  be  guilty  of  poisoning 
some  other  negroes.  John  Bennett  received  fifty 
shillings,  proc,  for  apprehending  and  confining  some 
negroes  in  jail,  and  for  some  hinges  and  thumb- 
latches  for  the  court-house.  William  Sickles  was 
allowed  the  sum  of  eighteen  shillings  six  pence,  proc, 
for  services  done  in  1768,  as  appears  by  the  old  books. 
Cornelius  Lott  was  allowed  sixteen  shillings  ten 
pence,  light  money,  for  glazing  and  fitting  one  win- 
dow in  the  court-house.  Jacob  Vanderbilt  was  al- 
lowed four  pounds  four  shillings  for  services  as  con- 
stable. John  Van  Nostrand  was  allowed  five  pounds 
six  shillings  three  pence,  light  money,  for  boarding 
prisoners,  mending  the  jail,  finding  material,  and 
boarding  the  hands.  Josiah  Arrowsmith  was  allowed 
five  pounds,  proc,  for  twice  warning  the  justices  and 
freeholders  to  meet  at  Somerset  court-house. 

May  10,  1775,  Christopher  Hoagland  was  allowed 
forty-five  shillings  for  numbering  the  people  of  the 
"western  precinct."  Abraham  Staafs  was  allowed 
forty-five  shillings  for  numbering  the  people  of  the 
"eastern  precinct."  (These  precincts  refer  respect- 
ively to  Hillsborough  and  Franklin.)  Ezekiel  Ellison 
received  two  pounds  nineteen  shillings  three  pence 
for  work  done  on  the  court-house.  John  Bennett  re- 
ceived seventeen  shillings  six  pence  for  spikes  and 
hinges  for  the  court-house.  William  Sickles  received 
ten  shillings  for  whipping  a  man.  John  Gaston  re- 
ceived twenty  shillings  for  services  as  clerk  in  full  up 
to  date. 

December,  1777,  the  Board  directed  the  jail  to  be 
repaired,  the  locks  and  doors  to  be  made  sufficient; 
that  the  fireplaces,  the  chimneys,  and  all  the  windows 
be  repaired,  and  that  Ernestus  Van  Harlingen  and 
John  Van  Nostrand  be  the  managers.  The  same 
men  were  directed  to  procure  .one  shackle  and  two 
handcufis  for  securing  prisoners. 

June,  1778,  John  Van  Doren  repaired  the  court- 
house at  a  cost  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pounds. 
He  was  paid  in  January,  1779. 

Dec.  2,  1779,  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  was 
ordered  to  be  paid  to  Peter  Dumont,  late  sherifi"  of 
the  county,  for  executing  the  sentence  of  death  on  a 
negro  convicted  of  murder,  and  for  sundry  expenses 


570 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


attending  tlie  same ;  also  for  conveying  prisoners  from 
Yorktown  to  Somerset.  The  sum  of  four  pounds 
thirteen  shillings  nine  pence  was  ordered  to  be  paid 
to  Cornelius  Lott  for  work  done  on  the  court-house. 
The  sum  of  four  pounds  thirteen  shillings  nine  pence 
was  ordered  to  be  paid  to  James  Whalford  (?)  for  ex- 
penses in  boarding  the  negro  Cuff  and  James  Ewing, 
two  prisoners  in  custody. 

In  1777  (as  is  shown  by  the  record),  Cornelius  Lott 
was  employed  to  repair  the  jail,  and  May  13,  1778, 
Jacques  Voorhees,  collector,  was  ordered  "  to  purchase 
three  thousand  feet  of  boards  to  repair  the  court-house, 
and  to  cause  them  to  be  delivered  at  said  house." 
On  the  25th  of  June  in  the  same  year  he  was  ordered 
"to  purchase  fifteen  hundred  feet  of  three-quarter- 
inch  and  two  thousand  feet  of  inch  pine  boards,  and 
also  some  inch-and-a-half  oak  plank,  for  the  purpose 
of  repairing  the  court-house  and  gaol  of  said  county."* 
Also  it  was  "  agreed  that  John  Van  Dorn  act  as  man- 
ager to  see  the  court-house  and  gaol  repaired,  and 
also  to  furnish  such  further  necessaries  as  he  shall 
stand  in  need  of  to  complete  the  same."  It  is  prob- 
able that  these  repairs  were  not  made,  as  there  is  no 
account  of  a  settlement  with  Mr.  Van  Dorn. 

The  court-house  was  destroyed  at  the  time  of  Sim- 
coe's  raid,  in  October,  1779.  At  the  first  annual 
meeting  after  its  destruction,  held  May  10,  1780,  at 
Hillsborough,  the  following  action  was  taken : 

"  Agreed  that  the  eum  of  £126  5s.  be  paid  unto  Cornelius  Lott  for 
Hiring  and  paying  Men  to  collect  the  Iron  and  Bricks  belonging  to  the 
County  found  after  the  Court-house  was  burned  by  the  enemy.  Also  £14 
88. 9d.  for  sundry  smith  work  done  to  repair  the  Court-house." 


Dec.  24,  1779,  the  General  Assembly  passed  the 
following  act : 

"  Wheeeas,  the  court-house  and  gaol  of  the  county  of  Somerset  was 
lately  burned  by  the  enemy ;  and  Wheeeas  the  justices  and  chosen  free- 
holders in  and  for  the  said  county,  by  their  memorial  presented  to  the 
Legislature,  have  set  forth  that  they  are  destitute  of  a  convenient  and 
safe  place  to  confine  any  offender  or  offenders  against  the  laws  of  this 
State ;  praying  that  a  law  may  be  passed  to  authorize  the  justices  of  the 
peace  to  commit  such  offenders  to  Gaol  in  any  of  the  neighboring 
counties." 

The  Legislature  accordingly  passed  "  An  act  per- 
mitting the  authorities  of  Somerset  to  use  the  gaols  of 
Middlesex,,  Hunterdon,  or  Morris,"  at  the  expense  ot 
Somerset. 

June  6,  1780,  an  act  passed  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State  "to  locate  a  court-house  in  Somerset 
County,''  which  provided 

"That  in  future  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  Judges  of  the  In- 
ferior Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  the  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  of  the  Peace  for  said  county,  and  they  are  empowered,  to  open 
and  hold  the  said  courts  in  some  convenient  house  or  building  near  the 
place  where  the  Court-house  formerly  stood." 

The  inhabitants  of  the  county  sent  a  memorial  to 
the  Legislature  stating  that  the  board  of  trustees  and 
freeholders  could  not  agree  upon  a  place  whereon  to 
rebuild  the  county  court-house  and. jail.  They  there- 
fore requested  a  special  act  authorizing  a  vote  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  county  to  decide  the  location.  The 
sheriff  was  accordingly  directed  to  give  notice  of  an 
election  for  said  purpose.  The  election  was  to  be 
viva  voce.  The  act  directed  the  raising  of  the  neces- 
sary money.  The  judges  and  justices  were  authorized 
to  hold  court  in  any  convenient  house  or  building 


*  These  extensive  repairs,  etc.,  may  explain  the  heavy  expenditures  of  this  early  period,  as  set  forth  in  the  following  document,  copied  from  the 
records: 

Jacguea  Voorhees  Co.  Collector  in  acct.  Current  vMh  the  County  of  Somereet,  from  July,  1780,  tiCl  July,  1784,  Jnchmve. 

Br.  Or. 


Cash  eeceived  et  Mb.  Voohhees  for  -which  he  stands  Da. 

Cash  paio  foewaru  bt  Me.  Vooehees  to  the  Treasures 

AND  others,  foe  WHICH  HE  IS  TO  BE  CREDITED. 

Of  what  Township  or 
Precinct  receiTed. 

Specie. 

State  Money. 

Continental. 

Specie. 

state  Money. 

Continental. 

£ 

s. 

d. 

£ 

s. 

d. 

£ 

8. 

18 
12 
16 

6 
10 

3 

d. 

10 
7 
6 
10 
10 

£ 

.. 

d. 

£ 

.. 

d. 

£ 

«. 

d. 

4,617 
4,616 
4,958 
4,688 
2,081 
1,736 

6 
11 
2 
5 
2 
10 

0 

6 

"i 

7 
6 

4,211 
3,998 
4,472 
6,051 
2,623 
2,624 

15 
18 

8 
1 
6 

6 
1 
3 
5 

106,973 
112,906 
137,412 
142,931 
85,805 
77,680 

22,363 

17 

Yi 

22,333 

17 

i 

660,679 

9 

4 

Bridgewater 

Amt  of  Debt  &  Credit 

22,497 

16 

10 

22,981 

8 

2 

663,609 

6 

7 

22,363 

17 

M 

22,333 

17 

4 

660,679 

9 

4 

N.B— In  Mr.  Voorhees'  Book,  page  24,  he  charges  himself  Debtor  for  £9702  6».  Continental  Money,  which  he  says  he  has  paid  John  Stevens, 
Late  Treasurer,  but  has  no  Toucher  for  the  same. 

„      .    ^     J  £         «.      d. 

Specie  Kecd..._ _ 22,497    16    lOVi 

Specie  pd  Treas.  4c 22,363    17      0>| 

Ball 133    19        10 


State  Money  reed 22  981      8         2 

State  Money  pd  Treas.  &c !!!*.*.*.!'.!."!!!['.'.!!.'.'."."!!!!!!  22*333    17         4 


Ball.. 


647     10      10 

Continental  Money  Reed 663  609    '  6       7 

Continental  Money  pd  Treas.  &c '.'.'.'.'.'.'.''.."''.'.'.'."'.'.'.'.'.'.'.".'.""'.'..  660*679      9       4 


Ball.. 


2,929      17      3 


COURTS  AND   COUNTY  BUILDINGS. 


671 


meanwhile,  and  the  acts  of  all  courts  held  elsewhere 
since  the  burning  of  the  court-house  were  legalized. 

Courts  were  held*  at  Hillsborough  till  1784,  the 
last  term  commencing  January  6th  of  that  year. '  The 
April  term  was  held  at  Bridgewater.  April  10,  1781 
"  the  sheriff  of  the  county  laid  before  the  board  of 
freeholders  the  great  necessity  of  a  gaol  in  said  county, 
and  the  difficulties  he  labored  under  for  want  of  a 
place  to  confine  prisoners  committed  to  his  charge, 
and  requested  that  the  board  erect  a  gaol  in  said 
county."  A  motion  was  made  to  raise  money  and 
erect  a  jail  at  or  near  Tunison's  tavern,  the  place 
provided  by  a  vote  of  the  county  agreeably  to  law, 
but,  the  vote  of  the  freeholders  being  taken,  it  was 
decided  in  the  negative.  November  22d  of  the  same 
year  the  high  sheriff  appeared  and  made  his  protest, 
and  desired  that  the  same  be  entered  in  the  journals 
of  the  board  in  the  words  following : 

"  Wheeeas,  the  court-house  and  gaol  of  the  county  of  Somerset  waa 
burned  by  the  enemy  some  time  ago,  since  that  time  the  said  county 
has  been  destitute  of  both  gaol  and  court-house,  the  subscriber  sheriff  of 
said  county  protests  against  the  said  county  for  want  of  a  Gaol. 

"  Peter  D.  Veoom, 

"  SJierif." 

This  protest  on  the  part  of  the  sheriff  had  its 
effect,  and  on  the  4th  of  January  following  the  board 
met  "  at  the  house  of  Cornelius  Tunison,  innkeeper 
at  Earitan"  (now  Somerville),  and  took  actionf  as 
follows : 

"  The  Board,  taking  into  consideration  the  necessity  of  a  gaol  to  con- 
fine prisoners  committed  to  the  charge  of  the  sheriff  of  said  county, 

"  Agreed  that  a  new  gaol  be  built  at  the  expense  of  said  county  at  the 
place  last  appointed  by  a  general  vote  of  inhabitants  of  said  county,  at 
Saritan,  near  Tunison's  tayem,  and  that  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  be  raised  by  tax  on  the  inhabitants  of  said  county,  in  two 
equal  payments,  and  that  at  the  time  the  two  first  State  taxes  be  raised 
and  collected,  and  that  the  county  collector  pay  the  money  to  the  man- 
agers of  the  said  gaol  appointed  to  build  the  same. 

"  Agreed  that  Derrick  Middagh  and  Eichard  McDonald  be  the  man- 
agers for  building  the  said  gaol,  and  that  they  be  empowered  to  procure 
the  conveyance  of  two  lots  of  land  in  behalf  of  the  said  board  for  the 
gaol  and  court-house. 

*'  Agreed  that  the  gaol  be  built  with  squared  timber,  twenty -five  feet 
long,  eighteen  feet  wide  and  eight  foot  high  from  floor  to  floor,  to  contain 
three  rooms,  and  the  roof  be  covered  with  cedar,  and  under  the  floor 
beds  of  large  stone  be  laid. 

"  Agreed  that  the  sum  of  ten  pounds  be  paid  to  Cornelius  Tunison  for 
twenty  perches  of  ground  whereon  to  set  the  gaol,  and  the  said  Tunison 
gives  gratia  the  quantity  of  forty  feet  of  land  whereon  to  bnild  the  court- 
house." 

The  land  was  purchased,  as  agreed  upon,  and  the 
buildings  were  erected  upon  it. 

In  May  of  the  same  year  (1782)  it  was  agreed  by 
the  board  of  justices  and  freeholders  "  that  there  shall 
be  a  room  framed  upon  the  top  of  the  square  logs  of 
the  new  gaol  at  Tunison's  for  a  gaoler's  room."  The 
board  ordered  at  this  meeting  "  that  the  whole  of  the 
nails,  hinges,  and  all  the  iron  that  did  belong  to  the 
old  court-house,  agreeably  to  inventory  in  the  hands 
or  care  of  Mr.  Lott,  be  delivered  to  Col.  Middagh  or 


*  Vide  Court  Record  of  Quarter  Sessions,  in  county  clerk's  ofBce  in 
Somerville. 
t  Records  of  Justices  and  Freeholders. 


McDonald,  the  managers  of  the  new  gaol."  This 
building  was  completed  in  September,  1782,  and  the 
board  ordered  it  painted  with  oil  and  Spanish  brown. 

On  the  6th  of  September  of  that  year  a  proposition 
from  the  Consistory  of  Earitan  was  laid  before  the 
board  of  freeholders,  with  the  view  of  uniting  with 
the  freeholders  in  the  erection  of  a  court-house,  to 
be  used  by  the  congregation  of  Earitan  for  public 
worship.  A  vote  was  taken,  which  was  in  the  affirm- 
ative. Peter  Wyckoff,  Maj.  Eichard  McDonald,  and 
John  Simonson  were  chosen  to  meet  with  a  committee 
of  the  Consistory  of  the  congregation  of  Earitan  on 
Friday,  September  13th,  to  complete  arrangements. 
On  the  14th  of  October  in  the  same  year  the  question 
was  brought  before  the  justices  and  freeholders 
whether  money  should  be  raised  for  building  a  court- 
house in  conjunction  with  the  congregation  of  Earitan, 
when  the  vote  was  passed  in  the  affirmative  and  it  was 
voted  to  raise  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds. 

May  14,  1783,  Maj.  Eichard  McDonald  presented 
his  account  for  building  the  jail  at  Tunison's  tavern, 
amounting  to  the  sum  of  five  hundred  and  fifty-nine 
pounds  nineteen  shillings  and  two  pence.  Capt.  Van 
Arsdalen  and  Col.  Frelinghuysen  reported  "  that  they 
had  expended  the  sum  of  £150  on  the  new  court-house 
at  Tunison's,  and  saith  they  can  go  on  and  finish  said 
house  without  more  money  being  raised.  There  was- 
an  order  gave  them  for  £150,  and  the  board  agrees  to 
raise  the  sum  of  £75  more  in  order  to  carry  on  said 
court-house."t  The  board  thereupon  "ordered  the 
court-house  painted,  but  did  not  prescribe  the  color ; 
also  ordered  the  gaol  to  be  partitioned  across  the 
large  room  overhead,  and  a  chimney  to  be  built  in 
the  east  end  of  said  gaol."  That  the  jail  was  not 
satisfactory  nor  sufficiently  capacious  for  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  county  appears  from  the  following  protest, 
made  by  the  sheriff: 

"To  the  Honorable  the  Judges  and  Justices  of  the  Inferior  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  for  the  County  of  Somerset,  and  the 
Board  of  Chosen  Freeholders  in  s^  County,  and  all  others  whom  it  may 
concern  :  Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  May,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1783,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Bsqr.,  High  Sheriff  of  the  County 
of  Somerset,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  did  give  the  said  Judges  and 
Justices  and  Board  of  chosen  freeholders  to  understand  and  be  informed 
that  the  Gaol  of  the  said  County  of  Somerset  is  not  a  sufficient  gaol 
wherein  to  commit  and  confine  the  prisoners  which  shall  or  may  by  Law 
be  liable  to  be  committed  and  confined  by  the  said  Sheriff.  He  doth 
therefore  solemnly  protest  as  well  against  the  insufficiency  of  said  Gaol  aa 
against  all  Judges,  Justices,  and  chosen  Freeholders,  and  all  and  every 
other  Person  and  persons  whatsoever  whose  business  it  is  or  may  be  to 
keep  and  provide  a  good  and  sufficient  Gaol  for  the  said  County,  for  all 
Damages,  Expenses,  Costs,  and  Charges  which  the  said  Sheriff  shall  suffer, 
or  which  may  in  any  wise  happen  or  accrue  to  the  said  Sheriff  or  to  his 
securities,  or  either  of  them,  or  to  his  or  either  of  their  heirs,  executors, 
or  Administrators,  for  or  by  reason  of  the  insufficiency  of  said  Gaol,  or  by 
reason  of  the  neglect  or  omission  of  those  whose  business  it  is  or  may  be 
to  provide  a  good  and  sufficient  gaol  in  and  for  said  county.  And  the  said 
Sherifi"  requests  that  this  Instrument  of  protest  may  be  entered  on  record 
in  the  minutes  of  the  Court  of  said  County,  in  order  that  aa  well  he  the 


X  It  is  understood  that  the  court-martial  building,  on  Mount  Pleasant, 
was  used  for  holding  court,  and  afterwards  moved  down  to  what  is  now 
Somerville,  enlarged,  and  refitted  for  the  court-house. 


572 


SOMEESET  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


said  Sheriff  in  hie  suretiee  may  avail  himself  or  themselves  of  the  benefit 
thereof  when  and  as  often  as  occasion  shall  require. 
"  Dated  at  Hillsborough,  the  Day  and  year  first  above  mentioned. 
"  A  true  copy.  Kobert  Gaston, 

"  Olerh  b/  the  Board." 

A  similar  protest  was  entered  by  J.  Hardenburgh, 
sheriff,  May  9,  1787,  and  again  in  May,  1792,  and  by 
Robert  Blair  in  1797. 

June  4,  1785  : 

"  Maj.  R.  McDonald  informed  the  Board  that  he  had  in  hie  possession 
a  deed  for  the  lot  of  land  whereon  the  court-house  stands,  and  also  one 
other  lot  whereon  the  gaol  stands,  and  requests  to  be  informed  if  the  said 
deeds  are  to  be  recorded.  The  board  ordered  that  they  be  recorded  with- 
out delay,'* 

Tbese  deeds,  dated  May  30, 1782,  are  from  Cornelius 
Tunison  and  Jenetje,  his  wife,  to  Derrick  Middagh,  of 
Bridgewater,  and  Eichard  McDonald,  of  Bedminster, 
in  trust.  The  court-house  lot  contained  twenty  square 
perches.  The  court-house  was  erected  on  the  spot 
now  occupied  by  Dr.  Wilson's  house,  first  east  of  the 
present  court-house  grounds.  The  jail  lot  was  on  the 
north  side  of  Main  Street,  opposite  the  intersection  of 
Hamilton  with  Main.  The  jail  is  still  standing,  its 
square  timbers  having  been  covered  with  clapboards. 
The  following  advertisement,  which  appeared  in  the 
Ouardian,  will  explain  what  became  of  these  two  old 
buildings : 

"  By  virtue  of  a  refolution  of  the  Board  of  Chofen  Freeholderf  of  the 
county  of  Somerfet,  at  a  meeting  held  9th  May,  1799 ; 

"TTTILL  be  fold  at  public  vendue,  on  Wednefday,  the  19th  day  of  June 
*  *        next,  at  the  houfe  John  Meldrum,  at  Somerfet   Houfe;   two 

houfes,  lately  occupied  af  a  court  houfe  and  gaol  for  the  faid  county  of 

Somerfet — Alfo,  the  lots  of  land  on  which  they  are  fituate." 

The  sale  was  made  on  the  day  appointed.  Hendrick 
Van  Arsdalen  and  Garret  Tunison  purchased  the  jail 
and  lot  for  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars  and  sixty 
cents;  Isaac  Davis  and  John  Whitenack  the  court- 
house and  lot  for  two  hundred  and  forty  dollars.  The 
former  was  taken  down,  most  of  the  timbers  being  used 
in  the  erection  of  a  store-house  which  was  occupied 
many  years  by  Daniel  Latourette,  afterwards  by  Wil- 
liam J.  Hedges. 

May  10,  1786,  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  justices 
and  freeholders, 

"  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  on  behalf  of  the  congregation  of  Raritan,  re- 
quested the  board,  agreeably  to  articles  of  agreement  between  the  con- 
gregation aforesaid  and  the  county  of  Somerset,  that  this  board  will 
order  a  sum  of  money  to  be  raised  to  pay  the  expenditure  of  the  congre- 
gation in  building  the  Somerset  court-house,  the  congregation  having 
resolved  to  quit  their  connection  with  the  county  in  that  building  •  and 
he  further  moved  that  indifferent  men  might  be  appointed,  according  to 
said  articles,  to  appraise  the  damages  done  to  this  building  by  them. 
Whereupon  ordered  that,  upon  the  supposition  of  the  sum  being  £236 
the  county  will  raise  £230  and  pay  it  for  that  purpose,  and  so  in  propor- 
tion as  236  is  to  230  for  a  greater  or  lesser  sum." 

The  following  is  interlined  beneath  : 

"  Oct.  23, 1787,  gave  an  order  in  favour  of  P.  D.  Vroom,  treasurer  of 
Earitan  congregation,  for  £228  6s.  9d.,  being  proportion  of  £234  6s.  9A  the 
sum  expended  as  above." 

Dec.  28,  1795,  the  board  of  justices  and  freeholders 
met  at  the  court-house,  pursuant  to  a  notice  sent  out 
to  them  by  the  sheriff,  Joseph  Annin.    He  stated  as 


his  reasons  for  calling  them  together  the  necessity  of 
a  new  jail  for  the  county.    After  discussion  "the 
question  was  voted  upon  and  passed  in  the  negative." 
After  the  protest  of  Sheriff  Blair  in  1797,  as  men- 
tioned above,  the  board,  at  a  meeting  held  Jan.  3, 
1798,  gave  the  subject  more   careful   consideration, 
and,  on  the  question  being  put,  it  was  carried  in  the 
affirmative,  and  it  was  unanimously  agreed  to  build 
them  of  brick,  and  connected.    Messrs.  Blair,  Veghte, 
Terhune,  Vroom,  and  Bryan  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee "  to  view  the  ground  upon  which  to  build,  to 
present  a  plan  for  construction,  and  report  in  the 
afternoon."     The   committee  reported,   accordingly, 
"  that  in  their  opinion  the  place  on  which  to  erect  the 
court-house  and  gaol  should  begin  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  church  lot,  and  run  thence  on  a  strait 
line  with  the  rear  thereof  such  a  distance  as  will  make 
a  direct  line  along  the  west  side  of  James  Tunison's 
lot;  thence  along  the  road  such  a  distance  as  will 
make  a  strait  line  with  the  westwardly  line  of  the 
church  lot;  thence  along  the  same  to  the  beginning. 
It  is  impracticable  at  this  time  to  designate  a  plan 
for  the  buildings,  and  they  recommend  that  a  com- 
mittee be  appointed  to  visit  neighboring  gaols  and 
court-houses  and  present  a  plan  at  their  next  meet- 
ing," to  which  the  board  agreed.     Messrs.  Veghte, 
Bryan,  Voorheea,  Nevius,  and  Vroom  were  appointed, 
and  Jan.  15,  1798,  presented  a  plan  similar  to  that  of 
the  court-house  and  jail  in  Flemington.     After  due 
consideration  it  was  "  resolved  that  two  feet  be  added 
to  the  width  of  the  plan,  so  as  to  make  the  building 
60  by  42  feet."     Peter  D.  Vroom  was  appointed  to 
survey  the  lot,  secure  a  deed  in   the  name  of  the 
board  and  their  successors,  and  file  the  same  in  the 
office  of  the  county  clerk. 

The  work  on  the  buildings  was  prosecuted  with 
vigor.  On  the  11th  of  May  in  the  same  year  author- 
ity was  given  by  the  board  "to  raise  the  sum  of 
£1800,  equal  to  $4000,  towards  completing  the  court- 
house and  gaol."  The  manager  called  the  committee 
together  in  August  of  that  year,  and  after  a  careful 
examination  it  was  decided  to  substitute  a  double 
pitch-roof  in  place  of  the  one  on  the  original  plan. 
Aug.  9,  1799,  the  buildings  were  completed,  and  John 
Arrowsmith,  jailer,  was  put  in  charge  of  the  new 
buildings.  On  the  same  day  a  committee  appointed 
to  examine  the  accounts  of  the  manager  reported 
that  they  had  "  examined  the  accounts  and  vouchers, 
and  find  upon  investigation  of  the  same  that  the  ex- 
penses of  the  said  buildings  amounts  to  £5644  Os.  Id., 
New  York  currency  (equal  to  $14,110.07),  exclusive  of 
the  manager's  fees ;  and  they  further  report  that  the 
remnant  of  materials  were  sold  by  the  manager,  the 
nett  proceeds  whereof  amounted  to  (after  deducting 
certain  services)  £42  17s.  5d.  (equal  to  $107.18),  which 
sum  the  said  manager  is  to  account  for."  It  was  re- 
solved that  Mr.  Annin,  the  manager,  be  allowed  six 
hundred  dollars  for  his  services.  In  the  record  of  the 
board  of  freeholders,  under  date  of  May  14, 1800,  is 


EAELY  ROADS  AND  BRIDGES  IN  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


573 


an  account  of  settlement  with  Mr.  Annin,  with  the 
name  of  each  individual  who  worked  on  the  court- 
house or  furnished  material,  and  the  amount  paid 
each,  viz. : 

T.  1  -KT  i      .        „  Amonnt  in  York 

Persons'  Names  to  whom  Payable.  Currency. 

£  8  d 

William  Forman 57  12      9 

John  Pool ""]  34  jg      iy 

Francis  Oovenhoven ,'"."'.'  49  15  jo 

John  Dennis,  Jr "..  8  14      4 

John  Plum *  14  0      0 

Enos  Talmage ."  jg  ^l      0 

Benjamin  Cook .".'.'.'.'.'.".  98  4      0 

James  McCoy 58  9      8 

Abraham  Ackerman .'  45  12      9 

Aaron  Van  Doren 40  0  ^q 

John  Sheldran 8  8      6 

Peter  Suydam [[[  4*7  1      3 

Benjamin  Balgliph 34  9  jq 

Joseph  Compton 7  16      8 

William  Roy .""■.  40  0      0 

Peres  Bonney 61  9      6 

JohnHeriod. 2  8      0 

Samuel  Haines 15  1      6 

William  Davis ",  8  0      0 

Isaac  Cooper 9  34      9 

Cornelius  Van  Deventer 82  8      7 

Daniel  Whitehead 2  8      0 

Frederick  Van  Liew 11  2      1 

Dickerson  Miller 8  13      0 

Jehial  Freeman,  or  order 22  7      3 

Jehial  Freeman 61  ig  10 

Brogun  Brokaw 7  14      5 

Ganin  McCoy 75  n      9 

Nicholas  Rynierson 2  16 

Bemardus  Van  Neste 2  16      9 

Jacob  Van  Doren 5  8      0 

James  Hogg 10  2      0 

John  Bryan Ill  17      8 

Thomas  Talmage 414  6  10 

Willet  Wame 28  13  10}4 

Kichard  Runyan 41  17  11 

Isaac  Howell 16  2      6 

Nathaniel  Bryan 7  16      6 

David  De  Camp 26  5  11 

Aaron  Ross 10  13      8 

Cornelius  Beekman 4  7      0 

Joseph  StoU 11  9      2 

DirckTunison 263  16      3 

JohnTeeple 20  11      0 

1889  16  234 

The  manager  has  received  of  the  county  col- 
lector at  different  times 3857  13  6 

The  materials  left  were  sold  for 42  17  5 

Balance  due  the  manager,  for  which  a  certifi- 
cate was  issued 93  13  6 

£6884      0      714* 

May  12, 1802,  an  account  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
nine  dollars  and  fifty-two  cents  was  audited  by  the 
board  of  justices  and  freeholders  in  favor  of  Peter  D. 
Vroom  for  a  bell  for  the  court-house.  At  the  same 
meeting  a  petition  was  presented  from  the  Consistory 
of  the  congregation  of  Raritan  and  the  requests  of 
Somerville  Academy  asking  that  the  grounds  of  the 
court-house  lot  be  fenced  and  graded.  The  next  day 
Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh  was  given  charge  of  "  fencing, 
leveling,  and  planting  the  ground  with  ornamental 
trees."  The  entire  cost  of  this  work  was  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-six  dollars  and  fifty-six  cents. 

No  further  improvements,  repairs  of  buildings,  or 
erection  of  new  ones  are  mentioned  in  the  records 
until  Sept.  10,  1810,  when  the  following  action  was 
taken : 

"On  application  of  Samuel  Swan,  clerk  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas 
and  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  county,  to  build  a  fire-proof  oflHce  for  the 
preservation  of  the  books  and  papers  belonging  to  the  clerk's  and  surro- 
gate's oiflces,  it  was  unanimously 

"  Reached^  That  an  oflBce  of  that  kind  be  erected,  that  the  sum  of  eight 
hundred  dollars  be  appropriated  for  that  purpose,  and  that  the  said  sum 

*  Equal  to  $14,710.07. 


be  assessed  on  (he  inhabitants  of  this  county,  agreeably  to  law.  Ordered 
that  Mr.  Director,!  Mr.  Arrowsmith,  and  Mr.  Rickey  be  a  committee  in- 
vested with  full  powers  as  well  to  select  a  suitable  place  for  the  site  of  the 
said  olHce  as  to  contract  for  and  superintend  the  building  of  the  same-; 
and  that  they  be  authorized  at  any  time  to  draw  on  the  county  collector 
for  any  sum  of  money  not  exceeding  the  sum  of  eight  hundred  dollars.'' 

The  records  of  the  freeholders  fi'om  this  time  to 
about  1833  are  not  known  to  be  in  existence.  The 
clerk's  and  surrogate's  offices  were  soon  after  built,— 
the  former  on  the  west  side  of  the  court-house,  and 
the  latter  on  the  east  side. 

The  old  court-house  was  found  to  be  inadequate  to 
the  requirements  of  the  county  business,  and  in  1846 
the  building  was  raised  one  story  higher  and  a  por- 
tico added  on  the  Iront.  The  contract  price  for  this 
work  was  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  present  jail  of  the  county  was  erected  in  1870. 
The  contract  for  it  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Richardson 
for  ten  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  dol- 
lars, and  Nov.  12,  1870,  the  entire  cost  was  reported 
as  ten  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  dol- 
lars contract,  and  five  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  dollars  and  three  cents  extras,  making 
a  total  of  fifteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  two  dol- 
lars and  three  cents. 

In  1872  the  question  of  building  an  addition  to  the 
clerk's  office  was  presented  to  the  board  of  freeholders, 
upon  which,  after  consideration,  "the  committee  on 
public  buildings  were  authorized  and  instructed  to 
make  such  alterations  and  additions  to  the  clerk's 
office  as  they  may  deem  advisable  and  necessary  to 
the  proper  preservation  of  the  books  and  papers  of 
the  county."  The  addition  in  the  rear  of  the  clerk's 
office  was  built  in  that  year,  and  Jan.  7,  1873,  the 
total  cost  was  reported  at  three  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  sixty  dollars  and  seventy-two  cents. 


CHAPTER    V. 

EABLY  BOADS  AND  BEIDGES  IN  SOMEESET 
COUNTY.: 

The  first  mention  of  "  Ways"  or  Roads — Deshler  on  Early  Roiids— The 
road  "up  Raritan" — Other  Highways — E.^tract  from  old  "  Road  Book" 
of  Somerset  County — New  Jersey  Turnpike  Company — Early  Bridges 
— Marriages  in  1797 — List  of  Bridges  in  1805,  etc. 

The  earliest  legislative  enactment  relative  to  roads 
passed  the  Assembly  of  New  Jersey  April. 6, 1676,  and 
is  as  follows  :^ 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  this  Auembly,  That  for  the  more  sure  and  speedy  pas- 
sage of  the  aforesaid  deputiesfl  for  the  future,  that  can  he  taken  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Middlesex  to  make  choice  of  two  or  more 
men  out  of  the  said  town,  then  to  join  with  two  or  more  chosen  out  of 
Piscataqua,  to  make  out  the  nearest  and  most  convenient  way  that  may 
be  found  between  the  said  towns  upon  the  county  charge ;  and  this  to  be 
done  between  this  and  the  tenth  of  May  next  upon  the  penalty  of  what 
Damages  may  ensue  for  the  want  thereof." 

f  Martin  Schenck.  -H'-t. 

t  By  Austin  N.  Hungerford. 

§  Leaming  and  Spicer,  p.  118. 

I  Of  Middlesex  and  Shrewsbury  to  the  meeting  of  General  Assembly. 


574 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


March  1,  1682,  six  years  later,  an  act  of  Assembly 
passed  whicli  is  the  first  of  a  general  character  upon 
the  subject  of  roads,  and  is  as  follows  :* 

"An  Act  foe  making  and  settling  of  Highways,  Passages,  Lajjd- 

INGE,  BeiUGES,  and  FeERIES  WITHIN  THIS  PeOVTNCE. 
"  Be  ii  enacted  by  the  Govenujr,  Council,  and  Deputies  in  General  Assembly 
tww  met  and  assembled,  and  by  authority  of  the  same,  That  in  and  through- 
out this  Province  all  necessary  highways,  passages,  landings,  and  ferries, 
fit  and  apt  for  traveling,  passages,  landing  of  goods,  shall  be  set,  laid  out, 
and  appointed  in  and  throughout  every  county  within  this  Province  by 
the  respective  Persons  hereinafter  mentioned, — that  is  to  say  in  and  for 
the  County  of  Essex.  .  .  .  For  the  cou  nty  of  Bergen.  .  .  .  For  the  county 
of  Middlesex  and  parts  adjacent;  the  Governor  or  deputy  Governor  for 
the  time  being,  the  Surveyor-General,  Capt.  John  Palmer,  Thomas 
Wame,  Stephen  Warne,  Samuel  Dennis,  Samuel  Moore,  Edward  Slater, 
John  Gillman,  Hopewell  Hull.     For  the  County  of  Monmouth.  .  .  ." 

Following  the  appointment  of  these  commissioners 
are  provisions  that  confer  powers  for  opening  roads 
and  assessment  of  taxes  for  their  cost. 

Mr.  C.  S.  Deshler,  in  a  paper  on  the  "Early  Eoads 
of  New  Jersey,"  read  before  the  Historical  Society  of 
New  Brunswick,  June  2,  1880,  says, — 

"  Before  the  passage  of  this  act  the  roads  in  New  Jersey,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  great  highways  already  described,t  were  mere  Indian 
tracks,  cart^ways,  or  bridle-paths.  In  Gov.  Lawrie's  time  (from  1684  to 
1686)  numerous  roads  were  opened — several  of  them  of  considerable  im- 
portance— which  remain  in  use  to  this  day.  The  portion  of  the  State 
lying  along  the  two  gi-eat  highways  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan, 
Delaware,  Passaic,  Hackensack,  and  their  tributaries,  had  become  quite 
thickly  settled.  The  necessities  of  the  people,  in  the  quaint  language  of 
that  time,  for  ways  to  church,  to  court,  to  the  blacksmith-shop,  to  the 
landings,  and  especially  to  mill  and  to  market,  led  to  roads  being  made 
in  every  direction,  the  upper  and  lower  roads  which  traversed  the  State, 
and  the  rivers  which  penetrated  the  interior,  forming  the  vertebrae 
from  which  all  the  lesser  roads  radiate  or  upon  which  they  converged." 

The  earliest  official  record  of  the  laying  out  of  a 
road  by  commissioners  is  found  in  Liber  A,  p.  433,  of 
"  Deeds  and  Patents  of  East  New  Jersey,"  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Trenton,  and  is  as  follows : 

"  Memorandum.— 1ha.t  whereas,  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  Assembly,  we 
the  persons  under  subscribed  were  by  virtue  of  the  said  act  appointed  for 
the  laying  out  the  highways  for  the  county  of  Middlesex,  in  prosecution 
thereof  the  twenty-sixth,  twenty-seventh,  and  twenty-eighth  dayes  of 
this  instant,  we  have  marked  and  laid  out  the  wayes  as  follows  :  On  from 
John  White's  plantation  on  Raritan  River  along  upon  a  ridge  of  upland 
on  or  near  the  old  Indian  path  to  the  north  side  of  Capt.  Codrington's, 
and  all  the  meadowes  down  to  Maj.  James  Gyle's,  at  which  place  there  is 
to  be  a  bridge  for  horse  and  waggon;  from  there  to  along  the  upland 
near  the  meadowes  on  Raritan  River  to  Bellowes  plantation,  and  through 
his  corn-field  as  the  trees  are  marked;  from  thence  to  Aaron  Jacob's 
through  his  field,  his  house  being  in  the  middle  of  the  highway  as  the 
trees  are  marked ;  from  thence  by  marked  trees  to  Vincent  Eungimone's 
land;  and  it  is  agreed  that  there  should  be  a  footway  elevated  along 
Earitan  riverside  through  the  long  meadow,  continued  to  Capt.  Codring- 
ton's and  upward,  and  from  the  marked  trees  there  down  to  the  river, 
the  highways  to  be  taken  one-halfe  out  of  Hopewell  Hull's  lott  and  the 
other  halfe  out  of  Vincent's  Lott,  being  in  all  one  hundred  feet  in 
breadth ;  and  from  Vincent's  by  the  line  of  marked  trees  to  Capt.  Green- 
land's ;  from  thence  in  the  old  road  to  Piscataway ;  from  thence  in  the 
old  road  to  Woodbridge;  from  thence  along  the  ordinary  road  above 
Capt.  Pike's  second  crooke ;  from  thence  by  line  of  marked  trees  through 
the  woods  along  the  east  side  of  Capt.  Pike's  fresh  or  boggy  meadow 
thence  into  the  highway  that  leads  into  the  market-place  in  Amboy,  and 
from  the  highway  that  leads  into  the  sound  through  the  said  market- 
place by  a  line  of  marked  trees  to  the  north  side  of  James  Eeid's  fence  ; 
from  thence  by  the  west  side  of  Capt.  Codrington's  land ;  from  thence 

*  Learning  and  Spicer,  pp.  266,  268. 

t  That  is,  the  thoroughfare  from  Elizabethtown  Point  to  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  thence,  by  the  upper  and  lower  routes,  to  the  Delaware. 


along  the  northernmost  end  of  Woolfe's  swamp ;  from  thence  by  a  line 
of  marked  trees  into  the  road  leading  from  Piscataway  to  Woodbridge ; 
from  Woodbridge  the  usual  road  to  the  corner  of  Samuel  Smith's  land; 
from  thence  by  a  line  of  marked  trees  over  the  upper  branch  of  the  meet- 
ing-house brooke ;  from  thence  by  marked  trees  to  the  First  Branch  of 
Raway  River ;  from  thence  by  marked  trees  to  the  Second  Branch  of  the 
said  river. 

"  Dated  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  the  month  called  June,  one  thousand 
six  hundred  and  eighty-four. 

*'  Gawen  Laweie,  Samuel  Dotjnds, 

"  Conead  Slattee,  John  Geeenman, 

"Hopewell  Hull,  Samuel  Mooeb." 

John  White's  plantation,  from  which  this  road 
started,  is  known  as  No.  6  on  the  map  that  accom- 
panies the  Elizabethtown  bill  of  chancery.  It  was 
one  of  the  "  Earitan  Lotts,"  and  may  be  described  as 
lying  on  the  banks  of  the  Earitan,  east  of  Peter's 
Brook  and  west  of  the  old  Van  Veghten  property.^ 

Two  years  after  this  road  was  laid  out  the  trouble 
occurred  between  John  Campbell  (son  of  Lord  Neill 
Campbell)  and  John  White  that  caused  the  opening 
of  the  road  from  the  North  and  South  Branches  to 
the  main  highway  that  started,  as  shown  above,  from 
John  White's  plantation. 

The  following,  from  C.  S.  Deshler,  is  of  great  in- 
terest in  this  connection,  but,  as  the  memorandum  of 
June  28,  1684,  fixes  the  date  of  the  laying  out  of 
the  road  from  John  White's  plantation  eastward,  the 
remarks  apply  equally  as  well  to  the  remaining  por- 
tion, from  John  White's  west  to  the  North  Branch, 
and  show  the  cause  that  led  to  the  opening, — viz. : 

"Prior to  the  passage  of  the  general  law  which  we  have  been  consid- 
ering, and  until  as  late  as  1686,  the  roads  which  have  been  above  de- 
scribed were  the  only  ones  stretching  over  any  considerable  portion  of 
the  State  or  linking  together  its  scattered  plantations,  settlements, .and 
embryo  towns.  The  next  road  of  public  and  general  importance  was  the 
one  familiarly  spoken  of  as  a  road  up  Earitan.  This  branched  from  the 
main  highway  that  ran  across  the  State,  starting  out  from  it  at  Piscata- 
way, and  running  to  Bound  Brook,  and  so  through  Somerset  County 
to  the  North  and  South  Branches.  There  is  no  official  record  in  exist- 
ence, so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  of  the  first  opening  of  the 
road,  and  its  exact  date  is  diflScult  to  be  arrived  at.  In  the  course  of  my 
investigations,  however,  some  facts  have  come  to  light  which  enable  me 
to  fix  the  date  with  tolerable  precision,  and,  as  this  road  was  an  impor- 
tant one  to  our  county,g  at  the  same  time  that  it  was  one  of  the  earliest 
results  of  the  pioneer  plantations  along  the  Earitan  in  Somerset  County, 
and  as  it  afterwards  became  a  leading  contributor  to  its  settlement  and 
development,  it  has  a  strong  claim  upon  our  interest. 

"  Among  the  other  roads  laid  out  in  1706  by  John  Bishop,  George 
Brake,  and  John  Matthews,  commissionera  of  roads  for  the  county  of 
Middlesex,  the  record  of  which  throws  light  upon  still  eariier  roads,  is 
one  which  is  described  as  follows ; '  And  also  for  one  other  public  comon 
and  general  highway,  to  extend  from  Woodbridge  to  Piscataway;  and 
also  from  Amboy  to  Piscataway,  and  from  thence  along  the  road  to  and 
through  Somerset  County  to  the  North  Branch,  as  it  was  formerly  laid 
out  in  the  late  Gov.  Laurie's  time.'  So  that  if  this  record  be  accurate, 
this  road  was  first  laid  out  during  the  administration  of  Gov.  Laurie, 
which  extended  from  1684  to  1686.    That  it  must  have  been  laid  out  in 


X  As  no  mention  has  been  made  in  any  publication  the  writer  has  seen 
of  the  precise  date  of  the  laying  out  of  the  following  road,  it  is  here 
given.  It  is  recorded  in  Liber  A,  the  same  as  the  one  heretofore  given. 
May  29, 1686,  a  road  was  laid  out  "from  the  turning  out  of  Piscattaway 
Eoad  to  goo  to  Amboy  along  the  north  side  of  the  great  swamp  com- 
monly known  as  Amboy's  great  swamp,  winding  along  the  swamp  to  the 
east  end  thereof,  and  from  thence  to  the  intended  town  plott  at  Amboy, 
as  may  be  found  most  convenient."  The  commissioners  who  laid  out 
this  road  were  Samuel  Dounds,  Isaac  Thornhill,  and  Hopewell  Hull. 

g  Middlesex.  . 


EARLY   EOADS  AND   BRIDGES   IN  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


51&- 


1686  appears  from  the  followlDg  affidavits,  which  were  made  in  1720, 
when  Bome  difBcultiea  had  arisen  about  the  true  course  of  the  *  road  up 
Karitan,'  and  which  are  preserved  in  the  old  book  of  record  of  Middle- 
sex County,  pp.  80,  81-91 : 

"*FinL  ■William  Sharp,  of  Woodbridge,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex, 
in  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  yeoman,  aged  about  fifty-seven  years, 
maketh  oath  on  ye  Holy  EvangelistB  of  Almighty  God  that  he,  this  de- 
ponent, from  the  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-six  (1686),  that 
he  settled  upon  the  north  side  of  y^  Karitan  River  near  the  meeting  of 
North  and  South  Branches,  he  used  y'  road  which  waa  commoDly  called 
and  esteemed  y«  highway,  said  to  be  laid  out  by  the  authority  of  ye  gov- 
ernment of  the  province  of  New  Jersey.  DuriDg  the  nine  years  that  he 
lived  there  the  highway  lead  from  Bound  Brook  near  to  Mr.  Gile's  house, 
through  the  land  late  in  the  tenor  of  John  Budyard,  and  so  behind  the 
improved  land  of  Capt.  CoddiDgton,*  Mr.  White's,  and  y*  other  y«  inhab- 
itants, unto  y«  North  Branch  of  y«  said  river,  to  the  upper  end  of  a  plan- 
tation y«  west  side  thereof. 

"  'William  Sharp,  April  29, 1720.' 

^'*Seccmd.  John  Campbell,  of  Piscatua,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  in 
the  province  of  New  Jersey,  yeoman,  aged  about  fifty-eight  years,  maketh 
oath  on  the  Holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God  that  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1686  this  deponent  was  coming  down  Baritan  Biver  with  several  of 
the  servants  of  Lord  Neil  Campbell,  going  to  Woodbridge  meeting. 
There  being  no  way  this  deponent  knew  but  through  the  inclosure  of 
Mr.  John  White,  deceased,  they  were  stopt  by  Mr.  White  by  his  gate  for 
some  little  time,  but  then  not  before  this  deponent  and  other  servants  re- 
turned. Ye  said  John  White  went  to  Amboy  to  Govtruor  Loury  and 
complained  against  them,  who  were  called  before  the  said  Governor 
Iioury,  and  answered  they  knew  no  other  way.  The  Governor  said  there 
should  be  a  way  appointed  for  to  go  up  the  country  clear  of  Mr.  White 
and  the  other  inhabitants'  improvements.  Accordingly,  before  this  de- 
ponent, with  others  aforesaid,  went  up  the  way  marked  out,  leading  from 
Bound  Brook,  near  Mr.  Gile's  house,  through  the  land  late  in  the  tenure 
of  Mr.  John  Budyard,  behind  the  rear  of  all  the  improved  lands  behind" 
his  fields,  and  so  several  inhabitants  on  the  said  Raritan  Biver,  to  the 
North  Branch  thereof,  at  or  near  the  upper  end  of  a  plantation  on  the 
west  side  of  the  said  branch  belonging  to  Peter  Van  Voste,|  and  that 
during  the  space  of  nine  years  that  this  deponent  lived  up  the  Baritan 
and  South  Branch  thereof,  he  always  understood  that  to  be  ye  highway 
layed  out  by  ye  authority  of  ye  government  of  East  Jersey. 

"John  Campbell,  Apl.  29, 1720.' 

"  In  connection  with  the  deponent,  who  was  a  servant  of  Lord  Neill 
Campbell,  and  in  1686  was  on  his  way  from  the  North  Branch  to  attend 
church  at  Woodbridge,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Lord  Neill  in  1685  be- 
came the  owner  of  one-fourth  of  a  twenty-fourth  part  of  East  Jersey. 
In  January,  1685,  he  had  located  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  acres  on  the 
Baritan  and  North  Branch,  and  it  was  from  this  'plantation,'  without 
doubt,  that  his  clansman  was  proceeding  to  Woodbridge  when  arrested 
by  Mr.  John  White. 

"  The  course  of  the  '  road  up  Baritan'  from  Piscataway  to  Bound  Brook 
is  not  clear.  Certainly  it  did  not  come  from  Piscataway  to  Inian's 
Ferry  and  run  from  thence  along  the  river  to  Bound  Brook  as  the  road 
now  lies,  that  road  being  of  much  later  origin.  After  combining  all  the 
information  I  have  been  able  to  gather,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  road  left 
Piscataway  (a  six-rod  road;  record  of  roads,  my  copy,  p.  81),  passed  from 
thence  in  a  northwesterly  direction  west  of  Metuchen,  through  Quibble- 
town  and  New  Market  to  Bound  Brook.  Considerable  portions  of  this 
road  remain  six  rods  wide  to  this  day,  although  much  of  the  original 
road  has  been  obliterated  by  the  plow,  and  parts  of  the  existing  road  are 
made  up  of  newer  and  narrower  ones.  After  reaching  Bound  Brook  the 
road  extended  to  Somerville,  running,  as  we  have  seen  by  the  above  affi- 
davits, in  the  rear  of  the  improved  lands  and  farm-houses  on  the  banks 
of  the  Raritan,  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  present  turnpike,  following 
the  north  side  of  the  Baiitan  to  the  junction  of  the  two  branches,  and 
from  thence  going  west  to  Lambertville,  at  that  time  called  Howell's 
Fen7.  There  is  in  existence  another  affidavit,  made  in  1720,  relating  to 
this  road,  which  is  of  interest  because  it  was  made  by  Peter  Van  Nest 
<or,  as  he  is  sometimes  called.  Van  Voste),  who  was  one  of  the  early  pio- 
neers of  Somerset  County  and  a  man  of  mark  in  his  day,  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  Baritan,  and  also  one  of  the  bridges  over  the  same,  re- 
ceiving their  names  from  him.  This  affidavit  is  of  the  same  purport  as 
those  before  recited,  and  Is  as  follows ; 

"  *  Peter  Van  Neste,  of  the  county  of  Somerset,  in  the  province  of  New 


*  Codrington. 


f  Peter  Van  Neste. 


Jersey,  yeoman,  aged  about  sixty  years,  Maketh  Oath  on  the  Holy  Evan- 
gelists of  Almighty  God  that  this  deponent,  to  the  best  of  hia  knowledge, 
in  the  year  1686,  Hendrick  Corsended  and  William  Richardson  came  to 
this  deponent's  house  and  told  him  that  by  order  of  Governor  Loury,  the 
Grovemor  of  East  New  Jersey,  they  had  been  marking  out  a  way  leading 
from  Mr.  Codington's  land  behind  the  improved  land  of  Mr.  White,  and 
so  leading  up  cross  a  brook  called,  by  the  name  of  the  deponent,  Peter's 
Brook,  near  that  place,  where  he  hath  since  erected  a  grist-mill,  and  con- 
tinuing behind  all  the  improved  lands  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  to 
the  North  Branch  of  the  Raritan  Eivier,  near  to  a  place  whereon  William 
Dunlap  then  lived,  which  is  near  to  the  upper  end  of  a  plantation  on  the 
west  side  of  the  said  branch  belonging  to  the  deponent.  Some  time  after, 
in  the  time  when  Col.  Hamilton  was  Governor  of  East  Jersey,  this  De- 
ponent was  chosen  overseer  of  ye  highways  by  ye  Inhabitants  of  Somer- 
sett,  and,  according  to  ye  law  or  Custom  of  ye  said  province  of  East  Jer- 
sey, he  called  ye  inliabitants  of  Somersett  together  and  repaired  ye  said 
highway  from  Bound  Brook  to  that  place,  on  ye  North  Branch  afoiesaid, 
and  that  ye  said  highway  continued  without  any  alteration,  so  far  as  the 
deponent  knoweth,  until  within  this  four  or  two  years  that  Jacob  Rape- 
ties  fenced  in  part  thereof.  And  further  this  Deponent  sayeth  not. 
" '  Peteb  Van  Neste,  Jurat  Cobebius,  Wm.  Eieb. 
"  '  Apnle  ye  29th,  1720.' " 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Peter  Van  Neste  mentions 
that  he  was  commissioner  of  highways  under  Governor 
Hamilton  (who  was  in  office  in  1694).  He  was  asso- 
ciated with  John  Royce  and  John  Tunison.  It  was 
enjoined  upon  them  not  to  change  the  location  of 
roads  without  necessity,  and  to  lay  out  and  open  new 
ones  where  required. 

The  road  up  Raritan  remained  without  alteration 
until  about  1718,  when  it  was  fenced  in  by  one  Jacob 
Rapeties.  No  further  information  is  obtained  of  it 
until  1764.  Difficulties  continued  to  occur,  and  the 
following  action  was  taken  by  the  board  of  justices 
and  freeholders  of  Somerset  County.  It  is  found  in 
the  record  of  roads  (old  book,  p.  62),  and  locates  the 
road  definitely  through  the  county.  Its  various 
changes  of  line  and  distance  are  given  in  detail.  It 
is  quoted  verbatim,  except  degrees,  chains,  and  links : 

"Whereas,  It  hath  been  found  by  many  years'  experience  that  that 
part  of  the  Raritan  road,  so  called,  on  the  north  side  of  Raritan  Biver, 
leading  from  the  North  Branch  of  said  river  down  the  same  to  Bound 
Brook,  hath  been  subject  to  sundry  disputes  and  difficulties  attending 
thereto,  and  in  order  for  remedy,  whereof  application  hath  been  made  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Bridgewater,  in  Somerset  County,  to  us  whose  names 
are  underwritten  and  subscribed,  being  twelve  surveyors  for  roads  and 
highways  for  the  time  being,  six  of  us  residing  in  the  county  of  Somer- 
set aforesaid,  and  being  legally  chosen  for  that  purpose,  and  the  other  six 
residing  in  the  adjacent  county  of  Hunterdon,  and  being  also  legally 
chosen  for  that  purpose  aforesaid,  that  the  said  road,  being  disadvan- 
tageous to  the  oner  and  oners  of  the  lands  through  the  pass,  praying 
that  the  same  may  be  altered  and  regulated  by  us  said  surveyors  at  our 
discretion,  and  after  publick  notice  thereof  advertised  for  at  least  twenty 
days,  agreeable  to  the  law  in  such  cases  made  and  provided,— we,  the 
surveyors  above  cited,  having  met  on  the  premises  for  the  same  purpose, 
and  after  hearing  the  grievances  and  allegations  of  the  inhabitants  afore- 
said, do  agree,  and  pursuant  to  the  power  and  authority  given  to  us  by 
the  law  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey  and  in  discharge  of  our  duty  to 
alter  and  regulate  the  said  road,  we  do  determine  and  herein  certify  that 
the  said  road  shall  run  and  be  continued  as  a  publick  four-rod  road,  as 
followeth,— viz. :  Beginning  at  the  bridge  by  the  mouth  of  the  North 
Branch  of  said  Baritan  Biver  by  the  foot  or  east  end  of  said  bridge, 
on  the  east  side  of  said  branch,  and  from  thence  to  run  down  said 
road  first  north  eighty-seven  degrees  and  a  half  east  ...  to  a  sign- 
post of  Garret  Garrison;  thence  south  ...  to  a  black-oak-tree; 
thence  north  ...  to  a  white-oak-tree  near  said  John  Biggs;  thence 
north  ...  to  Garret  Boeboom's  line ;  thence  north  ...  to  the  line 
of  land  belonging  to  Jacob  Vanostrandth,  Esqr. ;  so  continuing  said 
course  north  ...  to  the  blacksmith-shop  now  belonging  to  the  said 
Venostrandth;  thence  north  .  .  .  to  the  land  of  Samuel  StaataOoej  man's 


^76 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Esqr.,  and  so  continuing  the  said  conrse  nortli  ...  to  Jonatlian  Kun- 
yan'B  line,  and  ao  continuing  to  the  line  of*  Cornelius  Middagh ;  thence 
north  ...  t  to  Qeorge  Middagh 's  line  ;  then  north  ...  to  the  gate  of 
the  parsonage-land  of  the  Dutch  congregation  now  in  the  tenure  and 
occupation  of  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Hardenberge,J  and  so  continuing  running 
north  ...  to  Philip  Tunison's  line;  thence  south  from  Fritts'  Hotel  to 
Peter's  Brook,  so  called ;  thence  east ...  to  the  line  of  Derrick  Van  Tegh- 
ten's  §  land ;  thence  south  ...  to  Cornelius  Van  Horn's  |  land ;  thence 
on  the  same  course  ...  to  a  road  leading  to  said  Cornelius  Van  Horn's 
dwelling-house;  thence  .  .  .  to  Middle  Brook  ;  thence  north  .  .  .  to  the 
house  of  Benjamin  Harris;  thence  ...  to  the  middle  of  Bound  Brook 
stone  bridge.  In  testimony  whereof  we,  the  surreyors  afores'd,  have 
hereunto  set  our  hands,  this  thirtyeth  day  of  June,  Anno  Domini,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four,  and  in  the  fourth  year  of  His 
Majestye's  reign. 

"  William  Lane,  Samuel  Baekhaedt, 

"  Petee  Dumont,  Benew  Dunham, 

"  Gaeeet  Vooehees,  Heneet  Teaphagen, 

"  Petee  Van  Pelt,  Andeew  Emacb, 

"Benjamin  Tatloe,  Abraham  Phall, 

"  Samuel  Beinton,  EicHAnn  Holcombe, 

"  Surveyors  for  Somerset.  Surveyors  for  Sunterdon. 

"  Recorded  the  30th  day  of  June,  1765." 

One  other  road  having  more  than  a  local  importance 
remains  to  be  noticed.  This  is  the  old  Middlebush 
road.  A  considerable  part  of  this  road  had  been  es- 
tablished by  custom  and  use  probably  as  early  as 
1690,  but,  so  far  as  I  have  'been  able  to  discover,  it 
was  first  laid  out  by  authority  in  1712,  at  which  time 
it  was  also  greatly  extended.  The  record  describing 
this  road  is  as  follows : 

"  Pursuant  to  an  act  of  Assembly  instituted  for  regulating  highways, 
and  for  appointing  and  confirming  highway  commissioners: 

"  Beginning  at  Innion's  Ferry  ;  thence  running  ye  nearest  course  to  a 
brook  known  by  ye  name  of  Salt  Pond  Brook ;  thence  along  or  as  near 
ye  path  as  it  now  goeth  till  it  comes  to  Derrick  Jones's  House ;  thence 
upon  a  straight  course  to  John  Wilson's  shop  ;T[  thence  directly  ye  most 
convenient  way  as  can  be  had  to  Capt.  Harrison's  Mill  ;**  thence  along 
ye  new  cartway  to  Justice  Leonard's;  thence  along  ye  old  road|f  till  it 
comes  near  Stony  Brook,  so  crossing  ye  said  brook  about  three  or  four 
chains  below  ye  old  road,  ao  turning  up  to  ye  old  road  again,  and  so  to  ye 
Province  Line.  The  said  country  road  is  to  be  four  rods  in  breadth. 
Witness  our  hands  this  Gth  day  of  June,  1712. 

'•  Andeew  Bied,       John  Haeribon, 

'*  Thomas  Teates,    Michael  Van  Veghtie," 

This  road  then  ran  from  Inian's  Ferry  westerly  to 
Middlebush,  and  probably  to  Millstone,  from  whence 
it  ran  southwesterly  to  Eocky  Hill,  and  from  thence 
to  Harrison's  Mill,  on  the  great  road  near  Kingston ; 
thence  it  ran  alongside  the  great  or  upper  road — now 
approaching  to,  now  receding  from,  and  sometimes  in- 
tersecting it — to  Stony  Brook  and  the  province  line.tt 

Mr.  Deshler  says  that  from  1705  to  1713  he  has  "  dis- 
covered records  of  thirty -five  roads  which  were  viewed, 
opened,  and  established  within  the  limits  of  Middle- 
sex County  alone."  At  that  time  the  territory  now 
Somerset  County  was  in  certain  respects  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Middlesex  County.  The  precise  time  of 
the  laying  out  of  the  road  from  Bound  Brook  to  Black 
River,  which  is  mentioned  in  early  deeds  as  the  "  Pea- 

■*  J.  M.  Mann.  f  Caleb  Miller. 

t  J.  Doughty.  I  C.  J.  Willson.  ||  Island  Farm. 

1[  Another  record  says  that  John  Wilson  lived  upon  Eocky  Hill. 
■*■*  This  mill  was  on  Millstone  Eiver,  at  the  point  near  where  it  crosses 
the  upper  road  near  Kingston, 
tf  That  is,  the  upper  road. 
ft  Deshler's  "  Early  Eoads  of  New  Jersey." 


pack  Eoad,"  is  not  known.  It  was  certainly  before 
the  record  of  roads  was  commenced,  in  1733,  as  given 
below.  The  road  also  from  "Lamington  Meeting- 
House  to  Piscataway"  was  laid  out  before  this  time. 
It  joined  the  Peapack  road  before  that  road  united 
with  the  "  Great  Road  up  the  Earitan.'' 

The  records  of  the  justices  and  freeholders  of  Som- 
erset County  are  not  found  prior  to  1772.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  justices  and  freeholders,  July  22,  1775,  an 
order  was  given  to  James  Hude  (deputy  clerk  of  the 
county)  to  "  purchase  a  book  for  to  copy  the  return  of 
the  roads  in,  and  likewise  to  copy  the  returns  of  sun- 
dry roads  that  are  entered  in  the  justices'  and  free- 
holders' book,  which  was  begun  in  the  year  1727  or 
thereabouts."  The  records  of  roads  in  the  clerk's 
office  of  the  county  are  in  an  old  book  in  which  the 
first  date  is  Feb.  25,  1773.  It  contains  a  record  of 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  roads  either  laid  or  relaid 
from  1733  to  1776,  and  this  is  without  doubt  trans- 
cribed from  the  justices'  and  freeholders'  records,  as 
indicated  above.  From  this  book  are  given  a  few  of 
the  roads : 


}«. 


"  New  Jersey, 

someeset, 

"  Memorandum^  February  25th,  Anno  Domini  1733. — There  layed  out  by  us 
named  commissioners  for  ye  layiug  out  of  highways  for  said  county,  at 
ye  request  of  ye  inhabitants  of  Somerset  County,  beginning  at  a  four- 
rodd  road  laying  cross  the  river  at  ye  Widdow  Beekman's  comenly  called 
or  nonegg  by  the  Millstone  River;  from  thence  running  threw  ye  middle 
of  said  Millstone  down  said  river  under  ye  bridges  until  it  goes  down  to 
ye  mouth  of  said  Millstone  River,  four  rodds  wide. 
"  True  Coppy  from  ye  Recorded  this  17th  day  of  March,  1736-7. 

"  Babeent  Strickee, 
"  EnwABD  Griggs, 
"  Cornelius  Sutdam, 
"  Pbtee  Van  Nest. 
"  R.  L.  Hooper, 

*'  CZeri." 

The  next  one  recorded  is  dated  April  16,  1735,  and 
laid  out  "from  Basking  Eidge  to  ye  west  of  ye  bridge 
on  the  norwest  branch  of  Dead  River."  Another 
record,  dated  April  17,  1740,  recites,  "  That  applica- 
tion has  been  made  to  us,  ye  surveyors  of  highways  of 
the  county  of  Somerset,  to  lay  out  a  road  from  Rocky 
Hill  to  Kingston,  beginning  at  a  road  already  laid 
out  from  New  Brunswick  to  Prince  Ton,"  and  join- 
ing "  the  main  road  as  ye  path  now  runs  that  leads 
from  New  Brunswick  to  Trenton."  Nov.  14, 1741,  a 
record  is  made  "  concerning  a  rode  through  one  Rena- 
ersen's  land,  which  was  found  inconvenient,"  and  was 
relaid  part  of  the  way  along  the  road  to  the  mill,  and 
from  thence  along  the  line  of  Plumstead  land  to  the 
river,  and  along  the  river  to  the  "  place  as  is  formerly 

yoused  to  Eiver,  over  against  Six-Mile   Run,. 

four  rods  wide,  and  with  ye  previser  that  ye  oald  rode 
shall  be  yoused  for  the  space  of  one  month,  and  then 
be  void." 

Jan.  28,  1744,  application  was  made  to  the  survey- 
ors to  lay  out  a  "two-rod  road  from  the  bridge- at  Mr. 
Bairefoot  Brinson's,   on  the  west  side  of  Millstone 


}  Meant  for  knotvn. 


EARLY  ROADS  AND  BRIDGES  IN   SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


577" 


Eiver,"  to  "  ye  main  road  leading  from  Maidenhead 
to  ye  bridge  over  Millstone  River  at  ye  old  mill, 
May'  Harrison's."  A  four-rod  road  was  laid  out  Feb. 
15, 1744,  "beginning  from  ye  main  road  leading  from 
Rocky  Hill  to  New  Brunswick,  passing  Griggstown 
Mill,  over  the  bridge  over  Millstone  Eiver  at  Christo- 
topber  Hoagland's,  and  past  Wm.  Beard's,  Barnet  Ha- 
geman's,  Samuel  Baker's,  and  Daniel  Spader's  to  tbe 
main  road  to  tbe  court-house  of  Somerset,  to  be 
opened  by  the  first  week  in  October  next."  Oct.  3, 
1745,  a  road  was  laid  out  from  Peapack  to  Lamington 
meeting-house,  and  Nov.  12,  1747,  one  from  Peter 
Schenck's  mill  to  the  Middlebush  road.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1748,  application  having  been  made  for  a  road  to 
belaid  out  "from  the  bridge  at  Christopher  Hoag- 
land's to  ye  Great  Road,"  the  surveyors  met  and 
established  the  road  as  requested.  Its  course  is  as 
follows : 

*'  From  the  bridge  to  Gerardus  Beekman's  land,  along  the  road  to  Luke 
Yoorhees';  then  upon  the  top  of  a  bank  to  where  a  road  enters  the  low- 
land ;  along  the  foot  of  the  bank  to  Isaac  Skillman's  land  ;  along  Skill- 
man  land  two  rods  upon  the  upland  to  John  Skillman's ;  along  J.  Skill- 
man's  land  to  Beadow's  Brook;  up  the  brook  to  its  forks;  then  .upon 
Bulif  Covenhoven's  land  to  the  upland;  then,  as  the  road  runs,  to  the 
top  of  ye  bank  of  a  steep  gully  which  enters  into  the  brook  below  ye 
fulling-mill ;  thence  across  the  field  above  the  gully  to  a  line  between 
Adrian  Beekman  and  Christopher  Beekman ;  thence  along  the  line  to 
Bobert  Lettice  Hooper's  land ;  then  on  the  road  to  James  Van  Horn's 
land  ;  thence  across  to  ye  Great  Bead." 

On  page  69,  old  book,  is  a  record  dated  Aug.  6, 
1764.  The  surveyors  were  called  to  relay  the  road 
leading  from  New  Brunswick,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Earitan  River,  to  the  mouth  of  Millstone  River : 

"  Beginning  at  the  county  line  where  it  tuches  Raritan  Biver,  near 
Mr.  Hude's  southeast  corner  in  New  Brunswick ;  thence  along  the  south 
side  of  Baritan  Biver  to  Voorhees'  Mill ;  over  the  mill-dam,  through  the 
late  Joseph  Mount's  land  and  Voorhees'  land  till  it  comes  to  the  said 
river;  up  the  river  to  within  three  chains  of  George  Anderson's  house  ; 
by  his  house,  with  a  gradual  sweep  towards  tbe  river  till  within  four 
chains  of  the  deceased  Evert  Van  Syckle's  land ;  thence  one  rod  and  a 
half  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  up  the  river  till  it  come  to  a  brook  run- 
ning through  John  Mortwell's  land,  and  over  the  brook  to  the  present 
fording-place  ;  then  southward  from  the  river,  and  rnnning  up  the  river 
till  it  comes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Millstone." 

In  August  of  the  next  year  a  four-rod  road  was  laid 
out  "  from  the  Millstone  Bridge,  at  the  court-house," 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Millstone  River.  On  Dec.  23, 
1767,  a  road  was  established  leading  "from  Jacob 
Van  Derveer's,  Esq.,  to  My  Lord  Stirling's  white 
gate,  in  as  direct  a  line  as  the  ground  will  admit  of." 
It  began  at  the  middle  of  the  road  which  leads  from 
Black  Eiver  to  Bound  Brook.  Early  roads  in  the 
different  townships  will  be  found  described  in  the 
township  histories. 

The  New  Jersey  Turnpike  Company  was  incor- 
porated in  1806,  and  the  road  was  completed  in  1809. 
That  part  of  it  in  Hunterdon  and  Warren  Counties 
was  surrendered  to  the  several  townships  by  the  com- 
pany in  1838,  as  has  been  already  mentioned.  The 
line  of  road  through  the  county  of  Somerset,  the  most 
of  the  way  from  Bound  Brook  to  Somerville,  was  a 


little  north  of  the  old  "  Great  Road."  The  old  route 
was  straight,  and  at  the  end  of  the  old  parsonage  lane, 
in  the  village  of  Somerville,  it  left  the  great  road  and 
ran  northwesterly  through  North  Branch  and  Branch- 
burg  on  to  Easton. 

Sept.  4,  1809,  just  before  its  completion,  the  follow- 
ing petition  was  presented  to  the  board  of  freeholders 
of  Somerset  County : 

"  The  New  Jersey  Turnpike  Company,  by  Andrew  Howell,  request  to- 
be  informed  whether  the  board  will  relinquish  to  them  the  North  Branch 
bridge,  at  Bay  lis  Mill,  on  condition  that  the  said  company  shall  keep  the 
said  bridge  in  good  repair  at  their  own  expense  until  the  said  company 
shall  erect  a  new  one." 

It  was  resolved  that  the  bridge  be  relinquished  to 
the  company  on  the  conditions  proposed  by  them. 

A  bridge  was  erected  over  Peter's  Brook,  as  shown 
by  this  action  of  the  board  of  fi-eeholders : 

"  May  9, 1810.— Whereas,  The  bridge  over  Peter's  Brook  near  this 
place  has  become  almost  useless  by  the  erection  of  a  bridge  over  the 
same  stream  by  the  turnpike  company  ;  therefore 

"iiesoZued,  That  Thomas  Talmage  be  authorized  to  remove  the  said 
bridge  and  place  the  same  over  the  said  Peter's  Brook  on  the  new  road 
leading  from  the  court-house  towards  the  mountain." 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  road  two  toll-gates 
were  erected,  one  being  at  Middlebrook,  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  east  of  the  residence  of  John 
Herbert.  The  keepers  were  John  Van  Nostrand, 
David  T.  Talmage,  William  Tucker,  Jacob  White- 
head, and  Andrew  H.  Naylor.  The  other  gate  was 
near  North  Branch. 

The  road  was  continued  for  many  years,  but  its 
affairs  were  not  prosperous.  The  indebtedness  of  the 
company  had  not  been  extinguished  nor  any  dividend 
paid  to  its  stockholders  until  1841,  or  later, — over 
thirty  years  after  it  was  opened.  The  collection  of 
toll  was  finally  abaiidoned,  and  March  30,  1869,  all 
the  rights,  titles,  and  interests  in  that  part  of  the  road 
through  the  townships  of  Bridgewater  and  Franklin 
were  conveyed  to  those  townships. 

EARLY   BRIDGES. 

The  first  bridge  of  any  importance  within  the 
limits  of  the  county  of  Somerset  was  that  on  the 
North  Branch  of  the  Raritan,  a  little  north  of  thfe 
junction,  where  crossed  by  the  "  Road  up  Raritan." 

The  first  item  concerning  bridges  is  in  the  old  book 
of  record  of  roads  in  Somerset  County,  page  1,  and 
is  found  in  a  record  of  a  road  established  Feb.  25, 
1733.     This  passage  occurs : 

"  Bunning  threu  ye  middle  of  said  Millstone,  down  said  river  under 
ye  bridges  untill  it  goes  down  to  ye  mouth  of  said  Millstone  Eiver." 

This  is  a  curious  statement,  but  is  probably  the 
road  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  Numerous  bridges 
are  mentioned  in  this  old  record. 

In  1728*  an  act  passed  the  Assembly  as  follows : 

"  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  as  soon  as  may 
be  convenient  after  the  publication  of  this  act  there  shall  be  a  bridge 
built  over  the  Bound  Brook  in  the  most  commodious  place  on  the  north- 

•  Acts  of  General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey  from  1703-76,  p.  168, 
Nevill. 


578 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


east  side  of  the  road,  aa  it  lies  from  Piscataway,  in  tiie  county  of  Middle- 
sex, up  Raritan  River ;  which  bridge  shall  be  built,  rebuilt,  and  amended 
at  the  equal  expense  of  the  county  of  Middlesex  aforesaid  and  the  two 
upper  precincts  of  the  count)'  of  Somerset." 

The  bridge  was  not  built  until  after  1731,  for  in 
tbat  year  an  act  was  passed  supplementary  to  the  act 
of  1728,  reciting  that  difficulty  of  some  kind  had 
arisen,  and  providing  pains  and  penalties  for  all  per- 
sons who  refuse  to  perform  the  duty  enjoined  upon 
them. 

In  1762*  an  act  passed  the  General  Assembly  "  to 
empower  the  managers  of  the  Bound  Brook  bridge, 
in  the  county  of  Somerset,  to  raise  by  lottery  a  sum 
of  money  for  rebuilding  and  completing  the  said 
bridge."  In  1771t  an  act  was  passed  to  empower 
certain  persons  therein  named  to  raise  a  sum  ot 
money  by  subscription  or  taxation  to  rebuild  and 
keep  in  repair  the  bridge  over  Raritan  River  near 
Bound  Brook,  known  by  the  name  of  Queen's  Bridge. 
May  12,  1773,  at  a  meeting  of  the  justices  and  free- 
holders of  the  county  of  Somerset,  "  Jeremiah  Field, 
one  of  the  managers  of  Queen's  Bridge  over  Raritan, 
brought  in  an  account  of  £349  17s.  Id.,  light  money, 
due  to  the  managers  of  said  bridge  for  the  work  done. 
The  account  was  rejected  by  the  whole  board,  except 
Peter  Perrine,  Esq."  Two  years  later  (1775)  an  act 
passed  the  Assembly  of  the  StateJ  "  for  raising  the 
sum  of  £357  14s.  lid.,  proclamation  money,  on  the 
inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Somerset  County,  for 
repaying  certain  persons  therein  named  the  money 
they  have  advanced  in  rebuilding  Queen's  Bridge." 

When  the  bridge  at  Raritan  Landing  was  first  built 
is  not  defi.nitely  known.  In  1772  there  was  an  act 
passed  by  the  General  Assembly  "  for  raising  the 
sum  of  £450,  proclamation  money,  on  the  inhabitants 
of  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex,  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  completing  the  bridge  over  Raritan  River 
at  the  landing,"^  and  May  13th  of  the  same  year,  at 
a  meeting  of  the  justices  and  freeholders  of  Somerset 
County,  it  was  voted  "  that  Hillsborough  shall  pay 
£10  proc,  Bridgewater  £13  proc,  and  Bedminster 
to  pay  £7  proc.  towards  repairing  the  Raritan  bridge ; 
and  it  is  voted  that  Capt.  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck  and 
Matthias  Ten  Eyck  and  Col.  McDonald  be  appointed 
managers  of  the  same."  May  12,  1773,  Jacques 
Voorhees,  Alexander  McEver,  and  Capt.  Coonrad 
Ten  Eyck  were  appointed  a  committee,  by  the  board 
of  justices  and  freeholders  of  the  county  of  Somerset, 
to  inspect  the  accounts  of  the  managers  of  the  Raritan 
Landing  bridge.  This  committee  reported  in  De- 
cember, 1774,  that  the  accounts  were  examined  and 
were  as  follows :  "  Matthew  Ten  Eyck,  £289  5s.  bd., 
proc. ;  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck,  £177  7s.  IM.,  proc."  The 
accounts  were  allowed,  and  the  board  then  allowed 
Jacques  Voorhees  "  12s.  &d.,  proc,"  interest  for  money 
advanced  towards  building  Raritan  bridge,  Matthew 


*  Colonial  Laws  of  New  Jereey,  1703-76,  p.  24. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  46. 
X  Ibid.,  p.  21. 
g  Ibid.,  p.  65. 


Ten  Eyck  six  pounds  for  extraordinary  trouble  in 
paying  out  the  money  to  the  workmen  at  Raritan 
bridge,  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck  four  pounds  five  shillings 
and  seven  pence  for  like  services.  Orders  were  given 
for  these  amounts. 

"  The  board  ordered  the  thanks  of  the  board  to  Matthew  Ten  Eyck  and 
Coonrad  Ten  Eyck  for  their  good  management  in  building  the  bridge 
over  the  Baritan  ;  which  was  given  accordingly." 

In  the  same  year  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Assem- 
bly "  to  raise  the  sum  of  £122  14s.  Zd.,  proc,  on  the 
inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Middlesex  and  Somer- 
set, to  be  paid  by  the  several  collectors  of  the  town- 
ships to  John  Duykink  and  Charles  Sudam  in  full  of 
their  account  for  building  and  completing  the  bridge 
over  the  Raritan  River  at  the  Landing." 

May  31,  1774,  the  surveyors  of  the  highways  of  the 
county  of  Somerset  were  called  to  view  the  bridge 
over  the  Raritan  at  Van  Veghten's.  They  agreed  to 
build  stone  pillars  and  replace  old  timbers  with  new 
ones.  Matthew  and  Coonrad  Ten  Eyck  were  appointed 
managers,  and  five  hundred  pounds  was  ordered  to  be 
raised  for  the  work.||  Aug.  28,  1777,  the  justices  and 
freeholders  were  called  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Elias 
Van  Derveer  to  examine  the  bridge  over  the  North 
Branch,  and  ordered  that  a  new  one  be  built  where 
the  former  stood ;  Gisbert  Sutfin  and  Elias  Van  Der- 
veer were  to  be  the  managers.  July  29,  1779,  the 
board  of  justices  and  freeholders  ordered  a  bridge 
built  over  the  river  at  Abraham  Van  Nest's  mills,  at 
the  expense  of  the  county,  and  the  sum  of  twelve 
hundred  pounds  was  allowed  for  building  the  same. 

May  10,  1797,  the  following  persons  were  chosen  by 
the  board  of  justices  and  freeholders  as  managers  oi 
the  several  bridges  named  for  the  ensuing  year : 

Abraham  Nevius  for  the  Landing  bridge ;  Joseph  Black,  Bound  Brook  ; 
George  McDonald,  Middle  Brook  ;  George  Van  Neste,  Baritan  ;  Israel 
Harris,  Harris ;  Peter  Probasco,  Millstone ;  Arch'd  Mercer,  Mercer's ; 
John  Baird,  Griggstown  ;  "Frederick  Cruser,  Rocky  Hill ;  Henry  H. 
Schonck,  New  Shannick ;  Abraham  Ten  Eyck,  North  and  South 
Branch;  Andrew  S.  Ten  Eyck,  North  Branch;  Isaac  Van  Doren, 
Bromley ;  Joseph  Annin,  McDonald's  and  Van  Derveer ;  Jacob  Van 
Doren,  Armstrong ;  Samuel  Johnson,  Sharp's ;  Col.  Rickey,  Rickey's, 
and  White's;  Peter  Davison,  Davison's;  David  Ayres,  Doty's  Mill; 
David  Smalley,  Luddle's. 

A  list  of  the  bridges  in  Somerset  County  in  1805, 
taken  from  the  record  of  freeholders  of  that  year,  is 
given  below : 

Baritan,  Lythoff's,  Swau's,  Sharp's,  Davison's,  Alward's,  Bayard's,  Two 
leading  to  fall-mill  over  Green  Brook,  Third  over  Indian  Grave 
Creek,  Miller's,  Annin's,  Baird's,  Townsley,  Dumont's,  Bock  Brook, 
Browsetown,  Manning's,  Landing  and  Mile  Run,  Cuckold's  and  Mid- 
dle Brook,  Millstone  and  Peace  Brook,  Griggstown,  Eocky  Hill, 
Shannick,  Bush,  North  Branch,  Bromley,  McDonald's,  Van  Derveer's, 
Rickey's,  Dotey's,  Little's,  Phillips',  Kirkpatrick's,  or  Pumpkin  Patch 
Brook,  Bound  Brook,  Dirck's  Brook,  White's,  Arrowsmith's,  Plain- 
field,  Green  Brook,  at  Samuel  and  John  Vail's,  Two  southern  over 
Indian  Grave  Creek,  near  William  Kain's,  Covenhoven's,  Ludlow's, 
Van  Doren'a,  Annin's,  Coryell's,  Goltry's,  Peter's  Brook,  Holland 
Brook,  Blue',  Stites',  Six-Mile  Run,  Widow  Voorhees',  Van  Nord 
wick's. 

II  This  was  the  bridge  over  which  the  troops  passed  that  were  with 
Col.  Simcoe  after  they  had  burned  the  church  and  were  on  their  way  to 
the  court-honse.  Wnahington  crossed  this  bridge  with  his  army  after  the 
battle  of  Princeton,  Jan.  3, 1777. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


579 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

THE    BENCH    AND    BAE    OP    SOMERSET 
COTJBTTir. 

The  Bar  of  Somerset  County  eminent  for  Genius,  Learning,  and  Pa- 
triotism— Reminiscences— Names  of  the  Bar  from  1769  to  1860— List 
of  the  Present  Bar— Sketches  of  WiUiam  Paterson,  Peter  D.  Troom, 
Samuel  L.  Southard,  Winiam  L.  Dayton,  John  M.  Mann,  ■William 
GrifBth,  the  Frelinghnysens,  Juddges  Kirkpatrick,  Nevins,  etc. ;  and 
Hugh  M.  Gaston,  Alvah  A.  Clark,  John  Sohomp,  and  many  others  of 
the  Present  Bar  of  the  County. 

Somerset  County  is  justly  entitled  to  a  large 
share  of  the  honor  which  has  mantled  the  bar  of  this 
State.  Judge  Bushrod  Washington  often  remarked 
that  the  bar  of  New  Jersey  was  not  excelled  in  elo- 
quence or  learning  by  any  in  the  Union.  This  enco- 
mium is  equally  true  of  its  bench,  and,  among  the 
honored  personages  embraced  in  both  bench  and  bar, 
very  many  of  the  most  eminent  in  the  profession 
have  been  residents  of  or  born  in  Somerset  County. 
This  is  high  praise,  but  merited.  What  a  brilliant 
constellation  of  genius,  learning,  and  patriotism  is 
presented  by  the  names  of  William  Paterson,  Peter  D. 
Vroom,  and  Samuel  L.  Southard,  lawyers  and  gov- 
ernors! what  a  bright  galaxy  of  judicial  merit  is 
brought  to  mind  by  the  names  of  Judges  William 
Griffith,  Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  George  H.  Brown, 
John  M.  Berrien,  James  S.  Nevius,  Isaac  N.  Black- 
ford, and  many  others !  And  of  equal  lustre  is  the 
array  of  legal  talent  which  shines  with  the  names 
and  memories  of  Richard  Stockton,  Henry  Southard, 
Frederick  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Abraham  O. 
Zabriskie,  and  a  host  of  such.  The  list  is  too  full  for 
any  extended  mention. 

To  the  able  papers  of  the  late  Ralph  Voorhees  we 
are  indebted  for  the  following  reminiscences : 

"  A  half-century  ago  the  oflBcers  of  the  court  were,  as  I  remember, 
Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  Chief  Justice;  Samuel  Swan,  Clerk;  John  Freling- 
huysen, Surrogate  ;  Martin  Sohenck,  Sheriff;  and  the  lawyers  of  Somer- 
set, Jacob  E.  Hardenbergh,  George  McDonald,  Eichai-d  Stockton,  Joseph 
W.  Scott,  Samuel  L.  Southard,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Theodore,  John,  and 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  and  Thomas  A.  Hartwell. 

"  At  one  of  the  terms  of  the  court.  Southard,  after  having  put  forth 
all  his  ability  and  skill  to  convict  a  man  for  horse-stealing, — a  part  of 
the  sentence  for  which  was  thirty-nine  lashes  at  the  whipping-post, — 
made,  immediately  after  the  pronouncing  of  that  sentence  by  the  court, 
a  most  powerful  appeal  in  behalf  of  the  convict  for  the  commutation  of 
the  whipping.  He  urged  that,  from  the  manly  appearance  of  the  pris- 
oner, the  public  exhibition  would  only  produce  an  unfavorable  effect  in 
the  community.    His  appeal  was  granted. 

"  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  used  to  relate  that  when  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  law  he  was  employed  to  conduct  a  case  on  the  mountains  in 
Wan  en  township,  where  he  came  into  contact  with  a  shrewd  pettifogger 
who  was  in  good  practice  there.  As  Frelinghuysen  had  yet  a  reputation 
to  establish,  he  thought  it  might  be  to  his  advantage  to  make  a  display 
of  his  learning,  and  attempted  it  in  his  argument.  After  closing,  the 
mountaineer  arose,  and  commenced  his  speech  as  follows  :  '  Gentlemen 
of  the  jury,  the  opposite  counsel  has  been  soaring  aloft  above  the  clouds 
as  though  he  were  in  search  of  eagles ;  but,  gentlemen,  I  intend  to  lay 
low  for  black  ducks.'  Frelinghuysen  said  he  there  learned  a  useful  les- 
son, which  was  to  '  lie  low'  in  an  argument  rather  than  soar  too  high." 

Prefatory  to  the  personal  sketches  herewith  pre- 
sented, it  may  be  remarked  that  a  full  list  of  the 
judges  and  justices  of  the  county  will  be  found  in 
the  chapter  on  the  Civil  List  of  Somerset  County, 
making  their  enumeration  here  a  needless  repetition. 


The  honored  names  of  the  Somerset  County  bar  down 
to  1860  are  herewith  given,  together  with  the  dates 
of  their  admission  as  attorneys- at-law : 

1769,— *William  Paterson. 

1784.— *Eichard  Stockton. 

1785.— *Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  *Andrew  Kirkpatrick. 

1788.— *William  Griffith. 

1791.— *Lucius  H.  Stockton. 

1792.— *George  McDonald. 

1797. — "'John  Frelinghuysen. 

1801  .—* Joseph  W.  Scott.t 

1805.— *Jacob  E.  Hardenbergh. 

1808.— *Theodore  Frelinghuysen. 

1810.— *Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  *Iaaac  Blackford.-)- 

1811.— *Samuel  L.  Southard. 

1813.— *Peter  D.  Vroom,  Jr. 

1816.— *Thomas  A.  Hartwell. 

1817.— *WilIiam  B.  Griffith,  *Jame3  S.  Green. 

1819.— *  James  S.  NeTius.t 

1821.— *John  Henry. 

1822.— Andrew  Miller.t 

1823.— «Samuel  J.  Bayard. 

18-24.— 'SJohn  M.  Mann,  «William  Thomson. 

1828.— *  Abraham  0.  Zabriskie.-|- 

1829.— *  Joseph  A.  Gaston,  *Peter  Vredenburg. 

1830.— *William  H.  Lenpp.f  "Wilham  L.  Dayton. 

1836. — *George  H.  Brown,  Theodore  Frelinghuysen. 

1836.— « John  Van  Dyke,  Garret  S.  Cannon.f 

1838. — Dumont  Frelinghuysen. 

1839.— Farrington  Barcalow.f  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen,!  John  F. 

Hageman.^ 
1840.— Hugh  M.  Gaston. 

1841. — Frederick  J.  Frelinghuysen,  William  K.  McDonald. 
1844. — John  V.  Voorhees,  *Samuel  S.  Hartwell,  Stephen  B.  Sansom,t 

Eobert  Voorhees. 
1847.— »Isaiah  N.  Dilts. 
1849.— Ashbel  Green.? 
1861.— Peter  L.  Voorhees.f 
1853.— *John  Hartwell,  Eobert  S.  Green.f 
1854.— Bnos  W.  Bunyon.f 
1869.— Frederick  Voorhees.f 

THE  PRESENT  BAR  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 
The  following  is  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  living 
members  of  the  bar  of  this  county,  with  the  dates  of 
their  admission  to  practice  as  attorneys : 

Anderson,  William  W,  (Somerville),  1877. 
Bartine,  John  D.||  (Somerville),  1866. 
Bell,  George  L.  (Somerville),  1876. 
Bergen,  James  J. If  (Somerville),  1868. 
Clark,  Alvah  A.  (Somerville),  1863. 
Davie,  J.  Winnardf  (Somerville),  1871. 
Freeh,  John  A.  (Somerville),  1880. 
Frelinghuysen,  Dumont  (Somerville),  1838. 
Frelinghuysen,  Frederick  J.  (Somerville),  1841. 
Frelinghuysen,  Theodore  (Earitan),  1836. 
Gaston,  Hugh  M.f  (Somerville),  1840. 
Gaston,  Hugh  K.  (Somerville),  1880. 
Griggs,  James  L.||  (Somerville),  1877. 
Honeyman,  A.  V.  D.  (Somei-ville),  1871. 
Lindabury,  R.  V.  (Bound  Brook),  1874. 
Long,  William  H.  (Somerville),  1870. 
Pace,  George  E.  (East  Millstone),  1875. 
Phillips,  S.  S.  (Bound  Brook),  1877. 
Sanborn,  William  0.  (Somerville),  1876. 
Scbomp,  John  (Somerville),  1866. 
Steele,  William  V.  (Somerville),  1878. 
Sutphen,  David  M.**  (Earilan),  1876. 
Voorhees,  J.  Vred.  (Somerville),  1844. 


*  Deceased,    f  Eemoved  from  the  county.    |  Retired  from  practice, 
g  Located  at  Princeton,  not  now  in  this  county. 
I  Firm  of  Bartine  &  Griggs.  f  ^'i™  "f  Gaston  &  Bergen. 

■*•  Accidentally  killed  In  February,  1881. 


580 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


William  Paterson,  the  eminent  lawyer,  jurist, 
and  statesman,  was  born  in  Ireland  about  1745.  When 
but  two  years  old  he  came,  with  his  father  and  family, 
to  America,  locating  first  at  Trenton,  and  finally  at 
Raritan  (Somerville),  where  his  father  died  in  1781. 
William  was  graduated  from  the  College  of  New  Jer- 
sey in  1763,  studied  law  with  the  elder  Richard  Stock- 
ton, and  in  1769  was  licensed  as  an  attorney-at-law. 
He  commenced  practice  at  a  place  then  called  New 
Bromley,  in  Hunterdon  County*  (now  Lane's  Mills), 
but  subsequently  removed  to  Princeton  and  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits.  In  1775  he  was  a  delegate  in 
the  Provincial  Congress  and  secretary  at  both  its  ses- 
sions, and  of  the  Congress  which  met  at  Burlington 
in  1776.  Under  the  State  government  (1776)  he  was 
the  first  attorney-general, — a  position  as  dilficult  and 
dangerous  as  honorable ;  for,  being  obliged  to  attend 
court  in  the  different  counties,  he  was  liable  to  capture 
at  any  time  by  the  British,  who  had  then  invaded  the 
State.  He  was  at  the  same  time  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council.  In  1780  he  declined  the  nomination  to 
the  Continental  Congress.  In  1783,  when  peace  was 
declared,  he  resumed  his  legal  practice  and  removed  to 
New  Brunswick.  A  member  of  the  convention  which 
met  in  Philadelphia  in  1787,  he  was  one  of  those 
chosen  to  frame  the  Federal  Constitution.  Two  plans 
were  presented  to  that  body, — by  Edmund  Randolph, 
of  Virginia,  and  Mr.  Paterson,  respectively,  the 
larger  States  favoring  the  former,  the  smaller  States 
the  latter.  A  compromise  was  effected  by  which  a 
general  government  was  formed,  partly  federal,  partly 
national.  After  the  Constitution  was  ratified,  Mr. 
Paterson  was  chosen  by  the  Legislature  (with  Jona- 
than Elmer)  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  that 
body,  in  1790,  made  him  the  successor  of  Governor 
Livingston ;  at  the  end  of  his  term  he  was  re-elected 
Governor.  His  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the 
State  was  a  most  happy  and  successful  one.  After 
retiring  from  the  gubernatorial  chair  he  was  for  six 
years  engaged  in  codifying  all  the  statutes  of  Great 
Britain  which,  prior  to  the  Revolution,  were  in  force 
in  the  colony  of  New  Jersey,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
State  Legislature  up  to  that  present  time.  In  1793, 
President  Washington  nominated  him  an  associate 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, — 
an  office  he  held  until  his  death.  His  volume  of  re- 
vised laws  is  "  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  perfect 
system  of  statute  law  produced  in  any  State  of  the 
Union.  He  also  greatly  improved  the  practice  of  the 
Court  of  Chancery."  While  upon  the  Supreme  bench 
many  important  trials  occurred, — among  them  those 
of  the  persons  implicated  in  the  "Whisky  Insurrec- 
tion" of  Western  Pennsylvania  and  of  Lyon  for  vio- 
lation of  the  sedition  law.  (For  his  opinions  as  Su- 
preme Court  judge,  see  Dallas'  and  Cranch's  Reports.) 
"  His  last  official  act  was  to  preside  in  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  United  States  at  New  York,  in  April, 

*  See  sketch  by  Rev.  Dr.  Messier  in  Historical  Magazine^  1879. 


1806,  on  the  trials  of  Ogden  and  Smith  for  violation 
of  the  neutrality  laws  in  aiding  Miranda  to  revolu- 
tionize some  of  the  South  American  states.  From 
this  time  his  health  began  visibly  to  decline,  and  he 
withdrew  from  all  active  official  duties.  He  was  an 
able  statesman,  an  upright  judge,  and  a  disinterested 
friend  of  his  country."  He  was  a  Presbyterian,  and 
was  trustee  of  Princeton  College  from  1787  to  1802. 
He  was  twice  married  (first  in  1779),  and  left  a  son 
and  daughter,  children  by  his  first  wife.  Governor 
Throop,  of  Georgia,  and  Aaron  Burr  were  both  law 
students  of  Judge  Paterson  at  Raritan.  He  died  in 
New  Brunswick,  Sept.  9,  1806.  "His  name  is  per- 
petuated by  the  thriving  manufacturing  city  near  the 
falls  of  the  Passaic"! 

It  was  of  Governor  Paterson  that  Moses  Guest — 
New  Brunswick's  earliest  poet — wrote  (July  4,  1791), 
on  seeing  the  Governor  in  his  barge,  which  was  ele- 
gantly decorated  with  laurel  and  flowers  and  rowed 
by  twelve  men,  dressed  in  white : 

"  On  Saritan's  sniootli-gliding  stream  we  view — 
With  pleasure  view — the  man  whom  we  admire, 
On  this  auspicious  day  with  laurel  crowned. 
How  gracefully  the  honored  barge  moves  on  1 
See  Neptune's  sons,  all  clad  in  white, 
Timing  their  oars  to  the  melodious  flutes  1  .  .  . 

Not  Cleopatra's  barge, 
When  she,  full-armed  with  each  bewitching  charm, 
A  tyrant  bound  in  the  sweet  chains  of  love. 
More  elegant  or  pleasing  could  appear. 
Nor  did  contain  a  jewel  of  such  worth. 
Not  freighted  with  a  proud,  intriguing  queen. 
She  nobly  bears  New  Jersey's  favorite  son. 
Our  guardian  chief,  our  friend,  a  Patehson  !" 

Justice  is  only  fairly  beginning  to  be  awarded 
Judge  Paterson  as  a  great  jurist  and  statesman,  the 
truest  portraiture  of  his  character  having  been  just 
delivered  (August,  1880)  before  the  American  Baa- 
Association  by  the  leader  of  the  New  Jersey  bar, 
Hon.  Cortlandt  Parker. 

RiCHAED  Stockton,  who  stood  confessedly  at  the 
head  of  the  New  Jersey  bar  during  the  first  quarter 
of  the  present  century,  was  the  son  of  Richard  Stock- 
ton, also  an  accomplished  and  eloquent  lawyer,  a 
Supreme  Court  justice,  and  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  After  'having  been 
graduated  at  Princeton  before  he  was  seventeen  years 
old,  Richard,  Jr.,  commenced  the  study  of  law  with 
his  uncle,  Elisha  Boudinot.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  as  an  attorney  in  1784,  when  only  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  afterwards  as  a  counselor,  and  in  1792 
was  made  a  sergeant-at-law,  along  with  Richard 
Howell,  Samuel  Leake,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen, 
Aaron  Ogden,  and  Joseph  Reed.  He  took  up  his 
residence  on  the  paternal  estate  at  Princeton,  in  Som- 
erset County,  where  he  resided  during  life.  In  1796 
he  was  chosen  to  a  vacancy  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, and  was  a  member  of  that  body  until  1799.  He 
was  again  elected  to  Congress  in  1813.  But,  being  a 
decided  Federalist,  and  that  party  being  in  the  mi- 

f  Elmer's  *'  Reminiscences  of  New  Jersey,"  etc. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OP  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


581 


nority  in  this  State  after  1800,  he  shared  their  fate  in 
being  excluded  from  official  position.    He  was  one  of 
the  trustees  of  Princeton  College  from  1791.    The 
honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
Eutgers  and  Union  Colleges.    Mr.  Stockton  was  a 
man  of  the  most  imposing  personal  appearance  and 
captivating  address.     Among  the  junior  members  of 
the  bar  he  was  generally  spoken  of  as  "  the  old  duke." 
An  examination  of  the  Supreme  Court  reports  will 
show  that  from  the  time  they  commence  until  his 
death  no  lawyer — except,  perhaps,  Mr.  Leake — was 
more  generally  employed.     His  manner  of  speaking 
was  usually  dignified  and  unimpassioned,  but  he  was 
capable  of  splendid  declamation  and  the  most  crush- 
ing sarcasm  and  scorn ;  and  when  provoked  he  some- 
times indulged  in  them.     During  his  time  he  was 
almost  the  only  lawyer  of  the  State  who  argued  causes 
before  the  Supreme  Court  at  "Washington,  and  these 
were  cases  not  originating  in  New  Jersey.   When  Mr. 
Webster  took  occasion  to  speak  of  lawyers  of  eminent 
talents,  in  answer  to  a  fling  of  Mr.  Binney,  in  his 
argument  of  the   Girard  will   case,  he   enumerated 
among  them  Mr.  Stockton.     But  he  is  no  exception 
to   the   remark  of  Mr.  Duponceau, — that  "lawyers 
leave  nothing  behind  but  the  echo  of  a  name;"  there 
are  few  remains  of  his  learning   or  his  eloquence. 
The  argument  in  favor  of  the  New  Jersey  claims  to 
the  waters  of  the  Hudson  is  the  only  document  in 
print  from  his  pen.      Of  his  eloquent  addresses  to 
juries,  which  were  often  considered  almost  unequaled, 
there  are  no  reports.* 

"Once,  at  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court,"  says 
Judge  Elmer,  "I  heard  him  address  Chief  Justice 
Kirkpatrick  in  language  and  with  a  manner  no  one 
else  at  the  bar  would  have  dared  to  imitate.  He 
did  not  like  the  chief  justice  very  much,  partly  be- 
cause he  regarded  him  as  a  deserter  from  the  Federal 
party, — an  offense  not  easy  for  him  to  forgive.  When, 
in  the  case  of  Gibbons  vs.  Ogden,  the  chief  justice 
read  his  opinion,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  thought 
the  law  was  with  the  defendant,  but  concluded  by 
saying,  '  Yet,  from  a  real  diffidence  in  my  own  judg- 
ment upon  this  question,  especially  when  set  in  oppo- 
sition to  that  of  the  chancellor,  and  from  a  full  per- 
suasion that  it  will  be  better  for  both  parties  to  let  the 
judgment  be  entered  for  the  plaintiff  here  and  the 
case  be  carried  up  by  appeal,  ...  I  have  thought  it 
best,  upon  the  whole,  to  say  the  demurrer  to  the  plain- 
tiff's declaration  must  be  overruled,'— Mr.  Stockton 
immediately  arose  and  asked  the  court,  with  an  air 
not  a  little  sarcastic,  whether,  as  it  appeared  a  major- 
ity of  that  court  was  in  favor  of  his  client,  he  should 
enter  the  judgment  in  accordance  with  that  opinion 
or  in  accordance  with  the  opinion  of  the  judge  of 
another  court.  To  this  the  chief  justice  of  course 
replied  that  he  had  stated  very  plainly  what  judgment 
was  to  be  entered." 

*  "  The  Conrtitution  and  QoYemment  of  Now  Jersey,"  Elmer,  pp.  409, 


Since  his  death,  in  1828,  no  other  member  of  the 
bar  has  quite  held  the  position  that  did  Richard 
Stockton.  The  late  Commodore  Robert  F.  Stockton 
was  his  son. 

Petee  D.  Veoom  was  born  in  Hillsborough  town- 
ship, Somerset  Co.,  near  the  junction  of  the  two  main 
branches  of  the  Earitan  River,  Dec.  12, 1791.  The 
old  house,  his  birthplace,  is  still  standing.  He  was 
the  son  of  Col.  Peter  D.  Vroom,  of  Somerville,  who 
served  throughout  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  at 
its  close  held  the  rank  of  a  lieutenant-colonel ;  he  also 
held  various  county  offices,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Assembly  and  Council.  He  lived  to  see  his 
son  Governor  of  the  State,  and  died,  full  of  years  and 
honor,  in  1831.  His  son,  Peter  D.,  first  attended 
school  at  the  "  Old  Red  School-house ;"  after  leaving 
the  Somerville  academy  he  became  a  student  of  Co- 
lumbia College,  graduating  therefrom  in  1808.  He 
read  law  with  George  McDonald,  of  Somerville ;  was 
licensed  as  attorney  in  1813,  as  counselor  in  1816,  and 
was  a  sergeant  in  1828.t  He  commenced  the  practice 
of  law  at  Schooley's  Mountain,  N.  J.,  continued  it  at 
Hackettstown,  and  two  years  later  moved  his  office  to 
Flemington,  but  in  1819  he  established  himself  at 
Somerville,  which  was  his  residence  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  He  occupied  for  years  the  house  built 
by  George  McDonald,  opposite  the  hotel  of  Mr.  Fritta. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Peter  B.  Dumont,t  May  21, 
1817. 

He   was   a   member  of  Assembly   from  Somerset 
County  1826-29,  and  the  latter  year  was  elected  Gov- 
ernor, which  office  he  held  by  successive  re-elections 
(excepting  in  1832,  when  he  was  defeated  by  Mr. 
Southard)  until  1836,  when  impaired  health  caused 
him  to  decline  renomination.     He  was  also  ex-offioio 
chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey.     He  then  re- 
sumed his  legal  practice  in  Somerville.    In  1838  he 
was  elected  to   Congress,  but  failed  to  receive  the 
Governor's  commission.     Then   ensued   a  long  and 
bitter   contest,   known  as  the   "Broad  Seal  War," 
which  ended  in  his  installment.     After  his  congres- 
sional term  he  made  Trenton  his  home,  and  Nov.  4, 
1840,   married  Maria  Matilda,   a  daughter  of  Gen. 
Wall,  his  first  wife  being  deceased.     In  1844  he  was 
a   member  of  the   State   Constitutional   Convention 
from  Somerset  County,— although  not  a  resident  of 
the  county,— and  labored   conspicuously  throughout 
the  work  of  revision.     In  1848,  associated  with  Wil- 
liam  L.   Dayton,  Stacy  G.  Potts,   and  Henry  W. 
Green,  he  labored  to  bring  the  statutes  into  conform- 
ity with  the  new  constitution.     He  was  subsequently 
nominated  to,  but  declined,  the  chief  justiceship,  but 
in  1853  accepted  the  mission  to  the  court  of  Prussia, 
residing  at  Berlin  until  1857.     He  was  a  Presidential 
elector  upon  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1860,  1864,  and 
1868,  and  to  the  close  of  his  life  was  an  ardent  and 
active  partisan  of  that  party.     His  religious  faith  was 

f  Appendix  to  Smith's  "Bules  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  N.  J.,"  1868. 
J  Her  sister  was  the  wife  of  Frederick  Frelinghuysen. 


582 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


that  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  in  which  he 
was  an  elder,  and  of  which  he  was  a  member  over 
fifty  years ;  he  was  also  interested  in  and  an  officer  of 
the  American  Colonization  and  Bible  Societies.  The 
degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey  in  1850.  "  Possessing  a  vigorous 
constitution  and  iron  frame,  he  continued  to  prosecute 
his  profession  with  undiminished  powers  till  within  a 
very  short  period  of  his  death,  which  occurred  Nov. 
18, 1874."*  He  was  an  able  lawyer,  and  his  decisions 
in  the  Court  of  Chancery  stand,  for  the  most  part, 
unquestioned  to  the  present  day.f 

Samuel  L.  Southard,  a  native  of  Basking  Ridge, 
Somerset  Co.  (born  June  7, 1787),  was  the  son  of  Hon. 
Henry  Southard.  From  the  classical  school  of  his 
native  town  he  went  to  Princeton  College,  graduating 
in  1804.  For  five  years  he  was  tutor  in  the  family  of 
Col.  John  Taliaferro,  of  Virginia,  meanwhile  devoting 
his  leisure  hours  to  the  study  of  the  law  under  the  pre- 
ceptorship  of  Judges  Green  and  Brooks,  of  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1809,  and 
in  1811  returned  to  his  native  State,  settling  at  Flem- 
ington.  At  the  May  term,  1814,  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State  he  was  admitted,  along  with  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen,  as  a  counselor.  February  9th  of  the 
same  year,  and  again  Nov.  6,  1817,  he  was  appointed 
law  reporter,  and  in  1820  became  a  sergeant-at-law. 
He  soon  attained  high  rank  at  the  bar.  His  first 
public  position  was  that  of  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Hunterdon  County.  In  1815  he  was  elected  to  the 
General  Assembly,  but  soon  after  was  chosen  an  as- 
sociate justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  (Oct.  31,  1815), J 
to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  election  of  Mahlon 
Dickerson  as  Governor ;  he  then  removed  to  Trenton. 
Five  years  were  passed  upon  the  bench,  he  being  also 
engaged  in  reporting  the  decisions  of  the  court.  In 
1820  he,  with  Charles  Ewing,  engaged  to  prepare  and 
publish  the  revised  statutes  of  the  State,  and  as  a 
member  of  the  electoral  college  of  New  Jersey  cast 
his  vote  for  his  warm  personal  friend,  James  Monroe. 
The  following  year  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  and  resigned  his  judgeship.  Taking  his  seat 
in  February,  1821,^  during  the  intense  political  ex- 


*  Biog.  Encyc.  of  New  Jersey,  pp.  7-9. 

f  John  Veoom,  son  of  the  foregoing,  was  "  perhaps  one  of  the  finest- 
educated  young  lawyers  at  the  bar  of  the  State.  After  a  full  course  at 
Rutgers  he  studied  law  in  his  father's  office,  and  received  license  a  few 
months  before  the  elder  Vroom's  appointment  to  the  Berlin  mission.  He 
went  with  him  there,  and  during  the  first  winter  attended  a  course  of 
lectures  on  law  and  philosophy  at  the  celebrated  university  in  that  city. 
During  the  next  summer  he  traveled  extensively,  and  mostly  on  foot, 
through  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  then  spent  a  winter  in  Paris, 
and  made  himself  master  of  the  French  language.  With  these  advan- 
tages he  returned  home  to  commence  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Jersey  City.  He  had  already  gained  a  prominent  place  at  the  bar  when 
death  cut  off  suddenly  all  the  brilliant  promises  of  the  future.  He  died, 
Bitting  in  his  father's  office,  in  Trenton,  May  27, 1865." — Memorial  Ber- 
■mon  by  Bev.  Abr.  Meseler,  B.D.,  1874,  pp.  22,  23. 

X  Appendix  to  "  Rules  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey,"  Smith 
1868,  p.  43. 

•  g  Having  been  selected  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Hon.  James  J. 
Wilson,  resigned,  whose  term  expired  March  3, 1821. 


citement  over  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the 
Union,  upon  the  motion  of  Henry  Clay  for  a  joint 
committee  of  House  and  Senate  to  consider  the  sub- 
ject, Mr.  Southard,  of  the  Senate, — ^then  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  career, — met  his  father,  of  the 
House,  at  that  time  nearing  the  close  of  his  official 
life.  Samuel  L.  Southard  prepared  the  resolutions 
which  afterwards  passed  and  ended  the  struggle,  al- 
though Mr.  Clay  had  the  credit.  ||  He  left  the  Senate 
in  1823  to  accept  the  Cabinet  position  of  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  filling  that  high  station  during  the  admin- 
istrations of  Presidents  Monroe  and  John  Quincy 
Adams,  and  until  1829,  when  he  was  elected  to  the 
attorney-generalship  of  the  State,  vice  Theodore  Fre- 
linghuysen, chosen  to  the  United  States  Senate.  Tren- 
ton again  became  his  residence,  and  there  he  resumed 
his  profession.  In  1832  he  was  chosen  Governor,  and 
soon  after  a  United  States  senator,  and  by  re-election 
in  1838  held  until  1844,  in  1841  being  president  pro 
tern,  of  that  body.  He  took  an  active  part  in  its  pro- 
ceedings, although  his  party  was  in  the  minority  until 

1841.  When  Tyler  succeeded  Harrison  as  President, 
in  April,  1841,  Mr.  Southard  became  presiding  officer 
of  the  Senate,  and  so  continued  during  life,  recognized 
by  all  parties  as  an  impartial  and  able  officer.  In 
politics  he  was  first  a  Democrat, — an  "  anti- Jackso- 
nian," — and  later  an  adherent  of  the  Whig  organi- 
zation. In  1838  he  became  president  of  the  Morris 
Canal  and  Banking  Company,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence at  Jersey  City.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  in  be- 
lief, although  not  a  constituent  member,  and  an  advo- 
cate of  temperance,  even  to  total  abstinence.  He 
married,  in  1812,  Rebecca  Harrow,  daughter  of  an 
Episcopal  clergyman.  His  death  occurred  at  the 
house  of  his  wife's  brother,  in  Virginia,  June  26, 

1842.  "  As  a  counselor  and  attorney  he  was  regarded 
as  skillful,  and  prepared  his  cases  thoroughly.  As  a 
statesman,  the  high  positions  he  attained  are  sufficient 
proof  of  his  abilities."T[ 

The  most  felicitous  description  of  him  is  contained 
in  a  letter  from  Rev.  J.  W.  Alexander,  D.D.  (for- 
merly pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Trenton), 
to  Dr.  Hall,  after  his  death : 

"  Samuel  L.  Southard  wsB  also  a  member  of  the  congregation  and  a. 
friend  of  all  that  promised  its  good.  More  sprightly  and  versatile  than 
Mr.  Ewing,  he  resembled  a  tropical  tree  of  rapid  growth.  Few  men  ever 
attained  earlier  celebrity  in  New  Jersey.  This  perhaps  tended  to  pro- 
duce a  certain  character  which  showed  itself  in  good-natured  egotism. 
He  wa£  a  man  of  genius  and  eloquence,  and  made  great  impressions  on  & 
first  interview  or  by  a  single  argument.  He  loved  society  and  shone  in 
company.  It  is  not  my  province  to  speak  of  his  great  efforts  at  the  bar; 
he  was  always  named  after  Stockton,  Johnson,  and  Ewing,  and  withi 
Frelinghuysen,  Wood,  Williamson,  and  their  coevals." 

William  Lewis  Dayton  was  a  native  of  Somer- 
set County,  and  was  born  Feb.  17,  1807.  He  was  de- 
scended from  a  long  line  of  distinguished  New  Jersey- 
men.  Jonathan  Dayton,  his  great-grandfather,  was 
an  early  settler  of  Elizabethtown,  and  his  mother's, 
grandfather  built,  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,. 


I  Biog.  Encyc.  of  New  Jersey,  p.  15. 


[  Ibid.,  p.  16. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


583 


the  first  frame  building  erected  at  Basking  Eidge,  in 
this  county.    William's  grand-uncle,  Elias,  was  a 
brigadier-general  during  the  Revolution.    Jonathan 
Dayton,  son  of  Elias,  was  a  member  of  the  conven- 
tion which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution,  Speaker 
of  the  House  in  the  Fourth  Congress,  and  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Senate.    Robert  Dayton,  Wil- 
liam's grandfather,  settled  at  Basking  Ridge  during 
the  war  for  independence,  and  on  his  death  left  the 
farm  to  his  son  Joel,  of  whose  several  sons  William 
L.  was  the  eldest.    He  was  graduated  at  Nassau  Hall 
■  in  1825,  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  in  Hon. 
Peter  D.  Vroom's  office  in  Somerville.    "  Licensed  in 
1830,  he  began  practice  at  Freehold,  where  his  high 
abilities  as  a  lawyer,  his  dignity,  courtesy,  and  moral 
worth,  soon  established  him  in  a  fine  legal  and  social 
position.     From  the  first  he  was  outspoken  in  his 
Whig  sentiments ;  and  when,  in  1836,  the  Whigs  de- 
termined to  earnestly  contest  Monmouth  County, — a 
stronghold  of  Jacksonianism, — he  was  urged  to  lead 
the  ticket  as  candidate  for  the  Legislative  Council. 
He  consented,  and  the  whole  legislative  ticket,  with 
him  at  its  head,  was  elected,  and  after  years  of  defeat 
the  Whigs,  by  a  brilliant  victory,  regained  control  of 
the  State.  The  Legislature  met  in  October,  the  month 
of  the  election,  and  Mr.  Dayton  at  once  took  rank 
among  the  leaders  in  a  body  containing  many  able 
and  distinguished  men.   This  was  the  commencement 
of  a  career  which  identified  him  with  the  history  of 
the  State  and  made  his  name  a  household  word  within 
its  borders."    He  soon  after  removed  to  Trenton, 
which  was  henceforth  his  home.     For  three  years  he 
was  a  judge  upon  the  bench,  and  subsequently  and 
for  years  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate.    He 
was  nominated  for  the  Vice-Presidency  by  the  Re- 
publican National  Convention  in  1856,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  appointed  attorney-general  of  New 
Jersey.    President  Lincoln  in  1861  tendered  him  the 
mission  to  France,  which,  after  some  hesitation,  he 
accepted.    His  eminent  abilities  were  no  less  marked 
in  his  diplomacy  abroad  than  in  his  statesmanship  at 
home.    While  performing  the  duties  of  this  import- 
ant trust  he  died  quite  suddenly,  at  Paris,  Dec.  1, 
1864. 

So  much  has  been  written  and  published  concern- 
ing Senator  Dayton,*  that  only  a  brief  outline  of  his 
life  is  here  given ;  but  the  following  reminiscence  is 
appended,  on  account  of  its  never  having  appeared  in 
print,  and  because  it  shows  the  sterling  patriotism  of 
the  man.  It  is  contributed  by  Jacob  Weart,  Esq.,  a 
native  of  Hunterdon  County,  but  now  a  prominent 
lawyer  of  Jersey  City : 

"  At  the  dinner  given  to  the  Hon.  William  L.  Dayton,  at  Trenton,  on 
April  16, 1861,  before  his  departure  as  minister  to  Prance,  ex-Governor 
Peter  D.  Vroom  responded  to  one  of  the  toasts,  and  in  his  response  ho 
gave  a  sketch  of  the  lives  and  characters  of  the  distinguished  men  who 


*  Judge  Bradley  prepared  a  memorial  and  read  it  before  the  New  Jersey 
Historical  Society,  May  18, 1866  (pnblUhed  in  pamphlet  form,  pp.  60), 
which  embrfices  more  of  detail  than  any  other. 


had  either  been  born  in  or  had  been  residents  of  Mr.  Dayton's  native 
county. 

"  The  Governor's  description  of  these  great  men  delighted  us  all,  and 
at  the  conclusion  of  his  speech,  and  as  the  dinner-party  broke  up,  we  all 
concluded  that  Somerset  had  furnished  about  all  the  great  men  of  the 
State,  and  that  to  have  been  born  out  of  Somerset  County  did  not  entitle 
one  to  rank  among  our  great  men.  But  then  Governor  Vroom  threw  a 
charm  around  these  men,  and  characterized  them  so  high  and  lofty  that 
but  few  could  hope  to  reach  the  eminence  he  pictured  them  as  having 
attained,  I  well  remember  his  sketches  of  Mr.  Berrien  and  Mr.  Black- 
ford. 

"  This  dinner  was  given  immediately  after  Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired 
upon,  and  it  was  upon  this  occasion  that  Judge  Dayton  dropped  these 
memorable  words,  which  fell  like  sparks  into  a  powder-magazine : 

"  '  Gentlemen,  I  feel  that  this  is  not  the  place  for  American  patriots 
around  this  festive  board  to-day.  I  feel  ashamed  to  be  at  this  hour  en- 
gaged in  social  festivities.  I  feel  that  we  should  all  be  rallying  around 
the  flag  of  our  country,  and  that  we  should  bring  our  festivities  to  aa 
epeedy  a  close  as  possjbh.^ " 

Andrew  Kiekpatrick,  lawyer   and  jurist,  and 
chief  justice  of  New  Jersey  from  1803  to  1824,  was  a 
native  of  Somerset,  and  born  at  Mine  Brook,  Feb.  17, 
1756,  of  Scotch  ancestry.     He  was  the  third  son  of 
David  Kirkpatrick  and   Mary   McEwen.      He   was 
graduated  at  Princeton  College  in  1775,  and  com- 
menced the  study  of  divinity  at  Basking  Ridge  with 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kennedy,  a  distinguished  theologian ; 
but  shortly  after,  much  to  his  father's  chagrin,  it  is 
said,  abandoned  the  idea  of  entering  the  ministry  and 
determined  to  take  up  the  study  of  the  law.     He  left 
home  to  prepare  the  way  and  earn  the  means  which 
should  enable  him  to  realize  his  aspirations.     He  was 
a  tutor  in  the  family  of  a  Virginia  planter, — Col. 
Taliaferro  (the  same  in  which  Samuel  L.  Southard 
subsequently  taught), — and  later  at  Kingston,  N.  Y., 
and  in  the  Rutgers  College  grammar  school,  mean- 
while pursuing  his  legal   studies.      He  afterwards 
entered  the  law-office  of  William  Paterson,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  as  an  attorney  in  September, 
1785,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  having'  been  licensed 
only  a  few  months  prior.     He  located  at  Morristown, 
and  later  at  New  Brunswick,  where  he  died  Jan.  7, 
1831.t     He  became  an  eminent  lawyer,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Assembly  from  Middlesex,  an  associate  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1797,  and  in  1803  was  elected 
chief  justice.    He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council  in  1820.     He  was  twenty-seven  years 
on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  for  twenty- 
one  years  was  chief  justice ;  "  was  noted  for  his  deep 
knowledge  of  the   old  English  common  law,  espe- 
cially in  matters  appertaining  to  real  estate,  and  his 
opinions  are  regarded  as  models  of  deep  learning, 
sound  reasoning,  and  polished  language."    In  1792 
he  married  Jane,  the  beautiful  daughter  of  Col.  John 
Bayard,  of  New  Brunswick.    Judge  Elmer  says,— 

"  He  was  a  very  handsome  man,  with  a  white  head  of  hair,  still  wear- 
ing a  cue,  but  not  requiring  the  powder  with  which,  in  accordance  with 
the  fashion,  he  had  been  accustomed  to  whiten  it  at  an  earlier  day.  He 
hod  a  very  fair  complexion  and  a  remarkably  flue  voice ;  was  a  learned, 
and  in  the  law  of  real  estate  a  profoundly  learned,  lawyer;  a  complete 
master  of  the  abstruse  learning  of  Coke  and  the  black-letter  reporters, 
but  not  well  versed  in  modern  innovations,  which  he  regarded  as  blem- 


f  At  the  time  of  his  decease  Maiy  A.  (Mrs.  Kev.  Dr.  8.  B.  Howe,  of  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.)  was  his  only  surviving  child. 


584 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


ifihes.  Hie  opinions,  as  published  in  Pennington  and  Halsted*E  Beports, 
upon  questions  relating  to  the  law  of  real  estate,  deserve  the  most  care- 
ful study  of  every  lawyer  aspiring  to  understand  this  most  difficult 
branch  of  the  law." 

Many  of  his  judicial  opinions,  such  as  the  decision 
in  Arnold  vs.  Mundy,  are  among  the  most  important 
ever  made  in  the  State. 

William  Griffith  was  a  native  of  Somerset 
County,  being  born  at  Bound  Brook  in  1766,  but  his 
practice  was  for  the  most  part  in  Burlington,  where 
he  married  and  enjoyed  a  deservedly  high  reputation 
as  an  advocate.  He  was  admitted  as  attorney  in 
1788,*  as  counselor  in  1791,  and  as  sergeant  in  1797. t 
He  studied  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Elisha  Boudinot,  at 
Newark, .  where,  associated  with  Gabriel  H.  Ford, 
Alexander  McWhorter,  Eichard  Stockton,  and  a  few 
other  law-students,  he  participated  in  the  mimic 
court  which  they  jointly  founded,  and  which  in  a 
great  measure  served  to  prepare  them  and  others  for 
the  active  duties  of  their  profession.  For  a  time  he 
enjoyed  the  honors  of  a  Circuit  Court  judge,  but  Con- 
gress, in  December,  1801,  repealed  the  act  establish- 
ing the  courts  passed  the  previous  spring.  He  after- 
wards resumed  his  legal  practice ;  was  subsequently 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton  and  woolen 
goods,  but  was  unsuccessful.  At  a  later  date  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  1826  was  ap- 
pointed clerk  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 
He  was  the  author  of  several  legal  works  (for  mention 
of  which  see  chapter  on  "Somerset  County  Authors"). 
He  died  June  7, 1826.  He  was  one  of  the  few  lawyers 
of  the  State  who  wrote  and  published  for  the  benefit 
of  the  profession. 

Thomas  A.  Hartwbll,  of  Somerville,  was  born 
not  far  from  1794,  and  in  his  early  years  taught  school 
in  Somerville.  In  1820  he  married  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Swan ;  she  was  born  in  1800,  and  was  a  grand- 
daughter of  Mr.  De  Groat,  of  Bound  Brook,  one  of 
whose  daughters  became  the  wife  of  another  Somer- 
ville attorney, — George  McDonald.  Mr.  Hartwell 
■chose  the  legal  profession,  and  after  the  usual  pre- 
paratory studies  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an  at- 
torney in  1816,  and  as  a  counselor  in  February,  1820. 
From  about  1825  to  1845  he  was  a  leading  lawyer  of 
Somerville,  and  after  the  removal  of  McDonald  from 
the  village,  about  1830,  he  did  a  large  business.  He 
was  an  indefatigable  worker,  and  was  more  distin- 
guished for  his  industry  and  tact  than  for  his  legal 
knowledge  or  acumen.  He  died  possessed  of  con- 
siderable wealth. 

William  Thomson,  a  member  of  the  Somerville 
bar,  was  born  near  Fredericton,  N.  B.,  in  1798.  He 
came  to  New  Jersey  when  a  lad  of  twelve,  and  to 
Somerville  in  1823.    He  studied  law  in  the  office  of 


*  The  "  Biog.  Encycl.  of  New  Jersey,"  p.  48,  says  "  in  1778," — an  eiTor 
of  ten  years,  as  appears  from  the  records  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The 
same  work  says  he  became  counselor  in  1781, — a  palpable  error,  being 
seven  years  prior  to  his  becoming  an  attorney. 

t  Not  in  1798,  as  given  in  the  "  Biog.  Encyc.  of  New  Jersey." 


the  late  Hon.  Peter  D.  Vroom,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1824.  He  resided  in  a  house  on  the  site  of 
the  store  now  occupied  by  James  Gaston,  stationer, 
on  Main  Street,  and  died  in  March,  1856.  He  was  a 
genial,  kind-hearted  man,  possessed  strong  common 
sense,  was  a  fair  talker,  and  quite  successful  as  a  jury 
lawyer.  He  married  a  sister  of  William  H.  Leupp ; 
she  survives  him,  and  is  a  resident  of  Somerville. 

John  M.  Mann  was  the  son  of  William  Mann, 
who  for  many  years  kept  the  hotel  now  known  as 
Fritts'.  He  studied  law  with  the  late  Peter  D. 
Vroom,  and  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  at  the  May 
term,  1824.  He  became  a  counselor-at-law  in  May, 
1827,  and  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  commenced 
the  practice  of  the  law  in  Somerville,  following  his 
profession  there  until  his  death.  He  was  clerk  of  the 
county  from  1831  to  1840,  and  also  served  as  prosecutor 
of  the  pleas  for  Somerset.  He  was  a  man  of  conser- 
vative notions,  quite  a  politician  (of  the  Democratic 
following),  very  jocose,  and  fond  of  telling  stories. 
He  had  a  large  office-practice,  possessed  a  decided 
business  talent,  and  officiated  as  executor  for  many 
estates.  He  was  married  in  1829  to  Miss  Eliza, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Bonnell,  of  Hunterdon  County, 
and  sister  of  Mrs.  Judge  Alexander  Wurts,  of  Flem- 
ington.  He  died  Sept.  23,  1864  (his  wife  and  son 
John  having  died  previously),  leaving  one  daughter 
and  a  number  of  sons,  one  of  whom,  Joseph  B.,  is 
quite  a  distinguished  lawyer  in  Indiana.  Like  his 
legal  competitor,  Hartwell,  he  accumulated  consider- 
able property  and  died  quite  wealthy. 

Jacob  Bergen,  the  first  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  for  Somerset  County,  was  for  a  long 
term  of  years  a  magistrate.  He  was  an  early  and  a 
decided  patriot  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 
He  resided  at  Princeton,  then  Somerset  County,  and 
one  of  his  appointments  was  given  him  in  "joint 
meeting,"  held  in  the  college-buildings,  Sept.  13, 1776. 
He  died  Jan.  7,  1781,  at  an  advanced  age. 

Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh,  who  seems  to  have  been 
quite  prominent  in  the  legal  affairs  of  this  section 
during  his  day  and  generation,  was  the  son  of  Jacob 
Hardenbergh,  of  New  Brunswick,  where,  no  doubt, 
Jacob  R.  was  born.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  as 
an  attorney  in  February,  1805,  but  does  not  appear  to 
have  advanced  to  the  grade  of  a  counselor.  He  re- 
sided in  New  Brunswick  (then  in  Somerset  County) 
and  practiced  in  the  Somerset  County  courts  from 
1805  until  1830,  or  later.  Ralph  Voorhees,  deceased, 
has  placed  on  record  the  following  reminiscence  of 
Mr.  Hardenbergh: 

"  Jacob  K.  Hardenbergh  was  known  as  a  clear-headed  lawyer  in  his 
day.  A  widow,  Maria  Ditmars,  made  a  verbal  request  on  her  death-bed 
that  Phebe,  her  sister-in-law,  should  be  rewarded  for  services  which  she 
had  rendered  for  many  years  in  the  family,  and  for  which  she  had  re- 
ceived no  just  compensation.  When  Phebe  presented  her  claim  to  the 
executor  of  the  deceased,  he  refused  to  admit  it.  A  trial  was  had  at  the 
lower  tavern.  Millstone.  Hardenbergh  and  McDonald  were  the  law- 
yers. In  the  course  of  his  argument  Hardenbergh,  pointing  to  the 
steeple  across  the  way,  said, '  I  would  rather  see  Jacobus  Garretson  come 


THE  BENCH  AND   BAR  OP   SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


585 


down  headlong  from  the  top  of  that  Bteeple  to  the  ground  than  that  you, 
by  your  Terdict,  should  depriye  this  woman  of  a  just  compensation  for 
her  hard-earned  claim." 

When  or  where  he  died  is  not  definitely  known, 
but  he  is  said  to  have  ended  his  days  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J. 

Geoege  McDonald,  the  distinguished  lawyer  and 
eccentric   personage,  was  a    native  of  Bridgewater 
township,  in  this  county.    He  was  born  about  the 
time  of  the  Eevolution,  just  south  of  Somerville,  on 
the  place  where  Dumont  Frelinghuysen  now  resides. 
He  studied  law  with  Col.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  at 
Millstone,  then  the  county-seat,  and  the  Hon.  Theo- 
dore Frelinghuysen  was  a  fellow-student.     He  was 
licensed  as  an  attorney  at  the  April  term  of  1792,  and 
became  a  counselor  in  February,  1803.     He  practiced 
jfirst  at  Bound  Brook,  which  place  was  his  residence 
for  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  years.  He  then  removed 
to  Somerville,  where  he  bought  a  lot  opposite  to  what 
is  now  the  Fritts  House,  and  built  thereon  a  large 
house, — quite  elegant  and  superior  for  those  days, — 
still    standing,    afterwards    occupied    by    Peter    D. 
Vroom.     Mr.  McDonald  was  twice  married,  his  first 
ynte  being  a  Perrine,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
named  Perrine ;  his  second  wife  was  a  Miss  De  Groat, 
of  Bound  Brook,  by  whom  he  had  some  seven  or  more 
children.     He  resided  and  practiced  law  in  Somer- 
ville until  about  1819,  when  he  removed  to  Indiana, 
where  he  died  the  following  year.     He  was  a  man  of 
rather  fiery  disposition, — a  "  Hotspur"  who  loved  dis- 
putation and  cudgeled  opponents  with  his  fists  as  well 
as  lashed  them  with  his  tongue.     But  he  was  smart 
and  active,  although  not  brilliant  as  a  lawyer.    Yet, 
for  many  years  being  the  only  legal  practitioner  in 
the  place,  he  made  considerable  money.    It  is  said 
that  he   and  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  did    pretty 
much  all  the  law  business  of  the  county  in  those 
days.     He  was  bold  and  fearless,  and  possessed  a  fair 
gift  of  speech.    Thomas  A.  Hartwell  succeeded  to  his 
practice  in  Somerville,  which  gave  him  his  start  in 
life.     He  was  a  prominent  Mason,  a  member  of  Som- 
erset Lodge,  No.  1,  of  this  State,  later  known  as  Solo- 
mon's Lodge,  No.  1 ;    was   a  representative  to   the 
Grand  Lodge,  and  in  that  body  held  the  office  of 
Right  Worshipful  Deputy  Grand  Secretary  from  1806 
to  1819,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  (1810)  when 
he  served  as  the  Right  Worshipful  Deputy  Grand 
Treasurer.    At  the  November  session  of  1820  the  fol- 
lowing preamble  and  resolution  were  read  and  unani- 
mously adopted : 

"  Information  having  been  communicated  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
death  of  our  late  worthy  and  highly  esteemed  hrother,  George  McDonald, 
Esqr.,  late  Eight  Worshipful  Deputy  Grand  Secretary, 

"  Besolred,  That  this  lodge  do  deeply  deplore  the  death  of  our  beloved 
hrother,  and  sincerely  sympathize  with  his  afflicted  family  in  this  dis- 
pensation of  Divine  Providence,  and  also  lament  the  loss  which  the  fia^ 
temity  and  society  in  general  have  sustained  in  the  decease  of  this  worthy 
individual," 

Joseph  W.  Scott,—"  Sergeant  Scott,"— who  long 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  living  counselors,  and 
38 


who  died  in  1871  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three, 
was  the  second  son  of  Dr.  Moses  Scott,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.  He  was  born  Nov.  28,  1778,  on  the  north 
side  of  Albany  Street,  New  Brunswick,  then  in  Som- 
erset County,  on  the  property  now  owned  by  Elmen- 
dorf.*  He  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  in  1795,  and 
commenced  to  study  medicine  with  his  father,  but  soon 
abandoned  it  for  the  law,  studying  with  Gen.  Frede- 
rick Frelinghuysen  at  Millstone.  He  became  an  attor- 
ney in  1801,  a  counselor  in  1804,  and  a  sergeant-at- 
law  in  1816.  He  subsequently  married  and  settled 
in  New  Brunswick,  although  he  frequently  practiced 
in  the  courts  of  Somerset  County.  He  was  an  ac- 
complished scholar,  well  versed  in  the  Latin  classics, 
learned  in  the  law,  was  a  ready  writer  and  quite  an 
eloquent  advocate.  "The  last  time  he  appeared  in 
court  was  as  counsel  for  Donnelly  (2  Dutch.  463),  on 
his  trial  for  murder,  in  1857,  when  he  was  nearly 
eighty  years  old,  and  his  argument  against  the  valid- 
ity of  the  indictment,  which  I  heard,  was  creditable 
to  his  learning  and  ability,  especially  when  it  was  re- 
membered that  he  had  practically  given  up  his  pro- 
fession nearly  twenty  years."!  He  was  a  member, 
and  for  many  years  an  officer,  of  the  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Jewett,  in  an  address  de- 
livered at  his  funeral,  said, — ■ 

"  We  stand  to-day  by  the  side  of  one  who  looked  upon  and  was  familiar 
with  the  forms  of  generals,  statesmen,  and  theologians, — men  whoso 
names  are  sacred  to  America  and  the  world.  We  stand  by  the  coffin  of 
one  who  served  in  the  war  of  1812 ;  of  one  who  stood  by  the  bedside  of 
the  dying  Hamilton, — that  brightest  intellectual  star  in  the  galaxy  of 
patriots.  .  .  ,  Not  a  few  of  the  great  men  of  the  Church  and  in  the  State 
ware  his  warm  personal  friends.  So  attached  to  him  was  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason,  that  '  prince  of  preachers,'  that  when,  shattered  in  health  and 
broken  in  intellect,  he  wandered  away  from  home,  his  son  came  in  search 
of  him  to  this  city,  and  found  him  at  the  residence  of  Col.  Scott." 

Feedeeick  Feelinghuysen,  son  of  Rev.  John, 
was  born  at  the  parsonage,  near  Three-Mile  Run, 
April  13, 1753.  His  eminent  motherj  desired  that  he 
should  prepare  for  the  ministry,  but  he  was  disin- 
clined to  it.  He  was  graduated  from  Princeton  Col- 
lege in  1770,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one,  in  1774.  He  soon  displayed  the  pos- 
session of  rare  gifts  and  attainments.  In  1775  he 
was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  Jersey,  where  he  was  placed  on  the  important 
committee  of  public  safety.  In  1776  he  was  again 
chosen  to  the  Provincial  Congress.  In  1778  he  was 
elected,  on  joint  ballot  of  the  Legislature,  to  repre- 
sent New  Jersey  in  the  Continental  Congress.  He 
accepted  this  position  with  great  reluctance,  and  the 
next  year  resigned  his  seat  because  the  trust  was  "  too 
important  for  my  years  and  abilities."  He  was,  how- 
ever, afterwards  re-elected  to  Congress  for  1782  and 
1783 ;  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  1784, 
1791,  1800-3. 

In  1776  he  was  captain  of  a  corps  of  artillery,  a  vol- 
unteer company   of  Continental  troops,  and  in  this 


*  Kev.  W.  W.  Blauvelt. 


f  Elmer's  Eeminiscences. 


X  See  sketch  of  Kev.  J.  E.  Hardenhergh. 


586 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


capacity  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Trenton.  The 
family  of  hia  eldest  son  still  retains  a  sword  surren- 
dered to  him  by  a  British  officer.  He  afterwards  be- 
came a  colonel  in  the  militia  of  Somerset  County,  and 
was  often  actively  engaged  during  the  war.  In  1793 
he  was  elected  United  States  senator,  but  domestic 
bereavements  and  the  claims  of  his  family  compelled 
him  to  resign  in  1796.  In  the  Whisky  Insurrection, 
in  Pennsylvania,  Washington  gave  him  a  major-gen- 
eral's command  among  the  troops  from  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey. 

Gen.  Frelinghuysen  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Gertrude  Schenck.  She  died  in  March,  1794, 
aged  forty-one,  leaving  five  children, — John,  Maria, 
Theodore,  Frederick,  and  Catharine.*  He  married, 
subsequently.  Miss  Ann  Yard,  a  lady  of  great  force  of 
character  and  refinement  of  mind,  who  survived  him 
for  many  years.  Her  children  were  two, — Elizabeth, 
the  wife  of  the  late  James  B.  Elmendorf,  M.D.,  of 
Millstone,  and  Sarah,  who  died  in  her  youth. 

Gen.  Frelinghuysen  is  buried  near  Millstone,  in  a 
family  graveyard,  and  the  following  epitaph  is  found 
on  his  monument : 

"  Entombed  beneath  this  Btone  lie  the  remains  of  the  Hon.  Fred.  Fre- 
linghuysen, Esq.,  Major-General  of  the  military  forces,  and  Kepresentar 
tive  in  the  General  Assembly  of  this  bis  native  State.  Endowed  by 
nature  with  Buperior  talents,  he  was  beloved  by  his  country.  From  his 
youth  he  was  intrusted  "with  her  most  important  concernB.  Until  his 
death  he  never  disappointed  her  hopes.  At  the  bar  be  was  eloquent,  in 
the  Senate  he  waa  wise,  in  the  field  he  was  brave.  Candid,  generous, 
just,  he  was  ardent  in  his  friendships,  constant  to  his  friends.  The  patron 
and  protector  of  honorable  merit,  he  gave  his  hand  to  the  yoxing,  bis 
counsel  to  the  middle-aged,  his  support  to  him  who  was  feeble  in  years. 
To  perpetuate  his  memory  his  children  have  raised  this  monument,  a  frail 
memorial  of  their  veneration  for  his  virtues,  and  of  their  grief  for  the 
loss  of  80  excellent  a  father.  He  died  on  the  13th  of  April,  1804,  aged 
51  years." 

John  Feelinghuysen,  the  eldest  son  of  Gen. 
Frederick,  was  born  near  Millstone,  March  21,  1776. 
Notwithstanding  the  unpropitious  circumstances  in 
which  his  infancy  and  youth  were  passed,  occasioned 
by  the  Revolution  and  its  immediate  results,  he  se- 
cured a  sufficient  education  to  enable  him  to  enter 
Queens  College,  at  New  Brunswick,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1792.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1797,  and  in  the  same  year  married  Louisa,  daugh- 
ter of  Archibald  Mercer,  Esq.,  then  residing  at  Black- 
well's  Mills.  In  1801  he  purchased  the  estate  at 
Somerville,  but  about  1804  returned  to  Millstone,  on 
account  of  his  father's  death,  and  took  charge  of  the 
family,  superintending  the  studies  of  his  younger 
brothers,  Theodore  and  Frederick.  While  living  here 
he  lost  his  wife,  in  1809,  and  united  with  the  church 
of  Millstone.  In  1810  he  returned  to  Somerville,  and 
the  next  year  married  Elizabeth  M.,  daughter  of 
Michael  Van  Veghten.  He  was  not  an  eloquent 
pleader,  but  had  a  large  and  lucrative  business  in  the 
quieter  branches  of  his  profession.  He  frequently 
represented  his  county  as  a  member  of  the  State 
Council,  and  was  surrogate  of  the  county  for  fifteen 

*  Sketches  of  most  of  these  will  be  found  elsewhere. 


years.  He  was  frequently  made  the  executor  of  es- 
tates. He  commanded  a  regiment  of  militia  at  Sandy 
Hook  in  the  war  of  1812.  After  the  war  he  was 
made  a  brigadier-general,  by  which  title  he  was  sub- 
sequently addressed.  He  had  a  quick  eye,  a  clear 
head,  a  rapid  decision,  a  sound  judgment,  a  strong 
will,  and  invincible  courage.  He  was  a  man  of  large 
heart,  and  devised  liberal  things.  Pleasant,  affable, 
social,  he  enjoyed  life  abundantly.  Yet  he  thought 
continually  for  others.  Hand  and  heart  were  open 
to  the  poor  and  afflicted.  He  was  a  man  of  profound 
and  ardent  piety.  He  died  of  a  bilious  fever  on 
April  10,  1833.t 

Theodore  Frelinghuysen  was  the  third  child 
of  Gen.  Frederick,  and  was  born  in  Franklin  town- 
ship, March  28,  1787.  His  father  shortly  after  re- 
moved to  the  village  of  Millstone,  where  the  family 
was  reared.  After  attending  the  village  school,  the 
grammar  school  at  New  Brunswick,  and  Rev.  Dr. 
Finley's  school  at  Basking  Ridge,  he  entered  the  junior 
class  of  Princeton  College,  and  was  graduated  there- 
from in  1804, — the  valedictorian  of  his  class.  He 
then  returned  to  the  homestead  at  Millstone,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  his  elder 
brother  John,  who  occupied  the  paternal  estate.  At 
this  time  he  established  a  debating  society  in  Mill- 
stone and  invited  the  young  men  for  miles  around  to 
attend.  He  also  at  this  time  prepared  the  late  Rev. 
Dr.  Wyckoflf  for  college.  In  1805  he  entered  the  law- 
office  of  Richard  Stockton  at  Princeton.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1808.  In  1811  he  became  a 
counselor,  and  in  1817  a  sergeant-at-law.  He  chose 
Newark  as  his  home.  There  he  married,  in  1809, 
Charlotte,  daughter  of  Archibald  Mercer,  Esq.  In 
Newark  he  revised  and  perfected  his  legal  studies. 
He  was  diligent  in  his  attendance  upon  the  courts, 
but  he  also  gave  considerable  time  to  the  pursuits  of 
literature.  His  professional  success  took  its  rise  from 
his  able  conduct  of  an  important  murder  case  in  1812. 
The  criminal  was  a  colored  man  without  friends  or 
means.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  assigned  by  the  court 
to  defend  him.  This  he  did  with  such  surpassing 
eloquence  that  he  overwhelmed  court,  jury,  and  au- 
ditors, and  his  client  was  triumphantly  acquitted. 
His  abilities  were  at  once  recognized,  and  he  rushed 
into  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice. 

In  the  war  of  1812  he,  with  a  number  of  others, 
formed  a  volunteer  company,  of  which  he  took  com- 
mand. They  were  never  called  into  service,  but  they 
lacked  only  the  occasion. 

In  1817  he  was  appointed  attorney-general  of  the 
State, — an  office  which  was  then  one  of  immense  care 
and  responsibility.  He  was  the  legal  adviser  of  the 
State,  and  supervised,  in  person  or  by  deputy,  the 
administration  of  the  criminal  statutes.  This  office 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  a  Legislature  opposed  to 
him  in  politics.     He  was  twice  reappointed,  and  held 

i  See  Chambers'  Life  of  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  p.  275. 


■®=S"-V"TG- Jadmsn-r--"^ 


ie^u^ 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SOMEESET  COUNTY. 


587 


the  office  until  1829,  when  he  resigned  because  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate.  In  1820  he  was  elected 
by  the  Legislature  to  a  seat  upon  the  bench  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  but  declined  the  honor. 
His  moral  influence  upon  his  associates  at  the  bar 
was  very  salutary.  His  pure  life  was  a  constant 
power,  felt  and  acknowledged  by  all.  His  mind  was 
strikingly  rapid,  correct,  and  comprehensive.  His 
judgments  seemed  almost  intuitive.  His  sagacity  in 
at  once  discriminating  the  essential  from  the  non- 
essential gave  him  a  complete  mastery  over  forms  and 
technicalities.  Until  his  removal  to  New  York,  in 
1838,  he  was  engaged  in  almost  every  important  cause 
which  arose  in  the  State.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  estab- 
lishing legal  principles  and  precedents.  His  speeches 
were  never  written  out,  and  hence  few  evidences  of 
his  forensic  ability  have  been  preserved.  The  move- 
ment of  his  eloquence  was  rapid  and  brilliant,  but 
could  not  be  adequately  reported.  The  best  report 
extant  of  any  of  his  speeches  is  that  in  the  Quaker 
case,  in  1833,  in  which  he  gained  the  victory. 

In  1829  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  then  containing  many  eminent  men,  such  as 
Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun.  In  all  the  great  con- 
flicts of  that  period  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  never 
neutral.  He  acted  with  the  party  which  he  believed 
to  be  in  the  right.  He  maintained  an  independent 
judgment,  and  never  descended  to  personalities,  never 
engaged  in  unseemly  altercations.  His  dignity,  can- 
dor, and  integrity  secured  for  him  the  respect  of  all 
parties.     He  was  evidently  a  statesman. 

The  first  great  question  on  which  he  addressed  the 
Senate  was  the  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  Indians  to 
lands  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  He  moved  an 
amendment  the  provisions  of  which  virtually  nulli- 
fied the  object  which  the  bill  sought  to  accomplish, 
and  which  were  sustained  by  him  in  a  speech  of  great 
power  and  eloquence. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  also  took  an  active  part  in  the 
discussion  of  the  pension  bill,  the  President's  pro- 
test, the  force  bill,  the  removal  of  the  Government 
deposits  from  the  United  States  Bank,  the  Compromise 
Tariff,  etc.  In  1835  his  senatorial  term  expired,  and  he 
returned  to  his  profession.  In  1839  he  was  chosen 
chancellor  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York. 
In  1844  he  was  surprised  by  his  nomination  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  ticket  with  Henry  Clay,  by  the  Whig 
National  Convention.  He  accepted  the  nomination 
in  a  brief  and  dignified  letter.  Daniel  Webster  said 
shortly  after,  in  a  speech  to  ratify  the  nominations, 
that  no  better  or  wiser  selection  could  have  been 
made. 

"  There  is  not  a  man  of  purer  character,  of  more  sober  temperament, 
of  more  aocessible  manners,  and  of  more  firm,  unbending,  uncompro- 
mising Whig  principles,  than  Theodore  Frelinghuysen." 

Mr.  Clay  expressed  himself  as  delighted  with  the 
association  of  Frelinghuysen's  name  on  the  same 
ticket  with  his  own.    But  here  again,  though  unsuc- 


cessful, the  principles  which  he  represented  have 
since  triumphed,  and  have  shaped  the  policy  of  the 
country  for  twenty  years. 

In  1850  he  was  elected  president  of  Rutgers  Col- 
lege. He  resigned  his  chancellorship  and  took  the 
new  field  offered  him.  He  was  happy  to  be  permitted 
to  return  so  near  to  the  home  of  his  childhood.  Here 
he  continued  until  his  death,  April  12,  1861.  His 
personal  traits  and  habits  are  admirably  presented  by 
Rev.  Dr.  T.  W.  Chambers  in  his  memoir,  from  which 
the  facts  given  in  this  article  are  largely  drawn. 

Frederick  Frelinghuysen  was  the  youngest 
son  of  Gen.  Frederick.  He  was  born  at  the  family 
homestead  at  Millstone,  Nov.  8,  1788.  About  1798 
he  was  sent  to  the  grammar  school  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, then  under  the  care  of  Rev.  John  Lindsley,  an 
Episcopal  clergyman.  Upon  his  resignation,  in  1800, 
Frederick  returned  home.  He  subsequently  attended 
school  at  Basking  Ridge,  and  was  graduated  from 
Princeton  College  in  1806.  He  studied  law  with 
Richard  Stockton,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1810 ;  he  then  fixed  his  residence  at  Millstone.  In 
1812  he  married  Jane  Dumont,  eldest  daughter  of 
Peter  B.  Dumont,  Esq.,  and  in  1814  became  a  coun- 
selor. In  1817  he  was  appointed  prosecutor  of  the 
pleas  for  the  counties  of  Somerset,  Middlesex,  and 
Hunterdon,  which  position  he  held  until  his  death, 
Nov.  10,  1820.*  He  was  more  of  a  natural  orator 
than  either  Theodore  or  John.  His  imagination  was 
fervent,  his  temperament  buoyant,  and  his  sensibility 
very  lively.  He  was  powerful  and  successful  as  a 
pleader. 

Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Jr.,  was  born  March 
14, 1814,  and  admitted  as  an  attorney  February,  1835, 
as  a  counselor  February,  1838.  He  was  a  student, 
first,  in  the  office  of  Thomas  A.  Hartwell,  Esq.,  then 
in  that  of  his  uncle,  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen. 
He  practiced  several  years  in  Somerville;  then  re- 
moved to  Newark  and  settled.  About  ten  years  ago 
he  returned  to  Somerset  County,  and  has  had  an  office 
at  Raritan.  He  resides  with  his  brother,  Frederick 
J.,  and  is  a  bachelor. 

Dumont  Frelinghuysen,  licensed  as  an  attorney 
September,  1838,  as  a  counselor  November,  1843,  was 
born  at  Millstone,  Feb.  16,  1816.  He  received  a  se- 
vere injury  soon  after  obtaining  his  license,  which 
made  the  practice  of  law  for  a  few  years  impracti- 
cable. Being  then  elected  county  clerk,  he  served  in 
that  capacity  from  1840  to  1845,  and  since  that  period 
has  pursued  strictly  an  office  business.  He  married 
a  daughter  of  Judge  Van  Derveer,  and  is  a  highly-re- 
spected citizen  as  well  as  a  pillar  in  the  First  Reformed 
Church  of  Somerville,  and  useful  in  all  religious  mat- 
ters generally. 

Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen,  a  lawyer  of  emi- 
nence, formerly  attorney-general  of  New  Jersey  and 
a  senator  of  the  United  States,  is  the  son  of  the  late 


*  Chambers'  Life  of  Theodore  Trelinghuysen,  p.  280. 


588 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


Frederick  Frelingtuysen,  and  was  born  at  Millstone, 
Aug.  4, 1817.  His  father  dying  when  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  but  three  years  old,  he  was  adopted 
by  his  uncle,  the  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  then 
residing  at  Newark,  N.  J.  He  was  graduated  from 
Eutgers  College  in  1836,  studied  law  with  his  uncle, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1839.  He  acquired 
a  good  practice,  and  his  unwearied  diligence  soon 
brought  its  fruits, — success  and  a  good  name  through- 
out the  State.  For  some  time  he  was  city  counsel 
of  Newark,  and  for  many  years  was  the  trusted 
counsel  of  the  Central  Railroad  Company  of  New 
Jersey  and  of  the  Morris  Canal  and  Banking  Com- 
pany. He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Peace  Con- 
gress which  met  at  Washington  iu  February,  1861,  in 
the  deliberations  of  which  body  he  took  a  conspicuous 
part.  Later  in  that  year,  when  William  L.  Dayton 
was  appointed  United  States  minister  to  France,  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  was  appointed  by  Governor  Olden, 
with  whom  he  was  associated  in  the  Peace  Congress, 
attorney-general  of  New  Jersey,  Mr.  Dayton  having 
resigned  that  position.  The  war  of  the  Rebellion 
breaking  out  shortly  after  his  appointment,  he  tem- 
porarily gave  up  his  practice  at  Newark  and  spent 
his  time  with  his  friend.  Governor  Olden,  in  aid- 
ing to  organize  and  send  forward  the  New  Jersey 
forces.  He  was  reappointed  in  1866  by  Governor 
Ward,  but  the  death  of  United  States  Senator  William 
Wright  soon  after  left  a  vacancy,  to  which  the  Gov- 
ernor appointed  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  Thereupon  he 
resigned  the  former  position.  In  1867  he  was  elected 
by  the  Legislature  to  the  United  States  Senate  to  fill 
the  unexpired  term. 

In  1870,  President  Grant  nominated  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen as  minister  to  England,  which  nomination 
was  immediately  confirmed  by  the  Senate  and  the 
appointment  pressed,  but  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  declined, 
having  little  desire  to  live  abroad  and  make  courtesies 
to  a  queen  and  her  cabinet.  He  preferred  the  sub- 
stantial honors  accruing  to  solid  work  in  his  own 
country,  and  the  following  winter  he  was  again  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  serving  until  1877.  Dur- 
ing his  entire  term  of  nine  years  in  the  Senate  he  was 
a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee,  to  the  duties  of 
which  he  gave  close  attention.  He  was  also  a  member 
of  the  committees  on  finance,  on  foreign  relations,  on 
railroads,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  agriculture, 
^nd  at  difierent  times  was  on  the  committee  on  naval 
afiairs  and  on  claims.  He  always  took  an  active  part 
in  the  debates  of  the  Senate,  especially  in  relation  to 
the  reconstruction  measures  and  to  the  restoration  of 
a  currency  redeemable  in  gold.  He  introduced  a  bill 
to  accomplish  the  latter  result,  and,  having  sustained 
it  by  an  elaborate  argument,  it  received  much  favor  ; 
it  differs  little  from  the  measure  subsequently  adopted, 
which  he  also  supported.  He  was  always  a  strong  ad- 
vocate of  a  tariflf  for  protection,  and  during  his  whole 
term  exerted  all  his  influence  .to  maintain  for  the 
peculiar  industries  of  his  own  State  ample  protection. 


As  one  of  the  committee  on  foreign  relations  he  is 
reported  to  have  taken  an  active  part  in  the  debate 
in  favor  of  the  Washington  Treaty.  He  had  charge 
of,  and  advocated  until  it  passsed  the  Senate,  the 
Civil  Rights  bill,  originally  introduced  by  Mr.  Sum- 
ner; introduced  and  advocated  until  it  passed  the 
Senate  a  bill  against  polygamy,  and  also  a  bill  to  re- 
turn to  Japan  what  is  known  as  the  Japanese  In- 
demnity Fund,  and  vindicated  the  administration  in 
an  extended  speech  in  what  is  known  as  the  French 
Arms  Controversy;  gave  elaborate  opinions  on  the 
impeachments  of  Andrew  Johnson  and  Belknap.  His 
report  in  the  Pomeroy  case  and  his  argument  in  the 
Caldwell  case,  in  both  of  which  charges  of  bribery 
were  made,  were  able  and  judicial ;  in  what  is  known 
as  the  Sue  Murphy  case  he  made  the  first  argument 
against  claims  of  even  loyal  persons  at  the  South  for 
damages  resulting  from  the  war,  insisting  that  they 
must  suffer  as  did  loyal  persons  at  the  North,  and  that 
the  results  of  war  must  rest  where  they  fall.  This 
view,  though  at  first  much  doubted,  was  adopted  by 
the  party  to  which  he  belonged. 

Late  in  the  summer  of  1876,  anticipating  trouble  in 
the  electoral  count,  which  was  the  next  year  realized, 
he  introduced  a  bill  referring  the  decision  of  such 
controversy  when  it  should  arise  to  the  President  of 
the  Senate,  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  the  chief  jus- 
tice. The  bill  failed  to  pass  for  want  of  time.  In 
1877,  when  the  anticipated  evil  resulted,  he  was  one 
of  the  joint  committee  of  the  Senate  and  House  that 
reported  a  bill  creating  the  Electoral  Commission, 
which  substituted  five  senators,  five  representatives, 
and  five  justices  for  the  three  officers  named  in  his 
bill.  He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Commis- 
sion, his  published  opinion  in  which  covers  all  the 
questions  there  raised. 

While  in  Washington,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  house 
was  one  of  the  centres  of  hospitality.  He  was  a 
strong  personal  friend  of  Gen.  Grant,  which  friend- 
ship still  continues.  Although  not  officially  an- 
nounced, it  is  well  understood  that  President  Hayes 
tendered  to  him  positions  not  inferior  to  those  de- 
clined by  him  during  Gen.  Grant's  administration. 
At  present  he  resides  every  summer  at  his  country- 
seat,  which  has  been  in  his  family  for  several  genera- 
tions, along  the  Raritan  River,  about  three  miles 
southwest  of  Somerville,  and  in  the  winter  at  Newark, 
where  his  law-office  has  always  been  located.  His 
practice  is  now  mostly  before  the  Court  of  Errors  and 
Appeals  and  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 

The  senator  is  a  most  eloquent  and  polished  orator. 
His  voice  is  melodious,  his  words  carefully  weighed, 
his  manner  in  many  respects  captivating.  He  is' 
always  listened  to  with  pleasure,  whether  on  the  floor 
of  the  Senate,  in  the  court-room,  or  on  the  platform 
as  a  political  speaker.  Few  equal,  and  if  dignity 
and  grace  are  considered  none  excel  him. 

FeEDEBICK  J.  FUELINGHUYSEN,  born  Oct.  12, 
1818,  licensed   as  an   attorney  in   May,  1841,  praC' 


/   J 


^ 


-Evi 


'g'^'oy  AKFdtDla'-' 


(ylx-i^     (iJ-    zzz-v/^-t^-'^ 


iSt 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SOMEB,SET  COUNTY. 


589 


ticed  law  a  few  years  in  Somerville,  then  in  Eari- 
tan,  until  his  election  as  surrogate  of  the  county, 
in  1872,  when  he  removed  to  Somerville.  He  had 
previously  served  two  terms  of  three  years  each 
as  county  superintendent  of  public  schools.  After 
his  term  of  ofSce  as  surrogate  expired,  he  continued 
the  practice  of  law  in  Somerville.  He  has  been  for 
many  years  the  secretary  of  the  County  Bible  So- 
ciety and  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school  of 
the  Third  Reformed  Church,  Earitan.  He  is  a  man 
who  has  not  only  been  honored  in,  but  has  honored 
all  these  several  vocations. 

James  S.  Nevitjs  was  born  in  Somerset  County,  in 
1786.  He  was  graduated  from  Princeton  in  ]  816,  and 
at  once  entered  the  law-office  of  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen  as  a  student  at  law.  He  was  admitted  to 
practice  as  an  attorney  in  1819,  as  a  counselor  in 
1823,  and  as  a  sergeant-at-law  in  1837.  He  was  a 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey  from  1838 
to  1852,  residing  at  New  Brunswick,  but  after  the  last- 
named  year  removed  to  Jersey  City,  where  he  died  in 
1859.*  "Although  possessed  of  very  considerable 
talents  as  a  judge,  he  was  not,  however,  generally 
considered  as  having  a  very  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  law,  nor  are  his  opinions,  although  generally  well 
and  forcibly  expressed,  always  safe  to  be  followed."! 
He  was  generous,  sympathetic,  full  of  humor,  and  the 
life  of  the  social  circle  at  home  or 'abroad. 

George  H.  Brown,  late  of  Somerville,  "who  took 
a  distinguished  stand  at  the  bar,"  was  born  in  1810, 
and  died  Aug.  1,  1865.  Graduating  in  1828  at  Nas- 
sau Hall,  he  entered  the  Law  Department  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, and  later  the  law-office  of  Thomas  A.  Hartwell, 
of  Somerville.  He  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  in 
February,  1835,  and  as  a  counselor  in  November,  1838. 
He  at  once  opened  an  office  in  Somerville,  which 
place  continued  his  residence  throughout  his  life. 
His  success  was  pronounced  from  the  first,  and  he 
enjoyed  the  reputation  of  a  thoroughly  able  lawyer. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  to  frame  the 
State  constitution,  in  1844,  after  which  he  was  elected 
by  the  Whig  party  as  senator  from  Somerset  County. 
In  1850  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  but  in  1852  was 
defeated  by  the  Democratic  party.  In  1861  he  was 
nominated  and  confirmed  as  an  assqciate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  "  The  selection  was  an  excellent  one, 
and  his  course  as  a  judge  eminently  satisfactory ;  but 
he  was  not  long  destined  to  continue  in  the  high  posi- 
tion he  was  so  well  qualified  to  fill :  a  disease  which 
baffled  the  skill  of  able  physicians  terminated  his  life 
in  1865."t  He  married  Joanna  B.  Gaston,  daughter  of 
Sheriff  John  I.  Gaston,  of  Somerville ;  two  daughters 
and  three  sons  survive,  one  son  being  deceased.  He 
was  the  son  of  Eev.  Isaac  V.  Brown,  long  at  the  head 


*  By  an  unfortunate  blunder,  the  sketch  of  thia  gentleman  in  the  "  Bio- 
graphical BncyclopKdia  of  New  Jersey"  appears  throughout  spelled 
HfevitiB. 

f  Judge  Elmer. 

X  New  Jersey  Biog.  Eucyclop.,  p.  73. 


of  the  classical  academy  of  Lawrenceville.  He  was 
unpretending,  a  perfect  native  gentleman,  and  one  of 
the  ablest  men  of  the  bar  in  the  State.  He  was  an 
honest  man  and  an  honest  lawyer,  and  had  always  the 
confidence  of  court  and  jury,  of  brilliant  genius,  and 
generally  respected  by  all. 

Andrew  Miller,  a  native  of  Somerville,  born  in 
1799,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1822,  and  practiced 
in  his  native  place  for  two  or  three  years,  when  he 
removed  to  Flemington,  where  he  followed  his  pro- 
fession for  some  fifteen  years.  He  then  removed  to 
Philadelphia,  afterwards  to  North  Carolina,  etc.,  and 
finally,  after  considerable  roving  (which  included 
Europe),  returned  a  few  years  since  to  Somerville, 
where  he  now  resides,  but  retired  from  practice. 

James  S.  Green,  of  Princeton,  son  of  Eev.  Dr. 
Ashbel  Green,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  July  22, 
1792 ;  graduated  at  Dickinson  College,  1811 ;  studied 
law  with  Hon.  George  Wood ;  licensed  in  1817 ;  ad- 
mitted as  a  counselor  in  1821,  and  received  rank  of  a 
sergeant  in  1834.  He  soon  acquired  a  large  practice, 
and  was  the  Supreme  Court  reporter  from  1831-36. 
He  represented  Somerset  County  for  several  terms  in 
the  Council,  being  first  elected-  in  1829.  He  was 
United  States  attorney  for  many  years,  and  also  a 
member  of  Congress.  He  was  one  of  the  first  direc- 
tors of  the  Delaware  and  Earitan  Canal,  and  held  th6 
same  position  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  a 
trustee  of  Princeton  College,  professor  of  the  La;w 
Department  in  Rutgers,  and  an  official  in  many  other 
public  corporations.  He  died  Nov.  8,  1862.  He  was 
a  friend  to  common-school  education  and  the  internal 
improvements  of  the  State,  and  was  prominent  as  a 
lawyer,  legislator,  philanthropist,  and  as  a  Christian. 
Robert  S.  Green,  a  native  of  Princeton,  son  of 
James  S.  Green  (March  25,  1831),  graduated  from 
Nassau  Hall  in  1850,  studied  law,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1853.  In  1856  he  removed  to  Elizabeth, 
N.  J.  He  subsequently  held  important  civil  positions 
in  Union  County.  He  married  in  1857.  In  1868  he 
was  judge  of  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  In  politics,  a 
Democrat. 

Ferdinand  S.  Schenck  was  a  native  and  a  prom- 
inent citizen  of  the  county,  and  for  two  terms  was  a 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Twenty-'hird  and  Twenty- 
fourth  Congresses,  from  1838-37.  He  filled  both  po- 
sitions with  honor  and  credit.  "His  opinions  as 
judge  were  much  confided  in  by  the  members  of  the 
bar.  He  was  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party 
for  State  senator  in  1856.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1844,  and  for  many 
years,  and  until  his  death,  of  the  board  of  trustees  ot 
Eutgers  College.  He  was  born  at  Six-Mile  Eun,  in 
this  county,  and  died  suddenly,  at  the  residence  of 
his  son.  Dr.  J.  V.  Schenck,  of  Camden  (whom  he 
was  visiting).  May  17,  1860,  aged  seventy-two."§ 


g  Obituary  in  Someriet  Oounty  News,  May  24, 1860. 


590 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW"  JERSET. 


John  Pottee  Stockton,  also  a  native  of  Somerset, 
was  born  at  Princeton,  Aug.  2, 1826.  He  is  a  brother 
of  Gen.  R.  F.  and  a  son  of  Commodore  Stockton. 
A  graduate  of  Princeton  College  in  1843,  he  studied 
law  with  the  late  Judge  Field,  and  commenced  its 
practice  in  1846.  He  was  called  to  the  bar  as  coun- 
selor in  1849,  and  followed  his  profession  in  New  Jer- 
sey until  1857,  when  he  was  appointed  United  States 
minister  to  Rome  by  President  Buchanan.  In  1861 
he  returned  to  his  native  land,  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Trenton.  He  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  in  1865  for  six  years,  but  was  unseated 
after  serving  one  year,  being,  however,  re-elected  to 
the  same  position  for  the  term  commencing  March  4, 
1869,  and  serving  the  full  term.  At  its  expiration  he 
resumed  his  law  practice  at  Trenton.  He  was  ap- 
pointed attorney-general  of  the  State,  and  sworn  into 
office  for  the  term  of  five  years  on  April  8,  1877. 
Senator  Stockton  was  appointed,  with  Judges  Eyer- 
son  and  Randolph,  to  revise  and  simplify  the  pro- 
ceedings and  practice  in  the  courts  of  law,  and  made 
a  report  to  the  Legislature  which  was  adopted.* 

RoBEET  Field  Stockton  is  a  son  of  the  late  Com- 
modore R.  F.  Stockton,  and  was  born  in  Somerset 
County  (at  Princeton)  in  1832.  He  entered  Princeton 
College,  and  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1851.  He 
then  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  the  late  Judge 
Richard  S.  Field,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an 
attorney  in  1854.  He  filled  the  position  of  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Belvidere  Delaware  Railroad 
Company,  general  manager  of  the  Plymouth  Coal 
Company,  and  president  of  the  Delaware  and  Raiitan 
Canal  Company,  succeeding  his  father  and  holding 
the  office  until  the  company  was  merged  into  the 
United  Railroads  and  Canal  Companies  of  New  Jer- 
sey. (There  were  only  two  presidents  of  that  com- 
pany,— Gen.  Robert  F.  Stockton  and  his  father.  Com. 
Stockton.)  He  was  also  a  director  of  the  United 
Railroads.  He  was  appointed  adjutant-general  of 
New  Jersey,  Jan.  30, 1858,  serving  with  distinction  in 
that  position  during  the  late  war,  resigning  the  same 
April  12, 1867.  March  9,  1859,  he  was  brevetted  ma- 
jor-general for  meritorious  services  as  adjutant-gen- 
eral. Gen.  Stockton  was  elected  State  comptroller  in 
1877.t 

Joseph  Thompson,  son  of  Judge  John  Thompson, 
was  born  Sept.  30,  1808,  in  the  old  homestead  near 
Eeadington,  and  close  to  the  line  dividing  Somerset 
and  Hunterdon  Counties.  He  is  of  Scotch  descent. 
His  youth  was  spent,  as  have  been  his  later  years,  upon 
a  farm.  During  his  boyhood  he  studied  land-survey- 
ing, and  mastered  it ;  he  also  taught  district  school  at 
most  of  the  neighboring  villages  and  hamlets.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  married  Ann  Post,  and  has  had 
eight  children,  of  whom  the  Rev.  John  B.  Thompson, 
now  of  Catskill,  N.  Y.,  is  the  oldest.   When  but  twenty- 


•  Legislative  Manual,  1880,  p.  175. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  174. 


eight  years  of  age  he  was  associated  with  his  father 
as  judge  of  the  Hunterdon  County  Orphans'  Court, 
— a  position  he  held  for  fifteen  years.  Since  then  he 
has  held  the  same  position  in  the  Somerset  County 


JOSEPH    THOMPSON. 

Court  for  thirteen  years,  and,  though  his  legal  knowl- 
edge is  only  such  as  he  could  acquire  by  desultory 
reading  in  the  intervals  of  so  busy  a  life,  no  decision 
of  his  as  judge  of  either  of  these  courts  has  ever  been 
reversed.^ 

Alvah  a.  Claek  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  N.  J.,  Sept.  13,  1840.  He  is  the  son  of  Sam- 
uel Clark,  a  merchant  of  Lebanon.  When  Alvah  was 
seven  years  of  age  his  father  removed  to  New  Ger- 
mantown,  where  the  subject  of  this  notice  passed 
his  early  years  and  received  his  preliminary  educa- 
tion, studying  a  portion  of  the  time  with  Rev.  Dr. 
William  Blauvelt,  of  Lamington.  Having  decided 
upon  the  legal  profession,  he  commenced  the  study 
of  the  law  in  1860  in  the  office  of  Hon.  J.  C.  RafFerty, 
and  later  under  th«  tutelage  of  I.  N.  Dilts,  Esq.  He 
was  admitted  to  practice  as  an  attorney  in  1864,  and 
as  a  counselor  in  1867.  Immediately  after  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  he  opened  an  office  at  New  German- 
town,  and  there  continued  until  September,  1867, 
when  he  removed  to  Somerville,  which  place  has 
since  been  his  residence.  He  was  the  attorney  of  the 
Bound  Brook  Railroad  Company  until  it  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading.  Mr. 
Clark  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  attorney  of  the  Ham- 
ilton Land  Association,  etc.,  and  is  a  trustee  of  the 


X  For  a  more  complete  sketch  of  .Tudge  Thompson,  see  the  account  of 
the  Thompson  family,  in  the  history  of  the  township  of  Eeadington, 
ante,  p.  491. 


^  ij; 


Uf^-^Y^'^^ 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


591 


Somerville  Dime  Savings-Bank ;  besides  these  special 
interests,  he  has  been  extensively  engaged  in  legal 
practice  in  the  County  and  Superior  Courts. 


'^^^^-..C.-^^^^-^C  .:.^..^^P 


Democratic  in  politics,  as  the  candidate  of  that 
party  he  was  elected,  in  1876,  a  member  of  the  Forty- 
fifth  Congress  from  the  Fourth  Congressional  Dis- 
trict, and  re-elected  in  1878  to  the  Forty-sixth  Con- 
gress. His  congressional  record  is  well  known,  and 
needs  no  embellishment  or  laudation.  He  is  a  self- 
made  man,  and  by  his  energy  and  undeniable  ability 
has  built  up  a  large  legal  business.  He  takes  great 
pride  in  his  profession,  and  devotes  much  care  to  the 
preparation  and  management  of  every  case  which  he 
undertakes.  Two  of  the  more  important  of  the  many 
cases  in  which  he  has  figured  were  the  Van  Derveer 
will  case  and  the  Gary  case.  In  1864  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Anna  Van  Derbeek,  of  Somerville. 

John  Schomp. — George  Schomp,  grandfather  of 
John,  was  a  farmer  and  resided  in  the  township  of 
Eeadington,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  He  first  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George  Anderson,  a  lady  of 
Scotch  descent,  who  bore  him  the  following  children : 
Ann,  wife  of  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoif,  of  Bedminster, 
Peter  G..  Jacob  G.,  George  Anderson,  John  G., 
David  G.  (died),  and  Cornelius  Wyckoff  (died). 
For  his  second  wife  he  married  Mary  Vosseller.  Of 
this  union  were  born  two  sons, — Tunis  C,  who  died 
at  Harlingen,  and  Henry  P.,  of  White  House. 

Jacob  G.,  father  of  John,  born  Oct.  10,  1807,  mar- 
ried Eliza,  daughter  of  Abram  and  Rebecca  (Voor- 
hees)  Van  Fleet,  of  Readington.     He  learned  the 


trade  of  a  carpenter  in  early  life,  but,  receiving  an  in- 
jury, gave  his  attention  to  study,  and  was  a  teacher  for 
some  time.  He  was  also  a  merchant  at  Readington 
for  several  years.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
he  has  been  a  builder  and  farmer,  and  resides  near 
the  line  between  the  townships  of  Readington  and 
Branchburg.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church  at  Readington,  and  has  been  officially 
connected  with  that  church  as  deacon  and  elder. 
Politically  he  is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party, 
and  has  filled  the  offices  of  freeholder,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  other  minor  places. 

John  Schomp,  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
bar  of  Somerset  County,  was  born  at  Readington,  June 
2,  1843.  He  received  his  preparatory  education  in 
the  common  school  at  Claverack,  on  the  Hudson, 
and  under  the  private  instruction  of  J.  Newton  Voor- 
hees,  of  Somerset,  and  spent  one  year  with  Rev.  Wil- 
liam I.  Thompson,  of  Rutgers  College  grammar 
school.  He  entered  Rutgers  College  in  1859,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  with  the  usual  honors  in  the 
class  of  '62,  having  for  classmates  Judge  Covenhoven, 
of  New  Brunswick,  Rev.  A.  N.  Wyckofi",  of  New 
Orleans  Presbyterian  Church,  Judge  Garretson,  of 
Hudson  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  Judge  G.  D.  W.  Vroom,  of 
Trenton,  N.  J.  In  the  following  fall  Mr.  Schomp 
entered  the  law-office  of  Brown,  Hall  &  Vanderpoel, 
of  New  York  City,  where  he  remained  for  a  few 
months,  and  was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  studies 
for  a  while  on  account  of  ill  health.  After  six  months' 
respite  he  became  a  law-student  with  Judge  Van 
Syckel,  Flemington,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1866.  He  practiced  law  for  a  short  time  in  Newark, 
N.  J.,  but  the  same  year,  1867,  opened  an  office  in 
Somerville,  where  he  has  since  prosecuted  his  chosen 
profession.  Following  the  political  line  of  his  ances- 
tors, Mr.  Schomp  is  a  Democrat.  He  married,  April 
12,  1868,  Wilhelmina,  daughter  of  John  V.  Schomp, 
of  Readington. 

John  Feelinghuysen  Hageman,  counselor-at- 
law,  was  born  Feb.  4,  1816,  in  the  village  of  Har- 
lingen, in  Montgomery  township,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J., 
a*  few  miles  north  of  Princeton,  where  his  iather, 
Abraham  P.  Hageman,  a  practicing  physician,  lived 
and  died.  He  was  graduated  at  Rutgers  College  with 
the  class  of  1836,  read  law  with  Judge  Field  and 
Governor  Vroom,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
November,  1839.  He  opened  a  law-office  in  Prince- 
ton, where  he  has  pursued  his  profession  until  the 
present  time.  He  married  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Miller,  D.D.,  professor  in  the  theological 
seminary.  In  1850  he  was  elected  on  the  general 
ticket  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Mercer 
County.  Since  1851  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  theological  seminary  at 
Princeton,  and  a  ruling  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Princeton.  In  1862  he  was  nominated  by 
Governor  Olden,  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  as 
prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for  Mercer  County,  which 


592 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


office  he  held  for  five  years,  and  declined  a  reappoint- 
ment. 

Mr.  Hageman  has  been  accustomed  to  write  fre- 
quently for  newspapers,  both  secular  and  religious. 
From  1859  to  1867  he  was  the  proprietor  and  imper- 
sonal editor  of  the  Princeton  Standard.  In  1879  he 
published,  in  two  octavo  volumes,  his  "History  of 
Princeton  and  Its  Institutions," — a  work  of  great  in- 
terest and  permanent  value.  His  son.  Rev.  Samuel 
Miller  Hageman,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  is  the 
author  of  "  Silence,"  "  St.  Paul,"  and  other  poetical 
books  of  genuine  merit.* 

John"  V.  Vooehees,  lawyer,  and  formerly  prose- 
cutor of  the  pleas,  was  born  at  Somerville,  Aug.  5, 
1819.  His  family  is  an  old  one,  of  Dutch  extraction, 
of  which  see  full  accounts  elsewhere.  John  V.  pre- 
pared for  college  at  the  Somerville  academy,  and  was 
graduated  from  Rutgers  in  1840  with  high  standing. 
He  studied  law  with  Judge  Brown,  of  Somerville,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  May,  1844.  He  at  once 
entered  upon  a  lucrative  practice,  and  was  licensed 
as  a  counselor  in  April,  1848.  In  1862  he  joined  the 
Union  army,  and  served  as  first  lieutenant  and  quarter- 
master of  the  Thirtieth  Regiment  of  New  Jersey  Vol- 
unteers until  failing  health  compelled  him  to  resign. 
After  some  time  spent  in  recruiting  his  energies  he 
reopened  his  office  in  Somerville,  where  it  has  since 
remained.  In  1872  he  was  appointed  prosecutor  of 
the  pleas  for  Somerset  County,  which  office  he  held 
for  five  years.  He  is  also  attorney  for  the  Somerset 
County  Bank. 

Isaiah  N.  Dilts,  born  at  Schooley's  Mountain, 
N.  J.,  Aug.  3,  1824 ;  graduated  at  Lafayette  College 
in  1844 ;  read  law  with  Jacob  W.  Miller  and  E.  W. 
Whelpley,  then  law-partners  at  Morristown.  His 
admission  to  the  bar  dates  from  1847,  and  his  coun- 
selor's license  from  1850.  He  commenced  practicing 
in  Morristown,  and  in  1853  removed  to  Somerville, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death.  He  held  several 
professional  appointments,  having  been  Supreme 
Court  commissioner,  United  States  commissioner, 
and  special  master  in  chancery.  He  was  a  fair,  well- 
read  lawyer,  had  a  fine  literary  taste,  and  was  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  various  periodicals  and  maga- 
zines. In  1856  he  married  Ellen  Van  Derveer,  a 
daughter  of  the  late  judge,  and  sister  of  Mrs.  William 
L.  Dayton.  Her  death  occurred  in  1875;  he  died 
May  21,  1878. 

Hugh  M.  Gaston  was  bom  Nov.  29, 1818,  at  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  in  Bernard  township,  this  county.  His 
father  was  a  merchant  in  Somerville,  and  the  family, 
early  settlers  in  New  Jersey,  are  of  Huguenot  descent. 
He  attended  the  Somerville  academy,  and  was  a  law- 
pupil  of  George  H.  Brown,  of  Somerville.  Admitted 
to  practice  as  an  attorney  in  1840,t  cotemporary  with 
William  S.  Cassedy,  John  Whitehead,   and  Henry 

•  See  chapter  on  "Books  and  Authore  of  Somerset  County,"  in  this 
worlc. 
t  Biog.  Bnoyrtop.  of  New  Jersey  (p.  297)  erroneously  says  "  1844." 


McMiller,  he  became  a  counselor  in  November,  1843. 
Upon  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  opened  an  office  at 
Somerville,  and  entered  at  once  upon  the  labors  of 
his  chosen  profession.  "  He  was  soon  recognized 
as  a  man  of  sterling  ability,  unyielding  integrity,  and 
consequently  of  high  promise  in  the  profession,'' 
which  promise  he  has  fully  redeemed.  "  He  stands 
to-day  among  the  acknowledged  leaders  of  the  bar. 
.  .  .  His  professional  standard,  like  his  personal 
standard,  has  been  high,  and  the  verdict  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  in  and  out  of  the  profession,  is  that  he  has 
nobly  lived  up  to  both."  For  a  number  of  years  he 
was  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for  Somerset  County.  He 
has  refused  to  become  a  candidate  for  civil  honors, 
although  repeatedly  solicited,  and  in  one  case  (when 
nominated  for  State  senator)  refused  to  stand  even 
after  being  nominated.  He  finds  in  his  profession 
his  true  sph^fi^.of  action,  and  is  content — .as  well  he 
may  be — with  its  honors  and  emoluments,  not  to  say 
its  labors,  which  surely  are  multiplied  and  various 
enough.  In  addition  to  his  ordinary  practice,  now 
very  extended  and  important,  he  is  attorney  for  sev- 
eral of  the  leading  corporations  in  this  section  of  the 
State.  In  1870  he  formed  a  partnership  with  James 
J.  Bergen,  which  still  continues.  He  was  married,  in 
1849,  to  Frances  M.  Prevost.  In  1880,  owing  to  ser- 
vices he  gratuitously  rendered  the  tax-payers  of  the 
county,  he  was  presented  by  leading  citizens  with  a 
silver  pitcher  and  salver  of  elegant  design,  valued  at 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

James  J.  Bergen,  a  descendant  of  the  old  and 
honorable  Bergen  family,  of  Dutch  extraction,  was 
born  at  Somerville,  N.  J.,  Oct.  1,  1847.  He  was  a 
pupil  of  Mr.  Calvin  Butler,  of  Somerville,  and  after- 
wards studied  law  with  Hugh  Gaston,  Esq.  After 
his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  1868,  he  practiced  for  a 
year  in  Plainfield,  and  then  returned  to  his  native 
place,  where  he  formed  a  copartnership  with  his 
former  legal  preceptor,  thus  establishing  the  firm  of 
Gaston  &  Bergen.  In  1875  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  State  Assembly,  where  he  served  on  several 
important  committees,  introduced  important  bills, 
often  spoke  at  length  and  forcibly,  and  made  his  pres- 
ence felt  in  that  body  so  much  to  the  satisfaction  of 
his  constituents  that  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same 
position  in  1876.  The  following  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for  Somerset  County. 

John  D.  Baetine  was  graduated  at  tbe  Lawrence- 
ville  high  school  in  1858.  He  was  engaged  in  teach- 
ing school  for  several  years,  but  in  1861  commenced 
the  study  of  the  law  with  J.  F.  Hageman,  of  Prince- 
ton, near  which  place  Mr.  Bartine  was  born,  in  1836. 
Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1865,  he  commenced  practice 
at  once,  establishing  himself  in  Somerville.  He 
speedily  acquired  reputation,  and  his  business  has 
continued  to  increase  with  each  passing  year.  He  is 
an  excellent  counselor  and  an  able  advocate.  He 
practices  in  all  the  courts  and  in  all  branches  of  the 
profession.     Recently  he  entered  into  copartnership 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


593 


with  James  L.  Griggs,  the  firm  bearing  the  title  Bar- 
tine  &  Griggs.  During  his  professional  experience 
Mr.  Bartine  has  managed  many  important  and  intri- 
cate cases,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  Van- 
arsdale  murder  case,  the  Van  Derveer  will  case,  and 
the  long-contested  water-right  case  of  Ten  Eyck  vs. 
Eunk.  He  is  the  legal  adviser  of  the  Wellsboro'  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  as  also  of  several  other  corpora- 
tions, and  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Somerset 
County  Bank.  In  political  faith  he  is  a  Democrat. 
In  1867  he  was  honored  by  Princeton  College  with 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  married,  in  1868, 
Miss  Van  Derveer,  of  Rocky  Hill. 

A.  V.  D.  HoKEYMAN,  born  at  New  Germantown, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  Nov.  12,  1849,  is  a  son  of  Dr. 
John  Honeyman,  deceased.*  He  enjoyed  but  ordi- 
dary  common-school  advantages,  and  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  left  school  and  entered  his  brother's  store  as 
a  clerk.  Not  liking  mercantile  life,  he  went  to  Easton 
in  April,  1867,  and  entered  the  law-office  of  Judge  H. 
D.  Maxwell,  a  brother-in-law  and  prominent  lawyer, 
who  was  United  States  consul  to  Trieste  under  Presi- 
dent Taylor.  While  studying  law  Mr.  Honeyman 
took  a  supplemental  Latin  course  under  that  success- 
ful teacher  Rev.  John  L.  Grant,  of  Easton,  Pa.  He 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  Pennsylvania  in  Novem- 
ber, 1870,  but  at  once  removed  to  Somerville,  N.  J., 
where  the  balance  of  the  term  required  in  New  Jersey 
for  admission  to  the  bar  was  spent  in  the  office  of 
Hon.  Alvah  A.  Clark.  He  was  admitted  as  an  at- 
torney-at-law  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey  in  June,  1871,  and  entered  into  partner- 
ship with  his  late  preceptor  under  the  firm-name  of 
Clark  &  Honeyman,  which  continued  until  October, 
1872,  and  again,  in  1874,  he  formed  a  legal  partner- 
ship with  H.  B.  Herr,  Esq.,  of  White  House,  which 
was  continued  under  the  name  of  Honeyman  &  Herr 
until  1876;  since  then  he  has  practiced  alone.  In 
August,  1875,  he  married  Julia  E.,  daughter  of  Au- 
gustine Reger. 

Independent  of  his  legal  pursuits,  Mr.  Honeyman 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  religious,  educational, 
and  journalistic  enterprises  of  his  adopted  home. 
Since  1876  he  has  edited  and  published  The  Somerset 
Oazette.\  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Somer- 
ville Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  1873,  and 
in  1875,  while  president  of  that  association,  united 
with  four  business  men  in  erecting  the  beautiful 
block  known  as  "  Association  Hall"  building,  costing 
twenty-seven  thousand  dollars.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican,  but  with  liberal  views  towards  other  par- 
ties. He  is  a  member  of  the  Second  Reformed 
Church.  He  is  himself  a  hard  worker,  with  no  knowl- 
edge of  rest  in  any  mental  or  physical  sense  of  the 
term.  He  has  been  a  fearless  advocate  of  the  right, 
both  in  his  paper  and  at  the  bar.    His  course  in  1879 

*  See  sketch  in  medical  chapter  of  Hunterdon  County,  in  another  por- 
tion of  this  worlc. 
t  See  chapter  on  "  Press  of  Somerset  County." 


in  bringing  about  an  official  investigation,  and  more 
recently  in  acting  as  counsel  of  the  tax-payers  for 
four  months  without  compensation,  gained  the  praise 
of  all  honest  citizens.  He  is  the  author  of  several 
important  legal  works,  among  which  is  "The  New 
Treatise  on  the  Small-Cause  Court  in  New  Jersey," 
and  in  1879  established  the  New  Jersey  Law  Journal, 
of  which  he  is  still  editor  and  publisher. 

Gaeeit  S.  Cannon  is  a  native  of  Somerset  County. 
He  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  James  S.  Cannon,  late  pro- 
fessor at  New  Brunswick  Theological  Seminary.  He 
was  born  at  Six-Mile  Run,  and  was  graduated  from 
Rutgers  College  in  1833.  He  commenced  the  study 
of  law  with  B.  R.  Brown,  of  Mount  Holly,  and  in 
1836  was  licensed  as  attorney,  and  three  years  after  as 
counselor.  He  settled  at  Bordentown.  He  was  ap- 
pointed prosecuting  attorney  of  his  county  in  1850, 
and  was  reappointed  in  1855  and  1865.  In  1853, 
President  Pierce  appointed  him  United  States  district 
attorney  for  New  Jersey,  and  President  Buchanan  re- 
appointed him  in  1857.  He  is  almost  unsurpassed  as 
a  pleader.  His  presentation  of  the  fact  and  the  law 
of  the  case,  his  keen  analysis  of  evidence,  his  cita- 
tion of  authorities  in  support  of  his  arguments,  are 
rapid,  clear,  decisive.  Few  men  are  more  fluent  in 
speech,  more  thorough  in  preparation,  more  brilliant 
in  legal  strategy.  In  1845  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Lower  House  of  the  State  Legislature.  He 
now  devotes  all  his  time  to  his  professional  duties  and 
gives  his  support  to  all  local  improvements.  In 
November,  1839,  he  married  Hannah  Kinsey,  of  Bur- 
lington. 

Abraham  O.  Zabeibkie,  son  of  the  Rev.  John 
Zabriskie,  formerly  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  at 
Millstone,  was  not  a  native  of  this  county,  but  here 
spent  his  boyhood  days.  He  was  born  June  10, 1807, 
at  Greenbush,  N.  Y.,  educated  at  Princeton,  and  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1828.  He  settled  permanently  at 
Jersey  City,  and  died  June  27,  1873.  From  1866  to 
1873  he  was  chancellor,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  president  of  the  constitutional  commission.  He 
attained  a  high  and  honorable  reputation  at  the  bar, 
and  "  was  a  faithful  servant  whom  in  death  as  in  life 
we  will  delight  to  honor."  He  was  one  of  the  best- 
read  lawyers  in  the  State,  and  was  distinguished  pre- 
eminently as  a  common-law  lawyer. 

Stephen  B.  Ransom,  lawyer,  of  Jersey  City,  fin* 
ished  his  legal  studies  with  William  Thomson,  of 
Somerville,  and  practiced  the  law  there  from  1848  to 
1856.  His  second  wife,  married  July,  1856,  is  Eliza 
W.,  daughter  of  Stephen  R.  Hunt,  of  Somerville. 

OTHEE   LAWYERS  NATIVE  OF   SOMERSET. 

James  R.  English,  lawyer,  of  Elizabeth,  is  a 
native  of  Bernard  township,  Somerset  Co.,  being 
the  son  of  Rev.  James  T.  and  Mary  C.  (Jobs)  Eng- 
lish, of  Liberty  Corner,  and  born  Sept.  27,  1840. 

Peter  L.  Voorhees,  of  Camden,  was  born  near 
Blawenburg,  July  12,  1825 ;  he  was  the  son  of  Peter 


594 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  Jane  (Schenck)  Voorhees,  and  married,  in  1855, 
Annie,  the  sister  of  Hon.  William  L.  Dayton. 

Feedeeick  Vooehees,  a  counselor  -  at  -  law  of 
Mount  Holly,  N.  J.,  was  a  native  of  Somerset,  born 
at  Blawenburg,  and  is  a  brother  of  Peter  L.,  just 
mentioned. 

Isaac  N.  Blackfoed,  late  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
was  born  at  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  in  1786  ;  died  1859. 
The  greater  portion  of  his  life  was  passed  at  Vin- 
cennes,  Ind.,  where  (1819-35)  he  was  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Indiana,  and  (1855-59)  judge  of 
the  United  States  Court  of  Claims. 

'Enos  W.  Eunyon",  now  law-judge  of  Union  Co., 
N.  J.,  was  born  in  this  county,  Feb.  24,  1825.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Plainfield  academy,  studied  law 
with  a  Plainfield  lawyer,  and  has  practiced  at  and 
lived  in  Plainfield  ever  since. 

Theodoee  Eunyon,  chancellor  of  New  Jersey, 
one  of  the  most  profound  lawyers  of  the  State,  al- 
though he  never  practiced  in  this  county,  is  a  native 
of  Somerset,  having  been  born  at  Somerville,  Oct.  25, 
1822,  and  is  a  son  of  Abraham  Eunyon,  of  that  place. 
Licensed  in  1846 ;  now  resides  in  Newark,  N.  J. 

John  C.  Elmendoef,  lawyer,  and  late  treasurer 
of  Eutgers  College,  was  a  native  of  Somerset  County, 
born  in  March,  1814.  His  parents,  William  C.  and 
Maria  (Dumont)  Elmendorf,  were  also  natives  of  the 
same  State.  He  obtained  his  elementary  education 
at  Somerville,  was  graduated  at  Eutgers,  and  became 
a  law-student  of  Judge  Nevius  at  New  Brunswick ; 
licensed  as  an  attorney  in  1837 ;  became  a  counselor 
in  1841.  For  fifteen  years  he  was  prosecutor  of  the 
pleas  for  Middlesex  County,  and  for  twenty-three 
years  from  1853  was  treasurer  of  Eutgers.  In  1857 
he  married  Maria  L.  Frelinghuysen. 


CHAPTEE    VII. 

HISTOHY    OF    THE    MEDICAL    PEOPESSIOK 
OF  SOMEBSET  COUBTTT. 

The  County  Medical  Society :  its  Origin,  Officera,  and  Members — Bio- 
graphical Sketches  of  John  Eeeve,  William  M.  McKiesack,  Peter  I. 
Stryker,  Abraham  Van  Buren,  the  Van  Derveers  and  Schencks,  Wil- 
liam H.  Merrill,  Peter  Ten  Eyck,  H.  6.  Wagoner,  Chauncey  M.  Field, 
etc. 

THE    DISTRICT    MEDICAL    SOCIETY    OF   SOMERSET 
COUNTY. 

The  medical  society  of  this  county  was  organized 
under  the  above  title  May  21,  1816,  and  was  the  first 
of  the  kind  instituted  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
although  the  medical  societies  of  three  other  counties 
were  established  soon  after, — that  of  Morris  County, 
June  1,  1816 ;  Essex  County,  June  4,  1816 ;  and 
Monmouth  County,  July  16,  1816.  The  records  of 
the  State  Medical  Society  show  that 

"  On  tbe  first  Tuesday  of  May,  1816,  the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society 
proceeded  to  appoint  district  societies  in  the  counties,  when  the  following 
gentlemen  were  appointed  for  Somerset, — Tiz.,  Peter  I.  Stryker,  Ferdi- 


nand Schenck,  'William  MoKissaok,  J.  L.  Elmendorf,  William  D.  Mo- 
Kissack,  E.  Smith,  Augustus  Taylor,  Moses  Scott,  and  Henry  Schenck, 
to  meet  at  the  Tillage  of  Somerville,  on  Tuesday,  the  21st  day  of  May 
Inst.,  at  10  o'clock  a.m." 

The  names  of  the  officers  in  full  cannot  be  here 
given,  as  the  secretary  of  the  organization  has  refused 
the  writer  access  to  the  books  and  records  of  the 
society.  The  information  concerning  the  Medical 
Society  of  Somerset  County  here  given  has  been 
kindly  communicated  by  Dr.  William  Pierson,  Jr.,  of 
Orange,  N.  J.,  secretary  of  the  Medical  Society  of 
New  Jersey,  by  Dr.  H.  G.  Wagoner,  of  Somerville, 
and  by  others. 

The  first  censors  for  Somerset  County  were  P.  I. 
Stryker,  Augustus  Taylor,  E.  Smith,  J.  S.  Elmen- 
dorf, and  William  McKissack,  May  12,  1818.  Fer- 
dinand Schenck,  Henry  Van  Derveer,  Peter  Vre- 
denberg,  and  William  D.  McKissack  appeared  as 
delegates  from  the  Somerset  County  Society  to  the 
State  Medical  Society. 

The  act  of  incorporation  of  the  State  society  pro- 
vides that  "  all  persons  who  shall  have  been,  or  may 
hereafter  be,  presitient  of  the  society,  shall  rank  as 
Fellows,  and  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  dele- 
gated members."  The  list  of  fellows  of  the  State 
society  embraces,  prior  to  the  organization  of  the 
county  society,  Lawrence  Van  Derveer,  president  in 
1784,*  and  Peter  I.  Stryker,  in  1808,*  and  after  the 
organization  of  the  Somerset  County  Medical  society, 
the  following : 

181Y,  Peter  I.  Stryker;*  1822,  Augustus  E.  Taylor;*  1824,  Peter  I.  Stry- 
ker;* 1826,  William  D.  McKissack;*  1829,  John  W.  Craig;*  1830, 
Augustus  E.  Taylor  ;*  1835,  Abr.  P.  Hageman  ;*  1 836,  Henry  Van 
Derveer;*  1841,  Ferdinand  S.  Schenck;*  1843,  Abraham  Skillman; 
1846,  Eobert  S.  Smith;*  1854,  Alfred  B.  Dayton;*  1876,  John  V. 
Schenck. 

One  of  the  most  active  members  of  this  society 
during  his  lifetime,  and  really  a  leader,  was  Dr.  Wil- 
liam D.  McKissack,  who  died  at  Millstone  in  1853. 
He  filled  at  various  times  the  several  offices  of  the 
society.     (See  sketch  of  his  life,  farther  on.) 

From  the  reports  of  the  District  Medical  Society 
of  Somerset  County  to  the  State  Medical  Society  since 
1864,t  it  appears  that  the  following  physicians  have 
been  members  of  the  former  organization  since  that 
date: 

Eobert  S.  Smith,*  Bound  Brook ;  Henry  H.  Van  Derveer,*  Somerville ; 
Henry  F.  Van  Derveer,  Somerville;  C.  B.  Jaques,*  Somerville; 
Henry  G.  Wagoner,  Somerville ;  Samuel  K.  Martin,*  Martinville ; 
Peter  D.  McKissack,*  Millstone ;  L.  H.  Mosher,  Millstone  (Griggs- 
town) ;  William  B.  Eibble,  Millstone ;  James  B.  Van  Derveer,*  North 
Branch ;  Jesse  S.  B.  Eibble,t  Harlingen ;  Eobert  M.  Morey,J  Bound 
Brook ;  J.  Fred.  Berg,  North  Branch ;  William  B.  Mattison,  Mill- 
stone ;  John  V.  Bobbins,  ^  Branchville  ;  James  G.  Maynard,  Six -Mile 
Bun;  John  C.  Sutphen,*  Peapack ;  Joseph  S.  Sutphen,  Pluckamin ; 
John  W.  Craig,*  Plainfield ;  Peter  T.  Sutphen,  Peapack ;  James  S. 
Knox,t  Somerville;  A.  P.  Hunt,  Earitan;  W.  H.  Merrill,  South 
Branch ;  D.  C.  Van  Deusen,  Millstone ;  W.  S.  Swinton,  Somerville ; 
B.  B.  Matthews,  Bound  Brook ;  Byron  Thornton,  Peapack ;  J.  B. 

*  Deceased. 

f  The  annual  transactions  of  the  State  society  were  first  printed  in 
1859 ;  from  that  date  until  1864  no  report  was  received  from  the  Somerset 
County  society,  nor  was  it  represented  in  the  State  body. 

X  Eemoved  from  county. 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


595 


Cornell,  Somerrille;  0.  M.  Field,  Bound  Brook;  I.  L.  Compton, 
Bonnd  Brook ;  0.  B.  P.  Fisher,  Keshanic ;  J.  B.  Tan  Derveer,  Liberty 
Comer. 

In  1868  the  number  of  members  reported  was 
eighteen,  and  the  delegates  to  the  State  society  were 
H.  G.  Wagoner,  R.  S.  Smith,  J.  F.  Berg,  John  Sut- 
phen,  and  William  E.  Mattison. 

The  officers  and  members  for  1880,  as  reported  to 
the  State  society,  are  as  follows : 

President,  Byron  Thornton,  Feapack ;  "Vice-President,  J.  B.  Cornell,  Som- 
errille ;  Corresponding  Secretary,  H.  G.  Wagoner,  Somerville ;  Re- 
cording Secretary,  H.  F.  Van  Derveer,  Somerville ;  Treasurer,  W,  H. 
Merrill,  South  Branch  ;  W.  J.  Swinton,  A.  P.  Hunt,  Somerville  ;  W. 
B.  Eibble,  Millstone ;  J.  V.  Berg,  North  Branch ;  B.  B.  Mathews,  C. 
M.  Field,  I.  L.  Compton,  Bound  Brook  ;  C.  B.  P.  Fisher,  Neshanic ; 
J.  D.  Van  Derveer,  Liberty  Corner. 

The  delegates  to  the  State  society,  at  its  one  hun- 
dred and  fourteenth  annual  meeting.  May  25,  1880, 
were  0.  R.  Fisher,  W.  H.  Merrill,  W.  B.  Ribble,  and 
H.  F.  Van  Derveer.  Number  of  members  reported, 
fourteen. 

By  a  recently  enacted  law  of  the  State  (1880),  all 
physicians  are  required  to  file  their  diplomas  in  the 
county  clerk's  office,  and  those  who  do  not  are  liable 
to  indictment  for  misdemeanor.*  At  the  date  of  this 
compilation,  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  practitioners  in 
the  county  had  complied  with  the  law. 

The  following  memoirs  of  some  of  the  physicians 
of  the  county  have  been  compiled,  and  are  here  given 
as  illustrative  of  the  profession  in  the  past  as  well  as 
the  present  in  Somerset  County : 

John  Reeve,  having  prepared  himself  for  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Canada,  settled  in  Rocky  Hill 
about  1787  (possibly  earlier),  and  practiced  there  for 
nearly  a  half-century.  He  acquired  a  reputation  and 
secured  a  large  practice.  In  visiting  his  patients  he 
frequently  rode  on  horseback,  and  traversed  the  coun- 
try without  regard  to  roads,  leaping  fences  and  riding 
through  fields.  He  was  often  accompanied  by  one  of 
his  daughters,  who  was  fearless  enough  to  follow  his 
lead  wherever  he  might  ride.  When  he  first  came  to 
Rocky  Hill  he  purchased  a  farm,  which  he  worked 
with  profit.  When  the  cholera  raged,  in  1832,  among 
the  laborers  employed  on  the  canal  near  Princeton, 
he  was  very  successful  in  his  treatment  by  calomel  in 
large  doses.  "  He  was  hospitable  to  his  equals,  but 
severe  to  his  inferiors."  In  his  latter  years  he  had 
slight  attacks  of  paralysis,  although  he  died  of  dropsy, 
June  23,  1834,  aged  sixty-nine.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried,—first,  in  1792,  to  Ann  Clark,  of  Trenton,  who 
died  in  1827;  second,  to  Margaret  Blackwell,  who 
survived  him  and  subsequently  married  a  Mr.  Skill- 
man.  Of  his  three  children  (all  daughters,  and  all 
by  his  first  wife),  one  became  the  wife  of  Abraham 
Van  Derveer,  another  the  wife  of  Rev.  Henry  Per- 
kins, and  the  third,  living  in  Pennsylvania,  is  un- 
married. Dr.  Reeve  was  the  son  of  Capt.  Simon  R. 
Reeve,  of  New  York,  and  was  born  there  Dec.  26, 

•  Session  Laws  of  1880,  p.  298. 


1765.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  So- 
ciety, joining  it  in  1788. 

William  M.  McKissack  was  a  resident  of  Bound 
Brook,  and  during  his  life  practiced  medicine  in  that 
place.  It  is  said  he  was  born  in  Ireland.  He  became 
a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society  in  1795,  having 
then  been  in  practice  many  years ;  he  was  the  last 
medical  man  received  into  the  society  during  the  last 
century,  as  its  meetings  were  suspended,  after  1795, 
until  1807.  He  was  widely  known  and  esteemed,  use- 
ful in  his  profession,  and  was  regarded  as  a  physician 
of  good  judgment  and  skill.  His  son,  William  D., 
practiced  at  Millstone,  this  county,  also  a  grandson, 
Peter  Ditmars,  recently  deceased. 

Dr.  McKissack  died  in  Bound  Brook,  where  his  re- 
mains rest  in  the  old  Presbyterian  churchyard.  His 
monumental  inscription  is  meagre  and  imperfect : 

"  William  M.  McKissack,  M.D., 

Died  Feb.  1831, 

In  the  77th  year  of  his  age. 

His  wife  died  Mar.  6, 1809, 

in  the  61st  year  of  her  age."t 

His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Col.  William  McDonald^ 
who  emigrated  to  this  country  before  the  Revolution, 
in  which  he  took  a  prominent  part  as  an  opposer  of 
British  oppression. 

Peteb  I.  Stryker  was  the  son  of  Capt.  John,  who 
was  the  son  of  Pieter,  the  son  of  John,  the  son  of 
Pieter,  son  of  Jan,  who  emigrated  from  Holland 
soon  after  1653  to  Flatbush,  L.  I.,  and  whose  grand- 
son John  bought  lands  for  his  sons  in  Somerset 
County,  on  the  Raritan,  near  Millstone,  about  a  mile 
north  of  Millstone  church.  Dr.  Stryker  was  born 
June  22,  1766.  He  studied  with  Dr.  McKissack, 
practiced  six  years  at  Millstone,  and  then  removed  to 
Somerville,  where  he  died  Oct.  19, 1859.  He  became 
noted  not  only  in  the  medical  profession,  but  in  civil 
lifej  and  in  the  military  service  of  the  State.  He  was 
buried  with  marked  military  honors ;  forty  officers  of 
the  State  troops,  led  by  the  Governor  (Newell),  fol- 
lowed his  remains  to  their  final  resting-place.  He 
was  a  member  for  a  half-century  of  the  First  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  and  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey 
Medical  Society.  (See  further  sketch  under  head  of 
"  Prominent  Personages  of  Somerset  County,"  in  this 
work.) 

Samuel  Swak,  who  practiced  at  Bound  Brook  from 
about  1800  to  1806,  was  born  in  1771,  near  Scotch 
Plains,  N.  J.  He  was  clerk  of  Somerset,  1809-20, 
and  later  a  member  of  Congress.  He  died  at  Bound 
Brook  in  August,  1844,  and  was  buried  in  the  vault 
of  Jacob  De  Groot,  whose  daughter  he  married. 

Garret  W.  Tustison,  bom  in  Bridgewater  town- 
ship, in  what  is  now  Somerville,  Nov.  12,  1751,  was 
surgeon  of  Col.  Lamb's  regiment  (Second  Artillery) 


f  Hist.  N.J.  Med.,  pp.  330,  331,  and  MSS.  notes  of  Dr.  A.  Messier. 

J  He  was  sheritT,  senator,  presided  several  years  as  vice-president  of  the 
Upper  House,  and  in  the  State  miUtia  rose  to  the  rank  of  senior  major- 
general. 


596 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSET. 


of  the  Contineatal  army ;  was  at  battle  of  Montgomery 
and  at  Yorktown,  and  served  until  the  disbandment  of 
the  army  in  1783.  He  was  later  a  member  of  the 
Legislature.  He  married  Sarah  Ten  Eyck,  of  the 
same  locality,  May  5,  1783,  and  resided  on  her  farm 
during  the  rest  of  his  life,  there  practicing  his  profes- 
sion. He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six,  July  18, 1837, 
and  was  interred  in  the  Somerville  cemetery.  He 
had  children, — Cornelius  T.,  Matthias  Ten  Eyck, 
Garret,  Maria  Magdalen,  and  Jane,  the  last  named 
being  deceased.* 

Abraham  Van  Bttren — one  of  a  race  of  physi- 
cians, being  descended  from  John,t  who  emigrated  to 
New  York  (about  1700)  from  Beuren,  Holland — was 
a  pupil  of  Boerhave  and  a  graduate  of  Leyden,  whose 
son  Beekman,  born  in  New  York  (1727),  practiced 
medicine  and  died  there  in  1812.  Abraham  was  born 
in  1787,  settled  in  Millstone,  attained  to  nearly  seventy- 
seven  years  (obit.  March  15,  1818),  and  was,  with  his 
wife  (obit,  in  1816,  aged  eighty-eight),  buried  in  the 
Millstone  churchyard. J  He  was  probably  the  first 
physician  at  Millstone,  and  his  professional  labors 
extended  from  1760  to  1813,  more  than  half  a  century. 
He  had  a  large  practice,  and  was  famous  for  his  ''  red 
drop,"  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  prescribing,  and 
which  became  a  popular  preparation  after  his  day. 
He  was  a  member,  a  deacon,  and  an  elder  of  the 
Millstone  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  Three  of  his 
^ons — William,  William  H.,  and  James — were  physi- 
cians, while  another — Abraham — ^became  a  merchant 
in  Philadelphia. 

Eva,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Abraham,  became  the  wife 
of  Abr.  Schenck,  William  Van  Buren  practiced  in 
Millstone  till  1816,  when  he  removed  to  New  Bruns- 
wick and  kept  a  drug-store. 

William  H.  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  was  his  eld- 
est son  by  a  second  marriage.  James  Van  Buren  was 
practicing  in  Bergen  County  during  the  Revolution, 
a,nd  was  arraigned  before  the  Committee  of  Safety  in 
1777  as  of  doubtful  loyalty  to  the  Whig  cause.  He 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  was  released.^ 

Lavs^eence  Van  Deeveee  lived  from  early  life  in 
Somerset  County.  He  commenced  practicing  before 
the  Revolution,  and  in  1776  was  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  He  after- 
wards removed  to  Shepardstown,  Va.,  but  soon  re- 
turned to  Somerset,  and  practiced  until  his  death,  in 
1815,  in  that  part  of  Hillsborough  township  known 
as  Roycefield.  Here  he  became  eminent,  and  had  a 
lucrative  practice  during  a  long  lifetime.  He  was 
the  first  to  bring  into  notice  the  alleged  virtues  of  the 
Scutellaria  lateriflora  in  the  prevention  and  cure  of 
hydrophobia.  He  administered  it  to  about  four  hun- 
dred persons  said  to  have  been  exposed  to  the  disease, 


•  Died  in  1838.    Dr.  J.  M.  Toner's  MSS.  notes,  ef  a!, 
t  The  progenitor  of  tbe  Van  Buren  family  in  this  country, 
X  He  was  a  near  relative  of  President  Van  Buren,  who,  when  a  boy, 
used  to  visit  the  doctor  and  his  family  at  Millstone. — Judge  B.  Voorlieea. 
I  Wickes'  Hist.  N.  J.  Med.,  pp.  424,  425. 


in  none  of  whom  did  it  appear.  Yet  he  made  no 
converts  to  its  use  as  a  cure  for  rabies  among  the 
more  intelligent  medical  men  of  his  day.||  He  was 
very  benevolent,  visiting  the  poor  alike  with  the  rich, 
and  with  the  former  class  seldom  making  any  charge. 
He  always  rode  a  fleet  horse,  and,  with  utter  disre- 
gard of  roads  and  fences,  took  an  aij'-line  frora  one 
house  to  another.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
died  possessed  of  a  large  fortune  and  universally  re- 
gretted. His  name  even  now  has  a  savor  of  gratitude 
and  honor  in  the  memory  of  many  aged  people  in 
Somerset  County.  His  remains  were  interred  on  his 
own  estate,  and  a  monument  marks  their  resting- 
place.  A  son  of  the  doctor  lives  about  a  mile  east  of 
Somerville. 

Henry  Van  Deeveee,  of  Somerville,  son  of  the 
preceding,  died  Feb.  13,  1874,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two.f  He  was  born  at  the  paternal  homestead,  was 
educated  in  the  academy  at  Somerville,  was  graduated 
at  Princeton  College,  and  attended  medical  lectures 
in  Philadelphia.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Ann  Fre- 
linghuysen,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Gen.  John,  and 
commenced  practice  in  the  field  so  long  occupied  by 
his  father,  residing  in  the  paternal  mansion.  He 
subsequently  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Somerville. 

In  1846  he  united  with  the  First  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  of  that  place.  As  a  physician  he  was  faith- 
ful, judicious,  and  successful.  He  continued  to  prac- 
tice until  a  few  years  before  the  close  of  his  life ;  in- 
deed, many  of  his  old  friends  refused  ever,  while  he 
lived,  to  have  the  attentions  of  any  one  else.**  Henry 
Van  Derveer  was  succeeded  at  Roycefield  by  a  Henry 
H.  Van  Derveer,  who  practiced  there  from  1833-44, 
and  who  died  Feb.  1,  1869.tt 

Heney  Van  Deeveee,  of  Pluckamin,  born  about 
1776,  was  the  son  of  Ellas  Van  Derveer.  He  was  for 
many  years  in  practice  in  Bedminster  township,  en- 
joying a  large  and  lucrative  patronage.  His  plantation 
consisted  of  between  eight  hundred  and  one  thousand 
acres  of  land,  about  one-half  under  cultivation,  the 
remainder  being  timber.  "  He  was,"  says  A.  W.  Mc- 
Dowell, "  one  of  the  ablest  physicians  of  Somerset 
County,  but  a  most  eccentric  genius.  He  and  his 
sister  Phoebe,  neither  of  whom  ever  married,  lived 
and  died  at  the  old  homestead  in  Bedminster.  Her 
room  was  on  one  side  of  the  wide  hall,  his  on  the 
other  ;  the  other  six  rooms  were  handsomely  fur- 
nished, but  unoccupied  and  kept  closed.  Once  a  week, 
in  full  dress,  she  visited  her  brother,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  entry ;  once  a  week  the  formal  call  was 
returned,  he  being  arrayed  in  his  best  English  broad- 
cloth, ruffled  shirt-bosom,  polished  boots,  etc.     The 

1  See  Wickes'  "  History  of  Medicine  and  Medical  Men  in  New  Jersey 
to  1800"  for  a  more  extended  account  of  tbe  manner  in  which  this  remedy 
was  received  by  the  medical  fraternity. 

Tf  MSS.  notes  Eev.  Dr.  Abr.  Messier ;  Spaulding's  Memoirs ;  Wickes* 
Hist,  of  Med.  in  New  Jersey,  etc. 

**  Obit,  in  Trans.  State  Med.  Soc,  1874. 

tt  Kev.  Dr.  E.  T.  Corwin. 


THE   MEDICAL  PEOFESSION  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


597 


doctor  outlived  his  sister  many  years,  most  of  whicli 
time  he  was  the  only  white  person  in  the  house.  His 
eccentricities  were  manifest  in  his  eating,  living,  and 
in  his  singular  will,  which  caused  much  excitement 
in  the  courts  at  the  time.  But  he  was  a  perfect  gen- 
tleman, a  fine  scholar,  and  an  able  physician, — one  of 
superior  professional  skill."  He  died  on  Friday, 
May  22,  1868,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-two 
years.  He  left  no  relatives  nearer  related  than 
cousins. 

Hekey  H.  Van  Debveee  was  born  near  Somer- 
ville,  on  the  banks  of  the  Earitan,  July  12,  1808.  He 
was  the  son  of  Col.  Henry  Van  Derveer.  He  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine  in  1827,  with  Dr.  Ferdi- 
nand S.  Schenck,  of  Six-Mile  Eun,  Somerset  Co.,  and 
then  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  William  Van  Deursen, 
of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  After  the  close  of  his  last 
course  of  lectures  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons,  New  York,  he  was  induced  to  enter  the 
office  of  his  brother,  Peter  Van  Derveer,  who  had  a 
large  practice  in  Middletown,  Ohio.  For  two  years 
he  was  associated  with  him  in  practice,  and  in  1832 
returned  to  Somerset  County  and  became  the  suc- 
cessor of  Henry  Van  Derveer  at  Eoycefield;  there 
for  thirteen  years  he  prosecuted  his  profession,  then 
removed  to  Somerville,  still  practicing,  and  where  he 
died  Feb.  1,  1869.  In  1835  he  was  married  to  Ann 
Brodhead  Deyo,  daughter  of  Hon.  Abraham  A.  Deyo, 
of  Plattekill,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.  Dr.  Van  Derveer  was 
gifted  in  an  eminent  degree.  He  not  only  had  med- 
ical knowledge  and  surgical  skill,  but  possessed  the 
faculty,  as  if  by  nature's  gift,  to  use  the  knowledge  in 
the  obtaining,  a  correct  diagnosis,  in  the  choice  of 
remedies  to  be  employed,  and  in  their  dextrous  ad- 
ministration. His  power  to  determine  between  con- 
flicting symptoms,  and  to  detect  the  latent  disease, 
and  his  judgment  in  treating  it  when  discovered,  not 
only  secured  to  him  a  large  practice,  but  gained  the 
confidence  of  his  brother-physicians  when  united  with 
him  in  consultation.  But  his  efficiency  was  impaired 
by  ill  health ;  the  disease  which  ended  his  life  af- 
flicted him  for  more  than  twenty  years.  In  his  nature 
he  was  kind  and  benevolent.  As  a  physician,  to 
whom  others  committed  their  health  and  lives  in 
sickness,  he  felt  his  deep  responsibility,  and  he  re- 
marked, near  the  close  of  his  life,  that  when  he  was 
called  to  a  sick-bed  he  had  during  his  whole  practice 
looked  up  to  God  for  direction.* 

Henry  H.  Schenck,  Sb.,  a  native  of  Somerset 
County,  was  born  at  Millstone  in  August,  1760.  His 
father  was  Henry  Schenck.  He  graduated  in  1772 
from  Eutgers ;  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Lawrence 
Van  Derveer,  of  Eoycefield,  this  county;  attended 
lectures  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania ;  was  a 
surgeon  of  militia  in  the  Eevolution,  and  after  the 
war  commenced  practice  near  Esopus,  N.  Y.  After 
a  short  time  he  removed  to  Neshanic,  this  county, 

*  Obit,  in  Trans.  State  Med.  Soc,  1869. 


where  he  remained  until  his  death,  in  1828.  He  re- 
ceived a  pension  of  forty  dollars  a  month  from  the 
United  States  government  until  his  death.  His  wife 
was  Miss  Ellen,  daughter  of  Eev.  Jacob  E.  Harden- 
berg,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons  and  one  daughter. 
The  latter  never  married.  The  sons — Henry  H.,  Jr., 
Jacob  Eutsen,  and  John  F. — all  became  prominent 
physicians,  located  in  Hunterdon  County.f 

Henry  Schenck,  Sr.,  became  a  member  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  in  1789.  He  was  an  active  political 
partisan,  and  became  a  judge  of  the  Somerset  County 
Court;  he  was  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Eeformed 
Church.  His  remains  were  buried  in  a  private  burial- 
ground  near  Millstone. 

Jacob  Eutsen  Schenck,  son  of  Dr.  Henry  H., 
Sr.,  was  born  in  Somerset  County  in  1783,  studied 
medicine  with  his  father,  and  attended  lectures  at  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York.  He 
located  near  his  father,  where  he  practiced  until  his 
death.  He  left  no  children,  an  only  child,  a  son, 
being  accidentally  shot  and  killed  some  years  before 
his  death. t 

Gaebet  Van  Doben  was  born  at  Millstone  in 
October,  1782,  and  died  near  East  Millstone,  April  4, 
1858.  His  direct  ancestors  were  John,  John,  and 
Christian,  who  settled  at  Middlebush  in  1723.  He 
remained  faithfully  serving  his  father's  interests  until 
of  age,  but  evinced  in  youth  superior  mental  power 
and  extraordinary  thirst  for  knowledge.  To  'Squire  ■ 
Van  Duyn,  of  whom  he  often  spoke  with  deepest 
gratitude,  he  was  indebted  for  instruction  in  the  winter 
evenings  in  mathematical  science,  surveying,  and  its 
more  advanced  branches.  At  this  time  of  life  he  also 
taught  an  evening  school  for  a  winter  term,  and  in 
this  manner  made  himself  familiar  with  the  ground 
over  which  he  had  already  passed.  At  this  time  h& 
was  also  noticed  for  his  commanding  person,  as  among 
his  preserved  papers  one,  attested  by  the  seal  of  the 
State,  is  the  commission  issued  by  Gen.  Stryker  ap- 
pointing him  a  captain  in  the  New  Jersey  brigade. 

But  neither  farming  nor  soldiering  was  to  be  his 
vocation.  Improving  his  opportunities,  we  find  him 
at  the  age  of  thirty  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  in  New  York  City,  from  which,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-two,  he  was  sent  forth  to  the  practice  of 
medicine.  Choosing  his  location,  he  purchased  the 
premises  No.  6  Franklin  Street,  N.  Y.,  near  Chapel 
Street,  now  West  Broadway,  and,  placing  on  the  door 
his  name  and  business,  his  next  step  was  to  find  a 
suitable  companion,  and  this  was  soon  accomplished 
in  taking  to  his  home  the  daughter  of  one  of  his 
patients,  Miss  Jemima  Dyckman. 

His  love  of  the  country  brought  him  back  to 
his  early  home,  and  to  settle  down  to  rest  and  die 
amid  scenes  and  friends  of  his  youth.  Here  he  spent 
the  evening  of  his  life,  an  earnest  friend  and  member 

f  See  also  chapter  on  "  Medical  Profession  of  Hunterdon  County,"  in 
another  portion  of  this  work, 
t  Blane's  Med.  Hist.  Hunterdon  County. 


598 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


of  the  cliurcli  at  East  Millstone.  He  died  at  the  ripe 
age  of  seventy-five.  His  last  joyous  word  was 
"  Rest !"     His  wife  died  Oct.  11,  1851,  aged  fifty-four. 

Ferdinand  S.  Schenck,  of  Six-Mile  Eun,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  and  highly-esteemed  citizens  of 
the  county  in  the  former  half  of  this  century,  was  a 
son  of  Martin  Schenck,  who  was  for  several  years 
sherifi"  of  the  county ;  he  was  born  at  Millstone,  Feb. 
11,  1790.  He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Stryker,  of 
Somerville,  and  Dr.  G.  Smith,  of  New  York  City, 
and  commenced  practice  in  Six-Mile  Run,  where  in 
1814  he  purchased  a  farm  a  short  distance  west  of  the 
church;  this  he  made  his  home  after  his  marriage 
with  Leah,  daughter  of  Martin  Voorhees,  of  Har- 
lingen,  Dec.  19,  1817.  He  speedily  became  eminent 
in  his  profession  and  gained  a  large  and  lucrative 
practice ;  his  skill  and  fidelity  won  the  confidence 
of  the  community,  while  his  genial  disposition  and 
hearty  sympathy  endeared  him  to  all.  His  public 
spirit  led  him  to  engage  earnestly  in  political  afiairs, 
and  he  was  intrusted  with  many  important  offices, 
which  he  filled  with  great  ability  and  acknowledged 
fidelity. 

In  1829-31  he  was  a  member  of  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  State  Legislature.  During  1833-36  he 
was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States,  serving  two  full  terms.  In  1844 
he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  framed 
the  constitution  of  the  State.  In  1845  he  was  ap- 
pointed judge  of  the  State  Court  of  Errors  and  Ap- 
peals, and  was  several  times  reappointed,  serving  in 
all  some  ten  or  twelve  years.  He  was  also  appointed 
by  the  Governor  a  member,  for  Somerset  County,  of 
the  State  commission  of  banking.  For  many  years 
he  was  a  trustee  of  Rutgers  College,  and  gave  much 
attention  to  advancing  its  interests  and  those  of  edu- 
cation in  the  community.  He  gave  all  his  children 
a  liberal  education.  Of  his  six  sons,  one  became  a 
minister,  two  were  lawyers,  and  three  were  physi- 
cians. He  had  three  daughters.  One  died  young; 
Alice  married  Rev.  A.  D.  White,  a  minister  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  long  settled  in  Trenton,  N.  J. ; 
and  Margaret  married  Garret  Nevius,  an  extensive 
and  prosperous  farmer  residing  at  Pleasant  Plains. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  dignity  of  bearing,  a  student 
of  wide  learning,  a  careful  and  impressive  speaker 
and  gifted  with  a  lively  social  disposition.  He  con- 
tinued the  practice  of  his  profession  until  he  was 
nearly  seventy  years  old,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life 
was  highly  respected  and  exerted  a  great  influence 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  community.  He  died 
May  15,  1860,  and  was  buried  in  the  neighborhood 
burying-place  of  Pleasant  Plains. 

James  Brutn  Elmendorf  wa.s  the  son  of  Peter 
Elmendorf,  who  lived  on  the  north  side  of  the  Raritan. 
Peter's  father,  John,  inherited  the  estate  which  had 
formerly  been  owned  by  Lord  Neill  Campbell,  near 
the  junction  of  the  Raritan  and  the  North  Branch. 
Dr.  Elmendorf  was  born  March   9,  1788.     He  was 


graduated  from  Princeton  College  in  1807,  and  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  M.D.  in  1813  fi-om  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  first  practiced  medicine  in 
Millstone.  About  1816  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Gen.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen  by  his 
second  wife,  Ann  Yard.* 

In  1825,  Dr.  Elmendorf  s  house  having  been  burned, 
he  removed  to  Somerville  and  became  a  partner  of  Dr. 
P.  I.  Stryker  for  two  years.  He  then  removed  to 
Philadelphia,  and  in  1827  returned  to  Millstone,  where 
he  continued  his  profession  until  his  death,  Sept.  1, 
1852. 

Jacob  T.  B.  Skillman  was  born  March  10,  1794, 
at  Three-Mile  Run,  in  Somerset  County,  where  his 
father,  an  industrious  farmer,  lived  in  comfortable 
circumstances.  He  attended  the  primary  school,  and 
then  the  academy  at  Basking  Ridge,  where,  under  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Finley,  he  prepared  for  college.  He  entered 
Union  College  in  1816 :  was  a  classmate  of  William 
H.  Seward  and  others  who  subsequently  became  dis- 
tinguished. After  graduating,  he  taught  for  two  years 
an  academy  in  Virginia  connected  with  the  Hampden- 
Sidney  College,  but  ill  health  compelled  his  return 
North.  On  his  arrival  home  he  began  the  study  of 
medicine  with  Dr.  A.  R.  Taylor,  of  New  Brunswick. 
He  was  licensed  in  1825,  and  settled  at  Woodbridge, 
N.  J. ;  he  subsequently  removed  to  Rahway,  and  later 
to  New  Brunswick,  where  for  thirty  years  he  dis- 
charged the  onerous  duties  of  his  profession,  and 
where  he  died  June  26,  1864,  in  the  seventy-first  year 
of  his  age.  His  wife  was  Miss  R.  C.  Ayres,  of  Six- 
Mile  Run ;  of  an  interesting  circle  of  children,  only 
one  son  and  one  daughter  survived  him. 

Samuel  S.  Doty  was  born  Dec.  4,  1794,  near 
Basking  Ridge,  Somerset  Co.,  and  died  at  the  same 
place  Sept.  22,  1863,  aged  sixty-nine.  For  over  forty 
years  he  practiced  medicine  at  the  place  of  his  birth. 
He  received  his  early  literary  training  under  the  cele- 
brated Robert  Finley,  D.D. ;  read  medicine  with  Dr. 
Budd,  of  Chatham,  N.  J.,  and  Dr.  MoKissack,  of 
Bound  Brook.  He  attended  medical  lectures  in  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York,  1813- 
15,  was  graduated  in  March  of  the  last-named  year, 
and  licensed  to  practice  in  June.  He  was  twice 
married, — first  to  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Judge 
Southard,  and  afterwards  to  a  daughter  of  Lott 
Southard,  Esq.,  who  still  survives.  His  surviving 
children  are  a  daughter  and  two  sons  by  his  first 
marriage.  Though  of  feeble  constitution,  he  was  a 
man  of  unusual  activity  and  vigor  both  in  mind  and 
body.  Disease  did  not  seem  to  cripple  him.  He  was 
eminent  in  his  profession,  and  prominent  in  other  de- 
partments of  life.  In  agriculture,  politics,  law,  and 
religion  he  took  a  deep  interest.     He  had  a  remark- 


*  Miss  Yard  was  daughter  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Yard,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
afterwards  became  Mrs.  Williams.  Mre.  Sarah  Yard  bought  what  is 
known  ns  the  Dr.  Elmendorf  place,  in  1777,  of  Hendrick  Wilson,  and 
presented  it  to  her  daughter  Ann  in  1778.  Gen.  Fred.  Trelinghuysen, 
after  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  in  1794,  married  Ann  Yard. 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


599 


able  memory  and  most  brilliant  conversational  gifts. 
He  was  a  decided  Christian,  and  his  end  was  peace.* 
Abeaham  Skillman,  born  at  Three-Mile  Eun, 
this  county,  in  March,  1796,  was  a  graduate  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey.    He  studied  with  the  late  Dr. 
Taylor,  of  New  Brunswick,  attending  lectures  in  New 
York  and  enjoying  the  privileges  of  the  office  of  the 
late  Dr.  Cheeseman.    In  June,  1823,  he  settled  at 
Bound  Brook  and  commenced  practice  in  company 
with  the  late  Dr.  McKissack,  who  died  in  1831.    He 
was  president  of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey 
in  1843.    He  was  a  skillful  and  successful  physician, 
devoted  to  his  profession,  and  enjoying  the  confidence 
of  those  among  whom  he  practiced.     All  his  medical 
life — over  forty  years — was  passed  in  this  county.  He 
had  been  for  more  than  thirty  years  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Bound  Brook,  in  the  ceme- 
tery of  which  church  his  remains  were  interred  by 
the  side  of  his  son,  who  had  preceded  him  but  a  few 
months.    He  died  at  Bound  Brook,  Dec.  10,  1862. 

Jacob  Dunham,  although  resident  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, may  almost  be  reckoned  as  a  Somerset  physician, 
inasmuch  as  his  practice  for  a  score  of  years  or  more 
extended  all  over  the  eastern  portion  of  this  county, 
to  Bound  Brook,  Six-Mile,  Berrien's  Tavern,  Mill- 
stone, etc.  He  was  the  son  of  Col.  Azariah,  grandson 
of  Rev.  Jonathan,  of  Piscataway,  and  great-great- 
grandson  of  Edmund,  who  was  the  first  white  child 
born  in  Middlesex  County.  His  brother  Lewis  was 
also  an  eminent  physician,  and  likewise  was  located 
in  New  Brunswick.  Jacob  was  born  Sept.  29,  1767 ; 
died  Aug.  7,  1832.  He  attended  medical  lectures  in 
Philadelphia  about  1786 ;  was  buried  in  Christ  Church 
churchyard,  New  Brunswick.  Lewis  was  born  1754, 
died  1821,  and  was  buried  in  the  Presbyterian  church- 
yard of  the  same  place. 

EoBEET  R.  Henry  was  living,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Revolution,  in  Somerset  County,  having 
graduated  at  Princeton  in  1776.  He  entered  the  ser- 
vice and  was  commissioned  as  surgeon's  mate  in  gen- 
eral hospital,  Continental  army,  March  17,  1777,t  as 
assistant  to  Dr.  Cochrane.  He  was  afterwards  com- 
missioned in  the  regular  troops,  serving  four  years  in 
€ol.  Read's  regiment  of  Gen.  Poor's  brigade.  New 
Hampshire  line.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
wine,  in  the  hospitals  at  Morristown  in  1780,  and  at 
the  fight  at  Croton  River  was  seriously  wounded  in 
the  arm  and  taken  prisoner.  He  was  also  with  Gen. 
Sullivan's  expedition,  and  left  the  service  only  upon 
the  disbandment  of  the  armies,  when  he  settled  at 
Cross-Roads,  Somerset  Co.,  where  he  died  Dec.  27, 
1805.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Soci- 
ety, elected  in  1785.  He  married  (1780)  Mary  Hil- 
lard,  of  Reading,  Conn.  His  wife  and  ten  children 
survived  him ;  she  was  living  in  1836  at  Penn  Yan, 
N.  Y.,  then  aged  seventy-five.J 

*  Trans.  Med.  Soc.  State  of  N.  J.,  1864. 

f  Stryker's  Register. 

{ loner's  MSS.  Biogs.  of  Am.  Physicians. 


John  Jennings  was  born  in  Somerset  County, 
1744,  a  son  of  Jacob  Jennings.  He  migrated  from 
New  Providence  to  Readington  (then  known  as  North 
Branch)  in  1784,^  where  he  had  an  extensive  and 
successful  practice.  He  removed  thence  to  Virginia, 
but  soon  returned  to  New  Jersey;  was  licensed  to 
preach,  and  was  ordained  by  the  Synod  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  of  New  Brunswick  in  1789.  He 
died  in  Pennsylvania,  Feb.  17,  1803.  || 

Samuel  Kennedy,  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  in 
1720,  educated  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  came 
to  America,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  in 
1750,  was  ordained,  and  settled  at  Basking  Ridge  June 
15,  1751.  He  established  a  classical  school  there, 
which  was  of  a  high  order  and  extensively  patron- 
ized. In  addition  to  his  calling  as  a  pastor  and 
teacher,  he  was  a  practicing  physician,  and  acquired 
reputation  in  the  treatment  of  disease.  He  was,  in 
consequence,  called  "  Doctor."  He  joined  the  State 
Medical  Society  two  years  after  its  formation.  He 
died  at  Basking  Ridge,  Aug.  31,  1787,  aged  sixty- 
seven.l[ 

Hugh  McEowen,  son  of  Alexander  and  Mary 
(Cross)  McEowen.  The  former,  born  in  Scotland, 
studied  medicine  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  student 
at  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital  in  1784,  and  his  certifi- 
cate of  attendance  was  signed  by  Benjamin  Rush  and 
John  Foulke,  July  12,  1786.  Having  been  licensed, 
Aug.  19,  1786,  he  immediately  settled  at  the  place 
now  called  Millington,  a  little  south  of  Basking  Ridge, 
where  he  continued  to  practice  until  laid  aside  by  his 
last  illness.  He  had  a  very  large  field  of  labor,  ex- 
tending to  Long  Hill,  Basking  Ridge,  and  Mendham. 
He  married,  June  2,  1801,  Catharine  Vail,  of  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  and  had  three  children, — Mary,  married 
Dr.  Edward  A.  Darcy;  Matilda,  married  Rev.  Dr. 
Fairchild ;  and  Alexander.  The  daughters  survive,** 
but   there   are   no   descendants   of   the   name   now 

living.ft 

A.  W.  McDowell,  after  graduating  from  the  Med- 
ical Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  1840,  settled  in  Bedminster.  He  was  an  associate 
of  and  intimate  with  Henry  Van  Derveer  and  Cor- 
nelius C.  Suydam,  who  lived  at  Pluckamin  and  Lesser 
Cross-Roads  respectively.  (See  sketch  in  the  history 
of  Bedminster  township.) 

CoENELius  C.  Suydam  was  an  only  son,  inherited 
property,  received  a  good  education,  and  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  en- 
tered upon  a  large  practice  at  once  in  his  native 
township,  Bedminster.  He  was  a  careful  yet  bold 
practitioner ;  never  was  afraid  to  use  his  medicines, 
and  did  use  them  with  consummate  judgment  and 


g  Blane'B  Med.  Hist.  Hunterdon.  I  MSS.  Notes  of  Dr.  Messier. 

^  Sprague's  Annals. 

«*  An  old  family  Bible,  printed  in  1765,  formerly  the  property  of  Alex- 
ander, Sr.,  is  in  possession  of  the  daughter.  On  its  title-page  is  its  be- 
quest to  his  son  Hugh. 

tt  Hist,  of  N.  J.  Med.,  Wickes,  p.  326. 


600 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


skill.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  practiced 
chiefly  as  a  consulting  physician.  After  living  a 
bachelor  nearly  all  his  life,  he  married  a  most  esti- 
mable lady,  after  which  event  he  removed  to  Liberty 
Corner.  He  was  called  far  and  near,  was  admired 
and  respected,  and  was  a  true  Christian.  He  was  a 
large  and  finely-developed  man,  six  feet  four  inches 
high,  and  weighed  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 
He  had  an  iron  constitution,  an  indomitable  will,  a 
clear  mind,  and  a  soul  as  large  as  his  body.  But  for 
years  he  sufiered  from  diabetes,  was  reduced  in  flesh 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and,  after  medicine 
lost  its  power  on  his  system,  predicted  that  his  death 
would  occur  in  a  week.  He  died  on  the  eighth  day, 
departing  this  life  Dec.  27, 1859,  in  his  sixtieth  year. 
His  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Eev.  Mr.  Eng- 
lish, in  whose  memoriam  was  the  sentiment  "  that 
Dr.  Suydam,  though  not  a  church-member,  was  truly 
a  Christian  man."* 

Abm.  T.  B.  Van  Doren  was  a  native  of  Somerset 
County,  born  June  15,  1823.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Eutgers,  standing  sixth  in  his  class,  and  matriculated 
at  the  New  York  University  in  1843.  He  married, 
June  10,  1846,  Miss  Joannah,  daughter  of  John  More- 
head,  of  Readington.  He  practiced  at  Neshanic  from 
1843  to  1848,  part  of  the  time  associated  with  Dr. 
Schenck,  and  later  at  Ringos,  in  Hunterdon  County ; 
but  in  1852,  on  account  of  failing  health,  he  went 
South,  returning  the  following  year  to  Branchville,t 
where  he  died.  He  was  buried  in  a  private  burial- 
ground  on  the  farm  on  which  he  was  raised,  now  or 
lately  owned  by  Lanning  Nevius,  near  Centreville 
and  the  South  Branch,  where  a  modest  monument 
tells  us  that 

"  He  died  June  30th,  1863. 
His  wife  died  January  4th,  1855, 
Aged  26  years,  8  months,  and  13  days." 

He  left  one  son,  John  M.  (born  Oct.  2,  1849),  now 
living  in  New  York.  A  contemporary  says  of  Dr. 
Van  Doren,: 

"  He  made  but  little  headway,  owing  to  his  health  failing,  and  the 
grave  closed  over  the  remains  of  a  very  worthy  and  well-educated  medi- 
cal man.  Could  his  health  have  heeu  spared  bim,  his  future  no  doubt 
would  have  been  happy  and  prosperous."! 

Joseph  Bonney  practiced  in  Bound  Brook  before 
the  Revolution.  From  thence  he  removed  to  Short 
Hills,  Essex  Co.,  and  subsequently  to  Rahway.  His 
wife  was  Polly  Davison,  of  Basking  Ridge ;  she  died 
May  3,  1806,  in  her  twenty-ninth  year.  He  died  at 
Metuchen,  and  was  buried  in  Rahway.  His  monu- 
ment bears  this  inscription : 

"  In  memory  of  Dr.  Joseph  Bonnky, 

who  died  Nov.  27, 1807, 

In  the  38th  year  of  his  age. 

Our  days — alas  I  our  mortal  days — 

Are  short  and  wretched  too  ; 
Evil  and  few,  the  patriarch  says. 
And  well  the  pati-iarch  knew,"§ 

*  Dr.  McDowell,  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873.  f  Now  South  Branch. 

X  Br.  Blane's  Hist,  of  Med.  Men  of  Hunterdon  County, 
g  Wickes'  Hist,  of  N.  Jersey,  p.  162. 


Lewis  Moegan  was  admitted  to  practice  medicine 
in  New  Jersey  about  1787,  perhaps,  earlier.  He  settled 
first  in  Somerset  County,  then  in  Burlington,  whence 
he  went  to  Rahway  a  year  or  two  before  the  death  of 
Dr.  John  Griffith.  There  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days.  Dr.  Wickes  says  the  tradition  that  he  was 
a  surgeon  in  the  British  service  during  the  Revolu- 
tion is  open  to  doubt,  as  he  is  not  mentioned  in  Sa- 
bine's "Loyalists  in  America."  He  "died  Jan.  12, 
1821,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Jonathan  Foed  Morris,  a  son  of  Maj.  James 
Morris,  ||  of  the  Continental  army,  was  bom  in  Morris- 
Co.,  N.  J.,  March  21,  1760 ;  served  through  the  Rev- 
olutionary war  as  a  private,  a  lieutenant,  and  as  a 
surgeon,  and  was  of  the  party  who  intercepted  the 
dashing  Col.  Simcoe  at  New  Brunswick  when  on  his 
raid  on  the  Raritan.  In  1784  (March  1)  he  married 
Margaret  Smith  Euen,  of  Elizabethtown,  who  sur- 
vived him  till  1844.  They  had  nine  children.  Dr. 
Morris  immediately  after  the  war  resided  and  prac- 
ticed at  Bound  Brook,  later  at  Somerville,  where  he 
died  April  10, 1810.  He  was  a  popular  physician,  suc- 
cessful surgeon,  philanthropic  citizen,  and  a  forcible 
writer. 

Henry  Southard,  late  of  Somerville,  was  a  native 
of  this  county,  born  March  27,  1811.  He  was  a  son 
of  the  Hon.  Isaac  and  a  grandson  of  the  Hon.  Henry 
Southard,  of  Revolutionary  renown.  "Having  stud- 
ied medicine,  he  was  duly  licensed  by  the  State 
board  of  censors,  and  after  practicing  successively  at 
Flemington,  Asbury,  Danville,  Belvidere,  and  Phil- 
lipsburg,  he  finally  established  himself  in  Somerville, 
where  he  remained  in  active  practice  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Hunterdon  County 
Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  for  a  time  secretary; 
was  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society, 
and  in  1847  was  a  member  of  the  State  board  of  cen- 
sors. His  death  occurred  Oct.  13,  1859.  His  wife 
was  Louisa  Maxwell,  of  Phillipsburg,  N.  J.,  who 
subsequently  married  John  Ball,  of  Somerville,  where 
she  now  resides. 

John  C.  Sutphen,  now  of  Plainfield,  was  born  in 
1836,  in  Somerset  County,  at  the  old  Sutphen  home- 
stead. He  graduated  B.A.  in  1856  at  Princeton,  and 
M.D.  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1859.  The 
first  eight  years  of  his  medical  practice  were  in  Som- 
erset County,  at  Liberty  Corner ;  in  1867  he  removed 
to  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  where  he  resided  until  his  death, 
about  1876,  reaping  the  rewards  of  his  professional 
skill,  and  also  enjoying  various  political  honors. 

Wm.  D.  McKissack,  late  of  Millstone,  was  born  at 
Bound  Brook,  Somerset  Co.,  Jan.  28,  1781,  and  was 
the  son  of  Wm.  M.  McKissack,  long  an  eminent  prac- 
titioner at  Bound  Brook.  His  education  began  with 
a  careful  school  course  at  Basking  Ridge,  followed 
by  collegiate  graduation  (Princeton,  1802),  medical 
reading  under  the  famous  Dr.  Nicholas  Belleville,  of 

1  Fatally  wounded  at  battle  of  Germantown,  and  died  Jan.  7, 1777. 


THE  MEDICAL  PKOFESSION  OF   SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


601' 


Trenton,  concluding  with  medical  lectures  in  New 
York.  In  1805  he-commenced  to  practice  the  "  heal- 
ing art"  at  Pittatown,  Hunterdon  Co.,  but  after  tw^o 
years  removed  to  Millstone,  where  for  forty -six  years  he 
was  the  leading  representative  of  the  profession.  He 
practiced  at  Millstone  from  1807  to  1853.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Somerset  County  Medical  Society  and 
of  the  State  Medical  Society,  being  for  twelve  years 
recording  secretary  of  the  latter  organization.  Dur- 
ing the  war  of  1812  he  was  a  captain  of  volunteers, 
and  after  the  war  became  a  brigadier-general  of  the 
State  militia.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  State 
Legislature^  1835-36.  Socially  and  professionally  he 
was  highly  esteemed.  He  married  Margaret,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Peter  Ditmars,  of  Millstone,  and  by  this  mar- 
riage had  five  children.*  He  deceased  March  6, 1853. 
His  wife  (born  in  1795)  died  Jan.  30,  1864. 

"William  H.  Meeiiill. — William,  grandfather  of 
W.  H.,  originally  settled  the  homestead  near  Flem- 


ington  where  John  C.  Merrill,  father  of  our  subject, 
now  resides.  John  C.  Merrill,  born  in  1802,  on  the 
homestead,  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Dayton,  who  bore 
him  children  as  follows,— J.  Dayton,  Jane,  wife  of 
Jeremiah  J.  Huff,  Rachel,  wife  of  John  Dilts,  Mary, 
wife  of  Van  Derveer  Higgins,  William  H.,  Jesse 
Simeon,  and  Ellen. 

Dr.  Merrill  was  born  on  May  24,  1842.  He  spent 
most  of  his  minority  at  home,  and  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  schools   in   Flemington. 

*  William  D.,  Jr.,  graduated  at  West  Point,  served  in  the  Miixican  war, 
and  died  on  his  way  home;  another  son,  Peter  D.,  was  a  physician,  and 
practiced  at  Millstone  for  thirty  years,  until  his  death,  in  1872. 


He  prepared  for  college  under  his  brother.  Rev.  J. 
Dayton  Merrill,  A.M.,  then  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Millburn,  but  now  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Massena,  N.  Y.,  and  was  subsequently  a 
student  in  the  University  of  Lewisburg,  Pa.  In  1866 
he  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  C.  W.  Lari- 
son  of  Ringos,  Hunterdon  County,  took  his  first  course 
of  medical  lectures  at  Geneva  Medical  College,  and 
then  entered  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  New 
York,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1869. 

He  began  practice  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  at 
Centreville,  but  after  a  short  time  settled  in  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  at  South  Branch,  Somerset  Co., 
where  he  has  had  a  growing  practice  since.     Dr. 
Merrill's  skill  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  his 
care  and  attention  to  every  interest  of  his  patient,  has 
given  him  rank  among  the  first  physicians  in  the 
county.     His  ride  at  first  only  extended  over  that 
formerly  enjoyed  by  Dr.  Robins,  but  his  devotion  to 
his  patients,  his  singleness  of  purpose,  and  his  integ- 
rity in  practice  have  largely  extended  the   former 
bounds  of  his  ride.   Dr.  Merrill  never  allows  personal 
enjoyment  to  come  between  him  and  his  patient;  but, 
dearly  loving   his   profession,   its    toils  become  his 
pleasure.     In  1874,  Dr.  Merrill  built  an  elegant  and 
substantial  residence  at  South  Branch,  overlooking 
the   village,   river,   and    surrounding  country.     He 
married,  Feb.  12,  1873,  Rebecca  C,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam B.  and  Elenah  (Cole)  Higgins,  of  Branchburg 
township.    They  have  one  child,  Howard  V.  MerrilL 
Peter  Ten  Eyck  was  a  lineal  descendant,  in  the 
seventh  generation,  of  Coenradt  Ten  Eyck,  the  founder 
of  the  Ten  Eyck  family  in  America,  who  emigrated  to 
this  country  in  1650.    He  came  from  Amsterdam,  Hol- 
land, with  his  wife,  Maria  Boele,  and  located  in  New 
York  City,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  is  supposed  to  have  been  buried  on  the  present 
site  of  the  old  post-office,  in  that  city.     The  inter- 
vening generations  in  the  male  line  were  Mattys,  who 
settled  in  Old  Hurley,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  founded 
the  Ten  Eyck  family  at  that  point ;  Jacob,  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  North   Branch  Ten   Eycks,   of  this 
county ;  Coenradt,  Frederick,  and  Richard. 

Dr.  Ten  Eyck  was  the  son  of  Richard  and  Jane 
(Todd)  Ten  Eyck,  and  was  born  at  Millstone,  N.  J., 
June  24,  1817.  His  great-grandfather,  Coenradt, 
was  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  that  point  and  a 
wealthy  landowner,  and  his  maternal  grandfather  was 
Col.  William  Todd,  of  Lamington,  N.  J.,  a  brave  offi- 
cer in  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  earlier  years  of 
Dr.  Ten  Eyck  were  passed  at  home.  Upon  attaining 
sufficient  age  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  under 
Dr.  Mechisic,  of  Millstone,  and,  completing  his  studies 
in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  he  was  graduated  with  honor 
from  that  institution  in  1848.  Five  years  previous  to 
that  date,  on  March  7, 1843,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Margaret  S.  S.  Troutman,  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Troutman,  of  the  English  navy.    ^''-  ""  —" 


Miss  Trout- 


602 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


man  was  a  lady  of  culture  and  possessed  of  many  vir- 
tues. She  was  a  graduate  of  the  Moravian  seminary 
at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  was  a  fine  artist  and  musician,  and 
possessed  a  voice  of  exquisite  power  and  beauty. 

From  the  time  of  his  marriage  Dr.  Ten  Eyck's 
home  was  in  New  York  City,  where  he  subsequently 
enjoyed  a  successful  and  extensive  practice.  To  his 
skill  in  his  profession  he  added  achievements  in  the 
direction  of  mechanical  discovery.  Being  possessed 
of  strong  inventive  power,  he  employed  his  leisure 
moments  in  discovering  and  patenting  several  useftil 
articles,  among  which  were  a  rocking-  and  revolving- 
chair  combined  and  a  brake  for  vehicles.  He  was  a 
remarkable  linguist,  could  converse  fluently  in  differ- 
ent languages,  and  was  possessed  of  considerable  ar- 
tistic ability,  being  a  skillful  draughtsman  and  able  to 
give  great  beauty  to  some  of  his  designs.  He  built  an 
elegant  residence  in  New  York,  on  the  northeast  cor- 
ner of  Park  Avenue  and  Thirty-fourth  Street  (Mur- 
ray Hill),  two  blocks  distant  from  the  palatial  resi- 
dence of  the  late  A.  T.  Stewart,  and  directly  opposite 
the  Church  of  the  Eedeemer,  and  which  he  occupied 
through  life.  He  inaugurated,  and  was  plaintiif  in, 
the  proceedings  against  the  New  York  and  Harlem 
Railroad  which  resulted  in  compelling  that  corpora- 
tion to  make  Forty-second  Street  the  terminus  of 
their  inroad  upon  the  municipal  domains. 

After  a  singularly  active  and  successful  life  Dr.  Ten 
Eyck  passed  away  on  Feb.  11, 1860.  To  his  other  at- 
tainments were  added  a  kind  and  benevolent  disposi- 
tion that  endeared  him  to  many,  and  made  him  an 
ever-welcome  visitor  to  the  homes  of  his  locality.  In 
his  own  home  he  was  ever  the  faithful  and  considerate 
husband  and  father,  and  by  his  removal  the  hearth- 
stone of  one  of  the  happiest  of  New  York  homes  was 
m.ade  forever  desolate.  His  loving  and  accomplished 
wife  followed  him  into  the  confines  of  the  shadowy 
land  on  Feb.  28,  1867,  and  left  her  only  children — 
Blendenia  S.  C.  and  Charles  Eichard— to  encounter 
the  stern  realities  of  the  world  without  a  father's  faith- 
ful care  or  the  kind  attentions  of  a  warm-hearted  and 
true  mother. 

But  even  these  two  children  were  not  destined  long 
to  remain  united  in  their  sorrows.  Charles  Richard 
Ten  Eyck  was  born  in  New  York  City  on  Nov.  1, 
1852,  and  at  the  time  of  his  mother's  death  was  fifteen 
years  of  age.  At  that  period  he  entered  Riverview 
Military  Academy,  at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
remained  nearly  two  years.  He  then  accompanied 
his  sister  on  a  journey  to  the  South  for  the  benefit  of 
her  health,  and  upon  his  return  he  entered  Tren- 
ton Academy,  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  subsequently 
passed  through  a  course  of  business  training  at  East- 
man's National  Business  College,  Poughkeepsie.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  his  health  became  impaired,  and 
he  traveled  South  in  the  hope  of  reclaiming  it.  He 
extended  his  tour  to  Cuba,  where,  owing  to  the  exist- 
ing relations  between  that  isle  and  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment, he  was  a  constant  object  of  suspicion,  and 


whence  he  thankfully  departed.     After  his  return 
Mr.  Ten  Eyck  finished  his  course  at  the  business  col- 
lege in  Poughkeepsie,  and  subsequently  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  as  a  member  of 
the   firm  of  Bowne   &  Ten   Eyck.     The   enterprise 
proved  to  be  an  unfortunate  one,  and  amid  the  wreck 
of  hundreds  of  business  houses  which  the  depressed 
condition  of  the  times  induced,  Mr.  Ten  Eyck's  for- 
tune was  swept  away.     It  had  been  the  wish  of  his 
father  that  he  .should  enter  the  medical  profession, 
but,  his  health  not  permitting,  he  had  not  engaged  in 
business  from  necessity,  but  merely  as  a  means  of  oc- 
cupying his  mind.    His  misfortunes  preyed  upon  him 
to  such  an  extent  that  five  years  after  their  occur- 
rence, on  Feb.  5,  1879,  he  died  of  consumption,  at  the 
hotel  in  Graniteville,  S.  C,  kept  by  Mrs.  N.  E.  Senn, 
whose  kindness  to  an  unfortunate  young  man  who 
seemed  driven  by  fate  to  her  home  to  die  will  ever 
be  gratefully  remembered  by  his  friends.     The  fune- 
ral services  of  Mr.  Ten  Eyck  were  held  in  the  Middle 
Reformed  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  his  remains 
now  rest  in  Cypress  Hill  Cemetery,  beside  those  of 
his  parents.     Thus  ended,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six, 
the  short,  sad  life  of  a  young  man  of  great  ability  and 
promise,  possessed  of  a  frank  and  generous  disposition 
that  made  all  men  his  friends,  and  who  was  an  afiec- 
tionate  and  beloved  brother.     To  his  memory  and  to 
the  memory  of  her  parents  this  memoir  is  appro- 
priately inscribed  in  the  history  of  the  primal  home 
of  their  ancient  family  by  its  surviving  member.  Miss 
Blendenia  S.  C.  Ten  Eyck,  of  Somerville,  N.  J. 

Ed-wahd  a.  Darct,  son  of  Dr.  John  Darcy  (of 
Hanover,  Morris  Co.),  studied  medicine  with  his 
father,  and  practiced  with  much  success  at  Long 
Hill  and  Basking  Ridge.  He  married  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Hugh  McEowen,  and  had  two  daughters, — 
Ann  C.  and  Catharine  McEowen.  In  1833  he  as- 
sisted in  organizing  a  company  of  emigrants  to  Illi- 
nois from  Somerset  and  adjacent  counties;  Jersey- 
ville.  111.,  owes  its  origin  to  that  movement.  The 
doctor  was  fond  of  surgery,  and  attended  to  all  such 
cases  as  came  in  his  way,  but  was  not  in  general 
medical  practice.* 

John  V.  Schenck  was  born  at  Six-Mile  Run 
(Franklin  Park),  Somerset  Co.,  Nov.  17,  1824.  He 
was  the  son  of  Ferdinand  S.  and  Leah  (Voorhees) 
Schenck,  both  natives  of  New  Jersey.  Following  a 
common-school  education  and  the  usual  preparatory 
study,  he  entered  Rutgers  College  in  1841,  and  was 
graduated  in  1844.  He  at  once  began  to  prepare  him- 
self for  the  medical  profession ;  entered  the  oflice  of 
his  father,  then  a  leading  practitioner  at  Six-Mile 
Run,  and  studied  with  him  until  1845,  when  he  en- 
tered the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  grad- 
uated in  the  spring  of  1847,  and  at  once  commenced 
the  practice  of  medicine,  in  partnership  with  his 
father,  in  his  native  place.     In  December,  1848,  he 


*  WiokeB'  Hist,  of  N.  J.  Med.,  p.  227. 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF  SOMEKSET   COUNTY. 


603 


removed  to  Camden,  N.  J.,  which  has  since  been  his 
residence.  He  was  elected  president  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  in  1876.  He  married,  July  6,  1857, 
Martha  McKeen,  of  Philadelphia. 

Henry  E.  Cannon,  born  at  Six-Mile  Run,  Som- 
erset Co.,  May  20,  1821,  son  of  Key.  Dr.  James  S. 
and  Catharine  (Brevoort)  Cannon,  graduated  from 
Eutgers  in  1840,  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Van  Deur- 
sen,  of  New  Brunswick,  received  the  degree  of  M.D.  in 
1843  from  the  University  of  New  York,  and  the  same 
year  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  his  na- 
tive county,  and  was  actively  engaged  therein  for 
nine  years.  In  1852  he  removed  to  Union  County, 
this  State,  where  for  over  twenty  years  he  officiated 
as  county  clerk. 

Samuel  K.  Martin  was  for  more  than  thirty 
years  an  active  and  esteemed  member  of  the  District 
Medical  Society  of  Somerset  County.  He  was  the 
son  of  Judge  Absalom  Martin,  and  was  born  at  Mar- 
tinsville, this  county,  in  1808,  and  died  at  the  place  of 
his  nativity,  July  24,  1868,  aged  sixty.  After  a  pre- 
liminary education  he  entered  the  office  of  Eobert  S. 
Smith,  of  Bound  Brook.  In  1828-30  he  attended  two 
full  courses  of  lectures  in  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  of  the  University  of  New  York,  and 
June  16,  1830,  received  his  medical  license.  He  im- 
mediately commenced  practice  at  Martinsville,  which 
was  interrupted  only  by  his  death.  He  was  happily 
married  to  Miss  Sutton,  of  New  York  City,  by  whom 
he  had  two  children,  who  died  in  early  life. 

Well  educated  and  possessed  of  fine  literary  tastes, 
his  society  was  courted  by  the  refined,  intelligent,  and 
polite.  For  six  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Legislature, — ^three  in  the  Lower  House,  three  in  the 
Senate, — ^where  his  abilities  as  a  debater  and  elo- 
quence as  a  speaker  were  recognized.  As  a  physician 
he  was  reliable  and  possessed  decided  ability  and 
sound  judgment,  and  when  tested  proved  himself  an 
eminently  capable  adviser.  "Solicitous  for  the  wel- 
fare of  his  patients,  eagerly  embracing  every  op- 
portunity or  means  to  promote  their  comfort  or  safety, 
compromising  his  own  health  often — which  was  gen- 
erally feeble — for  their  good,  he  deservedly  won  the 
confidence  and  affection  of  a  large  circle  of  friends. 
Unpretending  in  manners,  simple  and  plain  in  ap- 
pearance, his  face  bore  evidence  of  kindness  of  heart 
and  of  quiet  deep-thinking;  and  throughout  the 
years  of  his  practice  he  manifested  an  unselfishness, 
a  high  sense  of  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of,  and 
degree  of  devotion  to,  his  profession  and  the  good  of 
suffering  humanity  seldom  equaled."  In  his  native 
place  he  caused  to  be  built  a  chapel,  which  he  liber- 
ally supported,  and  where  he  worshiped. 

Alfred  B.  Dayton  was  born  at  Basking  Ridge, 
N.  J.,  Dec.  25, 1812,  and  was  a  brother  of  the  Hon. 
William  L.  Dayton.  He  enjoyed  superior  educational 
advantages,  ending  with  Princeton  College ;  gradu- 
ated from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
New  York,  in  1836.    He  became  an  eminent  practi- 


tioner, was  a  member  of  the  district,  State,  and  na- 
tional medical  societies,  and  was  a  polished  writer. 
He  died  July  19, 1870.  He  did  not  practice  in  Som- 
erset County,  but  resided  after  1885  at  Chester  and  at 
Mattawan,  N.  J.  He  married  Elizabeth  R.  Van  Der- 
veer,  a  native  of  Somerville.  His  son,  R.  W.  Day- 
ton, is  a  lawyer  at  Mattawan,  N.  J. 

Forrest  A.  Gillen,  of  Bound  Brook,  was  born 
at  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  March  23,  1852.  From 
the  high  school  of  his  native  place  he  entered  the 
office  of  Dr.  Kissam,  police  surgeon  of  Brooklyn; 
was  enrolled  as  a  matriculant  in  the  New  York  Uni- 
versity in  1872,  graduating  in  1875.  He  then  located 
at  Bound  Brook  and  commenced  practice,  associated 
for  a  time  with  Dr.  Fields.  Although  a  young  man, 
he  has  already  acquired  reputation  as  a  careful  and 
skillful  practitioner. 

Richard  G.  Ludlow,  born  in  1830,  was  the  third 
son  of  the  late  Rev.  Gabriel  Ludlow,  D.D.,  of  Reading- 
ton.  Dr.  Ludlow  was  for  a  short  time  a  student  at  Rut- 
gers, but  left  that  institution  and  studied  medicine. 
He  was  graduated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
in  1863.  He  practiced  medicine  at  Neshanic  for  seven- 
teen years.  He  was  killed  Dec.  5,  1879,  at  Neshanic, 
Hillsborough  township,  this  county,  by  a  fall  from 
his  carriage.  His  brother,  Jacob  R.,  once  practiced 
at  Neshanic,  but  is  now  at  Easton,  Pa.* 

Peter  Vredenberg  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  between  1800  and  1804,  in  Readington,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  residing  on  the  lot  lying  between  the  roads 
leading  to  Centreville  and  Stanton  ;  but  a  year  later 
he  removed  to  Millstone,  Somerset  Co.,  thence,  in 
1807,  to  Parsippany.  In  1810  he  removed  to  Somer- 
ville, where  he  had  a  long  and  successful  practice, 
and  where  he  died  at  an  advanced  age,  leaving  three 
sons  and  several  daughters.  His  oldest  son,  Peter, 
was  one  of  the  associate  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  Jersey.f  Another  son.  Van  Doren,  was 
sheriff  of  this  county,  but  is  now  deceased.  Still 
another  son.  La  Rue,  is  living,  and  is  cashier  of  the 
Somerset  County  Bank. 

C.  C.  HoAGLAND,  born  near  Griggstown,  this  county, 
was  graduated  at  Rutgers,  studied  medicine,  and  lo- 
cated at  Catskill,  N.  Y. ;  in  1836  he  removed  to  Read- 
ington, Hunterdon  Co.,  occupying  the  farm  and  resi- 
dence formerly  of  Dr.  Jacob  Jennings.  In  1840  he 
removed  to  Harlingen,  this  county,  but  soon  after 
went  West,  to  Henry,  111.,  where  he  gave  up  his  pro- 
fession and  engaged  in  milling.    He  died  there  in 

1870.t 

Henry  F.  Salter  practiced  in  Raritan  for  some 
time  prior  to  1856.  "  He  was  well  educated  to  his 
profession,  but  did  not  succeed  in  gaining  the  affec- 
tions of  the  people.  His  plan  of  treatment  was  prin- 
cipally expectant,  rest  and  time  being  the  principal 
remedies."     He  practiced  in  Hunterdon  County  be- 

*  Trans.  Med.  Soc.  N.  J.,  1880,  p.  121. 
f  Dr.  Blane's  Med.  Hist. 


604 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSET. 


fore  coming  to  Somerset.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  tlie 
army  during  the  Rebellion.  In  1856  he  went  West, 
and  was  lately  residing  at  Montezuma,  Iowa.* 

Ctrtts  Aendt,  son  of  John  and  Ann  Arndt,  was 
born  in  1821,  was  a  pupil  of  Dr.  McLenahan,  was 
graduated  in  New  York,  and  practiced  in  Somerset 
County.     He  died  Oct.  20,  1845. 

EBBifEZEB.  Sheewood  moved  to  Peapack  in  1844, 
where  for  the  nine  following  years  he  practiced  med- 
icine; he  died  and  was  buried  there.  He  studied 
with  Drs.  Smith  and  Scott  of  New  Brunswick,  and  was 
licensed  in  1807.  (See  also  a  sketch  in  "  Medical 
Profession  of  Hunterdon  Co.") 

Isaac  Ogden,  born  in  1764,  graduated  in  1784, 
settled  at  Six-Mile  Run,  this  county,  where  he  en- 
tered upon  his  profession,  and  married  a  daughter  of 
Peter  Stoothof.  He  was  a  successful  physician  and  a 
most  estimable  and  useful  citizen.  During  the  later 
years  of  his  life  he  gave  up  his  medical  practice  al- 
most entirely,  residing  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J., 
where  he  died  in  1829.  (See  a  further  account  in  the 
chapter  on  the  medical  profession  of  Hunterdon 
County,  in  another  portion  of  this  work.) 

William  P.  Woodetjfp  resided  in  the  village  of 
Millstone,  and  practiced  medicine  for  a  short  time 
about  1830.t  If  this  Dr.  Woodruff  was  William  Pat- 
erson  Woodruff,  he  practiced  in  Hunterdon  County 
from  1830  to  1837,  then  moved  to  Ohio,  where  he  died 
in  1851.t 

Petee  Ditmaes  McKissack  was  the  son  of  Wm. 
D.  McKissack,  and  was  born  at  Millstone  in  1824. 
He  graduated  from  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
New  York  University  in  1842,  and  practiced  his  pro- 
fession in  Millstone  and  vicinity  from  that  time  until 
his  death,  March  18,  1872. 

Heney  G.  Wagonee,  of  Somerville,  is  a  son  of 
William  Wagoner,  of  Stanton,  Hunterdon  Co.,  where 
he  was  born  Aug.  16,  1829.  He  read  with  Dr.  John 
Manners,  of  Clinton,  and  was  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  class  of  1853.  He 
then  went  to  Stanton,  N.  J.,  practicing  there  until 
1859,  when  he  removed  to  Somerville,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  Here  his  patronage  grew  rapidly  and 
extended  largely,  but  the  strain  produced  by  his  large 
practice  was  too  severe  for  his  physical  strength,  and 
in  1869  he  associated  with  himself  Dr.  J.  S.  Knox. 
The  partnership  existed  until  1873,  since  which  time 
Dr.  Wagoner  has  assumed  the  entire  labor  of  his  large 
ride.  He  is  a  member  of  the  County^  and  State  Med- 
ical Societies,  and  ranks  among  the  foremost  of  his 
profession  in  this  part  of  the  State.  He  was  married 
in  September,  1854,  to  Rachel  L.,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Philip  R.  Dakin.  She  died  in  1876,  and  in  August, 
1878,  he  again  married,  his  wife  being  Achsah  Mott, 
of  Chicago. 

*  Dr.  Blane^B  Med.  Hist.  f  Eev.  Dr,  E.  T.  Corwin. 

X  Dr.  John  Blaoe. 

g  He  was  a  member  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Hunterdon 
Ckiunty,  1854-59. 


Chauncey  M.  Field  is  the  third  son  of  Richard 
R.  Field,  of  Bound  Brook,  a  prominent  and  represent- 
ative citizen,  and  favorably  known  in  the  business 
circles  of  the  country  in  connection  with  the  woolen 
trade.  The  family  annals  in  this  country  reach  back 
to  1638,  when  the  original  ancestor  came  from  Eng- 
land with  Roger  Williams  and  settled  at  Newport, 
R.  I.  From  that  place  he  removed  to  Flushing,  L.  I., 
whence  John  Field  passed  into  New  Jersey  at  an 
early  day  and  located  on  a  tract  of  one  thousand  and 
fifty -iive  acres  lying  between  Bound  Brook  and  New 
Brunswick,  along  the  Raritan  River,  in  Piscataway 
township,  Middlesex  Co.  From  that  time  the  family 
has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  growth  and 
development  of  that  section  of  country.  In  1774, 
Michael  Field  was  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  con- 
vention at  New  Brunswick  to  consult  regarding  the 
points  of  difference  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
colonies.  Seven  of  the  direct  ancestors  of  Dr.  Field 
performed  active  service  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
one  being  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Regiment  of  Mid- 
dlesex County,  and  another  losing  his  life  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Monmouth.  Capt.  Ten  Eyck,  his  great-grand- 
father, was  connected  with  the  First  Battalion  of 
Somerset  County  during  Revolutionary  times,  and 
Maj.  Miller,  his  maternal  grandfather,  served  in  that 
second  war  of  the  Revolution,  the  war  of  1812. 

The  representatives  of  the  family  have  always  been 
plain,  solid,  substantial  people,  connected  religiously 
with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  liberal  supporters 
of  the  various  evangelical  and  philanthropic  enter- 
prises of  the  day.  Michael  Field  left  a  legacy  to  the 
Bound  Brook  Presbyterian  Church  for  establishing  a 
free  school  in  that  place  over  eighty  years  ago.  The 
Massachusetts  branch  of  the  family  has  contributed 
many  able  men  to  the  country,  and  their  influence  is 
felt  in  the  counsels  of  the  nation  to-day. 

Dr.  Field  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  March  27, 
1850,  and  was  brought  to  New  Jersey  when  six  years 
of  age.  Upon  attaining  sufficient  age  he  attended  the 
academy  at  Clinton,  N.  J.,  and  subsequently  passed 
to  the  excellent  institution  at  Lawrenceville,  N.  J., 
taught  by  Rev.  S.  M.  Hamill,  whence  he  was  grad- 
uated with  the  first  honor  of  his  class  in  1867.  In  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  entered  the  College  of  New  Jer- 
sey, at  Princeton,  and  graduated  in  June,  1871,  re- 
ceiving the  "Potts  Bible  prize."  He  at  once  com- 
menced the  study  of  medicine  with  T.  M.  Markoe, 
professor  of  surgery  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons,  New  York,  which  institution  he  entered, 
and  in  which  he  spent  four  years  and  a  half,  serving 
at  the  same  time  as  a  substitute  in  the  different  hos- 
pitals of  New  York  City,  and  as  a  student  of  Dr.  T. 
Sabine  in  operative  surgery.  He  located  in  practice 
at  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  in  1875,  where  he  remains  in 
active  and  successful  practice.  As  a  physician  he 
enjoys  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  and  is  called 
upon  to  treat  a  large  number  of  patients  from  abroad, 
besides  monopolizing  the  private  practice  of  the  vil- 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION   OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


605 


lage.  For  a  young  man  lie  lias  already  altained  a 
prominent  place  in  his  profession  as  a  surgeon,  and 
has  performed  with  success  all  the  important  opera- 
tions in  that  branch  of  medical  science,  notable  among 
which  is  that  upon  the  ligature  of  the  subclavian 
artery,  one  of  the  rarest  and  most  difficult  of  surgical 
operations.  He  is  a  regular  contributor  to  the  cur- 
rent medical  literature  of  the  day,  is  a  close  student 
of  his  profession,  and  while  at  Bermuda  recently  was 
enabled,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  British  officers 
present,  to  carefully  study  the  system  of  military  hy- 
giene and  camp-life  of  the  English  army. 

EoBEKT  S.  Smith  was  born  at  Flaggtown,  Feb.  19, 
1800,  and  was  the  son  of  Eev.  William  E.  Smith,  pas- 
tor of  the  churches  of  Neshanic  and  Harlingen.  He 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer,  of 
Eoycefield,  and  Dr.  Haaack,  of  New  York,  and  re- 
ceived his  medical  diploma  from  the  New  Jersey 
State  Medical  Society,  Dec.  13,  1820.  He  commenced 
the  practice  of  medicine  at  Bound  Brook  in  1820,  and 
there  continued  a  practitioner  for  over  fifty-three 
years,  until  his  death.  He  was  president  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  in  1845.  He  died,  after  a  brief  illness 
of  four  days  and  a  half,  Aug.  20,  1874.  "  No  man 
was  ever  more  devoted  to  his  profession  or  to  the  in- 
terests of  his  patients  than  he." 

Henry  F.  Van  Debveer  is  a  native  of  Hyde 
Park,  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  born  in 
1828.  He  is  the  son  of  Eev.  Ferdinand  H.  Van  Der- 
veer, D.D.,  who  from  1842  to  1876  was  pastor  of  the 
Eeformed  Dutch  Church  of  Warwick,  N.  Y.,  and 
whose  ministerial  labors  extended  through  the  long 
period  of  fifty-three  years.  Dr.  Van  Derveer  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  Henry  H.  Van  Derveer,  of  Somer- 
ville,  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine  at  Eoycer 
field,  in  this  county,  about  1850.  He  subsequently 
located  at  Somerville,  where  he  still  resides  and  fol- 
lows his  profession.  During  the  late  Eebellion  he 
was  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Fifth  New  Jersey  Eegi- 
ment  Infantry  Volunteers  from  Feb.  6,  1862,  and  regi- 
mental surgeon  from  May  6,  1862,  in  the  same  com- 
mand, serving  until  Sept.  7, 1864.  His  wife  was  a  Miss 
Mary  Squier,  daughter  of  Job  Squier,  a  merchant  of 
Somerville.  The  doctor  is  an  able  and  successful 
physician,  and  ranks  high  in  the  profession.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  District  Medical  Society  of  Somerset 
County,  and  has  for  years  (ever  since  the  death  of  his 
uncle,  Dr.  Henry  H.)  been  its  recording  secretary ; 
he  has  also  served  as  its  president,  and  is  a  member 
of  and  a  frequent  delegate  to  the  State  Medical  So- 
ciety. ' 

Lewis  H.  Mosher  became  associated  with  Peter 
D.  McKissack  in  1849,  and  continued  in  this  relation 
until  1865,  when  he  removed  to  Montgomery  town- 
ship, where  he  yet  continues  to  practice.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  New  York  University  in  1847. 
He  had  practiced  at  Griggstown  before  coming  to 
Millstone. 
William  E.  Mattison  was  also  an  associate  of 


Dr.  McKissack.  He  was  born  March  22,  1822,  in 
Steuben  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Col- 
lege of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  New  York  in 
March,  1852.  He  had  practiced  in  Morris  County, 
and  was  commissioned  as  assistant  surgeon  in  the 
army,  for  three  years,  on  Aug.  20,  1862.  He  resigned 
March  5,  1863.  From  1863  to  1865  he  practiced  in 
Somerville.  In  1865  he  removed  to  Millstone,  where 
he  remained,  practicing  his  profession,  until  1873, 
when  he  removed  to  New  Brunswick. 

David  Clark  Van  Deursen  became  a  physician 
in  Millstone  in  1873,  and  still  continues.  He  was 
born  in  1840,  at  New  Brunswick,  and  was  graduated 
from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  1870. 
He  had  practiced  with  Dr.  Baldwin  in  New  Bruns- 
wick for  more  than  a  year,  when  he  succeeded  Dr. 
Mattison. 

Frederic  C.  Blackwell  also  resides  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Millstone,  but  does  not  practice.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons in  1845,  and  practiced  at  Kingston  (living  on 
the  Middlesex  side  of  the  road)  for  one  year. 

OTHER  SOMERSET   COUNTY   PHYSICIANS. 

John  Eobbins  practiced  at  Branchville  from  1858 
to  1869,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Merrill. 

Jacob  W.  Williamson  and  William  Moore 
practiced  for  a  time  at  Earitan ;  they  were  both  na- 
tives of  Hunterdon  County.  Dr.  Williamson,  born 
May  12,  1821,  was  a  son  of  Abraham  Williamson,  of 
the  vicinage  of  Eingos,  where  Jacob  practiced  a  short 
time,  then  went  to  California,  but  soon  returned  and 
located  in  Somerset  County,  as  stated.  His  stay  here 
was  brief,  however,  for,  soon  being  taken  sick,  he  re- 
turned to  Eingos,  and  died  there  Aug.  9,  1852.  With 
good  abilities  and  fair  prospects,  his  career  was  cut 
short. 

Henrt  Smith  was  located  at  Neshanic.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession  there  in  1852, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Eichard  Ludlow.  Dr.  Smith 
was  a  native  of  New  England.  He  went  to  Elizabeth, 
N.  J.,  where  he  kept  a  drug-store,  but  subsequently 
removed  to  Eingos,  Hunterdon  Co.,  where  he  died. 

George  S.  Dilts  practiced  at  Earitan  for  some 
time;  also  served  as  surgeon  during  the  Eebellion. 
He  was  a  native  of  German  Valley,  and  a  brother 
of  Isaiah  N.  Dilts,  the  lawyer. 

Charles  H.  Horton,  at  Martinsville,  followed  the 
medical  profession  for  some  five  or  six  years,  as  the 
successor  of  Dr.  Martin.  About  1877  he  removed  to 
Iowa,  and  was  succeeded  in  practice  by  E.  J.  Bergen, 
a  student  of  Dr.  Wagoner,  who  practiced  there  a  year 
or  more,  moved  to  Trenton,  then  to  Jersey  City,  and 
finally  to  Kansas. 

William  S.  Pennington  for  a  time  practiced  at 
Somerville,  removing  thither  from  New  Germantown, 
where  he  located  in  1862.    From  Somerville  he  re- 
moved to  Basking  Eidge,  where  he  is  now  practicing. 
Dr.  Bellange  came  from  Hamilton  Square  to 


606 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


East  Millstone,  and  followed  his  profession  for  a  year 
or  two,  about  1861.     He  went  thence  into  the  army. 

William  C.  Eibble  succeeded  Dr.  Bellange,  and 
has  continued  as  the  physician  of  the  location  to  the 
present  time. 

Dr.  Matnaed  practiced  medicine  at  Sis-Mile  Eun 
for  several  years  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Sohenck. 

Heney  Wilson  practiced  his  profession  in  Somer- 
ville  some  years  ago.  He  was  a  son  of  Eev.  Abram. 
Wilson,  of  Fairview,  111.  His  wife  was  Ann  Deyo, 
of  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.* 

James  Stjydam  Knox — born  July  26,  1840,  grad- 
uate of  College  of  New  Jersey,  1860,  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons,  New  York  City,  1866,  City  Hospital, 
Brooklyn,  1868 — practiced  in  Somerville  from  1866  to 
1873,  when  he  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  is  now 
located,  and  is  lecturer  and  clinical  professor  in  Rush 
Medical  College. 

NATIVES    OF    SOMERSET    WHO     PRACTICED     ELSE- 
WHERE. 

Eugene  Jobs,  late  of  Springfield,  Union  Co., 
N.  J.,  was  born  at  Liberty  Corner,  Feb.  23,  1821 ;  he 
was  the  son  of  Nicholas  C.  and  Margaret  Jobs.  He 
died  May  22,  1875. 

Lot  S.  Pennington,  now  located  in  Whitesides 
Co.,  111.,  is  a  native  of  Somerset  County,  born  in 
1812 ;  received  his  early  education  at  the  Somerville 
Academy  and  at  Basking  Ridge ;  he  never  practiced 
medicine  in  this  county,  and  moved  west  in  1836. 

James  M.  Boisnot  was  born  at  Six-Mile  Eun,  in 
Somerset  County,  July  20,  1826 ;  was  graduated  from 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  became  a  lecturer  on  anatomy  and 
operative  surgery.  Among  his  notable  cases  was  the 
successful  reduction  by  manipulation  of  a  double 
dislocation  of  the  hip-joint,  followed  by  a  perfect 
recovery.!  During  the  civil  war  he  was  surgeon  of 
the  Ninety-eighth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Northern  Medical  and  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia County  Medical  Societies.  He  died  in 
1880. 

William  E.  Hand  was  born  in  Somerset  County, 
and  married  Miss  Annin,  daughter  of  J.  Annin,  Esq., 
of  Somerset.  He  practiced  in  Hunterdon  County 
until  1870,  when  he  removed  to  Virginia,  and  died 
there  in  1871,  aged  seventy-five. 

Feedbeick  Gaston,  son  of  William  B.,  and 
brother  to  Drs.  Alexander  and  Joseph  Gaston,  of 
Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  located  at  Woodsville  in  1846,  but, 
his  health  failing,  he  returned  to  Somerville,  where 
he  died,  aged  about  twenty-five.     He  was  unmarried. 

Israel  L.  Coeiell,  who  practiced  for  many  years 
in  Hunterdon  County,  was  a  native  of  Somerset,  and 
was  buried  at  the  place  of  his  nativity. 

John  F.  Schenck,  born  at  Neshanic,  son  of  Dr. 
Henry  H.  Schenck,  commenced  his  practice  at  the 

*  Bergen's  History  of  the  Bergen  Family, 
f  Am.  Jour,  of  the  Med.  Sciences. 


head  of  Raxitan  River,  in  Somerset,  afterwards  re- 
moving to  Flemington.  (See  further  account  in.  the 
Hunterdon  County  medical  chapter.) 

Mereill  W.  Williams,  although  not  a  native  of 
this  county,  taught  school  in  Eicefield,  read  with  Dr. 
Lawrence  Van  Derveer,  married  Miss  Duryea,  of 
Millstone,  and  practiced  a  while  at  Somerville. 

Jacob  E.  Hedges,  born  at  Somerville,  and  son  of 
William  J.  Hedges,  merchant,  practiced  principally 
in  Hunterdon  County.  (See  chapter  on  medical  pro- 
fession of  that  county  for  sketch.) 

William  Dueyea,  born  in  Somerset,  son  of  Col. 
H.  B.  Duryea,  of  Blawenburg,  was  graduated  at 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1833,  practiced  in 
Flemington,  removed  West,  and  died  there. 

John  Alfred  Gray  was  bom  near  Princeton  in 
1812,  and  practiced  for  a  short  time  at  Rocky  Hill, 
this  county,  but  subsequently  removed  to  Fleming- 
ton,  where  he  died  in  1872.  (See  medical  chapter  of 
Hunterdon  County  for  a  more  extended  sketch.) 


CHAPTER   VIIL 

THE  PBESS   OF    SOMEKSET  COTJBTTT. 

The  Press  of  SomerviUe :  The  Messe^iger,  The  Ihiionist,  and  The  Gazette — 
The  Bound  Brook  Chronicle — The  Press  of  the  Past:  The  Somerset 
Whuj^  The  Literary  Gem,  The  Comet,  The  Somerset  News,  The  Miiietone 
Mirror,  The  Bound  Brook  Argus,  Our  Borne,  The  Sower,  Flowers^  Family: 
Magazine,  etc. 

THE    SOMERSET    MESSENGER. 

The  oldest  paper  now  existing  in  the  county  dates 
its  origin  from  the  Political  Intelligencer,  which  James 
E.  Gore,  a  practical  printer,  started  in  Somerville 
about  the  time  the  post-office  was  established  and  the 
village  recognized  as  of  some  local  importance.  The 
first  number  of  that  paper  was  issued  in  October,. 
1823 ;  size,  thirteen  by  twenty  inches,  five  columns  to 
the  page.  The  office  was  in  a  room  over  C.  G.  Tuni- 
son's  store,  on  the  spot  where  the  Somerset  County 
bank  now  stands.  Shortly  after  the  name  was  changed 
to  the  Somerset  Messenger  and  Political  Intelligencer, 
and  before  1829  the  latter  title  was  dropped  and  the 
present  name  given. 

In  1826,  Mr.  Gore  married  and  moved  the  office  to 
his  residence,  which,  built  by  Judge  Toms,  and  more 
lately  owned  by  Col.  William  Thompson,  is  now  the 
building  occupied  by  the  stores  of  James  Gaston  and 
Mrs.  E.  R.  Burner.  The  printing-office  was  there 
about  two  and  a  half  years,  and  was  then  removed  to 
the  building  now  ownSd  and  resided  in  by  David  M. 
Voorhees,  Esq.,  opposite  the  court-house.  For  seven 
years  it  continued  here,  during  which  time  Thomas 
Allison  became  associated  with  Gore,  under  the  firm- 
name  of  Gore  &  Allison.  The  paper  was  enlarged, 
and  about  1836  the  office  was  again  relocated,  this 
time  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  Joseph  McBride 
and  owned  by  Daniel  Sanborn,  nearly  opposite  Fritts' 
hotel. 


THE  PRESS  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


607 


The  death  of  Mr.  Gore  occurred  Nov.  17,  1837. 
Mr.  Allison  continued  sole  proprietor  until  1851, 
when  he  received  the  appointment  from  Governor 
Fort  of  Secretary  of  State  and  removed  to  Trenton. 
The  purchaser  of  the  paper  was  A.  E.  Donaldson, 
who  conducted  it  for  eleven  years.  Nov.  11,  1862, 
he  assumed  command  of  the  Thirtieth  Regiment  New 
Jersey  Volunteers  as  colonel,  and  Orson  Cone  pur- 
chased the  Messenger.  His  name  first  appears  in  the 
issue  of  Nov.  13,  1862.  He  died  March  26,  1868, 
leaving  John  F.  Talmage  acting  editor.  Sept.  3, 
1868,  he  purchased,  and  Charles  B.  Honeyman  be- 
came assistant  in  1869.  Mr.  Talmage  was  a  bright, 
shrewd  business  man  and  a  ready  writer, — too  much 
of  a  business  man  to  settle  down  at  the  slow  desk  of 
a  country  newspaper  office,  and  he  sold  out  in  less 
than  a  year,  June  3,  1869.  Mr.  G.  E.  Godley  was  the 
next  publisher,  and  Mr.  Honeyman  continued  as  local 
editor. 

On  April  13, 1871,  J.  Eutsen  Schenck,  son  of  Dr. 
John  F.  Schenck,  of  Flemington,  assumed  control. 
He  was  born  May  23,  1831,  and  at  seventeen  entered 
the  office  of  the  Hunterdon  Democrat.  He  subse- 
quently founded  the  Woodstown  Register,  also  a  Demo- 
cratic paper  at  Mattawan,  and  left  it  to  enter  the  war 
in  the  Twenty -ninth  Regiment  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers. He  owned  the  Hunterdon  Gazette,  1863-65,  in 
1867  founded  the  present  Clinton  Democrat,  and  in 
1871,  as  above  stated,  purchased  the  Messenger.*  0.  B. 
Honeyman  was  his  local  editor  a  brief  period,  when 
D.  R.  Rockafellar  took  his  place  for  a  year  or  two, 
since  which  no  other  name  has  been  upon  the  paper 
but  that  of  the  editor  and  proprietor. 

The  Messenger  came  into  its  present  hands  March 
30, 1876.  Charles  M.  Jameson  was,  and  is,  the  owner 
and  editor.  He  was  born  in  York,  Pa.,  in  1823,  grad- 
uated at  Marshall  College  in  1849,  and  entered  the 
ministry  in  the  German  Reformed  Church.  For 
twelve  years  he  had  charge  of  the  Fiftieth  Street 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  New  York  City,  and  re- 
signed in  1862.  The  next  fourteen  years  he  was  a 
farmer  near  Somerville,  but  since  1876  has  paid  chief 
attention  to  the  Messenger.  He  was  secretary  of  the 
State  Senate  two  sessions, — 1877-78. 

The  newspaper  has  never  been  other  than  strictly 
Democratic,  being  the  organ  of  that  party  in  the 
county  from  its  first  issue.  No  competitive  paper  of 
the  same  politics  has  ever  been  printed  in  the  county, 
if  we  except  the  News,  which  was  independent  Demo- 
cratic. 

THE    SOMERSET   UNIONIST. 

This  newspaper  succeeded  both  the  Somerset  Whig 
and  the  Somerset  County  News,  which  were  consoli- 
dated March  5,  1863 ;  Vol.  I.,  No.  1,  of  the  Unionist 
bears  the  latter  date.    A  stronger  newspaper  than  the 

*  TJpon  his  leaving  the  MesBenger,  Mr.  Schenck  founded  the  Ocean 
Coimty  Democrat  at  Tom's  River,  meeting  with  remarkable  success.  But 
coneumplion  seized  him,  and  he  died  April  1, 1880,  aged  forty-nine. 


Whig  had  been  was  needed  at  that  time  to  advocate 
the  cause  of  the  Union  against  the  Rebellion,  and  the 
name  "  Whig"  was  also  of  the  past  rather  than  of  the 
present  or  future.  Col.  A.  D.  Hope,  S.  W.  Daven- 
port, Culver  Barcalow,  and  others  were  the  main 
spirits  in  bringing  about  a  consolidation  of  the  Whig 
and  News  and  in  securing-  a  wide-awake  editor  and  a 
new  publisher. 

The  outconie  of  the  movement,  which  was  carefully 
studied,  appeared  upon  the  face  of  the  first  number, 
when  it  announced  that  the  publisher  was  Daniel 
Porter  and  the  editor  Edward  F.  Stewart.  Of  Mr. 
Porter  we  shall  speak  presently.  Mr.  Stewart  was 
then  in  the  New  York  custom-house,  but  had  some 
leisure,  and  had  concluded  to  remove  his  family  to 
Somerville  in  order  to  give  his  evenings  to  his  new 
service.  He  had  been  sought  out  for  the  position  to 
carry  on  a  specific  patriotic  work,  and  he  did  it  with 
spirit  and  characteristic  energy.  The  Unionist  was 
thus  made  a  power  on  the  Republican  side  during  the 
war. 

Mr.  Stewart  continued  editor  until  Jan.  25,  1866, 
when  he  resigned  and  made  his  permanent  home  at 
Easton,  Pa.,  where  he  was  selected  to  be  bookkeeper 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  that  place, — a  position 
he  still  holds.  Mr.  Porter  became  editor  from  that 
date,  and  continued  as  such  and  as  proprietor  until 
his  death,  March  9, 1879.  His  son,  Edward  B.  Porter, 
succeeded  him  as  publisher  and  Dr.  Joseph  H.  Wil- 
son as  editor,  and  both  now  occupy  these  positions. 

Daniel  Porter  was  thus  connected  with  the  Unionist 
as  publisher  for  sixteen  years,  almost  to  the  day,  and 
as  editor  for  thirteen  years, — the  longest  period  of 
service  of  any  newspaper  publisher  in  the  county. 
He  was  born  at  Orange,  N.  J.,  April  15,  JL836,  and 
was  the  son  of  a  farmer.  When  about  seventeen  he 
entered  the  office  of  the  Newark  Dailg  Advertiser,  and 
learned  the  printer's  trade.  The  time  he  spent  there 
he  ever  afterwards  referred  to  as  full  of  instruction 
and  interest,  not  merely  because  of  the  lessons  learned 
in  so  strict  and  careful  an  office,  but  because  of  the 
meil  of  renown  who  gathered  there  to  discuss  the  ■ 
management  of  this  leading  journal  during  the  then 
trying  political  times.  In  1850  he  became  connected 
with  the  Newark  Mercury,  and  came  direct  from  that 
office  to  establish  the  Somerset  Unionist.  For  a  short 
period  during  the  war,  while  Elston  Marsh  was  col- 
lector of  internal  revenue  for  this  district,  Mr.  Porter 
was  his  assistant.  In  December,  1871,  he  received 
the  appointment  of  postmaster, — a  position  he  held 
until  his  death.  He  was  also  at  his  decease  secretary 
of  the  County  Sunday-School  Association  and  presi- 
dent of  the  New  Jersey  State  Editorial  Association, 
by  the  members  of  which  he  was  held  in  high  esteem. 
Mr.  Porter's  death  was  from  Bright's  disease,  and 
came  only  after  a  long  illness,  in  which  for  many 
months  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish  all  business 
cares  and  labor.  Of  his  characteristics  as  a  jour- 
nalist the  Somerset  Gazette  said  after  his  death,— 


608 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


"  As  a  journalist  Mr.  Porter  was  painstaking  and  exact ;  not  abrilliant 
writer,  but  always  up  to  the  times  in  his  news  and  conservative  in  his 
comments.  Politically  he  was  a  strong  Kepuhlican,  but  it  rarely  led 
him  into  severe  words  against  his  adversaries.  Except  when  the  strife 
of  party  conflict  ran  high,  the  tone  of  his  editorials  was  invariably  mod- 
erate." 

From  the  memorial  tribute  delivered  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  County  Sunday-School  Association 
next  succeeding  his  death  (Sept.  9,  1879)  by  Rev.  P. 
M.  Doolittle,  and  entered  in  the  minutes  of  the  asso- 
ciation, we  make  a  brief  extract : 


dated  Dec.  21,  1848 ;  William  M.  Drake  &  Son  were 
proprietors.  These  gentlemen  had  no  previous  expe- 
rience either  as  printers  or  as  editors,  if  we  rightly  in- 
terpret their  "Salutatory;"  nevertheless,  they  pub- 
lished one  of  the  most  creditable  village  newspapers 
in  the  State.  Whether  considered  typographically  or 
in  regard  to  the  quantity  of  original  and  the  quality 
of  selected  matter,  it  was  a  handsome,  praiseworthy 
journal. 

At  the  expiration  of  one  year  the  publishers  an- 


DANIEL    PORTER. 


"  He  was  eminently  a  just  man  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  His  natural 
probity  and  other  virtues  were  seasoned  with  grace  and  developed  into 
a  piety  which  was  profound,  devoted,  and  faithful.  .  .  .  Modesty  was  one 
of  his  chief  characteristics ;  hence  it  was  left  for  occasion  to  summon 
forth  his  abilities,  but  the  demand  never  failed  to  elicit  such  a  response 
as  to  prove  hia  claim  to  the  title  of  Christian  manhood." 

THE   SOMERSET  GAZETTE, 

an  eight-page  Republican  weekly,  published  every 
Thursday  afternoon  in  Association  Hall,  Somerville, 
was  originally  the  Plainfield  Gazette,  located  at  Plain- 
field,  over  the  Somerset  County  border-line.  That  was 
then  a  village  in  Essex,  but  is  now  a  city  in  Union 
County.  From  a  complete  file  of  the  first  three  years 
of  its  existence  (recently  discovered  and  rescued  from 
oblivion)  it  is  learned  that  the  Gazette  was  a  five- 
column,  four-page  weekly,  size  twenty  by  twenty-six 
inches,  published  on  Thursdays,  at  one  dollar  per 
year  to  mail  subscribers,  or  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  to  those  in  the  village.    The  first  number  is 


nounced  that  the  results  "had  more  than  realized 
their  highest  expectations."  But,  unhappily,  the 
elder  Drake  was  a  skeptic  in  religious  matters,  and 
delighted  in  controversy  respecting  the  Scriptures. 
This  brought  down  some  odium  upon  the  Gazette,  and 
so,  in  1851,  the  owners  consented  to  a  sale  of  the 
paper.  Excepting  its  skeptical  articles,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  Gazette,  under  the  Drakes'  super- 
vision, was  a  strong  newspaper  against  slavery  and 
monopoly ;  in  the  latter  cause  a  powerful  opponent  of 
the  arguments  of  Commodore  Stockton  and  of  his 
Camden  and  Amboy  enterprise.  In  politics  it  was  in- 
dependent, but  tended  towards  Democratic  principles, 
save  on  the  slavery  question, — an  odd  mixture  of  in- 
dependence, certainly  I 

Mr.  Uzal  M.  Osborn,  who  until  recently  has  been 
publisher  of  the  Rahway  Advocate  and  Times,  was  the 
next  proprietor.  He  conducted  the  Gazette  from  July 
24,  1851,  to  Sept.  11,  1851,— less  than  two  months. 


THE  PEESS  OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


609 


He  proved  unable,  financially,  to  do  justice  to  the 
j  ournal,  and  it  went  back  into  the  hands  of  William 
Drake  (the  junior  of  the  first  Drake  firm),  who  con- 
tinued its  publication  until  October,  1852. 

Enos  W.  Eunyon,  Esq.,  of  Plainfield,  purchased 
it  at  the  latter  date.  He  was  then  a  lawyer  with  a 
growing  practice,  but  took  hold  of  it  with  zest,  partly 
for  the  employment  it  would  give  his  brother,  Mr. 
John  C.  Eunyon,  and  partly  because  of  his  literary 
and  controversial  tastes.  He  was  proprietor  nearly 
five  years.  As  his  brother  went  West  in  October, 
1856,'^  he  concluded  to  sell  it,  and  iBnally  transferred 
it  in  April,  1857,  to  Mr.  Luther  Martin.  While  we 
have  not  seen  a  copy  of  the  Gazette  as  printed  during 
Judge  Eunyon's  administration,  it  is  not  likely  he 
made  it  less  wide-awake  or  less  indedependent  than 
it  had  previously  been. 

Mr.  Martin*  was  publisher  until  July,  1859,  when 
he  sold  it  to  Mr.  Charles  J.  Wilson,  a  resident  of 
Somerville.  Mr.  Wilson  had  learned  his  trade  in  New 
York  and  with  the  iSomerset  Whig,-  he  was  therefore 
a  practical  printer,  and  was  possessed  of  some  ability 
as  a  writer,  particularly  in  a  humorous  direction.  He 
changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  the  Somerset  and 
Union  Gazette,  Union  County  having  recently  been 
formed,  and  he  desiring  to  extend  its  circulation  more 
into  Somerset,  but  continued  the  publication-office 
in  Plainfield. 

In  March,  1864,  the  paper  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Mr.  David  K.  Milliken,  of  Somerville,  by  whom  it 
was  transferred  to  the  latter  place.  Mr.  Milliken 
had  been  one  of  the  publishers  of  the  Somerset  County 
News  and  was  a  printer  by  trade.  Whether  he  leased 
the  paper  or  purchased  it  was  a  controverted  matter, 
but  Mr.  Wilson,  who  declares  it  was  leased,  obtained 
possession  of  it  again  in  May,  1867.  While  Mr.  Milli- 
ken had  it  the  words  "  Union  and"  were  taken  from 
the  title,  and  "  Weekly"  substituted ;  so  that  it  was 
the  Somerset  Weekly  Gazette.  It  was  now  made  a  six- 
column  paper,  still  neutral  in  politics,  but  with  a 
Democratic  leaning.  It  was  published  on  the  south 
side  of  Main  Street,  Somerville,  in  the  building  re- 
moved recently  for  the  erection  of  Mr.  George  V. 
Tunison's  store. 

Mr.  Wilson,  in  1867,  removed  to  the  office  attached 
to  his  father's  residence,  "  one  door  east  of  the  court- 
house," and  continued  its  publication  until  sold  to  the 
present  owner.  At  some  time  during  this  last-named 
period  the  word  "  Weekly"  dropped  from  the  title, 
and  "  Somerset  Gazette"  thus  stood  alone. 

The  present  owner,  A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  purchased 
the  office  Jan.  1,  1876,  and  is  still  the  publisher  and 
editor.  He  enlarged  the  paper  to  eight  columns,  size 
twenty-eight  by  forty-two,  in  its  first  new  issue,  and 
continued  its  independent  course,  although,  being  a 
Eepublican,  the  Gazette  in  his  hands  necessarily  had 
Eepublican  proclivities.    It  was  also  removed  to  its 

*  Enlisted  In  the  war ;  waa  captain  of  Company  D,  Eleventh  Begiment 
New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and  was  killed  in  action,  May  27, 1862. 


present  commodious  quarters  in  Association  Hall. 
In  July,  1876,  Mr.  Honeyman  associated  with  him 
Mr.  John  E.  Eowe,  of  the  Newark  Daily  Advertiser, 
a  job -printer  of  originality  and  tried  experience, 
and  the  firm  of  Honeyman  &  Eowe  existed  until 
Jan.  1,  1879,  when  it  was  dissolved  by  mutual  con- 
sent. To  meet  the  increased  job-work,  after  July 
1876,  steam-power,  new  presses,  and  new  type  were 
added  to  the  stock,  and,  with  the  accretions  of 
four  years,  the  office  is  now  better  equipped  than 
any  in  Somerset  or  the  adjoining  counties,  with  a 
single  exception  at  New  Brunswick. 

In  April,  1877,  the  form  of  the  paper  was  changed 
to  a  quarto  of  sixteen  pages,  pasted  and  trimmed, — 
the  only  paper  of  that  shape  in  the  State, — and  the 
full  present  title  was  given.  The  Somerset  Gazette. 
From  Nov.  1,  1877,  to  Jan.  17, 1878,  it  was  issued  as 
a  semi-weekly,  of  eight  pages,  with  a  view  to  antici- 
pate the  news  of  its  contemporaries  by  one  day,  and 
to  be  "  abreast  of  the  times."  But  its  readers  pre- 
ferred a  large  paper  once  a  week  rather  than  a  small 
one  twice,  and  the  old  sixteen-page  form  was  soon  re- 
instated. That  continued  until  July  1,  1880,  when 
the  present  eight-page  form  was  adopted,  size  thirty 
by  forty-four  inches,  which  is  likely  to  be  permanent. 
From  May,  1877,  to  December,  1877,  it  had  a  "  Law 
Supplement"  of  four  pages,  which  afterwards  devel- 
oped into  "The  New  Jersey  Law  Journal,"  a  monthly 
magazine  still  published  at  the  same  office.  Since 
October,  1878,  The  Gazette  has  been  a  thorough  Ee- 
publican newspaper,  but  treats  with  fairness  the 
views  of  opposite  parties.  In  June,  1879,  a  series 
of  articles  by  its  editor  upon  "The  Frauds  and  Ex- 
travagances of  Somerset  County  Officials"  (subse- 
quently republished  in  pamphlet  form  as  "Somerset 
Gazette  Extra  No.  3")  was  begun  and  continued  until 
an  official  investigation  was  made,  —  a  publication 
which  has  done  much  towards  placing  the  paper  in 
public  favor  with  the  best  citizens  of  both  parties. 

Besides  "  The  New  Jersey  Law  Journal,"  newspaper 
publications  have  come  from  its  office  during  the  past 
four  or  five  years,  and  a  number  of  books  also.  The 
motto  which  flies  at  its  masthead  is :  "  With  Charity 
for  all,  with  Malice  toward  none,  with  Firmness  in 
the  Eight  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  Eight." 

THE  BOUND  BROOK  CHKONICLB, 
an  independent  paper,  published  every  Wednesday, 
is  a  four-page  journal,  size  twenty-six  by  forty.  It 
is  a  continuation  of  The  Family  Casket  (a  sketch  of 
which  appears  under  the  head  of  "  The  Press  of  Hun- 
terdon County"),  located  at  White  House.  A.  J. 
Shampanore  &  Son  are  the  proprietors  and  editors. 
The  stock  and  materials  of  the  office  also  include 
the  type  and  fixtures  of  The  Rock,  a  paper  located  at 
Bound  Brook,  which  became  extinct  after  the  Chron- 
icle had  established  itself. 

The  Family  Casket  was  removed  to  Bound  Brook 
Jan.  1,  1878,  and  soon  after  the  name  was  changed  to 


610 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  present  title.  It  took  a  fearless  stand  on  county 
affairs  in  1879,  which  materially  increased  its  circula- 
tion and  influence.  In  1880  it  advocated  the  election 
of  the  Republican  candidates. 

THE  PRESS  OF  THE  PAST.® 
The  Somerset  Whig  was  established  by  Baldwin  & 
Hassey  in  1834,  the  initial  number  being  dated  Tues- 
day, August  12th.  It  was  a  five-column  quarto,  at 
two  dollars  per  annum,  and  (as  its  name  indicates) 
was  an  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Whig  party. 
In  July,  1886,  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  S.  L.  B. 
Baldwin  continuing  as  publisher  until  his  death,  Sun- 
day, May  7,  1848.  Mr.  Baldwin  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Whig,  and  was  its  editor  and  proprie- 
tor for  over  thirteen  years.  June  7,  1848,  the  office 
was  sold  by  his  administrators — Nathaniel  L.  Bald- 
win and  Henry  Cook — to  Allan  N.  Wilson,  who 
changed  its  time  of  publication  to  Wednesday,  the 
first  number  under  his  conduct  being  dated  June  14, 
1848  (Vol.  XIV.  No.  723).  The  office  at  this  time 
was  opposite  the  court-house.  Mr.  Wilson  continued 
its  publication  until  August,  1849,  or  later  (possibly 
until  the  spring  of  1852).  April  14,  1852,  J.  Hatfield 
Frazee  became  editor  and  proprietor,  commencing  at 
that  date  "  New  Series,  No.  1."  He  was  succeeded 
April  1,  1858,  by  W.  H.  Van  Doren.  Exactly  when 
the  paper  passed  from  his  management  into  the  hands 
of  William  D.  Waterman  we  cannot  say,  but  it  was 
some  time  between  Dec.  31,  1858,  and  Jan.  12,  1860. 
March  27,  1862  (or  earlier),  Daniel  Taggart  became 
publisher,  and  continued  its  issue  until  March  5, 
1863,  when  the  offices  of  the  Somerset  Whig  and  the 
Somerset  News  were  consolidated  and  a  new  paper 
started  called  the  Somerset  Unionist.  The  Whig,  at 
the  time  of  its  suspension,  was  a  seven-column  paper, 
its  subscription  price  being  one  dollar  and  a  half. 

The  Literary  Oem,  printed  by  S.  H.  Baldwin  at  the 
office  of  The  Whig,  is  one  of  the  earliest  of  "  the  lost 
stars''  of  journalism  in  Somerset.  This  candidate  for 
public  favor  first  appeared  Oct.  10,  1840,  with  Lewis 
W.  Payne  &  Co.  as  publishers  (subsequently  L.  W. 
Payne  alone),  but  with  no  announcement  concerning 
the  editor.  The  file  of  the  first  three  months,  in  pos- 
session of  the  writer,  and  another  covering  a  month 
about  a  year  later,  in  possession  of  D.  K.  Milliken, 
give  no  clue  to  the  editor  or  contributors.  But  it  is 
no  secret  that  John  A.  Todd  (now  Rev.  John  A.  Todd, 
D.D.,  of  Tarrytown,  N.  Y.,  a  learned  divine  in  the 
Reformed  Church)  was  the  editor.  It  was  in  his 
school-days,  prior  to  entering  college,  and  his  taste 
for  literature — since  then  developed  into  a  passion 
which  has  given  birth  to  translations  from  the  litera- 
ture of  other  languages  and  to  extensive  writings — 
was  first  cultivated  in  the  columns  of  The  Oem.  In 
company  with  him  as  a  contributor  was   Paul   D. 

*  This  sketch  of  the  newspapers  and  magazines  which  have  existed  in 
Somerset,  but  have  now  the  epitaph  Ohiit  upon  their  tombstones,  is  con- 
tributed by  A.  v.  D.  Honeyman,  of  The'Gazette. 


Van  Cleef  (now  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Cleef,  of  Jersey  City) 
and  other  of  Mr.  Todd's  associates.  When  the  Gem 
ceased  to  be  published  is  something  we  cannot  defi- 
nitely ascertain.  The  last  copy  of  the  files  above  re- 
ferred to  is  dated  Jan.  1,  1842,  and  it  is  not  likely  it 
survived  long  after. 

The  Comet  was  the  title  of  a  very  small  paper,  about 
nine  by  twelve  inches,  issued  for  a  few  months  at 
North  Branch,  in  1855,  by  Thomas  Bartow,  now  a 
printer  in  New  York  City. 

The  Somerset  County  News  was  published  from  1859 
to  1863,  at  Somerville.  The  first  number  is  dated  Dec. 
1,  1859 ;  publishers,  David  K.  Milliken  and  William 
W.  Young,  under  the  firm-name  of  Milliken  &  Young. 
It  was  published  every  Thursday,  over  the  Somerset 
County  Bank ;  size,  twenty-two  and  one-half  by  thirty- 
two  inches,  six  columns ;  terms,  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  annum.  It  presented  an  attractive  appear- 
ance, the  make-up  and  press-work  being  done  with 
care.  In  politics  it  was  neutral,  although  it  subse- 
quently supported  Douglas  for  President.  It  was 
stated  to  be  "  Devoted  to  Morality,  Education, 
Amusements,  Agriculture,  Domestic  and  Foreign 
News,  etc.,  Independent  of  Party  or  Sect."  The 
motto  was  "  Ecce  Quercus,"  printed  amid  an  oak-leaf 
and  acorns,  but  this  was  removed  in  a  few  weeks,  and 
"Bound  to  no  Master  or  Sect  am  I"  substituted. 
Nov.  8,  1860,  Mr.  I.  Luther,  son  of  Bernard  M.  Pol- 
hemus,  Esq.,  of  Somerville,  purchased  Mr.  Young's 
interest,  and  the  firm  was  Milliken  &  Polhemus  until 
Jan.  3,  1861,  when  Mr.  Polhemus  published  alone, 
Mr.  Milliken  continuing  as  assistant  editor.  In  May, 
1862,  Mr.  E.  G.  Upson,  who  had  been  principal  of  the 
Somerville  public  school,  purchased  it,  Mr.  Polhemus 
desiring  to  enter  the  service  of  his  country.f  He 
conducted  it  until  March  5,  1863,  when  it  was  con- 
solidated with  the  Somerset  Whig  by  purchase,  and 
the  new  paper  was  called  the  Somerset  Unionist,  which 
still  exists.  Throughout  its  whole  career  the  News 
was  a  newspaper  with  creditable  appearance  and  con- 
tents, though  of  limited  circulation. 

The  Millstone  Mirror  helped  give  an  impetus  to 
Millstone  during  the  war.  It  was  a  four-page  neutral 
weekly,  size  twenty  by  thirty,  six  columns  to  the  page, 
published  from  about  April  1,  1861,  to  March  24, 
1864;  John  R.  Hedden  was  publisher  and  editor; 
terms,  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents,  in  advance.  The 
limited  means  of  the  proprietor  and  the  small  amount 
of  patronage  bestowed  upon  it  by  business  men  were, 
as  frankly  stated  in  the  valedictory,  the  reasons  for 
suspending  it. 

The  Bound  Brook  Argus  was  the  earliest  newspaper 
venture  at  Bound  Brook.  It  was  in  existence  about 
six  months  in  1870,  with  Noah  ClappJ  as  proprietor. 

■]■  Enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  I,  Seventh  Regiment  New  Jersey 
Volunteers  ;  was  promoted  to  corporal ;  left  the  service  from  disease  con- 
tracted at  the  first  Bull  Eun  battle ;  was  discharged  Got.  29,  1862,  al- 
though the  position  of  lieutenant  was  offered  him;  died  in  Somerville, 
May,  1863. 

X  Mr.  Clapp  died  in  Jersey  City  in  Fel  ruary,  1881. 


BOOKS  AND   AUTHORS   OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


611 


We  have  been  unable  to  procure  a  copy  to  give  ftir- 
tlier  details.  "• 

Our  Some,  a  local  magazine  of  forty-eight  pages, 
issued  monthly,  was  published  in  Somerville  during 
1873  by  Cornell  &  Ho'neyman,  and  edited  by  A.  V.  D. 
Honeyman,  at  present  editor  of  the  Somerset  Gazette. 
It  presented  an  attractive  typographical  appearance, 
and  contained  nothing  but  original  articles.    Only 
the  fact  that  it  was  not  iinancially  sustained  caused 
the  cessation  of  its  publication  at  the  expiration  of 
its  first  year.     Many  of  its  articles  were  historical, 
written  by  local  clergymen   and  others,    the   field 
embraced  by  them  being  Somerset  and  Hunterdon 
Counties,  within  which  its  circulation  (six  hundred 
copies)    was    confined.     Many   important    data    are 
drawn  from  it  in  this  present  History.     Its  subscrip- 
tion price  was  two  dollars  per   annum,  and  it  was 
printed  at  the  office  of  the  Daily  Advertiser,  Newark. 
The  Christian  Standard,  a  four-page  monthly  paper, 
four  columns  to  the  page,  size  fifteen  and  a  half  by 
twenty-two,  was  published  by  the  Somerville  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  from  August,  1876,  to 
July,  1877.    It  was  edited  by  A.  V.  D.  Honeyman 
and  William  P.  Flowers  until  May,  1877,  and  subse- 
quently by  S.  S.  Phillips.     Its  subscription  price  was 
twenty -five  cents ;  circulation,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
copies. 

The  Sower,  a  monthly  paper,  "  devoted  to  Sabbath- 
school  interests  and  Bible  study,"  first  issued  at  Mount 
Holly,  N.  J.,  by  Eev.  E.  Randall  Hoes,  was  published 
by  Honeyman  &  Eowe,  at  the  Gazette  office,  from 
July,  1877,  to  June,  1878.  It  was  indorsed  by,  and 
considered  as  the  organ  of,  the  New  Jersey  State 
Sabbath-School  Association.  It  was  a  three-column, 
eight-page  paper,  size  thirty-four  by  thirty-nine,  the 
paper  being  tinted;  subscription  price,  twenty-five 
cents  per  yeai;.  It  had  contributions  from  some  of 
the  most  noted  religious  writers  in  the  country.  Its 
editor  was  Eev.  J.  L.  McNair,  of  Bedminster,  for 
several  issues,  then  Rev.  J.  A.  Davis,  of  Pottersville. 
Of  this  paper  six  thousand  copies  were  printed  and 
circulated  monthly,  but  its  genuine  paid  subscription 
and  advertising  patronage  were  too  meagre  to  sustain 
its  publication,  and  it  was  discontinued  in  June,  1878. 
Flowers'  Family  Magazine,  advertised  as  -"a  con- 
tinuation of  '  Our  Home,'  "  was  begun  January,  1878, 
by  William  P.  Flowers,  of  Somerville,  but  was  re- 
moved, at  the  close  of  its  first  year,  to  Trenton,  N.  J., 
and,  1881,  to  Philadelphia.  It  is  similar  in  size  and 
shape  to  "  Our  Home,"  and  contains  fifty-two  pages 
monthly.  It  was  printed  at  the  Gazette  office  while  in 
Somerville,  and  consisted  chiefly  of  original  matter. 
Circulation,  about  two  thousand. 

The  Pastoral,  a  small  quarterly  newspaper,  is  pub- 
lished by  Eev.  C.  T.  Anderson,  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Church  at  Peapack,  as  a  church  paper.  Its  first  issue 
was  June,  1875.  It  is  published  semi-annually,  size 
eight  and  three-fourths  by  twelve  inches,  four  pages, 
two  columns  to  a  page,  and  is  distributed  gratuitously. 


The  Roch  was  first  started  at  Dunellen  and  called 
The  Dunellen  Roch  in  1877,  but  removed  to  Bound 
Brook  in  the  fall  of  1878.  Its  proprietor  and  editor 
was  Mr.  Charles  E.  MaoGeachy,  once  a  humorist 
writer  upon  the  Danbury  News,  It  was  an  eight-page 
paper,  and  during  its  last  two  or  three  publications 
a  sixteen-page  folio.  It  caricatured  prominent  men 
in  the  county,  and  represented  them  in  cartoons 
"  sketched  by  special  artists."  It  was  for  a  brief  time 
the  most  widely  circulated  paper  in  Central  New 
Jersey,  but  it  became  extinct  in  February,  1879. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

BOOKS  AWD  AUTHOKS  OF  SOMEKSBT 
COTJUTZ.* 

Introductory — The  Authors  of  Somerset  County,  Dead  and  Living, 
arranged  alphabetically,  with  Biographical  Data  and  Lists  of  their 
Publications. 

No  general  history  of  a  country  would  be  half 
written  without  attention  to  its  literature ;  and  neither 
can  a  State  or  a  county  be  justly  portrayed  in  either 
its  past  or  its  present  condition  unless  the  heart-beat 
of  the  Press — ^using  that  term  in  its  widest  sense — be 
registered,  and  its  strength  or  weakness  calculated. 
Accordingly,  the  chapter  upon  the  Press,  to  include 
the  newspapers  of  the  county,  is  now  followed  by  one 
upon  the  many  books,  pamphlets,  and  various  histori- 
cal and  other  contributions  to  current  literature  which 
have  emanated  from  Somerset  County  men,  with  the 
names  and  data  concerning  their  authors. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  county  in  the  State — or  in 
the  Union,  of  equal  size  and  population— has  pro- 
duced more  men  and  women  who  have  been  given  to 
publishing  their  thoughts  on  the  printed  page  than 
the  county  of  Somerset.  Ex-Governor  Vroom  long 
agof  pointed  out  the  usually  admitted  truth  that  no 
county  in  New  Jersey  had  given  more  men  to  fame  as 
orators  and  statesmen  than  the  one  of  his  birth ;  and 
when  he  instanced  Stockton,  Bayard,  Berrien,  South- 
ard, Dayton,  Blackford,  and  Frelinghuysen,  all  pres- 
ent knew  he  had  but  touched  upon  a  list  of  names 
which  widened  far  outside  the  profession  of  the  bar. 
All  these  men  were  famous  lawyers,  but  all  were  au- 
thors also,  although  in  a  restricted  sense ;  and  when 
we  add  to  them  as  writers  such  well-known  and 
highly-cherished  names  as  Witherspoon,  Paterson, 
Griffith,  Finley,  Brownlee,  McDowell,  Porter,  Black- 
well,  Cone,  Fish,  Chambers,  Talmage,  Corwin,  and 
such  as  they,— all  famous  and  some  known  to  the 
whole  world,— Somerset's  intellectual  sons  and  daugh- 
ters stand  forth,  not  singly,  but  in  serried  ranks. 

This  noble  valley  of  the  Raritan,  so  fertile  in  its 


*  By  A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  Esq. 

t  At  a  farewell  dinner  to  Hon.  Wm.  L.  Dayton,  at  Trenton,  1861.    (Sea 
sketch  of  latter,  at  its  dose.) 


612 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESET. 


soil  and  attractive  in  its  climate,  drew  to  itself  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  ago  not  only  the  best  agricultu- 
rists of  Holland  and  Scotland,  but  some  of  the  best 
brains  of  those  two  intellectual  nations ;  and  from 
these  two  early  peoples,  which  settled  respectively  its 
southern  and  northern  portions,  now  intermarried  and 
with  blood  intermingled,  have  sprung  descendants 
who  have  imparted  strength  and  vigor  to  the  thought 
and  culture  of  the  passing  century.  There  will  be 
found  some  grand  old  Scotch  names  in  the  list  of  au- 
thors below,  and  yet  the  Hollandish  names  predomi- 
nate, because  the  deep-thinking  Dutch  composed 
three-fourths  of  our  early  population. 

An  analysis  of  the  list  so  far  as  one  can  be  made — • 
in  which  the  total  number  of  newspaper  and  maga- 
zine contributions  is  but  roughly  estimated  from  the 
imperfect  data  given — reveals  the  following  facts : 

Whole  number  of  Somerset  authors 144 

Clergymen 80 

Lawyers 27 

Physiciang 6 

Teachers 8 

Miscellaneous  occupatious 23 

—  144 

Men 134 

"Women 10 

—  144 

Authors  living 89 

Authors  deceased 55 

—  144 

Number  of  books  published 179 

Number  of  pamplete  published 479 

Number  of  leading  articles  published  in  news- 
papers and  magazines,  law  opinions,  state 

papers,  etc.  (loweat  estimate) 21,251'    

A  total  of. 21,909 

That  the  list  is  complete  as  to  either  the  authors  or 
their  publications  is  not  professed ;  in  the  nature  of 
things,  it  cannot  be.  Some  names  of  newspaper  edi- 
tors, and  all  names  of  mere  reporters,  have  been 
omitted,  although  they  may  have  writing  for  the 
press  for  years,  because  some  line  of  demarcation 
between  writers  of  things  solely  ephemeral,  and  series 
of  articles  or  contributions  of  a  more  permanent 
nature,  was  necessary.  The  compiler  would  be  pleased 
to  have  information  concerning  any  errors  of  what- 
soever nature,  that  they  may  be  corrected  on  a  future 
occasion. 

Andeeson,  Rev.  Chaeles  Thompson.  —  Born 
Sept.  26,  1849,  in  Wayne  Co.,  Pa. ;  removed  to  Som- 
erset Co.,  1853;  grad.  Princeton,  1869,  and  seminary, 
1873.  Pastorates:  Port  Kennedy,  Pa.  (Pres.),  1873- 
74;  Peapack,  Somerset  Co.  (Ref.),  June,  1874,  to 
present  time.     Publications : 

1.  "All  Things  pertaining  to  Life,"  illustrating  2  Peter  i.  5,  6, 7,  Lippin- 
cott  &  Co.,  12mo,  pp.  126, 1879. 

2.  Sermon  in  Somerset  Gazette,  July,  1876. 

3.  "  Thoughts  on  the  Goodness  of  God,"  and  "  The  Source  of  National 
Greatness,"  two  articles  in  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

4.  Other  occasional  contributions  to  the  press. 

5.  "  The  Pastoral,"  a  semi-annual,  in  four  pages,  June,  1875,  to  present. 

Apgae,  Austin  Craig.— Born  Aug.  4,  1838,  at 
Peapack,  Somerset  Co. ;  res.  Peapack,  1838-62 ;  Har- 
lingen,  1862-64;  Trenton,  1866  to  present;  teacher 
of  Nat.  Sci.  in  N.  J.  State  Norm.  School.  Publica- 
tions : 


1.  Works  jointly  edited  with  brother  (see  below,  Apgae,  Elxjs  A.), 
1864-74. 

2.  Contributions  to  the  press.    (Total,  about  50.) 

Apgae,  Ellis  Ayees,  A.M. — Born  at  Peapack, 
March  20,  1836;  State  Supt.  Public  Instruction,  1866 
to  present ;  res.  Trenton ;  real  author  of  Free  School 
System  in  New  Jersey  in  its  present  details ;  indus- 
trious worker  and  excellent  organizer.*  Publications 
(first  seven  are  joint  works  with  his  brother,  Austin 
C.  Apgar) : 

1.  "  Apgar's  Physical  Chart,"  Cowperthwait  &  Co.,  Phila.,  12mo,  1865 ; 
new  ed.,  1871. 

2.  "  Apgar's  Political  Chart,"  same  pub.,  1865. 

3.  *'  Apgar's  Map-Drawing,"  same  pub.,  4to,  1866. 

4.  ■'  Apgar's  History  of  New  Jersey,"  Lippincott  &  Co.,  Phila.,  12mo, 
1870. 

5.  "Apgar's  System  of  Map-Drawing,"  Cowperthwait  &  Co.,  1873. 

6.  "  Apgar's  Plant  Analysis,"  Ivison,  B.,  T.,  &  Co.,  N.  T.,  4to,  1874. 

7.  "  Apgar's  Special  Geography  of  New  Jersey,"  Cowperthwait  &  Co., 
1876. 

8.  Annual  Keports  as  State  Supt.,  15  in  number,  pp.  about  50, 1866-81. 

9.  Miscellaneous  contributions  to  press  of  the  State.    (Total,  over  200.) 

Bayaed,  Samuel. — Born  Jan.  11,  1762,  in  Phila. ; 
grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1784 ;  licensed  attorney  in  PhUa. ; 
clerk  U.  S.  Sup.  Court,  1791-1800 ;  agt.  U.  S.  Gov. 
in  London,  1800;  judge,  Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y., 
member  of  Congress  from  N.  Y.,  res.  of  Prince- 
ton, Somerset  Co.,  1806-40;  member  council  for 
Somerset;  judge  Common  Pleas,  Somerset;  died 
May  12,  1840.     Publications  (incomplete  list) : 

1.  "On  Bill  respecting  Courts  of  the  U.  S."    Speech  in  Congress,  1802. 

2.  "  Abstract  of  the  Laws  of  the  United  States,"  1804. 

3.  Speech  in  Congress,  pamphlet,  1809. 

4.  "Peake's  Evidence,  with  Notes,"  8vo,  1818. 

6.  "  Address  in  Pres.  ch.,  Princeton,  in  behalf  of  Close  Observance  of 
the  Lord's  Day,"  1828. 

6.  "  Letters  on  Sacraments,"  18mo,  2d  ed.,  Martien,  Phila.,  1834. 

7.  Many  letters  to  the  religious  press. 

Bayard,  Samuel  John. — Born  Sept.  26,  1801,  at 
New  Rochelle,  N.  Y. ;  res.  at  Princeton,  Somerset 
Co.,  1806-27 ;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  182t) ;  licensed  at- 
torney, 1823  ;  res.  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  1827-33  ;  Seneca 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  1833^9  (judge  of  County  Court,  1836- 
40) ;  Morristown,  1852-54;  Camden,  1854-56;  Wood- 
bury, 1856-64;  Camden,  1864-78;  died  Oct.  7,  1878. 
A  hard  worker  all  his  life,  of  genuine  literary  talent, 
restrained,  perhaps,  in  its  fullest  development  by  his 
devotion  to  the  political  press.  Publications  (incom- 
plete list) : 

1.  Editorial  arts,  in  Princeton  Patriot,  1826-27. 

2.  Editorial  arts,  in  Cincinnati  Inquirer,  Obio,  1830  (?)-33. 

3.  Biography  of  Gen.  Harrison,  1840. 

4.  Campaign  songs  for  Greeley's  Log  Cktbin. 

5.  Editorial  arts,  in  Keio  Yorh  Globe. 

6.  "  A  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Com.  E.  H.  Stockton,"  with  Appendix  of 
his  Correspondence,  Speeches,  etc.,  8vo,  pp.  340,  Derby  &  Jackson,  N.  T., 
1856.    (Only  full  biography  of  the  Commodore  ever  written.) 

7.  "  Memoir  of  Gen.  Geo.  D.  Bayard,"  12mo,  pp.  300, 1873. 

8.  Hundreds  of  other  arts,  for  the  press. 

Beeeien,  John  Macpheeson,  LL.D. — Born  Aug. 
23, 1781,  at  Rocky  Hill,  Somerset  Co.f    Publications 

=''  See  "  Prominent  men  of  Somerset  County,"  chap,  xi.,  on  following 
pages, 
t  See  ibid. 


BOOKS   AND  AUTHORS   OF   SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


613 


(probably  very  numerous,  but  none  have  come  under 
compiler's  notice  except) : 

1.  Speeches  in  OongresB  at  TariouB  dates. 

2.  State  papers  as  attorney-general. 

3.  Legal  briefs  and  a  few  opinions. 

4.  Letters  concerning  Henry  Kollock  and  Joseph  Clay  in  "Sprague's 
AnnEhls." 

Blackfoed,  Isaac,  LL.D. — Born  1786,  at  Bound 
Brook ;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1806 ;  judge  of  Supreme 
Court,  111.,  1817-53  ;  of  U.  S.  Court  of  Claims,  Wash- 
ington, 1853-59;  died  1859.  Degree  in  1851.  A  man 
of  marked  eminence  and  unquestioned  legal  ability, 
as  his  positions,  so  long  continued,  proved.  Publica- 
tions (imperfect  list) : 

1.  Indiana  State  Eeports  in  Sup.  Court,  1818-4'7,  8vo,  Indianapolis. 

2.  Hundreds  of  decisions  in  Indiana  Sup.  Court  and  U.  S.  Court  of 
Claims. 

Bi^CKWELL,  Rev.  Antootette  Beovtn,  A.M. — 
Born  May  20,  1825,  in  Henrietta,  N.  Y. ;  pastor  Cong. 
Church  at  South  Butler,  N.  Y. ;  res.  Somerville, 
Somerset  Co.,  April,  1868,  to  present.  A  lady  of 
strong  intellect ;  a  profound  thinker  and  logician ; 
one  of  those  who,  equally  with  strong-minded  men, 
would  "  fitly  constitute  a  state."    Publications : 

1.  "  Exegesis  of  St.  Paul's  Teaching  Concerning  Homer,"  in  Oberlin 
"  Quarterly  Review,"  1848. 

2.  "  Studies  in  General  Science,"  12mo,  pp.  400,  G.  P.  Putnam,  1869. 

3.  "  The  Market- Woman,"  serial  story  in  TTomdrt'd  Advocate^  iSby. 

4.  "  The  Island  Neighbors,"  12mo,  pp.  300,  Harper  &  Bros.,  1871. 

5.  "  The  Sexes  Throughout  Nature,"  12mo,  pp.  400,  G.  P.  Putnam, 
1874. 

6.  "  Physical  Basis  of  Immortality,"  12mo,  pp.  324,  Putnam,  1876. 

7.  Six  Papers  on  various  phases  of  the  Woman  Question,  published  by 
the  "Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Women,"  1873-78. 

8.  About  200  other  contributions  to  the  TFoman'a  Journal^  Tribune^  and 
other  newspapers,  magazines,  and  annuals  of  the  country. 

Blackwell,  Samuel  Charles.* — Bom  Nov.  3, 
1823,  at  Bristol,  Eng. ;  came  to  America  1832 ;  resi- 
dences, Cincinnati,  New  York,  Somerville,  1868  to 
present.  A  precise  writer  and  acute  thinker  whose 
pen  has  produced  no  books,  but  many  scores  of  influ- 
ential contributions  upon  themes  fitted  to  the  times. 
Publications : 

Articles  on  Anti-Slavery,  Temperance,  Education,  Ohio's  Provision  for 
her  Insane,  Free  Territories,  National  Union,  Southern  Eeconstruction, 
Woman's  Educational,  Industrial,  and  Political  Interests,  Finance,  Lit- 
erature, and  Religion  (including  prose  and  poetry),  to  the  Cincinnati 
Gazelie,  Chronicle,  Times,  Enquirer,  and  Berald,  Washington  National  Era, 
New  Tork  Tribune,  Woman's  Advocate,  Woman's  Journal,  Somerset  Oazelte 
and  Tfnionist,  etc.    (Total  number,  about  600.) 

Blatjvelt,  Rev.  Isaac  Alstyne. — Born  March 
31,  1839,  at  Lamington,  Somerset  Co. ;  res.  Somerset 
until  1860 ;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1857,  and  seminary, 
1860.  Pastorates :  New  Egypt  (not  installed),  Clin- 
ton, German  Valley,  Roselle.    Publications : 

1.  "Historical  Sketch  of  German  Ref.  and  Pres.  Churches  of  German 
Valley,"  pp.  66,  April  28, 1870. 

2.  "Historical  Sketch  of  ainton  Pres.  Church,"  semi-centenary  ad- 
dress, Sept.  14, 1880. 

3.  Articles  in  The  Presbyterian,  etc. 

Blauvelt,  Rev.  William  Warren,  D.D.— Born 
June 23, 1800,  in  New  Brunswick;  grad.  Rutgers,  1814; 


teacher  in  Northampton  Co.,  Va. ;  missionary  in  Del- 
aware Co.,  N.  Y, ;  teacher  in  Finley's  school.  Basking 
Ridge,  etc.  Pastorate  at  Lamington,  Somerset  Co., 
July  11, 1826,  to  present.  Degree  from  Univ.  of  N.Y., 
1855  (?).     Publications : 

1.  "  Recollections  of  an  Aged  Minister,"  autobiographical,  three  arti- 
cles in  "  Our  Home,"  1873  (unfinished). 

2.  "  Our  Older  Churches — Lamington,"  in  same. 

3.  Historical  Address  at  Semi-Centennial  Anniversary,  pp.  6,  July, 
1876. 

BoisNOT,  James  Monroe,  M.D.— Born  July  20, 
1836,  in  Franklin  tp.,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Trenton 
Academy,  1856,  and  Univ.  of  Pa.,  March,  1858  ;  res.  in 
Philadelphia  from  1858  to  1879 ;  died  Oct.  30,  1879. 
A  man  who  stood  out  prominently  from  among  his 
fellows  in  literary  culture,  as  well  as  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  and  surgery.  Publications  (incomplete 
list) : 

1.  Paper  on  "The  Reduction  by  Manipulation  of  a  Double  Dislocation 
of  the  Hip-joint,"  in  Amer.  Jour,  of  Med.  Sci,,  1864. 

2.  Same  on  "  A  Case  of  Purpura  Haemorrhagica  requiring  Trans- 
fusion," Med,  Times,  March  13, 1875. 

3.  "  Come  unto  Me"  and  "  An  Easter  Anthem,"  two  poems  set  to 
music. 

4.  Many  other  medical  and  surgical  papers,  and  some  general  contri- 
butions for  the  press. 

BoswELL,  Rev.  James  T. — Methodist  Episcopal 
clergyman  at  Bound  Brook,  1876-79.t     Publications : 

1.  "Religious  Influence  of  our  National  History."  Centennial  ser- 
mon in  Somerset  Gazette,  1876. 

2.  Editorial  contributions  to  The  Methodist, 

3.  Contributions  to  the  press,  religious  and  secular. 

Brown,  George  Houston. — Born  1810  in  Bed- 
minster  tp.,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Princeton,  1828 ; 
licensed  attorney,  1835 ;  counselor,  1838  ;  res.  Somer- 
ville, 1838-65 ;  State  senator,  1845-48  ;  member  Con- 
gress, 1850-52;  justice  Sup.  Court,  1861-65;  died 
Aug.  1,  1865.     Publications  (incomplete  list) : 

1.  Editorials  in  Slate  Gazette,  1860. 

2.  Opinions  as  Justice  of  Sup.  Court  in  5  Ihttcher's,  1,  2  Vroom's  Law 
Reports,  and  1,  2  C,  E.  Greens  Equity  Reports, 

Brown,  Rev.  Isaac  Van  Aesdale,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
— Born  1784  at  Pluckamin,  Somerset  Co.  J  Publica- 
tions (list  imperfect) : 

1.  "  New  Jersey  Preacher,"  edited  by  Rev.  I.  V.  Brown  and  Rev.  G.  S. 
Woodhnll.    1  vol.,  pp.  464,  New  Brunswick,  1813. 

2.  "  Biography  of  Robert  Finley,  D.D.,"  12mo,  New  Brunswick,  1819. 
The  only  memoir  of  that  celebrated  man.  Republication,  with  "Early 
History  of  the  Slave  Trade,"  by  John  W.  Moore,  Phila.,  1857,  pp.  336. 

3.  "  Old  School  Presbyterianism  Defended,"  pp.  336,  W.  S.  &  A.  Mar- 
tien,  Phila.,  1866.  Containing  six  able  letters  signed  "  A  Member  of  New 
Brunswick  Presbytery,"  and  widely  circulated  in  the  Southern  States. 

4.  Various  letters  to  the  press  from  time  to  time. 

Beownlee,  Rev.  William  Ceaig,  D.D.— Born 
in  Tarfoot,  Scotland,  1783  ;  grad.  Univ.  of  Glasgow, 
1806  (?),  and  licensed  by  Presbytery  of  Stirling,  Scot- 
land, 1808.  Pastorates  in  America :  Mount  Pleasant 
and  Burgesstown,  Pa.  (Assoc.  Ref),  1808-13  ;  Walnut 
Street,    Phila.   (Assoc.    Scotch),   1813-16;    Basking 


'*  Husband  of  the  preceding. 


f  The  absence  of  Mr.  and  Mra.  Boswell  in  Europe  has  prevented  thfr 
procurement  of  dates  or  a  full  statement  of  publications. 
}  See  Chapter  XI. 


€14 


SOMEESBT  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Ridge,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  (Pres.),  1819-25;  rector 
of  academy,  New  Brunswick,  1815-17 ;  professor  of 
languages  in  Rutgers,  1825-26 ;  pastor  Collegiate 
CKurch,  N.  Y.  City,  1826^3 ;  died  Feb.  10,  1860. 
"  In  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics  and  in  belles-lettres 
Ms  acquirements  were  accurate  and  elegant ;  in  gen- 
eral history  and  literature,  very  extensive,"  Publi- 
cations : 

1.  "  Fearful  State  of  Fr.  Spira,  an  Apostate,"  1814. 

2.  "  Inquiry  into  the  Principles  of  the  Quakers,"  1824. 

3.  "  A  Dissertation  on  the  Nature,  Obligations,  and  Form  of  the  Civil 
Oath,"  1825.        ^ 

4.  "  The  Gospel  of  Christ,"  farewell  sermon  at  Baaking  Bidge,  1825. 

5.  "  On  the  Loftiest  and  Most  Important  Branch  of  all  Scieuces,"  ora- 
tion before  societies  of  Rutgers,  1827. 

6.  "On  the  Death  of  Dr.  S.  H.  "Woodhull,"  a  sermon. 

7.  "On  the  Objections  Commonly  urged  Against  the  Bible,"  Premium 
Tract,  Am.  Tract  Soc,  No.  227. 

8.  "  Genuineness  and  Authenticity  of  the  Bible,  and  the  Madness  of 
Infidelity,"  sermon,  National  Preacher^  October,  1835. 

9.  "  The  Koman  Catholic  Controversy,"  1834. 

10.  Letter  on  Tlieo.  Dwight's  Book,  "  Open  Convents,"  1836. 

11.  "  Earnest  Appeal  to  Christians,"  1836. 

12.  "  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Christian  Life,"  1837. 

13.  "  The  Christian  Father  at  Home,"  1837. 

14.  "  Doctrinal  Decrees  and  Canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent,"  1838. 

15.  '*  Cliristian  Youth's  Book,"  1839. 

16.  "  The  Converted  Murderer,"  1839. 

17.  "  History  of  Western  Apostolic  Churches,"  1839. 

18.  "  The  Whigs  of  Scotland,"  2  vols.,  a  romance,  1839. 

19.  "  Popery  an  Enemy  to  Civil  and  Religious  Liberty"  (4th  ed.), 
1839. 

20.  "  The  Deity  of  Christ,"  1841. 

21.  "  Letters  on  Christian  Baptism,"  1841. 

22.  "Romanism  in  the  Light  of  Prophecy  and  History,"  1854. 

23.  "  St.  Patrick ;  or,  The  Ancient  Religion  of  tbe  Irish." 

24.  Introduction  to  "  Maria  Monk." 

25.  Essays  on  Didactic  and  Controversial  Theology. 

26.  "  On  Baptism." 

27.  Various  sermons  and  articles  in  "  Magazine  of  Ref.  Dutch  Church,*' 
■VPhile  editor,  1826-30. 

28.  "The  General's  Widow,"  Tract  No.  287,  pp.  28. 

Burt,  Rev.  Enoch. — Born  in  New  England ; 
watchmaker  at  Princeton ;  Pres.  clergyman.  Pas- 
torates:  Lamington,  Somerset  Co.,  1809-13;  Man- 
chester, Conn.,  18 37;   died  at  Manchester,  Jan. 

1837.     Publications: 

1.  Sermon  from  Phil.  iii.  8,  in  New  Jersey  Preacher^  1813. 

2.  Sermon  from  Luke  xv.  7,  in  same. 

Cannon,  Rey.  James  Spencer,  D.D. — Born  in 
island  of  Curacoa,  1766 ;  licensed  to  preach  in  Ref. 
Dutch  Church,  1796 ;  pastor  at  Six-Mile  Run,  1796- 
1826,  portion  of  this  time  at  Millstone  also ;  Prof. 
Eccl.  Hist.,  Metaphysics,  etc.,  in  Rutgers,  1818-19, 
1826-52;  died  1852.  Degree  by  Rutgers,  1811.  A 
studious,  diligent  man,  oracular,  of  great  memory, 
and  a  pattern  of  systematic  work.     Publications : 

1.  "Fourth  of  July  Oration,"  1815. 

2.  "Lectures  on  History  and  Chronology,"  1834. 

3.  "Rev.  Ira  Condit,"  in  "  Sprague's  Annals." 

4.  "  Sermon  on  a  Sacramental  Occasion." 

5.  "  Address  to  Hon.  Theo.  Frelinghuyson  as  Pres.-elect  of  Rutgers," 
1850,  in  New  Brunsimck  Review. 

6.  "  Lectures  on  Pastoral  Theology,"  8vo,  pp.  617,  Scrihner  &  Co.,N.T., 
1853  (posthumous). 

Chambers,  Rev.  Talbot  Wilson,  D.D. — Born 

Eeb.  25,  1819,  at  Carlisle,  Pa. ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1884; 


New  Brunswick  Seminary  and  Princeton  Seminary, 
1837.  Pastorates  in  Ref.  Dutch  Church :  Somerville, 
N.  J.,  1839-49;  New  York  Collegiate  Church,  1849 
to  present.  Degree  by  Columbia,  1853.  One  of  the 
best  scholars  and  clearest-headed  thinkers  in  the  Ref. 
Church  in  America.     Publications : 

1.  "The  Importance  of  City  Missions,"  1850. 

2.  "  The  Happiness  of  the  Pious,"  Nat.  Preacher^  1852. 

3.  "  The  Duty  Due  to  Deceased  Pastors,"  discourse  at  funeral  of  Rot. 
George  Schenck,  1852. 

4.  Art.  on  Rev.  G.  Schenck,  in  "  Sprague's  Annals.'* 

5.  "  Gunn's  Life  of  Livingston,"  new  ed.,  with  new  matter,  1856. 

6.  Preface  to  tract,  "The  Gospel  the  only  True  Reformer,"  1856. 

7.  "  The  Noon  Prayer-Meeting  in  Fulton  Street,"  1868,  in  "Princeton 
Review,"  xxxi.  157. 

8.  "Translation  of  Minutes  of  Coetus  and  Conferentie,"  1859. 

9.  "Memoir  of  the  Life  and  Character  of  Hon.  Theodore  Freling- 
buysen,  LL.D.,"  N.T.,  pp.  289, 1863. 

10.  "  Economy  a  Christian  Duty,"  in  Nat.  Preacher,  1865. 

11.  "  Defense  of  the  Old  and  Rightful  Name  of  the  Ref.  Prot.  Dutch 
Church,"  1867. 

12.  "  Objections  to  Sunday-Schools,"  N,  Y.  S.  S.  Inst.,  1868. 

13.  "  Discourse  at  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  North  Dutch 
Church,"  1869. 

14.  "  Reminiscences  of  Dr.  Alexander  McClelland,"  series  of  14  articles 
in  Christian  Intelligencer y  1872. 

15.  Exposition  of  International  Series  of  S.  S.  Lessons  in  GJiriaHan  Jn- 
telligencer,  1873. 

16.  "  John  Knox,  the  Reformer,"  in  McClintock  and  Strong's  "  Cyclo- 
psedia,"  vol.  v.,  1873. 

17.  "  Exposition  of  the  Book  of  Zecharlah,"  in  "  Lange's  Commentary," 
1874. 

18.  SchmoUer's  Exposition  of  Amos,  translated  and  enlarged,  in 
"  Lange's  Commentary,"  1874. 

19.  "  Palestine  and  the  East,"  28  articles  in  Chriatian  Intelligencer, 
1874-75. 

20.  "  Recalling  the  Past,"  sermon  on  twentieth  anniversary  of  church 
Fifth  Ave.  and  29th  St.,  1874. 

21.  "  The  Guileless  Israelite :  a  Sermon  in  Commemoration  of  Rev. 
Thomas  De  Witt,"  1875. 

22.  "  The  Influence  of  the  Ref.  Dutch  Church  in  Preserving  Soundness 
of  Doctrine,"  sermon  in  "  Centennial  Discourses,"  1876. 

23.  "  The  Psalter  a  Witness  to  the  Divine  Origin  of  the  Bible,"  Tedder 
Lectures,  N.  T.,  1876. 

24.  "  The  Psalter  a  Witness  to  the  Divine  Origin  of  the  Bible,"  1876. 

25.  Translation  of  Ordinary  Papers  of  Rev,  J.  P.  Boehme  in  Mercers- 
burg  Review,  1876. 

26.  "  Is  Man  Depraved  ?"  in  "  North  American  Review,"  1878. 

27.  The  Writings  of  Solomon,  in  "Family  Treasury,"  1873. 

28.  "The  Bible  an  English  Classic,"  in  volume  of  essays  on  "Bible 
Revision,"  1879. 

29.  "  The  Review  of  a  Generation,"  8vo,  pp.  32, 1879. 

30.  "The  Truly  Good  Man,"  in  memory  of  Rev.  M.  S.  Hutton,  D.D^ 
8vo,  pp.  24, 1880. 

31.  Descriptive  Letter-Press  of  "  Dore's  Bible  Gallery,"  4to,  Cassell, 
Petten,  Galpin  &  Co.,  1880. 

32.  "The  Coming  of  the  Lord,"  in  "  Ref.  Ch.  Quarterly,"  January,  1880. 

33.  "The  Theory  of  Kuenen,"  Presbyterian  Review,  April,  1880. 

34.  "  The  States'  Bible  in  Holland,"  "  Ref.  Ch'  Quarterly,"  July,  1880. 

35.  Critical  Notes  on  S.  S.  Lessons,  in  S.  S.  Times,  July  to  December, 
1880. 

36.  Various  other  articles  in  Cli.  Intelligencer,  N.  T.  Observer,  Ch.  al  Work, 
Independent,  Methodist,  Sower,  S.  S.  Times,  8.  8.  World,  Christian  Union,  etc. 
(Total,  many  hundreds.) 

Clakk,  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  D.D. — Born 

Feb.  15, 1831,  at  South  Orange,  N.  J. ;  grad.  Amherst, 
1853,  and  Rochester  Theo.  Seminary,  1855.  Pastor- 
ates in  Baptist  Churches:  New  Market,  1855-59; 
Elizabeth,  1859-68;  Ballston,  N.  Y.,  1868-73;  Som- 
erville, 1873-77.  Resigned  charge  1877,  and  removed 
to  Hightstown,  1881.    Gen.  Colporteur  and  Coll.  Agent 


BOOKS  AND   AUTHORS   OF  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


615 


of  Am.  Bap.  Pub.  Soc.  for  New  Jersey,  1880.  Degree 
from  Rochester  Univ.,  1872.  A  painstaking  scholar, 
accurate  and  copious;  prostrated  for  several  years 
from  hard  and  faithful  work  upon  his  "  Notes  upon 
the  Gospels."    Publications : 

1.  "  History  of  First  Baptist  Church,  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,"  pp.  46, 1863. 

2.  "  New  Harmony  of  the  Gospels  in  English,"  12mo,  pp.  iJ77,  Sheldon 
&  Co.,  1870. 

3.  "  Notes  on  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,"  12mo,  pp.  420,  Sheldon  &  Co., 
1870. 

4.  Ditto,  on  "  Mark,"  pp.  394,  Bible  and  Pub.  Soc,  Phila.,  1873. 
6.  Ditto,  on  "Luke,"  pp.  504, 1876. 

6.  Ditto,  on  "  John,"  pp.  336.* 

7.  Minutes  of  N.  J.  Baptist  Assn.for  five  years. 

5.  Articles  on  "  Armenians  of  Turkey"  and  "  The  Bighteous  Dead  be- 
tween Death  and  the  Kcsurrection,"  in  Christian  Review. 

9.  Articles  on  "  The  Sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  "  The  Curriculum 
of  Sunday-.BChodl  Study,"  in  "  Baptist  Quarterly." 

10.  Several hundrednu5cellaneQusarticlea,inJ12ic/ii^a7i  ChnslianMeroXd^ 
Some  Evangelic  Watchman  and  Refiector,  Naiwynal  Ba^ptUi^  Richmond  JETer- 
ald^  Somerset  Gazette^  etc.,  and  several  sermons. 

Cole,  Eev.  David,  D.D. — Born  Spring  Valley, 
N.  Y.,  1822;  grad.  Rutgers,  1842.  Pastorates  in 
Eef.  Church :  East  Millstone,  Somerset  Co.,  1858-63 ; 
Yonkers,  1865  to  present  time.  Prof,  of  Greek,  Rut- 
gers, 1863-66.  Degree  by  Franklin  and  Marshall, 
]  865.     Publications : 

1.  *'  Manual  of  English  Grammar,"  1848. 

2.  "  Classical  Education,"  1854,  in  "  Barnard's  Am.  Jour.  Ed.,"  vol.  i.  67. 

3.  "  Aims  of  the  State  Normal  School  of  N.  J.,"  1857,  in  "  Barnard's 
Am.  Jour.  Ed.,"  vol.  v. 

4.  "  The  Principles  of  English  Grammar  Applied,"  1862. 

5.  Many  editorials  in  N.  T.  Teacher^  1855-56. 

6.  Decennial  Discourse  at  East  Millstone,  1865. 

7.  "  Thanksgiving  Diacoui-se,"  1866. 

8.  Hist.  Address  at  Yonkers,  on  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  that 
church,  pp.  109, 1868. 

9.  "  Offerings  to  the  Lord,"  annual  sermon  on  Benevolence  before  Gen. 
Syn.,  1874. 

10.  "  Isaac  Cole  and  Cath.  Sei-ven ;  or.  The  Genealogy  of  an  Extensive 
Branch  of  the  Colo  Family,  1633-1876,"  pp.  269, 1876. 

11.  "  Our  American  Republic  the  Child  of  Special  Providence,"  1876. 

12.  Many  contributions  to  the  press  from  1845  to  the  present. 

Cone,  Rev.  Spencer  Houghton,  D.D. — Born 
April  30,  1785,  near  Princeton,  Somerset  Co.f  One 
of  the  great  Baptist  preachers  of  the  country,  whose 
pen  and  tongue  were  always  oil  fire  with  the  work  of 
the  Church.     Publications  (imperfect  list) : 

1.  Address  at  First  Anniversary  of  Amer.  and  For.  Bible  Society,  1838. 

2.  History  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  New  Tork,  Nea  York  OhronicU, 
1850. 

3.  "The  Bible:  its  ExceUenoe"  (joint  with  W.  H.  WyckofT). 

4.  "  The  Bible  Translated,"  tract  (joint  with  W.  H.  Wyckoff),  1850. 

5.  Addresses  before  the  Bible  Union,  1850-65. 

■6.  A  corrected  version  of  the  English  New  Testament  (also  joint). 
7.  Edited  Jones'  "  Church  History." 

Cornell,  Rev.  William,  D.D.— Born  June,  1884, 
in  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1859,  New  Bruns- 
wick Seminary,  1862.  Pastorates  in  Ref  Church :  Min- 
isink,  1862-68;  Woodstown,  1864r-68.  Teacher  at 
Freehold,  1863;  Somerville,  1868-76,  where  he 
founded  the  "  Somerset  Classical  Institute,"  for  both 
sexes.    Died  Sept.  11,  1876.    Degree  from  Rutgers, 

•*  Thefour  above  works,  all  now  published  by  Am.  Bap.  Pub.  Soc,  Phila., 
.  are  of  the  greatest  value  to  Sunday-school  teachers, 
t  Sea  Chapter  XI. 


1873.    A  thorough  teacher  and  a  good  preacher,  but 
wrote  little  except  sermons.    Publications : 

1.  "  On  Thanksgiving,"  sermon  at  Freehold,  Aug.  6, 1863. 

2.  Occasional  contributions  to  the  press,  including  a  few  poems. 

CoRwiN,  Rev.  Edward  Tanjore,  D.D. — Born  in 
New  York  City,  July  12,  1834;  grad.  Coll.  of  City 
of  N.  Y.,  1853 ;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1856.  Pas- 
torates in  Ref.  Church :  Paramus,  1857-63 ;  Millstone, 
Somerset  Co.,  1863  to  present.  Degree  by  Rutgers, 
1872.  A  severe  student  and  constant  writer,  with 
special  tastes  for  historical  gleanings.     Publications : 

1.  "  Manual  and  Record  of  Church  at  Paramus,"  1858 ;  2d  ed.,  1859. 

2.  "  Manual  of  Ref.  Prot.  Dutch  Church  in  North  America,"  pp.  166, 
1859;  2d  ed.,  pp.  400, 1869  ;  3d  ed.,  pp.  676, 1879. 

3.  "  Millstone  Centennial,"  historical  discourse,  large  12mo,  pp.  113, 
1866. 

4.  "  Corwin  Genealogy,"  8vo,  pp.  315, 1872. 

5.  "  Character  and  Development  of  the  Ref.  Oh.  in  the  Colonial  Pe- 
riod," in  "  Centennial  Discourses,"  1876. 

6.  "  Farewell  Sermon  at  Paranlus,"  1863. 

7.  "  Sermon  on  Death  of  President  Lincoln,"  in  "  Lincolniana,"  1865. 

8.  Article, "  Education  in  Ref.  Church,"  in  "  Cyclopaedia  of  Education," 
1877. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12, 


Index  to  "  Centennial  Discourses,"  2d  ed.,  pp.  30. 
Exposition  of  Sunday-school  Lessons  in  Christian  InteUigencer,  1880. 
Franklin  and  Hillsborough  Township  Histories,  in  this  volume, 
other  occasional  contributions  to  the  press. 


Craig,  Rev.  Austin,  D.D. — Born  at  Peapack,  Som- 
erset Co.,  1824 ;  grad.  Lafayette,  1841-43 ;  preacher 
from  1843 ;  located  at  Feltville,  N.  J.,  1848 ;  Irving- 
ton,  1849;  Feltville,  1850-51;  Blooming  Grove,  N. 
Y.,  1851-57 ;  at  Antioch  Coll.  as  preacher  and  teacher, 
1857-68 ;  Blooming  Grove,  1858-65 ;  prof  in  Antioch, 
1865-68 ;  New  Bedford,  1868-69 ;  Pres.  Christian  Bib. 
Institute,  Eddytown,  N.  Y.,  1869-72 ;  same,  removed 
to  Stanfordville,  1872  to  present.  Degree  from  An- 
tioch, 1857.     Publications : 

1.  "  The  Chxirch  the  Medium  of  the  Divine  Influence  upon  the  World,** 
sermon,  Albany,  Jasper  Hazen,  1847. 

2.  "  My  Fourth  Occasional  Tract,"  N.  Y.,  John  Westall,  1849. 

3.  "  Unity  and  Faith  of  the  Christian  Church,"  sermon.  New  Tork, 
David  Felt  &  Co.,  1850. 

4.  "  Getting  Religion :  My  Sixth  Occaaiona  Tract,"sermon,8am6pub. 
6.  Address  before  N.  J.  Christian  Conference,  same  pub.,  1860. 

6.  "A  Christmas  Visit  to  Bethlehem,"  Christmas  sermon  at  Antioch 
College,  1867 ;  repub.  in  London,  E.  T.  Whitfield,  1868. 

7.  "Bating  Christ's  Flesh  and  Drinking  His  Blood,"  sermon,  New 
Tork,  J.  B.  Ford  &  Co. ;  also  pub.  in  religious  papers. 

8.  "  Glimpses  at  the  Evangelical  Alliance,"  1873. 

9.  "The  Gospel  of  Luke  the  Apostles'  Creed,"  tract  of  Amer.  Unitarian 
Assn. 

10.  About  a  dozen  more  pamphle^se^nons  at  different  dates. 

11.  Several  hundred  religious  contributions  to  the  press ;  among  other 
papers,  to  Christian  Sim,  Norfolk,  Va. ;  Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty,  Newbury- 
port,  Mass. ;  Christian  PaOadimn,  Albany ;  Christian  Vnim  and  Reviem, 
Christian  Jnguirer,  etc. 

Dayton,  Alfred  Bailey,  M.D. — Born  at  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  Somerset  Co.,  Dec.  25,  1812;  grad.  Coll. 
of  Phys.  and  Surg.,  N.  Y.,  1835 ;  res.  Mattawan,  N.  J., 
1835  to  decease,  July  19, 1870.  "  He  possessed  orator- 
ical and  rhetorical  powers  of  a  high  order,  being  a 
graceful  speaker  and  polished  writer."  Publications 
(incomplete  list) : 

1.  "  Review  of  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Thompsonianism." 

2.  "  MoUites  Ossium." 


616 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


3.  "  Inversion  of  the  Uterus,  with  Methods  of  Eeduclion." 

4.  "  Cerehro-spinal  Meningitis." 

6.  "  Dry  Gangrene."    All  above  are  medical. 

Dayton,  "William  Lewis,  LL.D. — Bom  Feb.  17, 
1807,  at  Basking  Eidge,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Coll.  of 
N.  J.,  1825 ;  licensed  attorney,  1830 ;  counselor,  1833  ; 
res.  Freehold,  Monmouth  Co.,  1830-38;  member 
Assembly,  1837-38;  res.  Trenton,  1838-61;  justice 
Sup.  Court,  1838^2 ;  U.  S.  senator,  1842-51 ;  Eepub- 
lican  nominee  for  Vice-President  (with  Fremont), 
1856 ;  Attorney-Gen.  of  N.  J.,  1857-61 ;  U.  S.  min- 
ister to  France,  1861-64 ;  died  Dec.  1,  1864,  in  Paris. 
An  accomplished  lawyer,  orator,  statesman,  and  di- 
plomatist. "  There  is  no  public  man  for  whose  char- 
acter I  have  a  higher  admiration." — Abraham  Lincoln. 
Publications  (incomplete  list) : 

1.  "  In  Vindication  of  the  National  Faith,"  speech  in  Congress,  Febru- 
ary, 1843. 

2.  "  Address  before  the  Societies,"  at  Princeton,  pp.  30,  Sept.  26, 1843. 

3.  "  On  Remitting  Gen.  Jackson's  Fine,"  speech  in  Congress,  Decem- 
ber, 1843. 

4.  "  The  Occupation  of  Washington  Territory,"  same,  January,  1844. 
6.  "  The  Tariff,"  same,  April,  1844. 

6.  *'  Annexation  of  Texas,"  same,  February,  1845. 

7.  "  Wilmot  Proviso,"  same,  March,  1847. 

8.  "  To  establish  Temporary  Governments  in  Oregon,  California,  and 
New  Mexico,"  same,  July,  1848. 

9.  "  On  Admission  of  California  into  the  Union,"  same,  March,  1850. 

10.  "  Statutes  of  New  Jersey,"  Revision  of  1847  (joint),  pp.  1155. 

11.  Decisions  as  Justice  of  N.J.  Supreme  Court  in  1, 2,  and  3  Harrison^s 
Law  Reports,  38-41. 

12.  Speech  at  Cooper  Union,  N.  T.,  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  after  latter's 
election,  1860. 

Davis,  Kev.  John  Angell. — Born  near  Kingston, 
N.  Y. ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1865,  and  seminary,  1868 ;  mis- 
sionary to  Amoy,  China,  1870 ;  pastorates  Ref.  Church : 
Palisades,  1872 ;  Pottersville,  Somerset  Co.,  1873-78 ; 
Oyster  Bay,  L.  I.,  1878  to  present.  A  constant  writer 
for  the  press.     Publications : 

1.  "  The  Board  of  Publication,"  discussions  in  Christ.  Jn/eHigfincer,  1875. 

2.  "  Tom  Bard,"  in  Bower  and  Gospel  Field,  serial,  1878-80. 

3.  "  Leng-Tso,  the  Chinese  Slave-Girl,"  Pres.  Board  Pub.,  pp.  302, 1880 ; 
first  published  as  serial  in  Christian  Intelligencer. 

4.  "  China  Boy  who  became  a  Preacher,"  in  Sower  and  Gospel  Field. 
6.  "Sunday-School  Dialogues"  (in  press). 

6.  Hundreds  of  other  articles  in  N.  Y.  Observer,  Clirislianat  Worlc,  Chris- 
tian Intelligencer,  American  Messenger,  Child's  Paper,  Somerset  Gazette, 
"Flowei-s'  Fam.  Mag.,"  etc. 

Demarest,  Rev.  William. — Born  Aug.  22,  1813, 
at  Old  Bridge,  Bergen  Co. ;  grad.  New  Brunswick 
Seminary,  1837 ;  missionary  in  New  York  City,  1837- 
38.  Pastorates  in  Ref  Church  :  Clover  Hill,  Somer- 
set Co.,  1838^0 ;  New  Hurley,  1840-45 ;  Berne  and 
Beaver  Dam,  1845-50;  Westerly,  1850-54;  Bound 
Brook,  Somerset  Co.,  1854^57;  Ramapo,  1858-70; 
Union,  1871-74 ;  died  1874.     Publications: 

1.  Translation  of  Minutes  of  Early  Synod,  1771-94. 

2.  Translation  of  Frelinghuysen's  Sermons  from  the  Dutch,  Ref.  Church 
Board  of  Pub.,  12mo,  pp.  422,  1866. 

De  Witt,  Rev.  John,  D.D. — Born  at  Albany,  N. 
Y.,  1821 ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1838,  and  New  Brunswick 
Seminary,  1842.  Pastorates :  Ridgway,  1842-44 ; 
Ghent  First  Church,  1845^8  ;  Canajoharie,  1848-49 ; 


Millstone  (period  res.  in  this  county),  1850-63 ;  since 
which  prof.  Oriental  literature.  New  Brunswick.  De- 
gree by  Rutgers,  1860.     Publications  : 

1.  "  The  Sure  Foundation,  and  How  to  Build  on  It,"  12mo,  1860. 

2.  "  Our  Catechisms  and  Confessions,"  series  of  articles  in  Christian  In- 
telligencer, 1872, 

DiLTS,  Isaiah  Neighbour,  A.M. — Born  at  Sohool- 
ey's  Mountain,  Morris  Co.,  Aug.  3, 1824;  grad.  Lafay- 
ette College,  1844;  licensed  attorney,  1847;  counselor, 
1850;  res.,  Morristown,  1847-53;  Somerville,  1853 
until  decease.  May  21,  1878.  "  A  gentleman  of  fine 
literary  taste  and  culture,  not  only  retaining,  but  cul- 
tivating, the  knowledge  of  the  classical  and  foreign 
languages."     Publication^ : 

1.  Metrical  translation  of  "  Dies  Irse,"  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

2.  "Centennial  Address"  before  people  of  Somerset  County,  July  4, 
1876,'pp.  16. 

3.  Opinion  in  Board  of  Freeholders,  etc.,  vs.  Cory,  1874,  in  Somerset 
Unionist. 

4.  Many  editorials  in  Somerset  County  papers,  political  and  satirical 
poems,  etc.,  never  collected. 

DooLiTTLE,  Rev.  Philip  Melancthon. — Born 
about  1830  in  Springfield,  N.  J. ;  grad.  Union,  1852 ; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1856 ;  pastor  Ref.  Church, 
North  Branch,  Somerset  Co.,  1852  to  present.  A  con- 
stant writer  for  the  local  press,  but  always  anony- 
mously.    Publications  (incomplete  list) : 

1 .  Scores  of  editorial  and  other  articles  in  Somerset  Unionist. 

2.  Sermon  in  Somerset  Gazette,  1876. 

3.  "  The  Public-House,  as  Licensed  to  Sell  Intoxicating  Liquors," 
address  before  Somerset  County  Temp.  Asso.,  September,  1880,  pp.  12. 

4.  Many  other  contributions  to  Christian  InteUigencer,  Sentinel  of  Free- 
dom, and  Somerset  Gazette. 

DuTCHEE,  Rev.  Jacob  C. — Born  about  1826  at 
Greensburg,  N.  Y. ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1843  ;  New  Bruns- 
wick Seminary,  1846.  Pastorates  in  Ref.  Dutch 
Church:  Owasco,  1846-50;  Bergen  Neck,  1850-54; 
Bergen  Point,  1854-57;  Coxsackie  First,  1857-58; 
Seventh  Avenue,  New  York  City,  1858-59;  Sixth 
Avenue,  New  York,  Union  Church,  1859-63  ;  Market 
Street,  New  York,  1863-66;  Somers,  Conn.  (Cong.), 
1867-68 ;  Bound  Broo'k,  1868-79 ;  at  present  without 
charge.     Publications : 

1.  "Requisites  of  National  Greatness,"  1843. 

2.  "  Sketch  of  Capt.  Denning,"  by  request  of  N.  T.  Legislature,  and 
published  by  its  authority,  pp.  80,  1864. 

3.  "  The  Prodigal  Sou,"  pp.  126,  E.  N.  Tripp  &  Co.,  1870. 

4.  Oration  at  a  dedication  of  a  Soldiers'  Monument,  Orient,  L.  I.,  1870. 

5.  "  Alone  in  the  World,"  pp.  320. 

6.  "  Washington,"  an  oration  at  Niblo's  Theatre,  before  0.  U.  A.  M., 
1872. 

7.  "  The  Old  Home  by  the  River,"  pp.  230,  N.  Tibballs  &  Son,  1874  (2 
eds.). 

8.  "  Our  Fallen  Heroes." 

9.  "  America,  her  Danger  and  her  Safety,"  1876. 

10.  Many  religious  articles  in  magazines  and  newspapers  on  "  Bible  in 
Public  Schools,"  etc.,  and  some  fiction. 

Eaton,  Rev.  James  Demarest. — Born  March 
18,  1848,  in  Lancaster,  Wis. ;  grad.  Beloit,  1869  ;  An- 
dover  Seminary,  1872.  Pastorates  in  Cong.  Church : 
Portland,  Oregon,  1873-76 ;  Bound  Brook,  Somerset. 
Co.,  1876  to  present.     Publications : 


BOOKS  AND  AUTHORS   OF  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


61T 


1.  "  A  Pilgrimage  to  Concord,"  "  Flowers'  Jam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

2.  "  In  and  Around  the  Virginia  State-Houee,"  game. 

3.  "  On  the  Payment  of  the  Church  Debt,"  sermon,  Bound  Brnoh  Chron- 
icle, Sept.  24, 1879. 

4.  "  The  Christian  in  Politics,"  sermon  in  same,  June  2, 1880. 

5.  Other  articles  in  the  newspapers. 

Edwaeds,  Mary  H. — Bom  July  2, 1853,  in  Ches- 
ter, N.  J. ;  daughter  of  John  F.,  M.D.,  of  Earitan ; 
res.  Raritan  since  October,  1853 ;  grad.  Holyoke  Sem- 
inary, 1876.  A  talented  young  poetical  writer.  Pub- 
lications : 

Several  score  of  short  poems  and  sketches  in  prose  in  Springfield 
(Mafis.)  Homestead,  Somerael  Gazette,  "  Our  Home,"  "  Ladies'  Floral  Cab- 
inet," Bristol  (Eng.)  Observer,  "  Demorest's  Monthly,"  "  Flowers'  Mag.," 
etc.,  usually  under  a  nom-de-plume. 

English,  Rev.  James  Theodobe. — Born  Oct.  31, 
1810,  at  Englishtown,  Monmouth  Co. ;  grad.  Union, 
New  York,  and  Princeton  Seminary;  pastor  Pres. 
Church,  Liberty  Corner,  Somerset  Co.,  1837-73 ;  died 
May  17, 1873.     Publications : 

1.  "  The  Great  Teacher,"  sermon  before  Synod  of  N.  J.,  Morristown, 
pp.  15,  Oct.  18,1869. 

2.  Series  of  articles  on  Bernards  township  in  Somerset  Unionist. 

3.  Many  contributions  to  same,  and  also  to  The  Presbyterian  and  N.  T. 
Evangelist. 

Field,  Richard  Stockton,  LL.D. — Born  Dec. 
31,  1803,  at  Whitehill,  Burlington  Co.;  grad.  Coll. 
of  N.  J.,  1821;  res.  Princeton,  Somerset  Co.,  1811-25; 
Salem,  1825-32;  Princeton,  1832-70;  licensed  attor- 
ney, February,  1825,  counselor,  1828 ;  member  N.  J. 
Legislature;  attorney-gen.,  1838—41;  member  Const. 
Conv.,  1844;  U.  S.  senator,  1862-63 ;  U.  S.  dist.  judge, 
1863-70 ;  died  May  25,  1870.  Degree  fi-om  Coll.  of 
N.  J.,  1859.  "  His  mind  was  so  stored  with  the  fruits 
of  his  learning  that  he  had  a  rare  facility  of  expres- 
sion. .  .  .  Only  one  decision  of  his  was  ever  reversed." 
— Keoibeyi    Publications  (incomplete  list) : 

1.  "ProTlncial  Courts  in  N.  J.,  with  Sketches  of  Bench  and  Bar,"  IT. 
J.  Hist.  Soc,  8vo,  pp.  324, 1848. 

2.  "  Review  of  the  Trial  of  Rev.  Wm.  Tennent  for  Peijury  in  1742," 
vol.  Ti.,  N.  J.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc,  18B1. 

3.  "The  Publications  of  the  N.  J.  Hist.  Soc,"  "Princeton  Review," 
July,  1852. 

4.  "  Address  before  the  Surviving  Members  of  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention of  New  Jersey,"  1853. 

6.  "  The  Power  of  Habit,"  Address  at  Anniversary  of  Edgefield  School, 
Princeton,  pp.  22, 1855. 

6.  "  The  Constitution  not  a  Compact  between  Southern  States,"  oration 
before  Societies  of  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  pp.  27,  July  4, 1S61. 

7.  "  State  Prisoners,"  speech  in  IT.  S.  Senate,  1863. 

8.  "  Charge  to  Grand  Jury,"  Trenton,  pp.  24, 1863. 

9.  "  On  the  Life  and  Character  of  Hon.  Joseph  C.  Homblower,"  vol.  x., 
N.  J.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc,  1865. 

10.  "  Address  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  before 
Legislature,  1865. 

11.  Centennial  Address  before  Societies  of  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1869. 

12.  Address  on  Hon.  James  Parker,  in  vol.  i.,  new  series  of  same,  1869. 

13.  Contributions  to  New  Jersey  Hist.  Collections. 

14.  Various  decisions  in  U.  S.  Dist.  Court. 

FiNLEY,  Rev.  Robert,  D.D. — Born  in  Princeton, 
Feb.  15,  1772;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1787;  teacher  at 
Charleston,  S.  C,  1791-92;  pastor  Presb.  Church, 
Basking  Ridge,  Somerset  Co.,  1795-1815;  president 
Univ.  of  Geo.,  1817;  died  1817,  in  Georgia.  His 
writings  were  chiefly  "  to  be  useful."  "  Perspicuity, 
40 


strength,  and  effect  were  the  great  things  at  which  he 
aimed.  Had  he  written  more  he  would  have  written 
better." — Brown.    Publications  (incomplete  list) : 

1.  "  On  the  Baptism  of  John,"  sermon,  1807. 

2.  "  Sermon  on  the  Victory  of  Christ  over  Death,"  at  the  funeral  of 
Rev.  Wm.  Boyd,  Lamington,  pp.  20,  May  17, 1807. 

3.  "  On  Baptism,"  sermon,  1808. 

4.  Two  sermons  in  National  Preacher,  1813. 

5.  "Thoughts  on  Colonization,"  1816. 

6.  Letters  in  "Memoir"  (posthumous),  1819. 

Fish,  Rev.  Henry  Clay,  D.D. — Born  Jan.  27, 
1820,  at  Halifax,  Vt. ;  removed  to  New  Jersey,  1840  ; 
grad.  Union  Theol.  Sem.,  N.  Y.,  June  25,  1845.  Pas- 
torates in  Bapt.  Church :  Somerville,  Somerset  Co., 
1845  to  December,  1850 ;  Newark,  First,  January, 
1851-77.  Died  Oct.  2, 1877.  Degree  from  Rochester 
Univ.,  1858.  One  of  the  most  industrious  of  work- 
ers, as  thirteen  bound  volumes  of  his  writings  and 
elaborate  contributions  to  periodicals,  prepared  amid 
an  immense  amount  of  parishional  work,  testify.  "  The 
extent  of  his  reading  in  history,  poetry,  modern  and 
patriotic  literature,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  his  writ- 
ing in  making  translations  and  sketches,  was  some- 
thing marvelous." — Hague.     Publications : 

1.  "  The  Baptist  Scriptural  Catechism,"  E.  H.  Fletohei ,  N.  T.,  pp.  86, 
1849. 

2.  "  Hist.  First  Baptist  Church,  Newark,"  two  semi-centennial  ser- 
mons, 18mo,  pp.  108,  June,  1851. 

3.  "  The  Youth's  Catechism,"  2  vols.,  pp.  200,  Newark,  1853. 

4.  "  The  Child's  Catechism,"  pp.  30, 1863. 

5.  "  Romanism  and  the  Common  Schools,"  Thanksgiving  sermon,  pp. 
20,  1863. 

6.  "  Primitive  Piety  Revived,"  a  8200  prize  essay  of  Cong.  Board  of 
Pab.,  Boston,  12mo,  pp.  249, 1865  ;  published  in  Dutch  at  Utrecht,  Hol- 
land, 1860. 

7.  "  History  and  Repository  of  Pulpit  Eloquence,"  2  vols.,  8vo,  pp. 
1236,  Dodd,  1866. 

8.  "Pulpit  Eloquence  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,"  8vo,  pp.  813,  Dodd, 
1867. 

9.  "  Select  Discourses,"  trans,  from  French,  12mo,  pp.  408,  Sheldon  & 
Co.,  1868. 

10.  "  How  Can  I  be  Saved  ?"  prize  tract  of  Sheldon  &  Co.,  N.  T.,  pp. 
21, 1869. 

11.  "The  Price  of  Soul  Liberty, and  Who  paid  it,"  18mo,  pp.  152,  Shel- 
don &  Co.,  1860. 

12.  "  Don't  Swear,"  prize  tract,  pp.  16, 1862  ;  trans,  into  French. 

13.  "  The  Valley  of  Achor  a  Dove  of  Hope,"  Thanksgiving  sermon, 
pp.  24, 1863. 

14.  "  God's  Hand  in  the  Rebellion,"  pp.  32,  July,  1865. 

15.  "War  Record  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,"  two  sermons,  pp.  26, 
1865. 

16.  "The  Hour  for  Action,"  pp.  40,  Am,  Board  For.  Miss.,  1866. 

17.  "  Account  of  Golden  Wedding"  of  author's  parents,  1866. 

18.  Editor  (with  others)  of  "  The  Baptist  Praise  Book,"  Sheldon  &  Co., 
pp.  640, 1871. 

19.  "  Loyalty  to  Truth  the  Glory  and  Strength  of  the  Baptists,"  part 
of  Madison  Avenue  lectures,  Am.  Bapt.  Pub.  Soc,  1871. 

20.  "  Harry's  Conversion,"  sketches  from  hfe,  18mo,  pp.  240,  Bible  and 
Pub.  Soc,  Phila.,  1872. 

21.  "  Harry's  Confiicts,"  18mo,  pp.  224,  same,  1872. 

22.  "Hand-Book  of  Revivals,"  12mo,  pp.  420,  Jas.  H.  Earle,  Boston, 
1874. 

23.  "Heaven  in  Song,"  edited  by  Dr.  Fish,  4to,  pp.  742,  Sheldon  &  Co., 

1874. 

24.  "  Bible  Lands  Illustrated,"  8vo,  pp.  920,  Am.  Pub.  Co.,  Hartford, 

1876. 

26.  Tracts  as  follows  :  "  Neglect  of  the  Lord's  Supper,"  pp.  4;  "Saved 
or  Lost,"  pp.  8;  "Do,  or  Done,"  pp.  8;  "Soul-Saving,"  pp.  12;  "Power 
in  the  Pulpit,"  pp.  30,  republished  in  Edinburgh;  "Safe  in  Believing," 
prize  tract ;  "  Two  Questions"  (undated). 

26.  Many  newspaper  articles. 


( 


618 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


FiSHERj  Hendrick. — Born  1697,  in  tlie  Palatinate, 
Germany ;  came  to  America,  1703  ;*  res.  near  Bound 
Brook,  Somerset  Co.,  1779;  member  Colonial  Assem- 
bly, 1745-75;  vice-pres.  Prov.  Cong.,  1775;  died 
Aug.  16,  1779.  A  great  man  whom  history  has  never 
sufficiently  made  prominent,  and  whose  literary  abili- 
ties were  of  no  mean  order.  "  The  Samuel  Adams  of 
New  Jersey." — Corwin.    Publication  (imperfect  list) : 

Translation  of  Five  Sermons  of  Eev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuysen,  1730. 

Fleming,  Robins,  C.E. — Born  near  Beadington, 
Branchburg,  Somerset  Co.,  Feb.  19,  1856;  grad.  La- 
fayette, 1877 ;  degree  "  C.E."  at  graduation ;  res. 
Beadington.  Biographical  Sketch  in  "  Men  of  La- 
fayette," by  Coffin.     Publications : 

1.  Six  articles  in  "Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"— viz.,  "The  Morristown 
Ghost,"  1878;  *' Lorenzo  Dow ;"  "Newspaper  Poetry,"  2  arta.,  1879;  and 
3  arte.,  1880. 

2.  Arts,  in  Malhemaiical  Visitor,  Erie,  Pa. 

Flowees,  "William  Pickeking. — Born  Dec.  26, 
1837,  at  Edgewood,  Pa.;  res.  Somerville,  Somerset 
Co.,  1870-78,  as  teacher  private  school ;  editor  "Flow- 
ers' Mag."  1878  to  present;  res.  in  Trenton,  1879-80, 
Philadelphia,  1881.     Publications : 

1.  Many  articles  for  Newtown  Enterprise^  Somerset  Gazette,  Somerset 
Unionist,  Christian  Standard. 

2.  "Flowers'  Family  Magazine,"  monthly,  pp.  52,  Somerville,  1878; 
Trenton,  1879-80;  Philadelphia,  1881. 

Flowers,  Mks.  Sarah  Layinia.I — Born  March 
-3,  1845,  at  Pompey,  N.  Y.     Publications  : 

1.  Yersea  at  twelve  years  of  age  in  local  papers. 

2.  "  Silver  Lined,"  12mo,  pp.  112,  Eahway,  1879. 

3^  Stories  and  poems  in  "Flowers'  Mag.,"  of  which  she  is  assistant 
editor. 

4.  Various  articles  in  Rural  New  YorJcer,  Syracuse  Journal,  and  local 
papers. 

Frelinghitysen,  Gen.  Frederick. — Born  April 
13, 1753,  at  Baritan  (Somerville.) J    Publications: 

1.  "  Oration  on  the  Death  of  the  Father  of  his  Ck)untry,"  New  Bruns- 
wick, 1800. 

2.  Letters  in  "  Revolutionary  Correspondence"  (posthumous). 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick. — Born  at  Mill- 
stone, Nov.  8,  1788.^     Publications  : 

1,  Address  on  Independence^Day  before  Washington  Benevolent  As- 
sociation, New  Brunswick,  1812. 

2.  "  Address  before  the  ^omerset  County  Bible  Society,"  New  Bruns- 
wick, pp.  26,  Aug.  21, 1820  ;  republished  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick  Theodore,  LL.D. 
—Born  Aug.  4,  1817,  at  Millstone,  Somerset  Co.|| 
Publications : 

1.  Address  before  the  Societies  of  Rutgers. 

2.  Address  before  Societies  of  Coll.  of  N.  J. 

3.  "  Explanations  and  Instructions"  on  the  tax  laws  of  N.  J.,  as  attor- 
ney-general, 1863. 

4.  "On  the  Death  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  address,  Newark,  pp.  13, 
April  9, 1866. 

*  Some  authorities  place  his  birth  near  Bound  Brook  in  1703,  which 
may  he  correct, 
f  Wife  of  preceding. 

X  See  chapter  on  "  Bench  and  Bar  of  Somerset  County,"  preceding, 
g  See  biographical  sketch  on  pages  585,  586, 
U  See  personal  sketch  on  pages  587,  588. 


5.  "  On  the  Death  of  William  Wright,"  speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  1866. 

6.  "On  the  Impeachment  of  the  President,"  speech  in  same,  1868. 

7.  Address  at  Fortieth  Anniversary  of  North  Ref.  Dutch  Church, 
Newark,  pp.  6, 1867. 

8.  Address  at  Third  Nat.  S.  S.  Conv,,  Newark,  1869. 

9.  "  On  the  Peace  Congress,"  speech  in  Congress  in  reply  to  Senators 
Schurz  and  Sumner,  defending  the  President. 

10.  Argument  in  the  People  of  New  York  vs.  the  C.  R.  R.  of  N.  J-,, 
before  Court  of  Appeals  of  N.  T.,  pp.  37, 1870. 

11.  Arg-ument  in  Schenck  vs.  Vail,  N.  J.  Court  of  Errors,  pp.  18, 1873. 

12.  "  On  the  Senator  from  Louisiana"  (Pinchbeck),  speech  in  V.  S, 
Senate,  pp.  8,  Feb.  2, 1874. 

13.  "  Specie  Payments,"  speech  in  same,  Jan.  13, 1874. 

14.  "  On  the  State  of  Louisiana,"  speech  in  same,  April  14, 1874. 

15.  "  On  Self-government  in  Louisiana,"  speech  in  same,  1875. 

16.  Nine  addresses  in  U.  S.  Senate,  pp.  39,  1876. 

17.  "  On  Counting  the  Electoral  Vote,"  speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  pp.  14, 
Jan.  22, 1877. 

18.  "  Remarks  and  Opinions  before  the  Electoral  Commission,"  1877, 

19.  Scores  of  speeches  in  Congressional  Globe,  legal  briefs,  and  a  few 
newspaper  articles. 

Frelinghuysen,  Theodore,  LL.D.  —  Born  in 
Franklin  township,  Somerset  Co.,  March  28,  1787.^ 
His  "diction  in  oral  and  written  productions  was 
terse,  chaste,  and  perspicuous." — Chambers.  Publi- 
cations (imperfect  list) : 

1.  Address  before  Newark  Bible  Society,  pp.  12, 1818. 

2.  Address  before  Female  Aux.  Bib.  Soc,  Newark,  1823, 

3.  Addjess  before  N.  J. Colonization  Soc,  1824. 

4.  "  On  Removal  of  Indians,"  speech  in  U.  S.  Senate,  April,  1830.     ' 

5.  "  On  Removal  of  Deposits  of  the  U.  S.  Banks,"  same,  1830. 

6.  "  On  Sunday  Mails,"  same.  May,  1830. 

7.  "  On  a  Day  of  Fasting,"  same,  1832. 

8.  Other  speeches  in  Congress,  in  the  Glohe. 

9.  Address  before  Lit.  Soc.  of  Rutgers,  pp.  24, 1831. 

10.  "  Address  in  Capitol  in  Favor  of  Temperance,"  1831. 

11.  *'  Colonization,"  art.  in  Lit.  and  Theol.  Rev.,  Jan.,  1834. 

12.  Various  annual  addresses  as  Pres.  Am.  Bib.  Soc,  in  Comm.  Adv. 
1846-62. 

13.  Inaugural  Address  as  Pres.  of  Rutgers,  July,  1850. 

14.  "Uses  and  Benefits  of  Historical  Societies,"  in  Proceedings  N.  J. 
Hist.  Soc,  vol.  vi.  18. 

15.  Various  introductions  to  volumes  (names  unknown), 

16.  Arguments  as  counsel  in  N.  J.  Law  Reports,  notably  Waddel  vs. 
Martin. 

17.  Many  current  letters  to  the  press,  and  some  (posthumous)  in  Cham- 
bers' '*  Memoir,"  1863. 

18.  Biog.  Sketches  of  James  Richards  and  Samuel  Whelpley  in 
"  Sprague's  Annals." 

Frelinghuysen,  Rev.  Theodortjs  Jacobus. — 
Born  1691,  in  West  Friesland,  Holland;  preacher  in 
Embden,  Holland,  1717-19  ;  pastor  of  Raritan  (Som- 
erville), Six-Mile  Run,  Three-Mile  Run,  North 
Branch,  and  New  Brunswick  Reformed  Churches, 
1720-47;  also  of  Sourland  Church,  1729-47;  died 
1747.  "  He  was  unquestionably  a  ripe  scholar  in  both 
the  Latin  and  Greek  languages.  T  am  disposed  to 
rank  him  among  the  eminent  men  of  his  age." — Mess- 
ier.    Publications : 

1.  Three  sermons  (in  Dutch),  New  York,  1721. 

2.  Pamphlet  (lost,  including  title?  See  Messlei'''a  Notes,  j).  180),  July, 
1723. 

3.  '*  An  Answer  to  the  Etagte,^^  or  complaint  against  him,  1727-28.  (No 
copy  known  to  he  in  existence.) 

4.  Two  sermons  (in  Butch),  1729.  (A.11  five  Dutch  sermons  were  trans- 
lated by  Hendrick  Fisher  and  published,  1730.) 

5.  Ten  ditto,  1733;  edition  in  Holland,  1736. 

%  In  the  chapter  devoted  to  the  Bench  and  Bar  of  this  county  will  be 
found  a  sketch  of  bis  life. 


BOOKS  AND  AUTHORS   OF  SOMEESET   COUNTY. 


619 


6.  Two  ditto,  relating  to  earthquake  felt  in  New  Jersey,  North  Branch, 
Dec.  7, 1737;  Utrecht,  1738. 

7.  Four  ditto,  Phila.,  1745.    (All  21  sermons  translated  hy  Eev.  Wm. 
Demarest  and  published,  1856 ;  see  under  his  name,  ante.) 

Galpin,  Eev.  Hoeace. — Born  1790 ;  principal  of 
Young  Ladies'  Sckool,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. ;  grad. 
Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1810 ;  pastor  of  Pres.  Churcli,  Lam- 
ington,  Somerset  Co.,  1814^25 ;  died  July  19,  1876,  in 
New  York  City.    Publications  : 

"  Sermon  before  Somerset  County  Bible  Society  on  Acts  xvi.  9,  Aug.  19, 
1823,"  pp.  20,  New  Brunswick. 

Garsetson,  Eev.  Gaeeet  J. — Born  near  Somer- 
ville,  July  31, 1807 ;  grad.  Eutgers,  1829 ;  New  Bruns- 
wick Seminary,  1832.  Pastorates  in  Eeformed  Dutch 
Church:  Stuyvesant,  1832-34;  Newtown  and  Jamaica, 
1835-49;  Lodi,  1849-52;  died  Aug.  14,  1854.  Publi- 
cations : 

1.  Address  before  Societies  of  Eutgers,  1839. 

2.  A  Discourse  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  fortieth  anniversary  of  Rev.  Jacob 
Schoonmaker,  pp.  29,  Feb.  16, 1842. 

3.  "  The  Christian  Citizen,"  1842. 

4.  Sermon  on  death  of  A.  S.  Eapalje,  1S47. 

Gatzmee,  William  Hbney. — Born  July  7,  1807, 
near  Somerville ;  res.  Somerset  until  1829  ;  gen.  agt. 
United  Companies  of  N.  J.,  1840-67 ;  pres.  Camden 
and  Amboy  E.  E.,  1867-72  ;  consulting  manager  Le- 
high Valley  E.  E.,  1872-80;  res.  in  Philadelphia, 
1836  to  present.*  More  of  a  worker  than  a  writer. 
Publications : 

1.  "  Views  upon  the  Proposition  to  Lease  the  Public  Works  of  New 
Jersey  to  the  Penna.  E.  E.  Co.,"  pp.  26,  April,  1871. 

2.  Speech  at  testimonial  to  Asa  Packer,  Nov.  23, 1866,  in  "  Eecords  of 
Testimonials." 

Geebn,  Ashbel.— Born  Nov.  17,  1825,  in  Prince- 
ton, Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1846 ;  licensed 
attorney,  1849;  res.  Tenafly,  Bergen  Co.,  1863  to 
present;  judge  Com.  Pleas  of  Bergen,  1867.  "A  man 
of  fine  literary  culture  and  taste,"  and  with  a  high 
reputation  in  the  specialty  of  corporation  law.  Pub- 
lications : 

1.  American  Notes  to  Brice's"  Treatise  on  theDoctrine  of  Ultra  Vires," 
Baker,  Voorhis  &  Co.,  N.  T.,  1875;  new  ed.,  1880. 

2.  Argument  before  the  Electoral  Commission  at  Washington,  1876. 

Geeen,  James  Speoat.— Born  July  22,  1792,  in 
Philadelphia.t  A  man  of  "  industry,  accuracy,  and 
precision."— Com.  Stockton.  Publications  (imperfect 
list) : 

1.  Vols,  i.,  ii.,  and  iii..  Green! t  Law  ijeporis,  being  decisions  in  N.  J.  Sup. 
Court,  1831-36. 

2.  "On  Constitution  of  Kansas,"  speech  in  Congress,  1857. 

Geeen,  James  Speoat,  M.D.— Born  July  22, 1829, 
at  Princeton,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1848 ; 
Med.  Univ.  of  Pa.,  1851 ;  res.  Philadelphia,  1848-53 ; 
Elizabeth  from  November,  1853.    Publications : 

1.  "Double  Hernia  on  Same  Side  Successfully  Cured,"  N.  T.  Med.Jour., 
July,  1876. 

2.  "Intestinal  Obstruction,  etc.,  calling  for  Operation  of  Laparotomy, 

iUd.,  1876. 


*  See  chapter  on  "  Prominent  Men  of  Somerset,"  i  n  this  volume, 
t  A  personal  sketch  is  given  in  the  Bench  and  Bar  chapter. 


3.  "  Extra-Uterine  Pregnancy,"  Am,  Joum.  Obs.,  April,  1876. 

4.  "Eesection  of  the  Tibia  to  relieve  Angular  Deformity,"  N,  Y.  Med. 
Joum.f  June,  1876. 

5.  "  Icterus  Gravidarum,"  Am.  Joum.  06s.,  Nov.  1876. 

6.  "  strangulation  of  Intestine,"  i&id.,  Jan.  1877. 

7.  "  Uterine  Sarcoma,"  ibid.,  1877. 

8.  Two  articles  in  Virginia  Med.  Monthly,  1877. 

9.  Two  articles  in  Trans.  Am.  Med.  Assoc.,  1880. 

Geiefith,  William. — Born  1766,  at  BoundBrook.J 
"  A  learned  compiler."     Publications : 

1.  "  Treatise  on  Jurisdiction  and  Proceedings  of  Justices  of  Peace,'* 
Burlington,  1797 ;  several  editions. 

2.  Fifty-three  Essays,  signature  "  Eumenes,"  exposing  defects  in  New 
Jersey  constitution,  1799. 

3.  "  Annual  Law  Eegister  of  the  United  States,"  four  vols.,  1820-24. 

4.  Historical  address  at  Trenton,  1S04. 
6.  "  Historical  Notes  of  the  American  Colonies  and  Revolutions,  from 

1764  to  1776"  (unfinished;  printed  posthumous),  8vo,  Burlington,  1843. 

Hageman,  Andrew. — Born  June  27,  1824,  in 
Bridgewater  tp.,  Somerset  Co.§  A  constant  contribu- 
tor to  the  press  for  twenty  years  past.     Publications : 

1.  Letters  from  West,  in  Christian  TnteUigencer,  1857-68. 

2.  Eeports  of  Earitan  Bible  Society,  1867-58. 

3.  "  Earitan"  and  "  Prairieside,"  music,  in  The  Ta&eniacZc,  Boston,  1862. 

4.  Editor  Bmhnell  Record,  1868-71. 

5.  "  Reports  concerning  Fruit  and  Horticulture  for  McDonough 
County,"  in  Ti-ans.  III.  Eort.  Soc,  1872-73. 

6.  Poem,  "  Mysteries  of  Drunkenness,"  and  "  Temperance  Eeform," 
paper,  in  one  tract,  Monmouth,  111.,  1878. 

7.  "  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Prairie  Life,"  Bushnell,  1879. 

8.  Numerous  poems,  odea,  and  acrostics. 

9.  Hundreds  of  articles  in  ChrisLian  Intelligencer,  Phrenological  Jowmai, 
Somerset  Whig  and  Unionist,  Prairie  Farmer,  Bushnell  Record,  Bushnell 
Gleaner,  Henderson  County  Journal,  Earitan  Bulletin,  BriggBvUU  Oli;pper, 
Boseville  Gazette,  Bound  Brook  Clironicle,  etc. 

Hageman,  Eev.  Chaeles  Steadman,  D.D. — Born 
about  1818,  near  Harlingen,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Eut- 
gers, 1837  ;  Princeton  Seminary,  1842.  Pastorates  in 
Eef.  Church,  Nyack,  N.  Y.,  1842-53;  Poughkeepsie, 
Second,  1853-70 ;  Freehold,  1870-78 ;  now  without 
charge,  at  Nyack,  N.  Y.  Degree  by  Eutgers,  1862. 
Publications : 

1.  Address  on  the  Death  of  Miss  B.  H.  McLellen,  Poughkeepsie,  1866. 

2.  "  God  the  Nation's  Safety,"  Christian  Intelligencer,  Oct.  16, 1862. 

3.  Address  at  the  Funeral  of  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  McEckron,  Poughkeep- 
sie,  1864. 

4.  "  Ministerial  Support,"  Christian  Intelligencer,  1866. 
6.  "  The  Suppoi-t  of  the  Ministry  a  Divine  Institution,"  Christian  InleU 

li^encer,  1866. 

6.  Address  at  the  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  First  Ee- 
formed Church,  New  Brunswick,  1867. 

7.  Address  at  Funeral  of  Hon.  Peter  Vredenburgh,  associate  justice  of 
Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey,  in  "  Memoir,"  1873. 

8.  "  Address  at  Funeral  of  Francis  Van  Vranken  Holmes,"  in  "  Me- 
moir," 1865. 

9.  Articles  on  "  Divorce  of  our  College  and  Seminary;"  "Ordination 
of  Elders ;"  "  Facts  worth  Noting  and  Queries  worth  Considering,"  in 
Christ.  IrUelligencer. 

10.  "  Lecture  on  Wendell  Phillips,"  in  BaUy  Press,  Poughkeepsie. 

11.  "  Tax  on  Incomes,"  New  York  Times. 

Hageman,  John  Frelinghutse^t.— Born  Feb. 
4,  1816,  in  Harlingen,  Somerset  Co. ;  res.  in  Prince- 
ton, 1839  to  present.  II  Style  mellifluous,  like  his 
speech,  but  also  solid  and  perspicuous.  A  clear  logi- 
cal reasoner.     Publications : 

t  See  biography  in  the  Somerset  County  Bench  and  Bar  chapter. 

J  See  biography  in  Chapter  XI. 

I  Sketch  in  chapter  on  Bench  and  Bar  of  Somerset  County. 


62Q 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1.  Articles  while  editor  of  Princeton  Standurd,  1859-67. 

2.  "  Prisons  and  Keformatories,"  "  Princeton  Review,"  1868. 

3.  "  Memoir  of  Dr.  A.  P.  Hageman,"  18Y2. 

4.  "  Penal  and  Reformatory  Institutions  of  New  Jersey,"  read  before 
National  Prison  Reform  CoDgrees,  Baltimore,  1872,  published  in  "  Pro- 
ceedings." 

5.  "  History  of  Princeton  and  its  Institutions,"  2  vols.,  8to,  pp.  359, 
449.    Pbila.,  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co.,  1879. 

Hasdenberg,  Rev.  Charles. — Born  about  1780, 
at  Eosendale,  N.  J. ;  not  a  graduate.  Pastorates  in 
Eef.  Dutch  Church  :  Warwick,  1804-08 ;  Bedminster, 
Somerset  Co.,  1808-20 ;  Greenwich,  N.  Y.  City,  1820 
-21 ;  died  1821.     Publications : 

1,  Sermon  at  Bedminster  from  Ps.  cxxii.  8,  9,  pp.  32,  April  12, 1818. 

2.  Two  sermons  of  1812  and  1815  in  Banner  of  Truth  (posthumous). 

Hoagland,  Christopher  Columbus,  M.D. — 
Born  May  17,  1810,  at  Griggstown,  Somerset  Co. ; 
grad.  Eutgers,  1827,  and  Yale  Med.  Coll. ;  removed 
November,  1855,  to  Henry,  111. ;  died  April  11,  1869. 
Publications : 

1.  "  Gleanings  for  the  Church  of  Harlingen,"  pp.  15,  Somerville,  1847. 

2.  Various  educational  essays  and  newspaper  articles. 

HoNEYMAN,  Abraham  Van  Doren. — Born  Nov. 
12,  1846,  in  Hunterdon  County;  licensed  attorney, 
Easton,  Pa.,  November,  1870 ;  in  New  Jersey,  June, 
1871 ;  counselor,  February,  1875 ;  res.  Somerville, 
1870  to  present;  editor  The  Somerset  Gazette,  1876 
to  present.     Publications  : 

1.  "  Our  Home,"  a  local  magazine  (in  monthly  parts),  8vo,  pp.  576, 
1873. 

2.  "  In  Memoriam,"  biographical  sketch  of  Dr.  Jno.  Honeyman,  12mo, 
pp.  70, 1874. 

3.  Series  of  European  letters  in  Somerset  Uni&nistt  1874. 

4.  Editorials  in  Christian  Standard,  1876. 

5.  "  A  New  Treatise  on  the  Small-Cause  Court  in  New  Jersey,"  8vo, 
sheep,  Honeyman  &  Rowe,  pp.  650, 1877. 

6.  "  An  Abridgment  of  Revised  Statutes  of  New  Jersey,"  16mo,  Hon- 
eyman &  Rowe,  pp.  378, 1878. 

7.  "  The  Danites,"  selections  from  Joaquin  Miller,  12mo,  pp.  164, 
American  News  Co.,  1878. 

8.  Editorials  in  Tlie  New  Jei-setj  Law  Journal,  1878. 

0.  Biog.  Sketch  of  Rev.  Wm.  Cornell,  D.D.,  in  Biog.  Encyclo.  of  S.  J., 
1878. 

10.  "  Directory  of  Lawyers  and  Justices  in  N.  J.,"  1878 ;  new  edition, 
16mo,  pp.  42,  1880. 

11.  Editorials  and  letters  in  Somerset  Unionist,  1871-76. 

12.  "  The  Home  of  Shakespeare,"  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag,,"  May,  1878. 

13.  "  Three  Threads  of  Gold :  a  Tale  of  Venice,"  serial  in  The  Somerset 
GazetU,  1879. 

14.  Series  of  about  26  arts,  on  "  Somerset  County  Frauds  and  Extrava- 
gances," in  Somerset  GazeUe ;  reprinted  in  "  Extra  No.  2,"  pp.  80, 1879. 

15.  About  1600  editorial  articles  and  letters  in  The  Somerset  Gazette 
from  1876-80. 

16.  Contributions  to  London  Times,  N.  T.  Independent,  Christian  at  Fori, 
Fhiladelj}hia  Press,  Easton  Free  Press  and  Exp-ess,  Jersey  CUy  Journal,  etc. 
(About  50.) 

17.  About  20  poems  in  newspapers  and  magazines. 

18.  Contributions  to  this  volume,  including  "  Somerset  County  Books 
and  Authors,"  "  The  Van  Doren  Family,"  "  The  Nevius  Family,"  "  John 
Honeyman,"  "  The  Press  of  the  Past"  (Somerset  County),  and  several 
trief  biographical  sketches. 

Jackson,  Eev.  George  Thompson.— Born  June 
22,  1820,  at  Holbeck,  Yorkshire,  Eng.  ;  came  to 
America,  June  3,  1858;  member  N.  J.  Conference, 
M.  E.  Church,  1854^59  ;  Newark  Conference,  1867  to 
present;    pastor  at  Sergeantsville,   Hunterdon   Co. 


1872-74;  Mount  Horeb,  Somerset  Co.,  1874r-77;  at 
present  pastor  at  Port  Oram,  Morris  Co.  A  nearly 
constant  writer  for  the  press  during  the  past  sixteen 
years.     Publications : 

1.  "  The  Christian's  Duty  to  the  Temperance  Cause,"  sermon  in  Na- 
tionaX  Preacher,  May,  1866. 

2.  Arts,  in  Christ.  Advocate,  1862-74. 

3.  Arts,  in  The  Methodist,  1874-78. 

4.  Arts,  in  Somerset  Unionist,  1874-77. 

5.  Arts,  in  Somerset  Gazette,  1875-80. 

6.  Arts.  (15)  in  The  Companion  and  American  Odd-Fellow,  1872-78,  on 
"  Degrees  of  Odd-Fellowship,"  etc. 

7.  "  God  has  Dealt  Wisely,"  sermon  in  Somerset  Gazette,  Aug.  12, 1876. 

8.  Other  arts,  in  Orange  County  Press,  Iron  Era,  Dover  Index,  New  Jersey 
Temperance  Advocate,  etc. 

9.  Memoirs  of  deceased  men  of  note  in  the  Christian,  Protestant,  Free, 
and  Albright  Methodist  Churches,  in  supplemental  volume  to  McClin- 
tock  and  Strong's  Cyclopmdia  (unpublished). 

Jamison,  Eev.  Eleander  Stiles. — Born  Oct.  16, 
1846,  in  Troy,  N.  Y. ;  grad.  Jonesville  Classical  In- 
stitute (N.  Y.),  1867;  pastor  M.  E.  Church,  Somer- 
ville, 1875-76  ;  now  at  Milford,  Pa.     Publications  : 

1.  "  Our  Liberties  and  their  Dangers,"  centennial  sermon,  Somerset 
Gazette,  Aug.  5,  1876. 

2.  "  Life's  Eventide,"  1876. 

3.  "  Uses  of  the  Beautiful,"  1876. 

4.  "  The  Reign  of  the  Rum  Fiend,"  1877. 

5.  Poems,— viz.,  "The  Drunkard's  Wife,"  1877 ;  "A  Changed  Life," 
1878 ;  "  Thanksgiving  Day,"  1879. 

6.  "  Soldier's  Life  in  Savage  Lands,"  serial  in  "  Flowers'  Earn.  Mag.," 
1880. 

7.  Contributions  in  Somerset  Gazette  and  Unionist,  1875-78. 

KiRKPATRlCK,  Andrew. — Born  Feb.  17,  1756, 
near  Basking  Eidge  ;  died  Jan.  7,  1831.*  "  He  spoke 
and  wrote  correct  and  idiomatic  English.  His  opin- 
ions .  .  .  exhibit  a  fullness  and  accuracy  of  knowl- 
edge, a  clearness  of  comprehension,  and  a  justness  of 
reasoning  which  entitle  him  to  rank  among  the  most 
eminent  of  American  jurists." — Elmer.   Publications : 

Opinions  in  the  Law  Reports  of  New  Jersey, — viz.,  Pennington,  1  and 
2  Southard,  1,  2,  3,  and  4  Halstead.  Most  noteworthy,  perhaps,  are 
Johnson  vs.  Morris,  2  Hal.  6  ;  Arnold  vs.  Mundy,  1  Hal.  1. 

Knox,  James  Suydam,  M.D. — Born  July  26, 1840; 
grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1860  ;  of  Phys.  and  Surg.,  N.  Y., 
1866,  and  City  Hosp.,  Brooklyn,  1868 ;  res.  Somerville, 
1866-73  ;  Chicago,  111.,  1873  to  present ;  lecturer  and 
clinical  professor  in  Eush  Medical  College,  Chicago. 
Publications : 

1.  Various  reports  of  cases  in  "  Trans.  N.  J.  State  Med.  Soc,"  1871-72. 

2.  "  The  Mission  of  the  Mosquito,"  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

3.  Various  medical  essays  since  1875. 

Le  Fbvre,  Eev.  James. — Born  at  New  Paltz,  N.  Y., 
Jan.  19,  1828 ;  grad.  Eutgers,  1854;  New  Brunswick 
Seminary,  1857.  Pastorates  in  Eef.  Dutch  Church : 
Earitan,  1857-74 ;  Middlebush,  1875  to  present.  Pub- 
lications : 

1.  Sketch  of  Rev.  Dr.  B.  R.  Hall,  in  Christ.  Intelligmcer,  1863,  and  in 
Corwin''s  Manual. 

2.  Thanksgiving  sermon,  in  Somerset  Unionist,  1863. 

3.  Discourse  on  Death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  Coi-nell,  in  The  Somerset  Ga- 
zette, Oct.  22,  1876. 

4.  "  The  Kingdom  of  God,"  art.  in  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

'•'  Sketch  in  Bench  and  Bar  chapter,  preceding. 


BOOKS   AND  AUTHORS   OF  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


621 


5.  Sixteen  Annual  Reports,  1864-80,  as  Corr.  Sec.  of  Somerset  Co.  S.  S. 
Assn.,  to  State  Assn. 

6.  Frequent  contributions  to  the  local  press. 

Leydt,  Rev.  Johannes.— Born  in  Holland,  1718 ; 
pastor  Ref.  Dutch  Church,  Six-Mile  Run,  Somerset 
Co. ;  New  Brunswick,  1748-83 ;  died  1783.  His  con- 
troversial publications  "  evince  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  points  in  controversy,  and  show  him  to  have 
been  a  man  of  broad  and  Christian  views."  Publi- 
cations : 

1.  "  Ware  Vnjheyt  M  Vrede,"  or  "  True  Liberty  the  Way  to  Peace,"  etc. 
(Dutch),  Phila.,  1760. 

2,  "  A  Defense"  of  the  same  Tolume  (Dutch),  Phila.,  1762.  Both  trans- 
lated by  EeT.  M.  G.  Hansen,  of  Coxsackie,  but  not  yet  published  in 
English. 

Ludlow,  Rev.  Gabriel,"  D.D.  —  Born  at 
Aquackanonck,  N.  J.,  April  23,  1797;  grad.  Union, 
1817;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1820.  Pastorates 
in  Ref  Dutch  Church :  Albany,  1820-21  (six  months) ; 
Neshanic,  Somerset  Co.,  1821-78 ;  died  Feb.  19, 1878. 
Degree  by  Rutgers,  1850.  "A  sound  scholar,  not 
speculative,  but  acquisitive  of  facts  and  principles, 
using  sound,  plain  words." — Corwin.   Publications : 

1.  "  Sermon  at  Funeral  of  Rev.  Dr.  iiabagh,"  Oct.  27, 1868,  in  Todd's 
**  Memoir,"  1860. 

2.  "  Fifty  Tears  of  Bible  Work,"  discourse  at  Bible  Society  Semi-Cen- 
tenary, 1867. 

3.  "  Fifty  Tears  of  Pastoral  Work,"  sermon  at  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of 
his  ordination,  1871. 

i.  Prayer  at  Dedication  of  Beadington  Ref.  Church,  18C5. 

McCoNAUGHY,  Mrs.  Julia  E.— Born  Jan.  1, 1834, 
in  Twinsburg,  0. ;  res.  Ohio,  Iowa,  New  York ;  South- 
ern New  Jersey,  1854-72 ;  Somerville,  1872  to  present. 
One  of  the  largest  contributors  to  current  religious 
literature — as  to  number  of  articles,  all  being  brief — 
in  the  world.  Mostly  addressed  to  children  and  youth, 
none  of  her  books  have  been  other  than  pure  and 
wholesome,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  every  news- 
paper article.     Publications  : 

1.  "The  Widow's  Sewing-Machine,"  Meth.  Board  Pub.,  N.  T.,  12mo, 
1862. 

2.  "  One  Hundred  Gold  Dollars,"  Garrigues  Bros.,  Phila.,  12mo,  1866. 

3.  "The  Hard  Master,"  Nat.  Temp.  Soc,  N.  T.,  18mo,  1867;  2d  ed., 
1873. 

4.  "  Hannah's  Lesson,"  same  pub.,  pp.  150, 1871. 

6.  "  Clarence,"  Perkinpine  &  Higgins,  Phila.,  18mo,  pp.  150, 1866 ;  2d 
ed.,  1868. 

6.  "  The  Fire-Fighters,"  same  pub.,  12mo,  1872 ;  2d  ed.,  1876. 

7.  "  Archie  at  the  Seaside,"  pp.  192, 1866. 

8.  "  Hours  with  my  Picture-Book,"  pp.  100, 1866. 

9.  "  Minnie's  Thinking-Cap,"  about  60  pp.,  1866. 

10.  "  How  to  be  Beautiful,"  about  60  pp.,  1866. 

11.  "  The  Little  Book  and  its  Travels,"  about  60  pp.,  1866. 

12.  "  Respect  the  Burden,"  about  60  pp.,  1866. 

13.  "  The  Prize  Bible  and  other  Stories,"  pp.  125, 1866. 

14.  Many  thousands  of  articles  for  Ladies^  Repository,  PeleraorCe  Mag., 
ArOmr'a  Mag.,  Sckoolday  Visitor,  Little  Corporal,  Golden  Soura,  Wide 
Awake,  and  Marper^e  Yowng  People;  also  N.  T.  Evangelist,  Presbyterian. 
B.  8.  Times,  LiUheran  (Observer,  Am.  Messenger,  Cowttry  Gentleman,  Neio 
England  Farmer,  American  Grocer,  Working  Farmer,  and  other  Sunday- 
school,  religious,  and  temperance  newspapers.  "  Within  eighteen  years," 
says  this  author,  "  I  have  the  titles  down  of  over  5500  articles  published." 

McCoNAUGHY,  Rev.  Nathaniel.* — Born  Oct.  11, 
1825,  in  Westmoreland  Co.,  Pa. ;  grad.  Western  Re- 

*  Husband  of  preceding. 


serve  Coll.,  Ohio,  1852;  Union  Theol.  Sem.  and 
Princeton  Theol.  Sem.,  1858.  Pastorates  in  Pres. 
Church  :  Millville,  N.  J.,  1858-66 ;  Swedesboro',  1866- 
68 ;  Elwood,  1868-72.  Res.  Somerville,  1872  to  pres- 
ent, without  charge;  also  civil  engineer.  Publica- 
tions : 

1.  "  The  National  Railway,"  "  Beecher's  Mag.,"  1873. 

2.  "  The  Observance  of  the  Sabbath, "  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  May,  1878. 

3.  Various  contributions  to  the  local  and  religious  press. 

4.  Miscellaneous  arts,  on  International  Lessons  in  B.  S.  Times,  Third 
Quarter,  1880. 

6.  "  How  to  Rise ;  or,  The  Secret  of  a  Successful  Life,"  unpublished. 

6.  Sketch  of  the  National  Railway  in  this  volume. 

7.  Tewksbury  Township  History  in  this  volume. 

McDowell,  Mrs.  Anna  M.f— Born  July  4, 1821, 
at  Bloomfield,  Essex  Co.,  N.  J. ;  res.  near  Pluckamin, 
Somerset  Co.,  1854  to  present.     Publications  : 

Many  articles  on  "  Woman's  Work,"  "  Children's  Work,"  etc.,  in 
Somerset  Whig,  Unionist,  Gazette,  Bloomfield  Record,  Life  and  UgU,  Bower, 
and  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag." 

McDowell,  Augustus  William,  M.D.— Born 
Dec.  11, 1820,  at  Morristown,  N.  J. ;  res.  near  Plucka- 
min, 1833  to  death,  March  6,  1878.t  An  extensive 
writer  in  his  later  years,  frequently  on  medical,  but 
chieily  on  reminiscenal,  topics  and  local  historical 
matter;  style  nervous  and  sententious,  but  matter 
always  interesting.     Publications : 

1.  Many  medical  articles  in  American  Pj-actiiioner,  Lexington,  Ky. 

2.  "  Fourth-of-July  Oration  at  Pluckamin,"  1861,  published  in  "Our 
Home,"  1873. 

3.  "  Some  Sketches  of  the  McDowell  Family,"  in  same. 

4.  "  Our  Old  Physicians, — Van  Derveer  and  Suydam,"  in  same. 
6.  "  Pluckamin  100  Tears  Ago,"  three  papers  in  same. 

6.  "  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer  and  Sister,"  in  same. 

7.  "  Old  Lamington  Church  and  its  Pastors,"  Somerset  Whig. 

8.  "  Army  Recollections"  and  letters  from  the  South,  in  Unionist,  1876. 

9.  "  Caricatures  and  Original  Characters,"  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

10.  "  Southern  Incidents,"  in  same. 

11.  "  The  True  History  of  Jane  McCrea,"  in  same. 

12.  "  Our  Brains,"  in  same  (posthumous). 

13.  Hundreds  of  articles  in  New  York  Observer,  Eoangelist,  Princeton 
Review,  Somerset  WTiig,  Unionist,  Gazette,  etc. 

McDowell,  Rey.  Benjamin,  D.D. — Born  about 
1750,  in  Bedminster  tp.,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Univ. 
of  Glasgow,  Scotland ;  Pres.  pastor  at  Linavady,  Ire- 
land, and  at  Dublin ;  died  about  1830.  "  The  Prot- 
estant St.  Patrick  of  Ireland,  he  exercised  a  wide 
and  important  influence."  (Unable  to  procure  pub- 
lications up  to  present  writing.) 

McDowell,  Frederick  Henry,  M.E. — Bom 
March  9,  1851,  near  Pluckamin,  Somerset  Co. ;  res. 
in  county,  1851-66 ;  present  res.,  N.  Y.  City ;  occupa- 
tion, mining  engineer.    Publications : 

1 .  Five  articles  in  Appleton's  "  Encyclo.  of  Mechanics," — viz., "  Mining 
Hydraulic,"  "  Mills"  (silver  and  gold),  "  Mine  Appliances,"  "  Hoisting 
Machinery,"  "  Pumping  Machinery." 

2.  "  Incidents  of  Travel  by  Land  and  Sea,"  and  "  '49  and  '79"  (sketches 
among  the  mines),  in  Thoughts  and  Events,  twenty-one  articles,  1880. 

3.  Many  contributions  to  N.  Y.  Tribune,  (graphic,  Newark  Advertiser,  Bom' 
eraet  Gazetie  (from  Sandwich  Islands),  Somerset  Unionist. 

4.  "  Mines  and  Mining"  (nearly  ready  for  press).        ^ 

t  Wife  of  late  Dr.  A.  W.  McDowell. 

I  See  sketch  in  the  chapter  on  the  Medical  Profession  of  Somerset 
County. 


622 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


McDowell,  Key.  Johk,  D.D. — Born  Sept.  10, 
1780,  in  Bedminster  tp.,  Somerset  Co.*  One  of  the 
most  laborious  of  men,  not  brilliant,  but  solid  and 
eminently  successful.     Publications  (imperfect  list) : 

1.  "  Experimental  Religion,"  sermon  in  N.  J.  Preache}\  1813. 

2.  "Beeignation,"  sermon  in  same,  1813. 

3.  System  of  Bible  Questions,  1816. 

4.  "Church  Manual,"  Elizabethtown,  pp.  46, 1824. 

5.  Annual  Sermon  before  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  New- 
ark, 1837. 

6.  "Bible-class  Manual,"  2  vols.,  12mo,  1839. 

7.  *'  A  System  of  Theology,"  2  vols.,  8vo,  1825. 

8.  "  The  Good  Man,"  sermon  in  Living  Pulpit,  1856. 

9.  Letter  about  "  Kirwin,"  in  "  Life  of  Murray,"  1862. 

10.  Volume  of  Sermons. 

11.  Biog.  Sketch  of  Uzal  Ogdeu  in  "  Sprague's  Annals." 

12.  Sermon  on  completing  fifty  years  in  the  ministry,  Dec.  31, 1854. 

McDowell,  Rev.  William  Anderson,  D.D.— 
Born  May  15, 1789,  in  Bedminster  tp.,  Somerset  Co.  ;* 
"  If  his  talents  were  not  distinguished  for  brilliancy, 
they  were  for  solidity." — Sprague's  Annals.  Publica- 
tions (imperfect  list) : 

.  1.  Address  at  organization  of  Nassau  Hall  Bible  Society,  Pi'inceton, 
1813  (?). 

2.  Scores  of  reports  and  letters  aa  Secretary  of  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions, 

3.  A  few  sermons. 

McDowell,  William  Osborn. — Born  April  10, 
1848,  in  Bedminster  tp.,  Somerset  Co. ;  son  of  A.  W. 
McDowell,  M.D. ;  resided  in  county  until  1861 ;  pres- 
ent res..  New  York  City ;  occupation,  broker.  Pub- 
lications : 

1.  Contributions  to  New  York  daily  papei-s  for  many  years  past, 

2.  Publisher  Thoughts  and  Events,  handsome  quarto  weekly,  Dec.  6, 
1879,  to  April  10,  IBSO,  five  contributions  being  over  hia  own  name. 

3.  Two  iUuBtnited  articles  in  N.  Y.  Graphic  upon  New  Jersey's  water- 
front, 1879-80. 

4.  "Cheap  Transit  in  New  Jersey,"  address  before  merchants,  etc, 
N,  T.,  April  10, 1879. 

Mesick,  Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen,  D.D.— Born 
in  Catskill,  N.  Y.,  June,  1813;  grad.  Rutgers,  1834; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1837 ;  pastor  Ref.  Dutch 
Church,  Rochester,  183-1-40  ;  of  German  Ref.  Church, 
Harrisburg,  Pa.,  1840-55;  of  Second  Ref.  Church  of 
Raritan  (Somerville),  1855  to  present.  Degree  by 
Rutgers,  1853.    Publications : 

I.  "  Evils  of  Dancing,"  discourse,  Harrisburg,  1846. 
-  2.  "  How  to  Rise  in  the  World,"  TJie  Guardian,  1851. 

3.  "The  Reading  of  American  People,"  1851. 

4.  "Intellectual  and  Moral  Characteristics  of  Infidelity,"  1851. 

5.  "  Economy  and  Efficiency  of  Christianity  as  a  Means  of  Social  Re- 
form and  Regeneration,"  *'  Prot.  Quarterly,"  1851, 

■   6.  "  Amusements,"  Tlie  Guardian,  1852. 

7.  "Woman's  Obligations  and  Duties  to  Temperance  Cause,"  1852. 

8.  "  The  Papacy  the  Antichrist  of  Scripture,"  1853. 

9.  "Formal  Religion,"  "Prot.  Quarterly,"  1854. 

10.  "  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Eve,"  1855. 

II,  '•  Temperance  and  Patriotism,"  1856. 

12.  Sermon  at  Funeral  of  James  Taylor,  1859. 

13.  Thanksgiving  sermon,  1861. 

14.  Argument  in  the  case  of  Central  Ref.  Church  of  Plainfield  before 
Classis,  1872, 

15.  "  Historical  Sermon  at  Fortieth  Anniversary  of  Second  Ref,  Clhurch, 
Somerville,"  pp,  16, 1874, 

16.  Thanksgiving  sermon,  1876. 


*  See  sketch  in  Bedminster  township  history,  in  this  work. 


17,  Centennial  Discourse  in  Somerset  Gaeette,  1876. 

18,  "  The  Bear-Hunter,"  "Flower's  Fam.  Mag,,"  1878. 

19,  "  Recreations,'"  in  same,  1878, 

20,  Address  at  Quarter  Century  Anniversary  of  Pastorate,  Somerset 
Unionist,  1880. 

21,  Scores  of  reports  of  meetings  of  religions  societies,  etc.,  in  the  local 
press. 

Messler,  Rey.  Abraham,  D.D, — Born  in  Read- 
ington  tp.,  Hunterdon  Co.,  Nov.  15,  ISOO.f  An  ex- 
tensive contributor  to  the  press  for  forty  years  past, 
as  the  list  below  testifies.     Publications : 

1.  Sermon  from  Haggai  ii.  9,  at  Dedication  of  Church  at  Lodi,  N.  T,, 
1827,  in  "  Mag.  Ref.  Dutch  Ch.,"  vol.  ii,  11,  38, 

2.  "  The  Minister's  Daughter,"  in  same,  vol.  iii,  154, 179. 

3.  "Address  in  laying  corner-stone  of  First  Church  of  Raritan,  Somer- 
ville," Gore  &  Allison,  1835. 

4.  Sermon  at  Dedication  of  Same,  1836. 

5.  "St.  Paul's  Gratitude  to  Onesiphorus,"  1839. 

6.  "Man  Frail  and  Mortal,"  funeral  sermon  J.  H.  Castner,  1841. 

7.  "Domestic  Feeling  in  Our  Chnrcli,"  1845. 

8.  "  Life  and  Immortality,"  funeral  sermon  Mrs.  Thompeon,  1849, 

9.  "  The  Hollanders  in  New  Jei-sey,"  in  vol.  v.  "  N.  J.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc," 
1851. 

10.  SermoD  at  Ordination  of  Rev.  John  Gaston,  Pompton,  1852. 

11.  Sermon  at  Installation  of  Rev.  John  Steele,  Coxsackie,  1853. 

12.  Series  of  52  articles  on  "The  Christian  Ministry,"  in  Christian  In- 
telligencer, 1853. 

13.  Series  of  13  articles  on  "  Confession  of  Faith,"  in  same. 

14.  Series  of  5G  articles  on  Europe  in  same, — viz.,  12  on  "  Holland  ;"  8 
on  "  Belgium ;"  24  on  "  Rhine  and  the  Rhineland ;"  12  on  the  "  Isle  of 
Wight,"— 1854^56, 

15.  "Protestantism  in  the  Protestant  Church  in  France,"  5  arts,  in  Ck. 
Xntelligencer. 

16.  Editorials  in  Christian  Intelligencer,  1855-61, 1870-71. 

17.  Arts,  on  Rev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuysen  and  Rev.  J.  R,  Hardenbergh  in 
"Sprague's  Annals,"  1858, 

18.  Reminiscences  of  Rev.  Dr.  Thos.  De  Witt,  in  "  De  Witt  Memorial." 

19.  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  President  Lincoln,  1865. 

20.  Various  historical  articles  in  Somerset  Messenger,  1865-75. 

21.  Thanksgiving  sermon  in  Somerset  Messenger,  1868. 

22.  "  Eight  Memorial  Sermons,  with  Notes  for  a  Histoiy  of  the  Ref. 
Dutch  Churches  in  Somerset  County,"  New  York,  A.  Lloyd,  8vo,  pp.  327, 
1873, 

23.  Seven  European  articles  in  "  Flowers'  Fam,  Mag.,"  1878-80, — viz., 
2  on  "  Italy  ;"  2  on  "  Rome  as  it  Was;"  3  on  "  The  Catacombs." 

24.  "  Life  and  Public  Services  of  Hon.  Peter  D.  Vroom,"  funeral  dis- 
course, etc.,  pp.  60, 1874. 

25.  "  Ceutennial  History  of  Somerset  County,"  sq.  12mo,  pp.  198, 1878. 

26.  "  William  Paterson,  of  New  Jersey,"  art.  in  vol.  iii.  No.  4,  "  Penn- 
sylvania Magazine,"  1879. 

Mitchell,  Peter  Nicholl.— Born  Feb.  10,  1843, 
in  Kingston,  N.  Y. ;  grad.  Menia  Seminary,  1860  ;  oc- 
cupation, teacher;  principal  Somerset  Classical  In- 
stitute, Somerville,  N.  J.,  March,  1877,  to  present. 
Publications : 

1.  "The  Imprisoned  Orphan,"  serial,  "Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

2.  "  Labor  in  a  Scientific  View,"  article  in  same,  1879. 

3.  About  100  contributions  to  New  Paliz  Independent,  The  Somerset  (?a- 
zette,  and  Soynerset  Unionist. 

MuLFORD,  Eey.  John  BRANTLY.—Born  Sept.  2, 
1851,  at  Philadelphia;  grad.  Grozer  Theol.  Sem.  at 
Chester,  Pa.,  1876.  Pastorates  in  Baptist  Church: 
Servickley,  Pa.,  1876-77 ;  Somerville,  1877  to  present. 
Publications : 

1.  "  A  Plea  for  Temperance,"  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878, 

2.  Expositions  of  S.  S.  Lessons  in  Baptist  Weekly,  1879-80. 

3.  Other  contributions  in  Baptist  Weekly,  National  Baptist,  Examiner  and 


t  Biographical  sketch  with  histoi-y  of  Bridgewater  towoship,  in  this 
work. 


BOOKS  AND  AUTHORS   OF  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


623 


OJifoniclet  S.  S.  Times,  Pittsburgh  Leader,  ChronicU,  and  Gazette,  Phila.  Rec- 
ord, and  Somerset  Gazette.    (Total,  about  160.) 

Nevius,  Rev.  Elbert. — Born  Sept.  4,  1808,  in 
Pleasant  Plains,  Somerset  Co. ;  removed  to  Ovid  Co., 
N.  t'.,  1817 ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1830 ;  New  Brunswick 
Seminary,  1834 ;  missionary  at  Lyons,  1835 ;  Arcadia, 
1835-36 ;  Batavia  (island  of  Java),  1836-39 ;  Ponti- 
anak,  1839^4;  pastor  Stuyvesant,  N.  Y.,  1846  to 
present.    Publications : 

1.  *'  Kev.  Wm.  J.  Pohlman,"  in  "  Sprague's  Annals." 

2.  Sketch  of  Classis  of  Rensselaer,  18Y6. 

3.  Occasional  contributions  to  Christ.  Intelligencer,  Sower,  etc. 

Netius,  James  Schtjreman. — Born  Sept.  16, 1796, 
in  Franklin  tp.,  Somerset  Co. ;  res.  New  Brunswick, 
1819-52 ;  Jersey  City,  1852-59 ;  died  in  Jersey  City, 
1859.*    Publications : 

1.  Opinions  as  justice  of  N.  J.  Sup.  Court,  in  X,  2,  3,  and  4  Harrison's, 
jSpejfer'fl,  and  1  and  2  Zithriskie's  Law  Reports,  1836-52. 

Oakey,  Rev.  Peter  Davis. — Born  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, 1816 ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1841 ;  New  Brunswick 
Seminary,  1844.  Pastorates  in  Ref.  Dutcb  Churck : 
Oyster  Bay,  1844-47;  Brooklyn  (Middle),  1847-49; 
Jamaica  (Prea.),  1850-70;  supply  to  Three  Bridges, 
Somerset  Co.,  1873-76  ;  Springfield,  L.  I.  (Pres.),  1876 
to  present  date ;  also  teacher  of  classical  school,  Ne- 
shanic,  1870-76.  A  clear-headed  thinker  and  skilled 
controversialist.     Publications : 

1.  "  Tbales,"  address  before  Queen's  County  School  Convention,  Long 
Island  Denioorat,  1845. 

2.  Edited  an  edition  of  Rev.  B.  F.  Stanton's  "  Sermons,"  1848. 

3.  "  The  War:  Its  Origin,"  etc.,  pp.  23, 1861. 

4.  Thanksgiving  sermon,  in  Long  Island  Farmer. 

5.  Address  at  Two  Hundredth  Anniversaiy  Pres.  Church,  Jamaica, 
L.  I.,  in  Dr.  McDonald's  "  History,"  1862. 

6.  "  Christian  Watchfulness,"  pp.  13, 1868. 

7.  Funeral  sermon  of  Nathan  Shelton,  M.D.,  in  newspaper. 

8.  Sketch  of  Rev.  Dr.  Ludlow,  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

9.  "Congregationalism  and  Presbyterianism,"  series  of  anonymous 
letters  in  The  Somerset  GazeUe,  1876. 

10.  Series  of  articles  on  church  government  in  reply  to  Bev.  Dr.  Edw. 
Beecher,  Somerset  Gazette,  1876. 

11.  Historical  paper  on  Pres.  Church  at  Jamaica,  N.  Y.  Olserver,  Feb. 
28, 1878. 

12.  "  The  Quakerism  of  Elias  Hicks,"  in  iV.  Y.  Observer. 

13.  "  The  Work  of  Sunday-Schools,"  address  in  N.  T.  City,  airist.  Intel- 
ligencer. 

14.  "  The  Selfmade  Man,"  address  before  Mauhassett  Lyceum. 

15.  Historical  sermon  on  the  Pres.  Church  of  Springfield,  L.  I.,  Feb. 

16.  Series-of  historical  arts,  in  Jamaica  Standard,on  opposition  of  E.  C. 
Church  to  free  distribution  of  the  Bible. 

Oliver,  Rev.  Matthew  Newkiek.  —  Born  at 
Marbletown,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y. ;  grad.  Union  College, 
1857;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1871;  pastor  at 
Clover  Hill  Ref.  Church,  Somerset  Co.,  1871  to  pres- 
ent time.  Writings  (all  newspaper  articles  of  recent 
date  in  Christian  at  Work  and  Christian  Intelligencer) 
have  already  attracted  some  attention.    Publications : 

1.  *'  Christ  versus  Evolution,"  1878. 

2.  "  The  Bearing  of  Darwinism  on  Christian  Faith,"  1879. 

3.  "  Sketch  of  Rev.  F.  B.  Thompson,  Missionary  to  Borneo,"  1879. 
i.  "  Embryotic  Resemblance  versus  Identity  of  Descent,"  1879. 


5.  "  Difficulties  and  Demands  of  Atheistic  Evolution,"  1880. 

6.  "  Unethical  Tendency  of  Herbert  Spencer's  Ethics,"  1880. 

7.  "Herbert  Spencer  and  the  Bible,"  1880. 

Paterson,  William.— Born  about  1745,  in  Ire- 
land ;  res.  Somerville  some  years  when  a  young  man ; 
Raritan,  this  county,  1779-83 ;  died  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
Sept.  9,  1806. t  One  of  the  great  men  of  New  Jersey, 
whose  true  place  in  the  history  of  the  trying  times 
preceding,  during,  and  succeeding  the  Revolution  is 
just  beginning  to  be  understood.     Publications : 

1.  "  Laws  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,"  a  revision  and  codification 
known  as  "  Paterson's  Laws,"  Newark,  large  octavo,  pp.  526 ;  also  large 
folio,  pp.  610, 1800. 

2.  Legal  opinions  in  Dallas'  and  Cranch's  "  Reports." 

3.  Letters  in  "Revolutionary  Correspondence"  (posthumous). 

Pennington,  Lot  Sottthard,  M.D. — Born  Nov. 
12,  1812,  at  Liberty  Corner,  Somerset  Co. ;  removed 
to  Jerseyville,  111. ;  res.  Stirling,  111.,  1839  to  present. 
The  pioneer  scientific  farmer  of  Illinois, — a  man  of  ex- 
tensive reading  and  apposite  gifts  for  communicating 
his  knowledge.     Publications : 

1.  "  The  Present  and  Future  of  Agriculture,"  vol.  iii.  "  Trans.  111.  State 
Agricul.  Soc." 

2.  "  Manufactures  and  Mechanic  Arts,"  in  vol.  v.  same. 

3.  "  Cellars  and  their  Malaria,"  same. 

4.  "  Life  during  the  Paleozoic  Time,"  in  Trans.  Scientifio  Assoc, 
Stirling,  1878. 

6,  "  Alcoholic  Stimulants  and  Narcotics,"  in  same. 

6.  "  Heredity,"  in  same,  1879. 

7.  "  Bacteria,"  and  horticultural  subjects,  in  "  Trans.  III.  State  Agricul. 
Soc,"  1880. 

8.  other  contributions  to  Western  Farmer,  Illinois  Farmer,  Prairie 
Farmer,  Chicago  Tribune,  etc. 

Phillips,  Simeon  Schenck.— Born  July  8, 1855, 
at  Raritan,  N.  J. ;  grad.  Somerset  Classical  Institute, 
1873;  licensed  attorney,  Nov.  8,  1877;  settled  at 
Bound  Brook,  Somerset  Co.,  Nov.  26,  1877,  to  pres- 
ent.    Publications : 

1.  Series  of  articles  under  nom  deplume  in  Somerset  Unionist,  1874. 

2.  Arte,  (while  editor),  in  Christian  SUmdard,  Somerville,  1877. 

3.  Arts,  (while  acting  editor)  in  N.  J.  Law  Journal,  June  to  Oct.  1878. 

4.  "  From  Darkness  into  Light,"  poem,  Christ.  Intelligencer,  November, 

1879. 

5.  Various  other  arts,  in  newspapers.    (Total,  over  50.) 

Phraner,  Rev.  William  H.— Born  about  1840 ; 
grad.  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1863.  Pastorates: 
Cold  Spring,  1863-66 ;  East  Millstone,  Somerset  Co., 
1866-70;  Schenectady,  Second,  1870-74;  now  with- 
out charge  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.     Publications  : 

1.  "  Expenses  and  Income  of  Gen.  Synod,"  1857-68. 

2.  Article  on  Rutgers  College,  Corioiii's  Manual,  1869. 

Pitcher,  Rev.  William.— Born  in  Upper  Red 
Hook,  N.  Y.,  March,  1810;  grad.  Williams,  1833; 
Princeton  Seminary,  1835.  Pastorates:  Jackson, 
N.  Y.,  1837-39;  Boglit,  1840-54;  South  Branch, 
Somerset  Co.,  1854^79;  now  resides  at  Red  Hook, 
N.  Y.,  without  charge.     Publications : 

1    "  Grace,"  a  series  of  discourses,  1844-45. 

2.  "  Review  of  a  Pastorate  of  Twenty-flve  Tears,"  sermon  at  South 
Branch,  pp.  14,  May  9, 1879. 


«  A  further  sketch  will  be  found  in  chap,  on  Somerset  Bench  and  Bar. 


t  See  biography  in  "  Bench  and  Bar,"  iu  this  volume. 


624 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Pitches,  Rev.  Charles  Wadswokth.*— Born 
March  2,  1849,  at  Boght,  N.  Y. ;  res.  Somerset,  1854r- 
76 ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1873  ;  New  Brunswick  Seminary, 
1876;  pastor  Cong.  Church,  Randolph,  N.  Y.,  in  1876 
to  present  time.     Publications  : 

1.  ContriliutionB,  prose  and  verae,  to  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

2.  Other  articles,  prose  and  verse,  in  Christ.  Intelligencer,  Preshjtei-ian, 
Churchman,  Congregaliomlist,  Somerset  Unionist,  etc.,  at  various  times. 
(Total,  about  200.) 

Pool,  Rev.  Chaeles  Hubbard.— Born  Feb.  11, 
1840,  at  Bay  Ridge,  L.  I. ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1863 ;  sem- 
inary, 1866.  Pastorates  in  Ref.  Dutch  Church :  Bed- 
minster,  Somerset  Co.,  1866-75 ;  Raritan,  third,  1875 
to  the  present.     Publications : 

1.  "  Influence  of  the  Past,"  centennial  sermon  in  Somerset  Gazette,  Aug. 
26, 1876. 

2.  "  Burden-Bearing,"  in  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1879. 

3.  Yarious  brief  articles  in  local  papei-s.  , 

PORTEE,  Ret.  Elbeet  Stothoff,  D.D.— Born  in 
Hillsborough  tp.,  Somerset  Co.,  Oct.  23,  1820.t  A 
genuine  litUraieur,  of  sound  scholarship  and  varied 
gifts,  who  has  made  a  mark  in  the  Church  of  his  love. 
Publications : 

1.  Short  articles  in  Somerset  Wliig,  1835-36. 

2.  Essays,  poems,  and  stories  in  Princeton  Wliig  and  Literary  World, 
1836-39. 

3.  Articles  in  Christ.  Inielligencer,  1842-43. 

4.  "  The  Resurrection,"  funeral  sermon,  death  of  Mrs.  B.  Tan  Buren, 
1846. 

6.  "  Perils  and  Securities  of  our  Country,"  1850. 

6.  "  Domestic  Missions,"  sermon  before  Synod,  1851. 

7.  Editorials  in  Christ.  Intelligencer  for  sixteen  years,  1852-68,  including 
several  series  on  "History,  Usages,  and  Customs  of  the  Ref.  Dutch 
Church." 

8.  Address  at  Boston  for  Amer.  Tract  Soc,  1860. 

9.  "  Language  of  Affliction,"  funeral  sermon,  death  of  Adaline  Rider, 
1864. 

10.  "  On  Death  of  President  Lincoln,"  sermon,  1865. 

11.  "  The  Kef.  Dutch  Church  in  Williamsburg,"  historical  discourse, 
1866. 

12.  "History,  Doctrine,  and  Spirit  of  Ref.  Dutch  Church,"  "Bibli- 
otheca  Sacra,"  April,  1866. 

13.  "  Pastor's  Hints  to  his  People,"  1869. 

14.  "  Life,  Character,  and  Services  of  Dr.  'Wyckoff,"  1869. 

15.  "  Advantages  of  Denominationalism,"  and  other  sermons,  in  Nat. 
Preacher. 

16.  Address  at  funeral  of  Rev.  Edw.  Holmes. 

17.  "  The  True  Foundation  of  Christian  Union,"  discourse  before 
Synod,  Phila.,  June,  1869. 

18.  "  The  Literature  of  the  Ref.  Church,"  in  "  Centennial  Discourses," 
1876. 

19.  Literary  Reviews  in  Christ,  at  Work,  1873-77. 

20.  "  The  Bible  in  the  Public  Schools,"  address  before  Evangelical 
Alliance,  Pittsburgh,  Oct.  1875. 

21.  "Unity  in  Christ,"  sermon  in  Geneva,  Switzerland,  in  London 
Preacher,  1879. 

22.  Translations  of  mediseval  Latin  hymns,  and  some  original  ones, 
now  in  hymn-books. 

23.  "  Recollections  of  Men  and  Events,"  1881. 

24.  Hundreds  of  articles  and  lettere  in  "  Knickerbocker  Magazine," 
"  Hours  at  Home,"  "  Bibliotheca  Sacra,"  Berg's  "  Prot.  Review,"  Ulus. 
Christ.  Weekly,  JT.  T.  Observer,  Evangelist,  Brooklyn  Times  and  Eagle,  etc. 

Rankin,  Ret.  John  Chambers,  D.D. — Born  May 
18,  1816,  in  Guilford  Co.,  N.  C. ;  studied  in  Univ.  of 
N.  C.  and  Princeton  Seminary ;  missionary  to  India, 
1840-48;    pastor  Pres.   Church   at  Basking    Ridge, 


Somerset  Co.,  1851  to  present.    Degree  from  Prince- 
ton, 1867.     Publications : 

1.  Reply  in  Urdoo  language  to  Mohammedan  book  against  Christi- 
anity, India,  1845.  . 

2.  Minor  contributions  to  native  Hindostanee  press. 

3.  "  Foreign    Missions    and   MiUenarianism,"  "  Princeton    Review," 


1861, 
4. 
6. 
6. 


'  historical  discourse,  pp.  30, 


*  Son  of  preceding. 


f  See  biography  in  Chapter  XI. 


Thoughts  for  the  Ministry,"  in  same,  1854. 
Armenianism  and  Grace,"  in  same,  1856. 

The  Mode  of  Baptism,"  "Subjects  of  Baptism,"  and  "  Infant  Bap- 
tism," in  same,  1861. 

7.  "The  Pres.  Church  of  Basking  Ridge,' 
1873. 

8.  Occasional  articles  in  Presbyterian,  N.  T.  Observer,  Somerset  Unumtst 
and  Messenger,  and  missionary  periodicals  of  Pres.  Church. 

RoDGEES,  Ret.  Ratand  Keaeney,  D.D.— Born 
in  New  York  City,  Nov.  3,  1797 ;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J., 
1815;  seminary,  1818.  Pastorates  in  Pres.  Church: 
Sandy  Hill,  N.  Y.,  1821-30 ;  Bound  Brook,  1830-74. 
Degree  from  Rutgers,  1856;  died  in  Atlanta,  Ga., 
Jan.  12,  1879.  More  of  a  preacher  and  pastor  than  a 
writer.     Publications : 

1.  Sermon  at  funeral  of  Rev.  J.  Rodgers  Coe,  A.M.,  First  Pres.  Church, 
Whitehall,  N.  T.,  Oct.  2, 1823. 

2.  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,"  sermon  at  Synod, 
Pottsville,  Pa.,  Neh.  ix.  5,  Oct.  15, 1861. 

3.  "  Thanksgiving,"  sermon,  Bound  Brook,  Nov.  28, 1861,  pp.  18. 

4.  "Fifty  Tears  in  the  Ministry,"  sermon,  Bound  Brook,  April  25, 
1868. 

6.  "  Minutes  of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey,"  twenty-flve  annual  reports, 
each  about  pp.  75 . 
6.  Biog.  sketch  of  Samuel  Blatchford  in  "  Sprague's  Annals." 

Rowland,  Ret.  John. —  Born  about  1812,  in 
Wales ;  pastor  of  St.  John's  Epis.  Church,  Somerville, 
N.  J.     Publications : 

1.  "  Mental  Culture,"  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

2.  "The  Diet  of  Augsburg,"  "Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

3.  Many  contributions  to  local  newspapers. 

RuNYON,  Theodore,  LL.D. — Born  in  Somerville, 
Oct.  25,  1822;  grad.  at  Yale,  1842;  licensed  attorney, 
July,  1846 ;  counselor,  July,  1849  ;  res.  since  in  New- 
ark ;  brig.-gen.  First  New  Jersey  Brigade,  1861 ; 
mayor  of  Newark,  1864^65 ;  chancellor  of  New  Jersey, 
1873  to  present  time.  One  of  the  ablest  chancellors 
ever  on  the  Equity  bench  in  New  Jersey  ;  a  marvel 
worker  with  brain  and  pen.     Publications : 

1.  Messages  aa  Mayor  of  Newark,  English  and  German,  1864^-65. 

2.  Opinions  as  Chancellor  and  Ordinary  in  Court  of  Chancery,  Prerog- 
ative Court,  and  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  of  N.  J.,  in  9, 10, 11, 12  C. 
E.  Green's,  and  1,  2,  3,  4,  5  Stewart's  "  Reports,"  1873  to  present. 

3.  Address  on  the  inauguration  of  a  popular  movement  in  Newark  for 
the  erection  of  a  statue  to  Seth  Boyden,  pp.  14,  May  22, 1872. 

4.  Address  on  the  opening  oE  the  Newark  Industrial  Exhibition,  pp. 
14,  Aug.  20,  1872. 

Rtjnyon,  Enos  Weisnee. — Born  Feb.  24, 1825,  in 
Warren  tp.,  Somerset  Co. ;  licensed  attorney,  1854 ; 
counselor,  1857  ;  res.  Plainfield ;  member  Assembly, 
1866 ;  law  judge,  Union  County,  1873-78.  Publica- 
tions : 

1.  Editorials  in  Plainfield  Oazette,  1852-67. 

2.  Many  arts,  in  Central  Times,  etc.    Total,  over  200. 

ScHENCK,  Ret.  George. — Born  at  Mattawan,  1816 ; 
grad.  Yale,  1837 ;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1840 ; 


BOOKS   AND   AUTHORS   OF  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


625 


pastor  of  Eef.  Datcii  Churcli,  Bedminster,  Somerset 
Co.,  1840-52 ;  died  1852.    Publications : 

1.  "  Music,"  an  address  at  SomerviUe,  pamplilot,  1849, 

2.  "  Second  Coming  of  Christ,"  1843. 

ScHENCK,  Ret.  Maetin  L. — Bora  at  Six-Mile 
Run,  Somerset  Co.,  1817 ;  grad.  at  Rutgers ;  1837,  New 
Brunswick  Seminary,  1840.  Pastorates  in  Ref.  Dutch 
Churcli :  Plattekill,  1840-53 ;  Fort  Plain,  1853-57 ; 
Rocky  Hill,  Somerset  Co.,  1857-65 ;  Whitehall,  1865- 
69  ;  Plattekill,  1869-73.  Died  March  11, 1873.  Pub- 
lications : 

1.  "  The  Harmony  of  Heaven,"  1855. 

2.  Address  at  Funeral  of  Dr.  Oatrander,  in  "  Memorial." 

Shearer,  Rev.  James  William. — Born  Oct.  4, 
1840,  at  Appomattox  Co.,  Va. ;  grad.  of  Univ.  of  Va., 
1867.  Pastorates  in  Pres.  Church :  Madison,  N.  C. ; 
Gallatin,  Tenn. ;  Liberty  Corner,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J., 
1875-78 ;  Huntingdon,  West  Va.,  1879  to  present.  A 
close  student,  a  careful  and  rapid  composer,  with  a 
bent  of  mind  towards  the  "Philological  Reform" 
question,  in  which  he  is  perfectly  at  home.  Publica- 
tions : 

1.  Articles  as  special  correspondent  of  Richmond  Dispaich  during  war, 
1861-65. 

2.  "  The  TTae  of  the  Lot,"  "  South.  Pres.  Review,"  1873. 

3.  "Combination  Speller,"  Ivison,  Blakeman,  Taylor  &  Co.  School 
text-book,  pp.  168, 1874. 

4.  "  Spelling  Reform,"  art.  in  "  Trans.  Amer.  Philological  Assn.,"  1876. 

5.  "  Bee-Culture,"  in  "  Beekeeper's  Mag.,"  1876. 

6.  Various  arts,  on  "  A  Simple  Notation  for  the  English  Language"  in 
educatioual  magazines. 

7.  Lecture  on  "  Spelling  Reform"  before  T.  M.  C.  A.  of  SomerviUe, 
in  Somereet  Oazetie. 

8.  Many  other  contributions  to  the  OhrUtian  Ohaener,  Ceniral  Preehy- 
tencm,  North  Carolina  Presbyterian,  Bichmond  Dispatch,  Somerset  Oazette, 
etc. 

Shitrts,  Peter  Hall.— Born  July  17,  1847,  near 
Bound  Brook,  Somerset  Co.;  res.  New  York  City 
since  1868 ;  occupation,  merchant.    Publications : 

1.  Many  contributions  in  Famity  Casket,  Bmtierdon  Bepvhlican,  New 
York  Evangelist,  Evening  Telegram,  etc, 

2.  "How  to  Open  and  Close  a  Session  of  Sunday-School,"  in  The  Sower, 
of  SomerviUe,  1878. 

3.  "  Sixty-fifth  Anniversary  Report  of  the  Spring  Street  Presbyterian 
Church,"  New  York,  187-. 

Stewart,  Rev.  Abel  T.,  D.D.— Born  at  Somer- 
viUe, Aug.  4,  1822;  grad.  Rutgers,  1843 ;  New  Bruns- 
wick Seminary,  1846.  Pastorates :  Greenville,  1846- 
50 ;  same  and  Bronxville,  1850-52 ;  Tarrytown,  First, 
1852-66;  Holland,  Second  (Mich.),  1866-78.  Died 
May  24, 1878.  Degree  by  Rutgers,  1873.  "A  scholar 
of  no  mean  literary  tastes  and  attainments."  Publi- 
cation : 

"  Historical  Discourse,"  First  Ref.  Church,  Tarrytown,  N.  T.,  1866. 

Stewart,  Edward  Farmer. — Born  Oct.  16, 1819, 
at  Easton,  Pa, ;  studied  theology,  but  abandoned  it 
from  ill  health ;  received  appointment  in  New  York 
custom-house,  under  Secretary  Chase  ;  editor  Somerset 
Unionist,  March  5, 1863,  to  1866 ;  at  present  cashier  of 
First  Nat.  Bank,  Easton,  Pa.    Publications : 


1.  "  Relations  of  Utilitarianism  to  Individual  and  National  Culture," 
address  before  Lafayette  College  Alumni,  pp.  52, 1854. 

2.  Editorials  in  Somerset  Unionist,  1863-66. 

3.  Editorials  and  articles  from  1840  to  1880  in  New  York  Independent, 
Christian  Intelligencer,  TrQ}une,  Times,  Easton  Express,  and  Free  Press. 

Southard,  Samuel  Lewis,  LL.D. — Born  June 
9, 1787,  at  Basking  Ridge,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Prince- 
ton, 1804 ;  licensed  attorney  in  Virginia,  1809,  and 
New  Jersey,  1811 ;  counselor,  1814 ;  resided  in  Flem- 
ington,  1811-15';  member  Assembly,  1816 ;  justice 
Sup.  Court.  1816-21 ;  U.  S.  senator,  1821-23 ;  Secre- 
tary of  Navy,  1823-29;  attorney-general.  New  Jer- 
sey, 1829-32  ;  Governor  of  State,  1833 ;  U.  S.  senator, 
1833-42;  president  of  Senate,  1841^2;  died  June 
26,  1842.  "  He  was  entitled  to  rank  with  Sergeant, 
Webster,  Everett,  and  Binney  in  fullness  of  knowl- 
edge and  aptness  of  expression." — Judge  Elmer. 
Publications : 

1.  "Revised  Statutes  of  New  Jersey"  (assisted  by  Charles  Evring),  a, 
revision  ordered  by  Legislature,  pp.  900, 1821. 

2.  Anniversary  Address  before  Columbian  Institute,  Waahiugton,  1827. 

3.  Address  at  Newark,  July  30,1829. 

4.  Anniversary  Address  before  Newark  Mechanics'  Association,  pp.  37, 
July  5, 1830. 

5.  Address  before  Princeton  Societies,  pp.  30, 1832. 

6.  Enlogium  on  Chief  Justice  Ewing,  pp.  30, 1832. 

7.  "  On  the  Professional  Character  and  Virtues  of  William  Wirt,"  ad- 
dress, 1834. 

8.  "  On  Removal  of  Deposits  from  the  United  States  Bank,"  speech  in 
Congress,  Jan.  8, 1834. 

9.  "  On  Motion  to  Expunge  from  the  Journal,"  same,  March  28, 1834. 

10.  Argument  in  De  Car  vs.  Hendrickson,  New  Jersey  Court  of  Appeals, 
8vo,  Phila.  and  N.  York,  1834. 

11.  Address  before  Princeton  Societies,  pp.  40, 1837, 

12.  Other  speeches  in  Congress, 

Steele,  Mary,— Born  about  1851,  in  SomerviUe, 
N,  J.,  daughter  of  Wm.  S.  Steele ;  teacher.  Publi- 
cations : 

1.  "  Pocahontas,"  essay,  Somerset  Messenger,  about  1870, 

2.  "  A  Difference,"  story,  "  Our  Home,"  1873, 

3.  "  A  Dream,"  serial  in  same,  1873, 

4.  "  Concerning  a  Relic ;  or,  the  Rediscovery  of  Noah's  Ark,"  Somerset 
Gazette,  March  7, 1878, 

Stockton,  John  Potter, — Born  Aug.  2, 1826,  at 
Princeton,  Somerset  Co.;*  res.  Trenton.  Sound  in 
judgment,  eloquent  in  debate,  clear  and  forcible  in 
his  writings.     Publications  (imperfect  list) : 

1.  "  Stockton's  Equity  Reports,"  3  vols.,  1856-60. 

2.  Various  speeches  in  Congress. 

3,  Many  political  letters  to  the  press,  and  articles  in  the  same, 

4,  Many  reported  political  speeches  in  the  press, 

Stockton,  Richard,  LL,D.— Born  in  Princeton, 
Somerset  Co.,  1764.  "A  well-read  lawyer  and  dili- 
gent student;  fond  ofthe  black  letter,"!    Publication: 

Argument  in  favor  of  the  claim  of  New  Jersey  to  the  waters  of  the 
Hudson  (appendix  of  Commissioners'  Report),  published  by  Legislature 
of  New  Jersey,  1828, 

Stockton,  Com,  RiChard  Field,— Bom  1795,  in 
Princeton,  Somerset  Co, ;  commissioned  midshipman 
U,  S,  navy,  1811 ;  established,  by  treaty,  republic  Li- 

*  In  "Bench  and  Bar"  chapter  may  bo  found  a  biographical  notice  of 

him, 
f  See  ibid. 


626 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


beria,  1822 ;  founder  and  Pres.  of  N.  J.  Colonization 
Society,  1827;  captain  in  navy,  1838;.  commodore, 
1845 ;  conquest  of  California,  1846^7  ;  U.  S.  senator, 
1851-52 ;  died  Oct.  7,  1866.  A  great,  self-made  man, 
of  about  equal  ability  as  a  writer,  an  orator,  and  an 
executive  of  either  a  ship  or  a  railroad  corporation. 
Publications : 

1.  "  Appeal  to  the  People  of  New  Jersey,"  in  relation  to  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad,  pp.  29,  Sept.  24,  1849. 

2.  "  Letter  on  the  Slavery  Question,"  in  reply  to  Webster,  pp.  23.  N.  T., 
1850. 

3.  "  Flogging  in  the  Navy,"  speech  in  Congress,  Jan.  7, 1852, 

4.  "On  Non-intervention,"  same,  Feb.  2, 1852. 

5.  "On  Compromise  Measure,"  Pame,  Feb.  12, 1852. 

6.  "  On  the  Death  of  Daniel  Webster,"  speech  in  Congress,  Dec.  14, 
1862. 

7.  "  On  the  Bill  to  Increase  the  Efficiency  of  Army  and  Navy,"  same. 

8.  Speech  at  Ilahway,  pp.  8,  Sept.  4, 1856. 

9.  Open  letter  to  JV.  Y.  Eiiening  Post,  pp.  26,  May  25, 1864. 

10.  Despatches  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  relating  to  military  and 
naval  operations  in  California,  1849. 

11.  Address  at  the  formation  of  an  auxiliary  colonization  society, 
Princeton,  1824. 

12.  Address  at  meeting  Colonization  Society,  Washington,  1825. 

13.  Address  at  Elizabethtowu,  July  4, 1851. 

14.  Speech  in  Congress  on  harbor  defenses.  May  11,  1852. 

15.  Speech  in  Congress  on  Indian  Appropriation  Bill,  Aug.  11, 1852. 
10.  Speech  at  Trenton  at  a  reception  to  Webster  by  the  N.  J.  Legisla- 
ture, March,  1852. 

SuTPHEN,  Eev.  David  Schueemax.— Born  April 
24,  1842,  in  Bedminster,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Rutgers, 
1864 ;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1867 ;  pastor  at 
New  Utrecht,  1867-79.     Publications : 

1.  Articles  in  Sf/merset  Unionist,  1864,  1872. 

2.  "  Daft  Willie,"  poem  in  Christ.  Weekly,  1873,  and  Sojon-,  1874. 

3.  Articles  on  Rev.  Peter  Van  Buren,  Christ.  Intelligencer,  1868. 

4.  Arts,  in  same,  1871. 

5.  Essay  before  Kings  County  S.  S.  Assn.,  1876. 

6.  "  Historical  Discourse,"  Two-hnndredth  Anniversary  Ref.  Church  at 
New  Utrecht,  1877. 

7.  Various  articles  in  Kings  County  Rural  Gazette. 

SuTPHEN,  Eev.  Morris  Crater,  D.D.— Born  in 
Bedminster  township,  Somerset  Co.,  Dec.  1,  1886.* 
In  writing  as  in  preaching  he  was  a  man  of  unusual 
promise,  cut  off  in  his  early  prime.     Publications  : 

1.  "Discourse  at  the  Funeral  of  Rev.  John  McDowell,  D.D.,"  Feb.  18, 
1863,  pp.  17,  Phila. 

2.  "  Discourse  on  the  Death  of  Lincoln,"  pp.  19,  Phila.,  1865. 

3.  Series  of  letters  in  Presbyterian,  from  New  York,  1867. 

4.  Series  of  letters  from  Rocky  Mountains  in  same,  1868. 

5.  "  Antiquity  of  Man,"  art.  in  "  Am,  Pres.  Rev.,"  1871  (or  1872  ?). 

6.  Extracts  from  letters,  diary,  etc.,  in  Memoir,  pub.  by  Carter  &  Bro,, 
N,  T,,  1876  (posthumous), 

Talmage,  Eev.  Goyn,  D.D.— Born  Dec.  7,  1821, 
at  Somerville  ;  grad.  Eutgers,  1842 ;  New  Brunswick 
Seminary,  1845.  Pastorates :  Eockaway  (White 
House),  1845-51 ;  Miskayuna,  1851-55 ;  Greenpoint, 
1855-62;  Ehinebeck,  1867-71;  Paramus,  1871-79; 
Cor.  Sec.  Board  Domestic  Miss.  Eef.  Church,  1862-70. 
Degree  by  Eutgers,  1 876.     Publications : 

1,  "Admonitions  for  the  Times,"  1861, 

2,  "  The  Ref,  Dutch  Church  a  Goodly  Heritage,"  with  Hist,  Appendix, 
Greenpoint,  1862, 

3,  "  Christ  in  the  Storm,"  sermon,  1866, 

*  See  personal  sketch  in  chapter  upon  "  Prominent  Men  of  Somei-set 
County," 


4,  "  Religious  Tests,"  Christ,  al  WorJc,  1876, 

5,  "Perils  of  Young  Men,"  1878. 

6,  Annual  Reports  of  Board  of  Dom,  Miss,  for  five  years, 

7,  Letters  from  Europe  in  Christ.  Intelligencer,  1880, 

Talmage,  Eev,  James  Eomeyk,  D.D. — Born  Dec. 
10,  1807,  at  Somerville ;  grad.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  1826  ; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1829;  missonary,  Potts- 
ville.  Pa.,  1829-31.  Pastorates:  Jersey  City,  1831- 
33 ;  Pompton,  1833-36  ;  Blawenburgh,  Somerset  Co., 
1837-49;  Athens,  1849-50;  Brooklyn  (Middle),  1850- 
52;  Greenbush,  1852-60;  Chittenango,  1860-69; 
Wawarsing,  1869-74;  Wiltwick,  1874.  Degree  by 
Eutgers,  1864,     Publication  : 

A  discourse  occasioned  by  death  of  Capt,  Isaac  M.  Talmage,  his  son, 
1865. 

Talmage,  Eev.  John  Van  Neste,  D.D. — Born 
Aug,  18,  1819,  at  Somerville;  grad.  Eutgers,  1842 ; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1845,  Pastorates :  S.  S. 
Cent,  Church,  Brooklyn,  1845^6;  Middle  Church, 
Brooklyn,  1846 ;  Amoy,  1847-49  ;  in  America,  1849- 
50 ;  Amoy,  1850-62 ;  in  America,  1862-65 ;  Amoy, 
1865-72  ;  in  America,  1872-74 ;  Amoy,  1874  to  pres- 
ent. Degree  by  Eutgers  College,  1867.  Publica- 
tions : 

Translations  into  the  Amoy  Colloquial,  in  Roman  characters,  of  the 
following  (in  which  other  missionaries  assisted  to  a  greater  or  less  ex- 
tent) ; 

1,  "  A  Primer,"  pp.  30, 1852, 

2,  "  Spelling-Book,"  pp.  15,  1862, 

3,  "  First  Reader,"  pp.  17, 1863, 

4,  Burns'  version  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  pp,  77, 1853, 

5,  The  Book  of  Ruth,  pp,  20,  1S53, 

6,  Several  hymns,  pp,  26, 1859, 

7,  The  Gospel  of  Luke,  and  the  following  Epistles:  Galatians,  John, 
Peter,  Ephesians,  and  Philippians, 

8,  The  Heidelberg  Catechism, 

9,  "  Hist,  and  Ecc.  Relations  of  the  Churches  of  the  Presbyterian 
Order  at  Amoy,  China,"  in  English,  8vo,  pp.  74,  N.  Y.,  1863, 

10,  Many  letters  to  the  press,  and  reports  to  the  Miss.  Board, 

Talmage,  Eev,  Peter  Stbykee. — Born  in  Som- 
erville, Oct.  5,  1819;  grad,  Jefferson,  1845;  Princeton 
Seminary,  1848,  Pastorates  :  Presbyterian :  Oneida 
Valley,  N.  Y.,  1848-50 ;  Malta,  N.  Y.,  1850-53.  Ee- 
formed :  Stone  House  Plains,  N.  J.,  1853-65  ;  preach- 
ing in  halls  in  northwestern  Philadelphia,  1865-68 ; 
Philadelphia  Bethune  Memorial,  1868 ;  Bethlehem 
Miss.,  Philadelphia,  1869 ;  Manayunk,  January, 
1870-74.     Publication  (imperfect  list)  : 

"  Comforts  in  Sorrow,"  on  the  death  of  a  beloved  child,  1861, 

Talmage,  Eev,  Thomas  Db  Witt,  D.D.f— Born 
Jan.  7,  1832,  near  Somerville.  A  man  known  the 
world  over  for  his  published  sermons,  more  copies  of 
which  have  been  circulated  than  of  any  preacher  of 
this  age.  As  a  writer,  author  of  some  of  the  finest 
word-painting  in  the  English  language.  Publications 
(imperfect  list)  : 

1,  "  The  Almond-Tree  in  Blossom,"  12mo,  Phila,,  1870. 

2,  "  Crumbs  Swept  Up,"  12mo,  N,  Y,,  1870, 

t  The  Talmages,  Goyu,  James  R,,  John  V.  N,,  and  T,  DeWitt,  are  all 
brothers  and  all  Doctors  of  Divinity,  For  biography  of  T,  DeWitt,  see 
Chap,  XI, 


^ 


BOOKS   AND   AUTHORS   OP  SOMEBSET  COUNTY. 


627 


3.  "  Abominations  of  Modern  Society,"  12mo,  N.  T.,  1872;  new  ed., 
1876. 

i.  "  As  the  Stars  for  Ever  and  Ever,"  in  "  Pulpii  Eloquence  of  Nineteenth 
Century,^''  by  Fisb. 

5.  "Good  Cheer."- 

6.  "1000  Gems,"  Tibials,  N.  T.,  1873 ;  4th  ed.,  1876. 

7.  "  Around  the  Teo^Table,"  8yo,  Oowpertbwait,  Phila.,  1874. 

8.  "  Preach  to  the  Masses,"  12mo,  Meth.  Book  Concern,  N.  Y.,  1876. 

9.  "  Sports  that  Kill,"  12mo,  Harper's,  1876. 

10.  "Old  Wells  Dug  Out,"  same,  1874. 

11.  "  Every-day  Religion,"  same,  1875. 

12.  Hundreds  of  editorials  in  Cliristian  at  Work,  1873-76. 

13.  Weekly  sermons  in  same;  reprinted  in  England. 

14.  Sermons  in  The  Metltodist  (N.  Y.)  and  ChriatUm  Age  (London). 

15.  Hundreds  of  other  newspaper  articles  to  the  press,  including  Jti- 
dependentj  Brooklyn  Eagle,  etc. 

Thompson,  Rev.  Henky  Post. — Born  Nov.  30, 
1831,  in  Readington,  Somerset  Co.*  A  constant  and 
pointed  writer  of  short  articles,  all  useful  and  in- 
structive.    Publications : 

1.  "In  Memoriam,"  sermon  on  Lincoln's  death,  1865. 

2.  raneral  sermon  of  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Liew,  1869. 

3.  S.  S.  Lessons  in  S.  8.  Times  (joint,  with  Rey.  John  B.  Thompson, 
D.D.),  July  to  Dec,  1S71. 

4.  "Incidents  of  Christian  Work,"  18mo,  pp.  156,  Honeyman  &  Rowe, 
Somerville,  1879. 

5.  Hundreds  of  contributions  to  Chrut.  Intelligencer,  Sower  and  Gospel 
Field,  Advance,  S.  S.  Times,  N.  Y.  Times,  Tribune,  Hunterdon  Bepiiblican, 
IjamberiviUe  Beacon,  Bushnell  Record,  Insurance  Advocate,  Somerset  Gazette, 
Somerset  Unionist,  etc. 

Thompsgis",  JosEPH.-^Born  Sept.  30,  1808,  near 
Readington;  res.  both  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  at 
various  times ;  judge  of  Com.  Pleas  of  Hunterdon  for 
twenty-eight  years,  and  now  of  Somerset  for  thir- 
teenth year.f     Publications : 

1.  "  Historical  Note,"  appended  to  dedicatory  sermon  at  Readington, 
by  Bev.  Dr.  Van  Liew,  1865. 

2.  Letters  to  Bushnell  Record,  Bushnell,  111.,  1868-71. 

3.  "  A  Witch-Story,"  two  articles  in  "Our  Home,"  1873. 

4.  "Various  articles  in  local  newspapers. 

Todd,  Rev.  John  Adams,  D.D. — Born  about  1822, 
near  Martinville,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1845  ; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1848.  Pastorates  in  Ref. 
Church:  Griggstown,  1848-55;  Tarrytown,  Second, 
1855  to  present.  Degree  by  Rutgers,  1868.  A  good 
linguist,  a  strong,  argumentative  writer,  fond  of  his- 
tory ;  as  a  controversialist  few  dare  to  cross  swords 
with  him.    Publications : 

1.  "  Memoir  of  Rev.  Dr.  Peter  Labagh,"  with  notices  of  Bef.  Dutch 
Church  in  North  America,  pp.  340,  Board  Pub.,  New  Tork,  1860. 

2.  "  The  Character  and  Death  of  Washington  Irving,"  1869. 

3.  "  Review  of  Boardman's  Higher  Christian- Life,"  Princetoi  BraiOT, 
xxxiL  608-640. 

4.  "  The  Posture  of  the  Ministers  and  People  of  Bef.  Church  in  Amer. 
during  the  Revolution,"  "  Centennial  Discourses,"  1876. 

5.  Hundreds  of  contributions  to  periodical  literature. 

Van  Aesdale,  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hixon.— Born 
1838,  at  Bound  Brook,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Rutgers, 
1862  ;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1867.  Pastorates  : 
Clove,  1867-74 ;  Chatham,  1874  to  present.  Publica- 
tions : 


*  See  sketch  in  history  of  Readington  township. 

t  See  personal  sketch  with  Bench  and  Bar ;  also  in  history  of  Reading- 
ton  township. 


1.  "  The  Contrast  f  the  First  Hour  to  the  Last  in  the  Life  of  .Tesus," 
1876. 

2.  Discourse  from  Ruth  ii.  4,  in  Chatham  Courier,  1877. 

Van  Cleef,  Rev.  Cornelius,  D.D. — Born  at 
Harlingen,  Somerset  Co.,  Sept.  16,  1799 ;  grad.  Dick- 
inson, 1823  ;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1826  ;  mis- 
sionary at  Palatine,  1826  ;  Manayunk,  1827-28.  Pas- 
torates: Athens,  1828-33;  New  Hackensack,  1833 
-66 ;  died  June  13,  1875.  ^Degree  by  Rutgers  Col- 
lege, 1863.     Publications: 

1.  Article  in  "Sprague's  Annals"  on  Van  Wagenen. 

2.  Address  at  funeral  of  Rev.  Edwin^Holmes. 

Van  Cleef,  Rev.  Paul  Duryea,  D.D. — Born 
July  31,  1821,  at  Millstone,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Rut- 
gers, 1843 ;  seminary,  1846 ;  trustee  Rutgers,  1869. 
Pastorates :  Coxsackie,  Second,  1846-49 ;  Jersey  City, 
Second  (Van  Vorst),  1849  to  present.  Degree  by 
Rutgers,  1863.     Publications : 

1.  Articles  and  poems  in  Literary  Gem,  Somerville,  1842-43. 

2.  "  Thankful  Remembrance,"  a  decennial  sermon,  pp.  26, 1860. 

3.  "Spiritual  Health,"  in  commemoration  of  fifteenth  anniversary  of 
his  pastorate,  pp.  24, 1865. 

4.  "Our  Alumni  Association :  its  Relations,  Objects,  and  Duties,"  an 
oration  before  Rutgers  Alumni,  pp.  32, 1865. 

5.  Address  at  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Ref.  Dutch 
Church  in  New  Brunswick,  1867. 

6.  Memorial  of  Hon.  Jacob  R.  Wortendyke,  pp.  40, 1869. 

7.  "The  Days  that  are  Past,"  sermon  on  twentieth  anniversary  of  his 
pastorate,  pp.  25, 18Y0. 

8.  "  The  Candle  of  Life,"  illustrative  of  allegorical  pictures,  N.  Tib- 
balB,  N.  y.,  1870  (in  volume  with  other  treatises). 

9.  Address  before  Gen.  Assembly  Pres.  Church,  Detroit,  1872. 

10.  Address  at  the  funeral  of  Col.  Joseph  Dod,  1874. 

11.  "Espoused  to  the  Church,"  sermon  on  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
his  pastorate,  pp.  34, 1875. 

12.  "  The  Catholic  Spirit  of  Bef  Church  of  America  toward  all  other 
Christians,"  in  "  Centennial  Discourses,"  1876. 

13.  Memoir  of  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Stryker,  missionary  to  Borneo,  in  Sower. 

14.  Article  in  "Sprague's  Annals,"  on  Rev.  J.  M.  Van  Harlingen. 

15.  Exposition  S.  S.  Lessons,  in  Christ.  Intelligencer,  1879. 

16.  Editorials,  reviews,  and  letters  in  various  newspapers,  chiefly 
Christ.  Intelligencer. 

Van  Debveeb,  Amelia. — Born  at  Millstone ; 
res.,  Princeton.     Publications : 

1.  Five  poems, — viz.,  "  A  Summer  Idyl,"  "  Stilled  Voices,"  "Pictures," 
"  Nothing  Else  To-Night,"  "  A  Sabbath  Dream,"  in  "  Princeton  Poets,'^ 
1879. 

Van  Debveee,  Rev.  Ferdinand  Henry,  D.D. 
— Born  1800,  at  Somerville :  grad.  Union,  1821 ;  New 
Brunswick  Seminary,  1823;  missionary  to  Hyde 
Park,  1823;  Ovid,  1823.  Pastorates:  Hyde  Park, 
1823-29 ;  New  Hurley,  1829-39 ;  Newbury,  1839^2 ; 
Warwick,  1842-76.  Degree  by  Rutgers  College, 
1828.     Res.,  Somerville.     Publications : 

1.  "An  Exegesis  on  Baptise,"  pp.  26,  Somerville,  1880. 

2.  Many  articles  on  religious  topics  to  the  press,  including  Cliristian 
Intelligencer. 

Van  Debveee,  Henry  Calvin,  A.M.— Born 
March  24,  1839,  in  Somerset  County;  removed  to 
Hunterdon,  1858;  returned  to  Somerset,  1879;  res. 
Somerville;  occupation,  farmer  and  dealer  in  fancy 
stock;  graduate  of  Rutgers  College,  1860;  biog. 
sketch  in  Poultry  World.     Publications : 


MH,^ 


628 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1.  "  Shall  we  Educate  the  Farmer?"  in  "  Our  Home,"  18T3. 

2.  "  Wiilks  and  Talks  among  the  Stock,"  series  of  articles  in  Family 
Casket,  1873. 

3.  Scores  of  articles  in  The  Cultivator  and  Country  Gentleman,  Practical 
Farmer,  and  other  leading  stock  journals  ;  also  Somerset  Unionist,  etc. 

Vast  Doben,  Amelia  Miller.— Born  Jan.  16, 
1855,  at  Middlebush,  Somerset  Co. ;  daughter  Eev. 
J.  A.  Van  Doren;  res.  East  Millstone.  Publica- 
tions : 

Poems,  fiction,  and  articles  on  temperance  and  religious  subjects  in 
Christian  Intelligencer,  N.  Y.  Observer,  Our  Union,  Somerset  GazetU,  Somer- 
set Unionist.  t 

Van  Dorem",  Ret.  Isaac— Born  July  9,  1773,  at 
Griggstown,  Somerset  Co.;  pastor  Hopewell  Pres. 
Church,  N.  Y.,  1802-25 ;  teaching  in  Newark,  1825- 
29;  collegiate  inst.  for  young  ladies,  on  Brooklyn 
Heights,  1829-34;  college  for  young  ladies  at  Lexing- 
ton, Ky.,  1834-38 ;  academy  at  Warsaw,  Ky.,  1838- 
40  ;  missionary  church  at  Iron  Mountain,  Mo.,  1840- 
44 ;  died  August,  1863.  His  religious  life  is  embalmed 
in  "The  Old  Parsonage,"  by  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Davison,  1863.  He  was  an  extraordinary  man  in 
piety,  but  published  little.  Publication  (doubtless 
imperfect) : 

"  Summary  of  Chriatian  Duty,"  tract  from  the  Douay  Bible. 

Van  Doren,  Rev.  John  Addison. — Born  May 
12,  1815,  in  New  York  City;  grad.  Rutgers,  1835; 
seminary,  1838.  Pastorates  in  Ref.  Church  :  Middle- 
bush,  Somerset  Co.,  1838-66 ;  supply  at  Lodi,  1866  ; 
supply  at  Annandale,  1866-72;  res.  East  Millstone, 
1872  to  present.     Publications  : 

1.  Sermon  upon  the  death  of  Rev.  Jacob  I.  Schultz,  in  Christian  Intelli- 
gencer, 1852. 

2.  Sermon  upon  the  death  of  Lincoln,  in  Somerset  Unionist,  June  11, 
1866,  from  Ps.  xxxi.  16. 

3.  Sermon  upon  the  death  of  Jeremiah  Voorhees,  in  Millstone  MiiTor, 
June  14, 1862. 

Van  Doren,  Eev.  John  Howard. — Born  at 
Griggstown,  Somerset  Co.,  1887 ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1859 ; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1864;  missionary  to  Amoy, 
China,  1865-68 ;  in  America,  1868-70 ;  Amoy,  1870- 
73;  pastor  Cato,  N.  Y.,  1874r-76;  Tyre,  N.  Y.,  1876 
to  present.     Publication : 

"  Mental  Arithmetic,"  in  Amoy  colloquial. 

Van  Dyke,  John.— Born  April  3, 1807,  at  Lam- 
ington,  Somerset  Co. ;  licensed  attorney,  1836 ;  coun 
selor,  1839 ;  res.  New  Brunswick,  1830-60 ;  Trenton 
1860-68 ;  Wabasha,  Minn.,  1868-78 ;  member  Legis 
lature,  184^;  prosecutor  of  pleas  in  Mercer  Co. 
mayor  New  Brunswick ;  member  Congress,  1846-50 
justice  Sup.  Court,  N.  J.,  1859-61 ;  member  Minn 
State  Senate,  1869;  judge  Third  Dist.,Minn.,  1870- 
died  kt  Wabasha,  Dec.  24,  1878.  Publications  (im 
perfect  list) : 

1.  "On  Causes,  etc.,  of  War  with  Mexico,"  speech  in  Congress,  1848. 

2.  "  On  Slavery,"  same,  1850. 

3.  "  Slaveholding  not  Sinful,"  reply  to  Dr.  S.  B.  How,  New  Brunswick, 
pp.  16, 1866. 

4.  Opinions  as  Justice  Supreme  Court,  in  i  and  5  Butcher's,  1  and  2 
Vroom's  Law  Beports,  and  1  C.  E.  Green's  Equity  Reports,  1860-67. 


5.  Letters  in  New  Brunswick  Fredonian  on  Minnesota,  1872. 

6.  "  The  Spy  of  Washington,"  article  in  ''  Our  Home,"  October,  1873. 

7.  Letter  respecting  the  same  in  "  Memorial"  of  Dr.  John  Honeyman, 
1874. 

Van  Hablingen,  Rev.  Johannes  Martinus. — 
Born  near  Millstone,  1724 ;  studied  at  Princeton  and 
in  Holland ;  pastor  Neshanic  and  Sourland,  Somerset 
Co.,  1762-95 ;  died  1795.     Publication : 

Translation  of  fifty-three  of  Van  Der  Kemp's  Sermons  on  Heidelberg 
Catechism,  2  vols.,  pp.  1061,  New  Brunswick,  1810  (posthumous). 

Van  Liew,  Rev.  John  Cannon. — Born  at  Mid- 
dlebush, about  1810 ;  grad.  New  Brunswick  Seminary, 
1832.  Pastorates:  Catskill,  Leeds,  and  Kiskatown, 
1832-33;  Leeds  and  Kiskatown,  1838-84 ;  Spotswood, 
1834-^2 ;  Rutgers  College  grammar  school,  1841—45 ; 
Piffard,  1845-49  ;  Groveland  Presb.,  1849-50 ;  Ephra- 
tah  and  Stone  Arabia,  1850-56 ;  Berne  and  Beaver 
Dam,  1856-60 ;  died  1861.  "  A  man  of  decided  men- 
tal ability,  an  able  advocate  in  ecclesiastical  trials 
and  controversy,  a  critical  linguist." — Corwin.  Pub- 
lication : 

Farewell  sermon  at  Spotswood,  N.  J.,  1842. 

Van  Neste,  Rev.  George  John. — Born  Sept.  7, 
1822,  at  Weston,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Rutgers,  1842 ; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1846.  Pastorates :  Bound 
Brook,  1847-53 ;  Lodi,  1853-65  ;  West  New  Hemp- 
stead, 1865-69;  Little  Falls,  N.  J.,  1869-75;  St. 
Johnsville,  N.  Y.,  1875-79 ;  Kiskatown,  1879  to  pres- 
ent.    Publications : 

1.  "  Address  as  Delegate  from  Gen.  Syn.  Kef.  Church  of  America  to 
the  Gen.  Assembly  of  Canada,  Presbyterian  Church  at  Ottawa,"  June  2, 
1874,  in  Christian  Intelligencer,  July  9,  1874. 

2.  "Pastoral  Charge  to  Rev.  B.  C.  Lippencott,  at  his  Installation  at 
Clarkstown,"  in  Ch}-islian  Intelligencer,  November,  1866. 

3.  "  Notes  from  Life  of  Kev.  Dr.  Bethune,"  9  articles  in  Bockland  County 
Journal,  1868. 

4.  Sermon  at  Dedication  of  Ref.  Church,  Lodi,  N.  T.,  Jan.  24, 1872,  in 
Seneca  FaUs  Courier,  1872. 

6.  Oration  on  Decoration-Day  at  St.  Johnsville,  N.  T.,  May  30,  1876,  in 
Interior  New-Yorker,  June  7, 1876. 

6.  Address  on  occasion  of  planting  a  centennial  tree  by  students  of 
Fort  Plain  Sem.  and  Coll.  Inst.,  June  29, 1876,  in  Mohamk  VaUey  Begisler, 
July  6,  1876. 

7.  Various  articles  in  Christian  Inielligeiicer,  Sower,  etc.,  signed  E.  2f.  E. 

8.  Address  on  "  The  E.xperimental  Evidence  of  the  Truth  of  Chris- 
tianity," before  the  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  May  19, 1874  (in  MSS.) 

Voorhees,  Peter  Albert.— Born  Nov.  6,  1802, 
in  Hillsborough  township,  Somerset  Co.*  Publica- 
tions : 

1.  Obituaries  of  Abram  Voorhees,  1867-68. 

2.  Description  of  Western  agricultural  fairs  and  Chicago  fire,  1871. 

3.  "  National  S.  S.  Convention,"  Indianapolis,  1872. 

4.  "  Old  Folks  of  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties,"  1877. 
6.  "International  S.  S.  Convention,"  Atlanta,  Ga.,  1878. 

6.  Ten  other  articles  in  Christian  Intelligencer,  N.  B.  Fredonian,  and  Som- 
erset Unionist. 

Voorhees,  Ralph.— Born  June  20,  1796,  at  Mid- 
dlebush, Somerset  Co.  An  indefatigable  historian 
without  vices.f  .Publications: 


*  For  biography,  see  Chapter  XI. 

t  See  "Prominent  Men  of  Somerset  County,"  in  this  work,  for  peiBonal 
sketch. 


-% 


BOOKS  AND  AUTHOKS   OF  SOMERSET  COUNTY. 


629 


1 .  '*  The  Haritan  and  its  Early  Holland  Settlers,"  12  papers  of  great  his- 
torical Talue  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

2.  "  Historical  Notes,"  37  papers  (continnation  of  those  in  "  Our  Home," 
but  chiefly  following  line  of  the  old  Indian  path),  in  N&w  Bruns.  FredO' 
jiian,  1875-77. 

3.  Several  papers  (also  in  continuation),  in  Somej-set  Gazette,  1876-77. 

4.  Other  articlee  iu  Fredonian,  Somerset  Gazette,  Somerset  Unionist,  Christ. 
TnteUigencer,  and  "  Flowera'  Fam.  Mag."  (1878). 

Veoom,  Petee  Dtjmont,  LL.D. — Born  in  Hills- 
borougli  tp.,  Somerset  Co.,  Dec.  12, 1791.*  "  Few  men 
of  our  State,  if  any,  deservedly  maintained  for  so 
long  a  period  an  equal  degree  of  intellectual  and 
moral  distinction." — Mr.  Bartine,  in  Vroom  Memorial. 
Publications  (imperfect  list) : 

1.  Opinions  as  Chancellor,  in  6  vols.     YroovVs  Law  Jteporis,  1867-73. 

2.  Messages  and  Proclamations  as  Governor. 

3.  Speeches  in  Congress. 

4.  LettelB  to  Secretary  of  State  as  U.  S.  minister  to  PruBsia. 

5.  Vroom^s  Law  Reports,  six  volumes  of  decisions  N.  J.  Supreme  Court. 

6.  Address  to  the  people  of  New  Jersey  on  the  Peace  Commission, 
1862. 

Veoom,  Eev.  William  Heney. — Born  Feb.  11, 
1840,  at  Eocyefield,  Somerset  Co.  ;  grad.  Eutgers, 
1862 ;  seminary,  1865.  Pastorates  of  Eef  Churcb : 
Hoboken,  1865-67;  Davenport,  Iowa,  1867-69;  La 
Cynge,  Kan.  (Presb.),  1869-74;  Clove,  N.  Y.,  1874  to 
present.     Publications  : 

1.  "  The  Moral  and  Social  Evils  of  the  Liquor  TralBc,"  puh.  in  English 
and  German  by  Temperance  Alliance  of  Hoboken,  N.  J,,  1866. 

2.  "  Discourse  commemorative  of  Eev.  Cyrus  G.  Van  Derveer,"  Luse 
&  Griggs,  Davenport,  1868. 

3.  Arts,  in  Chrixt.  InteUigencer,  Somerset  Unionist,  La  Cynge  Journal, 
Kingston  Freeman. 

Weaet,  Jacob.— Born  June  8, 1829,  at  Hopewell 
(line  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset) ;  licensed  attorney, 
1852 ;  res.  Jersey  City,  1852  to  present  (Middlebush, 
Somerset  Co.,  in  summer) ;  Collector  internal  rev- 
enue Fifth  District,  1867-71.     Publications  : 

1.  Obituary  on  Gen.  Manners,  Tme  American,  Nov.  26, 1851. 

2.  Sixteen  articles,  including  editorials,  in  Sentinel  and  Advertiser,  Jer- 
sey City,  1852-55. 

3.  Four  ditto,  in  Courier  and  Advertiser,  1859. 

4.  Editorials  in  Gazette  and  Bepublican,  Trenton,  1860. 

6.  "  The  Judiciary,"  address  at  Lincoln  banquet,  Jersey  City,  Feb.  14, 
1868,  in  Gazette  and  Bepublican. 

6.  Series  of  letters  on  corruption  in  Jersey  City  government  in  Times, 
1872-73. 

7.  Oration  on  Decoration-Day,  Amer.  Standard,  1872. 

8.  Address  at  dedication  of  Hart  monument,  Hopewell,  July  4, 1865, 
in  "  Sanderson's  Lives,"  Phila. 

9.  "Untaxed  Corporate  Property  in  Jersey  City,"  speech  at  Citizens' 
meeting,  Jan.  30, 1873. 

10.  Oration  at  Hopewell,  including  a  noted  "  Apostrophe  to  the  Flag," 
1876. 

11.  Three  articles  in  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

12.  "  Caleb  Gushing,"  art.  in  same,  1878. 

13.  Saratoga  letters,  in  Evening  Jornnal,  Aug.  1880. 

14.  Series  of  arts,  on  "  The  Tariff"  in  Trenton  StaU  Gazette,  September, 
October,  1880. 

15.  Many  other  contributions  to  N.  Y.  Times  and  TrOmne,  and  the  six 
leading  Jersey  City  papers.    (Total,  about  100.) 

Williamson,  Eev.  Nicholas  Dir  Bois.— Born  at 
Flaggtown,  Somerset  Co.,  Dec.  2,  1819;  res.  same 
until  1843;   grad.  Eutgers,   1840;   New  Brunswick 


*  See  extended  biographical  notice  on  pages  581,  582,  in  this  volume. 


Seminary,  1843.  Pastorates :  Pekin,  1843-48 ;  Cicero, 
1849-50;  Chatham,  1850-51;  Glenville,  Second, 
1851-55;  Wawarsing,  1855-61;  Pekin  (S.  S.),  1861- 
62 ;  Chicago,  Livingston  Church,  1862-65 ;  Havana, 
1865-66 :  S.  S.  Missionary  in  Chicago,  1866-70 ;  Nor- 
ris,  111.,  1870-72  ;  South  Bend,  Ind.,  1872-78 ;  present 
res.  South  Bend.    Publications: 

1.  Five  arts,  in  Bvigers  Lit.  MisceUamj,  1842. 

2.  Address  at  funeral  of  Lucy  Lord,  pp.  5,  Chatham,  1850. 

3.  Address  at  funeral  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  0.  C.  Lansing,  pp.  11,  Troy,  1853. 

4.  "  Cypress  Wreath,"  pp.  168,  E.  Carter  &  Bro.,  1853. 

5.  Early  Eecollectionff  of  Eev.  Dr.  Labagh,  in  Todd^s  Memoir,  pp.  5, 
1860. 

6.  Western  Dept.,  in  Christ.  Intelligencer,  1863-64. 

7.  Illinois  S  S.  Appeal,  pp.  38,  Am.  S.  S.  Union,  1867. 

8.  Eemarks  in  Fifth  National  S.  S.  Convention, 

9.  "  Pyramids,"  art  in  Christ.  Intelligencer,  1869. 

10.  Letters  on  Western  missions,  in  same,  1874. 

11.  "  Onward  and  Westward,"  pp.  24,  Board  Dom.  Miss.,  1875. 

12.  Synodical  Eeport  in  "  Mln.  Gen.  Synod,"  1875. 

13.  "  The  Successful  Christian  Teacher,"  pp.  21,  South  Bend,  1875. 

14.  "  National  Thanksgiving,"  1878. 

16.  Four  pages  in  "  Memoir  P.  P.  Bliss,"  1877. 

16.  Two  pages  in  "  Memoir  Dr.  Stewart,"  1878. 

17.  Eeport  on  domestic  missions,  1878 ;  report  of  board  of  superintend- 
ents, 1879  (both  in  "  Min.  Gen.  Synod"). 

18.  Eeport  of  Hope  College,  pp.  7, 1880. 

19.  Eeport  of  Western  Sunday-school  work,  1880. 

20.  Other  articles  in  Christ.  Intelligencer,  Sower,  Christ,  at  WorJe,  S.  8. 
Worlcman,  S.  S.  Times,  Nat.  S.  S.  Teacher,  Christ.  Voice,  etc.  (Total,  over 
500.) 

Wilson,  Rev.  Feedeeick  Feelinghuysen. — 
Born  (about)  1838  in  Hillsborough  tp.,  Somerset  Co. ; 
grad.  Eutgers,  1859 ;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1862. 
Pastorates :  Glenville,  Second,  1864^-70 ;  Mohawk, 
1870-72 ;  Boonton,  1872-76 ;  Asbury  Park,  1876-78 ; 
Wilcox,  Pa.,  1878-79.     Publication : 

Semi-Centonnial  of  Eeformed  Church,  Glenville,  1868. 

Wilson,  Rev.  James  Beegen. — Born  Feb.  24, 
1824,  at  Millstone,  Somerset  Co. ;  res.  at  Eoycefield, 
Somerset  Co.,  1830^0,  1843-48 ;  grad.  Eutgers,  1848 ; 
New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1851 ;  pastor  at  Long 
Branch,  1851-78 ;  East  Long  Branch,  1878  to  present. 
Publications : 

1.  "  A  Eemembrance  of  the  Past,"  decennial  anniversary  sermon,  im- 
print of  John  A.  Gray,  pp.  23, 1861. 

2.  Funeral  discourse  of  Elder  Joseph  Wardell,  Afr.  Col.  Soc.  imprint, 
pp.  15, 1867. 

3.  Funeral  discourse  of  widow  of  Joseph  Wardell,  J.  Stult's  imprint, 
Long  Branch,  pp.  9, 1874. 

4.  Funeral  discourse  of  Dr.  Z.  W.  Scriven,  Long  Branch  News,  1876. 

5.  "  Three  Pictures  in  a  Man's  Life,"  romance,  twelve  chapters,  Man- 
mouth  Inquirer,  1866. 

6.  "  Thoughts  on  the  Sabbath,"  'five  articles  in  same,  1864. 

7.  *'  History  and  Doctrines  of  Eeformed  Church,"  several  articles,  in 
Long  Branch  News. 

Wilson,  Joseph  Hunt.— Born  in  Washington, 
Warren  Co.,  1830;  early  removed  to  Somerset;  in 
New  York  custom-house ;  editor  Somerset  Unionist, 
1878  to  present.    Publications  : 

1.  *'  Hans  Von  Pelt,"  poem,  in  Somerset  Whig,  185-. 

2.  Two  poems  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 

3.  Poems  in  The  Somerset  Gazette,  1876-77 ;  Somerset  Unionist,  1878-80. 

4.  Hundreds  of  brief  sketches  in  newspapers,  usually  iu  humorouB- 
vein. 

6.  Editorials  in  Somerset  Unionist,  1878-81. 


630 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Wilson,  Mrs.  Katheeine  Dunnington.* — Born 
1846,  in  Washington,  D.  C. ;  res.  Prince  William  Co., 
Va.,  and  in  Somerset  for  twelve  years  past.  Publi- 
cations : 

1.  Series  of  valuable  articles  on  "  Housekeeping,"  in  Somerset  Gazette, 
18Y6. 

2.  Many  contributions  to  Somerset  Unionist,  and  The  Soueelceeper,  1877 
-SO. 

WiTHEESPOON,  Rev.  John,  D.D. — Born  in  Yester, 
Scotland,  Feb.  5,  1722;  grad.  Univ.  Edinburgh. 
Pastorates  :  Beith,  Scotland,  1745-57 ;  Paisley,  1757- 
68;  Princeton,  N.  J.  (Pres.),  1768-94.  President 
Coll.  of  N.  J.,  Aug.  17,  1768-94 ;  member  of  Prov. 
Congress,  1776,  Continental  Congresses,  1776-82, 
Legislative  Council,  1782  ;  died  Nov.  15,  1794.  Res. 
at  Princeton,  at  Tusculum,  Somerset  Co.  A  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  As  a  writer, 
"sound,  sensible,  perspicuous,  argumentatious,  and 
often  eloquent." —  Tfi^Kams.  "  The  name  of  Dr.  With- 
erspoon  stands  high  on  both  continents." — Allibone. 
Publications  : 

1.  "  Ecclesiastical  Chavacteristics  ;  or,  The  Arcana  of  Churcb  Policy," 
Glasgow,  8vo,  1753. 

2.  "A  Serious  Apology  for  the  Gharacterislics." 

3.  Essay  on  Justification,  Edinburgh,  12mo,  1756. 

4.  "  Serious  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  and  jjlffects  of  the  Stage,"  Glas- 
gow, 1757. 

5.  "  Essays  on  Important  Subjects,"  London,  1764,  12mo,  3  vols. 

6.  "  Sermons  on  Practical  Subjects,"  Glasgow,  12rao,  1768. 

7.  "Practical  Discourses"  (14  in  number),  12mo,  1768. 

8.  "  Considerations  on  the  Nature  and  Extent  of  the  Legislative 
Authority  of  the  British  Parliament,"  Phila.,  8vo,  1774. 

9.  Several  sermons,  published  singly. 

10.  Lectures  on  moral  philosophy,  eloquence,  divinity,  education,  etc. 

11.  Letters  on  marriage. 

12.  "  Money,"  an  essay. 

13.  Philological  papers. 

14.  American  State  papers. 

15.  Speeches  in  Congress,  etc.  (All  gathered  together  in  4  vols.,  N.  T., 
each  8vo,  1800-1.) 

Wyckoff,  Rev.  Henry  Vooehees. — Born  in 
1771,  near  Millstone,  Somerset  Co. ;  pastor  at  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  1799-1803  (?) ;  Charleston,  Second,  1803- 
20;  then  suspended;  seceded  in  1822,  and  continued 
pastor  as  seceder,  1822-29;  Charleston  (Ind.),  1829-30; 
died  March  6,  1835.     Publication : 

"Keasons  for  Withdrawing  from  the  Eef  Dutch  Church,"  1820. 

Wyckoff,  Ret.  Isaac  Newton,  D.D. — Born  Aug. 
29, 1792,  near  Millstone,  Somerset  Co. ;  grad.  Rutgers, 
1813;  New  Brunswick  Seminary,  1817.  Pastorates: 
Leeds,  1817-34;  Catskill,  1834-36;  Albany,  Second, 
1836-66 ;  died  1869.  Elected  a  tru,stee  of  Ref  Church, 
1851.  Degree  by  Union,  1838;  by  Rutgers,  1839. 
"  His  style  of  composition  was  picturesque."  Publi- 
cations : 

1.  Address  before  Tract  Soc,  in  N.  Y.  Observer,  May  19,  1827. 

2.  "  Christian  E.xample." 

3.  "  On  the  Death  of  Ghr.  Miller,"  1844. 

4.  Address  at  Funeral  of  Rev.  David  Abeel,  1846. 
6.  "  Stability  of  the  Times,"  July  4, 1862. 

6.  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  David  Pruyn,  1843. 

7.  Sermon  on  Death  of  Hibertie  Pruyn,  1855. 

*  Wife  of  preceding. 


8.  "John,  surnamed  Boanerges,"  a  discourse  on  the  death  of  Bev.  Dr. 
John  Ludlow,  1857. 

9.  "  She  is  not  Dead,  but  Sleepeth,"  1858. 

10.  "  The  Spiritual  Portrait,"  on  the  death  of  Hon.  Jacob  Lansing,  1858. 

11.  Address  at  Quarto-Centennial  Celebration  of  Pastorate,  1861. 

12.  "The  Righteous  entering  into  Peace,"  on  the  death  of  A.  F.  Lan- 
sing, 1861. 

13.  An  Inaugural  Charge  at  Hope  College,  1866,  in  "  Hope  College  Re- 
membrancer." 

14.  Arts,  in  "  Sprague's  Annals"  on  Rev.  J.  M.  Van  Harlingen,  Jacob 
Sickles,  Jacob  Schoonmaker,  Peter  P.  Rouse,  David  Abeel,  W.  J.  Pohl- 
man. 

15.  Sermons  in  the  Columbia  County  Preacher  and  the  Nat.  Preaclter. 

Wyckoff,  Lillie  Eliza. — Born  March  23,  1855, 
at  Raritan,  Somerset  Co. ;  removed  to  South  Branch, 
1864 ;  res.  at  Plainfield,  Oct.  1879,  to  present.  Pub- 
lications : 

1.  Various  tales, — viz.,  "Girls,  What  shall  we  do  for  Our  Brothers?" 
"  Too  Late,"  "  That  Sister  of  Mine,"  "  Jacob  Thornton's  Thanksgiving," 
"  A  Man's  I  Will !"  etc.,  in  local  papers. 

2.  other  articles  in  Somerset  Gazeite,  Clirist.  Intelligencer,  Somerset  Gos- 
pel Field,  American  Messenger,  Children's  Friend,  and  Somerset  Unionist. 

Wyckoff,  Martin  Nevius. — Born  April  10, 
1850,  at  Middlebush,  N.  J.;  grad.  Rutgers,  1872; 
teacher  (under  Educational  Department  of  Japan)  in 
Japan,  1872-77 ;  ditto  of  grammar  school  for  boys, 
Somerville,  1878  to  present.     Publications  : 

1.  "  Across  Japan,"  2  arts,  in  Somerset  Unionist,  1875. 

2.  Other  arts,  from  Japan  in  same,  1876. 

3.  "  Social  Classes  in  Japan,"  3  articles,  "  Flowers'  Fam.  Mag.,"  1878. 

4.  "  Japanese  Legend,"  in  same. 

5.  Also  an  editor  of  "  The  Targum,"  1871. 

Zabriskie,  Abraham  Gothout,  LL.D. — Born 
June  10,  1807,  at  Greenbush,  N.  Y. ;  removed  to 
Millstone,  Somerset  Co.,  1811.t     Publication : 

Opinions  as  Cliancellor  in  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8  C.  E.  Gteen'e  Equity  Reports. 


CHAPTER    X. 


COTJNTY    SOCIETIES. 


County  Bible,,  Society— County  Teachers'  Institute— County  Sunday- 
School  Association — County  Temperance  Association — Agricultural 
Societies. 

SOMERSET  COUNTY  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 

At  a  meeting  of  a  considerable  number  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Somerset  County,  at  Somerville,  at  the  house 
of  Daniel  Sergeant,  Oct.  1,  1816,  to  take  into  consid- 
eration, the  subject  of  forming  a  Bible  society  in  and 
for  said  county,  as  auxiliary  to  the  New  Jersey  Bible 
Society,  Peter  B.  Dumont  was  chosen  chairman  and 
John  Frelinghuysen  secretary.  A  committee,  con- 
sisting of  the  Rev.  Peter  Studdiford,  John  Vreden- 
bergh,  Robert  Finley,  J.  M.  Bayard,  J.  Freling- 
huysen, P.  Elmendorf,  and  Rev.  Peter  Labagh,  was 
appointed  to  prepare  a  constitution.  The  meeting 
then  adjourned  to  meet  "  on  the  second  Tuesday  of 
December  next." 

Accordingly,  gn  Dec.  10,  1816,  a  meeting  was  held 

t  See  sketch  in  chapter  on  Bench  and  Bar  of  Somerset  County. 


COUNTY   SOCIETIES. 


631 


in  the  First  Reformed  church,  Somerville,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  the  Bible  Society.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  meeting  held  at  the  house  of  Daniel 
Sergeant  were  read  and  adopted,  when,  upon  motion, 
it  was 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  at  this  time  to  form  a  Bible  Society  for 
the  county  of  Somerset,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey.'' 

The  constitution,  as  reported  by  the  committee,  was 
then  read,  and  adopted  after  sundry  alterations,  and 
thus  the  society  commenced  its  existence,  a  few 
months  after  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  nearly 
eight  years  after  the  State  Bible  Society  was  formed. 
For  nearly  thirteen  years  this  county  organization 
was  auxiliary  to  the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society,  but 
in  1829,  the  State  society  becoming  almost  inoper- 
ative, it  dissolved  its  connection  with  the  latter  and 
became  auxiliary  to  the  American  Bible  Society. 

The  first  annual  meeting  was  held  Aug.  19,  1817.* 
The  first  managers  were  : 

Bridgewater. — Eev.  P.  Studdiford,  John  Frelinghiiysen. 

JUUhborov^h, — Bev.  J.  h.  Zabriskie,  Nicholas  Du  Boia. 

Franklin. — Rev.  TJ.  Huntington,  John  M.  Bayard. 

Montgomery. — Bev.  Peter  Labagb,  Samuel  Bayard. 

Bernard. — Rev.  J.  S.  Hardenbergh,  Joseph  Annin. 

Bedmin&ter. — Rev.  Horace  Galpiu,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith. 

Warren. — Alex.  Kirfcpatrick,  Esq.,  Fred,  Vermeule. 

At  Large. — Rev.  R.  Finley,  of  Baslciug  Ridge ;  James  C.  Cannon,  of 
Six- Mile  Run;  William  Boggs,  of  Bound  Brook;  David  Comfort,  of 
Kingston;  Andrew  Howell,  Peter  B.  Dumont,  and  Dr.  Peter  I.  Stryker. 

The  members  of  the  society  in  1817,  the  first  year 
of  its  organization,  were : 

Rev.  Peter  Studdiford,  Rev.  David  Comfort,  Rev.  John  Buggs,  Rev.  John 
S.  Vredenbergh,  Bev.  John  L.  Zabriskie,  Rev.  Peter  Labagh,  Rev. 
Horace  Galpiu,  Rev.  Wm.  Brownlee,  Charles  Hardenbergh,  Nicholas 
Du  Bois,  Andrew  Howell,  Peter  I.  Stryker,  Joseph  Annin,  John 
Frelinghuyaen,  Peter  B.  Dumont,  Jolm  M.  Bayard,  Samuel  Bayard, 
Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  Ate.'cander  Kirkpatrick,  Frederick  Vermeule, 
Samuel  Swan,  Peter  Z.  Elmendorf,  Michael  Van  Veghten,  John  M. 
Schenck,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  William  B.  Gaston,  Jacob  Williamson, 
John  R.  Davidson,  Dr.  H.  McEwen,  Frederick  Frelinghuyaen,  Henry 
H.  Schenck,  John  Wyckoff,  John  M,  Hoagland,  Jacob  Scudder,  Wil- 
liam Mann,  Thos.  A.  Hartwell,  James  Taylor,  John  J.  Schenck, 
Frederick  Cook,  Samuel  S.  Doty,  Henry  Van  Dyke,  James  Stryker, 
Dennis  Van  Liew,  Cornelius  Peterson,  Thomas  Talmage,  Sr.,  Elias 
Scudder. 

The  venerated  men  who  laid  the  foundation  of  this 
institution,  watched  and  aided  its  progress,  and  min- 
gled in  its  deliberations,  are  now  no  more.  Among 
them,  of  the  clergy,  were  the  familiar  names  of  Vre- 
denbergh, Finley,  Cannon,  Studdiford,  Comfort,  Za- 
briskie, Labangh,  Boggs,  Charles  Hardenbergh,  Van- 
dervoort,  Fisher,  Schenck,  and  Ludlow ;  and  among 
the  laymen.  Gen.  John  and  Frederick  Frelinghuysen, 
Andrew  Howell,  Benjamin  McDowell,  Michael  Van 
Veghten,  P.  Z.  Elmendorf,  John  M.  and  Samuel  Bay- 
ard, Peter  B.  Dumont,  William  B.  Gaston,  Nicholas 
Du  Bois,  Joseph  Annin,  William  T.  Rogers,  John  M. 
Mann,  Samuel  L.  Southard,  Van  Nest,  Beekman,  and 
Drs.  Swan,  Schenck,  Stryker,  and  Hageman.    These 

*  Of  all  those  present  at  the  firat  annual  meeting,  but  one — Hon.  Peter 
D.  Vroom,  since  deceased — survived  to  meet  with  the  society  at  its  fiftieth 
anniversary. 


names  include  not  only  the  founders,  but  others  who 
followed  them,  and  those  who  bore  them  are  now 
numbered  with  the  dead. 

The  object  of  this  society,  as  stated  in  its  constitu- 
tion, is  "to  supply  the  poor  of  this  county  with  Bibles 
and  Testaments,  gratis."  Any  surplus  fund  that  may 
remain  is  paid  to  the  society  of  which  this  is  auxiliary. 
The  qualification  of  membership  is  the  payment  of 
one  dollar  annually  to  the  society.  Its  officers  are  a 
president,  two  vice-presidents,  and  a  secretary  and 
treasurer,  selected  from  the  board  of  managers,  which 
is  chosen  annually. 

Gen.  John  Frelinghuysen  was  secretary  for  fourteen 
years,  until  his  death.  He  was  followed,  after  a  few 
temporary  appointments,  by  Judge  William  T.  Rod- 
gers,  who  served  for  eight  years,  and  was  followed  by 
F.  J.  Frelinghuysen,  the  present  incumbent. 

The  first  treasurer  was  Judge  Andrew  Howell,  who 
held  the  office  for  fourteen  years,  until  stricken  with 
paralysis.  He  was  succeeded  by  John  M.  Mann,  the 
faithful  incumbent  for  thirty-three  years.  His  suc- 
cessor was  S.  S.  Hartwell,  Esq. ;  he  was  followed  by 
J.  F.  Mesick,  who  still  fills  the  position. 

The  record  of  this  society  has  been  one  of  "  steady 
growth  and  progress.  The  annual  meetings  have  been 
punctually  held,  and  have  always  been  attended  with 
a  good  and  encouraging  degree  of  interest.  Measures 
have  been  adopted,  from  time  to  time,  to  increase  the 
interest,  sometimes  by  changing  the  annual  sermon 
for  addresses  by  distinguished  laymen  and  civilians 
whose  hearts  were  deeply  engaged  in  the  cause.  The 
meetings,  instead  of  being  at  a  stated  place,  as  at  first, 
have  been  held  in  the  difierent  churches  in  succes- 
sion throughout  the  county."  Agents  have  been  ap- 
pointed to  visit  every  family  in  Somerset  County.  The 
first  canvass  was  in  1827,  another,  for  a  re-supply,  in 
1833,  and  again  in  1835.  In  1846  the  work  was  per- 
formed again,  and  five  hundred  dollars  voted  to  aid 
the  American  Bible  Society  in  supplying  the  State 
with  the  Scriptures.  In  1856  a  resolution  was  passed 
to  aid  the  parent  society  in  supplying  the  whole  United 
States.  In  1855  the  entire  income  of  the  society  was 
voted  to  the  parent  society  to  aid  it  in  publishing  an 
Arabic  version  of  the  Bible.  From  1862  it  distributed 
copies  of  the  Word  of  God  yearly  during  the  war  in 
the  camp  and  on  shipboard. 

In  1886  the  sum  of  $414.56  was  paid  to  the  parent 
society ;  in  1846,  $555 ;  in  1856,  $1527 ;  in  1866,  $3297. 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Somerset  County 
Bible  Society  was  celebrated  in  the  First  Reformed 
church  of  Somerville,  Aug.  13,  1867.  The  attendance 
was  very  large,  and  the  occasion  was  one  of  solemn 
interest.  After  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Rankin,  of  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  the  Rev.  Gabriel  Ludlow,  D.D.,  of  Nesh- 
anic,t  preached  the  annual  sermon,  from  Exodus  xii. 
14 :  "  This  day  shall  be  unto  you  a  memorial."  Brief 
addresses  were  also  delivered  on  that  occasion  by  Rev. 

■f  Being  at  this  time  the  oldest  clerical  member  of  the  society. 


632 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Dr.  Taylor,  delegate  from  the  American  Bible  Society, 
Hon.  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Hon.  F.  T.  Frelinghuysen, 
J.  F.  Hageman,  and  others. 

The  last  annual  gathering  was  held  at  Franklin 
Park,  Aug.  10,  1880,  in  the  newly-erected  Keformed 
church,  which  was  well  filled  on  the  occasion.  The 
president,  John  De  Mott,  presided  over  the  meet- 
ing. The  report  of  the  executive  committee,  pre- 
pared by  Eev,  Dr.  Messier,  chairman,  was  read  by 
the  secretary,  F.  J.  Frelinghuysen,  in  his  absence. 
The  treasurer's  report  showed  that  the  annual  re- 
ceipts had  been  $938.98,  which  amount  had  been  dis- 
bursed (save  a  balance  on  hand  of  $21.10)  during 
the  year,  as  follows : 

J.  L.  StiUwell,  three  days  distributing  Bibles  in 

North  Plainfield S9.96 

American  Bible  Society 905.00 

A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  circulars 2.50 

Incidental  expenses .42 

S917.8S 

The  depository's  report  embraced  the  following: 

Number  of  volumes  received  from  the  Amer- 
ican Bible  Society 544 

Cost  of  544  volumes $204.87 

Number  distributed  and  sold 185 

Cost  of  185  volumes 60.82 

Value  of  volumes  in  depository S144.05 

Number  of  volumes  in  depository 359 

Number  of  volumes  sold,  37 S7.91 

Expenses 2.00 

$5.81 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted : 

"  Ee£olved,  That  we  highly  approve  of  the  semi-millenial  celebration 
of  the  WicklifFe  translation,  to  be  held  in  the  State-House  at  Trenton  on 
Sept  21  and  22, 1880. 

'^Resolved,  That  twelve  delegates  be  appointed  by  this  Society  to  that 
meeting, — viz..  Rev.  J.  F.  Mesick,  D.D.,  Kev.  A.  Messier,  D.D.,  Kfev.  P. 
M.  Doolittle,  Eev.  James  Le  Fevre,  Kev.  E.  T.  Oorwin,  D.D.,  Kev.  A.  Mc- 
Williams,  llev.  Samuel  Parry,  Rev.  L.  F.  Burgess,  J.  V.  D.  Hoaglaod, 
Esq.,  Peter  A.  Voorhees,  Esq.,  James  E.  Negus.  Twelve  alternates  were 
appended. 

"Besolved,  That  not  less  than  twenty-five  dollars  be  raised  by  a  special 
committee  as  our  proportion  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  convention." 

The  Committee  on  Nominations  reported  the  fol- 
lowing officers  for  the  year  ensuing :  President,  James 
E.  Negus ;  Vice-President,  George  V.  Tunison ;  Sec- 
retary, Frederick  J.  Frelinghuysen ;  Treasurer,  Rev. 
J.  F.  Mesick,  D.D. ;  Depository,  James  Gaston;  To 
Preach  the  Sermon,  Rev.  0.  H.  Pool,  and  Rev.  Wil- 
liam E.  Davis  his  alternate. 

SOMERSET  COUNTY  TEACHERS'  INSTITDTE.*- 
In  the  holding  of  teachers'  institutes  Somerset  was 
a  pioneer,  the  first  ever  held  in  the  State  being  at 
the  court-house  in  Somerville,  commencing  on  Mon- 
day, June  18,  1849,  and  closing  on  the  following  Sat- 
urday. Mr.  J.  F.  Severance  was  president,  Abraham 
Hess  vice-president,  and  William  H.  Jellifi"  secretary. 
The  instructors  were  Profs.  C.  W.  and  J.  C.  Sanders, 
and  James  B.  Thomson,  of  New  York.  An  address 
upon  education  was  delivered  by  Dr.  King,  State  su- 
perintendent, and  another  upon  temperance  by  Horace 

*  By  J.  S.  Haynes. 


Greeley.    The  second  institute  was  held  in  Somer- 
ville in  1851.     The  instructors  were  Profs.  Fowle  and 
Stone,  of  New  England.    The  third  was  at  Millstone 
in  the  summer  of  1853,  under  the  instruction  of  D.  G. 
Eaton,  of  Brooklyn,  and  S.  T.  Bowen,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick.    One  of  the  most  interesting  of  those  earlier 
educational  meetings  was  held  in  Somerville,  com- 
mencing July  31,  1854.     The  instructors  were  D.  G. 
Eaton,  David  Cole,  and  Dr.  Hoagland.     Addresses 
were  delivered  by  Governor  Price,  David  Cole,  and 
Rev.  John  A.  Todd.     Prof.  Eaton's  beautiful  illus- 
tration of  the  structure  of  the  human  eye,  and  Mr. 
Todd's  lecture  upon  the  "  Dynasty  of  the  Pen,"  were 
among  the  finest  things  ever  given  to  the  teachers  of 
this  county.     The  fifth  was  at  Peapack,  in  Septem- 
ber,  1855,  with  Charles  W.  Sanders  and  James  B. 
Thomson  as  instructors.     The  attendance  was  not  so 
large  as  usual,  but  the   charming  weather  and  the 
bountiful  hospitality  of  the  people  made  the  week  at 
Peapack  a  pleasant  event.     The  institute  of  1856  was 
at  Middlebrook,  with  Professor   Fowle,  of  Boston. 
From  1856  to  1861  there  were  three, — one  at  Somer- 
ville, under  Prof.  Fowle ;  another  at  Bound  Brook, 
with  Prof.  Giddings,  of  Brooklyn,  as  instructor ;  and 
the  third   at  East  Millstone,  with   Profs.   Sanders, 
Stoddard,  and  Potter.     In  1861  there  was  an  insti- 
tute at  Raritan,  under  the  instruction  of  William  F. 
Phelps,  principal  of  the  Normal  School  at  Trenton. 
From  this  time  until  1874  there  were  three, — two  at 
Peapack  and   one   at  Pluckamin.      The  instructors 
were  Messrs.  Dalton  and  Sanders.     This  completes 
the  list  of  institutes  under  the  old  regime,  when  every 
teacher  in  attendance  gave  his  time  and  was  mainly 
dependent  for  entertainment  upon  the  hospitality  of 
the  people.     The  sessions  of  an  institute  in  those 
days  generally  continued  about  a  week.     The  attend- 
ance ranged  from  fifteen  to  fifty,  twenty-five  to  thirty 
being  the  usual  average. 

The  law  of  1867  intrusted  the  care  of  the  institutes 
to  the  county  superintendent.  Under  this  arrange- 
ment an  institute  has  been  held  every  year  from  1874 
to  the  present  time,  with  the  exception  of  1878.  They 
are  all  now  held  in  Somerville,  on  account  of  its  cen- 
tral location  and  its  facilities  for  the  entertainment  of 
teachers,  who  now  pay  their  own  expenses,  but  whose 
time  is  given  by  their  districts.  The  sessions  continue 
three  days;  the  number  of  teachers  in  attendance' 
averages  about  eighty.  The  first  of  this  series  was 
organized  in  March,  1874,  by  County  Superintendent 
E.  W.  Rarick.  The  instructors  have  been  E.  A. 
Apgar,  State  superintendent.  Professors  Johnson  and 
Apgar,  of  the  Normal  School,  Miss  Minnie  Swayze, 
Mrs.  Randall  Diehl,  Rev.  Samuel  Lockwood,  Pro- 
fessor Northrop,  of  Connecticut,  B.  W.  Putnam,  of 
Boston,  Professor  De  Graff,  of  Albany,  and  prominent 
teachers  of  the  county.  The  subjects  discussed  have- 
been  the  common  English  branches  and  the  natural 
sciences,  with  especial  prominence  given  to  drawing 
and  reading. 


COUNTY  SOCIETIES. 


633 


The  Thompson  brothers  and  Drs.  Rankin,  Eodgers, 
and  Messier  were  interested  friends  of  the  earlier 
meetings;  but  the  most  energetic  and  enthusiastic 
friend  of  education  in  this  county  twenty-five  years 
ago  was  Mr.  C.  C.  Hoagland,  town  superintendent  of 
Hillsborough.  With  an  interest  that  never  flagged 
and  a  vigilance  that  never  wearied,  he  kept  the  cause 
before  the  people,  inspiring  everybody  with  the  same 
spirit,  until  the  county  journals  teemed  with  articles 
upon  the  subject,  and  Somerset  was  claimed  to  be  the 
banner  county  of  the  State  for  public  schools. 

SOMERSET  COUNTY  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  ASSOCIATION.® 
The  "Somerset  County  Sunday-School  Associa- 
tion" was  organized  Feb.  7,  1860,  in  the  Reformed 
Dutch  church  of  East  Millstone.f  The  Rev.  David 
Cole  had  been  appointed  by  the  State  Association  at 
its  last  convention  corresponding  secretary  for  Som- 
erset County,  and  accordingly  he  called  a  convention 
of  churches  and  Sunday-schools  to  meet  in  his  church 
on  the  day  above  named.  The  meeting  was  not  large, 
but  was  spirited  and  unanimous.  Representatives  of 
three  evangelical  denominations — Baptist,  Presbyte- 
rian, and  Reformed  Dutch — were  present.  Henry 
Garretson  was  made  temporary  chairman,  and  Fred- 
erick R.  Brace  clerk  pro  tern.  The  Rev.  Stephen 
Searle,  of  Griggstown,  opened  the  convention  with 
prayer. 

The  corresponding  secretary,  Rev.  David  Cole, 
stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  in  his  usual 
earnest  and  practical  manner  set  forth  the  advantages 
of  a  county  organization  auxiliary  to  the  State  asso- 
ciation. He  closed  his  remarks  by  offering  the  fol- 
lowing : 

■"  Beaolved,  That  we  proceed  to  form  a  Somerset  County  Sunday-School 
ABBOciatioD." 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Rev.  James  Le  Fevre, 
of  Raritan.  After  further  remarks  by  several  speak- 
ers, the  resolution  was  unanimously  carried. 

The  following  were  appointed  to  report  a  constitu- 
tion: P.  Mason,  Baptist;  L.  V.  D.  Shepherd,  Presby- 
terian; Rev.  J.  Le  Fevre,  Reformed  Dutch.  Sub- 
sequently they  reported  the  following,  which  was 
adopted : 

"  Article  I.  Section  1.  This  aBBOciation  shall  be  called  the  Somerset 
County  Sunday-School  Association.  It  shall  be  auxiliary  to  the  New 
Jersey  State  Sunday-School  Association. 

"  Seclim  2.  Its  members  shall  consist  of  all  pastors  and  superintend- 
ents of  co-operating  Sabbath-Bcbools,  together  with  all  other  persons 
whom  these  Sabbath-schools  shall  from  time  to  time  appoint  as  delegates 
to  its  meetings.    These  persons  only  shall  have  a  right  to  vote. 

"  Aeticle  II.  Secton  1.  The  object  of  this  association  shall  be  to 
secure  the  attendance  of  every  child  in  the  county  of  Somerset  upon  the 
Sabbath-school ;  to  organize,  through  its  ofBoers,  Buch  new  schools  as  may 
be  necessary ;  and  to  promote,  in  all  proper  ways,  a  general  interest  in 
the  cause  of  Sabbath-schools. 

"  Article  III.  Section  1.  The  ofBcers  of  this  association  shall  be  a 
president,  a  vice-president  from  each  of  the  co-operating  denominations, 
a  recording  secretary,  a  secretary  for  each  township,  and  a  treasurer. 


*  By  Rev,  James  Le  Fevre. 

t  The  first  Sunday-school  formed  in  the  county  was  on  the  first  Sab- 
tath  in  April,  1816,  in  the  village  of  Somerville. 
41 


*'  Section  2.  These  ofRcerB  shall  be  elected  annually,  and  shall  consti- 
tute the  executive  committee  of  the  association. 

"  Section  3.  Wheu  any  one  elected  to  an  office  shall  positively  decline 
to  accept,  the  president  of  the  association  shall  have  power  to  fill  the  va- 
cancy thus  created  in  the  executive  committee. 

"Article  lY.  Section  1.  The  duties  of  the  president,  vice-president, 
recording  secretary,  and  treasurer  shall  be  those  usually  devolving  upon 
such  officers. 

"  Section  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  secretary  for  a  township  to 
visit  and  address  all  the  schools  in  his  township,  to  gather  their  statistics 
according  to  certain  blanks  to  he  furnished  by  the  association,  and  to 
make  a  full  report  of  his  work  to  the  county  secretary  of  the  State  asso- 
ciation at  least  one  month  previous  to  the  annual  meeting  of  this  asso- 
ciation, 

"  Article  V.  The  necessary  expenses  of  this  association  shall  be  pro- 
vided for  as  the  executive  committee  may  direct. 

*'  Article  TI,  The  annual  meeting  of  this  association  shall  be  held 
on  the  second  Tuesday  in  September,  at  10  o'clock  a,m,,  at  such  place  as 
the  association  shall  fix  upon  from  time  to  time  by  vote, 

"  Article  VII.  This  constitution,  or  any  part  of  it,  may  be  changed 
only  at  annual  meetings,  and  then  by  a  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers present." 

The  first  officers  of  the  association  were  the  follow- 
ing :  President,  Rev.  R.  K.  Rodgers,  D.D, ;  Vice- 
Presidents,  Isaac  F.  Frazee,  Methodist;  J.  M.  Lath- 
rop,  Baptist;  Isaac  R.  Cornell,  Episcopal;  David 
Hoffmann,  Presbyterian ;  Lawrence  Van  Derveer, 
Reformed  Dutch ;  Recording  Secretary,  Peter  N. 
Beekman ;  Treasurer,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland ;  Township 
Secretaries :  Franklin,  T.  R.  Brace ;  Hillsborough, 
Elias  Van  Fleet ;  Montgomery,  Joseph  H.  Voorhees ; 
Branchburg,  Joseph  Thompson ;  Bridgewater,  A.  D. 
Hope ;  Bernard,  Nathaniel  Kelly ;  Bedminster,  Jacob 
L.  Sutphen ;  Warren,  John  Dunn. 

The  first  annual  meeting  was  appointed  to  be  held 
in  the  Third  Reformed  church,  at  Raritan,  Tuesday, 
Sept.  11,  1860,  at  10  a.m.,  and  it  was  a  great  success. 
Lawrence  Van  Derveer,  in  the  absence  of  the  presi- 
dent, presided.  Mr.  Beekman,  the  recording  secre- 
tary, has  this  note  of  the  meeting : 

■'  One  of  the  most  pleasing  features  of  the  day  was  the,singing  by  some 
of  the  children  belonging  to  Rev.  J.  Le  Fevre's  church,  under  the  eflB- 
cient  lead  of  Miss  Frelinghuysen.  The  sweet  melodies  sung  by  them 
tended,  no  doubt,  to  the  promotion  of  the  harmony  and  good  feeling  of 
the  meeting." 

For  twenty  years  this  association  has  been  in  suc- 
cessful operation,  and  has  had  the  cordial  support  and 
entire  confidence  of  the  best  people  in  the  county. 
The  Rev.  David  Cole,  who  was  so  prominent  in  or- 
ganizing and  in  shaping  the  life  of  the  organization, 
after  four  years'  service  as  its  county  secretary,  was 
called  to  be  the  professor  of  Greek  in  Rutgers  College. 
Upon  his  leaving  the  county  the  Rev.  James  Le  Fevre 
was  nominated  by  the  county  association,  and  con- 
firmed by  the  State  association,  to  be  its  corresponding 
secretary,  and  he  continues  in  that  office  to  the  present 
time.  During  1874,  when  Mr.  Le  Fevre  was  president 
of  the  State  association,  Hon.  Peter  A.  Voorhees  acted 
as  corresponding  secretary. 

The  presidents  of  the  association  have  been : 

Eev.  K.  K.  Eodgers,  Rev.  James  Le  Fevre,  Bev.  J.  F.  Mesiok,  Rev,  A.  H, 
Belles,  Bev,  J,  C,  Rankin,  Peter  A.  Voorhees,  Rev,  P.  M.  Doolittle, 
Lawrence  Van  Derveer,  Bev.  H.  D.  Doolittle,  Henry  H,  Garretson, 
Stephen  Voorhees,  L,  V.  D.  Shepherd,  Joseph  H.  Voorhees,  Judge 
Ralph  Voorhees,  Eev,  J,  C,  Dutcher,  William  N,  Adair,  Eev,  S.  Par- 
1  sons  Bev.  J.  R.  Adams,  Rev.  Samuel  Parry,  and  Bev.  0.  H.  Pool. 


634 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  vice-pMsidents  for  twenty  years  have  been 
chosen  from  the  co-operating  denominations,  and 
have  been  working  and  representative  men. 

The  recording  secretaries  were  Peter  N.  Beekman, 
five  years ;  John  H.  Wilson,  five  years ;  Richard  Gar- 
retson,  one  year ;  Daniel  Porter,  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  eight  years ;  Edward  B.  Porter,  one  year. 

The  association  has  had  but  one  treasurer,  Judge  J. 
V.  D.  Hoagland. 

The  township  secretaries  have  been : 

BedminBter. — Jacob  L.  Siitpben,  two  years;  Simon  Hageman,  one  year; 
William  S.  Potter,  one  year;  David  K.  Hoffman,  three  years ;  G.  C.  Ap- 
gar,  two  years ;  Wilbur  F.  Wilson,  four  years ;  T.  T.  Van  Arsdale,  seveu 
years. 

Bernard. — Nathaniel  Eelly,  one  year ;  Isaac  S.  Runyon,  four  years ; 
Kev.  William  H.  Dykeman,  eight  years;  Calvin  D.  Smith,  seven  years. 

Branchburg. — Judge  Joseph  Thompson,  four  years ;  Daniel  Ammerman, 
five  years;  J.  B.  D.  Myers,  one  year;  Gilbert  L.  Kershon,  three  years; 
John  Vosseller,  two  years ;  George  H.  Stephens,  one  year ;  Ira  Voorbees, 
four  years. 

Bndgewater.—A.'D.  Hope,  one  year;  J.  V.  Perlee,  four  years;  James 
Davis,  eight  years ;  L.  D.  Cook,  two  years ;  William  N.  Adair,  five  years. 

Sai«6oroii{;;i.— Blias  Van  Fleet,  three  years  ;  William  H.  Nichols,  one 
year;  Peter  N.  Beekman,  one  year;  John  H.  Wilson,  one  year;  Daniel 
Stryker,  fourteen  years. 

Franklin. — F.  R.  Brace,  two  years ;  Peter  A.  Voorbees,  eighteen  years. 

Monl^omery. — Joseph  H.  Voorbees,  twenty  years. 

North  Plainfield.* — Dr.  Lewis  Craig,  two  years ;  James  R.  Perine,  five 
years. 

Warren. — John  Dunn,  one  year;  John  S.  Mallet,  two  years;  Rev.  J.  F. 
Neef,  one  year;  Jacob  Smith,  two  years  ;  W.  H.  Curtis,  one  year;  Samuel 
Voorbees,  one  year;  Rev,  George  Bowers,  one  year;  Dr.  Lewis  Craig, 
three  years;  Rev.  G.  T.  Jackson,  two  years;  Lewis  P.  Eager,  five  years. 

A  brief  extract  from  the  last  report  of  each  of  the 
two  corresponding  secretaries  will  exhibit  the  growth 
and  condition  of  the  association  at  periods  quite  re- 
mote from  each  other.  Bev.  Mr.  Cole,  in  his  report 
to  the  State  association,  in  1863,  says, — 

"  Somerset  County  is  now  in  perfect  working  order.  Statistics  of  Snn- 
day-schools  have  been  collected  regularly  for  four  consecutive  years,  and 
the  plans  and  objects  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Sunday-School  Association 
are  clearly  understood.  The  county  association  is  well  organized,  and  is 
really  one  of  the  most  thoroughly  understood  and  most  heartily  loved 
institutions  of  the  county.  ...  At  the  last  meeting,  in  Somerville,  the 
excellent  township  secretaries  presented  their  annual  reports  promptly 
exhibiting,  as  usual,  a  fidelity  in  the  discbarge  of  their  duty  that  is  truly 
remarkable,  ...  It  will  be  seen  that  the  county  has  this  year  eighty- 
five  schoolfl,  all  of  which  are  fully  reported : 

„      .         ,      ^     ,    .             .  1860.  1863. 

Number  ot  schools  in  county 77  gg 

Number  of  schools  reported 72  §5 

Number  of  teacbei-a 913  j  qq2 

Average  attendance  of  teachers 672  '882 

Children  on  register 4  955  g  -[77 

Average  attendance  of  children 3318  3*852 

Scholars  over  18  yeare '393  'gic 

Number  of  teacliers  church-members ■ 628  840 

Number  of  scholars  church-members 225  348 

Conversions  dnjing  the  past  year. 29  118 

Deaths  dui-ing  the  past  year ."..".  59  45 

Scholars  in  infant  cla£s qqq 

Average  attendance  of  infants 594 

Volumes  in  library ;.  jg  055  22,046 

Hold  teachers'  prayer-meetings,  nnmber  scholars 16  14 

Hold  montlily  concert,  number  scholars 7  24 

Discontinued  in  winter,        *'          '*        gQ 

Benevolent  contributions .'  ©707  53,1 

The  present  corresponding  secretary,  in  his  last 
report  to  the  State  association,  in  1879,  says 

"The  Sunday-school  is  one  of  the  best-loved  institutions  in  Somerset 
County,  and  a  Sunday-school  anniversary  or  convention  will,  in  any  part 
of  our  county,  command  a  crowded  assemblage.    The  religious  character 

*  New  township. 


of  the  people  and  the  prominence  long^  given  to  the  different  forms  of 
Christian  work  leave  little  room  for  marked  changes  in  our  statistical 
table.  We  report  ninety -three  schools, — two  more  thau  last  year, — with 
an  average  attendance  of  five  thousand  children.  Seventy-one  schools  are 
open  the  whole  year,  which  is  an  increase  of  ten  over  last  year.  Perhaps 
in  two  yearB,  at  this  rate  of  progi'ess,  we  shall  be  able  to  report  all  our 
schools  as  never  closing.  There  is  also  a  slight  increase  in  the  number 
of  conversions  this  year, — one  hundred  and  fifty-one  againstone  hundred 
and  thirty. 

"  Our  township  secretaries  are  all  experienced,  and  some  of  them 
veteran  workers.  Some  of  our  townships  have  never  known  hut  one 
secretary,  and  most  of  us  are  growing  old  in  the  ofBces  we  hold  by  tha 
good  pleasure  of  our  county  association.  This  aversion  to  frequent 
changes  and  raUUng  machinery  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  our  people 
We  are  steady  and  diligent  workers,  and,  while  we  may  be  considered  a 
little  too  conservative,  yet  we  venture  to  afBrm  there  is  as  much  intelli- 
gent and  effective  teaching  of  the  word  in  our  schools  as  in  any  county 
of  our  State." 

Nnmber  of  schools  in  operation  in  county 93 

"          schools  reporting 92 

"          officers 394 

"          teachers 10.'j2 

Average  attendance  of  officers  and  teachers 1031 

Number  of  teachers  church-members 935 

"          scholars,  including  primary  class 6727 

Average  attendance  of  scholars 4-592 

Number  of  scbolai's  church-members 1169 

"          primary  scholars 1433 

"          conversions  or  confirmations 151 

Special  temperance  lessons  given 26 

Amount  contributed  for  State  and  county  associa- 
tions   $140.68 

Have  school  all  the  year 71 

Use  international  uniform  lessons 86 

The  county  secretaries  have  printed  and  published 
every  year,  by  order  of  the  association,  a  county 
report,  with  full  statistical  tables. 

The  twenty-first  annual  convention  of  the  Somerset 
County  Sunday-School  Association  was  held  Sept.  14, 
1880,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Bernards- 
ville.  The  following  were  chosen  as  the  officers  of 
the  ensuing  year  : 

President,  Rev.  C.  C.  Winans,".Bernardsville;  Vice-Presidents,  Wm.  N. 
Adair,  Raritan ;  Rev.  Samuel  Parry,  Pluckamin  ;  Rev.  L.  F.  Burgess, 
Raritan ;  Rev.  Wm.  E.  Davis,  South  Branch ;  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, Rev.  J.  Le  Fevre,  Middlebush ;  Recording  Secretary,  E.  B.  Por- 
ter ;  Treasurer,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland,  Millstone. 

TOWNSHIP  SECRETARIES. 
Bedmimter.—T.  V.  Van  Arsdale,  Pluckamin. 
Bernard. — Calvin  D.  Smith,  Bernardsville. 
Branchbvrg.—Georgn  H.  Stephens,  North  Branch  Depot. 
Bridgewater. — A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  Somerville. 
ffiiWoroujA.— Daniel  Stryker,  Plainville. 
FrankUn.~P.  A.  Voorbees,  Franklin  Park. 
Jlfoii(ffomei-?/.— Joseph  H.  Voorbees,  Rocky  HiU. 
M:rtli  PMnJisU.— James  R.  Perrine,  Plainfield. 
Fiirrcii.— Israel  J.  Coon,  Plainfield. 

CORRESPONDING  DELEGATES. 
Morri3  Comity.— R^^.  0.  T.  Anderson,  Peapack. 
Middlesex  Counti/.—'Rev.  A.  E.  Baldwin,  Bound  Brook. 
Emilerdm  Cbirai!/.— Rev.  W.  H.  Huffman,  Pottersville. 

DELEGATES  TO  STATE   CONVENTION. 
Revs.  J.  B.  Mulford,  N.  McConaughy,  Charles  H.  Poole,  J.  V.  D.  Hoag- 
land, P.  A.  Voorbees,  C.  C.  Winans,  P.  M.  Doolittle,  and  Messrs.  J.  V. 
Perlee,  S.  P.  Dunham,  C.  D.  Smith. 

The  next  annual  session  (1881)  will  be  held  in  the 
First  Baptist  church  of  Somerville. 

COUNTY  TEMPEKANCE    ASSOCIATION.f 
"  The  Somerset  County  Temperance  Association" 
was  organized  Jan.  3, 1866.    It  was  the  result  of  a  call 

t  By  Rev.  Charles  H.  Pool,  secretary. 


COUNTY  SOCIETIES. 


635 


to  the  temperance  people  of  the  county  by  Jacob  L. 
Sutphen,  then  of  Somerville,  and  one  of  the  vice-presi- 
dents of  the  New  Jersey  State  Temperance  Alliance, 
to  assemble  for  that  purpose  in  the  Second  Reformed 
church  of  Somerville  on  the  day  above  named.    After 
the  war  the  use  of  intoxicating  drink  seemed  to  in- 
crease in  the  county  to  an  alarming  extent,  both  in 
public  places  and  in  more  private  social  gatherings ; 
and  this  prompted  the  desire,  on  the  part  of  some,  for 
the  founding  of  a  county  temperance  association.    It 
was  made  auxiliary  to  the  State  Temperance  Alliance, 
and  its  object,  as  declared  in  the  second  article  of  its 
constitution,  is  "  to  advance  the  cause  of  temperance 
in  this  county  by  means  of  sermons,  lectures,  tracts, 
and  other  printed  matter,  and  by  all  lawful  and  moral 
means  in  our  power." 

The  history  of  the  association  during  the  fifteen 
years  of  its  existence  has  been  a  comparatively  un- 
eventful one.    Like  all  temperance  societies,  it  has 
been    popular  with  only  a  few,  though    Somerset 
County  comprises  mostly  a  thrifty,  moral,  and  church- 
going  people,  and  it  seemed  to  have  little  influence  in 
checking  the  evOs  of  intemperance.    It  held  meetings 
annually,  but  they  were  generally  small,  and  because 
of  smallness  lacked,  if  not  enthusiasm,  certainly  eflB- 
ciency.     Within  a  few  years,  however,  there  has  been 
a  change  for  the  better.     The  annual  meetings  are 
more  largely  attended   and  more  interesting.     The 
clergymen  of  the  county  co-operate  more  generally 
and  heartily,  and  many  prominent  laymen  are  be- 
coming interested  in  the  work  of  the  association. 
Persistent  effort  to  find  and  appoint  active  temper- 
ance workers  (mostly  laymen)  as  secretaries  in  each 
township  has  been  rewarded,  and  this  has  resulted  in 
some  township  organizations,  a  large  increase  of  tem- 
perance meetings,  and  in  the  circulation  of  temper- 
ance literature,  many  signers  to  the  pledge,  and  a. 
decided  decrease  in  the  number  of  reputable  men 
who  are  willing  to  sign  applications  for  tavern  and 
saloon  licenses.    In  several  instances  licenses  have 
been  revoked  or  refused  through  the  influence  of  the 
society,  and  a  noticeable  advance  has  been  made  in 
the  temperance  sentiment  and  zeal  of  the  people  of 
the  county.    The  influence  of  the  association  is,  after 
these  years,  beginning  to  be  perceptible.    It  does  not 
propose  to  fall  back,  but  to  persevere  until,  with  the 
Divine  help  and  blessing,  it  shall  realize  what  is  now 
only  an  expectation,— viz.,  the  total  prohibition  of 
the  liquor  traffic. 

At  the  meeting  for  the  organization  of  the  Somerset 
County  Temperance  Association,  Jan.  3,  1866,  Jacob 
L.  Sutphen  was  president,  and  Peter  S.  Brokaw  sec- 
retary. The  officers  chosen  for  permanent  organiza- 
tion were:  President,  Rev.  R.  R.  Rodgers,  D.D.; 
Vice-Presidents  (one  from  each  township ;  now  called 
secretaries) :  Bedminster,  T.  V.  Van  Arsdale ;  Ber- 
nard, Rev.  J.  C.  Rankin ;  Branchburg,  S.  B.  Little ; 
Bridgewater,  Rev.  Mr.  Boswell ;  Franklin,  Peter  A. 
Voorhees;    Hillsborough,  Elias  Van  Fleet;   Mont- 


gomery, J.  S.  Hoagland;  Warren,  Rev.  Mr.  Pike; 
Secretary,  Daniel  Porter ;  Treasurer,  J.  W.  Conklin. 
The  first  annual  convention  was  held  Sept.  25, 1866, 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Bound  Brook. 


OFFICERS  SINCE  1866. 
Sept.  26, 1866,  to  Sept.  3,  1867. — President,  Judge  Morton ;  Secretary, 
Eev.  H.  D.  Doolittle. 

Sept.  3, 1867,  to  Sept.  1,  1868.— President,  Sev.  William  Brush  ;  Vice- 
President,  Peter  A.  Voorliees;  Secretary,  Key.  H.  D.' Doolittle;  Treas- 
urer, Daniel  Sanborn. 

Sept.  1, 1868,  to  Sept.  7, 1869.— President,  Eey.  William  Cornell ;  Vice- 
President,  Andrew  Earick  ;  Secretary,  Eev.  H.  D.  Doolittle ;  Treasurer, 
Eev.  William  Brush.  * 

Sept.  7, 1869,  to  Sept.  20, 1870.— President,  Eev.  William  Cornell ;  Vice- 
President,  Eev.  E.  K.  Eodgers,  B.B.;  Secretary,  Eev.  H.  D.  Doolittle; 
Treasurer,  N.  B.  Eichardson. 

Sept.  20, 1870,  to  Sept.  6, 1871.— President.  Eev.  Thomas  Carter ;  Vice- 
President,  Eev.  E.  T.  Corwin ;  Secretary  Eev.  H.  D.  Doolittle ;  Treasurer, 
N.  B.  Eichardson. 

Sept.  6, 1871,  to  Sept.  3, 1872.— President,  Eev.  Thomas  Carter;  Vice- 
President,  Kev.  E.  T.  Corwin ;  Secretarj',  Eev.  H.  D.  Doolittle ;  TreaBurer, 
B.  M.  PolhemuB. 

Sept.  3, 1872,  to  Sept.  2, 1873.— President,  Eev.  John  F.  Mesick,  D.D. ; 
Vice-President,  Eev.  Mr.  King ;  Secretary,  Eev.  William  Cornell ;  Treas» 
urer,  George  W.  Adair. 

Sept.  2,  1873,  to  Sept.  1,  1874.— President,  Eev.  B.  T.  Corwin;  Vice- 
President,  Joseph  Thompson ;  Secretary,  Eev.  Charles  H.  Pool ;  Trens-- 
urer,  George  W.  Adair. 

Sept.  1, 1874,  to  Sept.  7,  1875.— President,  Eev.  J.  C.  Eankin,  D.D. ; 
Vice-President,  Eev.  Mr.  Parsons ;  Secretary,  Eev.  P.  M.  Doolittle ;  Treas- 
urer, George  W.  Adair. 

Sept.  7, 1875,  to  Sept.  5, 1876.— President,  Ealph  Voorhees;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Eev.  J.  C.  Eankin,  D.D.;  Secretary,  Eev.  C.  H.  Pool;  Treasurer,. 
George  W.  Adair. 

Sept.  6,  1876,  to  Sept.  4,  1877.— President,  A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  Esq. ; 
Vice-President,  Herbert  Kingsbury ;  Secretary,  Eev.  C.  H.  Pool ;  Treas- 
urer, George  W.  Adair. 

Sept.  4, 1877,  to  Sept.  3,  1878.— President,  Eev.  A.  E.  Baldwin,  D.D. ;, 
Vice-President,  Eev.  John  Davis;  Secretaiy,  Eev.  C.  H.  Pool ;  Treasurer, 
George  W.  Adair. 

Sept.  3, 1878,  to  Sept.  2, 1879.— President,  Eev.  Peter  Gibb ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Eev.  J.  I.  Boswell;  Secretary,  Eev.  C.  H.  Pool;  Treasurer,  George 
W.  Adair. 

Sept.  2, 1879,  to  Sept.  7, 1880.— President,  Eev.  John  Hart;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Eev.  D.  W.  Eyder ;  Secretary,  Eev.  0.  H.  Pool;  Treasurer, ■  G.  W, 
Adair. 

Sept.  7, 1880,  to  Sept,  6, 1881.— President,  Hon.  Peter  A.  Voorhees ;  Vice- 
President,  Eev.  J.  B.  Mulford;  Secretary,  Eev.  C.  H.  Pool;  Treasurer, 
George  W.  Adair. 

Township  Secretories.— Bedminster,  Eev.  Samuel  Parry;  Bernard, 
Ealph  Voorhees;  Branchburg,  Hugh  Gaston;  Bridgewater,  P.  W. 
Mitchell;  Franklin,  Kev.  James  Le  Fevre;  Hillsborough,  Stephen 
Weaver ;  Montgomery,  David  C.  Voorhees ;  North  Plainfield,  James  K. 
Perrine ;  Warren,  Eev.  G.  F.  Apgar. 

AGRICULTURAL   SOCIETIES. 

The  Franklin  Agricultural  Society  of  Somerset 
County  was  incorporated  on  Aug.  17,  1857.  William 
D.  Bellis  conveyed  the  land  where  the  present  fair- 
grounds are  to  the  Franklin  Agricultural  Society. 
David  Sanderson,  of  White  House,  was  the  president 
most  if  not  all  the  time  of  its  existence.  Fairs  were 
held  annually  until  1868;  there  was  none  held  in 
1869. 

In  1870  the  Farmers'  and  Manufacturers'  Associa- 
tion was  incorporated,  and  held  an  election  of  officers 
July  16,  1870.  The  following  officers  were  elected  : 
Rynier  H.  Veghte,  President;  Abr.  T.  Hofl',  Vice- 
President  ;  Calvin  Corle,  Treasurer ;  William  S.  Pot- 
ter, Secretary;    and   nine  directors, — viz.,   E.  Van 


636 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Syckle,  A.  J.  Farrand,  A.  W.  Garretson,  A.  S.  Ten 
Eyck,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland,  J.  V.  D.  Powelson,  J.  V. 
Veghte,  J.  E.  Lewis,  and  C.  Barcalow.  At  a  subse- 
quent meeting  0.  Corle  and  Abr.  T.  Hoff  resigned, 
and  Job  C.  Kinyon  was  made  vice-president  and  L.  R. 
Vredenburgh  treasurer.  These  officers  remained  in 
office  for  several  years,  being  re-elected  annually.  E. 
H.  Veghte  as  president,  L.  E.  Vredenburgh  as  treas- 
urer, and  William  S.  Potter  as  secretary,  have  each 
been  re-elected  annually  since  the  organization. 

The  fair-grounds  were  rented  from  Mr.  Sanderson 
in  the  fall  of  1870,  when  the  first  fair  was  held  under 
the  new  organization.  In  1871  the  grounds  were 
purchased  of  him  for  twelve  thousand  dollars.  The 
fairs  have  been  held  annually  the  first  week  in  Octo- 
ber since  that  time,  with  an  average  profit  of  one 
thousand  dollars  per  year.  New  buildings  have  been 
erected  on  the  grounds,  and  the  fences  renewed  and 
repaired  as  occasion  required.  About  twelve  hun- 
dred shares  of  stock  have  been  issued,  at  five  dollars 
per  share.  The  fairs  have  been  well  attended  and 
the  exhibitions  all  that  the  society  could  expect. 
The  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  is  held  on 
the  third  Saturday  of  February  each  year,  in  the 
court-house  at  Somerville,  at  which  time  Prof  Cook, 
of  Eutgers  College,  gives  an  address  to  the  stock- 
holders. It  has  become  a  matter  of  so  much  interest 
to  the  farmers  that  the  court-house  is  now  filled  each 
year  to  hear  the  address.  The  society  owns  thirty- 
three  acres  in  the  inclosure,  and  about  nine  acres  out- 
side. There  is  only  a  debt  of  three  thousand  dollars 
remaining  yet  unpaid. 


CHAPTEE    XI. 
MEN  OF  PROMINENCE. 

Biographical  Sketches  of  John  Royce,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Lord  Stirling, 
Capt.  John  and  Gen.  Peter  I.  Stryker,  Alexander  and  James  Linn ; 
Kevs.  Wm.  Jackson,  John  Cornell,  Isaac  V.  Brown,  Spence  H.  Cone; 
T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  John  F.  Mesick,  Elbert  S.  Porter,  Morris  C.  Snt- 
phin ;  Theodore  Strong,  LL.D.,  Judge  Berrien,  Hon.  Peter  A.  Voor- 
hees,  Judge  Ealph  Yoorhees,  Hon.  Kynier  H.  Veghte,  William  H. 
Gatzmer,  Andrew  Hageman,  etc. 

Somerset  County  claims  the  nativity  and  resi- 
dence, within  her  bounds,  of  very  many  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  the  State,  eminent  soldiers, 
statesmen,  jurists,  divines,  learned  men  and  brave, 
and  patriots,  without  number.  While  a  royal  quarto 
volume  would  be  none  too  ample  for  their  memoirs, 
the  brief  space  which  can  here  be  given  them  will 
necessarily  admit  of  but  few  of  the  many,  and  those 
briefly  treated.  Biographical  sketches  of  the  promi- 
nent men  of  Somerset  may  be  found  scattered  all 
through  this  history,  in  its  various  departments,  and 
it  is  attempted  in  this  chapter  only  to  mention  a  few 
of  her  distinguished  sons,  dead  and  living,  not  else- 
where given. 


John  Eoyce  lived  first  at  Piscataway,  and  then  in 
what  has  since  been  known  as  Eoycefield,  near  the 
late  residence  of  John  J.  Staats.  He  was  a  merchant 
in  New  York,  but  came  to  Somerset  County  probably 
soon  after  the  date  of  the  Indian  purchase.  He  owned, 
or  claimed  to  own,  a  tract  of  twenty  thousand  acres 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Earitan,  about  which  some 
dispute  existed.  Andrew  Hamilton,  the  Governor, 
wrote  of  him  in  1700, — 

"  He  is  the  very  leader  of  the  troublesome  sort  of  the  people,  and  it  is 
he  that  infuses  the  motive  in  them  of  holding  to  their  Indian  titles." 

He  managed,  however,  to  maintain  his  position  and 
infiuence,  and  was  chosen  the  same  year  one  of  the 
representatives  of  New  Jersey  in  the  Colonial  Legis- 
lature ;  in  his  office  as  such  he  questioned  the  author- 
ity of  Governor  Hamilton  to  call  a  Legislative  Assem- 
bly, insisting  that  it  was  not  safe  to  act  without  the 
king's  approbation.  It  appears  that  he  had  been  one 
of  the  council  of  Hamilton,  appointed  on  his  arrival 
and  entrance  upon  office  in  1692.  One  of  his  de- 
scendants (it  must  have  been)  occupied  the  same  po- 
sition in  Governor  Franklin's  council  when  the  Eev- 
olution  commenced,  and  encouraged  the  capture  and 
supersedure  of  the  Governor  when  it  became  neces- 
sary to  displace  him.  When  the  family  sold  their 
possessions  and  when  they  retired  is  not  known.  The 
name  is  still  met  with  in  New  York  City,  and  is  also 
in  existence  in  Northern  New  York  and  in  Vermont. 

John  Eoyce  was  a  man  of  activity  and  energy  in 
his  day,  and  has  left  his  trace  upon  our  history  in  an 
unmistakable  way.  As  one  of  the  early  pioneers  he 
is  not  to  be  forgotten,  and  ought  not  to  be  sufi'ered  to 
pass  without  commanding  his  appropriate  meed  of 
honor.  He  was  at  all  times  a  man  of  the  people,  and 
could  be  depended  upon  when  resistance  to  authority 
was  necessary  to  the  defense  of  their  rights. 

Hendrick  Fisher. — Perhaps  one  of  the  most 
striking  relics  of  the  olden  time  is  the  birthplace  of 
Hendrick  Fisher,  who  was  the  Samuel  Adams  of 
New  Jersey.  The  house  is  situated  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Earitan,  about  one  mile  southeast  from  the 
centre  of  the  village.  In  this  house,  in  1703,  the 
same  year  in  which  the  elder  Hendrick  Fisher  pur- 
chased it,  was  born  Hendrick  Fisher,  the  son,  whose 
name  is  intimately  connected  with  Eevolutionary  his- 
tory. The  father  purchased  the  premises  directly 
from  William  Dockwra,  who  had  purchased  a  tract 
of  nine  hundred  acres  south  of  Bound  Brook.  The 
house  referred  to  is  still  standing,  and  is  the  residence 
of  Abram  I.  Brokaw ;  it  was  probably  built  by  Dockwra 
in  1688. 

Major-Gen.  William  Alexander. — William 
Alexander  (Lord  Stirling)  was  the  son  of  James 
Alexander,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  took  refuge  in 
America  in  1716,  in  consequence  of  the  part  he  had 
taken  in  favor  of  the  House  of  Stuart  in  the  rebellion 
of  the  preceding  year.  William  was  born  in  New 
York  City  in  1726.     After  receiving  a  liberal  educa- 


MEN  OF   PROMINENCE. 


637 


tion  he  succeeded  his  father  as  surveyor-general  of 
New  Jersey.  He  subsequently  became  a  merchant, 
and  a  commissary  of  the  army  in  1755,  serving  as  an 
aide-de-camp  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Shirley  during  three 
campaigns  of  that  war.  He  accompanied  Shirley  to 
England,  and  there  he  succeeded  in  establishing  his 
claim,  as  nearest  male  heir,  to  the  title  and  estates  of 
the  vacant  earldom  of  Stirling.  He  returned  to 
America  in  1761,  residing  first  at  New  York,  but 
soon  built  a  residence  at  Basking  Eidge,  on  a  tract  of 
land  inherited  from  his  father ;  this  was  for  a  time 
his  summer  retreat,  and  eventually  his  permanent 
abode.  He  there  lived  in  a  truly  baronial  style.  He 
was  soon  chosen  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Council, 
which  station  he  continued  to  fill  until  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  was  one  of  the  foremost  opposers  of  the 
Stamp  Act  in  America.  In  1775  he  was  appointed 
colonel  of  the  First  Regiment.  He  was  soon  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  ard  succeeded 
to  the  command  of  New  York.  At  the  battle  of  Long 
Island  he  was  made  a  prisoner,  but  soon  exchanged, 
and  rejoined  the  array.  He  prevented  the  advance 
of  Cornwallis  to  Morristown,  and  watched  the  British 
at  Princeton  while  Washington  attacked  the  Hessians 
at  Trenton;  was  promoted  to  be  major-general;  en- 
gaged Cornwallis  at  Scotch  Plains  and  Metuchen 
Meeting-House ;  took  an  active  part  in  the  battles  of 
Brandywine,  Germantown,  Monmouth,  etc.  He  pre- 
sided at  the  court-martial  of  Gen.  Lee.  In  October, 
1778,  Lord  Stirling  was  in  command  of  the  troops 
stationed  in  New  Jersey  to  watch  the  motions  of  the 
British  fleet  and  army  in  New  York,  and  was  so  em- 
ployed until  the  close  of  the  year.  In  the  campaigns 
of  1779-81  he  had  command  of  the  Northern  Depart- 
ment, and  took  measures  to  repel  the  threatened  in- 
vasion from  Canada.  The  remainder  of  the  autumn 
of  1781,  and  earlier  part  of  the  winter  of  1782,  were 
spent  by  him  in  New  Jersey,  where  he  held  the  mili- 
tary command,  although  residing  at  Basking  Ridge. 
He  then  returned  to  the  command  of  the  Northern 
Department,  in  which  he  was  engaged  when  he  died 
at  Albany,  Jan.  15,  1783,  in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  buried  in  the  ancient  Dutch  church 
of  that  place,  but  his  bones  were  subsequently  re- 
moved to  the  cemetery  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  left  a  widow 
and  two  daughters,  —  Mary,  who  married  Robert 
Watts,  Esq.,  and  Catharine,  the  wife  of  Col.  William 
Duer,  all  now  deceased. 

Capt.  John  Steyker,  who  lived  near  Millstone, 
Somerset  Co.,  was  "a  noted  trooper  of  the  Revolu- 
tion," in  command  of  the  company  of  Somerset  light- 
horse  which  so  damaged  and  harassed  the  British 
troops  when  they  occupied  New  Brunswick,  Newark, 
and  Elizabethtown.  His  son.  Dr.  Peter  I.  Stryker, 
figured  notably  in  the  war,  for,  although  but  a  boy  of 
thirteen,  "he  assisted  in  furnishing  supplies  to  the 
American  troops  stationed  near  his  home,  particularly 
the  brigade  of  Gen.  Wayne,  which  marched  from 


their  headquarters  at  Millstone  in  the  early  summer 
of  1779  to  Stony  Point,  on  the  Hudson."* 

Gen.  Peter  I.  Steyker  was  the  son  of  Capt.  John 
Stryker,  just  mentioned.  Dr.  Stryker  was  born  about 
a  mile  north  of  Millstone  church,  on  June  22,  1766. 
At  thirteen  he  assisted  in  furnishing  supplies  to  the 
American  troops  stationed  on  the  farm  of  Henry  Gar- 
retson,  particularly  to  the  brigade  of  Gen.  Wayne, 
which  wintered  near  the  place  now  called  Harmony 
Plains  in  1778-79.  He  studied  medicine,  and  was  in 
due  time  licensed  as  a  physician.  After  practicing 
about  six  years  at  Millstone  he  removed  to  Somer- 
ville,  where  he  entered  into  the  practice  of  Dr.  Jona- 
than F.  Morris.  He  remained  in  Somerville  until  the 
end  of  his  life,  Oct.  19, 1859.  He  was  frequently  hon- 
ored with  offices  of  trust  and  influence.  He  was 
high  sheriff'  of  the  county,  a  State  senator,  and 
for  several  years  vice-president  of  the  Upper  House. 
On  one  occasion  in  this  position  he  was  acting  Gov- 
ernor. He  early  exhibited  a  decided  military  taste, 
and  rose  through  the  various  grades  of  the  service  to 
the  rank  of  senior  major-general,  as  the  successor  of 
Gen.  Doughty.  He  held  this  post  for  more  than  thirty 
years.  As  a  mark  of  respect  for  his  age  and  long  ser- 
vice, forty  officers  of  the  New  Jersey  troops,  led  by 
Governor  Newell,  assembled  at  his  funeral,  and  his 
remains  were  borne  to  their  last  resting-place  with 
military  honors. 

Gen.  Stryker's  life  as  a  citizen  and  a  public  man 
was  made  complete  by  his  character  as  a  Christian. 
As  such  he  was  humble,  devout,  and  consistent.  He 
united  with  the  church  at  Millstone  in  May,  1799, 
and  in  1810  with  the  church  of  Somerville.  His 
wife,  Helena  Schenck,  united  with  the  same  church 
in  July,  1799. 

Dr.  Stryker  was  a  man  of  mark.  His  intellect  was 
vigorous  and  well  developed.  As  a  gentleman  he  was 
kind,  courtepus,  and  dignified;  as  a  physician  he  was 
valued  and  esteemed  by  all  classes.  He  was  consid- 
erate towards  the  poor. 

Alexander  and  James  Linn. — In  the  Laming- 
ton  churchyard  repose  the  remains  of  Alexander  Linn,t 
who  was  probably  father  of  James  Linn,  whose  single 
vote  made  Thomas  Jefferson  President  of  the  United 

*  Dr.  Wickea,  in  "  Hist,  of  N.  J.  Med.,"  pp.  414-15. 
f  The  inacription  is  as  follows  : 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  Alexander  Linn,  Esq. 

"  Who  departed  this  life  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  Anno 

Domini  1776. 

"He  was  for  many  years  in  the  Commission  of  the  peace,  and  some 
time  before  his  death  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  Common  Pleas  in  the 
county  of  Somerset,  and  an  elder  in  this  church. 

"  All  which  Characters  he  supported  with  dignity  and  Reputation.  His 
Family  and  the  Public  deplore  the  loss  tbey  have  sustained  by  his  death, 
■while  his  christian  friends  console  Ihemfielves  with  the  joyful  expecta- 
tion of  meeting  him  among  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect. 

"  When  fevered  and  sinking  to  the  shade  of  Death,  he  gasped  with 
pain  for  every  laboring  breath,  sure  then  his  soul  by  some  blest  fortune, 
knew  his  full  Deliverance  from  eternal  Woe.  Assured  with  so  bright  a 
hope,  he  did  not  fear  to  see  his  Death  hourly  approach  more  near,  and  hia 
faith  strengthened  as  his  life  decayed.  His  dying  breath  went  up  to 
heaven  in  Praise." 


638 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


States.  The  coatest,  transferred  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, was  long  and  bitter;  for  thirty-five  times 
the  ballots  were  taken,  and  neither  candidate  had  the 
necessary  majority.  New  Jersey  had  five  members  in 
the  House,  two  of  whom  were  for  Burr  and  two  for 
Jefferson.  James  Linn,  the  Somerset  County  man, 
was  the  fifth,  and  consequently  held  the  balance  of 
power.  On  the  thirty-sixth  ballot  he  voted  for  Jefi"er- 
son,  threw  New  Jersey  in  his  favor,  and  gave  him 
the  requisite  number  of  States  to  elect  him.  In  a 
speech  made  in  1802  by  Senator  Bayard,  ancestor  of 
the  present  senator,  occur  these  utterances  : 

"  I  know  how  great,  and  greatly  felt,  was  the  importance  of  the  vote  of 
Mr.  Linn,  of  New  Jersey.  The  delegation  of  the  State  consists  of  five 
members.  .  .  .  Both  parties  looked  up  to  him  for  the  vote  of  New  Jersey. 
He  gave  it  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  Mr.  Linn  has  since  had  the  profitable 
office  of  supervisor  of  his  district  conferred  upon  him."* 

The  Linns  were  a  noted  Somerset  family  of  the  early 
day,  lived  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Mine  Brook 
road,  and  owned  large  tracts  extending  back  towards 
Peapack.f  It  is  said  they  were  staunch  Whigs  during 
the  Revolution,  and  often  had  conflicts  with  their 
neighbors  on  account  of  their  afiiliation  with  the  pa- 
triot cause.  James  Linn  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Legislature  (1793-97),  a  member  of  Congress,  1799- 
1801,  Secretary  of  State  in  1809,  and  died  in  Trenton, 
N.  J.,  in  1821.  He  lived  on  State  Street,  Trenton,  just 
beyond  the  Chancery  house. 

Rev.  William  Jackson  was  one  of  the  early 
preachers  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Somerset 
County.  He  was  born  in  1732,  studied  under  J.  Fre- 
linghuysen  and  J.  H.  Goetschius,  and  was  licensed  in 
1767.  He  was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  Queens 
College.  Tradition  speaks  of  him  as  a  learned  man 
and  a  devoted  minister.  He  had  a  commanding  voice, 
and  was,  in  the  Dutch  language,  a  powerful  orator. 
As  a  field-preacher  he  was  esteemed  second  only  to 
Whitefleld.  On  one  occasion,  while  preaching  at 
Raritan,  the  assemblage  was  so  large  that  to  be  heard 
by  all,  outside  and  within  the  church,  he  took  his 
station  at  the  door  and  preached.  In  1759  he  was 
called  as  a  colleague  to  Dominie  Hardenbergh  at  Rar- 
itan, but  declined.     He  died  in  1813. 

Theodore  Strong,  LL.D.,  was  son  of  Rev.  Joseph 
Strong  and  Sophia  Woodbridge,  and  was  born  July 
26,  1790,  at  South  Hadley,  Mass.  He  was  graduated 
at  Yale  College  in  1812,  and  was  professor  of  mathe- 
matics and  natural  philosophy  in  his  Alma  Mater, 
1816-27.  He  was  then  chosen  to  the  professorship  of 
the  same  branches  in  Rutgers  College,  and  so  con- 
tinued for  thirty-five  years  (1827-62).  He  was  one  of 
the  original  members  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences.  From  the  first  the  whole  strength 
of  his  distinguished  and  cultivated  powers  of  mind 
was  given   to   mathematical   studies.     The  hardest 


*  N.  Y.  BeraU,  Dec.  23, 1876. 

t  James  Linn  seems  to  have  been  the  owner  of  the  large  farm  which 
came  into  the  handa  of  Judge  Voorhees'  father  (Clinton).  James  Linn's 
only  child  married  the  Kev.  D.  V.  McLean,  of  Morm  muUtcaulis  memory. 


problems  which  had  long  baffled  the  efforts  of  others 
he  liked  best  to  attack  and  conquer.  His  range  of 
mathematical  investigation  and  attainment  spread 
through  the  highest  sphere  of  inquiries,  wherein  New- 
ton and  La  Place  had  gone  before  him.  He  early 
solved  some  difficult  questions  pertaining  to  the 
circle,  propounded  as  a  challenge  in  Rees'  "  Encyclo- 
paedia" by  some  distinguished  Scotch  mathematicians. 
He  completed  the  solution  of  cubic  equations  in  a 
truly  scientific  way,  which  European  mathematicians 
had  failed  to  accomplish.  By  a  most  ingenious  mode 
of  factoring  he  devised  a  method  of  extracting  any 
root  of  any  integral  number  by  a  direct  process.  In 
1859  he  published  a  "  Treatise  on  Algebra,"  in  which 
he  presented  the  whole  science  in  original  forms  of 
his  own, — a  thorough  piece  of  solid  intellectual  ma- 
son-work. 

In  the  summer  of  1867  he  wrote  out  largely,  if  not 
wholly,  a  volume  on  the  "  Differential  and  Integral 
Calculus,''  full  of  new  processes  and  results  of  his 
own  origination.  He  was  industrious,  thoughtful, 
simple-minded,  humble,  cheerful,  and  happy.  He 
was  a  man  of  remarkable  gentleness  of  spirit,  and  at 
the  same  time  of  great  ardor  in  his  moral  convictions. 
He  was  a  patriot,  and  took  a  great  interest  in  the  po- 
litical and  social  questions  of  the  times,  and  occupied 
always  the  advanced  positions  of  the  hour  in  all  mat- 
ters of  social  reform.  He  was  of  full  height  and 
breadth  in  his  physique,  of  dark  complexion  and  dark 
eyes,  and  had  a  very  intellectual  face.  He  was  very 
regular  in  his  habits  and  enjoyed  robust  health.  He 
possessed  a  competency,  and  his  life  abounded  in  good 
works.  He  believed  unwaveringly  the  Word  of  God, 
though  he  did  not  make  a  profession  of  his  faith 
until  near  the  close  of  life.  He  died  at  his  home,  in 
Franklin  township,  near  New  Brunswick,  Feb.  1, 
1869.  He  married  Lucy  Dix,  of  Littleton,  Mass., 
Sept.  23,  1818.     She  died  in  1875. 

Rev.  John  Cornell  was  born  at  Northampton, 
Pa.,  in  1775.  He  studied  theology  with  Dr.  Living- 
ston, and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Classis  of  New 
York  in  1798.  He  was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  of  Allentown  and  Nottingham,  N.  J.,  for 
twenty-one  years,  1800-21.  He  then  taught  a  classi- 
cal school  in  Somerville  for  seven  years,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Millstone,  where  he  died  in  1835.  He  mar- 
ried Maria,  daughter  of  Maj.-Gen.  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen.  His  son  Theodore  F.,  M.D.,  died  quite  re- 
cently at  New  Baltimore,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year 
of  his  age.  (For  an  account  of  his  sons.  Rev.  Fred- 
eric Cornell  and  Rev.  James  A.  H.  Cornell,  see  Cor- 
win's  "Manual.") 

Rev.  Isaac  V.  Brown,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  born  at 
Pluckamin  in  1784,  and  died  in  Trenton  in  1861.  He 
was  the  father  of  Judge  Brown,  of  Somerville.  He 
graduated  at  Princeton  College  and  Seminary,  and  es- 
tablished the  famous  school  for  boys  at  Lawrenceville, 
Mercer  Co.  In  1830  he  was  employing  four  teachers 
— two  English,  one  Spanish,  and  one  French — and 


MEN   OF  PROMINENCE. 


639 


had  eighty  scholars,  many  of  them  from  the  Southern 
States,  and  sixty  of  whom  boarded  at  his  own  house 
and  table.  His  "  Memoir  of  Dr.  Finley"  was  widely 
circulated,  and  his  "  Old-School  Presbyterianism  De- 
fended"^-six  able  letters  published  in  book  form  in 
1855  by  Maxtien,  Philadelphia — created  great  enthu- 
siasm at  the  time  over  the  Southern  States,  for  which 
section  they  were  specially  adapted.  Pie  lived  at 
Trenton  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life.* 

Eey.  Spencer  H.  Cone,  D.D.,  one  of  the  distin- 
guished divines  of  the  Baptist  Church,  was  born  in 
Somerset  County,  at  Princeton,  April  30,  1785,  and 
died  in  New  York,  Aug.  28,  1855.  Entering  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey  at  the  early  age  of  twelve,  he 
subsequently  taught  in  the  Princeton  academy,  and 
afterwards  in  Burlington  and  Philadelphia.  An  Epis- 
copal bishop  advised  him  to  go  upon  the  stage,  and  he 
did  so,  making  his  dSbut  in  1805,  in  the  Old  Chestnut 
Street  Theatre,!  Philadelphia.  He  achieved  great 
success  in  the  profession,  and  it  is  now  interesting  to 
note  that  his  talents  in  this  direction,  dormant  in  his 
later  years  and  not  noticeable  in  his  children,  have 
been  redeveloped  and  intensified  in  the  person  of  his 
granddaughter,  the  famous  Kate  Claxton,  one  of  the 
most  promising  present  lights  of  the  American  stage. 
It  proves  that  heredity  is  not  a  figment  of  the  imagina- 
tion. In  1812  he  left  the  theatre  in  order  to  marry  a 
lady  who  would  not  join  hands  with  him  save  on  con- 
dition that  he  did  so.  He  became  editor  of  the  Bal- 
timore American,  ioineA  a  regiment  in  the  war  of  1812, 
was  converted,  and  entered  the  ministry.  He  was 
chaplain  to  Congress  in  1815-16,  pastor  at  Alexandria, 
Va.,  1816-23,  then  removed  to  New  York,  and  was 
settled  over  the  Oliver  Street  Baptist  Church  until 
1821,  when  he  became  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  of  New  York  City  until  his  death.  He  was 
the  leading  controversialist  and  director  of  measures  in 
the  Baptist  Church  in  the  United  States  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  before  his  decease. 

Rev.  John  F.  Mesick,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  Second 
Reformed  Church  of  Somerville,  although  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  history  of  that  church,  deserves 
further  notice  because  of  his  great  usefulness  in  all 
the  religious  and  moral,  reforms  which  have  aroused 
the  feelings  of  the  Christian  people  in  the  county. 
In  temperance  matters  he  has  always  been  promi- 
nently active;  also  in  Sunday-school  conventions 
and  Bible-society  work,  etc.  Born  at  Catskill,  N.  Y., 
in  June,  1813,  he  is  now  sixty-seven  years  of  age, 
but  the  vigor  of  his  mind  and  body  is  yet  unabated. 
He  married  Jane  L.  F.,  daughter  of  Dr.  Perrine,  of 
Blawenburg,  and  has  one  son,  a  lawyer  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  one  married  daughter.  He  graduated 
at  Rutgers  College  and  Seminary,  and  was  pastor  of 
the  German  Reformed  Church  of  Harrisburg  from 

*  See  chapter  on  "  Authors  of  Somerset  County." 

t  For  years  it  waa  pablished  and  believed  that  he  was  playing  in  the 
Bichmond  Theatre  when  it  was  burned,  but  he  has  denied  it  over  his  own 
signature. 


1840-55 ;  was  called  to  Somerville  in  1855,  where  he 
still  resides.  He  is  a  man  of  singular  purity  of  char- 
acter and  uprightness  in  all  his  dealings,  and  his 
ministrations  have  been  fruitful  and  blessed.  A  list 
of  his  writings  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  "Au- 
thors of  Somerset  County." 

Ret.  T.  De  Witt  Talmage,  D.D.,  is  so  well  known 
as  an  American  clergyman  that  little  need  be  recorded 
in  this  place  save  the  fact  that  he  has  never  forgotten 
that  his  birth,  early  education,  boyhood  memories, 
and  nearest  relatives  were  in  that  circle  of  territory 
described  by  the  arc  of  which  Somerville,  Millstone, 
Bound  Brook,  and  the  First  Mountain  were  on  the 
outer  lines.  He  was  born  Jan.  7,  1832,  on  the  Tal- 
mage farm,  two  miles  east  of  Someiwille,  on  the  old 
turnpike  from  Easton  to  New  Brunswick.  In  his 
sermons  and  addresses  he  has  frequently  described  his 
youth  as  full  of  mischief,  romp,  and  frolic,  and  his 
father  and  mother  as  of  the  salt  of  the  earth.  He 
went  to  the  common  schools,  and  graduated  at  New 
York  University  in  1853,  and  at  the  New  Bruns- 
wick Seminary  three  years  later.  His  first  pastorate 
was  at  Belleville,  this  State,  for  three  years ;  then  at 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  three  years;  then  he  spent  seven 
years  in  Philadelphia  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Re- 
formed Church,  and  in  1869  was  called  to  his  present 
charge  over  the  Brooklyn  Tabernacle.  He  married 
Mary  Avery  in  June,  1856 ;  she  was  drowned  by  the 
capsizing  of  a  boat  on  the  Schuylkill  (about  1862), 
and  subsequently  (May,  1863)  he  married  Susan 
Whitteraore. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  man  in  the  world — certainly 
there  is  none  in  America — who  would  draw  such 
large  audiences  to-day  in  any  city  in  the  Union  as 
Dr.  Talmage.  He  is  an  odd  man,  a  most  eccentric 
personage ;  nevertheless,  he  has  true  genius,  coupled 
with  an  energy  which  never  tires,  and  a  success  in  the 
winning  of  souls  which  is  remarkable.  He  frequently 
visits  Somerset  County  to  lecture,  although  he  usually 
makes  no  charge  for  it  to  the  church  engaging  him.  J 

Rev.  Elbeet  S.  Porter,  D.D.,  well  known  through- 
out the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  as  the  editor  of  The 
Christian  Intelligencer  for  many  years,  was  born  in 
the  township  of  Hillsborough,  Somerset  Co.,  Oct.  23, 
1820.  When  six  years  of  age  he  removed  to  Sen- 
eca Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  for  a  time  he  attended  school ; 
afterwards  he  was  placed  in  a  grammar  school  in 
New  York  City.  When  eleven  years  of  age  he  was 
entered  as  a  clerk  in  a  general  country  store  in  the 
village  of  Millstone,  where  he  remained  scarcely  a 
year,  having  shown  more  fondness  for  study  than 
for  the  details  of  business.  He  was  fitted  for  college 
in  the  academy  in  Somerville,  then  under  the  care 
of  Rev.  William  J.  Thompson,  and  entered  Nassau 
Hall,  Princeton,  1836,  as  a  sophomore,  being  grad- 
uated there  in  1839.  His  intention  had  been  to  study 
law,  and  he  was  accordingly  taken  for  a  short  time 

X  See  chapter  on  "  Authors  of  Somerset  County." 


640 


SOMEESET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


into  the  office  of  the  late  Thomas  A.  Hartwell,  Esq. 
Three  months  afterwards  he  resolved  to  study  the- 
ology, and  went  to  New  Brunswick,  where  he  availed 
himself  of  the  instructions  of  the  professors.  Not 
having  yet  made  a  profession  of  religion,  but  being 
rather  an  inquirer,  he  did  not  become  a  regular  mem- 
ber of  the  seminary  until  the  following  year,  1840. 

Having  received  a  license  to  preach,  he  was  at  once 
placed  as  a  missionary  in  the  village  of  Chatham,  Co- 
lumbia Co.,  N.  Y.  In  1852,  under  direction  or  by 
authority  of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  he  was  elected  editor  of  The  Christian  In- 
telligencer, and  continued  such  for  sixteen  years. 
In  1870  he  was  employed  by  its  proprietor  to  write 
editorials, — a  service  which,  under  different  owners, 
he  has  continued  until  this  time.  When  the  Eev.  T. 
DeWitt  Talmage,  D.D.,.was  made  editor-in-chief  of 
the  Christian  at  Work,  Dr.  Porter  became  literary 
editor, — a  position  which  he  held  during  four  years. 
He  was  previous  to  that  time  and  since  a  large  con- 
tributor to  the  press  of  the  county. 

Dr.  Porter  has  been  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church 
in  Williamsburg  since  1849,  spending  his  summers  at 
his  country-seat  at  Claverack,  Columbia  Co.,  N.  Y., 
and  is  always  full  of  work,  religious  and  literary.  He 
is  a  marvel  of  industry,  and  will  be  while  his  life  and 
health  last. 

Rev.  Moeeis  Ceatee  Sutphin,  D.D.,  one  of  the 
most  promising  clergymen  of  Somerset  nativity,  was 
born  Deo.  1, 1836,  in  Bedminster  township.  His  early 
classical  training  was  given  by  Rev.  Dr.  Blauvelt,  of 
Lamington,  whom  he  revered  and  loved,  and  for 
whom  he  always  endeavored  to  preach  when  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  early  home.  He  graduated 
from  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  June,  1856,  with 
the  second  honor,  and  entered  Princeton  Seminary  in 
September.  In  April,  1859,  he  was  elected  tutor  of 
mathematics  in  the  college,  and  in  August  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  chair  of  Greek.  The  same  year  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Rahway,  and 
in  March,  1860,  was  called  to  be  the  colleague  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  of  the  Spring  Garden 
Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia.  When  the  latter 
died,  Feb.  13,  1863,  Mr.  Sutphin  became  sole  pastor. 
In  March,  1866,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Scotch  Pres- 
byterian Church,  N.  Y.  ;  in  1869  his  congregation 
sent  him  to  Europe.  The  college  from  which  he 
graduated  gave  him  the  degree  of  D.D.  in  1871.  In 
October,  1872,  ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign  his 
charge.  He  had  now  the  seeds  of  consumption,  and 
a  trip  South  was  taken  in  the  winter  of  1872-73,  and 
another  in  1873-74 ;  the  latter  period  he  supplied  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Jacksonville,  Fla.  He  spent 
the  following  winter  in  Morristown,  and  died  June 
18,  1875.  His  wife  was  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Rev. 
William  Brush,  of  Bedminster,  whom  he  married 
June  28,  1860. 

Dr.  Sutphin  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen.  Whole- 
hearted, frank,  happy,  full  of  good  humor,  handsome 


in  appearance,  courteous  to  all,  highly  cultured,  a 
ripe  student,  he  had  also  a  dignified  presence  in  the 
pulpit,  and  all  those  gifts  in  preaching  which  attract 
attention  and  awaken  thought  and  conviction.  He 
never  wearied  his  congregation;  he  never  "wore  out 
his  welcome."  All  who  came  in  contact  with  him 
felt  the  magnetism  of  his  soul  and  loved  him  with  a 
love  that  will  live  beyond  the  grave.* 

Judge  J.  MacPheeson  Beeeien. — The  name  of 
Judge  Berrien  will  long  confer  honor  upon  the  county 
and  State  of  his  birth,  as  well  as  upon  the  State  of  his 
adoption.  He  was  the  grandson  of  Judge  John  Ber- 
rien, of  Rocky  Hill,  colonial  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  born  near  Rock  Mills,! 
Somerset  Co.,  Aug.  23,  1781.  When  young  he  went 
to  Georgia  to  reside,  which  place  was  his  life-long 
abode  thereafter.  He  graduated  at  Princeton  College, 
however,  and  subsequently  attained  to  high  honors  at 
home  and  at  the  capital  of  the  nation.  From  1810  to 
1822  he  was  judge  of  the  Eastern  District  of  Georgia, 
then  entered  the  State  Senate,  in  1824  was  sent  to  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  there  established  a  high 
reputation  as  both  an  orator  and  a  statesman.  He 
was  for  two  years  United  States  Attorney-General, 
resigning  in  1831,  when  Gen.  Jackson's  Cabinet  was 
not  harmonious.  He  was  again  in.  the  United  States 
Senate  from  1840  to  1852.  He  died  at  Savannah  Jan. 
1,  1856. 

Hon.  Petee  A.  Vooehees,  although  possessed  of 
but  a  common-school  education,  has  occupied  many 
positions  of  trust  and  honor,  and  is  still  sought  out  by 
his  neighbors  for  counsel  and  help  in  most  of  the 
public  business  of  his  township.  He  was  born  Nov. 
6,  1802,  and  has  always  been  a  farmer.  In  183S 
he  was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county,  in  1857-62  was 
collector,  and  served  two  years  as  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  in  1867-68.  At  Sunday-school,  Bible- 
society,  and  temperance  gatherings  he  is  always 
present,  being  one  of  the  wheel-horses  of  all  causes 
which  are  for  the  good  of  society  and  the  Church. 
He  has  occasionally  contributed  to  the  press. {  In 
politics  he  is  an  ardent  Republican,  and  has  done 
much  towards  giving  that  party  the  success  it  has 
recently  had  in  the  county.  Though  in  the  after- 
noon of  his  life,  Sheriff  Voorhees  is  still  mentally 
vigorous. 

Judge  Ralph  Voorhees,  of  Middlebush,  was  not 
only  a  simple-hearted  but  eminently  a  pure-minded 
man.  He  never  seemed  to  have  any  purpose  of  his 
own  to  answer,  but  he  did  good  because  he  loved 
the  "good."  He  was  an  earnest  friend  of  education, 
whether  it  was  that  of  the  home,  the  Sabbath-school, 
or  the  public  school.  He  loved  children,  and  they, 
loved  him.  In  the  matter  of  public  education  he 
was  an  enthusiast ;  he  spoke  for  it,  wrote  for  it,  la- 

*  See  chapter  on  "Books  and  Authors  of  Somerset  County,"  in  this 
work. 
t  So  it  has  been  stated  in  a  published  sketch  of  him. 
t  See  Chapter  IX.,  ante. 


MEN  OF   PROMINENCE. 


641 


bored  for  it,  in  every  possible  way.  He  was  a  noble, 
warm-hearted  man,  and,  best  of  all,  a  true  Christian. 
His  series  of  papers  on  local  historical  subjects  are 
marvelous  for  their  fullness  of  details.  The  last 
twelve  years  of  his  life  were  spent  largely  in  gather- 
ing and  collating  old  documents.  He  also  put  on 
record  many  traditions  relating  to  the  southern  half 
of  Somerset  County.  He  was  a  perfect  store-house  of 
local  facts.  His  collection  of  original  papers  is  now^n 
the  hands  of  his  son,  Ralph  Voorhees,  of  Middlebush. 
"Without  his  painstaking  diligence,  much  of  the  fam- 
ily history  in  this  volume  would  not  have  been  gath- 
ered. He  was  a  welcome  visitor  at  almost  every 
house.  He  often  delivered  familiar  lectures  on  old 
times  and  old  customs,  and  was  sure  to  interest  his 
audience.  He  was  a  capital  story-teller.  He  had 
been  a  county  judge.  He  died  at  the  ripe  of  eighty- 
two,  July  26,  1878,  being  bom  June  20,  1796.* 

HoK.  Rtniee  H.  Veqhte  was  born  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Raritan,  near  Somerville,  April  22,  1811. 
He  received  a  substantial  business  education,  and 
when  fourteen  years  old  went  to  New  York  and  took 
a  situation  in  a  jobbing  and  importing  crockery- 
house.  In  1834  he  organized  the  firm  of  Veghte  & 
Lippincott  in  the  same  business,  but  was  burned  out 
in  1835.  He  subsequently  became  a  partner  in  the 
firm  of  Wright,  Skiller  &  Co.  He  was  eminently 
successful  in  business,  and  retired  in  1857  to  his  early 
home.  In  1860  he  became  a  State  senator,  and  served 
for  three  years.  Although  acting  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  he  was  never  a  mere  political  partisan. 
During  the  Rebellion  he  was  an  earnest  and  practical 
friend  of  the  Union.  In  1876  he  accepted  an. inde- 
pendent nomination  to  Congress,  in  opposition  to  the 
regular  Democratic  nominee,  and  received  a  large 
vote,  but  was  defeated ;  he  carried  his  own  county. 
He  has  held  various  offices, — as  trustee  of  the  State 
normal  school,  member  of  the  State  board  of  educa- 
tion, president  of  the  Home  for  Disabled  Soldiers, 
leading  director  of  the  Somerset  County  Bank,  and 
president  of  the  Somerset  County  Agricultural  So- 
ciety. He  married,  in  1835,  Maria  Theresa  Freder- 
icks, of  New  York. 

"William  H.  Gatzmer,  the  prominent  railroad 
promoter  and  manager,  was  born  near  Somerville, 
July  22, 1807.  He  is  of  German  descent  on  the  pa- 
ternal side,  his  father  having  emigrated  from  Coburg, 
Germany,  and  settled  near  Philadelphia  in  1794,  and 
later  in  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  William  resided  in  Som- 
erville until  1829,  meanwhile  acting  as  a  merchant's 
clerk  and  serving  an  apprenticeship  to  the  printing 
business.  In  1880  he  obtained  a  situation  with  the 
steamboat  firm  of  Stevens  Brothers,  of  New  York  City, 
as  clerk  on  the  "  North  America,"  then  plying  on  the 
North  River.  In  1833  he  was  clerk  on  the  steamboat 
between  New  York  and  South  Amboy,  and  in  1835 
was  transferred  to  the  general  business  office  of  the 

*  See  "  Books  and  Authoreof  Somerset  County,"  Chap.  IX.,  in  preceding 


Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad,  in  Philadelphia.  In 
1840  he  was  appointed  general  agentof  the  joint  com- 
panies. In  1867  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Cam- 
den and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  and  so  continued 
until  it  was  leased  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany. He  became  interested  in  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  in  1853,  was  one  of  its  first  directors,  and 
continued  as  such  until  January,  1880.  He  became 
consulting  manager  in  1872,  which  position  he  filled 
until  1880.  When  twenty-two  years  of  age  (1829)  he 
married  Eliza  Campbell,  of  New  York  City. 

Andrew  Hageman,  of  Raritan,  111.,  was  born  on 
the  homestead  of  Andrew  Hageman,  Sr.,  in  Branch- 
burg  township, — ^the  farm  now  owned  by  G.  L.  Ker- 
shaw,— June  27,  1824.  He  entered  Rutgers  in  Sep- 
tember, 1848,  but,  owing  to  sickness,  left  college,  and 
in  1856  went  to  Raritan,  111.,  to  farm.  In  March, 
1868,  he  founded  the  Bushnell  Beeord,  and  published 
it  for  three  years.  He  has  written  a  great  deal  for 
the  press,  including  not  only  literary  but  horticultural 
topics.  He  is  at  present  engaged  in  the  furniture  and 
undertaking  business,  also  in-painting  and  ornamenta- 
tion (including  landscapes  and  portraits).  He  is  a 
genius  in  his  way,  and  "  Prairieside  Farm,"  half  a 
mile  from  Raritan,  is  the  scene  of  labor  and  thought 
sufficient  to  carry  on  a  small  town  in  New  Jersey. 

J.  Newton  Voorhees  was  born  in  Hillsborough, 
Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Jan.  19,  1836.  He  is  by  profes- 
sion a  teacher,  and  was  until  his  election  to  the  As- 
sembly in  1877  almost  an  entire  stranger  to  politics. 
In  that  year,  following  the  wishes  of  many  friends, 
he  accepted  the  Republican  nomination  in  the  Second 
District  of  Somerset  County.  He  received  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-four  majority  in  1877.  In  the  Leg- 
islature of  1878  he  served  on  the  committee  on  rail- 
roads and  canals,  and  on  the  joint  committee  on  public 
grounds  and  Tauildings.  He  was  re-elected  by  an  in- 
creased majority  (four  hundred  and  six)  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  1879,  as  a  representative  of  the  same  district 
of  Somerset  County.  He  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  education,  and  served  on  other  important 
committees. 

Hon.  Miles  Ross,  of  New  Brunswick,  member  of 
Congress  from  the  Third  District  of  New  Jersey 
(Monmouth,  Middlesex,  and  Union  Counties)  from 
1874  to  1882,  is  a  native  of  Somerset  County,  being 
born  at  Raritan  in  1828.  He  removed  to  New  Bruns- 
wick with  his  father  at  an  early  age,  with  which  place 
he  has  since  been  prominently  identified. 

Hon.  John  G.  Schenck,  of  Neshanic,  State  sen- 
ator, was  born  in  the  county  which  he  represents  (at 
Neshanic),  Jan.  2,  1823,  and  is  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion. He  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  in  1861-63 
and  1872-74.  He  is  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Somerville,  and  of  the  South  Branch  Rail- 
road Company.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  In 
the  Legislature  (session  of  1879)  he  was  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  railroads  and  canals,  and  a  member 
of  the  committees  on  education  and  claims  and  pen- 


642 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


sions;  also  of  the  joint  committees  on  treasurer's 
accounts,  sinking  fund,  and  Reform  School  for  Boys. 
His  term  expires  in  1881. 

Host.  John  Ringelmann  was  born  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  April  14,  1833,  and  is  a  merchant  tailor  by 
occupation.  He  has  held  numerous  local  offices, 
having  been  commissioner  of  appeals  for  several 
years.  In  1878  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Second  Legislature,  and  re-elected  in 
1879,  representing  the  First  District  of  Somerset 
County,  which  comprises  the  townships  of  Bernard, 
Bedminster,  Bridgewater,  North  Plainfield,  and  War- 
ren. In  1879  he  served  on  the  committees  on  corpo- 
rations, riparian  rights,  etc. 

Ellis  A.  Apgae,  the  present  officiating  State  su- 
perintendent of  public  instruction,  is  a  native  of  Som- 
erset County,  born  at  Peapack,  March  20,  1836.  He 
received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  public 
school  of  his  native  village,  and  graduated  from  the 
New  Jersey  State  Normal  School  in  1857.  He  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  cabinet-making  previous  to  such 
graduation.  He  then  engaged  in  teaching,  and  in 
1862  entered  Rutgers  College,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1866.  A  few  months  previous  to  his 
graduation  he  was  appointed  professor  of  mathematics 
in  the  State  Normal  School.  On  the  creation  of  the 
State  board  of  education,  in  1866,  he  was  appointed 
State  superintendent.  By  his  efforts  the  supervision 
of  the  schools  was  transferred  from  the  town  superin- 
tendents to  the  county  superintendents,  and  he  was  in- 
strumental in  securing  the  vote  of  the  Legislature 
which  made  the  schools  free  by  the  levy  of  an  annual 
State  tax.  He  has  done  much  towards  the  improve- 
ment of  the  school-buildings,  furniture,  apparatus, 
etc.,  and  during  his  administration  the  value  of  school 
property  has  risen  from  one  million  six  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  dollars  to  six  million  three  hundred 
thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  dollars. 
Dec.  25,  1867,  he  married  Camilla,  daughter  of  Israel 
Swayze,  Esq.,  of  Hope,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.* 

Of  the  women  of  Somerset  County  who  have  made 
for  themselves  a  reputation  extending  outside  of  its 
limits,  the  names  of  Mrs.  Antoinette  Blackwell  and 
Mrs.  J.  E.  McConaughy  will  be  found  in  Chapter  IX., 
with  biographical  data  and  a  list  of  their  publications. 


CHAPTER   XIL 

CIVIL    LIST,    SOMERSET    COUNTY. 

Hational  Officers:  Delegates  to  Continental  Congress,  Senators  and  Bep- 
resentatives,  Presidential  Electors,  etc. — State  Officers ;  Members  of 
Council,  Senate,  and  Assembly,  Governors,  State  Treasurers,  Secretar 
ries.  Chancellors,  Justices  and  Associate  Justices,  etc. — County  Officers : 
Judges,  Justices,  Clerks,  Surrogates,  Sheriffs,  Coroners,  Collectors, 
Commissioners  of  Deeds,  etc. 

NATIONAL    OFFICERS. 
DELEGATES  TO  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS. 
1778-79,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen ;  1780-81,  William  Paterson ;  1782-83, 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen. 

.  *  See  Chap.  IX,  this  work,  on  "  Books  and  Authors  of  Somerset." 


UNITED  STATES  SENATORS. 
March  4, 1789,  to  Nov.  2.3, 1790,  William  Paterson ;  March  4, 1793,  to  Nov. 
12, 1796,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen;  Nov.  12, 1796,  to  March  S,  1799, 
Richard  Stockton ;  March  4, 1799,  to  March  3, 1805,  Jonathan  Dayton ; 
Jan.  26, 1821,  to  Nov.  12, 1823,  Samuel  L.  Southard;  March  4,1829,  to 
March  3, 1835,  Theodore  Frelinghuysen ;  March  4,  1833,  to  June  26, 
1842,  Samuel  L.  Southard;  November,  1866,  to  March  3, 1869,  and 
March  4, 1871,  to  March  3, 1877,  F.  T.  Frelinghuysen. 

UNITED   STATES   RBPKESBNTATIVBS. 

Somerset  County  has  furnished  the  following  rep- 
resentatives to  Congress,  in  the  Fourth  Congressional 
District  of  New  Jersey,  which  embraces  the  counties 
of  Hunterdon,  Warren,  Somerset,  and  Sussex : 

1799-lSOl,  James  Linn ;  1801-11, 1815-21,  Henry  Southard  ;  1813,  Richard 
Stockton;  1821-31,  Samuel  Swan;  1831-33,  Isaac  Southard;  1839-41, 
Peter  D.  Vroom ;  1852-53,  George  H.  Brown  ;  1864^65,  William  G. 
Steele;  1877-81,  Alvah  A.  Clark. 

PRESIDENTIAL   ELECTORS. 
1813,  Andrew  Howell,  Jacob  Locey ;  1829, 1833,  Abraham  Brown  ;  1849, 
Isaac  V.  Brown ;  1853, 1869,  Peter  D.  Vroom ;  1873,  Hugh  M.  Gaaton ; 
1880,  Eynier  H.  Veghte. 

SECRETARY  OF  THE   NAVT. 
1828,  Samuel  L.  Southard. 

JUDGE   OF  THE  UNITED   STATES   COURT  OF  CLAIMS. 
Isaac  N.  Blackford. 

ASSOCIATE  JUSTICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  SUPREME  COURT. 
1793-1806,  William  Paterson. 

UNITED  STATES  DISTRICT  ATTOENETS. 
Richard  Stockton,  Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  Lucius  H.  Stockton,  Garret  D, 
Wall,  James  S.  Green. 

UNITED  STATES  DISTRICT  CLERK, 
onathan  Dayton. 

STATE   OFFICERS. 
COLONIAL  MEMBERS  OF  ASSEMBLY. 
1686,  Thos.  Codrington,  appointed  one  of  Gov.  Campbell's  Council ;  1688- 
93,  John  White,  Deputy  to  Assembly  of  East  New  Jersey  from  the 
out'plantation  of  the  Raritan;  1693,  Pieter  Van  Neste,  Jr.,  Deputy 
for  Somerset  in  Assembly  of  New  Jersey. 

The  following  were  members  of  Colonial  Assembly 
after  the  surrender  of  the  government  to  the  propri- 
etors, in  1702 : 

1703  (let  Assembly),  Peter  Van  Neste,  John  Harrison,  Cornelius  Tuni- 
son  ;  1704  (2d  Assembly),  John  Tunison,  Peter  Van  Neste,  John  Bar- 
clay, John  Royce ;  1707  (3d  Assembly),  John  Harrison,  John  Royce, 
Thomas  Farmer;  1708  (4th  Assembly),  John  Royce,  John  Harrison, 
Peter  Sonmana,  Thomtis  Farmer;  1709  (5th  Assembly),  Thomas  Fitz 

Randolph, Dennis  ;  1710  (6th  Assembly),  Cornelius  Longfleld, 

John  Tunison ;  1716  (7th  Assembly),  Thoma'i  Hall,  Benjamin  Clark  ; 
1721  (8th  Assembly),  Robert  Lettia  Hooper,  Thomas  Leonard  ;  1727 
(9th  Assembly),  Thomas  Hall,  Thomas  Farmer;  1730  (lOth  Assem- 
bly), Isaac  Van  Zandt,  George  Van  Neste;  1738  (llth  Assembly), 
George  Van  Neste,  Peter  Dumont ;  1740  (12th  Assembly),  John  V. 
Middleswart,  Thomas  Leonard  ;  1743-44  (13th  and  14th  Assemblies), 
John -v.  Middleswart,  Derrick  V.  Veghte ;  1745-46  (16th  and  16th 
Assemblies),  John  V.  Middleswart,  Hendrick  Fisher ;  1749-51  (17th 
and  18th  Assemblies),  John  V.  Middleswart,  Hendrick  Fisher ;  1754^ 
61  (19th  and  20th  Assemblies),  Hendrick  Fisher,  John  Hoagland ; 
1769  (21st  Assembly),  Hendrick  Fisher,  John  Berrien;  1772-75  (22d 
Assembly),  Hendrick  Fisher,  John  Roy  (Royce  ?). 

MEMBERS  OF  ASSEMBLY  (UNDER  THE  STATE  CONSTITUTION). 

1776-77,  Jacob  Bogert,  Alexander  McEowen,  Roeleff  Van  Dike;  1778, 
RoelefT  Sebring,  David  Kirkpatrick,  Wm.  Churchill  Houston ;  1779, 
Roeleff  Sebring,  Edward  Bunn,  Henry  Van  Dike ;  1780,  Edward 
Bunn,  David  Kirkpatrick,  Christopher  Hoagland;  1781,  Edward 
Bunn,  David  Kirkpatrick ,  John  Schureman ;  1782,  Edward  Bunn, 
Derrick  Longstreet,  John  Schureman  ;  1783,  Edward  Bunn,  Oorne- 


CIVIL  LIST,  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


643 


liuB  Ten  Brook,  John  Witherspoon ;  1784:,  Edward  Bunn,  David  Kirk- 
patrick,  Fred.  Frelingbuysen ;  1785-87,  Edward  Bunn,  Robert  Blair, 
David  Kelly;  1788, Edward  Bunn, Kobert  Blair.  John  Hardenburgh; 
1789-90,  Robert  Blair,  John  Witherspoon,  Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh; 
1791,  James  Linn,  R.  Stockton,  Peter  D.  Vroom  ;  1792,  Robert  Blair, 
William  Wallace,  Henry  Southard ;  1793,  Henry  Sonthard,  R.  Stock- 
ton, Jonathan  F.  Morris ;  1794,  Henry  Southard,  Peter  D.  Vroom, 
Edward  Bunn;  1795,  Henry  Southard,  Peter  D,  Vroom,  Robert  Stock- 
ton ;  1796,  Henry  Southard,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  James  Van  Diiyn  :  1797, 
Henry  Southard,  James  Van  Duyn,  John  Stryker ;  1798,  Henry 
Southard,  James  Van  Duyn,  David  Kelly ;  1799,  Henry  Southard, 
-James  Van  Duyn,  Wm.  McEowen  ;  1800-3,  James  Van  Duyn,  Wm. 
McEowen,  Fred.  Frelinghuysen ;  1804^8,  John  Stryker,  Wm.  Mc- 
Eowen,  John  Anniu;  1809-11,  James  Van  Dnyn,  Peter  I.  Stryker, 
John  N.  Simpson  ;  1812-15,  James  Van  Duyn,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Sr., 
John  R.  Hardenburgh  ;  1816-18,  Cornelius  Van  Horn,  Joseph  Annin, 
James  Stryker;  1819-20,  Martin  Scbenck,  Joseph   Annin,  James 
Stryker  (?) ;  1821,  Jacob  Kline,  Dickinson  Miller ;  1822-23,  Jacob 
Kline,  Henry  Van  Derveer;  1824-25,  Jacob  Kline,  Dickinson  Mil- 
ler, James  S.  Green  ;  1826-28,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Jr.,  James  S.  Green ; 
1829,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Jr.,  Dr.  Ferdinand  S.  Schenck ;  1830,  Peter  D. 
Vroom,  Jr.,  Jacob  Kline,  Dr.  F.  S.  Schenck  ;  1831,  William  Cmser, 
Jacob  Kline,  Dr.  F.  8.  Schenck  ;  1832-31,  Cornelius  L.  Hardenburgh, 
Joiin  Breese,  William  D.  Stewart ;  1835,  Nicholas  C.  Jobs,  William 
Crnser,  William  D.  McKissack ;  1830,  Nicholas  C.  Jobs,  Daniel  T. 
Talmadge,  Henry  Duryea ;  1837-38,  Ralph  Voorhees,  Daniel  T.  Tal- 
madge,  Henry  Duryea;  1839-41,  Henry  H.  Wilson,  Arthur  V.  D. 
Sutphen,  Daniel  Cory ;  184i-45,  Peter  Voorhees,  Samuel  Reynolds, 
Peter  Kline  ;  1846,  James  B.Elmendorf,  Peter  T.  Beekman,  Jonathan 
Cory ;  1847,  Frederick  V.  D.  Voorhees,  Peter  T.  Beekman,  Dr.  S.  K. 
Martin  ;  1848-49,  Frederick  V;  D.  Voorhees,  John  M.  Wyckoff,  Dr. 
S.  K.  Martin;  1850,  John  De  Mott,  John  M.  Wyckoff,  Dr.  Samuel  S. 
Doty  ;  1851,  John  De  Mott,  Frederick  D.  Brokaw,  Eugene  S. Doughty ; 
1852,  John  De  Mott,  Michael  R.  Nevius,  Eugene  S.  Doughty  ;  1853, 
John  De  Mott,  JohnH.  Anderson;  1854,  John  S.  Hoagland,  John  H. 
Anderson;  1855,  John  S.  Hoagland,  Alvah  Lewis;  1866,  John  S. 
Hoagland,  Cornelius  M.  Schomp  ;  1867,  Cornelius  N.  Allen,  Cornelius 
M.  Schomp;  1858-59,  Nehemiah  V.  Steele,  Elisha  B.  Wood;  1860, 
James  W.  Arrowsmith,  Elisha  B.Wood;  1801,  James  W.  Arrow- 
smjth.  John  G.  Schenck ;  1SC2-63,  John  M.  Mann,  John  G.  Schenck ; 
1864-65,  Rynear  H.  Staats,  John  G.  Schenck  ;  1866,  Rynear  H.  Staats, 
Ralph  Davenport ;  1867,  Peter  A.  Voorhees,  Ralph  Davenport ;  1868, 
John  J.  Bergen,  Abraham  T.  Huff;  1869,  John  J.  Bergen,  John  B. 
Staats ;  1870,  James  W.  Arrowsmith,  John  R.  Staats  ;  1871,  James 
Doty,  John  K.  Staats  ;  1872-73,  John  6.  Schenck,  David  D.  Smalley ; 
1874,  John  G.  Schenck,  William  P.  Sutphen  ;  1875,  Joseph  H.  Voor- 
hees, William  P.  Sutphen  ;  1876-77,  Joseph  H.  Voorhees,  James  J. 
Bergen;  1878-80,  J.  Newton  Voorhees,  John  Ringelmann ;   1881, 
John  L.  Oakey,  William  A.  Schomp. 

MEMBERS  OF  LEGISLATIVE  COnNCIL  (NOW  SENATE). 

1776-77,  William  Paterson  ;  1778,  Abraham  Van  Nests;  1779,  Ephraim 
Martin;  1780,  John  Witherspoon ;  1781-90,  Ephraim  Martin;  1791- 
92,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen ;  1793-97,  James  Linn  ;  1798-1804,  Peter 
D.  Vroom ;  1809-16,  John  Frelinghuysen ;  1821-25,  Peter  I.  Stryker; 
1826-29,  Andrew  Howell;  1830-34,  James  S.  Green;  1836,  William 
Thompson;  1836-38,  Walter  Kirkpatrick;  1839,  Augustus  B.  Tay- 
lor; 1840-41,  Joseph  W.  Scott;  1842-46,  George  H.  Brown. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  new  State  constitution,  in 
1844,  the  title  of  members  of  the  council  was  changed 
to  that  of 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  SENATE. 

1846-48,  William  H.  Leupp ;  1849-61,  Dr.  John  W.  Craig ;  1852-54,  Moses 
Craig;  1856-67,  Dr.  Samuel  K.  Martin;  1858-60,  James  Campbell ; 
1861-63,  Rynier  H.  Veghte ;  1864-66,  Joshua  Doughty ;  1867-69,  John 
H.  Anderaon  ;  1870-72,  Calvin  Corle  ;  1873-75,  Elisha  B.  Wood;  1876 
-78,  Charles  B.  Moore ;  1879-81,  John  G.  Schenck.       , 

MEMBERS  OF  CONVENTION  OF  1787. 
John  Witherspoon,  Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh,  Frederick  FreUnghuysen. 

GOVERNORS. 
1790-92,  William  Paterson ;  1829-31,  Peter  D.  Vroom  ;  1832,  Samuel  L. 
Southard ;  1833-36,  Peter  D.  Vroom. 


STATE  TREASURERS. 
1777,  John  Stevens,  Jr.;  1783,  John  Schureraan;*  1836,  Jacob  Kline  ;t 
1837,  Isaac  Southard  ;  1843,  Thomas  Arrowsmith. 

SECRETARIES  OF  STATE. 
1805,  James  Linn ;  1851,  Thomas  S.  Allison. 

CHIEF   JUSTICES.! 
1776,  Richard  Stockton  ;*  1803-24,  Andrew  Kirkpatrick ;  1853,  Peter  D, 
Vroom.* 

ASSOCIATE  JUSTICES,  SUPREME  COURT.! 
1706,  Daniel  Coxe;  1710,  Peter  Sonmans;  1734,  Daniel  Coxe;  1764,  John 
Berrien  ;  1774,  Richard  Stockton ;  1797,  Andrew  Kirkpatrick ;  1816, 
Samuel  L.  Southard ;  1838,  James  S.  Nevius  ;  1859,  John  Van  Dyke  ; 
1861,  George  H.  Brown. 

ATTORNEY-GENERALS. 
1776-83,  William  Paterson ;  1817-29,  Theodore  Frelinghuysen ;  1829-33, 
Samuel  L.  Southard;  1857-61,  William  L.  Dayton;?  1861-67,  F.  T. 
Frelinghuysen.g 

CHANCELLORS. 
1867-73,  Abram  0.  Zabriskie  ;g  1873,  Theodore  Runyan.g 

CLERK  OP  SUPREME  COURT. 
1812,  Garret  D.  WaU. 

LAW    REPORTERS. 
1814-19,  Samuel  L.  Southard;  1832-36,  James  S.  Green. 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  SENATE. 
1877-78,  C.  M.  Jamison. 

CLERK  OF  THE  HOUSE. 
1853-64,  David  W.  Dellicker. 

KEEPER  OF  THE  GENTLEMEN'S  GALLERY,  HOUSE. 
1879-80,  William  B.  Mulford. 

STATE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 
1866-81,  Ellis  A.  Apgar.| 

FISH- WARDEN. 
1880,  John  S.  Bishop.f 

COUNTY  OFFICERS. 
JUDGES. 
1711,  Thomas  Farmer**  (Michael  Van  Veghten,  assistant),  of  Somerset;!! 
1729,  Daniel  HoUingsworth,  Thomas  Leonard. 

The  records  of  the  court  were  burned  at  the  de- 
struction of  the  court-house  at  Millstone  in  October, 
1779.  The  following  names  of  judges  from  1778  to 
1810  are  obtained  from  the  record  of  the  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions,  and  from  1810  to  1880  from  the 
record  of  oaths  of  office  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of 
the  county : 

1778,  Peter  Schenck,  Jacob  Bergen,  Abraham  Van  Neste,  Enos  Kelsey, 
Jacob  Van  Nordstrand,  Edward  Bunn,  Christopher  Hoaglandt,  To- 
bias Van  Norden,  Ernestus  Van  Harlingen,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Andrew 
Hegeman,  Dirk  Low,  Nathaniel  Ayres,  Boelof  Sebrlng,  Thomas 
Berry,  Henry  Middleworth,  Ebenezer  Tingley,  Abraham  Quick, 
John  Manning,  Guisbert  Sutflu,  Cornelius  Wyckoff,  John  John- 
son ;  1780,  William  Verbyck,  Alexander  Kirkpatrick ;  1781,  Tobiaa 


t  Died,  1844. 


*  Declined. 
X  Appointed. 

g  Appointed,  or  chosen,  after  removing  from  the  county. 
II  Appointed  State  superintendent  upon  the  creation  of  the  State  Board 
of  Education  in  1866,  and  is  the  present  (1881)  incumbent. 
^  Term  of  office,  three  years. 
**  B.  Voorhees'  First  Paper,  "  Our  Home." 
ft  Court  held  in  Middlesex  County. 


644 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Van  Norden,  John  Johnston;  1782,  Robert  Stockton,  Peter  Du- 
mont,  John  Wortman,  Benj.  Taylor,  George  "Van  Keste,"  John  Comp- 
ton,  Simon  Van  Nordwick,  Peter  Davis,  Hugh  GastoD,  Ichabod 
Leigh,  Moses  Scott,  John  Sebrintr;  1783-84,  William  Verbeyck, 
Thomas  Berry,  Moses  Scott,  Kobert  Stockton,  Tobias  Van  Norden, 
Henry  Van  Middleworth,  Andrew  Hegeman,  John  Murray,  James 
Kirkpatrick,  Jacob  Eiskey,  John  Manning,  David  Kelly,  John  Se- 
bring,  John  Wortman,  Ichabod  Leigh,  Nicholas  Dubois,  Robt.  Gaston, 
Peter  Dumont,  Ernestus  Van  Harlingen,  John  Johnson,  Jacob  Van 
Nordetrand,  Jacob  Lewis;  1785,  Mathias  Baker;  1786,  Christopher 
Hoagland,  Aaron  Mattison,  Joseph  Aniiin,  Jacob  Matteson;  1788, 
Benjamin  Blackford,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  John  Boylan,  Henry  South- 
ard, Gilbert  Sutphin,  Daniel  Blackford ;  1789,  John  Stryker ;  1790, 
Garret  Terhune,  Isaac  Davis  ;  1792,  Robert  Blair,  John  Beatty,  Jacob 
Ten  Eyck;  1793,  Peter  J.  Stryker:  1795,  James  Van  Duyn,  Fred- 
erick Ver  Mulen,  John  Bryant;  1796,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  David 
Ayers;  1797,  Archibald  Mercer,  John  Bayard,  John  Begar,  Garret 
Tunison,  Wm.  McEowen;  1798,  John  Simonson,  James  Stryker, 
Jacob  De  Groot:  1799,  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  Peter  Probasco ; 
1801,  Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh,  David  Nevius;  1803,  John  N.  Simpson  ; 
1804,  Martin  Schenck,  Henry  Van  DeiTcer;  1805,  Fred.  Cruser,  Jas. 
Anderson  ;  1806,  Jas.  Van  Diiyn ;  1807,  Saml.  Bayard,  David  Smalley, 
Caleb  Brokaw ;  1808,  Dickinson  Miller ;  1809,  Jacob  De  Groot ;  1810, 
Hugh  McGowen,  John  Bray,  John  Rickey,Fred.  Cruser ;  1811,  John 
Stout,  David  Smalley,  F.  Ver  Mulen,  Martin  Schenck,  Edward  Lewis, 
Nicholas  Arrowamith ;  1812,  James  Honry,  Daniel  La  Tourette,  Henry 
W.  Schenck,  John  Rickey,  Dickinson  Miller.  Samuel  Bayard,  Joseph 
Annin;  1813,  James  Henry,  John  Bray,  Edward  Lewis.  A.  Van  Ars- 
dale,  John  Rickey,  James  Stryker;  1814,  Hugh  McEowen,  Jacob  D. 
Groot,  Frederick  Cruser;  1815,  A.  Howell,  John  H.  Disborough, 
'  Cornelius  Van  Horn,  Nicholas  Dubois;  1816,  James  Stryker;  1817, 
Dickinson  Miller;  1818,  Henry  H.  Sclienck,  John  Rickey,  A.  Van 
Arsdale ;  1819,  Jacob  De  Groot,Fred.  Cruser  ;  1820,  John  Stout,  John 
H.  Disborough,  Isaac  Southard,  Nicholas  Dubois,  Job  Lane  ;  1821,  A. 
Howell,  James  Stryker,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  John  Kirkpatrick, 
Farrington  Barcalow,  Charles  Ferris,  Dickinson  Miller,  Jacob  De 
Groot;  1822,  AVilliam  Cruser;  1823,  Ferdinand  Van  Derveer,  Henry 
H.  Schenck ;  1824,  John  Rickey  ;  1825,  James  D.  Strj'ker,  John  Stout, 
Jacob  De  Groot;  1826,  Henry  M.  Colin,  Job  Lane,  A.  Howell,  Nicho- 
las Arrowsmith,  Farrington  Barcalow;  1827,  John  Kirkpatrick, 
William  Todd,  W.B.  Gaston,  William  Cruser;  1828,  Ferdinand  Van 
Derveer,  Henry  H.  Schenck,  Thomas  Terrel,  Jacob  De  Groot,  John 
Terhune,  James  D.  Stryker,  Elias  Brown,  John  Rickey  ;  1830,  John 
Kirkpatrick,  Wm.  D.  Stewart,  Squier  Terrell;  1831,  John  Gulick, 
Farrington  Barcalow,  John  Breece,  William  A.  Van  Doren,  Nicholas 
Arrowsmith,  A.  Howell ;  1832,  William  Todd,  Wm.  T.  Rodgers,  John 

A.  Austin,  Samuel  S.  Doty,  Wm.  B.  Gaston,  James  Taylor,  John 
Breece,  Ferd.  Van  Derveer  ;  1833,  Peter  Voorhes,  John  Lowrey,  John 
Terhune,  P.  W.  Stryker,  J.  Van  Doren,  William  Cruser,  James  D. 
Stryker,  John  S.  Todd  ;  1834,  Aaron  Longsti-eet,  J.  R.  Hardenburgh, 
James  Taylor;  1835,  John  Kirkpatrick,  Wm.  D.  Stewart;  1836, 
Caleb  C,  Brokaw,  Joseph  Nevius,  Squier  Terrell,  Matthias  V.  D. 
Cruser,  Wm.  A.  Van  Doren,  Farrington  Barcalow,  Daniel  II.  Dis- 
borough, John  Gulick  ;  1837,  Peter  S.  Nevius  ;  1838,  Peter  Voorhees, 
Henry  H.  Wilson,  Samuel  S.  Doty,  John  Terhune,  John  Lowrey, 
Ferd.  Van  Derveer,  John  H.  Voorhees,  P.  W.  Stryker,  Peter  L.  El- 
mendorf,  Benj.  McDonald  ;  1839,  Cornelius  S.  S'tryker,  James  Tay- 
lor; 1840,  Lewis  Mundy  ;  1841,  Ralph  Voorhees,  James  P.  Goltra,  S. 
Sbubal  Luce,  William  H.  Sebring,  Henry  H.  Wilson ;  1842,  William 

B.  Gaston,  William  Kennedy,  Elisha  Moore,  Elias  Brown,  Andrew 
Smalley,  Peter  S.  Nevius;  1843,  P.  W.  Stryker,  A.  Sergeant,  Fred- 
erick Cook,  Peter  Voorhees,  William  A.  Van  Doren,  John  Terhune, 

C.  Morton,  John  H.  Voorhees,  L.  Biinn,  Jacob  Losey,  Aaron  Long- 
street,  Caleb  C.  Brokaw,  Daniel  Whitenack  ;  1844,  Daniel  H.  Dis- 
borough, Henry  D.  Johnson,  James  D.  Stryker,  Peter  K.  Fisher, 
Frederick  Childs,  John  Wilson,  Joseph  Nevius,  Squier  Terrell,  Fx-ed. 
Apgar,  Michael  R.  Nevius,  Albert  Cammann,  Joseph  Huffman ;  1845, 
James  Taylor  ;  1846,  Lewis  Mundy  ;  1848,  Joseph  A.  Gaston,  John  H, 
Voorhees;  1849,  Corn.  S.  Stryker;  1850,  Isaac  Lindley ;  1851,  Saml. 
Corle ;  1852,  Leonard  Bunn ;  1853,  Danl.  Whitenack ;  1854,  Jas.  Camp- 
bell; 1857,  Leonard  Bunn;  1858,  Joseph  Thompson;  1859,  Caleb 
Morton,  Jos.  Thompson  ;  1862,  Leonard  Bunn  ;  18G3,  Samuel  Corle  ; 
1864,  John  H.  Anderson  ;  1865,  D.  W.  Wilson  ;  18G6,  John  C.  Garret- 
son  ;  1867,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland;  18G8,  Samuel  Corle;  1S69,  A.  S.  Wil- 
liamson ;  1872,  Joseph  Thompson ;  1873,  John  C.  Garretson ;  1874, 
J.  V.  D.  Hoagland;;  1877,  Andrew  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller;  1878,  John  M. 
Garretson  ;  1879,  Joseph  Tliompson. 


JUSTICES. 

This  county  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Middle- 
sex County  from  1694  to  about  1715.  The  persons, 
residents  of  this  county  whose  names  are  found  in  the 
records  of  the  court  of  that  county  are  as  follows  :* 

]708,  John  Tunison-t 

1711,  Michael  Van  Veghten.f 

1712,  John  Harrison.! 

From  a  book  of  mortgages  commencing  in  1765  the 
names  of  justices  who  took  acknowledgments  are  ob- 
tained. From  1772  to  1798  they  are  found  in  the 
record  of  justices  and  freeholders.t  From  1810  the 
oaths  of  office  are  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of 
the  county. 

1740,  Tobias  Van  Norden.g 

1766,  Benjamin  Thompson,  John  Berrien,  Bryan  Lefferty,  James  Neilson, 
Jacob  Van  Derveer,  Philip  Van  Home. 

1767,  Peter  Kemble,  David  Ogden,  Samuel  Woodruff. 

1768,  William,  Earl  of  Stirling. 

1769,  John  Stevens,  Peter  Schenck,  Steven  Crane,  Richard  Stockton, 
Bunne  Runyan,  Benjamin  Morgan,  Walter  Livingston,  Jacob  Van 
Nostrandt 

1770,  John  Ray,  William  Clayton,  John  Anderson. 

1771,  Stephen  Skinner,  Job  Stockton,  Jonathan  Hampton. 

1772,  Peter  Schenck,  Abraham  Vanest,  Peter  Ferine,  Jacob  Van  Nostrand, 
John  Brocaw. 

1773,  John  Lafferty,  John  Vandike,  Thomas  Berry. 

1774,  Guisbert  Sutfin,  Stephen  Hunt,  James  Hude,  John  Coghran,  Wil- 
liam Verbyck. 

1775,  William  McDonald,  Benjamin  Morgan,  John  Ray,  Jacob  Bergen, 
Henry  Alward,  Nathaniel  Ayers,  Philip  Van  Home. 

1777,  David  Kirkpatrick,  Hendrick  Van  Middleworth,  Edward  Bunn, 
Roeloff  Sebring,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Christopher  Hoagland,  Tobias  Van 
Norden,  Ernest  Van  Harlingen,  Derick  Low,  Abraham  Quick, 

1778,  Cornelius  Wyckoff,  Cornelius  Low,  Andrew  Hageman,  John  John- 
son. 

1779,  Alexander  Kirkpatrick, 

1781,  Ebenezer  Tingley,  Edward  Bunn,  John  Manning,  David  Kelley, 
John  Wortman,  Jam^  Kirkpatrick,  Peter  Dumont. 

1782,  Robert  Gaston,  Cornelius  Wyckoff,  Robert  Sebring,  Abraham  Quick, 
Erastus  Van  Harlingen,  Nathaniel  Ayers,  William  Verbyck,  Jacob 
Van  Nostrandt,  Guisbert  Sutfin,  Roelof  Sebring,  Henry  Van  Middle- 
worth,  Derick  Low,  Thomas  Berry,  John  Manning,  David  Kelley, 
John  Wortman,  James  Kirkpatrick,  Peter  Dumont,  Robert  Gaston, 
Ichabod  Lee,  Andrew  Hagaman. 

1784,  Nicholas  Deboys. 

1785,  Matthias  Baker,  Jacob  Rickey,  John  Sebring,  Joseph  Annin. 

1786,  Moses  Scott,  Archibald  Leigh,  Tobias  Van  Norden,  Christian  Hoag- 
land, Peter  Dumond,  Henry  Southard,  Benjamin  Veal,  William  M. 
Eowen,  William  Logan,  John  Simonson,  Thomas  McElworth. 

1787,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  John  Boylan. 

1788,  Benjamin  Blackford,  John  Taylor,  Jacob  Martin,  Samuel  Randolph, 
Jolin  Gilman,  Garret  Terhune,  John  Stryker. 

1789,  Isaac  Davis. 

1791,  Robert  Stockton,  Aaron  Matteson. 

1792,  John  Beatty,  Robert  Blair. 

1794,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  Archibald  Mercer,  Joseph  Annin,  Jacob  Rickey. 

1795,  James  Van  Duyn,  Frederick  Vemiuel,  David  Ayers,  Peter  Probasco^ 
David  Covenhoven. 

1790,  Garret  Tunison, 

1797,  Nicholas  A.  Smith,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith. 

1798,  John  Bayard,  John  Elmendorf. 

1810,  Edward  Lewis,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  John  Stout. 

1811,  F.  Vermuel,  John  Rickey,  Martin  Schenck,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Daniel 
La  Tourette. 


'•^-  B.  Voorhees'  first  paper  in  *'0ur  Home." 
■j-  Assistant  Justice  of  Court  of  Sessions. 

I  The  last  meeting  of  the  justices  with  the  freeholders  was  on  Jan.  15, 
1798. 
§  Held  the  position  msiny  years. 


CIVIL  LIST,  SOMEESET   COUNTY. 


645 


1812,  David  Nevius,  Henry  H.  Schenck,  John  Wyckoff,  James  Tan  Duyn, 
JoBeph  A.nnin,  Samuel  Bayard. 

1813,  JamoB  Henry,  Abraham  Quick,  David  Beed,  CorneliuB  Van  Horn, 
Joseph  H.  Skelton,  John  Bray,  Andrew  A.  Ten  Eyck,  A.  Van  Ars- 
dale,  John  Rickey,  James  Stryker,  Jacob  De  Groot,  Dickinson  Miller, 
William  A.  Van  Doren,  Lott  Southard,  Hugh  McEowen,  Edward 
Lewis. 

181i5,  John  Stout,  Thomas  Terrell,  John  H.  Disborough,  John  Kirkpat- 
rick,  A.  Howell,  Jacob  R.  Scheuck,  Nicholas  Dubois,  Job  Lane, 
Henry  McCohn. 

ISie,  F.  Vermuel,  Elias  Brown,  James  Stryker,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith. 

1817,  Tobias  Ferguson. 

1818,  John  Terhune,  Peres  Bonney,  G.  H.  Tunison,  John  Whitenack, 
Tunis  I.  Ten  Eyck,  A.  Van  Arsdale,  John  H.  Voorhees,  Henry  H. 
Schenck,  Andrew  Brown,  Richard  Sansbury,  David  Reed,  John  Ter- 
hune, Andrew  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Dickinson  Miller,  A.  Van  Arsdale. 

1819,  William  A.  Van  Doren,  John  Kirkpatrick,  Thomas  Terrell,  John 
Stout,  John  H.  Disborough,  John  H.  Voorbeea,  William  A.  Van 
Doren,  A.  Howell,  John  Kirkpatrick,  Thomas  Terrell. 

1820,  John  Stout,  John  H.  Disborough,  Job  Lane,  Charles  Toms,  Henry 
McCohu,  Josiah  Stout. 

1821,  Thomas  Whitenack,  James  Stryker,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  Farring- 
ton  Barcalow,  John  A.  Auten,  Dickinson  Miller,  Jacob  De  Groot, 
William  Cruser. 

1822,  John  Breese,  Abraham  Quick,  Ferd  Van  Derveer. 

1823,  Freeman  Cole,  Henry  H.  Schenck,  Aaron  Longstreet,  John  Ter- 
hune, A.  Van  Arsdale,  Andrew  Smalley,  Reuben  Coon,  Joseph 
Nevius,  Absalom  Martin,  Dickinson  Miller. 

1824,  John  Rickey,  Jacob  Losey,  William  A.  Van  Doren,  Cornelius  Ker- 
show,  John  H,  Voorhees,  William  D.  Stewart,  Abram  Voorhees. 

1825,  A.  Howell,  Thomas  Terrell,  John  Kirkpatrick,  Abram  A.  Beek- 
man,  John  Stout,  John  Cox,  Jeremiah  Garretson,  William  Todd, 
Henry  McCohn. 

1826,  Job  Lane,  Charles  Toms,  Josiah  Stout,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  Far- 
rington  Barcalow. 

1827,  James  Taylor,  William  B.  Gaston,  William  CrQser,  John  A.  Auten, 
John  Breese. 

1828,  Ferd.  Van  Derveer,  A.  P.  Sutphen,  Abraham  Vannuys,  David  D. 
Smalley,  Jacob  De  Groot,  William  T.  Rodgers,  Aaron  Longstreet, 
James  D.  Stryker,  F.  Cole,  Joseph  Nevius,  Eliafi  Brown,  John  Ter- 
hune, Jacob  Losey,  Reuben  Coon,  Absalom  Martin,  John  Rickey, 
Benjamin  McDowell,  William  A.  Van  Doren,  Cornelius  Stryker,  John 
H.  Voorhees,  James  Q.  Van  Pelt,  John  M.  Nevius,  Garret  Voorhees, 
Peter  S.  Nevius,  James  W.  Todd. 

1830,  A.  Howell,  Nicholas  C.  Jobs,  Squier  Terrell,  William  D.  Stewart, 
Peter  P.  Staats,  John  Lowrey,  WilUam  Todd. 

1831,  Cornelius  T.  Beekman,  A.  Veghte,  A.  J.  Dumont,  Matthias  V.  D. 
Cruser,  William  Ballentine,  John  Gulick,  Farriogton  Barcalow, 
William  A.  Van  Doren,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith. 

1832,  Ferd  Van  Derveer. 

1^3,  Peter  Voorhees,  John  Lowrey,  John  Terhune,  P.  W.  Stryker, 
Arthur  V.  P.  Sutphin,  Samuel  S.  Doty,  Samuel  Reynolds,  Peter 
Voorhees,  William  T.  Rodgers,  Henry  H.  Wilsou,  Frederick  Cook, 
John  Terhune,  J.  Van  Doren,  William  Cruser,  Abraham  Van  Nuys, 
James  D.  Stryker,  Robert  Eastbnrn,  Joseph  Nevius,  John  Q.  Todd, 
Jacob  Eoff,  Andrew  Smalley,  F.  Cole,  Jacob  Losey. 

1834,  Benjamin  McDowell,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker,  John  H.  Voorhees,  Isaac 
K.  Dockerty,  Aaron  Longstreet,  Garret  Voorhees,  J.  R.  Harden- 
burgh,  James  W.  Todd. 

1835,  Squier  Terrel,  John  Lowrey,  N.  C.  Jobs,  William  A.  Codington, 
John  Kirkpatrick,  Peter  P.  Staats,  John  Simonson,  William  D. 
Stewart,  Ralph  EUereon,  Wilham  Todd,  Cornelius  T.  Beekman. 

1836,  Caleb  C.  Brokaw,  A.  J.  Dumont,  William  Stiles,  Matthias  V.  D, 
Cruser,  John  P.  Vroom,  Charles  Corle,  William  A.  Van  Doren,  Far- 
rington  Barcalow,  William  Sunderland,  John  GuUck. 

1837,  W.  B.  Gaston,  James  Taylor,  Absalom  Martin,  Lewis  Mundy,  W. 
Kennedy,  Eliaa  Brown,  Abraham  Van  Nuys,  James  Harriot, 
Elnathan  Moore,  Nicholas  LarzcUer,  Peter  S.  Nevius. 

1838,  Frederick  Cook,  Henry  H.  Wilson,  Samuel  S.  Doty,  John  Terhune, 
Aaron  J.  Auten,  Ferd.  Van  Derveer,  P.  W.  Stryker,  Josiah  Stout, 
Benjamin  Bonney,  Andrew  Smalley,  Randolph  Drake,  Jacob  Baylis. 

1839,  Benjamin  McDowell,  Abraham  Quick,  Cornelius  Stryker,  John  H. 
Voorhees,  Garret  N.  Williamson,  William  H.  Sebring,  Alexander 
Demun. 

1840,  Charles  Bartles,  James  D.  Stryker,  Isaiah  Coddington,  James  P, 
Goltra,  John  S.  Hoagland,  William  Wilson. 

1841,  Benjfuuin  Bonney,  Peleg  H.  Barker,  Ralph  Voorhees,  John  Nevius, 


William  R,  Smith,  Leonard  Bunn,  Peter  Moore,  A.  Sergeant,  James 
B.  Staats,  Charles  Corle,  Theodore  Polhernus,  Shubal  Luce,  Gilbert 
B.  Taylor,  Samuel  Reynolds,  Jacob  Colby. 

1842,  William  B.  Gaston,  James  Taylor,  WilUam  Kennedy,  Absalom 
Martin,  Elnathan  Moore,  Elias  Brown,  Lewis  Mundy,  Peter  S. 
Nevius,  Nicholas  Larzelier. 

1843,  Abraham  Van  Nuys,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Peter  Voorhees,  John  Ter- 
hune, C.  Morton,  Ira  R.  Pangborn,  Frederick  Cook,  Jacob  Losey, 
Abram  Van  Derveer,  Samuel  S.  Marsh,  William  Van  Doren,  Peter 
Irvin,  Aaron  Longstreet,  C.  0.  Brokaw,  Daniel  Whitenack,  John 
Wilson. 

1844,  Henry  D.  Johnson,  Henry  McCohn,  Samuel  W.  Salter,  Garret  N. 
Williamson,  Abram  H.  Harris,  John  H.  Anderson,  Frederick  Apgar, 
R.  M.  Honeymao,  Squier  Terrel,  Richard  Sutton,  Michael  Nevius, 
Albert  Cammann,  Peter  Apgar,  Peter  R.  Fisher,  George  A.  Vescelius, 
William  W.  Van  Doren,  George  Henry. 

1845,  L.  Bunn,  Jacob  Losey,  .Cornelius  S.  Stryker,  Daniel  Whitenack,  E. 
D.  Lawrence,  John  S.  Hoagland,  John  H.  Anderson,  John  J.  Van 
Nostrand,  Abraham  P.  Quick,  Benjamin  Jennings,  N.  C.  Jobs,  Alfred 
Cammaun,  John  Terhune,  William  R.  Smith,  A.  A.  Dumont,  Peter 
Moore,  A.  Fleming. 

1846,  Jairies  Taylor,  Garret  Wyckoff,  Charles  Shann,  Jasper  Bergen. 

1847,  Elnathan  Moore,  Augustus  F.  Taylor,  Samuel  R.  Marsh. 

1848,  Joseph  A.  Gaston,  Amos  Geddes. 

1849,  Peter  Irvin,  Alfred  Cammann. 

1850,  Leonard  Bunn,  John  J.  Van  Nostrand,  Charles  Corle,  Aaron  J. 
Auten,  William  R.  Smith,  Jacob  Losey,  E.  D.  Lawrence,  Ralph 
Voorhees,  Amos  Geddes,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker,  Abram  Van  Arsdale, 
Alfred  Berry,  Daniel  Whitenack,  Francis  Runyan,  John  H.  Ander- 
son, Cornelius  N.  Allen. 

1851,  Nathaniel  McCord,  James  Taylor,  Charles  Shann,  Nathaniel  Comp- 
ton,  Peleg  H.  Barker,  William  Jennings,  John  Waldron,  Jasper 
Bergen. 

1852,  James  S.  Garretson,  David  Coon. 

1853,  Samuel  S.  Gaston,  Morris  P.  Crater. 

1854,  Peter  Irvin,  John  S.  Quimby,  Jacob  WyckofT,  Benjamin  Smith. 

1855,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Alfred  Cammann,  Leonard  Bunn,  Nathaniel 
Compton,  Silas  De  Witt,  John  S.  Quimby,  Jacob  Loaey,  Charles 
Corle,  Thomas  C.  Stryker,  Morris  P.  Crater,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker, 
Cornelius  N.  Allen,  Benjamin  Smith. 

1856,  James  Taylor,  James  Rider,  Cornelius  Stout,  Wm.  Jennings,  Na- 
thaniel McCord,  Amos  Geddes,  William  W.  Drake,  John  G.  Schenck. 

1857,  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoff,  Frederick  C.  Blackwell,  Michael  R.  Nevius. 

1858,  Jeremiah  Whitenack,  Frederick  V.  L.  Disborough,  John  L.  Bellls, 
Peleg  H.  Barker,  Cornelius  N.  Allen. 

1859,  Peter  Irving. 

1860,  John  L.  Bellis,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Minna  F.  Covert,  Morris  P.  Crater, 
Stephen  Beach,  Nathaniel  Compton,  Leonard  Bunn,  Alfred  Cam- 
mann, John  S.  Quimby,  Ephraim  Giles.  C.  S.  Stryker,  Thomas  0. 
Stryker. 

1861,  James  Bergen,  Abraham  Stryker,  Sylvester  Robins,  James  Verdon, 
Ephraim  Giles,  James  Rider,  George  Hall,  Israel  Coddington,  Na- 
thaniel McCord. 

1862,  Frederick  V.  L.  Disborough,  John  V.  D.  Hoagland,  Israel  H.  Hill, 
Peter  A.  Mabie. 

1863,  Jeremiah  Whitenack,  Waters  B.  AlwardL 

1865,  A.  J.  Auten,  Morris  P.  Crater,  Stephen  Beach,  David  M.  Voorhees, 
Samuel  Corle,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker,  James  H.  Thompson,  M.  F. 
Covert,  Nathaniel  Compton,  Calvin  H.  Dunham,  Abraham  Amer- 
man. 

1866,  H.  A.  Herder,  Daniel  J.  Somers,  Ephraim  Giles,  James  Verdon, 
Peleg  H.  Barker,  Abram  Stryker,  Wm.  H.  Vreeland,  Israel  C.  Cod- 
dington. 

1867,  Israel  H.  Hill,  George  Lawes,  Peter  A.  Mabie,  J.  B.  D.  Myers,  A. 
J.  Farrand,  0.  C.  Cone. 

1868,  Franklin  Kinne,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland,  Jeremiah  Whitenack,  M.  W. 
Scully,  Charles  Shann. 

1869,  A.  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller. 

1870,  Morris  P.  Crater,  C.  V.  N.  Suydam,  Nathaniel  Compton,  Minna  F. 
Covert,  David  M.  Voorhees,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Henry  Lane,  Abraham 
Amerman,  Calvin  H.  Dunham,  D.  K.  Hoflfman,  John  N.  Hoagland, 
Charles  Shann,  Daniel  C.  Poulson,  James  H.  Thompson,  Horace  A. 
Van  Derbeek. 

1871,  Ephraim  Giles,  Frederick  V.  L.  Disborough,  James  Bergen,  James 
Verdon,  Peter  A.  Dumont,  K.  G.  Van  Duyn,  John  B.  Coddington, 
John  N.  Hoagland,  James  P.  Bush. 

1872  A.  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller,  John  S.  Amerman,  Israel  H.  Hill,  George  F, 


646 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Quldort,  Daniel  G.  Tan  Winlcle,  John  B.  D.  Myers,  Frederick  Y.  L. 
Disborongh. 
1873,  L.  B.  Hoffman,  John  S.  Amerman,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland,  W.  W.  Drake, 
Horace  Woodruff,  Wm.  I.  Bastedo. 

1875,  Arthur  P.  Sutphin,  A.  J.  Auten,  Alexander  Laird,  Abraham  Amer- 
man, James  H.  Thompson,  Henry  Lane,  Charles  Shann,  Nathaniel 
Compton,  Daniel  M.  Todd,  M.  F.  Covert,  Horace  A.  Van  Derbeek, 

1876,  Robert  G.  Van  Duyn,  A.  Cammann,  W.  S.  Logan,  Samuel  I.  Pooly, 
E.  L.  Cushman,  James  Yerdon,  J.  Schwalb. 

1877,  J.  B.  D.  Myers,  A.  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller,  John  M.  Brown,  F.  V.  L.  Dis- 
borough,  M.  H.  French,  Israel  H.  Hill,  Samuel  Voorhees,  Alexander 
Laird,  H.  P.  Brook,  Abram  R.  Stagg. 

1878,  J.  Y.  D.  Hoagland,  John  S.  Amerman,  "William  I.  Bastedo,  Horace 
■Woodruff,  James  Doty. 

1880,  Minna  F.  Covert,  Abraham  Dumont,  Horace  A.  Van  Derbeek, 
David  M.  Todd,  John  E.  Flammer,  Thomas  C.  Stryker,  Charles 
Shann,  Stephen  Wever,  Arthur  P.  Sutphin. 

COTJNTT  CLEKTvS.* 
1735-65,  Robert  Lettice  Hooper ;  1765-74,  James  Hude  ;t  1781-83,  Fred- 
erick Frelinghuysen ;  1784-86,  Peter  D.  Vroom ;  1787-89,  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen  ;  1800-4,  J.  W.  Frelinghuysen  ;  1804-9,  Joseph  Doty; 
1809-20,  Samuel  Swan;  1820-24,  Isaac  Southard;  1831^0,  John  M. 
Mann;  1840-45,  Dumont  Frelinghuysen;  1845-50,  Wm.  Kennedy; 
1851-56,  Henry  D.  Johnson;  1856-61,  Samuel  S.  Hartwell;  1801-65, 
A.  Y.  D.  B.  Vosseller ;  1865-76,  William  Ross,  Jr. ;  1876-81,  Matthew 
H.  Van  Derveer. 

SURROGATES. 

1776-87,  John  Mehelm  ;  1787-93,  Fredk.  Frelinghuysen  ;  1794-1803,  John 
Mehelm  ;  1804-10,  Joseph  Doty  ;  1811-17,  Samuel  Swan  ;  1818-32, 
John  Frelinghuysen ;  1833-42,  Peter  Vredenburgh  ;  1843-47,  A.  V. 
P.  Sutphen;  1848-52,  Caleb  Morton;  1863-58,  Samuel  Reynolds; 
1858-63,  John  H.  Anderson ;  1863-68,  Abraham  0.  Williamson ; 
1868-73,  Wm.  S.  Potter ;  1873-78,  F.  J.  Frelinghuysen  ;  1878-83,  Wm. 
H.  Long, 

SHERIFFS.^ 

1720-30,  Barefoot  Branson  ;J  1732,  John  Piatt  ;|  1750-70,  Abram  Van 
Doren;U  1771-73,  William  McDonald;  1774-77,  Peter  Dumont;  1778- 
80,  Peter  T.  Schenck  ;  1781-83,  Peter  D.  Yroom ;  1784-86,  Robert 
Stockton;  1787-89,  John  Hardenburgh  ;  1790-91,  William  Wallace; 
1792-94,  John  Hardenburgh  ;  1795-96,  Joseph  Annin ;  1797-98,  Robert 
Blair;  1799-1801,  Joseph  Doty;  1802^,  Peter  I.  Striker;  1805-0, 
Samuel  Swan;  1807,  Henry  Van  Derveer;  1808-10,  Israel  Harris; 
1811-13,  Peter  I.  Stryker;  1814-16,  Martin  Schenck;  1817-19,  John 
Wyckoff;  1820-22,  Martin  Sclieuck  ;  1823-25,  William  Hoagland; 
1826-28,  John  I.  Gaston;  1829-31,  John  Cox;  1832-34,  John  I.  Gas- 
ton ;  1836-37,  James  W.  Todd  ;  1838-40,  Peter  A.  Voorhees ;  1841-43, 
David  T.  Talmage;  1844^46,  Hugh  Kirkpatrick;  1847-49,  Joseph  Y. 
D.  Vredenburgh  ;  1850-52,  Henry  A.  Herder ;  1 853-55,  David  Wilson  ; 
1856-68,  Elias  Hoagland  ;  1859-61,  Henry  A.  Herder  ;  1862-64,  Wil- 
liam Ross,  Jr. ;  1866-67,  John  J.  Brokaw;  1868-70,  Thomas  Coding- 
ton; 1871-73,  James  Bergon;  1874-77,  Benjamin  S.  Totten;  1878-79, 
Simon  Van  Liew  ;  1880,  George  W.  Vroom;  1881,  Lewis  A.  Thomp- 
son. 

CORONERS. 

1810,  Abraham  Van  Tuyle. 

1811,  Garret  B.  Garretson,  Christian  Eoff. 

*  As  found  in  records,  ofificial  papers,  and  oaths  of  office. 

t  Deputy. 

J  As  obtained  from  court  records,  official  papers,  and  sheriffs'  bonds. 

g  Barefoot  Brunson  lived  in  Somerset,  on  Millstone  River,  opposite 
Kingston,  and  was  sheriff  of  Somerset  about  1720-30, — the  exact  years 
not  ascertained.  He  was  a  man  of  some  notoriety  and  somewhat  peculiar 
in  his  ways.    He  died  in  1749. 

Q  The  name  of  John  Piatt  appears  in  the  records  of  the  justices  and 
freeholders'  annual  meeting.  May  1,  1732.  The  name  of  the  county  is 
omitted,  evidently  a  clerical  error.  This  is  the  only  clue  that  has  been 
obtained  indicating  that  he  was  sheriff  of  this  county.  That  he  was  a 
resident  of  Somerset  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  his  name  appears  as  a 
commissioner  of  highways  in  1742,  in  the  old  book  of  record  of  roads, 
in  the  clerk's  office,  and  the  oldest  inhabitants  remember  his  son,  who 
said  his  father  lived  at  Bound  Brook. 

T[  Abram  Van  Doren  was  sheriff  of  the  county  for  twenty  years,  but 
when  first  elected  or  appointed  is  not  known, — probably  about  1750. 


1812,  Jacob  R.  Schenck. 

1813,  Christian  Eoff. 

1814,  Samuel  Voorhees. 

1815,  Garret  R.  Garretson. 

1816,  Samuel  Voorhees. 

1818,  Henry  Duryea,  Peres  Bonney,  John  Whitenack, 

1819,  John  Whitenack, 

1820,  Peres  Bonney,  John  Whitenack,  John  Breese. 

1821,  John  Skillman, 

1823,  Ferd.  Van  Derveer,  John  Skillman,  John  Cox. 

1824,  John  Cox, 

1826,  Christian  Eoff,  John  Cox. 

1826,  William  Van  Arsdalen, 

1827,  Jolin  Skillman, 

1828,  L.  Holden, 

1830,  Jolin  Torbert,  Peter  Coriell, 

1831,  Derick  Lane,  Ralph  Ellerson, 

1832,  John  Torbert, 

1833,  James  Moore,  Derick  Lane, 

1834,  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoff, 

1835-36,  James  Moore,  John  Porter,  Cornelius  M,  Wyckoff,  Benjamin  T, 

Stryker, 
1837-39,  Cornelius  M,  AVyckoff,  John  Porter,  Daniel  Brown,  John  F. 

Brown,  William  Wilson, 

1840,  Henry  Hoagland, 

1841,  Henry  D,  Johnson,  Robert  J,  Bolmer,  Benjamin  S,  Stryker, 

1842,  Robert  J,  Bolmer, 

1847,  Ira  Tingley,  William  Dean, 

1861,  John'Dockerty, 

1852,  William  W,  Van  Doren,  William  W,  Drake. 

1863,  Henry  S.  Stryker, 

1854,  George  Quick,  William  W.  Drake. 

1855,  Garret  Durling. 

1856,  Lewis  P.  Clark,  Garret  Durling. 
1857-58,  Garret  Durling, 

1860-62,  Henry  S  Stryker, 

1863-64,  David  M.  Voorhees,  Martin  V.  Van  Camp. 

1866,  Garret  Durling. 

1866-67,  Henry  S.  Stryker,  D.  H.  Voorhees,  Garret  Darling. 

1868,  Henry  G.  Wagoner. 

1869,  Roberts.  Smith,  Henry  G.  Wagoner, 

1870,  Robert  S.  Smith, 

1871,  Henry  G,  Wagoner,  A.  S,  Hunt, 

1873,  J.  D.  Van  Derveer,  A.  S.  Hunt,  D.  Clark  Van  Deursen. 

1874,  A.  S.Hunt. 

1875,  D.  Clark  Van  Deursen,  Daniel  J.  Somers, 

1878,  A,  S,  Hunt,  William  B,  Ribble,  Byron  Thornton. 

COMMISSIONERS   OF  DEEDS. 

1816,  G,  H,  Tunison,  Elbert  Stoothoff,  F,  Vermeul,  Peter  D,  Vroom,  John 
I,  Gaston,  Samuel  Ayers,  Jacob  R,  Schenck,  William  B,  Gaston,  ToMaa 
Ferguson, 

1817,  Abram  Van  Arsdale,  James  Van  Duyn,  John  Blair, 

1818,  Ralph  Sansbury,  John  Terhune,  Tunis  I,  Ten  Eyck, 

1819,  Joel  Dayton, 

1820,  Elbert  Stoothoff,  Samuel  Ayers,  John  I,  Gaston. 

1821,  Freeman  Cole,  Tunis  I,  Ten  Eyck,  Thomas  Terrell. 

1822,  William  Garrison,  W,  D,  McKissack,  John  Blair,  John  A,  Auten, 

1823,  John  Terhune,  William  Douglas, 

1825,  David  Ayers,  Elbert  Stoothoff,  Peter  D,  Vroom, 

1826,  E,  A,  Darcy. 

1827,  Samuel  Ayers,  A,  V,  P.  Sutphen,  Thomas  ToiTell,  William  D.  Stew- 
art, Elias  Brown,  W,  D,  McKissack, 

1828,  Freeman  Cole,  Cornelius  Kershow,  John  A,  Auten,  Tunis  I.  Ten 
Eyck,  Cornelius  S,  Stryker, 

18S0,  David  Ayers,  William  Lytle,  John  P,  Vroom,  Moses  Craig,  Elbert 
Stoothoff, 

1831,  Samuel  Ayers,  Mahlon  Smalley,  Cornelius  C,  Whitenack,  W,  D. 
McKissack, 

1832,  Arthur  V,  P,  Sutphen, 

1833,  Cornelius  Kershow,  John  J,  Schenck,  Freeman  Cole,  John  A. 
Auten,  William  Kennedy,  A,  Vanatta,  Jacob  Kline. 

1834,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker, 

1835,  William  Lytle,  Stephen  Rush,  Elbert  Stoothoff. 

1836,  Mahlon  Smalley,  Samuel  Ayers, 

1838,  Lloyd  Van  Derveer,  Peter  Worley,  S,  K,  Martin,  A.  V.  P,  Sutphen,. 
Benjamin  Jennings, 


CIVIL  LIST,  SOMERSET   COUNTY. 


647 


1839,  C^Ieb  Morton,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker,  Garret  N.  ■Williamson. 

1840,  A.  V.  P.  Sutphen,  William  Lytle,  David  Ayers,  William  Wilson. 

1841,  Peter  Kline,  Wm.  E.  Sinitli,  Daniel  Annin,  Archibald  Codington. 

1842,  Abraham  Yan  Duyn. 

1843,  Lloyd  Van  Derveer,  Aaron  J.  Anten,  S.  B.  Martin,  Nicholas  Yan 
Wickle,  Moses  H.  French. 

1844,  Henry  McCohn,  Samuel  Keeler,  Philip  C.  Hoffman,  Frederick 
Apgar,  Michael  R.  Nevius,  Albert  Cammann,  Joseph  Huffman, 
Ralph  EllerEon. 

1845,  William  Lytle,  David  Ayers,  Alfred  Berry,  James  Taylor. 

1846,  William  K.  Smith,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  P.  N.  Beekman,  Peter  Kline, 
Daniel  Annin,  Peter  L.  Voorhees. 

1847,  Abraham  Martin,  "W.  B.  Stewart,  Abraham  Yan  Duyn. 

1848,  Isaac  P.  Lindsey. 

1849,  Abram  Yan  Arsdale,  P.  H.  Barker,  Daniel  Cory. 

1850,  S.  K.  Martin,  Hugh  Kirkpatrick,  Jacob  Collyer,  John  J.  Van  Nor- 
strand,  James  Taylor,  Elias  Brown,  William  Lytle,  John  S.  Hoaglaud, 
Samnel  Hall,  Alfred  Berry. 

1851,  Squier  Terrell,  Moses  Craig,  Stephen  Rush,  George  W.  Yroom, 
Frederick  Y.  L.  Disborough,  Jacob  Losey,  Elias  Hoagland,  Andrew 
A.  Ten  Eyck,  Thomas  J.  Skillman. 

1852,  Frederick  H.  Kennedy,  Alfred  Cammann,  Jacob  Wyckoff. 

1853,  Francis  Runyon 

1864,  Samuel  J.  Pooly,  Michael  R.  Nevius,  John  N.  Hoagland,  Abraham 
S.  Williamson,  John  R.  Yan  Derveer. 

1865,  John  L.  Bellis,  Waters  B.  Alward,  James  C.  Voorhees,  James  Tay- 
lor, Elias  Brown,  Frederick  D.  Brokaw,  Alfred  Berry. 

1856,  Squier  Terrell,  William  J.  Todd,  Jacob  Losey,  Elias  Hoagland, 
Stephen  Rush,  F.  Y.  L.  Disborough,  Thomas  J.  Skillman,  John  J. 
Brokaw. 

186T,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Ralph  Davenport,  John  Ross. 

1868,  Daniel  Runyon,  Arthur  S.  Ten  Eyck,  C.  N.  Allen. 

1869,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker,  William  W.  Drake,  Benjamin  Randolph, 
Peter  A.  Voorhees. 

1860,  Waters  B.  Alward,  Nathaniel  McCord,  Robert  S.  Smith,  Calvin  Corle, 
D.  J.  Bellis,  Jeremiah  Whitenack,  Daniel  Corey. 

1861,  Frederick  Y.  L.  Disborough. 

1862,  Ralph  Davenport,  Peter  N.  Yan  Nuys,  John  J.  Brokaw,  Stephen 
Rush,  Thomas  J.  Skil^pian,  William  J.  Todd,  F.  V.  L.  Disborough, 
Jacob  Wyckoff,  Squier  Terrell. 

1863,  Francis  Runyon,  Benjamin  K.  Honnel. 

1864,  James  Yerdon,  William  I.  Bastedo,  Lewis  Boisnot,  Cornelius  A. 
Cmser,  A.  S.  Ten  Eyck,  Robert  S.  Smith,  C.  S.  Stryker,  Jeremiah 
Whitenack,  J.  L.  Bellis,  Nathaniel  McCord,  Waters  B.  Alward, 
Daniel  Cory. 

1866,  Hugh  Gaston,  A.  J.  Auten,  Chaa.  M.  Stryker,  Edward  A.  Webster. 

1807,  Abm.  Sfryker,  Peter  N.  Van  Nuys,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Andrew  Rarick, 

Israel  J.  Coon,  Daniel  Annin,  Isaac  Williamson,  J.  B.  D.  Myers. 

1868,  Ralph  Davenport,  James  Bowman,  Benjamin  R.  Honnel. 

1869,  William  T.  F.  Ayers,  WilUam  I.  Bastedo,  James  Yerdon,  Samuel  S. 
Adamson,  A.  S.  Ten  Eyck. 

1870,  Henry  Lane,  John  Schomp,  Robert  S.  Smith,  Daniel  Cory. 

1871,  W.  H.  Long,  A.  J.  Auten,  Peter  D.  Staats,  Charles  Shann,  B.  A. 
Webster,  Peter  N.  Van  Nuys. 

1872,  N.  S.  Wilson,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Andrew  Rarick,  John  B.  D.  Myers, 
W.  W.  Drake,  Daniel  Annin,  Israel  J.  Coon.  John  S.  Skillman. 

1873,  Ralph  Davenport,  James  Bowman,  Jr.,  Charles  M.  Stryker. 

1874,  Alfred  I.  Voorhees,  C.  Van  Duyn. 

1876,  Peter  D.  Staats,  A.  Y.  D.  B.  Yosseller,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  William  W. 
Anderson,  Alfred  Cammann,  B.  A.  Webster,  Henry  Lane,  John  Van 
Nest,  Charles  Shann,  Abram  R.  Stagg,  Israel  C.  Coon. 

1877,  James  Yerdon,  Daniel  J.  Somers,  Peter  N.  Van  Nuys,  Daniel  Cory, 
Israel  J.  Coon,  Theodore  Allen,  A.  Flemming,  James  W.  Arrowsmith. 

1878,  Ralph  Davenport,  Arthur  P.  Sutphen,  John  J.  Brokaw,  Isaac 
Brokaw,  James  Bowman. 

1879,  Lewis  M.  Codington,  Alfred  I.  Voorhees,  Samuel  S.  Voorhees,  Isaac 
I.  Van  Nuys. 

1880,  William  E.  Jones. 

CLERK  OF  BOARD  OF  FREEHOLDERS. 
1771,  John  Brokaw;  1772-76,  John  Gaston;  1777-81,  Roeloff  Sebring; 
1782-84,  Robert  Gaston  ;  1785-97,  Robert  Blair ;  1798-1812,  Peter  D. 
Yroom;  1813-30,  A. Howell ;  1831-34,  John  I.Gaston;  1836-36,  John 
M.  Mann;  1837,  William  T.  Eodgers;  1838-44,  Albert  Sergeant; 
1845-55,  C.  0.  Hoagland;  1856-57,  John  Hardcastle;  1860-67,  John 
N.  Hoagland  ;  1868-69,  John  H.  Wilson ;  1870,  A.  H.  Stryker ;  1871, 


A.  V.  D.  Honeyman ;  1872,  A.  J.  Auten  ;  1873-74,  Matthew  II.  Van 
Derveer ;  1875-79,  A.  P.  Sutphen ;  1880,  J.  G.  Cortleyou. 

COLXECTOES.* 

1693,  John  White;  1694,  Peter  Van  Neste;  1782-91,  Jacques  Voorhees; 
1792-1820,  Abraham  Staiits;  1821-32,  John  Frelinghuysen ;  1836, 
Jacob  Kline;  1837,  Nehemiah  Steele;  1889-41,  Robert  S.  Smith; 
1842-43,  Lewis  Craig;  1847-49,  Thomas  Talmage ;  1860-51,  Er- 
nestus  Scbonck ;  1863,  William  D.  Stewart ;  1854,  Ernestus  Schenck ; 
1865-66,  Culver  Barcalow ;  1867-61,  Peter  A.  Voorhees;  1862-80, 
John  V.  Veghte  ;  1881,  Alfred  Berry. 

COMMISSIONERS  OF  HIGHWAYS  TO  1768. 

1694,  Peter  Van  Nest,  John  Eoyce,  John  Tunison. 
1733,  Barrent  Strieker,  Edward  Griggs,  Cornelius  Suydam,  Peter  Van 

Nest. 

1736,  Dirck  Yan  Yeghten,  Thomas  Riggs,  Isaac  Bodine,  Henry  Cort- 
leyou. 

1740,  Cornelius  Williamson,  Hendrick  Yroom,  Cornelius  Middagh,  Hen- 
drick  Van  Lowres,  John  Yan  Dike,  John  Van  Derveer. 

1742,t  Ryneer  Veghte,  John  Dumont,  John  Piatt,  Cornelius  Yan  Ars- 
dalen.  Christian  Lagransee,  Peter  Beekman,  Jediah  Higgins,  Peter 
Kemble,  Samuel  Drake,  James  Worth,  William  Vane. 

1743,  Tunis  Post,  Jacobus  Williamson,  Peter  Van  Nest,  Peter  Perrine, 
Folkert  Jobes,  Francis  Smith. 

1744,  Obadiah  Wilkins,  Denys  Yan  Duyn,  Robert  Stockton,  Henry  Ste- 
vens, George  Bergen,  Polikert  Douw. 

1745,  Johannes  Fontyn,  Abraham  Schenck,  Folkert  Sebring,  Kike  Van 
Derbilt,  Isaac  Spellman,  William  Bearde. 

1747,  Daniel  Hendrickson,  Zebulon  Stout,  Hendrick  Polhemus,  James 
Hinds,  Caleb  Baldwin,  Simon  Van  Winkle. 

1748,  Frederick  Van  Laver,  Alexander  Van  Nest,  Hendrick  Pettinger, 
Euyck  Suydam,  Cornelius  Yan  Campen,  William  Teitrort. 

1749,t  John  Vail,  A.  Van  Arsdalen,  George  Davis,  Barrent  Hageman, 
Stoefel  Probaaco,  Jacob  Drake,  James  Frost,  Benjamin  Cox,  Daniel 
Gard,  James  Petina. 
1750,  Philip  Cox,  Samuel  Brown,  Francis  Cossart,  Jacob  Van  Nuys,  Jo- 
seph Higgins,  Thomas  Suydam. 
1761,t  John  Harris,  Jeremiah  Castner,  William  Layton,  Lucas  Dibble, 
Jonathan  Smith,  Peter  Covenhoven,  John  Henry,  Jacob  Gray,  Dirck 
Sutfln,  Oriaa  Dubbs,  Daniel  Henry,  John  Piatt,  More  Holm,  Jacob 
■  Van  Derveer,  Jan  Wyckoff,  Moses  Craig. 
1752,t  Christopher  Anderson,  Cornelius  Van  Harlingen,  Johannes  Van 
Pelt,  Lewis  Middagh,  Abraham  Stryker,  William  Boorem,  Henry 
Halsey,  William  Jones,  William  Bonney,  James  Todd,  Robert  Bark- 
ley,  Edward  Barber,  Christian  Van  Doren,  Frederick  Bodine,  Wil- 
liam Hopkins,  Manassas  Keeke,  Daniel  Wick,  Lucas  Teeple,  Nathan 
Squier,  James  Gevin. 
1753,  William  Post,  Jacob  Yan  Daunty,  Jacob  Boyd,  Hendrick  Blair, 

John  Vail,  John  Eoyce,  David  Ogden. 
1764,  Hendrick  Blair,  Jacob  Boyce,  Romeyn  Garretson,  William  Post, 
Henry  Morshen,  John  Brayley,  John  Burroughs,  Benjamin  Moore, 
John  Titus,  Samuel  Moore. 
1755,+  Matthew  Ten  Eyck,  Matthew  Ten  Eyck,  Jr.,  Thomas  Yan  Dyke, 
Hendrick  Yroom,  Benjamin  Sutton,  Samuel  Leonard,  Dirck  Gulick, 
John  Chamberlain,  David  Coriell,  Matthew  Van  Dyke,  Jacob  Ber- 
gen, Benjamin  Alward,  John  Van  Cleve,  Samuel  Doty,  Peter  Mc- 
Dowell. 
1756,t  Henry  Kennedy,  John  Van  Low.  Garret  Veghte,  Dennis  Van 
Derbilt,  Peter  Dumont,  Albert  Bolmer,  Cornelius  Anderson,  Edward 
Burrows,  David  Brayley,  Thomas  Moore,  Stephen  Lanning,  Daniel 
Howell. 
1758,  William  Sloan,  Stephen  Ti-uesdell,  Conrad  Ten  Eyck,  Jacob  Pro- 
basco,  Gisbert  Sutfln,  Jacobus  Van  Arsdalen. 


«  A  law  was  passed  in  1694  to  raise  a  tax  of  £160  in  the  province,  and 
Peter  Van  Neste  was  appointed  collector  for  Somerset.  The  proportion 
of  the  tax  for  Somerset  County  was  £4  lOs.  6d.  While  the  other  coun- 
ties had  their  several  towns,  Somerset  had  but  one,  which  was  known  as- 
Somerset. 

t  Commissioners  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex  Counties. 


TOWNSHIPS  AND  VILLAGES  OF  SOMERSET  CO. 


beidgewatek; 

INCLUDING  SOMERVILLE,  THE  COUNTY-SEAT. 


GEOGRAPHICAL,   AREA,   Etc. 

Beidgewater  township  is  centrally  located  in 
Somerset  County.  It  is  bounded  north  by  the  town- 
ships of  Bedminster,  Bernard,  North  Plainfield,  and 
Warren;  east  by  Piscataway,  in  Middlesex,  and 
Franklin,  in  Somerset ;  south  by  Hillsborough ;  west 
by  Branchburg.  The  township  line  is  marked  south, 
east,  and  west  by  a  water-course.  Excepting  Hills- 
borough, Franklin,  and  Bernard,  it  is  the  largest 
township  in  area  in  the  county.  It  contains  nearly 
50  square  miles,  or  25,651  acres.  Its  present  popu- 
lation (1880)  is  7995,  and  within  its  limits  there 
are  256  farms. . 

PHYSICAL   FEATURES. 

The  surface  is  nearly  level  in  the  south,  along  the 
Earitan,  the  rest  being  moderately  undulating  until 
the  mountains  in  the  north  are  reached.  Although 
the  latter  are  frequently  called  "First  Mountain" 
and  "  Second  Mountain,"  they  are  scarcely  to  be  con- 
sidered as  mountains,  for  their  altitude  is  reckoned  by 
hundreds  instead  of  thousands  of  feet.  It  was  in  the 
beautiful  valleys  and  lowlands  along  the  Earitan  that 
not  only  the  early  settlements  in  this  township  were 
made,  but  where  all  the  villages  and  hamlets,  with 
one  exception,  grew  up.  The  exception  is  the  hamlet 
known  as  Martinsville,  located  in  "Washington 
Valley." 

Most  of  the  streams  in  Bridgewater  flow  southerly 
and  empty  into  the  Earitan,  which  is  the  only  water- 
course in  the  township  flowing  eastwardly.  Cham- 
bers' Brook,  on  the  north,  flows  southwesterly  and 
empties  into  the  North  Branch,  which  in  turn  flows 
southerly  until  its  waters  commingle  with  those  of 
the  South  Branch,  forming  the  Earitan.  The  other 
principal  water-courses  are  Green,  Middle,  and  Peter's 
Brooks. 

Chimney  Eock  and  Eound  Top  are  summits  of  the 
range  of  hills  in  the  north  part  of  the  township. 
They  are  described  on  pages  551-52  of  this  work. 

LAND  TITLES  AND  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS. 
The  territory  comprising  this  township  was  taken 
up  in  1681,  and  embraced  in  four  different  deeds  given 


648 


*=  By  Austin  N.  Hungerford. 


by  the  Indians  before  the  title  came  to  the  proprie- 
tors, in  February,  1682.  The  early  settlements  are 
here  treated  from  these  titles,  and  the  lands  taken  up 
from  the  proprietors  afterwards,  with  date  of  purchase 
and  change  of  titles  in  an  early  day,  as  far  as  could 
be  ascertained. 

THE  FIBST  INDIAN  TITLE. 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  the  first  deed 
conveying  the  title  of  the  aboriginal  owners  to  the 
white  settlers  of  lands  in  this  county,  and  is  quoted 
from  the  Elizabethtown  bill  of  chancery,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  which  were  published  in  1747,  with  a 
map  of  the  original  tracts  and  later  subdivisions  by 
the  proprietors.  The  deed,  which  is  on  file  in  Perth 
Amboy  (Liber  1,  Folio  146),  recites, — 

"  That  Konockama  aud  Queromak  Indians,  by  their  deed  bearing  date 
the  fourth  day  of  May,  1681,  for  the  consideration  of  one  hundred 
pounds,  paid  them  in  tlie  goods  at  the  foot  of  the  same  deed  acknowl- 
edged to  be  by  them  received  of  Capt.  Philip  Carteret,  Governor  of  New- 
Jersey,  John  Palmer,  of  Staten  Island,  Gent.,  Gabrielle  Minvielle, 
Thomas  Codrington,  John  White,  John  Delevalle,  Kichard  Hall,  and 
John  Royce,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  do  sell  to  them  and  their  heirs  a 
tract  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  the  Raritan  River,  begiuning  at  the 
mouth  of  the  rivulet  called  Bound  Brook,  and  by  the  Indians,  Sacunk; 
and  thence  up  along  the  river  Raritan  to  a  brook  called  Raweighweroa, 
and  from  thence  northward  to  a  certain  stony  hill ;  thence  easterly  to 
Metape's  wigwam,  and  thence  southerly  along  the  Bound  Brook  afore- 
said to  the  beginning." 

The  proprietors  took  1170  acres  of  this  tract,  em- 
bracing the  site  of  the  village  of  Bound  Brook.  It 
was  surveyed  by  Philip  Wells,  and  Sept.  25,  1683,  it 
was  patented  to  Thomas  Eudyard,  lawyer,  of  London, 
and  one  of  the  twenty-four  proprietors  of  the  prov- 
ince of  East  New  Jersey.  It  is  not  known  that  he 
ever  visited  Bound  Brook.  The  only  one  of  the  pro- 
prietors under  the  Indian  grant  who  actually  settled 
on  any  part  of  it  was  Thomas  Codrington.  A  tract 
of  877  acres  was  apportioned  to  him  Sept.  25,  1683, 
upon  which  he  built  a  house,  calling  it  Eackawack- 
hana,  where  he  lived  until  1700,  when  he  sold  the 
place  to  Aaron  Lazaider,  a  Jew.  He  also  owned  1000 
acres  more,  purchased  April  20,  1688,  lying  in  the 
rear  of  his  farm,  running  up  to  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain. He  was  appointed  one  of  Governor  Barclay's 
council  Nov.  26,  1684,  and  to  the  same  position  by 
Lord  Neill  Campbell,  Oct.  18, 1686,  and  again  by  Gov- 
ernor Jeremiah  Boss,  May  6,  1698. 


BEIDGEWATER. 


649 


About  1700  the  lands  purchased  by  Rudyard,  witb 
800  acres  adjoining,  belonging  to  John  Eoyce,  were 
purchased  by  a  company  consisting  of  George  Cus- 
sart,  Samuel  Thompson,  and  Jacob  De  Groot.  The 
Eudyard  tract  was  divided  equally  between  Thomp- 
son and  De  Groot,  the  Eoyce  plot  being  held  by  the 
company.  The  road  from  Piscataway  to  Bound  Brook 
and  along  the  north  bank  of  the  Earitan  Eiver  was 
laid  out  in  1686,  and  was  called  the  Great  Earitan 
road.  Samuel  Thompson  built  a  house  on  the  turn- 
pike at  the  Middlebrook  Mountain  road,  then  known 
as  the  road  that  led  to  Basking  Eidge,  just  east  of  I. 
J.  Fisher's  hotel.  This  property  passed  first  to  Thos. 
Clawson,  then  to  William  Wortman,  to  David  Mc- 
Kinney,  to  Michael  Schooley,  and,  March  28,  1786, 
to  Dr.  Clarkson  Freeman.  Eev.  David  Barclay  lived 
here  from  1794  to  1805.  It  was  demolished  when  the 
railroad  was  built,  the  company  having  purchased  the 
property.  George  Cussart's  house  stood  on  the  site 
now  occupied  by  the  Bound  Brook  Hotel.  In  1720 
he  sold  300  acres  to  Ebenezer  Trimbly,  which  de- 
scended to  his  son  Peter,  who  died  May  20,  1797,  and 
left  it  to  his  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  (Susan) 
married  Tunis  Ten  Eyck  and  lived  on  the  old  home- 
stead now  owned  by  Eune  and  L.  V.  D.  Shepherd, 
and  the  other  (Hannah)  married  Col.  John  Staats, 
who  lived  just  north  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
property. 

Aaron  Lazaider,  a  merchant  of  New  York  City, 
retired  from  business  in  1698  and  moved  to  Bound 
Brook,  where  he  buUt  what  was  known  as  the  "  Jew 
House."  He  lived  in  this  mansion  until  1700,  when 
he  purchased  Eackawackhana,  the  Codrington  home- 
stead. He  died  in  November,  1744,  leaving  a  son, 
Moses,  and  a  daughter,  Catharine,  who  married  John 
R.  Myers.  Eackawackhana  was  inherited  by  Moses, 
and  left  by  him  to  his  son  David.  It  was  then  sold 
to  Michael  Van  Tuyle,  then  to  Alexander  Campbell, 
then  to  Dr.  Samuel  Swan,  and  is  now  owned  by 
George  Lamont.  The  Jew  House  was  left  to  Catha- 
rine, wife  of  John  E.  Myers,  and  she  lived  there 
from  that  time  until  her  death,  in  1762.  Her  hus- 
band's death  occurred  in  1765,  he  being  aged  ninety- 
two.  They  left  a  son  and  a  daughter;  the  latter,  a 
widow,  inherited  the  house.  During  the  Eevolution 
she  sympathized  with  the  British,  and  when  Lord 
Cornwallis  occupied  the  village,  in  the  spring  of  1777, 
the  Jew  House  was  made  headquarters  for  himself 
and  his  staff,  by  invitation  of  the  mistress.  An  ac- 
quaintance soon  sprang  up  between  the  widow  and 
one  of  the  officers,  which  ripened  into  matrimony; 
upon  the  retirement  of  the  army  she  accompanied 
him,  and  never  afterwards  returned  to  Bound  Brook. 
The  estate  was  confiscated  and  in  1785  was  sold  to 
Tobias  Van  Norden,  and  it  passed  subsequently  into 
the  hands  of  Elias  Campbell,  and  finally  to  Jeremiah 
Fisher,  by  whom  it  was  torn  down  as  early  as  1826. 
It  stood  a  little  west  of  the  present  depot  of  the  Le- 
high Valley  Eailroad. 
42 


The  part  of  the  tract  taken  by  Jacob  De  Groot  in 
the  division  of  land  in  1700  may  be  described  as  ex- 
tending from  Mountain  Avenue  to  what  is  now  the 
west  line  of  the  property  of  Israel  Whitlock,  and  ran 
from  the  river  back  to  the  top  of  the  mountain.  He 
built  his  residence  about  fifty  yards  north  of  Main 
Street,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Burnt  District." 
There  he  lived  and  died,  but  at  what  age  and  time  is 
not  known.  The  alley  which  runs  from  Mountain 
Avenue  to  John  Street,  and  between  High  anii  Front 
Streets,  passes  directly  over  the  place  of  his  burial. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  large  property  passed  to  his 
grandson,  Jacob  De  Groot,  still  remembered  by  many 
of  the  older  people.  He  and  his  wife  (Eachel  Cast- 
ner)  were  well  and  widely  known.  He  died  July  22, 
1843,  aged  ninety-four ;  his  wife  preceded  him  nine 
days.  They  were  buried  in  the  De  Groot  vault,  in 
the  old  burying-ground  back  of  the  church.  For 
sixty-eight  years  they  had  lived  together,  and  were 
the  third  generation  who  had  lived  and  died  in  the 
old  house.  Dr.  Samuel  Swan  and  George  McDonald 
married  daughters  of  this  couple.  The  building  was 
erected  by  the  Jacob  De  Groot  who  settled  about 
1700  ;  it  was  burned  down  in  1839.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence that  any  portion  of  this  land  was  sold  till  about- 
1720,  at  which  time  the  following  persons  became 
purchasers  of  parts  of  the  original  tract :  Ebenezer 
Trimbly,  Hendrick  Harpending,  Cornelius  Prout,_ 
Hendrick  Fisher,  AVilliam  Eiddle,  and  John  R.- 
Myers. Of  these,  Ebenezer  Trimbly,  as  has  been 
shown,  purchased  the  northern  part  of  George  Cus- 
sart  tract.  Hendrick  Harpending  was  a  shoemaker 
from  Linzery,  Holland;  his  son  Peter,  in  the  time- 
of  the  Eevolution,  kept  the  "  Frelinghuysen  House," 
on  the  site  of  the  present  residence  of  B.  B.  Mat- 
thews, on  Main  Street.  Dr.  Ambrose  Cook  afterwards 
lived  there.  The  sign  was  a  large  portrait  of  Maj.- 
Gen.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen.  Col.  Simcoe  halted 
here  with  his  troops  when  on  the  way  to  Van  Vegh- 
ten's  bridge  in  1779.  Peter  Harpending,  Tobias  Van 
Norden,  Hendrick  Fisher,  and  Abraham  Staats  were 
excepted  as  "  arch-traitors"  when  general  amnesty 
was  offered  by  the  British  in  1776.  Hendrick  Fisher 
lived  across  the  river,  and  will  be  mentioned  in  the 
history  of  Franklin  township.  John  R.  Myers  was 
a  son-in-law  of  Aaron  Lazaider,  and  resided  in  the 
Jew  House.  In  1746,  Peter  Williamson,  James  Hude, 
Anthony  Blackford,  Bartholomew  Kelso,  Charles  Mc- 
Evers,  Thomas  Irvine,  Joseph  Stansbury,  David 
Cussart,  Tobias  Van  Norden,  Thomas  Cooper,  and 
John  De  Groot  occupied  home-lots  belonging  to  the 
tract.    • 

John,  son  of  Lord  Neill  Campbell,  came  to  Bound 
Brook  about  1684  and  built  a  residence  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river,  on  the  meadow  directly  south  of  the 
railroad  depot.  The  house  was  afterwards  owned  by 
Peter  Williamson,  and  is  said  to  have  been  occupied 
by  Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln  as  his  headquarters  in  1777. 
The  structure  erected  by  Mr.  Campbell  has  long  since 


650 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


disappeared.  He  did  not  live  here  long,  and  the 
property  probably  passed  to  Aaron  Lazaider,  who 
built  the  Jew  House.  John  Campbell  owned  lot  12,  on 
South  Branch,  now  in  Branchburg,  which  he  took  up 
Nov.  9, 1685,  and  no  more  is  known  of  him  in  Bound 
Brook.  His  granddaughter,  Jannette,  married  Tobias 
Van  Norden  in  1742. 

John  Anderson  lived  on  the  Royce  plot  in  1720,  and 
was  still  there  in  1745.  His  residence  was  south  of 
the  lane'  leading  to  the  old  mansion  of  Thomas  Cod- 
rington ;  the  remains  of  it  are  still  to  be  seen.  During 
the  Revolution  it  was  owned  by  Matthew  Harrison, 
now  by  the  heirs  of  Isaac  J.  Fisher. 

Joseph  Bonney  built  on  Main  Street  the  structure 
known  as  the  Rockafellow  house ;  a  part  of  the  old 
homestead  is  still  standing.  He  was  doubtless  the 
first  blacksmith.  Here  lived  Benjamin  Bonney  when 
the  company  of  British  cavalry  made  a  raid  from  New 
Brunswick  through  Bound  Brook,  accompanied  by  a 
number  of  Tories.  "When  they  reached  the  house 
Benjamin  Bonney  took  his  son  Peres,  then  about  four 
years  of  age,  and  secreted  himself  in  the  cellar.  The 
noted  Tory  Bill  Stewart  was  one  of  the  party,  and  in 
prowling  around  the  house  saw  him  sitting  on  the 
steps  of  the  cellar  with  his  son  in  his  lap.  Stewart 
fired  upon  him ;  the  ball  took  efiect  in  the  left  groin, 
from  which  wound  he  died  the  third  day  after.  From 
Bonney's  residence  they  went  to  De  Groot's,  where  they 
broke  open  the  cellar,  taking  all  the  provisions.  They 
obliged  Mr.  De  Groot,  by  threatening  his  life,  to  swear 
allegiance  to  the  king.  This  troop  of  marauders  were 
met  below  Bound  Brook  on  their  return  by  Col.  John 
Staats  with  a  party  of  men,  by  whom  they  were  at- 
tacked so  fiercely  that  they  lost  their  plunder  and  their 
prisoners.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bonney,  widow  of  Benja- 
min Bonney,  afterwards  married  Capt.  John  Powers. 
Peres,  the  son,  lived  to  become  an  active  and  useful 
citizen  of  the  township  and  member  of  the  church, 
filling  important  offices  in  both.  James  Bonney,  son 
of  Peres,  is  now  living  in  Bound  Brook. 

James  Hude  was  the  son  of  Adam  Hude,  who  early 
located  lands  back  on  the  mountains.  He  was  deputy 
county  clerk  from  1765  to  1774,  and  filled  other  im- 
portant offices. 

Peter  Williamson  was  one  of  the  settlers  as  early  as 
1746,  and  is  said  to  have  lived  in  the  John  Campbell 
house,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  in  the  time  of 
the  Revolution. 

Israel  Brown  was  a  tailor,  and  built  a  house  where 
Peter  Brown  now  lives;  Daniel  Van  Corts,  where 
Alfred  Camman  at  present  resides.  William  Harris 
built  a  house  on  the  Codrington  plot.  He  after- 
wards built  the  Middlebrook  Hotel,  now  owned  by 
the  heirs  of  Isaac  J.  Fisher.  This  property  was  in 
possession  of  the  family  as  late  as  1815,  as  at  that 
time  Israel  Harris,  sheriff'  of  Somerset  County, 
was  its  landlord.  Thomas  McElworth  lived  also 
on  the  same  plot,  and  his  son  Thomas  after  him. 
Both  were  elders  in  the  church  in  their  time.     The 


house  is  described  by  some  who  are  still  living  as 
being  a  long,  low,  one-and-a-half  story  structure, 
facing  the  south,  with  three  rooms  on  the  ground- 
floor,  and  with  a  front  door  to  each  room. 

Tobias  Van  Norden  was  a  native  of  New  York 
City,  and  was  fourth  in  descent  from  the  emigrant 
of  the  same  name  who  came  from  Holland  in  1635. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered  the  dry-goods 
store  of  Lazaider  &  Myers,  merchants,  in  New  York 
City,  successors  to  Aaron  Lazaider,  who  came  to 
Bound  Brook  in  1698.  He  remained  with  them 
till  1738,  when  they  all  removed  to  Bound  Brook. 
He  opened  a  store  in  that  year  in  the  Jew  House, 
where  he  continued  till  1744.  In  1749,  Van  Norden 
erected  a  house  and  store  upon  the  site  of  that  now 
occupied  by  Randolph  Dunham  and  owned  by  John 
D.  Voorhees.  It  was  a  long,  low,  one-and-a-half  story 
building,  and  stood  broadside  to  the  street,  having  two 
dormer-windows  projecting  from  the  roof.  "In  the 
two  west  rooms — front  and  rear — of  that  building  he 
continued  to  supply  the  residents  of  Bound  Brook  and 
the  honest  yeomanry  of  the  Raritan  Valley  with  mer- 
chandise till  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  He  also 
carried  on  the  business  of  a  baker.  His  bakery  was 
situated  in  the  rear  of  his  residence,  in  a  separate 
building.  He  was  largely  engaged,  as  his  books  fully 
attest,  from  1742  to  1765,  in  baking  ship-bread,  which 
he  sold  in  New  York  or  exported  direct  to  the  West 
Indies,  first  having  conveyed  it  in  wagons  or  boats 
to  New  Brunswick,  where  it  would  be  transferred  to 
vessels  which  transported  it  to  its  destination."* 

Mr.  Van  Norden  continued  in  this  building  till 
1784,  when  he  retired  from  business  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  George  Heberton,  who  remained  a  mer- 
chant in  Bound  Brook  till  his  death,  Oct.  5,  1806. 
The  building  that  had  for  so  many  years  served  the 
purpose  of  a  store  and  dwelling  was  demolished  in 
1856. 

In  1742,  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  Mr.  Van  Nor- 
den was  married  to  Jannette,  a  daughter  of  Archi- 
bald Campbell  (son  of  John,  who  settled  in  Bound 
Brook  in  1684,  and  soon  after  moved  to  North 
Branch).  They  lived  together  fifty-five  years,  and 
had  ten  children,  seven  of  whom  survived  them.  The 
oldest  child,  Rachel,  became  the  wife  of  John  Boudi- 
not,  M.D.,  brother  of  Elias  and  Elisha  Boudinot, 
and  a  brother-in-law  of  William  Bradford,  attorney- 
general  under  Washington.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the 
army  during  the  Revolution,  and  died  in  1798; 
Rachel,  his  wife,  died  at  Morristown  in  1814.  Peter, 
David,  Michael,  Tobias,  and  Archibald  Van  Norden, 
their  sons,  remained  at  Bound  Brook.  Peter  built, 
in  1784,  the  first  two-story  house  in  Bound  Brook, 
and  painted  it  green.  It  was  the  wonder  of  the  time, 
and  was  often  called  "  Van  Norden's  Folly."  It  was 
occupied  by  Archibald  Van  Norden  until  his  death, 
in  1827.     Mrs.  M.  H.  Close,  a  daughter  of  A.  C.  Mol- 


*  William  H.  MoUison. 


BRIDGEWATER. 


651 


lison  and  granddaughter  of  Archibald  Van  Norden, 
now  resides  in  the  house  ;  she  and  her  children  com- 
prise the  fourth  generation  to  reside  under  its  roof. 
Mrs.  Janet  Mollison,  daughter  of  Archibald  Van 
Norden  and  mother  of  A.  C.  Mollison,  is  still  living  at 
the  age  of  ninety-six.  Mrs.  Henry  Van  Nest,  a  daugh- 
ter of  David,  is  also  living  here.  Michael  and  Tobi9,s 
died  leaving  no  descendants. 

Tobias  Van  Norden  the  first  was  much  respected 
for  his  strict  integrity ;  his  business  career  in  Bound 
Brook  extended  from  1738  to  1784.  Some  of  his  day- 
books are  in  the  possession  of  A.  C.  Mollison,  a  great- 
grandson,  now  living  in  Bound  Brook.  He  was 
chosen  a  justice  of  the  peace  soon  after  he  became  a 
resident,  and  held  the  position  many  years ;  he  was 
also  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  some 
time  before  the  Revolution  till  1790,  and  represented 
the  county  in  the  colonial  Legislature  one  year.  His 
wife  died  July  26,  1797,  aged  eighty-eight;  he  died 
peacefully,  seated  in  his  arm-chair,  March  28,  1800. 

Joseph  Mollison  was  a  native  of  Pis'cataway  town- 
ship, adjoining  Bound  Brook,  and  came  to  the  latter 
place  about  1795  as  a  clerk  for  Daniel  Blackford. 

Anthony  and  Daniel  Blackford  were  residents  as 
early  as  1747.  Daniel  lived  on  Main  Street,  where 
Benjamin  Giles  afterwards  owned  property. 

A.  C.  Mollison,  a  great-grandson  of  Tobias  Van 
Norden,  is  now  a  merchant  in  Bound  Brook,  having 
been  in  business  about  forty  years.  William  H. 
Mollison,  now  of  Budd's  Lake,  a  grandson  of  Joseph 
Mollison  and  Tobias  Van  Norden,  has  written  several 
articles  on  the  early  settlement  of  Bound  Brook, 
from  which  much  information  has  been  obtained. 
Gilbert  and  George  Mollison,  grandsons,  are  living  at 
Bound  Brook. 

Capt.  John  Powers,  a  native  of  North  Carolina, 
commanded  a  company  in  a  regiment  of  troops  from 
that  State  during  the  Revolution.  He  was  at  the 
storming  of  Stony  Point,  July  15  and  16,  1779,  and 
received  thanks  from  Gen.  Wayne  for  valuable  service 
rendered.  After  the  disbandment  of  the  army  he 
came  to  Bound  Brook,  and  soon  afterwards  was  mar- 
ried to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bonney,  widow  of  Benjamin 
Bonney;  she  died  Sept.  10,  1795,  aged  forty-five. 
He  afterwards  married  Mary,  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Israel  Read.     • 

Capt.  Creighton  McCrea,  son  of  the  Rev.  James 
McCrea,  and  brother  of  Jane  McCrea,  whose  tragic 
fate  is  so  well  known,  came  to  Bound  Brook  in  1796 
and  purchased  of  Jeremiah  Fisher  the  house  now 
owned-  by  Isaac  Brokaw.  This  property  passed  to 
his  niece,  Maria  McCrea,  afterwards  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Van  Duyn,  who  sold  to  Abraham  Brokaw,  father 
of  the  present  owner.  Creighton  McCrea  was  buried 
in  the  old  burying-ground.  This  house  is  one  of  the 
historical  edifices  of  the  county,  and  will  be  mentioned 
in  another  place.  It  is  situated  in  the  village  of 
Bloomington.  At  that  time  Bound  Brook  was  the 
centre  of  business. 


Michael  Field  settled  in  Middlesex  County  about 
1722  or  1723.  Mention  is  made  of  him  in  connection 
with  schools.  Jeremiah  and  Benjamin  Field  were 
residents  of  Bound  Brook  till  their  death ;  they  were 
officers  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  also  held 
official  positions  in  the  township.  The  old  Field 
house  is  still  standing ;  it  was  occupied  by  Richard 
D.  Field,  and  now  by  Richard  R.  Field,  his  son.  The 
following  names  are  taken  from  the  books  of  Tobias 
Van  Norden,  and  show  the  occupations  of  some  of  the 
people  of  that  time :  Dr.  Garret  Van  Wagoner,  1742 ; 
John  Brade,  "  sculemaster,"  December,  1744;  Isaac 
Brown,  "taylor,"  May  5,  1745;  William  Moore,  hat- 
ter, Feb.  10,  1745 ;  John  Wacker,  school-master, 
February,  1745 ;  John  Ford,  carpenter,  February, 
1745 ;  John  Campbell,  "  taylor,"  1745 ;  John  Castner, 
shoemaker,  1745. 

There  are  many  other  families  who  settled  in  this 
section  early,  but  it  is  impossible  to  trace  them  all. 
The  most  of  them,  or  their  representatives,  will  be 
found  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  churches. 

The  lots  in  the  limits  of  the  first  Indian  deed,  back 
of  what  were  called  the  "Raritan  lotts,"  were  two  in 
number.  The  west  lot,  containing  1000  acres,  was 
surveyed  April  20,  1688,  to  Thomas  Codrington.  It 
lay  directly  in  the  rear  of  his  front  lot.  This  tract 
extended  back  to  the  mountains,  the  famous  Chim- 
ney Rock  being  situated  on  the  west  side  of  it,  on  the 
Middlebrook  stream.  An  account  of  the  scenes  which 
occurred  at  and  near  this  place  in  the  time  of  the 
Revolution  will  be  found  in  chapter  vi.  (pages  60-80) 
of  this  work. 

The  tract  east  of  the  1000-acre  lot  of  Codrington 
was  surveyed  to  David  Cussart,  May  23,  1729.  This 
lot  also  extended  to  the  mountain  on  the  north,  east 
to  Green  Brook,  and  south  to  the  "  proprietors'  lott," 
afterwards  Rudyard's.  The  changes  of  the  title  to 
these  tracts  are  too  numerous  to  mention. 

THK  SECOND  INDIAN  TKACT  AND  THE  EABLY  SETTIiBES 
UPON  IT. 

The  following  is  from  page  53  in  the  Elizabeth  bill 
of  chancery,  and  refers  to  the  Indian  deed  recorded 
Liber  1,  fol.  147,  at  Perth  Amboy  : 

*'  That  Machcote,  alias  Kenenkome,  Awhips,  Negacope,  and  Pamas- 
come,  Indians,  in  consideration  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  to 
them  paid  by  James  Graham,  Cornehus  Corsen,  and  Samuel  Winder,  did 
sell  to  tliem  and  their  heirs  a  tract  on  both  sides  of  the  Raritan  River, 
and  extending  up  the  Raritan  River  from  the  brook  called  Raweigh- 
weroB  aforesaid  ;  as  by  the  said  Indian  deed  bearing  date  the  12  Day  of 
May,  1681." 

It  embraces  lots  3,  6,  7,  50, 118,  98, 102,  and  123,  as 
by  the  map  accompanying  Elizabeth  bill  of  chancery, 
an  explanation  of  which  is  in  schedule  3.  This  deed 
covered  a  large  tract  of  land  extending  from  Raweigh- 
weros  (Middlebrook)  along  the  Raritan  River  to 
Rackawackahacca,  which  was  a  low  meadow-land 
along  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  and  reached  up  to 
near  the  Raritan  Bridge  at  Raritan  village,  and 
thence  running  along  what  is  now  called  the  North 


652 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Branch  road  leading  out  of  Earitan  village  north 
nearly  to  Pluckamin  ;  thence  down  along  the  foot  of 
the  mountains  to  Middlebrook,  and  down  the  brook 
to  Earitan  Eiver. 

In  February,  1682,  the  territory  of  East  New  Jer- 
sey passed  to  the  proprietors,  and  the  land  was  di- 
vided into  plots  and  sold.  A  tier  of  what  were  known 
as  Earitan  Eiver  lots  were  laid  out,  fronting  on  the 
river,  and  were  first  sold.  The  plots  known  as  Nos. 
3-6  first  west  of  Middlebrook  contained  877  acres, 
and  were  surveyed  by  Philip  Wells,  Sept.  25,  1683, 
for  John  Palmer  and  associates.  These  associates,  as 
near  as  can  be  ascertained,  were  John  White,  Eichard 
Hall,  Michael  Van  Veghten,  and  perhaps  others.  These 
plots  are  mentioned  separately  as  Nos.  3  and  6,  but  a 
deed  reciting  the  boundaries  of  the  James  Graham  & 
Co.  tract,  whose  east  line  is  definitely  ascertained  to 
be  Peter's  Brook,  says  the  quarter  assigned  to  Cor- 
nelius Corson  "  is  to  lie  upon  the  easterly  side  of  the 
tract  next  adjoining  the  purchase  of  John  Palmer 
and  associates."  These  two  plots  will  be  mentioned 
as  one  in  the  accounts  of  settlement. 

The  easterly  tract  contained  877  acres.  Eichard 
Hall  was  assigned  the  land  that  lay  adjoining  Middle- 
brook, and  embraced  that  neck  of  land  commonly 
known  as  the  Island  Farm.  He  was  the  owner  of  a 
large  tract  in  New  York  City,  near  the  present  Beek- 
man  Street.  It  is  not  known  that  he  lived  here, 
though  the  name  is  common  in  the  county.  He  kept 
tavern  where  the  County  Hotel  now  is,  in  Somerville, 
about  1810.  Archibald,  a  son  of  Lord  Neill  Camp- 
bell, came  into  possession  soon  after ;  he  died  in 
1702.  The  property  belonged  to  Cornelius  Van  Horn 
in  1759,  and  was  probably  purchased  long  before  Van 
Horn  owned  it,  about  1800,  when  it  was  sold  to  George 
Smock.  It  is  now  owned  by  John  Herbert.  It  was 
called  Kells  Hall  by  Alexander  Campbell,  and  long 
retained  the  name.  A  bell  now  in  possession  of  Arch- 
ibald MoUison,  of  Bound  Brook,  has  engraved  upon 
it  "  Amsterdam,  1734.     Kells  Hall." 

North,  on  the  same  tract  on  Middle  Brook,  Philip 
Van  Horn,  a  New  York  merchant,  lived  during  the 
Eevolution.  The  place  was  known  as  Phil's  Hill. 
The  Marquis  de  Chastelleux  on  his  travels,  of  which 
he  gives  an  account  in  his  journal,  passed  through 
West  Point,  Hackensack,  Totowa,  Pompton  Plains, 
Morristown,  Basking  Eidge,  over  the  mountains,  and 
dined  at  Philip  Van  Horn's,  at  Middlebrook.  The 
property  passed  into  other  hands  soon  after  the  Eev- 
olution. The  place  is  now  the  site  of  Herbert's 
Mills.  Henry  Van  Derveer,  an  officer  in  the  Eevo- 
lution, 'lived  east  of  the  Van  Veghten  tract. 

The  western  portion  of  this  tract  was  assigned  to 
Michael  Van  Veghten.  The  precise  time  of  his  loca- 
tion is  not  known,  but  his  son  Derrick  was  born  on 
the  Earitan  in  1699.  He  built  a  one-and-a-half  story 
house  that  was  torn  down  and  replaced  with  a  brick 
house  by  Derrick,  a  part  of  which  is  still  standing  on 
the  old  homestead.    Michael  had  two  children, — Der- 


rick and  Jane.  He  purchased,  besides  the  west  half 
of  this  tract,  a  large  parcel  in  1712  across  the  river, 
south  and  north  of  his  homestead  tract,  to  and  on 
the  mountain.  He  presented  to  the  First  Church  of 
Earitan  the  ground  on  which  the  old  church  was 
built  in  1721.  The  homestead  was  near  the  bridge 
known  as  the  Van  Veghten  Bridge  from  1760.  Upon 
the  death  of  Michael  the  tract  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river,  consisting  of  one  thousand  acres,  was  left 
to  Derrick,  and  the  land  on  the  south  side  to  Jane, 
who  married  a  Mr.  Hageman,  some  of  whose  descend- 
ants now  live  at  North  Branch. 

Derrick  married  three  times,  as  follows :  Judith 
Broekholst,  Deborah  Ann  Antonideus,  and  Sarah 
Middagh,  the  latter  a  sister  of  George  and  Cornelius 
Middagh.  By  the  last  he  had  three  children, — 
Michael,  who  married  Elizabeth  La  Grange,  of  Eliz- 
abethtown,  and  lived  on  the  old  homestead;  Mar- 
garet, who  married  Joseph  Crane  and  lived  on  part 
of  the  estate ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  married  Dr.  John 
Davis,  of  New  Brunswick.  Derrick  Van  Veghten 
was  warmly  attached  to  the  cause  of  the  colonies,  and 
his  hospitality  was  heartily  extended  to  all  who  were 
interested  in  the  same  cause.  Gen.  Greene  was  quar- 
tered in  his  house  during  the  winter  and  spring  of 
1779.  An  encampment  of  the  army  was  upon  his 
farm,  on  the  slope  to  the  northeast  from  Mount 
Pleasant,*  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Shaw.  A  building 
known  for  many  years  after  as  the  Court-Martial 
building  was  erected  here.  After  the  destruction  of 
the  church,  in  October,  1779,  this  building  was  used 
for  worship,  and  tradition  says  that  it  was  moved 
to  Somerville,  enlarged,  and  remodeled  into  the 
court-house  that  stood  where  Dr.  Wilson's  house 
now  stands,  first  east  of  the  present  court-house. 

The  church  edifice  of  the  First  Church  of  Earitan 
remained  fifty-eight  years,  and  was  burned  down  by 
Col.  Simcoe  at  the  time  of  his  raid.  The  cemetery 
was  the  burial-place  of  many  of  the  early  settlers  in 
this  region.  Derrick  Van  Veghten,  who  died  Nov. 
29,  1781,  Eev.  John  Frelinghuysen,  and  Eev.  Theo- 
dore F.  Eomeyn  were  buried  there.  Many  were 
afterwards  removed  to  the  Earitan  cemetery. 

Michael  Van  Veghten,  whom  many  of  the  older 
citizens  remember,  the  only  son  of  Derrick,  married 
Elizabeth  Lagrange,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children. 
Elizabeth,  the  eldest,  married  John  Frelinghuysen,! 
and  later  John  I.  Gaston ;  Maria  married  Peter  El- 
mendorf,  of  North  Branch ;  Margaret  married  David 
Magee,  of  Elizabethtown ;  Sophia  married  Maj. 
Thomas  Talmage,  and  they  resided  north  of  Som- 
erville, on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  G.  H.  Potts; 

*  An  elaborately-carved  circular  mahogany  table  that  once  belonged  to 
Gen.  Greene  is  now  in  the  posseBsion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  W.  Chambers,  of 
New  York  City,  whose  wife  was  a  descendant  of  Derrick  Van  Veghten, 
to  whom  the  table  came  from  Gen.  Greene. 

f  They  had  six  children — Theodore,  Frederick  J.,  Louisa,  who  married 
the  Rev.  Dr.  T,  W.  Chambers,  of  New  York  City;  Elizabeth  married 
Henry  R.  Kennedy ;  Catharine,  and  Sarah  M.,  now  living  on  the  old 
homestead. 


BRIDGEWATER. 


653 


Jane  married  William  Wilson,  of  New  York  City, 
and  lived  on  the  Van  Veghten  estate  till  his  death. 
Mrs.  Wilson  afterwards  married  James  Taylor,  who 
lived  and  died  at  Somerville.  He  was  the  father  of 
John  W.  Taylor,  of  Somerville.  Richard,  the  young- 
est child  and  only  son,  inherited  the  old  homestead, 
which  finally  went  into  possession  of  strangers,  and 
is  now  owned  by  C.  T.  Ames. 

The  plot  adjoining,  to  the  west  of  No.  3,  known  as 
No.  6,  containing  877  acres,  was  purchased  by  John 
White,  Sept.  25,  1683.  This  tract  ran  back  to  a  line 
■with  the  other,  and  west  to  Peter's  Brook.  John 
White  built  near  the  river,  and  lived  there  for  sev- 
eral years.  Here  it  was  that  the  difficulty  occurred  in 
1686  that  led  to  the  laying  out  of  the  Great  Raritan 
Road.*  This  John  White  was  at  Lynn,  Mass.,  in  1630. 
In  1644  he  was  chosen  a  freeman  of  Southampton, 
L.  I.,  and  remained  there  as  late  as  1660.  The  records 
of  the  Governor  and  Council  of  East  Nfew  Jersey  show 
that  John  White,  John  Royce,  and  four  others  haid 
each,  in  1683,  a  large  tract  of  land  ordered  by  the 
Governor  and  Council  to  be  laid  out  and  patents 
issued,  which  tracts  they  had  purchased  of  the  pro- 
prietors on  the  Raritan  River  adjoining  Piscataway. 
This  tract  of  John  White  is  evidently  the  one  spoken 
of  as  lying  east  of  Peter's  Brook  and  west  of  the  Van 
Veghten  tract.  It  cannot  be  the  James  Graham  & 
Co.  tract,  for  John  Royce  had  no  connection  with 
that  and  there  were  but  four  proprietors,  while  in  this 
company  there  were  six.  John  White  was  a  resident 
of  this  county  as  late  as  1693.  In  1688  and  1693  he 
was  elected  deputy  to  the  Assembly  of  East  New 
Jersey  from  the  out-plantations  on  the  river.  In 
the  latter  year  he  was  also  collector  of  Somerset 
■County.  No  descendants  are  known  to  be  living 
here,  nor  does  his  name  occur  after  the  dates  given. 

The  first  mention  of  the  Ten  Eyck  family,  who 
occupied  these  lands  later,  is  of  Albert  Ten  Eyck 
(son  of  Coenradt  Ten  Eyck,  an  influential  man  in 
New  Amsterdam!  in  1653).  Albert  came  to  the 
Raritan  before  1708.  He  married  Maria  Van  Vegh- 
ten (probably  a  sister  of  Michael),  and  had  two  chil- 
dren,— Jenniken,  a  daughter,  who  was  baptized  in 
the  Raritan  church  in  October,  1708,  and  a  son, 
Albert,  in  1711.  Albert  the  father  was  not  living  at 
this  time. 

Part  of  the  Ten  Eyck  family  went  to  what  is  now 
Branchburg  and  settled.  The  name  of  Matthew  Ten 
Eyck  occurs  in  the  township  records  in  1750  as  one  of 
the  overseers  of  the  poor,  and  Andrew  Ten  Eyck,  Jr., 
as  overseer  of  highways.  Jacob's  name  also  appears, 
but  he  settled  in  the  western  part  of  the  township. 
Col.  Matthew  Ten  Eyck  who  lived  on  this  White 
tract  before  1750  was  the  father  of  Sarah,  Neeltje, 
and  Jane.  Sarah  married  Dr.  Garret  Tunison. 
They  lived  on  the  old  homestead  till  their  death. 


*  See  page  574,  "  General  Hietory  of  Somerset  County." 
f  New  York. 


and  had  three  sons— Cornelius,  Matthew  Ten  Eyck, 
and  Garret — and  three  daughters, — Jane,  Nellie,  and 
Maria  Magdalen.  Cornelius  married  Judith  Ten  Eyck, 
and  their  son  Peter  married  Eliza  Ten  Eyck ;  Nellie 
married  Matthew  0.  Williamson,  who  lived  on  part 
of  the  estate ;  Jane  married  Peter  Davis,  and  also 
lived  on  the  tract. 

About  1800,  Judge  Andrew  Howell  purchased  the 
western  portion  of  the  tract,  where  he  lived  many 
years.  Thi  s  large  tract  of  land,  so  occupied  for  over 
a  hundred  years,  has,  like  the  Van  Veghten  tract, 
passed  into  the  hands  of  strangers. 

THE  GEAHAM   TRACT. 

Feb.  3,  1683,  letters  patent  were  granted  to  James 
Graham,  Samuel  Winder,  Cornelius  Oorsen,  and 
John  White  for  a  tract  of  land  said  to  contain  "  the 
just  and  full  quantity  of  one  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  four  acres  of  land,  strict  measure,  but, 
allowance  being  made  for  swamp  and  highways,  the 
same  to  remain  for  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
English  acres  and  no  more."t  It  was  surveyed 
Sept.  28,  1683.  Its  east  line  was  Peter's  Brook 
from  the  river  until  it  bends  to  the  west;  south 
by  Raritan  River ;  west  by  the  old  patent  line  ; 
north  by  the  line  of  the  other  river  lots.  This  tract 
was  divided  into  four  equal  parts,  each  fronting  on 
the  river.  It  was  agreed  by  the  parties  that  the  quar- 
ter of  Cornelius  Corsen  was  to  lie  on  the  easterly  side 
of  the  tract ;  the  second  quarter  was  to  John  White, 
lying  between  Cornelius  Corsen  on  the  east  and  James 
Graham  on  the  west ;  the  third  quarter  was  set  off  to 
James  Graham,  and  was  between  John  White  on  the 
east  and  Samuel  Winder  on  the  west ;  the  fourth  and 
last  quarter  was  to  Samuel  Winder,  and  was  west 
of  James  Graham,  and  to  the  west  line  of  the  old 
patent. 

Cornelius  Corsen  was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
tract  spoken  of  as  Indian  Title  No.  2.  He  was  also 
interested  in  a  company  who  took  up  land  on  Staten 
Island,  known  as  Cornelius  Corsen  &  Co.  On  page 
103  of  the  record  of  the  Governor  and  Council  of 
East  New  Jersey,  1682-1703,  reference  is  made  to  "  the 
petition  of  James  Graham,  Samuel  Winder,  John 
White,  and  Cornelius  Corsen  to  have  a  patent  of  the 
lands  lately  surveyed  to  them,  lying  on  the  Rari- 
tan River.  Agreed  that  they  have  their  said  lands 
patented,  they  paying  twopence  an  acre, — viz.,  pur- 
chasing at  three  halfpence  an  acre  at  twelve  years 
purchase,  and  paying  by  pattent  ^d.  p.  acre."  It  is 
not  probable  that  Cornelius  Corsen  ever  lived  here. 
He  died  in  1693.  In  Staten  Island  the  surname  Cor- 
sen was  retained ;  on  the  Raritan  it  seems  to  have 

I  A  deed  in  possession  of  Judge  J.  C.  Garretson  recites  the  dates  given, 
location  of  the  different  divisions,  and  to  whom  sold  of  this  tract.  A  sur- 
vey in  possession  of  V.  J.  Frelinghuysen,  made  April  14, 1736,  by  John 
Keading  and  George  Leslie,  deputy  surveyors,  is  of  the  James  Graham  & 
Co.  tract,  and  defines  the  lines.  This  survey  is  supplemented  by  another 
made  in  1809,  of  a  part  of  the  same  property,  which  confirms  the  loca- 
tion of  the  west  and  east  lines. 


654 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


been  changed  in  some  way  to  Vroom.  Bergen,  in 
the  "History  of  the  Bergen  family,''  page  128,  says 
"Hendrick  Corsen  (Vroom),  baptized  Nov.  20,  1653, 
marries  Josina  Pietersz,  daughter  of  Pieter  Van  Nest, 
of  Brooklyn,  and  Judith  Rapalje,  a  granddaughter  of 
Joris  Janse  Rapalie,  and  settled  on  the  Earitan,  near 
Somerville,  about  1680,  where  his  descendants  are  nu- 
merous, among  whom  is  Governor  Vroom,  of  New 
Jersey."  Hendrick  Corsen,  as  will  be  shown,  pur- 
chased of  Cornelius  Corsen,  in  1687,  the  half  of  the 
quarter  of  the  section  assigned  to  him.  He  also  pur- 
chased a  tract  of  500  acres,  which  was  surveyed  to  him 
June  10,  1688,  "  where  South  and  North  Branches 
meet," — No.  37  on  old  map,  now  in  Branchburg,  north 
of  Holland's  Brook.  June  6,  1687,  Cornelius  Corsen  , 
conveyed  by  deed  the  land  he  possessed  on  the  Eari- 
tan to  Peter  Van  Nostrand  and  Hendrick  Corsen. 
The  latter  conveyed,  Oct.  10,  1687,  "  the  equal  -one- 
half  of  one  equal  fourth  part  of  the  tract  of  land" 
(meaning  the  large  tract)  to  Peter  Van  Nest,  who,  on 
June  22,  1724,  conveyed  a  part  of  it  to  his  son,  Je- 
ronimus  Van  Nest.  June  16,  1771,  Jeronimus  con- 
veyed a  portion  of  this,  in  two  tracts,  to  Jacob  E.  Har- 
denburgh.  These  two  tracts  were  conveyed,  Nov.  7, 
1781,  by  Hardenburgh  to  William  Paterson,  Elias 
Boudinot,  and  Col.  F.  Frelinghuysen,  in  trust  (350 
acres),  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  of  John  Harden- 
burgh and  wife,  to  whom  it  was  to  descend  after  their 
death.  The  property  was  so  conveyed,  and,  by  act  of 
Legislature,  Jacob  E.  Hardenburgh  and  Andrew  How- 
ell were  authorized  to  sell  the  land  for  their  benefit. 
Joseph  Annin  sold  it  to  Jacob  E.  Hardenburgh. 

March  2,  1807,  John  Davenport  purchased  109 
acres  of  the  north  tract.  This  became  the  "  Lottery 
Field,"  and  in  1809  the  land  was  divided  into  lots. 
It  was  also  on  this  tract  that  the  Somerset  House 
Company  purchased  their  land. 

Peter  Van  Nest,  who  purchased  of  Hendrick  Cor- 
sen, Oct.  10,  1687,  was  a  son  of  Peter  Van  Nest,  of 
Brooklyn,  who  came  from  the  Netherlands  in  1647. 
Peter,  Jr.,  also  lived  in  Brooklyn  before  he  purchased 
this  land.  He  married  Margaretje  Chrocheron,  of 
Staten  Island,  April  13,  1684.  His  brother  Jeroni- 
mus came  soon  after  his  settlement  on  the  Earitan. 
Peter  was  a  deputy  for  Somerset  in  the  Assembly  of 
East  New  Jersey  in  1698,  and  was  elected  a  deacon  of 
the  church  of  Earitan  March  9,  1699,  upon  the  or- 
ganization of  that  church.  The  house  of  Peter  Van 
Nest  is  said  to  have  occupied  the  spot  where  now 
stands  the  residence  of  Mr.  Dumont  Frelinghuysen. 
Jerome  is  said  to  have  lived  where  the  old  house  now 
stands,  formerly  owned  by  Joseph  Doty. 

Van  Nest's  mill  was  well  known  among  the  early 
settlers.  It  is  said  to  have  been  located  near  where 
the  railroad  bridge  now  crosses  the  river.  The  dam 
was  about  150  yards  above.  A  race  from  the  mill  led 
down  the  flat  to  near  where  the  covered  bridge  now 
is.  The  bed  of  the  river  was  difierent  somewhat  from 
its  present  course. 


Peter's  Brook  was  named  after  Peter  Van  Nest, 
who  was  living  in  1720.  His  son  Jerome,  or  Jeroni- 
mus, was  in  1771  possessed  of  lands  west  of  the  "  raill- 
lot,"  which  he  sold  to  Mr.  Hardenburgh.  Some  of 
the  family  are  still  living  in  Somerville. 

Abraham  Van  Nest,  of  New  York,  George  Van 
Nest  (known  as  "Prince  George"),  Eynear,  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Abraham  E.  Van  Nest  were  descendants  of 
the  Peter  Van  Nest  who  lived  at  Somerville.  The 
Van  Nests  who  lived  in  what  is  now  Branchburg 
were  descendants  also.  Peter  Van  Nest  purchased 
large  tracts  of  land  west  of  the  North  and  South 
Branches,  in  Readington,  and  also  in  Piscataway 
township ;  the  land  was  divided  among  his  children. 
He  had  five  sons — Peter,  Jeronimus,  John,  George, 
and  Bernardus — and  four  daughters, — Judith,  Catha- 
rine, Gacamiacia  or  Jacquemin,  and  Hannah. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  on  June  6,  1687,  Peter 
Van  Nostrand  purchased  the  east  half  of  Cornelius 
Corsert's  land.  How  long  he  owned  this  tract  is  not 
known.  His  descendants  lived  in  this  township  for 
many  years,  but  not  upon  that  place.  In  1764,  Jacob 
Van  Ostrand,  blacksmith,  lived  west  of  S.  Staats 
Coejeman.  His  land  and  shop  are  both  mentioned  as 
stations  in  the  relaying  of  the  Great  Road  in  that 
year.     He  was  town  clerk  from  1758  to  1788. 

Cornelius  Tunison  (of  whom  and  his  progeny  we 
have  most  to  write)  was  a  descendant  of  Teunis  Nys- 
sen,  or  Denyse,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  from 
a  village  near  Arnheim,  in  the  province  of  Gilder- 
land,  in  the  Netherlands,  as  early  as  1638,  and  died 
prior  to  1663.  He  married  Phebe,  or  Femmetje,  the 
daughter  of  John  Seals,*  an  Englishman,  who  came 
to  New  Amsterdam  in  1658.  He  had  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Jan  Teunissen  and  Cornelius  Teunis- 
sen  were  the  two  youngest.  Jan  Teunissen  was  bap- 
tized April  12,  1654.  He  married  Catolina  Tunis, 
daughter  of  Tunis  Gysbertse  Bogaert.  His  name  ap- 
pears at  the  organization  of  the  First  Church  of  Rar- 
itan,  March  9,  1699,  but  does  not  occur  in  any  deeds 
or  grants.  He  undoubtedly  came  to  the  valley  of 
the  Earitan  as  early  as  his  brother.  In  1704  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  New  Jersey.  His  children  were  all  baptized 
on  Long  Island,  except  Abraham,  who  was  baptized 
at  this  First  Church  of  Earitan,  Sept.  19,  1699. 

The  surname  Denyse  seems  to  have  been  dropped 
by  the  younger  sons.  In  other  parts  of  New  Jersey 
it  was  retained  by  the  oldest  son  of  Tunis  Nyssen, 
Cornelius  Teunissen,  whose  name  appears  for  the  first 
time,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  in  a  deed  dated 
Oct.  14,  1689,  from  John  White  and  Elizabeth,  his 
wife,  conveying  the  second  quarter  of  the  tract  of 
James  Graham  &  Co.  The  property  is  now  in  the 
centre  of  the  village  of  Somerville ;  it  embraced  from 
the  river  north,  including  the  Doughty  farm,  "  Lot- 
tery Field,"  and  about  the  south  half  of  the  fair- 


*  Written  Jau  Celes  in  the  colonial  records. 


BRIDGEWATER. 


655 


grounds.  This  property  Cornelius  Tunison  retained 
until  March  1,  1709,  when  he  conveyed  it  to  Peter 
Van  Nest.  It  is  probable  that  upon  the  sale  he  pur- 
chased the  property  of  Peter  Van  Nostrand,  because, 
as  far  back  as  the  knowledge  of  the  oldest  citizens 
extends,  this  property  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the 
Tunisons  from  father  to  son.  Cornelius  Tunison 
married,  Aug.  28,  1687,  Neeltje,  the  daughter  of  Tu- 
nis Gysbert  Bogaert,  sister  of  his  brother  Jan's 
wife.  Their  children  were  Tunis,  Abraham  (bap- 
tized Sept.  19,  1699,  died  young),  Abraham  (baptized 
Sept.  26,  1700),  Jan  (baptized  April  20,  1704),  Sara 
(baptized  April  3,  1706),  and  Denyse.  (baptized  April 
28,  1706).  These  baptisms  were  all  at  Earitan,  ex- 
cept that  of  Tunis,  the  first  child.  In  1703  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  the  Eastern  District.  His  name  appears  as  a 
member  of  Raritan  Church  as  late  as  1723.  From 
the  children  of  Cornelius  Tunison  have  doubtless  de- 
scended all  of  that  family  in  this  section.  Denice 
Tunison's  appears  on  the  county  records  as  overseer 
of  highway,  in  1750,  and,  in  1798,  Garret  Tunison  was 
a  member  of  the  first  town  committee, — a  position 
he  held  till  1803.  These  two  (Denice  and  Garret)  are 
the  only  ones  of  the  name  that  appear  to  have  been 
in  office  before  1800.  Evidently  the  family  were  not 
seekers  after  place.  In  the  relaying  of  the  "  Great 
Eoad,"  in  1764,  the  line  is  described  as  running  to 
"  Philip  Tunison's  line,  and  on  to  Peter's  Brook." 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  town,  in  1749,  town- 
meetings  were  held  at  the  house  of  George  Middagh 
till  1756,  at  Cornelius  Bogert's  till  1765,  at  John  Ar- 
rison's  (same  place)  till  1769,  and  in  1770  they  were 
ordered  to  be  "held  at  the  house  of  Cornelius  Tuni- 
son, innkeeper,"  on  the  "  Great  Eoad."  This  tavern 
was  undoubtedly  first  opened  at  this  time,  as  in  1764 
no  mention  is  made  of  it.  From  this  time  a  tavern 
was  kept  by  a  Cornelius  Tunison  till  1798.  A  Corne- 
lius Tunison  donated  the  property  on  which  the  First 
church  now  stands,  and  also  owned  land  north  to  the 
line  of  "  lotts."  The  old  homestead  of  the  family  is 
on  the  farm  owned  by  Judge  J.  C.  Garretson,  but 
after  the  tavern  was  established  on  the  "  Great  Road"  ' 
it  became  the  ceutre  not  only  for  the  family,  but  for 
almost  everything  else.  Many  are  the  anecdotes  told 
of  the  Tunisons  while  in  possession.  In  1797  the 
homestead  was  owned  by  Abraham  Tunison,  who 
sold  to  John  Whitenach  in  that  year.  The  old  house 
was  then  standing,  and  was  said  by  old  people  to  be 
nearly  a  hundred  years  old.  It  was  built  entirely  of 
oak,  and  stood  on  the  second  bank  of  the  river,  about 
100  yards  directly  south  of  the  house  of  John  C.  Gar- 
retson. The  old  well  still  remains;  the  house  was 
taken  down  and  the  timber  used  in  the  residence  now 
occupied  by  Mr.  Garretson.  An  old  family  burying- 
ground  is  on  the  pla«e,  on  the  bank  of  Peter's  Brook, 
where  many  other's  beside  the  family  were  also  buried. 
The  road  from  the  old  house  ran  northeasterly  to 
Peter's  Brook,  and  along  the  brook  south  of  the  old 


burial-placp  to  the  "  Great  Road"  by  the  ancient  log 
jail. 

The  Cornelius  Tunison  who  kept  the  old  tavern 
owned  a  large  tract  of  land  both  north  and  south  of 
the  Great  Road.  He  married  Jane  Brower,  who  was 
a  descendant  of  Adam  Brower,  the  emigrant,  who  set- 
tled on  a  farm  near  the  Trinity  Church  property  in 
New  York,  and  whose  son  married  Annetje,  the 
daughter  of  William  Brower,  who  was  a  son  of  the 
Rev.  Everardus  Bogardus  and  Annetje  Jans,  the  an- 
cestors of  the  many  claimants  of  the  Trinity  Church 
property.  Cornelius  and  Jane  Tunison  had  two  sons 
— Garret  and  Cornelius— and  one  daughter, — Arietta 
or  Arretje.  They  were  both  buried  in  the  family 
burial-place. 

Dr.  Garrett  Tunison  was  born  in  what  is  now  Som- 
erville  in  1751,  studied  medicine,  and  was  surgeon  in 
Col.-Lamb's  regiment  in  the  Continental  army  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  There  was  granted  to  him  for 
his  services  6000  acres  of  land  in  Virginia  and  2600  in 
New  York.  He  married  Sarah  Ten  Eyck.  Dr.  Tu- 
nison died  in  1837,  aged  eighty-six,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Somerville  cemetery.  His  brother  Cornelius 
married  Eliza  White.  They  had  one  son— Garret — 
and  a  daughter, — Agnes.  Arietta,  the  sister  of  Dr. 
Tunison,  married  John  Beekman,  and  had  three  sons, 
— Abraham,  John,  and  Garret, — who  all  removed  to 
New  York  and  became  wealthy.  After  the  death  of 
John  Beekman  his  widow  married  Richard  Compton ; 
she  was  known  later  in  life  as  "  Aunt  Yauney."  She 
was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  first  husband. 

There  was  a  Cornelius  Tunison  who  died  in  1775 
and  left  four  sons, — Philip,  Abraham,  Cornelius,  and 
Folkert.  The  Abraham  who  sold  to  Mr.  Whitenach 
moved  up  to  Burnt  Mills.  His  son,  Philip  A.,  was 
the  father  of  George  V.  Tunison,  of  Somerville. 
Abraham,  his  father,  died  the  year  the  property  was 
sold,  and  was  buried  in  the  old  family  burial-place. 
Folkert  died  in  1789,  and  left  a  son, — Derrick.  The 
Abraham  who  died  in  1797  had  a  son, — Philip  T.  E. 
Tunison, — whose  son,  Philip,  was  a  cabinet-m  iker, 
having  learned  his  trade  at  Bound  Brook.  He  lived 
at  Somerville,  where  he  opened  a  cabinet-shop  on  the 
Great  Road,  where  Mechanic  Street  now  is.  He  died 
in  1813,  and  is  buried  in  the  old  family  burying- 
ground.  A  son  James  is  living  in  the  house  his 
father  built  for  a  cabinet-shop.  Several  of  the  family 
moved  to  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  they  and  their 
descendants  still  reside.  Dennis  moved  up  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  tract  before  1770. 

The  second  quarter  in  the  Graham  &  Co.  division 
was  made  to  John  White  soon  after  the  purchase,  in 
1683.  Oct.  14,  1689,  John  White  and  Elizabeth,  his 
wife,  conveyed  by  deed  this  quarter  to  Cornelius  Tu- 
nison, who  retained  it  until  March  1,  1709,  when  he 
and  his  wife,  Neeltje,  conveyed  the  same  land  to  Peter 
Van  Nest.  The  precise  time  the  plot  was  conveyed  is 
not  known,  but  Cornelius  Bogert  was  in  possession  of 
part  of  it  at  least  in  1752,  for  on  January  25th  of  that 


656 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


year  he  conveyed,  by  deed,  the  parsonage  lot  to  the 
Consistory  of  the  Dutch  Church,  and  on  May  16, 1768, 
conveyed  114  acres  of  land  adjoining  it  on  the  north 
and  south  to  the  Eev.  Jacob  E.  Hardenburgh.  This 
plot  extended  from  the  east  line  of  the  parsonage  lot 
west  to  the  Wallace  or  Miller  farm,  and  from  the  river 
back  to  a  line  with  the  Earitan  lots.  Cornelius  Bogert 
was  a  son  of  Gysbert  Bogert.  He  owned  a  tract  of 
land  in  Brooklyn  before  he  settled  on  the  Earitan. 
He  lived  here  as  late  as  1764. 

The  surveys  of  the  Coejeman  property  in  1736  and 
later,  in  1809,  show  that  the  north  line  of  the  river 
lots  on  the  west  side  commenced  at  the  point  where 
the  street  in  Earitan  village  that  runs  north  to  the 
North  Branch  road  joins  that  road,  and  from  thence 
the  line  runs  east  nearly  parallel  with  the  river,  bear- 
ing northerly  after  it  passes  Middle  Brook,  and  touch- 
ing Green  Brook  at  the  junction  of  Green  and  Bound 
Brooks. 

The  third  quarter  in  the  division  of  the  large  tract 
that  was  assigned  to  James  Graham  was  conveyed  to 
Peter  Van  Nest,  Oct.  26,  1693,  who  sold  the  property 
to  Derrick  Middagh,*  May  1,  1709.  At  his  death  it 
came  into  possession  of  his  son  Cornelius,  who  sold 
a  part  of  it  to  George  Middagh,  Jan.  4,  1734.  On 
this  place  George  Middagh  kept  a  tavern,  where  Mrs. 
F.  F.  Cornell  now  lives,  and  from  1750  to  1756  the 
town-meetings  were  held  at  his  house,  and  from  1756 
-64  at  Cornelius  Bogert's.  He  sold  the  tavern-prop- 
erty to  John  Arrison  in  1765,  and  meetings  were  held 
there  until  1769,  when  they  were  moved  to  Cornelius 
Tunison's,  now  Fritts'  Hotel.  His  place  is  one  of 
those  mentioned  in  the  relaying  of  the  old  Great 
Eoad,  in  1764,  and  Cornelius  lived  north  of  him  in 
the  house  afterwards  owned  by  John  Frelinghuysen 
and  known  as  the  Frelinghuysen  homestead.  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  purchased  of  Henry  Traphagen. 

May  17,  1765,  George  Middagh  sold  a  part  of  it  to 
Eev.  Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh.  He  retained  the  prop- 
erty for  twenty  years,  and  on  Dec.  7,  1775,  sold  to 
John  Wallace,  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia.  At  his 
death,  soon  after,  it  fell  to  William  Wallace,  his  son, 
who  in  1778  built  what  is  known  as  the  "  Washington 
House."  Nov.  4,  1801,  Dickenson  Miller  purchased 
the  farm  of  Joshua  M.  Wallace,  one  of  the  executors 
of  the  estate  of  William  Wallace.  The  property  de- 
scended to  Caleb,  David,  and  Andrew  Miller.  David 
sold  64  acres  to  John  M.  Mann,  March  28, 1833,  where 
Mr.  Parmelee  now  resides.  The  farm  included  the 
north  part  of  the  village  within  the  limits  of  the  tract 
east  and  west.  An  oak-tree  still  standing  on  the  origi- 
nal quarter  of  this  large  tract,  near  the  house  now  oc- 
cupied by  W.  S.  Parmelee,  which  is  known  as  the  John 
M.  Mann  house,  was  one  of  the  stations  marked  in  the 


*  Derrick  Middagh  was  here  in  1699.  He  married  Katalyntje  Van 
Nest.  They  had  children,— Pieter,  Derricli,  Theunis,  Joris,  Garret,  and 
Cornelius.  The  name  of  Joris  occurs  quite  frequently  in  the  records  of 
surveyors  of  highways  from  1733,  and  the  name  of  Derriclt  occurs  for  the 
last  time  in  1798. 


laying  out  of  what  is  known  as  the  Lawrence,  or  quin- 
tipartate,  line.  It  was  then  (1748)  a  tree  of  consider- 
able size.  By  the  relentless  hand  of  time  it  has  been 
shorn  of  all  its  large  branches  but  one.  It  is  a  monu- 
ment that  ought  to  be  guarded  with  care. 

A  part  of  this  tract  was  conveyed  to  the  family  of 
Van  Arsdalen.  Cornelius  and  Abraham  were  both 
living  here  as  early  as  1749.  Later,  Henry  Van  Ars- 
dalen, a  descendant,  owned  it,  and  conveyed  it  to 
Eichard  Duyckinck,  who  sold  to  the  Rev.  F.  F.  Cor- 
nell, by  whose  widow  it  is  now  owned.  The  Freling- 
huysen homestead  was  a  part  of  the  Van  Arsdalen 
property. 

The  fourth  and  last  quarter  of  this  large  tract  was 
assigned  to  Samuel  Winder.  The  time  this  land  was 
conveyed  is  not  known,  nor  to  whom,  with  any  cer- 
tainty. In  1703,  Andrew  Coejeman  purchased  a  large 
tract  known  as  Eoycefield,  south  of  the  river.  In 
1736  the  property  owned  by  Samuel  Winder  was  in 
his  possession,  as  by  survey  of  1736,  spoken  of  as  a 
tract  of  442J  acres.  In  the  relaying  of  the  old  Great 
Eoad,  in  1764,  the  property  is  mentioned  as  belong- 
ing to  "S.  Staats  Coejeman."  It  had  passed  before 
1800  to  a  grandson,  Andrew,  who  died  very  shortly 
after.  George  Farmer,  Col.  John  Neilson,  and  Jane 
Coejeman  were  trustees  of  the  estate,  and  it  was  sold  in 
1804  to  John  S.  Vredenburgh  and  Gen.  John  Freling- 
huysen, the  former  being  assigned  the  old  house  and 
the  west  part  of  the  tract  in  the  division.  The  west  line 
is  known  as  First  Avenue,  and  along  the  road  up  to 
the  North  Branch  road,  the  junction  of  which  was  the 
northern  limit.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  purchased,  April 
14,  1800,  of  Andrew  and  Jane,  his  wife,  104  acres  on 
the  east  part.  Other  portions  of  the  remainder  were 
taken  by  him  when  it  was  sold  by  the  trustees.  The 
old  house  and  the  portion  of  the  farm  that  belonged  to 
the  Eev.  J.  S.  Vredenburgh  were  sold  by  him  to  John 
I.  Gaston,  who  conveyed  it  by  deed  to  Albert  Cam- 
man,  May  16,  1837,  and  soon  after  the  organization 
of  the  Somerville  Water-Power  Company  it  passed 
to  them,  later  to  the  Earitan  Water-Power  Company. 
It  is  now  owned  by  Mrs.  John  T.  Bartlett.  The  Fre- 
linghuysen house  is  still  standing,  but  is  on  land  of 
the  James  Graham  quarter  that  came  from  Cornelius 
Middagh  to  Henry  Traphagen  and  to  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen. The  east  portion  of  the  village  of  Earitan  is 
on  the  old  Coejeman  farm. 

Samuel  Winder,  to  whom  was  assigned  this  other 
quarter  of  the  tract,  was  one  of  the  council  chosen 
by  Lord  Neill  Campbell  in  1686  on  assuming  the  gov- 
ernment of  East  Jersey.  He  married  Margaret,  the 
daughter  of  Thomas  Eudyard,  one  of  the  twenty- 
four  proprietors.  It  does  not  appear  that  they  ever 
lived  in  the  township. 

Andrew  Coejeman,  son  of  Barent  Pieterse  Coeje- 
man, emigrated  from  Utrecht,  Holland,  in  1636,  and 
settled  at  Eensselaerswyck.  Andreas  had  five  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Andrew  was  the  eldest.  The  date  of 
the  purchase  of  this  tract  is  not  known,  but,  as  he 


BRIDaEWATER. 


657 


purchased  a  large  tract  across  the  river,  known  as 
Eoycefield,  in  1703,  it  is  probable  he  purchased  the 
Winder  tract  soon  after.  A  large  brick  house  standing 
on  the  banks  of  the  Earitan  bears  in  a  stone  in  its 
foundation  the  figures  "1736."  The  house  is  one 
and  a  half  stories  high,  and  contains  four  large  rooms 
and  a  hall.  A  survey  of  the  Ooejeman  farm  in  this 
year  shows  the  position  of  the  house. 

Andrew  Coejeman  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.Samuel 
Staats,  of  Albany,  and  had  four  daughters  and  a  son, 
Samuel  Staats  Coejeman,  who  died  before  1752,  as  in 
a  deed  of  property  adjoining  mention  is  made  of 
"  lands  of  Andrew  Coejman,  deceased."  The  daugh- 
ter Catharine  married  Col.  John  Neilson,  and  resided 
in  New  Brunswick.  Gertrude  married  Abraham  Lott, 
May  9, 1750.  He  was  a  dry-goods  merchant  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  was  appointed  State  treasurer 
in  1767.  Joanna  married  Col.  White,  and  had  three 
children,— Gen.  Anthony  W.  White,  Mrs.  Governor 
Paterson,  and  Mrs.  Bayard.  Moyaca,  the  youngest 
daughter,  remained  unmarried. 

S.  Staats  Coejeman  married  Annetje  Schuyler, 
and  had  two  children, — Gertrude  and  Andrew.  The 
former  married  George  Farmer,  the  latter  married 
Jane  Van  Doren.  The  property  on  the  Raritan  fell 
to  S.  Staats  Coejeman.  His  son  Andrew  inherited  it, 
and  in  1800  he  sold  a  part  of  it  to  John  Freling- 
huysen  ;  in  1804  the  west  part  was  sold  to  the  Rev. 
John  S.  Vredenburgh  by  John  Neilson,  George 
Farmer,  and  Jane  Coejeman.  With  this  transfer  the 
name  became  extinct  in  the  township  after  nearly  a 
hundred  years  of  occupancy. 

Gen.  John  Frelinghuysen,  a  son  of  Gen.  Frederick, 
married,  for  his  first  wife,  Louisa,  a  daughter  of 
Archibald  Mercer;  for  his  second,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Michael  Van  Veghten.  Frederick  J.  and  Theo- 
dore, their  sons,  live  on  the  North  Branch  road,  north 
of  Raritan. 

Lands  North  of  the  "Raritan  Letts."— The  land 
titles  and  early  settlements  that  have  been  given  thus 
far  in  the  second  Indian  title  pertain  entirely  to  the 
"Raritan  River  Lotts."  The  lots  in  the  rear  were 
purchased  at  about  the  dates  given.  The  remainder 
of  this  land  was  triangular  in  form,  having  the  river 
lots  for  a  base  and  running  to  a  point  following  the 
line  of  the  mountains.  The  lot  on  the  east  "  at  First 
Mountain"  contained  100  acres.  It  was  surveyed  to 
the  heirs  of  R.  L.  Hooper,  Oct.  17, 1741,  having  been 
purchased  by  Mr.  Hooper  some  time  previous.  The 
second  lot  contained  126  acres,  and  lay  west  of  the 
one  mentioned.  It  was  purchased  by  R.  L.  Hooper, 
May  16,  1726.  A  tier  of  three  lots  adjoined  the  river 
lots.  The  east  one  was  directly  north  of  the  John 
White  tract,  and  contained  142f  acres;  it  was  sur- 
veyed td  Alexander  McDowell,  Sept.  16, 1728.  The 
next  one  west  was  surveyed  to  James  Hooper,  Oct.  18, 
1740;  it  contained  200  acres.  The  third  in  this  tier 
was  situated  north  of  the  James  Graham  &  Co.  tract, 
and  contained  500  acres ;  it  was  surveyed  to  Samuel 


Winder.  Some  in  the  north  part  remained  unappro- 
priated in  the  early  division.  Later  (about  1730), 
Michael  Van  Veghten  purchased  a  back  lot,  which 
ran  to  the  mountain,  in  the  rear  of  his  river  lot. 

The  place  afterwards  known  as  "Washington 
Valley"  was  most  sought  for  by  settlers  away  from 
the  river  lots.  Among  the  first  was  John  Sebring, 
who  settled  where  Martinsville  now  is ;  his  house  was 
the  only  one  at  that  place  until  after  the  Revolution. 
Johannes  Sebring  was  the  eldest  son  of  Cornells 
Suebering,  who  was  a  member  of  the  colonial  Legis- 
lature from  Kings  Co.,  N.  Y.,  from  1698  to  1723.  Jo- 
hannes was  born  about  1686,  and  lived  in  Kings 
County  until  1717.  On  April  16th  in  that  year  he 
sold  his  interest  in  an  undivided  half  of  a  lot  of  land 
in  Brookland  [Brooklyn],  described  as  "lying  to  ye 
southwest  of  ye  ferry  house."  It  may  now  be  known 
as  the  foot  of  Fulton  Street  on  the  East  River,  Brook- 
lyn. The  precise  time  of  his  purchase  in  this  town- 
ship is  not  known.  In  1750  two  sons— John,  Jr.,  and 
Folkert — were  elected  overseers  of  highways.  Abram 
and  Roelef  Sebring  were  overseers  of  poor  in  1769 ; 
Robert  was  justice  in  1779 ;  John  was  judge  in  1784. 
Descendants  of  the  family  are  still  living  in  the 
neighborhood. 

Of  Enos  Munday  nothing  is  known  except  that  he 
had  a  tract  of  300  acres  and  built  a  stone  house  which 
remained  many  years.  Before  the  Revolution  he  ex- 
changed this  tract  with  Daniel  Waldron,  who  had 
lived  several  years  on  the  south  side  of  the  Raritan. 
C.  L.  Waldron,  a  descendant,  lives  on  the  old  home- 
stead. 

An  early  settler  was  one  Colthar,  father  of  Alex- 
ander and  John ;  he  lived  north  of  what  is  now  Mar- 
tinsville. Denice  Tunison  was  a  son  of  some  of  the 
Tunisons  who  settled  on  the  river.  As  early  as  1750 
he  was  elected  to  a  position  in  the  town.  What  time 
he  came  to  the  rear  lots  is  not  determined.  He  lived 
north  of  Martinsville,  where  J.  Long  now  lives.  His 
son  Dennis  lived  on  the  homestead  for  a  time  and 
moved  West  to  the  lands  between  Cayuga  and  Seneca 
Lakes.  Jacob  Brown  lived  farther  up  the  valley  at  a 
later  date.  The  Comptons  also  were  early  settlers  in 
the  valley ;  the  old  homestead  was  where  R.  McNab 
now  lives.  Philip  Winans  was  also  an  old  settler. 
His  grandson  Peter  still  lives  on  the  homestead  below 
Martinsville.  Absalom  Martin,  from  whom  Martins- 
ville derives  its  name,  owned  property  at  this  place 
and  south  of  it  before  1800.  The  old  homestead  was 
on  the  mountain,  above  Buttermilk  Falls.  He  had 
three  sons, — Absalom,  James,  and  Samuel.  Absalom 
and  James  moved  to  Martinsville.  Absalom  had  one 
son,  Samuel  K.,  who  became  a  physician  and  prac- 
ticed medicine  in  that  locality.  James  owned  the 
land  where  the  old  fortifications  were,  now  owned  by 
William  Richardson.  Samuel  lived  on  the  old  home- 
stead. Albert  Bolmer  was  directly  west  of  Martins- 
ville as  early  as  1766, — probably  much  earlier.  Isaac 
and  Robert  were  sons.     Mrs.   Daniel  Sanborn,   of 


658 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Somerville,  is  a  daughter  of  Robert.     His  descend- 
ants still  occupy  the  homestead. 

The  northern  slope  of  First  Mountain  attracted  the 
attention  of  Germans,  and  to-day  many  families  of 
that  sturdy  race  are  busy  at  work  and  dotting  the 
hillsides  with  their  habitations.  The  Powelsons  lived 
northwest  from  Martinsville,  and  the  property  de- 
scended from  father  to  son  for  many  years.  It  is  now 
in  the  hands  of  strangers.  In  the  northwestern  part 
of  this  Indian  title,  on  the  west  side  of  First  Moun- 
tain, were  settled  some  of  the  Van  Arsdales,  Van 
Derveers,  and  Powelsons.  Dockwatch  Hollow  was 
about  If  miles  below  Martinsville.  From  what  it 
derived  its  name  is  not  known.  There  was  an  old 
mill,  built  by  the  Sebrings,  about  forty  years  ago. 
It  was  on  a  stream  that  flows  into  Middle  Brook. 

THIKD   INDIAH  TRACT   AND   ITS  SETTLEMENT. 

This  Indian  tract  is  in  form  a  parallelogram,  ex- 
tending the  length  of  the  second  tract,  previously 
described.  It  is  about  four  miles  in  depth,  and  its  line 
along  the  river  reaches  from  the  east  line  of  the 
second  tract  (along  the  North  Branch  road,  that  runs 
through  Raritan  village),  and  runs  westerly  along  the 
river  to  a  point  a  little  beyond  what  is  now  the  west- 
erly end  of  the  island  in  the  river.*  The  following 
is  extracted  from  the  Elizabeth  bill  of  chancery : 

"  Pawark  and  ManaBamitt,  Indians,  by  Deed  bearing  date  the  19th 
day  of  November,  1681,  for  the  consideration  therein  mentioned,  did 
convey  to  Robert  Vauquillen  and  hie  heirs  a  tract  of  land  on  the  north 
Bide  of  Raritan  River,  and  beginning  at  the  upper  bounds  of  the  last 
deed  aforesaid  (Graham,  Winder  and  Co.),  and  ninning  up  the  river 
westerly  to  the  upper  end  of  an  island  called  Mattanibe,  and  including 
the  island,  and  running  northerly  to  the; mountains,  as  by  the  said  Deed." 

The  proprietors  received  their  title  in  February, 
1682,  but  sales  were  not  made  as  rapidly  as  of  the 
river-lands,  lower  down.  May  1,  1686,  a  tract  of  660 
acres  was  surveyed  to  John  Robinson,  he  having  pur- 
chased of  Vauquillen.  This  tract  was  long  and  nar- 
row. It  was  located  on  the  west  side,  and  bordered 
on  the  river.  A  large  tract  was  purchased  east  of 
this  by  James  Graham  &  Co.,  west  of  that  in  the 
second  title.  Samuel  Winder  purchased  a  tract  of 
500  acres  north  of  the  last  mentioned,  the  line  be- 
tween the  Indian  patents  running  through  the  centre. 
Still  north  was  a  plot  of  400  acres,  reaching  west  to 
the  river,  surveyed  to  William  Ackman.  Adjoining 
on  the  north,  Archibald  Riddle  possessed  300  acres. 
Campbell  and  Blackwood  entered  two  tracts  contain- 
ing 7600  acres.  One  of  these  was  located  north  of 
the  Samuel  Winder  lot;  it  ran  north  to  the  north 
line  of  the  second  title,  and  occupied  in  width  a  little 
more  than  half  of  the  north  part  of  the  land  covered 
by  the  Indian  title,  the  other  was  in  the  north  part 
of  Branchburg.  West  of  this  were  two  lots;  the 
southern,  of  500  acres,  adjoined  Riddle's  lot.  It  was 
surveyed  Feb.  17,  1692,  to  Sir  John  Dalrymple;  the 
northern,  containing  912  acres,  to  Ann  West,  Aug. 

•  The  deed  conveying  this  property  is  on  record  in  Perth  Ambov,  Liber 
1,  folio  163. 


14,  1693.t  The  lands  of  Ackman,  Riddle,  Dalrym- 
ple, and  West  reached  to  the  North  Branch,  and  oc- 
cupied the  entire  north  part  of  the  fourth  Indian 
title  east  of  the  North  Branch.  A  portion  of  the 
land  taken  by  Ann  West  is  above  Chambers'  Brook, 
at  its  mouth,  and  in  Bedminster.  The  village  of 
North  Branch  is  below,  on  the  Campbell  tract. 

The  lot  purchased  by  Ann  West  fell  into  possession 
of  the  Duchess  of  Gordon.  Gouverneur  Morris,  as 
agent,  sold  600  acres,  April  1,  1801,  to  John  Van 
Derveer.  It  was  divided  between  him  and  Abram 
Quick,  and  is  still  in  possession  of  their  descendants. 
They  both  came  from  Ten-Mile  Run  in  that  year. 
Part  of  the  lands  purchased  were  in  the  township  of 
Bedminster.  John  Van  Derveer  settled  on  the  north 
part,  containing  410  acres,  and  Abram  Quick  on  the 
south  part,  of  230  acres,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  at  an  advanced  age.  The  homestead  is  now 
in  possession  of  Abram  Van  Nest ;  the  other  part  is 
owned  by  Abram  W.  Ten  Eyck.  Mr.  Quick  was  a 
man  of  great  energy,  and  served  the  public  in  various 
offices, — justice  of  the  peace,  president  of  the  New 
Brunswick  and  Easton  turnpike,  and  elder  in  the 
Reformed  Church  of  North  Branch.  His  son  Abram 
now  lives  at  Somerville. 

Jacob  Ten  Eyck  before  1752  (how  long  before  is 
not  known)  purchased  land  on  the  east  side  of  North 
Branch  of  one  Quinton  W.  Cohnmart,  on  the  Riddle 
and  Ackman  tracts,  also  on  the  west  side  of  the  stream, 
where  his  old  homestead  still  remains.  He  died  before 
1760.  He  left  four  sons, — Abram,  Matthew,  Conrad, 
and  Peter.  Aug.  25,  1763,  Matthew,  Conrad,  and 
Peter  sold  a  small  lot  to  Rynier  Van  Nest.  In  1770, 
Conrad  sold  a  part  to  a  Jacob  Ten  Eyck.  A  part  of 
this  property  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  family.  The 
western  portion  of  the  tract  came  down  to  the  river, 
and  was  purchased  by  John  Robinson ;  but  little  is 
known  of  its  early  title.  Whether  he  lived  here  or 
not  is  an  open  question.  Before  the  Revolution  a 
part  of  it  was  owned  by  Peregrine  Lagrange,  a  lawyer. 
He  was  an  adherent  of  the  Crown,  and  for  his  loyalty 
suffered  the  confiscation  and  sale  of  his  property. 
This  property  was  purchased  at  auction  by  William 
Paterson,  afterwards  Governor  of  the  State.  He  re- 
sided at  this  place  for  several  years,  and  after  the 
Revolution  removed  to  New  Brunswick.  His  daugh- 
ter, afterwards  wife  of  Gen.  Stephen  Van  Rensse- 
laer, was  born  at  this  place.  Several  young  men 
who  afterwards  arrived  at  distinction— among  whom 
were  Aaron  Burr,  Gen.  Morton,  and  John  Young 
Noell— here  studied  law  with  Governor  Paterson.  It 
is  also  probable  that  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  An- 
drew Kirkpatrick,  and  George  M.  Troup,  Governor  of 
Georgia,  were  of  the  number.  The  property  passed 
to  Peter  B.  Low  and  Daniel  Kinney.     It  now  belongs 

t  Ann  West  was  the  wife  of  Jolin  West,  merchant,  and  daughter  of 
Governor  Thomas  Rudyard.  After  the  death  of  her  husband  she  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  Wharton,  and  subsequently  of  Got.  Andrew  Ham- 
ilton. 


BRIDGEWATEE. 


659 


to  H.  S.  Long,  who  occupies  the  east  half,  and  Alex- 
ander H.  Brokaw,  who  owns  the  west  half,  on  which 
the  old  house  stood.  East  of  this  a  farm  was  owned 
by  Judge  Van  Derveer  in  1815.  Garret  Rosenboom 
was  in  possession  still  farther  east  adjoining  in  1764. 
The  place  is  mentioned  in  the  relaying  of  the  Great 
Road  that  year.  Next  east,  a  plot  owned  by  Rynear 
Veghte  before  1800  descended  to  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Jacob  Van  Doren ;  it  was  afterwards  owned  by  John 
I.  Staats.  Mrs.  Voorhees  owned  a  farm  still  farther 
east.  Jacob  Van  Doren  also  owned  (about  1800)  a 
lot  of  land  on  the  river  in  this  tract.  The  east 
farm  in  this  tract,  and  adjoining  the  land  of  the 
second  Indian  title,  was  owned  forty  years  ago  by 
Femmetje  Brokaw.  The  last  two  or  three  farms 
mentioned  were  in  the  Graham  &  Co.  lot,  west  of 
their  tract  in  the  second  title. 

FOURTH  INDIAN  TITLE. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  description  given  that  the 
term  "  on  both  sides  of  the  Raritan  River"  is  used. 
On  the  map  accompanying  the  Elizabeth  bill  of  chan- 
cery the  plot  is  laid  out,  and  its  south  side  is  on  the 
Earitan  River.  It  runs  back  on  both  sides  of  the 
North  Branch,  which  is  early  spoken  of  as  the  Raritan. 
Its  southwestern  corner  was  at  the  junction  of  the 
North  and  the  South  Branches.  The  deed  conveying 
this  title  (on  record  at  Perth  Amboy,  Liber  1,  fol. 
154)  recites : 

"That  Pawarfc,  Corwalanucli,  Manamafisamit,  and  Agnamapamund, 
Indians,  by  deed  bearing  date  the  said  19th  day  of  November,  1681,  for 
the  consideration  in  goods  therein  mentioned,  paid  them  by  John  Rob- 
inson, WUUam  Pinhorn,  Richard  Jones,  and  Matthew  Taylor,  did  sell  to 
the  Lady  Proprietrix  of  East  New  Jersey,  widow  of  the  said  George  Car- 
teret, a  tract  of  land  on  both  sides  of  Earitan  Eiver,  adjoining  the  upper 
bounds  of  the  two  last  deeds  aforesaid,  and  running  up  the  river  to  a 
place  Tnckaramohackinge,  and  in  depth  four  miles  on  both  sides  of  the 
said  Baritan  River,*  as  by  the  said  Deed  conveyed." 

After  the  land  under  these  Indian  titles  passed  to 
the  proprietors  and  was  laid  out,  sales  were  made  of 
the  north  part,  embraced  in  the  third  and  fourth.f 
William  Pinhorn,  mentioned  as  one  who  paid  goods 
to  the  Indians  for  Lady  Carteret,  had  a  tract  of  500 
acres  surveyed  to  him  on  March  3,  1697.  This  was 
on  the  east  side  of  the  land  embraced  in  this  title,  and 
extended  south  to  the  river  and  north  to  Ackman's 
lot,  mentioned  in  the  third  title,  which  extended 
back  of  Pinhorn's  and  west  to  the  North  Branch. 
Lord  Neill  Campbell  purchased  a  tract  of  1650  acres, 
which  was  surveyed  to  him  Jan.  9,  1685,  mentioned 
as  being  "on  the  North  Branch  and  the  Raritan." 
This  large  tract  was  bounded  on  the  south  and  west 
by  the  North  Branch  and  the  Raritan  River,  on  the 
north  by  the  Ackman  plot,  and  on  the  east  by  the 
plot  of  "William  Pinhorn.  To  whom  Lord  Campbell 
sold,  or  at  what  time,  is  not  definitely  ascertained. 
The  north  part  was  purchased  about  1720  by  Jacob 
Ten  Eyck.    A  part  of  it,  embracing  a  large  tract,  was 

*  Meaning  the  North  Branch. 

t  The  history  of  some  of  these  lands  wlU  be  found  under  the  third 
title. 


left  to  Mathew  Ten  Eyck.  Others  of  the  Ten  Eyck 
family  owned  lands  in  this  tract.  The  homestead  of 
Jacob  Ten  Eyck  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  Branch, 
where  he  also  owned  a  large  tract.  The  lower  or 
southern  part  of  his  purchase  passed  many  years  later 
(from  1750  to  1770)  to  William  Crook.  At  his  death 
John  Elmendorf  and  Abraham  Ten  Eyck  were  made 
executors  of  his  estate.  It  passed  to  John  Elmendorf, 
and  is  now  in  possession  of  George  McBride. 

Of  the  plot  east  of  Lord  Campbell  taken  by  Wil- 
liam Pinhorn,  the  lower  part  is  now  in  possession  of 
Peter  V.  Staats  and  John  Van  Derveer.  It  was  early 
owned  by  Peter  Whorley,  and  later  by  John  Simon- 
son.  The  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  North  Branch^ 
will  be  mentioned  in  the  history  of  Branchburg  town- 
ship. 

Many  other  families  settled  in  the  limits  of  the  four 
Indian  titles  given  that  are  worthy  of  mention,  but  it 
is  impossible  to  give  the  location  of  all.  Much  infor- 
mation can  be  obtained  as  to  the  settlement  by  refer- 
ence to  the  civil  lists  of  the  early  years. 

ORGANIZATION. 
The  township  of  Bridgewater  was  formed  by  letters- 
patent  from  George  II.  dated  April  4,  1749,  and  it  is 
without  doubt  the  only  official  "  letters  patent"  for 
the  formation  of  any  township  in  the  county  of  Som- 
erset of  which  any  record  is  kept.  This  charter  was- 
in  the  possession  of  the  township  clerk  until  within 
about  two  years,  but  is  now  missing.  It  is  written  on 
parchment,  and,  fortunately,  a  copy  was  made  some 
years  ago  by  Dr.  A.  Messier  for  his  "  History  of  Som- 
erset County,"  and  is  here  given : 

"SiG  Provincie  Nostra.  Nova  Ckserea  in  America. 
"  (~^  EORGE  the  Second  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France  and 
^^  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  faith,  etc.,  TO  ALL  to  whom  these 
presents  shall  come  GREETING.  Know  that  we  of  our  Especial  Grace 
Certain  knowledge  and  Mere  Motion  Have  Given  and  Granted,  and  by 
these  presents  do  give  and  Grant  for  us  our  Heirs  and  Successors  to  the 
Townships  of  the  South  or  most  part  of  the  Northern  Precinct  of  our 
(Jounty  of  Somerset  in  our  Province  of  New' Jersey  within  the  following 
boundaries,  to  wit.  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Bound  Brook  where  it 
Emties  into  Earitan,  thence  up  the  said  Bound  Brook  to  the  month  of 
Green  Brook ;  thence  up  the  said  Brook  to  the  King's  Road  at  Lawrence 
Ruth's  Mill,  thence  northerly  up  the  said  Boad  to  the  Top  of  the  Second 
Mountain,  thence  westerly  along  the  top  of  the  said  Mountain  to  the 
Gap  by  Jacob  Brewer,  thence  down  the  said  Gap  to  Chambers'  Brook  by 
McDonald's  Mill,  thence  down  the  said  Brook  to  the  North  Branch 
thence  up  the-said  Branch  to  Laomatoug  to  the  Division  Line  between 
East  and  West  Jersey,  thence  along  said  Line  to  the  South  Branch  of 
Raritan  River,  thence  up  said  Branch  to  the  mouth  of  the  North  Branch 
of  said  River,  thence  down  said  Raritan  to  the  place  where  it  began 
To  be  and  remain  a  Perpetual  township  and  Community,  in  word  and  in 


X  Dec.  12, 1792,  the  following  advertisement  appeared  in  The  Guardian, 
of  New  Brunswick : 

"  The  Fulling-Mill  of  the  subscriber,  at  the  North  Branch  of  Raritan, 

is  now  in  complete  repair,  and  will  be  attended  the  ensuing  season  by 

the  same  person  who  gave  such  general  satisfaction  in  the  last  year. 

TheFuller  is  amply  provided  with  material  of  every  kind  to  finish  cloth 

in  the  most  fashionable  colours  and  in  the  best  manner.    Every  order  of 

customers  shall  he  attended  to,  and  every  effort  shaU  be  made  to  do  them 

perfect  justice. 

"  John  Hardenbtjro." 

Cornelius  Van  Derveer,  a  miller  on  the  North  Branch,  was  the  owner 

of  this  mill  after  1812,  and  carried  on  the  business. 


660 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Deed  to  be  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  Township  of  Bridge- 
water.  And  we  further  Grant  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  township 
aforesaid  and  their  successors,  and  to  choose  annually  a  constable,  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  and  overseers  of  the  highways  for  the  township  afore- 
said, and  to  enjoy  all  the  Privileges,  Eights,  Liberties,  and  Immunities 
that  any  other  township  in  our  said  Province  do  or  may  of  Right  enjoy, 
and  the  said  Inhabitants  are  hereby  Constituted  and  appointed  a  Town- 
ship by  the  name  aforesaid— To  Hate,  Hold  and  Enjot  the  privileges 
aforesaid  to  them  and  their  successors  forever.  In  Testimony  whereof 
we  have  Caused  these  our  Letters  to  be  made  Patent  and  the  Great  Seal 
of  our  said  province  of  New  Jersey  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 

Witness  our  Trusty  and  well-beloved  Jonathan  Belcher,  Esq.,  our 
Captain- General  and  Governor-in-Chief  in  and  over  His  Majesties  Prov- 
ince of  Nova  Ceserea  or  New  Jersey  and  Territories  thereon  depending 
in  America,  Chancellor  and  Yice-Admiral  in  the  same,  etc.,  at  our  City, 
of  Burlington  in  our  said  Province  the  fourth  day  of  April  in  the 
twenty-second  year  of  our  Reign,  Anno  Dom  MDCCXLIS. 

"  (Signed)  Read. 

*'  Let  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey  be  affixed  to  the 
within  Letters  Patent. 

"  To  the  Secretary  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey, 

"  J.  Belchee." 

The  first  book  of  record  of  the  township  is  mostly 
preserved,  from  the  organization  till  1808,  The  leaves 
that  contain  the  record  of  the  election  of  ofiicers  of 
1749  and  1750  are  gone,  and  the  first  that  appears  is 
of  an  election  held  on  March  12,  1751,  as  follows  : 

"  The  Township  of  Brcdgewatee,,  1750. 

*'Att  a  Meeting  Held  this  12  Day  of  March,  175n,  jitt  the  House  of 
George  Middagh,by  the  Inhabitants  aforesaid,  for  Chusingotficers  accord- 
ing to  the  pjitent  Granted  as  aforesaid  and  acording  to  an  act  of  assem- 
bly provided  for  that  Purpose,  Ac, —viz. :  John  Brougliton,  Clark ;  Daniel 
Blackford,  Ck)nstable;  Matthew  Ten  Eyck  and  son,  Richard  Compton, 
Overseers  of  the  Poor ;  Henry  Stevens,  John  Yroom,  Freeholders ;  Thomas 
Auther,  Jun.,  Lucas  Tipple,  John  Harris,  Lucas  Belyou,  Commissioners, 
of  which  two  is  to  be  choesing  by  ye  Court;  Francis  Cossart,  Assessor  for 
the  Township ;  Tobias  Van  Norden,  Collector  for  aforesaid ;  Hendrick  Van 
Stay  and  Abraham  Bodine,  Isaac's  Son,  Assessors  for  the  Poor. 

"  Overseers  of  ye  Highways  for  ye  year  1751,  For  Overseers  of  the  High- 
■way:  Harper  Hoes,  In  the  room  of  Frederick  Bodine;  Edward  Hall,  In 
the  roorii  of  Richard  Hall ;  Samuel  Staats  Coejeman,  In  the  room  of  Jere- 
miah Tan  Nest ;  James  Wilson,  In  the  room  of  Andris  Cossine  ;  Andris 
Ten  Eyck,  Jun',  In  the  room  of  Wm.  McKinney;  Rynear  Van  Nest,  In 
the  room  of  Jerry  Reemer;  Powel  Auther,  In  the  room  of  John  Neilson; 
Denice  Tunison,  In  the  room  of  Folkert  Sebring;  John  Sebring,  Jun'r, 
In  the  room  of  Joseph  Colter." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  township  officers  as  far  as 
can  be  ascertained.  From  1808  to  1854  the  town  rec- 
ords are  lost,  but  for  that  period  a  few  names  have 
been  obtained  from  other  official  sources ;  from  1854 
to  1880  from  the  record  of  the  township  board.* 

TOWNSHIP  CLERKS. 
1752-57,  John  Broughton ;  1758-88,  Jacob  Van  Norstrandt ;  1789-1808, 
John  Brokaw,  Jr. ;  1824,  Dickerson  Miller ;  1827,  Thomas  Talmage ; 
1834-35,  James  Van  Derveer;  1836-37,  Aaron  Van  Natta;  1838,  A.  C. 
Mollison ;  1839^1,  P.  T.E.  Tunison;  1854-55,  John  W.  Taylor;  1856- 
58,  Jamea  Bergen ;  1859-61,  James  T.  Van  Derveer;  1862-63,  John  I. 
Van  Derveer ;  1864^65,  John  H.  Bunn  ;  1866,  John  I.  Bergen ;  1867, 
Colin  K.  Covely;  1868-69,  Caleb  Brokaw;  1870-75,  Matthew  Van 
Derveer ;  1876,  A  P.  Sutphin  ;  1877,  Eugene  S.  Doughty,  Jr. ;  1878-79, 
Cornelius  Vanderbeek ;  1880,  W.  W.  Dorland. 

FREEHOLDERS. 
1752-57,  William  Crook,  John  Vroom ;  1757-61,  William  Crook,  Matthew 
Ten  Eyck,  Andrew's  son;  1764-68,  Aaron  Lane,  Peter  Van  Nest,  North 
Branch ;  1768-69,  Aaron  Lane,  Peter  Dumon ;  1770,  Peter  Dumon, 
James  Castner;  1771-75,  Samuel  St.  Coejman,  James  Castner;  1775- 
76,  Edward  Bunn,  William  Lane;  1777-80,  William  Lane,  John  Sy- 
monson ;  1781,  Thomas  Farmer,  Hendrick  D.  Vroom ;  1782-83,  Thomaa 

*  In  1777  a  constable  was  elected  in  place  of  "  Wm.  Sickles,  killed  by 
the  enemy,  April  13, 1777." 


Farmer,  John  Symonson;  1784,  Matthias  Baker,  John  Symonson; 
1785-86,  Thomas  McElrath,  John  Symonson ;  1787-88,  Jonathan  F 
Morris,  George  B.  Van  Nest;  1789-92,  John  Elmendorph,  Jonathan 

F.  Morris;  1792,  John  Hardenhurgh,  John  Elmendorph;  1792-95, 
Jonathan  F.  Morris,  John  Elmendorph ;  1795,  John  Hardenhurgh, 
Richard  Hall ;  1796,  John  Elmendorph,  John  Hardenburgh  ;  1797-98, 
George  McDonald,  John  Hardenburgh ;  1799,  John  Elmendorph, 
George  McDonald ;  1800,  Dickinson  Miller,  John  Elmendorph ;  1801-2, 
John  Elmendorph,  John  Frelinghuysen;  1803-4,  John  Frelinghuy- 
sen,  Jacob  De  Groot ;  1805-8,  Jacob  De  Groot,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck ;  1808, 
Cornelius  Van  Home,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck ;  1824,  Andrew  A.  Tffn  Eyck, 
Charles  Toms ;  1834,  Cornelius  Waldron,  James  Martin  ;  1839,  Henry 
Van  Middles  worth,  Peter  Van  Nuys ;  1854r-56,  John  C.  Garretson ; 
1857-58,  Simeon  Dunn;  1859,  Eugene  S.  Doughty;  1860-61,  Jacob 
Long;  1862-G4,  Joshua  Martin;  1865-G7,  John  R.  Parsells;  1868, 
Samuel  M.  Tunison;  1869,  John  McBride;  1873-74,  James  T.  Cox; 
1875,  Joseph  McBride  ;  1876,  Asa  R.  Dilts ;  1877-78,  Joseph  McBride ; 
1879-80,  John  D.  Voorhees. 

COLLECTORS. 
1752-53,  Tobias  Van  Norden ;  1754r-55,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Jr. ;  175G-72, 
Jacob  Van  Noi-strand ;  1773,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  Jr.;  1774,  William 
Lane  ;  1775-84,  Peter  Dumon,  Jr. ;  1785-86,  John  Hardenburgh  (Ist) ; 
1787-96,  Philip  Van  Arsdalen ;  1797,  Jonathan  Ford  Morris;  1798- 
1800,Philip  Van  Arsdalen;  1801-7,  Henry  Van  Derveer;  1808,  John 
Brokaw;  1824,  John  H.  Voorhees;  1834-35,  N.  V.  Steele;  1837-39, 
Denny  S.  Hall;  1840-41,  John  H.  Voorhees;  1854,  Simeon  Dunn; 
1855-57,  John  Hardcastle ;  1858-60,  John  I.  Todd;  1861,  Kortenius 

G.  Schenck;  1862-63,  George  W.  Reed;  1864^66,  Orson  C.  Cone; 
1867,  Walter  Cammann;  1869,  Aaron  C.  Martin;  1871-80,  John  S. 
Ammerman. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE.t 
1798-99,  Jacob  De  Grote,  Benjamin  Harris,  Garret  Tunison,  Peter  Studdi- 
for  J,  Richard  Hall ;  1800,  George  McDonald,  Thomas  Talmage,  Joseph 
Doty,  John  Simonson,  Garret  Tunison  ;  1801,  Garret  Tunison,  John 
Simonson,  Joseph  Doty,  Thomas  Talmage,  George  McDonald,  Ed- 
ward Elmendorf ;  1802,  Thomas  Nesbitt,  Garret  Tunison,  George  Mc- 
Donald, Joseph  Doty,  John  Simonson ;  1803,  Andrew  Howell,  Joseph 
Doty,  George  McDonald,  Garret  Tunison,  Thomas  Nesbitt;  1804^, 
General  Morris,  John  W.  Hall,  Edward  Randolph,  Philip  H.  Van  Ars- 
dalen, Garret  Probasco ;  1806,  Dr.  Moms,  Garret  Prohasco,  Philip 
Van  Arsdalen,  Andrew  Howell,  John  W.  Hall ;  1807,  Dr.  Morris, 
Joseph  Mollesou,  Philip  Van  Arsdalen,  Andrew  Howell,  John 
Brokaw;  1808,  Dr.  Morris,  Israel  Runyan,  Philip  H.  Van  Arsdalen, 
Daniel  Latourette,  John  Wyckoff;  1824,  Cornelius  Van  Derveer, 
George  Vosseller,  Absalom  Martin,  John  Ross,  Charles  Toma;  1825, 
Ferdinand  Van  Derveer,  Cornelius  Van  Derveer,  George  Vosseller, 
John  Frelinghuysen,  Cornelius  Van  Horn ;  1826.  J.  Frelinghuysen, 
Cornelius  Van  Horn,  Cornelius  Van  Derveer,  John  Ross,  Absalom 
Martin;  1827,  Cornelius  Van  Derveer,  John  Ross,  Absalom  Martin, 
George  Vosseller,  John  Wyckoff;  1828-29,  Cornelius  Van  Derveer, 
Absalom  Martin,  Peres  Bonuey,  Garret  Ditman,  John  Wyckoff;  1830- 
32,  Cornelius  Van  Derveer,  John  Frelinghuysen,  Peres  Bonuey, 
Henry  Tunison,  John  Wyckoff,  Jr.;  1833,  Auther  Schenck,  Peter 
Van  Nuys,  John  Ross,  Robei't  Cross,  Edward  Campbell;  1834-35, 
Dennis  Hall,  Peter  R.  Hall,  Robert  Cross,  John  Ross,  Edward  Camp- 
bell ;  1836,  Abram  Quick,  Peter  R.  Hall,  Peres  Bonuey,  N.  G.  Steele ; 
1837,  Abram  Quick,  Peter  N.  Hall,  N.  G.  Steele,  S.  K.  Martin,  Peres 
Bonney;  1838,  Abram  Quick,  Jonathan  Higgins,  John  Steele,  Jr., 
John  0.  Garretson,  Samuel  K.  Martin  ;  1839,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Jona- 
than Higgins,  John  C.  Garretson,  John  Steele,  Jr.,  Samuel  K.  Mar- 
tin ;  1840,  Samuel  Hall,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  John  C.  Garretson,  John 
Steele,  Jr.,  Samuel  K.  Martiu ;  1841,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Samuel  Hall, 
John  K.  Staats,  Kortenius  G.  Schenck,  Cornelius  Sebring ;  1854,  John 
M.  Mann,  Archibald  C.  MoUison,  Charles  G.  Wilson;  1855,  John  M. 
Mann,  Charles  G.  Wilson,  William  N.  Adair ;  1856,  John  M.  Mann, 
Charles  G.  Wilson,  Kortenius  G.  Schenck;  1857-58,  John  M.  Mann, 
N.  McCord,  Kortenius  G.  Schenck;  1859,  John  M.  Mann,  Nathaniel 
McCord,  Daniel  Talmage ;  1860-61,  John  M.  Mann,  Joseph  H.  Hoff- 
man, Archibald  0.  Mollison;  1862,  Leonard  Bunn,  John  Ross,  John 
M.  Mann;  1863-64,  Leonard  Bunn,  John  Ross,  John  V.  Wortman; 
1865-67,  Andrew  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller,  Jeremiah  Whitenach,  Andrew 
Rockafellow ;  1868-69,  Andrew  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller,  James  H.  Cain, 
Lawrence  V.  D.  Shepherd ;  1871,  Andrew  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller,  James 

t  The  first  town  committee  that  appears  in  the  Election  Record  is  dated 
April  9, 1798. 


BRIDGEWATER. 


661 


H.  Cain,  James  McNabb;  1872,  Andrew  T.  D.  B,  Yosseller,  James  J. 
Quick,  Andrew  Bookafellow,  John  A.  Schenck ;  1873,  John  A. 
Schenck,  John  McCullough,  A.  T.  D.  B.  Yosseller;  1874,  A.  V.  D.  B. 
Yosseller,  Henry  S.  Long,  David  Todd;  1877,  A.  Y.  D.  B.  Yosseller, 
David  Todd,  Conrad  Stein,  Charles  M.  Young,  William  Van  Nostrand; 
1878,  A.  Y.  D.  B.  Yosseller,  Charles  M.  Young,  Conrad  Stein,  David 
Todd,  Henry  S.  Long;  1879,  Conrad  Stein,  A.  Y.  D.  B.  Yosseller, 
Henry  S.  Long ;  1880,  Conrad  Stein,  Alexander  H.  Brokaw,  Benja- 
min r.  Littell. 

No  changes  were  made  in  the  territory  of  the  town- 
ship from  its  organization  till  the  setting  off  of  Branch- 
burg  in  1845.  The  following  action,  however,  was 
taken  at  a  meeting  held  in  April,  1799 : 

"  A  move  was  made  at  our  annual  town-meeting  for  a  division  of  the 
township,  or  a  part  thereof,  on  which  a  vote  was  taken  of  the  sense  of 
the  town  was  made  known.  It  was  agreed  unanimously  that  the  town 
committee  be  authorized  to  draw  up  a  remonstrance  and  present  to  the 
next  session  of  Assembly  to  oppose  the  same." 

It  is  evident  that  the  township  was  not  divided  at 
that  time,  as  its  territory  remained  intact. 

THE   POOR  AND    THE   POOR-FARM. 

The  first  action,  taken  by  Bridgewater  in  reference 
to  the  poor  of  which  any  record  is  kept  was  at  town- 
meeting  March  13,  1764,  when  it  was  agreed  to  raise 
the  sum  of  £100  (proclamation),  and  the  further  sum 
of  £125  (proclamation  money) ,  by  a  tax  "  at  some  con- 
venient time  between  this  and  next  fall."  Overseers 
of  the  poor  were  elected  from  the  organization  of  the 
township,  but  no  record  was  kept  of  any  proceedings, 
if  any  were  made.  March  18, 1766,  an  agreement  was 
entered  into  by  a  committee  composed  of  the  free- 
holders and  overseers  of  the  poor,  with  Benjamin 
Harris,  he  agreeing  to  take  care  of  the  poor  chargeable 
to  the  town  at  his  own  expense  for  one  year  from  May 
1,  1766.  The  committee  agreed  to  pay  him  the  sum 
of  £125,  proclamation  money.  March  17,  1767,  the 
committee  met,  and  agreed  that  the  poor  belonging  to 
the  township  be  sold  to  the  lowest  bidder  "  altogether, 
to  be  kept  under  the  care  of  one  man." 

Although  the  town-meeting  of  1768  agreed  "  that 
there  shall  be  a  work-house  erected  at  some  convenient 
place,  in  conjunction  with  one,  two,  or  more  townships, 
for  the  maintainance  of  the  poor,"  none  was  built 
until  afler  1807,  as  in  that  year  the  town,  by  resolu- 
tion, petitioned  the  board  of  freeholders  "to  purchase 
or  build  a  suitable  house  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  poor  of  the  county."  The  township  records  from 
1808  to  1824  are  missing,  during  which  period  a  poor- 
house  was  erected.  Mrs.  Drearwell  was  chosen  keeper 
of  the  poor-house,  to  take  possession  April  1st.  She 
received  sixty  cents  per  week  for  each  pauper,  with 
the  privilege  of  the  poor-house  lot.  Drs.  McKissack 
and  Skillman  were  chosen  physicians,  at  a  salary  of 
$15,  increased  to  $40  the  next  year  under  Dr.  William 
Griffith.    April  11, 1831,  it  was 

"  Besolvedf  That  a  farm  be  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  poor,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  town  committee,  and  that  the  committee  sell  the  present 
poor  house  establishment." 

The  committee  in  July  bought  a  farm  of  808  J  acres, 
in  possession  of  Kynear  and  John  Van  Nest,  execu- 


tors of  George  Van  Nest,  deceased.  Edward  Camp- 
bell purchased  the  old  property*  for  $516.99.  In  the 
November  following  he,  as  the  lowest  bidder,  took 
charge  of  the  poor-farm,  and  was  followed  by  Tunis 
Soper. 

It  was  found  that  the  expenses  of  keeping  the  poor- 
house  exceeded  the  proceeds  of  the  farm,  and  the 
town-meeting  of  1838  resolved  to  sell  the  latter. 
March  20,  1840,  a  portion  of  it  (120  acres)  was  sold  to 
Nathan  Auten.    It  is  now  occupied  by  John  Davis. 

No  change  of  any  imporfance  occurred  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  poor  or  of  the  poor-farm  until  1867, 
when  a  contract  was  made  with  Asa  E.  Dilts  for  the 
erection  of  a  new  building,  which  was  completed  in 
1868  at  a  cost  of  $9779.  The  old  building  was  sold 
to  A.  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller  for  $167.  The  report  of  the 
committee  on  the  poor-farm  for  1880  shows  the  follow- 
ing: 

Inventory  of  stock  and  goods $2972  51 

Average  number  assisted  in  the  poor-house 12 

Number  of  tramps  assisted 400 

Cost  of  support  at  the  poor-house 8945.61 

Cost  of  support  outside 3448.74 

From  Oct.  1,  1874,  to  April  1,  1875,  3500  tramps 
were  assisted,  and  3000  from  Oct.  1,  1875,  to  April  1, 
1876.  A  steady  diet  of  bread  and  water  in  later  years 
has  somewhat  reduced  this  number. 

TILLAGES. 

SOMERVILLE. 

This  village  is  located  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Raritan  River,  and  on  the  line  of  the  New  Jersey 
Central  Railroad,  by  the  route  of  which  it  is  38  miles 
from  the  city  of  New  York.  The  South  Branch  Rail- 
road connects  this  village  with  Flemington, — a  dis- 
tance of  ISj-  miles.  It  is  slightly  elevated  from  the 
river,  which  is  on  the  south,  and  also  from  Peter's 
Brook,  on  the  east  and  south.  This  brook  runs  through 
a  valley  which  varies  in  width,  as  it  goes  back  from  the 
river,  from  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half.. 
A  range  of  mountains  to  the  north  forms  a  delightfal 
prospect.  The  population  of  the  village,  by  the  cen- 
sus of  1880,  was  3108.'  It  contains  the  court-house 
and  the  public  offices,  seven  churches,  three  hotels, 
post-,  express-,  and  telegraph-offices,  three  newspaper- 
offices,  a  public-school  building,  young  ladies'  insti- 
tute, depots  of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  Company, 
and  is  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  South  Branch  and 
Flemington  Railroad.  The  Lehigh  Valley,  or  Easton 
and  Amboy,  Railroad  passes  through  the  township. 
A  station  is  at  South  Somerville. 

The  establishment  of  this  location  as  the  county- 
seat  at  "Tunison's  Tavern,"  the  building  of  the- 
court-house  and  the  log  jail  in  1783,  and  the  decision 
of  the  Consistory  of  the  congregation  of  the  Dutch 
Church  of  Raritan  to  build  a  church  edifice  at  this 

*  The  house  and  lot  were  at  Adamsville,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.. 


662 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


place,  were  the  leading  causes  that  determined  the  fu- 
ture of  the  village.  It  was  known,  however,  as  Raritan 
until  about  1800,  from  which  time  the  village  has 
borne  its  present  name.  The  Tunison  tavern  was  built 
about  1770  by  Cornelius  Tunison,  its  first  landlord. 
Its  location  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  present  Fritts' 
Hotel,  of  which  the  old  tavern  building  forms  a  part. 
From  the  first  it  seems  to  have  centralized  all  town  mat- 
ters. Prior  to  that  time  a  tavern  was  kept  by  George 
Middagh,  at  the  place  where  Mrs.  F.  F.  Cornell  now 
lives,  and  another  by  Cornelius  Bogert,  and  later  by 
John  Arrison,  in  a  house  which  now  forms  a  part  of 
the  Frelinghuysen  homestead.  At  these  two  taverns 
town  meetings  were  held  from  1749  to  1769,  and  at 
the  latter  principally  from  that  time  till  the  com- 
pletion of  the  court-house.  The  court-house  stood 
nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  present  street,  on  the  lot 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  Dr.  Wilson.  The  log 
jail  was  erected  on  the  lot  where  the  old  building 
still  stands. 

The  Great  Road  crossed  Peter's  Brook  nearly  half- 
way between  the  present  railroad-bridge  and  the  turn- 
pike-bridge at  the  second  bend  in  that  stream,  and 
entered  what,  is  now  the  village  of  Somerville  near 
where  Leonard  Bunn's  house  now  stands,  then  fol- 
lowed the  line  of  Main  Street  to  the  Tunison  Tavern, 
passed  north  of  the  old  court-house,  south  of  the 
brick  church,  north  of  the  buildings  on  Main  Street, 
and  joined  the  line  of  the  present  road  a  little  distance 
west  of  "the  gate  of  the  parsonage  lands,"  near  the 
junction  of  the  Raritan  road  and  North  Branch  road. 

In  1797,  John  Hardenburgh  purchased  of  the  heirs 
of  Philip  Tunison  100  acres  of  land  east  of  Bridge 
Street,  and  reaching  to  Peter's  Brook.  In  1799,  by 
reason  of  some  financial  difiiculty,  this  tract  was  sold 
at  auction,  and  was  purchased  for  $6000  by  "  The 
Somerset  House  Company."  The  stock  was  divided 
into  ten  shares,  and  taken  as  follows :  George  C. 
Maxwell,  of  Flemington,  2 ;  James  .Van  Derveer,  2 ; 
Peter  D.  Vroom,  2 ;  Thomas  Grout,  1 ;  Moses  Scott, 
1 ;  Andrew  Howell,  1 ;  John  Meldrum,  1.  The  prop- 
erty included  the  "  stable  lot"  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Great  Road.  The  tavern  was  kept  by  John  Mel- 
drum after  the  purchase,  and  on  June  19,  1799,  the 
auction  sale  of  the  old  court-house  lot  and  jail  lot 
was  held  at  the  house  of  "  John  Meldrum's  Somerset 
House,"  as  per  advertisement  of  May  9,  1799,  in  the 
Guardian  of  New  Brunswick.  The  house  company 
sold  several  lots,  and  May  26,  1807,  the  remainder — 
90  acres — was  purchased  by  John  Van  Nest.  The 
following  is  a  description  of  the  property,  as  taken 
from  the  records  in  the  clerk's  ofiice  in  Somerville : 

"  Beginning  at  a  stake  or  Btone,  being  the  northwesterly  corner  of 
church  lot,  and  standing  in  the  line  of  lands  now  or  lately  belonging  to 
Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh;  thence  running  along  the  said  line  north  15^^ 
east  75  chains  and  95  links  to  a  heap  of  stones  and  locust-tree  for  a 
comer ;  thence  south  79°  and  30'  east  11  chains  to  a  stake  for  a  corner  ; 
thence  along  Tunison's  line  south  17°  and  30'  west  77  chains  and  25  links  to 
the  northwesterly  corner  of  the  original  tavern  lot ;  thence  along  the  same 
south  55°  and  45'  east  3  chains  and  58  links  to  a  stake  for  a  corner;   i 


thence  continuing  along  the  said  lot  south  17°  and  50'  west  4  chains  and 
65  links  to  the  middle  of  the  Great  Koad ;  thence  along  the  same  south 
55°  and  45'  east  2  chains  and  58  links  to  the  corner  of  Eosencrantz  lot ; 
thence  along  the  same  south  70°  and  10'  west  4  chains  and  S8  links  to  a 
stake  for  a  corner;  thence  north  64°  and  30'  wests  chains  75  links  to  the 
southwesterly  corner  of  the  stable  lot ;  thence  along  the  same  north  17° 
and  50'  east  5  chains  and  50  links  to  the  middle  of  the  aforesaid  Great 
Koad ;  thence  along  the  same  south  63°  and  10'  east  48  links  to  the  corner 
of  the  court-house  lot;  thence  along  the  same  north  17°  and  50'  east  4 
chains  and  42  links ;  thence  continuing  along  the  said  court-house  lot 
nortli  70°  and  30'  west  2  chains  and  98  links  to  the  northeasterly  corner 
of  the  said  church  lot;  thence  along  the  same  north  57°  and  30'  west  3 
chains  and  81  links  to  the  begitining, — containing  79  acres,  be  the  same 
more  or  less.  Also  a  certain  lot  or  parcel  of  land  situate,  lying,  and  being 
in  the  township,  county,  and  State  aforesaid,  at  a  small  distance  from  the 
premises  above  described,  which  in  a  certain  deed  given  and  executed  by 
John  Hardenburgh,  Esq.,  late  sheriff  of  tlie  said  county,  to  John  Bryan, 
bearing  date  Feb.  8,  1797,  for  the  same  is  thus  described :  Beginning  at 
the  northwesterly  corner  of  a  lot  of  land  formerly  purchased  by  Philip 
Tunison  from  Titus  De  Witt;  from  thence  running  as  the  line  of  said 
Tunison  runs  south  38°  east  11  chains  and  90  links  to  a  maple-tree  stand- 
ing on  the  westerlj'  side  of  Peter's  Brook,  marked  on  three  sides ;  thence 
up  along  said  brook,  and  bending  on  the  same  the  several  courses  thereof, 
till  it  comes  to  a  black-oak  tree  and  birch-tree,  both  marked  on  the  side 
of  said  brook,  and  being  also  a  corner  of  the  said  Philip  Tunison's  land ; 
thence  along  his  line  north  38^°  west  8  chains  and  9  links  to  a  stone 
planted  for  a  corner  ;  thence  south  43°  west  8  chains  and  50  links;  thence 
south  6°  west  8-3  links  to  the  place  of  beginning, — containing  11  acres  three- 
quarters,  and  one- tenth  of  an  acre, — bounded  southerly  and  northeasterly 
by  the  said  Peter's  Brook,  aud  northerly,  westerly,  and  southerly  by  lands 
late  belonging  to  the  said  Philip  Tunison,  now  deceased,  always  reserving 
and  excepting  out  of  the  last  parcel  of  land  a  certain  lot  on  which  the 
old  gaol,  now  the  dwelling-place  of  Pliilip  Herder,  stands,  being  2  chains 
in  length  on  a  course  north  38°  and  15'  east,  and  1  chain  and  19  links  in 
breadth  on  a  course  south  51°  and  45'  east." 

John  Van  Nest  sold  48  acres  of  the  northwest  part 
of  this  land,  July  29th  the  same  year,  to  Dr.  Jonathan 
F.  Morris;  also  half  an  acre  adjoining  the  church  lot 
on  the  north,  and  November  12th  of  the  same  year 
sold  to  William  Muir  a  portion  east  of  the  court- 
house lot ;  on  April  1,  1809,  sold  to  Ferdinand  Van 
Derveer  five  lots  of  land  for  $5500.  The  first  was  the 
lot,  containing  about  1 J  acres,  on  which  he  afterwards 
built,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Miss  Mary  Van 
Derveer.  Judge  Van  Derveer  was  a  native  of  this 
county,  and  had  been  in  the  mercantile  business  in 
Cooperstown,  N.  Y.  He  returned  to  this  place  and 
built  the  large  brick  house  on  Main  Street.  This  was 
his  residence  until  his  death,  and  here  his  daughters, 
Mrs.  Dtimont  Frelinghuysen,  Mrs.  William  L.  Day- 
ton, Mrs.  Isaiah  N.  Dilts,  and  Miss  Mary  Van  Der- 
veer, were  born.  The  second  lot  adjoined  Daniel 
Latourette ;  the  third  was  in  rear  of  church  lot,  and 
contained  22  acres ;  the  fourth  was  east,  on  Peter's 
Brook  ;  the  fifth  was  north  of  the  turnpike. 

Isaac  Davis,  July  23,  1799,  purchased  of  John 
Whitenach,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Great  Road,  a 
lot  west  of  the  "  stable  lot.''  In  that  year  he  erected 
the  house  at  present  occupied  by  Mrs.  Dr.  H.  H.  Van 
Derveer.  Philip  Herder  occupied  it  during  the  latter 
part  of  1799  for  a  tavern,  when  he  purchased  the  jail 
lot  and  jail  of  Hendrick  Van  Arsdalen,  May  3,  1800, 
and  fitted  up  the  jail  for  a  tavern.  It  was  afterwards 
kept  by  Thomas  Arrowsmith,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  and  last 
by  "  Bill"  De  Camp,  about  1850,  when  its  history  as 
a  public  institution  ceased.     It  was  owned  by  David 


BRIDGEWATEK. 


663 


"Van  Syckle,  who  paid  $2600  to  Abel  Stuart  to  build 
the  east  end.  It  is  now  the  property  ofWilliam  Ross. 
Isaac  Davis  sold  the  house  erected  in  1799  by  Isaac 
Davis  ;  it  was  sold  by  him  to  Jacob  E.  Hardenburgh, 
May  1,  1800.  Mr.  Hardenburgh  purchased,  at  the 
same  time,  the  old  court-house  lot,  where  for  many 
years  Joseph  Van  Derveer  had  a  shop  for  repairing 
clocks. 

Daniel  Latourette  purchased  the  court-house  of 
Isaac  Davis  (who  bought  the  property  of  the  county), 
removed  the  timbers  across  the  street,  and  built  a 
store-house  where  Honeyman  Brothers  now  are.  He 
kept  store  in  this  building  until  1817,  when  William 
J.  Hedges  purchased  the  property  and  carried  on 
business  many  years.  Daniel  Latourette  bought  the 
residence  of  Jacob  E.  Hardenburgh,  adjoining  his 
store  property,  Nov.  21,  1803.  He  owned  the  prop- 
erty to  the  corner  of  Bridge  Street.  A  large  farm  was 
on  the  site  of  the  County  Hotel,  which  was  after- 
wards rebuilt  and  made  into  a  dwelling  by  Mr.  La- 
tourette, and  about  1805  or  1806  into  a  hotel,  and  kept 
by  Eichard  Hall.  Its  changes  have  been  numerous. 
It  is  now  kept  by  A.  Moore. 

Maj.  Eichard  Tunison's  residence  was  where  Wil- 
liam Eoss,  Jr.,  now  resides.  Philip  Tunison,  a  son 
of  the  Philip  who  owned  a  part  of  this  tract  at  an 
earlier  day,  was  a  cabinet-maker,  and  built  a  shop  on 
Main  Street,  west  from  the  Philip  Herder  tavern  (old 
jail).  A  tin-shop  was  subsequently  kept  by  a  Mr. 
High  in  the  building  next  west.  A  dwelling  had 
been  erected  by  Samuel  Hall  opposite  to  and  a  little 
east  of  the  old  log  jail.  He  also  had  a  tan-yard  in 
operation  there.  John  Bryan  purchased  in  1797  a 
lot  east  of  the  log  jail  and  on  the  same  side  of  the 
street,  where  he  lived.  John  Van  Nest,  who  pur- 
chased the  property  of  the  Somerset  House  Company, 
lived  on  the  south  side  of  the  Great  Eoad ;  his  was 
the  last  house  between  the  village  and  Peter's  Brook. 
This  property  was  purchased  the  same  year  the  New 
Jersey  turnpike  was  laid  through  Somerville,  when 
the  road  was  straightened  and  brought  to  its  present 
course. 

Tunison's  tavern  was  later  owned  by  Alexander  Mc- 
Calla,  of  Philadelphia.  May  1,  1823,  he  sold  the 
property  to  John  Torbert,  whose  executors  in  1847 
sold  to  Jacob  Fritts.  It  is  handed  down  by  tradition 
that  the  house  afterwards  kept  by  John  Meldrum  on 
the  site  of  the  post-oflBce  was  the  tavern  known  as  the 
Somerset  House,  but  the  Somerset  House  Company 
did  not  own  any  land  west  of  Bridge  Street. 

At  this  time  but  little  was  done  in  the  way  of  im- 
provements west  of  Bridge  Street.  Jacob  E.  Harden- 
burgh had  owned  the  most  of  the  ground  west  to  the 
Frehnghuysen  lot.  The  different  purchases  in  1765, 
1768,  and  1771  covered  nearly  all  the  property  west 
of  Bridge  Street  on  which  the  village  of  Somerville 
stands.  A  portion  of  it  had  been  sold,  but  not  for 
building  purposes.  The  ground  for  the  Somerville 
academy  was  purchased  in  1802  and  the  building 


erected.      Judge   Williamson  now  resides  where  it 
stood. 

The  parsonage  was  erected  in  1751,  and  is  now 
owned  by  Joshua  Doughty.  The  Wallace  House 
was  built  in  1797.  The  old  house  known  as  the  Doty 
house  is  still  standing,  near  the  depot.  A  little  house 
built  by  Isaac  Vactor,  a  tailor,  was  opposite  the  acad- 
emy. These  houses,  the  John  Hardenburgh  house,  now 
Dumont  Frelinghuysen's,  and  the  academy  were  about 
the  only  buildings  west  of  Bridge  Street  in  1803.  Soon 
after  that  the  progress  of  improvement  was  westward. 
Job  Van  Arsdale  a  little  later  built  a  small  two-story 
house  and  a  blacksmith-shop  where  John  W.  Gaston 
kept  a  saddlery  and  harness-shop.  Abel  Stuart  built 
a  house  next.  This  house  was  subsequently  enlarged 
and  fitted  up  for  a  hotel ;  John  Meldrum  was  the  first 
landlord.  It  was  afterwards  kept  by  Daniel  Sargeant, 
who  came  to  Somerville  about  1815  and  purchased 
the  property  of  one  Middagh.  It  was  afterwards 
kept  by  Charles  Toms,  and  while  unoccupied  was 
burned  down  on  a  Christmas  night,  but  in  what  year 
is  not  ascertained.  The  old  pump  is  still  in  use,  and 
stands  west  of  J.  Van  Epp's  house.  A  grand  festi- 
val of  the  Masonic  fraternity  was  held  a^  Somerville, 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  dinner  was 
provided  for  the  brethren  at  this  hotel.  This  was 
the  festival  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist.  The  occa- 
sion was  an  invitation  of  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  1, 
to  the  Eev.  John  S.  Vredenburgh  to  preach  a  sermon 
before  the  lodge.  The  officers  were  Dr.  William  Mc- 
Kissack,  Master;  Andrew  Geddes,  Senior  Warden; 
and  James  Herring,  Junior  Warden.  The  sermon 
was  delivered  in  the  Dutch  church  (that  being  the 
only  one  in  the  village  at  the  time).* 

March  2, 1807,  John  Davenport  purchased  of  Jacob 
E.  Hardenburgh  a  tract  of  109  acres  (being  part  of  a 
tract  left  in  trust  by  Eev.  Jacob  E.  Hardenburgh  for 
the  children  of  John  Hardenburgh)  fronting  on  Main 
Street  (then  the  New  Jersey  turnpike),  bounded  east 
by  the  east  line  of  the  store  of  D.  D.  Craig,  west  by 
the  west  line  of  Dr.  Troutman's  lot,  and  running  back 
towards  the  mountain.  Mr.  Davenport  built  the  house 
now  owned  by  John  Bergen,  and  lived  there  until  he 
removed  to  Pluokamin,  about  1809.  He  was  a  hatter, 
and  carried  on  the  business  at  this  place  while  here. 
At  the  time  of  his  removal  105.4  acres  of  the  tract  were 
divided  into  lots,  the  rest  having  been  sold. 

William  Johnson,  of  New  York,  became  interested 
with  Mr.  Davenport  in  the  disposition  of  the  lots  by 
lottery.  A  map  was  made  and  filed  in  the  clerk's 
office,  and  460  tickets  at  $10  each  were  issued,  each 
entitling  the  holder  to  a  lot  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  an 
acre.  These  tickets  were  all  sold,  but  only  about  a 
hundred  of  the  deeds  were  recorded,  they  all  having 
been  signed  in  blank  by  Mr.  Davenport,  bearing  date 
Oct.  25, 1809.  The  larger  portion  of  the  tickets  having 
been  sold  in  New  York,  many  of  the  deeds  were  never 

*  A  sketch  of  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  1,  will  be  found  in  the  history  of 
the  township  of  Eedminster. 


664 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY.- 


demanded.  The  farm-house  of  Mr.  Davenport  was 
the  first  prize.  This  was  owned  several  years  by,  Mrs. 
Mary  Howe,  and  was  sold  by  her  to  Peter  Vred  en- 
burgh,  April  3, 1817.  The  nutaber  of  prizes  unclaimed 
for  many  years  left  the  title  to  considerable  of  the  land 
in  a  very  uncertain  condition.  The  "Lottery  Field" 
had  become  the  rendezvous  for  colored  people  from 
all  parts  of  the  State,  and  the  disreputable  characters 
that  gathered  there  rendered  the  place  a  blot  upon 
the  village.  Meetings  were  held  to  consult  upon  a 
means  of  improving  its  condition,  and  a  bill  was 
drawn  and  passed  by  the  Legislature  which  author- 
ized the  board  of  commissioners  of  Somerville  to  pur- 
chase the  "Lottery  Field,"  provided  they  made  the 
amount  of  purchase-money  out  of  the  resale  of  the 
whole  or  any  part  of  said  premises.  They  accord- 
ingly purchased  the  right,  title,  and  interest  of  Dav- 
enport's heirs  in  the  property,  for  $1600. 

Before  the  sale  to  the  commissioners,  Samuel  W. 
Davenport,  an  executor  of  the  estate,  inaugurated 
among  the  colored  people  living  on  the  place  a  series 
of  meetings  calculated  to  inspire  them  with  a  desire 
for  improvement.  Many  of  them  joined  heartily  in 
the  movement.  Lectures  were  delivered  by  Wendell 
Phillips,  Fred  Douglas,  Dr.  George  Cheever,  and 
others.  The  funds  obtained  and  collections  raised 
among  themselves  ($2800)  were  expended  in  the 
erection  of  a  school-house.  These  efforts  had  their 
effect,  and  are  still  felt  in  the  community. 

In  1809,  Peter  Dumont  built  a  house  opposite  Fritts' 
Hotel,"  and  George  McDonald,  adjoining  east,  very 
soon  after  built  the  house  which  became  known  as 
the  Governor  Vroom  house.  George  McDonald 
opened  a  law-oflfice  there. 

A  blacksmith-  and  wheelwright-shop  stood  on  the 
corner  where  the  Ten  Eyck  house  stands.  The  clerk's 
office  was  built  about  1810,  west  of  the  court-house, 
that  building  having  been  erected  in  1798.  Some 
time  after  the  opening  of  the  New  Jersey  turnpike, 
in  1807,  a  long  low  tavern-building  was  erected  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  roads,  where  Eugene  Doughty 
now  lives.  It  stood  there  until  1848,  when  it  was 
purchased  by  Albert  Cammann  and  removed  west  to 
the  seminary  building,  where  it  still  stands. 

In  1809  the  thoroughfare  which  is  now  Bridge  Street 
was  laid  out  and  opened,  the  river  being  crossed  at  or 
near  the  present  bridge  by  a  ford.  Prior  to  this  the 
road  or  path  ran  along  the  river  for  a  short  distance 
and  in  the  rear  of  Mr.  Dumont  Frelinghuysen's  house, 
and  came"  out  on  Main  Street  at  Somerset  Hall,  by 
Isaac  Auten's  house.  The  old  chain-bridge  over  the 
river  was  built  about  1814,  and  is  said  to  have  cost 
about  $23,000.  The  pier  now  in  use  for  the  covered 
bridge  was  built  for  the  chain-bridge.  The  bridge 
was  in  use  until  January,  1821,  when  the  north  end 
went  down  with  a  crash.  It  was  decided  to  build  a 
new  one,  and  the  present  covered  bridge  was  erected 
in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1821. 

Daniel   Sergeant,  soon  after  he  retired  from  the 


hotel  upon  the  post-office  site,  built  the  brick  house 
where  Mrs.  Jacob  S.  Eockafellow  now  lives.  He  also 
built  the  wooden  building  east,  and  commenced  the 
manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes  for  the  wholesale 
trade,  employing  from  twelve  to  fifteen  men.  In 
selling  his  goods  he  traveled  with  a  wagon  as  far 
as  New  Brunswick,  Lambertville,  and  Philadelphia. 

April  13,  1801,  Joseph  Doty  purchased  of  Garret 
Terhune  54.56  acres  of  land  lying  west  of  Bridge 
Street,  south  of  Main  Street,  and  east  of  the  land  of 
the  Rev.  John  Duryea,  then  the  old  parsonage  lot, 
a  section  40  feet  square  being  reserved  for  a  burial- 
place.  The  north  part  of  this  farm  he  plotted,  and 
between  1807  and  1810  sold  lots  along  the  Main 
Street  to  William  Skillman,  Eichard  Oompton,  Gar- 
ret Tunison,  James  Carpenter,  Isaac  Auten,  Abraham 
Stryker,  John  Hardcastle,  John  Garmo,  and  Linus 
High.  After  Mr.  Doty's  death  it  passed  into  other 
hands,  and  March  31,  1823,  Col.  Isaac  Southard  pur- 
chased of  Albert  Cox  462-  acres, — all  that  remained  of 
the  farm  Mr.  Doty  had  purchased.  In  1832  the  lot 
was  sold  for  the  Methodist  Church,  in  1834  one  was 
sold  to  the  Second  Reformed  Church,  and  in  January, 
1835,  the  first  lot  was  sold  to  Barney  Mulford.  This 
was  the  lot  on  which  Miss  Kate  Dunn  now  lives. 

The  property  west  of  the  "  Lottery  Field,"  north  of 
Main  Street,  had  been  purchased  by  Dr.  Swan  with 
the  old  parsonage  property  and  the  Hardenburgh 
property.  In  1810,  Dr.  Swan  sold  the  land  below 
Main  Street  to  Dr.  Peter  I.  Stryker,  and  moved  to 
the  house  now  standing  east  of  Adair's  store,  on 
Main  Street.  This  old  building  was  opened  about 
1836  as  the  Drovers'  and  Farmers'  Hotel.  It  was  fijst 
kept  by  John  Linn,  afterwards  by  Van  Cleef,  Hoag- 
land,  Isaac  Apgar,  and  last  by  John  Mehan.*  Farther 
west  the  land  was  owned  by  Dickinson  Miller.  John 
Whitenack,  who  owned  south  of  Main  and  east  of 
Bridge  Street,  sold  off  a  number  of  lots  on  Main 
Street,  east  of  the  "stable  lot,"  from  1799  to  1808  or 
1809.  He  sold  to  Daniel  Latourette  fourteen  acres 
on  July  6,  1804,  in  the  rear  of  Main  Street,  south  of 
the  first  tier  of  lots.  Latourette  sold  to  William  J. 
Hedges,  in  February,  1816,  the  store  and  house  prop- 
erty. The  land  west  of  Bridge  Street  and  to  the  line 
of  the  "  Lottery  Field"  was  in  possession  of  Jacob 
R.  Hardenburgh  in  1805,  except  the  academy  lot  and 
a  few  lots  along  the  north  side  of  Main  Street. 

In  1829  the  only  kinds  of  business  that  were  adver- 
tised were  as  follows  :  At  the  office  of  the  Somerset- 
Messenger  were  kept  books  of  all  kinds,  wrapping- 
and  writing-paper,  Swaim's  Vermifuge,  Butler's  Veg- 
etable Indian  Specific,  waterproof  blacking,  etc.  Wil- 
liam Wagoner  kept  an  assortment  of  saddles,  bridles, 
etc.,  in  charge  of  William  H.  Gatzmer,  at  the  office  of 
the  Somerset  Messenger.  John  Argue  had  a  new  arrange- 
ment for  the  Somerville  and  New  Brunswick  coach 
for  "persons  wishing  to  take  the  fast  line  for  Phila- 


*  Mr,  Mehan  died  Feb.  7, 1881. 


BKIDGEWATEK. 


665 


delphia,  the  Princeton  and  Trenton  coaches,  or  the 
stage  for  New  Hope."  J.  J.  Moore  had  just  received 
a  new  assortment  of  dry  goods,  hardware,  crockery, 
and  groceries.  Henry  V.  Dehart  kept  a  cabinet-shop 
opposite  Mr.  Samuel  Brant,  and  Peter  Ten  Eyck 
sold  dry  goods,  groceries,  etc.,  "in  the  store  lately 
occupied  by  Tunis  I.  Ten  Eyck." 

A  military  event  of  considerable  interest  in  the 
village  of  Somerville  was  the  parade  of  the  Somerset 
brigade  and  its  march  to  the  division  muster-ground 
at  Freehold  in  1829,  a  notice  of  which  is  given  in 
the  Somerset  Messenger  in  August  of  that  year,  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred. 

In  1836,  Joshua  Doughty  purchased  what  was  then 
known  as  the  Stryker  farm,  and,  later,  property  on 
the  north  side  of  the  street.  In  1838  he  erected  the 
brick  buUding  now  occupied  by  William  Koeler,  the 
baker,  which  was  the  first  brick  store  on  the  street. 
The  completion  of  the  railroad  in  1842  to  Somerville, 
as  the  Elizabethtown  and  Somerville  Eoad,  did  much  1 
to  facilitate  the  gro-\vth  of  the  village.  Many  years 
later  the  road  was  continued  to  Easton,  and  finally 
consolidated  into  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad. 
The  first  station-agent  at  Somerville  was  Bernard 
Stearns,  with  James  Kreusen  as  assistant.  The  latter 
is  the  present  incumbent. 

The  first  school-house  known  to  exist  in  what  is 
now  the  village  of  Somerville  was  in  the  rear  of  the 
First  Reformed  church,  and  is  supposed  to  have 
been  built  about  1790.  Who  the  first  teachers  were 
is  not  known.  The  school  was  merged  into  the 
academy  in  1802,  and  from  that  time  until  its  close, 
in  1855,  an  English  department  was  kept.  The 
children  of  the  village  were  educated  at  this  school 
and  the  schools  held  at  private  residences,  one 
of  which  was  taught  by  Miss  Phcebe  Studdiford,  on 
what  is  now  High  Street;  another  by  Miss  Annie 
Auten,  on  South  Street  near  Bridge.  Later,  Mrs. 
Nottingham  taught  about  two  years.  She  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mrs.  Bonnell,  of  Morristown,  who  taught 
until  the  organization  of  the  Young  Ladies'  Institute, 
in  1849.  In  1856  the  present  brick  edifice  was  erected 
on  High  Street  at  a  cost  of  $5000. 

By  an  act  of  Legislature  approved  March  28,  1866, 
School  District  No.  5,  Somerville  (old  district),  was 
authorized  to  elect  a  board  of  education.  In  1876 
the  school-building  was  enlarged  at  a  cost  of  $4000. 
The  county  was  divided  into  districts  under  the  new 
law  in  1867,  and  Somerville  became  District  No.  28. 

About  1807  an  effort  was  made  to  establish  a  pub- 
lic library.  Liberal  contributions  were  obtained,  and 
a  committee  appointed  to  make  a  selection  of  books. 
The  library  was  kept  in  the  store  of  Daniel  Latour- 
ette,  opposite  the  court-house,  and  in  the  Messenger 
office.    It  was  sustained  until  after  1829. 

From  that  time  till  1871  no  successful  movement 
was  made  towards  a  public  library.    F.  Lyman  was 
then  instrumental  in  procuring  the  names  of  250  per- 
sons to  unite  and  form  an  association,  known  as  the 
43 


People's  Reading-Eoom  and  Library.  Oct.  1,  1871, 
the  association  was  organized  by  the  election  of  A.  A. 
Clark,  President ;  J.  S.  Knox,  M.D.,  Vice-President; 
J.  T.  Conklin,  Treasurer;  William  E.  Johnson,  Sec- 
retary; F.  Lyman,  Librarian.  Annual  dues  were 
placed  at  one  dollar,  and  with  the  funds  books  were 
purchased.  The  society  has  at  present  938  volumes 
and  a  reading-room  well  supplied  with  periodicals 
and  leading  papers  of  the  day.  The  principal  officers 
for  1880  were  S.  C.  Blackwell,  President;  Hugh  Gas- 
ton, Vice-President ;  Secretary,  G.  L.  Loomis  ;  Libra- 
rian, Bessie  B.  Smith. 

POST-OFFICE. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  postmasters  of  Somer- 
ville, with  their  date  of  appointments,  from  1822 
(when  the  post-office  was  established)  to  the  present 
time: 

Aug.  12, 1822,  Ferdinand  Van  Berreer;  Dec.  22,  1824,  Wm.  J.  Hedges ; 
Jime  21, 1841,  Theodore  D.  Dumont ;  March  3, 1843,  Wm.  G.  Steele ; 
April  27, 1849,  Alexander  Wilson  ;  April  6, 1853,  John  W.  Van  Are- 
dale  ;  May  28, 1861,*  Culver  Barcalow  ;  April  15, 1871,  Daniel  Porter 
March  27, 1877,  Emma  J.  Porter. 

WATER-SUPPLY. 

The  charter  for  the  "Somerville  Aqueduct  Com- 
pany" was  obtained  Nov.  18,  1807,  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  the  village  of  Somerville  with  pure  water. 
A  large  spring  on  the  mountain,  north  of  the  village, 
was  used  as  a  supply.  Pine  logs  were  laid  to  conduct 
the  water  to  the  village,  and  a  pen-stock  was  placed 
at  the  tavern  now  occupied  by  Jacob  A.  Fritts.  The 
head  of  water  was  about  on  a  level  with  the  ball  on 
the  spire  of  the  First  church,  and  the  weight  of  the 
column  was  so  great  that  breaks  were  often  occurring; 
and  it  was  finally  abandoned.  An  effort  was  then 
made  to  procure  good  water  by  boring.  A  well  situ- 
ated in  the  yard  of  Ferdinand  Van  Derveer  was  se- 
lected, and  a  boring  of  nearly  200  feet  was  made,  but 
finally  abandoned,  and  no  effort  has  since  been  made. 

The  history  of  the  religious  organizations,  secret 
societies,  cemeteries,  etc.,  of  Somerville,  will  be  found 
under  their  department  headings  on  following  pages. 

BOUND  BROOK. 
The  cluster  of  dwellings  and  business  places  at 
Bound  Brook  was  but  a  straggling  village  from  its 
earliest  history  until  about  1834  or  1835.  It  has  the 
honor  of  being  the  oldest  village  in  the  township  or 
the  county.  The  brook  east  of  the  village  was  the 
bounding-line  of  lands  granted  to  the  people  who  set- 
tled Amboy  and  its  vicinity.  The  name  "Bound 
Brook"  occurs  as  early  as  1660 ;  hence  it  came  to  be 
accepted  for  the  locality.  For  many  years  a  consid- 
erable distance  round  about  on  both  sides  of  the  river 
was  known  by  this  name,  the  village  of  Bloomingdale 
bearing  the  appellation  South  Bound  Brook.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century  the  old  "  Swift-sure" 
line  of  stages  passed  through  this  place,  leaving  New- 
ark  at  6   A.M.,  passing  through   Elizabeth,   Bound 

*  July  23, 1868,  became  presidential. 


666 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


Brook,  Somerville,  and  reaching  Philadelphia  the 
next  evening.  In  1829  the  Somerville  and  Brunswick 
Union  Coach  Line  ran  through  Bound  Brook,  con- 
necting with  the  steamer  "  Trenton" ;  this  line  was 
owned  by  John  Argue.  The  Swift-sure  Line  of  mod- 
ern time  also  passed  through  here.  The  opening  of 
the  Delaware  Canal,  in  1836,  gave  an  impetus  to 
Bound  Brook,  which  was  increased  by  the  completion 
of  the  Central  Railroad  to  that  place  in  1839.  Boats 
commenced  to  run  from  New  Brunswick  to  Bound 
Brook  in  1836 ;  William  Tappan  was  the  first  to  pay 
toll  on  this  part  of  the  canal. 

The  post-ofiice  was  established  about  1803 ;  Joseph 
Mollison  was  the  first  postmaster.  His  successors 
were  John  H.  Voorhees,  Israel  S.  Tucker,  Jeremiah 
R.  Field,  Hiram  Bush,  and  the  present  incumbent, 
Benjamin  F.  Littell. 

A  hotel  was  kept  here  before  the  Revolution,  and 
was  known  in  later  years  as  the  Frelinghuysen  House, 
by  Peter  Harpending;  one  at  Middlebrook  in  1798 
by  John  Van  Duyn;  in  1802,  by  Dr.  Ten  Eyck. 
William  Harris  built  the  Middlebrook  Hotel,  which 
was  kept  by  Israel  Harris  in  1815.  Bound  Brook 
Hotel  stands  on  the  site  of  George  Cossart's  house ; 
he  was  one  of  the  three  who  purchased,  in  1700,  the 
tract  where  the  village  now  stands. 

A  bridge  across  the  river  at  this  place  was  ordered 
built  by  an  act  of  Legislature  passed  in  1728.  It  was 
not  erected  however,  until  1731,  for  a  supplementary 
act  was  passed  that  year  in  reference  to  it.  It  was 
afterwards  called  the  Queen's  Bridge.  The  present 
bridge  was  built  in  1875,  at  a  cost  of  about  $75,000. 

This  village  contains  (census  of  1880)  a  population 
of  about  1000,  four  churches  (Presbyterian,  Congre- 
gational, Methodist,  and  Catholic),  hotel,  post-office, 
a  newspaper-office,  depots  of  Central  and  Easton 
and  Amboy  Railroads,  and  other  business  interests. 

The  "  Bound  Brook  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany" was  organized  in  1836,  and  did  business  from 
that  time  until  Feb.  24,  1838,  when  it  was  incorpor- 
ated under  the  name  as  above. .  The  following  con- 
stituted the  corporators:  John  H.  Voorhees,  John 
Latourette,  Caleb  C.  Brokaw,  Robert  S.  Smith,  John 
Ross,  Ebenezer  C.  Lewis,  Andrew  V.  D.  B.  Vosseller, 
John  S.  Randolph,  Nehemiah  V.  Steele.  The  per- 
sons named  in  the  act  as  the  first  directors  were  John 
H.  Voorhees,  John  Latourette,  Robert  S.  Smith, 
Ernest  Schenck,  Nehemiah  V.  Steele,  John  D.  Field, 
John  Garretson,  John  Steele,  Jr.,  Andrew  V.  D.  B. 
Vosseller,  Matthew  Hopper,  John  S.  Randolph,  John 
Ross,  Jeremiah  Parsell,  Caleb  Morton,  and  Ebenezer 
S.  Lewis.  The  original  charter  expired  in  1880,  and 
in  1876  it  was  extended  to  July  4,  1925. 

Caleb  C.  Brokaw  was  secretary  from  the  organiza- 
tion to  February,  1844 ;  then  Abraham  Skillman  was 
elected,  and  served  till  February,  1845,  when  A.  C. 
Mollison  followed,  and  served  until  1874.  E.  H. 
Redfield  then  acted  till  1878,  when  John  Bush,  the 
present  secretary,  was  elected.    The  losses  sustained 


in  1878  were  $450,  and  in  1880,  to  September  1st, 
$672.39. 

The  present  officers  are  Lewis  P.  Clark,  President; 
R.  F.  Giles,  Vice-President;  John  Bush,  Secretary 
and  Treasurer ;  William  J.  Diltz,  Levi  Hatfield,  Al- 
bert Voorhees,  John  Hampton,  L.  P.  Clark,  R.  F. 
Giles,  James  M.  Thompson,  Jarnes  E.  Gillem,  R.  V. 
Lindabury,  C.  L.  Waldron,  B.  0.  Ammerman,  George 
W.  Adair,  John  D.  Voorhees,  B.  T.  Clark,  and  A.  C. 
Wyckoff,  Directors. 

RAEITAN. 

This  pleasant  village  is  situated  on  the  river  bear- 
ing the  same  name,  about  one  mile  southwest  of 
Somerville.  It  contains  three  churches  (Reformed 
Church,  Methodist,  and  Catholic),  a  bank,  post-office, 
hotel,  and  school-house,  several  large  manufacturing 
establishments,  and  the  different  kinds  of  trade  usual 
in  such  villages. 

One  of  the  old  historic  houses  of  Somerset  County 
is  located  in  Raritan.  It  is  the  brick  building  now 
owned  by  Mrs.  John  T.  Bartlett.  Its  history  will  be 
found  elsewhere. 

In  1844  there  were  but  four  houses  and  the  grist- 
mill in  what  is  now  Raritan  village, — the  old  Coeje- 
man  house,  a  house  occupied  by  J.  V.  D.  Kelly,  the 
seminary  building,  on  the  corner  of  Thompson  and 
Somerset  Streets,  and  the  double  house  on  the  corner 
of  Somerset  and  Nevius  Streets,  then  occupied  by 
John  A.  Staats  and  Abram  Oppie.  The  first  store 
was  opened  by  J.  V.  D.  Kelly,  who  owned  the  grist- 
mill, the  next  by  the  screw-factory,  and  these  were 
soon  followed  by  Samuel  Hopkins.  The  first  Sunday- 
school  was  opened  in  1845  in  the  blacksmith-shop  on 
Somerset  Street,  owned  by  John  A.  Staats.  About 
1848  a  tavern  was  opened  by  Culver  Voorhees,  on  the 
location  of  the  present  hotel.  Services  were  held  for 
several  years  at  private  residences  by  members  of  the 
different  denominations  until  the  building  of  the  old 
school-house  on  Wall  Street,  when  worship  was  held 
there. 

The  first  school-house  in  Raritan  village  was  25  by 
36  feet,  and  two  stories  in  height.  It  was  erected  on 
the  east  side  of  what  is  now  Wall  Street,  under  the 
old  school  law.  In  December,  1871,  the  house  and 
lot  were  sold  to  the  Methodist  society,  the  present 
brick  edifice  having  been  erected  the  summer  of  that 
year,  and  dedicated  with  appropriate  exercises  on  the 
5th  of  September.* 

A  post-office  was  started  about  1850,  the  mails  pre- 
vious to  that  time  having  been  brought  from  Somer- 
ville.    The  village  contains  a  population  of  2240. 

About  1846  or  1848  a  number  of  the  inhabitants 
met  in  the  machine-shop  of  David  P.  Kinyon  to  de- 
cide upon  a  name  for  the  embryo  village.  After  some 
discussion  it  was  decided  to  christen  it  after  the  river 
on  which  it  was  located.     The  Central  Railroad  of 


*  For  further  information  in  reference  to  the  condition  of  schools,  Bee 
'  Schools"  in  the  township  of  Bridgewater. 


BRIDGEWATER. 


667. 


New  Jersey  passes  tkrougii  the  village,  thereby  fur- 
nishing means  for  both  transportation  and  travel 
equal  to  any  in  the  State. 

The  first  bridge  across  the  river  was  built  in  1849, 
with  5  piers,  54  feet  span,  and  324  feet  in  length. 

MARTINSVILLE. 

This  hamlet  was  commenced  by  Absalom  and 
James  Martin,  who  came  from  near  Chimney  Eock. 
About  1852  a  chapel  was  erected,  and  for  a  time  was 
occupied  by  all  denominations.  Later  it  came  under 
the  control  of  the  Presbyterians.  It  is  not  an  inde- 
pendent organization.  The  village  contains,  besides 
the  chapel,  a  store,  post-office,  hotel,  blacksmith-shop, 
and  several  dwellings.  It  is  located  in  what  is  known 
^  Washington  Valley,  between  the  First  and  Second 
Mountain. 

SCHOOLS  OF  THE  TOWNSHIP. 
There  are  but  few  traditions  of  schools  in  this  town- 
ship before  the  commencement  of  the  present  century. 
The  first  written  record  of  any  kind  which  has  been 
found  bearing  upon  the  subject  of  schools  is  a  receipt 
as  follows : 

"  Kece'd,  Mar.  15, 1771,  from  Jeromes  Van  Nest,  by  the  handfi  of  George 
Fisher,  schoolmaster,  the  full  sum  of  fohr  pounds,  Jersey  Light  money, 
in  fall  for  my  demands  from  said  Jeromes  Van  Nest. 

"FOLKBBT  TONISON. 

"  £4  0«.  Oi" 

The  first  school-house  of  which  anything  is  known 
was  situated  in  what  is  now  the  ground  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  at  Bound  Brook,  and  a  little  west  of 
that  edifice.  Some  of  the  traditions  relate  that  it  was 
originally  a  Presbyterian  church  and  afterwards  used 
as  a  school-house.  It  was  a  low,  one-story  building. 
The  first  teacher  of  whom  any  mention  is  made  was 
one  John  Wacker,  whose  name  occurs  as  early  as  1742 ; 
the  name  of  John  Brade  is  also  found.*  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  William  Hedden,  who  acted  as  principal 
until  1768,  when  he  removed  to  Newark.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Peter  Walsh,  a  Scotchman,  who  taught 
until  the  erection  of  the  academy,  in  1800.  This 
building  stood  east  of  the  residence  formerly  occupied 
by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  and  was  two  stories  in 
height,  standing  broadside  to  the  turnpike,  with  a 
steeple  on  the  east  end.  A  bell  that  hung  in  the 
steeple  had  the  inscription  "  1734,  Amsterdam."  The 
academy  was  built  in  part  from  money  bequeathed  by 
Michael  Field,  who  died  in  1792.  The  bequest  is 
given  in  the  words  of  his  will : 

"  I  give  the  sum  of  £500,  lawful  money  of  the  State  of  Now  Jersey, 
towards  a  free  school  that  may  be  erected  hereafter  within  the  Presby- 
terian congregation  of  Bound  Brook,  which  my  executors  are  hereby 
required  to  put  Into  the  hands  of  the  trustees  of  the  congregation  afore- 
said, and  the  trustees  are  required  to  put  the  same  at  interest,  and  to 
keep  the  interest  money  arising  therefrom  in  their  custody  and  posses- 
sion until  the  said '  Free  School-House'  shall  be  built,  and  then  apply 
the  said  interest  money  for  that  purpose,  and  supporting  said  school,  and 
for  no  other  purpose." 

*  In  an  account  of  Tobias  Van  Norden,  dated  February,  1774,  against 
the  estate  of  AelljeLemontes,  occurs,  "  To  sculeing  for  Lena,  £0 14s.  Od." 


Peter  Walsh  was  the  last  teacher  in  the  old  build- 
ing and  the  first  in  the  academy.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Isaac  Toucey,  afterwards  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
under  President  Buchanan.  While  he  was  in  charge 
a  female  department  was  added,  under  the  supervision 
of  Miss  Joanna  Deeds.  This  building  was  in  use  until 
1857,  when  it  was  demolished  and  the  present  edifice 
erected  upon  the  spot. 

To  this  county  belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  home 
of  the  men  who  were  most  instrumental  in  obtaining 
and  founding  Rutgers  College.  Rev.  John  Freling- 
huysen  opened  a  theological  school  in  which  young 
men  were  fitted  for  the  ministry.  Jacob  Rutsen 
Hardenburgh,  Rynier  Van  Nest,  and  Matthew  Leydt 
received  instruction  from  him,  and  afterwards  became 
eminent. 

The  Rev.  Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh  was  most  active  in 
obtaining  the  charter,  in  1770,  of  Rutgers  College,  and 
was  its  first  president;  Hendrick  Fisher,  of  Bound 
Brook,  was  also  prominent  in  its  establishment.! 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  a  native  of  Somerville, 
was  the  first  tutor.  It  is  thus  seen  that  Rutgers 
College  originated  with  men  in  this  township,  and 
that  a  school  was  opened  here,  the  infiuence  of  which 
culminated  in  its  establishment. 

A  school-house  was  erected  in  Raritan  (now  Som- 
erville) about  1800.  The  last  teacher  was  a  Mr.  Ten- 
nard.  The  school  was  merged  into  the  Somerville 
academy  at  its  commencement,  in  1802.  There  was 
also  one  on  the  mountain-road  north  of  Somerville ; 
it  remained  as  late  as  1840. 

The  next  educational  interest  of  importance  was 
the  establishment  of  the  Somerville  academy,  the  his- 
tory of  which  is  quoted  from  Dr.  A.  Messler's  "  History 
of  Somerset  County :" 

*•  The  idea  of  erecting  such  a  building  and  attempting  to  maintain  a 
classical  school  at  such  an  early  day  was  an  honor  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  village. 

"  It  came  in  this  wise :  A  number  of  gentlemen  from  SomervlUe  and 
its  vicinity  met  together  to  celebrate  the  Fourth  of  July,  1801.  The 
public  exercises  of  the  day  were  held  in  the  church.  .  .  .  After  the  exer- 
cises the  gentlemen  repaired  to  the  hotel,  where  a  dinner  had  been  pre- 
pared. Among  them  were  several  who  had  sons  to  be  educated.  After 
a  free  conversation  on  the  subject  of  education,  it  was  resolved  to  make 
an  effort  to  establish  a  classical  school,  where  young  men  might  be  in- 
structed in  Latin  and  Greek  and  prepared  to  enter  college.  Immediate 
action  was  taken,  and  on  the  18th  of  July,  at  another  meeting,  a  consti- 
tution was  adopted,  which  provided  for  the  erection  of  a  building  and 
the  organization  of  an  association  aiding  in  its  support  and  patronage." 

The  constitution  was  signed  by  Peter  Studdiford, 
John  Bryan,  John  Frelinghuysen,  Andrew  Howell, 
Jonathan  Ford  Morris,  Thomas  Talmage,  John  El- 
mendorf,  Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh,  John  Simonson, 
John  W.  Hall,  Joseph  Doty,  Dickinson  Miller,  Cor- 
nelius Van  Deventer,  Bergun  Brokaw,  Edmund  El- 
mendorf,  John  Brokaw,  John  Cox,  Garret  Tunison, 
Philip  Herder,  Roeluf  Nevius,  Peter  B.  Dumont,  and 
Mathew  A.  Lane.  The  subscription  amounted  to 
$1701.    The  first  officers  of  the  association  were  Peter 


+  Hon.  Joseph  P.  Bradley's  address,  delivered  at  the  centennial  celo 
bration  of  Eutgers,  June  21, 1870. 


668 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Studdiford,  President ;  John  Bryan,  Vice-President ; 
John  Frelinghuysen,  Treasurer;  Andrew  Howell, 
Secretary.  The  board  of  regents  consisted  of  Jona- 
than F.  Morris,  John  Wortman,  Thomas  Talmage, 
John  S.  Vredenburgh,  John  Elmendorf,  Jacob  E. 
Hardenburgh,  Dickinson  Miller,  John  Simonson, 
Garret  Tunison,  and  the  president. 

A  house  was  erected,  a  teacher  employed  (Lucas 
George,  an  Irishman,  who  proved  himself  to  be  a  fine 
scholar  and  an  efficient  instructor),  and  the  school 
opened  in  May  or  June,  1802. 

In  1804  the  association  was  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  the  State,  and  Peter  Studdiford,  John  S.  Vre- 
denburgh, Peter  D.  Vroom,  John  Elmendorf,  Andrew 
Howell,  Jonathan  F.  Morris,  and  John  Frelinghuy- 
sen were  the  trustees.  In  March,  1805,  Jacob  Kirk- 
patrick  succeeded  Mr.  George  as  principal.  Then  W. 
C.  Morris,  a  son  of  Dr.  J.  F.  Morris,  taught  for  a 
time.  Nov.  26,  1808,  Stephen  Boyer  was  engaged  as 
principal,  remaining  such  until  1810.  Afterwards 
Isaac  N.  Wyckoff  and  the  Rev.  John  Cornell  taught, 
and  the  school  flourished  extensively.  It  had  no  rival 
except  Basking  Eidge,  and  enjoyed  an  extensive  pa- 
tronage for  some  time.  After  Eev.  John  Cornell  the 
school  was  taught  by  Eev.  Peter  Studdiford,  Mr. 
Neville,  John  Walsh,  William  Thompson,  Charles 
Hageman,  William  D.  Waterman,  and  John  L.  See. 

This  school  was  discontinued  in  1855,  the  property 
sold  to  S.  S.  Hartwell,  and  the  proceeds  divided 
among  the  original  stockholders  and  their  heirs. 

SOMEEVILLE    CHAEITY   SCHOOL. 

.  In  1816,  Mrs.  Eev.  John  Vredenburg,  Mrs.  Andrew 
Howell,  Mrs.  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer,  Mrs.  Dickinson 
Miller,  Mrs.  William  J.  Hedges,  Mrs.  Ferdinand  Van 
Derveer,  Mrs.  Mary  Stewart,  Mrs.  William  Manse, 
Mrs.  Matthew  Williamson,  Mrs.  C.  G.  Tunison,  Mrs. 
Dr.  Vredenburg,  and  Mrs.  Gen.  John  Frelinghuysen 
associated  themselves  together  to  educate  and  instruct 
the  poor  children  of  the  township,  under  the  name 
of  the  Somerville  Charity  School.  April  16th  in  that 
year  a  Sunday-school  was  opened ;  in  connection  with 
it,  but  a  little  later,  a  day-school  was  added.  It  was 
continued  until  about  1845,  when  it  ceased,  common 
schools  having  been  introduced  into  the  State  and 
accomplishing  part  of  the  work. 

A  young  ladies'  school  was  taught  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Walsh  in  1828-29  by  Miss  M.  A.  Poole.  In  ad- 
dition to  a  complete  course  of  English  studies,  music, 
drawing,  and  lace-work  were  taught. 

A  young  ladies'  seminary  was  erected  by  Gen.  John 
Frelinghuysen  in  about  1832.  Mrs.  Nottingham  was 
principal.  It  was  continued  four  or  five  years,  but 
finally  ceased.  Mrs.  Nottingham  removed  to  Somer- 
ville, where  she  taught  about  two  years. 

SOMEESET   CLASSICAL   INSTITUTE.  ' 

This  school  was  established  in  1848  as  the  "  Somerset 
Institute  for  Young  Ladies."  The  old  tavern  stand- 
ing at  the  fork  of  the  New  York  and  Easton  turnpike 


and  the  Earitan  road,  on  the  present  site  of  the  castel- 
lated residence  of  Eugene  Doughty,  then  the  property 
of  Alfred  Camman,  was  selected  for  the  purpose,  and 
moved  back  on  the  turnpike  to  its  present  location. 
John  S.  Severance,  of  Berkshire  Co.,  Mass.,  opened 
the  first  session,  Sept.  5,  1848,  although  the  institu- 
tion was  not  incorporated  until  Dec.  6,  1849.  The 
first  board  of  trustees  were  Eev.  A.  Messier,  D.D., 
President;  Samuel  G.  Hartwell,  Secretary;  William 
Thompson,  C.  H.  Brown,  Joshua  Doughty,  T.  B. 
Allison,  and  John  I.  De  Forest,  all  deceased  except 
Dr.  Messier  and  Joshua  Doughty. 

Mr.  Severance,  after  continuing  the  enterprise  for 
two  years,  without  pecuniary  success,  returned  to 
Massachusetts,  his  position  being  filled  by  his  niece, 
Miss  Nancy  P.  Stoughton,  who,  aided  by  her  brother 
pecuniarily,  exerted  herself  to  make  the  enterprise  a 
success.  This  she  did,  to  the  profit  of  her  pupils,  but 
to  her  own  pecuniary  disadvantage.  She  continued 
the  school  for  two  years,  when  it  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Eev.  Calvin  Butler,  of  Massachusetts. 
Purchasing  the  property,  he  added  a  story  to  the 
building,  erected  an  outside  recitation  building,  and, 
still  lacking  room,  purchased  the  adjoining  house  and 
lot. 

In  1857-59  the  political  questions  of  the  day  became 
so  prominent,  and  the  contest  so  bitter,  that  the  educa- 
tional interest  began  to  decline,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1860  Mr.  Butler  left  the  place,  going  to  Connecticut. 
He  gave  to  the  county  the  largest  and  most  prosper- 
ous seminary  she  has  ever  had. 

J.  S.  Chamberlain  succeeded  as  principal,  followed 
in  1866  by  Eev.  William  I.  Thompson,  son  of  Judge 
Thompson,  of  Eeadington,  but  he  was  cut  off  from  a 
sphere  of  usefulness  by  death,  March  19, 1867.  Arthur 
Crosby  taught  out  the  unexpired  term. 

Sept.  4, 1867,  the  Eev.  William  Cornell,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
took  charge  of  the  school.  He  was  a  ripe  and  cul- 
tured scholar,  a  thorough  and  enthusiastic  teacher. 
The  year  following  his  advent  he  erected  a  building 
in  South  Street  and  removed  his  school  thither,  where 
he  died  Sept.  11,  1876. 

There  was  then  a  vacancy  until  March,  1877,  when 
P.  N.  Mitchell  took  charge.  But  to  build  up  this 
school  after  such  an  extended  vacancy  was  not  the 
work  of  a  day.  With  patient  energy,  however,  he 
overcame  all  difficulties.  The  latter  part  of  the  year 
this  school  and  that  of  William  P.  Flowers,  A.M.,. 
were  consolidated,  since  which  time  it  has  been  very 
successful. 

It  only  remains  to  add  that  during  the  interim 
when  the  institute  was  removed  to  South  Street,  a 
female  school,  under  the  old  name,  was  kept  for  six 
years  by  Mrs.  Duren,  ending  in  1878.  The  lady  still 
takes  a  few  pupils  upon  a  private  estate  a  few  miles 
south  of  the  village. 

A  Miss  Gaston,  a  native  of  the  place,  also  taught  a 
school  with  varying  degrees  of  prosperity  for  twenty 
years  or  more  in  that  part  of  the  building  known 


BRIDGEWATER. 


669 


as  the  two-story  house,  removing  in  the  spring  of 
1880  to  the  Minor  house, — Governor  Vroom's  old 
residence. 

CHUKCHES. 

FIKST  REFORMED  CHURCH  OF  RARITA.N. 

During  the  ministry  at  Hackensack  of  Gulliam 
Bertholf,  and  while  he  was  on  a  missionary  tour  to 
this  section,*  the  first  church  was  formed.  The 
earliest  records  having  any  reference  to  church  mat- 
ters in  this  region  were  written  in  Dutch.  The  first 
record  is  dated  March  8,  1699,  of  the  baptism  of  a 
child  of  Jeronimus  Van  Neste,  Cornelius  Theunissen, 
and  Pieter  Van  Neste  respectively.  The  following 
day  (March  9,  1699)  the  church  was  organized. 

"  The  following  persons  were  chosen  as  a  consistory :  John  Tuynesen 
as  elder,  and  Pieter  Van  Nest  as  deacon,  and  were  installed  hefore  the 
congregation  hy  Crulliam  Bertholf.  At  the  same  time  the  ordinance  of 
the  holy  sacrament  was  administered  to  the  Qommunicants  by  tjie  above- 
named  person." 

This  is  all  the  record  extant  from  that  time  till 
about  1721,  except  of  baptism. 

About  1717  or  1718  a  call  for  a  minister  was  sent 
to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  by  the  churches  of  Rari- 
tan,  Three-Mile  Run,  Six-Mile  Run,  and  North 
Branch. 

At  this  time  there  is  no  evidence  of  a  church  edi- 
fice at  this  place.  In  1721  a  lot  of  land  was  donated 
to  the  congregation  for  church  purposes ;  a  building 
was  erected  that  year,  but  of  its  size,  shape,  or  con- 
struction nothing  has  been  ascertained.  It  was  on 
a  knoll  on  the  north  side  of  the  Raritan,  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  below  the  structure  known  as  the  old 
bridge.  Worship  was  held  at  this  place  until  Oct. 
27,  1779,  when  it  was  burned  by  Col.  Simcoe. 

Theodorus  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen,  son  of  the  Rev. 
Johannes  Henricus,  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  of  Lingen  in  East  Friesland,  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  1720,  and  settled  immediately  over  the  churches 
in  Somerset  County.  He  resided  at  Three-Mile  Run 
and  preached  also  at  Raritan,  Six-Mile  Run,  and 
North  Branch.  The  precise  time  of  his  death  is  not 
known. 

May  18, 1747,  a  call  was  made  to  John  Frelinghuy- 
sen, then  studying  in  Holland,  to  occupy  his  father's 
place.  This  call  was  approved  by  the  Classis  of  Am- 
sterdam in  1749.  He  was  licensed  in  1750,  and  in  the 
summer  of  that  year  arrived  at  Raritan.  He  preached 
his  introductory  sermon  August  3d.  He  lived  at  Rari- 
tan, now  Somerville.  In  the  summer  of  1751  he  built 
a  house  with  bricks  sent  over  from  Holland,  on  land 
owned  by  Cornelius  Bogart.  It  is  still  standing,  and 
in  possession  of  Joshua  Doughty.  On  a  corner-stone 
is  cut  "  1751."  A  charter  was  obtained  June  7, 1753, 
for  this  church,  along  with  those  of  New  Brunswick, 
Six-Mile  Run,  Millstone,  and  North  Branch. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  pastorate  was  brief;  he  died 


in  September,  1754,  after  having  administered  to  this 
people  a  little  over  three  years.f 

The  church  was  vacant  for  nearly  three  years.  Ja- 
cob R.  Hardenburgh,  who  commenced  his  studies 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  continued  for  about 
three  years,  and  was  ordained  by  the  Coetus  in  1757. 
He  was  the  first  minister  in  the  Dutch  Church  in 
America  who  received  a  license  in  this  country.  His 
labors  commenced  May  1, 1758.  He  removed  to  Rari- 
tan, to  the  house  where  his  early  studies  were  pursued, 
having  married  the  widow  of  his  former  teacher,  Mrs. 
Dinah  Frelinghuysen.  In  August  following  he  was 
installed  as  pastor  of  the  five  congregations,— Rari- 
tan, North  Branch,  Bedminster,  Millstone,  and  Nes- 
hanicj  In  1781  he  resigned  his  pastoral  charge  at 
Raritan  and  removed  to  Rosendale,  N.  Y. . 

The  Rev.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  Romeyn  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  in  1784.  He  died  September, 
1785,  and  was  succeeded,  Oct.  14,  1785,  by  the  Rev. 
John  Duryea,  as  pastor  of  the  churches  of  Raritan 
and  Bedminster,  until  1799. 

Meetings  were  held  in  the  Court-Martial  buildipg, 
situated  on  Mount  Pleasant,  after  the  burning  of  the 
church,  in  1779,  until  the  court-house  was  compleited. 
Sept.  6,  1782,  the  Consistory  of  Raritan  made  a  prop- 
osition to  the  freeholders  of  the  county  of  Someirset 
to  unite  with  them  in  the  erection  of  a  building  for 
church  and  county  purposes.  This  proposition  was 
accepted  on  the  14th  of  October  of  that  yea,r.  A 
building  was  erected  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by 
Dr.  Wilson,  east  of  the  present  court-house,  at  a  cpst 
of  £559  19s.  2d.  Worship  was  held  iu  that  building 
until  the  completion  of  the  church. 

May  10, 1786,  the  Consistory  resolved  to  sever  their 
connection  with  the  county,  and  asked  for  a  commit- 
tee of  the  freeholders  to  meet  with  them  for  a  settle- 
ment, which  was  made.  The  county  ordered  £228 
6s.  9d.  to  be  paid  to  P.  D.  Vroom,  treasurer  of  Rari- 
tan Congregation.? 

June  15,  1784,  it  was  resolved  to  build  a  new  house 
of  worship.  Discussion  was  had  as  to  the  location, 
the  membership  being  about  equally  divided  between 
Somerset  court-house  and  Van  Veghten's  bridge 
(where  the  old  church  stood).  The  former  was  se- 
lected, and  subsequently  Reynier  Veghte,  Abraham 
Van  Neste,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  John  Hardenburgh, 
Robert  Bolmer,  and  Jacobus  Winterstein  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  superintend  the  erection,  with 
Andreas  Ten  Eyck  as  manager.  The  present  church 
lot  was  purchased  of  Cornelius  Tunison,  and  a  build- 
ing 40  by  60  feet  was  erected,  with  a  small  cupola  and 
bell.  The  old  church  was  rebuilt  and  enlarged  in 
1838  at  a  cost  of  $10,000. 
In  1790  the  Dutch  Reformed  Churches  of  Raritan, 


*  Until  1709  he  was  the  only  Dutch  preacher  in  New  Jersey. 


f  His  remains  were  brought  to  Raritan,  and  deposited  in  the  old  bnry- 
ing-ground  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan.  In  1826  they  were  removed  to 
what  is  known  as  "  the  minister's  tomb." 

\  In  1761,  Neshanic  and  Millstone  were  separated  from  this  charge. 

\  County  buildings  in  General  History. 


670 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


North  Branch,  New  Brunswick,  Six-Mile  Eun,  and 
Millstone  [now  Harlingen],  declared  their  "will  not 
to  continue  any  longer  a  body  politic  by  virtue  of  the 
charter  of  incorporation.'' 


FIRST    REFORMED    CHURCH. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Duryea  a 
settlement  was  made,  and  the  parsonage  house  and 
lot,  containing  36.7  acres,  were  deeded  to  him.* 

The  other  pastorates  have  been  those  of  Dominies 
John  S.  Vredenburg,  1800-21 ;  vacant  mostly,  1821- 
26 ;  R.  D.  Van  Kleek,  1826-31 ;  Abraham  Messier, 
D.D.,  1882-79,  when  he  was  retired  by  the  Classis  on 
account  of  his  advanced  age. 

Jan.  19,  1881,  a  new  pastor  was  installed, — Rev.  J. 
Preston  Searle,  previously  located  at  Griggstown. 

During  this  long  period  three  prosperous  churches 
have  gone  out  from  this  church  of  Raritan.  It  is 
still  in  full  vigor,  having  a  larger  membership  in 
communion  than  ever  before.  It  numbers  175  fam- 
ilies, with  a  church  membership  of  620.  Four  Sun- 
day-schools in  connection  with  the  church  have  a 
membership  of  200. 

The  reader  is  referred  to  Dr.  Messler's  published 
"  Historical  Notes,"  for  more  full  details  of  this  and 
other  Reformed  Dutch  Churches  of  this  vicinity ;  also 
to  Dr.  Corwin's  "  Manual"  for  extended  biographical 
sketches  of  the  ministers  named  above. 


*  May  13, 1801,  he  sold  this  property  to  Cornelius  Terhune,  and  it  later 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Samuel  Swan,  who  sold  it  to  Dr.  Peter  I. 
Stryker  in  1810;  in  1836  it  passed  to  Joshua  Doughty,  its  present  owner. 


RET.  ABRAHAM  MBSSLER,  D.D., 

of  Somerville,  N.  J.,  was  born  Nov.  15,  1800,  on  a 
plantation  on  Lamington  River,  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  township  of  Readington,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J. 
His  parents  were  Cornelius  Messier  and  Maria 
(Stryker)  Messier. 

He  is  a  descen-lant  of  Teunis  de  Metsellaer,  who 
came  from.  Holland  to  Rensellaerwick  in  1641  and 
settled  in  Albany.  He  made  his  will  Aug.  7,  1685, 
and  in  it  mentions  his  wife,  Egbertien  Egberts,  and 
his  children,  Maritie,  wife  of  Harman  Lieverse; 
Geretije,  wife  of  Andrus  Hans ;  Dirkje,  wife  of  Bas- 
tian  Harmse  Fischr ;  Wellemtje,  aged  twenty-three ; 
Anna,  aged  twenty-one  years;  and  his  sons,  Egbert 
and  Martyn. 

In  the  next  year,  1642,  Teunis  Thomasen  de  Met- 
sellaer and  his  wife,  Belletje  Jacobs,  had  a  child  bap- 
tized in  the  Dutch  church  in  New  York  City,  named 
Maritje;  again  a  son,  Thomas,  April  24,  1644;  a 
daughter,  Geertje,  Nov.  12,  1645  ;  a  son,  Derick,  July 
24,  1648. 

Dec.  16, 1694,  Abraham  Metsellaer  had  a  son  named 
Johannes  baptized  in  New  York.  This  man  Johannes 
came  to  New  Jersey  in  1717,  or  earlier,  and  settled  in 
Middlebush  on  a  farm  north  of  the  Cedar  Grove 
school-house,  owned  recently  by  a  Mr.  Bennet,  con- 
sisting of  262  acres.  He  died  in  1672,  leaving  two 
sons, — Abraham  and  Cornelius,  and  two  daughters 
named  Sarah  and  Effie.  He  was  a  man  of  piety  and 
influence  in  his  day,  serving  frequently  as  elder  in  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  New  Brunswick.  He  is 
also  named  as  one  of  the  deacons  of  the  Five  United 
Congregations  in  Somerset  County,  incorporated  in 
1754.  He  traveled  with  Whitefield  in  different  parts 
of  the  State,  and  attended  his  preaching  as  often  as 
possible  while  in  New  Jersey. 

His  son  Cornelius  was  the  grandfather  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Messier,  and  it  was  he  who  first  changed  the  form  of 
spelling  the  name.  He  purchased  the  plantation  on 
the  Lamington  River  and  resided  on  it  many  years. 
In  his  old  age  he  lived  in  New  Brunswick,  where  he 
died,  and  his  remains  are  interred  in  the  cemetery  of 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  On  the  upright  stone 
at  the  head  of  his  grave  you  read  the  following  in- 
scription : 

"  In  memory  of  Cornelius  Messier,  who  departed  this  life  May  25, 
1806,  aged  80  years  and  five  months. 
"  And  this  is  all  we  know, — 
They  are  completely  blessed  ; 
Have  done  with  sin  &  care  &  wo. 
And  with  their  Saviour  rest. 
"  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  piety  and  great  moral  worth,  serving  the 
church  in  his  day  faithfully,  and  living  daily  alife  of  piety  and  devotion." 

His  son  Cornelius  inherited  the  plantation  on  the 
Lamington  River,  and  died  in  the  old  mansion  house 
which  had  sheltered  t-(yo  generations  and  been. sanc- 
tified by  so  many  prayers. 

Abraham  Messier  pursued  his  classical  studies  at 
New  Germantown  and  Lamington.  He  entered 
Union  College  in  September,  1819,  and  graduated 


BRIDaEWATEK. 


671 


with  honors  in  1821.    In  the  following  September  he 
joined  the  theological  seminary  at  New  Brunswick, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1824,  in  the  last  class 
which  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  the  instructions  of  Dr. 
John  H.  Livingston.    During  the  summer,  after  hav- 
ing been  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Classis  of  New 
Brunswick,  he  served  as  a  missionary  at  Montville,  in 
Morris  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  in  the  autumn  went  to  Ovid, 
Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  the  same  capacity.    He  received 
a  call  to  settle  as  pastor  from  both  these  congregations, 
and  in  May,  1825,  was  installed  at  Ovid.    His  health 
suffered  soon  from  the  climate,  and  in  1828  he  resigned 
his  charge  and  came  back  to  New  Jersey,  having  in 
the  mean  time  contracted  marriage  with  Miss  Elma 
Doremus,  of  New  York.    In  1829  he  assumed  the 
pastoral    charge    ot   the    United    Congregations    of 
Montville  and  Pompton  Plains,  where  he  continued 
for  three  and  a  half  years.     In  this  charge  his  labors 
were  greatly  blessed,  a  large  number  of  the  young 
people  having  united  with  the  church,  a  thing  un- 
known in  that  region  of  the  church  before  that  time. 
In  1832  he  received  a  call  from  the  First  Church  of 
Raritan  (Somerville),  then  one  of  the  most  numerous 
and  influential  churches  in  the  General  Synod.     He 
came  to  Somerville  with  many  fears.     The  church  had 
had,  in  1821  and  1822,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  re- 
vivals of  which  there  is  any  account  in  the  American 
churches.    It  had  the  Governor  of  the  State  in  it  as 
an  elder,  with  many  other  men  known  in  public  life. 
It  had  been  vacant  for  several  years,  and  it  seemed 
almost  presumptuous  for  a  young  man  to  assume  such 
a  charge.    Circumstances,  however,  appeared  to  impel 
him  to  the  act,  and  he  went.    How  little  he  expected 
that  it  was  to  be  for  life,  and  that  he  would  stand  in 
that  pulpit  forty-seven  years.    Yet  so  God  willed,  and 
it  was  so. 

In  1854,  Dr.  Messier  traveled  extensively  in  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  and 
Italy.  On  his  return  he  wrote  and  published  in  the 
Christian  Intelligencer  a  series  of  articles  on  "  Holland, 
Belgium,  and  the  Rhine,  and  the  Isle  of  Wight,"  ex- 
tending to  56  numbers.  He  had  previously  published 
a  series  on  the  "  Christian  Ministry,"  in  52  numbers ; 
"The  Confession  of  Faith,"  6  numbers;  "Reformers 
before  the  Reformation,"  35  numbers.  During  five 
years  he  wrote  more  than  300  leading  articles  in  the 
Christian  Intelligencer;  also  occasional  sermons,  me- 
morial sermons,  and  historical  notes,  "Centennial 
History  of  Somerset  County,"  memorials  of  Governor 
Vroom,  with  numerous  other  occasional  publications. 
On  Sept.  11,  1876,  he  and  his  wife  celebrated  their 
"golden  wedding."  All  their  children  and  grand- 
children except  two  were  present  at  dinner,  and  in 
the  evening  a  crowd  of  their  friends  in  the  congrega- 
tion came  to  greet  them  and  unite  in  the  joy  of  the 
occasion.  The  presents  were  numerous  and  valuable. 
In  1879,  having  entered  the  eightieth  year  of  his 
age,  and  the  fifty-sixth  of  his  ministry,  he  retired  from 
active  service,  and  is  now  living  in  his  own  house  in 


Somerville.  His  only  living  son,  T.  D.  Messier,  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  is  comptroller  and  third  vice-president 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  and  also  holds 
the  office  of  president  of  several  of  the  western  roads 
controlled  and  operated  by  this  company. 

In  a  green  old  age,  he  is  yet  comfortable,  and  able 
to  give  an  occasional  service  with  vigor  and  feeling. 

SECOND  REFORMED  CHURCH  OF  RARITAN.* 

The  Second  Reformed  Church  at  Raritan  was  organ- 
ized March  5, 1834.  The  chief  cause  of  this  movement 
was  the  fact  that  the  old  edifice  in  which  the  First 
Reformed  Church  at  Raritan  then  worshiped  was  too 
small  to  hold  all  who  crowded  there.  The  original 
members  were  twenty-four  persons  dismissed  from  the 
First  Reformed  Church.  The  first  Consistory  were 
Peter  Z.  Elmendorf,  James  Taylor,  Brogun  I.  Brokaw, 
and  Thomas  Talmage,  Elders ;  John  A.  Staats,  Peter 
Hodge,  Thomas  A.  Hartwell,  and  James  Bergen, 
Deacons.  Brogun  I.  Brokaw  was  elected  president. 
Gen.  John  Frelinghuysen  may  be  regarded  as  the 
originator  of  this  project,  for  he  proposed  and  advo- 
cated it  while  in  health,  and  left  by  will  $200  to 
further  it. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year  the  Consistory  reported 
to  the  Classis  67  families  and  60  members  in  full  com- 
munion. Immediate  steps  were  taken  towards  the 
erection  of  a  house  of  worship,  and  the  corner-stone 
was  laid  July  30, 1834,  with  appropriate  ceremonies, 
by  Rev.  Messrs.  Sears,  Messier,  and  Morris.  A  box 
was  deposited  therein,  containing  a  parchment  which 
recorded,  among  other  items,  that 

"  Oq  the  first  Sabbath  of  June,  1834,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  adminis- 
tered for  the  first  time  to  the  Church  by  Eev.  Philip  Milledoler,  D.D., 
president  of  Rutgers  College,  and  that  the  service  was  held  in  the  court- 
house. The  building  committee  of  this  church  are  Isaa£  Southard,  Peter 
Z.  Elmendorf,  John  I.  Gaston,  Elias  Vance,  and  James  Taylor;  the 
niaster-carpenteiB,  James  P.  Goltra  and  William  Kipp ;  and  the  maater- 
mason,  Cornelius  A.  Tnnison. 

The  congregation  was  incorporated,  under  the  laws 
of  New  Jersey,  March  28,  1834,  with  its  present  style 
and  title.  The  building  was  dedicated  Feb.  18,  1835, 
in  the  presence  of  a  large  congregation.  On  the  4th 
of  March  succeeding  the  dedication  seventy-five  of  the 
one  hundred  pews  were  sold  for  $4300,— about  the 
original  cost  of  this  building.  A  special  and  subse- 
quent subscription  provided  the  means  for  a  fence 
around  the  church  lot. 

After  having  twice  been  unsuccessfal,  a  third  effort 
was  made  to  procure  a  pastor,  and  May  2,  1835,  Rev. 
Charles  Whitehead,  of  Hopewell,  N.  Y.,  was  called. 
He  accepted,  and  settled  as  the  first  pastor  on  the  last 
Sunday  of  May,  1835.  He  was  installed  by  the  Classis 
of  New  Brunswick,  Sept.  2,  1835.  He  remained  in 
charge  nearly  four  years,  when  a  severe  and  protracted 
attack  of  bronchitis  led  to  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral 
relation,  March  27,  1839,  by  mutual  consent.    Rev. 

«  From  an  historical  sermon  delivered  on  the  fortieth  anniversaiy, 
Sunday,  March  8, 1874,  by  Rev.  John  E.  Mesick,  D.D.,  pastor,  with  ad- 
ditional statistics  to  1880.  ' 


672 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Talbot  W.  Chambers  was  called  Sept.  4,  1839.  He 
commenced  his  labors  in  October  following,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed  in  January,  1840.  In  1848  this 
congregation  and  its  pastor  experienced  a  sore  trial 
in  the  organization  of  the  Third  Reformed  Church  at 
Earitan,  which  took  away,  at  one  time,  30  families  and 
33  members.  Dr.  Chambers  accepted  the  call  of  the 
Collegiate  Church,  and  removed,  Nov.  3, 1849,  to  New 
York.  The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  Elijah  R.  Craven, 
who  was  called  Jan.  9, 1850,  and  entered  on  his  duties 
March  following.  The  present  commodious  and  pleas- 
ant parsonage  was  first  occupied  by  the  new  pastor. 
Dr.  Craven  accepted  the  call  of  the  Third  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Newark,  and  resigned  his  office 
Oct.  21,  1854. 

The  Rev.  John  F.  Mesick,  a  graduate  of  the  insti- 
tutions at  New  Brunswick,  but  settled  over  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  Church  of  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  was  elected 
pastor  Jan.  22, 1855. 

The  enlargement  of  the  edifice  was  completed  Dec. 
2,  1863.  The  far-seeing  founders  of  this  church  had 
included  that  improvement  in  their  plans,  for  the 
staunch  frame  was  capable  of  this  addition. 

The  records  are  incomplete  in  reference  to  the  first 
three  pastorates,  but  we  find  in  the  book  containing 
the  record  of  contributions  to  religious  and  benevo- 
lent purposes  the  following  summary :  During  Dr. 
"Whitehead's  ministry,  $482.81 ;  Dr.  Chambers'  min- 
istry, $1505.99;  Dr.  Craven's  ministry,  $37.80;  Dr. 
Mesick's  ministry,  $30,973.40. 

Before  Dr.  Whitehead  came  there  were  60  members 
in  full  communion.  Under  his  ministry  there  were 
received  on  confession,  57 ;  by  certificate  from  other 
churches,  69.  He  left  it  with  93  families  and  107 
communicants.  Under  Dr.  Chambers'  ministry  were 
added  on  confession,  164 ;  by  certificate,  126.  At  his 
resignation  there  were  100  families  and  252  communi- 
cant members.  During  Dr.  Craven's  pastorate  there 
were  brought  in  on  confession,  61 ;  by  certificate,  88, 
and  at  his  removal  there  were  112  families  and  275 
communicants.  Within  the  existing  pastorate  (25 
years)  there  have  been  received  on  confession,  423 ; 
by  certificate,  465 ;  total,  888. 

The  following  ministers  of  the  gospel  have  been 
called  from  the  ranks  of  the  members  of  this  church : 
Rev.  Elbert  S.  Porter,  D.D.,  Rev.  John  Beekman, 
Rev.  Peter  Q.  Wilson,  Rev.  Andrew  J.  Hageman, 
Rev.  Goyn  Talmage,  D.D.,  Rev.  J.  H.  Frazee,  Rev. 
Frederick  Wilson,  Rev.  William  H.  Vroom.  The 
Sunday-school  has  at  present  300  pupils,  with  a,  li- 
brary of  about  800  volumes.  The  officers  are  Sering 
P.  Dunham,  Superintendent ;  P.  N.  Mitchell,  Assist- 
ant Superintendent;  Cornelius  V.  D.  Smith,  Secre- 
tary and  Treasurer ;  James  Gaston,  Librarian. 

THE  FIEST  BAPTIST  CHUECH.* 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  just  who  first  conceived 
the  idea  of  establishing  a  Baptist  Church   at  this 

*  By  Henry  P.  Mason. 


place,  where  for  many  years  the  field  had  been  almost 
entirely  occupied  by  the  Dutch  Reformed,  there  being 
two  large  influential  churches  in  the  town,  while 
within  a  radius  of  seven  miles  there  were  six  others 
of  the  same  denomination.  But  we  find  that  Pethuel 
Mason  and  Samuel  B.  Tunison  were  both  actively 
engaged  in  the  preliminary  arangements,  as  well  as 
in  sustaining  the  cause  after  its  organization.  Mr. 
Mason  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone,  and 
united  with  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  New  York 
City  in  October,  1842 ;  Mr.  Tunison  was  baptized  by 
Mr.  Barker  at  Somerville,  June  25,  1843,  and  united 
with  the  Samptown  Church. 

Then  commenced  the  efforts  of  these  two  men  for 
a  Baptist  Church  at  Somerville.  During  that  summer 
(1843)  they  arranged  to  have  preaching  in  the  court- 
house every  two  weeks  by  Mr.  Barker  and  Rev.  S.  J. 
Drake,  of  Plainfield,  alternately,  and  several  Baptists 
were  collected  together.  About  September  1,  Jesse 
B.  Saxton  came  to  Somerville  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel.  During  this  same 
month  Rev.  Mr.  Leach,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church 
at  Hamilton,  while  on  a  visit  to  Somerville,  baptized 
Levi  H.  Shattuck. 

The  church  was  constituted  Oct.  31,  1843,  with  the 
following  eleven  members :  Jesse  B.  Saxton,  Pethuel 
Mason,  Samuel  B.  Tunison,  Jas.  G.  Coleman,  Jr., 
Samuel  Pangborn,  Levi  H.  Shattuck,  Charity  Tuni- 
son, Elizabeth  S.  Coleman,  Ann  Pangborn,  Ursula 
Kelley,  Mary  Opie.  The  council  of  recognition  was 
composed  of  delegates  from  the  First  New  Bnmswick, 
Piscataway,  First  and  Second  Plainfield,  Baptisttown, 
and  Wearts  Corner  Churches.  At  the  organization 
P.  Mason  was  chosen  deacon,  Jas.  G.  Coleman,  Jr., 
church  clerk,  and  S.  B.  Tunison  was  soon  after  elected 
treasurer. 

Early  the  next  spring  a  lot  on  the  north  side  of 
Main  Street  was  secured  and  a  house  commenced.  It 
was  built  of  brick,  upon  a  foundation  of  stone,  40  by 
50  feet.  There  were  50  pews  on  the  main  floor  with 
a  seating  capacity  for  250  persons,  and  a  gallery  in 
one  end  capable  of  seating  50  more.  The  house  (in- 
cluding lot,  etc.)  cost  about  $4000.  Mr.  Saxton  re- 
mained at  Somerville  about  one  year. 

In  October,  1844,  Henry  O.  Fish,  a  licentiate  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  at  New  York,  was  secured  as  a 
supply,  the  meeting-house  being  opened  for  worship 
Jan.  31,  1845.  He  served  the  church  for  six  years 
and  three  months.  There  were  18  members  when  he 
commenced  his  labors.  During  his  pastorate  102 
were  received  and  34  dismissed,  leaving  a  member- 
ship of  86  at  the  time  of  his  removal.  While  he  was 
with  them  they  not  only  became  self-sustaining,  but 
contributed  $811.91  to  objects  of  benevolence.  Through 
his  efforts  a  handsome  tower  was  erected  on  the  meet- 
ing-house, and  a  bell  and  a  town-clock  placed  therein. 
He  resigned  Jan.  1,  1851. 

The  second  pastor  was  George  P.  Nice,  of  Phila- 
delphia.    He  commenced  his  labors  April  1,  1851, 


BEIDGE  WATER. 


673 


and  his  ordination  took  place  on  May  29tli  follow- 
ing. 

During  this  same  year  the  church  liquidated  the 
remaining  debt,  amounting  to  about  $1400.  The  ordi- 
nance of  baptism  was  generally  administered  in  the 
Earitan  River  until  1856,  when  a  baptistery  was 
placed  under  the  pulpit  platform.  In  July,  1856,  this 
church  granted  to  Wm.  A.  Smith  a  license  to  preach. 
Mr.  Smith  was  converted  during  the  year  1845,  and 
united  with  the  church  March  12, 1848-.  On  Sunday 
evening,  Jan.  18,  1857,  the  ordinance  of  baptism  was 
a,dministered  in  the  meeting-house,  during  which  a 
terrible  storm  prevailed.  About  three  o'clock  the 
next  morning  nearly  one-third  of  the  roof  was  blown 
off,  carried  70  or  80  feet,  and  lodged  in  the  roof  of  P. 
Mason's  residence.  Part  of  the  gable-end  fell  in,  and 
the  baptistery  and  pews  were  filled  with  brick,  snow, 
and  rubbish.  Had  this  occurred  during  the  evening 
previous  many  lives  must  have  been  lost. 

Rev.  J.  N.  Folwell,  of  Honesdale,  Pa.,  accepted  a 
call  to  become  pastor  of  the  church  in  June,  1858. 
He  continued  about  one  year  and  six  months,  when 
he  resigned. 

In  April,  1860,  Rev.  B.  C.  Morse,  of  Philadelphia, 
became  pastor,  He  remained  with  the  church  about 
five  and  a  half  years.*  For  about  fifteen  months  after 
Mr.  Morse  resigned  the  church  was  supplied  by  Rev. 
H.  0.  Putnam,  of  Somerville,  Dr.  Devan,  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  others.  In  the  fall  of  1866  it  with- 
drew from  the  East  New  Jersey  Baptist  Association, 
with  which  it  had  been  connected  since  organization, 
and  united  with  the  Central  New  Jersey  Association. 
In  1867,  Rev.  H.  D.  Doolittle  became  pastor.  One 
of  his  first  efforts  was  to  provide  a  parsonage;  the 
result  of  his  efforts  was  the  purchase  of  a  house  and 
lot  on  Main  Street,  of  Joshua  Doughty,  for  the  sum 
of  $4000,  all  but  $1450  of  which  was  raised  by  sub- 
scription and  paid.  Pethuel  Mason,  one  of  the  foun- 
ders of  the  church,  died  of  paralysis,  Feb.  3,  1872, 
after  an  illness  of  about  one  year.  Mr.  Doolittle  re- 
signed in  October,  1872.t  During  his  pastorate  57 
were  received.  The  church  then  numbered  99  mem- 
bers.   They  had  raised  $1119.14  for  benevolence. 

In  the  spring  of  1872  it  was  resolved  to  put  up  a 
new  building.  A  larger  lot  (130  by  300  feet,  on  High 
Street)  was  purchased,  on  which  the  new  meeting- 
house and  parsonage  were  erected.  The  old  lot  was 
sold  to  Peter  Struve  for  $4200,  and  the  parsonage  to 
Robert'  Thomhill  for  $4500.  The  last  sermon  was 
preached  in  the  old  house  on  Sunday,  Aug.  18, 1872, 
by  Mr.  Doolittle,  and  the  next  day  the  builders  com- 
menced taking  down  the  old  house,  the  material  of 
which  was  used  in  the  construction  of  the  new  one. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  Sept.  12,  1872.  Meetings 
were  held  in  the  court-house  until  the  basement  of 
the  new  building  was  finished. 


*  Died  at  Marlboro',  N.  J.,  April  29, 1876. 
t  Died  June  17,1880,  at  Clinton,  N.  J. 


Rev.  G.  W.  Clark,  D.D.,  the  sixth  pastor,  was  called 
in  May,  1873.  In  November  a  handsome  silver  com- 
munion-service was  presented  by  Mrs.  William  Lee. 
The  meeting-house  was  dedicated  Dec.  4,  1873.  The 
building  is  40  by  70  feet,  with  a  projection  in  front 
and  rear.  It  is  of  brick,  surmounted  with  a  tower, 
in  which  are  the  bell  and  town-clock  used  in  the  old 
house.  The  windows  are  of  beautiful  stained  glass, 
and  the  ceiling  and  walls  handsomely  frescoed.  The 
seating  capacity  of  the  audience-room,  including  the 
gallery,  is  about  500.  There  is  a  lecture-  and  Sunday- 
school  room  in  the  basement.  During  the  winter  of 
1873-74  a  parsonage  was  erected  on  the  same  lot  with 
the  meeting-house.  The  cost  of  the  lot  and  buildings 
was  about  $20,000. 

Dr.  Clark  resigned  the  pastorate  May  1,  1877.  He 
was  held  in  very  high  esteem  by  his  congregation, 
who  made  him  a  donation  of  $338  just  before  he  re- 
signed. He  is  now  in  the  employ  of  the  American 
Baptist  Publication  Society,  and  resides  at  Somer- 
ville. 

In  December,  1877,  a  call  was  extended  to  the  pres- 
ent pastor.  Rev.  J.  B.  Mulford,  of  Sewickley,  Pa., 
who  commenced  his  labors  Jan.  1,  1878. 

Only  four  of  the  constituent  members  are  now 
living,  and  of  these  only  S.  B.  Tunison  and  wife  and 
Mrs.  Mary  Opie  are  members  of  this  church.  Since 
its  organization  there  have  been  570  persons  con- 
nected with  the  church.  The  present  membership 
is  212. 

Up  to  the  present  date  (September,  1880)  this 
church  has  raised  and  paid  out  for  pastors'  salaries, 
donation  visits,  home  expenses,  and  on  church  prop- 
erty the  sum  of  $60,809.84.  They  have  also  raised 
for  benevolence  the  following:  Foreign  missions, 
$1855.68;  home  missions,  $881.33;  Baptist  Educa- 
tion Society,  $301.72;  Baptist  Publication  Society, 
$111.74;  Baptist  State  Convention,  $636.07 ;  Bible  So- 
ciety, $323.39 ;  other  objects,  $1141.38 ;  total,  $5251.31. 
The  present  officers  are  Rev.  J.  B.  Mulford,  Pastor; 
L.  M.  Codington,  Clerk;  H.  P.  Mason,  Treasurer; 
William  N.  Adair,  A.  P.  Cooper,  Squier  Frazee,  L. 
M.  Codington,  Deacons ;  W.  N.  Adair,  G.  W.  Clark, 
Asa  R.  Dilts,  Squier  Frazee,  H.  P.  Mason,  Trustees. 

For  several  years  during  the  early  history  of  the 
church  two  Sunday-schools  were  sustained, — one  at 
Somerville  and  one  at  Raritan,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
members  living  at  that  place.  They  were  afterwards 
merged  into  one  school  and  held  at  Somerville.  This 
school  has  always  taken  an  interest  in  mission  work, 
and  at  different  times  has  sustained  Karen  mission- 
aries and  educated  native  preachers.  The  number  of 
pupils  enrolled  is  90,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  60. 

ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH. 

Services  of  the  Episcopal  Church  had  been  occa- 
sionally given  at  Somerville  by  the  Rev.  Alfired  Stubbs, 
of  New  Brunswick,  previous  to  1850,  but  no  clergy- 
man had  undertaken  to  form  a  parish  and  to  build  a 


674 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


churcli  in  tlie  place  before  the  summer  of  that  year. 
In  July,  the  Rev.  John  Rowland,  having  been  recently 
ordained  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  was  sent  as  a 
missionary  of  the  church.  The  use  of  the  court-house 
was  granted,  and  divine  services  were  regularly  held 
every  Sunday.  July  31,  1851,  the  parish  was  incor- 
porated by  the  name  of  "  the  Rector,  Wardens,  and 
Vestrymen  of  St.  John's  Church  in  Somerville,"  the 
minister  being  John  Rowland ;  the  wardens,  Richard 
B.  Duyckinck  and  Joshua  Doughty ;  the  vestrymen, 
Isaac  R.  Cornell,  William  Thomson,  Albert  Cam- 
mann,  E.  R.  Codwise,  and  Edward  Perry. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  church  was  laid  Sept.  4, 
1851,  by  George  Washington  Doane,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
bishop  of  the  diocese.  The  building  was  completed 
in  May,  1852,  and  was  consecrated  by  the  bishop  of 
the  diocese  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month.  The 
edifice  was  erected  by  E.  B.  Goltra,  of  Somerville, 
and  cost  $3280.  The  lot  on  which  it  stands  was  given 
by  Joshua  Doughty,  who  also  contributed  towards  the 
expense  of  the  building.  Isaac  R.  Cornell,  of  Wis- 
ton,  Richard  B.  Duyckinck,  William  Thomson,  Al- 
bert Cammann,  E.  S.  Doughty,  E.  R.  Codwise,  Ber- 
tram Howell,  and  Mrs.  Donan  also  contributed  largely. 
Com.  R.  F.  Stockton  gave  $300  as  his  own  gift  and  |200 
for  the  potters  of  Princeton.  The  baptismal  font  was 
presented  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Creighton,  of  Tarrytown, 
who  forty  years  previously,  when  a  boy,  attended 
school  at  Somerville.  The  organ  is  the  gift  of  the 
two  sisters,  Mrs.  S.  V.  Hoffman  and  Mrs.  R.  J.  Liv- 
ingston, of  New  Brunswick.  The  communion-plate 
was  presented  through  the  Rev.  Eugene  A.  Hoffman, 
and  by  one  of  the  Hoffman  family.  The  Oxford  folio 
Bible  and  the  four  octavo  Prayer  Books  were  given 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hoffman,  who  was  greatly  instru- 
inental  in  inducing  the  bishop  to  send  the  missionary 
to  Somerville.  The  surplices  were  ordered  from  Eng- 
land, and  were  presented  to  the  parish  by  the  ladies 
bf  the  congregation.  In  1854,  Prof  McVickar,  of 
Columbia  College,  gave  100  volumes  to  the  Sunday- 
school. 

In  October,  1854,  the  Rev.  John  Rowland  resigned, 
and  after  an  absence  of  thirteen'  years  in  Louisiana  he 
was  called  to  the  rectorship  of  St.  John's,  Somerville, 
in  August,  1867,  and  is  now  in  the  thirteenth  year  of 
the  second  term  of  his  ministry. 

It  appears  from  the  parish  register  that  the  Rev. 
Mr,  Black  became  rector  in  1854  and  remained  in 
charge  for  a  few  years.  After  him  Mr.  Thomson 
served  for  several  years.  Upon  his  retirement  there 
was  a  vacancy  for  some  time,  when  a  Mr.  Badger  took 
charge,  under  whom  the  church  was  much  reduced 
from  a  variety  of  causes.  In  August,  1867,  when  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Rowland  entered  upon  his  second  term,  the 
prospect  of  the  church  was  rather  gloomy.  But 
shortly  afterwards  several  influential  Episcopalian 
families  moved  to  Somerville  from  New  York ;  these 
gave  tone  and  strength  to  the  congregation.  Neces- 
sarily, the  Episcopalians  in  Somerville  are  few,  be- 


cause the  population  is  chiefly  composed  of  the  de- 
scendants of  Hollanders. 

The  church  at  present  is  self-sustaining  and  flour- 
ishing. The  congregation  numbers  some  30  families. 
The  church  will  seat  150;  the  present  number  of 
communicants  is  about  55. 

The  church  wardens  are  W.  U.  Onderdonk  and  C. 
W.  Castner ;  the  vestrymen,  Joshua  Doughty,  George 
H.  Potts,  Edward  Baker,  H.  M.  Gaston,  William  H. 
Hoppock,  I.  H.  Lord,  and  William  J.  Morgan. 

The  Sunday-school  is  composed  partly  of  children 
of  church  members,  and  partly  of  children  of  Ger- 
man parents  in  the  town  who  have  no  connection  with 
church  organization.  There  are  some  60  scholars, 
with  12  teachers.  The  rector  has  supervision  of  the 
school. 

THE  rOUETH   SBBMAN    EEFORMED    CHUECH   OF    EAKITAN. 

This  church  was  organized  by  the  Classis  of  Rari- 
tan,  Aug.  18,  1879,  consisting  of  nineteen  members, 
by  the  ordination  of  a  Consistory  composed  of  Elders 
Conrad  Stein,  Conrad  Bachr ;  Deacons  William  Koeh- 
ler,  Herman  Gooert.  Number  of  families  in  1880, 18 ; 
number  of  members  in  1880,  23. 

A  house  of  worship  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1000. 
A  call  was  extended  and  accepted  by  the  Rev.  Fred- 
erick E.  Schleider,  who  is  the  present  pastor. 

THE  CHUECHES  OF  BOUND  BBOOK. 

Presbyterian  Church  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex  Coun- 
t'es. — Dr.  R.  K.  Rogers,  who  during  his  long  pastorate 
made  diligent  inquiry  respecting  the  early  history  of 
this  church,  says, — 

"  English  and  Scotch  Presbyterians  began  to  locate  on  the  Earltan  as 
early  as  1683,  the  first  ones  coming  from  Amboy,  Woodbridge,  and  Ti- 
cinity." 

The  fact  of  there  being  many  Scotch  Presbyterians 
in  this  vicinity  indicates  the  probability  that  religious 
services  were  held  here  before  1700  which  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  There  has 
been  no  time  as  far  back  as  tradition  extends  when 
there  was  no  Presbyterian  Church  in  existence  at 
Bound  Brook.  It  is  generally  accepted  that  the 
church  was  organized  in  1725,  although  Dr.  Rogers 
says  in  his  historical  sermon  that  it  was  organized  in 
1700.  The  Presbyterian  Church  at  Basking  Ridge 
was  formed  in  1732,  and  Dr.  Rogers  used  to  relate 
that  there  was  a  tradition  that  James  and  Sarah  M. 
Coy,  who  died  in  1744  and  1747  and  were  buried  in 
the  old  burying-ground,  and  others  who  lived  in  that 
neighborhood,  were  constant  worshipers  at  this  church 
of  Bound  Brook,  regularly  attending  Sunday  services. 

This  tradition  tends  to  show  that  this  church  is 
older  than  that  of  Basking  Ridge. 

At  the  organization,  in  1725,  discussion  was  held  in 
reference  to  building  a  house  of  worship  and  its  loca- 
tion. A  building  was'  erected,' the  site  of  which  is 
now  included  in  the  present  church-grounds.  It  was 
a  low  one-story  building,  and  also  used  in  late  years 
as  a  school-house,  and  finally  torn  down.     In  1760  a 


BRIDGEWATER. 


675 


church  was  erected  on  the  present  church  property, 
enlarged  in  1787,  rebuilt  in  1829,  and  enlarged  in 
1851.  At  what  time  the  property  now  occupied  by 
the  church  and  burying-ground  was  purchased  is  not 
known.  A  deed  now  in  possession  of  John  D.  Voor- 
hees,  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees,  dated  March 
24,  1790,  relates  that  Oct.  22,  1765,  John  Webster, 
Charles  Ford,  and  Jeremiah  Field  held  an  absolute 
right  in  fee-simple  to  their  lots  of  land,  held  in  trust 
for  the  use  of  the  Presbyterian  Congregation  of  Bound 
Brook.  The  first  lot,  20|  acres,  was  purchased  of 
Benjamin  Field,  June  1,  1749;  the  second,  3^  acres, 
of  Jeremiah  Field  at  the  same  date ;  and  the  third, 
containing  one-quarter  of  an  acre,  of  Maurice  Green- 
ville, April  8,  1761,  and  joined  the  meeting-house 
property,  indicating  that  the  church  was  standing  at 
that  time.  A  charter  was  obtained  in  1784,  and  the 
above  property  was  conveyed  to  the  trustees  in  1790. 
March  24,  1790,  Tunis  Ten  Eyck  sold  to  the  trustees 
for  £400  a  lot  (52J  by  36  rods)  commencing  where  the 
Middlebrook  road  joins  the  Raritan  road,  running 
down  and  north  of  it,  for  a  parsonage  lot.  May  16, 
1815,  Daniel  Bush  sold  to  the  trustees  (for  $1500) 
9t^^  acres  between  Bound  Brook  and  Middlebrook, 
the  present  parsonage  lot.  Dec.  25,  1821,  the  prop- 
erty (9j^%  acres)  described  as  being  near  the  school 
lot  and  Peres  Bonney's  residence  was  sold  to  the 
Rev.  John  Boggs.  It  was  again  purchased  by  the 
trustees  Oct.  4,  1828,  and  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
the  church.  The  present  lecture-room  lot  was  pur- 
chased, March  14,  1849,  of  John  D.  Voorhees,  and 
the  lecture-room  soon  after  built.  The  church  has 
owned  considerable  property,  part  of  which  has  been 
sold,  of  which  no  mention  is  made. 

In  the  organization  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  Aug.  8,  1738,  the  church  of  Bound  Brook, 
with  others,  had  been  set  off  from  the  Presbytery  of 
New  York  to  form  it,  and  at  a  meeting  held  at  Phil- 
adelphia, May  19,  1745,  application  was  made  for  a 
minister  for  this  church.  It  was  ordered  that  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Lamb,  then  pastor  at  Basking  Ridge, 
and  the  Rev.  James  McCrea,  pastor  at  Lamington, 
in  Bedminster,  should  supply  the  church  four  Sab- 
baths. The  latter  filled  the  pulpit  until  Dec.  6, 1749. 
In  1748  a  call  was  made  to  Mr.  Israel  Read,  a  candi- 
date under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York. 
He  was  received  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
Dec.  6,  1749,  and  March  8,  1750,  was  formally  in- 
stalled pastor  over  the  church.  Thus  commenced  a  pas- 
torate of  forty-three  years'  duration.  The  Presbytery 
of  New  Brunswick,  Oct.  30,  1769,  received  a  petition 
from  the  people  in  and  about  Millstone  asking  for  his 
services  one-fourth  of  the  time ;  this  was  granted,  and 
Mr.  Read  preached  at  Millstone  until  the  year  1770. 
Jan.  13,  1770,  he  wa,s  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his 
wife,  Mary,  aged  thirty-eight.  She  was  buried  in  the 
rear  of  the  present  church,  and  his  remains  were 
placed  by  her  side  twenty-thr6e  years  latqr.  The 
elders  of  the  church  in  1770  were  Thomas  McElworth, 


Jonathan  Smith,  and  Jacob  Jennings;  deacons, 
Samuel  Van  Court,  Benjamin  Coon.  Jeremiah  Field 
was  clerk. 

Mr.  Read  labored  until  1793.  November  25th  in 
that  year  he  was  thrown  from  his  carriage  near  Rari- 
tan landing  and  fatally  injured ;  he  died  three  days 
later,  aged  seventy-five.  His  funeral  sermon  was 
preached  by  Rev.  Walter  Monteith.  The  Rev.  A.  E. 
Baldwin,  in  a  historical  discourse  delivered  July  2, 
1876,  says, — 

"  It  is  a  Bad  fact— its  loss  especially  felt  in  these  years  hy  all  interested 
—that  all  records  of  the  church  during  Mr.  Read's  long  pastorate  are  cer- 
tainly now  heyond  the  reach  of  the  church,  and,  although  we  have  lost 
the  record  of  the  fruits,  the  record  is  not  lost  really ;  God  has  it.  It  ia 
carefully  laid  away  in  the  archives  of  his  government  for  review  by  all 
concerned  in  the  ages  of  eternity.  Surely  he  must  have  strengthened  the 
foundation-stones  of  the  church,  for  its  strength,  beauty,  and  usefulness 
held  their  steady  way  onward  in  the  years.  Doubtless  he  pointed  many 
to  Christ,  faithfully  instmcted  and  helped  them  heavenward.  During  his 
pastorate  the  Revolutionary  war  worked  its  tremendous  results.  ,  .  . 
Then,  too,  the  charter  of  the  church  (1784)  was  secured,— a  charter  under 
which  its  present  business  is  transacted.  In  1Y87  the  building  in  which 
this  church  worshiped  was  enlarged,— a  fact  somewhat  at  least  honor- 
able to  the  pastor,  a  testimony  to  his  faithful  work.  Let  us  remember  now, 
thankfully,  this  man  of  God.  He  must  have  toiled  earnestly,  wisely,  efS- 
ciently,  nursing  through  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  large  care  and 
faith,  the  early  life  of  this  church;  training  it  for  the  mighty  work  it  has 
done  for  Christ  in  the  generations  since." 

A  little  over  a  year  after  the  death  of  Rev.  Israel 
Read  the  church  called  to  the  pastorate  the  Rev. 
David  Barclay.  He  was  licensed  June  10,  1794,  and 
ordained  December  3d  of  that  year ;  he  remained  till 
April,  1805.  The  ruling  elders  with  him  were  Benja- 
min Coon,  David  Kelly,  David  Houk,  John  Harriot, 
Jonathan  Smith,  Isaac  Fisher,  and  Daniel  Bush. 
Selah  Strong  Woodhull  was  ordained  as  pastor  De- 
cember 4th  of  that  year.  From  this  time  the  records 
of  the  church  are  kept.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Woodhull  was 
dismissed  Nov.  25,  1806.  Nearly  three  years  passed 
before  another  minister  was  called.  James  Patterson 
was  ordained  Aug.  9,  1809,  and  dismissed  Oct.  20, 
1813.  Two  months  later  the  Rev.  William  A.  Mc, 
Dowell  was  ordained  (Dec.  22,  1813),  and  dismissed 
Oct.  19,  1814.  The  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick  state  that  Leveret  F.  Huntington  was 
ordained  over  the  church  of  Bound  Brook  Dec.  6, 
1815. 

Whether  the  Rev.  Mr.  Huntington  was  pastor  is  not 
certain ;  if  so,  it  was  for  a  very  short  time.  The  Rev. 
John  Boggs  became  a  member  of  this  Presbytery 
(from  the  Presbytery  of  Harmony),  Oct.  17, 18l5,  and 
settled  over  the  church  of  Bound  Brook  in  the  winter 
of  1815-16.  He  remained  until  Feb.  5, 1828,  having 
been  pastor  about  twelve  years.  His  wife  died  during 
his  residence  here,  and  is  buried  in  the  old  burying- 
ground.  The  church  was  without  a  pastor  for  two 
years.  During  1829  the  present  church  building  was 
erected.  It  was  dedicated  in  November  of  that  year 
by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.D.  The  next  year  the 
Rev.  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers  was  called.  This  call  was 
made  by  Elders  John  Polhemus,  Dennis  Field,  Al- 
pheus  Coon,  Alfred  J.  Harriott,  David  Smalley,  John 


€76 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


A.  Smalley,  and  Trustees  Peres  Bonney,  Jonathan 
Smith,  John  H.  Voorhees,  Jacob  Vandeventer,  Jr., 
Gerardus  Stryker,  and  Henry  Tunison.  The  mem- 
hership  of  the  church  at  that  time  was  280 ;  in  1838 
it  reached  425.  July  19, 1851,  the  present  edifice  was 
struck  by  lightning ;  it  was  soon  after  enlarged,  com- 
pleted in  June,  1852,  and  reopened  for  divine  service 
June  24,  1852.  Eev.  Mr.  Rodgers  was  dismissed  No- 
vember, 1874.  Rev.  Dr.  George  Sheldon,  in  a  memo- 
rial sermon  delivered  May  15th  at  Newark,  before  the 
New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  says  of  him, — 

"  Here  he  lived  and  labored  witli  great  success,  beloved  and  revered  by 
his  people,  for  nearly  forty-five  yeare.  His  pastoral  labors  were  con- 
stantly and  eminently  successfnl,  and  his  influence,  both  within  and 
beyond  the  bounds  of  his  parish,  was  widely  extended  and  beneficial." 

The  Rev.  A.  E.  Baldwin  began  the  present  pastorate 
on  March  3,  1875.  The  church  has  a  present  mem- 
bership of  318.  A  Sunday-school  connected  with 
the  church  has  55  pupils,  with  a  library  of  250  vol- 
umes. The  superintendent  is  A.  S.  Coriell ;  librarian, 
Jacob  Kline.  There  has  been  raised  for  congrega- 
tional purposes  the  past  year,  $2489 ;  for  religious  and 
benevolent  purposes,  $339. 

Congregational  Church. — This  church  was  composed 
mostly  of  members  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Bound  Brook.  The  first  meeting  having  reference 
to  organization  was  held  at  the  residence  of  J.  P. 
Skillman,  Feb.  16,  1876.  It  was  resolved  to  form  a 
church  under  the  name  of  "The  Congregational 
Church  of  Bound  Brook."  Messrs.  J.  W.  Roundey, 
John  Smalley,  and  R.  V.  Lindabury  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  prepare  a  manual  and  present  the  names 
■of  officers.  February  23d,  the  committee  reported  a 
manual,  which  was  adopted,  and  the  names  of  the 
following  persons  as  officers :  Deacons,  Wilber  F. 
Hammond,  Thomas  Winsor,  Lewis  D.  Cook,  Richard 
F.  Giles;  Clerk,  Benjamin  W.  Dunning;  Treasurer, 
James  M.  Thompson.  ■  The  church  was  duly  organ- 
ized March  17,  1876,  with  40  constituent  members, 
viz.: 

A.  A.  Boyle,  Aaron  Bougher,  Mrs.  A.  Julia  Bougher,  A.  G.  Breck,  Lewis 
D.  Cook,  Mrs.  Ellen  P.  Cook,  Emma  S.  Cook,  Ella  P.  Cook,  B.  W. 
Bunning,  Mrs.  Jane  P.  Dunning,  Mary  Dunning,  Mary  C.  Gano, 
Bichard  F.  Giles,  Ellen  A.  Giles,  Theodore  Giles,  Mrs.  Theodosia 
Giles,  Mrs.  Mary  B.  Giles,  Emma  S.  Grant,  Wilbur  F.  Hammond, 
Mrs.  Cornelia  Hammond,  Mrs.  Caroline  Hemmer,  James  Jones,  Mrs. 
Aristena  A.  Judd,  Charles  B.  Judd,  Eichard  V.  Lindabury,  Susie  L. 
■  Eamsey,  Mrs.  A.  S.  Roundey,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Skillman,  Harry  S.  Skill- 
man,  Susie  Emma  Skillman,  Lizzie  S.  Skillman,  John  Smalley, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  W.  Smalley,  William  W.  Smalley,  Aggie  M.  Smalley, 
Carrie  Smith,  Rachel  A.  Smith,  Mary  Stryker,  Robert  H.  Swayze, 
James  M.  Thompson,  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Thompson,  B.  Frank  Thompson, 
Walter  Thompson,  Timothy  D.  VaHl,  Mrs.  Isabella  M.  B.  Vaill,  Mary 
B.  Vaill,  Anna  I.  Vaill,  Annie  E.  Vaill,  Mary  K.  Vaill,  Thomas  Win- 
sor, Mrs.  Cordelia  A.  Winsor,  Cora  Winsor,  George  W.  Winsor,  Mrs. 
Mary  E.  Winsor,  William  P.  Winsor. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Beecher  acted  for  a  short  time  as 
pastor  of  the  new  church.  The  Rev.  James  D.  Eaton 
then  preached  aa  a  supply,  and  Sept.  25,  1876,  was 
called  to  assume  pastoral  charge.  He  entered  upon 
his  duties  at  once,  preaching  his  first  sermon  October 
15th. 


The  following-named  persons  are  the  present  officers 
of  the  church :  Pastor,  James  D.  Eaton ;  Deacons,  B. 
W.  Dunning,  R.  H.  Swayze,  Peter  S.  Van  Duyn,  John 
Smalley ;  Clerk  and  Treasurer,  George  A.  West.  The 
present  officers  of  the  society  are :  Trustees,  John  W. 
Roundey,  R.  Lamb,  R.  V.  Lindabuiy,  T.  D.  Vaill, 
Gideon  R.  Giles,  John  Talmage,  and  George  W.  Win- 
sor ;  Clerk,  R.  Lamb ;  Treasurer,  Gideon  R.  Giles. 
The  officers  of  the  Sunday-school  are :  Superintendent, 
R.  Lamb ;  Assistant  Superintendent,  W.  W.  Smalley ; 
Secretary,  Dennis  Bergen ;  Treasurer,  George  A.  West; 
Librarian,  George  Stryker.  The  church  has  a  present 
membership  of  108.  A  building  was  erected  in  1876, 
and  dedicated  on  February,  1877.  The  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  George  Hepworth,  of  New 
York.  The  total  cost  of  building  and  grounds  was 
$13,000. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — This  church  was  or- 
ganized in  1849,  mainly  through  the  influence  of 
George  Winsor,  Sr.,  and  Caleb  Morton.  About 
20  united  in  June  and  July  of  that  year.  The  pres- 
ent church  lot  was  obtained  and  building  erected, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $3000,  during  1848,  and  dedicated  in 
January,  1849,  by  Bishop  Janes.  It  was  enlarged  in 
1874.  Services  were  held  during  repairs  in  the  Pres- 
byterian church  on  Sunday  evenings.  The  first  trus- 
tees of  the  church  were  George  Winsor,  Sr.,  Caleb 
Morton,  and  Richard  Brokaw. 

The  pastors  from  organization  have  been  John 
I.  Morrow,  Henry  B.  Beagle,  Charles  Larue,  G.  R. 
Snyder,  J.  Cowen,  E.  A.  Day,  James  F.  Dodd, 
Thomas  F.  Everett,  J.  R.^  Daniels,  Cornelius  Clark, 
Sr.,  William  N.  Searles,  William  Nelson,  John  A. 
Kingsberry,  Enoch  V.  King,  Robert  B.  Collins,  L. 
Parsons,  J.  I.  Boswell,  Samuel  J.  Morris,  and  David 
Walters,  the  present  incumbent.  The  church  has  at 
present  135  members.  A  Sunday-school  with  112 
pupils  is  under  the  charge  of  George  Lamont  as 
superintendent.  The  library  contains  about  250  vol- 
umes. 

St.  Joseph  Catholic  Church. — Father  William,  of 
Newark,  first  ministered,  about  1863,  to  the  adherents 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  living  at  Bound  Brook 
and  vicinity.  Services  were  held  in  the  second  story 
of  the  building  owned  by  Francis  Brehm,  on  Main 
Street.  A  lot  was  purchased  on  Mountain  Avenue, 
south  of  Front  Street,  of  Elias  Milliken,  for  $800, 
and  soon  after  an  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$1200.  The  church  was  under  the  pastoral  charge  of 
the  St.  Bernard's  Church,  of  Raritan,  from  that  time 
until  1876,  when  Bound  Brook  and  Millstone  became 
a  separate  charge,  and  Father  M.  A.  Bqgaard  be- 
came the  first  resident  priest;  he  is  still  in  charge. 
In  1875  a  lot  was  purchased  south  of  the  church 
property,  and  adjoining  it,  of  Lewis  D.  Cook,  for 
$1000,  and  in  1877  the  present  brick  parsonage  and 
farm  were  erected,  at  a  cost  of  $3500.  The  church  has 
a  present  membership  of  600,  with  a  Sunday-school 
of  about  50  pupils. 


BRIDGEWATER. 


677 


THE  CHUKCHBS  OF  EAEITAN  VILLAGE. 

The  Third  Church. — ^The  organization  of  this  churcli 
grew  out  of  the  increase  of  population  in  the  village 
of  Raritan.  A  chapel  was  built  principally  through 
the  exertions  of  Frederick  J.  Frelinghuysen,  and 
services  maintained  in  it  by  the  ministers  of  the  First 
and  Second  Churches.  In  the  spring  of  1848  appli- 
cation was  made  to  the  Classis  for  a  special  organiza- 
tion ;  this  being  granted,  a  committee  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  A.  Messier,  T.  W.  Cham- 
bers, and  D.  D.  Demorest.  They  met  May  16,  1848, 
and  after  a  sermon  by  Dr.  Messier,  organized  a 
church  by  ordaining  a  Consistory  composed  of  John 
A.  Staats,  Thomas  S.  Whitenack,  Peter  V.  Staats,  and 
David  T.  Runyon  as  elders,  and  John  Freck,  Garret 
J.  Quick,  Isaac  V.  Porter,  and  Richard  Provost  as 
deacons. 

Peter  Stryker,  a  student  from  the  seminary,  being 
called  as  pastor,  he  was  ordained  and  installed  Oct. 
10,  1848.  He  preached  at  first  in  the  chapel.  Sept. 
18,  1850,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice  was  laid 
with  appropriate  ceremonies  by  the  pastor.  The 
house  was  dedicated  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hutton,  of  New 
York,  July  30,  1851. 

In  1851,  Mr.  Stryker  resigned,  and  was  succeeded 
the  same  year  by  the  Rev.  James  A.  H.  Cornell,  who 
was  installed  March  4, 1852,  and  served  for  four  years, 
when  he  accepted  the  position  of  secretary  to  the 
Board  of  Education,  and  removed  to  his  own  resi- 
dence, at  New  Baltimore,  N.  Y.  In  1857,  James  Le 
Fevre,  a  student  from  the  seminary  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, was  called ;  he  was  ordained  and  installed  on 
the  25th  of  June.  He  labored  about  eighteen  years, 
resigning  in  December,  1874,  to  take  charge  of  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Middlebush.  The  Rev.  Charles 
H.  Pool  was  installed  July  15,  1875,  and  is  still  the 
pastor. 

The  church  has  at  present  110  families  and  283 
communicants,  also  a  Sunday-school  containing  260 
pupils.  There  has  been  raised  the  past  year  $1736.57 
for  congregational  and  $843.76  for  religious  and  be- 
nevolent purposes.  The  chapel  was  rebuilt  in  1872, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $3000. 

Methodist  Church. — Services  had  been  held  by  peo- 
ple of  this  denomination  for  several  years,  but  no  or- 
ganization was  perfected  until  April  26,  1872,  when 
45  persons  united  as  a  Methodist  Church.  In  Decem- 
ber previous  several  interested  parties  purchased  the 
school-house  grounds  and  lot  for  $2000,  fitted  the 
upper  rooms  for  a  chapel,  and  rented  the  lower  rooms. 
In  1878  they  remodeled  the  building,  making  both 
stories  into  one,  and  again  improved  the  building  in 
1880. 

The  pastors  have  been  the  Revs.  John  A.  Davis,  J. 
M.  Meeker,  and  Louis  F.  Burgess,  present  incumbent. 
The  membership  of  the  church  is  150.  The  Sunday- 
school  has  125  pupils,  with  a  library  of  about  150 
volumes.  The  pastor  is  superintendent,  and  B.  K. 
Hoppock  is  librarian. 


ST.  BEENAED'S  CHUECH. 

The  parish  of  this  church  embraces  White  House, 
Neshanic,  and  Pluckamin,  and  originally  Bound 
Brook  and  Millstone,  which  were  set  ofi'  iu  1876  and 
formed  a  separate  parish.  The  first  meetings  in  this 
region  were  held  in  private  houses.  Father  John 
Rogers,  of  New  Brunswick,  officiated,  succeeded  by 
Father  James  McDonald.  A  church  was  erected, 
but  burned  down  in  1853.  A  lot  was  purchased  on 
Somerset  Street,  and  the  present  brick  structure  was 
erected  about  1854.  Additions  have  been  made  from 
time  to  time.  The  first  priest  after  the  new  house 
was  built  was  Father  D.  J.  Fisher ;  he  was  succeeded 
in  1855  by  Father  Terence  Kiernan,  who  resided  in 
Plainfield.  Father  W.  W.  Kaeder  succeeded  him 
in  1868,  Father  J.  A.  Marshall  in  1873,  and  upon  the 
division  of  the  parish,  in  1876,  Father  Joseph  Zim- 
mer  was  placed  in  charge,  and  is  the  present  pastor. 
About  250  families  are  under  his  care.  A  cemetery 
containing  8  acres  was  purchased  in  1876,  and  conse- 
crated the  last  Sunday  of  June  in  that  year.  It  is 
situated  between  Raritan  and  North  Branch,  on  the 
road  to  White  House. 

THE  EEFOEMED   CHTJEOH   OF  NOETH  BRANCH. 

This  church  was  organized  Sept.  10,  1825,  at  the 
house  of  James  Ten  Eyck,  by  a  committee  from  the 
Classis  of  New  Brunswick,  fr(5m  families  mostly  be- 
longing to  the  old  church, — Raritan.  During  the 
great  revival  in  1821  and  1822  religious  services  had 
been  held  frequently  in  the  vicinity  of  Bayley's 
Mills,  on  the  North  Branch.  One  large  concourse, 
consisting  of  more  than  1000  people,  is  especially  re- 
membered, in  the  barn  of  Mr.  Abraham  Dumont,  at 
which  Rev.  Messrs.  Schultz,  Fisher,  Studdiford,  and 
Osborn  took  part  in  the  services.  The  great  awaken- 
ing of  attention  to  religion,  no  doubt,  occasioned  the 
want  of  church  services  to  be  felt,  and  brought  about 
the  organization  of  the  church,  after  an  application 
duly  made  to  the  Classis  of  New  Brunswick,  and  at 
once  a  church  edifice  was  begun.  George  H.  Fisher, 
a  licentiate  of  the  seminary,  was  called,  and  settled 
Nov.  25,  1826,  as  soon  as  the  structure,  finished  that 
year,  was  prepared  for  service.  He  preached  to  the 
people  for  four  years,  and  proved  a  successful  pastor. 
The  Rev.  Abraham  D.  Wilson  was  called  Sept.  17, 
1831,  and  remained  until  1838,  when  he  removed  to 
Illinois  as  a  missionary.  He  was  succeeded  in  Octo- 
ber of  the  same  year  by  Rev.  James  K.  Campbell, 
who  ministered  until  1854.  In  1856,  Philip  M.  Doo- 
little  was  settled,  and  still  continues  the  successful 
pastor  of  a  prosperous  church. 

The  first  Consistory  was  composed  of  Jacob  Ten 
Eyck,  John  Van  Derveer,  John  Runk,  and  Abraham 
Quick,  Sr.,  as  elders,  and  Ralph  Van  Pelt,  Matthew 
Van  Pelt,  James  Staats,  and  James  Ten  Eyck,  dea- 
cons. The  first  church  edifice  was  built  in  1826,  of 
brick,  after  the  pattern  of  the  Somerville  church,  and 
in  dimensions  was  40  by  52  feet.    The  corner-stone 


678 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


was  laid  without  ceremonies,  and  whether  the  build- 
ing was  ever  formally  dedicated  is  not  known.  It 
continued  to  he  the  place  of  worship  until  1863,  when 
it  gave  place  to  the  present  commodious  edifice.  The 
church  was  almost  entirely  rebuilt  in  1874,  at  a  cost 
of  $5575,  and  was  rededicated  March  9,  1876.  It  has 
at  present  120  families,  221  communicants,  and  a 
Sunday-school  containing  125  pupils.  The  contribu- 
tions the  present  year  have  been  $325.57  for  re- 
ligious and  benevolent  purposes,  $1496.74  for  con- 
gregational purposes.* 

METHODIST  CHTIECH  OF  SOMEBVILLE. 

No  very  long  or  detailed  history  of  this  society  can 
be  given,  for  the  records  have  not  been  properly  kept, 
as  this  charge  for  some  time  was  a  part  of  a  circuit 
in  connection  with  Bound  Brook,  and  afterwards 
with  Earitan.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Somerville  was  organized  as  an  independent  body  in 
1832,  and  the  same  year  a  lot  was  purchased  of  Col. 
Isaac  Southard,  on  the  west  side  of  Bridge  Street, 
south  of  Main.  An  edifice  was  erected  on  the  site, 
and  occupied  till  the  spring  of  1880.  To  the  present 
day  the  organization,  though  small,  has  enjoyed  its 
share  of  prosperity.  The  membership  has  slowly  but 
steadily  increased. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1879,  under  the  ministry 
of  the  Bev.  P.  G.  Blyht,  measures  were  taken  for  the 
building  of  the  present  new  edifice,  on  High  Street. 
In  March,  1880,  it  was  dedicated.  Services  were  held 
by  the  presiding  elder,  Eev.  E.  S.  Arndt.  Eloquent 
sermons  were  preached  by  the  Eevs.  H.  H.  Buttz  and 
Henry  Spellmeyer.  The  edifice  is  a  handsome  struc- 
ture, of  Gothic  style,  having  one  of  the  most  conve- 
nient and  pleasant  audience-rooms  of  any  church  in 
the  State.  Its  cost  was  about  $8000.  Much  credit  is 
due  to  the  Eev.  P.  G.  Blyht,  who  by  his  untiring 
energy  succeeded  in  pushing  the  enterprise  to  a  suc- 
cessful completion ;  William  Eoss,  Jr.,  of  Somerville, 
also  rendered  praiseworthy  assistance  in  raising  funds 
to  meet  the  expense  of  the  building.  The  society, 
since  worshiping  in  the  new  edifice,  has  received  a 
powerful  impulse  for  future  prosperity.  The  present 
pastor  is  the  Eev.  John  Krantz,  Jr.,  of  the  Newark 
Conference,  appointed  to  this  charge  in  the  spring  of 
1880.  The  following  are  the  names  of  some  of  the 
distinguished  men  who  have  been  pastors  of  this 
society:  Eev.  William  P.  Corbit,  Eev.  Dr.  Charles 
Laren,  Eev.  Dr.  Whitney  (at  present  president  of 
Hackettstown  Institute),  Eev.  Solomon  Parsons,  J. 
E.  Daniels,  Father  Searle,  J.  J.  Boswell,  J.  O.  Eod- 
gers,  and  Canfield. 

The  present  oificials  of  the  church  comprise  a  board 
of  trustees,  a  board  of  stewards,  and  a  local  preacher. 
James  B.  Brown,  C.  W.  Ennis,  Jacob  Thompson, 
Hiram  Eockafellow,  Stephen  D.  Winner,  William 
Eoss,  Jr.,  William  Hardgrove,  Louis  Ayers,  and  Eev. 
Calvin  Lathrop  (local  elder)  comprise  the  joint  board. 

.*  Dr.  MessIer'B  historical  notes  and  other  sources. 


The  membership  of  the  society  is  116  full  members, 
with  one  probationer.  A  flourishing  Sunday-school 
is  connected  with  the  church.  It  numbers  104  schol- 
ars. An  excellent  corps  of  officers  and  teachers  carry 
on  the  work. 

CEMETERIES. 

The  early  burial-places  were  usually  small  plats  of 
ground  on  the  different  farms.  The  earliest  of  these 
of  which  any  knowledge  is  obtained  was  on  the  Coeje- 
man  farm,  now  in  Earitan  village.  It  was  located  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  where  Kenyon  Brothers'  ma- 
chine-shops now  stand.  Stones  were  found  some 
years  ago  in  preparing  to  build.  One  is  preserved, 
and  bears  the  inscription, — 

"  Here  lyes  ye  body  of  SaraJi,  daughter  of  John  and  AlidaBroughton, 
aged  2  years  and  8  months.    Died  Sept.  1, 1740." 

Another  was  also  found  at  the  same  time,  bearing 
the  date  of  1738,  and  of  the  same  family.  The  John 
Broughton  mentioned  was  the  first  town  clerk  of 
Bridgewater.  His  wife,  Alida,  is  said  to  have  been  a 
daughter  of  Andreas  Coejeman,  and  they  probably 
lived  in  the  Coejeman  mansion. 

Burial-places  were  also  attached  to  the  church- 
grounds.  The  old  church  built  in  1721  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  was  surrounded  by  a  graveyard,  and  many 
were  buried  there.  But  three  stones  are  now  standing, 
the  oldest  of  which  is  that  of  Derrick  Van  Veghten, 
and  the  inscription  upon  it  is  as  follows : 

"  In  memory  of  Mr.  Derrick  Van  Veghten,  who  died  on  the  29th  day 
of  November,  1Y81,  aged  82  yeai-s,  4  months,  and  14  days. 

"  Many  were  his  friends  and  few  his  enemies ; 
Great  was  hie  soul  and  good  his  faculties. 
Fair  health  on  him  her  blessings  did  bestow, 
And  in  his  cheeks  her  ruddy  charms  did  show 
Till  age  the  hand  of  Death  did  deputize, 
Which  neither  spares  the  Great,  the  Good,  nor  wise. 
His  tranquil  mind  composedly  reclined. 
And  to  hie  God  hia  Breath  and  soul  resigned." 

The  others  are  of  Margaret  Van  Veghten,  wife  of 
Joseph  Crane,  died  May  27,  1812,  and  Catharine 
Taylor,  who  died  Feb.  17,  1829. 

On  the  place  now  owned  by  John  C.  Garretson  is  the 
old  Tunison  burial-place.  Several  hundred  people 
have  been  buried,  but  few  headstones  are  left;  the 
oldest  bears  an  inscription  as  follows : 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  Eebekah,  the  wife  of  John  Compton,  who  de- 
parted this  life  March  ye  13, 1760,  aged  26  years,  6  months,  17  days." 

Near  this  is  where  the  son  of  John  Beekman  and 
"  Aunt  Yauney,"  as  she  was  called,  lies  buried.  He 
died  April  25,  1777.  John  Beekman  is  also  buried 
here,  but  no  stone  marks  the  spot.  "  Aunt  Yauney" 
lived  many  years  after,  married  Eichard  Compton, 
and  at  her  death  was  buried  in  the  same  grave  with 
her  first  husband.     Other  inscriptions  are  as  follows  : 

"  In  memory  of  Abraham  Tunison,  who  died  May  23,  1797,  aged  69 
years,  11  mo.,  29  days." 

"  In  memory  of  Anna,  the  wife  of  Abraham  Tunison,  who  died  Not.  1, 
1806,  aged  72  yrs,,  6  mo.,  8  ds." 

"  In  memory  of  Philip  Tunison,  who  died  April  1, 1813,  aged  36  yrs. 
11  mo.,  17  ds." 


BRIDGEWATEB,. 


679, 


By  his  side  lies  a  son  and  a  grandson  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  Ann  Van  Derveer.  Numerous  graves  are 
marked  by  stones,  some  with  initial,  but  more  with- 
out. This  burial-place  is  on  the  second  bank  of  the 
river,  but  on  the  west  bank  of  Peter's  Brook,  south- 
east from  the  residence  of  John  C.  Garretson. 

What  is  known  as  the  Compton  burial-place  is  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  north  of  Somerville ;  many 
interments  were  made  there  years  ago.  It  is  now 
used  almost  entirely  by  the  colored  people. 

On  the  old  parsonage  lot  burials  were  made.  Five 
headstones  are  all  that  now  remain,  the  inscriptions 
of  which  are  here  given : 

"  In  memory  of  Ann,  wife  of  John  Hardenburgh,  who  departed  this 
life  Nov.  26, 1793,  aged  35  yrs.,  6  mo." 

"  In  memory  of  John  Hardenburgh,  Esq.,  who  departed  this  life  July 
23, 1798,  aged  39  years,  3  months,  12  days." 

"  In  memoi-y  of  Ann  Doty,  wife  of  Joseph  Doty,  who  departed  this 
life  on  the  21st  of  April,  1804,  aged  33  years,  7  months,  6  days." 

"  In  memory  of  Elizabeth  Doty,  wife  of  Joseph  Doty,  who  departed 
this  life  Not.  26, 1806,  aged  22  years,  12  days." 

"  In  memory  of  Joseph  Doty,  who  departed  this  life  March  20, 1811, 
aged  46  years,  6  months,  20  days." 

There  are  other  plots  in  different  parts  of  the  town- 
ship, neglected  and  uncared  for,  where,  in  days  gone 
by,  many  were  buried.  Cultivation  has  encroached 
upon  their  borders  year  by  year,  as  the  ruthless  hand 
of  time  has  leveled  the  little  mounds  over  the  sleepers, 
and  the  humble  slab  that  marked  the  spot  has  fallen 
prone  to  the  ground. 

About  1813  an  acre  of  ground  on  Bridge  Street  was 
purchased  for  $100  of  John  Whitenack  by  the  Con- 
sistory of  the  First  Dutch  Church  of  Earitan.  Burials 
were  first  made  on  the  south  side.  The  earliest  is 
said  to  have  been  a  child  of  William  Hartwick. 
About  1847,  by  an  agreement  between  the  Consistory 
and  John  C.  Garretson,  about  an  acre  was  added  to 
the  ground  on  three  sides;  later,  as  necessity  de- 
manded it,  more  was  added,  until  it  contained  be- 
tween three  and  four  acres.  This  burial-place  is 
known  as  the  "  Earitan  Cemetery." 

Aug.  26,  1867,  an  association  was  formed,  under 
the  name  of  the  Somerville  Cemetery  Association,  by 
the  election  of  the  following  persons  as  trustees; 
James  B.  Brown,  Samuel  S.  Hartwell,  John  T.  Conk- 
lin,  John  V.  Voorhees,  Jacques  Van  Derbeek,  Peter 
De  Witt,  Pethuel  Mason,  Edwin  E.  Brown,  James  P. 
Davis,  David  P.  Kenyon,  John  Freeh,  David  K. 
Craig.  Pethuel  Mason  was  chosen  president,  J.  V. 
Voorhees  secretary,  S.  S.  Hartwell  treasurer.  Sixty- 
eight  acres  opposite  the  Earitan  Cemetery  were  pur- 
chased for  $14,500  of  William  Eoss,  Jr.  Later, 
45.58  acres  were  sold  for  $7292.50,  leaving  22.42. 
This  was  tastefiilly  laid  out  with  walks,  drives,  and 
about  1000  lots. 

Aug.  20,  1879,  a  stock  company  was  organized 
under  the  name  of  "The  Cemetery  Association  of 
Somerville,"  and  purchased  the  cemetery  grounds 
mentioned  above  for  $11,000.  Hugh  M.  Gaston  was 
chosen  president,  and  L.  E.  Vredenburg  secretary  and 
treasurer. 


The  old  burying-ground  on  the  hill  at  Bound 
Brook  is  the  resting-place  of  many  of  the  early  dead. 
The  oldest  stone  on  which  an  inscription  is  legible 
bears  the  following : 

'  "In  memory  of  Sarah,  wife  of  James  McCoy,  who  departed  this  life 
Sept.  ye  5th,  1744,  aged  57  yearB.    James  McCoy,  1747,  aged  59  years." 

Many  others  are  illegible.  There  are  buried  here 
Mrs.  Mary  Eeed,  wife  of  the  Eev.  Israel  Eeedj  Jan. 
13,  1770,  aged  thirty-eight,  and  by  her  side  her  hus- 
band, who  died  in  November,  1793;  Adam  Jobs, 
March  7,  1798,  aged  fifty ;  Tobias  Van  Norden,  1800, 
aged  eighty-five ;  Michael  Field,  Jan.  18,  1792,  aged 
sixty-seven ;  Peter  Harpending,  Peter  Williamson, 
Col.  John  Staats,  William  Eiddle,  John  Anderson,. 
Dr.  Jonathan  Ford  Morris,  Capt.  Creighton  McCrea, 
Dr.  Ambrose  Cook,  Dr.  William  McKissack,  Jacob 
and  John  Littell,  Mary  E.,  wife  of  the  Eev.  John 
Boggs,  the  McElworths,  Joseph,  Benjamin,  and  Peres 
Bonney,  the  Eoss  brothers,  Irvine,  De  Groots,  Steele, 
McEvers,  Kelso,  Trimbly,  Van  Brunt,  Harris,  Brown, 
and  many  other  representatives  of  the  old  families 
that  have  passed  away.  The  descendants  of  many 
of  them  are  still  living  in  the  village  and  surround- 
ing country. 

BOUND  BROOK  CEMETERY. 

Peter  L.  Van  Deventer,  an  old  citizen  of  the 
vicinity  of  Bound  Brook,  left  to  the  trustees  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Bound  Brook  in  his  will 
$3000  for  purchasing  a  cemetery  lot  and  beautifying 
it.  In  accordance  with  this  bequest,  the  trustees, 
Sept.  7,  1863,  purchased  12.16  acres  of  John  D.  Voor- 
hees for  a  burial-ground.  It  is  situated  a  short  dis- 
tance north  of  the  village  of  Bound  Brook,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  road  leading  to  the  mountain.  The 
whole  plot  has  been  tastefully  laid  out,  and  will  con- 
tain more  than  600  lots.  The  first  to  be  buried  in  the 
new  ground  was  Nicholas  Conover,  whose  body  was 
deposited  there  May  15,  1864. 

SCHOOLS. 
The  first  mention  of  schools  in  the  town  records  is 
of  action  taken  at  a  meeting  of  the  town  committee, 
Sept.  2, 1826 ;  it  was  "  ordered  that  Overseer  John  H. 
Voorhees  pay  the  schooling  of  (giving  the  name  of 
two  boys),  now  paupers,  until  bound  out."  April 
16th,  the  next  year,  it  was  ordered  "that  each  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  expend  the  sum  of  $20  in  his 
district  for  the  education  of  poor  children  which  may 
reside  in  said  district,  if  necessary." 

The  first  mention  of  a  common  school  is  in  a  reso- 
lution passed  April  9, 1832,  and  in  the  election  record 
of  1834  appear  the  names  of  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Peter 
Q.  Elmendorf,  Abraham  Skillman,  Henry  Tunison, 
and  Eichard  Stout  as  the  first  school  committee. 

For  several  years  $500  was  annually  raised.  In 
1854  the  amount  was  $2000,  and  the  surplus  revenue 
appropriated ;  1864,  $3000  and  the  surplus  revenue ; 
1880,  $7580.56,  including  State  appropriation,  two- 
mill  tax,  and  surplus  revenue. 


680 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  following  statement  is  taken  from  the  report 
of  the  State  board  of  education  of  1879,  and  shows  the 
present  state  of  the  schools : 


Nos,  AND  Names 

5^ 

If 

1 

ll 

0    . 

^  0 

0   & 

h 

01  ,a 

u 

—  0 
0  « 

11 
11 

1 
ft 

OF 

s-^ 

o 

°1  fe^ 

S  '^ 

%'. 

2^  I'S 

DiSTElCTS. 

a> 

13 

1i 

$i 

%l 

•3  °  1* 
1.=  1'- 

«  £:  S 

|gg, 

a,  a, 

0 
II 

II 

11 

1^ 

.a 

s 

H 

&, 

^               <J 

15 

< 

^ 

24.  Washing'nTalley 

$397.39 

Jl,200.00|     113' 10. 

R9 

36 

42 

1 

25.  Martinsville 

379.49 

1,200.00 

106 

10. 

79 

31 

72  1 

26.  Adamflville 

300  00 

1,200.00 
1,000.00 

49 

10 

56 

■'T 

70 

1 

27.  Green  Knoll 

300.00 

47 

10.6 

40 

14 

40 

1 

28.  Someryille 

3,214.99 

16,000.00 

910 

n 

465 

W7 

660 

6 

3,686.13 
607.89 

30.  Willow  GroTe 

600.00 

If)?, 

9. 

79 

33 

fiO 

1 

31.  Bonnd  Brook 

829.98 
89,614.87 

800.00 

189 

10. 

134 

64 

100 

2 

S32,900.00 

2,290 

10.2 

1,418 

711 

1,284 

19 

COPPER-MININa 

Copper  ore  was  discovered  in  the  hills  of  this  town- 
ship prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  mining  commenced 
on  the  face  of  First  Mountain.  A  drift  was  run  in 
over  700  feet  beneath  the  hill,  but  when  New  Jer- 
sey became  the  theatre  of  the  war  operations  were 
interrupted,  and  finally  ceased.  No  further  develop- 
ment was  attempted  until  about  1821,  when  Augustus 
F.  Cammann*  commenced  excavations  on  3  acres  of 
ground  (part  of  the  old  works),  which  he  rented  of 
Mr.  Hodge  and  afterwards  purchased.  He  continued 
work  on  this  land  until  1823,  when  he  associated  with 
him  Mr.  Goold  Hoyt,  of  New  York,  in  the  formation 
of  "  The  Bridgewater  Company."  Three  tracts  (about 
400  acres)  were  purchased:  a  tract  of  100  acres, 
north  and  east  of  Somerville,  on  First  Mountain ;  the 
"Compton  tract,"  of  188  acres,  and  the  "  Wintersteen 
tract,"  embracing  110  acres.  In  the  Hollow,  near 
where  Francis  Smith  now  lives,  and  at  Chimney 
Rock,  on  the  road  from  Bound  Brook  to  Martinsville, 
they  erected  smelting-works,  and  imported  two  expert 
smelters  from  Germany.  Their  operations  extended 
from  1823  to  1830,  when  they  ceased,  under  pressure 
of  financial  difficulties. 

About  1835,  Albert  Cammann  (son  of  Augustus)  and 
Peter  I.  Stryker  organized  "  The  Washington  Mining 
Company,"  and  purchased  of  James  Hodge  the  right 
of  mining  on  150  acres,  formerly  the  Kearney  tract, 
west  of  Chimney  Book,  adjoining  the  Dr.  Elvender 
tract  of  the  Bridgewater  company.  A  drift  was  run 
into  the  hill  700  feet  from  the  east  end,  and  another 


*  Mr.  Cammann  was  a  native  of  Hanover,  Germany,  and  was  educated 
for  the  army  as  a  cadet  in  the  public  gymnasium.  He  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  in  1819  and  soon  after  came  to  the  valley  of  the  Raritan 
and  became  interested  in  mining.  About  1823  he  removed  his  family  to 
the  old  Van  Veghten  house,  near  Findern  Station,  where  he  lived  many 
years.    He  died  Jan.  3,  1849,  aged  seventy-three. 


300  feet  from  the  south.  The  ore  taken  from  this 
mine  was  not  smelted  here,  but  was  "  trimmed"  and 
transported  in  barrels  to  Boston.  It  contained  about 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  pure  copper.  Afterwards  sale 
was  made  of  this  right  and  the  property  to  parties 
living  in  Boston,  the  name  of  the  company  remaining 
the  same.  Three  months'  labor  by  the  latter  produced 
good  results,  but  water  coming  into  the  drifts  com- 
pelled them  to  cease.     Nothing  has  since  been  done. 

Cammann  and  Stryker  were  shareholders  in  the 
"Somerville  Mining  Company,"  which  operated  to  a 
limited  extent  on  the  "  John  Steele  tract,"  lying  above 
the  Middle  or  Compton  tract,  on  the  same  mountain, 
belonging  to  the  Bridgewater  company. 

About  forty  years  ago,  Peter  Paul,  Sr.,  "William 
Tucker,  and  William  Tanner  purchased  a  mining 
right  of  100  acres  near  Martinsville.  This  right  was 
purchased,  and  is  still  owned,  by  James  Hodge. 

A  mine  was  opened  on  the  land  of  Richard  R. 
Field  some  years  ago,  but  little  was  accomplished, 
and  the  work  was  discontinued.  The  mine  is  now 
being  reopened  with  a  prospect  of  success. 

BANKS.   . 
THE   MUST   NATIONAL   BANK   OF   SOMERVILLE. 

This  bank  was  incorporated  with  a  capital  of 
"^,000,  March  21,  1864,  with  the  following  di- 
rectors :  A.  D.  Hope,  Joseph  Thompson,  John  G. 
Schenck,  John  W.  Taylor,  Samuel  W.  Davenport, 
Samuel  B.  Birdsall,  Nelson  Young,  Samuel  S.  Hart- 
well,  and  Peter  V.  Staats.  A.  D.  Hope  was  chosen 
President.  May  21st  of  that  year  John  W.  Taylor 
resigned  as  director,  and  was  appointed  cashier. 
John  W.  Ammerman  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.. 
The  bonds  of  the  president  and  cashier  were  presented 
and  filed  on  June  29th.  The  first  banking  business, 
was  on  July  20,  1864.  An  office  was  opened  in  the 
first  floor  of  the  "  Ten  Eyck  House,"  now  occupied  by 
a  saloon,  where  they  remained  until  the  erection  of 
their  new  building,  on  the  north  side  of  Main  Street, 
in  1874.  They  removed  to  their  present  office  on 
Saturday,  April  10,  1875.    ' 

The  present  officers  are  Nelson  Young,  President; 
John  W.  Taylor,  Cashier;  Joseph  Thompson,  John 
G.  Schenck,  John  W.  Ammerman,  David  Craig,  Peter 
De  Witt,  Samuel  W.  Davenport,  Nelson  Young,  and 
James  J.  Bergen,  Directors.  The  bank  has  a  capital 
of  $200,000. 

THE   SOMERSET  CODNTT   BANK. 

This  institution  was  incorporated  in  1848  with  a 
capital  of  $100,000,  and  opened  for  business  October 
10th  of  that  year.  Its  first  officers  were  Joshua 
Doughty,  President;  William  G.  Steele,  Cashier; 
Philemon  Dunn,  Aaron  Longstreet,  John  Steele, 
William  Van  Nest,  Samuel  S.  Hartwell,  Tunis  Hufi; 
James  Castner,  Albert  Cammann,  A.  W.  Dunham,, 
and  Rynier  Veghte,  Directors.  Joshua  Doughty  re- 
mained president  until  Jan.  5,  1874,  when  John  V. 


^^j^u.b. 


'W^'i'^r. 


7 


Eugene  Solomon  Dottqhtt,  third  son  of  Maj.-Gen. 
Solomon  Doughty,  was  horn  at  Doughty's  Mills,  Mor- 
ris Co.,  N.  J.,  May  11,  1812.  His  minority  was  mostly 
spent  at  home,  where  he  acquired  a  common-school  edu- 
cation. 

After  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1827,  he  worked 
on  the  farm  in  New  Providence  until  ho  was  twenty 
years  of  age,  when  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
with  Mr.  A.  M.  Elmer  (afterwards  Judge  Elmer),  of 
that  place,  and  continued  in  trade  until  1836.  For  two 
years  following  he  was  engaged  in  staging  between 
Basking  Ridge  and  New  York  City.  In  1838  he  came 
to  Somerville,  formed  a  copartnership  with  his  brother 
Joshua  (J.  &  E.  S.  Doughty)  in  a  general  mercantile 
trade,  which  was  carried  on  until  1842,  when  he  with- 
drew from  the  firm  and  established  himself  as  a  lumber 
merchant,  which  business  he  still  continues,  being 
a  longer  time  in  continuous  trade  as  a  lumber  dealer 
than  any  other  man  in  the  State  except  one,  Mr.  George 
Green,  of  Trenton.  He  obtained  his  supply  of  lumber 
mostly  from  Pennsylvania,  Canada,  and  Michigan.  In 
1851  he  purchased  some  three  thousand  acres  of  pine 
timbered  land  in  Tioga  Co.,  Pa.,  and  began  manufactur- 
ing his  own  lumber,  which  he  shipped,  via  Chemung  and 
Erie  Canals,  through  Albany  to  Elizabethport,  N.  J., 
and  thence  by  railroad  to  Somerville.  He  continued 
manufacturing  lumber  for  twelve  years,  and  in  1863, 
having  disposed  of  his  timbered  lands,  he  has  since  con- 
fined his  lumber  trade  wholly  to  Somerville,  purchasing 
most  of  his  lumber  in  Michigan. 

Mr.  Doughty  has  been  a  stockholder  of  the  State 
Bank  of  Elizabeth  since  1843,  and  for  thirty  years  of 
this  time  one  of  the  directors  of  the  bank.     Upon  the 


organization  of  the  Somerset  County  Bank  in  Somerville, 
in  1848,  he  became  its  largest  stockholder,  which  inter- 
est he  retains  in  1880,  and  for  the  past  twelve  years  he 
has  officiated  as  president  of  the  Somerset  County 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

He  has  always  been  interested  in  local  and  State  legis- 
lation, and  for  many  years  an  active  member  of  the 
Democratic  party.  Although  not  solicitous  of  political 
preferment,  he  has  often  received  the  suffrages  of  his 
fellow-tawnsmen  as  a  delegate  to  county  and  State  con- 
ventions, and  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  of  the  State 
for  the  years  1850  and  1851,  where  he  was  efficient  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  ways  and  means,  and 
also  as  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  of  both  houses 
on  lunatic  asylum  and  State  prisons. 

Mr.  Doughty  has  ever  been  interested  in  and  a  liberal 
promoter  of  all  worthy  enterprises  in  connection  with 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  village,  and  his  gener- 
osity has  always  been  commensurate  with  his  means. 
Of  a  natu];ally  genial  and  sociable  turn  of  mind,  and 
ever  sympathizing  with  those  less  fortunate  than  him- 
self, he  will  he  remembered  for  his  many  kind  acts  to 
those  needing  assistance,  and  for  his  self-sacrifice  in  re- 
membering his  many  friends.  His  life  has  been  one  of 
activity,  and  almost  wholly  devoted  to  business  opera- 
tions, and  his  integrity  has  not  been  questioned  during 
many  years'  residence  in  Somerville. 

He  married,  in  1842,  Mrs.  Eliza,  widow  of  the  late 
James  Onderdonck,  and  only  daughter  of  Henry  Van 
Arsdale,  of  Somerville.  She  died  in  February,  1875, 
aged  sixty-two  years.  The  children  of  this  union  are 
George  Pierson,  Eugene  Solomon,  and  Mary  Eliza- 
beth. 


BRIDGEWATER. 


681 


Veghte  was  elected,  and  held  the  position  till  Janu- 
ary, 1880.  Calvin  Corle  followed,  and  is  now  the  pres- 
ident. William  G.  Steele  remained  cashier  until  No- 
vember, 1862,  when  John  V.  Veghte  was  elected. 
Upon  his  accession  to  the  presidency,  in  1874,  T.  W. 
Freeh  was  made  cashier,  and  remained  until  Septem- 
ber, 1878.  John  V.  Veghte  then  assumed  the  position 
until  August,  1879,  when  L.  R.  Vredenburg  was 
chosen. 

The  present  capital  is  $50,000.  The  officers  are 
Calvin  Corle,  President ;  L.  R.  Vredenburg,  Cashier  ; 
Rynier  H.  Veghte,  John  V.  Veghte,  John  Lindsley, 
John  D.  Bartine,  J.  Vred.  Voorhees,  Culver  Barcalow, 
Peter  W.  Young,  Lewis  E.  Anderson,  and  A.  C.  Mol- 
lison.  Directors.  The  banking- rooms  were  first  opened 
in  the  Hartwell  Building,  and  afterwards  removed  to 
the  present  office. 

JOSHUA  DOUGHTY. 

The  father  of  Joshua,  the  late  Maj.-Gen.  Solomon 
Doughty,  was  born  Sept.  26,  1772,  at  a  place  called 
Doughty's  Mills,  about  three  miles  from  Basking 
Ridge,  in  Somerset  County.  For  many  years  he  car- 
ried on  a  grist-  and  saw-mill  at  that  place,  then  a 
wilderness.  This  property  he  traded  for  a  farm  in 
New  Providence,  N.  J.,  upon  which  he  resided  until 
his  death,  Dec.  20,  1827.  He  was  active  in  politics 
and  a  representative  man  in  the  Democratic  party 
during  its,  early  history,  although  he  never  aspired  to 
office.  For  many  years  he  was  the  principal  civil 
engineer  and  surveyor  in  Morris  and  Essex  Counties. 
He  was  brigade  inspector  during  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  subsequently  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-gen- 
eral in  the  State  militia. 

Gen.  Doughty  married,  March  9,  1796,  Mary,  a 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Pierson,  and  granddaughter,  on 
her  mother's  side,  of  Col.  Ludlow,  of  Long  Hill.  She 
was  bom  April  3,  1775,  and  died  July  6, 1856.  Their 
children  were  Agnes,  Joshua,  Elizabeth  Pierson,  Sin- 
eus  Pierson,  Eugene  Solomon,  and  Sarah  Maria. 

Joshua,  eldest  son  of  Maj.-Gen.  Solomon  Doughty, 
was  born  Feb.  25,  1799,  in  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.  His 
early  life  was  spent  at  home,  where  he  received  a  good 
business  education  and  learned  those  inestimable 
lessons, — economy  and  self-reliance.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  went  to  New  York  City,  and  for  some 
three  years  was  engaged  in  a  wholesale  dry-goods 
house.  Upon  reaching  his  majority  he  went  to  Mo- 
bile, Ala.,  where  he  spent  one  year,  and  then  engaged 
in  business  on  his  own  account  in  Appalachicola, 
Fla.,  when  he  sold  the  first  goods  ever  offered  in  that 
place.  After  two  years  he  engaged  in  a  general 
country  trade  in  Franklin,  Ala.,  where  he  remained 
until  1836,  when  he  closed  up  his  business  in  the 
South,  returned  to  his  native  State,  and  settled  in 
Somerville.  Here,  in  1838,  he  built  a  store,  and 
again  entered  into  a  general  trade,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued to  be  interested  until  1866.  He  purchased 
considerable  real  estate  contiguous  to  the  village, 
44 


which  he  has  improved,  and  on  which  he  has  erected 
many  substantial  residences,  now  forming  a  desirable 
part  of  the  village  of  Somerville.  His  mansion  is 
one  of  the  old  landmarks  in  New  Jersey,  having  been 
built  in  1761,  of  brick  imported  from  Holland. 

In  1848  he  procured  the  charter  for  the  Somerset 
County  Bank.     Immediately  upon  its   organization 
he  was  elected  its  president,  and  held  that  position 
uninterruptedly  for  twenty-five   years,  resigning  in 
1873.     This  bank  was  one  of  the  most  substantially 
prosperous  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  State,  and 
its  high  standing  was  due  in  a  great  measure  to  his 
judicious  management.     He  has  been  for  a  number 
of  years  president  of  the  Raritan  Water-Power  Com- 
pany, and  for  several  years  a  stockholder  of  the  New 
Jersey  Central  Railroad.    Since  his  residence  here  he 
has  been  interested  in  and  a  promoter  of  the  various 
local  enterprises  tending  to  its  prosperity  as  a  village, 
and  has  perhaps  done  more  than  any  other  person 
towards  building  up  and  beautifying  the  place.     He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Somerville,  and  has  been  for  many  years  one  of  its 
vestrymen   and   a  liberal   contributor  to   the  funds 
necessary  for  its  support.     During  his  active  business 
life  he  was  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  in  1860  was  one  of  the  delegates  to  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  at  Charleston,  where 
he  supported  Mr.  Guthrie  for  the  Presidency;  but 
when  that  body  adjourned  to  Baltimore  he  supported 
Breckenridge.    In  1863  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
Senate  by  the  largest  majority  ever  given  to  a  Demo- 
crat in  Somerset  County,  and  while  serving  his  first 
year  as  senator  he  was  prominently  identified  as  the 
efficient  chairman  of  the  committee  on  treasurer's 
accounts. 

Mr.  Doughty,  now  in  the  eighty-second  year  of  his 
age,  retains  to  a  remarkable  degree  the  vigor  of  both 
mind  and  body  common  to  men  younger  in  years. 
He  is  known  to  the  people  of  Somerville  as  a  man  of 
sound  judgment,  correct  habits,  and  possessed  of  strict 
integrity  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  His  residence 
here  has  been  marked  by  indefatigable  perseverance, 
a  will  to  accomplish  whatever  he  undertakes,  and  a 
conscientious  devotion  to  every  enterprise  in  which 
he  has  been  engaged.  He  married,  in  1835,  Susan 
M.,  daughter  of  Col.  Isaac  Southard,  and  a  niece  of 
the  late  Senator  Samuel  L.  Southard.  Their  children 
are  Louisa  (widow  of  the  late  Walter  Cammann), 
Sarah  Elizabeth,  Mary  Pierson  (wife  of  A..  C.  Dun- 
ham, of  Salisbury,  N.  C),  John  R.,  Joshua  (a  druggist 
in  Somerville),  Susan  (wife  of  Frederick  Van  Liew), 
Agnes  Jackson,  and  Laui:a  R. 

RARITAN  SAVINGS-BANK. 

This  institutioii  was  chartered  in  1869,  with  the  fol- 
lowing officers :  President,  Andrew  J.  Farrand ;  Treas- 
urer, George  Y.  Ford;  Managers,  Peter  V.  Staats, 
Andrew  J.  Farrand,  David  P.  Kinyon,  Jeremiah 
Whitenack,  John  F.  Edwards,  La  Rue  Vredenburgh, 


682 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Rynear  H.  Veghte,  Jolin  S.  Haynes,  J.  Franklin 
Westcott,  William  S.  Opie,  Abraham  Quick,  Isaac 
Polhemus,  Fred.  J.  Frelinghuysen,  John  Freeh, 
Theo.  Frelinghuysen,  George  Y.  Ford,  Albert  P. 
Cooper,  John  J.  Bergen,  John  V.  Davis,  Samuel  B. 
Birdsall,  Peter  J.  Schomp,  Eichard  Provost,  Jacob 
W.  Stout,  John  Davis,  Job  C.  Kinyon,  Benjamin 
Ford.  The  deposits  have  reached  $70,000.  The  ac- 
counts are  kept  at  the  First  National  Bank  in  Somej- 
ville,  and  the  business  office  is  at  the  drug-store  of 
John  V.  Davis,  at  Earitan. 

The  present  officers  are  D.  P.  Kinyon,  President; 
A.  P.  Cooper,  Vice-President ;  John  V.  Davis,  Sec- 
retary and  Treasurer ;  D.  P.  Kinyon,  A.  P.  Cooper, 
Frederick  J.  Frelinghuysen,  Theodore  Frelinghuy- 
sen, Dr.  J.  T.  Edwards,  A.  H.  Brokaw,  William  S. 
Opie,  Abraham  Quick,  James  Harper  Smith,  John  J. 
Bergen,  Richard  Provost,  Henry  S.  Long,  John  V. 
Veghte,  L.  E.  Vredenburgh,  W.  D.  Wyckoff,  John 
V.  Davis,  Jacob  W.  Stout,  Managers. 

SOMBBVILLE  DIME   SAVINGS-BANK. 

This  institution  was  incorporated  March  27,  1871, 
with  John  W.  Taylor,  Edward  F.  Loomis,  Edwin  C. 
Schott,  John  F.  Conklin,  Culver  Barcalow,  Nelson 
Young,  Samuel  W.  Davenport,  and  Alvah  A.  Clark 
as  incorporators.  The  organization  was  perfected  by 
the  election  of  officers :  Nelson  Young,  President ;  E. 
0.  Schott,  Vice-President ;  Edward  F.  Loomis,  Sec- 
retary ;  and  John  W.  Taylor,  Treasurer.  The  depos- 
its amount  to  $100,000,  and  are  now  only  received  on 
old  accounts.  The  entire  funds  of  the  institution  are 
immediately  available  in  case  of  demand.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  institution  is  transacted  at  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank. 

The  present  trustees  are  Nelson  Young,  E.  C. 
Schott,  Alvah  A.  Clark,  John  T.  Conklin,  Geo.  V. 
Tunison,  Peter  Dewitt,  Culver  Barcalow,  S.  W.  Da- 
venport, and  John  W.  Taylor.  The  officers  are  Nel- 
son Young,  President ;  E.  0.  Schott,  Vice-President ; 
J.  W.  Taylor,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

SOCIETIES. 

"  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association"  of  Som- 
erville  was  organized  Aug.  18, 1873,  with  95  members, 
and  first  took  rooms  under  "Somerset  Hall."  The 
next  year  117  members  were  reported.  The  highest 
has  been  175 ;  present  number,  about  60.  Ladies  are 
received  as  associate  members.  The  work  laid  out 
was  mostly  religious,  but  subsequently  a  reading-room 
was  opened  when  the  society  took  possession  of  the 
quarters  especially  prepared  for  it  in  "Association 
Hall."  This  building  was  erected  by  five  association 
men  to  accommodate  the  growth  of  the  organization 
and  is  the  handsomest  business  structure  in  the  town. 
These  men  were  George  V.  Tunison,  David  K.  Craig, 
Dumont  Frelinghuysen,  William  C.  Veghte,  A.  V. 
D.  Honeyman.  The  presidents  of  the  association 
have  been  A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  1873-75;  William 


W.  Anderson,  1876 ;  John  E.  Eowe,  1877 ;  A.  V.  D. 
Honeyman,  1878  ;  Martin  N.  Wyckoff,  1879 ;  A.  C. 
Lindsley,  1880.  Union  meetings  of  the  churches, 
held  every  Sabbath  afternoon,  have  been  one  of  the 
outgrowths  of  this  institution. 

A  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  was  instituted 
in  1787,  under  the  name  of  "Solomon's  Lodge,  No. 
1,"  a  history  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  township 
of  Bedminster.  The  meetings  of  this  lodge,  as  was 
the  case  with  many  in  the  early  days,  were  held  in 
different  parts  of  the  county,  many  being  at  this 
place.  The  only  one  of  which  any  knowledge  is  pre- 
served was  on  Dec.  17, 1816,  when  a  celebration  of  the 
festival  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  was  held  at  Somer- 
ville.  That  society  surrendered  its  charter  about 
1830. 

"  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  46,"  worked  under  a  dispen- 
sation for  about  three  months  in  the  fall  of  1856,  and 
in  January,  1857,  received  its  warrant.  It  had  seven 
charter  members.  The  first  officers  were  Rev.  J.  H. 
Black,  W.  M. ;  A.  E.  Donaldson,  S.  W. ;  D.  P.  Kin- 
yon, J.  W. ;  Pethuel  Mason,  Treas. ;  F.  F.  Elmendorf, 
Sec.  Meetings  were  held  in  a  hall  over  Somerset 
County  bank  until  the  completion  of  Masonic  Hall, 
in  1872,  when  it  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  so- 
ciety and  is  still  in  use. 

The  officers  for  1880  are  Alfred  Barber,  W.  M. ;  H. 
McClaren,  S.  W. ;  F.  William  Koehler,  J.  W.;  C. 
Stein,  Treas. ;  C.  Cruiser,  Sec. ;  F.  Van  Liew,  P.  M., 
S.  D. ;  P.  Struve,  J.  D. ;  James  Wyckoff,  P.  Dumont 
Whitenack,  M.  of  C. ;  Charles  Young,  Tiler;  Robert 
L.  Day,  P.  M.,  G.  S.  Cook,  J.  E.  Garretson,  Finance 
Committee ;  Fred.  Van  Liew,  P.  M.,  Robert  L.  Day, 
P.  M.,  George  S.  Jones,  P.  M.,  Trustees.  The  present 
membership  is  106. 

"  Keystone  Chapter,  No.  25,  E.  A.  M.,"  was  instituted 
in  September,  1871.  Its  first  officers  were  Dr.  H.  G. 
Wagoner,  High  Priest;  Thomas  Childs,  King;  J. 
Harper  Smith,  Scribe.  It  has  at  present  30  members. 
Meetings  are  held  in  Masonic  Hall. 

The  officers  for  1880  are  C.  Stein,  M.  E.  H.  P. ; 
W.  T.  F.  Ayres,  E.  K. ;  H.  G.  Wagoner,  P.  H.  P., 
E.  S. ;  J.  Doughty,  Jr.,  C.  of  H. ;  H.  McClaren,  P.  S. ; 
A.  H.  Dayton,  E.  A.  C. ;  F.  William  Koehler,  G.  M. 
of  3d  V. ;  John  J.  Dean,  G.  M.  of  2d  V. ;  F.  Schell, 
G.  M.  of  1st  V. ;  John  Ringlemann,  Treas. ;  F.  Van 
Liew,  Sec. ;  Robert  L.  Day,  Tiler;  G.  S.  Cook,  A.  H. 
Dayton,  R.  L.  Day,  Finance  Committee. 

Feb.  19,  1864,  a  number  of  gentlemen  met  at  Tem- 
perance Hall,  Washington,  D.  C,  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  the  order  of  Knights  of  Pythias  in  the 
United  States.  Among  the  officers  elected  at  this 
first  meeting  were  Abraham  Van  Derveer,  of  Somer- 
ville,  as  Grand  Banker ;  Matt.  H.  Van  Derveer,  the 
present  county  clerk,  was  appointed  Worthy  Guide 
by  the  Worthy  Chancellor;  both  offices  are  now  ob- 
solete. March  24th  of  the  same  year  M.  H.  Van 
Derveer,  with  others,  was  elected  a  representative  to 
organize  a  Grand  Lodge.     This   was   accomplished 


BRIDGEWATER. 


683 


April  8,  1864.    Abraham  Van  Derveer  was  elected 
Grand  Scribe. 

"Lodge  of  the  Castle,  No.  82,"  K.  of  P.,  was  insti- 
tuted Jan.  13, 1873.  The  charter  members  were  John 
M.  Powell,  John  C.  Henry,  David  Noll,  Joseph  B. 
Smith,  Jacob  Shirts,  John  G.  Dumont,  Matt.  H.  Van 
Derveer,  George  Chase,  James  Folmsby,  George  T. 
Seis,  C.  V.  D.  Smith,  James  V.  Smith,  Garret  P. 
Smith,  John  Voorhees,  Edward  A.  Weeks,  Edward 
Smith,  Arthur  Gaston,  William  Messier,  John  Mess- 
ier, Edward  Cooley,  Frank  Drobney,  Theodore  Staats, 
John  V.  D.  Ten  Eyck,  William  E.  Johnson,  George 
Clickener,  Peter  Struve.  Meetings  were  first  held  in 
Somerset  Hall  one  year.  A  hall  was  then  finely  fitted 
up  in  the  third  story  of  Adair's  building,  and  since 
that  time  the  meetings  have  been  held  there.  The 
society  is  now  in  a  prosperous  condition,  having 
$1400  in  its  treasury.  A  section  of  the  endowment 
bank  is  in  connection  with  the  lodge. 

The  present  officers  are  John  E.  Wehrly,  Chan- 
cellor Commander ;  William  Harris,  Vice-Chancellor; 
D.  S.  Kockafellar,  Keeper  of  Records  and  Seals ;  John 
W.  Garhart,  Master  of  Finance;  Joseph  B.  Smith, 
Master  of  Exchequer. 

"  Schiller  Lodge,  No.  28,  D.  O.  H."  (Deutsche  Oden 
Harigari),  was  instituted  in  Somerville  on  March  17, 
1871,  with  Henry  Reimer  as  O.  B. ;  Ferdinand  Gutter, 
TJ.  B. ;  Charles  Schwed,  Sec. ;  Lewis  Phillips,  Treas. 
It  contains  at  present  32  members,  and  its  present  offi- 
cers are  C.  T.  Fredericks,  0.  B. ;  Jacob  Miller,  U.  B. ; 
Adolph  Hock,  Treas. ;  Charles  Schwed,  Sec.  Meetings 
were  held  at  first  in  a  room  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Lance, 
but  in  1878  Schwed's  Hall  was  fitted  up  and  the  meet- 
ings are  now  held  there. 

"  Somerset  Lodge,  No.  43,  L  O.  of  O.  F.,"  was  insti- 
tuted June  27,  1880,  with  twelve  charter  members. 
Meetings  are  held  at  Masonic  Hall.  The  officers  are 
Joseph  Vickery,  N.  G. ;  John  W.  Van  Horn,  V.  G. ; 
W.  W.  Dorland,  R.  S. ;  John  R.  Quick,  P.  S. ;  Ira  D. 
Cronse,  Treas. 

"  Naraticony  Council,  No.  31,  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men,"  was  instituted  in  1871,  and  continued  until 
August,  1880,  when  the  charter  was  returned  to  the 
Great  Council.  It  numbered  at  one  time  fifty  mem- 
bers. 

"  Somerset  Council,  No.  68,  TJ.  A.  M.,"  was  insti- 
tuted Nov.  20, 1872,  with  Martin  Hart  as  Councilor  ; 
C.  T.  Chapman,  Vice-Councilor ;  Garret  B.  Sanborn, 
Senior  Ex-Councilor;  George  Sanborn,  Junior  Ex- 
Councilor  ;  D.  Rockafellar,  R.  Sec. ;  Thomas  Van 
Allen,  F.  Sec. ;  Noah  Dunham,  Treas.  The  society 
numbered  about  75  members,  but  is  now  discontinued. 
Meetings  were  held  at  Somerset  Hall,  at  Doughty's, 
and  finally  at  Schwed's  Hall. 

The  charter  for  "  Eastern  Star  Lodge,  No.  105,  F. 
and  A.  M.,"  of  Bound  Brook,  bears  date  January, 
1874,  with  Theodore  Giles  as  Master ;  James  P.  Bush, 
Senior  Warden;  James  P.  Curry,  Junior  Warden; 
B.  F.  Littell,  Sec. ;  Samuel  Kennedy,  Treas.    Meet- 


ings were  held  after  1876  in  the  present  hall  in  Gil- 
lem's  brick  block. 

The  present  officers  are  Richard  G.  Spicer,  S.  W. ; 
John  M.  Rowland,  J.  W. ;  Benjamin  F.  Littell,  Treas. 
Garret  V.  Morlette,  Sec. ;  James  P.  Bush,  P.  M.,  S.  D. 
Daniel  Somers,  J.  D ;  John  G.  Smith,  P.  M.,  M.  of  C. ; 
John  B.  Coddington,  P.  M.,  M.  of  C. ;  Peter  Koehler, 
Tiler ;  James  P.  Currey,  P.  M.  At  present  the  lodge 
numbers  32  members. 

"  Somerset  Lodge,  No.  56,  K.  of  P.,"  Bound  Brook, 
was  organized  and  instituted  March  8,  1876,  with  a 
membership  of  eleven.  The  following  were  the  first 
officers :  Theodore  R.  Hodge,  Past  Chancellor ;  Duer 
A.  Melvin,  Chancellor  Commander;  Gilbert  MoUi- 
son,  Vice-Chancellor ;  George  Creed,  Prelate ;  J.  I. 
Staats,  Master-at-Arms ;  Charles  W.  Thomas,  Keeper 
of  Records  and  Seals ;  Henry  K.  Ramsey,  Master  of 
Exchequer;  Peter  Koehler,  John  G.  Smith,  Trustees. 
The  membership  at  date,  Sept.  7,  1880,  was  28,  with 
the  following  officers  :  Samuel  Allen,  P.  O. ;  John 
Neagle,  C.  C. ;  John  S.  Smalley,  Jr.,  V.  C. ;  Edwin 
S.  Barber,  Prelate ;  Cyrus  Peterson,  M.  at  A. ;  George 
W.  Shampanore,  K.  of  R.  and  S. ;  Peter  Koehler,  M. 
of  F. ;  H.  K.  Ramsey,  M.  of  E. 

The  lodge  has  nine  Past  Chancellors,  as  follows: 
Theodore  R.  Hodge,  Duer  A.  Melvin,  Gilbert  Mollison,. 
John  G.  Smith,  William  S.  Smalley,  Henry  K.  Ram- 
sey, Charles  C.  Bush,  Samuel  Allen,  John  Neagle> 
The  lodge-room  is  in  Masonic  Hall,  Main  Street,, 
Bound  Brook. 

"  The  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union"  of 
Bound  Brook  was  organized  Oct.  1, 1877,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  14;  the  present  number  of  members  (Sep- 
tember, 1880)  is  50.  Officers :  President,  Mrs.  John 
Smalley ;  Vice-Presidents  (one  from  each  chiirch), 
Mrs.  L.  D.  Cook,  Mrs.  J.  D.  Eaton,  Mrs.  A.  R.  Lib- 
bey,  Mrs.  S.  N.  Kingsbury,  Mrs.  Abram  Ross ;  Sec- 
retary, Miss  M.  H.  Roundey ;  Treasurer,  Miss  Mattie 
F.  Parrott.  This  Union  is  auxiliary  to  the  State 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  holds  its 
annual  meeting  On  first  Wednesday  of  October,  and 
a  weekly  prayer-meeting  throughout  the  year.  Pub- 
lic temperance  meetings  are  held  from  time  to  time, 
and  courses  of  lectures  given  on  general  subjects  for 
the  purpose  of  raising  funds.  A  free  reading-room, 
supported  by  the  Union,  is  open  every  evening.  Tem- 
perance literature  is  widely  circulated.  An  auxiliary 
juvenile  union  has  been  maintained  for  over  two 
years,  and  now  numbers  about  80  members.  General 
sentiment  is  steadily  advancing  in  the  direction  of 
temperance,  and  339  persons  have  signed  the  total 
abstinence  pledge. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT  OE  SOMERVILLE. 

A  number  of  fire  companies  have  been  organized 
at  difi"erent  times,  but  have  disbanded  for  some  cause. 
About  1878  the  board  of  commissioners  of  Somer- 
ville erected  a  brick  house  on  Maple  Street,  about  16 
by  45  feet,  two  stories  in  height,  for  an  engine-house, 


684 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  also  purchased  an  Amoskeag  steamer,  with  the 
necessary  hose  and  hose-cart.  A  company  was  then 
in  existence,  and  continued  two  or  three  years.  The 
present  company  was  organized  Sept.  19,  1878,  with 
60  members,  and  is  known  as  "  Somerville  Fire  En- 
gine Company,  No.  1."  The  company  has  at  present 
55  active  members,  all  of  whom  are  business  men  of 
the  village.  The  present  officers  are  George  W.  Ab- 
bott, Foreman ;  E.  L.  Day,  First  Assistant  Foreman ; 
James  B.  Brown,  Second  Assistant ;  George  W.  San- 
born, Secretary  ;  John  Maxwell,  Treasurer. 

An  independent  hook-and-ladder  company  was 
organized  in  July,  1880,  with  20  members,  and  elected 
officers  as  follows :  William  Steele,  Foreman ;  William 
Taylor,  Assistant  Foreman ;  George  Jones,  Secretary; 
John  Garretson,  Treasurer.  A  truck  with  the  neces- 
sary equipment  has  been  purchased. 

MANUFACTURES. 

Raritan  Water-Power  Company. —  Soon  after  the 
close  of  the  Revolution  the  progressive  men  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  turned  their  attention  to  the 
encouragement  of  manufactures,  and  in  1791  a  com- 
pany was  incorporated  by  act  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, under  the  name  of  "  The  Society  for  Establish- 
ing Useful  Manufactures."  The  society  was  organ- 
ized the  next  year,  and  employed  practical  engineers 
to  make  examination  of  the  different  rivers  of  the 
State  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  the  best  site  for  a 
water-power.  After  a  thorough  examination,  three 
localities  were  reported, — "  the  Falls  of  the  Passaic, 
the  Raritan  River  near  Somerville,  and  the  Falls  of 
the  Delaware."  The  former  was  finally  decided  upon. 
But  the  selection  of  Raritan  River  at  this  place  as 
one  of  the  locations  naturally  attracted  the  attention 
of  practical  men  from  time  to  time,  and  under  an  act 
of  Legislature  approved  Feb.  16,  1820,  a  dam  was 
erected  across  Raritan  River,  just  west  of  where  the 
bridge  now  crosses  the  river  at  Raritan  village.  A 
flour-mill  was  built  on  the  north  side.  These  im- 
provements were  made  by  Jacob  Van  Doren,  and 
afterwards  owned  by  J.  V.  D.  Kelly.  It  is  the  mill- 
property  now  owned  and  operated  by  Col.  Read.  The 
dam  continued  in  use  until  after  the  canal  was  built, 
and  was  then  demolished. 

A  survey  was  made  about  1836  with  a  view  to  con- 
structing a  race-way  from  the  Raritan  River.  The 
projectors  of  the  enterprise  were  John  I.  Gaston, 
Garrett  D.  Wall,  and  James  S.  Nevius. 

Work  was  commenced  by  them,  and  other  capital- 
ists became  interested  in  the  enterprise.  A  company 
was  formed  and  incorporated,  Feb.  28,  1840,  under 
the  name  of  "  The  Somerville  Water-Power  Com- 
pany," with  Garret  D.  Wall  as  president,  Luther 
Loomis  treasurer,  and  Isaac  P.  Lindsey  treasurer. 
Besides  those  mentioned,  the  other  gentlemen  inter- 
ested were  Samuel  P.  Lyman,  Robert  Van  Renssalaer 
Abraham  Suydam,  Rynier  Veghte,  Thomas  A.  Hart- 
well,  and  William  Thompson.     The  company  started 


with  a  capital  stock  of  $200,000,  with  the  right  to  in- 
crease to  $300,000.    Full  power  was  vested  in  them 
by  the  charter  to  purchase  and  hold  lands  and  water 
rights,  to  erect  a  dam,  make  a  race-way,  and  divert  the 
water  of  the  Raritan  River  from  its  channel.     Land 
was  purchased  and  a  dam  constructed  across  the  Rari- 
tan a  short  distance  below  the  confluence  of  the  North 
and  South  Branches  ;   this  raised  the  water  of  the 
river  two  and  a  half  feet  above  its  ordinary  level,  con- 
ducting it  into  the  race-way,  and  thence  to  the  contem- 
plated sites  for  manufactories.     A  race-way  was  made, 
commencing  at  the  dam  and  running  nearly  parallel 
with  the  river,  3  miles  in  length,  and  secured  on  each 
side  by  a  permanent  embankment.     The  tail-race  was 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length.     A  reservoir  was 
also  built  2  miles  below  the  dam,  and  another  near 
the  termination,  covering  about  5  acres.     The  esti- 
mated cost  was  $100,000,  but  the  sum  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  complete  it,  and  a  mortgage  for  $50,000  was 
given  by  the  company,  which  after  several  years  was 
foreclosed.     This  action  was   followed  by  a  lawsuit, 
which  lasted  twelve  years,  and  the  mortgage  was  in- 
creased to  $80,000.     In  1863  it  was  finally  sold,  and 
purchased  by  the  stockholders. 

"The  Raritan  Water-Power  Company"  was  organ- 
ized and  incorporated  March  24, 1863,  with  the  follow- 
ing corporators;  Joshua  Doughty,  John  M.  Mann, 
Hezekiah  B.  Loomis,  John  M.  Martin,  Stephen  B. 
Ransom,  Edward  F.  Loomis,  and  Hugh  M.  Gaston. 
The  capital  stock  was  $50,000,  "  with  power  to  pur- 
chase all  or  any  part  of  the  real  estate  now  or  formerly 
owned  by  the  Somerville  Water-Power  Company, 
including  canal,  head-gates,  water-power,  water  rights,- 
ftanchises,  and  water."  The  property  of  the  old  com- 
pany was  purchased,  and  new  head-gates  and  a  race- 
way 300  yards  in  length  were  constructed.  When 
the  company  commenced  the  rebuilding  of  head-gates 
and  making  other  improvements  an  injunction  was 
issued  on  petition  of  the  landowners,  who  alleged  the 
company  had  no  right  to  divert  the  water  from  the 
river,  and  ignoring  the  written  consent  of  the  prior 
owners  of  the  land  permitting  it.  The  company  al- 
leged that  they  had  such  consent.  An  extended  liti- 
gation ensued,  in  which  some  of  the  ablest  counsel  of 
the  State  were  engaged.  The  right  of  the  company 
to  use  all  the  water  of  the  river  was  fully  established. 
The  company  have  sold  building  lots  to  the  amount 
of  $35,000  since  their  organization.  Water  from  the 
canal  is  now  used  to  a  limited  extent  by  the  difierent 
manufacturing  establishments  on  its  banks.  The 
present  officers  are  James  S.  Davenport,  President ; 
Edward  F.  Loomis,  Secretary  and  Treasurer ;  Joshua 
Doughty,  James  S.  Davenport,  Edward  F.  Loomis, 
Culver  Barcalow,  Thomas  Davenport,  and  Hugh  M. 
Gaston,  Directors. 

The  Somerville  Manufacturing  Company  was  incor- 
porated in  1837,  but  nothing  was  done.  About  the 
time  of  the  completion  of  the  works  of  the  Somerville 
Water-Power  Company,  in  1841,  the   James   Screw 


BRIDGEWATER. 


685 


Company  erected  a  stone  building  on  the  bank  of  the 
canal  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  wooden 
screws.  This  building  was  erected  on  ground  be- 
tween Kinyon's  mill  and  the  New  Jersey  Enamel 
Paint-Works.  It  was  taken  down  years  after,  and 
the  stones  were  used  in  the  construction  of  the  pres- 
ent Kinyon  mill.  The  screw  company  failed  after  a 
time,  and  the  building  was  rented  by  a  paper-mill 
company,  of  which  Richard  D.  Covert  was  the  man- 
ager and  principal  owner.  Two  flour-mills  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  and  canal  were  also  in  operation 
about  that  time.  The  building  of  the  canal  stimu- 
lated manufacturing  enterprises,  and  many  were 
started,  but  few  accomplished  anything.  The  names, 
date  of  incorporation,  and  objects  are  given  below, 
with  such  facts  as  can  be  obtained. 

The  Eope  and  Bagging  Company  was  incorporated 
March  19,  1845,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000,  for  the 
purpose  of  manufacturing  rope,  bagging,  and  duck. 
The  incorporators  were  David  Heran,  Luther  Loomis, 
Samuel  P.  Lyman,  William  Thompson,  Thomas  A. 
Hartwell,  David  Sanderson,  and  Allen  Clarke.  A 
building  was  erected,  40  by  100  feet,  on  the  bank  of 
the  canal,  and  the  compainy  manufactured  their  goods 
four  or  five  years  and  then  failed.  The  building  was 
used  in  various  enterprises  at  different  times,  and  is 
now  the  oldest  structure  of  the  Earitan  Woolen-Mill 
Company.  April  3d  of  the  same  year  the  Somerset 
Cotton-Mill  Company  and  the  Somerville  Woolen- 
Mill  Company  were  incorporated ;  neither  was  organ- 
ized, but  the  latter  kept  its  charter,  and  its  name  was 
changed  on  Feb.  25,  1856,  to  "  The  American  Gutta- 
percha Company."  It  occupied  the  building  erected 
by  the  Hope  and  Bagging  Company,  manufactured  a 
few  years,  and  failed. 

Kinyon's  Machine-Shop. — About  1842,  Joseph  D. 
Moore  erected  a  small  foundry  and  machine-shop,  and 
carried  on  the  business  until  1844,  when  David  P. 
Kinyon  settled  at  Earitan  and  purchased  it.  In  1846 
he  bought  the  property  and  erected  new  buildings. 
The  machine-shop  burnt  down  in  1863,  and  he  pur- 
chased the  stone  building  formerly  owned  by  the 
screw  company  and  with  the  stone  constructed  the 
present  edifice.  Mill-machinery  of  all  kinds  is  manu- 
factured. Job  C.  and  David  E.  Kinyon,  sons  of  David 
P.  Kinyon,  assumed  charge  of  the  business  in  1867. 

William  S.  Opie  &  Co.*— In  1850,  Whitenack  & 
Davis  erected  a  wooden  building  on  First  Avenue, 
where  the  present  brick  shops  now  stand.  It  was 
used  first  as  a  foundry  and  afterwards  as  a  machine- 
shop,  but  was  sold  to  Dunham  &  Staats.  Upon  the 
death  of  the  former  a  company  from  Phillipsburg 
bought  out  his  interest.  Still  later,  a  company  was 
formed  called  "  The  Screw  Mower  and  Eeaper  Com- 
pany." It  is  now  owned  by  six  of  the  original  hands 
who  worked  in  the  shop.  The  present  brick  build- 
ings were  erected  about  1870. 

*  Successors  to  the  Screw  Mower  and  Eeaper  Company. 


The  Woods  Shingle- Machine  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated March  27, 1845,  and  manufactured  goods  in  the 
basement  of  the  screw  company's  building.  They 
failed  after  a  few  years. 

The  Angular  Hame  Company  and  Holgate  Braid 
Company. — Andrew  Dietz,  of  New  York  City,  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  a  Dietz  angular  hame  in 
the  second  story  of  Kenyon's  machine-shop.  Later, 
J.  V.  D.  Kelly  and  N.  P.  Todd  were  associated  with 
him.  A  stock  company  was  soon  formed,  brick  build- 
ings were  erected,  and  a  malleable-iron  foundry  was 
started  near  the  track  of  the  Central  Eailroad.  Busi- 
ness was  conducted  three  or  four  years,  and  then 
ceased.  The  building  was  used  by  J.  V.  D.  Kelly 
for  bending-works  for  a  time,  and  was  afterwards  oc- 
cupied by  the  Holgate  Braid  Company  for  three  or 
four  years.  It  now  belongs  to  the  Central  Eailroad 
Company. 

New  Jersey  Enamel  Paint-  Works. — In  1867  a  patent 
was  secured  for  an  article  called  "  Bradley's  Enamel 
Paint.''  A  stock  company  was  organized  in  Plain- 
field  in  1868  for  the  manufacture  of  the  paint,  and 
arrangements  were  made  to  that  end,  but  in  1870  the 
business  was  removed  to  Earitan.  The  brick  build- 
ing now  in  use  was  purchased,  and  business  was  con- 
tinued by  the  company  until  1878,  when  Eynear 
Veghte  became  the  proprietor,  and  so  continues. 

The  Raritan  Woolen-Mills  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated March  23,  1869,  with  Lewis,  David  L.,  and 
Henry  L.  Einstein,  Eobert  Brown,  and  Adolph  Mack 
as  corporators,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  heavy 
woolen  goods  and  coatings.  The  ground  containing 
the  brick  building  erected  by  the  Eope  and  Bagging 
Company  was  purchased,  other  buildings  were  erected, 
and  business  was  commenced  with  6  sets  of  cards  and 
25  looms.  The  present  capacity  is  32  sets,  215  looms, 
and  600  hands  are  employed.  The  power  is  furnished 
by  a  600  horse-power  engine.  This  mill  and  those 
of  the  Somerset  Manufacturing  Company  are  under 
nearly  the  same  management,  and  together  use  13,000 
tons  of  coal  annually.    The  buildings  are  all  of  brick. 

The  Somerset  Manufacturing  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated in  December,  1879,  for  the  manufacture  of  cas- 
simeres.  The  members  of  the  company  are  David  L. 
Einstein  (president),  Manuel  Einstein  (treasurer), 
William  Einstein  (secretary),  Adolph  Mack,  J.  Har- 
per Smith,  and  Felix  Lamson.  The  buildings  are 
located  near  the  Earitan  Mills,  and  were  erected  in 
1880.  They  consist  of  the  main  structure,  80  feet 
wide,  370  feet  in  length,  and  two  stories  in  height, 
and  numerous  outbuildings.  It  is  a  19-set  mill,  run- 
ning 125  looms,  and  employs  350  hands.  A  200  horse- 
power engine  supplies  the  machinery. 

The  Raritan  Flouring-Mill  was  originally  built  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river,  a  short  distance  west  of 
the  present  bridge.  After  the  purchase  of  the  mill 
property  of  Mr.  Dawes  by  the  Somerville  Water- 
Power  Company,  this  mill  was  given  as  part  payment 
to  David  Stiers.     The  mill  eventually  fell  into  the 


686 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


hands  of  William  Steele  and  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  who 
were  sureties  for  Mr.  Stiers ;  they  sold  it  to  James 
Coleman,  by  whom  it  was  moved  across  the  river  and 
enlarged.  It  passed,  at  different  times,  from  Joshua 
Coleman  to  George  Y.  Ford  &  Co.,  and  to  Henry 
Westcott,  and  is  now  owned  and  operated  by  William 
N.  Adair  &  Co.  It  has  at  present  three  run  of  stone, 
and  is  situated  between  the  Raritan  Woolen-Mills  and 
the  New  Jersey  Enamel  Paint- Works. 

The  Star  Mills  are  situated  on  the  Raritan  River 
and  on  the  canal  of  the  water-power  company,  from 
which  power  is  derived.  Feb.  16,  1820,  Jacob  Van 
Doren  was  authorized  to  build  a  dam  across  the  Rari- 
tan River  for  the  purpose  of  utilizing  the  water  for  a 
grist-mill.  He  built  the  mill  at  the  north  end  of  the 
dam,  and  put  in  an  undershot-wheel.  He  afterwards 
sold  to  Janney  Dawes,  who  also  erected  a  small  mill 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  Upon  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Somerville  Water-Power  Company,  in 
1840,  the  property  was  purchased  by  them  and  sold  to 
J.  V.  D.  Kelly.  A  small  oil-mill  on  the  east  end  of 
the  grist-mill  was  in  operation  for  a  few  years.  The 
mill  property  passed  to  Randolph,  Tucker  &  Co.,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  held  by  numerous  owners. 
It  is  now  operated  by  Col.  Hugh  B.  Reed,  and  has 
five  run  of  stone. 

Bound  Brook  Woolen-Mills. — In  1878  the  present 
buildings  were  erected  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan 
River  by  Henry  L.  Einstein.  They  are  380  feet  in 
length,  two  stories  in  height,  with  a  capacity  of  6  sets 
of  cards,  48  looms.  Jan.  15,  1880,  the  Bound  Brook 
Woolen-Mill  Company  was  incorporated,  with  H.  L. 
Einstein  as  treasurer,  L.  Rosenfeld  secretary,  and  H. 
L.  Einstein,  L.  Rosenfeld,  and  C.  Einstein  as  direc- 
tors. The  present  capacity  is  12  sets  of  cards,  96 
looms,  with  a  400  horse-power  engine.  Hands  em- 
ployed, 300. 

iSmalley's  Anti-Friction  Machinery  Manufactory. — 
This  factory  was  erected  in  1855  by  J.  Smalley,  who 
manufactured  mowers  and  reapers  for  ten  or  twelve 
years,  when  the  works  were  discontinued  and  were 
used  as  a  spoke-factory,  and  afterwards  rented  for 
seven  or  eight  years  to  Williams  &  Co.  as  a  reduction- 
works.  In  1878,  Mr.  Smalley  commenced  the  manu- 
factory of  anti-friction  bearings  for  machinery.  The 
factory  is  situated  on  Main  Street,  between  Church 
and  John.    The  firm-name  is  J.  Smalley  &  Co. 

PLACES    OF   HISTORIC   INTEREST. 

There  are  in  the  township  a  few  ancient  dwellings 
invested  with  historic  interest.  The  oldest  is  the  brick 
house  standing  on  the  bank  of  the  canal,  near  the 
woolen-mill,  in  the  village  of  Raritan.  It  was  built 
in  1736  by  Andrew  Coejeman,  and  remained  in  the 
possession  of  that  family  till  1804. 

In  the  summer  and  fall  of  1778,  William  Wallace 
built  the  mansion  in  Somerville  since  known  as  the 
Miller  House.  Gen.  Washington  and  wife  spent  here 
the  winter  of  1778-79,  rooms  being  fitted  up  expressly 


for  their  use.  At  this  house  Washington  and  his  gen- 
erals planned  the  campaign  so  successfully  carried  out 
by  Gen.  Sullivan  in  1779.  The  house  is  still  standing 
and  in  good  repair. 

The  old  parsonage  now  owned  by  Joshua  Doughty 
was  built  in  1751  by  the  Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen, 
the  bricks  having  been  imported  from  Holland.  At 
this  house  was  really  commenced  the  first  theological 
seminary  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  which  cul- 
minated in  the  founding  of  Rutgers  College.  During 
the  Revolution  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  R.  Hardenburgh 
resided  here  as  pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  Church  of 
Raritan.  He  was  intimately  acquainted  with  Wash- 
ington, and  many  were  the  visits  made  to  the  Reverend 
Doctor  and  his  accomplished  wife  by  the  commander- 
in-chief 

In  this  connection  the  following  letter  is  inter- 
esting. June  1,  1779,  an  address  of  the  minister, 
elders,  and  deacons  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
of  Raritan  was  presented  to  "  His  Excellency  George 
Washington,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Armies  of 
the  United  States  of  North  America,"  which  wa.s 
signed  "by  order  of  the  Consistory,  Jacob  R.  Harden- 
burgh, V.D.M." 

The  address  was  answered  by  the  general  the  next 
day,  in  a  letter  dated  at  "  Camp  Middlebrook,"*  as 
follows : 

"  Gentlemen, — To  meet  the  approbation  of  good  men  cannot  but  be 
agreeable.  Yonr  affectionate  expressions  make  it  more  so.  In  quarter- 
ing and  supplying  its  wants,  distress  and  inconvenience  will  often  occur 
to  tlie  citizens.  I  feel  myself  happy  in  the  conBciousness  that  these  have 
been  strictly  limited  by  necessity  ;  and  in  your  opinion  of  my  attention  to 
the  rights  of  my  fellow-citizens.  I  thank  you,  gentlemen,  sincerely  for 
the  sense  you  entertain  of  the  conduct  of  the  army,  and  for  the  interest 
you  take  in  my  welfare.  I  trust  the  goodness  of  the  cause  and  the  exer- 
tions of  the  people,  under  Divine  Protection,  will  give  us  that  honorable 
peace  for  which  we  are  contending.  Suffer  me,  gentlemen,  to  wish  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Raritan  a  long  continuance  of  its  present  min- 
ister and  Consistory,  and  all  the  blessings  which  flow  from  piety  and  Re- 
ligion. 

"  I  am,  &c., 

"G°.  Washinqton." 

WASHINGTON  AND   MRS.  BROKAW.t 

On  the  east  side  of  the  North  Branch  of  Raritan, 
about  a  mile  below  the  church,  stands  a  brick  house, 
still  in  a  state  of  good  preservation.  In  it  resided  a 
farmer  named  John  Brokaw,  who  when  his  country 
called  enlisted  in  Capt.  Peter  D.  Vroom's  company. 
He  was  chosen  lieutenant,  and  at  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown.  Pa.,  fell  while  leading  his  men.  By  his 
side  stood  Joseph  Stull,  a  friend  and  neighbor,  who 
carried  him  from  the  front,  took  charge  of  his 
watch  and  sword,  carried  them  home  to  his  family, 
and  many  years  after  became  the  husband  of  his 
daughter  Phoebe,  from  whom  the  particulars  of  this 
narrative  have  been  derived. 

In  the  spring  -of  1779,  while  Washington  was  yet 
residing  in  the  Wallace  house,  in  Somerville,  he  was 

*  His  headquarters  were  still  at  the  Wallace  mansion.  The  army  was 
encamped  all  along  the  Raritan,  the  headquarters  of  Gen.  Greene  being 
at  Derrick  Van  Veghten's  house,  near  what  is  now  Finderne  Station. 

t  Rev.  A.  Messier,  D.D. 


BRIDaEWATEK. 


687 


made  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  above  related 
(probably  from  conversation  with  Dr.  Hardenburgh, 
who  was  the  pastor  of  Mrs,  Brokaw),  and  his  sympa- 
thies were  so  excited  in  her  behalf  that  he  rode  up  to 
this  house  one  day — a  distance  of  five  miles — to  call 
on  her.  When  he  entered  the  house  he  was  deeply 
affected,  and  with  many  kind  and  comforting  words 
expressed  his  sorrow  for  her  bereavement.  We  have 
always  regarded  this  incident  in  our  Kevolutionary 
history  as  one  of  the  most  affecting  and  beautiful 
manifestations  of  the  great  and  tender  heart  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country. 

The  house  is  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Nevius,  whose 
wife  is  a  great-granddaughter  of  Capt.  Brokaw.  As 
a  monument  of  Washington's  tender  heart,  it  ought 
to  stand  until  it  crumbles  into  dust. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  CHIMNEY  ROCK. 

The  following  legend  of  the  Raritan  Indians  and 
Chimney  Rock  is  condensed  from  an  article  written 
by  Rev.  Abr.  Messier,  D.D.,  in  1841 : 

History  informa  us  that  the  1200  Indians  of  the  Earitan  were  presided 
over  by  two  kings,  and  that  they  were  the  deiiflly  enemies  of  the  Man- 
hattans. The  two  Raritan  chiefs  were  named  Canackamack  and  Thin- 
gorawis,  according  to  the  signatures  affixed  to  the  deeds  of  Indian  title. 
Tradition  gives  the  origin  of  the  feud  between  the  two  tribes,  who  had 
long  dwelt  in  amity.  Long  prior  to  the  time  of  the  kings  above  named 
a  son  of  the  king  of  the  Manhatae,  with  a  hunting-party,  fell  in  with  a 
similar  party  of  the  Raritans.  After  several  days  of  friendly  companion- 
ehip,  during  which  the  young  Manhatae  chief  was  a  guest  in  the  wigwam 
of  the  king  of  the  Raritans,  the  latter  promised  him  the  hand  of  his 
only  daughter,  the  beautiful  Chinqueka  ("  Goldfinch")  aa  his  bride.  The 
youth  and  maiden  learned  to  love,  and  happily  passed  the  summer.  But 
Manasamitt,  an  inferior  chief  of  the  Raritans,  who  also  loved  the  maiden 
and  had  long  designed  winning  her  for  himself,  grew  jealous  of  the 
lovers,  and  determined  to  avenge  his  loss  upon  the  favored  suitor.  An 
opportunity  soon  presented.  Returning  one  evening  from  the  hunt  he 
diBCovered  the  lovers  sitting,  as  waa  often  their  wont,  upon  the  ledge  of 
rocks,  gazing  upon  the  limpid  waters  far  below.  The  maiden  fled,  and 
then,  alone  with  his  rival,  he  buried  his  hatchet  in  his  brain  and  rolled 
the  "body  down  the  precipice.  Great  was  the  grief  of  Chinqueka;  she 
refused  to  be  comforted,  and  sought  the  spot  where  last  she  and  her 
lover  sat  together,  and  where  he  met  his  fate.  Tbere  she  fancied  she 
heard  him  calling  her  to  come  to  him ;  she  plunged  into  the  dark  chasm 
and  disappeared  forever.  When  the  king  of  the  Manhatae  heard  of  his 
son's  tragic  death  at  the  hands  of  a  Raritan  brave,  his  rage  was  great. 
He  resolved  to  wage  war  against  that  tribe  until  the  spirit  of  his  mur- 
dered son  waa  appeased.  "  The  warriors  of  the  tribe  were  collected  and 
sent  forward  to  meet  their  foes,  and  then  it  was  that  the  pleasant  vales  of 
the  Raritan  were  made  to  echo  continually  with  the  war-whoop,  and  its 
waters  were  often  dyed  with  the  blood  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the 
fierce  and  deadly  strife.  From  year  to  year  the  revenge  of  the  bloody 
Manhatae  was  pursued,  and  all  the  fierce  passion  of  their  savage  souls 
excited  until  they  raged  and  burned.  Many  were  slain  on  both  sides, 
but  no  decisive  victory  gained;  and  when  the  white  men  came  the  feud 
was  still  continued,  and  gave  occasion  to  the  remark  which  we  have 
quoted  from  the  historian  of  those  early  days,  that '  the  Manhatae  were 
the  deadly  enemies  of  the  Raritans.'  " 

MILITARY. 
The  part  taken  by  this  township  in  the  Revolution 
was  a  prominent  one.     The  following  documents  ex- 
plain themselves : 

"  Committee  Chambeb,  Beidgewatbr,  Feb.  24, 1776. 
"Whereas,  by  the  ordinances  lately  made  by  the  Provincial  Congress 
for  regulating  the  Militia  of  New  Jersey,  it  appears  necessary  that  each 
Captain  should'  have  a  District  for  the  Company  he  commands,  we  the 
Committee,  accordingly  grant  unto  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  the  command 
of  all  the  men  within  the  following  boundaries  or  District:  Beginning 


at  the  line  of  Hunterdon  Co.,  on  the  river  Allamatunck,  thence  down 
said  river  and  also  down  the  North  Branch  to  the  mouth  of  Chambers 
Brook,  then  up  the  said  brook  to  the  place  where  William  McDonald's 
Mill  formeriy  stood,  then  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  to  Capt.  Stile's  line, 
then  on  a  direct  line  down  between  Philip  Van  Narsdalen,  and  Chris. 
Van  Narsdalen's,  westerly  of  Wm.  Black  Halls,  to  the  rear  of  Raritan 
River  Lots,  then  along  the  rear  of  said  River  Lota  to  a  line  of  William 
Lane's  River  Lot,  then  northerly  and  westerly,  then  down  said  branch  to 
the  line  which  divides  the  lands  of  Borgen  Brokaw  and  Mr.  Conovers,  then 
along  said  line  to  Hunterdon  Co.  line,  then  along  the  same  to  the  begin- 
ning. 

"  By  order  of  the  committee, 
"ED.  BUNN,  Chairman." 

"  A  list  of  the  men  who  served  under  Capt.  Jacob 
Ten  Eyck  in  the  Revolutionary  war  at  different  times 
from  1775  to  1781 : 

"Edmon  Arasmith,  John  Andrews,  Malcom  Andrews,  Aaron  Abaylon, 
Thomas  Auten,  Robert  Andrews,  John  Auten,  David  Appleman,  Jere- 
miah Bertton,  Richard  Brokaw,  Samuel  Bertron,  David  Bertron,  Dirk 
Brokaw,  Bergen  Brokaw,  Hendrick  Bunn,  Garret  Bulmer,  Cornelius  Bo- 
dine,  Adam  Brucanan,  Gisbert  Bogert,  Peter  Baskfort,  Geradis  Bergen, 
John  Burom,  Edward  Bunn,  John  Bodine,  William  Brower,  Abraham 
Bodine,  Cornelius  Boss,  Abraham  Brown,  CorneUus  Boss,  Thomas  Bush- 
field,  Lewis  Bumer,  Henry  Bunn,  Benjamin  Burner,  Green  Brown,  Geo. 
Burner,  Frederick  Buckobus,  John  Brown,  Henry  Booran,  Richard  Bo- 
mer,  Frederick  Bucklew,  Robert  Bulmer,  George  Brewer,  Wm.  Brewer, 
James  Bruylen,  John  Colter,  Archibald  Campbell,  John  Chandler,  Rich- 
ard Cumpton,  Richard  Cornea,  Charles  Comes,  John  Cragg,  Christopher 
Casborn,  John  Cornelison,  Alexander  Colter,  William  Cornelisou,  Benja- 
min Clawson,  Barnet  Clawson,  Garret  Cornelison,  Peter  Colter,  William 
Chivus,  John  Caatner,  William  Chambers,  David  Conine,  Peter  Coole, 
Brant  Clawson,  John  Calwell,  Joseph  Chambus,  Michael  Colter,  John 
Chapman,  Jeremiah  Doty,  James  Duyckins,  John  Herrod,  Samuel  Hoag- 
land,  John  Henry,  George  Hall,  James  Hoge,  John  Huff,  Peter  Herpend- 
ing,  Isaac  Hall,  William  Hay,  Benjamin  Harris,  William  Hall,  Nicols 
Hall,  James  Hegamen,  William  Hoagland,  Derrick  Hoagland,  Peter 
HadeAbrook,  Thomas  Hall,  Isaac  Hadenbrook,  James  Harris,  John  Har- 
riot, John  Harris,  Minard  Johnson ,  William  Johnson,  James  Johnson, 
Jacobus  Jerolman,  Benjamin  Jones,  David  KeUey,  David  King,  Thomas 
King,  Andrew  Kilpatrick,  Tunis  Lane,  John  Dumont,  Elbert  Dumont, 
Fulkert  Dow,  Rubin  Dennis,  Peter  Dacker,  William  Dailey,  Skillman 
Doughty,  Thomas  Drene,  Dirk  Drake,  Isafic  Defraste,  John  Duyckman, 
William  Duyckman,  Garret  Davis,  John  Davis,  John  Ewins,  John  El- 
very,  Christopher  Fraser,  Luke  Fusler,  Jeremiah  Fulds,  Peter  Fulker, 
Jacob  Fusler,  Henry  Fulkerson,  William  French,  John  Goldtrap,  John 
Gorden,  Jeremiah  Garretson,  Timothy  Gilmer,  David  Helebrant,  Lewis 
Hartson,  Garret  Harris,  Lewis  Hertough,  John  Lucas,  William  Long, 
John  Long,  Thomas  Lane,  Robert  Liddle,  Thomas  Lee,  John  Lane,  Ja- 
cob Lane,  James  Lettis,  John  More,  Henry  Mapes,  Samuel  Minor,  Joseph 
Mulner,  William  Montinmore,  Thomas  McMurtry,  Samuel  McKinsley, 
Robert  Maggell,  Peter  Mishet,  Luke  More,  Ephraim  McDowell,  John 
Maligh,  James  Millin,  Thomas  Mechlenrath,  John  Mulbrin,  Samuel 
Mawfut,  John  Maybeck,  Thomas  Murfey,  Cornelius  Messier,  Isaac  Man- 
nin,  Samuel  McDonald,  Peter  Mealigh,  John  Millin,  William  McMans, 
Daniel  McCrain,  Hugh  McCarty,  John  .McDowel,  John  Meabeach,  John 
Nortwick,  Christopher  Nevius,  John  Nevius,  Christopher  Off,  Nicholas 
Oliver,  John  Prine,  Henry  Powelson,  Peter  Post,  Isaac  Prawl,  William 
Packson,  Garret  Probasco,  William  Porter,  Archibald  Powel,  James  Powel, 
William  Peach,  Mina  Powelson,  Christopher  Probasco,  John  Ross,  James 
Ross,  Joseph  Richson,  John  Rolan,  Richard  Runyon,  Hendrick  Bose- 
bome,  Robert  Rosebome,  James  Rightmer,  Israel  Rickey,  Benjamin  Bei- 
mer,  Vincent  Runyon,  Peter  Rolan,  Zockariah  Sickel,  Barrant  Stryker, 
Christopher  Stryker,  John  Stuard,  Cornelius  Suydam,  Ryke  Suydam, 
John  Storm,  Amoa  Smalley,  Jobn  Staats,  Barrant  Smock,  Charles  Suy- 
dam, Joseph  Stephens,  Fulkert  Sebring,  Joseph  Stull,  Henry  Slingerlan, 
Barrant  Schuyler,  John  Sparks,  John  Stull,  George  Sehron,  Henry  Ste- 
phens, Richard  Suddard,  Jonas  Smalley,  James  Stuart,  Andrew  Soms, 
John  Sharp,  Matthias  Sharp,  John  Simason,  Abraham  Sebring,  Gabriel 
Sparks,  Joseph  Stephens,  Abraham  Schenk,  Gisbert  Sutphen,  John 
Smith,  Isaac  Smalley,  John  Stillwell,  Peter  Ten  Eyck,  John  Tunison, 
Luke  Teeple,  Hendricks  Teeple,  Thomas  Thompson,  George  Teeple, 
George  Todd,  Thomaa  TJmphrey,  Dow  Van  Narsdalen,  George  Van 
Nest,  Cornelius  Van  Dike,  Peter  Van  Deberge,  Christopher  Van  Nars- 
dalen, Peter  Van  Debrook,  Peter  Van  Nest,  John  Van  Narsdalen, 
James  Van  Horn,  Derick  Van  Narsdalen,  Hendrick  Van  Narsdalen , 


688 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Peter  Yoasler,  Jacob  Valentine,  John  Van  Natten,  John  Van  Cort,  Bar- 
liard  Van  Nest,  John  Van  Camp,  Abraham  Van  Nest,  Christopher  Van 
Doren,  Jaromas  Van  Vest,  Jacob  Van  Narstrand,  Frederick  Van  Nest, 
GorneliuB  Van  Nest,  Abraham  Van  Deventer,  Isaac  Van  Vingle,  Abra- 
ham Van  Tingle,  Peter  Van  Deventer,  John  Van  Tingle,  Coonrad  Van 
Wagoner,  Philip  Van  Narsdalen,  Fulkert  Voorhees,  Isaac  Van  Doren, 
Ruliff  Van  Pelt,  Michael  Van  Cort,  Matthew  Van  Deveer,  Tobiah  Van 
Norden,  Bergen  Van  Boren,  Hendrick  Vroom,  George  Vroom,  John 
Vroom,  Isaac  Voorheea,  John  Van  Honten,  John  Van  Nortwick,  John 
Wortman,  William  Wilson,  James  Winterstein,  Samuel  Williamson,  John 
Wyckoff,  Matthew  Wite.  Cornelius  Williamson,  Thomas  Walker,  Wil- 
liam Waldron,  James  Whealer,  Daniel  Wooderd,  Andrew  Wortman, 
William  Winans,  Peter  Wovley,  John  Wilson,  Cornelius  Waldron,  Peter 
Wortman,  George  Young,  John  Young. 

List  of  the  members  of  Capt.  Conrad  Ten  Eyck's 
company : 

David  Ammerman,  Powel  Ammerman,  Benjamin  Arrosmith,  John 
Bennet  (2d  lieutenant),  Daniel  Blew,  Hendrick  Blew,  John  Board,  George 
Brewer,  Abraham  Brokaw,  CasparusBrokaw,  Adam  Dallas,  Jacob  Coach, 
Henry  Cook,  Abraham  Coshaw,  Thomas  Covert,  Tunis  Covert,  Samuel 
Davis,  John  De  Camp,  John  Decker,  Hendrick  Dumon,  Peter  Dumon, 
Mancias  Duboya  (sergeant),  Abraham  Dumott,  Benjamin  Dumott,  Law- 
rence Dumott,  Henry  Fisher,  Joseph  French,  Fulkert  Fulkerson,  Chris- 
tian Herder,  Hermanns  Hoagland,  Johannes  Hoagland,  John  Hoagland, 
Tunis  Hoagland,  Nicholas  Huff,  Kichard  Huff,  Henry  Kennedy,  Thomas 
Lawkerman,  Thomas  Light,  John  Lorey,  Jr.,  Abraham  Lott,  Abraham 
Low,  Daniel  McEwen,  Simon  Van  Nortwick,  Thomas  Peterson,  Abraham 
Post,  Peter  Peryn  (Perrine),  John  Powelfeon,  Leroy  Ralph,  Hendrick 
Rosebroom,  John  H.  Schenck  (sergeant),  Boelif  Sebring,  Thomas  Skill- 
man,  Isaac  Stryker,  John  Stryker,  Andries  Ten  Eyck,  Garret  Terhune, 
Cornelius  Van  Arsdalen,  Isaac  Van  Cleefe  (corporal),  Paryas  Van  Cleef, 
Abram  Van  Arsdalen  (corporal),  Jacob  Vanderbilt,  Chrystoyan  Van  Dorn, 
John  Van  Dorn,  Cornelius  Van  Dorn,  Abraham  Van  Dorn  (ensign),  John 
Vandike,  John  Van  Houten,  John  Van  Middlesworth,  Thomas  Van 
Middlesworth,  Hendrick  Van  Nortwick,  John  Van  Nortwick  (ensign), 
Jacob  Van  Nuys,  John  Van  Voorhees,  Conrad  Ten  Eyck  (ensign),  Conrad 
Van  Wagoner,  Abraham  Voorhees  (corporal),  Jacob  Voorhees,  Peter 
Voorhees,  John  Van  Aredalen  (sergeant),  Adulplius  Weavour,  William 
Whilson,  Jacob  Winter,  Barent  Dumott. 

iKIDGEWATER    IN    THE    WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 

The  first  action  taken  in  reference  to  raising  money 
for  soldiers  in  the  great  Rebellion  was  at  a'town-meet- 
ing  held  Sept.  3,  1863.     It  was  then  voted 

"That  the  township  be  authorized  to  borrow  any  sum  not  to  exceed 
$14,100  as  a  fund  from  which  to  pay  a  bounty  of  $300  to  each  volunteer 
or  drafted  man  accepted  and  mustered  into  the  army  of  the  United  States 
under  the  pending  draft." 

The  quota  of  the  town  under  the  call  was  47  men. 
Dec.  22,  1863,  the  committee  was  authorized  to  bor- 
row $12,000  as  a  bounty  fund,  and  again,  at  a  special 
town-meeting  held  May  31, 1864,  the  authorities  were 
authorized  to  borrow  a  sum  of  money  not  to  exceed 
$9600,  to  be  expended  in  procuring  substitutes  or  the 


commutation  of  drafted  men,  the  sum  to  be  raised 
by  a  special  poll-tax  upon  each  and  every  person  lia- 
ble to  draft  and  upon  the  property  of  the  township. 
June  1, 1864,  it  was 

"  Resolved  by  the  town  committee  not  to  raise  money  for  drafted  men, 
as,  the  majority  of  the  vote  being  so  small,  it  was  thought  not  advisable 
to  borrow  money  upon  the  credit  of  th*  township." 

At  a  special  town-meeting,  Jan.  21,  1865,  held  to 
devise  ways  and  means  to  fill  the  quota  of  Bridge- 
water,  the  town  committee  was  instructed  to  issue 
bonds  of  the  township  in  such  amounts,  and  payable 
at  such  time,  as  they  may  deem  proper  and  necessary, 
to  be  applied  in  obtaining  volunteers  or  substitutes  to 
fill  the  quota.  A  poll-tax  of  $10  was  ordered  on'  all 
persons  liable  to  the  draft.  Application  was  made  to 
the  Legislature  for  an  act  authorizing  the  laying  of  a 
special  tax,  not  exceeding  $20,000,  to  assist  in  raising 
the  quota  of  the  township  under  the  call  of  the  Presi- 
dent for  300,000  men. 

Sept.  3, 1865,  the  committee  authorized  the  assessors 
of  the  township  to  levy  a  tax  for  $30,000,  to  be  applied 
to  liquidate  the  debt  incurred  for  payment  of  soldiers. 

April  26, 1866,  at  a  special  meeting  for  the  purpose 
of  discussion  and  consideration  on  the  subject  of  issu- 
ing township  bonds,  it  was 

"  Resolved  to  issue  bonds  for  the  purpose  of  reimbursing  those  persona 
who  put  volunteers  or  substitutes  for  drafted  men  into  the  army  or  navy 
of  the  United  States,  and  who  paid  for  the  men  so  put  in,  or  who  paid 
$300  under  the  exemption  act,  such  bonds  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  F. 
J.  Frelinghuysen  as  trustee,  to  be  held  by  him  until  final  action  be  taken 
by  the  government  a^  to  reimbursing  townships  for  moneys  expended  in 
the  late  war." 

The  amount  due  was  $19,374.  A  detailed  list  of 
the  number  of  men  sent  out  from  the  township  and 
the  amount  paid  each  was  sent  to  the  comptroller  of 
the  State,  a  copy  of  which  is  here  given : 

"  SOMEBTILLE,  Oct.  28,  1865. 

"To  Capt.  William  M.  Shipman: 

"  Bear  Sir, — The  following  statement  of  volunteers  furnished  under 
the  last  three  calls  of  the  general  government  by  the  township  of  Bridge- 
water,  county  of  Somerset,  and  the  amount  paid  to  men  under  such 
calls,  is  respectfully  submitted.     This  statement  is  made  from  such  data 
as  are  in  possession  of  the  present  committee. 
The  call  of  August,  1863,  for  volunteers,  of  which  a  draft 
was  made  in  May,  1864,  Thirty-fifth  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers, 79  at  8300  each $23  700 

Call  of  July,  1864,  76  at  ^4.57  each 33,027.32 

Call  De.c.  19, 1864,  to  fill  vacancies,  84  at  ^698.15  each 68,645 

Total $115,372.32"- 


BRIDGEWATER. 


68» 


BIOGEAPHIOAL    SKETCHES. 


THE   DAVENPORT   FAMILY.  ' 

Perhaps  there  is  no  surer  criterion  of  a  people's 
progress  in  intelligence,  wealth,  and  a  refined  civili- 
zation than  the  filial  respect  shown  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  virtues  and  deeds  of  their  ancestors.  To  a 
greater  or  less  degree  has  this  heen  a  characteristic  of 
all  nations,  and  in  proportion  to  their  progress  in  arts, 
literature,  and  the  science  of  government,  and  signal- 
izing each  advancing  epoch  by  monumental  inscrip- 
tions to  perpetuate  their  memory.  This  country,  with 
its  extent  of  fertile  territory,  matchless  climate,  and 
vast  resources,  has  drawn  hither  a  most  enterprising, 
intelligent,  and  thrifty  class  of  citizens  from  the  older 
nations.  This  immigration  has  been  continuous  to 
the  present  time;  but  it  has  only  been  about  halt  a 
century  that  a  true  distinctive  type  of  American 
character  has  been  exhibited,  and  so  recognized  by 
the  other  nations  of  the  earth. 

Hence  it  has  now  be6ome  a  right  and  duty  one 
owes  to  himself,  his  ancestors,  and  descendant9,-in 
which  justice,  honor,  property,  and  all  he  holds  most 
sacred  may  be  involved,-that  at  the  earliest  period 
he  trace  out  the  various  links  in  the  chain  of  his 
descent  till  he  reaches  the  most  remote  point  attain- 


able. It  is  supposable  that  in  a  work  of  this  charac- 
ter some  errors  and  abuses  will  appear  through  the 
mistaken  attempt  of  some  to  attain  prominence  through 
exaggeration  and  fulsome  praise  of  their  progenitors. 
But  such  abuses  are  no  argument  against  meritorious 
works  of  history  and  biography ;  all  such  attempts 
will  ultimately  rebound  upon  their  authors. 

The  family  name  of  Davenport  is  of  local  origin. 
"  Davenport  township"  is  situated  in  the  county  of 
Chester,  England,  the  name  being  derived  from  the 
river  Dave  that  flows  through   it.      The  manorial 
history  of  this  township  involves  a  subject  of  rare 
occurrence  even  in  England :  the  descent  of  a  family 
in  one  uninterrupted  male  line  from  William  the  Con- 
queror to  the  present  day,— a  period  of  eight  hundred 
years,— possessing  at   this  time  the  feudal   powers 
and  manorial  estates  with  which  the  sovereign  in- 
vested it,  and  preserving  in  its  archives  a  series  of 
original  documents,  the  proofs  of  its  ancient  history 
and  unbroken  descent.    In  1086  the  illusive  crest  of 
the  Davenports  was  conferred  by  the  sovereign  and 
borne  upon  the  helmets  of  the  sergeants,  to  the  terror 
of  banditti,  which  infested  the  district.    The  "  Dav- 
enport coat-of-arms"- reckoned  among  the  most  an^ 


690 


SOMBESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


cient  in  England — is  a  shield  with  sable,  orosslefs, 
crest,  a  falcon's  head  couped  at  the  neck,  indicating 
"  magisterial  sergeantcy,"  the  duty  exacted  being  that 
of  ridding  the  district  of  all  robbers,  highwaymen, 
and  marauders,  with  summary  powers  over  the  lives 
of  all  such.  There  is  now  in  possession  of  the  family 
of  Davies  Davenport,  late  member  of  Parliament,  a 
long  roll,  of  very  ancient  date,  containing  numerous 
names  of  "  master  robbers"  who  were  taken  and  be- 
headed. 

Branches  of  the  family  extend  through  most  of  the 
counties  of  England  and  other  parts  of  the  world,  yet 
the  same  coat-of-arms  appertains  to  them  all,  and  with 
singular  accuracy  the  name  in  all  instances  is  spelled 
the  same.  There  has  been  almost  perpetually  a  repre- 
sentation in  Parliament,  sent  there  from  the  numerous 
branches  of  the  family  in  the  realm. 

Through  marriage  connections  they  have  at  times 
been  brought  in  close  relationship  with  the  ruling 
powers  and  the  Crown.  Edward  Hyde,  Lord  High 
Chancellor,  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  John 
Davenport,  ancestor  of  Mary,  wife  of  James  II.,  and 
the  mother  of  Mary,  the  consort  of  William  of  Orange, 
who  together  occupied  the  British  throne,  and  also  of 
Queen  Anne,  successive  sovereigns  of  the  kingdom. 

The  family  have  been  frequently  represented  in 
the  peerage,  etc.,  and  constantly  in  the  Church.  But 
no  boastfiil  claims  are  presented  for  aristocratic  dis- 
tinction :  the  family  seeks  no  higher  ambition  than 
of  belonging  to  the  advanced  order  of  the  great  mid- 
dle class, — ^that  of  merchants,  artisans,  and  scholars, — 
loyal  to  the  ruling  powers,  yet  ever  advocates  and  de- 
fenders of  the  cause  of  human  rights. 

It  may  be  worthy  of  remark  here  that  the  Daven- 
port Pottery- Works  of  Staffordshire,  with  branch 
warerooms  in  London,  Manchester,  and  Liverpool 
(in  connection  with  the  Wedgewoods,  with  whom 
there  have  existed  for  a  long  period  close  marriage 
relations),  are  the  largest  manufacturers  of  Queens- 
ware,  China,  and  faience-ware  in  the  world ;  and  this 
position  the  house  has  maintained  for  more  than  a 
century.  The  firm  of  Davenport  Bros,  are,  and  have 
been  for  a  third  of  a  century,  agents  for  the  sale  of 
their  goods  in  New  York. 

The  first  of  the  name  that  came  to  this  country  was 
the  Rev.  John  Davenport,  the  distinguished  Pilgrim 
minister  of  that  celebrated  band  of  Christian  heroes 
who  landed  in  New  England  in  1637,  comprising  such 
names  as  Eaton,  Hopkins,  Beecher,  Atwater,  Lord 
Leigh,  Cheever,  Pierpont,  the  Edwards,  etc.,  to  whom 
may  be  well  and  truthfully  accorded  the  fame  of  being 
the  fathers  of  the  American  Commonwealth. 

This  eminent  divine.  Rev.  John  Davenport,  was 
born  in  Warwickshire,  England,  in  1597,  of  wealthy 
parentage;  graduated  at  Oxford;  soon  after  became 
minister  of  St.  Stephen's  Episcopal  Church,  London. 
His  profound  learning,  eloquence,  fervent  piety,  and 
bold,  fearless  advocacy  of  Puritanical  doctrines,  then 
becoming  prevalent,  aroused  the  anger  of  Laud,  Arch- 


bishop of  London;    persecutions  followed.     Daven- 
port, with  many  of  his  congregation  and  other  ad- 
herents, iied  to  Holland ;  were  met  with  open  arms 
by  others  of  like  faith  in  that  asylum  of  religious 
liberty.     After  a  brief  stay,  permission  being  granted, 
they  returned  to  England,  when,  after  collecting  their 
scattered  band  and  holding  fi-equent  conferences,  they 
resolved  to  emigrate  to  America.     They  accordingly 
chartered  a  vessel,  taking   all  their   earthly   eifects 
aboard,  set  sail  in  the  spring  of  1637,  and  arrived  at 
Boston  after  a  three-months'  passage.     These  immi- 
grants being  highly  connected  in  the  mother-country, 
of  much  learning  and  considerable  wealth,  strong  in- 
ducements were  offered  to  persuade   them  to  settle 
within  the  confines  of  the  Plymouth  colony.     After  a 
full  discussion  it  was  decreed  best,  for  various  reasons, 
to  establish  a  distinct  colony.     Accordingly,  after  a 
brief  period  of  inspecting  the  country,  they  selected 
a  spot,  which  met  the  approval  of  all,  in  Connecticut, 
on  Long  Island  Sound,  and  located  the  town  of  New 
Haven.     The  records,  and  all  writers  on  that  period, 
accord  Mr.  Davenport  the  honor  of  leadership  in  de- 
veloping and  establishing,  through  organic  law,  those 
great  principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  which 
have  rendered  that  colony  so  illustrious.     He  urged 
the  necessity  and  duty  of  universal  education,  and 
framed  the  outline  principles  of  what  has  since  been 
known  as  the  common-school  system,  now  become 
national  since  the  triumphant   suppression   of   the 
slaveholders'    rebellion.     In    1654,    assisted    by   his 
friend  and  parishioner  Governor  Eaton  and  others, 
he  embodied  in  written  form  the  plan,  which  was 
substantially  adopted,  establishing  Yale  College;  also 
contributed  and  collected  funds  in  its  aid.     For  thirty 
years,  with  zeal  and  energy,  he  labored  and  ministered 
in  that  parish,  when,  in  1668,  being  seventy  years  of 
age,  he  received   and   accepted  a  call  (against   the 
universal  regret  of  his  people)  to  the  First  Church  of 
Boston,  then  the  largest  in  the  colonies.     He  labored 
here  for  three  years  with  full  acceptance,  when  he 
was  suddenly  stricken  down  with  apoplexy,  in  his 
seventy-third  year.     His  tomb  can  now  be  seen  in 
Kings  Chapel,  Boston.     His  death  was  universally 
deplored.     Writers  on  that  period  agree  that  the  man 
above  all  others  who  has  stamped  the  impress  of  his 
genius  most  indelibly  upon  the  institutions  of  New 
England  is  the  hero  of  this  sketch.     The  descendants 
of  the  family,  with  others  who  soon  after  came  from 
the   parent-branch    in    England,   became   numerous 
and  scattered  through  most  of  the  States,  and  have 
maintained  the  reputation  of  the  Pilgrim  ancestor. 

A  continuous  line  of  ministers  have  succeeded, 
numbers  in  colleges,  institutions  of  learning,  the 
army,  navy,  at  the  bar,  and  as  legislators  in  State  and 
national  government.  They  heartily  sustained  the 
colonial  cause  in  the  Revolution  by  pen  and  sword ; 
were  in  the  army  as  officers  and  privates.  Two  of  the 
name  were  in  Congress  in  each  of  the  administrations 
of  Washington,  Adams,  and  Jefierson. 


BEIDCJEWATER. 


691 


A  grandson  of  the  Puritan,  the  Eev.  James  Daven- 
port, stationed  at  Southhold,  L.  I.,  was  a  preacher  of 
singular  eloquence  and  power.  His  renown  attracted 
hither  the  celebrated  Whitefield  in  1740,  then  just  ar- 
rived- from  England,  who  wrote  home,  "  I  am  com- 
forted by  meeting  my  dear  Brother  Davenport,  by 
whose  hands  the  Lord  has  done  such  great  things." 
They  matured  and  organized  a  missionary  tour ;  to- 
gether they  held  meetings  in  the  leading  towns  of 
New  England,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
etc.  At  Princeton  they  met  the  Tennents,  who  trav- 
eled with  them.  Sometimes  they  would  journey  sep- 
arately, then  meet  on  great  occasions.  "  During  this 
time  Davenport  was  preaching  to  a  congregation  of 
three  thousand  in  Mr.  Cross'  church  in  Basking 
Ridge,  this  county.  Whitefield  met  him  there  and 
aided  in  the  work  with  great  success."  After  this 
tour  closed  Davenport  preached  in  Connecticut,  and 
finally  was  stationed  in  Hopewell,  on  the  border  of 
Somerset  County,  where  he  died  in  1753.  Another  of 
the  family,  Eev.  John  Davenport,  was  born  in  Free- 
hold; graduated  in  Princeton;  stationed  at  the  former 
place,  and  at  Deerfield,  N.  J.  The  celebrated  John 
I.  Davenport,  chief  supervisor  of  elections,  now  of 
New  York,  by  his  fearless  fidelity  to  prevent  fraud 
upon  an  honest  and  free  ballot,  causing  enemies  and 
committees  of  Congress  to  own  him  right  in  law, 
justice,  and  honesty,  most  fully  exemplified  the  spirit 
of  the  great  Puritan,  of  whom  he  is  a  direct  lineal 
descendant. 

The  progenitor  of  the  family  in  Somerset  County 
was  John  Davenport,  of  the  same  lineal  ancestry  as 
that  of  the  New  England  Puritan,  but  arrived  at  a 
later  date.  He  was  born  in  Bury,  near  Manchester, 
England,  in  1777;  emigrated  to  this  country  near  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  Landing  in  Connecticut, 
the  home  of  so  many  of  the  name,  he  first  settled  in 
Danbury.  After  a  brief  period  he  aspired  to  seek  a 
more  favorable  business  locality.  Being  quite  young, 
ambitious,  and  energetic,  he  quickly  perceived  the 
superior  advantages  that  New  Jersey  presented  in  her 
milder  climate  and  prolific  soil,  and  more  especially 
by  her  geographical  position  between  the  two  great 
cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  He  concluded 
to  visit  there,  and,  pushing  for  the  centre  of  the  State, 
heard  of  Pluckamin,  then  a  thriving  village,  giving 
promise  of  being  the  most  important  manufacturing 
town  in  the  county.  After  a  visit  of  inspection  he 
determined  to  locate  there.  Accordingly,  he  settled 
in  Pluckamin  in  1800  and  engaged  in  general  mer- 
chandising. After  three  years,  observing  Somerville 
showing  signs  of  more  rapid  growth  {the  county-seat 
having  recently  been  transferred  there  from  Mill- 
stone), he  concluded  to  invest  there,  with  a  view  of 
permanent  removal.  He  purchased  a  farm  facing  on 
the  Main  Street,  running  north  a  mile,  including 
within  it  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  "  Lottery 
Field"  (an  account  of  which  appears  in  another  part 
of  this  work).    The  next  year  he  built  and  occupied 


the  house  now  the  residence  of  Messrs.  John  and 
James  Bergen.  While  still  continuing  his  business 
in  Pluckamin,  he  formed  a  partnership  branch  of 
hatting  in  Somerville  with  Mr.  George  Vannest. 
After  a  few  years'  experience  he  found  difficulties  in 
managing  two  enterprises  thus  separated:  hence  he 
closed  up  with  Mr.  Vannest,  negotiated  for  the  sale 
of  his  Somerville  farm,  moved  back  to  Pluckamin, 
and  permanently  concentered  his  entire  business 
there.  Then,  being  in  prime,  vigorous  manhood, 
with  a  singular  wealth  of  resources,  he  harnessed  all 
these  energies  to  untiring  service  in  his  various  un- 
dertakings. 

He  purchased  a  fine  farm  adjoining  the  village, 
improved  and  cultivated  it.  The  tannery-  and  cur- 
rying-works  on  the  place  he  repaired  and  enlarged. 
Built  a  flouring-  and  grist-mill ;  also  a  distillery  and 
cider-mill.  Erected  the  most  extensive  hatting-works 
that  have  ever  been  in  the  county,  with  improved 
machinery  and  buildings  adjusted  to  each  depart- 
ment. In  addition,  he  embarked  in  a  new  and  sepa- 
rate trade, — that  of"  manufacturing  sumac  for  the 
morocco-factories  of  Philadelphia, — which  grew  into 
large  proportions,  proving  very  profitable. 

All  these  various  branches  of  business  were  in  full 
operation  at  the  same  time,  in  which  large  numbers 
of  hands  were  constantly  employed.  The  prosecu- 
tion of  these  numerous  enterprises  made  Pluckamin 
a  place  of  considerable  importance  at  that  day. 

Mr.  Davenport's  intense,  untiring  application  to 
these  various  business  projects,  with  the  physical 
labor  and  anxious  solicitude,  caused  a  too  heavy  strain 
for  his  naturally  strong  constitution  to  longer  endure, 
and,  while  apparently  in  the  fiill  vigor  of  life,  he  was 
suddenly  stricken  down  with  apoplexy.  He  died  at 
Pluckamin,  Sept.  18, 1830,  in  his  fifty-second  year.  In 
person  Mr.  Davenport  was  of  average  statue,  portly,  of 
handsome  presence,  possessing  a  well-developed  and 
evenly-balanced  intellect,  the  reasoning,  perceptive, 
and  moral  faculties  predominating,  a  rare  tempera- 
ment of  vital  energy,  that  could  rouse  every  faculty 
to  duty  with  obedience  to  his  control.  It  was  this 
trait  that  equipped  him  with  that  executive  power 
for  which  he  was  so  distinguished.  With  a  cheerful, 
magnetic  disposition,  he  took  the  greatest  pleasure  in 
making  others  happy  ;  was  generous  and  hospitable, 
but  intolerant  to  the  idle  and  vicious.  In  his  inter- 
course was  free,  direct,  and  outspoken,  but  proud- 
spirited, and  the  very  soul  of  truth  and  honor.  He 
utterly  loathed  all  sycophants  and  hypocrites.  He 
was  strictly  moral,  and  religious  without  pharisaism, 
and  temperate  almost  to  abstemiousness,  which  for 
those  days  of  general  inebriation  was  remarkable. 

He  supported  Adams  for  the  Presidency,  though 
not  an  active  politician,  but  despised  the  acts  of  dem- 
agogues. In  the  words  of  a  leading  citizen,  uttered 
many  years  since,  in  speaking  of  Mr.  Davenport, 
whom  he  had  long  known,  "  He  was  beloved  and 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  those  of  the  intelli- 


692 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


gent,  moral,  and  honorable  of  our  citizens,  who  knew 
him  the  most  intimately." 

MEMOEIA  IN  iETEENA. 

The  likeness  of  James  S.  Davenport,  at  the  head  of 
this  sketch,  has  been  selected  by  the  family,  as  in 
features  and  general  physical  appearance  he  more 
closely  resembles  the  father. 

Below  we  give  the  descendants  of  John  Davenport. 
As  they  are  nearly  all  living  and  mostly  reside  in  or 
not  far  removed  from  Somerset  County,  we  deem  it 
most  appropriate  to  do  but  little  more  than  give  their 
names  and  connections. 

John  Davenport  was  married  twice, — first  to  Mar- 
garet Traphagen,  ia  1804 ;  she  died  1811,  leaving  two 
children,  Ralph  and  Sarah  Ann,  the  latter  died  in 
1829,  no  descendants  living.  Ralph,  born  1805,  mar- 
ried Phoebe  A.  Voorhies,  1827 ;  she  died  soon  after, 
leaving  no  children.  He  was  married  again  in  1838 
to  Sarah  Drake,  by  whom  he  had  two  children, 
Ralph  and  Mary.  The  former  married  Ellen  Vannest, 
the  latter  William  Jeroloman,  all  living  and  have 
children.  Ralph,  the  father,  for  about  twenty  years 
resided  in  New  York ;  the  balance  of  his  life  has  been 
spent  in  Pluckamin,  where  he  still  resides ;  is  hale 
and  hearty  in  his  seventy-sixth  year ;  is  a  farmer. 

John  Davenport  was  married  again  in  1813  to  Mary 
Boylan,  daughter  of  John  Boylan,  of  Pluckamin,  a 
most  estimable  woman,  who  died  in  1848,  leaving  six 
children ;  all  but  one  are  now  living,  as  follows,  the 
names  given  in  order  of  birth,  beginning  with  the 
eldest : 

Margaret,  born  1814;  married  Geo.  Vannest,  1839; 
he  died  1864,  leaving  seven  children,  all  living  and 
residing  in  Somerset  County.  The  widow  is  still  liv- 
ing on  the  homestead,  two  miles  southwest  of  Pluck- 
amin. 

John  married  Hester  Voorhies,  1838 ;  he  died  1848, 
leaving  five  children,  all  living  but  one,  James,  a 
brave  and  noble  youth.  He  enlisted  when  scarcely 
eighteen  years  of  age,  served  his  country  with  heroic 
bravery,  was  captured  while  fighting  for  his  country, 
after  nearly  all  his  company  had  fallen,  was  incarcer- 
ated in  Andersonville  prison,  and  died  in  delirium 
through  barbarous  treatment  while  a  prisoner. 

Thomas  married  Frances  Smith,  1851 ;  had  six 
children,  all  living  but  one,  Margaret,  an  estimable 
young  lady,  who  died  1880.  Reside  in  Jersey  City, 
but  usually  spend  their  summers  in  Somerville. 

Eleanor  married  Wm.  L.  Jones,  1836  ;  resides  in 
Plainfield;  had  two  children,  one  died  in  infancy, 
the  other,  Eliza,  married  Lieut.-Col.  Janeway,  of  the 
First  New  Jersey  Cavalry,  who  bravely  fell  leading 
the  charge  in  the  battle  of  Jettersville,  Va.,  the  last 
battle  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  The  widow  has 
since  married  Horace  Bannard. 

James  S.  married  Maria  Remsen,  1845 ;  resides  at 
Raritan ;  have  three  children,  one  son  and  two  daugh- 
ters, all  married. 


Samuel  W.,  horn  1822,  married  to  Amelia  Besteder, 
1846 ;  residence  in  Somerville,  N.  J. ;  have  seven 
children,  three  sons  and  four  daughters. 

Of  the  names  above,  Thomas,  James  S.,  and  Sam- 
uel W.  compose  the  firm  of  Davenport  Bros.,  -New  -^ 
York,  importers  and  dealers  in  china,  Liverpool, 
and  glassware.  It  was  established  in  1843,  Samuel 
W.  entering  it  ten  years  later.  It  is  now  in  its  thirty- 
seventh  year.  During  that  long  period,  in  which 
such  vast  changes  have  occurred  in  the  country  and 
the  world, — times  of  prosperity  and  of  depression  and 
disaster, — the  firm,  although  experiencing  seasons  of 
trials  and  losses,  has  never  been  compelled  to  suc- 
cumb to  the  vicissitudes  of  business. 

They  ever  took  a  lively  interest  in  domestic  manu- 
factures, believing  the  time  would  soon  arrive  when 
we  could  produce  as  good  ware  as  we  were  importing : 
the  war  hastened  the  event.  A  few  years  since  they 
embarked  in  manufacturing  at  the  City  Pottery,  Tren- 
ton; now  the  largest  part  of  their  goods  are  made 
there. 

The  family  lay  no  pretentious  claim  to  position, 
titles,  wealth,  or  honors :  they  simply  claim  the  right 
of  belonging  to  the  great  middle  class;  of  high  moral- 
ity, strict  integrity,  truthfulness,  and  honesty  in  the 
discharge  of  every  just  due  or  other  obligation,  sup- 
porters of  the  church  and  of  right  everywhere,  in  pro- 
portion to  ability,  ever  observing  to  be  just  before  being 
liberal.  They  own  to  a  feeling  of  pride  in  one  matter, — • 
viz.,  that  of  the  almost  universal  fidelity  and  support 
rendered  by  those  of  the  name  to  the  nation  in  the  hour 
of  its  direst  struggle  with  treason  and  rebellion  for  its 
right  to  live. 


JOHN   E.   EMERY. 


John  R.  Emery,  youngest  child  of  Peter  R.  and 
Anna  (Rockafellow)  Emery,  was  born  at  Dreahook, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  the  family  resided,  July 
22,  1827,  and  died  at  Bloomington,  N.  J.,  June  17, 
1880. 

His  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm,  where  he  be- 
came inured  to  labor  and  learned  that  economy  and 
industry  are  necessary  elements  of  success.  Upon 
reaching  manhood  he  went  into  mercantile  business 
at  White  House,  subsequently  removed  to  Somerville, 
and  was  employed  on  the  Central  Railroad.  Here 
he  was  given  charge  of  a  wood-train,  and  finally  be- 
came the  financial  agent  of  the  company,  collecting 
rents,  buying  and  selling  real  estate,  etc.  This  posi- 
tion he  filled  with  such  honor  to  himself  and  credit 
to  the  company  as  to  obtain  their  fiill  confidence  in 
his  financial  and  business  ability.  In  1867  he  became 
the  partner  of  D.  K.  Craig  in  the  coal  and  lumber 
business,  the  firm  being  D.  K.  Craig  &  Co.  This  firm 
continued  a  successful  business  until  1872,  when  the 
partnership  was  dissolved.  Mr.  Emery  remained  in 
the  railroad  company's  employ  until  the  formation  of 
the  Lehigh  and  Wilkesbarre  Coal  Company,  when  he 


JI®MSf   MoISMIEIRir, 


BRIDGEWATER. 


693 


became  its  line  agent,  and  subsequently  opened  an 
office  opposite  the  depot  in  Somerville,  which,  busi- 
ness he  continued  until  his  death. 

By  his  sterling  integrity  as  a  business  man  he  rose 
gradually  to  a  position  of  honor  and  profit, — first  in 
the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  and  then  in  the 
Lehigh   and  Wilksharre  Coal  Company.     The  ex- 
cellency of  his  character,   however,    centred  in  his 
religious  principles,  which  were  fixed  and  controlling. 
In  his  whole  deportment  he  moved  in  consistency 
with  his  profession.      He  united  with  the  Second 
Reformed   Church  of  Somerville  at  the  September 
communion  in  1864,  and,  as  a  proof  of  his  zeal  and  de- 
cision in  religion,  he  led  in  prayer  at  the  next  devo- 
tional meeting,  and  conducted  the  services  at  the  suc- 
ceeding assemblage  of  the  brethren, — services  which 
he  preserved  while  he  retained  his  connection  with 
the  congregation.     Such  was  the  confidence  reposed 
in  him  by  the  Consistory  that  he  was  elected  deacon 
in  1866  and  elder  in  1869, — stations  which  he  filled 
with  executive  ability.     In  1870  he  removed  to  Leba- 
non, where  he  connected  himself  with  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  was  leader  in  liberality  and  exertion  to 
repair  the  house  of  worship  and  erect  a  new  parson- 
age.    He  will  be  remembered  for  his  integrity  and 
uprightness  as  a  citizen,  for  his  domestic  virtues  as  a 
father  and  husband,  and  for  his  eminent  usefulness 
as  a  church-member. 

Mr.  Emery  was  among  the  foremost  in  purchasing, 
laying  out,  and  beautifying  the  new  cemetery  grounds 
in  Somerville,  and,  unassisted,  relieved  the  property 
from  a  heavy  debt  resting  upon  it,  thereby  placing 
the  cemetery  association  in  a  position  to  own  the 
property  unencumbered. 

Upon  his  death  the  following  resolutions  were 
passed  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  First  National 

Bank  of  Somerville  : 

"FiEST  National  Bank, 

"  SOMERVILIE,  N.  J.,  June  22, 1880. 
"  Whfreas,  In  the  Providence  of  Giod  our  late  associate  in  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Tirst  National  Bank,  John  K.  Emery,  has  been  remoTed 
by  death,  therefore, 

"  Beeolved,  That  we  remember  with  great  satisfaction  his  prompt  and 
energetic  business  talent,  his  sterling  integrity,  his  genial  disposition, 
and  his  general  kindness  of  heart  and  manner  towards  all  with  whom 
he  was  associated.*' 

For  his  first  wife  he  married  Ann  W.  Swackhamef, 
of  Readington,  who  died  the  age  of  twenty-eight  in 
1856,  leaving  one  daughter  living,— Anna  M.,— who 
is  the  wife  of  Mr.  C.  Stewart  Hoffinan,  of  Somerville. 
His  second  wife  was  Matilda  Porter,  who  died  leaving 
two  sons,— William  H.,  a  telegraph-operator,  and 
Benjamin  S.,  in  business  at  "White  Haven.  His  third 
wife  was  Anna  Gilbaugh,  who  died  leaving  four  chil- 
dren,—John  C,  Jennie  B.,  Lizzie  B.,  and  Albert  L. 
Mr.  Emery  married  for  his  fourth  wife,  in  February, 
1878,  Mrs.  Mary  Louisa  Cooper,  of  Newark,  N.  J., 
■who  survives  him. 


AARON  V.   GARUETSON. 

Aaron  V.  Garretson  was  a  grandson  of  Garret  R. 

Garretson,  a  major  in  the  Revolutionary  war.    Maj. 

Garretson's  place  of  residence  was  about  two  miles 

east  of  Millstone,  N.  J.,  where  he  engaged  in  agri- 


cultural pursuits.  He  was  commonly  called  "  Major ;" 
was  a  gentleman  of  the  olden  time,  taking  no  active 
part  in  political  affairs.  He  was  no  less  prominently 
identified  with  all  movements  tending  to  develop  the 
resources  of  his  native  county,  and  to  encourage  its 
material  prosperity.  He  was  a  .man  of  sound  judg- 
ment, of  strict  integrity,  and  was  one  whose  counsel 
and  assistance  were  sought  by  all  classes  of  people. 
He  was  frequently  selected  as  executor  and  adminis- 
trator in  the  settlement  of  estates,  and  one  in  whom 
the  people  had  confidence.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of  Millstone,  and 
for  thirty  years  was  precentor  of  that  body.  He  was 
also  ofBlcially  connected  with  the  church  as  deacon  and 
elder. 

Maj.  Garretson  was  three  times  married.  His  first 
wife  was  the  "Widow  Terhune,  who  bore  him  one  son 
and  two  daughters,— viz.,  Court,  Ann,  and  Catharine. 
Ann  married,  for  her  first  husband,  Abraham  Voor- 
hees  and  for  her  second  husband  John  Montfort. 
Catharine  became  the  wife  of  Garret  Schenck,  of  Six- 
Mile  Run.  Ma,].  Garretson's  second  wife  was  the 
"Widow  Hageman,  by  whom  he  had  Garret,  Richard, 
and  John  Garretson,  the  latter  becoming  a  minister. 
His  third  wife  was  the  widow  (Mary  Perrine)  of 
Judge  Hardenburgh,  at  one  time  sheriff  of  Somerset 


694 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


County.  Of  this  union  was  born  Daniel  Perrine 
Garretson.  Court  Garretson,  father  of  our  subject, 
was  born  near  Millstone  on  Oct.  19,  1781.  He  was  a 
shoemaker  by  trade,  although  he  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  a  farmer  for  the  greater  portion  of  his  life. 
He  occupied  various  farms  in  the  county,  but  finally 
purchased  one  of  sixty  acres  where  Aaron  C.  Martin 
now  resides,  near  Somerville.  He  was  in  no  respect 
a  public  man,  although  an  earnest  supporter  of  the 
old  Whig  party.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Second 
Reformed  Church  of  Somerville,  with  which  he  was 
officially  connected  as  deacon.  His  wife  was  Mar- 
garet Cowenhoven,  of  Long  Island,  who  was  born 
May  24,  1784.  The  children  of  this  marriage  were 
John  C,  Garret  E.,  Aaron  Van  Pelt,  Eichard,  and 
Nicholas  Cowenhoven  Garretson,  all  of  whom  are 
living  save  Aaron  Van  Pelt,  who  died  Dec.  9,  1880, 
aged  sixty-nine  years.  John  C.  is  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  Somerset  County,  and  resides  in  Somerville. 
Garret  E.  resides  in  Flushing,  L.  I.,  Eichard  in 
Arkansas,  and  Nicholas  in  New  York  City. 

Court  Garretson  died  Jan.  18, 1858,  and  his  wife  Aug. 
1,  1867.  Aaron  V.  Garretson  was  born  near  Mill- 
stone, N.  J.,  Sept.  18,  1811.  During  his  minority  he 
remained  on  the  home  farm,  and  received  the  educa- 
tional opportunities  afforded  by  the  common  schools  of 
his  day.  For  several  years  after  reaching  his  majority 
he  was  engaged  in  carrying  on  his  father's  farm.  In 
1836  he  married  Catharine  M.,  daughter  of  Rynier 
and  Anna  (Brokaw)  Van  Nest.  She  was  born  May 
24,  1817.  In  1844  he  purchased,  for  the  sum  of  three 
thousand  three  hundred  dollars,  a  farm  in  the  town- 
ship of  Bridgewater,  comprising  at  that  time  one 
hundred  acres,  to  which  he  afterwards  added  twenty 
acres.  The  dwelling-house  occupied  by  Mr.  Garret- 
son is  still  standing,  and  is  one  of  the  old  landmarks 
of  the  vicinity,  and  was  built  eighty  years  ago  by 
Thomas  Cooper. 

Mr.  Garretson's  life  was  devoted  wholly  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  and  while  an  adherent  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  he  was  no  seeker  after  place,  although  he 
has  held  minor  offices.  His  first  vote  was  cast  for 
his  personal  friend.  Governor  Vroom.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Second  Eeformed  Church  of  Somer- 
ville, where  he  has  filled  the  office  of  deacon. 

Mr.  Garretson  was  known  in  the  community  as  a 
man  of  strong  mind,  self-reliant,  and  possessed  of 
sterling  principles.  His  children  have  been  Rynier 
Van  Nest  (who  resides  in  Bridgewater  township). 
Garret  (died  in  infancy),  John  C.  (resides  in  Franklin 
township),  Henry  Van  Nest  (living  at  the  old  home- 
stead), William  Van  Nest  1st  and  William  Van  Nest 
2d  (both  died  in  infancy  in  1845),  Margaret  C,  Abra- 
ham Van  Nest,  Anna  Van  Nest,  and  George,  all  of 
whom  reside  at  home. 


SEYMOUR  C.  TROUTMAN,  M.D. 

His  father.  Sir  John  J.  Troutman,  was  born  on 
Staten  Island  in  1766.  For  many  years  prior  to 
reaching  his  majority  he  was  midshipman  in  the 
English  navy,  and  was  under  Admiral  Rodney  in  a 
number  of  engagements  with  the  French  and  Spanish 
fleets.  About  the  year  1788  he  engaged  in  trade  be- 
tween New  York  and  Jamaica,  having  in  charge 
several  vessels,  which  he  carried  on  for  many  years 
profitably.  In  1801  he  quit  trade,  married  Miss 
Susannah,  daughter  of  Jacob  Schnell,  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  purchased  a  countiy-seat  on  Long  Island,  where 
the  Eighteenth  Ward  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  now  is. 
Here  he  became  quite  an  extensive  agriculturist,  and 
owned  slaves  who  worked  his  farm.  The  remainder 
of  his  life  was  spent  on  this  spot,  where  he  died  in 
1824. 

Sir  John  J.  Troutman  was  a  man  high  in  rank  in 
the  order  of  Knights  Templar,  and  is  said  to  have 
spent  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  support  of  that  and 
similar  organizations.  He  became  a  member  in  1798, 
and  was  subsequently  Past  Master  of  the  Royal  Lodge 
of  Knights  Templar,  No.  283,  A.  Y.  M.,  of  Kingston, 
Jamaica.  He  received  the  order  of  the  Red  Cross 
and  of  the  Holy  Royal  order,  .and  was  solemnly 
initiated  by  the  Kingston  Lodge  into  the  sublime 
mysteries  of  the  invincible  and  magnanimous  orders 
of  Knights  of  Rhodes  and  Malta. 

Dr.  Troutman  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  Feb.  3, 
1823.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he  was  sent  to  Quaker 
Hill,  where  he  became  a  pupil  under  Cyrenus  Jones, 
a  teacher  of  note.  There  he  remained  for  two  years, 
and  was  then  sent  to  New  Canaan,  Conn.,  where  he 
completed  his  mathematical  studies,  having  in  the 
mean  time  given  considerable  attention  to  the  study 
of  the  classics.  In  1838  he  engaged  in  a  wholesale 
and  retail  drug-house  in  New  York  as  clerk,  where 
he  became  fully  schooled  in  the  various  kinds  of 
medicine  and  drugs,  and  where  he  first  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  study  of  medicine.  In  1843,  Dr.  Trout- 
man married  Ann  F.,  a  daughter  of  Eichard  and 
Jane  (Todd)  Ten  Eyck,  of  Millstone,  N.  J.,  and  a. 
granddaughter  of  Frederick  and  Anna  (Field)  Ten 
Eyck,  who  were  among  the  first  settlers  of  that  place. 
Mrs.  Troutman  is  a  descendant  from  the  old  Dutch 
stock,  first  settlers  of  New  York,  and  a  lady  of  refine- 
ment and  high  moral  and  Christian  worth.  Their 
only  child  is  Sarah  Jane,  wife  of  Louis  Kaczorowski, 
a  resident  of  Somerville. 

In  1845,  Dr.  Troutman  established  the  drug  busi- 
ness for  himself  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  which  he  carried 
on  until  1851,  when  he  began  the  study  of  medicine 
and  surgery  with  Dr.  John  A.  Lidell,  assistant  sur- 
geon in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
New  York,  and  was  graduated  at  that  institution  in 
1854,  having,  during  his  time  as  a  student,  practiced 
medicine  and  surgery  in  the  college  for  some  two 
years.  The  same  year  of  his  graduation  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  practice  in  New  York  City,  where. 


(27^-^f^<^'7'^i^^^'i-^^2yi 


/c 


BRIDGEWATER. 


695 


his  ability  and  skill  in  the  profession  were  soon 
recognized,  and  gave  him  a  place  among  leading 
physicians.  After  a  continuous  yet  profitable  prac- 
tice for  three  years,  he  removed  from  the  city,  pur- 
chased real  estate,  and  settled  in  Somerville,  N.  J,, 
where  he  has  since  resided,  giving  little  attention  to 
the  practice  of  medicine. 

Dr.  Troutman's  naturally  sociable  and  genial  dis- 
position causes  him  to  enjoy  life,  and  among  his  most 
pleasant  recreations  is  that  of  yachting,  in  which  he 
spends  some  time  during  the  hot  summer  months. 
Since  he  became  a  resident  of  Somerville  he  has  been 
interested  in  its  prosperity,  and  a  contributor  to  its 
various  local  enterprises,  to  church  interests,  and 
other  worthy  objects.  He  has  not  been  a  seeker  after 
political  preferment,  although  ahvays  interested  and 
well  read  in  questions  in  any  way  affecting  local  and 
national  legislation. 


JOHN  T.  VAN  DERVEER. 

His  grandfather  was  John  Van  Derveer,  who  was 
born  on  Oct.  3,  1752.  In  the  year  1800  he  purchased 
a  tract  of  land  comprising  five  or  six  hundred  acres 
on  the  North  Branch  of  the  Raritan  River,  and  on  it 
passed  his  life  as  a  farmer.  About  the  time  men- 
tioned he  built  a  dwelling-house  where  Mrs.  John  T. 
Van  Derveer  now  resides,  which  was  succeeded  a 
score  of  years  ago  by  the  present  residence,  built  by 
his  son,  John  T.  Mr.  Van  Derveer  was  among  those 
old  substantial  citizens  who  contributed  so  much 
to  the  settlement  and  development  of  the  country, 
and  he  passed  a  quiet,  industrious,  and  honorable 
life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Prot- 
estant Dutch  Church  of  North  Branch.  His  wife 
was  Jane  Van  Pelt,  who  was  born  on  April  13,  1754. 
The  children  of  the  marriage  were  John,  Peter, 
Tunis,  and  Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  Abraham 
Quick.  Mr.  Van  Derveer  died  about  1840,  aged 
eighty-nine  years. 

Tunis,  the  son  of  John  Van  Derveer,  was  born  on 
the  old  Van  Derveer  farm,  and  upon  attaining  man- 
hood married  Sarah  Van  Arsdale.  His  children 
were  John  T.,  Philip,  James,  and  Jane,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Samuel  Gaston.  James  was  a  popular 
physician  for  many  years  at  North  Branch.  Tunis 
Van  Derveer  was  cut  down  early  in  years,  and  in  the 
midst  of  his  usefulness,  passing  away  about  1822. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir,  John  T.,  son  of  Tunis 
Van  Derveer,  was  born  on  Dec.  1,  1806,  on  the  pa- 
ternal farm.  His  earlier  years  were  passed  at  work 
upon  the  farm,  and  in  attendance  upon  the  district 
schools  of  his  day.  On  Nov.  1,  1833,  he  married 
Margaret  C,  daughter  of  Richard  Field.  She  was 
born  Feb.  8,  1815.  The  life  of  Mr.  Van  Derveer  was 
passed  as  a  farmer,  and  though  a  member  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  while  he  took  great  interest  in 
public  afiairs,  he  confined  himself  strictly  to  his 
bucolic  pursuits.    He  was  actively  identified  with  the 


Reformed  Church  of  North  Branch,  and  was  officially 
connected  with  that  body  both  as  deacon  and  elder, 
filling  the  latter  office  at  the  time  of  his  demise,  in 
1867.    He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  pure  morality. 


and  bore  with  him  to  the  grave  the  reputation  of  an 
upright  and  honorable  citizen.  His  children  were 
Tunis,  who  resides  at  North  Branch ;  Richard  H.,  who 
is  working  the  home  farm ;  James  D^,  a  successful 
physician  at  Liberty  Corner ;  Samuel  G.,  William  F., 
and  John  Q.,  all  deceased ;  Sarah  E.,  and  Mary  J., 
wife  of  William  J.  Voorhees. 

Rev.  John  Q.,  son  of  John  T.  Van  Derveer,  was  born 
March  13,  1854,  and  was  raised  on  his  father's  farm. 
He  was  graduated  at  Rutgers  College,  N.  J.,  in  the 
class  of  1877,  and  soon  after  entered  upon  theological 
studies  in  the  seminary  at  New  Brunswick.  Owing 
to  failing  health,  he  was  compelled  to  break  away 
irom  his  work  at  that  institution  and  to  go  South 
residing  in  Texas  for  nearly  three  years.  During  this 
period  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Austin,  and  filled  the  pulpit  of  various  churches  on 
different  occasions.  But  his  usefulness  was  soon  to 
be  terminated,  and  he  called  up  higher.  On  June 
24,  1880,  while  returning  North  with  his  family,  he 
died  of  pulmonary  disease,  and  was  buried  at  sea 
with  appropriate  services.  He  left  a  wife,  n4e  Miss 
Julia  Robinson,  of  Corning,  N.  Y.,  and  a  little 
daughter,  Ada  L. 

Thus  early  was  cut  off  a  young  and  promising  life, 
and  the  hearts  of  friends  were  made  desolate  forever. 


696 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


DAVID   DUNN. 

David  Dunn  was  born  at  New  Market,  N.  J.,  in 
1797,  and  married  Prudence  Runyon,  of  that  place. 
About  the  year  1845  he  settled  in  Somerset  County, 
residing  first  at  Millington.     He  then  spent  some 


DAVID   DUNN. 

time  in  New  York  City,  and  in  October,  1856,  located 
on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  the  widow  of  his  only 
son,  John  R.  Dunn.  He  purchased  this  property  of 
Lewis  Anderson,  and  it  was  originally  included  in  a 
tract  of  land  comprising  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  belongisig  to  Daniel  D.  Dunster,  and  which  was 
conveyed  in  1730  to  Gisbert  Lane,  who  erected  the 
present  Dunn  residence  in  1737.  In  1765,  Mr.  Lane 
left  it,  by  will,  to  his  two  sons,  Aric  and  William,  be- 
tween whom  it  was  equally  divided.  '  He  was  inter- 
ested in  all  worthy  local  enterprises,  and  sought  to 
promote  church  and  kindred  interests.  He  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Somerville,  and  deacon  of  the  church  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  July  28,  1876,  aged  seventy-nine  years  and 
five  months.  His  life  was  largely  spent  as  a  farmer, 
although  he  was  in  trade  for  some  time  at  New 
Brunswick  and  Brooklyn,  and  ran  the  mill  at  Mill- 
ington. In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  upon  the 
organization  of  the  Republican  party  became  a  sup- 
porter of  its  principles. 

John  R.  Dunn,  only  child  of  David  Dunn  who 
reached  manhood,  was  born  at  New  Market,  N.  J., 
Sept.  3,  1828.  He  married,  January,  1850,  Jane  T., 
daughter  of  Cornelius  M.  and  Catharine  (Deats)  Wil- 
liamson, and  soon  after  that  event  took  up  his  residence 
on  the  old  Williamson  farm,  below  Somerville.  Here 
he  lived  for  five  years,  and  then  located  with  his  father 


on  the  Dunn  farm,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
his  decease,  May  3,  1878.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Somerville,  and  a  man  of  cor- 
rect habits  and  strict  integrity  in  all  the  relations  of 
life.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  never 
sought  political  preferment.  The  children  are  Al- 
bert; Emma  R.,  wife  of  Charles  C.  Reimer,  of  Mill- 
town  ;  Cornelia  W.,  wife  of  William  T.  H.  Vosseller, 
of  Somerville ;  Mathew  H.,  who  lives  in  Pennsylvania ; 
Walter  and  David,  Jr.,  at  home ;  Ellen  Frances  and 
Jennie  S.,  deceased. 


ABEAM  J.  POWELSON. 
The  Powelson  family  came  very  early  to  this  coun- 
try. Capt.  Jacob  Powelson  is  recorded  as  having 
arrived  from  Holland  in  the  ship  "Fredenberg"  on 
Jan.  24,  1640.  Nicholas  Powelson  came  from  Dit- 
marsen  in  the  ship  "Gilded  Otter"  in  1657,  and  Gom- 
men  Paulison  from  Antwerp  in  the  ship  "  St.  John 
the  Baptist"  in  1661.  From  these  the  family  in 
America  are  supposed  to  have  descended. 

Johannes  Powelson,  born  April,  1719,  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land  in  Bedminster  township,  Somer- 
set Co.,  on  May  1,  1767,  and  about  that  time  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  that  section.  A  portion  of  the 
house  which  he  erected  in  1768  is  still  standing,  and, 
with  an  addition  built  in  1786,  constitutes  the  resi- 
dence of  his  great-grandson  J.  V.  D.  Powelson.  The 
children  of  Johannes  Powelson  were  John,  born  Oct. 
24,  1746 ;  Cornelius,  born  May  29,  1748  ;'  Jeane,  born 
Jan.  17,  1750 ;  Catharine,  wife  of  Peter  Doughty,  born 
Sept.  11,  1751 ;  Anne,  wife  of  William  Chevris,  born 
May  3, 1753;.  Abraham,  born  Feb.  9,  1755;  Paul,  born 
Dec.  5,  1756;  Hendrick,  born  Oct.  7,  1758;  Sarah, 
wife  of  Christopher  Frazer,  born  Aug.  7,  1760 ;  and 
Manah,  born  June  29,  1762.  Johannes  Powelson 
died  in  July,  1788. 

Abraham  Powelson  was  born  on  the  date  mentioned 
above,  and  came  to  Bedminster  township  at  the  age 
of  twelve.  He  married  Lamatjee  Messier  and  had 
eleven  children  (including  two  pair  of  twins),  most 
of  whom  lived  and  died  in  Bedminster  township. 
Some  of  these  children  were  John  A.,  Abraham, 
Cornelius,  Peter,  Maria,  who  married  Martin  Beek- 
man ;  Sarah,  wife  of  Philip  Clarkson ;  Lanah,  wife  of 
Jacob  Van  Dorn;  and  Arian,  who  married  Francis 
Hastings.  Abraham  Powelson  died  in  1807,  and  his 
wife  in  1836. 

John  A.  Powelson  was  born  July  27,  1780.  He 
married  Aletta,  daughter  of  William  Van  Dorn,  of 
Millstone,  on  April  27, 1815,  and  had  children, — Abram 
J.  and  J.  V.  D.  Powelson,  and  Catharine  M.,  who 
married  Jerome  Van  Nest.  He  passed  his  life  as  a 
farmer  on  the  old  homestead  in  Bedminster,  and  died 
in  1854,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Abram  J.  Powelson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  on  the  old  Powelson  place  in  Bedminster  town- 


BRIDGEWATER. 


697 


ship  on  May  23, 1816,  where  he  passed  the  early  years 
of  his  life,  enjoying  a  common-school  education.  On 
Nov.  5,  1840,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Sarah 
Ann,  daughter  of  John  A.  Van  Nest  (she  was  born 
April  14,  1813),  and  on  December  15th  of  the  same 


''T^^-T-^  ,    ^, 


/^Ct^£Z^ir7T_^ 


year  he  removed  to  the  farm  which  he  now  owns  and 
occupies  in  Bridgewater  township,  which  he  pur- 
chased in  1854.  Here  he  has  since  resided  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  is  a  Eepublican  in  pol- 
itics, though  no  seeker  after  office.  He  was  formerly 
a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Bedminster, 
but  upon  the  organization  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Pluckamin  he  became  identified  with  that  body, 
and  has  been  an  elder  of  the  church  for  over  twenty 
years.  He  is  known  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  con- 
scientious and  devoted  to  principle,  and  a  representa- 
tive agriculturist.  His  children  are  Abraham  V.  N., 
a  lawyer  at  Middletown,  N.  Y. ;  Catharine  Adeline, 
wife  of  John  L.  Hageman,  of  South  Branch ;  and 
John  A.,  living  at  home. 


GEORGE    McBRIDE. 


The  McBride  family  is  of  Scotch  origin,  though 
the  branch  of  it  to  which  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
belonged  settled  at  an  early  period  in  Ireland:  His 
paternal  grandfather  was  George  McBride,  whose 
place  of  residence  was  near  the  city  of  Armagh,  Ire- 
land. There  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
in  the  manufacture  of  linen.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
45 


Waugh,  and  the  children  were  Adam,  Robert,  James, 
George,  and  Martha.  He  died  in  1798  in  Killylin, 
Ireland,  aged  about  sixty  years.  His  wife  died  ten 
years  later.  His  son  James  emigrated  to  America 
near  the  close  of  the  last  century  and  located  in  New 


'-^^^.^r^^-^  ^^A^^Pz^>9c<y 


York  City,  where  he  became  a  successful  merchant. 
He  died  about  1855.  Two  of  his  daughters  still  reside 
in  that  city, — viz.,  Ann,  widow  of  Hon.  James  X. 
McClenahan,  and  Eleanor,  widow  of  Judge  Aaron 
Vanderpoel. 

Robert  was  the  second  son  of  George  McBride,  and 
passed  his  life  as  a  farmer  and  bleacher  of  linen  near 
Alistragh,  Ireland.  He  married  Alice  Cardwell,  and 
had  children, — Eliza,  George,  Jemima,  Matilda,  Wil- 
liam C,  John  Robert,  and  Mary  Ann.  He  died  in 
1841,  aged  seventy-  three  years,  and  his  wife  in  1839, 
aged  about  sixty.  Of  his  children,  Eliza  died  un- 
married ;  Jemima  married  Dr.  Davis,  of  Newry,  Ire- 
land, and  has  seven  children,  five  of  whom  are  prom- 
inent physicians  in  Ireland  and  India;  Matilda  is 
unmarried  and  resides  in  Newry ;  Mary  Ann  is  the 
wife  of  Rev.  C.  B.  Smith,  of  New  York  City ;  and 
John  Robert  died  in  Mobile,  Ala.,  in  1839,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two. 

George  McBride  came  to  this  country  in  the  year 
1832,  and  succeeded  his  uncle  James  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  New  York  City,  where  he  was  associated 
with  Samuel  Sloan  in  trade.  He  continued  in  that 
pursuit  until  the  year  1852,  when  he  purchased  the 
Peter  C.  Elmendorf  farm,  near  Somerville,  N.  J., 


^ 


4 


698 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


comprising  two  hundred  and  eighty-sis  acres,  and 
resided  there  until  his  death  in  1878,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-three.  His  wife  was  Annette,  daughter  of 
Charles  Moran,  of  New  York  City,  who  died  in  1858, 
leaving  no  issue. 

William  C.  McBride  was  born  at  Alistragh,  County 
Armagh,  Ireland,  on  Sept.  24,  1810,  and  emigrated  to 
this  country  in  1857.  Previous  to  this  time,  on  March 
27,  1845,  he  married  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of  Charles 
Magee,  of  County  Cavan.  She  was  born  in  1823,  and 
her  brothers  and  sisters  were  James,  William,  Charles, 
Eliza,  and  Margaret.  Eliza  married  William  Doug- 
lass, and  resides  in  Tully,  Ireland ;  Margaret  is  the 
widow  of  Capt.  James  Berry,  and  lives  near  Dublin ; 
James  resides  near  Somerville,  N.  J.  The  remainder 
are  dead. 

After  his  emigration  to  this  country,  William  C. 
McBride  resided  in  Somerville  until  the  demise  of  his 
brother  George.  He  now  lives  in  retirement  upon 
his  brother's  beautiful  estate,  where  he  has  a  pleasant 
and  happy  home.  He  is  a  worthy  and  substantial 
citizen,  and  has  been  actively  identified  with  all 
movements  tending  to  improve  and  benefit  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Second  Reformed  Church  of  Somerville,  and  has  been 
officially  connected  with  that  body  as  elder.  He  is 
the  inventor  of  a  patent  flax-scutching  machine,  for 
which  he  received  a  first  premium  at  the  American 
Institute,  N.  Y.,  in  October,  1870.  His  seven  children, 
who  reside  with  him,  are  Lizzie  Henrietta,  Eobert, 
Charles  Magee,  Alice  M.,  James  and  George,  and 
William.     Mrs.  McBride  is  still  living. 


WILLIAM    HODGE. 


William  Hodge  was  a  son  of  James  Hodge,  who 
resided  at  an  early  day  on  a  small  tract  of  land  in 
Bridgewater  township.  He  came  from  Ireland.  His 
wife's  name  was  Sarah  Eunyon,  and  his  children  were 
Elizabeth,  Eachel,  Ann,  Sarah,  William,  Peter,  James, 
and  Isaac.  Elizabeth  married  John  Van  Nostrand 
Eachel  and  Sarah  married  James  Cain,  and  Ann, 
Thomas  Smith.  Peter  died  in  1851.  James  resides 
at  Bloomington,  Somerset  Co.,  and  Isaac  in  the  West. 
James  Hodge  died  in  1827,  aged  eighty-seven,  and  his 
wife  in  1840,  over  seventy  years  of  age. 

William  Hodge  was  born  on  Feb.  28,  1794.  He 
grew  up  on  his  father's  farm,  attending  the  district 
school  of  his  locality.  Soon  after  1830,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  his  brother  James,  he  purchased  three  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  in  Bridgewater  township,  a  part  of 
this  tract  constituting  his  late  farm  residence,  where 
he  passed  his  days  as  a  farmer.  Mr.  Hodge  married 
on  Sept.  17, 1825,  Mary,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Sarah 
(Castner)  Tunison.  She  was  born  June  23,  1806. 
Her  father  removed  to  Whitehall,  111.,  about  1885, 


near  which  place  he  purchased  a  handsome  farm, 
and  where  he  died  in  1864.  His  son  Henry  now 
occupies  the  place. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hodge  have  been 
Henrietta,  wife  of  John  Kipsey,  of  Bridgewater  town- 
ship ;  James,  who  is  a  builder  in  New  York  City ;  and 
Sarah  E.,  wife  of  William  H.  Callard,  of  Piscataway, 


WILLIAM   HODGE. 

Mr.  Hodge  passed  away  on  June  15,  1878,  in  the 
eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  For  five  years  prior  to 
his  demise  he  was  totally  blind.  He  was  a  Democrat 
in  politics,  though  no  office-seeker;  was  a  liberal  con- 
tributor to  the  various  benevolent  and  philanthropic 
enterprises  of  his  day,  of  good  character,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bound  Brook. 
His  wife  survives  him. 


GEORGE    LANE. 


George  Lane  is  a  descendant  of  the  old  Lane  family 
that  located  very  early  in  Bedminster  township,  where 
it  is  still  represented.  Derrick,  son  of  Matthias,  was 
born  in  that  township  in  1753,  and  emigrating  to 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  founded  an  influential  branch  of  the 
family  at  that  point. 

Cornelius,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  me- 
moir, came  from  Monmouth  County  to  Bedminster 
township  before  the  Eevolutionary  war,  and  took  up 
his  residence  where  Peter  Lane  lives.  There  he  lived, 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  until  his  demise. 
He  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Eevolutionary  war.    His 


HENRY  B.  STAATS. 


The  Staats  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the 
county,  and  its  representatives  were  among  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Albany,  Rensselaer,  and  Columbia  Cos., 
N.  y.,  where  they  occupy  a  prominent  place  at  the 
present  day. 

John  Staats,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  an  early  resident  of  the  township  of 
Hillsborough,  where  Rynier  Staats  lately  resided. 
He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  owned  quite  a 
large  tract  of  land.  His  wife  was  Gertrude  Quick, 
and  his  children  were  Peter,  John,  Abraham,  James, 
Rynier,  Phebe,  and  Maria. 

James  Staats  was  born  on  Aug.  12,  1780,  in  Hills- 
borough township.  On  Dec.  4,  1803,  he  mai-ried 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry  Brokaw,  of  Hills- 
borough, who  was  born  Feb.  19,  1785,  and  in  1810 
he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  Bridgewater  township, 
where  Cornelius  Ammerman  lives,  and  where  he 
passed  his  life  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  at 
Somerville,  and  later  one  of  the  organizing  members 
of  the  church  at  North  Branch,  of  which  he  was  sub- 
sequently a  deacon  and  elder. 

At  his  death,  on  Aug.  20,  1866,  he  divided  his 
farm  between  his  two  sons,  Henry  B.  and  Peter, 
giving  to  each  one  hundred  and  ten  acres.  His  wife 
died  June  11,  1856.  Their  children  were  Gertrude, 
born  Dec.  19,  1804,  married  Peter  Wortman,  Nov. 
7,  1822,  died  Oct.  21,  1834;  Henry  B. ;  John,  born 
May  17,  1810,  died  Sept.  20,  1813  ;  and  Peter,  born 


March  4,  1813,  residing  at  Middlebush,  Franklin 
township. 

Henry  B.  Staats  was  born  in  Hillsborough  township 
on  March  21,  1807.  At  the  age  of  three  years  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  their  home  in  Bridgewater 
township.  He  passed  his  earlier  years  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  received  only  a  common-school  education. 
On  Dec.  27,  1832,  he  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 
Richard  H.  Field,  of  Bedminster  township.  She 
was  born  Oct.  10,  1811.  When  about  twenty-six 
years  of  age  he  worked  the  farm  of  his  uucle,  Peter 
Wortman,  near  Weston,  on  shares,  and  after  three 
years  erected  his  present  residence  in  Bridgewater 
township,  where  he  has  since  resided  as  a  farmer. 
He  is  known  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  uprightness, 
and  in  the  ripe  old  age  which  he  has  attained  enjoys 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  many  friends.  He  has 
been  no  seeker  after  ofl&ce.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
North  Branch  Reformed  Church,  with  which  he  has 
been  oflBcially  connected  both  as  deacon  and  elder. 
His  children  have  been  Gertrude  Elizabeth,  married 
James  Garretson,  Dec.  11,  1853,  and  who  resides  in 
Middlesex  County ;  Sarah,  who  married  Henry  S.  Van 
Nuys,  of  Millstone,  Nov.  26,  1856  ;  James,  who  mar- 
ried Gertrude  P.  Conover,  Feb.  10,  1866,  and  who 
lives  in  Henderson  Co.,  111. ;  Margaretta,  died  Sept. 
19,  1859  ;  Anna  Maria,  who  married  A.  V.  Nevius, 
Feb.  10,  1864,  and  who  resides  in  Bridgewater  town- 
ship ;  and  Richard  Field,  who  married  Jennie  Claw- 
son,  Dec.  11, 1872,  and  who  is  working  the  home-farm. 


<D-^J^. 


David  P.  Kenton  is  a  descendant  in  the  fourth 
generation  of  James  Kenyon,  whose  father  was  one  of 
three  brothers  who  early  emigrated  from  EngUind,  and 
took  up  a  residence  in  the  New  World.  James  Kenyon 
moved  from  Long  Island  to  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.,  early 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  passed  his  days  as  a  far- 
mer, and  in  subduing,  for  the  purposes  of  civilization, 
the  wild  section  of  country  in  which  he  had  established 
a  home. 

Samuel,  son  of  James  Kenyon,  was  born  in  Dutchess 
County,  on  July  15,  1736.  He  married  a  Miss  Seman, 
and  had  children:  Xiydia,  Abigail,  John,  Mumford, 
Sarah,  Seman,  Jeremiah,  Samuel,  and  James.  He  en- 
gaged mostly  in  agricultural  pursuits  in  Dutchess  County 
throughout  his  life.  Some  of  the  descendants  of  Samuel 
settled  in  the  West,  and  became  the  progenitors  of  the 
family  of  the  name  in  that  section. 

James  Kenyon,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  on 
Sept.  6,  1779.  His  wife  was  Susannah,  daughter  of 
David  Palmer,  formerly  of  Dutchess  County,  and  lat- 
terly of  Columbia  Co.,  N.  Y.  The  children  of  this 
union  were  David  P. ;  Maranda  (who  died  in  infancy) ; 
Samuel ;  Martha,  wife  of  Obadiah  GrifBn,  of  Michigan ; 
Susan,  wife  of  Samuel  Kiff,  of  Bradford  Co.,  Pa.  ; 
Lydia,  wife  of  Charles  Waldo,  of  the  same  place; 
James,  residing  in  Bradford  Co.,  Pa.;  Angeline,  late 
wife  of  Orrin  Dales,  same  place  ;  Lucinda,  wife  of  Clark 
Griffin,  same  place  ;  and  Leland,  of  Delaware  Co.,  IT.  Y. 
James  Kenyon  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Dela- 
ware Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  carved  out  of  the  wilderness,  in 
1804,  a  fertile  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres. 
There  he  closed  his  days,  passing  away  on  Nov.  14, 
1853.  His  wife  died  on  July  22,  1851,  aged  about  sixty- 
six  years. 

David  P.  Kenyon  was  born  at  Nine  Partners,  Dutchess 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  on  Dec.  27,  1803.  The  year  following  his 
birth  he  was  carried  by  his  parents  into  the  wilds  of 
Delaware  County,  where,  until  he  attained  the  age  of 
twenty -one  years  and  four  months,  he  endured  with  them 
the  privations  of  a  pioneer  life,  and  performed  his  part 
manfully  in  clearing  up  the  wild  tract  upon  which  his 
father  had  settled. 


Soon  after  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Kenyon  ap- 
prenticed himself  to  Eliphalet  Miller  to  learn  the  trade 
of  a  millwright.  In  1828  he  became  a  journeyman  in 
the  business,  and  on  June  21st  of  that  year  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Townley,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Crane,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.  She  was  born  Sept.  1,  1804. 
In  1830,  Mr.  Kenyon  started  in  business  himself,  and 
followed  the  occupation  of  a  millwright  in  various 
counties  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  until  the 
year  1840,  and  erected  and  established  a  large  number 
of  mills  in  that  time.  In  1839  he  engaged  in  the  iron 
foundry  business  at  Belvidere,  Warren  Co.,  N.  J.,  where 
he  remained  until  1844,  when  he  took  up  a  permanent 
residence  at  Raritan,  Somerset  Co.,  then  known  as  "  the 
water-power."  Here  he  founded  the  Kenyon  Iron- 
Works,  which  he  successfully  operated  until  1868,  when 
he  retired  from  business  life,  handing  the  enterprise  over 
to  his  sons.  Job  C.  and  Daniel  K.  Kenyon,  by  whom  they 
are  now  carried  on  under  the  firm-name"  of  Kenyon 
Brothers. 

Mr.  Kenyon  was  one  of  the  earliest  residents  of  what 
is  now  the  prosperous  village  of  Raritan.  When  he  set- 
tled but  three  houses  stood  there  ;  his  own  followed  soon 
after.  He  has  been  actively  identified  with  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  place  for  many  years,  and  is  one 
of  the  best  known  and  most  highly  respected  of  its  citi- 
zens. He  is  now  the  last  of  the  old  substantial  residents 
of  the  village,  and  represents  the  industry,  integrity, 
and  energy  of  a  past  generation  of  workers.  He  has 
been  associated  with  several  building  and  loan  associa- 
tions at  Raritan,  and  acted  as  president  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful. In  politics  Mr.  Kenyon  is  a  Democrat,  though 
he  held  aloof  from  public  office,  and  filled  only  the 
minor  ones  that  were  pressed  upon  him.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Third  Reformed  Church  of  Rari- 
tan, and  was  one  of  its  first  elders,  holding  that  office  at 
the  present  writing  (1880). 

Mrs.  Kenyon  died  on  March  12,  1877V;   His  children 
are  James  Henry,  who  resides  in   Plaiififield,  N.   J.  ; 
Sarah  C,  wife  of  William  A.  Pembrook,-of  Elizabeth, 
N.  J.  ;  Job  C.  and  David  K.,  manufacturers  at  Raritan 
and  Charles  S.,  of  Toronto,  Canada. 


Alexandek  H.  Brokaw  is  n  great-grandson  of  John 
Brokiiw,  who  emigrated  from  France  at  an  early  period, 
and  located  in  Hillsborough  township  at  the  point 
which  has  since  become  the  family  homestead.  A 
brother  by  the  name  of  Burgun  came  at  the  same  time 
and  settled  at  Eoycefleld,  becoming  the  ancestor  of  the 
family  in  that  section.  Both  performed  active  service 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  John  was  a  captain,  and 
offered  up  his  life  on  the  altar  of  his  country  in  that 
memorable  struggle  for  liberty.  His  wife's  name  was 
Maria  Van  Derveer,  and  their  children  were  John, 
Henry,  Michael,  Ferdinand,  and  Mary.  The  latter  be- 
came the  wife  of  Dr.  Bogart,  of  Hillsborough  township, 
and  after  the  death  of  her  husband  removed  to  the  "lake 
country"  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Henry,  son  of  John  Brokaw,  was  born  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Hillsborough,  where  he  subsequently  ac- 
quired over  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  where  he 
passed  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He  also  served  in  the  Eevo- 
lutionary  war.  His  wife's  name  was  Elizabeth  Baird, 
daugbter  of  Maj.  John  Baird,  of  G-riggstown,  N.  J., 
and  the  children  of  the  union  were  John,  Henry,  Alex- 
ander, Abraham,  Phebe,  Ann,  Elsie,  Elizabeth,  and 
Mary.  He  was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  enterprise, 
and  took  an  active  interest  in  matters  around  him.  He 
was  in  many  respects  a  public  character.  His  counsel 
and  assistance  were  sought  by  all  classes  of  citizens,  and 
he  tilled  important  otfices  in  township  and  county.  He 
died  about  1832,  and  his  wife  a  lew  years  later. 

Henry,  son  of  Henry  Brokaw,  was  born  on  the  home- 
farm,  and  passed^all  of  his  days  as  a  farmer  either  on 
or  near  that  locality.  He  occupied  for  the  greater  por- 
tion of  his  life  a  part  of  the  old  homestead.     He  married 


Magdalene,  daughter  of  Rynier  Staats,  and  his  children 
were  John  H.,  Peter  H.,  Henry  H.,  Alexander  H.,  and 
Sarah  M.,  who  married  Abraham  Hoagland.  Mr. 
Brokaw  was  actively  identified  with  the  various  public 
enterprises  of  his  day,  was  a  member  of  the  Old- Line 
Whig  party,  and  filled  various  township  and  county 
offices.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  of  Harlingen,  with  which  he  was  ofiicially  con- 
nected as  deacon  and  elder.  He  died  in  1852,  aged  fifty- 
seven. 

Alexander  H.  Brokaw  was  born  in  Hillsborough  town- 
ship, Aug.  26, 1828.  His  earlier  years  were  passed  upon 
his  father's  farm,  and  his  educational  advantages  were 
such  as  the  farmers'  sons  of  his  day  enjoyed.  Four  years 
after  his  father's  decease,  in  1856,  he  married  Margaret 
Ann,  only  child  of  Dr.  Jeremiah  W.  Whitenack,  of 
Raritan.  He  purchased  his  father's  farm  and  resided  in 
Hillsborough  for  a  time,  and  in  1858  bought  his  present 
farm  in  Bridgewater  township,  known  as  the  old  Patter- 
son farm  and  comprising  one  hundred  and  ten  acres. 
Here  he  has  since  resided.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and,  although  never  an  aspirant  after  place,  is 
a  member  of  the  township  committee  and  of  the  board  of 
health.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Third  Reformed  Church 
of  Raritan,  and  has  held  the  office  of  both  deacon  and 
elder. 

Mr.  Brokaw  is  ranked  among  the  representative  agri- 
culturists of  tlie  county  in  which  he  resides,  is  a  man 
of  strict  integrity  and  correct  habits,  and  possessed  of 
those  sterling  qualities  that  make  up  the  useful  citizen. 
His  second  daughter,  Julia,  died  on  March  9,  1876,  in 
the  seventeenth  year  of  her  age.  His  other  children  are 
Aletta  and  Jerome  W.  Brokaw. 


John  "Whitenack,  son  of  Cornelius  C.  and 
Catherine  (Skillman)  "Whitenack,  was  born 
August  24,  1813,  at  Blawenburg,  Somerset 
Co. 

The  family  of  Whitenack  in  Somerset  is  de- 
scended from  four  brothers  who  came  from 
Long  Island  and  settled  in  New  Jersey.  His 
grandfather  was  Cornelius  Whitenack.  His 
father  and  grandfather  were  both  farmers  in  the 
township  of  Montgomery. 

He  spent  his  time  on  his  father's  farm  until 
sixteen  years  of  age;  then  went  to  learn  the  trade 
of  a  wheelwright  in  Somerville  with  Bergen 
Huff,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  Upon 
reaching  his  majority  he  remained  with  his  em- 
ployer as  journeyman  for  a  few  years,  during 
which  time,  on  March  5,  1837,  he  married  Ann 
B.,  daughter  of  John  and  Anna  (Tunison) 
Fisher,  of  Somerville,  whose  ancestors  were 
early  residents  of  Somerset  County.  She  was 
born  Dec.  27,  1808,  and  resides  in  Somerville 
in  1880. 

In  1842,  Mr.  Whitenack  established  himself 
in  business  as  a  wheelwright  and  carriage- 
maker,  in  partnership  with  Eichard  Provost; 
but  after  one  year,  upon  the  withdrawal  of  Mr. 
Provost  from  the  firm,  he  continued  his  business, 
which  increased  with  the  increasing  demands  of 
trade,  and  never  relaxed  his  energy  as  a  suc- 
cessful business  and  enterprising  man  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  May  12,  1870. 


Mr.  Whitenack  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity 
in  all  his  business  relations,  and  highly  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  him  either  in  a  social  or  busi- 
ness capacity.  He  was  never  a  member  of  any 
church,  but  always  took  an  interest  in  church 
and  kindred  relations,  and  contributed  liberally 
in  support  of  all  worthy  local  objects.  He  took 
no  active  part  in  politics,  although  he  was  un- 
swervingly a  member  of  tlie  Democratic  party, 
and  was  often  tendered  official  position.  His 
life  was  almost  wholly  devoted  to  business,  and 
by  strict  attention  to  it,  although  unassisted 
pecuniarily  when  starting  out  in  life  for  him- 
self, he  became  the  possessor  of  a  fair  compe- 
tency by  his  own  industry  and  judicious  manage- 
ment. His  only  child  and  daughter,  Catalena, 
became  the  wife  of  Nathaniel  C.  Morris,  who 
for  some  five  years  was  a  leading  doctor  of 
dental  surgery  in  Somerville.  He  received  his 
degree  of  Master  of  Dental  Surgery  from  the 
board  of  censors  of  New  York,  and  his  diploma 
was  dated  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  on  the  30th  day  of 
June  1870.  He  was  known  as  a  man  of  correct 
habits,  and  as  a  member,  first,  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  at  Liberty  Corners,  and  after 
his  settlement  in  Somerville  as  a  member  of 
the  First  Reformed  Church  of  this  place,  he 
bore  an  exemplary  Christian  character.  He 
died  on  Nov.  1,  1871,  aged  twenty-eight  years 
and  four  months,  leaving  an  only  son, — George 
E.  Morris. 


BEDMINSTER. 


699 


children  by  his  second  marriage  were  Mary,  Sabiah 
Nelly,  and  Job. 


:...---l 


.J2-^>^iy^.^^y 


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m 


^z^^<je^ 


The  latter  was  born  on  Oct.  6,  1769,  on  his  father's 
farm  in  Bedminster.  His  wife  was  Susannah  Nevius, 
who  was  born  on  May  28,  1773.    The  issue  of  the 


marriage  were  Cornelius,  born  Aug.  21,  1793;  Maria 
born  Jan.  28,  1796;  John  N.,  born  Dec.  3,  1797;' 
Eleanor,  born  Feb.  17,  1800;  George,  born  Aug.  17, 
1802;  Sophia,  born  June  3, 1805  ;  Martin  and  Gilbert' 
born  Oct.  10,  1807;  Peter,  born  Jan.  3,  1811;  and 
Martha  E.,  born  Nov.  28,  1814.  Of  these,  Cornelius, 
Eleanor,  Martin,  Gilbert,  and  John  N.  are  dead.  Job 
Lane  was  an  enterprising  and  worthy  citizen,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Eeformed  Church 
of  Bedminster,  and  was  officially  connected  with  that 
body  as  deacon  and  elder.  He  died  on  March  1, 1843, 
and  his  wife  on  Aug.  4,  1855. 

George  Lane  was  born  in  Bedminster  township  on 
the  date  above  mentioned.  He  passed  the  earlier 
years  of  his  life  on  his  father's  farm,  and  on  Jan.  4, 
1826,  married  Catharine  Van  Nest,  who  was  bom 
Sept.  11, 1804.  In  1832,  Mr.  Lane  purchased  the  farm 
that  he  now  occupies  in  Bridgewater  township,  and  a 
few  years  later  erected  his  present  residence.  Here 
he  has  continued,  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
ever  since.  Mr.  Lane  has  now  reached  the  decline  of 
life,  but  is  well  preserved  for  a  gentleman  of  his  ad- 
vanced years.  His  life  has  been  a  quiet  and  unosten- 
tatious one,  and  he  has  quietly  and  worthily  per- 
formed his  part  as  a  citizen.  He  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  but  has  never  sought  nor  held  public  office. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Bedmin- 
ster. 

Of  the  three  children  of  Mr.  Lane,  John  V.  N. 
alone  survives,  and  occupies  the  home  farm  with  his 
parents. 


BEDMINSTER. 


GEOGRAPHICAL,   Etc. 

This  is  one  of  the  townships  lying  on  the  northern 
border  of  Somerset,  adjoining  Morris  County.  Its 
eastern  boundary  is  the  township  of  Bernard;  its 
southern  is  formed  by  Branchburg  and  Bridgewater, 
and  on  the  west  it  is  joined  by  the  townships  of 
Tewksbury  and  Readington,  in  Hunterdon. 

The  surface  of  Bedminster  is  generally  level  in  the 
western  part,  but  is  slightly  undulating  along  the  val- 
leyof  the  Lamington  and  its  branches.  The  north- 
ern part  is  more  hilly,  and  is  crossed  by  a  limestone 
ridge.  The  "First  Mountain"  terminates  at  Cham- 
bers' Brook,  in  Bridgewater,  but  the  "  Second  Moun- 
tain'' extends  northwesterly  into  Bedminster  as  far  as 
Mine  Brook. 

*  By  Anstin  N.  Hungerford. 


Its  streams  are  the  North  Branch  of  the  Raritan, 
which  forms  a  large  part  of  its  eastern  boundary  ;  the 
Lamington  River,  which  forms  the  western  boundary 
of  the  township  and  flows  southwardly  into  the  North 
Branch;  Chambers'  Brook,  a  small  stream  which 
divides  the  township  from  Bridgewater,  flows  west- 
wardly  and  enters  the  North  Branch  a  short  distance 
below  the  mouth  of  Lamington ;  Axtell's  or  Middle 
Brook,  which  takes  its  rise  in  the  north  part,  pursues 
a  southerly  course  through  the  centre  of  the  township, 
and  enters  the  North  Branch;  and  Peapack  Brook, 
which  is  also  a  tributary  of  the  North  Branch,  enter- 
ing it  from  the  northwayd. 

LAND   TITLES   AND   EARLY    SETTLEMENTS. 
The  first  purchase  of  land  in  the  township  of  Bed- 
minster was   made  by  Margaret  Winder,   May  20, 


700 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1690.*  This  tract  is  said  to  have  contained  1000 
acres,  and  may  be  described  as  lying  on  both  sides  of 
the  North  Branch  opposite  the  junction  of  the  Lam- 
ington  with  that  stream.  Aug.  4, 1693,  Campbell  and 
Blackwood  purchased  a  tract  known  on  the  map  ac- 
companying the  Elizabeth  bill  of  chancery  as  No.  59, 
located  on  the  north  side  of  the  Lamington,  and  ex- 
tending westward  from  its  mouth,  but  not  reaching 
entirely  across  the  bend  of  the  river.  June  6,  1701, 
Dr.  John  Johnston  and  George  Willocks  purchased  a 
tract  of  3160  acres.  This  may  be  described  as  lying 
north  of  the  Lesser  and  Larger  Cross-Eoads  and  ex- 
tending across  the  township.  October  2d  of  the  same 
year  they  purchased  the  Indian  title  of  "  Tallaquapie 
and  Nicholas  Elspie,  Merchant,  Indians." 

The  north  boundary  extended  westward  across  the 
township  along  the  north  line  of  the  farm  on  which 
W.  P.  Sutphin  now  resides.  The  date  of  the  purchase 
of  Maj.  Daniel  Axtell  is  unknown.  His  tract  em- 
braced the  land  south  of  the  Lesser  and  Larger  Cross- 
Eoads  and  north  of  the  North  Branch. 

Alexander  and  Dunstar,  Oct.  15,  1741,  purchased 
580  acres  on  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Lam- 
ington. On  the  1st  of  January  previous,  Andrew 
Hamilton  purchased  875  acres.  Prior  to  this  time 
settlements  had  been  made,  for  in  1740  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  at  Lamington  was  organized,  and  John 
Craig,  William  Jones,  Eichard  Porter,  and  William 
Hugein  were  mentioned.  This  church  embraced  a 
large  extent  of  territory,  as  the  call  was  from  the 
people  of  Lametunk,  Lebanon,  Peapack,  Eeadington, 
and  Bethlehem. 

South  and  east  of  the  North  Branch  was  a  large 
tract  taken  up  by  Dr.  Lewis  Johnston  and  Mary 
Johnston  (afterwards  Mrs.  James  Alexander).  The 
extreme  south  part  of  the  land  in  the  township,  and 
bordering  on  the  east  side  of  North  Branch,  was  a 
part  of  a  tract  of  land  of  912  acres,  the  greater  por- 
tion of  which  is  in  Bridgewater,  and  which  was  pur- 
chased, Aug.  14,  1693,  by  Ann  West.f  Later  this 
property  passed  to  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  for  whom 
Gouverneur  Morris  acted  as  agent.  It  is  known  as 
the  "  Duchess."  North  of  the  Indian  purchase  of 
Johnston  and  Willocks  was  a  large  tract  purchased  of 
the  proprietors  by  George  Leslie,  who  was  also  in 
possession  of  large  tracts  on  the  east  side  of  West 
Jersey.  Still  north  lay  the  Peapack  patent,  owned  by 
Dr.  Johnston, — a  part  of  which  was  sold  to  James 
Parker,  of  Perth  Amboy, — and  the  extreme  north  by 
the  heirs  of  Dr.  Johnston,  from  1760  to  1770. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  first  settlers  in  the 
township  were  French  people,  but  if  so  their  stay  was 
but  transitory.  The  first  permanent  settlers  were 
Scotch-Irish,  who  came  in  from  the  East  and  settled 

*  She  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  ^udyard  (who  was  Governor  of 
the  State  in  1682,  and  who  purchased  1170  acres  where  the  village  of 
Bound  Brook  now  Is)  and  the  wife  of  Samuel  Winder,  of  "Graham, 
Winder  &  Co.,"  who  purchased  where  Somerville  now  is.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband  she  married  George  Willocks. 

t  See  "  Third  Indian  Title,"  Bridgewater. 


along  the  valley  of  the  Lamington  and  North  Branch ; 
many  of  their  descendants  still  remain.  Next  came 
a  number  of  German  Protestants  from  the  Palatinate. 
They  were  among  those  who  had  been  employed  by 
Queen  Anne  as  soldiers  in  her  Continental  wars,  and 
after  the  close  of  hostilities  had  been,  with  others  of 
the  same  nationality,  removed  to  America  by  the  gov- 
ernment and  established  on  lands  on  both  sides  of  the 
Hudson  Eiver,  in  Columbia  and  Ulster  Cos.,  N.  Y., 
and  from  there  had  emigrated  to  this  region. 

It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  ascertain  whether  the 
first  settlements  were  made  at  Lamington,  at  the 
junction  of  Lamington  with  North  Branch,  or  near 
Pluckamin.  It  is  said  that  a  Lutheran  church  was 
built  in  Washington  Valley  as  early  as  1740.  The 
old  graveyard  still  remains.  This  locality  is  half  a 
mile  east  of  Pluckamin,  in  Bernard  township  ;  no 
names  are  given  in  connection  with  its  earliest  history. 
About  1740  the  road  from  Lamington  called  the 
"  High  Road"  was  laid  out,  to  connect  with  "  Great 
Road  up  Earitan,''  and  about  the  same  time  the  road 
from  Bound  Brook  along  the  mountains  through  the 
township  on  the  east  side,  which  was  then  known  as 
the  Peapack  road. 

The  settlement  of  the  township  will  be  given,  as  near 
as  possible,  on  the  original  tracts  purchased  of  the  pro- 
prietors. In  the  extreme  lower  portion  of  the  town, 
bordering  on  the  North  Branch  and  Chambers'  Brook, 
is  a  portion  of  the  tract  that  has  been  known  for 
nearly  a  hundred  years  as  "The  Duchess.''  Gouv- 
erneur Morris  as  agent,  in  1801,  sold  600  acres  to  John 
Van  Derveer  and  Abram  Quick,  which  included  all 
of  the  "  Duchess"  land  in  the  township ;  Mr.  Van 
Derveer  located  on  the  northern  part  but  lived  in 
Bridgewater.  On  that  part  of  the  tract  purchased  by 
Margaret  Winder  (May  20,  1690)  that  lay  on  the 
east  side  of  North  Branch  settled  and  lived  for  many 
years  George  Teeple.  He  emigrated  from  Germany 
about  1700,  and  later  purchased  the  tract  of  land 
near  Burnt  Mills  owned  in  1850  by  Peter  Garretson, 
who  sold  to  William  Gaston.  A  road  was  laid  out  in 
1745,  in  which  the  name  is  mentioned.  His  sons, 
John  and  Christopher,  possessed  property  in  1756. 
John  married  Margaret  Castner,  1756,  and  both  died 
March  17,  1813,  within  three  hours  of  each  other,  and 
were  buried  in  the  same  grave.  William  Teeple,  a 
son,  was  a  tailor  in  Pluckamin  for  many  years,  and 
occupied  the  old  house  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Cornell, 
of  Somerville.  He  is  still  living  in  the  village  at  an 
advanced  age ;  others  of  the  family  are  living  in  the 
township.  Dec.  12,  1727,  one  Margaret  Teeple  pur- 
chased 200  acres  between  the  First  and  Second  Moun- 
tains, now  known  as  Washington  Valley. 

The  name  of  settlers  hereafter  given,  south  of 
North  Branch,  located  on  lands  purchased  of  Dr. 
Lewis  Johnston  and  Mary  Johnston.  J     The  date  of 

t  It  is  stated  in  the  Elizabeth  bill  of  cbanceij  that  John  Olawson  and 
Isaac  Tounglove  were  tenants  of  Dr.  Lewis  Johnston  and  his  sister 
Mary,  who  refused  to  give  up  the  lands.   In  March,  1743,  a  writ  of  eject- 


BEDMINSTER. 


tol 


purchase  is  not  known,  and  the  land  may  have  passed 
through  other  hands.  In  1750  500  acres  were  pur- 
chased by  John  Wortman,* — what  is  yet  known  as  the 
old  Wortman  homestead. 

"  There  is  an  old  day-book  in  the  possession  of  Garrett  Conover,  at 
Fluckamin,  dated  1760,  which  shows  that  John  Wortman  at  that  date 
■was  living  here  and  had  a  family  at  the  time.  The  original  house,  with 
few  alterations,  save  repairs,  now  standing,  is  owned  by  David  Bunn.  It 
Is  a  long,  low,  old-fashioned  house. 

*'  Esq.  Wortman  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  at  his  shop  the  horses 
of  Washington  and  staff  were  sometimes  shod.  The  old  shop  was  pulled 
down  a  few  months  since.  In  making  observations  and  hunting  up  sup- 
plies Washington  frequently  stopped  at  Esq.  Wortman 's  house,  he  being 
a  commissary  of  subsistence,  as  were  all  of  the  justices. 

"  The  price  put  upon  the  rebel  magistrates'  heads  led  to  the  raid  of  Bill 
Stewart  during  the  absence  of  Washington's  army  just  before  the  battle 
of  Princeton.  The  British  sent  from  New  Brunswick  a  body  of  light- 
horse  to  forage  where  they  might  and  capture  whom  they  could.  Bill 
Stewart  acting  as  pilot.  They  crossed  the  river  at  Bound  Book,  destroy- 
ing property  and  maltreating  women,  and  moved  on  towards  Plucka- 
min.  Beaching  Capt.  Isaac  Van  Arsdale's  house,  where  Philip  I.  Van 
Arsdale  now  lives,  they  made  a  halt  and  inquired  for  Capt.  Isaac,  who, 
aware  that  he  would  be  wanted,  had  managed  to  hide  in  the  bushes. 
After  they  were  out  of  sight,  however,  he  rallied  all  the  men  of  the 
neighborhood,  who  secreted  themselves  in  a  hollow  in  front  of  George 
Smith's  house  and  awaited  the  return  ol  the  raiders.  The  British  went 
into  the  house  and  treated  the  women  in  a  very  impudent  manner.  Capt. 
Van  Arsdale's  daughter  Ida,  who  afterwards  married  Joseph  Gaston  and 
was  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Conover,  now  living  in  Pluckamin,  had  a 
pet  colt,  of  which  she  was  very  fond.  This  the  British  led  away,  but 
the  heroic  girl,  though  only  about-fourteen  years  old,  followed  them  and 
recovered  her  property.  When  the  party  got  into  the  village  of  Plucka- 
min,  they  battered  in  the  doors  of  the  church,  hacked  the  pulpit  with 
their  sabres,  smashed  in  the  windows,  and  broke  the  pews  to  splintei's, 
and  for  a  time  continued  their  depredations  through  the  village.  Mean- 
while, a  part  of  the  gang  went  towards  McDonald's  Mills,  whose  owner, 
rumor  says,  helped  to  bring  on  the  raid.  Thence  they  struck  for  Larger 
Cross-Boads,  intending  to  capture  some  of  the  most  prominent  patriots 
of  that  neighborhood,  but  they  had  fled  to  the  woods. 

"  As  the  day  waned  the  marauders  thought  it  best  to  return.  Beach- 
ing Capt.  Van  Arsdale's  ham,  Capt.  Doty,  who  was  secreted  there,  fired 
at  one  of  them  and  brought  him  down  in  the  road.  Stray  shots  were 
fired  all  along  the  road  by  parties  hid  in  the  bushes.  How  many  of  the 
British  were  hit  was  never  found  out,  but  pieces  of  their  coats  were 
afterwards  picked  up,  showing  that  the  American  bullets  had  made  the 
*  feathers  fly.'  When  the  raiders  came  to  the  hollow  where  Capt.  Van 
Arsdale  and  bis  men  were  concealed  they  were  greeted  with  a  shower  of 
bullets  from  the  bushes,  which  hastened  their  retreat  towards  Bound 
Brook.  They  did  not  know  that  in  a  short  time  theivictorious  army 
of  Washington  would  come  from  the  field  of  Princeton  with  hundreds 
of  their  men  as  prisoners  and  confine  them  within  the  walls  of  the 
church  they  had  so  lately  desecrated."f 

The  original  Wortman  tract  is  now  owned  by  David 
Bunn,  John  Schoonmaker,  and  the  William  Powelson 
farm. 

In  1744,  George  and  Yerry  Eeemer  were  residents 
of  Bedminster,  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  township, 
south  of  the  McDaniels  property  (now  Kline's  Mills). 
In  1756,  George  contributed  £20  towards  building  the 
Lutheran  church  at  Fluckamin.  The  name  of  Ben- 
jamin only  appears  on  the  tax-list  in  1787,  and  for 
personal  property. 

Cornelius  Lane,  of  Monmouth  County,  a  relative  of 
Matthias  Lane,  Sr.,  came  to  this  township  about  1756 
and  purchased  land  about  the  centre,  north  of  the 

ment  was  brought  against  them,  but  settlement  was  made  by  possession 
being  given. 

*  He  was  a  native  of  Holland,  and  emigrated  to  this  country  about 
1750. 

f  Jacob  Magill,  of  Newark  Journal. 


Cross-Eoads,  but  soon  after  sold,  and  Dec.  23,  1769, 
purchased  250  acres  of  Catharine  McCrea,  widow  of 
the  Eev.  James  McCrea.  He  moved  into  the  quaint 
old-fashioned  house  built  by  Mr.  McCrea.  It  stood 
on  the  bank  of  the  North  Branch  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  present  house  of  Peter  Lane.  This  house 
was  the  birthplace  of  the  unfortunate  Jane  McCrea, 
about  whom  so  much  has  been  written.  The  farm 
extended  north  and  west  of  the  North  Branch,  and 
joined  on  the  south  the  tract  purchased  by  John 
Wortman,  and  on  the  east  by  Col.  William  Mc- 
Daniels (Kline's  Mills  is  on  this  property).  Job, 
the  youngest  son  of  Cornelius  Lane,  inherited  the 
homestead  property  of  his  father,  and  it  is  now  in 
possession  of  his  son  Peter.  The  old  McCrea  house 
was  torn  down  a  few  years  earlier. 

Col.  William  McDaniels,  whose  name  first  appears 
of  record  in  1744,  at  that  time  was  in  possession  of  a 
large  tract  of  land  and  a  saw-mill.  This  tract  was 
situated  on  the  south  bank  of  North  Branch,  and  ex- 
tended west  to  the  farm  owned  a  few  years  later  by 
the  Rev.  James  McCrea.  It  passed  afterwards  to 
Abraham  Van  Arsdale,  and  was  sold  by  his  heirs  to 
Tunis  I.  Quick,  who  about  sixty  years  ago  sold  it  to 
Jacob  Kline,  whose  son  is  now  in  possession.^  Many 
stories  have  been  written  of  the  McDaniels  family  : 
one,  of  the  marriage  of  a  granddaughter  of  the  Eev. 
James  McCrea  to  a  wild  and  dissipated  young  man,  a 
son  of  Col.  McDaniels,  known  as  "  Bill."  Much  dis- 
satisfaction on  the  part  of  the  venerable  pastor  and 
family  is  said  to  have  been  the  result  of  this  elope- 
ment.^ 

Col.  McDaniels  was  very  violent  and  passionate, 
and  in  a  rage  beat  a  man  severely  with  a  riding-whip 
for  a  supposed  insult  to  Squire  Lafierty's  daughter 
Euth.  The  man  died  in  about  three  weeks,  but,  as 
the  people  feared  the  family  of  McDaniels,  no  means 
were  taken  to  bring  the  murderer  to  justice. 

The  following  story  has  many  versions,  the  most 
popular  of  which  is  here  given,  with  its  many  in- 
consistencies. At  a  time  not  given,  Sam  McDaniels, 
a  reckless,  quarrelsome  fellow,  in  a  drunken  bout  at 
Bound  Brook  stabbed  and  fatally  wounded  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Condict.  The  act  sobered  him,  and  he 
rode  hastily  up  the  mountain  road  towards  home. 
Great  excitement  was  felt  by  the  people,  and  the 
murderer  was  arrested,  tried,  and  condemned.  The 
jail  was  guarded  by  a  body  of  men  under  command 
of  one  Capt.  O'Brien,  a  man  of  gigantic  stature,  who 
knew  no  fear  and  was  determined  to  hold  his  prisoner 
at  all  hazards.  Other  means  were  resorted  to  to  save 
him  from  the  gallows.  A  reprieve  was  forged,  and 
on  the  day  appointed  for  execution  it  was  sent  to  the 
sheriff,  who,  doubting  the  genuineness  of  the  reprieve, 
sent  it  by  messenger  to  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  at  Mill- 


t  The  name  McDaniels  does  not  appear  in  the  assessment  roll  of  1787 
as  owning  either  real  estate  or  personal. 

g  Tills  couple  were  said  to  have  been  married  by  the  Bev.  William 
Graaf,  pastor  of  the  church  at  New  Germantown  and  Pluckamln.' 


702 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


stone,  who  declared  the  reprieve  a  forgery,  and,  tak- 
ing the  responsibility,  ordered  the  execution  to  pro- 
ceed. The  messenger  returned  in  haste,  arriving  at 
twelve  o'clock,  the  hour  appointed  for  the  execu- 
tion. The  culprit  was  led  to  the  gallows  by  Sheriff 
Vredenburgh,  and  soon  his  lifeless  body  was  dangling 
from  the  beam.  It  is  said  that  Col.  McDaniels  and 
Kuth  Lafferty  (the  mother  of  the  young  man)  were 
seated  in  a  carriage  on  the  mountain  road  and  wit- 
nessed the  execution.  This  is  the  current  version  of 
the  affair,  hut  another  statement  is  to  the  effect  that 
Sam  was  a  negro  belonging  to  a  McDonald,  and  still 
another  that  he  was  a  son  of  a  McDonald  (not  Mc- 
Daniels).* 

WEST  OF  lEEPLE  AND  EEEMEK,  NOSTH  OF  "  THE  DUCHESS." 

Leonard  Streight,  or  Strait,  lived  in  1756  on  the 
property  now  owned  by  Jacob  Powelsou.  Mr.  Streight 
remained  in  the  township  until  after  1774.  May  29, 
1766,  he  sold  260  acres  to  Jacob  Van  Derveer,  who, 
on  the  1st  of  May  next,  sold  to  John  Powelson. 
This  family  was  originally  from  Norway,  but  re- 
moved to  Holland  some  years  before  any  of  the  name 
came  to  this  country.  Capt.  Jacob  Powelson,  the 
grandfather  of  John,  came  to  New  Jersey  in  1640. 
The  family  was  numerous  and  became  scattered,  John 
coming  north  to  this  township.  He  had  ten  children, 
— John,  who  died  in  1788;  Cornelius,  who  married 
Catharine  Sutphin  and  settled  near  Peapack  jf  Abra- 
ham, who  settled  on  the  homestead  where  his  son, 
Jacob  V.  D.  Powelson,  now  resides;!  Hendrick,  who 
settled  first  on  the  east  end  of  the  original  farm,  but 
a  few  years  after  sold  to  his  brother  Mannah  and  re- 
moved to  Washington  Valley.  In  1787,  John  Pow- 
elson owned  100  acres;  Cornelius,  210;  Mannah,  50  ; 
Abraham,  235 ;  Henry,  105  acres. 

Charles  Duryea  and  John  Colshee  settled  north- 
west ^of  Mr.  Powelson  as  early  as  1755,  the  latter  in 
1767  owning  land  at  the  junction  of  North  Branch 
and  Lamington.  One  Peter  Colshee  in  1787  owned 
142  acres.    None  of  either  families  remain. 

The  name  of  Eoff  has  been  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  township  as  far  back  as  any  information 

*  A  careful  and  exhaustive  examinatiou  of  the  record  of  the  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions  of  Somerset  County  from  1783  to  1814  reveals  the  fact 
that 'in^the  January  term  of  court  in  the  year  1786,  among  the  indict- 
ments brought  in  by  the  Grand  Jury  was  that  of 
"  The  State  op      1 

New  Jersey  „ 

}■  Sur  felony, 
agt. 

Samuel  McDonald.  J 

The  records  do  not  show  that  this  case  was  ever  brought  to  trial,  al- 
though tbey  do  show  that  in  1788  three  negroes — Dine,  Sam  the  elder, 
and  Sam  the  younger — were  indicted  for  arson,  tried,  convicted,  and  sen- 
tenced to  be  executed.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen  was  attorney-general 
of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  from  1817  to  1829  only,  as  is  shown  by  the 
"  Legislative  Manual."  Mr.  Vredenburgh  was  shei-ilT  for  1847-48.  It  is 
Bingular  that  a  caae  which  created  such  intense  excitement  should  not 
appear  on  the  records  of  the  criminal  courts  of  the  county,  if  sentence 
and  execution  resulted,  as  indicated  by  the  above  popular  tradition. 

i"  He  was  an  elder  in  Bedminster  Church.  The  property  on  which  he 
settled  is  in  other  hands,  and  his  descendants  are  in  the  West. 

X  The  old  house  is  still  standing. 


of  it  can  be  obtained.  Jacob  Eoff,  a  native  of  Hol- 
land, purchased  (some  time  before  1766)  of  Dr.  Lewis 
and  Mary  Johnston  a  tract  of  500  acres,  embracing  the 
site  of  the  present  village  of  Pluckamin  and  extend- 
ing eastward  to  the  top  of  "  Pigtown  Mountain."  The 
old  Eoff  tavern,  the  centre  of  attraction  in  early  days, 
was  built  by  him  and  remained  standing  until  about 
1814.  His  sons  were  Cornelius,  Jacob,  Eobert,  Garry, 
and  Christian ;  his  daughters  were  Mary,  afterwards 
the  wife  of  Capt.  Abram  Van  Arsdale,  and  the  wife 
of  Capt. Samuel  "Bullion"  (Boylan).  Cornelius  was 
in  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  settled  north  of  Pluck- 
amin, on  the  road  to  Van  Derveer's  Mills.  He  had 
several  children.  John,  Cornelius,  and  Archibald 
removed  to  the  West.  Richard  married,  but  had  no 
children.  He  owned  a  farm  in  the  valley,  now 
owned  by  James  Hunter.  Garry  moved  to  New 
York,  and  died  there.  Christian  remained  on  the 
homestead,  and  in  1791  commenced  keeping  tavern. § 
His  daughter  married  William  I.  Hedges,  later  of 
Somerville.  Jane,  a  daughter  of  Cornelius,  married 
Capt.  John  Van  Zandt,  who  was  captain  of  the  ship 
"  Flora,"  sailing  from  New  York  to  West  Indies.  In 
the  last  trip  he  intended  to  make  he  was  attacked 
with  the  yellow  fever  and  died  in  the  tropics.  John 
Van  Zandt,  of  Somerville,  is  a  son.  On  a  part  of  the 
old  Eoff  farm,  a  few  years  ago,  there  were  the  ruins  of 
stone  huts  built  by  the  soldiers  in  the  Revolution. 
The  family  of  Eoff  in  this  section  is  extinct.  A  de- 
scendant bearing  the  name  is  living  in  New  York 
City. 

William  Gaston  was  a  grandson  of  Joseph,  who 
emigrated  to  this  country  from  Ireland  in  1720.  He 
married  Naomi,  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret 
Teeple.  He  was  a  harness-maker,  and  had  a  shop 
between  the  present  store  and  tavern.  His  house  was 
a  little  west  of  the  village,  where  a  grandson,  Robert, 
now  owns.  His  children  were  all  born  there.  John 
W.  remained  in  Pluckamin,  and  was  in  business; 
William  removed  to  the  South,  where  he  obtained 
great  wealth  as  a  cotton  merchant.  Daniel  Gaston, 
now  of  Somerville,  was  a  son. 

Abraham  Brown  in  1787,  as  per  assessment-roll, 
owned  ten  acres  of  land  near  Pluckamin,  and  later 
was  the  possessor  of  a  large  tract  east  of  the  McDan- 
iel's  farm,  north  and  west  of  the  village.  Elias  Brown, 
long  a  justice  of  the  peace,  was  a  son.  J.  Mehelm 
Brown,  a  grandson,  now  occupies  a  part  of  the  farm 
which  Abraham  purchased. 

The  common  ancestor  of  the  Van  Arsdale  family 
in  this  country  was  "  Symen  Jansen  Van  Arsdalen," 
who  emigrated  in  1633.  His  descendants  are  mostly 
in  New  Jersey,  and  settled  in  or  near  Millstone  and 
Bridgewater,  where  they  were  as  early  as  1750,  and  in 
1756  one  Hendrick  Van  Arsdalen  was  a  subscriber  to 


I  All  licenses  for  keeping  tavern  having  previously  been  in  the  name 
of  Jacob  Eoff.  About  this  time  the  old  tavern  was  discontinued,  a  new 
one  having  been  built  on  the  site  of  the  present  one,  in  which  Christian 
waa  the  landlord  for  many  years. 


BEDMINSTER. 


703 


the  Lutheran  Church.  In  1787,  Philip  Van  Ars- 
dalen  owned  64  acres ;  Henry,  20 ;  William  H.,  50. 
At  a  later  date  Ahraham  Van  Arsdale,  who  married 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  EofiF,  purchased  the  mill  prop- 
erty of  McDaniels  (now  Kline's  Mills),  and  built  the 
house  in  which  Mr.  Jacob  Kline  now  lives. 

John  and  Matice  Appleman  were  residents  in  this 
section  in  1756,  and  were  still  here  in  1773.  Their 
names  do  not  appear  later. 

Bryan  Lafferty,  Esq.,  was  buried  in  the  Lamington 
churchyard  in  1749,  aged  sixty-four.  A  person  of 
the  same  name  is  mentioned  in  a  road  record  of  1755 
as  Justice  Leflferty.  He  lived  at  Pluckamin,  and 
owned  property  north  of  Chambers'  or  Lafferty's 
Brook  and  west  of  the  road  running  to  Peapack, 
which  was  laid  out  prior  to  1774.  He  was  a  noted 
Tory  in  the  Revolution,  but  continued  as  justice  of 
the  peace  till  about  1786.  In  the  next  year  the  prop- 
erty, consisting  of  147  acres,  is  assessed  to  "  Mrs.  Laf- 
ferty." It  was  sold  about  1800  to  John  Davenport. 
In  the  charter  of  the  township  of  Bridgewater 
(1749),  the  north  line  is  "  down  the  said  gap  to 
Chambers'  Brook  by  McDonald's  Mill,  thence  down 
said  Brook  to  the  North  Branch."  The  books  of  John 
Boylan  in  1773  give  the  names  of  Col.  William  Mc- 
Donald* and  a  son  Richard,  probably  the  Maj.  Rich- 
ard McDonald  of  later  days.  The  old  mill  mentioned 
above  stood  up  the  ravine  of  Chambers'  Brook,  a  short 
distance  above  where  the  road  from  Somerville  to 
Pluckamin  crosses  the  brook;  the  property  in  1787 
consisted  of  470  acres.  Maj.  Richard  was  an  influ- 
ential man  in  both  town  and  county ;  his  son,  George 
McDonald,  became  a  noted  lawyer  at  Somerville. 

The  earliest  record  found  of  the  Traphagen  family 
is  1787.  David  Traphagen  owned  100  acres  north  of 
the  Elias  (or  Dr.  Henry)  Van  Derveer  property.  It 
is  situated  east  of  North  Branch,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Second  Mountain.  In  1800,  Ruloflf  Traphagen  was 
in  possession.  John  Davenport,  of  Pluckamin,  mar- 
ried Margaret,  Ruloff's  daughter,  for  his  first  wife. 
The  old  family  mansion  was  destroyed  by  fire  Oct.  16, 
1880 ;  Patrick  Moore  now  owns  the  farm. 

That  portion  of  the  Van  Derveers  who  settled  in  Bed- 
minster  was  a  branch  of  the  family  who  early  settled 
on  the  Raritan.  Jacobus  was  a  son  of  Jacobus ;  the 
time  of  his  purchase  in  Bedminster  is  not  known. 
His  name  is  found  in  the  subscription  list  of  the  St. 
Paul's  Church,  at  Pluckamin,  in  1756.  He  pur- 
chased a  large  tract  north  of  North  Branch,  on  the 
Axtell  tract,  also  land  south  of  the  Branch  in  1767 
that  he  afterwards  sold  to  John  Powelson.  The  place 
of  his  residence  was  in  the  plot  of  260  acres  south  of 
the  Lesser  Cross-Roads.    In  1758  the  property  on 


*  The  following  is  from  the  court  records:  Jupiter,  a  uegro  of  Col. 
McDonald,  waa  Indicted  Oct.  5, 1778,  for  larceny.  He  plead  guilty,  and 
it  waa  "  ordered  that  he  receive,  between  the  hours  of  1  and  3  o'clock 
this  afternoon,  20  lashes  on  the  bare  back,  and  on  Monday  next  the  like 
number,  at  Pluckamin,  between  the  hours  of  1  and  3  p.m.,  and  Tony, 
negro  of  John  Phenix,  the  like  m  all  things." 


which  the  Bedminster  church  now  stands  was  do- 
nated by  him.  He  bad  three  children, — Mary,  Von 
Stoy,  and  Jacob.  The  homestead  of  Jacobus  is  now 
owned  by  Henry  Ludlow,  the  north  part  by  John 
Whitenack,  the  south  by  Peter  W.  Melick. 

Elias  Van  Derveer,  a  brother  of  Jacobus  and  father 
of  Dr.  Henry,  settled,  much  later  than  his  brother, 
on  the  land  he  left  to  his  son  Henry.  He  died  in 
1778,  aged  thirty-three.  Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveerf 
and  Phebe  Van  Derveer  were  the  only  children.  A 
large  property  reverted  to  them,  on  which  they  lived 
and  died.  The  family  mansion  is  still  standing,  and 
owned  by  John  F.  Van  Derveer ;  the  north  part  of  the 
farm  by  Thomas  Moore,  and  the  south  by  Tunis  B. 
Van  Arsdale.    The  old  farm  contained  600  acres. 

The  Maj.  Daniel  Axtell  tract  extended  from  the 
east  line  of  the  township  west  to  Lamington  River, 
south  of  the  Lesser  and  Larger  Cross-Roads  and  north 
of  North  Branch.  The  extreme  east  portion  (283 
acres)  was  purchased  by  Jacobus  Van  Doren,  after 
1760,  of  William,  son  of  Maj.  Daniel  Axtell,  the 
original  purchaser,  and  about  1815  he  sold  to  Capt. 
Joseph  Nevius,  whose  grandson  lives  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Peapack  road,  near  the  old  place ;  he  kept  a 
store  at  the  Lesser  Cross-Roads.  Later,  Mr.  Nevius 
conveyed  it  to  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoff',  whose  son,  Cor- 
nelius M.,  is  now  in  possession  of  it,  Mr.  Van  Doren, 
after  the  sale  of  the  farm,  removed  to  Elizabeth,  and 
later  to  Fairview  and  Raritan,  111.,  where  he  died. 
His  son  David  lived  on  part  of  the  farm. 

West  of  the  Jacobus  Van  Derveer  farm  was  a  large 
tract  purchased  by  William  Sloan,  through  whom  it 
descended  to  John  and  Henry  Sloan,  the  latter  own- 
ing 370  acres  in  1787.  Henry  Stevens  was  located  on 
a  part  of  this  tract  in  1797. 

John,  Moses,  and  Daniel  Phenix  were  residents  in 
1773  on  the  Axtell  tract,  at  the  Larger  Cross-Roads. 
John  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  several  years. 
John  Sutphin  married  Sarah,  a  daughter,  and  kept 
the  tavern  at  the  Cross-Roads  after  the  Revolution. 
In  1787,  Ralph  Phenix  owned  250  acres  ;  none  of  the 
name  are  now  in  the  township. 

Among  the  sturdy  Scotch  Presbyterians  who  emi- 
grated to  this  country  was  Ephraim  McDowell.  He 
settled  first  in  Hunterdon  County,  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Lamington  River,  opposite  Vleet's  Mills.  His 
name  occurs  in  the  church  records  in  the  early  pas- 
torate of  the  Rev.  James  McCrea.  Later  he  removed 
into  Bedminster,  soon  after  its  organization  as  a  town- 
ship. May  1,  1750,  he  purchased  of  William  AxteU, 
son  of  Maj.  Daniel  Axtell,  238  acres  of  land,  part  of 
which  is  still  owned  by  John  McDowell.  Nov.  1, 
1759,  he  purchased  50  acres  of  John  and  Henry  Sloan, 
sons  of  William,  who  settled  north.  This  land  ex- 
tended south  to  the  North  Branch,  and  was  located 
east  of  his  original  purchase.    He  built  a  log  house 


X  A  sketch  of  Dr.  Tan  Derveer  will  be  found  in  the  Medical  Profession 
in  general  history. 


704 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


back  in  the  fields,  on  the  farm  of  John  McDowell. 
Later  a  more  pretentious  family  mansion  was  erected 
and  covered  with  cedar  shingles.  It  stood  for  sev- 
enty-five years.  Five  sons — John,  Matthew,  Eph- 
raim,  Peter,  and  Benjamin — inherited  the  name.  In 
1787,  John  McDowell  was  in  possession  of  120  acres; 
Matthew,  200  ;  William,  106.  Benjamin,  son  of  Mat- 
thew, inherited  the  part  of  land  on  which  the  home- 
stead was  situated.  His  son  John  now  owns  the  farm. 
Other  sons  of  Matthew — John  and  William — became 
eminent  ministers.  William  returned  to  the  farm  in 
his  old  age,  and  died  there.  Martha  died  young. 
Elizabeth  married  Cornelius  Van  Derbeek ;  their  de- 
scendants are  now  living  at  Somerville.  Dr.  A.  W. 
McDowell,  son  of  Rev.  William,  wrote  many  articles 
concerning  the  early  history  of  this  section,  much  of 
which  he  obtained  from  personal  conversations  with 
the  old  settlers.  Mrs.  McDowell  and  one  daughter 
live  on  the .  homestead  of  Dr.  William  McDowell. 
Other  members  of  the  family  are  scattered  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.* 

About  1800,  Dr.  Cornelius  Suydam  possessed  about 
200  acres  southwest  of  the  Larger  Cross-Roads  and 
northwest  of  the  McDowell  tract.  The  same  is  now 
owned  by  William  C.  Bunn  and  Isaac  Eick. 

William  Aitell,  of  New  York  City,  conveyed  to 
John  McFarren,  May  5,  1750,  200  acres  of  land  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Allematunk  Eiver,  and  Feb.  29, 
1758,  sold  it  to  Ann  Henry.  It  is  now  owned  by  P. 
N.  Todd.  South  from  this  tract  Tunis  I.  Quick 
owned  land,  coming  into  possession  through  his  wife, 
who  was  a  Voorhees. 

Col.  James  Henry  was  living  about  half  a  mile  east 
of  Lamington  in  the  memory  of  many  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. In  1834  he  owned  400  acres  a  short  distance 
east  of  Lamington  church,  which  later  he  sold  to 
Dennis  Simonson.  About  1800  the  land  in  Laming- 
ton was  mostly  owned  by  Simon  Suydam.  The  Duyc- 
kinoks  were  also  early  settlers  on  the  east  side  of  the 
"  High  Eoad  that  leads  from  Lamington  to  Piscata- 
qua."  John  is  the  first  of  whom  any  mention  is  made. 
In  1787  he  was  possessed  of  200  acres,  where  descend- 
ants of  the  family  still  reside ;  the  stone  house,  over  a 
hundred  years  old,  is  yet  standing. 

The  farm  on  which  George  Mullen  now  resides  was 
formerly  owned  by  the  Rev.  James  McCrea,  probably 
before  he  purchased  that  on  which  Peter  J.  Lane  now 
resides.  He  came  to  Lamington  in  1741  as  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  lived  first  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river.  His  son  Creighton  was  also  pur- 
chaser of  a  large  tract  on  the  east  side  of  the  Laming- 
ton Biver,  about  a  mile  below  Lamington.  In  1787 
the  Todd  family  were  owners  of  considerable  land 
below  Lamington,  as  follows :  Samuel,  100  acres ; 
George,  200;  Col.  William,  170;  Capt.  John,  80. 
They  intermarried  with  several  of  the  early  families. 
In  1787,  James  Heath  owned  277  acres,  and  Feb.  6, 

*  See  the  McDowell  personal  sketcheB,  at  the  close  of  this  township 
hiBtory. 


1790,  Daniel  Heath  sold  109  acres,  on  Lamington 
River,  to  Jeremiah  Fields.  William  Fields,  a  son, 
now  lives  on  the  place,  far  advanced  in  years. 

In  1787  the  Kings  owned  property  in  this  section  on 
the  river  :t  Thomas  owned  243  acres ;  George,  60 ;  Na- 
than, 90.  April  18, 1775,  Nathaniel  Marston,  of  New 
York,  sold  to  David  Henry  286i  acres,  beginning  at 
the  mouth  of  Muddy  Brook,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Lamington  River.  The  Vandervoorts  came  into  the 
township  about  1800. 

At  the  junction  of  the  Lamington  River  and  North 
Branch  is  a  locality  that  for  many  years  has  been 
known  as  "Burnt  Mills,"  and  earlier  as  "Bromley's." 
The  locality  to-day  known  as  Stillwell's  Mills  was  in 
the  early  settlement  called  Bromley,  and  on  the  estab- 
lishment of  mills  at  this  point  the  place  was  called 
New  Bromley.  The  mills  were  on  the  south  side  be- 
fore 1755,  and  were  owned  by  Andrew  Leake.  At 
what  time  they  were  burnt  not  even  an  approximate 
date  can  be  given,  as  it  is  beyond  the  memory  of  liv- 
ing residents.  In  1760  a  store  was  kept  there,  and  the 
bridge,  in  the  early  records,  is  shown  to  have  been  re- 
built in  1774.  The  following  inscription  was  placed 
upon  a  stone  in  one  of  the  abutments : 

"  Bromley  Bridge,  Built  at  ye  expense  of  ye  County  of  Somerset,  1774. 
B.  Chambers  and  J.  Gaston,  Managers.    J.  Compton,  Builder." 

Long  after  the  mills  were  burnt  a  woolen-mill  was 
erected,  and  a  Mr.  Whitehead,  with  his  family,  came 
there  from  England  and  manufactured  cloth  for  sev- 
eral years. 

The  tracts  north  of  the  Lesser  and  Larger  Cross- 
Roads  were  Johnston  and  Willocks,  George  Leslie, 
Peapack  patent, — a  part  of  which  was  purchased  by 
James  Parker,  of  Perth  Amboy, — John  Bryant,  Rob- 
ert Blair,  Andrew  Hamilton,  and  Alexander  and 
Dunstar.  John  Bryant  owned  a  portion  on  the  west 
side  of  the  township,  and  also  at  Peapack.  Following 
are  mentioned  some  of  the  leading  early  families  who 
settled  in  this  portion. 

Johannes  or  John  Melick  emigrated,  with  his  wife 
and  four  children,  to  this  country,  from  the  village  of 
BendorflF,  Germany,  about  1735,  and  settled  first. on 
Leslie's  Ridge  (now  Readington),  where  he  was  inter- 
ested in  a  tannery  with  the  Klines.  Nov.  1,  1751,  he 
purchased  of  George  Leslie  367  acres  of  land  on  the 
east  end  of  the  tract  of  which  the  Indian  title  was 

■(■  The  following  advertisement  appeared  in  The  Guardian  and  New 
Brujiswick  Advertiser  of  Dec.  12,  1792: 

"  The  Subscriber  respectfully  informs  his  Friends,  and  the  public  in 
general,  that  he  has  erected  a  Fulling  Mill  on  the  place  Nathan  King 
formerly  lived,  on  Lamington  River.  The  person  who  attends  the  said 
mill  lived  with  John  Hardenburgh,  Esqr.,  last  seaBon,  and  is  sober,  atten- 
tive, and  master  of  his  business.  Any  person  who  will  favor  him  with 
their  custom  may  rely  upon  having  their  cloth  done  in  the  best  manner 
and  with  dispatch.  Any  cloth  left  at  Capt.  Daniel  Scamp's  in  Readington, 
and  at  Mr.  Caspar  Bergen's  at  Readington  Meeting  House,  and  Joseph 
Atkinson  and  Co.,  Flemington,  or  at  Benjamin  Dunham's  Mine  Brook 
Mills,  directed  to  the  subscriber,  shall  be  taken,  dressed  and  returned  as 
quick  as  possible. 

"  James  Alexander." 


BEDMINSTER. 


705 


purchased  by  Dr.  John  Johnston  and  George  Wil- 
locks.    This  tract  extended  east  to  Peapack  or  Law- 
rence Brook  and  the  North  Branch ;   south  to  the 
north  line  of  the  Maj.  Daniel  Axtell  tract,  the  pres- 
ent east-and-west  road  being  then  on  the  line,  having 
been  laid  out  in  1745  ;  north  to  the  north  line  of  the 
Indian  tract.    Mr.  Melick  immediately  built  a  log 
house  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  present  Melick 
House,  and  during  the  next  year  erected  the  stone 
house,  which  is  still  standing,  occupied  by  William  P. 
Sutphin.    At  the  same  time,  a  short  distance  east  of 
the  stone  house,  a  tannery  was  built  on  Peapack 
Brook,  the  ruins  of  which  and  of  the  race  are  still 
visible.    Eighteen  vats  were  made  below  the  tannery- 
building.    The  lower  part  of  the  dwelling  was  used 
for  a  drying-  and  flnishing-room.     The  children  of 
Mr.  Melick  who  were  born  at  Bendorff  were  Aaron, 
Fanny,  Andrew,  and  Maria ;  Philip  and  Peter  in  this 
county,  on  Leslie's  Ridge.     Aaron  married  Charlotte 
Miller,  lived  an  active  life,  and  died  in  1809,  aged 
eighty-three.  *  Their  children  were  John,  who  married 
Jane  Cornell ;  Catharine,  who  married  Peter  Perrine ; 
Daniel,  who  married  Margaret  Gaston  and  Catharine 
La  Rue ;  Elizabeth ;  Margaret,  who  married  Joseph 
Gaston ;  Maria,  who  married  Solomon  Patterson. 

Fanny,  daughter  of  John,  married  Jacob  Kline,  of 
New  Germantown,  where  their  descendants  are  nu- 
merous. Jacob  Kline,  of  Kline's  Mills,  is  of  the 
family.  Andrew,  son  of  John,  married  and  removed 
to  New  York  City.  Maria,  daughter  of  John,  mar- 
ried Simeon  Himrod ;  they  removed  to  Trumansburg, 
Tompkins  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  their  descendants  are  w;ell 
known.  Philip,  son  of  John,  married  Maria  King; 
their  children  were  Catharine  (married  James  Todd), 
David,  John  (married  Mary  Todd),  Elizabeth  (mar- 
ried Jacob  Van  Dyke),  Fanny  (married  Adam  Her- 

riot),  Charlotte,  Margaret,  Magdalen  (married 

Vosseller). 

Peter,  youngest  son  of  John,  married  Mary  Mag- 
dalen King ;  their  children  were  David  (married  Mary 
Heuston),  John  (married  Jeannette  OUphant),  and 
Catharine  (married  Enos  Mundy).  John  had  a  son 
Daniel,  who  had  ten  children.  John  married  Ann,  a 
daughter  of  Capt.  Joseph  Nevius ;  Rosannah  married 
William  J.  Todd,  who  lived  west  of  the  homestead 
(David  M.  Todd  is  a  son) ;  Mary  married  Peter  Sut- 
phin, and  had  three  children,— Peter  T.,  William  P., 
and  Catharine.  William  P.  now  lives  on  the  old  John 
Melick  homestead. 

The  family  of  Sutphin  in  this  country  descended 
from  one  Zutfin  who  owned  a  large  estate  in  Holland, 
on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Zutphin.  The  an- 
cestor who  emigrated  to  this  country  settled  on  Long 
Island  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Guisbert  Sutphin, 
Sr.,  was  born  on  Long  Island  in  1693,  and  removed  to 
Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.  His  son,  Guisbert,  Jr.,  was 
born  in  that  county,  married  Ariontje  Van  Pelt,  and 
came  to  Bedminster  township  about  1743,  traveling 
with  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  cart,  on  which  were  his 


family,  household  goods,  and  a  chest  of  carpenter's 
tools.    He  first  purchased  a  tract  of  land  containing 
about  300  acres  on  the  Johnson  and  Willock  tract, 
including  the  farms  now  owned  by  Matthew  Lane 
and  Isaac  Voorhees,  and  a  part  of  the  farm  of  Mat- 
thew P.  Lane.    This  land  he  sold  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  Matthias  Lane,  Sr.,  about  1745.    He  then  pur- 
chased about  300  acres  of  George  Leslie,  north  of  the 
Johnston   and  Willock  tract,  which  he  afterwards 
sold  to  John  Voorhees,  a  brother-in-law,  who  occu- 
pied the  farm  with  his  descendants  till  about  1800, 
when  they  removed  to  the  West.    A  part  of  this  farm 
was  recently  owned  by  Jacob  B.  Sanders.     Dec.  29, 
1749,  he  purchased  lOOJ  acres  of  George,  which  from 
some  cause  was  again  conveyed  to  him,  Aug.  30, 1753, 
by  Stephen  Crane,  Thomas  Clark,  and  John  Crane, 
of   Elizabeth  borough,  and   two  other  tracts,   con- 
taining 79  acres,  which  by  virtue  of  an  Indian  pur- 
chase and  grant  to  Richard  Nichols,  Aug.  11,  1749, 
had  come  into  the  possession  of  the  borough.     This 
land  is  now  owned  by  Amos  0.  Sutphin  and  Sering 
Dunham.     May  10,  1754,  he  also  purchased  68  acres 
north  of  Derrick  Longstreet,  which  had  been  pur- 
chased by  him  of  Andrew  and  Dr.  Lewis  Johnston 
in  June,  1749.    May  30,  1751,  he  bought  221S-  acres  of 
Dr.  Lewis  Johnston  and  Andrew  Johnston,  north  of 
his  other  purchase ;  this  tract  became  divided  among 
his  sons  and  daughters.     Here  he  lived  during  the 
stormy  scenes  of  the  Revolution,  in  which  he  bore  an 
active  part.     His  death  occurred  in  1796;   he  was 
buried  in  Bedminster  churchyard.     After  the  death 
of  his  wife,  in  1788,  he  married  Petrenelly  Voorhees.. 
In  1787  he  was  in  possession  of  338  acres,  and  Guis- 
bert Sutphin  (2d)  who  married  his   daughter,   105 
acres.    The  children  by  his  first  wife  were  Gertie,  who 
married  Guisbert  Sutphin,  and  who  on  the  11th  of  Au- 
gust, 1799,  purchased  of  Dr.  Lewis  Johnston  and 
Andrew  Johnston  two  tracts  of  land,  one,  beginning 
at  Middlebrook  on  the  easterly  side,  containing  76 
acres,  the  other  a  tract  "by  the  southerly  line  of  Geo. 
Leslie  and  north  of  land  lately  sold  by  Andrew  and  Dr. 
Lewis  Johnston  to  Derrick  Longstreet,"  containing 
79  acres.     This  land  is  now  occupied  by  William 
Heath.     Catharine  married  Cornelius  Powelson  and 
lived  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town.     John  mar- 
ried Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Ralph  Phenix,  and  removed 
to  Cherry  Valley.    Nellie  married  Robert  Blair,  Esq., 
who  settled  west  of  the  Sutphin  homestead,  and  in 
1787  owned  202  acres.    They  had  two  children,  Peter 
and  John;  the  last  was  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Robert 
J.  Blair.    Peter  Blair,  of  Bernard,  is  also  a  son.    The 
land  was  afterwards  sold  to  the  Barclays,  and  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  Peter  S.  Tiger.    Capt.  Peter  Sut- 
phin  married  Caty,  a  daughter   of  Stephen  Hunt. 
Their  children  were  Stevens,  Arthur,  Peter,  Gilbert, 
William,   and  Catharine.     Arthur  married  Rachel 
'Suydam,  a  sister  of  Dr.  Cornelius  Suydam.    He  rep- 
resented the  district  two  terms  in  the  Legislature,  was 
justice  of  the  peace  ten  years  and  surrogate  of  the 


706 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


county  five  years.  Stephen  married  Mary  Dunham 
and  lived  on  part  of  the  old  homestead.  Peter  married 
Mary  Melick.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mary  he 
married  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Capt.  William  Smith, 
who  settled  north  of  Capt.  Peter,  who  lived  on  the 
old  homestead.  William  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Jacob  Locey,  of  Pluckamin.  Gilbert  married  Jane 
Crater.  Amos  C.  Sutphin  now  lives  on  his  father's 
farm,  which  is  the  old  homestead  of  Guisbert  Sut- 
phin. Peter  G.  lives  on  the  farm  west.  Rev.  Morris 
C.  was  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  Catharine  married 
Minnah  Powelson,  of  New  York  City.  The  sons  of 
Peter  Sutphin  by  his  first  wife  were  Dr.  Peter  T.,  a 
physician  in  practice  at  the  Lesser  Cross-Eoads,  and 
William  P.,  living  on  the  old  Melick  homestead ;  the 
latter  was  in  the  Assembly  of  the  State  in  1873-74. 
Arthur  P.  and  David  M.  are  sons  by  Sarah  Smith,  and 
are  both  living  at  Somerville. 

John  Van  Doren,  of  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.,  in  1756 
married  his  cousin,  Agnita  Schenck,  daughter  of  Eu- 
loff,  and  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  west 
side  of  Peapack  Brook,  about  1760,  of  Dr.  John  John- 
ston. His  sous  were  Jacob,  William,  and  Eulofi". 
William  married  Rachel,  daughter  of  Guisbert  Long- 
street,  of  Squam.  After  her  death  he  removed  to 
Peapack,  and  there  married  Mary  Hunt.  His  sons, 
Jacob  and  Gilbert,  lived  there  until  recently.  Aaron, 
a  brother  of  John,  married  a  daughter  of  John 
Schenck,  and  on  Dec.  23, 1766,  purchased  on  an  agree- 
ment 175  acres  of  land  of  his  brother  John.  Later 
(in  1769),  Aaron  purchased  178  acres  of  John,  on  the 
upper  end  of  the  town,  and  built  a  house  west  of  Lewis 
Van  Doren's  present  residence.  William  A.  Van 
Doren  inherited  a  part  of  his  father's  property,  and 
purchased  additional  land.  His  son  Lewis  now  lives 
in  the  house  his  father  erected  in  1814.  Jacob  Van 
Doren  owned  240  acres  in  1787. 

The  Barclay  family  were  in  the  township  at  a  very 
early  time;  they  were  descendants  of  the  Barclay  who 
was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey.  In  1787 
they  were  in  possession  of  large  tracts  of  land  :  Eob- 
ert,  200  acres ;  Hugh,  252 ;  John,  110.  This  land  was 
north  of  the  Larger  Cross-Eoads.  James  Parker,  of 
Perth  Amboy,  purchased  a  large  tract  in  the  north 
part  of  the  township ;  it  was  sold  to  different  parties, 
and  has  passed  through  many  hands.  The  land  on 
the  east  side  of  Peapack  or  Lawrence  Brook,  in  the 
north  part  of  the  township,  was  largely  purchased 
by  Hugh  Gaston,  Sr. ;  it  consisted  of  300  or  400  acres, 
and  extended  from  the  Peapack  road  over  to  the 
Branch.  He  had  one  son,  Hugh,  Jr.  In  1787,  Hugh 
Gaston  owned  300  acres,  and  Robert  Gaston,  20. 

Hugh  Gaston,  Sr.,  probably  purchased  between 
1750  and  1760 ;  the  name  first  appears  in  1764,  in  the 
record  of  a  road  laid  from  the  ford  on  North  Branch 
to  the  Black  River  road.  Gaston  died  in  1772,  aged 
eighty-five.  His  son  Hugh  married  Mary,  daughter' 
of  David  Kirkpatrick,  of  Bernardstown ;  he  died  in 
1808,  aged  seventy-five.     In  1812  the  large  property 


was  sold  by  the  heirs  of  Dickinson  Miller,  attorney, 
to  Nicholas  Joroleman,  whose  heirs  sold  to  Moses 
Craig.  A  part  of  it  is  in  possession  of  Dr.  Ed- 
ward Perry,  whose  wife  is  a  daughter  of  Moses  Craig. 
John  Bryant  owned  a  large  tract  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Peapack  road,  opposite  the  lower  portion  of  Pea- 
pack village  and  south  of  Van  Doren's — now  known 
as  Joroleman's  Mills — a  mill  was  erected  at  some  re- 
mote time.  Of  this  property,  260  acres  were  pur- 
chased in  1808  by  Nicholas  Joroleman,  who  removed 
from  Hillsborough.  His  son  Daniel  came  with  him 
when  fourteen,  and  is  still  living  in  Peapack. 

The  Potter  family  were  residents  along  the  Lam- 
ington  River  as  early  as  1740,  owning  land  on  both 
sides.  Some  of  their  descendants  are  still  living. 
Robert,  Nicholas,  and  Col.  Jonathan  Potter  are  men- 
tioned; Samuel  and  Sebring  are  sons  of  Col.  Jona- 
than. The  latter  remained  at  Pottersville ;  Samuel 
removed  to  the  Larger  Cross-Roads.  In  1787,  Na- 
thaniel Potter  was  in  possession  of  81  acres ;  Samuel, 
75 ;  Isaac,  75. 

The  Castner  family  were  also  settlers  in  the  north 
part  of  the  township.  In  1756  the  names  of  John 
Castner  and  John,  Jr.,  Peter,  James,  and  Mary,  widow, 
appear  on  records,  but  in  1787  the  name  does  not 
appear  on  the  assessment-roll  as  owning  any  real 
estate.  Widow  Castner  is  taxed  on  personal  prop- 
erty. In  1768,  Valentine  Rynehart  was  in  possession 
of  122  acres,  which  he  had  purchased  some  years  pre- 
vious. His  land  adjoined  Robert  Barclay's,  cornered 
on  that  of  Thomas  Berry,  and  touched  the  line  of  the 
Axtell  tract.  His  son  John,  whose  son  Martin 
lives  east  of  Pottersville,  inherited  the  property. 
He  may  have  owned  other  land  south  of  the  residence 
of  Martin  Rynehart.  Thomas  Berry  was  for  many 
years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  active  in  the 
Revolution.  In  1787  he  owned  225  acres.  None  of 
the  family  name  are  now  in  the  township. 

The  name  of  Craig  was  a  familiar  one  among  the 
old  settlers  on  the  west  side  of  the  township  from 
about  1740,  John  Craig  being  the  first  mentioned.  May 
20,  1775,  Moses  Craig,  Sr.,  sold  201  acres  to  Simon 
Hagaman,  north  from  where  "  Craig's  Brook  empties 
into  the  Allemantunk,''  adjoining  land  of  Andrew 
Johnston.  A  tract  containing  875  acres  was  pur- 
chased in  January,  1741,  by  Andrew  Hamilton,  south 
of  this  land  of  Johnston's.  The  tract  purchased  the 
same  year  by  Alexander  and  Dunstar  comprises  the 
site  of  Lamington.  In  1745  one  Roseburg  owned  the 
land  that  afterwards  descended  to  one  of  the  Henrys, 
who  married  a  daughter.  The  family  of  Henry, 
among  whom  were  Daniel  and  Michael,  as  early  as 
1751,  were  possessors  of  large  tracts  in  this  section. 
[John  Adams,  John  and  James  O'Hara  and  others  were 
adjoining  their  lands  at  the  time.  Jeremiah  Halsey 
owned  105  acres  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Allematunk, 
which  he  sold  Feb.  24,  1772,  to  John  Demund,  after- 
wards owned  by  Rev.  William  Boyd,  and  known  as  the 
"parsonage  lot."]     In  1787  this  family  were  in  pos- 


BEDMINSTER. 


707 


session  of  an  immense  tract,  as  follows :  Daniel  Henry, 
213  acres;  James,  440;  Robert,  200.  Michael  Henry 
was  a  lawyer  in  New  York  City.  Dr.  Robert  E.  was 
also  one  of  this  family  ;  he  was  a  physician  of  much 
celebrity.* 

Alexander  Linn  was  a  prominent  citizen  in  the 
township  and  county.  James  Linn  represented  the 
district  in  Congress  when  Aaron  Burr  and  Thomas 
Jefferson  were  rival  candidates  for  the  Presidency, 
and  his  vote  elected  the  latter.f  The  name  occurs  in 
records  in  1756.  Alexander  died  in  1776,  and  James 
in  1821.  John  and  Joseph  Linn  each  own  150  acres 
near  the  centre  of  the  township.  It  is  probable  that 
the  Linn  property  adjoining  the  township  line  at 
Mine  Brook  was  the  homestead  of  Alexander. 

Near  the  Lamington  Eiver,  about  two  miles  south 
of  Pottersville  and  half  a  mile  from  Vliettown,  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  Mrs.  William  H.  Vliet,  lived, 
during  the  later  years  of  his  life,  John  Honeyman,J 
the  head  of  the  family  of  that  name  in  this  vicinity 
and  in  the  State.  Born  in  Armagh,  Ireland,  in  1729, 
the  son  of  a  Scotchman  who  had  emigrated  thither,? 
and  whose  ancestors  had  a  coat-of-arms||  for  valor  in 
the  days  of  chivalry,  he  emigrated  to  America  in 
1758,  in  the  English  frigate  "  Boyne,"  as  a  soldier  in 
the  English  army  in  the  French  and  Indian  war. 
Gens.  Abercrombie  and  Wolfe  were  with  him,  and 
during  the  voyage  he  saved  Gen.  Wolfe's  life  by  his 
great  muscular  power,1[  for  which  he  was  rewarded  by 
being  made  one  of  Wolfe's  body-guard.  When  the 
latter  fell  at  Quebec,  his  faithful  friend,  whose  clothes 
were  stained  with  Wolfe's  blood,  bore  him  from  the 
field.  After  the  war  he  went  to  Philadelphia,  mar- 
ried Mary  Henry,  an  Irish  girl  from  Coleraine,  Ire- 
land, and  there  met  Washington,  whose  spy  he  be- 
came, with  the  results  stated  in  the  chapter  on  Frank- 
lin township.  During  the  Revolution  he  resided  at 
Griggstown,  and  was  a  weaver.  Having  a  wife  and 
seven  children  to  support,  he  was  necessarily  kept  in 
moderate  circumstances ;  but,  as  a  result  of  his  valu- 
able services  to  Washington,  he  received,  it  is  be- 
lieved, compensation  sufficient  to  purchase  the  two 
farms  he  owned  in  Bedminster  township.**     One  of 


*  See  page  599  of  this  work. 

t  See  chapter  "  Prominent  Men  of  Somerset  Ciounty,"  pp.  637-38. 

t  This  sketch  of  the  Honeyman  family  is  contributed  by  A.  V.  D. 
Honeyman. 

g  An  examination  of  the  parish  records  at  Armagh,  made  in  1874  by 
the  writer,  failed  to  show  any  baptisms  or  other  mention  of  the  name ; 
the  inference,  therefore,  is  that  the  son  was  horn  in  Scotland  before  the 
father's  emigration  to  Ireland. 

II  Described  as  follows :  "  Ar.,  a  bend.,  engr.  and  voided  gn.  Crest,  an 
arrow  in  pale,  point  downwards."  There  was  another :  "  Ar.,  three 
bendlets,  each  cotised,  engr.  on  the  outer  side,  gu."  In  Scotland  the 
name  was  sometimes  spelled  Sonynian.  So  Justice  George  Honyman,  of 
the  English  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  London,  who  deceased  two  years 
since,  spelled  it. 

T  The  general  tripped  on  the  stairway,  and  Honeyman's  strong  arm 
saved  him. 

**  Says  Judge  Van  Dyke,  in  his  letter  concerning  John  Honeyman, 
published  in  the  "  In  Memoriam  of  Dr.  Honeyman,"  1874,  which  is  our 
.  authority  for  the  latter  statement :  "  He  had  them"  [the  farms]  "  both 


these,  the  homestead  farm, — known  as  the  "  Peapack 
patent,  lot  No.  19,"— contained  212J  acres,  and  was 
purchased  of  John  Bryant  and  Robert  Blair,  Jan.  4, 
1793 ;  the  other  contained  166^  acres,  and  was  pur- 
chased March  20,  1794,  of  James  Parker,  of  Amboy. 
The  first  cost  £500 ;  the  latter,  £742  M. ;  in  the 
whole,  about  $4000.  He  had  never  made  this  money 
weaving,  his  real  life-occupation. 

John  Honeyman  resided  on  the  farm  of  212J  acres 
from  the  date  of  its  purchase,  early  in  1793,  until  his 
death,  Aug.  18,  1822,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three.  His 
wife  Mary  preceded  him  to  the  grave  twenty  years 
before,  dying  June  24,  1801,  aged  sixty-three.  Their 
children  were  Jane,  who  was  never  married ;  Eleanor, 
who  married  Abraham  Porter  and  early  removed  to 
Western  New  York;  Margaret,  wife  of  William 
Henry,  and  subsequently  of  George  Armstrong  ;tt 
John,  who  married  Catharine  Covert ;  Mary,  wife  of 
Matthias  Lane ;  James,  who  married  Mary  Miller,  of 
Warren  County ;  Sarah,  wife  of  Abraham  Van  Dyke, 
mother  of  Judge  John  Van  Dyke,  well  known  in 
Somerset  County. 

By  this  it  will  appear  that  his  two  male  children, 
John  and  James,  were  those  through  whom  the  fam- 
ilies of  that  name  in  Bedminster,  Bridgewater,  and 
Tewksbury  townships  have  issued. 

John  had  seven  children, — William  E.,  John, 
James,  Peter,  Abram  V.  D.,  Jane,  and  Mary.  The 
descendants  of  the  five  sons  are  mostly  in  Bedminster 
and  Bridgewater  townships.  The  Honeymans  at 
Plainfield  and  Newark  also  belong  to  this  branch. 

James  had  four  children, — John  (Dr.  John  Honey- 
man, of  New  Germantown,  for  sketch  of  whom  see 
p.  221,  this  volume) ;  Robert  M.,  who  also  settled 
at  New  Germantown,  a  merchant;  Mary  Ann,  wife 
of  Peter  Fisher ;  and  Margaret,  who  married  Simon 
Van  Vliet,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  William  Duyckinck, 
near  Lamington. 

The  name  is  not  a  common  one  in  this  country,  and 
its  origin  is  unknown.  In  Scotland  the  family  is 
more  numerous,  there  being  many  of  them  in  the 
Glasgow  and  Edinburgh  directories,  and  half  a  dozen 
in  London.  Michael  Honeyman,  Esq.,  of  Glasgow, 
with  whom  the  writer  of  this  article  has  corresponded, 
uses  the  same  family  crest,  and  has  been  interested  in 
the  family  history,  but  has  as  yet  been  unable  to  find 
the  name  of  the  emigrant  to  Armagh. 

OTHER  EARLY  SETTLERS. 
About  1745,  Matthias  Lane,  Sr.,  of  Monmouth 
County,  persuaded  by  his  brother-in-law,  Guisbert 
Sutphin,  removed  to  Bedminster  and  purchased  300 
acres,  now  owned  by  Matthew  Lane,  Isaac  P.  Voor- 
hees,  and  part  of  the  farm  of  Matthew  P.  Lane. 
Land  adjoining  was  later  purchased,  and,  in  1787, 

paid  for.    He  owed  nobody;  and  I  remember  .  .  ,  hearing  my  father  and 
mother  conversing  about  his  property,  which  they  valued  at  $11,000." 
The  judge  was  his  grandson, 
ft  They  Ijved  at  the  head  of  Honeyman's  Lane. 


708 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Matthias  Lane,  Sr.,  was  in  possession  of  200  acres ; 
Matthias,  Jr.,  306;  Matthias  Lane,  120;  Garret,  127; 
Matthew,  100.  The  last  mentioned  was  at  this  time 
a  merchant  at  Pluckamin. 

Martin  Bunn  was  not  a  very  early  settler,  having 
moved  in  after  the  Eevolution.  In  1787  he  was  the 
owner  of  206  acres  in  the  west  part  of  the  township, 
now  owned  by  John  Bunn,  a  grandson.  He  had  three 
sons — Morris,  Conrad,  and  William — and  two  daugh- 
ters,— Mary  and  Elizabeth.  Morris  lived  a  mile  south 
of  Lamington,  where  he  died;  he  was  buried  in  Lam- 
ington  churchyard.  One  of  his  sons  lives  on  the 
homestead  of  his  father ;  Conrad  inherited  the  home- 
stead of  Martin  Bunn,  and  had  many  children ;  Mar- 
tin, the  eldest  son,  lives  at  Lesser  Cross-Eoads ; 
William  owned  property  at  Larger  Cross-Koads,  now 
belonging  to  C.  C.  Suydam. 

Before  1763,  Robert  Allen  purchased  112  acres  on 
the  east  side  of  Lawrence  or  Peapack  Brook,  and  in 
1787  owned  212  acres;  John,  50;  Eobert,  Jr.,  107. 
Joseph  Doren  lived  in  that  section  in  1764,  and  in 
1787  owned  200  acres.  The  family  were  there  many 
years.  William  Logan  was  also  an  early  settler  at 
Peapack ;  in  1787  he  owned  50  acres  a  little  northeast 
of  the  village.  He  was  a  blacksmith.  His  son  John 
was  captain  of  a  company  in  the  Somerset  brigade 
in  1814 ;  the  family  are  still  living  in  the  township. 
The  land  in  the  north  part  of  the  township  was  first 
purchased  by  Dr.  John  Johnston.  The  earliest  pur- 
chase from  that  time  of  which  any  record  is  obtained 
was  on  March  18,  1757,  when  Andrew  Johnston, 
William  Skinner,  and  Dr.  Lewis  Johnston,  executors 
of  the  last  will  and  testament  of  Dr.  John  Johnston, 
and  Mary  Alexander,  wife  of  James  Alexander  and 
daughter  of  Dr.  John  Johnston,  sold  a  small  tract  of 
12  acres  to  Garret  Van  Derveer,  who  afterwards  sold 
to  John  Smalley. 

Stephen  Hunt  was  a  colonel  in  the  Eevolutionary 
army  from  this  township,  and  owned  property  near 
Peapack,  and  later  down  at  the  mouth  of  Peapack 
Brook,  where  he  tunneled  the  hill  from  North  Branch 
to  Peapack  'for  a  greater  supply  of  water ;  this  is 
known  as  "Hunt's  Folly."  It  was  afterwards  sold  to 
Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  who  came  on  after  the  Eevolu- 
tion, and  in  1787  owned  76  acres ;  he  married  Ellen 
Sutphin.  Among  his  children  were  Ann,  who  married 
David  Magee,  whose  son  is  the  Hon.  William  J. 
Magee,  assistant  judge  of  the  Superior  Court.  Wil- 
liam Arrowsmith  married  Mary  Jeroleman.  Louise, 
the  daughter  of  William,  married  Cornelius  W. 
Schomp.  They  settled  on  the  homestead ;  Mrs. 
Schomp  is  still  living  there.  Her  son,  Cornelius  W., 
is  in  possession  of  the  homestead  and  the  mill  prop- 
erty. He  was  elected  to  the  Assembly  of  the  State 
from  his  district,  Nov.  2, 1880.  His  father,  Cornelius  W. 
Schomp,  was  also  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1855- 
56.  Eobert  Gaston  afterwards  purchased  the  Allen 
tract  of  112.19  acres  at  the  junction  of  Lawrence  or 
Peapack  Brook  and  North  Branch.     Eobei-t  Allen 


owned  this  land  in  1765,  and  built  a  mill  on  the  site  of 
Schomp's  Mill.  Eobert  Gaston  sold  to  Stephen  Hunt. 
On  account  of  the  scarcity  of  water  to  supply  both 
the  grist-  and  saw-mill  and  the  bark-mill  of  Melick's, 
across  the  stream,  Mr.  Hunt  conceived  the  idea  of 
tunneling  the  ridge,  and  by  a  race  from  the  North 
Branch  to  furnish  sufficient  water  for  all  purposes. 
Accordingly,  a  tunnel  was  cut  through  the  shale, 
about  100  yards  in  length,  4  feet  broad,  and  about  6 
feet  high.  A  dam  was  also  built  across  the  North 
Branch.  The  scheme  was  successful  in  its  results, 
but  it  ruined  him  financially. 

Jacob  and  William  Wolf  were  located  in  the  north- 
west part  of  the  township  in  1773.  Jacob  owned  142 
acres;  William,  70.  The  family  are  still  residents  of 
the  township.     The  Tigers  are  settlers  of  a  later  date. 

The  family  of  Nevius  were  early  settlers  in  the 
township  of  Franklin,  and  in  1787  three  of  the  name 
were  landowners.  Christian  owned  208  acres ;  Peter, 
160 ;  Albert,  108.  These  seem  to  have  been  of  a  dif- 
ferent branch  of  the  family  from  Capt.  Joseph  Nevius, 
who  came  into  the  township  in  1815. 

There  are  many  other  families  whose  ancestors- 
came  in  at  an  early  time,  but  of  whom  little  has  been 
obtained. 

EARLY   EOADS. 

No  records  of  roads  are  obtainable  in  the  township, 
they  having  been  burned,  as  before  stated.  The  high- 
ways from  Bound  Brook  to  Peapack  and  from  Lam- 
ington to  the  "  Great  Eoad"  appear  to  have  been  the 
earliest  opened.  In  an  old  book  of  record  in  the 
county  clerk's  office  we  find  that,  Sept.  18,  1744,  a 
road  was  ordered  opened  which  began  "  at  a  four-rod 
road  that  leads  from  Bound  Brook  betwixt  the  moun- 
tain at  a  black-oak  tree  standing  at  ye  mouth  of 
William  McDaniels'  lane"  ;  it  ran  "down  the  hill  by 
the  salt  ponds"  and  past  McDaniels'  Mills  till  it  in- 
tersected Peapack  Eoad.  The  tract  of  land  purchased 
by  William  McDaniels  was  situated  at  what  is  now 
known  as  Kline's  Mills.  The  boys  of  forty  years  ago 
well  remember  the  "Old  Bridge  Hole"  as  a  famous 
fishing-place,  and  the  ruins  of  an  old  bridge  is  re- 
membered by  many  as  being  opposite  the  house  of 
George  Stevens.  The  course  of  the  old  road  has  been 
changed  somewhat. 

A  road  was  laid  out  from  the  township  line  at  the 
Demond  bridge,  east  of  Lesser  Cross-Eoads,  westerly 
through  Larger  Cross-Eoads  to  the  "  High  Eoad"  from 
"  Lamington  to  Piscataqua"  in  October,  1746. 

Aug.  19,  1755,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  sur- 
veyors to  lay  out  a  "  four-rod  road  from  Mr.  Andrew 
Leake's  mill  to  Pluckamin  town."* 

There  were  many  other  roads  laid  and  re-laid  in 
the  early  days,t  but  the  above  mentioned  are  the  most 
prominent.  The  reader  is  also  referred  to  the  chapter 
on  early  roads  in  the  general  history  of  this  county. 

*  See  p.  33,  old  record  of  roads,  clerk's  office,  Somerville. 

t  See  pp.  8, 10,  21,  22,  33,  66,  etc.,  old  road  book,  clerk's  office,  Somer- 


BEDMINSTER. 


709 


TAVERNS. 
The  oldest  tavern  in  the  township  of  Bedminster 
was  doubtless  that  of  Jacob  Eoff,  at  Pluckamin ;  tra- 
dition gives  the  date  of  its  erection  as  1750.  He  kept 
the  tavern  through  the  momentous  scenes  of  the  Eev- 
olution,   and  Pluckamin,  although  to-day  off  from 
main  lines  of  travel  and  an  unimportant  place,  was 
in  that  time  a  centre  of  interest.    A  committee  of  the 
Council  of  Safety  met  at  the  old  tavern,  and  many  of 
the  prominent  men  of  the  country  were  in  the  habit 
of  gathering  there.    The  idea  has  obtained  from  arti- 
cles heretofore  published  that  Christian  Eoff  kept  the 
tavern  at  that  time,  but,  as  he  was  not  born  till  1762, 
it  is  not  likely  he  was  landlord  at  thirteen  years  of 
age.*     He  was  an  inveterate  joker,  and  many  are  the 
stories  related  of  him.f    The  site  of  the  old  tavern  is 
where  the  house  of  Joseph  Nevius  now  stands  in 
Pluckamin.    It  was  discontinued  as  a  tavern  and  oc- 
cupied by  Cornelius  Eoff,  a  brother  of  Christian  Eoff, 
as  a  residence.    A  tavern  was  built  on  the  site  of  the 
present  one,  and  kept  by  Christian  Eoff  for  many 
years,  and  when  the  old  tavern  (sometimes  called  the 
■"  Barracks,"  from  its  being  a  long,  low  building)  was 
torn  down,  the  present  tavern  building  was  erected  by 
James  Herriot.     Christian  Eoff  had  great  influence 
with  the  court  officials ;    his  friend  across  the  way 
failed  to  obtain  a  license,  and  the  house  was  never 
used  for  that  purpose. 

John  Sutphen  kept  one  of  the  taverns  at  Larger 
Cross-Roads  during  the  war,  and  was  a  spy  for  Wash- 
ington. When  the  army  was  on  the  way  to  the  South, 
a  short  time  before  the  capture  of  Cornwallis,  the 
officers  and  staff  dined  here.  While  Gens.  Knox, 
Wayne,  Maxwell,  and  others  gave  way  to  pleasantry 
over  their  wine,  Washington  remained  silent  and 
thoughtfal  at  the  head  of  the  table.  Lucy  Smith  has 
told  Peter  Sutphen  that  her  grandmother,  Sarah 
Phoenix  Sutphen,  the  landlady,  watched  him  taking 
bread-crumbs  between  his  thumb  and  finger  and 
grinding  them  to  powder  in  his  abstractedness,  his 
restless  fingers  keeping  motion  to  the  workings  of 
his  brain,  that  then  and  there  was  organizing  the 
glorious  victory  which  shortly  followed. 

The  American  wagon-master  kept  his  horses  in 
Sutphen's  stable.  To  get  into  the  enemy's  camp  and 
find  out  their  plans  Sutphen  played  the  horse-thief. 
In  concert  with  the  wagon-master,  they  got  Simon, 
a  negro  of  Gisbert  Sutphen,  to  break  open  the  stable- 
door  and  assist  in  taking  the  horses  to  a  thicket, 
where  they  were  hid  for  three  days,  the  men  in  the 
American  camp  being  told  they  had  been  stolen. 
The  negro,  who  afterwards  told  the  story,  said  that 
he  carried  them  hay  in  the  darkness  of  night  for  fear 
of  being  discovered.  Sutphen,  watching  his  oppor- 
tunity, took  the  horses  to  the  British,  sold  them,  got 


*  In  the  record  of  tavern  licenses  in  the  county  clerk's  oflicc,  Christian 
EofTa  name  first  appears  as  having  been  granted  in  the  April  term, 
1791. 

f  See  A.  W.  McDowell's  article  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873. 


into  their  camp,  and  obtained  on  the  sly  the  informa- 
tion he  wanted.  Many  other  similar  stories  are  told 
of  the  cunning  inventions  of  this  man  to  learn  the 
movements  of  the  enemy.J  Township  elections  were 
held  at  this  tavern. 

In  1797  another  tavern  was  kept,  across  the  road, 
by  John  Finley,  in  1798-99  by  Jacob  Hoppook,  and 
in  1800  by  John  D.  Van  Duyn ;  later  it  was  kept  by 
Joseph  Stevens.  The  Sutphen  tavern  stood  on  the 
site  of  the  present  residence  of  David  Dunham,  the 
Finley  tavern  where  Zachariah  Flommerfelt  now 
lives.  No  tavern  has  been  kept  at  the  Larger  Cross- 
Eoads  for  over  forty  years.  John  Melick  kept  a  tavern 
at  Lesser  Cross-Eoads ;  his  first  license  was  granted 
in  1786.  He  remained  as  late  as  1801,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Capt.  William  Fulkerson  (a  noted  cavalry 
officer  from  Virginia),  who  remained  at  this  place  till 
1814. 

The  tavern  has  had  many  landlords  from  that  time. 
It  is  now  kept  by  George  Beavers.  A  tavern  was 
also  kept  at  Lamington  in  an  early  day,  of  which  but 
little  is  known  except  that  after  the  Sunday  services 
the  people  usually  gathered  there  and  partook  of 
cake  and  beer. 

TOWNSHIP  OKGANIZATION. 
No  positive  evidence  of  the  date  of  organization  of 
the  township  can  be  obtained,  as  the  books  and 
papers,  together  with  the  charter,  were  burned  about 
1845  in  the  fire  that  destroyed  the  residence  of  Aaron 
Longstreet,  of  Lamington,  then  township  clerk. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  charter  was  from  the 
king  and  bore  date  about  the  same  time  as  that  of 
the  township  of  Bridgewater,  which  was  in  1749. 
The  subscription-list  which  is  found  in  the  history  of 
St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church  bears  date  "  Bedminster- 
town,  December  ye  7th,  1756.  .  .  .  For  building  a 

church  in  Bedminstertown,"  and  contains  many  of 
the  family  names  of  Bedminster  at  that  time. 

An  election  was  held  in  1797  at  the  tavern-house  of 

John  Finley,  innkeeper,  at  the  Larger  Cross-Eoads, 

at  the  same  place  in  1798-99,  then  kept  by  Jacob 

Hoppock,  and  in  1800,  then  the  house  of  John  D. 

Van  Duyn. 

The  civil  list  of  the  township  is  here  given  from 

1845  (the  date  of  the  earliest  existing  records)  to  the 

present  time : 

TOWN  OLEEKS. 

1846-46,  Aaron  Longstreet;  1847-48,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell;  1849-60, 
William  J.  Todd;  1861-52,  Frederick  H.  Kennedy;  1863,  Henry 
Honeyman  ;  1864-56,  David  M.  Todd ;  1866-61,  William  P.  Sutphin  ; 
1862-63,  William  H.  Todd  ;  1864-66,  William  P.  Sutphin ;  1867,  David 
M.  Todd;  1868,  William  P.  Sutphin;  1869-73,  Wilbur  T.  Wilson; 
1874,  David  M.  Sutphin  ;  1875,  0.  B.  Messier;  1876-79,  Brastus  Kan- 
dall ;  1880,  George  H.  Logan, 

CHOSEN  FBEEHOLDEBS. 

1846,  Henry  Sloan,  Derrick  Lane ;  1846-47,  Stephen  H.  Sutphin,  Samuel 
Potter ;  1848-49,  David  G.  Schomp,  William  Wortman  ;  1860-51,  Ben- 
jamin E.  Honnell,  Peter  J.  Lane  ;  1862-63,  Cornelius  M.  Wyckotf ; 

%  Many  interesting  reminiscences  were  gathered  in  1870  by  Jacob 
Magill,  of  the  Newark  Journal,  some  of  which  are  here  reproduced. 


710 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1854-65,  William  J.  Torld;  18615-57,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell ;  18B6-69, 
William  J.  Todd  ;  1860-61,  Chambers  D.  Tuniaon  ;  1862-63,  Samuel 
Potter;  1864-65,  Benjamin  K.  Honnell;  1866-67,  Cornelius  S.  Sut- 
phin;  1868-69,  Morris  M.  Crater;  1870-73,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell; 
1874-75,  Peter  J.  Lane;  1S7G-77,  Peter  S.  Tiger;  1878-79,  Austin 
Clark  ;  1880,  Isaac  Voorhees. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 

1845,  Aaron  Longstreet,  Abraham  A,  Ten  Eyck,  William  J.  Todd,  Cor- 
nelius W.  Schomp,  Peter  Garretson ;  1846,  James  J.  Todd,  Adam 
Reger,  David  Apgar,  Peter  Latourette,  Peler  Garretson  ;  1847,  James 
J.  Todd,  Adam  Eeger,  David  Apgar,  Peter  Latourette,  John  D.  Kline ; 
1848,  David  W.  Dillioker,  John  D,  Kline,  Morris  P.  Crater,  William 
Ten  Eyck,  Cornelius  W.  Schomp ;  1849,  Morris  P.  Crater,  John  D. 
Wortman,  Peter  Melick,  William  Ten  Eyck,  Cornelius  W.  Schomp ; 
1850,  John  D.  Wortman,  Peter  Melick,  Frederick  H.  Kennedy,  Nich- 
olas Tiger,  Aaron  Longstreet ;  1851,  A.  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Samuel  Potter, 
Frederick  H.  Kennedy,  Nicholas  Tiger,  Aaron  Longstreet;  1S52, 
Erederick  H.  Kennedy,  Aaron  Longstreet,  Abraham  A.  Ten  Eyck  ; 

1853,  William   J.  Todd,  Cornelius   W.   Schomp,  Samuel    Potter; 

1854,  David  W.  Dellicker,  Cornelius  W.  Schomp,  Samuel  Potter; 

1855,  David  W.  Dellicker,  Abraham  A  Ten  Eyck,  Arthur  V.  P.  Sut- 
phin;  1856,  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoff,  Abraham  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Arthur 
T.  P.  Sutpbin ;  1867,  Arthur  V.  P.  Sutphin,  William  J.  Todd,  Abra- 
ham A.  Ten  Eyck ;  1858,  Arthur  V.  P.  Sutphin,  Peter  Honeyman, 
Daniel  C.  Powelson ;  1869,  Arthur  V.  P.  Sutphin,  George  Lawshe, 
Peter  Honeyman;  1860,  Cornelius  W,  Schomp,  Barnabas  H.  Horton, 
George  Lavpshe;  1861,  Cornelius  W.  Schomp,  Barnabas  H.  Horton, 
Theodore  Allen ;  1862,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell,  Lewie  Van  Doren,  The- 
odore Allen ;  1863,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell,  Lewis  Van  Doren,  William 
S.  Potter ;  1864-65,  William  C.  Potter,  Cornelius  S.  Sutphin,  Barnabas 
H.  Horton;  1866,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell,  Theodore  Allen,  Peter  S. 
Tiger;  1867,  Benjamin  B.  Honnell,  Peter  S.  Tiger,  William  S.  Pot- 
ter; 1868,  Cornelius  W.  Schomp,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell,  Horace  Van 
Derbeck;  1869,  Horace  A.  Van  Derbeck,  Philip  M.  Crater,  William 
P.  Sutphin;  1870-72,  Horace  A.  Van  Derbeck,  Philip  M.  Crater, 
David  M.Todd;  1873-74,  David  M.  Todd,  John  Poole,  George  P. 
Vroom  ;  1875,  Theodore  Allen,  John  Poole,  George  P.  Vroom  ;  1876, 
Benjamin  E.  Honnell,  Horace  A.  Van  Derbeck,  Charles  L.  Layton ; 
1877,  Austin  Clark,  David  B.  Melick,  Benjamin  E.  Honnell ;  1878, 
Ellas  Philhower,  John  Eodman,  Isaac  Voorhees,  George  W,  Mullen, 
David  E.  Melick;  1879,  George  W.  Mullen,  John  Eodman,  Isaac 
Voorhees,  George  P.  Vroom ;  1880,  Peter  S.  Tiger,  John  Eodman, 
Ealph  Davenport. 

JUSTICES   OF  THE  PEACE. 
1850,  Ellas  D.  Lawrence,  Jacob  Losey;  1876,  David  M.  Todd,  Horace  A. 
Van  Derbeck,  John  M.  Brown ;  1880,  Horace  A.  Van  Derbeck,  David 
M.  Todd. 

SUEVEYOES  OF   HIGHWAYS. 

1846,  John  Wortman,  Jr.,  David  Dunham  ;  1846,  William  J.  Van  Doren, 
Samuel  Sloan;  1847,  William  Wortman,  Marten  Latourette;  1848- 
49,  John  Tiger,  Derrick  Lane;  1850,  Jonathan  F.  Van  Deventer, 
Simon  J.  Vleet ;  1851,  Peter  Garretson,  Simon  J.  Vleet ;  1852,  Wil- 
liam Wortman,  Simon  J.  Vleet;  1853,  William  Wortman,  Aaron 
Longstreet;  1854,  John  Wortman,  Jr.,  John  M.  Wyckoff;  1856-57, 
John  Wortman,  Jr.,  John  B.  Demund ;  1858,  John  B.  Demnnd,  C.  S. 
Sloan ;  1859-60,  John  W.  Demund,  Andrew  J.  Gulick ;  1861-62,  John 
Wortman,  Simon  J.  Vleet ;  1863-67,  Jacob  V.  D.  Powelson,  Austen 
Clark;  1868-71,  Jacob  V.  D.  Powelson,  Peter  F.  Hill ;  1872-73,  Jacob 
V.  D.  Powelson,  John  G.  Schomp ;  1874-75,  Jacob  V.  D.  Powelson, 
Charles  L.  Layton ;  1876-78,  Joseph  D.  Nevius,  Cornelius  M.  Wyck- 
off; 1879,  Joseph  D.  Nevius,  Nathan  Compton;  1880,  Amos  C.  Sut> 
phin,  Eobert  E.  Nevius. 

ASSESSOES. 
1846,  Ealph  Davenport ;  1846-47,  David  Dunham ;  1848-49,  Samuel  Sloan ; 
1860,  John  Van  Derveer;  1851-52,  David  W.  Dellicker;  1853-54, 
Peter  Kline ;  1855-61,  Ealph  Davenport ;  1862-63,  W.  P.  Sutphin ; 
1864-66,  Ealph  Davenport ;  1867-68,  John  G.  Schomp ;  1869-72,  Jacob 
Kline;  1873-75,  Horace  A.  Vanderbeok  ;  1876-78,  John  G.  Schomp; 
1879-80,  William  P.  Sutijhin. 

C0LLECT0E3. 
1845,  Morris  P.  Crater;  1846,  Cornelius  W.  Schomp;  1847-48,  Moses 
Craig;  1849-50,  David  W.  Dellicker;  1861-52,  John  G.  Schomp; 
1863,  Elias  D.  Lawrence ;  1854,  Peter  Honeyman  ;  1855-56,  Samuel 


Potter;  1857-58,  John  G.  Schomp;  1859-60,  Theodore  Allen;  1861- 
62,  Amos  T.  Foster;  1883,  Nicholas  P.  Todd;  1864-65,  Theodore 
Allen;  1806-79,  Amos  T.  Foster;  1880,  Theodore  Allen. 

A  list  of  the  votes  taken  Oct.  10  and  11, 1797,  at  the 
house  of  John  Finley,  innkeeper,  at  the  Cross-Roads  in 
Bedminster,  for  council,  assembly,  sheriff,  and  coro- 
ners: 

John  Mehelm,  Abraham  Metaney,  Giddean  Lyon,  Jesse  Skillinger,  Mat- 
thias Lane,  Daniel  Avan,  Aaron  Melick,  Garret  Voorhees,  William 
McEwen,  Esq.,  John  Wortman,  Eobert  Chapman,  John  Logan,  John 
Demund,  Eobert  Henry,  Guisbert  Sutphin,  Thomas  Stout,  Esq.,  John 
Whelch,  David  Dunam,  Hugh  Gaston,  Hugh  Barkley,  William  Van 
Dorn,  Matthias  Lane,  Sr.,  John  Henry,  Peter  Lane,  Samuel  Dunam, 
Daniel  Grandin,  Esq.,  Henry  Stone,  Alfred  Hared,  Morris  Lane,  Cor- 
nelius Van  Nest,  William  Perrine,  Aaron  Van  Dorn,  Martin  Hines, 
Capt.  Samuel  Potter,  William  McDonald,  Jr.,  Job  Lane,  William 
Wolf,  Philip  Van  Arsdale,  James  Wolf,  Col.  William  Todd,  Thomas 
King,  Matthew  Lane,  Gilbert  Lane,  Hugh  Maclure,  Thomaa  Whalen, 
Matthew  McDowell,  John  McWilms,  Cornelius  Sidam,  Maj.  J, 
Henry,  John  Van  Voorhees,  Meahan  Powelson,  John  King,  Andrew 
Vosselar,  John  McBride,  Capt.  John  Todd,  Isaac  Van  Dorn,  Matthew 
Lane,  Jr.,  Simon  Hagaman,  Abraham  Brown,  James  Van  Derveer, 
David  Cochran,  Henry  Stevens,  William  Dowe,  Thomas  Willett,  John 
Berry,  Albert  Johnston,  Sylvenus  Young,  John  Sidam,  James  Kelly, 
Eichard  McDonald,  Abraham  Scank,  John  Honeman,  Jr.,  William 
Smith,  Abraham  I.  Voorhees,  John  Steal,  James  Van  Dyke,  William 
Willett,  Eobert  Eobertson,  William  Aiken,  Marten  Bunn,  John  A. 
Hagaman,  Enoch  Hunt,  John  Barkley,  Jacob  Van  Nostrant,  Christ- 
ian Eoff,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  Esq.,  Benjamin  Babcock,  JohnTeeple, 
Jonathan  Sutfin,  Morris  Bird,  Cornelius  Powelson,  Eev.  William 
Boyd,  William  Henry,  Daniel  Henry,  John  Vleet,  John  Arvin, 
Gerome  Van  Nest,  John  Teeple,  Sr.,  Eichard  Boman,  John  Hagamam, 
Isaiah  Sharp,  David  Bird,  Hendrick  Field,  Johannes  Voorhees,  Eobert 
Aaron,  John  Miseenor,  William  Arvin,  Cristofer  Misner,  Dr.  William 
McKissac,  George  Todd,  Samuel  Perry,  John  Barkley,  Jacob  Vande- 
venter,  John  Bird,  Guisbert  Van  Dorn,  Edde  Demund,  Mical  Auble, 
Joseph  Annin,  Esq.,  Robert  Blair,  Esq.,  Samuel  Boylan,  Albert 
Nevius,  Peter  Sutfln,  John  Finley,  John  Todd,  William  McClure, 
Levi  Sutton,  David  Misner,  John  Bryan,  Esq. 

The  vote  cast  in  the  township  at  the  above  election 
was  152;  in  1800,  192;  1809,  154. 

The  following  is  taken  frona  the  assessment-roll  of 
1787,  and  gives  the  names  of  persons  living  in  the 
township,  the  number  of  acres  owned  by  each,  and 
the  amount  of  tax  paid,  in  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence : 

£  t.  d. 

Eobert  Allen,  212  acres 3  11  8 

John  Allen,  50  acres 0  8  7 

Eobert  Allen,  Jr.,  107  acres 16  4 

Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  76  acres 2  3  1 

William  Auble,  80  acres 1  15  xi 

Eobert  Barclay,  200  acres 5  3  10 

Hugh  Barclay,  252  acres 7  13 

John  Barclay,  110  acres 2  17  6 

Eobert  Blair,  202  acres 4  12  0 

Thomas  Barry,  Esq.,  215  acres 5  16  0 

Eev.  William  Boyd,  103  acres 4  2  0 

Morris  Bird,  60  acres 1  10  2 

John  Bryan,  "221  acres -, .',.."  10  6  10 

Philip  Bright,  140  acres 2  15  7 

Hugh  Bailey.  90  acres 1  10  6 

Abraham  Brown,  10  acres 0  14  4 

Luke  Bellows,  30  acres 0  13  IV 

Martin  Bunn,  206  acres 4  9  1 

Eobert  Cliapman,  160  acres 2  13  2 

John  Chapman,  50  acres 12  6 

Peter  Colshe,  142  acres 5  4  5 

John  Coats,  32  acres 10  1 

William  Coats,  33  acres ".'.'..",  1  Q  1 

Henry  Cnes,  103  acres 2  6  6 

John  Cline,  200  acres 4  19  8 

Joseph  Doren,  200  acres '.*.."..'.'.!  2  9  4 

Peter  Dicker,  58  acres 1  5  10 

John  Demout,  286  acres ',.'."'...  6  8  5 

John  Dikins  (Dnyckinck),  200  acres 3  7  1 

Christian  Eoff,  190  acres 6  0  7 

Thomas  Elston,  12i  acres 3  0  10 

Abraham  Emmons,  200  acres 4  15  10 

Christian  Filomely,  100  acres 2  13  S 


BEDMINSTER. 


711 


Jacob  Filomely,  96  acres 1 

Hugh  Gaston,  300  acres 7 

Robei-t  Gaston,  Esq.,  20  acres 3 

Baniel  Henry,  213  acres 5 

James  Henry, 440  acres 12 

Robert  Henry,  200  acres 5 

Alford  Heriot,  132  acres 3 

Simon  Hagaman,  200  acres 5 

Adrian  Hagaman,  200  acres 4 

Widow  Hunt,  82  acres 2 

Stephen  Hunt,  82  acres 1 

James  Heath,  277  acres 6 

Thomas  King,  243  acres 6 

George  King,  60  acres 1 

Nathan  King,  90  acres 7 

Garret  Lane,  197  acres 4 

Cornelius  Lane,  125  acres 4 

Matthias  Lane,  Sr.,  200  acres 5 

Matthias  Lane,  Jr.,  306  acres 8 

Daniel  Lawrence,  156  acres 3 

John  Linn,  150  acres 3 

Joseph  Linn,  150  acres 2 

Matthias  Lane,  120  acres 3 

William  Logan,  76  acres 2 

Susannah  Lake,  30  acres 0 

Peter  Low,  282  acres 8 

Mrs.  Lafi'ert3%  174  acres 4 

Matthew  Lane,  100  acres 8 

Kichard  McDonald,  470  acres 13 

William  McEwen,136  acres 3 

John  McDowel,  120  acres 2 

Matthew  McDowel,  200  acres 6 

William  McDowel,  106  acres 7 

Aaron  Mealick,  200  acres 7 

James  M.unen,132  acres 4 

John  Mealick,  97  acres 3 

William  McKissick,  50  acres 2 

Christian  Nevius,  208  acres 3 

Peter  Nevius,  160  acres 3 

Albert  Nevius,  188  acres 4 

John  Powelson,  100  acres 3 

CorneliuB  Powelson,  210  acres 5 

Mannah  Powelson,  50  acres 1 

Nathaniel  Porter,  81  acres 3 

Kalph  Pbenix,  250  acres 6 

Abraham  Powelson,  235  acres 4 

Henry  Powelson,  lu5  acres 2 

Samuel  Potter,  75  acres 1 

Isaac  Potter,  75  acres 1 

Guisbert  Sutfin,  338  acres 7 

Guisbert  Sutfin,  Jr.,  105  acres 2 

John  Sutfin,  80  acres 3 

John  Smily,  11  acres 0 

Henry  Sloan,  370  acres 9 

Martin  Stine,  300  acres 6 

Amos  Sutfin,  150  acres 2 

William  Smith,  20  acres 0 

Jonathan  Sutton,  150  acres 2 

Samuel  Todd,  100  acres 2 

George  Todd,  200  acres 4 

William  Todd,  170  acres 5 

John  Todd,  80  acres 2 

John  Teeple,  50  acres 2 

Peter  Teeple,  40  acres 0 

David  Traphagen,  100  acres 2 

John  Taylor,  11  acres 0 

James  Van  Derveer,  665  acres 16 

Jacob  Van  Doren,  240  acres 6 

Aaron  Tan  Dorn,  121  acres ^ 

Christopher  Van  Deventer,  30  acres 2 

John  Voorhees,  156  acres 4= 

Hans  Voorhees,  186  acres * 

Matthew  Webb,  49  acres 1 

Cornelius  Van  Nest,  149  acres 3 

Philip  Van  Arsdalen,  64  acres 3 

Henry  Van  Arsdalen,  20  acres 0 

Abraham  V.  Voorhees.  156  acres 3 

William  V.  Kirk,  228  acres J 

William  H.  Van  Arsdalen,  50  acres 1 

James  Van  Dike,  H5  acres 1 

Abraham  Van  Nest,  127  acres 2 

Jacob  Wolf,  142  acres 3 

William  Wolf,  70  acres 1 

John  Wortman,  246  acres ° 

Peter  Wortman,  260  acres ° 

John  Whalon,  120  acres 2 

Andrew  Wortman,  52  acres j- 

William  Willett,  10  acres 0 

William  Willson,  119  acres 3 

Joseph  Golden,  80  aci'es } 

Peter  Lane,  150  acres J 

Christian  Misener,  170  acres 2 

Ezekiel  Sharp,  90  acres 2 

Jacob  Van  Dorn,  80  acres 1 

Guisbert  Van  Dorn,  75  acres 1 

Abraham  Tunison,  53  acres j- 

William  Cheevers,  115  acres 2 

Andre  Bird,  25  acres 0 

The  following  are  the  names  of  persons  who  paid 
taxes  on  other  than  real  estate,  with  amount  of  tax  : 


8. 

d. 

16 

5 

19 

1 

2 

4 

7 

3 

B 

4 

9 

5 

16 

8 

14 

6 

4 

4 

4 

3 

in 

2 

0 

T 

10 

8 

9 

8 

9 

5 

8 

2 

2 

11 

12 

6 

4 

3 

9 

0 

» 

6 

7 

11 

10 

5 

15 

7 

11 

6 

2 

4 

15 

8 

R 

7 

16 

8 

18 

9 

18 

11 

;! 

7 

15 

1 

12 

1 

4 

11 

4 

11 

8 

1 

14 

9 

9 

n 

1 

11 

0 

10 

7 

10 

14 

0 

12 

11 

13 

2 

6 

9 

19 

5 

12 

1 

IS 

6 

17 

8 

8 

in 

7 

4 

16 

9 

14 

6 

5 

6 

12 

8 

13 

n 

4 

1 

1 

8 

8 

8 

6 

3 

13 

8 

19 

4 

15 

4 

11 

3 

14 

4 

11 

3 

14 

1 

3 

4 

11 

10 

0 

6 

12 

11 

9 

7 

15 

2 

4 

2 

7 

8 

5 

2 

19 

9 

1 

1 

2 

0 

12 

8 

3 

9 

14 

0 

in 

6 

1 

6 

16 

6 

3 

6 

16 

0 

2 

9 

19 

9 

14 

3 

2 

2 

8 

10 

in 

8 

19 

9 

9 

8 

14 

7 

13 

10 

£  s.  d. 

John  Barclay 1  0.6 

John  Boylnii 4  0  4 

Ebenezer  Berry n  7  0 

John  Berry 0  10  n 

Benjamin  Babcock 6  9  0 

Jobes  Oompton 6  18  11 

MoBes  Craig 0  7  4 

Widow  Castner 12  0 

Benjamin  Coronton 0  15  0 

Jacob  Eoff. 2  5  11 

Cornelius  Eoff. 0  17  7 

Jacob  Fulkerson 0  IB  0 

Joseph  Gaston 0  18  11 

■William  Gaston 0  15  1 

William  Henry 0  10  0 

John  Perry 0  15  0 

Daniel  Semer 0  10  0 

Levy  Sutton 0  10  4 

Samuel  Taylor 0  16  0 

John  Todd 0  16  3 

■Widow  Van  Derveer 0  16  3 

Court  ■Voorhees 0  10  0 

Ealph  ■Van  Houten 0  7  11 

Peter  Van  Vleet 0  10  0 

Botch  Van  Nest 0  10  0 

George  V.  Voorhis 0  16  0 

Peter  Nevius,  Jr 0  10  0 

Joseph  Hendrick 0  15  0 


£  B.  d. 

John  Hagaman 0  ID  0 

Aaron  Huff 0  10  0 

Adam  Hair 0  15  0 

Samuel  Jonas 0  17  7 

John  Lane 10  6 

Jacob  Lawrence 0  10  0 

Eobert  Little 0  9  10 

Abraham  Lawrence 0  18  7 

Elisha  Lawrence 0  8  0 

Gabriel  Timbrook 0  15  0 

Aaron  Lane 0  15  0 

Daniel  Mealick 0  10  0 

Joseph  McMortry 0  10  0 

John  MoComes 0  9  10 

Albert  Johnson 0  10  8 

Samuel  Blair 0  10  0 

Peter  Bockover 0  12  4 

Hugh  Gaston 0  10  0 

David  Bird 0  10  0 

Ebenezer  Perry 0  7  11 

John  Doughty 0  14  7 

Matthias  Demnnt 0  12  8 

Chris.  Van  Deventer 0  10  0 

JohnDale.Jr 0  10  11 

Benjamin  Remer 0  6  0 

Cornelius  Doren 0  6  0 

John  McWilliams 0  IB  0 

John  Sanders 0  6  0 


VILLAGES   AND    HAMLETS. 
PLUCKAMIN. 

The  land  upon  which  the  village  is  located  is  with- 
in the  territory  described  as  being  purchased  of  the 
proprietors  of  East  New  Jersey  by  Dr.  Lewis  John- 
ston and  Mary  Johnston  (afterwards  Mrs.  James 
Alexander).  Later,  Jacob  Eoff  purchased  a  large 
tract  embracing  the  present  site,  and  east  to  the  top 
of  "  Pigtown  Mountain." 

In  1756  the  stone  church  (St.  Paul's  Lutheran)  was 
built,  and  the  subscription-list  contains  the  names  of 
151  persons  who  contributed,  many  of  whom  were 
from  adjoining  towns,  notably  Fisher,  Van  Norden, 
Anderson,  and  others  from  Bound  Brook.  Jacob  Eoff 
donated  the  land,  and  headed  the  list  with  £20. 

A  cluster  of  dwellings  soon  gathered  and  other  in- 
terests sprang  up.  John  Teeple  opened  a  blacksmith- 
shop  in  what  is  now  the  upper  part  of  the  village. 
The  Lafferty  House  was  built  the  same  year  with  the 
church.  Col.  William  McDonald's  mill,  east  from  the 
bridge  crossing  Chambers'  Brook,  was  erected  before 
1749.  William  McDaniels'  mill  was  before  1744  on 
the  spot  now  occupied  by  Kline's  Mills. 

The  name  Pluckarain  has  been  the  subject  of  wide 
conjecture.  Tradition  points  to  a  colony  of  French 
living  here  before  the  settlement  of  the  Scotch  or 
German,  and  giving  the  locality  the  name  Plaque- 
mine,  from  plagueminier,  meaning,  in  French,  the 
"  date-plum,"  or  persimmon-tree,  which  latter  trees 
grew  here  in  abundance.  This  is  without  doubt  the 
real  origin  of  the  name  Pluckamin,  though  another 
story  is  related  to  the  effect  that  the  landlord  of  the 
place  was  in  the  habit  of  going  up  and  down  the 
street  inviting  the  people  to  come  into  his  house  and 
partake  of  his  liquor,  and  for  so  doing  he  was  called 
Pluck-' em-in.  The  fame  of  the  landlord  and  the 
tavern  grew  from  his  hospitality  and  good  cheer,  and 
the  locality  became  known  as  Pluckamin.  This  last 
version  was  doubtless  an  after-thought,— an  invention 
of  some  lounger  who  spent  hours  by  the  tavern-fire 
in  incubating  the  pun  on  the  original  French  name. 


712 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  first  record  extant  of  the  name  Pluckamin  is 
in  a  road  record,  Aug.  19,  1755.  The  first  store  of 
which  any  knowledge  is  obtained  was  kept  by  John 
Boylan,  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Sarah  Parker.  He  came  to  Pluckamin  twenty 
years  prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  had  stores  at  Veal- 
town,  Liberty  Corners,  Pluckamin,  and  Van  Derveer's 
mills.  One  of  the  day-books  of  the  Van  Derveer 
mill  store  is  in  possession  of  Samuel  W.  Davenport, 
of  Somerville,  and  shows  the  line  of  purchase  of  the 
people  of  that  time.  Some  of  the  prices  are  here 
given,  the  currency  being  in  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence.  Rum  was  the  staple  in  liquors,  and  sold  for 
5s.  6d.  per  gallon ;  molasses,  2s.  M. ;  sugar,  8d.  per  lb.  ; 
tea,  5s. ;  coffee,  Is.  9d. ;  butter,  Is. ;  nails,  lid. ;  red 
broadcloth,  £1  7s.  per  yard  ;  calico,  5s.  3d. ;  corn,  4s. 
6d.  per  bushel.  In  this  day-book  John  Teeple  is  men- 
tioned as  tapster ;  John  Van  Horn,  tailor.  Mr.  Boylan 
was  an  extensive  manufacturer  of  potash,  that  being 
then  an  important  article  of  commerce.  He  purchased 
150  acres  on  the  north  side  of  the  village,  which  is  still 
known  as  the  Boylan  farm,  and  where  he  is  said  to 
have  entertained  Washington  in  some  of  his  visits  to 
Pluckamin.  On  the  border  of  the  woods,  not  far  from 
his  house,  a  level  spot  was  cleared  for  dancing  pur- 
poses and  used  by  the  artillery  brigade  while  in  quar- 
ters at  this  place.  This  land  was  sold  previous  to 
1787,  as  Boylan's  name  appears  in  the  assessment  of 
that  year  as  paying  tax  only  on  personal  property. 
Mrs.  Boylan  lived  to  be  ninety-five,  having  beeA  a 
widow  for  fifty  years.  They  are  both  buried  in  the 
cemetery  at  Basking  Ridge. 

Squire  William  McEown  was  also  a  merchant  in 
Pluckamin  during  the  Revolution.  He  was  a  com- 
missary for  the  army,  and  purchased  flour  in  Hun- 
terdon County  of  Col.  John  Mehelm,  at  the  mills 
now  known  as  Hall's  Mills.  The  flour  was  loaded 
on  a  large  wagon,  and,  drawn  by  four  yoke  of  oxen, 
was  conveyed  to  Pluckamin  and  Morristown.  He 
married  Jemima,  daughter  of  Col.  John  Mehelm 
(who  settled  in  Pluckamin  after  the  war  and  lived 
there  while  surrogate  of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset 
Counties,  and  died  Oct.  6,  1809,  aged  seventy-six). 
Squire  McEown's  store  was  in  the  building  now  occu- 
pied by  James  Brown,  Sr.  He  owned  186  acres  of 
land  adjoining  in  1787.  His  only  daughter  married 
Squire  Elias  Brown ;  James  Mehelm  Brown  is  a  de- 
scendant. Squire  McEown  died  March  10,  1817,  in 
the  house  where  he  lived  and  kept  store.  He  was 
aged  sixty-one. 

The  following  in  reference  to  this  store  is  related 
by  Dr.  A.  McDowell : 

"  At  one  time  the  BritiBh  cavalry,  after  a  defeat  of  our  army,  made  a 
raid  upon  the  viUage,  took  posaession  of  the  store,  and  carried  away  aU 
the  boota,  shoes,  clothing,  teas,  etc.  ...  At  that  time  several  houses  were 
plundered.  Mrs.  McEown  took  up  her  floor,  concealed  her  feather-beds 
and  other  valuables  under  it,  and  replaced  the  carpet.  Old  Mr.  EofTs 
fences  and  rails  were  burnt.  Peter  Lane's  father  was  appointed  to  col- 
lect all  the  pewter  plates  and  dishes,  which  were  much  in  use  in  those 
days,  and  deposit  them  at  certain  recognized  places, — viz.,  Pluckamin 
and  Larger  Cross-Koads.    They  were  then  melted  into  bullets  to  shoot 


the  British.    Lead  was  scarce,  and  these  pewter  bullets,  run  in  common 
moulds,  were  the  substitute." 

In  1787,  Matthew  Lane,  of  the  Lane  family,  who 
settled  east  of  Van  Vleet's  Mills  about  1748  or  1749, 
was  a  merchant  and  postmaster  at  Pluckamin.  The 
house  in  which  he  lived  is  still  standing ;  the  store 
adjoined  it.  It  is  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Har- 
mer.  He  continued  in  business  till  about  1800.  In 
this  old  house,  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Cornell,  of  Som- 
erville, several  of  the  prisoners — probably  the  oflacers 
— were  confined  after  the  battle  of  Princeton,  and  the 
glass  in  the  windows  yet  bears  the  initials  cut  by  their 
diamond  rings.  "The  interior  of  this  house  has  re- 
mained unaltered  since  the  Revolution ;  the  old- 
fashioned  doors  and  cornice  show  the  style  of  that 
day.  The  steps  are  remarkable  for  their  easy  ascent, 
and  it  is  a  popular  tradition  in  the  village  that  Gen. 
Washington  rode  up  and  down  over  them  on  horse- 
back ;  indeed,  there  are  marks  on  the  boards  which, 
it  is  asserted,  are  the  prints  of  his  horse's  shoes."* 
The  old  church  was  also  used  for  confining  prisoners, 
as  a  hospital,  and  as  a  store-house  for  forage. 

Christian  Eofi"  kept  the  tavern  on  the  spot  where 
the  present  tavern  stands.  Among  other  jokes  attrib- 
uted to  him  is  one  to  the  eflfect  that  he  substituted 
stones  for  hams  in  the  wheelbarrow  of  Edward  Hill, 
which  the  latter  wheeled  up  a  steep  mountain-road 
before  discovering  the  trick. 

Dr.  Scott,  of  New  Brunswick,  a  prominent  surgeon 
during  the  Revolution,  attended  the  army  to  Pluck- 
amin and  remained  several  days.  His  quarters  were 
in  the  village,  and  he  visited  the  camp  several  times 
each  day.  On  the  way  he  had  to  cross  a  plank  over 
a  deep  gully  with  soft  mud  at  the  bottom.  The  irre- 
pressible Eoff,  watching  his  chance,  so  shifted  the 
plank  that  one  end  barely  rested  on  the  bank,  within 
an  inch  of  the  edge.  Along  came  the  surgeon  in  his 
brilliant  uniform,  with  a  proud,  important  tread. 
He  struck  the  plank,  and  down  he  went  into  the 
slough. 

About  1800,  John  Davenport,  a  native  of  England, 
came  to  this  part  of  New  Jersey  from  Connecticut, 
and  purchased  the  property  south  of  the  village  known 
as  the  Lafierty  property.  He  married  Margaret,  the 
daughter  of  Rulofi'  Traphagen  (who  lived  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain  south  of  the  Lesser  Cross-Roads,  on 
the  line  between  Bernard  and  Bedminster).  He  lived 
in  the  Lafferty  house,  and  built  an  extensive  tannery. 
He  purchased  large  quantities  of  sumach,  and  pre- 
pared it  for  the  use  of  morocco-manufacturers.  He 
died  in  1830,  aged  fifty-two.  His  remains  lie  in 
the  Lamington  churchyard.  Ralph  Davenport,  of 
Pluckamin,  is  a  son  by  his  first  wife ;  after  her  death 
Mr.  Davenport  married  Mary,  the  daughter  of  John 
Boylan.  Thomas,  James,  and  Samuel  Davenport,  of 
Somerville,  are  his   sons.f    The  old  LaflTerty  house 

*  Jacob  Magill,  from  articles  published  in  the  Unimist  in  1870. 
t  See  sketch  of  Davenport  family,  p.  689,  et  seq.,  in  this  work. 


BEDMINSTEE. 


713 


was  torn  down  in  1879,  and  no  vestige  of  house  or 
other  of  the  various  business  interests  carried  on  there 
is  to  be  seen. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  William  I.  Hedges  and  John 
Hunt  came  to  Pluckamin,  and  both  kept  store, — Hunt 
in  a  part  of  the  "  old  Barracks,''  as  it  was  then  called. 
Hunt  a  little  later  opened  a  recruiting-office  in  the 
building.     About  1815  this  old  hostelry  was  torn 
down,  and  James  Herod  built  the  present  dwelling 
upon  the  site.    William  I.  Hedges  married  a  daughter 
of  Christian  Eoff,  and  kept  store  in  Pluckamin  until 
1817,  when  he  removed  to  Somerville.    Jacob  Locey 
came  to  Pluckamin  about  1810.    He  was  a  hatter, 
and  worked  at  his  trade  for  several  years;  he  was 
also  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  many  years,  and  post- 
master forty-five  years.     His  shop  was  close  to  his 
house,  still  standing  on  the  west  side  of  Main  Street. 
John  Van  Zandt,  whose  mother  was  an  Eoff,  was  born 
in  Pluckamin,  and  became   engaged  in   mercantile 
pursuits  in  his  native  village,  continuing  thirty-nine 
years.     He  now  lives  in  Somerville,  at  an  advanced 
age.     Squire  Elias  Brown  was  born  at  Pluckamin. 
(He  was  a  son  of  Abram  Brown,  who  early  purchased 
130   acres  in  the  vicinity.)      He  married  the  only 
daughter  of  Col.  William  McEown.     He  was  a  farmer 
and  justice  of  the  peace,  and  owned  600  or  700  acres 
of  land.    Dr.  McDowell  relates  many  anecdotes  of 
the  squire  and  his  wife ;  they  are  published  in  "  Our 
Home"  in  1873,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 

The  following  is  related  by  Mr.  Magill  and  is  of 
interest : 

"  Garret  Conover  has  in  his  house  in  Pluckamin  a  tea-hoard  or  tahle 
which  bejirs  the  habks  of  Hesaian  swords.  It  belonged  to  his  grand- 
father, Abraham  Conover,  who  lived  on  the  turnpike  below  Bound 
Brook.  A  notorious  friend  of  the  British  living  on  Pluckamin  Moun- 
tain guided  a  party  to  Conover's  house  and  made  him  get  out  of  bed, 
harness  up  his  team,  and  get  400  muskets  from  a  pile  of  buckwheat  straw 
on  the  hack  part  of  Abraham  Brokaw's  farm,  where  they  had  been  con- 
cealed by  the  Americans,  and  haul  them  to  the  British  at  New  Bruns- 
wick. For  this  act  Mr.  Conover  declared  he  would  punish  the  leader, 
and  watched  with  his  gun  several  weeks,  declaring  he  would  shoot  him. 
At  length  he  was  caught,  taken  to  the  same  house  he  had  invaded, 
stripped,  and  covered  with  tar,  and.  Grandmother  Conover  volunteering 
her  feather-bed  for  the  occasion,  it  was  ripped  open  and  the  scoundrel 
rolled  in  it  till  he  was  sufficiently  arranged  for  the  ostrich-like  run  that 
he  made  when  he  was  liberated. 

"  Mrs.  Sarah  Conover  relates  that  she  has  often  heard  her  mother,  Ida 
v.  Gaston,  say,  that  when  Washington's  army  came  from  Princeton  a 
commissary  was  sent  ahead  to  request  the  farmers  to  prepare  food  for 
them.  Huge  pots  of  meat  were  put  over  the  fire,  but  when  the  men 
came  along  they  were  so  nearly  starved  that  they  fished  it  out  with  their 
bayonets  and  ate  it  on  their  way." 

Dr.  William  McKissack  was  a  physician  in  Plucka- 
min before  removing  to  Bound  Brook.  Dr.  McDowell 
relates  the  following  story  of  him : 

"  He  was  a  large  burly  man,  with  great  rotundity  of  stomach.  Doctors 
in  those  days,  in  visiting  their  patients,  always  took  one  drink  at  the 
house.  If  they  wished  they  could  take  two ;  nobody  thought  anything 
about  it.  .  .  .  It  was  almost  impossible  for  a  physician  to  be  a 
sober  man.  Our  friend  went  from  Pluckamin  to  Somerville  one  day 
after  dinner  in  a  sulky.  He  accomplished  his  errand,  then  drank  freely. 
Night  came  on.  He  supposed  he  had  come  there  on  horseback,  and  for- 
getting the  snlky,  mounted  the  horse  and  started  for  home.  As  he  rode 
along  the  noise  of  wheels  behind  disturbed  him.  How  dreadful  it  would 
be  to  be  run  over  on  a  dark  night,— to  be  crushed  to  death  all  alone  1 
46 


'  Turn  out  behind  I  Don't  run  over  me  I'  cried  the  doctor.  He  felt  re- 
assured, and  rode  farther.  Still  those  dreadful,  dreadful  wheels  sounded 
behind.  It  was  too  much  I  Again  agony  of  fear  broke  forth  into  words: 
'  Turn  out  there  behind  I  The  old  doctor  rides  slowly  on  a  dark  night.' 
At  last  Pluckamin  was  reached.  To  his  dismay,  he  found  the  horse  still 
attached  to  the  sulky.  He  had  ridden  the  horse  all  the  way  and  left  the 
sulky,  without  an  occupant,  to  follow  behind." 

Much  that  pertains  to  the  history  of  Pluckamin  will 
be  found  in  the  chapter  on  the  Revolution  and  in 
other  parts  of  this  work.  From  1880  the  place  has 
given  way  to  other  centres,  and  is  now  but  an  outly- 
ing village.  It  contains  a  church  (Presbyterian),  hotel, 
two  stores,  post-of5ce,  two  blacksmith-shops,  and 
about  forty  dwellings. 

LAEGBE  OBOSS-EOADS. 

To-day  the  place  has  no  importance.  In  1775  it 
contained  a  hotel  kept  by  John  Sutphin ;  two  years 
later  another  one,  across  the  way,  was  opened  by  John 
Finley.  The  road  passing  through  here  from  east  to 
west  was  laid  out  in  1745  along  the  north  line  of  the 
Maj.  Daniel  Axtell  tract.  Jacob  Magill,  of  the  New- 
ark Journal,  in  1870  gathered  many  of  the  Eevolu- 
tionary  incidents  of  the  county  and  contributed  them 
to  the  columns  of  the  Unionist  under  the  heading  of 
"  Somerset,  Past  and  Present."  The  following  will 
be  of  interest  in  this  connection : 

"Larger  Cross-Roada  has  an  almost  inexhaustible  fund  of  history. 
Here  lived  the  lighting  men  who  raised  the  quotas  of  Bedminster  in  tho 
Revolution,  and  here  train-bands  met  for  years  to  fight  their  battles  o'er 
again  over  a  glass  of  apple-juice  of  any  age  to  suit  the  taste.  After  the 
capture  of  Gen.  Lee  at  Basking  Ridge,  the  troops  of  this  neighborhood 
were  drawn  up  in  line  oi  battle  expecting  an  attack,  and  bullets  have 
frequently  been  found  where  they  stood.  The  old  men  who  came  here 
to  drill  on  training-days  had  many  a  tale  to  tell  of  their  adventures  in 
the  war.  On  a  certain  night,  when  the  army  lay  at  Morristown,  John 
Barclay,  who  lived  north  of  the  Cross-Roads,  and  Malachi  McCollum 
were  placed  on  guard.  The  notorious  Bill  Stewart  and  his  brother  Laf- 
ferty  were  confined  in  jail,  and  it  was  the  duty  of  these  men  to  watch 
the  prisoners.  There  happened  to  be  in  their  rounds  a  barrel  of  hard 
cider,  which  they,  with  true  soldierly  instinct,  soon  discovered.  Whether 
it  was  the  cold  or  the  cider  we  cannot  say,  but  something  made  them  de- 
cidedly '  blue,'  and  the  prisoners,  making  ropes  of  their  bed-clothes,  es- 
caped. Esq.  Peter  Sutphin  was  in  the  army  at  the  time,  in  Capt.  Logan's 
company,  and  stayed  the  night  of  the  occurrence  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Capt.  Robert  Blair.  The  escape  of  the  prisoners  caused  great  ex- 
citement, and  the  two  negligent  cider-suckers  never  heard  the  last  of  it. 

"  A  companion  of  these,  and  a  right  jolly  one,  too,  was  Robert  Little. 
He  was  a  lion  in  courage,  of  powerfully-developed  muscle,  and  one  of 
the  toughest  veterans  of  the  war.  He  related  to  those  now  living  that 
the  hardest  fighting  he  ever  did  was  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  when, 
in  a  hand-to-haud  fight,  they  forced  a  body  of  Hessians  back  through  a 
brush  fence.  A  Scotchman,  he  loved  his  wife  and  reverenced  the  church, 
but  was  sometimes  overcome  by  his  fondness  for  a  social  glass." 

Little  afterwards  lived  and  died  in  Branchburg, 
His  son,  John,  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  died  in 
1879.  His  children  now  reside  in  that  township. 
Robert  Little  related  the  following  to  Dr.  McDowell : 

"  Our  company  was  as  ragged  as  beggars.  How  could  we  help  it  ?  Our 
pay  was  poor,  our  clothes  were  wearing  out,  and  we  had  nothing  to  re- 
place them.  At  last  the  time  came  to  fix  up  again.  The  colonel  issued 
the  order.  I  was  then  the  tailor  of  the  company.  It  was  very  easy  to 
issue  the  command ;  to  fulfill  it  was  a  ditTerent  task.  Wo  could  easily 
sew  and  patch,  but  where  was  the  cloth  to  come  from?  We  hunted, 
gathered  from  all  the  families  and  friends  around,  and  I,  with  my  assist- 
ants, went  to  work.  We  overhauled,  patched  and  mended.  We  got  the 
clothes  in  such  order  that  no  rags  were  seen.  A  grand  dress-parade  was 
ordered.    Our  boys  marched  with  head  erect  and  a  proud  step.  For  once 


714 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


for  a  long  time  they  had  a  suit  of  clotlies  without  any  holes  in  them. 
The  light-horse  saw  them;  they  became  envious.  Then  a  second  order 
was  issued :  '  Robert  Little  must  fix  up  the  light-horse  and  put  them  in 
as  good  condition  as  the  infantry.*  This  order  was  harder  to  fulfill  than 
the  lirst  one.  We  ransacked  all  the  houses  in  the  neighborhood  a  second 
time.  We  found  cloth  and  other  material.  These  we  fixed  up  for  the 
light-horse.  Still  we  were  a  little  behind ;  something  else  was  wanting. 
The  light-horse  wore  helmets,  intended  to  be  ornamented  with  horse- 
tails. We  had  none  of  them  to  spare.  We  were  now  in  a  serious  fix. 
At  last  I  hit  upon  a  plan.  I  selected  twenty  of  the  youngest,  smartest 
men.  I  awoke  them  all  at  12  o'clock  at  night.  At  that  time  they  started, 
scoured  the  country  for  miles  around.  They  drove  up  every  cow  they 
could  find.  And  I  tell  you  each  cow  went  home  with  a  piece  off  its  tail 
about  as  long  as  my  hand." 

LESSEE  CEOSS-EOADS. 

This  settlement  commenced  after  the  Eevolution. 
The  first  hotel-keeper  was  John  Melick,  about  1780. 
A  post-office  was  established  about  1835.  The  Bedmin- 
ster  church  is  a  short  distance  below  the  corner.  The 
first  chiirch  was  built  about  1758,  torn  down  about 
1817,  and  the  present  one  erected  the  next  year.  The 
hamlet  contains  a  hotel,  one  store,  post-office,  black- 
smith-shop, carriage-shop,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  dwell- 
ings. 

PBAPACK. 

This  village  is  located  on  a  road  running  north  and 
south  along  Peapack  or  Lawrence  Brook,  and  is  a  long 
and  straggling  village,  extending  about  two  miles. 
Before  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  a  saw- 
and  grist-mill  was  built  on  the  stream  where  the  Jo- 
roleman  mill  now  stands.  Daniel  Joroleman  relates 
that  when  he  removed  to  that  place  with  his  father, 
in  1808,  there  were  but  four  houses  there  besides  the 
mill, — those  of  William  Logan,  Hugh  Gaston  (stone), 
Levi  Sutton,  and  Nicholas  Ditmars  where  Mrs.  Ann 
Tiger  now  lives.  The  Van  Dorns  lived  a  little  west; 
their  mill  was  built  that  year.  In  1814,  William  Van 
Dorn  built  the  residence  at  present  occupied  by  his 
son,  Lewis  Van  Dorn.*  The  fir.st  blacksmith  was 
William  Logan,  father  of  Capt.  John  Logan ;  the  shop 
was  opposite  the  school-house,  where  Kobert  Lay- 
ton  now  lives.  Alexander  Kirkpatrick  was  a  sur- 
veyor and  merchant  here  before  1800.  Peter  Doren, 
about  1814,  erected  a  blacksmith-shop  on  the  spot 
where  now  stands  the  shop  of  Henry  Van  Duyn.  A 
school-house  once  stood  where  the  cemetery  now  is  ; 
John  Herod  and  Stoffel  Logan  were  teachers.  A 
stone  blacksmith-shop  was  erected  in  1836,  near  Van 
Dorn's  mill,  by  Ferdinand  Van  Dorn ;  one  Cole  was 
the  blacksmith. 

The  village  now  contains  a  hotel,  two  grist-mills, 
post-office,  two  churches  (Reformed  and  Methodist), 
four  stores,  three  blacksmith-shops,  three  wheel- 
wrights, distillery,  six  perpetual  lime-kilns,  and  nine 
set  kilns.f 

LAMINGTON. 

The  land  on  which  this  hamlet  is  located  was  pur- 
chased in  1741  by  James  Alexander  and  Daniel  Don- 

*  See  biographical  department  of  this  township  history. 

t  Lime-burnipg  started  at  Peapack  as  early  as  1794,  but  it  did  not  be- 
come very  extensive  until  1830.  There  are  now  about  200,000  bushels  of 
unslaked  lime  produced  annually. 


alson  Dunstar,  and  consisted  of  583  acres.  The 
Presbyterian  church  had  been  built  prior  to  this,  on 
the  ground  occupied  by  the  present  building.  In 
March,  1743,  they  conveyed  the  church  and  cemetery 
lot  to  the  congregation.  The  Kev.  James  McCrea, 
the  first  regular  pastor,  in  the  early  part  of  his  pas- 
torate lived  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  in  a  house 
later  owned  by  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Messier,  of 
Somerville.  He  afterwards  purchased  a  farm  where 
George  Mullen  now  lives,  and  still  later  the  farm  on 
which  Peter  Lane  resides.  Rev.  J.  Halsey  purchased 
105  acres  on  the  east  side  of  the  Allematunk,  known 
later  as  the  parsonage.  Feb.  24,  1772,  he  sold  it  to 
John  Demund.  July  1, 1784,  William  McEown  pur- 
chased the  property  from  Thomas  Berry,  executor  of 
Mr.  Demund,  and  the  next  day  deeded  it  to  the  trus- 
tees of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bedminster.  On 
this  lot  was  built  the  parsonage  of  which  the  ruins 
are  still  standing. 

In  the  old  stone  ruin  on  the  bank  of  the  river  lived 
the  Rev.  William  Boyd ;  here  he  opened  a  classical 
school  for  young  men.  As  was  the  custom  in  New 
Jersey,  he  owned  slaves. t 

During  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Boyd  a  singu- 
lar and  eccentric  woman,  known  as  Betty  McCoy, 
came  to  Lamington  and  united  with  the  church.  She 
soon  became  known  far  and  near  not  only  for  her  ec- 
centricities, but  for  her  deep  piety.  This  account  of 
her  is  given  : 

"  She  was  stolen  away  when  a  small  child,  by  the  Indians,  and  was 
never  able  to  give  any  clue  to  the  place  of  her  birth  or  her  parentage. 
She  spoke  about  Minisink,  and  probably  was  first  taken  there,  and  after- 
wards carried  down  into  Virginia.  Here  she  formed  a  plan  to  escape  to 
the  Revolutionary  army.  Being  pursued,  she  hid  in  abrush-heap,  and  the 
savages  set  fire  to  nearly  every  pile  of  brush  around  her,  expecting  to  bum 
her  out ;  but  the  heap  where  she  was  concealed  escaped  the  conflagration. 
This  she  considered  such  a  miraculous  interposition  of  Providence  that 
from  that  hour  she  became  a  devoted  Christian.  Reaching  the  army,  she 
served  as  a  vivandiere  and  ministered  to  the  sick  and  wounded  through 
the  eventful  Southern  campaign,  and  though  her  voice  was  rough,  her 
speech  unlettered  (for  she  never  learned  to  read  or  write),  and  her  face 
homely,  there  never  was  a  kinder  nurse  than  Betty  McCoy.  On  the  re- 
turn of  peace  she  came  north,  and,  finding  her  way  to  Lamington, 
though  only  about  sixteen  yeare  of  age,  she  commenced  her  mission, 
going  from  house  to  house  scattering  gospel  seed  in  her  rough  but  earn- 
est way." 

At  the  time  Betty  came  to  Lamington,  Simon  Suy- 
dam  owned  the  most  of  the  landed  property.  The 
people  were  interested  in  the  story  of  her  troubles  and 
wanderings.  Mr.  Suydam  offered  lumber  if  the  neigh- 
bors would  build  Betty  a  house.  The  offer  was  ac- 
cepted, and  a  small  house  was  erected  on  a  lot  set 
apart  for  the  purpose.  Betty  built  a  brush  fence 
around  it.  She  took  charge  of  the  church,  which, 
with  her  spinning  and  visiting  (for  she  was  a  welcome 
guest),  kept  her  very  busy. 


t  "  June  13, 1806.— Eev.  William  Boyd  certifies  that  in  the  township  of 
Bedminster  he  had  born  of  a  female  slave  a  female  child  named  Hannah, 
June  28, 1805,  which  was  duly  registered  in  the  clerk's  office,  and  which 
said  child  I  do  hereby  abandon  and  surrender  to  said  township  as  a  pau- 
per of  said  township,  agreeable  to  the  Act  of  the  Legislature,  entitled  An 
Act  for  the  Gradual  AboUtion  of  Slavery." 


BEDMINSTEE. 


715 


POTTERSVILLB. 

In  the  records  of  1741  the  name  of  Potter  occurs 
in  this  section,  it  being  a  mention  of  one  Richard 
Potter,  owning  land  on  both  sides  of  the  Lamington. 
Mills  have  existed  here  many  years.  Col.  Jonathan 
Potter,  the  father  of  Sering  and  Samuel,  lived  and 
died  here.  The  village  contains  about  120  inhabi- 
tants, a  Eeformed  church  (erected  in  1865),  a  grist- 
mill, and  an  agricultural  implement  manufactory. 
The  property,  except  the  old  Potter  homestead,  is 
owned  by  Robert  Craig.  The  place  was  founded  by 
Sering  Potter,  who  commenced  the  improvements 
which  caused  it  to  become  a  busy  and  thriving  hamlet. 

SCHOOLS. 

It  is  difficult  to  gain  any  accurate  information  of 
the  early  schools  of  Bedminster,  as  the  records  were 
■destroyed  about  1845.    In  the  early  days  the  business 
pertaining  to  the  schools  was  recorded  with  the  other 
public  business  of  the  town.     The  earliest  reliable 
information  of  the  existence  of  a  school-house  is  given 
in  a  record  of  a  road  laid  out  Jan.  6,  1759,  "  begin- 
ning at  the  westerly  side  of  the  brook  that  divides 
Bedminster  and  Bridgewater  township  at  the  school- 
house."     Exactly  where  or  who  were  the  teachers  we 
cannot  ascertain.    The  next  is  in  an  account  of  a  ball 
given  at  Pluckamin,  Feb.  18, 1779,  and  published  in  the 
New  Jersey  Gazette  of  that  year.    "  The  entertainment 
and  ball  were  held  in  the  academy  of  the  park."  After 
fireworks  in  the  evening  "  the  company  returned  to  the 
academy  and  concluded  the  celebration  by  a  very  splen- 
did ball."  The  exact  locality  of  this  "  academy"  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  on  the  east  side  of  the  main  street 
of  the  village,  north  of  the  residence  of  John  Boylan, 
on  the  edge  of  a  wood.     The  property  was  a  few  years 
a,go  a  part  of  the  farm  of  the  late  Dr.  Henry  Van 
Derveer.    It  is  not  known  who  were  teachers,  nor  how 
long  it  had  been  in  existence.    The  earliest  school  at 
Pluckamin  within  the  memory  of  those  now  living 
was  taught  about  1810.     At  that  time  a  school-house 
was  standing  about  a  mile  west  of  the  village,  by  the 
bend  of  the  road  opposite  opposite  Van  Derveer  Van 
Arsdale's  house.      Among  the  teachers  were  John 
Hardcastle,  William  Perrine,  and  "  Master  Welsh," 
who  wore  a  gown  when  on  duty  and  wielded  the  birch 
with  vigor.    Schools  were  not  kept  regularly,  but  only 
as   some  stray   pedagogue   chanced   along.     Folkert 
Dowe  kept  one  at  the  Lesser  Cross-Roads  before  1818, 
in  a  house  opposite  the  Bedminster  church.     In  this 
year  the  Rev.  Charles  Hardenburgh,  pastor  of  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Bedminster,  founded  a  classical 
school.    It  was  kept  in  the  second  story  of  a  district 
school-house  at  the  Lesser  Cross-Roads'.    A  similar 
school  had  been  established  prior  to  this  by  the  Rev. 
William   Boyd,  of  Lamington.      He  came  to  that 
church  as  pastor  in  1784  and  died  in  1807.  A  number 
of  young  men  studied  in  the  old  parsonage,  the  ruins 
of  which  are  still  standing  west  of  the  churchyard. 
The  county  was  probably  divided  into  school  dis- 


tricts in  1832,  but  no  data  are  obtainable.  In  the 
other  townships  an  amount  was  raised  annually  for 
school  purposes,  and  without  doubt  that  was  the  case 
in  this.  The  election  records  of  the  township  of 
Bridgewater  for  1834  show  the  first  school  committee 
to  have  been  elected  that  year.  In  1867  the  town- 
ship contained  twelve  school  districts,  as  follows: 
Pluckamin,  Lesser  Cross-Roads,  Holland,  Union,  Pea- 
pack,  Lamington,  Central,  Foot  of  Lane,  Larger 
Cross-Roads,  Duchess,  Pottersville,  Union  Grove. 
The  whole  number  of  children  was  633 ;  county  sur- 
plus revenue  interest,  $294.73;  State  appropria- 
tion, $292.23;  township  appropriation,  $1266;  total, 
$1852.96. 

The  number  of  school  districts  reported  in  1879 
were  nine,  as  follows : 

Peapack  (No.  1),  Vnion  Grove  (No,  2),  Bedmimier  (No.  4),  Larger  Oroa&- 
Boada  (No.  5),  Foot  of  Lane  (No.  6),  Pottersville  (No.  7),  Lammgtmi  (No.  8), 
Pluclcamin  (No.  9),  Burnt  Mills  (No.  10).  Total  number  of  children  in 
township  between  five  and  eighteen,  728 ;  total  average  number  in 
attendance,  255;  total  value  of  property,  86150;  total  received  from  all 
sources  for  school  purposes,  $2802.78. 

RELIGIOUS    OR&ANIZATIONS. 
ST.  PAUL  LUTHERAN  CHUBOH. 

A  colony  of  German  Lutherans  from  old  German- 
town  came  to  what  is  now  Germantown  in  New  Jersey 
before  1720,  and  rapidly  spread  in  diflferent  directions, 
— some  to  the  German  Valley,  others  to  Washington 
Valleyj  and  to  Spruce  Run.  Devotion  to  their  faith 
led  them  to  institute  public  worship  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble. The  first  place  in  this  section  known  to  have 
been  used  for  that  purpose  was  in  the  Washington 
Valley,  where  a  portion  of  the  Germans  had  settled. 
Prior  to  1730  a  log  church  was  built,  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  east  of  the  village,  in  the  township  of  Bernard ; 
it  has  long  since  passed  away,  and  trees  now  grow 
upon  the  spot. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Lutheran  congrega- 
tion in  Germantown  this  church  was  abandoned,  those 
who  attended  here  uniting  with  that  body.     The  date 
of  the  organization  of  Zion's  Church  is  not  definitely 
known,  but  it  is  said  to  have  been  formed  in  1742. 
The  oldest  record    in    existence   bears    date   1749. 
Lutheran  missionaries  were  here  much   earlier,  as 
services  were  held  in  the  log  church  mentioned  and  a 
log  church  near  White  House  (the  old  burying-ground 
of  which  still  exists).    In  1748,  John  Albert  Weygand 
preached  on  trial,  and  the  next  year  was  called  by 
the  society.     Seventy-eight  names  were  signed  to  the 
call,  the  signers  being  residents  of  Readington,  Bed- 
minister,   and  Roxbury,  as  well   as   of  Tewksbury. 
The  names  of  the  trustees  were  Baltus  Pickel,  Honries 
Melick,  Philip  Phise,  alias  White,  Caspar  Hender- 
shot,  Lawrence   Rulison,  Samuel    Barnard,   David 
Melick,  Jacob  Kline,  Adam- Vockerot,  Jacob  Ship- 
man,  George  Sweet,  and  Joseph  Hornbaker.    It  will 
be  noticed  that  some  of  the  names  are  still  known  in 
the  township  to  this  day.    In  1756,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  vestry  of  Zion's  Church,  it  was  "  determined  to 


716 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


build  a  churcli  at  Pluckamin,  Bedminster  township, 
Somerset  Co.,  to  be  called  St.  Paul's  Church."  A 
subscription -list  was  started,  which  was  favorably  re- 
ceived and  largely  signed.  A  copy  of  this  list  is  here 
given,  as  fully  as  possible,  a  few  names  being  illeg- 
ible.* 

Bedmtnsteb,  Te  7lh  Day  of  December,  1756. 

A  Subscription  For  Raising  a  Sum  of  Money  For  Building  a  Church  In 
Bedmmeter  town. 

Whereas,  the  Members  of  the  Lutheran  Congregation  In  and  near 
Bedminetertown  Being  NecesEitated  For  a  Place  of  Public  Worship 
Think  it  a  Proper  Place  to  Erect  a  House  for  To  Worehip  God  and  it  is 
further  Agreed  By  us  the  Subscribers  That  one-half  of  the  Preaching  on 
Every  Other  Sermon  Preached  By  any  Minister  Chosen  by  the  Said 
Lutheran  Congregation  Shall  be  in  the  English  Language  And  the  other 
in  High  Dutch.  We  therefore  the  undersubsc Fibers  Do  Promise  To  Pay 
or  Cause  to  he  Paid  The  Sum  or  Sums  Annexed  to  our  Names  for  the  uses 
abovementioned  To  any  Person  or  Persons  Chosen  Collector  of  Said 
Money  by  the  Said  Congregation.  The  Money  is  not  To  be  paid  untill 
Said  Church  is  a  Building  and  the  Money  Wanted  for  that  Use.  We  most 
Humbly  would  Desire  the  assistance  of  all  our  well  Minded  friends  and 
Neighbors  That  are  well  wishers  for  Promoting  So  Good  a  Deseine  To  be 
helpfull  to  us  and  Subscribe  such  a  Matter  To  this  our  undertaking 
■which  will  be  Excepted  with  Greatest  Humility  and  thankfulness  and 
will  be  Attending  to  the  advancement  of  ye  Glory  of  God, 


£     n.    d. 

Jacob  EofF,  Sr 20      0    0 

George  Remer 20      0    0 

Nicholas  Hamlin 10      0    0 

John  Kemer 12      0    0 

John  Castner,  Jr 10      0    0 

Christopher  Teeple 5      0    0 

Jacob  Eofr,Jr 3      0    0 

Abraham  Eoff. 10      0    0 

David  King lo      0    0 

Johannes  Kastner ~  12      0    0 

Lncaa  Diebil 14      0    0 

George  Teeple 10      0    0 

Caltes  Appleman 

John  Appleman 

Johannes  Molin 

Jacob  Akerman 3    10    0 

William  Graham 5      0    0 

John  Teeple 12      0    0 

Jacob  Cruger 3    10    0 

MarkisKing 2      9    0 

Johannes  Giiling 1 

Evan  Brommo 1 

Peter  Castner 7 

James  Castner 1 

Jacob  Brommo 0 

Alexander  Linn 1 

William  McClellan 1 

John  Loder 1 

Thomas  Lockes 1 

Gisbert  Hander 1 

John  Melick 1 

Richard  Skinner 0 

William  Kerney 1 

William  Leddel....*. 10 

John  Grant 3 

Benjamin  Manning 0 

James  Adams 0 

SylvanuB  Snyder 1 

his 
Frederick  X  Morkley...     1 
mark 

Jacob  V.  D.  Veer 5 

Robert  Gricemer 2 

John  La  Grange 0 

Daniel  McDaniel 0 

Charles  Dui-yea 1 

Matice  G.  Appleman 5 

George  Forman 1 

Cornelius  Doremus 0 

Aaron  Boylan 0 

Robert  Cross 0 

Nathaniel  Ayers 1 

Tttomas  Phillips 1 

Mary  Castuer,  widow....    3 

his 

Cristeyan  X  S'olk 5      0    0 

mark 

John  O'Harah 1    15    0 

James  O'Harah 1    15    0 

Hendrick  Van  Arsdalen    1    15     0 

Daniel  Karney 1     15    0 

James  Graham 3    10    0 


Richard  McDaniel 

David  Henary 

Mikel  Henary 

Jones  Greenwa 

James  Linn 

Peter  Rush,  Sr 

Michael  Scliooley 

Gisbert  Sutfin 

Johannes 

William  William 

Aurie  Lane 

Hendrick  R.  Lane 

Abraham  Montaraje 

John  Compton 

Benjamin  Loder 

Richard  Compton 

James  Rightmire  Jones. 

Cornelius  Lane 

William  Caviiaga 

George  Dribbel 

Henry  Beam 

P.  Castner,  son  of  John- 
Aaron  Malick 

James  Cole.. 

Aaron  Buorom 

AusoD  Melick 

John  Clawson 

John  Throckmorton 

Bryan  Lefferty 

Daniel  McEowen 

L.  M.  Belyen 

Patrick  Riley,  hatter 

John  Degrout 

Hendrick  Fisher 

Tobias  Van  Norden 

John  Anderson 

William  Stevens 

Marins  Granvill 

Henry  McCann 

Hugh  Sutton 

Andreas  Jihandler 

Robert  Skinner 

Phinehas  Skinner 

William  Ker 

Ephraim  Lockhai-t 

John  Van  Cleef 

J.  S.  Lurane 

James  Mugelhaney 

Thomas  Carhartt 

David  McWilliam 

Thomas  Willson 

Joseph  Sharp 

John  Pool 

John  Cavill 

Thomas  Clawson 

Josiah  Stanbury 

Stephen  Truesdell 

WoodhuU  Turner 

Ryner  Van  Nest 

Henry  Van  Home 

Hendrick  Staats 

Abram  Van  Nest 


8.  d. 

10  0 

16  0 

5  0 

0  0 

10  0 


0  0 
10  0 

1  6 
10  0 
10  0 
15  0 


0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0  0 
15    0 


15 

16 
0 

10 
0 
0 
(I 
3 

14 
1 

10 
0 

0  10 
0 
0 
7 
7 


1 

1 

0 

0 

0       6 

0     10 


*  The  original  list  is  in  possession  of  John  Tan  Zandt,  of  Somerville. 


0 

d. 
0 
0 
0 
0 

Lett  Low 

£ 
1 

8.    d. 
0    0 

0 

16    0 

l*! 

Otto  Parissen 

William  Reade 

...     - 

£ 

William  Corle 1 

Moses  McGraw 1 

Aaron  Louzader 1 

William  Riddel 0 

Mary  Alexander 

The  amount  subscribed  was  about  £350.  Degroot,  Fisher,  Van  Norden, 
Anderson,  and  others  were  residents  of  Bound  Brook.  William  Riddle 
was  probably  a  son  of  Archibald  Riddle,  who  located  lot  44  on  the  east 
side  of  North  Branch,  in  Bridgewater  township.  Mary  Alexander  was 
the  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Johnston  (who  purchased  large  tracts  of  land 
in  this  region)  and  the  wife  of  James  Alexander,  who  with  D.  D.  Dan- 
star  bought  583  acres  of  land,  including  the  site  of  Lamington  and  other 
tracts  north. 

The  church  was  built  on  land  donated  by  Jacob 
Eoff,  and  stood  in  the  roadway  of  the  churchyard, 
southeast  of  the  present  building.  In  1760  the  Rev. 
Paul  Bryzelius  settled  in  Germantown  as  rector  of 
Zion  and  St.  Paul's  Churches,  He  was  succeeded  in 
1767  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Muhlenberg.  In  this  year  a 
charter  for  the  two  churches  was  obtained,  a  part  of 
which  is  here  quoted : 

"  George  the  Third,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  etc.;  To  all  to  whom  these 
PRESENTS  SHALL  COME,  GREETING  :  Wliereas,  the  Reverend  Heni-y  Muhl- 
enberg, Lawrence  Ruloph,  Samuel  Bernard,  Philip  Weigs,  Jacob  Klein, 
Peter  Kish,  Wm.  Craft,  Christopher  Vogt,  Buloph  Kulofson,  John  Stone, 
Balthas  Pickel,  Herman  Eulophs,  and  Anthony  Meelick,  Inhabitants  of 
the  Townships  of  Tewksburj',  Beading,  and  Koxbury,  in  the  Counties  of 
Hunterdon  and  Morris  in  our  Province  of  New  Jersey ;  Lucas  Dipple, 
David  King,  Jacob  Eoff,  John  Appelman,  Leonard  Strait,  Conrad  Meiz- 
ing,  Aaron  Meelick,  Jacob  Vosler,  Mark  King,  Chi-istopher  Tipple,  John 
Teple,  and  Peter  Meelick,  Inhabitants  of  the  Townships  of  Bedniiuster, 
Bridgewater,  and  Bernard,  in  Our  County  of  Somerset  in  Our  said  Prov- 
ince, by  the  Petition  to  Our  trusty  and  well-beloved  William  Franklm, 
Esq.,  Captain-General  and  Govemor-in-Chief  of  our  said  Province  of  New 
Jersey  and  the  Territories  thereon  depending  in  America,  Chancellor 
and  Vice-Admiral  of  the  same,  etc.,  have  set  forth  that  they  have  at  a 
great  Expense  purchased  several  lots  of  ground  in  Tewkshury  Township 
aforesaid,  and  have  built  a  House  of  Worship  called  Zion  Church  and  a  par- 
sonage House  on  part  thereof,  and  have  set  the  rest  apart  for  a  Glebe  and 
Burying- Ground,  that  they  havealso  bought  a  lot  of  land  in  the  Township 
of  Bedminster  aforesaid,  and  erected  a  building  thereon  called  St.  PhuPb 
Church,  that  they  with  the  other  regular  Members  of  said  Churches  have 
heretofore  made  and  signed  certain  Articles  and  Kules  for  the  good  gov- 
ernment of  the  said  societies ;  but  that  they  labor  under  many  difficul- 
ties for  want  of  their  being  made  a  Body  Corporate  and  politic,  and  have 
prayed  Our  Rotal  Charter  to  be  incorporated  by  the  names  of  the  Rec- 
tor, Churchwardens,  and  Vestrymen,  of  the  United  Churches  of  Ziun  and 
St.  Paul:  And  Wb  being  willing  to  give  all  due  encouragement  and  to 
promote  the  pious  intentions  of  Our  said  subjects  and  to  grant  tbeir  re- 
gard in  this  behalf:  Now  Know  Te,  that  We,  for  the  consideralious 
aforesaid,  of  Our  especial  Grace,  certain  Knowledge,  and  mere  Motion, 
have  willed,  ordained,  constituted,  and  approved,  and  by  these  Pi  events 
for  Us,  Our  Heirs,  and  Successors,  Do  Will,  Ordain,  Constitute,  and  Ap- 
point, that  the  Rev.  Henry  Muhlenberg.-f-  and  their  successors  tu  bo 
elected  and  chosen  in  the  manner  hereinafter  directed,  Be  and  fuiever 
hereafter  shall  be,  one  Body  Politic  and  Corporate,  in  Deed  and  in  name, 
by  the  name  of  the  Rector,  Church-wardens,  and  Vestrymen  of  the 
United  Churches  of  Zion  and  St.  Paul,  and  them  and  their  successors  by 
the  same  name,  We  do  by  These  Presents,  for  Us,  Our  Heirs,  and  Suc- 
cessors, really  and  fully  make,  ordain,  constitute,  and  declare,  one  Body 
Corporate  and  Politic  in  Deed  and  in  Name,  to  have  Community  and 
Succession  perpetual,  and  that  they  and  their  successors  by  the  Name 
shall  and  may  forever  hereafter  be  Persons  able  and  capable  in  the  Law 
to  purchase,  have,  take,  and  receive,  and  enjoy,  to  them  and  their  Suc- 
cessors, Messuages,  Lands,  Tenements,  Rents,  Liberties,  Privileges,  Ju- 
risdictions, Franchises,  and  other  Hereditaments,  whatsoever  of  whatever 
nature,  kind,  and  quality,  they  be,  in  Fee  and  Perpetuity,  not  exceeding 
the  yearly  value  of  Five  Hundred  Pounds  Sterling,"  etc. 

This  charter  is  written  on  parchment,  with  the  seal 
of  the  province  attached.     Two  years  later,  in  1769, 

t  Here  follow  the  names  of  the  twenty-four  vestrymen. 


BEDMINSTBR. 


717 


Peter  Muhlenberg  was  chosen  as  deacon  or  assistant 
rector.  In  1770  the  following  resolution  of  the  vestry 
was  recorded : 

"The  pro  tern,  rector  or  his  regular  assistant  minister  shall  perform 
Divine  service  on  every  second  Sun  and  Feast  day  in  Zion  Church,  and 
for  BO  doing  eiyoy  undisturbed  hahitaticn  on  the  Glebe  and  the  yearly 
legacy  of  Mr.  Baltes  Pickel.  Also  every  fourth  Sunday  he  shall  preach 
in  Boxbury  called  the  Valley,  and  receive  from  that  congregation  £20. 
Also  every  fourth  Sunday  in  St.  Paul's  Church  Bedminster  and  catechise 
the  children,  receiving  £20  therefor." 

In  1775  the  Kev.  "William  Graaf  was  called  to  the 
rectorship,  the  Eev.  Henry  Muhlenberg  living  in 
Philadelphia,  his  former  assistant  having  been  called 
to  a  parish  in  Virginia. 

The  members  of  Zion  Church  applied  to  the  Leg- 
islature of  the  State  for  an  act  of  incorporation  sep- 
arating them  from  the  church  of  St.  Paul  and  giving 
them  the  corporate  name  of  "  Zion's  Church."  Un- 
der this  act  the  trustees  sold  the  lands  and  church  of 
St.  Paul  to  William  McEwen.  This  sale  was  con- 
tested in  the  courts  on  the  ground  that  the  original 
charter  conferred  no  power  to  sell  in  fee  the  lands  of 
the  church.  The  Hon.  Richard  Stockton  rendered  a 
decision  in  the  matter,  as  follows : 

"  I  decide  that  lands  conveyed  by  deed  to  William  McEwen,  Esq.,  are 
null  and  void,  and. that  Zion's  vestrymen  have  no  right  to  sell  church 
and  lands  of  St.  Paul." 

The  property  then  reverted  to  Abraham  Van  Ars- 
dale  in  right  of  his  wife,  Mary  Eoff,  the  daughter  ot 
Jacob. 

The  church  was  used  as  a  prison  for  British  soldiers 
captured  at  Princeton.  The  pews  and  seats  were 
taken  out,  and  it  was  much  injured.  It  was  never 
repaired  after  this,  neither  was  any  service  held  there. 
Compensation  for  damages  was  received  from  the 
Government'  in  later  years.  The  walls  remained 
standing  until  they  became  dangerous,  and  were 
finally  taken  down.  Some  of  the  stones  were  used  in 
the  erection  of  a  dam  at  Kline's  mills.  On  the  site, 
in  1831,  a  Methodist  church  was  erected;  it  stood 
until  about  1850,  when  it  was  removed  to  its  present 
location  and  occupied  as  a  school-house.  The  Pres- 
byterian Society  of  Pluckamin  purchased  the  ground, 
receiving  a  quit-claim  deed  of  the  trustees  of  Zion 
Church  and  of  Philip  Van  Arsdale  in  behalf  of  the 
heirs  of  Jacob  Eofi".  The  burial-place,  east  and  south 
of  the  church,  is  fiill  of  graves;  part  of  the  old 
one  was  purchased  by  Peter  Worley,  a  blacksmith, 
who  built  a  shop  upon  it,  and  took  the  gravestones  to 
pave  the  cellar  of  his  house.  The  altar-cloth  of  the 
St.  Paul's  Church  is  in  possession  of  William  P.  Sut- 
phin. 

PBESBTTEKIAN  CHURCH  AT  LAMINGTON.* 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  study  which  so  readily  inter- 
ests the  mind  as  that  of  history.  It  is  like  living  our- 
selves through  the  ages  that  are  past. 

And,  first,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  remark  upon 

*  Extracted  from  an  historical  sermon  delivered  to  the  congregation, 
contributed  to  "  Our  Home"  by  Dr.  WUliam  W.  Blauvelt,  pastor  of  the 
church. 


the  name  which  we  bear.  We  have,  in  fact,  two 
names.  Our  name  in  law,  according  to  the  act  of  in- 
corporation passed  by  the  Legislature  of  this  State  in 
1783,  is  "  The  Presbyterian  Congregation  at  Bedmin- 
ster, in  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Hunterdon." 
By  this  name  alone  can  we  receive,  hold,  or  convey 
property.  The  name  by  which  we  are  generally 
known  is  derived  from  the  stream  near  us,  called  by 
the  Indians,  and  also  in  the  older  statutes  of  our 
State,  and  on  Gordon's  first  map,  the  AllametunJc,  but, 
sharing  the  fate  of  many  majestic  Indian  appellations, 
it  has  now  been  flattened  down  into  "  Lamington." 
With  regard  to  the  time  of  our  organization,  the  first 
record  in  relation  thereto  is  found  in  the  minutes  of 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick.  At  a  meeting 
held  at  Amwell,  Oct.  11,  1739,  the  second  year  of  the 
existence  of  that  Presbytery,  the  record  is  in  these 
words :  "  A  petition  from  Lamintunk,  in  order  for 
supplies,  being  offered  to  the  Presbytery,  they  ordered 
Mr.  Rowland  to  supply  them  the  19th  inst."  At  a 
subsequent  meeting,  three  weeks  afterwards,  at  New 
Brunswick,  it  is  recorded  that  Mr.  Rowland  reported 
that  he  had  "complied  with  the  order  respecting 
preaching  at  Lamintunk.''  Whether  he  preached 
here  on  any  other  occasion  does  not  appear,  although, 
doubtless,  there  were  other  services,  both  before  and 
afterwards,  which  led  to  the  organization  of  a  church 
and  the  call  of  a  pastor  in  the  spring  of  1740. 

The  first  preaching-place,  according  to  tradition, 
was  a  barn  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Hezekiah 
Eyck.  As  we  learn  from  our  trustee-books,  in  1740  a 
house  of  worship  was  erected  on  our  present  lot.  The 
deed  for  the  lot,  of  date  March,  1743,  speaks  of  the 
church  as  already  built.  The  sum  paid  to  the  car- 
penter, Israel  Ross,  was  £134.  This  building  had  on 
the  lower  floor  thirty-six  pews,  with  twenty-two  in 
the  gallery,  and  was  probably  the  first  church  edifice 
erected  within  ten  miles  of  this  place,  the  Lutheran 
church  of  New  Germantown  being  built  nine  years 
after.  The  erection  of  the  building  was  simultaneous 
with  the  call  of  the  pastor.  April  1,  1840,  occurs  the 
following  record  of  Presbytery  held  at  Basking  Ridge : 

"  A  call  for  Mr.  MoCrea  was  presented  to  the  Presbytery  from  the 
people  of  Lametunfc,  Lebanon,  Peapack,  Eeadington,  and  Bethlehem, 
■which  he  accepted," 

As  the  congregation  was  not  incojporated  until 
1783,  its  temporal  concerns  were  for  many  years  man- 
aged by  a  committee.  The  first  chosen  in  1740  were 
John  Craig,  William  Jones,  Richard  Porter,  and  Wil- 
liam Hugein.  To  these  were  added,  in  1742,  Ephraim 
Lockhart,  William  Logan,  James  Fullerton,  and 
Henry  Sloan.  In  1749  we  find  on  that  committee 
Ralph  Smith,  John  McFerren,  William  Cblwell, 
Robert  Rosbough,  Peter  Demun,  William  Bay,  and 
Thomas  Van  Horn.  Descendants  from  most  of  these 
persons  are  still  connected  with  us.  The  name  of 
William  Jones  is  noticeable  as  the  husband  of  Heph- 
zibah  Jones,  whose  gravestone  records  her  death,  in 
1740,  being  the  oldest  date  in  our  cemetery. 


718 


SOMEESET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


As  the  records  of  the  church  session  prior  to  1809 
are  not  to  be  found,  we  can  give  no  detail  of  the  re- 
sult of  Mr.  McCrea's  ministry.  The  following  among 
other  names  are  found  in  the  congregational  lists  of 
his  pastorate :  David  Heriot,  John  Henry,  Robert  Bar- 
clay, Derick  Sutphen,  James  Adams,  Patrick  Brown, 
Aaron  Dilly,  Peter  McDowell,  Ephraim  McDowell, 
Jacob  Van  Derveer,  William  Hoagland,  James  Gas- 
ton, William  Linn,  Robert  Simonton,  William  Sutton, 
Jacob  Ten  Eycke,  William  Todd,  Matthias  Lane,  Gar- 
ret Lane,  Gilbert  Sutphen,  Bryan  Lafierty,  James 
McEwen,  Mrs.  Mehelm,  John  Voorhees,  Aaron  Beek- 
man,  Christopher  Beekman,  Andrew  Leake,  Benyew 
Dunham,  Christopher  Longstreet,  and  John  Stillwell. 
We  find  also  that  in  1752  there  was  an  agreement  to 
enlarge  the  building,  which  shows  that  the  church 
was  then  prosperous. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  McCrea,  in  1766,  the 
congregation  was  without  a  pastor  for  three  and  a 
half  years,  the  pulpit  being  supplied  irom  abroad. 
April  17,  1770,  a  call  from  the  people  of  Bedminster 
was  made  to  Mr.  Jeremiah  Halsey.  He  died  Oct.  2, 
1780,  aged  forty-seven. 

In  1768,  the  congregation  purchased  a  parsonage 
farm, — the  one,  it  is  said,  which  now  belongs  to  Mr. 
Beaver.  This  they  sold  to  Thomas  Lambert  in  the 
spring  of  1784,  and  in  the  fall  purchased  for  the  resi- 
'dence  of  their  minister,  from  the  estate  of  John 
Demund,  the  farm  which  is  now  owned  by  Hezekiah 
Eyck. 

In  the  spring  of  1782  the  congregation  obtained  the 
stated  services  of  Dr.  John  Rodgers,  who  remained 
in  charge  until  November,  1783. 

Rev.  William  Boyd  followed  Dr.  Rodgers.  His  pas- 
torate has  always  been  referred  to  as  the  palmy  days 
of  this  congregation.  The  number  of  communicants, 
however,  was  not  large,  as  in  1801  there  were  reported 
to  Presbytery  only  80.  Mr.  Boyd  died  May  17,  1807, 
in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age  and  the  twenty- 
third  of  his  ministry,  this  having  been  his  first  and 
only  charge.  His  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by 
Dr.  Finley,  of  Basking  Ridge.  Among  the  new  fam- 
ilies introduced  on  our  books  in  his  time,  we  find,  in 
1787,  John  Boylan,  Simon  Hagaman,  Thomas  C.  Lam- 
bert, William  McKissack,  John  Duyckinck ;  1789, 
Henry  Traphagen,  Aaron  Melick ;  1792,  Peter  Nevius ; 
1793,  John  Honeyman,  David  Traphagen,  Thomas 
Wolverton;  1795,  Isaac  Farlee,  John  M.  Williams, 
Jeremiah  Field,  Joseph  Annin,  Abraham  Van  Dyke, 
Job  Lane,  Abraham  Simonson,  John  McBride;  1796, 
Abraham  Ten  Eyck,  Henry  Field;  1797,  Cornelius 
Powelson ;  1798,  John  Finley,  Henry  Stevens,  Thomas 
Stout,  Andrew  Vosseller,  Nicholas  Arrowsmith,  Everet 
Bergen ;  1800,  Dr.  Isaac  Ogden ;  1801,  Francis  Haga- 
man, Henry  Blackwell,  Gabriel  Vandervoort,  Gilbert 
Low,  John  Bunn ;  1802,  Samuel  Potter,  Andrew  Van 
Derbeek ;  1803,  John  Beekman,  Jeremiah  Voorhees, 
Henry  Kennedy;  1804,  Benjamin  Larzalier;  1806, 
Aaron  Longstreet ;  1807,  William  Lambert.     In  1784, 


and  also  in  1807,  the  edifice  received  considerable  re- 
pairs. In  consequence,  it  is  said,  of  the  difficulty  ex- 
perienced in  keeping  the  parsonage  in  good  order,  it 
was  sold  to  the  pastor  in  1801. 

After  the  death  of  a  minister  so  highly  esteemed, 
the  people  found  great  difficulty  in  uniting  to  call  a 
successor.  The  strife  was  so  serious  and  prolonged 
that  the  Presbytery  sent  a  committee  of  conciliation 
and  a  letter,  though,  as  subsequently  appears,  with 
little  effect.  At  length,  in  June,  1809,  a  call  from  the 
majority  was  presented  through  Presbytery  to  the 
Rev.  Enoch  Burt,  of  Massachusetts,  and  accepted  by 
him.     His  ministry  terminated  in  1813. 

His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Horace  Galpin,  who 
was  ordained  and  installed  June  16,  1814,  and  con- 
tinued here  until  April,  1825.  During  this  time  123 
persons  were  received  into  communion.  The  largest 
ingathering  was  in  1822,  when  53  were  received. 

April  3, 1826,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice 
was  laid  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  then  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Church  of  Elizabethtown.  It  was 
shortly  after  this  event,  in  the  early  part  of  June, 
that  by  special  invitation  the  present  pastor  first 
visited  this  place.  He  preached  two  Sabbaths,  when 
he  received  a  call,  and  came  July  11th.  He  was  or- 
dained and  installed  on  August  8th,  the  services  being 
held  in  the  new  house,  then  in  an  unfinished  state. 
At  the  time  of  his  settlement  the  number  of  com- 
municants was  152.  At  present  the  whole  number  is 
but  135.  This  diminution  is  to  be  accounted  for,  in 
part  at  least,  by  the  organization  of  new  churches  on 
the  outskirts,  the  passing  of  many  farms  to  the  owner- 
ship of  persons  attached  to  other  denominations,  re- 
movals, deaths,  etc.  The  contributions  for  1879  were 
$2025  for  congregational  and  $400  for  benevolent  pur- 
poses. 

The  following  persons  now  deceased  are  known  to 
have  entered  the  ministry  from  the  membership  :  Ja- 
cob Fields,  of  Stroudsburgh  ;  Dr.  Isaac  Brown,  of 
Lawrenceville ;  William  B.  Sloan,  of  Greenwich ;  Dr. 
John  McDowell ;  Dr.  William  McDowell ;  Dr.  Ber- 
gen, of  Springfield,  111. ;  Dr.  Symmes  Henry,  of  Cran- 
bury ;  John  C.  Vandervoort,  of  Basking  Ridge ;  and 
Jesse  Lockwood,  who  died  a  missionary  among  the 
Indians.  Also,  still  living,  Abram  Hagaman,  of  Mis- 
souri ;  George  Blauvelt,  of  Tappan ;  Dr.  Morris  Sut- 
phin,  of  New  York ;  Alstyne  Blauvelt,  of  German 
Valley ;  and  William  E.  Honeyman,  of  Minnesota. 
Two  died  while  in  course  of  preparation, — Warren 
S.  Blauvelt  and  Isaac  F.  Sutphin.  Two  went  from 
the  families  of  the  congregation,  though  not  from  the 
church  membership, — Oliver  Ogden  and  John  Simon- 
son. 

Rev.  William  Warren  Blauvelt,  D.D.,  the  present 
pastor,  is  the  oldest  minister  now  in  active  service  in 
the  county.  He  has  already  entered  upon  the  fifty- 
fourth  year  of  his  ministry,  and  if  he  begins  his  fifty- 
fifth  he  will  have  overreached  the  long  pastorate  of 
Dr.  Ludlow  and  eclipsed  all  those  famous  for  their 


BBDMINSTEK. 


719 


length  in  the  county.*    The  early  history  of  the  doc- 
tor was  eventful ;  the  later  has  not  been  so.    Born  in 
New  Brunswick,  June  23, 1800,  he  was  an  octogena- 
rian last  June,  and  yet  all  the  striking  events  of  his 
life  occurred  before  he  was  twenty-seven.    His  father 
was  the  somewhat  noted  printer,  Abraham  Blauvelt, 
brother-in-law  of  the  late  Col.  Joseph  Warren  Scott, 
long  the  ablest  lawyer  in  the  State.    Not  fancying 
the  printer's  trade,  he  was  found  studying  law  at  the 
early  age  of  fourteen  in  the  colonel's  office,  having 
already  graduated  from  Rutgers  College  with  the  high 
honor  of  valedictorian.     His  reminiscences  of  college 
life,  published  in  "  Our  Home"  for  1873,  are  quaint 
and  humorous.   '  When  sixteen  it  was  found  that  his 
health  was  too  much  impaired  for  him  to  continue 
the  study  of  law,  and  he  was  sent  to  Virginia.     He 
stayed  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  scarce  a  year, 
when  he  returned  to  New  Jersey,  locating  at  Flem- 
ington  as  a  school-teacher.     He  taught  the  academy 
six  months,  and  was  then  called  by  Dr.  Brownlee  to 
help   him   in    his    school   at    Basking    Ridge.     Dr. 
Brownlee  was  more  an  author  than  a  teacher,  and 
almost  the  full  charge  of  the  school  fell  upon  Mr. 
Blauvelt.     William   L.   Dayton,   the   eminent   Prof. 
Cross,  and  others,  were  among  his  pupils.     He  spent 
two  years  and  a  half  there,  and  then  concluded  to 
enter  the  New  Brunswick  Seminary  and  prepare  for 
the  ministry.     He  remained  from  fall  till  spring  only, 
his  close  application  to  the  study  of  Hebrew  breaking 
him  down  physically.     Obtaining  a  temporary  situa- 
tion  in   the  Trenton  Academy,  he  remained  there 
until  the  next  February  (1822),  when  he  was  invited 
to  Hampden-Sydney  College,  Virginia,  and  was  tutor 
there  until  1824.    Secretary  Preston,  Judge  Reeves, 
and  other  men  of  note  were  among  his  students.    The 
old  desire  for  the  ministry  returning  with  better  health, 
Mr.  Blauvelt  again  went  to  New  Brunswick,  reaching 
there  the  day  Gen.  Lafayette  passed  through  the  city. 
Re-entering  the  seminary,  he  remained  until  April, 
then  passed  a  satisfactory  examination  before   the 
Presbytery  at   Lawrenceville  and  was  licensed   to 
preach.     He   attempted   the    examination  without 
waiting  for  the  completion  of  his  theological  course, 
because  his  health  was  again  giving  way.    He  was  too 
close  a  student  to  keep  his  physique  in  repair ;  but  this 
dear  experience  was  of  use  to  him  afterwards.    He 
just  missed  being  called  to  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Trenton,  and  then  concluded  to  horseback 
it  through  Delaware  Co.,  N.  Y.,  as  a  missionary  of 
the  Dutch  Missionary  Society,  believing  that  would 
give  him  health  and  useful  experience.    Among  a 
plain  people,  where  were  no  churches,  he  accom- 
plished a  noble  work.    He  rode  and  preached  from 
April  to  November,  1825,  and  then  served  as  the  So- 
ciety's traveling  collection  agent  until  April,  1826. 

*Bev.  Dr.  G.  Ludlow's  was  fifty-four  years;  Kev.  Dr.  A.  Messler'a, 
forty-seven;  Bev.  J.  C.  Sears',  forty-five;  Eev.  Dr.  B.  K.  Eogers',  forty- 
four  ;  Bev.  J.  T.  Euglish,  thirty-six ;  Bev.  J.  B.  Gardner  (still  continu- 
ing), thirty-six. 


Returning  to  New  York  City,  his  connection  with 
the  Dutch  society  brought  him  into  a  near  business 
relation  to  its  treasurer,  Timothy  Hutton,  and  the 
still  nearer  business  and  social  relationship  of  a  son- 
in-law,  as  he  soon  married  Mr.  Button's  daughter. 
His  wife  lived  until  1876,  and  proved  one  of  the 
richest  treasures  ever  given  to  him.  A  noble  woman, 
she  deserved  what  she  received, — the  affections  of  all 
the  people  of  Lamington  Church.  On  the  recom- 
mendation of  Rev.  Dr.  Brownlee,  the  young  preacher 
came  to  Lamington  Church  as  a  canditate,  was  at 
once  "  called,"  and  is  yet  there.  In  all  that  long 
pastorate  of  fifty-four  years  a  word  of  suggestion  that 
a  better  pastor  or  preacher  could  be  secured  has  not 
been  known  to  have  been  uttered.  The  record  is  yet 
uncompleted,  but  it  is  as  bright  as  the  sun  and  clear 
as  crystal,  and  will  stand  when  nations  perish. 

The  doctor  has  given  two  sons  to  the  ministry, — 
G-eorge  M.  and  I.  Alstyne, — and  a  third  one,  deceased," 
was  in  course  of  preparation. 

BBDMINSTEK  EMFORMED  DUTCH  CHURCH. 

Bedminster  was  originally  an  outpost  of  Raritan, 
and  the  necessity  of  a  church  there  grew  out  of  the 
settlement  of  certain  families  of  influence  in  that 
vicinity.  We  may  mention  Jacobus  and  Peter  Van 
Derveer,  Mathew  Lane,  Guisbert  Sutphin,  and  others 
as  among  these  families.  The  first  record  having  ref- 
erence to  this  church  is  found  in  the  book  of  minutes 
belonging  to  the  church  at  Raritan,  and  is  dated  Dec, 
25,  1758.  It  is  in  the  handwriting  of  J.  R.  Harden- 
burgh,  and  recites  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  Consis- 
tories of  North  Branch,  Neshanic,  Bedminster,  Mill- 
stone, and  Raritan,  at  the  house  of  J.  R.  Hardenburgh 
in  Somerville,  Dominies  Leydt  and  Hardenburgh,  "  a 
proponent,''  being  present,  Elders  Jacob  Banta  and 
Jacob  Van  Derveer,  and  Deacons  Rynier  Van  Neste 
and  Cortelius  Lane  were  chosen  as  overseers  for  the 
first  time  in  the  congregation  of  Bedminster.  This, 
then,  is  the  first  Consistory,  and  properly  the  organi- 
zation of  this  church.  The  next  is  dated  Dsc.  13, 
1759,  and  fixes  a  line  between  Bedminster  and  Raritan, 
stated  to  be  the  lane  or  line  running  east  and  west 
between  Paulus  Auten  and  Hendrick  Van  Arsdalen, 
provided  the  persons  on  either  side  were  willing  to  go 
to  Bedminster  or  Raritan  respectively.  June  24, 
1759,  Frederick  Banta  was  appointed  a  "  helper." 

Nov.  25,  1761,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Consistory, 
Johannes  Haas  and  Jan  Voorhees  were  admitted  on 
confession  of  their  faith,  and  Matthew  Lane  by  cer- 
tificate. March  8,  1762,  Jacob  Van  Derveer  was 
continued  as  elder,  and  John  Voorhees  chosen  deacon 
in  the  place  of  Rynier  Van  Neste.  Dec.  31,  1764, 
Maria  Folkerson,  wife  of  Folkert,  Maria  Woertman, 
wife  of  Jan,  and  Catherine  Bordt,  wife  of  N.  N.,  were 
admitted  on  confession  of  faith,  and  were  baptized 
April  1st.  We  have  gathered  these  items  from  the 
minute-book  of  the  Raritan  Church,  in  the  handwrit- 
ing of  Dr.  Hardenburgh. 


•720 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


There  are  no  records  which  enable  us  to  determine 
when  the  first  house  of  worship  was  built,  but  it  was 
probably  commenced  that  same  year,  or  the  next  at 
furthest,  making  its  date  1759  or  1760*  It  was  built 
upon  land  donated  by  Jacobus  Van  Derveer.  It  was 
of  wood,  and  stood,  facing  south,  on  the  ground  occu- 
pied by  the  present  church.  The  front  door  was 
directly  opposite  the  pulpit,  and  the  galleries  were  in 
the  two  ends.  It  was  longer  in  front  than  in  depth, 
never  painted,  but  had  a  board  ceiling  and  pews,  and 
in  general  appearance  resembled  the  old  church  at 
Eeadington,  after  which  it  was  probably  patterned. 
It  stood  until  1816,  when  it  was  removed  to  make  way 
for  a  new  building.  The  register  of  baptisms  dates 
from  Nov.  15,  1801,  when  the  ministry  of  John 
Schureman  began.  The  first  infant  baptized  was 
Jane,  daughter  of  Peter  Lane. 

The  history  of  the  church  is  involved  in  that  of  the 
church  of  Earitan  from  its  first  organization,  in  1758, 
to  the  close  of  the  ministry  of  Theodore  F.  Eomeyn. 
It  had  a  third  of  the  services  of  Dr.  Hardenburgh,  as 
well  as  of  Eomeyn,  during  the  period  extending  to 
1787.  Then  Eev.  John  Duryea  supplied,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  First  Church  of  Earitan,  up  to  1800. f 
But  the  days  of  its  pupilage  were  now  ended.  It  had 
grown  into  prosperity,  and  felt  the  developing  ener- 
gies of  mature  life.  It  determined  to  have  a  pastor 
of  its  own,  and  John  Schureman,  a  native  of  New 
Brunswick  and  graduate  of  Queen's  College,  was 
called  Nov.  13,  1800.  He  served  the  church  faith- 
fully for  six  and  a  half  years, — then  went  to  Mill- 
stone; he  died  in  1818,  regretted  by  all  who  knew 
him.     His  dismission  is  dated  May  25,  1807. 

In  July,  1808,  Charles  Hardenbergh  was  called 
from  Warwick,  N.  Y.,  and  served  until  May,  1820. 
He  did  a  great  work  in  Bedminster ;  a  new  church 
was  built  in  1817  and  1818,  a  classical  school  founded, 
and  the  cause  of  education  generally  encouraged  and 
elevated.  Mr.  Hardenburgh  was  succeeded  in  1821 
by  Isaac  M.  Fisher,  who  was  followed  in  1840  by 
George  Schenck;t  he  was  succeeded,  in  September, 
1852,  by  Eev.  William  Brush,  who  served  thirteen 
years,  and  resigned  December,  1865. 

Rev.  Charles  H.  Pool  was  installed  in  July,  1866, 

*  About  1758  or  1759  a  meeting  waa  called  for  the  purpose  of  locating  the 
church  site.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  select  suitable  grounds,  and 
it  was  also  given  power  to  build  the  church.  Jacobus  Van  Derveer  offered 
tu  give  half  of  the  oak  timber,  2  acres,  and  £50  sterling.  Guisbert  Sutphin 
tendered  2  acres,  where  the  Larger  Cross-Eoads  school-house  is  now 
located,  half  the  oak  timber  for  the  frame,  and  £50  sterling,  the  timber 
and  money  to  be  given,  no  matter  where  the  church  stood. 

t  The  following  record  is  taken  from  Liber  A,  p.  214,  county  clerk's 
office: 

**  The  Church  of  Bedminster  incorporated  Sept.  12, 1791.  John  Dui^ea 
Minister;  John  Voorhees,  Elder ;  Cornelius Powelson,  Elder ;  Aaron  Van 
Boren,  Elder  ;  Matthisii  Lane,  Sr.,  Elder ;  Stephen  Hunt,  Deacon  ;  Philip 
1'.  Van  Arsdalen,  Deacon ;  Philip  H.  Van  Arsdalen,  Deacon. 

"  Received  for  record  Nov.  14, 1791. 

"  Fred.  J.  Fbelinghuyben,  Olerky 

X  The  following  is  the  inscription  on  his  tomb :  "  Sacred  to  the  memory 
of  Eev.  George  Schenck,  born  January  27th,  1816,  died  July  7th,  1852. 
He  was  pastor  of  this  church  eleven  years." 


and  remained  until  1875,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
the  Eev.  John  L.  McNair,  still  in  charge. 

The  church  has  at  present  100  families,  230  com- 
municants, and  a  Sunday-school  of  170  pupils.  There 
has  been  raised  during  the  past  year  for  religious  and 
benevolent  purposes,  $631 ;  for  congregational,  $1370. 

THE  EEPOKMBD   DUTCH   GHUKCH   OF   PBAPACK 

was  organized  by  a  committee  appointed  Oct.  3, 1848, 
by  the  Classis  of  New  Brunswick,  at  the  request  of  the 
Eev.  George  Schenck,  of  Bedminster,  and  the  people 
in  the  village  of  Feapack,  in  the  lecture-room,  built 
some  years  previously.  There  were  received  31  from 
the  church  of  Bedminster  ;  foiir  from  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Lamington,  and  one  from  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  at  Chester.  Jacob  Tiger,  Peter  De 
Mott,  Abraham  Cortelyou,  and  Nicholas  Tiger,  elders, 
and  Henry  H.  WyckofT,  James  S.  Todd,  John  S.  Te- 
tinty,  and  Jacob  A.  Clawson,  deacons,  formed  the  first 
Consistory. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  church  edifice  was  laid, 
July  10,  1849,  amid  a  large  concourse  of  people,  and 
addresses  were  made  by  Eevs.  J.  W.  Chambers,  Dr. 
Messier,  J.  K.  Campbell,  and  George  Schenck.  The 
Eev.  J.  F.  Morris,  Messrs.  Williamson,  Stoutenbergh, 
Johnson,  and  Oakley  were  present,  with  the  pastor 
of  the  church,  the  Eev.  William  Anderson.  Jan.  15, 
1850,  the  church  was  dedicated.  The  pulpit  was  oc- 
cupied by  Eev.  Messrs.  J.  K.  Campbell,  George 
Schenck,  D.  D.  Demarest,  and  J.  M.  Knox.  The  pas- 
tor presided,  Eev.  J.  K.  Campbell  offered  the  prayer, 
Eev.  D.  D.  Demarest  preached  the  sermon,  Eev.  Geo. 
Schenck  ofiered  the  dedicatory  prayer,  and  Eev.  J. 
M.  Knox  the  concluding  prayer.  Eev.  William  An- 
derson served  from  its  organization  until  1856,  and 
was  succeeded  in  1857  by  Eev.  Henry  P.  Thompson. 

In  1872  the  church  was  enlarged  at  a  cost  of  $4500, 
and  reopened  November  21st  of  that  year.  After  a 
few  months'  occupancy  it  was  burned,  June  5,  1873. 
The  church  immediately  proceeded  to  erect  a  new 
edifice ;  services  were  held  in  the  lecture-room  during 
the  interim.  The  structure,  with  furniture,  cost 
$13,000.  A  bell  was  soon  afterwards  obtained  for 
$500.  The  dedication  took  place  Jan.  8,  1874,  the 
prayer  being  offered  by  the  Eev.  H.  P.  Thompson,  the 
recent  pastor,  and  the  sermon  by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Edgar 
Easton.  The  Eev.  James  Le  Fevre,  Charles  H.  Pool, 
and  the  Eev.  Mr.  Mead,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Peapack,  assisted.  In  the  spring  of  1874  a 
call  was  extended  to  the  Eev.  Charles  T.  Anderson. 
He  accepted,  and  was  installed  June  17th,  same 
year.  Mr.  Anderson  is  still  in  charge  of  the  congre- 
gation.g  The  church  has  124  families,  194  communi- 
cants. During  the  past  year  $106.50  has  been  raised 
for  religious  and  benevolent  purposes,  and  $1439.19 
for  congregational.  A  Sunday-school  having  125 
pupils  is  connected  with  the  church. 

g  He  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  and  Princeton  Seminary,  and  was  ordained  in  May,  1873,  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 


BEDMINSTEK. 


721 


THE  KEFOBMED   CHUECH  OF  POTTERS VI LLE.* 

The  inhabitants  of  Pottersville  had  no  church 
within  a  convenient  distance,  and  Sering  Potter,  the 
proprietor  of  the  mills  to  which  the  village  owes  its 
existence,  felt  the  deprivation  to  which  all  were  sub- 
jected, and  with,  his  sons  and  others  moved  in  the 
matter  of  organizing  a  church.  The  first  meeting 
was  held  in  the  district  school-house,  Oct.  9,  1865.  A 
memorial,  dated  Oct.  10, 1865,  was  presented  to  Classis 
at  their  stated  autumnal  session  in  the  Third  church 
of  Earitan.  The  petition  was  granted,  and  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Rev.  P.  M.  Doolittle,  Rev.  Dr. 
A.  Messier,  Rev.  William  Brush,  Rev.  H.  P.  Thomp- 
son, and  the  elder  Isaac  Crater  and  Zachariah  L. 
Smith,  were  appointed  to  perfect  the  organization. 
The  committee  met  in  the  school-house  at  Potters- 
ville, Nov.  2,  1865.  A  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Messier ;  certificates  of  church  membership 
were  presented  from  27  individuals,  embracing  9  from 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  7  from  the  Reformed  Church, 
6  from  the  Methodist  Church,  3  from  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  and  2  from  the  Lutheran  Church. 
The  first  Consistory  was  composed  of  Sering  Potter, 
Thomas  Fritts,  and  Martin  Rhinehart,  elders,  and 
Joseph  Emmons,  Alexander  McDoiigal,  and  Edmund 
P.  Potter,  deacons.  Supplies  were  appointed  by  the 
Classis,  and  religious  services  were  thenceforth  regu- 
larly held  in  the  school-house. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  church  edifice  was  laid 
May  22,  1866,  it  being  finished  and  dedicated  Dec. 
26,  1866.  The  cost  was  $8552.28.  The  call  of  the 
first  pastor,  Thomas  W.  Jones,  a  licentiate  from  the 
seminary  at  New  Brunswick,  bears  date  May  31, 1867. 
He  resigned  and  removed  to  Amsterdam,  N.  Y.,  in 
1870.  The  call  of  the  second  pastor,  Vernon  B.  Car- 
roll, is  dated  May  25,  1871.  He  was  also  a  licentiate 
from  the  seminary  at  New  Brunswick.  He  remained 
until  about  1875,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam H.  HoflFman,  who  is  still  the  pastor.  The  church 
includes  82  families,  with  126  members.  The  Sunday- 
school  numbers  120  scholars.  The  amount  raised 
during  the  past  year  for  congregational  purposes  was 
) ;  for  religious  and  benevolent,  $33.67. 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  OF  PEAPACK. 

Early  in  1838  that  portion  of  the  Methodists  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Peapack  united  in  an  organization 
as  above  named.  April  4,  1838,  a  plot  of  land  con- 
taining half  an  acre  was  donated  by  John  Philhower 
as  a  site  for  an  edifice.  A  meeting  was  held  at  the 
house  of  James  Melick,  March  27,  1839,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  electing  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  Society  who  were  intending  to  build  a  house 
of  worship  in  Peapack.  Rev.  Abraham  Gearhart  was 
chosen  chairman,  Robert  A.  Craig  secretary.  The 
following  persons  were  chosen:  James  Melick,  Robert 
A.  Craig,  John  Philhower,  Tunis  Cole,  Philip  D. 
Lawrence,  Peter  Howe,  William  Greendike.     This 

*  From  "Memorial  Notes,"  Dr.  A.  Messier. 


action  was  filed  in  the  clerk's  office  in  Somerville  in 
April  of  the  same  year.  Subscriptions  were  obtained, 
and  an  edifice  erected  in  1839.  This  building  an- 
swered all  purposes  until  about  1859,  when  it  was 
remodeled  and  enlarged  to  its  present  capacity.  A 
parsonage  lot  and  land  for  a  cemetery  were  purchased, 
and  a  parsonage  erected.  This  church  is  in  the  same 
charge  with  that  at  Chester;  the  united  membership 
is  154.  The  pastors  who  have  presided  are  nearly  as 
follows :  Abraham  Gearhart,  Edward  Hance,  William 
A.  Perry,  Richard  Van  Horn,  Peter  D.  Day,  Abram 
Owen,  Charles  E.  Hill,  Charles  La  Rue,  John  S.  Coit, 
Jonathan  B.  Heward,  Thomas  T.  Campfield,  David 
Walters,  Thomas  Rawlings,  Abram  Palmer,  Jacob  P. 
Fort,  Samuel  Morris,  Edward  M.  Griffiths,  W.  H. 
Haggerty,  Joshua  Mead,  James  H.  Runyan,  James 
N.  Keyes,  and  Isaac  Thomas,  present  incumbent. 

THE  PRESBTTEEIAN  CHURCH  OF  PLUGKAMINf 

is  an  offshoot  from  the  Reformed  Church  of  Bedmin- 
ster.  The  inhabitants  of  this  vicinity,  having  long 
desired  more  convenient  church  privileges,  at  length 
regularly  petitioned  the  Classis  of  New  Brunswick, 
in  whose  bounds  they  were,  to  organize  them  into  a 
Reformed  Dutch  Church.  Their  petition,  with  81 
names,  was  presented  to  the  Classis  at  Griggstown,  in 
October,  1850.  It  met  with  opposition,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  visit  the  ground  and  try  to 
arrange  the  matter.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the 
Classis,  at  New  Brunswick,  in  November,  1850,  the 
committee  reported,  and  no  satisfactory  arrangement 
having  been  made,  the  people  of  Pluckamin,  through 
their  commissioners,  renewed  their  application  for 
organization.  The  matter  was  postponed  until  the 
April  meeting  of  Classis.  The  people,  however, 
having  constitutionally  obtained  a  special  meeting  of 
Classis  at  Branchville,  in  February,  1851,  to  consider 
the  matter,  again  renewed  their  application,  but  the 
Classis  declined  taking  up  the  subject;  whereupon 
the  application  was  finally  withdrawn. 

Having  already  determined  that  if  their  efforts 
failed  they  would  seek  to  be  organized  as  a  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  they  appeared  through  their  commis- 
sioners before  a  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Eliza- 
bethtown,  Feb.  25,  1851,  and  petitioned  to  be  organ- 
ized into  a  Presbyterian  Church.  The  Presbytery, 
after  much  deliberation,  resolved  to  grant  their  peti- 
tion, and  appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  Revs. 
W.  W.  Blauvelt,  Williamson,  and  James  T.  English, 
and  Elders  Benjamin  McDowell  and  William  Annin, 
to  organize  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  village  of 
Pluckamin  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  March.  On  the 
day  appointed,  after  suitable  preparatory  services, 
39  persons  were  received  on  certificate  from  other 
churches.  Four  of  these  were  unanimously  elected 
ruling  elders.  On  the  same  day  a  board  of  seven  trus- 
tees was  elected,  and  the  organization  of  the  church 
completed.    No  deacons  were  appointed.    Before  any 

•f-  By  Bev.  Samuel  Parry. 


722 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


organization  had  been  obtained  or  application  for  a 
separate  organization  made,  decided  measures  bad 
been  taken  for  building  a  bouse  of  worship,  and  large 
and  liberal  subscriptions  had  been  made  by  the 
people  for  that  purpose.  Here  it  may  not  be  unin- 
teresting to  record  the  fact  that  nearly  one  hundred 
years  before  the  organization  of  this  church  the  Ger- 
man Lutherans  had  erected  a  church  edifice  on  the 
same  piece  of  ground.  This  property  was  purchased 
by  the  trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  They 
also  bought  an  adjoining  lot  with  a  small  church  on 
it,  erected  by  the  Methodists  in  1832,  and  also  a  small 
strip  adjoining  that.  On  this  lot,  having  removed 
the  Methodist  building  (which  is  now  our  neat  and 
commodious  public  school-house)  the  people  assem- 
bled July  8,  1851,  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  their 
church  edifice.  A  brief  statement  of  the  history  of 
the  church  was  read  by  Eev.  William  A.  McDowell, 
D.D.,  who  then  proceeded  to  lay  the  corner-stone. 

Feb.  3,  1852,  the  church  was  dedicated.  Sixteen 
more  persons  were  received  into  the  church  by  certifi- 
cate, 1  on  profession.  Sept  20,  1851,  and  1  April  10, 
1852  ;  11  more  were  received  by  certificate,  and  14  on 
profession,  making  a  total  of  81  members  with  which 
to  begin  the  second  year.  There  have  been  received 
up  to  November,  1880,  559  members,  of  whom  195 
who  have  not  removed  their  certificates  are  still 
living.  The  number  of  resident  members  last  re- 
ported to  Presbytery,  April  1,  1880,  is  160.  The 
largest  number  of  communicants  received  in  any  one 
year  since  the  beginning  was  in  1870,  during  Mr. 
Carter's  ministry,  when  79  were  received,  63  on  pro- 
fession. The  total  number  of  infants  baptized  is  287. 
The  pastors  of  this  church  and  the  time  of  their 
pastorates  have  been :  Rev.  James  Petrie,  1852  to  Oc- 
tober 1856;  Bev.  F.  F.  Cornell,  DD.,*  January,  1857, 
to  January,  1863 ;  Bev.  Thomas  Carter,  May,  1863, 
to  November,  1872 ;  Eev.  Samuel  Parry,  April  30, 
1873.  The  list  of  elders  is  as  follows:  John  Van 
Zandt,  Francis  Hastings,  Peter  Garretson,!  John  Coll- 
yer,t  ordained  second  Tuesday  of  March,  1851 ;  Elias 
Brown,^  Abraham  Powelson,  ordained  March  5, 1854  ; 
John  McCuUough,  John  S.  Felmley,||  Jacob  V.  D. 
Powelson,  ordained  Feb.  22,  1857 ;  Charles  Suydam, 
Jacob  T.  Wortman,  John  C.  Bergen,1[  Paul  V.  Tuni- 
son,  ordained  March  3,  1861. 

June  14, 1873,  the  plan  of  term  service  in  the  elder- 
ship was  unanimously  adopted.  Three  elders  are  an- 
nually elected  to  serve  for  the  term  of  two  years. 
Since  then  the  following  elders  have  been  elected 
and  installed  into  oflBce :  James  G.  Kline,  Abraham 
V.  Wortman,  William  L.  Lyon,  June  29, 1872 ;  Philip 
I.  Yan  Arsdale,  Abraham  Powelson,  Jacob  T.  Wort- 
man, March  29,  1874;   John  McCullough,  James  G. 

*  Died  Aug.  7, 1875. 

t  Died  Not.  24, 1851,  aged  fifty-four. 

I  Died  Jan.  5, 1865,  aged  eighty-three, 
g  Died  Feh.  6,  1867,  aged  Beventy-flTe. 

II  Died  May  1, 1860,  aged  forty-three. 
U  Died  March  16,  1864. 


Kline,  William  L.  Lyon,  April  4,  1875 ;  T.  V.  Van 
Arsdale,  J.  V.  D.  Powelson,  Jacob  T.  Wortman,  April 
2,  1876;  James  Brown,  Daniel  S.  Doty,  Abraham 
Powelson,  April  1,  1877  ;  J.  V.  D.  Powelson,  Jacob  T.. 
Wortman,  T.  V.  Van  Arsdalen,  April  7, 1878;  Daniel 
S.  Doty,  William  L.  Lyon,  Abraham  V.  Wortman, 
April  6,  1879;  Abraham  Powelson,  Jacob  V.  D.  Pow- 
elson, Jacob  T.  Wortman,  April  4,  1880. 

Organizations  that  had  a  brief  existence  were  the 
Methodist  Church  at  Pluckamin,  Baptist  at  Larger 
Cross-Boads,  and  Christian  Association  at  Peapack. 
Jeremiah  Conover  obtained  permission  in  1831  to  erect 
a  Methodist  church  building  on  the  lot  owned  by  St. 
Paul's  Lutheran  Church.  He  was  the  only  member 
who  lived  in  the  village.  Preaching  was  occasional, 
members  were  few,  and  no  minister  was  ever  settled 
over  the  church.  About  1850  the  building  was  sold, 
and  it  is  now  used  as  a  school-house. 

A  Baptist  Society  was  organized  at  Larger  Cross- 
Boads,  and  a  church  edifice  erected  about  1850. 
Preaching  was  held  by  missionary  labors  only.  This 
church  was  afterwards  occasionally  used  by  the  Meth- 
odists ;  it  finally  fell  into  disuse,  and  was  sold,  taken 
down,  and  removed  to  Chester,  Morris  Co.  The  Bap- 
tists for  a  short  time  after  the  close  of  the  church  of 
the  "  Christian  Society"  at  Peapack  used  that  build- 
ing. The  Bev.  William  Shrope  received  a  call  in 
1850,  and  commenced  his  labors  April  1,  1850,  and 
remained  a  year  or  two.  Since  that  time  no  stated 
preaching  has  been  held  in  the  township  by  that 
denomination.  May  10,  1853,  Pethuel  Mason,  of 
the  Baptist  Church  of  Somerville,  was  appointed 
by  the  Association  to  visit  the  Bedminster  Baptist 
Church.  He  reported  that  "he  found  them  much 
embarrassed  in  pecuniary  matters,  house  closed,  no 
preaching,  and  in  a  very  unfavorable  state." 

Jan.  11,  1838,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Moses  Craig,  in  Peapack,  and  the  following  trustees 
elected :  Abraham  Wortman,  Philip  D.  Lawrence, 
Stephen  Bush,  David  Apgar,  Moses  Craig,  John  Je- 
roleman,  and  Hugh  Bunyan,  Jr.  These  persons  cer- 
tified that  they  had  taken  upon  themselves  the  name 
of  "  Free  Christian  Society."  A  stone  church  was 
erected  on  the  west  side  of  the  Main  Street,  and  ser- 
vices were  conducted  by  the  Bev.  Moses  Cummings, 
Austin  Craig,  and  others  for  a  year  or  two,  then 
discontinued.  The  building  was  afterwards  used  for 
services  by  the  Baptists  for  a  time,  and  these  also 
were  discontinued.  The  building  is  still  standing, 
occupied  as  a  store  and  dwelling. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 
THE  L.^MINGTON   OHUBCHTAED 

is  doubtless  the  oldest  cemetery  in  the  township.  The 
land  was  deeded  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lam- 
ington  in  March,  1743,  by  James  Alexander  and 
Daniel  D.  Dunstar,  who  were  the  original  purchasers 
of  a  large  tract  where  Lamington  now  stands.     The 


BEDMINSTER. 


723' 


church,  however,  was  built  before  this  time,  and 
burials  had  beeu  made  in  the  grounds.  The  first  of 
which  any  record  is  extant  was  that  of  Hephzibah, 
wife  of  William  Jones,  who  died  in  1740.  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Isaac  Ross,  is  recorded  as  having  died  June  2, 
1741,  aged  twenty-nine.  The  following  names  and 
dates  are  given  as  among  the  many  found  there: 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  William  Hamlin,  July  4,  1746, 
aged  thirty-three ;  Ann,  wife  of  Eichard  Porter,  Sept. 
7,  1747,  thirty-one ;  Bryan  Lefferty,  Esq.,  1749,  sixty- 
four  ;  John  Craig,  May  23,  1753,  sixty-five ;  Hugh 
Gaston,  Sr.,  Dec.  23,  1772,  eighty-five ;  Hugh  Gaston, 
Jr.,  June  25,  1808,  seventy-five;  Moses  Craig,  July 
31, 1775,  seventy-five ;  Dr.  Aaron  Craig,  Aug.  31, 1785, 
thirty-seven ;  Robert  Craig,  1797,  sixty -three ;  Samuel 
Barclay,  January,  1750 ;  William  Ker  and  Catharine, 
his  wife,  1777 ;  Ephraim  McDowell,  March  2,  1762, 
seventy-four.    One  inscription  reads : 

"  Here  lies  wliat  could  die  of  Capt.  Thomas  Weir,  of  the  Bucks  Couuty 
militia,  who  departed  this  life  26th  Jan'y,  1777,  aged  35  years." 

Capt.  John  McCarter,  Oct.  14,  1777,  sixty -three, 
and  Margaret,  his  wife,  1769,  forty-five ;  Michael  D. 
Henry,  ''  counselor-at-law  in  the  city  of  New  York," 
May  2,  1799,  thirty-nine;  "David  Henry,  January, 
1783,fi%-five;  John  Lefierty,  1776,  thirty-five ;  Eliza- 
beth, his  wife,  and  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Jones,  1772,  twenty -six;  Catharine,  wife  of  Maj. 
Eichard  McDonald,  July  23,  1813,  seventy-nine. 

The  families  of  Linn,  Porter,  McKinstry,  Trap- 
hagen,  Henry,  and  many  others  are  buried  here. 
Here  also,  side  by  side,  each  covered  by  a  broad 
marble  slab,  lie  the  remains  of  two  of  the  former 
pastors  of  the  church, — the  Eev.  James  McCrea  and 
the  Eev.  Jeremiah  Halsey.  A  little  way  to  the  north- 
east rests  another,  the  Eev.  William  Boyd. 

The  inscriptions  are  here  given : 

"  Here  lies  the  Body  of  the  Bev.  James  McCrea,  who  departed  this  life  • 
May  the  10th,  1769,  in  the  59th  year  of  his  age. 

"  To  rouse  the  sleeping  sinner's  fears 
Thy  mouth  did  faithfully  proclaim 
The  Terrors  dire  from  Sinai's  Mount 
In  Great  Jehovah's  awful  name. 

"  With  weeping  eyes  and  melting  heart 
Thy  Master's  love  thou  didst  declare, 
With  Gospel  cords  to  draw  the  Soul 

Christ's  sweet  and  gracious  calls  to  hear. 

"  A  Friend  sincere,  of  generous  mind, 
A  husband  kind,  and  parent  good, 
A  minister  of  fervent  zeal. 
To  bring  the  people  home  to  God. 

"  And,  having  trod  thy  Master's  path. 
The  cross  is  past,  the  crown  is  won. 
The  flght  is  fought,  and  by  Ohiist's  blood 
And  Spirit  thou  hast  overcome," 

"Here  lies  the  Body  of  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Halsey,  who  was  for  some 
years  Eldest  Tutor  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and  afterwards  Pastor 
of  this  church ;  and  departed  this  life  2nd  Oct.,  1780,  aged  nearly  it  years. 

"  The  Friend,  the  Scholar,  Christian  and  Divine, 
The  faithful  Pastor  and  the  Husband  Kind, 
The  Honest  lover  of  both  church  and  State 
Did  all  in  thee  unite  and  make  thee  great. 


We  hope  to  Regions  of  the  purest  Love 
Thy  Soul  is  gone  to  dwell  with  God  above. 
Where  perfect  holy  growing  Life  and  Light 
Doth  ever  fill  the  mind  with  fresh  delight." 

"  In  memory  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  Boyd,  who  died  May  17th,  1810,  in  the 
49th  year  of  his  age. 

"  By  his  death  society  has  lost  an  invaluable  member,  religion  one  of 
its  brightest  ornaments  and  most  amiable  examples.  His  genius  was 
masterly  and  his  literature  extensive.  His  judgment  waa  strong  and 
penetrating,  his  taste  correct,  his  style  nervpus  and  elegant.  In  the  pul- 
pit he  was  a  model,  in  the  judicature  of  the  church  distinguished  by  his 
accuracy  and  precision.  As  a  companion  interesting,  as  a  husband  affec- 
tionate, and  as  a  parent  indulgent. 

"After  a  life  devoted  to  his  Master's  service  he  rested  from  his  labora 
lamented  most  by  those  who  best  knew  his  work." 

THE  CEMETERY  AT  BEDMINSTER. 

The  land  for  the  church  and  cemetery  at  this  place 
was  donated  by  Jacobus  or  Jacob  Van  Derveer.  The 
first  burial  in  the  plot  was  that  of  his  own  wife,  Phebe 
Ditmars,  who  died  Sept.  11,  1759,  aged  fifty-three. 
Her  grave  is  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  yard,  and 
is  the  only  one  of  any  member  of  the  family  buried 
in  this  part  of  the  grounds,  her  husband  having  ex- 
changed lots  with  Guisbert  Sutphin  soon  after  her 
death.  East  of  the  church  lie  buried  side  by  side 
Guisbert  Sutphin  and  his  wife,  Areantje;  he  died 
Nov.  16,  1796,  aged  seventy-six;  she  died  May  31, 
1788,  aged  sixty-eight.  Around  them  are  several  of 
their  descendants.  Near  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
church  rests  Eobert  Blair,  Esq.,  who  died  Feb.  8, 1800, 
aged  fifty-one ;  Sarah,  wife  of  Peter  Wortman,  and 
daughter  of  John  Van  Nest,  who  died  in  1771,  aged 
thirty;  Margaret,  the  wife  of  Eichard  McDonald, 
Aug.  16,  1773,  aged  thirty-six;  Margaret,  wife  of 
Stephen  Hunt,  Sept.  2,  1769.  In  1763,  Eachel  Long- 
street,  the  wife  of  William  Van  Doren,  was  buried  in 
this  part  of  the  ground.  Directly  west  of  the  church 
are  the  graves  of  the  Van  Derveers.  An  incident  con- 
nected with  this  portion  of  the  ground  is  worthy  of  a 
place  here : 

"Jacob  Van  Derveer  had  a  daughter  who  became  insane  and  died. 
Though  this  old  man  had  given  every  inch  of  ground  for  the  church  and 
burying-ground,  so  strong  were  the  superstitions  of  some  of  the  church 
elders  that,  on  account  of  her  infirmity,  they  actually  refused  him  the 
right  of  burying  his  unfortunate  child  within  the  inclosure,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  make  her  grave  outside  the  fence.  Afterwards,  while  the 
army  lay  encamped  in  the  vicinity,  Gen.  Knox  lost  an  infant  daughter, 
and,  as  he  wsa  a  New  England  man  and  held  to  Congregational  doc- 
trines, the  same  prejudices  which  excluded  Jacob  Van  Derveer's  daugh- 
ter a  burial-place  refused  the  right  of  sepulture  to  the  child  of  this  brave 
ofBcer  who  had  bared  his  breast  to  thousands  of  bullets  and  was  one  of 
the  best  heroes  of  the  war.  His  amiable  wife  was  with  him,  and  their 
tears  fell  thick  and  fast  as  the  thought  came  up  that  the  Jersey  soil  which 
the  battle-scarred  soldier  came  to  defend  refused  their  little  one  a  grava. 
Old  Jacob  Van  Derveer's  honest  cheek  blushed  scarlet  with  shame  for  his 
church  and  congregation.  He  took  the  veteran  by  the  hand  and  led  him 
to  a  little  corner  of  his  own  land,  close  by  the  west  side  of  the  church 
and  right  at  the  entrance-gate,  near  where  his  own  daughter  lay  outside 
the  fence,  and  said,  with  a  choking  voice,  'Gen'ral  Knox,  this  is,my, 
ground;  bury  youi  child  here.'  So  there  the  little  one  was  laid;  and  a 
few  days  since  we  brushed  the  autumn  leaves  away  and  read  on  a  broad 
marble  tablet  level  with  the  earth  : 

"'Under  this  stone  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Julia  Knox,  an  infant 
who  died  the  2d  day  of  July,  1779.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Lucy  Knox,  of  Boston,  in  New  England.' 

"After  this,  Jacob  Van  Derveer  made  the  church  a  present  of  this 
ground,  and  the  fence  was  removed,  so  as  to  bring  in  the  grave  of  his 


724 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


^hild  and  that  of  Gen.  Knox.  This  strange  conduct  on  the  part  of  these 
■church  ofBcers  is  not  easily  accounted  for,  as  the  Dutch  Church  was  al- 
ways proverbially  liberal  in  its  ideas,  and  the  congregations  of  the  Dutch 
•Churches  of  New  Jersey  generally  treated  those  of  other  denominations 
with  great  neighborly  kindness  and  consideration."* 

The  following  epitaph  occurs  among  the  Van 
Derveers : 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Blias  Van  Derveer,  who  died  29th  Nov.  1778, 
in  the  33d  year  of  his  age. 

"In  consequence  of  his  cruel  incarceration  while  prisoner  to  the 
British  army,  a  detachment  of  which  had  been  expressly  sent  out  for  the 
pui^pose  of  taking  him  by  surprise,  with  a  few  other  active  and  spirited 
Whigs  of  the  Kevolution  in  this  vicinage." 

Between  the  Van  Derveers  and  the  church  lies  a 
former  pastor  beneath  a  marble  slab,  with  the  follow- 
ing inscription  upon  it : 

"  This  Tomb  covers  the  mortal  remains  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  M.  Fisher 
and  Margaret  C.  Blartin  his  wife,  they  departed  this  life ;  the  former  on 
the  14th  of  Feb.,  1840,  aged  44  years,  and  the  latter  on  the  31st  March, 
1838,  aged  42  years.  They  died  in  the  hope  of  the  Gospel,  whose  doc- 
trines they  had  adorned  by  a  holj'  life.  This  church  enjoyed  the  faith- 
ful ministry  of  their  late  Pastor  for  the  term  of  17  years.  He  was  a 
preacher  of  distinguished  ability,  ardent  in  his  love  of  the  truth,  deeply 
skilled  in  experimental  religion,  and  eminently  successful  in  winning 
flouls  to  Jesus.  Tills  stone  was  erected  as  a  grateful  tribute  to  their 
memory  by  those  who  loved  them  in  life  and  honored  them  in  death. 
Their  best  record  is  on  high,  and  their  best  monument  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people." 

Near  this  grave  is  that  of  the  Eev.  George  Schenck, 
pastor  from  1840  till  his  death,  July  7,  1852. 

Near  the  church  also  are  buried  two  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Dr.  and  "  Juflfrow"  Hardenburgh ;  Laura,  the 
wife  of  Michael  Lane,  July  28,  1785,  aged  twenty- 
eight;  and  Maria,  wife  of  James  Van  Derveer,  March 
12,  1789,  aged  thirty-two.  The  family  of  Powelsons 
occupy  the  southwest  corner  of  the  yard,  the  Van 
Arsdale  the  northwest,  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
grounds  are  the  families  of  Conover,  Nevius,  Vroom, 
Voorhees,  Van  Doren,  Melick,  Demott,  Tiger,  Wolf, 
Wyckoff,  and  many  others.  At  the  extreme  north 
side  is  the  grave  of  Maj.  John  Todd,  a  Eevolutionary 
officer,  who  died  Sept.  4,  1820. 

THE   CEMETEET  AT   PLUCKAMIN. 

When  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church  was  organized, 
in  1756,  as  a  part  of  Zion's  Church,  of  New  German- 
town,  the  land  for  a  building  and  cemetery  was  do- 
nated by  Jacob  Eoff.  Many  burials  were  made  in 
this  ground,  but  the  hands  of  desecrating  vandals  of 
later  days  have  left  their  mark,  and  few  are  the  stones 
that  now  mark  the  resting-spot  of  those  who  were 
active  in  the  stirring  events  of  that  time  of  a  century 
ago.  The  Presbyterian  church  at  Pluckamin  is  built 
on  the  site  of  the  old  one  ;  a  few  graves  are  marked 
north  of  it.  The  family  of  Castners  are  buried  there, 
eight  in  number,  from  1780  to  1801.  Robert  Eoff  and 
wife,  in  1775 ;  Eichard  Eoflf,  in  1814.  Other  dates  are 
John  Melick,  died  Nov.  16,  1763,  aged  sixty-one; 
Catharine  Melick,  Oct.  17,  1763,  sixty-four;  Mary 
Magdalena,  wife  of  Jacob  Eoff,  Nov.  11,  1761,  fifty- 
seven  ;    Aaron   Melick,  April  7,  1809,  eighty- three ; 

*  Jacob  Magill. 


Charlotte,  his  wife,  1802,  sixty-seven;  Elizabeth 
Melick,  May  14,  1768;  Margaret  Melick,  Sept.  10, 
1807. 

One  brown  stone  bears  three  inscriptions,  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  In  memory  of  John  Weygand,  who  died  Feb.  3, 1782,  aged  26  years, 
of  Hannah  wife  of  Dr.  Thos.  Chrystie,  who  died  Aug.,  1782,  aged  30 
years,  and  of  Elizabeth  Weygand,  who  died  Feb.,  1783,  aged  18  years." 

The  Eev.  John  Weygand  was  pastor  of  Zion 
Church  in  1749.  It  is  not  known  whether  John  and 
Elizabeth  Weygand  were  of  his  family  or  not. 

The  following  Eevolutionary  incident  will  be  of 
interest  to  many,  as  in  this  old  cemetery  the  gallant 
young  officer  is  buried  :  A  plain  monument  marks 
the  spot  in  the  Pluckamin  graveyard  if 

"  In  memory  of 

the  Hon.  Captain  William  Leslie, 

of  the  17th  British  Regiment, 

son  of  the  Earl  of  Leven,  in  Scotland. 

He  fell  January  3, 1777, 

aged  twenty-six  years, 

at  the  battle  of  Princeton. 

His  friend,  Benjamin  Rush,  M.D., 

of  Philadelphia, 

hath  caused  this  stone  to  be  erected  as  a 

mark  of  his  esteem  for  his  worth 

and  respect  for  his 

noble  family." 

The  ground  south  and  east  of  the  church  is  full  of 
graves  of  the  ancient  dead,  but  many  of  the  stones 
that  bear  the  names  and  dates  of  death  and  mark 
the  place  of  the  burial  now  form  the  pavement  of  a 
cellar.  A  blacksmith-shop  and  a  stable  stand  upon' 
the  spot  once  sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  dead. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  road  from  Lesser  Cross- 
Eoads  to  Peapack,  before  the  latter  village  is  entered, 
on  a  knoll  now  owned  by  Watson  0.  Allen,  there  was 
a  burial-place  seventy  years  ago,  but  nothing  of  it  now 
remains. 

On  tlie  west  side  of  the  road,  a  short  distance  north 
of  the  Eeformed  church  at  Peapack,  on  land  now 
owned  by  Ellis  Tiger,  there  was  also  a  burial-place,  in 
which  monuments  were  standing  as  late  as  1812,  but 
of  which  nothing  now  remains. 

The  land  donated  for  the  Methodist  church  in  1838 
at  Peapack  was  also  used  for  a  burial-place;  likewise 
that  around  the  Eeformed  church  at  Peapack.  The 
first  burial  in  this  ground  was  that  of  Mrs.  Barnabas 
Horton,  who  was  interred  there  before  the  church  was 
completed,  in  January,  1850. 

In  1875  four  acres  were  purchased  of  Elias  Phil- 
hower  and  William  Hilliard  on  an  elevated  spot  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  village  for  a  "union  cemetery." 
The  grounds  were  handsomely  laid  out,  and  many  re- 
mains were  removed  from  the  other  burial-places  and 
deposited  in  the  new  ground.  The  Jeroleman  family 
burying-ground  is  in  the  centre  of  the  village.  The 
Lane  family  burying-ground  is  situated  about  half  a 
mile  west  of  Van  Vliet's  Mills.  The  following  are  a 
few  buried  here:  Matthew  Lane,  Sr.,  died  Jan.  17, 

t  See  p.  59  of  this  volume. 


BEDMINSTER. 


725 


1804,  aged  eighty-three ;  Matthew  Lane,  Jr.,  Nov.  7, 
1819,  seventy-three ;  Peter  Lane,  Sept.  19, 1819,  fifty- 
five  ;  Matthew  P.  Lane,  March  3, 1870,  eighty-one. 

The  cemetery  of  the  Preshy  terian  Church  at  Pluok- 
amin  is  situated  southeast  from  the  village,  on  the 
Washington  Valley  road.  It  was  purchased  by  the 
society  shortly  after  its  organization,  in  1851. 

A  short  distance  north  of  the  Lesser  Oross-Eoads  is 
a  plot  of  land,  containing  about  half  an  acre,  that  was 
used  years  ago  for  the  burial  of  colored  people  who 
were  slaves.  About  1873.  an  acre  of  land  was  pur- 
chased southeast  of  Lamington  as  a  burial-place  for 
colored  people. 

THE  PEESBTTEEIAN  CEMETEET. 

Soon  after  the  church  was  organized  1.15  acres 
was  purchased  of  Elias  Brown,  Esq.,  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  the  road  leading  to  Washington  Valley, 
for  cemetery  purposes.  It  was  laid  out  April  1, 1851, 
and  contains  220  lots  9  by  20  feet,  and  22  lots  9  by  12 
feet.  The  first  interment  was  of  a  little  child  of  David 
Dawson,  who  died  April  1,  1851,  and  is  buried  near 
the  entrance.  The  cemetery  is  under  the  control  of 
the  trustees  of  the  church.  In  1879  considerable  im- 
provement was  made  in  its  condition.  An  efibrt  is 
now  being  made  to  keep  a  complete  record  of  every 
interment,  so  that  every  grave  may  be  known,  whether 
marked  by  a  headstone  or  not. 

SOLOMON'S   LODGE,  No.  1,  P.  AND  A.  M. 

At  some  time  in  1767  a  warrant  was  issued  by  the 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
for  a  lodge  at  Basking  Ridge,  N.  J.,  to  be  known  as 
No.  10   on  the  Pennsylvania  registry.     The  precise 
time  and  the  names  of  the  individuals  cannot  be  as- 
certained, as  the  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that 
State  were  lost  or  destroyed  prior  to  the  Eevolution. 
The  number  is  found  on  the  registry  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  is  there  mentioned  as  a  lodge  located  at  Basking 
Eidge,  N.  J.    March  26,  1781,  inquiry  was  made  at 
the  Grand  Lodge  concerning  this  warrant,  and  it  was 
said  to  have  been  seen  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Blatch- 
ley.     This  was  doubtless  the  same  person  who  signed 
the  agreement  by  which  the  Grand  Lodge  was  con- 
stituted.    It  was  then  signed  by  him  as  Ebenezer 
Blatchley,  Jr.,  Past  Master  of  Lodge  No.  10.  It  must 
have  been  in  successful  operation  at  that  time,  as  the 
agreement  spoken  of  was  signed  by  more  members  of 
that  lodge  than  of  any  other.    The  names  of  two  Past 
Masters,  Worthy  Master,  Wardens,  Deacons,  and  16 
other  members  of  Lodge  No.  10  were  attached  to  it. 
In  the  proceedings  at  the  organization  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  Jersey,  Dec.  18,  1786,  mention  is  made 
of  the  "  Lodge  of  Bedminster,"  which  is  undoubtedly 
the  same,  and  by  a  general  consent  No.  1  was  assigned 
to  this  lodge,  April  7,  1787.    It  was  first  known  and 
designated  as  "Somerset  Lodge,  No.  1,"  and  soon 
afterwards  changed  to  "Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  1." 
It  became  migratory;   meetings  were  held  at  Bed- 


minster, Somerville,  Bound  Brook,  and  Millstone, 
and  it  expired  about  1880. 

At  the  November  session  of  1829  a  communication 
from  this  lodge  was  read  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  then  in 
session  at  Trenton,  stating  a  wish  to  resign  the  war- 
rant, reserving  the  privilege  of  retaining  its  number 
and  of  being  taken  up  at  some  other  period  of  timcv 
This  privilege  was  not  granted,  but  they  were  in- 
formed that  the  surrender  of  their  warrant  would  be 
accepted  if  made  in  the  usual  manner.  The  names 
of  the  representatives  to  the  Grand  Lodge  resident  of 
Bedminster  were  Eobert  Gaston,  1786 ;  William  Mc- 
Kissack,  1787 ;  James  Henry,  1787;  George  McDonald, 
1792;  Aaron  Boylan,  1806;  Henry  Suydam,  1811; 
Peter  Van  Doren,  1817. 

POST-OFFICES. 

The  first  in  the  township  was  established  at  Pluck- 
amin.  Matthew  Lane  was  first  postmaster.  '  He  was 
succeeded  by  Jacob  Losey  (who  held  the  position 
about  forty-five  years),  John  Van  Zandt,  J.  D.  Pot- 
ter, David  H.  Wortman,  and  James  Brown,  Jr., 
present  incumbent. 

Lamington  office  has  been  conducted  by  John  Skill- 
man  and  Abram  K.  Hutton;  that  of  Peapack,  by 
William  A.  Van  Doren,  Elias  J.  Lawrence,  and  Amos 
T.  Foster,  who  is  still  the  postmaster,  having  held  the 
position  fifteen  years. 

Lesser  Cross-Eoads  office  was  established  about  1800. 
Jacob  Van  Doren  was  postmaster  about  eighteen  years, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Capt.  Joseph  Nevius.  Corne- 
lius W.  Schomp,  Dr.  Staats  Woodruff,  Nicholas  Ar- 
rowsmith,  Martin  Bunn,  William  C.  Joroleman,  Elias 
T.  Wood,  and  the  present  incumbent,  Martin  Bunh. 

The  office  at  Pottersville  was  established  very  early. 
Sering  Potter  was  the  first  postmaster,  and  the  only 
one  for  about  fifty  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Elias 
Bartles,  who  still  holds  the  position. 

MILITARY. 
Many  things  that  are  of  particular  interest  to  the 
people  of  the  township  of  Bedminster  will  be  found 
in  the  Eevolutionary  chapter  of  the  general  history 
of  this  work.  The  rosters  of  the  companies  formed 
for  that  struggle  have  not  been  found.  Below  is  given 
that  of  one  raised  for  the  war  of  1812 : 

"  A  list  of  the  names  of  all  the  persons  belonging  to  the  Second  Com- 
pany of  the  First  Battalion  of  the  Second  Eegiment  of  Somerset  Bri- 
gade :  John  Logan,  Captain;  John  Tiger,  Lieutenant;  John  Craig,  John 
Wolfe,  John  Arrowsmith,  Daniel  Todd,  Sergeants ;  John  Mizner,  Oharlea 
Lj-on,  Aaron  Craig,  John  Mullen,  Corporals;  Dafld  Ammerman,  Jr., 
Albert  Ammerman,  Samuel  Todd,  Jr.,  Andrew  Todd,  John  Phenix,  Cor- 
nelius Willitt,  Isaac  Willitt,  Conrad  Hardy,  Francis  V.  Hagaman,  Simon 
Hagaman,  Jr.,  David  Hagaman,  William  Hagaman,  Ames  Dunham, 
Simon  Vleet,  Andrew  Auble,  John  Bunck,  Peter  Case,  William  J.  Todd,. 
Benjamin  Arrowsmith,  Jr.,  Abraham  Van  Dike,  Abraham  Hoagland, 
Isaac  Voorhis;  Jacob  Voorheea,  Jr.,  David  Van  Nest,  Shepherd  McCoy, 
Nicholas  .Ditmars,  Eobert  T.  Craig,  William  J.  Van  Dorn,  Jacob  Allen, 
Peter  Dorn,  James  Johnston,  Jacob  Wolfe,  William  A.  Van  Dorn,  Isaac 
Van  Dorn,  Aaron  Van  Dorn,  Jr.,  William  Irwine,  Peter  Demont,  .Jacob. 
Tiger,  Jr.,  Peter  Tiger,  Abraham  Smith,  Cornelius  T.  Bowman,  Heniy 
V.°Voorhees,  James  Voorheea,  Jr.,  Cornelius  Wolfe,  Jeremiah  Dunn,. 
Cornelius  McCloe,  Gilbert  Van  Dorn,  Benjamin  S.  Brown,  Jacob  Van 


Y26 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


DorD,  William  Biirvis,  Lewie  0.  Voorhees,  William  Todd,  Jr.,  William 
Hone}'man,  Andrew  Ammerman,  William  Ammerman,  Samuel  Lock- 
bart. 

"The  persons  below  named  have  performed  a  tour  of  duty  already: 
John  Tiger,  Lieutenant ;  John  Mizner,  CJoi-poral ;  John  Willett,  John 
Mullen,  Lewis  Chapman. 

"  Persons  named  below  are  now  on  a  tour  of  duty:  John  Logan,  Cap- 
tain ;  Jacob  Tiger,  John  Devore,  Jr.,  Joseph  Van  Horn,  Albert  Ammer. 
man.  Privates. 

"  September  8th,  1814. 

"James  "WoheE,  Sergeant, 

"  By  me,  John  Logan,  Captain" 

The  following  is  an  account  of  proceedings  of  tlie 
town  committee  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  in 
reference  to  raising  money  for  volunteers. 

Special  town-meeting  September,  1862 : 

"  It  was  voted  unanimouBly  to  sustain  the  action  of  the  chosen  free- 
holders of  Somerset  County  in  their  action  in  regard  to  paying  bounty." 

Aug.  27,  1863,  it  was  voted  to  raise  a  bounty  of 
$300  for  each  man  who  entered  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  whether  as  a  volunteer  or  as  drafted ; 
also  that  the  money  for  1863  be  raised  by  assessment. 
Dec.  28,  1863,  it  was  voted  that  the  town  committee 
be  empowered  to  raise  town  bonds  for  the  money, 
payable  Jan.  1,  1865.  May  30,  1864,  voted  that  each 
person  enrolled,  liable  to  military  duty,  pay  to  the 
collector  $10 ;  all  persons  refusing  are  not  entitled  to 
$300  in  case  of  draft.  It  was  voted  Oct.  9,  1864,  to 
pay  a  bounty  of  $800,  and  Jan.  7,  1865,  to  pay  for 
three-years'  men  $600,  two-years'  men  $500,  and  one 
year  men  $400.  The  final  account  of  committee  re- 
ported of  moneys  raised  as  follows  :  For  the  draft  of 
June,  1864,  $10,377.52;  September,  1864,  $33,256.22; 
ball  of  Dec.  19,  1864,  $21,346.52;  total,  $64,980.26. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


REV.  WILLIAM    A.  McDOWELL,   D.D. 

The  McDowells  of  this  family  trace  their  ances- 
tors back  to  Ireland,  and  thence  to  Scotland.  Hence 
they  were  properly  Scotch-Irish,  and  are  believed  to 
i.ave  been  among  those  numerous  Presbyterians  who 
passed  over  to  Ireland  to  escape  the  oppressive  Act  of 
Uniformity  passed  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  The 
first  ancestor  who  emigrated  to  America  was  Ephraim 
McDowell,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch. 

William  Anderson  McDowell  was  born  in  Bedmin- 
ster,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1789. 
He  was  a  son  of  Matthew  and  Elizabeth  (Anderson) 
McDowell,  whose  parents  had  settled  in  Bedminster, 
whither  they  came  from  Long  Island  (?)  as  early  as 
1767.  His  older  brother,  Eev.  John  McDowell,  D.D., 
was  also  born  in  Bedminster,  on  the  McDowell  estate, 
and  received  his  first  impulse  towards  that  distinction 
in  scholarship  and  in  the  ministry  which  he  attained 
from  his  rudimentary  lessons  at  the  grammar  school 
.taught  in  the  neighborhood  by  Eev.  Mr.  Hannah. 

At  this  or  a  similar  school  at  Lamington  William 


also  began  his  preparatory  course  for  college,  and  at 
Elizabethtown  was  so  far  advanced  in  his  studies  that 
he  entered  the  Junior  Class  at  Princeton  in  1807,  and 
graduated  in  1809,  having  throughout  his  whole  course 
maintained  a  superior  standing  both  for  scholarship 
and  deportment.  In  the  spring  of  1810,  as  his  brother 
had  done  before  him,  he  placed  himself  under  the  tui- 
tion of  Rev.  Dr.  WoodhuU,  of  Freehold,  as  a  student 
in  theology,  and  in  June  of  that  year  became  a  candi- 
date for  the  ministry.  In  November,  1810,  he  became 
a  tutor  in  Princeton  College,  and  continued  in  that 
relation  till  September  of  the  next  year,  pursuing 
his  theological  studies  meantime  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Rev.  Dr.  Stanhope  Smith,  then  president  of 
the  college.  His  health  having  become  delicate,  he 
resolved  to  try  the  effect  of  a  Southern  climate,  and 
in  November  sailed  for  Savannah,  the  residence  of 
Eev.  Dr.  KoUock,  whose  sister  he  afterwards  married. 
Under  the  direction  of  this  eloquent  divine,  he  re- 
sumed his  theological  studies,  and,  returning  after  a 
time  to  Princeton,  was  the  fifth  on  the  catalogue  of 
the  first  class  in  the  theological  school  of  that  place, 
which  his  brother,  Eev.  Dr.  John  McDowell,  did  so 
much  towards  founding  and  placing  on  a  firm  basis, 
and  which  has  since  become  so  famous  an  institution 
throughout  the  Christian  world. 

Mr.  McDowell  continued  his  connection  with  the 
seminary  until  May,  1813,  having  been  licensed  to 
preach  in  April  preceding  by  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick.  He  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bound  Brook  on  the  22d 
of  December  following,  and  about  the  same  time  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Jane  Kollock,  daughter  of 
Shepard  Kollock,  Esq.,  of  Elizabethtown.  His  con- 
nection with  the  church  at  Bound  Brook  was  dissolved 
Oct.  19,  1814,  and  on  the  15th  of  the  next  December 
he  was  installed  pastor  of  the  church  at  Morristown, 
N.  J.  He  had  previously  declined  a  call  from  the 
church  in  Flemington.  His  ministry  at  Morristown 
was  alike  highly  acceptable  and  highly  useful.  It 
was  while  earnestly  laboring  here  that  his  health  so 
declined  that  he  was  induced  to  try  the  experiment  of 
a  Southern  climate,  and  made  a  visit  to  Charleston, 
S.  C,  which  resulted  in  his  settlement  as  pastor  in 
that  city  in  1823. 

This  was  an  epoch  in  his  life:  his  health  was  in 
a  great  measure  restored,  and  his  pastorate  of  ten 
years  eminently  successful,  during  which  he  did  much 
towards  the  more  thorough  organization  of  the  Church 
South.  At  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
1838  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, — a  posi- 
tion which  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  accept,  although  his 
people  in  Charleston  released  him  with  great  regret. 
This  arrangement  made  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
henceforth  his  home  for  the  balance  of  his  life.  In 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  secretary  his  labors  were 
abundant,  and  he  frequently  made  tours  South  for  the 
purpose  of  extending  the  influence  of  the  board  in 


Shg 


inj  j-JEBiTciu.'^ 


'M^a^^-^  S^.U^':l9^rt^eXt^ 


R  E V;  "WILLIAM  A II ?  D  Q'S^T^ \  L'.L ,  D .  D , 


BEDMINSTER. 


727 


that  direction.  His  wisdom,  zeal,  and  ability,  but 
not  his  health,  were  adequate  to  the  task  imposed  by 
his  office,  or  rather  the  task  which  his  own  devotion 
and  energy  imposed  upon  him ;  for,  although  he  was 
afflicted  with  a  difficulty  of  the  throat  which  rendered 
public  speaking  exceedingly  difficult,  and  the  tax 
upon  his  energies  was  felt  to  be  more  and  more  ex- 
hausting, it  was  impossible  for  one  of  such  a  spirit  not 
to  work  up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  ability. 

The  summer  of  1850  he  spent  at  his  "  Retreat"  in 
Bedminster,  preaching  occasionally  as  his  health  would 
permit,  and  dividing  his  time  between  his  pen,  his 
books,  and  his  friends.  In  the  autumn  he  made  his 
last  tour,  with  his  wife,  to  the  South,  in  hopes  that  the 
change  of  climate  might  be  beneficial  to  him.  It  was 
to  some  extent ;  but  soon  after  his  return  to  New  Jer- 
sey, in  May,  1851,  he  appears  to  have  grown  worse,  as 
the  following  letter,  written  to  his  brother,  shows : 

"  Retreat,  June  18, 1851. 
"  My  dear  Bkothee,— Tour  kind  letter  of  the  12th  inst.  came  by  the 
mail  of  yesterday.  I  thank  you  for  it,  and  will  attempt  a  brief  reply. 
I  wrote  you  not  long  since,  and  gave  you  a  full  account  of  the  illness 
■with  which  our  Heavenly  Father  has  been  pleased  to  visit  me.  I  then 
expressed  the  hope  that  I  was  better,  and  was  slowly  gaining  strength ; 
and  I  venture  to  indulge  that  hope  still,  though  my  cough  is  trouble- 
some and  I  continue  very  weak.  The  weather  has  been  much  against 
me.  It  is  now  quite  dry,  and  rain  is  much  needed ;  but  it  is  cold,  es- 
pecially in  the  mornings  and  evenings. 

"  The  Pluckamin  people  are  going  forward  with  some  spirit.  They 
have  commenced  their  church  edifice  on  a  lot  adjoining  the  old  grave- 
yard. They  build  there  to  avoid  covering  graves  and  a  threatened  law- 
suit    The  site  is  a  good  one. 

'•  The  Lord  seems  disposed  to  keep  you  from  stagnating,  and  for  your 
general  good  health  you  owe  him  much.  You  have,  indeed,  a  heavy 
task,  but  I  am  persuaded  that  few  others  could  do  it  as  well  as  you,*  and 
I  rejoice  in  your  good  success.  That  building  will  remain,  after  your 
work  on  earth  is  done,  as  a  precious  monument  to  your  indefatigable 
industry  and  perseverance  in  the  best  of  causes.  May  a  kind  Providence 
enable  you  to  complete  the  important  enterprise  I  and  when  finished, 
may  God,  by  His  Spirit,  take  up  His  abode  there  I  It  is  the  presence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  alone,  that  can  give  prosperity  to  a  church. 
O  that  we  all  felt  this  more  deeply  than  we  do  1  We  greatly  need  an 
unction  from  the  Holy  One. 

"  As  soon  as  I  am  able,  I  wish  to  write  to  your  Presbytery  and  give 
some  account  of  myself.  Although  not  now  within  their  bounds,  I  am 
jiot  prepared  at  present  to  change  my  Presbyterial  connection.  Should 
my  health  be  restored,  I  do  not  expect  to  spend  the  winter  here,  and  I 
know  not  exactly  where  I  may  be.  If  I  have  strength  to  labor  I  do  not 
expect  to  be  idle.  If  my  health  should  not  be  restored,  I  shall  not  be  in 
a  situation  to  join  any  other  body.  I  trust  my  good  brethren  of  the  Pres- 
bytery will  not  object  to  my  retaining  my  present  connection  until  I 
can  see  more  clearly  what  God  designs  for  me. 

"  Let  me  hear  from  you  soon  and  often,  and  believe  me, 

"  Tour  affectionate  brother, 
"  William  A.  McDowell." 

Dr.  McDowell's  health  continued  feeble  during  the 
summer,  yet  in  July  he  officiated  in  laying  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  the  church  at  Pluckamin.  About  the 
1st  of  September  he  went  to  Morristown,  with  a  view 
of  placing  himself  under  the  care  of  his  former  phy- 
sician, Dr.  Johns,,  in  whom  he  had  great  confidence. 
Even  then  he  was  not  so  ill  as  to  occasion  any  imme- 
diate alarm,  but  he  gradually  declined  until  he  died 
from  exhaustion,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1851. 

*  Eeferring  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  Spring  Garden  Presbyterian 
church,  Philadelphia. 


The  night  before  he  died  he  was  much  engaged  in 
prayer  for  the  church  and  for  the  cause  of  missions, 
which  was  especially  dear  to  his  heart.  His  remains 
were  removed  to  Lamington  for  interment,  and  the 
sermon  on  the  occasion  was  preached  by  Rev.  W.  W. 
Blauvelt,  pastor  of  the  Lamington  Church. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  of  a  slender  form,  rather  below 
the  medium  height.  His  countenance  indicated 
thoughtful  earnestness  and  purity,  and  his  utterances 
fulfilled  all  that  his  looks  foreshadowed.  He  had  a 
fine,  clear,  well-balanced  intellect,  which  had  been 
subjected  to  early  judicious  training,  and  had  also 
been  kept  in  careful  culture  in  connection  with  the 
great  and  diversified  labors  of  life.  He  possessed 
wonderful  transparency  of  character,  and  a  modesty 
which  shrank  from  aspiration  to  high  places;  was  of 
an  amiable  and  kindly  spirit,  of  admirable  discretion, 
and  of  an  energy  of  purpose  which  never  faltered  in 
the  most  difficult  enterprises.  As  a  preacher  he  took 
high  rank,  being  among  the  most  clear,  forcible,  prac- 
tical expounders  of  truth  of  his  day.  In  each  of  the 
congregations  to  which  he  ministered,  especially  the 
two  last,  there  were  very  marked  result?  from  his 
ministry,  not  a  small  number  both  in  Morristown 
and  Charleston  being  converted  under  his  labors. 

But  the  chief  monument  which  he  erected  was  in 
the  hearts  and  affections  of  those  who  knew  him  best. 
Every  community  in  which  he  lived  has  loved  to  do 
him  honor,  and  multitudes  still  pronounce  his  name 
with  reverence  and  gratitude. 

Rev.  John  McLean,  D.D.,  president  of  Princeton 
College,  writes  of  him,  in  1864:  "  Dr.  William  A.  Mc- 
Dowell was  a  favorite  pupil  of  my  father,  who  for 
many  years  was  professor  of  mathematics  and  nat- 
ural philosophy  in  the  college,  and  its  first  teacher  in 
chemistry.  During  a  part  of  the  summer  term  of 
1812  he  supplied  my  father's  place  in  the  college  as 
teacher  of  mathematics,  and  sustained  himself  well. 
In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  if  I  err  not,  he  entered 
the  theological  seminary  at  Princeton,  which  had 
been  recently  established,  the  only  professor  being 
the  late  venerable  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander, 

"  At  that  time,  there  being  no  building  erected  for 
the  seminary,  its  students  were  permitted,  if  they  de- 
sired it,  to  lodge  in  the  college  buildings  and  use  the 
recitation-rooms,  etc.  .  .  .   This  led  to  a  great  inti- 
macy between  the  students  of  the  two   institutions, 
and  to  co-operation  in  their  benevolent  efi'orts.     In 
these  Dr.  (then  Mr.)  W.  A.  McDowell  took  an  active 
part,  and  at  the  formation  of  the  Nassau  Hall  Bible 
Society  he  was  chosen  its  first  president,  and  wrote  an 
address  setting  forth  the  object  for  which  it  was  es- 
tablished.    The  address  was  published,  with  a  copy  of 
the  constitution  as  then  adopted,  and  it  was  probably 
the  first  article  from  his  pen  that  ever  appeared  in 
print.    This  was  three  years  before  the  founding  of 
the  American  Bible  Society,  at  the  formation  of  which 
delegates  were  present  from  the  Nassau  Hall  Bible 
Society.    Those  familiar  with  the  history  of  Bible 


728 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


agencies  in  our  country  know  the  important  services 
rendered  by  the  Nassau  Hall  Society  in  the  first  efibrts 
made  to  supply  every  destitute  family  in  the  State  of 
New  Jersey  with  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

"In  1817,  Dr.  McDowell  was  chosen  a  trustee  of 
this  college.  In  1824  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
board,  and  was  elected  again  the  following  year. 

"  Dr.  McDowell  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  ability ; 
he  was  a  good  scholar  and  an  instructive  preacher. 
Pious,  active,  cheerful,  he  was  a  most  agreeable  com- 
panion and  an  exemplary  Christian  minister.  I 
might  say  more,  I  could  not  say  less.'' 


A.  w.  McDowell,  m.d. 

The  late  Augustus  W.  McDowell,  M.D.,  of  Bed- 
minster,  was  a  son  of  Rev.  William  A.  McDowell, 
D.D.,  and  was  born  in  Morristown,  N.  J.,  Dec.  11, 
1820.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  graduated  at  Princeton  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  and  received  his  medical  degree  at  nineteen. 
It  was  against  the  college  rule  to  give  a  diploma  to 
any  undergraduate  less  than  twenty-one  years  old. 
When  asked  "  What  will  you  say  if  they  ask  your 
age?"  he  replied,  "I  will  tell  the  truth."  But  they 
did  not  ask  his  age. 

By  the  removal  of  his  father  from  Charleston  to 
Philadelphia,  in  1833,  he  was  brought  into  the  best 
opportunities  for  medical  study,  which  he  improved 
by  attending  both  the  summer  and  winter  courses  of 
lectures,  and  at  the  same  time  pursued  the  study  of 
French.  Graduating  at  the  Medical  College  of  Phila- 
delphia, he  established  himself  at  the  home  of  his 
ancestors  in  Bedminster, — the  "  Retreat," — where  he 
carried  on  a  very  large  medical  practice  till  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  civil  war. 

Dr.  McDowell  married,  Sept.  3,  1844,  Anna  Maria, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Enos  A.  Osborn,  a  prominent  Pres- 
byterian divine  of  New  Jersey. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  Dr.  McDowell  earn- 
estly espoused  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  entered 
the  service  as  a  surgeon.  He  served  at  different 
times,  both  as  regimental  and  brigade  surgeon,  with 
the  rank  of  major,  and  in  March,  1865,  he  was  bre- 
vetted  colonel  "  for  faithful  and  meritorious  services 
during  the  war"  by  Andrew  Johnson  and  Secretary 
Stanton.  His  first  medical  services  rendered  were  in 
the  Department  of  the  West,  where,  with  two  assist- 
ants, he  had  charge  of  the  hospital  at  Ironton,  Mo., 
containing  about  six  hundred  patients. 

At  one  time  the  hospital  was  entirely  surrounded 
by  the  Confederate  Gen.  Price  and  his  troops.  Gen. 
Price  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce  and  demanded  their  sur- 
render. Dr.  McDowell  and  his  assistants  were  not 
ready  to  give  up  without  doing  all  they  could.  The 
messenger  was  blindfolded  before  being  brought  into 
their  presence,  while  they,  from  the  convalescent 
patients,  made  all  the  show  of  force  they  could,  and 


then,  removing  the  bandage  from  his  eyes,  told  him  to 
tell  Gen.  Price  if  he  wanted  the  place  to  come  and 
take  it.  The  show  of  force  so  deceived  the  emissary 
that,  upon  his  report  being  made  to  his  general,  he 
made  his  advance  with  such  care  and  loss  of  time 
that  the  United  States  troops  were  reinforced,  the 
property  saved,  and  the  retreating  Confederate  force 
overtaken  and  defeated.  In  this  malarious  region 
first  both  of  his  assistants  and  then  himself  were- 
stricken  with  disease ;  but  he  clung  to  his  duty,  not 
only  taking  all  their  work  upon  himself,  but  the  cafe 
of  them  also,  antil,  broken  down,  he  applied  for  leave- 
of  absence.  As  soon  as  he  could  again  return  to  duty 
he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  government  hospital 
at  Staten  Island.  With  renewed  strength  he  sought 
more  active  duty,  and  became  the  surgeon  of  the 
Sixth  Regiment  of  Hancock's  corps  of  veteran  volun- 
teers, soon  to  be  promoted  to  brigade  surgeon  of  the 
same  corps.  With  the  renewal  of  hard  service  his 
disease  returned  upon  him  and  clung  to  him  until 
death. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  retained  by  the 
government  for  some  time  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  for  the 
purpose  of  disposing  of  the  hospital  property  at  that 
place.  He  put  the  property  in  such  order  that  he- 
was  afterwards  complimented  by  the  government, 
agents  for  the  highly  successful  manner  in  which  it 
was  disposed  of.  While  in  the  army  scarcely  a  day 
passed  in  which  he  did  not  write  a  letter  home,  giving 
his  anxious  wife  and  family  many  details  of  each 
day's  progress  of  the  war.  These  letters,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mrs.  McDowell,  would  constitute  a  valuable 
contribution  to  the  military  history  of  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion. 

Dr.  McDowell  took  great  interest  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Lamington,  of  which  he  was  for 
many  years  a  member  and  elder.  Like  his  revered 
father,  he  was  a  man  of  earnest  Christian  faith  and 
of  a  devoted,  exemplary  life.  At  the  celebration  of 
the  semi-centennial  of  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Dr.  Blau- 
velt,  in  1876,  he  delivered  the  address  of  congratula- 
tion, on  the  part  of  the  congregation,  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  elicit  the  highest  commendation.  He  took 
a  prominent  part  in  every  good  word  and  work  con- 
nected with  the  church  and  society,  and  was  a  life- 
long friend  of  its  beloved  pastor.  Dr.  Blauvelt.  No 
man  who  had  not  held  public  office  in  Somerset 
County  was  more  widely  known  or  more  highly  re- 
spected than  Dr.  McDowell. 

Dr.  McDowell  was  a  historian.  He  treasured  up 
every  scrap  of  local  history  that  was  ever  told  him. 
or  put  in  print.  Next  to  Judge  Ralph  Voorhees,  the 
octogenarian  chronicler,  he  had,  perhaps,  the  best-in- 
formed mind  on  local  matters  of  a  hundred  years  ago- 
of  any  one  in  this  locality.  His  articles  to  the  news- 
papers during  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  were  almost 
always  historical,  and  are  extremely  valuable.  He- 
wrote  many  still  more  valuable  articles  for  "Our 
Home"  in  1873,  notably  those  entitled  "Pluckamin. 


''-•-/-■  b-i  .'.Mr^.itchi 


i/i/r. 


6 


^-^c, 


k9- 


K  M I    M  -  D  n  WE  LL ,  M .  "D , 


BEDMINSTER. 


729 


One  Hundred  Years  Ago,"  "  Our  Old  Physicians," 
and  "  Dr.  Van  Derveer  and  Sister."  During  the  year 
1876  he  contributed  many  things  to  The  Gazette,  of 
which  he  was  a  warm  and  consistent  friend. 

The  following  is  contributed  by  a  member  of  the 
family : 

Mrs.  McDowell  has  in  her  possession  a  number  of 
books  given  him  before  he  went  to  college  as  pre- 
miums for  being  first  in  his  class, — Greek,  Latin, 
sacred  history,  etc.      His  was  a  warm-hearted,  lov- 
ing, and  affectionate  nature.    In  the  latter  days  of  his 
life  he  spent  several  winters  at  the  South,  among  the 
scenes  of  his  boyhood,  and  in  the  mild,  soothing  cli- 
mate of  Florida.    In  the  fall  of  1877  a  Southern  trip 
was  again  talked  of,  fearing  he  could  not  stand  our 
rigorous  winters.     But  his  health  was  too  delicate  to 
travel,  and  we  said,  "  We  will  make  our  home  as  nearly 
like  a  Southern  climate  as  possible."     His  home  was 
made  warm  and  cheerful.     He  enjoyed  his  books,  his 
writings,  and  his  friends.     As  the  spring  of  1878  ap- 
proached his  physical  weakness  increased,  but  with  it 
came  a  calm,  happy  state  of  mind.     The  Bible,  always 
a  book  he  loved  to  read  and  study,  now  became  his 
greatest   joy   and   comfort.      He  would    often    say, 
"  What  would  I  do  without  the  comfort  derived  from 
this  blessed  book  ?"     His  wife  and  daughters  read  to 
him  daily,  and  he  generally  had  the  portion  selected 
in  his  mind,  asking  them  to  read  it.     He  loved  to 
have  us  read  of  heaven,  the  New  Jerusalem ;  of  his 
Saviour  and  the  angels,  saying,  "I  shall  soon  be  there. 
I  have  no  doubt,  no  fear,  not  one.     I  know  I  am  ac- 
cepted; I  know  I  am  forgiven."    About  this  time  the 
silver  question  was  before  the  public,  and  he  was  inter- 
ested, and  wanted  his  family  to  read  the  papers  daily. 
When  the  question  was  settled  he  was  satisfied,  and 
said,  "  Now  you  may  put  away  the  papers ;  we  will 
just  come  down  to  '  the  good  old  book  !'  all  the  read- 
ing I  have  now  may  be  from  that,"  often  exclaim- 
ing,   "How  beautiful  I   how  sweet!    how  precious  I" 
His  brothers-in-law,  Dr.  Joseph  and  Mr.  Frank  Os- 
born,  at  his  request,  came  from  Newark  to  visit  him  a 
few  days  before  his  death.    He  asked  them  to  unite 
with  the  family  in  his  room  in  prayer,  which  they 
did.    His  two  sons,  William  and  Charles,  came  to  see 
him  for  the  last  time.    He  asked  them  to  pray  with 
him,  gave  them  pleasant,  parting  messages,  talked  of 
his  heavenly  hopes,  and  of  the  happy  meeting  in  the 
beautiful  home  above,  and  sent  messages  of  love  to 
his  absent  son,  Frederick,  in  California.    They  were 
expecting  to  come  again  on  Saturday.     On  Wednes- 
day, March  5th,  he  said,  "  Wife,  this  is  death  !  prop 
me  up ;  open  the  windows,  and  do  not  leave  me  for  a 
moment ;  it  won't  be  long.    Keep  me  alive  till  Sat- 
urday, if  you  can :  I  would  love  to  see  my  boys  once 
more.    Just  you  stay  with  me,  with  good  Aunt  Leah 
(a  faithful  colored  woman  who  had  been  with  us  for 
many  years)  to  wait  on  you;  let  all  the  rest  sleep." 
He  fell  into  a  quiet,  steady  breathing,  which  kept  up 
for  more  than  an  hour.    I  knew  it  was  the  sleep  of 
47 


death,  and  said,  "  Aunt  Leah,  this  is  his  last  sleep, 
shall  I  awake  him,  or  let  him  pass  quietly  away  ?  I 
feel  as  if  we  must  hear  him  speak  once  more."  I  laid 
my  hand  on  his  forehead  and  said,  "  Would  you  not 
like  some  hot  beef-tea?"  He  said,  "Hot  beef-tea? 
Oh,  yes !"  He  took  two  cups,  very  hot,  and  then 
asked  for  hot  coffee,  and  said,  "  Maybe  you  can  keep 
me  alive  till  Saturday,  and  I  can  see  my  boys  once 
more."  He  seemed  unconscious  of  any  one  around 
him,  and  prayed  distinctly  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
prayers  ever  repeated;  thanked  the  Lord  for  giving 
him  such  peace  and  joy ;  prayed  for  his  loved  ones  ; 
mentioned  by  name  friends  he  loved  who  were  not 
Christians,  and  asked  his  Heavenly  Father  to  show 
them  the  way  clearly  to  prepare  for  a  meeting  with 
him  in  heaven.  That  wonderful  night,  the  sacred 
messages  and  words  of  love  to  us  in  the  morning, 
while  memory  lasts  will  never  be  forgotten.  When 
asked  "  How  does  the  other  world  appear  now  ?"  he 
said,  "  Beautiful !  beautiful !  It  is  all  true  :  heaven, 
the  angels,  all — all !  I'll  come  and  meet  you  when 
you  are  ready."  At  10  a.m.,  March  6th,  we  closed 
his  eyes, — he  had  left  us. 


PETER   J.  LANE. 
Peter  J.  Lane,  whose  portrait  appears  herewith,  lives 
on  the  old  McGrea  estate  in  Bedminster,  which  his 


PETER   J.    LANE. 

grandfather,  Cornelius  Lane,  purchased  of  James 
and  Catharine  McCrea,  the  parents  of  the  ill-fated 
Jane  McCrea,*  Dec.  23,  1769.    The  house  in  which 

«  See  Irving's  Life  of  Washington,  p.  14'2,  other  histories  of  the  Kevo- 
lution,  and  the  history  of  Bedminster  and  gt-neral  history,  in  this 
work. 


730 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Jane  McCrea  was  born  is  occupied  by  Mr.  Lane  and 
his  family,  the  place  having  descended  from  Corne- 
lius Lane  through  Job  Lane  to  the  present  proprietor 
and  occupant. 

Cornelius  Lane  came  from  Monmouth  County  and 
settled  in  Bedminster  prior  to  the  purchase  of  the 
McCrea  property.  He  married  Mary  Compton,  and 
his  second  son,  Job  Lane,  born  in  Bedminster,  Oct.  6, 
1769,  married  Susannah  Nevius,  and  had  a  family  of 
ten  children,  four  of  whom  died  in  the  old  McCrea 
house,  and  but  two  of  whom  are  living, — viz.,  George 
Lane,  who'resides  in  Bridgewater,  Somerset  Co.,  and 
Peter  J.  Lane. 

JOHN    G.   SCHOMP. 
John  G.  Schomp  was  born  in  Readington,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  N.  J.,  June  5, 1812.    He  is  a  son  of  George 
P.  and  Eli2abeth"](Anderson)  Schomp.     George   P. 
Schomp  was  a  son  of  Peter  Schomp. 


JOHN    G.   SCHOMP. 

Mr.  Schomp  moved  into  Bedminster  in  1830,  and 
has  never  missed  an  election  since  he  became  a  voter. 
He  has  been  twice  married, — first  to  Avaline  Layton, 
who  died  a  few  years  afterwards  ;  his  second  wife 
was  Elizabeth  Ann  Van  Liew,  whom  he  married  in 
1848,  and  has  had  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are 
living. 

Mr.  Schomp  purchased  his  present  farm  of  the  Vail 
estate  in  1849,  and  by  his  systematic  mode  of  farm- 
ing has  made  it  a  rich  and  valuable  property.  He 
has  always  been  a  Democrat  in  politices,  and  has  held 
the  responsible  offices  of  assessor  and  collector  of  his 
township,  discharging  these  duties  with  fidelity  and 
satisfaction  to  his  fellow-citizens,  who  hold  him  in 
high  esteem. 


HON.  CORNELIUS  W.  SCHOMP. 

Few  men  have  been  held  in  higher  esteem  by  their 
townsmen,  and  there  have  been  few  whose  memories 
are  cherished  with  greater  respect  and  affection  than 
the  subject  of  this  brief  memoir.  Cornelius  Wyckofi" 
Schomp  was  descended  from  Holland  ancestors,  who 
emigrated  to  America  and  became  early  settlers  of 
Readington,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.  His  father's  name 
was  George  Schomp,  who  married,  first,  Elizabeth 
Anderson,  by  whom  he  had  seven  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, of  whom  Cornelius  W.  was  the  seventh  son.  He 
was  born  in  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  Oct.  20, 1816.  His 
mother  died  when  he  was  an  infant,  and  he  was 
brought  up  by  his  sister,  Mrs.  Cornelius  M.  Wyckoff, 
till  he  had  attained  the  age  of  nineteen.  His  health 
was  quite  delicate,  and,  after  spending  several  years 
as  clerk  in  a  mercantile  house  in  New  York,  he  sought 
recovery  by  traveling  with  goods  in  the  West.  In  this 
occupation  he  spent  about  one  year.  His  health  being 
sufficiently  restored,  he  settled  at  Lesser  Cross- Roads 
(now  Bedminster),  where  he  followed  mercantile  busi- 
ness for  seven  or  eight  years.  Finding  his  health 
again  declining,  he  sought  change  of  employment, 
and  in  1845  removed  to  the  estate  of  Judge  Arrow- 
smith,  in  Bedminster,  now  known  as  Schomp's  Mill, 
having  purchased  the  estate  of  the  heirs.  He  married 
Louisa  Arrowsmith,  a  granddaughter  of  Judge  Arrow- 
smith,  Jan.  21,  1840.  The  family  was  a  prominent 
one  in  Bedminster,  and  the  judge  a  man  of  consider- 
able distinction  in  his  day.  In  1845,  Mr.  Schomp 
removed  to  the  estate,  where  his  active  energies,  ex- 
cept when  engaged  in  public  duties,  were  employed 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  rebuilt  the  mill  and  fam- 
ily mansion,  and  made  many  important  and  valuable 
improvements,  designing  others  which  were  not  fully 
carried  out  ere  death  had  called  him  from  the  scene 
of  his  earthly  activities.  While  devoting  himself 
chiefly  to  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  and  milling,  he 
was  an  enterprising  and  public-spirited  citizen,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  his  township 
and  county,  extending  his  social  and  political  influ- 
ence far  beyond  their  limits.  In  1855-56  he  repre- 
sented his  district  in  the  Legislature,  being  a  popular 
and  influential  member  of  that  body.  He  was  also 
for  several  years  a  member  of  the  Democratic  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  New  Jersey,  and  always  acted  with 
the  Democratic  party,  whose  principles  he  earnestly 
supported.  He  was  at  the  same  time  popular  with 
all  parties,  and  exceedingly  liberal  in  his  views,  as 
well  as  in  the  distribution  of  his  means  for  the  pro- 
motion of  every  useful  enterprise. 

By  his  marriage  with  Louisa  Arrowsmith,  Mr. 
Schomp  had  one  son,  William  A.  Schomp,  Esq., 
present  proprietor  of  the  home  estate.  He  is  a  grad- 
uate of  Rutgers  College  in  the  class  of  1860 ;  studied 
law  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  the  office  of  David 
Dudley  Field,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1862. 

Cornelius  Wyckoff  Schomp  died  Sept.  17,  1872. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Consistory   of  the   Reformed 


^^  ^(T^^^  ^^:^y^ 


BEDMINSTER. 


731 


Church  of  Bedminster,  N.  J.,  held  Sept.  21, 1872,  the 
following  resolutions  expressive  of  the  feelings  of  that 
hoard  respecting  his  decease  were  adopted.  He  was 
at  the  time  of  his  death  an  acting  elder  in  the  church : 

"  Whereas,  It  has  been  the  will  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  is  infi- 
nitely wise  and  good,  to  suddenly  call  from  us  by  death  our  dearly  be- 
loved brother,  Cornelius  W.  Schomp ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved^  That  while  we  cannot  but  feel  this  sore  bereavement  to  be  a 
great  mystery,  we  danot  question  the  wisdom  and  tender  love  of  God,  who 
*  knoweth  the  end  from  the  beginning,*  and  '  who  doeth  all  things  well,* 
and  that  we  find  comfort  in  His  own  assurance, '  What  I  do  thou  know- 
est  not  now,  but  thon  shalt  know  hereafter.* 

"  Beaolved,  That  we  cherish  the  memory  of  the  many  virtues  of  our  be- 
loved brother,  of  his  genial  and  amiable  disposition,  of  his  exemplary 
Christian  deportment,  and  of  his  devoted  zeal  and  usefulness  as'an  ofBcer 
in  the  church  he  loved. 

"  Beaolved^  That  we  offer  our  heartfelt  sympathy  to  the  bereaved  widow 
and  only  son  of  our  departed  brother,  and  that  we  commend  them  to  the 
tender  sympathy  and  love  of  the  dear  Redeemer,  veho  is  '  our  refuge  and 
strength  and  a  very  present  help  in  trouble.'  ** 


had  children,— Daniel,  born  Nov.  24,  1809;  Sarah 
Ann;  born  Feb.  27,  1813 ;  William,  born  June  1, 
1817 ;  Eleanor,  born  Sept.  21,  1820.  Eobert  Heath 
died  in  1880,  aged  eighty-one. 


WILLIAM   HEATH. 

The  ancestors  of  the  Heath  family  in  Somerset 
County  are  traced  back  to  Thomas  Heath,  who  died 
in  Stafford,  England,  date  unknown.  His  widow, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Annie  Neville,  married  again 
to  his  cousin,  Thomas  Heath,  by  whom  she  had  one 
child,  Mary  Heath,  born  April  23, 1737.  She,  together 
with  her  mother,  emigrated  to  America  in  1742. 

Anne  Neville,  wife  of  Thomas  Heath,  died  Nov. 
28,  1776.  Mary  Heath  died  Jan.  6,  1773,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-six. 

John  Heath,  son  of  the  first-named  Thomas  Heath, 
was  born  in  Stafford,  Staffordshire,  England,  and  em- 
igrated to  America  in  1741.  He  married  Ann  Lewis. 
John  Heath  died  April  22,  1806. 

He  had  children,— Thomas,  born  July  23,  1747; 
John,  born  Feb.  6,  1748 ;  Daniel,  born  Aug.  30, 1750 ; 
Ann,  born  June  19, 1752 ;  Samuel,  born  Jan.  16, 1754; 
James,  born  Oct.  11,  1762;  Esther,  born  April  18, 
1766 ;  Isaac,  born  Nov.  3,  1780 ;  Elizabeth,  born  Dec. 
3,  1781.  The  mother  of  the  two  last-named  children 
was  Naomi  Leigh. 

Of  the  above  family,  Daniel  Heath  was  the  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born 
near  Amboy,  N.  J.,  and  afterwards  lived  near  Prince- 
ton, where  he  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  re- 
moved to  Mine  Brook,  Somerset  Co.,  in  1792,  and 
there  bought  a  farm  of  Andrew  Kirkpatrick,  on  which 
he  lived  till  his  death,  which  occurred  in  May,  1825. 
He  married  Eleanor  Runyon,  who  was  born  Oct.  1, 
1748.  The  children  of  Daniel  Heath  and  Eleanor 
Eunyon  were  John,  born  Aug.  14,  1772 ;  Ann,  born 
Jan.  16,  1774;  Hugh,  born  July  20,  1775;  Elizabeth, 
born  Feb.  15,  1777;  Margaret,  born  Nov.  26,  1778; 
Daniel,  born  July  19,  1780  (the  seventh  child,  a  son, 
born  June  27,  1782,  died  in  infancy);  Mary,  born 
Sept.  19,  1783;  Daniel,  born  April  25,  1785;  Thomas, 
born  Feb.  19,  1787 ;  Robert,  born  Feb.  6,  1789. 

Robert  Heath,  father  of  our  subject,  married  Sarah 
Cole,  Jan.  1,  1809,  who  was  born  July  24, 1787.  They 


WILLIAM   HEATH. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  born,  as  above,  at  Mine 
Brook,  married  Ann  Voorhees,  Nov.  15,  1849.  She 
was  born  at  Mine  Brook,  Aug.  12,  1820.  They  have 
one  son,  John  Heath,  born  near  Burnt  Mills,  Sept. 
25,  1856 ;  married  Emma  J.  Fritts,  Feb.  8, 1879.  She 
was  born  Aug.  10,  1860.^  They  have  one  child,  Lou- 
anna,  born  Feb.  17,  1880. 

William  Heath  was  a  Whig  up  to  the  formation  of 
the  Republican  party,  since  which  he  has  been  a  sup- 
porter of  the  principles  of  the  latter.  He  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Bed- 
minster. 

Gaeeet  Vooehebs  was  born  Nov.  5, 1784 ;  married 
Sarah  Whittaker,  Sept.  19,  1816.  She  was  born  Sept. 
8,  1792.  Their  children  were,— John,  born  June  14, 
1817 ;  Matilda,  born  Oct.  19,  1818 ;  Ann,  born  Aug. 
12,  1820;  Hannah,  born  Jan.  4,  1823;  Ellen,  bora 
Jan.  21, 1825 ;  Garret,  born  March  20, 1827  ;  Nathaniel 
W.,  born  June  29,  1829 ;  Samuel  S.,  born  June  19, 
1831 ;  Mary,  born  Aug.  20,  1833  ;  Ruth  E.,  born  Sept. 
19, 1835  ;  Ralph,  born  March  20,  1838.  All  are  liv- 
ing but  Matilda,  who  died  Sept.  28, 1851,  and  Ruth 
E.,  who  died  Jan.  10,  1879. 

Garret  Voorhees  died  Feb.  24,  1870,  aged  eighty- 
six.  Sarah,  his  wife,  died  Aug.  8,  1873.  She  was  A 
member  of  the  Bedminster  Reformed  Church. 


732 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


MARTIN   lA   TOURETTE. 

His  ancestors  removed  from  France  to  Holland, 
and  thence  at  an  early  time  to  Long  Island,  N.  Y. 
Cornelius  La  Tourette,  his  grandfather,  was  born 
March  27,  1778,  and  settled  in  the  township  of  Read- 
ington,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  remained 
until  the  time  of  his  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Wyckoff,  of  that  place,  when  he  removed  to  Bedmin- 
ster  and  settled  on  the  place  where  Peter  La  Tou- 
rette now  resides.  He  became  a  resident  of  this  town- 
ship about  1802. 

Cornelius  La  Tourette  had  children, — Martin,  born 
Sept.  11,  1803 ;  Peter,  born  Oct.  3, 1805 ;  Henry,  born 
May  9, 1808  ;  Girtright,  born  Oct.  30, 1811 ;  John  W., 
born  July  23, 1814 ;  Margaret  E.,  born  Aug.  10, 1823. 

Martin,  the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  the  oldest 
son.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  followed  that  occupation 
through  life,  acquiring  a  comfortable  estate  and  leav- 
ing a  reputation  unsullied  for  honor  and  integrity. 
He  married  Mary  Armstrong,  Nov.  30,  1825.  She 
was  born  Sept.  25,  1806.  The  following  were  their 
children  :  Henry,  born  Oct.  23,  1828  ;  Hannah,  born 
Dec.  28,  1831  ;  Elizabeth,  born  March  19,  1834; 
George,  born  July  23,  1836;  John,  born  April  18, 
1839 ;  Margaret,  born  Aug.  5,  1844.  All  died  of  con- 
sumption, as  did  also  their  father  and  mother.  Mar- 
tin La  Tourette  died  Feb.  3,  1880 ;  his  wife  died  in 
September,  1862.  He  willed  his  estates  to  Henry  and 
his  grandchildren.  Henry  La  Tourette  remains  on 
the  homestead.  He  married  Harriet  Backer,  Dec.  10, 
1856.  Their  children  are  Ophelia,  born  Sept.  18, 
1857;  Emma  B.,  born  April  12,  1859;  Martin,  born 
Jan.  27,  1861 ;  Stephen  B.,  bom  June  15,  1866  ;  Car- 
rie B.,  born  June  30, 1874 ;  Charlie  K.,  born  Aug.  26, 
1877.  Henry  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has  taken 
some  part  in  the  local  affairs  of  his  township.  His 
father  and  grandfather  were  elders  in  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Bedminster. 


JOHN  McDowell. 


Ephraim  McDowell,  an  ancestor  of  John  and  the 
first  settler  on  the  estate,  was  a  native  of  Ireland. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  1750,  he  purchased  the  property 
of  William  Axtell,  a  merchant  of  New  York.  It  then 
embraced  238  acres,  which  he  gave  to  his  two  sons, 
John  and  Matthew.  He  afterwards  purchased  the 
adjoining  farm  (151  acres)  of  William  Cummings; 
this  he  willed  to  his  son  Ephraim,  who  sold  to  his 
brother  Matthew,  and  the  latter  purchased  a  portion 
of  John's  estate.  The  whole  was  subsequently  di- 
vided into  two  farms  of  about  200  acres  each,  a  part 
of  which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  John  McDowell 
and  the  widow  and  heirs  of  the  late  Dr.  William  A. 
McDowell. 

Ephraim  McDowell  had  sons, — John,  Matthew, 
Ephraim,  Peter,  and  Benjamin.  Ephraim  and  Peter 
removed  to  the  West.    Benjamin  became  a  settled 


minister  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  having  gone  there  to 
finish  his  education.  He  had  pursued  his  prepara- 
tory course  at  the  grammar  school  kept  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Hannah  on  the  McDowell  estate  in  Bedminster, — an 
old  school  quite  noted  in  its  day. 


JOHN  McDowell. 

Matthew  McDowell  was  the  grandiather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  twice  married, — first 
to  Miss  Simpson,  of  Lamington,  and  second  to  Eliza- 
beth Anderson,  of  Bound  Brook.  By  Elizabeth  An- 
derson he  had  John,  William  (both  became  clergy- 
men), and  Benjamin,  father  of  our  subject,  who  re- 
tained the  estate,  and  was  a  farmer  during  life.  He 
was  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  about  fifteen  years,  and 
for  ten  years  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Field,  daughter  of  Jeremiah 
Field,  of  North  Branch,  and  had  two  children,^ 
John  and  Elizabeth  A.,  widow  of  the  late  Abraham 
Ten  Eyck,  of  Somerville.  He  died  July  24,  1855. 
Mrs.  McDowell  died  March  28, 1873,  in  her  ninetieth 
year. 

John  McDowell  was  born  on  the  estate  in  Bedmin- 
ster, Jan.  12,  1810,  and  was  educated  at  the  common 
schools.  He  married  Maria,  daughter  of  Robert 
Todd,  of  Lamington,  and  has  one  son  and  three  daugh- 
ters living.  A  Whig  from  early  life,  he  joined  the 
Republican  party  upon  its  organization  in  1856,  and 
has  since  adhered  firmly  to  its  principles  and  meas- 
ures. He  is  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  exem- 
plary habits,  and  is  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Lamington,  of  which  he  and.  his  wife  have 
long  been  members. 


MARTIN"   LA  TOURETTE. 


4- 


FREDEKICK    H.   LANE. 


Frederick  IT.  Lane,  son  of  Matthew  P.  and  Anna 
(Hownel)  Lane,  was  born  in  New  Germantown,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  N.  J.,  Dec.  22, 1813.  Married  Mary  Ann  Craig, 
daughter  of  William  Craig,  of  New  G^M-inantown,  Dec. 
3,  1840,  and  had  fourteen  children, — seven  sons  and  seven 
daughters, — of  whom  eleven  are  living  in  Hunterdon  and 
Somerset  Counties.  Mr.  Lane  devoted  his  attention  to 
agriculture,  and  was  a  thrifty  and  successful  farmer. 
In  1855  he  purchased  one  of  the  most  beautiful  estates 
in  the  township  of  Bedminster,  on  which  his  widow 
and  sons  now  reside,  where  he  made  various  improve- 
ments, and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  quiet  and  exem- 
plary life  attending  to  his  domestic  duties,  the  education 
of  his  children,  and  the  interests  of  the  church  of  which 
he  and  his  estimable  wife  were  members.  They  belonged 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lamington,  N.  J.  Mr. 
Lane  died  on  the  7th  of  October,  1873.  From  the 
obituary  notice  published  at  the  time  of  his  death  we 
extract  the  following  just  tribute  to  his  character : 

"  When  a  good  man  dies  a  great  void  is  left.  When  a 
useful  man  departs  few  can  take  his  place.  Both  these 
vacancies  were  made  when  our  friend  Prbdeeiok  H. 
Lane  left  us.  Some  of  the  old-fashioned  men  of  honor, 
probity,  and  religion  are  still  left  as  ancient  landmarks 
among  us,  men  who  act  out  Christianitj'  in  their  daily 
walk  and  habits.  Many  men  can  talk  Christianity. 
How  few  there  are  that  the  whole  community  know  and 
feel  are  good  men  in  word  and  deed  I     Frederick   H. 


Lane's  light  was  set  upon  a  hill  seen  of  all  men.  No 
man  doubted  that  in  him  the  genuine  root  of  the  matter 
existed.  He  came  from  a  noble  father.  A  fine-looking 
man,  his  soul  was  as  large  as  his  body.  He  raised  a 
family  that  inherited  those  qualities.  Frederick  possessfd 
noble  feelings  and  strongly  exemplified  them.  You 
could  not  be  in  his  company  for  a  minute  without  recog- 
nizing a  nohlc  Christian  man,  of  fine,  commanding  person 
and  marked  features.  He  had  a  large  s6ul,  a  numerous 
family;  his  children  loved  and  revered  him.  A  young 
man  to  the  end  of  life,  full  of  innocent  fun  and  mischief, 
he  never  became  old.  He  was  the  perfect  model  of  a 
wise,  skillful,  judicious  farmer.  His  judgment  seldom 
erred.  Surrounded  by  laboring  hands,  ho  was  prompt 
in  his  payments  and  a  most  judicious  friend  and  ad- 
viser. As  a  Christian  man  he  shone  with  the  best  and 
purest  lustre.  From  church,  prayer-meeting.  Sabbath- 
school  he  was  never  absent,  and  their  most  able  sup- 
porter. Having  a  largo  family,  he  was  a  strong  ad- 
vocate and  efficient  sustainer  of  our  common-school 
system.  As  a  public  man  holding  office  he  never  pros- 
tituted his  powers,  but  retained  the  firm  confidence  of 
his  fellow-citizens  in  his  unbending  integrity.  A  com 
munity  that  loses  such  a  man  has  met  with  a  great 
misfortune.  To  his  friends  he  has  left  the  best  of  conso- 
lations; we  know  and  feel  that  ho  was  a  good  Christian 
man.  To  his  family  ho  has  given  the  noblest  legacy — a 
name  pure  and  unsullied,  without  a  single  blemish." 


BEDMINSTER. 


733 


WILLIAM  A.  VAN  DORN. 
Jacob  Van  Dorn,  the  ancestor  of  the  family  in 
New  Jersey,  came  from  Holland  with  his  parents 
about  the  year  1660  when  a  lad  ten  years  of  age. 
They  landed  on  Long  Island,  where  the  city  of  Brook- 
lyn now  stands.    Jacob  afterwards  married  a  Miss 
Bennett,  and  removed  to  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.  Their 
family  consisted  of  six  sons  and  four  daughters,  one 
of  whom  was  Jacob  Van  Dorn,  Jr.,  born  Jan.  21, 
1703.    He  married  Maria  Schenck,  by  whom  he  had 
ten  children,  and  after  her  death,  which  occurred  Oct. 
31, 1756,  he  married  for  his  second  wife  Rachel  Long- 
street.    Aaron,  a  son  of  Jacob  Van  Dorn,  Jr.,  born 
Sept.  14,  1744,  married  Geshea  Schenck,  of  Mon- 
mouth Co.,  May  9,  1765,  and  had  twelve  children,  of 
whom  "William  Aaron  Van  Dorn,  born  at  Peapack, 
Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  July  26,  1781,  was  the  eighth 
child.    He  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and 
highly-esteemed  'citizens  of  Somerset  County,  and 
belonged  to  a  numerous  and  influential  family,  many 
of  whom  have  since  become  widely  scattered.    His 
father  and  the  older  members  of  the  family  settled  at 
Peapack,  where  they  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land, 
which  has  since  been  divided  into  nine  farms.     Wil- 
liam A.,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  left  home  to  see  the 
world  and  seek  his  fortune.     He  went  to  Pittsburgh, 
and  thence  in  a  "flat-boat"  down  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi Elvers  to  Natchez,  where  he  began  to  raise 
cotton.     He  cultivated  the  growing  crop  much  in  the 
same  manner  that  he  did  corn,  and  was  quite  success- 
ful, thus  doing  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago  what 
planters  are  just  now  learning  to  do  in  some  parts  of 
the  South.    At  the  end  of  two  years,  not  liking  a 
state  of  society  where  difficulties  were  settled  by  a 
resort  to  the  knife  or  pistol,  he  returned  home. 

Peapack  was  then  a  little  hamlet,  with  its  post-office 
at  New  Brunswick,  and  subsequently  at  Somerville, 
until  by  his  influence  an  office  was  opened  there. 
"With  the  proceeds  of  his  cotton  he  began  business  in 
a  store,  and  extended  it  until  he  had  also  a  large 
farm,  mill,  lime-kiln,  and  other  branches  of  business. 
He  took  more  pleasure  in  helping  his  family  and 
friends  and  the  neighborhood  than  in  accumulating 
property.  He  became  identified  with  all  the  improve- 
ments of  the  place.  By  purchasing  various  strips  of 
land  he  straightened  the  roads,  had  bridges  built,  and 
set  an  example  to  others  in  draining  and  clearing  the 
land.  He  introduced  the  first  threshing-machine  in 
that  vicinity,  and  other  implements  now  so  com- 
mon, though  there  were  many  evil  predictions  con- 
cerning them. 

In  public  life  he  was  well  known,  his  integrity 
securing  for  him  continuously  some  office  of  trust 
or  honor.  Such  was  the  confidence  in  which  he  was 
held  that,  though  always  an  ardent  politician,  he  was 
continued  through  all  the  changes  of  party  for  thirty- 
£ve  years  in  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  judge 
of  the  Common  Pleas,  and,  as  an  indication  of  the 
soundness    of  his  judgment,  though    an    immense 


amount  of  business  came  before  him,  his  decisions 
were  never  set  aside  nor  an  appeal  taken  but  in  three 
instances. 

He  was  a  man  of  great  firmness  and  dignity  of 
character ;  his  habits  were  temperate,  and  all  his  ap- 
petites and  impulses  under  remarkable  control.  His 
vigor  of  body  and  mind  was  retained  to  an  advanced 
age,  so  that  he  was  able  to  prosecute  improvements  at 
a  stage  of  life  when  men  generally  think  such  work 
out  of  the  question.  "When  nearly  eighty  years  of 
age  he  enlarged  his  water-power  and  rebuilt  his  mill, 
superintending  the  getting  out  of  the  timber  and 
going  upon  the  roof  of  the  mill  to  see  that  the  work 
was  well  done.  He  lived  to  see  a  dozen  years  after 
the  work  was  completed,  almost  reaching  the  rare  age 
of  ninety  years.  At  his  death,  June  13, 1871,  he  was 
the  last  of  a  long-lived  family  of  twelve  children, 
himself  and  five  brothers  having  reached  the  average 
age  of  seventy-nine. 

His  life  was  rigidly  moral  and  upright,  and  he  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  strictest  manner.  Although 
not  connected  with  any  church  as  a  member,  he  was 
an  earnest  supporter  of  religion,  and  at  one  time 
raised  the  subscription  money  for  building  a  Re- 
formed church  in  the  place;  but,  owing  to  some  op- 
position of  their  pastor  at  Bedminster,  it  was  not 
until  afterwards  that  the  building  which  now  stands 
was  erected.  His  views  of  religion  are  well  summed 
up  in  the  remark  which  he  made  on  one  occasion : 
"  I  may  not  understand  the  letter  of  the  Word,  but  I 
will  take  its  spirit  and  try  to  live  according  to  that." 
Such  are  a  few  of  the  leading  traits  of  this  truly 
strong  and  exemplary  character.  He  is  remembered 
as  a  man  of  great  firmness  and  self-reliance,  and  yet 
he  possessed  an  amiable  and  generous  disposition, 
was  much  beloved  by  his  family  and  friends,  and 
highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  married 
Elsie  Sutton,  and  left  at  his  death  two  children, — 
Mary  Ann,  born  1805,  and  Ferdinand,  born  April  17, 
1807. 


ABRAHAM   SMITH. 


Abraham  Smith  was  horn  in  Mendham,  Morris  Co., 
N.  J.,  Jan.  15,  1830.  His  father,  Jacob  Z.  Smith, 
removed  to  the  township  of  Bernard,  where  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  brought  up  and  attended  school 
till  the  age  of  fifteen.  His  father  settled  On  the  es- 
tate of  his  father,  Zackariah  Smith,  who  afterwards 
divided  the  property  among  his  children  (see  biog- 
raphy of  Peter  Z.  Smith,  of  Bernard).  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  Abraham  Smith  went  to  learn  his  trade — that 
of  a  carriage-maker — with  his  uncle,  David  B.  Logan, 
at  the  Lesser  Cross-Roads,  in  Bedminster  township, 
where  he  served  an  apprenticeship,  with  hard  and 
diligent  labor,  of  four  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
this  period  he  engaged  with  David  Apgar  as  journey- 
man where  he  remained  two  years,  and  in  the  mean 
time,  Oct.  27,  1849,  he  married  Ann  Daily,  daughter 


734 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


of  "William  Daily,  of  Eeadington  township.     The  re- 
sult of  this  marriage  has  been  four  children, — viz., 


ABRAHAM    SMITH. 


William  Anderson  Smith,  born  Nov.  28, 1850;  George 
Logan  Smith,  born  Nov.   20,    1852;    Jacob  Wesley 


Smith,  born  July  27,  1855;  Sarah  Ann  Elizabeth 
Smith,  born  Oct.  1, 1870.  Jacob  Wesley  died  Aug.  7, 
1855. 

Upon  leaving  David  Apgar,  Mr.  Smith  removed  to 
Plainfield,  in  1851,  where  he  was  for  eight  years  fore- 
man for  the  firm  of  Heath  &  Dunning,  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  carriages  for  the  Southern  trade. 
Here  he  carried  on  other  enterprises,  dealing  to  some 
extent  in  real  estate,  and  building  and  selling  two 
houses,  out  of  which  he  realized  a  handsome  profit. 
This  was  during  the  growing  and  rapid  period  of 
Plainfield.  Hard  times  coming  on  in  1857,  induced 
Mr.  Smith  to  leave  Plainfield,  which  he  did  in  the 
spring  of  1859,  establishing  the  shops  at  Peapack, 
which  he  has  carried  on  successfully  for  the  past 
twenty  years.  In  1865  he  added  the  undertaking 
business,  which  he  has  since  conducted  in  connection 
with  carriage-  and  wagon-making. 

Mr.  Smith,  in  connection  with  his  uncle,  Peter  Z. 
Smith,  and  others,  founded,  in  1876,  the  "Smith  Fam- 
ily and  Friends'  Eeunion,"  on  the  grounds  of  the  an- 
cestral estate  in  Bernard,  near  Peapack,  which  has 
become  one  of  the  most  popular  institutions  of  the 
country,  being  attended,  as  it  was  in  1879,  by  about 
ten  thousand  people.  Mr.  Smith  is  vice-president  of 
the  association,  and  has  filled  that  position  since  its 
organization  in  1876. 

His  son,  William  Anderson  Smith,  married  Emma 
Violet,  daughter  of  Daniel  T.  Overton,  of  Yaphank, 
L.  I.,  Dec.  24,  1875. 


B  E  R  ]sr  A  R  B: 


SITUATION  AND  BOUNDARIES. 

The  township  of  Bernard  is  situated  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  Somerset  County,  and  is  bounded  north 
by  Mendham,  in  Morris  County ;  east  by  the  Passaic 
Eiver  and  Warren  township ;  south  by  Warren  and 
Bridgewater  ;  west  and  southwest  by  Bedminster  and 
Bridgewater  townships. 

PHYSICAL  FEATURES. 

Bernard  comprises  a  superficial  area  of  41.47  square 
miles,  or  26,541  acres.  The  principal  valleys  are 
those  of  the  Passaic  and  the  Karitan,  which  bound 
the  township  on  the  east  and  west,  and,  with  their 
tributaries,  drain  its  entire  surface,  with  the  exception 
of  the  extreme  point  of  the  southern  projection,  be- 

*  By  Piof.  W.  W.  Clayton. 


tween  Warren  and  Bridgewater.  Dead  Eiver,  which 
forms  a  portion  of  the  southern  boundary,  rises  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  Bernard  and  flows  in  an  easterly 
direction  to  the  Passaic  Eiver.  Two  of  its  most  east- 
ern tributaries  from  the  south  rise  near  the  south- 
western line  of  Bernard  and  flow  in  courses  nearly 
parallel  across  the  northwestern  corner  of  Warren. 
The  principal  tributary  fi-om  the  north  is  Green 
Brook,  which  rises  a  few  miles  northeast  of  Basking 
Eidge  and  runs'  southward,  nearly  parallel  with  the 
Passaic  Eiver,  and  at  an  average  distance  of  2J  miles 
from  it,  and  falls  into  Dead  Eiver  below  Liberty  Cor- 
ner. Basking  Eidge,  the  most  famous  in  the  town- 
ship, lies  between  this  brook  and  the  Passaic,  extend- 
ing southward  and  terminating  in  Pleasant  Valley. 
At  the  north  end  of  the  ridge  is  Penn's  Brook,  rising 
near  the  source  of  Green  Brook  and  flowing  eastward 


BERNARD. 


735 


into  the  Passaic  River.  The  streams  named  and  a 
few  other  small  brooks  are  all  that  flow  into  the  Pas- 
saic on  the  eastern  side  of  the  township. 

Mine  Brook  is  quite  an  important  stream.    It  rises 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  township,  near  the  Morris 
county  line,  and,  passing  southward  through  a  chain 
of  small  lakes  at  Bernardsville,  keeps  thence  a  general 
southwest  course  till  it  enters  the  North  Branch  of  the 
Raritan,  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  township. 
This  brook  affords  in  its  course  several  fine  mill-sites, 
which  are  well  improved.    As  a  general  rule,  the  val- 
leys and  ridges  which  form  the  most  interesting  topo- 
graphical features  of  the  township  follow  the  courses 
of  the  streams  we  have  described.     In  many  places 
the  hills  are  rounded  and  isolated  from  the  general 
ridges,  and  of  a  structure  entirely  different,  geologi- 
cally   speaking.      The    lesser    hills   throughout  the 
township  are  composed  of  transported  materials,  the 
drift  of  the  glacial  epoch,  while  the  mountains,  such 
as  Mine  Mountain,  the  mountains  about  Bernards- 
ville, and  the  crests  of  the  principal  ridges,  belong  to 
the  trap  formation. 

"We  quote  firom  Professor  Cook's  "  Geology  of  New 
Jersey" :  "  South  of  the  village  of  Basking  Eidge  trap 
outcrops  in  the  hill  on  the  road  to  Liberty  Corner, 
and  also  on  the  road  to  Millington  Church.  This 
may  be  a  part  of  the  Long  Hill  range.  The  interval 
between  these  outcrops  is  low,  and  indicates  only 
shale.  Denuding  forces  may  have  swept  away  the 
intermediate  trap  and  left  this  strange  and  anomalous 
hill ;  or  this  may  be  the  end  of  the  range  which  curves 
round  from  Long  Hill,  cut  off,  however,  by  Harrison's 
Brook.  West  of  Harrison's  Brook  the  trap  extends 
almost  to  the  Liberty  Comer  and  Bernardsville  road, 
but  none  appears  west  of  that  limit.  Northward,  a 
ledge  of  it  is  seen  in  the  brook  east  of  T.  Holmes', 
near  a  road  leading  to  Basking  Eidge." 

The  sous  of  the  township  are  generally  productive, 
being  well  adapted  to  wheat  and  grass,  and  no  por- 
tion of  the  country  exhibits  a  finer  succession  of  well- 
cultivated  farms. 

In  this  township  is  the  Janes  Mine  (magnetic  iron 
ore),  situated  on  the  southwest  end  of  Mine  Moun- 
tain, on  the  property  of  Bishop  Janes.  It  is  an  old 
mine,  but  has  never  been  much  worked,  and  is  partly 
filled  with  earth.  This  mine  is  interesting  as  being 
located  on  the  extreme  border  of  the  gneiss. 

There  is  also  a  mine  opened  on  another  point  of  the 
same  mountain,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Mr.  Ed- 
munstone.  Ore  was  taken  from  this  mine  about  six 
years  ago. 

AND   TITLES. 


LAND  GRANTS 
In  1701  the  Governor  and  proprietors  of  East  Jer- 
sey, then  residing  in  England,  being  desirous  of  ex- 
tinguishing the  Indian  title  to  lands  and  extending 
settlements  in  their  province,  appointed  John  Harri- 
son agent  for  that  purpose.  Harrison  made  large 
purchases  from  the  Indians  and  their  chiefs  in  the 


Passaic  Valley,  and,  among  others,  about  3000  acres 
in  what  is  now  the  township  of  Bernard,  embracing 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  township  between  the  Pas- 
saic River  on  the  east  and  Green  Brook  on  the  west. 
The  tract  extended  from  Dead  River  on  the  south  to 
Penn's  Brook  on  the  north,  and  from  the  name  of  the 
purchaser  and  its  peculiar  shape  was  long  known  and 
familiarly  spoken  of  as  "  Harrison's  Neck.''  The  deed 
to  this  land,  obtained  from  Nowenoik,  an  Indian 
chief,  bears  date  June  24,  1717.  Harrison  must  have 
been  living  at  that  time  on  Eocky  Hill,  as  he  is  called 
in  the  deed  "  John  Harrison,  of  Eockie  Hill.'' 

Harrison's  Indian  deed  is  believed  to  be  the  oldest 
in  the  township.  He  purchased  the  3000  acres,  more 
or  less,  for  a  consideration  of  $50,  and  the  validity  of 
his  title  appears  to  have  been  ever  after  recognized. 
It  was  probably  confirmed  by  the  proprietors  in  con- 
sideration of  the  services  of  Harrison,  as  Indian  deeds 
were  not  usually  accepted  as  valid,  they  having  only 
a  possessory  right,  and  no  title  to  the  land  in  /ee 
simpk. 

However  this  may  be,  after  the  death  of  Harrison 
his  son  Benjamin  sold  the  whole  purchase  to  Daniel 
Hollingshead  and  George  Risarick,  who  again  sold 
half  their  interest  to  Col.  John  Parker,  of  Amboy,  and 
James  Alexander,  of  New  York. 

Harrison  must  have  died,  and  the  property  passed 
through  Hollingshead  and  Eisarick  tp  Parker  and 
Alexander  as  early  as  1720,  for  in  that  year  Parker 
and  Alexander  sold  a  portion  of  the  southeast  corner 
of  their  purchase  to  Cornelius  Brees,  of  Staten  Island. 
The  four  proprietors  had  the  lands  regularly  surveyed 
in  1727,  and  laid  out  into  farms  of  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  acres  each.  These  were 
drawn  by  ballot  by  the  four  joint  owners  at  the  spring 
term  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  1728,  held  at  Perth 
Amboy.  The  respective  proprietors  were  then  left  to 
dispose  of  their  lots  on  their  own  terms. 

James  Alexander,  father  of  William  Alexander 
(Lord  Stirling),  seems  to  have  drawn  what  has  since 
been  known  as  the  "  Stirling  Property."  He  was  also 
associated  with  John  Budd,  of  Philadelphia,  in  lands 
which  extended  north  into  Morris  County.* 

From  the  Elizabethtown  bill  in  chancery  are  given 
the  following  titles  of  what  is  now  Bernard  township : 

"  Northwest  part  taken  up  by  Dunstar  and  Alexander  and  Budd  and 
Alexander.  The  land  west  of  PaEsaio  Eiver,  east  of  the  North  Branch, 
and  north  of  Dead  Eiver,  and  south  of  Penn's  Brook  was  divided  into  six- 
teen lots,  and  this  plot  is  known  aa  Harrison's  Purchase. 

"  No.  97,  John  Parker,  March  28, 1728, 147  acres  in  Harrison's  Neck, 
John  Ayers'  place. 

"  No.  100,  George  Eicariok,  March  28, 1728, 184J8  acres  between  Dead 
Eiver  and  Peun  Brook. 

"  No.  121,  James  Alexander,  Sept.  17, 1741, 786;^  acres  in  six  tracts  In 
Harrison's  Neck. 

"  N  99,  James  Alexander,  March  28, 1728,  272J8  acres  on  east  side  of 
North  Branch  of  Dead  Elver. 

"  No.  103,  Daniel  HoUinshead,  June  18, 1729, 132J  acres  on  the  North 
Branch  of  Dead  Eiver. 

"  No.  Ill,  John  Parker,  July  10, 1731, 100  acres  in  Harrison's  Neck. 


*  MesBlor's  History  of  Somerset  County,  p.  29. 


736 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


"  No.  105,  John  Parker,  Feb.  27, 1730,  83J  acres  joining  Sutton's  in  Har- 
rison's Purchase. 

"  No.  106,  John  Parker,  Sept.  29, 1730, 159  acres  of  Harrison's  Purchase, 
Joins  John  Brown's. 

"No.  142,  James  Alexander,  July  10,  1744,  65^0*^  acres  at  Basking 
Kidge. 

"  No.  109,  John  Parker,  Nov.  4, 1729,  98g^  acres  on  Dead  Kiver,  begins 
at  Moses  Ayers'  corner. 

"  No.  76,  John  Campbell,  200  acres  on  Dead  River,  120  chains  up  from 
Passaick. 

"  No.  117,  Nathaniel  Solph,  March  28, 1740,  83  acres  on  Harrison  Pur- 
chase. 

"  West  and  north  of  the  Harrison  Purchase  mentioned  above  is  tract 
82,  located  by  William  Penn,  June,  1717,  of  7500  acres,  on  Dead  and  Pas- 
saic Bivers.  This  extended  north  to  the  county  line  and  along  the  west 
and  south  line  of  Budd  and  Alexander  and  Dunstar  and  Alexander,  and 
west  to  tract  119 ;  from  thence  along  the  east  baae  of  the  range  of  moun- 
tains, south  of  Dead  River,  and  east  to  Mordecai  Brook. 

"  Tract  119,  bordering  on  Peapack  or  North  Branch,  was  taken  up  on 
Ist  of  June,  1740,  by  Alexander  and  Dunstar  and  contained  1240  acres." 

EARLY   SETTLEMENT. 

Settlements  were  made  in  this  township  soon  after 
John  Harrison  made  his  purchase  of  the  Indians, 
1717-1720.  In  the  latter  year  Cornelius  Brees,  of 
Staten  Island,  bought  land  of  James  Alexander,  "  on 
the  east  side  of  the  north  branch  of  Dead  River,  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  Parker  and  Alexander 
purchase,  said  land  being  now  in  the  occupation  of 
James  Pitney.''  Pitney  was  therefore  in  the  country 
as  early  as  1720,  and  we  do  not  know  how  much 
earlier.  He  was  one  of  that  class  known  as  "  Squat- 
ters," who  pitch  their  cabins  in  the  wilderness,  irre- 
spective of  any  legal  title  to  the  land  they  occupy. 

The  lands  in  this  section  were  very  desirable,  and 
no  doubt  quite  a  number  were  induced  to  squat  upon 
them  before  any  titles  could  be  obtained.  Several 
complaints  against  "squatters"  are  found  about  this 
time.  In  1729,  a  few  years  later,  Alexander  directs 
his  agent,  Daniel  Shoemaker,  to  dispossess  certain 
parties  then  occupying  his  land,  and  give  the  right  of 
possession  to  others.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before 
a  class  of  actual  purchasers  of  the  soil  came  in,  with 
means  and  enterprise  to  make  the  wilderness  blossom 
in  a  few  years,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  that  thrift 
and  prosperity  and  that  sturdy  and  excellent  social 
and  moral  order,  which  has  ever  characterized  the 
people  of  this  region. 

Obediah  Ayers,  son  of  John  Ayers,  who  settled  on 
the  Millstone,  in  1717,  is  mentioned  as  having  lands 
in  the  east  part  of  the  township  in  1727.  It  is  thought 
that  the  senior  Ayers  never  moved  here,  but  purchased 
the  desirable  lands  for  his  children.  It  appears  that 
John  Ayers  owned  land  at  Basking  Ridge ;  for  on  the 
8th  of  February,  1731,  he  conveyed  the  land  (one  and 
a  half  acres)  on  which  were  the  meeting-house  and 
burying-ground  to  his  son,  Obediah  Ayers,  Mordecai 
McKenne,  James  Pitney,  George  Pack,  Samuel  Rolfe, 
Daniel  Morrice,  and  Thomas  Riggs.  It  appears  from 
this  that  James  Pitney  remained  in  this  viciniy  and 
became  a  freeholder,  notwithstanding  his  first  habita- 
tion was  sold  from  under  him  to  Brees ;  and  was  one 
of  the  trustees  to  whom  the  church  lot  was  deeded  in 
1731. 


From  this  time  forward  settlers  multiplied  rapidly 
in  the  township.  About  1732  came  the  Cauldwell, 
Carle,  Cooper,  Boyle,  and  McEowen  families  to  Long 
Hill ;  the  Annin  family  to  Liberty  Corner  (formerly 
called  Annin's  Comer) ;  and  to  other  parts  of  the 
same  general  neighborhood,  the  Eiggs,  Conklin,  Al- 
ward,  McCollum,  Dayton,  Doty,  Boylan,  Heath,  Hall, 
Lindsley,  Rickey,  Lewis,  Anderson,  and  Hand  fami- 
lies, into  the  particulars  of  whose  history  we  have 
not  space  to  enter,  but  all  of  whom  became  numerous 
and  influential.  Among  these  patriarchal  ancestors 
were  John  Annin,  great-grandfather  of  the  late  Wil- 
liam Annin ;  Solomon  Boyle,  great-grandfather  of 
Augustus  A.  Boyle,  residing  until  recently  on  the  an- 
cestral farm ;  John  Hall,  great-grandfather  of  Samuel 
Hall,  lately  removed  from  the  township ;  William 
Conklin,  great-grandfather  of  Isaac  Conklin,  lately 
deceased;  Henry  Alward,  great-grandfather  of  the 
late  Jonathan  Alward ;  Daniel  Cooper,  great  grand- 
father of  William  and  Alexander  Cooper ;  Jacob 
Carle,  grandfather  of  the  late  Daniel  Carle ;  Daniel 
Heath,  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Barclay  Dunham;  and 
John  McCollum,  believed  to  have  been  the  great- 
grandfather of  A.  B.  McCollum.  He  died  April  18, 
1760,  at  the  venerable  age  of  one  hundred  and  three 
years. 

Another  family  worthy  of  particular  mention  was 
that  of  Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  who  settled  at  Mine 
Brook  in  1736,  on  the  farm  lately  owned  by  Henry 
Baird.  The  Kirkpatricks  belonged  to  a  noble  family 
in  Scotland.*  Alexander,  the  ancestor  of  the  family 
in  this  country,  was  born  at  Watties  Neach,  Dum- 
friesshire, Scotland.  He  removed  with  his  family  to 
Belfast,  Ireland,  after  the  birth  of  his  son  David, 
about  the  year  1725.  In  the  spring  of  1736  he  em- 
barked at  Belfast  for  America,  and  after  a  stormy 
voyage  of  thirteen  weeks,  landed  at  New  Castle, 
Del.  Passing  through  Philadelphia,  they  wandered 
up  through  the  State  of  New  Jersey  (which  was  then 
partially  settled,  till  they  reached  Bound  Brook,  and 
thence  went  over  the  mountains  to  the  place  which 
they  selected  for  a  habitation.  There  being  no  roads 
in  the  country,  they  followed  an  Indian  path  through 
the  wilderness. 

When  they  came  to  a  spring  of  water  at  the  side 
of  what  has  since  been  called  "  Mine  Brook,"  there 
they  settled  down,  built  a  log  house  and  went  to  work. 
The  spot  was  well  chosen,  about  two  miles  west  of 
the  present  site  of  Basking  Ridge.  It  embraced  the 
southern  slope  of  Round  Mountain,  in  a  well  timbered 
region,  with  unfailing  springs  of  pure  water,  the  rich 
meadow-land  through  which  Mine  Brook  runs  with 
a  sufficient  fall  of  water  for  a  mill-seat,  and  with  these 
material  advantages,  a  charming,  picturesque  view  of 
the  adjacent  region.  The  spring  of  water  is  still 
there,  marking  the  site  of  the  original  log  house,  and 
until  within  a  few  years  could  be  seen  the  remains  of 


'  See  Kirkpatrick  Memorial,  pubUshed  1867. 


BERNARD. 


737 


the  apple-trees  planted  by  Alexander  Kirkpatrick  and 
his  sons.  This  improvement  many  of  the  early  pro- 
prietary leases  required.  In  a  lease  of  137  acues 
(which  it  may  be  remarked  was  a  minor  portion  of 
what  the  family  eventually  obtained  by  title  in  fee 
simple)  granted  Nov.  23,  1747,  to  Alexander  Kirk- 
patrick, he  agreeing  "  to  plant  an  orchard  of  at  least 
one  apple-tree  for  every  3  acres,  and  in  case  this  lease 
shall  continue  beyond  three  years,  then  (to)  plant  one 
apple-tree  for  every  6  acres,  all  regular  in  one  orchard, 
and  to  keep  up  the  number  planted  and  to  keep  the 
orchard  in  good  fence." 

"  Alexander  Kirkpatrick  died  at  Mine  Brook  June 
3,  1758,  mentioning  in  his  will,  which  was  executed 
'  in  articulo  mortis,'  his  wife  Elizabeth,  his  sons  An- 
drew, David,  and  Alexander,  his  son-in-law  Duncan 
McEowen,  his  youngest  daughter  Mary,  and  his 
grandson  Alexander." 

Andrew  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Gaston,  and  had  one  son,  Alexander,  and  seven 
daughters.  He  inherited  the  homestead,  but  not  long 
after  the  death  of  his  father  sold  to  his  brother  David 
and  removed  to  Western  Pennsylvania.  David  mar- 
ried Mary  McEowen,  March  31,  1748,  and  had  four 
sons  and  four  daughters.  His  eldest  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth, born  at  Basking  Eidge  in  1748,  married  first 
(in  1769)  a  Sloan,  and  was  the  grandmother  of  the 
late  William  H.Sloan,  Esq.,  of  Flemington ;  she  mar- 
ried, second,  John  Maxwell,  and  died  at  Flemington, 
Dec.  14,  1829.*  Alexander,  bom  Sept.  3,  1751,  died 
Sept.  24,  1827,  was  the  father  of  Rev.  Jacob  Kirk- 
patrick, D.D.,  of  Ringos.  Hugh,  the  third  child, 
died  unmarried,  Jan.  9,  1782.  Andrew,  fourth  child, 
born  Feb.  17,  1756,  was  chief  justice  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.  The  fifth  child  was  David,  born  Nov. 
1,  1758 ;  the  sixth,  Mary,  born  Nov.  23,  1761,  married 
Hugh  Gaston,  of  Peapack,  and  had  one  son ;  married, 
second,  a  Todd,  and  died  July  1, 1842.  Of  the  other 
daughters,  Anne  and  Jennet,  the  first  married  Moses 
Esty,  of  Morristown,  and  the  last  Dickinson  Miller, 
of  Somerville. 

Andrew  Kirkpatrick,!  third  son  of  David  Kirk- 
patrick, Esq.,  and  Mary  McEowen,  was  born  at  Mine 
Brook;  he  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in 
1775,  while  Dr.  Witherspoon  was  president ;  studied 
law  and  practiced  at  New  Brunswick,  where  he  mar- 
ried Jane,  daughter  of  Col.  John  Bayard.  His  oldest 
son,  Hon.  Littleton  Kirkpatrick,  graduate  of  New 
Jersey  College  in  1815,  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  New  Jersey.    He  was  married,  but  had  no  chil- 


*  From  an  obituary  published  in  the  BurUerdm  Omiity  OaxeUe,  Jan.  6, 
1830.  The  "  Kirkpatrick  Memorial"  (page  22)  says,  "  She,  after  the  death 
of  Mr.  Sloan,  married  Gen.  William  Maxwell,  and  died  in  1829."  This  is 
evidently  an  error,  as  Gen.  -William  Maxwell,  of  the  Hunterdon  County 
family  of  Maxwells,  died  a  bachelor  after  the  Kevolutionary  war,  in 
which  he  figured.  ("  Biographical  Encyclopjedia  of  New  Jersey,"  p.  222.) 
His  brother,  John,  died  in  Flemington,  at  a  good  old  age,  about  1825. 
We  think  the  obituary,  written  al  the  time  of  her  death,  the  best  authority. 

t  He  was  for  27  years  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey. 
.  See  sketch  in  chapter  on  Bench  and  Bar. 


dren  who  survived  him.  The  second  son,  John  Bay- 
ard Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  graduate  of  Queen's,  now  Rut- 
gers College,  in  1815 ;  was  for  some  time  connected 
with  one  of  the  departments  at  Washington;  died, 
leaving  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Of  these,  Mary 
Ann  married  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Howe,  D.D.,  for  some 
time  pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch 
Church  of  New  Brunswick ;  and  Jane  married  Rev. 
Jonathan  Cogswell,  D.D.,  formerly  Professor  of  Ec- 
clesiastical History  in  the  East  Windsor  Theological 
Seminary,  both  deceased,  leaving  one  daughter. 

Capt.  David  Kirkpatrick,  fourth  son  of  David  Kirk- 
patrick, Esq.,  was  born  at  Mine  Brook,  Nov.  1,  1758, 
and  resided  there  till  his  death,  Dec.  11,  1828.  He 
had  sons— Walter  and  Hugh — and  daughter  Eliza- 
beth, who  married  Hon.  Andrew  B.  Cobb,  of  Parsip- 
pany.  Walter  was  born  April  12, 1795 ;  graduated  at 
College  of  New  Jersey,  1813,  and  was  three  years  a 
member  of  the  Legislative  Council  of  New  Jersey. 
He  was  a  fine  classical  scholar  and  an  amateur  of  the 
fine  arts.  He  died  Dec.  13,  1841.  No  children  sur- 
vive him.  Hugh  was  born  May  31, 1797,  died  March 
11,  1860.  He  was  familiarly  known  as  "Doctor 
Hugh,"  having  graduated  at  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  in  1815,  and  became  an  excellent  and  popular 
physician.  He  served  one  term  as  sheriff  of  Somer- 
set County,  and  was  a  man  fond  of  literary  pursuits. 
Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  the  eldest  son  of  David 
Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Judge 
John  Carle,  of  Long  Hill.  They  had  thirteen  chil- 
dren, of  whom  we  have  space  to  give  only  the  names 
in  the  order  of  birth :  David,  Mary,  John,  Jacob, 
Sarah,  Elizabeth,  Lydia,  Anne,  Rebecca,  Martha, 
Jane,  Alexander,  and  Robert  Finley.  Mary  married 
John  L.  Cross,  of  Basking  Ridge;  John  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  David  Ayera,  and  sister  of  Dr. 
Ayers,  of  Liberty  Corner;  Sarah  married  William 
Annin,  of  Liberty  Corner ;  Elizabeth  married  Alex- 
ander Vail,  of  Bernard  township,  and  after  his  death, 
William  Gaston,  of  Basking  Ridge;  Anne  married 
John  Stelle,  of  Bernard  township ;  Rebecca  married 
Squier  Terrell,  of  Warren  township,  whose  sister  was 
the  wife  of  the  youngest  son,  Robert  Finley  Kirk- 
patrick. 

John  Annin,  the  ancestor  of  the  Annin  family, 
came  from  Scotland,  with  his  wife  Elizabeth  and 
several  children,  among  whom  was  William,  then 
seven  years  of  age.  They  came  over  soon  after  the 
Kirkpatricks,  and  gave  to  the  place  of  their  settle- 
ment the  name  of  Annin's  Corner,  now  known  as 
Liberty  Corner.  Here  John  Annin  erected  a  log 
cabin  in  which  he  lived  with  his  family  the  rest  of 
his  life.  The  farm  on  which  the  "Stone  House" 
stands  was  purchased  of  the  assigns  of  William  Penn, 
and  the  house  erected  in  1766.  (See  a;ccount  else- 
where of  the  centennial  of  this  building.) 

Henry  Alward,  another  of  the  early  settlers,  came 
from  England.  He  lived  between  Liberty  Corner 
and  Basking  Ridge,  near  the  mill  formerly  owned 


738 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


by  Matthias  "Woodard.  He  had  three  children, — 
David,  John,  and  Henry ;  the  last  mentioned  married 
Mary  Cox,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children.  His 
second  son,  Samuel,  married  Caty  King,  sister  of  John 
King,  of  Liberty  Corner.  Benjamin,  the  third  son, 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Elisha  Ayers,  and  sister 
of  Maj.  John  Ayers,  of  Basking  Ridge.  William 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Cross,  and 
removed  to  the  State  of  New  York. 

Benjamin  Alward,  who  married  Sarah  Ayers,  had 
children,  Elisha,  Mary,  Jane,  Hannah,  Benjamin,  Jr., 
Sarah,  Esther,  William,  Elizabeth,  Anne,  Stephen, 
Daniel,  and  Phoebe, — a  family  of  thirteen.  Elisha 
died  from  the  kick  of  a  horse,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven.  Mary  married  Joseph,  son  of  Jonathan  Ruck- 
man,  and  Hannah  married  his  brother  Nathan.  Ben- 
jamin, Jr.,  married  Lydia  Coddington,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Coddington.  William  married  Phoebe 
Lyon,  and  removed  to  Pennsylvania.  Elizabeth 
married  Benjamin,  son  of  Dr.  James  Boylan,  of 
Bernardsville,  then  called  "Vealtown,"  and  had 
children,  Anne,  Sarah,  John,  William,  and  James 
Boylan,  whose  descendants  are  scattered  in  different 
portions  of  the  country. 

William  Conklin  was  an  early  settler.  He  married 
Ruth  Hedges,  of  Long  Island,  and  removed  from 
there  to  Basking  Ridge.  He  had  eight  children  in 
the  order  following :  Stephen,  William,  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  Thomas,  Mary,  and  Ruth. 

Stephen  Conklin  had  nine  children  by  Deborah 
Dimon,  to  wit :  Clemena,  William,  Stephen,  Ruth, 
Mary,  Isaac,  John,  Abraham,  and  Deborah.  Clemena, 
the  oldest,  married  Josiah  Ayers,  and  had  Stephen,  the 
celebrated  itinerant  Dr.  Ayers,  so  eminently  success- 
ful in  curing  cholera  in  Montreal  in  1832,  and  De- 
borah, who  married  Stephen  Cave,  of  New  York. 

William  Conkhn  (3d),  who  married  Rebecca  Whit- 
aker,  was  a  tanner  and  currier  at  Basking  Ridge, 
where  he  had  a  farm  and  tanyard.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church  here,  and  a  justice  of 
the  peace.  His  family  of  nine  children  consisted  of 
Phoebe,  Stephen,  Jonathan,  Mary,  William,  Joseph, 
Isaac,  Nathaniel,  and  Sarah. 

Stephen  Conklin,  second  child  of  William,  resided 
on  the  homestead,  was  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Basking  Ridge,  and  subsequently  removed 
to  Somerville,  where  he  died  Nov.  3,  1849.  His  first 
wife  was  Sally  Coriell,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter 
Sarah,  who  married  Thomas  Layton,  father  of  Theo- 
odore  Layton.  William  Conklin,  fifth  child  of  Wil- 
liam Conklin  (8d),  married  Cornelia  Goltra,  and  had 
six  children,— viz.,  William,  Mary  Elizabeth,  James 
Alonzo,  Stephen,  John  L.,  and  Sarah  Augusta.  Isaac 
Conklin  {3d),  seventh  child  of  William,  lived  at  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  where  he  was  a  shoe-manufacturer  and 
farmer;  married  Sarah  Hall,  and  had  four  children, — 
Nathaniel,  Stephen,  Isaac,  and  Joshua  Conklin.  All 
had  large  families,  and  their  numerous  descendants 
are  scattered  over  a  wide  extent  of  country. 


James  Finley,  father  of  Rev.  Robert  Finley,  D.D., 
was  an  early  resident  of  Basking  Ridge,  whence  he 
c^me  from  Princeton,  having  immigrated  at  an  early 
day  from  Scotland.  He  had  children,  James,  a  phy- 
sician, who  lived  in  Western  New  York ;  Robert,  the 
well-known  minister  and  teacher ;  Annie,  who  mar- 
ried Charles  Morford,  and  lived  at  Basking  Ridge  in 
1810 ;  and  Alexander,  who  was  a  carpenter  and  cab- 
inet-maker in  the  same  place.  The  children  of  Rev. 
Robert  Finley  were  Mary  L.,  who  married  John,  only 
child  of  Peter  Davison,  of  Basking  Ridge;  Helen 
Smith,  who  married  James  Cammack ;  James  C.  Fin- 
ley, who  became  a  Methodist  minister,  and  married  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Smith,  of  Cincinnati ;  Robert  S.  Fin- 
ley, editor  of  the  Liberia  Advocate,  first  at  St.  Louis 
for  several  years,  and  then  in  New  York.  He  subse- 
quently became  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  died 
without  issue. 

John  Hall,  one  of  the  early  settlers  at  Basking 
Ridge,  had  a  family  of  five  children.  His  son  John 
died  at  that  place,  about  1845,  an  old  man.  Richard, 
the  second  son,  married  Elizabeth  Roy,  widow  of 
William,  the  son  of  Judge  John  Roy,  of  Basking 
Ridge.  Judge  Roy  had  a  son  Joseph,  who  was  the 
father  of  Major  Peter  Roy,  of  Bernardsville ;  married 
Nancy,  daughter  of  Col.  Israel  Rickey,  who  lived  at 
the  saw-mill  on  the  Passaic  River  east  of  Basking 
Ridge.  Hannah  Roy,  daughter  of  William  and  Eliz- 
abeth Roy,  married  Aaron  Hand,  son  of  Jonathan 
Hand,  of  Basking  Ridge. 

Richard  Hall,  second  son  of  John  Hall,  who  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Roy,  had  six  children,  the  eldest  of 
whom,  Isaac,  married  Betsey  Strimple,  and  lived  near 
Liberty  Corner.  Ruth,  the  fourth  child,  married 
Levi,  son  of  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  Basking  Ridge,, 
and  had  an  only  son,  Elias  H.  Dayton,  who  married 
Huldah  Conover,  of  Monmouth  County.  Samuel,, 
the  fifth  child,  married  Maria,  daughter  of  Alexander 
Finley,  of  Basking  Ridge.  Richard  Hall,  a  younger- 
brother  of  the  first  John  Hall,  lived  at  Basking  Ridge 
and  had  numerous  descendants,  intermarried  with  the- 
Compton,  Austin,  and  Burrows  families. 

Oliver  Stelle,  the  ancestor  of  the  Stelle  family,  was 
a  son  of  Isaac  Stelle,  of  Piscataway.  He  was  born 
Aug.  1,  1766;  married,  Jan.  21, 1778,  Mary  Ryno,  and 
removed  to  Bernard  township  in  April,  1794.  Their 
children  were  eleven,  viz.:  Christiana,  Ephraim, 
Isaac,  Harriet,  Ruth,  Sarah,  John,  Anne,  Mary, 
Clarkson,  and  Rachel.  Ephraim  Stelle  married  Anna 
Manning,  and  had  six  children, — Elizabeth,  Sally, 
Margaret,  Daniel  S.,  Isaac,  and  Jane.  Isaac  Stelle 
married  Rachel  Clawson,  and  had  two  children, — 
Mary  and  Clarissy.  John  Stelle  married  Anne  Kirk- 
patrick,  and  had  five  children, — Jeptha,  Jacob,  Free- 
man, Lewis,  and  Provy.  Clarkson  Stelle  married 
Lucinda  Terrell,  and  had  six  children, — Rachel,  Mary 
Anne,  Mercy,  Lewis,  Thomas  Terrell,  and  Adeline. 

The  house  in  which  William  L.  Dayton  was  born 
is  still  standing  at  Basking  Ridge.     It  is  the  house- 


/i2^ 


fzS^c^ 


Ephkaim  E.  Stelle  is  descended  from  Pontius  Stelle, 
of  Holland,  who  settled  at  an  early  time  in  New  York. 
The  line  of  descent  from  Pontius  Stelle  is  through 
Benjamin,  Isaac,  and  Oliver  to  Ephraim  K.  Stelle. 

Benjamin  Stelle,  son  of  Pontius  Stelle,  was  born  in 
New  York  in  1683,  and  was  for  twenty  years  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  Church  of  Piscataway.  Isaac  succeeded  his 
father  in  the  pastorate  of  this  church,  and  died  after  a 
pastorate  of  twenty-two  years  and  a  ministry  of  twenty- 
nine  years. 

Isaac  Stelle's  sons  were  Samuel,  Oliver,  Joseph,  Ahel, 
John,  Amhrose,  and  Benjamin,  who  lived  during  the 
Kevolution  and  took  part  in  the  war.  Samuel  and  Oliver 
settled  with  their  families  in  Bernard  township  after  the 
Revolution,  and  purchased  land  together  at  West  Milling- 
ton.  Samuel  remained  but  a  few  years'  in  the  country. 
Oliver  married  Mary  Runyon,  and  had  children — Chris- 
tian, Ephraim  R.,  Isaac,  John,  Clarkson,  Harriet,  Sally, 
and  Ruth.  All  married  and  reared  families  in  the  town- 
ship except  Ruth,  who  was  married  but  had  no  children. 

Ephraim  R.  Stelle  was  born  Nov.  29,  1780;  married, 
Jan.  23,  1805,  Hannah  Manning,  and  had  children — 
Elizabeth,  born  Aug.  25,  1806,  married  Drake  Terrell 
and  reared  a  family  of  six  children, — viz.,  Harriet,  Mary 
Ann,  Ephraim  S.,  Sarah  Jane,  Elizabeth,  and  Margaret 
Terrell;  Sarah  Ann  Stelle,  born  Jan.  24,  1809,  married 
"William  A.  Coddington,  and  has  no  children ;  Mary 
Stelle,  born  April  22,  1812;  Margaret  Stelle,  horn  Feb. 
7,  1814,  married  Charles  Smalley,  and  has  children — 
Anna,  Manning  S.,  and  Henry  C.  Smalley;  Jane  Stelle, 
born  Feb.  7,  1818,  married  David  D.  Tingley,  and  has 
children — "Williani  G.  and  David  S.  Tiugley;  Isaac 
Stelle,  who  died  young  ;  Oliver  E.  StoUe,  born  Jan.  29, 
1826,  married  Elizabeth  Budd,  and  had  three  children, 
— Ella,  born  Feb.  5,1853;  Marienna,  horn  Sept.  1,  1854, 
died  Feb.  22,  1878;  Ephraim  M.,  born  Nov.  28,  1856. 


Mrs.  Stelle  died  Aug.  22,  1864,  since  which  time  Mr. 
Stelle  has  remained  a  widower. 

Oliver  E.  Stellb,  whose  birth,  marriage,  and  family 
are  last  given  in  the  above  record,  is  a  prominent  repre- 
seijtative  of  the  old  stock.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  his  town- 
ship, having  served  frequently  as  a  member  of  the  town- 
ship committee,  commissioner  of  appeals,  etc.,  and  was 
trustee  of  his  district  for  thirteen  years.  He  and  his  wife 
and  children  are  all  members  of  the  Baptist  Church  at 
West  Millington,  where  he  has  long  been  associated  with 
the  board  of  trustees,  and  has  been  treasurer  and  chorister 
of  the  church  since  it  was  founded  in  1851.  His  earnest 
devotion  and  exemplary  Christian  life  render  him  an 
efficient  aid  to  the  cause. 

For  about  twelve  years  Mr.  Stelle  has  ably  filled  the 
place  of  Sunday-school  superintendent.  In  the  first 
Sunday-school  ever  organized  in  the  neighborhood  he 
took  the  part  of  teacher  of  three  young  colored  men.  A 
young  lady  with  whom  he  was  intimately  acquainted 
facetiously  remarked  that  he  had  begun  with  "rather 
dark  prospects  around  him,"  but  she  hoped  he  would  not 
be  discouraged  with  "the  day  of  small  things."  The 
remark  left  a  deep  impression  upon  his  mind.  Since  then 
he  has  worked  in  every  capacity  in  the  Sunday-school 
up  to  superintendent. 

His  Sunday-school,  in  1878,  presented  him  with  a 
beautiful  floral  album  inscribed,  "To  Oliver  E.  Stelle, 
from  the  Teachers  and  Scholars  of  West  Millington 
Sunday-School."  Following  the  inscription  is  this  beau- 
tiful sentiment  of  the  school : 

"  Our  Wish. — May  you  be  enabled  to  walk  hand  and 
hand  with  Jesus  through  all  life's  journey,  and  find  Him 
in  all  your  joys  and  sorrows  growing  each  day  nearer 
and  dearer,  till  the  shades  and  sorrows  of  earth  are  ex- 
changed for  the  light  and  joy  of  His  presence  on  high." 


e^ 


iii-^.^^<J<2>-t 


^^e-'Z^ 


Freeman  Stelle  is  descended  from  Pontius 
Stelle,  the  first  ancestor  of  the  family  who  came  from 
France;  the  line  of  descent  being  through  Benjamin, 
his  son  Isaac,  and  his  son  Oliver.  The  last  named 
was  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Oliver  Stelle  married  Mary  Runyon.  He  removed 
from  Piscataway,  Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J.,  about  1794, 
and  settled  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Isaac  S. 
Runyon.  His  children  were  Christiana,  Ephraim, 
Isaac,  Harriet,  Ruth,  Sarah,  John,  Anne,  Mary, 
Clarkson,  and  Rachel.  John  Stelle,  the  father  of 
Freeman,  was  born  Dec.  28,  1790.  He  married  Ann 
Kirkpatrick,  June  20,  1812,  and  had  children  as 
follows:  Jeptha,  born  June  25,  1814;  Jacob  K., 
born  Sept.  2,  1816;  Freeman,  born  Jan.  29,  1820; 
Lewis,  born  Dec.  30,  1829,  died  young;  Provy,  born 
Jan.  15,  1834,  died  young. 

Freeman  Stelle  was  born  and  brought  up  on  the 
place  where  he  now  resides,  and  was  bred  to  the  oc- 
cupation of  a  farmer,  which  he  has  followed  through 
life.  Being  a  diligent  student  at  the  common  schools 
he  became  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  rudiments  of 
an  English  education,  and  by  reading  and  observation 
has  stored  his  mind  with  a  large  amount  of  useful 
knowledge  not  only  relating  to  his  occupation  but  to 
the  various  leading  topics  of  the  day.  He  is  a  well- 
informed  agriculturist  of  the  prosperous  and  substan- 
tial class.     All  the  appointments  of  his  premises  show 


system  and  order  in  the  arrangement  of  his  work. 
He  is  genial,  sociable,  and  friendly  to  all  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact;  honest  and  upright  in  all  his 
dealings  ;  courteous  and  obliging ;  and  as  a  result  has 
hosts  of  friends,  and  commands  universal  respect  from 
his  fellow-citizens. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stelle  are  true  representatives  of  their 
respective  ancestors,  who  held  honored  places  among 
the  pioneers  of  the  country.  They  have  been  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Millington  since  its 
organization  in  1851,  and  he  has  held  the  office  of 
deacon  ever  since.  By  his  exemplary  Christian  life 
he  has  been  an  ornament  to  his  profession  and  a 
"  pillar  in  the  church." 

He  has  served  his  township  in  various  official 
capacities  at  the  call  of  his  fellow-citizens,  having 
been  assessor,  freeholder,  member  of  the  town  com- 
mittee, etc.,  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in  all  local 
public  enterprises. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1842,  Mr.  Stelle  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Martha  R.,  daughter  of  David  R. 
Runyon,  Esq.  She  was  born  at  Bound  Brook,  Aug. 
29, 1823.  Their  children  are  Reune  R.,  born  June  26, 
1843,  married  Eliza  Dunn,  Oct.  16, 1867  ;  Sarah  K., 
born  March  23,  1845,  died  Jan.  14,  1875 ;  Esther 
R.,  born  March  12, 1847,  married  Aaron  D,.  Thomp- 
son, Oct.  18,  1871  ;  Abel,  born  Oct.  5,  1849,  un- 
married, and  lives  at  home  with  his  parents. 


BERNAED. 


73^ 


next  south  of  the  Methodist  church,  now  occupied 
hy  Bennehue  Dunham.  His  father  was  born  on  the 
place  now  owned  by  Ezra  Dayton,  one  mile  west  of 
Basking  Eidge.  His  mother,  Nancy  Lewis,  was  borij 
in  the  house  where  Dr.  John  Dayton  now  lives.  One 
room  of  this  house  is  the  same  as  it  was  one  hundred 
and  thirty  years  ago.  There  are  three  bricks  in  the 
chimney  bearing  the  following  dates :  1750,  the  time 
when  the  house  was  originally  built ;  1855,  when  it 
was  first  repaired;  and  1870,  when  it  underwent  re- 
pairs the  last  time. 

Eolph  Dayton,  born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  in 
1588,  immigrated  to  America  in  1639,  landing  in 
Boston,  where  his  autograph  appears  June  4,  1639. 
He  had  two  sons,  Samuel  and  Robert,  born  in  Eng- 
land; Eolph  Dayton  and  family  moved  to  East 
Hampton,  L.  I.,  where,  in  1649,  he  "was  President 
and  Constable  of  the  place."  Eobert  Dayton,  son  of 
Eolph,  ancestor  of  the  Daytons  of  this  township, 
died  in  1728,  leaving  several  children,  one  of  whom, 
Samuel,  was  born  in  1666,  at  East  Hampton,  L.  I. 
One  of  his  children  was  Jonathan,  born  in  1701,  died 
Oct.  4, 1776.  He  moved  and  settled  at  Elizabethtown, 
N.  J.,  and  had  three  wives,  by  whom  he  had  ten 
children.  Eobert,  one  of  his  sons,  born  in  1742,  died 
May  31, 1814.  He  married  Mary  Owen  and  had  eight 
children.  His  sons  were  John,  Noah,  Levi,  Joel, 
Amos,  Bailey,  and  Jonathan.  Joel  was  the  father  of 
"William  H.  Dayton.  He  married  Nancy,  daughter 
of  Edward  Lewis,  Esq.  Joel  Dayton  died  May  3, 
1833,  in  the  fifty -seventh  year  of  his  age,  leaving  four 
children, — "William  L.,  Alfred  D.,  Maria,  and  James 
B.  Dayton. 

William  Lewis  Dayton  was  born  in  1811,  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Judge  Van  Derveer,  of  Somer- 
ville.  He  had  five  children,  one  of  whom,  William, 
is  living  in  Trenton.  His  son  Ferdinand  was  a  sur- 
geon in  the  army  during  the  Eebellion,  and  died  soon 
after  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  old  homestead  where  Joel  Dayton  was  born  is 
still  in  the  hands  of  the  Dayton  family. 

Baily,  son  of  Eobert  Dayton,  was  the  father  of  John 
Dayton,  M.D.,  of  Basking  Eidge.  He  had  brothers, 
Edward  L.,  Samuel  0.  L.,  and  sister  Phebe  L.,  all 
living  except  Phebe  L.,  wife  of  "William  Cooper. 
Dr.  John  Dayton  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Samuel  S.  Doty,  M.D. 

Henry  Southard  was  one  of  the  old  and  prominent 
settlers.  His  father  came  from  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  and 
settled  at  Basking  Eidge.  His  son,  Samuel  L.  South- 
ard, was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  New 
Jersey,— Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Governor  of  the 
State,  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  president  of  the 
"United  States  Senate,  and  acting  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States  under  Mr.  Tyler.  He  was  born  at 
Basking  Eidge.  Henry  Southard,  his  father,  was 
twenty-one  years  in  Congress.  His  only  daughter 
married  Samuel  S.  Doty,  M.D.,  father  of  the  present 
Dr.  James  Doty,  of  Basking  Eidge.     Daniel  Doty 


was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  served  in  the  Eevolution. 
He  was  the  father  of  Samuel  S.  Doty,  M.D.,  one  of 
the  leading  physicians  of  the  State,  who  practiced 
medicine  at  Basking  Eidge  nearly  forty  years. 

In  addition  to  physicians  who  have  already  been 
mentioned  was  Dr.  Israel  L.  Coriell,  who  practiced 
here  in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  who  moved  tO' 
Kingwood,  Hunterdon  Co.,  about  the  year  1824,  and 
there  met  a  sudden  death,  in  1829,  by  being  thrown 
from  his  sulky.* 

"  CENTENNIAL  BBTJNION  OT'  THE  SMITH  EAMILT." 

In  the  north  part  of  the  town,  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  east  of  Peapack,  Zachariah  Smith  was  located 
at  a  very  early  day.     This  property  is  now  owned  by 
one  of  his  lineal  descendants,  Peter  Z.  Smith,  and 
there  was  held  (Sept.  6,  1876)  the  famous  "  Smith 
Picnic,''  at  which  were  gathered  the  Smiths,  not  only 
of  this  particular  family,  but  of  a  host  of  others,  de- 
scendants of  John  Henry  Smith  and  Christiana  Ms 
wife,  their  childrens'  sons  and  daughters,  with  those 
who  had  joined  the  great  family  by  marriage.     It  is 
estimated  there  were  two    thousand    five   hundred 
Smiths  present  from  various  portions  of  Hunterdon 
and  Somerset  Counties,  and  including  a  large  delega- 
tion from  Morristown.     By  actual  count  there  were 
four  hundred  and  eighty-three  carriage  loads  whO' 
participated  on  this  festive  occasion,  the  first  of  any 
general  reunion  of  the  family.     A  business  meeting- 
was  there  held  of  which  Isaiah  Smith  was  chairman 
and  Abraham  Smith  secretary.     It  was  resolved  tO' 
hold  an  annual  picnic  in  the  same  grove  on  the  first 
"Wednesday  in  September  of  each  year.   Isaiah  Smith 
was  chosen  president,  Abraham  Smith,  secretary  and. 
treasurer,  with  the  following  executive  committee:. 
Jacob   Z.   Smith,   Zachariah  Z.  Smith,  William  Z. 
Smith,  Abraham  Smith,  Oscar  Smith,  Andrew  Cole,. 
Andrew  D.  Peterson,  Peter  S.  Tiger,  Jacob  S.  Garra- 
brant,  Henry  Garrabrant,  John  Savidge,  all  of  Pea- 
pack.     James   A.  Cramer  and   George   Hedden,   of 
Morristown ;  Ziba  S.  Smith  and  Daniel  J.  Cole,  of 
Mendham ;  Jacob  T).  Smith  and  William  P.  Smith, 
of   Earitan;    Isaiah   Smith,   of   Milburn;    John   8. 
Smith,  Iowa ;  Isaiah  C.  Mullen,  Bedminster ;  Peter 
Smith,  Eound  Valley;  Charles  Quimby,  Bernards- 
ville;    Cornelius  J.  Garrabrant,   Flemington;    Cor- 
nelius P.  Garrabrant,  Brookside ;  Covert  Smith  and 
Oliver  C.  Smith,  of  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y. 

The  business  meeting  then  adjourned  and  dinner 
was  partaken  of.  Then  followed  addresses  by  Eev.. 
Charles  Woodrufi"  and  others,  with  singing  by  the 
glee-club  and  music  by  the  band,  the  remainder  of 
the  day  being  given  to  a  pleasant  reunion  of  families 
and  friends.  A  registry-book,  in  which  the  Smiths 
present  registered  their  names  (and  their  descendants 
and  connections  by  marriage),  contained  nine  hun- 
dred names. 


*  Sunterdon  County  GazMe,  Aug.  12,  1829. 


'740 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


CIVIL   ORGANIZATION. 

Of  the  early  civil  affairs  of  this  township  we  find 
absolutely  no  record,  not  even  the  date  of  its  organi- 
zation. The  digest  of  the  laws  of  New  Jersey,  which 
usually  contains  the  acts  for  the  erection  of  townships 
and  the  description  of  their  boundaries,  contains 
nothing  relating  to  this  township.  We  have  ex- 
amined the  historical  collections,  the  State  "  Gazet- 
teer,'' consulted  other  works  and  interrogated  the  best 
informed  men  on  the  subject  with  like  results.  The 
records  of  the  township  itself  are  lacking  for  nearly 
a  hundred  years  of  its  corporate  existence,  having 
been  destroyed  by  fire  at  Basking  Ridge  in  1850. 
The  most  that  we  can  do  under  the  circumstances  is 
to  give  a  probable  or  proximate  date  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  township  and  the  beginning  of  its  civil 
or  municipal  history. 

The  township  was  unquestionably  named  after  Gov- 
ernor Francis  Bernard,  who  superseded  President 
Reading  on  the  13th  of  June,  1758,  and  continued 
his  administration  until  the  4th  of  July,  1760.  The 
name  would  not  be  likely  to  be  given  before  he  was 
Governor.  The  nearest  date  we  have  to  this,  in  which 
"  Bernardstown"  is  mentioned,  is  1768.  It  is  the 
trustees'  record  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bask- 
ing Ridge,  entitled  "The  Book  of  the  Congregation 
of  Bernardstown,  A.D.,  1763-1815."  This  seems  to 
settle  the  point  that  the  township  organization  dates 
somewhere  between  1758  and  1763,  probably  about 
1760,  at  the  close  of  Governor  Bernard's  administra- 
tiori.  We  can  only  add  to  this  brief  statement  of 
probabilities  the  civil  list  for  the  time  during  which 
the  records  liave  been  preserved. 

TOWN   CLEKKS. 

1861,  William  R.  Wilson ;  1852-63,  John  S.  Quimby ;  1864-66,  James  W. 
Arrowsmith  J  1856-67,  Benjamin  Smith  ;  1868-69,  James  W.  Arrow- 
Bmith;  1860,  Ira  B.  Pruden;  1861,  John  W.  B.  Lewis;  1862,  William 
A.  Wilson ;  1863,  William  Van  Boren ;  1864-66,  Joseph  S.  aark ; 
1866-78,  William  B.  Ooopor;  1879-80,  P.  T.  Randolph. 

ASSESSORS. 

1861-63,  Israel  Rickey;  1864-56,  John  H.  Anderson;  1866-57,  Dayid  L. 
Lewis ;  1868-69,  Samuel  Lewis ;  1860-61,  Peter  Z.  Smith ;  1862-63, 
Ferdinand  Van  Doren ;  1864-65,  Peter  Z.  Smith ;  1866,  A.  V.  P.  Sut- 
phen;  1867-73,  William  A.  McMurtry ;  1874,  Freeman  Stelle  ;  1876- 
78,  William  A.  McMurtry ;  1879-80,  S.  W,  T.  Meeker. 

COLLECTORS. 
1861,  Alvah  Lewis;  1862,  John  H.  Anderson;  1853,  Alvah  Lewis;  1864, 
Francis  Bunyan  ;  1866-56,  Oliver  B.  Stelle ;  1857-68,  Samuel  Hall ; 
1869-60,  William  A.  McMurtry  ;  1861-62,  James  H.  Thompson ;  1863, 
Jacob  K.  Lewis ;  1864-66,  Ira  B.  Pruden ;  1867-68,  Thomas  Terrell ; 
1869-70,  William  Van  Doren  ;  1871-72,  Joseph  S.  Clark ;  1873,  David 
L.  Lewis;  1874,  Oscar  McMurtry ;  1876-77,  George  L.Rickey;  1878, 
Nicholas  Bowers ;  1879,  Calvin  D.  Smith ;  1880,  Ira  B.  Pruden. 

CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 

1851-62,  William  Annin,  Joseph  De  Ooster  ;  1863,  Joseph  De  Coster;  1854 
-66,  Peter  Z.  Smith;  1856-58,  James  King;  1858-60,  Henry  Baird' 
1860-62,  David  G.  Schomp  ;  1802-64,  Joseph  De  Coster ;  1364-66,  David 
G.  Schomp  ;  1866,  David  L.  Lewis ;  1867-69,  Samuel  Lewis ;  1869-71, 
Thomas  Terrell;  18'71-73,  Aaron  Dilley;  1873,  Charles  S.  Quimby; 
1874-76,  Jacob  S.  Garrabrant;  1876-77,  Charles  S.  Quimby;  1877 
-79,  Freeman  Stelle ;  1879-80,  William  B.  McMurtry. 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  APPEALS. 
1851,  John  S.  Quimby,  Oliver  S.  Stelle,  James  W.  Arrowsmith ;  1862, 
David  L.  Lewis,  Oliver  E.  Stelle,  James  W.  Arrowsmith ;  1853,  David 
L.  Lewis,  David  Morris,  Oliver  R.  Stelle;  1854,  David  Morris, 
Henry  Baird,  Pierson  S.  Colyer ;  1855-67,  Richard  Coriell,  Andrew 
Cole,  John  McBride;  1867-59,  David  S.  Dunham,  Israel  Compton, 
James  McMurtry ;  1869,  John  S.  Quimby,  Jacob  Cole,  George  F.  Sco- 
field;  1860,  Jacob  Cole,  George  F.  Scofleld,  Oliver  Dunster;  1861,  Jo- 
siah  Layton,  Thomas  Lewis,  Oliver  Dunster;  1862,  Josiah  Layton, 
Thomas  Lewis,  Oliver  Woodward ;  1863,  Oliver  Woodward,  Josiah 
Layton,  Oliver  E.  Stelle ;  1864,  John  M.  Holmes,  Oliver  Woodward, 
Oliver  R.  Stelle ;  1866,  Jacob  Cole,  William  Child,  William  Rush  ;  1866 
-67,  Joseph  J.  Stergis,  John  0.  Rush,  Henry  Apgar;  1868,  Joseph  S. 
Clark,  Amadee  Sanders,  David  G.  Schomp ;  1869-71,  Joseph  S.  Clark, 
Oliver  Dunster,  David  G.  Schomp ;  1871,  Oliver  Dunster,  James  H.  Day, 
Calvin  H.  Dunham ;  1872,  John  Guerin,  John  0.  Rush,  James  H. 
Day ;  1873,  John  Guerin,  James  H.  Day,  Theodore  Baird ;  1874,  James 
H.  Day,  William  Child,  Oliver  Dunster;  1876-77,  Josiah  Layton, 
Theodore  Baird,  Seneca  White  ;  1877,  Seneca  White.  William  Child, 
Theodore  Baird ;  1878,  F.  H.  Flagg,  Henry  H.  Apgar,  Richard  Irving ; 
1879,  Henry  H.  Apgar,  Richard  Irving,  James  H.  Day;  1880,  Henry 
H  Apgar,  Richard  Irving,  Aaron  Dilley. 

TOWN  COMMITTEES. 
1861,  Jonathan  Ayers,  David  Morris,  Abraham  B.  McCoUum,  Frederick 
Childs,  Daniel  Whitenack;  1852-53,  John  Guerin,  David  Dunham, 
William  Ballentyne;  1854,  John  Guerin,  Samuel  Lewis,  Thomas 
Richards :  1864-56,  William  Ballentine,  Isaac  S.  Runyon,  Freeman 
Pennington  ;  1867,  Joseph  De  Coster,  Oliver  B.  Stelle,  David  Morris; 
1868,  William  Ballentine,  David  Morris,  Waters  B.  Alward ;  1869, 
William  Ballentine,  Waters  B.  Alward,  Oliver  Dunster ;  1860,  Waters 
B.  Alward,  John  S.  Quimby,  Isaac  Compton;  1861,  Isaac  Compton, 
John  S.  Quimby,  Freeman  Stelle ;  1862,  John  S.  Quimby,  Freeman 
Stelle,  James  P.  Goltra;  1863,  Amadee  Sanders,  Freeman  Stelle, 
James  P.  Goltra;  1864,  Amadee  Sanders,  Joseph  De  Coster,  James  P. 
Goltra;  1865,  Amadee  Sanders,  John  Guerin,  Oliver  R.  Stelle  ;  1866, 
John  Guerin,  Oliver  E.  Stelle,  Josiah  Layton ;  1867-68,  John  Guerin, 
Josiah  Layton,  Charles  N.  Conkling;  1869-70,  Charles  N.  Conkling, 
John  0.  Rush,  William  B.  McMurtry ;  1871,  John  0.  Rush,  William 
B.  McMurtry,  John  Compton ;  1872-76,  John  Comptoil,  John  E. 
Lewis,  Jacob  Van  Arsdale;  1877-78,  John  Compton,  JohnB.  Lewis, 
Jerome  E.  Helderbrant,  Edward  Haight,  William  Van  Doren ;  1879- 
80,  John  Compton,  WilUam  Child,  William  Van  Doren. 

JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 

1851. — Nathaniel  Compton,  Hezekiah  Norris. 

1854.— Peter  Irvine,  John  S.  Quimby,  Benjamin  Smith. 

1856. — John  S.  Quimby,  Nathaniel  Compton,  Benjamin  Smith. 

1869.— Peter  Irvine. 

1860. — Nathaniel  Compton,  Ira  B.  Pruden,  John  S.  Quimby. 

1861.— Ira  B.  Pruden. 

1862.— Jacob  Cole,  William  A.  Wilson. 

1863. — Waters  B.  Alward,  Richard  Irvine. 

1864. — Nathaniel  Compton,  James  H.  Thompson,  Calvin  H.  Dunham. 

1870.— Nathaniel  Compton,  James  H.  Thompson,  Calvin  H.  Dunham, 

Roderick  Mitchell, 
1872.— Roderick  Mitchell. 

1873.— Horace  Woodruff.  - 

1875.— James  H.  Thompson,  Nathaniel  Compton,  CaMn  H.  Dunham. 
1876.— David  S.  Dunn. 
1878. — James  Doty,  Horace  Woodruff. 
1879.— Charles  N.  Conkling. 
1880.— Dr.  H.  G.  Whitnall,  P.  F.  Randolph,  Calvin  H.  Dunham. 

SUPERINTENDENTS   OF  SOSOOLS. 
1861,  Walters  B.  Alward  ;  1852,  James  T.  English ;  1863,  William  E.  Wil- 
son ;  1864-66,  Eev.  John  C.  Rankin,  D.D. 

PLACES   OP   HISTORIC  INTEREST.  .  .     - 

The  Stirling  Place.— William  Alexander,  fa- 
miliarly known  as  Lord  Stirling,  lived  in  baronial 
state  before  the  Revolution  on  the  "'Stiriilig  &iii," 
so  called,  about  two  miles  southeast  of  Basking  Ridge. 
The  place  is  now  owned  by  Mr.  Barcalow,'  and  la 


JAMES   P.    GOLTRA. 


James   Phares   Goltra,  son  of  Thomas   Goltra,  was 
born  in  Bergen,  N".  J.,  Nov.  17,  1792.     His  father  was 
also  a  native  of  Bergen,  where  his  ancestors  from  Hol- 
land settled  at  an  early  time.     He  was  born  July  9, 
1764.     He  married,  Dec.  19,  1788,  Elizabeth  Kells,  born 
Sept.  30,  1768,  by  whom  he   had  the  subject  of  this 
record  and  four  daughters, — viz.,  Lany  A.,  born  Jan.  2, 
1790,  married   George   King   (deceased);    Susan,  born 
Aug.  19,  1794,  married  Eobert  Albright,  and  lives  in 
Madison,  Morris  Go.  ;  Mary,  born  Aug.  23,  1797,  mar- 
ried  John   Case    (deceased) ;    Cornelia,   born   Aug.    7, 
1802,  married  first  Elias  Sturgis,  and  afterwards  "Wil- 
liam Conkling;  she  is  still  living,  and  resides  in  Ohio. 
James   P.  Goltra  came   to  Bernard   township  when 
quite  young  with  his  parents,  who  purchased  the  Goltra 
place  on  Dead  Eiver  now  occupied  by  J.  Happa.     His 
father  was  a  carpenter  and  builder,  and  brought  up  his  son 
to  that  occupation,  who  followed  it  as  his  chief  business 
till  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  building  extensively 
and  erecting  many  churches  in  Bernard  and  adjoining 
townships.     He  also   engaged   successfully  in  farming 
and   mercantile  pursuits,   having  kept  a    store    eight 
years  at  Liberty  Corners.     Besides  being  many  years  a 
justice  of  the  peace  and  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  he  took  a  prominent  and  active  part  in  the 
affairs  of  his  township,  especially   in  raising  recruits 
during  the  civil  war,  and  acting  on  the  town  committee 
with  the  late   Judge  Anderson.     The  duties  of  these 
men  were  arduous  and  responsible,  and  were  faithfully 
and  conscientiously  discharged,  reflecting   credit  alike 
upon  their  integrity  and  ability.    Mr.  Goltra,  as  a  busi- 
ness and  a  public  man,  as  a  citizen  and  neighbor,  in 
short,  in  all   the  walks  of  life,  was  highly  respected. 


and  has  left  a  reputation  enshrined  in  the  memory  and 
esteem  of  his  fellow-cilizens. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  1816,  Mr.  Goltra  married  for 
his  first  wife  Fanny  Beach,  by  whom  he  had  two  chil- 
dren,— Ebenezer  B.  and  Susan  P. ;  both  are  living  and 
have  families.  After  her  death  he  married  Panny  C. 
Cross,  daughter  of  Eobert  and  Elizabeth  Cross.  She  is 
the  great-granddaughter  of  Kev.  John  Cross,  first  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Basking  Ridge,  who  set- 
tled on  the  place  where  Mrs.  Goltra  now  lives  in  1732, 
and  held  religious  services  in  his  barn  before  the  meet- 
ing-house was  built  at  the  Eidge.  Eobert  and  Elizabeth 
Cross  reared  a  family  of  two  children, — viz.,  Mrs.  James 
P.  Goltra  and  Mahlon  Cross,  who  died  in  August,  1878, 
leaving  a  son  and  daughter  still  living.  Joseph,  the 
other  son,  died  in  March,  1872. 

The  children  of  James  P.  and  Fanny  C.  Goltra  were 
Caroline  E.,  born  July  9,  1823,  married  Dennis  Van 
Liew,  and  lives  at  Liberty  Corners  ;  Eobert  Cross  Goltra, 
born  Aug.  24,  1829,  married  Mary  E.  Lewis,  who  sur- 
vives him  (he  died  May  12,  1869,  leaving  four  chil- 
dren) ;  Mary  M.,  born  Feb.  7,  1832,  married  Putney  O. 
Belding,  has  one  child,  now  living  at  Basking  Eidge; 
Thomas  Goltra,  born  Feb.  5,  1834,  married  Elsie  Smalley 
Frost,  and  has  a  family  of  three  children, — to  wit,  John 
Q.  P.,  Hattie  Adelaide,  and  Willie  J.  Goltra;  Emma 
Jane  Goltra,  born  July  18,  1838,  married  William  W. 
Sutton,  of  Hunterdon  County,  and  has  three  children. 

James  P.  Goltra  died  Jan.  22,  1871,  in  the  seventy- 
ninth  year  of  his  age. 

His  son,  Thomas  Goltra,  is  his  successor  on  the  home- 
stead estate.  He  devotes  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  agri- 
culture, and  is  an  enterprising  and  successful  farmer. 


BERNARD. 


741 


one  of  the  historic  places  of  this  portion  of  New  Jer- 
sey. Lord  Stirling  acquired  his  title  to  large  estates 
in  this  quarter  prior  to  1720,  and  built  his  manor- 
house  as  a  summer  retreat  about  1761.  He  adopted 
it  afterwards  as  a  permanent  residence,  and  continued 
to  improve  his  estate,  together  with  a  mining  andiron 
interest  in  Morris  County,  till  the  Revolution  called 
him  to  the  field.  He  became  a  zealous  Whig,  and  as 
a  soldier  under  Washington  rendered  important  ser- 
vice to  the  cause  of  independence.  He  was  not,  how- 
ever, to  see  the  final  triumph  of  the  glorious  cause  to 
which  he  had  sacrificed  health,  property,  and  life 
itself.  Worn  out  by  fatigue  of  body  and  mind,  he 
died  on  the  15th  of  January,  1783,  less  than  a  week 
before  the  solemn  recognition  by  treaty  of  his  coun- 
try's independence.  His  private  fortune  was  ex- 
pended in  the  contest. 

White's  Taveeit. — The  house  where  Gen.  Charles 
Lee  was  taken  prisoner  by  Col.  Harcourt's  dragoons, 
on  the  11th  of  October,  1776,  while  on  his  way  to 
join  the  army  under  Washington,  stands  by  the  road- 
side at  the  south  end  of  the  village  of  Basking  Ridge. 
It  was  then  called  "  White's  tavern,"  being  kept  by 
Mrs.  White,  a  widow.  The  house  is  still  standing, 
though  it  has  undergone  considerable  changes. 

The  Kiekpateick  Mansion. — Another  place  of 
historic  interest  is  the  old  Kirkpatrick  mansion,  on 
the  homestead  where  Alexander  Kirkpatrick  and  his 
son  David  settled  in  1736.  The  solid,  substantial 
stone  house  which  he  built  in  1765,  with  its  thick, 
firm  walls  laid  in  mortar  almost  as  hard  as  the  gray 
sandstone  itself,  and  with  floors  made  of  white 
oak  plank  laid  double,  was  but  an  exponent  of  the 
solidity  and  self-reliance  of  his  character.  With 
proper  care  the  house  might  be  made  to  last  five  cen- 
turies more.  On  a  stone  over  the  front  door  (but  now 
concealed  by  a  portico)  are  chiseled  "  D.  M.  K.,  1765," 
— meaning  David  and  Mary  Kirkpatrick. 

David  Kirkpatrick,  Esq.,  as  he  was  remembered  by 
the  old  settlers,  was  a  thorough-going  Scotchman  in 
every  respect,  not  excepting  the  broad  accent  of  his 
nationality.  "  Although  he  lived  about  two  miles 
from  the  church  at  Basking  Ridge,  he  always  pre- 
ferred to  walk  while  the  rest  of  the  family  rode.  It 
is  said  of  him,  when  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey 
Legislature,  that  although  he  would  commence  his 
journey  on  horseback,  he  soon  dismounted  and,  lead- 
ing his  horse,  walked  the  remainder  of  the  way  to 
Trenton.  He  lived  to  enter  his  ninety -first  year; 
educated  one  son  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey ;  knew 
of  at  least  six  grandsons  who  were  liberally  educated ; 
and  at  his  death  left  a  numerous  posterity  to  bless  his 
memory." 

The  Annin  House.— In  1766  the  old  "Stone 
House"  on  the  Annin  estate  was  built  by  William 
Annin,  son  of  John,  the  first  pioneer.  In  1866,  the 
descendants  of  John  Annin  met  in  the  venerable 
mansion  to  celebrate  the  centennial  of  its  erection. 
The  meeting  was  on  the  15th  day  of  August,  and  there 


gathered  grandparents,  parents  and  children,  the 
representatives  of  every  period  of  life,  from  infancy 
to  old  age,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
We  give  the  following  list  of  the  kindred  and  de- 
scendants ot  John  Annin  present  on  the  occasion  : 

William  Annin,  Eliza  H.  Annin,  Gertrude  S.  F.  Annin,  Jane  Annin,  SaraU 
Annin,  Sarah  E.  Annin,  Mary  0.  Annin,  William  Annin,  Robert 
Edward  Annin,  Phebe  Ayers,  James  Van  D.  Ayers,  Fanny  B.  Ayera, 
Fanny  Ayers,  John  Fred.  Boyle,  Lydia  Annin  Boyle,  Harriet  P- 
Boyle,  Sarah  Annin  Boyle,  Edward  P.  Boyle,  John  Annin  Boyle,  Mary 
P.  Boyle,  Helen  H.  Boyle,  William  F.  Boyle,  Nettle  A.  Boyle,  Par- 
menas  Castner,  Fred.  K.  Castner,  Mary  Annin  Gaatner,  Alfred  S.  Cast- 
ner,  John  L.  Van  Liew,  Antoinette  Van  Liew,  Julia  B.  Van  Liew,. 
Sarah  K.  Van  Liew,  William  E.  Van  Liew,  Maiy  A.  Van  Liew,  Mar- 
tha A.  Van  Liew,  William  Annin  Losey,  Harriet  0.  Losey,  Samuel 
Annin,  Jesse  Irving,  Charles  Conklin,  Emeline  A.  Irving,  Hiram 
Ayers,  Eliza  Neville  Ayers,  Joanna  Gaston  Brown,  Mary  Brown, 
Isaac  Gaston,  Ida  Brown,  William  Sergeant,  Daniel  Annin,  Abbey  P. 
Annin,  Phebe  M.  Annin,  Adeline  0.  Annin,  Sarah  Ross  Beach,  Sarah 
M.  Bliven,  Sarah  B.  Bliven,  Charles  Bliven,  Abby  D.  Bliven,  Moses 
Sayre,  Elizabeth  Dickinson  Sayre,  Alexander  Annin,  Susan  Annin, 
Margaret  Annin,  Margaret  Miller  Noroross,  Alex.  Annin  Norcross, 
Joseph  M.  Norcross,  Joseph  Annin,  Margaret  Annin,  John  Annin, 
Samuel  Annin,  Esther  Morford,  George  Morford,  Alexander  AnniDi 
Elizabeth  Annin,  Phebe  Miller  Johnson,  Mary  Emma  Johnson,  Fer- 
dinand Dreer  Johnson,  Frederick  Dreer  Earl,  Mary  M.  Annin,  John 
J.  Annin,  Edwin  L.  Annin,  Ferdinand  J.  Dreer,  Abigail  Dickinson 
Dreer,  Abigail  Matilda  Dreer,  Ferdinand  J.  Dreer,  Jr.,  Frederick 
Alexi  Dreer,  Edwin  Greble  Dreer,  Eev.  John  0.  Rankin,  D.D.,  Mrs. 
Rankin,  Rev.  James  T.  English,  Eosella  May  Anderson,  Charles  T. 
Anderson,  William  W.  Anderson,  John  C.  Sutphen,  M.D.,  Fanny  K. 
Sutphen,  Hugh  M.  Gaston,  Mrs.  Gaston,  Miss  Gaston,  Isaac  Gaston, 
Francis  Rnnyon,  Clarissa  C.  Runyon,  William  A.  Compton,  James  H. 
Day,  James  S.  Day. 

The  walls  of  the  old  "  Stone  House,"  laid  up  with 
massive  blocks  taken  from  a  neighboring  quarry,  are  as 
sound  and  solid  as  when  fir.st  placed  there  in  the 
colonial  days.  It  is  a  quaint  old  building  with  pro- 
jecting eaves,  in  which  have  lived  three  generations  of 
the  Annin  family.  William  Annin,  great-grandson 
of  the  emigrant  ancestor,  was  host  of  the  mansion  at 
the  time  of  the  centennial.  The  initials  "  W.  A." 
and  "H.  S.  M.,"  cut  in  the  stone  with  the  date  "1766," 
indicate  the  builder,  William  Annin,  and  Hugh  Sun- 
derland, mason. 

A  large  black  walnut-tree  stands  on  the  road  from 
Basking  Ridge  to  Morristown.  It  is  a  historic  tree. 
Under  it  near  the  roots  is  a  spring,  not  at  present  used, 
at  which  Washington  and  La  Fayette  lunched  when 
the  army  was  moving  from  Morristown  towards  Tren- 
ton. The  incident  is  not  given  in  any  history,  but  was 
communicated  by  La  Fayette  himself  to  the  late  Dr. 
Samuel  S.  Doty,  who  as  major  of  militia  escorted  the 
Marquis  during  his  visit  here  in  1825.  This  walnut- 
tree  was  struck  by  lightning  on  Sunday,  June  28, 
1880,  which  will  probably  destroy  the  old  relic  of  by- 
gone   ays.  CHURCHES. 

PRBSBTTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  BASKING  RIDGE.* 

Among  the  floating  statements  as  to  the  origin  of 
this  church,  that  which  assigns  to  it  the  greatest 

*  The  following  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Basking  Ridge 
is  condensed  from  a  historical  discourse  by  Rev.  John  0.  Rankin,  D.D.. 
pastor  of  the  church  since  1861,  delivered  August  U,  1872.  The  discourse 
contains  much  other  interesting  matter,  which  we  have  given  under 
the  head  of  Early  Settlement. 


742 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


antiquity  is  in  the'  New  Jersey  Historical  Collections 
(new  edition,  1852,  p.  442),  and  is  in  these  words: 

"  Baaking  Kidge  waa  early  settled  by  Scotch  Presbyterians,  and  a  log 
■church  erected  about  the  year  1700." 

The  next  is  in  a  "History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Madison,  N.  J.,"  drawn  up  some  years  ago 
by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Tuttle,  then  the  pastor  of  that  people. 
He  says  (pp.  10,  11), — 

"The  iirst  church  ever  organized  in  what  is  now  the  county  of  Morris, 
was  the  old  Presbyterian  Church  in  Whippany,  which  wa£  formed  about 
1718.  ...  In  Baskenridge,  some  Scotch  Presbyterian  families  who  had 
settled  there,  were  worshipping  in  a  log  meeting-house  which  they  had 
erected  a  year  or  two  previously." 

Dr.  Rankin  has  been  able  to  discover  no  data  upon 
which  these  statements  can  be  substantiated,  and 
thinks,  from  evidence  adduced  further  on  in  his  dis- 
course, that  the  origin  of  the  church  dates  from  about 
1720-25.  There  could  have  been  no  church  here  be- 
fore there  were  Christian  inhabitants,  and  the  earliest 
definite  account  of  the  settlement  places  it  at  a.d. 
1717,  the  24th  of  June  of  that  year  being  the  date  of 
the  Indian  deed  to  Harrison.  In  1720,  Cornelius 
Beers,  of  Staten  Island,  bought  the  land  then  occu- 
pied by  James  Pitney,  who  was,  without  doubt,  the 
first  settler  in  the  township,  and  whose  name  appears 
as  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  the  church.  Henry 
Rolfe  was  also  living  in  the  neighborhood  the  same 
year,  and  one  of  his  family,  probably  his  son  Samuel, 
was  another  member  of  the  original  board  of  trustees. 
There  were  actually  settlers  here,  then,  as  early  as 
1720,  who  were  active  and  prominent  in  the  move- 
ments of  the  church.  Among  these  were  Pitney, 
Eolfe,  some  of  the  Ayers  family,  and  probably  others 
whose  names  are  not  mentioned. 

In  1728,  John  Budd,  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Philadelphia,  in  writing  to  his  agent  here, 
speaks  of  "the  hundred  acres  I  lately  gave  away," 
and  in  1737  specific  mention  is  made  of  his  convey- 
ing one  hundred  acres — probably  the  same  before 
alluded  to — "  for  the  use  of  a  meeting-house."  Here 
we  see  the  source  of  the  old  parsonage  farm.  When 
and  where  they  first  assembled  for  worship  cannot  be 
determined.  It  is  morally  certain,  however,  that  they 
were  not  long  without  some  place,  and  the  probability 
is  that  at  least  as  early  as  1725  there  was  a  nucleus  of 
praying  men  and  women  who  came  together  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  to  worship  God. 

Passing  now  from  these  probabilities  and  conjec- 
tures, the  first  authentic  date  in  the  history  of  this 
church  (the  sessional  records  having  unfortunately 
perished)  is  on  the  original  deed  of  John  Ayers,  con- 
veying a  certain  plot  of  ground  to  Obadiah  Ayers, 
Mordecai  McKenne,  James  Pitney,  George  Pack, 
Samuel  Eolfe,  Daniel  Morrice,  and  Thomas  Eiggs. 
This  document  is  dated  Feb.  8,  1731,  and  conveys  to 
said  trustees  one  and  one-half  acres  of  land,  "  on  or 
near  the  middle  of  which  now  stands  a  house  built 
and  intended  for  the  exercising  of  religious  worship 
in."    This  was  no  doubt  the  old  log  meeting-house  of 


traditionary  notoriety.  One  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago  it  stood  on  the  spot  of  the  present  church,  with  a 
thickly-wooded  grove  around  it.  In  all  probability 
the  first  work  of  those  sturdy  pioneers,  as  they  began 
to  form  a  community  here,  was  the  erection  of  a 
school-house,  where  some  of  them  taught  the  chil- 
dren of  their  families  in  winter,  and  where  the  parents 
assembled  for  prayer  before  they  had  a  church  or 
minister.  The  same  circumstances  which  made  this 
the  religious  centre  must  also  have  made  it  the  edu- 
cational centre  even  earlier.  The  school-  or  session- 
house  therefore  probably  went  up  from  1720  to  1725 ; 
the  church  soon  followed,  from  1725  to  1730,  and  was 
made  secure  to  trustees,  as  above,  Feb.  8,  1731. 

In  1733  the  name  of  Basking  Eidge  first  appears 
in  the  old  ecclesiastic  records  of  the  parish,  spelled 
uniformly  in  all  early  documents  as  here  written, 
showing  the  purely  English  origin  of  the  name.  It 
is  supposed  to  have  been  derived  from  the  fact  that 
the  wild  animals  of  the  adjacent  lands  were  accus- 
tomed to  ba^k  in  the  open  forest  of  this  beautiful 
ridge.  There  was  as  yet  no  church  at  Morristown  ;  in 
fact,  there  was  no  town  there. 

The  first  minister  of  the  gospel  known  to  have 
labored  here  was  the  Eev.  John  Cross,  who  became  a 
member  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  in  1732,  and 
seems  to  have  begun  his  labors  in  that  year.  It  is  not 
known  that  he  was  ever  installed  as  a  regular  pastor 
over  the  church,  but  it  is  certain  that  he  preached 
here,  with  more  or  less  regularity,  from  1782  to  1741. 
He  seems  to  have  been  rather  a  self-willed  man,  who 
followed  his  own  course,  without  much  regard  to 
ecclesiastical  law  and  order.  On  the  next  day  after 
his  reception  as  a  member  of  the  Synod  he  withdrew 
from  the  session  without  permission,  and  was  cen- 
sured for  his  conduct.  Three  years  later  complaint 
was  made  to  the  Synod  against  him  by  his  Presbytery 
that  "  he  absented  himself  from  their  meetings  and 
removed  from  one  congregation  to  another  without 
the  concurrence  of  Presbytery."  For  this  he  was 
again  censured,  and  admonished  ".to  be  no  niore 
chargeable  with  such  irregularities  for  the  future." 

He  was  not  here,  therefore,  all  these  years.  The 
reason  may  have  been  that  the  congregation  was  still 
too  weak  to  "  subsist  alone,"  so  that  he  was  compelled 
to  seek  elsewhere  for  support.  This  whole  region 
was  now  rapidly  filling  up  with  inhabitants,  and  no 
doubt  as  the  size  and  strength  of  the  congregation 
increased  they  gave  him  a  better  support  and  he  gave 
them  more  labor.  After  a  time  this  became  his  per- 
manent home. 

VISIT  OF  REV.   GEOKGE   WHITEFIELD. 

When  the  celebrated  George  Whitefield  visited  this 
place,  Nov.  5,  1740,  he  stayed  at  Mr.  Cross'  house, 
two  miles  from  Basking  Ridge,  probably  the  house 
owned  by  the  late  Judge  Goltra.  Whitefield  speaks 
of  a  wonderful  work  of  grace  as  then  in  progress,  the 
first  great  revival,  no  doubt,  that  had  occurred  in  this 


BEKNARD. 


Hi 


part  of  tlie  country.  As  many  as  three  hundred  per- 
sons are  said  to  have  been  awakened  at  one  time 
under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Cross.  "  When  I  came 
to  Basking  Ridge,"  says  Whitefield,  "  I  found  that  Mr. 
Davenport  had  been  preaching  to  the  congregation. 
It  consisted  of  about  three  hundred  people.  In  prayer 
I  perceived  my  soul  drawn  out  and  a  stirring  of  affec- 
tion ambng  the  people.  I  had  not  discoursed  long, 
but  in  every  part  of  the  congregation  somebody  or 
other  began  to  cry  out,  and  almost  all  were  melted  to 
tears.  At  night  also  there  was  preaching  to  an  im- 
mense audience  in  Mr.  Cross'  barn,  when  God  was 
present  in  great  power.  .  .  .  Next  morning  I  with 
pleasure  took  my  leave  of  them,  and  rode  agreeably, 
in  company  with  many  children  of  God,  to  New 
Brunswick,  twenty-three  miles  from  Basking  Ridge.'' 

OTHBK  MINISTERS. 

The  last  mention  of  the  name  of  Mr.  Cross  in 
Presbytery  or  Synod  occurs  in  1746.  His  death  must 
have  occurred  between  that  date  and  1750,  as  in  the 
latter  year  his  wife,  "  Deborah  Cross,  widow,"  is  men- 
tioned as  buying  certain  land  irom  James  Alexander. 
His  grave  is  probably  in  the  burial-ground  at  the 
church,  though  marked  by  no  stone  to  tell  where  his 
dust  reposes.  His  farm,  which  embraced  several  hun- 
dred acres,  was  one  of  the  finest  sections  of  the  town- 
ship, and  descended  to  his  heirs.  His  deed  to  it  was 
obtained  in  1741.  During  his  ministry,  in  1737,  the 
parsonage  farm  of  100  acres  was  given  by  John  Budd, 
of  Philadelphia,  though  it  is  not  probable  that  Mr. 
Cross  ever  occupied  it. 

In  1742,  Basking  Ridge  and  Staten  Island  asked 
for  the  ministerial  services  of  Mr.  Charles  McKnight, 
the  son  of  a  Presbyterian  clergyman  in  Ireland,  and 
supposed  to  have  come  to  this  country,  a  young  man, 
about  the  year  1740.  He  was  taken  under  the  care 
of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  June  28,  1741, 
and  ordained  on  the  12th  of  October  of  the  next  year. 
He  probably  served  both  congregations. .  He  remained 
here  only  about  two  years,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1744 
was  installed  pastor  of  Cranberry  and  Allentown. 
During  the  Revolutionary  war  he  was  captured  and 
imprisoned  for  a  time  by  the  British,  and  soon  after 
his  release  died,  Jan.  1,  1778. 

Mr.  McKnight's  successor,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Lamb, 
was  called,  and  May  24,  1744,  he  removed  to  this 
place  and  became  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of 
New  Brunswick.  No  particulars  of  his  pastorate 
here  are  known.  Dr.  Brownlee  speaks  of  him  as 
"  a  Scottish  worthy,"  but  he  was  probably  a  native 
of  Connecticut,  though  of  Scotch  despent.  He  is  the 
first  of  the  pastors  of  this  church  who  died  in  its  ser- 
vice. His  tombstone  in  the  burying-ground  bears  the 
following  inscription,  which  we  transcribe  as  throw- 
ing light  on  the  character  of  his  preaching  and  as  a 
specimen  of  the  obituary  literature  of  the  age  : 

"  Here  lies  the  remains  of  the  Eev'd  Joseph  Lamb,  who  departed  this 
life  July  28,  a.d.  1749.    Etatis  suee  60. 


*•  The  terrors  dire  from  Sinai's  Mount 

Thy  mouth  did  once  proclaim, 
As  well  as  Messages  of  grace 

In  thy  great  Master's  name. 
But  with  pure  ethereal  fires, 

With  Seraphim  above. 
We  hope  and  trust  thou  now  dost  sing 

The  wonders  of  his  love." 

The  congregation  had  so  grown  under  his  ministry 
that  the  original  log  house  was  no  longer  large  enough 
to  contain  the  audience.  It  was  therefore  taken  down, 
and  the  venerable  frame  building  which  stood  for 
ninety  years,  and  was  then  superseded  by  the  present 
house,  was  erected.  According  to  a  well-authenti-r 
cated  tradition,  the  frame  of  that  building  was  put 
up  on  the  very  day  of  Mr.  Lamb's  death,  July  28, 
1749  (a  brief  description  of  it  will  be  given  at 
another  point  in  the  narrative),  but  it  was  doubtless 
in  size  and  comfort  a  decided  improvement  on  the 
old  log  house.  . 

Following  Mr.  Lamb  came  the  Rev.  Samuel  Ken- 
nedy, M.D.,  who  was  born  in  Scotland  in  1720,  and 
received  his  education  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
His  theological  studies  were  pursued  in  this  country, 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
by  which  he  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1748  and  or- 
dained in  1750.  His  settlement  here  took  place  June 
26,  1751,  and  lasted  thirty-six  years, — i.e.,  until  his 
death,  Aug.  31,  1787.  It  may  be  remarked  here  that 
the  records  kept  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  according  to  tra- 
dition, were  medical  and  ministerial  accounts  min- 
gled on  the  same  pages  of  his  day-book,  and  that  they 
were  not  regarded  as  of  sufficient  importance  to  in- 
sure their  preservation.  The  trustee  book,  however, 
is  extant,  and  bears  on  its  cover  the  following  title : 
"The  Book  of  the  Congregation  of  Bernardstown, 
A.D.  1763,  1815."  This  book  contains  accounts,  more 
or  less  full,  of  the  doings  of  the  parish  for  little  more 
than  half  the  time  of  Dr.  Kennedy's  ministry, — ^that 
is,  from  1764 ;  and  from  this  time  we  come  into  clearer 
light  respecting  the  history  of  the  church.  The  first 
record  in  this  volume  is  in  these  words : 

"  The  following  is  the  account  and  proceedings  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Bernardstown  (formerly 
called  Basking  Bidge)  to  receive  and  dispose  of  the  money  left  to  said 
congregation  by  Mr.  Samuel  Brown  in  and  by  his  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, which  bears  date  the  mh  day  of  June,  1763." 

This  committee  consisted  of  Edward  Lewis,  John 
Carle,  and  Nathaniel  Ayers,  who  were  chosen  on  the 
12th  of  November,  1764.  The  money  bequeathed 
was  £200,  the  interest  of  which,  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  will,  was  to  "be  yearly  every  year,  from 
generation  to  generation  forever,  paid  unto  the  regu- 
lar Presbyterian  minister  of  the  congregation  for  hia 
support." 

Among  the  first  things  found  in  this  record  is  the 
plan  of  the  house  of  worship  as  it  then  stood.  It  con- 
tained fifty-two  seats  on  the  floor  and  twenty-six  in 
the  gallery,— seventy-eight  in  all.  This  is  the  frame 
building  which  in  1749  had  superseded  the  primitive 
log  house.    It  seems  to  have  been  about  55  feet  long 


744 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


by  36  feet  wide,  having  its  length  east  and  west,  with 
pulpit  in  the  north  side,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
seats  running  lengthwise  of  the  house. 

Among  the  earliest  entries  these  statements  occur : 
"  It  was  agreed  that  the  congregation  should  take  the 
parsonage  place  in  its  own  care,  and,  instead  thereof, 
pay  Mr.  Kennedy  £20  yearly  as  an  addition  to  his  sal- 
ary.'' For  the  first  year  thereafter  it  was  rented  for  £9, 
and  for  several  succeeding  years  for  £12.  This  ar- 
rangement, with  a  salary  of  £110  above  the  parsonage 
rent,  seems  to  have  lasted  many  years.  In  1786  a  new 
contract  was  made  with  Mr.  Kennedy,  whereby  he 
was  to  receive  £120  yearly  and  "the  benefit  of  the 
parsonage  free,  the  house  and  land  kept  in  repair, 
and  firewood  cut  and  delivered  without  any  of  his 
expense." 

The  salaiy  paid  to  the  sexton  at  this  time  was  fif- 
teen dollars  per  annum,  and  it  is  stated  that  the  par- 
ish-meeting of  the  same  year  "appointed  Joseph  Eoy 
and  Joseph  Annin  to  give  out  the  lines,  and  John 
Annin  and  Jeremiah  Sutton,  clerks,  to  sing." 

Rev.  Mr.  Kennedy's  remains  lie  in  the  church 
burying-ground,  where  his  epitaph  may  be  read.  It 
is  as  follows : 

"  Grod's  holy  law  thy  mouth  proclaimed, 
Pare  gospel  flowed  throut?h  every  vein ; 
To  flying  men  thy  lips  proclaimed 
The  glory  of  thy  Saviour's  name. 
Sleep,  then,  beneath  this  earthly  clod — 
Thy  flesh  shall  see  its  Saviour-God^ 
Till  the  bright  morning  shall  appear. 
And  thou  thy  Saviour's  image  bear." 

For  nearly  eight  years  after  his  death  the  pulpit  of 
the  church  was  vacant.  In  the  winter  of  1795,  Mr. 
Robert  Finley,  a  young  licentiate  of  great  promise, 
was  sent  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  to 
preach  for  a  few  Sabbaths.  The  attention  of  the  con- 
gregation was  soon  fixed  upon  him  as  a  pastor.  Dur- 
ing this  long  vacancy  they  had  become  divided  and 
distracted,  but,  with  singular  unanimity  and  high 
hopes,  all  parties  united  in  a  call  for  his  services.  He 
was  installed  on  the  17th  of  June,  1795,  and  from 
that  date  began  a  bright  period  in  the  history  of  the 
church.  The  members  of  the  session,  with  the  pas- 
tor, September,  1795,  were  John  Carle,  Hugh  Cald- 
well, Henry  Southard,  Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  Philip 
Lindsley,  Jacob  Rickey,  David  Lyon,  John  Annin, 
and  Robert  Dayton, — men  who  may  well  be  regarded 
as  "pillars  of  the  church." 

The  first  roll  of  church-members  now  in  existence 
was  formed  in  1804.  There  were  then  227  communi- 
cants, of  whom  74  were  members  before  Mr.  Finley's 
settlement,  and  127  had  been  received  during  the 
preceding  twelve  months.  This  unusual  ingathering 
was  the  result  of  the  great  revival  which  spread  over 
the  country  at  that  time.  During  this  time  the  Fri- 
day evening  lecture  and  prayer-meeting  of  the  church 
was  established,  which  has  never  been  intermitted  to 
this  day.  The  remaining  years  of  Mr.  Finley's  min- 
istry were  accompanied  with  accessions  to  the  church 


of  from  one  to  twenty-four  each  year.  In  1815  oc- 
curred a  special  revival,  in  which  nearly  every  mem- 
ber of  the  advanced  class  in  Mr.  Finley's  classical 
school  was  converted.  Some  nine  or  ten  of  them  be- 
came preachers  of  the  gospel,  of  whom  the  Rev.  B. 
C.  Taylor,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
Bergen,  still  survives,  or  did  a  few  years  since.  Dr. 
Finley  was  a  man  of  commanding  influence,  who- 
swayed  the  minds  of  the  people  among  whom  he 
moved  almost  at  his  pleasure.  We  shall  revert  to 
him  again  under  the  head  of  his  celebrated  classical 
school.  Meantime,  it  may  be  remarked  that  after 
the  great  revival  of  1803  the  house  of  worship  was 
found  too  small  for  the  congregation,  and  was  there- 
fore enlarged  by  adding  28  pews  on  the  floor  and  12 
in  the  gallery,  making  118  pews.  The  highest  pew- 
rental  was  $14.74.  The  church  underwent  a  similar 
enlargement  in  1871,  extending  over  a  portion  of  the 
burying-ground,  so  that  the  headstones  removed  now 
stand  in  a  leaning  posture  against  the  rear  and  side 
basement  walls  of  the  building,  some  of  them  the 
oldest  monuments  in  the  ground. 

Dr.  Finley's  pastoral  relations  with  the  church  were 
dissolved  April  22,  1817,  having  lasted  about  twenty- 
one  years.  He  was  released  with  great  reluctance 
that  he  might  accept  the  presidency  of  the  University 
of  Georgia,  to  which  he  had  been  called.  His  death 
occurred  Nov.  3,  1818.  His  widow  died  Sept.  23, 
1844. 

The  successor  of  Dr.  Finley  in  the  pulpit  of  this 
church  was  the  Rev.  William  C.  Brownlee,  D.D.,  who 
began  his  labors  April  30, 1818,  and  was  installed  as 
pastor  in  June  following.  The  congregation  was  now 
large,  covering  nearly  all  the  township  of  Bernard 
and  running  over  almost  an  equal  territory  in  the  ad- 
joining county  of  Morris.  The  people  came  mostly 
on  foot  or  on  horseback,  or  in  an  occasional  farm- 
wagon,  from  New  Vernon,  from  Long  Hill,  from  Lib- 
erty Corner,  from  Mine  Brook,  and  from  the  moun- 
tains towards  Mendham.  No  other  church  as  yet 
existed  in  all  this  space ;  now  there  are  eleven  congre- 
gations besides  in  the  same  territory.  One  of  the  first 
works  done  by  the  new  pastor  was  to  visit  his  entire 
congregation  and  take  a  complete  census  of  his  parish- 
ioners. The  result  showed  a  record  of  260  families, 
comprising  in  all  1700  individuals,  whose  names,  with 
the  ages  of  many,  are  given  with  scrupulous  exact- 
ness. Among  the  heads  of  families,  7  bear  the  name 
of  Doty;  6  the  names  of  Lyon,  Lewis,  and  Saunders  ; 
5  each  the  names  of  Cooper,  Southard,  Cross,  Hand, 
and  Miller ;  4  of  Ayers,  Riggs,  Boyle,  Lindsley,  Kirk- 
patrick, Annin,  Heath,  McMurtry,  Guerin,  and  Wil-  . 
son ;  and  more  than  a  dozen  other  names  have  three 
families  each  to  represent  them.  The  size  of  families, 
too,  is  an  impressive  feature  of  this  list,  from  eight  to 
twelve  being  the  common  number  of  a  household. 
Ninety-one  names  have  become  extinct  in  the  con- 
gregation in  fifty  years. 

Dr.  Brownlee  is  described  as  "  a  broad-shouldered. 


BERNARD. 


745 


large-headed,  round-faced  Scotchman,  with  resolution 
and  thoroughness  written  on  every  feature  and  ex- 
pressed in  every  tone."    His  pastorate  was  successftil, 
and  closed,  after  seven  and  a  half  years,  in  October, 
1825.    He  was  called  from  here  to  th*  professorship 
of  languages  in  Rutgers  College ;  died  Feb.  10, 1860. 
Two  tracts  written  by  him  and  published  by  the  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society — entitled  "  The  General's  Widow" 
and  "  The  Spoiled  Child" — had  their  incidents  in  the 
scenes  of  his  pastorate  at  Basking  Ridge.    The  suc- 
cessor of  Dr.  Brownlee  was  the  Rev.  John  C.  Van 
Dervoort,  who  was  installed  in  September,  1826.    He 
was  an  earnest,  warm-hearted,  evangelical  preacher, 
whose  labors  were  crowned  by  the  ingathering  of 
many   into  the  church.     In   1829,  especially,  there 
was  an  unusual  revival  under  his  ministry,  fifty-six 
persons  being  converted  and  added  to  the  church 
About  this  time  other  churches  began  to  organize 
and  to  take  away  from  the  congregation  considerable 
strength.    New  Vernon  and  Liberty  Corner  organ- 
ized churches  of  the  same  faith  and  order. 

Mr.  Van  Dervoort  was  released  by  the  Presbytery  to 
accept  a  call  to  another  field  in  the  spring  of  1834, 
and  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  was  succeeded 
by  the  Rev.  John  Anderson,  who,  after  trial  of  one 
year,  was  ordained  and  installed  Oct.  8,  1835.     In  a 
report,  during  his  ministry,  he  gives  "  308  families, 
comprising  1672  individuals,  of  whom  258  are  mem- 
bers."    He  was,  at  his  own  request,  released  from  the 
pastorate  in  August,  1836,  and  went  to  the   Canal 
Street  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  city  of  New  York. 
After  a  vacancy  of  nearly  two  years,  the  Rev.  Oscar 
Harris  was  installed  pastor  on  the  27th  of  March, 
1838.     He  was  a  ripe  scholar,  a  fine  theologian,  an 
earnest,  modest  Christian  gentleman,  and  commanded 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him.   His 
health  declining,  he  resigned  in  the  spring  of  1851, 
and  in  September  of  that  year  the  present  pastor,  the 
Rev.  John  Chambers  Rankin,  D.D.,  was  installed. 
He  is  the  tenth  in  the  line  of  regular  pastors  of  the 
congregation,  covering  a  period  of  148  years  from  the 
settlement  of  Rev.  Mr.  Cross. 

Rev.  Dr.  Rankin*  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina,— 
bom  May  18,  1816,— and  was  educated  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  that  State,  at  Chapel  Hill.  He  commenced 
the  study  of  theology  at  Princeton  in  1839,  and  after 
completing  his  course  went  as  a  missionary  of  the 
Presbyterian  Bo'ard  of  Foreign  Missions  to  India, 
where"  he  remained  eight  years,  when  declining 
health  compelled  him  to  return  to  the  United  States. 
During  his  pastorate  of  this  church,  a  new  and  com- 
modious parsonage  has  been  built;  a  new  and  com- 
fortable lecture-  and  Sabbath-school-room  has  been 
erected ;  the  church  (once  refitted,  and  then  enlarged 
and  ornamented)  has  been  rendered  as  commodious 
and  attractive  as  the  congregation  could  desire ;  while 


*  He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  "Doctor  of  Divinity"  in  1867, 
from  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey.    (See  page  624,  this  work). 

48 


the  membership,  which  had  declined  to  170  in  1851, 
has  again  advanced  to  260.  Both  the  Sabbath-school 
and  church  are  now  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

We  append  the  following  summary,  which  may  ba 
convenient  for  reference : 

1717-25. — HeligiouB  settlement  formed. 
1725-30.— Public  worship  instituted. 
1732-41. — Kev.  John  Cross,  pastor. 
1742-44. — Rev.  Charles  McKnight,  pastor. 
1744-49. — Bev.  Joseph  Lamb,  paator. 
1751-87. — Bev.  Samuel  Kennedy,  pastor. 
1795-1817.— Bev.  Bobert  Finley,  D.D.,  pastor. 
1818-25.— Eev.  William  C.  Brownlee,  pastor. 
1826-34. — Bev.  John  C.  Van  Dervoort,  pastor. 
1834-36. — Bev.  John  Anderson,  pastor. 
1838-51. — Bev.  Oscar  Harris,  pastor. 
1851.— Kev.  John  0.  Bankin,  D.D.,  pastor. 

PBESBYTEBIAN  CHUECH  OP  LIBEETT  COBNEE. 

The  origin  of  this  church  is  given  in  the  following 
extract  from  the  parish  records : 

"  LiBBHTT  Corner,  April,  1837. 
"  The  inhabitants  of  this  plaoe  assembled  in  the  Academy,  in  accord- 
ance with  public  notice  previously  given,  to  adopt  such  measures  as  were 
requisite  to  the  organization  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  vicinity. 
A  deep  interest  was  manifested  on  the  subject,  and,  after  fully  consider- 
ing the  propriety  and  importance  of  the  matter,  the  congregation  unani- 
mously appointed  Mr.  William  Annin  to  wait  on  the  Presbytery  of  Bliza- 
bethtown  at  its  next  meeting  in  Bahway,  and  request  the  Presbytery  to 
come  and  organize  a  church  as  soon  as  practicable,  to  be  known  by  the 
name  of  "  The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Liberty  Comer." 

"  On  the  application  of  Mr.  Annin,  the  Presbytery  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  make  all  suitable  inquiries  as  to  the  propriety  of  granting  the 
request  and  report  at  the  next  meeting.  The  committee  reported  at  the 
next  meeting,  and  the  Presbytery  appointed  the  Bev.  Messrs.  Abraham 
Williamson,  Daniel  H.  Johnson,  Thomas  Cochrane,  and  Joseph  Cory  a 
committee  to  meet  at  Liberty  Corner  on  the  10th  of  June  following  aud 
organize  a  Presbyterian  Church,  agreeably  to  the  request  made.  The 
committee  met  at  the  time  aud  place  above  named,  and  a  sermon  was 
preached  on  the  occasion  by  the  Bev.  Mr.  Williamson.  After  the  sermon 
the  following-named  persons  produced  certificates  of  their  church-mem- 
bership, which  were  read  and  approved,  viz. :  Mr.  Nehemiah  Scofield, 
Mr.  William  Annin,  Mr.  John  King,  Mr.  Samuel  Cross,  Mr.  James 
Irving,  Mrs.  Phebe  Ayers,  Mrs.  Sarah  Cross,  Mrs.  Margaret  Jobs,  Mrs. 
Sarah  Kirkpatrick,  Mrs.  Mary  Dunham,  Miss  Hannah  Ayers  (from  the 
church  in  Basking  Eidge),  Mrs.  Sarah  Annin,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  King,  Mis. 
Sarah  Annin,  Mrs.  Nancy  A.  Dunham,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cross,  Miss  Catha- 
rine Dunham,  Mies  Frances  Dunham,  Miss  Maria  Dunham,  Miss  Martha 
Dunham  (from  the  church  at  New  Vernon)." 

After  the  usual  questions  had  been  propounded  and 
answered  in  the  afBrmative,  Messrs.  Nehemiah  Sco- 
field and  William  Annin  were  unanimously  elected 
ruling  elders  and  deacons,  and  were  individually 
ordained  as  such. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  house  of  worship  was  laid 
on  the  5th  of  September,  1837,  by  Rev.  Messrs.  R. 
K.  Rodgers,  of  Bound  Brook,  Lewis  Bond,  of  Plain- 
field,  and  Abraham  Williamson,  of  Chester.  Rev. 
James  T.  English  was  called  to  supply  the  church 
for  one  year.  The  house  of  worship  was  dedicated  on 
Saturday,  July  21,  1838,  Rev.  Nicholas  Murray,  of 
Elizabethtown,  preaching  the  sermon.  Oct.  23, 1838, 
Rev.  James  T.  English  was  duly  installed  as  the  first 
pastor.  The  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
for  the  first  time  participated  in  by  the  church  on 
Sunday,  the  27th  of  August,  1838,  the  officiating  min- 
ister being  Rev.  Lewis  Bond,  of  Plainfield. 


746 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


On  the  4tli  of  November,  1837,  the  following  per- 
sons were  received  to  membership : 

Mr.  Jamea  Bice,  Mrs.  Phebe  Irviug,  Mrs,  Sarah  KiDg,  Miaa  Mary 
Lewis,  Miss  Abigail  Parsils,  Miss  Harriet  Scofield,  Miss  Sarali  ADnin, 
Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Jobs,  Mr.  Adrian  V.  King,  Mrs.  Nancy  Irving,  Mrs. 
Sarah  Cross,  Miss  Mary  Annin,  Miss  Emeline  Ayers,  Miss  Caroline  Irving, 
Miss  Sarah  J.  Ayers,  Mrs.  Ann  Kue. 

Nov.  11,  1837,  the  following  united  with  the 
church : 

Mr.  William  C.  Annin,  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Williams,  Mr,  Samuel  Lewis, 
Mr.  Jesse  Irving,  Mr.  Parsemas  Castner,  Mr.  James  Whistlecraft,  Mr. 
George  Scofield,  Mr.  Eugene  Jobs,  Mr.  Lewis  Miller,  Mr.  Samuel  A. 
Voorhees,  Mr.  John  Wiggins,  Mrs.  Phebe  Brown,  Mrs.  Jane  Voorheea, 
Miss  Julia  A.  Scofield,  Miss  Elizabeth  Annin,  Miss  Susan  Goltra. 

The  first  church  was  of  brick,  and  was  used  by  the 
congregation  till  1868,  when  the  present  edifice  was 
erected  on  the  same  site  at  a  cost  of 


MINISTEES. 

Bev.  James  T.  English,  who  was  installed  pastor 
Oct.  23,  1838,  served  the  church  till  his  death,  May 
17, 1873, — a  faithful  and  successful  pastorate  of  thirty- 
five  years.  He  was  born  Oct.  31,  1810,  and  was  con- 
sequently sixty-three  years  old  when  he  died. 

Rev.  George  C.  Miln,  his  successor,  was  installed 
pastor  July  1,  1873,  and  remained  till  Nov.  23,  1874. 

Rev.  James  W.  Shearer  was  installed  June  22, 1875, 
and  remained  till  May  1,  1879,  when  he  removed  to 
Virginia.  After  his  removal  the  pulpit  was  supplied 
by  various  ministers  up  to  April  5,  1880,  when  a  call 
was  extended  to  Rev.  Mr.  Hammond,  of  Jersey  City, 
to  officiate  one  year,  which  he  accepted,  and  is  now 
in  charge  of  the  church. 

The  family  of  Rev.  Mr.  English  still  reside  on  the 
farm  formerly  owned  by  the  pastor.  His  widow  still 
survives ;  his  two  sons, — N.  C.  and  James  R.  English — 
are  attorneys  and  counselors-at-law  in  the  city  of  Eliz- 
beth,  the  former  having  his  residence  on  the  home- 
stead with  his  mother.  A  fine  granite  monument  has 
been  erected  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  English  in  the 
church  burying-ground. 

Ruling  Elders. — William  Annin,  elected  June  10, 
1837 ;  died  June  30, 1872.  Nehemiah  Scofield,  elected 
June  10,  1837 ;  dismissed  Nov.  3,  1846.  Isaac  Lewis, 
elected  March  8,  1838;  died  June  1,  1855.  Joseph 
Alward,  elected  March  8, 1838;  dismissed  1845.  Elias 
Brown,  elected  Oct.  23,  1847;  dismissed  February, 
1854.  David  Dunham,  elected  Oct.  23,  1847;  died 
March  21,  1876,  aged  seventy.  James  H.  Day,  or- 
dained Nov.  13,  1855 ;  still  in  office.  Peter  A.  Lay- 
ton,  ordained  Nov.  13,  1855 ;  died  Feb.  15,  1873,  aged 
sLxty-one.  Daniel  Annin,  ordained  Nov.  13,  1855 ; 
still  in  office.  John  Compton,  ordained  Nov.  13, 
1855 ;  still  in  office.  Daniel  S.  Doty,  ordained  Nov. 
13,  1855;  dismissed  Nov.  13,  1875.  David  Halsey 
Dunham,  removed  to  Bound  Brook ;  Jerome  Helde- 
brant. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHUECH   OF   BASKING   EIBGB. 

The  first  Methodist  preachers  in  this  place  were  the 
pastors  stationed  at  Mendham  and  Bernardsville,  who 


began  to  hold  services  here  in  1854,  in  which  year 
Rev.  William  Day,  preacher  in  charge  at  Bernards- 
ville, succeeded  in  building  a  church  edifice.  He 
commenced  with  his  own  hands  the  excavation  for 
the  foundation,  and  Bishop  Janes,  with  his  ox-team, 
carted  the  first  stone.  This  exhibition  of  zeal  on  the 
part  of  minister  and  bishop  aroused  the  co-operation 
of  earnest  friends,  and  the  building  was  carried  on  to 
completion. 

In  1858,  Rev.  George  F.  Dickinson  was  the  pastor. 
During  this  year  the  church  bought  and  laid  out 
grounds  for  a  cemetery,  which  has  since  been  enlarged. 

Rev.  Solomon  Parsons  was  pastor  in  1859.  He  was 
followed  by  George  W.  Sovereign  in  1860,  and  dur- 
ing that  year  the  basement  of  the  church  was  com- 
pleted and  made  ready  for  Sunday-school-,  prayer-, 
and  other  meetings.  The  years  1861-62  were  years 
of  marked  prosperity  to  the  church,  under  the  pas- 
toral care  of  Rev.  William  N.  Searles.  In  1863  it 
was  made  into  a  circuit  with  New  Vernon  and  Green 
Village,  and  Rev.  W.  C.  and  C.  R.  Barnes  were  min- 
isters in  charge.  Mr.  Barnes,  being  a  local  preacher, 
was  recommended  to  the  Annual  Conference.  The 
next  year  the  charge  was  modified  by  leaving  off 
Green  Village,  and  Rev.  J.  W.  Young  was  pastor. 
This  being  a  year  of  great  excitement,  on  account  of 
the  war,  the  spiritual  interest  of  the  church  rather 
declined ;  but  during  the  next  two,  under  Rev.  S.  N. 
Bebout,  pastor  at  Basking  Ridge  and  Pleasant  Plains, 
quite  a  number  of  accessions  were  made  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  church  was  much  revived. 

In  1867,  Rev.  E.  Clement  was  sent  to  the  charge, 
being  the  first  under  the  three  years'  rule.  He  was  a 
popular  and  successful  pastor.  Rev.  B.  F.  Simpson 
succeeded  him  in  1870,  until  July,  when  failing  health 
compelled  him  to  resign,  and  his  place  was  filled  by 
the  appointment  of  Rev.  Charles  Woodruff  During 
his  pastorate  Rev.  Mr.  Woodruff  compiled  a  history 
of  the  church,  from  which  the  present  facts  have  been 
mainly  gathered.  Mr.  Woodruff  remained  in  charge 
for  three  years,  since  which  have  been  the  following 
ministers:  Rev.  Samuel  P.  Lacey,  1873-75;  Rev. 
Joseph  W.  Dally,  1875-79;  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Owen, 
1879 ;  Rev.  C.  A.  Wambaugh,  1880. 

The  church  has  a  membership  at  present  of  110, 
and  a  Sunday-school  of  about  100  members.  The 
following  are  the  trustees  and  other  officers : 

Trustees.— T).  D.  Craig,  Waters  Burrows,  S.  R.  De 
Coster,  William  Van  Doren,  Archibald  Baird,  W.  F. 
Muchmore,  Oscar  Conklin,  O.  W.  Brown,  W.  H. 
Dikeman. 

Stewards.— B.  R.  De  Coster,  William  Allen,  O.  W. 
Brown,  Isaac  W.  Keeler,  Archibald  Baird,  Benjamin 
Woodruff,  Ezra  Dayton.  Nicholas  Bowers,  local 
preacher. 

BERNAKDSVILLE   METHODIST  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

was  organized  in  1846,  with  seven  male  and  ten  female 
members.     It  was  included  in  the  Mendham  charge 


BERNAKD. 


U7 


up  to  1852,  Bernardsville  being  called  "  Vealtown." 
The  first  board  of  trustees  consisted  of  Roderick  A. 
Mitchell,  John  S.  Adams,  John  S.  Quimby,  James 
Barton,  Elias  Hight,  Lewis  D.  Saunders,  and  Hiram 
W.  Cummings, — all  the  male  members  of  the  church 
at  that  time. 

The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1846,  and 
dedicated  that  year,  on  the  27th  of  December,  Eev. 
D.  W.  Bartine  preaching  the  sermon.  The  cost  of 
the  building  was  $977.30.  In  1871  the  house  was  re- 
modeled and  refurnished.  The  present  parsonage 
was  purchased  in  1865.  From  the  organization  of 
the  church  down  to  the  present  time  no  debt  has  been 
allowed  to  accumulate.  The  new  church  edifice  is 
■one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  convenient  ecclesiastical 
structures  in  this  portion  of  the  State.  It  was  dedi- 
cated on  Sunday,  June  28,  1880,  by  Eev.  0.  D.  Foss, 
Bishop  Foster  preaching  the  dedicatory  sermon.  This 
church  has  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  and  is 
the  gift  to  the  parish  of  Mr.  George  I.  Seney,  presi- 
dent of  the  Metropolitan  Bank  of  New  York,  and 
one  of  the  lay  delegates  of  the  New  York  East  Con- 
ference to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Seney  owns  a  summer  resi- 
dence at  Bernardsville,  and,  besides  his  generosity  to 
this  parish,  has  been  a  liberal  donor  to  the  Wesleyan 
University,  at  Middletown,  Conn. 

The  church  since  its  organization  has  had  the  fol- 
lowing pastors :  Henry  Trumbower,  Mr.  Beagle,  Ed- 
ward Grifieth,  Mordecai  Stokes,  Robert  Harris,  R.  S. 
Arndt,  William  Day,  Wesley  Wood,  William  Day, 
E.  A.  Day,  H.  J.  Hayter,  Matthias  Swaim,  B.  0. 
Parvin,  J.  F.  Dodd,  W.  W.  Voorhees,  J.  B.  Taylor, 
W.  H.  Hagerty,  H.  J.  Hayter,  J.  W.  Hayes,  H.  C. 
McBride,  C.  Clark,  Jr.,  J.  R.  Adams,  and  C.  C. 
Winans. 

The  church  now  numbers  105  members,  and  has 
a  prosperous  Sunday-school  of  75,  besides  a  school 
on  Mine  Mount  of  40  members.  Religious  services 
are  also  held  there  by  the  pastors  once  in  two  weeks. 

THE  MILLINGTON  BAPTIST  CHDBCH 

was  the  outgrowth  of  a  great  revival  at  Mount  Bethel 
and  contiguous  country  in  the  winter  of  1850-51, 
under  the  labors  of  Rev.  Edward  C.  Ambler,  assisted 
by  one  other  evangelist.  Protracted  meetings  were 
held  during  a  greater  part  of  the  winter  at  Mount 
Bethel  and  in  neighboring  school -houses,  and  among 
those  who  attended  and  shared  in  the  religious  awak- 
ening were  many  belonging  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Millington.  It  was  thought  best,  at  the  close  of  the 
revival,  that  such  should  be  organized  into  a  separate 
church  in  their  own  locality.  The  first  meeting  in 
order  to  consider  such  organization  was  held  in  the 
school-house  May  2,  1851,  and  two  days  later  a  letter 
of  dismissal  from  the  Mount  Bethel  Church  was 
granted  to  fifty-two  persons,  who  formed  the  nucleus 
of  the  church  at  Millington.  The  organization  was 
efiected  on  the  20th  of  May,  and  the  council  recog- 


nized it  May  21,  1851.  On  the  24th  of  the  same 
month  deacons  were  chosen  and  rules  of  order  and 
articles  of  church  discipline  agreed  upon.  The  dear 
cons  were  ordained  at  a  communion  service  on  the 
2d  of  October,  1852,  the  meeting-house  being  at  that 
time  opened  and  dedicated. 

The  church,  being  thus  organized  and  a  house  of 
worship  provided,  grew  rapidly.  It  has  been  deemed 
worthy  of  notice  by  the  pastor  that  the  large  increase 
was  through  baptism,  and  was  acquired  chiefly  in 
seasons  of  revival,  rather  than  by  steady  ingathering 
from  year  to  year.  Not  that  such  has  been  altogether 
wanting,  but  there  are  numbers  of  years  in  which 
there  are  no  records  of  admissions  by  baptism ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  one  year,  at  least, 
in  each  pastorate  when  an  especial  interest  was  awak- 
ened and  numbers  baptized. 

The  first  pastor  of  this  church  was  Rev.  E.  0. 
Ambler,  who  resigned  the  pastorate  of  the  Mount 
Bethel  Church  to  assume  charge  of  this  in  1851.  He 
continued  in  charge  till  November,  1854,  and  early 
in  that  year  one  of  the  revivals  occurred,  in  which 
twenty-one  members  were  added  by  baptism. 

Rev.  Andrew  Hopper  began  his  labors  in  Decem- 
ber, 1854,  under  form  of  a  supply  for  the  winter  and 
spring,  and  was  chosen  pastor  on  the  5th  of  February, 
1855.  Under  his  preaching  a  revival  occurred  in 
1858,  and  from  Feb.  8th  to  Aug.  8th,  forty-five  were 
baptized  and  became  members  of  the  church.  The 
pastorate  of  Mr.  Hopper  closed  in  September,  1864, 
after  a  duration  of  ten  years. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Zelotes  Grenell,  called 
June  30,  1865,  who  remained  five  years  and  nine 
months.  There  was  also  a  revival  during  his  pastor- 
ate (fi-om  Dec.  22,  1866,  to  March  23,  1867),  in  which 
thirty-one  were  added  by  baptism.  He  closed  his  pas- 
toral relation  in  December,  1870. 

After  an  interval  of  a  few  months  a  call  was  ex- 
tended to  Rev.  Peter  Gibb,  the  present  pastor,  April 
6,  1871.  He  soon  after  accepted  and  entered  upon 
his  labors.  During  all  the  years  since  there  have 
been  some  baptisms  each  year, — in  1872,  '73,  '74,  and 
'75 ;  in  each  year  from  three  to  six, — ^but  the  chief  rer 
vival  was  in  1876,  when  (up  to  the  date  of  the  report 
which  we  follow)  the  additions  were  twenty-one. 

Over  three  hundred  names  have  been  added  to  the 
church  record,  first  and  last,  but  they  have  been  re- 
duced by  death,  removal,  and  other  causes,  so  that  the 
present  number  is  142.  The  Sunday-school  contains 
a  membership  of  66.  Mr.  Oliver  R.  Stelle  has  been 
treasurer  and  chorister  of  the  church  since  its  organi- 
zation. The  clerks  have  been  Francis  Runyon,  David 
R.  Runyon,  and  Isaac  S.  Runyon.  The  pastor.  Rev. 
P.  Gibb,  resides  at  the  parsonage,  near  Liberty  Corner, 
which  was  purchased  about  1873. 

SI.  MABK'S  (EPISCOPAL)  CHURCH,  BASKING   RIDGE. 

Rev.  Charles  W.  Rankin,  now  of  Baltimore,  organ- 
ized the  parish  of  St.  Mark's  in  1850.    There  were 


748 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


three  or  four  Episcopalian  families  in  the  neighbor- 
hood,— to  -wit,  the  family  of  Mrs.  Thompson,  consisting 
of  five  or  six  adult  persons ;  the  family  of  Israel  Bedell, 
of  Staten  Island,  consisting  of  Israel  Bedell,  Jr.,  his 
mother,  and  five  children, — and  Bishop  Doane,  of 
the  diocese  of  New  Jersey,  made  to  these  families  an- 
nual visitations.  Rev.  Mr.  Rankin,  while  rector  of  St. 
Peter's,  Moriistown,  in  1851,  interested  himself  in 
pastoral  labors  here,  and  in  the  winter  of  1851-52  the 
church  edifice  was  built.  The  deed  for  the  lot  bears 
date  Nov.  18, 1851.  It  was  made  by  Patrick  and  Ann 
Matthews  to  Albert  I.  Bedell,  James  H.  Thompson, 
and  Charles  W.  Rankin,  conditioned  upon  being 
always  for  purposes  of  the  church,  or  otherwise  to 
revert  to  the  heirs  of  Patrick  Matthews.  The  church 
was  consecrated  in  May,  1852,  by  Bishop  Doane. 

The  communicants  have  numbered  as  high  as  forty, 
but  at  present  the  membership  is  somewhat  less. 
St.  Mark's  was  under  the  rectorship  of  St.  Peter's,  at 
Morristown,  till  the  diocese  was  divided  and  it  be- 
came part  of  the  Southern  Diocese  of  New  Jersey. 
The  parish  was  reorganized  in  1871  by  Rev.  Edward 
E.  Boggs,  and  is  at  present  an  appendage  of  St. 
Mark's,  Mendham.  Since  1871,  Rev.  Messrs.  Boggs, 
Coleman,  Charles  F.  Kennedy,  Henry  Swentzel,  W. 
Morrell,  W.  Wilson,  Earl,  and  Baker  have  officiated 
as  rectors. 

ST.   JAMES'   CATHOLIC   CHUECH. 

There  is  also  at  Basking  Ridge  a  Catholic  Church 
of  the  above  name.  Erastus  Drummond  bought  the 
land  for  the  church  site  of  David  Demerest,  who  oc- 
cupied the  building,  converted  into  a  church  in  1860, 
for  a  wheelwright-shop.  The  first  priest  who  organ- 
ized services  here  was  Father  McAnulty.  Father 
Poals,  of  Mendham,  is  the  present  pastor. 

SCHOOLS. 
BASKING   BIDGE   CLASSICAL  SCHOOL. 

Rev.  Samuel  Kennedy,  M.D.,  who  was  ordained 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Basking  Ridge 
in  1750,  was  the  founder  of  a  classical  school  during 
his  pastorate  which,  under  his  administration  and 
that  of  Rev.  Robert  Finley,  his  successor,  became 
somewhat  famous.  Dr.  Kennedy  was  for  a  consid- 
erable time  at  the  head  of  this  school.  "Being  a 
highly  accomplished  scholar  and  possessing  great 
wisdom  and  energy  as  a  disciplinarian,  his  school  was 
extensively  patronized,  and  sent  many  of  its  pupils  to 
the  College  of  New  Jersey." 

Rev.  Robert  Finley's  success  in  the  same  direction 
was  still  more  noted.  In  the  year  1799  two  lads  of 
about  the  same  age  commenced  the  study  of  the  Latin 
grammar  together,  under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Fin- 
ley.  Their  names  were  Samuel  Lewis  Southard  and 
Jacob  Kirkpatrick.  Their  parents  resided  within  the 
bounds  of  the  parish  and  were  members  of  Dr.  Fin- 
ley's  church.  He  was  recently  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  a  pastor,  and  but  lately  from  the  College  of 
New  Jersey.     From  the  combined  motive  of  doing 


good  and  obtaining  a  livelihood,  he  conceived  the  en- 
terprise of  an  academy.  The  two  lads  above  named 
formed  a  nucleus  around  which  a  number  clustered 
until  there  was  formed  in  that  place  a  large  and 
flourishing  classical  school. 

"  They  had  progressed  part  way  through  the  Latin 
grammar  (Ruddiman's)  when  they  were  joined  by 
Philip  Lindsley,  a  youth  from  the  same  neighbor- 
hood. He  had  been  a  short  time  at  school  at  Morris- 
town,  but  he  fell  into  the  saine  class.  A  short  time 
again  elapsed  when  a  fourth  one  arrived.  He  wrote 
his  name  Jacob  R.  T.  Frelinghuysen.  He  was  the  son 
of  Gen.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen"  (then  living  at 
Millstone,  the  old  county-seat  of  Somerset  County) 
"  of  Revolutionary  memory.  These  four  constituted 
the  first  class  of  the  Academy  of  Basking  Ridge, 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  R.  Finley.  We  were  guided" 
(says  the  writer)  "  in  our  studies  of  the  different  clas- 
sics, which  then  constituted  the  course  in  the  lower 
classes  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  till  the  com- 
mencement of  the  college,  then  the  last  Wednesday  of 
September,  A.d.  1802. 

"  We  presented  ourselves  for  examination  before 
Dr.  8.  S.  Smith,  then  president  of  the  college,  and 
were  admitted  to  a  standing  in  the  Junior  Class.  .  .  ." 
This  class  completed  its  course  and  graduated  in 
September,  1804.  It  was  a  class  of  men  who  subse- 
quently made  their  mark  and  left  their  names  carved 
high  in  the  temple  of  fame,  containing,  as  it  did.  Rev. 
Philip  Lindsley,  D.D.,  Rev.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick,  D.D., 
Rev.  Nathaniel  S.  Prime,  D.D.,  Rev.  Alfired  Ely,  D.D., 
Hon.  Samuel  L.  Southard,  Hon.  Theodore  Freling- 
huysen, Hon.  George  Chambers,  Hon.  Thomas  H. 
Crawford,  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  to  mention  no 
others. 

Dr.  Jacob  Kirkpatrick  became  a  very  distinguished 
clergyman.  His  room-mate.  Dr.  Philip  Lindsley, 
was  a  man  of  great  originality  and  power,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  an  educator  of  youth.  He  was 
twenty-six  years  president  of  the  University  of  Nash- 
ville, Tenn.,  from  1824  to  1850,  and  left  a  son  who 
succeeded  him  in  that  responsible  position, — John 
Berrien  Lindsley,  M.D.,  D.D.,  of  Nashville,  Tenn. 
The  careers  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  and  Mr.  Southard 
as  counselors-at-law  and  as  statesmen  prove  them  to 
have  been  men  of  mark,  and  have  made  them  an  honor 
to  their  native  State. 

Hon.  William  L.  Dayton,  Rev.  Symmes  Henry, 
D.D.,  and  many  others,  were  prepared  for  college  at 
Dr.  Finley's  school.  Commodore  Stockton  was  once 
a  student  here.  The  old  rectangular,  three-story 
brick  building  in  which  the  school  was  held  is  still 
standing,  and  used  for  public  school  purposes. 

PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

The  public  schools  of  the  township  have  always 
been  a  subject  of  interest  to  citizens,  and  have  been 
well  supported.  The  township  is  divided  into  eight 
school  districts,  as  follows:   Bernardsville,   Basking 


BERNARD. 


749 


Ridge,  Mine  Mount,  Mine  Brook,  Franklin,  Mount 
Pleasant,  Liberty  Corner,  and  Pleasant  Valley.  The 
school-house  in  the  first  is  of  stone ;  in  the  second, 
brick ;  all  the  rest  are  wood.  The  aggregate  value  of 
the  school  property  for  the  year  ending  Aug.  31, 1879, 
is  reported  at  $9200.  Whole  number  between  the  ages 
of  five  and  eighteen,  701 ;  average  number  of  months 
the  schools  have  been  kept  open,  10 ;  number  enrolled, 
522  ;  average  attendance,  245 ;  number  of  teachers 
employed,  9;  Basking  Ridge  being  the  only  school 
which  employs  two  teachers.  Of  the  whole  number 
of  teachers  employed,  4  were  male  and  5  female. 
The  total  amount  of  money  received  from  all  sources 
for  public  school  purposes  was  $3384.50. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 
The  oldest  burial-place  in  the  township  is  that  at 
Basking  Ridge,  the  deed  for  which  bears  date  Feb. 
8,  1731.  The  oldest  gravestone  discovered  in  this 
ground  is  that  of  Henry  Haines,  who  died  June  9, 
1736;  but  there  were  probably  earlier  interments,  the 
first  settlers  having  arrived  from  1717  to  1725.  Tra- 
dition says  that  the  late  Col.  John  Brees  is  known  to 
have  spoken  of  seeing  a  stone  with  the  date  1719, 
though  it  cannot  be  found  now.  The  ground  is  in- 
closed by  a  strong  stone  wall,  and  filled  thickly  with 
graves  bearing  the  names  of  representatives  of  the  old 
families  and  their  descendants  for  four  and  five  gen- 
erations. Many  quaint  and  interesting  inscriptions 
might  be  given  did  space  permit.  We  give  only  that 
of  the  oldest  person  buried  here : 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  Jolin  McCollum,  who  departed  this  life  April 
the  18,  A.D.,  1760,  in  the  103d  year  of  his  age." 

The  other  churchyards  which  contain  repositories 
of  the  dead  are  of  a  considerable  later  date,  and  pre- 
sent nothing  worthy  of  special  mention. 

INDUSTRIES. 
The  industries  of  the  people  of  this  township  are 
chiefly  agricultural.  The  farming  is  of  two  kinds, — 
grain-raising  and  general  crops  and  dairying.  The 
milk  of  the  dairies  mostly  goes  to  supply  the  Newark 
market,  but  of  late  much  of  it  is  made  into  an  excel- 
lent quality  of  butter  at  the  creameries,  so  called, 
several  of  which  exist  in  the  township.  The  abun- 
dance of  pure  spring  water  is  a  great  advantage  in 
this  regard.  Agriculture  is  carried  on  in  the  township, 
generally  with  the  most  improved  implements.  There 
being  no  large  towns,  the  employment  for  mechanics 
is  limited. 

MILLS. 

Ferdinand  Van  Dorn's  mill  is  situated  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Passaic,  on  the  line  between  Somerset 
and  Morris  Counties.  It  is  a  large  stone  mill,  three 
run  of  stones,  furnished  with  the  most  improved  ma- 
chinery, and  grinds  both  custom  and  merchant  flour. 

Saw-mill  on  the  Passaic,  owned  by  James  Osborn, 
does  a  considerable  business  for  the  New  York  and 
California  trade ;  propelled  by  water-power. 


Spoke-  and  felloe-factory  at  Madisonville,  run  by 
steam;  also  a  water  saw-mill  between  Madisonville 
and  Bernardsville.    Richard  Irving,  proprietor. 

Saw-mill  owned  by  Widow  McMurtry,  above  Van 
Doren's,  on  the  Passaic. 

Flour-  and  grist-mill,  owned  by  B.  Guerin,  on  Mine 
Brook,  at  Bernardsville;  custom  mill;  two  run  of 
stones. 

Below,  on  the  same  stream,  is  a  custom  flour-  and 
feed-mill,  owned  by  the  Bunn  Brothers, — Thomas  and 
John  Bunn.  It  is  a  large  four-story  stone  mill,  three 
run  of  stones,  and  has  an  up-and-down  and  circular- 
saw  attachment  for  cutting  lumber  of  any  length  or 
dimensions;  also  cider-making  and  distilling  apple 
brandy  is  carried  on  at  this  establishment  quite  ex- 
tensively. 

Mine  Brook  Mill,  Charles  Baker,  proprietor;  two 
run  of  stones,  and  does  a  general  custom  and  mer- 
chant business. 

Grist-  and  saw-mill  of  James  Bunn,  on  a  mountain- 
stream  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  township. 

Saw-mill  and  brush-back-factory,  on  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Raritan  River,  in  the  extreme  north- 
western part  of  the  township,  owned  by  Peter  Z. 
Smith,  and  carried  on  by  his  son,  Oscar  Smith. 

Hub-factory  of  the  Ludlow  Brothers,  farther  down 
the  Branch.     Proprietors,  Isaiah  and  James  Ludlow. 

Leason's,  formerly  Dunn's,  Mills,  on  the  line  be- 
tween Somerset  and  Morris  Counties;  custom  flour 
and  feed. 

VILLAGES   AND   HAMLETS. 
BASKING  KIDGB 

is  the  oldest  and  most  considerable  village  in  the 
township,  and  was  settled  the  earliest  of  any  portion 
of  it.*  It  contains  four  churches,— Presbyterian,  Epis- 
copal, Methodist  Episcopal,  and  Roman  Catholic ;  a 
graded  public  school,  occupying  a  brick  building; 
two  general  stores.  Putney  O.  Belding  and  Parmenas 
0.  Henry,  proprietors;  grocery-  and  fancy-store, 
Mary  and  Ida  Brown;  bakery,  P.  O.  Belding;  tin 
and  hardware,  William  R.  Bromfield ;  drugs,  James 
Doty,  M.D.;  post-ofice,  P.  C.  Henry,  postmaster; 
and  telegraph-office,  kept  in  Dr.  Doty's  store.  The 
place  has,  besides,  one  carriage-shop,  J.  C.  Oliver; 
blacksmiths,  John  R.  HoUingshead,  Freeman  Pen- 
nington;  creamery  (for  milk,  butter,  and  cheese), 
S.  S.  Beach  &  Co.  There  are  six  physicians — viz., 
Drs.  John  Dayton,  Amadee  Voorhees,  Frederick  C. 
Jones,  William  Pennington,  James  Doty,  and  D.  H.  G. 
Whitnall— and  one  lawyer,  John  H.  McCracken,  Esq., 
business  office  in  Newark.  The  names  of  the  clergy- 
men are  given  in  connection  with  the  church  his- 
tories.    The  number  of  inhabitants  is  about  800. 

BERNARDSVILLE 

was  formerly  called  "  Vealtown,"  and  was  changed 
to  its  present  name  at  the  suggestion  of  Roderick  A. 
Mitchell,  who  settled  in  the  place  in  1840.    Lord 

*  See  Early  Settlement. 


750- 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Stirling  and  Capt.  John  Parker  were  the  original 
proprietors  of  the  soil  in  this  vicinity,  forty  acres  of 
which  were  bought  by  Judge  Woods,  of  Morristown, 
about  1778.  Considerable  of  this  tract  was  subse- 
quently bought  by  Dr.  John  Boylan,  an  old  and  dis- 
tinguished physician,  who  practiced  many  years  in 
the  place  during  the  early  half  of  the  present  century. 
He  had  five  or  six  sons  and  one  daughter,  who  died  in 
1864,  leaving  her  property  to  Margaret  Cole,  wife  of 
Charles  Quimby. 

Tradition  says  that  when  Washington's  army  was 
at  Morristown  a  disagreement  arose  about  the  pay  of 
some  of  the  Virginia  soldiers,  and  in  consequence  a 
portion  of  them  started  for  Virginia,  and  came  as  far 
as  "  Vealtown."  An  officer  was  sent  after  them,  and 
in  the  old  tavern  kept  by  Capt.  Parker  they  signed 
an  agreement  to  continue  in  the  service.  The  old 
tavern  is  still  standing,  and  is  the  Mitchell  homestead, 
purchased  by  Roderick  A.  Mitchell  in  1840.  Thirty- 
three  years  before,  Mr.  Mitchell  had  been  taken  to 
the  house,  a  child  of  seven  years,  by  his  mother,  who 
was  passing  through  the  place  and  was  detained  over- 
night by  an  accident  to  her  carriage.  The  old  tavern 
was  then  kept  by  one  Whitenack.  Mr.  Mitchell  is 
now  seventy-four  years  of  age ;  was  a  seafaring  man 
in  early  life,  and  a  sailor  on  board  the  ship  "  Cadmus," 
Capt.  Howard,  which  brought  La  Fayette  to  America 
in  1824. 

John  Bunn  was  one  of  the  prominent  early  settlers. 
He  came  here  a  poor  young  man  and  accumulated 
large  property.  He  left  ten  children,  two  of  whom — 
John  and  Thomas  Bunn — own  the  stone  mill  at  Ber- 
nards ville. 

John  H.  Anderson  was  one  of  the  most  influential 
men  of  this  section.  He  was  surrogate  of  the  county 
of  Somerset,  member  of  both  houses  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas.  He  was  also 
a  director  in  the  Delaware  and  Passaic  (formerly  the 
West  Line)  Railroad.  His  son,  J.  L.  Anderson,  is  a 
graduate  of  Princeton,  and  resides  on  the  old  estate 
with  his  mother.  George  Anderson,  the  oldest  son, 
is  a  graduate  of  West  Point  Military  Academy,  and 
has  served  on  the  Western  frontier.  He  has  also 
more  recently  been  a  teacher  at  West  Point. 

Capt.  Nehemiah  Norris,  who  commanded  a  company 
at  Sandy  Hook  during  the  war  of  1812,  resided  in  this 
vicinity.  He  left  a  family  6f  sons  and  daughters,  of 
whom  only  two  are  now  living, — viz.,  Caroline,  wife 
of  R.  A.  Mitchell,  and  Harriet,  wife  of  Ferdinando 
Rush. 

There  are  at  Bernardsville  two  general  stores,  kept 
respectively  by  Thomas  Bird  and  Calvin  D.  Smith. 
The  latter  is  also  postmaster.  The  Bernardsville  Ho- 
tel is  kept  by  E.  L.  Doty.  There  are  two  blacksmiths, 
— Robert  Young  and  Oscar  Wright;  milliner  and 
dressmaker,  Mrs.  Hall.  The  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  is  a  neat  and  commodious  structure  recently 
dedicated. 

Several  wealthy  New  York  men  have  summer  resi- 


dences in  the  vicinity.  Among  them  may  be  named 
George  I.  Seney,  president  Metropolitan  Bank,  New 
York ;  A.  V.  Stout,  president  Shoe  and  Leather  Man- 
ufacturers' Bank,  New  York;  and  George  B.  Post, 
the  well-known  architect.  New  York. 

LIBEKTT  COBNEB 

was  formerly  known  as  "  Annin's  Corner,"  on  account 
of  the  settlement  there  at  a  very  early  day  of  John 
Annin,  the  patriarch  of  the  Annin  family.  Tradition 
says  that  the  name  was  originally  spelled  "  Annan," 
and  that  the  ancestors  lived  at  Annandale,  Scotland.* 
As  most  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  portion  of  the 
township  have  been  referred  to  elsewhere,  we  shall 
omit  further  mention  of  them  for  want  of  space. 

At  Liberty  Corner  are  Augustus  Fohling  and  John 
Y.  Bird,  shoe-manufacturers ;  P.  F.  Randolph,  corn- 
planters  and  fertilizer-distributors ;  Dennis  Van  Liew, 
Liberty  Corner  Hotel ;  John  Compton,  agricultural 
implements ;  Peter  Taylor,  wheelwright ;  L.  Manker, 
harness-maker ;  Irving  &  Layton,  undertakers ;  Wil- 
liam Lockwood,  house  and  sign  painter ;  James  D. 
Van  Derveer,  physician. 

The  section  of  country  about  Liberty  Corner  is 
devoted  chiefly  to  dairying,  the  milk  being  sent  to 
Newark. 

MADISONVILLB 

is  a  small  hamlet  north  of  Basking  Ridge,  containing 
Irving's  store,  blacksmith-shop  by  Jacob  Van  Arsdale, 
and  some  ten  or  fifteen  residences. 

The  old  stage-line  from  Basking  Ridge  to  Bound 
Brook,  founded  by  Solomon  D.  Gilespie,  of  Basking 
Ridge,  is  still  run  by  his  son  Samuel.  Stephen  D. 
Gilespie  runs  a  hack  from  Liberty  Corner  to  Lyon's 
Station,  on  the  Delaware  and  Passaic  Railroad,  daily, 
carrying  the  mail.  A  branch  of  the  Delaware,  Lack- 
awanna and  Western  Railroad  passes  through  the 
township,  connecting  Bernardsville,  Newark,  and 
other  points.  The  advantages  of  this  road  bring  in 
many  New  Yorkers,  who  do  business  in  that  city  and 
have  their  residences  during  the  summer  among  the 
beautiful  and  health-inspiring  hills  of  Bernard. 

MASONIC. 

Clinton  Lodge,  No.  8,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  located 
at  Basking  Ridge,  was  chartered  Nov.  13,  1827,  as 
Basking  Ridge  Lodge,  No.  56.  The  charter  members 
were  Edward  A.  Darcey,  W.  M. ;  Cornelius  Ludlow, 
S.  W. ;  and  Dr.  Samuel  S.  Doty,  J.  W. 

This  lodge  survived  the  Morgan  excitement  by 
being  removed  to  several  places  of  safety.f  It  was 
finally  returned  to  its  birthplace,  where  it  has  ever 
since  held  its  regular  communications.  We  append 
the  following  list  of  officers  for  the  year  1880 :  C.  H. 

*  See  account  of  the  Annin  family,  in  other  parts  of  this  work. 

t  The  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  tlie  State  of  New  Jersey  show  that 
a  petition  to  remove  to  Little  Cross-Eoads  was  granted  NoTomber,  1829 ; 
petition  granted  to  move  to  Peapack,  November,  1830 ;  in  1831  to  remove- 
to  Chester,  Morris  Co.,  and  change  name  to  "  Clinton  Lodge,  No.  66."  In 
January,  1848,  Clinton  Lodge,  No.  8,  petitioned  to  remove  to  Peapack,  and 
'  in  January,  1855,  to  remove  to  Basking  Bidge. 


BERNARD. 


751 


Ames,  P.  M.,  W.  M. ;  N.  C.  Bonnell,  P.  M.,  S.  W. ; 
George  Browne,  J.  W.;  N.  Compton,  Jr.,  Treas.; 
Thomas  Terrell,  Sec;  N.  C.  Cox,  P.  M.,  S.  D. ; 
George  L.  Rickey,  J.  D. ;  C.  D.  Todd,  P.  M.,  M.  of  C.  ; 
Samuel  Humphrey,  M.  of  C. ;  S.  S.  Adamson,  P.  M., 
Steward ;  George  H.  Logan,  Steward ;  0.  W.  Brown, 
Tiler.     Communications  are  held  twice  a  month. 

TOWNSHIP   STATISTICS. 

Amount  of  floating  debt,  $1121.13 ;  interest,  $224.21 ; 
total,  $1345.34. 

Amount  of  real  property,  $1,662,685;  deduction 
therefrom,  $255,725. 

Amount  of  personal  property,  $274,525 ;  deduction 
therefrom,  $109,755. 

Total  amount  of  real  and  personal  property  taxed, 
$1,661,730. 

Eate  of  tax:  State  purposes,  5  per  cent.;  county 
purposes,  20  per  cent. ;  local  purposes, — township,  10 
per  cent. ;  school,  20  per  cent. ;  roads,  15  per  cent. ; 
poor,  15  per  cent. 

Amount  of  tax  ordered  to  be  raised,  $13,906.70. 

Annual  expenses,  township  purposes,  $1000. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


FERDINAND  VAN   DORN 

was  bom  at  Peapack,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  17th 
of  April,  1807.  His  early  life  was  spent  at  that  place, 
where  he  engaged  in  various  enterprises,  chiefly  in 
connection  with  his  father's  large  business,  till  the 
year  1842.  With  a  view  of  establishing  himself  on 
a  good  and  eligible  mill-site,  and  of  pursuing  an  oc- 
cupation with  which  he  had  already  become  familiar, 
he  bought,  in  1842,  the  Richard  Southard  place,  on 
the  Passaic  River,  where  he  now  resides.  A  mill  had 
been  built  here  in  1768  by  Samuel  Lewis,  the  mater- 
nal great-grandfather  of  Samuel  L.  Southard,  but  it 
was  not  of  such  structure  or  capacity  as  suited  the 
purpose  of  Mr.  Van  Dorn.  He  selected  a  site  about 
two  hundred  yards  below,  where  he  was  enabled  to 
increase  the  fall  from  eight  to  twenty  feet,  and  in 
1843  erected  a  stone  mill  which  is  a  model  for  solidity 
of  structure  and  equipments.  It  is  said  to  be  the 
finest  flouring-mill  in  Somerset  County.  The  building 
and  management  of  this  mill,  the  large  business  of 
purchasing  and  marketing  which  it  has  necessitated, 
the  care  of  the  farm,  the  building  of  the  pleasant  and 
home-like  residences  in  its  vicinity,  and  the  improve- 
ment and  ornamentation  of  the  grounds,  which  occupy 
a  delightful  slope  on  the  bank  of  the  Passaic,  have 
occupied  the  chief  attention  of  Mr.  Van  Dorn  since 
he  settled  here,  in  1842.  Still,  he  has  found  time,  as 
he  has  always  had  the  liberality  and  the  means,  to 
identify  himself  largely  with  the  public  interests  of 
his  township  and  neighborhood,  and  to  do  much  for 


the  beautifying  of  his  home  and  the  education  of  his 
children.  He  is  one  of  the  most  thrifty,  enterprising, 
and  intelligent  citizens  of  the  township  in  which  he 
resides,  and  which  has  called  him  more  frequently 


FERDINAND   VAN   DORN. 

than  has  been  consonant  with  his  wishes  to  exercise 
the  functions  of  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility. 
Mr.  Van  Dorn  married  Phebe  Woodward  on  the 
13th  of  October,  1831,  and  has  ten  children,  all  living, 
whose  names  are  as  follows :  Angeline,  who  married 
William  B.  McMurtry,  of  Basking  Ridge ;  Caroline, 
who  married  George  Quimby  and  settled  in  Kansas ; 
William,  who  married  Susan  Augusta  Robinson  and 
resides  at  the  mill  of  which  he  has  charge;  Julia 
Ann,  wife  of  Rev.  George  Dickinson,  of  Newark ; 
Josephine,  wife  of  Rev.  Matthias  F.  Swaim,  who  died 
in  Florida;  Gilbert,  who  married  Jane  Ann  Stevens 
and  lives  in  St.  Augustine,  Fla. ;  Eugene,  a  farmer 
on  the  home  estate,  who  married  Maggie  H.  Bar- 
calow;  Anna  B.,  wife  of  Alfred  A.  Lewis,  M.D.,  of 
Morristown,  N.  J. ;  and  two  unmarried  children, — 
viz.,  Catharine  Isabella  and  Richard  Southard  Van 
Dorn,  a  medical  student  at  the  College  of  New  York. 

This  brief  sketch  would  be  incomplete  were  we 
to  close  without  suitable  mention  of  Mrs.  Van  Dorn, 
the  estimable  wife  and  mother,  who  departed  this 
life  April  15,  1878.  An  obituary  notice  published  at 
the  time  of  her  death  contains  the  following : 

"Phebe  Woodward  Van  Dorn,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Woodward  and  Phebe  Southard,  was  born  Feb.  14, 
1812,  on  the  homestead  near  Basking  Ridge,  N.  J., 
where  her  ancestors  had  lived  for  half  a  century. 
Here  were  passed  her  childhood  and  youth,  wher© 
she  became  well  known  for  beauty  of  person  and  ex- 


752 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


cellence  of  character.  At  the  age  of  Jiineteen  she 
married  Ferdinand  Van  Dorn,  then  of  Peapack,  and 
at  once  entered  upon  a  life  of  the  greatest  domestic 
activity.  Her  husband  engaged  ardently  in  the  busi- 
ness enterprises  of  the  day,  and  they  began  together 
the  struggle  of  life, — to  improve  their  surroundings, 
to  develop  the  resources  of  the  neighborhood,  and  to 
acquire  a  competency  against  declining  days.  After 
a  few  years  Mr.  Van  Dorn  purchased  the  homestead 
property  at  Basking  Eidge,  and,  removing  thence  with 
his  wife,  she  lived  to  the  end  of  her  days  on  the  spot 
where  she  was  born.  A  plan  of  improvements  upon 
this  place  began  immediately,  which  extended  through 
a  series  of  years.  Lands  were  reclaimed,  the  water- 
power  was  enlarged,  aqueducts  were  laid  to  last  for 
centuries  to  come,  the  well-known  stone  mill  and 
other  buildings  were  erected,  giving  employment  to 
a  large  number  of  mechanics  and  laborers.  These, 
as  was  customary,  were  boarded  in  the  family,  de- 
manding of  the  housewife  superior  skill  in  manage- 
ment, and  untiring  diligence  in  prosecuting  the  do- 
mestic labors  of  the  day.  But  she  proved  equal  to 
every  emergency,  never  delegating  her  authority  to 
another,  but  taking  the  lead  and  direction  of  all 
household  matters  with  such  a  quiet  system  of  prompt- 
ness and  patience  that  without  bustle  or  confusion 
or  fretting  and  scolding  everything  moved  smoothly 
on  in  her  department.  A  foreman  of  the  mechanics 
who  worked  there  months  together,  said  that  he  never 
knew  the  dinner-bell,  calling  them  to  an  abundant 
meal,  to  vary  five  minutes  from  the  appointed  hour. 

"  As  the  years  went  by  a  numerous  family  gathered 
around  her;  ten  children,  all  living  and  grown  to 
years,  at  home,  under  her  motherly  care,  '  rise  up  to 
call  her  blessed.'  Thirty-five  grandchildren  live  to 
treasure- her  memory  through  future  years.  She  also 
saw  her  children's  children  to  the  third  generation. 
Without  being  demonstrative,  she  took  a  quiet  enjoy- 
ment in  gratifying  the  demands  of  childhood,  and 
the  troop  of  children  and  grandchildren  who  delighted 
to  romp  around  her  home  will  remember  in  after- 
years,  as  the  bright  days  of  early  life  come  up  before 
them,  the  many  little  comforts  and  '  goodies'  prepared 
for  their  pleasure. 

"  She  was  also  social  in  her  nature,  and  hosts  of 
friends  thronged  the  house,  whom,  though  they  added 
to  the  multitude  of  cares  of  her  already  busy  life,  she 
was  pleased  to  entertain." 

Many  years  ago  she  united  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Basking  Ridge,  and,  though  distant  from 
the  church  and  taxed  with  worldly  cares  and  influ- 
ences not  likely  to  develop  Christian  graces,  she  always 
maintained  a  true  Christian  spirit.  Whenever  de- 
tained at  home  the  Bible  was  invariably  her  Sunday 
book,  which  she  seemed  to  read  with  daily  renewed 
satisfaction. 

"  In  looking  at  such  a  life,  we  are  constrained  to 
say,  '  Not  all  heroism  is  shown  on  battle-fields.'  The 
spirit  that  so  courageously  carries  such  burdens  in  the 


retirement  of  domestic  life,  stimulated  only  by  the 
purpose  to  perform  each  duty,  deserves  to  rank  with 
those  whom  the  thoughtful  delight  to  honor,  and  to 
be  cherished  in  grateful  memory  by  those  who  have 
been  blessed  by  the  toils.  When  these  fall  asleep  at 
the  end  of  the  journey,  we  may  follow  them  with  the 
comforting  thought,  '  They  rest  from  their  labors,  and 
their  works  do  follow  them.'" 


OLIVER    DUNSTBR. 

Charles  Dunster,  the  original  ancestor  of  the  family 
in  this  country,  came  from  England.  He  was  the 
English  proprietor  of  the  Dunster  tract  in  Bernard 
township,  consisting  of  seven  thousand  five  hundred 
acres  of  land,  extending  from  Mine  Brook  to  the 
Morris  county  line,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
North  Branch  of  the  Earitan,  and  on  the  east  by  the 
Passaic  River.  A  portion  of  this  land  is  still  in  the 
Dunster  family,  being  owned  by  Oliver  Dunster ;  it 
passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  original  family,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  were  purchased  by  Oliver 
Dunster  in  1852. 

Charles  Dunster  had  one  son,  James,  and  two 
daughters.  James  married  a  Woodward,  and  had 
sons, — Oliver,  James,  John,  Andrew,  and  Daniel.  Oli- 
ver Dunster,  Sr.,  was  the  father  of  the  present  Oliver 
Dunster,  of  Mine  Brook. 

Oliver  Dunster  was  born  in  Bernard  township,  July 
9,  1811 ;  married  Abigail  Sanders,  of  Bernard  town- 
ship, Jan.  17, 1835.  The  following  are  their  children : 
John  B.,  born  Dec.  10,  1835 ;  JeflTerson  J.,  born  Feb. 
18,  1887 ;  Mary  Ann,  born  Jan.  25,  1839 ;  Andrew  N., 
born  Dec.  20,  1840 ;  Cyrus  S.,  died  in  infancy  ;  H. 
P.,  born  Sept.  25, 1847 ;  Curtis  O.,  born  July  12, 1849 ; 
Mary  A.,  born  July  15,  1854 ;  Frank  A.,  born  March 
28,  1856.  Of  these  the  following  are  deceased :  Mary 
Ann,  died  Sept.  15,  1854 ;  Jefferson  J.,  died  April  14, 
1878. 

Mr.  Dunster,  on  account  of  the  loss  of  his  father's 
property,  was  left  a  poor  boy,  and  was  indentured  to 
Oliver  Woodward  at  the  age  of  six  years  to  serve  for 
food  and  clothing  till  he  should  attain  his  legal  ma- 
jority at  the  age  of  eighteen.  He  grew  up  a  youth 
of  wonderful  energy,  both  physical  and  mental,  and 
as  he  advanced  in  age  his  capabilities  for  work  and 
business  increased.  Frequently,  after  doing  his  full 
day's  work  at  wages,  he  took  jobs  to  chop  and  saw 
cordwood  by  moonlight,  and  thus  increased  largely 
the  profits  of  his  labors.  In  connection  with  pro- 
digious and  indefatigable  energy,  he  developed  a 
remarkable  business  capacity  and  powers  of  acquisi- 
tion and  economy  which  turned  his  work  to  the  best 
account  in  the  acquirement  of  property.  He  had  in 
a  pre-eminent  degree  the  faculty  for  making  money, 
and  he  never  spent  it  unnecessarily  or  foolishly.  An 
instance  may  be  related  illustrative  of  this  fact. 
When  he  was  a  small  boy,  at  the  age  of  ten,  Mr. 
Woodward  gave  him  ten  cents  to  spend  at  a  Fourth-of- 


DAVID   W.   KING. 


BERNARD. 


753 


July  celebration  at  Basking  Eidge.  He  spent  four 
cents,  and  came  home  at  night  with  six  cents  in  his 
pocket.  From  that  day  forward  he  has  never  been 
without  money.  (His  oldest  son  married  Mr.  Wood- 
ward's daughter,  to  whom  he  was  indentured.) 

In  1830  he  commenced  doing  business  for_ himself ; 
jobbed  for  two  years  by  the  month  and  day;  then 
bought  a  team  and  commenced  carting  charcoal  to 
New  York  City,  buying  wood  by  the  acre,  chopping 
the  timber  into  cordwood,  rails,  etc.,  and  converting 
the  refuse  into  charcoal,  which  brought  a  good  price 
in  New  York.  "While  hauling  coal  to  New  York  in 
1834  he  saw  the  foundations  laid  of  that  famous 
prison,  the  Tombs,  and  of  the  Astor  House,  then  being 
built.  He  has  followed  as  a  business  through  life,  in 
addition  to  farming,  dealing  in  wood,  charcoal,  and 
tanner's  bark ;  the  bark  business  he  has  followed  con- 
secutively for  fifty-one  years.  He  has  so  managed 
this  business  as  to  bring  out  of  it  the  highest  finan- 
cial results,  and  to  secure  a  handsome  competence  for 
himself  and  family. 

He  is  a  man  of  original  thought  and  genius, — has 
his  own  ideas  and  his  own  way  of  doing  things.  Be- 
ginning life  without  education  or  means,  he  has  edu- 
cated himself  in  a  practical  sense  by  experience  and 
observation.  To  this  he  has  added  the  benefits  of 
extensive  travel,  having  visited  the  Pacific  coast, 
California,  and  been  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union. 

He  has  taken  no  part  in  politics,  except  to  vote 
regularly  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  on  occasions  to 
exert  his  electioneering  abilities  in  favor  of  some 
favorite  candidate  or  against  the  election  of  some 
undesirable  man  to  office.  He  has  never  sought  office 
for  himself. 

The  above  sketch  has  been  written  on  Mr.  Dunster's 
seventieth  birthday,  and  he  seems  as  young  and 
active  as  a  man  of  fifty.  His  powers  of  body  and 
mind  are  unimpaired.  At  the  date  of  this  writing 
we  have  seen  his  indenture  to  Mr.  Woodward  as  ap- 
prentice, made  Feb.  28, 1818,  signed  by  Oliver  Wood- 
ward and  witnessed  by  Samuel  S.  Doty  and  John 
Beam. 


DAYID   W.    KING. 


David  W.  King  was  born  near  Liberty  Corner,  in 
Bernard  township,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  23, 1817. 
He  is  a  son  of  William  and  Phebe  (Hayden)  King, 
the  former  a  native  of  Liberty  Corner,  Somerset  Co., 
where  he  was  bom  March  17,  1793.  His  father  be- 
fore him,  John  M.  King,  was  born  in  the  same  place, 
his  father,  Marcus  King,  being  the  first  of  the  name 
who  settled  there  at  a  very  early  time,  when  this  por- 
tion of  New  Jersey  was  a  wilderness.  Marcus  King 
was  born  on  board  a  vessel  ofi'  Sandy  Hook,  aod  was 
the  first  printer  at  New  Amsterdam,  now  the  city  of 
New  York. 

The  King  estate  in  Bernard  township  was  settled 
many  years  before  the  Eevolution,  and  became  during 


that  eventful  period  historic  ground.  The  "alarm 
post"  erected  by  Washington  when  he  had  his  head- 
quarters at  Morristown  was  on  the  old  King  estate, 
now  owned  by  David  W.,  John  W.,  and  Adrian  V. 
King.  The  ground  on  which  it  was  erected  and 
stood  till  after  the  war  is  an  elevation  commanding 
an  extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  The 
soldiers  of  Washington  lay  many  a  night  in  the  old 
house  still  standing  on  the  western  part  of  the  estate, 
where  the  Kings  of  the  second  and  third  generation 
were  born.  The  main  part  of  the  house  now  occu- 
pied by  David  W.  King  (the  old  Compton  place)  was 
built  before  the  Eevolution,  and  was  occupied  by  sol- 
diers during  the  war.  John  M.  King  was  too  young 
to  become  a  soldier,  and  did  not  enter  the  service. 

The  Kings  and  Comptons  are  related  through 
Phebe  Hayden,  wife  of  William  King,  whose  mother 
was  Betsey  Compton.  William  King,  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  prominent  farmer,  and 
a  zealous  and  exemplary  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  at  Mount  Horeb.  He  drew  the 
first  stick  of  timber  for  the  erection  of  this  church 
in  1824,  and  was  an  active  member  of  it  till  his 
death.  He  died  Oct.  28, 1867,  aged  seventy-four  years, 
seven  months,  and  ten  days.  His  wife  Phebe  died 
Jan.  29, 1876,  aged  eighty-four  years  and  nine  months. 
They  had  ten  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
The  four  brothers,  John  W.,  Adrian  V.,  Abraham, 
and  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  David  W.  King,  all 
lived  in  Bernard  township. 

David  W.  King's  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm 
and  in  attending  school,  fi-om  which  he  received  a 
good  business  education.  He  married  for  his  first 
wife  Adelia  Varian,  daughter  of  George  W.  and  sister 
of  Col.  Varian,  of  New  York,  April  28,  1847.  She 
died  Dec.  24,  1848.'  June  2,  1852,  he  married  Ade- 
line Erving,  who  was  born  in  New  York,  July  8, 
1830,  and  is  the  daughter  of  John  M.  Erving,  who 
came  from  New  York  on  the  1st  day  of  November, 
1837,  and  purchased  the  place  on  which  Mr.  King 
now  resides.  He  died  here  after  a  residence  of  eigh- 
teen years,  and  his  remains,  with  those  of  his  wife, 
Hannah  Erving,  rest  in  the  family  burying-ground. 
He  was  born  at  Bound  Brook,  was  noted  as  an  Aboli- 
tionist, and  was  very  successful  in  his  business. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  King  have  two  children, — viz.,  Har- 
lan Asbury  and  William  King.  Mr.  King  is  a  self- 
made  man  in  the  best  sense  of  that  term,  having  by 
his  own  energy  and  enterprise  acquired  a  high  repu- 
tation for  sagacity  and  integrity  in  business  and  an 
ample  competence  for  himself  and  family.  His  large 
and  well-cultivated  farm  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Som- 
erset County,  and  few  more  desirable  homes  are  to 
be  found  in  any  agricultural  section  of  the  country. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  church  at  Mount  Horeb,  with 
which  his  father  was  so  long  and  worthily  connected, 
and  is  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  principles  of  the 
Eepublican  party. 


754 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


PETER  Z.  SMITH. 
Peter  Z.  Smith,  son  of  Zackariah.  Smith,  was  born  in 
Bernard  township,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Dec.  28, 1808. 
His  father  was  an  early  settler  on  the  place  where 
Mr.  Smith  now  resides.  It  is  on  the  North  Branch  of 
the  Earitan,  not  far  from  Peapack,  and  noted  of  late 
years  for  the  immense  gatherings  of  the  Smith  de- 
scendants, who  assemble  there  in  annual  picnic. 
Zackariah  Smith  married  Mary  Smith,  a  lady  of  the 
same  name,  but  no  kin, — a  fact  which  has  enabled 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  to  say,  in  his  humorous 
way,  there  could  be  no  question  of  his  title  to  the 
name,  as  his  father  and  mother  were  both  Smiths. 
Zackariah  Smith  was  a  farmer,  and  one  of  the  most 
excellent  of  men.  He  was  a  pillar  in  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Bedminster,  of  which  he  was  for  many 
years  both  deacon  and  elder.  The  present  saw-mill 
on  the  premises  was  built  by  him  about  the  year  1800, 
and  a  few  years  later  he  built  the  present  family  resi- 
dence, having  previously  lived  in  a  double  log  house, 
the  remains  of  which  may  still  be  seen  on  the  picnic- 
ground.  Mr.  Peter  Z.  Smith  inaugurated  the  family 
picnic,  with  the  motto,  "  In  Memory  of  our  Ances- 
tors," in  1876.  It  has  since  been  held  annually  in 
September,  and  there  have  been  in  attendance  at  one 
time  more  than  three  thousand  relatives,  coming  from 
nearly  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  some  from  as  far 
off  as  California.  These  occasions  are  of  great  inter- 
est. There  have  been  present  to  report  the  proceed- 
ings as  many  as  nine  reporters  of  New  York  dailies, 
besides  editors  of  several  local  papers. 

Mr.  Smith  is  a  man  of  superior  character  and  in- 
telligence, and  possesses  a  strong  family  sentiment. 
He  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Ann 
McMurtry,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1835.  She  is 
the  mother  of  his  four  sons, — viz.,  Isaiah  Smith,  resid- 
ing at  Miburn,  N.  J. ;  Oscar  Smith,  who  lives  at  Pea- 
pack  ;  Daniel  Smith,  a  resident  of  Newark ;  and  John 
D.  Smith,  who  lives  on  the  homestead.  Mrs.  Smith 
died  in  December,  1849,  and  he  married,  for  his  sec- 
ond wife,  Jane,  daughter  of  James  Wolfe,  of  Bed- 
minster, and  widow  of  the  late  Peter  Miller. 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  from  early  manhood  promi- 
nent in  township  affairs,  having  been  elected  consta- 
ble before  he  was  twenty-one,  and  been  in  some  town- 
ship office  ever  since.  For  many  years  he  followed 
driving  for  the  market,  bringing  in  large  invoices  of 
cattle  and  sheep  from  Western  New  York, — about  one 
drove  a  year  for  twenty  years.  He  followed  this  part 
of  the  time,  in  addition  to  his  farming  and  milling 
interests,  making  his  business  life  one  of  remarkable 
activity,  and,  in  the  main,  of  pecuniary  profit,  out  of 
which  he  has  realized  a  comfortable  share  of  this 
world's  goods,  and,  better  than  all,  has  made  a  repu- 
tation for  honesty  and  integrity  unsurpassed  by  any 
among  his  fellow-citizens.  In  all  public  improve- 
ments, such  as  roads,  schools,  churches,  etc.,  he  has 
always  taken  an  active  part,  though  not  himself  a 
church-member.     Like  his  ancestors,  and  most  of  his 


descendants,  he  has  adhered  to  the  Democratic  faith, 
voting  regularly  that  ticket  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury. About  1887  he  was  commissioned  captain  of  a 
company  of  riflemen  in  Bedminster,  consisting  of 
about  eighty  men.  He  was  also  a  clarionet-player  on 
training-days.  He  held  his  commission  as  captain 
about  three  years. 


JOSEPH  ANNIN. 

The  subject  of  this  brief  notice  was  a  man  univer- 
sally esteemed  for  the  high  moral  tone  and  excellence 
of  his  character.  It  can  be  truly  said  of  him,  "  He 
was  a  bright  and  shining  light  in  the  community 
where  he  resided,"  and  left  an  example  eminently 
"  worthy  of  imitation." 

Mr.  Annin  was  born  on  the  9th  of  September,  1800, 
and  died  on  the  19th  of  September,  1877,  in  the 
seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  began  life  poor, 
and  by  economy,  enterprise,  and  strict  honesty  ac- 
quired a  large  property,  which  he  left  to  his  widow 
and  children.  During  a  considerable  part  of  his  life 
he  was  a  lumber-merchant  in  New  York.  Twenty- 
one  years  ago  he  settled  on  the  farm  in  Bernard,  near 
Liberty  Corner,  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family. 

Mr.  Annin  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being 
Anna  Lambertson,  by  whom  a  daughter,  Ann  Eliza, 
and  a  son,  John,  are  still  living,  the  former  at 
Bridgeport,  Conn.,  and  the  latter  at  Hackensack, 
N.  J.  His  second  wife  was  Margaret,  daughter  of 
John  King,  an  estimable  lady,  who  still  survives  him 
and  resides  at  Liberty  Corner,  N.  J.  The  fruits  of 
this  marriage  were  a  son  and  a  daughter, — Josephine, 
wife  of  George  Lowery,  of  New  York,  and  Alexander 
Annin,  who  resides  on  the  homestead  farm,  near 
Liberty  Corner. 


THOMAS  HOLMES. 
Thomas  Holmes  was  born  in  Yorkshire,  England, 
in  November,  1807,  and  was  brought  up  there  till  he 
was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  After  attaining  his 
majority,  he  in  1831  emigrated  to  America,  land- 
ing in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  went  thence  to 
Basking  Ridge,  N.  J.,  where  he  found  employment  as 
a  farm-laborer  for  six  months  with  Martin  Winnie, 
and  afterwards  engaged  with  David  Ayers  as  assistant 
and  farmer,  with  whom  he  remained  four  years,  up  to 
the  time  of  his  marriage.  He  was  married,  Aug.  30, 
1885,  to  Dinah  Morris,  daughter  of  Griffith  and  Mar- 
garet Morris,  who  emigrated  from  Pembrokeshire, 
near  Cardigan,  Wales,  in  1801,  and  settled  on  the 
farm  near  Liberty  Corner  now  the  estate  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Holmes.  In  1802,  Mr.  Morris  here  purchased 
two  hundred  and  sixteen  acres  of  land  of  William 
Cain,  one  of  the  Cain  heirs,  whose  father  had  ob- 
tained the  land  from  the  assigns  of  William  Penn. 
Mr.  Morris  had  been  married  before  leaving  Wales  to 
Margaret  Williams.     The  children  of  this  marriage 


JOSEPH  ANNIN. 


THOMAS  HOLMES. 


tm-rr^^^yvx 


BERNARD. 


755 


were  Mary,  Martha,  John,  William,  Nancy,  David, 
Dinah  {Mrs.  Holmes),  John,  James,  and  Timothy. 
Of  this  large  family,  Mrs.  Holmes  and  her  hrother 
David  (deceased)  were  the  only  ones  who  remained 
in  Bernard  township ;  the  others  removed  to  the  West. 
Mr.  Morris  was  for  twenty-one  years  before  his 
death  afflicted  with  blindness,  and  his  daughter  and 
son-in-law,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes,  remained  to  man- 
age the  farm  and  take  care  of  him.  Mr.  Holmes  pur- 
chased the  farm  in  1841.  It  is  a  beautiful  estate,  con- 
sisting of  one  hundred  and  eight  acres,  and  is  kept  in 
a  fine  state  of  cultivation,  Mr.  Holmes  being  a  sys- 
tematic and  practical  farmer  of  the  thoroughgoing 
English  type. 

Mr.  Morris  died  in  1843,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year 
of  his  age,  Mrs.  Morris  having  died  in  February, 
1822. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes  are  among  the  substantial 
and  highly-respected  people  of  the  township,  and 
have,  been  members  of  the  Millington  Baptist  Church 
since  its  organization,  in  1851.  They  have  one  son, 
John  Holmes,  who  lives  on  a  portion  of  the  home- 
stead and  carries  on  the  farm.  He  married  Julia, 
daughter  of  William  Allen,  of  Bedminster,  and  has 
six  children. 


ISAIAH   SMITH. 
Isaiah  Smith  was  born  in  Bernardsville,  Somerset 
Co.,  N.  J.,  Sept.  30, 1836.  He  was  reared  on  the  farm 


of  his  father,  Peter  Z.  Smith,  till  the  age  of  eighteen, 
when  he  entered  the  store  of  Benjamin  Smith,  at 


Basking  Ridge,  as  a  clerk,  where  he  remained  about, 
eight  months.  During  the  four  years  following  he 
served  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  Theodore  Allen,  at 
Peapack,  N.  J.,  and  after  spending  a  year  in  the 
West  and  remaining  at  home  a  short  time,  in  1865 
he  established  himself  in  the  grocery  business  at 
Irvington,  N.  J.,  where  he  remained  till  May,  1866. 
During  the  years  1866  and  1867  he  did  business  in 
copartnership  with  William  Petty  and  Jonathan 
Allen,  having  stores  at  Irvington,  Milburn,  and 
Peapack.  In  1868  the  partnership  was  dissolved; 
and  Mr.  Smith,  while  conducting  the  business  at 
Milburn,  formed  another  partnership  under  which 
he  carried  on  an  additional  store  at  Wilkesbarre,  Pa., 
doing  business  there  till  1872.  Since  then  he  has 
devoted  himself  to  his  store  in  Milburn,  and  has 
built  up  a  successful  trade. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  Dec.  26, 1862,  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Watson  C.  Allen,  of  Peapack,  and  has  two 
children. — viz.,  Minnie  M.,  born  May  26,  1868,  and 
Lizzie,  born  Dec  10, 1872. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  "  Smith  Family  and 
Friends'  Reunion"  in  1876,  he  has  been  president  of 
that  popular  association,  and  has  from  time  to  time 
held  responsible  offices  in  the  township  where  he 
resides.  

HON.  JOHN   H.  ANDERSON. 

The  late  John  Hill  Anderson,  judge  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas,  was  born  at  Bernardsville,  Somer- 
set Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  estate  of  his  ancestors,  Dec.  28, 
1813.  He  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  possessed  the 
sturdy  moral  characteristics  of  that  race,  coupled 
with  great  geniality  of  temper  and  strong  and  abiding 
attachment  to  friends.  He  was  the  second  son  and 
fifth  child  of  George  and  Mary  (Hill)  Anderson,  and 
was  brought  up  on  the  home  farm,  receiving  but  a 
limited  education  in  the  common  schools.  He  pos- 
sessed a  mind,  however,  of  no  common  order,  and  for 
many  years  exerted  an  influence  second  to  no  other 
citizen  of  the  township  in  which  he  resided.  The 
Somerset  Messenger  expressed  the  universal  sentiment 
of  the  community  in  the  notice  of  his  death,  which 
occurred  May  7, 1873,  irom  which  we  ta,ke  the  follow- 
ing extract: 

"  No  one  acquainted  with  Judge  Anderson  can  help 
feeling  a  pang  of  regret— and  to  many,  very  many,  of 
our  county,  sincere  sorrow — at  the  death  of  this  esti- 
mable man.  Judge  Anderson  was  a  native  of  the 
county,  of  Bernard  township,  always  having  lived  at 
Bernardsville,  and  held  many  important  positions: 
commencing  with  justice  of  the  peace,  member  of  the 
lower  branch  of  the  Legislature  two  years,  surrogate 
of  the  county  five  years,  immediately  following  with 
the  judgeship  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  contin- 
uing two  or  three  years,  and  before  the  expiration  of 
his  judicial  term  elected  State  senator,  which  posi- 
tion he  filled  the  three  years  following.  During  all 
of  these  years,  however,  he  was  not  only  devoting 


V56 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


himself  to  his  official  duties,  but  at  all  times  busily 
engaged  in  assisting  the  people  of  his  township  in  re- 
lation to  the  manag^ent  of  their  affairs,  settling  es- 
tates, guardian  for  infants,  etc.,  so  that  he  was  in 
the  full  sense  of  the  term  a  public  man  whose  loss 
will  be  keenly  felt  and  deeply  deplored. 

"  Through  his  instrumentality  the  West  Line  Rail- 
road was  built,  and  for  a  time  he  was  director  as  well 
as  president  of  the  road.  His  life  was  therefore  a 
busy  one,  and  in  the  trusts  confided  to  his  care  he 
was  always  found  faithful  and  true.  The  kindly  and 
good  advice  given  by  him  to  his  friends  always  had  a 
beneficial  effect,  and  many  therg  are  who  thank  him 
xind  will  always  hold  his  memory  in  the  most  pro- 
found remembrance.  .  . 

"  By  his  thrift  he  had  acquired  anite  an  estate,  and, 
although  he  might  not  be  considered  a  wealthy  man, 
was  in  a  good  financial  condition. 

"  Politically,  Judge  Anderson  was  a  thorough  par- 
tisan, but  always  candid  and  just,  and  known  to  every 
one  where  he  stood  and  what  his  opinions  were  upon 
the  different  issues  presented,  always  having  respect 
for  and  according  the  right  to  others  to  have  their 


opinions,  yet  maintaining  his  own  in  such  a  way  as 
to  cause  his  opponents  to  admire  him  and  give  him 
credit  for  being  an  honest  man.  .  .  . 

"  In  his  death  the  whole  township  of  Bernard  has 
met  with  a  severe  loss  which  time  alone  can  efface, 
and  the  county  one  of  its  most  respected  and  best  citi- 
zens." 

Judge  Anderson  was  a  brother  of  ex-Sheriff  Ander- 
son, of  Mendham,  and  of  James  Anderson,  Esq.,  of 
Morristown.  He  was  honest  and  upright  in  all  his 
dealings,  charitable  towards  all  classes  and  conditions 
of  mankind,  and  constantly  endeavoring  to  be  useful 
to  those  with  whom  his  life  of  business  or  benevo- 
lence brought  him  in  contact. 

Mrs.  Anderson,  who  survives  him,  was  a  daughter 
of  James  M.  Lewis,  of  Bernard  township,  and  a  most 
estimable  lady.  He  left  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 
His  eldest  son,  Lieut.  George  S.  Anderson,  is  a  grad- 
uate of  West  Point  Military  Academy,  and  holds  the 
position  in  that  institution  of  instructor  in  cavalry 
tactics.  He  served  six  years  in  the  army  on  the  West- 
ern frontier.  The  second  son,  John  Lewis  Anderson, 
lives  with  his  mother  on  the  homestead. 


BRANCHBURG. 


GEOGRAPHICAL. 

BEANCHBrRG  township  is  located  centrally  on  the 
western  border  of  the  county  of  Somerset.  It  is 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  county  of  Hunterdon ; 
on  the  north  by  Bedminster  township ;  on  the  east 
by  Bridgewater  and  Hillsborough ;  and  on  the  south 
by  the  township  of  Hillsborough.  The  principal 
water-courses  are  the  Lamington  Biver  on  the  north, 
that  divides  the  township  from  Bedminster ;  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Earitan  on  the  east,  from  Bridgewater; 
the  South  Branch  on  the  east  and  south;  from  Hills- 
borough. Three  small  streams,  named  respectively 
Campbell's  Eun,  Chambers'  Brook,  and  Hollands 
Brook,  run  their  course  southeasterly  and  join  the 
branches  of  the  Earitan,  Chambers'  Brook  uniting 
with  the  North  Branch  of  the  Earitan  at  the  North 
Branch  Depot,  Hollands  Brook  uniting  with  the 
South  Branch  a  short  distance  south  of  its  junction 
with  the  North  Branch,  and  Campbell's  or  Pleasant 
Eun  near  where  the  Easton  and  Amboy  Railroad 
crosses  the  South  Branch. 

The  township  has  no  marked  features,  its  surface 
being  slightly  undulating,  and  in  many  places  com- 
paratively level.     It  embraces  an  area  of  19.74  square 

*  By  Austin  N.  Hungerford. 


miles,  or  12,634  acres  of  land,  and  contains  a  popula- 
tion of  1316  inhabitants  and  154  farms. 

INDIAN   TITLES   AND    THEIR   SETTLEMENTS. 
FIRST  TITLE. 

The  land  along  the  Earitan  below  the  junction  had 
been  mostly  sold  before  the  "  Proprietors"  bought 
the  Indian  titles  to  land  west  of  the  junction  of  the 
branches  of  the  Raritan.  The  following,  from  the 
"  Elizabethtown  Bill  of  Chancery,"  is  a  synopsis  of  the 
deed  conveying  the  south  part  of  the  land  now  occu- 
pied by  Branchburg,  and  embraced  what  were  after- 
wards known  as  lots  22,  14,  15,  12,  and  13,  and  which 
will  be  described  hereafter : 

"  That  Pawarone  and  Wermines,  Indians,  by  their  Deed  bearing  date 
the  ninth  day  of  October,  1685,  for  the  consideration  of  sundry  Goods 
therein  mentioned,  did  sell  unto  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  East  Jersey  a 
tract  of  land  beginning  upon  Hollands  Brook  aforesaid,  and  running  up 
the  South  branch  of  the  Raritan;  as  by  the  original  Deed." 

Just  one  month  later  (Nov.  9,  1685)  the  land  em- 
braced in  this  tract  was  divided  into  five  tracts,  each 
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  South  Branch  and  con- 
veyed by  the  proprietors  as  follows :  No.  13,  being 
the  extreme  south  part  and  bounded  on  the  south 
and  east  by  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan,  con- 
taining 375  acres,  was  sold  to  John  Dobie.  Adjoining 
this  tract  on  the  north,  a  plot  of  1874  acres,  known  as 


Cpc^'j::^^^^:^'^  ^CA-cc^ 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  descendant  in 
the  fourth  generation  from  Samuel  and  Abigail 
Vail,  of  Westchester,  N.  Y.  His  great-grand- 
father was  John  Vail,  the  oldest  son  of  Samuel 
and  Abigail  Vail,  who  was  twice  married,  and 
reared  a  large  family.  The  children  of  John 
Vail  by  his  first  wife  (Margaret  Laing)  were 
Samuel,  John,  Daniel,  Isaac,  David,  Jacob, 
Abraham,  and  Benjamin ;  and  those  by  his 
second  wife  (Mary  Laing)  were  Joseph  and 
Christiana,  who  died  single.  The  children  by 
the  first  wife  all  married  and  had  large  families, 
whose  descendants  are  numerous  and  widely 
scattered. 

John  Vail,  the  son  of  John,  and  grandfather 
of  Edward  Vail,  married  Catharine  Fitz-Ran- 
dolph,  and  had  children :  Margaret,  Edward, 
Isaac,  Amos,  Phebe,  Nathan,  and  Joel.  The 
last  named  married  Catharine  K.  Miller,  and 
had  children :  Alexander,  Mary  Ann,  Edward 
(the  subject  of  our  notice),  Christopher,  Thomas, 
Phebe,  Margaret,  Richard,  Benijah,  Catharine, 
and  John. 


Joel  Vail  lived  at  Green  Brook,  and  was  a 
hatter  by  occupation,  and  also  a  farmer  and 
merchant.  Edward,  the  subject  of  this  notice, 
was  born  at  Green  Brook,  Sept.  26,  1808,  and 
was  brought  up  there  at  the  hatter's  trade 
with  his  father.  He  followed  that  occupation, 
together  with  farming,  till  about  the  time  of  his 
marriage.  He  married,  Dec.  2,  1845,  Ann 
Vail,  a  name  which  she  has  never  changed, 
being  a  daughter  of  James,  son  of  Isaac  Vail. 
They  have  had  no  children.  Mrs.  Vail  was 
born  and  brought  up  at  Long  Hill,  in  the 
vicinity  of  where  she  now  resides. 

After  his  marriage,  in  1845,  Mr.  Vail  set- 
tled on  his  present  place,  being  the  inheritance 
of  his  wife,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided  and 
followed  the  pursuit  of  agriculture.  He  was 
brought  up  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Hicksite 
Quakers,  with  which  he  still  stands  identified, 
though  not  a  regular  attendant  at  any  meeting 
of  that  order.  He  is  noted  for  his  strict  in- 
tegrity and  moral  worth,  and  is  held  in  high 
esteem  as  a  man  and  a  citizen. 


BRANCHBURG. 


•757 


No.  12,  was  conveyed  to  John  Campbell  (son  of  Lord 
Neill  Campbell).  Next  above  was  No.  15,  a  tract  of 
750  .acres,  which,  was  conveyed  to  Andrew  Hamilton. 
Adjoining  on  the  north  was  a  large  tract  known  as 
No.  14,  containing  1000  acres,  sold  to  John  Drummond. 
Lot  22,  adjoining  Drummond,  and  north  butting  on 
Hollands  Brook,  contained  500  acres,  which  was  sold 
to' Andrew  Hamilton,  April  25, 1687. 

The  lower  or  southern  tract  in  this  first  Indian  title 
is  known  on  the  old  map  as  No.  13.  It  was  purchased 
by  John  Dobie  on  the  9th  of  October,  1680,  and  con- 
tained 375  acres.  In  1719  the  line  between  East  and 
West  Jersey  was  readjusted,  and  the  plot  is  called 
"  Dobie's  plantation."  It  is  not  known  at  what  date 
a  transfer  was  made,  but  about  1785  the  property  was 
in  possession  of  Christianus  I.  Van  Doren,  of  Mill- 
stone. The  property  at  his  death  passed  to  his  sons, 
John  0.  and  Abraham  C,  the  former  owning  100 
acres  in  the  northern  part.  The  southern  part,  245 
acres,  that  descended  to  Abraham  C,  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  John  S.  Ammerman.  John  C.  had 
three  sons, — Christianus  I.,  John  P.,  and  Abram  I., 
all  dead.  Abram  C.  had  three  daughters, — Aletta  and 
Phebe,  unmarried,  and  Julia,  who  married  Mr.  Black- 
well  and  lives  -in  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J. 

The  tract  north  of  the  Dobie  plantation  embraced 
1874  acres,  and  was  conveyed  by  the  proprietors  to 
John  Campbell,  a  son  of  Lord  Neill  Campbell.  The 
purchase  was  made  Nov.  9, 1685 ;  the  deed,  however, 
bears  date  Oct.  6, 1686,  nearly  a  year  later.  In  1683 
or  1684  he  had  purchased  a  small  plot  of  land  at 
Bound  Brook,  where  he  built  a  hoxise  and  lived  until 
he  bought  at  South  Branch,  when  he  moved  upon  the 
land.  He  had  two  sons,  Archibald  and  John,  and 
two  daughters,  one  of  whom,  Jennette,  married 
Tobias  Van  Norden,  of  Bound  Brook.  The  section 
of  the  tract  on  which  he  lived  is  not  known.  He 
died  before  1708,  as  in  that  year  Marion,  his  widow, 
and  John,  his  son,  conveyed  to  Thomas  Hall,  for  £350, 
money  of  New  York,  1150  acres  of  the  tract,  it  being 
the  upper  portion  ;  the  remainder  of  the  tract  later 
was  sold  to  Peter  Morrison  and  Henry  Stevens,  the 
southwestern  portion  having  been  sold  to  Morrison 
and  afterwards  passed  to  one  Hardenbrook.  It  is 
now  in  possession  of  Gabriel  Carkhuflf.  The  eastern 
portion,  owned  by  Henry  Stev«ps,  was  purchased  by 
John  Carpenter  for  his  daughter,  who  married  Peter 
T.  Beekman  and  lived  on  the  place  for  several  years. 
It  was  finally  sold  to  Calvin  Corle,  who  is  still  in  pos- 
session. The  property  now  belonging  to  Hon.  John  G. 
Schenck  was  in  possession  of  Abram  C.  Van  Doren 
about  1840. 

Thomas  Hall,  on  the  20th  of  December,  1728,  con- 
veyed to  Cornelius  Low  230  acres  of  his  land,  lying 
north  from  the  present  residence  of  Peter  Van  Camp, 
which  afterwards  passed  to  the  Stryker  family,  and  is 
now  mostly  in  the  possession  of  Frederick  D.  Brokaw. 
On  the  30th  of  December  the  same  year  Thomas 
Hall  made  his  will,  in  which  he  declares  that  he  is 


the  possessor  of  920  acres  of  land.    This  he  devised 
to  his  two  sons,  John  and  Richard,  they  to  come  into- 
possession  after  the  death  or  marriage  of  his  wife, 
Gertje.      On  the  27th  of  May,  1734,  Gertje,  their 
mother,  released  all  her  right,  title,  and  interest  in 
the  land  to  her  sons,  leading  to  the  presumption  that 
she  married.     They  remained  in  possession  of  all  the 
land  they  inherited  for  six  years.   On  the  6th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1740,  John  conveyed  to  Cornelius  Van  Kampen, 
of  Esopus,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.,  for  the  sum  of  £672, 
240  acres  and  60  perches  of  land  in  one  place,  and 
6  acres  and  20  perches  of  the  meadow-land  close  to 
the  South  Branch,  and  92  acres  and  32  perches  not 
far  from  it.     In  the  last-mentioned  tract  was  situated 
the  burying-ground  in  which  some  of  the  family  had 
been  buried.    This  has  always  been  kept  as  a  burial- 
place,  and  is  now  in  the  limits  of  the  farm  of  Peter 
Van  Camp,  a  short  distance  north  of  his  house.     On 
the  same  date  Richard,  the  brother  of  John,  also  con- 
veyed to  Cornelius  Van  Kampen  147  acres  and  23 
perches.     This  land,  485  acres,  remained  in  the  pos- 
session of  Cornelius  Van  Kampen  until  his  death. 
By  his  will,  dated  April  20,  1794,  the  land  was  be- 
queathed to  Thomas,  his  son,  and  Cornelius,  a  grand- 
son, and  son  of  John,  deceased.   On  the  2d  of  Decem- 
ber the  same  year  each  released  title  in  the  lands  of 
the  other.    On  the  29th  of  December,  1804,  Thomas 
Van  Kampen  conveyed  to  Cornelius  Van  Kampen 
253J  acres  and  6  acres  of  meadow-land.     This,  in  ad- 
dition to  his  inheritance,  made  the  tract  of  485  acres. 
Cornelius  had  two  sons,  Thomas  and  John ;  the  latter 
died  and  left  a  son  (Thomas)  and  two  daughters, — 
Catharine,  who  married  a  Mr.  Emmons,  and  Eliza- 
beth, who  married  a  Mr.  Ludlow. 

Thomas,  son  of  Cornelius,  married  Catharine  Van 
Middlesworth,  and  had  two  sons— Tunis  and  John — 
(twins)  and  one  daughter, — Jenny, — who  married 
Abram  Smock.  Tunis  went  West  and  died.  John 
remained  on  the  homestead,  which  his  father  conveyed 
to  him  April  25,  1827.  He  married  Jane  Lane,  and 
had  six  children,  of  whom  two  of  the  sons  are  living 
in  the  township, — Tunis  at  Neshanic  Station,  and 
Peter  on  the  old  homestead. 

John  and  Richard  Hall  kept  a  part  of  the  western 
portion  of  the  tract  they  inherited.  William  Hall,  a 
son  of  John,  lived  on  the  farm  owned  by  Gilbert  S. 
Lane  and  John  Ammerman.  John  W.,  a  son  of 
John,  lived  where  W.  N.  Hoagland  now  lives.  John 
W.  had  four  sons,— William,  who  went  West ;  Dennis, 
who  removed  to  North  Branch,  on  part  of  the  Ten, 
Eyck  tract,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  J.  Perrine 
(his  daughter,  Mrs.  Lever,  lives  on  part  of  the  farm 
purchased  by  her  father,  Dennis) ;  Isaac  lives  on  a 
tract  north  of  the  original  tract.  Of  the  daughters, 
Helena,  Aletta  (Mrs.  Isaac  I.  Stryker),  and  Catha- 
rine (Mrs.  Leonard  Bunn)  live  in  Somerville. 

Lot  No.  14,  purchased  by  John  Drummond,  con- 
tained 1000  acres,  and  lay  south  of  No.  22,  and  im- 
mediately north  of  lot  No.  15. 


758 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  lot  known  as  No.  15,  purchased  Nov.  9,  1685, 
by  Andrew  Hamilton,  containing  750  acres,  was  situ- 
ated north  of  the  John  Campbell  tract.  In  1740  it 
was  in  possession  of  Volkert  Dowe.    At  a  later  date 

the  east  end,  on  the  river,  was  owned  by Naylor, 

and  the  remainder  by  Peter  Van  Nuys,  John  Smith, 
Jacob  Kershaw,  his  son-in-law,  and  Cornelius  Van 
Horn,  to  the  county  line. 

Lot  No.  22,  purchased  by  Andrew  Hamilton  the 
same  date  as  lot  No.  15,  contained  500  acres.  One 
hundred  years  ago  a  large  tract  in  this  lot  was  owned 

by Van  Derveer.     Isaac  V.  Huff  owns  a  part  of 

this  last-mentioned  tract.  The  heirs  of  Lawrence  V. 
Studdiford  now  own  a  part  of  it.  The  Eev.  Peter 
Studdiford  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Van  Derveer, 
by  whom  the  property  was  inherited.  Lawrence  Stud- 
diford and  the  Rev.  Peter  Studdiford,  of  Lambertville, 
Hunterdon  Co.,  were  sons.  Peter  I.  Voorhees  owns  a 
part  of  the  west  end  of  the  original  tract. 

SECOND   INDIAN   TITLE. 

The  land  embraced  in  this  title  reached  from  Hol- 
land's Brook  north  to  the  junction  of  the  North  and 
South  Branches  of  the  Earitan,  and  from  thence  di- 
rectly north,  on  the  west  patent  line  of  what  is  de- 
scribed in  the  township  of  Bridgewater  as  the  fourth 
Indian  title.  The  west  line  of  the  tract  was  the  line 
of  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties,  at  that  time 
straight  and  on  a  line  with  westerly  line  of  its  present 
course.  The  lower  or  south  lot  (23),  adjoining  Hol- 
lands Brook,  and  lot  61,  in  the  north  part,  were  en- 
tirely in  the  land  embraced  in  this  second  title,  Lots 
Nos.  37,  68,  67,  65,  66,  and  55  extend  from  the  North 
Branch  across  the  fourth  Indian  title  mentioned, 
and  this  second  title,  to  the  west  line.  Lots  53  and  61 
are  embraced  entirely  in  the  fourth  title.  Lots  69 
and  63  are  in  an  Indian  title  the  date  of  which  is  not 
known.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  deed, 
taken  from  the  Elizabethtown  bill  of  chancery : 

"  Tliat  PaywaflBen,  Indian,  by  his  deed  dated  the  14th  day  of  August, 
1688,  for  the  consideration  therein  mentioned,  received  of  Capt.  Andrew 
Hamilton,  Deputy  GoTernor  of  New  Jersey,  did  sell  to  the  Proprietors  of 
East  Jersey,  a  tract  of  land  beginning  at  Holland's  Brook ;  and  Irom 
thence  as  the  river  runs  to  the  meeting  of  the  branches  of  the  Raritan ; 
and  to  run  as  far  back  as  the  said  Paywassen  aud  other  Indians  their 
lands  run  as  by  the  said  deed,  recorded  in  Liber  B,  p.  534." 

In  this  tract  were  seven  lots  that  were  purchased  as 
follows :  No.  23,  the  east  half,  seems  to  be  located  be- 
fore the  Indian  deed,  as  it  bears  date  Dec.  13,  1687, 
and  was  taken  up  by  Andrew  Hamilton.  It  con- 
tained 250  acres;  the  west  half  was  unappropriated. 
No.  37,  containing  500  acres,  commenced  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  North  and  South  Branches  and  ran  back 
northwest  two  miles.  This  was  taken  up  by  Hen- 
driok  Corson.  Next  adjoining  was  a  tract  known  as 
No.  68,  containing  500  acras,  sold  tc>  Thomas  Gordon. 
North  of  this  tract  were  Nos.  67,  65,  and  66,  of  466  i 
acres  each.  These  were  sold  respectively  to  Miles 
Foster,  Michael  Handin,  and  George  Willocks. 
North  of  the  Willocks  tract  was  No.  55,  a  plot  of 


1000  acres,  which  was  conveyed  to  Lord  Noill  Camp- 
bell, May  24,  1690.  No.  61  (100  acres)  was  purchased 
by  John  Johnston,  and  also  No.  53,  directly  north  of 
it,  containing  400  acres,  May  20,  1690.  Lot  64  was 
purchased  by  Dr.  Johnston  in  1701 ;  the  precise  date 
and  number  of  acres  are  not  given.  The  south  lot, 
known  as  No.  23  in  this  second  Indian  title,  lay  on 
the  north  of  Holland's  Brook,  resting  on  the  bank  all 
across  the  townshij).  It  contained  500  acres.  The 
east  half,  of  250  acres,  was  purchased  by  Andrew 
Hamilton  on  the  18th  of  October,  1687,  about  nine 
months  prior  to  the  purchase  of  the  Indian  title  by 
the  proprietors,  of  whom  he  was  agent.  To  whom  he 
sold  is  not  known.  In  1706  the  north  half  of  the 
whole  tract,  containing  about  275  acres,  was  in  pos- 
session of  Solomon  Davis.  The  west  half  of  the  tract 
was  not  appropriated  under  the  first  division,  in 
1716,  Davis  sold  the  land  in  his  possession  to  Andreas 
Ten  Eyck,  and  it  now  belongs  to  Nathan  Terrebcrry, 
Rev.  Gilbert  Lane,  and  others.  The  southwest  quar- 
ter of  the  lot  was  known  early  as  tlie  .Jew  farm,  and 
now  belongs  to  Peter  I.  Voorhees.  The  southeast 
now  belongs  to  Abram  Tunison,  .John  Voorhees,  and 
Henry  Van  Fleet. 

Lot  No.  .37  is  a  tract  of  land  commencing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  North  and  South  Branches,  running 
back  2  miles  and  40  chains  in  width  north,  contain- 
ing 500  acres.  This  tract  was  purchased  by  Hen- 
drick  Corson  (Vroom).*  He  was  a  native  of  New 
Amsterdam  (New  York).  His  father  was  "Coniolis 
Petersen  (Vroom)."  llis  mother  was  Tryntje  Hen- 
dricks. She  had  at  the  time  of  her  second  marriage 
with  Frederick  Lubbertsen  three  sons, — Cornelis  Cor- 
son (Vroom),  aged  twelve  years;  Peter  (Vroom), 
aged  six  years;  and  Hendrick  (Vroom),  aged  three 
years.  Cornelis  Corson  (Vroom)  was  one  of  the 
patentees  of  the  Graham,  Winder  &  Co.'s  tract, 
where  the  village  of  Somerville  now  stands.  Hen- 
drick Corson  (Vroom)  purchased  of  his  brother  a 
part  of  the  east  quarter  of  the  tract  on  the  Gth  day  of 
June,  1087,  and  soon  after  sold  it,  and  on  the  10th 
June,  ]<;88,  purchased  this  tract.  He  was  born  in 
November,  1653,  and  married  Josina  Picterz,  daugh- 
ter of  Picter  Van  Nest,  of  Brooklyn.  He  lived  to  a 
good  old  age.  Hendrick  Vroom,  of  Brooklyn,  was  a 
son  of  Hendrick  Ooraon  and  Josina  Van  Nest.  He 
married  Janr.ietje  Bergen  in  1711.  After  her  death  he 
married  Dortie  Dumont,  in  1745.  His  children  were 
Sarah  Vroom,  born  1720,  and  Petrus  Vroom,  born 
1722.  In  1751  he  sold  the  south  part,  containing  300 
acres,  to  Peter  Dumont.  A  narrow  strip  across  the 
west  end,  containing  40  acres,  had  previously  been 
sold  to  John  Vroom.  This  last  tract  was  divided 
into  wood  lots  and  sold  separately.  Joseph  Thomp- 
son is  now  the  jiossessor  of  the  40  acres,  having 
bought  them  from  time  to  time.     On  the  northeast 


*  Thoorlglnal  name  was  Oorsson.  The  name  was  retained  by  those  of  the 
family  who  remained  on  Long  Island,  but  was  soon  dropped  by  Cornelia 
and  Hendrick  Corson,  who  came  to  the  Uaritan. 


BRANCHBURa. 


759 


corner  of  this  tract,  in  the  centre  of  the  road,  near  the 
residence  of  Judge  Thompson,  stands  the  old  corner- 
stone of  the  Corson  (Vroom)  tract. 

The  300-acre  tract  of  Peter  Dumont  was  inherited 
by  John  Baptist  Dumont,  known  by  many  as  John 
Protest  Dumont.  By  his  will  it  was  devised  for  their 
lifetime  to  his  sisters,  Brachia  and  Phebe.  The  old 
homestead  occupied  the  spot  where  now  lives  John 
Vosseller.  The  tract  is  now  owned  by  John  Vossel- 
ler,  Paul  K.  Dilts, Shafer,  and  Joseph  Bead. 

The  north  half  was  owned  in  1753  by  John  Van 
Nest,  a  son  of  Peter,  and  was  afterwards  held  by  An- 
dreas Ten  Eyck  and  inherited  by  his  son  Andrew, 
who  sold  190  acres  of  the  western  part  to  Andrew 
Fleming.  Sylvester  Eobins  purchased  100  acres  of 
this  part.  A  strip  on  the  north  side  of  this  tract  is 
owned  by  parties  owning  farms  on  the  north. 

The  next  tract  is  designated  on  the  map  accompa- 
nying the  Elizabethtown  bill  of  chancery,  date  of 
1747,  as  No.  68,  containing  500  acres,  and  as  having 
been  sold  to  "  Thomas  Gordon,  at  Peter  Van  Nest's." 
A  parchment  deed  in  possession  of  Judge  Thompson 
recites  that  the  property  was  conveyed  to  him  by  the 
proprietors,  April  1,  1703.  On  the  22d  of  September, 
1710,  he  sold  the  property  to  Thomas  Purcell,  of  Mid- 
dlesex County,  who  in  1719  conveyed  the  uppermost 
one-half  to  Daniel  Purcell,  his  son.  On  the  13th  of 
April,  1728,  he  conveyed  it  to  Guisbert  Krom,  who, 
in  consideration  of  £925,  conveyed  the  land  to  Jo- 
hannes Van  Nest,  April  25,  1755,  Krom  reserving 
"the  one-half  of  all  minerals  whatsoever  that  shall 
from  time  to  time  be  discovered,  dug  up,  and  got  forth 
on  the  same  or  of  any  part  or  parcel  of  said  lands,'' 
Krom  to  pay  an  equal  dividend  of  cost. 

A  parchment  deed  is  in  possession  of  Sheriff  George 
Vroom,  dated  Dec.  17,  1753,  by  which  Peter  Van 
Nest,  Sr.,  as  an  executor  of  Jacob  Van  Nest  (son  of 
Peter),  conveyed  213  acres  of  land  to  Thomas  Van 
Home  and  Matthew  Ten  Eyck,  in  trust  for  Catharine 
Van  Nest,  widow  of  Jacob,  and  their  children.  It  is 
recited  in  this  deed  that  on  the  6th  of  January,  1697, 
the  proprietors  conveyed  by  patent  to  Peter  Van  Nest 
600  acres  of  land 

"  Beginning  at  the  upper  northeast  corner  of  Hendrick  Corson's  land, 
which  corner  is  forty  chains  northeast  by  north  from  the  meeting  of  the 
South  and  North  Branches  of  Baritan,  thence  northwest  and  by  west 
two  miles,  and  northeast  by  north  forty-eig.r-  chains  in  breadth." 

On  the  22d  of  June,  1724,  Peter  conveyed  the  north 
half  of  this  property  to  his  son  Peter,  who  on  the  2d 
of  April,  1752,  conveyed  the  westerly  part,  containing 
213  acres,  to  his  son  Jacob.  He  lived  only  about  a 
year  after  this  conveyance,  being  brutally  murdered 
in  December,  1753.  The  occasion  is  said  to  have  been 
the  taking  of  a  leaf  of  tobacco  out  of  the  negro's  box 
by  his  master.  Mr.  Van  Nest  had  been  out  on  horse- 
back, and  returned  home  at  night.  The  negro  stood 
inside  the  stable-door,  and  struck  him  with  an  axe  as 
he  was  about  to  put  up  his  horse.  He  then  turned  the 
horse  loose  with  the  saddle  turned  under  him,  and 


dragged  the  body  some  distance  and  buried  it  under 
the  leaves,  at  the  root  of  a  large  tree  that  was  up- 
turned. Search  was  soon  instituted,  the  negro  join- 
ing in  the  search.  After  considerable  time  the  body 
was  found.  Suspicion  was  directed  towards  the  negro, 
as  he  was  considered  dangerous.  He  was  a  large,  ath- 
letic man,  and  the  friends  and  neighbors  were  afraid 
to  arrest  him.  He  was  sent  out  to  bring  in  a  back-log 
for  the  fire,  and  while  this  was  in  his  arms  he  was 
taken  when  he  could  not  defend  himself  His  mas- 
ter's pocket-knife  was  found  upon  him.  He  was  then 
taken  to  the  county-seat,  then  at  Millstone,  tried,  and 
condemned  to  be  burned  publicly  at  the  stake. 

Mr.  Van  Nest  married  Catharine  Ten  Eyck,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons, 
Peter  and  Jacob,  and  one  daughter,  Jemima,  who 
married  Hendrick  D.  Vroom;  their  children  were 
Jacob,  Peter,  and  George.  George  Vroom,  the  present 
sheriff  of  Somerset  County,  is  a  descendant  of  Jacob. 
Jacob,  a  son  of  Peter,  lives  in  the  township.  The 
property  is  now  in  possession  of  Gilbert  Kershaw, 
son-in-law  of  Andrew  Hageman.  The  east  part  of 
the  tract  was  purchased  by  Henry  Cox.  Abram  Ten 
Eyck,  late  of  Michigan,  now  lives  on  this  part.  The 
east  part  of  the  north  half,  that  still  remained  in  the 
possession  of  Peter,  the  first  purchaser,  now  belongs 
to  Col.  A.  D.  Hope,  and  the  part  along  the  river  was 
sold  to  Michael  Van  Derveer.  The  Van  Derveer 
Mills  are  located  in  the  northeast  corner.  One  of 
the  homesteads  of  the  early  Van  Nests  was  at  this 
place. 

The  south  half  of  the  large  tract  was  in  1776  owned 
by  John  Smith.  It  reached  from  the  river  to  the 
Hunterdon  county  line.  A  part  of  the  east  end  is 
owned  by  the  Van  Derveers.  A  part  was  owned  by 
the  Vossellers  in  1842,  and  is  now  owned  by  Jacob 

Vosseller.   The  tract  west  is  owned  by Henriques, 

and  the  one  still  farther  west  by  Henry  Bacon  and 
Joseph  Dalley.  The  part  of  the  tract  adjoining  the 
county  line  is  now  in  possession  of  Judge  Joseph 
Thompson.  This  large  tract  of  600  acres,  purchased 
by  Peter  Van  Nest  in  1697,  seems  to  be,  by  its  descrip- 
tion, the  same  tract  purchased  by  Thomas  Gordon  in 
April,  1703,  mentioned  before.  This  discrepancy 
seems  irrecon'cilable. 

The  lot  north  of  the  one  described  as  the  Thomas 
Gordon  or  Peter  Van  Nest  tract  was  one  of  three 
adjoining  each  other  that  were  laid  out,  each  con- 
taining 466f  acres.  The  first  one,  known  as  No. 
67,  was  purchased  by  Miles  Foster,  and  soon  after 
was  in  possession  of  Peter  Van  Nest,  by  whom  it  was 
devised  by  will  to  his  son  John,*  who  left  the  greater 
part  of  it  to  his  son  George ;  but,  in  case  he  died  without 
children,  it  was  provided  by  John  Van  Nest  that  the 


•  The  following  is  taken  from  a  hill  of  sale  in  possession  of  the  Van 
Nest  family,  and  will  be  of  interest: 

"  July  10, 1768,  John  Van  Nest,  of  Bridgewater  (now  Branchburg), 
sold  to  Peter  Van  Nest 'A  certain  Neger  Winch  named  Mary  and  a 
Neger  boy  named  Jack'  for  the  sum  of  £66,  Tork  currency." 


760 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JEKSEY. 


property  should  descend  to  his  daughters.  The  west- 
erly part,  on  the  south,  was  owned  in  1753  hy  Ahram 
Bodine  and  Guisbert  Corson.  The  easterly  part  had 
been  sold  in  wood  lots  of  10  or  20  acres,  the  larger 
part  of  which  came  later  into  the  hands  of  Simon 
Nevius,  and  is  owned  by  John  Clawson.  About  1796, 
David  Nevius  owned  about  240  acres,  now  the  prop- 
erty of  John  B.  Stillwell.  The  westerly  part  was  sold 
by  Mrs.  Stillwell  and  Mrs.  Quick,  about  1827,  to 
Asher  Dilts,  father  of  William  Dilts,  the  middle 
portion  to  Abram  A.  Ammerman,  and  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  his  grandson,  Jacob  K.  Ammerman. 
The  easterly  portion  of  their  tract  was  sold  to  John 
Key,  and  by  him  to  Peter  Pumyea,  and  in  1834  to 
Dennis  Hageman,  and  by  him  to  Jacob  Kershaw, 
whose  heirs  sold  to  John  Demun. 

The  second  of  the  tracts  containing  466f  acres, 
known  as  No.  65,  lying  north  of  No.  67,  was  purchased 
by  Michael  Handen,  but  at  what  time  this  property 
was  sold  is  not  definitely  ascertained;  the  south  part 
within  a  few  years  after  was  in  possession  of  the  Van 
Nest  family,  and  was  sold  by  the  devisees  of  John 
Van  Nest  at  the  same  time  with  the  portion  of  No. 
67  owned  by  them.  It  is  now  in  possession  of  Dilts, 
Ammerman,  and  others.  The  north  part  of  the  tract 
came  into  possession  of  John  Bogert,  and  after  1720 
to  Peter  Van  Pelt.  In  1761  it  belonged  to  George 
Leslie,  whose  heirs,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1776,  sold  to 
William  Crook.  It  was  sold  in  1816  to  Henry  Ammer- 
man, and  now  belongs  to  George  Ammerman,  of  New 
York  City,  John  Van  Doren,  of  Millstone,  and  John 
Y.  Dalley.  John  V.  Stillwell  owns  the  east  part. 
That  portion  farther  west  is  attached  to  the  Dilts  and 
Ammerman  farms,  lying  south. 

The  third  tract  of  466f  acres,  known  as  No.  66,  was 
purchased  by  George  Willocks,  who  had  large  tracts 
of  land  both  in  East  and  West  Jersey.  At  what  time 
it  came  into  possession  of  Bergen  Brokaw,  Sr.,  of 
Hillsborough  township,  is  not  known,  but  on  the  6th 
of  August,  1782,  he  conveyed  342J  acres  of  it  to  Ber- 
gen Brokaw,  Jr.,  who  later  sold  it  to  Daniel  Ammer- 
man, who  at  the  time  of  the  purchase  was  his  step- 
father. It  is  now  owned  by  John  Sutphin,  Henry  P. 
Schomp,  Henry  Van  Derveer,  and  Charles  H.  More- 
house. 

The  east  part,  adjoining  the  river,  which  is  the  old 
homestead,  belongs  to  James  Ammerman  (son  of 
Daniel),  who  was  bom  and  is  still  living  on  the  place, 
at  the  age  of  nearly  ninety  years. 

Lot  No.  55  is  a  wide  strip  of  land,  of  which  the 
southeast  corner  commences  where  Chambers'  or 
Smith's  Brook  empties  into  the  North  Branch,  near  the 
North  Branch  depot.  It  runs  thence  up  the  branch 
to  a  short  distance  below  the  village  of  North  Branch ; 
thence  northwest,  intersecting  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  Ten  Eyck  tract,  and  straight  to  the  township 
line,  near  the  intersection  of  the  Lamington  Pdver 
with  that  line ;  thence  south  along  the  township  line 
to  the  northwest  comer  of  No.  66,  the  Willocks  tract; 


thence  southeast  parallel  with  the  north  line  to  the 
point  near  Chambers'  Brook,  embracing  1000  acres. 
This  tract  was  purchased  by  Lord  Neill  Campbell  on 
the  24th  of  May,  1690.  The  east  half,  containing 
520^  acres,  was  sold  to  Charles  Dunstar,  of  Perth 
Amboy  (who  was  also  the  purchaser  of  original  tracts 
farther  north).  On  the  30th  of  August,  1726,  he  con- 
veyed it  to  John  Dumont  for  five  shillings,  current 
money  of  New  Jersey,  "  from  the  day  before  the  date 
hereof,  for  and  during  and  until  the  whole  end  and 
term  of  one  whole  year  next  ensuing,  and  fully  to 
compleat  and  ended,  yielding  and  paying  therefor  the 
rent  of  one  pepper  corn  at  the  feast  of  St.  Michael 
the  Archangel,*  only  the  same  be  lawfully  demanded 
to  the  intent  that  by  virtue  of  these  presents  and  of 
the  statutes  for  transferring  uses  into  possession,  of 
the  said  John  Dumont,  may  be  in  the  actual  posses- 
sion-and  be  enabled  to  accept  a  grant  and  release  of 
the  reversions  and  inheritence  thereof  to  him,  his 
heirs  and  assigns  forever.  Presents  have  inter- 
changably  been  made.  In  witness  whereof,  the  par- 
ties have  set  their  hands  and  seals  the  day  and  year 
first  above  mentioned  to  these  presents. — Charles 
Dunstar." 

Another  lot  of  land  was  sold  later  to  John  Dumont, 
the  description  of  which  will  be  found  with  lot  64.. 
These  two  tracts  were  surveyed,  mapped,  and  laid  out 
into  lots  by  John  Brokaw  in  1761.  On  the  26th  of 
January  of  that  year  the  land  was  conveyed  by  John 
Dumont  to  Peter,  Dirck,  and  Abraham,  his  sons.  The- 
part  that  was  on  the  Campbell  tract  was  divided  into- 
four  lots,  as  follows:  Abraham  had  lot  1,  of  214J^ 
acres,  embracing  the  south  part,  from  the  North 
Branch  to  the  back  line.  Peter  had  lots  2  and  4;  No. 
2  embraced  28  acres  of  meadow-land  along  the  river.. 
It  was  nearly  square,  and  lay  between  lot  1  of  Abra- 
ham and  lot  3  of  Dirck.  Lot  No.  4  of  Peter  con- 
tained 104  acres,  and  was  the  west  part  of  the  north 
part.  Dirck  came  into  possession  of  lot  3,  containing 
172  acres.  This  tract  was  the  ea.st  end  of  the  west, 
side,  south  of  the  village  of  North  Branch.  About 
1820  it  was  in  possession  of  Peter  Quackenbush ;  later- 
it  was  owned  by  Garret  Stryker,  then  by  Christopher 
Stryker,  and  at  present  by  James  Low.  The  upper 
or  north  lot,  left  to  Peter  later,  belonged  to  an  Abra- 
ham Dumont.  Sainuel  Little  now  lives  on  the  farm.. 
The  tract  of  Abraham,  No.  1,  is  now  occupied  by 
Abraham  and  Cornelius  Dumont,  sons  of  Isaac,  to 
whom  it  was  left  by  "Aunt  Neeltje"  (as  she  was 
known),  who  was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Peter  Dumont,  who 
lived  in  New  York.  Dr.  Peter  Dumont,  Elbert,  and 
Abraham  were  the  sons  of  Peter,  who  received  land 
at  the  division,  in  1761.  The  Rev.  Abram  Dumont, 
who  was  at  one  time  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Morristown,  and  died  in  Rhode  Island,  was 
a  son  of  Dr.  Peter  Dumont. 

The  western  portion  of  the  tract  may  also  have- 

*  September  29th. 


BRANCHBURG. 


761 


been  purchased  by  Dunstar,  but  it  was  later  in  the 
hands  of  Eichard  Porter  and  Garret  Probasco.  Daniel 
Ammerman  purchased  the  land  of  Porter,  which  was 
on  the  east  side,  and  paid  for  it  in  Continental  money 
by  the  sale  of  one  crop  of  corn  raised  on  the  farm. 
The  wife  of  Porter  refused  to  sign  the  deed  unless 
Ammerman  would  give  her  a  pound  of  tea,  which  he 
refused  to  do,  and  took  the  deed  without  her  signature. 
About  1820  it  belonged  to  Ruloff  Voorhees,  at  whose 
death  it  was  sold  to  Bergen  B.  Smith,  by  whom  it  was 
sold  to  William  Henry,  and  is  now  owned  by  Wm. 
D.  Smith  and  Peter  G.  Schomp ;  the  latter  also  owns 
the  Probasco  farm.  The  westerly  part  in  1761  be- 
longed to  Peter  Wortman,  and  is  now  owned  by 
Henry  P.  Schomp,  Henry  Van  Derveer,  and  Abra- 
ham Van  Fleet.  Lot  No.  64,  an  irregular  piece 
of  land  north  of  the  Campbell  tract  and  west  and 
north  of  the  Ten  Eyck  tract,  was  purchased  probably 
between  1688  and  1700  by  Dr.  John  Johnston.  He 
was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  was  a  druggist  in  the 
city  of  Edinburgh.  He  came  to  this  country  in 
1685,  and  established  himself  in  practice  at  first  in 
New  York  City ;  later  at  Perth  Amboy.  He  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  Geo.  Scott,  to  whom  had  been 
granted  500  acres  of  land.  This  was  confirmed  to 
Mrs.  Dr.  Johnston.  He  came  into  possession  of  other 
large  tracts  in  East  Jersey.  In  1720,  Dr.  Johnston 
became  a  member  of  Governor  Burnett's  council.  He 
was  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York  from  1714  to 
1718.  In  the  year  1720  he  removed  to  the  banks  of 
the  North  Branch,  where  he  built  a  double  two-story 
brick  house,  with  large  barns  and  outbuildings.  This 
building  was  standing  until  after  the  Kevolution.  He 
died  at  Perth  Amboy  in  1732.  The  Ten  Eyck  tract 
was  purchased  by  him  in  1690,  and  sold  to  Matthias 
Ten  Eyck  ten  years  later. 

In  1754  the  property  known  as  No.  64  was  in  pos- 
session of  Mordecai  McKinney,  of  Lebanon,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  and  123^  acres  of  it  was  sold  to  John 
Dumont  on  the  2d  of  April  of  that  year.  At  that 
time  Tunis  Post  owned  a  tract  north  of  it,  and  Peter 
Wortman  west  and  south.  This  land  remained  in 
the  hands  of  the  Dumont  family  for  many  years.  In 
the  division  by  John  Dumont  to  his  sons  Peter,  Dirck, 
and  Abraham,  in  1761,  the  land  north  of  the  Camp- 
bell tract,  which  was  the  land  purchased  in  1754  of 
Mordecai  McKinney,  was  divided  between  Peter  and 
Dirck,  Peter  having  the  west  part  and  Dirck  the  east. 
The  land  of  Peter,  after  his  death,  was  divided  be- 
tween Peter,  Elbert,  and  Abraham,  heirs-at-law.  In 
1800,  Elbert  and  Abraham  released  the  tract,  contain- 
ing 81  acres,  situated  north  of  the  Matthias  Ten 
Eyck  tract,  to  Peter.  On  the  28th  of  May,  1804,  he 
conveyed  it  to  John  Baylis.  Later  it  was  in  possession 
of  John  A.  Ten  Eyck,  and  now  belongs  to  Joseph  Ram- 
sey. Tunis  Post  lived  north  of  the  plot  many  years, 
and  died  in  1764.  Robert  Little  lived  on  the  Peter 
Wortman  tract,  west  of  the  land  purchased  by  John 
Dumont.  He  was  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  His 
49 


son,  John  Little,  married  Hannah  Dumont,  a  daughter 
of  Abram  Dumont,  and  lived  on  the  same  place.  His 
son  Samuel  now  lives  near  there,  on  the  part  of  the 
John  Dumont  tract  that  was  bought  originally  by 
Lord  Neill  Campbell. 

Lot  No.  53,  containing  400  acres,  is  located  in  the 
fourth  Indian  title  mentioned  in  Bridgewater  town- 
ship. It  was  sold  to  John  Johnston,  of  Monmouth 
Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  20th  of  May,  1690  He  soon  after 
purchased  lot  No.  61,  a  triangular  piece  of  land  con- 
taining 100  acres,  lying  south  of  it  and  north  of  lot  No. 
55  of  Lord  Neill  Campbell.  On  the  12th  of  November, 
1700,  John  Johnston  conveyed  the  400-acre  tract  to 
Matthias  Ten  Eyck,  of  Esopus,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Later,  on  the  22d  of  June,  1702,  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  he  conveyed  lot  No.  6l,  the  tract  below 
(on  which  the  village  of  North  Branch  is  located),  to 
Mr.  Ten  Eyck.  He  lived  at  Esopus,  Ulster  Co.,  N. 
Y.,  where  he  died.  He  had  four  sons, — Coenradt, 
Andrew,  Jacob,  and  Abraham.  A  part  of  the  family 
settled  on  land  east  of  Peter's  Brook  as  early  as  1706 
or  1707.  On  the  20th  of  October,  1721,  Matthias  con- 
veyed this  property  of  500  acres  to  his  son  Jacob,  who 
removed  to  the  place  and  soon  after  married  Jemima 
Van  Nest,  a  daughter  of  Jerome  Van  Nest,  who  lived 
where  the  village  of  Somerville  now  is,  not  far  irom 
the  depot.  Jacob  was  born  in  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in 
1693,  and  died  Oct.  26, 1753. ,  His  wife  Jemima  died  in 
1792,  in  her  ninety-third  year.  They  had  four  sons, — 
Jacob,  Matthew,  Conrad,  and  Peter.  Jacob,  the  oldest 
son,  married  Margaret  Hageman.  They  lived  on  the 
old  homestead,  in  the  stone  house  built  by  his  father, 
where  Tunis  Ten  Eyck  now  lives.  This  was  repaired 
by  him  and  raised  one  story  higher  in  1792.  He  died 
in  1794.  Before  his  death  he  sold  the  100  acres  men- 
tioned as  lot  No.  61,  where  the  village  of  North 
Branch  now  is,  for  a  mill-site.  It  was  owned  about 
1802  by  John  Baylis.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck  was  captain 
of  a  company  of  soldiers  from  Bridgewater  township 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Matthew,  son  of  Jacob, 
grandson  of  Matthias,  settled  on  the  east  side  of 
North  Branch,  opposite  the  homestead.  Peter  settled 
on  part  of  the  original  tract  north  of  the  homestead. 
It  passed  through  many  hands,  and  was  recently  in 
possession  of  Asher  Schenck. 

Conrad  Ten  Eyck  owned  land  in  1770  on  the  east 
side  of  the  North  Branch,  on  what  was  early  known 
as  the  Riddle  tract.  The  will  of  Jacob  Ten  Eyck, 
son  of  Matthias,  was  made  June  25,  1752,  in  which 
the  land  on  the  west  side  was  devised  to  Jacob  and 
Peter ;  the  latter  released  to  Jacob  and  went  north,  on 
a  part  of  the  original  tract.  Peter  had  one  daughter, 
who  married  a  Ten  Eyck,  who  was  a  descendant  of 
Andreas  Ten  Eyck,  who  lived  near  the  junction  of  the 
North  and  South  Branches.  The  property  descended 
to  her  son  by  will  of  her  father.  The  daughters  of 
Jacob,  who  married  Jemima  Van  Nest,  were  as  fol- 
lows: Catharine,  Jean,  and  Hannah.  The  latter 
married    John    Kinney,    who    removed   to    Sussex 


762 


SOMEESET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


County;  Jean  married  Thomas  Van  Horn,  of  War- 
ren County ;  Catharine  married,  first,  John  Ten 
Brook ;  second,  Jacob  Van  Nest,  who  was  murdered  in 
1753 ;  and  for  her  third  husband,  John  Vroom.  Jacob, 
son  of  Jacob,  who  married  Margaret  Hageman,  had 
two  sons — Jacob  and  James — and  four  daughters, — 
Margaret,  Jemima,  Catharine,  and  Jane.  The  latter 
married  Jeremiah  Field ;  the  descendants  now  live  in 
the  west  part  of  the  township,  on  the  Lamington 
Kiver.  Catharine  married  Peter  Sutphin.  Jacob  was 
born  April  29,  1759,  and  married  Jane  Lane.  They 
had  five  sons — Jacob,  William,  Tunis,  James,  and 
Peter — and  one  daughter — Sarah.  William  served  in 
the  war  of  1812,  attaining  the  rank  of  colonel,  and 
was  afterwards  clerk  of  the  county  of  Monmouth. 
He  married  the  daughter  of  Col.  John  Conover,  of 
Monmouth  County.  John  C.  Ten  Eyck,  a  son,  was 
born  March  12,  1814.  He  studied  law  with  Judge 
Joseph  F.  Eandolph,  and  became  associated  in  the 
practice  of  law  with  the  Hon.  Garret  D.  Wall.  He 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1858,  and 
served  the  full  term.  He  died  at  his  residence,  in 
Mount  Holly,  Burlington  Co.,  on  the  24th  of  August, 
1879.  The  brothers  of  William,  except  Jacob  and 
James,  mostly  went  West.* 

In  1805  the  original  tract  of  400  acres  was  divided 
between  Jacob  and  James,  the  one  hundred  lying 
below  having  been  sold.  Of  the  sons  of  Jacob  several 
moved  West,  as  did  Jane,  the  daughter,  who  married 
Charles  Brokaw.  James  married  Esther  Hankerson, 
Oct.  4,  1798.  They  had  five  sons  and  four  daughters. 
Tunis  and  Isabel  are  living  on  the  old  homestead ; 
Jacob  and  James  are  living  near,  on  the  same  tract ; 
Mary  (Mrs.  Abraham  Van  Nest)  is  living  at  North 
Branch,  and  Jane  (Mrs.  George  H.  Duyckinck)  lives 
at  Lamington ;  Peter  lives  at  Fairview,  111. ;  John 
lived  and  died  on  the  homestead. 

THIRD   INDIAN   TITLE. 

The  date  of  this  title  is  not  known.  It,  however, 
embraced  the  territory  of  Bedminster,  the  south  line 
reaching  from  the  intersection  of  the  Lamington 
River  with  the  west  township  line  almost  directly 
west  to  the  North  Branch.  The  portion  of  the  land 
between  this  line  and  the  Lamington  River  and  the 
North  Branch  is  in  the  township,  and  was  known  as 
lots  Nos.  69  and  63.  The  former  is  one  of  two  tracts 
of  land  purchased  by  Campbell  and  Blackwood,  both 
containing  7600  acres.  The  other  tract,  lying  in  the 
township  of  Bridgewater  (No.  63),  was  taken  up  by 
George  Willocks,  June  7,  1701,  and  contained  60 
acres.  It  was  at  one  time  owned  by  Abraham  Ten 
Eyck,  and  is  now  owned  by  W.  Wortman  and  A. 
Biggs.     On  this  land,  at  the  junction  of  the  branch 

*  One  Conrad  Ten  Eyck  was  an  Indian  trader  in  the  Saginaw  Valley, 
Mich.,  about  the  year  1810,  and  received  compensation  from  the  gov- 
emment  for  damages  done  him  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  name  occurs  re- 
peatedly in  the  annals  of  that  section  of  counti*y.  He  was  prol'ably  a 
branch  of  the  Ten  Eyck  family  who  went  West  about  that  time. 


and  the  Lamington  River,  were  erected  the  Bromley 
Mills,  later  known  as  Burnt  Mills.  In  Bedminster 
township  will  be  found  an  account  of  the  laying  out 
of  a  road  (in  1755)  from  Andrew  Leake's  mills  to 
Pluckamin,  also  in  the  early  settlement  of  Bromley 
Bridge  and  settlers  near  there.  It  was  owned  in 
1784  by  William  McDonald,  who  sold  254  acres  to 
William  Nelson.  At  a  much  later  day  it  was  owned 
by  Frederick  Lane,  of  Bedminster. 

The  tract  known  on  the  proprietors'  map  as  No. 
69,  lying  in  the  north  part  of  the  township  of  Branch- 
burg,  was  first  purchased  by  Campbell  and  Black- 
wood, probably  about  1693,  as  that  was  the  time  they 
purchased  the  large  tract  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Lamington  River.  In  Bergen's  "History  of  the  Ber- 
gen Family,"  page  347,  he  says,  "  Gerardus  Beek- 
man  (son  of  Abraham  J.)  was  baptized  Aug.  17, 
1653,  died  1723,  married,  Aug.  29,  1677,  Magdalen 
Abeel,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  born  1662 ;  was  a  physician 
settled  at  Flatbush,  L.  I. ;  a  justice  of  Kings  County 
in  1685;  a  colonel  of  militia;  member  of  Colonial 
Assembly,  1696  and  1699 ;  member  and  president  of 
the  council,  and  acting  Governor,  1709  and  1710 ;  pur- 
chased some  2200  acres  of  land  about  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Raritan  and  some  600  acres  on  the 
Millstone  River,  N.  J.,  also  lands  on  Pelt's  Creek,  in 
Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y." 

This  tract  of  2200  acres  must  have  been  the  one 
purchased  of  Campbell  and  Blackwood,  as  a  part  of 
it  is  at  present  in  the  possession  of  the  family,  and 
has  descended  from  father  to  son  from  as  far  back  as 
can  be  remembered  or  as  tradition  reaches.  An  old 
parchment  deed  was  in  their  possession  until  a  year 
or  two  since  which  bore  date  under  the  reign  of  King 
George.  The  property  was  there  described,  as  well  as 
can  be  remembered,  as  commencing  at  the  forks  of 
the  Lamington  and  North  Branch,  running  down  the 
North  Branch  to  what  is  now  the  southeast  corner  of 
John  Beekman's  farm,  thence  across  west  to  the  Alle- 
matunk  or  Lamington  River,  thence  down  the  river 
to  a  brook  below  the  present  residence  of  J.  D.  Fields, 
thence  across  east  to  the  North  Branch. 

Some  of  the  sons  of  Gerardus  removed  to  what  is 
now  Franklin  township,  where  they  lived  and  died, 
leaving  descendants.  Some  part  of  this  large  tract 
was  sold  early,  without  doubt,  but  to  whom  is  not 
ascertained.  About  the  time  of  the  Revolution  a 
tract  of  400  acres  was  in  possession  of  Henry  and 
John  Beekman.  Henry  lived  where  John  Beekman 
now  lives.  Daniel,  his  brother,  lives  on  a  part  of  the 
tract.  The  Hurts,  Buxtons,  and  Tunisons  are  also 
within  the  limits  of  the  tract.  James  Tunison  is 
living  in  a  stone  house  that  is  very  old.  In  1767, 
Isaac  De  Forest  owned  118  acres  of  this  tract. 
Theunis  Post  purchased  land  before  1750  situated  in 
the  south  part  of  the  tract  of  Campbell  and  Black- 
wood, and  joined  the  patents  of  Dr.  John  Johnston, 
and  was  part  of  land  purchased  by  Gerardus  Beek- 


BKANCHBURG. 


763 


Theuuis  Post*  (born  1700,  died  Sept.  8,  1764)  was 
one  of  the  "  helpers"  of  Dominie  Theodoras  J.  Fre- 
linghuysen,  with  authority,  also,  to  officiate  in  his 
place  in  his  absence. 

The  blue-marble  stone  which  marks  his  grave  at 
North  Branch  bears  this  inscription : 

"  Hier  leyt  het  Ligham  Van  TeuniB  Post  overladen  den  8  September, 
anno  domini  1764,  en  dat  in  het  64t  year  synes  ouderdomB." 

He  owned  450  acres  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  the 
North  Branch.  The  northeasterly  corner  of  this  farm 
was  "  39  chains  on  a  straight  line  below  the  meeting 
of  AUemitunk  and  Pepack  branches  of  the  said 
North  Branch."  Of  this  land  he  sold  109  acres  to 
William  Cock  and  Gershom  Vanderbergh,  and  42 
acres  to  Andrew  Leake.  The  remainder  of  this  prop- 
erty fell  to  the  possession  of  his  son  Peter. 

Theunis  Post's  daughter  Annetje  (who  was  bap- 
tized April  7,  1735)  died  unmarried  at  about  forty 
years  of  age.  Conrad  Ten  Eyck  (who  at  the  time  of 
her  death  was  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  army, 
and  afterwards  became  a  minister)  transacted  her 
business  for  her.    He  was  a  relative. 

Theunis  Post's  daughter  Catharyntje  (baptized 
Nov.  6, 1736)  is  still  called  "  Catrine  Post"  at  the  time 
of  her  father's  death.  Nevertheless,  she  received  as 
her  share  of  the  estate  household  furniture,  farming 
utensils,  and  stock  to  the  amount  of  £227  Is.  lOd. 

In  this  amount  are  included  "one  negro  named 
Ham,  valued  at  £70 ;"  "  one  negro  named  Isaac, 
valued  at  £30 ;"  and  "  one  negro  girl  named  Bette, 
valued  at  £10." 

The  widow's  share  of  the  movable  estate  consisted 
of  household  furniture,  including  one  Dutch  Bible 
and  four  large  books,  valued  at  £5  ;  a  parcel  of  small 
books,  valued  at  £1  10«. ;  and  one  negro  girl,  £35 ; 
amounting  in  all  to  £102  19s.  5d. 

Theunis  Post's  son  Peter  (one  of  the  executors)  as- 
sumed the  debts  of  his  father's  estate,  and  received 
property  from  the  estate  to  the  fiill  amount  thereof, 
being  £360  14s.  7d.  In  this  account  are  reckoned 
"one  negro  named  Sam,  £70;  one  negro  named 
Jane,  £60 ;  one  negro  wench  named  Sawr,t  £30." 

Peter  also  charges  himself  with  the  cattle  and 
sheep  which  died  during  the  winter  after  his  father's 
death,  £13  7s.;  the  labor  of  the  negroes  for  six 
months,  £15 ;  that  of  the  horses,  £7 ;  and  the  vendue 
notes,  amounting  to  £33  12«.  This  was  doubtless  all 
right,  yet  the  issue  was  very  disastrous  for  him.  His 
father  had  owed  £150  to  David  Olarkson,  of  New 
York.  Peter  gave  his  bond  for  this  amount,  was  un- 
able to  pay  it  when  due,  at  the  end  of  the  year  1735, 
and  subjected  himself  thus  to  unpleasant  letters  from 
his  creditor.  The  interest  was  at  8  per  cent,  and 
the  whole  amount  had  only  been  reduced  to  £108 
14s.  when  he  mortgaged  his  299  acres  for  that  amount. 


April  20,  1768.  Things  grew  worse  and  worse  with 
him  until,  by  what  his  descendants  still  regard  as  the 
"  intrigues"  of  his  creditor,  joined  with  the  deprecia- 
tion of  the  Continental  currency,  he  was  reduced  from 
affluence  to  poverty.  He  died  in  1793,  "in  cold 
weather,"  and  the  sandstone  monument  with  the 
brief  inscription,  "  Grave  of  P.  P.,  1793,"  in  contrast 
with  that  of  his  father,  near  by,  illustrates  the  differ- 
ence of  their  worldly  fortunes.  Peter  married  Mar- 
garet Ten  Eyck,  and  had  four  children : 

1.  Mary,  born  Sept.  29,  1770,  married  Luke  Covert 
(who  had  been  a  flfer  in  the  Revolutionary  war)  and 
had  seven  children,  to  all  of  whom  except  the  last 
they  gave  double  names,  as  follows :  Jemima  William- 
son (born  1787),  Nelly  Sutphin,  Margaret  Ten  Eyck, 

Post,  Ann  Stull,  Cornelius   Post,  and   Craton 

(bom  Aug.  17, 1812 ;  died  Sept.  7,  1814). 

2.  Hannah,  born  July  8,  1782;  married  Joseph 
Brokaw. 

3.  Theunis,  a  blacksmith,  whose  grandson,  Peter 
Post,  is  a  much-respected  inhabitant  of  Seneca  Co., 
N.  Y. 

4.  Cornelius,  who  was  born  Dec.  24,  1784,  and  died 
Feb.  24,  1870.  He  was  left  an  orphan  at  nine  years  of 
age,  but  his  sister  Mary  cared  for  him  until  he  was 
old  enough  to  learn  the  tanner's  trade.  At  twenty-one 
he  went  on  horseback  to  "  the  lake  country,"  where 
he  met  and  married  (Dec.  10,  1810)  Christina,  only 
daughter  of  Abraham  and  Hannah  De  Mott,  who 
died  Jan.  29,  1873.t  His  tannery,  at  Ovid,  N.  Y., 
brought  him  wealth,  and  his  worth  brought  him  influ- 
ence. The  beautiful  home  in  which  he  lived  sur- 
rounded by  his  seven  sons  and  daughters  stands 
almost  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  spot  where  he 
first  found  work  in  that  then  "  wild  West."  Four  of 
his  children  still  survive,  one  of  them,  Mrs.  Mary 
Post  Caywood,  a  granddaughter  of  Peter  Post,  being 
the  appreciative  possessor  of  the  ancestral  documents 
from  which  most  of  this  information  has  been  de- 
rived. 

ORGANIZATION   OF   THE   TOWNSHIP. 

The  territory  embraced  in  this  township  belonged 
to  Bridgewater  from  the  organization  of  the  latter 
township,  in  1749,  to  1845.  The  names  of  many  of 
its  early  residents  will  be  found  in  the  civil  list  of 
that  township.  Its  residents  were  many  of  them  con- 
nected with  the  Revolutionary  army,  notably  Capt. 
Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  a  list  of  the  members  of  whose 
company  will  be  found  in  the  Bridgewater  military 
list,  page  687. 

In  1845  a  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bridgewater 
township  living  west  of  the  North  and  South  Branches 
of  the  Raritan  was  presented  to  the  Legislature  of 
New  Jersey,  praying  that  the  territory  described 
therein  be  set  off  as  a  separate  township.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  request  set  forth,  an  act  passed  the  Sen- 


•  The  sketch  of  this  family,  contributed  by  Bev.  J.  B.  Thompson. 
t  Pronounced  Sor,  an  abbreviation  for  Saertje  (pronounced  Sor-chy), 
the  Dutch  diminutive  for  Sarah. 


t  Her  father  was  the  only  brother  of  Catharine  De  Mott,  who  married 
Abraham  Post.   (See  p.  488.) 


764 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ate  and  Assembly,  and  was  approved  April  5th.  in 
that  year,  as  follows : 

"  Sec.  1.  All  that  part  of  the  township  of  Bridgewater,  in  the  county 
of  Somerset,  contained  within  the  following  hounds — that  is  to  say,  he- 
ginning  on  the/K)rner  of  lands  of  Ahraham  C.  "Van  Doren  and  William 
I.  Voorhees,  in  the  line  between  Hunterdon  and  Somerset,  and  running 
from  thence  down  the  South  Branch  of  Raritan  Eiver  and  the  line  of 
Hillsborough  township,  the  several  courses  thereof,  to  the  junction  of 
the  North  and  South  Branches  thereof;  thence  up  the  North  Branch  to 
the  Lamington  River;  thence  up  the  Lamington  Kiver  to  the  line  be- 
tween Hunterdon  and  Somerset ;  thence  along  said  line,  the  several 
courses  thereof  (southerly),  to  the  place  of  beginning — shall  be,  and  here- 
by is,  set  off  from  the  township  of  Bridgewater,  in  the  connty  of  Somerset, 
and  made  a  new  township,  to  be  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  *  The 
Township  of  Branchburg;'  provided  that  this  act  shall  not  take  effect 
and  be  in  force  until  from  and  after  the  second  Monday  of  April  next. 

"  Sec.  2.  Provided  that  tlie  inhabitants  be  constituted  a  body  politic 
and  corporate  in  law,  and  entitled  to  all  the  rights,  privileges,  and  advan- 
tages, and  subject  to  the  same  regulations,  government,  and  liabilities,  as 
the  inhabitants  of_other  townships  in  the  county  of  Somerset  are  or  may 
be  entitled  or  subjected  to  by  the  existing  laws  of  the  State. 

"  Sec.  3.  Provided  that  the  first  town-meeting  should  be  held  at  the 
bouse  of  Isaac  H.  Hall  on  the  day  appointed  by  law  for  holding  annual 
town-meetings  in  the  other  townships  in  the  county  of  Somerset. 

"  Sec.  4.  Provided  that  the  town  committees  of  Bridgewater  and  Branch- 
burg meet  on  Monday  next  after  the  annual  town-meetings,  at  the  inn 
lately  occupied  by  David  Sanderson,  at  Somerville,  and  there  allot  and 
divide  between  the  townships  all  properties  and  moneys  on  hand  and  due 
proportionately." 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act,  a 
town-naeeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Isaac  H.  Hall. 
A  copy  of  the  proceedings  is  here  given  : 

"  April  14, 1845." 
"  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  Branchburg, 
Leld  this  day  at  the  house  of  Isaac  H.  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of  electing 
officers  for  the  ensuing  year,  the  following  were  elected,  viz. :  Peter 
Van  Nuys,  Moderator;  Andrew  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Town  Clerk;  Peter 
Van  Nuys,  Assessor;  Samuel  Hall,  Collector;  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Henry 
Ammerman,  Tunis  Myers,  Frederick  D.  Brokaw,  and  John  W.  Hall, 
Town  Committee;  James  Hageman  and  John  P.  Van  Doren,*  Chosen 
Freeholders;  Andrew  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  and  Thomas  I. 
Hall,  School  Committee;  Peter  Flag,  Peter  Q.  Brokaw,  Surveyors  of  the 
Highways ;  Isaac  Dumont,  Andrew  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Lewis  L.  Nevius,  Com- 
missioners of  Appeal ;  John  Little,  Samuel  Hall,  Overseers  of  the  Poor; 
Abraham  I.  Van  Doren,  Andrew  Fleming,  Justices  of  the  Peace." 

At  this  first  meeting,  by  vote,  money  was  appropri- 
ated for  various  purposes,  as  follows :  $400  for  repair- 
ing highways;  $50  for  common  schools;  $50  for 
schooling  poor  children ;  and  $200  for  the  support  of 
the  poor. 

On  the  21st  day  of  April  (it  being  the  Monday  after 
town-meeting)  the  town  committees  of  Bridgewater 
and  Branchburg  met  to  devise  means  to  settle  accounts 
between  the  townships.  John  W.  Wortman  and  John 
I.  Todd  were  selected  to  represent  Bridgewater,  Aaron 
J.  Auten  and  John  W,  Hall,  Branchburg.  On  the 
26th  of  April  a  meeting  was  held  by  these  represen- 
tatives, and  after  due  consideration  the  accounts  were 
arranged  by  the  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
mittee representing  Bridgewater  to  pay  to  the  town- 
ship of  Branchburg  $250. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  free- 
holders, township  clerks,  town  committees,  school 
committees,  superintendents  of  schools,  surveyors  of 
highways,  commissioners  of  appeals,  and  overseers  of 

*  John  W.  Hail  was  elected  one  of  the  town  committee  Sept.  4, 1845, 
in  place  of  John  Van  Doren,  deceased. 


the  poor,  from  the  organization  of  the  township  to  th.e 
present  time,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained  from  the 
township  records : 

FREEHOLDERS. 
1846,  James  Hageman,  Isaac  Hall;  1847-49,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Frederick 

D.  Brokaw;  1850,  Frederick  D.  Brokaw,  Peter  Q.  Brokaw;  1851, 
Samuel  Hall,  Peter  Q.  Brokaw  ;  1852,  Isaac  H.  Hall ;  1853-58,  Henry 
Ammerman ;  1859,  Jacob  Kershaw  ;  1860-62,  Abraham  P.  Tunison  ; 
1863-6G,  John  Vosaeller;  1867,  Sylvester  Robins;  1868-70,  Joseph 
Reed;  1871,  Samuel  B.  Little;  1872,  Joseph  Reed;  1873,  John  V. 
Stillwell ;  1874-75,  Cornelius  Dumont ;  1876-80,  Hugh  Gaston. 

TOWNSHIP   CLERKS. 
1846-19,  Gilbert  Sutphin ;  1850-52,  Andrew  Hageman ;  1853-55,  Corne- 
lius T.  Cox;  1856,  Cornelius  J.  Brokaw;   1857-63,  Ralph  Van  Pelt; 
1864,  Sylvester  Robins ;  1865,  Joseph  B.  Smith ;  1866-75,  Aaron  J. 
Auten;  1876-80,  Peter  Dumont. 

COLLECTORS. 
1846-47,  Peter  Tan  Nuys;  1848-52,  Henry  Ammerman;  1853-63,  Fred- 
erick D.  Brokaw;   1864,  William  N.  Adair;  1865-76,  Frederick  D. 
Brokaw;  1877-80,  John  B.  D.  Myers. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 
1846,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Henry  Ammerman,  Tunis  D.  Myers,  Frederick  D. 
Brokaw,  John  W.Hall;  1847,  Syrenus  T.  Sti-yker,  H.  Ammerman, 
T.  D.  Myera,  J.  P.  Voorhees,  Jasper  Berger ;  1848,  Syrenus  Stryker, 
Abraham  A.  Ammerman,  Tunis  D.  Myers,  John  P.  Voorhees,  Jaaper 
Berger;  1849-50,  Bergen  B.  Smith,  A.  A.  Ammeiman,  T.  D.  Myers, 
J.  P.  Voorhees,  Jasper  Berger ;  1851,  Isaac  Dumont,  A.  A,  Ammer- 
man, William  B.  Higgins,  John  P.  Voorhees,  John  Vosseller;  1852, 
William  B.  Higgins,  John  Vosseller,  Andrew  A.  Ten  Eyck,  Jr. ;  1854- 

65,  John  P.  Voorhees,  Tanis  D.  Myers,  Edwin  B.  Lever ;  1856-58,  A. 

A.  Ammerman,  William  B.  Higgins,  E.  B.  Lever;  1859,  David  K. 
Craig,  Joseph  Thompson,  John  P.  Voorhees;  1860,  David  K.  Craig, 
Gilbert  L.  Kershaw,  John  P.  Voorhees  ;  1861,  Samuel  B.  Little,  Gil- 
bert L.  Kershaw,  John  P.  Voorhees  ;  1862-63,  Samuel  B.  Little,  Gil- 
bert L.  Kershaw,  David  K.  Craig;  1864,  Samuel  B.  Little,  Gilbert  L. 
Kershaw,  John  Runyon ;  1865,  Samuel  B.  Little,  Abraham  Van  Nest, 
Joseph  Thompson;  1866-67,  Samuel  B.  Little,  Joseph  Reed,  Joseph 
Thompson;  1868-70,  Cornelius  N.  Dumont,  John  V.  Williams,  Jacob 

E.  Hall ;  1871-72,  Cornelius  N.  Dumont,  William  H.  Ammerman, 
Alexander  B.  Brokaw  ;  1873,  Cornelius  N.  Dumont,  William  H.  Am- 
merman, Peter  P.  Dilta ;  1874,  J,  Depue  Field,  William  H.  Ammer- 
man, Joseph  Brokaw ;  1875,  J.  Depue  Field,  John  A.  Demun,  Alex- 
ander B.  Brokaw ;  1876,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  John  A .  Demun,  Alexander 

B.  Brokaw;  1877,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  John  A.  Demun,  Henry  Field, 
John  Dally,  Garret  T.  Quick  ;  1878,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Peter  L.  Kline, 
Henry  Field,  John  Dally,  Garret  T.  Quick ;  1879,  Aaron  J.  Auten, 
John  Dally,  John  Voorhees;  1880,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  John  Voorhees, 

F.  D.  Brokaw. 

SCHOOL   COMMITTEE. 
1846,  Samuel  Little,  Abraham  A.  Ammerman,  Thomas  I.  Hall. 
SUPERINTENDENTS   OF  COMMON   SCHOOLS. 
1847-49,  Andrew  Fleming;  1850-53,  George  W.  Vroom;   1854-58,  John 
Cox ;  1859-66,  Theodore  Vosseller. 

SURVEYORS  OF  THE  HIGHWAYS. 
1846-49,  Peter  Flag,  Peter  Q.  Brokaw;  1850,  Andrew  Fleming,  Isaac 
Hall;  1851-52,  Simon  Nevius,  Peter  Flag;  1853,  John  P.  Voorhees, 
Simon  Nevius ;  1854-55,  John  P.  Voorhees,  Peter  Q.  Brokaw ;  1856- 
58,  John  P.  Voorhees,  William  P.  Barkman  ;  1859,  Cyrenus  T.  Stry- 
ker, John  P.  Voorhees;  1860-62,  William  Wortman,  Cornelius  C. 
Williamson ;  1863-64,  Daniel  Ammerman,  Thomas  Van  Nest ;  1865- 

66,  Daniel  Ammerman,  Joseph  Reed;  1867,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Joseph 
Reed;  1868-70,  Aaron  J.  Auten,  Jacob  E.Hall;  1871,  William  H. 
Ammerman,  Alex.  B.  Brokaw;  1872,  William  H.  Ammerman,  Henry 
Schenck  ;  1873,  Samuel  B.  Little,  Henrj' Schenck ;  1874-75,  Henry 
Scheuck,  Peter  Dumont;  1880,  Henry  Bacon,  John  V.Williams. 

OVERSEERS  OF  THE   POOR. 
1846,  Jacob  Vosseller;  1848^9,  Abraham  Tunison;  1850-52,  Henry  Am- 
merman, Isaac  H.  Hall;  1853-54,  Frederick  D.  Brokaw,  Isaac  H. 
Hall ;  1855-66,  Isaac  H.  Hall;  1867,  Frederick  D.  Brokaw;  1868-80, 
Isaac  H.  Hall. 


BRANCHBURG. 


Y65 


EARLY  EOADS. 
Soon  after  the  "  Great  Eoad"  was  laid  out  from 
Piscataqua  to  tte  North  Branch,  in  1686,  a  road  was 
established  from  the  termination  of  that  road  to  the 
Delaware  River  across  what  is  now  Branchburg  town- 
ship. The  "  Old  York  Road"  branched  off  from  this 
about  a  mile  west  of  the  North  Branch.  No  record 
of  any  road  is  obtained  from  that  time  till  1748.  The 
following  copy  of  a  record  is  taken  from  the  "  Old 
Book,"  page  15,  record  of  roads,  now  in  the  county 
clerk's  office  in  Somerville : 

"  Application  being  made  by  some  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants 
of  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan  to  ye  Commissioners  of  the  County 
of  Somerset  and  a  Petition  from  them  to  us  sent  complaining  of  their  in- 
conveniences of  coming  to  mill  and  market,  We,  the  under  written  per- 
sons as  Commissioners  of  said  county  of  Somerset,  do  hereby  lay  out  a 
road  according  to  their  request,  as  follows, — viz. :  Beginning  at  ye  foard 
called '  Cornelius  Viin  Campen's  Riding  Place,'  along  the  line  of  Kam  Van 
Derbeek  and  Peter  Quick  to  a  two  rod  road,  a  rodd  on  said  Van  Derbeek 
and  a  rodd  on  said  Quick's  Laiid,  until  it  comes  to  the  corm^r  nf  Andreas 
Ten  Eyck,  and  so  along  ye  Line  of  Ten  Eyck  and  Van  Dei-beek  a  rodd 
on  each  side  to  the  old  road.  Thence  along  ye  old  road  to  ye  Mills,  an 
open  road  from  the  place  of  beginning  to  said  Mills,  and  from  said  mills 
we  do  lay  out  a  four  rodd  road  as  foUoweth  from  the  Mills  as  the  road 
lays:  now  to  Ten  Eyck's  line,  thence  along  the  Bank  as  the  road  goeth 
Two  rod  on  the  Bank  and  two  rod  below  the  Bank  across  the  point  to  Ten 
Eyck's  corner  tree  at  the  River,  opposite  the  North  Branch,  and  so  across 
ye  main  river  to  ye  great  Road,  In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto 
set  our  hands  this  seventeenth  day  of  September,  1748. 

"Fbedebiok  Van  Lavee,  Coenelius  Van  Campen, 

"William  Titsobt,  Hendrick  Pittenser, 

"Alexandee  Van  Nest,  Reyok  SunAM. 

"  The  under  written  Ram  Van  Derbeek  do  hereby  promise  to  grant  an 
open  road,  as  far  bs  it  apertaineth  to  me,  from  Van  Campen's  Riding  Place 
to  the  Mills,  and  do  hereby  bind  my  heirs  and  assigns  to  the  performance 
of  this;  in  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  this  17th  Day 
of  September,  1748. 

"Ram  Van  Deebeek. 

"Witness  present, 

"William  Titsort, 
"VotKEET  Dow." 

On  the  22d  day  of  March,  1759,  a  two-rod  road  was 
laid  out,  beginning  from  the  main  road  leading  from 
Van  Home's  Mill,  near  the  east  corner  of  Mr.  Leslie's 
cleared  field,  across  the  brook  along  the  edge  of  a 
hill  and  up  the  hollow  upon  a  small  run,  up  the  hill 
and  upon  the  bank,  "and  as  straight  as  can  be  to  the 
corner  of  Dr.  Sackett's  land  and  Peter  Wortman; 
thence  as  the  line  goes  between  Dr.  Sackett's,  Peter 
Demund,  and  Tunis  Post  till  it  meets  the  main  road 
leading  from  Leake's  Mill  to  the  North  Branch." 
This  road  was  relaid  May  30th,  the  same  year,  and 
its  course  changed  to  run  "by  the  south  side  of 
Peter  Wortman's  meadow  to  a  white-oak  tree ;  thence 
with  a  straight  course  through  lands  of  Dr.  Sackett 
to  the  corner  of  Tunis  Post's  garden ;  thence  along 
the  south  side  of  Tunis  Post's  garden  to  the  main 
road  leading  from  Leake's  Mill  to  the  North  Branch." 

Few  roads  were  laid  in  the  township  from  this  time 
till  about  1820. 

CHURCHES  AND  CEMETERIES. 

There  is  no  church  edifice  within  the  limits  of  the 
township.  The  house  of  worship  of  the  North  Branch 
congregation  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  North  Branch 


of  the  Raritan  River,  and  many  of  its  members  live 
in  Branchburg.  The  Neshanic  church  is  on  the  south 
side  of  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan,  but  its  con- 
gregation is  largely  composed  of  members  living  in 
this  township.  On  the  west  are  the  meeting-houses 
of  the  White  House  and  Readington  Churches. 

The  cemetery  at  North  Branch  is  on  the  old  Ten 
Eyck  farm,  and  was  for  many  years  used  as  a  family 
burial-place.  About  the  year  1830  a  plot  of  about 
one  acre  of  land  was  sold  to  the  congregation  of  the 
North  Branch  Church,  including  the  old  burial-ground. 
It  is  inclosed  by  a  thorn  hedge.  Here  "the  rude 
forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep."  The  following  are 
the  names  of  some  of  the  persons  buried  here :  Jacob 
Ten  Eyck,  born  1693,  died  Oct.  26, 1753 ;  Jemima,  his 
wife,  died  Aug.  4, 1792,  aged  ninety -two  years ;  Jacob 
(son  of  Jacob),  born  Aug.  26,  1738,  died  Nov.  7, 1794, 
aged  sixty-one  years ;  Margaret,  his  wife,  born  Dec. 
20,  1733,  died  Feb.  15,  1820,  aged  eighty-six  years ; 
Rynear  Van  Nest,  died  April  15,  1784,  aged  eighty- 
six  years ;  Jannetje  Rappelye,  his  wife,  died  Jan.  15, 
1792,  aged  eighty- four  years ;  Teunis  Post,  died  Sept. 
10,  1764,  aged  sixty-four  years  ;  John  Van  Nostrand 
and  his  wife  Margaret ;  Rev.  Rynier  Van  Nest,  died 
July  9,  1813,  aged  seventy-four  years ;  Ann,  his  wife, 
died  1858,  aged  eighty-four  years. 

Another  burial-place,  older  than  the  preceding,  is 
located  on  the  old  Van  Kampen  tract,  now  owned  by 
Peter  Van  Camp.     This  plot  is  also  inclosed  with  a 
thorn  hedge.    Several  of  the  early  stones  are  common 
slate.     The  earliest  record  is  "  Anno  1728."     The  in- 
scription is  written  in  Low  Dutch.    The  following  are 
some  of  initials,  names,  and  dates  found  in  the  inclo- 
sure:  "Anno  1746,  0.  P.,"  "A.  L.,"  "L  L.,"  "R.  L.," 
"H.  S.,  A.D.  1773,"  "C.  S.,  A.D.  1777,"  "L  H.,  a.d. 
1786,"  "  M.  L.,  A.D.  1798,"  "  I.  V.  C,  A.d.  1799,"  "  L. 
V.  C,  A.D.  1782,"  "  C.  v..  C,  A.D.  1786,"  "  0.  Van 
Camp,"  "T.  V.  C,"   "C.  V.  C,"   "Sacred  to  the 
memory  of  Magdalen,  wife  of  John  Hall  and  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  and  Sarah  Goveneor,  died  Aug.  12,  1773, 
aged  seventy-two  years;"  John  Hall,  died  Oct.  29, 
1766,  aged  sixty-three;  Eebekah   Hall,  first  wife  or 
William   Hall,  died  March  6,  1799,  aged  fifty-five ; 
Catharine,  second  wife  of  William  Hall,  died  July  12, 
1799,  aged  sixty-three ;  William  Hall,  died  Aug.  31, 
1819,  aged  seventy-four ;  Denise  Stryker,  died  March 
12,  1777,  aged  fifty-seven  ;  Lanah  Hoagland,  wife  ot 
Denise  Stryker,  died  Jan.  2,  1792,  aged  sixty-seven  ; 
Richard  Hall,  died  Feb.   26,  1801,  aged  fifty-nine; 
Jane  Vroom,  his  wife,  died  Dec.  4,  1843,  aged  eighty- 
six;  Joseph  Stevens,  died  June  26,  1811,  aged  sev- 
enty-five ;  Abraham  Quick,  died  June  27,  1819,  aged 
fifty-three;  Catharine  Quick,  died  May  3,  1848,  aged 
eighty-two  ;  Christopher  Stryker,  died  June  27, 1826, 
aged  seventy;  Judith,  his  wife,  died  Nov.  20,  1830, 
aged  seventy-one;    John  Simonson,  died  June  20, 
1804,  aged  sixty-one;   Elizabeth  H.,  his  wife,  died 
Dec' 29,  1831. 
A  burial-place  of  the  Van  Nest  family,  near  Van 


A 


766 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Derveer's  mills,  was  used  as  early  as  1740.  Dur- 
ing the  Revolution  about  twenty  soldiers  who  died 
with  the  smallpox  were  buried  in  a  row  on  the  east 
side.  The  line  of  graves  is  now  plowed  up,  and  is  just 
outside  of  the  fence. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  earliest  record  pertaining  to  schools  in  the 
township  is  found  in  the  following  copy  of  a  paper 
now  in  the  possession  of  Tunis  Ten  Eyck,  and  is  evi- 
dence that  at  that  early  day  schools  were  taught  in 
the  neighborhood  : 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  School  House  held  yesterday, 
the  expense  of  erecting  and  finishing  the  said  School  house  was  calcu- 
lated, when  it  waa  found  to  amount  to  about  thirty  pounds.  But  the 
proprietors  being  generously  disposed  to  make  no  account  of  the  timber 
or  a  great  part  of  their  labour,  if  they  can  only  collect  as  much  money 
from  those  which  has  not  assisted  at  the  building  as  will  defray  the  ex- 
pense of  boards,  nails,  the  making  of  the  shingles,  etc.,  have  agreed  to  the 
following  sums  to  be  paid  in  wheat  or  money  within  two  months  after 
date,  which,  if  complied  with  on  the  part  of  the  subscribers,  it  shall  Inti- 
tle  them  to  a  right  in  the  School  House  in  as  full  and  ample  a  manner 
as  if  they  had  assisted  at  the  building  of  it. 

"  Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  }^  bushel  of  weat. 

"  .Joseph  StuU,  ^  bushel  of  ri. 

"  North  Branch,  Oct.  30,  1782." 

No  knowledge  has  been  obtained  of  where  the 
house  was  located  or  by  whom  the  school  was  kept. 

In  the  north  part  of  the  township,  those  who  can 
still  remember  the  school-days  relate  that  a  log 
school-house  was  erected  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
where  Dr.  Berg  now  lives ;  this  was  afterwards  re- 
placed by  a  frame.  Later  the  site  was  used  for  the 
erection  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church,  and  the 
school  built  where  it  at  present  stands.  Another  was 
on  the  edge  of  the  wood  on  the  Van  Kampen  or  Van 
Camp  tract.  The  present  districts  are  of  compara- 
tively recent  date.  The  township  is  divided  into  four 
districts,  as  follows:  North  Branch,  No.  19;  Cedar 
Grove,  No.  20;  South  Branch,  No.  22;  Fairview, 
No.  23. 

The  whole  number  of  children  in  the  township  be- 
tween five  and  eighteen  years  of  age  is  458,  of  which 
North  Branch  District  has  183  ;  Cedar  Grove,  86 ; 
South  Branch,  115 ;  Fairview,  74.  Valuation  of  school 
property,  $4600,— North  Branch,  $600 ;  Cedar  Grove, 
$500;  South  Branch,  $2500;  Fairview,  $1000.  The 
total  amount  of  money  received  from  all  sources  was 
.$1802.11,  of  which  North  Branch  received  $716.08 ; 
Cedar  Grove,  $374.37  ;  South  Branch,  $411.71 ;  Fair- 
view,  $300.  One  female  and  three  male  teachers  are 
employed,  at  an  average  salary  of  $35  per  month. 

HAMLETS. 
Branchburg  has  no  village  within  its  limits.  North 
Branch,  situated  on  the  North  Branch  of  the  Raritan, 
was  laid  out  Dec.  25,  1844,  by  Joseph  Thompson,  at 
the  request  of  Garret  Stryker,  on  whose  land  it  was. 
It  contains  120  inhabitants,  a  hotel,  post-office,  store, 
grist-mill,  school -house,  blacksmith-shop,  wagon- 
shop,  and  two  wheelwrights.  Here  prior  to  the  Rev- 
olution 100  acres  were  purchased  of  the  Ten  Eycks 


for  a  mill-site,  and  a  mill  was  built  upon  it  with  two 
large  undershot-wheels.  About  1812  (the  property 
then  belonging  to  John  Baylis)  a  smaller  wheel  was 
added.  This  continued  until  1840,  at  which  time  the 
property  came  into  the  hands  of  John  Runk,  by 
whom  the  mill  was  remodeled  and  the  fulling-mill 
removed.  From  that  time  to  the  present  it  has  been 
a  grist-mill.  It  is  now  owned  by  the  estate  of  a  Mr. 
Beekman  of  New  York. 

A  tavern  was  there  in  1773,  and  kept  by  Dr.  Abra- 
ham Bertron  till  1795.  It  has  changed  hands  many 
times.  At  an  early  day  it  was  kept  by  Flummerfelt 
and  by  John  Baylis.  It  is  now  owned  and  kept  by 
S.  A.  Coddington.  A  post-office  was  established  be- 
yond the  memory  of  those  living  in  the  neighborhood, 
but  among  the  postmasters  were  Edward  Barto,  Ralph 
Van  Pelt,  J.  B.  Smith,  A.  Rigger,  and  the  present 
incumbent,  Abraham  Van  Nest.  The  only  other 
post-office  in  the  town  is  at  the  North  Branch  Station. 
This  office  was  established  in  1862,  and  has  had  the 
following  postmasters :  David  K.  Craig,  William  Van 
Doren,  Peter  L.  Kline,  Abraham  S.  Gaston,  and  Peter 
S.  Cramer. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


HON.   CALVIN   CORLB. 

Hon.  Calvin  Corle  is  a  native  of  Hillsborough  town- 
ship, Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  was  born  on  Jan. 
22,  1830.  His  father,  Charles  Corle,  was  born  in 
Delaware  township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  on  May  2,  1798. 
He  married  a  lady  of  that  county, — Hannah  Hoag- 
land,— by  whom  he  had  three  children, — viz.,  Calvin, 
the  subject  of  this  notice;  Benjamin,  who  died  in 
1847 ;  and  Ellen  Elizabeth,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years  and  ten  months.  Charles  Corle  spent  the 
early  portion  of  his  life,  until  the  age  of  thirty,  in 
Hunterdon  County,  where  he  was  a  farmer  by  occu- 
pation. In  1827  he  removed  with  his  wife,  whom  he 
had  recently  married,  to  Hillsborough  township, 
where,  in  connection  with  his  brother  Samuel,  he 
purchased  the  Beekman  mills,  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, milling,  and  storekeeping  until  Mr.  Corle's 
death,  which  occurred  on  Nov.  5,  1857.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  township  of 
Hillsborough,  and  was  known  as  a  man  of  probity 
and  strict  integrity  of  character. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Corle  both  died  during  the  same 
week,  of  typhoid  fever. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  brought  up  at  the 
mills  in  Hillsborough  township,  and,  besides  attend- 
ing the  common  schools  of  his  district,  received  an 
academical  education  at  Pennington  Seminary,  New 
Jersey.  In  October,  1852,  he  married  Hannah  Van 
Camp  for  his  first  wife,  by  whom  he  had  two  chil- 
dren,—Charles  and  Hannah  M.  Corle,— both  deceased. 


^^^^  ^^^ 


BRANCHBURa. 


767 


Mrs.  Corle  died  in  March,  1869,  and  he  married  for 
his  second  wife  Anna  Hankins,  of  Allentowu,  N.  J., 
on  May  9,  1871.  He  has  had  no  children  by  the  sec- 
ond marriage. 

Mr.  Corle  has  all  his  life  been  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  and  may  be  regarded  as  a  model  farmer 
in  the  section  of  country  where  he  resides.  He  re- 
moved to  his  present  residence,  in  the  township  of 
Branchburg,  in  March,  1860,  and  has  recently  pur- 
chased the  adjoining  farm.  He  now  owns  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  estates  in  this  rich  valley,  consisting 
of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation. 

In  politics  Mr.  Corle  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  always 
firmly  adhered  to  the  principles  of  that  party.  In 
the  fall  of  1869  he  was  elected  to  represent  Somerset 
County  in  the  State  Senate,  and  served  in  that  body 
during  the  sessions  of  1870,  1871,  and  1872,  acting  as 
a  member  of  several  important  committees.  He  has 
taken  an  active  interest  in  all  public  improvements 
in  his  township  and  county,  and  is  highly  esteemed 
as  a  patriotic,  liberal,  and  enterprising  citizen.  His 
integrity  and  honor  are  above  suspicion  or  reproach. 
Mr.  Corle,  as  trustee,  executor,  and  administrator,  has 
been  largely  engaged  in  the  settlement  of  estates. 
Since  November,  1879,  he  has  held  the  responsible 
position  of  president  of  the  Somerset  County  Bank, 
at  Somerville. 


REV.  HENRY  VAN  DERVEER  VOORHEBS. 
Eev.  Henry  Van  Derveer  Voorhees,  whose  portrait 
appears  in  this  work,  represents  in  himself  some 
of  the  oldest,  most  prominent,  and  most  highly 
respected  fainilies  of  the  State.  His  maternal  grand- 
mother, Alche  (Letitia)  Schenk,  who  married  Israel 
Harris,  a  brilliant  lawyer  and  judge,  and  once  sheriff 
of  Somerset  County,  was  one  of  the  five  sisters  of  that 
name  who,  by  their  marriage  with  strong  men,  and 
by  their  careful  training  of  their  children  in  right 
principles,  have  indelibly  stamped  the  impress  of 
their  names  upon  the  annals  of  the  State  and  nation. 
The  eldest  sister,  Mary,  married  Dr.  Lawrence  Van 
Derveer,  a  great  and  good  man ;  the  second,  Catharine, 
married  Elias  Van  Derveer,  his  brother,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-three  from  the  effects  of  cruel  treat- 
ment during  a  long  imprisonment  by  the  British 
during  the  Revolutionary  war  (his  son  was  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Henry  Van  Derveer,  late  of  Pluckamin) ; 
the  third,  Gertrude,  married  Gen.  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen,  of  Millstone,  and  became  the  mother  of  the 
three  prominent  representatives  of  that  family  in  the 
State,  John,  Theodore,  and  Frederick ;  and  the  fifth 
(Alche  being  the  fourth)  sister  married  Gen.  Peter  I. 
Stryker,  a  popular  physician  of  Somerville  for  many 
years.  Their  brother,  Dr.  Henry  Schenk,  of  Neshanic, 
married  Eleanor  Hardenberg,  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Jacob  R.  Hardenberg,  a  prominent  Dutch  Reformed 
minister  and  former  president  of  Rutgers  College, 


N.  J.,  and  of  Dinah  Van  Berg,  his  wife,  historically 
called  "  Juffrow"  Hardenberg,  who  was  the  widow  of 
Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen.  One  branch  of  the  Schenk 
family  can  be  traced  back'  thirteen  hundred  years. 
It  received  its  elevation  to  the  peerage  and  its  patent 
of  nobility  from  the  hand  of  Charlemagne  himself. 
In  the  coat-of-arms  decreed  to  the  family  the  shield 
is  in  the  form  of  a  goblet,  with  "  Die  Schenken"  (the 
Dutch  for  "cup-bearer")  in  German  text  at  the  bot- 
tom. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Voorhees  family  is  more  dis- 
tinctly traceable,  link  by  link,  to  their  origin  in  Hol- 
land than  most  other  families  of  foreign  extraction  in 
this  country.  They  take  their  name  from  their  estates 
before  the  village  of  Hies,  south  of  Ruinen,  in  the 
province  of  Drenthe,  Holland,  a  part  of  ancient 
Friesland.  The  last  ancestor  of  the  family  at  that 
place,  prior  to  the  departure  to  these  shores,  was 
Coert  Albertse.  His  son  Steven  Coerte,  born  in  the 
year  1600,  who  received  at  his  birth  the  name  of 
"Van  Voorhees,"  emigrated  to  this  country,  with  his 
wife  and  seven  children,  in  the  ship  "  Bonticoe,"  Capt. 
Pieter  Lucassen,  and  arrived  at  New  York  in  April, 
1660.  His  son,  Lucas  Stevens  Van  Voorhees,  resided 
in  1685  at  Hackensack,  N.  J.,  through  whom  the 
succession  runs  to  the  second  son,  Jan  Lucasse,  who 
removed  to  Flat  Lands,  L.  I.  The  first  son,  Eldert, 
and  his  descendants  dropped  the  surname  of  Van 
Voorhees,  substituted  that  of  Eldert,  and  thus 
branched  off. 

Jan  Lucasse,  of  Flat  Lands,  married  three  times. 
By  his  first  wife,  Anna  Vanduyckhuysen,  he  had  one 
son,  Johannes  Lucas  Voorhees.  By  his  second,  Mayke 
R.  Schenk,  he  had  twelve  children,  the  seventh  child 
and  sixth  son  of  whom  was  Isaac,  baptized  March  23, 
1716,  the  great-grandfather  of  Rev.  Henry  V.  Voor- 
hees. The  third  wife  of  Jan  Lucasse  was  Fametje 
Remsen,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue. 

Isaac  Voorhees  was  also  twice  married.  By  his 
first  wife,  Sarah,  he  had  John,  who  married  Miss 
Rodney,  of  Maryland,  and  Stephen,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  and  father  of  Robert  Voorhees,  of  Prince- 
ton, N.  J.  His  second  wife  was  Helena,  daughter  of 
Derrick  and  Jannetje  Van  Arsdale  Barkalo,  of  Mon- 
mouth Co.,  N.  J.  She  was  born  Dec.  22,  1723,  and 
the  children  of  the  marriage  were  Derrick,  baptized 
June  22,  1755,  who  moved  to  Ohio  and  became  the 
ancestor  of  United  States  senator  Daniel  Voorhees ; 
David,  born  Dec.  4, 1757 ;  Jane  (Mrs.  Du  Bois) ;  and 
Maria  (Mrs.  Huff,  of  Neshanic). 

David,  the  second  child  of  Isaac  and  Helena  Voor- 
hees, when  eighteen  or  nineteen  years  of  age,  was 
left  in  charge  of  the  Voorhees  residence  at  Middle- 
bush,  N.  J.,  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  Seeing 
a  portion  of  Lord  Howe's  army  approaching,  he  took 
his  musket  and  went  alone  from  the  field  to  the  house 
to  protect  the  property.  He  was  soon  overpowered 
and  bound,  but,  having  a  tenacious  memory,  he  kejjt 
account  of  all  that  the  enemy  destroyed,  and,  escaping 


768 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


from  his  captors,  was  afterwards  able  to  write  out  a 
list  of  the  articles  destroyed,  witli  their  value,  which 
the  lawful  authorities  recognized  as  just,  and  upon 
which  remunerative  payment  was  made.  David 
Voorhees  married  Eve  Oakey  on  May  2,  1788,  and 
settled  in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  where  he  became  a 
successful  grain-merchant.  His  second  son,  Abraham 
Oakey  Voorhees,  was  born  Aug.  23,  1791,  and  mar- 
ried, March  24,  1814,  Margaret  P.  Harris,  of  Middle- 
brook.  Their  seventh  child  and  fourth  son  was  Rev. 
Henry  V.  Voorhees,  who  was  born  in  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.,  on  Dec.  19,  1826.  When  six  weeks  old  he  was 
removed  by  his  parents  to  New  York  City,  where  his 
father  engaged  in  the  grain  business  as  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Voorhees  &  Wilbur,  and  where  he  enjoyed 
a  reputation  for  probity  and  fair  dealing  that  any  one 
might  justly  envy. 

Rev.  Henry  V.  Voorhees  was  born  with  a  delicate 
physical  and  nervous  organization,  and  it  was  only 
with  the  greatest  care  that  he  was  raised.  When  ten 
years  of  age  he  was  deprived  by  death  of  his  excellent 
mother,  whose  special  care  he  had  been  to  that  time. 
A  few  years  later  he  removed  with  his  father  to 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  the  latter  having  been  made  execu- 
tor of  the  will  of  his  cousin,  Robert  Voorhees,  and 
the  settlement  of  his  large  estate  requiring  his  con- 
stant care  and  attention.  His  father  subsequently 
purchased  a  farm  in  the  vicinity  of  Rocky  Hill,  N.  J., 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  on  June  27,  1866. 

After  the  death  of  his  mother,  Mr.  Voorhees  passed 
to  the  fostering  care  of  his  grandmother  Harris,  but 
in  a  few  years  she  also  passed  away,  at  Princeton,  on 
Aug.  9,  1840,  leaving  him  to  the  care  of  the  eldest 
sister,  Catharine  Letitia,  who  subsequently  became 
the  wife  of  Kev.  Winthrop  Bailey,  of  Long  Island. 
Mr.  Voorhees  received  his  preliminary  educational 
training  in  the  schools  at  Princeton  with  a  view  of 
entering  the  excellent  college  at  that  place,  but,  yield- 
ing to  the  wishes  of  his  father,  who  clung  to  the 
Dutch  traditions  of  the  family,  he  entered  Rutgers 
College  as  a  sophomore  in  1844,  whence  he  was  grad- 
uated in  the  class  of  1847.  He  subsequently  entered 
the  seminary  at  New  Brunswick,  and  was  graduated 
in  1850.  In  April  following  he  was  invited  to  supply 
the  church  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  for  six  months,  and  at 
the  close  of  that  period  he  was  unanimously  chosen 
its  pastor.  While  he  entered  upon  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  without  experience  and  under  many  diffi- 
culties, he  continued  for  four  years  in  the  pastorate, 
achieving  great  success  and  popularity,  and  leaving 
behind  him  a  united  congregation  and  a  lively  and 
warm  recollection  of  his  excellencies  and  virtues  as  a 
Christian  minister.  In  the  year  1854,  though  suffer- 
ing from  a  severe  attack  of  sore  throat,  Mr.  Voorhees 
was  urgently  invited  to  become  the  pastor  of  the 
Broome  Street  Reformed  Church,  of  New  York, 
which  was  then  laboring  under  some  difficulties.  In 
the  early  summer  of  1855,  yielding  to  a  mistaken 
sense  of  duty,  he  accepted  the  call ;  he  was  shortly 


after,  however,  prostrated  by  sunstroke,  and  compelled 
to  seek  the  seclusion  of  the  country  for  absolute  rest. 
Later  still  he  suffered  from  a  severe  attack  of  conges- 
tion of  the  brain,  which  confined  him  to  the  bed  for 
six  months  and  disabled  him  for  duty  for  two  years. 
As  soon  as  he  could  write  he  sent  in  his  resignation 
of  his  pastoral  office.  This  was  in  1856.  His  min- 
istry had  been  providentially  interfered  with,  but 
among  its  fruits  was  the  conversion  of  Leonard  W. 
Kip,  now  a  gifted  and  successful  minister  of  Amoy, 
China. 

In  January,  1858,  Mr.  Voorhees  became  the  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Bound  Brook,  and,  shortly  after,  a 
glorious  revival  of  religion  ensued.  On  Nov.  3,  1859, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Jane  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Hon.  Thomas  G.  Talmage,  late  mayor  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  and  a  judge  and  State  senator  of  New 
York.  The  ceremony  was  performed  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Bethune,  a  life-long  friend  and  patron  of  both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Voorhees.  In  1862,  owing  to  internal  dis- 
sensions in  his  church,  caused  by  the  civil  war,  Mr. 
Voorhees  withdrew  from  Bound  Brook.  His  next 
field  of  labor  was  in  one  of  the  enterprises  of  the 
Board  of  Domestic  Missions  in  One  Hundred  and 
Fifty-Second  Street,  New  York,  then  known  as  Car- 
mansville.  Here  he  remained  in  charge  of  a  weak 
and  struggling  church  until  the  spring  of  1865,  when 
he  resigned.  He  had  taken  it  under  a  misapprehen- 
sion of  facts,  and  found  it  in  no  condition  to  be  per- 
manently benefited.  His  next  pastoral  charge  was 
the  South  Bushwick  Church,  Brooklyn,  the  call  to 
which  he  accepted  in  1867.  He  retired  from  this 
ministry  two  years  later  because  of  the  unhealthy 
condition  of  the  locality,  both  himself  and  family 
suffering  from  ill  health  and  one  child  being  removed 
by  death.  On  Jan.  1,  1871,  he  became  the  pastor  of 
the  church  at  Nyack,  N.  Y.,  where  he  labored  with 
much  success,  until,  worn  out  by  hard  work  during 
a  succession  of  warm  revival  seasons,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  resign  his  charge  in  1878.  He  was  the 
more  willing  to  do  this  because  the  church  was  at  that 
time  laboring  under  great  financial  difficulties. 

Mr.  Voorhees,  since  his  resignation,  has  taken  up 
his  residence  in  his  beautiful  home  near  North 
Branch,  N.  J.,  where  he  has  lived  at  intervals  for 
the  past  fifteen  years.  The  surroundings  of  the  place 
are  delightful,  well  calculated  for  rest  and  recuper- 
ation, and  please  the  eye  with  the  beauty  of  its 
scenery.  As  a  speaker  Mr.  Voorhees  takes  high  rank 
among  the  oratoi-s  of  his  day.  His  style,  at  first  ex- 
pository, then  argumentative,  leads  him  to  the  expres- 
sion of  the  most  graceful  and  chaste  imagery,  and  the 
whole  combined  leads  to  certain  conviction  in  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  his  hearers.  Though  not  as  rich 
in  fancy  as  his  gifted  brother  Robert,  of  Harlingen, — 
one  of  the  most  accomplished  speakers  of  the  State, 
— his  style  is  better  adapted  to  sustain  those  cogent 
appeals  to  the  consciences  of  his  hearers  which  this 
gospel  preacher  makes  at  the  close  of  his  discourses. 


William  Fleming,  father  of  the  above, 
born  in  1770,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Jacob  Cook ;  was  a  farmer,  and  spent  most  of 
his  life  in  the  township  of  Alexandria,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  where  he  was  identified  with  the  local 
interests  of  the  vicinity.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  there, 
and  was  officially  connected  with  that  body  as 
elder.  For  a  short  time  he  was  a  resident  of 
Oxford  township,  Warren  Co.,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church  there.  He 
died  in  1833,  aged  sixty-three  years. 

His  children  were  Eleanor,  Jacob  C,  Thomas, 
Andrew,  William,  Joanna,  Tylee,  and  Abbott. 

Andrew  Fleming  was  born  in  Alexandria 
township,  Oct.  23,  1805.  At  the  age  of  eleven 
years  he  went  from  home  to  care  for  himself, 
and  until  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age  was 
mostly  engaged  working  on  a  farm.  For  six 
years  following  he  was  a  huckster  in  Hunterdon 
and  Warren  Counties.  In  1838  he  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Lawshe,  of  Union 
township.     She  was  born  May  10,  1817. 

Following  his  marriage,  in  1839,  he  settled  in 
the  township  of  Branchburg,  Somerset  Co.,  and 
engaged  in  farming  and  milling  at  Milltown, 
where  he  rented  the  Van  der  Veer  farm  and 
mill. 

In  1846  he  purchased  the  farm  upon  which 
he  now  resides,  at  that  time  consisting  of  two 
hundred   acres,   a    part   of  which    he   sold   to 


Jonathan  Robbins.  A  subsequent  purchase  of 
twenty-five  acres  makes  his  present  farm  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  acres,  upon  which  he 
erected  a  brick  house  in  1850. 

Besides  his  agricultural  pursuits,  Mr.  Flem- 
ing has  been  a  director  for  twenty-two  years, 
and  treasurer  for  twenty-four  years,  of  the  Far- 
mers' Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  New 
Jersey,  located  at  Readington. 

He  has  been  interested  in  all  questions  affect- 
ing the  interests  of  the  vicinity  in  w^hich  he  has 
lived,  and  always  conscientiously  acting  in  poli- 
tics upon  principles  that  seemed  right  and  just 
to  him,  irrespective  of  the  party  men  who  repre- 
sented them.  For  five  years  he  has  officiated 
as  justice  of  the  peace,  which  position  he  filled 
with  honor  to  himself  and  justice  to  those  who 
received  his  counsel.  He  was  several  years 
superintendent  of  public  schools  in  Branch- 
burg, and  has  always  taken  great  interest  in 
educational  matters. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fleming  have  been  born 
fifteen  children.  Those  who  reached  maturity 
were  John;  Jane;  Ann,  wife  of  Alonzo  Butler, 
of  Holland  township ;  George,  resides  in  Clin- 
ton, and  is  the  principal  of  the  institute  there; 
Levi,  a  teacher  in  Easton,  Pa.,  died  in  1875, 
aged  twenty-eight;  Robins,  a  civil  engineer 
in  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Kate,  wife  of  Alfred  But- 
ler, of  Chambersburg,  N.  J.;  Asher,  at  home; 
and  John,  who  is  also  a  teacher. 


^u2o7uJ  o-a/?iJ  ^iX/rriJo 


Tunis  Van  Camp  is  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Van  Camp, 
who  was  a  resident  of  the  territory  comprising  the  pres- 
ent township  of  Branchburg  at  an  early  day,  and  occu- 
pied one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  of  land  where 
Christian  V.  D.  Corle  now  resides.  He  served  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war  throughout  its  entire 
duration,  and  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British  and 
confined  for  seven  months,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  he  was  paroled.  His  wife  was  Catharine  Van 
Middlesworth,  and  the  issue  of  the  marriage  were 
Cornelius,  Tunis  and  John  (twins),  and  Jane.  The 
latter  became  the  wife  of  Abraham  Smock,  of  Eead- 
ington. 

John,  son  of  Thomas  Van  Camp,  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm  on  May  30,  1784,  and  in  1806  purchased 
of  his  cousin,  Cornelius  Van  Camp,  the  place  where 
Peter  Van  Camp  now  resides,  which  became  the  family 
homestead  thereafter.  Here  he  lived,  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  for  over  half  a  century. 

He  was  one  of  the  old  substantial  citizens  of  the  town- 
ship, to  whose  industry  and  enterprise  much  of  its  pres- 
ent prosperity  is  due.  His  farm  comprised  two  hundred 
and  eighty-six  acres  of  rich  and  productive  land,  and 
to  its  cultivation  he  devoted  all  of  his  energies.  He  died 
on  Aug.  6,  1875,  over  ninety-one  years  of  age.  His  wife 
was  Jane,  daughter  of  Gilbert  Lane,  of  North  Branch, 
whom  he  married  Oct.  6,  1804.  Her  father  served  as  a 
drummer  in  the  Eevolutionary  war,  where  he  was  one 
of  the  Minute-Men.  She  was  boi'n  April  16,  1784,  and 
died  about  1872.  The  children  of  the  marriage  were 
Gilbert  L.,  born  March  9,  1807,  died  Nov.  28,  1864; 
Tunis,  born  Nov.  19, 1811 ;  Peter;  Susan  D.  and  Rebecca 


Elizabeth  (twins),  born  Jan.  29, 1815;  and  Jane.  Susan 
became  the  wife  of  Cornelius  P.  Brokaw,  of  Eoycefield, 
N.  J.  ;  Pvebecca  married  Frederick  Ten  Eyck,  of  Mill- 
stone ;  Jane  became  the  wife  of  George  Barber,  of  Hun- 
terdon County. 

Tunis  Van  Camp,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
on  the  old  homestead  on  Nov.  19,  1811,  and  is  the  oldest 
male  representative  of  the  family  now  living.  His  edu- 
cational advantages  were  limited  to  those  afibrded  by 
the  district  schools  of  his  locality.  In  1843  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  near  his  father's,  comprising  one  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  acres,  which  he  occupied  until  a  few  years 
ago.  He  now  resides  at'  Neshanic  Depot,  in  a  pleasant 
home,  and  has  retired  from  the  active  duties  of  life. 
Mr.  Van  Camp  has  always  been  identified  with  the 
Democratic  party,  though  he  has  abstained  from  seeking 
or  filling  public  office.  He  is  a  regular  attendant  of  the 
Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of  Neshanic,  of 
which  his  wife  is  now  a  member.  His  life  has  been  a 
worthy  and  industrious  one,  exemplifying  the  principles 
of  integrity  and  honor,  and  being  crowned  with  that 
success  that  it  so  richly  deserves. 

On  Nov.  20,  1844,  Mr.  Van  Camp  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Ida,  daughter  of  Gilbert  Schenck,  formerly  of 
Ringos,  and  latterly  of  Hillsborough  township.  Her 
mother  was  Rachel,  daughter  of  Dennis  Van  Liew  one 
of  the  early  substantial  citizens  of  Hillsborough,  and 
who  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three  years. 
The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Camp  now  living 
are  Jeannette,  widow  of  Dr.  Richard  Ludlow,  who  re- 
sides at  Neshanic ;  John,  who  occupies  his  father's  farm 
in  Branchburg;  and  Rachel  Anna. 


BRANCHBURG. 


169 


Mr.  Voorliees  is  yet  in  the  prime  of  life,  enjoying 
the  companionsliip  of  a  loving  helpmeet  and  cher- 
ished family,  and  doubtless  has  many  years  of  use- 
fulness before  him. 


JAMES   TEN   EYCK.® 

James  Ten  Eyck  was  the  fifth  in  line  of  descent 
from  Coenradt  Ten  Eyck,  who  emigrated  from  Am- 
sterdam, Holland,  to  this  country  in  the  year  1650 
and  located  in  N  ew  York  City,  where  he  owned  what  is 


now  called  Coenties  Slip.  A  portion  of  this  tract  is 
still  owned  by  a  descendant,  Mrs.  Susan  T.  ^Villiamson, 
of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.  Coenradt  Ten  Eyok  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  passed  his  days  in  tilling  the  soil 
and  conquering  for  the  uses  of  agriculture  the  virgin 
forests  of  the  New  World.  He  died  in  New  York 
City,  and  his  remains  are  supposed  to  be  interred  be- 
neath the  "old  post-office."  He  married  Maria 
Boele,  who  came  with  him  from  Holland  and  bore 
him  eleven  children,  of  whom  six  were  born  in 
America. 

Mattys  was  the  youngest  of  these  children,  and  was 
born  in  New  York  City  on  May  18,  1658.  At  an 
early  age  he  removed  to  Old  Hurley,  Ulster  Co., 
N.  Y.,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and, 
to  some  extent,  in  the  transportation  business  on  the 
Hudson  Eiver.    The  "  Documentary  History  of  the 

*  Somelimes  spelled  Ten  Eycke. 


State  of  New  York"  mentions  him  in  the  list  of  free- 
holders of  Hurley  in  1728,  and  a  namesake,  Matthew, 
who  died  June  11, 1809,  aged  eighty  years,  was  one 
of  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  proprietors  among 
whom  the  common  lands  of  that  town  were  divided 
by  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York  passed  April 
4,  1806.  In  1751  the  latter  was  one  of  three  millers 
of  Hurley  who  recorded  their  brand-marks.  Mattys 
Ten  Eyck  was  a  man  of  influence  and  prominence, 
was  assessor  of  the  town  in  1722,  supervisor  in  1725, 
and  filled  an  important  place  in  the  community.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Hurley.  He  died  in  1741,  and  a  humble  stone  in  the 
burying-ground  at  Hurley  village  marks  his  resting- 
place.  He  married  Jannekin,  a  daughter  of  Aldert 
Eoosa,  another  pioneer  settler  of  Hurley,  on  Oct.  22, 
1679,  and  had  children,— Albert,  Andries,  Coenradt, 
Jacob,  Abraham,  Wyntie  (wife  of  Jan  Hendricks), 
Marietie  (wife  of  Tjerck  Van  Keuren),  Grietie  (wife 
of  William  Burhans),  Sarah  (wife  of  Lawrence  Cort- 
right),  and  Ragell  (wife  of  Cornelius  Newkirk). 

Jacob,  son  of  Mattys,  was  born  in  Hurley  in  1693. 
On  Oct.  20, 1725,  he  received  by  deed  flrom  his  father, 
for  the  consideration  of  five  hundred  pounds  current 
money,  five  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  northerly 
side  of  the  North  Branch  of  the  Raritan  River,  which 
the  latter  had  purchased  of  John  Johnson  on  Nov. 
12,  1700,  and  Jan.  7,  1702.  Jacob  early  took  up  his 
residence  on  the  tract  and  added  more  to  it.  He 
erected  a  one-and-a-half-story  house  on  the  site  of  the 
present  residence  of  Miss  Isabella  Ten  Eyck.  This 
structure  was  of  Low  Dutch  style,  and  the  upper  part 
was  used  for  a  granary,  in  which  were  stored  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  field.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck  married  Jemima 
Van  Nest,  daughter  of  Jerome  Van  Nest,  of  Somer- 
ville,  N.  J.,  and  the  fruits  of  the  union  were  Jacob'', 
Matthew,  Coonrod,  Peter,  Cattrin,  Jaen,  and  Han- 
nah. He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  died  in 
1758,  willing  his  property  to  his  son  Jacob.  His  wife 
died  in  1792,  aged  ninety-two. 

Jacob  Ten  Eyck''  was  born  in  the  old  stone  house 
erected  by  his  father  at  North  Branch  on  Aug.  25, 
1733.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  following  the 
peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture  on  the  old  home 
place,  and  married,  on  March  16,  1758,  Margaret, 
daughter  of  James  Hagaman,  of  Raritan.  He  served 
as  a  captain  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  children 
of  his  marriage  were  Jacob',  Jane,  Margaret,  Cath- 
arine, Jemima,  and  James.  In  1792  he  erected  the 
substantial  stone  house  occupied  by  Miss  Isabella  Ten 
Eyck,  and  in  1794  he  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  old  bury- 
ing-ground of  the  family  at  North  Branch.  This, 
which  is  now  used  in  connection  with  the  Reformed 
Dutch  church  at  North  Branch,  was  originally  laid 
out  as  a  private  burial-place  by  Jacob  Ten  'EjcV  and 
his  wife,  and  the  former  was  among  the  first  who 
were  interred  beneath  its  sod.  Jacob  and  James  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  their  sisters  in  their  father's 
land,  and  divided  it  in  the  year  1800,  each  receiving 


770 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


one  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres.  James  Ten  Eyck, 
the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born  in  the  home 
residence  on  May  2,  1773.  He  was  a  man  of  plain 
habits,  modest  and  unassuming,  and  passed  his  days 
within  the  inner  circles  of  life  as  a  farmer.  Identi- 
fied with  the  Democratic  party,  he  held  aloof  from 
public  ofiice,  and  neither  sought  nor  obtained  politi- 
cal station.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Eeformed  Pro- 
testant Dutch  Church  of  North  Branch,  and  filled  the 
offices  of  both  deacon  and  elder.  On  Oct.  4,  1798,  he 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Esther,  daughter  of  James 
Hankerson,  of  Monmouth  County,  and  had  the  fol- 
lowing children,  viz.,  Margaret  (who  married  Gideon 
Cox),  born  Oct.  28,  1799 ;  Isabella,  born  March  15, 
1802;  Jacob,  born  March  10,  1804;  James,  born  May 
2, 1806  ;  Peter,  born  Aug.  28,  1808 ;  Mary  Ann  (wife 
of  Abraham  Van  Nest),  born  Feb.  14,  1811 ;  John, 
bom  Sept.  28,  1813 ;  Tunis,  born  June  9,  1816 ;  and 
J.  C.  Jane  (wife  of  George  H.  Duyckinck),  born  Aug. 
21,  1823.  Of  these  children,  Margaret  and  John  are 
dead,  Peter  resides  at  Fair  View,  111.,  and  J.  C.  Jane 
resides  at  Lamington,  N.  J.  The  remainder  live  at 
North  Branch,  on  portions  of  the  old  estate.  After  a 
life  of  toil,  self-denial,  and  care,  James  Ten  Eyck 
passed  away  on  July  4,  1854,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one 
years.  He  had  reared  his  family  carefully,  and  left 
to  them,  besides  a  good  estate  and  a  good  name,  the 
richer  legacy  of  a  bright  example,  embodying  correct 
principles  of  life  and  habits  of  industry,  frugality, 
and  thrift. 


SIMON  A.  NEVIUS. 


David  Nevius  lived  early  near  Van  Derveer's  Mills, 
in  the  township  of  Branchburg,  where  Mr.  Van  Nest 
Stilwell  resides.  His  first  wife  was  Mary  Addis,  by 
whom  he  had  four  children, — Simon,  Adrian,  Ellen, 
and  Sarah.  Mrs.  Nevius  died  about  1834.  His 
second  wife  was  Jemima  Ten  Brook,  who  died  leav- 
ing no  children.  David  Nevius  removed  to  North 
Branch  a  few  months  prior  to  his  death,  about  1857. 
He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Eeadington,  and  officiated  both  as  deacon 
and  elder. 

Simon  A.  Nevius  spent  his  minority  in  the  usual 
routine  of  farm-work  and  attending  the  district  school. 
Soon  after  his  marriage  to  Miss  Brachia  Simonson, 
who  was  horn  in  June,  1796,  he  began  farming  on  a 
portion  of  his  father's  farm,  where  John  Clawson  now 
resides.  He  subsequently  resided  where  Eev.  Henry 
V.  Voorhees  now  lives,  and  spent  his  latter  days  with 
his  son,  Abraham  V.  He  never  sought  political  pre- 
ferment, but  remained  a  firm  supporter  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  during  his  life.  He  was  a  man  of  good 
judgment  and  correct  habits,  and  possessed  that  ster- 
ling integrity  that  secured  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew 
him. 

He  was  a  promoter  of  all  worthy  enterprises,  and 
for  many  years  deacon  and  elder  of  the  Eeformed 


Church  at  North  Branch.  He  died  Feb.  28,  1863, 
having  been  born  Dec.  13,  1796.  His  wife  died  Dec. 
9,  1875.  Their  children  were  David,  Jr.,  born  April 
3,  1818;    John   S.,   born   July   24,   1820,  resides  in 


■^-^^^^O^-CryrO 


'jZyU^^ 


Illinois;  Mary  Ellen,  born  Nov.  13,  1822,  wife  of 
Van  Doren  Voorhees ;  Simon  P.,  born  April  10, 
1825,  resides  in  Illinois;  Elizabeth  Ann,  born  Dec. 
13,  1828,  wife  of  Matthew  Lane,  of  Bedminster; 
Dennis  S.,  born  April  12,  1830 ;  Abraham  V.,  born 
April  16,  1833 ;  Garret,  born  Feb.  23,  1836,  resides  in 
Illinois ;  Anna  Jane,  born  Sept.  11,  1839,  died  in 
childhood,  Jan.  11,  1841. 

David,  Jr.,  married,  Feb.  28, 1851,  Eachel,  daughter 
of  John  Eyan,  and  granddaughter  of  John  Eyan,  a 
soldier  in  the  Eevolutionary  war.  Of  their  three 
children,  John  died  in  infancy,  Simon  P.,  born  1854, 
and  Sally  H.,  born  in  1868.  Abraham  V.  married, 
Feb.  10,  1864,  Anna,  daughter  of  Henry  B.  Staats,  of 
Bridgewater  township.  They  have  four  children, — 
Simon  A.,  Gertrude,  died  in  infancy,  Anna  E.,  and 
Henry  Staats.  David,  Jr.,  and  Abraham  V.  are  far- 
mers in  the  township  of  Bridgewater,  near  North 
Branch. 


ISAAC  DDMONT. 
Abraham  Diimont  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Branchburg,  and  resided  on  the  old  Dumont  farm 
along  the  turnpike.  He  married  Jane  P.,  daughter 
of  Isaac  Van  Cleef,  of  Millstone.  Their  children 
were  four  daughters  and  two  sons,  Isaac  and  Peter. 
Abraham  Dumont  was  a  farmer  during  his  life,  was 


ISAAC   DUMONT. 


BRANCHBUEG. 


771 


known  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity  in  all  his  business 
relations.  Isaac  Dumont,  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  June  21,  1797.  His  wife  was  Mrs.  Maria  Ne- 
vius,  formerly  Maria  Van  Doren,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Van  Doren,  of  Millstone,  whom  he  married  Oct. 
23,  1828.  She  was  born  July  10,  1806.  Their  chil- 
dren are  CorneUus  N.,  born  Aug.  19,  1829;  Jane,  wife 
of  William  D.  Smith,  born  Aug.  2, 1831 ;  Mary  Eliza- 
beth, widow  of  John  Van  Doren,  of  Middlebush; 
Abraham,  born  Aug.  8, 1835  ;  Joanna  M.,  born  March 
17, 1838 ;  Phebe  Lodema,  born  July  21,  1840,  mar- 
ried David  Wortman,  of  Long  Branch;  Peter,  born 
Dec.  15,  1844 ;  Jacob,  died  young. 

Isaac  Dumont  spent  his  younger  days  on  his  father's 
farm  and  at  the  district  school.  At  the  time  of  his 
marriage  he  was  carrying  on  his  father's  farm.  In 
1833  he  removed  to  the  place  now  occupied  by  his 
son  Abraham,  near  the  North  Branch  depot,  where  he 
resided  until  about  1862,  when  he  removed  to  the 
place  where  his  son  "Peter  now  resides,  and  where  he 
died  in  1863. 

He  was  politically  a  life-long  Democrat,  and  never 
aspired  to  office.  He  was  liberal  in  matters  of  public 
enterprise,  and  a  promoter  of  church  and  kindred  in- 
terests. For  many  years  he  was  a  deacon  and  elder 
of  the  North  Branch  Reformed  Church,  ofaciating  as 
elder  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Cornelius  N.  Dumont,  a  farmer  in  Branchburg, 
was  a  member  of  the  Centennial  Board  of  Free- 
holders in  1876,  married  Rachel,  daughter  of  Peter 
Brokaw.  They  have  four  children, — Isaac  N.,  Peter 
Q.,  Frank  N.,  and  Jacob,  all  living.  Abraham  mar- 
ried Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  Potter,  of  Lamington, 
N.  J.  They  have  two  daughters  and  one  son, — Jennie, 
Anna,  and  William  E.  Peter  married  Naomi,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Gaston ;  they  have  three  children, — John 
G.,  Cora,  and  Oliver. 


ABRAHAM   VAN  NEST. 

Among  the  first  to  penetrate  the  wilds  of  Somerset 
County  and  to  seek  out  a  home  in  its  virgin  forests 
was  Peter  Van  Nest,  who  came  from  Long  Island  in 
1683  and  located  on  the  Raritan,  near  Somerville. 
From  a  conveyance  of  one  hundred  acres  of  land  made 
by  him  to  his  children  in  1724,  we  learn  that  the  latter 
were  Peter,  Jeromus,  John,  George,  Bernardus,  Judith, 
Catharine,  Yacominca,  and  Hannah. 

Jeromus  is  believed  to  have  been  the  ancestor  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  grandfather  was 
Abraham,  who  located  soon  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  ^here  his  grandson,  Jerome  Van 
Nest,  resides,  in  Bedminster  township,  which  became 
the  family  seat  of  his  line.  Here  he  passed  a  long 
and  useful  life  as  a  farmer,  doing  his  part  cheerfully 
and  energetically  to  develop  the  resources  of  the 
country  and  to  establish  its  institutions.  He  married 
Sarah  Boovam,  and  his  children  were  Jerome,  John 
A.,  Abraham,  Rebecca,  Anna,  and  Catharine. 


John  A.  Van  Nest  was  born  on  the  home  farm  on 
Jan.  23,  1782.  In  December,  1803,  he  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  George  Van  Nest.  She  was  born  on 
Dec.  11,  1782.     He  passed  his  life  engaged  in  agri- 


cultural pursuits  and  abstained  from  all  publicity, 
living  within  the  inner  circles  of  society.  He  was 
known  as  a  man  of  integrity  in  all  the  relations  of 
life,  and  enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all 
who  knew  him.  He  died  on  Jan.  19,  1858,  aged 
seventy-six  years.  His  children  were  Catharine,  wife 
of  George  Lane,  of  Bridgewater,  born  Sept.  11,  1804; 
Abraham,  born  Oct.  6,  1806 ;  George,  born  April  5, 
1810;  and  Sarah  Ann,  wife  of  Abraham  Powelson, 
of  Bridgewater,  born  April  14,  1813.  George  was  a 
farmer,  and  succeeded  his  father  on  the  home  place. 
He  died  of  cholera  on  Nov.  12,  1866.  His  widow, 
nie  Margaret  Davenport,  and  his  sons,  John,  Abra- 
ham, and  Henry,  occupy  his  late  residence,  near  North 
Branch. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  where  Mrs. 
Margaret  Van  Nest  resides,  in  Bridgewater  township, 
at  the  date  given  above.  When  eighteen  years  of 
age  he  commenced  learning  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker 
with  Philip  Vroom,  of  Bedminster,  and  followed  that 
pursuit  for  eleven  years.  In  1840  he  established  him- 
self in  the  mercantile  business  at  North  Branch, 
where  he  has  since  remained.  He  is  purely  a  self- 
made  man,  and  from  a  humble  position  in  life  has  by 
industry  and  correct  business  habits  and  personal 
deportment  achieved  success  in  the  world,  and,  be- 
sides accumulating  a  large  and  valuable  estate,  he 


772 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


enjoys  the  confidence  and  respect  of  a  wide  range  of 
acquaintances  and  friends.  He  is  a  Eepublican  in 
politics,  though  he  has  never  been  a  seeker  after  place. 
He  has  been  postmaster  at  North  Branch  for  a  decade 
of  years,  having  been  appointed  by  President  Grant 
early  in  his  first  administration.  He  is  a  liberal  con- 
tributor to  all  worthy  purposes,  and  has  been  actively 
and  oflicially  connected  with  the  Reformed  Protestant 
Dutch  Church  of  North  Branch  for  a  long  term  of 
years,  filling  the  position  of  elder  at  the  present  writ- 
ing (1880). 

On  Oct.  22, 1841,  Mr.  Van  Nest  married  Mary  Ann, 
daughter  of  James  Ten  Eyck,  of  North  Branch.  Two 
children  were  born  to  the  union, — viz.,  Esther  J.,  wife 
of  Dr.  James  D.  Van  Derveer,  of  Liberty  Corner,  and 
Catharine  Isabel,  who  died  in  infancy. 


a.  VOORHEES    QUICK. 

G.  Voorhees  Quick  is  a  grandson  of  Abraham 
Quick,  who  was  born  in  Hillsborough  township,  mar- 
ried Catharine  Beekman,  born  in  Harlingen,  and  about 
1776  settled  the  homestead,  now  occupied  by  our  sub- 


ject,  and  erected  the  house  now  standing  on  the  place 
and  occupied  as  a  tenant-house.  He  was  a  man  of 
sound  judgment,  an  active  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Neshanic,  where  he  filled  the  offices  of  both 
deacon  and  elder.  He  died  about  the  year  1800.  His 
children  were  Joakim,  Christopher,  Abraham,  Catha- 
rine, Martha,  Glis,  Maria,  Magdalene,  and  Anna. 
His  maternal  grandfather  was  Uriah  Van  Deripe, 


who  married  Ann  Voorhees,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children,  Jerianna  and  John. 

Joakim  Quick,  his  father,  born  in  1789,  died  on 
the  homestead  in  his  sixty-sixth  year,  having  passed 
his  days  as  a  farmer  on  the  old  place.  He  enjoyed 
the  same  connections  witb  the  Neshanic  Church  as  his 
father.  His  wife  was  Jerriana,  daughter  of  Jere- 
miah Van  Deripe,  by  whom  he  had  four  children, — 
viz.,  John,  Catharine,  Abraham  J.,  and  G.  V.  Quick. 
Catharine  became  the  wife  of  Calvin  Pepper,  of  New 
York  City,  John  resides  at  Clover  Hill,  and  Abraham 
J.  is  a  minister  at  Rochester,  N.  H.  Joakim  Quick 
died  in  1855. 

G.  Voorhees  Quick  was  born  on  the  home  farm  on 
March  5,  1835,  where  he  has  since  resided,  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  His  farm  comprises  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  acres.  He  erected  his  tasteful 
residence  in  1876.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but 
no  office-seeker,  though  he  has  served  on  the  town 
committee  two  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  at  South  Branch,  where  he  fills  the  office  of 
deacon.  He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  successful, 
representative  farmers  of  his  section  of  country,  and 
respected  for  his  upright  and  consistent  course  of  life. 
On  Nov.  28,  1860,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Ju- 
liana, daughter  of  John  and  Doratha  (Welch)  Craig, 
of  Tewksbury  township,  Hunterdon  Co.  Her  great- 
grandfather was  a  physician,  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  was  a  close  friend  of  Gen.  Washing- 
ton. The  children  are  Arthur  Craig,  born  Oct.  22, 
1864,  and  Louis  Woodward,  born  June  20,  1871. 


PETER    G.  SCHOMP. 

Peter  G.  Schomp  is  a  grandson  of  Peter  Schomp, 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  township  of  Readington, 
Hunterdon  Co.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
a  wealthy  landowner,  the  tract  of  land  that  he  owned 
comprising  about  a  thousand  acres.  His  wife  was 
Margaret  Hoff'man,  of  Flemington,  N.  J.  Of  the  ten 
children  born  to  the  marriage,  George  P.,  John  P., 
Peter  P.,  David  P.,  and  Jacob  P.  were  the  sons.  Peter 
Schomp  was  a  devout  member  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  Readington,  and  died  in  1809. 

George  P.  Schomp  was  the  oldest  son  of  Peter 
Schomp,  and  was  born  in  Readington  township. 
Upon  attaining  manhood  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  in  that  avocation  passed  his  life.  He 
was  an  adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  and,  though 
no  aspirant  for  public  position,  filled  various  minor 
offices  in  his  township.  He  was  an  active  and  worthy 
member  of  the  Readington  Reformed  Church.  He 
was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  George  Anderson,  of  Readington,  who 
bore  him  the  following  children, — viz.,  Ann,  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  Cornelius  M.  Wyckofi",  Peter  G., 
George  A.,  Jacob  G.,  John  G.,  David  G.,  and  Corne- 
lius W.     Mrs.  Schomp  died  Nov.  2,  1818,  and  a  few 


'0-^yyj-42_^ 


^^W-C^    ^  «J^Q^ 


Tunis  D.  Myers  was  a  grandson  of  Burtis  Myers, 
an  early  resident  of  Hunterdon  County.  His  father, 
Peter  Myers,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  resided 
in  Kingwood  township  in  that  county.  Peter  Myers 
married  Elizabeth  Dilly,  and  had  one  child  by  the 
union,  Tunis  D.  Myers,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

The  latter  was  born  on  May  2,  1806,  and  passed 
the  earlier  years  of  his  life  on  his  father's  farm.  His 
only  educational  advantages  were  an  attendance  at 
"  seven  quarters  of  school  under  nine  school-teachers." 
With  this  modest  preparation  for  life's  duties,  his 
father  being  poor,  he  left  home  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  to  do  for  himself.  He  repaired  to  the  old  De- 
mun  farm  in  Branchburg,  at  present  occupied  by 
John  Vosseller,  and  began  life  as  a  farm  laborer. 
Later  on  he  worked  the  place  on  shares  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  in  1854  he  purchased  one  hundred  and 
three  acres  of  land,  where  his  son,  John  B.  D. 
Myers,  now  resides.  Here  he  remained  twelve  years, 
when,  owing  to  failing  health,  he  removed  to  South 
Branch,  N.  J.,  where  he  lived  a  retired  life  until  his 
death,  May  30,  1880,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four. 

While  Mr.  Myers  confined  his  attention  closely  to 
his  duties  as  a  farmer,  he  was  nevertheless  active  in 
public  afiairs,  and  took  great  interest  in  all  matters 
tending  towards  the  advancement  of  the  material 
interests  of  his  locality.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Democratic  party  and  a  strong  supporter  of  the  war. 


but  was  never  an  aspirant  for  political  place.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  township  of  Branchburg, 
and  a  devout  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Readington,  with  which  he  was  officially  connected 
both  as  deacon  and  as  elder.  He  contributed  with  a 
liberal  and  generous  hand  to  all  worthy  enterprises, 
and  was  actively  identified  with  the  various  public 
movements  of  his  day.  At  his  death  he  enjoyed  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him. 

His  wife,  who  survives  him,  was  Ann,  daughter  of 
John  Naylor,  whom  he  married  on  Dec.  1,  1834,  and 
their  children  have  been  John  B.  D.  and  Elizabeth 
Myers.  The  latter  is  the  wife  of  John  K.  Reger,  of 
South  Branch,  and  has  a  son,  William  M.  Reger,  who 
was  born  Nov.  14,  1871. 

John  B.  D.  Myers  was  born  July  3, 1839,  and  was 
brought  up  on  his  father's  farm.  His  education  was 
obtained  at  the  district  school  and  at  the  Trenton 
(N.  J.)  Academy.  He  began  the  life  of  a  farmer  at 
the  age  of  twenty-two  years  on  his  present  farm,  and 
has  since  resided  there.  He  occupies  an  influential 
position  in  the  township ;  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  has  filled  the  oflices  of  assessor,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  collector,  being  an  incumbent  of  the  last 
two  positions  in  1880.  On  March  13,  1866,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Vosseller,  and  has  one  child,  Roger,  born  Aug.  29, 
1871. 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


773 


years  later  Mr.  Schomp  married  Mrs.  Mary  Vosseller. 
By  this  marriage  were  born  Tunis  C.  and  Henry  P. 
Schomp.  Mr.  Schomp  died  on  March  21,  1847,  in 
the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  on 
his  own  farm. 

Peter  G.  Schomp,  to  whom  this  sketch  is  dedicated, 
was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Readington  on  Aug. 
28,  1801.  His  early  advantages  were  limited,  and  his 
daily  life  was  that  common  among  the  farmers'  sons 
of  his  day.  About  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he 
received  a  small  allowance  from  his  father  and  com- 
menced farming  in  Readington  on  his  own  account. 
In  1838  he  purchased  of  Garret  Probasco  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  of  land  in  Branchbiirg  township, 
Somerset  Co.,  which  his  son  George  now  occupies, 
and  here  he  took  up  his  residence.  To  this  tract  Mr. 
Schomp  subsequently  made  additions,  so  that  at  pres- 
ent (1880)  he  owns  a  fine  farm  of  200  acres,  under  a 
good  state  of  cultivation.  He  erected  his  present 
substantial  and  handsome  residence  in  1860. 

In  the  year  1821,  Mr.  Schomp  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Catharine,  daughter  of  Aaron  Kline,  of  Read- 
ington.    His  children  were  George  ;  Catharine  Ann, 


who  married  John  Sutphin,  of  Branchburg,  and  who 
died  in  January,  1880 ;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Wil- 
liam Wyckoff,  of  Branchburg,  and  who  died  May  3, 
1863 ;  Caroline,  wife  of  Abraham  H.  Lane,  of  Branch- 
burg ;  and  John,  who  died  July  31,  1846,  aged  five 
years. 

Mr.  Schomp  has  now  attained  the  advanced  age  of 
seventy-nine  years,  and  is  still  a  well-preserved  and 
energetic  old  gentleman.  His  has  been  a  singularly 
active  and  laborious  life,  and  the  success  which  has 
crowned  it  has  been  due  to  his  energy  of  character 
and  to  close  and  faithful  performance  of  duty.  By 
industry  and  economy  he  has  gathered  together  a  fine 
estate,  and  he  enjoys  the  highest  respect  and  esteem 
of  all  who  know  him.  While  he  has  always  been  a 
supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party, 
he  has  avoided  political  strife  and  confined  his  labors 
strictly  to  his  chosen  avocation.  He  has  always  been 
a  liberal  supporter  of  the  benevolent  and  philan- 
thropic enterprises  of  the  day,  and  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of 
Readington  for  about  forty  years,  a  portion  of  this 
time  filling  the  offices  of  deacon  and  elder. 


hillsboeough; 


GEOGRAPHICAL   AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

This  is  the  largest  township  in  the  county  of  Som- 
erset. Its  present  boundaries  are  as  follows :  North 
by  the  Raritan  River,  which  separates  it  from  the 
town  of  Bridgewater ;  northwest  by  the  South  Branch 
of  the  Raritan,  which  separates  it  from  the  town  of 
Branchburg ;  southwest  by  the  county  line,  which 
separates  it  from  the  towns  of  Raritan  and  East  Am- 
well.  In  Hunterdon  County;  south  by  the  town  of 
Montgomery;  east  by  the  Millstone  River,  which 
separates  it  fi-om  the  town  of  Franklin.  The  town- 
ship contains  389  farms,  and  its  superficial  area  is 
37,894  acres,  or  59.21  square  miles.  Its  population, 
as  given  in  the  census  of  1880,  is  3249. 

NATURAL   FEATURES. 

The  surface  of  the  eastern  part  is  level  or  gently 
undulating;  the  soil  is  red  sandstone.  The  surface 
of  the  western  part  is  hilly ;  the  soil  consists  of  clay 
and  loam.  Neshanic  Mountain,  composed  of  trap 
rock,  enters  the  southwest  corner  and  extends  into 
the  township  about  5  miles ;  it  is  about  500  feet  high. 
With  the  exception  of  the  top  of  this  mountain,  the 

*  By  EeT.  E.  T.  Corwin,  D.D. 


whole  township  is  well  cultivated.     But  very  little 
timber-land  is  now  to  be  seen. 

The  streams  wholly  within  the  township  are  com- 
paratively small.  The  Neshanic  River  crosses  the 
northwest  corner,  and  after  a  northeasterly  course  of 
about  3  miles  flows  into  the  South  Branch  of  the  Rar- 
itan. Royce  Brook  has  several  sources  at  the  foot  of 
Neshanic  Mountain,  near  Flaggtown,  and  after  flow- 
ing southeasterly  about  3  miles,  and  northeasterly 
about  4  miles,  with  a  sudden  turn  to  the  south  for 
a  quarter  of  a  mile,  it  flows  into  the  Millstone  at 
Weston.  No  Pike  Brook  courses  southeasterly  about 
3  miles  on  the  southern  border,  and,  turning  south- 
ward, flows  through  Montgomery  township  into 
Beeden's  Brook.  Cattail  Bun,  or  Rock  Brook,  passes 
through  a  gorge  in  Neshanic  Mountain,  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  township,  at  Bock  Mills,  and 
becomes  the  north  branch  of  Beeden's  Brook.  Very 
many  small  streams,  a  mile  or  two  long,  issuing  from 
springs,  flow  into  the  larger  brooks  or  the  rivers  on 
the  borders.  The  Millstone  River  forms  a  crooked 
boundary  on  the  east,  extending  about  8  miles  by  the 
course  of  the  river.  This  stream,  owing  to  the  level 
character  of  the  country  and  the  mill-dams  upon  it, 
is  more  than  100  feet  wide  and  5  or  6  feet  deep.  It 
flows  into  the  Raritan. 


774 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


LESAL   DESCRIPTION   OP  THE  TOWNSHIP. 

There  seems  to  be  no  record  preserved  of  the  for- 
mation of  Hillsborough  township.  In  1693  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  divided  the  counties  into  townships, 
extending  Piscataway,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Rari- 
tan,  from  the  Somerset  line  of  1683  (see  Map)  to  the 
South  River  and  the  western  bounds  of  the  province. 
This  included  nearly  all  of  Franklin,  the  southeast- 
ern part  of  Hillsborough,  the  southeastern  half  of 
Montgomery,  and  much  more  territory  besides.  In 
subsequent  acts,  when  the  towns  are  specified  for  as- 
sessment and  other  causes,  we  always  find  the  county 
of  Somerset  named  with  the  towns  of  the  province.* 
Bridgewater  received  a  royal  patent  or  charter  in 
1749.  It  is  highly  probable  that  the  southern  part  of 
the  county  (all  south  of  the  Raritan)  received  a  char- 
ter at  the  same  time. 

In  1760  an  act  was  passed  for  running  the  lines 
between  the  several  counties  and  respective  town- 
ships.! -'^t  tl'is  time  Hillsborough,  including  Mont- 
gomery, was  styled  the  "  Western  Precinct"  ;  it  was 
more  commonly  known,  however,  as  Hillsborough. 
In  1775  this  title  was  in  common  use,  and  gave  name 
to  the  church  of  Millstone,  which  was  then  incorpo- 
rated as  "  Hillsborough." 

In  1798,  under  the  general  law  for  the  incorporation 
of  each  of  the  several  townships  of  the  State,  it  was 
directed  that  the  township  of  Hillsborough  should  be 
styled  and  known  by  the  name  of  "  The  Inhabitants 
of  the  Township  of  Hillsborough,  in  the  County  of 
Somerset." 

LAND    TITLES   AND    SETTLEMENT. 

Hillsborough  township  was  long  disputed  ground 
between  the  proprietors  of  East  and  West  Jersey. 
Keith's  partition  line,  which  was  run  in  1687,  consti- 
tutes the  present  western  boundary  of  the  town  and 
of  the  county.  But  Lawrence's  line,  which  was  run  in 
1743,  threw  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  township 
into  West  Jersey.  According  to  Map  No.  II.  in  the 
Elizabethtown  bill  of  chancery  (1747),  Lawrence's 
line  runs  about  a  mile  west  of  the  present  Millstone 
church.  The  same  is  true  according  to  the  map  of 
the  commissioners  of  1769,  appointed  by  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly  of  the  province.  This  latter  map  is 
reissued  in  the  reprint  of  Smith's  "  History  of  New 
Jersey,"  1877.  But  if  we  take  the  tree  by  the  John 
M.  Mann  house,  just  west  of  Somerville,  as  a  true 
point  on  the  line,  and  run  a  straight  course  on  our 
present  maps  to  Little  Egg  Harbor,  the  line  falls  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  Millstone,  in  Franklin  town- 
ship. 

The  present  line  between  the  townships  of  Still- 
water and  Hampton,  in  Sussex  County,  is  a  remnant 
of  Lawrence's  line.  But  this,  if  extended  on  our  latest 
maps,  crosses  the  Millstone  at  Weston,  runs  nearly 
two  miles  east  of  Millstone,  and  falls  into  the  sea  far 

»  See  laws  of  1695,  p.  354;  1698,  pp.  371-74;  1713,  p.  16;  1726,  p.  69. 
■f  Allison's  Laws,  p.  327. 


to  the  east  of  Little  Egg  Harbor.  It  is  also  stated  in 
the  preamble  to  the  laws  subsequently  passed  con- 
cerning this  line  that  private  parties  had  often  mu- 
tually agreed  as  to  where  the  line  should  run  between 
their  respective  plantations.  Some  of  the  land  titles 
in  the  village  of  Millstone,  and  north  of  it  along  the 
river,  are  recorded  at  Burlington,  while  others  farther 
west  are  recorded  at  Amboy.  The  deed  of  the  origi- 
nal parsonage  farm,  in  1774  (now  owned  by  Joseph 
V.  S.  Van  Doren),  nearly  a  mile  north  of  the  village, 
and  on  the  west  side  of  the  Millstone,  is  described  as 
being  in  Middlesex  County  !  Millstone  village  often 
passed  under  the  name  of  Hillsborough,  and  is  some- 
times called  Middleburg  in  early  deeds.  Many  titles 
along  the  Millstone  are  on  record  at  Trenton,  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  while  others  were  re- 
corded in  Middlesex  County,  long  after  Somerset  was 
formed.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  burning  of  two  suc- 
cessive court-houses  (at  Six-Mile  Run  in  1787,  and  at 
Millstone  in  1779)  caused  the  loss  of  many  valuable 
papers,  as  several  early  statutes  required  titles  to  be 
recorded  at  the  capital  of  the  province.  Perhaps  only 
the  books  of  the  board  of  freeholders  and  justices, 
together  with  the  charter  of  Hillsborough  and  Frank- 
lin, with  some  loose  papers  on  current  business,  were 
lost. 

Under  the  Dutch  sway  there  was  no  land  formally 
taken  up  within  this  township,  with  perhaps  a  single 
exception.  The  late  Rockhill  Robeson,  of  Weston, 
in  1866  assured  the  writer  that  family  papers  showed 
his  ancestors  settled  on  the  Millstone  River  (on  which 
side  was  not  stated)  as  early  as  1642,  and  that  they 
removed  to  Philadelphia  in  1666. 

It  was  under  the  twenty-four  proprietors  that  the 
valleys  of  the  Millstone  and  the  Raritan  began  to  be 
permanently  settled.  Their  government  lasted  for 
twenty  years  from  1682.  Of  these  proprietors.  Son- 
mans,  Hart,  Plumstead,  Cooper,  Lawrie,  and  Barker 
had  land  set  ofi"  to  them  in  what  afterwards  became 
the  township  of  Hillsborough.  Lawrie  sold  250  acres 
of  the  meadows  on  the  south  side  of  the  Raritan,  in 
1682,  to  James  Graham,  John  White,  Samuel  Winder, 
and  Cornelius  Courzer.J  The  proprietors  in  posses- 
sion, in  the  same  year,  sold  3000  acres  in  the  angle 
of  the  Raritan  and  Millstone  Rivers  (exclusive  of 
the  above  meadows)  to  Capt.  Anthony  Brockholls, 
William  Rinborne,  John  Robinson,  Capt.  Mathias 
Nicholls,  and  Samuel  Edsall.  In  1683,  John  Ben- 
nett purchased  an  irregular  plot  at  the  northwest  of 
the  township,  embracing  Neshanic  and  Clover  Hill. 
In  1685,  John  Royce  bought  the  tract  at  the  angle  of 
the  Raritan  and  Millstone  of  Brockholls  &  Co.,|  and 
required  a  title  from  the  proprietors,  ||  as  well  as  from 
the  above  company.  This  plot  extended  up  the  Mill- 
stone to  "  Indian  Wigwam"  (now  the  place  of  Isaac 
Brower,  Esq.),  and  up  the  Raritan  3J  miles  (opposite 

X  Amboy  Records,  Lib.  A,  273 ;  Trenton,  Lib.  A,  251. 
g  Trenton,  Lib.  A,  202,  206. 
1  Ibid.,  273,  274. 


Early  Purchasers 
~X^^^j^^4.iiaBroolL^, LLS B 0 r'o U  GHr~M  oTl  T  GOm'e'r ^( 

I  |.7i?rW,.-r*'    ^^C^^^  '   franklin'townships    ^ 

CompilcBl  fr-am  JlcedsMap  KSS 
(uuiXocdlirops 

Jlcvltcd    5y  XJ.X.COIIWIX.'JJD. 


^awfhct  afSottLfTsct 
RESIDENTS    IN    1766.» 


\ 


\  'B'^iod  Jjots 


10. 
11. 
12. 

13. 

14. 

16. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 

24. 
26. 


Dr.  Meroer  (in  Middlesex). 

Philip  Freneh. 

Henry  Gnart. 

Philip  French  (at  One-Mile 

P.  French's  Farm  House. 

Eoad  to  Millstone. 

John  Shanks. 

John  Kent. 

Three-Mile  Bun. 

Cornelius  Waldron's  Tavern. 

John  Van  Liew. 

Jooobus  Cornell. 

(John  Bennett. 
Cornelius  Bennett. 
Samuel  Oarretson. 
Fulkert  Van  Nostrandts. 
Rot.  John  Light  (Leydt). 
William  Williamson. 
Nicholas  Van  Lewon. 
Jacob  Wikoff. 
Simon  Wikoff. 
John  Pyatt. 
Six-Mile  Run  (Brook). 
Philip  Kearney, 
f  Simon  Hagaman. 
I  Benjamin  Hagaman. 
I  Peter  Suydam. 
( John  Suydam. 


■27. 
28. 

29. 


Ran,  west  side  of  brook) . 
26.  Widow  Stryker. 

Peter  Pomme  (Pumyea). 
John  Manley. 
f  William  Stothoff. 
\  John  Stothoff. 

30.  Widow  Wood's  Tarem. 

31.  Dutch  Chnroh. 

32.  Joseph  Qifford  (Tavern). 

33.  Adrian  Manley. 

34.  Nioholas  Johnson. 
36.  Nine-Mile  Rnn  (Widow  Hoagland), 

36.  Jacobus  Wyokoff. 

37.  Daniel  Barcalow. 

38.  Peter  Qulick  (Gate). 

39.  Still  House. 

40.  DoUis  Hegeman. 

41.  Jacobus  Labre. 

42.  John  Qulick. 

43.  Tunis  Quick. 

44.  Jacob  Van  Dyke. 
46.  William  Donaldson. 

46.  William  Williamson  (Tavern). 

47.  Cornelius  De  Hart. 

48.  Benjamin  Comlin. 


49.  Jedediah  Higgins. 

60.  Presbyterian  Church  at  Kingston. 

61.  Dr.  Hendrickson. 

62.  Forman's  Mill. 

63.  Barefoot  3rinson. 

54.  Richard  Stockton  (Whitehouse). 

65.  Capt,  Howard. 

56.  Samuel  Brinson. 

57.  John  Opdike. 

58.  Richard  Stookton,  Esq. 

59.  Ezekiel  Forman. 

60.  Joseph  Olden. 

61.  Robert  Stookton. 

62.  Joseph  Stockton. 

63.  Sylvanus  Hunt. 

64.  Worth's  Mill. 

66.  Samuel  Worth. 

66.  Samuel  Stockton. 

67.  Edward  Bainbridge. 

68.  Hendrik  Bergen  (place  of  Simcoe's  capture). 

69.  Peter  Rapalje. 

70.  John  Spader. 

71.  Fred.  Van  Liew. 

72.  Garret  Voorhees. 

73.  Benjamin  Van  Doren. 

74.  John  Sehureman. 

75.  Denice  Van  Liew  (De  Heiater's  fort). 

76.  Hend.  Probasco  (and  fort). 

77.  Ann  Van  Liew  (Cornwallis'  fort). 


*Takfcn  from  a  survey  In  1766,  in  posaeasiun  of  Che.  Deshler, 
of  New  BruDBwIck 


HILLSBOROUan. 


775 


th.e  present  village  of  Raritan),  its  southwestern  cor- 
ner being  near  the  present  Roycefield  school.  It  was 
stipulated  that  this  plot  should  be  called  Eoycefield. 
Boyce  was  obliged  to  confirm  Graham  &  Co.  in  the 
possession  of  their  meadow-land,*  and  he  soon  after 
sold  1100  acres  of  this  plot  to  John  Robinson.f 

Glowing  appeals  were  now  made  and  eager  pur- 
chasers soon  arrived.  June  10,  1688,  William  Dock- 
wra,  having  induced  large  emigration  from  England 
and  Scotland  to  New  Jersey,  received  patents  for 
2000  acres  in  the  valleys  of  the  Millstone  and  Rari- 
tan, and  for  3815  acres  on  the  tributaries  of  the  Mill- 
stone, to  be  subsequently  located.  Oldmixon,  in  his 
"  History  of  the  British  Empire,"  says : 

"  The  western  part  of  Middlesex  County  is  watered  by  Millstone  Eiver, 
which  runs  through  a  pleasant  valley  belonging  to  Mr.  William  Dockwra, 
of  London." 

These  lands  were  on  both  sides  of  the  Millstone. 
In  Hillsborough  land  was  allotted  to  him  southwest 
of  Royce's  great  tract,  corresponding  roughly  with 
the  present  Bloomingdale  school  district. 

About  1690,  Capt.  Clement  Plumstead  obtained  a 
large  grant  on  the  west  side  of  Millstone  River,  ex- 
tending from  Peace  Brook  to  Blackwell's  Mills,  and 
west  a  little  beyond  the  road  passing  by  the  residence 
of  Joseph  Van  Cleef.  Thom'as  Barker  had  the  next 
plantation  on  the  Millstone,  extending  from  Black- 
well's  Mills  to  the  present  southerly  bound  of  the 
township,  and  west  as  far  as  Plumstead's  land.  In 
the  same  year  Thomas  Cooper  purchased  the  large 
plot  on  the  south  side  of  the  Raritan,  containing  2000 
acres;  what  is  now  called  Beekman's  Lane  is  the 
westerly  bound  of  this  plot.  In  1692  the  proprietors 
sold  640  acres  to  Daniel  Hooper,  extending  down  the 
Raritan  half  a  mile  and  up  the  South  Branch  a  mile, 
embracing  the  present  village  of  Branchville. 

Arent  Sonmans  became  possessed  of  five  full  shares 
of  East  Jersey,  but  these  were  not  located  in  his  life- 
time. His  son  Peter  inherited  his  rights.  In  1693  he 
became  possessed  of  all  the  remainder  of  our  present 
Hillsborough  township  not  previously  taken  up,  and 
the  greater  part  of  Montgomery.  His  line  began 
near  Clover  Hill,  and  ran  southeasterly  along  the 
county  line  6^  miles  to  a  point  about  2  miles  south- 
west of  Blawenburg;  thence  east,  and  southeast  to 
the  Millstone  River,  near  Rocky  Hill,  and  thence 
down  the  river  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  plantation  of 
Benthall.  Following  near  the  western  lines  of  Ben- 
thall.  Hart,  Barker,  Plumstead,  and  Royce  (leaving  a 
considerable  gore,  however),  it  struck  the  Raritan, 
and,  with  the  said  river,  wound  around  the  planta- 
tions of  Cooper,  Hooper,  and  Bennett;  it  returned  to 
the  western  county  line  near  Clover  Hill,  the  place  of 
beginning. 

Thus,  within  eleven  years  after  the  proprietors 
came  into  power,  aU  the  land  of  Hillsborough  was 
taken  up.  It  began  to  be  permanently  settled  about 
1690. 


This  territory  was  not  to  be  exempt  from  confusion 
of  titles.    The  sales  of  John  Royce  are  involved  in 
considerable   perplexity   on    account  of  conflicting 
grants  and  of  Royce's  dishonesty.     Mr.  Royce  ob- 
tained a  second    patent,  extending   his  plantation 
westward  so  as  to  encroach  on  Cooper  and  southward 
on  Plumstead.    He  must  also  have  encroached  on 
Dockwra  on  the  southwest.    While  he  originally  re- 
ceived about  5  square  miles,  in  1685,  he  now  claimed 
about  8.     In  1693  he  mortgaged  this  large  plot  for 
one  thousand  years  to  Charles  Winder  for  £206,  with 
the  privilege  of  redeeming  it  in  three  years.J    This 
he  never  did,  but  still  continued  to  dispose  of  the 
lands,  and  the  executors  of  both  parties  claimed  the 
same  territory.     If  Royce  should  redeem  the  land  of 
Winder  by  Oct.  25,  1696,  then  Winder's  estate  should 
cease  in  said  tract,  and  the  premises  were  to  go  to 
Peter  Van  Nest  and  Michael  Dimockson.     July  15, 
1698,    Dimockson    granted    Eoycefield — embracing 
about  8  square  miles  at  the  angle  of  the  Raritan  and 
Millstone— to  Barnett  R.  Q.  Miller  for  £300.     It  is 
described  as  beginning  on  the  north  side  of  a  meadow 
heretofore  belonging  to  John  Robinson,  and  thence 
running  south  on  the  east  side  of  Cooper's  land,  8 
miles,  and  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  the  head  of 
Peace  Brook,   and  down  Peace  Brook  to  Millstone 
River,  and  down  the  Millstone  and  up  the  Raritan  to 
the  place  of  beginning.   Graham's  meadows  are  again 
excepted.? 

But,  notwithstanding  the  above,  we  find  Royce  and 
Dockwra  selling  2300  acres  of  land  on  Millstone  River 
and  Royce's  Brook  to  John  Covers,  June  1,  1702. 
March  6,  1711,  Covers  sold  the  same  tract,  styled 
meadow-land,  to  William  Post  for  £300.  ||  June  10, 
1702,  Thomas  Cooper,  of  London,  by  his  attorneys, 
Richard  Hartshorne  and  Richard  Salter,  sold  to  Peter 
Demunt,  for  £380,  his  tract  of  land  on  the  Raritan, 
containing  2000  acres.  1[ 

On  June  3,  1703,  Royce  sold  to  Andrew  Coejeman,. 
of  Albany,  for  £80,  a  tract  of  land  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Raritan,  to  be  specifically  known  as  Royce- 
field: 

"  Beginning  at  a  small  maple-tree  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream  of 
water,  in  a  gully  by  Edward  Drinkwater's  land ;  thence  running  south  9i 
chains ;  thence  west  48  chains ;  thence  north  123  chains  j  thence  north  3° 
west  23  chains  to  the  said  river;  thence  by  the  said  river  west  6  chains 
and  25  links  ;  thence  south  3°  east  23  chains;  thence  east  6  chains  and  26^ 
links  to  a  walnut-tree ;  thence  east  by  a  meadow  formerly  sold  by  Boyce 
to  Graham,  and  so  to  the  flrst-mentioned  maple-tree,  containing  600 
acres.** 

April  13,  1705,  Royce  sold  a  tract  of  land  on  the 
Millstone  River  to  Derick  Volkerse. 

In  1708,  Royce  died,  and  Nov.  22,  1709,  his  execu- 
tors, John  Barron,  John  Harrison,  and  Mary  Craw- 
ley, sold  to  Philip  Hedman,  according  to  Royce's  will, 
a  tract  of  land  on  the  Raritan.    It  is  described  as. 


*  Trenton,  Lib.  A,  251. 


t  Ibid.,  213,  214. 


X  Ibid.,  Lib.  E,  527-29. 

g  Ibid.,  Lib.  F,  663. 

I  Early  records  at  New  Brunswick,  160. 

K  Ibid.,  p.  171. 

**  Parchment  deed  at  Amboy. 


776 


SOMEESET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


lying  between  Earitan  River,  John  Van  Dine's  land, 
Ananias  Allen's  land,  Royce's  Brook,  and  Millstone 
River.  Its  value  was  £1350.*  In  1712,  Hedman  sold 
the  same  tract  to  Michael  Van  Vechte  and  his  asso- 
ciates,— viz.,  Dirck  Volkerae,  William  Post,  Ananias 
Allen,  John  Wortman,  John  Tunison,  Cornelius  Tu- 
nison,  Uria  Andriese,  and  Peter  Van  Nest.  But  this 
land,  as  well  as  the  adjoining  tract  on  the  south  of 
Royce  Brook,  was  also  claimed  by  the  executors  of 
Winder.  This  Dutch  company,  however,  having 
come  in  some  way  into  possession  of  £500  of  Royce's 
estate,  from  which  they  had  honestly  purchased  the 
tract,  with  this  money  leased  the  two  tracts  of  Win- 
der's executors  for  the  yet  unexpired  term  of  Win- 
der's lease, — viz.,  979  years, — mutually  binding  one 
another  to  make  up  the  £500  if  Royce's  heirs  should 
ever  recover  it.f     Thus  were  the  titles  of  Van  Vechte 

6  Co.  made  perfect.  In  1703,  therefore,  the  Dutch 
came  into  Roycefield,  and  in  1712  into  Royston, — a 
name  now  forgotten  by  the  inhabitants  of  Harmony 
Plains.J 

June  10, 1710,  Peter  Sonmans  sold  out  of  his  great 
tract  what  is  called  the  Harlingen  or  9000-acre  tract. 
It  was  an  irregularly-shaped  plot,  about  two-thirds  of 
it  lying  in  Hillsborough  and  one-third  of  it  in  Mont- 
gomery township.  The  Dutch  company  who  made 
this  purchase  consisted  of  Octavio  Conraats,  Abram 
Wendell,  merchant,  Adrian  Hooglant,  Isaac  Gover- 
neur,  all  of  the  city  of  New  York ;  Anna  Volkerse, 
widow,  of  Kings  Co.,  L.  I. ;  Henry  Hegeman,  Francis 
Van  Lewen,  William  Beekman,  all  of  Queens  Co., 
L.  I ;  Joseph  Hegeman,  Hendrick  Veghte,  Cornelius 
Van  Duyn,  Wouten  Van  Pelt,  Ort  Van  Pelt,  all  of 
Kings  Co.,  L.  I. ;  Dirck  Volkerse,  of  New  .lersey ; 
Peter  Cortelyou,  Jacob  Van  Dyke,  Claas  Volkerse, 
all  of  Kings  Co.,  L.  I.     It  was  bounded  as  follows  : 

"  Beginning  at  the  south  (north  ?)  corner  of  land  of  William  Plumetead, 
being  1}^  miles  and  4  chains  from  Millstone  River;  thence  south-south- 
west 2-)^  miles  and  8  chains:  thence  west-northwest  1  mile  and  18  chains; 
thence  south-southwest  2%  miles  and  7  chains;  thence  west  3)^  miles 
and  3  chains  to  the  partition  line  between  East  and  "West  Jersey ;  thence 
north  14°  west  30  cliains,  along  said  division  line  ;^  thence  north  53°  east 

7  miles  and  20  chains;  thence  east,  1  mile  and  17  chains  to  the  place  of 
beginning;  having  the  lands  of  Plumstea^I,  Barker,  Hart,  and  Bcnthall 
on  the  east,  the  division  line  on  the  west,  and  lands  of  said  Sonmans  on 
the  north  and  south." 

Peter  Sonmans  sold  another  tract  of  320  acres,  for 
£30,  March  13,  1711,  to  Isaac  De-Riemer,  of  New 
York.  This  plot  was  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
Harlingen  tract,  and  the  deed  is  now  in  possession  of 
Rynier  Staats,  son  of  John  R.  Staats.  It  was  be- 
tween the  lands  of  Royce  on  the  northeast,  Thomas 
Cooper  on  the  northwest,  and  on  the  southeast  were 
the  lands  of  Veghte,  Lawrence,  Volkerse,  and  Cortel- 
you, of  the  Harlingen  tract.  This  plot  was  subse- 
quently purchased  by  John  Staats,  previously  of  Mill- 
stone.   He  sold  the  property  to  his  son  ,Iohn  in  1770. 

*  Early  records  at  New  Brunswick,  174. 

t  Ibid.,  192. 

t  Ibid. 

g  This  is  on  the  top  of  Neshanic  Mountain. 


The  latter  was  the  grandfather  of  the  late  John  R. 
Staats,  who  lived  on  the  place;  it  is  now  owned  by 
Garret  Cortelyou.  The  west  part  of  it  is  now  in  pos- 
session of  the  Strykers.ll 

Feb.  28,  1742,  Clement  Plumstead  gave  his  plot  of 
2000  acres  to  William  Plumstead  (a  brother  or  son). 
At  this  time  Plumstead's  tract  was  still  bounded  by 
Barker's  land  on  the  south,  and  on  the  west  by  Cor- 
telyou's,  Volkerse's,  Lawrence's,  and  Veghte's  (of  the 
Harlingen  tract),  and  on  the  north  by  Peace  Brook, 
which  separated  Plumstead's  land  from  that  of  Post 
and  Powelson.  About  1750,  William  Plumstead  sold 
the  land  between  the  Amwell  road  and  Peace  Brook 
to  Benjamin  Thompson,  and  May  1,  1752,  he  sold 
246  acres  on  the  south  side  of  the  Amwell  road,  run- 
ning west  1  mile  and  13  chains,  and  south  about  25 
chains,  to  Christian  Van  Doron  for  £740.  Dec.  12, 
1755,  the  latter  sold  the  same  to  his  son,  John  Van 
Doren,  for  £100.  Lawrence  Van  Cleef  had  already 
bought  to  the  south  and  west  of  the  Van  Doren  tract, 
and  Henry  Van  Derveer  had  purchased  to  the  west  of 
Thompson. 

About  1720-30,  Hendrick  Wilson,  of  Long  Island, 
bought  the  southern  part  of  Volkerse's  tract,  which 
lay  north  of  the  new  Amwell  road,  and  between  the 
Millstone  River  and  Royce  Brook.  In  1755,  Hen- 
drick Wilson,  Sr.,  sold  to  Hendrick  Wilson,  Jr.,  a 
tract  of  land  containing  88|  acres,  having  about  150 
feet  on  the  Millstone  River,  and  running  back  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  in  a  west-southwest  direction.1[  This 
plot  was  bounded  by  Peter  Stryker's  land  on  the  north 
(next  to  the  river),  by  Wyndert  Wilson's  on  the  north 
(farther  west),  and  by  the  land  of  Hendrick  Wilson, 
Sr.,  on  the  west  and  south.  The  purchaser  was  to 
pay  to  the  heirs  of  John  Royce,  yearly,  upon  the  25th 
of  March,  one  halfpenny  sterling  for  each  acre,  in- 
stead of  all  other  rents,  quit-rents,  etc. 

Hendrick  Wilson's  will  was  written  in  1750.  In 
1765  his  estate  was  separated  into  nine  lots,  to  be  di- 
vided among  his  four  sons — Myndert,  John,  Henry, 
and  Peter — and  his  daughter  Hannah.  John  Brokaw, 
Esq.,  made  the  map  to  show  the  division.  Myndert 
received  tlie  place  now  owned  by  William  French; 
Henry,  part  of  that  now  owned  by  John  Brokaw; 
John  received  land  now  owned  by  Albert  Voorhees; 
while  Peter  received  the  farm  now  owned  by  Joseph  V. 
S.  Van  Doren.  The  farm  now  owned  by  Isaac  Brower 
passed,  before  1771,  into  the  hands  of  John  Brokaw. 
He  sold  this  place  in  1771  to  Abram  Brokaw  for  £170. 
Henry  Wilson  sold  his  place  in  1777  to  Mrs.  Sarah 
Yard,  of  Philadelphia.  It  consisted  of  205  acres.** 
The  following  year  Mrs.  Yard  deeded  this  place  to 
her  daughter  Ann. ft  She  married  Gen.  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen  (after  the  death  of  his  fir^t  wife,  in 
1794),  and  this  place  ultimately  passed  into  the  pos- 


II  Lib.  J  (?),  398-400. 

1[  Burlington  re&jrds.  Lib.  II  ^ 

**  Il)ld.,322. 

tt  lijld.,  330. 


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Joseph  H.  Van  CLEEr  is  a  grandson  of  Oornelius 
Van  Cleof,  whose  father,  Isaac,  was  the  first  settler  of  the 
Van  Cleefs  in  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  selecting  his  farm 
about  one-half  of  a  mile  south  of  Millstone,  where  he 
reared  a  family  of  ten  children,  the  youngest  of  whom. 
Van  Marter,  is  living  at  Millstone,  in  1880,  in  the  eighty- 
ninth  year  of  his  age. 

Cornelius  Van  Cleof,  born  Jan.  21,  1777,  on  the  old 
homestead,  married,  Feb.  17,  1799,  Margaret  Kershow, 
who  bore  him  children  as  follows:  Cornelius,  born  Sept. 
16,  1799;  Isaac,  born  Aug.  15,  1801;  George,  born  July 
2,  1804;  Jane,  wife  of  John  D.  Post,  born  Feb.  18,  1808; 
and  Matilda,  wife  of  Garret  Hageman,  born  June  13, 
1811.  Cornelius  Van  Cleef  purchased  and  settled  on  one 
hundred  and  fifty-six  acres  of  land  in  1812,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Hillsborough,  the  same  being  now  owned  and 
occupied  by  his  grandson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Here  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  days  leading  the 
quiet  life  of  a  farmer,  although  he  was  by  trade  a  car- 
penter and  joiner.  .  He  belonged  to  the  old  Federal 
party,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Whig  party  during  its 
existence.  He  died  July  10,  1855.  His  wife  died  April 
20,  1856. 

George  Van  Cleef,  father  of  our  subject,  succeeded  to 
the  old  homestead.  Married  Achsah ,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Fanny  (Drake)  Holcombe,  of  Lambertville,  Sept. 
24,  1834.  She  was  born  Oct.  26,  1807,  and  died  Feb. 
14,  1866.  He  died  Dec.  4,  1865.  He  was  a  farmer 
through  life,  and  a,  man  of  strict  integrity  in  all  his 
business  relations.  He  took  no  active  part  in  politics, 
yet  was  a  firm  supporter  of  the  Whig  and  Republican 


parties.  He  was  known  as  an  unobtrusive  and  upright 
Christian  man,  and  was  for  some  thirty  j'ears  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church  at  Harlingen.  Both 
he  and  his  father  before  him  represented  their  church  in 
the  Reformed  Church  Synod.  His  children  arc  Cornelius 
G.,  born  May  16, 1836;  Joseph  Holcombe,  born  Jan.  25, 
1838;  Sophia  Somers,  wife  of  John  Vreeland,  of  Mill- 
stone, born  April  24,  1841 ;  and  George  Spencer,  born 
Feb.  8,  1845. 

Joseph  H.  received  a  good  education  during  his 
minority,  but  choosing  a  business  instead  of  a  profes- 
sional life,  he  succeeded  his  father  on  the  homestead 
purchased  by  his  grandfather,  and  has  since  been  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.  His  commodious  and 
elegantly  constructed  buildings,  and  all  that  pertains  to 
the  farm,  show  the  hand  of  an  intelligent,  thrifty,  and 
judicious  farmer.  Mr.  Van  Cleef  is  interested  in  all 
worthy  local  enterprises,  and  contributes  liberally  to 
their  support.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  at  Millstone,  and  has  ofBciated  as  deacon.  In 
this  church  he  takes  a  leading  part  in  the  service  of  song, 
and  has  acted  as  leader  of  the  choir  for  several  years. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  during  the  war  was 
elected  one  of  the  township  committee,  which  position 
he  filled  for  seven  consecutive  years,  doing  efficient 
service.  He  has  been  chosen  to  fill  other  minor  offices. 
He  married,  Sept.  18, 1861,  Miss  Mary  Jane,  daughter  of 
Richard,  and  granddaughter  of  Jeremiah  Field,  of  Pis- 
cataway,  Middlesex  Co.,  JST.  J.  The  children  born  of 
this  union  are  Mamie  Cropsey  and  Emma  Dey  Van 
Cleef. 


Pbter  N.  Betekman  was  born  in  Hillsborough  town- 
ship, Marcli  22,  1808.  His  great-grandfather,  Gerardus, 
settled  in  Somerset  County  during  its  early  history,  and 
purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  where  Griggstown  is 
now  located. 

Abraham,  grandfather  of  our  subject  and  son  of  Ge- 
rardus, was  born  at  Griggstown  about  the  year  1738. 
and  there  resided  during  his  life,  a  farmer.  His  wife 
was  Ann  Voorhees,  who  died  May  25,  1817,  aged  sixty- 
five  years.  He  died  Sept.  3,  1818.  His  children  were 
G-erardus,  John  A.,  Kalph  V.,  Abraham  A.,  Jacob, 
Isaac,  Ellen,  and  Catherine. 

Abraham  A.  Beekman,  father  of  our  subject,  born 
Jan.  23,  1784,  died  Aug.  20,  1862.  His  wife  was  Ma- 
tilda, daughter  of  Peter  L.  Nevius.  of  Hillsborough, 
whom  he  married  Nov.  4,  1806.  She  was  born  Sept.  5, 
1789,  and  died  Jan.  8,  1873.  He  was  u,  shoemaker  by 
trade,  and  followed  that  business  until  1815,  when  he 
purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  acres, 
about  a  mile  south  of  Millstone,  where  his  only  son,  Peter 
N.  Beekman,  now  resides,  the  farm  having  been  in  pos- 
session of  the  family  since  its  purchase.  Here  he  resided 
the  remainder  of  his  life  and  carried  on  farming.  He 
subsequently  added  fifty  acres  to  his  original  purchase, 
making  the  number  of  acres  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
two.  He  was  the  first  man  in  his  township  to  use  a  lime 
fertilizer  on  his  land,  and  was  in  every  sense  of  the  term 
a,  representative  farmer. 

In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  became  a  member  of 
the  Eepublican  party  upon  its  formation.  For  several 
years  he  was  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  energy  and  strong  resolution,  and  possessed  those 
qualities  of  integrity  in  all  his  business  relations  that 
make  a  good  citizen.  Peter  N.  Beekman  received  lim- 
ited opportunities  for  obtaining  an  education,  but  so  im- 
proved them  at  the  common  school  and  under  private 
instruction_as  to  obtain  a  good  education  for  boys  of 


iZ^^ 


his  time.  He  has  resided  on  the  farm  where  he  now  is 
since  its  purchase  by  his  father.  For  many  years  he 
followed  surveying  in  his  own  and  adjoining  townships, 
beginning  as  early  as  1822,  and  a  noticeable  fact  in  con- 
nection with  this  business  is,  that  during  his  many  years' 
experience  he  has  settled  and  fixed  the  boundaries  of 
many  lines  in  dispute,  and  thus  avoided  litigation  of  the 
parties  by  his  counsel  and  exact  surveys  and  measure- 
ments. 

For  nine  years  beginning  with  1844  he  was  secretary 
of  the  Hillsborough  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  for 
some  time  was  assistant  engineer  of  the  Millstone  and 
New  Brunswick  Eailroad.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ee- 
publican party,  and  was  formerly  a  Whig.  He  bus  been 
interested  in  all  local  enterprises  tending  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  township  and'  the  prosperity  of  its  people, 
and  has  always  been  especially  interested  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  rising  generation.  Under  the  old  law  he 
was  township  superintendent  of  schools  of  Hillsborough 
for  several  years,  and  has  acted  on  the  township  com- 
mittee. For  very  many  years  he  has  done  conveyan- 
cing in  the  vicinity,  and  was  commissioner  of  deeds  for 
some  ten  years. 

During  the  last  six  years  prior  to  1880  Mr.  Beekman 
has  been  an  invalid  and  unable  to  attend  to  the  usual 
duties  of  life,  but  his  life  has  been  one  of  activity  and 
devoted  to  business  pursuits.  He  is  known  as  a  man  of 
correct  habits  and  sterling  integrity.  For  his  first  wife 
he  married,  Jan.  28,  1835,  Ann  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Col.  Henry  Duryoe,  of  Blawenburg,  N.  J.,  who  died 
Jan.  2,  1837,  having  been  born  Aug.  6,  1812.  His  second 
wife,  Rachel  Ann,  daughter  of  W^illiam  Beardslee,  of 
Bound  Brook,  but  formerly  of  Sussex  County,  he  mar- 
ried Jan.  27,  1841.  She  died  May  22, 1867,  having  been 
born  March  26,  1820.  His  children  by  this  union  are 
Matilda,  widow  of  the  late  Ferdinand  S.  Wilson,  a  law- 
yer at  Millstone,  Fannie  Maria,  and  Abram  A.  Beekman. 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


Tvr 


session  of  Dr.   James  B.   Elmendorf,  who  married 
their  daughter  Elizabeth. 

The  property  on  each  side  of  Peace  Brook  had 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Abram  Duryea,  of  New 
York.    In  1790  he  sold  it  to  Gen.  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen  for  £1500.    It  contained  29  acres,  extending 
about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  west  from  the  church  lot, 
being  bounded  on  the  west  by  lands  of  Ezekiel  Elli- 
son and  Adrian  Merrill,  on  the  north  by  those  of  Er- 
nestus  Van  Harlingen,  and  touched  a  lot  of  Mershon 
on  the  northeast,  and  the  lot  of  Dr.  Van  Buren  on  the 
southeast ;  it  did  not  extend  to  the  river.  Hon.  Theo- 
dore Frelinghuysen  inherited  the  portion  of  this  farm 
lying  south  of  Peace  Brook  about  1809,  and  sold  it 
to  Daniel  Disborough  in  1811  for  $6462 ;  it  contained 
161  acres.    Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  a  brother  of 
Theodore,  retained  that  part  of  the  farm  north  of 
Peace  Brook  until  1820,  when  he  died.    It  subse- 
quently passed  into  the  possession  of  William  Beards- 
lee,  and  is  now  owfled  by  Edward  Baker,  an  English- 
man. 

John  Harrison,  who  owned  extensive  plots  in  Frank- 
lin, at  an  early  date  became  also  the  owner  of  a  tract 
of  land  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Hillsborough,  pre- 
viously belonging  to  Thomas  Barker.  In  1714,  Harri- 
son sold  215  acres  to  Cornelius  Cornell,  of  Kings  Co., 
L.  I.,  for  £641.  This  plot  was  bounded  south  by 
lands  of  Rip  Van  Dam,  the  noted  lawyer  of  New 
York,  west  by  those  of  Peter  Sonmans,  north  by  lands 
of  Jacques  Durys.  In  1725,  Cornelius  Cornell  sold 
this  plot  to  William  Cornell,  having  the  same  neigh- 
bors, except  in  the  north,  where  Daniel  Polhemus 
owned  land.  This  is  now  in  part  the  farm  of  Peter 
I.  Nevius. 

Isaac  Van  Nuys,  son  of  Jan,  the  ancestor  of  a  now 
numerous  family,  came  to  Hillsborough,  southwest 
of  Somerville,  where  Abraham  Voorhees  now  lives. 
His  brother  Jacobus  lived  where  Joseph  Davis  now 
resides. 

Derrick  Van  Veghten  resided  on  the  banks  of  the 
Raritan,  near  what  is  now  called  the  "  old  bridge." 
The  American  army  was  quartered  on  his  land  in  the 
winter  of  1778-79.  He  died  Nov.  29,  1781,  aged 
eighty-four. 

Henry  Veghte,*  who  married  the  daughter  of  John 
Van  Middlesworth,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  Eoycefield,  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  by 
Capt.  Jchn  Wyckoff.  He  and  his  wife  died  young, 
leaving  three  children ;  one  son,  Eynier,  died  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1833,  in  his  eightieth  year,  leaving  two  sons, 
—Henry  (who  was  the  father  of  R.  H.  Veghte,  now 
living  on  the  homestead  farm,  and  also  of  Benjamin 
T.,  John,  and  Henry  Veghte)  and  Eynier,  who  left 
one  son,  John  V.,  who  resides  now  on  the  farm  where 
his  father  died  in  1871,  aged  eighty-three. 

The  following  family  histories  are  taken  mostly 


*  A  Bon  of  Eynier,  who  was  son  of  Hendrick,  and  grandson  of  the  emi- 
grant who  came  in  1660  and  settled  on  Long  Island. 
50 


from  Hon.  Ealph  Voorhees'  papers,  and  give  us  a 
good  idea  of  the  original  settlers. 

THE  VAN  CLEEF  FAMILY. 
Jan  Van  Cleef  was  born  in  1628.  He  married  Engeltje  Louwerens, 
daughter  of  Louwereus  Preterse,  prior  to  1661,  and  settled  at  New 
Utrecht,  L.  I,,  as  early  as  1659.  His  children,  and  years  of  their  baptism, 
were:  1,  Catharine,  1681 ;  2.  Benjamin,  1683;  3.  Joseph,  1083;  4.  Angelica; 
5.  Ceytie,  1688;  6,  Isbrant;  7.  Nelke;  8.  Cornelius,  who  married  Fem- 
mei^e  Van  de  Water.  His  children  were  John,  of  Giavesend,  the  ancestor 
of  the  Gravesend  and  New  Utrecht  Van  Cleef  families,  and  Laurens,  who 
settled  in  New  Jersey. 

The  children  of  Benjamin  (2)  are  as  follows:  9.  Lysbeth,  who  married 
William  Cowenhoven ;  10.  Joannes,  who  married  (1)  Maria  Kroffert  and 
(2)  Sarah  Cowenhoven ;  11.  Derick,  who  died  young;  12.  Marike,  married 
Jane  Berkan;  13.  Derick,  married  Elizabeth  Leek;  14.  Benjamin,  mar- 
ried Helen  Cowenhoven  in  1741 ;  15.  Nelke,  who  married  Hendrick 
Vanderbilt;  16.  Laurens,  who  died  prior  to  1780  (married  Jannetje  Laan); 
17.  Helena,  who  married  John  Brown ;  18.  Joseph,  who  married  Sytio 
Van  Wickelen;  19.  Elsie,  who  married  William  Bayrt  (Bayard?);  20. 
Antje,  who  married  Jan  Wilson. 

The  children  of  Laurens  (16)  are  as  follows  :  21.  Jacob,  1731 ;  22.  Fem- 
metje,  1733;  23.  Laurens,  1737  ;  24.  Jannetje,  1739 ;  25.  Isaac,  born  1742, 
and  married  Dorcas  Pumyea,  1769  (she  was  born  April  13, 1749,  and  died 
March  28,  1812 ;  he  died  June  30,  1804) ;  26.  Jacob. 

The  children  of  Isaac  (25),  with  dates  of  birth  and  death,  are  as  fol- 
lows: 27.  Jane,  Feb.  1, 1770,  June  5,1851;  28.  Mary,  Oct.  4,1771,  Feb. 
11,1861;  29.  Laurence,  Feb.  2,  1773,  Jan.  8,  1862;  30.  Peter,  Nov.  30, 
1774,  June  27, 1842 ;  31.  Cornelius,  Jan.  21, 1777,  Jnly  10, 1856 ;  32.  Jacob, 
May  27, 1779,  Nov.  19, 18-17 ;  33.  Isaac,  Feb.  16,  1781,  Feb.  2, 1863 ;  34. 
Abraham,  July  3, 1786,  March  7, 1870 ;  35.  John,  Nov.  22, 1786,  Dec.  3, 
1858  (married  Jane  Ann  Duryea,  of  Millstone) ;  36.  Margaret,  March  30,. 
1789,  May  14, 1790 ;  37.  Van  Mater,  May  21, 1792,  still  living,  1880. 

The  children  of  John  (35)  are  as  follows :  38.  Rev.  Paul  Duryea  Van 
Cleef,  D.D.,  of  Jersey  City  (born  July  31, 1821,  and  married  (1)  Catalina 
Onderdonk  and  (2)  Amelia  Leutot) ;  39.  John  V.  N.,  of  New  Brunswick  v 
40.  Isaac;  41.  Whitney;  42.  JaneD.;  43.  Elizabeth;  44.  Theodore  F. 

The  Van  Cleefs  are  now  very  numerous  in  Somerset  County.  Those- 
in  the  vicinity  of  Millstone  are  mostly  descended  from  Isaac  (25). 

John  Van  Cleef,  Sr.,  of  Six.Mile  Bun,  married  Grietje,  widow  of  John 
Vleet,  Jr.,  and  had  children  who  were  baptized  and  married  as  follows  t 
Rebecca,  1764,  George  Wyckoff,  of  Potterstown ;  Maria,  1756,  Capt.  Simon 
Addis,  Six-Mile  Run ;  Sarah,  1769,<Abraham  De  Hart,  Six-Mile  Bun ; 
John,  1762,  Sarah  Van  Dyke,  of  Harlingen  ;  Johanna,  1765.  John  Wyckoff 
(father  of  John  V.  C.)  lived  and  died  at  Millstone,  where  his  son  lives. 
During  the  Revolution  some  British  soldiers  came  to  the  house  of  John 
Van  Cleef,  Sr.,  and,  in  order  to  tantalize  and  provoke  him,  ordered  him 
to  march  along  with  them  as  their  prisoner.  Being  a  cripple,  he  was 
compelled  to  walk  with  two  canes.    Having  gone  with  them  to  the  main 

road,  one  of  the  soldiers  exclaimed,  "  Let  the  d d  rebel  go  I    He  is  not 

worth  taking  along."     He  then  hobbled  back  the  way  in  which  he 

came.t 

BEEKMAN  FAMILY. 

Wilhelmus  or  William  Beekmang  was  born  at  Hassett,  province  of 
Overyssel,  Holland,  in  1623,  was  sent  to  this  country  in  1647  by  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company  as  one  of  their  agents,  and  was  among  the  earliest 
magistrates  of  New  Amsterdam.  In  July,  1658,  he  was  appointed  vice- 
director  at  AJtona,  on  the  Delaware,  being  invested  with  all  the  power  of 
the  company  in  that  region.  In  New  York  for  many  years  he  served  as 
schepen  (aldeiman)  and  burgomaster  (mayor),  also  as  schont  (sheritF). 
His  lands  lay  principally  in  the  vicinity  of  what  are  now  Beekman  and 
William  streets,  New  York,  which  were  named  after  him.  He  died  in 
1707  aged  eighty-ttve.  By  his  wife,  Catharine  de  Bough,  he  had  four 
sons— Henry,  Gerardus,  William,  and  John— and  at  least  one  daughter, 
Maria,  who  married  Nicholas,  son  of  Peter  Stuyvesant.  Gerardus  was  a 
physician,  and  settled  at  Flatbnsh,  L.  L  He  possessed  large  tracts  on  the 
Raritan  and  Millstone  Rivers. 

Christopher,  son  of  Dr.  (otherwise  "  Col.")  Gerardus  Beekman,  settled 
in  Somerset  County,  and  was  the  first  of  the  name  here.  His  children, 
named  in  his  will,  were  Gerardus,  Adrian,  Christopher,  Abraham,  Cor 
nelia,  Magdalena,  Maria,  and  Catharine. 

•j-  See  Corwin's  "  Manual." 

X  See  Van  Vleet  family. 

3  The  original  name  of  Beekman  was  Boeckman  in  German.  To  escape 
death  they  fled  from  Germany  into  HoUand,  where  they  found  a  refuge 
from  persecution. 


■778 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Henry,  son  of  Col.  Gerardus,  appears  never  to  have  been  married,  for 
in  his  will  (1760)  he  bequeathed  and  devised  to  the  children  of  his  brother 
Martin  deceased,  all  his  real  and  personal  property,  to  be  equally  divided 
between  them.  Their  names  were  Elizabeth,  Henry,  Samuel,  Anna,  and 
John.  Under  this  will  these  children  came  into  possession  of  Col.  Gerar- 
dus Beekman's  land,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Baritan,  2  or  3  miles  above 
Somerville.  The  brother  Martin,  named  in  this  will,  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Resolvent  Waldron,  June  21, 1724.  (She  may  have  been  a  grand- 
daughter.) 

Samuel,  Martin's  second  son,  had  children, — viz.,  Samuel,  bom  Sept. 
21, 1767,  married  Helena  Ten  Broek,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Ten  Broek, 
of  Harlingen,  N.  J.;  Elizabeth,  born  July  8,  1768,  married  William 
Baker,  died  Nov.  11, 1791;  Cornelia,  born  Aug.  i:i,  1770,  married  Benja- 
min, son  of  Henry  Beekman,  died  Jan.  24, 1858;  Martin,  born  May  14, 
1773,  died  in  1844;  Ann,  born  Feb,  24, 1780,  died  Feb.  26, 184C. 

Samuel,  oldest  son  of  Samuel,  and  generally  known  as  '*  Capt."  Samuel 
Beekman,  owned  at  one  time  the  old  Beekman  homestead,  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Raritan,  which  he  sold  to  his  sister  Cornelia,  wife  of  Benja- 
min, after  his  marriage  to  Helena  Ten  Broek.  He  lived  tho  rest  of  his 
life  on  the  old  Ten  Broek  homestead,  near  Harlingen,  N.  J.  He  died  in 
1851;* 

The  children  of  Capt.  Samuel  Beekman  were  Cornelius  Ten  Broek, 
born  October,  1789,  and  resided  the  latter  part  of  hia  life  near  Harlingen  ; 
Peter  T.,  born  April  21, 1796,  married  Eliza  Carpenter;!  Jacob  T.,  born 
April  10, 1801,  a  preacher  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church ;  Abraham  T., 
born  July  15, 1803,  married  Eliza  Van  Derveer;  and  daughters,  Eliza- 
beth, 1788;  Margaret,  1792;  Cornelia,  1794  (married'  Nicholaa  Veghten, 
both  living  on  a  farm  near  Griggstown) ;  Anna,  1798  (married  Abraham 
J.  Dumont);  Catharine,  Nov.  25, 1805. 

Christopher,  the  son  of  Gerardus,  had  Gerardus,  Aaron,  Christopher, 
Mary,  and  Magdalen,  Gerardus  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  and  died  near 
■Griggstown. 

The  children  of  the  last  Gerardus  were  John,  who  died  about  nineteen 
years  of  age;  Christopher,  who  lived  on  the  rear  of  the  old  homestead 
Gear  Harlingen  and  died  about  1820,  aged  ninety-six ;  Gerardus,  who  died 
-about  1821,  aged  eighty-six ;  Abraham,  born  July  27, 1739,  lived  on  the 
old  farm  at  Griggstown,  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Garret  Voorhees,  Sr., 
of  Middlebush,  May  3, 1776,  and  died  May  25,  1817  ;  Mary,  who  married 
Thomas  Skillman;  Ann,  who  married  Garret  Voorhees;  Catharine,  Mag- 
dalene, and  Cornelia, 

Abraham,  who  married  Ann  Voorhees,  had  eight  children, — Gerardus, 
(born  July  12, 1778,  died  Feb.  28, 1815;  Eleanor,  Dec.  17,  1779,  married 
Jacob  Quick,  of  Ten-Mile  Run,  and  died  Nov.  12,  1865;  John,  Feb.  3, 
1782,  married,  first,  Johanna  Nevius,  second,  AUetta  Rappelye,  and  was 
killed  by  the  fall  of  a  tree  at  Griggstown,  Sept.  21, 1829;  Abraham,  Jan. 
13, 1784,  married  Matilda  Nevius,  lived  at  Millstone,  and  died  Aug.  20, 
1862  ;  Ralph  V.,  Dec.  17,  1785,  married  Elizabeth  Ten  Broek,  was  a  mer- 
chant, and  died  in  Brooklyn,  June  30, 1873 ;  Jacob,  Dec.  17, 1787,  married 
Sarah  Garretson,  and  died  in  Michigan,  April  7,  1837;  Isaac,  Sept.  14, 
1790,  lived  single,  and  died  in  North  Carolina,  Sept.  23,  1823;  Catharine 
Ann,  Aug.  2, 1797,  died,  single,  Sept.  24, 1828. 

THE  STAATS  FAMILY. 

Abram  and  Joachim  Staats  came  from  Holland  in  1642.  The  sons  of 
the  former  were  Abram,  Samuel,  Joachim,  and  Jacob.  There  is  a  refer- 
ence in  the  '*  Documentary  History  of  New  York"  to  tlie  residence  of  an 
Abram  Staats  at  Gowanus,  L.  I.  Reter,  of  Long  Island,  wa-s  no  doubt 
connected  with  these  earlier  ones  mentioned  ;  his  birtli  would  be  about 
1670.  His  son  John  had  several  children, — viz.,  1.  Peter,  born  July  6, 
1738,  at  the  "  Brookie."  He  settled,  lived,  and  died  on  a  farm  now  occu- 
pied by  Ditmars  Coe,  south  of  Millstone.  He  married  Susannah  Van 
Middlesworth.  2.  John,  who  lived  in  Roycefield.  He  bought  a  farm  of 
Isaac  de  Riemer  in  17114  3.  Abram,  who  lived  at  Bound  Brook,  and 
was  a  surveyor.  He  married  Margaret  Du  Bois,  and  had  five  daughtei-s 
and  one  son,  Isaac.  4.  Rynear,  wliu  lived  at  Griggstown.  He  had  two 
sons,  John  and  Abram,  and  Hon.  Rynear  A.  is  a  son  of  Abram. 

The  children  of  Peter  (I)  were  Pliebe,  John,  Susanna,  and  Maria,  all 
of  whonj  died  unmarried  ;  Nellie,  wlio  married  Heni-y  Quick ;  Magdalen, 
who  married  John  Van  Derveer;  Hendiick,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Schenck  ;  Peter,  who  married  Catharine  Voorhees  and  moved  to  Illinois 
about  1840;  Abram,  who  married  Jane  Ty<ion,  whose  descendants  are 


*  His  sister  Cornelia,  the  only  survivor  of  this  large  and  respectable 
family,  lives  on  the  south  bnnk  of  the  Raritan,  where  she  was  born. 

t  He  owned  and  conducted  for  some  time  the  mills  on  the  South 
Branch  afterwards  called  Corle's  Mills. 

t  See  Land  Titles. 


now  in  Orange  County,  N.  Y.    Rev.  John  A.  Staats,  of  Goshen,  is  a  son. 
The  descendants  of  Hendrick  are  mostly  in  this  township. 

John  Staats  (2)  lived  at  Roycefield,  about  2  miles  east  of  Flaggtown, 
on  the  Amwell  road.  His  children  were  Peter,  born  about  1770,  died  in 
1846,  who  was  the  father  of  Cornelius  P.,  John  P.,  and  Peter  P.  Staats, 
the  latter  two  of  whom  are  yet  living  ;  John,  who  was  born  in  1740,  and 
died  about  1805,  bought  the  farm  on  Koyce's  Brook  (now  owned  by  his 
grandson,  Peter  B.  Staats)  in  1790  of  his  brother  Rynear,  for  £1000,  com- 
prising 194  acres ;  Abram,  who  lived  on  the  new  Arawell  road,  on  a  farm  op- 
posite Isaac  Van  Cleers ;  James,  who  moved  to  North  Branch  (his  children, 
were  Gertrude,  who  married  Peter  Wortman;  John,  who  died  young; 
Henry,  now  living  at  North  Branch  ;  and  Peter,  who  now  lives  at  Mid- 
dlebush and  is  the  father  of  Rev.  Bergen  Brokaw  Staats,  of  West  Hur- 
ley, N.  Y.) ;  Rynear,  who  first  owned  the  Brook  farm,  and  sold  it  to  hia 
brother  John  in  1791  (he  was  the  father  of  the  late  Hon.  John  R.  Staats, 
recently  in  the  Legislature,  and  who  resided  on  the  old  homestead  on 
the  Amwell  road) ;  Phebe  ;  Maria,  married  a  Nevius  and  settled  at  Six- 
Mile  Run. 

THE  FRELINGHUYSEN  FAMILY 
was  first  represented  in  the  township  by  Gen.  Frederick,  who  removed 
to  Millstone  from  Franklin,  soon  after  1787,  with  hia  family .g  It  was  in 
Hillsborough  his  family  was  reared.  His  first  wife,  Gertrude  Schenck, 
died  in  March,  1794,  at  Millstone,  leaving  five  children, — John,  Maria, 
Theodore,  Frederick,  and  Catharine.  He  subsequently  married  Ann 
Yard,  and  had  two  children, — Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  the  late  James  B. 
Elmendorf,  M.D.,  of  Millstone,  and  Sarah,  who  died  young.  Gen.  Fred- 
erick Frelinghuysen  died  on  his  fifty-first  birthday,  April  13, 1804,  and 
was  buried  in  the  family  burial-ground  at  Weston. 

THE  QUICK  FAMILY. 

About  300  yards  above  the  farm  recently  owned  by  Isaac  Gulick,  de- 
ceased, on  the  Somerset  side  of  the  road,  and  the  one  now  owned  and 
resided  on  by  John  M.  Garretson,  in  1776  was  the  house  of  Tunis  Quick. 
The  precise  time  when  he  settled  along  the  Old  Path  is  not  known.  It 
must  have  been  early,  for  in  1703  he  was  one  of  a  small  number  who 
signed  a  paper  the  object  of  which  was  to  raise  money  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  a  minister  to  come  to  them  from  Holland  and  take  charge  of  a  congre- 
gation purporting  to  be  that  of  Three-Mile  Run,  which  appears  to  have 
been  organized  at  that  time. 

Tunis  had  a  son  named  Abraham,  who  was  a  colonel  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  He  was  born  in  1732,  lived  and  died  on  the  homestead, 
was  twice  married,  and  had  twelve  children.  By  his  first  wife,  Matilda 
Wyckoff,  he  had  four  children, — Jemima,  baptized  Nov.  20, 1757 ;  Tunis, 
April  11, 1762 ;  Rynear,  Feb.  17^  1765 ;  Hendricks,  Nov.  18, 1770.  By  his 
second  wife  Charity, — Jacob,  baptized  June  20, 1772  (a  coach-maker,  and 
married  Nelly  Beekman,  of  Griggstown);  Abraham,  April  10, 1774  (mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  John  Van  Derveer,  and  lived  near  North  Branch)  ;J 
Margretie,  June  30, 1776  (married  Henry  Black  well)  ;  Ann,  June  7, 1778  ; 
Johannes  or  John,  March  5, 1780  (married  a  Staats,  the  widow  of  Elbert 
Nevius);  Peter,  Aug.  4, 1782;  Elsha,  Jan.  16,  1785,  died  in  childhood; 
Elsha  (2d),  Jan.  1, 1788.  The  colonel  died  in  1805,  aged  seventy-three 
years,  four  months,  and  twenty-four  days,  Eia  inscribed  on  his  tombstone, 
standing  in  a  burying-ground  about  one  mile  south  of  the  present  Six- 
Mile  Run  church. 

Tunis,  the  colonel's  eldest  son,  died  May  4,  1836;  married  Alche  or 
Aletta,  daughter  of  Jacques  Voorhees,  born  June  20, 1766,  died  Feb.  10, 
1845.  Their  cliildren  were  Lydia,  who  married  Jacob  Kline;  Nilly 
Voorhees,  married  Peter  Spader,  and  died  Sept.  9, 185o.lf 

The  original  Quick  homestead  has  had  the  following  owners:  Tunis 
Quick,  Col.  Abraham,  Jacob  Quick,  Martin  Garretson,  and  his  sop,  John 
M.,  now  owning  and  residing  thereon,  great-great-grandson  of  the  origi- 
nal settler.** 

THE  VAN   NEST  FAMILY, 

Peter  Van  Neste  came  from  Amsterdam  to  Long  Island  in  1647.  He 
was  the  common  ancestor  of  the  Van  Nest  or  Van  Neste  family .ff  In 
1681  a  certain  Peter  Van  Nest  came  to  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.     He  was  the 

g  See  lengthy  sketch  in  '*  Bench  and  Bar  of  Somerset  County," 

I  He  was  a  justice,  and  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  North 
Branch.  His  daughter  Jane  became  the  wife  of  David  Miller,  of  Som- 
erville. 

^  Tunis  lived  and  died  in  Readington  township,  Hunterdon  Co,  He 
was  a  miller,  and  a  major  in  the  militia. 

**  Ralph  Voorhees,  in  Fredonian. 

ft  For  an  account  of  a  prominent  man  by  the  name  of  Van  Nest  in 
Holland,  see  Messler's  "  History  of  Somerset  County,"  page  16. 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


779 


father  of  Bev.  Rynier  Van  Neste,  who  wae  t)ora  in  1738.*  Peter  Yan 
Neste  waa  appointed  to  raise  the  tax  in  Somerset  in  1694.  Out  of  a 
tax  of  £150  for  the  province,  Somerset's  proportion  was  only  £4  16s 
Gd.f  In  1712,  Peter  Yan  Nest  was  one  of  the  purchasers  of  Royston,  in 
Hillsborough  township,  of  Philip  Hedman,  on  which  place  some  of  his 
sons  settled;  this  brought  the  family  to  what  is  now  called  Weston.  In 
1721,  Joses  Van  Neste  was  one  of  the  Consistory  of  the  Raritan  Church, 
*nd  Jeronemus  Van  Neste  was  a  contemporary.  "Weston  was  previously 
known  by  the  name  of  Van  Neste.J  Hon.  Abram  Van  Neste,  a  member 
of  council  for  Somerset,  died  on  Aug.  15, 1779.  At  a  meeting  of  the  As- 
sembly of  the  State,  in  Princeton  College,  on  Sept.  13,  1776,  he  was 
appointed  a  judge.  This  Abram  was  probably  the  father  of  George  Van 
Neste,  whose  family  record  is  given  below. 

George  Yan  Neste  was  bom  Oct.  27, 1747,  and  died  at  Weston,  Oct.  4, 
1806.  He  was  married,  May  7, 1772,  to  Lemmetje  Staats,  who  was  born 
Deo.  24, 1749,  and  died  Feb.  27, 1816.  He  was  an  industrious,  stable,  and 
religious  citizen.  His  children  were  as  follows:  1.  Abraham  G.  Van 
Neste,  M.D.  Ho  was  bom  Aug.  31, 1773,  and  died  Aug.  27,  1824.  On 
Sept.  15, 1799,  he  married  Elizabeth  Van  Yalkenburgh.  She  married  (2) 
William  Bell,  M.D.,  Feb.  24,  1844,  and  both  died  at  Cliarlestoo,  Mont- 
gomery Co.,  N.  T.  In  the  same  place  Dr.  Abraham  G.  Van  Neste  had 
died;  he  had  been  a  regular  practicing  physician  there  duriug  most  of 
his  professional  career.  He  was  highly  esteemed,  both  socially  and  pro- 
fessionally. 2.  Phebe  G.,  born  July  24, 1776,  aud  died  March  18, 1849,  at 
South  Branch,  N.  J.  3.  Sarah  G.,  born  Nov.  8, 1780,  and  died  May  14, 
1860,  at  South  Branch,  N.  J.  She  became  the  second  wife  of  John  J. 
Schenck,  of  that  place.  4.  John  G.,  born  Oct.  24,  1784,  and  died  Nov.  29, 
1844.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Peter  Wortman,  on  April  14,  1814. 
She  was  born  Dec.  21, 1792,  and  died  Nov.  30, 1844. 

The  children  of  John  G.  Van  Neste  (4)  are  as  follows :  5.  Lemmetje 
Staats,  Ijorn  Feb.  15,  1815;  married  Henry  Hagaman,  Nov.  3, 1737.  6. 
Peter  Wortman,  born  Aug.  3, 1816,  died  Nov.  21, 1872 ;  married  Gertrude 
S.  Yan  Pelt,  Jan.  24,  1842.  7.  Ann  Field,  born  May  9,  1819 ;  married 
Abram  N.  Veghte,  Oct.  4, 1843.  8.  Rev.  George  J.,  born  Sept.  7, 1822 ; 
married  Margaret  Anna  Buckelew,  Sept.  23, 1845.g  9.  Abraham  G.,  born 
April  15, 1824 ;  died  Dec.  7, 1862,  in  the  hospital  at  Alexandria,  Va.  He 
was  a  volunteer  in  the  Union  army,  and  is  buried  iu  the  Frelinghuysen 
graveyard,  at  Weston.  He  married  Maria  S.  French,  Oct.  4,  1848.  Rev. 
John  A.  Yan  Neste,  now  of  Ridgewood,  N.  J.,  is  their  son.  10.  John 
Vredenburg,  born  July  7, 1827 ;  married  Tabitha  Stryker,  Feb.  26, 1846 ; 
now  living  on  the  homestead  at  Weston. 

The  original  Van  Neste  homestead,  at  Weston,  stood  a  little  south  of 
the  presentone,  and  opposite  the  road  which  crosses  the  Millstone.  John 
G.  Yan  Neate  (4)  rented  the  Bayard  Mills,  near  by,  and  dealt  largely  in 
meal,  which  he  transported  to  New  Brunswick  and  Amboy  in  a  large 
canoe  made  by  him  from  a  tree  of  great  dimensions  on  the  farm  of  Isaac 
Coevert,  Lodi,  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y.  This  was  floated  down  the  Mohawk  and 
Hudson,  and  up  the  Raritan  to  Weston.  It  still  remaius  on  the  home- 
stead, being  now  a  feeding-trough  for  cattle.  Twice,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  century,  he  and  his  wife  journeyed  in  an  English-body  wagon,  with- 
out springs,  from  Weston  to  the  "  lake  country,"  as  Seneca  Co.,  N.  T.,  was 
then  called,  to  visit  a  cousin,  George  Van  Neste,  who  resided  at  Owasco 
Outlet.  It  was  in  this  family  that  those  frightful  murders  were  perpe- 
trated by  a  negro  from  Auburn  in  1846.  John  G.  Vau  Neste  introduced 
the  wheat  of  Central  New  York  to  this  section  by  bringing  a  small  quan- 
tity with  him  in  one  of  his  visits  and  sowing  it  with  great  care  until  a 
sufficient  quantity  was  secured  He  and  bis  wife  died  within  one  day  of 
each  other,  and  their  funerals  were  held  together.  At  the  time  of  bis 
death  he  was  the  owner  of  about  450  acres  at  Weston,  of  which  about 
175  acres  have  passed  out  of  the  family. 

THE  WILSON  FAMILY. 

1.  Hendrick  Wilson,  of  Long  Island,  bought  a  large  tract  north  of  the 
new  Amwell  road  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  last  century.]  Perhaps 
he  never  lived  iu  Somerset  Couuty.  He  was  born  in  1680,  and  died  in 
1760.  His  children  were:  2.  Myudert,  born  171G,  died  1800;  3.  John; 
4.  Hendrick  K.,  bom  1723,  and  died  June  27, 1801 ;  6.  Peter ;  6.  Hannah. 

The  children  of  Myndert  (2)  were:  7.  Hendrick;  8.  William;  9.  Myn- 
dert,  born  1758,  died  1840  ;  10.  Jacob. 

Hendrick  (7)  left  children  :  11.  John ;  12.  Jacob  ;  13.  Henry.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  Ann  Schenck,  daughter  of  Sheriff  Martin  Scheuck.  aud  left 
several  children,  among  whom  was  the  late  Ferdinand  S.  Wilson,  a  lawyer 
of  Millstone,  born  in  18:33. 

William  (8)  left  children:  14.  Myndert;  16.  William  ;  16.  George. 


*  See  Corwin's  "  Manual."  t  "  Millstone  Centennial,"  p.  24. 

t  See  map  of  1767.        g  See  Corwin's  "  Manual."        |  See  Land  Titles. 


Myndert  (9)  left  several  children  :  17.  Henry;  18.  William,  born  about 
1790, father  of  the  Rev.  James  B.,  Peter  (2d),  and  Frederick  Wilson;  19. 
Douw ;  20.  Jane,  born  1788 ;  21.  Myndert. 

TAVERNS. 

Probably  the  first  tavern  in  the  township  was  at 
Millstone  at  least  as  early  as  1738.  Inns  were  also 
established  at  an  early  period  at  Neshanic,  Flaggtown, 
and  at  what  is  called  Wood's  Tavern,  a  couple  of 
miles  east  of  Flaggtown,  on  the  road  leading  to  Mill- 
stone. There  is  at  present  only  one  tavern  in  the 
township  licensed  to  sell  intoxicating  liquors  ;  this  is 
at  Millstone.   A  temperance  hotel  is  kept  at  Neshanic. 

Wood's  tavern  and  the  one  at  Flaggtown  have 
been  closed  for  the  last  eight  or  ten  years,  both  having 
been  turned  into  dwellings. 

PHYSICIANS. 

Abram  Van  Buren  was  probably  the  first  prac- 
titioner of  medicine  at  Millstone.  His  professional 
labors  extended  from  about  1750  to  1813.  Other 
early  physicians  here  were  Peter  I.  Stryker,  who 
commenced  to  practice  about  1804  and  continued 
until  1810,  when  he  removed  to  Somerville ;  Peter 
Vredenbergh,  who  practiced  at  Millstone  about  1805 ; 
and  Wm.  D.  McKissaok,  who  practiced  the  healing 
art  at  the  same  place  from  1807  to  1853. 

An  early  physician  at  Roycefield  was  Lawrence 
Van  Derveer,  who  practiced  for  many  years,  until  his 
death,  in  1815.  He  was  succeeded  by  Henry  Van 
Derveer. 

At  Neshanic,  Jacob  R.  Schenck  practiced  for  some 
years,  and  Abram  T.  B.  Van  Doren  was  associated 
with  him  for  a  time. 

ROADS. 

The  first  roads  in  Hillsborough  would  naturally  be 
where  the  first  settlements  were  made,  and  these  were 
along  the  south  side  of  the  Raritan  and  the  South 
Branch.  While  at  first  the  inhabitants  would  use  the 
river  as  a  route  of  travel,  a  road  would  also  naturally 
and  quickly  develop  on  the  borders  of  the  upland 
and  meadows,  corresponding  in  general  to  the  one 
which  now  runs  along  the  northern  border  of  the 
township.    This  was  formed  in  part  certainly  by  1700. 

In  1710  a  Dutch  company  settled  the  Harlingen 
tract,  the  northern  half  of  which  is  in  Hillsborough. 
Means  of  ingress  and  egress  at  once  became  a  neces- 
sity. The  northeastern  part  of  their  plot  was  only 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  present  village  of 
Millstone.  What  is  now  called  the  Amwell  road 
must  have  been  opened  soon  after  1710  for  their  ac- 
commodation. The  next  road  from  the  Harlingen 
tract  to  the  Millstone  River  was  probably  the  one  on 
the  line  between  the  Barker  and  Hart  patents,  the 
present  division  line  between  Hillsborough  and  Mont- 
gomery. A  road  was  run  somewhat  later,  probably 
through  the  centre  of  the  Barker  tract,  reaching  the 
Millstone  where  the  union  school-house  now  stands. 
The  people  from  the  southern  end  of  the  Harlingen. 
tract  needed  one  or  more  roads  to  the  Millstone,  not 


780 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


only  for  business,  but  also  to  attend  church  at  Six- 
Mile  Kun,  which  they  did  until  1727. 

By  1720,  when  Amwell  began  to  be  settled,  the  Am- 
well  road  was  no  doubt  extended  from  Wood's  tavern 
(the  northeastern  corner  of  the  Harlingen  tract)  to 
Flaggtown,  Neshanic,  and  Clover  Hill.  In  1712  the 
northeastern  corner  of  the  township  was  settled  by  a 
Dutch  company,*  and  a  road  along  the  eastern  border 
of  the  township,  connecting  them  with  Millstone,  and 
giving  them  an  easy  egress  to  Middlebush  and  New 
Brunswick,  as  well  as  to  the  Harlingen  tract,  must 
soon  have  become  a  necessity.  A  bridge  was  probably 
built  at  Millstone  by  1720.t  The  court-house  having 
been  located  at  Millstone  in  1737,  we  may  justly  in- 
fer that  there  were  then  roads  concentring  there 
from  all  parts  of  Hillsborough  and  Franklin.  Before 
1737,  therefore,  a  road  must  have  been  extended  along 
the  western  bank  of  the  Millstone,  at  least  to  Griggs- 
town,  if  not  to  Rocky  Hill  and  Princeton,  the  latter 
place  then  being  in  Somerset  County. 

A  bridge  over  the  Earitan  must  have  been  built 
very  early  at  the  northern  end  of  the  road  which  runs 
along  the  west  bank  of  the  Millstone,  both  to  connect 
it  with  the  east-and-west  road  north  of  the  Earitan, 
and  to  accommodate  the  people  in  the  whole  north- 
eastern quarter  of  Hillsborough  in  attending  church, 
for  the  First  Dutch  church  of  Somerville  stood  for 
eighty  years,  or  until  1779,  on  the  bank  of  the  Ear- 
itan between  the  present  Finderne  Station  and  the 
river,  and  some  distance  to  the  east  of  the  present 
road.  Indeed,  the  construction  of  this  bridge  (long 
called  Van  Vechten's  bridge)  may  very  likely  have 
entered  into  consideration  when  the  Dutch  com- 
pany bought  the  plot  called  Eoyston,  now  known  as 
Harmony  Plains.  The  following  is  given  from  the 
minutes  of  the  justices  and  freeholders :  In  1771, 
Hillsborough  was  ordered  to  raise  £10  proclamation, 
Bridgewater  £13,  and  Bedminster  £7,  towards  repair- 
ing the  Earitan  bridge.  Capt.  Conrad  Ten  Eyck, 
Mat.  Ten  Eyck,  and  Col.  MacDonald  were  appointed 
managers.  The  minutes  of  the  freeholders  show  that 
Van  Veghten's  bridge  was  rebuilt  in  1774.  Stone 
piers  were  then  used,  and  new  timbers  put  on  them. 
Matthias  Denike  (Ten  Eyck?)  and  Conrad  Denike 
were  managers,  with  full  powers;  £500  were  to  be 
raised  for  this  work.  ■ 

There  was  a  bridge  at  Branchville  before  1775.  In 
that  year  John  Gaston  was  engaged  to  build  a  new 
Wooden  bridge  at  that  place ;  cost,  £117.  In  1781 
the  board  of  freeholders  and  justices  directed  a  bridge 
with  stone  abutments  to  be  built  across  Neshanic 
River,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  township. 

A  road  was  early  opened  along  the  west  side  of  the 
Thomas  Cooper  (subsequently  Du  Mont)  tract,  since 
known  as  Beekman's  Lane,  also  one  along  the  east 
side.  The  northeastern  line  of  John  Bennet's  tract 
became  the  line  of  the  straight  road  running  from  S. 

*  See  ■'  Land  Titles,"  this  township  history, 
■j-  See  "  Roads,"  in  Franlclin  township  history. 


Corle's  across  the  Amwell  road,  west  of  Flaggtown, 
to  a  corner  near  A.  M.  Baird's  dwelling.  The  road 
running  from  Peter  S.  Van  Doren's,  by  Cross-Eoads, 
was  in  a  gore  between  the  western  bounds  of  the 
Plumstead  and  Barker  tracts  and  the  most  easterly 
line  of  the  Harlingen  tracts.  These  tracts  did  not 
reach  each  other,  but  an  unclaimed  strip  of  land  ran 
between  them,  growing  narrower  towards  the  northern 
end.  The  road  from  the  covered  bridge  on  to  the 
Roycefield  school-house  seems  to  represent  the  orig- 
inal western  bound  of  Royce's  patent,  although  he 
subsequently  claimed  much  farther  west.  These  are 
the  original  and  early  roads.  Other  cross-roads  have 
been  opened  from  time  to  time,  as  the  exigencies  of 
the  inhabitants  required. 

THE   POOR. 

Overseers  of  the  poor  are  first  mentioned  in  Hills- 
borough in  1748  ;  the  names  of  the  early  overseers 
have  not  been  preserved.  The  first  appropriation  of 
money  on  record  is  in  1765,  when  it  was  ordered  that 
£200  should  be  assessed  for  the  poor.  Amounts  have 
been  appropriated  from  that  time  onward  almost 
every  year,  from  1765  to  1780  ranging  from  £80  to 
$300 ;  from  1800  to  1840  averaging  about  $500  a  year ; 
from  that  date  to  the  present  the  amount  raised  has 
averaged  about  $250  per  annum,  in  1880  being  $300. 

In  1786  the  overseers  were  instructed  to  purchase 
or  hire  a  house  wherein  to  keep,  maintain,  and  em- 
ploy the  poor  of  said  town.  In  1808  an  effort  to 
secure  a  county  poor-house  did  not  receive  the  appro- 
bation of  Hillsborough.  In  1824  the  town  ordered 
the  overseers  to  unite  with  those  of  Montgomery  town- 
ship in  the  purchase  of  a  situation  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  poor  of  both  townships.  This  was  done, 
and  the  poor  establishment  of  the  two  towns  was  con- 
ducted jointly  until  1867,  when  the  farm  was  sold  to 
the  committee  of  Montgomery  at  $34.90  per  acre. 
The  Hillsborough  committee  then  purchased  the  farm 
known  as  the  "Indian  Farm,"  owned  by  Mr.  Young, 
containing  120 J  acres,  for  $45  per  acre.  J 

At  the  township-meeting  May  9,  1858,  it  was  de- 
termined not  to  repair,  but  to  rebuild  entirely  in  a  new 
location,  to  be  selected  by  the  building  committee, — 
Is.  Whitenack,  Henry  Wilson,  and  Cornelius  Bergen.? 

ORGANIZATION    AND   CIVIL  LIST. 

The  earliest  entries  in  the  minute-book  of  this 
township  are  in  the  middle  of  the  volume,  and  refer 
to  the  several  brands  or  special  marks  by  which  farm- 
ers designated  their  cattle  and  horses.  Those  who 
desired  could  have  these  special  marks  recorded,  and 
then  they  could  generally  find  and  claim  the  animals 
which  might  stray  away.     We  give  a  few  specimens  : 

"  1746,  Deo.  y«  Cth.— Then  Becorded  the  Bar-mark  of  Roeloff  Van 
Dnin  a  crap  of  the  neer  ear  and  a  slit  in  the  of  Ear  and  the  brand  of 
said  van  duin  with  these  letters  R  VD  on  the  neer  Thigh." 

"  1746,  Dec.  y«  25th.— Then  Recorded  the  Ear-mark  of  abrabam  du- 


X  West  of  Neshanic. 


g  Extracts  from  town  minutes. 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


781 


KDOndt  a  Crap  of  the  neer  Ear  and  a  swollerfork  in  the  of  E&r  and  the 
brand  of  said  Dnmondt  AD  on  the  neer  thigh." 

"1746,  December  yo  25th. — Then  Recorded  the  Ear-mark  of  George 
Bergen,  a  half-penny  ont  of  the  onderside  of  the  neer  Ear  and  a  nick  in 
the  foreside  o  f  the  same  Ear  and  the  brand  of  said  Bergen  with  this 
letter  B  on  the  neer  thigh." 

The  first  entries  in  the  volume  of  minutes  of  the 
township  of  Hillshorough  are  the  following : 

*'  Whereas  there  is  alluance  in  the  law  for  .  . .  ttosfa  ...  of  the  asces- 
sor  and  if  the  allouance  is  not  enough  the  freeholders  and  inholders  that 
are  here  now  met  on  the  second  tuesday  in  March  think  it  highly  Kea- 
flinable  that  there  sail  be  an  addition  made  by  the  Justices  and  free- 
holders."   [No  date.] 

"  it  is  agreed  by  the  magarrate*  of  this  Presinct  that  the  towusmeet- 
ing  of  the  westering  Presinct  of  the  County  of  Somerset  shall  be  held 
at  the  house  of  George  Bergen  the  Enshuing  year."    [No  date.] 

*'  It  is  agreed  by  the  magarrate^^  of  this  Presinct  that  the  Towns  Meet- 
ing of  the  Westering  Presinct  of  the  County  of  Somerset  shall  be  held 
at  the  house  of  Daniel  Prine  the  Enshuing  year  and  to  continue  there 
for  six  year*.    Agreed  upon  March  ye  12th,  1754." 

Next  after  these  entries  is  a  series  of  456  items,  ex- 
tending from  1748-72,  concerning  strayed  animals. 
These  cover  forty-eight  closely-written  pages.  The 
earlier  minutes  of  the  town-meetings  were  not  re- 
corded, but  only,  as  seen  above,  the  place  selected  for 
holding  the  next  town-meeting  was  entered  in  the 
book.  Somewhat  interspersed  with  the  subsequent 
minutes,  but  mostly  in  a  separate  part  of  the  volume, 
occur  about  550  more  notices  of  strayed  animals,  giv- 
ing their  special  marks  or  brands,  extending  from 
1772-1865. 

The  names  of  those  who  took  up  strayed  cattle  or 
horses,  and  of  those  who  claimed  them,  will  supply  a 
pretty  full  list  of  the  actual  inhabitants  in  Hillsbor- 
ough until  the  period  of  the  Revolution.  The  list 
extends  down  to  1865,  but  the  later  names  are  well 
known,  from  other  sources. 

1748.— Tennis  Jong,  John  Stryker,  George  Bergen,  Christopher  Beek- 
man,  Herbert  Hummer. 

1749._Gerrit  Dorland,  Al.  Duboy,  William  Kise,  John  Skillman,  Dirck 
Volkerse,  Genit  Hogelant,  Christopher  Hogclant,  Dirck  Gulick, 
Peter  Dumondt,  Alexander  Van  Pelt,  Gabriel  Furman,  Hendrik 
Sawdor,  Pouwel  VanderToort,  John  Bruar,  Ab.  Van  Middles- 
worth. 

1750.— Joseph  Bennet,  Hendrik  Van  Middlesworth,  Isaac  Brokaw,  Isaac 
Snedeker,  Gerrit  Hogeland,  Jeremiah  Dote,  Ab.  Lott,  Cor.  Low, 
John  Updike,  Bern  Vanderbeek,  Jacobus  Ammerman,  Jacob 
Van  Derveer,  Andrew  Mackmacker  (near  Princeton),  Chris- 
topher Hogeland,  Gerrit  Dorland,  Jacob  Wenter,  John  B.  Du- 
mondt, Adam  Smith  (on  Bynier  Dumondt'e  plantation). 

1761.— Jurrian  Brees,  Goisbert  Sutfln,  Court  Williamson,  Samuel  Bry- 
ant, Zaccheus  Van  Voorhees,  William  Sickles,  John  Disberry, 
Joseph  Hegemen,  John  Hogeland,  Garrit  Hogeland,  Christopher 
Hogeland,  Joseph  Stockton,  Hendrick  Gulick,  Philip  Van  Ars- 
dale,  Peter  de  Biemer,  Jacob  Van  Derveer,  Ram  Vanderveer, 
Bynier  Dnmondt. 

1762.— John  Mackrary,  Coorato  Ten  Nike,  Bynier  Veghten,  Christopher 
Beekman,  John  Staats,  John  Van  Nuiae,  Thomas  Leonard, 
Samuel  Brenflon,  Jacob  Winter,  Adrian  Hegeman,  Lucas  Nee- 
fuB,  Eoeloff  Crapster,  Steven  Gens,  Onke  Ryneerson,  Ab.  Du- 
boys,  Thomas  Skillman,  Ida  Stoothoff  (widow),  Mindert  Wilson, 
William  Moffet,  Teunes  Van  Middlesworth. 

1763.— Derick  Volkerson,  Peter  Perrine,  William  Moffett,  Rynoar  Du- 
mont,  Derrik  Gulik,  loris  Bergen,  Cornelius  Voorhees,  Joseph 
Hegeman,  Henry  Silcock,  Samuel  Furman,  John  Skillman, 
Ivast  Durye,  Lucas  Voorhees,  Andries  Powelson,  Isaac  Van 
Nnys,  Tunis  Jong,  Ab.  Lot,  Jacob  Van  Derveer,  Samuel  Brinson, 
Bam  Garretson,  Peter  Perrine. 

*  Mojority. 


1754. — Jacques  Vanderbeek,  John  Stockton,  Peter  Perrine,  Joseph  Coiy 
nell,  Jacobus  Hegemen,  Francis  Walderon,  Geisbert  Laan, 
Philip  Van  Arsdalen,  Cornelius  Low,  John  Stou[t],  Christopher 
Van  Arsdalen,  Martin  Hogelant. 
1755. — Ram  Vanderbeek,  Daniel  Perrine,  Hendrik  Wilson,  Peter  Voor- 
hees, Nicholas  Golder,  John  Van  Felt,  Hendrick  Van  Dike^ 
Thomas  Brite,  John  Johnson,  loris  Brokaw,  Isaac  Brokaw,  Ab. 
Hegeman. 
1756. — Gerrit  Van  Arsdalen,  Freeman  Runyon,  Thomas  Peterson,  Ab. 
Voorhees,  Dirck  Low,  Peter  Nefus,  Albert  Voorhees,  Peter  Per- 
rine, Christopher  Hogeland,  Lyman  Van  Arsdalen,  Cornelius 
Van  Arsdalen,  Thomas  Kock,  Lawrence  De  Mott,  Thomap 
Peterson,  Thomas  Skillman. 
1757. — Christopher  Van  Arsdalen,  Andries  Poualson,  Joseph  Folkerson, 
Joseph  Stockton,  John  Ten  Eick,  Nicholas  Amerman,  BeDJamin 
Whitbeck,  Hendrick  Cannaday,  Jacobus  Hegeman,  Peter  Case, 
Tunis  Jong,  Peter  De  Kiemer,  Roelof  Crapster,  Ab.  Van  Mid- 
dlesworth, John  Brokaw. 
1758.— Hendrik  Wilson,  Thomas  Peterson,  Jacob  Skillman,  Daniel  Stock- 
ton, Peter  Voorheese,  Gerrit  Terhune,  Zaccheus  Voorhees,  John 
Wilson,  Mindert  Wilson,  Noual  Furman,  Joseph  Van  Derveer, 
Aris  Van  Arsdalen,  John  Waglom,  David  Snoth,  Hendrick  Van- 
derveer, Roelof  Van  Duyn,  Thomas  Skillman,  John  Skillman, 
Richard  Cox,  Mycol  Blew,  John  Opdike,  Joseph  Stockton,  John 
Van  Middlesworth,  Ryneer  Dumondt. 

1759. — Benjamin  Whitbeck, Noordtwick,  Lucas  Neefyos,  William 

Baird.  Uoeloff  Cowenhoven,  Peter  Voorheese,  John  Kock.  Peter 
Case,  Peter  Perrine,  Cornelius  Voorhees,  Nicholas  Wikeoff,  Wil- 
liam Poste,  Peter  Winter,  Henry  Cauaday,  Joseph  Hegeman, 
Richard  Peppinger. 
1760.— Robert  Stockton,  Nicholas  Wikeoff,  Is.  Misheroll,  Benjamin  Den- 
mctt,  Nat.  Randolph,  Peter  Wikeoff,  Zac,  Voorhees,  Jac.  Stry- 
ker, Garret  Van  Aradalen,  Dominicus  Stryker,  Hend  Van  Dike, 
Hend.  Wilson,  Ab.  Van  Nest,  Benjamin  Tayl[oue?],  Roeloff  Van 
Doune,  Johannes  Baker,  Hend.  Polhemus,  John  Brokaw,  Peter 
Case. 
1761.— Peter  Nefeus,  Thomas  Cox,  Joris  Bergen,  William  Tomson,  Jac 
Van  Nuys,  Jr.,  Cor.  Lott,  Jacques  Vanderbeek,  Tunis  Jonguo, 
Ab.  Dnboys,  Dirck  Gulick,  William  Tomson,  Bergen  Brokaw, 
Martin  Nevius,  Peter  Wikehuff. 
1762. — Jacques  Vanderbeek,  Thomas  Leonard,  Garret  Dorlands,  Joseph 
Hegeman,  John  Whiteknecht,  Jas.  Horsfer,  Dirck  Low,  Peter 
Perrine,  Mindert  Wilson,  Samuel  Totten,  Symon  Van  Arsdale, 
Jr.,  Martin  Nevius,  Bergen  A.  Brokaw,  Johannes  Schenck, 
Hend.  Solter,  Cor.  Lott,  John  Salter,  John  Brokaw.  John  Voor- 
heese. 
1763.— Cor.  Stevenson  (blacksmith  at  Rocky  Hill),  Hend.  Van  Middles- 
worth,  Is.  Brockaw,  John  Updike,  Dirick  Low,  Lammert  Dor- 
landt,  Hugh  Maccolm,  Mycol  Hegeman,  Albert  Voorhees,  Ab. 
Lett,  Is.  Van  Nuys,  Jr.,  Joseph  Vander  Veer,  Bergen  Brokaw, 
Cor.  Low,  Ab.  Polhemus,  Johannes  Stryker,  Johannes  White; 
knecht,  Ab.  Stryker,  Geisbert  Gulick,  Jacobus  Amerman. 
1764.— Peter  Nevius,  John  Furman,  Thomas  Cock,  Ab.  Dumondt,  John 
Bennet,  John  [L?]euaene,  Cor.  Van  Noyse,  Jac.  Quick,  Jacobus 
Amerman,  Barnardus  Van  Zant,  Jr.,  Jac.  Hogeland. 
1765.— Noual  Furreman, Thomas  Peterson,  Ab.Dumont,  John  Staats,  Jr., 
Lambert  Dorland,  Martin  Nevius,  Barnet  Stryker,  Samuel  [?] 
Gulick,  Henry  Gomer,  Jac.  Nefeus. 
1766.— Nicholas  Goodler,  Stephen  Stevenson,  Conrad  Ten  Eick,  Samuel 
^  Beekman,  Ch.  Hogeland,  Jr.,  Henry  Harrison,  Andreas  Mats, 

John  Voorheese. 
1767.— Ab.  Dnboys,  Ram  Ditmars,  Ichabod  Leigh,  Peter  Weikhof,  John 
Ten  Eyck,  William  Cornell,  Benjamin  Wliitelock,  Jacobus  Ger- 
ritson,  Nicholas  [?]ight,  Nowel  Furman,  Jac.  Quick,  Gerrit  Van 
Arsdalen,  John  Weykhof,  Jac.  Hogeland,  Roelof  Terhune,  John 
Van  Horn. 
1768.— Hend.  Van  Middlesworth,  Henry  Gomer,  Richard  Stockton,  Albert 
Voorhees,  John  Bergen,  John  Cock,  Sr.,  William  Williamson, 
Ab  Staats,  Hend.  Cannaday,  Nicholas  Amerman,  Gerrit  Terhune, 
Albert  Voorheese,  Johannes  Van  Arsdalen,  Jacobus  Gerritson, 
Dynah  Hogeland  (widow),  Peter  Wyckoff,  Ryneer  Smock,  Myn- 
dert  Wilson,  Richard  Compton,  John  Staats,  Millstone,  Jac. 
Hogeland. 
1769.— Hend.  Van  Middlesworth,  Jacobus  Quick,  Hend.  Gulick,  Dinah 
Hogeland,  Peter  Custer  (Luster?!,  Hend.  Berrien,  Daniel  Pol- 
homels,  Tunis  Van  Middlesworth  (son  of  Hendrick),  Conrad 
Ton  Eyck,  Ban  Hegeman  (widow),  Hend.  Gulick. 


782 


SOMEKSBT   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


1770. — John  Senteny,  Joseph  Stryker,  Kam  Gamtaen,  Evert  Brokaw, 
John  Stryker,  Ram  Ditmars,  Powl  Ammerman,  Joseph  Hege- 
man. 

1771. — Kathan  Funnan,  John  Voorhees,  Powel  Ammerman,  Cor.  Sebrant, 
Kichard  Compton,  John  Sortor. 

1772. — John  B.  Dumont,  Lawrence  Vander  Veer,  Cor.  Van  Arsdalen, 
Hend.  Hogeland,  Dominicns  Stryker,  Conrad  Ten  Eick,  Law- 
rence Vanderveer,  Garrit  Garreson. 

1773. — John  William  Bellis,  John  Ditmars,  Rynier  Veghte,  Dowe  Dit- 
mars, Conrad  Ten  Eyck,  Roelof  Peterson,  Benjamin  Taylor, 
Tunis  Covert,  Ernestus  Tan  Harlingen,  Roeloff  Nevius. 

1774. — Jedediah  Higgms  (on  Sourland  Mouiitaiii),  Rynier  Veghte,  Law- 
rence Van  Cleef,  Lucas  Voorhees,  Peter  Vroom,  Jacobus  Ammer- 
man, Ab.  Pippinger,  Lawrence  Vanderveer. 

1775. — Jacobus  Nafies,  Rynier  Veghte  (taken  out  by  John  Stryker,  Abra- 
ham Brokaw,  and  Joseph  Arrowsmith),  John  "William  Bellis, 
John  Covenhoven,  John  Ten  Eyck. 

1776. — John  Nevius,  Abraham  Dumont,  Elce  Ten  Eyck,  Court  Voorhees. 

In  the  midst  of  these  entries  of  lost  animals,  in  the 
year  1765,  the  following  minutes — the  first  recorded 
list  of  town  officers — occur : 

"  Tuesday,  March  10, 1772. 

"Then  By  Majority  of  Votes  According  to  an  Act  of  Assembly  Chosen 
for  the  Township  of  Hillsbury  in  the  County  of  Somerset  and  Province 
of  New  Jersy.  For  Town  Clark,  William  Spader,  Jr.;  Freeholders,  John 
Babtist  Demont,  Derrick  Low ;  Esseseor,  John  States;  Colector,  Coonraud 
teneick ;  Oversears  of  the  Poor,  Coonrate  teneick ;  Comisionere,  Garret 
Vanarsdalen,  marlines  hogeland ;  Cunstable,  John  Smock ;  Oversears  of 
the  high  Ways:  John  Ditmes,  from  the  Devision  of  Hillsburry  to  Chris- 
tophel  Van  arsdalen  included ;  Peter  States,  tp  peas  Brook  ;  Bryant  Lef- 
ferty,  from  peas  Brook  to  Baritan  Bridg;  Samuel  Bakeman,from  the 
millstone  Road  Down  to  the  South  Branch  Bridg,  and  then  Back  a  gain 
to  thomas  Cocks,  on  Amwell  Road;  Domenicua  Stryker,  from  Garrit 
Garresons  to  John  Smocks;  Ruleph  Terbunen,  from  the  millstone  road 
to  half  ways  of  the  Road  that  Runs  on  the  Line  from  Daniel  polhamels 
to  Domenes;  Jacobus  ammer  man,  from  the  Line  Between  Luke  Covert 
and  Abraham  Loot  to  Lanah  Brewers ;  Stephen  Vorehase  and  Jacob  Pro- 
basco,  Senier,  from  thomas  Cocks  to  the  Devision  Line,  to  Be  de  vided  by 
them;  Cornelius  Van  nuys,  from  Amwell  Road  to  the  Devision  Line; 
Richard  Comton,  on  the  Road  that  Leads  past  Sentneys  mills ;  John  Van 
Zant,  from  the  millstone  Road  to  Demonts  Line. 

'*  Voated  to  Rais  one  hundred  Pound  for  the  Poor. 

"At  the  close  of  this  town  meeting  it  was  agreed  by  majority  of  voats 
that  the  next  town  meeting  is  to  Be  held  at  the  house  where  Garrit  Gar- 
reson now  is  liveing  on  the  second  tuseday  of  march,  1773." 

By  request  of  the  Congress,  Hillsborough  township 
appointed  a  town  committee  in  1776  and  1777  to  act 
in  behalf  of  their  country  when  necessary.  The  fol- 
lowing were  the  committees : 

1776. — John  B.  Dumont,  Abraham  Dubois,  Johannes  Demott,  Cornelius 
Sebiiog,  Peter  A.  Dumont,  Lawrence  Van  Kleef,  Garret  Ter- 
hune,  Jr. 

1777. — Abraham  Dubois,  John  Dumont,  Cornelius  Sebring,  Peter  A.  Du- 
mont, Isaac  Vannuys,  Peter  H.  Dumont,  Derrick  Low,  Peter 
Stryker,  Jr. 

MEMORANDA  FROM  THE  TOWN  RECORDS. 

1774,  March  8. — Ordered  that  for  the  future  the  town-meetings  be  held 
half  the  time  at  the  court-house  and  half  the  time  at  Jacob  Flagg's,  at 
New  Shannock,  and  at  the  house  of  Garret  Garritson. 

1779. — Agreed  that  the  town  committee  do,  and  may,  raise  any  sum 
of  money  for  the  us?  of  the  town,  not  exceeding  ^00. 

1808. — A  dog-tax  first  imposed  to  reimburse  damages  done  to  sheep. 

1823. — The  town  for  the  first,  after  several  previous  attempts,  resolved 
to  repair  the  roads  by  hire,  and  ordered  the  sum  of  81000  to  be  assessed 
and  collected  for  that  purpose.  This  was  repeated  year  by  year  after- 
wards. 

1828. — The  town  committee  was  required  to  publish  in  the  BomerviUe 
Messenger,  the  week  before  the  town-meeting,  a  detailed  report  of  the 
amount  of  tax  assessed  and  collected,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  had 
been  expended;  and  to  post  in  some  conspicuous  place,  on  the  day  and 
at  the  place  of  town-meeting,  a  copy  of  the  same. 


1834.— Ordered  That  the  officers,  at  the  next  town- meeting,  be  chosen 
by  ballot ;  also  that  officei-s  shall  not  serve  longer  than  three  years. 

1835.— Ordered  That  the  overplus  money  of  the  dog-tax  be  used  by  the 
overseers  of  the  poor  to  defray  the  debt  of  the  township.  The  members 
of  the  town  committee  are  allowed  $1.75  per  day  for  their  services,  and 
they  support  themselves. 

The  following  are  the  public-houses  at  which  the 
town-meetings  were  held : 

Before  1754,  at  the  house  of  George  Bergen;  1754-64,  Daniel  Perrine; 
1764-70,  George  Bergen;  1774,  Ordered  that  half  the  time  the  meet- 
ings should  be  at  the  couit-house  (Millstone),  and  the  other  half  at 
Jacob  Flagg's  inn  at  New  Shannock,  and  at  Garret  Garretson's  inn; 
1775,  Garret  Garretson ;  1776,  court-house;  1777-81,  Garret  Garret- 
son  ;  1782-83,  Henry  Post;  1784-85,  Garret  Garretson ;  1786-99,  Jacob 
Flagg;  1800-3,  Cor.  Williamson;  1804.  Al.  Bennett;  1805-10,  John 
T.  Van  Middlesworth ;  1811,  Peter  Williamson  :  1812-14,  John  Kuge- 
lar ;  1815-16,  John  T.  Van  Middlesworth ;  1817,  Mary  Rislar ;  1818-19, 
Chas.  Clerk  ;  1820-21,  William  Van  Arsdalen;  1822-26,  Samuel  Tay- 
lor; 18'27-29,  Peter  Van  Doren,  Flaggtown;  1830-31,  Samuel  Taylor, 
Flaggtown  ;  18i2-39,  John  Porter,  Flaggtown  ;  1840-41,  John  M.  Ste- 
vens, Flaggtown  ;  1842,  Hall  Doty,  Flaggtown  ;  1843,  Chas.  P.  Hol- 
comb,  Flaggtown  ;  1844-47,  Albert  Hoagland,  Flaggtown ;  1848-49, 
William  W.  Bennet,  Flaggtown;  1850-52,  William  N.  Hoagland; 
1853-54,  U.  V,  C.  Hoagland ;  1855,  John  B.  Case ;  1856-57,  Flaggtown  ; 
1858,  Albert  B.  Hoagland;  1S59,  "William  A.  Hall:  1860-71,  Albert 
B.  Uoaglau.l,  Flaggtown. 

First  District* 

1872-78,  John  M.  Stevens,  Neshanic. 

Second  District. 
1872,  Is.  H.  Hall,  Millstone  ;  1873-77,  George  Hancock,  Millstone  ;  1878, 
John  McAdams,  Millstone. 

PLACES   OF  HOLDING  ELECTIONS. 

First  Day.  Second  Day. 
1800-1.  Cor.  &  Jac.  Low,  Millstone.     Al.  Bennet,  Shannick. 

1802.  Al.  Bennet.  Cor.  Low. 

1803.  Al.  Bennet.  Jac.  C.  Ten  Eyck,  Millstone. 

1804.  Cor.  Low.  John  Flagg,  Shannick. 

1805.  John  Flagg.  Cor.  Low. 

1806.  Joseph  Hall,  Shannick.  Cor.  Low. 

1807.  Cor.  Low.  Jos.  HalL 

1808.  Jos.  Hall.  Cor.  Low. 

1809.  Cor.  Low.  Jos.  Hall. 
ISIO.  Jac.  Drake,  Shannick. 

1811.  Cor.  Low,  Millstone.  John  Ten  Eyck,  Shannick. 

1812.  John  Ten  Eyck.  Cor.  Low. 

1813.  Cor.  Low.  John  Ten  Eyck. 

1814.  Jac.  Drake,  Cor.  Low. 

1815.  Cor.  Low.  John  Ten  Eyck. 

1816.  Shannick.  Cor.  Low. 

1817.  Cor.  Low,  John  Ten  Eyck. 

1818.  Shannick.  Millstone. 

1818.  Chs.  Clerk  (special).' 

1819.  Gilbert  B.  Taylor,  Millstone.       Ellen  Ten  Eyck.  Shannick. 

1820.  Shannick.  Gilbert  B.  Taylors,  Middleburg  [i.e* 

Millstone]. 

1821.  Ten  Eyck.  Middlebnrg  [i.e.  Millstone]. 

1822.  Wm.  Smith,  Millstone,  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen,  Shannick. 

1823.  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen.  Cor.  Low. 

1824.  Cor.  Low.  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen,  Shannick. 

1825.  Millstone.  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen,  Shannick. 

1826.  Millstone.  Juhn  Flagg,  Shannick, 

1827.  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen.  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen. 

1828.  John  W.  Porter. 

1829.  John  E.  Porter. 

1830.  John  E.  Porter,  Ricefield  [i.e.,  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen. 

Wood's  Tavern]. 

1831.  Wm.  Van  Arsdalen.  John  Porter,  Ricefield. 

1832.  Wm.  Hartmann.  Amos  Williamson,  Shannick. 

*By  Chapter  CCCXIV.  of  the  Laws  of  New  Jersey  (approved  March 
22, 1872)  the  township  of  Hillsborough  was  divided  into  two  election  dis- 
tricts. The  act  directs  that  one  clerk  and  three  judges  of  election  shall 
be  chosen  for  each  district. 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


783 


1833.  Ricefleld. 

1834.  Amos  Williamson. 
1838.  Peter  Van  Boren. 

1836.  Amos  Williamson. 

1837.  John  Porter,  Flaggtown. 

1838.  Amos  Williamson. 

1839.  Euos  L.  Blue,  Millstone. 

1840.  Amos  Williamson. 

1841.  MUlstone. 

1842.  Amos  Williamson. 

1843.  J.  W.  Wilson. 

1844.  J.  M.  Williamson. 


Amos  Williamson,  Shannick. 

Peter  Van  Doreu,  Millstone. 

Amos  Williamson. 

Jacob  Voorhees,  Ricefleld. 

Kicefield. 

John  M.  Stevens,  Flaggtown. 

AmoB  WLUiamsou. 

E.  L.  Blue. 

J.  M.  Stevens.  Shannick. 

Jonathan  W.  Wilson,  Millstone. 

J.  M.  Stevens. 

J.  W.  Wilson. 


1846.  Flaggtown  from  this  time  nntil  1871,  when  thetownship  was  divided 
into  two  election  districts. 

The  following  list  of  the  principal  township  officers 
is  given : 

rEEEHOLrEKS. 
1772,  John B. Dumont ;  1773-7G,  Hend.  V.  Middlesworth :  1772-73, 1776-77, 
Derrick  Low  ;  1774-75,  Johannes  Dumont;  1777-78,  Ab.  Voorhees  ; 
1778-79,  Guisbert  BoRard  ;  1779-80,  John  Ver  Bryck  ;  1780-81,  John 
Van  Doren  ;  1781,  Buliff  I'eterson  ;  1782-83,  Bernardns  Ver  Bryck, 
Lawrence  Van  Cleef ;  1784,  Peter  Ditmars  ;  1784-So,  Harman  Van- 
deripe;  1785,  Arcliibald  Mercer;  1780-88,  Peter  Staats;  1786-89, 
Nathan  Aller;  1789,  Peter  H.  Staats ;  1790-U6,  1799-lao2,  Jacobus 
Gerritson ;  1790-97,  Eynear  Veghte  ;  1796-98,  Garret  Torhuue  ;  1798- 
99, 1802,  1809-14,  1819,  Nich.  Du  Bois ;  1800,  Peter  WycUoff;  1801, 
Henry  Veghte;  180:j-4,  Nich.  Williamson;  1805-8,  John  Freling- 
huysen ;  1803-14, 1818-20,  Martin  Scheuck ;  1816-18,  Eiederic  Fre- 
linghuysen;  1815-17,  Cornelius  Peterson  ;  1820-27,  John  Sutphin; 
1821,  Henry  Van  Derveer;  1822,  John  Garretsiin;  1826-27,  James 
Stryker;  1828-31,  Peter  Garretson ;  1828-33,  James D.  Stryker,  Esq.; 
1832-36,  Joachim  G.  Quick ;  1834,  James  W.  Todd ;  1835,  Chas.  Corle ; 
1836,  1838-40,  Henry  Wilson;  1837,  Ab.  V.  Polhemus,  Wm.  Black- 
well ;  1838-41,  Jacob  Salter;  1841-44,  Emestus  Schenck  ;  1842-45, 
John  C.  Van  Liew  ;  1845-47, 1852-55,  Abr.  Van  Nuys;  1846-49,  Cor. 
Bergen;  1848-51,  John  Van  Doren ;  1860-51,  Ezekiel  Blue ;  1856-59, 
Peter  A.  Dumont;  1860-62,  Henry  Wilson;  1863-65,  John  H.  Wil- 
son; 1866-08,  John  H.  Brokaw ;  1869-71,  Eichard  Hall;  1872-74, 
John  Van  Neste ;  1876-77,  Henry  H.  Garretson;.  1878,  Peter  W. 
Wyckoff;  1879-80,  George  W.  Vroom. 


TOWN  CLBEKS. 
1772,  William  Spader,  Jr. ;  1773-76,  Eynear  Veghte  ;  1777,  John.Van  Ars- 
dalen;  1778-83,  Eynear  Veghte;  1784^94,  Dowe  Ditmars;  1796-99, 
Nicholas  Williamson;  1800-1,  Cornelius  Boorum;  1802-14,  Nicholas 
Williamson;  1815,  Peter  Staats;  1816-36,  Nicholas  Williamson; 
1837-38,  James  S.  Taylor;  1839-53,  William  E.  Smith;  1854-65, 
Isaac  V.  D.  Williamson;  1866-71,  WilUam  E.  Smith;  1872-80,  Peter 
N.  Van  Nuys. 

ASSESSOES. 

1766-72,  John  Staats;  1773-74,  Conrad  Ten  Eyck;  1776,  Cornelius  Se- 
bring;  1776,  Conrad  Ten  Eyck ;  1777-78,  Peter  H.  Dumont ;  1779-83, 
Eynear  Veghte;  1784-87,  John  Staats;  1788-89,  Nicholas  Du  Bois; 
1790-94,  Peter  D.  Vroom;  1795,  John  Staats;  1796-97,  Peter  D. 
Vroom;  1798-99,  And.  Van  Middlesworth;  1800-2,  John  Staats; 
1803-17,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Esq.;  1818-24,  Henry  Brokaw;  1823- 
26,  Petor  Staats;  1827-36,  Abraham  Van  Doren;  1836,  Abraham 
Van  Nuys;  1837,  A.  J.  Van  Doren;  1838-44,  John  M.  Wyckoff; 
1845^9,  Henry  Wilson  ;  1850-61,  Abr.  Van  Nuys  ;  1852-56,  Ezekiel 
Blue  •  1867-69,  Peter  V.  Davis;  1860-62,  John  H.  Wilson ;  1S63,  Is- 
rael H.  Hill;  1864^66,  James  A.  Van  Nuys  ;  1867-69,  Peter  V.  Davis  ; 
1870-72,  James  Van  Nuys ;  1873-76,  Daniel  Stryker ;  1876-78,  James 
A.  Van  Nuys ;  1879-80,  Wesley  H.  Horner. 
COLLECTOES. 
1772  Conrad  Ten  Eyck;  1773,  Cornelius  Lott;  1774,  CorneliuB  Sebring; 
1775,  Derrick  Low;  1776,  John  Stryker;  1777,  John  Van  Arsdalen; 
1778,  William  Cock;  1779-81,  Joseph  Van  Doren;  1782-83,  John 
Staats;  1784,  Nicholas  Du  Bois;  1786-88,  And.  Van  Middleswart; 
1789-96  Capt.  Ab.  Van  Arsdalen;  1796-97,  Nicholas  Williamson; 
1798,  Ab.  Van  Arsdalen  ;  1799,  Nicholas  Williamson  ;  1800-17,  Henry 
Brokaw;  1818-22,  Peter  J.  Staats;  1823,  Peter  Staats;  1824^33, 
Christopher  Van  Arsdalen  ;  18;i4-37,  James  D.  Stryker;  1838-44,  Ab. 
J  Van  Nnys;  1845-48,  Ezekiel  Blue;  1849-51,  Elisha  B.  Wood; 
186''-64,  John  C.  Van  Liew;  1865-67,  E.  B.  Wood;  1868-60,  Thomas 
C  Stryker;  1861-63,  John  B.  Brokaw;  1861-66,  Elias  Wilson-  ■""■■''- 


69,  John  M.  Baird;  1870-71 ,  John  Ammerman ;  1872-74,  Joseph  H. 
Van  Cleef;  1875-77,  Cornelius  P.  Quick;  1878-80,  Elias  Wilson. 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 
1772,  Garret  Van  Arsdalen,  Martin  Hoagland;  1776,*  John  B.  Du  Mont, 
Ab.  Du  Bois,  Johaunes  De  Mott,  Cor.  Sebring,  Peter  A.  Du  Mont, 
Lawrence  Van  Kleef,  Garret  Terhune,  Jr.,  Is.  Van  Nuys,  Jr.,  Peter 
H.  Du  Mont ;  1777,*  Al.  Du  Bois,  John  DuMont,  Cor.  Sebring,  P.  A. 
Du  Mont,  Is.  Van  Nuys,  P.  H.  Du  Mont,  Derrick  Low,  Peter  Stryker, 
Jr.  ;t  1798,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Esq.,  Fred.  Frelinghuyson,  Peter  B.  Du- 
mont, John  Staats,  Jacobus  Garretson  ;  1799,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Esq., 
Eynear  Staats,  Nich.  Williamson,  Jos.  Van  Doren,  Jacobus  Garrets 
son  ;  1800,  Garret  R.  Garretson,  Ab.  Van  Arsdalen,  Henry  Veghte, 
Peter  B.  Du  Mont,  Peter  J.  Stryker,  Esq. ;  1801-2,  Garret  E.  Garret-- 
Bon,  Ab.  Van  Arsdalen,  Nich.  Williamson,  Peter  B.  Du  Mont,  Peter 
I.  Stryker,  Esq. ;  1803,  Eynear  Staats,  Ab.  Van  Arsdalen,  Nich.  Wil- 
liamson, Peter  B.Du  Mont,  Peter  I.  Stryker,  Esq.;   1804,  Eynear 
Staats,  Nich.  Du  Bois,  Esq.,  Nich.  Williamson,  Peter  B.  Du  Mont, 
Peter  Stryker,  Esq.;  1805-6,  Eynear  Staats,  Israel  Harris,  Willet 
Taylor,  Peter  B.  Du  Mont,  Peter  I.  Stryker,  Esq. ;  1807,  Bynear 
Staats,  Nich.  Du  Bois,  Willet  Taylor,   Peter  D.  Vroom,    Martin 
Schenck  ;  1808,  Eynear  Staats,  Peter  I.  Siryker,  Willet  Taylor,  Pe- 
ter D.  Vroom,  Martin  Schenck ;  1809,  K.vueur  Staats,  Ab.  Spader, 
Nich.  Du  Bois,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Martin  Scbeuck;  1810-17,  Eynear 
Staats,  John  Sutphen,  Nich.  Du  Bois,  Petei-  D.  Vruom,  Martin  Schenck; 
1818-19,  Rynear  Staats,  John  Sutpben,  Kicli.Du  Bois,  Peter  D.  Vroom, 
Chrislian  Van  Arsdalen ;  1820,  Jacolins  Quick,  Cor.  Peterson,  Ed. 
Van  Harlingen,  Peter  D.  Vroom,  Cbristiiin  Van  Arsdalen;  1821, 
James  Quick,  Cor.  Peterson,  Ed.  Van  Harlingen,  Garret  Quick, 
Christian  Van  Arsdalen;  1822,  Ab.  Van  Doren,  Cor.  Peterson,  Ed. 
Van  Harlingen,  Nich.  Du  Bois,  Esq.,  Christian  Van  Arsdalen;  1823, 
Ab.  Van  Doren,  Cor.  Peteiison,  Ed.  Van  Harlingen,  Nich.  Du  Bois, 
Esq.,  Christian  Van  Arsdalen  ;  1824,  Ab.  Van  Doren,  Cor.  Peteraon, 
Albert  P.  Voorhees,  A.  Deekman,  John  G.  Van  Nest;  1825-26,  Ab. 
Van  Doreu,  Eynear  Veghte,  Jr.,  Albert  P.  Voorhees,  Ab.  Beekman, 
Peter  La  Tourette;  1827-28,  Ab.  P.  Quick,  Brogiin  S.  Brokaw;  Al- 
beit P.  Voorhees,  John  G.  Van  Nest,  Peter  La  Tourette;  1829,  Ab.  P. 
Quick,  Joachim  G.  Quick,  Albert  P.  Voorhees,  John  G.  Van  Nest, 
Peter  La  Tourette ;  1830,  Cor.  T.  Beekman,  Joachim  G.  Quick,  Albert 
P.  Voorhees,  John  G.  Van  Nest,  Peter  La  Tourette;  1831,  Cor.  T. 
Beekman,  Joachim  G.  Quick,  Albert  P.  Voorhees,  Peter  P.  Staats, 
Peter  La  Tourette ;  1832,  Cor.  T.  Beekman,  Isaac  Van  Cleef,  Albert 
P.  Voorhees,  Peter  P.  Staats,  Peter  La  Tourette ;  1833,  Cor.  T.  Beek- 
man, Isaac  Van  Cleef,  Albert  P.  Voorhees,  Peter  C.  Van  Arsdalen, 
Peter  La  Tourette ;  1834-36,  Henry  Herder,  Isaac  Van  Cleef,  Albert 
P.  Voorhees,  Peter  G.  Quick,  Peter  La  Tourette ;  1837,  Henry  Herder, 
Isaac  Van  Cleef,  Albert  P.  Voorhees,  Cor.  J.  Nevlus,  Caleb  Brokaw  ; 
1838-39,  Henry  Herder,  James  Bergen,  Albert  P.  Voorhees,  Cor.  J. 
Nevius,  Henry  P.  Staats ;  1840,  Ezekiel  Blue,  Jas  Bergen,  Cor.  Bergen, 
Cor.  J.  Nevius,  Henry  P.  Staats ;  1841,  Ezekiel  Blue,  Henry  P.  Staats, 
Jas.  Bergen,  Cornelius  Eergon,  Garret  Beekman;  1842-43,  Ezekiel 
Blue,  Henry  P.  Staats,  Jas.  Bergen,  Henry  H.  Brokaw,  Garret  Beek- 
man •  1844,  Ezekiel  Blue,  Peter  N.  Beekmiin,  Ab.  Quick.  .Ir.,  Henry 
H.  Brokaw,  Garret   Beekman ;  1845,   E,alpb  T.  Sutpben,  Peter  N. 
Beekman,  Ab.  Quick,  .Jr.,  Henry  H.  Brokaw,  Garret  Beekman  ;  1846, 
Ealph  T    Sutpben,  Peter  N.  Beekman,   Ab.  Quick,   Jr.,  Peter  P. 
Staats,  Garret  Beekman:  1847^8,  Ralph  T.Sutplieli,  Peter  N.Beek- 
man,  Peter  C.  Petereon,  Peter  P.  Stimts.  John  B.  Brokaw;  1849, 
Ealph  T.  Sutpben,  Thomas  Howard,  Peter  C.  Peterson,  Peter  A.  Da 
Mont,  John  B.  Brokaw;  1860,  Ealph  T.  Sntphen,  Jas.  L.  Voorhees, 
Peter  C  Peterson,  Peter  A.  Du  Mont,  John  B.  Brokaw :  1861,  Ealph 
T  Sutpben,  Jas.  L.  Voorhees,  James  Van  Nnys,  John  Ammerman, 


1867- 


John  B.  Brokaw  ;  1852,t  Jas.  L.  Voorhees,  James  Van  Nnys,  John 
Ammerman  ;  1853,  Joseph  A.  Howell,  James  Van  Nuys,  John  Am- 
merman ;  1854,  Joseph  A.  Howell,  James  Van  Nnys,  Charles  Corle; 
1855-57,  Joseph  A.  Howell,  Cor.  N.  Allen,  Charies  Corle;  1858-60, 
James  L.  Voorhees,  Cor.  N.  Allen,  John  L.  Bellis;  1861,  James  L.^ 
Voorhees,  Cor.  N.  Allen,  Ezekiel  Blue;  1862,  John  C.  Van  Liew, 
ThoB  C  Stryker,  Ezekiel  Blue;  1863,  David  J.  Bellis,  ThoS.  C.  Stry- 
ker Ezekiel  Blue;  1864-68,  Joseph  H.  Van  CTeef,  Thos.  C.  Stryker 
Ezekiel  Blue;  1869,  Joseph  H.  Van  Cleef,  Ab.  Ammerman,  Ezekiel 


*  These  committees  were  appointed  by  request  of  the  Congress. 

t  No  committee  appointed  again  till  1798,  according  to  township  mjn- 

"Tonly  tljree  (18521,  withDavid  K.  Auten  and  Peter  A.  Du  Mont  styled 
supernumerary  members. 


784 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Blue ;  1870,  Joseph  H.  Van  Cleef,  Ab.  Ammerman,  Edward  Sutphen ; 
1871,  Abram  Veglite,  Ab.  Ammerman,  Edward  Sutphen ;  1872-73,  Hen- 
ry Wilson,  Jas.  L.  Voorheea,  Edward  Sutphen  ;  1874,  Henry  S.  Van 
Nuys,  Edward  0.  Bennett,  Geo.  W.  Vroom  ;  1876,  Henry  S.  Tan  Nuys, 
Henry  H.  Garretson,  Garret  Beekman ;  1876,  Bvnrj  S.  Van  Nuys, 
Gar.  P.  Cortelyou,  Garret  Beekman,  David  K.  Auten,  John  F.  Hall ; 
1877,  Ab.  N.  Veghte,  Gar.  P,  Cortelyou,  Garret  Beekman,  David  K. 
Auten,  John  F.  Hall  ;■  1878,  Ab.  N.  Veghte,  Jas.  W.  Gulick,  Andrew 
M.  Baird;  1879,  John  F.Hall,  Keuben  H.  Hulick,  Jas.  Z.  Bergen ; 
1880,  H.  V.  D.  Van  Liew,  Eeuben  H.  Hulick,  Jas.  Z.  Bergen. 

VILLAGES  AND    HAMLETS. 

Millstone  is  a  small  village  on  the  left  bank  of 
Millstone  River,  3  J  miles  from  its  mouth,  by  the 
course  of  the  river.  It  is  a  rural  hamlet,  without 
legal  bounds.  It  contains  (1880)  262  inhabitants, 
about  fifty-five  dwellings,  one  Eeformed  (Dutch) 
church,  with  a  neat  lecture-  and  Sunday-school  room 
adjoining.  There  are  three  stores,  one  blacksmith- 
shop,  two  wheelwright-shops,  and  a  district  school. 
Although  lying  low,  comparatively,  the  place  is  noted 
for  its  healthfulness. 

Millstone  was  probably  the  most  important  place  in 
the  county  in  1738,  as  the  vote  of  the  citizens  of  the 
county  then  determined  that  it  was  the  ptoper  place 
for  the  county-seat.  A  bridge  over  the  river,  in  all 
probability,  existed  here  at  that  date,  as  it  was  here 
that  the  Amwell  road  passed.  The  farmers  in  this 
vicinity  made  this  the  point  of  shipment  for  their 
produce.  The  farms  were  being  taken  up  along  the 
river,  as  reference  to  the  article  on  land  titles  will 
show.  The  Harlingen  tract  was  also  already  occu- 
pied. In  1738  there  were  about  fifty  families  within 
three  miles  of  the  present  village. 

With  the  location  here  of  the  court-house  there 
arose  the  necessity,  if  it  did  not  exist  before,  of  a 
public-house.  Probably  such  a  house  existed  before 
1738.  Two  taverns  flourished  in  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  one  on  the  site  still  occupied,  a  little 
northeast  of  the  church,  the  other  near  the  bridge, 
in  what  constitutes  the  door-yard  of  the  present  resi- 
dence of  James  Elmendorf.  The  court-house  and 
jail  stood  a  little  south  of  this  inn,  on  the  premises 
now  owned  by  Joseph  Conover  and  wife,  formerly  by 
Miss  Mary  SuyJam.  Some  of  the  large  stones  of  its 
foundation  are  yet  lying  about.  It  must  have  been 
near  by  that  the  negro  was  burned  for  murdering  his 
master,  Jacob  Van  Nest,  in  1752. 

In  1760  the  inhabitants  built  the  small  Presbyterian 
church,  and  in  1767  the  Dutch  church  was  erected  on 
the  site  still  occupied. 

In  1800  there  was  no  school-house,  the  children 
crossing  the  river  into  Franklin  ;  the  church  stood  on 
the  present  site.  Jacob  Van  Nuys  lived  in  the  house 
east  of  the  church  now  occupied  by  Dr.  Fred.  Black- 
well.  This  house  was  used  some  time  before  1800  by 
Henry  Quick,  a  cabinet-maker.  A  hatter  by  the 
name  of  Jobes  succeeded  Van  Nuys.  In  1812,  Dom- 
inie Zabriskie  became  its  occupant,  the  church  hav- 
ing bought  it  for  a  parsonage.* 

*  See  "  Millstone  Centennial,"  1876. 


In  1800,  Cornelius  Lowe,  an  old  bachelor,  kept  the 
hotel  near  by;  Isaac  Fisher  and  Lowe  Fisher  pre- 
ceded him.  The  next  building  on  the  east  side  of 
the  street  was  the  Presbyterian  church, — or  the  Eng- 
lish church,  as  it  was  popularly  called  by  the  Dutch, — 
opposite  the  present  residence  of  Fred.  V.  L.  Disbor- 
ough.  Next  was  the  house  of  Dr.  Abram  Van  Buren, 
a  sketch  of  whose  life  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this 
work ;  the  site  is  now  occupied  by  Van  Mater  Van 
Cleef.  John  Van  Nest  occupied  the  house  on  the 
north  side  of  Peace  Brook,  next  to  the  river,  lately 
occupied  by  Nelly  Van  Tine ;  he  had  at  this  time  a 
son  named  Ezekiel.  Paul  Duryea  occupied  a  house 
directly  north,  keeping  in  it  a  small  store ;  it  was 
subsequently  resided  in  by  the  Suydams.  After  Dur- 
yea's  death,  his  widow  built  a  house  about  100  feet 
farther  north,  leaving  vacant  the  lots  of  the  old 
court-house  and  jail,  which  were  burned  by  the  British 
in  1779. 

John  Christopher  had  a  shoemaker-shop  where  the 
present  wheelwright-shop  is  located,  at  the  north 
end  of  the  village,  near  the  river,  and  a  dwelling 
adjoining.  The  road  at  this  time  came  down  the 
hill  to  the  bridge  and  followed  the  river,  winding 
around  between  John  Van  Nest's  and  Dr.  Van 
Buren's.  The  straight  road  west  of  James  Elmen- 
dorf's  house  was  opened  about  1830. 

Edward  Van  Harlingen  lived  in  the  house  now  on 
the  straight  road,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Here,  also, 
the  younger  Dominie  Van  Harlingen  lived  for 
eighteen  years  preceding  his  death,  in  1813.  In 
this  house  the  exercises  of  Queens  College  were 
held  for  a  while  during  the  Revolution.! 

In  1800,  Dr.  Stryker  lived  in  the  house  on  top  of 
the  hill,  long  occupied  by  Dr.  McKissack ;  he  had 
previously  resided  at  Blackwell's  Mills,  in  the  house 
opposite  the  brick  stable.  Peter  Hulick  lived  where 
his  nephew  Eeuben  Hulick  now  is,  while  Isaac  Lott 
lived  directly  across  the  road.  Martin  Schenck  had 
the  next  farm  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  which  had 
been  the  parsonage  for  Dominie  Foering  during  the 
Revolution.  Previous  to  1800,  Mr.  Schenck  had  once 
lived  on  the  lot  east  of  the  church,  and  had  there  kept 
a  blacksmith-shop.  On  the  west  side  of  the  road,  the 
farm  now  possessed  by  John  Brokaw  was  owned  in 
1800  by  Gen.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  who  had  mar- 
ried Miss  Ann  Yard  a  few  years  previously ;  the  latter 
received  that  farm  in  1778.  North  of  this  place  we 
come  successively  to  the  farms  of  the  Strykers,  the 
Wilsons,  and  the  Van  Nests. 

To  return  to  the  village  of  Millstone  proper :  Gen. 
Frelinghuysen  in  1800  occupied  the  place  now  owned 


t  "  Hillsborough,  May  25th,  1780.— The  vacation  of  Queens  College,  at 
Hillsborough,  in  the  county  of  Somerset,  and  of  the  grammar  school  in 
the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  is  expired,  and  the  business  of  each  is  again 
commenced.  Good  lodgings  may  be  procured  in  both  places  at  aa  low  a 
rate  as  in  any  part  of  the  State.    By  order  of  the  Faculty, 

"  JoHK  Tayloe, 
"  Clerk,  pro  teii»." 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


785 


by  Edward  Baker  ;*  his  farm  included  also  the  Dis- 
borough  place.  There  were  no  houses  between  the 
last  mentioned  and  the  Dutch  church.  Directly  west 
of  the  churchyard  lived  John  Broach ;  a  Mr.  Marshall 
had  occupied  that  place  previously.  Cyrenius  Thomp- 
son, long  famous  as  the  sexton,  lived  on  the  next  lot, 
now  occupied  by  John  De  Camp.  Mrs.  Thompson 
sold  cakes  and  beer  to  the  people  between  the  two  ser- 
vices on  Sundays.  Dominie  Cannon,  the  pastor,  was 
living  near  Six-Mile  Eun  at  this  time. 

Only  one  other  house  existed  on  the  road  west  of 
the  church,  located  on  the  lot  lately  owned  by  Garret 
Brokaw,  and  now  by  Mrs.  Van  Buskirk  ;  John  Gallo- 
way then  lived  on  this  lot.  John  Atkinson  lived  on 
the  corner  south  of  the  church,  so  long  occupied  by 
Gershom  Bernart ;  Mr.  Atkinson  was  a  blacksmith, 
and  had  a  shop  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  present 
parsonage-yard.  John  Broach  had  previously  lived 
on  the  Atkinson  place,  and  kept  a  cooper-shop ;  Peter 
Lewis  lived  on  the  same  spot  after  Atkinson.  West- 
ward on  the  Amwell  road  there  was  no  house  in  1800 
until  we  reach  the  present  place  of  Peter  Sutphen 
Van  Doren ;  James  Ellison  then  lived  there. 

The  Van  Doren  farm  was  the  one  first  south  of  the 
church.  It  had  been  in  possession  of  the  family  since 
1763,  and  is  yet  owned  by  them.  The  next  place  was 
that  of  Isaac  Van  Cleef ;  he  had  moved  there  some 
years  prior  to  1800,  having  come  from  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Pluckamin.  The  house  stood  where  Garret 
Van  Cleef  now  resides.  Isaac  Van  Cleef  died  in 
1804,  and  four  years  later  the  farm  was  sold ;  the 
sons  Isaac  and  Peter  bought  it.  Peter  afterwards 
sold  the  northern  part  to  Schenck  Van  Derveer.  It  is 
now  occupied  by  Paul  Beardslee. 

Peter  Ditmars  occupied  the  next  farm.  He  sold  it 
to  Abraham  Beekman  in  1815.  Dr.  McKissack  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  this  Ditmars,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  Peter  Ditmars  McKissack,  M.D.,  who  died 
in  1872. 

Mr.  Cornell  occupied  the  next  farm,  now  owned  by 
Jacob  Schomp  ;  he  soon  died,  and  his  widow  engaged 
Frederick  Probasco  to  work  the  farm,  and  afterwards 
married  him.  Mr.  Cornell's  son  Joseph  subsequently 
came  into  possession ;  he  sold  the  place  to Ber- 
rien for  about  $70  an  acre.  Joseph  Cornell  then 
went  West.  John  Blackwell  bought  it  in  1816  for 
about  $15  an  acre. 

Peter  Staats  occupied  the  place  now  owned  by  the 
Coe  family ;  his  son  Abram  was  the  father  of  Rev. 
John  A.  Staats,  who  was  born  on  this  place.  Archi- 
bald Mercer  was  the  proprietor  of  the  mill  subse- 
quently known  as  Blackwell's  Mills. 

Millstone  became,  after  the  canal  was  opened,  a 
place  of  considerable  business.  As  many  as  100,000 
bushels  of  grain  have  been  stored  there  at  one  time, 

*  When  Gen.  Frederick  FrelinghuyBen  lived  at  Millstone  his  home  was 
visited  by  some  of  the  great  statesmen  of  the  day.  On  one  occasion  John 
Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  were  traveling  together  on  horeoback,  and 
honored  MilUtone  by  stopping  orer-night  at  the  FreUnghuysen  mansion. 


waiting  for  the  opening  of  the  canal.  There  were  in 
1834  four  stores,  three  taverns,  several  mechanics, 
three  storehouses  for  grain,  and  an  extensive  lumber- 
yard. With  the  opening  of  the  railroad  to  New 
Brunswick,  in  1856,  the  development  of  this  village 
was  perhaps  retarded,  as  East  Millstone,  in  Franklin, 
became  the  terminus  of  the  railroad.  In  1872  con- 
siderable property  in  and  near  Millstone  was  pur- 
chased by  A.  D.  Melick  &  Co.,  of  New  York;  it 
consisted  of  1632  acres,  for  which  they  paid  $241,550. 

In  1873  the  railroad  was  opened  to  Somerset  Junc- 
tion, on  the  Delaware,  to  anticipate  the  new  railroad 
from  Bound  Brook  to  Philadelphia.  But  the  latter 
succeeded,  being  opened  in  1876,  and  in  1880  the 
Mercer  and  Somerset  road  was  abandoned. 

Neshanic  is  situated  at  the  northwest  declivity  of 
Neshanic  Mountain.  It  contains  (1881)  one  Reformed 
(Dutch)  church,  one  hotel  (temperance),  a  district 
school,  two  stores,  and  some  twenty-five  dwellings. 
About  ten  more  are  at  Neshanic  Station.  The 
country  around  is  undulating  and  beautiful. 

The  land  for  some  distance  around  Neshanic  was 
owned  in  1683  by  John  Bennett.  The  tract  embraced 
several  hundred  acres,  extended  to  the  division  line 
between  East  and  West  Jersey,  and  was  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  South  Branch.  Neshanic  tavern  was 
kept  by  the  Bennett  family  "in  a  time  whereof  the 
memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary."  It  was 
a  nucleus  about  which  a  village  afterwards  gathered. 
Some  of  the  earliest  settlers  were  the  Lows,  Lotts, 
Huffs,  Coersens  (now  Corson),  Ryersons,  Ten  Eycks, 
Terhunes,  Posts,  Middaghs,  Nevius,  Wyckofia,  Hage- 
mans,  Bergens,  Van  Arsdales,  Strykers,  Voorhees,  etc. 
The  old  house  of  Dirick  and  Rebecca  Low  is  yet  stand- 
ing, on  the  farm  occupied  by  Henry  Van  Derveer,  on 
the  Neshanic,  near  West's  Mills.  Another  old  house, 
the  first  homestead  of  the  Lows,  stands  on  the  farm  of 
John  J.  Van  Liew,  on  the  road  leading  from  the  Am- 
well road  to  the  South  Branch. 

Bergen  Huff  built  the  first  mill  at  Neshanic,  about 
1770.  It  stood  some  distance  below  the  present  one, 
and  was  abandoned  about  1810.  Some  remains  of  it 
are  still  to  be  seen.  The  present  mills  were  erected 
about  1810.  In  1836  they  were  purchased  firom  Cor- 
nelius and  Peter  Beekman  by  Judge  Corle,  and  have 
since  been  known  as  Corle's  Mills.  They  were  again 
sold  several  years  since  by  Judge  Corle,  and  have  been 
owned  by  at  least  five  different  parties ;  but,  notwith- 
standing these  frequent  changes,  they  have  "  done  the. 
town  grinding"  and  made  large  shipments  since  the 
railroad  has  been  in  operation.  The  old  miller  Nich- 
olas Huff  was  a  Revolutionary  pensioner,  and  great- 
uncle  of  Abraham  Huff,  who  was  born  1788.  He  says 
that  his  uncle  Nicholas  had  his  knee  shattered  by  a 
musket-ball  while  on  the  retreat  in  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown.  Pa. 

The  old  school-house  stood  on  the  spot  where  John 
Tunison's  house  now  is,  at  the  corner  of  Garret  Voor- 
hees' field.    The  most  prominent  teacher  then  wa^ 


18& 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Nathan  Loring,  whose  memory  is  affectionately  cher- 
ished. John  Allen,  a  saddle-  and  harness-maker, 
lived  with  John  Minor,  the  tanner,  who  carried  on 
husiness  not  far  from  the  old  school-house.  Garret 
Voorhees  and  John  Allen  lived  on  the  south  side  of 
the  hrook.  Sally  Andrews  lived  close  hy  the  school- 
house,  and  from  her  spring  the  troop  of  children 
quenched  their  thirst.  A  store  was  kept  in  a  build- 
ing that  stood  in  front  of  the  residence  of  Judge 
Corle.  Among  others  who  did  business  here  were 
Mr.  Phillips  and  Sheriff  John  Wyckoff. 

FlaGtGTOWN"  is  situated  a  couple  of  miles  east  of 
Neshanic.  It  contains  about  twenty  scattered  dwell- 
ings, a  store,  and  a  school. 

Clover  Hill  is  on  the  Amwell  road  where  it 
enters  Hunterdon  County,  and  lies  partly  in  both 
counties.  It  contains  about  fifteen  dwellings,  a  Re- 
formed Dutch  church,  and  a  school. 

Blackwell's  is  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Millstone,  about  two  miles  south  of  the  village  of  Mill- 
stone. Here  is  a  flourishing  flour-  and  grist-mill, 
owned  by  John  L.  Oakey,  Esq.  Half  a  dozen  houses 
are  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  a  store  kept  by  Corne- 
lius H.  Broach,  and  a  school  near  by.  A  bridge  crosses 
the  Millstone  at  this  point  to  Franklin  township.  A 
mill  has  existed  here  since  1746,  originally  built  by 
Peter  Schenck.   A  post-office  was  established  in  1872. 

South  Branch,  sometimes  known  by  the  name  of 
Branchville,  is  situated  on  the  South  Branch,  near 
its  junction  with  the  Earitan.  It  contains  about  fif- 
teen dwellings,  a  large  store,  and  a  Reformed  Dutch 
church. 

Rock  Mill  is  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
township,  in  a  depression  in  the  Neshanic  Mountain. 
It  is  partly  in  Montgomery  township.  Here  are  ten 
or  twelve  dwellings,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  a 
saw-mill,  and  a  store. 

ROYCEFIELD  is  located  upon  the  South  Branch. 
Railroad,  about  2}  miles  from  Somerville.  Since  the 
railroad  was  opened  the  name  of  the  station  has  been 
changed  to  "  Ricefield,"  trouble  having  been  experi- 
enced from  the  fact  of  there  being  another  village  of 
the  same  name  in  the  State.  Two  country  stores,  a 
blacksmith-shop,  two  hay-presses,  a  school,  and  a 
post-ofBce,  besides  the  railroad  buildings  and  a  cluster 
of  dwellings,  constitute  the  village.  James  Hageman 
is  station-agent,  and  also  postmaster. 

Roycefield  derived  its  name  from  the  early  land- 
owner of  this  vicinity, — John  Eoyce. 

There  are  now  in  Hillsborough  township  the  fol- 
lowing post-offices:  Millstone,  Blackwell's  Mills, 
Flaggtown,  Hillsborough,  Neshanic,  Roycefield  (now 
called  Ricefield),  and  South  Branch. 

SCHOOLS. 

This  township  has  (1880)  within  its  bounds  fourteen 
district  schools.  The  following  gives  the  statistical 
report  for  the  year  ending  Aug.  31,  1879: 


i, 
1 
1 

a 
£ 

£  0 

.sl 

In 

■3 

o 

.a   . 

a  S 

s 

8> 

a^ 

"  s 

NtTMBER  AND   NAME 

OF  District. 

£  o 

0 

1 

^4i 

■og 

li 

3l 

11 

II 

3S 
■=.2 

o 

a 

H 

1^ 

o 

-5 

O 

CO 

39.  Woodville 

$300.00 
SUM 

8500.00 
1,600.00 

61 
80 

10. 

9.6 

28 
63 

50. 

40.  HarDiony  Plains 

50 

300.00 
300  00 

600.00 

1,200.00 

600.00 

46 
60 

^- 

24 
60 

60 

4-2,  Liberty 

40 

43.  Blooniingdale 

300.00 

48 

10. 

32 

40 

44.  Millstone 

400.00 

1,000.00 

91 

9. 

67 

70 

300  00 

1  000  00 

67 

9. 

54 

40 

386.00 
300.00 

800.00 
800.00 

66 
48 

9.6 
9.5 

62 
37 

40 

47.  Pleasant  View 

40 

48.  Mountain 

300.00 
350  00 

200.00 
1,600.00 

84 
62 

9. 
11. 

37 

67 

40 

60.  Flaggtown  Station. 

70 

1,183.08 
300.00 

26.00 
500  00 

in 

47 

9. 
9 

66 
44 

4U 

53.  Clover  Hill 

400.72 

800.00 

80 

11.5 

71 

$5,633.84 

810,925.00 

941 

9.6 

681 

670 

But  few  of  these  schools  can  be  traced  back  to  their 
origin,  except  in  cases  where  school  districts  have 
been  divided  within  the  memory  of  those  yet  living. 

The  first  school  in  Hillsborough  was  probably  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Raritan,  situated  on  a  little 
knoll  on  the  roadside,  on  the  line  of  the  farms  of 
Jacobus  Quick  and  Peter  Du  Mont;  it  was  abandoned 
as  a  school-house  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
It  probably  dates  back  to  1720  or  1780.  William 
Parrish  early  taught  in  this  school. 

About  1795  it  was  determined  to  build  a  house 
about  a  mile  farther  west,  so  as  to  accommodate  the 
whole  northwestern  corner  of  the  township.  This 
would  take  in  the  present  New  Centre  District,  Flagg- 
town Station,  the  westerly  portions  of  Woodville  and 
Liberty,  and  the  northern  part  of  Bloomingdale.  In 
that  section,  about  1790,  there  was  a  large  number  of 
children.  The  site  chosen  was  a  little  strip  of  land 
between  the  road  and  the  river,  on  the  north  end  of 
John  Van  Middlesworth's  farm.  On  the  east  was  a 
small  stream  called  Paw-ne-pack  by  the  Indians. 
The  building  was  about  24  feet  square;  a  spacious 
fireplace  was  on  one  side.  The  structure  was  painted 
red,  with  white  casings  to  the  doors  and  windows.  It 
was  known  as  the  Red  School-House,  and  in  later 
years  as  the  Old  Red  School-House. 

Master  John  Warburton  was  the  first  teacher.  He 
was  English  by  birth,  and  was  supposed  to  have  been 
in  the  British  army  in  the  Revolution.  He  had  also 
taught  in  the  preceding  school-house,  and  was  well 
known  and  respected  by  all.  He  was  now  about  sixty 
•years  old,  and,  while  kind  in  his  government,  was 
very  decided.  He  believed  in  the  efficacy  of  the 
birch.  The  "  English  Primer,"  Dilworth's  spelling- 
book  and  arithmetic,  and  the  Bible  were  the  only 
books  used ;  Webster's  spelling-book  made  but  slow 
progress   in  that  community.     Master  Warburton's 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


78T 


great  points  were  order  and  method.  The  writing- 
books  of  Ms  scholars  were  patterns  of  neatness; 
every  line  was  fixed  by  scale  and  dividers.  Thus 
he  made  the  children  proud  of  themselves  and  of 
work. 

Mr.  "Warburton  did  not  "board  'round,"  as  was 
usual  with  teachers  in  olden  times,  but  he  lived  alto- 
gether in  the  school-house.  Each  employer  supplied 
him  with  food  for  a  week.  On  Sunday  morning  he 
would  breakfast  with  the  family  who  was  to  supply 
him  for  the  coming  week,  and  would  carry  his  own 
basket  of  provisions  that  day.  He  slept  in  a  little 
garret  over  his  school-room.  Late  in  life  he  left  this 
school  and  taught  for  a  while  in  another,  near  the 
old  Earitan  bridge.  He  finally  bought  a  few  acres 
on  the  Second  Mountain,  north  of  Somerville.  Here 
he  built  a  small  house,  and  dug  a  cave  which  he 
sometimes  used.  Some  old  friends  supplied  his  wants 
until  he  died.  The  Old  Ked  School-House  stood 
until  about  1830.*  Peter  G.  Quick,  of  Millstone, 
now  ninety-two  years  of  age,  attended  in  1794-95, 
and  was  a  pupil  for  three  years  under  Master  War- 
burton.  The  school  districts  of  New  Centre  and 
Woodville  finally  took  the  place  of  this  famous  old 
school.  Peter  Stryker  (afterwards  Rev.  Peter  Stry- 
ker),  in  1782,  was  school-teacher  at  or  near  Mill- 
stone, f 

Another  school  was  at  an  early  day  located  on  the 
farm  of  Peter  Wyckofi"  (more  recently  Capt.  John 
Wyckoff's).  The  school-house  stood  on  the  hill, 
close  by  the  brook,  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  Am- 
well  road.  Mr.  Gordon  was  a  teacher  here.  This 
disappeared  not  far  from  the  opening  of  the  present 
century. 

About  the  same  time  Dr.  Lawrence  Van  Derveer 
gave  land  for  a  school  lot  a  little  south  of  the  small 
graveyard  on  his  place,  and  this  district  was  divided 
about  1837  into  the  present  Eoycefield  and  Blooming- 
dale  districts.  With  the  cessation  of  the  school  on 
the  Wyckoflf  place,  a  school -building  which  had  stood 
in  the  bed  of  the  canal  as  it  now  runs,  about  250 
yards  north  of  the  East  Millstone  canal  bridge,  was 
removed  to  Millstone  and  located  on  the  Amwell 
road  west  of  the  church,  where  Mr.  HoflFman  now 
lives;  this  was  in  1807.  James  Ellison  (residing 
where  Peter  Sutphen  Van  Doren  now  lives)  was  the 
teacher  in  this  school.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade, 
but  a  man  of  considerable  ability.  Mr.  Belcher  suc- 
ceeded him.  The  school  remained  on  this  site  until 
1814,  when  Daniel  Disborough  gave  for  a  school  lot 
the  plot,  38  by  130  feet,  now  occupied  by  the  lecture- 
room.  A  two-story  building,  known  as  the  academy, 
was  here  erected.  The  second  story  was  used  for 
prayer-meetings  and  religious  lectures,  and  at  first, 
for  a  time,  for  the  smaller  children  in  the  day-school, 
while  the  lower  story  was  occupied  as  the  school- 

*  See  Governor  Vroom's  description  of  this  school  and  teachers  in  Dr. 
Messler's  county  history, 
f  See  Corwin's  "  Manual,"  pp.  474,  476. 


room  proper.  Abram  Montfort  was  the  teacher,  in 
the  academy,  in  1814 ;  Mr.  Wallbridge  in  1821-28. 

In  1860,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State, 
this  school  district  (No.  44)  obtained  permission  to 
sell  this  lot,  in  order  to  locate  the  school  on  the  hill, 
north  of  the  town,  its  present  position.  The  former 
school  lot,  in  the  rear  of  the  church,  was  bought  by 
certain  trustees  in  behalf  of  the  members  of  the 
church  of  Hillsborough  living  in  said  school  district, 
to  be  used  by  them  for  educational  and  moral  pur- 
poses.! William  Lytle  taught  in  the  academy  in 
1832-33,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Kingsley,  Stephen 
H.  Rowan  (afterwards  lost  at  sea),  James  S.  Taylor, 
and  Mr.  Pillsbury  (married  Matilda  Nevius). 

The  inhabitants  of  the  northeastern  part  of  Hills- 
borough at  first  sent  their  children  to  a  school  near 
the  small  graveyard  at  Weston.  This  continued  for 
about  a  hundred  years,  until  1834,  when  the  building 
was  burned  and  the  present  Harmony  Plains  district 
formed.  Weston  was  then,  according  to  a  State  map 
of  1767,  called  Van  Nest's. 

Until  1840  the  present  Cross-Eoads  and  Pleasant 
View  districts  were  united.  The  school-house  stood 
near  where  the  railroad  now  crosses  the  farm  of  I.  J. 
Stryker.  ^  The  school  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
township  was  originally  north  of  Blackwell's  Mills, 
where  the  brick  stable  now  stands.  It  probably  origi- 
nated about  the  time  the  mill  was  built, — 1746.  In 
1813  the  location  was  changed  to  the  southeast  corner 
of  Theodore  Layton's  farm.  The  school  near  the 
Neshanic  church  probably  dates  back  to  1750.  A 
new  school-house  was  in  1856  erected  in  the  Wood- 
ville district,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  land  of 
Thomas  F.  Smith,  at  an  expense  of  $688. 

At  Eoycefield  (old  District  No.  13),  in  1836,  a  new 
house  was  erected  on  the  land  of  John  Van  Zandt ; 
Brogun  J.  Brokaw,  Peter  Van  Zandt,  and  William 
Wilson  were  the  building  committee.  F.  D.  Brokaw, 
James  J.  Bergen,  and  John  Van  Zandt  were  the  trus- 
tees. March  28,  1837,  the  new  house  was  called  "The 
Liberty  School-House."  Albert  Hulce  was  the  first 
teacher. 

New  Centre  district  in  1856  built  a  new  school- 
house  on  land  of  Cornelius  Peterson,  at  an  expense  of 
about  $600. 

In  1829  the  township  embraced  twelve  school  dis- 
tricts. §  In  1830  the  school  committee||  divided  these) 
into  eleven,  and  in  1838  into  fifteen.  There  were 
some  subsequent  changes,  but  in  1871,  a  county  school 
superintendent  having  been  appointed,  the  numbers 


I  "  Millstone  Centennial,"  44. 

§  The  twelve  districts  emhraced  thirteen  schools  and  332  scholars. 

n  The  first  school  committee  of  Hillsborough  township  (1829)  was  com- 
posed of  James  Elmendorf,  Peter  P.  Vroom,  and  Jacob  B.  Schencln  ;  the 
last  (1846),  Dr.  James  B.  Elmendorf,  Gilbert  B.  Taylor,  and  Dr.  C.  a 
Hoagland,  the  latter  becoming  the  first  township  superintendent  of 
schools  in  the  following  year;  he  remained  six  years.  Peter  N.  Beok- 
man  served  In  1861-62  ;  John  L.  Bellis  in  1856-60,  and  1861-63  ;  William 
R.  Smith  in  1867-60  and  1804-66,  when,  the  office  of  county  superinten- 
dent being  established,  they  were  no  longer  appointed. 


788 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


of  the  districts  ia  the  township  were   changed  to  a 
general  system  including  the  whole  county. 

CLASSICAL   SCHOOLS   IN  HILLSBOEOUGH. 

Queens  College,  about  1780,  on  account  of  the 
dangers  of  the  Eevolution,  was  temporarily  located 
at  Millstone,  and  Dominie  Van  Harlingen,  about  the 
opening  of  the  century,  was  accustomed  to  teach  the 
classics  to  those  desiring  to  prepare  for  college. 

Abram  G.  Voorhees  subsequently  taught  a  Latin 
class  at  the  house  of  Dominie  Zabriskie,  and  the  dom- 
inie himself  at  times  heard  recitations.  In  1826-27, 
Mr.  Zabriskie  had  a  class  studying  Latin  with  him  ; 
it  consisted  of  James  Van  Derveer  (afterwards  M.D. 
at  North  Branch),  Peter  D.  McKissack  (afterwards 
M.D.  at  Millstone),  Outhout  Van  Harlingen,  J.  V. 
D.  Hoagland,  John  B.  Staats,  John  A.  Staats  (after- 
wards Eev.),  and  John  Broach. 

Rev.  John  Cornell  conducted  a  classical  school  at 
Millstone  from  1828  to  1835.  He  lived  on  the  Fre- 
linghuysen  place,  now  occupied  by  Edward  Baker. 
This  school  was  continued  by  Mr.  Addis,  Joseph  P. 
Bradley  (now  one  of  the  justices  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court),  and  William  I.  Thompson.  A  clas- 
sical school  was  also  kept  by  Rev.  P.  D.  Oakey,  at 
Neshanic  Station,  from  1870  to  1876. 

RELIGIOUS  HISTORY. 
Hillsborough  township  has  long  been  famed  for  its 
religious  privileges.  The  Dutch  Church  has  indeed 
had  the  field  almost  exclusively.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  northern  part  of  the  township  have  always  sought 
their  spiritual  instruction  at  Somerville  or  Raritan  ; 
a  few  have  gone  to  Bound  Brook.  In  early  times, 
the  people  of  the  southern  and  eastern  parts  went  to 
Six-Mile  Run  or  Three-Mile  Run,  in  Franklin.  There 
are  now  four  Reformed  (Dutch)  Churches  in  the  town- 
ship,— viz.,  Neshanic,  Hillsborough  (or  Millstone), 
Clover  Hill,  and  Branchville.  There  was  a  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Millstone  from  about  1759  to  1800. 
The  Dutch  Church  at  Clover  Hill  became  Presbyterian 
in  1840,  and  so  remained  until  1862,  when  it  returned 
to  the  Dutch  body.  There  is  also  a  Presbyterian  mis- 
sion church  on  the  top  of  Neshanic  Mountain,  sup- 
ported by  the  neighboring  Dutch  and  Presbyterian 
,  Churches  on  either  side ;  also  one  small  Methodist 
Chiurch  at  Rock  Mill.  A  Roman  Catholic  Church 
exists  in  East  Millstone. 

In  the  records  of  the  Lutheran  Church  near  Sauger- 
ties,  N.  Y.,  we  find  that  Daniel  Falckner,  a  Lutheran 
minister  who  itinerated  considerably  among  the  Ger- 
man settlements,  signed  himself,  in  1724,  "  Pastor  at 
Millstone  and  in  the  mountains  near  the  River 
Raritan."  There  may  have  been  a  few  Germans  in 
the  township  to  whom  he  ministered ;  those  on  the 
Raritan  were  probably  in  Hunterdon  County. 

PRESBTTEKIAN   CHUKCHES. 

Millstone.— Oct.  30,  1759,  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  assembled  at  Basking  Ridge,  received  a 


petition  fi-om  the  people  of  Millstone  asking  permis- 
sion to  enjoy  one-fourth  of  the  services  of  Eev.  Israel 
Reed,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Bound 
Brook,  which  request  was  granted.  He  continued  to 
preach  in  Millstone  about  ten  years.  The  Presby- 
terians and  the  Dutch  united  and  built  a  church  on 
land  given  by  a  Mr.  Ten  Eyck,  opposite  the  present 
residence  of  Frederick  V.  L.  Disborough.  It  is  known 
that  some  of  the  Smiths  from  about  Weston  and  Mr. 
Thompson,  who  owned  land  along  the  Amwell  road, 
were  active  in  this  church.  The  Dutch  also  used  the 
same  building,  and  had  supplies  about  once  a  month, 
until  the  Dutch  Church  was  organized,  in  1766.  After 
the  arrangement  with  Mr.  Reed  was  ended,  the  Pres- 
byterians are  known  to  have  had  the  following  sup- 
plies :  Oct.  9,  1770,  a  licentiate,  William  Schenck  ;* 
April  10,  1771,  Rev.  Samuel  Kennedy,  of  Basking 
Ridge;  second  Sabbath  of  May,  1772,  a  Mr.  Van 
Arsdale;  second  Sabbath  in  November,  1772,  Rev. 
Thomas  Smith,  of  Cranberry.  Mr.  Van  Arsdale  again 
supplied  once  or  oftener  in  1773.  In  1775  this  church 
united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kingston  in 
calling  a  pastor,  but  without  success.  April  23, 1776, 
they  petitioned  the  Presbytery  for  a  minister  to  assist 
Mr.  Elmer  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  and  to 
ordain  elders,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Kennedy,  of  Basking 
Ridge,  was  appointed.  This  Mr.  Elmer  is  the  Eev. 
Jonathan  Elmer,  who  was  the  first  of  this  family  in 
New  Jersey.  From  1757  to  1793  he  was  a  supply  at 
New  Providence,  officiating  occasionally  in  this  church, 
and  died  in  1807. 

During  the  Eevolution  the  building  was  maltreated 
by  the  British.  The  following  extract  from  the  vol- 
ume (No.  172)  at  Trenton  containing  the  affidavits  of 
parties  who  suffered  from  the  depredations  of  the 
enemy  will  be  interesting : 

*'  Inventory  of  the  damage  to  the  Presbyterian  English  meeting-houBe 
by  the  British  army  and  their  adherents  in  December,  1776,  and  June, 
1777,  delivered  by  Jonathan  Smith,  one  of  the  elders,  at  Millstone,  in 
Hillsborough. 

"  The  damage  done  to  said  meeting-house  is  valued  at  £80. 

"The  said  Jonathan  Smith,  being  sworn  according  to  law,  depoaeth 
and  saith  that  the  said  meeting-house  was  in  good  repair,  as  it  usually 
was,  when  the  British  army  came  first  to  Millstone;  and  after  the  British 
left  Millstone,  in  June,  1777,  the  said  meeting-house  was  much  destroyed; 
and  he  found  some  of  the  doors,  and  some  part  of  the  windows,  shutters, 
and  part  of  the  breast-work  of  the  gallery  in  the  British  encampment; 
and  that  he  never  received  any  pay  or  satisfaction  for  the  same. 

"Sworn  before  NATnA*L  AYEE8. 

"  Oct.  22,  1782." 

There  was  some  correspondence  between  the  Classis 
of  New  Brunswick  and  the  Presbytery  of  New  Bruns- 
wick concerning  their  respective  rights  to  this  terri- 
tory. The  growth  of  the  Dutch  Church,  the  popula- 
tion of  that  nationality  being  vastly  in  the  majority, 
caused  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  dwindle,  and  prob- 
ably with  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Elmer's  ministry  it§ 
doors  were  closed.  The  building,  becoming  unsafe, 
was  taken  down  about  1809.  The  land  was  sold  and 
the  proceeds  distributed  among  the  heirs  of  the  orig- 

*  See  "  Manual  Beformed  Church,"  p.  663. 


HILLSBOROUaH. 


789 


inal  donor.    A  small  graveyard  around  the  building 
lias  long  since  disappeared. 

Clover  Bill. — ^The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  this 
place  resolved  itself  into  a  Presbyterian  Church  in 
1840.  It  was  served  by  the  same  ministers  who  offici- 
ated at  Eeaville,  Hunterdon  Co.,  as  follows:  Eev. 
David  Hull,  1840  to  April  16, 1844;  Eev.  Benjamin 
Carroll,  Nov.  26, 1844,  to  April  11,  1859 ;  Rev.  George 
P.  Van  Wyck,  Jan.  31,  1860,  to  Oct.  22,  1862.  In 
1862  it  returned  to  its  former  relation  with  the  Classis 
of  Philadelphia  (Reformed  Dutch),  and  its  history 
may  be  found  on  subsequent  pages  of  this  work. 


KEFOEMBD  (DUTCH)  CHTIECHBS. 

Neshanio. — ^This  church  was  formed  Aug.  25,  1752, 
by  Bernardus  Verbryck  and  wife,  Abraham  Dubois, 
Sr.,  Abraham  Dubois,  .Jr.,  Albert  Low  and  wife,  Wil- 
liam Low,  John  Dumont  and  wife,  and  John  Mont- 
fort  and  wife,  eleven  persons  dismissed  by  the  North 
Branch  Church  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  new  con- 
gregation. Bernardus  Verbryck  and  Abraham  Du- 
bois were  chosen  elders,  and  Johannes  De  Mott  and 
William  Low  deacons.  The  record  which  gives  us 
the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  Neshanic  Church 
and  the  members  of  the  first  Consistory  is  in  the 
handwriting  of  Dominie  Johannes  Frelinghuysen. 

On  the  11th  of  October  succeeding  it  is  recorded 
that  the  site  for  the  church  was  determined  to  be  on 
the  Amwell  road,  between  the  residences  of  Lawrence 
and  John  De  Mott,  on  the  knoll  on  the  north  side  of 
said  road.  The  next  record  is  dated  May  21, 1757, 
and  refers  to  the  election  of  a  Consistory  under  the 
direction  of  Eev.  John  Leydt,  of  New  Brunswick,  at 
the  house  of  Andreas  Ten  Eyck.  John  De  Mott  was 
chosen  elder,  and  John  Montfort  deacon ;  and  then  it 
recites  that  they  were  ordained  on  the  13th  January 
succeeding,  in  the  church  at  North  Branch,  by  Dom- 
inie Eomeyn. 

The  register  of  baptisms  commences  May  23, 1760, 
with  the  names  of  Jan  and  Sarah  Wycoff  presenting 
a  daughter,  Neeltjie,  and  Jacobus  and  Elizabeth 
Hegeman,  a  son,  Pieter,  and  Daniel  and  Catlyntie 
Hunt,  a  daughter,  Catlyntie,— all  on  the  same  day. 
This  register  is  complete,  and  has  been  continued 
until  the  present  time.  We  gather  from  its  earlier 
years  some  names  which  it  may  be  of  interest  to  pre- 
serve as  belonging  to  the  congregation  in  its  begin- 
nings: John  Huff,  George  Bergen,  More  Beyaert, 
John  Cox,  Bernardus  Van  Zant,  Thomas  Hall,  Peter 
Petersen,  Hendrick  Dilts,  Dominicus  Stryker,  John 
Van  Nest,  Abraham  Voorhees,  Tennis  Cornell,  Hen- 
drick Jansen,  Heugh  Higse,  Dominicus  Van  Dyke, 
Joris  Brocaw,  and  Hendrick  Pippenger. 

Aug.  28,  1758,  Eem  Vanderbeek  was  appointed 
elder,  and  Lawrence  De  Mott  deacon,  and  July  29, 
1759,  Bernardus  Verbryck  was  ordained  as  elder  in 
the  room  of  Johannes  De  Mott,  whose  term  of  ser- 
vice had  expired.  Neshanic  united  with  the  other 
congregations  in  Somerset  County  in  calling  the  Eev. 


Jacob  Eutsen  Hardenburgh  as  their  pastor.  They 
had  all  been  vacant  since  John  Frelinghuysen'a 
death,  in  1754. 

In  1762,  Neshanic  withdrew  from  its  connection  with 
the  other  four  churches  and  formed  a  union  with 
Harlingen,  or  Sourland,  as  then  called,  to  obtain  the 
services  of  Eev.  Johannes  Martinus  Van  Harlingen. 
This  proved  to  be  a  lasting  connection,  and  continued 
until  it  was  dissolved,  in  1795,  by  Mr.  Van  Harlin- 
gen's  death.  In  1780,  in  order  to  obtain  more  preach- 
ing, however,  Neshanic  united  with  Millstone  in  ob- 
taining a  part  of  the  services  of  Solomon  Froeligh, 
and  this  connection  continued  until  1786.  Then, 
feeling  the  necessity  of  having  preaching  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  for  the  benefit  of  the  junior  members  of 
the  congregation,  they  called,  in  conjunction  with  Har- 
lingen, the  Rev.  William  E.  Smith.  He  was  to  preach 
two  Sabbaths  at  Neshanic,  and  one  at  Harlingen. 
He  was  thus  more  entirely  identified  with  the  people 
of  Neshanic  than  with  those  of  Harlingen.  He  also 
made  his  residence  in  the  bounds  of  the  congregation, 
living  on  a  parsonage  farm,  less  than  two  miles  east 
of  the  church.  His  long  ministry  ended  only  with 
his  death,  in  1820. 

Eev.  Henry  Polhemus  was  called  as  a  colleague  of 
Mr.  Smith  in  1798.  He  continued  until  1809,  when 
Eev.  Peter  Labagh  was  called  to  Harlingen,  and  be- 
came also  colleague  of  Mr.  Smith.  He  continued  to 
serve  Neshanic  until  1821,  when  he  took  charge  of 
Harlingen  alone.  Neshanic  had  been  united  with 
other  churches  in  the  support  of  a  minister  for  sixty- 
eight  years,  when  a  call  was  given  to  the  candidate 
Gabriel  Ludlow,  which  was  accepted.  He  was  or- 
dained and  installed  by  the  Classis  of  Philadelphia, 
Sept.  5,  1821,  and  continued  pastor  for  the  remarka- 
bly long  period  of  fifty-seven  years.  He  died  in  1878. 
During  his  active  ministry  400  made  a  profession  of 
faith.  He  solemnized  500  marriages  in  the  same 
period,  and  baptized  910  infants. 

Eev.  John  Hart  was  called  as  a  colleague  of  Dr. 
Ludlow  in  1875.  He  continues  the  faithful  and  en- 
ergetic pastor  of  this  church,  which  now  numbers  170 
families  and  nearly  300  members.  It  has  four  Sab- 
bath-schools, with  235  children  in  them. 

Millsborough.— When  the  Dutch  and  English  peo- 
ple united  in  building  the  small  Presbyterian  church 
in  Millstone,  the  pastors  of  the  neighboring  Dutch 
churches  supplied  them  about  once  a  month.  These 
were  Rev.  John  Leydt,  who  lived  at  Three-Mile  Run, 
Rev.  Jacob  E.  Hardenburgh,  at  Somerville,  and  Eev. 
John  M.  Van  Harlingen,  pastor  at  Neshanic  and 
Harlingen.  This  arrangement  of  supplies  continued 
from  1760  to  1774.  In  the  mean  time,  owing,  proba- 
bly, to  some  difficulties  about  the  use  of  the  Presby- 
terian building,  the  Dutch  being  also  vastly  in  the 
majority,  they  organized  a  church  and  erected  a 
building  for  themselves. 

July  26,  1766,  seventy  heads  of  families,  being 
members  of  the  congregations  of  the  Earitan,  New 


790 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Brunswick,  Six-Mile  Eun,  and  Over-the-Millstone 
(now  Harlingen)  Cliurches,  addressed  a  petition  to 
the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  same,  expressing  their 
desire  to  be  established  as  a  new  congregation.  Aug. 
11,  1766,  the  church  was  organized  at  the  house  of 
Peter  Schenck  (at  what  is  now  called  Blackwell's 
Mills),  under  the  name  of  "New  Millstone."  They 
elected  Joseph  Cornell  and  Peter  Schenck  elders,  and 
Johannes  Hoagland  and  Abram  Van  Buren,  M.D., 
deacons.  Thus  the  church  of  Millstone  was  the  first 
regularly-constituted  organization  in  the  county. 

The  three  neighboring  ministers,  by  an  arrange- 
ment entered  into  with  their  congregations,  each 
preached  at  New  Millstone  four  times  a  year,  giving 
them  conjointly  a  service  once  a  month.  Thus  mat- 
ters stood  for  eight  years.  A  subscription  was  begun  in 
December,  1766,  which  received  seventy-eight  names, 
and  an  aggregate  amount  of  £446.  Subscriptions  were 
also  solicited  for  help  in  New  York  and  on  Long  Island, 
and  £104  10s.  llrf.  were  thus  received  for  the  original 
building  of  the  church. 

John  Van  Doren  gave  land  to  the  church  imme- 
diately north  of  the  present  parsonage  lot,  on  what  is 
now  the  garden  of  Dr.  Fred.  Blackwell.  But  John 
Smock,  who  owned  the  plot  where  the  church  now 
stands,  being  willing  to  exchange  with  the  Consistory, 
they  gladly  accepted  of  the  proposal  on  account  of 
the  superiority  of  the  site,  and  hence  the  deed  for  the 
ground  stands  in  the  name  of  John  Smock,  dated 
Jan.  7,  1767,  to  certain  trustees  in  behalf  of  the  con- 
gregation. The  land,  less  than  an  acre,  was  valued  at 
£10.  This  plot  was  subsequently  increased  by  three 
different  purchases,  which  together  constitute  the 
present  churchyard. 

This  first  house  of  worship  was  probably  completed 
within  a  year  and  a  quarter  from  the  organization  of 
the  church.  Its  breadth,  like  that  of  many  of  the  old 
churches,  was  greater  than  its  depth.  It  contained  in 
all  sixty-six  pews,  two  being  reserved  by  the  pulpit 
for  the  Consistory,  one  by  the  west  wall  (the  wall 
pews  faced  the  congregation)  for  the  justice,  and  two 
tiers  or  eight  pews  in  the  back  of  the  church  were 
free.  A  stairway  ran  up  in  the  southwest  corner  to 
the  belfry.  The  church  contained  three  aisles,  and 
two  large  pillars  arose  in  the  midst  of  either  block  of 
pews  to  support  the  roof.  This  building,  though  oon- 
siderably  damaged  by  fire  in  the  Revolution,  and 
having  undergone  a  couple  of  thorough  repairings, 
stood  for  sixty  years. 

The  baptismal  register  of  the  church  begins  April 
3,  1767,  when  Eva,  daughter  of  Dr.  Van  Buren,  one 
of  the  deacons,  was  baptized,  and  baptisms  occurred 
afterwards  every  few  months,  showing  regular  ser- 
vices. But  only  fifteen  formed  the  original  member- 
ship of  the  church,  including  officers,  and  ten  were 
added  by  profession  and  two  by  certificate  during  the 
period  that  they  remained  without  a  pastor. 

In  the  summer  of  1774  they  bought  a  parsonage 
farm,  containing  about  53  acres,  for  £348.     Four  and 


a  half  acres  additional  were  added  the  next  spring. 
It  is  the  place  now  occupied  by  Joseph  V.  S.  Van 
Doren.  The  house  was  at  once  repaired,  Henry  Wil- 
son, Peter  Stryker,  Sr.,  John  Stryker,  Henry  Pro- 
basco,  and  Lawrence  Van  Cleef  being  the  building 
committee,  and  when  ready  for  use  the  Consistory 
found  themselves  indebted  £393. 

In  the  fall  of  1774  the  Consistory  renewed  their 
invitation  to  Mr.  Foering,  and  he  accepted  in  the 
early  part  of  October,  1774,  and  moved  the  following 
month.  He  states  in  a  letter  that  the  Low  Dutch 
language  was  rapidly  passing  away  in  Millstone,  and 
that  he  was  called  to  preach  altogether  in  English. 
During  the  first  eighteen  months  of  his  ministry,  which 
brings  us  down  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
eighteen  persons  united  with  the  church  on  pro- 
fession of  their  faith;  during  the  next  three  years, 
down  to  his  death,  not  a  single  one.  The  excite- 
ment, the  party  strife,  and  the  frequent  proximity  of 
the  armies  seriously  interfered  with  even  the  religious 
services. 

On  April  5, 1775,  the  church  was  incorporated  by  a 
royal  charter.  The  title  was  changed  from  "New  Mill- 
stone" to  "  Hillsborough,"  the  name  of  the  township. 
This  was  done  to  distinguish  it  from  the  present  church 
at  Harlingen,  which  had  generally  been  called  Mill- 
stone previously.  Trustees  had  held  the  property  for 
the  church,  but  with  the  charter  all  the  deeds  were 
rewritten  in  the  name  of  the  Consistory.  This  was 
the  last  charter  granted  to  a  Dutch  Church  by  the 
English  government,  and  about  the  last  that  George 
III.  granted  to  any  American  institution.  It  was  in 
the  "fifteenth  year"  of  his  reign, — 1775.* 

During  the  Revolution  the  church  and  parsonage 
were  very  much  injured,t  the  damage  being  invoiced 
at  £250  16s.  6d. 

In  the  fall  of  1778,  after  the  battle  of  Freehold, 
Washington  took  up  his  winter  quarters  again  at  Mid- 
dlebrook.  About  this  time  Mr.  Foering  preached  a 
very  patriotic  sermon,  which  led  to  the  formation 
of  a  company  from  'his  congregation.  The  British 
sent  out  a  party  to  capture  him,  so  as  to  prevent  his 
efforts  among  his  people.  But,  although  sick  in  bed 
at  the  time,  by  his  wife's  help  he  started  for  a  place 
of  safety,  probably  to  Washington's  camp,  and  his 
wife  returned  into  the  house  to  her  three  children, 
the  oldest  but  eight  years  of  age.  "  In  a  very  short 
time  the  enemy  came  up,  and  in  their  angry  search 
for  one  whom  with  oaths  they  stigmatized  as  'that 
rebel  Foering'  thrust  their  swords  through  every  bed 
in  the  house."  Mr.  Foering,  leaving  home  sick  and 
subjected  to  exposure  in  his  flight,  took  a  heavy  cold, 

*  Recorded  in  Liber  AB.,  of  commissions  and  charters,  pp.  182-85,  iu 
secretary's  office,  Perth  Amboy. 

f  See  narrative  of  Sergt.  Grant,  of  the  British  army,  quoted  in  "  Col. 
Hist,  of  N.  Y.,"  viii.  pp.  728-30,  and  also  the  "  Inventory  of  Damages  done 
to  the  Dutch  Presbyterian  Church  and  Parsonage,  Millstone,  by  the  Brit- 
ish Army,  in  December,  1776,  and  June,  1777,  Delivered  by  Iluudrick 
Probasco  and  Peter  Ditmarse,  a  Committee  appointed  by  said  Congrega- 
tion," recorded  in  vol.  clxxii.,  State-House,  Trenton. 


HILLSBOKOUGH. 


791 


from  which  consumption  resulted,  and  March  29, 
1779,  the  first  pastor  of  this  church  breathed  his  last. 
His  body  was  deposited  under  the  church,  in  front  of 
the  sacred  desk  whence  had  issued  the  kindred  lessons 
of  religion  and  liberty,  and  his  dust  yet  reposes  be- 
neath the  second  edifice. 

The  congregation  knew  not  where  to  look  for  an- 
other minister  in  those  troublous  times,  and  were  re- 
duced to  their  former  dependence  upon  the  neighbor- 
ing churches,  when  unexpectedly  a  refugee  preacher, 
Solomon  Froeligh,  arrived  in  their  midst.  He 
appeared  in  Millstone  in  the  spring  of  1780,  one  year 
after  Mr.  Foering's  death,  and  the  Consistory  at  once 
secured  his  services.  They  offered  to  give  him  as 
salary  268  bushels  of  wheat  a  year,  each  bushel  to 
weigh  60  pounds. 

The  Neshanic  Church  desiring  to  secure  a  part  of 
Mr.  Froeligh's  services,  articles  of  agreement  were 
entered  into,  and  Mr.  Froeligh's  call,  as  finally  ap- 
proved, stands  in  the  name  of  the  two  churches,  and 
is  dated  Sept.  4,  1780.  He  was  to  preach  two  Sun- 
days out  of  three  at  Millstone  and  one  at  Neshanic, 
and  was  to  alternate  between  the  Dutch  and  English. 
In  1784,  by  mutual  consent,  his  salary  was  changed 
to  £120  proclamation  money,  of  which  Neshanic  paid 
£40  and  Millstone  £80  a  year. 

The  war  now  being  over,  and  no  further  dangers 
being  apprehended,  the  Consistory  felt  the  necessity 
of  efiectually  repairing  the  church,  but  had  suffered 
so  much  from  the  raids  and  depredations  of  the 
enemy  that  they  were  really  unable  to  go  to  the 
necessary  expense.  They  therefore  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Mr.  Froeligh,  Capt.  Cornelius 
Lott,  and  Peter  Ditmarse,  to  visit  Long  Island'  and 
solicit  help,  as  the  congregations  there  had  suffered 
very  little,  they  having  been  in  the  British  lines 
throughout  the  war.  They  secured  thus,  on  Long 
Island,  the  sum  of  £85,  and  the  church  was  repaired 
and  rendered  again  comfortable. 

In  1786,  Dominie  Froeligh  left  this  church,  and 
with  his  departure  the  union  between  Neshanic  and 
Millstone  ended.  The  Six-Mile  Run  and  Millstone 
Churches  then  entered  into  an  agreement  to  call  a  min- 
ister together,  and  invited  John  M.  Van  Harlingen,  the 
son  of  Ernestus  Van  Harlingen,  and  nephew  of  the 
old  pastor  of  the  same  name  at  Sourland.  He  was 
ordained  during  the  summer.  His  own  father  was 
one  of  his  elders.  He  labored  in  these  churches 
about  eight  years.  It  was  during  his  ministry  that 
the  title  and  incorporation  of  the  church  were  finally 
fixed.  In  1784  they  took  measures  to  have  their  old 
English  charter  confirmed  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  and  all  their  former  legal  acts 
jatified,  and  in  1790  repudiated  their  old  charter,  that 
they  might  incorporate  according  to  the  new  law  of 
1789.  In  1790,  therefore,  the  Consistory  became  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and 
the  State  of  New  Jersey,  by  the  name  of  the  new 
corporation  of  "  The  Minister,  Elders,  and  Deacons 


of  the  Congregation  of  Hillsborough."  Each  of  the 
churches  had  a  parsonage,  and  in  reference  to  this 
they  agreed  that  Mr.  Van  Harlingen  should  live  in 
the  parsonage  at  Millstone,  on  the  hill,  that  Six-Mile 
Run  should  sell  theirs,  and  that  half  the  money  they 
received  should  be  paid  to  Millstone,  which  was 
accordingly  done. 

Mr.  Van  Harlingen,  for  reasons  not  stated,  resigned 
in  the  summer  of  1795,  but  continued  to  live  in  this 
village.  He  died  June  16,  1813,  in  the  fifty-second 
year  of  his  age.  His  remains  lie  in  the  adjacent 
churchyard. 

The  next  pastor  was  James  Spencer  Cannon.  Six- 
Mile  Run  again  united  with  Millstone  in  the  call ;  he 
was  ordained  and  installed  at  Millstone,  May  1, 1797, 
but  resided  at  Six-Mile  Run.  The  old  church  in  this 
year  again  received  a  thorough  repairing,  and  the 
seats  were  taxed  to  defray  the  expenses.  Four  years 
later  the  music  of  a  church-bell  first  resounded  over 
these  fields.  Mr.  Cannon,  early  in  1807,  after  ten 
years  of  labor,  resigned  his  call  to  Millstone,  and  the 
ecclesiastical  relation  with  Six-Mile  Run  was  at  the 
same  time  dissolved,  the  latter  church  calling  Mr. 
Cannon  alone.  He  has  left  a  list  of  the  actual  num- 
ber of  communicants  for  the  year  1801,  whence  it  ap- 
pears that  this  church  then  had  seventy  members. 
But  another  list  in  his  own  hand  in  1806  reports  only 
fifty-five. 

Rev.  John  Schureman  became  the  fifth  pastor.  He 
was  called  on  April  20,  1807,  from  the  church  of  Beil- 
minster,  and  began  his  duties  here  soon  after.  The 
Consistory  having  no  parsonage,  having  sold  out  their 
interest  in  their  last  property  to  Six-Mile  Run  Church, 
Mr.  Schureman  lived  on  the  place  now  occupied  by 
Mr.  Jacob  Van  Cleve,  near  Blackwell's  Mills.  In 
the  fall  of  1809  (November  17th)  the  Consistory 
agreed  to  his  request  to  dissolve  their  relations,  he 
having  accepted  a  call  to  the  Collegiate  Church,  in 
New  York. 

The  Rev.  John  L.  Zabriskie  preached  at  Millstone 
for  the  first  time  in  February,  1810,  and  took  charge 
of  the  church,  moving  his  family  into  the  village  in 
May,  1811.  He  was  installed  by  Dr.  Cannon,  and  re- 
mained with  the  church  as  one  of  her  most  faithful 
pastors  until  he  died,  Aug.  15,  1850, — thirty-nine 
years  and  three  months. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Zabriskie's  settlement  here,  early 
in  1812,  the  Consistory  again  provided  a  parsonage 
property  for  themselves,  on  the  plot  now  occupied  by 
Dr.  Fred.  Blackwell,  bought  from  Dan.  Disborough, 
at  a  cost  of  $2232.  But  this  place  was  occupied  only 
three  or  four  years,  when  Mr.  Zabriskie  purchased  a 
property  of  his  own  on  the  hill,  where  he  resided  till 
his  death.  The  Consistory  sold  their  parsonage  to 
Dr.  Wm.  McKissack. 

During  the  first  eighteen  years  of  Mr.  Zabriskie's 
ministry  here  he  preached  in  the  old  church,  but  it  had 
long  been  felt  that  the  building  was  too  small  for  the 
growing  congregation,  and  repeated  efforts  had  been 


192 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


made  to  remedy  tlie  evil.  Therefore,  in  1827,  a  new 
church  edifice  was  erected,  in  size  70  by  55  feet.  The 
building  committee  was  Stephen  Garretson,  Dan.  H. 
Disborough,  and  Ab.  Beekman.  They  contracted 
with  Joachim  G.  Quicls:  for  $5000,  including  the  old 
church  material.  Extra  expenses  accrued,  amount- 
ing to  $317.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  June  8,  1828  ; 
the  church  was  dedicated  on  Christmas  Sabbath,  1828. 
The  following  Thursday  the  pews  were  sold,  and 
$7689  were  realized,  leaving  a  considerable  surplus  in 
the  hands  of  Consistory.  The  church  was  at  this 
time  partly  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  towering  Lom- 
bardy  poplars. 

Mr.  Zabriskie's  ministry  was  very  successful.  There 
was  one  remarkable  revival,  at  which  he  received  108 
on  profession  at  a  single  communion.  He  received 
nearly  500  on  profession  and  162  by  certificate  during 
his  ministry.  His  last  report  to  Classis,  in  the  spring 
of  1850,  makes  the  church-membership  to  be  then 
291,  and  176  families.  The  congregation  was  indeed 
built  up  to  great  strength  in  numbers  during  his  long 
pastorate  here.     The  membership  had  nearly  trebled. 

Father  Zabriskie  died  Aug.  15,  1850,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one.  His  dust  lies  in  the  adjoining  church- 
yard, where  his  memorial  monument  reminds  the 
passer-by  of  the  venerable  "Minister  of  God"  of 
more  than  half  a  century's  service.  Dr.  Messier  says 
of  him, — ■ 

"  He  was  one  of  the  moat  laborious  and  successful  pastors  in  Somerset 
County.  He  preached  and  lectured  more,  visited  more  families,  and 
attended  more  carefully  to  all  his  public  duties  than  almost  any  other 
minister  of  his  time.  He  was  considered  by  all  an  example  not  only,  but 
a  mtmitor  in  his  ofBcial  life." 

In  the  spring  of  1850,  Eev.  John  De  Witt  was  called, 
and  installed  August  20th. 

The  following  year  the  Consistory  provided  the 
present  parsonage  property,  consisting  of  a  little  more 
than  three  acres  of  land,  which  they  bought  of  John 
Van  Doren  for  $755.  They  immediately  built  the 
pleasant  and  substantial  house  which  now  adorns  the 
plot,  using  for  this  purpose  certain  legacies  which  had 
been  left  by  members  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  at 
Millstone. 

During  Dr.  De  Witt's  ministry  here  the  church 
building,  having  reached  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  of  age,  was  thoroughly  repaired,  the  pews 
and  pulpit  modified  to  their  present  neat  and  beauti- 
flil  appearance,  and  the  walls  frescoed.  He  received 
during  his  ministry  here  201  on  profession  of  faith, 
and  79  by  certificate.  Dr.  De  Witt's  last  report  made 
the  church  to  contain  299  members  in  full  commu- 
nion. His  connection  with  this  church  ceased  on 
Sept.  1,  1863. 

But  a  short  vacancy  ensued.  A  call  was  then  made 
on  Rev.  Edward  T.  Corwin,  of  Paramus,  N.  J.  This 
was  accepted,  and  he  was  installed  Dec.  29, 1863,  and 
is  the  present  pastor.* 

Aug.  11, 1866,  this  church  celebrated  its  centennial 

*  See  biographical  notice  at  close  of  this  township  history. 


anniversary.  A  vast  concourse  of  people  assembled. 
The  pastor  delivered  a  historical  discourse,  which 
was  shortly  after  published.  In  1878,  fifty  years 
having  passed  since  the  erection  of  the  present 
church  edifice,  the  congregation  celebrated  the  event 
as  a  jubilee. 

In  1870  a  revival  added  50  to  the  church  at  a  single 
communion.  In  1876,  72  were  added  at  one  time  on 
profession  of  their  faith.  In  all,  410  have  united  with 
the  church  under  the  present  pastor, — about  one- 
third  by  certificate.  More  than  1500  members  have 
been  connected  with  this  church  since  its  organiza- 
tion. It  now  reports  150  families  and  347  communi- 
cants.  About  200  children  are  in  the  Sabbath-schools. 

Clover  Sill. — This  church  was  organized  on  Sept. 
4,  1834,  on  which  occasion  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Bumstead, 
of  Manayunk,  Pa.,  preached  and  ordained  a  Consis- 
tory composed  of  Henry  Van  Derveer  and  Peter  0. 
Schenck  as  elders,  and  John  W.  Bellis  and  Jacob 
Nevius  as  deacons.  A  church  edifice  had  been  al- 
ready built,  and  was  dedicated  a  month  later,  Octo- 
ber 5th.  Rev.  Dr.  Cannon,  professor  in  the  seminary, 
preached  on  that  occasion. 

Rev.  Garret  C.  Schenck  was  called  as  the  first  pas- 
tor. He  settled  in  1835,  and  remained  only  two  years. 
He  was  born  at  Mattawan,  N.  J.,  Sept.  14,  1806,  was 
graduated  from  Rutgers  College  in  1828,  and  from 
the  New  Brunswick  Seminary  in  1832.  He  was  pre- 
viously settled  at  Walpack,  and  subsequently  at 
Pompton  Plains.  He  is  now  living  at  Marlboro',. 
N.J. 

Rev.  William  Demarest  succeeded  him  in  1838,  and 
remained  two  years.f  The  church  of  Clover  Hill 
now  became  Presbyterian,  and  continued  so  for 
twenty-two  years.t  In  1862  it  returned  to  the  Dutch 
denomination,  and  in  1863  called  Rev.  William  B.. 
Voorhees.  He  was  born  at  Readington,  N.  J.,  in 
1835,  was  graduated  at  Rutgers  College  in  1860,  andi 
from  the  New  Brunswick  Seminary  in  1863.  He  con- 
tinued pastor  at  Clover  Hill  till  1871,  when  he  ac- 
cepted a  call  at  Blawenburg.  He  was  succeeded  in 
1871,  by  Rev.  Matthew  N.  Oliver,  who  was  graduated, 
at  Union  College  in  1857,  and  from  the  New  Bruns- 
wick Seminary  in  1871,  and  is  the  present  pastor.. 
The  church  now  reports  75  families  and  148  members,, 
with  75  children  in  the  Sabbath-school. 

Branchville. — This  church  was  formed  out  of  fami- 
lies from  the  churches  of  Readington  and  Neshanic, 
with  a  few  from  those  in  Somerville.  It  grew  out  of 
the  necessity  of  public  worship  in  this  growing  vil- 
lage, and  was  organized  May  2,  1850,  by  a  committee 
from  the  Classis  of  Raritan,  consisting  of  Dr.  Mes- 
sier, Eev.  J.  E.  Campbell,  Rev.  Goyn  Talmage,  and 
G_.  J.  Van  Neste.  The  first  Consistory  were  John  Van 
Dyke,  Cornelius  Bergen,  Garret  Beekman,  and  Henry 
P.  Stryker,  elders,  and  Lucas  H.  Hoagland,  Gilbert. 


t  For  a  sketch  of  him  see  Ref.  Ch,  of  Bound  Brook. 
X  See  Presbyterian  churches. 


HILLSBOKOUGH. 


793 


S.   Amerman,  John  Vosseller,  and    Jolin  Veghte, 
deacons. 

Preparations  to  erect  a  suitable  house  of  worship 
were  immediately  begun,  and  the  corner-stone  was 
laid  amid  a  large  concourse  of  people.  Addresses 
were  delivered  by  Eev.  Messrs.  Chambers,  Campbell, 
Talmage,  and  Messier.  The  church  was  dedicated  in 
1850,  after  a  sermon  by  Eev.  Dr.  Messier,  and  on  the 
next  day  the  candidate,  Henry  Dater,  was  ordained 
and  installed  as  pastor.  He  remained  at  Branchville 
from  1850  to  1853,  when  he  removed  to  Hyde  Park, 
N.  Y.  He  was  succeeded  in  1854  by  Eev.  William 
Pitcher,  who  continued  for  twenty-five  years,  when 
he  resigned,  from  ill  health.  Rev.  William  E.  Davis 
was  then  called,  was  installed  at  Branchville  in  1880, 
and  is  the  present  pastor. 

There  is  also  a  small  Methodist  Church  at  Eock 
Mills  which  has  been  in  existence  for  nearly  forty 
years,  but  the  particulars  of  its  history  have  not  been 
obtained.  Near  by,  and  at  the  very  southwestern 
corner  of  the  township,  there  is  an  African  Methodist 
Church  which  has  existed  for  ten  or  fifteen  years. 

THE  MOUNTAIN  MISSION* 

is  an  enterprise  of  recent  origin,  having  for  its  ob- 
ject the  evangelization  of  the  districts  of  Sourland 
Mountain  hitherto  unreached  by  religious  organiza- 
tions. These  neglected  portions  were  more  or  less 
bordered  by  Eeformed  and  Presbyterian  Churches, 
which  felt  reproached  at  the  long-continued  destitu- 
tion prevailing  in  such  close  proximity  to  them. 
They  therefore  formed  an  association  for  the  support  of 
a  mountain  mission.  The  following  delegates  con- 
vened near  the  close  of  the  autumn  of  1876  in  the 
Reformed  church  of  Neshanic  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
summating the  association:  Rev.  George  S.  Mott, 
D.D.  (appointed  chairman)  and  Elder  S.  B.  Stothoflf, 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Flemington;  Rev. 
John  Gardner  and  Elder  D.  Stryker,  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Harlingen ;  Rev.  Charles  S.  Converse  and 
Elder  John  W.  Bellis,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Larison  Comers ;  Rev.  John  Hart  and  Elder  Peter 
P.  Dilts,  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Neshanic ;  Rev. 
W.  B.  Voorhees  and  Elder  P.  I.  Stryker,  from  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Blawenburg ;  Rev.  M.  N.  Oli- 
ver and  Elder  Levi  Reed,  from  the  Eeformed  Church 
of  Clover  Hill ;  Rev.  J.  S.  Beekman  (who  acted  as 
clerk)  and  Elder  Abram  J.  Prall,  from  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Reaville;  Elder  Burniston,  from  the 
Reformed  Church  of  South  Branch;  Eev.  John 
Smock,  from  the  Eeformed  Church  of  Eeadington ; 
Rev.  Herman  C.  Berg,  from  the  Eeformed  Church  of 
Rocky  Hill ;  Rev.  J.  H.  Hewit,  from  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Ringos. 

The  association,  thus  formed,  proceeded  at  once  to 
the  execution  of  its  mission.  A  chapel  was  erected  at 
a  suitable  place  on  the  mountain,  and  a  missionary  em- 


ployed to  conduct  religious  services,  organize  Sabbath- 
schools,  visit  families,  pray  with  the  sick,  bury  the 
dead,  and  labor  for  souls.  The  following  is  excerpted 
from  the  report  of  the  missionary  for  the  year  1879, 
made  to  the  association  at  their  annual  meeting : 

"  Kegular  religioua  services  have  been  held  in  chapel  tvrice  a  Sabbath 
during  the  year ;  attendance  good;  ten  have  been  received  into  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church  on  confession ;  baptized  sixteen,  of  whom  iive  vrere 
adults ;  have  officiated  at  three  funerals  and  six  marriages.  The  mem- 
bership of  the  church  is  34.  About  40  children  are  enrolled  in  the  Sab- 
bath-school, the  regular  attendance  of  which  is  about  30.  Two  of  the 
Sabbath-school  scholars  have  united  with  the  church;  the  remaining 
eight,  who  became  church-members,  were  heads  of  families.  In  family 
visitation,  am  well  received.  There  are  between  30  and  40  families  that 
make  the  chapel  their  religious  home.  There  are  about  200  families  on 
both  sides  of  the  mountain." 

The  following  churches  have  contributed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  mission  the  past  year :  the  Eeformed 
Churches  of  Neshanic,  Blawenburg,  Clover  Hill,  Sec- 
ond Somerville,  Millstone,  East  Millstone,  Harlingen, 
South  Branch,  and  the  Presbyterian  Churches  of  Ein- 
gos,  Larison,  Flemington,  Mount  Airy,  Lambertville, 
and  Eeaville.  Personal  contributions  have  also  been 
made  by  Paul  Tulane,  of  Princeton,  Hon.  F.  T: 
Frelinghuysen,  of  Newark,  Mr.  Caleb  S.  Green,  of 
Trenton,  Mr.  Harvey  Fisk,  of  New  York,  and  Mr. 
Henry  H.  Palmer,  of  New  Brunswick. 

The  missionary  in  the  employ  of  the  association  is 
Eev.  F.  A.  Farrow.  The  officers  are  Eev.  John  Gard- 
ner, President;  Eev.  M.  N.  Oliver,  Secretary;  John- 
B.  Hopewell,  Treasurer.  The  executive  committee 
consists  of  the  following  ministers :  Voorhees,  Con- 
:  verse.  Hart,  Oliver,  and  Dr.  Mott,  with  an  elder  from 
each  of  their  churches. 

Hillsborough  township  has  also  been  the  birth- 
place of  not  a  few  clergymen.  The  following  is  a 
list  of  them : 

John  M.  Van  Harlingen,  John  Van  Liew,  Isaac  N.  Wyckoff,  Heniy  V, 
WyckofF,  Garret  I.  Garretson,  Jacob  T.  B.  Beekman,  Peter.  J.  Quick,  John 
J.  Quick,  N.  Du  Bois  Williamson,  John  A.  Staata,  Paul  Duryea  Van  Cleef, 
Elbert  S.  Porter,  James  B,  Bernart,  George  J.  Van  Neste,  James  B.  Wil- 
son, Peter  Q.  Wilson,  Frederick  F.  Wilson,  John  Van  Neste  Schenck, 
John  Garretson,  Cornelius  P.,  DitmaTS,  Bergen  Broliaw  Staats,  Charles 
W.  Higgins.t 

CEMETERIES. 

Only  one  Indian  burial-ground  can  now  be  identi- 
fied in  Hillsborough.  It  is  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Earitan,  opposite  the  house  of  Hageman  Garretson. 
Almost  all  the  old  families  at  first  had  burial-plots  of 
their  own,  or  sometimes  several  would  combine,  as 
was  the  case  with  the  Harlingen  company  who  settled 
in  1710.  The  church  land  given  by  Peter  Sonmans, 
where  the  first  Harlingen  church  stood,  was  also  used 
as  a  cemetery,  and  is  probably  the  oldest  in  the  town- 
ship. It  is  just  on  the  border  of  Hillsborough,  near 
Van  Aken  Station,  on  the  Philadelphia  Eailroad.  A 
graveyard  exists  also  by  the  Millstone  church,  and  no 
doubt  began  to  be  used  with  the  building  of  the  first 
church,  in  1766.  The  oldest  stone  that  can  now  be 
found  dates  back  to  1774,  and  commemorates  a  Peter 


*  By  Eev.  M.  N.  Oliver,  of  Clover  Hill. 


f  For  farther  particulars  see  Corwin's  "  Manual,"  third  ed.,  1879. 


61 


T94 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Stryker,  who  died  Dec.  18,  1774,  in  the  seventieth 
year  of  his  age.  Several  of  the  Frelinghuysena  are 
buried  here,  but  there  is  a  Frelinghuysen  yard  about 
two  miles  north  of  Millstone,  near  Weston,  sur- 
rounded by  a  brick  wall.  Here  lie  the  remains  of 
Gen.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  who  died  in  1804. 
There  are  two  cemeteries  on  the  banks  of  the  Rari- 
tan,  near  the  beginning  of  the  South  Branch,  re- 
spectively on  the  places  of  Vredenberg  and  Strykur. 
A  graveyard  also  exists  on  the  Amwell  road,  a  little 
west  of  Flaggtown.  A  Staats  graveyard  exists  on  the 
farm  of  Peter  P.  Staats,  and  near  by  another,  belong- 
ing to  the  Ditmars  family,  on  the  farm  of  Pinter  S. 
Ditmars.  There  is  an  old  yard  near  Blaokwell's,  on 
the  farm  of  James  Henry  Hageman,  and  another  on 
the  farm  of  Peter  I.  Nevius,  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  township  ;  this  was  originally  started  by  Cor- 
nelius Cornell,  who  settled  there  in  1714.  A  single 
stone  of  a  former  yard  belonging  to  Brokaw  yet 
stands,  opposite  the  entrance  of  Isaac  V.  Brower's 
place,  which  these  Brokaws  formerly  owned.  Many 
other  private  yards  no  doubt  exist. 

The  articles  of  incorporation  of  the  "  Neshanic 
Cemetery  Association"  were  filed  in  the  county  clerk's 
office  April  28, 1880.  The  officers  for  1880  were :  Pres- 
ident, A.  A.  Cortelyou ;  Vice-PrcMidont,  Israel  H. 
Hill ;  Treasurer,  Gilbert  Lane ;  Secretary,  M.  W. 
Scully. 

SOCIETIES. 

The  only  institution  other  than  those  of  a  religious 
character  in  this  township  is  "The  Hillsborough 
Mutual  Fire  Assurance  Association,"  chartered  by 
the  Legislature  in  1844.  Its  first  corporators  were 
William  Blackwell,  Abr.  A.  Beekman,  John  M. 
Wyckoff,  Rynier  S.  Merrill,  Dennis  Van  Liew,  Jr., 
Lawrence  V.  D.  Davis,  Henry  Brokaw,  John  H. 
Wilson.  Supplementary  acts  have  been  passed  in 
1853,  1854,  1858,  and  1867. 

INDUSTRIES. 
Agriculture  is  the  principal  business  of  the  town- 
ship, which  contains  389  fVirms  and  no  incorporated 
towns.  Formerly  there  was  considerable  distilling 
carried  on,  but  now  very  little.  Nicholas  Du  Bois, 
Esq.,  had  a  still-house  near  Flaggtown  for  the 
making  of  cider  and  whisky.  It  was  there  in  1788, 
and  probably  before  the  Revolution,  and  was  taken 
down  about  1820.  A  Mr.  Everett  also  owned  a  still 
about  a  mile  west  of  Flaggtown,  built  about  1802; 
he  died  about  1820.  Abr.  Ditmars  also  owned  a  still 
in  the  same  vicinity;  it  was  built  about  1812,  and 
continued  till  about  1830.  Abr.  Spader  built  a  still 
about  1806,  near  the  union  of  the  North  and  South 
Branches  of  the  Raritan ;  it  was  taken  down  about 
1845.  A  Mr.  Diltz  has  a  still  in  Hillsborough,  near 
Posttown.  Nicholas  Bainbridge  had  a  still  at  Hills- 
borough (formerly  Cross-Roads);  it  was  built  about 
1820,  and  continued  some  forty  years.  Henry  Pow- 
elson  succeeded  him  on  the  place,  and  subsequently 


Abram  Davis.  There  was  formerly  a  still  at  Nesh- 
anic, owned  by  a  Mr.  Low.  There  was  also  a  still  at 
Branchville,  built  about  1850,  and  owned  by  a  Mr. 
Amerman,  in  which  whisky  was  made;  it  was  taken 
down  about  two  years  ago. 

One  of  the  first  floiiring-mills  in  Hillsborough  was 
on  Royce's  Brook,  near  Mr.  Gabriel's.  A  mill  was 
early  located  on  Peace  Brook,  a  little  west  of  the 
present  village  of  Millstone;  the  remains  of  the  dam 
are  yet  to  be  seen.  What  is  now  known  as  Black- 
well's  Mill  was  first  erected  in  1746,  probably  by 
Peter  Schenck,  who  died  Jan.  27,  1780.  Arc.tubald 
Mercer  was  the  next  proprietor,  from  1780-1806,  when 
the  mill  was  l)urned ;  subsequently  rebuilt,  and  owned 
by  an  uncle  of  William  Blackwell ;  the  nephew  soon 
became  the  proprietor.  He  held  it  until  1864,  when 
his  son  John  became  the  projirietor,  and  held  it 
until  1871.  A  Mr.  Van  Zandt,  of  Blawonburg,  llien 
bought  it,  and  a  few  years  later  John  Oakey,  who  is 
the  present  proprietor. 

In  the  western  parts  of  the  townHhip  mills  were 
erected  at  a  very  early  date.  Isaac  Van  Doren  (born 
1744)  owned  and  operated  one  on  the  Neshanic  River 
long  before  the  Revolution.  Joseph,  his  brother, 
operated  a  mill  on  the  South  Branch  at  an  early 
period,  and  there  was  also  one  located  at  what  is  now 
called  Neshanic  Station  perhaps  as  early  as  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century. 

Higgins  &  Brother  have  a  grist-mill  on  the  South 
Branch,  in  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  town- 
ship. Jacob  West  is  the  proprietor  of  a  grist-mill 
on  Neshanic  River,  near  the  Amwell  road;  this  was 
previously  owned  by  John  L.  Oakey.  Andrew  Lane 
is  proprietor  of  a  grist-mill  on  the  South  Branch,  at 
Neshanic  Station ;  this  was  formerly  known  as  Corle's 
mill.  There  is  also  a  grist-mill  at  Branchville,  and 
two  south  of  Millstone.  There  was  also  once  a  tan- 
nery at  Neshanic. 

In  1834  there  were  in  Hillsborough  township  nine 
stores,  one  tannery,  one  pottery,  one  flouring-mill,  six 
grist-mills,  one  oil-mill,  ten  schools,  with  266  scholars, 
and  a  population  of  2863.  It  now  (1881)  contains 
about  the  same  number  of  stores,  four  gfist-mills,  two 
saw-mills,  fourteen  schools,  with  941  children,  and  a 
population  of  8569. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


EDWARD  TANJORE  CORWIN,  D.D.* 
Rev.  Dr.  Corwin,  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Cliurch 
at  Millstone,  N.  J.,  was  born  in  New  York  City,  July 
12,  ]  834.  On  his  father's  side  he  is  descended  from 
the  Puritan  stock  of  Massachusetts;  on  his  mother's 
side  from  the  Dutch  and  French.  The  ancestor  of 
the  family,  Matthias  Corwin,  took  part  in  the  settling 
of  Ipswich  in  1630,  and  of  the  New  Haven  colony  in 

•  By  BoT.  J.  D.  Thompnon. 


E.  T.  CORWIN,  D.D. 


,( ^ 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


^95 


i 


1638.  He  subsequently  removed  with  that  part  of 
the  colony  which  located  at  Southold,  L.  I.,  where 
the  family  remained  almost  unbroken  for  a  century 
and  a  quarter,  until  scattered  by  the  Eevolutionary 
war.  Several  branches  of  it,  especially  those  who 
signed  the  petition  to  support  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, were  forced  or  found  it  expedient  to  leave  their 
homes.  They  crossed  Long  Island  Sound  to  Con- 
necticut, and,  passing  over  the  country  to  Fishkill 
and  Newburgh,  settled  in  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.  Here  a 
large  portion  of  them  have  remained  to  the  present 
time.  Almost  every  State  of  the  Union,  however, 
now  has  representatives  of  this  family.  (See  "  Cor- 
win  Genealogy,"  New  York,  1872.) 

James  Corwin,  one  of  those  who  fled  to  Orange 
County,  subsequently  sold  his  farm  on  Long  Island, 
taking  Continental  money  in  exchange,  and  lost  all. 
His  grandson,  Edward  C.  Corwin  (born  1807  at  Mid- 
dletown,  N.  Y.,  died  1856  in  Jersey  City,  N.  J.),  was 
the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

In  childhood.  Dr.  Corwin  attended  the  public 
schools  in  the  city  of  New  York,  which  were  then 
in  a  most  flourishing  state.  From  these  he  passed,  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  and  a  half  years  (1849),  into  the 
new  college  organized  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  now  known  as  the  College  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  and  was  graduated  in  1853,  with 
the  first  class  which  that  institution  sent  forth.  He 
then  entered  the  theological  seminary  of  the  Re- 
formed (Dutch)  Church  at  New  Brunswick,  and  was 
duly  graduated  and  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  in 
1856.  He  remained,  after  licensure,  one  year  longer 
in  New  Brunswick  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting 
further  the  study  of  the  Oriental  languages,  espe- 
cially Arabic.  Having  received  and  accepted  a  call 
to  the  church  of  Paramus,  N.  J.,  he  was  installed  as 
pastor  in  that  field  Sept.  22,  1857.  His  farewell  ser- 
mon there  was  delivered  Nov.  29,  1863,  having  re- 
ceived and  accepted  a  call  to  the  church  of  Millstone, 
N.  J.,  in  which  he  was  installed  December  29th  of  the 
same  year. 

Early  in  his  college  course  he  mastered  Pitman's 
system  of  phonography,  and  he  has  used  it  all  his 
life.  He  writes  and  reads  it  with  great  fluency.  This 
knowledge  has  enabled  him  greatly  to  abridge  the 
time  usually  occupied  by  clergymen  in  writing  ser- 
mons. It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  without  this  art 
he  could  not  have  collected  the  vast  amount  of  his- 
torical data  which  has  accumulated  in  his  hands,  and 
which  he  has  digested  and  given  in  his  different  works 
to  the  public.  For  seventeen  years  he  preached  from 
phonographic  manuscript.  Since  1873,  however,  he 
has  used  no  manuscript  whatever,  his  theory  being 
that  the  best  preparation  for  preaching  is  to  under- 
stand thoroughly  the  text  and  the  context.  While 
fond  of  history  and  antiquities,  his  favorite  pursuit 
has  been  the  exegetical  study  of  the  word  of  God. 
With  a  taste  for  language,  and  a  fair  knowlege  of  the 
Hebrew  and  of  the  New  Testament  Greek,  he  has 


gone  critically  and  carefully  through  many  books  of 
the  Bible,  embodying  the  results  of  his  studies  in 
elaborate  paraphrases.  These  studies  furnish  him  the 
chief  material  for  his  sermons,  which  are  expository 
and  scriptural,  and  eminently  instructive  rather  than 
showy  or  rhetorical. 

From  1869  for  ten  years  he  had  in  his  family,  or 
under  his  care,  several  of  the  Japanese  youth  sent  by 
their  government  to  this  country  to  learn  the  secret 
of  the  prosperity  of  Western  institutions.  These  are 
now  in  important  positions  in  their  native  land. 
Several  of  them,  sooner  or  later,  before  leaving 
America  became  professors  of  the  Christian  religion. 
He  was  married,  July  25, 1861,  to  Mary  Esther  Kipp, 
of  Geneva,  N.  Y.  Dr.  Corwin  is  recognized  as  the 
historiographer  of  the  Church.  For  his  publications 
see  "  Authors  of  Somerset  County,"  in  another  por- 
tion of  this  work. 


ABRAHAM   VAN   NUTS. 
Abraham  Van  Nuys,  of  Hillsborough  township,  is 
a  great-grandson  of  Isaac,  who  with  his  three  brothers 
left  Long  Island  to  seek  other  homes  and  carve  out 


fortunes  for  themselves.  One  brother,  John,  settled 
near  New  Brunswick,  Isaac  and  Jacobus  settled  in 
Hillsborough  township,  and  Cornelius  settled  in 
Princeton,  N.  J.  Isaac  located  his  farm  near  Mill- 
stone in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
there  reared  a  family  of  children,— viz..  Jacobus,  Cor- 
nelius, Isaac,  John,  and  Maria. 


t96 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


His  grandfather,  John,  born  in  1720,  married  Mar- 
tha Van  Arsdale,  who  bore  him  children  as  follows,— 
viz.,  Isaac,  John,  Jacobus,  Cornelius,  Jane,  wife  of 
Peter  Bergen,  Catherine,  wife  of  Bergen  Covert,  and 
Maria,  wife  of  William  Terhune.  The  grandfather 
died  at  the  beginning  of  the  Eevolutionary  war. 

His  father,  Jacobus,  born  on  April  16,  1753,  mar- 
ried Catherine,  daughter  of  Hiram  Ditmars,  who  bore 
him  children  as  follows :  John,  born  Nov.  30,  1781  ; 
Peter,  born  Dec.  20,  1785 ;  Abraham,  born  July  15, 
1791 ;  Cornelius,  born  May  23, 1793 ;  and  James,  born 
Aug.  29, 1799.  All  are  deceased  except  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Jacobus  Van  Nuys  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Eevolutionary  war. 

Abraham  Van  Nuys  spent  most  of  his  minority  on 
the  farm  of  his  father.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
he  went  with  his  brother  Peter  to  learn  shoemaking 
at  Flaggtown.  He  was  drafted  to  serve  in  the  war  of 
1812,  and  served  under  Capt.  Jacob  Ten  Eyck,  and 
was  most  of  the  time  of  his  five  months'  service  at 
Highlands,  off  Sandy  Hook,  Col.  Abrams  command- 
ing. 

He  married,  Feb.  9,  1815,  Mary,  daugiter  of  John 
and  Ann  (Voorhees)  Powelson.  She  was  born  April 
17,  1791,  and  bore  him  children  as  follows :  James, 
born  March  28,  1818,  a  farmer,  married,  Jan.  2,  1840, 
Eebecca  Maria,  daughter  of  Elias  Van  Fleet  (they 
have  one  son,  Abraham,  and  one  daughter,  Maria, 
wife  of  Charles  M.  Young) ;  Maria,  born  Jan.  13, 1822, 
wife  of  John  H.  Brokaw ;  Peter  Nevius,  born  July  5, 
1828,  married,  May  22,  1850,  Margaret  Ann,  daughter 
of  Isaac  Van  Cleef.  Eeturning  from  the  war,  "  Squire 
Van  Nuys,"  as  he  is  familiarly  known,  worked  at  his 
trade  until  about  1827,  when  he  purchased  fifty  acres 
of  land  where  his  son  Peter  now  resides,  to  which  he 
afterwards  added  thirty  acres,  and  here  he  resides,  in 
1880,  having  led  an  active  and  industrious  life,  and 
now  passing  into  his  ninetieth  year  of  age,  and  re- 
taining all  the  faculties  of  both  body  and  mind. 
He  was  an  active  man  in  the  old  State  militia,  and 
as  early  as  1822  raised  a  company  of  fifty  men,  whom 
he  commanded  as  captain.  He  was  connected  with 
military  organizations  for  a  period  of  thirty  years. 
His  first  vote  was  cast  for  President  Madison,  as  a 
Federalist,  and  he  has  since  been  an  unswerving 
member  of  the  "W^iig  a^nd  Eepublican  parties.  For 
twenty  years  he  has  officiated  as  justice  of  the  peace 
in  his  township,  and  a  noticeable  fact  in  this  connec- 
tion is  that  no  appeal  was  ever  made  from  his  decision. 
His  counsel  has  been,  regarded  by  his  townsmen  as 
safe  in  all  cases,  and  many  are  the  cases'  fhait'  caine 
before  him  while  acting  as  justice  that  were  settled 
through  his  advice  without  entering  upon  continued 
litigation.  He  was  freeholder  for  some  seven  years 
and  has  held  minor  offices,  always  acting  with  that 
integrity  which  characterized  him  in  his  own  business 
affairs.  He  has  been  a  promoter  of  all  worthy  local 
interests.  Since  1817  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Harlingen  Dutch  Eeformed  Church,  and  has  officiated 


as  deacon  and  elder.  His  wife,  a  zealous  and  devoted 
Christian  woman,  became  a  member  of  the  same 
church  at  the  same  time,  and  remained  constant  in 
her  profession  to  the  end  of  her  life.  She  died  Feb. 
20,  1868. 

The  Van  Nuys  family  are  of  Dutch  origin,  and  the 
progenitor  of  the  family  here  settled  on  Long  Island, 
from  Holland,  at  an  early  day. 


PETER  G.  QUICK. 
Peter  G.  Quick,  born  in  the  town  of  Hillsborough, 
Somerset  Co.,  N,  J.,  Sept.  15, 1788,  is  a  descendant  in 
the  third  generation  from  Joachim  Quick,  whose 
father  came  from  Long  Island  and  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  the  township,  where  many  members 
of  the  family  have  since  resided.  Peter  Q.  Quick's 
father  was  Garret,  second  son  of  Joachim  Quick,  and 
one  in  a  family  of  four  sons  and  one  daughter  men- 
tioned in  the  sketch  of  Peter  P.  Quick  found  in  this 
work.  Garret  Quick  was  born  Feb.  2,  1761,  and  mar- 
ried, for  his  first  wife,  Catherine,  daughter  of  Henry 
Stryker,  of  Montgomery  township.  She  was  born  Feb. 
3,  1764,  and  died  Oct.  7,  1807.  He  died  in  the  sixty- 
first  year  of  his  age.  There  children  were  Joachim, 
Henry,  Catherine,  Peter  G.,  Lucretia,  Garret,  Cath- 
erine second,  wife  of  Peter  Van  Nuys,  Garret  second, 
Joseph,  who  resides  in  Michigan;  Aletta,  wife  of 
Alexander  Brokaw ;  James,  who  resides  in  Michigan  ; 
and  Ann,  wife  of  Joseph  Stephens,  Michigan.  Six  of 
these  children  are  living,  the  youngest  being  over 
seventy  years  of  age. 

After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  Garret  Quick  was 
twice  married,  but  had  no  children  born  of  either 
union.  He  was  a  farmer  through  life,  was  patriotic, 
and  fought  as  a  soldier  under  Washington  at  the 
battle  of  Monmouth,  during  the  war  for  independ- 
ence, and  during  that  engagement  saw  three  horses 
shot  from  under  the  great  general  and  Father  of  our 
Country. 

Peter  G.  Quick,  now  in  the  ninety-second  year  of 
his  age,  is  able  at  this  writing  to  give  the  facts  and 
most  of  the  dates  for  this  sketch.  He  recollects  when 
at  the  age  of  six  years,  of  his  father  taking  him  to 
see  the  battle-field  of  Monmouth,  and  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  upon  the  death  of  Gen.  Washington,  in  com- 
mon with  all,  he  wore  crape  on  his  arm  for  thirty 
days. 

Five  years  after  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed 
whereby  Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  independ- 
ence of  the  United  States,  Peter  G.  Quick  was  born, 
on  the  old  homestead  of  his  forefathers.  He  has 
lived  to  watch  the  rapid  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
young  republic  ripen  into  a  vast  nation  of  thirty-nine 
States,  containing  a  population  of  fi%  millions  of 
people,  to  see  steam-power  utilized  in  rapid  transit 
on  both  sea  and  land,  and  the  thoughts  of  man  tra- 
verse with  lightning  speed  continent  and  ocean  alike. 
The  reaper,  the  mower,  the  revolving  rake  for  facil- 


B  -■«  tf? 


S^^  ^d^A^ 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


797" 


itating  the  labors  of  the  farmer,  the  knitting-,  sewing-, 
and  weaving-machines,  and  inventions  in  machinery 
numbered  by  the  hundreds,  have  all  found  a  place 
during  the  life  of  this  aged  patriarch,  which  reaches 
back  to  within  twelve  years  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence.    His  early  education  was  obtained  at 
the  Raritan  River  school,  where  he  attended  for  three 
summers  and  three  winters,  and  which  was  distant 
from  his  home  three  miles.    He  remained  at  home 
engaged  in  farm-work  until- he  was  twenty -seven  years 
of  age,  when,  in  1816,  he  purchased  a  farm  about  one 
mile  northwest  from  Millstone,  upon  which  he  resided 
until  1860,  and  then  retired  from  the  more  active 
duties  of  life.    His  first  vote  was  cast  for  the  fourth 
President  of  the  United  States,  as  a  member  of  the 
old  Federal  party..  He  has  followed  the  same  line  of 
politics  through  life,  and  has  been  an  unswerving 
supporter  of  the  Whig  and  subsequently  of  the  Re- 
publican party.   Mr.  Quick  has  led  a  quiet  and  unos- 
tentatious life,  and  never  sought  political  preferment, 
although  he  has  been   selected  to  hold  some  minor 
offices.     He  has  ever  been  known  as  a  man  of  good 
judgment,  fidelity  in   every  undertaking,   and  pos- 
sessed of  sterling  integrity.    He  was  often  selected 
as  a   guardian    and   administrator — was  for  twenty 
years  in  one  case,  and  twenty-seven  years  in  another 
case  administrator — of  estates,  and  for  twenty  years 
he  acted  as  guardian  over  his  brother's  children.    In 
the  performance  of  all  these  duties  his  integrity  and 
honor  remained  unimpeached. 

He  has  always  been  a  promoter  of  good  in  society, 
and  since  1810,  a  period  of  seventy  years,  he  has  been 
a  supporter  of  church  interests,  In  1866  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Mill- 
stone, and  remains  constant  in  his  profession.  His 
wife  was  Catherine,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Van  Nuys, 
of  Hillsborough  township,  whom  he  married  in  1809. 
She  was  born  in  1785,  and  died  in  1862.  She  was  a 
woman  of  purity  of  life,  as  shown  in  her  every-day 
work.  She  was  known  for  her  kind  heart  and  many 
acts  of  charity,  her  even  temperament  and  womanly 
virtues. 


12, 1848.  The  brothers  of  James- Auten  were  John, 
Thomas,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Peter.  The  three 
eldest  lived  to  be  old  men.  All  lived  in  Bridgewater 
township  except  Abraham,  who  resided  at  Richmond, 


DAVID   K.  AUTEN. 

David  K.  Auten  was  born  in  the  township  of 
Bridgewater,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Nov.  2,  1807. 

His  father,  James  Auten,  born  May  24,  1774,  mar- 
ried, March  14,  1801,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Squire 
David  Kelley.  He  was  a  wheelwright  and  farmer, 
and  resided  about  two  miles  north  of  Somerville,  on 
the  Pluckamin  road.  He  died  June  4, 1809,  leaving 
a  widow  and  children,— viz.,  Mary  Ann,  born  June 
30,  1802,  wife  of  James  Kelley,  first  of  Seneca  Co., 
N.  J.,  and  then  of  Wisconsin,  where  she  died ;  Aaron, 
born  Jan.  18, 1804,  of  North  Branch;  Elizabeth  Stry- 
ker,  born  Dec.  10,  1805,  wife  of  Joseph  Perrine,  of 
Bound  Brook  ;  and  David  K.  The  mother  of  these 
children  was  born  pet.  29,  1778,  and  died  March 


on  Staten  Island,  where  he  attained  prominence,  and 
was  sherifi"  or  deputy  for  some  thirty  years. 

David  K.  Auten,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  went  to 
learn  the  hatter's  trade  at  Somerville  with  Aaron  Van 
Natta,  where  he  remained  for  four  years.     He  was 
then  a  partner  of  Dennis  Tuniaon  in  the  business  at 
Farmersville,  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y.,  for  three  years,  and 
in  1826  returned  to  his  native  State  and  spent  some 
time  with  his  brother  Aaron,  a  wheelwright,  at  North 
Branch.     He  worked  at  that  business  for  three  years 
at  Branchville,  in  Hillsborough  township.     On  Sept. 
12,  1838,  he  married  Matilda,  daughter  of  William 
Burniston,  of  Hillsborougli.    She  died  Sept.  15,  1854, 
aged  thirty-five  years.     Their  children  were  Aaron, 
born  June  29,  1839;  Maria  Elizabeth,  died  young; 
Mary  Ann  Kelley,  born  Dec.  16, 1842,  wife  of  Jona- 
than Prall,  of  New  York  City;  Hannah  Rebecca, 
born  Dec.  10,  1844,  wife  of  Jacob  R.  Sutphin,  of 
Hillsborough ;  Sarah  Louisa,  born  Nov.  15, 1846,  wife 
of  John  B.  French,  of  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J. ;   James 
Franklin,  born  Jan.  9,  1849 ;   Eliza  Matilda,  bom 
April  16, 1851,  wife  of  Charles  Hamblin,  of  Hillsbor-- 
ough ;  and  Malvenah,  who  died  in  her  eleventh  year. 
His  second  wife  was  Emily,  seventh  daughter  of 
Enoch  and  Jane  (Covert)  Stewart,  of  Senfeca  Co.; 
N    Y    whom  he  married  Sept.  27,  1856.    She  was 


f 


% 


798 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


born  Dec.  9,  1817.  Her  parents  were  born  in  Som- 
erset County,  were  married  in  Seneca  Co.,  N.  Y., 
where  they  settled  in  1791  as  farmers,  and  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church.  She  died  at 
the  age  of  eighty-three.  He  died  in  Lodi,  Nov.  27, 
1865,  aged  ninety-seven  years  and  eight  months. 

Soon  after  his  marriage,  Mr.  Auten,  in  1840,  pur- 
chased a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  now  occupied  by  his 
son  James.  He  has  since  added  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres,  and  built  a  substantial  residence  in  1854. 
He  built  the  residence  where  he  now  resides,  adjoin- 
ing his  old  farm,  in  1873. 

Mr.  Auten  has  spent  a  life  of  industry  and  activity, 
wholly  devoted  to  business  pursuits.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Eepublican,  having  formerly  been  a  Whig.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Eeformed  Church  since 
1839,  and  has  officiated  as  elder,— first  at  Somerville 
and  subsequently  at  Earitan.  His  wife  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  same  church. 


Third  Eeformed  Church  at  Earitan.  In  his  early 
manhood  he  was  identified  with  the  old  Whig  party, 
and  is  now  a  Eepublican.  For  several  years  he  has 
only  voted  at  Presidential  elections.  Now  nearly 
eighty-six  years  of  age,  Mr.  Quick  remains  quite 
active  in  body,  and  is  able  to  dictate  nearly  all  of  the 
facts  for  this  sketch. 


PETER   PETERSON   QUICK. 

Peter  Peterson  Quick  is  the  grandson  of  Joachim 
Quick,  whose  father  came  from  Long  Island  and 
settled  in  Hillsborough  township  when  the  country 
was  a  wilderness.  Joachim  married  a  Miss  Schnid- 
aker,  who  bore  him  five  children, — viz.,  Peter,  Garret, 
James,  Abraham,  and  Maria. 

Peter  Quick,  son  of  Joachim,  was  born  Sept.  19, 
1758,  and  married,  Nov.  27,  1799,  Aletta,  daughter  of 
Peter  Peterson ;  she  was  born  Jan.  30,  1762.  He  was 
a  farmer  near  the  river  in  Hillsborough  township  for 
many  years,  and  in  the  year  1800  purchased  andTe* 
moved  to  the  place  now  owned  and  occupied  by  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Eevo- 
lutionary  war,  and  .was  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth 
and  in  the  skirmish  at  Springfield.  .Joachim  Quick 
also  served  in  that  war. 

Peter  Quick  died  Aug.  29,  1842.  His  wife  died 
May  6,  1838.  Their  children  were  Anna,  born  Sept. 
29,  1780;  Jacob,  born  Sept.  30,  1782;  Catharine, -born 
Dec.  9,  1788 ;  Nelly,  born  June  20,  1788 ;  Maria,  bom 
March  25,  1792 ;  Peter  P.,  born  June  27, 1795 ;  Aletta, 
born  May  24,  1799;  Jacob  (2d),  born  Feb.  9,  1805. 
Only  one  of  these  children,  besides  Peter  P.,  is  living, 
— viz.,  Aletta,  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Whitenack,  of 
Earitan.    Most  of  them  lived  to  advanced  ages. 

Peter  P.  Quick  received  a  common-school  educa- 
tion, and  in  early  life  became  inured  to  farm-work, 
early  "in  life  learning  those  valuable  lessons,  industry 
and  economy.  He  succeeded  his  father  on  the  farm, 
which  originally  contained  two  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  but  now  consists  of  one  hundred  and  fifty -five 
acres.  His  life  has  been  almost  wholly  devoted  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  he  has  been  successful  in 
the  acquisition  of  property.  He  has  ever  been  known 
as  a  man  of  good  mind,  and  moral  and  upright  in  his 
life.     For  many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 


JACOB    DILTS. 
Jacob  Dilts'  great-grandfather  emigrated  from  Ger- 
many, and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  township 
of  Kingwood,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J. 


His  grandfather,  Jacob,  married  Miss  Heath,  who 
died  in  1828,  aged  sixty-nine  years.  He  was  a  farmer 
through  life,  and  died  in  West  Amwell  township  in 
1828,  aged  seventy-two  years.  His  children  were 
John,  Paul  K.,  Henry,  Andrew,  Asher,  Eichard, 
Hiram,  Ann,  and  Mahaleh,  wife  of  George  Dilts,  who 
lives  at  Lambertville,  N.  J.  The  latter  is  the  only 
one  living,  except  Paul  K.,  who  was  born  April  8, 
1788,  married,  Feb.  28,  1811,  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Elisha  Sharp.  She  was  born  Feb.  18,  1798,  and  died 
Aug.  22,  1876.  Paul  K.  Dilts  is  living,  in  1880,  in 
East  Amwell  township,  and  in  comparatively  good 
health.  He  followed  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  in  early 
manhood,  subsequently  was  a  miller,  but  has  spent  the 
major  part  of  his  active  business  life  as  a  farmer.  He 
was  formerly  a  Whig,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Eepublican  party  since  its'  organization.  Both  he  and 
his  wife  were  members  of  the  Dutch  Eeformed  ChurcK 
at  Clover  Hill,  of  which  he  was  also  elder-  for  some 


B^fe 


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YVerab  'ffeiS' 


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^^^^^..^/^^^.-^  ^.^^^^.^^ 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


799 


time.  Their  children  are  Isaac  S.,  resides  at  Clover 
Hill  on  the  old  homestead;  Jacoh;  Elisha,  died  in 
Fairview,  111.;  Sarah  M.  (deceased),  wife  of  John  L. 
Bellows. 

Jacob,  son  of  Paul  K.  Dilts,  was  born  in  Amwell 
township,  Hunterdon  Co.,  Oct.  25,  1813.  He  re- 
mained at  home  on  the  farm  until  he  reached  his 
majority.  He  married,  Oct.  13,  1836,  Margaret  K., 
daughter  of  David  Bellis,  of  Amwell  township.  She 
was  born  Jan.  8, 1813,  and  died  June  8,  1859.  The 
children  of  this  union  are  Augustus ;  Sarah  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Peter  J.  Quick,  of  South  Branch  ;  Mary  Sut- 
phen,  wife  of  Talbot  C.  Gulick,  of  Readington ; 
Eleanor;  Charlotte  B.,  wife  of  Eichard  H.  Layton,  of 
Somerville.  For  his  second  wife  he  married,  Aug. 
26,  1862,  Catharine  M.,  daughter  of  Dennis  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Perrine)  Huff,  of  Hillsborough.  She  was  born 
Jan.  11, 1820. 

For  several  years  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Dilts 
rented  farms,  but  in  1848  he  purchased  the  farm  of 
eighty-six  acres  where  he  now  resides,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Hillsborough,  and  on  which  he  built  his  present 
residence,  and  nearly  all  other  buildings  on  the  place. 
Mr.  Dilts  has  led  an  industrious  and  active  life,  and 
unassisted  pecuniarily  has,  by  good  management  and 
economy,  secured  a  fair  competence.  He  is  a  man  of 
strict  integrity  and  correct  habits,  and  a  promoter  of 
all  worthy  enterprises.  He  cast  his  first  vote  for 
Gen.  Harrison,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Eepublican 
party,  but  no  seeker  after  place.  For  forty-one  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church,  first 
at  Somerville,  but  now  at  Earitan.  He  has  officiated 
both  as  deacon  and  elder. 


JOHN  VAN  DOKBN. 
The  great-grandfather  of  John  Van  Doren,  belong- 
ing to  one  of  the  old  Dutch  families  who  settled  New 
York  City,  came  firom  Long  Island,  and  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Franklin  township,  Somerset 
Co.  There  he  reared  a  family  of  fifteen  children, 
of  whom  one  son,  John,  purchased  and  settled  the 
farm  now  owned  and  occupied  by  our  subject,  near 
Millstone,  in  Hillsborough  township,  some  time  pre- 
vious to  the  Eevolutionary  war.  Here  he  erected  a 
house,  covered  it  with  shingle,  and  the  same  building 
is  in  1880  in  a  good  state  of  repair,  still  being  the  home 
residence  of  his  grandson.  In  this  house  Gen.  Wash- 
ington often  slept,  during  the  ever-memorable  strug- 
gle, as  he  was  passing  to  and  fro  through  New  Jersey. 
It  was  on  this  farm  that  the  Hessians,  after  clearing 
off  a  large  piece  of  woodland,  established  their  hos- 
pital for  wounded  and  sicS  soldiers.  His  wife  was 
Miss  Marretye  Lott,  who  at  one  time  during  the  war 
was  taken  a  prisoner  by  the  British  troops,  a  rope 
put  around  her  neck,  and  ordered  to  disclose  certain 
things  relative  to  the  enemy.  The  attempt  was  un- 
successftil,  and  she  was  released.  She  died  April  27, 
1855,  aged  seventy-seven  years.   The  children  of  John 


Van  Doren  were  Abraham,  Christianus,  John,  Corne- 
lius, Jacob  I.,  William,  and  Mrs.  Tunis  Hoagland. 

John  Van  Doren  was  a  farmer  through  life,  was  a 
supporter  of  all  worthy  enterprises  of  his  town  and 
county,  gave  the  ground  to  the  Dutch  Eeformed 
Church  where  their  church  edifice  now  stands  at 
Millstone,  and  died  in  1815,  aged  eighty-nine  years. 

Jacob  I.,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  onthehome- 
stead  Dec.  26,  1761,  succeeded  the  senior  Van  Doren 
on  the  old  homestead,  and  then  carried  on  agricultu- 
ral pursuits  during  his  life.  He  married  Mrs.  Hoag- 
land, formerly  Miss  Mattie  Ditmars,  of  Hillsborough, 
who  bore  him  one  son,  John,  and  one  daughter,  Maria, 
widow  of  the  late  Isaac  Dumont,  of  Branchburgh. 
His  wife  was  born  Nov.  10,  1767,  and  died  April  8, 
1852.  Jacob  Van  Doren  and  his  wife  lived  a  quiet 
life,  were  members  of  the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church  at 
Millstone,  and  were  interred  in  the  burial-place  near 
that  church,  where  his  parents  were  also  buried.  He 
was  a  firm  supporter  of  the  old  Whig  party  of  his 
day,  but  never  sought  or  held  office.  He  died  July 
27,  1828,  aged  sixty-six  years. 

One  brother,  John,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Eevolu- 
tionary war,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British,  and 
for  some  time  confined  in  New  York  City. 

John  Van  Doren,  the  subject  of 'this  narrative,  was 
born  on  the  homestead  Feb.  3,  1804.  He  received  a 
fair  common-school  education  while  young,  but  after 
reaching  the  age  of  twelve  years  was  kept  at  work  on 
the  farm  during  the  summer  months. 

In  January,  1829,  he  married  Charity,  daughter  of 
Eynier  and  Catharine  (Voorhees)  Staats,  of  Hills- 
borough township.  She  was  born  in  1807,  and  died  in 
1872.  Their  children  are  Eynier,  born  Oct.  15, 
1829,  who  resides  in  Franklin  township  ;  Jacob,  born 
February,  1831,  now  carrying  on  the  home  farm ;  and 
Catharine,  born  in  April,  1833,  wife  of  George  W. 
Metlar,  of  Earitan  Landing,  N.  J.  Mr.  Van  Doren 
is  known  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  correct  habits, 
and  sterling  principles.  His  life  has  been  spent  on 
the  farm  where  he  was  born,  which  originally  con; 
tained  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres,  but  now 
contains  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  acres.  He 
was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Whig  party,  but  upoi^ 
the  formation  of  the  Eepublican  party  became  a  sup- 
porter of  its  principles.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
freeholder  for  four  years.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  church  of  his  forefathers  since  about  1840,  and 
has  officiated  for  some  time  as  deacon  and  elder.  His 
wife  was  a  zealous,  devoted  Christian  woman,  and  for 
many  years  a  member  of  the  same  church. 


ISAAC  V.  D.  HALL. 

Isaac  V.  D.  Hall,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  (Van 
Doren)  Hall,  was  born  at  Neshanic,  Dec.  18,  1817. 

His  father  was  a  miller  by  occupation,  and  died 
near  Clinton,  aged  about  sixty-six  years. 

His  mother  was  a  relative  of  the  Van  Doren  family 


( 


800 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY, 


who  settled  near  Millstone,  N.  J.  The  other  children 
of  George  Hall  were  John  (deceased),  Magdalen,  who 
married  Edward  Losee,  and  William  G.,  who  resides 
at  Earitan. 


Isaac  V.  D.  Hall  received  only  a  common-school 
education.  He  went  to  learn  the  carpenter  and  join- 
er's trade  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  worked  at  this 
husiness  until  he  was  fifty-five  years  of  age.  He  mar- 
ried, in  March,  1855,  Ann,  daughter  of  Dominicus 
and  Aletta  (Whitenack)  Stryker.  She  was  bom  May 
9,  1824,  and  is  living  in  1880  on  the  place  purchased 
by  her  husband  in  1858.  Their  children  are  William 
Wesley,  born  Nov.  3,  1856,  died  Oct.  2,  1877,  and  one 
died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Hall  resided  for  three  years  at  Neshanic  Sta- 
tion before  purchasing  his  place  near  Flaggtown.  He 
was  a  man  of  correct  habits,  and  esteemed  by  all  who 
knew  him.  Both  he  and  his  wife  became  members  of 
the  church  at  Neshanic,  and  gave  liberally  of  their 
means  for  the  support  of  Christianity. 


PETER  W.  YOUNG. 


Peter  W.  Young,  son  of  William  P.  and  Lydia 
(Hagaman)  Young,  was  born  in  East  Amwell  town- 
ship, Hunterdon  -Co.,  Oct.  8,  1807.  His  great-grand- 
father, Peter,  was  a  native  of  Niewit,  Germany,  and 
the  progenitor  of  the  family  here.  He  purchased  and 
settled  one  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Amwell  town- 
ship. His  grandfather,  Peter,  born  in  Montgomery 
township,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  March  16,  1731,  marr 


ried  Mary,  daughter  of  Christopher  Snyder,  who  bore 
him  one  son,  Peter,  born  March  2,  1756,  and  one 
daughter,  Mary,  born  Aug.  20,  1757.  His  wife  died 
in  1758.  He  married,  in  February,  1759,  for  his  second 
wife,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Herbert  Hummer,  who 
bore  him  the  following  children  :  Ann,  born  Sept.  14, 
1764;  Herbert,  born  Aug.  14,  1766;  Jacob,  bom  Oct. 
12,  1768;  Elizabeth,  born  June  6,  1771;  Margaret  and 
Sarah,  bom  Jan.  12,  1774;  John,  bom  July  31,  1778; 
Elsie,  born  July  11, 1781 ;  William,  bom  Dec.  20, 1783. 
The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  1808.  Their 
father  died  in  1809.  He  settled  on  five  hundred  acres 
of  land  purchased  by  his  father,  and  built  a  residence, 
where  he  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
Upon  his  death  his  sons  William  and  John  purchased 
the  other  heirs'  interest  in  their  father's  estate  and 
settled  on  the  property.  William  sold  his  interest  in 
the  estate  in  1840,  and  settled  on  one  hundred  acres  of 
land  near  Neshanic,  where  he  followed  farming  until 
about  1853,  when  he  gave  up  the  active  duties  of  life, 
and  afterwards  resided  with  his  children  until  his 
death,  July  29,  1856.  His  wife  died  Feb.  7,  1845. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Ealph  and  Mary  Hagaman, 
who  were  married  Sept.  27,  1806.  Their  children 
were  Peter  W.,  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Catharine 
Maria,  born  Aug.  12, 1814,  wife  of  Henry  D.  Johnson, 
of  Blawenburg,  Montgomery  township. 

William  P.  Young  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  in 
all  the  relations  of  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Neshanic  for  many  years, 
and  for  some  time  officiated  as  deacon.  He  never 
sought  political  preferment,  although  he  was  a  firm 
adherent  of  the  old  Whig  party. 

Peter  W.  Young,  only  son  of  William  P.,  received 
a  limited  common-school  education,  but  so  improved 
the  opportunities  afforded  as  early  in  life  to  develop 
his  natural  business  ability.  He  resided  on  the  home 
farm  until  Nov.  27,  1829,  when  he  married  Penelope, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Ann  (Staats)  Herder,  of  Nesh- 
anic. She  was  born  Sept.  25, 1807.  Their  only  child, 
William  P.,  born  Oct.  12,  1837,  died  Sept.  24,  1851. 

After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Young,  in  1830,  settled  on 
the  farm,  of  three  hundred  acres,  where  he  has  since 
resided  and  carried  on  agricultural  pursuits.  He  ia 
one  of  the  largest  land-owners  in  Somerset  County,  and 
in  every  sense  of  the  term  a  representative  farmer, 
Mr.  Young  is  known  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity, 
energetic  in  business,  and  judicious  in  its  manage- 
ment. He  is  a  promoter  of  all  worthy  local  enter- 
prises, and  a  liberal  supporter  of  church  and  kindred 
interests.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Ee- 
formed  Church  at  Neshanic  in  1854,  and  has  continu- 
ously served  that  church  as  treasurer  since  1855.  Mr. 
Young  possesses  that  force  of  character  and  btisiness 
capacity  that  places  him  among  the  leading  financiers 
of  his  township.  He  has  kept  aloof  fi-om  place  in 
political  matters,  although  often  solicited  to  accept 
office.  Following  in  the  line  of  his  ancestors,  he  is  a 
staunch  supporter  of  the  Republican  party. 


•C/V^t^^' 


■}  i        .  ■  J I 


/^c/^'^/yX  y^m/^- 


^^^^^ 


Fredeeick  V.  L.  YoOEHEES  is  a  descendant 
of  Koert  Voorhees,  of  New  Utrecht  and  Graves- 
end,  L.  I.,  from  which  place  his  great-grand- 
father, Jacques,  came  and  settled  in  Franklin 
township,  Somerset  Co.,  where  John  Voorhees 
now  resides.     His  grandfather,  Jacques,  resided 
on  the  old  homestead.     Married  Dinah  Stryker, 
of  the  same  place,  who  bore  him  children, — viz., 
John,  Jacques,  Abram,  Cornelia,  wife  of  Dr. 
Pomeroy,  of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  Ellen,  wife  of 
Lewis   D.    Hardenbergh,  of  New  Brunswick. 
Only  Mrs.  Pomeroy  is  now  living.     His  wife 
died    May    10,   1831,   aged    sixty-three   years. 
Jacques,  father  of  our  subject,  born  March  27, 
1792,   on    the   old    homestead,    married   Ann, 
daughter   of  Frederick    Van   Liew   and    Ann 
Rappleyea,  of  Three-Mile  Run,  of  Franklin. 
She  was  born  March  15,  1795,  and  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years.     Their  children  were 
Jacques,  born  Oct.  18,  1815;  Matilda,  wife  of 
John  Demott,   born  Sept.  8,  1817;  Frederick 
Van  Liew,  born  March  22,  1820;  John,  born 
April  23, 1822;  and  Abram,  born  April  7, 1826, 
all  living.    The  father  was  a  farmer  through  life, 
a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Six- 
Mile  Run  (now  called  Franklin  Park),  and  died 
on  the  old  homestead  where  he  spent  his  life, 
Sept.  21,  1828. 

Frederick  V.  L.  Voorhees  spent  his  minority 
at  home  on  the  farm,  and  received  a  liberal  ed- 
ucation in  the  district  school  and  at  a  boarding- 


school  in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  It  was  during 
the  memorable  time  of  the  tornado  in  June,  1835, 
that  he  was  away  at  school  in  New  Brunswick. 
After  the  death  of  his  father  his  mother  carried 
on  the  farm,  and  in  this  way  kept  the  family 
together,  and  not  only  taught  her  children  the 
value  of  labor  and  economy,  but  gave  them  such 
an  education  as  she  could  afford.  Mr.  Voorhees 
married,  Aug.  20,  1845,  Eliza  T.,  the  eldest  in  a 
family  of  five  daughters  of  Abram  C.  and  Eliza 
(Houghton)  Beekman,  of  Hopewell,  N.  J.  She 
was  born  on  June  24,  1823.  Her  father  died 
Feb.  24,  1877,  at  New  Brunswick,  and  her 
mother  died  at  her  old  home,  Aug.  2,  J  864,  aged 
seventy-three  years.  Mr.  Voorhees  purchased 
a  farm  near  Blackwell's  Mills,  in  the  township 
of  Hillsborough,  containing  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  in  1844,  upon  which  he  has  since 
resided. 

He  has  not  been  active  in  politics,  yet  interested 
in  all  matters  in  any  way  adding  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  people  and  the  establishment  of  our  gov- 
ernment upon  a  firm  basis.  He  was  formerly 
identified  with  the  Whig  party,  and  naturally 
espoused  Republican  ideas  upon  the  formation 
of  that  party.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
construction  of  the  Millstone  Railroad,  running 
through  the  township  of  Franklin.  His  chil- 
dren are  Abram  B.,  Elizabeth  H.,  wife  of  Eugene 
Nevius,  of  Franklin,  Jacques  J.,  Ida  Van  Liew, 
Frederick  A.,  and  C.  Beekman. 


^^e^vL^ 


Zacheds  Behgen  (James.s  Evert,*  Hans  Joris^  (George), 
Joris  Hansen,^  Hans  Hansen^),  of  Hillsborough  township, 
Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  was  sixth  in  regular  line  of  descent  from 
Hans  Hansen  Bergen,  common  ancestor  of  the  Bergen  family  of 
Long  Island,  New  Jersey,  and  their  vicinity,  a  native  of  Bergen, 
in  Norway,  a  ship-carpenter  by  trade,  and  removed  from  thence 
to  Holland.  From  Holland  he  emigrated  in  1633  to  New  Amster- 
dam, now  New  York,  arriving  in  April  of  that  year,  with  Wou- 
ter  Van  Twiller,  the  second  director-general,  in  one  of  the  ves- 
sels of  the  fleet,  consisting  of  the  West  India  Company's  ships, 
the  "  Salt  Mountiin,"  of  twenty  guns,  commanded  by  Juriaen 
Blanck,  the  "Carvel,"  ''St.  Martyn,"  and  the  "Hope,"  which 
vessels  accompanied  the  "  Salt  Mountain"  in  her  voyage  from 
the  Fatherland. 

Hans  Hansen  Bergen  married,  in  1639,  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Joris  Jansen  Rapalie,  a  French  Huguenot  from  Rochelle,  who 
emigrated  in  1623,  in  the  ship  "  Unity."  She  was  born  on  June 
9,  1625,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  white  female  child  of 
European  parentage  born  in  the  colony  of  New  Netherlands. 
Of  their  children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  Joris  (George) 
was  fifth  child,  baptized  July  18,  1649,  in  New  Amsterdam, 
living  as  late  as  1736  ;  married,  Aug.  11,  1678,  Sara,  daughter 
of  Jan  Strycker,  of  Flatbush.  "  Capt.  Joris  Hansen  Ber- 
gen's" family  in  1693  consisted  of  "  one  man,  one  woman, 
eleven  children,  and  two  slaves."  In  the  same  year  and  in  1 702 
he  was  an  elder  in  the  church  in  Brooklyn.  In  1690  he  was 
elected  one  of  the  trustees  or  commissioners  of  common  lands, 
which  office  he  held  until  1702.  "In  1700  ho  was  a  member 
of  the  grand  jury  and  foreman  of  the  same,  and  the  same  year 
he  was  captain  of  the  foot  company  of  militia  of  Brookland." 
Hans  Joris,  son  of  Joris  Hansen,  baptized  Aug.  31,  1684,  in 
New  Utrecht,  died  in  1726;  married,  Aug.  16,  1711,  Sylje, 
daughter  of  Evert  Van  Wicklen,  of  New  Lots.  His  children 
were  George,  born  Oct.  9,  1712,  and  Evert,  born  in  1717,  died 
Nov.  17,  1776. 

Evert  Bergen  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Dennyse  Hegeman, 
of  Flatbush,  a  descendant  of  Adrian  Hegeman,  who  emigrated 
from  Amsterdam,  Holland,  in  1660.  In  his  younger  days  Evert 
Bergen  resided  in  New  Lots.  In  1737  he  purchased  and  set- 
tled a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  at  Royee- 
field,  Hillsborough  township,  and  also  a  farm  at  Whitehouse, 
nine  miles  from  Somorville.  He  brought  a  pear  tree  with  him 
from  Flatbush  to  New  Jersey  which  bore  fruit  until  1861,  oyer 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years,  when  it  was  blown  down  during 
a  violent  storm.  His  children  were  John,  born  Sept.  26,  1 746  j 
Jane,  baptized  Ajig.  5,  1750,  in  Somerville  Reformed  Dutch 
Church;  James,  born  Sept.  11,1765;  and  Evert,  born  in  1756. 
James  Bergen,  father  of  our  subject,  married.  May  20,  1779, 
Ann,  daughter  of  Zacheus  Van  Voorhees.  who  was  born  Feb. 
20,  1761,  and  died  Jan.  11,  1852,  in  her  ninety-first  year.  He 
inherited  from  his  father  and  occupied  the  homestead  farm  in 
Roycefield,  N.  J.,  to  which  he  added  by  purchase  two  hundred 
and  twenty  acres.  Dying  intestate,  his  land  was  equally  di- 
vided among  his  children.   He  died  Jan.  30, 1830.    His  brother 


Evert  was  a  soldier  in  the  American  army,  and  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  Monmouth  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

The  children  of  James  Bergen  were  Evert,  born  Oct.  30, 
1780;  Mary,  born  May  6,  17S6;  John,  born  Feb.  19,  1790; 
Zacheus,  born  Oct.  1,  1792;  Jane,  born  March  16, 1794,  died  in 
infancy;  Jane,  born  April  12,  1797;  and  James,  born  Aug. 
30,  L799.  Zacheus  Bergen  married,  Jan.  18, 1816,  Mary  Simon- 
son,  who  wiis  born  April  29, 1789,  and  died  Feb.  24, 1 880.  Their 
children  are  Joanna  Voorhees,  born  Sept.  4,  1817,  wife  of  Rev. 
J.  A.  Van  Dorcn,  of  Millstone;  Elizabeth,  born  Aug.  14,  1819, 
widow  of  the  late  Simon  S.  Van  Liew,  of  Somerville;  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  May  24,  1880,  he  was  sherifi'of  Somerset  County; 
Mary  S.  Staats,  born  May  5, 1822  ;  Gertrude,  born  June  19, 1826, 
wife  of  John  A.  Voorhees;  James  Z.,  born  Dec.  19,  1827. 

Zacheus  Bergen,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  resided  on  the  farm 
where  he  was  born.  His  portion  of  his  father's  estate  was  thirty 
acres  which  included  the  homestead,  to  which  he  added  by  pur- 
chase of  the  other  heirs  some  eighty-seven  acres.  Here,  like 
his  ancestors,  he  followed  agricultural  pursuits.  His  life  was 
one  of  activity,  energy,  and  perseverance,  uninterrupted  by  the 
bickerings  of  political  strife  or  seeking  after  place.  Of  a  natu- 
rally robust  frame,  and  possessed  of  a  strong  constitution,  he 
retained  in  the  later  years  of  his  life  to  a  remarkable  degree 
the  vigor  of  both  body  and  mind  which  characterized  his  earlier 
years.  He  was  afflicted  for  about  seventy  years  with  deafness, 
and  was  unable  to  engage  in  conversation  save  by  the  use  of 
writing.  Notwithstanding  this  difficulty,  Mr.  Bergen  never 
relaxed  his  desire  for  reading,  and  was  always  interested  in 
and  conversant  with  the  current  political  topics  of  the  day,  and 
especially  well  read  in  Scripture  history.  He  was  positive  and 
decided  in  his  opinions,  and  possessed  force  of  character  and 
integrity  of  purpose  in  all  his  undertakings.  Following  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  ancestry,  he  was  interested  in  all  worthy  local 
enterprises,  and  performed  his  part  well,  and  was  ever  foremost 
in  the  establishment  and  propagation  of  school  and  church 
interests.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
of  Somerville  nearly  his  whole  life,  and  officiated  as  deacon  and 
elder.  His  wife  was  also  a  member  of  this  church,  a  devoted 
wife,  and  a  kind  Christian  woman.  This  old  family,  of  which 
Mr.  Bergen  was  the  oldest  living  representative  in  1880  in 
Somerset  County,  dating  back  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  prior  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  became  mem- 
bers of  the  Federal  party  upon  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
struggle,  and  have  kept  their  principles  inviolable  through  the 
subsequent  Whig  and  Republican  parties,  never  seeking  place 
or  political  preferment,  but  ever  patriotic  and  true  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  republic. 

Mr.  Bergen  built  his  residence  in  1851,  which,  with  its  sur- 
roundings, presented  a  striking  contrast  with  the  wilderness 
home  and  the  log  cabin  of  his  grandfather,  the  first  settler  of 
the  family  here,  showing  industry,  judicious  management,  and 
thrift  through  a  period  of  nearly  a  century  and  a  half. 

Mr.  Bergen  died  Nov.  14,  1880,  aged  eighty-eight  years,  one 
month,  and  fourteen  days. 


* 


Henry  Vak  Aksdale,  grandfather  of  Peter  0.,  was 
born  in  Hillsborough  township,  resided  near  Somerville, 
and  sold  his  property  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  tak- 
ing his  pay  in  Continental  money,  which  becoming  value- 
less reduced  him  to  poverty.  He  was  a  soldier  in  that  war, 
and  belonged  to  the  old  Federalist  party.  He  died  about 
1817,  aged  eighty-eight.  His  wife,  Sarah  Dumont,  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  His  father,  Christopher,  born 
April  20,  1760,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Peter  A. 
Dumont,  of  Hillsborough.  She  was  bora  March  24, 
1764,  and  died  in  1844.  He  was  an  officer  and  served 
some  three  years  in  the  Kevolutionary  war;  was  in  the 
battle  of  "Weston,  and  after  the  close  of  the  war  received 
a  pension.  He  was  a  linen-weaver  by  trade,  but  followed 
farming  in  Hillsborough  during  the  latter  part  of  his 
life.  He  was  a  member  of  and  officiated  as  deacon 
and  elder  in  the  Somerville  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 
He  died  in  1840.  Their  children  were  Sarah  (deceased), 
wife  of  James  I.  Voorhees  ;  Henry  (deceased) ;  Peter  0.  ; 
Ann  (deceased),  wife  of  John  Opie  ;  Catherine,  wife  of 
Jacob  Quick ;  Aletta,  wife  of  James  Ross,  residing  in 
Jerseyville,  Ills. 

Peter  C.  Van  Arsdale  was  born  Nov.  4,  1794.  He 
learned  weaving  with  his  father,  and  followed  it,  in 
connection  with  farming,  until  1878.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  went  into  the  busy  world  for  himself,  and 
began  life  by  working  at  his  trade  most  of  the  year,  only 
working  on  the  farm  during  the  busy  season.  In  1817 
he  settled  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides,  containing 
fifty-four  acres,  which  was  a  part  of  his  father-in-law's 
old  homestead.      Until   1871  he  did  most  of  his  own 


work  and  carried  on  his  own  farm.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  North  Branch 
since  1854.  In  politics  he  was  originally  a  Whig,  and 
is  now  a  Republican.  His  brother  Henry  was  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  1812,  and  served  at  Sandy  Hook. 

His  first  wife  was  Maria,  daughter  of  Tunis  Van 
Millsworth,  of  Hillsborough,  whom  ho  married  Dec. 
30,  1815,  and  who  bore  him  children  as  follows:  Re- 
becca, wife  of  Abraham  Burnhart ;  Henry;  Sarah, 
wife  of  Tunis  Deatsj  Jane,  wife  of  J.  Brown,  deceased, 
but  present  wife  of  James  Longstreetj  and  Tunis.  She 
was  born  Dec.  5,  1798,  and  died  Nov.  1,  1827.  His 
second  wife  was  Nancy,  daughter  of  James  Opie,  whom 
he  married  Oct.  15,  1828.  She  was  born  Jan.  23,  1792, 
and  died  in  1846,  leaving  children, — Catherine  Maria, 
wife  of  Henry  Brokaw ;  Wilhelmina,  wife  of  John 
Carcuff ;  Aletta  Ann,  wife  of  Isaac  S.  Lewis ;  Eliza- 
beth, widow  of  the  late  Abraham  Q.  CoVert ;  and  Chris- 
topher. 

Mr.  Van  Arsdale  is  now  nearly  eighty-six  years  of 
age,  and  is  able  from  memory  alone  to  dictate  the  facts 
for  this  sketch.  He  has  lived  to  vyatch  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  his  offspring,  and  has  at  this  writing 
eleven  children,  forty-eight  grandchildren,  and  thirteen 
great-grandchildren.  He  is  a  man  of  strong  constitution 
and  rugged  frame,  and  in  his  advanced  age  enjoys  in 
a  remarkable  degree  the  vigor  of  younger  manhood ; 
being  a  man  of  plain  habits  and  unostentatious  ways, 
he  has  lived  a  quiet  and  worthy  life,  and  will  leave  to 
his  offspring  the  rich  legacy  of  a  pure  and  noble  ex- 
ample. 


^(Tfj^l) 


-^jLe//i6 


Benaiah  Everett,  father  of  John,  was  born 
April  23,  1786,  died  Nov.  29,  1863.  Married 
Ann,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Ann  (Peterson) 
Van  Arsdale,  born  Oct.  3,  1786,  died  Nov. 
29,  1863.  The  children  of  this  union  were 
Sarah  Ann,  born  Sept.  2,  1814  (wife  of  John 
Van  der  Veer);  John,  born  May  11,  1818;  and 
Philip  Van  Arsdale.  Benaiah  Everett  was  a 
farmer,  and  lived  a  quiet  and  unostentatious  life. 
He  was  a  Democrat,  but  took  no  very  active  part 
in  politics.  He  was  a  man  of  correct  habits, 
perseverance,  and  resolution. 

His  grandfather,  Nicholas  Everett,  also  lived 
atNeshanic,  and  died  about  1822,  at  an  advanced 
age.  His  children  were  Ezekiel,  John,  Eliza 
(who  married  Peter  Ditmars,  and  resided  in 
New  York  State),  and  Benaiah. 

John  Everett,  eldest  son  of  Benaiah,  received 
limited  opportunities  for  obtaining  an  education 
from  books,  and  without  pecuniary  assistance  in 
early  manhood  has  worked  his  own  way  to  his 
present  position  of  opulence.  For  several  years 
after  reaching  his  majority  he  served  with  his 
father  for  wages.  On  Feb.  13, 1845,  he  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Albert  P.  and  Helena 
(Longstreet)  Voorhees,  of  Hillsborough  town- 


ship. She  was  born  Sept.  14,  1822,  is  one  of 
fourteen  children, — nine  girls,  five  boys, — and 
a  sister  of  Peter  A.  Voorhees,  of  Franklin  town- 
ship, whose  ancestry  is  traced  to  the  progenitor 
of  the  family  in  this  country.  The  children  of 
this  union  are  Beftaiah,  Julia,  Albert  Voorhees, 
Anna  (wife  of  Augustus  Higgins),  Matilda  Van 
Nuys  (wife  of  John  Opie),  and  Mary  Emma 
(wife  of  Isaac  Stryker). 

Mr.  Everett  resided  near  Neshanic  for  some 
eighteen  years  following  his  marriage,  and  then 
settled  on  the  old  Voorhees  homestead  where 
his  wife  was  born.  This  property  he  purchased 
in  1863,  containing  two  hundred  and  one  acres, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  and  best  im- 
proved farms  in  Somerset  County.  Mr.  Everett 
is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  gives 
little  attention  to  politics.  He  is  ranked  among 
the  substantial  agriculturists  of  his  township, 
and  by  economy  and  judicious  management  has 
accumulated  a  fine  property. 

The  Everett?  are  of  English  descent,  and  the 
Van  Arsdales  of  Dutch  origin,  and  his  grand- 
father, Nicholas  Everett,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  first  settler  of  the  family  in  Somerset 
County. 


CycTT'c:^.  ,     /^C^<<^0-^^J 


Heemantjs,  great-grandfather  of  the  above, 
— supposed  to  be  the  first  settler  of  this  branch 
of  the  family  in  Hillsborough, — was  born  Feb. 
18,  1681,  and  married  Adreat  Stotehuff,  who 
was  born  Jan.  11,  1688,  and  died  Aug.  18, 
1761.  He  died  Nov.  8,  1771,  leaving  the 
following  children :  Hermanns,  born  Jan.  1, 
1725;  Stinche  V.,  born  Dec.  22,  1734;  and 
Lucas,  born  April  24,  1753. 

Lucas,  grandfather  of  our  subject,  died  May 
22,  1821.  Married  Mary  Bunn,  who  was  born 
March  15,  1755,  and  died  Aug.  14,  1835.  He 
owned  some  two  hundred  acres  of  land  where 
Abraham  L.  now  resides,  and  also  two  hundred 
acres  in  the  township  of  Branchburg.  Lucas 
L.,  next  to  the  youngest  child  of  Lucas  and 
Mary  Hoagland,  was  born  March  22,  1792,  and 
died  Feb.  17,  1846.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
Peterson,  whom  he  married  April  11,  1816. 
The  children  of  this  union  are  Elizabeth,  wife 
of  John  Dayley,  born  March  5,  1821 ;  Mary, 
wife   of  Gershom   Hall,  born   Feb.   8,  1823; 


Peter  P.,  died  young;  and  Abraham  L.,  born 
March  20,  1827. 

Abraham  L.  Hoagland  resides  on  the  old 
homestead,  and  is  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He 
received  a  liberal  education  during  his  minority, 
and  is  well  read  in  the  current  topics  of  the  day. 
Following  in  the  same  line  of  politics  as  his  an- 
cestors, he  is  a  Republican,  but  not  a  seeker 
after  place.  Three  generations  of  this  family 
have  been  connected  with  the  same  Church  of 
which  he  is  a  member,  and  of  which  he  has 
been  deacon,  and' is  at  present  acting  elder.  He 
is  a  man  free  from  ostentation,  preferring  the 
quiet  avocation  of  the  agriculturist  to  the 
bickerings  of  politics,  yet  he  is  unswerving  in 
his  political  predilections,  and  interested  in  all 
measures  that  in  any  way  affect  the  prosperity 
of  the  people.  He  married,  Dec.  14,  1854, 
Sarah  Maria,  daughter  of  Henry  H.  and  Mag- 
dalen (Staats)  Brokaw.  She  was  born  June 
26,  1832.  Their  only  son  and  child  is  Peter 
A.,  who  was  born  Nov.  26, 1855. 


HILLSBOROUGH. 


801 


ANDREW  LANE. 
Cornelius  C.  Lane,  grandfather  of  Andrew,  married 
Judith  Van  Fleet,  who  bore  him  the  following  chil- 
dren :  Gilbert,  Andrew,  John  C,  Cornelius  C,  Mrs. 
Stephen  Ten  Eyck,  Mrs.  Jacob  Van  Doren,  Betsey, 
wife  of  John  Brokaw.  He  was  by  trade  a  blacksmith' 
and  carried  on  that  business  at  Readington,  where 
also  he  was  a  farmer. 


^yi^ 


John  C.  Lane,  father  of  our  subject,  born  in  1807, 
married,  in  1828,  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Hageman,  of  Readington.  She  was  born  in  1806. 
He  has  followed  agricultural  pursuits  during  his  life 
in  his  native  township,  and  has  ever  been  interested 
in  all  worthy  local  objects.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Dutch  Eeformed  Church,  and  has  served  as  deacon 
and  elder.  In'  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  his 
father  was  a  member  of  the  old  Whig  party.  His 
children  are  Cornelius,  born  in  1829,  died  in  1868 ; 
Andrew ;  Martha  Ann,  wife  of  Stephen  Weaver,  of 
South  Branch  ;  John  (deceased) ;  Sarah  Jane ;  Mary 
Elizabeth,  widow  of  the  late  Levi  Fleming ;  James, 
Phebe,  and  Gilbert. 

Andrew,  eldest  living  son  of  John  C.  Lane,  was 
bom  in  Readington,  Dec.  5,  1831.  His  boyhood  was 
spent  on  his  father's  farm.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  began  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  started  business  for  himself,  and 
during  the  following  five  years  built  some  of  the  most 
substantial  residences  in  Readington.  He  followed 
farming  for  seven  years,  and  in  1864  purchased  a  farm 
in  Clinton  township,  which  he  carried  on  for  five  years, 
when  he  came  to  Neshanic  (1870),  where  he  purchased 


the  mill  property  and  store.  Here  he  has  resided 
since,  and  has  been  engaged  in  carrying  on  a  gen- 
eral merchandise  business,  flouring-mill,  saw-mill, 
plaster-  and  phosphate-mill.  Mr.  Lane  received  no 
pecuniary  assistance  in  starting  out  in  life  for  himself, 
but  by  economy,  enterprise,  and  judicious  manage- 
ment he  has  secured  a  fine  property.  He  is  safely- 
classed  among  the  most  active  and  thrifty  business 
men  of  his  township  and  Somerset  County.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  never  been  a  seeker 
after  place.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Eeformed  Church 
at  Neshanic.  He  married,  Feb.  17, 1858,  Margarette, 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Hoffman)  Wyckofi; 
of  Lebanon,  N.  J.,  who  was  born  March  8,  1840. 
Their  children  are  Martin  W-,  Mary  Ann,  and  Lizzie. 


PETER  Q.  HOAGLAND. 

Peter  Q.  Hoagland,  son  of  John  A.  and  Jane 
(Voorhees)  Hoagland,  was  bom  in  the  township  of 
Readington,  Oct.  20, 1826.  The  Hoaglands  were  early 
settlers  on  the  farm  where  Peter  Q.  now  resides,  the 
land  being  owned  by  his  great-grandfather,  which — 
being  inherited  by  his  sons,  Peter  receiving  seventy- 
seven  acres,  and  Albert,  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
and  brother  of  Peter,  sixty-six  acres — ^has  remained  in 
the  family  since  its  first  purchase,  and  is  now  owned 
by  Peter  Q.  Hoagland.  His  grandfather,  Albert, 
mtoied  Mary  A.  Kingland,  who  was  bom  Sept.  18, 
1762,  and  died  on  the  homestead  in  March,  1852. 

Albert  Hoagland  was  born  Oct.  7,  1762,  and  died 
March  24,  1822.  After  his  death,  Mrs.  Hoagland 
carried  on  the  farm  and  kept  possession  of  it  during 
the  remainder  of  her  life,  when  it  was  purchased  by 
its  present  occupant,  and  now  contains  one  hundred 
and  eighty  acres.  John  A.  Hoagland,  father  of  Peter 
Q.,  was  born  Feb.  18,  1793,  married  Feb.  20,  1820, 
and  died  April  3, 1868.  His  first  wife,  Jane  Voorhees, 
born  Aug.  27,  1800,  died  July  22,  1837,  leaving  chil- 
dren,— viz.,  Catherine,  bom  April  23, 1821,  died  at  the 
age  of  thirteen;  Peter  Quick;  Sarah,  born  Aug.  11, 
1831,  wife  of  Henry  0.  Van  Doren ;  Jane,  born  April 
22,  1834,  wife  of  Lawrence-  Johnson.  His  second  wife 
was  Catherine  Miner,  whom  he  married  Nov.  14, 1839. 
She  died  Aug.  15,  1846. 

John  A.  Hoagland  began  life  as  a  farmer  at  Rocky 
Hill,  and  subsequently  followed  that  occupation  on 
the  old  homestead.  He  was  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
served  at  Sandy  Hook.  He  was  also  connected  for 
many  years  with  the  old  State  militia.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Whig  party,  and  afterwards  of  the 
Republican  party.  For  many  years  both  he  and  his 
wife  were  members  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at 
Neshanic.  He  was  industrious,  energetic,  and  judi- 
cious in  his  business  afiairs,  a  man  of  exemplary  habits, 
and  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Peter  Q.  Hoagland  received  only  the  advantages  of 
the  common  school  for  any  education.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  he  began'to  learn'the"carpenter's  trade,  which 


802. 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


business  he  followed  for  thirty  years.  He  married, 
Dec.  25,  1850,  Rachel  Ann,  daughter  of  George  and 
Gertrude  (Stryker)  Corwin,  of  Hillsborough.  She  was 
born  Dec.  25, 1832.  Their  children  are  John  B.,  Ger- 
trude Stryker,  Ann  Elizabeth,  Peter,  and  George  Cor- 
win. Upon  his  marriage  he  settled  in  Franklin 
township,  where  he  remained  only  two  years,  and  pur- 
chased the  old  homestead,  upon  which  he  has  since 
resided.  He  built  his  present  elegant  and  commodi- 
ous farm  residence  himself  in  1868,  and  the  improve- 
ments about  his  premises  indicate  the  management  of 
a  careful  and  intelligent  farmer.  Two  railroads  cross 
his  farm, — South  Branch  and  the  Eastern  and  Amboy 
Railroads.  He  worked  at  his  trade  more  or  less 
until  1878,  since  when  he  has  given  his  time  exclu- 
sively to  his  farm.  Mr.  Hoagland  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  follows  the  same  line  as  his  ancestors 
before  him.  He  has  been  little  connected  with  public 
office,  and  has  only  served  in  a  public  capacity  as 
commissioner  of  appeal  and  as  surveyor  of  the  Hills- 
borough Fire  Insurance  Company. 

Mr.  Hoagland  is  a  liberal  supporter  of  church  and 
school  interests,  and  a  promoter  of  all  worthy  local 
enterprises.    His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  church. 


business  for  himself  his  short  life  was  spent  as  a 
farmer  in  his  native  township.  In  1874,  finding  his 
health  failing,  he  visited  South  Carolina,  where  he 


ABRAHAM  VAN  DOEEN"  STAATS. 
Abraham  Van  Doren  Staats,  son  of  John  P.  and 
Joanna  M.  (Van  Doren)  Staats,  was  born  at  Millstone, 
N.  J.,  July  4,  1836.  He  received  a  good  common- 
school  education,  and  through  life  was  fond  of  read- 
ing and  study.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  united  with 
the  Reformed  Church  at  Millstone,  and  subsequently 
officiated  as  deacon.  He  was  a  young  man  of  correct 
habits,  and  in  all  the  relations  of  life  fulfilled  the  full 
duties  of  the  citizen.  He  was  decided  and  positive 
in  his  opinions,  and  possessed  force  and  energy  to 
accomplish  whatever  he  undertook.     After  he  began 


^.K  /-P~  vfez::?^ 


spent  the  winter,  and  returned  apparently  invigo- 
rated, but  his  disease  relaxed  only  to  obtain  a  surer 
footing,  and  he  died  May  22, 1875.  His  wife,  Matilda, 
is  a  daughter  of  Rynier  S.  and  Jane  (Wilson)  Merrell, 
of  Hillsborough  township.  She  was  born  April  20, 
1838,  and  has  three  children, — Maria  Louisa,  William, 
and  John  P. 


F  K  A  N"  K  L  I  N; 


GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 
This  town  forms  the  southeast  corner  of  Somerset 
County.  It  is  of  a  triangular  shape,  and  is  hounded 
as  follows:  Northeast  by  the  Raritan  River,  which 
separates  it  irom  the  town  of  Piscataway,  in  Middlesex 
County,  and  One  Mile  Run,  which  separates  it  from 
the  city  of  New  Brunswick;  southeast  by  North 
Brunswick  and  South  Brunswick  townships,  both 
in  Middlesex  County;  west  by  the  Millstone  River, 


►  By  Kev.  E.  T.  Corwin,  D,D. 


which  separates  it  from  the  townships  of  Hillsborough 
and  Montgomery.  On  the  northwest  the  Raritan 
washes  the  township  for  about  two  miles,  separating  it 
from  Bridgewater,  and  the  southwestern  corner  of  the 
township  is  also  separated  by  Millstone  River  from 
Princeton  township,  in  Mercer  County.  The  town- 
ship contains  322  farms,  and  its  superficial  area  is 
31,610  acres,  or  49.39  square  miles.  Its  population, 
as  given  in  the  census  of  1880,  is  3819. 

The  surface  is  level  or  gently  undulating,  except 
where  Ten-Mile  Run  Mountain  reaches  an  elevation 


FRANKLIN. 


803 


of  355  feet  and  stretches  across  the  southern  point  of 
the  township,  which  is  here  about  three  miles  wide. 

The  streams  lying  wholly  in  its  limits  are  all  small. 
The  northeastern  part  is  drained  by  a  series  of  gullies 
running  northeast  towards  the  Earitan.  The  other 
streams  of  the  township,  which  are  quite  numerous, 
flow  westerly  into  the  Millstone  Eiver.  Of  these, 
Six-Mile  Eun  is  the  chief;  it  is  fed  by  numerous 
rivulets  between  Voorhees  Station  and  Franklin 
Park.  Ten-Mile  Run  rises  in  the  mountain  of  that 
name,  and  by  a  northeasterly  course  of  two  miles,  and  a 
northwesterly  course  of  three,  falls  into  the  Millstone 
below  Griggstown.  The  Millstone  washes  the  western 
border  of  this  town  for  about  fifteen  miles  by  the  course 
of  the  river.  Its  sources  are  in  Millstone  township, 
Monmouth  Co.,  and  its  length  is  about  thirty-five 
miles. 

LAND   TITLES   AND   SETTLEMENTS. 

Of  the  twenty-four  proprietors,  Eobert  West, 
Thomas  Willox,*  and  Edward  Byllinge  had  dividends 
of  land  set  off  to  them  in  the  bounds  of  the  present 
township  of  Franklin.  It  was  under  these  that  this 
town  began  to  be  settled.  The  southwestern  part  was 
thrown  into  West  Jersey  by  Lawrence's  line  of  1743. 
Some  of  the  early  titles  are  therefore  to  be  sought  at 
Burlington,  as  well  as  at  Amboy,  New  Brunswick, 
and  Somerville.  The  year  before  the  proprietors  be- 
gan to  operate,  John  Inians  &  Co.  purchased  of  the 
Indians,  for  the  benefit  of  Lady  Elizabeth  Carteret, 
"  the  present  lady-proprietrix  of  the  province,"  a  tract 
of  land  called  Ahanderhamock  by  the  Indians.  It 
lay  upon  the  south  side  of  the  Earitan,  and  extended 
from  Bound  Brook  to  Lawrence's  Brook,  and  took  in 
about  one-third  of  Franklin  -township. 

Nov.  10,  1681,  John  Inians,t  one  of  this  company, 
and  a  merchant  of  New  York,  purchased  a  portion 
of  this  tract  containing  1280  acres,  bounded  on  the 
northeast  by  the  Earitan  Eiver,  on  the  west  by  An- 
drew Bowne,  southeast  and  southwest  by  laud  not  yet 
surveyed.  The  Earitan  lots  immediately  north  of 
Inians'  patent  contained  each  500  acres.  Each  had 
nearly  half  a  mile  of  river-front,  and  extended  back 
about  two  miles.  In  1681  they  were  owned  by  Andrew 
Bowne,  Eichard  Jones,  George  Foreman,  Joseph 
Snelling,  Andrew  Gibbs,  Gershom  Brown,  Jeremiah 
Tuthill,  Joseph  Benbrigge,  Thomas  Matthew,  and  Ed- 
ward Gibbon;  but  in  four  years,  showing  the  rapid 
changes  or  the  speculation  in  land,  these  had  all 
changed  owners,  t 

The  last  one  of  these  lots,  having  its  face  on  the 
Earitan  immediately  below  Bound  Brook,  and  with 


•  Also  spelled  Willocka. 

t  John  Inians,  of  Raritan  BlYer,  was  appointed  a  member  of  Gfovernor 
Hamilton's  Conncil  on  Sept.  14, 1692.  Nothing  is  known  of  his  place  of 
residence  or  his  history,  but  that  he  was  a  very  extensive  purchaser  of 
lands  and  a  man  of  great  wealth  for  the  times  are  inferred  from  his  large 
transactions  found  on  the  records  of  proprietors  at  Amboy  and  volumes  of 
deeds  at  Trenton.  His  large  plot  was  subsequently  purchased  by  Philip 
French. 

X  See  Heed's  map  of  1685. 


the  adjoining  plot  in  the  south,  belonged  to  William^ 
Dockwra.  Behind  these,  facing  the  Millstone,  were 
two  lots  reaching  some  distance  above  Weston,  the 
lower,  containing  800  acres,  belonging  to  George 
Willocks,  and  the  upper,  containing  500,  belonging  to. 
William  Dockwra.  These  three  lots  of  Dockwra  and 
the  one  of  Willocks  represent  that  part  of  Franklin 
which  was  set  off  to  Somerset  County  in  1688. 

It  becomes  not  a  little  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  harmonize  the  subsequent  sales  in  the  centre  of 
Franklin  township  and  those  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Millstone.     Indian  and  proprietary  deeds   came   in 
conflict,  and  the  same  land  was  sold  by  different  par- 
ties.  Sept.  1, 1694,  the  proprietors  sold  to  Daniel  Cox, 
of  London,  one  of  their  fellow-proprietors,  the  great 
quadrangular  plot  lying  east  of  the  Middlebush  road, 
stretching  from  the  Earitan  lots  to  beyond  Ten-Mile 
Eun,  and  extending  some  distance  into  the  present 
Middlesex  County.?     It  appears  from  this  deed  that, 
previous  to  1694,  Daniel  Cox  had  bought  a  large  plot 
between  the   Middlebush   road    and    the    Millstone 
Eiver,  but  we  have  not  met  with  the  record  of  it. 
But  soon  after  we  find  all  the  land  between  the  Mid- 
dlebush road  on  the  east,  the  Amwell  road  as  it  lies 
near  Middlebush  church,  and  the  extension  of  the 
course  of  that  piece  of  road  to  the  present  farm  of 
Mr.  Cropsey  on  the  north  and  the  Millstone  Eiver  oh 
the  west,  deeded  in  two  large  plots  to  John  Harrison 
and  George  Willocks,  and  the  still  larger  plot  which 
was  deeded  to  Daniel  Cox,  as  above  described,  now 
deeded  to  Harrison  and  Willocks  also.    The  first  tract 
extended  from  the  present  farm  of  G.  W.  Cropsey 
almost  to  Griggstown,  and  back  to  the  Middlebush 
road;  the  second  extended  from   a  little  north  of 
Griggstown  to  a  point  opposite  Eocky  Hill,  and  east 
to  a  line  protracted  on  the  course  of  the  Middlebush 
road  ;  while  the  third  embraced  the  rest  of  Franklin 
township  except  the  Earitan  lots;  and  extended  some 
distance  into  Middlesex  County.     These  three  tracts 
are  described  in  Amboy  Eecords,  Lib.  G,  p.  314,  etc. 
In  1701  a  Dutch  company  from  Long  Island  bought 
from  John  Harrison  a  tract  of  10,000  acres  in  the 
heart  of  Franklin  township.    The  company  consisted 
of  Peter  Cortelyou,  Stoffel  Probasco,  Theodore  ToV 
hemus,  Hendrick  Lott,  Hendrick  Hendricks,  Jacques 
Cortelyou,  Denis  Tunis,  and  Cornelius  Wyckoff.   The 
plot  extended  from  the  Earitan  lots  on  the  north  to  a 
line  running  east  and  west  near  Six-Mile  Eiin,  and 
from  the  Millstone  Eiver  on  the  west  to  the  Indian 
path  on  the  east.    It  was  divided  into  eight  parts  and 
numbered,  commencing  at  the  rear  of  the  Earitan 
lots.    No.  1  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  Amwell 
road;  No.  2,  where  the  village  of  Middlebush  is;  No. 
5,  where  Jacob  Wyckoff  lives ;  No.  8,  where  Peter 
s'tothoff,  Moore  Baker,  and  J.  Staats  Nevius  reside, 
The  lines  run  fi'om  the  Indian  path  in  a  westerly  di- 
rection across  to  the  Millstone  Eiver,  making  eight 


g  Perth  Amboy  Records,  Lib.  E,  p.  366. 


804 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


divisions.  A  line  was  also  run  from  the  rear  of  the 
Earitan  lots  in  a  southerly  course  to  the  distance  of 
eight  miles,  ending  on  Eocky  Hill  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Upper  Ten-Mile  Eun.  This  was  called  the  "  Middle 
Line,"  and  on  it  was  laid  the  road  from  the  present 
Middlebush  church  to  the  Griggstown  road,  which 
passes  by  Garret  Neviua.  This  last-mentioned  line 
divided  the  tract  into  sixteen  parts,  and  was  settled 
upon  principally  by  the  purchasers  or  their  descend- 
ants. 

In  1723,  Christian  Van  Doren  bought  a  plot  con- 
taining  359  acres  north  of  the  Middlebush  church. 
This  tract  is  now  divided  into  seven  farms. 

Some  time  before  1764,  John  Hoagland  had  bought 
176  acres  on  the  east  side  of  the  Millstone  Eiver,  as 
in  that  year  he  bought  another  plot,  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  first  plot,  containing  40  acres,  of  John 
Lott,  of  Long  Island ;  he  paid  for  this  £200.  On  the 
south  of  John  Hoagland's  land,  in  1791,  were  lands 
of  John  and  Cornelius  Wyckoff ;  while  east  of  the 
40-acre  plot  was  land  of  John  Wyckoff;  on  the  north 
was  land  of  John  Van  Liew ;  and  next,  to  the  river, 
land  of  John  Bennett. 

In  1791  the  executors  of  John  Hoagland — Wil- 
liam and  John  Hoagland,  of  Somerset,  and  Garret 
Terhune,  of  Middlesex — sold  both  these  plots  to 
Tunis  Hoagland.  The  widow  of  John  was  Matje 
Hoagland,  who  gave  a  quit-claim  on  her  husband's 
estate  March  9,  1791.  Tunis  paid  £1370  14s.  for  the 
two  plots,  containing  216  acres. 

EAKLT  SETTLERS,  PIONEER  FAMILIES,  Etc. 
These  early  patentees  or  land-owners  did  not  by 
any  means  always  settle  on  the  tracts  which  they  pur- 
chased. Some  of  them  were  never  in  America.  The 
follovring  family  histories  are  herewith  appended,  and 
show  the  settlement  and  development  of  the  actual 
population.  They  are  largely  condensed  from  the 
family  histories  collected  by  the  late  Hon.  Ralph 
Voorhees,  of  Middlebush,  and  published  in  "  Our 
Home"  in  1873,  and  in  the  New  Brunswick  Fredonian 
in  1874r-78 : 

Od  both  sides  of  the  Indian  path  settlements  must  have  commeDced 
lis  early  as  1703,  when  John  Van  Houten,  Tunis  Quick,  and  Dollies  Hage- 
man,  of  Ten-Mile  Run,  Frederick  "Van  Liew,  Jacob  and  Abm.  Bennet, 
and  others  of  Three-Mile  Run,  signed  a  subscription  for  the  purpose  of 
catling  a  minister  from  Holland  to  supply  the  congregation  of  Three- 
Hlle  Run, 

In  1701,  John  Harrison  and  George  Willocks  owned  a  tract,  which  had 
been  purchased  from  the  Indians,  commencing  at  or  near  Rocky  Hill,  at 
the  Millstone  River,  running  east-southeast  2  miles;  then  easterly  3^ 
miles  to  a  point  opposite  the  bouse  of  the  late  Samuel  Steward ;  then 
northwesterly  to  the  Raritan  lots,  and  following  in  their  rear  to  the  Mill- 
Btone  River,  and  from  thence  up  said  river  to  place  of  beginning,  contain- 
ing 17,800  acres.  The  5-mile  line  commencing  at  Steward's  and  running 
\o  the  rear  of  the  river-lots  Is  the  one  of  which  our  parents  used  to  speak 
BO  frequently  half  a  century  since  as  causing  much  violent  contention  and 
litigation.  It  was  settled  by  a  jury  summoned  for  that  purpose,  and  was 
thereafter  called  the  Jury-Line. 

-  John  Harrison  was  an  early  settler  at  Rocky  Hill,  and  in  1717  built 
the  first  mill  on  the  Millstone  in  that  place.  It  stood  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  near  the  present  one  on  the  opposite  side.  It  is  supposed  that 
he  resided  where  the  old  Berrian  house  stands,  in  which  Gen.  Washing- 
ton wrote  his  Farewell  Address.    Harrison  came  from  Long  Island,  and 


was  noted  for  his  enterprise  and  activity;  he  held  numerous  and  import- 
ant offices,  and  was  captain  and  commissai-y  of  a  company  of  troops  sent 
in  1709  by  the  provincial  government  to  defend  our  northern  borders 
from  the  encroachments  of  the  French.  He  owned  a  lot  at  Somerset 
Court-house  in  1723,  when  at  Six-Mile  Run,  and  died  at  Amboy  in  the 
same  year. 

A  certain  Grace  Harrison  was  assessed  for  an  acre  of  land  in  1735,  lo- 
cated in  the  township  of  Franklin,  at  Rocky  Hill. 

Francis  Harrison,  supposed  to  be  one  of  John's  sons,  succeeded  him  at 
Rocky  Hill.  He  was  an  excellent  writer,  and  a  coroner  in  Somerset 
County  in  1729.  In  the  same  year  he  circulated  a  subscription  from 
Rocky  Hill  down  the  old  path  to  the  Raritan,  and  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  to  Bound  Brook,  obtaining  subscribers  to  it,  to  raise  money  for  the 
purpose  of  calling  a  minister  from  Holland  for  the  congregation  of  Three- 
Mile  Run,  of  which  he  seems  to  have  been  an  active  supporter.  His  father 
was  an  Episcopalian.  Francis  appears  to  have  had  a  son  John,  who  in 
Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen's  time  (1752)  was  a  supporter  of  the  old  church 
of  Six-Mile  Run  while  it  was  located  at  the  brook.  The  old  Indian  path 
ran  through  the  whole  of  the  upper  and  a  part  of  the  lower  soction  of  the 
Harrison  tract. 

THE  HAGEMAN  FAMILY. 
As  early  aa  1703,  Dollies,  Denice,  Adrian,  and  Jacobus  Hagemen,  grand- 
sons of  Aaron*  the  emigrant,  appear  to  have  located  at  Six-Mile  Run 
and  its  vicinity.  Adrian  married  Maria,  a  daughter  of  John  Yleet,  whose 
lands  joined  his  on  the  north,  purchased  land,  and  built  a  house  where 
John  Garretaon  resides,  on  the  Somerset  side  of  the  old  path.  He 
had  sons — Hendrick,  Adrian,  Joseph,  Simon,  Jacobus,  and  Benjamin — 
and  daughters, — Gaertie,  who  married  John  Manley ;  Mary,  Adrian 
Hageman ;  and  Catharine,  Samuel  Waldron.  He  was  buried  about  300 
yards  west  of  his  dwelling,  along  the  line  between  his  and  the  oldStryker 
property,  where  his  wife,  Mary,  and  others  of  the  family  were  also  buried. 
In  his  will,  proved  July  27, 1762,  he  left  his  real  estate  to  his  sons  Ben- 
jamin and  Simon, — to  Benjamin,  the  parts  on  which  the  buildings  were  ; 
to  Simon,  that  part  where  Henry  P.  Cortelyou  now  lives. 

Benjamin's  first  wife's  name  was  Sarah,  and  they  lived  on  the  home- 
stead. His  children  were  Mary,  who  married  Jacob  Skillman;  Jane, 
Cornelius  "Waldron ;  and  Gertrude,  John  P.  Nevius,  who  removed  to  Wes- 
tern New  York ;  A  dria'n,  who  married  Frances  Wyckoff  and  lived  and 
died  at  Six-Mile  Bun;  Benjamin  (2d),  who  married  Lena  Garretson,  of 
Middlebush. 

Simon  married  Ida  Suydam  and  moved  to  Ohio ;  William  had  three 
wives,  and  lived  and  died  at  Three-Mile  Run;  Isaac  married  Maria  Van 
Derveer,  and  lived  and  died  at  Harlingen ;  Peter  married  Nancy  Suydam, 
lived,  owned,  and  died  on  the  homestead.  He  had  three  children, — Sarah, 
who  lived  and  died  single;  Benjamin,  who  moved  to  Dayton,  Ohio,  and 
married  there.  He  was  captain  of  a  rifle  company  raised  in  Franklin 
township,  and  was  a  brave  officer.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  major  of 
the  Second  Battalion,  Third  Regiment,  of  Somerset  Brigade,  commanded 
by  Col.  Barcalow. 

Adrian,  the  first  settler,  was  succeeded  on  the  homestead  by  his  son 
Benjamin,  he  by  his  son  Peter,  he  by  Abraham  Bodine,  he  by  Hoppock, 
who  enlarged  and  remodeled  the  old  house,  and  he  by  John  Garretson, 
who  owns  and  has  resided  on  the  property  for  about  twenty  years. 

The  farm  of  ex-Sheriff  Voorhees,  lying  in  the  rear  of  the  homestead, 
extending  to  the  Middlebush  road,  and  first  settled  on  by  Ryke  Suydam, 
then  containing  168  acres,  was  a  part  of  the  original  Hageman  tract. 

In  1766,  Simon,  the  son  of  Adrian,  lived  In  a  house  built  on  bis  half  of 
the  old  tract,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Henry  P.  Cortelyou.  Although 
singular,  nothing  further  has  been  traced  connected  with  his  family  or 
his  children.  He  was  succeeded  on  the  place  by  Benjamin  (2d),  son  of 
Benjamin  (1st),  who  married  Lena  Garretson,  of  Middlebush,  and  who 
resided  on  it  until  his  death.  He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Wilkins,  who 
built  a  new  house  thereon  ;  he  by  Henry  P.  Cortelyou,  now  residing  on 
the  property,  who  enlarged  the  house,  improved  the  outbuildings,  and 
made  many  other  important  changes,  among  which  is  the  large  and 
beautiful  lawn  with  its  many  green  trees,  from  which  it  has  been  very 
appropriately  named  "  Greenlawn  Farm." 

Aaron  Hh  geman  came  in  possession,  and  owned  for  a  time  the  rear  parts 
of  the  tract  which  eictended  ta  the  Middlebush  road,  and  built  on  it.  It 
is  now  owned  by  Abraham  Voorhees,  president  of  the  State  Bank,  at  New 
Brunswick.  Henry  Bound  owned  and  lived  on  a  pa^rt  lying  near  the 
middle  of  the  old  tract,  which  has  had  the  following  owners :  Adrian 

*  Aaron  Hageman  and  Catharine,  his  wife,  came  from  Holland,  resided 
in  New  Amsterdam  a  short  time,  and  then  settled  at  Flatbush  in  1661, 
He  died  in  1672. 


'X^P'T'^nyUy^ 


DoLis  or  DoUius,  Nyse  or  Denyse,  Adrian,  and 
Jacobus  Hegeman,  of  the  Rnritans  and  vicinity  of 
New  Brunswick  in  1703,  were  sons  of  Denyse  and 
Liurstia  Hegeman,  of  Flatbush,  and  grandsons  of 
Adrian,  the  emigrant,  who  came  over  in  1650  or  1651 
and  settled  in  Flatbush. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  grandson  of  Benja- 
min Hegeman,  and  a  great-grandson  of  Adrian  Hege- 
man, who  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  The 
former  occupied  the  old  homestead  of  the  family  at 
Six-Mile  Run,  where  John  Garretson  now  resides. 
His  first  wife,  Gertrude,  bore  him  five  sons  and  three 
•  daughters.  The  sons  were  Adrian,  Benjamin,  Peter, 
Simon,  and  William.  Ann  died  aged  eighteen ; 
Mary  married  Jacob  Skillman ;  and  Jane,  Cornelius 
Waldron.  For  a  second  wife  he  married  the  widow 
Sarah  Brown,  and  had  a  son,  Isaac,  and  a  daughter, 
Gertrude,  who  married  John  Nevius.  He  died  June 
14, 1804,  over  seventy-three  years  of  age,  and  was  buried 
on  his  own  farm.     His  first  wife  died  Feb.  6, 1777. 

Benjamin,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  on  the 
old  homestead  in  1762.  He  married  Magdalene, 
daughter  of  Bernardus  and  Leah  Garretson,  in  1809, 
and  had  two  sons,  Bernardus  G.,  born  Jan.  5,  1810, 
died  April  14,  1864,  unmarried,  and  Benjamin  B. 
Mr.  Hageman  died  Feb.  15,  1829,  aged  sixty-seven. 
His  wife  died  April  19,  1S14,  aged  forty  years  five 
months  and  twenty-four  days. 

Benjamin   B.   Hageman  was  born   on  the  north- 


eastern  half  of  the  old  homestead,  where  Henry  P. 
Cortelyou  now  resides,  March  2,  1812.  When  two 
years  of  age  his  mother  died,  and  he  was  taken  to  the 
old  Garretson  homestead  at  Middlebush,  where  he  now 
resides,  and  which  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
descendants  of  that  family  since  Feb.  14,  1756.  He 
grew  up  on  the  farm  and  attended  the  common  schools 
of  his  day.  In  February,  1845,  he  married  Jane 
Ann,  daughter  of  Samuel  V.  T.  and  Catherine 
(Smith)  Van  Wickle,  of  Middlesex  County,  and  for 
sixteen  years  engaged  in  farming  operations  near 
Somerville.  March  20,  1861,  he  returned  to  the 
Garretson  homestead  in  Franklin  township,  erecting 
his  attractive  residence  the  same  year.  His  barns 
were  built  in  1876-77. 

Mr.  Hageman  is  of  a  quiet  and  unostentatious 
temperament,  and,  while  he  has  always  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  events  transpiring  around  him,  he  has  kept 
aloof  from  the  strifes  and  contentions  of  public  life. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Middlebush.  He  is  recognized 
as  a  man  of  integrity  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  and 
enjoys  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all.  His  chil- 
dren are  Garretson,  a  graduate  of  Rutgers  College  in 
1868,  residing  on  the  home  farm,  engaged  in  survey- 
ing and  civil  engineering  and  notary ;  and  Samuel 
Van  Wickle,  born  July  13,  1853,  and  died  March  25, 
1S78,  a  graduate  of  Eastman's  Business  College, 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  in  1874. 


i 


FRANKLIN. 


.805 


^Ist),  his  son  Simon,  Benjamin  (2d),  Abraham  Yoorheea,  Henry- Bound, 
and  Henry  P.  Cortelyou,  now  residing  on  the  homestead  part. 

HENDBICK  FISHER.. 
Hendrick  Fisher  was-  born  in  1697,  in  the  Palatinate,  and  emigrated 
to  this  country  as  a  young  man.  He  was  received  into  the  church 
In  1721,  and  was  soon  appointed  a  deacon,  then  an  elder,  and  con- 
tinued an  ardent  friend  of  Bev.  T.  J.  FreliEghuysen  until  his  death. 
A  mechanic  by  trade,  he  was  yet  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  intel- 
ligence and  capacity  for  business.  In  civil  life  he  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  men  of  bis  day.  When,  on  motion  of  the  legislative 
bodies  of  Mafisachusetts  andBhode  Island,  a  congress  was  called  to  meet 
in  New  York  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  October,  1765,  Hendrick  Fiaher  was 
one  of  the  three  men  whom  New  Jersey  sent.  He  continued  to  represent 
New  Jersey  in  Congress  until  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  re- 
sided below  Bound  Brook,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  and  the  home- 
stead is  now  owned  by  Abraham  I.  Brokaw.  His  remains  rest  in  a 
family  graveyard  on  his  farm,  where  a  plain  slab  bears  the  following 
inscription:  "In  memory  of  Hendrick  Fisher,  who  departed  this  life  Au- 
gust 16th,  1779,  in  the  82nd  year  of  his  age."* 

"  Inventory  of  the  goods  and  chatties  of  the  Estate  of  Hendrik  Fisher, 
deed,  taken  by  the  British.  Army  in  the  months  of  Dec,  1776,  and  on  the 
13th  of  April,  1777,  brought  in  by  Jeremiah  Fi8her,f  Executor  of  the 
estate  of  said  Hend.  Fisher; 

£    B.    d. 

To  8  milch  cows 40    0    0 

"  Cash  taken  out  of  the  house 45    0    0 

"  2  Bulls,  four  years  old 7    0    0 


"  1  Steer,  five 

"  4  Heifers,  three  " 

"  6  Steers,  two        " 

"  5       "      one  year 


6    0  0 

,  12    0  0 

.  11    5  0 

6  15  0 


_  milch  calves 1  10    0 

"  3  large  hogs,  weighing  about  200  pounds  each..    6  10    0 
"  3  steers,  three  years  old 5  10    0" 

THE  SCHENCK  FAMILY. 

The  Schencks  along  the  Karitan  are  descended  from  .Johannes  (John), 
who  came  to  this  county  about  1683.  He  had  five  children,  who  grew 
up  and  were  married, — two  sons  and  three  daughtei-s, — as  follows:  1.  Su- 
sannah, who  married  Johannes  Johnson;  2.  Johannes,  born  April  30, 
1691,  died  April  1, 1729  ;  3.  Peter,  married  Elizabeth ,  lived  at  New- 
town, died  about  1737 ;  4.  Margaretta,  married  John  Stryker,  died  August, 
1721 ;  5.  Cornelia,  married  Charles  Derje.  Of  the  sons,  Johannes  mar- 
Tied  Maria  I/ott  and  had  children,- Johannes,  bom  Oct.  26, 1715,  died 
1777  ;  Hendrick,  born  July  15, 1717,  died  about  January,  1767 ;  Abraham, 
bom  Aug.  6,  1720,  died  1790;  Peter,  bom  March  27,1722;  Cornelius, 
born  Jan.  27, 1724,  died  Nov.  15, 1744 ;  Catherine,  born  Jan.  14, 1728,  died 
April  9, 1793. 

Of  the  children  just  named,  Catherine  married  her  cousin,  Theunis 
Schenck,  son  of  her  father's  brother  Peter,  and  they  lived  on  the  old 
homestead  of  their  great-grandfather  at  Bushwick,  and  had  a  family  of 
eight  sons  and  four  daughters. 

Isaac,  it  appears, followed  the  seas,  and  probably  died  young;  at  least, 
he  left  no  descendants  as  far  as  has  been  discovered.  Cornelius  married 
Abigeltie  Lefierta  and  had  a  daughter  Maria,  who  died  when  about 
twenty.  The  other  four  brotherB  all  settled,  or  at  least  lived  for  a  time, 
along  the  Earitan  and  Millstone  Rivera,  at  what  precise  dates  we  are  un- 
able to  state,  but  prwbably  when  young  men.  They  were  there  married 
and  settled  in  Ufe  from  1735  t»  1745.  One  account  states  that  the  mill 
next  above  Millstone  (long  called  Blackwell's)  was  owned  by  the 
Schencks  as  early  as  1730.  If  so,  it  must  have  been  by  the  father  of 
these  brothers,  as  another  account,  of  1745,  speaks  of  them  as  "the 
newly-erected  mills  of  Hendrick  Schenck." 

Johannes  married,  Oct.  25, 1746,  Neltie  Remsen,  of  Long  Island,  settled 
at  what  is  now  called  Branchville,  and  had  there  a  farm,  mill,  and  store. 
He  had  but  one  son,  John,  born  Aug.  3, 1748,  died  at  Baritan  Landing, 
Aug.  17, 1784.  This  John  had  again  but  one  son,  the  late  John  J.,  of 
Branchville,  and  grandfather  of  the  late  Bev.  John  V.  N.  Schenck.  who 
died  ^t  Pompton  Plains  in  October,  1871,  and  with  whom  this  branch  in 
the  male  line  has  become  extinct. 

Hendrick  married  Magdalena  Van  Liew,-of  Middlebush,  lived  at  Mill- 
stone, or  Weston,  and  had  a  store  and  mill.  He  died  about  Jan.  1, 1767, 
and  left  three  sons  and  five  daughtera.-John  H.,  Henry,  Abraham, 
Mary,  Catharine,  Gertrude,  Letitia,  and  Magdalena.    John  H.  was  a  colo- 


nel in  the  Bevolutionary  army,  and  married,  first,  Sarah  Denton;  of  New- 
berg,  and,  second,  Jane  Schenck  (or  Widow  Conover),  of  Monmouth; 
Henry  H.,  the  doctor,  of  Neshanic,  married  Nellie  Hardenburgh,  and  was 
.captain  of  a  troop  of  light-horse  and  surgeon  during  the  Revolution; 
Abraham  married  Eva  Van  Buren,  of  Millstone,  daughter  of  Dr,  Abra^ 
ham  Van  Buren ;  Mary  married  Dr.  Lawrence  Van  Derveer,  of  Boyce- 
field;  Catherine  married  Elias  Van  Derveer,  father  of  Dr.  Henry  Van 
Derveer,  of  Vanderstadt,  near  Pluckamin,  whose  will  was  the  subr 
ject  of  so  much  litigation  in  the  courts  of  this  State;  Gertrude  married 
Gen.  Frederick  Frelinghuysen ;  Letitia  married  Judge  Israel  Harris, 
who  was  at  one  time  the  owner  of  the  mill  at  Weston;  Magdalena  mar- 
ried Dr.  Peter  I.  Stryker. 

Abraham,  the  brother  of  Hendrick,  married  Elsie  Van  Devoort,  and 
lived  at  Millstone  until  1748,  when  he  removed  to  Bnshwick,  then  to 
Fishkill,  and  died  there.  He  had  fifteen  children, — six  sons  and  nine 
daughters;  several  died  young,  and  some  others  were  unmarried.  One 
of  these  sons  was  Henry,  the  father  of  Abraham  H.  and  grandfather  of 
the  late  Rev.  George  Schenck,  of  Bedminster. 

Peter  married  Maria  Vulkerson,  lived  near  Millstone,  and  probably 
owned  both  the  mills  at  Weston  and  Blackwell's,  at  which  last  place  he 
kept  a  Btore.  He  was  one  of  the  first  elders  of  the  church  of  Millstone,  in 
1766,  also  a  member  of  the  Provincial  CoDgress.  He  had  three  children.  A 
son,  John  P.,  married  a  Miss  Loure,  and  had  a  daughter,  Maria,  who  died 
unmarried.  Of  the  daughters,  Mary  married  Archibald  Mercer,  of  New 
York,  and  Gertrude  married  a  Mr.  Tyson,  of  St.  Kitts.  Archibald  Mer- 
cer owned  and  conducted  the  mills  after  the  decease  of  his  father-in-law, 
about  1800.  His  daughter,  Gertrude,  married  Gen.  John  Frelinghuysen; 
Charlotte  married  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  president  of  Rutgers  Col- 
lege, where  she  last  lived,  and  died  in  April,  1854. 

Martin  Schenck,  born  Feb.  18, 1738,  married,  firat,  June  7, 1760,  Mari^ 
Conover,  of  New  Utrecht,  and  second,  Henrietta  Van  Sinderen,  of  Long 
Island.  Maria  was  horn  Oct.  28, 1743.  Her  children  were  John,  horn 
March  28, 1761;  Ann,  born  Jan.  1, 1763,  married  John  M.  Bogart;  Gar- 
ret, horn  April  12, 1765,  married  Catharine  Garretson ;  Phebe,  born  Feb. 
12, 1767,  married  John  Garretson ;  Martin,  born  May  9,  1770,  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Ferdinand  Schureman,  and  lived  at  Millstone; 
Sarah,  who  married,  first,  Aaron  Van  Deventer,  of  Bound  Brook,  and 
second,  Joseph  Van  Doren,  of  Middlebush ;  Ellen,  who  married  Joseph 
Annin;  and  Mary  Ann,  who  married  Henry  Wilson,  a  highly  esteemed 
citizen  of  this  county.  The  sheriff  had  by  his  second  wife  one  child, 
horn  March  14, 1808,  named  Ulpean  Van  Sinderen,  who  died  at  fourteen. 
Sheriff  Martin  had  a  brother,  Johannes,  who  married,  first,  Jane  Still- 
well  (whose  daughter,  Sarah  J.,  married  Isaac  Brokaw,  of  Bound  Brook), 
and  second,  Ann  De  Qroot. 

Opposite  the  house  of  Daniel  D.  Stelle,  and  on  the  Somerset  side  of  the 
old  road,  in  1766,  was  a  tavern  kept  by  Adrian  Manley,  afterwards  by  a 
Mershon,  and  lastly  by  a  Widow  Selover.  About  1810  the  proper^  was 
purchased  by  Dr.  Ferdinand  S.  Schenck,!  who  purchased  adjoining  lands 
until  he  obtained  a  good-sized  farm.  In  1818  he  took  down  the  old 
tavern-house,  in  which  he  had  resided,  and  built  the  one  in  which  Daniel 
D.  Stelle  now  resides,  with  the  outbuildings.  The  doctor  a  short  time 
before  hie  death  enlarged  and  modernized  the  dwelling-house  and  brought 
■it  to  the  condition  in  which  it  is  now  seen. 

THE  DE  HART  FAMILY. 

Among  the  early  settlers  along  the  old  Indian  path  was  Cornelius  De 
Hart,  a  son  of  Simon  De  Hart,  of  French  origin,  who  came  to  this  country 
in  1664,  and  bought  prior  to  1673  a  farm  of  about  300  acres  at  Gowanus, 
L.  I.  He  had  sons,— Simon,  who  remained  there ;  Elyas,  who  settled  in 
Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.,— also  a  grandson,  Cornelius,  who  in  1720  settled  at 
Six-Mile  Bun,  Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J. 

Corneliuspurchaaed  of  the  Indians  210  acres  of  land,  but  was  compelled 
to  repurchase  it  from  the  proprietors,  paying  twice,  therefore,  for  the 
same  property.  He  had  sons  and  several  daughters;  some  of  his  sons 
died  early.  His  sons  who  survived  were  Cornelius,  Guisbert,  and  Abra^ 
ham.  After  the  death  of  the  father,  Cornelius  owned  and  lived  on  the 
one-third  part  of  the  land  now  in  the  possession  of  Charles  Dunham. 
Guisbert  and  Abraham  had  the  remaining  part,  and  lived  in  the  house 
which  the  father  erected,  and  to  which  additions  and  improvements  have 
been  made;  it  is  the  one  in  which  John  S.  Voorhees  and  family  reside. 
One  of  his  daughters,  Sarah,  married  Boeloff  Voorhees,  grandfather  of 
Abram  D.,  of  Adam's  Station.  Another  daughter,  Ann,  married  Jacobus 
De  Hart. 


*  See  Dr.  Steele's  "  Historical  Discourse,"  Dr.  Messler's  "  Historical 
-Notes."  Oorwin'8  "  MUlstone  Centennial,"  and  p.  636  of  this  work. 
■j-  Son  of  Hendrick. 


t  See  biographic  account  in  chapter  on  the  "  Medical  Profession  of 
Somerset  County,"  in  this  work. 


806» 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Cornelius  located  in  the  woods  at  the  upper  forks  of  the  Six -Mile  Kun. 
He  was  a  euccessful  deer-hunter,  and  his  large  shot-gun,  nearly  eight  feet 
long,  hoB  been  preserved  in  the  family.  With  his  near  neighbors,  Simon 
"Wyckoff,  John  Vleet,  and  Adrian  Hageman,  he  signed  the  paper  con- 
taining the  complaint  against  the  Rev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuyaen.  They  be- 
longed to  the  party  in  the  church  called  the  Conferentie, 

Guisbert  never  married,  and  lived  with  bis  brother  Abraham  until  his 
decease.  Abraham  owned  at  his  death  376  acres,  besides  111  at  Law- 
rence's Brook.  He  married  Sarah  Van  Cleef,  daughter  of  John  Van 
Cleef,  Sr.,  and  died  Aug.  21,  1832,  in  his  seventy-fourth  year.  Sarah 
survived  him,  and  died  Oot.  7, 1844,  in  her  eighty -seventh  year.  Their 
children  were  John,  who  married  Anna  Ayers,  and  died  May  13, 1819,  in 
his  twenty-sixth  year;  Cornelius,  who  died  Sept.  18,  1805,  aged  nine 
years  and  six  months ;  Moyca,  born  Aug.  20, 1791,  died  June  16, 1868,  mar- 
Tied  Peter  P.,  son  of  Peter  Van  Doren.of  Millstone,  and  a  grandson  of 
"Christian  Van  Doren,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Middlebush. 

After  the  death  of  Abraham  De  Hart  his  heirs  scld  the  Lawrence's 
Brook  land  of  111  acres,  leaving  the  homestead  to  contain  376  acres, 
heing  the  largest  old-times  farm  in  the  township. 

Peter  P.  Van  Doren,  the  husband  of  Moyca,  died  Feb.  16, 1857,  in  his 
seventy-third  year,  Moyca  in  her  seventy-sixth,  after  which  the  estate 
was  inherited  by  their  daughters,  Margaret  and  Saiah  Ann,  who,  with 
John  S.  Voorhees,  the  husband  of  Sarah,  have  resided  on  it. 

Adjoining  the  De  Hart  property  on  the  north,  in  1766,  nearly  opposite 
to  the  house  of  the  present  John  W.  Williamson,  across  the  old  path,  was 
the  house  of  John  Pyatt,  who  appears  to  have  married  in  one  of  the 
Wyckoff  families.  He  was  succeeded  on  the  place  by  Rynear  Merrill, 
:and  he  by  Isaac  Silcocks.  At  the  commencement  of  the  present  century 
the  old  house  was  taken  down.  The  name  of  Pyatt  appears  to  have  he- 
<;ome  extinct  in  this  section  of  the  country.  The  Pyatt  property  is  now 
owned  by  Frank  Peunel,  a  house  having  been  erected  recently  a  few 
yards  north  of  the  old  one,  in  which  he  resides. 

THE  COKTELTOU  FAMILY. 

Jacques  Cortelyou  (sometimes  written  Cortilleau)  arrived  in  New  Am- 
sterdam in  1651  or  1652,  with  Cornelius  Van  Werkhoven,  as  private  tutor 
to  his  children.  His  wife  was  Neiy  e  Van  Duyn,  and  both  were  of  French 
extraction.  His  children  were  Jacques,  Peter,  Cornelius,  Helena,  Maria, 
and  WilUam. 

Hendrick  {1st),  son  of  the  second  Jacques,  was  horn  April  11, 1711,  and 
settled  on  lands  owned  by  his  father  in  1704,  containing  300  acres,  situ- 
-ated  on  the  south  of  and  adjoining  the  tract  of  10,000  acres  purchased 
by  Peter  Cortelyou  and  others  of  John  Harrison  in  1701.  This  300-acre 
tract  is  at  present  included  in  the  farms  of  John  Baker,  Jr.,  Daniel 
■Steele,  and  Henry  Rule,  and  the  church  and  village  lots  extending  from 
the  main  road  at  Six-Mile  Bun  to  the  Middlebush  road.  Hendrick  was 
succeeded  on  the  homestead  by  BoelofF  Voorheee,  who  died  thereon  in 
1811. 

Hendrick  (2d),  son  of  Hendrick  (1st),  married  Antie  Coerte  Van  Voor- 
hees, Aug.  3,  1731.  He  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  Jacques,  Hen- 
drick, and  Harman  lived  in  Franklin  township.  Hendrick  married  Sarah 
Stothoff  and  lived  at  Ten-Mile  Run,  and  Harman  married  Catharine 
Van  Dyke,  resided  at  Three-Mile  Run,  and  for  some  time  kept  a  public- 
house  in  that  place. 

Hendrick  (3d),  born  1761,  married,  first,  Ann  De  Hart,  1787 ;  second, 
Elizabeth  Voorhees,  1795,  and  lived  at  Ten-Mile  Run.  Of  his  brothers 
and  sisters  who  attained  mature  age,  William  married  Maria  Voorhees ; 
John,  Ellen  Voorhees;  Harman,  Sarah  Garreteon  ;  Jacques,  Johanna 
Van  Tine  (no  issue) ;  Abram,  first,  Dinah  Garretson ;  second,  Johanna 
Polhemns;  Albert,  Ida  Burling;  Peter,  Margaret  Fry  (no  issue). 

Hendrick,  the  fourth  son  of  Hendrick  (3d),  was  bom  Nov.  5, 1789,  died 
1856,  married  Maria  Voorhees.  There  was  a  Mary  next.  Peter  was  horn 
in  1796,  first  married  Mary  Ann  Gulick,  and  afterwards  Julia  Beekman. 
He  resides  at  Ten-Mile  Run.  His  children  are  Elizabeth,  born  1821,  first 
married  to  Van  Cleef  Voorjiees,  then  to  Garret  Q.  Brokaw;  Henry  P. 
born  1823,  married  Margaret  Hageman;  Peter,  born  1848,  married  to 
Annie  Voorhees. 

In  1671,  Capt.  Jacques  Cortelyou  acted  as  one  of  the  commissioners  to 
settle  the  disputed  boundary  line  between  Bi-unswick  and  Newtown.  He 
was  also  the  surveyor  on  that  occasion.  His  sons  Jacques  and  Peter  were 
"also  prominent  land-purveyors.  Jacques  (2d  or  3d)  surveyed  the  Harri- 
son tract  in  1703,  and  received  from  the  company  as  compensation  a  tract 
of  280  acres  extending  from  the  Middlebush  road  to  the  Millstone  River 
adjoining  the  Six-Mile  Brook,  and  on  a  part  of  which  John  J.  Voorhees 
now  resides.  Jacques  (1st)  is  represented  as  having  been  somewhat  sin- 
gular and  eccentric  in  his  ways. 

The  Cortelyou  families  in  this  section  have  been  uniformly  distin- 


guished for  industry,  economy,  peaceful  demeanor  as  citizens,  and  their 
friendship  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Chui'ch  and  her  institutions. 

THE  SUTDAM  FAMILY. 

Among  the  many  adventurers  from  Holland  to  seek  a  home  in  the 
wilds  of  New  Netherlands  were  Abrm.  Guysbert  and  Rynear  and  Hen- 
drick Rycken,  from  whom  the  Ryker  and  Snydajn  families  in  New  York 
and  other  States  have  descended,  Hendrick  Byckeu  came  from  Holland 
in  1663  and  located  in  the  suburbs  of  New  Amsterdam,  remained  there 
for  some  time,  and  then  removed  to  Flatbush.  He  acquired  a  large  es- 
tate, and  died  iu  1701.  In  about  1710  his  children  adopted  the  name  of 
Suydam.  His  son  Jacob  was  born  in  1666,  and  married  Syche  Jacobs. 
He  died  in  1738,  aged  seventy-one.  His  eon  Ryke  removed  to  Six-Mile 
Run,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  about  1728,  and  settled  on  158  acres  of  land  on 
the  western  corner  of  lot  No.  7,  which  he  received  in  exchange  for  about 
the  same  number  of  acres  which  he  purchased  of  Joost  Schomp,  lying 
opposite  to  it,  and  along  the  path  on  which  Adrian  Hageman  built,  lived, 
and  died.  Ryke  died  in  1798,  aged  ninety-five;  his  children  were  Peter, 
Jacobus,  Abram,  Isaac,  Ryke,  Mary,  and  Ida,  of  whom  Peter  (Ist)  in  1743 
purchased  a  lot  of  land  of  Peter  Southard  and  built  a  house  thereon, 
standing  in  1766  across  the  road  and  nearly  opposite  to  where  John  Gar- 
retson, Sr.,  now  resides.  It  was  taken  down  in  about  1806.  His  first 
child  was  Ryke,  who  married  Rachel  Merrill.  Their  children  were 
Peter,  who  married  Catharine  Priest,  now  his  widow  and  living  in  New 
Brunswick  ;  Phebe,  married  George  Van  Derveer;  John,  married  Anetie 
Williamson;  William,  married  Charlotte  Andrews;  Ryke,  a  Miss  Hoag- 
land ;  Sarah,  married  John  T.  Davis ;  Cornelia,  Garret  Garretson. 

Lawrence,  son  of  Peter  (1st),  married  Abbey  Fry,  and  lived  about  300 
yards  farther  up  the  road,  in  the  house  where  John  Garretson,  Jr.,  now 
lives,  and  which  in  1766  was  occupied,  according  to  the  map,  by  John  S\iy- 
dam,  of  whom  nothing  further  is  known.  Lawrence,  during  a  thunder- 
show^er,  while  standing  in  the  door  of  his  house,  was  struck  dead  by 
lightning.  He  had  ten  children, — Phebe,  who  married  Samuel  Gulick; 
Ann,  married  Cornelius  Van  Liew;  Veter  L.,  married,  first,  Mary  Oakey» 
second,  widow  of  David  Nevius,  both  deceased  (he  died  in  1876,  aged 
eighty) ;  John  S.,  married,  first,  a  daughter  of  John  Elbertson,  of  Griggs- 
town,  second,  Cornelia,  daughter  of  Dr.  James  S.  Cannon ;  William,  mar- 
ried Cornelia,  daughter  of  Garret  Polhemus,  of  Middlebush,  lived  and 
died  there,  both  deceased ;  Abram,  a  successful  merchant  in  J^fiw  Bruns- 
wick, and  while  president  of  the  Farmers  and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  that 
city  cruelly  murdered  by  Peter  Robinson,  who  was  tried,  convicted,  and 
executed  April  16,  1841;  Isaac,  died  unmarried;  Jacob,  died  young; 
Catharine  Sarah,  married  Henry  Snyder  (he  survived  her  and  lives  at 
Six-Mile  Run);  Maria,  married  Henry  Bound,  lived  at  Six-Mile  Run, 
both  deceased. 

Peter,  son  of  Peter  (1st),  married  Jane  Cox,  and  lived  and  died  at 
Three-Mile  Run. 

Of  Abram,  son  of  Peter  (1st),  nothing  is  known.  Ann,  daughter  of 
Peter  (1st),  married  William  Williamson,  of  Three-Mile  Run.  He  was 
an  elder  in  the  church  of  Six-Mile  Bun.  They  had  nine  children,— Wil- 
liam, who  married Williamson,  lived  and  died  in  New  Brunswick  ; 

Phebe,  married  John.  Eodgers,  and  lived  and  died  at  Six-Mile  Bun  (no 
children) ;  Isaac,  married  Ida  Van  Tine,  and  lived  and  died  at  Three- 
Mile  Bun ;  Peter  (nothing  known) ;  Anetie,  or  Agnes,  married  John 
Suydam.  Their  children  were  William,  died  young;  Eyke,  married 
Elizabeth  Davidson;  Peter,  married  Sarah  French,  who  survives  him; 
Lawrence,  unmanied ;  Abram,  married  Eliza  Scott,  who  survives  him 
and  lives  at  Franklin  Park;  Lowe,  or  Lawrence,  went  to  Illinois,  and 
died  there  unmarried ;  Jane,  lived  and  died  unmarried ;  Sarah,  married 
John  Scott,  of  Six-Mile  Run,  moved  to  and  lives  in  Western  New  York. 

The  road  leading  from  the  union  school-house  of  Three-Mile  Run  to 
George's  road  was  settled  originally  by  the  Williamsons  and  Suydams. 
From  the  intermarriages  which  have  taken  place  between  their  descend- 
ants, it  has  been  called  "  Cousins'  Lane." 

THE   BARCALOW  FAMILY. 

In  1766,  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  leading  from  Six-Mile  Bun  to 
Kingston,  and  between  the  Nine-  and  Ten-Mile  Runs,  is  located,  ton  the 
surveyor's  map,  the  house  of  Daniel  Barcalow. 

William  Jans  Van  Barkelo  emigrated  at  an  early  period  from  Zntphen, 
in  Guilderland,  and  finally  settled  in  Flatlands,  L.  I.  About  the  com- 
mencement of  the  last  century  a  young  married  couple,  each  mounted 
on  a  pony,  with  perhaps  a  pack-horse  or  two,  started  from  Long  Island 
on  an  exploring  expedition  in  New  Jersey  in  search  of  a  new  home. 
After  crossing  the  Baritan  at  the  fording  place  at  New  Brunswick,  they 
followed  the  road  laid  on  the  old  Indian  path  towards  the  Delaware. 
They  crossed  a  stream  called  by  the  whites  and  Indians  Nine-Mile  Eun. 


FRANKLIN. 


.807 


They  there  resorted  to  a  green,  shady  epot,  where  they  rested  theEnBelves 
and  their  animals,  which  to  them  was  so  inviting  that  here  they  located, 
built  a  house,  and  settled  for  life.  Some  of  their  descendants  have  suc- 
ceeded them  on  the  property  down  to  the  present  day.  The  young  couple 
■were  Conrad  Barkelow  (son  of  William  Jans  Yan  Barkelu,  before  men- 
tioned) and  his  wife.    The  number  of  their  children  is  not  known. 

Conrad's  son,  Daniel,  succeeded  him  on  the  homestead  and  reared  a 
large  family.  His  sons  were  Farrington,  William,  Cornelius,  and  Chria- 
toffel;  the  daughters  were  Catharine,  Elizabeth,  Ann,  and  Kebecca. 
They  were  models  of  sobriety,  industry,  economy,  and  perseverance. 

Daniers  son,  John,  lived  many  years  at  Dayton,  He  was  a  man  of 
business  and  much  respected.  He  had  children  and  died  there.  Farring- 
ton lived  for  many  years  at  Rhode  Hall.  ChrlstofTel  manied  a  Miss 
Beekman,  of  Harlingen,  lived  some  years  in  Middlebush,  and  moved  to 
Basking  Bidge.    He  had  children  and  died  there. 

Elizabeth,  one  of  the  daughters,  married  Henry  Van  Dyke  ;  they  lived 
and  died  at  Mapleton.  Ann  married  Simon  Duryea,  of  Blawenburg,  and 
left  no  children.  Catharine  married  Moses  Whitlock  and  had  many 
children.  Rebecca,  the  youngest,  married  William  Swaim,  and  had  two 
children. 

There  was  a  Dirck  Barkelo  and  Janetie  Van  Arsdale,  his  wife,  who 
settled  on  the  Baritan  in  1717.  In  1745  there  were  a  Daniel  and  a  Far- 
rington Barcalow  living  along  the  east  side  of  the  Millstone  Biver,  about 
half  a  mile  or  more  above  Blackwell's.  One  of  them  married  a  daughter 
of  Abraham  Voorhees,  of  Middlebush,  who  owned  300  acres  and  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  along  that  part  of  the  Six-Mile  Bun,  lying  on  both 
aides  of  it.  After  the  death  of  Voorhees,  the  son-in-law,  Daniel  or  Far- 
rington,* came  into  the  possession  of  that  part  lying  next  to  the  river, 
containing  about  150  acres  of  land.  Col.  Fanington  and  Cornelius  Bar- 
calow, who  lived  in  Middlebush,  were  the  children  of  either  Daniel  or 
Farrington.  Cornelius  had  no  descendants,  moved  to  the  West  late  in 
life,  and  died  there.  Farrington  the  colonel  was  noted  for  his  military 
talents,  had  a  large  family  of  children,  of  which  Widow  Ellen  Shaw, 
George  Washington,  and  ComeUus  are  living  at  East  Millstone,  and 
Jemima,  widow  of  John  King,  at  Spring  Lake,  IlL  Culver  Barcalow, 
son  of  William  Barcalow,  and  grandson  of  the  colonel,  lives  at  Somerville. 

THE  WTCKOFF  FAMILY. 
Peter  Claes  Wyckoff  came  from  Holland  in  1636;  he  bought  land  at 
Flatbnsh,  L.  I.  In  1653  he  superintended  the  farm  and  stock  of  Director 
Stuyvesant.  He  was  a  magistrate  in  Flatbush  in  1655, 1658, 1662,  and 
i663.  His  wife  was  Grietje,  daughter  of  Hendrick  Van  Ness.  One  of  his 
sons,  Cornelius  Preterse  Wyckoff,  married  Gertrude  Simons,  davighter  of 
Simon  Van  Arsdalen,  Oct.  13, 1678.  He  was  one  of  the  Dutch  company 
which  purchased  10,000  acres  at  Middlebush  in  1701.  The  deed  for  his 
share  of  the  land,  given  by  his  partners,  bears  date  June  1, 1703,  and 
conveys  1200  acres  lying  across  the  central  part  of  the  township  from  the 
county  line  at  Three-Mile  Run  to  the  Millstone  Biver.  Tradition  says 
he  had  eight  sons,  four  of  whom  he  settled  on  these  lands,  each  having 
300  acres.  Their  names  were  John,  Peter,  Simon,  and  Jacob.  John  had 
his  home  in  Middlebush,  where  Samuel  Garretson  now  lives,  and  his 
oldest  son,  Cornelius,  was  born  there,  being  the  first  child  born  in  the 
settlement.  John  had  six  children,— four  sons  and  two  daughters. 
Corneliufl,  the  eldest,  kept  the  homestead,  which  remained  in  his  family 
until  1800.  John,  the  second  son,  built  along  the  Millstone  on  the  rear 
of  the  farm.  It  has  remained  in  the  family,  William  Wyckofi;  one  of  his 
descendants,  now  living  thereon,  in  an  elegant  building  erected  by  him 
in  1872.  Simon  settled  at  Three-Mile  Bun.  John  Vliet,  Jr.,  a  son  of  the 
owner  of  the  adjoining  tract,  married  one  of  his  daughters,  and  upon 
the  death  of  their  parents  a  part  of  the  farm  of  Simon  was  united  to  that 
of  VUet.  After  the  death  of  John  Vliet,  Jr.,  his  widow  held  the  prop- 
erty; she  -afterwards  married  John  Van  Cleef.  They  remained  upon 
the  farm,  and  after  their  death  their  son,  John  Van  Cleef,  Jr.,  bought  the 
tract  where  his  grandson,  Balph  Voorhees,  Jr.,  recently  lived.  The  sons 
of  Simon  setUed  in  the  neighborhood  of  White  House,  and  have  become 
a  numerous  family.  Jacob  settled  at  Three-Mile  Bun  also.  He  died 
quite  young,  leaving  two  sons,  Cornelius  and  Jacob.  They  inherited  his 
lands,  Cornelius  Uving  where  Abm.  J.  Suydam  now  lives.  He  died 
young,  leaving  one  daughter,  Ida,  who  married  Denice  Van  Liew  and 
lived  upon  the  property.    It  remained  in  the  family  until  1850  or  1851. 

*  In  the  old  baptismal  book  of  the  congregation  of  Six-Mile  Bun  we 
find  that,  in  1756,  Isaac  Voorhees  and  his  wife,  Helena  Barcalow.  had  a 
child  baptized  (when  the  church  was  at  the  brook)  named  David.  She 
was  doubtless  a  granddaughter  of  Conrad,  the  first  settler,  and  the 
mother  of  David,  the  brave  Bevolutionary  soldier,  and  father  of  Ira  C. 
Voorhees  now  residing  in  New  Brunswick. 


Jacob,  Jr.,  took  the  homestead  of  his  father.  He  left  three  daughters, 
who  inherited  his  lands.  Frances,  wife  of  Aaron  Hageman,  had  the 
homestead,  which  is  still  held  by  her  heirs.  Peter  settled  at  Middlebush, 
where  he  lived  and  died.  He  left  six  sons  and  foar  daughters.  His 
oldest  son,  Cornelius,  settled  below  New  Brunswick,  and  is  the  ancestor 
of  the  Wyckofis  in  that  vicinity.  Aurt,  or  Arthur,  and  John  settled  at 
or  near  Cranberry,  and  founded  the  families  of  that  name  around  there. 
Peter,  Jr.,  left  two  daughters.  Jacob  left  no  children.  Simon,  the  fifth 
son,  after  his  father's  death,  bought  the  farm,  living  where  his  father 
did.  Simon  left  four  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Christian,  settled  west  of 
Albany,  N.  T.  The  second  son,  Peter,  lived  in  New  York,  and  his  de- 
scendants now  live  at  Brooklyn.  The  two  younger  sons,  Jacob  and 
Simon,  upon  the  death  of  their  father,  bought  the  farm,  Jacob  taking  the 
rear,  and  building  where  his  son,  Cornelius  W.,  now  lives,  and  Simon 
taking  the  homestead,  where  he  lived,  and  which  at  his  death  was  pur- 
chased by  his  son,  Jacob,  now  living  thereon.  His  brother,  Simon,  re- 
sides at  Fairview,  HI.,  Joseph  on  a  farm  at  Woodhull,  Mich.,  and  Chris- 
tian at  Lamington,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J. 

The  Cornelius  above  alluded  to,  who  was  the  first  white  child  bom  at 
Middlebush,  was  afi"ected  with  a  severe  rheumatiflm,  which  caused  him 
much  stiffness  and  pain.  He  had  a  friendly  Indian  living  in  front  of  his 
residence,  across  the  road  and  brook,  in  a  little  hut.  This  Indian  told 
Cornelius  at  a  certain  time  that  he  "looked  very  bad,  and  if  he  did  not 
get  help  soon  he  would  live  but  a  short  time."  "  What  can  I  do  for  it?" 
asked  Wyckoff.  "I  think  I  can  cure  you,"  said  the  Indian.  At  length 
he  submitted  to  the  Indian's  course  of  treatment,  who  took  his  patient 
to  a  little  sod  structure  built  in  the  side  of  a  hill  by  a  pond  of  water,  where 
he  applied  the  means  necessary  to  produce  an  extraordinary  perspiration. 
He  then  cut  a  hole  in  the  ice  of  the  brook,  and  into  this  Wyckoflf  was 
plunged.  The  Indian  now  brought  him  out,  wrapped  him  up  in  a  blan- 
ket, carried  him  to  the  house,  put  him  to  bed,  and  then  heaped  blankets 
over  him  until,  as  it  was  told,  "the  pei"spiration  ran  down  the  bedposts." 
The  patient  became  entirely  well,  and  lived  many  years  afterwards. 

Tradition  says  that  Mrs.  Simon  Wyckoff  was  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake 
the  first  night  she  and  her  family  were  in  their  new  house.  The  Indians 
sleeping  along  the  brook  immediately  proffered  their  friendly  aid;  one  of 
them  applied  their  usual  remedy,  and  she  was  speedily  cured  of  the  effect 
of  the  bite. 

Simon  Wyckoff,  at  the  brook,  died  in  1765.  He  had  eight  children, — 
viz.:  John,  Comehus  (lived  and  died  near  the  White  House),  Moycha, 
Anitie,  Margaret,  Grietie  (married  John  Vliet),  and  a  daughter  (married 

Addis).    In  his  will,  recorded  in  the  same  year,  he  left  his  son  John 

a  silver  tankard,  marked  with  the  letter  W.    To  the  daughters  named 

and  the  grandchildren  of Addis,  the  father  of  Capt.  Simon  Addis, 

each  a  negro  woman  and  thirty  pounds  in  money,  his  executors  to  sell 
his  real  and  personal  estate  and  divide  the  proceeds  among  his  children^ 
his  grandchildren  to  receive  one-eighth  part.  Their  names  were  John, 
Simon.  Gaertie,  and  Maria.  He  also  gives  to  his  wife  one  silver  tankard, 
marked  with  the  letter  W,  and  appoints  his  son  Cornelius,  and  his  sons- 
in-law,  Fulkert  Van  Nostrand  and  Cornelius  Van  Horn,  as  his  executors. 
It  is  supposed  that  John  settled  on  that  part  of  the  tract  of  400  acres 
where  Theodore  Skillman  now  lives,  and  that  Jacob,  who  married  Le- 
meche  Stryker,  was  his  sou,  who  by  his  will  appointed  Lemeche  his  execu- 
trix and,  in  case  of  her  death,  his  son  Cornelius  and  John  Stryker  to  be 
the  executors. 

Jacob's  widow.  Lemetie,  married  Minna  Van  Voorhees,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick (great-grandfather  of  Hon.  Ralph  Voorhees,  who  died  in  1878),  and 
lived  there  until  his  death,  about  1735.  After  the  death  of  Minna,  Le- 
metie returned  to  and  resided  on  the  farm,  and  was  living  in  1745. 

Jacob  had  three  sons— Cornelius,  Jacob,  and  Garrett^-and  two  daughters, 
— Guertie  and  Styntie,  the  wife  of  William  Hyer.  Jacob  was  doubtlesa 
the  one  who  lived  on  the  place  in  1766,  as  described  on  the  map  of  that 
date,  whose  daughter  Anatie  married  a  Lupardus,  who  succeeded  his 
father-in-law  on  the  place,  and  whose  widow  married  David  Fleet. 
Frances  manied  Aaron  Hageman.  The  farm  just  described  has  had  the 
following  owners :  Simon  Wyckoff,  his  son  John,  his  son  Jacob,  his  grand- 
son Jacob  Lupardus,  David  Fleet,  John  Skillman,  and  lastly  Theodore 
Skillman,  now  residing  thereon. 

Some  time  after  the  death  of  Simon  Wyckoff  the  old  homestead  came 
into  the  possession  of  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Esq.,  then  of  Aaron  and  Frances 
Hageman,  who  in  1802  took  the  old  house  down  and  built  a  new  one  on 
the  property,  where  Sarah,  the  widow  of  his  son  Peter,  now  Uvea. 

Aaron  Hageman  and  Frances,  bis  wife,  a  daughter  of  Jacob,  Esq.,  had 
eleven  children.  In  Elm  Bidge  cemetery  we  find  the  tombstones  of  two 
pairs  of  twins  ;  the  first  died  in  1785,  the  other  in  1790.  Also  Aaron  in 
the  same  year,  aged  six  months ;  Jacob  in  1793,  in  his  eleventh  year ;  Ag- 
nes in  1794,  in  her  third  year;  Gitty,  in  her  sixty-third  year,  who  had. 


-808 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


lived  BiDgle.  Peter,  the  husband  of  Sarah  De  Hart,  now  living  on  the 
homeBtead,  died  April,  1869. 

Benjamin  married,  first,  Cynthia,  daughter  of  Peter  G.  Voorhees,  of 
Middlebush,  who  died  about  1835.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Columbus, 
in  Wisconsin,  married  a  second  time,  and  died  there  in  1860,  aged  eighty- 
two.  Wyckoff  married  Catharine  De  Hart,  of  Ten-Mile  Kun,  moved  to 
Fairview,  111.,  and  died  there  about  1868,  aged  seventy-eight. 

The  "Wyckoff  homestead  has  had  the  following  owners :  Simon  Wyckoff, 
Jacob  Wyckoff,  Esq.,  Aaron  Hageman,  William  Williamson,  John  Wil- 
liamson, Peter  Hageman.  It  is  now  owned  and  resided  on  by  his  widow, 
-Sarah  Hageman,  who  is  a  daughter  of  John  De  Hart,  formerly  of  Blaw- 
©nbnrg. 

The  farms  of  Mrs.  Peter  Hageman,  Theodore  Skillman,  Abraham  Tot- 
ten,  and  Daniel  Polhemus  are  all  parts  of  the  original  tract 

THE  WILLIAMSON  FAMILY. 
The  first  of  this  name  was  a  Lawrence  Williamson,  who  with  his  wife, 
Sarah,  was  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Church  at  New  Brunswick  at  its  or- 
ganization, in  1717.  and  in  which  he  was  an  elder  in  1719.  In  what  part 
of  the  congregation  he  lived  is  not  known.  There  was  also  a  William, 
an  elder  there  in  1750.  There  was  a  Jacobus  living  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Ten-Mile  Kun  in  1735,  and  a  William  in  this  section,  who  had  several 
children  baptized  in  the  old  Six-Mile  Run  church,  at  the  brook,  at  an 
early  date.  Whether  they  were  connected  with  William,  whose  history 
is  here  given,  is  not  known.  William  Williamson  may  have  been  the 
elderwhowas  elected  in  the  church  at  New  Brunswick  in  1750.  He  was 
A  true  patriot,  a  captain  in  Col.  Neilson^s  regiment  of  State  troops,  an  in- 
timate friend  of  den.  Washington,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  sometimes 
quartered  him  at  his  house.  He  died  in  1799,  owning  a  large  tract  of 
land,  commencing  where  Isaac  W.  Pumyea  lives,  at  the  line  between 
lands  of  William  A.  Williamson  and  the  late  Ephraim  Van  Tine,  and 
running  in  the  old  path  to  the  line  formerly  of  the  De  Harts,  and  extend- 
ing from  the  path  to  near  George's  road,  and  including  a  tract  of  100 
acres  in  Somerset  County,  containing  in  all  about  640  acres.  These  lands 
were  devised  to  his  six  children  by  his  will  made  Sept.  7, 1779,  and  were 
divided  by  commissioners, — George  Van  Neste,  Simon  Addis,  and  John 
Stryker.    The  division  was  as  follows: 

1.  To  Isaac,  born  in  1759,  who  married  Ann  Van  Harlingen  and  lived 
on  that  part  of  the  tract  now  owned  and  resided  on  by  William  A.  Wil- 
liamson. Isaac  died  in  1835,  aged  seventy-six;  his  wife,  Ann,  died  in 
1837,  aged  seventy-nine. 

2.  To  William,  born  1762,  married  Ann  Suydam,  lived  where  G.  J.  Rink 
lives.  One  of  his  sons,  Abraham,  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  William 
Scott.  She  has  survived  him,  and  lives  in  the  village  of  Franklin  Park. 
William's  daughter,  called  Nettie,  named  after  her  grandmother,  Ange- 
netie,  resides  with  Peter  S.  De  Hart  near  Elm  Ridge  cemetery,  on  land 
formerly  owned  by  Capt.  Williamson,  and  separated  from  the  original 
tract  by  the  Franklin  and  Georgetown  turnpike.  William  belonged  to  a 
troop  of  horse  in  the  Revolution. 

3.  To  John,  born  in  1764,  married,  first,  Maria  Bennett,  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, second,  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Rem  Garretson  and  a  daughter  of  Hen- 
drick  Veghten.  They  had  nine  children.  .Tohn  lived  on  that  part  of  the 
Williamson  tract  now  owned  and  resided  on  by  Martin  Johnson.  One  of 
his  sons,  William,  married  Catharine  Lowden.  William  was  born  in  1791, 
and  died  in  1850.  Catharine  died  in  1869,  aged  eighty-four.  Their  daugh- 
ter, Grertrude  Ann,  married  John  F.  Babcock,  of  the  New  Brunswick  I^e- 
donian.  John,  son  of  William  and  Catharine,  owns  and  lives  in  the  house 
which  his  father  built,  where  he  lived  and  died,  and  which  was  erected 
on  the  old  foundation  of  the  house  in  which  Simon  Wyckoff,  one  of  the 
fii^t  settlers  of  that  section,  lived  and  died. 

4.  To  Antie,  or  Ann,  born  1770,  married  Abraham  Meserol.  They  lived 
and  died  on  that  part  of  the  tract  now  owned  by  Abm,  D.  Voorhees.  The 
old  buildiogs,  with  their  surroundings,  have  all  disappeared,  except  the 
old  well  and  its  sweep. 

5.  To  George,  who  married  Ida  Pumyea,  daughter  of  Peter  Pumyea,  Sr., 
of  Six -Mile  Run.  The  100-acre  tract  in  Somerset  County  was  allotted  to 
him  by  the  commissioners.  He  afterwards  purchased,  built,  lived,  and 
died  on  the  property  near  George's  road  now  owned  by  Benjamin  P. 
Ruckman.  He  died  inT830,  aged  sixty-two ;  his  wife,  Ida,  in  1842,  aged 
seventy-six. 

6.  To  Jane,  who  married  John  Pumyea,  and  who  lived  and  died  on  that 
part  of  the  tract  where  their  son,  William,  who  married  Sarah  Tunison, 
lives.  John  was  bom  in  1771,  and  died  in  1 852 ;  his  wife,  Jane,  was  born 
in  1780,  and  died  in  1859,  Their  children  were  Agnes,  Peter,  Ida,  Wil- 
liam, John,  Ann,  Isaac  W.,  and  Mary. 

Isaac  W.  Pumyea,  who  married  Catharine  Van  Dyke,  lives  on  the  prop- 
erty formerly  owned  and  resided  on  by  his  uncle,  George  Williamson, 


who  there  followed  hlacksmithing  previous  to  1800.  His  shop  stood 
across  the  road,  on  the  northerly  corner  of  his  brother  Isaac's  land.  A 
tradition  in  the  Williamson  family  states  that  the  captain's  father's  name 
was  William  and  that  he  owned  an  immense  tract  of  land,  extending 
from  the  Millstone  River  to  Lawrence's  Brook,  containing  several  thou- 
sand acres. 

THE  VLEET    FAMILY. 

Adjoining  the  property  of  Simon  Wyckoff  on  the  south  was  that  of  John 
Vliet.  The  first  emigrant  of  the  Vliet  family  to  this  country  appears  to 
have  been  Dircks  Jans  Vander  Vliedt.  The  name  has  been  variously 
written  Vleet,  Van  Vliet,  Fleet,  Van  Fleet,  etc.  He  was  doubtless  the 
great  ancestor  of  them  all. 

Dircks  Jans  appears  to  have  come  from  Ryleveltto  New  Amsterdam  as 
one  of  the  soldiers  in  the  ship  "  Spotted  Cow,"  in  April,  1660.  In  April, 
1663  his  wife,  Grietie,  with  two  children,  arrived  in  the  same  vessel,  and 
the  family  settled  in  Flatbush.  He  married,  first,  Lyntie  Aertson ;  second, 
Grietie  Van  Kirken.  His  children  were  Hendrick,  Jans,  Maria,  Gaertie, 
and  Garret.  The  father,  mother,  and  Jans  (or  John)  were  members  of 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Flatbush  in  1680.  His  son  John  waa 
bom  in  Wellen,  and  married,  Dec.  2, 1683,  Grietie  Van  Kirken,  of  Buer- 
raalzen,  in  Guilderland.  He  belonged  to  a  troop  of  horse  in  Kings  Co., 
L.  I.,  of  which  Daniel  Remsen  was  captain,  and  Byck  Sudam  lieutenant. 
With  his  father  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  in  1687. 

In  1717  the  son,  John  Vliet,  bought  of  TheodorePolhemua,  of  Jamaica, 
L.  I.,  a  tract  of  land  lying  at  Six-Mile  Bun,*  part  in  the  county  of  Somer- 
set and  a  part  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  commencing  at  the  path,  a  few 
yards  east  of  the  present  house  of  Henry  P.  Cortelyou,  and  running 
nearly  a  northeasterly  course  to  a  marked  tree  to  the  middle-line  (now 
Middlebush)  road ;  then  in  a  northerly  course  along  the  same  to  a 
marked  tree  in  the  line  of  Peter  Cortelyou;  then  along  his  line  to  a 
marked  tree  at  the  brook,  in  front  of  the  house  of  the  present  Henry 
Lewis,  to  the  path;  then  following  the  same  to  the  place  of  beginning; 
being  44  chains  in  width,  containing  500  acres  more  or  less,  being  lot 
No.  6  of  the  Harrison  tract. 

John  soon  removed  to  and  built  a  house  on  the  land,  about  300  yards 
from  the  path.  The  house  stood  until  after  the  Revolution.  Previous  to 
that  time  a  new  one  was  built  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  dell,  which  was 
enlarged  by  John  Van  Cleef  in  1812,  and  is  the  one  now  occupied  by  Ralph 
Voorhees,  Jr.  He  had  six  children,— viz.,  Gretie,  John,  Derrick  (died 
young),  Sarah,  Rebecca,  and  Maria.  Grietie  married  Simon  Wyckoff, 
another  daughter,  Fulkert  Van  Nostrand ;  and  Maria,  Adrian  Hage- 
man.   John  married  Gretie,  a  daughter  of  Simon  Wyckoff. 

According  to  his  will,  recorded  in  Trenton  in  1754,  he  ordered  that  his 
land  be  divided  into  six  equal  parts,  and  that  each  child  have  a  part.  To 
his  wife  Gretie  he  left  his  household  goods,  and  they,  after  her  death,  to 
be  equally  shared  by  his  children. 

After  the  death  of  John  Vliet,  Sr.,  his  son  John,  who  had  purchased  the 
brewery  of  his  father  with  all  that  pertained  to  it,  came  into  possession 
of  the  farm,  and  was  called  John  the  Brewer,  and  he,  in  1736,  sold  the 
brewery  for  £50  to  his  son  John  the  Weaver,  it  being  the  custom  at  that 
time  to  call  men  after  their  occupation.  John  the  Brewer  had  formerly 
owned  and  resided  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Peter  Hoagland,  at  Ten- 
Mile  Bun,  Middlesex  Co. 

Nearly  all  the  first  settlers  along  the  Indian  path,  from  the  Ford  to 
Rocky  Hill,  were  descendants  of  those  who  emigrated  from  the  Nether- 
lands and  settled  on  Long  Island.  John  Vliet  was  the  only  one  bom  be- 
yond the  sea. 

After  the  death  of  John  Vliet  (the  first  settler),  his  son  John's  wife, 
Gretie,  the  daughter  of  Simon  Wyckoff,  came  in  possession  of  the  prop- 
erty of  her  father-in-law.  About  this  time  it  appears  that  Lucas  Voor- 
hees, or  his  father  Jaques,  purchased  from  the  rear  part  of  th.e  farm  125 
acres,  on  which  he  built  the  mill  at  the  Middlebush  road.  The  Vleet 
tract  of  500  acres,  which  was  purchased  for  £800,  was  then  reduced  to 
375  acres,  and  remained  thus  for  nearly  a  century  after. 

John  Vleet,  Jr.,  had  three  children, — John,  born  1745,  and  afterwards 
removed  to  Sussex  County  ;  Simon,  born  1747,  married  Ann  Terhune,  and 
lived  and  died  at  Lamington;  Gretie,  born  1750,  married  Aaron  Dean. 

*  The  different  streams  crossing  the  old  path  gave  name  to  the  places  by 
which  they  are  called  according  to  their  several  distances  from  the  ford- 
Ing-place  at  the  Raritan.  Hence  the  name  of  Mile  Run,  Three-Mile 
Run,  Six-Mile  Run,  Nine-  and  Ten-Mile  Run.  Except  the  Mile  Run,  the 
distances  of  the  others  are  incorrect.  The  Six-Mile  Bun  could  have  been 
no  more  than  five  miles  from  the  river  by  the  path.  These  names  were 
given,  with  their  distances,  by  travelers  and  their  Indian  guides,  doubt* 
less  long  before  the  places  named  were, settled  by  the  whites. 


FRANKLIN. 


809 


Aflor  tlio  death  of  Joba  Vleot,  Jr.,  his  widow,  Grotto,  married  John  Van 
Cleef,  Sr. 

John  Van  Cleef,  Sr.,  married,  second,  the  widow  Emmons,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Sarah  (a  daughter  of  William  Van  Dnyn,  of  Barltan). 
He  died  In  May,  1811,  In  the  uighty-flrst  year  of  his  oge.  Sarah  died 
Jan:  7,  ISM,  in  her  soventy-soTonth  year.  After  the  deatli  of  his  father. 
Job  n  Van  Cleef  inherited  all  his  real  estate,  and  his  throe  sisters  the  per- 
aoual.    The  farm  now  contains  412  acres. 

John  Van  Cleef,  Jr.,  married  Sarah  Van  Dyke,  Oct.  4, 1701.  He  died 
Nov.  28, 1847,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age ;  Sarah  died  March  26, 
1742,  aged  sovonty-two.  He  died  intestate.  Uis  children  were  Margaret, 
born  Deo.  16, 1794;  Siirnh,  born  April  4, 1800,  married  Ralph  A'oorhoes 
(boro  June  20,  1700),  of  Mlddlobush  ;  Garrotta,  born  April  27, 1802,  mar- 
ried Abraham  Quick,  of  Korth  Branch  (born  1800).  His  land  was  divided 
between  his  three  daughters,  each  part  containing  137  acres.  Sarah 
drew  by  lot  the  part  containing  the  buildings,  Margaret  the  middle  part, 
and  Garretta  that  port  which  Henry  Garretson  now  owns  and  resides  on. 
In  former  times  It  was  a  custom  with  parents  In  their  wills  to  leave  an 
extra  share  of  their  estates  to  one  of  the  sons,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  re- 
tain the  homestead  in  the  family  from  generation  to  generation.  The 
custom  has  changed.  There  are  but  four  of  the  old  homesteads  {^"om 
New  Brunswick  to  Franklin  Park,  on  both  sides  of  the  old  Indian  path, 
now  owned  by  descendants  of  those  who  first  settled  on  them. 

The  VIeet  homestead  has  had  the  following  owners  :  John  Vleet,  Sr., 
his  daughter  Gretle,  John  Van  Cleef,  Sr.,  John  Van  Cleef,  Jr.,  his 
daughter  Sarah,  and  Ralph  Voorhees,  Jr.,  recently  removed  to  Middle- 
bush. 

THE  VAN  LIEW  FAMILY. 

From  the  burylng-ground  across  the  old  road  where  Henry  Oakason 
resides,  in  176C  lived  Johannes  Van  Llewen,  a  sou  of  Frederick  Van 
Liewen,  or  Van  Laver,  as  he  woe  called  at  that  time  by  the  Dutch.  His 
father  came  from  Holland  and  settled  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  In  1070.  He  was 
a  son'of  Hendrlck  Van  Llewen,  in  Holland,  of  French  extracllon.  Hen- 
drlck,  of  JanuUca,  inherited  a  share  of  his  fatlier*s  estate  In  Holland 
after  his  decease. 

Frederick  married  Helena,  a  daughter  of  Jaques  Denice,  of  the  Nai*- 
rows.  Long  Island,  where  he  kept  a  ferry  in  1703,  his  boats  plying  be- 
tween that  and  Staten  Island,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  hie  business  was 
accidentally  drowned.  His  mother  was  very  probably  a  daughter  of 
Jaques  Cortelyou,  who  came  from  Holland  and  settled  at  New  Utrecht, 
L.  I.,  in  1652,  the  groat  ancestor  of  the  Cortelyous  In  America. 

From  ancient  records  preserved  and  found  at  the  Van  Liew  home- 
stead we  have  the  following  names  and  dates ;  Frederick  Van  Liew,  son 
of  Frederick  Hondrickson,  the  emigrant,  died  Nov.  27,  1760;  Helena 
Deuioe,  his  wife,  died  March  0,  17S4,  aged  eighty-four.    Tlieir  children 

were  Dinali,  born  1718,  married  Veghteu,  died  Nov.  22,  1700; 

Helena,  born  Oct.16,  1724,  married  Rem  Dltmara,  of  Millstone,  died  July 

6,1778;  Maria,  born  March  17,  1724,  married  Dnryea,  Oct.  20, 

1701 ;  Frederick,  born  Feb.  6, 1727,  married Hondrickson,  lived  at 

Middlebush,  was  succeo'dod  by  his  son  Frederick,  grandson  Frederick, 
and  he  by  P.  S.  Brokaw  on  the  homestead.  His  land  extended  from  the 
Middlebush  roud  about  half-way  to  Millstone.  On  Its  eaatern  corner  the 
Middlebush  church  was  built,  in  1834.  He  died  May  26, 1768.  Nice,  or 
Donlce,  born  Jan.  7,  1734,  married  Ida,  widow  of  Jacob  Wyckotr,  of 
Three-Mile  Bun,  diod  Oct..l7, 1777.  She  was  a  daughter  of  John  Stryker, 
of  SIx-Jllle  Bun.  Cornelius,  Imrn  April  10,  1730,  married  Ann  Van 
Llewen,  lived  at  Mlllstone.where  the  lavorn  at  tlio  canal  bridge  has  been 
kept  since  about  1830.  East  Millstone  is  built  on  the  western  part  of  his 
land.  It  extended  eastwardly  on  the  south  side  of  the  Amwell  rood  to 
whore  It  Joined  the  land  of  his  brother  Frederick,  of  Middlebush.  On 
the  homestead  he  was  succeeded  by  Henry  Dlsborongh,  then  by  Henry's 
sou  John,  then  by  John  Wyckoff,  Sr.,  and  afterwai-ds  by  his  sou  John  V. 
C.  The  present  owner  is  Howoll.  Cornelius  and  his  wife  were  members 
of  the  Befoi-med  Church  of  MiUstono  in  1778;  he  died  Jan.  29,  1777. 
Johannes,  Iwrn  April  10, 1730,  lived  on  the  homestead,  married  Dorothy 
Lott,  and  died  Oct  10,  1794 ;  she  died  Oct.  9,  1813.  The  date  of  their 
faUier's  settlement  ot  Throe-Mile  Run,  on  lot  No.  1  of  the  Harrison  tract, 
is  not  definitely  known.  He  married  Helene  Denice,  1716.  He  was  the 
largest  land  and  stockowner  in  the  township  of  Franklin.  Frederick 
Van  Liew,  of  Middlebush,  was  a  great-grandson  of  Frederick  (2d) ;  he 
married  Maria,  a  daughter  of  Peter  Voorhees,  who  survives  him  ond  Is 
living  with  her  daughter,  Ellso  MoKracken,  at  Batavia,  III.    He  died  lu 

1836  or  1830. 

Bern  ritmars,  who  married  Holona,  was  a  grondson  of  John  Johnson, 
who  emigrated  from  Ditmnrsen,  in  Denmark,  and  was  living  on  a  farm 
ut  Dutch  Kills,  L.  I.,  In  1040.  Two  of  his  grandchlldron,  Bom  and  Dowc. 
62 


settled  on  a  tract  of  land  lying  on  the  west  side  of  tho  Millstone  River, 
and  running  back  ftom  it  for  two  miles  to  the  nelgliborhood  of  Royce- 
field.  Bom's  part  joined  the  river  and  remained  in  the  family  until 
about  1810,  when,  after  the  death  of  his  son's  widow,  it  was  purchased 
and  resided  on  by  Abraham  Boekman  until  his  death.  Since  that  time, 
Peter  N.,  son  of  Abraham,  has  owned  and  resided  on  the  old  homestead. 
The  land  now  owned  by  Jacob  Schomp,  adjoining  it  on  the  south,  was  a 
port  of  Rein's  farm.  Dowe  lived  in  Boycefleld.  Rem  was  an  active  mem- 
ber of  (ho  Reformed  Church  at  Millstone  at  the  time  of  its  organization 
in  1707.  He  had  a  son,  Peter,  also  an  active  member,  who  lived  on 
that  part  of  the  place  now  owned  and  resided  on  by  Jacob  Schomp. 

THE  FRELINGHUYSEN  FAMILY. 
This  distinguished  family,  of  which  Theodorus  Jacobiis  Frellnghnysen, 
born  in  1091,  was  tho  founder  la  Somerset  County,  presents  the  remark- 
able feature  of  the  first  two  generations  being  all  ministers,  and  of  tho 
four  succeeding  ones  (from  Rev.  John,  the  son  of  Rev.  Theodorus  Jaco- 
bus) being  quite  as  distinctively  members  of  the  bar.  The  sons  of  Theo- 
dorus Jacobus  wore;  1.  Rev.  Theodore,  born  in  1724,  pastor  at  Albany 
fifteen  years,  went  to  Holland,  and  never  returned  ;  2.  Rev.  Jacobus,  died 
during  his  passage  to  America,  after  being  licensed  by  the  Clossls  of 
Utrecht,  In  1763,  m  route  to  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.;  3.  Rev.  Ferdinandus, 
licensed  la  Holland,  perished  at  sea,  with  his  brother,  while  on  his  way 
home  to  America;  4.  Rev.  John,  born  in  1727,  preached  at  Itaritan,  and 
died  in  1754 ;  5.  Rev.  Henrlcus,  preached  in  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  died  in 
1767,  of  smallpox.  The  two  daughters,  Anna  and  Mary,  also  married 
clergymen.  These  children  were  all  born  in  Franklin  township,  thid 
county. 

The  John  above  mentioned  was  the  only  son  of  Theodorus  Jacobus  who 
left  descendant-i,  and  is  therefore  the  ancestor  of  all  who  have  since  borne 
that  name.  He  left  two  children,  one  of  whom.  Gen.  Frederick,  was  the 
progenitor  of  a  race  of  eudnent  lawyers.  (See  the  chapter  on  the  "  Bench 
and  Bar  of  Somerset  County.'") 

Tlie  residence  of  Itev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuysen  "  during  the  last  years  of  his 
life  was  on  a  farm  of  200  acres,  bought  of  Daniel  Hendrickson  for  £650, 
near  Three-Mllo  Run,  forming  a  part  of  the  land  now  or  lately  owned  by 
John  Brunson.  It  is  described  as  bounded  on  the  southeast  by  the  land 
of  Daniel  Hendrickson,  northeast  by  the  pretended  line  of  the  heii-s  of 
Peter  Sonmans,  northwest  by  David  Seguire,  sontliwost  and  northwest  by 
Cornelius  Bonnet."* 

THE  VAN  DOREN  FAMILY.f 

In  1874  tho  writer  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  at  The  Hague,  in  Hol- 
land, the  Baron  de  Wostplm'la,  as  his  title  was,  who  held  the  more 
active  position  of  lord  chamberlain  to  King  William  III.,— a  position  he 
hod  retidned  for  at  least  eighteen  years.J  He  was  a  Von  Doren  (spelled 
in  Holland  by  a  small  uj,  a  descendant  of  the  same  oncestoi-s  trom  whom 
the  American  families  of  that  name  are  derived.  By  his  aid  access  wos 
gained  to  the  gencological  record  ofllce,  and  tho  early  "family  recoi-d"  of 
tho  Van  Dorens  in  Holland  secured.  There  is  no  other  copy,  so  far  as 
we  know,  in  this  country.  It  makes  the  head  of  tho  family  one  Jan  van 
Doren,  who  mai-ried  Clyd  van  Damp;  no  dates  given.  In  connection 
with  one  of  his  throe  children  (Nicholas)  the  date  1480  is  mentioned. 
From  this  head  twelve  genpi-utions,  containing  forty-six  names,  brings 
the  record  to  1700,  where  it  stops.  The  exact  place  of  connection  be- 
tween this  family  and  the  Pletor  named  below  the  record  did  not  supply, 
nor  are  wo  yet  possessed  of  the  information  requisite  to  note  exactly 
where  link  tits  to  link. 

The  ancestor  of  the  Van  Dorens  In  this  connti-j'  was  probably  Pieter 
Van  Doom,  who,  Willi  bis  wife,  JaiinetjoUancheu,  had  a  child,  Jannetje, 
biiplizod,  as  appears  fi-oni  the  Collegiate  Church  records,  April  12,  lOoD. 
There  was  a  Cornells  Lnmborson  Von  Doom,  who  came  over  to  Albany 
lu  1042,  but,  whotovor  hU  relationship  to  Pieter,  the  hitter  seems  to  be 
tho  hood  of  the  New  Jersey  families  of  the  name.g  A  Jacobus  Van 
Doom,  probobly  Pieter's  son  (the  evidence  is  circumstanllal  only),  was 
certainly  the  head  of  the  next  generation,  as  his  history  is  well  known. 
He  removed  trom  the  western  end  of  Long  Island  to  Monmouth  County 
about  1098.  His  wife  wos  Marytje  Bonnet.  The  070  acres  ho  owned  in 
Monmouth,  In  the  beautiful  spot  known  as  Pleasant  Valley,  near  tho 
present  village  of  Hillsdale,  may  still  bo  ascertained  by  distinct  bouu- 

»  "  Eight  Memorial  Sermons,"  Rev.  A.  Messier,  p.  184. 

f  Prepored  by  A.  V.  D.  Honoynian,  Esq. 

J  See  Rev.  William  H.  Vau  Doren's  article  in  "  Our  Home,"  p.  313. 

S  Except  a  branch  In  Monmouth  County  which  droiiped  the  Van  and 
spoil  it  Dorn  j  they  oome  from  Diedlof  Van  Djorn,  who  married,  in  1031, 
Elsie  Janrions,  on  Long  Island. 


\: 


810 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


dary  liaeB,  nnd  the  northwest  corner  of  it,  owned  now  hy  a  Daniel  Yan 
Doren,  has  come  down  in  a  direct  line  through  the  family  for  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years.  The  homestead  residence  was  on  the  spot  where 
Thomas  Ely  now  lives.*  Jacobus  Van  Doren's  will,  of  171fl,  is  on  file  at 
Trenton,  and  from  it  the  names  of  his  ten  children  are  cleaily  ascer- 
tained,— viz.:  1.  Aria,  bom  about  1G05;  2.  Engeltje,  born  about  1697, 
whose  descendants  settled  at  Peapack,  Somerset  Co.,  Amwell,  Hunter- 
don Co.,  and  elsewhere;  3.  Chiistyjan  (Christian),  born  1699,  and  the 
father  of  nearly  all  tlie  Somerset  County  Van  Dorene;  4.  'WilUam,  born 
about  ITOl  ;  5.  Jacob,  born  1793,  whose  descendants  chiefly  settled  at 
Peapack,  Somerset  Co.;  6.  Angenyctie,  born  1705,  married  William 
"Wyckoff,  of  Freehold  ;  7.  Catharine,  born  1707,  married  Cornelius  Wyck- 
off;  8.  Abraham,  born  1709,  settled  at  Middlebush,  Somerset  Co.,  and 
became  sheriff  of  the  county;  9.  Peter,  bom  1711,  died  a  young  man; 
10.  Isaac,  born  1714,  unmarried.  The  singular  interval  of  only  two  years 
between  the  births  will  be  noted. 

The  descendants  of  ono  of  these  children  only  will  receive  attention 
here,  inasmuch  as  they  constitute  the  great  bulk  of  the  Van  Dorens  in 
this  region.f  Christian  (as  he  spelled  hia  own  name),  the  third  son, 
married  Altje  Schenck.  They  were  the  parents  of  the  famous  seventeen 
children, — famous  because  of  the  number,  and  because  all  of  them 
save  one  married  and  raised  families.  At  the  time  of  her  death,  aged 
about  ninety-six,  she  had  no  fewer  than  352  descendants, — viz.,  17 
children,  129  grandchildren,  200  great-grandchildren,  and  6  great-great- 
grandchildren. J 

Christian  and  Abram  together  removed  from  Monmouth  to  Somerset. 
They  purchased  525  acres  at  Middlebush  about  1723,  and  divided  it 
into  two  farms.  Christian  took  359  acres  fronting  on  the  Amwell  road, 
Abram  IGG  acres  to  the  north  of  the  first-named  tract.  There  was  some 
deception  in  the  sale  of  this  plot  of  526  acres,  a  false  agent  of  John 
Bennett  having  sold  it  to  the  Van  Dorens.  The  latter  repuichased  it  in 
1763,  paying  $5.75  per  acre.  Christian  erected  a  log  house  on  his  tract, 
about  150  yards  northeast  of  the  present  Middlebush  churcli,  and  planted 
an  orchard,  two  of  the  trees  of  which  lived  and  bore  fruit  in  18C5,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years  afier  planting.^  A  frame  building  sup- 
planted the  log  one,  erected  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  west;  it  stood 
about  one  hundred  years,  and  was  burned  down  in  1809,  the  present 
residence  of  John  B.  'Weleh  being  on  its  site.  The  lands  of  the  two 
brothel's,  embracing  the  525  acres,  are  now  divided  up  into  the  following 
tracts:  "Walter  J.  Toulmiu,  Thomas  Conner,  John  Egbert,  Marcus  Ben- 
nett, Mr.  Burbanks,  Mr.  Woulsey,  Heni-y  G.  Hummer,  John  B.  Welsh, 
John  H.Thurman,  Abram  Van  Deventer,  Isaac  Covert,  and  the  Franklin 
l^oor-farm. 

The  names  of  the  seventeen  children  were:  1.  Jacob,  born  1724; 
married,  first,  Phebe  Van  Derveer ;  second,  Jane  Ditmars  ;  a  farmer  wlio 
lived  and  died  in  Bedminister  township.  2.  John,  born  1726;  married 
Martha  Scott;  a  farmer  at  Millstone.  The  Van  Doiens  at  White  House 
are  his  descendants.  3.  William,  born  1727;  married,  firbt,  Catharine 
Hoff;  second,  Maria  Wyckoff;  a  farmer  of  Middlebush.  4.  Maria,  born 
1729;  married  Petnis  Neviup,  of  South  Branch;  died  aged  ninety-three. 
5.  Aaron,  born  1730;  married  Blargaret  Stilhvell;  settled  at  Peapack; 
from  bini  the  present  Peapack  Van  Dorens  appear  to  be  descended.  6. 
Sarah,  born  1732;  married,  first,  Jeremiah  Lambert;  second,  Robert 
Hood.  7.  Christian,  born  1734;  married,  first,  Alche  Van  Bryck  ;  second, 
Maria  Kevins;  a  farmer  of  Pluckamin.  8.  Alche,  born  1735;  wife  of 
Simon  M'yckoff,  of  Middlebush,  grandfather  to  Jacob  Wyckoff,  of  that 
place.  9.  Kellie,  born  1737;  wife  of  Jaques  Voorheea,  of  Middlebush. 
30.  Abraham,  born  1738;  of  Griggstown;  married  Ann  Van  Dyke; 
grandfather  to  Kev.  Isaac  Van  Doren,  of  Hopewell,  N.  Y.,  and  had  the 
most  children  who  grew  up  and  raised  families  of  any  of  Cliristian's 
sons.    11.  Peter,  bom  1740 ;  married  Frances  Huff;  a  farmer  of  Millstone. 

12.  Jane,  born  1741;  married  John  Sutphen,  farmer  of  Ten-Mile  Run. 

13.  Roeliff,  bom  1743 ;  died  young.  14.  Isaac,  horn  1744  ;  married  Sarah 
Opie;  lived  at  Neshanic.  15.  Cornelius,  born  1746;  mariied  Elizabeth 
Wyckoff;   a  famicr  of  Middlebush.     16,  Joseph,  born   1748;   married 

*  Or  did  in  1783.  Tho  above  facts  are  abridged  from  the  letter  of  Rev. 
G.  C.  Schenck  iu  "  Our  Home,"  December,  1873,  whore  is  to  be  found  all 
that  is  known  concerning  Jacobus. 

f  The  writer  being  engaged  upon  a  complete  history  of  the  Van  Doren 
family  to  tho  present  generation,  and  "Our  Home"  for  1873  giving,  in 
sevt-ral  articles,  nil  the  dates  known  concerning  the  family  in  the  seven- 
teenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  it  has  not  not  been  deemed  of  historical 
service  that  these  many  names,  with  dates  already  published  and  to  be 
republihhed  in  book-form,  should  he  here  noted. 

X  For  her  great  vii-tnee,  etc.,  see  "  Our  Home,"  p.  54. 

g  Ualph  VoorheeP,  iu  '•  Our  Hume,"  p.  338. 


Sarah  Vanderbilt;  owned  mills  at  South  Branch.    17.  Benjamin,  horn 
1751 ;  married,  first,  Sophia  Van  Dyke ;  second,  Dinah  Ditmars. 

THE  NEVIUS  FAMILY.)! 
Johannes  Nevius  was  the  first  sire  of  the  families  of  that  name  in 
America,  including  the  many  who  have  resided  in  the  valley  of  the  Rari- 
tan.  He  was  from  Solen  (probably  Solingen,  in  Westphalia),  and  in 
early  life  became  a  trader.  Venturing  to  engage  in  mercantile  pursuits 
within  the  Dutch  colony  of  New  Amsterdam,  he  finally  settled  there  per- 
manently. The  records  of  the  Dutch  Church  show  that,  Nov.  18, 1653, 
the  banns  of  marriage  were  published  between  Johannes  Nevius,  from 
Solen,  and  Araientje  Bleyck,  from  Batavia,  isle  of  Java,  East  Indies. 
Johannes  was  elected  a  city  schepeo,l[  and  in  1658  became  "secretary  of 
the  court  of  burgomasters  and  schepens,"  He  seemed  to  have  spelled 
his  surname  "  Nevius,"  as  is  yet  generally  adopted,  but  the  family  name 
has  been  variously  spelled  by  many  ob  Nafiua,  Nefyes,  Nevus,  Neefus, 
Neviua,  Nevyus,  etc. 

Johannes  had  eight  children, — viz.,  Johannes,  bom  in  1654;  Sara, 
1656;  Cornelie,  1G57;  Marie,  1G58;  Cornelis  (second),  1661;  Petrae, 
1662 ;  Sara  Catharine,  1664 ;  and  Johanna,  1667  or  1 668. 

Little  is  known  of  the  children  of  Johannes  save  Petnis.  He  was  the 
one  through  whom  comes  the  Somerset  County  line.  He  was  born  as 
stated,  and  was  yet  living  at  Flatlands  in  1698  with  his  wife,  Janetje 
Roeluff  Schenck,  seven  children,  and  one  slave.  One  of  his  children, 
David,  was  born  in  1702,  and  UaiJtize.d  at  Brooklyn.  This  David  Nevius 
(NevyuSf  as  he  spelled  it)  was  the  assessor  of  Franklin  township  who  made 
out  the  tax-list  for  1745.  He  had  six  children, — Albert,  William,  Peter 
D.,  Neltje,  Janetje,  and  Altje.  Peter  D.  had  five  children,— Garret,  David, 
Peter,  John,  Elbert.  Garret  was  the  father  of  J.  Staats  Neviua,  at  pres- 
ent of  Pleasant  Plains,  Somerset  Co.,  Mrs.  Robert  Todd,  deceased,  of 
Lamington,  N.  J.,  and  Peter  Garret,  the  son  of  J,  Staat  Nevius,  who 
owns  the  homestead  at  Pleasant  Plains,  and  is  of  the  sixth  generation  of 
the  family  who  has  possessed  this  same  larni,  Petrus  was  another  child 
and  possibly  Martin**  and  Cornelis,  who,  with  the  Petrus  last  named,  were 
privates  in  the  Fifty-first  Company  of  Kings  County  militia  in  1715.  The 
second  Petma  married  Allie  Ten  Ej-ck,  March  30, 1717,  and  had  a  son 
Petrus,  who  was  born  in  July,  1718,  and  died  Dec.  2,  1793;  he  removed 
to  Somerset  after  1738.  His  children  were  Peter  P.,  David,  Martin,  and 
Wilhelniina. 

Peter  P.  lived  and  died  on  the  prenent  farm  of  Isaac  Voorhees,  at 
Pleasant  Plains;  lie  married  June  Stuthoff.  His  children  were  :  1,  Peter, 
who  lived  a  while  in  Pennsylvania,  but  returned  to  Six-Mile  Run.  2. 
John,  who  married  Gertrude  Hageman,  and  had  children, — Peter,  Ben- 
jamin,ft  and  Elbert;  the  latter  is  a  Reformed  (Dutch)  minister,  once  a 
missionary  in  China.  3.  Elbert,  who  married  Sarah  Staats,  and  left  no 
children. 

Martin  lived  at  Blaweuburg,  and  married  Sarah  Stothoff.  Ilis  chil- 
dren were  Johanna  and  John.  This  John  had  six  children,  of  whom 
one,  Martin,  lives  in  the  old  homestead  at  Blawenburg. 

David  was  born  Juno  2, 1758,  and  died  March  12, 1825.  He  ^married, 
Nov.  4,  1781,  Elizabeth  Schurenian,  a  granddaughter  of  John  Schureman, 
the  emigrant.  David  Nevius  had  twelve  children  :  1.  Peter  S.,  born  Aug. 
23,  1782,  died  Sept.  27, 1870.  He  married  Maria  Van  Doren.  He  was 
long  a  farmer  at  Pleasant  IMains,  and  was  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Som- 
erset courts  for  a  number  of  years.  2.  Ann,  born  May  8,  1784,  married 
Peter  Bognrt,  who  lived  at  Princeton  and  was  lung  the  steward  of  the 
seminary  there.  Hie  children  were  Gilbert,  who  lives  South  ;  Eliza,  wife 
of  Rev.  William  Ncal ;  William,  who  is  South ;  Margaret,  also  in  the 
South  ;  John,  and  David,  the  latter  a  lawyer,  3.  John  S.,  born  Nov.  30, 
1785,  married  Lydia  Van  Dyke.  William  J.,  now  of  Princeton,  John,  of 
New  York,  Rev.  Henry,  of  Kentucky,  and  Archibald  were  their  children. 
4.  David,  bom  Aug.  19, 1787,  married  Margaret  Schureman,  his  cousin, 
and  lived  near  New  Brunswick.  5.  Wilhelmina,  bom  July  4, 1789,  mar- 
ried Isaac  Skillman,  a  farmer,  and  lived  near  Ringos.  6.  James  S.,  born 
April  30, 1791,  died  Aug.  IG,  1794.  7.  Martin,  born  Feb.  28,  1793,  died 
Aug.  14,  1794.  8.  Elizabeth  S.,  born  Nov.  14,1794,  died  May,  1800.  9. 
James  S.  (2d),  horn  Sept,  16, 179G,  died  in  1859.J|  He  married  Catharine 
Polhemus.  His  children  were  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Catharine  (wife  of  Rev. 
Dr.  D.  D.  Demarest).  Henry,  Jane,  and  James.  10.  Margaret,  born  April 
3, 1799,  died  about  1864.     She  married  William  Van  Dyke,  of  Kingston. 

li  By  A.  V.  D.  Honey  man,  Esq. 

1[  A  schepen  held  about  the  rank  of  a  modem  alderman. 
**  He  had  a  son  Johannes.    This,  or  some  other  Johannes,  had  five 
children,— Martin,  Abraham,  John,  David,  and  Margaret, 
tt  His  son,  Rev.  John  L.  Nevius,  is  now  a  missionary  in  China. 
XX  See  page  589  of  this  work. 


11 


s 


*     f 


V.  f 


'M^, 


\ 


/ 


FRANKLIN. 


811 


Tbe  children  were  Mnrgnret,  who  married  Howard  Malcolm,  of  Pliila- 
delpbia;  Elizabetb,  wife  of  Bev.  Joseph  Wliite,  missionary  to  China; 
James  ;  Augustus ;  Edward,  a  physician  in  Philadelphia ;  Henry,  a  law- 
yer in  Princeton  ;  William,  and  Annie.  11.  Martin,  who  died  July  30, 
1817,  a  young  man.  12.  Isaac,  horn  Oct.  8, 1803,  died  about  1866.  He 
married  Susan  Hutchings,  and  lived  at  Titusville,  N.J. 

THE  VOORHEES  FAMILY. 
According  to  a  custom  prevailing  in  former  times  of  adopting  the 
Christian  name  of  the  father  as  the  surname  of  the  child,  the  great  an- 
cestor of  the  Toorhees  family  was  an  Albert  of  Holland,  who  was  bom 
probably  in  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century.  His  children  were 
Stephen,  Courten,  Heudrick,  Jan,  Hilbert,  Wiavil,  Gertian,  and  Mergin. 
Stephen  Courten  Tan  Voorbees,*  or  Voorhuj-sen,  son  of  Courten  Albert, 
settled  in  Flatlands  and  married  Wellimpie  Koeliffs.  Stephen  Courten 
emigrated  from  near  Hesse,  in  Holland,  in  April,  16G0.  His  children  were 
Mergin,  Hendrick,  Lucas,  Jan,  Albert,  Abram,  Alche,  and  Janelje. 

minna  Van  "Voorheea,  son  of  Lucas  Stevens,  the  first  emigrant,  wjis  bom 
in  Flatlands,  and  married,  April  25, 1717,  Antie,  daughter  of  Garret  Pieter- 
son  Wyckoff,  removing  to  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  about  tho  .same  year. 
He  was  afterwards  married  to  Lemitje  Stryker,  widow  of  Jacob  Wyckoff, 
of  Six-Mile  Run.  Three  of  his  brothers,  John,  Koelofl',  Albert,  also  two 
sisters,  Catrincbe  and  Wellemtje,  removed  with  him. 

Garret,  brother  to  Minna,  lived  and  died  in  Middlebush,  in  the  house 
where  John  P.  Smith  now  lives,  and  was  tho  owner  of  the  farm  of  183 
acres  connected  with  it.  A  part  of  the  house  was  built  of  and  now  con- 
tains some  of  the  timber  of  the  old  mill  of  Lucas  Voorbees,  which  stood 
on  the  Six-Mile  Run  Brook."  He  was  bom  May  13, 1720,  and  married, 
first,  Neltje  Nevius,  daughter  of  Petrus  Kevins,  of  South  Branch.  She 
died  Dec.  9, 1780.  He  married,  second,  Sarah  StothotT,  of  Six-Mile  Bun, 
in  17S3,  and  died  a  short  time  after. 

Garret,  son  of  the  first  G;uTet,  was  born  March  4, 1750,  married  Ma- 
tilda, daughter  of  Rem  Ditmars,  of  Millstone,  lived  at  Middlebush,  re- 
moved to  Six-Mile  Run  in  April,  1820,  and  died  Oct.  18,  1823.  His 
widow,  Matilda,  died  March  21, 1827.  The  other  children  of  the  first 
Garret  were  Ann,  bom  July  10, 1752,  married  Abraham  Beekman,  lived 
at  Griggstown,  and  died  May  25, 1817  ;  Catrltiche,  Dec.  27, 1754,  and  died 
Nov.  26, 1764;  Peter,  May  7, 1758,  mariied  Margaret  Boice,  and  died  on 
the  old  homestead ;  Neltje,  in  17G0,  and  married  Brogun  Van  Doren,  who 
lived  at  Pluckamin,  where  he  died,  and  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  John 
Hardcastle,  of  Soraei-villo,  and  Mrs.  William  Van  Doren,  of  North 
Branch,  both  lately  deceased  ;  and  Catalina,  May  21, 1764,  married  John 
Van  Doren,  of  Millstone  (father  of  Dr.  Garret  Van  Doren),  and  lived  at 
Bound  Brook. 

Tbe  children  of  Garret  Voorbees  and  Matilda  Ditmars  were  the  follow- 
ing: Garret,  born  Nov.  22, 1776,  died  March  23, 1777;  Lena,  March  11, 
1778,  married  Peter  Voorbees,  lived  at  New  Brunswick,  died  Jan.  28, 
1827;  Nelly,  May  27, 1780,  never  married,  died  at  Middlebush,  Feb.  18, 
1810;  Jane,  Sept.  13,1782,  married  Richard  Mauley,lived  atNew  Bruns- 
wick, and  died  September,  1845;  Garrct,t  Nov.  6, 1784,  married  Sarah 
Whitaker,  lived  at  Mine  Brook;  Dinah,  May  11,  1787,  never  married; 
Ann,  Sept.  24,  1789,  manied  Samuel  W.  Scott,  lived  in  Yates  Co.,  N.  Y.; 
John  G.,  Jan.  17, 1793,  married  Rebecca  Van  Den-eer,  lived  at  Fairview, 
111.,  died  March  31,  .1869;  Ralph  (the  writer),  June  20,1796,  married 
Sarah  Van  Deef,  daughter  of  John  Van  Cleef,  of  Six-Mile  Run;  and 
Maria,  Oct.  20, 1798,  married  Daniel  Polhemus,  and  lives  now  at  Fair- 
view,  111. 

Could  all  the  names  of  the  descendants  of  the  first  Voorbees  emigi-ant 
to  this  country  be  collected,  they  would  be  very  numerous.  Besides  be- 
ing in  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  they  are  in  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Ohio, 
and  Illinois.  To  the  three  first-named  Western  States  many  families 
emigi-ated  prior  to  and  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  century. 

Albert  Voorbees,  recently  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  also 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  is  a  descendant  of  the 
seventh  generation  of  Cornelius,  of  Middlesex  County.  Daniel  W.,  a 
recent  member  of  Congress  from  Indiana,  is  the  great-grandson  of 
Stephen,  of  New  Jersey,  who  married  Margaret  Van  Dyke,  March  25, 
1762,  and  whose  son,  Peter,  married  Lemma  Van  Arsdale,  of  Kentucky, 
in  1796,  and  removed  to  Butler  Co.,  Ohio,  about  18U0. 

Jaques  (1st)  was  bom  with  a  crooked  foot,  and,  being  unable  to  walk, 
traveled  about  over  the  country  or  his  farm  on  horseback  or  in  his  phae- 
ton.  He  married  Nellie  Van  Doren,  danghter  of  Christian,  and  had  three 

*  Van  Voorbees  means  "  from  before  Hesse." 

t  Samuel,  one  of  his  sons,  resides  on  the  homestead,  and  Nathaniel, 
cashier  of  the  Clinton  Bank  and  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  of  Hunterdon  County,  Is  at  Clinton. 


children,— Jaques,  Altje,  and  Abram.  Although  a  cripple,  Jaques  (1st)  wa» 
a  man  of  unusual  enterprise  and  perseverance.  He  managed  a  large  farm, 
and  discharged  the  duties  of  county  treasurer  for  a  long  time.  He  dealt 
much  in  Government  money  during'  and  succeeding  the  Revolution,  and 
afterwards  was  a  partner  with  Col.  and  Judge  Nelson,  of  New  Brunswick, 
in  owning  a  vessel  called  the  "  Favorite,"  which  plied  between  that  place 
and  the  island  of  Madeira,  exportingproduceand  bringing  wines.  Jaques 
also  kept  a  store  in  the  east  end  of  his  large  house,  the  collar  of  which 
was  constantly  stocked  with  different  wines.  An  old  store  account-book, 
yet  well  preserved,  contains  the  following  accounts  with  noted  persons 
living  at  some  distance  from  the  store : 


"  1792,  Oct.  8th.    Major  Farmer.    To  acc't  for  wine,  lu  gal.,  @  12s.= 

£6  128.  Od. 
"     Dec.  12th.    lOgals,  @12s.=£612a.  6d. 
"     Oct.  23d.    Governor  Patterson.    1  pipe  London  marked  wine, 

£05  Es.  Od. 
"     May  30th.    Richard  Stockton.    To  1  pipe  marked,  £00  Os.  Od. 
"     June  23d.    James  Parker.    To  ]4  pipe  wine,  £30  Os.  Od. 
"     Nov.  19tb.    Andrew  Kirkpatrick.    To  }^  pipe  wine,  £32  Os.  Od. 
1793,  Aug.  27th.     Dr.  John  Witherepoon.     27  gal.  wine,  @  15s.^ 

,fcO  Os.  Od." 

Lucas  Voorhees,  brother  to  Jaques  (1st),  built  the  mill  opposite  Jaques* 
store,  and  owned  the  farm  on  which  his  great-grandson,  Abram,  now 
resides.    His  daughter,  Lucj',  married  Peter  Quick,  of  Ten-Mile  Bnn.J 

Jaques  (2d),  son  of  Jaques  (1st),  married  Dinah  Stryker,  March  11, 
1788.  Their  children,  with  dates  of  birth,  were :  John,  1790 ;  Jaques, 
1702;  Abram,  1795;  Peter,  1796;  Cornelia,  1800;  Ellen,  1803.  This 
Jaques  was  the  first  in  this  section  to  sow  and  raise  clover  seed,  prior  to 
1800. 

Jaques  (3d),  son  of  Jaques  (2d),  had  children, — Jaques,  Matilda  (who 
married  John  De  Mott  and  lives  at  Middlebush),  Frederick,  V.  L.  (who 
married  Eliza  Beekman),  Abram  (who  married  Sarah  Ann  Bucnson),  and 
John. 

JOHN  nONEYMAN, 
of  Griggstown,  had  a  strange,  eventful  history,  which  was  never  told  in 
print  until  related  by  Hon.  John  Van  Dyke  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873.  The 
particulars  of  bis  conduct  as  •'  a  spy  of  Gen.  Washington"  would  almost 
seem  to  be  mythical,  hut  for  the  corroborative  proofs  subsequently 
brought  forward  by  Judge  Van  Dyke  when  his  statements  were  chal- 
lenged by  a  local  newspaper.^  This  man,  born  in  Armagh,  Ireland, 
about  1727,  of  Scottish  ancestry,  had  come  to  America  in  1758  on  the 
English  frigate' "Boyne"  as  a  soldier  to  fi^ht  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war.  On  the  passage  he  had  saved  Gen.  Wolfe's  life,  the  latter  having 
been  a  fellow-passenger,  and  was  rewarded  by  being  made  one  of  his 
body-guards.  He  fought  at  Quebec,  where  Wolfe  fell,  and  aided  in  hear- 
ing his  commander  from  the  field.  With  an  honorable  discharge  he 
went  to  Philadelphia,  married  Mary  Henry,  an  Irish  girl  from  Colttrain, 
and  when  the  Revoliltionary  war  broke  out  sought  and  obtained  an  in- 
troduction to  Washington, — with  what  result  will  appear. 

Early  in  177G,  Honeyman  removed  to  Griggstown,  to  tbe  house  now 
opposite  the  road  which  leads  in  from  Franklin  Park,  the  older  por- 
tion of  which  still  stands.  Hero  he  soon  became  known  as  a  sympa- 
thizer with  the  British,  and  was  proclaimed  a  Tory.  That  his  removal 
to  this  point  was  designed  there  can  be  little  doubt.  He  acted  the  part 
of  a  tradesman  in  cattle,  and  the  British,  believing  him  a  Tory,  allowed 
him  to  pass  and  repass  within  their  lines.  The  Council  of  Safety',  when 
in  session  .at  Princeton,  ordered  that  "  he  be  committed  to  Trenton  Gaol 
for  High  Treason,"  but  subsequently  took  bail  in  £300  |!  They  believed 
him,  perhaps,  to  be  a  traitor ;  none  but  Washington  knew  his  guilt  was 
feigned. 

About  Dec.  20, 1776,  he  made  a  thorough  examination  of  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  British  forces  at  Trenton  from  within  their  lines,  and  escaped 
to  the  American  army.Tf  Seized  by  the  Americans  and  imprisoned, 
Washington  interviewed  him  and  allowed  him  to  fiee.  Three  days  after, 
Washington  was  with  his  army  in  Trenton,  Rahl  was  captured,  and  the 
country  safe. 

Says  Judge  Van  Dyke,  in  reference  to  the  effect  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  spy's  escape  from  imprisonment  by  the  A  merican  soldiery  upon  the 

{  See  also  the  Voorhees  family  in  Montgnmery  township. 
3  See  the  "  In  Meinorinni"  voUime  of  Dr.  John  Iloneymao,  by  his  son, 
A.  V.  D.  Honeyman,  publiahed  in  1874,  foot-note,  pp.  10-13. 
(  "  Minutes  of  the  Council  of  Safety,"  1777,  pp.  109, 176. 
T[  The  particulars  are  interesting ;  see  "  Our,  Home,"  pp.  448,  419. 


\ 


sr. 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


people  of  Griggstown,  who  now  believed  him  all  the  more  a  Tory,  from 
having  been  within  the  British  lines:  "  The  news  of  the  capture  and  es- 
ciipe  of  Honeyman  speedily  reached  his  own  neighborhod  of  Griggstown, 
where  the  indignatiou  and  excitemunt  reached  the  highest  point.  It 
vas  well  known  there  that  he  had  gone  over  to  the  English  army,  and 
he  had  already  received  the -title  of  'Tory  John  Honeyman,' but  now 
'  British  spy,  traitor,  and  cut-throat,'  and  various  other  disagreeable  epi- 
thets, were  heard  on  every  side.  His  house  was  surrounded  at  midnight 
by  a  crowd  of  his  exasperated  neighbors,  who,  bj'  arrangement,  had  ap- 
proached it  from  different  directions,  supposing  he  might  be  there.  They 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  traitor  or  that  tlie  premises  should  be 
thorouRhly  searched,  and  perhaps  leduced  to  ashes.  His  wife  protested 
that  s!ie  knew  nothing  of  his  whereabouts  and  seemed  grieved  at  his 
misconduct,  but  this  only  increased  the  demand  and  tumult.  She  soon 
after  unlocked  the  door,  and,  waving  her  hand,  asked  the  crowd  to  listen 
a  moment.  They  became  quiet,  and  she  inquired  who  was  their  leader. 
Tlie  auswer, '  Abraham  Baird,'  came  from  all  directions.  Now,  Abraham 
Baird  waa  one  of  her  well-known  neighbors,  a  young  man  only  eighteen 
years  of  age,  of  stalwart  frame,  unshrinking  courage,  and  unexception- 
able character,  who  had  from  the  first  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonies 
with  all  the  energy  and  enthusiasm  of  youth.  He  was  afterwards  in  the 
service,  and  came  out  of  it  bearing  the  title  of  major.  In  his  old  age  he 
Deceived  an  honorable  pension  from  the  guveriiment.  The  writer  was 
well  acquainted  with  him  during  his  latter  years,  and  he  was  one  of  flie 
persons  from  whom  nmch  of  the  information  herein  narrated  was  re- 
ceived. When  the  wife  of  Honeyman  heard  the  name  of  Baird  her  ap- 
prehensions subsided,  for  she  knew  him  well,  and  knew  that  uo  harm 
could  come  to  her  or  her  children  so  long  as  ho  controlled  allairs.  She 
invited  him  to  her,  uud  he  went.  She  handed  hira  a  paper  and  asked 
him  to  read  it  uloud  to  those  outside.  He  did  so,  after  first  carefully 
looking  it  over  himself.    The  paper  which  he  road  was  as  follows; 

"  '  Amf.rican  Camp,  New  Jersey,  Nov.,  a.d.  1776. 
"  '  To  the  good  people  of  Neuj  Jersey,  and  all  others  whom  it  mat/  voucem  : 

"'It  is  hereby  ordered  that  the  wife  and  children  of  John  Honeyman,  of 
Griggstown,  the  notorious  Tory,  now  within  the  British  lines,  and  proba- 
bly acting  the  part  of  a  spy,  shall  be  and  hereby  are  protected  from  all 
barm  and  annoyance  from  every  quarter,  until  further  ordeis.  But  this 
furnishes  no  protectiou  to  Honeyman  himself. 

"*  Geo.  AVashington, 

"  '  CoTii.-in~ Chief, ^ 

'•After  the  reading  of  this  paper  the  wife  invited  Baird  and  his  asso- 
ciates tD  make  such  examination  of  the  premises  sis  tliey  thought  proper, 
but  no  one  seemed  anxious  to  proceed  any  further.  A  long  silence  en-" 
sued.  Tlie  assemblage  was  somewhat  confused  and  confounded,  and  soon 
after  gradually  dispersed. 

"  This  paper  was  not  only  signed  by  AVashington,  but  was  all  written 
by  liini,  and  remained  in  the  family  for  many  years  afterwards.  It  was 
seen  jind  read  by  the  cliildren  as  well  as  by  many  others." 

When  the  war  closed,  Joliu  Honeyman,  whose  whereabouts  from  Janu- 
ary, 1777,  to  the  close  of  the  war  cannot  be  certainly  determined,  but  who 
Avas  not  at  Griggstown,  returned  home  the  greatest  hero  of  the  hour, 
*'  The  same  neighbors  who  bad  once  surrounded  his  humble  dwelling  and 
sought  his  life  not  only  again  surrounded  it,  but  pressed  vigorously  for 
admittance, — not  to  harm  but  to  thank  and  bless  and  honor  him,  and  to 
congratulate  and  applaud  his  long  suffering  but  heroic  wife.  Many 
American  officers  came  to  viait  him,  Washington  himself  being  among 
the  fiist." 

He  removed  ten  years  later  to  near  Lamiugton,  whore  he  died,  in  1S22, 
at  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety-five. 

BAKON  STEUBEN. 

In  Bloomington,  on  the  turnpike  leading  to  New  Brunswick,  and  be- 
tween it  and  the  Itaritan  Eiver,  stood  the  old  Abraham  Staiits  mansion, 
in  its  eurly  days  a  building  of  some  pretensions,  but  a  few  years  since  de- 
molished. In  this  house  Baron  Steuben  had  his  winter  quarters  in  1788 
and  1789.    Here  he  slept,  planned,  wrote,  and  held  his  councils. 

TAVERNS. 

In  1766,  a  few  yards  east  of  the  present  church  of 
Six-Mile  Run  was  a  tavern  kept  by  the  Widow  Wood. 
Her  husband,  William  Wood,  kept  it  in  1745.  The 
old  house  was  afterwards  for  a  long  time  owned  and 
resided  in  by  Robert  Priest.     Their  daughter  Catha- 


rine, widow  of  Peter  R.  Suydana,  now  living  in  New 
Brunswick,  is  in  the  possession  of  the  property.  The 
house  is  doubtless  the  same  one  occupied  by  William 
Wood,  and  may  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old  or 
more. 

Where  the  new  hotel  of  C.  C.  Beekman  now  stands, 
in  1766  was  a  tavern  kept  by  Joseph  GiiFord.  In 
1796,  Moore  Baker  began  to  keep  this  public-house, 
and  continued  for  fortjr-four  years.  His  son  William 
kept  it  for  twenty-eight  years,  and  William  William- 
son for  six,  when  the  old  building,  called  the  Franklin 
House,  was  taken  down  and  the  new  hotel  erected  on 
its  site. 

In  1766  there  were  six  taverns  between  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Upper  Ten-Mile  Run ;  two  at  Three-Mile 
Run, — one  kept  by  John  Kent,  about  150  yards  east 
of  the  railroad,  the  other  by  Cornelius  Waldron,* 
where  Jacob  Christopher  now  lives;  three  at  Six-Mile 
Run,  kept  by  Wood,  Gifford,  and  Manley ;  and  one 
at  Ten-Mile  Run,  by  William  Williamson,  and  after- 
wards for  a  time  by  Elias  Baker. 


LOSSES    DURING    THE    REVOLUTION. 

Partial  list  of  persons  damaged  by  the  British  in 
1776  and  1777  in  Franklin  township,  taken  from  Vol. 
XV.,  in  the  State  Library  at  Trenton.  Detailed  lists 
of  all  goods,  chattels,  etc.,  taken  or  destroyed  are 
given,  with  the  affidavits  of  the  parties.  Here  anly 
the  gross  amounts  are  given : 

£  s.  d. 

Hendrick  Fisher,  near  Bound  Brook 145  10  0 

Garret  Voorbees,  Bliddlebush 451  17  8 

Philip  Folkerson,  Middlebush 199  19  9 

John  Stootlioff,  Middlebush 29  15  3 

Abraham  Van  Doren,  Middlebush 67  10  5 

Peter  Kappleyear,  Middlebush 393  7  0 

John  speeder,  Middlebush 12G  16  6 

Samuel  Gurretson,  Middlebush 82  3  6 

John  French,  near  New  Brunswick 151  15  6 

John  Bray,  Itaritan  Landiiig 246  5  0 

John  Slmnk,  Three-Mile  Run 147  19  6 

Jane  Pattereon,  Three-Mile  Run 39  10  11 

Benjamin  Hegeman,  Six-Mile  Run 59  19  5 

Jacques  Voorbees 112  0  0 

Jacobus  Wickofl  (Middlebush?) IIG  5  9 

Peter  T.  Scbenck,  Uaritan  Landing 218  8  10 

John  Stootlioff  (Six-Miie  Run?) 19  0  0 

Peter  Runyea,  Six-Mile  Run 99  2  G 

Cornelius  Van  Liew,  Three-Mile  Run 18  2  10 

Peter  Jorks,  Six-Mile  Run IG  17  0 

Adrian  Van  Nostrand,  Three-Mile  Run 08  18  9 

Cornelius  Van  Heugeb-n.  Middlebush 60  19  :i 

John  Stryker,  Six-Mile  Run i 2ii0  0  0 

Johannes  Van  Liew,  Three-Mile  Run 519  IG  5 

Rev.  John  Light  (Leydt)f 92  9  10 


*  Waldron's  tavern  was  afterwards  owned  and  occupied  for  a  time  by 
Daniel  Bninson,  who  conducted  the  tailoring  business  until  1806,  when 
he  sold  it  to  Samuel  King  and  removed  about  half  a  mile  down  the  road, 
where  ho  kept  the  "  Rising  Sun,"  or  what  was  for  a  long  time  called  the 
"  Bmnson  tavern,"  now  the  Do  Mott  House,  Samuel  King  lived  on  the 
old  tavern  property,  added  a  second  story  to  a  part  of  the  old  house,  en- 
larged and  remodeled  it  in  other  respects,  and  established  and  conducted 
the  tanning  and  currying  business,  which  has  been  continued  there  until 
the  present  time.  He  died  in  1835.  He  had  a  son,  John,  who  married 
Jemima,  a  daughter  of  Col.  Farriugton  Barcalow;  he  died  early.  His 
widow  now  lives  at  Spring  Lake,  III. 

After  King's  death,  in  183G,  Peter  Mahan  purchased  the  property -and 
resided  on  it.  From  Mahan  the  property  went  into  the  possession  of  John 
Christopher,  from  him  to  that  of  his  sou,  Jacob,  now  residing  thereon, 
and  who  has  added  to  it  the  LefTert  Waldron  property,  which  was  pur- 
chased of  Daniel  Hendrickson  in  1732. 

t  This  last  item  was  for  damnges  done  by-Bi-itish  in  1782'. 


^,      ^f^'^^^^^^^y 


Hon.  Charles  B.  Moobb  is  a  grandson  of  Josiah 
Moore,  who  settled  at  Flemington,  N.  J.,  prior  to  the 
year  1800.  His  parents  were  Elnathan  and  Mary  (Eun- 
kle)  Moore,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  prominent  hotel- 
keeper  at  Flemington  for  many  years.  His  father  died 
at  Ten-Mile  Run,  Franklin  township,  on  May  3,  1857. 
in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age,  and  his  mother  in 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  Oct.  26, 1871,  in  her  ninety-third 
year.     Both  lie  buried  at  Kingston,  N.  J. 

Senator  Moore  was  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  six 
children,  and  was  born  at  Flemington  on  Jan.  6,  1822. 
His  brothers  and  sisters  were  William,  who  resides  at 
Flemington  ;  Austin  (deceased)  ;  Hannah,  who  married 
Isaac  Stout,  of  Eocky  Hill,  and  who  is  dead  ;  Hart,  pro- 
prietor of  the  County  Hotel  at  Somcrville ;  and  John, 
residing  at  Kingston. 

The  earlier  years  of  Mr.  Moore's  life  were  passed  at 
home,  and  his  educational  training  was  completed  at  the 
Lawrenceville  (N.  J.)  Academy.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  left  school,  and  began  the  active  duties  of  life  as  a 
clerk  in  the  store  of  T.  J.  Skillman,  of  Eocky  Hill. 
He  then  passed  to  the  store  of  Farlee  &  Depue,  of  Flem- 
ington, where  he  clerked  for  a  time,  and  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  located  at  Kingston,  N.  J.,  clerking  for  P. 
H.  Barker  for  two  years.  "With  what  small  capital  he 
had  gathered  together  he  started,  when  nineteen  years 
of  age,  a  small  grocery-store  at  Kingston,  where  he  con- 
tinued in  trade  until  1864,  in  which  year  he  removed 
his  store  to  its  present  location  at  that  place.  Here  he 
still  remains  in  trade.  He  also  operates  a  hay-press  at 
Kingston,  and  engages  extensively  in  the  lumber  and 
coal  business.  He  occupies  and  tills  a  fertile  farm  near 
Kingston,  which  he  purchased  in  1857. 

"While  Mr.  Moore  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  purely 
self-made   and    successful    business   men    of   Somerset 


County,  it  is  in  the  broader  sphere  of  public  life  that  he 
has  become  best  known.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat, 
and  enjoys  a  controlling  influence  in  the  councils  of  his 
party.  He  was  a,  member  of  the  town  committee  of 
Franklin  township  for  three  years,  and  in  1871  was  de- 
•feated  for  the  oflice  of  sheriff  by  only  a  few  votes.  In 
1875  he  was  elected  to  represent  Somerset  County  in  the 
State  Senate,  and  was  one  of  the  most  popular  and  influ- 
ential members  of  that  body,  being  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  railroads  and  canals,  and  a  member  of  the 
judiciary  committee.  Upon  his  retirement  from  the 
Senate,  in  1879,  Mr.  Moore  was  appointed  to  the  office 
of  supervisor  of  the  New  Jersey  State  prison  by  a  board 
consisting  of  the  Governor,  chief-justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  chancellor,  and  the  attorney-general.  This 
is  a  position  of  great  importance  and  responsibility,  con- 
trolling the  contract  system  of  the  prison,  its  victualing 
and  general  supplies,  and  is  still  held  by  him. 

In  social  and  home  life  Mr.  Moore  is  eminently  popu- 
lar and  agreeable,  and  is  the  ruling  spirit  of  the  section 
of  country  in  which  he  resides.  He  is  in  active  sym- 
pathy with  all  movements  tending  to  improve  and  elevate 
the  community,  and  is  looked  upon  as  a  man  of  integrity 
and  a  politician  without  guile.  No  corrupting  hand 
has  ever  been  laid  on  him.  He  has  been  for  several 
years  the  president  and  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Kingston.  He  is  also 
the  president  of  two  loan  associations  at  that  place,  and 
a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  school  district. 

Senator  Moore  was  married  in  June,  1847,  to  Margaret 
A.,  daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  Van  Tilberg,  of 
Kingston,  N.  J.  His  children  are  Sarah,  wife  of  J.  F. 
Johnston,  of  Princeton,  N.  J. ;  "William,  who  is  in  the 
coal  and  lumber  business  at  Kingston  ;  Charles  E.,  who 
is  in  his  father's  store ;  and  Adeline,  residing  at  home. 


FRANKLIN. 


813 


ROADS  AND  BRIDGES. 

It  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  entirely  definite  in- 
formation about  the  opening  of  tlie  first  roads,  since 
they  were  mere  bridle-paths  through  the  forests. 

The  road  from  Inian's  Ferry  (afterwards  New  Bruns- 
wick), to  the  Falls  of  the  Delaware  (afterwards  Tren- 
ton) was  probably  the  first  road  opened  through 
Franklin  township.  It  at  first  followed  the  old  In- 
dian path,  and  hence  its  many  crooks.  A  road  (or 
path)  was  certainly  opened  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Earitan  by  1700,  if  not  before,  as  the  Earitan  lots 
were  already  then  beginning  to  be  settled.  The  8- 
mile  line  through  the  middle  of  the  twelve  Middle- 
bush  lots,  which  was  first  run  about  1703,  must  have 
become  a  path  or  road  soon  after  that  date,  as  the 
houses  were  built  along  this  line  that  the  owners 
might  be  near  the  centres  of  their  farms,  which  ran 
east  and  west.  Then,  from  near  the  northern  end  of  this 
Middlebush  road,  a  road  was  needed  to  Inian's  Ferry. 
This  bore  off  to  the  south,  and  joined  the  Six-Mile 
Eun  road  about  two  miles  east  of  the  Earitan.  But 
settlers  were  already  locating  along  the  Millstone, 
and  the  Harlingen  tract  was  settled  in  1710.  These 
people  needed  a  means  of  ingress  and  egress.  A 
road  from  Middlebush  to  Millstone  and  westward  to 
Wood's  tavern  (the  northern  limit  of  the  Harlingen 
tract),  must  have  been  opened  soon  after  1710.  As 
necessity  required  it  to  be  extended  farther  west  into 
Hunterdon  County,  this  was  done ;  and  when  Amwell 
township  was  set  ofi',  this  important  easterly  and 
westerly  road  received  the  name  of  the  Amwell  road, 
by  which  it  is  yet  known. 

A  branch  was  run  from  the  Amwell  road  at  Mid- 
dlebush to  Weston,  through  the  Cedar  Grove  District, 
at  an  early  period,  probably  by  1715  or  1720,  to  ac- 
commodate the  people  who  had  settled  at  Weston  and 
Harmony  Plains.  The  latter  place  began  to  be  set- 
tled in  1712.  Then,  again,  a  road  was  opened  by  1717 
from  Six-Mile  Eun  to  Blackwell's  Mills  to  accommo- 
date the  people  from  the  southern  end  of  the  Harlin- 
gen tract,  who  attended  church  at  Six-Mile  Eun  until 
1727.  The  Millstone  was  at  first  forded  at  Millstone 
and  then  at  Blackwell's  and  Weston,  and  thus  they 
continued  to  cross  for  several  years.  When  mill- 
dams  were  erected  at  Weston  and  Blackwell's,  about 
1740,  the  river  continued  to  be  forded  below,  but  be- 
came impassable  at  Millstone,  and  a  bridge  became 
then,  if  not  befoxe,  a  necessity.  It  is  quite  probable 
that  a  rude  bridge  was  built  at  Millstone  as  early  as 
1715  or  1720. 

There  were  six  bridges  across  the  Millstone,  along 
the  western  border  of  Franklin  township,  long  before 
the  Eevolution,  the  dates  of  which  are  approximately 
as  follows :  At  Kingston,  1710  ;  Millstone,  1720 ;  Wes- 
ton, Blackwell's,  and  Griggstown,  1740-50 ;  Eock- 
ing  Hill,  1760.* 

*  The  following  appears  in  the  records  of  the  Freeholders:  • 
"  1774. — Allowed  Abram  Van  Neste,  Esq.,  6«.  light  money,  for  planks 
for  the  bridge  near  his  house."    [Weston.] 


See  also  general  chapter  on  "  Eoads  and  Bridges," 
commencing  at  page  573  of  this  work,  for  much  in- 
formation concerning  roads  of  this  township. 

CIVIL  HISTORY  AND  CIVIL  LISTS. 
There  seems  to  be  no  record  preserved  of  the  for- 
mation of  the  present  township  of  Franklin.  In 
1693  the  township  of  Piscataway  was  extended  to  the 
south  side  of  the  Earitan,  and  the  larger  part  of  our 
present  Franklin  remained  as  a  part  of  Piscataway, 
Middlesex  Co.,  until  1709.  Only  about  three  or  four 
square  miles  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  town- 
ship were  in  Somerset,  by  the  law  of  1688.t  AVhen, 
in  1709,  the  southern  line  of  Somerset  was  fixed  on 
Lawrence's  Brook,  the  domain  of  Piscataway  town- 
ship, on  the  south  side  of  the  Earitan,  passed  away. 
Franklin  then  became  a  part  of  the  county  and  town 
of  Somerset,  which  were  identical.  As  early  as  1746 
the  county  began  to  be  divided  into  towns,  and  Frank- 
lin was  subsequently  called  the  "Eastern  Precinct." 
In  1760  an  act  was  passed  forming  and  making  the 
county  and  township  lines.J  The  bounds  of  Frank- 
lin were  fixed  by  the  rivers  on  the  northeast  and 
west.  The  southern  bound  of  the  town  fluctuated 
with  the  southern  bound  of  the  county.  The  town- 
ship no  doubt  received  the  name  of  Franklin  during 
Governor  Franklin's  administration,  which  lasted 
from  1762  to  1776.  In  1798  the  general  law  for  the 
incorporation  of  townships  directed  that  the  cor- 
porate name  of  this  township  should  be  "  The  In- 
habitants of  the  Township  of  Franklin,  in  the  County 
of  Somerset."  In  1850  a  triangle  of  land  at  the 
eastern  point  of  the  county,  between  the  Mile  Eun 
brook  on  the  west,  Albany  and  Somerset  Streets,  in 
the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  on  the  south,  and  the 
Earitan  Eiver  on  the  east,  was  set  off  from  Franklin 
to  the  city  of  New  Brunswick.  Except  for  this 
change,  the  literary  and  theological  institutions  in 
New  Brunswick  would  belong  to  this  township. 

A  volume^  is  in  the  county  clerk's  office  entitled 
"Franklin  Township  Proceedings,  commenced  April 
9,  1798  ;  Clerk's  Book."  The  following  are  the  min- 
utes of  the  first  meeting : 

"  The  Freeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  the  Township  of  Franklin,  in 
the  county  of  Somerset,  met  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  .Tane  Spader  (widow  ), 
in  Middle  Bush,  on  Monday,  the  ninth  day  of  April,  1798,  to  choose  offi- 
cers for  said  town,  as  follows  :  John  Bayard,  Moderator ;  Jacob  Tallman  , 
Town  Clerk;  Jacob  II.  Hardenbergh,  Adrian  V.  Nostraud,  Benjamin 
Smith,  Hendi-ick  Suydam,  Pound  Keepers ;  John  Bray,  Garret  Voorhis  , 
Uendrick  Berrien,  A  committee  to  prepare  regulations  and  by-laws  to  be 

"June,  1778. — Michael  Vanderveer  repaired  the  bridge  at  Peter 
Schenck's  Mill  (now  Blackwell's).    lie  was  allowed  £4  IQn." 

"  Dec.  2, 1779. — £500  were  directed  to  be  raised  by  a  tax  on  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  connty  to  repair  the  bridge  at  Griggstown." 

"June  18,1781. — Archibald  Mercer  was  authorized  to  repair  the  bridge 
by  his  mill  (now  BlackwelFb),  and  to  use  the  old  planks  from  the  court- 
house bridge  for  this  purpose." 

f  See  map. 

I  See  Hillsborough. 

g  The  first  volume  of  minutes  extends  from  1798  to  1871;  the  second 
and  present  volume  begins  in  1872.  The  business  is  kept  much  more  in 
detail  since  1872.  The  first  volume  is  deposited  in  the  county  clerk's 
office  for  safekeeping. 


8U 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


laid  before  the  next  town-meeting;  Abraham  Nevine,  Assessor;  Bulif 
Voorhis,  Collector;  David  Kevins,  Garret  Yoorhis,  Chosen  Freeholders; 
Abram  Nevius,  Moses  Scott,  Ilulif  Voorhies,  Adrian  Van  Nostrand,  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor;  Abram  A.  Voorhies,  Peter  Runyea,  Garret  Voorhies, 
Commissioners  of  Appeals;  Abram  Nevius,  Fred.  V.  Liew,  Surveyors  of 
the  Highways ;  Peter  Montfort,  Jonas  Solomon,  Constables ;  Jacob  K. 
Hardenbergh,  James  V.  Duyn,  John  Stryker,  Garret  Voorhies,  Ab.  Quick, 
Township  Committee;  James  Y.  Duyn,  Kichard  Fulkerson,  John  De 
Grow,  John  Stryker,  Israel  Harris,  Henry  Disbro,  Ephraira  Yates,  Ilen- 
drick  Gulick,  Ab.  Quick,  Farrin|,'ton  Barcalow,  Jac.  V.  Dike,  Lucas  Voor- 
hies, John  F.  V.  Liew,  Tunis  Hoagland,  Henry  Van  Nortwick,  Jacobus 
Garretson,  Isaac  Silcox,  Overseers  of  the  Road;  John  Stryker,  Judge  of 
Annual  Election. 

"  Agreed  that  the  sum  of  £230  be  raised  for  the  support  of  the  poor  for 
the  present  year. 

"  Tlie  next  annual  election  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  representatives 
will  be  opened  in  this  place. 

"The  next  annual  meeting  will  be  opened  at  Mr.  Baker's,  Six-Mile 
Run. 

"John  Bayard,  Moderator, 

"  Jacob  Tallman,  Totcn  ClerJ:** 

The  names  of  -clerks,  assessors,  collectors,  chosen 
freeholders,  and  township  committees  are  given. 
These-  sufficiently  indicate  the  leading  men  in  the 
town,  all  of  whose  names  pass  in  review  sooner  or 
later. 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
1798,  Jacob  Tallman ;  1709-1815,  Fred.  Van  Liew ;  181G-21,  Abram  Voor- 
hees;  1822-23,  Ralph  Voorhees;  182-t,  Abram  A.  Voorhees;  1825-30, 
Ralph  VoorheeB ;  1S31-3-2,  Peter  A.  Voorhees ;  1833-37,  John  G.  Voor- 
hees ;  1838-40,  John  De  Mott;  1811,  Peleg  H.  Barker;  1842-48,  Simon 
Wyckoff;  1S49,  Randolph  Martin  ;  1850-52,  John  N.  Hoagland;  1853 
-55,  Peter  S.  Broka\v ;  1S5G,  AVillinm  Williamson ;  1S57-59,  B.  B.  Van 
Nuys;  18G0-G2,  Alfred  J.Voorlioes;  18G3,  J.  Boyd  Van  Boren;  1804- 
CG,  Alfred  J.  Voorhees;  1867-G9,  Cor.  V.  Oppie;  1870-71,  George  R. 
Suydam;  1872-73,  Dr.  Jacob  W.  Voorhees;  1874r-76,  Alfred  J.  Voor- 
hees ;  1877-79,  H.  B.  Skillman ;  1880,  D.  Weljster  Yeghte. 

ASSESSORS. 
1798,  Abraham  Novius ;  1799-1800,  Hendrick  Cortelyou ;  1801-14,  David 
Nevius;  1815, William  Scott;  181G,  James  A''an  Nuys;  1817-21,  An- 
drew Brown;  1822,  Simon  'Wycofif;  1823-25,  Abraham  A.  Voorhees; 
182G-30,  Simon  Wyckoff;  1831-32,  Farriugton  Barcalow;  18'^3-38, 
Peter  A.  Voorhees ;  1839-40,  Abram  Perlee ;  1841-44,  John  De  DIott ; 
1845-48,  Joseph  Brokaw;  1849-51,  Simon  Wyckoff,  Jr.;  1S52-54,  J. 
Van  Doren  Hoagland;  1855-57,  John  II.  Voorhees  ;  1858-GO,  Jncob 
Wyckoff;  18GI-G3,  John  J.  Van  Nostrand ;  1SG4,  Simon  Wyckoff;  1865 
-67,  Jacob  W.  Veglite ;  18G8-71,  John  J.  Van  Kostrand ;  1872-74,  Ja- 
cob Wyckoff;  1875,  Robert  P.  Nevius ;  187G,  P.  V.  W.  Cannon ;  1877- 
78,  Joseph  Waker;  1879-80,  David  J.  Voorhees. 

COLLECTORS. 

179S-1S07,  Rloff  Voorhees;  1808-11,  John  P.  Nevius ;  1812-15,  Andrew 
Brown;  181G-23,  Jerome  Rappleye;^  Jr. ;  1824-2G,  William  Philips; 
1827-33, Peter  S.  Nevius ;  1834-40,  Abram  A.  Voorhees ;  1841-44,  John 
V.  M.  Wyckoff;  1845-49,  John  W.  Branson;  1850-52,  Henry  Hong- 
land^  1853-55,  Ab.  J.  Suydam;  185G-58,  James  J.  Garretson;  1859-Gl, 
Ab.  J.  Cortelynu;  1862-65,  John  Vegbte;  1866-71,  Isaac  J.  Van  Nuys; 
1872-74,  Henr}'  R  Cortelyou;  1875-78,  Cor.  G.  Van  Cleef;  1879-80, 
Isaac  J.  Van  Nuj-s. 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 
1798,  Ab.  Quick,  Henry  Borrian  ;  1797-1800,  Jacob  Van  Dyke,  Henry  Ber- 
rian;18tll-9,  Jacob  Van  Dyke,  Albert  Stothoff;  1810,  Henry  Suydam, 
Albert  Stothoff;  1811-12,  Henry  Suydam,  Jerome  Rappleyea;  1813- 
16,  John  P.  Novius,  Garret  Sulienck;  1817-20,  Jacob  Van  Dyke,  Gar- 
ret Schenck;  1821-24,  Aug.  R.  Taylor,  Garret  Scbenck;  1825-27, 
Aug.  R.  Taylor,  Jaiiques  J.  Voorhees;  1S2S,  Cornelius  L.  Harden- 
Lurgh,  ■William  T.  Rotlgers;  1829-30,  Ferdinand  S.Sulienck,  William 
T.  Rodgers ;  1831,  Dr.  Aug.  R.  Taylor,  Daniel  Polhemns ;  1832-3:1,  Dr. 
Ang.  R.  Taylor,  William  T.  Rodgers;  183-1-35,  Dr.  Aug.  R;  Taylor, 
Daniel  Pc?lhemUs ;  1836-39,  Dr.  Aug.  It.  Taylor,  J.  V.  M.  "Wyckoff; 
1840,  Dr.  Aug.  R.  Taylor,  Elijah  Stout;  1841^5,  Miles  C.  Smith,  Eli- 
jah Stout;  184G-49,  Nicholas  Van  Wickle, Elijah  Stout;  1850-52,  Jo- 
siah  Schenck,  H.  V.  De  Mott ;  1853-55,  John  W.  Brunson  ;  1850-60, 


Josiah  S.  Schenck ;  18G1-G2,  Ab.  J.  Suydam  ;  1863-64,  J.  V.  D.  Hoag- 
land: 1865-67,  Peter  S.  Brokaw ;  1868-70,  Jac.  W.  Vegbte  ;  1871-73, 
James  Stothoff;  1874-75,  Joseph  Waker;  1876-78,  Henry  P.  Cor- 
telyou; 1879-80,  Is.  J.  Voorhees, 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEES.* 
1798-99,  Jac.  R.  Hardenbergh,  James  Van  Duyn,  John  Stryker,  Garret 
Voorhees,  Ab.  Quick ;  1800,  Jacob  Van  Dike,  Elbert  Stoothoff,  John 
Stryker,  Jacques  Voorhees;  1801-2,  Jacob  Van  Dike,  Elbert  Stot- 
lioff,  John  Stryker,  Peter  Voorhees,  Jacques  Voorhees ;  1803,  Jacob 
Van  Dike,  Elbert  Stothoff,  John  Stryker,  Peter  Voorhees,  Hendrick 
Berrian;  1804-6,  Jacob  Van  Dike,  Elbert  Stothoff,  John  Stryker, 
Peter  Voorhees,  Hendrick  Berrian;  1807-9,  Jacob  Van  Dike,  Elbert 
Stothoff,  John  Strj-ker,  Peter  Voorhees,  Jacob  Quick  ;  1810-11,  Josiah 
Schenck,  Elbert  Stothoff,  John  Stryker,  Peter  Voorliees,  Jacob  Quick ; 
1812-14,  John  P.  Nevius,  Elbert  Stothoff,  John  Stryker,  Peter  Voor- 
hees, Jacob  Quick  ;  1815,  Peter  J.  Nevius,  Elbert  Stoothoff,  Jerome 
Rappleyea,  Josiah  Schenck,  Jacob  Quick ;  181G,  Andrew  Brown, 
Jacques  Voorhees,  Cornelius  Cowenhoven,  Jerome  Rappleyea,  Sr., 
John  R.  Van  Liew ;  J  817-18,  Daniel  Polhemus,  Joseph  Patterson,  Cor- 
nelius Cowenhoven,  Jerome  Rappleyea,  Sr.,  John  R.  Van  Liew;  1819, 
Daniel  Polhemus,  Jacques  A.  Voorhees,  Cornelius  Cowenhoven,  Ab. 
Van  Doren,  John  R.  Van  Liew;  1820-21,  Daniel  Polhemus,  Jacques 
A.  Voorhees,  Cornelius  Cowenhoven,  Ab.  Van  Doren,  Samuel  Hol- 
comb;  1822,  Daniel  Polhemus,  Jacques  A.  Voorhees,  Jerome  Rap- 
pleyea, Ab.  Van  Doren,  William  Philips;  1823,  Daniel  Polhemus, 
Jacques  A.  Voorhees,  Jeromo  Rappleyea,  Sr.,  Elijah  Stout,  William 
Philips;  1824,  Henry  V.  De  Mott,  Jacques  A.  Voorhees,  Jerome  Rap- 
pleyea, Sr.,  Elijah  Stout,  John  Stoothoff;  1825,  Henry  V.  De  Mott, 
Jacques  A.  Voorhees,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Cornelius  De  Hart,  Peter  S. 
Nevius;  182G-27,  Henry  V.  De  Mott,  .Jacques  A.  Voorhees,  Jacob 
Wyckoff,  Cornelius  De  Hart,  Rntsen  Hardenbergh;  1S28,  William 
T.  Rodgers,  John  Stotthoff,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Ralph  Voorhees,  John  S. 
Nevius;  1829,  Willium  T.  Rodgers,  William  Crnser,  Jacob  Wyckoff, 
Ralph  Voorhees,  John  S.  Nevius ;  1830,  Ab.  S.  Clark,  Stephen  Garret- 
son, Jacob  Wyckoff,  Henry  V.De  Mott,  John  S.  Novius;  1831,  James  C. 
Van  Dike,  Stephen  Garretson,  John  Van  Tilbnrgh,  Henry  V.  De  Mott,- 
Ab.  Vegbte;  1832,  Nicholas  Conover,  James  S.  Novius,  John  Van  Til- 
burgh,  Henry  V.  De  Mott,  John  G.  Voorhees ;  1833,  Nicholas  Conover, 
Ralph  Voorlipps,  John  Van  Tilhurgh,  Henry  V.  De  Mott,  William  H. 
Lupp ;  1834,  Nicholas  Conover,  Ralph  Voorhees,  John  Van  Tilhurgh, 
Henry  V.  Do  Mott,  William  Packer;  1835,  Nicholas  Conover,  Ralph 
Voorhees,  Nicholas  Veghte,  Henry  V.  De  Mott,  "William  Packer ;  1 83G, 
Simon  Wyckoff,  Ralph  Voorhees,  Nicholas  Veghte,  Henry  V.  De  Mott, 
William  Packer;  1837,  Simon  Wyckoff,  Ralph  Voorhees,  Jeremiah 
Garretson,  Elijah  Stout,  William  Packer;  1838,  Simon  Wyckoff, 
Jeremiah  Voorhees,  Jeremiah  Garretson,  Elijah  Stout;  1839,  Simon 
AVyckoff,  Jeremiah  Voorhees,  Jeremiah  Garretson,  Lewis  Boisnot, 
William  Packer;  1840,  Ab.  J.  Suydam,  Jeremiah  Voorhees,  Jer- 
emiah Garretson,  Ralph  Voorhees,  Augustus  F.  Taylor;  1841,  Au- 
gustus F.  Taylor,  Ralph  Voorhees,  John  W.  Brutison,  Lewis  Bois- 
not,  Ab.  J.  Suvdam;  1842,  Ab.  J.  CJortelyou,  James  J.  Garretson, 
John  "W.  Brunson,  Lewis  Boisnot,  Ab,  J.  Suydam;  1843-44,  Ab.  J. 
Cortelyou,  John  P.  Chamberlain,  Johu  W.  Brunson,  Lewis  Boisnot, 
Ab.  J.  Suydam ;  1845,  Ab.  J.  Cortelyou,  John  P.  Chamberhdn,  Johu 
Nevius,  Lewis  Boisnot,  William  Polhemus;  184G,  Ab.  J.  Cortelyou, 
John  P.  Cbaniherlain,  Augustus  F.  Taylor,  Lewis  Boisnot,  Wiiiium 
Polhemus;  1847,  Jac.  R.  Skillman,  John  P.  Chamberlain,  Augustus 
F.  Taylor,  Lewis  Boisnot,  William  Polhemus;  1848,  Jac.  B.  Skill- 
man,  Jobn-P.  Chamberlain,  Augustus  F.  Taylor,  Lewis  Boisnot, 
John  H.  Voorhees;  18-19,  Henry  V.  De  Mott,  John  P.  Chamberlain, 
Cornelius  S.  Nevius,  Lewis  Boisnot,  John  H.  Voorhees;  1850,  Peter 
S.  Brokaw,  Michael  R.  Nevius,  Cornelius  S.  Nevius,  James  S.  Gar- 
retson, John  H.  Voorhees;  1851,  Peter  S.  Broka\V,  Michael  R. 
Nevius,  Cornelius  S.  Nevius,  James  J.  Garretson,  Dr.  Lewis  H. 
Mosher;  1852,  Peter  S.  Brokaw,  Michael  R:  Nevius,  Cornelius  Stout, 
Jiimes  J.  Garretson,  Jos.  Brokaw;  1853-^,  Ab.  J.  Cortelyou, HI arltn 
S.  Garretson,  Cornelius  Stout;  1855,  Ab.  J.  Cortelyou,  Martin  S.  Ga.r- 
retson,  John  V.  D.  Hoagland ;  1856-57,  John  V.  M.  Wyckoff,  Michael 
R.  Nevius,  John  V.  D.  Hoagland ;  1858,  John  V.  M,  Wyckoff,  Isaac  L. 
Van  Cleef,  Simon  Wyckoff;  1859-GO,  Isaac  "W.  Pomyea,  Charles  B. 
Moore,  Simon  Wyckoff;  1861,  Isaac  W.  Pomyea,  Charles  B.  Moore, 
Jacob  Wyckoff;  1862,  Ab.  J.  Cortelyou,  Jacob  "W.  Veghte,'  Jacob 
Wyckoff;  1863,  Cornelius  G.  Hoagland,  Jacob  W.  Veghte,  Jacob 

*  We  have  not  found  any  record  of  town  committees  prior  to  1798. 
Such  were  no  doubt  verbally  appointed  from  as  early  a  date  as  1740-50. 


PETER  STOOTHOFF. 


Elbert,  Johannes,  Petrus,  Cornelius,  and  Garret 
Stoothoff,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Raritans 
as  early  as  1717,  were  children  of  Garret  Elbertse 
and  Johanna  Nevius,  and  grandchildren  of  Elbert 
Elbertse  Stoothoff,  who  emigrated  from  Nieunkirken, 
Holland,  in  1637,  and  finally  settled  in  Flatlands, 
where  he  held  large  tracts  of  land.  Elbert  appears 
to  have  returned  to  Flatlands,  and  from  him  are 
descended  the  Long  Island  branch  of  the  family. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  great-great-grand- 
sOp  of  Garret.  His  great-grandfather  was  Albert, 
his  grandfather  William,  and  his  father  Peter.  Wil- 
liam married  Sarah  Stoothoff.  and  had  a  number  of 
children,  of  whom  Peter  alone  reached  mature  years. 
The  latter  was  born  April  11,  1746.  His  first  wife 
was  a  Cortelyou,  by  whom  he  had  three  daughters. 
His  second  wife  was  Juda  Sutphen,  who  was  born 
Oct.  25, 1764,  and  whom  he  married  March  29, 1798. 
Peter  Stoothoff  occupied  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  acres  of  land  at  Six-Mile  Run,  and  the  fifth  gen- 
eration of  the  family  is  still  on  the  tract.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Six-Mile  Run, 
where  he  held  the  office  of  deacon  and  elder,  and  died 
Aug.  7,  1826.     His  wife  died  Dec.  24,  1847. 

Peter  Stoothoff,  son  of  Peter,  was  the  only  child 
who  grew  to  manhood.  He  was  born  on  the  home- 
farm  Oct.  2,  1804,  and  passed  his  earlier  years  at 


work  on  the  old  place  and  in  obtaining  a  common- 
school  education.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he 
came  into  possession  of  the  homestead,  and  has  re- 
sided there  since,  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Republican  party  since 
the  war,  though  he  has  had  no  political  aspirations. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Franklin 
Park,  with  which  he  has  been  officially  connected  both 
as  deacon  and  elder.  He  has  been  an  active  promoter 
of  the  worthy  enterprises  of  his  day,  and  so  passed 
his  life  as  to  command  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
his  friends.  He  now  lives  in  retirement  on  his  farm, 
and  has  attained  a  ripe  old  age. 

Mr.  Stoothoff  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Eliza,  daughter  of  Peter  Quick,  of  Ten- 
Mile  Run,  whom  he  married  Sept.  8,  1830.  She  was 
born  Jan.  6,  1806.  By  this  marriage  was  born  a 
daughter,  Ellen,  Jan.  21,  1832,  died  July  3,  1844. 
Mrs.  Stoothoff  died  June  17,  1832;  and  on  May 
1,  1844,  Mr.  Stoothoof  married  his  present  wife, 
the  widow  of  John  S.  Garretson,  of  Readington. 
She  was  born  May  9,  1811.  Of  this  union  have 
been  born  Judith  A.,  April  18,  1845,  and  wife  of 
Charles  B.  Wyckoff,  of  Brooklyn;  John  H.,  Feb. 
27,  1847,  at  present  farming  the  houie-place ;  Sarah, 
Sept.  27,  1852,  residing  at  home;  and  Maria,  March 
15,  1855,  died  Dec.  12,  1868. 


FKANKLIN. 


815 


Wyckoff ;  1864,  CorDeliiis  G.  Hongl»nd.  Jacob  W.  Veghte,  Peter  A. 
Voorhees ;  1865,  Cornelius  G.  Hoagland,  Benjamin  S.  Totten,  Peter  A. 
Toorhees ;  1866-67,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland,  Benjamin  S.  Totten,  Peter  A. 
Voorhees  ;  1868-70,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland,  Cornelius  W.  Wyokoff,  John 
B.  Van  Doren  ;  1871,  Garretson  Hageman,  Alfred  J.  Voorhees,  John 
B.  Van  Boren;  1872,  Garretson  Hageman,  Peter  J.  Staats,  Alfred  J. 
Voorhees;  1873,  Peter  J>  Staats;  1874,  John  M.  Garretson,  Peter  J. 
Staats,  Isaac  J.  Van  Nuys;  1875,  John  M.  Garretson,  William  H. 
Ayres,  Isaac  J.  Van  Nuys ;  187B,  William  H.  Gulick,  William  H. 
Ayres,  Isaac  J.  Van  Nuys ;  1877,  William  H.  Gulick,  William  H. 
Ayres,  Isaac  J.  Voorhees,  Garret  Voorhees,  Jr.,  John  De  Mott ;  1878, 
William  H.  Gulick,  I.  J.  Van  Nuys,  Isaac  J.  Voorhees,  Garret  Voor- 
hees, C.  N.  Staats;  1879,  James  Cropsey,  Garret  Voorhees,  C.  N. 
Staats ;  1880,  jEunes  Cropsey,  C.  Kelson  Staats,  Matthew  Suydam. 

FRANKLIN   TAX-LIST,  1735. 

The  following  tax-lists  show  the  number  of  acres 
of  land,  number  of  cattle,  number  of  sheep,  and  the 
amount  of  tax  of  every  taxable  inhabitant  of  the 
township  of  Franklin  at  a  very  early  date.  The  figures 
are  arranged  in  parallel  columns,  but,  for  convenience, 
they  are  given  as  below,  with  the  simple  explanation 
that  a.  is  for  acres,  c.  for  cattle,  s.  for  sheep,  and  t.  for 
tax.  The  spelling  of  the  names  is  retained,  but  not 
the  capitalizing. 

Corel  (Col )  Faermer.    (Nothing). 

John  Wytknegt,  a.  100 ;  c.  7 ;  (.  £1  Is.  3d. 

Abraham  Van  Voorhees,  a.  297 ;  c.  10 ;  t.  £2  lis. 

John  Graie,  a.  3 ;  c.  4  ;  /.  5s.  Id. 

Hendreryk  Van  Derbylt,  a.  100;  c.  12;  (.  £1  8s. 

Lymon  Van  Aare  Dalen,  u.  200;  c.  19  ;  «.  13  ;  (.  £2  lis.  3d. 

Peterus  Wyckof,  a.  300;  c.  20;  s.  20;  (.  £3  7s. 

John  Wyckoff,  a.  300 ;  c.  15 ;  s.  20 ;  (.  £3  3d. 

Jacob  Fontyn,  a.  120;  c.  12  ;  «.  5;  t.  £1  98.  3d. 

John  Metselaer,  a.  50 ;  c.  9 ;  ».  6 ;  (.  £1  23.  2d. 

Pieter  Metselaer,  a.  100 ;  c.  9  ;  «.  8 ;  <.  £1  5s.  2d. 

James  Herker,  c.  4 ;  i.  5s. 

Eeynier  Fontyn,  a.  100;  c.  13;  t.  £1  9s.  Id. 

Christyaen  Van  Dom,  a.  350 ;  c.  18 ;  (.  £3  4s. 

Henderik  Blau,  a.  140 ;  c.  10 ;  «.  9 ;  i.  £1  7s.  2(1. 

Jacob  Buys,  a.  50 ;  c.  14 ;  ».  14 ;  (.  £1 10s. 

Johanes  Sebrunt,  c.  16;  ».  3  ;  t.  £1  8s.  2d. 

Folkert  Folkerse,  c.  150 ;  c.  15 ;  s.  8 ;  (.  £2  3s.  2d. 

Charles  Fontyn,  Sr.,  a.  150 ;  c.  15 ;  ».  10 ;  (.  £2  38.  3d. 

John  Fontyn,  c.  6 ;  (.  7s.  2d. 

Denys  Van  Duyn,  a.  200 ;  c.  9 ;  ».  6 ;  (.  £1  lOs.  Id. 

Isack  Tanse,  a.  154 ;  c.  13 ;  8.  7 ;  <.  £2  Is. 

Gomeles  PieteiBe,  a.  100;  c.  10;  (.  £1  5s.  2d. 

Abraham  Ouke,  a.  6!) ;  c.  14 ;  ».  15  ;  (.  £1  lOs.  3d. 

Comeles  Sudam,  a.  250 ;  c.  14 ;  ».  20 ;  (.  £2  9b. 

George  Andcrse,  a.  250;  c.  12;  «.  12;  (.  £2  5s.  Id. 

Charles  Fontyn,  <r.  10 ;  a.  9  ;  (.  £1  Is.  3d. 

Jacus  Fontyn,  a.  350 ;  c.  19 ;  «.  14 ;  (.  £3  78.  Id. 

Abraham  Fontyn,  a.  200 ;  c.  14 ;  s.  14 ;  (.  £2  5s.  2d. 

John  Smack,  a.  140;  c.  6  ;  8.  3;  (.  £1  2s. 

Willem  Van  Dnyn,  a.  250 ;  c.  10 ;  s.  11 ;  (.  £2  2s.  3d. 

Samuel  Molferd,  a.  50;  s.  13;  t.  £1  6s.  3d. 

Symon  Van  Wikele,  a.  250;  c.  16;  8. 16;  t.  £2  lis. 

Boeloff  Sebrunt,  a.  330 ;  c.  20 ;  8. 15 ;  (.  £3  7s.  3d. 

Philip  Folkers,  o.  400 ;  c.  17 ;  ».  16 ;  (.  £3  8b. 

Joseph  Folkers,  c.  4 ;  t.  5s. 

John  Anter,  a.  230 ;  c.  15 ;  8. 11 ;  (.  £2  88. 

Johannes  Koelbak,  a.  150 ;  c.  5 ;  (.  £1  Is.  3d. 

Philip  You,  a.  150 ;  8.  3 ;  (.  lis.  Id. 

Tuenes  Montanye,  o.  100;  o.  9  ;  8.  7 ;  £1  5s.  Id. 

Gerbrant  Pietersc,  a.  200;  c.  10;  I.  £1 10s.  2d. 

John  Broca,  a.  390 ;  c.  28 ;  a.  30 ;  (.  £4  lis. 

Pieter  Broca,  o.  400 ;  c.  24 ;  8. 18 ;  (.  £4  4s.  3d. 

George  Davids,  c.  7 ;  (.  8s.  3d, 

Pieter  Woertman,  c.  5 ;  t.  6s.  3d. 

Pieter  Buma,  •^.  (100  ?) ;  c.  12 ;  (.  £1  88. 

Pieter  Belyn,  o.  ( );  c.  4;  1.  £5. 

Burgon  Koevert,  a.  266 ;  c.  3;  t,  £1  6s. 


Isaac  Hover,  c.  2 ;  (.  2s.  2d. 

Mariettae  Kovert,  a.  200 ;  o.  0  ;  8.  4 ;  (.  £2  Is.  Id. 

Tomas  Burt,  a.  100 ;  c.  7 ;  8. 11 ;  (.  £1  3s.  2d. 

Philip  Folkerse,  Jr.,  a.  25  ;  c.  12 ;  i.  £1  48.  Id. 

Henry  Wals,  a.  2:  c.  4;  (.  5s, 

Jacob  Probasco,  a.  300  ;  c.  16 ;  s.  14 ;  (.  £3  Is. 

Christoffel  Probasco,  c.  4 ;  i.  5s. 

Cornells  Van  Aarsdalen,  a.  200 ;  c.  12 ;  (.  £2  Is. 

Jacobus  Willerase,  a.  160  ;  c.  11 ;  «.  3 ;  (.  £1  IDs.  Id. 

Henderik  Gulick,  a.  150 ;  c.  9 ;  (.  £1  6s.  3d. 

Jookem  Gulick,  a.  180 ;  c.  9 ;  «.  6;  (.  £1  9s.  Id. 

Tomas  Van  Dick,  a.  32  ;  c.  6  ;  (.  9s. 

Henderik  Cortelyou,  a.  300 ;  c.  12 ;  (.  £2  Os. 

Elbert  Stoothof.  a.  290 ;  o.  23  ;  8. 16;  (.  £3  9s.  3d. 

Tuenes  Van  Pelt,  a.  200 :  c.  14 ;  «.  4 ;  (.  £2  4s. 

Isack  Symense,  a.  300  ;  <•.  8  ;  (.  £2  Is. 

Dirck  Hogelant,  o.  150 ;  c.  10;  (.  £1  8s. 

David  Kevius,  a.  300 ;  o.  16 ;  8. 11 ;  (.  £3  2d. 

Hendrick  Fanner,  a.  100 ;  c.  11 ;  (.  £1  Os.  Id. 

Jacob  Kinne,  a.  130 ;  c.  10 ;  s.  6 ;  (.  £1  8s. 

James  Priue,  a.  300 ;  c.  17 ;  «.  20 ;  (.  £3  3s.  Id. 

leffert  Hagewont,  c.  3 ;  (.  3s.  3d. 

Sammtiel  Greggs,  a.  150 ;  c.  5  ;  8.  3 ;  ^  £1  23.  2d, 

Obaddie  Wilkens,  a.  160 ;  c.  9 ;  s.  8  ;  (.  £1  8s. 

John  Neiel,  a.  100 ;  c.  9  ;  1.  £1  4s.  Id. 

Beuyeman  Greggs,  a.  4 :  c.  5 ;  I.  Gs.  2d. 

John  Musset,  a.  1 ;  c.  3 ;  t.  3s.  3d. 

Franses  Feurt,  a.  3 ;  c.  1 ;  (.  Is.  2d. 

Tomas  Greggs,  a.  3U ;  c.  5 ;  (.  7s.  3d. 

Obaddia  Homes,  a.  80 ;  c.  5 ;  i.  10s.  Id. 

Samuel  Gulick,  a.  200 ;  c.  8 ;  s.  7  ;  (.  £1  9s. 

Willem  Smiet,  a.  100;  c.  6;  (.  £1  2d, 

Lewis  Moere,  a.  1 ;  c.  2  ;  (.  £2  28. 

Grace  Harresen,  a.  1 ;  c.  2 ;  (.  28.  2d. 

Tumas  Soden,  a.  90 ;  c.  10 ;  8. 16  ;  (.  £1  5s. 

John  Berien,  a.  130 ;  c.  1 ;  t.  78.  3d. 

Samuel  Comeles,  a.  50 ;  c.  3 ;  i.  68.  Id. 

Willem  Willense,  a.  100;  c.  6;  (.  lis.  Id. 

Thomas  Logges,  a.  12 ;  c.  3  ;  (.  4s.  Id. 

Henerik  Emans,  a.  450;  c.  10;  j.  C  ;  (.  £3, 

Beniamen  Emans,  a.  150 ;  c.  7 ;  /.  £1  5s.  Id. 

Tomas  Tates,  a.  200 ;  c.  8 ;  «.  19  ;  (.  £1 10s.  3d, 

Corneles  Wilmse,  o.  60;  c.  5;  (.  8b.  3d. 

Tuenis  Quick,  u.  100 ;  c.  14  ;  «.  3 ;  (.  £1  lis. 

Corneles  De  Hart,  a.  8 ;  c.  4 ;  1.  5s.  2d. 

Pieter  Gulick,  a.  130 ;  c.  7;  «.  7 ;  (.  £1  38.  Id. 

Tuenes  Gulick,  o.  50  ;  c.  3 ;  (.  6b.  Id. 

Marten  Polen,  c.  5 ;  t.  6s.  Id. 

John  Stephens,  a.  250 ;  c.  11 ;  «.  10 ;  I.  £2  3s.  3d. 

Willem  Wallen,  a.  1 ;  c.  8 ;  <.  10s. 

Daniel  Greggs,  a.  136 ;  c.  9  ;  8.7;  t.  £1  7a. 

Joeep  Leigh,  c.  4  ;  /.  58. 

John  Corle,  a.  250;  c.  25;  (.  £3  78.  3d. 

Pieter  Pomie,  a.  8  ;  o.  3 ;  /.  4b. 

John  Stryker,  a.  290;  c.  15  ;  (.  £2  9b.  Id. 

Kobert  Lawrence,  a.  110 ;  c.  4  ;  (.  5s.  2d. 

John  Vliet,  a.  600 ;  c.  17  ;  1. 10 ;  (.  £3  10s.  Id. 

Jacob  Wicof,  a.  150 ;  c.  11 ;  (.  £1  9s.  Id. 

John  Folkers,  a.  299 ;  c.  15  ;  e.  10 ;  (.  £2  Is.  Id. 

Daniel  Hendericse,  c.  4 ;  t.  5b. 

Christoffel  Probasco,  a.  100 ;  c.  12  ;  t.  £1  8s. 

Frcderik  Van  Lou,  a.  400  ;  c.  19 ;  1. 15  ;  (.  £3 10s. 

Daniel  Andervet,  a.  1 ;  c.  4  ;  (.  58. 

Elifls  Burger,  a.  4 ;  c.  5  ;  (.  6b.  2d. 

Paule  Miller,  c.  4 ;  i.  5s. 

Koert  Van  Voorhees,  a.  160  ;  c.  9  ;  (.  £1  7b.  Id. 

Abraham  Hyer,  c.  3  ;  (.  3b.  3d. 

Corneles  Wyckof,  a.  200  ;  c.  12  ;  t.  £2  Is. 

Symon  Wyckof,  a.  300 ;  c.  24 ;  ».  14 ;  (.  f  3  1  Oa . 

Adrcaen  Hegeman,  a.  150 ;  c.  12  ;  8.  9  ;  1.  £1  lis.  3d. 

Ayck  Sudam,  a.  158  ;  c.  8  ;  (.  £1  6s. 

JeroniemaiB  Eappalye,  a.  221 ;  c.  22  ;  8.  21 ;  t.  £3  5s.  2d. 

John  Frana,  c.  4  ;  (.  58. 

Abraham  Van  Dorn,  a.  150  ;  c.  10  ;  t.  £1  88. 

Lucas  Koevert,  a.  145  ;  o.  8  ;  f.  £1  5s.  Id. 

Willem  Tanse,  a.  140  ;  c.  10 ;  8. 10  ;  (.  £1  9s. 

Willem  Eobens,  c.  6  ;  (,  78.  2d. 


816 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


There  were  thus  taxed  in  Franklin  township,  at 
this  time,  1206  cattle  and  592  sheep. 

Another  tax-list  of  Franklin,  for  the  year  1745,  is 
given  in  "  Our  Home,"  pp.  406-7,  to  which  the  reader 
is  referred. 

Six-Mile  Eun  is  situated  on  the  road  which  forms 
the  division  line  between  Middlesex  and  Somerset 
Counties,  about  six  miles  southwest  of  New  Brunswick. 
Its  post-office  has  sometimes  been  in  the  one  county 
and  sometimes  in  the  other,  according  to  which  side 
of  the  road  the  postmaster  for  the  time  being  lived. 

The  post-office  at  Six-Mile  Run,  now  Franklin 
Park,  was  established  in  1826.  The  first  postmaster 
was  Lewis  Boisnot,  followed  by  William  M.  Baker, 
Henry  H.  Stryker,  Cornelius  Hoagland,  with  C.  C. 
Beekman,  the  present  incumbent. 

The  place  contains  one  Reformed  (Dutch)  church, 
ii  fine  district  school-house,  the  usual  conveniences 
for  the  mechanical  arts,  and  about  a  dozen  dwellings 
near  the  church,  on  the  Somerset  side  of  the  road. 
There  are  about  fifty  dwellings  within  a  mile  of  the 
church,  without  regarding  the  present  county  line. 

This  hamlet  began  to  assume  some  importance  about 
1710.  A  church  was  built  about  1718,  at  what  is  now 
Elm  Ridge  Cemetery,  and  stood  there  for  forty-eight 
years.  The  first  court-house  of  the  county  was  at 
Six-Mile  Eun,  and  must  have  been  built  about  1714. 
At  this  date  this  was  the  most  important  locality  in 
the  county.  This  court-house  was  accidentally  burned 
in  1737 ;  when  rebuilt  it  was  located  at  Millstone. 
But  a  single  example  of  the  business  done  in  it  re- 
mains.* 

In  1766  the  county  line  was  surveyed,  and  the 
houses  indicated,  along  the  Six-Mile  Eun  road.f  Di- 
rectly west  of  the  church  was  Joseph  Gifford's  tavern, 
about  half  a  mile  west  Adrian  Manley's  tavern,  and 
opposite,  on  the  Middlesex  side,  a  little  back  in  the 
field,  the  house  of  Nicholas  Johnson.  At  Nine-Mile 
Eun,  on  the  Middlesex  side  and  the  east  side  of  the 
brook,  lived  the  Widow  Hoagland,  and  opposite,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  brook.  Jacobus  Wyckoff.  Half 
a  mile  farther  west  was  a  gate ;  Peter  Gulick's  house 
on  the  Somerset  side,  and  Daniel  Barcalow,  some 
distance  in  the  field,  opposite.  A  still-house  stood 
just  east  of  Ten-Mile  Eun,  and  Dallis  Hageman  re- 
sided opposite.  Jacobus  Labre  lived  just  over  the 
run,  and  Jacob  Van  Dyke  half  a  mile  farther  on  ; 
while  on  the  Somerset  side  we  find  the  names  of  John 
Gulick,  Tunis  Quick,  William  Donaldson,  and  Wil- 
liam Williamson,  who  kept  tavern  where  the  road 
forks  westward  to  Eocky  Hill. 

Directly  east  of  the  Six-Mile  Eun  church  was  a 
tavern  kept  by  the  Widow  Woods,  and  the  houses  of 
John  Stothoff,  William  Stothofi',  John  Manley,  Peter 
Pomme,  Widow  Strieker,  Benjamin  Hageman,  and 
Simon  Hageman  are  marked  between  the  church  and 
the  brook.     Opposite  the  house  of  Benjamin  Hage- 

*  See  p.  566  of  this  work. 

f  See  map  of  Innd  patents,  etc.,  elsewhere. 


man  stood  those  of  John  Suydam  and  Peter  Suydam, 
while  that  of  Philip  Kearney  was  on  the  south  side 
of  the  road,  but  on  the  north  of  the  county  line, 
which  curved  around  it. 

East  of  Six-Mile  Eun,  and  on  the  Somerset  side  of 
the  road,  occur  the  names  of  Simon  Wyckoff  (near 
the  brook),  Jacob  Wyckoff,  Nicholas  Van  Lewen 
(Liew?),  Rev.  John  Leydt,  Fulkert  Van  Nostrand, 
John  Van  Lever,  John  Kent's  tavern,  and  John 
Shank's.  Here  a  road  is  marked  as  forking  oflf  to- 
wards Millstone.  On  the  west  side  of  the  Mile  Run 
is  a  house  of  Philip  French. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  road,  opposite  Simon 
Wyckoff's,  was  the  house  of  John  Pyatt.  Opposite 
Nicholas  Van  Lewen's  was  William  Williamson's, 
while  eastward,  on  the  Middlesex  side,  occur  the 
names  of  Samuel  Garretson,  Cornelius  Bennet,  Esq., 
John  Bennet,  and  then  comes  a  road  leading  to 
George's  road.  East  of  this  is  Jacobus  Cornell's 
place,  Leffert  Waldron's  house,  and  close  to  the 
Three-Mile  Run  his  tavern.  Three-quarters  of  a  mile 
farther  east  is  placed  Philip  French's  farm-house. 
His  dwelling  was  in  New  Brunswick. 

June  25,  1872,  the  name  of  Six-Mile  Run  was 
changed  to  Franklin  Park. 

East  Millstone  is  situated  in  the  western  part 
of  Franklin  township,  on  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal.  It  has  a  population,  according  to  the  census 
of  1880,  of  431.  It  contains  about  ninety  dwellings, 
three  churches  (Reformed  Dutch,  a  Methodist,  and  a 
Roman  Catholic),  a  district  school  and  a  high  school, 
two  general  stores,  two  hotels,!  two  grain-stores,  a 
hardware-store,  a  drug-store,  a  distillery,  two  black- 
smith-shops, a  wagon-manufactory  and  wheelwright- 
shop,  two  coal-yard.-i,  a  hay -press,  and,  until  recently, 
a  lumber-yard.  It  is  the  present  terminus  of  the 
Millstone  and  New  Brunswick  Railroad.  The  Cedar 
Hill  Cemetery  is  on  the  borders  of  the  village.  In 
1873  the  inhabitants  secured  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
authorizing  them  to  make  certain  improvements  in 
the  streets. 

Until  about  1855  the  place  was  known  as  Johns- 
ville.  In  that  year  the  Millstone  and  New  Bruns- 
wick Railroad  was  built,  with  a  charter  permitting 
the  company  to  extend  it  to  the  western  bounds  of 
Hillsborough  township.  The  building  of  the  railroad 
gave  an  impetus  to  the  growth  of  the  village,  which 
from  that  time  was  called  East  Millstone.  In  1872 
the  railroad  was  extended  across  the  river,  under  a 
new  charter,  and  ran  by  a  southwe'sterly  course  to  the 
Delaware,  at  Somerset  Junction.  This  was  done  to 
anticipate  and  prevent  the  building  of  the  Bound 
Brook  and  Philadelphia  road.  As  the  latter  suc- 
ceeded, however,  the  extension  of  the  Millstone  road 
to  the  Delaware  was  abandoned  in  1879.  The  track 
was  taken  up,  and  the  trestle-work  across  the  meadows 
is  now  in  process  of  demolition. 

t  Tlie  "Franklin  House,"  established  in  1829,  and  "Pace's  Hotel," 
Etftrted  in  1856,  and  now  kept  by  Mr,  Hulsizer. 


FRANKLIN. 


817 


Bloomingtoit  is  situated  at  the  most  northern 
point  of  Franklin  township,  in  a  curve  of  the  Kari- 
tan  River.  It  is  opposite  the  village  of  Bound  Brook, 
and  has  at  times  been  known  by  the  name  of  South 
Bound  Brook.  The  Delaware  and  Earitan  Canal 
passes  through  the  place.  It  contains  more  than  one 
hundred  dwellings,  a  population  of  611,  according  to 
the  census  of  1880,  a  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church,  an 
Episcopal  Church,  a  blacksmith-shop,  a  wheelwright- 
shop,  a  store,  an  extensive  lumber-yard,  two  steam 
saw-mills,  and  a  grist-mill.  A  beautiful  iron  bridge 
crosses  the  Raritan,  connecting  Bloomington  with 
Bound  Brook. 

Weston  is  on  the  Millstone  River,  about  two  miles 
north  of  East  Millstone ;  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal  passes  through  the  place.  It  was  formerly 
known  by  the  name  of  Frogtown,  but  when  William 
T.  Rodgers  became  proprietor  of  the  mill  at  this 
place  he  gave  it  the  name  of  Weston;  in  the  last 
century  it  was  known  as  Van  Nest's.  There  is  a  dis- 
trict school  in  this  place,  with  a  post-offlce,  a  black- 
smith-shop, a  store,  a  grist-mill,  a  saw-mill,  and  about 
fifteen  dwellings.  An  iron  bridge  crosses  the  Mill- 
stone at  this  point.  A  skirmish  took  place  at  Weston, 
Jan.  20,  1777,  between  Gen.  Philemon  Dickinson  and 
a  foraging-party  of  the  British,  sent  out  from  New 
Brunswick.* 

Rocky  Hill  proper  is  in  Montgomery  township, 
but  opposite,  in  Franklin  township,  a  village  is  be- 
ginning to  grow  up.  The  Delaware  and  Earitan 
Canal  passes  here,  and  has  an  extensive  basin.  The 
Rocky  Hill  Railroad,  connecting  with  the  main  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad,  baa  its  termination  here.  There 
are  about  a  dozen  dwellings,  a  store-house,  a  lumber- 
yard, a  sash-and-blind  factory,  and  the  railroad 
engine-house. 

MiDDLEBUSH  is  a  small  village  near  the  centre  of 
Franklin  township.  The  Millstone  and  New  Brnns- 
wick  Railroad  passes  through  the  place.  It  contains 
about  twenty-five  dwellings,  with  a  population  of  84, 
according  to  the  census  of  1880,  a  Reformed  (Dutch) 
church,  organized  in  1834,  a  district  school,  a  high 
school,  a  store,  a  hay-press,  a  blacksmith-shop,  a 
wheelwright-shop,  and  a  post-ofiice. 

Gkiggstown  is  a  small  village  near  the  southern 
end  of  Franklin  township;  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal  passes  through  the  place.  It  contains  about 
twenty-five  dwellings,  a  Reformed  (Dutch)  church 
(organized  in  1842),  a  district  school,  a  blacksmith- 
and  wheelwright-shop,  a  store,  and  a  grist-mill,  run 
by  water  from  the  canal.  In  1834  it  contained  only 
half  a  dozen  dwellings,  a  tavern,  and  a  store.  A  for- 
mer grist-mill  had  been  destroyed  to  make  way  for  the 
canal.  A  copper-mine  was  formerly  worked  near  this 
place,  but  with  very  little  success. 

Kingston  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Millstone,  at  the  extreme  southern  point  of  Franklin 


township  and  of  Somerset  County.  Indeed,  the 
greater  part  of  the  village  is  in  Middlesex  County,  sis 
the  main  road  is  the  division  line.  It  contains  a 
Presbyterian  church,  about  a  dozen  dwellings  on  the 
Somerset  side  of  the  line,  and  about  as  many  on  the 
Middlesex  side.  There  are  others  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river.  This  was  an  important  point  in  the 
Eevolutionary  struggle.  It  was  just  half-way  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

The  name  of  Gulick  occurs  frequently  here  in  early 
times,  and  the  family  is  still  numerous  in  this  and 
adjoining  counties.  Maj.  John  Gulick  died  in  1828. 
He  and  his  son  Jacob  towards  the  close  of  the  last 
century  owned  the  mill  now  possessed  by  Mr.  Isaac 
Gulick.  It  was  owned  by  Lewis  Scudder  about  the 
time  of  the  Revolution.  The  bridge,  built  in  1798,  is 
the  third  known  at  Kingston. 

Joachim  Gulick  is  said  to  be  the  first  of  the  name 
who  came  to  this  country.  He  lived  not  far  from 
Kingston,  and  owned  a  considerable  quantity  of  land. 
He  married  a  lady  named  Ben-Ami,  of  Turkish  origin, 
and  originally  Mohammedan  ;  at  least,  they  once  had 
a  copy  of  the  Koran  in  the  house.  Their  advent  into 
this  country  is  involved  in  mystery. 

The  Van  Tilburg  family  once  owned  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  land  on  both  sides  of  the  road  at  Kingston. 
They  kept  the  tavern  for  several  generations,  in  the 
old  building,  lately  torn  down,  opposite  the  present 
hotel.  The  Withington  property  lay  east  of  Van  Til- 
burg's,  and  a  portion  of  it  is  still  in  the  family. 

In  1834,  besides  the  church  and  academy,  the  town 
had  four  stores,  a  large  grist-mill,  a  saw-mill,  and 
woolen-factory,  all  driven  by  the  Millstone  Eiver. 
SCHOOLS. 

This  township  has  (1880)  within  its  bounds  fourteen 
district  schools.  The  following  statistical  report  is  for 
the  year  ending  Aug.  31, 1879 : 


t  See  Bancroft's  "  United  States,"  ix.  252 ; "  Millstone  Centennial,"  61. 


**  3 

B^ 

1 

Pi 

a'S 

years 
r. 

ve  at- 
n. 

S 

n 

§ 

*B 

Sg- 

urn 

1 

Districts. 

11 

o 

o 

B 

•si 

11 
1^ 

■sS 

11 

11 
^^ 

10. 

11. 

9.5 
10.5 
10.2 
10. 
10.5 

Sr 
£•§ 
^^ 

^ 

38 
102 
29 
24 
72 
28 
29 

^3 
>.* 

^■s 

II 

11 
< 

18 
60 
12 
14 
32 
13 
14 

1 
.S 

i 

m 

60 
120 
40 
30 
60 
36 
40 

% 

1 

■s 
% 

% 

8300.00 
678.09 
300.00 
300.00 
350.85 
300.00 
300.00 

$1,000.00 
2,000.00 
600.00 
400.00 
1,000.00 
800.00 
400.00 

92 
162 
81 
48 
89 
44 
47 

66.  South  Middlebush... 
67   Pleasant  Plains 

68.  Three-Mile  Bun 

451.33 
300.00 
300.00 

700.00 
500.00 
500.00 

68 
75 
46 

10. 

9. 

10.5 

41 

32 

15 
■  16 

60 
40 

70  Ten-Mile  Knn 

71.  Up.  Ten-Mile  Run.. 
73.  East  Millstone 

300.0C 

600.00 

68 

10. 

2,533.43 
300.00 
360.00 

600.00 
600.00 
800.00 

153 
69 
68 

10. 
9. 

9.6 

92 
62 
56 

705 

36 
26 

344 

40 
60 

716 

87,063.70 

810,300.00 

1,090 

10.0 

14 

/- 


818 


SOMERSET  COUNTr,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  first  schoolmaster  in  this  township,  if  not  in 
the  county,  was  Jacobus  Schureman,  the  ancestor  of 
the  family  of  that  name.  He  was  a  well-educated 
man  and  noted  for  his  piety.  He  came  from  Holland 
in  1720,  in  company  with  Dominie  Frelinghuysen ; 
they  married  sisters.  The  labors  of  Mr.  Schureman 
were  not  confined  to  one  locality,  but  he  itinerated 
through  all  the  charges  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  Prob- 
ably the  school  at  Three-Mile  Eun  must  be  dated 
back  to  1720,  for  he  then  lived  in  that  vicinity. 

The  school-house  at  Weston,  near  the  graveyard, 
between  the  river  and  the  present  canal,  dates  back 
to  1730  or  1740.  It  was  located  here  to  accommodate 
the  large  settlement  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Hills- 
borough (Royston,  or  Harmony  Plains)  and  those  in 
the  northern  part  of  Franklin.  The  place  where  it 
was  located  was  known  before  the  Eevolution  as 
Van  Neste.  The  house  was  first  built  of  logs. 
About  1798  a  Mr.  Gordon  taught  there ;  about  1800, 
Edward  Belcher.  Abraham  and  Garret  Montfort  are 
remembered  as  teachers  about  1824.  About  1834  this 
building  was  burned,  and  the  district  was  then  di- 
vided into  Harmony  Plains,  in  Hillsborough,  and 
Weston,  in  Franklin. 

Another  very  early  school  was  at  what  is  now  called 
East  Millstone.  It  stood  about  250  yards  south  of 
the  present  canal  bridge,  and  the  canal  now  passes 
over  its  site.  It  accommodated  the  present  Millstone 
district,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  a  large  sec- 
tion in  the  west  of  Franklin.  This  building  was  re- 
moved to  a  location  west  of  Millstone  church  in  1807. 
Teachers  named  Flannery  and  Welsh  are  remembered 
by  the  older  people  as  being  here  about  the  opening 
of  the  century. 

The  first  school-house  erected  at  Middlebush,  about 
1730,  stood  opposite  the  present  house  of  John  Wyck- 
off',  and  adjacent  to  an  Indian  hut  then  standing ;  in  it 
a  Mr.  Maxwell  taught  for  some  time.  The  second  was 
opposite  the  present  residence  of  Hon.  J.  Newton  Voor- 
hees,  being  then  on  the  land  of  Garret  Voorhees,  Sr., 
and  was  attended  by  scholars  from  the  Raritan  and 
near  the  Landing.  The  third  stood  on  the  present 
land  of  John  C.  Wyckoff,  and  opposite  the  house  now 
owned  by  Jeremiah  Voorhees,  at  the  Middlebush 
road.  The  fourth  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road,  on  land  formerly  of  Frederick  Van  Liew,  de- 
ceased. The  fifth  was,  and  still  is,  in  the  rear  of  the 
present  Middlebush  church.  The  sixth  is  the  "  Mid- 
dlebush Institute,''  erected  during  the  past  year  by  its 
principal,  J.  Newton  Voorhees.  The  South  Middle- 
bush school  district  was  formed  and  the  house  built 
in  1858.  Abraham  Van  Nuys,  of  Harlingen,  remem- 
bers seeing  one  of  the  "  old-time''  school-houses,  cov- 
ered with  a  thatch  of  straw.  Doubtless  the  furniture 
corresponded  with  the  exterior  of  the  building. 

At  Three-Mile  Run,  Luke  Whitlock,  a  brother  of 
Mrs.  Daniel  Branson,  was  a  successful  teacher  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century.  He  removed 
with  his  family  to  Ohio  about  1825.    Other  teachers 


at  that  time  were  Groves,  Eightmire,  Vredenberg, 
Hardcastle,  Belcher,  etc.,  all  successful. 

A  school  committee  began  to  be  appointed  in  1833.* 
This  was  discontinued  in  1847,  when  a  "school  super- 
intendent" took  the  place  of  the  committee. 

SCHOOL  OK  TOWSr  SUPEEINTENDEN-TS. 
1847-48,  Rev.  J.  A.  Van  Doron ;  1849-51,  Balph  Voorhees ;  1852,  Dr. 
Lewis  H.  Moaher;  1853,  Rev,  George  J.  Van  Neste;  1854^-55,  John 
N.  Hoaglnnd ;  1866-58,  John  J.  Van  Nostrand  ;  1S59-G1,  Ralph  Toor- 
hees;  1862,  Benjamin  S.  Totten ;  1863-64,  Eev.  J.  A.  Van  Doren; 
1865-66,  Jer.  B.  Williamson. 

POST-OFFICES. 
Before  1800  there  were  few  if  any  post-offices  in 
Franklin  township.  The  town  now  has  the  follow- 
ing: Griggstown,  Kingston,  Middlebush,  East  Mill- 
stone (Franklin  Park,  or  Six-Mile  Run,  is  on  the 
Middlesex  side  of  the  road),  Weston,  Ten-Mile  Eun. 

RELIGIOUS   HISTORY. 

Franklin  township,  like  Hillsborough,  has  been 
noted  for  its  religious  character.  Yet  there  was  no 
church  in  the  interior  of  this  township  until  that  of 
Middlebush  was  organized,  in  1834.  Until  that  date 
the  churches  were  either  on  the  border  or  beyond  in 
other  townships.  The  people  of  the  northern  part, 
if  able  to  understand  English,  attended  service  at 
the  Presbyterian  church  of  Bound  Brook  from  1700 
onward;  those  of  the  eastern  portion,  if  English, 
went  to  Woodbridge  (where  a  Presbyterian  Church 
was  organized  in  1694)  until  a  Presbyterian  Church 
was  constituted  in  New  Brunswick ;  those  of  the 
southern  portion  went  to  Kingston.  The  Dutch  in- 
habitants were  at  first  supplied  occasionally  by  Rev. 
Guilliam  Bertholf,  of  Hackensack,  and  perhaps  by 
ministers  from  New  York  and  Long  Island  whose 
churches  these  people  had  formerly  attended. 

The  Dutch  Churches  which  exist  or  have  existed  in 
this  township  are  Three-Mile  Run,  1703-54,  when  it 
finally  became  extinct;  Six-Mile  Run,  1717  (or  pos- 
sibly 1710);  Middlebush,  1834;  Griggstown,  1842; 
Bound  Brook,  1846 ;  East  Millstone,  1855.  A  Pres- 
byterian Church  was  organized  at  Kingston  before 
1800,  an  Episcopal  Church  at  Bound  Brook  a  little 
later,  and  a  Methodist  Church  at  East  Millstone  in 
1854.  There  is  also  a  colored  Methodist  Church  of 
recent  origin  at  South  Middlebush. 

In  compiling  the  history  of  these  churches  we  have 
freely  used  or  changed,  abridged,  or  amplified,  as 
seemed  expedient,  the  language  of  the  "Millstone 
Centennial"  (1866),  of  Dr.  Steele's  "  Historical  Dis- 
courses" (1867), and  Dr.Messler's  "Historical  Notes" 
(1873) .    Considerable  new  matter  has  also  been  added. 

REFORMED  (DUTCH)  CHURCHES. 

The  Church  at  Three-Mile  Bun. — As  early  as  1703, 
if  not  before,  we  find  a  church  in  existence  at  Three- 
Mile  Eun.    The  people  probably  also  possessed  a 

*  1833-38,  James  S.  Novius,  Ralph  Voorhees,  Wm.  Lytle ;  1839-46, 
John  Terhune,  Ralph  Voorhees,  Wm.  L^'tle. 


FRANKLIN. 


819 


building  suited  to  their  circumstances.  It  was  a  little 
east  of  the  old  graveyard  in  that  locality,  and  near 
the  residence  of  Abram  J.  Voorhees.  There  are  no 
records  of  Consistory  known  to  be  in  existence.  In 
1703  we  find  a  list  of  persons  subscribing  to  the 
amount  of  £10  16s.  6d.  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a  min- 
ister from  Holland,  if  one  could  be  found  willing  to 
locate  among  them.  These  families  had  settled  on 
the  Harrison  tract  and  on  the  Earitan  lots,  and  a  few 
came  from  beyond  the  Millstone.  Their  names  are 
Dolis  Hageman,  Tunis  Quick,  Hendrick  Emans, 
Thomas  Court,  Jacob  Probasco,  Nicholas  Wyckoff, 
Aaron  L.  Draver,  Michael  L.  Moore,  John  Schede- 
man,  Nicholas  Van  Dyke,  John  Van  Houten,  William 
Bennet,  Folkerd  Van  Nostrand,  Isaac  Bennet,  Hen- 
drick Fanger,  Abraham  Bennet,  Cornelius  Peterson, 
Philip  Folkeisen,  George  Anderson,  Stophel  Probasco, 
Isaac  La  Priere,  Simon  Van  Wicklen,  Cobes  Benat, 
Garrit  Oatman,  Lucas  Coevert,  Brogun  Coevert,  Wil- 
liam Van  Duyn,  John  Folkerson,  Jost  Bennet.  The 
church  was  not  successful  in  procuring  a  minister. 
Eev.  Guilliam  Bertholf,  of  Hackensack,  N.  J.,  no 
doubt  often  ofBciated. 

But  not  many  years  passed  before  it  was  discovered 
that  a  mistake  had  been  made  in  locating  a  church  at 
Three-Mile  Eun.  The  grouping  of  the  people  was  at 
Inian's  Ferry  and  at  Six-Mile  Eun.  At  both  these 
points  the  subject  of  organizing  a  church  was  agitated, 
no  doubt  as  early  as  1710.  Several  meetings  seem  to 
have  been  held  concerning  this  matter;  and  on  April 
12,  1717,  "in  order  to  prevent  disturbance  and  con- 
tention, and  thereby  to  establish  peace  in  the  church," 
the  following  plan  was  harmoniously  adopted : 

"  That  the  church  built  near  Abrahnni  Bennet's  shall  be  considered  as 
belonging  to  the  church  of  Lawrence  Brook  and  on  the  river;  and  that 
the  members  of  the  congregation  residing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Six- 
and  Ten-Mile  Kuns  shall  also  build  a  church  for  themselves  at  either  of 
these  places,  or  at  somo  point  intervening,  as  they  may  agree." 

It  was  also  determined  that  the  church  at  the  river 
(New  Brunswick)  and  at  Three-Mile  Eun  should 
each  have  a  Consistory,  who  should  co-operate  with 
each  other,  and,  "  notwithstanding  these  two  places 
of  worship,  the  two  congregations  shall  form  one 
church;  and  in  matters  of  great  importance  the  two 
Consistories  shall  meet  as  one  body."  Pieter  Kinnie 
was  appointed  elder,  and  Elbert  Stoothoif  deacon,  for 
that  portion  of  the  congregation  near  Six-Mile  Eun. 

In  1720,  Eev.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  took  up  his  abode 
at  this  place,  and  no  doubt  occasionally  preached  in 
the  building,  but  the  project  of  maintaining  a  sepa- 
rate organization  must  have  been  soon  abandoned. 
Nevertheless,  with  the  disaffection  excited  by  the 
evangelical  preaching  of  Frelinghuysen,  an  attempt 
was  made  in  1729  to  revive  this  church.  Francis 
Harrison  in  that  year  circulated  a  paper,  signed  by 
many  of  the  Three-Mile  Eun  congregation,  pledging 
the  salary  of  a  Low  Dutch  Eeformed  preacher  under 
the  Synodical  Order  of  Dort,  whom  they  expected' on 
the  issue  of  their  call. 


Again,  in  1747,  when  Frelinghuysen  was  becoming 
enfeebled  by  long  service,  Eev.  John  Arondeus,  of 
Long  Island,  came  to  these  parts,  and  was  the  cause 
of  no  little  trouble. 

As  late  as  1867  some  old  people  remembered  the 
remains  of  the  foundation  of  the  Three-Mile  Eun 
church.    It  stood  about  fifty  years. 

Six-Mile  Run. — The  first  inhabitants  of  this  locality 
worshiped  at  Three-Mile  Eun,  and  formed  a  constitu- 
ent portion  of  that  congregation.  By  referring  to 
the  history  of  that  church  it  will  be  seen  that  in  1717, 
"Pieter  Kinnie  was  appointed  elder,  and  Elbert 
Stoothoff  deacon,  for  that  portion  of  the  congrega- 
tion that  was  near  Six-Mile  Eun."  As  early  as  1710 
the  organization  of  a  church  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Six-Mile  Eun  had  been  discussed.  About  1717  the 
combined  churches  of  the  Earitan  and  Millstone  val- 
leys united  in  sending  a  blank  call  to  Holland.  It 
was  filled  after  two  years  of  waiting,  and  Eev.  Theo- 
dorus  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen  took  the  spiritual  charge 
of  all  the  Dutch  in  Somerset  and  Middlesex  Counties. 

Either  just  before  or  just  after  his  coming  a  church 
edifice  was  built.  It  was  located  on  the  road  running 
along  the  south  side  of  the  Six-Mile  Eun,  a  mile  east 
of  the  present  church.  It  was  a  plain  building,  and 
resembled  a  barn  more  than  a  church.  It  was  never 
finished,  having  simply  weather-boarding,  a  roof,  and 
a  ground-floor,  and,  instead  of  seats,  the  people  used 
the  chairs  from  their  wagons  or  else  stood  during  ser- 
vice. The  exact  date  of  its  erection  cannot  now  be 
ascertained,  but  it  was  probably  soon  after  the  meet- 
ing in  1717,  noticed  above.  It  was,  after  the  Three- 
Mile  Eun  church,  the  first  in  that  vicinity,  and  con- 
tinued to  be  the  place  of  public  worship  until  1766. 
It  was  in  this  church  that  Frelinghuysen  preached 
his  famous  sermon  on  the  earthquake  in  1737.  The 
present  register  of  baptisms  at  Six-Mile  Eun  com- 
mences in  1787.  The  minutes  of  Consistory,  with  the 
first  register,  were  burnt  in  the  house  of  David  Nevius, 
clerk  of  Consistory,  in  1796.  The  loss  is  irreparable, 
and  cuts  us  off'  from  a  knowledge  of  many  things  in 
the  history  of  this  church  previous  to  this  date  which 
might  have  been  important  and  interesting. 

Eev.  Theodorus  Jacobus  Frelinghuysen  was  born 
in  1691,  at  Lingen,  in  East  Friesland,  now  a  province 
of  Hanover,  and  was  educated  at  his  native  place 
under  the  instruction  of  Eev.  Otto  Verbrugge,  pro- 
fessor of  theology  and  Oriental  literature.  He  was 
ordained  to  the  ministry  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  and 
for  about  two  years  was  the  pastor  of  a  church  at 
Embden,  in  his  native  country.  While  thus  engaged 
he  received  the  call  from  the  churches  in  New  Jersey 
to  labor  in  this  destitute  field.  Failing  to  secure  an 
assistant.  Dominie  Frelinghuysen  resorted  to  the  ex- 
pedient of  appointing  "helpers,"  after  the  plan  of  the 

apostles.    This  plan  was  remarkable  in  the  Dutch 

Church. 
Oct.  18,  1736,  a  Consistory  meeting  was  held  at 

Earitan,  there  being  a  full  representation  of  the  four 


820 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


churches.  An  address  was  then  resolved  upon,  to  be 
published  to  the  people  of  the  four  churches.  This 
address  is  given  in  full  in  "  Our  Home,"  1873,  page 
570.  The  helper  appointed  for  the  Six-Mile  Church 
was  Elbert  Stoothof. 

Dominie  Frelinghuysen  died  early  in  1748,  when 
he  had  not  yet  reached  his  fifty-seventh  year.  He  is 
buried,  according  to  all  the  evidence  we  can  gather, 
in  the  old  yard  of  the  Six-Mile  Eun  church,  and  a 
spot  is  still  pointed  out  as  his  last  resting-place. 

The  following  names  embrace  the  heads  of  families 
in  Six-Mile  Run  during  the  time  of  T.  J.  Freling- 
huysen :  Koert  Van  Voorhees,  Isaac  Haenrooncot,  J. 
Perrine,  Cornells  Cornel,  R.  Merril,  Peter  Schenck, 
Gerret  Veghten,  Isaac  Symonse,  Hendrik  Van  Dyke, 
Jakobus  Van  Voorhees,  Tobias  Nevius,  Aric  Van 
Arsdalen,  Jakobus  Strycker,  Cornells  Van  Arsdalen, 
Abram  Van  Arsdalen,  Jeremias  Douty,  Theodorus 
Montfort,  Fredrik  Van  Lieuw,  Jan  Pijet,  Jesse  Van 
Arsdalen,  Jochem  Gulick,  Elbert  Stoothof,  Cornells 
Tunise,  Johannes  Stryker,  Fredrik  Ferdon,  Jacobus 
Wyckoff,  Abraham  Vandoren,  Benjamin  Tailor,  Chris- 
tofel  Van  Arsdalen,  Martynus  Voorhees,  Jan  Van 
Voorhees,  Nichlos  Veghten,  Daniel  Van  Vleet,  Sam- 
uel Polen,  Albert  Schenk,  Lucus  Van  Voorhees,  Mar- 
ten Polen,  Johannis  Vonk,  John  Van  Arsdalen,  Christ. 
Davidts,  Nys  Hagaman,  Jan  Fyne,  Cor.  Stothoff",  E. 
Suydam,  Johannes  Bennet,  Cornelis  Wyckoff",  Alex- 
ander Beert,  Dirck  Williamse,  Jan  Sutphin,  Hendrik 
Schenk. 

Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  the  churches 
of  New  Brunswick  and  Six-Mile  Run  formed  an  eccle- 
siastical connection  for  the  settlement  of  a  minister 
who  should  devote  himself  entirely  to  this  field.  They 
called  Rev.  Johannes  Leydt,  who  became  the  second 
pastor  of  the  church  of  Six-Mile  Run.  He  was  a 
Hollander  by  birth,  born  in  1718,  but  the  date  of  his 
emigration  to  America  is  not  known.  He  was  form- 
ally called  on  Sept.  27,  1748,  and  soon  after  regularly 
ordained  and  installed. 

The  Consistories  purchased  a  parsonage  with  50 
acres  of  land.  This  property  was  located  at  Three- 
Mile  Run,  and  is  known  as  the  Skillman  farm,  now 
in  the  possession  of  Isaac  W.  Pumyea.  The  old  house 
is  still  standing,  a  short  distance  from  the  road,  in 
which  Mr.  Leydt  lived  during  his  entire  ministry  of 
thirty-five  years. 

Very  shortly  after  his  settlement  Mr.  Leydt  inter- 
ested himself  in  procuring  a  charter  from  the  royal 
Governor  for  the  churches  originally  embraced  in  the 
charge  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  This  instrument  was 
obtained  under  the  administration  of  Jonathan  Bel- 
cher, Esq.,  Governor-in-Chief  of  the  province  of  New 
Jersey,  and  was  executed  on  the  7th  of  June,  in  the 
twenty-sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  George  II. 
(1753).  The  trustees  under  the  charter  were  Rev.  Jo- 
hannes Leydt  and  Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen,  with 
the  several  members  of  the  Consistories  of  the  five 
churches.    The  first  meeting  of  the  new  corporation 


was  held  at  Raritan,  Oct.  31,  1753,  when  Hendrick 
Fisher,  one  of  the  elders  of  this  church,  was  chosen 
president  of  the  board,  and  arrangements  made  to 
carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  charter. 

About  this  time  the  following  additional  names  of 
families  occur:  Joseph  Folkerse,  Benjamin  Emans, 
Johannes  Wytneght,  Nicholas  Boerum,  Nicklas  Wil- 
lemse,  Lamert  Dorlandt,  Johannes  Pouelse,  Gerret 
Veghten,  Nicolas  Jonson,  Peter  Van  Zaudt,  James 
Pruyn,  Abraham  Lott,  Johannes  Vonk,  Bergun  Bro- 
ka,  Martyies  Hooglandt,  Cornelius  Van  Houteu, 
Peter  Van  Nest,  Leffert  Waldron,  Johannes  Van 
Pelt,  Jan  Sperling,  Rem  Gerritse,  Jonitan  Stout,  Jan 
Vander  Veer,  Ab.  Riemer,  Jacobus  Leek,  Isaac  Sned- 
eker,  Hendrick  Cortelyou,  Peter  Berrien,  Peter  Pum- 
yea, Jan  Harrison,  William  Van  Tilburgh,  Petrus 
Nevius,  Jost  Duryea,  Imrias  Van  Cleef,  Michael  Van 
Buren,  Alexander  Beert,  Ab.  Simonson,  Jan  Terhu- 
nen,  Cor.  De  Hart,  AVilliam  Dannelsen,  Abram  Van 
Doren,  Jacobus  Vander  Voort,  Syme  Kinne,  Jokem 
Gulick,  Cor.  Van  Harlengen,  Joseph  Brower,  Isaac 
Snediker,  Jonathan  Provost,  Peter  Juricks,  Ferdi- 
nandus  Schureman,  Johannes  Groendyke,  Johannes 
Coevert. 

The  services  in  the  church  of  Six-Mile  Run  were 
held  on  each  alternate  Sabbath,  and  there  was  great 
punctuality  in  the  administration  of  the  ordinances. 
Mr.  Leydt  was  a  very  laborious  minister,  and,  while 
he  does  not  seem  to  have  left  any  distinct  impression 
of  his  pulpit  talents,  he  is  represented  to  have  been 
very  faithful  as  a  pastor.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
all  the  public  enterprises  of  the  day,  and  was  one  of 
the  prominent  movers  in  the  establishment  of  Queens 
(now  Rutgers)  College. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Leydt,  in  1766,  Six-Mile 
Run  built  a  new  church  and  located  it  in  the  village, 
a  few  yards  south  of  the  then  existing  court-house. 
It  was  inclosed  with  shingles  and  painted  red,  except 
the  front,  which  was  white.  It  was  ceiled  with  boards, 
and  never  painted  inside.  Its  roof  had  four  sides,  ter- 
minating in  a  cupola.  It  stood  until  1817,  when  it 
was  removed  to  make  room  for  another  edifice. 

The  ministry  of  Mr.  Leydt  was  brought  to  a  close 
by  his  sudden  death,  June  2,  1783,  in  the  sixty-fifth 
year  of  his  age  and  the  thirty-fifth  of  his  pastorate. 
He  preached  on  Sabbath  morning,  the  day  preceding, 
and  was  smitten  down  by  paralysis  about  noon.  His 
funeral  was  attended  from  his  residence,  and  he  was 
buried  in  the  yard  at  Three-Mile  Run.*  He  left  two 
sons,  both  of  whom  graduated  from  Queens  College 
and  subsequently  entered  the  ministry.  Matthew 
was  pastor  of  a  church  in  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  and  died 
Nov.  24,  1783.     Peter  was  settled  at  Ramapo,  and 

*  The  graveyard  had  no  connection  with  the  old  church  at  this  spot,  as 
it  was  not  need  us  a  place  of  burial  until  some  years  after  the  building 
was  removed.  Mr.  Leydt'a  tombstone  stands  immediately  in  front  of  the 
gate,  with  an  inscription  stating  the  day  of  his  death  and  age.  His  wife, 
Treyntje  Sleight,  died  Dec.  2,  1703,  aged  thirty-six,  and  is  buried  by  liis 
side.  Two  other  stones  mark  the  graves  of  his  children, — Elizabeth,  died 
Oct.  27, 17G0,  aged  twelve ;  and  Anna,  died  June  loth,  aged  seven  months. 


FRANKLIN. 


821 


died  at  that  place  June  12, 1796.  None  of  tLe  de- 
scendants of  Mr.  Leydt  are  now  living.  His  preach- 
ing was  in  the  Dutch  language,  during  the  early  part 
of  his  ministry,  exclusively;  in  his  latter  years  he 
preached  in  English  half  the  time. 

At  the  close  of  the  Eevolution  this  church  and 
Millstone  united  in  calling  John  M.  Van  Harlingen, 
who  continued  in  the  charge,  residing  in  Millstone 
village,  until  1795.    After  being  two  years  without  a 
pastor,  James  Spencer  Cannon,  D.D.,  in  1797,  as- 
sumed the  care  of  the  two  churches.    In  1807,  Mill- 
stone withdrew  from  the  connection,  but  he  continued 
with  this  church  until  1826.    During  Dr.  Cannon's 
ministry   (in    1817)   a  new  house  of  worship  was 
erected  on  the  site  of  that  of  1766.    In  1827,  Rev. 
James  Romeyn  became  its  pastor,  and  served  for  six 
years,  being  followed  by  Rev.  Jacob  C.  Sears  in  1833. 
He  removed  to  Six-Mile  Run  on  September  5th  of  the 
same  year.    At  the  commencement  of  his  ministry 
the  Six-Mile  Run  congregation  had  a  circumference 
of  not  less  than  35  miles.    It  reached  from  the  Am- 
well  road  at  Middlebush  to  Cranberry  turnpike,  and 
from  Three-Mile  Run  to  Rocky  Hill.    In  this  terri- 
tory several  new  churches  have  since  been  established. 
During  these  forty  years  he  admitted  to  the  church 
300  on  profession  of  faith  and  121  by  certificate ;  607 
children  and  34  adults  were  baptized,  and  346  mar- 
riages solemnized.    He  was  made  pastor  emeritus  in 
1878. 

Jan.  7,  1879,  the  church  building,  erected  in  1817, 
was  burned  to  the  ground.  An  organ  was  being 
placed  in  the  church,  and  the  fire  originated  in  con- 
nection with  that  work.  A  new  edifice  was  at  once 
erected  on  the  same  site,  and  dedicated  in  December. 
In  the  mean  time  the  church  had  determined  to  call 
a  colleague  to  the  venerable  Dr.  Sears.  The  candi- 
date Rev.  Rivers  Taylor  (son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  J.  R. 
Taylor,  of  Newark,  N.  J.)  was  called  in  the  summer 
of  1879,  and  ordained  and  installed  on  the  same  day 
the  church  was  dedicated.  In  1880  there  were  130 
families,  290  members  (being  a  revised  list),  and  200 
scholars  in  the  Sabbath-school. 

Middlebush.— This  church  was  organized  March  17, 
1834,  out  of  families  belonging  to  the  church  of  New 
Brunswick.  Prior  to  this  it  had  been  an  outpost,— a 
place  of  catechisation.  The  edifice  was  finished  in  1834, 
and  Rev.  Jacob  J.  Schultz  called  from  White  House 
and  Lebanon  to  take  charge  of  the  new  congregation. 
He  continued  from  1834  to  1838,  when  he  resigned,  in 
consequence  of  mental  infirmities.  He  was  succeeded 
in  1838  by  Rev.  John  A.  Van  Doren,  who  continued 
the  efficient  pastor  until  1866.  He  was  subsequently 
settled  at  Clinton  Station,  N.  J.,  1866-72,  and  has 
since  resided  at  East  Millstone. 

Rev  George  Swaim  became  the  next  pastor,  and 
served  from  1866-68.  Rev.  Stephen  L.  Mershon  suc- 
ceeded, remaining  from  1869  until  1874.* 


*Hi8  first  wife,  Mary  Talmage,  was  sister  to  the  Talmage  brothers, 
KevB.  James,  John,  Goyn,  and  T.  De  Witt ;  she  died  in  1872.   A  couple  of 


Rev.  James  Le  Fevre  is  the  present  pastor,  having 
entered  upon  his  duties  in  January,  1875.  He  is  a 
native  of  New  Paltz,  N.  Y.,  and  was  graduated  at 
Rutgers  College  in  1854,  and  at  the  New  Brunswick 
Seminary  in  1857.  The  church  now  numbers  100 
families,  200  communicants,  and  140  children  in  the 
Sabbath-school. 

T!ie  Church  of  Origgstown. — This  church  was  or- 
ganized in  June,  1842,  out  of  families  worshiping 
previously  at  Six-Mile  Run  and  Harlingen.  The 
movement  grew  out  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
people  to  enjoy  the  sacred  ordinances  nearer  their 
homes.  The  church  assumed  the  title  of  the  "  First 
Reformed  Protestant  Dutch  Church  of  Griggstown." 
The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  A.  Messier,  of 
Somerville.  The  names  of  the  first  Consistory  were 
Abraham  Perlee,  Joseph  Cornell,  John  S.  Hoagland, 
and  Rynier  P.  Staats,  elders,  and  Rynier  A.  Staats, 
Garret  Wyckofif,  Peter  Cornell,  and  Martin  N.  Gulick, 
deacons.  Immediately  the  Consistory  commenced 
the  erection  of  a  church  edifice.  It  was  completed 
and  dedicated  Aug.  8, 1843.  The  sermon  was  preached 
by  Rev.  Jeremiah  S.  Lord,  who  had  been  called  as 
pastor,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  he  was 
ordained  and  installed.  He  continued  to  serve  until 
1847. 

Rev.  John  A.  Todd  became  the  Second  pastor.  He 
immediately  settled  at  Griggstown,  where  he  re- 
mained for  seven  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Edward  P.  Livingston,  who  served  for  three  years, 
1855-58.  Rev.  Stephen  Searle  served  from  1859  to 
1873. 

Rev.  R.  G.  Williams,  a  native  of  Wales,  was  next 
called  ;  Griggstown  was  his  first  settlement,  1874-77. 
He  was  succeeded,  in  1878,  by  Rev.  John  Preston 
Searle,  son  of  Rev.  Samuel  T.,  and  nephew  of  the 
preceding  pastor  of  the  same  name.  In  December, 
1880,  he  severed  his  connection  with  this  church,  to 
accept  a  call  to  the  First  Reformed  Church  of  Som- 
erville. This  church  now  reports  50  families  and 
161  communicants,  with  100  children  in  the  Sabbath- 
school. 

Bound  Brooh.—1h.\s  church  was  formed  principally 
from  families  who  had  been  connected  with  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Bound  Brook,  with  a  few  from 
Somerville  and  Millstone,  and  was  organized  on  Aug. 
20,  1846,  in  the  Franklin  school-house.  The  first 
Consistory  were  John  Lane,  Cornelius  Messier,  Jacob 
H.  Wyckofi",  and  Caleb  C.  Brokaw,  elders,  and  An- 
drew Todd,  Daniel  H.  Voorhees,  Elias  B.  Van  Ars- 
dale,  and  Henry  C.  Brokaw,  deacons.  It  began  under 
excellent  auspices,  and  with  sufficient  numbers  to 
become  at  once  efficient  and  self-sustaining.  A  suit- 
able building  was  soon  erected.  It  was  dedicated 
May  10, 1848. 
Its  first  pastor  was  Rev.  George  I.  Van  Neste,  a 

years  after,  he  consummated  a  second  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Key. 
James  Talmage,  hut  he  went  from  the  bridal  altar  to  the  sick-bed,  and 
in  three  days  he  died,— April  11, 1874. 


822 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


native  of  Weston,  this  county,  Bound  Brook  being 
his  first  charge.  Here  he  remained  for  six  years, 
1847-53. 

Key.  William  Demarest  became  the  second  pastor, 
in  1854,  and  continued  for  three  years.  Eev.  Henry 
V.  Voorhees,  the  third  pastor,  remained  about  four 
years,  from  January,  1858,  to  1862. 

Rev.  Benjamin  F.  Komaine  succeeded.  For  five 
years  (1842-47)  he  was  editor  of  the  American  Spec- 
tator, at  Albany,  N.  Y.  He  was  settled  at  Bound 
Brook  from  1862  to  1868,  when  he  removed  to  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  and  became  secretary  of  the  Colonization 
Society  in  that  State,  and  died  a  few  years  ago.  Eev. 
Jacob  C.  Dutcher  came  next.  He  was  settled  at 
Bound  Brook  for  twelve  years,  1868-80. 

The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  William  E.  Lyall.  After 
supplying  this  church  for  several  months,  he  was 
called  and  installed  on  May  11,  1880.  The  church 
now  numbers  69  families  and  107  communicants, 
with  105  children  in  the  Sabbath-school. 

East  Millstone. — This  church  grew  out  .of  the  in- 
crease of  the  village  on  the  east  side  of  the  Millstone 
when  the  Millstone  Railroad  was  built.  Three  men 
were  most  active  in  securing  an  organization, — 
Ernestus  Schenck,  Dr.  Garret  Van  Doren,  and  John 
V.  A.  Merrill.  July  19,  1855,  Eev.  Mesick,  J.  A.  H. 
Cornell,  William  "Pitcher,  and  the  elder  Jeremiah 
Whitenack  organized  the  church.  It  consisted  of 
eighteen  members.  The  first  Consistory  were  Cor- 
nelius Broach  and  John  V.  A.  Merrill,  elders,  and 
Richard  A.  Kuhl  and  John  Stines,  deacons.  Er- 
nestus Schenck,  J.  V.  A.  Merrill,  and  Peter  Wort- 
man  were  appointed  a  building  committee.  Rev. 
John  Ludlow  addressed  the  people  on  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone,  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Matthews,  of  New 
York,  preached  the  dedication  sermon.  The  entire 
cost  of  the  lot,  building,  and  bell  was  $5748.23.  , 

The  first  pastor.  Rev.  Giles  Vander  Wall,  was  in- 
stalled July  9,  1856,  and  the  connection  was  dissolved 
June  8,  1858.  Mr.  Wall  went  subsequently  as  mis- 
sionary to  South  Africa. 

Rev.  David  Cole  was  called  Nov.  23,  1858.  He  re- 
mained until  April  1, 1863,  when  he  became  professor 
of  Latin  and  Greek  in  Rutgers  College.  Rev.  Martin 
L.  Berger  was  called  in  1863,  and  remained  until 
1866.  He  was  succeeded  by  Eev.  William  H. 
Phraner,  from  1866  to  1870.  Eev.  Alexander  Mc- 
William  became  the  fifth  pastor,  in  1870,  and  still 
continues.  He  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  a  gradu- 
ate from  Union  College,  and  the  Associate  Eeformed 
Seminary  at  Newburg.  The  church  now  reports  75 
families  and  155  communicants,  with  80  children  in 
the  Sabbath-school. 

PEESBTTEEIAN. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kingston  was  estab- 
lished not  later  than  1732.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  of 
that  denomination  in  the  State.  The  building  stood 
near  the  northeast  corner  of  the  cemetery  and  the 


school-house.  Before  there  was  a  church  at  Prince- 
ton the  people  came  from  that  locality  to  Kingston  to 
worship.  The  cemetery  has  in  it  tombstones  dating 
back  to  1756.  The  first  building  was  a  log  cabin. 
The  second  edifice  was  built  in  1792 ;  the  third  in 
1852.  It  is  said  that  a  Eev.  Thomas  Evans  officiated 
here  and  at  Millstone  as  early  as  1737,  but  this  has 
not  been  verified. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  ministers  from  the 
records  of  the  Presbytery,  furnished  by  Eev.  A.  L. 
Armstrong,  stated  clerk : 

1.  William  Tennent,  original  member  of  Presbj'tery  of  New  Brunswick, 

organized  1738  ;  died  1750. 

2.  Jacob  Van  Arsdaleu,  June  19, 1771 ;  relntion  dissolved  Dec.  13,1775. 

3.  Stephen  Voorhees,  Kingston  and  Assunpink,  June  12,  1703;  died 

Nov.  23, 179G.* 

4.  David  Comfort,  Kingston  and  Dutch  Neck,  June  4,1850;  relation  to 

Kingston  dissolved  April  24, 1850;  died  Dec.  28, 1853. 

5.  James  C.  Watson,  Feb.  19, 1851 ;  relation  dissolved  Oct.  17, 1854. 

6.  Thomas  L.  Janeway,  Nov.  1, 1865 ;  relation  dissolved  Aug.  2, 1801. 

7.  James  H.  Callen,  May  1, 1802;  relation  dissolved  April  20, 1861. 

8.  Edward  B.  Wall,  May  3,  1865;  relation  dissolved  Aug.  13,  1807. 

9.  Joseph  R.  Mann,  Oct.  24, 1867;  relation  dissolved  April  8, 1873. 

10.  Jubn  H.  Scofleld,  March  25, 1874  ;  relation  dissolved  July  6, 1680. 

The  church  now  reports  195  members,  and  200  chil- 
dren in  the  Sabbath-school. 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHDBCH  OF  EAST  MILLSTONE 

was  organized  in  1855.  Its  pastors,  most  of  whom 
served  but  one  year,  have  been  as  follows :  J.  C.  Crate, 
1856-57;  G.  W.  Batcheldor,  1857-58;  G.  Neal, 
1858-59;  H.  Butty,  1859-60;  J.  Hanlon  (2  years), 
1860-62 ;  T.  Frazee,  1862-63  ;  J.  B.  Faulks,  1863-64 ; 
W.  W.  Wheaton,  1864-65 ;  W.  Tompkinson,  1865-66 ; 
E.  F.  Hadley  (2  years),  1866-68;  T.  Stratton,  1868- 
69 ;  S.  Decker  (2  years),  1869-71 ;  E.  Wilson  (3  years), 
1871-74;  J.  O.  Winner  (3  years),  1874-77;  "c.  H. 
Benson,  1877-78;  D.  W.  Eyder  (2  years),  1878-80; 
S.  M.  Hilliard,  present  pastor,  1880. 

Eev.  Edward  Wilson,  one  of  the  above,  was  born 
in  Liverpool,  England,  in  1820,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1840.  He  was  licensed  in  1846,  by 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Indiana.  The 
next  year  he  went  to  England,  and  occupied  various 
posts  of  usefulness.  In  1869  he  returned  to  America 
and  settled  at  Metuchen,  N.  J.  He  supplied  the 
Methodist  Church  of  East  Millstone  for  three  years, 
and  then  became  pastor  of  St.  James'  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  New  Brunswick.  He  subse- 
quently joined  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  and 
has  lately  been  elected  bishop  for  Canada. 

ST.  PAUL'S  EPISCOPAL  CHUECH  OF  BOUND  BBOOK 

was  organized  Oct.  6,  1861.  The  first  officers  were 
Capt.  T.  Augustus  Craven,  Senior  Warden ;  Capt. 
John  S.  Nicholas,  Junior  Warden ;  John  L.  Van  De- 
water,  Col.  Daniel  Talmage,  Isaac  R.  Cornell,  Thomas 
L.  Wells,  Cornelius  W.  La  Tourette,  David  Mack, 
and  James  Eyder,  Vestrymen.  Its  rectors  to  date 
have  been  Eevs.  William  B.  Otis,  E.  Isaac,  Henry  A. 

*  Sec  Corwin's  "  Manual  of  Eeformed  Church." 


FKANKLIN. 


823 


Dows,  J.  Van  Linge,  and  C.  A.  Wenman,  the  present 
rector.  Prior  to  building  meetings  were  held  in  the 
district  school-house,  South  Bound  Brook.  The  pres- 
ent number  of  communicants  is  36. 

The  officers  are  David  Mack,  Senior  Warden ;  E. 
H.  Brokaw,  Junior  Warden ;  J.  Howard  Brown,  Fred. 
Brunhurst,  George  Briggs,  John  Waterhouse,  C.  W. 
Thomas,  F.  I.  Dibbell,  G.  W.  La  Tourette,  Vestry- 
men ;  J.  Howard  Brown,  Clerk ;  R.  H.  Brokaw,  Treas- 
urer. 

The  Sunday-school  was  reorganized  Oct.  1, 1879. 
It  has  now  35  scholars  and  8  teachers.  F.  I.  Dibbell 
is  the  superintendent,  and  0.  W.  Thomas  the  libra- 
rian. 

The  corner-stone  was  laid  Dec.  26, 1861,  by  the  Rt. 
Eev.  William  H.  Odenheimer.  The  edifice  was  com- 
pleted in  January,  1863,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2000. 
On  the  26th  of  August,  1862,  the  building  committee 
entered  into  a  contract  with  Mr.  James  N.  Voorhees, 
of  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  to  erect  a  frame  building  on  the 
already  existing  stone  foundation,  which  was  com- 
pleted by  him  in  January,  1863.  The  above  facts  are 
from  parish  register. 

ArEICAlI  METHODIST  CHTJKCH  AT  MIDDLEBUSH. 

This  congregation  bought  a  building  at  South  Mid- 
dlebush,  Sept.  4,  1876,  and  were  duly  organized  into 
a  church  on  Sept.  20th,  with  Rev.  R.  Fauset  as  pastor, 
and  Francis  Van  Dyke,  Samuel  S.  Garretspn,  Lewis 
Schenck,  and  William  Opdyke  as  trustees.  Mr.  Fau- 
set served  three  years.  In  1879  he  was  succeeded 
by  Eev.  Thomas  A.  Cuff,  the  present  pastor.  The 
church  has  45  members  and  a  Sabbath-school  with  32 
scholars  and  5  teachers. 

Another  small  African  church  exists  at  Ten-Mile 
Run. 

ROM.VN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  OF  EAST  MILLSTONE. 

This  church,  erected  at  East  Millstone  in  1864,  was 
at  first  under  charge  of  Eev.  John  Rodgers,  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  his  curates.  Rev.  Mr.  Nederhouse, 
Eev.  Mr.  Mezlington,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Lynch,  during 
the  first  six  years  of  its  existence.  It  was  enlarged 
about  1870.  Afterwards  it  was  supplied  by  the  priests 
of  Raritan,— viz..  Rev.  Mr.  Keader,  1870-74;  Rev. 
Mr.  Marshall,  1874-76 ;  and  Rev.  Mr.  Ziramer,  for  six 
months.  It  has  been  served  by  Rev.  Mr.  Vanden  Bo- 
gart,  of  Bound  Brook,  since  1876,  who  is  the  present 
incumbent. 

Franklin  township  has  also  been  the  birthplace  of 
a  large  number  of  clergymen.  The  following  is  a 
list  (for  full  biographies,  particulars,  and  character- 
ization see  Corwin's  "Manual  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church"  and  Messler's  "Historical  Notes"): 
John  Frelinghuysen,  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Ja- 
cobus Frelinghuysen,  Ferdinandus  Frelinghuysen, 
Henricus  Frelinghuysen,  Garret  I.  Garretson,  Martin 
Schenck,  John  W.  Schenck,  T.  B.  Romeyn,  Albert  V. 
Gulick,  Uriah  D.  Gulick,  Jacob  W.  Schenck,  Isaac  S. 


Schenck,  Isaac  P.  Brokaw,  Ralph  W.  Brokaw,  John 
A.  Van  Neste,  Benjamin  V.  D.  Wyckoff,  John  Oppie, 
William  H.  Van  Doren. 


CEMETERIES. 

Only  one  Indian  burying-ground  can  now  be  iden- 
tified. It  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  One-Mile  Eun,  near 
Earitan  Landing.  In  a  survey  of  an  ancient  line 
between  the  lots  of  Inians  and  Bainbridge,  it  is  de- 
scribed as  commencing  at  the  bank  of  the  Earitan,  in 
an  "  Indian  burying-ground." 

Almost  all  the  old  families  had  places  of  sepulture 
on  their  farms;  occasionally  several — as  when  a  com- 
pany purchased  land  together — would  use  a  common 
plot.  The  first  burial-place  was  probably  that  on  the 
Middlebush  road,  south  of  the  church.  The  burying- 
ground  of  the  Van  Doren  family  was  begun  in  1743 ; 
in  1836  the  title  passed  to  the  church.  There  is  a 
brick-walled  family  yard  between  Bound  Brook  and 
Weston,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Millstone  Eiver. 
The  Elm  Eidge  Cemetery,  used  largely  by  the  people 
of  Six-Mile  Eun,  is  just  over  the  line,  in  Middlesex, 
as  is  also  the  cemetery  at  Three-Mile  Eun.  There  is 
also  a  graveyard  a  little  north  of  Griggstown,  used  by 
the  inhabitants  of  that  locality.  Another  yard  exists 
on  the  farm  of  H.  Van  Doren,  between  Franklin 
Park  and  Blackwell's.  Another  is  found  on  the  farm 
of  J.  Veghte,  near  Pleasant  Plains  school.  An  old 
yard  also  exists  at  Weston,  near  the  canal.  Other 
family  plots  no  doubt  exist,  but  they  are  unknown  to 
the  writer. 

At  East  Millstone  is  the  largest  cemetery  in  the 
township.  It  is  known  as  the  "  Cedar  Hill  Cemetery," 
and  was  started  in  1859.  It  is  owned  by  a  stock  com- 
pany, which,  under  the  title  of  the  "Cedar  Hill 
Cemetery  Association,"  was  incorporated  in  1859  by 
Ernestus  Schenck.  Joseph  Howell,  John  V.  A.  Merrill, 
John  V.  D.  Hoagland,  Joseph  H.  Olcott,  Peter  N. 
Beekman,  and  Peter  P.  Wortman,  "  and  such  other 
persons  as  are  now  their  associates,  or  shall  hereafter 
become  associated  with  them."  The  size  of  the  ceme- 
tery is  limited  to  ten  acres.  The  business  is  con- 
ducted by  a  board  of  seven  managers.  The  lands  of 
the  association,  and  the  burial-lots  made  out  of  the 
same,  are  to  be  forever  exempt  from  taxation.  No 
street  or  road  can  be  laid  through  the  cemetery  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  association. 


THE    MILLSTONE 


BUILDING 
TION 


AND    LOAN   AS50CIA- 


was  organized  March  1,  1871,  under  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  approved  Feb.  28,  1849.  Its  members 
pay  $1  per  month  upon  each  share,  upon  which  they 
are  entitled  to  borrow  of  the  association  $200;  this 
precise  sum  is  called  "  a  loan."  If  a  loan  is  awarded 
to  a  member  at  a  premium  of  5  per  cent.,  he  receives 
$190,  but  pays  interest  on  $200.  This  feature  is  legal- 
ized by  the  Legislature,  so  that  it  shall  not  be  deemed 
usurious.    The  first  officers  were :  President,  Adrian 


/ 


824 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Olcott ;  Treasurer,  J.  V.  D.  Hoagland ;  Secretary  and 
Solicitor,  N.  S.  Wilson ;  Directors :  for  three  years, 
F.  V.  L.  Disborough,  William  B.  Eibble;  for  two 
years,  R.  H.  Hulick,  W.  E.  Corliss;  for  one  year, 
0.  G.  Van  Cleef,  J.  H.  Stryker. 

THE   FRANKLIN   FARMERS'  MUTUAL   FIRE  ASSUR- 
ANCE  ASSOCIATION 

was  incorporated  May  26,  1879,  by  Jobn  M.  Garret- 
son,  Peter  S.  Ditmars,  Peter  N.  Van  Nuys,  Ditmars 
Coe,  Peter  J.  Staats,  Andrew  T.  Vroom,  James  Z. 
Bergen,  Is.  V.  C.  Wyckoff,  Isaac  L.  Voorhees,  Peter 
W.  Wikoff,  James  A. Van  Nuys,  Matthew  Suydam,  and 
Ralph  Voorhees ;  its  general  place  of  meeting  is  East 
Millstone.  The  company  insures  dwellings  and  other 
buildings,  household  goods,  and  personal  property 
against  loss  or  damage  by  fire  or  lightning.  The 
amount  of  premium  notes  actually  given  in  at  its 
organization  was  $.5000.  It  was  to  begin  business  on 
June  2,  1879,  or  as  soon  as  the  agreements  for  insur- 
ance reached  the  sum  of  $150,000.  The  company  is 
to  cease  on  June  2d,  1909. 

INDUSTRIES. 

Agriculture  is  the  principal  business  of  Franklin 
township,  which  contains  322  farms. 

Formerly  there  was  considerable  distillation  carried 
on  in  this  township,  but  now  very  little.  Isaac  Davis 
for  many  years  manufactured  whisky  and  cider  on  the 
place  now  owned  by  Nelson  Staats.  Isaac  Brokaw 
carried  on  the  same  business  on  the  same  place  after 
Davis  died.  When  the  canal  was  built,  in  1832,  the 
still-house  was  taken  down. 

There  was  also  a  still-house  at  Weston  owned  by  John 
M.  Bayard.  It  stood  opposite  the  present  grist-mill, 
where  the  store  now  stands,  and  was  started  in  1805. 
It  was  taken  down  by  William  T.  Rodgers,  a  sub- 
sequent owner  of  the  property. 

Adam  Smith  had  a  tannery  at  Weston,  near  the 
present  blacksmith-shop,  anterior  to  the  Revolution. 
He  died  about  1830,  a  very  old  man.  Washington 
Barcalow  also  formerly  had  a  tannery  at  Middlebush. 

In  1846  there  was  a  flax-  and  husk-mill  built  at 
East  Millstone  to  prepare  husks  for  mattresses.  This 
was  altered  in  1858  into  a  distillery.  The  building 
was  burned  in  1859,  but  at  once  rebuilt.  High-wines 
were  manufactured.  The  mill  was  originally  built 
by  Olcott  Brothers.  It  was  carried  on  by  them  until 
1872.  Then  it  was  run  under  the  name  of  J.  H.  Ol- 
cott &  Co.,  the  silent  partner  being  John  M.  Prudens ; 
in  1875  it  was  bought  by  John  M.  Prudens  & 
Brother.  In  1877,  Kupfer  &  Co.  became  proprietors ; 
they  made  yeast  and  high-wines.  In  1879  it  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Tauskey  &  Co.  Gaff,  Fleischman 
&  Co.  became  the  owners  in  1880. 

MILLS. 

The  first  mills  were  erected  on  the  smaller  streams 
to  avoid  the  expense  of  too  large  dams.  One  was 
erected  on  the  Mile-Run  Brook,  near  the  Raritan,  at 


a  very  early  period, — probably  soon  after  1700.  It 
was  built  and  owned  by  a  Voorhees.  It  was  taken 
down  previous  to  1765,  when  the  road  by  Voorhees' 
house  is  described  as  passing  over  the  old  mill-dam. 
There  was  another  mill  on  the  next  small  stream 
above  the  Mile  Run,  which  also  flowed  into  the  Rari- 
tan ;  this  was  2J  miles  above  New  Brunswick.  The 
land  early  belonged  to  Gerardus  Beekman,  but  sub- 
sequently came  into  the  possession  of  the  Van  Tines. 
Jacques  Van  Tine  was  operating  a  mill  on  this  stream, 
known  later  as  Rappelye  Brook,  in  1735. 

The  Dutch  settlers  at  Middlebush  needed  mills, 
and  no  less  than  three  were  located  on  the  Six-Mile 
Run.  One  was  near  the  Middlebush  road,  and  was 
owned  by  Lucas  Voorhees ;  another  was  a  mile  farther 
up  the  stream,  and  owned  by  Simon  Wyckoff.  The 
writer  is  unable  to  locate  the  third. 

Mills  were  built  on  the  Millstone  at  a  very  early 
period ;  John  Harrison  is  said  to  have  had  one  at 
Rocky  Hill  as  early  as  1716.  One  or  more  were  built 
nearGriggstown  between  1730-4:0,  if  not  earlier.  After 
the  canal  was  opened,  in  1832,  the  Griggstown  Mill 
was  located  on  its  bank. 

The  mill  at  Weston  was  erected  between  1740  and 
1750  by  Henry  Schenck,  brother  of  Peter,  who  had 
erected  about  the  same  time  the  one  now  known  as 
Blackwell's.  The  following  have  been  owners  of 
the  Weston  Mills:  Henry  Schenck  (died  Jan.  31, 
1767,  aged  fifty  years) ;  Abram  Van  Neste  (died  Aug. 
15,  1779);  Israel  Harris,  1779  (?)-1803 ;  John  M. 
Bayard,  1803-19  ;  William  T.  Rodgers,  1819^3  ;  Isaac 
R.  Cornell,  1848-65;  Rockhill  Robeson,  1865-75;  and 
Adrian  Olcott,  1875.  These  proprietors  have  occa- 
sionally rented  out  the  mill  to  other  parties.  \ 

Jacob  Shurts  built  a  grist-mill  at  South  Bound     •'? 
Brook  (now  Bloomington)  about  1840.     It  stands  on 
the  bank  of  the  canal. 

The  following  account  of  the  mills  in  1735  is  from 
Ralph  Voorhees'  papers.  The  description  differs 
slightly  from  the  preceding : 

"  There  appear  to  liave  been  six, — four  on  the  smaller  streams, — ^being 
owned  as  follows ;  1.  Coert  A'an  Voorhees,  on  the  Mile-Kiin  Brook,  at  the 
Landing;  2.  Jacus  Fontine,  about  a  mile  farther  up  the  river,  on  what 
was  palled  the  Kappleye  Brook  ;  3.  John  Folkers,  on  the  old  Folkerson 
property,  upon  the  brook  emptying  into  the  Raritan,  a  few  yards  east  of 
the  house  now  owned  aud  occupied  by  Abram  Sebring;  4.  Simon  Wyckoff, 
on  Six-Mile  Run,  about  1^  miles  below  the  old  road  running  from  Six- 
Mile  Run  to  New  Brunswick.  The  otlier  two  were  located  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Millstone,  one  being  owned  by  Lewis  Moore,  successor  to  John 
Harrison,  the  great  landholder,  who  built  this  mill  previoxis  to  1716,  and 
was  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  at  Rocky  Hill.  The  other,  2 
miles  below  the  former,  was  owned  by  Benjamin  Griggs.*  Tliis  last- 
named  mill  was  owned  in  1762  by  Kicholas  Veghten,  and  afterwards  by 
Abraham  Van  Doren.  It  was  taken  down  in  1831  to  make  way  for  the 
Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal." 

MILITARY. 

Franklin  township  suffered  during  the  Revolution 
to  a  great  extent.  It  lay  in  the  path  of  the  two 
armies  crossing  and  recrossing  the  State,  and  in  the 
varying  fortunes  of  war  was  at  one  time  in  the  hands 


♦  Griggstown  must  have  received  its  name  from  Benjamin  Griggs. 


^^^  ^^^y^^^ 


'>L</>'\^ 


y^z-^-^vs^wi 


/'Vv 


) 


FEANKLIN. 


829 


of  the  enemy  and  at  another  under  the  protection  of 
Mends.  During  the  winter  of  1776-77  the  country 
was  frequently  ravaged  by  foraging-parties.  At  Three- 
Mile  Eun  the  buildings  were  all  plundered,  and  fre- 
quently fired.  Barns  were  torn  down  to  supply  tim- 
ber for  the  construction  of  a  temporary  bridge  over 
the  Raritan,  and  some  of  the  most  wanton  cruelties 
were  inflicted.* 

During  the  late  civil  war  this  township  sustained 
an  honorable  record,  and  contributed  its  full  share  of 
men  and  means  to  suppress  the  rebellion. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


ALBERT    V.   GARRETSON. 

James  Garretson,  grandfather  of  Albert  V.,  lived  at 
an  early  period  in  Hillsborough  township,  about  one 
mile  and  a  half  from  Blaokwell's  Mills.  His  wife's 
name  was  Helena,  and  the  issue  of  the  marriage  Peter, 
John,  Garret,  Stephen,  Samuel,  Sarah,  who  married 
Herman  Cortelyou ;  Ida,  who  married  John  Stothoff ; 
and  another,  who  married  Abraham  Cortelyou. 

Samuel  Garretson,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born 
on  March  11,  1776 ;  married,  Nov.  28,  1799,  Helen, 
daughter  of  Peter  Voorhees  (born  March  17,  1782), 
and  had  the  following  children, — viz.,  Magdalene, 
bom  Sept.  23, 1800,  who  became  the  wife  of  John  P. 
Voorhees;  Maria,  born  Dec.  25,  1802;  Peter,  born 
Jan.  29,  1805 ;  James,  born  April  2,  1807 ;  Albert  V., 
born  Nov.  2,  1809 ;  John,  born  June  29,  1812 ;  Ry- 
nier  Staats,  born  Oct.  4,  1814 ;  Peter,  born  March  9, 
1817 ;  Sarah,  wife  of  Benjamin  Smith,  born  May  25, 
1820 ;  Hiram,  born  Oct.  16,  1802 ;  and  Samuel,  born 
June  3,  1826.  Samuel  Garretson  passed  his  days  as  a 
farmer  where  his  grandson,  by  the  same  name,  now 
resides,  in  Franklin  township.  He  lived  a  quiet, 
peaceful  life,  and  was  respected  in  the  community  for 
his  integrity  and  fair  dealing.     He  was  formerly  a 

*  The  following  schedule  of  property  taken  from  Mr.  John  Van  Liew, 
of  Three.Mile  Kan,  will  illustrate  the  ruthless  spirit  of  the  enemy  and 
the  hardships  encountered  hy  the  inhabitants  dqring  the  war.  The  list 
is  valuable  as  exhibiting  the  price  of  different  articles  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Kevolution,  £1  representing  $2.60  of  our  currency.  Only 
the  more  important  articles  taken  by  the  "  BegulaTS"  are  enumerated : 

£  s. 

X  span  horses 36  0 

1  colt,  two  years  old 12  0 

60  bushels  com 12  10 

28  bushels  wheat 10  0 

Kiding  chair  and  harness 15  0 

30  tons  of  hay 105  0 

0  cows 51  15 

26  head  of  sheep 17  10 

38  Albany  boards i  15 

700  thin  Albany  boards 2  9 

1  house  bui'ned SO  0 

15  bushels  potatoes 1  17 

300cwt. flour 2  M 

100  fowls 3  16 

8  turkeys 1  0 

60  pounds  of  pork 5<J.  per  pound 

Floors  of  house  and  barn  taken  up.    One  negro,  twenty-three  years 
old,  smart  and  active,  £105. 
53 


member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Middlebush, 
where  he  officiated  both  as  deacon  and  elder,  but  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  on  Oct.  14,  1847,  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Six-Mile  Run. 
His  wife  died  on  May  8, 1849. 

Albert  V.  Garretson  was  born  on  the  homestead,  in 
Franklin  township,  purchased  by  his  father  near  the 
opening  of  the  present  century.  His  earlier  years 
were  passed  upon  the  home  farm,  and  his  educational 
training  was  such  as  the  common  schools  of  his  day 
afforded.  On  Nov.  3,  1840,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Magdalene,  daughter  of  Herman  and  Sarah 
(Garretson)  Cortelyou.  She  was  born  April  29, 1811^ 
on  the  place  where  she  has  since  resided. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Garretson  purchased  the 
farm  of  Herman  Cortelyou,  his  wife's  father,  com- 
prising about  one  hundred  acres.  Here  he  has  since 
lived,  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  con- 
fined his  labors  strictly  to  his  chosen  avocation  and, 
though  a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  he  has 
been  no  seeker  after  place.  He  has  always  been  a 
liberal  contributor  to  the  religious  and  benevolent 
enterprises  of  his  day,  and,  with  his  wife,  is  a  member 
of  the  Middlebush  Reformed  Church,  where  he  has 
held  the  offices  of  deacon  and  elder. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garretson  have  been 
Garret,  born  Jan.  14,  1846,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Hills- 
borough township ;  John,  who  died  Oct.  11,  1863  ; 
Sarah  Maria,  born  Nov.  4,  1848,  who  married  Jacob 
Schomp,  of  Pleasant  Plains ;  Joanna,  born  July  2, 
1851,  wife  of  Courtney  Gordon,  of  Mattawan,  N.  J. ; 
and  Samuel,  born  Sept.  4,  1854,  and  who  resides  on 
the  home  farm. 


STEPHEN    GARRITSON.f 

Stephen  Garritson  is  a  grandson  of  a  gentleman  by 
the  same  name  who  occupied  at  an  early  day  two 
hundred  acres  of  land,  now  composing  the  farms  ot 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  of  Peter  I.  Voorhees,  in 
the  central  portion  of  Franklin  township.  Here  the 
grandfather  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until 
his  death,  at  the  age  of  forty,  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Revolutionary  war.  He  was  twice  married.  By  his 
first  wife,  a  Miss  Voorhees,  he  had  no  children.  His 
second  wife  was  Phebe  Dumont,  who  bore  him  three 
sons, — Rem,  John,  and  Peter  Garritson.  The  former 
spent  the  closing  years  of  his  life  in  New  York  City. 
Peter  was  a  merchant  in  New  Brunswick,  and  died 
there.  Stephen  Garritson  was  a  devout  member  of 
the  Reformed  Church  at  Six-Mile  Run.  His  wife 
died  about  1824,  in  her  eighty-first  year. 

John,  second  son  of  Stephen  Garritson,  was  born 
on  the  old  homestead.  He  married  Phebe,  daughter 
of  Martin  and  Sarah  (Covenhoven)  Schenck.  Of  his 
children,  seven  reached  mature  years.  Sarah  became 
the  wife  of  Jacob  Beekman,  and  died  in  Michigan ; 
Abraham  was  a  son ;  Johanna  married  Luke  S.  Van 

+  Sometimes  spelled  Garretson. 


826 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Derveer,  and  resides  in  Princeton,  N.  J. ;  John,  a 
popular  minister  of  the  Dutch  Eeformed  denomina- 
tion, died  in  November,  1875,  while  rector  of  Herzog 
Hall,  New  Brunswick ;  Martin  was  a  farmer  at  Ten- 
Mile  Eun ;  Phehe  Ann  died  unmarried,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-six;  Stephen,  our  subject,  was  the  youngest. 
John  Garritson  died  in  1842,  in  his  eightieth  year, 
and  his  wife  in  1847,  in  her  eighty-second  year. 

Stephen  Garritson  was  born  on  the  old  place,  Sept. 
19,  1808,  where  he  passed  his  earlier  years,  enjoying 
the  benefits  of  a  common-school  education.  In  the 
year  1836  he  married,  for  his  first  wife,  Catharine  C, 
daughter  of  Peter  0.  and  Ann  (Lowe)  Schenck,  of 
Clover  Hill,  N.  J.,  and  three  years  later  he  purchased 
of  his  father  the  one  hundred  acres  of  the  home  tract 
which  he  has  since  occupied.  In  that  year  he  erected 
his  present  tasteful  residence  and  planted  the  beauti- 
ful trees  which  now  adorn  his  place.  The  barns  which 
he  erected  were  destroyed  by  fire,  caused  by  lightning, 
and  were  replaced  by  those  now  in  use.  A  view  of 
this  attractive  place,  so  full  of  memories  of  home  to 
himself  and  children,  and  manifesting  the  industry, 
thrift,  and  taste  of  the  owner,  may  be  seen  on  another 
page  of  this  work.  Here  Mr.  Garritson  has  passed  a 
long  life  of  labor  and  toil,  feeling  a  just  pride  in  the 
ancestral  memories  that  cluster  around  his  home.  He 
has  confined  his  labors  strictly  to  the  cultivation  and 
improvement  of  his  farm,  and,  while  a  life-long  Demo- 
crat, has  persistently  refused  political  place.  He  is 
extremely  modest  in  manner,  thoroughly  devoted  to 
home  and  family,  and  is  one  who,  by  a  life  of  recti- 
tude and  honor,  has  earned  a  place  among  the  influ- 
ential and  representative  men  of  his  class.  He  has 
been  a  liberal  contributor  to  church  and  kindred  in- 
terests, and  has  long  been  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Six-Mile  Eun,  officiating  at  various  times 
as  deacon  and  as  elder.  At  the  age  of  seventy-two  he 
presents  the  appearance  of  a  much  younger  man,  and 
is  in  the  full  possession  of  all  his  faculties. 

The  children  of  Mr.  Garritson  by  his  first  marriage 
are  Anna,  who  resides  at  home,  and  Catharine,  widow 
of  Liscom  Opdyke,  also  living  at  home.  Their  mother 
died  in  1845.  His  present  wife  is  Eleanor,  daughter 
of  David  and  Eliza  (Simmons)  Bush,  of  Jersey  City, 
to  whom  he  was  united  in  1847.  Her  children  are 
Adelaide  Lamar,  wife  of  Eev.  Robert  Doag,  pastor  of 
.  the  Reformed  Church  at  Berne,  N.  Y.,  and  Julia  An- 
nette, unmarried. 


JAMES  S.  GARRETSON. 
James  S.  Garretson  is  a  son  of  Samuel  Garretson, 
formerly  of  South  Middlebush,  who  is  more  particu- 
larly referred  to  elsewhere  in  this  work.  He  was 
born  on  his  father's  homestead  on  April  2,  1807, 
where  his  earlier  years  were  passed.  About  the  year 
1820  his  father's  slaves,  of  which  he  had  seven,  were 
made  free  by  legislative  enactment,  and,  the  work  and 
labor  on  the  farm  becoming  heavier  thereby,  young 


James  was  kept    busy  turning    over   the   paternal 
acres.    He  enjoyed  no  schooling  advantages  after  he 
attained  the^age  of  twelve. 
In  December,  1831,  Mr.  Garretson  was  united  in 


*iiii!ffl/ ifillpp^"''    '  "  * 


JAMES    S.    GARRETSON. 

marriage  to  Catharine,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Nancy  (Brown)  Smith,  of  Harmony  Plains,  N.  J., 
and  shortly  after  that  event  he  purchased  one  hun- 
dred and  four  acres  of  land  near  "  Short  Hills,"  Mid- 
dlesex Co.,  where  he  pursued  farming  until  1864. 
He  disposed  of  his  farm  advantageously  during  that 
year,  and  returned  to  Middlebush  for  one  year.  The 
year  following  he  removed  to  East  Millstone,  N.  J., 
where  he  has  since  resided,  being  engaged  in  no 
active  business;  He  is  of  quiet,  unostentatious  man- 
ners, a  good  citizen,  and  one  who  contributes  his 
share  cheerfully  to  the  various  progressive  move- 
ments of  the  day.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
but  has  always  persistently  refused  to  hold  office. 

His  children  have  been  Samuel,  who  occupies  the 
Garretson  homestead,  at  Middlebush,  and  Jonathan 
Smith,  a  grocer  in  Plainfield. 


JACOB  WTCKOFF. 
Peter  Claes  WyckofF,  the  common  ancestor  of  the 
Wyckoff  family,  emigrated  from  the  Netherlands  in 
the  year  1636.  He  bought  lands  on  which  he  settled 
at  Flatbush,  L.  I.  In  the  year  1655  he  superintended 
the  farm  and  stock  of  Director  Stuyvesant.  He  was 
magistrate  of  the  town  for  the  years  1655,  1658,1662, 
and  1663.  His  wife  was  Gretia,  daughter  of  Hendrick 
Van  Ness,  and  his  children  were  Annetje,  Mayken, 


FRANKLIN. 


82f 


Geertie,  Claes,  Cornelius,  Hendrict,  Garret,  Martin, 
Pieter,  and  Jan. 

His  son,  Cornelius  Pieterse  Wyckoff,  married  Ger- 
trude, daughter  of  Simon  Van  Arsdalen,  Oct.  13, 
1678.  He  was  one  of  the  company  who  purchased  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  Franklin  township  of  John 
Harrison,  the  deed  for  which  bears  date  Nov.  7, 1701. 
The  deed  for  his  share  of  the  tract,  given  hy  his  part- 
ners, bears  date  June  1,  1703,  and  conveys  twelve 
hundred  acres  lying  across  the  central  part  of  the 
township  from  the  county  line  at  Three-Mile  Eun  to 
the  Millstone  River.  His  children  were  Peter,  Mary 
(1st),  Simon,  Nicholas,  Jacob,  Hendrick,  Charles, 
John,  Peternella,  Mary  (2d),  Margaret,  Hannah,  Cor- 
nelius, and  Martin.  Of  these,  Peter,  Simon,  Jacob, 
and  John  settled  on  the  tract  mentioned  above,  each 
receiving  about  three  hundred  acres.  John  had  his 
home  in  Middlebush,  where  Samuel  Garretson  now 
lives,  and  his  oldest  son,  Cornelius,  who  was  born 
there,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  settlement. 
Simon  and  Jacob  settled  at  Three-Mile  Run.  Part 
of  all  these  lands  are  still  in  the  possession  of  their 
respective  descendants. 

Peter,  oldest  son  of  Cornelius  Pieterse  Wyckoff, 
settled  where  Jacob  Wyckoff  now  resides,  about  the 
year  1710.  He  married,  Sept.  5,  1709,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Aurt  Van  Pelt,  and  had  children, — Cor- 
nelius, Nelly,  Aurt,  Peter,  Elizabeth,  Maria,  Ger- 
trude, John,  Simon,  and  Jacob.  His  second  wife  was 
Gertrude  Romeyn.  He  died  in  the  winter  of  1776-77. 
His  son  Simon  was  born  in  the  year  1730,  and  suc- 
ceeded his  father  on  the  old  farm.  He  married  Alche, 
daughter  of  Christian  and  Alche  Van  Doren,  on  June 

10,  1756.  Their  children  were  Christian,  Elizabeth, 
Alche,  Gertrude,  Maria,  Sarah,  Peter,  Nelly,  Jacob, 
and  Simon.  Simon  Wyckoff  died  Oct.  22,  1802,  and 
his  wife  Dec.  13,  1828. 

Simon,  youngest  son  of  Simon  Wyckoff,  was  born 
May  17,  1778,  married  Sophia,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
and  Sophia  Van  Doren,  of  Middlebush,  and  occupied 
the  old  homestead  throughout  his  life.    He  died  April 

11,  1856,  and  his  wife,  who  was  born  Dec.  16,  1783, 
died  February,  1871.  Their  children  were  Simon, 
now  living  at  Fairview,  111. ;  Benjamin  V.  D.,  lived 
and  died  at  Middlebush ;  Adeline,  who  was  deprived 
of  sight  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  died  on  the  home- 
stead shortly  after  her  father ;  Sophia,  married  Corne- 
lius S.  Nevius,  lived  and  died  at  Middlebush ;  Chris- 
tian, resides  in  Russell  Co.,  Kan. ;  Joseph,  resides  in 
Shiawassee  Co.,  Mich. ;  Jacob ;  Isaac,  lived  and  died 
at  Middlebush;  and  Ellen,  who  married  Peter  S. 
Brokaw,  and  died  at  Middlebush. 

Jacob,  fifth  son  of  Simon  and  Sophia  Wyckoff,  was 
born  on  the  old  homestead  Dec.  20,  1818,  where  he 
has  passed  his  entire  life  as  a  farmer,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  four  years,  during  which  he  occupied  a  farm 
in  the  neighborhood.  His  educational  advantages 
were  such  as  the  district  school  of  his  locality  af- 
forded.    On  Jan.  20, 1842,  he  was  united  in  marriage 


to  Sarah  Jane,  daughter  of  Albert  P.  and  Helena 
(Longstreet)  Voorhees.  She  was  born  Oct.  21,  1818. 
Until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  Mr.  Wyckoff  was 
identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  but  at  that  time, 
being  in  sympathy  with  the  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  he  united  with  that  body,  with  which  he 
has  since  acted.  He  has  followed  the  occupation  of 
a  surveyor  for  many  years,  and  was  for  twenty-five 
years  a  commissioner  of  deeds.  He  has  also  held  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  of  assessor  for  six  years, 
and  has  filled  other  minor  ofBces.  He  has  never  been 
a  seeker  after  place.  Mr.  Wyckoff  has  been  largely 
interested  in  the  settlement  and  adjustment  of  estates, 
in  the  capacity  of  executor,  administrator,  trustee, 
and  commissioner,  and  has  fulfilled  his  various  duties 
with  singular  exactness  and  fidelity. 

Mr.  Wyckoff  and  his  wife  early  united  with  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Middlebush,  and  the  former  has 
frequently  held  the  offices  of  deacon  and  elder,  filling 
the  office  of  elder  at  the  present  writing  (1880).  He 
has  also  represented  his  church  in  the  Classis,  and 
the  latter  at  the  General  Synod  of  his  denomination. 
He  is  known  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  conscien- 
tious and  devoted  to  principle,  and  one  who  enjoys 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wyckoff  have  been 
Simon,  died  in  infancy ;  Albert  Voorhees,  sergeant- 
major  of  the  Fifteenth  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  who 
fell  at  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864 ; 
Martin  Nevius,  graduated  at  Rutgers  College,  New 
Jersey,  in  1872,  and  who  for  five  years  thereafter  was 
professor  of  natural  philosophy  and  chemistry,  and 
of  the  English  language,  in  the  employ  of  the  Japan- 
ese government :  since  his  return  he  has  been  princi- 
pal of  a  classical  school  at  Somerville,  N.  J. ;  James 
Longstreet,  died  an  infant;   Benjamin  Van  Doren, 
graduated  from  Rutgers  College,  1875,  from  the  the- 
ological seminary.  New   Brunswick,  1878,  and  has 
since  been  the  settled  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  Preakness,  N.  J. ;  Sarah  Helena,  who  died  in  the 
fourth  year  of  her  age ;   and  Jacob,  who  resides  on 
the  home  farm  with  his  parents,  and  who  is  the 
sixth  in  line  from  Peter  Claes,  the  original  ancestor 
of  the  family,  and  the  fifth  who  has  resided  on  the 
home  farm.    Jacob,  son  of  Martin  N.,  and  grandson 
of  Jacob  Wyckoff,  was  born  in  Japan,  June  15,  1876, 
and  is  the  seventh  of  the  family  in  line  from  Peter 
Claes. 

PBTBE  WYCKOFF. 
The  late  Peter  Wyckoff  was  a  descendant  of  Peter 
Claes  Wyckoff,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  in 
1636,  and  who  was  the  progenitor  of  the  family  of 
that  name  in  Somerset  County.  His  direct  ancestor 
was  Cornelius,  one  of  the  six  sons  of  Cornelius  Peterse 
Wyckoff.  He  was  baptized  in  New  York,  Dec.  19, 
1694,  married  Sarah  Duryea,  and  settled  in  Mill- 
stone. 


828 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


William  Wyckoff,  grandfather  of  Peter,  early  re- 
sided near  Millstone,  N.  J.,  where  he  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  His  sons,  John  and  Cornelius, 
also   passed  their  lives   near  Millstone   as  farmers. 


PETER   WTCKOrP. 

,  John  occupied  the  homestead  of  his  father,  and  Cor- 
nelius settled  on  the  farm  lately  occupied  by  his  son, 
Peter.  Cornelius  married  Catharine,  daughter  of 
Peter  Wyckoff,  and  his  children  were  Catharine, 
Mary,  Cornelia,  Peter,  and  William.  The  first  be- 
came the  wife  of  William  Van  Vliet,  and  Mary,  of 
William  Van  Dorn. 

Peter  Wyckoff,  son  of  Cornelius,  was  born  in  1802, 
and  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm.  He  enjoyed  a 
common-school  education.  In  1842  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Phebe  V.,  daughter  of  Dennis  and  Ger- 
trude Van  Duyn,  lately  residing  near  Bound  Brook. 
He  succeeded  his  father  on  the  home  farm,  compris- 
ing one  hundred  acres,  where  he  passed  his  days 
quietly  as  a  farmer.  He  took  no  active  part  in  poli- 
tics, though  affiliating  with  the  Republican  party. 
He  was  of  large,  powerful  person,  generous  impulses, 
and  was  a  liberal  supporter  of  church  and  kindred 
institutions.  He  died  on  May  23, 1880,  aged  seventy- 
eight  years  and  five  months,  his  aged  wife  surviving 
him.     No  children  were  born  to  this  couple. 


JOSIAH  SCHANCK. 
Josiah  Schanck  is  a  grandson  of  William  Schanck, 
who  came  from  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.,  long  prior  to 
the  Revolutionary  war,  and  settled  near  Ringos,  in 
Hunterdon  County.  His  wife  was  Mary  Winters, 
and  among  his  children  were  Ralph,  John,  Josiah, 


William,  Abraham,  Ann,  Polly,  and   another  who 
married  a  Probasco. 

Josiah  Schanck,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  was  born  in  Hunterdon  County.    In  1798 


he  removed  to  Weston,  Somerset  Co.,  where  he  pur- 
chased three  hundred  acres  of  Gen.  Frelinghuysen, 
and  where  he  lived  and  died.  His  wife  was  Alche 
Wyckoff,  who  bore  him  fourteen  children, — namely, 
Elizabeth,  who  married  Hendrick  Staats ;  William ; 
Gertrude,  who  married  Abraham  Davis  ;  Mary,  who 
married  Henry  Sallaman ;  Ann,  who  married  Corne- 
lius Conover ;  Josiah,  Jacob  W.,  Simon  W.,  and  Le- 
titia,  who  married  Maj.  Isaac  Brokaw.  Of  this  large 
family  of  children  all  are  dead  save  Josiah  and  Simon. 
Josiah  Schanck  served  three  years  in  the  army  during 
the  Revolutionary  war,  crossed  the  Delaware  with 
Washington  when  he  surprised  the  Hessians,  and 
nearly  lost  his  life  by  the  upsetting  of  a  wagon  on 
that  occasion.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  West  Millstone,  where  he  filled  the  office 
of  deacon.  He  died  in  1824  or  1825,  and  his  wife  a 
few  years  later. 

Josiah  Schanck,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  at  Weston,  N.  J.,  on  April  6,  1799,  and  is  now 
a  well-preserved  old  gentleman  of  eighty-one  years. 
He  remained  on  his  father's  farm  until  he  reached  the 
age  of  fourteen,  when  he  went  to  New  Brunswick  to 
learn  the  trade  of  a  carpenter.  There  he  remained 
six  years,  when  he  commenced  work  at  his  trade,  and 
continued  until  1828.     In  1822  or  1823  he  purchased 


FRANKLIN. 


829 


a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  in  Franklin  township, 
of  Aaron  Prall,  where  he  erected  the  farm-buildings, 
built  a  fish-pond,  and  made  other  improvements.  He 
resided  on  this  place  sixteen  and  a  half  years,  and  in 
1840  bought  forty-one  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  old 
homestead,  at  Weston,  for  which  he  paid  one  hundred 
dollars  an  acre,  and  on  which  he  erected  a  new  house. 
He  remained  there  thirteen  years,  and  then  removed 
to  West  Millstone,  and  after  a  year  and  a  half  to  East 
Millstone,  where  he  has  since  resided. 

Mr.  Schanck  has  passed  a  busy,  active,  and  indus- 
trious life,  and  found  little  time  for  matters  outside  of 
his  regular  avocation.  He  is  a  Eepublican  in  poli- 
tics, and  has  twice  filled  the  office  of  freeholder  of 
Franklin  township.  He  was  formerly  a  member  of 
the  West  Millstone  Reformed  Church,  where  he  offi- 
ciated as  deacon  and  elder,  and  which  he  helped  to 
build  in  1825.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  Eeformed 
Church  of  East  Millstone.  In  the  year  1820  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Tunis  and 
Rebecca  (Probasco)  Van  Middlesworth,  who  was 
born  May  23,  1803,  and  who  still  survives.  No 
children  have  been  born  to  the  union. 


PETER  A.  VOOUHEES. 
Steven  Courte,  or  Courten,  the  common  ancestor  of 
the  Voorhees,  or  Van  Voorhies,  family  of  Long  Island 
and  New  Jersey,  emigrated  with  his  family  from 
Eeinen,  Dreuthe,  in  the  Netherlands,  in  April,  1660. 
This  family  by  old  letters  can  be  traced  back  one 
generation  in  the  Fatherland,  and,  like  most  of  the 
early  settlers,  had  no  proper  surname,  adopting  as 
such  the  name  of  the  village  or  locality  from  whence 
they  emigrated. 

The  father  of  Steven  Courten,  or  Koers,  as  he  wrote 
it,  was  Court  Alberts,  who  resided  in  front  of  Hies, 
Hees,  or  "  Voorhies,"  in  Holland.  In  process  of  time 
the  surname  Van  Voorhees,  or  Voorhees,  has  been 
adopted  by  general  consent  of  those  who  bear  the 
name.  It  was  also  the  custom  among  the  early  set- 
tlers to  adopt  the  Christian  name  of  the  father  as 
the  surname  of  the  child,  which  makes  it  difficult 
often  to  trace  the  different  members  of  the  family. 

Albert  Courten,  son  of  Court  Stevense,  and  grand- 
son of  Steven  Courten,  the  emigrant,  died  about 
1748.  His  son,  Kourt  Van  Voorhees,  the  elder,  of 
New  Utrecht,  L.  I.,  bought  of  Jacob  Van  Dyke,  in 
1726,  lands  in  Sourland  (now  Harlingen),  in  Somerset 
Co.,  N.  J.,  on  which  his  son,  Albert  Van  Voorhees, 
settled  about  1740.  This  was  the  homestead  on  which 
the  late  Albert  P.  Voorhees  died,  and  where  John 
Everett,  who  married  his  daughter  Margaret,  now  re- 
sides. When  his  father  died  is  uncertain ;  his  mother, 
Annetje,  died  July  25,  1776. 

Albert  was  born  Aug.  1,  1716,  and  his  wife,  Katrina 
Deremer,  on  August  28th  of  the  same  year.  They  were 
married  Nov.  22,  1737,  and  their  children  were  An- 
ietje,  born  Sept.  4,  1741;  Isaac,  born  July  20, 1744; 


Ann,  born   Dec.  19,  1746;    Koert,  born   March  15, 

1749;  Albert,  born  April  9,  1753;   and  Peter,  born 

Feb.   12,   1756.      The  first    child    died   in  infancy. 

Katrina,  wife  of  Albert,  died  April  1,  1775,  and  the 

latter  married  for  his  second  wife  Nelly  Van  Nostrand, 

and  died  Sept.  26,  1784.     Annetje  married  Isaac  Van 

Brunt,  of  New  Utrecht,  L.  L,  and  died  Feb.  15,  1820. 

Isaac  died  June  30,  1814,  in  Eoycefield,  N.  J.,  on  the 

farm  now  owned  by  his  grandson  of  the  same  name. 

Albert  died  Oct.  4,  1795,  near  New  Utrecht,  L.  I. 

Ann  married  Peter  Vredenburg,  of  New  Brunswick, 

and  died  there  Sept.  24,  1816.     Peter  inherited  the 

old  homestead  mentioned  above,  and  was  generally 

known  as  "  Peter  at  the  brook."     His  farm  by  several 

additions  comprised  about  three  hundred  acres   of 

land.    He  married  Maria,  a  daughter  of  Eem  Dit- 

mars,  of  Millstone,  N.  J.,  on  Feb.  12,  1779,  and  had 

children, — Albert  P.,  born  June  30,  1780  ;  Lena,  who 

married  Samuel  Garretson,  of  Middlebush,  born  Feb. 

18,  1788,  died  March  8, 1849 ;  Catharine,  who  married 

Rynier  Staats,  and  died  March  4,  1866 ;  and  Maria, 

born   Aug.   25,  1794,  who   married  Capt.  John  M. 

Wyckoff,  and  died  Jan.  17,  1860.     Peter  Voorhees 

died  June  21,  1842,  and  his  wife,  Maria,  on  Jan.  22, 

1831. 

Albert  P.  Voorhees,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  married  Helena  Longstreet,  born  Oct.  11, 
1785,  and  had  fourteen  children,— namely,  Peter  A.; 
James  L.,  deceased;  Maria,  widow  of  Abraham 
Stryker,  of  Franklin  Park ;  Eliza  Ann,  who  married 
John  N.  Gulick,  removed  to  Illinois,  and  died  there ; 
John  V.  P.  Voorhees,  residing  near  Hightstown, 
N.  J. ;  Catharine,  who  married  Lorenzo  S.  P.  Vaughn, 
of  Kentucky,  who  is  dead  ;  Martha,  widow  of  Martin 
N.  Gulick,  of  Hillsborough ;  Adeline,  who  married 
Garret  J.  Quick,  and  who  lives  in  Illinois;  Sarah 
Jane,  wife  of  Jacob  Wyckoff,  of  Middlebush;  Helen, 
who  married  Peter  V.  Hageman,  of  Illinois,  both  de- 
ceased; Margaret,  who  married  John  Everitt  and 
lives  on  the  old  homestead,  in'  Hillsborough ;  Eynier 
S.,  residing  in  Illinois ;  Aaron  Longstreet,  who  died 
in  Kentucky;  and  Matilda  B.,  who  married  John 
Van  Nuys  and  died  in  Illinois.  Albert  P.  Voorhees 
passed  his  life  as  a  farmer  in  Hillsborough  township, 
and  died  March  12, 1861.  His  wife  died  May  2, 1849. 
He  was  not  in  any  sense  a  public  man,  although  he 
held  minor  offices.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Har- 
lingen Eeformed  Church,  of  which  he  was  for  many 
years  elder. 

"  Sheriff"  Peter  A.  Voorhees,  as  he  is  familiarly 
known  was  born  on  his  father's  homestead,  in  Hills- 
borough, on  Nov.  6,  1802.  His  father's  family  being 
a  large  one,  and  the  farm  affording  them  but  a  pre- 
carious support,  Mr.  Voorhees'  boyhood  was  one 
of  incessant  toil  and  drudgery,  and  his  educational 
advantages  were  very  meagre.  With  what  scraps  of 
knowledge  he  had  gained  young  Voorhees  became 
the  teacher  of  the  district  school  of  his  neighbor- 
hood at  the  age  of-  nineteen,  and  in  teaching  he  was 


83Q 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


largely  taught.  In  1824,  as  a  member  of  tlie  Somer- 
set County  Cavaliy  Brigade,  he  assisted  in  escorting 
Gen.  La  Fayette  from  Eahway  to  New  Brunswick, 
while  that  illustrious  soldier  was  making  his  triumphal 
tour  through  the  country  to  which  he  had  contributed 
his  patriotic  services.  On  Jan.  18,  1825,  he  entered 
into  matrimonial  relations  with  Maria,  only  child  of 
John  and  Charity  Suydam,  of  Six-Mile  Run.  Her 
grandfather  was  Jacobus,  and  her  great-grandfather 
Eyke,  who  was  the  pioneer  of  the  Suydam  family  in 
Somerset  County,  and  who  came  from  Long  Island  at 
an  early  day. 

Soon  after  his  marriage  Sheriff  Voorhees  purchased 
the  Suydam  farm,  at  Six-Mile  Run,  comprising  One 
hundred  and  fifty  acres.  Here  he  has  since  resided, 
engaged  in  farming,  his  present  tract  being  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres.  While  the  sheriff  has  con- 
fined his  energies  largely  to  the  cultivation  and 
improvement  of  his  farm,  and  to  the  care  of  his 
pleasant  home,  he  has  been  led  by  his  natural  energy 
of  character,  his  interest  in  his  native  county,  and 
his  zeal  in  the  promotion  of  all  good  works,  to  engage 
largely  in  public  affairs. 

Politically,  Mr.  Voorhees  was  formerly  a  member 
of  the  Old-Line  Whig  party,  and  is  now  identified 
with  the  Republican  party.  He  was  town  clerk  of 
Franklin  township  from  1831  to  1833,  and  assessor 
■from  1833  to  1838.  From  1838  to  1841  he  held  the 
office  of  sheriff  of  Somerset  County ;  from  1857  to 
1862  he  was  collector  of  the  county,  and  in  1867  he 
represented  Somerset  County  in  the  State  Legislature. 
He  was  an  active  supporter  of  the  war,-  and  rendered 
important  service  in  that  hour  of  need,  advancing 
money  from  his  own  purse  to  aid  in  raising  the  neces- 
sary quota  of  men  from  his  township.  He  has  also 
lent  liberal  encouragement  to  the  cause  of  education, 
and  has  donated  considerable  sums  of  money  to 
Rutgers  College,  N.  J.,  and  assisted  several  young 
men  in  their  preparation  for  the  ministerial  office. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  superintendents  of 
the  theological  seminary  at  New  Brunswick.  He  is 
purely  a  self-made  man,  and  has,  by  integrity,  energy, 
and  uprightness,  in  spite  of  inferior  educational  op- 
portunities, attained  a  prominent  place  among  the 
liberal  and  progressive  men  of  the  county.  Mr. 
Voorhees  has  been  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  Six-Mile  Run  since  1826,  been  officially  connected 
with  that  body  as  elder  and  deacon,  and  has  been  a 
representative  to  Classis  and  to  the  Particular  and 
General  Synods  of  his  denomination.  In  the  Sab- 
bath-school and  Bible  cause  he  has  been  particularly 
prominent.  He  organized,  in  1827,  the  first  Sabbath- 
school  at  Pleasant  Plains,  and  was  its  superintendent 
for  nearly  thirty  years.  He  also  organized  a  neigh- 
borhood prayer-meeting  at  the  same  time,  which  still 
continues.  He  has  assisted  largely  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  Sabbath-schools  throughout  the  State,  has 
filled  the  office  of  president  of  both  the  County  and 
State    Sabbath- School  Associations,   of  the  County 


Bible  Society,  and,  for  twenty  years,  of  the  Young 
Men's  Bible  Society  of  Six-Mile  Run,  and  was  presi- 
dent of  the  New  Jersey  State  Agricultural  Society 
for  1863  and  1864.  He  has  been  for  many  years  a 
director  of  the  New  Brunswick  National  Bank.  His 
wife  is  still  the  honored  helpmeet  of  his  home.  But 
two  children  have  been  born  to  this  venerable  couple, 
— Garretta,  wife  of  J.  Boyd  Van  Dorn,  residing  near 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  Mary  H.,  wife  of  J.  Calvin 
Hoagland,  of  Henry,  111. 


WILLIAM    H.  GULICK. 
Joachim  Gulick,  the  ancestor  of  the  Gulick  fam- 
ily in  this  county,  came  from  Holland  in  1653,  and 
settled  at  Gravesend,  L.  I.,  where  he  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance  in  1687.     In  1717  he  lived   at  Six-Mile 


Run,  Franklin  township.  He  had  four  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  sons  were  Benjamin,  Henry,  John, 
and  William.  Of  these,  John  served  as  a  major  in 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Henry,  William,  and  John 
lived  in  Franklin  township  near  the  close  of  last  cen- 
tury, and  were  early  proprietors  of  the  stage-line  be- 
tween Trenton  and  New  Brunswick. 

Henry  Gulick  married  Margaret  Skillman,  and  had 
children, — Rebecca,  Sarah,  Joachim,  Mary,  Ann  (who 
died  young),  and  Margaret.  Rebecca  became  the 
wife  of  John  Van  Tilberg,  Sarah  of  Phineas  With- 
ington,  and  Mary  of  Jacob  Van  Dyke.  The  home- 
stead of  Henry  Gulick  stood  where  Wm.  H.  Gulick 


(((((((( 


JfJS,-       ,  .     /^J 


CORNELIUS  BAECALOW. 


FKANKLIN. 


831 


now  resides.  Here  lie  passed  his  life,  engaged  largely 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  until  his  demise,  in  1834, 
aged  sixty-eight  years.  His  wife  died  the  same  year, 
aged  sixty-five. 

Joachim,  only  son  of  Henry  Gulick,  was  born  on 
his  father's  farm,  in  Franklin  township,  where  his 
early  years  were  passed.    On  April  20,  1825,  he  mar- 
ried Mary,  daughter  of   Frederick  and   Catharine 
(Van  Dyke)  Cruser,  born  Jan.  1,  1805.    Her  father 
was  a  prominent  man  in  the  county,  was  a  justice  of 
the  peace  for  many  years,  and  one  of  the  lay  judges 
of  Somerset  County.'    The  children  of  Joachim  and 
Mary  (Cruser)  Gulick  were  Margaret,  who  married 
John  McPherson  ;  William  Henry,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch ;  Catharine,  who  died  in  infancy ;  Frederick, 
who  also  died  in  infancy ;  and  George,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  five  years.    Joachim  Gulick  died  in  1867, 
aged  seventy-one  years.     His  farm  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres  was  equally  divided  at  his  death  be- 
tween Wm.  H.  Gulick  and  his  sisters.     Mrs.  Gulick 
is  living  (1880),  and  occupies  a  residence  near  her 
sons,  built  by  her  husband  in  1827. 

Wm.  H.  Gulick  was  born  in  Franklin  township  on 
March  19,  1831,  near  his  present  residence.  He  grew 
up  on  his  father's  farm,  and  enjoyed  the  advantages 
of  only  a  common-school  education.  On  Oct.  27, 
1853,  he  married  Theodosia,  daughter  of  Garret 
Schenck,  and  about  that  time  he  took  up  his  residence 
on  his  grandfather's  homestead,  where  he  still  resides, 
having  erected  his  present  dwelling  in  1879.  This 
structure  took  the  place  of  the  old  home  residence 
which  had  withstood  the  changes  of  a  century  of  time. 
Mr.  Gulick  is  a  Kepublican  in  politics,  and  has 
served  on  the  township  committee  and  filled  other 
local  offices.  His  principal  attention  has  been  given 
to  the  cultivation  of  his  farm.  He  is  also  largely  in- 
terested in  the  sale  of  milk.  His  children  have  been 
Anna  Mary,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  Willard  S.  and 
Joachim,  who  live  at  home. 


CORNELIUS   BARCALOW. 

Cornelius  Barcalow  is  a  grandson  of  William  Bar- 
calow,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  at  Six- 
Mile  Eun,  in  Franklin  township.  His  wife  was 
named  Jachaminah,  and  his  children  were  Farring- 
ton,  Cornelius,  and  Polly,  who  married  Isaac  Fisher, 
of  Bound  Brook. 

Farrington,  eldest  son  of  William  Barcalow,  was 
born  in  Franklin  township,  on  Oct.  4,  1771.  He 
married  Hannah,  daughter  of  James  Bennett,  one  of 
the  earliest  merchants  of  New  Brunswick  and  once 
mayor  of  the  city,  and  his  children  were  William, 
bom  Sept.  10,  1794;  Jachaminah  and  Ellen,  born 
Aug.  27,  1796 ;  James  B.,  born  Oct.  6,  1798 ;  George 
W.,  bom  Oct.  1,  1800;  Henry  and  Cornelius,  born 
Dec.  30,  1803 ;  John,  bom  Jan.  24,  1806 ;  Hannah, 
born  June  6,  1810  ;  and  Maria,  born  Nov.  9,  1812.  Of 
these  children,  Jachaminah  married  John  King,  of 


Three-Mile  Kun;  Ellen  married  Aaron  Shaw,  of 
Monmouth  County ;  Hannah  married  John  Tunison, 
of  Somerville ;  and  Maria  married  John  P.  Staats. 

Farrington  Barcalow  resided  at  Middlebush  through- 
out his  life,  where  he  occupied  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  and  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  was  a  man  of  influence  and  prominence  in  the 
town  and  county,  and  held  positions  of  importance. 
He  was  colonel  of  a  militia  regiment  in  Somerset 
County,  and  went,  with  his  staff,  to  Trenton  in  1824, 
to  assist  in  escorting  Gen.  La  Fayette,  then  on  a  visit 
to  this  country,  through  New  Jersey.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat,  was  assessor  and  collector  of  Frank- 
'lin  township,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  lay  judge  of 
Somerset  County  for  twenty  years.  He  was  also  a 
candidate  for  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  was  defeated 
by  only  a  small  number  of  votes.  He  was  active  in 
all  good  works,  a  zealous  promoter  of  school  and 
church  interests,  and  was  one  who  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence of  all.  He  was  a  great  bass  singer  and  pro- 
ficient in  instrumental  music,  and  an  exemplary 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Millstone,  and 
was  officially  connected  with  that  body  as  deacon  and 
elder  for  many  years.  He  died  on  March  2,  1854, 
and  his  wife,  who  was  born  Feb.  27,  1775,  on  July 
23d  of  the  same  year. 

The  life  of  Cornelius  Barcalow,  whose  portrait 
appears  in  this  work,  is  a  singular  illustration  of 
what  industry,  energy,  and  correct  business  and  per- 
sonal habits  will  accomplish,  in  spite  of  adverse  con- 
ditions of  life.  Born  at  Middlebush,  N.  J.,  on  Dec. 
30,  1803,  he  remained  upon  his  father's  farm  until  he 
attained  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  he  started  forth  in 
life  for  himself,  having  enjoyed  simply  a  common- 
school  education,  but  fortified  with  a  purpose  to  do 
and  to  succeed.  He  first  went  to  learn  the  trade  of  a 
blacksmith  with  Bergen  Huff,  of  Somerville,  where 
he  remained  five  years,  completing  his  apprentice- 
ship. He  then  repaired  to  New  Brunswick,  and  en- 
tered into  the  trade  of  coach-making  with  Richard 
Laportia,  and  after  a.  service .  of  three- months  he 
started  for  New  York  City  with  a  capital  of  five  dol- 
lars in  pocket.  Four  dollars  and  seventy-five  cente 
of  this  sum  he  paid  for  one  week's  board  in  advance, 
and  with  the  remaining  twenty-five  cents  he  began 
active  business  life. 

As  a  journeyman  carriage-maker  he  commenced 
work  with  Andrew  Curtis,  whose  shop  stood  on  Grand 
Street,  between  Elizabeth  and  the  Bowery,  with  whom 
he  remained  about  three  months.  He  then  worked, 
in  turn,  for  Richard  Emery  about  six  months,  one 
Quick  about  a  year,  and  Arthur  Reynolds  for  the 
same  length  of  time,  and  finally  went  into  business 
for  himself,  with  James  Brady  as'  a  partner,  on  Nas- 
sau Street,  where  the  Bible  Society  building  now 
stands.  This  venture  lasted  two  and  a  half  years,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  the  partnership  was  dissolved, 
and  Mr.  Barcalow  resumed  work  as  a  journeyman. 
He  shortly  after  resumed  business  alone  on  Broome 


832 


SOMBKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Street,  near  Elizabeth,  and  after  a  few  years  removed 
to  Cherry  Street  for  two  years,  and  finally  to  his  old 
site  near  the  Bowery.  In  each  of  these  places  he 
carried  on  the  business  of  carriage-making  with  suc- 
cess. In  1832  he  purchased  his  father's  farm  at  Mid- 
dlebush,  and  erected  a  carriage-manufacturing  estab- 
lishment at  that  place,  "working  his  farm  at  the  same 
time  that  he  carried  on  his  manufacturing  business. 
Here  he  remained  five  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  he  exchanged  his  farm  for  property  in 
Fourth  Street,  New  York,  with  one  John  Laforge, 
where  he  pursued  the  business  of  carriage-making 
for  eight  years.  He  then  purchased  a  portion  of  the 
old  farm  at  Middlebush,  changed  his  factory  in  New 
York  into  tenement-houses,  and  after  eight  years  ex- 
changed his  farm,  with  a  further  money  considera- 
tion, for  property  in  New  York,  which  he  still  owns, 
and  which  has  proved  a  profitable  investment.  In 
1861  he  removed  to  East  Millstone,  erected  his  pres- 
ent attractive  residence,  and  has  since  lived  at  that 
place,  taking  an  active  part  in  local  affairs  and  filling 
an  important  place  in  the  community.  He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  but  has  always  persistently  refused 
oflBce.  Mr.  Barcalow  was  first  a  member  of  the  Ee- 
formed  Dutch  Church  of  Somerville,  and  finally  of 
the  Berean  Baptist  Church  of  New  York  City ;  then 
of  the  East  Millstone  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
where  he  held  the  position  of  class-leader  and  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  stewards,  and  is  now  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Eeformed  Church  of  Millstone.  The  first 
Methodist  prayer-meeting  at  Middlebush  was  held 
under  his  charge  and  in  his  own  house.  He  has 
taken  an  active  interest  in  educational  matters,  and 
is  the  present  trustee  of  District  No.  73,  the  new 
school-house  having  been  erected  under  his  supervis- 
ion. He  enjoys  the  confidence  of  many  friends,  and 
by  industry,  economy,  and  thrift  has  acquired  a  hand- 
some competency.  He  is  one  of  the  best-preserved 
men  of  his  age  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Barcalow  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Catharine,  daughter  of  Dr.  Willard,  of  New 
York  City,  to  whom  he  was  united  on  Sept.  13,  1827, 
and  who  died  Oct.  6,  1876,  aged  eighty  years  and 
twenty-eight  days.  Of  this  marriage  were  born 
Arabella  W.  Barcalow,  his  only  surviving  child, 
Jan.  16,  1848  ;  Hannah  Maria,  born  Dec.  5,  1829, 
died  Feb.  1,  1832 ;  and  Cornelius  W.,  born  Feb.  7, 
1841,  died  March  26,  1841.  Alfred  H.  Maryott,  a 
grandson  whom  he  educated,  is  a  minister  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  His  second  and  present 
wife  was  Elizabeth  Mayer,  whom  he  married  Nov.  7, 
1877. 

The  Barcalow  family  were  among  the  early  settlers 
of  New  Utrecht,  L.  I.  Daniel  Barcalow  resided,  in 
1766,  on  the  farm  near  Ten-Mile  Eun,  in  Middle- 
sex County,  owned  by  Columbus  Beekman.  He  was 
the  father  of  Capt.  Stoffel  Barcalow,  who  purchased 
and  died  upon  the  "  Sterling  farm,''  near  Basking 
Eidge,  and  whose  son,  Christopher  Barcalow,  mar- 


ried Mary,  a  daughter  of  Brogun  B.  Huff,  formerly  of 
Somerville.  The  family  are  descendants  of  William 
Janse  Borkelo,  who  emigrated  at  an  early  period 
from  Zutphen,  in  Guilderland,  and  who  located  in 
Flat  Lands.  Coenrad  Barkelo,  his  son,  was  a  settler  on 
the  Earitan  in  1714,  and  Dirk,  another  son,  in  1717. 


ABRAHAM  J.   SUTDAM. 

Hendrick  Eycken  Suydam,  the  ancestor  of  the 
family  in  this  country,  with  his  wife,  Ida  Jacobs,  emi- 
grated from  south  of  the  dam  ( "  Zuidam" ),  in  Holland, 
in  1663.    Hence  the  name  of  the  family.     Eyck  Suy- 


dam, who  settled  in  Monmouth  County  at  an  early 
date,  was  born  in  1697  and  died  in  1750.  He  was  a 
son  of  Eyck,  of  Flatbush,  and  a  grandson  of  the  first- 
named  Hendrick.  Cornelius  Suydam  settled  on  the 
Earitan  as  early  as  1717.  He  was  a  son  of  Hendrick 
and  a  grandson  of  Eyck,  of  Flat  Lands.  He  died  in 
1771. 

Abraham  J.  Suydam,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is 
a  grandson  of  Abraham  and  a  great-grandson  of  Eyck 
Suydam.  The  latter  was  the  owner  of  the  old  Suy- 
dam homestead,  in  Franklin  township,  now  occupied 
by  Sheriff  Peter  A.  Voorhees.  Here  also  dwelt  his 
son  Abraham,  who  married  Jane  Voorhees,  and  who 
died  quite  young.  Their  children  were  Maria,  who 
married  Jacob  Wyckoff;  Joseph  A.,  Peter,  and  Ann, 


FREDERICK  T.  L.  NEVIUS 

is  a  grandson  of  Peter  D.  Nev- 
ius,  whoso  ancestry  is  more 
particularly  referred  to  in  the 
biographical  sketch  of  John  S. 
Nevius,  in  this  work.  His 
father,  Albert,  born  April  16, 
1787.  purchased  fifty  acres  of 
the  farm  now  occupied  by  our 
subject,  in  1813,  of  Joseph 
Brokaw.  Subsequent  additions 
have  made  the  tract  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  acres.  The 
first  family  residence  was  built 
by  Albert  Nevius  in  1S20,  and 
was  replaced  in  lSfiO-61  by  the 
present  attractive  residence  of 
Frederick  V.  L.  NeviuF,  who 
also  erected  the  barns  and  out- 
houses the  same  year.  The 
trees  that  adorn  and  beautify 
the  place  were  set  out  by  father 
and  son. 

Albert  Nevius  married,  for 
bis  first  wife,  Williampe  Gulick 
(born  Aug.  20, 1789),  on  Nov.  6, 
1S08,  and  by  this  marriage  had 
one  child,  Sarah  Ann  Nevius, 
born  May  18,  1811,  died  June 
22,  18B6.  Mrs.  Nevius  died 
Dec.  7,  1811,  and  on  April  6, 
1813,  Mr.  Nevius  was  united  in 
marriage  to  his  second  wife, 
Sarah  Van  Liew.  She  was  born 
April  5,  1783,  Of  this 
were  born  Peter  A .  Nevius 


wire, 

jept"  oA^c/^^^/^'A^  u^  X^  Qyy^-'i^^^^ 


25,  1816  J  Frederick  Van  Liew, 
born  July  2,  1819  j  Elizabeth 
Jane,  born  Sept.  27,  1825;  and 
James  Romeyn,  born  Oct.  10, 
1827,  died  Feb.  14,1 8J2.  Albert 
Nevius  died  Jan.  31,  1852,  and 
his  wife  on  Aug.  6,  1854. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  fnther, 
Frederick  V.  L.  Nevius  came 
into  possession  of  the  home- 
farm,  where  he  has  since  resi- 
ded, engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  Though  identified 
with  the  Republican  party,  he 
has  abstained  from  political 
strife,  and  been  no  seeker  after 
position.  He  is  a  liberal  sup- 
porter of  all  worthy  enterprise?, 
and  bears  the  reputation  of  an 
industrious  and  successful  farm- 
er, and  of  a  man  of  integrity 
and  moral  worth.  His  labors 
are  confined  to  his  farm.  He  is 
essentially  a  home-man,  and 
feels  a  just  pride  in  his  beautiful 
home-surroundings.  He  united 
with  the  Reformed  Church  at 
Franklin  Park  in  1854,  and  has 
twice  filled  the  office  of  deacon. 

Mr.  Nevius  was  married  on 
Jan.  10,  1849,  to  Eleanor  Long- 
street,  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Phebe  Ann  (Brokaw)  Cruser, 
an  old  family  of  Hillsborough 
township.  She  was  born  Nov. 
2,  1829.  There  have  been  no 
children. 


[^11 


©[^   l^-iai^Hl^Otglt^   ^.   [L«   [TflE^Qtyi,   [Fia^IRllISlkaiFfl    ?!?>»,  iOIRaiE^iHT   ©©.,  IFO.  ^. 


FRANKLIN. 


833 


who  married  Jacob  Van  Nostrand.    The  mother  sub- 
sequently married  Garret  Neviua. 

Joseph  A.  Suydam  was  born  on  the  old  homestead, 
Dec.  14,  17T2.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Mat- 
thew Brown,  of  Six-Mile  Run,  Sept.  25,  1797.  She 
was  bom  May  3, 1774.  The  issue  of  the  marriage 
were  Abraham  J.,  bom  July  21,  1798;  Matthew, 
born  Feb.  22,  iSOl,  died  Feb.  26,1824;  Jane  Voor- 
hees,  born  Oct.  2, 1803,  died  Dec.  26,  1820 ;  Andrew, 
born  Aug.  9,  1806,  now  deceased ;  Peter,  born  Dec. 
18,  1808;  John,  born  Oct.  18,  1810,  died  June  21, 
1846  ;  and  Isaac,  born  Sept.  2,  1816,  died  Jan.  6, 1836. 
Joseph  A.  Suydam  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer  where 
Peter  J.  Suydam  now  lives.  He  died  Dec.  22, 1867, 
atfad  his  wife  on  May  21,  1851. 

Abraham  J.  Suydam  was  born  on  his  father's  home- 
stead, at  Pleasant  Plains,  on  the  date  mentioned 
above.  He  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  a  common-school 
education,  and  married,  on  May  3, 1826,  Ida,  daughter 
of  John  and  Jane  Williamson  Pumyea,  of  Three-Mile 
Run.  She  was  born  Oct.  23,  1802.  He  then  engaged 
in  farming  at  Three-Mile  Run,  on  a  farm  which  he 
still  owns.  In  the  year  1850  he  purchased  his  present 
farm,  of  the  estate  of  Simon  Van  Liew,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  The  life  of  Mr.  Suydam  has  been 
a  quiet  and  unostentatious  one,  free  from  public  an- 
noyances and  the  strife  and  confusion  of  political  life. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  on  tiie 
town  committee  of  Franklin  township,  as  collector, 
overseer  of  the  poor,  and  as  freeholder  for  three  years. 
He  bears  an  unblemished  reputation,  and  enjoys  the 
ftill  confidence  of  his  friends  and  acquaintances.  H^ 
has  contributed  cheerfully  tp  all,  worthy  purposes 
throughout  a  long  life,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  of  Six-Mile  Run.  His  wife  died  Aug. 
18,1875?.'^'  "  '."    ..  '\       ',    " 

The  children  of  Mr.  Suydam  have  b,e'eii  Jane,  born 
April  27,  1827,  died  Feb.  iBj  186|;' John  P.,  born 
Oct.  12, 1829,  residing  in  Newark ;  Mary,  bpiai  June 
15, 1831,  died  March  1,  1852;   Mayhew,  born  Jan. 

27,  1833,  living  on  the  home  farm ;  Agnes  Ann,  born 
Sept.  22,  1835,  married  Theodore  Skillman,  June  1, 
1859;  Isaac  A.,  born  April  9,  1837,  died  Sept.  11, 
1863 ;  Abraham  A.,  born  Dec.  23,  1838,  died  May  9, 
1865 ;  and  Peter  P.,  born  Aug.  23, 1846,  died  Dec. 

28,  1846.       '      ■ 


JOHN  S.   NEVIUS. 


Johannes  Nevius,  from  Solen  (probably  Solingen, 
in  Westphalia),  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Nevius  family 
in  America.  He  was'a  ISiie^  by  occupation,  and 
through  his  traffic  witW  th^  Dtitbh  colony  of  New  Am- 
sterdam finally  settled  at  me  latter  place.  The  rec- 
ords of  the  Dutch  Churcli  show  that  on  Nov.  18, 
1653,  the  banns  of  marriage  were  declared  between 
Johannes  Nevius,  from  Solen;  and  Araientje  Bleyck, 
from  Batavia,  isle  of  Java,  East  Indies'.  ,'J'ohannes 
oflfered  a  loan  of  forty  dollars  to  the  city  of  ^ew  Am- 


sterdam that  same  year  for  erecting  the  palisades, 
and  in  1635  he. was  taxed  twenty  dollars  to  defray  the , 
expenses  of  constructing  the  city  defenses.    In  this 
latter  year  he  was  also  elected  a  city  schepeh,  and  in 


1658  he  succeeded  to  the  office  of  "  secretary  of  the 
court  of  burgomasters  and  schepens."  While  fill- 
ing this  position  he  occupied  the  City  Hall,  on  the 
present  line  of  Pearl  Street,  opposite  Coenties  Slip, 
and  was  at  one  time  granted  permission  to  sow  grain 
in  the  front  yard  of  the  hall.  When  New  Amster- 
dam surrendered  to  the  English,  in  1665,  he  was.  su- 
perseded in  office  by  Nicholas  Bayard,  after  which  he 
resided  at  the  ferry-landing  on  Long  Island,-  prob- 
ably until  his  death.  ' 

Johannes  Nevius  had  eight  children, — viz^,  Jo- 
hannes, born  in  1654;  Sara,  born  in  1656;  Oomelis, 
born  in  1657 ;  Marie,  born  in  1658 ;  Cornells  (sec- 
ond), born  in  1661 ;  Petrus,  born  in  1662  ;  Sara  Cath- 
arine, born  in  1664 ;  and  Johanna,  born  in  1667  or 
1668.  '•*■■■ 

Petrus  was  the  one  through  whom  comes  the  Som- 
erset County  line.  He  was  baptized  in  New  Amster- 
dam on  Feb.  4,  1663.  In  1683  he  was  living  at  Flat 
Lands.  In  1687  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
English,  and  was  yet  living  at  Flat  Lands  in  1698^  with 
his  wife,  Janetje  Roeloflf  Schenck  (whom  he  inarried 
June  22,  1684),  seven  children,  and  one  sUve;.  His 
son,  David,  was  born  in  1702,  and  was  baptized  at 
Brooklyn.  He  was  the  assesspr  of  Franklin  town- 
ship, Somerset  Co;,  in  1745,  and  had  six  children, — 


834 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


viz.,  Albert,  William,  Peter  D.,  Neltje,  Janetje,  and 
Altje.     Peter  D.  had  five  children, — Garret,  David, 
'Peter,  John,  and  Albert. 

John  S.  Nevius,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the 
son  of  Garret,  and  was  horn  Oct.  19,  1797,  at  Griggs- 
town,  N.  J.,  where  his  father  was  a  blacksmith 
and  farmer.  His  mother  was  Mary,  daughter  of 
John  Staats,  of  Hillsborough  township.  Mr.  Nevius 
passed  the  earlier  years  of  his  life  at  home,  and  en- 
joyed the  benefits  of  a  common-school  education.  In 
the  year  1812  his  father  came  into  possession  of  the 
family  homestead,  at  present  occupied  by  our  subject, 
and  at  his  death,  in  1819,  it  passed  by  will  to  the  latter 
and  his  brother,  Peter  G.,  then  comprising  one  hundred 
and  fifty-three  acres.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Nevius  purchased 
the  interest  of  his  brother  in  the  property,  and  resided 
there  until  1845.  He  then  purchased  the  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  where  Abraham  V.  Polhemus 
resides,  and  resided  there  twenty  years,  after  which  he 


returned  to  the  home  farm,  which,  with  his  son.  Garret, 
and  his  grandson,  is  now  occupied  by  the  sixth  genera- 
tion of  the  family.  Mr.  Nevius  has  confined  his  life- 
work  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  by  industry,  fru- 
gality, and  conscientious  principles  of  life  has  accumu- 
lated a  large  estate  and  placed  himself  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  agriculturists  of  his  township.  He  is  a  Demo- 
crat of  the  Jacksonian  school,  but  has  held  only  minor 
offices.  He  is  a  liberal  supporter  of  the  various  be- 
nevolent enterprises  of  his  day,  and  a  member  of  the 
Franklin  Park  Reformed  Church. 

His  first  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Brown,  of  Six-Mile  Run,  whom  he  married  in  1819. 
The  children  were  Garret,  who  occupies  the  old  home- 
stead with  his  father,  and  Ann  (deceased),  wife  of 
Frederick  Disbrow,  of  Millstone.  Their  mother,  who 
was  born  in  1796,  died  in  1830.  In  1844,  Mr.  Nevius 
married  a  second  wife,  the  widow  of  Jaques  Voor- 
hees,  who  died  in  1870,  aged  seventy-five. 


MONTGOMERY. 


LOCATION— AREA— BOUNDARY. 

MONTGOMEEY  is  the  southernmost  township  of 
Somerset  County.  Hillsborough  bounds  it  on  the 
north ;  on  the  east  the  Millstone  River  separates  it  from 
Franklin  and  Mercer  Counties,  while  East  Amwell 
township  bounds  it  on  the  west.  In  the  "  New  Jersey 
State  Gazetteer"  of  1834  the  township  is  described  as 
being  8  miles  long  by  8  wide,  and  as  having  an  area 
of  36,500  acres.  It  should  be  remembered,  however, 
that  at  the  time  this  description  was  given  the  town- 
ship included  a  large  tract  of  land  subsequently  taken 
ofi'  and  annexed  to  the  township  of  Princeton,  in  Mer- 
cer County. 

An  act  of  the  Legislature  passed  Feb.  27,  1838, 
established  the  following  as  the  boundaries  of  Mont- 
gomery : 

"  All  that  part  of  the  township  of  Montgomery,  in  the  county  of  Som- 
ereet,  which  lies  south  of  the  following  line — to  wit:  Beginning  on  the 
Millstone  River,  where  the  boundary  line  between  the  countieB  of  Mid- 
dlesex and  Somerset  crosses  the  same,  continuing  down  said  river  to  the 
original  southeasterly  corner  of  a  tract  of  land  called  the  Van  Horn 
tract,  and  thence  running  westerly  along  the  original  south  boundary  of 
said  tract,  and  continuing  on  in  the  same  course  to  the  middle  of  the 
road  called  the  Pennington  Boad,  leading  from  the  village  of  Rocky 
Hill  to  the  village  of  Pennington,  and  thence  westerly  along  the  middle 
of  said  road  to  the  boundary  line  of  the  county  of  Somersel: — shall  be, 
and  the  same  is  hereby,  attached  to  and  made  a  part  of  the  county  of 
Mercer ;  ...  and  said  line  shall  hereafter  be  the  boundary  line  between 
the  county  of  Mercer  and  the  county  of  Somerset."  * 

The  territory  thus  taken  off  contained  16,910  acres, 
leaving  the  present  area  of  Montgomery  19,590  acres. 

•  Acts  of  the  Assembly,  1838,  p.  209. 


NATURAL  FEATURES. 

The  surface  is  hilly,  the  soil  clay,  sandy  loam,  and 
red  shale.  Along  the  water-courses  there  is  a  large 
amount  of  fine  bottom-land,  in  which  the  red  shale  is 
predominant. 

Beeden's  Brook  flows  through  the  southern  part  of 
the  township.  The  north  branch  of  Beeden's,  and 
Black,  Roaring,  and  No-Pike  Brooks,  are  tributaries 
of  Beeden's. 

In  the  western  portion  of  the  township  is  the  Sour- 
land  Ridge,  one  of  whose  peaks  rises  to  a  height 
of  several  hundred  feet.  The  "Roaring  Rocks" 
are  in  this  chain.  They  consist  of  a  series  of  rocks 
and  caves,  beneath  which  is  a  constantly-flowing 
stream,  the  waters  of  which  make  a  peculiar  echo  or 
roar  as  they  dash  from  rock  to  rock.  The  "Devil's 
Half-Acre"  is  another  point  of  interest  in  the  Sour- 
land  Ridge.  It  is  a  wild  spot,  and  takes  its  name 
from  a  number  of  rocks  thrown  in  great  disorder  over 
a  apace  of  about  half  an  acre,  as  indicated  in  the 
name.  Some  of  these  rocks  are  of  very  curious  con- 
formation. One  is  known  as  "Table  Rock."  The 
locality  is  unfit  for  human  habitation,  and  to  our 
superstitious  forefathers  it  was  a  spot  to  be  avoided, 
as  if  it  was  the  veritable  abode  of  the  Evil  One. 
Robbed  of  its  superstitious  terrors,  it  has  become,  in 
these  latter  days,  a  favorite  resort  for  picnic-parties. 
The  spot  is  now  the  property  of  David  C.  Voorhees, 
who  purchased  it  a  few  years  ago. 


MONTGOMERY. 


835 


EARLY  TITLES   AND   SETTLEMENT. 
Peter  Sonmans,*  son  of  Arent  Sonmans,  one  of  the 
twenty-four,  proprietors,  in  1693  obtained  a  deed  for 
a  tract  of  about  36  square  miles,  embracing  a  large 
part  of  Montgomery.    His  line  began  near  Clover 
Hill,  and  ran  southeast  along  the  present  county 
line  for  6i  miles,  to  a  point  directly  west  of  Blawen- 
burg,  and  thence  east  and  southeast,  bordering  on  the 
land  of  Dr.  Greenland,  to  the  Millstone  River,  near 
Rocky  Hill ;  thence  down  the  river  IJ  miles  to  the 
previous  river  grants  {Benthall,  etc.),  and  so  along 
the  southerly  and  westerly  sides  of  these  and  the  lands 
of  Royce  until  it  struck  the  Raritan,  following  which 
and  the  South  Branch,  and  winding  around  a  couple 
of  plantations  previously  ceded  to  Daniel  Hooper  and 
John  Bennett  (1683),  his  bounds  returned  to  Clover 
Hill,  the  place  of  beginning.     The  southern  portion 
of  this  tract,  being  6800  acres  in  Montgomery  town- 
ship, in  1706  came  into  the  possession  of  William 
Dockwra,  who  sold  it  the  next  year  to  John  Van 
Home. 

South  of  Sonmans'  tract  were  the  plots  of  Richard 
Stocking,  on  the  west,  and  Dr.  Henry  Greenland,  on 
the  east,  extending  to  the  Millstone,  both  in  this  town- 
ship. That  of  Greenland  was  purchased  prior  to  1685, 
— nearly  or  quite  ten  years  before  Peter  Sonmans  be- 
came a  land-owner  here.  He  was  away  up  the  Mill- 
stone, "  solitary  and  alone  in  the  wilderness,"  in  the 
vicinity  of  what,  no  doubt,  is  now  Rocky  Hill.f 

In  the  north  part  of  what  is  now  Montgomery  town- 
ship, on  the  east,  were  the  lots  of  Thomas  Hart  and 
Walter  Benthall  (1690),  and,  on  the  west,  the  "Har- 
lingen  tract,"  of  8939  acres,  which  was  the  central 
third  part  of  the  Sonmans  possessions. 

Thomas  Hart,  of  London,  one  of  the  proprietors  of 
East  Jersey,  by  his  attorney.  Rip  Van  Dam,  of  New 
York,  conveyed  4000  acres  to  Gerardus  Beekman, 
Adrian  Beekman,  William  Crood,  John  Aortson, 
Thomas  Casdale,  and  Lancaster  Symes ;  this  transfer 
was  consummated  December  14th,  in  the  sixth  year 
of  the  reign  of  William  HI.  October  26th,  in  the 
first  year  of  the  reign  of  George  II.,  William  Beek- 
man and  Catharine,  his  wife,  sold  1333  acres  of  the 
above-mentioned  tract  to  Christopher  Hoagland.J 

The  Harlingen  tract  was  the  purchase  of  seventeen 
Dutch  settlers,  in  1710,  of  Peter  Sonmans ;  their  names 
were  Octavio  Conraats,  Ab.  Wendell,  merchant,  Adrian 
Hooglandt,  Isaac  Governeur,  of  New  York  City,  Anna 
Volkers,  widow,  of  Kings  Co.,  L.  I.,  Henry  Hegeman, 
Francis  Van  Lewen,  William  Beekman,  of  Queens 

«  Mr  Sonmans  was  a  native  of  Holland,  educated  at  Leyden,  and  held 
important  offices  under  King  William  III.,  He  was  surveyor-general  of 
Jersey  four  years,  a  member  of  the  Council,  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  and  represented  Bergen  County  in  the  General  Assembly. 
Although  a  churchman  by  profession,  he  gave  land  for  a  dissenting 
church  at  HopeweU  and  for  a  Dutch  church  at  what  is  now  HarUngen.- 
Colonud  Biit.  Neu!  York,  vol.  v.  pp.  204,  328,  etc. 

.f  Dr.  Corwin's  "  Centennial  Memorial  of  Millstone  D.  K.  Church, ' 

1866.  „  .       ^ 

X  From  a  deed  in  possession  of  Henry  V.  Hoagland,  of  Gnggstown, 

N.J. 


Co.,  L.  I.,  Joseph  Hegeman,  Hendrick  Veghte,  Cor. 
Van  Duyn,  Wouten  Van  Pelt,  Ort  Van  Pelt,  of  Kings 
Co.,  L.  I.,  Dirck  Volkers,  of  New  Jersey,  Peter  Cor- 
telyou,  Jacob  Van  Dyke,  and  Claas  Volkertse,  of 
Kings  Co.,  L.  I.    It  was  bounded  as  follows : 

'*  Beginning  at  the  south  corner  of  land  of  William  Flumstead,  bein^ 
IJ^  miles  and  4  chains  from  Millstone  Eiver  (by  what  is  now  the  New 
Amwell  Road) ;  thence  south-southwest  2^  miles  and  8  chains,  west- 
northwest  1  mile  18  chains,  south-southwest  2%  miles  and  7  chains, 
west  3^2  miles  and  3  chains  to  the  partition  line  between  East  and  West 
Jersey  ;  thence  north  14°  west  30  chains,  north  53°  east  7  miles  and  20 
chains,  east  1  mile  and  17  chains,  to  place  of  beginning,  having  lands  of 
Plumstead,  Barker,  Hart,  and  Benthall  on  the  east,  and  the  division  line 
and  other  lands  of  Peter  Sonmans  on  the  west." 

The  eastern  and  southern  line  of  this  tract  ran  from 
the  present  farm  of  Adrian  Merrill,  west  of  Millstone, 
along  the  present  road,  which  is  on  that  line,  to  the 
present  farm  of  Theodore  Wyckoff,  thence  to  the  old 
Harlingen  cemetery,  and  thence  southwest  and  west 
to  Rock  Mills. 

Not  quite  two-thirds  of  the  Harlingen  tract  lay 
within  this  township,  all  north  of  the  church  lot  and 
William  Beekman's  land  being  in  Hillsborough.^ 

John  Harrison  was  an  early  settler,  residing  at 
Rocky  Hill  in  1717,  or  possibly  some  years  earlier. 
He  was  engaged  in  1701,  by  the  Governor  and  pro- 
prietors of  East  Jersey,  to  extinguish  the  Indian 
title  to  lands  in  their  province.  In  a  deed  obtained 
from  Nowenock,  an  Indian  chief,  dated  June  24, 1717, 
he  is  called  "  John  Harrison,  of  Rockie  Hill."  He 
is  accredited  with  owning  the  first  mills  on  the 
Millstone,  which  were  built  previous  to  1716,  with 
purchasing  large  tracts  of  land  still  earlier,  and  is 
known  to  have  been  a  member  of  Assembly  from 
Somerset  County  in  1703,  and  again  in  1707  ;  it  is 
therefore  not  unlikely  that  he  settled  here  about  the^ 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.  || 

Hendrick  PolhemusH  settled  in  Harlingen  at  an 
unknown  date  (probably  about  1730),  upon  a  large 
tract  of  land  said  to  contain  708  acres,  and  extend- 
ing fi-om  the  Millstone  River  to  Harlingen,  which 
was  purchased  by  his  father,  Daniel,  in  1728,  jointly 
with  Cornelius  Cornell,  of  Rip  Van  Dam  and  Lan- 
caster Symes,  for  £1775.  Daniel  did  not  occupy  this- 
land,  but,  dying  soon  after  the  purchase  (just  prior  to- 
1730),  his  son,  Hendrick,  came  into  possession,  Cor- 


l  See  map  of  land  titles,  in  this  work. 

1  See,  further,  sketch  of  the  Harrison  family  in  Tranklin  township- 
history. 

f  The  original  name  was  Polheem,  the  Latin  terminal  i«  being  afttxed, 
as  a  mark  of  eminence,  according  to  a  custom  once  prevalent  in  Holland 
among  men  of  distinction.  Anciently  some  members  of  this  family  en- 
Joyed  celebrity  in  the  cities  of  Antwerp  and  Ghent.  Bleazer  Polhemus 
was  a  learned  jurist  and  burgomaster  of  Antwerp  in  1310.  Johannel 
Theodorus  Polhemus,  the  progenitor  of  all  the  famiUes  of  the  name  in 
America,  was  a  minister  of  the  Eeformed  Church  of  Holland ;  he  came 
in  1654,  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Tlatbush  from  1664  to  1666,  and  of 
that  at  Brooklyn  until  his  death,  June  9, 1676.  His  wife  was  Catharina 
Van  Werven;  his  children  were  Theodorus,  Daniel,  EUzabeth,  Adriana, 
Anna  and  Margaret.  Daniel  left  sons,— Cornelius,  Daniel,  Hendrick 
(the  pioneer  of  HarUngen),  and  Jacob.  All  left  families.  See  "  Biker's 
Annals  of  New  Town"  (Long  Island),  for  further  particulars  of  thesft 
families. 


836 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JEESEY. 


nell  releasing  to  him  his  half-interest.  Hendrick 
very  soon  after  removed  to  and  settled  upon  it ;  there 
he  built  a  log  house.  He  was  succeeded  on  the  home- 
stead by  his  son  Hendrick ;  Hendrick  by  his  son  Dan- 
iel (the  father  of  Hendrick  Polhemus,  for  some  time 
pastor  of  the  churches  of  Harlingen  and  Neshanic,  who 
died  in  1813) ;  Daniel  by  his  son  Isaac ;  and  Isaac  by 
his  son  Isaac,  lately  deceased,  brother  of  Bernard  Pol- 
hemus, now  of  Somerville,  and  Peter  G.  Polhemus,  now 
of  New  Brunswick.  The  old  homestead  is  now  owned 
by  William  Williamson,  who  resides  thereon.  It  was 
in  the  possession  of  the  Polhemus  family  for  nearly 
five  generations.  The  farm  is  the  northern  strip  of 
the  original  patent  of  Mr.  Hart. 

Henry  Polhemus,  for  years  pastor  of  the  Harlingen 
Reformed  Dutch  Church,  was  a  native  of  Montgomery 
township,  Harlingen  being  his  birthplace.  He  was 
a  great-great-grandson  of  the  Daniel  Polhemus  who 
was  a  captain  of  the  troops  in  Kings  County,  super- 
visor of  Flatbush  in  1705,  afterwards  county  judge,  the 
purchaser  of  the  708-acre  tract  in  Montgomery,  Som- 
erset Co.,  and  who  died  in  1728  or  1729.  He  was  also 
a  great-grandson  of  the  first  of  the  name  in  Harlin- 
gen, the  Hendrick  mentioned  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph. 

The  Beekmans*  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in 
this  township.  Gerardus  was  a  physician  at  Flatbush, 
L.  I.,  a  member  of  Leisler's  council,  and  afterwards  of 
the  council  of  New  York  from  Cornbury's  time  until 
his  death,  in  1723.  One  of  his  sons,  William,  was 
a,  purchaser  in  the  Harlingen  tract  of  1710,  and  several 
of  his  descendants  settled  between  1700  and  1722  on 
the  Millstone  Eiver.  From  one  of  these  ultimately 
sprang  Bev.  Jacob  T.  B.  Beekman,  who  was  born  on 
the  Ten  Broeck  homestead,  near  Harlingen.  He 
died  April  23,  1875.  His  son.  Judge  George  C,  is  a 
prominent  lawyer  and  jurist  of  Monmouth  County. 

Samuel  Beekman  (oldest  son  of  Samuel,  who  was 
the  second  son  of  Martin) — generally  known  as 
"Capt." — ^was  born  Sept.  21,  1767.  After  his  mar- 
riage to  Helena  Ten  Broeck,  of  Montgomery,  he  sold 
the  old  Beekman  homestead,  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Raritan,  which  he  had  inherited,  to  his  sister 
Cornelia,  and  lived  the  remainder  of  his  days  on  the 
Ten  Broeck  homestead,  near  Harlingen.  His  wife  was 
the  daughter  of  Cornelius  Teii  Broeck,  originally  from 
Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.  Capt.  Beekman  died  in  1851 ;  he 
was  one  of  the  most  active  members  of  the  Harlingen 
Dutch  Reformed  Church.  His  son,  Cornelius  T.  B., 
born  October,  1789,  resided  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
at  Harlingen  ;  another  son,  Peter  T.  (born  April  21, 
1796,  married  Eliza  Carpenter,  who  died  in  May, 
1833),  owned  and  conducted  Corle's  Mills  for  some 
years,  and  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature. 

Christopher  Beekman,  son  of  Gerardus,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  Col.  Gerardus,  the  early  settler  and  mem- 
ber of  the  Provincial  Council,  "  lived  on  the  rear  of 

*  This  waa  BcecJcman  in  German. 


the  old  homestead  near  Harlingen,  and  died  about 
1820,  ninety-six  years  of  age."t  One  of  the  descend- 
ants, John  A.,  was  killed  by  a  falling  tree  at  Griggs- 
town,  Sept.  21,  1829.t 

In  1710,  Hendrick  Hageman,  probably  a  son  of 
Aaron,  the  emigrant,  was  one  of  the  owners  of  the 
Harlingen  tract,  purchased  of  Peter  Sonmans.  Aaron 
and  his  wife,  Catharine,  settled  at  Flatbush,  N.  Y., 
in  1661.  He  had  seven  children, — Joseph,  Hendrick, 
Jacobus,  Abram,  Denice,  Benjamin,  and  Elizabeth. | 

Joost  Duryee  was  a  native  of  France.  In  1753  he 
purchased  264J  acres,  in  Montgomery  township,  of 
Abraham  Van  Horn,  merchant,  of  New  York,  for 
£1058,  current  money  of  the  colony  of  New  York. 
Joost  Duryee  was  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Al- 
exander D.,  who  now  lives  on  the  old  homestead. 
The  cottage  erected  by  him  remained  standing  on  this 
land  until  twenty-four  years  ago.  It  was  of  the 
Dutch  style  of  architecture, — high-pointed  gables, 
and  the  eaves  so  low  that  they  could  be  reached  by  a 
man  of  ordinary  stature.  It  was  torn  down  in  1856, 
and  the  residence  of  Garret  Vreeland  erected  on  the 
site.  William  Duryee  was  his  son,  and  the  grand- 
father of  Alexander  D.  He  married  Anna  Berrien, 
and  had  one  child, — Henry, — who  was  father  of  the 
following:  William  (deceased),  Ann  (deceased), 
Catharine,  Abraham,  Mary,  Henry,  Sarah  Emma, 
Augustus  (deceased),  and  Alexander  D.  The  father 
)Henry)  died  in  1870,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four;  his 
wife  died  in  1854.  Of  his  children  five  married, — 
viz.,  William,  Eveline  Barnum,  in  Illinois ;  Ann, 
Peter  TST.  Beekman,  of  Millstone,  who  (1880)  survives 
her ;  Catharine,  Jacob  S.  Williamson,  of  Clover  Hill ; 
Henry,  Mary  Baker,  of  New  Brunswick ;  Alexander, 
Elizabeth  C.  Vreeland,  of  Bergen,  a  suburb  of  New 
Brunswick.  The  homestead  is  occupied  by  Alexander 
and  his  sisters.  Misses  Mary  and  Emma. 

Ann  Duryea,  of  Blawenburg,  married  James 
Barcalow,  a  son  of  Col.  Farrington  Barcalow,  of 
Millstone. 

Rynear  Staats,  son  of  Abram  (?),  purchased  of  Cor- 
nelius WyckofF  some  350  acres,  located  on  the  Mill- 
stone about  a  mile  below  Griggstown.  Seytje  Van 
Nest,  his  wife,  was  born,  it  is  thought,  in  Hillsborough 
township,  as  was  her  husband,  whose  father  was  one 
of  its  early  settlers.  He  had  two  sons,  of  whom  Abram 
was  the  oldest,  and  three  daughters.  Abram  had  five 
sons — John,  Henry,  Abram,  Rynear,  and  Gerret — • 
and  four  daughters, — Maria,  Martha,  Phoebe,  and 
Petrunella.  All  are  deceased  except  Rynear  and 
Abram  ;.  the  latter  has  been  a  resident  of  Cayuga 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  since  1836.  Rynear  is  living  upon  a  part 
of  the  old  homestead ;  his  wife  was  Mary  Van  Derveer. 

t  Ralph  Voorheea,  "  The  Raritan,"  etc.,  p.  494. 

X  See  further  mention  of  this  family  in  the  history  of  Hillsborougli 
township. 

g  See  a  general  sketch  of  the  Hageman  family  in  Franklin  township 
history ;  also  mention  of  Andrew,  Rev.  Chas.  S.,  and  John  F.  Hageman, 
Bsij.,  on  pp.  591-92,  619-20,  and  641 ;  and  of  Dr.  A.  P.  Hageman,  on 
page .  840. 


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MONTGOMERY. 


837 


Of  the  old  family  of  Maj.  Jolin  Baird,  formerly  re- 
siding at  the  river  bridge  near  Griggstown,  none  now 
remain  in  the  township ;  one  son,  Benjamin,  is  living 
at  Ten-Mile  Run. 

THE  YOORHBES  FAMILY. 

John  Stevens  Van  Voorhees  came  from  Flatbush 
(or  riatlands),  L.  I.,  to  Montgomery  township  in 
1738,  purchasing  a  farm  of  345  acres  southeast  of 
Blawenburg,  on  the  road  to  Princeton.  An  old 
parchment  deed  shows  that  he  purchased  this  land 
of  Nicholas  Lake,  of  New  Brunswick,  for  £427.  He 
lived  there  for  sixteen  years,  and  in  1754  purchased 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Voorhees  homestead.  The 
deed  bears  date  of  "the  first  day  of  May,  in  the 
twenty-seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign 
Lord,  George  the  second,  Anno  Domini  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  fifty-four,"  and  is  between  "  Abra- 
ham Van  Home,  of, the  city  of  New  York,  merchant, 
and  Catharine,  his  wife,  of  the  one  part,  and  John 
Van  Voorhees,  of  the  county  of  Somerset  and  Eastern 
division  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  yeoman,  of 
the  other  part."  For  the  201J  acres  of  land  therein 
mentioned  he  gave  £806,  "  current  money  of  the 
colony  of  New  York," — about  $20  per  acre.  This 
was  located  on  the  north  branch  of  Beden's  Brook, 
in  the  township  of  Montgomery. 

Both  John  Van  Voorhees  and  his  wife  lived  to  a 
good  old  age,  the  former  being  nearly  one  hundred, 
the  latter  eighty-nine,  when  they  died.    Their  young- 
est sons,  Abram   and  Jeremiah,  who  were  both  at 
home  when  the  father  died,  purchased  the  interest  of 
the  other  three  brothers  in  the  estate,  and  lived  to- 
gether until  the  latter  died.    He  was  fourteen  years 
older  than  Abraham,  and  had  never  married ;  Abram 
married  at  the  age  of  thirty -nine.     John  Stevens  Van 
Voorhees  married  Jeanetta  Kirshaw,  at  Long  Island, 
in  1730.  They  had  five  children.  Abraham  Voorhees 
(here  "Van"  is  dropped  from  the  name),  son  of  John 
Stevens  Van  Voorhees,  was  born  May  19,  1753,  and 
married  Leah  Nevius  Voorhees,  May  5,  1792;  they 
had  three  children,— viz.,  John  A.,  Sarah,  and  Jennie. 
His  wife,  Leah,  died  in  1803,  and  in  1805  he  married 
Jane  Kirshaw,  who  bore  him  no  children.,    He  died 
Sept.  14,  1828;  his  wife  survived  him  twenty-four 
years.     His  son  John  A.  married  Elizabeth  Skillman ; 
died  in   1821;   had   eight   children,— viz.,  Abraham 
(deceased),  Henry  Skillman,  Peter  (deceased),  John 
I.  (deceased!  Martin  (deceased),  William  (deceased), 
Sarah  P.,  and  David  C.     Henry  S.  enlisted  in  the  war 
of  the  Rebellion,  and  served  as  orderly  sergeant  in 
the  Sixth  New   York  Cavalry;  he  was  afterwards 
quartermaster  in  the  same  regiment.    Sarah  P.  mar- 
ried Peter  Q.  Staats,  and  had  two  children,— John 
and  Elizabeth  Skillman.    David  C.  married  Mary 
Sorter,    and   has    four    children, — Annetta   Stanley, 
May,  George  Edwin  (deceased),  and  Hugh  Russell.* 
"  Maplewood"  is  the  residence,  at  Blawenburg,  of 

*  From  information  furnished  by  Mrs.  J.  L.  E.  Meaick. 


David  C.  Voorhees,  previously  mentioned  as  one  of  the 
sons  of  John  A.,  and  great-grandson  of  John  Stevens 
Van  Voorhees,  the  first  of  this  family  at  Blawenburg. 
The  children  of  David  C.  are  the  fifth  generation 
who  have  lived  on  the  place.  There  four  generations 
have  been  born  and  three  died  during  the  one  hundred 
and  twenty-six  years  that  have  elapsed  since  its  pur- 
chase, in  1754.  A  view  of  this  homestead  may  be 
seen  on  the  opposite  page. 

Another  branch  of  the  Voorhees  family  is  that 
which  is  descended  from  Peter  Voorhees  (1st),  the 
great-great-grandfather  of  John  S.  Voorhees,  and  son 
of  Garret  Courten,  who  in  1720  bought  231  acres  of 
the  Van  Horn  tract,  lying  about  a  mile  west  of  Blaw- 
enburg, and  settled  upon  it.  It  is  possible  that  he 
was  an  uncle  of  the  John  Stevens  Van  Voorhees 
(previously  mentioned)  who  came  in  1738.  Peter 
was  twice  married,  both  his  wives  being  named 
Nevius.  His  children  were  Mary,  Jane,  Peter,  John, 
Leah,  and  Sarah.  Peter  (2d),  like  his  father,  was 
twice  married,  and  by  his  first  wife  had  Peter  (3d), 
who  married  Catharine  Skillman  ;  Leah,  who  mar- 
ried Abram  Voorhees;  and  Martin,  who  married 
Altje  Van  Dyke,  and  lived  and  died  at  Harlingen. 

Martin  had  children,— Peter  (4th),  who  married 
Jane  Schenck,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Schenck,  of 
Amwell,  a  brave  and  daring  officer  in  the  Revolution ; 
John,  M.D.,  remained  unmarried,  died  in  the  South, 
where  he  had  gone  for  his  health,  and  was  for  some 
time  an  inmate  of  the  family  of  Gen.  Jackson ;  Leah, 
married  Dr.  Ferdinand  F.  Schenck,  M.D.,  lived  and 
died  at  Six-Mile  Run ;  Charity,  married  Joseph  Pat- 
terson, lived  and  died  at  Ten-Mile  Run ;  Sarah,  mar- 
ried Abraham  Cruser,  for  some  time  sheriff  of  Mid- 
dlesex County,  lived  and  died  near  Kingston ;  Fred- 
erick v.,  married  Cornelia,  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry 
Polhemus,  lived  and  died  on  homestead  at  Harlingen. 
Peter  (4th),  who  married  Jane  Schenck,  lived  on  the 
homestead,  being  of  the  fifth  generation  and  the  last 
of  the  Voorhees  family  who  owned  and  occupied  it. 
He  was  esteemed  as  a  worthy  member  and  supporter 
of   the  church   at  Blawenburg,    and    rendered   im- 
portant aid  in  the  organization  of  the  congregation 
and  the  building  of  the  church  edifice  in  1830.     He 
was  for  a  time  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
and  for  three  years  a  member  of  the  Legislature  at 
the  time  the  constitution  was  revised  and  amended. 
He  had  other  important  public  trusts  committed  to 
him,  which  he  executed,  enjoying  the  confidence  of 
his  fellow-citizens.    He  had  seven  children :   Alice, 
who  married  John  D.  V.  Joline,  M.D.,  of  Princeton; 
John  S.,  married  Sarah  Ann  Van  Doren,  of  Six-Mile 
Run ;  Charity,  married  Samuel  D.  Bergen,  and  now 
lives 'at  Princeton ;  Mary,  married  Reuben  A.  Drake, 
lived  and  died  at  Hopewell;  Ada  H. ;  Jane  P.,  mar- 
ried Rev.  J.  B.  Davis,  at  present  pastor  of  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Hightstown.    She  died  in  1873. 
Peter  (5th)  married  Anna,  a  sister  to  WiUiam  L. 


838 


SOMEESET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Dayton.  Peter  is  a  counselor-at-law,  and  lives  in  Cam- 
den. Fredericlc  is  unmarried,  is  a  counselor-at-law, 
and  practices  at  Mount  Holly. 

Judge  Peter's  sister  Leah  married  Ferdinand  H. 
Schenck,  of  the  fifth  generation  of  John  Schenok, 
who  came  from  Holland  in  1650  and  settled  at  Flat- 
lands,  L.  r.  His  father  was  Martin  Schenck,  of  Mill- 
stone, who  enjoyed  public  favor  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree, serving  in  various  public  capacities, — as  member 
of  Assembly,  judge  of  the  court,  sheriff  of  the  county, 
etc.  An  active  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  at 
Millstone,  he  was  an  esteemed  friend  of  Oen.  Fred- 
erick FrelJnghuysen,  who  did  much  to  advance  his 
public  and  private  interests.  Sheriff  Martin's  chil- 
dren were  Ferdinand  S.,  who  married  Leali  Voorhees ; 
Sarah,  married,  first,  Aaron  Van  Deventcr,  of  Bound 
Brook,  and,  second,  .Joseiih  Van  ].)oren,  of  Middle- 
bush;  Ellen,  married  .Joseph  Annin;  Mary  Ann,  mar- 
ried Henry  Wilson,  Esq.,  of  Millstone ;  and  Uplean 
Van  Sinderen,  died  young.  Peter  Voorhees  (.Oth) 
died  on  the  homestead  July  4,  IHfiH,  aged  sixty-six; 
his  wife,  Jane  Schenck,  died  aged  about  fifty. 

Cornelius  and  Abram,  sons  of  Cornelius,  the  first 
settler,  both  served  in  the  lievolutionury  army. 

THE   HOAGLAND   FAMILY. 

The  old  homestead  of  the  Ifoagland  family  (of 
which  see  illustration  accompanying)  is  situat<'d  in 
Somerset  County,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Millstone 
Biver,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  village  of 
Griggstown,  and  directly  in  front  of  one  of  those 
remarkable  curves  so  characteristic  of  that  stream. 
The  bridge,  which  is  now  about  a  hundred  yards 
down  the  stream,  formerly  crossed  the  river  nearly  in 
front  of  the  house ;  many  of  the  stones  of  it  are  yet 
to  be  seen.  It  is  said  that  Washingtfjn,  after  the 
battle  of  Princeton,  in  his  retreat  before  the  rein- 
forced British  army,  crossed  the  old  bridge,  and  then 
ordered  it  torn  down  in  order  to  detain  his  fiursuers, 
who  were  within  sight,  near  the  present  residence  of 
Abram  Van  Dom.  The  bridge  was  probably  re- 
paired at  that  time,  and  used  for  some  years  after- 
wards, as  there  are  papers  in  possession  of  the  family 
which  refer  to  the  building  of  one  in  1787,  probably 
on  the  present  site. 

The  old  family  homestead  of  the  Hoaglands  pre- 
sents a  cafe  somewhat  remarkaljle  in  this  country,  as 
having  been  in  possession  of  the  family  in  the  direct 
male  line  (son  succeeding  father)  since  the  earliest 
settlement  of  the  country,  and  also  in  the  fact  that 
there  has  never  been  a  mortgage  upon  it  on  reward. 

The  family  burying-ground,  after  the  manner  of 
our  Dutch  ancestry,  is  on  the  farm,  within  sight  of 
the  house,  a  few  hundred  yards  distant.  In  that 
modest,  secluded  spot  lie  buried  not  less  than  four 
Christopher  Hoaglands,  all  living  to  be  old  men,  the 
first  dying  about  1748,  the  second  in  1777,  the  third 
in  180.5,  the  fourth  in  18fi7,  the  suc-essive  heads  of 
the  family  down  to  the  present  owner,  Henry  V. 


Hoagland,  who  is  now  living  on  the  farm,  an  old  man 
of  seventy-seven.  Near  by  is  ground  set  apart  for 
the  burial-place  of  the  servants. 

The  present  house  was  built  in  1808,  inclosed  prin- 
cipally with  shingles,  and  is  still  in  good  repair. 
Timbers  in  the  cellar  show  that  material  from  the 
old  house  was  used  in  its  construction  ;  they  ap- 
pear as  sound  as  when  first  laid.  In  the  ball 
stands  the  old  clock,  made  in  London,— at  what 
time  can  only  be  conjectured.  It  has  come  down 
through  the  generations,  and  is  beyond  doubt  one 
of  the  oldest  docks  in  the  county.  On  the  face 
is  the  narhe  of  '^' Franc  Dc  La  fialle,  London,"  and 
the  case  is  figured  with  wliat  appears  to  be  carved 
work.  It  in  still  the"  old  reliable"  as  a  timekeeper, 
and,  from  present  appearances,  will  yet  tick  in  and 
out  many  generations  more. 

Two  barns  are  standing;  the  newer  one,  built,  it  is 
said,  in  ]7fi5,  is  40  by  52,  and  the  older  one,  28  by  4<) 
feet,  is  probably  the  original  one,  built  in  1727  or 
thereabouts.  Children  of  the  present  owner  remem- 
ber when  both  had  the  long  pointed  roof's  whose,  eaves 
a  tall  man  could  reach  from  the  ground.  Tliat  part 
of  their  shape  has  been  changed,  but  their  frames  re- 
main as  the  original  construi',t<'jrs  njade  them,  appa- 
rently as  sound  as  when  put  up. 

Among  the  old  papers  is  a  deed  for  4000  a^;res  of 
land  purch-ased  of  Thomas  Hart,  London,  in  1702, 
beginning  at  a  point  on  the  Millstone  River  known  as 
Punch-Bowl  Meadow,  next  the  Barker  tract,  running 
west  to  "unappropriated  lands,"  south  to  a  point  on 
the  stream  known  as  No-Pike  Brook,  following  it« 
course  to  the  river,  and  thence  down  that  stream  to 
place  of  beginning.     This  tract,  as  the  papers  show, 
was  subdivided  int^j  three  cj{ua,]  parte  by  the  original 
purchasers.     One  of  thfise  divisions,  containing  over 
1.^00  acres,  was  divided  into  four  "  lots,"  of  about  ''M 
acres  each,  and  the  Hoagland  farm  was  called  lot  No. 
1.     It  was  purchased  of  a  Dr.  William  fieekman,  of 
New  York,  a  son  of  one  of  the  original  fiurchascrs, 
in  1727,  by  Christopher  Hoagland.     A  deed  in  pos- 
session of  the  family  shows  that  he  bought  a  tract  in 
Piscataway   township,  on  the   '■.iw.t  side   of  Earitan 
Eiver,  in  MM,  from  Cornelius  Powell,  in  which  in- 
strument he  is  referrwl  to  as  "Christopher  Hoagland, 
late  of  Flat  Lands,  L.  I."     From  thiii  location  he  re- 
moved to  near  Griggstown,  in  Somerset  County,  in 
1727.     The   papers  show  tb^t  he   died   about   1748, 
leaving  three  sons, — .lohn,  Christopher,  and  Marten- 
ius.    In  a  quit-clairn  deed,  dated  in  1770,  the  heirs  of 
John  and  Martenius  quit-claim  all  their  right,  title, 
and  int'-rest  in  the  two-thirds  x^art  of  the  estate  of 
Christopher  Hoagland  and  Catrena  Cregier,  his  wife, 
late  of  the  city  of  New  York,  to  Christopher  Hoag- 
land, the  grandson,  as  the  paper  states,  of  tliis  Chris- 
topher Hoagland,  of  Xew  York.    This  ia  signed  by 
Jacob  Hoagland,  John  Van  Neste,  Jores  JV;rgen,  .Jr., 
and  Christopher  Hoagland,  executfjrs  of  John  Hoag- 
land, deceased,    and    by  Phebe    Hoagland,    Oakey 


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MONTGOMERY. 


839 


Hoagland,  and  Christopher  Hoagland,  "son  of  Mar- 
tenius."  John  Hoagland  was  in  the  Council  of  the 
province  of  New  Jersey  in  1763.  The  Christopher 
above  referred  to  died  in  1777,  leaving  one  son,  Chris- 
topher, and  eight  daughters.  Among  the  papers  is 
an  inventory  of  his  property  taken  by  Christopher 
Hoagland,  Jr.,  and  Peter  Stryker,  as  executors,  and 
appraised  by  William  Baird  and  Peter  Van  Derveer, 
dated  April  10,  1777.  Also  the  vendue-book,  dated 
April  21,  1777,  with  conditions  of  sale,  articles  sold, 
and  the  purchasers.  Interest  attaches  to  these  as 
showing  who  were  the  actors  on  the  stage  in  the  long, 
long  ago,  and  the  value  at  that  time  of  the  various 
articles  belonging  to  the  farm.  In  the  list  is  the 
valuation  and  selling-price  of  several  colored  persons, 
known  then  as  slaves. 

The  son  Christopher  who  followed  him,  living  on 
the  farm  until  his  death,  in  1805,  must  have  been  a 
man  of  considerable  force  of  character.     He  was  in 
the  Legislature  in  1778,  and  among  his  papers  is  a 
commission  from  Governor  Livingston,  dated  1776, 
making  him  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  county  of 
Somerset,  and  his  docket  while  acting  in  that  capac- 
ity is  among  his  papers,  showing  who  were  the  liti- 
gants of  that  early  day,  the  matters  in  dispute,  and 
decisions  rendered.     In  glancing  hastily  over  them  we 
find  one  man  arraigned  for  profane  swearing  and  fined. 
Among  the  penalties  imposed  in  some  cases  was  the 
lash ;  but  the  consent  of  the  owner  of  the  slave  seems 
to  have  been  required.     It  is  noticeable,  then  as  now, 
that  grievances  seemed  to  befall  particular  individuals 
with  a  sad  frequency.     Among  the  papers  is  a  call  on 
the  Rev.  Peter  Lowe,  of  Long  Island,  dated  1795,  to 
become  the  pastor  of  the  churches  of  Six-Mile  Eun 
and  Millstone,   with  the   names  of  the   elders  and 
deacons  of  each  church  signed  thereto.     Christopher 
Hoagland  heads  the  list  from  the  church  of  Six- 
Mile  Eun.     A  letter  from  Fred.  Frelinghuysen  to  C. 
Hoagland,  dated  Aug.  19,  1800,  advises  him  to  settle 
a  matter  in  dispute  about  the  support  of  an  old  col- 
ored woman  named  Philis,  which  he  seems  to  have 
been  inclined  to  litigate,  wherein  the  wise  observation 
is  made  that  lawsuits  rarely  result  to  the  satisfaction 
of  either  party.    Other  papers  show  that  the  matter 
was  settled. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  in  those  days  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Millstone  was  regarded  as  of  much  impor- 
tance. The  mill-owners  were  required  to  so  arrange 
their  dams  that  the  boats  could  pass  up  and  down, 
and  Christopher  Hoagland  and  Benjamin  Griggs  were 
authorized  to  see  that  the  law  or  agreement  was  en- 
forced; also  that  these  dams  should  be  opened  for 
the  passage  of  fish  from  the  20th  of  March  to  the  20th 
of  May  of  each  year. 

In  those  days  a  well-regulated  homestead  contained 
within  itself  the  appliances  for  making  almost  every- 
thing necessary  in  carrying  on  the  farm.  On  this 
place  were  a  tannery,  blacksmith-shop,  wheelwright- 
shop,  looms  where  the  linen  and  other  articles  of  fam- 


ily use  were  woven,  machines  for  breaking  flax  and 
others  for  dressing  it,  spinning-wheels  of  various  sizes 
and  sorts,  rope-works,  etc. 

The  following  is  the  genealogy  of  the  Hoagland 
family :  1.  Christopher  Hoagland,  of  Haerlem,  Hol- 
land, died  about  1684  or  1686.  He  married,  June  23, 
1661,  in  New  York,  Catharine  Cregier,  of  Amster- 
dam, Holland.  (Will  written  March  13,  1676;  re- 
corded Lib.  3,  p.  83,  in  New  York  surrogate's  office.) 
His  children  were  :  2.  Dirck,  baptized  Nov.  1,  1662, 
in  New  York;  married  Maria  Kip,  in  New  York, 
March  4,  1687.  8.  Lysbeth,  born  1664,  died  young. 
4.  Harman,  baptized  in  New  York,  March  28,  1666 ; 
died  young.  5.  Martin.  6.  Christopher,  baptized 
Nov.  24,  1669,  in  New  York;  married  (1)  Catalyntie, 
(2)  Neeltje  Voorhees ;  resided  in  1665  in  Pearl  Street, 
New  York ;  lived  in  Flat  Lands  in  1706.  7.  Francis, 
baptized  April  1, 1672,  in  New  York.  8.  Jacob,  bap- 
tized Oct.  25, 1676,  in  New  York.  9.  Deynoot.  10.  Har- 
man, baptized  March   28,  1681  ;   married  Adriantje 

,  of  Flat  Lands,  L.  I.,  in  1716. 

Christopher  (6)  had  a  son,— 11.  Christopher,  who 
was  born  Sept.  5,  1699,  and  died  in  April,  1777.  He 
probably  had  brothers,— John  and  William,  and  pos- 
sibly others.  The  children  of  Christopher  (11)  were  : 
12.  Helena,  born  1725;  13.  Christoffel,  born  1727; 
14.  Maria,  born  1729;  15.  Catrina,  born  1732;  16. 
Sara,  born  1734 ;  17.  Ariantje,  born  1735 ;  18.  Marga- 
rita, born  1738;  19.  Harman,  born  1739;  20.  Sara, 
born  1741  ;  21.  Femmetje,  born  1743 ;  22.  Dinah,  born 
1745 ;  23.  John,  born  about  1747 ;  24.  Martin,  born 
about  1749. 

The  children  of  Christoffel  (13),  who  married  Sarah 
Voorhees  about  1752  (she  died  1813),  were:  25.  Cata- 
line,  born  1753,  married  William  Baird;  26.  Ida, 
born  1755,  married  Martin  (?)  Nevius ;  27.  Sarah, 
born  1756,  married  John  Baker;  28.  Jannetje,  born 
1758,  married  Cornelius  Nevius ;  29.  Christoffel,  born 
1765,  died  1837,  married  on  Nov.  4, 1790,  Nelly  Wyck- 
oflf  (she  was  born  March  8,  1772) ;  30.  Leanah,  born 
1767,  married  Isaac  Hulick;  31.  Lucas,  born  1770, 
married  Phebe  Staats;  32.  Isaac,  born  1772,  married 

Michet;  33.  Jacob,  bom   1773,  married  Betsy 

Veghte ;  34.  Abraham,  born  1775. 

The  children  of  Christoffel  (29)  were:  35.  Abraham, 
born  Dec.  22,  1791,  and  married  Sarah  Wilson,  Jan. 
6,  1816,  whose  children  were  Ellen,  1816 ;  Isaac  N., 
1820  ;  Henry  W.,  1823  ;  Isaac  N.,  1825.  No  descend- 
ants now  living.  36.  Peter  W.,  born  Sept.  10,  1794  ; 
married  Mary  Cruser,  Feb.  14,  1823.  She  was  born 
June  29,  1797;  died  1861.  Their  children  were 
Christopher,  Dec.  7,  1824;  Alexander  C,  Oct.  15, 
1826;  Anna,  May  26,1829;  James  Eomeyn,  March 
7  1832;  Peter  V.,  Jan.  3,  1835;  Isaac  W.,  1842. 
37.  Lucas,  born  Nov.  20, 1797 ;  married  Sarah  Nevius, 
Dec.  5,  1821.  She  was  born  1801,  and  died  1862. 
Their  children  were  twelve  in  number.  38.  Henry 
Veghte,  born  Nov.  30,  1803;  married  Phebe  William- 
son Nov.   30,   1826.     She  was  born  July  3,  1808. 


840 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Their  children  are  John  Calvin,  1827;  Peter  Wil- 
liamson, 1829;  Josiah  W.,  1830;  Mary  Ellen,  1834; 
Henry  W.,  1886 ;  Emily,  1839 ;  Sarah,  1841 ;  Phebe 
Ann,  1848;  William  J.,  1847;  Christopher  A.,  1850; 
Theodore  B.,  1852.  39.  Sarah,  born  1805;  died 
young.  40.  Isaac,  born  1808 ;  died  young.  41.  Chris- 
topher Columbus,  born  May  10,  1810 ;  died  April  11, 
1869 ;  married  Gertrude  M.  Labagh  Sept.  11,  1832. 
He  left  thirteen  children. 

The  children  of  Lucas  (31)  were  twelve  in  num- 
ber. 

We  find  that  a  John  Hoagland  had  bought  176 
acres  (the  farm  of  the  late  Cornelius  Hoagland,  of 
East  Millstone)  before  1754.  It  extended  18  chains 
along  the  east  bank  of  the  Millstone,  and  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  in  depth.  He  was  probably  the 
father  of  Tunis,  born  about  1750,  and  of  a  William 
Hoagland.  Tunis  died  in  1836.  He  was  the  father 
of  Cornelius,  bom  1793,  who  died  at  East  Millstone 
in  1876.  Cornelius  had  several  sons, — Tunis,  Isaac 
B.,  and  Hon.  John  Van  Doren.  The  latter  was  born 
Dec.  8,  1812.  He  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace 
in  1852,  and  has  continued  in  this  office,  with  the 
exception  of  a  single  year  (1872),  ever  since.  He 
was  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  1867-69,  and  again,  187-^-79. 

Sketches  of  other  early  families  who  have  repre- 
sentatives in  this  township  may  be  found  in  the  his- 
tories of  Hillsborough  and  Franklin  townships,  and 
elsewhere  in  this  work. 

EAELY  PHYSICIANS. 
One  of  the  first  practitioners  was  John  Reeve,  born 
in  1765,  who  settled  at  Rocky  Hill  about  1787,  or 
earlier.  He  became  quite  noted,  and  had  a  large  ride.* 
Abram  Prall  Hageman  was  also  an  early  practitioner. 
He  was  born  two  miles  west  of  Harlingen,  and  com- 
menced practice  in  that  village  in  1810.  His  name 
appears  in  1826  in  connection  with  a  bill  presented  for 
medicine  and  attendance  on  one  Nathaniel  Hutch, 
which  was  rejected  on  the  ground  that  Hutch  was  a 
pauper  of  Monmouth  County.  J.  F.  Hageman,  Esq., 
of  Princeton,  is  a  son  of  Dr.  Abram. 

Rocky  Hill  has  in  its  surroundings  everything  sug- 
gestive of  legend  and  historic  events.  It  was  pressed 
by  the  feet  of  many  a  Revolutionary  hero, — nay,  by 
those  of  the  great  chieftain  himself.  After  the  battle 
of  Princeton,  when  Washington  took  the  main  road 
towards  New  Brunswick,  the  British,  frightened  and 
flying,  made  towards  the  heights  of  Rocky  Hill, 
crossed  Beeden's  Brook,  and  crowded  on  until  they 
reached  the  point  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  brook 
with  the  Millstone  River,  just  in  front  of  what  is  now 
known  as  the  old  Van  Derveer  homestead.  Abraham 
Van  Derveer  says  they  came  on  a  run,  but  when  they 
reached  the  forks  they  halted,  finding  the  ice  much 

*  See  page  595  of  this  work  for  further  account. 


broken.  They  then  procured  rails,  laid  them  on  the 
ice,  and  passed  over.  The  Van  Derveers  had  a  large 
pot  of  mush,  just  taken  from  the  fire,  and  intended 
for  their  breakfast.  The  British,  hastily  scooping  it 
out  of  the  pot  with  their  hands,  soon  devoured  it,  and 
pursued  their  march,  remarking  that  they  had  had 
"  nothing  but  hot  bullets  for  breakfast." 

The  oldest  house  at  Rocky  Hill  was  demolished 
shortly  before  1870.  It  was  once  a  tavern,  and  stood 
on  the  Georgetown  (Lambertville)  turnpike,  in  the 
middle  of  the  village ;  this  was  the  old  Cruser  home- 
stead. The  family  was  of  Huguenot  descent,  and  set- 
tled on  Staten  Island  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  A  representative  of  this  family,  Hendrick 
Cruser,  great-uncle  of  M.  Van  Dyke  Cruser,  settled 
at  Rocky  Hill  early  in  the  last  century,  and  erected 
the  flouring-mill  now  owned  by  David  H.  Mount  & 
Co.  In  1777  this  mill  was  sold  at  sherifi''s  sale,  and 
was  bought  by  Abraham  Cruser,  Hendrick's  brother, 
and  grandfather  of  M.  V.  D.  Cruser.  He  put  his  son, 
Frederick,  into  the  mill  to  work,  and  he  grew  up  in 
that  locality.  Frederick!  was  the  father  of  M.  V.  D. 
The  land  on  which  the  latter  now  lives  was  a  part 
of  the  patent  of  Walter  Benthall,  by  whom  it  was 
conveyed  to  Nicholas  Lake.  A  deed  still  in  the  pos- 
session of  M.  V.  D.  Cruser  shows  that  the  land  was 
conveyed,  April  16,  1739,  by  Nicholas  Lake  and 
Mary,  his  wife,  to  John  Gordon.  In  March,  1775,  it 
was  transferred  by  Gordon  and  Anna,  his  wife,  to 
Jacob  Schenck,  and  by  subsequent  purchase  to  Fred- 
erick Cruser,  whose  son,  M.  Van  Dyke,  now  owns 
and  occupies  it. 

John  Van  Horn  was  another  early  settler.  He 
lived  about  half  a  mile  northwest  of  Rocky  Hill,  and 
owned  over  1000  acres.  He  was  a  friend  of  Gen. 
Washington,  who  often  visited  him.  He  had  no  chil- 
dren, and  when  he  died  he  left  his  property  to  rela- 
tives, by  whom  it  was  divided  and  sold.J 

Kalm,  the  Swedish  traveler,  mentions  Rocky  Hill 
in  his  "  Travels."     He  says, — 

"  This  morning  [Oct.  29,  1746]  wo  proceeded  on  our  journey  [from 
Princeton].  The  country  was  pretty  well  peopled ;  however,  there  were 
great  woods  in  many  places.  They  all  consisted  of  deciduous  trees,  and 
I  did  not  perceive  a  single  tree  of  the  iir  kind.  ...  On  a  hill,  covered 
with  trees,  and  called  Rockhill,  I  saw  several  pieces  of  stone  or  rock  so 
big  that  they  would  have  required  three  men  to  roll  them  down.  .  .  . 
About  noon  we  arrived  at  New  Brunswick,"  etc.g 

It  is  said  that  in  1795  there  were  but  three  houses 
on  the  site  of  Rocky  Hill  village,  and  one  of  them 
was  a  tavern ;  the  other  two  were  the  residences  of 
Thomas  J.  Skillman,  near  the  river,  and  John  Van 
Horn,  where  Henry  Brinkerhoff  now  lives.  He 
owned  1500  acres,  1000  of  which  was  woodland,  run- 

t  He  was  a  student  at  Princeton  when  those  connected  with  it  turned 
out,  he  among  them,  to  defend  their  country.  But  he  was  so  very  young 
and  small  that  his  gun  was  taken  from  him,  and  he  was  sent  back  to 
college. 

X  See  Barber's  "  Historical  Collections  of  New  Jersey"  for  reminiscences 
relating  to  Mr.  Van  Horn,  Gen.  Washington,  and  the  painter  Dunlap 
(pp.  462, 463). 

g  Hist.  Coll.  New  Jersey,  p,  312. 


MONTGOMERY. 


841 


ning  south  of  the  village  and  over  the  hill,  the  re- 
maining 500  being  a  fertile  plain  lying  northwest 
of  the  village,  now  making  twelve  farms,  one  of 
which  is  owned  by  Abraham  Van  Derveer.  Peter, 
who  originally  bought  the  land,  was  a  son  of  the  first 
Van  Derveer  who  came  from  Holland  to  Long  Island ; 
he  died  before  the  close  of  the  Revolution. 

Judge  John  Berrien  owned  the  tract  south  of  Van 
Derveer's  land.     He  was  one  of  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  province.     Dr.  Thomas  West 
Montgomery  was  his   son-in-law,   he   marrying,   in 
1788,  the  judge's  daughter  Mary,  among  whose  chil- 
dren were  several   who   afterwards    became   distin- 
guished.    One  was  the  wife  of  John  B.  Shaw,  purser 
in  the   United    States    navy,   and    mother  of   Mrs. 
(Bishop)    Odenheimer;  another  became   the  wife  of 
the  late  Com.  Inman ;   one  son,  John  B.,  was  after- 
wards commodore  of  the  United  States  navy ;  Na- 
thaniel L.,  in  the  navy  during  the  war  of  1812,  lost 
an  arm,  and  was  aide  to  Com.  McDonough  on  Lake 
Champlain,  in  1814 ;   while  a  daughter,  Eliza  L.,  is 
now  the  wife  of  Bishop  McCoskry,  of  Michigan.* 
Still  another  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  John 
B.  Eicker,  a  surgeon  in  the  Continental  army;    he 
also  rendered  valuable  service  as  a  guide  on  several 
occasions,  and  was  taken  prisoner  by  Simcoe,  of  the 
"Queen's    American    Bangers."!    Ealph    Voorhees 
says  John  Berrien  succeeded  John  Harrison  as  land- 
owner at  Eocky  Hill,  and  doubtless  erected  the  house 
there  in  which  Washington's  "  Farewell  Address  to 
the  Army"  was  written.    His  grandson.  Judge  J.  Mc- 
Pherson  Berrien,  was  a  prominent  orator  and  states- 
man, t 

ORGANIZATION. 

At  no  place  in  the  public  records  is  it  stated  when 
the  township  first  assumed  its  civil  status.  It  was 
doubtless  between  1762  and  1772.  About  1762-63  the 
inhabitants  of  the  "southern  part  of  the  western  pre- 
cinct" petitioned  Governor  Franklin  to  grant  them  a 
patent  for  a  new  town,  to  be  called  after  himself* 


This  petition  was  finally  granted,  but  the  town  was 
called  Montgomery.  Although  this  may  have  oc- 
curred within  a  year  of  the  above  action,  it  is  quite 
as  likely  that  it  may  have  been  deferred  several  years, 
possibly  until  1772,  the  date  of  the  first  record  in  the 
oldest  public  document  now  extant  in  the  township, 
the  volume  in  which  are  recorded  the  township  elec- 
tions. This  first  minute  appears  to  be  the  record  of 
the  first  town-meeting  held  in  Montgomery,  and  is  in 
the  following  words: 

"  Purauant  to  an  act  of  the  generil  assembly  of  the  Province  of  New 
Jersey,  the  freeholders  and  Inhabitants  of  the  western  presink  meet  To- 
gether on  the  2d  thuesday  of  March,  1772,  at  the  house  of  William  Jones 
in  sd  presink,  and  by  pniallity  of  vootes  Choose  in  the  following  Officers, 
viz. :  Hendrick  Vandike,  Town  Clerk ;  Wm.  Stryker,  Gisbert  lane,  Free- 
holders; Cornelius  Tenbrook,  Assessor;  Thomas  Skillman,  OoUector  and 
Overseer  of  the  Poore ;  Derick  Longstret,  David  Snowden,  Surveyors  of 
the  Eoads;  Overseers  of  the  Highways:  Henry  Sillcock,  Nuel  Furman, 
John  Heth,  John  Stockton,  Nicholas  Golder,  Aderain  Hegeman,  Wil- 
liam Lake,  Daniel  Hegeman,  Powel  Ammerman,  Daniel  Stout,  Martin 
Nufes. 

"  A  Committee  appointed  as  above  said  for  settling  the  presink  business 
with  the  township  of  hillsborrow,  and  to  raise  the  poore  moneyg)f  S* 
western  presink, — Viz.,  Joseph  Stockton,  Christopher  Hogeland,  Junr., 
John  Vandike,  and  Derick  Longstret. 

"  And  by  appointment  of  S*^  Day,  the  town-meeting  is  to  he  held  the 
Next  Tear  at  the  house  of  wm  Jones  at  Rocke  Hill. 

"  Henry  Vandike,  Clerk. 

"  this  10th  day  of  March." 

It  may  be  safe  to  assume,  in  view  of  the  above  doc- 
umentary proof,  that  Montgomery  township  was  set 
off  from  Hillsborough  about  1772. 

ROAD   DISTRICTS. 
The  following  were  the  road  districts  laid  out  in 
1779-80,  with  the  names  of  the  overseers  : 

Kocky  Hill  road,  Aaron  Longstreet;  Kingston  road,  Thomas  Skillman; 
road  from  Van  Dyke's  to  Rocky  Hill,  Gen.  Morris ;  road  from  Wins- 
ton to  Kingston,  James  Moore ;  from  Winston  to  Kocky  Hill,  Wil- 


*  Genealogy  of  Montgomery  family,  et  aliia. 

f  Wickes'  Hist,  of  Med.  in  New  Jersey. 

X  See  biography  on  page  640,  this  work. 

3  The  petition  was  as  follows : 

"To  his  Excellency  William  Franklin  Esqr  Governor  and  Comman- 
der in  Chief  in  and  over  the  Province  of  New  Jersey  and  Territories 
thereon  depending  in  America  Chancellor  and  Vice  Admiral  of  the  same ; 

"The  Humble  Petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Southern  part  of  the 
Westering  Precinct  of  the  County  of  Somerset  and  Province  of  New 
Jersey  humbly  pray  that  your  Excellency  would  be  pleased  to  Grant  a 
Patient  for  a  Township  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  Townsh^  of 
Franklin  for  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Southern  part  of  the  said  Wes- 
tering precinct,  the  Bounderies  of  which  are  as  follows,- 

"  Viz :  Beginiag  at  Millstone  Elver  on  the  line  of  Joseph  Cornel  and 
Greatye  Cornell  and  also  at  the  beginning  of  the  Township  of  Hillsbor 
ough  thence  along  the  line  of  the  said  Township  of  Hillsborough  the 
several  courses  thereof  until  it  comes  to  the  East  and  West  '-^-^1^^' 
that  is  to  say  first  along  the  line  of  the  said  Joseph  Cornell  and  Gr^tye 
Cornell  west  north  west  until  it  comes  to  the  land  of  Daniel  Po  hemus 
and  Toghyas  Voorheese,  thence  along  their  line  as  it  runs  until  it  comes 
to  the  Southeasterly  Corner  of  the  land  of  Isaac  Van  Nuys  thence  along 
his  line  West  north  West  until  it  comes  to  the  Southwest  Corner  of  Ja- 
cobus Van  Nuys  Jun"  land  thence  North  North  East  until  it  comes  to  a 

64 


Southeasterly  Corner  of  the  land  of  George  Bergen,  thence  west  as  his 
line  runs  until  it  comes  to  the  Southeasterly  Corner  of  the  land  of  Ja- 
cobus Ammerman  and  the  Northeasterly  Corner  of  the  division  of  the 
Sowerland  Lots  thence  as  the  line  between  the  small  division  of  the  Sower- 
land  Lots  run  South  Uventy-nine  degrees  west  until  it  comes  to  the  Cor- 
ner between  Lot  No.  13  and  No.  14  in  the  small  division  being  the  South- 
easterly Corner  of  the  Lot  of  Johana  Ditmarse,  thence  west  between  said 
Lots  until  it  intersects  the  Rear  Line  of  the  New  Shanneck  Lots  thence 
along  the  Rear  Line  as  it  runs  South  fifty  degrees  west  until  it  Intersects 
the  division  line  between  the  Bast  and  West  Jerseys  thence  south  four- 
teen degrees  East  as  the  line  between  East  and  West  Jersey  Runs  until 
it  comes  to  the  Great  Post  Road  that  leads  from  Trenton  to  Bnanswick 
thence  Northerly  along  the  line  between  the  Counties  of  Somerset  & 
Middlesex  until  it  comes  to  the  said  Millstone  River  thence  down  the 
said  River  the  Several  Courses  thereof  to  the  place  of  beginning  and 
your  humble  Petitioners  as  in  duty  Bound  shall  ever  pray. 
"Christopher  Hoaoland,  Jun     "  ■" 


"Joseph  Cornell 

"  Barekt  Striker 

"  Peter  Van  Der  Veer 

"  Gerardus  Beekman 

"  Gerardus  Beekman  Jun 

"  Thomas  Quick 

"  Thomas  Skillman 

"  Benjamin  Baird 

"  John  Vandike 

"  William  Baied 

"  Christoffel  Hogelant 

"  RoELOP  Van  Dike 

"  Aaron  Haqeman 


Cornelius  Tenbroeok 
Arthur  Sutphen 
TuRCK  Tenbroeok 
Jacob  Tenbroeok 
John  Voorhees 
Zebulon  Stout 
John  Voorhees 
Jos  Salyear 
Abraham  Stryker 
Henry  Vandike 
Peter  Wikeofp 
Charles  Salyear 
Jos  Stockton." 


842 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


liam  Goa;  from  the  proTince  line  to  Rocky  Hill,  Daniel  Slack; 
from  province  line  to  Rocky  Hill  school-house,  Hezekiah  Stout; 
Pennington  and  Princeton  road,  James  Finley;  from  Rocky  Hill  to 
Garret  Yoorhees'  smith-shop.  Garret  Van  Pelt;  from  Voorhees'  shop 
to  Griggstown,  Nathan  Allen ;  from  the  school-bouse  to  Hillshorough, 
William  Bard;  from  Pennington  to  Winston,  Samuel  Carman. 

THE    POOR-FARM. 

The  township  early  provided  for  its  paupers,  as  in 
1772  we  find  records  of  money  raised  for  this  object 
by  the  overseers.  A  reciprocal  method  of  sustaining 
this  class  at  a  later  date  suggested  itself  to  some,  and 
it  was  proposed  that  a  farm  be  purchased  where  the 
labor  of  these  mendicants  could  be  made  an  equiva- 
lent for  support  received.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the 
town  committee,  held  at  Oppie's  inn,  Jan.  21,  1835, 
William  Duryea  and  Peter  Voorhees,  overseers  of  the 
poor,  reported  that  they  had  purchased  a  farm,  in 
company  with  the  committee  from  the  township  of 
Hillsborough,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  indigent 
residents  of  both  townships.  It  was  from  the  estate 
of  John  Van  Pelt,  deceased,  and  contained  230  acres. 
In  1867  Hillsborough  withdrew  from  this  joint  action, 
since  which  time  each  township  has  supported  its  own 
poor-farm. 

The  farm  is  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the 
overseers  of  the  poor,  which  office  is  at  present  filled 
by  John  H.  Schomp  and  William  Oppie,  of  this  town- 
ship. It  is  free  from  debt,  and  at  the  present  time 
has  but  four  inmates. 

PRINCIPAL  OFFICERS  OF  THE  TOWNSHIP,  1772-1880. 
CLERKS. 

17Y2-74,  Hendrick  Van  Dyke;  1776-84,  David  Snowden;  1785-89,  Henry 
Van  Dyke ;  1790-1802,  Frederick  Cruser  ;  1803-4,  Roelef  H.  Van 
Dyke;  1806-8,  John  Skillman  ;  1809-16,  Henry  Duryea;  1817,  Peter 
Voorhees ;  1818-24,  Henry  Duryea ;  1826-31,  F.  V.  D.  Voorhees ;  1832, 
A.J.  Dumont;  1834,  Lloyd  Van  Derveer;  1835,  Thomaa  I.  Sldllman; 
1837-41,  Peter  D.  Van  Del-veer ;  1842-46,  Joseph  H.  Voorhees ;  1846- 
48,  Martin  Yoorhees ;  1849-51,  Stephen  Voorhees,  Jr. ;  1852-54,  John 
D.  Voorhees ;  1855-55,  Luther  Van  Derveer ;  1857-58,  Cornelius  A. 
Cruser;  1859,  William  T.  F.  Ayres;  1860-61,  Isaac  H,  Oppie;  1862, 
Luther  Van  Derveer;  1863-64,  Charles  M.  Stryker;  1865,  Theodore 
F.  Hoagland;  1866-71,  A.  H.  Stryker;  1872-74,  William  Oppie;  1875 
-78,  John  N.  Van  Zandt ;  1879-80,  Ahram  S.  Hageman. 

ASSESSORS. 
1772-73,  Cornelius  Ten  Broeck  ;  1774,  Christopher  Hoagland,  Jr. ;  1775, 
John  Johnston  ;  1776,  Peter  Wykoff;  1777,  Icliabod  Leigh ;  1778-80, 
Christopher  Hoagland ;  1781,  Derick  Longstreet ;  1782,  Christopher 
Hoagland;  1783,  Peter  Wykoff;  1784,  Christopher  Hoagland;  1785, 
Thannes  Voorhees;  1786-88,  John  Voorhees;  1789,  David  Coven- 
hoven  ;  1790-91,  John  Voorhees ;  1792-95,  David  Covenhoven ;  1796- 
98,  David  Conover;  1799,  Ezekiel  Blue;  1800-1,  James  Stryker; 
1802-7,  Ezekiel  Blue;  1808-17,  John  D.  W.  Ten  Brook;  1818-27, 
Maj.  William  Duryea;  1828,  Peter  Voorhees;  1829,  Henry  Duryea; 
1830,  Peter  Voorhees;  1831-32,  Cornelius  Kershow;  1833-36,  John 
Simonson ;  1837-40,  Lloyd  Van  Derveer ;  1841-42,  Cornelius  Ker- 
show ;  1843-45,  P.  D.  V.  Van  Derveer ;  1846,  Joseph  H.  Voorhees  j 
1847-49,  S.  D.  Bergen;  1850-52,  Abram  S.  Williamson;  1853-56, 
Stephen  Voorhees;  1856-58,  Benjamin  Randolph;  1859-61,  James 
Oppie;  1862,  Cornelius  J.  Brokaw;  1863-65,  James  Van  Zandt;  1866 
-71,  Luther  Van  Derveer;  1872-74,  William  A.  Weart;  1876-80, 
William  Oppie. 

COLLECTORS. 
1772-73,   Thomas   Skillman;  1774,   John   Johnston;   1775,   Christopher 
Hoagland;   1776,   John   Johnston;   1777,   Thomas   Skillman;  1778, 
Aaron   Longstreet;  1779,  Derick   Longstreet;   1780,  Thomas  Skill- 


man;  1781-84,  John  Voorhees;  1785-88,  Henry  Berrien;  1789-90, 
Jacob  Tenbrook ;  1791,  David  Covenhoven  ;  1792-95,  Jacob  Tenbrook ; 
1796-98,  Ezekiel  Blue;  1799,  James  Stryker;  1800-1,  Ezekiel  Blue; 
1802-4,  Samuel  Beekman ;  1806-17,  Maj.  William  Dui-yea;  1818,  John 
D.  W.  Ten  Broeck ;  1819,  Samuel  Beekman ;  1820-27,  Peter  Voor- 
hees;  1828-30,  Cornelius  Kershow;  1831-32,  Henry  Duryea;  1833, 
Ralph  Johnson;  1834-36,  F.  V.  D.  Voorhees;  1836-37,  CorneHus  S. 
Stryker;  1838,  Cornelius  Kershow;  1839^3,  John  S.  Hoagland; 
1844-51,  C.S.  Stryker;  1862,  Abraham  Van  Arsdale;  1853-64,  C.  S. 
Stryker;  1855,  Samuel  D.  Bergen;  1866-69,  Tunis  C.  Schomp;  1860- 
63,  William  Race;  1864,  Henry  P.  Apgar;  1866-66,  Peler  D.  Staats; 
1867,  Charles  M.  Stryker;  1868-80,  John  H.  Schomp. 

CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 

1772-73,  William  Stryker,  Gisbert  Lane ;  1774-75.  Abraham  Stryker,  Gis- 
bert  Lane  ;  1776,  Derick  Longstreet,  Ahram  Sti-yker ;  1777,  Derick 
Longstreet,  Hendiick  Stryker;  1778,  Ichabod  Leigh,  Aaron  Long- 
street;  1779,  Cornelius  Tenbrook,  Jacobus  Lake;  1780,  Henry  Can- 
ady,  David  Covenhoven  ;  1781,  Peter  Wykoff,  Ichabod  Leigh;  1782, 
Peter  Wykoff,  Cornelius  Tenbrook  ;  1783,  Thomas  Skillman,  David 
Snowden;  1784,  Jacob  Schenck,  David  Covenhoven;  1785,  Jacob  Ten- 
brook, David  Covenhoven  ;  1786,  Peter  Wykoff,  David  Covenhoven ; 
1787,  0.  Hoagland,  Henry  Van  Dyke  ;  1788,  C.  Hoagland,  BnoE  Kel- 
sey ;  1789-92,  Enos  Kelsey,  Zebulon  Stout ;  1793,  Enos  Kelsey,  0. 
Hoagland ;  1794,  Enos  Kelsey,  Cornelius  Cornell ;  1795,  Cornelius 
Cornell,  Garret  Van  Derveer ;  1796,  Barnet  Cornell,  Garret  Van  Der- 
veer; 1797-98,  Garret  Van  Derveer,  Samuel  Beekman;  1799-1802, 
Henry  Van  Dyke,  Samuel  Beekman;  1803-4,  Abraham  Skillman, 
Samuel  Beekman;  1805,  Suniuel  Beekman,  John  Stout ;  1806,  Sam- 
uel Beekman,  William  Covenhoven ;  1807,  William  Covenhoven, 
Abram  Van  Arsdale;  1808-10,  William  Covenhoven,  John  Salter; 
1811-12,  Abram  Van  Arsdale,  James  Stryker;  1813,  Elijah  Clark, 
Samuel  Beekman ;  1814-18,  Jeremiah  Williamson,  Samuel  Beekman; 
1819-22,  Jeremiali  Williamson,  Ralph  Johnson;  1823-25,  Ralph 
Johnson,  Cornelius  Cruser;  1826-27,  John  Skillman,  Henry  Duryea; 
1828,  Josiah  S.  Worth,  Henry  Duryea;  1829-30,  Josiah  S.  Worth, 
Cornelius  Cruser:  1831,  A.  P.  Hageman,  Cornelius  Worth;  1832,  F. 
V.  D.  Voorhees,  Peter  Voorhees:  1833,  Abram  Van  Derveer,  Maj. 
Cornelius  Cniser;  1S34,  Henry  Dui-yea,  Peter  Voorhees;  18:35-37, 
Abram  Van  Derveer,  Ralph  Johnson;  1838,  Peter  Voorhees,  F.  V. 
D.  Voorhees ;  18:i9-40,  F.  V.  D.  Voorhees,  Abram  P.  Hageman  ;  1841- 
42,  F.  V.  D.  Voorliees,  Cliristopher  Voorhees;  1843,  Abniin  Van 
Arsdale,  F.  V.  D.  A'oorhees;  1844-46,  Abraham  Van  Arsdale,  John  S. 
Hoagluixl ;  1S46,  J.  W.  llpdyke,  P.  Y.  D.  Van  Derveer;  1847,  John  S. 
Hoagland,  J.  W.  Updyke ;  1848,  J.  W.  Updyke,  P.  V.  D.  Van  Deiveer ; 
1849,  P.  V.  D.  Van  Derveer,  A.  V.  A.  Skillman;  18S0-51,  A.  V.  A. 
Skillman,  Martin  Voorhees;  1852-54,  John  N.  Skillman  ;  1855-57, 
Joseph  H.  Voorhees;  1858,  John  J.  Voorhees;  1859,  Abram  S.  Wil- 
liamson ;  1860-61,  John  J.  Voorhees;  1862-64,  John  N.  Sldllman; 
1865-67,  Henry  V.  Hoagland;  1868-70,  Jeremiah  W.  Updyke;  1871- 
73,  Charles  M.  Stryker  ;  1874-77,  Jacob  M.  Vreeland  ;  1878-79,  Cor- 
nelius I.  Van  Oleef ;  1880,  John  V.  H.  Whitlock. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 
1772-73,  Joseph  Stockton,  John  Van  Dyke,  Christopher  Hoagland,  Jr.; 
1774-76,  Eckbert  Leigh,  Peter  Wykoff,  Thomas  Skillman,  D.  Long- 
street;  1776,  Robert  Stockton,  Roelef  Van  Dyke,  Ichabod  Leigh, 
Derick  Longstreet ;  1777,  Ichabod  Leigh,  Peter  Wykoff,  Derick  Long- 
street,  Zebulon  Stout :  1778-82,  Robert  Stockton,  David  Snowdon, 
Jacobus  Lake,  Grodus  Beekman;  1783,  Robert  Stockton,  Jacobus 
Lake,  Grodus  Beekman ;  1784,  Peter  Wykoff,  Robert  Stockton,  .Jaco- 
bus Lake;  1785,  Jacob  Schenck,  Cliristopher  Hoagland,  Roliort 
Stockton  ;  1786,  Jacob  Schenck,  Cornelius  Tenbrook,  Cornelius  Cor- 
nell ;  1787-89,  Jacob  Schenck,  Terrick  Tenbrook,  Joseph  Stryker; 
1790-91,  Jacob  Schenck,  Joseph  Stryker,  John  Beard  ;  1702,  Henry 
Van  Dyke,  John  Van  Horn,  David  Snowdon  ;  1793,  Henry  Van  Dyke, 
Capt.  James  Moore,  Albert  Monfort;  1794-06,  John  Van  Horn, 
Heniy  Van  Dyke,  J.  Moore ;  1790,  Henry  Van  Dyke,  J.  Moore,  David 
Conover:  1797,  H.  Van  Dyke,  J.  Moore,  Wm.  Conover;  1798,  Stephen 
Monfort,  Robert  Stockton,  David  Conover;  1799-1800,  Wm.  Conover, 
Henry  Van  Dyke,  Stephen  Murford,  Robert  Stockton,  David  Cono- 
ver; 1801-2,  William  Conover,  Henry  Van  Dyke,  Stephen  Morford, 
Robert  Stockton,  John  Van  Horno ;  1803,  Henry  Van  Dyke,  William 
Conover,  Stephen  Morford,  John  N.  Simpson,  John  Van  Home;  1804- 
6,  John  Tenbrook,  William  Covenhoven,  Stephen  Morford,  John  N. 
Simpson,  John  Van  Home;  1800,  John  Tenbrook,  Abram  Van  Ai-a- 


MONTGOMERY. 


843 


dalen,  Stephen  Morford,  John  Van  Home,  William  Covenhoven; 
1807,  John  Tenbrook,  Abram  Van  Arsdalen,  Stephen  Morford,  Isaac 
Horner,  William  Covenhoven ;  1808-9,  John  Strylcer,  Abram  Van 
Arsdaleu,  Stephen  Morford,  Isaac  Horner ;  1810,  John  Stryker,  Abram 
Van  Arsdalen,  Martin  Voorhees,  Isaac  Horner,  William  Covenhoven ; 
1811,  William  Davis,  John  Stryker,  Martin  Voorhees,  Isaac  Horner, 
William  Garrison ;  1812,  John  Stryker,  William  Davis,  Martin  Vor- 
hees,  Isaac  Horner,  John  Skillman ;  1813,  William  Davis,  Garret  Van 
Derveer,  Martin  Voorhees,  John  Skillman,  Isaac  Horner ;  1814-17, 
William  Davis,  Garret  Van  Derveer,  Christopher  Hoagland,  John 
Skillman,  Isaac  Horner ;  1818,  William  Davie,  Garret  Van  Derveer, 
0.  Hoagland,  Henry  Duryea;  1819,  John  D.  W.  Tenbrook,  G.  Hoag- 
land.  Garret  Van  Derveer,  Henry  Duryea,  Isaac  Horner;  1820,  J.  D. 
W.  Tenbrook,  C.  Hoagland,  J.  H.  Skelton,  William  Cruser,  John 
Stout;  1821,  J.  D.  W.  Tenbrook,  C.  Hoagland,  Elias  Covenhoven,  John 
Stont;  1822,  J.  D.  W.  Tenbrook,  C.  Hoagland,  Aaron  tlpdyke,  John 
Stout ;  1823,  Garret  Van  Derveer,  Josiah  S.  Worth,  Cornelius  Kershaw, 
Aarou  Hpdyke,  John  Stont ;  1824,  John  Skillman,  Josiah  S.  Worth, 
C.  Kershaw,  Aaron  Updyke,  John  Stout ;  1825,  C.  Kershaw,  Josiah 
S.  Worth,  Aaron  Van  Dyke,  Henry  K.  Van  Dyke,  Henry  Duryea ; 
1826,  William  Cruser,  J.  S.  Worth,  Thomas  Davis,  Aaron  Updyke, 
Abram  Staats  ;  1827,  William  Cruser,  J.  S.  Worth,  Cornelius  Kershaw, 
Thomas  White  ;  1828,  William  Cruser,  Garret  Beekman,  Kalph  John- 
son, Thomas  White ;  1829,  William  Duryea,  Peter  Voorhees,  Thomas 
White,  Abraham  P.  Hageman,  John  Skillman ;  1830,  Thomas  White, 
A.  P.  Hageman,  Cornelius  Stryker,  Heury  R.  Van  Dyke,  Emley  Olden ; 
1831,  Henry  K.  Van  Dyke,  Cornelius  C.  Whitenact,  Thomas  White, 
Cornelius  Stryker,  John  Simonson ;  1832,  Heury  K.  Van  Dyke,  John 
Oppie,  Emley  Olden,  Cornelius  Stryker,  John  Simonson  ;  1833,  Cor- 
nelius Stryker,  John  S.  leigh,  John  Oppie,  Henry  Higgins,  Uriaa 
Sti-yker;  18;i4,  Cornelins  Strjker,  Thomas  White,  Abraham  A.  Staats, 
Emley  Olden,  Christopher  Voorhees ;  1836,  Henry  Higgins,  Roelef 
H.  Van  Dyke,  J.  S.  Leigh,  Abraham  I.  Dumont,  J.  Oppie ;  1836,  John 
Davison,  A.  I.  Dumont,  Emley  Olden,  J.  A.  Perriue,  t.  Van  Derveer; 
1837,  A.  I.  Dumont,  Emley  Olden,  Isaac  Van  Derveer,  J.  S.  Worth, 
John  A.  Voorhees ;  1838,  Cornelius  S.  Sti-yker,  Jolin  A.  Voorhees, 
Zephaniah  Stout,  Christopher  Voorhees,  Aiiron  Cruser;  1839,  Corne- 
lius S.  Stryker,  John  A.  Voorhees,  Isaac  Van  Derveer,  Henry  V. 
Hoagland,  Aaron  Cruser;   1840,  Cornelius  Kershaw,  Cornelius  S. 
Stryker,  John  A.  Voorhees,  John  H.  Polhemus,  Isaac  Van  Derveer; 
1841,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker,  Isaac  Van  Derveer,  John  A.  Voorhees,  John 
H.  Voorhees;  1842,  Peter  Voorhees,  Isaac  Van  Derveer,  P.  V.  D.  Van 
Derveer,  Abraham  Van  Arsdale,  Zephaniah  Stout;  1843,  Peter  Voor- 
hees, Isaac  Van  Derveer,  Court  Williamson,  Court  S.  Stryker,  Samuel 
H.  Stout;  1844,  Peter  Voorhees,  Isaac  Van  Derveer,  Garret  S.  Voor- 
hees, Uri'as  Stryker,  Abraham  Cruser  ;  1845,  Peter  Voorhees,  Bynear 
A.  Staats,  Garret  S.  Voorhees,  Cornelius  Kershaw,  A.  V.  A.  Skillman  ; 
1846,  Peter  Voorhees,  Wilson  Metier,  Garret  S.  Voorhees,  Cornelius 
Kershaw,  A.  V.  A.  Skillman ;  1847,  Peter  Voorhees,  Wilson  Metier, 
Cornelius  Kershaw,  B.  J.  Staats,  H.  V.  Hoagland;  1848,  Peter  Voor- 
hees, John  N.  Skillman,  Garret  S.  Voorhees,  Thomas  J.  Skillman, 
Abraham  Van  Arsdale;  1849,  Beynear  J.  Staats,  John  N.  Skillman, 
John  J.  Voorhees,  A.  Van  Arsdale,  Thomas  J.  Skillman ;  1850,  A.  Van 
Arsdale,  John  J.  Voorhees,  John  N.  Skillman,  Samuel  D.  Bergen,  John 
K  Van  Derveer ;  1861,  John  N.  Skillman,  A.  Van  Arsdale,  Samuel  D. 
Bergen,  K.  J.  Staats,  John  J.  Voorhees ;  1852,  Peter  Voorhees,  Garret 
S  Voorhees,  Cornelius  Kershaw;  1853,  Peter  Voorhees,  Garret  S. 
Voorhees,  John  J.  Voorhees;  1854,  James  Van  Zandt,  Abraham 
Cruser,  Abraham  Williamson  ;  1855,  James  Van  Zandt,  John  Beek- 
man, Benjamin  Bandolph  ;  1856,  Cornelius  Cruser,  James  Van  Zandt, 
J.  N.  Skillman  ,  1857,  J.  A.  Weart,  J.  N.  Skillman,  S.  Voorhees  ;  1858- 
69,  John  N.SkiUman,  Stephen  Voorhees,  William  A.  Weart;  1860-61, 
Peter  D.  Staats,  John  V.  H.  Whitlock,  Cornelius  A.  Cruser;  1862, 
J  V  H.  Whitlock,  Peter  D.  Staats,  Joseph  H.  Voorhees;  1863,  Au- 
gustus Van  Zandt,  Joseph  H,  Voorhees,  Peter  D.  Staats;  1804,  Isaac 
Van  Derveer,  Cornelius  A.  Cruser,  Court  V.  Sutphen  ;  1866,  Court  V. 
Sutphen,  Cornelius  M.  Vreeland,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker;  1866,  Corne- 
lius M   Vreeland,  0.  V.  Sutphen,  Matthew  H.  Whitlock;  1867-68, 
John  S.  Hoagland,  Cornelius  M.  Vreeland,  Matthew  H.  Whitlock; 
1869-71,  John  S.  Hoagland,  William  H.  Vreeland,  David  C.  Voorhees; 
1872-73,  Peter  D.  Staats,  J.  M.  Vreeland,  Abraham  C.  Wyckoff;  1874, 
Peter  D.  Staats,  Abram  C.  Wykoff,  Luther  C.  Van  Zandt ;  1876-77,  Peter 
D  Staats,  Luther  C.  Van  Zandt,  Frederick  P.  Voorhees;  1878,  Peter 
D.  Staats,  John  Q.  Weart,  David  H.  Mount,  Abraham  0.  Wykoff,  Jo- 
seph V.  H.  Eeed;  1879,  Peter  D.  Staats,  John  Q,  Weart,  David  H. 
Mount;  1880,  David  C.  Voorhees,  David  H.  Mount,  John  Q.  Weart. 


SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENTS. 

1847-48,  Henry  D.  Johnson;  1849-52,  P.  V.  D.  Van  Derveer;  1863,  Abra- 
ham V.  A.  Skillman ;  1864,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker ;  1865,  Abraham  V. 
A.  Skillman;  1856,  Cornelius  S.  Stryker;  1867-59,  Lawrence  Van 
Derveer ;  1860-64,  Cornelius  S.'  Stryker ;  1865,  William  T.  F.  Ayers ; 
1866,  Joseph  H.  Voorhees. 


VILLAGES   AND   HAMLETS. 

Harlingen",  the  principal  village  of  this  township, 
is  situated  north  of  the  centre.  It  is  not  directly  on 
the  line  of  any  railroad,  although  the  Philadelphia 
and  Beading  established  a  station,  about  a  mile  dis- 
tant, on  their  line  some  years  ago,  bearing  the  name  of 
Harlingen. 

Th'e  village  has  a  very  good  hotel,  lately  kept  by 
Mrs.  E.  A.  Schomp  ;*  the  only  store  is  kept  by  John 
C.  Labaugh  &  Son.  The  mechanic  arts  are  repre- 
sented by  George  Anderson,  shoemaker ;  William  H. 
"Van  Doren,  wagon-  and  carriage-maker ;  William  B. 
Dungan,  harness-maker ;  and  John  Darling,  carpen- 
ter ;  the  professions  by  Drs.  Peter  Skillman,  L.  D. 
Tompkins,  and  J.  V.  S.  Eibble ;  Eev.  John  Gard- 
ner, and  his  son,  Eev.  John  0.  Gardner. 

EoCKY  Hill  is  situated  in  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  township.  It  was  known  by  its  present  name  at 
the  very  beginning  of  the  last  century ;  "  John  Harri- 
son, of  Eockie  Hill,"  is  mentioned  in  1701.  During 
the  Eevolution,  Eocky  Hill  and  its  immediate  vicinity 
witnessed  some  very  important  events  in  that  struggle. 
Opposite  the  village  is  the  house  in  which  Gen.  Wash- 
ington had  his  headquarters  in  1783,  and  in  which  he 
prepared  his  "  Farewell  Address." 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  mercantile  in- 
terests at  the  present  time :  a  hotel,  William  Gabriel 
proprietor  ;  the  flouring-mill  of  David  H.  Mount  & 
Co.,  receiving  its  motive-power  from  the  Millstone 
Eiver ;  two  stores,  of  which  Isaac  Williamson  and 
A.  T.  Lewis  are  the  respective  proprietors;  Erwin 
Walker,  saddle-  and  harness-maker;  Henry  Covert 
and  S.  Higgins,  shoemakers ;  D.  Hughes  and  Stephen 
Cromwell,  wheelwrights ;  and  L.  T.  Conover  and  Pe- 
ter Weston,  blacksmiths.  There  are  three  churches, 
—Reformed,   Protestant    Episcopal,   and   Methodist 

Episcopal. 

Blawenbueg  is  a  small  village  situated  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  township,  near  Beeden's 
Brook.  The  only  store  is  kept  by  John  N.  Van 
Zandt.  There  is  a  church  of  the  Reformed  denomi- 
nation, of  which  Eev.  W.  B.  Voorhees  is  the  present 

pastor. 

The  other  villages  of  the  township  are  Stoutsbueg, 
Rock  Mill,  Plainville,  and  Bridgepoint.  They 
are  mostly  located  upon  the  boundary  lines  of  the 
township,  and  are  to  a  considerable  extent  without 
the  limits  of  Montgomery,  Stoutsburg  being  partly 
in  Mercer  County,  and  Rock  Mill  principally  m 
Hillsborough  township. 


f  Died  in  August,  1880. 


844 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 


The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  last  report 
of  the  county  school  superintendent  (1879),  shows  the 
present  condition  of  the  township  schools : 


d    . 

!^ 

o 

« 

^ 

r3 

i| 

1 

00 

c 

as 

No.  AND  Name 
OF  District. 

■si 

.a 
o 

■a 

p. 

S'3 

U 

•c  a 
CJ.9 

o  a 

.3 
H 

11 

§ 

li 

I'D 

=1 

1 
S 

•o 

a  ^ 

i§ 

ga 

sS 

a  5 

■t:a 

fl 

>  -^ 

3   U 

3 

< 

Ch 

|2i 

■< 

S 

^ 

:2i' 

IZi 

54.  Harlingen  ... 

$318.05 

SI  ,200 

R5 

10. 

02 

25 

70 

55.  Blawenburg. 

435.78 

1,200 

106 

9. 

74 

39 

48 

56.  Rocky  Hill... 

501.25 

800 

129 

10. 

109 

63 

ion 

57.  Griggstown.. 

300.00 

500 

.■iS 

9. 

32 

12 

40 

58.  Hollow 

300.00 

400 

70 

9 

m 

24 

.30 

59,  Unionville... 

300.00 

700 

77 

9.6 

45 
372 

18 

40 

S2,152.08 

$4,800 

619 

9.4 

181 

328 

6 

Of  the  total  amount  received  ($2152.08),  $1843.95 
was  from  the  State  appropriation,  $198.13  from  the 
surplus  revenue,  and  $110  from  district  school  tax, 
voted  to  be  used  for  building,  purchasing,  hiring,  re- 
pairing, or  furnishing  public  school-houses.  The 
average  salaries  paid  the  teachers  in  1879  was  about 
$35  per  month,  ranging  from  $30  to  $45.  The  school- 
houses  will  compare  favorably  with  those  of  any  rural 
township  in  the  State,  and  the  citizens  take  a  com- 
mendable pride  in  the  schools. 

In  vivid  contrast  with  the  above  were  the  one  or 
two  "  old-time"  log  school-houses  of  the  last  century, 
such  as  Abraham  Van  Nuys,  of  Harlingen,  remem- 
bers of  seeing  when  he  was  a  boy, — a  log  house  "  cov- 
ered with  a  thatch  of  straw,''  and  whose  furniture 
corresponded  with  the  exterior  of  the  building.* 

John  S.  Hoagland  is  the  present  teacher  of  the 
Griggstown  school,  and  Miss  Skillman  has  for  many 
years  taught  in  this  township. 

CHURCHES. 
There  are  five  religious  organizations,  representing 
the  Keformed  Dutch,  Protestant  Episcopal,  and  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  denominations,  the  first  named  being 
the  oldest  and  the  leading  church.  Almost  simulta- 
neous with  the  settlement  of  this  portion  of  Somerset 
County  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  was  established 
at  Harlingen. 

EEFOEMED    DUTCH   CHURCH   OF   HABLINOEN.f 

By  a  deed  bearing  date  June,  1710,  Peter  Sonmans, 
in  conveying  9000  acres  to  seventeen  proprietors,  con- 
cludes the  instrument  by  giving  160  acres  for  the 
benefit  of  a  church  founded  upon  the  basis  of  the 
Confession  of  Faith  adopted  by  the  Synod  of  Dort, 
1618.     But  the  Eeformed  Church  of  Harlingen  was 


*  "Our  Home,"  p.  195. 


t  By  Eev.  J.  S.  Gardner. 


not  constituted  until  May  18,  1727,  and  then  with 
but  seven  members.  It  was  organized  by  Rev.  Hen- 
ricus  Coens,  then  of  Aquackanonck,  and  was  first 
known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Churoh-over-the-Mill- 
stone."t  It  was  so  called  until  1766,  when  what  is 
now  known  as  the  church  of  Millstone  was  formed. 
This  one  then  being  designated  as  the  church  of 
Sourland,  it  went  by  this  name  until  Oct.  1,  1801 ;  on 
that  date  the  Consistory  voted  to  change  the  title 
from  "Sourland"  to  "Harlingen,''  in  honor  of  the 
late  pastor,  Eev.  J.  M.  Van  Harlingen.^  The  first 
building  was  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  old  church 
cemetery,  just  north  of  the  crossing  of  the  Delaware 
and  Bound  Brook  Railroad.  This  building  was  a 
square  wooden  structure. 

In  1752  the  Coetus  or  evangelical  party  finished  a 
new  building  on  the  site  of  the  present  one,  in  the 
village  of  Harlingen.  The  old  building  in  the  cem- 
etery, which  belonged  to  the  Conferentie,  was  finally 
left  to  itself,  and  after  a  time  demolished.  The  new 
church  cost  £400,  and  is  represented  as  "  being  in 
the  Dutch  style  of  architecture,  with  high  gables  and 
steep  roof,  an  aisle  on  one  side,  from  which  a  door 
opened.  Along  the  sides  were  short  pews  for  the 
men,  while  the  body  of  the  church  was  divided  into 
small  squares  occupied  by  chairs,  on  which  sat  the 
women  and  children.'' 

In  November,  1803,  Consistory  resolved  to  build  a 
new  house  of  worship ;  it  was  completed  before  the 
beginning  of  January,  1804.  and  hence  must  have 
been  pushed  with  great  rapidity.  It  stood  on  precisely 
the  same  spot  as  the  one  which  preceded  it.  The  cost 
of  this  church,  together  with  the  fence  ivhich  inclosed 
it,  was  $4410.80.  In  1851  the  church  found  the  struc- 
ture too  small  for  the  needs  of  the  congregation,  and 
so  resolved  to  build  again.  Then  was  erected  the 
present  edifice,  which  is  the  fourth  the  congregation 
has  had,  the  third  upon  the  same  ground. 

Although  the  church  was  founded  in  1727,  it  did 
not  enjoy  regular  services  until  1729,  and  even  then 
at  only  far-separated  intervals.  The  first  pastor  was 
Rev.  T.  J.  Frelinghuysen,  who  lived  at  Three-Mile 
Run,  and  who  also  had  under  his  care  the  churches 
of  Raritan,  Readington,  New  Brunswick,  and  Frank- 
lin Park.  He  died  in  1747.  In  1750  this  church, 
with  Raritan  and  Readington,  called  the  son  of  their 
late  pastor.  Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen.  He  lived  at 
Somerville,  and  was  in  reality  the  first  pastor.  His 
father's  work  was  very  much  interrupted,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  Harlingen  Church  up  to  1750  was  greatly 
under  the  influence  of  the  Conferentie  party ;  in  fact, 
it  was  their  headquarters  for  this  county.  ||     But  now 

X  Die  Kerk  op  der  Millstone. 

g  The  churcli  was  incorporated  in  1801  under  the  name  of  Harlingen. 
—Rev.  B.  T.  Corwin. 

II  Harlingen  especially  seems  to  have  been  an  important  point  in  the 
Coetus  and  Conferentie  diiBculties.  The  original  house  of  worship  at  the 
cemetery  and  the  church  records  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Conferentie. 
The  Coetus  party,  therefore,  who  could  not  be  limited  and  restrained  by 
the  formalities  of  the  other,  erected  a  new  church  in  1749,  near  the  pres- 


MONTGOMEKY. 


845 


a  new  future  opened:  the  churcli  became  evangelical. 
This  party  had  strength  sufficient  to  build  their  new 
church  (1752)  on  the  site  of  the  present  one,  the  old 
one  being  left  to  the  Conferentie  party.  John  Fre- 
linghuysen  served  but  four  years,  dying  in  1754,  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-eight. 

During  the  two  years  which  followed  the  younger 
Frelinghuysen's  death,  this  church  fared  very  badly, 
having  but  three  or  four  services  in  that  time.  In 
1758  these  churches  caUed  Eev.  Jacob  R.  Harden- 
burgh.  He  went  to  Holland  for  about  two  years,  and 
during  his  absence  the  churches  of  Neshanic  and 
Harlingen  withdrew  from  the  other  three,  leaving 
Hardenburgh  to  be  their  pastor,  and  they  in  1762 
caUed  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Van  Harlingen,*  who  preached 
until  1795,  when  he  died.  He  was  buried  under  the 
pulpit  of  the  church  at  Harlingen.  He  was  the  first 
pastor  who  lived  among  them,  residing  on  the  par- 
sonage farm.  In  1795,  Rev.  W.  E.  Smith  was  called. 
His  brothers  were  presidents,— the  one  of  Princeton, 
the  other  of  Union,  then  of  Hampton  and  Sydney. 
"With  him  began  preaching  in  English.  He  officiated 
two  Sabbaths  at  Neshanic  and  one  at  Harlingen,  re- 
siding at  the  former  place.  In  1798  the  two  churches 
called  Rev.  Henry  Polhemus,t  born  in  Harlingen,  as 
assistant  to  Mr.  Smith.  From  this  date  Harlingen 
had  regular  services  each  Sabbath;  he  remained  until 
1808.  In  1809,  Eev.  Peter  Labagh  became  assistant. 
Mr.  Smith  continued  preaching  until  1817,  when  he 
was  stricken  with  paralysis  in  the  pulpit.  He  lived 
until  1820,  but  enfeebled  in  mind  and  body.  At  his 
death  the  churches  separated,  Mr.  Labagh  remaining 
with  that  of  Harlingen ;  he  continued  until  1844,  when 
he  resigned.  In  1844  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  John 
Gardner,  was  called.  He  desiring  to  live  nearer  the 
church,  the  parsonage  farm,  which  Sonmans  gave  in 
1710,  was  sold  in  1846.  From  the  proceeds  of  this 
sale  the  present  parsonage  was  built.  In  the  spring 
of  1880,  owing  to  the  failing  health  of  the  pastor,  his 


ent  Bite,  and  kept  a  distinct  record  of  their  own.  Both  records  have  come 
down  to  the  present  time.  On  May  9, 1734^  Dominie  Antonides  met  some 
Conferentie  friends  at  the  house  of  Bynier  Veghte  and  ordained  a  new 
Consistory,  in  opposition  to  Frelinghuysen's  Consistory, — namely,  Koert 
Voorhees  and  Daniel  Folhemus,  elders.  This  new  Consistory  secured 
possession  of  the  church  books,  and  hence  Frelinghuysen  was  obliged  to 
begin  a  new  book  of  records  in  1737.  In  this  is  noted  the  arrival,  in 
1750,  of  his  son  John,  who  preached  his  first  sermon  in  that  locality, 
August  19th  of  that  year,  in  the  house  of  Simon  Van  Arsdalen.  His 
first  sermon  was  preached  in  the  church  December  2d. — Fi-om  Sleele^s  IHsc, 
at  New  BrunawicJc,  1867. 

Among  the  contributors  to  the  building  of  the  edifice  of  1749  were 
*'  Simon,  Aris,  and  Cornelius  Van  Arsdalen,  Peter  NeviuB,  Gisbert  Lane, 
Derick  Gulyck,  Martynus  Hoaglandt,  Garret  Willems,  Zachyus  Van 
Yoorhees,  Jan,  Isaac,  and  Jacobus  Van  Kuys,  Joseph,  Barent,  and  Jan 
Hegeman,  Eeynier  Veghte,  Douw  and  Eem  Ditmars,  Paul  Amerman, 
Hendrick  Van  der  Veer,  Joris  Bergen,  Peter  and  Johannes  Stryker,  John 
Covenhoven,  Ab.  Polhemus,  etc. 

*  A.  native  of  Millstone,  but  educated  in  Holland.  He  was  no  doubt  a 
descendant  of  Francis  Van  Harlingen,  of  Holland,  with  whom  Dr.  Liv- 
ingston frequently  stayed  when  in  that  country. —  Gunn^s  Livingston, 
p.  80. 

f  See  sketch  of  Folhemus  family  in  "  Early  Settlement,"  history  of  this 
township. 


son.  Rev.  John  S.  Gardner,  was  called  for  a  year  as 
assistant,  t 

The  records  of  this  church  (commenced  in  Dutch, 
by  Rev.  Coens,  in  1727)  show  the  following  members 
up  to  the  Revolution  :^ 

^''^'^--S^rbrand  Peterso,  Johannes  Koelbagh,  Eesolvert  Waldron,  An- 
netje  Bennet,  Maria  Cortsilius,  Jannetje  Meyers,  Jannetje 
Steinmetz,— "  by  certificate  from  other  churches." 

1728.— Isaac  Governeur,  William  Boos,  Jannetje  Coejmans,  Gertrude 
Staata,  Elizabeth  Krom,  Madg.  Gouverneur,  Margarita  Gouver- 
neur,  Christina  and  Susanna Poeters,  Hendrick  Smock,  Johannes 
Van  Houten,  Tryntje  Poterse,  Anna  Gertruid  Ervesen,  Anna 
Woertman,  Casparus  Van  Noordstrand,  Ab.  Sloner,  Crusje  Rnn- 
yen,  Lucas  and  Sophia  Schermerhorn,— the  last  five  on  confes- 
sion. 

1729. — Dina  Kouwenhoven. 

1730. — Marietje  Lange,  Johanna  Gouverneur,  Metje  Van  Mekkele,  Aaltje 
Van  Home,  Helena  Van  Leuven. 

1732.— Denys  and  Antye  Van  Duyn,  Simon  Van  Wickelen,  Philip  long, 
Jacob  Wynand,  Eva  and  Marietje  Thiese,  Marietje  Sloner. 

1746.— Machteltie  Van  Duyn  (wife  of  Hendrick  Staat8).| 

1752. — Geurtry  Ammerman,  Jacobus  Van  Nnys,  Gysbert  Vroom,  Antie 
Schenck  (wife  of  Jan  Gordon),  A.  Van  Arsdalen,  Dirk  Olilick, 
Gysbert  Laan  (Lane)  and  Seeltje  Smock,  Garret  Van  Arsdalen 
and  Cresje  Hegeman,  Peter  Riemer  and  Wyntie  Kingsberry, 
Catrina  Broach  (widow),  Catrina  Booshear  (wife  of  H.  Can- 
nedey),  Hyltje  Van  Arsdalen  (widow  of  I.  Durland),  Alida 
Hoagland  (widow  of  Jacob  Van  Arsdalen),  Creesje  Voorhees 
(wife  of  Garret  Van  Arsdalen),  Cupina  Hegeman  (widow  of  J. 
M.  Hegeman). 

1763.— Magdalen  Durye  (widow  of  Jan  Staats),  Johannis  Powelsen,  Jau- 
ne^e  Cornell  (widow  of  John  Nevius). 

1764. — Johannes  and  Dina  Hooghlandt,  Femiltje  Buys  (Boice),  wife  of 
Eolkert  Folkerse,  Coert  WUliameon,  Matje  Van  Arsdalen  (wid- 
ow of  Jan  Van  Nuys). 

1765. — Marie  Van  Nuys  (widow  of  Abr.  Van  Arsdalen). 

1766. — Adriaan  Hegeman,  Roelef  Van  Dyke  and  Catharine  Emans,  Gerrit 
Voorhees  and  Hannaatje  Beekman,  Maria  Probasco  (wife  of 
Joris  Bergen),  Catharina  Snedeker  (wife  of  Joachim  Quick). 

1767. — Bernhardus  Van  Zandt  and  Beelitje  Lattin,  Lea  Bange,  Com. 
Measelaar. 

1768.— Ennie  Stryker  (wife  of  Coert  Willemsen). 

1769. — Elizabeth  Van  Deursen  (wife  of  Do.  J.  M.  Van  Harlingen),  Chris- 
tophel  Beekman  and  Martha  Veghte,  Jacobus  Van  Nuys,  Hen- 
drick Stryker,  Joseph  Hegeman,  Petrus  Voorhees,  Adrian^e 
Van  Ai-sdalen,  Peter  Parlie,  Cath.  Voorhees  (widow  of  Jan  Cou- 
wenboven),  Jannetje  Cussjouw  (Kershaw),  wife  of  Jan  Voor- 
hees. 

1770. — Maria  Gulik  (widow  of  Petrus  Quick),  Theunis  Maria  Coeper 
(  wife  of  Jacob  Jeng),  Elizabeth  Van  Arsdalen,  Jacobus  Leek. 

1771. — Com.  Van  Houten,  Jacobus  Nevius. 

1774. — Jacobus  Van  Nuys  and  Maria  HooglanJ,  Antje  Me6ch  (wife  ot 
John  Tyne). 

1775. — Sara  (or  Lena)  Amerman  (wife  of  Jan  Wykkoff),  .Joseph  Hege- 
man and  Lucreesju  Willemse,  Jeromis  Bappulje,  and  Sarah 
Willemsen. 

1776. — Stephen  Terhune  and  Margretta. 

1777. — Jan  Amerman. 

1779. — Jobs.  Voorhees  and  Jannetje,  Margretha  Bendel  (wife  of  Jacob 
Van  Nuys). 

1780. — Thomas,  Dennis,  and  Catharine  Couenhoven. 

EEFOEMED   DUTCH   CHUEOH  OF   EOCKT   HILL. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  of  1855-56  a  few  of 
the  church-going  citizens  of  Rocky  Hill  began  se- 

I  In  writing  this  article  use  has  been  made  of  Corwin's  "  Centennial 
Memorial,"  Messler's  "  Historical  Notes,"  and  the  minutes  of  the  church.  , 

g  The  orthography  of  the  record  has  been  copied,  so  far  as  possible. 

II  Between  1746  and  1752  (date  not  given)  Allebert  Lou,  Abraham  Du- 
booiz,  Eeynier  Vegh tin,  Jan  Staats,  Bern  Ditmars,  Joris  Bergen,  Cornelius 
Lou,  Ab.  Hegeman,  Eeynier  Van  Heugelin,  Ab.  Polhemus,  Hendrick 
Herder,  Johannes  Gribling,  Peter  Couenhoven,  Susannah  Lou,  Deyna, 
and  Helena  Van  Leuwe,  Meeya  Lakmier,  Goertie  Folkersen,  Autis 
Couenhoven,  Maria  Hurder.  ■  • 


846 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


riously  to  advocate  the  building  of  a  Reformed  Dutch 
church  in  the  village.  After  private  consultation  it 
was  deemed  expedient  to  test,  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tion, the  feeling  of  the  citizens  of  the  village  and 
vicinity  before  calling  a  public  meeting.  Samuel 
Brearly  and  Abraham  Van  Derveer  were  constituted 
(March  10th)  a  committee  to  solicit  in  behalf  of  the 
enterprise.  In  this  labor  they  were  quite  successful. 
After  obtaining  a  certain  amount  of  money  pledged 
to  the  undertaking,  a  public  meeting  was  called,  and 
held  the  31st  of  March,  1856.  On  that  occasion  a 
committee  was  chosen  to  select  a  suitable  site  for 
the  location  of  the  proposed  church,  and  to  report  at 
a  subsequent  meeting.  At  a  meeting  held  June  7th 
the  committee  reported  that  they  had  selected  a  site 
for  the  church,  which  report  was  accepted,  and  the 
committee  instructed  to  purchase  the  lot.  A  building 
committee  was  also  chosen,  consisting  of  Samuel 
Brearly,  Thomas  J.  Skillman,  and  Wesley  Morris, 
who,  after  mature  deliberation,  decided  upon  the 
plans  and  specifications  of  H.  W.  Leard,  of  Prince- 
ton, for  a  building  37  x  65  feet,  of  Gothic  architec- 
ture. The  plans  being  unanimously  approved  at  a 
subsequent  meeting,  the  building  committee  pro- 
ceeded in  the  matter  of  its  erection.  On  the  4th  of 
August,  same  year,  they  closed  a  contract  with  Mr. 
Leard  for  its  erection;  it  cost  $4245.  It  was  com- 
pleted in  the  spring  of  1857,  when  an  application  was 
made  to  Classis  of  Philadelphia  to  organize  a  church 
at  Eocky  Hill,  which  was  accordingly  done  on  May 
6,  1857.  The  Classis  appointed  Revs.  T.  B.  Romeyn, 
John  Gardner,  and  Peter  Labagh  to  organize  the 
church ;  and  May  6,  1857,  certificates  of  membership 
were  received  from  the  following : 

Michael  Vrp.eland  and  Ann,  his  wife;  Myndert  Vreeland  and  Anuetrje 
Van  Riper,  his  wife,  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Bergen,  N.  J, 
From  Griggstown :  Isaac  Van  Derveer  and  Mary  Skillman,  hia  wife ; 
Francis  Stout,  wife  of  Alexander  Van  Dike ;  'James  Skillman.  From 
Harlingen;  Sally  Ann  Tenbrook,  wife  of  M.  V.  D.  'Crueer;  Joseph 
H.  Voorhees  and  wife,  Sarah  0.  Westbrook.  From  Blawenburg : 
Mrs.  Sarah  Stryker,  wife  of  William  Cruser,  deceased;  Misses 
Cornelia  M.,  Ann,  Matilda,  and  Sarah  Cruser ;  Samuel  Brearly  and 
wife,  Maria  V.  Conover;  John  A.  Saurus  and  wife,  Caroline  Case; 
Cornelius  Vreeland  and  wife,  Gertrude  Van  Marter;  Henry  Vree- 
land and  wife,  Margaret ;  W.  H.  Vreeland  and  wife,  Mary  Ann  Stry- 
ker ;  Abr.  Van  Derveer  and  wife,  Phebe  Reeves ;  Abby  Van  Derveer, 
wife  of  Abm.  0.  Voorhees ;  Miss  Catharine  Jane  Vreeland ;  Dr.  C.  R. 
Van  Doren  and  wife,  Amanda  Meeker ;  Jacob  Vreeland,  Jr.,  and 
wife,  Parmelia  Van  Dike.    Number  of  members,  34. 

The  building  was  all  completed  and  free  from  debt 
at  its  dedication,  June  10th  following.  Rev.  Dr.  B. 
C.  Taylor  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon,  and  the 
venerable  Rev.  Dr.  Peter  Labagh  took  part  in  the 
exercises.  The  pews  were  sold,  and  a  pastor  called 
as  soon  as  possible.  Rev.  Martin  L.  Schenck,  the 
first  pastor,  took  charge  of  the  congregation  in  Sep- 
tember, 1857,  and  remained  until  July,  1865.  A 
joint  request  was  made  to  Classis  by  pastor  and  peo- 
ple to  dissolve  the  connection,  which  was  done  Aug. 
9,  1865.  The  following  month,  in  response  to  a  call, 
the  Rev.  Oscar  Gesner  assumed  the  pastoral  charge, 
and  sustained  the  relation  until  May,  1871.     The  en- 


suing year  the  church  was  dependent  upon  supplies, 
but  in  May,  1872,  the  Rev.  H.  C.  Berg  accepted  a  call 
from  the  congregation,  and  soon  after  entered  upon 
his  duties.  This  connection  was  dissolved  Jan.  1, 
1879,  from  which  time  until  Aug.  1,  1879,  the  church 
was  without  a  pastor.  A  call  had,  however,  been 
made  to  the  Rev.  C.  0.  Lansing,  and  accepted  by  him; 
he  was  duly  installed  August  1st,  and  has  continued 
his  ministrations  until  the  present  time. 

About  ten  years  ago  (1870)  a  lecture-  and  Sunday- 
school  room,  of  24  by  50  feet,  was  erected,  of  Gothic 
architecture,  to  correspond  with  the  church.  The 
parsonage  is  new,  commodious,  and  tastefully  planned. 

The  Sabbath-school  of  Rooky  Hill  was  organized 
in  the  spring  of  1817  by  Misses  Jane,  Catharine,  and 
Sarah  Van  Derveer,  Eliza  and  Sarah  Reeves,  and 
Mary  Dunham,  and  conducted  by  them  for  many 
years,  superintended  by  Jane  Van  Derveer,  who  sub- 
sequently went  as  a  missionary  to  India.  Prior  to 
the  organization  of  the  Rocky  Hill  Church  this  school 
was  attended  by  the  children  of  the  Kingston,  Har- 
lingen, Blawenburg,  and  Griggstown  Churches.  This 
Sunday-school  was  the  successor  of  the  one  established 
in  1815  for  colored  children  by  Abr.  Stryker,  of  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Harlingen,  Jacob  W.  Lane,  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Princeton,  and  Cornelius 
Van  Derveer,  of  Kingston.  For  a  year  or  two  this 
was  in  existence,  holding  sessions  on  Sunday,  a  short 
distance  west  of  the  village. 

The  first  elders  and  deacons,  ordained  May  24, 1857, 
were :  Elders,  Myndert  Vreeland,  Samuel  Brearly, 
Isaac  Van  Derveer,  and  J.  H.  Voorhees ;  Deacons, 
John  A.  Saums,  Michael  Vreeland,  Dr.  C.  R.  Van 
Doren,  and  Jacob  Vreeland,  Jr.  These  and  the  fol- 
lowing have  served  at  different  times,  up  to  the 
present,  1880  : 

Elders. — Abram  Van  Derveer,  Henry  Vreeland,  Garret  Vreeland,  J.  V.  D. 
Baker,  Blias  Baker,  Michael  Vreeland,  Wm.  G.  Shults,  Jacob  Vreeland, 
Jr.,  John  C.  Whitlock,  Stephen  Voorhees,  Jacob  J.  Vreeland,  M.  S.  Van 
Derveer,  Stephen  Cromwell,  William  Holmes,  Thomas  Plant,  Garret 
Voorhees,  Isaac  Van  Zandt,  and  T.  F.  Stryker. 

DeacOTjt.— Cornelius  Vreeland,  William  Holmes,  William  G.  Shults, 
William  H.  Vreeland,  James  Skillman,  Frederick  Cruser,  Cornelius 
Baker,  Jacob  M.  Vreeland,  Stephen  Cromwell,  Thomas  G.  Plant,  Garret 
Voorhees,  0.  F.  Brokaw,  John  Bastide,  T.  F.  Stryker,  F.  V.  D.  Voorhees, 
F.  Manley,  William  A.  Cortelyou,  Fred.  P.  Voorhees,  Isaac  Shults,  Law- 
rence Conover,  David  H.  Mount,  Edwin  S.  Voorhees,  Michael  J.  Vree- 
land, James  G.  Hageman,  Charles  L.  Williamson,  and  Samuel  B.  Voorhees* 

This  church  has  a  present  (1881)  membership  of 
157,  embracing  70  families.* 

THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  OF  BLAWENBURG. 

In  1830  the  present  edifice  was  erected  at  Blawen- 
burg by  the  society  at  Harlingen,  probably  as  a 
matter  of  convenience  to  many  of  their  members  who 
lived  at  localities  so  remote  as  made  regular  attend- 
ance at  the  Harlingen  church  inconvenient,  except- 
ing in  the  most  favorable  weather.     This  continued 


*  We  are  under  many  obligations  to  Stephen  Voorhees  for  the  material 
facts  contained  in  this  sketch. 


MONTGOMERY. 


847 


to  exist  as  a  branch  of  the  parent  church  until  1832. 
March  2d  of  that  year  it  was 

"  Rasolved,  That  the  church  he  known  and  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Beformed  Dutch  Church  of  Blawenburg."* 

Eev.  Henry  Hermance  was  the  pastor  at  that  time, 
and  so  continued  until  1836.  He  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  James  R.  Talmage,  who  had  the  pastoral 
care  until  1849.  Mr.  Talmage  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Theodore  B.  Romeyn,  who  continued  until  1865, 
when  he  severed  his  connection,  and  Rev.  C.  "W. 
Fritts  was  called  to  the  charge.  He  discharged  the 
duties  of  pastor  until  1871,  when  he  retired,  and  Rev. 
W.  B.  Voorhees,  the  present  pastor,  was  called  as  his 
successor. 

The  church  now  has  a  membership  of  250,  and  the 
Sunday-school,  of  which  J.  V.  H.  Reed  is  superin- 
tendent, has  an  average  attendance  of  40. 

Tife  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUBCH  OF  EOCKT  HILL. 

The  society  was  organized  in  the  spring  of  1869, 
and  worshiped  in  a  temporary  building  on  the  land  of 
William  Fairbanks.  There  were  about  twenty  con- 
stituent members.  Nov.  23,  1869,  the  corner-stone  of 
the  present  house  was  laid,  and  the  building  was  first 
occupied  for  public  worship  in  the  spring  of  1870. 
The  church  is  valued  at  $4000,  and  has  a  seating  ca- 
pacity for  270  persons. 

The  pastors  have  been  Revs.  Wiley,  Atwood,  Bos- 
well,  Patterson,  Morris,  Hanly,  Sawre,  and  Ogborn. 
The  last  named,  Rev.  W.  N.  Ogborn,  is  the  present 
pastor. 

Services  have  been  held  regularly  since  the  organi- 
zation of  the  church. 

TBINITT  CHUBCH  (PKOTESTANT  EPISCOPAL),  EOCKT  HILL.f 

Rocky  Hill  appears  among  the  stations  visited  by 
the  Rev.  John  Brooke,  a  missionary  of  the  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  who,  after  faithfully 
serving  three  or  four  years  in  New  Jersey,  was  lost  at 
sea  about  the  close  of  1707.  His  successor,  Mr. 
Vaughan,  probably  visited  this  station,  but  no  per- 
manent congregation  seems  to  have  been  gathered 
here  by  him  or  his  successors.  The  earliest  services 
in  recent  times  of  which  information  has  been  ob- 
tained were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  G.  Emlen  Hare, 
first  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Princeton,  about  1840. 
Succeeding  rectors  of  this  church  officiated  from  time 
to  time  at  Rocky  Hill,  and  such  occasional  ministra- 
tions became  more  fi-equent  after  the  removal  to  this 
place  of  Mr.  Henry  McFarlane,  in  1853.  At  his 
house  regular  services  were  begun  Nov.  10,  1862, 
under  the  oversight  of  Eev.  W.  A.  Dod,  D.D.,  of 
Princeton,  by  Rev.  W.  G.  Andrews,  their  lately  or- 
dained deacon.  A  church  containing  a  hundred  sit- 
tings was  built  in  1864  by  Mr.  McFarlane's  nephew, 
Harry  Stone,  of  New  York,  and  was  consecrated  July 


«  Among  the  familiee  who  went  from  Harlingen  to  Blawenburg  were 
those  of  Van  Zandt,  Sutphen,  Voorheea,  Schenck,  etc, 
•j-  Bev.  W.  G.  Andrews. 


15th  in  that  year ;  there  were  at  that  time  nine  com- 
municants. The  parish  was  organized  Nov.  25,  1865, 
the  first  wardens  being  Henry  McFarlane  and  Benja- 
min Jackson,  and  the  first  vestrymen  Edwin  B.  Gu- 
lick,  Abram  Voorhees,  Peter  Weston,  William  B.  Mc- 
Farlane, and  Isaac  Bulman. 

Mr.  Andrews  remained  in  charge  as  missionary 
until  April  25,  1866.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
Lewis  H.  Lighthipe,  who  became  the  first  rector  of 
the  parish,  and  resigned  in  December,  1867.  The 
Rev.  Messrs.  Daniel  Shaver,  Arthur  R.  Morris,  and 
Ezra  Isaacs  each  spent  somewhat  less  than  a  year  at 
Rocky  Hill,  the  financial  weakness  of  the  parish 
making  it  difficult  to  provide  adequate  support  for  a 
rector.  The  Rev.  Asa  S.  Oolton,  residing  in  Princeton, 
supplied  for  the  most  part  during  the  vacancies.  In 
December,  1873,  the  Rev.  William  B.  Bolmer  became 
missionary  under  the  care  of  the  Convocation  of  New 
Brunswick  ;  he  was  chosen  rector  May  15, 1880,  and  re- 
signed in  the  following  December. 

The  present  wardens  are  Thomas  Arrowsmith  (re- 
moved) and  Horace  C.  Mahan;  the  vestrymen  are 
Messrs.  James  B.  Powell,  Homer  H.  Mahan,  Eugene 
B.  McCarty,  Emil  Widder,  and  Peter  V.  Outcalt. 
Communicants,  as  reported  at  the  last  diocesan  con- 
vention, 47. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 
EOOKT  HILL  CBMETEBY  ASSOCIATION. 

Aug.  10,  1858,  Samuel  Brearley,  Daniel  H.  Mount, 
and  William  Holmes  purchased  six  acres  near  the  vil- 
lage, of  Stephen  Cromwell,  for  $600,  in  trust  for  the 
above-named  association.  Since  that  time  the  com- 
pany have  sold  burial-lots  in  the  cemetery  to  ninety 
persons.  The  present  officers  (1880)  are  Thomas  J. 
Skillman,  President;  David  H.  Mount,  Treasurer; 
Stephen  Voorhees,  Secretary  and  Superintendent. 

Among  the  private  or  family  burial-grounds  in 
this  township  are  the  following : 

THE  DUEYEA  CBMETEBY, 

a  private  cemetery  back  of  the  residence  of  Alex- 
ander Duryea.  A  few  of  the  inscriptions  are  here 
given : 

"  In  memory  of  Maria  Van  Liew,  wife  of  George  Duryee.  Born  March 
14,1724;  died  October  28, 1761." 

"  In  memory  of  George  Duryee,  son  of  George  and  Magdalen  Dnryee, 
who  died  October  3, 1776,  aged  6  years  and  6  months." 

"  In  memory  of  George  Duryee.    Died  October  2, 1794,  aged  66  years." 

"  In  memory  Magdalen  Baird,  wife  of  George  Duryee.  Died  December 
5, 1793,  aged  66  years." 

"  Maria  Statesur,  wife  of  Simon  Duryee.  Died  Feb.  2, 1804,  in  the  4l8t 
year  of  her  age." 

HAELINGEN  CEMETEBY. 

"  Juffrouw  Sarah  Van  Harlingen  Gebooren  ■.    Stryker  Gehooren 

Den.  1.  luny  A»  1744.    EnoTorleeden  Den.  27  Decenber  A"  1766." 

"  Here  lies  y»  body  of  M.  Peter  Perlee  he  Departed  this  Life  April  y» 
18ti»,  1781  In  y"  40*'*  yeare  of  his  Age." 

"  In  memory  of  Catharine.iwife  of  Jacob  Kershow,  who  died  June  27«', 
1777,  in  the  66  year  of  her  age." 

"  Here  lies  y  body  of  Albert  Voorfiees,  who  died  Sep'  y  26't,  1784,  io 
yo  69*  year  of  his  age."  i 

"  In  memory  of  the  Bey.  Johannes  Martinus  Tan  Harlingen,  Pastor  oF 


848 


SOMEKSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  Beformed  dutch  congregation  of  Sourland  and  new  Shannick,  who 
died  December  23^  1795,  in  the  7lBt  year  of  hia  age." 

"  In  memory  of  Harriet  Eomeyn,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Peter  and 
Maria  Lahaugh,  who  died  February  27, 1814,  aged  2  years  11  mo  17 
days." 

"  In  memory  Hendricli  Yan  Harlingen,  who  was  born  Oct.  the  15th, 
1796,  and  died  JanJ  the  21"  1780." 

A   HISTORIC   WELL. 

The  following  circumstance,  which  at  the  time  of 
its  occurrence  was  trivial  enough,  has,  in  the  interve- 
ning years,  hecome  fraught  with  historic  interest,  from 
its  connection  with  the  terrible  struggle  by  which  our 
land  gained  its  independence. 

In  1783  a  detachment  of  Gen.  Washington's  army 
en  route  to  the  headquarters  of  their  commander,  at 


Rocky  Hill,  came  along  the  road  leading  by  Mr. 
Duryea's  farm,  and  stopped  at  the  well  to  drink  and 
fill  their  canteens  with  its  delicious  contents.  Tired 
and  thirsty  and  almost  choked  with  the  dust  of  a  long 
march,  each  man  drank  copiously,  and,  although 
Nature  did  her  best,  by  means  of  an  unfailing  spring 
at  the  bottom  of  the  well,  to  replenish  the  water  thus 
consumed,  the  demand  was  greatly  in  excess  of  the 
supply,  and  by  the  time  each  thirsty  soldier  had  sup- 
plied his  want  the  water  was  literally  exhausted.  ■ 

The  well  is  only  about  ten  feet  deep,  but  its  supply 
of  water  had  never  before  failed  to  meet  the  demand, 
neither  has  it  done  so  since.  It  is  located  on  the 
present  estate  of  Alexander  D.  Duryea. 


BIOGPtAPHIOAL     SKETCHES. 


JOHN  VAN  ZANDT. 


JOHN  VAN  ZANDT. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  the  great-grandson 
of  Bemardua  Van  Zandt,  who  was  born  in  Holland, 
Oct.  3,  1700,  and  came  to  this  country  at  a  date  of 
which  we  have  no  record.  Soon  after  his  arrival  here 
he  purchased  a  tract  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-six 
acres  of  land,  adjoining  the  Voorhees  estate,  in  Mont- 
gomery township,  Somerset  Co.,  then  a  part  of  the 
"Eastern  Division  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey." 
He  died  March  27, 1778. 

Nicholas,  the  second  son  of  Bernardus,  was  born 
Dec.  25,  1737.  He  married  Lucretia  Van  Brunt,  and 
succeeded  to  the  homestead  on  the  decease  of  his 
father,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  1805.  The  old  homestead  was  then 
eonveyed  by  the  other  heirs  to  Capt.  Bernardus  Van 


Zandt,  who  was  the  second  son  of  Nicholas.  He 
married,  Jan.  7,  1790,  Sarah  Sutphen,  a  most  amiable 
lady. 

The  marked  ability  of  Capt.  Bernardus  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  farm  and  the  excellent  qualities  of 
his  wife  attracted  the  attention  of  her  uncle,  James 
Nevius.  He  had  no  family  and  lived  alone  upon  an 
adjacent  farm,  and  finally,  in  1809,  persuaded  his 
niece  and  her  husband  to  leave  the  old  homestead  and 
live  with  him.  He  died  about-  two  years  afterwards, 
leaving  hia  large  farm  by  "  will"  to  Capt.  Bernardus, 
subject,  however,  to  the  payment  of  certain  legacies. 
They  remained  upon  the  Nevius  farim  as  long  as  they 
lived  and  raised  a  family  of  two  sons  and  eight  daugh- 
ters, three  of  whom  are  still  living  (January,  1881). 

Their  second  son,  Nicholas,  lived  upon  the  old 


MONTGOMERY. 


8i9- 


homestead,  and  it  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his 
heirs,  and  within  the  same  boundary  lines  as  when 
purchased,  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 

The  eldest  of  the  ten  children,  John  Van  Zandt, 
was  horn  June  10, 1791.  He  married,  Nov.  20,  1817, 
Anna,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Stephen  Voorhees,  a 
woman  of  lovely  disposition  and  unaffected  piety. 
They  succeeded  to  the  Nevius  farm  in  1850,  by  "  will" 
of  his  father,  and  resided  there  until  their  decease. 
They  had  six  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  their 
youth.  Their  sons  James  and  Augustus  and  daugh- 
ters Sarah  and  Anna  Eliza  are  still  living. 

Mr.  Van  Zandt  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  of  Harlingen  until  nearly  fifty 
years  since,  when  he  and  a  few  of  his  neighbors 
founded  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Blawen- 
burg.  He  was  one  of  a  most  excellent  building  com- 
mittee who,  by  their  liberality,  zeal,  and  personal 
labor,  erected  what  must  then  have  been  a  hand- 
some and  substantial  church  edifice,  and  it  remains 
to-day  an  enduring  monument  of  their  philanthropy 
and  piety.  He  cherished  the  welfare  of  that  church 
with  greatest  ardor,  and  was  always  glad  to  give  his 
time,  his  labor,  and  his  money  to  promote  its  interests. 
He  served  in  the  offices  of  elder  and  deacon  at  vari- 
ous times.  He  was  -a  most  liberal  contributor,  and 
was  identified  with  every  beneficial  interest  of  the 
church. 

His  educational  advantages  were  only  such  as  the 
district  school  afforded,  but  he  was  intelligent  and 
fond  of  reading,  and  in  his  later  years  was  well  in- 
formed. He  received  a  "second  sight,"  and  read 
without  glasses. 

A  marked  peculiarity  of  his  old  age  was  that  he 
took  a  great  interest  in  every  new  project  and  in- 
vention. 

In  politics  he  was  a  staunch  Whig  and  afterwards 
a  Republican,  never  failing  in  duty  at  the  polls.  He 
lived  under  the  administrations  of  nineteen  Presidents 
of  the  United  States,  commencing  with  Washington, 
and  probably  voted  at  sixteen  Presidential  elections. 
After  a  long  and  useful  life  of  integrity,  piety,  la- 
bor, and  success  in  every  particular,  he  died  Jan.  2, 
1881,  in  the  ninetieth  year  of  his  age,  respected,  hon- 
ored, and  beloved  by' all  who  knew  him.  Just  two 
weeks  afterwards  his  amiable  wife  died  also,  and  was 
buried  by  his  side  in  the  cemetery  at  Blawenburg. 

They  leave,  surviving  them,  four  children,  twenty 
grandchildren,  and  eleven  great-grandchildren,  nearly 
all  of  whom  are  living  in  the  vicinity  of  their  ances- 
tral home. 


JAMES  N.  VAN  ZANDT. 
James  N.  Van  Zandt,  a  view  of  whose  attractive 
place — endeared  to  himself  and  children  by  memories 
of  home,  and  so  indicative  of  the  industry,  thrift,  and 
cultured  taste  of  the  owner — may  be  seen  on  another 
page  of  this  work,  is  the  eldest  son  of  John  Van 


Zandt,  of  Blawenburg,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
model  agriculturists  of  Somerset  County.  He  first 
purchased  of  Garret  Van  Zandt  a  small  farm  of 
seventy -two  acres,  situated  in  Montgomery  township, 
near  Blawenburg,  to  which,  in  1860,  was  added  one 
hundred  acres  of  the  old  homestead  of  his  father.  In 
that  year  he  erected  thereon  a  large  brick  residence 
with  outbuildings.  He  has  confined  his  labors 
strictly  to  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  his 
farm,  expending  time  and  money  in  under-draining 
it,  adopting  all  of  the  practical  modern  improvements 
tending  to  facilitate  the  operations  of  agriculture. 
He  is  a  gentleman  extremely  modest  and  unassuming 
in  manner,  devoted  to  his  home  and  family,  and' by 
his  manly  Christian  life  has  earned  for  himself  a 
place  among  the  most  respected  representative  men 
of  his  vicinity. 

ABRAM    C.  WIKOFf! 
Abram  C.  Wikofif,  the  third  son  of  Samuel  and  Abi- 
gail  (Bembridge)  Wikoff",  and  grandson   of  Garret 
Wikoflf,  was  born  in-  the  township  of  Hillsborough, 


Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Feb.  29,  1826,  and  removed  to 
Montgomery  township,  to  the  place  where  he  now  re- 
sides, in  1850.  He  is  by  occupation  a  farmer,  and  is 
among  the  leading  agriculturists  of  the  township.' 
Dec.  18,  1849,  he  married  Louisa  M.  Garretson, 
daughter  of  James  Garretson,  of  Raritan  Landing. 
They  have  four  children,— viz.,  Catharine,  Samuel, 
Hannah  M.,  and  James  Wikoff.  Catharine  married 
Stephen  Gano,  a  civil  engineer,  residing  at  Fleming- 
ton,  N.  J.,  and  has  one  child,  Frederick. 


850 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Mrs.  Louisa  M.,  wife  of  Mr.  Wikoff,  was  born  at 
Weston,  Hillsborough  township,  Oct.  3,  1825. 

Mr.  WikoiT  was  formerly  a  Whig,  but  since  the  dis- 
solution of  that  party  has  been  a  staunch  Republican. 
He  has  never  sought  office,  but  has  filled  several  offi- 
cial positions  in  his  township,  and  has  been  surveyor 
for  Bound  Brook  Fire  Insurance  Company  for  several 
years.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  Harlingen,  and  has  at  various  times  held 
the  offices  of  deacon  and  elder,  the  latter  of  which  he 
now  holds. 

Samuel  and  Abigail  Wikoff  had,  besides  the  subject 
of  this  notice,  the  following-named  children  :  Garret, 
Adrenna,  John  B.,  Peter  W.,  Isaac  V.  C,  Maria, 
Jacob  T.,  William  Henry,  Matilda,  and  Samuel  L. 

Abigail  Bembridge,  the  wife  of  Samuel  Wikoff,  was 
a  daughter  of  John  Bembridge,  of  Hillsborough. 


DAVID    0.    VOOilHEES. 
The  subject  of  this  notice  was  born  in  Blawenburg, 
Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  3,  1816.     He  is  a  son  of 


.Brunei,  &'   'Vo-cnI.Au 


Okey  Voorhees,  who  was  born  Aug.  29, 1743,  and  died 
May  21,  1819.  His  wife's  name  was  Allemma  Ker- 
shaw, who '  was  born  Aug.  3,  1781,  and  died  March 
2'3,'iS6'i'.  They  had  two  children,— viz.,  Peter  O., 
born  March  6,1806,  and  David  0.,  as  stated  above. 
Peter  0.  married  Frances  B.,  daughter  of  Stephen 
Stryker,  of  Harlingen,  N.  J.,  by  whom  he  had  six 
children,  four  of  whom  are  now  living  (1880),  two 
.having  died  in  infancy. 


Stephen  S.,  the  first  son  of  Peter  0.,  married  Se- 
lina,  the  daughter  of  Peter  J.  Stryker,  of  Blawenburg. 
They  have  two  children.  Mary  Ann  married  Peter 
Oortelyou;  they  have  five  children. 

Mr.  Oortleyou  and  his  family  are  now  residing  in 
Sommerset,  Kan.  David  P.  married  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Moore,  of  Hopewell,  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J. 
They  have  one  child.  Allemma  Voorhees  is  still  single. 
David  0.  was  married,  Deo.  15, 1839,  to  Rebecca  Ann, 
daughter  of  Samuel  H.  and  Mary  S.  Hageman,  of 
Blawenburg,  by  whom  he  has  one  son.  Holmes  Hage- 
man Voorhees,  born  Sept.  9,  1857.  Mr.  Voorhees  has 
been  brought  up  on  a  farm  and  is  strictly  an  agri- 
culturist ;  has  received  such  an  education  aa  was 
usually  acquired  at  the  common  town  or  district 
schools  of  his  time.  He  has  never  taken  great  inter- 
est in  political  affairs ;  has  been  a  Whig,  and  since 
the  Republican  paity  has  been  the  dominant  one  he 
has  been  identified  with  that.  Mr.  Voorhees  has  been 
a  "  freeholder"  of  his  township  one  term ;  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Blawenburg 
about  thirty  years,  holding  at  different  times  the 
principal  offices  pertaining  thereto. 


PETER   STRYKER   STOUT. 
Peter  Stryker  Stout  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Richard 
Stout,  the  general  paternal  ancestor,  probably,  of  all 


PETER   STRYKER   STOUT. 

the  families  of  that  name  in  America.  He  came  over 
to  this  country  from  Nottinghamshire,  England,  some 
time  between  1640  and  1648. 

William  Stout  was  the  grandfather  of  Peter  Stryker 
Stout,  and  married  Rachel  Carr.     They  had  a  family 


■tUXy^><XJljll, 


f^'^^UA^oCiuflj^ 


CgjC-^— 


Lawrence  Van  der  Veer  is  the  great-great-grandson  of 
Cornelis  Jansen  Van  der  Veer,  who  arrived  in  this  country 
from  Amsterdam,  Holland,  in  February,  1659,  on  the  good  ship 
"  Otter,"  and  was  probably  the  progenitor  of  all  the  Van  der 
Veers  at  present  in  America.  He  came  originally  from  Hemsflete, 
in  North  Holland.  On  arriving  he  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Flat- 
bush,  L.  I.,  and  afterwards  married  Gillis  de  Mandeville.  The 
only  one  of  his  children  who  interests  us  in  this  connection,  how- 
ever, is  his  son,  Cornelis  Cornelissen,  who  married  and  reared  a 
numerous  family  of  sons,  who,  although  their  father  seems  to 
hare  lived  and  died  at  Flatbush,  themselves  possessed  more  of 
the  spirit  of  adventure,  and  sought  new  homes  in  New  Jersey 
and  elsewhere.  His  youngest  son,  Petrus  or  Peter,  born  in 
1720,  might  perhaps  be  called  the  immediate  progenitor  of 
the  branch  of  the  family  with  which  we  have  to  deal,  as  he 
moved  from  Flatbush  to  Montgomery  township  in  1761,  and 
purchased  about  six  hundred  acres  of  land  along  the  Millstone 
River  and  its  tributaries,  and  erected  a  house  which  is  at  present 
standing  close  to  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  in  tolerably  good 
repair.  From  this  house  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British 
on  their  retreat  from  Princeton,  but  succeeded  in  escaping.  He 
married  Jane  Schenck,  by  whom  he  had  the  following  children  : 
Cornelius,  Luke,  Garret,  Jeremiah,  Mary,  and  Catherine.  He 
died  in  1777. 

Garret  Van  der  Veer,  the  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  on 
the  old  homestead  in  1776.  He  married  Mary  Merlett,  and 
died  in  1837,  leaving  eight  children, — to  wit,  Eliza  Ann,  John 
Reeve,  Lloyd,  Peter  Van  Dyke,  Lawrence,  Martin  Schenck, 
Mary,  and  Luther, 

Garret  Van  der  Veer  was  an  agriculturist,  an  active  and  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  intelligence  and  ability,  though  possessing  only  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  common-school  education.  He  was  frequently 
called  upon  by  the  citizens  of  the  town  to  settle  their  accounts, 
write  deeds  and  other  legal  documents. 

Lawrence  Van  der  Veer,  of  whom  this  sketch  is  written,  was 
born  on  the  Van  der  Veer  estate  in  Montgomery,  Somerset  Co., 


N.  J.,  Nov.  3,  1815,  and  has  ever  since  resided  there.  His 
opportunities  for  education  were  those  only  of  the  common 
schools.  Like  his  progenitors  he  has  pursued  the  occupation 
of  a  farmer.  Has  been  identified  with  the  Reformed  Church 
since  1843,  filling  the  ofiioes  of  deacon  and  elder  for  several 
terms,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school,  and  town  super- 
intendent of  public  schools.  He  was  formerly  an  Old-Line 
Whig,  and  continued  such  till  the  organization  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  since  when  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  the  latter. 

Mr.  Van  der  Veer  has  improved  the  old  homestead  where  he 
lives  by  erecting  a  fine  large  residence  in  1866,  and  other  ac- 
companying buildings  upon  the  place.  The  home  is  called 
"Brookside,"  being  near  the  Millstone  River  and  Beden's 
Brook,  the  latter  of  which  flows  through  the  farm  near  the 
house,  and  is  a  beautiful  and  never-failing  stream.  The  resi- 
dence stands  on  a  fine  large  lawn,  and  the  buildings  are  sur- 
rounded by  stately  forest  trees  and  evergreens,  making  it  one 
of  the  most  picturesque  and  desirable  homes  in  the  country. 

Mr.  Van  der  Veer  married,  March  13,  1844,  Rachel  Labagh, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Peter  L.abagb,  D.D.,  by  whom  he  had  two 
children, — Maria  Labagh  Van  der  Veer,  born  March  19,  1845, 
and  Peter  Labagh  Van  der  Veer,  born  Sept.  30,  1846.  Maria 
married  Henry  "W.  Hoagland;  they  have  one  child, — Lawrence 
Van  der  Veer  Hoagland.  Peter  L.  is  a  graduate  of  Rutgers 
College,  New  Jersey,  and  has  spent  some  time  at  the  universities 
of  Berlin  and  Gottingen,  Germany.  He  is  at  the  present  time 
(1880)  practicing  law  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

Rev.  Peter  Labagh,  D.D.,  father  of  Mrs.  Lawrence  Van  der 
Veer,  was  born  in  Beaver  Street,  New  York,  Nov.  10,  1773. 
He  was  an  eminent  minister  of  the  Reformed  Church,  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Somerset  County  Bible  Society,  and  a  faith- 
ful missionary  and  pastor  for  more  than  half  a  century.  He 
died  Oct.  25,  1858,  at  the  age  eighty-four  years.* 

*  See  "Life  of  Eev.  Peter  Liibagta,  D.D.,"  by  Hev.  John  A.  Todd, puh- 
llstaed  in  18G0. 


Zf'€cocf/^2^^-^^^'<^^'^-^ 


Col.  Henry  Duryee,  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  was  of  French  origin,  his  great-grand- 
father, Joost  Diiryee,  having  come  from  France 
to  lliis  country  some  time  anterior  to  1753, 
as  in  that  year  he  purchased  of  Abrani  Van 
Horn  three  hundred  and  sixty-four  and  a  half 
acres  of  land,  situated  in  the  then  "  Eastern 
Division  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,"  now 
known  as  Montgomery  township,  Somerset  Co., 
N.  J.,  for  which  he  paid  "one  thousand  and 
fifty-eight  pounds,  current  money  of  the  Colony 
of  New  York."  The  original  deed  of  said  pur- 
chase is  now  in  the  possession  of  Alexander  D. 
Duryee,  the  present  owner  of  the  estate.  No 
further  record  is  to  be  had  at  this  time  of  this 
paternal  ancestor  of  the  families  in  America 
bearing  his  name  more  than  that  he  died  leav- 
ing one  son  named  George,  who  was  twice 
married  and  left  two  sons, — to  wit,  William 
and  George.  William  married  Anna  Emmens 
Berrien,  who  had  one  son,  Henry,  born  May 
18,  1786,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  mar- 
ried, Oct.  15,  1809,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Abram 
Williamson,  of  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  of  which 
union  were  born  nine  children, — viz.,  William 
R.  S.,  Ann  Elizabeth,  Catharine  Williamson, 
Mary  Davis,  Abram  Williamson,  Henry  Ber- 


rien, Sarah  Emma,  Augustus  Taylor,  and  Alex- 
ander Davis,  six  of  whom  are  still  living 
(1880). 

Col.  Duryee  spent  the  most  of  his  days  upon 
the  old  homestead  in  Montgomery  township 
where  he  wa.s  born,  jnirsuing  the  occupation  of 
an  agriculturist.  His  educational  advantages 
were  only  those  afforded  by  the  common  schools. 

He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  intel- 
ligence and  ability,  and  was  often  called  upon 
by  the  citizens  of  his  township  to  look  after  their 
business  interests,  to  write  deeds,  administer 
estates,  etc.,  etc.  He  was  an  active,  efficient,  and 
consistent  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  for 
many  years,  filling  the  offices  at  different  times 
of  deacon  and  elder.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig 
till  after  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party,  when  he  affiliated  with  the  latter,  and  took 
quite  an  active  part  in  the  interests  of  the  domi- 
nant political  party;  though  he  never  sought 
office,  he  was  appointed  to  several  minor  positions 
in  his  township. 

Col.  Duryee,  like  some  of  his  kinsmen,  took 
a  great  interest  in  military  affairs,  and  for  many 
years  was  an  able  and  efficient  officer  of  the 
State  militia.  He  died  July  27,  1870,  honored 
and  lamented  by  all  who  knew  him. 


WARREN. 


851 


of  nine  children, — ^five  sons  and  four  daughters.  One 
of  the  sons,  John  W.,  married,  in  1813,  Eliza  Conover, 
of  which  union  were  born  four  children, — to  wit, 
James  Nelson,  Peter  Stryker,  Jane,  and  Ura. 

Peter  Stryker  Stout,  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the 
second  son  of  John  W.,  and  was  born  Feb.  4,  1824. 
He  married,  in  1850,  Caroline  D.  Bergen,  daughter  of 
John  0.  Bergen,  of  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J.,  by  whom 
he  has  two  children,  John  B.  and  Anna.  John  B. 
married  Hannah  Etta  Putney,  daughter  of  William 
Putney.  Hannah  E.  married  Abram  V.  D.  Dilts; 
they  have  one  child,  Carrie  Stout  Dilts.  Mr.  Stout 
was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  receiving  such  an  educa- 
tion only  as  he  could  obtain  at  the  common  schools 
of  his  district.    Politically  he  was  formerly  an  "  Old- 


Line  Whig,"  but  upon  the  disorganization  of  that 
party  he  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party,  though 
never  taking  a  very  active  part  in  political  affairs. 

He  has  been  an  active  and  worthy  member  of  the 
Reformed  Church  for  about  twenty  years,  and  has 
filled  some  of  the  principal  offices  connected  there- 
with. He  is  a  plain,  unassuming  gentleman,  who 
by  a  life  of  industry  and  strict  integrity  has  secured 
for  himself  the  respect  and  friendship  of  all  who  know 
him.  His  pleasant  homestead  and  farm  is  situated 
partly  in  Hillsborough  and  partly  in  Montgomery 
townships,  the  residence  and  accompanying  buildings 
being  in  Hillsborough.  It  is  near  the  Bound  Brook 
and  Delaware  Railroad,  about  one  mile  west  of  Van 
Aken  Station. 


warren; 


SITUATION  AND  BOUNDARIES. 
The  township  of  Warren  is  situated  in  the  east  part 
of  Somerset  County,  and  is  bounded  north  by  the 
Passaic  and  Dead  Rivers,  which  separate  it  from  Pas- 
saic township,  in  Morris  County,  and  from  Bernard, 
in  Somerset;  east  by  New  Providence,  in  Union 
County;  southeast  by  North  Plainfield;  southwest 
and  west  by  Bridgewater  and  Bernard  townships,  of 
which  it  originally  formed  a  part.  The  act  for  the 
erection  of  the  township,  passed  March  5,  1806,  de- 
fines its  limits  as  follows  : 

"All  that  part  of  the  townships  of  Bridgewater  and  Bernard  lying 
within  the  following  boundaries-to  wit :  Beginning  at  Passaic  River,  at 
the  corner  of  Somerset  and  ISssex  Counties ;  thence  up  said  nver  to  Dead 
Kiver  on  the  Une  between  Somerset  and  Morris;  thence  up  Bead  River 
to  the  bridge  over  the  same,  near  the  house  of  Thomas  Ganltry  ;  thence 
on  the  road  southerly  230  chains,  to  Bridgewater  line,  and  along  the 
same,  as  it  runs  on  the  top  of  the  Second  Mountain,  to  the  brook  below 
Aaron  Coon's  mill;  thence  down  said  brook  70  chains,  to  the  ea^t 
branch  of  Middle  Brook,  to  Moses  Riggs' saw-mill  pond;  thence  south 
48°  east  100  chains  to  Bound  Brook;  thence  up  the  same  on  the  line  of 
Somerset  and  Middlesex,  and  Somerset  and  Essex,  to  the  head  of  Green 
Brook;  thence  north  180°  west  126  chains  to  the  place  of  beginnmg- 
shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  set  off  from  the  townships  of  Bridge- 
water  and  Bernard,  and  the  same  is  hereby  established  a  separate  town- 
ship, to  be  caUed  by  the  name  of  ■  The  Township  of  Warren,    t 

The  above  description  applies  to  the  township  be- 
fore North  Plainfield  was  taken  off  in  1872. 
PHYSICAL   FEATURES. 

The  township  of  Warren  comprises  an  area  of 
32.26  square  miles,  or  20,646  acres.  The  surface  is 
generally  quite  hilly,  rough,  and  broken  in  places, 
but  contains  several  fine  agricultural  valleys  of  con- 
siderable extent.     The  southeast  boundary  ot  tue 

*  By  Prof.  W.  W.  Clayton. 

t  Digest  of  the  Laws  of  New  Jersey,  p.  527. 


township,  separating  it  from  North  Plainfield,  runs 
along  the  summit  of  the  First  Mountain,— a  contin- 
uous ridge  which  rises  at  Pluckamin,  in  Somerset 
County,  and  extends  43  miles  eastward,  terminating 
near  Siccomac.  This  mountain  has  an  east-southeast 
trend  for  7  miles  to  the  gorge  at  Middle  Brook ;  it 
then  continues  in  an  east-northeast  course  through 
the  townships  of  Warren  and  North  Plainfield  to 
Milburn,  a  distance  of  16  miles,  where  it  is  intersected 
by  a  valley  IJ  miles  in  width.  From  Milburn  to 
Paterson,  where  it  is  broken  by  the  valley  of  the 
Passaic  River,  its  course  is  a  little  east  of  north,  and 
beyond  Paterson,  after  gradually  attaining  its  usual 
height,  it  curves  slightly  to  the  west  towards  the 
highland. 

Besides  the  two  great  depressions  at  Milburn  and 
Paterson,  there  are  also  gaps  or  notches  through 
which  the  waters  of  the  valleys  intervening  between 
it  and  the  Second  Mountain  make  their  way  to  the 
ocean.  Middle  Brook,  north  of  Bound  Brook,  Story 
Brook,  near  Plainfield,  and  Green  Brook,  at  Scotch 
Plains,  occupy  these  gaps.  The  prominent  and  char- 
acteristic feature  of  this  mountain  is  the  great  differ- 
ence between  its  inner  and  outer  slopes.  That  towards 
the  Second  Mountain  is  gentle,  while  that  towards  the 
plains  is  steep  and  in  many  places  precipitous. 

Parallel  to  this  First  Mountain  is  the  inner  range 
known  locally  as  the  Second  Mountain.  It  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  former  by  a  long  and  narrow  valley 
bearing  the  name  of  Washington  Valley,  Vernon 
Valley,  etc.  This  range  is  longer  than  the  First 
Mountain,  being  prolonged  on  the  southwest  beyond 
Pluckamin  to  Bernardsville,  and  on  the  northeast  its 
curve  is  extended  quite  to  the  gneiss  of  Ramapo 


852 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Mountain.  Excepting  the  gap  at  Little  Falls,  there 
are  no  breaks  in  this  range,  although  it  is  in  places 
much  lower  than  the  average  altitude.  The  height 
of  this  range  in  Warren  township  is  about  500  feet 
above  tide-water,  and  400  above  the  red  sandstone 
country  at  Plainfield.  Both  of  the  mountains  are 
rough  and  rocky,  and  consequently  most  of  their 
surface  is  covered  with  timber.  Washington  Valley 
is  probably  as  good  an  agricultural  section  as  is  to  be 
found  in  the  township.  Lying  between  the  Second 
Mountain  and  Stony  Hill  is  another  valley,  of  higher 
elevation  and  less  extent,  which  also  contains  good 
farming-lands. 

The  whole  township  is  well  watered.  Through 
Washington  Valley  flows  the  east  branch  of  Middle 
Brook,  uniting  with  another  branch  running  through 
Dockwatch  Hollow,  near  the  southwestern  boundary 
of  the  township.  This  branch  of  Middle  Brook  is 
fed  by  springs  and  rivulets  running  from  both  sides 
of  the  valley.  Stony  Brook,  rising  in  Washington 
Valley,  passes  through  a  deep  gorge  in  the  First 
Mountain  and  joins  Green  Brook  near  the  city  of 
Plainfield,  affording  in  its  passage  several  mill-sites, 
which  are  well  improved.  Pumpkin-Patch  Branch 
runs  through  the  second  valley  and  empties  into  the 
Passaic  River,  and  Pound  Brook  flows  north  into 
Dead  River.  Both  take  their  rise  at  Coontown. 
Several  freestone  quarries  have  formerly  been  worked 
in  the  township,  yielding  a  beautiful  and  fine  quality 
of  building-stone,  but  at  present  they  are  discontinued. 

The  original  tracts  of  land  purchased  in  Warren 
township  were  as  follows :  The  east  portion  of  the 
William  Penn  tract  lay  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
town.  East  of  the  Penn  tract  and  east  of  Mordecai 
Brook  and  south  of  Passaic  River  were  then  small 
lots,  as  follows :  No.  108,  taken  up  by  Ephraim  Dun- 
ham, March  1,  1730,  100  acres  "joining  Penn's,  &  20 
chs  on  Passaic  River ;"  Nos.  130,  131,  by  Peter  Run- 
yan,  June  16,  1743,  30  acres,  and  2.5  acres  "on  south 
side  of  Pasaick,  at  the  first  brook  above  Duckwra's 
upper  corner  of  his  3000  ;"  No.  49,  William  Dockwra, 
May  20,  1690,  "3000  acres  on  south  side  of  Pasaick, 
begins  at  his  lowest  corner." 

A  tier  of  lots  between  the  First  and  Second  Moun- 
tains, as  follows  :  104,  to  the  west,  was  taken  by  Daniel 
Hollinshead,  March  25,  1727,  393  acres  "  between  1st 
&  2d  mountains,  at  Elisha  Parker's;"  96,  same  date, 
to  John  Parker,  165  acres,  between  Hollinshead  and 
Hamilton;  90,  to  John  Hamilton,  same  date,  500 
acres  between  First  and  Second  Mountains.* 

EARLY  SETTLEMENT. 
Settlements  were  made  at  a  considerable  period  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  though  the  exact  date  of  any  one 
of  them  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  The  court-house, 
with  the  deeds  and  records  of  Somerset  County,  was 
destroyed  by  fire  during  the  Revolution,  and  the 
means  of  ascertaining  and  establishing  many  valuable 

*  Elizabethtown  bill  in  chancery. 


facts  was  consequently  lost.  Mr.  Jacob  Manning,  of 
Plainfield,  born  in  1799,  is  authority  for  saying  that 
the  earliest  settlements  in  the  township  were  made 
near  the  Passaic  River  and  in  Washington  Valley,  on 
account  of  the  little  value  which  the  pioneers  attached 
to  the  land  on  the  plains. 

Joseph  and  Henry  Allen  were  among  the  first  set- 
tlers, and  came  from  England  over  two  hundred  years 
ago.  Henry  settled  on  Long  Island,  and  Joseph 
came  to  Washington  Valley,  in  Warren  township, 
then  a  wilderness.  He  settled  on  the  run,  about  600 
yards  from  where  his  great-grandson,  William  Allen, 
now  resides  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  William  Allen 
was  born  within  half  a  mile  of  his  present  residence, 
in  1805,  and  has  never  been  50  miles  from  home  during 
his  long  life.  He  is  the  grandson  of  Joseph  Allen,  son 
of  the  first  Joseph,  and  a  son  of  William  Allen,  who 
was  born  on  the  homestead  in  February,  1766,  and  was 
a  carpenter  and  farmer  by  occupation.  He  married 
Nancy  Marshall  and  reared  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  William  was  the  youngest,  and  is  the 
sole  survivor.  He  married  Huldah  Cole,  daughter  of 
Amos  Cole,  of  Scotch  Plains,  and  had  five  children, — 
all  deceased, — George,  William,  Marsh,  Nancy,  and 
Elizabeth.  The  brothers  and  sisters  of  Mr.  Allen 
were  Marsh,  Elizabeth,  Sarah,  Mary,  Jane,  and  Jo- 
seph. Marsh  lived  and  died  in  what  is  now  North 
Plainfield.  Elizabeth  married  Hon.  David  D.  Smal- 
ley,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Warren  township,  which 
he  represented  in  the  Legislature  of  the  State. 

David  Allen,  eleventh  son  of  David,  Jr.,  married 
Susan  Townley,  and  was  an  early  resident  of  Wash- 
ington Valley.  He  had  children, — Aaron,  who  mar- 
ried Maria,  daughter  of  Thomas  Stead,  and  had  So- 
phia Elizabeth  ;  Sarah  Anne,  who  married  Israel,  sou 
of  Moses  Moore,  Feb.  21, 1849,  and  had  David  Allen  ; 
Elias,  who  married  Elizabeth  C.  Spencer,  daughter  of 
James  L.  Spencer,  Feb.  28,  1849,  and  had  Cornelia ; 
David,  John,  and  Mary.  In  the  Allen  burying- 
ground,  the  oldest  in  the  township,  rest  the  remains 
of  many  of  the  old  pioneers  and  their  descendants. 

Anthony  Badgley  was  an  early  settler.  He  was  the 
third  son  of  Anthony,  the  third  son  of  James  Badgley, 
who  came  to  the  Valley  between  the  First  and  Second 
Mountains  in  1736-37,  where  he  had  surveyed  to  him 
by  the  Elizabethtown  surveyor  a  tract  of  400  acres 
lying  above  Blue  Brook,  and  extending  south  to  the 
top  of  the  First  Mountain.  The  descendants  were 
very  numerous,  and  some  of  them  settled  in  Warren 
township.  Hence  we  find  Alfred  Badgley  holding 
ofSce  in  the  township  in  1849. 

George  Brown,  son  of  Andrew,  lived  on  Stony  Hill, 
where  John  W.  Hand  afterwards  resided.  His  wife's 
name  was  Elizabeth  Martin,  of  Woodbridge.  She 
died  Aug.  6, 1777,  aged  twenty-five,  and  he  afterwards 
married  a  Wood,  sister  of  Samuel,  of  Dayton,  and  of 
Esther,  the  wife  of  Jonathan  Totten.  His  children 
were  Thompson,  whose  name  occurs  frequently  in  the 
town  records;  Noah,  who  died  at  about  twenty-two; 


WAREEN. 


853 


Elizabeth,  who  married  Lewis  Badgley  and  removed 
to  Paterson.  Thompson  Brown  married  Patty,  daugh- 
ter of  Andrew  Wade,  of  Morris  County.  He  removed 
to  Westfield,  and  owned  there  a  large  distillery.  He 
left  his  wife  and  children  there  and  went  to  Ohio, 
where  his  daughter  Mary  afterwards  married  John 
Keith.  His  son,  Andrew  Wade,  married  a  daughter 
of  Jesse  V.  Douglas  and  moved  to  Sayer's  Bridge,  in 
Springfield  township. 

William  Cole  lived  on  the  north  side  of  Green 
Brook.  His  wife  was  Betsey  Dennis,  and  had  six 
children.  William,  his  oldest  son,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  William  Williamson,  of  Plainfield,  and 
had  eight  children.  He  was  a  surveyor  and  school- 
master, and  was  known  as  "  Master  Cole."  He  lived 
where  his  father  did,  and  left  numerous  descendants, 
among  whom  have  been  a  number  of  men  of  some 
prominence. 

Mulford  Cory,  the  oldest  child  of  Rev.  Benjamin, 
lived  on  a  place  near  Union  village.  He  had  seven 
children,  among  whom  were  Joseph  and  Benjamin, 
twin-brothers,  who  entered  Princeton  College  together 
and  graduated  in  the  same  class.  They  si  died  the- 
ology, were  licensed  on  the  same  day  to  preach,  in 
1834,  were  both  ordained  at  the  same  session  of  the 
Presbytery,  in  April,  1835, — -Joseph  over  the  church 
at  New  Vernon,  Morris  Co.,  and  Benjamin  over  that 
at  Perth  Amboy,  Middlesex  Co. 

There  were,  and  are  still,  several  branches  of  the 
Cory  family  in  this  township  and  contiguous  territory. 
Daniel,  who  lived  on  the  north  side  of  Long  Hill 
(New  Providence  township),  was  an  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  New  Providence,  and  died  on 
June  26, 1815,  aged  eighty-two.  He  left  a  large  fam- 
ily of  children,  from  whom  numerous  descendants 
have  sprung.  Daniel  Cory,  of  Warren  township,  is 
the  son  of  John  Cory,  who  resided  on  the  same  farm. 
John  Cory  was  born  March  5,  1762,  on  Long  Island. 
His  first  wife  was  Martha  Berry,  born  in  Rockaway, 
Morris  Co.,  in  1767 ;  married  Jan.  26, 1784 ;  died  April 
30,  1799.  His  second  wife  was  Phebe  Euckman 
(mother  of  Daniel  Cory),  born  July  11,  1785 ;  mar- 
ried to  John  Cory,  June  29, 1800.  John  Cory  died 
July  16,  1834;  Phebe  (Ruckman)  died  Oct.  18,  1875. 
Children:  Daniel,  born  June  17,  1808;  Lot,  born 
June  10,  1813,  died  May  16,  1814;  Jonathan,  born 
June  13,  1815,  an  attorney  and  counselor-at-law  in 
San  Jose,  111.  Daniel  married  Rachel  Willet,  Dec. 
3,  1831 ;  she  was  born  Nov.  15,  1808.  Their  children 
and  grandchildren  are  Matilda,  born  Dec.  3,  1832, 
married  Samuel  Titus,  Nov.  5,  1853  (children,  An- 
nette Titus,  born  Dec.  24,  1854 ;  Isaac  Titus,  Oct.  18, 
1857  ;  Edwin  F.  Titus,  March  29,  1859) ;  John,  born 
May  24,  1834,  married  Mary  French,  Sept.  5,  1863 
•  (children,  Ella  M.,born  Nov.  20,  1866;  Mary  Emma, 
July  30,  1868 ;  Nettie  L.,  Nov.  15,  1872 ;  Maggie  E., 
Jan.  28, 1875) ;  Phebe  E.,  born  Dec.  20, 1835,  married 
Jacob  Adams  (children,  Daniel  C,  born  Nov.  20, 
1865 ;  Rachel  F.,  April  14,  1867,  died  May  16,  1877  ; 


Mary,  Aug.  28,  1868) ;  Hannah  W.,  born  June  10, 
1838,  died  Sept.  21,  1860;  Preston  C,  born  March  1, 

1840,  died  March  25,  1871 ;  Edwin  F.,  born  Dec.  13, 

1841,  died  Nov.  11,  1866 ;  Eugene,  born  Jan.  24, 1844, 
died  March  24,  1844;  Thomas  W.,  born  April  1, 1845, 
died  May  4,  1845 ;  Rachel,  born  July  14,  1846,  died 
April  23,  1863 ;  Zachary  Taylor,  born  March  4,  1849, 
died  March  21,  1873. 

Both  Daniel  and  his  brother,  Jonathan  Cory,  were 
members  of  the  Legislature  from  Somerset  County. 

Enos  Mundy  came  from  Middlesex  County  and  set- 
tled in  Washington  Valley  about  1800.  He  had  chil- 
dren,— David,  Lewis,  Fanny,  Peter,  Margaret,  Cath- 
arine, and  Isaac,  in  the  order  named.  Lewis,  Fanny, 
and  Catharine  are  still  living.  Lewis  married  Mary 
Swazey,  of  Chester,  Morris  Co.,  and  lived  at  Mount 
Bethel,  on  the  farm  now  occupied  by  his  son,  Ira. 
He  had  children, — Ira,  Simeon,  Catharine,  Mary, 
Julia  Ann,  and  Sarah.  Ira  has  been  twice  married, 
his  first  wife  being  Mary,  daughter  of  William  B. 
Coddington,  and  his  second  wife  Hannah  Titus,  widow 
of  Philip  Winans.  He  has  one  son  by  the  first  mar- 
riage, Lewis  Mundy,  who  is  married  and  resides  in 
Bernard  township.  Catharine  married  Jacob  Van 
Dyke  of  Bridgewater.  Julia  Ann  married  Thomas 
Coddington,  former  sheriff  of  Somerset  County.  Mary 
married  Jonathan  Moore,  of  Warren  township.  Sarah 
married  Thomas  Hays,  now  residing  in  Kentucky. 
Simeon  married  Catharine  Todd,  and  is  a  farmer  in 
Bernard  township  ;  he  has  a  family  of  six  children. 

Benjamin,  Archibald,  and  John  Coddington  settled 
at  Mount  Horeb  before  the  Revolution.  Their  de- 
scendants have  been  prominent  in  the  civil  afiairs  of 
both  township  and  county.  The  name  appears  to 
have  been  originally  spelled  Corrington,  and  may  be 
so  found  in  some  of  the  early  records.  Archibald 
married  Mary  Coon  and  had  children, — Isaiah,  Jere- 
miah, Caty  (who  married  a  Campbell),  Sarah  (Mrs. 
Bird),  Abigail  (Mrs.  Compton),  John  (who  died  at 
the  age  of  eight),  Benjamin,  David  (born  1797), 
Israel,  William  A.,  Isaac  V.,  and  Archibald.  Wil- 
liam A.,  Isaac  V.,  and  Archibald  are  still  living. 

Thomas  Coddington  is  the  oldest  son  of  his  grand- 
father's oldest  son,  Isaiah.  He  was  born  Feb.  8, 
1821,  and  married  Julia  Ann  Mundy.  They  have 
children, — ^William,  Lewis,  and  Marietta.  Mr.  Cod- 
dington was  elected  sherifi"  of  Somerset  County  in 
1868,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  that  responsible 
office  three  years. 

John  Coddington,  brother  of  the  first  Benjamin  and 
Archibald,  married  Mary  Coon  (of  another  family) 
and  had  children,— Harriet,  Catharine,  Ann,  George 
W.,  Reuben,  John,  Bartholomew,  and  Mercy.  George 
W.,  of  this  family,  lives  in  Bernard  township,  and  has 
a  large  family.  Bartholomew  is  a  resident  of  Warren 
township  ;  he  married  a  daughter  of  William  B.  Cod- 
dington. His  children  are  David,  William,  Reuben, 
and  Charles,  who  reside  in  this  township,  and  daugh- 
ters, Catharine,  Jane,  Mary,  etc. 


854 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Benjamin  Coddington,  tlie  first  of  that  name  in 
Warren,  married  Hannah  Coon.  Of  his  children 
were  William  B.,  Isaac,  Aaron,  and  Millard.  Israel 
0.,  George  C,  and  William  H.  are  all  descended 
from  William  B.,  and  are  worthy  citizens  of  the 
township  of  Warren.  One  of  the  daughters  of  Ben- 
jamin married  an  Alward,  and  lived  many  years  ago 
where  Thomas  Coddington,  the  ex-sheriff,  now  resides. 
One  of  them  married  Maxfield  Miller,  and  another  a 
Mr.  McKinney. 

Israel  C.  Coddington  married  Christiana  M.  Rob- 
erts and  has  two  children, — Mary  B.  and  Ida  L. 
George  C.  married  Harriet  Moore,  and  has  four  chil- 
dren,— Christian,  Ezra,  Harriet,  and  Emma  Jane. 
William  H.  married  Mary  Spencer,  and  his  children 
are  Joel,  Franklin  P.,  James,  Kirch,  and  Horace. 

Another  of  the  old  settlers  was  Edward  Drake. 
He  came  from  Piscataway  and  settled  in  Washington 
Valley.  From  him  are  descended  Jeremiah,  Andrew, 
Noah,  Ezra,  Jonathan,  Humphrey,  Martin,  Randolph, 
Edward,  William,  Nathaniel,  and  a  long  line  who 
perpetuate  the  name  of  their  worthy  ancestor.  Sev- 
eral of  these  names,  with  many  others  of  the  promi- 
nent old  settlers,  will  be  found  in  the  civil  list  of  the 
township. 

David  French  came  from  Connecticut  Farms,  now 
Union,  and  settled  about  a  mile  from  David  Smalley's 
old  homestead.  He  had  a  brother,  John,  who  lived 
on  the  place  where  Thomas  Coon  resided  at  a  later 
day. 

James  Marshall  was  an  early  settler  in  Stony  Hill 
Valley.  He  was  a  son  of  James,  Sr.,  of  Rahway,  and 
married  Phcebe  Marsh,  of  that  place.  His  children 
intermarried  largely  with  early  families  in  Warren. 
Mary  married  Peter,  son  of  Joseph  Allen,  of  Wash- 
ington Valley;  Nancy,  William,  brother  of  Peter; 
James,  Mary,  daughter  of  Isaac  Moore ;  John,  born 
in  1789,  Hannah  Wilcox,  and  lived  on  Stony  Hill, 
where  he  reared  a  family  of  three  children,  the  oldest 
of  whom  was  Stephen,  who  married  Amanda,  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Smalley. 

Isaac  Moore,  son  of  John,  lived  in  the  Passaic  val- 
ley, in  Warren  township,  and  had  a  family  of  seven- 
teen children,  few  of  whom,  however,  remained  in  the 
township.  Susan,  the  seventeenth  child,  married  Wil- 
liam, son  of  James  Stevens,  and  lived  on  Wolf  Hill, 
near  Union  Village. 

Other  early  settlers  were  Jonathan  Ruckman  and 
his  sons,  Nathan  and  Levi.  Jonathan's  place  was  on 
Stony  Hill,  south  of  David  Smalley's.  David  was  the 
son  of  John  Smalley,  the  first  settler  of  that  name  in 
the  township  ;  he  had  a  brother,  James,  who  lived 
near  the  Passaic  River,  where  his  father  did.  The 
sons  of  James  were  Abner,  David  I.,  John,  Reuben, 
Jacob  I.,  and  Benjamin.  Isaac  was  a  son  of  John, 
and  lived  on  the  Mahlon  Smalley  place,  on  Stony 
Hill.  Jacob  was  the  son  of  John  and  Tabitha  Moore. 
The  sons  of  David  Smalley  were  Henry,  Daniel, 
Samuel,  and  David  D.,  who  owns  a  large  estate  in 


Warren,  in  the  Passaic  valley.  Smalleytown  takes 
its  name  from  this  family,  who  have  been  numerous 
and  influential  citizens. 

William  Stites  settled  early  at  Mount  Bethel.  He 
was  a  descendant  of  John,  who  was  born  in  England 
in  1595,  and  emigrated  to  New  England  in  the  time 
of  Oliver  Cromwell.  He  finally  settled  on  Long 
Island,  where  he  died  at  the  remarkable  age  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two.  Richard,  son  of  John,  was 
born  in  1640.  He  lived  at  Hempstead,  L.  I.,  and  died 
in  1702.  He  had  a  son,  William,  born  in  1676,  who 
settled  in  Springfield,  N.  J.,  and  had  seven  children, 
one  of  whom,  William,  Jr.,  died  at  Mount  Bethel, 
aged  ninety-one.  He  married  a  Searing  for  his  first 
wife,  and,  for  his  second,  Sarah,  widow  of  Amos  But- 
ler. His  children  were  John,  William,  and  Isaac, 
from  whom  the  numerous  family  of  that  name  have 
descended. 

Samuel  Giddis,  of  this  township,  is  descended  from 
a  long  line  of  early  residents.  Others  who  came  in 
later  are  deserving  of  mention,  particularly  the  thrifty 
and  influential  German  settlers.  Many  of  this  nation- 
ality have  taken  the  places  of  the  older  American 
families.  Andrew  Mantz  bought  the  old  Aaron  Coon 
farm,  at  the  head  of  Dockwatch  Hollow,  about  1840. 
On  this  farm  was  a  grist-mill.  Andrew  Mantz  had 
sons — Martin,  George,  and  Andrew,  Jr. — and  two 
daughters,  Mrs.  Theodore  Brogley  and  Mrs.  Jacob 
Gunten.  Another  daughter  married  Jacob  Voehl,  of 
North  Plainfield. 

Peter  Winans  is  a  son  of  John,  son  of  William,  who 
settled  in  Washington  Valley,  where  Peter,  his  great- 
grandson,  now  lives.  William  Winans  owned  here  a 
large  tract  of  land,  on  which  the  following  persons 
now  live :  Lyman  Hasley,  David  E.  Mundy,  Hannah 
Winans,  David  M.  Leinbarger,  John  Kelly,  William 
Rose,  Chester  A.  Cleaves,  Emmanuel  Dealman,  Wil- 
liam Krause,  Charles  Ward.  William  Winans  ahd 
six  sons  and  two  daughters ;  four  of  the  sons  settled 
here, — viz.,  John,  Lewis,  Winant,  and  Philip, — but 
have  no  descendants  in  the  township  except  Peter 
Winans  and  his  family.  Peter  was  born  Oct.  31, 1818 ; 
married  Rachel  Ann  Martin.  They  have  one  child, 
Walter  Wesley.  Mr.  Winans  has  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  a  farmer  all  his  life. 

CIVIL  OEGANIZATION. 
The  township  of  Warren  was  organized  as  a  civil 
municipality  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  passed 
March  5,  1806.  The  records  open  with  the  minutes 
of  the  first  town-meeting  held  at  the  house  of  David 
Stewart,  innkeeper,  April,  14,  1806,  when  Jacob 
Smalley  was  chosen  moderator,  and  Thomas  Terrell 
township  clerk.  The  inhabitants  then  proceeded  to 
elect  a  full  set  of  ofiicers  for  the  ensuing  year.  We 
give  below  a  list  of  the  principal  township  officers 
elected  from  that  meeting  to  the  present  time : 

FEEBHOLDEES. 
1806,    Alexander    Kirkpatrick,    Frederic  Termeule;   1807,  Alexander 
Kirkpatrick,  James  Wimyess;  1808-9,  Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  Amos- 


WARREN. 


855 


lane ;  1810,  Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  Parkhurst  Cory ;  1811,  Jacob 
SmaJley,  Samuel  Cosad;  1812,  Noah  Drake,  Nathaniol  Taynor; 
1813-16,  Jacob  Smalley,  Alexander  Kirkpatrick;  1816-18,  Alex- 
ander Kirkpatrick,  Parkhnrst  Cory ;  1819,  Jacob  Smalley,  Charles 
Toms;  1820-21,  Jacob  Smalley,  Stephen  Brown;  1822,  Charles 
Toms,  Jacob  Smalley  ;  1823,  Noah  Brake,  Alexander  Kirkpatrick ; 
1824,  Ealph  Shotwell,  Enos  B.  Townley;  1825,  Edward  A.  Darey, 
Stephen  Brown;  1826,  Ralph  Shotwell,  Stephen  Brown;  1827, 
Uoah  Drake,  Stephen  Brown ;  1828,  Thompson  Brown,  'William 
D.  Stewart ;  1829,  Thompson  Brown,  Samuel  A.  Ross ;  1830, 
Stephen  Brown,  Noah  Drake ;  1831,  William  D.  Stewart,  Samuel 
Pope,  Jr. ;  1832,  William  D.  Stewart,  Isaac  V.  Coddington;  1833-34, 
William  A.  Coddington,  Noah  Drake;  1836-36,  William  A.  Codding- 
ton, Isaac  T.  Smalley  ;  1837-38,  Lewis  Mundy,  Noah  Drake  ;  1839, 
William  A.  Coddington,  Jonathan  Cory ;  1840,  William  A.  Codding- 
ton, Squier  Kunyon;  1841,  Squier  Kunyon,  Joel  Coddington;  1842, 
Bandolph  Drake,  Joel  Coddington ;  1843,  Randolph  Drake,  Isaac  J. 
Smalley;  1844,  Isaac  J.  Smalley,  Joseph  Vail;  1845,  Joseph  Vail, 
George  W.  Coddington ;  1846,  George  W.  Coddington,  Mahlon  Smal- 
ley; 1847,  Mahlon  Smalley,  Stephen  Pangborn;  1848-49,  Archibald 
Coddington,  John  Coulter ;  1850,  Joel  Pangborn,  Joseph  Vail,  Jr. ; 
1851,  Reuben  Coddington,  John  W.  Adams  ;  1852,  Lewis  JI.  Force ; 
1853-66,  Joel  Coddington ;  1856-62,  Daniel  Cory  ;  1863,  ThomaB  Cod- 
dington ;  1864-66,  Peter  D.  Baldwin  ;  1867-70,  Daniel  Cory ;  1871-73, 
Peter  Newmiller ;  1874^-80,  Daniel  Cory. 

CLERKS. 
1806-8,  Thomas  Terrell;  1808-11,  John  Kirkpatrick;  1811-25,  Thomas 
Terrell;  1826-30,  William  D.  Stewart;  1830-31,  Thomas  Terrell; 
1831-32,  Madison  Terrell ;  1832-33,  Josiah  Coddington ;  1833-36, 
David  Coon;  1835-38,  John  Coon;  1838-39,  James  S.  DraKe  ;  1839- 
40,  Archibald  Coddington ;  1840-42,  William  Jennings  ;  1842-46, 
Peter  Moore ;  1846^6,  William  Jennings ;  1846-47,  Ira  B.  Pang- 
born ;  1847-49,  William  D.  Stewart ;  1 849-60,  William  Jennings ; 
1850-63,  Isaac  Titus ;  1853-56,  Lewis  Kirkpatrick ;  1866-59,  George 
W.  Mundy;  1869-61,  L.  C.  Spencer;  1861-62,  Thomas  Burton;  1862- 
64,  John  Cory;  1864-66,  Amos  K.  Brownell;  1866-70,  George  W. 
Mundy;  1870-75,  George  Terrell;  1876-77,  George  B.  Whitten; 
1877-79,  George  F.  Quidort  ;  1879-80,  George  W.  Mundy. 

ASSESSORS. 
1806-14,  David  Smalley  ;  1814-18,  Edward  Campbell;  1818-21,  Isaac  Van 
Doren;  1821-23, Thompson  Brown;  1823-24,  William  Stewart;  1824- 
28,  Thompson  Brown;  1828-33,  Squier  Terrell  ;  1833-34,  Joel  Cory; 
1834-35,  John  Jennings;  1835-36, David  Coon  ;  1836-38,  Daniel  Cory  ; 
1838-40,  JohnWaldron;  1840-41,  David  Coon;  1841-43,  Archibald 
Coddington;  1843-45,  Daniel  Cory;  1845-47,  Jonathan  Cory;  1847-60, 
Squier  Terrell ;  1850-61,  Clark  Johnson ;  1861-62,  John  Waldron  ; 
1862-63,  David  Coon ;  1853-64,  John  Waldron  ;  1864-66,  Squier  Terrell ; 
1865-56,  John  Waldron;  1856-57,  Archibald  Coddington;  1857-60, 
Squier  Terrell ;  1860-63,  Daniel  Cory  ;  1863-66,  Squier  Terrell ;  1866- 
67,  Amos  K.  Brownell ;  1867-70,  George  C.  Owen  ;  1870-72,  Israel  A. 
Coddington;  1872-74,  Amos  Giddis;  1874-78,  John  B.  Coddington; 
1878-80,  George  Terrell. 

COLLECTORS. 
1806-12,  John  Penington  ;  1812-14,  Zebnlon  Ayres ;  1814-15,  Isaac  Van 
Doren ;  1815-16,  Parkhurst  Cory  ;  1816-18,  Frederic  Vermeule ;  1818- 
23,  Charles  Toms ;  1823-24,  Freeman  Cole  ;  1824J28,  Isaiah  Codding- 
ton; 1828-32,  Restores  Cox;  1832-34,  Mahlon  Smalley;  1834-35, 
Lewis  Mundy  ;  1836-37,  Mahlon  Smalley ;  1837-39,  Isaiah  Codding- 
ton ;  1839-41,  Isaac  Titus;  1841-43,  Restores  Cox;  1843-46,  Isaac 
Titus ;  1846-47,  John  Stine  ;  1847-49,  Restores  Cox  ;  1849-61,  Thomas 
Coddington;  1861-53,  Alfred  Berry;  1853-54,  David  Bird;  1864-55, 
Joel  Pangborn  ;  1856-66,  David  Bird  ;  1856-58,  David  D.  Smalley  ; 
186^-60,  Joel  Pangborn;  1860-63,  David  Bird;  1863-66,  Stephen 
Pangborn ;  1866-68,  Thomas  Coddington ;  1868-71,  Moses  H.  French ; 
1871-72,  George  Demler;  1872-74,  Daniel  Cory;  1874-78,  George  C. 
Coddington;  1878-80,  Israel  J.  Coon. 

COMMISSIONERS  OF  APPEALS. 
1806,  David  Kelly,  Francis  Dnnn,  Edward  Randolph  ;  1807,  Francis  Dunn, 
Aaron  Coon,  Frederic  Vermeule ;  1808,  Francis  Dunn,  Zebnlon  Ayres, 
Parkhurst  Cory;  1809,  Fram  is  Dunn,  John  Allen,  Dugald  Ayers; 
1810,  Francis  Dunn,  Samuel  Cosad,  Dugald  Ayers ;  1811,  Noah  Drake, 
Nathaniel  Taynor,  Aaron  Coon;  1812,  Reuben  Comptm,  Edward 
Campbell,  Nathaniel  Taynor,  Ralph  Shotwell ;  1813,  Noah  Drake, 


Samuel  Pope,  George  Townley;  1814,  Noah  Drake,  Samuel  Pope, 
George  Townley ;  1815,  Noah  Drake,  Isaac  Van  Doren,  George 
Townley ;  1816,  Noah  Drake,  EnoB  Runyon,  Stephen  Brown ;  1817-18, 
Noah  Drake,  Enos  Runyon,  Stephen  Brown ;  1819-20,  Thompson 
Brown,  Enos  Runyon,  Stephen  Brown  ;  1821,  David  Line,  Stephen 
Brown,  Edward  Vail ;  1822,  Stephen  Brown,  Ralph  Shotwell,  David 
Boice;  1823,  John  Stites,  John  Hine,  Joseph  Vail ;  1824,  John  Stites, 
David  Allen,  Thomas  Runyon ;  1826-26,  David  Ruckman,  David 
Allen,  Squier  Runyon ;  1827,  David  Ruckman,  Edward  Vail,  David 
Allen;  1828,  John  Stites,  Edward  Vail,  David  Allen;  1829,  John 
Stites,  David  Leason,  David  Allen ;  1830,  John  Stites,  Squier  Run- 
yon, David  Allen;  1831,  David  Ruckman,  John  Stites,  David  Allen; 
1832-34,  John  Stites,  David  Ruckman,  John  Smalley;  1835,  John 
Stites,  David  Ruckman,  Freeman  Cole  ;  1836,  Lewis  N.  Miller,  David 
Ruckman,  Phineas  M.  French;  1837,  David  Ruckman,  Phineas  M. 
French,  Randolph  Drake;  1838,  David  Ruckman,  Cornelius  Cad- 
mus, Randolph  Drake;  1839,  David  Ruckman,  Ira  Pangborn,  David 
French ;  1840,  Joseph  Vail,  Lewis  N.  Miller,  Benjamin  Moore;  1841, 
Garrett  P.  Mouutfort,  Ephraim  Penington,  Benjamin  Moore ;  1842, 
Ephraim  Penington,  Garrett  P.  Mountfort,  Isaac  B.  Moore ;  1843, 
John  Titus,  David  Ruckman,  Phineas  M.  French  ;  1844,  William  W. 
Drake,  Isaac  B.  Moore,  Ephraim  P.  Chandler;  1846,  William  A. 
Tompkins,  Isaac  B.  Moore,  Ephraim  P.  Chandler ;  1846,  Jeremiah 
Van  Derventer,  Isaac  French,  Thomas  Adams;  1847,  Jeremiah  Van 
Derventer,  John  W.  Adams,  David  French ;  1848-49,  Benjamin  T. 
Moore,  Thomas  Adams,  William  W.  Drake ;  1860,  Asa  Lawler,  Wil- 
liam W.  Drake,  Aaron  Coddington  ;  1851,  Benjamin  M,  Coddington, 
Aaron  Allen,  Ephraim  Giles;  1852-53,  Anthony  Compton,  Jeremiah 
Van  Derventer,  George  W.  Leason ;  1854,  George  W.  Leason,  Henry 
Moore,  Jr.,  Thomas  Vail ;  1855,  Firman  Coon,  Thomas  Coddington, 
Anthony  Compton;  1866,  Firman  Coon,  Benjamin  Moore,  Anthony 
Compton  ;  1867,  Benjamin  Moore,  Anthony  Compton,  David  French ; 
18ri8-59,  Jeremiah  Jennings,  Aaron  B.  Allen ;  1860,  William  H. 
Stites,  A.  HuSBon,  George  Friday  ;  1861,  A.  HuHson,  George  Friday, 
Phineas  M.  French  ;  1862,  Peter  Newmiller,  George  Friday,  William 
H.  Stites ;  1863-64,  Aaron  B.  Allen,  Blias  Bird,  William  H.  Stites ; 
1866,  Ephraim  Giles,  William  H.  Stites,  Ephraim  P.  Chandler;  1866, 
Ephraim  P.  Chandler,  Aaron  B.  Allen,  William  H.  Stites;  1867, 
Frederick  Parker,  WiUiam  H,  Stites,  Peter  A.  Mabie;  1868-69,  John 
Kirch,  Phineas  M.  French,  William  Stites ;  1870,  John  Kirch,  Phioeaa 
M.  French,  Peter  A.  Mabie ;  1871,  John  Kirch,  Phineas  M.  French, 
Abraham  Coriell;  1872,  David  Bird,  William  I.  Moore,  John  Kirch  ; 
1873-77,  George  C.  Owen,  David  Bird,  William  H. Stites;  1878,  David 
Bird,  William  H.  Stites,  Thomas  Coddington  ;  1879,  David  Bird,  Wil- 
liam H.  Stites,  George  C.  Wood;  1880,  George  C.  Wood,  William  H. 
Stites,  John  Ammon. 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEES. 
1806,  John  Wilson,  Alexander  Kirkpatrick,  James  Wimyess;  1807-8, 
Frederic  Vermeule,  Edward  J.  Randolph,  James  Wimyess,  Archibald 
Coddington,  Samuel  Cosad  ;  1809,  Frederic  Vermeule,  Lewis  Smalley, 
Francis  Dunn,  Zebulon  Ayers,  Jacob  Finley;  1810,  Frederic  Ver- 
meule, Benjamin  Moore,  Joel  Vail,  Zebulon  Ayers,  Jacob  Finley; 
1811,  Frederic  Vermeule,  Benjamin  Moore,  Edward  F.  Bandolph, 
Zebulon  Ayers,  Stephen  Brown ;  1812,  Frederic  Vermeule,  John  Cod- 
dington, Edward  F.  Randolph,  Blias  Cole,  Isaac  Smalley ;  1813,  Na- 
thaniel Taynor.  Dugald  Ayers,  John  Penington,  Reuben  Dunn,  Isaac 
Smalley  ;  1814-16,  Edward  F.  Randolph,  Frederic  Vermeule,  George 
Townley,  Nathaniel  Taynor,  Isaac  Smalley;  1816,  Isaac  Van  Doren, 
Edward  F.  Randolph,  Nathaniel  Taynor,  Charles  Toms,  David 
Smalley ;  1817,  David  Stewart,  Isaac  Smalle.v,  John  Titus,  Nathaniel 
Taynor,  Edward  Campbell ;  1818,  Edward  P.  Randolph,  Freeman 
Cole,  Jacob  Smalley,  William  Worth,  Samuel  Cosad ;  1819,  B.  F. 
Randolph,  Daniel  Eichfleld,  William  D.  Sherwood,  Jacob  Smalley, 
William  Worth ;  1820,  Ralph  Shotwell,  William  D.  Sherwood,  Jacob 
Smalley,  William  Worth ;  1821,  Stephen  Brown,  Ralph  Shotwell, 
William  D.  Sherwood,  Jacob  Smalley,  Lewis  Mundy;  1822,  Ralph 
Shotwell,  Stephen  Brown,  Isaac  B.  Moore,  Jacob  Smalley,  S.  Ran- 
dolph ;  1823,  Benjamin  Jennings,  Restores  Cox,  Daniel  Cooper,  Enos 
Townley,  Alfred  Hariott;  1824,  Freeman  Cole,  John  Stine,  Jacob 
Smalley,'stelle  Randolph,  Isaac  B.  Moore;  1825,  Restores  Cox,  Stelle 
Randolph,  Isaac  B.  Moore,  Samuel  A.  Ross,  Jacob  Smalley ;  1826, 
Restores  Cox,  Stelle  Bandolph,  John  Waldron,  Jacob  Smalley,  Isaac 
B.  Moore ;  1827,  Restores  Cox,  Stelle  Randolph,  Squier  Terrell,  John 
Waldron,  David  D.  Smalley;  1828,  Thomas  Stead,  Stelle  Bandolph, 
Joel  Corey.  Benjamin  A.  Coddington,  Blam  Genung;  1829,  Noah 
Drake,  Stelle  Randolph,  Joel  Corey,  Isaiah  Coddington,  Blam  Go- 


S56 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


nung ;  1S30,  William  D.  Stewart,  lewis  Mundy,  Stelle  T.  Kandolph, 
Elam  Genuug,  John  PeDington  ;  1S31,  Squier  Runyon,  Isaac  V.  Cod- 
dingtoD,  Jacob  Smalley,  Nathaniel  Penington,  Stephen  Brown; 
1832,  Squier  Runyon,  Madison  Terrell,  Jacob  Smalley,  Benjamin  A. 
Coddington,  Stephen  Brown ;  1833,  Sqnier  Runyon,  Madison  Terrell, 
Maxwell  Miller,  Nathaniel  Penington,  Clark  Squier;  1834,  Squier 
Knnyon,  William  Genung,  William  Titus,  Nathaniel  Penington, 
Isiiiah  Coddington ;  1835,  James  Ross,  Squier  Terrell,  William  Titus, 
Nathaniel  Penington,  Isaiah  Coddington ;  1836,  Stelle  F.  Randolph,' 
William  Jennings,  William  Titus,  Isaac  B.  Moore,  LefFord  Waldron, 
Jr.;  1837,  James  Hariott,  William  Jennings,  John  Smalley,  William 
B.  Coddington,  Lefford  Waldron,  Jr. ;  1838,  Squier  Runyon,  John 
Coon,  John  Smalley,  Peter  Moore,  William  Titus  ;  1839,  Squier  Run- 
yon, John  Coon,  Lefford  Waldron,  William  B.  Coddington,  William 
Titus;  1840,  William  H.  Sebriug,  Isaac  B.  Moore,  Israel  C.  Mundy, 
Lines  Tucker,  William  B.  Coddington  ;  1841,  William  H.  Sehring, 
Isaac  B.  Moore,  Israel  C.  Mundy,  Aaron  Coddington,  Lines  Tucker; 
1842,  Lewis  Mundy,  Abram  H.  Harris,  Aaron  Coddington,  William 
T.  Moore,  Joseph  Vail ;  1843,  John  Mundy,  Millard  Coddington,  Ira 
R.  Pangborn,  Benjamin  Fisher,  David  French;  1844,  Lewis  Mnndy, 
John  Mundy,  Benjamin  Jennings,  Isaiah  Coddington,  John  Wal- 
dron ;  1845,  Lewis  Mundy,  Ephraim  Giles,  Benjamin  Jennings,  Isaiah 
Coddington,  John  Waldron ;  1846,  Jacob  Shotwell,  Azariah  Mundy, 
Abraham  H.  Harris,  Isaac  B.  Moore,  Ephraim  Giles;  1847,  Joshua 
Seaman,  David  Coulter,  Henry  Bird,  Phineas  M.  French,  James  B. 
Coon  ;  1848,  Azariah  Mundy,  David  Coulter,  Jacob  S.  Brown,  John 
Waldron,  John  Coriell;  1849,  John  Coriell,  Jacob  S.  Brown,  John 
Waldron,  Patterson  A^'aldrou,  Alfred  Badgley;  1850,  William  H. 
Sehring,  Squier  Runyon,  Patterson  Waldron,  Harvey  A.  Bird,  John 
Mundy;  1851,  Squier  Runyon,  Thomas  Adams,  Lewis  Mundy,  John 
Mundy,  Lefford  Waldron  ;  1852,  LefFord  Waldron,  George  Brown, 
Lewis  Mundy;  1853,  George  Brown,  James  L.  Spencer,  Amos  Gid- 
dis;  1854,  Samuel  J.  Pooley,  Amos  Giddis, George  Brown;  1855,  John 
W.  Adams,  George  Brown,  James  L.  Spencer;  1856,  John  W.  Adams, 
Elias  Allen,  James  L.  Spencer  ;  1857,  John  Spencer,  Peter  D.  Bald- 
win, Elias  Allen  ;  1858-^9,  Peter  D.  Baldwin,  John  Spencer,  George 

C.  Coddington  ;  1860,  Phineas  M.  French,  George  Brown,  Moses  H. 
French;  1861,  Moses  H.  French,  George  Brown,  Phineas  M.  French; 
1862-63,  George  Dernier,  James  L.  Spencer,  Amos  K.  Brownell; 
1864-65,  George  Friday,  George  Dernier,  Moses  H.  French;  1866, 
John  A.  Coddington,  Peter  Nowmiller,  John  Mundy ;  1S67-69,  Peter 
Newmiller,  Daniel  Cory,  James  Verdon;  1870,  Phineas  M.  French, 
Peter  A.  Mabie,  James  Haley ;  1871,  Augustus  Mobus,  James  Verdon, 
George  Friday ;  1872,  Daniel  Cory,  George  Friday,  Israel  J,  Coon ; 
1873-74,  John  D,  Kirch,  Israel  J.  Coon,  John  Wendell;  1875,  David 

D.  Smalley,  John  Wendell,  Israel  C.  Coddington;  1876,  David  D. 
Smalley,  Israel  C.  Coddington,  John  Kirch  ;  1877,  David  D.  Smalley, 
James  Ralph,  John  Kirch,  George  E.  Whitten,  Peter  Newmiller; 
1878,  Samuel  Voorhees,  James  Ralph,  John  C.  Toms;  1879,  Peter 
Newmiller,  James  Ralph,  Samuel  Voorhees;  1880,  James  Ralph, 
Samuel  Voorhees,  Thomaa  Rodgers. 

JUSTICES  ELECTED  BY  THE  PEOPLE. 
1844,  Benjamin  Jennings,  Peter  Moore;  1848,  Amos  Giddis;  1860,  John 
Waldron,  William  Jennings;  1862,  David  Coon;  1854,  William  W. 
Drake,  Amos  Giddis;  1856,  John  Waldron,  William  Jennings,  Lewis 
Kirkpatrick,  Amos  Giddis;  1861,  Ephraim  Giles,  James  Verdon, 
Israel  C.  Coddington,  John  Mundy ;  1865,  James  Verdon,  Peter  A. 
Mabie,  Ephraim  Giles,  Isroel  C.  Coddington ;  1867,  Peter  A.  Mabie ; 
1880,  John  E.  Flemmer. 

TOWN  SUPERINTENDENTS  OP   SCHOOLS. 

April  12,  1847,  a  town  superintendent  of  schools 
was  elected  in  the  place  of  a  committee  of  three  who 
had  previously  served  in  that  capacity.  Daniel  Cory 
was  chosen,  and  filled  the  ofiice  each  year  'by  con- 
secutive elections  till  April,  1853,  when  LefFord  AVal- 
dron  was  elected  in  his  place.  Mr.  AValdron  held  the 
office  two  years,  and  was  superseded  by  John  W. 
Craig,  M.D.,  elected  in  April,  1855.  He  held  the 
office  till  April  9,  1860,  when  David  Coon  was  elected 
and  held  two  years.  The  next  was  George  C.  Owen, 
who  served  till  the  office  was  abolished,  in  1866. 


SCHOOLS. 
The  township  of  Warren  is  divided  into  five  school 
districts,  as  follows  :  Smalleytown,  Dead  River,  In- 
dependent, Warrenville,  and  Springdale.  The  school- 
houses  in  Smalleytown  and  Warrenville  are  of  stone, 
the  others  wood.  The  report  of  the  State  board  of 
education  for  the  year  ending  Aug.  1,  1S79,  gives  the 
following  statistics  for  the  township :  Present  value 
of  property,  $3200 ;  number  of  children  of  school  age, 
437 ;  number  of  months  taught  in  the  year,  10  ;  num- 
ber enrolled,  573  ;  average  attendance,  311 ;  number 
of  teachers  employed,  5, — males  3,  females  2 ;  total 
amount  of  money  received  for  school  purposes, 
$1752.80. 

CHURCHES. 
BAPTIST  CHURCH  AT  MOUNT  BETHEL. 

This  is  the  oldest  church  in  the  eastern  portion  of 
Somerset  County.  It  was  constituted  Oct.  29,  1767. 
The  original  members  were  eighteen, — viz.,  Benjamin 
Sutton,  Sr.,  Benjamin  Sutton,  Jr.,  David  Jennings, 
Abner  Sutton,  William  Worth,  Jr.,  John  Pound, 
John  Worth,  James  Sutton,  Elizabeth  Tingley,  Han- 
nah Coon,  Mary  Sutton,  Rachel  Consart,  Anna 
Worth,  Lois  Sutton,  Dinah  Worth,  Patience  Bloom, 
Alche  Worth,  Elizabeth  Hayden. 

The  record  of  this  church,  now  in  possesion  of  Dan- 
iel Cory,  reads  as  follows : 

"  The  Minutes  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  Bernard  Township,  in  the 
County  of  Somerset  and  Province  of  New  Jersey,  holding  bellevere'  bap- 
tism by  immereion,  eternal  election,  &o.,  held  at  the  meeting-house  Nov. 
11, 1767. 

"1.  The  meeting  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Crosley. 

"  2.  Benjamin  Sutton  chose  Moderator. 

"3.  Abner  Sutton  chose  Clark  to  keep  books. 

"4.  John  Worth  chose  Clark  to  set  the  Psalms. 

"5.  Benjamin  Sutton,  Sen.,  chose  Reading  Clark. 

"  6.  Agreed  upon  by  the  Church  that  it  wos  expedient  to  send  a  mes- 
senger with  a  request  to  the  Piscataway  Church  for  David  Sutton,  Sen., 
to  come  off  fi-om  those  in  order  to  join  with  us. 

"  7.  Benjamin  Sutton,  Sen.,  chose  to  go  with  the  request, 

"8.  Agreed  upon  by  the  Church  to  have  Communiou  the  fourth  Sab- 
bath of  this  instant. 

"9.  Agreed  upon  by  the  Church  to  hold  our  next  monthly  meeting 
the  last  Wednesday  in  December  next. 

"10.  Agreed  that  tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Benjamin  Miller,  and  likewise  some  of 
the  leoding  men  of  that  church,  should  be  sent  for  in  order  to  consult 
something  relative  to  our  brother  James  Sutton." 

It  appears  from  the  above  minutes,  and  also  from 
those  which  Tollow,  that  a  meeting-house  had  been 
built  at  the  date  of  these  entries. 

"  Minutes  of  the  meeting  held  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Mr,  Orosley,  Deo. 
30, 1767. 

"  1.  Meeting  opened  by  prayer. 

"  2.  Benjamin  Sutton,  Jr.,  chose  Moderator. 

"3.  Agreed  to  have  our  Communion  the  second  Sabbath  in  January 
next,  and  thenonce  In'two  mouths  successiTely.   

"4.  Agreed  by  the  Church  that  our  brother  James  Sutton  should  bo 
under  examination  concerning  his  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Accordingly,  he  came  under  examination. 

"5.  Agreed  that  he  should  come  upon  trial." 

At  a  meeting  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Mr.  Crosley 
March  2,  1768 :  ' 

"  Meeting  opened  by  prayer.  Agreed  to  have  our  next  day  of  business 
at  the  meeting-house." 


SAMUEL  GIDDES. 


Samuel  Giddes  was  born  in  Warren  town- 
ship, Somerset  Co.,  on  the  place  where  he  now 
resides,  Oct.  8,  1816.  John  Giddes  was  the 
first  of  the  name  who  settled  in  the  township, 
and  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  His  grandfather  was  Jeremiah 
Giddes.  He  is  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Lydia  A. 
Giddes,  who  had  a  family  of  six  children, — 
to  wit,  John,  Christiana,  Samuel,  Amos,  Eliza, 
and  Caroline,  of  whom  Samuel,  Amos,  and 
Caroline  are  residents  of  the  same  vicinity. 

Caroline  married  John  Spencer,  a  farmer,  of 
Warren  township.  Amos  Giddes  is  also  a 
neighboring  farmer,  and  has  carried  on  mercan- 
tile business  and  held  for  a  number  of  years  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 

Samuel  Giddes  married  for  his  first  wife 
Sophia  Sebring,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Sebring, 
by  whom  he  had  five  children,  four  of  whom 
are  living.  Mrs.  Giddes  died  in  March,  1854, 
and  he  married  for  his  second  wife  Mary  Ann 
McCord,  Aug.  4,  1855.  Mrs,  Giddes'  ances- 
tors came  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  Bernard 
township.     Her  father,  Nathaniel  McCord,  was 


a  farmer,  and  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life 
kept  a  hotel  at  Martinville,  where  he  died  in 
April,  1870.  Her  grandmother  lived  to  the 
remarkable  age  of  one  hundred  and  two  years 
lacking  two  months.  She  had  celebrated  her 
one  hundredth  anniversary,  calling  together  her 
children  and  grandchildren,  and  reciting  to  them 
the  catechism  in  which  she  had  been  instructed 
when  a  school-girl.  Her  memory  of  early 
events  was  remarkable,  and  she  retained  a 
vigorous  command  of  her  faculties  far  beyond 
one  of  her  years. 

By  the  second  marriage  Mr.  Giddes  has  had 
seven  children;  one  daughter,  Anna  M.,  is 
married  to  Francis  Haines,  of  Morris  County. 

Mr.  Giddes  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Mount  Horeb, 
and  are  of  exemplary  and  Christian  deportment. 
He  is  eminently  a  man  of  peace  and  of  a  re- 
tiring disposition,  seeking  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  in  a  quiet,  unostentatious  manner  rather 
than  the  conflicts  and  competitions  of  public 
position.  He  is  universally  esteemed  for  his 
integrity  and  genial  personal  traits  of  character. 


"WARREN. 


857 


We  And  the  following  trustees  in  1803 :  Oliver 
Stelle,  Francis  Dunn,  John  Kelly,  Isaac  Stites,  David 
Ayres,  Elijah  Smith,  and  John  Worth. 

The  following  clergymen  have  preached  for  this 
church,  beginning  with  the  first  minister:  Eev. 
Henry  Crosley,  Eev.  Keuna  Runyon  (supplied  once  a 
month),  Eev.  Abner  Sutton,  Eev.  Lebbeus  Lathrop, 
Rev.  John  Ellis,  Eev.  John  Watson,  Eev.  Morgan  r! 
Cox,  Eev.  Edward  C.  Ambler,  Eev.  Thomas  W. 
Haynes,  Eev.  Messrs.  Timberman,  Cole,  Pike,  Hop- 
per, and  the  present  pastor,  Eev.  Mr.  Gibb.  Deacons 
Ayers,  Worth,  Stelle,  Smalley,  Moore,  Compton,  and 
others  have  been  among  the  influential  meu  of  the 
church. 

The  church  was  divided  in  1851,  and  a  branch 
formed  the  Millington  Baptist  Church  in  the  town- 
ship of  Bernard. 

The  present  meeting-house  was  built  before  the 
Revolution,  and  is  thus  alluded  to  in  a  report  made  in 
1851: 

"  Within  vho9e  sacred  walls  many  a  fervent  prayer  from  pious  hearts 
ascended  to  the  God  of  battles  to  crown  their  efforts  with  a  permanent 
and  glorious  victory." 

This  church  began  its  career  with  18  members; 
according  to  a  report  made  in  1851  it  had  increased  to 
more  than  200.  Its  present  membership  does  not 
exceed  60. 

MOUNT  HOEEB  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

The  first  Methodist  preachers  who  officiated  in  this 
immediate  vicinity  were  Eevs.  Elom  Genung,  Stephen 
Day,  and  John  Hancock,  all  local  preachers.  They 
held  their  services  in  the  houses  of  John  Smith,  John 
and  Benjamin  Coddington,  David  Euckman,  and 
Eobert  Adams.  In  1820,  Eev.  Bartholomew  Weed, 
of  the  Philadelphia  Conference  (which  then  included 
the  State  of  New  Jersey),  preached  in  the  vicinity 
and  organized  a  class  of  eight  persons  in  the  house 
of  Benjamin  Coddington,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  east 
of  the  present  church.  The  class  consisted  of  Isaiah, 
Benjamin,  and  Hannah  Coddington,  David  and  Eliza- 
beth Euckman,  Charity  Bird,  Eachel  Adams,  and 
others. 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1824,  at 
a  cost  of  $1500.  The  names  of  the  members  at  that 
time  were  Jacob  and  Lydia  Giddis,  John  Smith,  Wil- 
liam King,  John  and  Rachel  Gordon,  Isaiah  Eaton, 
Nancy  Blue,  David  Coddington,  Mary  Tunison, 
Henry  Moore,  Matty  Richards,  and  Thomas  Thomas. 
The  first  slick  of  timber  for  the  building  was  hauled 
upon  the  site  by  William  King.  Eev.  Joseph  Bush- 
ing, of  New  Brunswick,  preached  the  dedicatory 
sermon. 

The  church  became  a  regular  charge  under  Eev. 
Lawrence  McCombs,  of  New  Brunswick,  about  the 
time  of  the  erection  of  the  building,  being  probably 
included  in  the  Essex  Circuit.  The  following  min- 
isters, members  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference, 
preached  to  this  church  from  1824  to  1831 :  Eevs. 
55 


Isaac  Winner,  David  Best,  William  A.  Wiggins, 
George  Banghart,  Anthony  Atwood,  Sedgwick  Eus- 
ling,  Benjamin  Collins,  and  John  K.  Shaw.  In  1831 
it  became  a  part  of  Somerset  mission,  with  Eevs. 
David  Bartine  and  John  S.  Gilder  as  preachers. 
Since  then  the  following  have  been  the  pastors  or 
ministers  of  the  circuit  in  which  Mount  Horeb  is 
included : 

1832,  John  S.  Gilder ;  1833,  Charles  T.  Ford,  Benjamin  Day ;  1834,  James 
Buckley;  1835,  Isaac  Cross;  183G,  E.  Thomas,  James  0.  Eogors; 
1837,  Abram  Gearhart,  George  Hutchins ;  1838,  George  F.  Brown, 
William  K.  Kogers ;  1839-40,*  James  0.  Rogers;  1841-42,  J.  S. 
Beegle ;  1843,  S.  E.  Post;  1844-45,  Oliver  Bagley;  1846,  J.  F.  Can- 
fleld;  1847,  P.  D.  Day,  William  H.  Jeffreys;  1848,  David  Kline; 
1840-50,  B.  D.  Palmer ;  1851-52,  Enoch  Green ;  1853-54,  D.  McCurdy ; 
1856-58,  John  B.  Mathis ;  1857-68,  John  L.  Hays ;  1869,  6.  W.  Hor- 
ton;  1860,  Jeremiah  Cowins;  1861-62,  Cornelius  Clark,  Sr.;  18G3- 
65,  A.  H.  Belles;  1866-08,  G.  0.  Carmichael;  1860-70,  T.  E.  Gordon; 
1871,  J.  H.  Dally  ;  1872,  D.  B.  F.  Randolph ;  1873,  H.  B.  Shultz ;  1874 
-76,  G.  T.  Jackson ;  1877-70,  C.  A.  Wambaugh ;  1880,  G.  F.  Apgar. 

In  1885  the  name  was  changed  to  "  The  New  Ger- 
mantown  and  Somerset  Mission." 

In  1844  the  parsonage  was  purchased,  and  furnished 
in  1845.  The  society  worshiped  in  the  old  church 
for  a  period  of  forty-three  years,  or  until  1867,  when 
a  new  and  commodious  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost 
of  about  $11,000. 

A  Sunday-school  was  early  established.  The  record 
shows  that  in,  1850  it  had  9  officers  and  teachers,  30 
scholars,  and  70  volumes  in  the  library.  The  present 
number  of  members  of  the  school  is  80;  of  the 
church,  125. 

SPBINGDALE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

This  church  is  included  in  the  Mount  Horeb  charge. 
It  was  many  years  ago  a  Protestant  Methodist  Church, 
and  was  founded  by  Eev.  Mr.  Woodrufi",  of  the  New 
York  Conference.  Among  the  first  members  were 
John  Waldron,  William  Winans,  Asa  Lawler,  Ben- 
jamin Lawler,  David  Lawler,  Mrs.  Keziah  Waldron, 
Mrs.  Ann  Eliza  Lawler,  David  Coulter  and  wife, 
Azariah  Mundy,  and  others.  Sept.  7, 1858,  the  church 
property  was  deeded  by  the  trustees  of  the  Protestant 
Methodist  Society — David  Coulter,  John  Mundy,  and 
Asa  Lawler — to  Peter  Winans,  Jerome  Waldron,  Pat- 
terson Waldron,  James  Humble,  and  Andrew  J. 
Fauroat,  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Some  of  the  pastors  prior  to  1858  were  Eev.  Messrs. 
Woodruff",  Langdon,  Turford,  Burch,  Haff",  and  Black- 
more.  Since  then  it  has  been  served  by  ministers 
from  Mount  Horeb. 

The  church  has  undergone  repairs,  and  is  a  neat 
and  convenient  house  of  worship.  The  present  trus- 
tees are  Peter  Winans,  George  W.  Mundy,  Peter 
Bowers,  Matthias  Giddis,  and  Eevaud  K.  E.  Wal- 
dron; Stewards,  Samuel  Voorhees,  Peter  Winans, 
George  W.  Mundy ;  Class-Leader,  Samuel  Voorhees. 

The  church  has  a  Sunday-school,  and  a  present 
membership  of  50. 

*  Mount  Horeb  made  a  separate  charge,  1S40. 


858 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


UNION  VILLAGE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

is  included  in  the  charge  at  New  Proyidence.  Before 
the  erection  of  the  house  of  worship,  in  1822,  meet- 
ings were  for  a  long  time  held  in  private  houses. 
Elom  Genung,  a  local  preacher  residing  in  the  town- 
ship, was  largely  instrumental  in  building  the  church. 
The  present  trustees  are  David  D.  Smalley,  Sr., 
Charles  Major,  and  Charles  Sage ;  Stewards,  Israel  J. 
Coon,  David  D.  Smalley,  Jr. ;  Class-Leader,  Israel  J. 
Coon  ;  Pastor,  Eev.  J.  B.  Heward,  New  Providence. 

COXGEEGATIONAL   CHUECH,  COONTOWN. 

This  church  is  known  as  the  First  Congregational 
Church  in  Warren.  It  was  founded  in  1849,  and  the 
services  are  conducted  in  the  German  language. 
Among  the  members  at  the  time  af  the  organization 
were  George  Kline,  William  Miller,  Martin  Miller, 
John  Miller,  George  Baker,  Emmanuel  Dealmann, 
Morris  Dealmann,  George  Friday,  Sebastian  Zimmer- 
mann,  Ferdinand  Dumb,  Mr.  Newmiller,  Adam  Her- 
rich,  and  Peter  Wilhelm.  The  first  minister,  Eev. 
Basil  Wure,  was  a  German  Lutheran.  His  successors 
have  been  Rev.  Messrs.  Geier,  Oerter,  Neff,  Wolfe, 
Shnelendresser,  Shabedorn,  Power,  and  Sharer,  the 
present  pastor,  who  took  charge  in  September,  1879. 

The  first  house  of  worship  was  built  in  1849.  In 
1872  the  present  edifice  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
$1600.  The  trustees  are  Christian  Carhl,  Sebastian 
Zimmermann,  and  Peter  Wilhelm-;  Elders,  Sebastian 
Zimmermann,  George  Friday,  and  Theodore  Brockley. 
Membership,  45  ;  Sunday-school,  50.  John  Kirch 
has  been  elder  and  treasurer,  and  served  in  the  latter 
capacity  when  the  church  was  built. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 
Throughout  the  township  the  churchyards  are  oc- 
cupied as  burial-places,  according  to  the  immemorial 
custom  of  the  English  people.  There  are  some  ex- 
ceptions, as  in  the  case  of  private  grounds  selected  for 
burial  in  neighborhoods  where  no  churches  existed 
or  were  remote  from  the  settlements.  The  Allen 
burying-ground,  in  AVashington  Valley,  one  of  the 
oldest  in  the  township,  is  of  this  sort,  and  there  rest 
the  remains  of  several  generations  of  that  name,  and 
kinsfolk  and  neighbors  mingle  in  common  dust. 
,  Probably  the  oldest  burying-ground  in  Warren  is 
that  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Mount  Bethel.* 

VILLAGES   AND    HAMLETS. 
Waeeenville,  in  Washington  Valley,  contains  a 
post-office, — ^the  only  one  in  the  township, — one  store, 
school-house,  fifteen   or  twenty  houses,  one  black- 
smith's shop,  and  one  wheelwright's  shop.     Daniel 

*  By  a  deed  of  date  Oct.  9, 178G,  George  Cooper,  .Jr.,  William  Alward, 
and  Benjamin  Enyart,  *'  for  and  in  consideration  of  our  good  wi.slies  to- 
varcs  tlie  propagation  of  tlie  gospel  of  Jesus  Clirist,  in  tlie  townsliip  of 
Bernard,  and  at  a  place  known  by  the  name  of  Stony  Hill,  and  where 
tlie  meeting-house  now  elands"  did  quit-claim  unto  the  trustees  of  Mount 
Bethel  church,  the  church  lot,  for  use  of  said  congregation  "for  a  house 
or  houses  of  worship  and  a  burying-place,  without  any  let,  trouble,  or 
hindrance,"  etc. 


Bornman  is  postmaster  and  keeper  of  the  store.  He 
has  occupied  the  premises  about  twenty-eight  years. 
Near  this  place  is  a  copper  mine,  owned  by  Richard 
Field,  of  Bound  Brook,  and  in  the  rock  there  are  in- 
dications of  gold  and  silver  in  small  quantities. 

Mount  Bethel  has  two  stores,  blacksmith-shop,  a 
hotel,  kept  by  Jacob  Blimm,  also  proprietor  of  one  of 
the  stores ;  the  other  being  kept  by  Jacob  J.  Laing. 
There  are  about  a  dozen  residences,  a  school-house, 
and  a  Baptist  church. 

Union  Village,  near  the  east  part  of  the  town- 
ship, is  a  small  hamlet,  containing  one  store,  kept  by 
J.  F.  Schwalb,  a  blacksmith-  and  wheelwright-shop, 
and  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  supplied  from 
New  Providence,  by  the  minister  in  charge.  Rev.  J.  B. 
Heward. 

SmallettoWn  contains  a  school-house  and  sev- 
eral residences. 

Mount  Tabor  is  a  little  cluster  of  residences, 
shops,  etc.,  on  a  slight  elevation  in  the  extreme 
western  part  of  the  township.  The  first  farmhouse 
in  the  vicinity  is  that  of  John  Nelson,  a  native  of 
Sweden.  It  is  on  the  Reuben  Coddington  place,  the 
old  estate  of  John  Coddington,  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lution. There  are  here  a  fine  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  convenient  parsonage,  the  history  of 
which  is  given  elsewhere. 

CooNTOWN,  though  anciently  the  centre  of  consid- 
erable business,  contains  nothing  now  to  distin- 
guish it  from  the  common  farming  country  of  the 
township.  On  the  corner  there  used  to  be  a  distillery 
and  cider-mill,  owned  by  Isaac  Smalley  and  Joel 
Coddington;  they  discontinued  it  about  twenty-five 
years  ago.  Near  it  were  two  blacksmith-shops,  owned 
respectively  by  Nathan  Coon  and  Jesse  Moore.  A 
hat-shop  also  stood  near  by,  carried  on  by  Isaac 
Harris.  There  were  also  two  stores  in  the  place, — 
one  by  Laning  Blue,  and  afterwards  by  Joseph 
Keiney ;  the  other  by  Martin  Miller.  All  these  have 
long  since  gone,  and  the  land  is  converted  into  farms. 
The  old  distillery  is  now  used  as  a  barn. 

INDUSTRIES. 

The  industries  of  the  township  are  chiefly  agricul- 
tural, including  stock-  and  grain-raising  and  dairying. 
Dairy-farmers  mostly  sell  their  milk  to  supply  the 
Newark  market. 

There  are  two  saw-mills, — one  owned  by  the  estate 
of  Elias  Baird,  and  operated  by  Peter  D.  Baldwin ;  the 
other  is  owned  by  Aaron  A.  Stites.  Mr.  Baldwin  also 
manufactures  brush-blocks,  whitewash-brush  handles, 
belaying-pins,  and  pumps  for  water  casks  on  ship- 
board. A  great  many  hoop-poles  are  cut  in  the 
township  and  taken  to  market.  Cord-wood  is  mar- 
keted to  a  considerable  extent,  and  also  charcoal. 

STATISTICS. 
Annual  report  of  the  receipts  and  expeditures  of 
the  township  of  Warren  for  the  year  ending  Feb.  18, 
1879. 


NORTH  PLAINFIELD. 


859 


Dr. 

Amotint  of  duplicate $4248.98 

Dog  tax 94.34 

Township  school  money  in  collector's  hands 1474.15 

Two-mill  school  tax„ 1637.91 

Surplus  revenue 176.32 

State  appropriation 1^.74 

Surplus  reTeuue,  June,  1879 171.44 

In  treasury 1039.22 

88988.10 
Cb. 

Faid  county  collector $2426.34 

Koad  hills 802.36 

School  money 2929.85 

Officers*  fees  for  year  ending  February,  1879 374.53 

Support  of  poor  for  year  ending  February,  1879 133.00 

Taxes  remitted 245.36 

Sheep  bills 38.00 

Miscellaneous  bills 107.30 

Township  election  bills « 24.00 

87079.73 


Amount  of  school  money  in  collector's  hands  up  to 

Oct.  1,1879 8676.71 

Taxes  not  collected  to  date 141.56 

Money  in  overseer  of  poor's  hands  to  date 77.95 

Money  in  treasurer's  hands  to  date 1013. IG 

889S8.10 

Amount  of  tax  levied  1879: 

State $182.50 

County 829.62 

School 730.00 

Roads , 800.00 

Support  of  poor 300,00 

Township  purposes 300.00 

$3142.12 

Bate  of  taxation,  83  cents  per  $100. 


NORTH     PLAINPIELD. 


SITUATION  AND  BOUNDARIES. 
The  township  of  Nortli  Plainfield  lies  in  the  ex- 
treme east  part  of  Somerset  County.  It  is  bounded 
north  by  New  Providence,  in  Union  County;  east 
and  south  by  Green  Brook,  which  separates  it  from 
the  city  of  Plainfield  and  township  of  Piscataway,  in 
Middlesex  County ;  west  by  the  townships  of  Bridge- 
water  and  "Warren,  from  the  latter  of  which  it  was  set 
off  by  act  of  the  Legislature  approved  April  2, 1872. 
The  act  gives  the  following  description : 

"  All  that  portion  of  the  township  of  Warren,  in  the  county  of  Somer- 
set, lying  within  the  boundaries  and  descriptions  following,— to  wit:  Be- 
ginning at  a  point  in  the  centre  of  Green  Brook,  near  Sebring's  grist- 
mill, and  corner  of  Warren  and  Bridgewater  townships;  from  thence 
along  the  Bridgewater  line  and  Warren  to  the  centre  of  the  public  road 
leading  from  Bound  Brook  to  Washington  Valley ;  from  thence  a  straight 
line  in  a  northeasteriy  course  to  a  point  in  the  line  of  Union  County 
on  the  farm  of  Thomas  Eogera,  and  is  the  corner  of  New  Providence 
township;  from  thence  along  the  line  of  Kew  Providence  and  Warren 
townships  to  a  point  in  the  line  of  Westfleld  township;  thence  along 
that  Une  and  the  line  of  Plainfield  township  to  the  line  of  Piscataway 
township,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex ;  thence  along  the  line  of  said  Pis- 
cataway township  to  the  aforesaid  point  in  the  centre  of  Green  Brook 
and  place  of  beginning,-be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  set  off  from  the  said 
township  of  Warren,  and  erected  into  a  new  township,  to  be  called  and 
knovm  by  the  name  of  'The  Township  of  Korth  Plainfield.'  "» 

PHYSICAL  FEATURES. 
This  township  is  an  oblong  piece  of  territory,  about 
8  miles  in  length  and  of  an  average  width  of  2  miles. 
It  contains,  therefore,  an  area  of  about  16  square 
miles.  Its  surface  is  divided  between  the  plain  lands 
of  the  red  sandstone  formation  and  the  outer  slope 
and  declivities  of  the  First  Mountain,  along  the  ridge 
of  which  is  the  dividing  line  between  it  and  Warren 
township.  This  mountain,  on  the  North  Plainfield 
side,  within  the  limits  of  the  township,  is  composed 
of  shale  and  trap  rock,  and  is  in  many  places  rough 

»  Special  Public  and  Private  Laws,  chap.  456. 


and  precipitous.  The  outer  slope  differs  essentially 
from  the  inner,  being  much  more  abrupt  and  precipi- 
tous, and  presenting  wild  and  picturesque  scenery. 
This  is  especially  the  case  at  Washington  Eock  and 
in  the  gorge  of  Stony  Brook,  near  Washingtonville. 
This  brook  forms  the  principal  depression  in  the 
First  Mountain  within  the  township  of  North  Plain- 
field,  and  through  its  rugged  and  picturesque  gap 
passes  the  road  from  Plainfield  to  Warrensville.  It 
rises  in  Washington  Valley,  runs  eastward  to  Wash- 
ingtonville, at  the  head  of  the  gorge,  and,  bending 
almost  at  a  right  angle,  flows  southward  and  then 
westward  till  it  forms  a  confluence  with  Green  Brook, 
on  the  southwestern  township  line,  below  Washington 

Park. 

The  area  of  the  red  sandstone  within  this  township 
is  included  between  Green  Brook  and  the  base  of  the 
First  Mountain,  and  follows  the  line  of  intersection 
with  the  trap  and  shale.  It  underlies  the  entire  plain 
region,  the  soil  being  sandy  or  sandy  loam.  This 
portion  of  North  Plainfield,  especially  in  the  western 
part,  contains  the  finest  farms,  the  land  being  easily 
worked,  and,  when  properly  cultivated  and  fertilized,- 
productive.  It  is  good  land  for  wheat,  rye,  potatoes, 
and  vegetables  generally. 

At  the  Washington  Valley  quarry.  North  Plainfield, 
a  fine  quality  of  freestone  has  been  quarried.  It  is  of 
a  light-gray  or  bufi"  color  and  easily  worked.  The 
quarry  was  first  opened  by  Wallace  Vail  in  1864, 
about  the  first  stone  taken  out  being  for  the  First 
Baptist  church  of  Plainfield,  which  is  constructed 
entirely  of  this  material ;  also,  largely,  St.  Mary's 
(Catholic)  church,  the  Natherwood  Hotel,  and  a 
large  number  of  foundations  and  bridges  in  diff'erent 
parts  of  the  State.  Some  stone  from  this  quarry  has 
been  sent  to  New  York.    It  is  now  owned  by  Alfred 


860 


SOMERSET  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Berry,  of  the  firm  of  Berry  &  Thorn,  Plainfield,  and 
is  operated  by  J.  J.  Collins,  of  New  York. 

The  Elizabethtown  bill  in  chancery— good  author- 
ity for  titles  in  this  portion  of  New  Jersey — shows 
the  following  for  this  township : 

The  lower  southern  portion  of  the  township,  along 
Q-reen  Brook  and  below  the  base  of  the  mountain,  is 
composed  of  large  tracts  that  extend  southerly  to  the 
south  branch  of  Green  Brook. 

The  west  tract,  No.  56,  was  taken  by  Sir  Ev.  Cam- 
eron, May  24,  1690,  "2000  acres  at  Blew  Hills;"  No. 
39,  to  same,  "1300  acres  on  south  side  of  Bound 
Brook ;"  No.  10,  Peter  Sonmans,  Oct.  9,  1685,  2500 
acres.  Green  Eiver;  No.  34,  J.  and  G.  Alexander, 
June  15,  1686,  "  462  acres  at  Blew  Hills ;"  No.  35, 
Eobt.  Fullerton,  June  4,  1686,  300  acres;  No.  38, 
James  Cole,  Sr.,  April  23,  1688,  125  acres. 

On  the  top  of  First  Mountain  and  along  its  crest  is 
a  tier  of  lots  that  are  termed  as  behind  the  south  tier 
of  lots;  113,  James  Alexander,  Jan.  12,  1727,  116| 
acres,  northwest  corner  of  Lockiell's,  2000  acres  on 
Bound  Brook;  94,  to, same,  Feb.  12,  1727,  118|  acres, 
beginning  at  northeast  corner  of  Sir.  Ev.  Cameron's 
2000  acres  at  Blew  Hills ;  95,  to  same,  and  same  date, 
493  acres  joining  Peter  Sonmans',  Blew  Hills ;  114, 
to  the  same,  Jan.  12,  1727,  118|  and  493^  acres,  be- 
hind Sonmans' ;  115,  Eliaha  Smalley,  March  17, 1736, 
22  acres  at  Blew  Hills,  on  Stony  Brook ;  139,  Alex- 
der  and  Dunstar,  Oct.  25,  1743,  1633  acres,  each  one- 
half  between  the  First  and  Second  Mountain ;  101, 
Joseph  Jennings,  Dec.  28,  1727,  4  acres  on  the  First 
Mountain,  at  the  falls  of  Stony  Brook. 

EAKLY   SETTLEMENT. 

Ih  the  Green  Brook  valley,  extending  from  the 
western  boundary  of  the  township  northeastward,  was 
a  succession  of  early  land  owners  who  had  large  farms, 
reaching  across  the  plains  from  the  brook  to  the  First 
Mountain.  Many  of  these  occupied  their  lands  be- 
fore the  Revolution.  Beginning  with  the  western- 
most, we  shall  name  these  in  the  order  of  their  farms. 

The  Vails  were  among  the  earliest  settlers.  John 
and  Stephen,  the  ancestors,  came  from  Long  Island 
at  an  early  time.  Their  father's  name  was  Samuel ; 
they  were  niembers  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  John 
Vail  settled  on  the  place  where  the  late  Jonah  Vail 
lived,  on  Green  Brook,  and  Stephen  on  the  next  farm, 
now  owned  by  Mr.  Palmer.  Stephen  Vail  was  great- 
grandfather of  Mrs.  Ephraim  Vail,  now  living  on  the 
estate  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety.  Her  husband, 
Ephraim,  was  a  grandson  of  John,  one  of  the  first 
settlers,  who  had  nine  sons, — viz.,  Samuel,  born  Aug. 
24,  1732  ;  John,  June  29,  1734;  Daniel,  Jan.  7,  1735 
-36;  Isaac,  Nov.  27,  1737;-  David,  April  5,  1740; 
Jacob,.  July  3,  1742;  Abram,  July  22,  1744;  Benja- 
min, Aug.  3, 1750  ;  Joseph,  June  12, 1752 ;  Christiana, 
Dec.  10,  1753.  Four  of  these  sons — John,  David, 
Abram,  and  Joseph  —  settled,  respectively,  on  the 
Jonah  Vail' place,  where  Charles  Sanford  now  lives, 


and  on  the  Ephraim  Vail  place,  where  Samuel 
Smalley  now  lives,— places  adjoining.  Samuel  Vail 
died  when  a  young  man,  and  Daniel,  Isaac,  Jacob, 
and  Benjamin  settled  at  Basking  Ridge. 

John  Vail  (2d),  who  settled  on  Green  Brook,  had 
children,  —  Margaret,  Edward,  Ann,  Isaac,  Phebe, 
Nathan,  and  Joel.  Amos,  of  this  family,  was  the 
fathei"  of  Ann,  Abram,  Jonah,  and  Phebe.  Jonah 
died  June  7,  1880,  aged  eighty-one ;  his  widow  is 
now  over  eighty.  Jonah  left  sons, — Theodore,  Adel- 
bert,  and  Amos,  the  second  of  whom  resides  on  the 
old  estate  at  Green  Brook. 

The  grandchildren  of  Stephen  Vail,  and  children 
of  Stephen  (2d),  were  Samuel,  Moses,  Shubal,  Re- 
becca, Aaron,  Sarah,  Randal,  Mary,  Hugh,  and  Cath- 
arine. Of  the  children  of  Samuel,  the  only  one  now 
living  is  Rebecca,  widow  of  Ephraim,  aged  ninety. 
The  house  in  which  she  resides  was  built  in  1774, 
and  one  room  of  it  at  a  considerably  earlier  date. 
Ephraim  died  April  26,  1878,  aged  ninety-four.  He 
had  a  sister  Nancy,  who  was  born  and  died  in  the 
same  house,  at  the  age  of  ninety-eight.  Of  the  chil- 
dren of  Ephraim,  there  are  living  on  the  old  estate 
Sarah,  S.  Line,  Emmor  K.  Vail,  and  Abram  M.  Vail. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ephraim  Vail  were  married  March  21, 
1810,  and  had  lived  together  in  wedlock  previous  to 
his  death,  in  1878,  sixty-eight  years,  and  always  oc- 
cupied the  same  house. 

The  Vail  fulling-mill  was  the  first  cloth-dressing 
establishment  in  this  portion  of  the  country.  It  was 
owned,  together  with  a  saw-mill  at  Coontown,  by 
Samuel,  who  was  a  clothier.  In  connection  with  his 
fulling-mill  was  also  a  carding-machine ;  it  was  a  great 
convenience,  as  farmers  then  made  their  own  cloth. 
The  settlers  in  this  section  went  to  Plainfield  to 
church  and  to  get  their  mail  after  the  establishment 
of  the  first  post-office,  in  1806. 

Enos,  grandfather  of  E.  W.  and  Nelson  Runyon, 
lawyers  of  Plainfield,  was  one  of  the  early  residents  ; 
also  David  Boice,  father  of  Patterson  and  Cornelius. 
Farther  northeast  were  the  families  of  the  Mannings, 
of  whom  John  and  Isaac  were  the  principal  early 
settlers.  They  came  from  Bergen  about  the  time  of 
the  Revolution,  and  owned  large  farms  extending 
from  the  brook  to  the  top  of  the  mountain.  None 
of  the  family  now  reside  in  the  town.  Between  the 
•Woodens  and  the  Mannings  lived  the  Williams  fam- 
ily, some  of  whom  still  remain.  Next  west  of  the 
Mannings  lived  Andrew  Cadmus,  who  had  three  sons, 
— Abram,  Frederick,  and  Cornelius, — descendants  of 
whom  still  live  in  the  township,^Abram  and  Rudger. 

Israel  Wooden  was  a  large  land  owner  and  farmer 
in  the  same  vicinity.  His  father  was  among  the  first 
settlers.  Mr.  Wooden  was  born  in  the  township, 
then  included  in  Warren. 

Andrew  Drake  was  an  early  settler  in  that  part  of 
Warren  now  North  Plainfield.  He  died  more  than 
sixty  years  ago,  an  old  man,  leaving  sons — Hugh  and 
Jonathan — who  reared  large  families. 


AECHIBALD   CODDINGTON. 


Archibald  Coddington,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  represents  a  large  and  well-known  family 
of  the  name  in  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  He  was 
born  near  Mount  Horeb,  in  Warren  town- 
ship, in  January,  1810,  and  lived  on  the  home- 
estate  till  he  attained  his  majority.  He  is  a  son 
of  Archibald  and  Mary  Coddington,  and  grand- 
sou  of  Isaac  Coddington,  who  was  the  first  set- 
tler of  the  name  in  the  township.  Learning 
the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  of  his  brother  Isaiah, 
he  worked  with  him  in  partnership  for  several 
years,  and  in  1834  purchased  a  farm  in  Bernard 
township.  This  farm  he  sold  in  1839,  and 
bought  another  in  Warren,  where  he  resided  till 
1861,  having  in  the  mean  time  bought  the  mill 
pr6i)erty  in  Green  Valley,  where  he  now  re- 
sides. 

His  large  flouring-mill  is  situated  on  Stony 
Brook,  near  Plainfield,  in  a  beautiful  and  ro- 


mantic spot.  A  mill  was  built  here  in  1840  by 
John  Binge,  and  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Cod- 
dington in  1854,  who  remodeled  it  in  1860, 
putting  in  a  new  water-wheel  and  new  and  im- 
proved machinery.  The  mill  has  thfee  run  of 
stones,  and  with  its  constant  supply  of  water  is 
a  Very  desirable  property,  including  in  connec- 
tion with  it  the  blacksmith-  and  repair-shops, 
tenement-house,  and  residences  of  the  proprie- 
tors, father  and  son. 

In  1830,  Mr.  Coddington  married  Eliza 
Moore,  by  whom  he  has  had  eight  children. 
They  are  all  living,  and  their  names  in  the 
order  of  age  are  as  follows :  Moore,  John  W., 
Harrison,  Rutli  W.,  Asenath,  Jane,  Eunice,  and 
Mary.  Moore,  Ruth,  and  Harrison  are  married 
and  have  families;  the  rest  are  single.  John 
W.  and  Harrison  are  associated  with  their  father 
in  the  milling  interest  in  Green  Valley. 


NORTH   PLAINIIELD. 


861 


Among  the  earliest  and  most  influential  settlers  on 
Green  Brook  Avere  the  Yermeules,— Cornelius,  Fred- 
eric, Eder,  and  John.  The  last  was  a  practicing 
physician,  and  died  over  sixty  years  ago.  They  set- 
tled in  the  township  at  an  early  time,  and  purchased 
some  1400  acres.  A  grandson  of  Eder— Manning — 
resides  in  Plainfield,  and  one  of  the  grandsons  of 
Frederic  lives  in  Middlesex  County.  Frederic  fre- 
quently held  responsible  offices  in  the  township  of 
Warren.  Cornelius,  with  Frederick  Frelinghuysen, 
John  Royce,  Peter  Schenck,  Abraham  Van  Neste, 
Edward  Dumont,  and  many  other  honored  names  of 
New  Jersey,  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress. 

The  Thorns — Abraham  and  Hugh — were  early  set- 
tlers in  that  portion  of  the  township  near  the  city  of 
Plainfield.  Abraham  was  a  blacksmith,  and  had  his 
shop  near  the  present  residence  of  Alfred  Berry. 
His  house  stood  where  Phineas  M.  French  now  lives. 
The  family  owned  considerable  land  along  the  brook, 
and  were  farmers.  They  removed  from  the  country 
previous  to  1830,  and  none  of  their  descendants  now 
reside  in  the  township. 

John  Manning  was  a  magistrate,  and  a  prominent 
man  in  his  day.  James  Yerdon,  a  prominent  magis- 
trate of  the  township,  died  in  May,  1880. 

John  W.  Craig,  M.D.,  was  one  of  the  most  eminent 
physicians  in  the  country.  He  lived  where  Alfred 
Berry  now  resides,  and  practiced  his  profession  till 
his  death.  His  brotlier,  the  present  Dr.  Lewis  Craig, 
studied  medicine  with  him.  Dr.  John  W.  Craig  held 
several  responsible  offices  in  his  township,  and  by 
the  advance  in  the  value  of  his  property  for  building 
lots  became  quite  wealthy ;  his  widow  (second  wife) 
now  resides  in  Plainfield.  Dr.  Craig  was  .it  one  time 
president  of  the  State  Medical  Society  and  a  State 
senator  from  Somerset  County. 

David  French,  grandfather  of  Phineas  M.,  of  Plain- 
field,  and  father  of  David,  Jr.,  settled  at  an  early 
time  in  the  township  of  Warren,  near  Union  Village. 
He  lived  to  be  nearly  ninety-four  yeai-s  of  age ;  his 
son,  David,  the  fathex  of  Phineas  M.,  was  about  the 
same  age  at  the  time  of  his  death,  July,  1S79.  He 
lived  on  a  farm  about  three  mile^  northwest  of  Plain- 
field  till  about  twenty  years  ago,  when  he  removed  to 
Plainfield,  where  he  died.  The  Frenches  have  been 
among  the  substantial  people  of  the  township. 
Phineas  j\I.  and  his  sons,  Theodore  F.  and  John  H., 
are  proprietors  of  large  milling  interests  in  Plainfield, 
and  L.  M.  French  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
carriages. 

John  Stine  was  born  in  North  Plainfield  in  1819 ; 
resides  on  the  old  homestead,  northward  of  Plainfield 
one  and  a  half  miles,  where  his  father  settled  in  1828. 
His  father,  John,  was  a  native  of  Monmouth  County, 
was  by  trade  a  fuller,  and  carried  on  the  business 
at  the  Notch  or  Plainfield  Factory  from  1813  to  1828. 
He  died  on  the  homestead  farm  in  1870,  aged  eighty- 


Jeremiah  R.  Van  Deventer  settled  in  the  township 
in  1829.  He  is  the  son  of  Jacob,  who  was  the  son 
of  Jacob,  Sr.,  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  Bound  Brook. 
The  family  came  originally  from  Holland,  and  con- 
sisted of  three  brothers.  Mr.  V.an  Deventer  married 
Cornelia  Stryker,  of  Somerset  County,  and  has  one 
daughter.  He  is  president  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Plainfield,  and  also  of  the  gas  company  of 
that  city,  and  has  served  his  township  in  several  re- 
sponsible offices. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  township  lived  Henry 
Lines,  a  Quaker,  noted  as  a  great  hunter.  He  was 
over  ninety  when  he  died.  He  had  two  sons,  Amos 
and  David.  Isaac,  Sr.,  lives  on  Green  Brook.  Elias 
Cote,  father  of  Jacob,  was  also  among  the  early  men 
of  the  township. 

Archibald  Coddington,  proprietor  of  the  mills  in 
North  Plainfield,  is  a  son  of  Archibald,  Sr.,  one  of 
three  brothers  born  at  Mount  Horeb,  in  Warren  town- 
ship.* Mr.  Coddington  married  Eliza,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Moore,  and  has  had  twelve  children,  eight 
of  whom  are  living.  Two  of  his  sons — to  wit,  John 
W.  and  Harrison — are  associated  with  him  in  the 
milling  interest.! 

John  Long,  father  of  Jacob,  of  North  Plainfield, 
was  a  citizen  of  Somerville,  where  he  died  in  1848. 
Jacob  was  born  in  the  township  of  Bridgewater, 
Somerset  Co.,  Sept.  27,  1820.  He  resided  in  that 
place  and  mai-ried  Miss  Theresa  Moore,  Aug.  1,  1841. 
They  have  six  children,  all  born  and  reared  in  Bridge- 
water.  In  1876  he  settled  in  North  Plainfield,  where 
he  now  resides.  His  son,  William  Henry,  is  surrogate 
of  the  county,  and  resides  in  Somerville. 

CIVIL  ORRANIZATION. 
North  Plainfield  is  a  recently  organized  township, 
having  been  set  off  from  Warren  by  legislative  enact- 
ment in  1872.  At  the  first  town-meeting,  held  April 
8,  1872,  a  full  list  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  was 
elected.  We  give  below  the  principal  officers  of  each 
year  to  the  present  time,  under  their  respective  heads : 

CLERES. 
1S7-2-75,  Wiiliiun  H.  Van  Winkle ;  1S75,  Elislia  C.  Van  Kostrand ;  1870- 
7S,  Isaac  Broliaw  j  187S-S0,  William  A.  Schutt 

ASSESSOnS. 
1872-7!),  Israel  C.  Coon ;  ISSO,  Isaac  Brokaw. 

COLLECTOKS. 
lS7;-70,  Lewis  B.  Boico;  1880,  Elislia  C.  Van  Kostrand. 

OVERSEERS  OF  THE  POOR. 
1872-77  William  W.  Dralce;  1877-79,  E.  C.  Van  Kostrand ;  18S0,  Daniel 
I,  Snialloy. 

EBEEHOLDERS. 

1872,  J.  R.  Van  Deventer;  1873-79,  William  E.  Jones;  1880,  Charles 
Shepherd. 

TOWSSHIP  COMMITTEES. 

1872,  P.  M.  French,  Augustus  Mobus,  John  L.  Spencer,  T.  W.  Young  •,t 
1873  T.  W.  Young,  E.  K.  A'ail,  John  A.  Thickston,!  Juhn  L.  Spencer, 
M.  P.  French ;  1874,  John  L.  Spencer,  Jacob  Miles,  E.  K.  Viul,  T.  W. 


•  Seo  sketch  of  the  Coddington  family,  in  that  township  history, 
t  Seo  under  head  of  industries.  X  Chairman  of  the  committee. 


862 


SOMEKSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Toung*  John  H.  Van  WIhIiIb;  1876,  Jacob  Milos,*  Alfred  Bony, 
Samuel  Smalley,  John  L.  Spencer,  Thomas  Worth;  1870,  John  L. 
Spencer,  Jacob  Miles,*  Alfred  Berry,  Samuel  Smalley,  Thomas 
Worth ;  1877,  Jacob  Miles,*  John  L.  Spencer,  J.  R.  Yan  Deventer, 
M.  A.  Schenck,  WUllam  1.  Smalley;  1878,  M.  W,  Schencli,  John  L. 
Spencer,*  Harrison  Coddington,  William  L.  Smalley,  John  Boclior; 
1879,  F.  n.  Gardner,  Daniel  K.  Weaver,*  Harrison  Coddington ;  1880, 
F.  H.  Gardner,  D.  K.  Weaver,*  Abrom  M.  Vail. 

JUSTICES  or  THE  PEACE. 
1872,  Doniel  G.  Van  Winkle ;  1873-78,  Moses  H.  Froncli,  James  Vcrdon;t 
1877-82,  Henry  P.  Brouk,  A.  B.  Stagg;  1878-83,  Jomes  Verdon, 
M.  H.  French. 

VILLAGES   AND    HAMLETS. 

NoETH  Plainfield  is  a  regularly  laid  out,  though 
not  an  incorporated,  village,  and  is  practically  a  part  of 
the  city  of  Plainfield,  though  outside  and  adjoining  its 
corporate  limits  on  the  northwest.  It  has  therefore  all 
the  advantages  of  the  city  without  the  expense  of  sup- 
porting a  city  government.  The  place  has  been  laid 
out  on  the  lands  of  the  farmers,  and  has  been  largely 
settled  by  people  from  New  York,  or  those  who  do 
business  in  that  city.  The  trains  so  run  that  they  can 
go  into  the  city  in  the  morning  and  return  in  the 
evening,  or  at  almost  any  time  during  the  day  that 
suits  their  convenience.  In  this  respect  it  may  be  re- 
garded as  one  of  those  suburban  places  where  people 
of  moderate  means  seek  quiet  and  inexpensive  homes 
in  the  pure  air  and  ample  spaces  of  the  country.  The 
houses  are,  many  of  them,  new,  and  constructed  with 
more  or  less  architectural  elegance,  the  grounds  being 
ornamented  with  flowers  and  shrubbery,  and  every- 
thing presenting  a  neat  and  tasty  appearance.  With- 
in the  compass  of  a  few  miles  there  are  some  elegant 
mansions  embowered  in  beautiful  groves,  with  exten- 
sive graveled  walks  and  drives. 

The  village  proper,  aside  from  the  township,  in 
which  it  is  included  both  in  geographical  territory 
and  in  municipal  government,  contains  a  population 
of  about  3000.  The  business  interests  of  the  place  are 
mostly  in  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Plainfield. 
Besides,  there  are  five  groceries,  a  flour-  and  feed- 
store,  a  hardware-store,  a  bakery,  two  butchers,  three 
blacksmiths,  a  wheelwright,  a  drug-store,  and  a  silver- 
plater.  The  physicians  are  Lewis  Craig,  Charles 
Cooley,  and  Monroe  B.  Long ;  the  lawyers,  John  H. 
Van  Winkle,  Charles  Mathews,  Charles  Place.  The 
following  clergymen  reside  here:  Eev.  Edward  M. 
Embury,  Rev.  William  0.  Embury,  Rev.  T.  L.  Mur- 
phy, Rev.  David  Robertson,  Rev.  John  Gary  (colored). 

There  are  a  saw-  and  grist-mill  combined  on  Green 
Brook  road,  four  miles  from  Plainfield,  by  Joshua  Mar- 
tin ;  Goad's  flouring-mill,  leased  by  Runyon,  three 
miles  out,  on  the  Green  Brook  road  ;  the  flouring-mill 
of  Moses  H.  French,  Washingtonville ;  and  that  of 
Coddington  Brothers,  Green  Valley,  one  and  a  half 
miles  from  the  city. 

The  mill  of  Moses  H.  French  is  situated  on  Stony 

*  Chairman  of.  the  committee. 

f  James  Verdon  was  acting  Justice  of  the  peace  at  the  time  of  the  divis- 
ion of  tlie  township  of  Warren,  and  retained  his  commission  as  Justice 
in  the  township  of  North  Flainileld. 


Brook,  has  three  run  of  stones,  and  grinds  both  cus- 
tom and  merchant  flour;  capacity,  100  bushels  in 
twelve  hours.  Freeman  Cole,  father  of  Mrs.  M.  IT. 
French,  bought  the  mill  of  Capt.  Allen  in  1824,  and 
sold  it  to  Thomas  A.  Hartwell,  of  Somerville.  Mr. 
French  bought  it  in  1840  ;  it  was  burned  down,  and 
Mr.  French  rebuilt  it  in  1870. 

The  Coddington  mill  is  one  of  similar  capacity  to 
the  above,  having  three  run  of  stones.  It  was  first 
built  in  1840  by  John  Binge,  and  sold  to  Jacob  Man- 
ning, of  Plainfield,  who  remodeled  it  into  a  grist- 
mill. Mr.  Coddington  bought  it  in  1864,  and  about 
1860  rebuilt  it  and  put  in  a  new  water-wheel  and  ma- 
chinery. Its  products  are  partly  merchant-  and 
partly  custom-work. 

Wasiiingtonvillf>  is  the  name  given  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  French's  Mill.  There  is  quite  a  little  clus- 
ter of  buildings  at  the  head  of  the  gorge,  where  it  ex- 
pands into  Washington  Valley, — the  mill,  residences 
of  the  proprietors,  blacksmith-  and  repair-shops, 
school-house,  etc.  Demler's  Hotel,  farther  down  the 
brook,  by  the  roadside,  has  been  kept  as  a  house  of 
entertainment  about  eighty  years.  It  was  originally 
kept  about  the  beginning  of  this  century  1)y  "Aunt 
Dolly  Davis."  Mr.  Demlar,  who  has  resided  in  the 
township  forty-seven  years,  kept  the  hotel  thirty- 
three  years  ago;  he  then  rented  it,  and  in  1868  pur- 
chased the  premises.  He  is  a  native  of  Germany,  and 
came  to  this  country  about  1829. 

Brook  Mill,  the  hatters'  fur-manufacturing  estab- 
lishment of  Harper,  Hollingsworth  &  Darby,  is  situ- 
ated in  the  east  part  of  the  township,  near  Scotch 
Plains.  It  was  established  in  1809,  employs  about 
thirty  hands,  two  wood-workers,  and  two  machinists. 
The  company  build  their  own  machines,  run  by  water- 
power  when  Green  Brook  affords  a  sufficient  supply, 
but  have  additional  steam-power.  The  fur  is  brought 
from  New  York,  and  the  manufactured  goods  returned 
to  that  city  for  market.  Loftus  Hollingsworth,  busi- 
ness manager. 

CHURCHES. 

There  is  but  one  church  in  the  township, — that  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  parish,  in  the  village  of 
North  Plainfield,  the  history  of  which  is  as  follows: J 

The  church  was  erected  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Embury 
at  his  own  personal  cost.  The  ground  was  broken  for 
the  foundation  on  Tuesday,  Aug.  4, 1868.  During  the 
autumn  and  winter  following,  as  well  as  spring,  the 
work  went  on  slowly,  but  without  interruption.  The 
building  having  been  completed,  painted,  and  pro- 
vided with  a  fine  organ  and  the  necessary  furniture, 
divine  service  was  held  therein  on  Sunday,  June  13, 
1869.  The  organ  was  the  liberal  gift  of  Mrs.  Eleanor 
Bronk,  wife  of  IT.  P.  Bronk,  Esq. 

The  cost  of  the  church  edifice  when  finished  and 
furnished,  including  the  ground  on  which  it  stands, 
was  at  that  time  estimated  at  121,000. 

X  By  Bov,  T.  Logan  Murphy,  Hector. 


NORTH  PLAINFIELD. 


863 


At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  congregation 
regularly  called  it  was  decided  that  this  church  should 
hereafter  be  known  as  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross; 
the  parish  was  organized,  and  was  afterwards  admitted 
into  union  with  the  convention.  The  meeting  was 
held  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  of  August,  consisting 
of  the  male  members  of  the  congregation  worshiping 
in  said  edifice.  Service  was  held  before  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  parish,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Embury  officiating. 
Ml-.  Embury  being  absent  for  a  time,  others  performed 
ministerial  duties  in  the  mean  time. 

On  Nov.  11, 1870,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Embury  was  for- 
mally called  by  the  vestry  of  this  church  to  the  rec- 
torship of  the  same,  and  on  December  9th  the  Eev. 
Alfred  Goldsborough  accepted  a  call  from  the  vestry 
to  become  assistant  rector,  entering  upon  his  official 
duties  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the  new  year,  1871.  He 
resigned  March  20,  1872,  to  take  effect  the  coming 
Easter,  March  31st,  the  time  of  his  incumbency 
being  one  year  and  three  months.  The  number  of 
communicants  at  that  time  was  50.  The  Sunday- 
school  numbered  30  scholars  and  5  teachers. 

The  Eev.  Charles  W.  Ward  accepted  the  assistant 
rectorship  of  the  parish  Aug.  1,  1872.  The  Eev.  Mr. 
Embury  sent  to  the  vestry  "his  letter  of  resignation 
March  21,  1873,  and  on  May  21st  it  was  reluctantly 
accepted.  On  the  same  evening  the  assistant  rector 
was  called  to  the  rectorship,  and  on  November  29th  of 
the  same  year  he  resigned,  after  an  incumbency  of 
six  months  and  fifteen  days. 

The  Eev.  C.  W.  Camp  entered  upon  the  rectorship 
on  Easter  Sunday,  April  5,  1874,  and  on  April  17, 
1875,  resigned,  his  resignation  to  take  effect  July  1st 
of  the  same  year.  On  September  27th  the  Eev. 
Charles  C.  Fiske  entered  upon  the  rectorship.  He 
resigned  Dec.  6,  1876.  The  present  rector  (T.  Logan 
Murphy)  entered  upon  his  duties  on  Feb.  14,  1877. 

The  official  acts  up  to  the  present  date  are :  Bap- 
tisms, 112 ;  confirmed,  71 ;  marriages,  16  ;  burials,  47  ; 
communicants,  165. 

There  has  been  contributed  from  the  first  the  sum 
of  $26,000.  The  gift  of  the  church  and  the  Spooner 
memorial  building  makes  the  amount  about  $50,000. 

In  the  convention  address  of  the  bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese for  the  year  1877  he  says, — 

"  There  are  one  or  two  events  of  the  past  year  which  I  deem  important 
enough  to  deserve  special  mention  here.  One  is  the  consecration  of  the 
Chnrch  of  the  Holy  Cross.  The  Eev.  Edmund  Embury  built  this  beauti- 
ful church  some  years  ago  on  his  own  private  estate,  and  for  a  time  min- 
istered to  the  congregation  in  spiritual  things,  till  advancing  years  and 
failing  strength  compelled  him  to  seek  assistance,  and  finally  to  resign 
altogether  the  oversight  of  the  pariah.  According  to  his  wish,  the  14th 
of  September  last  was  set  apart  for  the  consecration  of  the  church.  The 
deed  of  gift  of  the  entfi-e  property,  worth  not  loss  than  $20,000,  wa8  placed 
upon  the  alms-basin  by  Mr.  Embury's  own  baud. 

"  The  entire  control  of  the  property,  free  from  debt,  is  given  to  the  rec- 
tor, wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  the  parish,  with  the  sole  proviso  that  it 
shall  never  be  encumbered  in  any  way.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  conse- 
cration service  the  assembled  clergy  adjourned  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of 
the  Spooner  Memorial  House,  just  in  the  rear  of  the  chnrch.  This  house 
is  now  completed,  and  occupied  as  a  rector's  study  and  for  various  parish 
purposes." 


The  parish  has  furnished  this  building  and  contrib- 
uted about  one-seventh  of  the  cost  towards  its  erec- 
tion .  The  Sunday-school  has  also  purchased  an  organ 
for  the  same.  The  congregation  furnished  the  com- 
munion service  and  font,  carpeted  the  church,  and 
cushioned  the  pews.  The  alms-basin  was  the  gener- 
ous gift  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Ward  while  he  was  rector. 
During  the  past  year  a  bell  weighing  over  1600  pounds 
has  been  placed  in  the  church  tower. 

BURIAL-PLACES. 
The  only  public  burial-place  in  the  township  ex- 
tends into  it  from  the  rear  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
which  stands  on  Front  Street,  in  the  city  of  Plain- 
field.  It  has  been  used  for  purposes  of  interment 
about  fifty  years,  and  contains  many  graves  of  the 
pioneers  and  their  descendants.  Those  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  town  have  usually  buried  -their  dead  at 
Union  Village  or  Scotch  Plain.  At  the  latter  place  is 
the  oldest  burial-ground  in  this  section  of  the  country, 
connected  with  the  Baptist  Church,  but  it  is  outside 
of  this  township,  in  Union  County. 

PLACES  OF  HISTORIC  INTEREST. 
Under  this  head  the  most  noted  place,  and  perhaps 
the  only  one  worthy  of  mention,  is  Washington  Eock, 
situated  on  the  First  Mountain,  a  little  west  of  the 
middle  of  the  township  of  North  Plainfield,  at  an  ele- 
vation of  511  feet  above  the  sea.  It  commands  a 
view  of  one  of  the  most  interesting,  well-defined,  and 
beautiful  landscapes  in  the  world.  From  this  rock 
the  immortal  Washington  was  enabled  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  British  fleet  in  Earitan  Bay,  as  well 
as  the  land  forces  under  Sir  William  Howe  and  Lord 
Sterling,  and  thus  thwarted  the  purpose  of  the  enemy. 
An  association  has  been  formed  to  erect  a  monument 
to  the  memory  of  Washington  on  this  sacred  spot, 
the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  with  appropriate 
honors  July  4, 1867.  (See  chapter  on  the  Eevolution, 
in  this  work,  for  further  account.) 

WASHINGTON  MONtTMENT  AND  HISTORICAL  ASSO- 
CIATION.* 

Jan.  25,  1867,  a  few  citizens  of  Plainfield,  deeming 
it  the  duty  of  patriotism  to  honor  a  locality  so  emi- 
nently historic,  met  at  Laing's  Hall  and  formed  a 
monumental  association,  which,  on  the  following  11th 
of  April,  was  duly  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of 
New  Jersey,  and  subsequently  adopted  a  constitution.! 

*  Furnished  by  Hon.  Nathan  Harper. 

f  Article  1.  of  the  Constitution  recites  that  the  objects  of  the  association 
"shall  be  the  acquirement  of  title  to,  and  permanent  retention  of,  the 
spot  in  the  county  of  Somerset  known  as  *  Washington's  Itock,'  together 
with  an  eligible  monumental  site  adjacent  thereto,  and  for  the  erection 
and  preservation  on  such  ground  of  a  monument  sacredly  dedicated  to 
the  memory  of  George  Washington ;  and  for  the  appropriate  observance 
of  the  twenty-second  day  of  February  in  each  and  every  year ;  and  for 
the  collection  and  safe  keeping  of  Revolutionary  annals  and  relics." 

At  no  place  was  Washington's  heart  made  to  rejoice  more  than  as  he 
stood  upon  this  rock  and,  with  glass  in  hand,  watched  the  British  fleet 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy  transports,  that  filled  Amboy  Bay,  leave  its 
anchorage  and  lose  itself  to  sight  in  the  great  sea  beyond.     "Of  the 


B. 


864 


SOMERSET   COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


July  4,  1867,  iu  the  presence  of  an  immense  con- 
course of  people,  and  with  Masonic  ceremonies,  the 
corner-stone  of  the  monument  was  laid,  the  president 
of  the  association,  Mr.  Harper,  delivering  an  address. 

The  monument  has  not  yet  been  reared,  but  the 
purpose  lives  to  finally  accomplish  the  work  and  at 
no  distant  day.  The  association  maintains  vigorous 
existence,  and  on  Feb.  22,  1880,  elected  the  following 
officers  for  the  ensuing  year :  President,  Nathan  Har- 
per ;  Vice-Presidents,  Alfred  Berry,  Stephen  O.  Hor- 
ton ;  Treasurer,  Elias  E.  Pope ;  Corresponding  Sec- 
retary, James  E.  Martine ;  Recording  Secretary,  T. 
J.  Gillies;  Finance  Committee,  Alfred  Berry,  Elias 
E.  Pope,  William  B.  Maxon,  J.  Frank  Hubbard,  L. 
V.  F.  Eandolph,  William  J.  Leonard,  William  S. 
Force;  Monument  Committee,  Peter  P.  Good,  Ste- 
phen 0.  Horton,  John  H.  Staats,  George  E.  Pound, 
John  H.  Jackson ;  Printing  Committee,  N.  Carman 
Dunn,  James  Lyon,  Henry  J.  Storrs. 

THE  WASHINGTON  ROCK  CKLEBRATION. 
The  Centennial  Fourth  of  July  was  celebrated  at 
Washington  Eock  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  time 
and  place.  About  the  hour  named  in  programme, 
the  president  of  the  day,  Nathan  Harper,  called  the 
large  assemblage  to  order,  whereupon  the  Eev.  The- 
odore S.  Brown,  of  Dunellen,  offered  up  a  most  beau- 
tiful and  touching  prayer,  and  Mr.  Harper  made  the 
opening  address.  From  the  lengthy  address  prepared 
by  E.  S.  Bailey,  and  read  by  the  president  on  this  oc- 
casion, we  make  the  following  extracts : 

"  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Ephraim  Vail,  of  Green  Brook,  for  the  following 
information :  Mr.  Vail's  wub  the  first  two-story  house  built  this  side  of 
Brunswick  Landing,  and  is  now  more  than  one  hundred  years  old.  His 
house  was  the  one  nearest  to  the  rock  for  long  years.  He  remembers 
hearing  his  father  tell  of  a  visit  made  in  this  vicinity  by  three  or  four 
men,  who  came  from  Long  Island  to  see  friends.  They  were  met  by  oue 
John  Marcellus,  who  told  them  that  if  they  '  didn't  mind  they  would  be 
arrested  as  spies,'  and  directed  them  to  Mr.  Vail's  barn  for  safety.  Mar- 
celluB  immediately  reported  them  to  the  soldiers,  who  arrested  them. 
One  was  shot  as  a  spy  ;  the  chestnut-tree  standing  in  the  old  open  lot,  a 
little  back  from  the  Green  Brook  road,  and  between  the  two  houses  now 
occupied  by  Mr.  Vail  and  Mr.  Sandford,  marks  the  spot  of  this  execution. 
The  othei-s  were  sent  to  the  general  at  Morristown.  Mr.  Vail  also  says 
that  the  honor  of  having  shown  Washington  this  rock  as  a  'sightly 
place'  belongs  to  one  Edward  Fitz  Eandolph,  of  Piscataway,  a  man  of 
some  local  fame  during  Revolutionary  times,  who  led  the  way  to  the  rock 
on  a  horse  furnished  him  by  Washington.  The  descendants  of  this  man 
ore  now  living  near  the  old  homestead. 

"  I  will  here  venture  the  suggestion  that  from  the  arrival  of  Washing- 
ton, May  28th,  until  the  disappearance  of  the  British,  June  30th,  he  was 
a  frequent  visitor  at  this  rock.  I  find  no  positive  history  giving  me  this 
authority,  but  a  frequent  remark  in  all  the  histories  suggesting  it,  as, — 
'  On  the  2otb  of  June  Washington  was  on  the  rock  watching  the  engage- 
ment of  the  soldiers  commanded  by  Gen.  Stirling  as  they  skirmished  with 
Lord  CornwalHs,  and  at  various  times  be  resorted  to  this  place  to  ascer- 
tain the  movements  of  the  enemy.' — {HiM.  Coll.  iV.  ,7.,  202.)  '  Washing- 
ton knew  well  the  Advantage  of  these  hills,  and  watched  every  movement 
of  the  enemy.'— (Sisi.  of  ElUaielh.)  'June  13th,  being  apprised  of  a 
movement  of  Gen.  Howe,  Washington  at  daybreak  reconnoitred  the 
enemy  from  the  height  before  the  camp.'  "—(Irvmg'i  Waahington,  iii.  72  ) 

rock  itself  but  little  can  be  said.  Could  it  change  mute  impersonality, 
and  relate  all  its  own  history  and  the  scenes  enacted  upon  the  plain 
below,  then  only  would  it  be  complete.  It  would  tell  of  a  thousand 
events  full  of  interest,  but  the  most  prized  incident  of  all  would  be  its 
story  of  the  visits  of  the  great  Washington. 


Judge  Peter  P.  Good,  to  whom  was  assigned  the 
reading  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  dis- 
charged that  duty  in  a  masterly  style.  The  orator  of 
the  day,  Eev.  John  H.  Vincent,  D.D.,  was  then  in- 
troduced and  at  once  proceeded  to  deliver  one  of  the 
best  orations  that  ever  fell  from  mortal  lips.  The 
exercises  closed  with  the  benediction  by  Eev.  Mr, 
Brown.  Music  lent  its  charms  at  stated  intervals,  and 
good  order  and  close  attention  governed  the  audience 
throughout.  The  celebration  was  a  fine  affair,  and 
the  number  of  visitors  at  the  Eock  was  immense. 

SCHOOLS. 

The  report  of  the  State  board  of  education  for  the  ' 
year  ending  Aug.  1,  1879,  shows  the  following  statis- 
tics of  public  schools  in  North  Plainfleld  :  Washing- 
tonville.  Green  Brook,  and  North  Plainfleld  Districts, 
Nos.  36, 37,  and  38 ;  aggregate  value  of  property,  $4500 ; 
number  of  children  of  school  age  in  the  township, 
1010 ;  number  enrolled,  578  ;  average  attendance,  311 ; 
number  of  teachers,  8, — male,  2 ;  female,  6 ;  total 
amount  received  for  school  purposes,  $4967.45. 

STATISTICS. 

Amount  of  funded  debt $o4,C00 

Composed  as  follows: 

ISighty-nine  3500  coupon  bonds 44,fi00 

Twenty  $180  coupon  bonds 0,600 

One  school  bond  of  *600 500 

Total $54,000 

Rate  of  interest,  7  per  cent. 

Purpose  for  which  contracted,  street  improvement, 
— to  wit,  grading,  macadamizing,  and  engineering 
Somerset  Street,  Johnston  Drive,  and  Grove  Street 
extension,  and  for  building  extension  on  school- 
house;  these  bonds  became  due  in  1879,  $7500;  1880, 
$11,000;  and  there  falls  due  in  1881,  $5000;  1882, 
$14,000;  1883,  $7780;  1884,  $6320;  1885,  $1500;  1886, 
$1000.     Total,  $54,600. 

Amount  of  floating  debt :  Township,  $5150 ;  school, 


Amount  of  real  property,  $1,244,985;  deduction 
therefrom,  $171,889. 

Amount  of  personal  property,  $164,150. 

Total  amount  of  real  and  personal  property, 
$1,237,246. 

Rate  of  tax :  State  purposes  (State,  5  cents ;  school, 
20  cents),  25  cents;  county,  23  cents.  Local:  town- 
ship, 14  cents  ;  poor,  12  cents;  road,  15  cents ;  special 
school,  34  cents;  interest,  57  cents,  and  10  per  cent, 
on  principal  due  1879  and  1880,  14  cents. 

Amount  of  tax  ordered  to  be  raised $21,820.32 

Annual  expenses: 

State .y.....  604.60 

County 3,054.82 

State  school 2,06H.OO 

Township 1,800.00 

Poor 1,600.00 

Rood 200.00 

Interest '. 7,674.00 

Ten  per  cent,  of  principal 1,850.00 

Dog 106.60 

Poll 013.00 

Special  school-tax,  S!32+.'.i6. 

School  expenses,  about  $5000.