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HISTORY 


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NEW  JERSEY; 


AND  OF  THE 


CURRENCY 


OF   THIS   AND   THE   ADJOINING   COLONIES. 


BY 


LUCIUS    Q.   C.   ELMER. 


BRIDGETON,  N.  J.: 
GEORGE    F.    NIXON,    PUBLISHER. 

1869. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  by 

GEORGE   F.   NIXON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  New  Jersey. 


PREFACE. 


These  sketches  of  the  early  history  of  Cumberland  County  were 
prepared  a  few  years  ago  for  the  columns  of  a  newspaper.  Many 
of  the  facts  detailed,  relating  to  the  first  settlers  and  proprietors, 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer  in  the  course  of  a  somewhat 
protracted  career  as  a  lawyer.  Although  of  no  great  importance, 
it  has  been  thought  they  were  worth  preserving  in  a  more  perma- 
nent and  accessible  form.  Having  been  born  in  Bridgeton,  when 
it  contained  only  three  hundred  inhabitants,  and  always  resided 
there,  he  has  witnessed,  and  had  the  opportunity  of  minutely 
stating,  its  growth  into  a  city  of  no  mean  importance. 

The  chapter  giving  a  history  of  the  money  of  account  and  of 
circulation,  in  this  and  the  adjoining  colonies,  from  their  begin- 
nings to  a  recent  date,  it  is  believed  embraces  facts  not  to  be  found 
in  any  of  our  histories,  which  were  fast  passing  into  oblivion,  but 
which  are  too  curious  and  instructive  to  be  entirely  lost. 

Bridgeton,  May,  1869. 


EARLY  HISTORY 


CUMBERLAND  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

EAELY   SETTLERS   AND   PROPRIETORS. 

Cumberland  County  was  set  off  from  the  county  of  Salem,  and 
erected  into  a  new  county,  by  an  act  of  assembly  passed  January 
19,  1747-8.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  had  not  long  before 
gained  the  victory  of  Culloden,  and  thereby  established  the  house 
of  Hanover  permanently  on  the  throne  of  Great  Britain,  was  the 
great  hero  of  the  day,  and  the  new  county  was  named  after  him. 

The  first  settlers  of  this  part  of  West  Jersey  were  probably 
Dutch  and  Swedes.  Gabriel  Thomas,  a  Friend,  who  lived  for  a  few 
years  in  Pennsylvania,  on  his  return  to  England  in  1098,  published 
an  account  of  that  province  and  of  West  New  Jersey.  Describing 
the  rivers,  he  names  Prince  Maurice  River, "  where  the  Swedes  used 
to  kill  the  geese  in  great  numbers  for  their  feathers  only,  leaving 
their  carcasses  behind  them."  Quite  a  number  of  Swedes  settled 
in  the  neighborhood  of  this  river,  and  engaged  in  hunting  and  cut- 
ting lumber,  without,  however,  obtaining  a  title  to  the  soil,  until 
some  of  them  purchased  of  the  English.  About  the  year  17-13,  a 
Swedish  church  was  built  on  the  east  side  of  Maurice  River,  nearly 
opposite  Buckshootem,  where  missionaries  were  accustomed  to 
preach  until  after  the  Revolution.  The  graveyard  with  a  few 
stones  still  remains.  Many  of  the  Swedish  names  have  been  con- 
tinued in  the  neighborhood. 

A  few  of  the  New  Haven  people,  who  as  early  as  1611  made  a 
settlement  on  the  creek  called  by  the  Dutch  Varcken's  Kill  (now 
Salem  Creek),  may  have  wandered  into  the  limits  of  Cumberland, 
2 


6  FIRST  SETTLERS   AXD   PROPRIETORS. 

and  thus  become  the  pioneers  of  the  considerable  number,  who 
about  fifty  years  later  came  from  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Long  Island. 

The  Indians  do  not  appear  to  have  been  numerous,  consisting 
mostly  of  wandering  tribes,  having  no  permanent  settlements,  and 
no  principal  sachem  or  chief.     There  was  a  considerable  tribe 
which   generally   resided   in  Stow  Creek  and  Greenwich,  where 
many  of  their  stone  hatchets  and  other  relics  have  been  found.     At 
the  place  still  called  Indian  Fields,  about   a  mile  northeast   of 
Bridgeton,  they  had  a  settlement  before  1697,  the  place  being  refer- 
red to  by  that  name  in  a  survey  of  that  elate.     Another  contempo- 
raneous survey  referred  to  a  settlement  on  the  Cohansey,  in  Upper 
Hopewell,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  mill  known   as 
Seeley's  Mill.     There  was  also  a  settlement  on  the  west  side  of  the 
same  river,  just  above  Bridgeton,  on  the  property  now  belonging  to 
the  iron  and  nail  works ;  and  the  tradition  is  that  an  Indian  chief 
was  buried,  or,  as  some  accounts  say,  placed  in  a  box  or  coffin,  on  the 
limbs  of  a  tree,  on  the  point  of  land  opposite  North  Street,  since 
from  that  tradition  called  "Coffin  Point."     Other  places  of  settle- 
ment or  occasional  places  of  resort  are  known  to  have  existed 
near  Fairton,  and  on  Maurice  River. 

Fenwick  purchased  the  land  of  these,  and  to  the  fair  and  reason- 
ble  treatment  they  received  from  the  Friends,  who  were  the  first 
English  settlers,  may  probably  be  ascribed  the  absence  of  those 
desolating  wars  which  prevailed  in  New  England.     But  this  cir- 
cumstance has  prevented  much  notice  being  taken  of  the  aborigines 
m  the  early  accounts  of  West  Jersey.     James  Daniels,  a  minister 
among  the  Friends,  whose  father  settled  in  the  forks  of  Stow  Creek, 
near  the  place  now  called  Canton,  in  Salem  County,  in  16^0  when 
he  was  about  five  years  old,  learned  the  Indian  language,  and  says 
in  his  memoirs,  "the  white  people  were  few,  and  the  natives  a  mul- 
titude; they  were  a  sober,  grave,  and  temperate  people,  and  used 
no  manner  of  oath  in  their  speech ;  but  as  the  country  grew  older 
,  the  people  grew  worse,  and  had  corrupted  the  natives  in  their 
morals,  teaching  them  bad  words,  and  the  excessive  use  of  strong 
drink. '     Thomas,  in  his  account  of  West  Jersey  before  referred  to 
says  "the  Dutch  and  Swedes  inform  us  that  they  greatly  decreased 
in  numbers  to  what  they  were  when  they  came  into  this  country 
and  the  Indians  themselves  say  that  two' of  them  die  to  every  one 
Christian  that  comes  in  here/1     The  minutes  of  the  justices  and 


FIRST  SETTLERS   AND    PROPRIETORS.  7 

freeholders  of  Cumberland  County  for  the  year  1754,  state  that  a 
charge  of  £4,  3s.  4«?.  was  brought  by  Deerfield  Township,  for 
taking  care  of  an  old  Indian  who  died  in  said  precinct,  which  was 
allowed.  At  a  conference  held  by  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
legislature  with  the  Indians  in  1758,  one  Kobert  Kecot  claimed 
"  the  township  of  Deerfield,  in  the  county  of  Cumberland,  where 
the  Presbj^terian  meeting-house  stands,  and  also  the  tracts  of  James 
"Wasse,  Joseph  Peck,  and  Stephen  Chesup."  After  this,  all  the 
Indian  claims  were  fully  paid  for  and  relinquished.  A  few  of  the 
descendants  of  these  original  inhabitants  lingered  within  the 
county  until  after  the  Revolution,  earning  their  subsistence  princi- 
pally by  making  baskets.  Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century  they  had  all  removed  or  died. 

All  vacant  lands  being — according  to  the  law  of  Great  Britain — 
vested  in  the  crown,  and  it  being  the  established  principle  of  Euro- 
pean law  that  countries  uninhabited,  or  inhabited  only  by  savages, 
became  the  property  of  the  nation  taking  possession,  King  Charles 
II.  granted  all  that  territory,  called  by  the  Dutch  New  Nether- 
lands, including  part  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  all  New 
Jersey,  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II., 
March  12,  1663-4.  The  duke  conveyed  New  Jersey  to  Lord 
Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret,  June  24,  1664.  In  1672,  the 
Dutch  reconquered  the  province ;  but  in  1673  it  was  restored,  and 
new  grants  were  executed.  Berkley,  in  1673,  conveyed  his  half  to 
John  Fenwick,  and  shortly  afterwards  Fenwick  conveyed  nine-tenth 
parts  of  his  half  to  William  Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie,  and  Nicholas 
Lucas,  in  trust  for  the  creditors  of  Edward  Billing.  The  above- 
named  persons  had  all  become  followers  of  George  Fox,  and  were 
then  called  Quakers,  adopting  themselves  the  name  of  Friends. 
Fenwick  had  been  a  member  of  a  church  of  Independents,  whereof 
John  Goodwin  was  the  pastor.  He  held  a  commission  as  major  of 
cavalry,  which  Johnson,  in  his  History  of  Salem,  says  was  written 
in  Cromwell's  own  hand. 

In  1676,  the  province  was  divided,  Fenwick,  Penn,  Lawrie,  and 
Lucas  becoming  proprietors  of  the  half  called  West  Jersey.  Bil- 
ling— who  was  a  London  merchant — having  failed,  his  nine-tenths, 
held  by  Penn  and  others,  was  conveyed  to  his  creditors  and  others 
in  hundredth  parts,  or,  as  the  deeds  made  in  England  set  it  forth, 
in  nineteenth  parts  of  ninety  hundredth  parts,  so  that  a  full  pro- 
prietary interest  came  to  be  reckoned  a  hundredth  part.     Lesser 


b  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  PROPRIETORS. 

parts  of  the  hundredths,  or  a  definite  number  of  acres  therein,  were 
also  frequently  conveyed  to  individuals.  Fenwick,  and  Eldridge, 
and  Warner,  to  whom  he  executed  a  long  lease  in  England,  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  money,  were  recognized  as  owning  ten  proprie- 
taries, or  one-tenth  of  the  province.  It  would  seem  that  each  par- 
ticular hundredth  was  at  first  in  some  way  designated,  and  the 
respective  owners  drew  lots  for  their  several  shares;  but  this 
designation  was  never  fully  carried  out,  and  it  is  not  known  how 
the  parts  were  owned.  Fenwick's  ten  proprietaries,  however,  were 
all  considered  to  be  contained  in  what  was  called  the  Salem  tenth, 
extending  from  Berkeley  River  (now  Oldman's  Creek)  to  a  creek  a 
little  east  of  the  Cohansey,  originally  called  the  Tweed,  which, 
having  a  wide  mouth  where  it  empties  into  the  Delaware,  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  stream  commencing  far  up  to  the  north,  but  which 
proved  to  be  confined  to  the  marsh,  and  has  since  been  called  Back 
Creek. 

Fenwick  came  into  the  Delaware  in  June,  1675,  with  his  family 
and  servants,  consisting  of  two  daughters  and  their  husbands,  one 
unmarried  daughter,  and  two  servants.  His  wife  remained  in  Eng- 
land, and  never  came  to  America.  Edward  Champney,  one  of  his 
sons-in-law,  brought  with  him  three  servants,  one  of  whom  was 
^lark, Reeve,  who  settled  at  Greenwich,  and  built  a  house  not  far 
from  the  Cohansey,  near  the  house  where  John  Sheppard  long 
lived.  The  servants,  as  is  remarked  by  Smith,  in  his  History  of 
Neio  Jersey,  being  accustomed  to  work,  and  willing  to  encounter 
the  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  the  settlement  of  a  new 
country,  succeeded  much  better  than  their  masters.  Mark  Reeve, 
among  others,  became  a  considerable  proprietor,  and  is  still  repre- 
sented by  numerous  respectable  descendants. 

So  far  as  is  now  known,  the  Dutch  and  Swedes  never  took  any 
steps  to  secure  a  permanent  title  to  the  land  upon  which  they  set- 
tled, and  did  not  even  take  deeds  from  the  Indians.  Whatever 
title  they  may  have  claimed  as  the  first  settlers  and  improvers, 
was  ignored  by  the  English,  although  there  is  reason  to  believe 
they  were,  in  many  cases,  permitted  to  become  purchasers  at  the 
usual  price  for  the  unimproved  land.  A  few  names  apparently  not 
English  are  found  among  the  early  freeholders. 

Penn  and  the  other  legal  proprietors  of  West  Jersey,  in  1676, 
signed  an  agreement  the  original  of  which,  well  engrossed  on 
vellum,  in  a  bound  quarto  volume,  is  preserved  in  the  land  office 


FIRST   SETTLERS   A\"D    PROPRIETORS.  9 

at  Burlington,  regulating  the  government  and  the  mode  of  dis- 
posing of  the  lands.  It  provided  for  dividing  the  territory  into 
tenths,  originally  intended  to  take  the  place  of  counties,  and  the 
tenths  were  to  be  divided  into  hundredths.  Fenwick  did  not  sign 
this  agreement,  but  assumed  to  act  independently  of  the  other 
proprietors,  which  was  the  occasion  o'f  much  contention.  Salem, 
however,  was  always  recognized  as  one  of  the  tenths,  and  Fenwick, 
or  his  grantees,  as  the  owners  of  ten  proprietaries.  During  part 
of  his  life  he  claimed  to  be  sole  or  chief  proprietor  of  the  moiety 
of  New  Jersey,  and  established  his  government  at  the  place  he 
called  New  Salem,  now  the  city  of  Salem.  He  appointed  a 
Secretary  and  Surveyor  General,  the  latter  being  at  first  Richard 
Hancock,  who  came  over  with  him.  In  167^3  James  Nevill  was 
appointed  Secretary,  and  his  son-in-law,  Samuel  Hedge,  Surveyor 
General,  Hancock  having  favored  the  claims  of  the  other  proprie- 
tors, and  acted  under  them. 

In  1682  Fenwick  conveyed  all  his  interest  in  New  Jersey  to 
William  Penn,  except  the  part  which  was  called  Fenwick's  colony, 
containing,  as  was  supposed,  150,000  acres.  When  he  died  in  the 
latter  part  ot  1G83,  he  appointed  Penn  and  others  his  executors, 
giving  them  "full  power  to  lett,  sett,  sell  and  dispose"  of  his  whole 
estate,  for  the  paying  of  his  debts  and  improving  his  estate,  for  his 
heirs  during  their  non  age.  By  virtue  of  the  aforesaid  deed  and 
will,  Penn  and  the  other  executors  made  conveyances  of  large 
parcels  of  land,  besides  what  Fenwick  had  himself  conveyed,  by 
virtue  of  which  surveys  were  made,  and  under  which  the  titles  are 
held. 

There  seems  to  have  been  for  several  years  after  Fenwick's 
arrival,  a  constant  conflict  between  him  and  the  Assembly,  which 
at  length  occasioned  his  deed  to  Penn  in  1682.  In  May,  1683,  he 
appeared  himself  as  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  and  it  was  then 
enacted  as  a  law  that  the  lands  and.  marsh  or  meadow  formerly 
laid  out  for  Salem  Town  bounds,  by  agreement  of  John  Fenwick 
and  the  people  of  Salem  Liberty,  shall  stand  and  be  forever  to  and 
for  the  only  use  of  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  said  town. 
It  was  then  agreed  nem.  con.,  "only  John  Fenwick  excepted  his 
tenth,  which  he  said  then  at  that  time  was  not  under  the  same 
circumstances,  but  now  freely  consenteth  thereunto,"  that  the  con- 
cessions agreed  on  in  1676,  should  be  the  fundamentals  and  ground 
of  the  government  of  West  Jersey. 


10  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  PROPRIETORS. 

This  assent,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  understood  by 
Femvick  as  hindering  him  from  disposing  of  his  land,  without 
regard  to  the  agreements  or  concessions  or  laws.  His  will,  an 
ancient  copy  of  which  is  before  me,  dated  August  7,  1683,  made 
on  his  sick  bed  at  Fen  wick's  Grove,  professes  to  dispose  of  large 
manors  and  tracts  of  land  to  his  grand-children.  It  contains  this 
clause:  "Item:  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  three  grand-children  and 
their  heirs  male  forever,  all  that  tract  of  land  laying  near  the  river 
heretofore  called  Cohansey,  which  I  will  have  hereafter  called 
Coesaria  Eiver,  and  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Town  Neck; 
and  my  will  is  that  it,  together  with  the  land  on  the  other  side  which 
is  called  Shrewsbury  Neck,  and  other  the  lands  thereunto  belong- 
ing, which  is  contained  in  my  Indian  purchase,  and  so  up  the  bay 
to  the  mouth  of  Monmouth  Eiver  (Alloway's  Creek  was  then  so 
called),  and  up  Monmouth  River  to  the  head  or  farthest  branch 
thereof,  and  so  in  a  straight  line  to  the  head  of  Cassaria  River,  all 
which  I  will  to  be  called  the  manor  of  Caesaria,  and  that  there 
shall  be  a  city  erected,  and  marshes  and  land  allowed  as  my  exe- 
cutors shall  see  convenient,  which  I  empower  them  to  do  and 
to  name  the  land  ;  further,  my  will  is  that  out  of  the  residue  of  the 
^and  and  marshes  shall  be  divided  equally  among  my  said  heirs, 
and  that  Fenwick's  dividend  shall  join  to  the  town  and  Bacon's 
Creek,  where,  my  will  is,  there  shall  be  a  house  erected  and  called 
the  Manor  house,  for  keeping  of  courts."  This  manor,  it  will  be 
seen,  embraced  the  present  townships  of  Greenwich,  Hopewell,' 
Cohansey  and  Stow  Creek  in  Cumberland,  Lower  Alloway's  Creek, 
and  part  of  Upper  Alloway's  Creek  Townships  in  Salem  ;  but,  like 
many  other  magnificent  projects,  it  was  never  carried  out.  None 
of  his  grants  or  devises  of  specific  parcels  of  land,  except  Salem 
Town,  have  been  recognized  as  valid;  and  no  titles  under  them  are 
good,  unless  regular  surveys  have  been  made  and  recorded,  or 
such  a  length  of  actual  possession  has  been  had  as  to  bar  a  rival 
claimant. 

Directly  after  Fenwick's  arrival,  he  provided  for  laying  out  a  neck 
of  land  for  a  town  at  Cohansey,  one-half  for  the  chief  proprietor  (him- 
self), and  one-half  for  the  purchasers,  the  lots  to  be  sixteen  acres 
each.  The  town  thus  projected  was  called  by  the  settlers  Green- 
wich, although  it  continued  for  many  years  to  be  also  called  Cohan- 
sey. A  memorial  of  the  proprietors  of  East  and  West  Jersey  to  the 
crown,  dated  in  1701,  prays  that  the  port  of  Perth  Amboy,  in  East 


FIRST    SETTLERS    AND    PROPRIETORS.  11 

Jersejr,  and  the  ports  of  Burlington  and  Cohansey,  in  West  Jersey, 
may  be  established  ports  of  those  respective  provinces  forever.  An 
act  of  the  Assembly  of  West  Jersey,  in  1695,  recites  that  a  conside- 
rable number  of  people  are  settled  on  or  about  Cohansey,  alias 
Caesaria  Eiver,  within  the  county  of  Salem,  and  enacts  that  there 
shall  be  two  fairs  kept  yearly  at  the  town  of  Greenwich  at  Co- 
hansey aforesaid  ;  the  first  on. the  24th  and  25th  days  of  April,  and 
the  second  on  the  16th  and  17th  days  of  October.  These  fairs  were 
continued  and  were  largely  attended  until  1705,  when  a  law  was 
enacted  reciting  that  fairs  in  the  town  of  Greenwich  had  been  found 
inconvenient  and  unnecessary,  and  that  therefore  no  fairs  should  be 
hereafter  held  there.  Ebenezer  Miller,  a  Friend,  who  resided  at 
Greenwich,  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  this  year,  and  doubt- 
less procured  this  act.  By  this  time  fairs  had  become  much  less 
important  than  they  had  been,  by  the  increase  of  regular  retail 
stores,  whose  proprietors  were  anxious  to  get  rid  of  the  fairs.  One 
of  the  provisions  of  the  original  concessions  and  agreements  of  the 
freeholders  of  West  Jersey  was  that  the  streets  in  cities,  towns, 
and  villages  should  not  be  under  one  hundred  feet  wide.  In  pur- 
suance of  this,  a  street  was  laid  out  at  Greenwich,  from  the  wharf 
to  where  the  Presbyterian  church  was  afterwards  built,  of  that 
width,  but  by  whom  is  not  known.  It  is  quite  probable  that  Fen- 
wick  himself  visited  the  place  in  his  barge,  which  he  particularly 
mentions  in  his  will ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  sold  any  lots 
there.  His  will  provides  "that  Martha  Smith,  my  Xtian  friend, 
to  have  two  lots  of  land  at  Cohansey,  at  the  town  intended  on  the 
river  Caesaria."* 

*  The  following  extract  from  an  interesting  account  of  the  Ewing  family,  printed 
only  for  the  use  of  the  family,  will  give  us  a  very  good  idea  of  the  situation  and 
habits  of  a  well-to-do  piou,s  Presbyterian  family  in  the  county  of  Cumberland, 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is  a  part  of  the  biography  of  the 
wife  of  Masked  Ewing,  who  married  Mary  Pagett,  in  1743. 

"His  wife  was  a  woman  of  plain  manners,  though  lady-like,  and  very  sensible. 
She  was  remarkable  for  her  powers  as  a  housekeeper.  With  the  exception  of  her 
husband's  Sunday-coat,  which  was  the  one  that  had  served  at  his  wedding,  ami 
which  lasted  for  a  good  part  of  after  life,  she  had  on  hand  the  making  of  his  and 
their  children's  garments  from  the  flax  and  the  wool.  All  the  bedding  and  house 
linen  must  be  made,  and  geese  kept  to  find  materials  for  beds  ;  some  thousand 
weight  of  cheese  to  be  prepared  annually  for  market;  poultry  and  calves  to  be 
raised  ;  gardening  to  be  done  ;  the  work  of  butchering-time  to  be  attended  to  (this 
included  the  putting  up  of  pork  and  salt  meat  to  last  the  whole  year,  besides  sau- 
sages for  winter,  and  the  making  of  candles)  ;  herbs  to  be  gathered  and  dried,  and 


12  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  PROPRIETORS. 

Perm  and  the  executors  of  Fenwick  made  several  conveyances 
of  sixteen  acre  lots  on  the  east  side  of  the  street ;  one  to  Mark 
Reeve,  describes  him  as  of  Ctesaria  River,  and  is  dated  August  9, 
1686.  It  contains  the  lot  at  the  corner  near  the  wharf,  on  which 
he  had  built  a  house.  In  December  of  the  same  year  Reeve,  in 
consideration  of  £80,  conveyed  it  to  Joseph  Browne,  late  of  Phila- 
delphia, "reserving  to  himself  and  his  heirs  a  free  egress  and  re- 
gress to  and  from  a  certain  piece  of  ground,  containing  24  square 
feet,  where  the  said  Mark  Reeve's  wife  lies  buried."  Browne  con- 
veyed it  to  Chalkley,  a  Friend,  in  1738,  and  he  to  John  Butler. 
Butler  conveyed  it  to  Thomas  Mulford,  and  he  to  William  Conover, 
who  conveyed  it  to  John  Sheppard,  December  16,  1760,  in  whose 
family  it  has  remained  ever  since.  No  survey  under  the  proprie- 
tors appears  to 'have  been  recorded  for  this  lot.  Chalkley,  in  1789, 
laid  a  survey  on  half  an  acre  adjoining  it,  including  the  wharf, 
and  in  1743  another  for  15-^  acres,  thus  making  up  a  sixteen  acre 
lot. 

One  Zachariah  Barrow  possessed  a  farm  held  under  Fenwick  con- 
siderably further  north,  on  the*  east  side  of  the  street,  above  the 
Friends'  school-house,  and  by  Ins  will  made  in  1725  devised  it "  for 
the  benefit  of  a  free  school  for  the  town  of  Greenwich  forever."  In 
1749,  just  after  Cumberland  County  was  established,  to  perfect  the 
title — no  survey  having  been  before  recorded — Bbenezer  Miller  pro- 
cured a  survey  to  be  duly  laid  on  this  farm  to  himself  and  two  others, 
attorneys  duly  constituted  by  the  town  of  Greenwich,  and  they  exe- 
cuted a  conveyance  to  David  Sheppard,  subject  to  a  yearly  rent  of 
thirteen  pounds,  for  the  use  of  a  free  school  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  of  Greenwich,  within  certain  bounds  set  forth  in  the  deed. 
From  this  and  other  circumstances,  it  is  known  that  Greenwich  was 
made  a  township  at  an  early  day,  and  probably  with  the  bounda- 

ointinents  compounded  ;  besides  all  the  ordinary  house-work  of  washing,  ironing, 
patching,  darning,  knitting,  scrubbing,  baking,  cooking,  and  many  other  avoca- 
tions, which  a  farmer's  wife  now-a-days  would  be  apt  to  think  entirely  out  of  her 
line.  And  all  this  without  any  '  help,'  other  than  that  afforded  by  her  own  little 
daughters,  as  they  became  able ;  and  for  the  first  twenty-two  years,  with  a  baby 
always  to  be  nursed.  This  afforded  no  time  for  any  reading  but  the  best ;  but 
many  a  good  book  she  contrived  to  read  by  laying  it  on  her  lap,  whilst  her  hands 
plied  the  knitting-needles,  or  to  hear  read  by  the  husband  or  one  of  the  children, 
while  she  and  the  rest  spent  the  evening  in  sewing.  On  the  Sabbath,  a  folio 
Flavel,  the  Institutes  of  Calvin,  and,  above  all,  the  Bible,  were  the  treasures  in 
which  her  soul  delighted." 


FIRST   SETTLERS    AND    PROPRIETORS.  13 

ries  contained  in  the  deed.  The  act  establishing  the  county  divides 
it  into  six  townships,  the  bounds  of  Greenwich  containing  conside- 
rably more  territory  than  is  described  in  the  deed.  In  New  Eng- 
land what  we  call  townships  are  usually  called  towns.  The  reserved 
rent  continues  to  be  paid,  and  by  a  decree  of  the  Court  of  Chancery, 
to  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  schools  within  the  bounds  of 
the  town,  as  described  in  the  deed. 

Fenwick's  will,  before  quoted,  mentions  a  creek  called  Bacon's 
Creek.  There  is  still  extant  a  deed  from  two  Indians  to  John 
Nicholls  of  Nicholls  Hartford,  near  Cohansey,  dated  25th  of  4th 
month  (June  of  the  old  style),  1683,  whereby,  in  consideration  of 
one  blanket,  one  double  handful  of  powder,  two  bars  of  lead,  three 
pennyworths  of  paint,  one  hoe,  one  axe,  one  looking-glass,  one  pair 
of  scissors,  one  shirt,  and  one  breech  cloth,  they  sell  and  convey  to 
him  a  parcel  of  land  containing,  by  estimation,  one  hundred  acres, 
beginning  at  a  tree  near  the  creek  called  the  Great  Tree  Creek,  and 
bounding  on  Cohansey  Eiver  and  land  of  Henry  Jennings,  George 
Hazlewood,  and  Samuel  Bacon,  who  are  believed  to  have  been  of 
the  early  Baptist  settlers.  This  deed  was  approved  by  Eichard 
Grey  and  James  Nevill,  in  accordance  with  a  law  passed  the  same 
year,  which  forbade  the  purchase  of  land  from  Indians  without 
their  sanction.  A  somewhat  similar  deed  is  in  the  possession  of 
the  Bacon  family.  "Whether  a  title  was  also  obtained  by  survey 
under  the  proprietors  is  unknown.  Unless  there  was,  the  legal 
title  of  the  present  possessors  rests  upon  the  possession,  and  not 
upon  the  Indian  deeds. 

Before  the  Revolutionary  War  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  there 
were  any  towns  in  the  county.  Greenwich  was  the  place  of  most 
business  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  The  stores 
there  contained  the  largest  assortment  of  goods.  A  young  lady 
who  visited  Bridgeton  in  1786,  mentions,  in  a  journal  which  has 
been  preserved,  going  to  Greenwich  "  to  get  her  broken  watch  crys- 
tal replaced,  but  the  man  had  not  received  any  from  Philadelphia 
as  he  expected."  She  mentions  going  to  Wood  and  Sheppard's 
store  to  get  a  few  trifles.  They  transacted  so  large  a  business  as 
to  make  it  worth  while  to  have  bonds  printed  payable  to  them. 
The  river  forming  an  excellent  harbor,  vessels  traded  direct  to  the 
West  Indies  and  other  places;  but  as  New  York  overshadowed 
Perth  Amboy,  so  Philadelphia  overshadowed  Greenwich  or  Cohan- 
sie.     There  was  a  regular  ferry  kept  up  over  the  river,  and  much 


14  FIRST  SETTLERS  AND  PROPRIETORS. 

intercourse  between  Fairfield  and  Greenwich.  In  1767,  after  John 
Sheppard  came  there,  a  law  was  passed  establishing  the  ferry,  and 
in  pursuance  of  its  provisions,  he  bound  himself  to  keep  good  and 
sufficient  boats,  fit  for  ferrying  travellers  and  carriages  for  999 
years,  and  to  keep  and  amend  the  roads,  and  bound  his  property 
to  make  good  his  agreement.  About  1810,  and  again  in  1820, 
efforts  were  made  to  have  a  draw-bridge  built  at  the  expense  of  the 
county;  but  this  project  was  strenuously  resisted  by  those  living 
on  the  river  above,  and  being  defeated,  caused  much  rejoicing.  For 
several  years  a  horse-boat  was  in  constant  use ;  but  as  other  towns 
grew,  and  capital  increased,  Greenwich  lost  its  relative  importance, 
and  the  ferry  had  but  little  business,  so  that  in  1838  Mr.  Sheppard, 
in  consideration  of  paying  $300,  was  released  from  his  engage- 
ment. Like  other  parts  of  the  county,  it  has  since  greatly  im- 
proved, but  it  is  now  only  the  depot  of  a  rich  agricultural  region 
in  its  immediate  neighborhood* 

Those  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  English  colonies  in  North 
America,  will  remember  that  it  was  the  persistence  of  the  British 
government  in  taxing  the  people,  without  allowing  them  to  be 
represented  in  Parliament,  that  brought  on  the  Eevolution,  and 
hastened  their  Independence.  In  1773,  all  those  taxes  were  re- 
pealed but  the  duty  on  tea,  which  our  forefathers  not  only  resolved 
not  to  use,  but  which  they  would  not  suffer  to  be  landed  and  offered 
for  sale.  The  East  India  Company,  which  then  had  the  monopoly 
of  this  commodity,  was  encouraged  to  send  it  to  this  country,  and 
was  allowed  a  drawback  of  all  the  duties  paid  in  England,  it  being 
supposed  that  the  cheapness  of  the  article  would  tempt  our  people 
to  purchase  largely.  Cargoes  were  sent  to  all  the  large  seaports ; 
but  at  some  places  the  tea  was  not  permitted  to  be  landed,  and  at 
others  it  was  stored,  but  not  allowed  to  be  sold.  In  December,  a 
party  disguised  as  Indians  boarded  one  of  the  ships  in  Boston  har- 
bor, and  threw  the  tea  into  the  water. 

A  brig  called  the  Greyhound,  bound  to  Philadelphia,  with  a 
cargo  of  tea,  the  captain  of  which  was  afraid  to  proceed  to  his  place 
of  destination,  in  the  summer  of  1774  came  into  the  Cohansey, 
landed  his  tea,  and  had  it  stored  in  the  cellar  of  a  house  standing 
in  front  of  the  then  open  market-square.  This  house  is  not  now 
standing,  and  the  market-square  has  been  inclosed  as  private  pro- 

*  When  not  otherwise  stated,  the  time  referred  to  as  "now"  is  the  year  1SG5. 


FIRST   SETTLERS   AND   PROPRIETORS.  15 

perty.  Imitating  the  example  of  the  Bostonians,  a  company  of 
near  forty  men  was  organized,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  commit- 
tee of  safety  of  the  county,  of  which  Jonathan  Elmer,  the  royal 
sheriff)  was  an  active  member,  who  disguised  themselves  as  Indians, 
and  on  the  night  of  November  22,  1774,  broke  into  the  store-house, 
took  out  the  boxes  of  tea,  and  burned  them  in  a  neighboring  field. 
The  writer  remembers  to  have  known  in  his  boyhood  one  of  the 
party,  a  man  named  Stacks,  who,  it  was  said,  tied  strings  round  his 
pantaloons  at  his  ankles,  and  stuffed  them  with  tea,  which  he  car- 
ried home  to  his  family,  and  thus  got  the  name  of  Tea-Stacks. 

The  owners  of  the  tea  commenced  actions  of  trespass  against 
such  of  the  disguised  Indians  as  they  thought  they  could  identify, 
in  tlie  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  Joseph  Reed  of  Philadelphia, 
and  Mr.  Petit  of  Burlington,  being  their  lawyers.  Money  for  the 
defence  was  raised  by  subscription,  and  Joseph  Bloomfield,  then 
residing  at  Bridgeton,  George  Eead  of  New  Castle,  Elias  Boudinot 
of  Elizabethtown,  and  Jonathan  D.  Serjeant  of  Philadelphia,  all 
eminent  counsellors,  were  employed  on  behalf  of  the  defendants. 
No  trial,  however,  ever  took  place.  The  plaintiffs  were  ruled  to 
enter  security  for  the  costs,  which  being  neglected,  a  judgment  of 
non  pros  was  entered  at  May  Term,  1776,  but  at  the  succeeding 
term  security  was  filed,  and  the  non  pros  set  aside.  The  new 
constitution  of  the  State,  adopted  in  July,  having  displaced  the 
Royal  Judges,  and  their  places  being  filled  in  the  succeeding  win- 
ter with  Whigs,  the  actions  were  dropped,  and  no  further  proceed- 
ings took  place  on  either  side. 

Ebenezer  Elmer,  who  was  one  of  the  Indians,  enters  in  a  journal 
he  kept  during  the  year  1775,  under  the  date  "Die  Jovis  25  mo" 
(Thursday,  May  25,  1775),  "Came  up  to  Bridge  (from  his  nephew 
Daniel  Elmer's,  who  lived  at  Cedarville)  just  before  court,  being 
Supreme  Court.  Judge  Smith  gave  very  large  charge  to  the  grand 
jury  concerning  the  times,  and  the  burning  of  the  tea  the  fall 
before,  but  the  jury  came  in  without  doing  anything,  and  the  court 
broke  up."  Under  the  date  of  September  7,  he  enters,  "  Expected 
as  Sheriff  Bowen  had  got  a  jury  of  Tories,  we  should  be  indicted 
for  burning  the  tea  and  taking  Wheaton,  but  they  could  not  make 
it  out."  Wheaton  had  been  arrested  by  order  of  the  committee  of 
safety,  as  a  dangerous  Tory,  but,  nothing  appearing  against  him, 
had  been  discharged.  The  grand  jury,  to  whom  he  complained, 
did  make  a  presentment  against  the  journalist  and  others,  tor  an 


16  FIRST   SETTLERS    AND   PROPRIETORS. 

assault  and  battery,  and  false  imprisonment,  which  is  now  on  file, 
but  the  court  did  not  think  proper  to  order  a  formal  indictment  to 
be  presented,  and  nothing  was  done. 

The  Judge  Smyth  mentioned  in  the  journal  was  Chief  Justice 
Frederick  Smyth,  the  last  of  the  Royal  judges  who  presided  in  the 
Oyer  and  Terminer  of  this  county.  His  charge  fell  on  very  dull 
ears,  the  Whig  sheriff,  who  knew  all  about  the  tea  burning,  having 
taken  care  to  summon  a  Whig  jury,  the  foreman  of  which  was  his 
nephew,  Daniel  Elmer.  Before  the  ensuing  September  term 
this  Whig  sheriff,  who  held  his  office  at  the  pleasure  of  Governor 
Franklin,  who  was  not  superseded  until  arrested  by  order  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  in  the  following  June,  wras 
displaced,  and  David  Bowen,  who  was  supposed  to  be  more  loyal, 
was  appointed  in  his  place.  He  held  the  office  of  sheriff  a  little 
more  than  a  year,  being  superseded  in  the  fall  of  1776  by  Joel 
Fithian,  who  was  elected  pursuant  to  the  new  constitution. 

The  place  now  called  Eoadstown,  surrounded  by  a  fertile  region, 
was  settled  at  an  early  date,  and  until  Cohansey  Bridge  was 
established  as  the  county  town,  was  the  place  next  in  importance 
to  New  England  town,  and  Greenwich.  It  is  called  Kingstown  in 
an  old  mortgage  on  record,  but  if  it  was  ever  generally  known  by 
that  name,  which  is  doubtful,  that  designation  was  wiped  out  by 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Prior  to,  and  for  some  time 
after  the  Revolution,  it  was  called  Sayre's  Cross  Eoads,  Ananias 
Sayre,  originally  from  Fairfield,  who  was  a  prominent  citizen,  and 
at  one  time  sheriff,  having  settled  there,  and  built  the  house  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  cross  roads. 

The  first  proprietors  of  the  land  within  the  bounds  of  what  is 
now  Cumberland,  were  principally,  but  not  exclusively,  Friends. 
But  few  of  the  actual  settlers  were  Friends,  that  people  being 
principally  confined  to  Greenwich,  and  at  a  later  day  a  few  on 
Maurice  River.  Richard  Hancock,  who  was  Fenwick's  first  Sur- 
veyor General,  after  his  falling  out  with  him  came  to  the  place 
now  called  Bridgeton,  and  before  1686  erected  a  saw-mill  on  the 
stream  then  and  since  called  Mill  Creek,  at  the  place  where  Pine 
Street  now  crosses  the  dam,  then  first  made  to  form  the  pond.  The 
low  ground  adjoining  this  creek  was  then  covered  with  cedar  trees, 
and  pine  and  other  large  trees  covered  the  hills.  What  title 
Hancock  had  to  the  land  does  not  appear.  It  was  included  within 
the  11,000  acre  survey,  about  this  time  located  for  the  West  Jersey 


FIRST   SETTLERS   AND   PROPRIETORS.  17 

Society,  formed  by  several  large  proprietors  living  partly  in  Lon- 
don and  partly  in  the  province.  Probably  he  held  under  them. 
It  docs  not  appear  that  he  ever  lived  here,  his  residence  being  at 
the  place  in  Salem  County  named  after  him,  Hancock's  Bridge, 
where  there  still  remain  some  of  his  descendants.  Thomas  says, 
"  &  goodly  store  of  lumber  went  out  of  the  Cohansey  to  Philadel- 
phia/' 

It  was  an  early  regulation  that  surveys  should  not  extend  on 
both  sides  of  navigable  streams.  Surveyors,  of  whom  John  Wor- 
lidge  was  one,  are  said  to  have  come  from  Burlington  in  a  boat. 
The  rights  west  of  the  Cohansey  seem  all  to  have  been  purchased 
of  Fenwick  or  his  executors.  Most  of  the  land  was  covered  by 
surveys  before  1700.  James  Wasse,  Joshua  Barkstead,  R.  Hutch- 
inson, George  Hazlewood,  John  Budcl,  Cornelius  Mason,  and  Ed- 
mund Gibbon  made  large  surveys,  which  extended  nearly  from 
the  Cohansey  to  the  Salem  line. 

Edmund  Gibbon,  an  English  merchant  residing  in  New  York, 
in  the  year  1677,  to  secure  a  debt  due  to  him  by  Edward  Duke  and 
Thomas  Duke,  took  from  them  a  conveyance  of  6000  acres  of  land 
in  West  Jersey  which  had  been  conveyed  to  them  by  Fenwick  in 
'England.  Gibbon,  by  virtue  of  this  deed,  had  a  tract  of  5500 
acres  surveyed  for  him  by  Richard  Hancock  in  1682.  It  was  re- 
surveyed  by  Benj.  Acton  in  1703,  and  included  within  its  bounds 
Roadstown,  the  east  line  running  between  the  present  Baptist 
meetingdiouse  and  the  cross-roads,  and  extending  southward  to 
Pine  Mount  Branch,  and  westward  to  the  Delaware.  He  devised 
this  tract  to  his  grandson  Edmund,  who  devised  it  to  Francis 
Gibbon  of  Bennensdere,  England.  In  1700  Francis  devised  it  to 
his  two  kinsmen,  Leonard  and  Nicholas  Gibbon,  of  Gravesend  in 
Kent,  described  as  "all  that  part  of  lands  called  Mount  Gibbon, 
upon  the  branches  of  unknown  creek,  near  Cohansey  in  West  New 
Jersey,"  provided  they  go  and  settle  upon  it.  They  both  came 
over  and  erected  the  mill  formerly  owned  by  Richard  Seeley,  who 
was  a  descendant  of  Nicholas,  and  now  by  his  daughter,  the  pro- 
perty having  continued  in  the  family  to  this  time.  This  was  pro- 
bably the  first  mill  erected  for  grinding  grain,  unless  the  tide  mill, 
which  was  situate  on  the  stream  a  little  east  of  Greenwich  Street, 
and  has  been  many  years  gone,  preceded  it.  A  fulling  mill  was 
erected  at  an  early  day  on  Pine  Mount  (as  Mount  Gibbon  is  now 
called)  Run.     The  mills  of  John  6.  Wood  and  of  Benjamin  Shop- 


18  FIRST   SETTLERS   AND   PROPRIETORS. 

pard  are  also  of  old  date.  Wood's  Mill  was  for  a  long  time  owned 
by  John  Brick,  the  tradition  being  that  he  also  owned  large  tracts 
in  Lower  Pittsgrove,  and  that  through  his  influence  the  line  between 
Cumberland  and  Salem  was  so  run  as  to  leave  them  in  the  latter 
county.  Leonard  and  Nicholas  Gibbon  divided  their  tract  in  1730, 
Nicholas  taking  the  southern  part,  including  the  mill,  and  2000 
acres  of  land.  Nicholas  built  a  good  brick  house  in  the  town  of 
Greenwich,  where  he  resided  until  1740,  when  he  removed  to 
Salem.  Leonard  built  a  stone  house  about  two  miles  north  of 
Greenwich.  Both  these  buildings  remain,  but  have  long  since 
gone  out  of  the  family,  of  whom  there  are  still  very  respectable 
descendants,  residing  principally  in  Salem. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Cohansey  a  large  tract  of  11,000  acres 
was  surveyed  by  Worlidge  and  Budd  for  the  West  Jersey  Society 
in  1686,  and  re-surveyed  and  recorded  in  1716.  East  of  that  tract 
a  large  survey  was  made  for  the  heirs  of  Penn,  which  extended  to 
Maurice  River.  On  the  west  side  of  that  river,  and  bounding  on 
the  Delaware,  a  large  survey  was  made  for  Wasse.  In  1691  a 
large  survey  was  laid  on  the  east  side  of  Maurice  River  for  Thomas 
Byerly.  Indeed,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  four-fifths  of  the  land 
included  in  Cumberland  County  was  covered  by  surveys  before 
1700. 

Surveys  for  Helby  and  John  Bellers,  creditors  of  Billing,  living 
in  England,  covered  most  of  Fairfield.  The  Helby  surveys  were 
sold  out  to  settlers  at  an  early  day,  but  the  Bellers  title  was  the 
occasion  of  much  difficulty.  It  extended  from  Mill  Creek,  at 
Fairton,  to  the  Tweed  or  Back  Creek.  His  agent,  Thomas  Budd, 
had  a  power  of  attorney  to  sell  400  acres,  which  he  deeded  to 
Ephriam  Seeley.*     But  he  made  leases  to  the  Connecticut  settlers, 

*  Thomas  Budd  became  a  Friend  in  England,  came  over  to  Burlington  in  West 
Jersey,  in  1G78,  and  held  several  important  offices  in  the  province.  In  1GS1,  he 
was  chosen,  by  the  Assembly,  a  commissioner  for  "  settling  and  regulation  of 
lands,  and  was  afterward  a  member  of  the  Assembly.  In  1684  he  went  to  Eng- 
land, and  there  published  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "Good  order  established  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  Jersey,  in  America,  being  a  true  account  of  the  country." 
Probably  he  had  not  at  this  time  visited  South  Jersey,  as  he  confines  his  descrip- 
tion to  the  parts  in  the  vicinity  of  Burlington.  This  pamphlet  has  been  recently 
published  with  very  copious  and  interesting  historical  notes,  by  Edward  Arm- 
strong, Esq.,  of  Philadelphia. 

Budd  appears  to  have  returned  to  Burlington  the  same  year,  and  soon  after- 
wards removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  owned  considerable  property,  took  an 


FIRST   SETTLERS    AXD    PROPRIETORS.  19 

reserving  small  quit-rents,  and  entered  into  bonds  that  a  good  title 
should  be  made,  or  their  improvements  paid  for.  Under  these 
leases  most  of  the  tract  was  parcelled  out  to  the  settlers,  and  the 
land  improved.  But  Bellers  appears  to  have  been  ambitious  of 
being  lord  of  a  manor  in  America,  and  upon  his  death  in  1724 
entailed  this  property  so  that  it  could  not  be  sold.  The  Eev. 
Daniel  Elmer  procured  the  semblance  of  a  title  to  the  400  acres  of 
Seeley's  heirs,  and  in  1745  located  part  of  this  right  so  as  to  include 
the  farm  on  which  he  resided  and  had  built  himself  a  house,  and 
the  adjoining  meeting-house  lot  and  burial  ground  lying  on  Co- 
hansey  Kiver,  below  Fairton.  About  the  same  time  he  and  his  son 
Daniel,  who  was  a  surveyor,  laid  out  a  town,  which  was  never  built, 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  extending  eastwardly  so  as  to  include 
part  of  the  present  sight  of  Fairton,  which  it  was  proposed  to  call 
Fairfield.  Could  the  title  have  been  secured,  it  would  probably 
have  become  an  important  town  and  the  county  seat.  In  1750  the 
settlers  sent  over  Capt.  Thomas  Harris  to  England  with  money  to 
purchase  the  Bellers  title;  but,  not  succeeding,  he  laid  out  the 
money  in  Bibles,  Watts'  Psalms  and  Hymns,  then  just  coming  into 
use,  a  folio  edition  of  Flavel,  and  pewter  dishes,  which  were  dis- 
tributed among  those  willing  to  take  them.  The  pewter  dishes 
took  the  place  of  wooden  trenchers  for  those  able  to  indulge  in 
such  a  luxury.  Some  of  them  and  some  copies  of  Flavel  still 
remain. 

It  was  not  until  about  1811  that  this  Bellers  title  was  extin- 
guished. When  about  ten  years  before  this  time  the  late  Benja- 
min Chew,  of  Philadelphia,  became  the  agent  of  the  English 
proprietors,  the  occupants  refused  to  purchase,  and  resisted  the 
surveyors  who  attempted  to  run  out  the  tract,  and  cut  off  the  tail 
of  the  agent's  horse.  Suits  were  brought,  and  the  Supreme  Court 
of  this  State  made  a  special  order,  requiring  the  sheriff  to  call  out 
the  posse  comitatus  and  protect  the  surveyors,  who  pointed  out  the 
land  to  a  jury  of  view.  One  case  was  tried,  and  a  verdict  rendered 
for  the  plaintiff'  A  compromise  then  took  place,  by  which  three 
persons  from  the  adjoining  counties  were  selected  to  determine 
how  much  the  occupants  should  pay.     They  awarded  two  dollars 

active  part  in  disputes  that  arose  among  the  Friends,  and  died  in  the  year  1698. 
His  descendants,  and  those  of  his  brother  William,  who  resided  in  Burlington 
County  and  was  an  Episcopalian,  are  numerous  and  very  respectable,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  Jersey. 


20  FIRST   SETTLERS   AND   PROPRIETORS. 

and  fifty  cents  per  acre,  and  seventy-five  cents  per  acre  for  the 
costs,  which  was  eventually  paid,  and  deeds  made  to  each  occupant. 
A  small  part  of  it  remains  nominally  in  Chew's  heirs. 

A  similar  difficulty  occurred  when  the  proprietors  of  the  Penn 
tract  commenced  selling.  A  gentleman  now  living  remembers 
when,  about  the  year  1804,  the  squatters  thereon  threatened  to  hang 
the  agent,  who  had  some  difficulty  in  effecting  his  escape,  which 
he  was  enabled  to  do  by  the  swiftness  of  his  horse  that  carried  him 
safely  over  Maurice  River  bridge  at  Millville  before  his  pursuers 
could  overtake  him. 

A  map  annexed  to  Thomas's  description  of  Pennsylvania  and 
"West  Jersey,  before  referred  to,  contains  on  it  the  names  of  two 
towns,  viz :  Dorchester,  on  the  east  side  of  Maurice  River,  and 
Antioch,  on  the  south  side  of  Cohansey,  the  only  towns  within  the 
bounds  of  Cumberland  which  are  named.  Dorchester  was  surveyed 
and  returned  as  a  town  plat  of  2500  acres,  and  although  no  town 
was  built  until  after  1800,  it  retains  the  name.  Antioch  was  pro- 
bably surveyed  in  a  similar  manner,  but  never  recorded,  unless,  as 
is  most  probable,  the  map  places  it  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  river. 
The  original  map  of  Hancock's  survey  for  Gibbon,  refers  to  the 
boundaries  of  Antioch  or  Greenwich  town.  No  town  called  Antioch 
ever  existed  in  the  county. 

The  Connecticut  immigrants  called  the  place  most  thickly  settled 
New  England  Town,  by  which  name,  or  that  of  New  England  Town 
Cross-roads,  it  was  long  known.  The  first  road  from  Salem  to  Maurice 
River  was  laid  out  in  1705,  through  Greenwich,  crossing  the  river 
there,  and  then  along  by  the  meeting-house  at  New  England  Town, 
up  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  Fairton,  and  then  through 
the  woods  towards  Maurice  River,  without  stating  precisely  where  it 
was  to  go  or  where  to  end.  The  road  from  New  England  Town  to 
Burlington — the  seat  of  government  of  West  Jersey — was  no  doubt 
the  first  road  used  in  the  county.  It  passed  over  the  north  branch 
of  the  Cohansey,  called  Mill  Creek,  at  a  place  where  the  mill  was 
first  erected,  somewhat  below  the  present  mill-dam,  and  then  along 
the  Indian  path  about  a  mile  east  of  Bridgeton,  through  the  Indian 
fields,  passing  by  the  Pine  Tavern,  then  over  to  the  road  from  Salem, 
near  the  present  Clarksboro  in  Gloucester  County,  then  through 
"Woodbury  and  Iladdonfield.  The  bridge  and  road  at  Carpenter's 
Landing  were  not  made  until  the  forepart  of  the  present  century. 

Fairton  was  not  so  called  until  the  post-office  was  established, 


FIRST   SETTLERS   AND   PROPRIETORS.  21 

about  the  year  1812.  It  was  previously  called  by  the  nickname 
Bumbridge,  a  name  said  to  have  originated  from  the  circumstance 
that  a  constable — then  often  called  a  Bum-bailiff,  which  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  word  bound  bailiff,  that  is,  a  bailiff"  bound  with  a 
security — in  attempting  to  arrest  a  person,  fell  into  the  water,  owino- 
to  some  defect  in  the  bridge  over  Eattlesnake  Eun,  and  thus  occa- 
sioned the  bridge  to  be  rebuilt,  and  to  acquire  a  name.  For  many 
years  the  road  over  this  run  crossed  considerably  above  where  the 
bridge  was  made.  When  the  country  was  first  settled,  what'  is 
now  called  Mill  Creek,  at  Fairton,  was  known  as  the  north  branch 
of  the  Cohansey. 

Cedarville  became  a  place  of  some  local  importance  directly 
after  the  Eevolution,  but  was  not  known  by  this  name  until  the 
post-office  was  established.  It  was  settled  at  an  early  period ;  but 
when  the  mill  was  erected  is  not  known. 

Gouldtown — partly  in  the  northern  part  of  Fairfield,  and  partly 
in  Bridgeton  townships — although  never  more  than  a  settlement  of 
mulattoes  principally  bearing  the  names  of  Gould  and  Pierce,  scat- 
tered over  a  considerable  territory,  is  of  quite  ancient  date.  The 
tradition  is  that  they  are  descendants  of  Fenwick.  His  will  con- 
tains the  following  clause :  "  Item,  I  do  except  against  Elizabeth 
Adams  (who  was  a  granddaughter),  of  having  any  the  least  part 
of  my  estate,  unless  the  Lord  open  her  eyes  to  see  her  abominable 
transgression  against  him,  me,  and  her  good  father,  by  giving  her 
true  repentance,  and  forsaking  that  Black  that  hath  been  the  ruin 
of  her,  and  becoming  penitent  for  her  sins;  upon  that  condition 
only  I  do  will  and  require  my  executors  to  settle  five  hundred 
acres  of  land  upon  her." 


22  GOVERNMENT  AND   OFFICERS. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

GOVERNMENT  AND   OFFICERS. 

The  government  of  New  Jersey  was  at  first  assumed  by  the 
proprietors.  After  the  partition  into  two  provinces,  West  Jersey 
was  intended  to  be  divided  into  Tenths,  fronting  on  the  Delaware, 
but  only  three  or  four  were  defined,  and  these  were  soon  super- 
seded by  regular  counties;  and  indeed  the  tenths  seem  to  have 
been  designed  rather  for  the  purpose  of  apportioning  the  land 
among  the  different  proprietors  than  for  the  purposes  of  govern- 
ment. The  General  Assembly  which  convened  at  Burlington  May 
2,  1682,  appointed  Justices,  Sheriff,  and  Clerk  for  the  jurisdiction 
of  Burlington,  and  others  for  the  jurisdiction  of  Salem,  and  Courts 
of  Sessions  were  directed  to  be  held  four  times  a  year  at  each 
place.  No  definite  limits  were  assigned  to  these  "jurisdictions,"  it 
being  probably  the  design  that  the  officers  designated  should  have 
power  to  act  in  all  parts  of  the  province.  In  1683  the  members  of 
Assembly  were  elected  separately,  in  the  First,  Second,  and  Salem 
Tenths,  and  the  justices  and  sheriffs  appointed  as  before.  In  1685 
an  act  was  passed  establishing  the  county  of  Cape  May,  and  bound- 
ing it  on  the  west  by  Maurice  River,  authorizing  justices  to  try 
causes  under  forty  shillings,  but  other  actions,  civil  and  criminal,  to 
be  tried  in  Salem  County.  This  act  states  that  the  province  had 
been  formerly  divided  into  three  counties,  but  no  act  for  that  pur- 
pose is  in  print;  indeed  none  of  the  acts  passed  in  West  Jersey 
were  printed  until  such  as  could  be  found  were  published  by  Lea- 
rning and  Spicer  in  1750. 

In  1692  the  boundary  between  Gloucester  and  Burlington  was 
altered,  but  the  next  year  the  act  was  repealed.  In  1693  Cape 
May  was  authorized  to  have  a  county  court.  In  1694  the  boun- 
daries of  Burlington  and  Gloucester  were  established ;  and  it  was 
enacted  that  the  jurisdiction  of  Salem  court  should  extend  from 
Berkeley  Kiver  (now  called  Oldman's  Creek)  on  the  north,  to  the 
Tweed  (now  called  Back  Creek)  on  the  south.  The  district  between 
the  Tweed  and  Maurice  River  was  not  included  in  any  county. 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS.  23 

To  remedy  this  it  was  enacted  in  1700  that  all  persons  inhabiting 
on  the  river  Tweed,  and  all  settlements  below,  unto  the  bounds  of 
the  county  of  Cape  May,  should  from  thenceforth  be  annexed  to, 
and  be  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  and  county  of  Sa- 
lem. After  the  union  of  the  two  provinces  by  the  surrender  of 
the  government  to  Queen  Anne,  an  act  was  passed  in  January, 
1709-10,  still  partly  in  force,  ascertaining  the  boundaries  of  all  the 
counties  in  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  which  reduced  Cape  May 
to  its  present  dimensions,  and  extended  Salem  to  the  western  boun- 
dary of  Cape  May. 

The  act  establishing  the  county  provided  that  whenever  the  free- 
holders and  justices  should  judge  it  necessary  to  build  a  court- 
bouse  and  jail,  an  election  to  determine  the  place  should  be  held 
at  John  Butler's  in  the  town  of  Greenwich,  on  a  day  to  be  fixed 
by  three  of  the  justices,  one  of  whom  should  be  of  the  quorum. 
It  being  the  prerogative  of  the  governor  to  appoint  the  time  of 
holding  the  courts,  he  issued  an  ordinance  directing  them  to  be 
held  in  the  meantime  at  Greenwich,  four  times  a  year.  A  small 
wooden  jail  was  built  in  that  place,  and  the  courts  were  held  for  a 
time  in  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house  and  the  tavern. 

An  election  was  held  in  1748,  by  which  a  majority  of  those  who 
voted  declared  in  favor  of  Cohansey  Bridge,  and  to  this  place  the 
court  held  in  December  of  that  year  adjourned.  When  the  jus- 
tices and  freeholders  met  there  in  July  of  that  year,  the  minutes 
state  that  "it  was  proposed  to  raise  money  for  a  jail  and  court- 
house; but  the  major  part  of  the  justices  and  freeholders  present 
were  not  so  disposed — as  to  the  location  of  the  place  where  the 
said  jail  and  court-house  shall  be  built,  and  thought  proper  to  set- 
tle the  point  first,  before  they  consent  to  raise  money  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  but  in  order  to  settle  the  affair  of  the  election,  there  was  a 
motion  made  for  to  examine  the  voters  by  purging  them  by  their 
respective  oaths  and  affirmations,  but  the  freeholders  of  the  south 
side  of  Cohansey  refused  to  comply  with  said  offer.  There  being 
no  business  to  do,  the  meeting  adjourned."  In  1749,  a  dispute 
arose  as  to  the  election  of  the  freeholders  in  Hopewell.  In  1750, 
there  was  a  full  board,  and  it  was  agreed  that  "  there  shall  be  a  deed 
drafted  and  delivered  to  Richard  Wood  and  Ebenezer  Miller  to 
peruse,  and  upon  their  approbation,  then  they,  or  more  of  the  jus- 
tices, are  to  summons  magistrates  and  freeholders  to  proceed  upon 
raising  money  to  build  a  court-house  and  jail."     In  1751  and  1752, 


24  GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 

money  was  ordered  raised.  Wood  and  Miller  both  lived  at  Green- 
wich, but  the  latter  had  become  largely  interested  in  the  property 
at  Cohansey  Bridge,  and  joined  the  south  siders.  The  lot  was  a 
part  of  his  survey,  including  the  present  jail,  and  extending  across 
Broad  Street ;  and  a  question  being  raised  about  the  title,  a  number 
of  the  most  prominent  freeholders  on  the  south  side,  as  the  eastern 
part  of  the  county  was  then  designated,  including  Miller,  joined  in 
a  bond  in  the  penal  sum  of  two  hundred  pounds,  to  several  of  the 
freeholders  at  Greenwich,  to  guarantee  the  title. 

The  bridge  over  the  Cohansey  was  built,  resting  on  cribs  sunk 
in  the  wate^  as  early  as  1716,  it  being  referred  to  in  a  survey  of 
that  date ;  but  whether  it  was  then  passable  for  carriages  may  be 
doubted,  as  probably  there  were  no  four-wheeled  wagons  at  that 
time,  or  for  long  afterwards,  in  the  county.  Lumber  was  floated  by 
water,  or,  when  necessary,  drawn  for  short  distances  on  sleds.  A 
very  old  man,  named  Murray,  said  forty  years  ago,  that  he  remem- 
bered when  there  was  a  small  store  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
near  the  water,  and  a  bridge  for  foot-passengers  only.  When  the 
tide  was  out  the  stream  was  fordable,  and  an  old  survey  made  in 
1686,  mentions  the  going-over  place  to  Richard  Hancock's  mill. 
A  road  for  use  when  the  tide  was  in  used  to  cross  the  stream 
about  half  way  up  the  present  pond,  the  marks  of  which  were 
not  long  since  visible. 

When  the  courts  were  first  held  at  Cohansey  Bridge,  it  is  sup- 
posed there  were  no  more  than  eight  or  ten  houses  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity.  The  road  from  Salem  passed  a  little  south  of  where 
the  old  Presbyterian  Church  stands,  at  the  west  end  of  the  town, 
and  entering  Broad  Street,  passed  down  the  same  to  near  the  cor- 
ner of  Franklin  Street,  then  came  down  the  hill  a  northeast  course, 
past  the  corner  of  the  large  stone  house,  which  stands  a  little  back 
from  and  west  of  Atlantic  Street,  and  thence  to  the  foot  of  the  bridge  ; 
passing  the  bridge,  it  ran  nearly  the  present  course  of  Commerce 
Street  to  near  Pearl  Street,  and  then  a  northeast  course,  a  little 
south  of  the  stone  Presbyterian  church,  and  so  on  through  what 
was  then  woodland,  to  near  the  corner  of  East  Avenue  and  Irving 
Street,  and  thence  through  the  Indian  Fields,  over  the  Beaver  Dam 
at  Lebanon  Run  to  Maurice  River.  A  house  stood  on  the  brow  of 
the  hill,  a  little  west  of  the  run  that  crosses  this  road,  next  east  of 
the  railroad  station,  where  there  was  at  one  time  a  tavern;  and 
between  that  and  the  railroad,  about  opposite  to  East  Avenue,  there 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS.  25 

was  a  graveyard.  At  or  near  the  place  where  Pearl  Street  crosses 
Commerce  Street,  the  roads  forked,  one  branch  running  north- 
wardly to  Deerfield.  It  was  necessary  to  go  thus  far  east  of  the 
bridge  before  turning  northwardly,  to  avoid  going  up  Laurel  Hill, 
then  impassable,  without  the  outlay  of  much  labor  and  expense. 
At  the  Indian  Fields  the  road  then  and  now  running  north  and 
south,  originally  an  Indian  path,  became  the  king's  highway  from 
Fairfield  to  the  seat  of  government  at  Burlington.  It  is  the  most 
ancient  road  in  the  county,  and  is  even  yet  known  to  the  old  in- 
habitants as  the  old  Burlington  road,  and  in  1769  was  laid  out  as 
a  public  road,  four  rods  wide. 

The  mill-pond,  now  owned  by  Jonathan  Elmer,  was  in  17-AS 
owned  by  Ephraim  Seeley,  commonly  called  Col.  Seeley.  The 
mill  stood  in  the  low  ground  back  of  the  house  occupied  by  Mrs. 
Du  Bois,  and  the  dam  crossed  above  from  the  hill  diagonally  to 
the  point  where  there  is  now  a  brick  kiln.  The  old  mansion  house 
stood  on  the  hill  northeast  of  Mrs.  Du  Bois,  near  the  pond,  and  the 
road  from  the  bridge  over  Cohansey,  to  the  house  and  mill,  ran 
about  where  the  back  part  of  Jonathan  Elmer's  house  now  stands. 
There  was  a  bridge  across  the  saw- mill  pond,  back  of  the  Metho- 
dist meeting-house  lot,  over  which  the  road  to  Fairfield  passed, 
which  was  laid  out  as  a  public  road  in  1763.  This  road  crossed 
Mill  Creek  near  Fairton,  at  Joseph  Ogden's  mill-dam,  which  was 
lower  down  the  stream  than  the  present  dam. 

Seeley's  mill  was  erected  at  an  early  date,  but  when  or  by  whom 
has  not  been  ascertained;  but  the  writer  recollects  that  fifty  years 
ago  the  remains  of  an  old  fulling  mill  were  visible  near  the  mid- 
dle of  the  dam,  and  he  has  heard  that  Col.  Seeley's  wife  was  accus- 
tomed, in  her  youth,  to  ride  on  horseback  as  far  as  Cape  May, 
carrying  with  her  fulled  cloth,  and  returning  with  a  horse  load  of 
cloth  to  be  dressed.  At  that  time  nearly  all  the  clothing  and  the 
bedding  used  by  the  people  was  spun  in  the  family,  and  often 
woven  there  also,  or  by  persons  who  followed  the  business.  The 
straight  road  to  Millville,  now  a  turnpike,  was  laid  out  in  1805, 
commencing  at  the  bridge;  and  in  1809  Jeremiah  Buck  erected 
the  dam  and  flour  and  saw-mills  now  standing,  and  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  Mr.  French,  the  millwright,  from  near  Bordentown, 
lost  his  life  at  the  raising  of  the  saw-mill,  having  been  crushed  by 
falling  timbers. 

Besides  Seeley's  mill  and  house,  the  old  Hancock  mill  still  re- 


26  GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 

mained  in  1748.  It  was  removed  to  a  site  just  below  the  present 
stone  bridge,  and  the  existing  race-way  cut  in  1772.  This  saw-mill 
and  the  pond  above,  upon  which  the  writer  has  often  skated,  re- 
mained until  1809,  when  Mr.  Buck  lowered  the  race-way  and  pond, 
as  low  as  the  tide  would  permit,  to  obtain  a  better  head  and  fall  at 
his  mills  above,  and  the  mill  was  taken  down.  There  was  a  house 
near  this  saw-mill  on  the  northwest  side  of  Pine  Street,  long  owned 
and  occupied  by  Col.  Enos  Seeley,  a  relative  of  Col.  Ephraim,  and 
grandfather  of  the  late  Governor  E.  P.  Seeley,  which  probably 
stood  there  in  17-18.  It  was  long  occupied  by  the  vidow  Jay,  and 
was  taken  down  about  20  years  ago.  Col.  Enos  Seeley,  in  1772, 
owned  all  the  property  where  the  glass-houses  now  are,  his  north- 
ern line  being  about  where  Jefferson  Street  now  is,  adjoining 
Alexander  Moore's  line,  and  included  a  house  standing  where  Mrs. 
Buck's  house  now  is,  fronting  Laurel  Street.  This  house  was 
there  in  1718,  and  upon  the  creek,  an  old  wharf,  the  first  erected, 
called  in  old  writings  Smith's  Wharf,  used,  probably,  in  connection 
with  Hancock's  mill.  At  this  time  the  dam  leading  to  the  stone 
bridge  was  not  made,  but  the  tide  flowed  up  the  old  channel  of 
Mill  Creek  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  mill.  Col.  Enos  Seeley  put 
up  the  dam  about  the  year  1774. 

Nearly  opposite  Col.  Seeley's  house,  now  Mrs.  Buck's,  was  a 
good  house  facing  the  south,  in  which  a  store  was  afterwards  kept 
by  Mr.  Boyd  and  his  widow.  There  were  also  two  or  three  houses 
nearly  opposite,  on  the  east  side  of  Laurel  Street.  These  are  be- 
lieved to  have  been  all  the  houses  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
until  Alexander  Moore  built  his  dwelling-house,  on  the  north  side 
of  Commerce  Street,  about  half  way  between  the  hotel  and  the 
bridge.  His  store-house  of  cedar  logs  stood  where  Potter's  store- 
house now  is.  Judge  White  told  the  writer  he  took  it  down,  and 
found  in  it  an  old  horn  book;  that  is  to  say,  a  printed  card  contain- 
ing the  alphabet  and  a  short  lesson  in  spelling,  which  was  pasted  to 
a  piece  of  board  and  covered  with  a  horn  pressed  flat  and  scraped 
thin,  so  as  to  be  transparent  enough  to  leave  the  lessons  visible  to 
the  urchins  who  were  to  learn  them,  and  thus  protecting  them 
from  being  defaced.  Such  books,  made  however  after  different 
patterns,  were  in  common  use  a  century  ago.  Moore  is  believed 
to  have  settled  here  between  1730  and  1740.  He  married  a  de- 
scendant of  Mark  Reeve.  Most  of  the  site  of  East  Bridgeton, 
north  of  Commerce  Street,  was  an  open  woods  in  1748,  and  so 
continued  until  after  the  Revolutionary  War. 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS.  27 

On  the  west  side  of  the  river,  a  good  two-storied  house,  with 
what  was  commonly  called  a  hip  roof,  stood  a  little  south  of  Com- 
merce Street,  facing  the  east,  the  back  part  of  which  was  about 
where  the  east  side  of  Atlantic  Street  now  is,  in  front  of  which 
was  the  road  which  ran  a  southwest  course  up  the  hill,  having  a 
south  fork  running  down  the  river,  and  between  the  road  and 
river  was  a  garden.  This  was  built  about  1725,  by  Silas  Parvin, 
and  was  for  several  years  licensed  as  a  tavern,  and  stood  there 
about  one  hundred  years,  when  it  was  removed  by  the  late  Smith 
Bowen.  South  of  this  and  near  the  river,  a  little  north  of  Broad 
Street,  at  the  place  now  owned  by  James  B.  Potter  and  used  as  a 
ship-yard,  stood  a  good  house  fronting  the  north,  owned  in  1748 
by  Capt.  Elias  Cotting.  It  was  afterwards  for  many  years  owned 
and  occupied  by  Enoch  Boon,  and  has  been  taken  down  some 
twenty  years  and  more.  When  first  erected  it  was  a  mansion  of 
considerable  pretension.  Another  house  stood  a  little  back  of 
where  the  court-house  now  stands,  on  a  road  early  used  to  the 
marshes,  upon  which  the  early  settlers  depended  almost  exclusively 
for  hay,  and  belonged  to  one  Jeremiah  SajTe,  cordwainer.  Neither 
Broad  Street  nor  Commerce  Street  was  opened  up  the  hill  until 
many  years  after  this  period.  These  three  dwelling-houses  and  a 
small  store-house  of  cedar  logs  standing  north  of  Parvin's  house 
and  a  farm-house  on  the  property  above  Muddy  Branch,  were  all 
the  buildings  on  the  west  side  of  Cohansey  Bridge. 

The  Court  was  first  held  at  Isaac  Smith's  who  probably  kept  a 
tavern  in  the  Parvin  house,  in  February  1748,  old  style,  and  gene- 
rally met  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Cotting  was  commis- 
sioned by  the  Governor  as  clerk,  at  first  to  hold  during  the  plea- 
sure of  the  Governor,  but  in  1755  he  presented  a  commission  to 
hold  during  good  behavior,  which  continued  the  mode  until  1776. 
He  died  in  1757,  and  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  Elmer,  who  died  in 
1761,  and  was  succeeded  by  Maskel  Ewing,  who,  having  taken  an 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king,  declined  to  serve  under  the  new 
government.  In  1786  Jonathan  Elmer  presented  a  commission 
from  Governor  Livingston  as  clerk,  and  in  the  ensuing  fall  he  was 
elected  by  the  joint  meeting  for  five  years  pursuant  to  the  consti- 
tution; Alexander  Moore  and  Ephraim  Seeley  appeared  as  judges. 
The  September  term  docs  not  appear  to  have  been  held.  The 
terms  were  held  four  times  in  the  year,  and  until  1752  the  February 
term  is  always  entered  of  the  same  year  as  the  preceding  Decern- 


2^  GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 

ber  term,  it  thus  appearing  that  the  old  style  was  changed  that 
year  According  to  the  old  style,  the  year  commenced  on  the  feast 
ot  the  conception  of  Mary  or  Lady  day,  March  25th,  which  still 
continues  to  be  the  customary  day  of  commencing  leases  in  this 
county,  although  in  other  parts  of  the  State  it  is  the  first  day  of 
April  according  to  the  Pennsylvania  usage,  and  in  some  places  the 
hrst  day  of  May  agreeably  to  the  New  York  usage. 

Cohansey  Bridge  is  mentioned  in  the  minutes  until  1765  when 
Bridgetown  is  first  named.  Constables  for  the  town  were  first  ap- 
pointed by  the  court  in  1768.  It  may  be  noticed  that  the  whole 
region  from  the  source  of  the  river  near  Friesburgh,  to  its  mouth 
at  the  Delaware  Bay,  was  commonly  called  Cohansey,  up  to  and 
even  after  the  Ee volution.  It  was  common  to  write  Fairfield  in 
Cohansey,  or  Greenwich  Cohansey.  Upon  the  establishment  of 
the  Bank  in  1816,  its  first  president,  Gen.  Giles,  had  the  name  of 
the  town  printed  Bridgeton  on  the  notes,  and  this  soon  became  the 
adopted  name.  Bridgetown,  however,  still  remains  the  official  name 
of  the  port,  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  named  persons  have  been  the  clerks,  after  those 
above  named,  from  1776  appointed  by  joint  meeting  for  five  years 
vacancies  filled  by  Governor,  until  1816,  and  since  by  election  in 
the  county : — 


James  Giles,     appointed  in      1789 
Dr.  Azel  Pierson,  «         1804  died 

Jonathan  Holmes,  by  Governor  1812 
Dr.  Edo  Ogden,  appointed  in    1813  died 
Ebenezer  Elmer,  by  Governor  1813 
Ebenezer  Seeley,  appointed  in  1814  died 
Samuel  Seeley,  "        1333 


Josiah  Fithian,    appointed  in  1838  died 
Euos  Seeley,      by  Governor     1842 
D.  M.  Woodruff,  appointed  in  1842 
"  elected  1847 

Epbraim  E.  Sheppard,  "  1852 

Providence  Ludlam,      "  1857 

Theo.  G.  Compton,        "  1862 


The  following  named  persons  have  been  surrogates,  appointed 
until  1822  by  the  Governor  to*  hold  at  his  pleasure;  then  until 
1846  by  the  joint  meeting  of  the  legislature,  to  hold  for  five  years 
vacancies  happening  being  filled  by  the  Governor  to  hold  until 
the  legislature  met;  since  1846  by  election  in  the  county:— 
Elias  Cotting,  appointed  1748 


Daniel  Elmer,         "  1757 

Maskel  Ewing,        "  1761 

Jonathan  Elmer,    "  1 


lib 


George  Burgin       »  1804  died  1810 

Ebenezer  Elmer     "  1810 

Jonathan  Elmer,    "  1812 


Sam'l  M.  Shute,  app'ted  1813 

Timothy  Elmer,      "  lS15diedlS36 

Wm.  S.  Bowen,      "  1836 

H.  R.  Merseilles,    "  1837 

Joseph  Moore,     elected  1852 

H.  R.  Merseilles,      "  1857  died 

Alphonso  Woodruff,"  1861 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS.  29 

At  a  session  of  tbe  Assembly  in  1690,  an  act  was  passed  "that 
the  tract  of  land  in  Cohansey  purchased  by  several  people,  lately 
inhabitants  of  Fairfield,  in  New  England,  be  erected  into  a  town- 
ship." One  of  the  vessels  containing  these  immigrants  came  up 
the  creek  now  called  Back  Creek,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  the 
Tweed.  Their  tract  was  at  the  head  of  tbis  stream,  and  between 
it  and  the  Cohansey,  which  probably  occasioned  the  extension  of 
Salem  County,  so  as  to  include  them.  The  precise  date  of  the 
arrival  of  these  New  Englanders  is  unknown,  but  it  was  probably 
from  1682  to  1690.  The  Bellers  tract  was  first  surveyed  in  1686, 
and  it  was  from  Thomas  Budd,  agent  of  that  proprietor,  they 
leased.  No  records  of  the  town-meetings — prior  to  the  early  part 
of  the  present  century — are  extant,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
these  inhabitants,  isolated  as  they  then  were,  instituted  a  local 
government  sufficient  for  their  immediate  purposes,  after  the 
model  of  the  towns  of  Connecticut — from  which  province  most  of 
these  came — in  which  the  affairs  of  church  and  state  were  curi- 
ously blended,  with  a  most  happy  effect.  Several  of  them — con- 
sisting of  Congregationalists,  or  Presbyterians  and  Baptists — 
crossed  the  river  to  Greenwich,  and  were  joined  there  by  settlers 
from  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  mostly  of  the  Presbyterian 
order. 

It  appears  by  the  court  records  at  Salem  that  at  least  as  early 
as  1720  Fairfield  and  Greenwich  were  recognized  as  regular  town- 
ships. The  inhabitants  in  other  neighborhoods,  not  considered  as 
belonging  to  those  townships,  were  provided  with  precinct  officers 
appointed  by  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions.  In  1709,  the  grand 
jury  ordered  a  tax  of  75  pounds  to  be  levied,  for  county  purposes, 
and  appointed  an  assessor  and  collector  for  the  north  side  of  the 
Cohansey,  and  the  same  for  the  south  side.  In  1720,  officers  were 
first  appointed  for  the  precinct  of  Maurice  River,  and  afterwards 
they  were  appointed  in  like  manner  yearly,  until  the  county  was 
organized.  The  Quarter  Sessions  in  England  were  accustomed  to 
appoint  constables,  where  they  were  considered  necessary,  to  pre- 
vent a  failure  of  justice,  and  the  same  custom  prevailed  in  New 
Jersey,  except  where  townships  were  regularly  organized  and  em- 
powered to  choose  them. 

Much  inconvenience  being  experienced  by  the  inhabitants  living 
remote  from  Salem  Town,  several  unsuccessful  efforts  were  made 
to  obtain  a  new  county,  which  were  rendered  the  more  difficult  by 


30  GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 

the  desire  of  the  royal  governors  to  keep  up  the  equality  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  Assembly,  between  East  and  West  Jersey.  In 
Januarjr,  1747-8,  the  attempt  succeeded,  but  with  the  condition 
that  members  of  Assembly  should  continue  to  be  elected  in  con- 
junction with  Salem.  It  was  not  until  1768  that  two  members 
were  allowed  to  be  chosen  in  Cumberland,  which  were  balanced  by 
two  chosen  in  Morris  County.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1772 
that  writs  were  issued  for  a  new  election. 

The  act  divided  the  new  county  into  six  townships,  assigning  to 
them  their  respective  boundaries — three  on  the  west,  or  north  side 
of  Cohansey,  and  three  on  the  east,  or  south  side.  At  least  half 
the  inhabitants  then  resided  west  of  Cohansey,  although  the  terri- 
tory east  of  that  river  is  about  five  times  larger.  Only  Deerfield 
and  a  part  of  Fairfield  contained  more  than  a  few  settlers.  Fair- 
field at  first  included  all  the  present  township  of  Downe.  This 
township  was  set  off  by  letters  patent  granted  by  Governor  Frank- 
lin, in  the  year  1772,  recorded  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  office  at 
Trenton.  This  power  was  occasionally  exercised  by  the  governors 
of  the  province  as  a  part  of  the  royal  prerogative,  delegated  to 
them  by  their  commissions.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Eliza- 
beth Downes,  and  the  new  township  was  named  in  compliment  to 
her.  It  is  spelled  Downes  in  the  record,  but  by  a  clerical  or  typo- 
graphical error,  the  name  was  printed,  in  the  law  passed  in  1798 
incorporating  the  township,  Downe,  and  has  been  so  printed  in  all 
the  laws  since. 

Some  of  the  old  surveys  call  for  the  line  of  the  township  of  Pam- 
phylia,  at  or  near  the  place  where  the  line  between  Fairfield  and 
Deerfield  was  established ;  but  this  old  Grecian  name  is  retained 
only  by  the  spring  so  called  on  the  banks  of  the  Cohansey,  about 
a  mile  below  the  bridge.  Maurice  Kiver  contained  originally  all 
the  large  territory  east  of  the  river  so  called.  Millville  was  set  off 
from  it,  including  parts  of  Deerfield  and  Fairfield,  on  the  west  of 
the  river  by  a  law  passed  in  the  year  1801.  Bridgeton  was  set  off 
from  Deerfteld  by  law,  in  1845 ;  and  Cohansey  from  Hopewell  by 
law,  in  1848. 

The  legislature  of  the  colony  was  convened,  adjourned,  and  dis- 
solved at  the  pleasure  of  the  Governor  and  his  Council,  and  the 
members  of  the  Assembly  were  elected  by  virtue  of  writs  under 
the  great  seal  of  the  colony,  directed  to  the  sheriffs.  By  a  law 
passed  in  1725,  the  sheriff  was  required  to  give  notice  of  the  day 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS.  31 

and  place  of  election,  and  then  to  proceed  by  reading  his  writ;  and 
he  was  not  to  declare  the  choice  by  the  view  (that  is,  merely  from 
a  vote  by  holding  up  of  hands),  nor  adjourn  without  the  consent 
of  the  candidates;  but  if  a  poll  was  required,  proceed  from  day 
to  day,  until  all  the  electors  present  be  polled ;  and  he  was  required 
to  appoint  a  clerk,  who  should  set  down  the  names  of  the  electors, 
and  the  persons  they  voted  for.  There  was,  of  course,  but  one 
place  of  election — generally  the  court-house  in  the  county — and 
the  election  commonly  closed  the  first  day,  but  was  occasionally 
kept  open  several  days  or  even  weeks.  The  voting  was,  of 
course,  viva  voce,  ballots  not  being  introduced  until  about  1790. 

This  power  of  the  candidates  to  control  the  election,  in  some 
respects,  gave  rise  to  the  system  of  making  nominations  in  writing, 
which  prevailed  from  1790  until  1839,  and  was,  it  is  supposed, 
peculiar  to  this  State.  At  first  the  names  of  candidates  were  re- 
quired to  be  posted  up  in  some  conspicuous  place  the  first  day ; 
then  they  were  required  to  be  nominated  on  the  election  day  before 
three  o'clock,  by  some  person  entitled  to  vote ;  the  name  was  then 
enrolled  by  the  clerk,  and  fixed  up  in  full  view  at  the  door  of  the 
house  where  the  election  was  held.  Elections  being  required  to  be 
held  in  each  township  in  the  year  1790,  the  clerk  of  the  county 
was  required  to  attend  at  the  court-house  on  the  first  Monday  in 
September,  and  there  receive,  from  any  person,  entitled  to  vote,  a 
list  of  the  persons  proposed  as  candidates,  and  the  clerk  then  made 
a  general  list  of  all  the  candidates  nominated,  a  certified  copy  of 
which  was  sent  to  each  of  the  township  clerks,  and  no  person  could 
be  voted  for  unless  he  had  been  thus  nominated.  Of  course,  many 
were  nominated  who  were  not  expected  to  be  voted  for,  but  occa- 
sionally the  person  who  would  have  been  preferred  was  found  to 
have  been  omitted.  After  newspapers  became  common,  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  publish  the  list  of  nominations,  often  containing  many 
names  of  low  and  vicious  characters,  nominated  by  way  of  joke 
by  foolish  persons,  and  the  names  of  those  who  declined  were  so 
marked. 

In  the  journal  of  Ebenezcr  Elmer,  he  enters  under  the  date  of 
September  21,  1775,  "County  met  to  choose  two  delegates  and  a 
county  committee.  Delegates  chosen  by  poll,  when  Theophilus 
Elmer  had  a  great  majority,  and  next  highest  Esq.  Jona.  Ayres." 
Theophilus  Elmer  had  been  previously  elected  in  1772.  To  en- 
title a  person  to  a  seat  in  the  Assembly  at  this  time,  he  was  required 


32  GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 

to  have  1000  acres  of  land  in  bis  own  right,  to  be  wortb  £500  of 
real  and  personal  estate.  A  voter  must  be  a  freeholder,  and  have 
100  acres  of  land  in  his  own  right,  or  be  worth  £50  in  real  and  per- 
sonal estate.  The  members  chosen  for  Salem  and  Cumberland  in 
17-19  were  William  Hancock  and  John  Brick.  In  1751,  William 
Hancock  and  Eichard  Wood.  In  1754,  Hancock  and  Ebenezer 
Miller.  In  1761,  the  same.  In  1769,  Ebenezer  Miller  and  Isaac 
Sharp.  In  1772,  for  Cumberland,  John  Sheppard  and  Theophilus 
Elmer.  Afterwards  one  member  of  Council,  and  three  members 
of  Assembly,  wrere  chosen  annually.  For  1776,  they  were  Theo- 
philus Elmer,  Council,  Ephraim  Harris,  Jonathan  Bowen,  and  John 
Brick,  Assembly.  In  1778,  Ephraim  Harris,  Council,  Buck,  Bowen, 
and  James  Ewing,  Assembly.  In  1779,  Buck,  Council,  Jas.  Ewing, 
Joel  Fithian,  and  Timothy  Elmer,  Assembly.  In  1780,  Jonathan 
Elmer,  Council,  same  members  of  Assembly.  In  1781,  Samuel 
Ogden,  Council,  Joshua  Ewing,  Joshua  Brick,  and  Josiah  Seeley, 
Assembly.  In  1782,  Theophilus  Elmer,  Council,  Joshua  Ewing, 
Ephraim  Harris,  Speaker,  Jonathan  Bowen,  Assembly.  Theophilus 
Elmer  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Safety  during  most  of  the 
Eevolution. 

The  following  persons,  residing  in  the  county,  have  been  mem- 
bers of  Congress  : — ■ 

Senate.— 1789  to  1791,  Jonathan  Elmer;  1826  to  1827,  when 
he  died,  Ephraim  Bateman. 

House.— 1776-7-81-82-83-87-88,  Jonathan  Elmer;  1801  to 
1806,  Ebenezer  Elmer;  1815  to  1821,  Ephraim  Bateman;  1831  to 
1835,  Thomas  Lee;  1813  to  1845,  Lucius  Q.  C.Elmer;  1845  to 
1849,  James  G.  Hampton;  1859  to  1863,  John  T.  Nixon. 

The  Constitution,  adopted  in  1776,  instead  of  requiring  every 
voter  to  be  worth  fifty  pounds  of  real  and  personal  estate,  required 
only  that  he  should  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  State,  of  full  age,  and 
worth  fifty  pounds  clear  estate.  The  word  inhabitant  was  proba- 
bly adopted  instead  of  citizen,  under  the  impression  that  as  a  new 
government  was  initiated  it  was  proper  to  recognize  ail  the  inhabit- 
ants as  citizens  thereof.  Under  this  broad  provision,  females  and 
colored  persons  were  allowed  to  vote  if  worth  the  requisite  sum, 
and  cases  occurred  when  the  voter  presented  himself  or  herself 
with  fifty  pounds,  $133  33  in  hand  in  cash.  No  married  females 
voted,  and  few  others.  Very  few  colored  persons  were  worth  the 
requisite  sum.     In  1807  an  act  of  the  legislature  was  passed,  re- 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS.  33 

citing  that  doubts  Lad  been  raised,  and  great  diversities  of  practice 
obtained  throughout  the  State,  in  regard  to  the  admission  of  aliens, 
females  and  persons  of  color,  or  negroes,  to  vote  in  elections,  and 
also  in  regard  to  the  mode  of  ascertaining  the  qualifications  of 
voters  in  respect  to  estate,  to  remedy  which  it  was  provided  that 
none  but  free  white  male  citizens  of  the  State  should  vote,  and  that 
every  person  who  should  have  paid  a  tax,  and  whose  name  was 
enrolled  on  the  tax  list,  should  be  adjudged  to  be  worth  fifty 
pounds.  The  late  Dr.  Lewis  Condict,  of  Morristown,  who  recently 
died  at  a  very  advanced  age,  was  at  the  time  an  active  member  of 
the  Assembly,  and  had  the  credit  of  bringiug  forward  this  measure, 
which,  however  questionable  as  to  its  strict  accordance  with  the 
Constitution,  met  the  views  of  a  great  majority  of  the  people  of  all 
parties,  and  continued  the  law  until  the  adoption  of  the  present 
Constitution,  which  contained  substantially  the  same  provisions. 
It  was,  however,  occasionally  decided  by  officers  of  the  election 
that  the  law  was  unconstitutional  and  void ;  and  it  was  under  such 
a  decision  that  at  the  contested  election  for  the  court-house,  votes 
of  aliens  were  admitted  in  one  or  more  of  the  townships,  and  the 
same  thing  was  done  at  a  subsequent  county  and  congregational 
election,  which,  with  other  circumstances,  brought  on  what  was 
called  the  broad  seal  war  in  1837. 

From  1809  to  1845  the  polls  were  kept  open  two  days,  and  the 
town  meetings,  which  then  and  now  fixed  the  place  of  holding  the 
elections,  were  accustomed,  in  the  larger  townships,  to  order  that 
they  should  be  held  on  the  first  day  at  one  place,  and  on  the  second 
at  another,  much  to  the  convenience  of  the  voters.  It  may  indeed 
be  doubted  whether  as  many  evils  have  not  grown  out  of  the  change 
as  have  been  cured.  No  careful  observer  can  have  failed  to  per- 
ceive that  the  practice  of  bribing  voters,  by  means  of  direct  pay- 
ments of  money,  confined  at  first  to  a  sufficient  sum  to  defray  the 
voter's  expenses,  but  gradually  enlarged  until  there  are  voters  who 
are  known  regularly  to  sell  their  votes  to  the  highest  bidder,  has 
greatly  increased.  Forty  years  ago  a  candidate  for  office  was  ex- 
pected to  remain  quietly  at  home;  now  he  would  find  favor  with 
very  few  by  such  a  course. 

The  county  business  was  transacted  by  a  board  consisting  of  two 
freeholders  elected  in  each  township,  as  provided  for  in  an  act 
passed  in  1714,  and  all  the  justices  of  the  peace  of  the  county,  or 
any  three  of  them,  one   whereof  being  of  the  quorum.     All  the 


34 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 


justices  for  each  county  were  generally  included  in  one  commission, 
as  is  the  practice  in  England,  and  one  or  more  were  designated  as 
of  the  quorum,  without  whose  presence  no  business  could  be  done. 
In  case  any  town  or  precinct  should  neglect  to  elect  freeholders, 
the  justices  were  authorized  to  appoint  them.  The  name  precinct 
appears  to  have  been  applied  to  neighborhoods,  without  definite 
boundaries,  not  included  within  a  defined  township.  The  justices 
were  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  until  1776,  and  held 
their  offices  at  their  pleasure.  A  book  containing  the  proceedings 
of  the  freeholders  and  justices  is  still  extant.  The  boards  of  free- 
holders were  incorporated  and  organized,  as  they  now  exist,  in 
1798. 

The  following  named  persons  have  held  the  office  of  sheriff. 
Before  the  Revolution  they  were  appointed  by  the  Governor  and 
Council,  to  hold  for  three  years  or  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
Governor;  and  since  they  have  been  elected  yearly,  but  can  only 
hold  the  office  three  years  in  succession  : — 


Ananias  Sayre, 

appointed  in 

1747-8 

William  Rose,            elected 

1810 

Sannu-1  Fithian, 

« 

1750-1 

John  Sibley, 

" 

1813 

Ananias  Sayre, 

<( 

1754 

Dan.  Simpkius, 

u 

1816 

Maskell  Ewing, 

(t 

1757 

William  R.  Fithian, 

« 

1819 

Silas  Newcornb, 

<( 

1760 

John  Lanning,  jr., 

u 

1822 

Howel  Powell, 

ft 

1763 

Robert  S.  Buck, 

<< 

1S25 

Theophilus  Elmer, 

U 

1766 

Josiah  Shaw, 

(C 

1828 

Thomas  Maskell, 

(i 

1769 

Daniel  M.  Woodruff, 

(( 

1831 

Jonathan  Elmer, 

« 

1772 

Cornelius  Lupton, 

(( 

1834 

David  Bowen, 

K 

1775 

David  Campbell, 

K 

1837 

Joel  Fithian, 

elected 

1776 

Levi  T.  Davis, 

If 

1839 

William  Kelsay, 

u 

1779 

Harris  B.  Mattison, 

« 

1842 

Daniel  Maskell, 

K 

1784 

Cornelius  Lupton, 

(( 

1844 

Joseph  Buck, 

(( 

1787 

Stephen  Murphy, 

(( 

1845 

David  Potter, 

(1 

1790 

Theophilus  E.  Harris, 

(I 

1848 

Reuben  Burgin, 

(< 

1793 

James  Stiles, 

(( 

1851 

George  Burgin, 

(( 

1796 

Nathaniel  Stratton, 

(( 

1854 

Jeremiah  Bennett 

jr.,  " 

1799 

Jonathan  Fithian, 

(( 

1S57 

Enoch  Burgin, 

(c 

1802 

Lewis  H.  Dowdney, 

(( 

1860 

Timothy  Elmer, 

a 

1805 

Charles  L.  Watson, 

U 

1863 

John  Buck, 

(l 

1808 

Samuel  Peacock. 

(( 

1866 

The  first  court-house  and  jail  were  small  wooden  buildings.  In 
1753  money  was  raised  for  building  a  jail,  to  be  of  brick,  34  by 
24  feet,  and  also  stocks  and  a  pillory.  In  1755  an  account  was 
allowed  for  digging  a  dungeon  and  for  stone.  Much  complaint  was 
made  of  the  insecurity  of  the  jail,  so  that  in  1757  a  petition  was 


GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS.  35 

■sent  to  the  Chief  Justice,  urging  him  to  solicit  the  Governor  to 
appoint  a  special  oyer  and  terminer,  the  messenger  being  required 
to  go  and  return  in  five  days.  Jeremiah  Buck  was  the  messenger, 
who  of  course  made  the  journey  on  horseback,  and  was  paid  for 
six  days  at  five  shillings  per  day. 

In  1759  it  was  agreed  to  build  a  new  court-house  of  brick,  two 
stories,  34  by  24  feet,  with  a  cupola;  Ebenezer  Miller,  David  Shep- 
pard,  and  Samuel  Fithian,  all  north-siders,  were  the  committee. 
During  the  years  1760  and  '61  this  house  was  built,  and  stood  in 
the  middle  of  what  is  now  Broad  Street,  opposite  the  dwelling- 
house  of  the  jail  keeper,  and  continued  to  be  used  until  1846, 
about  eighty-four  years.  The  bell  was  purchased  by  subscription, 
and  for  many  years  the  house  was  used  on  Sundays  and  other 
days  for  religious  meetings.  Evening  meetings  continued  to  be 
held  in  it  until  but  a  few  years  before  it  was  taken  down.  The 
jail  yard  was  inclosed  with  the  walls  in  1765.  In  1767  the  town- 
ships of  Greenwich  and  Stow  Creek  were  authorized  to  have  each 
a  pair  of  stocks.  In  1775  a  fence  was  ordered  to  be  put  up  at  the 
west  end  of  the  court-house,  and  in  1777  one  was  ordered  at  the 
east  end,  to  prevent  ball  being  played  there.  In  1790  the  present 
jail  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  one.  About  1809  a  market 
house  was  built  by  private  subscription,  and  by  consent  of  the 
freeholders,  at  the  west  end  of  the  court-house.  It  was  never  much 
used,  except  on  training  or  other  public  days.  The  pump  in  the 
street  was  put  there  by  private  subscription,  aided  by  a  donation  from 
the  freeholders,  the  main  purpose  being  to  reach  the  lower  springs, 
which  only,  in  that  vicinity,  furnish  good  water.  A  liberty  pole 
was  put  up  by  the  Democrats  about  1802,  near  where  the  flag-staff 
now  stands,  which  remained  for  many  years,  and  was  sometimes 
degraded  to  a  whipping-post,  when  that  punishment  was  in  vogue.1 
Up  to  1815  the  clerks  and  surrogates  kept  their  books  and  papers 
where  they  happened  to  live,  which  was  not  always  in  Bridgeton. 
In  that  year  the  fire-proof  offices  on  Commerce  Street  were  erected, 
being  originally  a  low  one-story  building,  more  like  a  blacksmith 
shop  than  public  offices. 

About  the  year  1830  there  began  to  be  a  desire  to  have  a  better 

1  Since  this  was  written  the  old  jail  has  been  taken  down.  It  stood  a  little 
south  of  the  existing  brick  sheriffs  bouse  and  jail,  ereoted  in  1867.  The  Btreet 
has  been  newly  graded,  and  the  flagstaff  and  pump  have  disappeared. 


36  GOVERNMENT   AND   OFFICERS. 

court-house;  and  in  1836  the  lot  on  which  it  now  stands  was  pur- 
chased, there  being  then  standing  on  it  a  large  three-storied  house, 
built  and  used  for  many  years  as  a  tavern,  but,  after  1810,  occu- 
pied by  Bev.  Jonathan  Freeman.     This  produced  an  agitation  to 
remove  the  county  seat  to  Millville;  andrin  pursuance  of  a  special 
law,  an  election  was  held  July  25  and  26,  1837,  to  determine. the 
question.     After  a  warm  contest,  the  result  was  1284  votes  for 
Bridgeton,  1059  for  Millville,  and  214  for  Fairton.     When  the 
battle  began  to  wax  warm,  and  especially  when  it  was  found  that 
the  jealousy  of  some  persons  in  Fairton  would  induce  them  to 
throw  away  their  votes  on  that  place,  the  people  of  Bridgeton  were 
frightened,  and  issued  hand-bills  to  the  purport  that  the  expense 
of  a  new  building  was  useless,  the  old  one  being  good  enough. 
The  result  was  a  long  contest  in  the  Board  of  Freeholders,  there 
being  eight  townships,  four  of  which  voted  steadily  against  a  new 
house,  and  the  other  four  not  only  voted  for  a  new  house,  but 
against  selling  the  lot  lately  purchased.     In  1843,  bv  the  efforts  of 
two  or  three  individuals,  a  law  was  passed  establishing  a  new 
township  at  Shiloh,  under  the  plea  that  it  was  a  political  manoeuvre, 
and  so  skilfully  was  the  matter  managed,  that  the  real  object  was 
not  suspected  until  it  was  too  late.    When  the  Board  of  Freeholders 
met,  five  townships  voted  to  build  a  new  court-house,  thus  over- 
powering the  four  who  were  opposed  to  it.     Finding  themselves 
thus  caught,  the  freeholders  of  the  four  eastern  townships  cordially 
united  in  building  the  present  house,  which  was  finished  and  first 
occupied  in  1845.     The  next  year  the  fire-proof  offices  on  Com- 
merce Street  were  raised  and  much  improved.     The  existing  fire- 
proof record  rooms  in  the  rear  were  added  in  1859.     All  disputes 
about  the  court-house  and  offices  being  thus  happily  ended,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  other  parts  of  the  county  no  longer  opposed  new 
townships  being  created  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  which  were 
found  important  for  the  convenience  of  a  rapidly  growing  town 
The  new  township  at  Shiloh,  called  Columbia,  existed  but  one 
year. 

The  persons  of  all  descriptions  inhabiting  Cumberland  County 
when  it  was  set  off,  did  not  number  3000.  In  1745,  there  were 
only  6847  inhabitants  in  the  bounds  of  Salem,  as  it  then  existed. 
An  act  of  Assembly  passed  in  1752,  affords  some  means  of  ascer- 
taining the  relative  positions  of  the  two  counties  after  the  separa- 
tion.    Of  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  required 


GOVERNMENT   AND    OFFICERS. 


37 


for  the  state  tax,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  six  pounds  was  re- 
quired to  be  raised  by  Salem,  and  a  very  little  more  than  half  as 
much,  namely,  fifty-four  pounds  by  Cumberland ;  and  this  propor- 
tion appears  to  have  been  substantially  maintained  until  after  the 
Revolution.  In  1782,  of  ninety  thousand  pounds  State  tax,  Salem 
was  required  to  raise  three  thousand  and  fifty-seven  pounds,  and 
Cumberland  about  one-third  less,  namely,  two  thousand  and  twenty- 
five  pounds.  This  last  proportion  still  continues.  The  State  tax 
of  1868  was  350,000  dollars,  of  which  Salem  raised  12,880  dollars, 
and  Cumberland  8079  dollars. 

It  appears  from  the  census  of  the  two  counties  taken  at  different 
periods,  that  Cumberland  has  gained  on  Salem  in  population,  but 
not  in  wealth. 


Census  of  Salem  and  Cumberland. 


1790 

1800 

1810 

1820 

1830 

Cumberland    .     .     . 

10,437 

8,248 

11,371 
9,529 

12,761 
12,670 

14,022 
12,668 

14,155 
14,093 

1840 

1850 

I860 

1865 

1869 
estimated 

Cumberland    . 

16,024 
14,374 

19,467 
17,189 

22,458 
22,605 

23,162 
26,233 

24,000 
33,000 

3°  BRILGETON. 


CHAPTEE    III. 

BEIDGETON. 

In  1754,  Daniel  Elmer,  who  was  a  surveyor,  and  the  oldest  son 
of  Rev.  Daniel  Elmer,  pastor  of  the  Fairfield  Presbyterian  Church, 
laid  out  for  Alexander  Moore  a  town  on  the  east  side  of  the  Co-' 
hansey,  which  it  was  proposed  to  call  Cumberland.  The  streets 
were  laid  out  at  right  angles,  and  the  squares  contained  each  181 
square  perches.  It  extended  from  what  is  now  Jefferson  Street  to 
a  little  north  of  the  present  iron  works  on  the  north,  and  from  the 
river  to  about  as  far  east  as  where  Orange  Street  now  is  Some  of 
the  old  title-deeds  refer  to  this  plan,  but  the  streets  were  never 
opened.     Most  of  the  site  was  then  the  original  forest. 

The  road  to  Deerfield  was  laid  out  in  1768,  upon  the  old  travel- 
led track  from  the  bridge  to  near  the  corner  of  the  present  Com- 
merce and  Pearl  Streets,  thence  northerly,  a  little  south  of  where 
Pearl  Street  now  is.  In  1785,  the  road  to  Fairfield  was  changed 
and  laid  out  to  begin  at  John  Westcott's  stone  house— then  a  low 
one-story  stone  house— standing  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  pre- 
sent Commerce  and  Pearl  Streets,  afterwards  for  years  owned  and 
occupied  by  Mark  Riley,  the  lot  extending  up  to  where  Orange 
Street  now  is ;  thence  southward  along  the  present  Pearl  Street 
over  the  dam  made  by  Col.  Enos  Seeley,  and  thence  along  what  is 
now  the  left  hand  road  to  the  brick-kiln  corner,  and  thence  south 
along  the  old  road  over  Rocap's  Run. 

John  Moore  White  having  been  licensed  to  practise  law  and 
married,  came  to  Bridgeton  in  1791  and  erected  a  handsome  dwell- 
ing, now  forming  a  part  of  the  hotel  at  the  corner  of  Commerce 
and  Laurel  Streets.  He  procured  the  road  to  be  changed  and 
to  run  as  it  does  now,  called  Laurel  Street.  He  laid  out  himself 
and  fenced  some  of  the  other  streets  to  correspond.  His  lot  in- 
closed with  a  handsome  fence,  and  well  improved  with  shade  and 
fruit  trees,  and  an  extensive,  well  laid-out  garden,  extended  on 
Commerce  Street  from  the  corner  of  Laurel  to  the  present  Water 
Street,  and  on  Laurel  Street  from  the  corner  to  James  Hood's  line 


BRIDGETON-.  39 

The  present  livery  stables  were  his  barn  and  stables,  the  tide  in  the 
river  flowing  up  to  near  the  building.  North  of  him  it  was  an 
open  woods,  in  which  the  laurel  was  so  conspicuous  as  to  give  the 
name  Laurel  Hill  to  the  elevated  ground  still  called  by  that  name. 
The  present  Pearl  Street  was  by  him  called  Middle  Street.  Bank 
was  called  Freemason  Street,  and  Washington  was  called  Point 
Street.  The  road  to  Deerfield,  after  passing  the  first  run  north  of 
the  town,  was  very  crooked.  It  was  made  straight  in  1796  about 
half  way,  and  a  few  years  later  as  the  turnpike  now  runs.  The 
turnpike  was  made  in  1852.  The  straight  road  to  Fairton  was 
opened  in  1799  ;  that  to  Millville  in  1805.  In  1810,  the  road  to 
Buckshootem  was  laid.  The  turnpike  was  made  to  Millville  in 
1853. 

The  road  from  Greenwich"  to  Bridgeton,  through  Bowe"ntown,  was 
in  use  by  the  early  settlers.  In  1769,  it  was  regularly  laid  out  as 
a  four-rod  road,  and  then  passed  the  court-house,  down  the  hill  to 
Water  Street  (now  Atlantic),  thence  a  straight  course  to  the  foot 
of  the  bridge.  The  road,  however,  was  a  deep  gully  below  the  court- 
house until  about  1802,  when  George  Burgin,  a  prominent  citizen, 
who  had  built  the  stone  storehouse  at  the  corner  of  Broad  and 
Atlantic  Streets,  made  the  road  passable  for  carriages,  and  caused 
the  wharf  it  leads  to  to  be  erected.  In  1800,  the  present  Atlantic 
Street  was  laid  as  it  now  is  ;  but  for  several  years  the  old  road  pass- 
ing in  front  of  the  Parvin  House  continued  to  be  used  by  carriages, 
and  was  the  foot-path  until  that  house  was  taken  away  in  1825. 
The  road  from  the  foot  of  the  bridge  up  the  hill,  and  thence  along 
what  is  now  Franklin  Street,  was  laid  nearly  as  it  now  is  in  1771. 
For  many  years,  however,  this  road  up  the  hill  was  a  mere  sandy 
track,  but  little  used.  In  1825,  the  late  Dr.  Ephraim  Buck,  having 
had  the  office  of  overseer  imposed  on  him,  put  it  in  good  order,  at 
an  expense  much  complained  of  by  the  tax-payers,  but  which  soon 
made  it  the  main  thoroughfare  of  travel,  and  proved  an  excellent 
improvement.  The  old  middle  road  down  the  hill,  which  was  never 
regularly  laid  out,  was  shut  up  in  1815.  The  straight  road  to  Roads- 
town  was,  after  several  futile  attempts,  laid  out  and  opened  about 
1798.  Broad  Street  was  formerly  called  Main  Street.  Until  after 
the  Revolution,  Bridgeton  was  but  an  insignificant  hamlet,  having 
not  more  than  from  150  to  200  inhabitants.  The  houses  built  up 
to  that  time  were  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  court-house,  and  on 
Vine  and  Main  Streets,  and  on  Commerce  and  Laurel  Streets,  south 


40  BRIDGETON. 

of  Commerce.  The  bridge  had  no  draw,  and  was  a  subject  of  con- 
siderable contention.  The  Rev.  Philip  Fithian,  then  a  tutor  in  Vir- 
ginia, visited  the  place  in  1774.  He  records  in  his  journal  under  the 
date  of  April  26,  "visited  Nathan  Leak  (in  Deerfield).  He  told  me 
the  beginning  and  continuation  of  the  quarrel  of  the  magistrates,  free- 
holders, and  other  officers,  about  raising  money  for  repairing  Cohan- 
seyBridge."  This  quarrel  grew  out  of  a  dispute  about  its  location  ; 
a  strong  party,  headed  by  Col.  Enos  Seeley,  owner  of  the  property 
on  the  creek  below  Jefferson  Street,  being  in  favor  of  putting  it 
opposite  Broad  Street,  while  Alexander  Moore  and  his  friends  in- 
sisted upon  retaining  the  old  site.  Nothing  but  indispensable 
repairs  was  done  to  the  old  bridge  until  after  Mr.  White  took  pos- 
session of  his  property.  He  was  desirous  of  having  a  draw,  so  that 
he  might  «rect  wharves  above;  and  to  induce  the  freeholders  to 
incur  the  necessary  expense,  agreed  to  defray  the  cost  of  the  draw, 
and  keep  it  in  good  repair  five  years ;  and  he  also  deeded  to  trus- 
tees a  lot  of  land  on  the  river,  where  the  rolling  and  pipe-mills 
now  are,  to  be  used  as  a  free  public  landing  for  wood  and  lumber. 
The  lot  was  so  used  for  many  years,  but  becoming  less  and  less 
important  to  the  community,  Mr.  White — on  the  ground  that  the 
conditions  of  his  grant  had  not  been  complied  with — some  twenty- 
five  years  ago  took  possession  of  it  and  sold  it.  The  town  is  cer- 
tainly far  more  benefited  by  its  present  use  than  it  could  be  if  held 
for  its  original  purpose.  From  1799  to  1801,  the  present  stone 
abutments  were  put  up,  and  the  bridge  was  built  on  piles,  and 
raised  much  higher  than  it  had  been,  and  at  this  time  the  dispute 
about  its  location  was  renewed,  George  Burgin  being  desirous  of 
having  it  placed  opposite  Broad  Street*  Old  inhabitants  speak  of 
the  tide  having  risen  above  the  floor  in  former  times.  The  draw 
has  been  several  times  altered.  For  many  years  it  was  raised  up; 
but  it  was  a  constant  source  of  trouble  and  expense.  There  not 
having  been  any  previous  law  authorizing  this  bridge,  one  was 
passed  in  1834.  The  existing  structure  was  built  in  1849.  The 
street  on  both  sides  of  the  bridge  has  been  raised  from  five  to  eight 
feet. 

An  actual  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  made  in  1792,  found 
that  they  numbered  300.     About  this  time  General  Giles  built  the 

*  Now,  in  1869,  arrangements  have  been  made  for  building  a  bridge  at  Broad 
Street,  so  that  soon,  instead  of  only  one,  there  will  be  three. 


BRIDGETON.  41 

house  on  Broad  Street,  now  occupied  by  Rev.  Dr.  Jones,  and  shortly 
after  this,  several  pretty  good  houses  were  erected.  That  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Read  was  built  by  Ebenezer  Miller;  but  it  has  been  en- 
larged and  much  improved.  All  the  houses  occupied  in  1748 
have  long  ago  disappeared.  Among  the  early  business  men  of  the 
town  was  Col.  David  Potter.  His  wharf  and  store-house  were  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river,  next  below  the  Mason  line.  His  dwell- 
ing— a  wooden  structure  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Broad  and 
Franklin  Streets — was  burned  about  the  year  1780,  and  he  then 
built  the  present  brick  dwelling  and  store  at  the  same  place.  In 
his  day,  a  considerable  quantity  of  wheat,  raised  in  Hopewell, 
Deerfield,  and  Pittsgrove,  was  brought  to  this  place  and  exported 
to  Philadelphia,  and  the  Brandy  wine  Mills.  He  died  in  1805. 
Next  after  him  were  Seeley  and  Merseilles,  who  had  a  store  near 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  bridge.  Merseilles  built  the  store-house 
at  the  southeast  corner  of  Commerce  and  Laurel  Streets.  He  also 
built  a  good  dwelling-house  opposite,  now  a  part  of  Grosscup's 
building.  The  town  being  at  the  head  of  navigation,  a  considera- 
ble business  in  carrying  wood  and  lumber  to  Philadelphia  grew  up; 
but  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  not  more  than  three 
or  four  vessels  were  owned  in  the  place,  nor  did  the  stores  fairly 
compete  with  those  at  Greenwich.  In  1780,  a  letter-of-marque 
schooner,  called  Gov.  Livingston,  was  built  on  the  Cohansey,  at  the 
place  now  occupied  as  a  lumber  yard  by  Messrs.  Mulford,  which 
made  one  successful  trip.  Upon  her  return  from  her  second  voy- 
age, with  a  valuable  cargo,  she  was  captured  near  the  Delaware  by 
a  British  frigate. 

The  sons  of  Col.  Potter  first  kept  the  store  at  the  southwest  cor- 
ner of  Commerce  and  Laurel  Streets.  The  most  influential  citizens 
in  1800  were  Dr.  Jonathan  Elmer,  Col.  Potter,  Ebenezer  Seeley, 
Jonathan  Bowen,  Dr.  Samuel  M.  Shute,  James  Burch,  Zachariah 
Lawrence,  Enoch  Boon,  John  Moore  White,  and  Gen.  Giles. 
Ebenezer  Elmer,  who  had  been  previously  in  practice  as  a  physi- 
cian, and  was  a  prominent  public  man,  moved  on  to  a  farm  at  Bow- 
town  in  1795,  from  whence  he  returned  in  1807.  Col.  Enos  Seeley 
had  become  disabled  by  disease,  and  Judge  Ephraim  Seeley,  son 
of  Col.  Ephraim,  died  in  1799,  soon  after  finishing  his  house  at  the 
corner  of  Commerce  and  Bank  Streets. 

We  have  no  means  of  knowing  what  was  the  precise  number  of 
inhabitants  at  this  epoch,  but  they  may  be  estimated  to  have  been 


42  BRIDGETON. 

about  four  hundred.  Nearly  every  house  then  existing  can  be 
identified.  On  the  east  side  was  the  old  Seeley  mansion  at  the  mill, 
now  gone ;  a  house  on  Commerce  Street  nearly  opposite  the 
Methodist  meeting-house,  built  by  Mr.  Fauver,  on  a  lot  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  John  Moore  White's  property ;  the  house  at  the 
corner  of  Commerce  and  Bank  Streets,  built  by  Ephraim  Seeley; 
the  academy  on  Bank  Street,  having,  as  now,  the  Masonic  lodge  in 
the  upper  story,  and  the  house  on  the  north  side  of  Irving,  front- 
ing Bank,  then  owned  by  Ebenezer  Seeley ;  a  house  on  the  south 
side  of  Irving,  west  of  Bank  Street;  the  old  stone  house  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Commerce  and  Pearl  Streets,  long  owned  by 
Mark  Riley;  five  houses  on  Pearl,  south  of  Commerce;  house  near 
the  saw-mill,  then  owned  by  Col.  Enos  Seeley,  long  known  as  the 
house  of  Widow  Jay;  the  house  of  his  son,  David  Seeley,  now  Mrs. 
Buck's,  fronting  on  Laurel;  the  old  Boyd  mansion  opposite;  five 
houses  on  the  east  side  of  Laurel,  south  of  Commerce ;  one  stone 
house  on  the  west  side;  store-houses  at  the  south  corners  of  Com- 
merce and  Laurel  Streets ;  a  house  and  a  shoemaker-shop  a  little 
west  of  it,  built  by  James  Burch,  on  the  south  side  of  Commerce 
Street  (now  James  Potter's) ;  a  store-house  near  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  bridge ;  the  old  mansion  of  Alexander  Moore,  then  a  tavern, 
and  two  houses  near  thereto;  White's  mansion  house,  now  the  hotel ; 
the  house  of  Eden  M.  Merseilles,  now  a  part  of  Grosscup's  build- 
ing; a  house  east  of  this  built  by  Reuben  Burgin;  a  blacksmith- 
shop  at  the  corner  of  Commerce  and  Pearl ;  a  house  on  the  east  side 
of  Pearl  Street,  now  S.  W.  Seeley 's;  a  house  where  the  brick  Pres- 
byterian church  stands;  one  nearly  opposite  owned  by  James  Hood, 
a  Scotchman,  then  following  his  business  of  making  wrought  nails, 
and  his  shop;  a  blacksmith-shop  on  Washington  Street  near  the 
corner  of  Laurel ;  the  stone  house  on  the  side  of  Laurel,  nearly 
opposite  Irving  Street;  two  small  houses  near  thereto;  three  houses 
above  on  the  same  street,  and  a  store-house  at  the  northeast  corner 
of  Laurel  and  Irving. 

On  the  west  side  were  the  old  Parvin  House  near  the  foot  of  the 
bridge  and  a  stone  house  north  of  it,  on  Commerce  Street,  the  old 
Cotting  House,  then  Enoch  Boon's;  four  other  houses  on  Atlantic 
Street;  a  house  on  Broad  Street  below  the  jail ;  three  houses  on  the 
north  side  of  Broad  near  the  court-house,  one  of  which  was  then 
occupied  as  a  tavern;  two  houses  on  the  west  side  of  Franklin 
Street;  Col.  Potter's  house  and  store  at  the  corner  of  Broad  and 
Franklin;  two  or  three  houses  between  that  and  Giles  Street;  the 


BRIDGETON.  43 

mansion  of  Gen.  Giles ;  two  or  three  bouses  above  on  the  same  side; 
six  or  seven  houses  on  the  south  side  of  Broad  Street ;  three  houses 
on  the  west  side  of  Fayette  Street;  a  large  three-storied  house 
where  the  court-house  now  stands,  long  occupied  as  a  tavern,  and 
five  or  six  houses  on  Vine  Street;  a  one-story  school  house  where 
the  public  school  now  is,  and  the  old  brick  Presbyterian  church. 
The  court-house  stood  in  the  middle  of  Broad  Street.  The  only 
wharves  at  this  time  were  a  small  one  just  below  the  bridge  on  the 
west  side,  another  of  better  construction  lower  down  on  the  same 
side,  belonging  to  Col.  Potter,  and  one  on  the  east  side  constructed 
by  Seeley  &  Marseilles,  about  twenty  rods  below  the  bridge,  with 
the  remains  of  the  old  Smith  Wharf  on  the  property  now  Mrs. 
Buck's.  The  wharves  above  the  bridge  were  not  built  until  after 
the  draw  was  made,  so  that  masted  vessels  could  pass  through. 
Among  the  first  were  those  of  Laurel  Hill,  now  disused.  Goose 
Hill  above  got  its  name  from  the  circumstance  that  the  owner  of 
the  farm  opposite  accused  Abraham  Say  re,  who  lived  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  town,  of  plucking  the  feathers  from  some  of 
his  geese,  and  shortly  afterwards  some  of  his  pigs  happening  to  go 
astray,  he  set  up  advertisements  offering  a  reward  for  them,  and 
hoping  that  Squire  Sayre  had  not  mistaken  them  for  geese  and 
pulled  off  the  hair.  This  brought  on  a  suit  for  libel,  about  1810. 
The  suit  was  settled  by  an  arbitration;  but  the  name  Goose  Hill 
became  the  popular  usage. 

About  the  year  1800,  Levi  Leake,  of  Deerfield,  brother  of  the 
eminent  lawyer  Samuel  Leake,  and  a  warm  Federalist,  commenced 
building  a  new  house  on  a  lot  he  owned  near  where  the  pipe-mill 
stands.  Before  it  was  finished,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected  President, 
which  so  displeased  him  that  he  made  a  vow  that  he  would  not 
complete  the  building  until  the  Federalists  came  again  into  power. 
As  this  never  happened,  the  building  remained  near  twenty  years 
unoccupied,  until  on  his  death  it  was  sold  and  removed,  standing 
now  on  the  north  side  of  Laurel  Street,  near  to  the  corner  of  Wash- 
ington. 

The  following  houses  have  at  different  times  been  occupied  as 
taverns :  A  house  on  the  west  side  of  Laurel  Street  above  Irving^ 
which  was  burnt  in  1826  ;  the  hotel,  the  old  Moore  mansion,  the 
old  Parvin  House,  the  double  stone  house  on  the  west  side  of  At- 
lantic Street,  the  house  opposite  the  jail,  the  Cohansey  Hotel,  a 
large  house  standing  on  the  present  site  of  the  court-house,  the 


44  BRIDGETON. 

house  of  Dr.  Hampton,  on  Vine  Street,  and  the  house  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  Broad  and  Giles  Streets. 

The  number  of  families  in  1829  was  found  to  be  342,  and  the 
population  1736.  Just  previous  to  this  the  east  side  of  the  river 
began  to  outnumber  the  other  side.  There  were  then  four  taverns 
and  ten  stores.  Twenty-five  vessels  belonging  to  the  place  were 
employed  principally  in  the  wood  trade,  besides  several  oyster 
boats.  Upwards  of  25,000  cords  of  wood  were  sent  annually  to 
Philadelphia. 

In  1838,  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  found  to  be  2315,  of 
whom  1513  were  on  the  east  side  and  802  on  the  west.  The 
growth  during  the  preceding  ten  years  had  been  almost  exclusively 
on  the  east  side.  There  were  still  four  taverns  and  about  twelve 
stores.  At  this  time  the  streets  were  named  as  they  are  now 
known.  The  streets  siuce  opened  are  Orange,  Pine,  Walnut, 
Church,  Cedar,  and  Elmer  Streets  on  the  east  side,  and  Academy, 
Oak,  and  Hampton  Streets  on  the  west  side.  In  1850  the  popula- 
tion of  the  town  was  3303.  In  1860  it  had  increased  to  fully  5000, 
which  may  be  considered  as  the  present  population. — Two  taverns 
are  now  found  sufficient  instead  of  the  four  maintained  when  there 
were  not  half  so  many  inhabitants. 

The  journal  of  a  young  lady  who  visited  Bridgeton  in  1786, 
before  mentioned,  gives  the  name  of  the  place  Cohansey,  and  it  is 
to  be  regretted  that  this  old  Indian  name  was  not  adopted  as  the 
name  of  this  town,  instead  of  being  only  the  name  of  one  of  the 
townships  (and  since  dropped  entirely),  containing  hardly  one 
third  of  the  inhabitants.  She  mentions  leaving  Cooper's  ferry 
(Carndeu)  about  12  o'clock,  part  of  the  company  in  Mr.  Potter's 
family  wagon,  Mr.  Moore  and  I  in  his  carriage,  the  latter  being  the 
old-fashioned  one  horse  chaise,  then  lately  introduced.  They 
travelled  through  Gloucester,  Woodbury,  Greenwich,  now  Clarks- 
boro,  to  the  Pine  Tavern,  where  they  passed  the  night.  This  was 
a  well-known  wayside  inn,  now  disused,  about  four  miles  beyond 
the  Pole  Tavern,  which  was  also  a  noted  house  of  entertainment 
before  the  Re  volution.  It  was  cold,  and  she  complained  of  the 
scanty  clothing  on  the  beds,  and  that  the  windows  were  not  glazed, 
and  had  no  shutters,  only  boards  nailed  up,  and  these  an  inch 
apart.  They  left  at  6  A.  M.  and  called  at  Dr.  Harris',  in  Pitts- 
grove,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Moore,  some  of  whose 
descendants  are  still  living.     She  records  frequent  visits  to  Moore 


BRIDGETON.  45 

Hall.  On  Sunday  went  to  church  at  New  England  Town.  The 
next  Sunday  Mr.  Grier  preached  in  the  court-house;  visited  Mrs. 
Boyd,  mother  of  the  then  wife  of  Colonel  Potter,  where  she  was 
staying.  "  We  strolled  about  in  her  garden;  it  is  situated  along 
the  creek,  and  is  really  beautiful.  Well  might  a  poet  sit  under 
the  rural  willows  and  contemplate  the  beauties  of  nature  and  art. 
There  were  many  beautiful  flowers.  Three  sloops  came  up  whilst 
we  stood  there,  and  cast  anchor."  This  dwelling  and  garden  have 
long  since  disappeared.  It  was  one  of  the  old  time  mansions, 
which  the  writer  remembers  to  have  seen  more  than  fifty  years  ago 
dilapidated  and  empty.  It  was  just  above  where  the  new  bridge 
from  Broad  Street  is  to  cross.  Mrs.  Boyd  was  one  of  those  excel- 
lent Christian  women  whose  memory  deserves  to  be  perpetuated. 
Her  husband,  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  came  over  to  this  country 
about  the  year  1772,  leaving  his  wife  and  three  children  in  their 
native  home.  After  following  the  occupation  of  a  peddler  for  a  short 
time,  he  succeeded  in  commencing  a  store  at  Cohansey  Bridge,  and 
then  sent  for  his  wife  and  children.  They  left  Ireland  in  the  fall 
of  1773,  but  on  their  arrival,  found  that  Mr.  Boyd  had  recently 
died.  The  widow  took  upon  herself  the  charge  of  her  husband's 
store,  and  aided  by  an  excellent  clerk,  James  Ewing,  the  father  of 
the  late  Chief  Justice  Ewing,  whose  mother  was  her  eldest  daughter, 
she  succeeded  in  maintaining  her  family  in  comfort.  Her  only 
son,  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death  about  six  years  old,  was  a 
promising  young  man,  but  having  entered  into  business  in  Phila- 
delphia, died  of  the  yellow  fever  in  1795.  The  youngest  daughter 
became  the  second  wife  of  Colonel  Potter,  with  whom  her  mother 
resided  for  some  years  before  her  death,  ending  her  days  in  1812 
at  the  good  old  age  of  80  years.  The  margin  of  the  creek,  on  the 
east  side,  with  the  exception  of  the  wharf  near  the  bridge,  and  that 
of  Seeley  &  Merseilles'  lower  down,  was  a  low  meadow  until  within 
the  last  twenty  years. 

Before  the  Revolution  very  few  covered  carriages  were  in  use. 
Travelling  by  men  was  almost  exclusively  on  horseback,  the  women 
riding  on  side-saddles,  and  frequently  behind  their  male  friends  on 
pillions.  Sleighs  and  sleds  were  used  in  winter,  before  carriages 
were  common.  Philip  Fithian,  whose  journal  has  been  referred  to, 
travelled  to  Virginia  on  horseback  in  1773,  crossing  the  ferry  from 
Elsinborough  to  Port  Penn,  Delaware,  which  was  then  much  in  use, 
but  has  beenlono;  discontinued.     Dr.  Jonathan  Elmer  travelled  the 


46  BRIDGETON. 

same  route  to  take  his  seat  in  Congress  at  Baltimore,  in  November, 
1776,  returning  in  February  by  way  of  Philadelphia,  not  being 
then  able  to  cross  the  river  lower  down  in  consequence  of  the  ice. 
A  memorandum  of  his  expenses  still  remains,  from  which  the 
following  items  are  extracted  : — 


1776. 

Dec. 

27, 

Paid  J.  Housman, 

12s. 

6d. 

Dec. 

29, 

at  Rogers', 

6s. 

Orf. 

at  Port  Perm, 

3 

3 

at  Bushtown, 

2 

6 

at  Aiken's, 

3 

0 

at  Buck's, 

9 

(i 

28 

at  Boid's, 

at  Charlestown, 

at  Stevenson's, 

6 
6 
1 

6 
6 
9 

at  Rush's,  (Bait.), 

1 

9 

1777. 

Feb. 

15 

for  keeping  horse 
in  the  country 

Dec. 

18 
20 

at  Marcus  Hook, 
at    Indian    Queen, 

3s. 

'.hi 

five  weeks,          £1 

17s. 

6d. 

(Phila.) 

10 

0 

K 

17, 

Rodger's  ferry, 

12 

tj 

at  Sally  Westeott's, 

2 

6 

at  Stevenson's, 

1 

6 

at  Cooper's  ferry, 

3 

0 

at  Bird's, 

3 

2 

at  Haddonfield, 

3 

6 

at  Christeen, 

5 

0 

at  Eldridge's, 

4 

5 

(C 

18 

at  Newport, 
at  Wilmington, 

6 
4 

3 
3 

at  Pine  Tavern, 

2 

6 

The  Charlestown  above  mentioned  was  in  Cecil  County,  Mary- 
land; Kodger's  ferry  was  over  the  Susquehanna;  Eldridge's  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  old  death  of  the  Fox  Tavern  in  Gloucester  County, 
near  where  Clarksboro'  now  is.  The  currency  was  the  proclama- 
tion money  at  seven  and  sixpence  the  dollar. 

Another  memorandum  details  the  expenses  of  a  horseback 
journey  from  Bridgeton  to  Morristown,  the  head-quarters  of  the 
American  army,  which  he  visited  as  one  of  the  committee  of 
Congress  on  Hospitals.  It  commenced  March  12,  1777,  the  first 
item  being  at  Champney's  2s.  This  was  at  the  Pole  Tavern,  then 
kept  by  the  Widow  Champney,  mother  of  Dr.  Champney;  then 
comes  Pine  Tavern  and  Eldridge's ;  13th  was  spent  in  Philadel- 
phia ;  14th  and  15th  visit  to  Haddonfield,  where  some  of  our  troops 
then  were;  16th  to  Burlington;  17th  at  Eocky  Hill  (near  Prince- 
ton), 18th  at  Col.  Potter's  quarters  (he  then  had  the  command  of  a 
regiment  of  militia);  20th  and  21st  at  Baskenridge  and  Morris- 
town,  22d  to  Trenton,  and  then  to  Philadelphia,  which  he  left  on 
the  31st,  and  home  by  Eldridge's,  Pine  Tavern,  and  Widow  Champ- 
ney's. The  total  expense  of  the  trip  was  £7  10s.,  or  nearly  $20. 
In  April  it  is  noted,  paid  Tybout  for  a   hat  (no  doubt  a  beaver) 


BRIDGETON.  47 

<£3  5.s.,  or  $3.66.  Such  a  hat  of  good  quality  lasted  on  careful 
heads  five  or  six,  and  even  ten  years. 

The  land  titles  in  Bridgeton  are  held  under  four  different  sur- 
veys. A  tract  called  the  eleven  thousand  acre  survey  was  located 
for  the  West  Jersey  Society  in  1686,  but  was  not  then  recorded. 
In  1716  this  tract  was  resurveyed.  It  begins  at  a  pine  tree  on  the 
northeast  side  of  the  Cohansey,  about  two  miles  below  the  bridge ; 
runs  from  thence  east  about  two  miles;  then  north,  then  west  to 
the  Cohansey,  some  two  miles  above  the  bridge,  and  then  down 
the  river  to  the  beginning.  Jeremiah  Basse  was  for  some  time  the 
agent  of  this  Society,  and  seems  to  have  had,  or  claimed  to  have, 
some  right  to  the  property;  but  the  right  of  his  heirs  and  devisees 
was  released  to  Alexander  Moore,  including  the  old  Hancock  mill 
and  adjoining  property. 

One  of  the  London  proprietors  of  West  Jersey  was  named  John 
Bridges.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Bridges  graduated  at  Harvard  in 
1675,  then  went  to  England,  and  returned  in  1682  with  testimo- 
nials from  Owen  and  other  eminent  dissenting  ministers.  He  was 
for  a  time  a  merchant,  but  after  he  became  a  preacher  went  to  the 
West  Indies.  He  was  probably  a  son  or  near  relative  of  John 
Bridges.  He  came  to  Cohansey,  and  preached  in  the  old  Fairfield 
church.  In  1697  Thomas  Revel  made  a  deed  to  him  reciting, 
"Whereas  the  Honorable  West  Jersey  Society  in  England  have, 
upon  the  consideration  mentioned  in  their  letter  to  Thomas 
Bridges,  dated  July  19,  1692,  therein  and  thereby  given,  or  pro- 
posed to  give,  to  the  said  Thomas  Bridges,  in  fee  forever,  1000 
acres  of  land  of  and  belonging  to  the  said  Society  within  the  said 
province  of  West  Jersey,  in  what  situation  he  should  please  to 
take  up  the  same,"  and  that  said  Revel  being  seized  of  4000  acres 
by  virtue  of  a  deed  from  Jeremiah  Basse,  agent  of  said  Society,  he 
therefore  conveys  to  him  1000  acres.  By  virtue  of  this  deed  a 
survey  was  at  the  same  date  made  by  Joshua  Barkstead  for 
Bridges,  beginning  at  a  pine  tree  standing  on  the  north  side  of 
Mill  Creek,  about  half  way  between  the  saw-mill  and  then  going 
over  across  the  run  to  the  Indian  Fields  (which  was  a  little  above 
the  present  road  to  Milville);  thence  north  336  perches  to  a  corner 
tree.  The  side  lines  run  east  and  west,  and  the  tract  was  surveyed 
for  1050  acres,  of  which  50  acres  were  for  one  Collett,  to  be  held 
in  common  with  Bridges,  and  he  to  have  a  proportional  share  of 
the  Indian  Fields.     This  tract  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Indian 


48  BRIDGETON. 

Fields  tract,  and  was  the  first  settled  in  the  neighborhood,  the  titles 
being  held  under  Bridges.  The  beginning  corner  was  back  of  the 
Commerce  Street  Methodist  meeting-house,  the  only  part  of  the 
north  line  now  marked  being  the  fence  between  the  graveyard  and 
the  parsonage  lot,  and  it  runs  thence  so  as  to  strike  the  house 
fronting  Bank  Street,  west  of  the  railroad,  and  thence  (it  is  sup- 
posed) to  the  tree  so  well  known  as  the  umbrella  or  sunset  tree. 
Col.  Ephraim  Seeley  for  many  years  owned  the  land  east  of  this 
line,  up  to  Irving  Street ;  he  devised  it  to  his  son  Ephraim,  from 
whom  it  descended  to  his  children.  Upon  the  division  of  the 
latter  property  in  1800,  this  line,  which  in  1697  was  run  due  north, 
was  run  N.  4§  W.;  and  in  1848  it  was  run  N.  2|  W.,  thus  showing 
the  variation  of  the  compass,  as  practically  used,  between  those 
dates.  Bridges  had  also  a  survey  made  for  him  on  the  Cohansey, 
bounding  on  Fuller  Creek,  since  called  Rocap's  Bun.  This  survey 
calls  also  for  the  line  of  the  township  of  Pamphylia.  Such  a  town- 
ship was  never  formed,  but  it  is  probable  there  was  a  fulling-mill 
on  the  run,  such  a  mill  being  almost  as  indispensable  for  the  new 
settlement  as  a  saw -mill. 

Bridges'  Indian  Field  tract  appears  to  have  been  subdivided  for 
him  into  tracts  of  fifty  acres,  which  he  sold  out  as  purchasers  and 
settlers  offered.  One  William  Dare,  described  as  of  Cohansey,  in 
the  county  of  Salem,  who  probably  came  into  this  region  with  the 
Fairfield  people,  had  located  a  tract  of  100  acres  of  cedar  swamp 
on  Lebanon,  as  early  as  March,  1695-6.  About  1700  he  became 
the  owner  of  two  fifty-acre  tracts,  as  set  off  by  Bridges,  comprising 
a  part  of  the  farm  northeast  of  Elmer's  mill-pond,-  recently  occu- 
pied by  David  Dare,  one  of  his  lineal  descendants,  who  died  April, 
1863.  About  1753  William  Dare,  son  of  the  William  first  above 
named,  and  Col.  Ephraim  Seeley,  purchased  of  the  agent  of  the  West 
Jersey  Society  several  hundred  acres  lying  south  of  Bridge's  tract, 
and  east  of  the  tract  sold  to  Moore.  Most  of  the  Indian  Field  set- 
tlers, who  were  the  first  in  the  eastern  part  of  Bridgeton,  were  from 
Fairfield.  Among  them,  besides  Dare,  were  Riley  and  Loomis — 
or  Lummis,  as  the  name  has  been  since  written — and  Hood. 
Hobert  Hood's  tract  was  a  part  of  the  Society  land,  purchased  by 
him  at  an  early  date. 

In  1752  Alexander  Moore,  of  Cohansey  Bridge,  purchased  of 
the  agents  of  the  West  Jersey  Society  990  acres,  part  of  their 
11,000  acre  tract.     This  purchase  begins  on  the  Cohansey,  a  little 


BRIDGETON.  49 

above  Pamphylia  Spring,  and  runs  several  courses  to  Bridges' 
Indian  Fields  tract,  striking  it  a  little  east  of  the  beginning  corner, 
thence  along  said  tract,  and  several  courses  north  of  it  to  the 
Cohansey,  something  more  than  a  mile  above  the  town.  By 
means  of  this  deed,  and  of  a  release  from  one  Pigeon,  a  claimant 
under  Basse,  of  the  tract  connected  with  the  Hancock  mill,  he 
became  the  owner  of  all  that  part  of  East  Bridgeton  lying  west  of 
Bridges'  line.  That  line  was  probably  so  run  in  consequence  of 
the  mill  tract  being  held  by  Hancock.  Moore  was  of  Irish  de- 
scent, and  was  the  first  person  who  transacted  much  business  at 
Cohansey  Bridge.  His  grandson,  the  late  Judge  John  Moore 
White,  thought  he  came  here  about  1730,  and  married  into  the 
Reeve  family.  He  accumulated  a  very  handsome  estate,  built 
himself  a  good  house  near  his  store,  on  the  north  side  of  Commerce 
Street,  near  the  corner  of  Water,  in  which  a  tavern  was  kept  for 
many  years  after  his  death,  and  which  was  removed  to  make  room 
for  the  present  brick  building  about  1830.  He  died  at  a  good  old 
age  in  1786,  on  the  farm  now  attached  to  the  poor-house,  where 
he,  and  his  son  after  him,  had  an  establishment  known  as  Moore 
Hall.  At  his  death  there  was  a  protracted  lawsuit  about  the  pro- 
bate of  his  will.  It  appears  by  the  depositions  on  file,  that  he  had 
been  paid  by  several  of  his  debtors  in  depreciated  continental 
money,  when  it  was  a  legal  tender,  and  he  used  to  carry  about  him, 
and  very  frequently  show  to  others,  what  he  called  his  rogues'  list 
of  these  debtors.  The  will,  however,  was  confirmed.  He  devised 
his  Bridgeton  and  much  other  property  to  his  three  grandsons, 
the  three  children  of  his  daughter,  a  beautiful  woman,  who  mar- 
ried an  Englishman,  a  merchant  in  Philadelphia,  named  John 
White,  who,  during  the  Revolutionary  WTar,  was  aid  to  Gen.  Sulli- 
van, and  was  killed  in  the  attack  on  Chew's  house  in  Germantown. 
Mrs.  White  died  in  1770,  leaving  an  infant,  and  lies  buried  witli 
her  father  and  mother  in  the  graveyard  at  Greenwich.  John 
Moore  White,  her  youngest  child,  became  of  age  in  1791,  just  pre- 
vious to  which  time  the  laud,  except  that  in  Bridgeton,  was  divided 
between  the  three  brothers,  by  order  of  the  Orphans'  Court.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  years  the  two  elder  brothers,  Alexander  and 
William,  died  without  issue,  so  that  the  Bridgeton  property  be- 
came vested  in  John.  All  of  the  tract  within  the  limits  of  the 
town,  lying  south  of  Commerce  Street,  appears  to  have  been  sold 
by  Alexander  Moore  in  his  lifetime,  or  released  to  persons  who 


50  BKIDGETON. 

claimed  it;  but  all  the  land  north  of  that  street  became  the  pro- 
perty of  John  Moore  White,  who  commenced  selling  lots  in  1792, 
and  in  1810  conveyed  all  the  unsold  residue  to  William  Potter 
and  Jeremiah  Buck. 

The  titles  west  of  the  Cohansey,  are  held  under  three  different 
surveys.  The  first  was  made  for  Eobert  Hutchinson,  May  27th, 
1786,  for  950  acres.  The  north  line  of  this  tract  cornered  at  a 
white  oak  on  the  Cohansey,  marked  H,  standing  in  the  hollow  near 
the  river,  above  the  place  of  going  over  to  Eichard  Hancock's  mill. 
Above  this  was  a  survey  made  for  Cornelius  Mason,  in  1689,  for 
5000  acres.  As  originally  described  it  began  at  the  bound  tree  of 
Eobert  Hutchinson,  standing  in  a  valley  by  the  west-northwest 
side  of  the  north  branch  of  the  river  Cohanzick,  thence  up  the 
river,  to  a  white  oak  tree  standing  upon  a  hill  near  the  branch  in 
an  Indian  old  field,  thence  W.  N.  W.  800  perches.  Mason,  who 
was  a  London  trader,  called  this  tract  "  Winchcomb  manor,"  after 
a  manor  of  that  name  he  owned  in  England.  The  original  survey 
was  taken  to  England  and  never  recorded  until  1764.  The  farm 
lying  above  Muddy  Branch,  as  the  stream,  now  a  pond,  just  above 
the  iron  works  was  formerly  called,  appears  to  have  been  partially 
cleared  by  the  Indians,  who  had  a  burial  place  on  it,  since  called 
Coffin  Point.  As  early  as  1697  one  John  Garrison  settled  and 
built  a  house  on  it,  and  about  1715  built  a  house  of  cedar  logs, 
near  the  bridge,  in  which  Benjamin  Seeley  lived.  About  1734 
Silas  Parvin  purchased  the  land  of  Garrison  south  of  Muddy 
Branch,  and  in  1741  that  lying  north  of  the  branch.  But  Parvin's 
right  to  the  property  was  disputed  by  Mason,  and  about  1741  suits 
were  commenced  which  were  in  some  way  compromised.  After 
this  the  persons  claiming  to  be  Mason's  heirs  conveyed  the  whole 
tract  to  Israel  Pemberton,  a  friend,  residing  in  Philadelphia,  and 
he  commenced  suits.  In  the  progress  of  the  controversy  the  land 
was  resurveyed,  and  a  jury  of  view  settled  the  corner  to  be  twenty 
perches  south  of  the  bridge,  where  it  has  been  ever  since  held  to 
be.  The  south  line  runs  thence  through  at  the  middle  of  Oak 
Street,  and  a  little  south  of  the  academy.  It  was  supposed  for  a 
time  that  the  Hutchinson  survey  cornered  at  the  same  place,  and 
Cotting  took  a  conveyance  for  a  considerable  tract  under  that  title 
in  1739.  It  was,  however,  ascertained  that  the  true  corner  of  the 
Hutchinson  survey  was  at  the  place  formerly  called  the  shipyard, 
now  the  lumber  yard  of  Messrs.  Mulford.     This  left  a  considerable 


BRIDGETON.  51 

tract  of  land  between  the  two  surveys  unclaimed,  which  Ebenezer 
Miller,  a  deputy  surveyor,  residing  in  Greenwich,  and  a  Friend, 
in  1749  covered  with  a  survey  containing  427  acres,  under  whom 
the  titles  of  the  land,  from  Oak  Street  on  the  north  to  a  consider- 
able distance  south  of  Vine  Street  are  held. 

Silas  Parvin  laid  a  survey  of  20  acres  on  the  land  where  his 
house  stood ;  and  dying  in  1779,  his  son  Clarence  remained  in 
possession  of  the  house,  and  set  up  a  claim  to  all  the  land  between 
Muddy  Branch  and  the  Mason  line,  a  part  of  which  he  transferred 
to  Dr.  Jonathan  Elmer.  During  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  Pember- 
ton,  being  ranked  as  a  Tory,  took  no  steps  to  vindicate  his  title  ; 
but  in  1783  he  commenced  an  ejectment  against  Parvin,  which 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  tried.  In  1788  Parvin  died  insol- 
vent, and  shortly  afterwards  Parvin  died ;  and  his  heir  proving 
insolvent,  his  property  was  sold  by  the  sheriff,  and  purchased  b}*- 
Jonathan  Bowen,  who  released  to  Dr.  Elmer  the  part  lying  west 
of  Franklin  Street,  and  these  persons,  or  those  claiming  under 
them,  have  ever  since  been  in  possession  of  the  property,  now  of 
great  value.  It  is  probable  that  the  Parvin  title  was  also  sold 
by  the  sheriff,  but  no  deed  is  on  record,  or  now  known  to  exist. 
Jonathan  Bowen  conveyed  a  part  of  the  property,  including  the 
old  Parvin  house,  to  his  son  Smith  in  1790,  and,  dying  in  1804, 
devised  the  remainder  retained  by  him.  including  the  sites  of  the 
iron  works  and  grist-mill,  to  his  said  son  and  to  his  grandchildren. 

It  is  probable  that  Ebenezer  Miller  laid  out  Broad  Street  its 
present  width  of  100  feet,  like  the  Main  street  of  Greenwich,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  either.  No  law  having  for  a  long  time 
existed  authorizing  streets  so  wide,  the  overseers  declined  to  keep 
them  in  order,  and  hence  a  section  was  inserted  in  the  general 
road  act,  declaring  these  two  streets  to  be  lawful  highways.  Com- 
merce Street,  above  Franklin,  was  not  opened  until  about  1805, 
when  Dr.  Elmer  opened  it.  Since,  it  has  been  regularly  laid  out.  An 
old  plan,  which  was  never  carried  out,  proposed  to  lay  out  that 
part  of  the  town  west  of  the  river  into  regular  squares. 

The  first  notice  of  a  stage  to  Philadelphia  that  has  been  disco- 
vered, occurs  in  the  journal  of  Mr.  Fithian,  April  22,  1774 ;  he  re- 
cords: "Rode  to  the  stage  early^or  the  papers."  His  father,  at 
whose  house  he  was  then  on  a  visit,  lived  in  Greenwich,  near  to 
Sheppard's  mill.  It  is  supposed  the  stage  stopped  at  Roadstown. 
May  2,  he  records:  "Very  early  I  rode  over  to  Mr.  Hollinshead'a 


52  BRIDGETON. 

(he  was  the  minister  at  New  England  Town,  and  then  lived  on 
the  parsonage  in  Sayre's  Neck)  at  Miss  Pratt's  request,  to  carry 
her  to  Mr.  Hoshel's,  to  be  ready  to-morrow  morning  for  the  stage. 
Dined  at  Mrs.  Boyd's  (Bridgeton),  and  after  dinner  we  rode  to  Mr. 
Hoshel's.  3d,  I  conducted  Miss  Pratt  to  the  stage  this  morning  by 
5  o'clock." 

A* letter  from  Martha  Boyd,  afterwards  Mrs.  Ewing,  to  her 
mother,  dated  Allentown,  March  16,  1778,  says:  "We  left  Mr. 
Hoshel's  at  12  o'clock  night;  we  had  eight  passengers,  middling 
clever,  and  arrived  at  Cooper's  ferry  at  8  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
The  next  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  set  sail  in  the  stage  boat  for 
Bordentown  where  we  arrived  at  noon." 

Mr.  Hoshel  lived  in  Upper  Hopewell,  not  far  from  the  Salem 
County  line,  and  probably  kept  a  tavern,  and  was  the  proprietor  of 
the  stage.  During  or  not  long  after  the  Revolution,  this  or  some 
other  stage  line  was  started  from  Bridgeton,  making  two  trips  a 
week,  at  first  by  the  way  of  Roadstown,  but  afterwards  one  trip  on 
that  route,  and  one  by  the  way  of  Deerfield ;  and  so  it  continued  to 
go  until  about  the  year  1806,  when  it  went  up  one  day  and  down 
the  next.  In  1809,  when  Mr.  White's  house  was  changed  to  a 
hotel,  a  stage  was  started  from  there  to  run  up  and  down  on  the 
alternate  days,  and  to  go  through  in  a  shorter  time. — The  two 
lines  were  afterwards  consolidated,  and  there  has  always  since  been, 
until  the  opening  of  the  railway,  a  daily  stage  both  ways  between 
this  place  and  Philadelphia.  For  many  years  the  time  for  starting 
was  at  sunrise. 

Until  after  the  establishment  of  the  federal  government,  all  the 
correspondence  in  this  part  of  the  State  had  to  depend  upon  private 
conveyances.  There  was  indeed  before  this  time  no  post-route  in 
New  Jersey,  except  the  main  road  between  Philadelphia  and  New 
York.  In  1792,  while  Jonathan  Elmer  was  senator,  a  post-route 
was  established  from  Philadelphia  to  Salem,  and  thence  to  Bridge- 
town. Between  the  latter  places  the  mail  was  carried  once  a  week, 
on  horseback  or  in  a  sulky,  for  ten  years,  the  post-office  being 
kept  by  John  Soulard,  at  his  house  on  Broad,  near  the  corner  of 
Fayette  Street.  In  1802,  after  Ebenezer  Elmer  became  a  member 
of  Congress,  a  mail-route  was  established  from  Woodbury  to 
Bridgeton,  Millville,  Port  ElSabeth  and  Cape  May.  The  first 
carriers,  beginning  in  1804,  were  Benaiah  Parvin  and  son,  who 
kept  a  tavern  in  the  old  mansion  house  of  Alexander  Moore. 
James  Burch,  who  built  and  owned  the  house  opposite,  now  James 


BRIDGETON".  53 

B.  Potter's,  was  the  postmaster;  and  it  is  remembered  that  the  letters 
were  kept  in  the  front  parlor  and  handed  from  the  window,  then 
so  high  above  the  walk  as  to  be  barely  reached  by  the  raised  hand. 
The  mail  was  carried  on  Monday  by  way  of  Roadstown,  and  re- 
turned on  Wednesday  by  the  same  route.  On  Thursday  it  was 
carried  by  way  of  Deerfield,  returning  on  Saturday  the  same  way. 
A  daily  mail  commenced  about  1816.  The  postmaster  who  suc- 
ceeded James  Burch  was  Abijah  Harris,  who  lived  nearly  opposite. 
After  him,  Stephen  Lupton  kept  the  offiee  in  his  shoemaker  shop, 
on  the  north  side  of  "Washington  Street,  about  half  way  between 
Laurel  and  Pearl.  About  1818  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Curtis  Ogden,  who  held  the  office  longer  than  any  other  incumbent, 
keeping  it  in  his  tailor  shop,  south  side  of  Commerce  Street,  about 
where  Brewster's  store  now  is.  Jeremiah  Lupton  superseded  him 
in  1842,  then  Daniel  B.  Thompson  from  1845  to  1850,  then  S.  P. 
Kirkbride  until  1854,  then  Henry  Sheppard  until  1861,  when  Geo. 
W.  Johnson,  the  present  incumbent,  was  appointed. 

A  steamboat  company  was  incorporated  in  1845,  and  a  fine 
steamboat,  called  the  Cohansey,  ran  regularly  to  Philadelphia;  but 
the  length  of  the  water  route,  about  bO  miles,  made  it  difficult  for 
a  dajr  boat  to  compete  with  the  route  by  way  of  Salem,  partly  by 
stage  and  partly  by  boat,  and  with  the  regular  daily  stages,  and  it 
was  soon  found  that  the  enterprise  must  be  abandoned.  The  boat 
was  therefore  sold,  and  after  running  a  year  or  two  by  private 
parties,  was  withdrawn.  Anight  boat,  which  ran  for  two  or  three 
years  recently,  was  more  successful. 

The  West  Jersey  Eailroad  Company  was  incorporated  in  1853, 
and  contemplated  a  road  from  Camden  to  Cape  May ;  but  owing 
to  financial  and  other  difficulties,  it  was  at  first  completed  and  put 
in  operation  only  to  Woodbury.  But  in  1859  the  road  from  Glass- 
boro'  to  Millville  was  made,  and  the  impetus  thus  given  to  the 
original  West  Jersey  Company,  brought  about  the  completion  of 
their  road  from  Woodbury  to  Bridgeton,  which  was  opened  in 
July,  1861.  The  terminus  of  this  road,  it  is  supposed,  will  always 
remain  at  Bridgeton,  and  the  original  design  of  connecting  Phila- 
delphia with  Cape  May  will  be  carried  out  by  extending  the  road 
to  the  latter  place  from  Millville,  now  nearly  complete. 

A  gas  company  was  incorporated,  and  succeeded  in  completing 
the  present  works  in  November,  1858.     Soon  after  this,  the  town- 
ship committees  of  the  townships  of  Bridgeton  and  Cohansey  were 
5 


54  BRIDGETON. 

constituted  a  joint  board,  with  power  to  raise  *  c  for 

lighting  the  streets,  which  is  now  done,  ai  power  to 

grade  and  regulate  the  streets.     A  grai.  ^oordingly  been 

adopted,  in  accordance  with  which  Comn.  ,-oe  Street,  west  of  the 
bridge,  and  other  streets  in  Cohansey  were  graded  in  1861,  at  ai 
expense  which  has  been  much  complained  of,  as  was  the  fii 
at  this  kind  of  improvement,  made  by  Dr.  Bik-1- 
tury  sooner. 

In  the  year  1814  Messrs.  James  L  -  ^rt  Elizabeth, 

and  Ebenezer  Seeley,  of  Bridgeton,  ^  nad  purchased  from 
Abraham  Sayre,  Esq.,  the  land  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  main 
stream  of  the  Cohansey,  joined  with  Smith  Bowen,  who  owned  the 
property  on  the  west  side  of  the  stream,  in  erecting  the  dam,  thus 
forming  the  water  power  still  in  use.  Bowen  sold  his  half  of  the 
water  power  to  Benjamin  Beeves  and  David  Eeeves  of  Camden, 
who  commenced  the  erection  of  the  iron  works  the  same  year,  and 
commenced  making  nails  in  1815.  They  were  cut  for  many  years 
of  the  best  Swedish  iron,  across  the  grain  of  the  metal.  The 
writer  remembers  to  have  seen,  in  the  year  1805,  the  first  machine 
for  cutting  and  heading  nails  at  one  operation  ever  invented.  Tf 
was  on  Crosswicks  Creek,  in  Burlington  County,  and  wa°  - 
tively  very  complicated.  The  patent  having  been  obtai 
Messrs.  Eeeves,  was  soon  very  much  simplified. 

At  first  the  nails  sold  for  from  10  to  15'  cents  per  pound,  now 
they  sell  for  3|  cents.  Very  soon  the  Cumberland  nails  obtained 
a  preference  in  the  market,  which  has  never  been  lost.  In  1824  a 
fire  having  consumed  the  building  first  erected,  the  works  were 
rebuilt  and  enlarged  and  the  whole  establishment  greatly  im- 
proved. Seeley  and  Lee  not  having  the  capital  to  use  their  half 
of  the  water  power  to  advantage,  were  obliged  to  reconvey  it  to 
Mr.  Sayre.  He  erected  a  flour  mill  on  the  east  side  opposite  Coffin 
Point,  which  was  used  as  a  grist-mill  for  a  few  years,  but  on  his 
death  in  1820  the  mill  and  water  power  were  purchased  by  Messrs. 
Eeeves,  who  then  became  the  owners  of  the  whole  water  power. 
The  grist-mill  was  taken  down  and  removed  to  the  works  on  the 
west  side,  where  after  a  few  years  it  was  burned  up. 

The  rolling-mill  operated  by  steam  on  the  east  side  of  the  creek 
was  erected  in  1847  and  in  1853  the  building  used  for  manufac- 
turing gas  pipe  was  put  up.  About  the  year  1843  a  great  change 
was  made  in  the  mode  of  cutting  the  nails,  by  means  of  which  a 


BRIPGETON.  55 

much  superior  nail  can  be  made  from  inferior  iron.  The  iron'  is 
rolled  in  sheets  12  or  15  inches  wide,  which  are  then  slit  into  strips 
of  a  width,  corresponding  with  the  length  of  the  nail  to  be  pro- 
duced. Then  the  nails  are  cut  lengthwise  of  the  grain  of  the 
metal  instead  of  crosswise  as  before.  This  establishment  has 
always  been  well  conducted  and  has  been  one  of  the  principal 
means  of  advancing  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  town.  When 
in  full  operation  about  400  hands  are  employed,  mostly  heads  of 
families,  who  have  been  profitably  employed,  and  have  contributed 
in  their  turn  to  the  business  of  other  mechanics  and  traders.  There 
are  twenty  furnaces,  two  trains  of  rolls  and  102  nail  machines,  the 
annual  product,  in  favorable  years,  being  100,000  kegs  of  nails  and 
1,500,000  feet  of  gas  pipe. 

.  Benjamin  Eeeves,  one  of  the  original  founders,  died  in  1844. 
Other  partners  have  been  from  time  to  time  admitted.  In  1856 
the  concern  became  an  incorporated  company,  by  the  name  of  the 
Cumberland  Nail  and  Iron  Works,  and  is  under  the  management 
of  Robert  C.  Nichols,  Esq.  The  value  of  its  real  estate,  as  ass< 
is  266,000  dollars;  the  capital  of  the  company  being  350,000 
dollars. 

About  the  year  1818  Benjamin  Reeves  conveyed  to  the  late 
Daniel  P.  Stratton  the  undivided  half  part  of  a  lot  of  land,  where 
the  grist-mill  stands,  and  half  a   sufficient  quantity  of  water   to 

drive  a  first  class  merchant  flour-mill,  it  being  the  intention  that 

» 

Mr.  Stratton  and  Mr.  David  Reeves  should  erect  the  mill  together 
as  joint  owners.  But  doubts  soon  arose  whether  water  power  for 
such  a  purpose  could  be  safely  spared,  without  endangering  the 
iron  works,  and  Mr.  Reeves  declined  to  build  the  mill.  Mr.  Stratton 
then  applied  for  a  division  of  the  lot,  and  one  half  being  set  off  to 
him,  he  proceeded  to  erect  the  existing  (lour  mill  in  ib22.  The 
quantity  of  water  he  had  a  right  to  use  was  adjusted  by  an  arbi- 
tration. 

As  the  business  of  the  iron  works  w»as  from  time  to  time 
increased,  and  as  the  quantity  of  water  furnished  by  the  sevi  o 
distinct  streams  entering  into  and  forming  Oohansey  River,  dimi- 
nished, it  was  found  that  the  water  powrer  sometimes  failed.  To 
remedy  this  it  was  at  first  proposed  to  increase  the  power  by 
putting  a  dam  across  the  river  where  the  bridge  now  is  that  con- 
nects the  works;  and  for  this  purpose  an  act  of  the  legislature 
was  obtained  in  1831).     But  before  this  purpose  was  carried  into 


56  BRIDGETON. 

effect,  the  plan  was  devised  of  heating  the  boilers  necessary  to 
drive  a  powerful  steam  engine,  by  means  of  the  same  fires  that 
heat  the  iron,  which  fully  succeeded,  so  that  the  dam  was  never 
erected,  and  after  a  time  the  rolling  of  iron  at  the  works  on  tire 
west  side,  which,  required  so  great  a  supply  of  water,  was  aban- 
doned. 

About  the  year  1825  those  persons  in  the  town  who  kept  a 
horse  were  so  much  annoyed  by  applications  to  lend  or  hire  him, 
that  a  livery  stable  was  started  by  a  joint  stock  company,  and  so 
carried  on  five  or  six  years,  until  like  most  concerns  of  the  kind 
it  was  found  unprofitable  and  the  stock  was  sold  at  a  loss  of  more 
than  half  the  original  capital.  This  start,  however,  effected  the 
object,  one  or  more  livery  stables,  kept  by  different  individuals, 
have  been  continued  ever  since.  For  several  years  past  the  busi- 
ness has  been  rather  overdone,  there  being  now  four. 

The  glass  works  were  established  in  1836  by  the  firm  of  Stratton, 
Buck  &  Co.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Buck,  in  1841,  the  business 
was  carried  on  by  a  joint  stock  company  which  did  not  succeed. 
For  a  time  window  glass  was  made.  After  passing  through  several 
hands  it  was  enlarged,  in  1855,  and  is  now  in  successful  operation, 
the  yearly  product  being  about  $130,000. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  for  about  twenty  years  the  firm  of 
Stratton  &  Buck  carried  on  the  largest  business'  that  was  done  in 
the  county.  This  firm  and  that  of  Bowie  and  Shannon  from  1812 
to  1836  in  the  stone  store  at  the"  corner  of  Broad  and  Atlantic 
Streets,  transacted  a  heavy  retail  business,  and  brought  to  the 
place  customers  from  all  the  surrounding  districts. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  any  newspapers  were  regularly  received  in 
Bridgeton  until  after  1775.  In  that  year  an  association  was  formed, 
of  which  Ebenezer  Elmer,  then  a  student  of  medicine,  was  the 
Secretary,  by  the  members  of  which  weekly  papers  on  various 
topics  were  written,  and  these  being  copied,  were  left  at  the  tavern 
kept  by  Matthew  Pother  (believed  to  have  been  the  house  next 
east  of  the  present  Cohansey  Hotel),  to  be  there  perused  by  such 
as  chose.  Among  the  writers  of  those  papers  were  Dr.  Jonathan 
Elmer,  Joseph  Bloomfield,  Dr.  Lewis  Howell,  and  his  brother 
Eichard,  afterwards  Governor  of  the  State. 

Previous  to  this  time,  about  1773,  a  society  existed,  which 
generally  met  in  Bridgeton,  but  of  which  several  young  persons 
residing  in  Greenwich,  Fithians  and  Ewings,  who  were  then  dis- 


BHIDGETOX.  57 

tinguished  for  intelligence,  and  for  the  beauty  of  some  of  tl 
males,  were  members,  called  the  Admonishing  Society.  Commu- 
nications were  made  to  this  society  in  writing,  anonymously, 
admonishing  members  of  faults,  and  on  other  subjects,  which  were 
read  at  the  meetings.  If  the  members  admonished  thought  it 
necessary,  they  were  allowed  to  defend  themselves,  or  replies  might 
be  made  in  writing.  Of  this  society,  Robert  Patterson,  from  Ire- 
land, who  then  kept  a  store  in  Bridgeton,  was  a  member.  By  way 
of  enlivening  the  proceedings,  he  sent  in  written  proposals  for  a 
wife,  giving  the  requisite  qualifications,  whieh  left  one  young  lady, 
from  whom,  in  her  old  age,  this  detail  was  received,  who  it  was 
said  had  refused  him,  too  young.  Another  lady,  however,  spor- 
tively answered  the  challenge,  and  what  was  thus  begun  in  sport 
ended  in  marriage,  and  a  long  and  happy  union.  The  husband^ 
after  studying  medicine  for  a  short  time,  and  serving  during  the 
war  for  several  years  as  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the  army,  and  after 
settling  for  a  short  time  on  a  farm  at  Carll  Town  in  Hopewell 
Township,  was  in  1779  appointed  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the 
-University  of  Philadelphia,  and  afterwards,  by  Mr,  Jefferson, 
Director  of  the  Mint.  In  1819,  he  was  chosen  President  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  ending  a  long  and  honored  career 
in  1824,  at  the  age  of  82.  The  writer  well  remembers  him,  having 
had  the  benefit  of  his  instruction  in  mathematics  and  philosophy 
more  than  fifty  years  ago. 

In  1794  James  D.  Westcott  started  a  newspaper,  which  was 
called  the  Argus,  and  continued  nearly  two  years.  Afterwards 
his  brother,  John  Westcott,  tried  another  about  1803,  but  it  did 
not  succeed.  In  1815  a  political  association,  composed  of  Demo- 
crats, and  called  the  Washington  Whig  Society,  set  up  in  opposi- 
tion to  a  Washington  Benevolent  Society  formed  by  the  Federalists, 
established  a  paper  called  the  Washington  Whig,  published  at  first 
by  Peter  Hay,  Esq.,  now  an  Alderman  in  Philadelphia,  who  was 
by  profession  a  printer.  It  has  been  ever  since  continued,  under 
different  names  and  under  the  patronage  of  different  parties.  In 
1817  Mr.  Hay  sold  to  Wm.  Shalt z,  who  in  1821  sold  to  John 
Clark,  during  whose  time  the  paper  supported  the  administration 
of  John  Q.  Adams.     Clark  sold  in  1826  to  J.  J.  McChesney. 

In  1822  S.  Siegfried  started  a  second  paper,  called  The  W  st 
Jersey  Observer.     In  1824  he  sold  out  to  Robert  Johnston,  and  in 


BRIDGET    X. 

-  _     he  purchased  the  1 1  consolidated  them  into  one  paper. 

".'      Wl  g 

was  then  revived,  and  after  several  changes, 

both  being  purchased  by  James  M.  Xewell,  he  merged  them  in 

a  new  one.  called  The  Bridgetown  Chronicle,  about  1S37.     He  carried 

it  on  until  his  death  in  1851,  and  different  proprietors  and  editors 

3  published  it  until  the  present  time. 

ut   1846    another   paper  was   started,    called   at    first    The 

Jen        Tel     ~aph,   but   it    was    soon  changed   to  The    West 

.  by  which. name         3  still  published.     This  paper 

(  -  -    have    been   conducted   as 

.1  in  polil     • 

18    _    Payette  Pierson.  who  was  connected  with  the    W 

its  lays     started   the  Aurora,    now    pub- 

-  a  democratic  paper;  so  that  there  are  three  papers,  where 

g    :>d  one  can  thrive,  this  being  a  case  where.     - 

the  Stal      too  much  competition  has  not 
se  the  value  of  the  article  prod l: 
As   the  -         :s  of   Bridgeton  were  mostly  of    Puritan 

3]  osition  among  them  to  encourage 

..     The  rirs:  school  of  which  any  notice  remains,  was  one 

I        John  Wescott  in  1773.  in  which  mal  re  taught. 

L792  ]  .eir  of  Ebenezer  Miller,  deeded 

3  the  lot  on  G      3  Si  school  purposes.     In  \  7   5 

.  joint  stock  com- 
and  for  mar.  -      _  -  is  taught  in  it. 

Gen.  Hunter,  tar_ 
-  q  about  the  years  17Sr'  to  17S5.     The 

.•ted  in  1 
number  of  youths  j  ages  of  5  and  16  in  the  I 

.     In  IS 51,  the  number  between  5  and 
3  687.   In  1862  1  une  ages 

-  hool-hoa  - 

241.    In  1  number 

Li    _  the  number  between  tl       _   -        l        1 18- was  407 
scho  geton  employs  8  tea  . .  and 

I     l  C         -  y  id  1       :  ■  i 

:   "  _  "         i 

-  an  incorporated  hod 


BRIDGETOX.  59 

elected  by  the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey.  There  is,  besides,  an 
excellent  school  for  young  ladies,  conducted  by  Mrs.  Sheppard. 

Cumberland  Bank  was  first  chartered  in  1816,  and  commenced 
business  in  September  of  that  year,  with  a  capital  of  52,000 
dollars ;  James  Giles,  President,  and  Charles  Read,  Cashier. 
Giles  died  in  1816,  and  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  Elmer,  and  he 
having  resigned  in  1841,  James  B.  Potter  was  appointed  President. 
Mr.  Read  died  in  1844,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  present  Cashier, 
William  G.  Nixon.  About  1857  the  surplus  earnings  enabled  the 
capital  to  be  raised  to  102,000  dollars,  without  the  advance  of  any 
money  by  the  stockholders ;  and  so  well  has  the  institution  been 
managed  from  the  first,  that  it  has  always  deserved  and  obtained 
the  entire  confidence  of  the  community,  and  maintained  its  notes 
par  with  those  of  Philadelphia,  often  continuing  to  pay  specie  when 
the  banks  in  the  city  could  not.  During  the  first  fifteen  ye%rs  the 
deposits  averaged  about  20,000  dollars ;  then  for  the  next  fifteen 
they  averaged  about  30,000,  while  for  the  last  fifteen  they  have 
averaged  50,000,  often  reaching  100,000  and  150,000  dollars.  For 
the  first  thirty  years  there  was  a  regular  dividend  of  three  per 
cent,  half  yearly,  besides  an  extra  dividend  in  1844  of  24  per  cent. 
Since  that  time  4,  4|,  and  5  per  cent,  have  been  divided  semi-an- 
nually. The  surplus  earnings,  besides  the  regular  dividends,  have 
amounted  to  about  86,000  dollars,  of  which  near  25,000  remains 
unappropriated. 

Until  within  the  last  twenty  years  there  were  but  few  foreigners 
in  the  place,  and  they  were  persons  born  in  Ireland  or  Scotland, 
who  came  to  America  in  their  youth.  One  young  German  who 
deserted  from  a  Hessian  regiment  is  remembered,  who  married  and 
raised  a  large  family.  A  very  considerable  number  of  Germans 
came  into  the  county  before  the  Revolution,  and  settled  in  the 
upper  part  of  Hopewell,  and  in  the  adjoining  part  of  Salem  County, 
some  of  whose  descendants  took  up  their  residence  in  Bridgeton. 
Most  of  these,  it  is  believed,  were  glassblowers,  who  were  employed 
to  blow  glass  at  the  works  early  erected  not  far  east  of  Alloways- 
town,  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  first  established  in  America. 
Among  these  settlers  was  Jacob  Fries,  whose  two  sons,  Philip  "I' 
Friesburg,  and  John  of  Philadelphia,  became  men  of  considerable 
wealth.  The  writer  remembers  to  have  heard  that  when  Inde- 
pendence was  declared  by  the  American  colonies,  old  Jacob  Fries 
was  much  concerned  as  to  the  possibility  of  getting  along  without 


.60  BRIDGETON. 

a  king,  and  advised  that  one  should  be  brought  over  from  Ger- 
many. That  country,  it  is  certain,  has  a  plenty  of  rulers  to  spare, 
such  as  they  are,  but  judging  from  the  experience  of  the  Grecians, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  one  could  be  found  worth  a  trial.  An  excel- 
lent teacher,  a  preceptor  of  the  writer  in  his  youth,  was  quite  as 
much  impressed  with  the  impracticability  of  a  republican  govern- 
ment as  Mr.  Fries,  and  predicted  that  the  writer  would  live  to  see 
a  king  inaugurated.  The  race  of  these  doubters,  it  would  seem, 
it  not  yet  extinct. 

About  20  years  ago  a  German  butcher,  named  Christian  Cook, 
came  to  this  place  from  Salem,  and  still  carries  on  the  business. 
Since  his  arrival,  the  number  of  families  from  different  parts  of 
Germany  has  so  increased,  that  it  is  quite  a  common  thing  to  hear 
the  language  in  the  streets,  and  the  total  number  of  that  nation  is 
not  lest  than  four  or  five  hundred.  They  are  in  general  an  indus- 
trious, frugal  race,  and  adopting  a  different  usage  from  that  which 
so  long  prevailed  in  Pennsylvania,  by  encouraging  their  children 
to  learn  and  use  the  American  language,  it  is  hoped  they  will  be.a 
valuable  addition  to  the  population. 

Most  of  the  original  settlers  in  the  region  called  Cohansey,  were 
Baptist  or  Presbyterian  from  the  New  and  Old  England,  and  hap- 
pily their  influence  upon  the  religion  and  morals  of  the  people  was 
good,  and  is  still  apparent.  Mr.  Fithian  enters  in  that  journal,  so 
frequently  quoted,  of  the  date  June  26,  1776,  while  he  was  engaged 
in  making  a  missionary  tour  up  the  Susquehanna  River,  in  Penn- 
sylvania :  "  I  met  on  the  road  a  tinker,  on  the  way  to  what  is 
called  the  new  purchase.  He  has  been  at  Cohansey,  knows  many 
there,  at  Pittsgrove,  Deerfield,  and  New  England  Town.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  been  acquainted  in  seven  colonies,  but  never  yet  saw 
any  place  in  which  the  inhabitants  were  so  sober,  uniform  in  their 
manner,  and  every  way  religious,  as  at  New  England  Town,  and 
Mr.  Ramsey  was  his  favorite  preacher."  While  in  Maryland  he 
mentions  a  collection  having  been-taken  up,  and  says,  "  There  were 
3-1  pieces  of  silver  in  cut  money."  His  summing  up  of  this  tour 
is,  "  Wherever  I  have  been  their  character  is  mean,  dishonest,  and 
irreligious.  [  A  Jerseyman,  and  an  impertinent  every  way  trouble 
some  scoundrel,  seem  to  be  words  of  nearly  the  same  meaning.' 
Under  date  of  August  16,  he  writes:  "I  saw  Mr.  Farquar,  a  Scotch 
Presbyterian ;  he  pronounced  one  sentence  from  his  observation 
which  is  a  most  solid  truth,  and  which  I  will  record,    '  I  have  dis- 


» 1 


BRIDGETON.  61 

covered  since  my  arrival  that  there  are  no  slaves  in  America,  but 
the  Presbyterian  clergy.'"  In  April,  1774,  on  his  visit  to  Green- 
wich, after  he  had  spent  some  months  in  Virginia,  he  enters,  "  The 
morning  pleasant  and  Cohansie  looks  as  delightsome  as  it  used  to 
be,  and  I  went  to  meeting.  How  unlike  Virginia.  No  rings  of  beaux, 
chattering  before  and  alter  sermon  on  gallantry ;'  no  assembling  in 
crowds  after  service  to  drive  a  bargain,  no  cool  spiritless  harangue 
from  the  pulpit;  minister  and  people  here,  seem  in  some  small 
degree  to  reverence  the  day;  there  neither  do  it."  In  the  sue-' 
ceeding  July,  after  his  return,  while  residing  as  a  tutor  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  Carter,  a  wealthy  gentleman,  whose  large  mansion 
and  possessions  were  on  the  west  side  of  the  Potomac  in  Westmore- 
land County,  he  enters  :  "  A  Sunday  in  Virginia  don't  seem  to 
wear  the  same  dress  as  our  Sundays  to  the  northward.  Generally 
here  by  5  o'clock  on  Saturday,  every  face,  especially  the  negroes, 
looks  festive  and  cheerful ;  all  the  lower  class  of  people  and  the 
servants  and  slaves  consider  Sunday  as  a  day  of  pleasure  and 
amusement,  and  spend  it  in  diversions.  The  gentlemen  go  to  church 
to  be  sure,  but  they  make  that  itself  a  matter  of  convenience,  and 
account  the  church  a  weekly  resort  to  do  business." 

Before  dismissing  this  interesting  journal,  affording  us  so  many 
glimpses  of  transactions  in  days  long  past,  it  may  be  interesting  to 
make  a  few  more  extracts  from  it.  His  journey  from  home,  on 
horseback,  commenced  October  20,  1773,  when  he  left  Greenwich 
by  six,  morning,  rode  to  Michael  Hoshel's,  8  miles,  then  to  Quin- 
ton's  Bridge,  over  toll  bridge  to  Penn's  Neck  Ferry,  then  by  North 
East  to  Baltimore.  Then  forded  Patapsco  to  Bladensburgh,  ferry 
at  Georgetown,  Alexandria,  Colchester,  ferry  at  Dumfries,  Aquia, 
Stafford  C.  H.,  on  the  28th  arrived  at  Col.  Carter's,  Nomini  Hall, 
Westmoreland,  in  all  260  miles,  expense  £3  6s.  6d.  Beturning 
next  spring,  he  crossed  the  Potomac  to  Port  Tobacco  in  Maryland, 
and  then  to  Annapolis,  and  from  there  in  a  boat  25  miles  to  Rock- 
hall,  then  to  Chester  Town  and  to  Georgetown,  Delaware.  "Lodged 
at  Mr.  Voorhees  ;  had  evening  prayers;  since  I  left  Cohansie  have 
not  heard  the  like.  By  Port  Penn  and  Elsenborough  to  Green- 
wich. Stopt  to  see  the  forsaken  Mrs.  Ward."  Her  husband,  Dr. 
Ward,  had  recently  died.  She  was  a  Holmes,  afterwards  married 
Dr.  Bloomfield,  of  Woodbridge,  father  of  Gov.  Bloom  field,  ami 
upon  his  death  came  to  Bridgeton,  where  she  died,  quite  i 
"Many  had  died  the  past  winter — a  very  mortal  winter."     May   4, 


62  BRIDGETON. 

"  Last  night  fell  a  very  considerable  snow  ;  5th,  last  night  was  very 
cold,  ice  two  inches  thick;  6th,  still  very  cold,  the  leaves  on  the 
trees  are  grown  black,  the  fruit  must  be  past  recovery."  In  Vir- 
ginia, he  states,  "the  frost  of  May  was  very  severe,  killed  the 
peaches,  and  in  the  upper  counties  the  wheat  and  rye."  May  11, 
"  an  ox  killed  to-day  in  Bridgeton  which  weighed  upwards  of 
1000  lbs.,  supposed  to  be  the  largest  ever  killed  in  the  county." 

The  poor  of  Cumberland  have  for  a  long  time  been  mostly  sup- 
ported in  a  poor-house,  situate  about  a  mile  and  a  half  westwardly 
from  Bridgeton.  The  question  of  having  an  establishment  of  this 
kind  began  to  be  agitated  as  early  as  1799,  but  it  was  not  until 
1809  that  Moore  Hall  and  the  property  belonging  to  it  was  pur- 
chased.    The  present  building  was  erected  in  1852. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  it  was  quite  common 
for  persons  in  good  circumstances  to  own  one  or  two  slaves, 
generally  as  house  servants.  Acts  of  the  legislature  passed  as 
early  as  1713  and  from  time  to  time  until  1798  had  sanctioned 
and  regulated  the  owning  and  treatment  of  them.  In  1801  an  act 
was  passed  for  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery,  which  declared 
that  those  born  after  the  4th  of  July  of  that  year  should  be  held  to 
service  if  a  male  until  the  age  of  25  years,  and  if  a  female  until 
the  age  of  21  years.  After  this  some  of  those  who  were  slaves  for 
life,  were  manumitted.  A  few  have  remained  nominally  slaves 
until  comparatively  a  recent  period.  The  number  in  the  county 
in  1790  was  120;  in  1800  they  had  decreased  to  75;  in  1810  to 
42  ;  in  1820  to  28  ;  in  1830  there  were  only  two. 

Very  few  newly-settled  districts  of  country  are  healthy.  The 
southern  part  of  New  Jersey  was  for  many  years  an  unhealthy 
region.  Fever  and  ague  were  almost  universal  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  summer  and  during  the  early  part  of  the  fall,  generally  dis- 
appearing after  the  nights  became  frosty.  Until  comparatively  a 
recent  period,  scarcely  a  young  person  of  either  sex  escaped  the 
fever  and  ague.  Every  other  day,  and  sometimes  every  third  day, 
the  person  would  be  able  to  attend  school  or  other  avocation, 
but  about  the  middle  of  the  second  or  third  day  would  be  taken 
with  a  chill,  which  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  hot  fever.  Often  very  violent  intermittent  or  bilious 
fevers  were  epidemic.  A  healthy  summer  or  fall  was  the  excep- 
tion and  not  the  rule. 

In  a  journal  kept  by  Bphraim  Harris,  of  Fairfield,  who  was  born 


BRIDGETON.  03 

in  1732,  and  died  in  1794,  he  enters:  "That  fatal  and  never  to  be 
forgotten  year  1759,  when  the  Lord  sent  the  destroying  angel  to 
pass  through  this  place,  and  removed  many  of  our  friends  into 
eternity  in  a  short  space  of  time;  not  a  house  exempt,  not  a  family 
spared  from  the  calamity.  So  dreadful  was  it  that  it  made  every 
ear  tingle,  and  every  heart  bleed;  in  which  time  I  and  my  family 
was  exercised  with  that  dreadful  disorder,  the  measles;  but,  blessed 
be  God,  our  lives  were  spared."  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  dis- 
order here  called  measles,  was  in  fact  the  smallpox. 

Mr.  Fithian  enters  in  his  journal  under  the  date  of  July  4, 
1774,  when  he  was  in  Virginia  :  "  We  have  several  showers  to  clay ; 
the  weather  is  warm,  funky,  very  damp,  and  I  fear  will  not  turn 
out  long  to  be  healthful.  With  us  in  Jersey,  wet  weather  about 
this  time  is  generally  thought,  and  I  believe  almost  never  fails 
being  a  forerunner  of  agues,  fall  fever,  fluxes,  and  our  horse  dis- 
tempers."  Under  the  date  of  August  9,  1775,  when  he  was  in 
Western  Maryland,  he  enters:  "News  from  below  that  many  dis- 
orders, chiefly  the  flux  (by  which  he  means  dysentery),  are  now 
raging  in  the  lower  counties,  Chester,  etc.  I  pray  God  Delaware 
may  be  a  bar,  and  stop  that  painful  and  deadly  disorder.  Enough 
has  it  ravaged  our  poor  Cohansians.  Enough  are  we  in  Cohansey 
every  autumn  enfeebled  and  wasted  with  the  ague  and  fever.  Our 
children  all  grow  pale,  puny,  and  lifeless."  The  dysentery  was 
very  prevalent  and  fatal  in  Cumberland  County  in  1775,  and  again 
in  1806. 

After  the  enlargement  of  the  mill-pond  east  of  Bridgeton,  in 
1S09,  and  the  raising  of  the  new  pond  northward  in  1814,  inter- 
mittent and  bilious  fevers  were  common  in  Bridgeton  for  succes- 
sive years.  In  1823  these  diseases  prevailed  to  a  fearful  extent; 
but  after  this,  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  years,  they  ceased  to 
prevail  either  in  the  town  or  other  parts  of  the  county.  This 
improvement  has  been  ascribed  to  more  perfect  draining,  and  to 
the  use  of  lime  for  agricultural  purposes.  But  while  it  is  proba- 
ble that  these  causes  have  had  some  effect,  the  change  was  too 
sudden,  and  has  been  too  great  to  be  ascribed  mainly  to  them. 
Atmospheric,  telluric,  or  other  influences  far  more  potent,  must 
have  occurred.  What  these  are  we  do  not  know.  The  important 
fact,  for  which  our  people  cannot  be  too  thankful,  is,  that  the  pro- 
vidence of  God  has,  for  thirty  years  past,  given  us  healthful 
seasons,  instead  of  the  sickness  formerly  so  common.     <  >ur   fall 


64:  BRIDGETON". 

seasons  are  now  as  generally  healthful  as  any  other  part  of  the 
year.  In  those  years  when  the  cholera  was  so  fatal  in  many  parts 
of  the  country,  we  were  mostly  exempt.  Thirty  years  ago  it  could 
not  be  said  with  truth  that  Bridgeton  was  as  healthy  a  place  as 
most  of  the  towns  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State;  but  now  this 
may  be  affirmed  without  fear  of  contradiction. 

But  little  is  -known  of  the  early  physicians  in  Bridgeton  or  its 
vicinity.  The  first  of  whom  there  is  any  notice  was  Elijah  Bowen, 
who,  in  1738,  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  church  at  Shiloh,  and 
who  had  considerable  practice  afterwards  in  that  vicinity.  He 
was  of  the  Baptist  family,  which  settled  and  gave  their  name  to 
Bowentown.  After  and  partly  contemporaneous  with  him  was 
James  Johnson  from  Connecticut,  who  was  -a  practitioner  as  early 
as  1745,  and  appears  to  have  resided  near  Bowentown,  and  died  in 
1759.  It  may  be  mentioned  as  characteristic  of  the  habits  of  that 
time,  that  among  the  accounts  of  his  executor  are  charges  for  wine 
for  the  use  of  the  watchers,  and  of  wine  and  rum  for  the  funeral. 
After  him  was  Dr.  John  Fithian,  who  in  1751  built  the  house  on 
the  south  side  of  Broad  Street,  next  above  the  residence  of  Charles 
E.  Elmer,  Esq.     Dr.  Jonathan  Elmer  commenced  practice  in  1768.1 

1  Jonathan  Elmer  was  son  of  Daniel  Elmer  second;  was  born  in  1745,  and  died 
in  1817.  He  was  one  of  the  first  graduates  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  receiving  the  degree  of  M.  B.  (Bachelor  of  Medicine) 
in  17(58,  and  of  M.  D.  in  1771.  In  1772  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  of  which  Dr.  Franklin  was  the  President,  and  was  con- 
sidered the  equal  in  medical  knowledge  of  any  physician  in  the  United  States. 
His  health  being  infirm,  he  turned  his  attention  more  to  politics,  and  was  much 
in  ofiice  until  the  change  of  parties  in  1800.  With  all  the  family  he  was  an 
ardent  Whig,  and  entered  earnestly  into  the  measures  of  opposition  to  the  en- 
croachments of  the  British  Government  on  the  rights  of  the  people  of  America. 
Although  not  a  military  man,  he  took  a  commission  as  commander  of  a  company 
of  militia,  and  was  active  in  organizing  measures  of  defence.  He  was  one  of  the 
Committee  of  Vigilance,  which,  in  fact,  was  for  some  time  the  governing  power  of 
the  county  ;  and  in  177 '3  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  a  member 
of  the  committee  which  framed  the  first  constitution  of  the  State.  During  most 
of  the  time  the  war  lasted  he  was  -a  member  of  Congress,  and  afterward  one  of  the 
first  senators.  For  many  years  he  was  the  presiding  judge  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  of  the  county,  and  was,  in  fact,  a  well-read  lawyer.  He  became  an 
elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Bridgeton.  His  descendants  in  the  city  are 
still  numerous  and  highly  respectable. 

Ebenezer  Elmer  was  a  brother  of  Dr.  Jonathan,  was  born  in  1752,  and  died 
at  the  age  of  ninety-one  in  1843.  Having  studied  medicine  with  his  brother,  and 
when  about  to  commence  practice,  the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out,  ami  in  January, 
1776,  he  was  commissioned  as  an  ensign,  and  shortly  after  as  lieutenant  iu  a  com- 


BRILGETON".  65 

He  was  probably  the  first  regularly  educated  physician  in  the 
count}',  unless  Dr.  Ward  of  Greenwich,  from  Connecticut,  who 
died  young  in  1774,  may  have  been  of  that  class.  Dr.  Thomas 
Ewing  studied  under  Ward,  and  after  practising  a  short  time  in 
Cape  May,  returned  to  Greenwich,  and  was  an  officer  in  the  conti- 
nental army.  He  died  in  1782.  His  son,  Dr.  William  B.  Ewing, 
after  a  thorough  education,  settled  as  a  physician  in  Greenwich  in 
1799.  Dr.  Elmer  graduated  in  the  newly-established  medical 
school  of  Philadelphia  as  a  Bachelor  of  Medicine  in  1768,  and  in 
1771  took  the  full  degree  of  Doctor,  his  thesis  in  Latin  having 
been  printed.  Dr.  Eush  said  of  him,  that  in  medical  erudition  he 
was  exceeded  by  no  physician  in  the  United  States.  He  built,  in 
1772,  a  dwelling  on  the  site  of  Charles  E.  Elmer's  house;  but 
being  of  feeble  health,  and  not  able  to  endure  the  long. horseback 
journeys  to  which  a  physician  was  then  exposed,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  political  life,  received  the  appointment  of  sheriff,  and 
was  a  member  of  Congress,  and  afterwards  of  the  Senate.  His 
brother  Ebenezer  commenced  studying  with  him  in  1773,  and  in 
1775  began  to  visit  patients  in  all  parts  of  the  county.  He  how- 
ever entered  the  army  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  and  did  not  return  to  practice  until  it  was  over.  In  1783, 
and  for  a  few  succeeding  years,  he  was  in  full  practice  in  Bridge- 
ton  and  the  neighborhood;  but  he  soon  became  engaged  in  public 
life,  and  was  afterwards  only  consulted  in  special  cases  and  as  a 
surgeon. 

What  physicians  there  were  in  other  parts  of  the  county,  before 
the  Revolution,  is  not  known.  There  were  probably  very  few. 
Jonathan  Elmer,  during  the  first  year  of  his  practice,  appears  to 
have  gone  to  all  parts  of  the  county  and  more  than  once  to  the  sea- 

pany  which  soon  joined  the  northern  army;  and  in  this  capacity  he  served  more 
than  a  year.  During  the  remainder  of  the  war  he  served  as  a  surgeon,  having 
been  in  service  altogether  seven  years  and  eight  months. 

He  was  for  a  few  years  in  business  as  a  physician  in  Bridgeton,  after  the  war, 
but  soon  relinquished  it,  and  was  much  in  puhiic  life  as  a  member  and  Speaker 
of  both  branches  of  the  legislature  of  New  Jersey,  a  member  of  Congress,  and 
supporter  of  Mr.  Jefferson  ;  collector  of  the  customs,  clerk,  surrogate,  and  magis- 
trate. In  1814  he  commanded  a  brigade  of  militia  called  out  for  the  defence  of 
Philadelphia,  and  was  usually  kuown  as  General  Elmer.  In  early  life,  as  he  has 
recorded  in  his  journal,  he  "  became  a  believer  in  the  gospel  plan  of  redemption 
by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ;"  and  afterwards  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.     He  was  the  writer's  father. 


6fi  BRIDGETON. 

shore.  In  1775  Ebenezer  Elmer,  then  a  student  with  him,  visited 
Fairfield  frequently  to  prescribe  for  the  sick,  and  also  Hopewell, 
Greenwich,  and  Deerfield.  Dr.  Otto,  from  Germany,  who  during 
the  war  lived  in  Gloucester  County,  and  whose  house  and  barn  were 
burned  by  the  British  troops  in  March,  1778,  and  who  was  known 
as  the  Prussian  Doctor,  was  called  upon  in  difficult  cases,  not  only 
in  the  neighborhood  of  his  residence,  but  in  other  places  in  the 
adjoining  counties  of  Salem  and  Cumberland. 

Benjamin  Champneys,  a  descendant  of  John  Fenwick,  studied 
with  Ebenezer  Elmer  in  1793,  and  after  a  few  voyages  to  sea  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Col.  Potter,  and  settled  as  a  physician  in  Bridge- 
ton.  He  was  much  esteemed,  but  died  young  in  1814.  Samuel 
M.  Shute,  who  had  been  for  a  few  years  at  the  close  of  the  war  an 
officer  in  the  army,  studying  medicine  with  Jonathan  Elmer,  and 
having  married  his  daughter,  was  a  leading  physician  until  his 
death  in  1816.  They  were  succeeded  by  Isaac  H.  Hampton,  whose 
father  was  a  physician  at  Cedarville,  but  who  commenced  practice 
at  "Woodbury.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Giles  and  removed 
to  Bridgeton  in  1814,  where  he  was  in  good  practice  until  failing 
health  obliged  him  to  give  it  up  about  ten  years  ago.  William 
Elmer,  a  son  of  Dr.  Jonathan,  commenced  business  as  physician 
in  1812,  but  gave  it  up  in  1817  upon  the  death  of  his  father.  He 
- acceeded  by  Dr.  Ephraim  Buck,  Dr.  William  S.  Bowen,  and 
after  some  years  the  present  Dr.  William  Elmer  took  a  large  share 
of  the  business.  Besides  these,  there  have  been  from  time  to  time 
others,  whose  business  was  less  extensive. 

For  some  time  after  the  formation  of  the  county,  the  lawyers 
residing  in  Salem  and  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  were  relied  upon  to 
transact  the  business.  An  old  man  named  Husted  told  the  writer 
man}*  years  ago,  that  when  Geo.  Trenchard,  of  Salem,  was  the 
king's  attorney,  and  was  examining  him  as  a  witness  in  a  case  of 
assault  and  battery,  on  trial  in  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  he 
I  him  several  times  how  the  accused  struck  him,  and  that 
having  no  better  mode  of  explaining  the  matter  he  struck  Mr. 
Attorney  on  the  face  and  knocked  him  down.  The  lawyers  in 
those  days,  as  is  still  the  practice  in  England,  were  required  to 
stand  up  while  they  examined  the  witnesses.  One  of  the  Salem 
lawyers  named  Van  Leuvnigh,  who  was  very  tall  and  slender,  had 
the  nickname  of  the  Devil's  darning  needle.  Samuel  Leake,  who 
jorn  in  this  county  but  resided  in  Trenton,  and  Lucius  H. 


BRIIiGKTON.  67 

Stockton  often  attended  the  courts  here.  Cortland  Skinner,  who 
was  attorney-general  at  and  before  the  Revolution,  was  in  the 
habit  of  granting  a  nolle  prosequi  in  petty  cases,  for  a  fee  of  half 
a  joe,  $8.     Several  are  on  file  in  the  clerk's  office. 

Before  the  Revolution  the  judges  wore  gowns  and  wigs,  and  the 
lawyers  wore  gowns  and  bands,  while  in  court.  The  sheriff,  with 
as  many  justices  and  freeholders  as  he  could  convenient!  v  summon, 
met  the  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  when  he  came  into  the 
county  to  hold  a  Circuit  and  Oyer  and  Terminer,  which  was  com- 
monly once  in  a  year  at  the  county  line,  on  horseback,  and  escorted 
him  to  his  lodging.  This  was  the  practice  in  England,  and  was 
required  by  the  Governor's  ordinance  in  this  State.  It  was  men- 
tioned in  the  newspaper  a  few  years  ago,  that  one  of  the  English 
Judges  had  fined  the  sheriff  100  pounds  for  neglecting  this  duty. 
The  general  introduction  of  railways  has,  however,  abolished  the 
practice  in  most  cases.  At  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  court, 
from  day  to  day,  the  sheriff  and  constables,  with  their  staves  of 
office,  escorted  the  Judges  from  and  to  the  tavern  at  which  they 
dined,  to  the  court-house,  a  practice  which  has  been  only  recently 
abolished. 

Courts  of  oyer  and  terminer  and  general  gaol  delivery  were, 
until  179-1,  held  by  virtue  of  a  special  commission  under  the  great 
seal,  requiring,  generally,  two  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  by 
name,  the  presence  of  one  of  whom  was  indispensable,  and  the 
county  judges,  and  sometimes  one  or  more  justices  of  the  peace  by 
name,  to  hold  the  same  for  a  number  of  specified  days.  Until 
1845,  the  justices  of  the  peace  constituted  the  court  of  General 
Quarter  Sessions  of  the  peace,  which  had  jurisdiction  in  all  crimi- 
nal cases,  except  those  of  a  high  grade.  Judges  of  the  Pleas  were 
commonly  also  commissioned  as  justices;  but  only  a  small  pari  of 
the  ju.-tices  were  judges.  For  many  years  it  was  the  practice  for 
most  of  the  justices,  as  well  as  the  judges,  to  attend  at  least  the 
first  day  of  the  term  and  dine  together,  all  the  court  fees  payable 
to  them  being  appropriated  to  pay  the  expense,  and  in  case  these 
fell  short,  as  was  commonly  the  case,  the  justices  were  all  assessed 
with  their  share  of  the  balance,  whether  they  attended  or  not. 

The  first  attorney  who  is  known  t<>  have  settled  in  Bridgeton  was 
Joseph  Bloomfield,  whose  father  was  Dr.  Bloomfield,  of  Wood- 
bridge,  the  same  who  married  the  widow  of  Dr.  Ward.  The  former 


68  '  BRIDGETON". 

attended  for  a  time  a  classical  school  kept  by  Eev.  Enoch  Green 
in  Deerfleld.  Having  been  admitted  an  attorney,  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Bridgeton  about  1770.  In  the  spring  of  1776  he  left 
as  captain  of  a  company  of  soldiers.  He  remained  in  the  army 
two  or  three  years,  and  then  resumed  his  profession,  making  Bur- 
lington his  residence,  where 'he  married.  In  1783  he  was  appointed 
Attorney  General.  In  1801  he  was  elected  Governor  by  the  Demo- 
crats, and  held  the  office,  with  the  exception  of  one  year  when 

.  there  was  a  tie  between  the  political  parties,  and  the  State  was 
without  a  Governor,  until  1812,  when  he  was  appointed  a  Brigadier 
General  in  the  army.  Richard  Howell,  of  this  county,  became  a 
lawyer,  and  sometimes  attended  our  courts,  but  did  not  reside  in 
the  county.     He  was  Governor  from  1793  to  1801. 

After  the  war  James  Giles,  a  young  officer  of  artillery,  attached 
to  the  corps  commanded  at  the  close  of  the  war  by  Lafayette,  whose 
father  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  studied  law,  and  having  mar- 
ried a  sister  of  Gov.  Bloomfield,  took  up  his  residence  in  Bridge- 
ton  about  the  year  1787.  In  1791  he  built  the  house  in  which  he 
resided  until  his  death  in  1826.  He  transacted  a  large  business  as 
an  attorney  for  many  years.  In  1791  John  Moore  White  com- 
menced, and  continued  until  1808,  when  he  removed  to  Woodbury, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1862,  at  the  age  of  91.    Daniel 

r  Elmer  was  licensed  in  1805;  in  1808  married  a  daughter  of  Col. 

>  Potter,  and  took  up  his  residence  for  a  short  time  in  White's 
deserted  mansion.  He  had  a  large  and  lucrative  business  until 
1841,  when  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  About  1809  Isaac  W.  Crane  came  from  Salem,  and  con- 
tinued until  1839.  Elias  P.  Seeley  and  Lucius  Q.  C.  Elmer  were 
licensed  in  1815.  The  former  was  Governor  in  1832  and  died.  The 
latter  was  appointed  Attorney  General  in  1850,  and  in  1852  one  of 
the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Henry  T.  El  let  practised  law 
here  from  1833  to  1837,  when  he  married  a  daughter  of  Governor 
Seeley,  and  moved  to  Port  Gibson,  Mississippi,  where  he  still  resides. 
James  G.  Hampton  was  licensed  in  1839,  and  died  in  1861.  Charles 
E.  Elmer  was  licensed  in  1842.  In  1845  John  T.  Nixon  was 
licensed,  and  he,  together  with  Charles  E.  Elmer,  James  R.  Hoagland, 
James  J.  Reeves,  John  S.  Mitchell,  Franklin  F.  Westcott,  William 
E.  Potter,  and  J.  Leslie  Lupton,  are  now,  in  1869,  the  lawyers  of  the 
place. 


BRIDGETO>T.  69 

But  little  is  known  of  the  military  organization  previous  to  the 
Revolution.  Upon  an  old  map  of  the  farm  lying  on  the  west  side 
of  the  road  to  Irelan's  mill,  as  the  mill  now  used  for  sawing  staves 
was  long  called,  and  north  of  the  run  emptying  into  Jeddy's  pond, 
there  is  laid  down  a  lot  of  half  an  acre,  about  where  the  road  to 
Shiloh  now  goes,  marked  as  "  town  barracks."  The  precise  mean- 
ing of  this  is  now  unknown. 

The  journal  of  Ebenezer  Elmer,  kept  in  1775,  shows  that  the 
county  was  alive  with  military  preparations,  especially  after  the 
news  of  the  bloodshed  at  Lexington  on  the  19th  of  April.  Com- 
panies were  organized  and  officers  chosen,  and  frequent  drills  took 
place.  Richard  Howell,  afterwards  Governor,  raised  the  first  com- 
pany of  one  year  men  that  left  the  county,  by  recommendation  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety,  in  October,  1775.  Sunday,  December  10, 
the  entry  is,  "Went  to  meeting  at  Greenwich ;  Capt.  Howell's  soldiers 
there ;  came  and  went  away  in  form.  Coming  home,  Mr.  Bloom- 
field  proposed  to  me  to  send  a  petition  to  the  Provincial  Congress 
for  himself  Captain,  Josiah  Seeley  1st  Lieutenant,  and  myself  2d, 
which  was  agreed  to."  The  entry  13th  of  December  is,  "  The  sol- 
diers went  on  board  the  Greenwich  packet  at  evening,  to  sail  for 
Burlington."  14th,  "Cloudy  day.  The  soldiers,  captain,  and  all 
but  eight  or  ten,  went  off  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  on  foot,  to  get 
clear  of  their  creditors;  their  going  aboard  the  vessel  turned  out 
only  a  sham." 

It  would  seem  from  this  last  entry  that  Capt.  Ilowell's  men  were 
many  of  them,  like  those  that  gathered  themselves  unto  David  at 
the  cave  of  Adullam,  in  distress,  in  debt,  or  discontented.  The 
suspicions  of  the  journalist,  however,  may  not  have  been  warranted 
by  the  facts.  It  appears  from  several  previous  entries  that  he  had 
been  desirous  of  procuring  a  commission  in  this  company,  and  his 
disappointment  may  have  produced  his  unfavorable  surmises. 

In  the  succeeding  spring  another  company  was  raised,  as  pro- 
posed by  Bloomfield,  except  that  Josiah  Seeley,  having  concluded 
to  take  a  wife  and  stay  with  her,  another  person  was  commissioned 
as  1st  Lieutenant,  whieh  marched  for  the  northern  frontier  in  March, 
1776. 

Several  times  during  the  Revolutionary  "War,  fully  half  the  militia 

of  this  county  was  in  actual  service.     Col.  Newcomb,  of  Fairfield, 

commanded  a  regiment,  and  so   did   Col.   Potter.     The   latter  was 

taken  prisoner  near  Haddonfield,  but  was  soon  exchanged.     John 

o' 


70  BRIDGETON. 

Gibbon,  the  uncle  of  Mrs.  Seeley,  was  also  taken  prisoner,  and  was 
among  those  who  died  on  board  the  Jersey  prison  ship  at  New 
York.     The  British  troops  never  reached  this  county. 

During  the  war  with  Great  Britain  in  1814  a  brigade  of  the 
militia  of  South  Jersey  was  drafted,  and  encamped  at  Billingsport 
for  the  defence  of  Philadelphia,  under  the  command  of  General 
Ebenezer  Elmer,  then  the  Brigadier  General  of  the  Cumberland 
Brigade.  During  the  summer  of  that  year  the  Poictiers,  an  English 
ship  of  the  line,  under  the  command  of  Sir  John  Beresford,  lying 
in  Delaware  Bay,  succeeded  in  breaking  up  the  navigation  as  high 
up  as  the  Cohansey.  No  serious  engagements,  however,  took  place 
between  the  hostile  forces. 

The  inhabitants  of  Bridgeton  suffered  a  terrible  fright,  which, 
alarming  enough  at  first,  in  the  end  partook  more  of  the  ludicrous 
than  the  serious.  To  prevent  boats  from  the  enemy's  ship  coming 
up  the  river  in  the  night,  and  plundering  the  town,  a  nightly  guard 
was  detailed  and  posted  at  a  point  on  the  river  two  or  three  miles 
from  the  town,  but  more  than  twice  that  distance  by  the  water. 
All  the  vessels  and  boats  passing  the  guard-house  during  the  night 
were  hailed  and  required  to  give  an  account  of  themselves.  If  an 
enemy  appeared,  a  messenger  was  to  be  sent  to  a  prudent  officer  at 
the  town,  who  was  intrusted  with  the  duty,  if  needful,  of  giving 
the  alarm  by  firing  a  cannon,  and  ringing  the  court-house  bell, 
that  being  then  the  only  bell  in  the  place.  About  two  o'clock  of 
a  midsummer  night  the  gun  was  fired,  and  the  bell  rang  with  great 
animation.  The  scene  that  ensued  may  be  imagined,  but  cannot 
easily  be  described,  and  great  was  the  consternation.  No  one 
doubted  that  an  enemy  was  close  at  hand.  One  or  two  persons 
throw  their  silver  down  the  well-  The  militia,  except  some  who 
as  usual  were  among  the  missing,  were  assembled,  and  an  attempt 
made  to  organize  them  for  action.  Happily,  however,  their  prowess 
was  not  tested.  The  alarm,  although  not  sounded  until  all  doubt 
of  its  necessity  seemed  to  be  removed,  turned  out  to  be  a  false 
one,  originating  in  the  fright  of  a  family  near  the  guard-house,  the 
head  of  which  was  absent,  and  in  the  fool-hardiness  of  the  skipper 
of  a  small  sloop,  who  took  it  into  his  head  to  pass  the  guard  with- 
out answering  their  challenge,  and  who  succeeded  in  bringing  on 
himself  and  his  crew  a  volley  of  musketry,  and  running  the  risk 
of  being  killed  by  a  ball  which  passed  directly  over  his  head. 

During  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century,  the  annual  train- 


BRIDGETON'.  71 

ing  day  was  the  festival  day  next  in  importance  to  the  fourth  of 
July.  The  companies  met  for  drill  twice  a  year,  and  the  regiments 
or  brigades  for  inspection  and  review  by  the  commanding  general. 
On  this  latter  day  there  was  commonly  a  great  turn  out  of  men, 
women  and  children.  Many  evils  grew  out  of  the  system,  so  that 
in  South  Jersey,  although  the  law  remained  unaltered,  after  about 
1830,  the  whole  system  fell  into  disuse.  It  is  by  no  means  certain, 
however,  that  the  change  has  been  for  the  better.  The  evils  of  the 
system,  as  happily  is  the  case  with  most  human  affairs,  were  com- 
pensated by  many  advantages.  The  habit  of  bearing  arms,  and 
meeting  for  exercise,  produced  a  spirit  of  self-reliance  of  no 
little  consequence,  while  the  holiday,  which  occurred  on  the  day  of 
the  "great  training,"  served  to  bring  the  people  together  and  to 
cultivate  kind  and  generous  feelings,  at  a  time  when  the  means  of 
intercourse  were  far  more  limited  than  they  now  are.  It  has  been 
well  remarked,  in  reference  to  the  people  of  the  Northern  and  Mid- 
dle States,  that  the  three  things  which  had  enabled  them  to  carry 
on  a  republican  government  so  successfully,  were  the  congrega- 
tional meetings  and  preaching  on  Suuday,  the  town  meetings,  and 
the  training  of  the  militia. 

Bridgeton  was  incorporated  as  a  city  in  1865,  with  a  Mayor  and 
Common  Council,  and  is  divided  into  three  wards,  covering  the 
territory  of  the  former  townships  of  Bridgeton  and  Cohansey.  The 
number  of  inhabitants  is  estimated  to  be  about  7,500. 


72  MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLYILLE,    AND    LANDIS. 


CHAPTEE    IV. 

MAURICE  RIVER,  MILLVILLE,  AND  LANDIS. 

The  Indian  name  of  the  principal  river  running  into  Delaware 
Bay  was  Wahatquenack,  and  there  has  been  a  tradition,  which 
like  many  other  errors  has  passed  into  history,  that  its  present 
name  Maurice,  was  derived  from  the  circumstance  that  a  vessel 
called  the  Prince  Maurice  was  burnt  at  an  early  date  by  the 
Indians,  in  the  reach  since  called,  "No  Man's  Friend."  Whatever 
may  be  the  truth,  as  to  the  burning  of  the  vessel,  while  she  was 
repairing,  according  to  one  version  of  the  story,  it  is  much  more 
probable  that  the  name  was  given  to  the  river  either  by  Mey,  or 
DeVries,  captains  of  Dutch  vessels,  who  visited  the  bay,  the  former 
in  1623  and  the  other  in  1631.  A  map  of  " Nieuw  Nzderlandt" 
published  at  Amsterdam  in  1676,  including  New  Jersey  and  Zuyd 
Eevier,  or  South  River,  as  the  Dutch  called  the  Delaware,  marks 
very  distinctly  the  entrance  of  Maurice  Eiver  into  the  bay.  and 
names  it  Mauritius  Revier.  The  same  name,  evidently  the  Dutch 
or  Latin  name  for  Maurice,  Prince  of  Orange,  was  given  by  some  of 
the  Dutch  writers  to  the  Hudson.  When  the  county  of  Cape  May 
was  established  by  the  legislature  of  West  Jersey  in  1692,  they 
bounded  it  on  the  east  side  of  Morris  River,  so  spelled  in  the  printed 
law.  In  the  act  of  169-4  it  is  called  Prince  Morris'  River.  When 
the  county  was  set  off  from  Salem,  the  law  describing  the  township, 
bounds  it  on  Prince  Maurice'  River;  but  the  township  is  called 
Maurice  River  precinct. 

In  1691  John  Worlidge  and  John  Budd,  surveyors  from  Bur- 
lington, in  the  employment  of  the  principal  proprietors  of  West 
Jersey,  visited  the  streams  on  the  lower  part  of  the  Delaware  in  a 
vessel,  and  set  off  large  surveys  on  both  sides  of  Maurice  River. 
On  the  west  side  at  the  mouth  they  set  off  10,000  acres  for  Wasse, 
on  the  east  side  one  of  20,000  acres  for  Robert  Squibb,  most  of 
which  afterwards  became  the  property  of  Thomas  Byerly.  Above 
Byerly's  survey,  2500  acres  were  set  off  for  a  town  plot  and  called 


MAURICE   RIVER,    MILLVILLB,    AND   LANDIS.  73 

Dorchester;  it  includes  Leesburg,  but  no  town  was  built  or  even 
commenced  until  more  than  a  century  afterwards.  Above  this 
was  a  survey  to  Bartlett,  afterwards  John  Scott's,  located  for  10,000 
acres,  but  containing  more  than  double  that  quantity.  All  the 
early  surveys  contained  many  more  acres  than  were  returned. 

But  few  permanent  settlements  were  made  on  either  side  of 
Maurice  River  until  after  the  formation  of  the  county.  There 
were,  however,  a  sufficient  number  as  early  as  1720,  to  require  the 
appointment  of  a  constable  "  for  Morris  River,"  by  the  court  of 
Quarter  Sessions  at  Salem.  Ten  years  after  this  one  was  appointed 
for  the  upper  part  and  one  for  the  lower.  The  old  Cape  Road,  or 
as  it  was  commonly  called  the  King's  Road,  originally  followed 
the  Indian  paths,  crossing  the  Cohansey  and  Maurice  Rivers  above 
the  tide,  that  is  to  say,  the  former  at  or  near  Bridgeton,  and  the 
latter  about  where  the  Union  pond  now  is,  thence  across  the  Me- 
nantico  at  Learning's  mill,  and  the  Manamuskin  at  the  mill  where 
Cumberland  furnace  was  afterwards  placed,  now  called  Manamus- 
kin Manor,  and  thence  over  Dennis'  Creek  swamp,  near  where  the 
railroad  now  crosses  the  same.  The  mill  afterwards  owned  by 
and  called  Learning's  mill,  was  built  as  early  as  1720  by  Rawson. 
Scott  commenced  selling  parts  of  his  tract,  about  this  time,  adjoin- 
ing Manamuskin  and  Maurice  River.  The  site  of  Port  Elizabeth 
was  sold  probably  about  this  time  to  John  Purple. 

Thomas  Cbalkley,  a  Friend  from  England,  who  married  a  sister 
of  Jacob  Spicer,  states  in  his  journal,  2d  Month  (April)  1726: 
"From  Cohansey  through  the  wilderness  over  Maurice  River,  ac- 
companied by  James  Daniels,  through  a  miry,  boggy  way  in  which 
we  saw  no  house  for  about  forty  miles  except  at  the  ferry;  and 
that  night  we  got  to  Richard  Townsend's  at  Cape  May."  Town- 
send  lived  in  the  upper  precinct,  not  far  from  Tuckahoe,  but  where 
the  ferry  over  Maurice  River  was,  at  which  Chalklcy  crossed,  is 
unknown  ;  it  was  probably  below  Port  Elizabeth. 

A  road  was  laid  out  in  1705,  from  Salem  to  Maurice  River, 
which  crossed  Alloway's  Creek  at  Quinton's  Bridge,  the  Cohansey 
at  Greenwich,  thence  to  Henry  Brooks'  at  Fairfield,  then  keeping 
the  road  by  the  meeting-house,  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  at  New 
England  Town  to  Grimes'  bridge  (probably  over  Rattlesnake  Run 
at  Fairton,)  then  keeping  the  old  road  until  it  cometh  to  the  road 
going  to  Daniel  England's  saw-mill,  to  two  oak  trees  marked  M.  M. 
Daniel   England's   mill  was  at  Buckshutem,  and  was   afterwards 


74  MAURICE   RIVER,    MTLLVILLE,    AND    LAXDIS. 

called  Carmack's  mill.  It  was  probabljr  this  road  that  was  travelled 
by  Chalkley.  Although  all  the  roads  were  originally  laid  out  for 
six  rods,  or  four  rods  wide,  they  were  seldom  opened,  and  until 
long  after  1720  were  only  travelled  on  horseback. 

Wasse's  tract  west  of  the  river  was  not  sold  out  in  parcels  until 
after  1738.  Prior  to  1750,  William  Dollas,  a  Friend,  purchased  the 
land  at  the  place  since  called  Port  Norris,  and  for  many  years  a 
ferry  was  maintained  there,  this  being  one  of  the  thoroughfares 
from  Greenwich  to  Cape  May,  and  may  have  been  the  ferry  men- 
tioned by  Chalkley. 

John  Peterson,  of  Swedish  origin,  located  the  land  where  Mau- 
ricetown  now  is  and  settled  there  in  1730.  He  laid  surveys  on 
several  tracts  in  the  neighborhood.  Subsequently  Luke  Mattox 
owned  the  property,  and  from  him  it  was  called  Mattox  landing, 
until  about  1814,  when  three  brothers  named  Compton  became 
the  proprietors,  laid  out  the  village  of  Mauricetown,  and  built 
several  handsome  dwelling-houses.  It  is  now  a  flourishing  place, 
the  principal  inhabitants  being  engaged  in  the  coasting  and  river 
trade,  which  although  subject  to  occasional  depressions,  has  been 
in  the  main  prosperous. 

The  site  of  Dorchester  was  purchased  by  Peter  Reeve  just  pre- 
vious to  1800,  and  he  laid  out  the  town  and  commenced  selling 
lots.  At  that  time  there  were  but  three  houses  in  the  vicinity.  A 
saw-mill  had  been  erected  at  an  early  date.  Most  of  the  original 
settlers  here,  as  has  been  stated,  were  Swedes.  Some  of  them 
appear  to  have  taken  leases  under  the  proprietors.  The  names  of 
Peterson,  Lord,  Errickson,  Vanneman,  Reagan  (corrupted  to  Rig- 
gins)  Hoffman,  and  others  still  remain. 

Leesburg  was  established  by  two  brothers  named  Lee,  ship- 
carpenters  from  Egg-harbor,  some  time  about  the  year  1800.  An 
old  graveyard  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  partly  washed  away,  indi- 
cates that  there  were  several  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  at  a 
much  earlier  date.  William  Carlisle,  now  one  of  the  wealthiest 
proprietors,  went  there  in  1795,  and  found  only  two  or  three  houses. 
It  has  been  a  place  for  building  coasting  vessels  from  the  begin- 
ning. In  1850  James  Ward  built  a  marine  railway,  and  now 
there  are  two  there,  besides  one  at  Dorchester.  Vessels  are  con- 
stantly on  the  stocks  and  undergoing  repair  at  both  these  places. 
This  region  has  advanced  during  the  last  year  more  perceptibly 
than  any  other  part  of  the  township.     There  is  much  good  land  in 


MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND   LANDIS.  75 

the  neighborhood,  capable  of  great  improvement  as  an  agricultural 
district.  The  new  railroad  to  Cape  May  passes  through  an  uncul- 
tivated district,  where,  although  most  of  the  land  is  poor,  there  is 
much  that  is  good,  which  it  is  believed  will  be  settled  and  culti- 
vated soon. 

The  bay  shore  and  up  the  river  for  several  miles  was  naturally 
a  salt  marsh.  Above  Port  Norris  it  was  banked  and  reclaimed  at 
an  early  period.  And  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  first  settlers 
established  their  farms  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  and  depended 
on  the  natural  marshes  or  embanked  meadows  tor  their  hay.  Laws 
were  passed  as  early  as  1760  for  erecting  banks  by  the  joint  efforts 
of  the  proprietors  on  the  Cohansey.  Until  within  the  last  thirty 
years,  since  when  the  introduction  of  lime  and  other  fertilizers  has 
enabled  the  farmers  to  raise  hay  of  a  better  quality  on  their  upland, 
the  reclaimed  meadows,  notwithstanding  the  great  expense  gene- 
rally attending  the  maintenance  of  the  banks,  were  almost  indis- 
pensable, and  commanded  a  high  price.  Those  on  Maurice  Eiver, 
which  are  easily  renovated  by  the  muddy  sediment  deposited  from 
the  water  when  allowed  to  flow  over  them,  are  of  an  excellent 
quality,  and  are  still  of  much  value.  The  relative  price,  however, 
of  upland  and  meadow  land  has  undergone  a  considerable  change, 
the  former  having  risen  and  the  latter  depreciated  in  value. 

About  the  year  1809  Messrs.  Coates  &  Brinton  commenced  an 
embankment  on  the  east  side  and  near  the  mouth  of  Maurice  River, 
about  four  miles  in  extent.  In  1816  they  extended  their  bank  at 
great  expense  along  the  shore  of  the  bay  to  East  Creek,  placing  a 
dam  at  the  mouth  of  West  Creek,  making  a  bank  about  fifteen  miles 
long  and  inclosing  several  thousand  acres  of  land.  The  promise 
of  remuneration  for  this  great  outlay,  which  was  never  very  encou- 
raging, was  entirely  disappointed  by  the  great  storm  of  1821,  still 
remembered  and  spoken  of  throughout  South  Jersey  as  "the  Sep- 
tember Gale,"  which  swept  away  the  greater  part  of  the  bank.  It 
occurred  on  the  first  Monday  of  September,  nomination  day  for 
members  of  Assembly,  and  blew  down  and  injured  much  of  the 
woodland  in  the  county.  Many  of  the  Lombardy  poplars,  then  very 
common  around  our  dwellings,  were  blown  down,  but  this  proved 
to  be  no  loss,  the  tree,  although  for  a  time  very  popular,  not  being 
desirable  for  any  purpose.  No  attempt  to  repair  the  bank  was 
made  until  1849,  when  Gen.  Cadwallader,  of  Philadelphia,  who  had 


76  MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND    LANDIS. 

been  owner  of  the  property,  inclosed  about  1200  acres,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  which  are  now  of  much  value. 

Besides  the  natural  oyster  beds  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  this 
product  of  the  waters  has  been  greatly  increased,  by  planting  them 
in  the  cove.  These  oysters  are  esteemed  the  best  that  are  found  in 
the  Delaware,  owing  no  doubt  to  the  fact  that  the  water  which 
flows  out  of  the  river  has  in  it  much  vegetable  sediment  upon  which 
they  live  and  fatten.  The  proper  habitation  of  a  good  oyster  is 
where  the  salt  water  of  the  ocean  is  diluted  by  fresh  water  from  an 
inland  stream,  bringing  with  it  a  sufficient  supply  of  vegetable 
matter.  A  very  considerable  business  employing  many  small 
sloops  and  schooners,  has  grown  out  of  the  planting,  gathering,  and 
carrying  to  market  of  oysters  produced  in  Delaware  Bay,  which  is 
susceptible  of  great  increase,  and  would  undoubtedly  be  far  more 
advantageous  to  the  citizens  of  this  State,  if  the  property  of  the 
soil  under  the  water,  suitable  for  producing  them,  could  become 
private  property.  The  tenacity  with  which  the  privilege  of  hold- 
ing a  right  to  common  property  in  the  upland  and  in  the  water 
has  been  held  not  only  in  this  country,  but  in  Europe,  although 
perhaps  natural  enough,  has  always  proved  detrimental  to  the  com- 
munity. Those  commons  which  were  adjacent  to  all  the  villages 
in  England,  and  which  it  cost  years  of  conflict  to  divide  by  means 
of  inclosure  acts,  have  entirely  disappeared  to  the  great  benefit  of 
the  people.  And  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  many  thousand 
dollars  expended  by  this  State,  in  obtaining  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  the  case  of  Martin  vs. 
Waddell,  decided  in  1842  that  the  land  under  the  navigable  waters 
of  the  State  is  public  property  up  to  high  water  mark,  and  does 
not  belong  to  the  proprietors,  was  sadly  misspent.  Happily,  how- 
ever, the  whole  subject  is  in  the  power  of  the  legislature,  and  will 
some  time  be  properly  regulated.  The  right  of  private  property, 
as  human  nature  is  constituted,  is  indispensable  to  induce  an  ener- 
getic and  profitable  use  of  the  land,  whether  covered  with  water 
or  susceptible  of  cultivation,  and  suitable  for  the  habitation  of 
man. 

The  present  site  of  Port  Elizabeth  was  purchased  of  John  Scott 
by  John  Purple,  about  the  year  1720.  The  land  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Manamuskin  was  purchased  by  different  persons  soon  after. 
Among  the  purchasers  was  John  Hoffman,  who  made  the  deed  for 
the  property  on  which  the  Swedes  church  was  erected.  The  grand- 


MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND    LANDIS.  77 

father  of  the  late  Jonathan  Lore  purchased  and  moved  on  to  his 
farm  about  the  year  1750.     At  that  time  lie  owned  the  only  horse 
on  the  creek,  and  there  was  but  one  ox.    lie  built  a  barn  which  is 
still  standing,  the  frame  of  which  was  cut  and  hewed  at  Antuxet 
and  floated  down  to  the  bay  and  to  Maurice  Eiver,  and  thence  up 
to  the  farm.     When  it  was  raised,  it  being  about  25  by  40  feet  in 
size,  the  people  assisting  said  there  never  would  be  enough  hay 
cut  on  the  river  to  fill  it.    In  1771  John  Bell,  who  had  become  the 
owner  of  the  property,  sold  it  to  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Clark,  afterwards 
Bodley,  from  whom  the  name  of  the  place  originated.     A  dam  was 
put  across  the  mouth  of  the  Manamuskin,  for  the  sake  of  the 
valuable  meadows  above  before  1782,  in  which  year  a  law  was 
passed  authorizing  it.     Mrs.  Bodley  laid  out  the  town  about  the 
year  1785.     When  in  that  year  the  act  of  Congress  was  passed 
establishing  districts  for  the  collection  of  the  duties  imposed  on 
imported  goods,  the  eastern  side  of  the  Delaware  from  above  Cam- 
den to  Cape  May  was  constituted  the  district  of  Bridgeton,  and  the 
towns  of  Salem  and  Port  Elizabeth  on  Maurice  River  were  made 
ports  of  delivery.     All  vessels  requiring  a  license,  the  owners  of 
which  reside  in  this  district,  are  required  by  the  laws  to  letter  them 
as  belonging  to  one  of  these  places,  or  to  Bridgeton,  which  is  the 
only  port  of  entry.     For  a  few  years  after  this  act  was  passed  there 
was  some  trading  out  of  Maurice  River  and  the  Cohansey  to  the 
AVest  Indies;  but  for  the  last  thirty  years  or  more,  this  has  entirely 
ceased.     The  tendency  of  canals,  railroads  and  other  modern  im- 
provements, is  to  concentrate  trade  in  the  great  marts  of  business, 
where  there  are  greater  facilities  for  carrying  it  on. 

The  road  from  Port  Elizabeth  to  Tuckahoe  was  laid  and  opened 
in  1796.  In  the  year  179*  an  act  of  the  legislature  appointed 
commissioners  to  lay  out  and  open  roads  from  Bridgeton  to 
Cooper's  Ferry,  as  Camden  was  then  designated,  and  also  from 
Roadstown  and  from  Port  Elizabeth  to  Bridgeton.  These  com- 
missioners laid  these  roads,  but  only  that  from  Roadstown  to 
Cooper's  Ferry  was  opened.  That  from  Port  Elizabeth  to  Bridge- 
ton  passed  through  Buckshootem,  but  it  was  never  opened.  One 
nearly  in  the  same  place  was  afterwards  laid  in  the  usual  manner. 

Joshua  Brick,  a  son  of  John  Brick,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the 
county,  who  at  one  time  owned  what  are  now  Sheppard's  and 
Wood's  mills,  went  to  Maurice  River  about  1795.  He,  and  his 
son  Joshua,  who  died  at  an  advanced  age  in  1860,  were  leading 


78  MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND   LANDIS. 

inhabitants  of  Port  Elizabeth,  especially  the  son.  He  laid  out  the 
town  called  Bricksborough,  and  sold  lots  there  in  1807.  Neither 
place,  although  they  are  well  situated  for  trade,  has  attained  the 
importance  that  was  expected.  They  may  indeed  be  characterized 
as  decayed  villages.  There  is  no  reason,  however,  to  doubt  that 
they  will  hereafter  greatly  improve. 

James  Lee,  of  Irish  descent,  removed  to  this  place  from  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania,  about  the  year  1797,  and  in  1801  his  half- 
brother  Thomas  came.  James,  who  was  an  active  enterprising  man, 
too  spasmodic  in  his  efforts  to  succeed  well,  established  glassworks 
in  connection  with  Philadelphians,  near  where  they  still  remain, 
in  the  year  1801.  They  made  window  glass.  He  did  not,  however, 
long  remain  an  owner,  having  after  a  few  years  engaged  in  works 
at  Millville  and  at  Bridgeton.  About  1817  he  removed  to  the 
west,  and  died  at  New  Orleans.  In  1816  the  glassworks  at  Port 
Elizabeth  were  purchased  by  a  company  of  Germans,  of  whom 
the  Getsingers  were  prominent  members,  who  carried  them  on 
nearly  thirty  years.  About  1813  works  were  erected  on  the  east 
side  of  Manamuskin,  just  south  of  the  road,  which  were  carried  on 
several  years,  but  have  long  since  been  taken  down.  About  1830 
glassworks  were  established  at  Marshallville,  in  the  extreme 
eastern  corner  of  the  township,  on  the  Tuckahoe  Kiver,  and  are 
still  continued. 

One  of  the  well  known  citizens  of  this  place  was  Dr.  Benjamin 
Fisler,  who  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  five  in  185-1.  His 
father  and  mother  were  natives  of  Switzerland.  Their  eleven 
children  were  remarkable  for  their  longevity,  one  only  dying  at 
forty-five,  the  others  from  seventy-three  to  ninety-three,  and  the 
aggregate  of  their  ages  amounting  to  883  years.  The  Doctor  was 
admitted  as  a  preacher  among  the  Methodists  in  1791,  and  was  for 
a  time  a  missionary  in  Nova  Scotia.  He  settled  in  Port  Elizabeth 
in  1798,  and  was  the  leading  and  most  of  the  time  the  only  physi- 
cian of  the  place  for  about  fifty-five  years',  being  at  the  same  time 
a  very  acceptable  local  preacher.  His  descendants  are  quite 
numerous,  but  none  of  them  remain  at  the  old  homestead.  Thomas 
Lee  married  his  sister. 

The  first  tavern  stood  near  the  creek,  just  below  Oglee's  store. 
The  present  tavern  house  was  built  in  1803. 

In  1830  the  present  truss  bridge  over  the  Manamuskin  was 
built  by  the  Board  of  Freeholders. 


MAURICE   RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND    LAXDIS.  79 

The  districts  of  country  bordering  on  the  Menantico  and  Mana- 
muskin, the  most  important  tributaries  of  Maurice  River,  were 
originally  covered  with  pine  and  other  trees,  and  produced  much 
good  lumber  for  market.  Saw-mills  were  erected  on  these  streams 
at  an  early  day.  Eli  Budd,  who  was  originally  of  the  family  of 
Friends  of  that  name  in  Burlington  County,  but  who  became  a 
Methodist  as  early  as  1785,  in  this  year  purchased  the  property  at 
the  head  of  the  Manamuskin,  and  afterwards  put  up  a  forge  for 
manufacturing  iron.  About  1810  his  son  Wesley,  in  company 
with  one  or  more  persons  in  Philadelphia,  established  a  blast- 
furnace at  the  place  now  called  Manamuskin  Manor,  formerly  Cum- 
berland Furnace.  In  1818  they  failed,  and  the  property  went  into 
new  hands.  Subsequently  the  iron  manufacture  was  profitably 
maintained  at  this  place  by  Edward  Smith,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
continued  until  1840,  when  the  coal  on  about  15,000  acres  of  laud 
connected  with  the  establishment,  being  entirely  consumed,  the 
business  was  abandoned,  and  the  works  went  to  decay.  The  large 
transportation  of  ore  and  other  materials  consumed,  and  of  the  iron 
manufactured,  was  carried  on  by  the  channel  of  Menantico  Creek 
up  to  Schooner  Landing,  and  thence  by  the  ordinary  road.  A 
furnace  was  established  on  the  Tuckahoe  Paver  about  1820,  but 
did  not  long  continue  in  use. 

For  the  first  forty  or  fifty  years  of  this  century  the  production 
of  iron  in  blast  furnaces  was  a  very  important  branch  of  business 
in  the  southern  part  of  New  Jersey.  The  ore  used  was  principally 
what  is  called  bog  ore,  much  of  which  was  dug  in  the  swamps  of 
Downe  Township,  and  other  parts  of  the  county,  and  in  Gloucester 
and  Burlington  Counties.  It  appears  to  have  been  iron  held  in 
solution  by  water,  and  deposited  during  a  long  succession  of  years 
in  the  sand  or  mud  of  low  places.  The  quantity  found  in  this 
county  was  not  large,  and  was  soon  exhausted.  Afterwards  the 
ore  was  brought  from  the  State  of  Delaware,  and  from  Burlington 
County.  It  was  smelted  by  the  use  of  lime  as  a  flux,  either  in 
the  shape  of  oyster-shells  or  of  stonedime,  and  was  of  so  good  a 
quality  as  to  be  run  directly  from  the  furnace  into  stove  and  other 
castings.  The  stoves  used  in  Philadelphia,  the  northern  part  of 
New  York,  and  in  the  Eastern  States,  were  to  a  large  extent  made 
in  New  Jersey.  What  could  not  be  made  into  castings,  was  run 
into  pigs;  but  this  was  only  an  inconsiderable  portion  of  the 
whole.     As  the  charcoal  used  was  the  most  bulky  and  most  im- 


80  MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND   LANDIS. 

portant  article,  the  ore  was  taken  to  the  places  where  this  was 
produced.  The  manufacture  of  iron  in  this  manner  is  believed  to 
have  entirely  ceased.  Castings  are  now  made  almost  exclusively 
by  melting  pig  and  other  iron,  in  what  are  called  cupola  furnaces. 

Schooner  Landing,  on  the  Menantico,  about  a  mile  below  where 
the  railroad  crosses  that  stream,  was  at  one  time  a  place  of  con- 
siderable business.  The  road  from  Millville  to  Port  Elizabeth 
passed  through  here  originally.  In  the  year  1793,  Fithian  Strat- 
ton,  afterwards  well  known  as  an  energetic  but  eccentric  Methodist 
preacher,  purchased  the  property,  and  in  1800  laid  out  a  town  of 
considerable  size,  which  he  called  "Stratton  Burrough,"  the  last 
part  so  spelled  for  borough.  He  made  efforts  to  have  a  bridge 
over  Maurice  Eiver,  west  of  the  place,  and  a  direct  road  to  Bridge- 
ton;  hoping  thus  to  get  ahead  of  Millville.  The  project  however 
failed,  and  although  some  dozen  houses  were  erected,  they  have  all 
been  removed,  the  borough  has  disappeared,  and  the  name  passed 
into  oblivion.  The  bridge  over  the  creek  was  abandoned  and 
sold,  and  the  road  vacated.  This  was  the  result  of  the  final  estab- 
lishment, after  a  long  contest,  of  the  present  straight  road,  and  the 
bridge  over  the  Menantico,  not  far  from  its  mouth,  which  was  com- 
pleted in  1820. 

There  was  no  town  at  the  place  now  called  Millville,  until  after 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century.  Until  1756  the  road 
travelled  from  Cohansey  Bridge  to  Maurice  River  Township  and 
Cape  May,  called — as  the  roads  laid  out  by  the  public  officers 
usually  were — the  King's  highway,  passed  over  Chatfield  branch, 
at  a  dam  made  by  the  beavers,  and  still  known  as  Beaver  Dam, 
where,  in  the  olden  time,  there  was  a  tavern,  and  thence  across 
Maurice  River,  above  the  tide,  a  little  below  the  entrance  of  Leba- 
non branch,  and  thence  across  the  Menantico  at  Learning's  Mill. 
Some  time  before  1754  a  bridge  had  been  built  over  Maurice 
River  where  this  king's  highway  crossed,  which,  at  the  May  term 
of  this  year,  was  presented  by  the  grand  jury  as  a  nuisance  for 
being  out  of  order;  and  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  Mr. 
Justice  Neville  presiding,  ordered  the  township  of  Maurice  River 
to  pay  a  fine  of  ten  pounds,  unless  it  was  repaired  by  the  next 
term.  Shortly  after,  and  probably  in  consequence  of  this  proceed- 
ing, a  public  road  was  laid  from  Berriman's  Branch,  near  Learn- 
ing's Mill,  to  Shingle  Landing,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  a  little 
below  the  present  bridge;  and  a  bridge,  resting  on  log  cribs,  was 


MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND   LANDIS.  81 

built  over  the  river.  In  1756  a  road  was  laid  from  this  new 
bridge,  commencing  at  Lucas  Peterson's  house,  supposed  to  have 
been  the  house  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  afterwards  kept  as  a 
tavern,  to  the  beaver  dam,  which  soon  superseded  the  old  King's 
highway,  now  entirely  disused  and  forgotten.  After  this,  for 
many  years,  the  place  was  called  the  New  Bridge. 

Prior  to  1790,  Henry  Drinker,  Joseph  Smith,  and  others,  form- 
ing a  company  called  the  Union  Company,  had  purchased  24,000 
acres  of  land,  comprising  the  principal  part  of  the  19,563  acres 
survey  laid  for  Thomas  and  Eichard  Penn,  and  of  their  6000  acres 
survey,  and  of  several  small  surveys  to  other  persons.  The  site  of 
Millville  is  on  the  first-named  survey.  This  company  put  up  the 
dam,  and  raised  the  pond  still  known  as  the  Union  Mill  Pond,  and 
established  mills.  Large  floating-gates  were  put  in  this  dam,  and 
since  maintained  for  floating  down  the  lumber;  and  until  the  last 
twenty  years  a  considerable  quantity  was  taken  to  market  in  that 
way. 

In  1795  the  Union  property  was  purchased  by  Eli  Elmer,  Joseph 
Buck,  and  Robert  Smith,  and  they  sold  one-twelfth  part  to  Ezekiel 
Foster.  Joseph  Buck,  who  had  been  sheriff  of  the  county,  soon 
removed  from  Bridgeton  to  Maurice  River  Bridge,  where  he  died 
in  1803.  He  laid  out  the  town,  and  called  it'  Millville,  the  object 
being  to  bring  the  water  from  the  Union  pond,  and  to  establish 
the  mills  and  other  works  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  This  plan, 
however,  was  not  then  carried  out.  In  1801  the  township  was  set 
off  by  law  as  it  remained  until  Landis  Township  was  formed. 

The  tavern-house  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  High 
Streets  was  built  by  Mr.  Buck  for  his  residence,  but  was  not  used 
as  a  tavern  until  several  years  afterwards.  A  house  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  near  the  bridge  as  it  then  existed,  with  a  consid- 
erable tract  of  land,  was  owned  by  Alexander  Moore,  of  Bridgeton, 
and  in  this  a  tavern  was  kept.  In  1813,  when  it  was  owned  by 
his  grandson,  Alexander  T.  Moore,  a  law  was  passed  authorizing 
him  to  dam  the  river  at  that  place,  but  the  work  was  never  com- 
menced. At  a  later  date  a  law  was  obtained  to  authorize  the 
construction  of  a  navigable  canal  from  Malaga,  but  the  project 
shared  the  same  fate  as  the  other. 

The  tavern-house  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  High 
Streets  was  built  by  Bernard  M'Credy,  about  1811.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Buck,  his  executors  sold  the  lots  of  the  town  a.s  ho 


82  MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND   LANDTS. 

had  laid  it  out,  of  which,  however,  no  authentic  record  is  known 
to  exist.  So  slight  was  the  prospect  then  considered  that  the  town 
would  increase,  that  several  of  the  purchasers  neglected  to  take 
their  deeds,  and  so  the  property  remained  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  until  his  heirs  claimed,  took  possession  of,  and  disposed  of 
it.  In  1858  a  survey  and  map  of  the  town  were  completed  under 
the  directions  of  the  township  committee,  and  in  March,  1859,  a 
law  was  enacted,  that,  upon  the  map  being  filed  in  the  clerk's  office, 
showing  the  location  of  the  different  streets,  they  should  become 
public  highways. 

Union  Mill,  and  much  of  the  land  originally  belonging  to  the 
company,  became  the  property  of  Thomas  Stone,  and  in  1806  was 
purchased  by  Keyser  &  Gorgas.  In  1813  they  sold  to  James  Lee 
and  others,  and  they  to  Smith  &  Wood,  of  Philadelphia.  The  firm 
of  Smith  &  Wood  commenced  the  extension  of  the  canal,  which 
had  been  previously  begun,  and  brought  clown  the  water,  and 
erected  a  blast  furnace,  which  for  a  time  they  carried  on.  In  1822 
Smith  sold  out,  and  the  property  was  owned  and  carried  on  by 
David  C.  Wood  until  1850,  when  it  and  the  appurtenant  tracts  of 
land,  comprising  near  twenty  thousand  acres,  became  the  property 
of  Richard  D.  Wood,  of  Philadelphia.  Iron  castings  continued  to 
be  made  until  about  1849,  when  the  manufacture  of  iron  directly 
from  the  ore  wTas  discontinued.  The  annual  product  was  about 
600  tons. 

Two  large  establishments  for  smelting  and  moulding  iron  from 
the  pigs  have  been  substituted,  at  which  very  heavy  castings  are 
made,  the  whole  annual  product  being  from  four  to  five  thousand 
tons. 

The  canal  having  been  enlarged,  a  cotton  mill  was  put  in  ope- 
ration in  1854,  at  a  cost  of  about  250,000  dollars.  There  are  over 
18,000  spindles,  430  looms,  employing  350  hands,  to  whom  wages 
are  paid  exceeding  sixty  thousand  per  annum.  The  average 
monthly  product  is  about  160,000  yards  of  cotton  cloth,  which 
may  be  largely  increased.  The  main  building  is  280  feet  long 
four  stories  in  height,  lighted  with  gas,  which  it  is  proposed  shortly 
to  introduce  into  the  town. 

About  the  year  1806  James  Lee  and  others  started  a  glass  manu- 
factory above  the  bridge,  and  afterwards  the  business  was  con- 
tinued by  successive  firms.  For  several  years  window  glass  was 
made,  but  for  some  thirty  years  past  the  establishment  made  only 


MAURICE    RIVER,    MTLLVILLE,    AND   LANDIS.  83 

hollow  ware.  In  1832  the  works  at  Schetterville,  south  of  the  town, 
were  commenced,  and  made  window  glass  until  1854,  since  which 
time  only  hollow  ware  has  been  made.  The  two  establishments 
are  now  carried  on  by  one  firm,  who  produce  annually  glass  of  the 
value  of  250  to  300  thousand  dollars.  Until  within  the  last  three 
or  four  years  these  works  used  only  wood,  of  which,  of  course, 
large  quantities  were  consumed.  Now  much  the  largest  propor- 
tion of  the  fuel  is  coal,  the  annual  consumption  being  about  4000 
tons,  and  1500  cords  of  wood.  There  are  six  furnaces  in  all,  of 
which  five  are  kept  in  operation,  producing  about  4000  dozen 
bottles  daily.  About  150  tons  of  sand,  95,000  pounds  of  soda  ash, 
1250  bushels  of  lime,  and  150  bushels  of  salt,  are  used  monthly. 
A  manufactory  of  flint  glassware  is  in  the  process  of  erection. 

Contemporaneous  with  the  introduction  of  glassworks  was  the 
discovery  of  immense  beds,  or  rather  banks,  of  fine  sand  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  from  two  to  five  miles  below  the  town. 
This  is  of  so  good  a  quality  that  besides  the  domestic  consumption, 
from  eight  to  ten  thousand  tons  are  annually  exported  to  Boston 
and  other  places. 

Until  1807  the  bridge  was  without  a  draw  for  the  passage  of 
masted  vessels.  In  that  year  a  new  one  was  built,  containing  a 
draw  or  hoist,  a  little  above  the  site  of  the  original  structure,  the 
timber  and  other  materials  of  which  were  sold.  In  1816  it  was 
found  necessary  to  build  a  new  bridge,  and  considerable  effort  was 
made  to  have  it  placed  so  as  to  conform  to  the  main  street  of  the 
town,  but  after  much  contention  the  Board  of  Freeholders  decided 
to  build  on  the  old  site.  So  imperfect  was  the  structure,  that  in 
1837  a  new  one  was  found  necessary,  and  a  law  having  been  ob- 
tained for  the  purpose,  and  the  road  on  the  west  side  being  laid  to 
conform,  it  was  put  as  it  now  stands,  in  a  line  with  the  street. 
This  bridge  as  well  as  that  over  the  Cohansey  being  much  used 
and  having  until  recently  been  badly  constructed,  have  been  very 
expensive  affairs.     The  existing  bridge  was  finished  in  1861. 

The  site  of  the  town  was  a  sandy  knoll,  so  that  the  roads  through 
it  were  always  bad  except  a  short  time  when  frozen,  and  the  side- 
walks were  unpleasant,  until  by  the  aid  of  clay  and  gravel  they 
have  been  made  good.  While  swing  wells  were  in  use  a  bet  was 
made  that  an  excavation  large  enough  to  hold  a  barrel  could  not 
be  filled  by  drawing  water  and  pouring  it  from  the  bucket  from 
sunrise  to  sunset;  a  wager,  the  unlucky  operator  of  the  swing  was 


84  MAURICE   RIVER,    MILLVILLE,   AND   LANDIS. 

glad  to  acknowledge  be  had  lost  long  before  the  set  time  expired. 
Until  after  the  commencement  of  this  century,  there  were  not  more 
than  five  or  six  houses  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  bridge.  This 
being  the  head  of  navigation,  the  same  causes  that  produced  a  town 
at  Cohansey  bridge  operated  here.  Large  tracts  of  land  covered 
with  wood  and  timber  had  only  this  outlet  to  market.  Until  the 
erection  of  the  furnace  and  the  glass-house,  almost  the  only  em- 
ployment of  the  people  in  this  vicinity  was  the  cutting  and  carting 
of  wood,  and  taking  it  to  Philadelphia,  then  the  only  market 
accessible.  This  business  still  continues  to  a  considerable  extent, 
but  the  prosperity  of  the  place  is  no  longer  dependent  on  it,  the 
business  of  manufacturing  iron  castings  and  glass,  and  more  re- 
cently cotton,  being  far  more  important  and  productive.  The 
population,  for  many  years,  increased  very  slowly.  In  1840  there 
were  about  1000  inhabitants,  in  1850  about  1500,  and  in  1860 
about  3200,  and  they  are  rapidly  increasing.  Up  to  1815  the 
stage  route  to  Philadelphia  was  by  the  way  of  Bridgeton,  since 
then  by  Malaga,  and  for  several  years  there  had  been  a  daily  line, 
until  the  railroad  to  Glassboro,  brought  into  use  in  1860,  directed 
the  travel  in  that  direction.  In  1863  the  railroad  to  Cape  May 
was  opened. 

A  steamboat  to  Philadelphia  was  started  by  a  joint  stock  com- 
pany in  1846;  but  the  route  was  found  too  long,  and  the  business 
proving  unprofitable  was  soon  abandoned.  Recently  a  steam- 
propeller  has  commenced  running  regularly  to  New  York,  making 
nearly  a  trip  each  week,  and  carrying  the  various  manufactures  of 
glass  at  Glassboro  and  Millville,  as  well  as  other  articles  to  that 
great  market.  Considerable  capital  is  also  invested  in  the  coasting- 
trade,  the  vessels  engaged  in  it  coming  to  the  place  for  repairs  and 
to  winter.  The  country  around,  not  being  naturally  very  pro- 
ductive, and  remaining  until  recently  unimproved,  the  supply  of 
provisions  was,  for  many  years,  by  no  means  abundant,  but  with 
increased  demand,  the  supply  has  also  increased,  until  there  is 
now,  by  the  aid  of  easy  access  to  Philadelphia,  no  deficiency. 
The  health  of  the  place,  which  was  once  by  no  means  good,  has 
greatly  improved. 

In  1857  a  bank  with  $50,000  capital  commenced,  which  at  the 
end  of  the  first  year  reported  $10,000  deposits,  and  now  $100,000, 
although  the  large  manufacturers  make  but  little  use  of  it.  The 
institution  is  well  managed,  and  makes  regular  half-yearly  divi- 
dends. 


MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLB,    AND    LANDIS.  85 

A  town  hall  was  erected  in  1856,  affording  good  accommodation 
for  public  meetings,  lectures,  and  concerts. 

The  graveyard,  at  the  corner  of  Second  and  Sassafras  Streets, 
dates  back  to  the  commencement  of  the  settlement.  About  1800 
a  house  was  erected  on  this  lot  which  was  used  as  a  school-house, 
and  for  religous  services,  the  different  denominations  worshipping 
there,  the  Presbyterians  having  preaching  perhaps  more  statedly 
than  the  others.  The  Eev.  Abijah  Davis,  of  that  denomination,  who 
resided  in  the  township,  published  a  new  version  of  the  Psalms, 
and  was  no  mean  poet,  and  wrote  a  good  deal  for  the  newspapers 
over  the  signature  of  Happy  Farmer,  ranking  among  the  earnest 
supporters  of  the  Democratic  administration,  was  accustomed  to 
hold  service  there  for  several  years  pretty  regularly.  The  first 
meeting-house  erected  was  that  at  the  corner  of  Second  and  Smith 
Streets,  commenced  for  a  dwelling,  but  converted  into  a  house  for 
religous  worship  by  the  Methodists  in  1822.  It  was  rebuilt  in 
1845.  The  Presbyterian  house  on  Second  Street  was  built  in  1838 
and  enlarged  in  1855.  The  Baptist  house  on  the  same  street  in 
1843.  In  1858  a  second  Methodist  church  was  finished  on  McNeal 
Street,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  town.  In  1862  the  Catho- 
lics erected  a  chapel  in  the  same  neighborhood.  Preparations  are 
making  to  build  an  Episcopal  church;  stated  worship  is  maintained 
in  all  the  houses;  and  there  is  besides  a  Protestant  Methodist 
society  which  holds  its  meetings  at  Schetterville,  but  has  as  yet  no 
house. 

The  public  school-house  on  Sassafras  Street  was  completed  in 
the  year  1849.  In  1832  the  number  of  scholars  returned  was  124. 
In  1863  the  number  was  1648.  There  are  now  three  houses  occu- 
pied. The  number  taught  in  the  first  named,  by  a  male  principal, 
and  six  female  assistants,  was  394.  The  new  house,  known  as  the 
Furnace  School,  is  situate  on  Dock  Street.  There  are  three  teachers 
who  had  in  1863  an  average  attendance  of  124  pupils.  There  is 
also  a  public  school  on  Second  Street,  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
town,  at  the  place  commonly  called  Schetterville,  with  two  teachers 
and  60  pupils.  It  thus  appears  that  a  little  more  than  one-half  the 
youth  of  a  suitable  age  are  under  tuition. 

Millville  was  incorporated  as  a  city  with  a  Mayor  and  Common 
Council  in  1866,  and  three  wards,  comprising  all  the    township 
which  remained  after  the  setting  off  of  Landis.     The  city  has  since 
7 


86  MAURICE    P.IVER,    MILLVILLE,   AND   LANDTS. 

rapidly  increased  in  business  and  population.     The  inhabitants  in 
1869  are  estimated  to  number  5600. 

Charles  K.  Landis,  Esq.,  became  the  proprietor  of  a  large  tract 
of  the  land  in  the  upper  part  of  Millville  Township,  and  extending 
into  the  adjoining  counties  of  Gloucester  and  Atlantic,  and  com- 
menced selling  to  settlers  in  October,  1861.  The  inhabitants  then 
residing  on  his  purchase  probably  did  not  number  fifty,  and  on  the 
whole  of  what  was  set  off  as  Landis  Township  did  not  exceed  two 
hundred.  He  laid  out  a  town  situate  on  both  sides  of  the  rail- 
road to  Glasboro,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  east  of  Maurice  River, 
and  about  seven  miles  north  of  Millville  City,  which  he  called 
Vineland.  The  first  house  was  erected  in  February,  1862,  on 
Landis  Avenue,  which  has  been  recently  purchased  by  the  Vine- 
land  Historical  Society,  and  removed  to  Peach  Street,  to  be  pre- 
served as  a  memento  of  Vineland's  commencement.  A  post  office 
was  established  upon  the  condition  that  Mr.  Landis  should  pay 
twenty  dollars  a  quarter  for  carrying  the  mail,  which  he  continued 
to  do  for  nearly  two  years.  The  office  was  kept  at  the  residence 
of  Andrew  Sharp,  the  only  good  house  then  in  the  tract,  situated  at 
the  corner  of  Park  Avenue  and  Main  Road.  The  receipts  for  the 
quarter  ending  September  30,  1862,  were  $8.50.  They  have  since 
exceeded  two  thousand  dollars  per  quarter.  Roads  were  exten- 
sively opened,  so  that  there  are  now  on  the  whole  tract  about  one 
hundred,  and  sixty  miles.  At  Christmas.  1862,  it  is  stated  by  a 
recent  historian  of  the  settlement,  that  such  progress  had  been  made 
that  "  seventy-five  settlers  and  one  fiddler  could,  be  rallied  at  a 
Christmas  festival." 

An  Episcopal  church  and  academy  were  erected  in  1863,  and 
a  considerable  number  of  private  dwellings.  Emigration  became 
brisk,  so  that  by  January,  1864,  one  thousand  acres  of  land  had 
been  sold.  This  was  mainly  the  result  of  an  extensive  system  of 
advertising  by  means  of  a  weekly  sheet  called  The  Vineland 
Rural  and  other  publications,  whereby  the  real  and  supposed 
advantages  of  the  location  for  a  prosperous  settlement  were  made 
known  throughout  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States. 

In  March,  1864,  a  law  was  passed  setting  off  more  than  half  the 
township  of  Millville  into  a  new  township,  to  be  called  the  town- 
ship of  Landis.  This  law  embodies  most  of  the  peculiar  features 
of  the  system  adopted  by  the  founder,  which  it  is  believed  have 


MAURICE   RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND    LANDIS.  87 

aided  very  materially  in  promoting  its  rapid  growth  and  its  con- 
tinued prosperity. 

Besides  the  usual  powers  of  the  inhabitants  and  officers  of  the 
townships  in  New  Jersey,  this  act  gives  authority  to  the  township 
committee  to  appoint  overseers  of  roads  and  authorizes  the  election 
of  one  superintendent  of  roady,  with  a  salary,  whose  powers  are 
very  ample,  and  who  is  required  to  have  work  on  the  roads  done 
by  contract.  The  side  of  the  roads  in  front  of  all  improved  lands, 
are  required  to  be  seeded  in  grass  within  two  years,  and  kept  clear 
of  noxious  weeds ;  and  shade  trees  are  to  be  planted  at  such  dis- 
tances apart  as  the  committee  shall  direct.  The  committee  may 
require  all  buildings  to  be  set  at  a  distance-  not  exceeding 
seventy-five  feet  from  the  side  of  the  road  outside  of  Vineland,  and 
not  exceeding  twenty  feet  in  the  town.  These  powers  have  been 
exercised  to  the' great  benefit  of  the  settlement,  adding  very  much 
to  its  symmetry  and  beauty.  The  roads  called  avenues  are  100  feet 
in  width,  and  have  generally  two  rows  of  trees,  mostly  maples,  but 
in  some  cases  fruit  trees  on  each  side,  while  the  other  roads  are 
from  50  to  6Q  feet  in  width  with  one  row  of  trees  on  each  side, 
the  road-beds  for  carriages  being  thirty  feet  in  width.  No  person 
is  required  to  inclose  his  ground  with  a  fence,  no  cattle,  sheep,  or 
swine  being  allowed  to  run  at  large.  The  absence  of  fences  and 
inclosures  about  the  dwellings  is  a  marked  feature  of  the  place, 
causing  it  to  present  as  yet  a  naked  appearance  to  eyes  accustomed 
to  these  hitherto  indispensable  incumbrances,  but  when  the  hedges 
and  ornamental  trees  and  shrubbury  which  are  being  very  gener- 
ally planted  shall  have  time  to  grow,  this  absence  will  no  doubt 
be  found  to  be  a  great  improvement. 

The  law  also  provides  that  no  ale,  porter,  beer,  or  other  malt 
liquor  shall  be  sold  as  a  beverage,  except  at  a  regularly  licensed 
inn  or  tavern;  and  that  it  shall  be  submitted  to  the  people  annually 
at  their  regular  town  meeting,  to  decide  whether  they  shall  apply 
to  the  court  for  a  license  for  an  inn  or  tavern  to  sell  intoxicating 
liquors  as-  a  beverage  in  the  township,  and  that  no  license  shall 
be  granted  unless  a  majority  of  the  votes  shall  be  in  favor  of  the 
same.  The  result  has  been  that  no  license  has  been  granted,  and 
at  the  last  annual  town  meeting  the  vote  against  a  license  was 
unanimous. 

Two  other  rules  were  adopted  by  Mr.  Landis  in  making  most  of 
his  sales,  which,  it  is  supposed,  have  materially  aided  his  design. 


88  MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AND    LAND1S. 

One  is  that  be  has  sold  his  farm  lands  in  small  parcels,  of  from  five 
to  fifty  acres  each,  and  most  generally  not  exceeding  fifteen  acres, 
so  that  the  engrossment  of  the  soil  by  speculators  other  than  the 
proprietor  himself  has  been  prevented,  persons  of  small  means 
have  been  enabled  to  purchase,  and  the  number  of  settlers  has  been 
largely  increased.  Another  is  that  a  full  title  to  the  land  is  not 
made  until  the  purchaser  has  erected  a  dwelling,  cleared  up  and 
cultivated  a  certain  portion  of  his  land,  usually  two  and  a  half 
acres,  and  made  the  required  roadside  improvements.  The  com- 
bined influence  of  these  measures,  the  extensive  advertisements  of 
the  scheme,  the  favorable  reports  of  invited  visitors  engaged  in 
agricultural  clubs  and  in  writing  for  the  newspapers,  and  the  real 
advantages  of  the  place,  especially  to  persons  whose  residence  was 
in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  and  whose  liability  to  lung 
or  other  complaints,  or  other  causes,  made  a  change  to  a  milder  and 
dryer  climate  advisable,  caused  a  rapid  growth,  probably  unsur- 
passed in  any  place  outside  of  a  commercial  centre  like  Chicago 
or  other  cities  in  the  United  States,  which  have  astonished  the 
world. 

Most  of  the  land  comprised  in  Mr.  Landis's  tract  could  have  been 
purchased  ten  years  ago  at  from  two  to  ten  dollars  an  acre,  ac- 
cording to  the  growth  of  timber  it  contained.  Now  the  unimproved 
.town  lots,  having  50  feet  front  and  150  feet  deep,  sell  for  $150,  and 
some  on  Landis  Avenue  have  sold  at  $40  a  foot  front,  while  much 
of  the  improved  land  sells  at  $150  to  $200  an  acre.  A  large 
population  has  collected,  and  many  very  handsome  dwellings  have 
been  erected,  so  that  the  town  is  selected  by  many  persons  possessed 
of  means  as  a  most  desirable  residence.  Good  church  buildings  have 
been  erected  by  the  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  and 
Baptists,  who  have  stated  preaching  and  a  good  attendance,  and  there 
are  besides,  Unitarians,  Second  Adventists,  and  Friends  of  Pro- 
gress, who  have  organized  societies.  Two  weekly  newspapers  are 
published.  Education  has  been  carefully  provided  for,  there  being 
now  fourteen  public  schools  in  the  township,  and  an  academy  for 
the  higher  branches.  The  Methodist  society  has  located  its  semi- 
nary for  South  Jersey  at  this  place,  and  have  commenced  a  fine 
building  estimated  to  cost  about  $75,000.  Various  manufactures 
have  been  established,  operated  by  steam  power,  and  much  activity 
prevails.  A  leading  object  of  the  settlers  has  been  to  cultivate 
fruits,  for  which  the  soil  and  climate  are  supposed  to  be  peculiarly 


MAURICE    RIVER,    MILLVILLE,    AST)    LANDIS. 


89 


favorable.  While  it  cannot  be  affirmed  that  these  efforts  have 
been  alwa}rs  successful,  it  is  certain  that  there  has  been  a  large 
production  of  berries,  grapes,  and  peaches,  and  a  considerable 
amount  of  sweet  potatoes  and  tomatoes.  The  number  of  inhabit- 
ants in  Landis  Township  at  this  time  (1869)  may  be  estimated  to 
be  6500.  On  the  whole  tract  of  Mr.  Landis  in  the  three  counties 
there  are  probably  10,000  inhabitants. 

The  area  of  Cumberland  County  is  stated  in  the  recent  geologi- 
cal survey  of  the  State  to  be  as  follows: — 


Township: 


Deerfield 

Downe   . 

21,517  acres 
14,170      " 

26,656     " 
57,043     " 

48,192     " 
11,360     " 
19,2H0      " 
46 522      " 

Greenwich 
Hopewell 

4,410      " 
1,875      " 

Maurice  River 

Millville 
Stone  Creek  . 

7,174     " 

1,158      " 

768     " 

67,559     " 
32,224     " 

11,475      " 

Totals      . 

51,078      "                      330,080      " 

Area  of  the  w 

bole  I 

Hate  • 

295,474     " 

4,849,069      " 

Prior  to  1851  there  was  no  attempt  to  assess  taxes  upon  the  tax 
payers  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  their  property.  But  in  that 
year  such  a  sj^stem  was  commenced,  and  with  some  variations  has 
teen  since  continued.  The  values  returned  by  the  assessors  of  the 
several  townships  have  been  as  follows: — 


Townships. 

1 852. 

186(1. 

1S6.-). 

1868. 

Cohansey 

$300,000 

$401,000 

Bridgeton 

900,000 

850,000 

$2  279,000 

$2,303,000 

Deerfield 

44:;. i 

500,000 

742,ooo 

773.000 

Dowue   . 

580,000 

657,000 

681,000 

715,0(io 

Fairfield 

705,000 

875, nun 

1,059,000 

1,11(10,000 

Greenwich 

556,1)  0 

571,(111(1 

631,000 

S56.000 

Hopewell 

561,1  no 

686,(Hi(i 

1,000,000 

1,200,000 

Landis    . 

650,000 

800,000 

Maurice  River 

538,000 

575,000 

673,000 

75o,ooo 

Millville 

620,000 

870,000 

1,148,000 

1,681,000 

Stone  ("reek    . 

342,0.00 

55(1,000 

550,oo(i 

572,000 

Totals 

5,545,000 

0,535,000 

!i,!H3,000 

10,450,000 

90  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 


CHAPTEE    V. 

RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 

The  first  organized  church  in  this  region  of  which  there  is 
any  authentic  record  was  the  old  Cohansey  Baptist  Church, 
although  it  is  believed  the  Cohansey  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Fairfield  was  cotemporaneous,  if  not  earlier.  Many  Baptists  and 
Presbyterians  came  into  the  county  together  from  New  England 
and  Long  Island.  Morgan  Edwards,  who  was  from  Wales,  and  is 
mentioned  in  Sabine's  History  of  the  American  Royalists,  published 
a  History  of  the  New  Jersey  Baptists  in  1789,  which  is  now  a  rare 
book.  He  states  that  "about  the  year  1683,  some  Baptists  from 
Tipperary,  Ireland,  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cohansey  ;  in 
1665,  arrived  Obadiah  Holmes,  from  Rhode  Island.  About  this 
time  Thomas  Killingsworth  settled  not  far  off,  which  increased  the 
number  to  nine  souls,  and  probably  as  many  more  including  the 
sisters;  the  above  nine,  with  Killingsworth,  formed  a  church  in  the 
spring  of  1690.  The  Baptist  church  from  which  it  sprung  in 
Tipperary,  called  Cloughkatier,  was  flourishing  in  1767  when  I 
visited  it."* 

"In  1710  the  Rev.  Timothy  Brooks,  and  his  company,  united 
with  this  church  ;  they  had  emigrated  hither  from  Massachusetts, 
about  1687,  and  had  kept  a  separate  society  for  23  years,  on  account 
of  difference  in  opinion  relative  to  predestination,  singing  psalms, 
laying  on  hands,  &c."  He  continued  to  be  the  pastor  until  his 
death  in  1716.  As  early  as  1702  he  purchased  107  acres  of  land 
at  Bowentovvn,  comprising  the  farm  on  which  the  brick  house  on 
the  hill  stands,  which  was  afterwards  conveyed  to  the  trustees  of 
the  Coliansey  Baptist  Church,  and  held  as  their  parsonage  until 
1786,  when  it  was  sold  to  David  Bowen,  and  was  for  several  years 
the  residence  and  property  of  Ebenezer  Elmer.  It  is  said  there 
was  a  meeting-house,  erected   and  occupied  by  Brooks'  society, 

*  Rev.  Mr.  Wright,  in  his  recent  historical  sketch  of  the  Roaclstown  Baptist 
Church,  says  Cloughketin  (as  he  spells  it)  Church  was  still  iu  existence  in  1838. 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS.  91 

opposite  the  parsonage,  which  stood  a  few  rods  south  of  the  road, 
about  forty  rods  west  of  the  brick  house,  and  was  still  in  use  within 
the  writer's  memory. 

In  1711  Edwards  says,  the  society  put  up  a  building  on  the  lot 
afterwards  occupied,  a  little  east  of  Sheppard's  mill,  South  Hope- 
well. It  is  supposed,  however,  that  this  is  a  mistake.  The  Bap- 
tists about  this  time  built  a  log  house  in  that  part  of  Fairfield 
called  Back-Neck,  the  graveyard  attached  to  which  is  still  visible, 
and  it  is  most  probable  that  this  is  the  house  he  refers  to,  for  he 
says  the  title  proved  defective  and  the  tradition  is  that  there  was 
no  little  difficulty  in  fixing  upon  the  proper  location  in  1741. 

At  this  time  a  new  wooden  church  building  was  erected  on  the 
ground  south  of  the  road  leading  east  from  Sheppard's  mill,  where 
the  old  graveyard  still  remains.  One  of  the  stones  has  on  it  this 
inscription.  "In  memory  of  Deborah  Sweeney,  who  departed  this 
life  the  4th  day  of  April,  1760,  in  the  77th  year  of  her  age.  She 
was  the  first  white  female  child  born  in  Cohansey."  Edwards  says, 
this  house  was  32  by  36  feet  and  "had  a  stove."  By  this  is  meant 
that  it  had  a  stove  when  he  wrote  in  1789,  and  this  was  so  unusual 
as  to  claim  special  mention.  Very  few  churches  in  this  region, 
were  warmed  with  fires  until  after  the  commencement  of  the  pre- 
sent century,  and  they  were  not  then  introduced  without  much 
opposition  from  old  people,  who  thought  them  needless,  if  not  dan- 
gerous. For  many  years  a  stove  was  not  to  be  had ;  and  open  fire- 
places, which  were  alone  used  in  dwellings,  were  not  suitable  for  a 
church.  After  stoves  were  introduced,  so  long  as  wood  continued 
to  be  burned,  that  is  to  say  until  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  years 
since,  they  did  not  comfortably  warm  the  buildings,  it  being  com- 
mon for  females  to  have  footstoves  in  their  seats.  It  is  also  to  be 
noticed  that  most  of  the  early  churches  were. built  near  to  running 
streams,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  those  who  attended  to  procure 
water  for  themselves  and  their  horses.  It  was  common  for  the 
minister  to  hold  two  services  on  the  Sunday,  with  an  intermission 
of  an  hour  or  half  hour;  a  practice  which  was  continued  at  Fair- 
field within  the  memory  of  the  writer.  The  old  frame  house  re- 
mained until  after  1804,  about  which  time  the  new  brick  church 
was  erected  at  Eoadstown,  to  which  the  congregation  removed. 

Brooks  was  succeeded  by  William  Butcher,  who  died  in  1724, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Nathan  Jenkins  from  1730  to  1754.  Kobert 
Kelsay,  from  Ireland,  came  to  Cohansey  in  1738,  became  a  Baptist 


92  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

in  1741,  and  pastor  in  1756,  dying  in  1789.  He  frequently,  if  not 
statedly,  preached  in  the  court-house  at  Cohansey  Bridge,  where 
there  was  no  organized  church  of  any  denomination  until  fortj^-five 
years  after  it  became  the  county  town.  Henry  Smalley  succeeded 
him  and  died  in,  1839.  The  particulars  of  the  various  churches  in 
the  county  it  is  not  proposed  to  continue  longer  than  during  the  first 
years  of  the  present  century.  This  church  consists  now  of  288 
members. 

Edwards  states  in  his  history  that  "  Mr.  Wrightman,  one  of  their 
ministers,  was  invited  to  preach  at  Fairfield  in  171-4,  but  forgetting 
his  situation,  he  talked  awa}r  as  if  he  had  been  in  a  Baptist  pulpit, 
and  eight  Presbyterians  joined  the  society."  But  in  a  note  he 
adds,  "  Since  I  have  been  informed  but  four  joined  Baptists,  the 
other  four  were  baptized  to  ease  a  scrupulous  conscience,  and  then 
returned  to  their  own  church."  Those  were  days  of  controversy. 
He  says,  "  In  1742  a  great  stir  in  Cape  May  ;  but  some  one  of  the 
party  converts  joining  the  other  party,  caused  a  howling  among  the 
losing  shepherds  and  issued  in  a  public  challenge.  Mr.  Morgan 
accepted  ;  his  antagonist  was  Rev.  Mr.  Finley.  The  contest  ended 
as  usual  in  a  double  triumph  ;  but  two  things  happened  to  mar  the 
glory  of  the  day.  One  was  a  remark  that  a  stander-by  (Mr.  Lee- 
man)  was  heard  to  make.  He  was  a  deist,  and  therefore  a  disinte- 
rested person.  He  said,  "  The  littleman  (Finley)  is  thrown  down, 
and  his  antagonist  will  not  let  him  rise  for  another  tussle."  Both 
parties  published  their  discourses. 

Among  the  members  of  the  old  Fairfield  congregation  was  Na- 
than Lawrence  (or  as  he  spelled  his  name,  Lorrance),  who  was  a 
large  property  owner  at  Cedarville,  on  the  southern  side  of  Cedar 
Creek,  ne  became  a  Baptist,  and  was  perhaps  one  of  Wright- 
man's  converts  in  1714,  and  was  so  zealous  in  propagating  his  new 
faith  as  frequently  to  journey  with  the  ministers  to  Cape  May  and 
other  places.  He  erected  a  meeting-house  on  his  own  land,  where 
the  Baptist  meeting-house  now  stands,  a  little  south  of  the  school- 
house.  Dying  early  in  1745,  he,  by  his  will,  dated  November  23, 
1744,  left  to  his  two  sons,  Jonathan  and  Nathan,  and  three  daugh- 
ters, several  tracts  of  land  and  other  property,  and  to  his  daughter 
Abigail  Elmer  (the  writer's  grandmother)  "all  that  messuage  called 
Flying  Point,  except  one  acre  where  the  Baptist  meeting-house 
now  standeth,  where  the  Baptist  members  that  liveth  on  the  south 
side  of  Cohansey  Creek  shall  think  fit  to  take  it,  to  her  or  her  heirs 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS.  93 

forever  by  her  present  husband,  Daniel  Elmer;"  they  to  pay  a  cer- 
tain sum  to  two  of  his  daughters  and  complying  with  what  shall 
be  hereafter  enjoined.  "I  also  lay  and  enjoin  a  penalty  on  all  or 
any  of  my  afore-mentioned  children,  whereby  they,  any  one  or 
more,  shall  forfeit  all  their  lands  above  mentioned,  to  their  other 
brothers  and  sisters,  to  be  equally  divided  between  them,  or  pay 
ten  pounds  current  money,  amongst  their  brothers  and  sisters,  for 
every  time  that  any  of  them  shall  be  convicted,  or  that  it  shall  be 
made  to  appear  by  any  one  or  more  of  them,  that  any  one  has  agreed 
or  obliged  him  or  herself  to  pay,  or  has  paid  any  sum  of  money, 
or  any  consideration  whatsoever,  toward  supporting  or  maintaining 
minister  or  congregation  of  those  called  Presbyterians,  direct  or 
indirect." 

This  part  of  the  will,  however,  appears  to  have  been  treated  by 
all  concerned  as  mere  brutem  fulmen,  and  disregarded.  The  daugh- 
ter and  husband  were,  or  soon  became,  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  the  other  children  supporters  of  it.  The  testator  was 
buried  in  the  ground  annexed  to  the  meeting-house,  where  his  tomb- 
stone was  formerly  to  be  seen;  but  his  two  sons  were  buried  in  the 
old  Cohansey  graveyard,  on  the  river  side,  at  New  England  Town. 
The  meeting-house  does  not  appear  to  have  been  used  by  the  Bap- 
tists, who  were  either  ignorant  of  the  will,  or  preferred  to  concen- 
trate their  support  on  the  new  house  recently  erected  in  lower 
Hopewell.  During  many  years  after  this,  those  living  south  of  the 
Cohansey  were  accustomed  to  cross  that  river  at  a  place  something 
more  than  a  mile  above  Greenwich,  which  was  long  known  as  the 
Baptist  Landing. 

The  house  at  Cedarville  appears  to  have  been  possessed  by  Daniel 
Elmer  during  his  life,  and  after  the  split  in  the  Presbyterian 
church,  it  was  said  was  frequently  used  by  preachers  of  the  new- 
light  side,  and  among  others,  by  the  celebrated  Whitfield,  in  1748. 
It  was  removed  by  Timothy  Elmer,  son  of  Daniel,  .and  converted 
into  a  barn  on  his  property  below  the  tavern  of  Cedarville,  prior 
to  1780.  The  lot  was  afterwards,  about  1828,  sold  under  the  Elmer 
title,  although  then  claimed  by  the  Baptists,  who  soon  purchased 
it,  and  erected  on  it  the  house  now  in  use. 

A  descendant  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brooks,  who  states  that  he  had 
been  a  member  of  the  church  thirty-two  years,  and  a  deacon 
twelve,  had  a  bitter  controversy  in  the  year  1765  with  Jonathan 
Bowen,  father  of  Jonathan  Bowen,  afterwards  of  Bridgeton,  who 


94  EELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 

was  also  a  prominent  member  of  the  church,  which  involved  in  it 
the  pastor,  Mr.  Kelsey,  whose  daughter  had  married  a  son  of  Mr. 
Bowen.  This  resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  Mr.  Brooks  from  the 
church  communion,  and  caused  him  to  print,  "A  plowman's  com- 
plaint against  a  clergyman,  being  a  letter  to  the  Baptist  Associa- 
tion of  Philadelphia."  The  pamphlet  exhibits  a  sad  want  of  tem- 
per, and  shows  that  the  prevalent  habit  of  freely  indulging  in  the 
use  of  strong  drink,  which  in  those  days  occasioned  much  scandal 
in  all  the  churches,  had  much  to  do  with  it.  The  dispute  grew  in 
part  out  of  a  controversy  about  a  lot  claimed  to  belong  to  the  par- 
sonage, at  the  southwest  corner  of  Bowentown  Cross-roads.  Mr. 
Kelsey,  it  appears  at  length,  preached  a  sermon,  taking  as  his  text 
the  17th  and  18th  verses  of  the  16th  chapter  of  Eomans.  This 
was  of  course  very  offensive  to  the  deacon,  who  proclaimed  before 
he  left  the  house,  and  repeated  it  in  his  pamphlet,  that  he  wished 
the  minister  to  preach  Christ  crucified,  and  not  Jonathan  Bowen 
crucified. 

Edwards  says  that  in  1716  several  of  the  Baptists  embraced  the 
sentiments  of  the  Sabbatarians,  who  insisted  that  the  seventh  day 
Sabbath  was  of  perpetual  obligation.  This  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Shiloh  Seventh  Day  Baptist  Church  about  the  year 
1736.  The  founders  were  John  Sweeney,  Dr.  Elijah  Bowen,  John 
Jarman,  Eev.  Jonathan  Davis,  Caleb  Ayres,  and  others.  About 
the  year  1790  a  considerable  number  embraced  the  Universalist 
sentiments  of  Winchester,  some  of  whom  became  in  fact  deists, 
whereby  the  society  was  much  disturbed  and  troubled.  This  diffi- 
culty has  now  passed  away,  and  the  society,  as  well  as  the  town 
itself,  surrounded  by  fertile  land,  has  greatly  improved.  Their 
tenets  are  believed  to  be  the  same  as  those  of  the  regular  Calvin- 
istic  Baptists,  with  the  exception  of  that  relating  to  the  observance 
of  the  Sabbath.  At  their  first  organization  they  erected  a  wooden 
meeting-house,  which,  about  the  year  1761,  was  superseded  by  the 
old  brick  building  still  standing  on  their  burial-ground  lot.  This 
latter  was  in  its  turn  superseded  in  185-4  by  the  present  neat  edifice 
of  brick,  a  little  nearer  to  the  town  than  the  old  one.  They  have 
also  a  neat  and  commodious  school-house  of  two  stories,  in  which 
a  good  school  is  maintained. 

An  offset  from  this  church  has  a  building,  not  very  distant,  just 
within  the  limits  of  Salem  County. 

A  regular  Baptist  Church  was  formed  at  Dividing  Creek,  in 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS.  95 

Downe  Township,  by  members  of  the  old  Cohansey  Church  in  the 
year  1761,  and  still  continues  to  flourish,  having  now  222  mem- 
bers. 

There  were  also  for  many  years  a  church  called  the  "West  Creek 
Baptist  Church,  a  little  west  of  the  boundary  between  Cumberland 
and  Cape  May.  The  old  meeting-house  is  still  standing,  but  does 
not  appear  now  to  be  used. 

The  Baptist  church  in  Bridgeton,  known  as  the  Second  Cohan- 
sey, was  erected  by  the  old  Cohansey  Church  in  1816,  during  the 
pastorate  of  Mr.  Sm alley,  and  continued  to  worship  in  connection 
with  them  until  1828,  when  they  were  constituted  a  separate 
church,  and  the  Rev.  George  Spratt  was  chosen  their  pastor.  In 
1857  they  erected  a  new  and  larger  building  on  the  north  side  of 
Commerce  Street.     Their  members  now  number  3-18. 

Another  offset  from  the  old  Cohansey  is  the  church  at  Green- 
wich, which  erected  a  neat  edifice  on  the  north  side  of  the  main 
street  in  18-1-4.  They  were  constituted  a  separate  church  in  1850, 
and  now  number  115  members. 

A  church  was  constituted  at  Cedarville  in  1836,  and  numbers 
now  114  members. 

Millville  Church  was  constituted  in  1842,  and  has  44  members. 
That  at  Newport  was  constituted  in  1852,  and  numbers  147  mem- 
bers. The  a^arregate  number  of  members  in  all  the  regular  Bap- 
tist  churches  of  the  county  is  1218. 

In  1863  a  Baptist  church  was  constituted  in  Vineland,  and  a 
meeting-house  erected.  In  1868  the  old  Second  Cohansey  Baptist 
meeting-house  on  Pearl  Street,  Bridgeton,  was  enlarged,  and  a  new 
church  constituted,  which  is  now  (1869)  very  flourishing. 

No  records  or  documents  remain  from  which  it  can  be  ascer- 
tained when  the  "Cohansey  Church"  of  Fairfield  was  first  estab- 
lished, although  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  it  was  not  later 
than  1690.  At  first  it  was  like  the  churches  of  Connecticut,  inde- 
pendent. The  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  with  which  it  became 
united  in  1708,  was  first  established  in  1705.  Before  this  time  a 
log  meeting-house  had  been  erected  at  the  place  known  as  New 
England  Town  Cross-Roads,  probably  on  the  lot  situate  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Cohansey,  where  the  old  graveyard  still 
remains. 

The  first  minister  known  to  have  preached  here  was  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Bridges,  belonging  to  a  family  of  considerable  importance 


96  KELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

in  England,  who  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  and,  after  being 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  went  to  England,  and  returned  to 
Boston  in  1682,  with  testimonials  from  John  Owen  and  other  emi- 
nent Dissenters.  He  appears  to  have  preached  for  some  time  in 
the  West  Indies.  About  the  year  1695  he  came  to  Cohansey,  and 
located  several  tracts  of  land.'  How  long  he  preached  at  Fairfield 
is  uncertain;  but  he  is  said  to  have  been  called  from  there  in  1702, 
to  be  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Bradstreet  in  Boston,  where  he  died  in 
1715,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight.  Whether  any  one  succeeded 
Bridges  before  1708  is  unknown.  Early  in  that  year,  at  the 
instance  of  his  college  classmate,  Jedediah  Andrews,  who  came  to 
Philadelphia  in  1698,  and  became  the  pastor  of  the  first  Presbyte- 
rian church  there,  being  ordained  in  1701,  Joseph  Smith,  a  gra- 
duate of  Harvard,  who  had  been  licensed  as  a  preacher,  came  to 
Cohansey.  Andrews  wrote  to  him  that  they  were  "  the  best  people 
of  his  neighborhood."  Smith  met  the  Presbytery  in  May,  1708, 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  in  May,  1709;  but,  complaining  of 
negligence  in  making  up  his  support,  he  soon  returned  to  New 
England. 

In  1710  Samuel  Exell  came  to  Cohansey,  but  in  1711  the  Pres- 
bytery wrote  to  the  people  that,  "  by  the  best  account  they  had  of 
him,  they  judged  him  not  a  suitable  person  to  preside  in  the  work 
of  the  ministry."  In  1712,  John  Ogden  represented  the  church  in 
the  Presbytery  as  an  elder,  and  by  him  a  petition  was  sent  to  which 
no  answer  was  returned.  In  1713  Ephraim  Sayre  appeared  as 
elder,  aud  asked  advice  about  the  choice  of  a  minister.  They  sent 
Howell  Powell,  who  had  been  ordained  in  Wales,  and  he  was 
installed  pastor,  continuing  until  1717,  when  he  died,  leaving 
descendants  still  maintaining  a  respectable  position  in  the  county. 

About  this  time,  or  perhaps  sooner,  the  old  log  meeting-house 
was  superseded  by  a  comfortable  frame  building,  covered  on  the 
sides,  as  well  as  the  roof,  with  what  in  this  country  are  called 
shingles.  It  stood  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the  old  graveyard, 
and  was  furnished  only  with  benches,  upon  which  the  audience 
sat.  About  the  year  1775  it  became  so  dilapidated  as  to  be  unsafe 
to  preach  in,  and  the  benches  were  taken  out,  and  placed  under  a 
large  white-oak  tree  at  the  corner  of  the  lot,  which  has  been  cut 
down ;  and  there,  in  good  weather,  the  pastor  preached.  Old  in- 
habitants of  Fairfield  have  said,  and  probably  with  truth,  that  no 
person  ever  rode  to  this  church  in  a  wheeled  vehicle.     It  was  not 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS.  97 

until  1780  that  the  "old  stone  church,"  now  in  its  turn  deserted, 
was  fit  to  preach  in. 

Henry  Hook,  from  Ireland,  came  to  Cohansey  in  1713,  and  was 
installed  pastor.  During  his  time  there  was  a  congregation  at 
Greenwich,  to  which  it  would  seem  that  he  ministered.  In  April, 
1722,  Andrews  writing  to  Mather,  says:  "  The  week  before  last, 
by  the  pressing  importunity  of  the  minister  of  Cohansey,  I  went 
thither  to  heal  some  differences  between  the  two  congregations 
there,  which  being  effected  contrary  to  expectation,  such  charges 
were  laid  against  him  as  have  subverted  him  from  acting  there  or 
anywhere  else."  He  removed  to  Delaware,  and  the  New  Castle 
Presbytery  met  at  Cohansey  to  investigate  the  case.  The  judg- 
ment was,  that  though  several  things  were  not  proven,  yet  it  was 
due  to  rebuke  him  openly  in  Fairfield  meeting-house,  and  to 
suspend  him  for  a  season.  Noyes  Parris,  a  graduate  of  Harvard, 
preached  to  the  congregation  from  1724  to  172!>,  when  having 
fallen  under  serious  imputations,  he  in  a  disorderly  manner  with- 
drew to  New  England. 

In  1729  Rev.  Daniel  Elmer  came  from  Connecticut,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed  the  pastor.  His  wife,  and  the  wile  of 
Joseph  Smith,  who  had  been  settled  here  a  short  time  twenty  years 
before,  were  connections  of  the  Parsons  family,  so  that  it'is  proba- 
ble Elmer  was  sent  here  by  Smith.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale 
College,  and  had  for  some  time  taught  a  grammar  school  at  West 
Springfield.  He  found  the  title  of  the  property  at  New  England 
Town  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  situation.  lie,  however,  soon  built 
himself  a  comfortable  house,  near  the  meeting-house,  which  was 
burned  down  shortly  before  his  death.  The  church  records  were 
then  destroyed.  He  cultivated  the  farm  adjoining,  and  it  is  believed 
was  sometimes  employed  as  a  surveyor,  a  business  to  which  his 
eldest  son  Daniel  was  educated,  and  which  he  followed  until  his  death. 

In  the  year  1741  the  great  schism  occurred  in  the  Presbyterian 
body,  by  which  it  was  separated  into  two  parties,  called  old-lights 
and  new-lights,  Mr.  Elmer  adhering  to  the  old-lights.  Whitfield 
preached  in  1740  at  Greenwich,  and  produced  a  powerful  effect  on 
many  of  his  hearers,  including  the  younger  Daniel  Elmer,  win.  was 
then  married  and  lived  at  Cedarville.  He  joined  the  new  side, 
and  was  accustomed,  for  several  years,  to  pass  by  his  father's 
meeting-house,  and  go  to  Greenwich,  which  had  a  new-light  minis- 
ter.     When  the  meeting-house  near  his    residence,  built  by   his 


98  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

father-in-law  Lorrance,  came  into  his  possession,  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  having  the  prominent  new-lights  preach  there ;  and  among 
them,  the  tradition  always  has  been,  Whitfield.  This  must  have 
been  during  his  second  visit  to  this  country,  about  1747-8.  It  is 
certain  that  the  breach  went  so  far,  that  his  children,  born  in  1750 
and  1752,  were  baptized  by  Mr.  Hunter,  and  not  by  his  father,  as 
the  older  ones  had  been.  The  writer  heard  from  his  father,  that 
upon  one  occasion,  when  his  son  was  present,  the  father  preached 
on  the  subject  of  the  schism,  and  became  so  pointed  in  his  remarks 
that  Daniel  left  the  house.  His  father,  seeing  this  movement, 
directed  one  of  his  elders  to  go  out,  and  require  him,  in  God's 
name,  to  return.  He  refused  to  obey  the  summons,  and  upon  the 
elder  being  asked  if  he  had  summoned  him  in  God's  name,  he 
replied,  no;  that  he  did  not  see  that  he  had  any  authority  to  do 
that.'  Thereupon,  after  a  considerable  pause,  the  old  gentleman 
said,  "  Perhaps  we  had  better  drop  the  subject,"  and  did  so.  The 
minister  appears  to  have  frequently  complained  of  his  troubles  to 
the  Presbytery.  In  September,  1754,  the  Synod  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  endeavor  to  remove  the  difficulties  in  the  congregation  ; 
but  his  death  in  January,  1755,  put  an  eud  to  the  proceedings.* 

*  Rev.  Daniel  Elmer  was  the  grandson  of  Edward  Elmer,  who  came  over  from 
England  to  America  as  one  of  the  congregation  of  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker,  in  1632. 
They  constituted  a  church  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  but  in  1636,  with  Hooker 
at  their  head,  and  carrying  Mrs.  H.  in  a  litter,  driving  100  cattle,  for  the  sake  of 
their  milk  to  use  by  the  way,  and  to  stock  a  new  settlement,  went  across  the  wil- 
derness to  Hartford,  Connecticut.  Edward  was  a  magistrate,  and  purchased  a 
large  tract  of  land  ou  the  Podunk  River,  and  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  107(3. 

The  family  name  was  originally  Aylmer — in  Latin,  Aimer — and  were  settled  in 
England  as  early  as  1306,  one  of  them  being  a  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer. 
John  Aylmer,  who  was  educated  at  Oxford,  and  was  a  Protestant,  was  tutor  of 
the  celebrated  and  unfortunate  Lady  Jane  Grey,  and  was,  in  1568,  by  Queen 
Elizabeth,  made  Bishop  of  London,  by  the  name  of  John  Elmer.  Edward  is 
believed  to  have  been  his  grandson. 

Daniel  Elmer  had  three  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  of  whom  left  descendants, 
still  remaining  in  the  county,  and  now  become  very  numerous.  His  oldest  son, 
Daniel,  born  in  Massachusetts,  who  died  in  1761,  clerk  of  the  county  court,  was  a 
leading  citizen  at  Fairfield,  and  so  was  Theophilus.  Most  of  the  name  now 
residing  in  Bridgeton  are  descendants  of  Daniel  second,  Charles  E.  Elmer,  Esq., 
being  the  heir,  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law  ;  and  his  sou  Daniel,  the 
seventh  oldest  son  in  regular  lineal  descent,  bearing  that  name. 

Rev.  Jonathan  Elmer,  long  a  prominent  Presbyterian  minister  in  Essex  County, 
N.  J.,  before  the  Revolution,  was  a  cousin  of  Rev.  Daniel,  and  has  left  descendants 
living  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  and  in  New  York.  One  of  his  brothers, 
who  was  a  Colonel  in  the  Connecticut  line,  was  commissioned  as  Samuel  Elmore, 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS.  99 

The  people  now  showed  a  disposition  to  unite,  and  in  June, 
1755,  Thomas  Ogden,  one  of  the  elders,  proceeded  to  New  Haven 
with  a  letter  from  Dr.  Alison,  of  Philadelphia,  to  Mr.  Stiles.  He 
writes:  "  These  wait  on  you  in  favor  of  the  church  at  Fairfield,  in 
New  Jersey,  which  was  formerly  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Daniel 
Elmer.  They  were  divided  in  his  time,  but  have  now  agreed,  by 
advice  of  our  Presbytery,  to  invite  a  minister  from  Connecticut, 
and,  if  they  can  be  happily  supplied,  to  bury  all  their  contentions, 
and  to  unite  under  his  ministry."  No  minister  was  found  in 
Connecticut;  but  William  Ramsey,  of  Irish  descent,  who  had 
graduated  at  Princeton  in  1754,  soon  went  to  Fairfield,  and  was 
licensed  and  ordained,  and  settled  there  by  the  Abingdon  Presby- 
tery, a  new-light  Presbytery,  to  which  he  belonged  in  1756.  In 
1758  the  breach  of  the  Presbyterian  church  was  healed,  and  the 
two  hostile  Synods  united;  after  which  Mr.  Ramsey  and  his  church 
joined  the  old  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  man  of 
ardent  piety  and  eloquence,  and  succeeded  in  producing  harmony. 
The  members,  as  recorded  in  his  record  of  the  Session  in  1759, 
were  78.  In  1758  he  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Col.  Ephraim 
Seeley,  of  Bridgeton,  his  congregation  including  persons  residing 
there  and  at  the  Indian  fields.  Col.  Seeley  was  himself  a  Baptist, 
but  his  wife,  in  1761,  connected  herself  with  Mr.  Ramsey's  church, 
and  the  family  attended  his  services.  Upon  the  occasion  of  his 
marriage  his  people  purchased  a  parsonage,  consisting  of  a  farm  of 
150  acres  in  Sayres'  Neck,  about  a  mile  southwest  of  where  the 
old  stone  church  now  stands;  and  here  he  resided  until  his  death 
in  1771.  About  1765  a  powerful  revival  of  religious  feeling 
occurred,  in  which,  as  recorded  by  Ebenezer  Elmer,  then  about 
thirteen  years  old,  "the  young,  in  general,  became  very  much 
engaged,  and  we  had  meeting  at  least  twiee  a  week  during  all  the 
summer  and  fall."  About  sixty  new  members  were  added  to  the 
church. 

He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  William  Hollinshead,  who  was 
quite  distinguished  as  a  preacher,  and  who  was  installed  in  1773. 
The  troubles  and  privations  produced  by  the  Revolutionary  War 

and  having  afterwards  adopted  that  spelling,  his  descendants  continue  to  write 
their   names   in    that  way.     Several  of  the  name  of  Elmore  have  lived   in   the 
Southern  States,  and  perhaps  still  do;  one  of  whom  was  formerly  a  Benator  of  the 
United  States  from  South  Carolina,  and  one  was  Treasurer  of  the  "Confi 
States,"  when  the  seat  of  government  was  at  Montgomery. 


100  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

fell  heavily  on  the  congregation,  and,  to  increase  their  difficulties, 
it  became  necessary  to  build  a  new  meeting-house.  The  ground 
was  purchased  in  1775,  and  subscriptions  obtained  to  commence 
the  work.  It  was,  however,  suspended  until  1780,  when,  under 
the  energetic  superintendence  of  Theophilus  Elmer,  one  of  the  sons 
of  Eev.  Daniel  Elmer,  who  resided  at  New  England  Town,  it  was 
resumed.  In  September,  1730,  Mr.  Hollinshead  preached  the  first 
sermon  in  it,  but  a  year  elapsed  before  it  was  completed,  and  rules 
adopted  for  selling  and  renting  the  seats.  Those  down-stairs  were 
rented  at  the  annual  rental  of  £65  10s.,  and  those  up-stairs  at 
about  £36;  in  all  £100,  or  $266.  In  1783  the  society  was  incor- 
porated by  a  special  act  of  assembly ;  and  in  the  same  year  Mr. 
Hollinshead  left,  having  been  chosen  pastor  of  the  principal 
church  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death.  A  very  signal  revival  of  religion  occurred  in  the  winter 
of  1780-81.  The  next  spring  forty-eight  new  members  were 
added,  and  the  succeeding  winter  forty-six  more  followed  by  a  few 
others;   in  all,  during  these  years,  one  hundred  and  fifteen. 

In  1786  the  parsonage  was  rented  on  shares.  In  1788  the  Eev. 
Ethan  Osborn,  then  30  years  old,  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  having 
visited  Philadelphia,  was  induced  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sproat  to  extend 
his  journey  to  Fairfield.  He  preached  for  them  on  trial,  according 
to  the  fashion  of  the  day,  for  six  months.  March  11th,  1789,  the 
trustees'  book  records:  "It  was  agreed  to  pay  15s.  hard  money 
per  week  for  the  keep  of  Mr.  Osborn  and  horse."  This  sum  was 
nominally  two  dollars;  but  paid  in  hard  money,  and  making 
allowance  for  the  difference  in  prices,  was  equivalent  to  five  dollars 
in  specie  now.  Ilaving  received  a  unanimous  call  to  be  pastor,  he 
accepted  it,  and  was  ordained  and  installed  December  3d,  1789. 

In  1791  he  married  Elizabeth  Riley,  residing  at  Indian-fields 
near  Bridgeton,  whose  parents  formed  a  part  of  his  congregation, 
and  commenced  housekeeping  at  the  parsonage.  After  a  few 
years,  however,  he  "preferred  to  follow  the  New  England  fashion 
of  having  a  homestead  of  his  own,  and  accordingly  purchased,  and 
enlarged  the  house,  about  a  mile  from  his  church,  on  the  northeast 
side  of  the  road  to  Cedarville,  where  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
1803,  and  continued  to  occupy  it  fifty-five  years;  transmitting  it  to 
his  family,  one  of  his  sons  now  owning  it.  His  salary  at  first  was 
£100;  soon  after  his  marriage  it  was  raised  to  £125,  but  in  1802 
it  was  put  back  to  the  original  sum.     In  1803  it  was  iixed  at  $300 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS.  101 

and  of  course  included  the  use  or  rent  of  the  parsonage  farm.  In 
1807  it  was  resolved  to  sell  the  parsonage,  and  the  salary  was  put 
at  $400.  In  1809  the  salary  was  raised  to  $450,  and  in  1812  to 
$500.  Upon  this  pittance  he  raised  a  large  and  interesting  family, 
and  although  of  course  always  straitened,  lived,  according  to  the 
habits  of  his  day,  in  comfort.  The  writer  well  remembers  calling 
at  his  house,  with  a  company  of  young  persons,  to  see  his  eldest 
daughter,  then  a  young  lady  of  prepossessing  manners  and  appear- 
ance, in  the  year  1814.  Some  one  asking  for  water,  it  was  brought 
in  a  glass  pitcher,  but  no  drinking  glasses.  With  a  peculiar 
pleasant  smile  Mr.  Osborn  remarked,  "I  would  tell  you  that  all  our 
glasses  got  broken,  and  in  these  war  times  we  could  not  afford  to 
buy  any  more,  but  it  rather  mortifies  Mrs.  Osborn  (who  was  present), 
so  I  suppose  I  musn't  say  anything  about  it." 

Mr.  Osborn  was  a  remarkable  man,  and  obtained  a  character 
and  influence,  not  only  in  his  own  congregation,  but  throughout 
the  county,  which  no  one  else  can  expect  to  emulate.  So  scattered 
was  his  congregation,  and  such  had  been  the  effect  of  the  destitu- 
tion of  preaching,  following  the  removal  of  Mr.  Hollinshead,  that 
he  found  only  125  members  on  his  arrival.  But  his  labors  were 
greatly  blessed.  In  1809  and  1810,  there  was  a  special  awakening, 
so  that  120  members  were  added  to  his  church.  In  1819  there 
was  again  a  revival,  56  being  added  at  one  time.  Again  in  1827 
there  were  51  additions;  and  in  1831  about  80  were  added.  The 
total  number  of  members  at  that  time  was  336;  and  the  congrega- 
tion had  so  increased  that  the  old  stone  church  had  become  filled. 
Not  a  pew,  and  scarcely  a  sitting  either  on  the  floor  or  in  the 
spacious  galleries,  could  be  obtained  by  a  new-comer.  During  his 
pastorate,  which  lasted  fifty-five  years,  he  admitted  more  than  six 
hundred  members  to  the  communion  of  his  church.  In  1836, 
having  reached  his  78th  year,  Rev.  David  McKee  was  installed  as 
co-pastor,  and  he  relinquished  $200  of  his  salary.  Mr.  McKee 
continued  in  this  relation  about  two  years.  In  1.S44  Mr.  Osborn 
resigned,  at  the  age  of  86.  Ilis  last  sermon  was  preached  in  1850, 
in  the  old  stone  church,  being  a  solemn  farewell  to  that  place, 
hallowed  by  so  many  endearing  associations,  and  to  the  people  so 
long  under  his  charge.  From  this  time  his  faculties  gradually 
decayed;  but  he  survived  eight  years  longer;  at  the  time  of  his 
decease,  lacking  only  three  months  and  twenty  days  to  make  his 
age  one  hundred  years! 
8 


102  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

The  lower  part  of  the  township  having,  during  the  fore  part  of 
this  century,  very  considerably  increased  in  population  and  wealth, 
a  disposition  began  to  be  shown  to  establish  a  new  church  at  Cedar- 
ville.  In  1819  the  question  was  brought  to  a  vote  of  the  congre- 
gation, when  43  voted  in  favor  of  the  proposition  and  45  against 
it.  About  1837  occurred  the  division  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
into  Old  School  and  New  School.  Mr.  Osborn  belonged  to  the  New 
School  party,  but  the  preference  of  many  of  his  church  was  for  the 
other  side.  This  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  brick  church  at 
Cedarville,  which  now  numbers  195  members. 

A  New  School  Presbyterian  church  was  also  established  about 
the  same  time  at  Cedarville,  which  still  continues,  numbering  120 
members.  The  congregation  worshipping  in  the  stone  church  soon 
removed  to  the  village  of  Fairton,  where  a  handsome  edifice  was 
erected,  and  the  church  there  now  numbers  140  members;  claiming, 
it  is  believed  without  dispute,  to  be  the  legal  successor  of  the  old 
Cohansey  Presbyterian  Church ;  thus,  after  near  a  century  and  a 
half,  multiplied  to  three;  having  three  pastors  and  an  aggregate  of 
355  members. 

At  what  precise  time  a  Presbyterian  church  was  constituted  at 
Greenwich  there  is  no  means  of  knowing.  From  the  letter  of  An- 
drews, referred  to  in  the  account  of  the  church  at  Fairfield,  it  ap- 
pears there  was  a  separate  congregation  there  before  1722,  to  whom 
the  minister  at  Fairfield  was  accustomed  to  preach.  There  was  a 
constant  intercourse  between  the  two  places,  many  of  the  settlers 
at  Greenwich  having  gone  there  from  Fairfield.  Both  places,  al- 
though spoken  of  for  many  years  as  Cohansey,  or  as  in  Cohansey, 
were  named  from  towns  in  Connecticut.  In  1717  land  was  con- 
veyed by  Jeremiah  Bacon  to  trustees,  for  the  people  called  Pres- 
byterian on  the  north  side  of  Cohansey.  Although  this  mode  of 
referring  to  them  has  been  thought  to  indicate  that  they  were  con- 
stituted a  distinct  church  before  this  time,  the  language  is  entirely 
consistent  with  the  people  being  still  connected  with  the  Cohansey 
church  at  Fairfield.  Settlers  were  constantly  arriving  from  Scot- 
land and  the  north  of  Ireland,  most  of  whom  established  them- 
selves on  the  north  side  of  Cohansey,  so  that  while  the  New  Eng- 
land element  prevailed  at  Fairfield  it  was  otherwise  at  Greenwich; 
and  when  the  division  occurred,  the  former,  as  a  general  rule,  ad- 
hered to  the  old  side,  while  the  latter  were  warm  supporters  of  the 
New  Lights,  or  followers  of  Whitfield. 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS.  103 

There  is  no  evidence  in  the  minutes  of  the  Presbytery  and  Synod 
of  an  organized  church  at  Greenwich  until  1728,  when  Ebenezer 
Gould,  a  graduate  of  Yale,  and  friend  of  Daniel  Elmer,  was  in- 
stalled the  pastor.  A  wooden  meeting-house  was  erected  a  little 
before  this  time,  but  in  a  few  years  was  superseded  by  one  of  brick 
31  by  11  feet,  which  was  not  finished  until  1751,  although  occu- 
pied for  worship  several  years  sooner.  It  was  considered  at  this 
time  the  largest  and  most  imposing  church  edifice  in  South  Jersey. 
At  first  the  only  pews  it  contained  were  those  constructed  around 
the  walls,  each  pew  being  built  at  the  expense  of  its  occupant,  the 
area  in  the  middle  being  furnished  with  benches.  The  galleries 
were  originally  reached  by  a  stairway  on  the  outside  of  the  build- 
ing.    It  stood  on  the  lot  still  used  as  a  burial  place  at  the  place 

usually  called  the  "head  of  Greenwich,"  and  remained  until 

when  one  of  brick  was  erected  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street; 
enlarged  to  its  present  dimensions  in  1860. 

Gould  left  in  1739  and  went  to  Long  Island.  The  church  re- 
mained vacant  several  years,  but  was  from  time  to  time  supplied 
by  Teunant,  Blair,  and  other  eminent  ministers  of  the  new-side. 
The  celebrated  Whitfield  preached  here  in  1710,  not  in  the  church 
building,  which  could  not  hold  his  hearers,  but  on  the  side  of  the 
hill,  northeast  of  the  church,  then  covered  with  the  original  forest. 
His  journal  records  that  he  crossed  the  Delaware  from  Philadel- 
phia in  the  morning  of  Monday,  preached  in  the  middle  of  the  day 
at  Gloucester,  then  the  county  seat,  and  in  the  evening  at  Green- 
wich, where  he  passed  the  night.  This  was  at  or  near  the  place 
now  called  Clarksboro1,  then  and  still  the  township  of  Greenwich. 
On  the  next  day  he  rode  to  Pilesgrove,  now  Pittsgrove,  and  preached 
there.  The  next  day  he  preached  at  what  he  calls  Cohansey,  no 
doubt  meaning  Greenwich,  from  whence  on  the  next  day  he  went 
to  Salem  and  preached  there.  At  Greenwich,  his  journal  states, 
"The  words  gradually  struck  the  hearers  till  the  whole  congrega- 
tion was  greatly  moved,  and  two  cried  out  in  the  bitterness  of  their 
souls  after  a  crucified  Saviour,  and  were  scarcely  able  to  stand." 

Andrew  Hunter,  from  Ireland,  an  uncleof  another  Andrew  Hun- 
ter, father  of  the  present  General  Hunter,  and  of  Andrew  Hunter, 
Esq.,  deceased,  an  eminent  lawyer  at  Trenton,  and  formerly  Attor- 
ney-General of  this  State,  was  settled  in  1716  by  the  New  Bruns- 
wick Presbytery,  controlled  by  the  New  Lights  with  which  the 
church  remained  connected  until  the  uniouof  the  two  parties,  when 


104  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

it  returned  to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  also  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  Deerfield  church,  this  connection  remaining 
until  1760.  He  died  in  1775  of  a  malignant  dysentery,  which  was 
very  fatal  that  year.  A  vacancy  then  occurred,  during  the  trouble- 
some time  of  the  Eevolution,  and  the  church  was  obliged  to  depend 
upon  casual  supplies.  In  1782  George  Faitoute  was  installed,  re- 
maining until  1790,  when  he  removed  to  Long  Island.  He,  how- 
ever, occasionally  officiated  afterwards  at  Greenwich,  the  writer 
having  been  baptized  by  him  there  in  1793. 

In  1795  a  union  was  formed  with  the  newly-constituted  church, 
at  Bridgeton,  and  William  Clarkson  was  installed  as  the  joint- 
pastor,  remaining  until  1801,  when  he  removed  to  Savannah. 
Jonathan  Freeman  succeeded  him  in  1805,  and  remained  pastor 
until  1822,  when  he  died.  The  practice  of  these  ministers  was  to 
preach  in  the  morning  of  the  Sabbath  at  Greenwich,  and  in  the 
afternoon  at  Bridgeton.  After  1810,  when  Mr.  Freeman  took  up 
his  residence  in  Bridgeton,  he  also  preached  in  the  court-house  in 
the  evenings  of  Sunday  and  Wednesday. 

A  parsonage  farm  was  purchased  for  the  Greenwich  pastor  in 
1754,  near  Bowentown,  immediately  south  of  the  Baptist  parson- 
age. Mr.  Clarkson  and  Mr.  Freeman  both  resided  here  during  the 
early  part  of  their  settlement,  but  they  both  soon  removed  to 
Bridgetown.     It  was  sold  in  1811. 

The  upper  part  of  Deerfield  and  Hopewell  townships,  especially 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  streams  flowing  into  the  Cohansey, 
having  a  fertile  soil,  were  settled  at  a  pretty  early  date,  among 
whom  were  a  number  of  Presbyterians.  They,  in  union  with  the 
people  of  Pilesgrove,  of  which  Pittsgrove  then  made  a  part,  took 
measures  as  early  as  1732  to  organize  a  religious  society.  In  1737 
a  log  building  was  erected  for  worship  in  Deerfield,  and  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Buckingham  preached  there,  and  at  Pilesgrove,  in  1738. 
The  Pilesgrove  people  insisted  upon  having  a  distinct  organization, 
and  after  much  contention,  a  commission  of  the  presbytery  acceded 
to  their  request,  on  condition  that  the  house  should  not  be  nearer 
to  the  Deerfield  house  than  six  miles.  David  Evans  was  settled  at 
Pilesgrove,  but  the  Deerfield  Church  went  over  to  the  new  side, 
and  depended  on  supplies  until  they  united  with  Greenwich,  in 
1746,  and  Mr.  Hunter  became  the  pastor  of  the  united  churches. 
This  connection,  being  found  too  inconvenient,  was  dissolved  in 
1760. 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS.  105 

The  next  pastor  at  Deerfield  was  Simon  Williams,  who  was  set- 
tled in  1701,  and  remained  two  years.  In  1707  Enoch  Green  became 
the  pastor,  and  so  continued  until  1770.  when  he  died.  He  was  much 
esteemed  as  a  preacher  and  scholar.  For  several  years  he  taught  a 
classical  school.  In  1777  John  Brainerd,  a  brother  of  the  celebrated 
missionary,  David  Brainerd,  was  settled.  He  died  in  1781.  Both 
these  ministers  were  buried  there.  In  1783  Simon  Hyde  was 
installed,  but  he  died  during  the  same  year.  In  1786  William 
Pickles,  an  Englishman  of  extraordinary  eloquence,  was  installed. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he  showed  himself  unfit  for  the 
office,  and  he  was  deposed  by  the  Presbytery.  John  Davenport  suc- 
ceeded him,  being  installed  in  1795,  and  was  dismissed  in  1805. 
Nathaniel  Reeve  was  installed  in  1795,  removing  in  1817  to  Long 
Island.  Several  others  have  succeeded,  in  all  not  less  than  seven. 
The  church  is  now  prosperous,  numbering  1-15  members.  This 
church  is  believed  to  be  the  only  one  in  the  county  retaining  a  farm 
attached  to  the  parsonage.  Besides  the  farm  it  owns  a  considerable 
tract  of  wood  land,  which  has  been  the  means,  by  the  sale  of  the 
wood,  of  adding  considerably  to  its  resources.  The  stone  church 
now  occupied  was  built  in  1771  and  enlarged  and  improved  in 
1859. 

Bridgeton  remained  without  any  organized  church,  or  any  place 
of  worship  but  the  court-house,  forty-five  years  after  it  became 
the  county  town.  The  Presbyterians  residing  there  or  in  the  vi- 
cinity worshipped  at  Fairfield  or  Greenwich,  and  the  Baptists  at  the 
old  Oohansey  church,  in  Lower  Hopewell.  The  question  of  having 
a  church  in  the  town  began  to  be  agitated,  however,  about  177<>. 
An  unexecuted  will  of  Alexander  Moore,  on  file  in  the  surrogate's 
office,  dated  in  that  year,  contains  a  devise  of  a  lot  of  laud  Yd  by 
15  perches,  lying  within  and  described  on  the  plan  of  the  town 
made  for  him  by  Daniel  Elmer,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  for 
the  sole  use  of  a  Presbyterian  meeting-house  and  burial-ground; 
and  also  a  legacy  of  <£50,  to  aid  in  building  the  house.  The  lot 
was  situated  on  the  north  side  of  Commerce  Street,  a  little  above 
where  Pearl  Street  now  is.  In  1774  some  subscriptions  were  made 
to  carry  out  this  plan,  and  stone  was  brought  on  the  lot,  but  the 
building  was  never  commenced.  The  stones  were  used  in  building 
a  house,  which  used  to  stand  nearly  opposite  the  proposed  site  at 
the  corner  of  Commerce  and  Pearl  Streets,  which  for  many  years 
was  owned  and  occupied  by  Mark  Riley,  who  belonged  to  a  family 


106  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

from  Connecticut  who  settled  at  an  early  day  on  the  Indian  Field 
tract. 

At  this  time,  and  during  several  years  afterwards,  the  most  influ- 
ential, and  indeed  the  larger  part  of  the  inhabitants,  lived  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river.  There  was  no  little  strife  in  regard  to  the 
site.  Dr.  John  Fithian  offered  a  lot  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Broad  and  Giles  Streets.  Several  meetings,  to  agree  upon  the  place, 
were  held  without  any  result.  At  length,  in  1791,  through  the 
influence  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Elmer,  Col.  Potter  and  Gen.  Giles,  Mark 
Miller,  the  son  and  heir  of  Ebenezer  Miller,  who  was  a  Friend, 
agreed  in  consideration  of  a  promise  made  by  his  father,  to  give 
the  lot,  containing  two  acres,  then  and  still  at  the  extreme  west  end 
of  the  town,  "to  be  used,  occupied,  and  enjoyed  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Bridgetown  forever,  for  the  purposes  of  a  burying-ground  for  all 
said  inhabitants  generally,  and  for  erecting  thereon  a  house  for  the 
public  worship  of  Almighty  God."  To  this  lot  additions  were 
made  by  subsequent  purchases. 

About  £600,  or  $1600,  were  subscribed,  and  the  building  com- 
menced in  1792,  but  the  money  raised  was  only  sufficient  to  put  up 
the  walls  and  roof  of  the  house.  In  1793  a  law  of  the  State  was 
obtained,  authorizing  the  trustees  to  raise  $2000  by  means  of  a 
lottery,  in  accordance  with  a  practice  then  very  common.  By  this 
means  the  money  was  obtained,  and  in  1795  the  house  was  so  far 
completed  as  to  be  opened  for  public  worship.  At  this  time  the 
public,  or,  as  it  was  still  called  by  old  people,  the  King's  highway 
to  Greenwich,  ran  through  the  middle  of  the  lot,  a  little  south  of 
the  church  building ;  but  it  was  now  altered  by  extending  to  Broad 
Street,  or,  as  it  was  then  called,  High  or  Main  Street,  up  to  Fourth 
Street,  as  West  Street  was  then  called,  and  the  road  to  Greenwich 
passed  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  church  lots.  The  fence  around 
the  graveyard  was  first  put  up  and  the  old  King's  highway  closed 
in  1802.  Many  of  the  posts,  which  were  of  red  cedar,  are  now, 
after  a  lapse  of  sixty  years,  in  good  condition.  In  1792  a  church 
had  been  duly  constituted  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  which 
united  with  the  church  at  Greenwich,  and  so  continued  until  the 
death  of  Mr.  Freeman  in  1822. 

Brogan  Hoff  became  the  pastor  in  1824,  and  left  in  1833.  The 
session-house  at  the  corner  of  Commerce  and  Pearl  Streets  was 
built  in  1826,  and  continued  to  be  used  there  for  lectures,  prayer 
meetings,  and  the  Sabbath  school  until  1863,  when  it  was  removed 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS.  107 

to  its  present  site.     In  1834  John  Kennedy  became  the  pastor,  and 
removed  in  1833. 

In  1835  the  congregation  resolved  to  build  a  new  church  edifice 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  which  was  done,  and  the  house  on 
Laurel  Street  was  opened  for  worship  in  1836.  In  1839  Samuel 
B.  Jones  became  the  pastor,  and  continued  until  1863,  when  he 
resigned.     It  contains  now  281  members. 

A  second  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in  1838,  and  the 
stone  church  on  Pearl  Street  erected  in  1840,  at  first  in  connection 
with  the  New  School  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  but  afterwards 
united  with  the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey.  It  has  120  members. 
Recently,  in  1869,  a  new  building  has  been  commenced  on  Com- 
merce Street,  and  a  church  organized  called  the  West  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Bridoreton. 

A  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  at  Port  Elizabeth  in  1820, 
but  was  soon  removed  to  Millville.  where  most  of  the  elders  and 
members  resided.  In  1838  a  house  was  erected  in  the  latter  place 
which  was  enlarged  in  1855.  There  are  now  73  members.  There 
is  also  a  new  church  at  Vineland.  The  whole  number  of  Presby- 
terian churches  in  the  county  at  this  time  being  nine,  three  of 
which  are  in  connection  with  the  New  School  Presbytery,  and  six 
with  the  West  Jersey  Presbytery,  Old  School,  numbering  together 
about  1250  members. 

Smith,  in  his  History  of  New  Jersey,  published  in  1765,  describ- 
ing the  then  condition  of  Cumberland,  states  that  the  places  of 
worship  were  Episcopalians  one,  Presbyterian  lour,  Baptist  two, 
Seventh-day  Baptist  one,  Quakers  one.  What  [dace  of  worship  of 
Presbyterians  besides  those  at  Fairfield,  Greenwich,  and  Deerlield, 
he  refers  to,  is  uncertain.  Probably  it  was  a  church  erected  by  the 
German  settlers  in  Upper  Hopewell,  near  the  place  now  called  New 
Boston,  about  the  year  1760,  which  it  appears  by  the  deed  was 
called  the  German  Presbyterian  Church.  It  is  not  known  whether 
it  ever  had  a  regular  pastor,  the  building  never  having  been 
finished.  It  stood,  however,  until  about  the  year  1812,  and  the 
graveyard  still  remains.  The  worshippers  united  with  the  neigh- 
boring Presbyterian  churches.  The  Swedes  erected  a  church  on 
the  east  side  of  Maurice  River,  opposite  Buckshootein,  in  1 7  1  •"■ ,  in 
which  worship  was  maintained  by  the  Missionaries  from  Sweden, 
until  after  the Bevolutionary  War,  when  it  went  to  decay,  and  has 
long  since  entirely  disappeared. 


103  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

An  Episcopal  church  was  erected  at  Greenwich,  about  the  year 
1729,  by  Nicholas  and  Leonard  Gibbon,  of  the  established  church 
in  England,  on  land  belonging  to  the  last  named.  It  is  not  known 
whether  it  was  ever  regularly  consecrated  and  received  as  a  regu- 
lar church  edifice,  although  it  was  occasionally  used  for  service  by 
the  rector  of  the  Salem  church.  After  the  removal  and  death  of 
the  founders,  it  seems  to  have  fallen  into  neglect.  The  building, 
which  was  of  brick,  or  a  part  of  it,  was  for  some  years  occupied  as 
a  stable,  and  some  thirty  years  ago  was  entirely  taken  down. 
Leonard  Gibbon  and  his  wife  were  buried  in  the  chancel.  Recently 
their  remains  were  carefully  removed  by  some  of  their  descendants 
and  deposited  in  the  Presbyterian  graveyard.  It  was  found  upon 
this  occasion,  although  the  gravestones  were  in  the  proper  positions, 
that,  either  by  mistake  or  design,  the  husband  had  been  buried  at 
the  side  of  his  wife,  with  his  head  in  the  direction  of  her  feet. 

A  church  of  the  Episcopal  order  was  established  in  Bridgeton 
in  1860,  which  has  erected  a  handsome  edifice  on  Commerce  Street, 
and  settled  a  rector,  having members.  There  are  also  Epis- 
copal churches  in  Millville  and  Vineland,  in  which  there  are 
regular  services  by  a  missionary. 

There  are  also  Roman  Catholic  chapels  in  Millville,  Port 
Elizabeth,  and  in  Bridgeton. 

The  German  population  of  Bridgeton  to  the  number  of  about 
100,  in  conjunction  with  others  in  Millville,  maintain  a  Lutheran 
minister,  who  preaches  at  the  two  places  on  alternate  Sundays  in 
the  German  language.  A  new  church  building  has  been  com- 
menced on  York  Street,  Bridgeton.  There  is  also  a  neatly  erected 
chapel  in  Upper  Deerfield,  in  connection  with  the  Lutheran  church 
that  has  long  existed  at  Friesburg,  in  which  the  preaching  is  now 
in  the  English  language. 

Mark  Reeve  and  others  at  Greenwich  applied,  in  1690,  to  the 
Salem  monthly  meeting  of  Friends,  to  assist  them  in  building  a 
meeting-house,  which  was  erected  where  the  present  old  Friends' 
meeting-house  now  stands,  on  a  part  of  Reeve's  sixteen  acre  lot. 
It  was  what  is  termed  an  indulged  meeting,  or  meeting  for  worship 
only,  being  under  the  care  of  Salem  meeting,  and  continued  so  until 
1770,  when  this  and  the  meeting  at  Alloway's  Creek  were  united 
and  formed  one  monthly  meeting,  to  be  held  alternately  at  each 
place.  The  number  of  Friends  that  settled  at  Greenwich  or  else- 
where in  the  county  was  never  large.     At  the  time  of  the  great 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS.  109 

division  of  the  society  in  1836,  into  the  two  parties  generally  called 
Orthodox  and  Hicksite,  the  former  being  the  most  considerable  in 
number,  retained  the  old  building  where  they  still  worship.     The 

members  of  both  sexes  number  about  ■ .     The  other  party  built 

a  new  house  on  the  main  street  about  a  mile  northward  of  the  old 

one,  and   continue  to  worship  there.     They  number  about 

members. 

A  Friends'  meeting-house  still  remains  at  Port  Elizabeth,  built 
in  1800,  but  the  society  is  now  nearly  or  quite  extinct. 

The  first  Sunday  school  taught  in  the  county  was  opened  in  the 
Academy  on  Bank  Street,  Bridgeton,  by  Ebenezer  Elmer,  in  1816. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  months  a  regular  society  was  formed  and  a 
school  commenced  in  the  old  court-house,  which  continued  to  be 
taught  there  until  1829,  when  it  was  removed  to  the  new  session- 
house  at  the  corner  of  Commerce  and  Pearl  Streets.  AVhile  kept 
in  the  court-house  although  most  of  the  teachers  and  scholars  were 
Presbyterians,,  it  was  a  union  school.  At  first,  owing  to  a  strange 
misconception  of  the  true  object  of  such  schools,  which  is  to  teach 
religious  truths  and  other  learning,  only  as  a  means  of  acquiring 
religious  knowledge,  many  even  religious  and  well-informed  per- 
sons opposed  them.  Some  thought  they  would  interfere  with  that 
family  and  pastoral  instruction  of  youth  which  Presbyterians 
especially  had  alwaj^s  practised,  while  others  held  back  from  that 
reluctance  to  understand  and  engage  in  a  new  enterprise  which  is 
so  common.  At  first  these  schools  were  looked  to  mainly  as  a 
means  of  instruction  for  the  poor.  Soon,  however,  the  great  good 
found  uniformly  to  result  from  their  establishment,  not  only  to  the 
poor  and  neglected  classes  but  to  all  the  youth,  recommended  them 
so  strongly  that  they  were  gradually  introduced  at  different  places. 
About  1830  they  were  adopted  by  the  churches  of  all  denominations, 
lost  their  union  character,  and  are  now  carried  on  in  connection 
with  most  of  the  places  of  religious  worship  in  the  county  by  the 
different  societies  using  them. 

The  Methodists  made  but  little  progress  in  the  United  States 
until  after  the  devolution.  Almost  all  the  preachers  were  from 
Great  Britain,  and  all  imitated  John  Wesley  in  their  hostility  to 
the  resistance  made  by  the  colonies  to  the  measures  adopted  by 
the  King  and  Parliament.  It  was  not  until  1784  that  they  became 
an  independent  society,  and  adopted  the  name  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States.     Prior  to  this  time  the 


110  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

sacraments  and  other  ordinances  were  administered  only  by  the 
bishops  and  priests  of  the  Episcopal  church,  or  in  rare  instances 
by  the  ministers  of  other  denominations,  to  which  the  converts  to 
Methodism  happened  to  be  attached.  The  first  annual  conference, 
which  was  held  in  1773,  appointed  John  King  and  William  Wat- 
ters  to  travel  and  preach  in  Jersey.  Watters  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  native  American  appointed  as  a  travelling  preacher. 
The  salary  allowed  in  1784  was  sixty-four  dollars,  and  the  same 
sum  to  the  wife  if  there  was  one.  The  preachers,  however,  were 
entertained  without  charge  to  them  by  their  converts  and  other 
friends,  who  commonly  had  some  allowance  made  to  them  for 
doing  so  by  the  societies. 

As  early  as  the  year  1780  there  were  some  converts  to  Methodism 
at  Port  Elizabeth  and  its  vicinity.  The  first  church  building  in 
the  county  for  the  exclusive  use  of  this  society  was  erected  there 
in  1786,  on  ground  donated  for  the  purpose  by  Mrs.  Bodley.  A 
Mr.  Donnelly,  who  was  a  local  preacher  there,  died  before  this 
time.  In  1798  Dr.  Benjamin  Fisler,  who  commenced  his  ministry 
in  1791  and  preached  in  Camden,  and  in  1797  travelled  on  the 
Salem  Circuit  with  William  McLenahan,  which  included  Salem, 
Cumberland,  Cape  May,  and  a  considerable  part  of  Gloucester 
County,  on  account  of  his  feeble  health,  located  at  Port  Elizabeth, 
where  he  was  an  acceptable  local  preacher  for  half  a  century. 
He  was  an  intelligent  man,  who  had  read  a  good  deal,  and  although 
a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrines  taught  by  Benson  and  Watson, 
had  no  respect  for  Dr.  Clarke's  Commentary,  which  he  thought 
contained  many  dangerous  errors.  He  once  told  the  writer  he 
would  not  allow  Clarke's  Life  of  the  Wesley  Family,  interesting 
as  it  is,  to  be  read  by  his  children,  on  account  of  the  currency 
it  gives  to  the  story  of  the  ghost,  thought  to  have  haunted  the 
house  of  John  Wesley's  father,  which  practised  rappings  some- 
thing like  those  made  by  the  modern  spiritualists.  In  those  days 
ghosts  were  received  with  more  credit  than  now  ;  Wesley's  belief 
in  them  having  influenced  many  of  his  followers. 

About  the  same  time  Eli  Budd,  from  Burlington  County,  belong- 
ing to  a  family  of  Friends,  who  were  among  the  original  settlers  of 
that  county,  several  of  whom  became  Methodists,  and  some  were 
preachers,  purchased  land  on  the  upper  part  of  Manamuskin,  and 
commenced  making  iron.  His  son  Wesley  was  quite  distinguished 
as  a  preacher,  and  in  1799  rode  the  Salem  Circuit.  Afterwards  he 
established  iron-works  at  the  place  long  called  Cumberland  Furnace, 


EELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS.  Ill 

now  Manamuskin  Manor;  but  in  the  language  of  Raybold,  whose 
"Reminiscences  of  Methodism  in  West  Jersej',"  contains  many  in- 
teresting particulars  of  which  free  use  has  been  made,  "he  made  a 
shipwreck  of  his  character,  happiness  and  hope,"  and  it  may  be 
added  that  he  also  made  shipwreck  of  his  worldly  prosperity, 
having  failed  in  1818,  and  being  unable  to  retrieve  his  fortune,  soon 
left  the  State.  His  father  and  brother  maintained  a  good  character. 
Early  in  this  century  a  church  was  built  near  the  iron-works  and 
a  society  organized,  which,  however,  when  the  works  were  aban- 
doned in soon  became  nearly  or  quite  extinct.     Recently  it 

has  been  revived.  Fithian  Stratton,  a  famous  but  very  eccentric 
preacher,  also  gathered  a  society  at  his  settlement  on  Menantico. 
He  was  originally  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Deer- 
field,  and  fell  under  church  censure  for  improper  conduct  appa- 
rently growing  out  of  his  violent  temper  in  1779,  and  appears  to 
have  afterwards  abandoned  that  church  and  joined  himself  to  the  Me- 
thodists. Preachers  of  this  denomination  began  to  gather  societies 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Deerfield  congregation  as  early  as  1780, 
in  which  and 'in  subsequent  years  some  members  of  that  church 
were  censured  for  irregularly  withdrawing  from  its  communion 
and  joining  the  Methodists  without  a  regular  dismission.  In  1799, 
Mr.  Stratton,  who  had  then  become  a  Methodist  preacher,  sent  a 
written  request  to  the  pastor  and  session  to  be  permitted  to  preach 
in  the  church;  but  this  was  denied  on  the  ground  of  his  previous 
conduct.  He  died  in  1811,  soon  after  which  his  projected  borough 
at  Schooner  Landing  came  to  an  end. 

The  church  now  called  Woodruffs,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Carllsburg,  was  composed  originally  of  several  Presbyterians  from 
the  Deerfield  church.  The  meetings  were  held  at  first  in  a  school- 
house;  Preston  Stratton,  the  class-leader,  being  a  brother  of  Fithian. 
In  its  best  days  this  class  had  about  twenty  members.  When 
Preston  Stratton  left,  his  place  was  supplied  by  Joel  Harris,  but  he 
also  soon  moved  away,  and  the  class  went  down,  the  members  join- 
ing: another  class  in  Broad  Neck.  Preaching  was  resumed  in  L823 
and  a  new  class  established  in  1824,  of  which  the  late  Judge  Wood- 
ruff became  the  leader.  In  1829  a  house  was  built  to  be  used  as  a 
school-house  as  well  as  for  preaching,  and  after  this  there  was  regu- 
lar preaching.  In  1811  the  existing  church  building  was  ei 
the  membership  then  being  twenty-five.  This  church  has  never 
been  a  principal  station,  but  has  been  either  a  part  of  a   circuit,  or 


112  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

of  some  other  station,  sometimes  Bridgeton,  sometimes  Willow 
Grove,  sometimes  Pittsgrove  in  Salem  County,  and  now  of  Cohan- 
sey. 

Port  Elizabeth  circuit  has  connected  with  it  five  other  churches 
one  of  which,  viz.,  West  Creek,  where  there  were  Methodists  as 
early  as  1790,  and  a  church  edifice  was  built  in  1826,  is  in  Cape 
May.  Some  of  the  members,  however,  reside  in  this  county.  At 
Heislerville  the  gospel  was  preached  first  in  a  private  house  in 
1800.  A  meetinghouse  was  erected  in  1828,  superseded  in  1852 
by  a  new  and  larger  edifice.  Leesburg  society  was  commenced, 
about  1806,  and  the  old  church  built  about  1816,  taken  down  in 
186-1,  and  a  new  and  handsome  building  substituted.  It  is  called 
"  Hickman  Church."  Dorchester  is  a  branch  from  Leesburg,  formed 
in  1856,  and  a  house  built  the  same  year.  The  old  church,  which 
was  at  one  time  the  place  of  worship  of  a  flourishing  society  while 
Cumberland  furnace  was  carried  on,  but  which  had  become  dilapi- 
dated and  the  society  almost  extinct,  had  its  place  supplied  by  a 
new  edifice  in  1862,  and  the  prospect  now  is  that  its  congregation 
will  steadily  increase. 

Michael  Swing  was  the  pioneer  of  the  Methodists  in  Fairfield,  to 
which  place  he  came  from  Pennsylvania  about  the  year  1790.  He 
began,  according  to  the  usual  practice,  to  hold  meetings  in  private 
houses,  and  being  a  man  of  property  and  the  owner  of  a  farm 
adjoining  the  old  Presbyterian  graveyard  on  Cohansey  Creek, 
which  in  his  lifetime  belonged  to  the  Rev.  Daniel  Elmer,  he  in 
1719,  very  much  at  his  own  expense,  built  the  church  near  New 
Englandtown  Cross-roads,  which  has  ever  since  been  known  as  the 
Swing  meeting-house.  It  was  for  a  long  time  the  only  Methodist 
meetingdiouse  in  the  township,  and  was  the  third  or  fourth  in  the 
county. 

Eaybold  tells  us  that  in  1800,  R.  Swain  and  R.  Lyon  travelled 
the  Salem  Circuit,  and  that  on  one  occasion  Lyon  announced  at  a 
meeting  held  in  Fairfield,  that  on  that  day  four  weeks  he  would  be 
there,  "  preach,  pray,  work  a  miracle,  and  have  a  revival."  Swing 
(Irving  he  calls  him)  disapproved  this  proceeding,  and  wrote  to 
Swain  to  try  and  meet  Lyon  at  Fairfield,  in  order  to  keep  him  in 
order.  Both  the  preachers  attended  at  the  appointed  time,  and 
there  was  a  great  crowd,  excited  by  the  announcement  of  the 
miracle.  Swain  preached  ;  then  Lyon  arose  and  proclaimed,  "  Lyon 
is  here,  and  he  will  yet  preach  ;  the  miracle  is  there,"  pointing  with 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATION'S.  113 

his  hand;  "whoever  saw  the  Presbyterian  minister  and  his  flock 
here  before  ?  Now,  I  shall  preach,  and  the  Lord  will  do  the  resl :  we 
shall  see  the  revival."  He  did  preach,  and  a  great  revival  followed, 
and  the  whole  affair  passed  from  the  minds  of  the  people,  who 
were  too  happy  in  grace  to  be  very  critical.  This  proceeding, 
strange  as  it  now  seems,  was  very  much  in  character  with  many 
things  done  by  the  early  preachers,  and  the  part  assigned  to  Mr. 
Swing  agrees  with  his  character.  He  was  a  prudent  man,  an  ex- 
cellent preacher,  and  much  esteemed  not  only  by  his  own  society, 
but  by  pious  people  of  other  denominations.  He  was  a  zealous 
and  active  member,  and  officer  of  the  Cumberland  Bible  Society 
until  his  death  in  1834,  at  a  time  when  most  of  the  Methodists 
declined  to  unite  with  it. 

The  church  he  built  is  now  a  separate  station  ;  called  from  the 
name  of  the  town  near  by,  Fairton.  Formerly  it  belonged  to 
Cumberland  circuit,  and  was  then  made  a  station  in  connection 
with  Cedarville,  where  a  society  was  formed  in  1883  and  a  church 
edifice  erected  in  1836.  Cedarville  became  a  separate  station  in 
1861. 

Methodist  circuit  riders,  local  preachers,  and  exhorters  appear  to 
have  established  meetings  in  many  different  parts  of  the  county 
between  1780  and  1800.  The  whole  county,  and  most  of  the  time 
Cape  May,  belonged  to  the  Salem  circuit  until  about  1809,  and  the 
district  of  New  Jersey  included  the  whole  State  and  a  considerable 
part  of  New  York.  In  1811  the  district  was  divided  into  two,  but 
was  united  in  1816  and  so  remained  until  separated  in  1823.  In 
1847  the  upper  part  of  the  State  became  a  part  of  Newark  Confe- 
rence, the  lower  part,  south  of  Elizabeth,  being  the  New  Jersey 
Conference,  comprising  four  districts,  with  each  a  presiding  elder. 

The  labors  of  the  itinerant  preachers  were  very  arduous  and 
self-denying,  and  were  greatly  blessed  in  the  conversion  of  many 
sinners.  Iiaybold  gives  this  illustration  of  what  he  terms  a  cure 
for  the  itinerant  fever,  as  related  to  him  by  one  of  the  circuit 
riders  :  "  Many  years  ago  I  travelled  Cumberland  circuit.     There 

was  residing  upon  the  circuit  a  brother  P ,  a  most  devotedly 

pious  young  man,  and  a  local  preacher  of  some  few  years'  stain  ling. 
He  resided  upon  a  good  farm  of  his  own,  where  with  his  small 
family  he  could  live  very  comfortably  indeed,  and  make  money 
too;  but  whenever  I  went  there  he  could  talk  of  little  else  than 
travelling  to  preach  the  gospel   more  fully.     He  was  of  rather  a 


114  RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

feeble  frame  and  delicate  health,  and  I  informed  him,  it  was  my 
judgment  he  never  could  stand  constant  labor  in  preaching,  while 
he  could  make  himself  very  useful  in  his  present  position.  The 
Lord,  I  told  him,  did  not  require  of  men  a  work  for  which  they 
were  physically  unfitted.  All  my  reasoning  would  not  satisfy  him; 
so  at  last,  during  the  winter,  I  requested  him  to  meet  me  at  a  cer- 
tain point  and  take  a  tour  of  two  weeks  on  his  native  circuit,  and 
after  that  he  could  tell,  perhaps,  whether  travelling  and  preaching 
agreed  with  his  constitution.  At  the  appointed  time  and  place  we 
met.  For  a  week  the  appointments  required  two  sermons  a  day; 
and  on. Sundays  three  sermons,  besides  meeting  classes  and  other 
business  matters ;  travelling  for  many  miles  through  the  woods 
and  over  bad  roads  on  horseback,  in  weather  severely  cold,  for  a 
greater  part  of  the  time.  I  kept  him  at  work  steadily,  occasionally 
meeting  the  class  myself.  Towards  the  end  of  the  second  week,  I 
found  he  was  becoming  too  feeble  to  go  on  much  farther. 

"One  morning,  as  we  started  for  the  next  daily  task,  heavy  clouds 
hung  over,  the  wind  howled   among  the  trees,  and   snow  began 

to  fall  quite  thickly.     Brother  P stopped  his  horse,  and  said, 

'  Had  we  not  better  put  up  somewhere?  it  will  be  a  storm.'  'A  storm,' 

I  replied;  ',we  never  stop  for  a  small  snow-storm.'     Poor  P 

wrapped  himself  closer  in  his  overcoat,  and  said  no  more.  That 
night  finished  the  work  of  the  circuit  for  the  time;  we  had  finished 
the  two  weeks,  and  he  was  anxious  to  start  for  home,  distant  some 
forty  miles.    The  family  where  we  stayed  were  up  at  three  o'clock 

to  start  for  market,  and  brother  P entreated  me  to  arise  at 

breakfast  and  start  for  home.  To  please  him  I  did  so.  We  were 
soon  on  the  saddle,  and  in  the  clear  moonlight  of  an  intensely  cold 
morning  we  rode  about  twenty  miles  without  a  word  of  conversa- 
tion. As  the  sun  arose  we  came  in  sight  of  my  residence,  but  he 
had  to  travel  twenty  miles  farther  to  reach  his  home.     When  we 

were  about  to  part,  he  stopped  his  horse,  and  I  said,  'Now,  P , 

what  do  you  think  of  the  itinerancy?'  'Ah,  brother,'  said  he,  'it  will 
not  do  for  me;  I  cannot  stand  it;  I  had  no  idea  of  the  toil  and  ex- 
posure, the  privations  and  sufferings.'  '  Why,  my  dear  brother,'  said 
I,  'you  have  been  on  the  lightest  work,  and  in  the  best  part  of  the 
circuit;  if  this  specimen  discourages  you,  I  do  not  know  what  you 
would  sa}r  to  other  scenes.'  'Ah,'  said  he,  'I  had  better  stay  at  home 
and  attend  to  ray  family  and  farm,  and  leave  the  itinerancy  to 
those  who  are  stronger  than  I  am;  this  trial  will  satisfy  me.'     Poor 


RELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS.  115 

P went  home,  and  had  a  spell  of  sickness,  but  he  was  cured 

of  the  travelling  fever." 

Bridgeton  was  for  several  years  within  the  Salem  circuit.  John 
Walker,  one  of  the  preachers,  formed  a  class  about  the  year  1804, 
several  Methodists  having  before  this  moved  into  the  place. 
William  Brooks,  who  then  carried  on  a  tannery  at  the  southeast 
comer  of  Broad  and  Atlantic  Streets,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
was  the  class-leader,  and  his  house  was  usually  the  place  of  meet- 
ing and  of  entertainment  for  the  preachers.  Among  the  early 
converts  was  Jonathan  Brooks,  who  was  for  many  years  a  local 
preacher,  and  the  leading  Methodist  of  the  town. 

He  was  a  good  specimen  of  an  old-fashioned  Methodist.  An 
illiterate  man,  knowing  very  little  but  what  he  learned  from  the 
Bible,  and  his  own  experience  as  a  Christian,  of  good  practical 
sense  in  all  matters  not  too  much  influenced  by  his  prejudices,  an 
earnest  exhorter,  and  maintaining  a  character  above  suspicion,  he 
exercised  a  great  and  deserved  influence,  not  only  in  his  own 
society,  but  among  the  Christian  people  of  other  denominations. 
He  had  no  toleration,  however,  for  any  departure  from  the  early 
usages  of  the  society;  thought  a  minister  would  be  spoiled  by 
rubbing  his  back  against  a  college,  and  opposed  till  the  last,  singing 
in  church  by  note,  or  with  the  aid  of  a  choir.  Having  been  him- 
self ordained  as  a  deacon,  and  not  entitled  to  administer  the  sacra- 
ments, he  considered  himself  deprived  of  a  privilege  he  ought  to 
have,  and  was  earnest  for  a  reform,  which  he  did  not  live  to  see. 
When  the  first  Conference,  at  which  Bishop  Iledding  presided,  was 
held  in  Bridgeton  in  1838,  he  groaned  not  only  in  spirit,  but  very 
audibly,  that  only  one  minister  appeared  with  the  old  Wesley  coat, 
and  but  very  few  exhibited  any  other  than  white  pocket  hand- 
kerchiefs, remarking  to  the  writer,  that  the  passion  for  an  educated 
ministry,  singing  out  of  music-books.,  &c,  with  which  all  the  young- 
people  were  so  taken,  he  feared  would  ruin  the  church. 

The  building  now  used  as  a  chapel,  and  standing  at  the  corner 
of  Bank  and  Washington  Streets,  was  erected  where  the  brick 
church  now  stands  on  Commerce  Street,  in  lb07,  and  was  consecrated 
by  Rev.  Joseph  Totten,  then  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district, 
whose  residence  was  on  Staten  Island.  Before  long  Cumberland 
Circuit  was  established,  of  which  this  church  formed  a  part  until 
1882,  when  it  became  a  separate  station,  and  so  remains.  Tip'  new 
brick  church  was  built  in   1833.     It  deserves  notice  as  showing 


116  KELIGIOUS    DENOMINATIONS. 

the  importance  of  the  two  towns;  that  now  the  district  covering 
the  southern  counties  of  the  State  is  called  Bridgeton  district,  and 
Salem  ranks  as  a  station.  The  brick  church  on  Fayette  Street, 
called  Trinity,  was  erected  in  1854,  and  that  on  Bank  Street,  called 
the  Central  M.  E.  Church,  in  1866.  Nothing  perhaps  marks  more 
decidedly  the  change  in  the  Methodist  church  than  that  nearly  all 
the  circuits  of  the  county  have  been  abolished,  and  now  most  of 
the  principal  churches  have  separate  pastors. 

Millville  contained  a  few  Methodists  as  early  as  1810.  Long 
before  this  time  a  class  existed  at  White  Marsh,  distant  about  four 
miles,  between  Millville  and  Fairfield.  The  meetings  for  preaching 
in  the  town  were  for  some  time  held  in  a  building  erected  as  a 
school  and  meeting-house  for  all  denominations.  In  1817  it  was 
a  regular  station  of  the  circuit  riders,  and  about  the  year  1822  a 
building  of  stone,  commenced  for  a  dwelling,  was  purchased  and 
converted  into  a  church.  In  1841:  the  old  church  was  taken  down 
and  the  edifice,  now  called  the  First  Church,  erected  in  its  place. 
In  1857,  the  Second  Church,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  town,  near 
the  cotton  mills,  was  erected. 

There  were  a  considerable  number  of  Methodists  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  township  of  Downe  as  early  as  1800,  in  which 
year  a  class  was  formed  at  Haley svi lie,  a  settlement  a  little  west  of 
Mauricetown.  In  1811  a  church  building  was  erected  there,  which 
was  occupied  until  1864,  when  it  was  superseded  by  a  new  one. 
In  Mauricetown  the  society  worshipped  in  a  school-house  until 
1842,  when  a  church  was  erected,  and  this  church  now  gives  the 
name  to  the  station.  A  Captain  Webb,  of  the  English  navy,  is 
said  to  have  landed  at  Nantuxet  before  1800,  and  preached  a  sermon 
in  a  barn,  and  thus  commenced  a  Methodist  society,  who  built  a 
meeting-house  in  1804,  which  was  burned  in  1812.     The  society 

after  this  used  a  store  house.     In they  erected  the  present 

building  at  Newport. 

A  society  was  commenced  at  Dividing  Creek  in  the  early  part 
of  this  century,  who  erected  a  house  in . 

There  is  also  a  mission  station  at  Port  Norris,  one  at  Buckshutem, 
and  another  at  Centregrove. 

A  class  of  Methodists  was  formed  and  met  in  the  school-house 
at  Jericho,  some  time  before  1£42,  and  in  1^46  they  erected  the 
meeting-house  in  which  they  now  worship  at  Roadstown.    In  1856 


RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS.  117 

the  bouse  in  Upper  Hopewell,  called  Harmony,  was  erected.  These 
two  churches  are  now  united  in  one  station. 

Full  statistics  of  the  numbers  during  the  successive  years  that 
have  elapsed  since  its  commencement,  if  they  could  be  obtained, 
would  present  us  a  proof  of  the  peculiar  adaptedness  of  this  society 
to  expand  and  fill  up  the  waste  places  in  the  land,  and  of  the  re- 
markable and  praise  worth}1-  zeal  and  energy  of  the  preachers  and 
members.  The  number  of  members  returned  for  Salem  circuit  in 
1789  was  680,  and  in  1790  it  was  increased  to  933.  In  1808  the 
Cumberland  circuit,  which  then  included  Cape  May,  returned  700 
members.  In  1882  Bridgeton  station  returned  357  members,  one 
preacher,  and  Cumberland  circuit  955  members  and  two  preachers; 
returned,  being  only  those  belonging  to  the  Conference,  and  not 
including  the  local  preachers  and  exhorters,  of  which  there  were 
several.  The  Minutes  of  the  Conference  for  1864  returns  Bridge- 
ton,  Commerce  Street,  542  members;  Trinity,  220;  Koadstown 
and  Harmony,  98;  Fairton,  133;  Cedarville,  145;  Newport,  160  ; 
Mauricetown,  273;  Millville  (Second  Street),  460  ;  Millville  (Foun- 
dry) 175;  Vineland,  35;  Port  Elizabeth,  504;  Woodruff  and  Co- 
hansey,  86  ;  numbering  in  all  2831  members,  besides  those  returned 
as  probationers.  Some  of  the  members  returned  as  belonging  to 
the  Port  Elizabeth  Station,  reside  in  the  county  of  Cape  May,  but 
there  are  others  connected  with  stations  out  of  the  bounds  of  the 
county  who  reside  within  it,  so  that  the  number  in  the  county  may 
be  safely  set  down  at  2800.  Making  all  due  allowance  for  the 
greater  facility  of  becoming  members  of  this  society  as  compared 
with  some  other  denominations,  this  certainly  exhibits  a  wonderful 
progress.  And  when  it  is  added,  that  the  society  has  constantly 
employed  about  ten  regular  ministers  besides  twelve  or  more  local 
preachers,  and  that  the  gospel  is  statedly  preached  nearly  every 
Sunday  and  frequently  on  other  days  in  at  least  twenty  different 
houses,  the  evidence  of  zeal  and  industry  is  wary  complete. 

Besides  the  white  congregations,  there  are  two  places  of  worship 
occupied  by  the  colored  persons,  one  at  Springtown  and  one  at 
Piercetown,  who  are  supplied  by  circuit  riders  appointed  by  a 
colored  presiding  elder,  there  being,  by  a  late  arrangement,  two 
distinct  districts  of  colored  preachers  who  belong  to  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  These  two  societies 
have  about  80  members. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  church  originated  about  the  year  1828. 

y 


118  RELIGIOUS   DENOMINATIONS. 

Soon  after  they  built  a  meeting-house  at  Cedarville,  which,  how- 
ever, after  a  few  years,  was  sold,  and  belongs  now  to  the  New  School 
Presbyterians.  In  18-17  a  society  was  organized  in  the  old  school- 
house  called  "  Friendship,"  on  the  road  leading  to  Centreville ;  sub- 
sequently a  new  building  was  put  up  there  and  it  is  now  connected 
with  Bridgeton,  where  a  house  was  erected  on  Laurel  Street  in 
1861.  The  members  of  the  two  number  about  160.  There  are 
also  small  societies  and  places  for  preaching  at  Newport,  Port 
Norris,  Millville  and  Cassaboom,  a  few  miles  northeast  of  that 
place.  There  are  about  120  members  in  these  societies,  making 
the  w.hole  number  about  280  members. 

The  first  African  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  this  county  was 
formed  at  Springtown  in  1817,  and  the  members  then  and  for  some 
time  afterwards  were  commonly  called  Allenites,  from  the  name  of 
their  first  bishop,  who  resided  in  Philadelphia.  Their  first  small 
church  was  burned  and  was  replaced  in  1838  by  the  present  edifice 
of  stone.     This  society  has  now  126  members. 

At  Gouldtown  a  society  was  formed  in  1820,  and  after  a  few 
years  the  school-house  in  which  they  worshipped  until  recently, 
which  was  built  originally  by  Presbyterians  at  a  place  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  northeast  of  its  present  location,  was  presented  to  them 
and  moved.  The  existiug  neat  edifice  was  built  in  1861  ;  the 
number  of  members  is  85. 

1  A  society  was  formed  at  Port  Elizabeth  in  1836,  a  meeting-house 
built  in  1838,  and  there  are  now  19  members.  The  society  in 
Backneck,  Fairfield  Township,  was  formed  in  1838,  built  a  house  in 
1850,  and  has  now  12  members. 

The  Bridgeton  society  was  formed  in  1854,  and  the  next  year 
erected  their  meeting  house  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  town. 
There  are  now  92  members,  of  which  about  27  have  been  added 
recently.  A  society  was  formed  at  Millville  in  1864,  which  is 
taking  measures  to  erect  a  house,  numbering  now  16  members. 
It  will  be  thus  seen  that  the  colored  race,  depressed  as  they  are  by 
man)''  discouraging  circumstances,  have  the  gospel  preached  to 
them,  and  have  about  as  many  church  members  in  proportion  to 
their  numbers,  as  the  more  fortunate  whites. 


CURRENCY   OF    NEW   JERSEY.  119 


CHAPTBE    VI 


CURRENCY  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  character  and  amount  of  the  money  circulating  in  a  com- 
munity is  always  an  important  element  in  determining  its  true  con- 
dition. It  is,  however,  exceedingly  difficult  to  ascertain  what  were 
the  facts  of  the  case  a  few  centuries  back  in  any  part  of  the  civi- 
lized world,  and  this  difficulty  is  not  diminished,  but  is  greatly 
increased,  when  we  inquire  into  the  situation  of  a  new  settled  coun- 
try. None  of  the  historians  of  the  American  colonies  seem  to  have 
given  much  attention  to  this  subject,  so  that  they  afford  us  but  little 
information  in  regard  to  it.  All  accounts,  however,  agree  in  show- 
ing that  money  was  very  scarce  during  the  first  century  after  their 
settlement.  The  money  of  account,  as  soon  as  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment was  relinquished,  was  universally  the  same  as  that  in  Eng- 
land, namely,  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence.  A  limited  amount  of 
English  coin,  brought  over  by  the  immigrants,  and  a  few  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  gold  coins  were  in  circulation,  but  the  most  com- 
mon coins  were  the  "  pieces  of  eight,"  as  the  Spanish  milled  dollars 
were  called,  and  their  subdivisions  into  halves,  quarters,  and 
eighths.  It  appears  by  some  proceedings  of  the  Assembly  of  Penn- 
sylvania that  pewter  and  lead  coins  were  used  for  small  change  in 
1698,  and  there  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  a  small  leaden  coin 
was  used  at  a  somewhat  earlier  period  in  New  York.  Gold  and 
silver  coins  cut  into  parts  were  resorted  to,  and  were  a  source  of 
much  inconvenience  and  loss  up  to  the  period  of  the  Eevolution, 
and  since. 

All  the  coins  in  use,  it  would  seem,  passed  in  the  colonies  at  a 
higher  rate  than  their  actual  value  in  England  and  elsewhere. 
They  would  naturally  pass  for  something  above  the  rate  of  foreign 
exchange  which  varied  at  different  places  and  times.  But  legis- 
lators in  those  days,  as  well  as  some  now,  supposed  that  the  value 
of  coins  or  other  money  might  be  arbitrarily  established  by  law. 
The  Assembly  of  West  Jersey,  by  an  act  passed  in  1681,  declared 


120  CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY. 

that  old  England  money  should  advance  in  country  pay,  viz:  The 
shilling  to  eighteen  pence,  and  other  English  coins  proportionally, 
and  a  New  England  shilling  to  fourteen  pence,  but  they  declared 
the  next  year  that  this  act  should  be  null  and  void.  In  1693  the 
same  Assembly,  after  reciting  that  it  had  been  found  very  incon- 
venient that  money  in  the  province  hath  differed  in  value  from  the 
same  coin  current  of  our  neighboring  province  of  Pennsylvania,  to 
prevent  which  inconveniency  for  the  future,  it  was  enacted  that  all 
pillar  Mexico  and  "Sivil"  pieces  of  eight,  of  twelve  pennyweight, 
should  pass  current  for  six  shillings;  thirteen  pennyweights,  six 
shillings  and  two  pence,  and  so  on,  advancing  in  nearly  the  same 
proportion  up  to  seventeen  pennyweights  for  seven  shillings,  smaller 
pieces  in  proportion;  all  "dog  dollars"*  at  six  shillings.  In  1686 
the  Assembly  of  East  Jersey  passed  an  act  establishing  the  value 
of  a  piece  of  eight,  weighing  fourteen  pennyweights,  at  six  shil- 
lings, and  other  coins  in  that  proportion,  but  it  was  repealed  in  less 
than  a  year.  The  two  governments  were  surrendered  to  the  crown 
in  1702,  and  the  value  of  money,  so  far  as  a  law  could  regulate  it, 
was  established  by  Queen  Anne's  proclamation.  There  is  reason 
to  believe  that  in  1700,  or  within  a  few  years  after  that  date,  the 
ordinary  rate  of  the  piece  of  eight,  weighing  not  less  than  seven- 
teen pennyweights,  was  in  Boston  six  shillings,  in  New  York  eight 
shillings,  in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  seven  shillings  six- 
pence, and  in  Maryland  four  shillings  sixpence. 

This  variance  was  much  complained  of  by  the  English  mer- 
chants, so  that  in  1704  Queen  Anne  issued  a  proclamation  for  set- 
tling and  ascertaining  the  currency  rates  of  foreign  coins  in  the 
American  plantations.  After  reciting  the  inconveniences  occasioned 
by  the  different  rates  of  the  coin,  and  that  the  officers  of  the  mint 
had  laid  before  her  a  table  of  the  value  of  the  several  foreign 
coins  which  actually  pass  in  payment  in  the  plantations,  according 
to  the  weight  and  assays  thereof,  viz.,  Seville  pieces  of  eight,  old 
plate,  seventeen  pennyweights,  twelve  grains,  four  shillings  and 
sixpence;  Mexican  and  pillar  pieces  of  eight,  and  the '"' old  rix 
dollars  of  the  empire,"  the  same  value;  and  various  other  enume- 
rated coins  at  a  value  stated,  according-  to  their  weight  and  fme- 


*  Dog  dollars  were  Dutch  thalers,  which  had  on  them  a  figure  intended  to  repre- 
sent a  lion,  but  more  resembling  a  dog,  and  hence  wore  popularly  called  dog 
dollars. 


CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  121 

ness.  She  declares,  by  the  advice  of  her  council,  that  after  the 
first  of  January  next,  no  Seville,  pillar,  or  Mexican  pieces  of  eight, 
though  of  the  full  weight  of  seventeen  pennyweights  and  a  half, 
shall  be  passed  or  taken  in  the  colonies  or  plantations  at  above  the 
rate  of  six  shillings  per  piece,  and  other  silver  coins  in  the  same 
proportion.  A  few  years  later  these  same  provisions  were  em- 
braced in  an  act  of  Parliament,  but  the  proclamation  was  referred 
to  as  fixing  the  standard  up  to  the  Revolution. 

Bills  of  credit  were  afterward  issued  by  this  standard,  each  de- 
nomination being  stated  to  be  of  the  value  of  a  specified  number 
of  ounces,  pennyweights,  and  grains  of  plate,  six  shilling  bills,  the 
equivalents  of  pieces  of  eight  or  dollars,  being  of  the  value  of 
seventeen  pennyweights  and  twelve  grains  of  plate ;  the  word  plate 
being  apparently  used  as  equivalent  to  coin. 

When,  and  how  pieces  of  eight,  came  to  be  commonly  called 
dollars,  does  not  distinctly  appear.  The  name  was  derived  from 
Germany,  there  called  thaler,  in  Denmark  daler,  and  earty  trans- 
lated in  England,  into  dollar.  The  German  reicht  thaler  was  of 
the  same  value  originally  as  the  Spanish  piece  of  eight  reals,  a 
real  being  the  unit  of  the  Spanish  money  of  account.  The  Spanish 
and  Mexican  pieces  of  eight,  the  coin  most  in  use,  were  probably 
soon  spoken  of  as  dollars.  The  first  mention  of  them  that  has 
been  discovered,  occurs  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Records  of  the 
Province  of  Rhode  Island,  where,  in  1758,  the  pay  of  some  troops 
ordered  to  be  raised,  is  stated  in  dollars,  and  this  designation  is 
repeated  in  subsequent  years.  In  1763  a  petition  was  presented 
to  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  it  appears  that  a 
person  living  in  Maryland  had  given  his  bond  to  a  Philadelphia 
trader,  for  the  payment  of  a  sum  of  money  in  "Spanish  dollars." 
There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  designation  was  in  common 
use  at  an  earlier  date  than  these  records  indicate,  and  it  is  certain 
that  in  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere,  a  "Spanish  milled  dollar"  was 
the  standard  of  value  until  after  the  new  coinage  by  the  Federal 
government. 

Several  of  the  colonies  established  mints  for  themselves.  In 
Massachusetts,  shillings,  sixpence,  and  threepence,  were  coined  as 
early  as  1652,  by  a  reduction  of  weight,  made  to  be  of  two  pence 
in  the  shilling  less  value  than  the  English  coin,  but  expected  to  pass 
for  the  same.  Maryland  issued  some  silver  coins  in  L 662,  and  cop- 
per half  pennies  were  coined  in  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  New  Jersey, 


122  CURRENCY   OF   NEW  JERSEY. 

besides  a  few  penny  and  two  penny  pieces.     The  British  Crown 
stopped  all  this  coinage  except  that  of  copper. 

The  laws  of  Great  Britain  and  the  provincial  acts  punishing 
counterfeiters  of  coin,  applied  only  to  gold  and  silver  coins,  so  that 
copper  coins  were  frequently  made  by  private  individuals.  One 
Mark  Newbie  was  an  early  immigrant  who  settled  in  Gloucester 
County,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  and  councillor  in  West 
Jersey.  A  law  in  that  province,  passed  in  1682,  provided  that 
Mark  Newbie's  half  pence,  called  Patrick's  half  pence,  should  pass 
for  a  half  pence,  current  pay  of  this  province.  A  large  number  of 
them  had  been  coined  in  Ireland,  and  he  continued  the  coinage  in 
New  Jersey.  A  report  to  the  New  York  Assembly  in  1787,  states 
that  various  kinds  of  copper  coins  were  in  circulation  of  very 
different  intrinsic  values,  viz :  a  few  genuine  British  half  pence,  a 
number  of  Irish  half  pence,  a  very  great  number  of  very  inferior 
and  lighter  half  pence,  called  Birmingham  coppers,  made  there, 
and  imported  in  casks,  and,  lately  introduced,  a  very  considerable 
number  of  coppers  of  the  kind  that  are  made  in  New  Jersey,  many 
of  them  below  the  proper  weight  of  the  Jersey  coppers. 

American  traders,  especially  in  the  Middle  States,  were  as  much 
dissatisfied  with  Queen  Anne's  proclamation,  as  the  English  mer- 
chants were  with  the  colonial  rates.  Gov.  Cornbury  suspended  its 
operation  in  New  York,  and  the  other  colonies  practically  disre- 
garded it.  In  fact  it  appeared  then,  as  it  is  well  known  now,  that 
no  proclamation  or  statute  can  prevent  the  sale  of  coin  for  what  it 
is  worth  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  be  that  more  or  less  than  the 
legal  rates.  In  1708  the  legislature  of  New  York  passed  a  law 
fixing  the  value  of  silver  coins  at  eight  shillings  per  ounce  troy; 
but,  notwithstanding  the  law  and  proclamation,  the  dollar  weighing 
seventeen  and  a  quarter  pennyweights  passed  for  eight  shillings, 
and  with  some  immaterial  fluctuations  this  remained  the  current 
rate. 

Such,  indeed,  was  the  scarcity  of  coin  that  there  was  a  great  call 
in  the  colonies  for  the  issue  of  paper  money,  the  doing  of  which 
was  resisted  by  the  British  Board  of  Trade,  to  which  all  questions 
relating  to  the  currency  were  commonly  referred  by  the  crown. 
It  was  only  on  special  emergencies,  that  the  governors,  who  were 
restrained  by  stringent  instructions,  would  sanction  them.  The  first 
act  passed  in  New  Jersey  was  in  1709,  and  authorized  the  issue  of 
bills  to  the  amount  of  three  thousand  pounds,  for  his  majesty's 


CURRENCY   OF   NEW    JERSEY.  123 

service,  some  of  which  remained  in  circulation  six  or  eight  years, 
but  were  sunk  by  being  paid  in  for  taxes.  In  1716  an  act  passed 
for  the  currency  of  bills  of  credit  to  the  amount  of  eleven  thousand 
six  hundred  and  seventy-five  ounces  of  plate,  or  about  four  thou- 
sand pounds  proclamation  money,  which  were  soon  paid  iu  and 
redeemed. 

After  much  controversy  between  the  Assembly  and  Governor 
Burnet,   the   former    refusing  to   provide   for  the  support   of  the 
government,  unless  bills  of  credit  were  allowed,  an  agreement  was 
come  to  in  1723,  by  which,  as  the  governor  wrote  to  Lord  Carteret, 
the  Assembly  "provided  for  ten  years  to  come  for  supporting  the 
government,  in  order  to  obtain  paper  money,  which  their  necessities 
made  inevitable."     This  act  authorized  the  issuing  of  forty  thou- 
sand pounds  in  bills  of  various  denominations,  from  three  pounds 
down  to  a  shilling.     The  preamble  makes  a  long  recital  of  the 
hardships  of  his  majesty's  good  subjects  within  this  colony,  and 
states  that  though  they  had  enough  of  the  bills  of  credit  of  the 
neighboring  provinces,  yet  to  pay  the  small  taxes  for  the  support 
of  the  government,  they  have  been  obliged  to  cut  down  and  pay  in 
their  plate  (including,  as  is  believed,  silver  coin),  ear-rings  and 
other  jewels.     Four  thousand  pounds  of  these  bills  were  directed 
to  be  paid  to  the  Treasurers  of  East  and  West  Jersey,  for  the  re- 
demption of  old  bills  of  credit  and  other  purposes.     The  rest  were 
put  into  the  hands  of  loan  commissioners  in  each  county,  who  lent 
the  money  on  mortgage  of  real  estate,  and  on  deposits  of  plate,  at 
an  interest  of  five  per  cent,  per  annum,  for  periods  not  exceeding 
twelve  years.     The  bills   were   made  a  legal  tender,  and   heavy 
penalties  were  denounced  against  those  refusing  them  on  a  sale  of 
lands  or  goods;  and  a  stay  of  execution  was  provided  for,  until  the 
bills  had  been  six  weeks  in  the  hands  of  the  commissioners      All 
the  bills  were  to  be  redeemed  and  cancelled  within  twelve  years. 
Subsequent  laws  provided  for  other  issues,  amounting  in  all,  pre- 
vious to  the   devolution,  to  about  six  hundred   thousand  pounds. 
The  last  act,  which  was  passed  in    177-1,  was   not  assented  to  by 
Governor   Franklin   until  an  interval  of  ten  years  had  withdrawn 
most  of  the  previous  issues  from  circulation,  and  not  without  great 
difficulty.     The  bills  under  this  last  act  bore  date   March   26th, 
1776,  and  constituted  the  principal   part  of  the  circulation  of  the 
State  at  the  commencement  of  the  war.     Had    the   loan   system, 
which  had  been  adopted  about  the  same  time  in  Pennsylvania  with 


124:  CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY. 

signal  success,  been  rigidly  adhered  to,  the  bills  would  probably 
have  never  depreciated,  and  would  have  been  easily  redeemed. 
But  some  of  the  acts  authorized  bills  for  the  expense  of  the  war 
with  France  and  other  exigencies,  and  these  were  only  redeemable 
by  taxes  which  often  bore  hard  on  the  resources  of  the  colony. 
Many  of  the  laws  proposed  by  the  Assembly  were  refused  the 
assent  of  the  governor,  without  which  no  act  could  pass,  and  some 
that  were  assented  to  by  him,  the  crown  refused  to  sanction.  It  is 
said  by  Gordon,  in  his  History  of  New  Jersey,  that  at  one  time 
these  bills  were  at  a  discount  of  sixteen  per  cent,  in  exchange  for 
the  bills  of  New  York,  and  contracts  in  East  Jersey  were  therefore 
commonly  based  on  New  York  currency.  Ebelin,  a  German  his- 
torian, whose  work  has  not  been  translated,  states,  in  reference  to 
New  Jersey,  "  Paper  money  was  first  issued  in  1709  ;  it  had  a  double 
value;  that  which  circulated  in  East  Jersey  had  the  New  York 
value,  and  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  it  was  the  same  as  in 
Pennsylvania.  In  the  former,  the  guinea  was  valued  at  one  pound 
fifteen  shillings;  in  the  latter,  one  pound  fourteen  shillings.  This 
paper  money  circulated  in  New  York  as  well  as  in  Pennsylvania, 
therefore  debts  could  be  paid  with  it  in  either  province."  Accord- 
ing to  this  statement,  New  Jersey  bills  passed  for  a  higher  rate  in 
York  than  in  Philadelphia.  And  this  is  corroborated  by  the  cor- 
respondence of  Gov.  Morris,  who  also  several  times  mentions  the 
difficulty  he  had  in  negotiating  bills  of  exchange  on  London,  for 
want  of  a  sufficient  quantity  of  currency  in  specie  or  in  bills  to 
supply  the  ordinary  necessities  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey. 
He  says,  bills  for  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  sold  for  sixty  per 
cent,  in  1741,  which  was  the  most  he  could  get  in  Jersey  money. 
It  may  be,  however,  that  at  one  time  the  New  Jersey  bills  were  at 
a  discount  in  both  cities.  In  1760  an  act  was  passed  authorizing 
the  Treasurers  (for  until  after  the  Revolution  there  were  always 
two)  to  receive  the  taxes  in  money  as  it  should  pass  in  the  western 
division  of  the  colony  ;  and  in  1769  an  act  was  passed  reciting 
that  347,500  pounds  in  bills  had  been  struck  for  the  use  of  the 
crown  in  the  last  war  against  France,  and  that  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety  thousand  pounds  remained  due,  therefore  directing 
this  amount  to  be  levied  in  proportionate  taxes  yearly  till  1783, 
the  payment  to  be  made  in  money  as  it  now  passes  in  the  western 
division  of  the  colony.  As  the  bills  were  all  proclamation  money 
and  receivable  for  taxes  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  this  provision 


CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  125 

must  have  been  applicable  to  payments  in  coin,  requiring  them  to 
be  received  at  the  rate  of  seven  shillings  sixpence  to  the  dollar 
and  not  at  the  rate  of  eight  shillings. 

The  bills  of  1709  were  in  the  form  following,  viz  :  "This  inden- 
ted bill  of shillings,  due  from  the  colony  of  New  Jersey  to  the 

possessor  thereof,  shall  be  in  value  equal  to  money,  and  shall  be 
accordingly  accepted  by  the  Treasurer  of  this  colony,  for  the  time 
being,  in  all  public  payments,  and  for  any  fund  at  any  time  in  the 
Treasury.  Dated  New  Jersey  the  1st  of  July,  1709.  Byorder  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor,  Council  and  General  Assembly  of  the  said 
Colony."  They  were  signed  by  four  persons  named  in  the  law,  or 
any  three  of  them. 

The  bills  authorized  by  the  act  of  1723  differed  from  those  before 
issued.     They  commenced,  "  This  indented  bill  of  ounces  of 

plate  due,  &c."  Three  pounds  were  declared  equal  to  eight  ounces 
fifteen  pennyweights  of  plate,  and  one  shilling  equal  to  two  penny- 
weights twenty-two  grains  of  plate,  and  others  in  the  same  propor- 
tion. Afterwards  the  form  was,  "This  bill  by  law  shall  pass  cur- 
rent in  New  Jersey  for  ounce  penny  weights  and  grains 
of  plate." 

The  bills  issued  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  1774  were  of  the  follow- 
ing form:  "This  bill  of  one  shilling  proclamation,  is  emitted  by 
a  law  of  the  colony  of  New  Jersey  passed  in  the  fourteenth  year  of 
the  reign  of  his  Majesty  King  George  the  third.  Dated  March  2(5, 
1776,"  and  were  signed  by  any  two  of  seven  persons  named. 

The  bills  of  1780  were  as  follows,  viz:  "The  possessor  of  this 

Bill  shall  be  paid Spanish  milled  dollars  by  the  31st  day  of 

December,  1786,  with  interest  of  like  money,  at  the  rate  of  five  per 
centum  per  annum,  &c,"  and  had  an  indorsement  that  the  United 
States  insured  the  payment. 

The  bills  issued  pursuant  to  the  act  of  1 781  were  of  the  following 
form:    "State  of  New  Jersey.      This  bill  shall    pass  current  for 
agreebly  to  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  this  State  passed 
January  9,  1761." 

All  the  varieties  were  printed  on  coarse  paper,  with  common 
type  and  various  devices  including,  previous  to  17*0,  the  anus  of 
Great  Britain,  and  were  easily  counterfeited,  which  the  penalty  of 
death  was  found  ineffectual  to  prevent. 

The  market  price  of  silver  in  Philadelphia,  which  until  within 
the  last  century  was  a  more  important  emporium  of  trade  ami  had 


126  CURRENCY    OF   NEW   JERSEY. 

more  capital  than  New  York,  and,  therefore,  gave  its  law  in  this 
matter  to  the  greater  part  of  this  State,  is  stated  to  have  been  per 
ounce  from  1700  to  1739  various  rates  from  6s.  lOd.  to  8s.  9d.  The 
full  weight  of  a  dollar,  according  to  Queen  Anne's  proclamation, 
was  17i  pennyweights;  but  the  provincial  usage,  finally  sanctioned 
by  law,  was  to  reckon  it  at  17 £  pennyweights.  If  17  J  penny- 
weights were  worth  7s.  and  6d.,  an  ounce  was  worth  something 
over  8s.  8d.  Most  of  the  dollars  in  circulation  did  not  weigh  more 
than  17  pennyweights. 

Paper  money  was  issued  in  Massachusetts  as  early  as  1690  ;  in 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  1709 ;  and  in  Pennsylvania  in  1728 ;  but 
the  subject  was  a  constant  source  of  controversy  with  the  govern- 
ment in  Great  Britain.  The  lieutenant-governor  of  New  York 
wrote  to  the  Duke  of  New  Castle  in  1740,  that  the  proclamation 
and  act  of  Parliament  were  not  enforced;  paper  bills  are  the  only 
money  circulating  in  New  York.  In  1746  Alexander  and  Morris 
wrote  to  the  duke,  that  the  officers  of  the  government  of  New  Jer- 
sey had  been  without  any  support  or  salaries  to  enable  them  to 
execute  their  offices  ever  since  September,  1744,  which  they  con- 
ceived was  chiefly  occasioned  by  the  council  and  late  governor's 
refusal  to  pass  an  act  for  making  forty  thousand  pounds  in  bills 
of  credit,  which  was  at  several  times,  passed  by  the  Assembly,  and 
often  refused  by  the  council  or  governor,  because  they  conceived 
it  would  tend  greatly  to  the  destruction  of  the  properties  of  the 
people  of  New  Jersey  and  of  all  his  Majesty's  subjects,  and  because 
at  that  time  the  frauds  and  abuses  of  paper  money  in  the  planta- 
tions were  under  the  consideration  of  the  British  Parliament. 

In  1743,  Gov.  Lewis  Morris,  of  New  Jersey,  wrote  to  Gov.  Shir- 
ley, "Our  paper  bills  being  to  be  destroyed  at  stated  times  every 
year,  and  the  interest  to  be  paid  in  that  specie  every  year,  makes 
it  necessary  for  the  borrowers  to  have  them,  and  if  they  have  them 
not,  to  give  an  extraordinary  price  for  them.  The  mercantile  folks 
in  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  those  that  keep  money  in  Jersey, 
have  found  their  account  in  this.  One  effect  has  been  that  those 
in  Y.  and  P.  choose  to  be  paid  for  what  they  sell  rather  in  Jersey 
currency  than  their  own;  a  second  that  the  Jersey  people  rather 
choose  their  own  currency  than  that  of  their  neighbors ;  and  as  N. 
Y.  and  Pennsylvania  cannot  well  manage  their  trade  without 
the  help  of  Jerse}',  so  they  must  have  in  many  cases  Jersey  currency 
to  its  nominal  value,   with    respect  to  New  York,  it  being    now 


CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  127 

between  12  or  13  per  cent,  better  than  that,  and  likely  to  rise 
higher.  But  with  respect  to  gold  and  silver  its  real  value  is  much 
short  of  its  nominal  value,  and  probably  always  will  be  so  while 
it  is  in  the  power  of  merchants  to  put  what  value  they  think  proper 
upon  gold  and  silver.  In  a  Pennsylvania  Gazette  of  Sept.  1742, 
the  merchants  of  Philadelphia,  to  the  amount  of  seventy-five,  pub- 
lished at  what  rates  they  will  take  gold  and  silver,  and  after  men- 
tioning at  what  prices  they  will  take  gold  (which  not  being  fixed 
by  act  of  Parliament  they  may  perhaps  have  the  liberty  of  doing), 
they  set  the  value  of  French  crowns  and  Spanish  milled  pieces  of 
8,  at  7s.  6d.  and  all  good  coined  Spanish  silver  at  8s.  6d.  the  ounce. 
Tho'  I  believe  by  the  merchants'  private  agreement  amongst  them- 
selves, they  have  always  done  the  same  thing  since  the  existence 
of  a  paper  currency,  yet  I  do  not  remember  so  public  an  instance 
of  defying  an  act  of  Parliament." 

The  amount  of  bills  issued  in  Pennsylvania  was  never  excessive. 
The  greatest  amount  in  actual  circulation  was  about  1759,  when  it 
was  stated  to  be  185,000  pounds.  The  early  notes  and  indeed  all 
that  were  issued  up  to  the  Revolution,  maintained  their  credit 
very  well,  and  but  for  the  expense  of  the  war  they  would  have 
been  redeemed  at  par.  In  1753  a  struggle  began  between  the 
Assembly  and  the  Governor  which  lasted  many  years.  In  1775, 
Governor  Morris,  son  of  Lewis  Morris,  states  in  an  angry  mes- 
sage to  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  "I  said  the  act  of  the 
6th  of  Queen  Anne  for  ascertaining  the  rates  of  foreign  coins 
in  America  was  shamefully  slighted  and  disregarded  in  this 
province,  and  I  say  so  still.  It  is  known  to  you  and  every  one 
that  Spanish  pieces  of  eight,  do  now  and  for  a  number  years  have 
passed  and  been  current  at  7s.  6c?.,  when  that  act  requires  that  they 
should  pass  for  six  shillings  only;  and  that  other  coins  are  current 
nearly  in  the  same  proportion;  from  whence  it  appears  that  though 
you  call  your  paper  bills,  money  according  to  Queen  Anne's  procla- 
mation, it  is  really  not  so,  but  twenty-five  per  cent,  worse." 

In  1764  the  Board  of  Trade  in  London  made  a  report  to  the 
Crown,  in  which  they  assigned  six  reasons  lor  restraining  the  emis- 
sions of  paper  bills  of  credit  in  America,  as  a  legal  tender,  one  of 
which  was  that  an  act  of  Parliament  restraining  and  regulating  the 
practice  in  New  England  had  a  good  effect.  Dr.  Franklin,  who 
was  then  the  agent  in  London  for  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey, pub- 
lished a  paper,  entitled  remarks  and  l'acts  relative  to  the  American 


128  CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY. 

paper  money,  in  which,  with  his  usual  ability,  he  attempted  to  answer 
those  reasons,  it  must  be  confessed,  however,  with  but  indifferent 
success.  He  refers  to  the  difficulties  that  had  been  occasioned  by 
the  want  of  a  sufficient  amount  of  coin,  and  the  growth  that  had 
resulted  from  the  use  of  paper  money.  In  answer  to  the  sixth 
reason,  which  was  that  in  the  middle  colonies,  where  the  paper 
money  had  been  best  supported,  the  bills  had  never  kept  to  their 
nominal  value  in  circulation,  he  remarks:  "  The  fact  in  the  middle 
colonies  is  really  this,  on  the  emission  of  the  first  paper  money,  a 
difference  soon  arose  between  that  and  silver;  the  latter  having  a 
property,  the  former  had  not,  a  property  always  in  demand  in  the 
colonies,  to  wit,  its  being  fit  for  a  remittance.  This  property 
having  soon  found  its  value,  by  the  merchants  bidding  on  one 
another  for  it,  and  a  dollar  thereby  coming  to  be  rated  at  eight 
shillings  in  paper  money  of  New  York,  and  seven  shillings  six 
pence  in  paper  of  Pennsylvania,  it  has  continued  uniformly  at  those 
rates  in  both  provinces,  now  near  forty  years,  without  any  variation 
upon  new  omissions ;  though  in  Pennsylvania,  it  has  at  times 
increased  from  15,000  pounds  the  first  sum,  to  600,000  pounds  or 
near  it.  Whenever  bills  of  exchange  have  been  dearer,  the  pur- 
chaser has  been  constantly"  obliged  to  give  more  in  silver  as  well 
as  in  paper  for  them."  It  is  apparent  from  these  remarks  that 
silver  fluctuated  less  in  value,  during  the  times  specified,  and  com- 
manded a  less  price  in  paper  than  is  common  now  ;  a  fact  which 
may  be  attributed  perhaps  in  part  to  the  much  less  activity  of  trade 
and  to  the  greater  expense  and  risk  of  sending  it  abroad.  It  is 
manifest,  too,  from  this  history  of  the  currency,  that  the  rates  of 
eight  shillings  in  New  York,  and  seven  shillings  sixpence  in  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  for  a  dollar,  instead  of  four  shillings  six- 
pence, its  real  value,  or  six  shillings  its  proclamation  value,  origin- 
ated before  paper  was  issued  and  in  part  from  other  causes. 

The  first  notice  of  money  that  appears  in  the  minutes  of  the  ge- 
neral Congress  of  the  colonies,  which  sat  in  Philadelphia,  occurs 
June  14,  1775,  when  six  companies  of  riflemen  were  ordered  to  be 
raised,  and  the  monthly  pay  of  the  officers  and  privates  is  stated  in 
dollars  and  thirds  of  a  dollar.  At  subsequent  times  various  amounts 
of  money  are  specified  in  dollars  and  ninetieth  parts  of  a  dollar. 
This  shows  that  a  dollar  was  then  understood  to  be  equivalent  to 
7s.  6d.  or  90  pennies.  Cents  or  hundredths  of  a  dollar  had  not  yet 
been  introduced.     At  this  time  the  appropriations,  paper  bills  and 


CURRENCY    OF    NEW   JERSEY.  129 

accounts  of  money  in  all  the  States  were  in  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence,  and  they  so  continued  until  the  Federal  Government  estab- 
lished a  mint.  The  provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in 
May  of  this  year,  had  ordered  100,000  pounds  to  be  borrowed,  and 
requested  Congress  to  recommend  to  the  several  colonies  to  give  a 
currency  to  their  securities,  which  were  bills  for  sums  not  less  than 
four  pounds,  promising  to  repay  on  the  first  of  June,  1777,  the 
money  "in  Spanish  milled  dollars  at  six  shillings  each."  What 
influences  induced  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia  to  keep  their 
accounts  and  make  their  appropriations  in  dollars  and  ninetieths 
does  not  appear,  and  can  only  be  conjectured. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1775,  the  Congress  resolved  to  issue  paper 
bills,  from  one  dollar  to  twenty  dollars  each,  to  the  amount  of  two 
million  of  dollars.  They  entitled  the  bearer  to  receive — Spanish 
milled  dollars,  or  the  value  thereof  in  gold  or  silver.  July  29th 
they  fixed  the  quotas  of  tax  each  colony  was  directed  to  provide  to 
sink  its  proportion  of  the  bills.  Bills  of  a  less  denomination  than 
a  dollar  were  first  directed  to  be  issued  Feb.  21,  1776,  and  were 
for  one-sixth,  one-third,  one-half  and  two  thirds  of  a  dollar.  Various 
measures  were  from  time  to  time  adopted  to  keep  up  the  credit  of 
the  continental  currency.  In  June,  1776,  Congress  requested  the 
several  legislatures  of  the  colonies  to  pass  laws  punishing  counter- 
feiters. January  14,  1777,  they  recommended  the  legislatures  of 
the  States  to  pass  laws  to  make  the  bills  issued  by  Congress  legal 
tenders;  that  debts  payable  in  sterling  money  be  discharged  with 
continental  dollars  at  the  rate  of  4s.  6</.  per  dollar,  and  all  other 
debts  at  the  rate  fixed  by  the  respective  States  for  the  value  of 
Spanish  milled  dollars.  The  legislature  of  New  Jersey,  as  early 
as  September  20,  1776,  had  made  the  continental  bills  a  legal  tender, 
and  made  it  a  felony  punishable  with  death  to  counterfeit  them  or 
the  bills  of  the  United  States  of  North  America.  This  law  said 
nothing  about  the  rate  at  which  they  were  to  pass,  so  that  they  lie- 
came  legally  a  tender  at  the  rate  of  a  dollar  for  six  shillings.  But 
an  assembly  which  sat  at  Haddonfield,  Feb.  11,  1777,  provided  that 
in  all  payments  and  dealings,  Spanish  mil  led  dollars  weighing  17 
pennyweights,  6  grains,  should  pass  at  the  rate  of  seven  shillings 
and  sixpence  lawful  money  of  this  State  a  dollar,  and  that  con- 
tinental paper  bills  should  be  deemed  in  value  equal  to  the  same, 
except  in  debts  due  and  payable  in  British  or  sterling  money,  in 
which  case  they  should  pass  at  the  rate  of  four  shilling  and  six- 


130  CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY. 

pence.  The  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  passed  a  similar  law, 
January  29,  1777.  Up  to  this  time,  the  rate  at  which  the  bills  of 
both  provinces  were  legally  to  pass  was  six  shillings  the  dollar  • 
but  coin  was  always  worth  more.  When  bills  nominally  for  dollars 
came  to  be  made  a  legal  tender  as  well  as  those  in  pounds  and 
shillings,  it  became  absolutel}r  essential  to  designate  the  relative 
value  they  should  bear.  Neither  kind  would  purchase  coin  at  its 
nominal  rate,  and  very  soon  the  continental  money  declined  in 
value,  even  relatively  to  the  provincial  money. 

The  New  Jersey  act  of  1777  declared  that  the  Portugal  gold 
half  Johannes,  weighing  nine  pennyweights,  should  pass  for  three 
pounds  or  eight  dollars.  This  half  joe,  as  it  was  familiarly  called, 
which  began  to  be  coined  about  1727,  must  have  by  this  time  be- 
come the  most  common  gold  coin  in  circulation.  The  provincial 
attorne3T-general,  Cortland  Skinner,  was  in  the  habit  of  selling  a 
nolle  prosequi  in  assault  and  battery  cases  for  one  of  them,  and 
lawyers  reckoned  their  fees  in  the  same  coin,  until  long  after  the 
Revolution. 

In  December,  1777,  Congress,  by  way  of  aiding  the  circulation  of 
the  continental  bills,  after  reciting  that  it  was  the  uniform  practice 
of  our  enemies  to  pursue  every  measure  which  may  tend  to  dis- 
tract, divide,  and  delude  the  inhabitants  of  these  States,  to  effect 
which  they  have  promoted  associations  for  supporting  the  credit 
of  the  public  money,  struck  under  the  authority  and  sanction  of 
the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  thus  sap  the  confidence  of  the  public 
in  the  continental  bills,  they  Resolved,  that  it  be  earnestly  recom- 
mended to  the  legislative  authorities  of  the  respective  States  forth- 
with to  enact  laws,  requiring  all  persons  possessed  of  any  bills 
struck  on  or  before  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  to  exchange  them  for 
continental  bills  or  bills  of  the  respective  States.  This  recom- 
mendation was  not  complied  with  in  New  Jersey  until  June  8, 
1771*,  when  an  act  was  passed  declaring  that  the  colonial  bills 
should  continue  to  be  legal  tenders  until  the  first  day  of  September 
then  next,  and  no  longer  except  for  taxes,  and  that  all  such  bills 
not  brought  into  the  treasury  before  the  first  day  of  January  then 
next,  should  be  forever  after  irredeemable.  In  consequence  of 
this  act  some  of  the  bills  issued  under  the  act  of  1774,  became 
valueless  in  the  hands  of  the  holders,  and  were  never  redeemed. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  Congress  had  no  money,  and 
no  resource  but  a  resort  to  paper  bills.     For  a  year  these  were 


CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  131 

nearly  equal  to  gold  and  silver,  but  the  quantity  they  were  obliged 
to  emit  exceeded  what  had  been  the  usual  quantity  of  the  circu- 
lating medium.  They  began  therefore  to  depreciate,  as  coin  would, 
had  it  been  thrown  into  circulation  in  equal  quantities.  But  not 
having,  like  gold  and  silver,  a  value  in  the  markets  of  the  world, 
the  depreciation  was  more  rapid  and  far  greater  than  could  have 
happened  with  them.  Legal  tender  acts,  and  all  other  extraordi- 
nary measures  for  the  support  of  excessive  issues  of  paper  money, 
were  found  to  be  worse  than  useless.  In  two  years  the  continental 
paper  money  had  fallen  to  two  dollars  for  one,  in  three  years  to  four 
for  one,  and  in  the  six  months  following,  that  is  to  say,  in  1779,  it 
had  fallen  to  twenty  for  one.  At  this  time  a  circular  letter  was 
addressed  by  Congress  to  their  constituents,  signed  by  their 
President,  John  Jay.  It  dwelt  on  the  future  resources  of  the 
country,  and  insisted  upon  their  ability  to  make  good  all  their 
engagements,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  urge  "that  paper  money 
is  the  only  kind  of  money  which  cannot  make  itself  wings  and  fly 
away.  It  remains  with  us,  it  will  not  forsake  us,  it  is  always 
ready  and  at  hand  for  the  purpose  of  commerce  or  taxes,  and 
every  industrious  man  can  find  it.  On  the  contrary,  should  Great 
Britain,  like  Nineveh,  and  for  the  same  reason,  yet  find  money, 
and  escape  the  storm  ready  to  burst  upon  her,  she  will  find  her 
national  debt  in  a  very  different  situation.  Her  territory  dimi- 
nished, her  people  wasted,  her  commerce  ruined,  her  monopolies 
gone,  she  must  provide  for  the  discharge  of  her  immense  debt,  by 
taxes  to  be  paid  in  specie,  in  gold  or  silver,  perhaps  now  buried 
in  the  mines  of  Mexico  or  Peru,  or  still  concealed  in  the  brooks  or 
rivulets  of  Africa  or  Hindostan." 

But  neither  eloquence  nor  patriotism  could  hinder  the  operation 
of  those  laws  of  trade,  which,  like  the  law  of  gravitation,  are  the 
laws  imposed  by  the  wise  Creator  of  the  universe,  and  remain  un- 
changed and  unchangeable.  The  depreciation  continued,  so  that 
in  March,  1780,  Congress,  admitting  that  their  bills  had  increased 
in  quantity  beyond  the  sum  necessary  for  a  circulating  medium, 
and  wanted  specific  funds,  to  rest  on  for  their  redemption,  and  were 
then  passed  by  common  consent,  at  least  39-40ths  below  their 
nominal  value,  recommended  the  States  to  bring  them  in  by  taxes 
or  otherwise,  at  the  rate  of  40  dollars  for  one  Spanish  milled 
dollar,  and  that  the  States  issue  bills  redeemable  in  six  years,  with 


132  CURRENCY    OF   NEW    JERSEY. 

five  per  cent,  interest,  their  payment  to  be  guaranteed  by  the 
United  States. 

This  recommendation  was  followed  partially  by  most  of  the 
States;  by  Pennsylvania  in  June,  1780.  The  legislature  of  New 
Jersey,  by  act  of  June  8,  1780,  authorized  the  issuing  of  125,000 
pounds  of  bills  in  dollars,  and  in  January,  1781,  an  act  was  passed 
reciting  that  great  inconvenience  and  embarrassment  may  arise  in 
consequence  of  none  of  the  bills  of  1780  being  of  less  denomination 
than  one  dollar,  and  therefore  directing  that  the  sum  of  thirty 
thousand  pounds  of  equal  value  should  be  issued  in  bills  of  credit, 
viz.,  twenty  thousand  each  of  ten  different  denominations,  from 
seven  and  sixpence  to  sixpence  each.  Both  these  emissions  were 
known  afterwards  as  the  issue  of  1780,  and  remained  for  a  long 
time  of  greater  or  less  value,  being  receivable  in  taxes  at  par,  and 
after  a  time  at  a  discount.  *, 

The  total  amount  of  continental  bills  issued  amounted  in  Sep- 
tember, 1779,  to  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  During  the 
year  1780  they  depreciated  so  rapidly,  that  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1781  they  ceased  to  circulate  and  died  in  the  hands  of  their 
possessors.  The  total  loss  to  the  community,  although  for  the 
time  great,  was  not  so  large  as  might  be  supposed.  Allowing  for 
the  depreciated  value  of  the  bills  when  they  were  issued,  it  was 
estimated  that  the  actual  loss  to  the  people  did  not  much  exceed 
thirty-six  millions  of  dollars;  and  this  loss  fell,  not  suddenly,  but 
by  gradual  depreciation  through  several  years,  so  that  it  did  not 
much,  if  at  all  exceed,  what,  had  Congress  possessed  the  power  of 
taxation,  would  probably  have  been  directly  raised  in  that  way. 
Mr.  Jefferson  calculated  the  actual  expense  of  the  eight  years  of 
war,  from  the  battle  of  Lexington  to  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  to 
have  been  about  one  hundred  and  forty  millions,  or  about  seven- 
teen and  a  half  millions  of  dollars  for  each  year.  The  contrast  o'f 
this  expenditure,  with  that  incurred  in  suppressing  the  late  rebellion 
(not  less  than  a  thousand  million  each  year)  is  very  suggestive. 

An  act  of  this  State  passed  January  5th,  1761,  declared  that  the 
continental  currency  should  be  a  legal  tender  only  at  its  current 
rates;  and  in  June,  a  scale  of  depreciation  was  established  for  the 
adjustment  of  debts  previously  contracted,  which  was  somewhat 
altered  in  December.  By  another  act,  passed  in  June  of  this  year, 
it  was  recited  that  the  several  compulsory  acts  heretofore  passed 
to  support  the  credit  of  the  paper  money  have  not  answered  the 


CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  133 

good  purposes  thereby  intended,  and  the  acts  making  the  bills  a 
legal  tender  were  repealed.  This  act  provided  that  in  case  of  any 
suit  before  May  1st,  1782,  the  debtor  might  tender  in  open  court 
the  bills  of  the  State  at  their  nominal  value,  which  should  be  a  good 
discharge  of  the  debt  provided  that  the  creditor  might  demand 
security  for  his  debt,  and  if  the  debtor  neglected  to  give  such 
security,  he  should  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  the  tender.  It 
appears  that  the  Continental  as  well  as  the  State  bills  were  very 
extensively  counterfeited.  The  freeholders  of  this  county,  in  1781 
allowed  the  several  collectors  eleven  hundred  and  forty  dollars  for 
counterfeit  money  received. 

In  December,  1783,  after  the  peace,  the  legislature,  at  the  request 
of  Congress,  passed  an  act  to  raise  a  revenue  of  thirty-one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  pounds,  five  shillings,  equal  to  one 
million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  yearly,  for  twenty-five 
years,  to  be  applied  in  payment  of  the  interest  and  principal  of 
debts  due  by  the  United  States.  One  of  the  sections  of  this  act, 
after  reciting  that  it  will  be  impracticable  to  raise  the  whole  or  any 
considerable  part  of  said  sum  in  gold  or  silver,  enacts  that  bills  be 
printed  to  the  amount  of  the  aforesaid  sum,  of  denominations  from 
two  shillings  and  sixpence  each,  to  six  pounds,  to  be  received  as 
equivalent  to  gold  and  silver  in  payment  of  said  taxes.  The 
collectors  and  treasurers  were  directed  to  exchange  gold  and  silver 
they  might  receive  for  said  bills,  and  all  bills  paid  into  the  treasury 
were  to  be  cancelled.  In  1786  these  bills  were  made  a  legal 
tender,  and  were  called  lawful  paper  money. 

In  December,  178-1,  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  pounds  was  required 
by  law  to  be  raised  by  tax,  to  be  applied  towards  the  sinking  of 
bills  of  credit,  to  be  paid  in  gold  or  silver,  or  bills  of  1780  and 
1781,  at  the  rate  of  three  dollars  of  bills  for  one  of  specie.  In 
1786  bills  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  were 
issued,  to  be  loaned  out,  interest  to  be  paid  annually  for  seven 
years,  and  then  one-fifth  to  be  redeemed  yearly.  In  1787,  it  waa 
enacted  that  no  money  should  be  received  by  the  commissioners 
of  the  loan  offices,  or  the  treasurer,  except  gold  and  silver,  and  bills 
under  the  acts  of  1783  and  1780.  In  1788  it  was  directed  that 
money  paid  into  the  loan  offices  should  not  be  re-loaned. 

Loan  offices  were  first  established  in  this  State,  in  1723,  commis- 
sioners being  appointed  for  each  county,  at  iir^t  by  the  legislature, 
afterwards  by  the   boards  of  justices   and    freeholders,   in   some 
10 


134  CURRENCY    OF   NEW    JERSEY. 

counties  two,  and  in  others  three,  who  were  constituted  corporate 
bodies.  A  specific  amount  of  the  bills  was  apportioned  to  each 
office,  a  certain  sum  being  retained  to  replace  those  torn  and 
defaced.  The  money  was  loaned  at  one  time  for  twelve  and  at 
others  for  sixteen  years,  at  five  per  cent,  interest,  on  mortgage 
security,  the  interest  and  a  portion  of  the  principal  to  be  returned 
on  the  25th  of  March,  yearly.  The  whole  principal  might  be  re- 
paid on  this  day  and  re-loaned ;  but  the  annual  payments  of  the 
principal  were  sent  to  the  treasurer's  office  to  be  cancelled,  or  as 
was  afterwards  directed,  cancelled  by  the  Board  of  Freeholders. 
In  1735  wheat  was  authorized  to  be  received  at  the  rate  of  four 
pence  less  in  value  than  market  price  in  New  York,  for  the  eastern 
division,  and  at  Philadelphia  for  the  western  division,  to  be  re-sold 
for  bills.  Gold  and  silver  were  to  be  received  at  the  rates  prescribed 
in  Queen  Anne's  proclamation.  The  bills  were  not  only  made 
legal  tenders,  but  heavy  penalties  were  provided  for  refusing  them 
in  payment  of  debts  or  produce.  Penalties  were  also  enacted  for 
asking  or  taking  any  advance  or  discount  on  these  bills,  for  bills 
of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  The  business  of  the  loan  office 
in  this  county  was  not  finally  closed  until  the  year  1801. 

The  act  of  1783  was  repealed  in  1790,  and  the  tax  law  of  this 
year  requires  the  taxes  to  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver,  or  notes  of  the 
Bank  of  North  America.  In  1796  such  of  the  bills  as  were 
receivable  for  taxes,  were  directed  to  be  paid  by  the  treasurer  in 
gold  and  silver. 

It  appears  by  the  proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Freeholders  of  this 
county,  in  1792,  that  a  settlement  had  been  made  with  John  Mulford, 
who  had  been  the  county  collector,  and  that  the  sum  of  144  pounds, 
13s.  -id.  had  been  found  due  to  him  in  old  State  money.  Ebenezer 
Elmer  having  been  appointed  by  the  board  to  procure  this  money, 
reported  that  he  had  obtained  the  same  at  the  following  rates,  viz: 
9s.  3c?.  old  State  money,  at  two  for  one,  92  pounds  12s.  6c?.,  at  16s. 
6(/.  for  20s.  and  51  pounds,  lis.  Id.  of  lawful  money  at  8s.  the 
dollar;  the  cost  of  £144  13s.  4t?.  being  125  pounds  2c?.  It  would 
seem  that  all  the  State  bills  were  redeemed  except  some  of  the  old 
emission  of  1776,  and  a  small  part  of  the  bills  of  1780.  As  early 
as  1779  an  act  had  been  passed  declaring  that  the  old  bills  should  not 
be  a  legal  tender  after  September  of  that  year,  and  if  not  brought 
into  the  treasury  by  the  first  of  January  next,  then  they  should  be 
irredeemable.     The  old  State  money  referred  to  in  the  settlement 


CURRENCY    OF   NEW   JERSEY.  135 

with  Mulford,  comprised  the  bills  of  17S0,  %nd  the  lawful  money 
the  bills  of  1786. 

The  first  bank  established  in  the  State  was  the  Newark 
Banking  and  Insurance  Company,  incorporated  in  February,  180-i, 
and  authorized  to  have  a  branch  in  Jersey  City.  In  December, 
1804,  The  Trenton  Banking  Company  was  chartered.  In  1807, 
the  New  Brunswick  Bank,  and  afterwards  banks  were  ;iuthorized, 
in  other  places.  The  notes  of  these  institutions,  together  with  those 
issued  by  the  banks  of  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  other  cities, 
formed  a  large  part  of  the  circulating  medium  of  the  State.  They 
maintained  the  specie  standard  until  the  war  with  Great  Britain 
from  1811  to  1815,  when  they  depreciated  at  one  time  to  a  discount 
of  thirty  cents  on  the  dollar,  but  during  all  this  time  gold  and 
silver  remained  the  true  standard  of  value,  and  no  attempt  was 
made  to  make  the  paper  of  the  general  government,  or  any  other 
paper,  a  legal  tender. 

This  very  imperfect  review  of  the  state  of  the  currency  during 
our  colonial  state  and  afterwards,  will  aid  us  in  appreciating  the 
advantages  we  have  derived  from  the  currency  established  by  our 
present  general  government,  in  freeing  us  from  the  complicated 
rates,  and  inconvenient  moneys  of  account,  prevailing  in  different 
sections,  whatever  may  be  the  result  of  the  recent  renewal  of  a 
paper  legal  tender  currency,  as  compared  with  gold  and  silver,  or 
paper  convertible  into  coin.  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  report  on  the 
subject  of  weights  and  measures,  made  in  1820,  remarks:  "It  is 
now  nearly  thirty  years  since  our  new  moneys  of  account,  our  coins 
and  our  mint,  have  been  established.  The  dollar,  under  its  new 
stamp,  has  preserved  its  name  and  circulation.  The  cent  has 
become  tolerably  familiarized  to  the  tongue,  wherever  it  has  been 
made,  by  circulation,  familiar  to  the  hand.  Bat  ask  a  tradesman 
or  shopkeeper  in  any  of  our  cities  what  is  a  dime,  or  a  mill,  and 
the  chances  are  four  in  five  that  he  will  not  understand  your 
question.  But  go  to  New  York  and  offer  in  payment  the  Spanish 
coin,  the  unit  of  the  Spanish  piece  of  eight,  and  the  shop  or  market 
man  will  take  it  for  a  shilling.  Carry  it  to  Boston  or  Richmond, 
and  you  shall  be  told  that  it  is  not  a  shilling  but  a  ninepence. 
Bring  it  to  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  or  the  city  of  Washington, 
and  you  shall  find  it  recognized  for  an  eleven  penny  bit,  and  if 
you  ask  how  that  can  be,  you  shall  learn  that  the  dollar  being  of 


136  CURRENCY   OF   NEW    JERSEY. 

ninety  pence,  the  eighth  part  of  it  is  nearer  to  eleven  than  any 
other  number;  and  pursuing  still  further  the  arithmetic  of  popular 
denominations,  you  will  find  that  half  of  eleven  is  five,  or  at  least, 
that  half  of  the  eleven  penny  bit  is  the  fipenny  bit,  which  fipenny 
bit  at  Richmond,  shrinks  to  four  pence  half  penny,  and  at  New 
York  swells  to  six  pence." 

One  of  the  articles  of  the  Confederation,  which  lasted  from  1773 
to  1789,  authorized  Congress  to  regulate  the  alloy  and  value  of  coin 
struck  by  their  own  authority,  or  by  that  of  the  respective  States. 
The  Constitution  vested  the  right  of  coinage  solely  in  the  general 
government.  Early  in  1782  a  report  on  the  subject  of  coinage 
was  made  to  Congress,  by  Robert  Morris,  said  to  have  been  the 
work  of  his  assistant,  Governeur  Morris.  He  proposed  as  the  unit 
the  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  fortieth  part  of  a  dollar, 
which  was  found  to  be  a  common  division  for  the  different  cur- 
rencies' in  use ;  ten  units  to  be  one  penny,  two  pence  one  bill,  ten 
bills  one  dollar  (about  two  thirds  of  a  Spanish  dollar),  ten  dollars 
one  crown. 

No  steps  were  taken  to  carry  this  proposition  into  effect.  In 
1784  Mr.  Jefferson  reported  the  plan  afterwards  adopted.  He  took 
the  dollar  as  the  unit,  to  be  of  silver,  a  tenth  or  dime  of  silver,  and 
a  hundredth  of  copper.  In  1785  Congress  unanimously  resolved, 
that  the  money  unit  of  the  United  States  of  America  be  one  dollar; 
that  the  smallest  coin  be  of  copper,  of  which  200  shall  pass  for  one 
dollar,  and  that  the  several  pieces  shall  increase  in  decimal  ratio. 
In  1786  they  resolved  that  the  money  of  account  should  be  mills, 
of  which  1000  shall  be  equal  to  the  Federal  dollar;  cents,  of  which 
100  shall  be  equal  to  the  dollar;  dimes,  10  of  which  shall  be  equal 
to  the  dollar;  and  dollars.  Eventually,  as  is  well  known,  this  mode 
of  keeping  accounts  was  adopted  throughout  the  Union,  except  that 
mills  and  dimes  were  dropped,  and  the  accounts  were  simplified  by 
being  expressed  only  in  dollars  and  hundredths.  The  final  arrange- 
ments for  establishing  a  mint  and  issuing  coin  were  not  adopted 
until  1792.  The  coins  authorized  were  of  gold,  eagles  of  ten  dol- 
lars, half  and  quarter  eagles;  of  silver,  dollars,  half  dollars,  quarter 
dollars,  dimes  or  ten  cents,  half  dimes;  of  copper,  cents  and  half 
cents.  At  later  dates  one,  three,  twenty,  and  fifty  dollar  pieces  have 
been  coined  in  gold;  also  two  cents  in  copper,  the  half  cent  having 
been  discontinued. 


CURRENCY   OF    NEW   JERSEY.  137 

The  adoption  of  the  dollar  was  recommended  by  the  circum- 
stances that  it  was  a  very  convenient  value,  was  a  familiar  well 
known  coin  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  with  which  the  money  of 
account  in  use  was  everywhere  compared,  and  would  therefore  be  well 
understood  and  readily  adopted.  The  easy  mode  of  reckoning  by 
decimals  was  convenient,  and  capable  of  being  soon  understood  by 
all  classes.  The  origin  of  the  mark  $,  for  dollars,  is  still  a  subject 
of  dispute.  Some  have  supposed  it  to  be  an  imitation  of  the 
pillars,  circled  by  a  wreath,  others  a  combination  of  U  S;  and 
others,  with  more  plausibility,  the  figure  8  crossed  like  the  £,  used 
for  pounds.  There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt,  however,  that  it  was 
adopted  in  imitation  of  the  same  mark  used  in  Portugal,  and  in 
some  of  the  West  India  Islands.  Its  origin  there  we  have  no 
means  of  determining.  It  was  not  used  in  the  United  States  until 
after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  coinage.  The  Ehode  Island 
minutes  of  the  date  1758  are  printed  with  this  mark,  but  an 
examination  of  the  original  manuscript  proved  that  it  was  not 
then  employed,  but  the  word  dollars,  or  the  contraction  Drs.  The 
earliest  manuscript  containing  it,  that  has  been  discovered,  was 
made  in  1795,  and  the  earliest  printed  book  in  1801.  After  this 
it  became  universal;  but  how  it  was  first  introduced,  and  whether 
any  special  means  were  used  to  recommend  it,  seems  unknown. 

Accounts  were  generally  kept  in  this  State  in  pounds,  shillings, 
and  pence,  of  the  7s.  6d.  standard,  until  after  1799,  in  which  year 
a  law  was  passed  requiring  all  accounts  to  be  kept  in  dollars  or 
units,  dimes  or  tenths,  cents  or  hundredths,  and  mills  or  thousandths. 
For  several  years,  however,  aged  persons  inquiring  the  price  of  an 
article  in  West  Jersey  or  Philadelphia,  required  to  be  told  the 
value  in  shillings  and  pence,  they  not  being  able  to  keep  in  mind 
the  newly-created  cents  or  their  relative  value.  Even  now,  in  New 
York,  and  in  East  Jersey,  where  the  eighth  of  a  dollar,  so  long  the 
common  coin  in  use,  corresponded  with  the  shilling  of  account,  it 
is  common  to  state  the  price  of  articles,  not  above  two  or  three 
dollars,  in  shillings,  as,  for  instance,  ten  shillings  rather  than  a 
dollar  and  a  quarter.  So  lately  as  1820  some  traders  and  tavern 
keepers  in  East  Jersey  kept  their  accounts  in  York  currency. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  a  considerable 
number  of  French  crowns,  worth  $1.10,  and  small  sr  French 
coins,  were  introduced  by  the  French  army,  and  continued  to  circu- 

10* 


138  CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY. 

late  for  several  years;  and  since,  the  French  five-franc  piece  has 
circulated  to  some  extent.  The  principal  coins,  however,  in  common 
use,  continued  to  be  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  dollars,  and  halves  and 
quarters,  especially  the  latter;  Spanish  and  Mexican  pistareens, 
which  generally  passed  for  twenty  cents,  although  worth  only 
about  seventeen  cents;  the  Spanish  or  Mexican  real  or  bit,  called 
an  eleven  penny  bit  or  shilling;  and  its  half  called  a  five  penny 
bit  or  sixpence.  Prices  of  small  articles  were  adjusted  to  these  12  J 
and  6 J  cent  coins  in  use,  and  so  continued  until  within  a  few  years- 
About  ten  years  ago  these  current  coins  had  become  so  much  worn 
as  to  be  worth  not  much  more  than  ten  cents  and  five  cents,  and 
for  a  short  time  passed  at  those  rates;  but  the  American  dimes 
and  half  dimes  having  been  coined  to  a  considerable  amount, 
they  came  into  common  use,  and  prices  were  slowly  adjusted 
accordingly. 

During  the  present  century  the  principal  circulating  medium 
has  been  bank  notes  and  silver.  The  gold  coin  from  the  American 
mint  having  been  made  of  a  little  more  relative  value  than  the 
silver,  was  used  for  exportation,  so  that  very  little  was  in  circu- 
lation until  after  1837,  in  which  year  the  gold  coins  were  reduced 
in  comparative  value,  and  a  few  years  ago  were  quite  plentiful. 
The  banks  were  obliged  to  suspend  the  redemption  of  their  bills 
during  the  war  commenced  in  1812,  and  for  near  ten  years  there 
was  very  little  coin  in  use,  small  change  being  supplied  at  first  by 
the  bills  of  individuals,  and  then  by  those  issued  by  banks  and 
incorporated  cities. 

In  1815  a  temporary  law  of  this  State  was  passed,  which  provided 
that  unless  the  plaintiff  in  an  execution  would  consent  to  receive 
current  bills  of  a  bank  there  should  be  a  stay  of  the  proceedings. 
It  remained  in  force  about  eighteen  months;  would  probably  have 
been,  held  contrary  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  but 
the  question  was  not  raised.  The  banks  have  suspended  several 
times  since  for  short  periods  of  time.  Shortly  after  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Kebellion  the  government  of  the  United  States  issued 
large  and  small  bills,  and  enacted  laws  declaring  them  to  be  a  legal 
tender  in  payment  of  all  debts. 

The  legal  interest  of  money  in  this  State  was  eight  per  cent., 
until  1738,  when  it  was  reduced  to  seven  per  cent,  per  annum.  In 
1774  an  act  was  passed  lowering  the  rate  to  six  per  cent.,  but  it 


CURRENCY   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  139 

was  disallowed  by  the  crown.  The  change  to  six  per  cent.,  which 
now  prevails  in  most  of  the  State,  was  made  in  1833.  Some  of  the 
eastern  cities  and  counties  have  special  laws  authorizing  seven  per 
cent.;  and  appearances  indicate  that  the  latter  rate  will  have  to  bo 
adopted  in  all  parts  of  the  State. 

In  1866  an  act  passed   raising  the  interest  to  seven  per  cent 
throughout  the  State. 


INDEX. 


Antioch,  20 

Area  and  acres  of  county,  89 

Assembly,  members  of,  32. 

Baptists,  90-95 

Seventh  day,  94 

Bellers'  survey,  18 

Boyd,  Mrs.,  26. 

Bridges,  or  Indian  field  tract,  47 

Bridges  of  county,  23,  S3 

Bridgeton,  city  of,  28,  38,  105 

Cedarville,  21,  102 
Census  of  inhabitants,  37 
Clerks,  names  of,  28 
Cohansey,  10,  23,  60 
Congress,  members  of,  32 
Continental  bills,  131. 

Deerfield  township,  10,  30 
Dorchester,  20,  74 
Dollars,  origin,  121 

coined  by  United  States,  136 

mark  of  $,  for,  137 

Downe  township,  30 

« 

Elections  and  voters,  31-33 
Elmer,  Rev.  Daniel,  98 

Elienezer,  15,  64 

Jonathan,  46,  64 

Episcopal  churches,  108 
Ewing,  Mrs.,  11 

Fairfield  township,  29 
Fenwick,  John,  7,  11,  13 
Fithian's  journal,  60 


Franklin  on  paper  money,  127 
Friends'  meetings,  6,  108 

German  Presbyterians,  107 
Germans  in  Bridgeton,  59 
Gibbon  tract,  21 
Glassworks,  82 
Gouldtown,  21 
Greenwich,  10,  13,  14 

Hancock's  mill,  1  6 
Health  of  county,  62 

Indians,  6 

Iron  manufactures,  54,  79,  82 

Landis  township,  So' 
Lawyers,  66 
Leesburgh,  74 

Manamuskin,  79 
Maurice  River,  72-74 
Methodist  societies,  110-117 
Mints,  121 
Millville,  80-85 
Militia,  69-71 
Money,  119 

New  England  Town,  2" 
Newspapers,  56 

Osborn,  Rev.  Ethan,  100 
Oyster  grounds,  76 

Paper  money,  119, 130 

I'aterson,  Robnrt,  57 


142 


INDEX. 


Parvin  house,  27 
Physicians,  64 
Proprietors  of  land,  6 
Presbyterians,  95 
Port  Elizabeth,  76 
Potter,  Col.  David,  41,  69 

Railroads,  53 
Roadstown,  16 
Revolution,  expense  of,  132 
Religious  denominations,  90 

Schools,  58 
Schooner  landing,  80 
Senators  of  U.  S.,  32 


Seeley's  mill,  25 
Sheriffs,  names  of,  34 
Stages  and  mails,  51 
Surrogates'  names,  28 
Swedish  settlers,  5 
Sunday  schools,  109 

Taxes,  amount  of,  89 
Tea  burning,  14 
Titles  of  land,  6,  47 

Union  mill  pond,  81 

Vineland,  86. 


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